Marc Luchessi - The Vaudeville Smash (19/08/2011)
Having just released Love Yachts Geronimo, The 59th Sound caught up with The Vaudeville Smash's Marc Luchessi for a chat about fave bands from the 70's and 80's, dreams of touring with The Eagles and touring as a part of the SxSW (South by Southwest) Music Festival.
The Vaudeville Smash's genre is described as 'Nouveau Yacht Rock'; what inspired you to reinvent the yacht rock genre
While we're influenced by a lot of different types of music, yacht rock is the music that gets us going the most and takes up most space on our ipods. For a lot of people it's kitsch and amusing but at its core it's music with incredible melodies and harmonies, made by incredible musicians, when music wasn't primarily about fashion (although the fashion was pretty rad!). We've tried to add our own unique twist on it; I just hope we're doing it justice!
Who are a few of your favourite yacht rock bands from its heyday in the 1970s and 80s
Hall and Oates win hands down; It's just amazing, classic pop - the whole band loves them. I'm personally a huge fan of mid 70s Todd Rundgren; you could call him the wild child of the yacht rock circuit.
Earlier this year you performed in the US as part of SXSW festival; what was that experience like and how did the American audiences respond to your music?
The experience was absolutely incredible and the Americans absolutely loved it. Yacht rock is American music and we do it in our own little Australian way; the Americans love little Australian ways. We were even named as one of the buzz bands of the festival in the Huffington Post - that was a nice surprise.
You recently released the Love Yachts Geronimo EP; what was the writing and recording process of that like?
We'd been playing most of the songs on that EP for a very long time. We went into the studio and laid down all the rhythm tracks in one or two takes. This EP is an extension of our live show, with a few extra layers (lots of extra layers in some cases!). We were luck enough to have a 12 piece string section play on some of the tracks, which added a lot of depth and helped us capture the retro sound we were going for. Incidentally, most of these string players will be playing with us at the Corner show on the 24th of September. They're the VSO (Vaudeville Smash Orchestra)!
The Vaudeville Smash also includes your two brothers Dan and Luca. What is it like performing in a band with family members? Did you all grow up playing music together?
It’s handy because even after the most vicious argument we’re still forced to stay together; our mum would be upset otherwise. I also believe that siblings have an innate connection that can make playing and writing music together something special. Having a bass player and drummer as brothers means foot-tapping-good-time-get-down-rhythm. Most of the songs are written by me and my brother Dan (drummer) and it’s a little like an old couple finishing each others sentences sometimes. And to make maters worse (or better depending on how you look at it), we all live together too!
Both your film clips for 'Hey' and 'Roller Disco' look like they could be parts of retro television shows or movies. Has your music also been influenced by what you watched on screen growing up?
Absolutely! My parents didn't have a huge, eclectic record collection, so most of the music we listened to was Video hits and TV theme songs. A few people have said our music sounds a little like a TV theme song and I take this as a compliment. A lot of the writers of those songs were Yacht Rock stars in their on right a few years earlier. Think of the themes to Family Ties, Different Strokes, The Greatest American Hero or MASH... they're all classics. You are what you eat and we ate a lot of TV.
If you could pick from any musical eras, who would be your dream line-up to tour with?
Probably The Eagles – the live royalty cheques would be huge!!!
What has been the highlight of your career so far?
I'd have to say SxSW. Road trippin' around the US with your buddies is about as fun as it gets and we got to play with, and meet, some amazing American and, also, Australian bands. We bonded and are now all siblings. A band of brothers (get it?)!!
And lastly, what have The Vaudeville Smash got planned for the rest of the year? Will there be some more touring or work on new material?
We’ve just spent a week in the studio with Australian Production Guru, John Castle (Washington, Bamboos, Cat Empire), recording a double A-side which we’re launching at the Corner Hotel on the 24th of September. It’s gonna be huge! We’ve even got the VSO (Vaudeville Smash Orchestra, as mentioned above) playing with us, which includes some of Australia’s most respected classical musicians. The new recordings sound amazing and have a more contemporary sound, compared to our earlier stuff. We’re pretty excited. Our ethos is to keep releasing new material and to keep writing and evolving as a band. What a fun life, hey?
The Vaudeville Smash’s Love Yachts Geronimo is out now. They will play the Corner Hotel on the 24th of September.
Chelsea McIntyre
The Vaudeville Smash's genre is described as 'Nouveau Yacht Rock'; what inspired you to reinvent the yacht rock genre
While we're influenced by a lot of different types of music, yacht rock is the music that gets us going the most and takes up most space on our ipods. For a lot of people it's kitsch and amusing but at its core it's music with incredible melodies and harmonies, made by incredible musicians, when music wasn't primarily about fashion (although the fashion was pretty rad!). We've tried to add our own unique twist on it; I just hope we're doing it justice!
Who are a few of your favourite yacht rock bands from its heyday in the 1970s and 80s
Hall and Oates win hands down; It's just amazing, classic pop - the whole band loves them. I'm personally a huge fan of mid 70s Todd Rundgren; you could call him the wild child of the yacht rock circuit.
Earlier this year you performed in the US as part of SXSW festival; what was that experience like and how did the American audiences respond to your music?
The experience was absolutely incredible and the Americans absolutely loved it. Yacht rock is American music and we do it in our own little Australian way; the Americans love little Australian ways. We were even named as one of the buzz bands of the festival in the Huffington Post - that was a nice surprise.
You recently released the Love Yachts Geronimo EP; what was the writing and recording process of that like?
We'd been playing most of the songs on that EP for a very long time. We went into the studio and laid down all the rhythm tracks in one or two takes. This EP is an extension of our live show, with a few extra layers (lots of extra layers in some cases!). We were luck enough to have a 12 piece string section play on some of the tracks, which added a lot of depth and helped us capture the retro sound we were going for. Incidentally, most of these string players will be playing with us at the Corner show on the 24th of September. They're the VSO (Vaudeville Smash Orchestra)!
The Vaudeville Smash also includes your two brothers Dan and Luca. What is it like performing in a band with family members? Did you all grow up playing music together?
It’s handy because even after the most vicious argument we’re still forced to stay together; our mum would be upset otherwise. I also believe that siblings have an innate connection that can make playing and writing music together something special. Having a bass player and drummer as brothers means foot-tapping-good-time-get-down-rhythm. Most of the songs are written by me and my brother Dan (drummer) and it’s a little like an old couple finishing each others sentences sometimes. And to make maters worse (or better depending on how you look at it), we all live together too!
Both your film clips for 'Hey' and 'Roller Disco' look like they could be parts of retro television shows or movies. Has your music also been influenced by what you watched on screen growing up?
Absolutely! My parents didn't have a huge, eclectic record collection, so most of the music we listened to was Video hits and TV theme songs. A few people have said our music sounds a little like a TV theme song and I take this as a compliment. A lot of the writers of those songs were Yacht Rock stars in their on right a few years earlier. Think of the themes to Family Ties, Different Strokes, The Greatest American Hero or MASH... they're all classics. You are what you eat and we ate a lot of TV.
If you could pick from any musical eras, who would be your dream line-up to tour with?
Probably The Eagles – the live royalty cheques would be huge!!!
What has been the highlight of your career so far?
I'd have to say SxSW. Road trippin' around the US with your buddies is about as fun as it gets and we got to play with, and meet, some amazing American and, also, Australian bands. We bonded and are now all siblings. A band of brothers (get it?)!!
And lastly, what have The Vaudeville Smash got planned for the rest of the year? Will there be some more touring or work on new material?
We’ve just spent a week in the studio with Australian Production Guru, John Castle (Washington, Bamboos, Cat Empire), recording a double A-side which we’re launching at the Corner Hotel on the 24th of September. It’s gonna be huge! We’ve even got the VSO (Vaudeville Smash Orchestra, as mentioned above) playing with us, which includes some of Australia’s most respected classical musicians. The new recordings sound amazing and have a more contemporary sound, compared to our earlier stuff. We’re pretty excited. Our ethos is to keep releasing new material and to keep writing and evolving as a band. What a fun life, hey?
The Vaudeville Smash’s Love Yachts Geronimo is out now. They will play the Corner Hotel on the 24th of September.
Chelsea McIntyre