Candidly crass and authentically charming, The Salty Tenders have arrived, bringing with them deliciously morish Aussie rock.
Heartedly DIY and assuredly seshable, the tunes of The Salty Tenders are definitively Aussie in nature. Yet, the boys kicking around Wollongong of late know a thing or two about making things happen for themselves. Their six-track EP Entrée has arrived and they took a few mo’s to catch us up to speed.
They dished the dirt on their favourite local bands and what they got up to at the famous Grove Studios.
HAPPY: Hey guys, happy new year! Where do you find yourselves today?
BAND: Cheers! A happy new year to you too! Feelin’ a little on the tender side today, to be honest…
HAPPY: The Salty Tenders – how did you decide on that name?
BAND: It was either that or The Tasty Morsels or The Crispy Crunchies or some shit. It just sounds nice and cooked.
HAPPY: Congratulations on the release of your debut EP Entrée! Does this title signify a two-part follow up?
BAND: Sure does daaawwg! Cheers heaps – can’t wait to get the rest out!
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HAPPY: Can you tell us a bit about the band’s meet-cute story?
BAND: One day in Hell’s kitchen, Satan’s sous chef accidentally spilled the three secret herbs and spices into The Seasoning Dish of Fate to create one truly spicy meatball. With a sprinkle of salt and a kiss of the lips, The Salty Tenders were born. Just like mamma used to make.
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HAPPY: There are some sonic references to bands like The Chats. Who are your favourite Aussie bands at the moment?
BAND: [Laughs] Definitely wouldn’t say we were trying to sonically reference The Chats at all but we probably share a bunch of similar influences with them or whatever. Favourite Aussie bands at the moment are like 90% from Wollongong, since we were living there for the better half of the last year or so before the landlord bastards kicked us out so they could knock the place down and build some dumb shit. That place was sick.
Anyway, heaps of good punk and alternative shit from the gong, like Scab Baby, Space Boys, HOON, Sloshpit, The Culture Industry, Year6Disco, Basil’s Kite, The Leftards, and heaps more I’m forgetting off the top of my head right now. There’s a good weekly podcast on Youtube actually that our mates Sam and Lochy from the new venue Wetshoeclubb do where they show off local acts of all genres, mostly from the Gong but also from across the country, it’s called SC FM. Check it out!
HAPPY: How does the creative process typically look for The Salty Tenders?
BAND: It’s always different really, sometimes a song just comes out fully formed in a jam sesh without any of us really even noticing and then other times we’ll bring different ideas or riffs or whatever to the table and just fuck around with them and see what happens and the song will go through a few morphing stages until it feels fully baked. It usually seems to involve feeling fully baked.
HAPPY: What was it like recording at The Grove Studios?
BAND: It was fucking awesome, we got to poop in the same toilet Delta Goodrem once did! That was all also thanks to our buddy Jethro hooking us up – so cheers again Jethro, you big legend! Someone may or may not have defiled the Bible in the guest room. God only knows.
HAPPY: Did you get a chance to perform some sit-down gigs in 2020?
BAND: Nah, we haven’t done a sit-down gig yet, feels like it would be really weird like we’re giving a TED talk with instruments being played badly or something haha. But we have been going and seeing a bunch around the Gong and they’ve all been mad actually it’s just a very different experience though feels kinda like you’re just analysing shit way more instead of letting loose and rocking out, I dunno.
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HAPPY: Any musical resolutions for 2021?
BAND: Keep on being motherfucking rockstars.
HAPPY: Cheers for your time guys!
BAND: You’re welcome! Bon appetit!
Dive on into the fully baked EP Entrée below:
