If you haven’t already listened to Whisky Grinn’s new single Fuck Gucci, stop what you’re doing and go listen to it now. The track is an all-out explosion of no-bullshit rock n roll, and we’ve had it spinning on repeat ever since we first laid ears on it.
So fresh off the track’s release, we caught up with the band themselves to chat all about it, what to expect from their next EP, and all that “Gucci Gang bullshit“.
Hot off the release of their blistering new single Fuck Gucci, we caught up with Brisbane outfit Whisky Grinn for a chat.
HAPPY: Hey, how’s it going? What are you up to at the moment?
WHISKY GRINN: It’s going really good man. At the moment we’re preparing ourselves for our EP launch and tour and working on what’s going to be our next release after this cycle.
HAPPY: We’re loving Fuck Gucci! How does it feel having the track out there in the world?
WHISKY GRINN: It feels great because that song, like the rest of the EP, are songs we’ve been sitting on for a hot minute, to say the least, so it’s great to finally have it out there like a little flag in the ground that says “the story thus far“.
HAPPY: Could you tell us a bit about the song?
WHISKY GRINN: Other than that its a fucking ripper? Nah just yanking your chain. It’s a tune I wrote while we were on tour over in the states. I’d had that riff in my heads for absolutely ages and must have had about four or five goes of writing it before I finally chucked the shits and went with how it was originally. Turns out that’s usually the better option.
HAPPY: It’s a pretty bold song title! Has Gucci been in touch yet?
WHISKY GRINN: Hahahaha. No thankfully, we can’t afford lawyers. Honestly its not really a dig at Gucci themselves but rather at the fact that a major brand can become something of a status symbol. That really rubs me the wrong way. You shouldn’t be able to buy social status, it doesn’t make sense. If you want respect or status, do something worthwhile. Unfortunately for Gucci, they were simply the first example I thought of. Kind of like the counter-argument to that like “Gucci gang” bullshit.
HAPPY: Did you approach the writing/recording of this new track differently at all to past material?
WHISKY GRINN: Yeah, firstly we had a different producer, Peter Muldoon who was a pleasure to work with and has a rock n roll heart beating under all of the other work he does. I look forward to working with him again. For myself, the goal was to be more riff-orientated and lyrically direct. Matt’s really coming into his own chasing that Ringo star, Charlie Watts, kinda feel and Brody’s always been a star child in his own right on the bass. This is probably tame for him compared to our first collections demos where he was essentially playing funk-freakout bass.
HAPPY: The new track is taken from your upcoming EP. What can we expect from that EP?
WHISKY GRINN: Balls to the walls rock n roll. Its really as simple as that. We know what kind of music we want to write and this was really just us clearing our back catalogue to move forward into writing more… I guess slightly more progressive balls to the walls rock n roll? Like I said before we’ve been sitting on these songs for ages so it’s hard for me to analyze them at this point, they’re just like part of the furniture at this stage.
HAPPY: Are there any particular bands you’re all really loving at the moment?
WHISKY GRINN: Shitloads, always. Namely, we love our mates in Roadhouse. I’m a big fan of The Duke, Wizard Rose blew my mind when I saw them a few weeks ago, Headcage are a tidy as fuck band, Big Whoops just came out with Criminal which is a fuckin banger and everybody loves Port Royal. I’m probably forgetting some great bands but its early morning and I’m a little hungover to think clearly.
HAPPY: What’s next for Whisky Grinn? Any other exciting plans in the works?
WHISKY GRINN: Well we’ve got the rocky river festival coming up on the 14th of July which is going to be absolutely loose. Our own tour kicking off on the 29th of June and we’re hoping to squeeze out another single or two and EP before the end of the year. We’ve just got too many bloody songs haha. Other than that it’ll be the usual recreational pursuit a good fucking time.
HAPPY: Cheers for the chat!
WHISKY GRINN: No worries, anytime.
Fuck Gucci is available now. Watch the video above.
