Set The Fire Records will soon release the debut self titled album from Melbourne band FEVER SHACK. We caught with the band for a chat about all things Shack.
At what point did FEVER SHACK form and how did it all come together?
Yo! Thanks for having us. Fever Shack is made up of Grid (Vocals), Danny (Drums), Levo (Bass & Vocals) and Dozer and Lachie (Guitars). Fever Shack was formed around the start of 2020, but due to this fuckin pandemic, it’s been a mission to get the band out of first gear. We all grew up in Frankston and its surrounding suburbs, about 45 minutes South East of Melbourne, and had all crossed paths or been mates since our teenage years. Each of us had played in bands that had come to an end around 2019 and I guess the 5 of us were still keen to keep playing music and have some fun with it. Danny has been good mates with Dozer and Levo for years and he was essentially the bridge that brought Lachie and myself over to them, ultimately birthing the Shack!
Would readers recognize the members from any other bands?
Haha.. maybe? I’d like to think that our previous bands had reached the ears of some RA readers. Dozer, Danny and Levo played in a couple of pop punk bands, namely Minetta for a number of years. Lachie has played in quite a few bands over the years; Headstrong, TC & the Dropbears, Dirty Mack, and the almighty Maggot Men, (who are making a comeback – keep your eyes and ears open). Lachie also played in GRIDFLEX with myself between 2016-2019 or something on those lines. Danny jumped on drums for the last year of GRIDFLEX and that’s mainly how things progressed into FS.
In your own words how would you describe the sound of FEVER SHACK?
A new brand of high-energy, bouncy hardcore that brings back memories of two stepping and stage diving at your local Mechanics Hall.
What bands are influencing the sound of FEVER SHACK?
I think what we’re influenced by and what we might sound like are two different things and probably don’t always correlate. Each of us have different people/bands of influence, but I’m confident in saying we’re all drawn to those high-energy, bouncy bands like Trapped Under Ice, 50 Lions, Drain, Cruel Hand, Expire. Dozer loves his thrash/metal so I’d have to chuck Metallica and Power Trip in there too.
Personally, my biggest influence lyrically and in terms of stage presence would be Lachie’s older brother, Alex Mackie. I grew up watching him sing in Dirty Mack and The Maggot Men and I still think he’s one of the best performers I’ve seen in hardcore/punk.
What would be a dream line up of bands to play with and your fave show you’ve played to date?
Fwoah! This is a tough one to answer. If Fever Shack could choose one line up, it would be to play This Is Hardcore Fest. But if we could choose a smaller lineup, I guess it’d have to be a Metallica headliner, supported by Turnstile, Suicidal Tendencies, DRAIN and Municipal Waste.
Due to lockdowns, we’ve only played 4 shows, and they’ve all been mostly in the first half of this year. Nonetheless, our favourite show was our first one, at Flippin The Bird Fest at Singing Bird Studios in our hometown, Frankston. It was a 3-stage set up, with I think 30+ bands in the industrial area and we played the outdoor stage in front of some of our best mates and a big ol crowd. We had never played a show and we only had 2 demos out, but the crowd were going nuts from the get-go. Although lockdowns have fucked us, we’ve been pretty lucky with the shows we have played so far.
You’ve just released a new track titled “Rats In The Bag”. Lyrically what’s the song about?
The title “Rats In The Bag” kinda came about through absolute nonsensical shit talking amongst the band at prac. It has no direct relation to what the song is about but I guess you can make anything work if you want it to. Lyrically, I wrote the song in reflection of some of the Anti-Fascist work that I was involved in a few years back. It seemed like every fuckin weekend we were organising and heading into Melbourne and surrounding suburbs to confront Neo-Nazis in the streets. “Rats In The Bag” kind of explores how the action taken by numerous anti-fascists in Greater Melbourne drove those numb skull fascists back to their keyboards in their parents’ basements. It’s a huge stretch to say they went away, but at least there isn’t a contingent of Nazis terrorising inner city neighbourhoods of Melbourne every weekend.
Set The Fire Records will be releasing your debut self-titled album on October 15th, how did the partnership with STF come about?
Firstly, massive shout to Set The Fire Records for giving us some love. Brendo has bent over backwards for Fever Shack over the past month and we’re super grateful to team up with him, Mupp and the STF family and to be dropping our first album with them. We were able to team up with STF through getting to know Brendo through playing shows together in GRIDFLEX. The Adelaide Crew were always very welcoming to GRIDFLEX and the homies in BRAINFREEZE brought GRIDFLEX over to the City of Churches for a show a few years back. At that show, we played with Brendo’s band, ALL IN and became mates with him and heaps of the Adelaide crew. It was a no brainer to reach out to STF to drop something Shack related. They’re super loving, positive and welcoming people who put in heaps of work to keep the scene alive in Adelaide and across various parts of Asia.
How was the recording process for the album, when and where did it happen and what did you learn from the experience?
The never-ending lockdowns in Melbourne certainly made the recording process a disjointed and dubious task. We’d been sitting on these tracks for so long but we were very lucky to find a break in between lockdowns 4, 5 and 6 to get the recording done (Fuck, that sounds depressing). We worked with Sam Johnson at Holes and Corners in Melbourne. That dude is an absolute legend and has worked with some awesome bands, such as 50 Lions, Outright and Mindsnare and we’re pumped that we made the decision to have him work on this album. It was an interesting and exciting process for sure. So much time, effort, precision and UberEats orders go in to recording 10 tracks and we’ve certainly developed an appreciation for the art of producing an album.
What else is in store in the foreseeable future for FEVER SHACK?
We’re really hoping this pandemic fucks off for good and we can start playing shows consistently. We’re keen to play the shit out of this album, that’s for sure. We’ve got 2 album launches organised for November 13th at Singing Bird Studios in Frankston and November 20th at Last Chance Rock N Roll Bar in the city. We’ll definitely be planning a few interstate trips in 2022, so fingers crossed it all goes ahead as planned. I’d say we’ll continue writing new songs. We’ve been sitting on the tracks from the album for quite some time now so I guess we’ll naturally start exploring some new content.
How can people get in touch or keep up with what’s happening with FEVER SHACK?
If you want to get in touch or keep up with what’s happening with The Shack, hit us up on Facey and Insta. When things open up in Melbourne, get down to a show, chuck a two-step and enjoy the company of people that aren’t sitting on the other end of a computer screen.
Peace!