There are two things the live music scene loves: candy and large musical troupes with music more camp than a row of tents. Cuthbert and the Nightwalkers ticked both boxes when they arrived with the song ‘Red Frogs’ and their happy-go-lucky pop music.
The band appreciates the need to distance themselves from the norm, and recently they’ve taken to costuming for their Halloween shows.
“I think with the dress up thing, we like to keep things interesting for the audience. Playing a show in Sydney is all about how many people you can pull, so when you do something else it makes it a little easier to advertise or get people to come. The Halloween thing was perfect, we love to dress up and all the crowd were in costumes, it was part of the whole night.”
Their larger-than-life methods have earned them a reputation as Sydney’s most enthusiastic, and well dressed, act. Characteristics that shall be flying high when they play a show with Deep Sea Arcade.
“That’s going to be another show where everyone will be dressed up and crazy. Our music is about making a show an experience, the music is always a big part of it but there’s so much out there you need to do something to stand out. The best audiences get bored so you need to do something to keep them entertained.”
After that, the band will support crazy French lady Soko as she scoots around the country. Her quiet and eerie style will meet the loud and brash Nightwalkers.
“Yeah I think it’ll be good though. Even though we’re loud, I think we might fit together, play a few of our quiet ones at the end.”
The band also has its sights set on a drunken time at Peats Ridge, with plans to emulate a particularly bizarre experience last time they visited.
“Two years ago we played a slot and it was the most debaucherous three days of our whole lives, it was amazing, we spent New Years watching Bohemian Love Theatre, there was twenty of us, and each night the band would pass around toothbrushes with toothpaste and they would tell us to brush our teeth, then they brought around water and we spat out, then he said ‘OK, on my count everybody pash!’ It was awesome, so much kissing going on.”
Cuthbert and the Nightwalkers have come along way from pashing for the thrill of it. They’ve pulled up their collective socks and are ready for a big 2009.
“Yeah, we’ll be writing next year, and playing live, working out what we like and don’t like. We’ve written a lot of songs we don’t play anymore, we’re trying to find out what our sound is. The band has changed a lot, its not really choir based anymore, it used to be a band of 11, with five girls singing in unison, now its six or seven and everyone is doing something.”
While the band goes sound-searching in the greater universe of noise, you can check them out at the Reaction Festival in Newtown to help fight poverty. Good music, great cause and definitely a sausage sizzle,and not to mention the full on psychedelic sense assualt that is Adventure Club on Dec 26, Melt Bar Kings Cross 9am $10
