A Quick Chat with The RSA'S

Tell us a little bit about the recording process for your EP 'Bottle Shop' engineered and mixed by Declan White (Ocean Grove, Belle Haven, King River Rising)?

We tracked the bare bones of 8 songs live in my lounge room within a day, and did 3-5 performances of each song, which were later on made into composite tracks if needed (best takes of everything). I can still remember feeling absolutely exhausted at the end of that day, but couldn’t be more stoked with the end product. Declan (basically our fifth member, also shoots and edits our music videos and other various content) has some of the best quality equipment and worked on his craft for years with established acts, we made our plan of attack clear to him and everything was such a breeze. We spent another day recording vocals, then a few more days for additional guitar, keyboards and backing vocals. In between days, some of us were at our jobs, responsibly serving alcohol as well.

We're looking forward to your upcoming gig at The Gem in Collingwood on June 1st, what can we expect from the live show?

An unrelenting, high energy that we can all expend through the songs we’ve put together about working in a bottle o. And lots of jokes! Aaron Gocs is going to be emceeing and performing, and if that’s not enough to get you laughing, Fuzzsucker will pile in, and then we’ll  have all sorts of stories about silly customers and what have you. Also, expect responsible service and consumption of alcohol, as our namesake suggests, and paying $0 to enter the show. How good is that!

If the RSA's could time travel to any era in music history to perform a concert, when and where would you go?

I think Woodstock ‘99, right after Limp Bizkit. Because if the kids are going to ‘Break Stuff’, just ensure they let a staff member know that a bottle or something has smashed so it’s not a hazard. Maybe our message of responsible service could’ve helped save an entire generation!

If your band's music could be the soundtrack to any film or tv series, which would it be?

Black Mirror and Mr In-Between seem like fairly appropriate fits, but I’ve always thought Toby’s descending keyboard melodies in ‘Can’t Claim It On Tax’ and ‘Got Any Out The Back?’ help those particular songs achieve some sort of darker New Order type 80s post-punk vibe, so maybe Stranger Things? The main cast in that series from memory don’t consume a great deal of alcohol due to their age, so our duty as a band would be relatively easy. If we’re talking movies, maybe Clerks just for the retail aspect? 

If you could bring back any musician from the dead who would it be?

Kurt seems like a pretty easy answer if I’m thinking of someone that comes to my head first. Nirvana obviously aren’t for everyone and I guess you could argue whether Dave Grohl would’ve even started the Foo Fighters had he stayed alive, but Kurt did so much for the grunge movement and gave the kids of that day a sense of belonging. However, Nirvana barely drank alcohol responsibly and I think we’d most likely bar them from service.

What was the last gig you went to?

Not quite the most recent one for me but definitely the biggest and most memorable was Queens of the Stone Age at Sidney Myer Music Bowl this year. Michael and I purchased lawn tickets and were stunned to see that either we had been randomly upgraded or accidentally handed stall wristbands, and I was standing 5 metres from Josh Homme and co. for a solid two hours. It could’ve also been Cog at the Northcote Theatre with my Dad, but I had to give away my ticket due to being in my fifth day of chemotherapy, and trust me, not even incredible live music would’ve been enjoyable during that period

What's on the horizon for The RSA'S, what else do you have planned for the rest of 2024?

We’ll be serving alcohol responsibly, and hopefully playing some more shows in and out of Melbourne to promote the Bottle Shop EP! Possibly during winter and in the last third of the year when half the band get back from their overseas journeys. And in between all of that, writing and recording for a second EP. Hey also, if you legends happen to know that upcoming Taylor Swift gal, we’d love for her to sing a few verses on a song or two in the future.