A Quick Chat With Talk Heavy

Comprising of Matt Cochran (Vocals/Guitar), Patrick Shipp (Guitar), Tayla Ellerby (Bass) and Beej Vaughan on drums Talk Heavy is the revitalised project of beloved Brisbane band WALKEN, seeing the trio become a quartet and discover a sonic evolution.

Can you tell me a bit about your latest single ‘Hoping The Middle’?

Matt: Yeah sure. Hoping The Middle is an angsty and energetic little number that we thought would be a good fit as our first single release. It was originally penned during the lockdown periods in 2020 where I felt pretty defeated by life. It seemed easiest to try disassociating from what was happening in the world at large; like if I cruised in the middle, not focusing on positives or negatives, then I’d make it through.

We eventually recorded it at my home studio Birthday Boy, where I engineered, produced and mixed the track. And thankfully it seems like things turned out pretty alright.

If you guys could tour anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Matt: Considering I’ve never left Australia, I’d be happy with just about anywhere overseas.

Pat: Probably Japan, it seems like a really busy and interesting place, and they love live music there. The UK would be really cool too, I’d love to play some weird little shire pubs.
Tayla: I would love to tour Japan. I really enjoy the culture and the food!
Matt: Alright, it looks like we’re touring Japan then haha.

What has been your favourite memory together as a band?
Matt: Damn, everything is still so fresh at the moment, it’s kind of hard to say. But I guess, my favourite memory would be our last-minute triumphant set at the 1985 Live Aid……we ARE the band Queen, right?!?
Pat: Yeah sure, why not.

How did you come up with the band name ‘Talk Heavy’? 

Pat: I came up with the name TALK ORGY as far superior way of saying “group chat”. But I guess it was too rock and roll for everyone. Matt added the “Heavy” and I think we just kept referring to the new project as Talk Heavy as a place holder name but it eventually just stuck.

Matt: Yeah, I remember Patty saying the phrase ‘Talk Orgy’ in relation to a Facebook group chat we have with some of our friends. I remember thinking “wow that’s kind of a cool band name”. But then Beej and I thought “it’s cool but it sounds more like a metal or industrial band name” …I’m sure some band that’s way cooler than we are could easily pull off Talk Orgy, but we can’t haha. Then I eventually I hit on ‘Talk Heavy’ and thought that was a great name in reference to talking about difficult subjects like conversing about mental health, trauma and all things emotionally “heavy”. Then that name just kind of stuck.

How did you meet each other?

Pat: Me, Matt and Beej all met in the Brisbane music scene in all our old bands, just playing gigs together at venues that are long dead now. And obviously from that we did WALKEN for the last few years, and now Talk Heavy. I believe Matt made Tayla in a lab or something I’m not sure……
Tayla: Nah, I unfortunately worked with Matt at Telstra. Fast forward 9 years and we were talking late in the valley after a show - his band needed a bassist, and I was doing nothing special.

If you could have any three people over for dinner, dead or alive, who would they be and why?

Matt: This is always such a hard question to answer, but I guess my first instincts would be to pick Tom Delonge, Michael Jordan and Rodney Mullen.
Pat: Matt, Beej and Tayla. All of them dead.
Matt: Oh no hahaha.

Who are your biggest influences? 

Matt: I think we all love HEAPS of different music, matter of fact we have a massive 100 song influences playlist on our Spotify page if you’re THAT interested

But in terms of writing our own music, I’d say it draws heavily from bands like Motion City Soundtrack, Blink-182, PUP, Jeff Rosenstock, Rozwell Kid, Dinosaur Pile-Up, Cloud Nothings, Violent Soho, Modern Baseball, Title Fight, Sunny Day Real Estate, Harvey Danger, Touche Amore, Crash Of Rhinos, etc.Alongside the above writing influences, some of my other all-time favourite artists are WHY?, Jamie T, Ween, Bright Eyes/Conor Oberst, Smashing Pumpkins, Fucked Up, My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, AJJ, A Tribe Called Quest, The Killers, Pavement, Arcade Fire and loads more.

What’s one interesting fact that people might not know about each of you?
Matt: For show & tell one time, I made my Grade 3 class listen to Stone Cold Steve Austin’s entrance theme music from a WWE compilation CD that I got for my birthday.

Pat: I can’t pronounce the word “infuriating” in person, and it’s really……well......I’m mad.

Tayla: I’m a published author. I was a finalist in a story writing competition when I was 11, the short story I wrote was then published in a collection with other short stories.
Matt: Casual flex.

What’s next for Talk Heavy?

Pat: Playing a WALKEN song for “Like a Version”
Matt: Hahaha, ah man, that’s kind of genius. But yeah, we’re just planning to release a bunch of music this year – our debut single ‘Hoping The Middle’ is out now and the follow-up single won’t be too far behind. Then we’ve got an EP, then maybe some other singles, then an album and hopefully a bunch of shows and yeah, the train is just leaving the station, really.