The line of beauty
Integrity
as a musician not as a surfer is what drives one member of the
acclaimed three-piece The Beautiful Girls. Bruce Braybrooke drummer
and self confessed, err… musician can’t surf and is
purely interested in the music his band makes above and beyond
the lifestyle that their music might have once represented.
“I think The Beautiful Girls for a while there
got caught up in being a lifestyle band and people would ask questions
that really had nothing to do with the music. People would be
asking questions to Matt (lead singer and song writer) like ‘do
you write songs’ or get inspired when you’re sitting
on your surfboard? No, you write songs when you’re at your
guitar,” an exasperated tinge to his voice.
There have a been a few assemblies of The Beautiful
Girls since they launched to stardom with the 2002 release Morning
Sun. Their early releases earning them the label of a blues
and roots - surf band, but today the formation of the band still
headed up by Matt McHugh lead singer and constant member sees
them fighting to establish themselves as a rock influenced act.
They have been grappling with losing that label
since well before the completion of their third album Ziggurats
an album that delivered a much rockier sentiment reminiscent of
The Police and Australian Crawl era of music according to Braybrooke
it had been happening well before it’s release.
“If you listen to the next album after Learn
Yourself we’d already gone into electric guitar and looking
at all three albums there is actually a method to the madness,
a gradual sort of progression or a drastic sort of progression
as it may be from album to album.
“Matt just likes to do what he likes to do
and as a musician you get bored sitting in one place writing the
same thing and that is how you remain true to yourself is playing
what you want to play.” He said.
They’re still able to fit the mould of the
blues n roots band though when it suits. Coming up is a national
tour supporting The Cat Empire and along for the ride will be
Blue King Brown but it’s their ability to switch styles
that has Bruce marveling at the moment.
He cites the fact that the band members of all three
bands are great mates and that is probably what is informing this
tour this time around and breaking down the expectations of the
fans is another aspect or challenge facing the band.
“Its
amazing and I’ve been reading the reviews and they write
about the new album being electric they’ve really got in
their mind set on that and once something gets in your mind when
a band hits it big it’s hard to let go of,” Bruce
considers.
“We played a festival in Busselton WA (Southbound)
it was a really mellow set and we were playing with the Waifs
and Angus and Julia (Stone). You can just tell they think of us
as acoustic and we can play our acoustic tracks there and they
love it but then we can play our other stuff at big festivals
and it gives us diversity, I like it,” say’s Bruce.
That’s on the national front but things are
looking just as diverse and prosperous overseas for the band too.
“Right now we’re getting really popular
in Germany and America one good thing is we’ve toured there
about nine or ten times now and we’re building up a following
there.
“We can be less popular in some places but
I can tell you the thing (The Beautiful Girls) seems to be growing,”
he says.
One nation who appears to have clung hard though
to the band’s original surf label is Japan. Bruce reflects
on The Beautiful Girls phenomenon over there as struggling because
they’ve changed the music and their sound yet the band remains
the same name.
“They are hung up on what it used to be, they
like to pigeon hole over there and so The Beautiful girls are
three Australian surfers guys and the whole image is really strong
for them and represents freedom. But it’s been interesting
to watch as we’ve changed the people and changed the music
especially the music it’s been hard to market us over there
as we keep changing,” he adds.
But for the fans amongst us who hope for a return
to their ‘original’ canvassed sound made famous with
Learn Yourself , Bruce is nonchalant about whether this will happen.
“Obviously it would make people happy but
that is really what selling out is even if they are his songs
when he gets in the mood for it he’ll probably do it,”
Bruce states.
So for now The Beautiful Girls will remain on it’s
rock journey and many other journeys will be ahead for the band
members. The fact that they are a band separated by distance -
Paulie B (bassist) lives in Brisbane and Bruce is contemplating
a serious move to the hinterland of the Gold Coast - won’t
impact on their rehearsing schedule too much because, put simply,
they don’t have one.
“We probably get together once or twice a
year for a total of three days and rehearse then but once you’ve
learnt the songs and can play them then you don’t really
need to rehearse anymore.
“Hopefully we’re going to do a new album
in the next few months so we’ll rehearse for a week or two
when we’re doing it,” he ponders.
Bruce’s revelation on the fact they don’t
rehearse leads me to draw the conclusion the band remain very
much, three laid back guys who might not all surf but who have
a relaxed approach to the music they make.
You can see The Beautiful Girls perform alongside
The Cat Empire and Blue King Brown nationally. Visit www.thebeautifulgirls.com
for more details.
Ruth Bailey
