SNAKADAKTAL
When: March 16–18 (sold out)
Where: Northcote Social Club, 301 High Street, Northcote
Details: northcotesocialclub.com
AS if studying for year 12 isn’t hard enough – spare a thought for the members of hyped Melbourne outfit Snakadaktal. The five musos were in the midst of their exams when they took out 2011’s coveted Triple J Unearthed High competition. The band soon went viral with a lively indie-pop sound that broke onto the airwaves and gathered national acclaim.
“It was a pretty surreal experience,” says singer Sean Kelly. “It didn’t really affect us with our studies or our relationships, because we kind of couldn’t believe it was real.”
It certainly was real. The band has since finished school, released a self-titled EP and kicked off its first national tour at the Melbourne Pushover Festival All Ages show last weekend. It’s a fitting start for a band whose members were too young to walk through the front door of their own gigs until recently.
“We were just so determined to play that we did some crazy things,” Kelly says, recalling the various creative methods the band used to enter venues. Once, Kelly snuck into a club via the bathroom and stood on a toilet cubicle for three hours until it was time to play. Before another show, members of the band were caught shoeless as they scrambled through an open window. “We never want to forget about the legendary Triple J [Unearthed] High years,” Kelly says. “We’ll be 36 one day, and still be known as that high school band.”
They’ve already got wise heads on their shoulders, however, and are looking forward to writing another anticipated EP.
“After the tour we’d like to get down and start hanging out again and writing,” Kelly explains. “We’re definitely a write-before-recording band.”
Kelly describes Snakadaktal’s sound as poppy with a lo-fi edge. “[The record] doesn’t come across as dancey as our performances, which are jumpier and shakier, but we’re okay with that too.”
The entire band is looking forward to Friday night, when it plays the first of three sold-out shows at Northcote Social Club. “We’re from Melbourne, so we feel a lot of pressure to play our best, but at the same time we’re so comfortable there,” Kelly says. “Melbourne gigs are always the best.”
