Q&A: Hockey Dad Dials Up the Professionalism (and the Party) for Austin Show
STEP INTO THE VIBRANT WORLD OF HOCKEY DAD as we sit down with Zach Stephenson and Billy Flemming, the creative forces driving the Australian surf rock sensation. Fueled by the buzz surrounding their latest singles, and the energy of tour so far, Hockey Dad invites us behind the scenes to delve into their musical journey and upcoming projects.
Fresh off the release of their new single, "Base Camp," Hockey Dad are keeping the energy high for their current US tour. Prior to the Austin show at Empire Control Room, Hockey Dad shares insights into their evolving sound and the creative process behind their highly anticipated new album, set to make waves this summer.
The Austin crowd couldn't stay still, dancing and singing along to every lyric, both new and old. It was clear the band was feeding off the audience's enthusiasm, delivering a performance that was both powerful and fun.
From the shores of Australia to stages around the globe, Zach and Billy open up about their shared passion for music and the inspirations fueling their dynamic performances. Catch Hockey Dad on their upcoming tour and read below to learn more about life on the tour, their upcoming album and more.
LUNA: Welcome to Austin! How has the tour been going so far?
HOCKEY DAD: It's been really fun. We were here in September last year but even in that small amount of time, I feel like the shows have just gotten that much better.
LUNA: What have you kind of learned from the last time you were here and the last tour versus this tour?
HOCKEY DAD: I feel like maybe we're becoming a little bit more professional. Last year we were just driving in a van and now we have the tour bus. The Sprinter vans can get a bit crazy and just checking in and checking out hotels every night kind of drains you. It's nice just jumping on here and falling asleep.
LUNA: So far what's been your favorite city or venue to play?
HOCKEY DAD: I think like San Diego was fun because that was just a festival. We were hanging with a few other bands we know which was nice. San Diego is always fun to play live in. However, we're heading into Florida and I’m excited for that because it's just crazy. America itself is so different to home. Such a culture shock.
LUNA: You just had a new single out, so what's been the fan response to the newer music?
HOCKEY DAD: Really good. We were saying the other day how it has been some of the best responses so far. Mainly the new single that we put out a few months ago. That's been getting received really well. We're a little bit anxious, but both have been getting really great reactions live.
LUNA: What can we expect for the album? How can we compare what we've heard so far? Is there a common theme narrative?
HOCKEY DAD: I guess the album is a little bit cleaner. One half of the record is like “Still Have Room” and the other like “Basecamp”. So I'd say those two kind of sit right in the middle of either side of like really record.
LUNA: I really like the visual side to it all that we've seen so far. What relationship does the visual side have with your music when you’re planning it all out?
HOCKEY DAD: This time around, we kind of tried to flip everything on its head. So even when we were doing the music, we'd usually write the music first - just the lyrics are an afterthought. This time Zach's writing lyrics, figuring out the concept first, and then we just add music to that. So doing that backward has been good. Same thing with the creative side.
I think we made an effort to communicate and figure out what we want to do. We did two music videos in two days so that approach worked!
LUNA: So what's left for the album in terms of visuals?
HOCKEY DAD: I think we'll probably see at least one more video. We'll probably try to get one when the record comes out. We’ve got to film a video as soon as we get home. I think it'd be nice to get another one out once the record is out to continue the storyline.
LUNA: What intentions do you guys have for the upcoming months?
HOCKEY DAD: Touring! We've got a really big tour lined up at home so that's gonna be a pretty massive bucket list venue kind of thing. Then we'll obviously be working on just coming straight back to the US as quickly as we can.
