Interview with Council Grounds

Emerging from a perpetual state of creative discontent and a disregard for conventional success, Council Grounds embarks on a sonic journey aimed at dismantling the tired norms of alternative rock. Their arsenal of drums, bass, and fuzz-laden guitars provides a sturdy foundation, while their impassioned melodies teeter on the edge between dreamy indie-pop and raw post-punk fervor. Lyrically, they spare no punches, delivering a narrative drenched in unfiltered authenticity, capturing the essence of a life that's both aimless and profoundly human amidst the chaos.

Drawing inspiration from a diverse spectrum including Tired Lion, Press Club, Waax, Basement, Violent Soho, Amyl and the Sniffers, Teenage Joans, Green Day, Circa Survive, Paramore, Citizen, and Muskets, Council Grounds weave their influences into a unique tapestry of sound that challenges and captivates listeners in equal measure.

We came across Brisbane band ‘Council Grounds’ a few weeks ago — Thanks to my Spotify Algorithm, and was caught by their first single ‘BOFA’, so we sat down with Darcie (The Bassist, Writer and Vocalist, and Mother Hen of Council Grounds to learn a bit more about the band, and what’s coming up!

Hello Council Grounds, Who do we have here today and where are you writing to us from?

Hello hello! You have me, Darcie - the bassist, writer, vocalist and mother hen of CG writing to you from (sometimes) sunny Brisbane, QLD.

Can you tell us about the inspiration, and or back story behind your latest single, “BOFA”, and the message you aimed to convey through it?

So I’m a home cleaner (don’t tell the ATO lol). I’ve found some types find this perplexing for a bright eyed graduate. The owner of this house I was cleaning once, felt it necessary to repeatedly comment on my choice of degree and vocation. He would brag about his own kids with nursing degrees and jobs lined up post uni. I was going through some hard life events socially and had just graduated with my Bachelor of Fine Arts (Visual Art). I remember sitting around hundreds of graduates feeling chronically misunderstood, lonely, and frankly, like it was all a crock of sh*t. The system forces the youth more and more into tertiary degrees that a lot of us will struggle to find work with, and to pay our debts back afterwards: especially creative folk. BOFA speaks to feeling rejected by both our capitalist society and by the industry I desperately wanted to connect with. Music is my way of healing and processing, so BOFA is about embracing not fitting the mould and reminding myself (and others) that our value is not dictated by the powers that be - it is in fact entirely subjective. Fun fact: BOFA was almost called Cenno Benno!

I know this is a fairly new project, but how long has the band been around for and how did you form?

So the short answer - we technically formed around mid 2022. However, let me entertain you with the long answer! CG began as just myself with my dear mate Paul Klapper (Mimosoid, IDAH) who I’ve been in bands with since I was 17. For 9 months or so it was just us demoing and learning to scream with each other. We took it really slow, we were both jaded by the industry and wanted to make something we genuinely loved. So I wrote the music and lyrics, then Paul made sense of it and brought it to life. Along came our drummer Rileigh in Jan 2023 - he was the only person to respond to my ad in a musicians FB page! We brought in my brother Jack as a second guitarist just before we recorded in Aug 2023. After recording our EP, Paulie made the sad decision to quit guitar because he was simply too good at it and wanted to try his hand at drums. So we made the easiest decision we’ve made and stole Moy from the jazz kids at the con to create a rock n’ roll monster!

How would you describe your music to a new listener?

I mean, yeah we could say it’s alternative rock, grunge, punk and post-punk mostly but I think there’s really strong characteristics of Australian indie with pop sensibilities. I personally see a strong dash of femininity, brought out through lyrics and melody. Suspended somewhere between angry and pretty I think!

Could you describe your creative process when crafting heavily lyrical songs?

I’m a heavily lyrical person, all my mates can tell you; I literally don’t shut up and just wait til I’ve got a few beers in me! I’m also a visual artist who grew up in a very creatively driven family so expressing myself comes naturally to me. I’ve always kept lyric journals and visual diaries with writings scattered throughout.

Sometimes lyrics come first, others, the music. I change up my process chaotically and will always find a way to fit what I want to say into a phrase, even if it’s unconventional. I’ve always loved how PUP (Canada) created space for vocals to shine. Every intricate part of each song supports each other, reflecting the lyrical content to create a bluntly emotive experience.

I see you have some pretty great bands/artists on your 'Very Cool Playlist' like Failure, Hole, Superheaven, The Garden, Ovlov, and Spirit of The Beehive -- would you say these artists influence your sound? ps. I'm a huge fan of all these bands..

I’m so glad you brought this up, I am so obsessed with this playlist! So in my old band The Buzzing Towers, my singer and favourite person ever Zac Roberton (Semantics) created a playlist called Buzzy to share what we were listening to with each other. I still blast this playlist to this day, and I wanted to carry on the tradition for CG. These songs 100% influence our sound in every way, it’s been a great way to explore new and old music together. Sharing music is definitely a love language for me and I’m so stoked someone actually tuned into it!

How do you ensure authenticity and raw expression in your performances and recordings?

I wholeheartedly owe the purity of expression in the recordings to my friend and mentor Callum Robinson (Semantics, Twin Sound Studios). Callum has this natural ability to bring out the most poignant delivery with recording musicians. We spent many delirious hours overnight (with too many wines) during recording, literally just discussing and practicing the vocal delivery in these songs. It’s so important to feel safe and supported when expressing yourself in a vulnerable way such as singing, and no one has brought the best out of my voice like him! As for live performances, we’ve only played a handful of shows and are still establishing our identity on the stage. Every show we are able to achieve more unity, energy, and synergy with each other as a team. The music itself is very vulnerable and deeply personal, so we really are just our goofy selves especially when it comes to the stage banter.

What has been your favourite tour and or show to date?

We just came back from the Fragile Animals ‘Slow Motion Burial’ Album Tour. We played 3 crazy amazing shows in Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney. Fragile Animals have our entire heart - they are literally incredible! My personal favourite Brisbane show would be at Stranded in Fortitude Valley supporting Pornstar Supercar at their ‘Lemonade’ single launch alongside Skip The Pleasantries. It was the first gig I didn’t feel sick with anxiety for, being surrounded by so many of our beautiful friends!

Can you give us some insight into your local music community, and what you are most proud of?

I mean, the Brisbane music scene doesn’t really need much of an introduction - I hear all the time from many different and diverse people that Brisbane has one of the best scenes in Australia. Having been involved for 5 or so years now I couldn’t agree more! We have such a sick network of amazing artists and bands up here and it’s not all just punk and grunge. It was fascinating to mix with the different music communities in different states on tour, each seem to have their quirks. Call me biased, but Brisbane knows how to get amongst it.

Are there any other artists, creatives, bands you want to put forward that our readers should get around?

I could rattle on forever about this, but I’m going to restrict myself to local Australian artists I’ve been keeping up with and flogging on the streaming services. Lets go Sputnik Sweetheart, The Belair Lips Bombs, Radium Dolls, Mini Skirt, Semantics, Verum, Melaleuca, Concrete Surfers, Lucy Francesca Dron, Wayside, Space Flamingo, and Square to name a but a humble few.

What can fans expect from Council Grounds in the near future? I see there's an EP brewing -- can't wait!

Oh boy we absolutely have a 6 track EP that is well brewed and ready to go! We’re planning to release later in the year around August/September, but not before another single to drop before then (top secret)! In the meantime we’re prepping for shows, and writing/demoing new tunes cause we’re back in the studio in July. We don’t mess about, CG’s wrath has only just begun.

Any last words?

We just dropped our sophomore single Tied Down, our punky problem child of the EP. She’s hard, fast and full of complicated angst, self-loathing and guilt! We love it and we think you will too, get across it. Also, thank you for actually reading the length of my rambles!

Cheers, Darcie