KICKED-IN BICKIE TIN
Moree, NSW --- a regional country Australian tour, hundreds of Km's away from the closest major city, may have Australia's best kept secret; Kicked-In Bickie Tin. The town, and in particular the Moree Baths and Swimming Pool, are known for being visited by the group of activists on the famous 1965 Freedom Ride, an historic trip through northern NSW led by Charles Perkins to bring media attention to discrimination against Indigenous Australians. Now 40+ odd years later, there’s another reason to keep your eyes peeled on this little regional town.
The fun-loving trio have crafted a sound that lands somewhere in-between Skegss, Hockey Dad and Violent Soho. Starting as a collective of musicians with an open-door policy, KICKED-IN BICKIE TIN have spent several years refining their sound while pioneering their own music scene within their rural hometown of Moree. Without a live music venue in sight, KICKED-IN BICKIE TIN adopt a DIY approach complete with their own PA system and lights, playing anywhere and everywhere they can, from backyards to pubs and sporting clubs throughout their hometown and beyond. The band started from a few people that just wanted to have a jam, and it just grew into something quite cool, says frontman Shaun.
Despite the challenges of being located in a remote area, KICKED-IN BICKIE TIN's determination and passion for music have led them to create a unique identity within the Australian music scene. Their energetic and catchy tunes, infused with surf-rock vibes and a hint of punk attitude, have garnered attention from music enthusiasts and industry professionals alike.
With their highly anticipated follow-up single, "High Again," on the horizon, KICKED-IN BICKIE TIN is poised to make an even greater impact. Produced and mixed by the talented Matt Cochran of Talk Heavy and masterfully mastered by Grammy-nominated Will Yip (Title Fight, Balance & Composure), "High Again" promises to be an infectious weekend anthem that will resonate with audiences worldwide.
The band's upcoming East Coast tour is set to be a thrilling adventure, taking them to captivating cities such as Brisbane, Narrabri, Moree, and Lennox Head. This journey is not only an opportunity for KICKED-IN BICKIE TIN to showcase their new single but also a chance for music lovers to discover the hidden gems of regional Australian talent.
KICKED-IN BICKIE TIN's commitment to their craft and their grassroots approach to music have earned them a dedicated fan base and a reputation for electrifying live performances. Their infectious energy and raw talent have the power to transcend geographical boundaries and bring people together through the universal language of music.
As the band continues to push boundaries and defy the limitations of their rural setting, it's clear that KICKED-IN BICKIE TIN is on a trajectory toward success. Their unwavering determination, combined with their infectious sound and genuine love for what they do, make them a force to be reckoned with in the Australian music scene.
So, keep your eyes and ears open, because KICKED-IN BICKIE TIN is about to unleash their electrifying sound onto the world, and it's something you won't want to miss. Whether you're a fan of indie rock, punk, or just good old-fashioned Australian talent, this band is sure to leave an indelible mark on your musical journey. Get ready to kick off your shoes, dance to their infectious tunes, and join the KICKED-IN BICKIE TIN revolution.
Tour Dates
22nd June
The Brightside, BRISBANE w/ The Splints, Boys at the Back
24th June
Weedy Wonka’s Winter Solstice, CHERRY CREEK
30th June
Tattersalls Hotel, NARRABRI w/ Nuffin Butta
1st July
Amaroo Tavern, MOREE w/ Nuffin Butta, Pity Vincent
22 July
Greaser, BRISBANE w/ The Splints, Nuffin Butta
29 July
Lennox Hotel, LENNOX HEAD w/ TBA
We caught up with Shaun, Zach and John to chat about their latest single, what it was like growing up in their hometown, and the power of local radio, and social media.
SM: Shaun Mills
ZH: Zach Hauser
JF: John Fing
SB: G’day Lads, How’s it going?
SM: Fucking unreal!
JF: Busy with trying to balance work and music life, but in saying that, bloody unreal! There isn’t any other way I’d want things to be.
ZH: Life’s good when you’re above ground.
SB: What's on the cards for today?
SM: Just went to the Amaroo Tavern to grab a roadie, and skated to the band shed, where we’re about to
jam our brains out!
JF: Monday to Friday is your typical blue-collar work week, followed by a cheeky beer or two to unwind. Keen to head down to the band shed as much as possible for a jam to get what will hopefully be your next favourite tune in the works.
ZH: I’d be lying if I said I wasn't working. My job as an electrician can be very demanding. Juggling the
band and work is quite challenging, but the end of a productive day is always rewarding.
SB: Give me Moree in a nutshell
SM: It’s a pretty small but generous town. It’s surrounded by a flat and open landscape. Every morning I wake up to a majestic sunrise and am a big fan of the magnificent sunsets too. I’ve lived here my whole life, and still, to this day I keep meeting such good people. Being such a small town it’s pretty easy to see yourself starting to know everyone. Walking down the main street and having people say “Hey Shaun how are ya?” is something I’ll never get sick of.
JF: Moree is an agricultural town, there isn’t really a great deal here. Almost like a small suburb on the outskirts of a city, but the next ‘suburb’ is half an hour away and only about 500 people live there.
ZH: Hmm, Moree is one of those kinds of places, where no secret is kept preserved. It's as though big brother is listening in on every conversation, but that's living in a small tight-knit community for you. Despite that fact, we're a loving township that supports one another, which is a blessing especially when we’re representing the town in such a special way. Everyone has your back, and I've got theirs.
SB: Top 5 favourite things to do in Moree?
SM: 1. Go out to the Amaroo Tavern for a BEER, it has an old plane parked in the beer garden which is an icon of the hometown.
2. Jam every chance we get, our band shed is basically next to a cotton farm so it’s a pretty nice view.
3. Skate around the nice, semi-smooth roads.
4. I enjoy my job majorly, working at a grain storage facility maintaining the quality of commodities like canola (oils), wheat (bread), malt barley (beer) and chickpea (hommus) until it gets sent out to feed the east coast of Australia
5. Going fishing in my boat.
JF: I don’t think I would have a top 5, the pubs have to get a mention. You can’t beat dropping in on our local for a few cold ones with mates. Love having a jam and a BBQ at our band shed that we’re converted into a bit of a ‘home away from home’. The time spent with the band holds some of my happiest memories. As stressful as it can be at times, I love and cherish every moment with the group.
ZH: * Afternoon beers at the Tavern.
* Enjoying time with my amazing friends and family.
* Grocery shopping being the main social outing of my weekend. (I’m an old soul)
SB: Do you play shows in Moree? If so, where and what's the vibe
SM: We get around. The Amaroo Tavern is fucking sick, our single launch for our debut single at the Post Office Hotel WENT OFF!!, unfortunately, the place is currently closed for renovations. The Services Club can be pretty dead as punters need to be club members to get in, and we occasionally put on shows at our band shed with just our mates, they're the best afternoons.
JF: We play local shows quite regularly, we’ve played in almost every venue in town and a handful of back-yard parties. The general consensus is that it’s not much different to a gig at a local venue in the city. A lot of energy, and great people looking for some good vibes.
ZH: We've cracked two venues in this town. The Amaroo Tavern, and the RSL Club. The Tavern pumps, always see familiar
faces as well as new ones. I'm yet to have a bad time at a show whilst playing at the tavern. The RSL Club on the other hand can be very hit and miss. It’s either feast or famine. I recall one time playing at the RSL club, it being completely dead. We'd stop jamming and didn't get even a single clap. Instead, we got an announcement over the loudspeaker saying "The bar is closing in 30 minutes."
SB: Do you want to see the music community grow there, AKA if bigger bands stopped in?
SM: Shit yeah, we had Thirsty Merc play here one time, and it was super sick! Unfortunately, nothing has really followed but we’re keen to change that! We’re trying to get people motivated (mainly the younger generation) to come out, start bands and do what we’re doing!
JF: 100% That would be tops. It’s basically what we're trying to achieve, to create a music scene in a small town where there isn’t really a scene at all. We've got a couple of great up-and-coming bands making their way to Moree to support us on the upcoming release tour. No superstars yet, but it's a good start. I would love to see more artists in rural areas believing that it is possible to make a name for themselves, play shows in the city and inspire more bands from the bush to give it a go.
ZH: Of course! I’d love nothing more than to see the Moree music scene bounce. There are a lot of music lovers in this town, and it would be incredible to hopefully inspire a new wave of kids to enjoy making music and put Moree on the map.
SB: Tell us about putting High Again together?
SM: We were doing band practice and I was messing around on the guitar. Had been loving the Open E chord so using the same finger structure I sIid my hands up the neck a bit and played another soothing sound. So, with 2 chords we had the start of high again. Everything else from that moment really just fell into line. When the feeling is right the words just flow out of my mouth, and over time the tune starts to work itself out. It was one of the easier songs to write out so far. When you’re on, YOU'RE ON!
JF: Like most of our songs, Shaun comes up with a melody on the guitar and some lyrics. Essentially
creating the core/heart of the song, and then we all get together, adding additional layers, and
jamming it out until we’ve got something we’re all happy with.
ZH: Shaun was very much the mastermind of the track. He wrote the first verse and chorus by himself. Then when we all got together and the foundations of the song were very much built. We made adjustments along the way to improve the structure and lyrics. Then whilst recording, Matty Cochran sprinkled some of his production magic into the mix and boom. High Again was born.
SB: Why Will Yip, We love Will Yip
SM: He’s new to us, and was highly recommended by Matt Cochran (frontman of Talk Heavy) from Birthday Boy Studios. Everything Cochrane has done for us so far has been unreal, so it was a suggestion we were willing to take.
JF: He was recommended to us by Matt Cochran of “Talk Heavy” and one of the masterminds behind
Birthday Boy Studios. Matty has been a massive help over the years, so when he advised Will Yip, we
had to give him a try.
ZH: Will Yip came around through our producer Matt Cochrane from "Talk Heavy". Matt Cochrane is
someone we hold very near and dear to us. To hear him speak so highly of Will was a no-brainer for me. Will has been a game-changer. I say give the man a Grammy!
SB: We heard the song premiered on JJJ, 10 days before the release, how was that for you?
SM: I really have no words for how I feel about that experience. It’s such an unexplainable feeling, and especially it being played before the release is another thing, I just have no words for it. Not only is it huge for us, but it’s also massive for the whole Moree community. There’s a big sense of pride from it. It has really surprised a lot of people, that such a special thing has happened to people from our hometown. We might even be the first band in Moree history to have this happen.
JF: It was a huge surprise, our first release Floor took a long time to get uploaded onto Unearthed so we jumped the gun a bit on uploading High Again out from the release date, and it ended up being processed a lot faster than expected. It was definitely a blessing in disguise with Ash McGregor stumbling across it and premiering it on Good Nights, followed by another couple of spins on triple j.
ZH: Hearing our song played on good nights was absolutely incredible. However, what really got me was while working the following day, I had the Milwaukee radio blasting and just happened to have the J's playing in the background. Then at 10:41 (I remember the time exactly) I hear our song being played across the entire nation, during the daytime! I was so quick to get my phone out and notify friends. I was fan-girling over my own band!
SB: With the tour coming up, what are you more excited about?
SM: I’m not a huge fan of favouriting venues. I think every venue has something special. I’m most excited to let loose and show people how the boys from the country roll. I feel we have some high expectations to meet as we’re playing with some bands that will be hard acts to follow but I’m really thinking we can prove country folk can keep up with the city folk
JF: I’m super excited to get on the road and make some new fans and friends, but I’m most excited about the local shows. "Pity Vincent" and "Nuffin Butta" are making the 6-and-a-half-hour drive down to support us in Moree which is awesome. "Nuffin Butta" are originally from the neighbouring town of Narrabri, so it’s gonna be special playing with them in their hometown for the first time as well. It’s extremely rare for something like this to happen in our neck of the woods
ZH: I mean, I'm extremely excited! The fact we're going on a tour is a massive pinch-me moment. Only real bands go on tour. Mind you, none of this would be possible without our manager. He's pushed us immensely to get us to this point. However, on another note, I'm also extremely nervous. I'm a very anxious character. There will definitely be a few fingernails chewed before shows. My main excitement will be one day telling my kids that their dad was once a shitty rockstar.
SB: What can we expect from the live shows?
SM: You can expect some head banging, really love to get super loose at shows. I believe something happens to you while you’re performing, you’re the same person but with 1000 times the energy. Such a surreal feeling playing shows.
JF: You can expect some good tunes and good times. You might even find your new favourite artist along the way.
ZH: Energy! You can expect energy. Ohh, and Shaun's incredible vocals. He was born with it. I'm so jealous.
SB: What’s the rest of the year hold for you?
SM: I’m expecting a move towards the end of the year. As much as I’d love to stay in Moree, our opportunities are limited here, plus we have at least 4-5 hr drive to music venues where there’s a dedicated scene. We will always be the boys from Moree and come back to play shows, but be based somewhere more suited for music, and with more opportunities.
JF: Big things for Kicked In Bickie Tin! We've got a couple more tunes ready to come off the hot plate so hopefully get some more goods on the table for everyone to enjoy.
ZH: The rest of the year will unveil hard work and dedication. It's not every day this opportunity presents itself, and to maintain what we've already conquered, we must press on, and dare to dream.
SB: Any last words
SM: Is anyone looking for a sick band to play at your venue or party? If so, HIT US UP❤️
JF: Some words of wisdom. Look both ways before crossing the road, never brush your hair when it's wet, never pass up a good opportunity, be kind to each other, and listen to High Again when it comes out on the 9th of June
ZH: Last words, would be a massive thanks! Everyone that's been on the Bickie bandwagon has been that main focal point as to what we do. They're the engine that keeps this band striving. There's nothing more to it.
