Drew Gardner - Totally Unicorn 'Sorry, Not Sorry'
We recently caught up with Totally Unicorn’s frontman Drew Gardner to get the lowdown on their upcoming album release Sorry and their nationwide tour next month! Drew also assured us that even though they're adopting a back-to-basics approach to songwriting on this new album, these Sydney boys will always be crazy and their shows will always be a fun time.
Drew, are you keen to get this album out and play it to the world already?
Very much so! We’ve been sitting on it for a while now, and it’s been a long time since we’ve released anything new, but we are very very very keen to get this one out.
Your single ‘I’ll Be Fine Now' is definitely a side of the band we haven’t seen before. What was the process like in creating a song like that?
Yeah, I guess with that one it was one of the last songs we wrote for the album. Aaron and I were playing with a bunch of riffs, and we were fucking around with them while in the studio. We kind of just wrote it in there, I had no lyrics or anything at all. So just before the night we recorded it, I just wrote a couple of lines down and the rest was kinda just improvising in the studio the following day.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCGOF_DPweE&w=640&h=360]
So is that how you like to write most of your songs, by improvising?
I never have before, but with this album I did it a fair bit! I had a fair few lines that I’d written and a gist of what it was about and then, kinda just felt for it and improvised from there.
Do you prefer improvising in the studio or songwriting prior to going into the studio?
Both are completely fucking different, but the way I was feeling and how some of those songs went, improv was a pretty cool fucking way to go, I reckon.
You recently played a show in Sydney on the back of a truck (see video below) to launch the next album, Sorry. How did that show go? That must have been a sick experience.
It was amazing. Basically it was a guerilla style gig, where we hired a truck, some equipment and put out a Facebook post like a few days before, telling everyone to meet us in a certain spot in Marrickville, NSW and just pulled up the truck and played.
On the day though it was fucking pouring down, so it kept stopping and starting rain throughout the day. We were like “Fuck! What are we gonna do?” We had to hold off like half an hour overtime, but apparently it was a good thing though because there were like 5 cop cars waiting for us before we got there. But they’d already left before because they thought we weren’t going ahead with it. There was over 100 people there in the rain for us, it was so cool. Considering the weather though, it was still great.
I'm putting you on the spot here, but what would be the ultimate location that Totally Unicorn would love to play?
I’ve never thought about this before, wow, but it’d have to be some kinda island I guess. Not like the Fyre Festival though. Actually, I’d have to say probably at home so everyone could come to me, that’d be cool. But I’m not cleaning up, the others will!
Are you stoked to go on tour next month to celebrate Sorry finally being released?
So excited to play new material to people and see how it goes. We’ve played a couple of shows already, like Farmer and the Owl Festival, playing the new songs that people were more stoked than anything we’ve ever done before, they were singing along and shit. we were just stoked to see people singing along and digging the new material, so I'm very keen to get out on the road and play, especially with ARSE supporting as well, who are a fucking amazing band. We’re also keen to play with NoLA as well, who we played with in Japan last time we were there.
Well, thanks for your time today, Drew, and all the best with Sorry and the tour next month!
Thanks mate!
Interview by Tamara May (@citylightsTAM)
Sorry is released April 12th via Farmer and the Owl. Pre-Order here
The Sorry Album Tour kicks off April 21st.
Totally Unicorn - Sorry Album Tour
Sunday April 21st*
Hamilton Station Hotel, Newcastle
Free Entry
Friday April 26th, Crown and Anchor, Adelaide
w/ Arse, Tiersman
Tickets here
Saturday April 27th, The Tote, Melbourne
w/ Arse, Würst Nürse, NoLA (Japan)
Tickets here
Sunday April 28th, The Brisbane Hotel, Hobart
w/ Arse, Lake Myer
Tickets here
Friday May 3rd, Crowbar, Brisbane
w/ Arse, NoLA (Japan), Being Jane Lane
Tickets here
Saturday May 4th, Crowbar, Sydney
w/ Pagan, Arse, Blind Girls, Tanned Christ, NoLA (Japan)
Tickets here
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc5xTFVcMjo&w=853&h=480]
