New Newcastle Music! Karma Cops release new EP

by Cormack O'Connor on May 5, 2011

Photography often seems to go hand in hand with music, with many band images becoming iconic and speaking many words of the band and the time…

The Karma Cops are a four piece based in Newcastle comprised of Jessica Moxey (Vocals/Guitar), Bradley Abela (Vocals/Guitar), Stephanie Threadgate (Drums) and Alan Whitehead (Bass). I photographed the band around Newcastle and then sat down over dinner with them to discuss their new EP and gigging.

Karma Cops, where did the name come from?

Brad: I liked it because it was a gang sort of name; you know it made it sound like a gang (laughs).

Like Snoop Dogg’s posse?

Brad: Yeah, like Snoop Dogg’s posse (laughs). We didn’t want anything that was too ridiculously serious yet we didn’t want anything that was overly silly either I guess.

Stef: And all the good names were already taken (laughs).

Brad: Yeah Pearl Jam was gone (laughs). I just think there’s a bit of imagery in the name, it’s really cool.

Who are some of your major influences?

Stef: I think everyone has their own influences, personally I have too many.

Alan: I definitely like a heap of heavy music and a lot of Patton (Mike Patton) stuff is good as well; like Faith No More. The bass player from Faith No More is awesome.

Jess: I’ve been influenced by a lot of Aussie Rock, just as in catching Triple J style bands live and I’m a big fan of Jebediah and The Strokes.

Brad: I like a lot of the classic sort of stuff as well as a few bands in the 90’s that I thought brought that back. Al is probably my major influence….. fashion wise (Laughs).

How would you describe your music?

Brad: I think its rock with a bit of intensity, it’s not overly aggressive but it’s kind of melodic and it’s our version of rock. That’s the way I like to think of it.

Stef: I label it as rad cool (laughs).

How did you all meet? How did Alan come to join the band?

Jess: The band came about from Stef and I having a two piece dream. We were jamming and at the time Stef and Brad lived together and Brad was joining in on the jams. We just decided we needed a bass player and that’s when we found Todd who was a friend of mine. He was with us for a while but then he had a kid and moved on and we found Al.

Alan: I’ve known Brad for years and have jammed with him a lot. I also went to a few Karma Cops shows and then when Todd left I got in touch with Brad straight away and hit him up about it because I was living in Sydney and moving back here. I said you know if you’re looking for a bass player I was keen. We just started jamming and then yeah.

What are your favourite venues to perform at and why?

Stef: We all like the Lass. Everyone likes the Lass.

Jess: They’ve been really good to us and it’s a good venue for Newcastle. They’re good for original music, very consistent.

Stef: I like playing the Cambridge too.

Brad: Yeah the Cambridge is good.

Stef: Great sound on stage.

Describe the recording process of the Hazards EP.

Brad: Lots of late nights in Sydney.

Jess: Lots of Sydney missions.

Stef: We did that as a trio.

Brad: Yeah that was before Al.

Stef: Brad took on bass duties for the recording

Brad: Yeah I had to put on a bit of weight and play bass (Laughs).

Did you grow the ginger beard?

Brad: I grew a ginger beard. I don’t know where it came from seen as I don’t have an inkling of ginger in me but it somehow happened (laughs). But yeah we’d start at like 12 and Stef would be driving everyone back at like 4:30 in the morning. It was pretty hectic.

Stef: It was a good experience.

Brad: We ended up doing 8 songs and 1 of them we didn’t put on the EP. But because we did so many songs it was nonstop. We just didn’t stop. But in the end I think we were all pretty happy. We’re all so dedicated to it and we put so much effort in. It came out as we were hoping; you know something that sounded like it wasn’t recorded in a garage.

Jess: It’s good to document songs too. So we can progress and move forward.

What’s everyone’s personal favourite song on the EP?

Stef: It changes from week to week, I love them all. But at the moment I’d probably say Lies. But as I said, week to week.

Alan: Definitely Hazards. It’s a great recording of it.

Jess: Tough one. It would be a toss up between Victim and Night.

Brad: I like Hazards, the energy in its good.

Stef: Alter-Ego too.

Brad: Yeah Alter-Ego I like.

Who is your main song writer/s?

Brad: Jess and I. Pretty much.

Jess: Whoever is singing wrote it really.

Did you do instrumentation and lyrics or lyrics and the instrumentation together?

Brad: Usually as a band we’ll try and figure out what the writer is trying to achieve. But a lot of the time a song can morph when we’re jamming on it and it becomes something totally different to what was intended.

Jess: And usually Brad or myself bring in a skeleton of a song, so to speak.

Stef: Then we flesh it out.

Jess: Stef and Al add their layers on top. Sometimes we give guidance and others it just clicks. It’s pretty organic, we jam the songs in. Rather than Brad and myself having everything nutted out and telling the others what to do. They still have a big influence on the material.

What are the main themes and topics explored on the EP?

Jess: For me it was experiences of my own and people that I know. I just rolled with those things.

Brad: Most of my songs are trying to figure out who you are and identity sort of related stuff that I was going through at the time. That’s what I was focusing on, I guess you could say.

What are your rehearsals like?

Brad: When we are working towards a gig then we are focused on making things as tight and as polished as they can be. I always enjoy the jams when we are being creative, that’s when the magic happens.

Stef: In lead up to the EP it was sit around and have tea or wine and play scrabble and then have a jam.

Brad: It was very informal (laughs).

Stef: It was just hanging out.

Have you had to overcome any problems in the band?

Brad: We’ve had our moments you could say. I think not having a bass player was one big thing that was a problem for a long time. Before Todd joined it was us 3 trying to do as much as we could with the 3 piece. When Todd left we were back to not having a bass player, now that Al’s in its awesome though.

Jess: Finances to fund the EP and travel and accommodation during recording. Somewhere to jam, what songs to record; they’re all problems we’ve had to overcome.

Where do you guys jam at?

Stef: It’s a secret location.

Brad: The bat cave… (laughs).

Stef: We won’t reveal that. We have enough stalkers (laughs).

Brad: Can’t have mum finding out (laughs)

Do you find it hard having two vocalists? Is there a power clash?

Brad: I think there’s constantly a power clash between Jess and I, even now (laughs).

Jess: Its diversity and variety, it’s good.

Brad: Yeah there’s no power clash, Jess and I enjoy each other’s songs. I think we both love the process of adding to each other’s songs. I probably enjoy that more than bringing my own song to the band.

Jess: It’s nice to be able to be a vocalist as well as a guitarist. You know I can forget about singing sometimes and just play some guitar.

What do you want to accomplish?

Stef: World domination (laughs).

Brad: I think we’re always just trying to improve on ourselves. We’re always pushing ourselves individually as musicians but also as a band to try things we haven’t done before.

Jess: And just to keep it fun. Just enjoy each other’s music as well as each other’s company. If we can maintain that any recognition or compliments are just a bonus because we’re doing what we like.

Brad: As far as gigs go we have our own standards. We always want to hit the right marks I guess you could say. Doing the best performance in all aspects that we can really pushes us.

The Karma Cops have gigs coming up at Hamilton Station Hotel on July 7th (with Brisbane band Green Thief) and The Loft (ALL AGES) on July 29th. Check ’em out and while you’re there you can pick up their Hazards EP and a t-shirt.