Viva Le Inches

Tue 24th Oct, 2006 in Features

Manny Bourakis, the riotously outspoken drummer for The Inches, is trying to explain the finer points of hair maintenance. “I am so sick of people telling me I look like that guy [Andrew Seccombe] from Wolfmother!” Surely an up and coming local star would welcome such a comparison to one of Australia’s exports? “See this,” he shouts, pointing to the exploding mass of curls that adorn his head “This is all natural.” Well on the plus side, the embarrassing mix-up has only happened once…  ”...then the other day I walked into SonyBMG offices, and they thought I was [Australian Idol’s] Bobby Flynn!” Ah, the perils of being a shaggy haired rock star.

If anything, Manny, along with his band, have earned the right to dismiss such transparent comparisons. The most original band to come out of Melbourne in a very long time, The Inches are set to blow up clubs countrywide as they embark on their national tour in support of their self-titled EP. “It’s really cool,” pipes up singer Andrew Furze in regards to the artwork, ”...if you spin it around and it becomes one of those optical illusions.” Another reason to rush out and get the CD is definitely the music, this EP containing two singles bombastic singles (Somewhere at the Party, and the new track Dress Like Gods) that are currently receiving airplay on stations like Triple J and FBi.

Sitting in the comfy enclaves of Red Label records, singer Andrew Furze begins to dream up his ultimate touring partner. “Probably Bowie,” he says wistfully “Or Deep Purple, are they still around?” Manny, as has become his nature, is much more candid: “I’d like to tour with The Grates, because I’m in love with Patience [Hodgson]. And The Veronicas, because the younger ‘Veronica’ is hot”. When I inform him that the girls are twins, he seems somewhat taken aback. “Well one had to come out first, didn’t they?” In light of this, Andrew revises his preference to “Ziggy Stardust [Bowie’s famous alter-ego]. Yeh, she’s gorgeous”. 

The Inches attribute their current run of success to their close-knit rock scene in Melbourne. “We know a lot of people in bands,” says keys player Joe Cope “And everybody kind of sticks together”. That being said, the boys ascertain that there is nonetheless “a hell of a lot of rivalry going on down there.” Manny interjects, “There are some very good bands in Melbourne. But there’s an equal amount of terribly shit bands.” Clearly referring to the proliferation of ‘scene’ groups who wear their influences on their sleeve, the boys are generally apathetic towards bad music. “Luke [Bolton – the bass player]’s Dad has like, the best record collection, ever. So we’ve been brought up well,” chuckles Andrew.

And what of their latest single, Dress Like Gods, a mammoth of a track which incorporates T.Rex swagger with some seriously whacked out organ bashing -reminiscent of the aforementioned Wolfmother. “Well, it’s not like we got together and said ‘Ooh, this is the sound we want to rip off!’” Andrew explains, “It’s sort of like an extended jam. Many of our songs come out of us jamming and saying ‘Hey that sounds good, let’s use that!’” It also seems to be subversively political. “There’s that one line which says ‘One hand to build the castle, one hand to blow it up’ that is a sort of covert comment about Iraq”, says Andrew “But we’re not openly political. I personally don’t believe in using music as a mouthpiece for ideology bashing.”

Despite their relative infancy as a band, the Inches have been involved in some pretty serious musical endeavours. They supported Love Outside Andromeda on their national tour, managed to get themselves signed without even playing a single show, and managed to pinch the beer from Shannon Noll’s rider at a SonyBMG conference! Manny is incredulous towards my surprised reaction “Haven’t you ever done it?” he exclaims “It’s so damn easy…” Joe interjects “It was Cascade [Light beer] anyway, and we don’t really like Cascade”. Manny takes the opportunity to formally announce that he hates that brand of beer. “But I drank it anyway” he grins cheekily, “Simply because it was Shannon Noll’s.” Rock’n’roll naughtiness – check.

Tonight at Candy’s Apartment, the floor is absolutely packed as hot young things and label bigwigs come to check out what the buzz is all about. The Inches play an absolutely killer set, oozing sex and sweat, ripping through their EP and a couple more in just over half an hour. Their self-appointed manager Jamie looks nervous “They’re playing very fast,” he says, in his hybrid accent “But I think they still look good, yes?” I nod in agreement, while the crowd dance around to Space Truckin’, another track, which in this author’s humble opinion, also deserves single release. After their set, the boys take customary shots of tequila and walk out to meet their fans. It is this kind of connection with their audience which will ensure the longevity of the group. Luke, the towering, chiseled bass player who remained silent for most of the interview, is now more than happy to praise Candy’s and Sydney audiences alike. “This was a great show!” he smiles, flustered, but content “We are definitely coming back here!” A shirtless Manny agrees, as do the crowd, who scream uproariously as the band exit the stage.  

So where to from here? The Inches will finish their tour and then head into the studio to begin recording their debut album, hopefully due for release sometime in Autumn 2007. “We’ve got a lot more tracks which are half-done,” explains Joe “But we just need some more time in the studio to get them together”. In the meantime, it’s back to buying 60s jackets off Ebay, drinking coffees in uber-trendy Victorian suburbs and, of course, stealing beverages from Australian idols. Who knows, maybe Shannon will invite them to tour with him one day. In the famous words of Napoleon Dynamite, these boys definitely have “the skills”. Rock on.

The Inches self titled EP is out now through the Red Label