I Heart Hiroshima - we reallydo...

Wed 1st Aug, 2007 in Features

Watch out for new kids on the block I Heart Hiroshima who will win the hearts of a legion of new fans as they pop in to your town with their upcoming tours. Susie Patten (that hot chick on the drums) was excited to talk about the new single Punks and new album Tuff Teef.

It’s a busy time in the I Heart Hiroshima camp with an impending album release. “We’ve just got our physical copies of the CD back,” Susie mentioned. “Everything is focused on the release of that I suppose. I can’t wait for it to be released and we’re doing it in a way that we’re pacing ourselves so we don’t get too excited and over the top. The Mint Chicks tour coming up is exciting and we’re pretty much booked up for the rest of the year with touring, which is good. In the mean time I have to work as hard as I can to earn some money so I can eat.”

I Heart Hiroshima are the bees knees and an impending album release is exciting. “It was so exciting,” Susie recalled. “It was just as exciting for Cameron who does all our artwork as well. To see how it turned out is really beautiful and is exactly how we wanted it to come out. Artistic wise we might have a few changes if we re-released it maybe even printing it on matte paper to make it look more natural. I seriously can’t wait to show off to people. At the same time I’m careful not to give it out to anyone before it’s released because doing that is so dangerous these days.”

How about a vinyl release? “I definitely want to,” Susie asserted. “It’s a matter of pushing our label to do so. I don’t care if we didn’t sell any copies of it on vinyl because it is a cool thing to do, maybe we’ll press up one hundred.”

What lies ahead for the band is equally exciting. “There’s so much coming up that I can’t tell you about yet,” Susie revealed. “Things seem to be moving along from a steady pace and really picking up to a sprint. All the hard work doing small shows and small tours as well as being constant with things is starting to pay off. I think this may sound egotistical but I’ve been so sure of this band since we started and I played drums in my room under our house. I was so sure of the songs that we were writing, how easy they were to write and how enjoyable the process was. I always knew that it would workout. I never thought that we were going to be massive but I knew there was going to be some success with the band. Everything we’ve done has been a success and the fact we’ve released three EP’s and a single and now an album all over Australia, to have that opportunity has been amazing.”

The album Tuff Teef was actually meant to have been released last year. “We were hoping to be able to release the album last year,” Susie said. “We already had an album recorded before we were in this band. That was all the way back in October of 2005 and that’s how long we’ve wanted to do an album. We’re excited that it’s all starting to happen for real.”

Recording a debut album usually tests the resilience and resolve of a band. “I was really worried about it,” Susie pointed out. “In the past there’s always been a bit of tension in the room particularly when we recorded last time. It was rushed and I was in a terrible mood, really angry and a little vicious so I wasn’t up for talking or enjoying myself. Even recording the EP we were really tired after coming off a tour and that one ended up being rushed as well. Matt and I were at each other’s throats a bit but now we’ve grown and are very close. Matt and I work so well together now and the process of recording was really good. I don’t we’ve ever been so creative in the studio given we had so many half written songs and we pretty much fixed them and they were three of the best songs on the album in my opinion. Punks was written a week before and finished in the studio, it’s so fresh. Crooked and Crime were similar in that we finished them in the studio.”

The next couple of months are constant touring and promoting the pants off Tuff Teef. “I’m not making any promises of what to expect on this tour,” Susie suggested. “Those guys from The Mint Chicks are crazy so to keep up with them we’ll have to pick up our game. It will be lots of fun I think.”

You can catch I Heart Hiroshima playing the free Fasterlouder Live gig in Brisbane with Tilly and the Wall on Thursday Aug 2 RSVP here and at Splendour in the Grass on the weekend.
Sydney fans can see them for nix at the FasterLouder Live gig at the Gaelic with Mint Chicks, Pink Fits and +46 motherfukkers. RSVP here for free entry.