Teskey Brothers on music, touring and gargoyles

After a whirlwind international tour you came back to your home town of Melbourne to play The Forum – your biggest audience for a solo concert. Can you describe that moment and how you felt to be back in Melbourne?

The Forum theatre has always been one of my dream venues to play, it was a real milestone for us. I grew up going to see big international bands play there. The vibe was amazing from the stage, looking up at the fresco ceiling over the crowd whilst being looked down on by the gothic gargoyles as we played! I could feel a buzz of energy coming from the home crowd of friends, family and fans, not to mention the sound coming out of one of the most powerful sound systems we’ve played through!

Your sound has been described as Motown, 60s American Blues and Soul – what attracts four boys growing up in Warrandyte - during an era of hip hop, DJs and rock - to that music?

I think our parents record collections gave us a window into a wide spectrum of music from the 60’s and 70’s. My mother was part of a record club as a teenager and would send away for obscure records from the UK and USA, it didn’t seem strange to be listening to that stuff when I was a kid. We also had great choice of TV and radio pumping out contemporary music to listen to which hopefully gave us a well balanced diet of new and old music.

Melbourne Music Week is coming up November 16  - 24 – there will be the usual line up of diverse music in interesting spaces. When people ask you about Melbourne’s music scene, how do you describe it?

I like to boast about the Melbourne music scene to anyone that will listen. Growing up, we would go and see music around the city and surrounds on any given night of the week. There are so many bars, pubs and clubs in Melbourne that have live music across many different genres every night. I haven’t been to any city that rivals the Melbourne music scene. The diversity and quality of music in Melbourne is a force to be reckoned with!

What are some of the things you most miss about Melbourne, and the Yarra Valley region, when you’re away?

I think we are really lucky in Victoria to have such amazing quality produce and diversity in cuisine, I get really excited about trying new restaurants as they pop up. I love to getaway for the weekend to Castlemaine/Daylesford or the Yarra valley and sometimes even the Otways. There a so many cute Airbnb’s popping up, along with farmers markets, boutique wineries and restaurants that make for the perfect weekend getaway to help switch off after a busy period of touring!

Regional music events are having quite a renaissance at the moment with Melburnians snapping up tickets to see their favourite bands in places like Castlemaine, Ballarat and Bendigo – as well as all the great festivals. Are you planning any regional gigs? What’s next for The Teskey

Yes, the Victorian festival scene is booming. Every year new festivals are emerging, rural festivals such as Meredith have lead the way in setting the trend of high quality camping music festivals. We are exited to be playing at Lost Lands Festival at Werribee Mansion on November 4th and the Halls Gap hotel on December 2nd, whilst we are in the studio working on our next album!

Victoria's own Teskey Brothers have completed a whirlwind international tour, but as far as drummer Liam Gough is concerned, nothing compares to Melbourne's music scene.

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