Vaudeville Smash Laura Interview

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Vaudeville Smash Laura Interview

The explosive Vaudeville Smash have today announced their irresistible new single Laura, about a wild, untamed man-eater – and the men who welcome the imminent heartbreak – out August 12 . The enigmatic group have also announced the silky video for Laura that is sure to make your heart race and your senses reel... Laura is the first taste of The Gift, the brand new album from Vaudeville Smash, to be released on August 26. To celebrate, the band will be hitting the road in August and September on a monster national tour, kicking off at the Townsville Cultural Fest on August 19-21, then moving through Brisbane, Noosa, Brunswick Heads, Adelaide, Melbourne and finishing up at The Oxford Circus in Sydney on October 1.

Peppered with staccato flute and held down by an unshakeable rhythm section, Laura is a percussive, pop/funk masterpiece – something we have come to expect from Vaudeville Smash. Lush, sprawling, yet characterised by a conciseness that only the most skilled musicians can master, Laura is completely and utterly tantalising - just like its namesake. Of the track, Marc Lucchesi (lead vocals/saxophone/ flute) says, 'Laura is fictional, but is inspired by all the men (or women) who have been eaten up and spat out. It's a musical journey: flute, synth, slap bass, funk, horns, falsetto. It's got plenty of hooks but a really interesting song structure – it doesn't follow your usual verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus vibe. We love the fact that it's so different."

Directed by Chris Mitchell of Floating World Films (Hopium, Sex on Toast) and starring dancer Shivawn Joubert as Laura, the clip is set in a smokey nightclub and features the band performing live alongside Joubert. The group plays and Laura dances and writhes, all in order to impress the Cruella Deville-esque nightclub owner and her partner -Riki Pedia'. Of the video, Lucchesi enthuses, 'We've made quite a few videos, but have yet to make one of us playing live. It's dynamic, looks beautiful, and really shows everyone what we are as a band."

Self-produced and mixed by John Castle (Megan Washington, Vance Joy, The Bamboos), Vaudeville Smash's new album The Gift really is just that - a synth heavy, sax-laden, bass induced gift. The album is a contemporary reworking of the early 80s funk/boogie scene and evokes visions of Cameo, Midnight Star and The Gap Band and encompasses almost two years of writing, recording and touring. Thrilled to be releasing the new songs into the world, Lucchesi says, 'We wanted the album to be fun and exciting. We wanted to take people on a journey from the frantic, pumping beat of Laura, to the slow jam of Driving Me Wild. From heartfelt to silly! Some songs are inspired by actual events, while others talk of Drunken Cowgirls… All of the songs, even those fictional, are born of the different experiences life chucks at you."

With over four million views on their video for Zinedine Zidane, there's no question that fans will turn out for the national tour to celebrate The Gift. With countless international shows under their belt, the band are an experienced, eclectic machine, with an inexaustable reservoir of passion and energy. Excited to be bringing the new album to the fans, Lucchesi says, 'Our live show has been slowly crafted into something I'm extremely proud of and confident with. Each member has his own 'gift' and offers something really unique. Someone that hasn't seen us can expect to go crazy, dance like an absolute lunatic and be lifted by the energy of an explosive band and the smiling crowd around them."

Vaudeville Smash is Marc Lucchesi, Dan Lucchesi, Luca Lucchesi, James Bowers and Marty Lubran.

Stream single: LAURA
Watch the video: LAURA
Stream album: THE GIFT

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Interview with Marc Lucchesi

Question: How would you describe your music?

Marc Lucchesi: A raucous journey down the synth and sax-laden highway that divides funk and disco.

Question: What inspired the new single Laura, (listen here)?

Marc Lucchesi: Laura is fictional but is inspired by all the men (or women) who have been eaten up and spat out. Musically, i guess you could say it's a little Miami Sound Machine, a little Earth Wind and Fire and a little Doobie Brothers. A good mix if you ask me!

Question: Can you tell us about filming the video clip (watch here)?

Marc Lucchesi: It was extremely stressful and extremely tiring. Our director Chris Mitchell had to fit a ton of filming into a very small time window and heaps of things went wrong. The joys of being an indie band! It was still fun but 50 takes of us going nuts meant we were all sore for a week.

Question: What can we expect from the upcoming tour?

Marc Lucchesi: Funk, Fun and new Fans.

Question: Did you have any pre-conceived ideas about the music industry?

Marc Lucchesi: I've been smack bang in the thing for about 17 years so any pre-conceived ideas I may have had have been long forgotten!

Question: Do you write your own songs? What's your inspiration?

Marc Lucchesi: We do. Anything and everything inspires us. We borrow pretty heavily from the funk/disco bands of the late 70s and early 80s but everything we listen to soaks in. Lyrically... sex, love, growing up, zombies, drunken cowgirls...

Question: What music/artists do you listen to when you are not playing your own?

Marc Lucchesi: Michael Jackson, Todd Rundgren, James Taylor and Bony M are staples but we like chucking on MTV and listening to what's happening out there right now.

Question: What's next? Tour/Album/Single?

Marc Lucchesi: We've got a couple more shows until the end of the tour but one is the hometown launch in Melbourne. It's gonna be huge! Then I go to Tuscany for a month and get my nonna to cook me ravioli.

Question: Was there a moment you contemplated throwing in the towel?

Marc Lucchesi: Every time I listen back to a live show... jokes! We basically said that if our song Zinedine Zidane didn't do well we would chuck it in. We invested quite a lot of money and effort in it. It did well so here we still are.

Question: Do you prefer performing live or recording?

Marc Lucchesi: Definitely performing live. The rush of a live show and seeing people dig your stuff is why I, personally, still do it.

Question: What/who was your inspiration to go into the music industry?

Marc Lucchesi: Probably Michael Chugg.

Question: What is the biggest challenge you have faced along the way to your musical success?

Marc Lucchesi: Having to control our drummer, who is also my brother.

Question: What has been your favourite part of becoming a music artist?

Marc Lucchesi: Learning to live with tinnitus.

Question: If you could collaborate with another artist, who would it be?

Marc Lucchesi: Kokos Man

Question: Can you tell us 5 things required for a happy healthy & enjoyable life?

Marc Lucchesi: Good friends
Plenty of holidays
Always having a good book in your bag
Doing something you're passionate about
Partying semi responsibly

Question: What is the story behind the band's name?

Marc Lucchesi: We're pretty big on Nostalgia. Three of us are brothers (me included). We spent a chunk of our childhood in Italy and this Kooky commercial used to pop up on TV advertising this weird Karaoke machine called The Vaudeville Smash. It used to crack us up. We had our first gig coming up and hadn't come up with a name yet. It seemed like a good idea at the time!!

Interview by Brooke Hunter

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Vaudeville Smash Laura Interview

Vaudeville Smash Laura Interview

Interview with Marc Lucchesi

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