Jul
06
6.03pm

TIRED EYES // All Good Things Start In The Bedroom


Just like Jatz and cheese, Tired Eyes were made for each other. The vibrancy and zest of life that the Brisbane youngsters bring to a scene in need of a fresh change with their debut EP In Denial, Force A Smile, is simply sublime—and they’ve only been together nine months.

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Before they became they became a thing, each of Tired Eyes’ members were executing music for themselves, not knowing their paths were destined to intertwine. “I’ve been bedroom-writing since I was 16,” says vocalist Joey Keating. “In that bedroom-writing phase a lot of the main hooks for our songs were birthed – only now am I able to see the line after finding members and trying to solidify ideas through recording.

“It all started in the bedroomfinding members happened organically.”

Let’s face it, a lot of good things happen in the bedroom, but once Keating got out of there and started playing the field he found things clicked into place in more ways than he could have hoped. “I met Jesse [Kampkes, bass] through a mutual friend and Sam [Peacock, drums] came into the picture, [and] we all started talking about the music we love, just fun sorts of bands.

“We picked up easily as musicians and have a lot of chemistry as mates. I showed Jesse the skeleton for our single A Place, A Space, A Symphony and he was stoked, like, ‘Man, I haven’t heard anything like this before!’ He had Judah, his brother, who plays keys – he’s a wild musician from a different scene so I was quite nervous he wouldn’t like the music we were writing but without Judah’s element, and I say this a lot, we are just another rock band.”

Every recipe needs salt to bring forth all the flavours and for Keating, the addition of Judah to the line-up meant just that. “You can tell Judah’s a real musician too because he knows how to not overplay,” Keating says in awe. “It’s a pleasure playing with him.”

“To write music that evokes emotion and have someone come up to you and say, ‘I experienced something while I was listening to this,’ or, ‘This music helped me through something,’ that in itself is its own reward.
[JOEY]

Tired Eyes’ EP gels as easily as its members, the individual experiences of music of the band drummed together into a new blend of delicious melodies – but In Denial, Force A Smile remains unidentifiable. It is a new species. Of course, Keating doesn’t see that yet, laughing away the observation with well-mannered thanks.

Though the word gets thrown around a lot, organic is truly the word to describe Tired Eyes’ sound and comradery. “I definitely had a vision for the sound and where I wanted it to come from,” says Keating, “But to be honest, it was just like elements falling into place where they were supposed to.

“I don’t want to sound wanky or weird or whatever, but it all did just work. You definitely can’t actively add in pop elements or hardcore elements to the songs or else it’s not gonna fit our sound, we literally just get into the room and feel it out.

“We have a say as to what sounds Tired Eyes and what doesn’t—if it does we keep it, if it doesn’t we cut it.”

And don’t forget that magic little number that floats above them: nine. Tired Eyes have only been together for nine months. Since, they’ve banged artistic narratives, rambunctious rhythms, and hard-hitting melodies together, giving birth to their EP. “It’s testament to the skill of the members of the band,” says Keating. “Not me in particular,” he says humbly, “But the rest of the dudes to be able to come into the mix and to know how one another works.”

There’s no doubt that Tired Eyes have set themselves up for great things. No matter the next step in their collective journey, the one constant Keating says the band will hold true to is their unquenchable thirst to create relatable music. “I’ve always wanted, always, always, from my bedroom, to create music that makes people feel something,” he says.

“To write music that evokes emotion and have someone come up to you and say, ‘I experienced something while I was listening to this,’ or, ‘This music helped me through something,’ that in itself is its own reward.

“It’s the most gratifying feeling as an artist to hear someone gets it.”

“We’ve got so many more songs we want to share,” Keating continues. “We’re all so excited about this release but even more excited about what’s to come.” As long as Tired Eyes don’t deviate from their current sound, in the view of this humble writer they can do no wrong. Laughing, Keating says, “I’m going to try my best to stay true to who we are!”

Order In Denial, Force A Smile here.





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