Mammoth Mammoth are an Australian band who play hard hitting and high octane rock n roll. The band have just released their latest album Mount The Mountain and if you like your rock, hard, heavy and full of life then you can’t afford to miss out on this one. We caught up with Mammoth Mammoth drummer Bones to hear all about the band, the new album and their energetic approach to life and their music.
Can you you tell us a bit about how the band got together?
Mammoth Mammoth were four guys on their own journeys from very different corners of Australia. One from the desert, one from the coast, one from steaming tropics up North, and one from the mountains. We’d all moved to Melbourne years earlier, which some say is the music capital of Australia. The one thing we all had in common was an appetite for playing heavy, hard, menacing, punch-yourself-in-the-face, quit your job and join a bike gang, rock n roll. We got together in a cabin up in the mountains, wrote seven songs in two marathon jam session, and released an EP three months later.
What are some of the bands influences?
Nihilism, screwing shit up, getting back on the horse that threw you, rehab, delinquency, mental issues, temptation, booze, human imperfections and struggle, to name a few. Our influences are our own experiences, we don’t write songs about Wizards, unicorns or sexy aliens.
Your new album Mount The Mountain is out next month and is a high energy experience packed full of killer riffs. Do you think that the album is an encapsulation of the Mammoth Mammoth live experience? It certainly sounds that way!
We write and record with the same physical conviction and intensity that we bring to our live shows, so the energy is the same, we also booze on about the same, so maybe that’s the secret?
The album has a great lust for life in its sound, is that something you were aiming to come across?
We’re always searching for killer riffs and hooks that should get an ‘Infectious Diseases’ rating!
You have a song called Cold Liquor on the album. What alcoholic drink goes down best with Mammoth Mammoth?
Korn and kerosene.
That song starts off and ends with more of a low slung stomp of a song compared to the rest of the album, it’s music that’s perfect for drinking to! Did you feel Cold Liquor was the perfect way to end the album?
Collapsing actually seemed the perfect way to end it!
Do you have a favourite song on the album yet? I’d say you can’t go wrong with the title track for its high tempo energy, the catchy Hole In The Head or the storming Epitome!
We love Epitome because of it’s slightly odd and manic groove. Hole In The Head is also fave we loved the jam sessions on that one, and Tucker’s lyrics. Spellbound, Kickin’ My Dog and of course, Mount The Mountain are cool to play too. So, it’s hard to pick a favourite, we probably killed dozen or more songs to arrive at these eleven.
You do a cover of Kylie Minogues Can’t Get You a out Of My Head as a bonus track on the album. You’ve definitely given it the Mammoth Mammoth treatment! What made you choose that song to cover?
We like to muck around with other artist’s songs. On one particular writing session we were having a laugh and jamming songs by female vocalists cos we liked the contrast to our style; Some Kylie, some Stevie Nicks etc. It felt good so we did it, decided to take it further.
If you could do another cover of any song, what would you choose?
The Edge Of Seventeen, or Too Drunk To Fuck, or maybe one of our favourite Australian Rules football club songs.
You’ve got a full European tour coming up soon, are you excited about that?
We’re always excited to tour. We’ll be touring Mount the Mountain for most of 2017 and early 2018. We’re aiming to visit parts of Europe we have not had a chance to get to on our previous tours. Italy, Spain, more of France, plus Northern and Eastern Europe are all on the agenda as well as parts of the USA and Japan. We’ll finish off in about 12 months with a national tour of Australia.
You’re touring with Riff Fist, what can fans expect from this double header?
Mammoth riffs and mammoth fists! We’ve been getting to know them, nice gentlemen.
You’re playing at Desert Fest in Berlin, are you looking forward to that date? It’s a great festival.
Yes of course, there’s a few bands on the line up we’ve played with before, so it’ll be good to catch up and hang out over the three days. The event has a really good following and a great reputation, so it’s an honour to be invited to play it.
Is there any chance you’ll be playing the Desertfest in London?
Originally we were supposed to, but some dates got mixed up… maybe next year?
Will you be playing much new material at these dates?
Yeah, we can’t wait to smash out the new songs live. That’s always very exciting. We’ll roll out three or four… maybe more? We’ll see how it feels as the tour progresses.
What song always goes down best at a Mammoth Mammoth gig?
Fuel Injected Suicide Machine, Demons To Fight, Hell’s Likely, Kick Out The Jams, Another Drink, Life’s a Bitch, Lookin’ Down The Barrel… It’s actually hard to say!
Are you doing any of the summer festivals at all?
We are doing a few, with more to still to be announced.
Will you be making it over to the UK at all this year?
Most Likely yes. There was early talks for us to do some shows with Monster Magnet on their UK tour, so the UK and other tours are always on our radar.
What has been the most memorable gig that Mammoth Mammoth have ever played?
Touring with John Garcia was a fun run of shows. Hamburg is always good to us – we have some rally loyal fans there. The smaller cities can be nuts too, we did crazy shows in Frieburg where the crowd kept demanding we played Hell’s Likely again and again! They’d put a bottle of Jack on stage with a note saying “Hells again please!” – crazy crowd, we played that song 5 times! It all ended in a massive after show free for all party. Dusseldorf at Pitcher was a similar thing. Fans in smaller cities really know how to party.
What’s been some of the highlights of the band over the years?
Not dying!
Who would you love for Mammoth Mammoth to tour with?
Kylie Minogue.
What is the state of rock music in your native Australia like at the moment?
It’s come down with a dad flu and needs to stay in bed for a few days – and keep it’s fluids up.
Who is your favourite Aussie rock band ever?
I think we have more of a favourtie-Aussie-band-attitude-ever. So, in no particular order. Six Foot Hick (live), Divinyls early stuff, Hard-ons, GOD, Cosmic Psychos, early AC/DC, The Easy Beats, Radio Birdman, The Birthday Party (before Nick Cave started to take himself too seriously). All these bands were musically unique, polarized opinions, took no prisoners, stuck it to the man, and apologised for nothing.
What are your top three riffs of all time?
Black Dog. Back in Black. Black Betty.
Are there any new bands you’d like to recommend to us?
Riff Fist.
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