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 They’re like the Brisbane indie world’s matching of Dolly Parton with Kenny Rogers. SUSIE PATTEN (of I HEART HIROSHIMA notoriety) and KATE COOPER (from AN HORSE) are touring together for the first time. Rave sent SIMON TOPPER along to build a bridge between these islands in the stream.
After meticulously researching the last few years of Rave’s gig guide archives, it seems the rumours are true. Strange as it may seem for two of the most bitumen-committed musicians in Brisbane, Susie Patten and Kate Cooper have never toured together in any of their band guises. As someone’s who’s saving up to take his first Neighbours tour, I wonder if these two indie honchos have the same tingly anticipation of the prospect of I Heart Hiroshima and An Horse hitting the frog and toad arm in arm.
Simon Topper: The rumours are you guys have never toured together before.
Susie Patten: No.
ST: Serious?
SP: Very.
Kate Cooper: Not as An Horse. Iron On played - they’re the other rock concert band I’m in - at the Powerhouse once, and maybe the Alfred’s Block Party, but that’s it.
ST: Well done then. Why’s it finally happened?
KC: Well, An Horse is on the same label as I Heart now, so you kind of get bundled up together. In a good way. I guess it makes things easier.
ST: Kate, An Horse has just come back from supporting Tegan & Sara across the USA. How did that go for you?
KC: Mindblowing. We were over there for five weeks, and at the end we had maybe three days off.
ST: I was looking at blogs of Tegan & Sara fans, and it seems like you were overwhelmingly accepted by their disciples.
KC: They were awesome, very lovely. It was creepy sometimes. Some of them worked harder than us. We drove from one side of the States to the other, playing every night, and some of those fans would travel to get to venues before us, and be waiting at the door.
ST: Was that a litle bit alarming?
KC: It took a bit of adjusting. [Tegan & Sara] are huge, and they have the most dedicated fanbase. It’s weird. The first night we’re all ‘Ok thanks guys, see you tomorrow’ and we walked out and there were hundreds of people there clapping and waving and taking photos, and we just walked straight back in. Tegan & Sara just said ‘Just get in your car and drive’. It’s crazy, but cool and fun.
ST: Susie, was your recent trip to New Zealand similar?
SP: Well, no. We were there for two nights and played one show in Auckland. But it was super awesome, and the crowds were really nice to us too and really rapturous.
ST: You guys seem like you’d do really well overseas. Have IHH done much non-domestic touring?
SP: No, that was the first time we’d been overseas. We were supposed to go to the US a couple of years ago but we had visa troubles, and in retrospect I’m glad we didn’t go. We’re going to the UK in September and there’s a guy who wants to record us in Sweden while we’re over there, so that’s what I’m hanging out for. It’s just a matter of time and money really. I just have to chill out, realign my chakras.
ST: So once your chakras are realigned, what’s coming up on this tour?
KC: It’s both of our bands, plus another band called Ouch! My Face! who are awesome, and my favourite guitar band at the moment.
SP: This will be our last one for a while. I think we’re coming up to our 160th show in two years. We’re like The Wiggles of indie rock.
ST: I heard the other day that Jeff Wiggle is with Molly Meldrum.
SP & KC: (huge response)
KC: Maybe you should ditch this whole story and just run with that.
I HEART HIROSHIMA and AN HORSE play the Great Northern Hotel (Byron Bay) on Thurs Jun 12 (free entry), The Zoo on Fri June 13, and Swell Tavern (Burleigh Heads) on Sat June 14 (free entry). Look for both groups releases at www.valverecords.com.au
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