Lazertits play infectious punk with attitude in spades. Song like last year’s Boss Bitch, have a whole room shouting the chorus, “she’s not bossy, she’s the fucking boss” and you better believe that they are.
They are raising funds for their debut album, and if that single is anything to go by, it’s something you want to get behind.
Not content with just putting a regular gig on, they are taking over both stages at the Grace Darling Friday 4th August with a deliciously punny named event called Lazer Fundz Razer.
We had a chat to the band about their upcoming album and putting on mini festivals in Melbourne.
What made you decide to take over the whole Grace Darling for this event?
We needed somewhere that could accommodate the huge lineup, and we wanted the appeal of the night to outweigh the ticket price completely - which we reckon it does! You can pay $30+ for an event like this so it's gonna be a pretty good deal at $15 plus it saves us begging on a crowdfunding platform or over the socials! The Grace also holds a pretty special place in our hearts, our first proper gig was there (with Dumb Punts funnily enough - full circle pals) and we've had some rad times there over the last few years. The staff are fuckin legends and the basement feels like the inside of a ship, so you can't really go wrong.
How important is the community support from other Melbourne bands to putting on an event like this?
It is everything!!!! Fundraisers are always tough because the idea is to make heaps of ca$h, but its also super important to make sure the bands are getting paid enough. Its especially uncomfortable when the fundraiser is actually for us to record an album, not a charitable cause. So for that reason we are so grateful to all these absolutely STELLAR bands for being involved in this gig to help us make this album. Its really bloody heartwarming because we admire these bands so much and they have absolutely inspired us to keep playing and recording - its a dream come true. Not to mention the invaluable support we receive from our mates who book, promote, interview us and attend shows!!! We are so humbled to be a part of this community.... err maa gawd!
You applied for a grant for your album, but do you think that it’s problematic that bands have to apply for government grants to do large works in Australia? Do you think that says something about the value Australian community has for the musicians?
That is a super interesting question! When you look at dwindling arts funding and the monopoly that big labels have over the music industry it paints a pretty grim picture. However we think that we're super lucky in Melbourne to have so many studios, engineers and producers working who are committed enough to small fry bands such as ourselves to offer heavily discounted mates rates, and even work for free. But on the other side of the coin, it is a crying shame that it takes talented engineers working for way less than they're worth for bands to get their work off the ground. We've been really fortunate to have been taken under the wings of some very talented engineers, bookers, PR heroes and general advice-givers which has meant that we could release our music both independently and at a low cost. But with this album we really want to nail it exactly the right way and also put it out on a 12", so we 're having to dig deep!
Your song Boss Bitch highlights how women in positions of power, such as CEO or a doctor are questioned and not respected as their male counterparts. Do you find similar issues in the music industry?
Thankfully we operate in a pretty incredible bubble of people working really hard to eradicate gender exclusivity and all the fuckery that comes with it within the music scene. Labels like LISTEN and Hysterical Records, events like Wetfest and Girls!Rock are all institutions that have carved out and protected space for femme/non-binary/trans folk in this scene, which is SO important and we are so lucky to have that here in Melbourne. For the most part, the venues we frequent make concerted efforts to make gigs safe and inclusive spaces for punters and bands alike. That said, there are still certain venues that we've played where we are mistaken for girlfriends of some non-existent band, where the sound guy ignores us completely, mansplains how to set up our pedals, hits on us then follows up our set with "oh yeah love that was actually not bad after all"....so there's a long way to go. And fuck, if we're copping this behaviour as fairly vanilla cis women there is absolutely a long bloody way to go for the scene as a whole.
Tell us about the amazing bands you have playing on the night. Why did you pick these bands in particular and what will be some highlights for you?
We love using our gigs as opportunities to play with the bands we love and dream of playing with. So a while ago we created our absolute dream lineup list, and as ambitious as it was thought 'Fuck-It.. let's see if we can get a couple of them. To our overwhelming surprise they all said yes and hence created a top notch super star gig (in our eyes!) That's something we love about being in a band.. you can use it to get all your favourite band crushes to play together.
Suss Cunts are one of those big crushes. Anaemic boyfriend had us all lolling over the airwaves for ages and they’ve just gotten better and bigger and better. Their no-fucks-given attitude makes their songs soooooo good live.
Shrimpwitch are the biggest angels on the planet, we’ve been lucky enough to share a stage with them before and just think the world of them. Their lyrics are amazing and wild and sometimes crude, but always full of truth. Georgi and Kim are insane performers too, you just cannot afford to look away or you’ll miss a moment of shrimpy magic.
We fell head over heels with Crystal Myth as soon as we heard their song 'Moonstone'. Dana has an incredibly dreamy voice and their synths pop melodies are so darn catchy…so get there at doors to catch these babes.
Dumb Punts were some of the most supportive legends around town 3 years ago when we could barely play a note. It's been beautiful watching them absolutely kill it lately, and we love that Seattle’s singing lead more these days! Get it girl!
We are long time Mighty Boys fans and have even been known to date a few of them, no special preference though! They put on a crazy live performance and their bangers like Dapto Dreaming and Hippy Shakes are wild ones.
Gonzo are a band we’ve seen at a couple of raucous parties but never a show so this should be good! Their songs are catchy as fuck and we’re stoked they could join the lineup! But can we start a thrash pit to them at the Grace?…that is the question…
Rhysics are also known to write a catchy tune or two, and we’ve been trying to get it together to play with them for years but our availability has actually never matched up, crazy! The time has come, to join forces and their might be some guest vocals in each others sets but you have to come to find out!
Lazertits Fundz Razer gig is Friday 4th August at the Grace Darling Hotel.