good times with good lekker

Local six-piece band, Good Lekker, first emerged in the Wollongong music scene in 2017 and have gained serious momentum ever since. Having featured on triple j’s Unearthed, releasing a debut EP, and playing at popular musical festivals such as Yours and Owls and Party in the Paddock, the band has had their fair share of success. We spoke to lead guitarist, Mal Hurley about the logistics of music rehearsals, the highs and lows of touring, ultimate career highlights and advice for aspiring musicians.

Words Emma Smith

How long have you all known each other?
We’ve all known each other since 2017. We were all in our first year of uni living at UOW’s Campus East. How it kind of all started was Alex Gray, one of the singers, came down from Sydney and wanted to start a band, and he saw that Dooley Whitton, our drummer, has a tattoo of a drum kit on his ankle, and was like, “Oh, you play drums! Wanna start a band?”. He said, “of course”, and then approached Josh Fahy after that and then me. It was just us three for about four months and that’s when Oliver Critchley and Hamish Starr joined.

Was there a defining moment where you realised the band had potential to really take off?
I think a real defining moment for me was when we played at Yours and Owls in 2018. We set this goal – we really wanted to play Yours and Owls and we achieved the goal together, which was a really great feeling for all of us, as well as the incredible turn out we got when we played. We played really well. After that in my head I was like, ‘Wow, it looks like this can be something for us.’

What are your rehearsals like? How many hours a week do you dedicate to the band, and are there structured times you get together, or are your practices more spontaneous?
I would say sporadic and spontaneous would be the words to describe it. It wasn’t always like that, though. Initially, when we all were on campus and none of us had jobs, it was really easy. We would jam maybe two or three times a week at Hamish’s house because he lived off campus. But as soon as we moved off campus and people got their own jobs, and got further into their uni studies, everyone became very busy and our schedules now don’t align as much. So usually, it’s every two weeks we try and get together in a rehearsal. We usually book a space in Shellharbour and go there.

You completed your SAMSARA tour at the beginning of this year. Can you tell us about that experience? What is the best and worst part of touring?
That was awesome, touring in general is such a beautiful experience. For me, just seeing new cities and getting to play new venues and meeting people like the venue managers, other bands and especially the fans is the best part. It’s a very rewarding experience to travel somewhere where you don’t know anyone. You play a set and there’s people there, they come up to you after and give you good feedback saying they loved the show. It’s a beautiful feeling going places and that happening, and it feels purposeful in some sense. The worst parts about touring, I’d have to say are the in-between bits of travelling. We drove up to Brisbane and Byron Bay and I hated it. Being in the car for 10 hours especially when you’re hungover. You can play a gig and not finish up until 1am and then you’d have to wake up at 4 o’clock the next day to catch a flight. It sucks.

Do you have a favourite song to perform and if so, why?
I do. Mine would be our song Bones. I enjoy playing it so much because I am really proud of the way we wrote that song. The groove Dooley puts down is really fun to play along to and it’s a very chaotic song, but it all falls into this very cohesive piece and I think that’s always been my favourite. Collectively though, I think all of us probably enjoy playing What I Used to Know because it’s one of our most well-known songs and its always our ender. Whether there is two people at the gig or 200, people always seem to be really vibing that song.

If you could open a show for any artist who would it be?
Funnily enough, we’ve already opened a show for the person I’d most want to open a show for – which is Babe Rainbow in Ulladulla. When we did that, I was very starstruck by the whole experience.

If you were to ask the whole band, I think Foals or King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard would probably be top of the list.

The band has had its fair share of success – from featuring on triple J Unearthed, performing alongside incredible talent such as Confidence Man, The Jungle Giants and Peking Duk and on popular festival line-ups like Yours and Owls and Party in the Paddock. What have these experiences been like and what would you say has been the ultimate career highlight?
The experiences have been very humbling. If you asked me a couple years ago if I would ever get to do the things I have done now through music I wouldn’t believe you. I do like to reflect on it quite regularly.

Party in the Paddock has been my ultimate career highlight through all of this. Getting to travel all the way down to Tasmania, and the people are so beautiful. There’s music and you’re in this gorgeous place just outside of Launceston and it’s just so good! It’s just humbling and a very eye-opening experience.

What advice do you have for aspiring musicians who are trying to get involved in the Wollongong music scene?
My advice would be find people who like to make music the same as you. Do it for yourself, don’t try and follow a trend, thinking, ‘Oh, this music seems to be a hit at the moment’… don’t do that. That’s getting into it for the wrong reasons. Music is a portrayal of yourself and your band and what you guys can do together. Along with that… just gig. Play as many gigs as you can. That’s how we started. We were playing Rad Bar very frequently in the first six months of starting out back when it was still open, and it was unbelievably helpful. It allows for a development of professionalism and expectation of what’s expected from playing gigs, which Is very helpful.

What is Good Lekker working on right now? And what are you most excited to do as a band once COVID19 passes?
I am excited to rehearse. I just want to get to play music with my friends again and get back into gigs. In terms of what we have planned, we are going to record some new music. We were supposed to be doing that now, but obviously the COVID stuff has led to a delay. But we will be looking at releasing lots of new music and a lot of gigs once everything is back to normal.

Fast Five:

1. Favourite local beach?
I would have to say City Beach. Only because it’s right next to my house.

2. Favourite cafe?
It would have to be Opus.

3. Favourite local pub?
Dicey Riley’s.

4. Favourite place to play music in the Illawarra?
It used to be Rad Bar when it was open. There was a lot of culture there and It just had personality as far as venues go. Now I would say La La La’s, it seems to be taking up a fair space of the live performance sector now.

5. Favourite local band?
Ducey Muncs. For sure. Hamo our base player plays drums for them and they’re a bunch of lovely people. They’re awesome and their music is just like a hit of happiness.