Award-winning blues and roots band Hussy Hicks sells out shows in 24-hrs after months without work
After months without work, a Gold Coast band have sold out shows within the city in less than 48 hours. Here’s why.
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LEESA Gentz and Julz Parker of award-winning blues and roots band Hussy Hicks have spent four months on Jobkeeper wondering when they would be able to perform next. Now the Gold Coast based duo - who normally do up to 200 shows a year - are the first of a few groups to return live music to the city, with one gig so high in demand it sold out in 48 hours.
ATG: Hi Hussy Hicks. You’ve had an impressive 14-year career. I imagine you’ve never thought a pandemic would happen. How did you manage to survive throughout the past four months?
LEESA: “We’ve been keeping busy. Because everything was shut down, we ended up taking a bit more time with some of our new tracks. We’ve actually been writing, recording and creating a lot. We also built a new studio which is quite an undertaking for two musicians who aren’t builders.”
ATG: What struggles did you face during the covid shut down?
JULZ: “Our studio is in Northern NSW and we live on the Gold Coast, in Burleigh. So that was really confronting having the borders shut. But we managed well and I think we’re in a really good place now.”
LEESA: “We’ve been incredibly lucky to have the Jobkeeper (incentive) which has essentially meant we can stay alive. 100 per cent of our income comes from playing live music - and much of that is from big shows. We do get royalties ... but we qualified and that’s been really helpful.”
ATG: Congrats on the release of your sixth studio album Gather up the People. Was the pandemic the right time to release it?
LEESA: “We were planning to release a new album at Blues Fest over the East weekend but obviously everything changed dramatically before then. We spent the past couple of months trying to figure out how we get the songs to people. Typically we book a big tour and travel all around Australia and the world. We like to bring the songs to people personally so this is a real change for us.”
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ATG: After going through a tough past few months, I’m assuming being able to tour again would be like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel?
LEESA: “Yeah. We’re playing a bunch of limited number shows. One of them is at Mos Desert Clubhouse (in Burleigh). I think the show sold out in about 48 hours. Because of that we decided to open up a second show at Miami Marketta on August 22. We’re dying to play again. Our drummer and base player are here and we’re playing together for the first time since March 15.
ATG: Any plans to tour outside of the Gold Coast, or Queensland soon?
LEESA: “We can’t say what will happen or if they will stop movement or travel into NSW due to current outbreaks. But we plan to go ahead and play as many small shows as we can, while making sure everyone stays safe. We don’t want to rock any boats. We want to make sure we do the right thing and make sure our audience is safe.”
Originally published as Award-winning blues and roots band Hussy Hicks sells out shows in 24-hrs after months without work