BLACK ACES

Let’s take it from the top! How did you guys form, find your sound and build a relationship with HRH Record Label Off Yer Rocka?

Black Aces evolved out of the dirty old pub rock scene in our home town of Bendigo. had been playing in an embryonic version of the band for while when I found myself with a tour booked but no drummer. I knew Pete and Alex well as drinking buddies and they’re band would often play with us, so Pete jumped behind the kit and Alex joined on the bass soon after. Jazz was on board a couple years later as our rhythm guitarist.

With the line up sorted we started flogging ourselves right across this great southern land of ours.

By 2016 we dropped our first album and headed to the UK and Europe. This is where we came into contact with Jonni and Off Yer Rocka. We finished the tour by playing HRH, where we made enough of an impression to be offered a deal. From there it was all systems go!

We soon released “Anywhere But Here” and “Never Change”, as well as touring the UK in 2017 and 2018. A tour was booked for 2020 but that wasn’t meant to be.

Finally we went through the last shuffling of our line up when Jazz was given the incredible offer to join Airbourne. Luckily we had a great mate waiting in the wings ready to step up to the plate. Brett has taken to the band like a duck to water. He’s a fucking powerhouse!

You’ve recently dropped your single ‘Too Young’ – why did you choose this particular track as a leading single from your upcoming album?

We wanted our first single to be a statement. We are back! Driving back beat, slashing guitars, big chorus. As far as we’re concerned it was a no brainer

You have your third album on the way for 2023, what can we look forward to from this release, and talk me through the writing process, final decision making and group goals you had for this album?

This album has been a long time coming. Unlike previous releases we’ve had that bittersweet luxury of having the time to write and assess everything we want on it. It’s been a hard process; we wrote a ridiculous number of songs and finally whittled them down to 12.

It’s a very diverse record, we have really worn our hearts on our sleeves here. It all sounds like Black Aces, but a keen ear will hear everything from Motörhead to Cheap Trick, Def Leppard to Tom Petty.

We haven’t decided on the artwork yet. Hopefully someone thinks of something good!

You’ve printed on vinyl in the past – are you collectors? What are some of your favourite records?

I’ve got a pretty decent collection. I’ve got a few AC/DC rarities, some cool old Aussie rock stuff from the 70’s that you can’t find much anymore. One of my favourites that I own is an original copy of the Small Faces “Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake” with the fold out tobacco tin cover

Every band has stories from the road to share, whether its a special gig or the first time you shared the same space for a long tour - but what is your most ‘rock ‘n’ roll’ story to date?

Fuck there’s quite a few! Here’s a good one. We were playing this show in a country town in Aus. It was the sort of place that’s pretty common here, a big beer barn with a sports bar and TAB, bands play on the floor next to the pool table. Out the back there’s a heap of motel rooms all surrounding a shitty pool with a palm tree. So we’ve played this show and the publican has a bit of a habit of shooting syringes of tequila into your mouth while you’re trying to play. So yeah we are all blind. After the show we’ve been given a couple of the motel rooms, so we go back and kick on with who ever is around. Some time after dickhead o’clock I’ve gone to my room to crash. The next morning I go next door to Alex’s room to get ready to leave. I go in, he’s in bed and the arm chair is sitting next to him against the wall on top of the bedside table. I ask him why, he pleads ignorance. So I lift it down and there’s a fucking three foot hole in the wall! Finally he spills his guts. So I had all the grog in my room and he thought maybe he could kick his way through the wall to get at the piss in my fridge.

He kicked through the wrong fucking wall!

Album aside, what else do you have planned for 2023?

Well we’ll obviously be dropping the new album at some point later in the year, a couple more singles to go with it no doubt. Then just aim to back on the road here in Oz, if all goes to plan we’ll get on back to the UK and hopefully head over to Europe this time round too.

Give Too Young a spin if ya haven’t given it a listen yet. Keep ya ear to the ground, there’s bloody more to come!

Words: Charlotte Hooper Photo Credit: Adam Kennedy