Making Music

About to explode.

Making Music: Lahgo

Words Alasdair McClintock Photo Zac Tomaszewski Insta @z.zewski

Sometimes writing about a band can be a torrid affair. Not because they aren’t great at what they do, but because trying to catch their charisma and energy and put it into suitable words can be near impossible. You need the bass line, the strut of the lead singer and the splash of a symbol or two to truly convey what they’re about.

Lahgo is one of these bands. The four piece from the east only got going towards the back end of 2020, but are already making waves on the local scene. The Beast caught up with bass player Bob Easy, who thankfully had so much to say he basically wrote this article himself.

Easy described their sound as “Lahgoish. Strong feminine vocals, pocket grooves and big rock choruses. And harmonies. Lots of harmonies. We’ll harmonise anything, even your grandma.”

Harmonising grandmothers aside, what does ‘Lahgo’ mean?

“Well,” Easy explained, “It is either an acronym for, Late Arvo Heavy Glass Off, when the winds swing offshore late in the day and the line-up cleans up, preferably delivering sick pits under the setting sun, or Love And Have Great Orgasms - you take your pick.”

The rest of the band is made up of front woman Mel Bailey, “Our vocal powerhouse. She delivers the soul of Lahgo,” Mr. Pablo Smooth on guitar, with a “background in rock ‘n’ roll and disco, he does his thing, usually in tight gold pants or no pants at all,” and Danny Rixx on the sticks, who “keeps things light and tight.”

They’re currently working on their debut album, but for now you can follow them on Instagram via @lahgo_ to catch some snippets.

Easy said, “We’re gonna have some singles dropping hard. Album isn’t too far off and you better believe we got shows coming up. Just go on Instagram or Facebook if ya wanna come party. We just rocked two sold out shows at Oxford Art with Honey Hayze, it was sick.”

“Sydney’s music scene needs a violent shove back to being killer. I work at Talon Music (@talonmusicstudios), and Guitar Garage (@guitargaragebondi) in Rose Bay so I get to see all this great local talent come through. Young artists with tons of talent.”

“I’m a bit pissed off to be honest. For ages, even before COVID, Sydney’s nightlife has been like a bung note in a killer riff. Just wrong. The east used to be alive. The potential here is huge and we’re seeing signs of life again. We’re gunning to change the east’s music scene and get it back up on the mantle. It’s our job as artists to prove to venues that live music counts now more than ever and that there’s strong demand for it.

“I got a gut feeling we’re gonna come out of this COVID period and live music will explode. We’re positioning ourselves to be right in the heart of it for when it does.”

“Keep supporting local music. Keep bands uniting and growing the live scene, wherever you are. No competition, let’s have fun and rock stages together!”