Get to know: Bowlos
“We're just a few good friends making music we think is fun.”
Get to know Bowlos, Footscray’s eclectic indie-folk trio for fans of Keaper, Hot Glue and Meraki minds. You may have caught them headlining at The Worker’s Club in January, as well as featured in articles for Beat and Happy Mag. We spoke to Ben and Bill about the band, inspiration, and the indie-rock scene in the West.
So tell us about yourselves!
We are a three-piece band from the West of Melbourne who are just trying to make some cool music!
Our primary genre is folk and indie rock with a focus on documenting the experiences of living in the West and all the people who inhabit it. We try and capture a sense of this in all of our songs with a twist of comedy and light-heartedness.
At the end of the day, we're just a few good friends making music we think is fun and danceable.
How did you all meet?
Bill and Ryo met in 2009 playing Auskick together. They had always seen each other around their suburb, but it wasn't until a chance meeting at a party in 2018 that they decided to jam together.
Bill and Ben met doing a musical together in early highschool and after going to a Blur concert together became best friends. They formed many less fortunate bands together throughout high school until enlisting Ryo’s help in 2019 and becoming Bowlos.
Ever since we have been best mates creating music we all love!
Who are Bowlos inspired by?
Some acts that instantly leap to mind are Blur, Jarrow, Courtney Barnett, Mac Demarco, Joy Division, Pond, DMA'S, and Stella Donnelly.
On a personal note, Bill’s dad Peter Burns (PJ Burns and the Unsealed Road) taught us so much about writing songs and playing live.
What’s the indie-rock scene like in the West?
The scene is thriving and very loving!
There are a plethora of bands, all the way from established and gaining notoriety internationally to just staring out, and the crowds love them all.
We feel really privileged to be coming out in a time which is so accepting and loving of our efforts as musicians.
We really love the multiculturalism of the West as well, it's really a place where you can get a taste for absolutely everything in one place and everyone is so ready to give it a go.
We love to see how welcoming our community is and say "We are a part of this.”
You’ve been doing heaps of gigs over the last couple of months! What’s it been like returning to live shows?
We actually did an interview in Beat magazine about the phenomenon of gigs selling out in the post-COVID19 landscape. I think people want to engage with their local scene like never before.
I think music flourishes in live capacity and it the reason that we play because it's just so much fun being able to step onto the stage with so much support after such a hugely stressful 2020 for all the wrong reasons.
So I noticed you haven’t released any tracks yet, should readers be expecting any drops soon?
We're currently spending most of our free time in the studio putting together our debut EP. You can expect to hear some of it really soon!
Bowlos
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