Little Red - Breakin' and Makin'

There are few bands of which I am absolutely guaranteed to have a brilliant time at one of their gigs, no matter the venue, weather or my own state of mind. Little Red are among the lucky few (one other band in this category of mine is The Basics, so whenever the two play together I almost lose my mind in all the awesomeness). Their nostalgic indie pop tunes get people dancing, singing, sighing and grooving. In between loving them and dancing to them, I spoke to axe man Adrian Beltrame about soul, our closest northern neighbour and Little Red’s home ground Melbourne and its relation to making babies.

So, I suppose you’re wondering, loyal reader, how did Little Red come to be? Well, I’ll let Adrian answer that for you “A few of us played in different bands with other people, and so when the five of us eventually played together in the same band it felt like a 'supergroup'. We knew then that nothing could stop us”. Adrian’s good humour is just one component of the Little Red magic: their interpretation of 50’s nostalgia and old timey, good-time, rock and roll is second to none - pulling it off with an odd skill - as if they had been there (making the boys, oh, about 60…gosh darn they look good for their age don’t they!). The self-proclaimed “world’s grooviest white R&B vocal group” certainly live up to their title, though Adrian maintains the guise is serendipitous: “It's not a conscious thing for us to make our music sound 'old', it's just about making it sound like the 'timeless' records we love”.

The band has just a brand-spanking new E.P. Get Ready and the reaction has been very positive. As Adrian enthuses “One of the tracks, 'Waiting', has received extensive radio play so we're stoked about that. Since then, however, we have recorded a whole bunch of new material which we hope will be released early next year” and they are touring like mad, building an ever-growing and incredibly enthusiastic fan base.

If you haven’t seen Little Red live, you are missing out, partner. Little Red are imbued with an electric stage presence that is capable of arousing the even the most straight-laced and subdued crowd into fits of dance and joy. This, however, according to Adrian this is deliberate: “We pride ourselves on live performance and I think it's hard to truly appreciate the band until you see the show. It's really important for us to believe in what we do and I think that rubs off on audiences”.

What they love in Little Red’s hometown, Melbourne (Rock City), is dedication, and more importantly - bands with it. Luckily, Adrian maintains Little Red are chock full of the stuff: “We are very keen to take our show on the road and play to new audiences around the country as well as head back into the recording studio to make more babies”. Although it’s possible to take the last sentence two ways, I go with the sweeter option.

The band have been on a rising streak for some time: from supporting The Basics, Japanese rock and roll outfit The Bawdies, Tilly and the Wall, Whiskey Go-Gos and The Vasco Era, they’ve etched their name into the Oz music scene in gold. Now, between touring relentlessly around our wide brown land, they’re bringing it down to the state where it counts and playing the Falls Festival. They are moving up in the world by going to the southern-most points of it.

Little Red seem to exist in a more innocent time frame; before the days of squawking mobile ringtones and scantily clad bimbos trying to steal our brain space, music - and life - were incredibly different. Channelling the likes of Mel Torme and Frankie S, Little Red take us back to a more precious era of rice crispy squares and shiny Chevrolets. But don’t fret; Little Red still love the present day as the rest of us: “It’s great to meet loads of people who love music and to see our friends in other bands achieve so much doing what they love. We've found the music scene in Melbourne to be thriving and it is really easy to start a band with so many venues in and out of the city to play in and such a great appreciation for live music”.

I have to ask. If only for my own and other music nerd’s curiosity, I buzz Adrian on his Top three Desert Island Discs to whit he responds assuredly, “I only need one: Wail n' Soul'm Singles Selecta by The Wailers”.

There you go - Little Red: breakin’ all the rules.

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