Little Red is an Australian rock band from Melbourne. Since forming in 2005, Little Red have certainly made a name for themselves not only in Australia but now internationally too, with their new album, Midnight Remember debuting at #5 on the ARIA charts!
I am a big fan of Little Red's music and I feel very fortunate that I had the opportunity to interview Little Red band member, Adrian Beltrame about his experience being in such a cool Aussie rock band!
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| Chilling with Little Red's Adrian Beltrame (L) and Tom Hartney (R)! |
Here is my piece about Little Red's rise to fame...
Envisage a song released forty years ago; a song which envelops a Chicago Blues sound; a song that could potentially act as inspiration for Australian musicians of the twenty-first century.
Little Red Rooster written by American songwriter, Willie Dixon, was one song that captured the attention of five young optimistic musicians from Melbourne and desired musical success ever since. They named their affable beat group after the song… Little Red.
In 2007, putting their love for music to paper, Little Red began writing songs encapsulating fresh vintage riffs, all combined with smooth five-part harmonies.
Three years on, this local band from Ivanhoe in Victoria, Australia, have proven that hard work and dedication can inevitably lead to international success in the multi-faceted world of music, as they rise to become one of Australia’s most-talked-about bands.
After performing around Australia and England to coincide with their first album, Listen to Little Red, they are once again back on the road, except this time to promote their newly released album, Midnight Remember.
“We all jammed together during high school,” said Little Red’s guitarist and vocalist, Adrian Beltrame. “But Taka joined us later, bringing a kind of ‘garage sound’ to the band, which was great.”
Going back to basics seemed like an ideal topic for Adrian, allowing him the opportunity to express exactly where Little Red’s inspiration originally drew from. “Well I think initially the music that really turned us all on was the band, Radio Head.”
The four other members that make up this five piece band are Dominic Byrne on vocals and guitar, Quang Dinh on bass and vocals, Taka Honda on drums and Tom Hartney on vocals and percussion.
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| Taka Honda, Tom Hartney, Adrian Beltrame, Dominic Byrne & Quang Dinh |
For two years, Little Red happily brought an ‘all-singing, all-dancing live show’ to small crowds at pubs across Melbourne, including the historic music venue, The Tote. “It was hard at the start because sometimes at our gigs, there would be hardly any people there,” admitted Beltrame. “Disregard the size of the crowd; the best experience you can get when you’re starting out is to play in front of people. In doing so, you get to meet other bands and start networking.”
In the early days, before they were heard over the radio waves or had a manager, Little Red took matters into their own hands in hope to gain some form of publicity. “From the very beginning we were confident in our music. We used to graffiti ‘Listen to Little Red’ around the area where we used to live,” quipped Beltrame.
Their graffitiing days eventually drew to a close when the “power of modern media” came into play, shaking up their ‘performance’ floor. One blog posted on The Age website in 2007 changed Little Red’s musical journey forever. Little Miracles, written by journalist, Clem Bastow, was quick to blog they were “the best band you've never heard of”, further emphasising that their music is “the best kind - where there's something for everyone”.
Adrian considered Clem Bastow’s blog to be the key contributor to their fan base today, stating “her glowing review created a lot of interest in our band, which then brought a lot more people to our gigs.” Although he admits, “A whole lot of little things we’ve done along the way has also contributed.”
Australian music producer, Scott Horscroft, who worked with popular bands, The Temper Trap, Silverchair and The Presets, was also the engineer behind Little Red’s new album, Midnight Remember. “We all lived together with Scott while recording the album. We really bonded with him. He was a great producer and a really intelligent guy,” explained Adrian. “He didn’t change our music; he made our band sound spectacular. He really kept the album true to how Little Red should sound. And that was the greatest thing.”
Freelance Music journalists, Craig Mathieson and Bronwyn Thompson are just two of many who highly regard the “other worldly” musical theme expressed throughout Midnight Remember; with many embracing Little Red’s diverse sound, with the album climbing up to number five on debut on Australia’s Aria charts.
The image displayed on the front cover of Midnight Remember resembles an owl decked out in an array of colours. “We met with an artist and described how we felt about our music. We really wanted a nocturnal theme. The album cover is one image he came up with that we really liked,” explained Beltrame. “If you look closely it’s a real photograph of colours smoked and projected onto a tree which is cool.”
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| Little Red's 'Midnight Remember', album cover |
On a more personal note, Adrian studied at Melbourne University, undertaking a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in English. He soon realised though that university life was not for him. “It was fun but what I am doing now is much more fun.” “I always knew I wanted to play music. It is something I could never live without.” Further adding, “I love all kinds of music; there is always something new you can learn.”
Being part of Little Red has allowed Adrian to explore various genres of music. “It’s really cool that I get that opportunity. But at the same time, sometimes I wish I could play other things like jazz and classical music.”
“The last song from Midnight Remember, Chelsworth, allows me to play the acoustic guitar which I love.” “Actually, Chelsworth is about a real place, a park near where we used to live. That’s my favourite one to play… the memories; there is just something about it.”
When asked what has brought the most satisfaction from being part of Little Red, Beltrame noted, “I like travelling to the country, so maybe travelling.” “Playing our music is great and not having to work a real job is pretty good too.”
Little Red have achieved so much is such little time. One cannot help wonder where they might head in the future. Beltrame helped shed some light on this. “Well I think to keep doing what we’re doing is a great thing. I don’t know how many albums we’ll do, but one day when I sit back and relax, to have a collection of albums we’ve made would make me really happy.” In the short term, “we’re hoping to go overseas and do some work, maybe in England this year.” “Honestly, to have the opportunity to make more music is all I can really ask for.”
Being a local Melbourne band and understanding the difficulty in succeeding in such a congested industry, Adrian happily lent some advice to new bands wanting to make it big. “Firstly, you have to write good songs,” suggested Beltrame, advising “it’s not the style, rather the substance of the style that counts.” “Once you’ve got that, you have to play lots of gigs.”“Take lots of small steps before you take big ones… Have no regrets.”
“I think it’s a really exciting time for Australian bands. Aussie bands have been doing better than ever, doing really well overseas such as Tame Impala, The Panics and Empire of the Sun. You can listen to new music over the internet, anywhere, anytime. The world is a much smaller place now.”
Little Red’s rise to fame has required much dedication, with improving their craft continuously featuring on the top of their ‘to-do’ list. “It’s always been hard work. At the moment we’re going through an exciting time, but honestly, it’s not a surprise,” he said. “What it shows is that if you truly believe in something, you can make it happen.”
Little Red have a big couple of months ahead! They’re gearing up to play not only in Australia, but in Tokyo and the UK!
