Their time together may have been short, but Melbourne based hard rock outfit Head Inc. certainly didn’t waste a single moment of their seven year existence, with two highly acclaimed albums released to their name (2006’s ‘Demons’ and 2008’s ‘Pariah’), and plenty of miles clocked up on the road both nationally and internationally touring alongside the likes of The Almighty, Budgie, Rose Tattoo, U.K. Subs, Stiff Little Fingers, Ratt, Winger and L.A.Guns. Although having made inroads on an international scale, and readying themselves to begin work on their all important third album, Head Inc. sadly found themselves drifting apart while on tour in support of Finnish gothic rockers The 69 Eyes. As vocalist Gary Buckley explains, “We had a replacement for guitarist Dean Tsolondres while in Sydney for that tour. And honestly, it just didn’t feel right not having Dean there. I remember coming offstage thinking over my dead body are we ever going to do this again. When you start to looking at things like that, you start to wonder if things were really over for us. And in a sense, I guess it was.” With Head Inc. in a state of flux, it wasn’t long before the former One Way System/Horse (London) vocalist started looking towards a new musical challenge. And after hooking up with bassist Rocky Mesiti, it wasn’t long before the idea of a new project became a reality. Soon enough, it adopted its new form as The Terraces. “When we initially got together, we didn’t think in terms of putting together another rock band. I was still trying to get over the Head Inc. thing. All we were doing was writing some songs on acoustic guitars. But it wasn’t long before we found that we had a real song writing chemistry together. Rocky’s been around the musical scene as long as I have, and he’s a great bass player, a real musician’s musician and a fantastic songwriter. It wasn’t long before we realised that we really had something, and that we could do something with this.” With a handful of songs penned, the pair approached renowned producer DW Norton with the possibility of producing some demos. But much to their surprise, Norton was so impressed with the songs, he also volunteered his guitar services, which in turn gave the project a depth and vibe both Gary and Rocky were looking for. “Norton said the songs were easily the best stuff we had written to date, and that’s really something you know!”, says Gary. “Although I’ve been involved in a lot of bands over the years, I’ve never really been able to express myself as much as I can with The Terraces. I’m an old punk rocker first and foremost. That’s what I do. We really can do anything we want in The Terraces, and I think that can be heard in the tunes we’ve recorded. But unlike some of the other bands I’ve played in, The Terraces is all about real songs, rather than tunes put together around a big riff and some vocals. Everything we’ve written stands up on its own when played acoustically.” While news about The Terraces has been somewhat low key for the most part, momentum has been building behind the scenes, with the band now formalising a full line-up. Not surprisingly, Gary acknowledges that the line-up within The Terraces boasts a mix of familiar names, and some newcomers. “People have started picking up on The Terraces, including Head guitarist Dean Tsolondres. As soon as he heard the demos, he wanted to come onboard. So he is now officially the third member of the band. With good mate and awesome drummer Henry Hollingsworth of Scissor File fame, helping out on all the tracks, it was left to fellow band mate Brenton (Pezza) to grace us with his good looks and great vibe on the Union clip.” With songs flowing from the Buckley/Mesiti partnerp at a prolific rate, the band line-up established and a producer waiting in the wings, the debut album from The Terraces is sure to emerge in no time at all. As for what people can expect… well, all will be revealed soon. “Head Inc. was more of a riff merchant band. All I can say is that The Terraces is not. This band is different, but not so much that it sounds completely different to anything I’ve done in the past. It sounds very English, but very Australian at the same time”, says Gary. “Everything about The Terraces has been a slow and natural progression. We’re thinking about things, but at the same time, allowing things to find their own way a little bit. I’ve never done things this way, but it definitely feels right, even if its all been done in the wrong way in a sense. We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel. We’re elder statesmen within the rock scene just trying to be honest with our music. There’s no pretension here. What you see is what you get.” Written by Justin Donnelly © 2010 Videos
