Five Favourites with Bakers Eddy
Naraam/Melbourne-based punk pop act Bakers Eddy are heading out on tour to celebrate their new EP, I'm Doing Better. Before they hit the road, frontman Ciarann Babbington fielded a few questions from The Note about his musical influences, the band’s songwriting process and his five favourite Kiwi acts.
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Congrats on the release of I’m Doing Better. You’ve mentioned in press for the EP that the band leaned into its “early emo/pop punk influences”. Why did you choose to take inspiration from bands of that genre and era for this release?
We all grew up on emo and pop-punk. We spent a lot of time trying to reconnect with one another, and we spoke a lot about our childhood and growing up together. It kind of sparked a need to go back to where it all began for us, and that was listening to a lot of records like Green Day, Paramore, etc. That really set the tone for us wanting to make something that we felt was true to us.
When you talk about your musical influences, which bands in particular have had an impact not only on the EP but your life in general as a music fan?
This one is kind of easy cause, like I said before, we grew up together and went through the same musical phases and obsessions together. Green Day brought us together. That's actually how I met Ian and Alex in high school. We connected over our love for Green Day, which sent us down the path of ‘90s punk like Rancid and NOFX. Shihad were a big part of our teens, being from the same high school as us; Foo Fighters, Arctic Monkeys, QOTSA, Incubus, My Chem; we had a lot of phases.
I think for the EP we drew on mostly the punk/emo stuff, being the thing that we bonded over, and with emo having a big resurgence, there was a lot of new music to draw from – South Arcade, Bilmuri, Aries, Knox, stuff like that.
I’m Doing Better arrives three years after your debut album, Love Boredom Bicycles. Is there anything that’s impacted the writing of your new record during those years?
The lack of touring in 2023 probably impacted it the most. We’re a band that only wants to play shows. It's the part of all this that we love the most, so not being on the road sucks. I remember feeling pretty disheartened by the fact [that] we were having to make TikToks, and it felt like we had to prioritise social media over everything else. I was in this rut of mentally not getting the instant dopamine kick from playing shows, and being so worn down from social media that it affected the way I was writing negatively, to the point I really struggled to write anything at all. There was a good two months there where I'd show up to make something and I couldn't. Dust On My Brain came out of that, and it reignited the spark, and I'm extremely thankful for that. Looking back, I guess the lack of touring that year didn't impact the songs; it just impacted the journey it took to write them.
Talk us through the songwriting process. Is it a collaborative effort amongst the band?
It varies. A lot of the time I'm making the demos on my own [and] then bouncing them across to the boys, at which point they’ll usually tell me what lyrics are shit, if the drums I’ve programmed aren't playable by a human, all the normal stuff. Sometimes Alex will throw me a couple guitar things and I'll use them as the starting point to build around. That’s always fun because it shapes the box you have to work within quickly. For the EP, I spent a lot of time producing the shit out of the demos, which is both good and bad. I love making demos, so I enjoyed the process and I think it meant we had a very clear and intentional direction, but it did mean [that] when it came to mixing, I was pretty attached to things that maybe I shouldn't have been. A lot of the demos wound up in the final tracks, though.
You’ve enlisted some awesome people to help with the creation of the EP, including producer Vincent McIntyre (Fan Girl/Mr Industry/Elizabeth M. Drummond) and mixer Justin Gerrish (Vampire Weekend/The Strokes/Weezer), while also securing Emily Lazar (Foo Fighters/Coldplay/Sia) to master the release. Why did you choose to work with these three, and what did they each bring to the project?
Just being fans of all of their work. Vince is someone I've wanted to work with for a very long time. He’s a close friend and one of the most talented, creative songwriters in Australia. He’ll make things sound like a car crash, then somehow find a way to make it the most beautiful thing you’ve ever heard.
Justin and Emily did some of our favourite records growing up, so when we found out they were interested, we were pretty happy with ourselves. Justin, with his background in 2000s garage and punk, was able to find a way to keep things sounding raw and full of life, which is always important to us. Even though we had a mix of live, processed and sampled elements, he still found a way to make it sound energetic.
READ MORE: Five Favourites with Playlunch
Opening track ‘Manners Street’ is a love letter to your hometown of Wellington. How important were your formative years growing up in the New Zealand/Aotearoa music scene?
For me, growing up in Wellington was great because the city really made an effort to put the local music scene on the map. There were all these street festivals down Cuba, Newtown and Aro Valley that were all ages and had a vast array of styles and tastes. It’s where I saw the Mint Chicks play, a band that I've spoken about a lot, which pretty much cemented in my brain that I wanted to play in a band and make music my life.
I was also lucky cause there was a rock school when I was a kid where you’d show up after primary school, and there’d be mentors - usually older kids in cool bands - that would put you in your own bands. We’d learn how to make music together, how to function in a band. Then you’d do these shows every now and then in an old strip club-turned-all-ages venue called Sub9. So I do think that the city and the scene nurtured creativity in young people, which I'm very grateful for.
You moved to Melbourne several years ago to pursue music as a career. What are the major differences between the Wellington and Melbourne music scenes?
It’s hard to say what the difference is right now, because it’s been so long since we moved. From what I’ve heard from friends back home, the music scene is alive and thriving, which is so sick to hear. When we left, it was going through a pretty rough time, at least from what we were seeing. All the famous music venues were closing down, and the house party scene had started the shift from live bands to DJ sets. There were a few venues left that we played frequently, and the bands who laid the foundations for us took us under their wing a fair bit, which gave us opportunities to play in front of an older crowd.
I think the difference was the size and age of the punk rock scene in Melbourne compared to Wellington at the time. We found out how big punk rock was over here, and how many bands there were that were actually doing well for themselves. There were a lot more venues to play and a lot more people who showed up. We wanted to be a part of that, so we moved.
What do you miss about home, besides family and friends?
I think for me it's the culture, specifically my Maori culture. It’s a feeling I struggle to describe, but I notice how much I miss Maori culture being everywhere around me when I visit home. It’s so deep inside me that sometimes I forget it's there, but then I'll be scrolling and I'll see a Haka or a Waiata and it’ll bring me to tears. I miss hearing Te Reo, seeing Maori street signs, just being a part of it. I never really realised what it meant to me until I left, but it definitely makes me homesick.
Another highlight is ‘Hopeless Dreams’, a vibrant, upbeat track concerning vulnerability and facing life’s toughest moments head-on. Was that inspired by a personal experience?
It was a culmination of anxiety and the feeling of hopelessness towards what I was doing with my life. I was questioning my dreams, or the dreams I had growing up. I kind of lost it a little, and it was confronting, but at the same time I was able to come out of it with way more direction and understanding of why I'm doing what I do. The song is basically me trying to figure all that out; figure out why I am who I am, and who in my life has shaped me to become the person I am.
To coincide with the release of I’m Doing Better, the band has announced an Australian tour that kicks off in Adelaide. What memories do you have of playing in the City of Churches?
We’d just played Jive with WAAX and we were out in the alley trying to compose ourselves, literally just after we’d got off stage. I almost passed out on the ground from the heat inside, but I heard horseshoes right by my ear, which was weird. I look up to see the most majestic-looking white horse towering over me. I'm in a state of shock – a white horse in a gross, smelly alleyway is the last thing I'd expect to see after a show. Turns out the horse had a cop on their back who proceeded to yell at us for having drinks with us out there. I love Adelaide though, and it’s been a while, so we’re so keen to put on a show.
For those who have never caught Bakers Eddy live, what can they expect?
Our shows have become part musical, part cardio. For us and everyone who comes to see us. It’s so sick. It used to be us jumping around the stage looking like dorks, but now everyone in the room looks like dorks with us. We put slower songs in the set now to try to get a moment to breathe, but everyone just jumps slower but higher, and then I'm feeding off that, so I'm completely gone by the time we play the last song. I love it though, I think I’ve always been drawn to bands or artists who actually look like they give a fuck about the people in the room enough to create an energy rather than just be looked at, so we always try [to] make it a show that everyone in the room is a part of.
Once the tour is complete, can we expect a new album on the horizon?
That's the plan. We’ve started the process already. I'm so excited to see where we go next. You never really know until you’ve got the thing printed, but so far I’m just having fun making quick, over-compressed, over-destroyed demos that one day will turn into new Bakers songs.
Catch Bakers Eddy at The Austral on Friday, August 8. Tickets on sale now via moshtix.com.au.
Bakers Eddy’s five favourite Current Aotearoa/New Zealand Artists
Ratbag
Ratbag is sick. I came across them a while back, but I recently found myself in a session alongside Harry (Ratbag’s producer), and he’s a total G! They’ve got a crazy diverse sound that kind of goes from folk to emo to pop, and it’s all super interesting.
Greatsouth
Greatsouth is doing some heavy lifting representing Maori culture in the indie music world. The music is tight, but the messages are what drew me to them. He uses our language, Te Reo, beautifully in his songs, which is so fresh to hear and honestly super inspiring for me. Makes me want to use my language in the punk/emo world. I think that could be really cool.
Miss June
Miss June from Auckland have been one of our dream match-ups for years. We’d love to do shows with them around Aotearoa and Aus. They’re probably my favourite punk band out of New Zealand in a long time, just so much energy, but the melodies are sick too.
Vana
Vana is doing some crazy shit. It’s in that world of heavy rock/metal, but super melodic and a little bit hyper pop and emo. Also, she’s doing huge numbers globally, which is helping put heavy NZ music back on the map, which is cool.
Mint Chicks
I have to put the Mint Chicks on here cause they’re my all-time greatest band in the world. I don't think I’ve ever answered a question about my music tastes where I don't include the Mint Chicks. They’re what became Unknown Mortal Orchestra. It's like crazy art punk, and it's incredible.
