Dice – Tom King | NQ Music Press

There’s something about the west coast. maybe it’s the water. Maybe the Fremantle Doctor has caused some evolutionary shift. I don’t know.
What I do know is that Western Australia has produced some of Australia’s most successful bands and musicians.

A band that is shaping up to continue that tradition is a group of likeable young blokes who are collectively known as “Dice” Consisting of Ben Hodge on guitar and vocals, Sam Barrett-Lenard on the skins, Tom King on lead guitar and Reagan Beazley on bass, they have a youthful, surf rock sound that is underpinned by mature and tidy songwriting.
I recently had a conversation with Tom regarding all things DICE. We initially discussed the fertile Perth music scene.

“There’s a really big sense of community over here in Perth. I think during Covid, which is when we started, we got all of our friends who would not normally come to gigs were coming out because all the clubs were shut. Even now, when we are back in Perth, we love to go and catch a show at Mojo’s or The Indy Bar, and the first 3 rows are people in other bands coming to support their mates . It’s like a big family”

With 2 studio albums and 3 E.P.s under their belts, they are no strangers to the recording environment, but the band is surprisingly similar live to what their studio recordings reflect.

“It has always concerned us whether we are tight or polished live. We spend a lot of time rehearsing to make sure the songs are as tidy as they are, and as close to the studio recordings as possible, but we also like to change things up live . We try to up the tone and the energy of our live performances. The songs are a bit heavier live, especially the guitar and drums. That appeals to a wider audience . A lot of people find us through the live performances. “

It is easy to make the mistake of overproducing a recording, making it difficult to reproduce in a stage setting.

“I Think we have been guilty of that to some degree early on. In the past 12 months prior to the new record, with so much electronic music ,you want to try some of that, which usually takes a lot of money. Its easy to get caught up in that and it can go somewhere other that where you want it to. With this record , we live tracked it with guitar, drums, vocals and bass all in the same room at the same time, then we overdubbed a little bit here and there just to tidy it up, and I think you can really hear that, especially on ‘Loose Change,’ the second single. It’s like four guys in a room playing music.”

“The first time we were in the studio was so surreal. Its like ‘How are we here right now recording a song?’ It was strange to go from a small studio in Perth to recording in Hollywood, in the big time. It was a really cool experience. The room we recorded in is one of the most iconic rock rooms in the world. Metallica has recorded there, Blink 182 has been there. When we stepped into that room, you could feel the energy of the people that had been there before us.I don’t know how to explain it, but you could feel the history in that room.”

“We had a world class producer named Joe Cicciorelli. He has produced U.2, he did Morriseys new album. When you’re working with a really top tier producer, they know how to make things like spill work to their advantage. There’s some really distorted drums at a real low level on the guitar tracks, for example. That adds to the feel of the overall sound.
The band’s first album, ‘Midnight Zoo’ was a departure from what one has become accustomed to from the plethora of performers who plague radio with songs that could easily have rolled off a production line at a cookie factory.”

“One of the things we pride ourselves on is that DICE is a combination of our vastly different musical styles and backgrounds, and that’s what makes us sound the way we do. Something we have strived for is the idea that within the first 5 seconds of a song, the audience knows it’s a DICE song. We have done that really well with this album. ‘Midnight Zoo didn’t initially get the reception we had hoped for, but I hope it will be one of those debut albums that people come back to and appreciate the songs that went unseen initially.”

Something that is observable among younger bands is that the hedonistic ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Lifestyle’ that was accepted in the past as part of the life has fallen by the wayside to a larger degree.

“I think you have to be professional now. When it starts off, it can be quite hectic, but past a certain point, you learn to pick your battles to some degree, and figure out which nights you can go out for a drink and which nights you should stay in . We have done some pretty extensive touring over the last few years. We did a U.S. tour back in October, and we did 30 shows in 38 days, We did an Australian tour where we did 4 weeks straight, came home for a few hours and then headed out again to the U.K. Its pretty brutal, so you have to preserve your energy.”

“Because we have been touring a lot in the last few years, the writing has happened in blocks, so we haven’t ‘road tested’ a lot of the newer stuff. There’s good stuff about that, but it would be nice to have more time to play them to an audience before we record them. “We steer very clear of writing to any kind of formula, or writing for anyone other than ourselves. We just write the music that feels right to us , then hone the melody and lyrics around that. “We write music that is true to us, and I think that’s what connects to the fans to the music. They can feel that the truth in it.”

“There’s a lot of controversial stuff going on in the industry now, especially in the states, where people are half writing a song and then putting it out there to see if it blows up before finishing it. I don’t know how much longevity there is in that approach to songwriting”

I asked of there was any song that garnered an instant response from crowds, and if they have a prediction of which track on the new album is likely to have a similar reaction.

“The song that got the best immediate reaction was ‘Stop Sign’. When we first started, people would come up to us and ask about it and what it was called. I would like to re-record that one now, because it has evolved into something grittier and punkier than how it originally sounded.
“I think the track called ‘Echo’ has got the potential to be the next big thing . You can feel what it was like in the room when we were recording. We were just having so much fun, and it shows in the recording. We were planning to end the set with that one.”

I asked what audiences can expect from DICE at their upcoming shows..

“In 2026 , we want to pick a set list that we really want to play, but also ..what the crowd is expecting. You don’t want to lose the crowd for too long You can really see a difference in energy between stuff they know and stuff they don’t. Its a balance”

Like so many bands I have spoken to, these guys have been close friends since high school. They socialise together, and 3 of the members work together as landscapers when they aren’t making music as well.

“We are the first in our families to play music on any level. My Aunt and uncle found an old accordion from the 1800s and sent it to me. Maybe someone in my family used to play, but we don’t know of it. My parents are very enthusiastic though. When we did our first show in New York , my parents flew over to surprise me . That was so great.”

“This is our first time in North Queensland. We are playing at The Tanks Art Centre on the 16th of August, and we are so excited. We have 3 days off, so we are hoping to explore. That’s one of the things we love about touring. We get to go off and find new things. We will be seeing as much as we can while we art there”

These guys are shaping up to write their names in the history of Australian music, so don’t miss the chance to catch the show.

Tickets are available through TicketLink or at the door if not sold out.

Noel Keid