Sydney locals, The Preatures have been going strong since 2012. The band consists of Isabella Manfredi on (vocals/keys), Gideon Bensen (guitar/vocals), Jack Moffitt (guitar), Thomas Champion (bass) and Luke Davison on drums.

Known for their energetic stage shows and hard work ethic, it’s no wonder the band’s popularity grew as quickly as it has.

However, the big break for the Preatures was in 2013 when they’re single ”Is This How You Feel?” gained massive attention, being nominated for an ARIA award and being voted ninth, in the Triple J’s Hottest Hundred for 2013.

No strangers to Cairns, the Preatures played last year’s Sunny Dayz Festival to a packed crowd in Fogerty Park.

This time around, they’re back to celebrate their most recent single ”Cruel” with their tour of the same name.

I had a chat with guitarist and founding band member Jack Moffitt, ahead of their show at the Tanks this Friday…

Wil: Hi mate, how has the tour been going?

Jack: It’s been good. It’s been really good. We played Perth last night. Starting off in W.A was different for us because normally we would end up there at the end of a tour. So yeah, it was nice to kick off there.

Wil: The tour is titled, ”Cruel”, after the most recent single you guys have released from the album Blue Planet Eyes. You also released ”Two Tone Melody” and ”Somebody’s Talking” from that album; how do you decide which tracks you showcase as singles?

Jack: It’s kind of either one of two ways. Sometimes everyone in the band just knows which one we’re going to put out. Other times, when you’re in the process of making a record, it’s hard to choose which song to throw out there first. All the songs are so close to you. That’s where you have to turn to other people. Your friends can be really handy in that sense. A lot of the time they can tell you if what you thought was a great idea, is actually a really shocking idea. You should always listen to the people around you, but ultimately you still have to feel really good about the single you put out.

Wil: You and Tom were high school friends and you originally met Izzy at the A.I.M (Australian Institute of Music). What were you guys studying there?

Jack: I think Tom had enrolled to do an audio engineering degree in A.I.M in Sydney. I was actually studying something else in Canberra and I sort of thought, ”Forget this, it’s not what I want to do at all.” Then I moved to Sydney to do the same course as Tom. We sort of worked out quickly that studying wasn’t what we wanted to do, because we met Izzy and we started hanging out and playing music together as a three piece. We were generally having a better time than sitting around at uni trying to learn. We were getting a much better education getting out there and working hard as a band and playing shows.

Wil: The Preatures have spent a bit of time in the U.S. Is there much difference playing to audiences over there?

Jack: There is a really big difference. Mostly because we’re not anywhere near as well known over there. When you go to places like the U.S and the U.K, there are so many more people that you can try and reach. For us, touring the U.S was sort of like starting again. I think we went at the perfect time. We were only just starting to get pretty well known over here when we first went. We kept up our fighting spirit, we worked and played really hard. So much work. Maybe one day we’ll crack the U.S. We just have to keep working at it.

Wil: You cracked it enough to be invited to play on the Jimmy Kimmel show. How did that happen?

Jack: Somebody at our agency in the U.S really liked the idea of us playing SXSW festival and it was tied in with Jimmy Kimmel and stuff. They put our name forward and it got approved.  It was the first time we’d done anything like that on T.V. I think somebody told us that there was like, twenty-two million people watching that particular episode, which is just mental.

Wil: Do you still feel nervous when you play shows like that?

Jack: Shit yeah. It’s impossible not to get nervous. It’s a good thing though. Izzy really thrives off it. I think if you’re not nervous, then you probably don’t care enough.

Wil: The last time The Preatures played in Cairns, it was at last year’s Sunny Dayz festival. I caught your set and you had a pretty rowdy audience. Do you get much crazy stuff happening at your shows?

Jack: So much crazy stuff happens that sometimes it sort of passes you by. We get a lot of bands throw their demo CDs at us for some reason. Once, somebody threw a care package of photos on stage. I think they expected them to be signed and sent back but there was no return address. [laughs]

Wil: Australian bands seem to be touring regionally a lot more within the last few years. This is your second trip back up here, is there something that makes bands apprehensive about regional touring?

Jack: It’s an interesting question. I think bands really want to tour to these places. We’ve always liked the idea that we would get to play in as many places as we could, provided that there would be people who wanted to see us play. You know though, it’s almost like a prohibited distance for some bands. It costs so much money to keep a band on the road and all the extra little costs add up pretty quickly. I think that there are some bands who can view it as not worth it but there’s bands like Sticky Fingers and Kingswood that tour regional places relentlessly. It’s always good to tour and play to different Australian audiences and to see different parts of the country.

Wil: Thanks for talking to us Jack. Any clues on what to expect at the show?

Jack: Ah, I can’t give away too much.. Just be prepared!

Wil Carroll

The Preatures play the Tanks This Friday the 4th of September. Tickets available through Ticketlink

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