Australian Eat Your Heart Out
Interview conducted on May 08, 2019
by Dan Locke
Band Members: Caitlin / vocals
Andrew / guitar
Will / guitar
Dom / bass
Jake / drums
Newcastle, Australia 5-piece, Eat Your Heart Out, injects a fresh, energetic burst of flair into today’s alternative rock scene. Led by frontwoman Caitlin Henry, Eat Your Heart Out has been making waves since the release of their debut EP Distance Between Us in May 2015 with their relatable lyrics driven by their ability to churn out a unique blend of grunge riffs and brooding rock tunes from Andrew Anderson (Guitar), Will Moore (Guitar), Dom Cant (Bass), and Jake Cronin (Drums). Since their formation in 2012, the band has found themselves onstage alongside national and international acts such as Simple Plan, Movements, Real Friends, Trophy Eyes and more.
Dan Locke: You are from Newcastle, Australia. What is Newcastle like?
Caitlin Henry: Newcastle is kind of like a small beach town and a big city together, it definitely has elements of both. The music scene here is kind of quiet at the moment but there have been some really cool bands come out of Newcastle over the years.
What music did you listen to growing up?
As a kid it was a lot of stuff like Fleetwood Mac, ABBA, Elvis, Creedence Clearwater Revival from my parents, then in my early teens I started to get more into artists like Avril Lavigne, The Veronicas, Fall Out Boy… and from there it kind of just naturally led into all the emo/alt rock/pop punk stuff!
What does grunge mean to you?
Grunge is a genre that all of us in the band really enjoy and has had a pretty big influence on shaping our sound over the years. We’ve always liked to try and have a little bit of a grungy edge to our music. We recently got to see Alice In Chains at Download Australia which was very cool! And when we were in the US, we got to visit Seattle which was an awesome experience for all of us, knowing that’s where grunge music was born in the 80s and 90s.
What is Oz Rock?
I don’t really know what defines it exactly… I guess when you say Oz Rock, I think of all the older Australian rock bands like AC/DC?
Caitlin you were 15 at the time your band started. Do you remember your first gig?
Of course! It was at a senior citizens center in our small hometown, it was the first show that had been put on in the town for years so probably 200 kids showed up. I’d never performed with a band before outside of school, so it was probably the most nervous I’ve ever been and I’m absolutely sure I have sung the whole set out of key because I couldn’t hear myself at all. Afterward, we went around to all the other kids there and sold all our handmade demo CDs. It was a very fun time and I’ll never forget it.
What was the first and last concert you saw?
The first concert I saw was P!nk with my mum when I was about 12 at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre, and the last one I saw (that we didn’t play) would have been our friends in Sleepwell at a pub in Newcastle.
Have you been to “Big Day Out”?
I went once in 2012! It was a cool lineup; it had a few heavier bands like Parkway Drive and The Getaway Plan and definitely had some similar vibes to Soundwave at that point.
I am going to list a few bands from Australia. I would like you to tell me in a sentence or two about you’re feeling about each?
The Bee Gees
Reminds me of my mum, she loves the Bee Gees.
Crowded House
I know a couple of their songs like Fall At Your Feet and Don’t Dream It’s Over, but I don’t really know that much more about them.
INXS
Again, I know a couple of songs and I know some of the histories of the band but don’t really know all that much else about them
Midnight Oil
I remember hearing Beds Are Burning on the radio as a kid and I know that Peter Garrett became a politician at some point.
Divinyls
I remember listening to the song “Boys In Town” a lot when I was a kid.
The Angels
I remember hearing the song Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again all the time as a kid, maybe on tv or on the radio.
Tame Impala
I was a pretty big fan of their album Currents but just haven’t really listened to them since then.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
I wish I listened to more Nick Cave but I don’t think I really know any of his songs.
Wolfmother
The Joker and The Thief are going to be playing on a loop in my head for the rest of the day now!
The last one. These bands are related to each other
The Easybeats
Every Friday my mum would sing “I’ve got Friday on my mind”
AC/DC
Everyone knows Acca Dacca! I remember my brother getting the TNT album for Christmas and hearing it non-stop
Flash and the Pan
I know they were connected to AC/DC through the Young brothers but I don’t think I know any of their songs.
How do you define your music?
That’s a broad question… we usually just say alternative rock with a bit of emo.
How did you get your band get its name?
We were trying to think of a name for a while and Dom suggested Eat Your Heart Out because it’s in the start of a Dead Kennedys song. We wanted to change it a few years later but couldn’t think of anything better and now we’re stuck with it!
If someone did not know who you were, what videos would you tell them to watch and why?
I would tell them to watch the videos for Patience, Rust, and Carousel. I think those songs kind of show our sound as it’s progressed, and I think they’re cool videos!
You CD comes out May 17th. Are you ready to promo the hell out of it?
We sure are! We are very excited to play new songs from the album live and see what people think about it.
Any tour plans?
Yep! Nothing I can say yet but hopefully, we will spend the rest of the year touring and visiting both old and new places!
How do you stay healthy while touring?
I am vegan so I feel like bits of help because it’s a lot harder to find junk food to snack on. I very rarely drink alcohol and I try to avoid being around cigarette smoke, as well as trying to stay hydrated and get enough sleep because otherwise, my voice will suffer. So basically, I’m just really boring, haha!
How was your tour with Real Friends in the States last year?
It was incredible! Couldn’t have asked for better bands to tour with or better crowds to play to. It blew all our expectations out of the water. It was a lot colder than we expected though!
Was this the first time you were in the United States?
I had been before with my family when I was 15, but it was the first time for all the other guys and our first time as a band.
Anywhere you wish you had more time to check out?
Definitely Portland and Seattle! They were very cool places. I’d like to have more time to check out New York as well.
How do you see your band in 5 years?
I really don’t know! Hopefully still making music that we like and touring, ideally making enough money to live. I’d be happy with that.
If you were doing a headline tour, who would you like to have as a support band?
There are so many bands I’d love to tour with that I couldn’t even pick one for this question. Anyone that plays good music and that we can have a good time touring with!
Anything you’d like to say in closing?
If you haven’t pre-ordered our debut album Florescence, definitely do that now! Thanks so much for the support and hopefully we will see you at a show very soon!
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