SOTA FESTIVAL: WAM interviews THE MONEY WAR
The Money War was conceived during an American road trip when Dylan Ollivierre (Rainy Day Women) and Carmen Pepper (Warning Birds) were working out what to do following the breakup of their respective bands. It was during this highly creative period that a new project organically emerged. In 2016 The Money War were named triple j Unearthed winner to play at the Southbound Festival. Give it Time picked up radio plays and great reviews in Australia, US and Europe, followed by Recall which has received heavy rotation on triple j and is picking up airplay on radio stations in the US including NRP, plus was nominated for a WAM Song Of The Year award.
Ahead of playing the FREE SOTA Festival this coming Monday 5 June – WA’s biggest celebration of WA music held at Elizabeth Quay as part of the WA Day Festival long weekend (times below) – WAM interviewed the triple j Unearthed winners about featuring on the soundtrack of an environmental documentary, their new EP and upcoming tour with Holy Holy and more…
A brief history: This band is pretty new although we’ve both been playing in bands for quite a while. We put out a couple of songs late last year as TMW and they got picked up by Triple J. Actually, we were unearthed by Triple J after some of the presenters saw us play at last years WAM festival- there ya go. Some of the highlights have been playing Southbound, supporting Dope Lemon and we’re about to go on tour around Australia with Holy Holy in a couple of weeks. Really looking forward to seeing some places I’ve never seen- I’ve never been to Tassie.
You featured on the soundtrack to environmental doco, Blue – how did this opportunity happen?
I’m not sure how that came about really. They just emailed us and asked if they could use the song and we sussed what it was about and said go for it. It’s a really important film about ocean conservation. We love the ocean and it’s a big part of our lives…it’s a crucial part of everyone’s life, even if you’re not a beach person. It felt great to be able to contribute to something that really matters.
You’ve recently released your new EP – what’s been the response so far, and what other opportunities has it lead to?
It has been very positive from what I’ve seen in reviews and from people on our socials etc. The EP shows a few different sides to our songwriting so it has been awesome to show people more than what you can with one or two songs. We’ve got pretty busy 2017 ahead and some cool international opportunities that have popped up.
Your must see act for SOTA this year?
Probably Karnivool for me. I’ve been getting right back into their albums recently. I used to listen to Themata religiously in highschool.
With so many great acts coming out of WA, do you think there is ‘something in the water’ that just breeds awesome?
I think creatives in WA have a lot of space to get good at what they do and develop their craft before being under too much scrutiny. So by the time they reach the east coast, they’re pretty good. I dunno, that’s my theory!
How do you think living in WA has affected your music?
I suppose the lifestyle inevitably plays a part. I’m not very good at cold weather.
Do you know WAM has a time machine? What advice would you give to your younger self as you were starting out in music?
Don’t drop out of uni!! Haha, nah you kind of have to learn your lessons to understand them.
In WA, your fave…
WA acts that have influenced you? Sleepy Jackson, The Panics
Music venue: Mojos, The Norfolk
Record store: Mills
Gig you ever attended in WA: Blues and Roots 2013 (Paul Simon, Jimmy Cliff etc)
Best spot for a quiet beverage: Cockburn Ice Arena (my local)
Something you get homesick for when tour: Local beach
Something that’s closed or gone that you miss: X wray Cafe
Breakfast cure spot: Runamuk Hotdogs
What’s that mysterious flying object? Aliens have come to visit… What is the first thing you take them to in Perth?
Q-zar. It might look familiar to them?
What’s happening for you in the near future?
We head around Australia with Holy Holy in 3 weeks and are releasing a new single very soon too.
We wanna be friends! How do we find you?
www.themoneywarmusic.com or FB or Instagram we use. Not very good at twitter!
SOTA Festival is proudly presented as part of the 2017 WA Day Festival, and co-presented by WAM. The sixth annual SOTA showcase will be held at Elizabeth Quay Monday 5 June, as part of the WA Day long weekend festivities with both under 18 and licensed areas. Best of all, it’s free!
Connect with us