Rabbit Radio Interview with Bella from IV League

Garage-pop legends IV League have dropped their new single, 'Superstar' ahead of their forthcoming EP. Frontwoman Bella sat down with Anna Leathem to talk about the song before they head on tour with City Calm Down in Australia and New Zealand next month.

Rabbit: Hey Bella this is Anna for Rabbit Radio, what have you been up to today?
Bella: Not too much, I’ve just been doing my admin but I slept in very late, but no it’s been good. 
 
RR: How are you feeling about the release of your single, ‘Superstar’? Looks like it’s been received pretty well.
Yeah, it’s going really great and I couldn’t be happier with the reception we’ve had. It’s really nice to finally get something out that you’ve been sitting on for a few months.
 
RR: There’s a really fun, 90s Summer movie kind of vibe to your music. So many things can inspire the way musicians write, what inspired you guys particularly with the upcoming EP? 
I think for so many years we’ve really been inspired by 90’s rock in all different genres, so I think coming towards the EP especially we’re really trying to tie together all those influences of the bands we love. We might not necessarily sound like a direct product of that but the 90s is kind of summarised by what we’re trying to do.
 
RR: Is it similar to other music you’ve released, what’s different?
It’s really just a growth, that’s been a nice thing to hear each time we’ve put out new music. Each time the feedback we’ve gotten is that our writing’s improved. 
 
RR: Who writes the music? Is it just you guys? 
It’s just Lachie and I who write the music, and then we bring it to our band to bring it to a live setting.
 
RR: So you’re amidst your mini single tour! How’s that going?
Yes! We are at the moment. We just played at The Foundry in Brisbane which is a great venue, and then our next show is on the 25thof May at the Gasometer in Melbourne, and then we’re finishing up with a show for Vivid in Sydney.
 
 
RR: Do you have any pre-show rituals you can share with us?
Ummm, nothing too direct. I think I’ve been trying to hold off on the drinks a few hours before playing. Doesn’t always lead to the most successful live performance.
 
RR: Along with the single, you recently released the music video for ‘Superstar’. Did you guys have a lot of input into the videography and the storyline of the clip? What was the process there?
I went to film school and my good friend Meg Duncan directed the clip, and I just really trust her aesthetic and judgement with everything to do with film. So I was like “You come up with a concept and we’ll put it on the table and see what everyone thinks.” We were totally happy with it and just let her take the reigns.
 
RR: At the start of the video, you play a bored checkout chick at a cinema candy bar, what horrible first jobs did you guys have before you began making sick music for us?
When I was playing the bored checkout chick I was channelling my first real job at a major supermarket chain, which was probably my most grim job. I did most of my work on the self-checkout because I would peak at the magazines and try and see what the Kardashians are up to.
 
RR: Next month you’re set to tour Australia and New Zealand with City Calm Down, that’s cool! 
Yeah, super exciting. We get to play at The Forum in Melbourne which is a bucket-list venue for me. It should be amazing, we love those guys.
 
RR: What’s your favourite venue you’ve played so far? Do you think that’ll change after this tour?
I’m hoping that playing The Forum is really amazing but otherwise, we’ve played in a lot of great venues. I’d say our favourite sets are probably more at festivals. I loved playing Laneway a lot, that was a really big dream for me.
 
RR: I’m going to finish on a bit of a weird question, would you rather have hands that kept growing as you got older or feet that kept growing as you got older?
I might say hands because I think in terms of practicality feet would hinder your day-to-day walking but hands you could reach things really far away and you’d never have to leave the couch on a lazy day off.
 
RR: Cool! Is there anything else you want to announce or tell us about before we say goodbye?
Well, we have the tour next month with City Calm Down so that will be amazing, tickets and dates are all available via our Facebook page. Other than that we’re just looking forward to getting some new music out which will be later this year!