Spearheaded by Isabella Manfredi, The Preatures are a charismatic blend of Fleetwood Mac and indie rock-pop. We spoke with guitarist Jack Moffitt ahead of their unplugged Perth Festival gig on the 17th of February.
Get your tickets here: https://www.perthfestival.com.au/event/preatures
Pelican Music Editor got to speak to band member Jack Moffitt on tour life and beyond.
So you’ve got two albums, a hit single and tours that seem to go on and on forever. How do you guys keep up with that?
Hah. If I ever figure it out, I’ll find you.
I know a few students here that’d appreciate the advice
“Yeah, it’s probably stored away in a magical mind filled with secret textbooks on some eastern religion or something but honestly, I’ve got no recommendations. Just be present and do the best you can do.”
That kind of schedule hasn’t stopped you guys from being involved with numerous causes over the years with Keep Sydney Open, Support Act and working with indigenous communities. What drives that involvement?
“It’s about place and knowing that where we come from is an important community. You know, whether it’s the same as the one we grew up into and what its moving into being, it still deserves participance and people who are willing to stand up things for what they believe in.
Things like Keep Sydney Open, we use them to highlight things that affects people in the community.
Culturally Sydney deserves better than what it has right now because of all the greed and legislation that sidelines a lot of what makes it great and I think that same ignorance and that same insensitivity is one of the things that made us approach the work we did with Yanada and the Indigenous community.
It was as much about learning and as much about keeping an open mind about what we are apart of than anything else. Its all because we feel something about what those organisations are doing and if you can do something, if you are an articulator who can respond, then I think you should.
That’s why we do what we do.”
Do you have any advice for new acts trying to get themselves established?
“I don’t think my advice is particularly relevant anymore. My experience in the beginning is of a place that’s not really there anymore.
And I think in ways that it would be difficult for us, it’s evolved into new ways of challenging groups to get their foot in the door.
I think that when we start shutting down places for groups to play, I think we change the nature of ways for groups to get established. If we can turn that around, music isn’t made in a vacuum. It needs a scene.
Fuck it. Just go out there and make it happen. There are no rules.”
It’s been a couple of years since your last album Girlhood came out. Can you share any plans for new music with us?
“Yeaaaah, slowly and in good time. There’s some wind being made around towards working with new things and we’re taking our time with that.”
What about tour plans?
“Any time we get out of the house is a good time! Perth Festival man. It’s always good to get over to WA, we feel like it’s our second home but otherwise we’re playing it by ear.”
One thing I was wondering about, before you go! How’d you guys come with the name “The Preatures”?
“Many moons ago in a little Sydney scene. We were a little group, it was just three of us and we met a guy called Gideon in Sydney. He was playing under the name Gideon and the Preachers.
We asked him to join with us and he became a full-time member of the band.
It was kind of a project and it needed a name and one day we were looking at changing the name because it wasn’t easy to find us on the internet. You know, the internet is the only reason we do anything.
I remember driving past a pub on my way through Sydney and I saw some bunting, it was like Little Creatures bunting. I was looking at the spelling, phonetically it was the same sound, so I texted it to the band members and that was that.”
Interview by Patrick Roso