The Lazy Eyes are definitely a band that you should be listening to. Just trust me, when have I ever led you astray? Never. I first heard of the band through their song Cheesy Love Song, early last year and they have been one of the most exciting bands to watch. The Sydney based band is composed of Harvey Geraghty (vocals, guitar, keyboard, scooter gang leader), Itay Shachar (vocals, guitar), Leon Karagic (bass) and Noah Martin (drums). Today (May 6th) the band follows up their single Where's My Brain??? with their newest release Nobody Taught Me. Also, I say that the new single came out today, but yesterday was the May 6th in Australia, so their today is our yesterday. Right? I don't know how time travel or time zones work. We recently had the opportunity to chat with the band, check it out!
Rapid-fire Questions
1. What have you been listening to lately?
Harvey: The Prodigy
Itay: Broadcast
Leon: Kraftwork
Noah: Black Midi
2. Can you do a cover of the song Believe by Cher?
I don’t think anyone can cover that song again without being totally outshined by DMA’s version!
3. I lost all of my money in the stock market. What is a good get rich quick scheme?
If you look young and cute, buskings not a bad idea.
4. How do I get initiated into the Sydney Scooter Gang?
Do a quad backspin 360 triple backflip and you're in.
5. What band has inspired you the least, and could you take them in a fight?
Probably our friends band Kosher Groove. They are so uninspiring, really terrible music.
6.What are you most looking forward to currently?
We are super excited for Festival of the Sun in December! We haven't played a festival since covid so we can’t wait to experience that again.
7. On a scale of 1-10 how much do you already regret agreeing to do this interview?
Nah this is fun! -10.
8. What was the first concert you ever attended?
The Wiggles
9. What is the worst piece of advice that you can give me?
Invest all your money in the stock market.
10. Any local Sydney bands we should check out?
Kosher Groove, Noodle House, Georgia June, Elliott Road, Eunuchs and Stevan are all great Sydney artists and good friends of ours.
Isaac Gutierrez for Born Loser Mag: To start things off, can you introduce yourselves and give us your role in the band?
Harvey: I’m Harvey, I play guitar, keyboard and sing.
Itay: I’m Itay, I play guitar and sing.
Leon: I’m Leon and I play bass.
Noah: I’m Noah and I play DRUMS.
Do you remember what first sparked your interest in music?
Music was in our lives right from the start. There’s footage of us (some of which is in the Nobody Taught Me video) ‘playing’ on instruments when we were really young. I also realised that the movies I liked when I was young all featured music like The Sound Of Music, Mary Poppins, Chiddy Chiddy Bang Bang etc.
How did the band meet/form?
We all met at our high school Newtown Highschool of the Performing Arts. It was a very inspiring school to go to. There were so many events that exposed us to music and other art forms. ‘Earthfest’ was the annual school festival and there would always be a huge lineup of different bands. In fact, that’s where we did our first performance!
Were you playing music before forming the band?
Yeah we all played music prior to the band. That’s how we got into our high school, by auditioning on our instruments. Harvey and Noah both started at like age 5 or something while Itay and Leon started around age 10.
How would you describe the Sydney music scene?
Quite varied. You get some spots that really go off and have great music and atmosphere whilst other spots are soooo dead. The main music scene lives in Newtown these days which is lucky for us. I think it used to live more in the city around Kings Cross, but the lock out laws killed it.
I’ve seen you mention the Enmore Theatre in a few previous interviews. What does that venue mean to the band?
We just grew up around it so it became the legendary venue for us. Maybe if you lived in London your legendary venue would be the O2 Arena. Ours is Enmore Theatre.. haha ok it sounds lame compared to the O2.
Are there any other milestones or bucket list items that you would like to accomplish as a band?
We do have a big bucket list. A few items include Triple J Like a Version, supporting one of our idol bands and meeting Nardwuar.
Something that stands out to me about your music is all of the layers, and the little details that make your music sound lush/full/complete?(I don't know what word I'm looking for) How do you approach songwriting?
Thank you! Glad that someone is noticing those details that we spent way too long on. It’s funny though because our approach to songwriting usually only starts with one or two layers - piano and voice or guitar and voice. Usually me or Itay will just sit down at a piano or a guitar and one out of ten times a song will come out. Rarely do we think ‘ok I am going to write a song NOW’, it usually just happens in the most unexpected times. When it comes to recording the song, Noah will lay down the drum part first then we will just layer and layer on top of that until it feels complete.
Did you have a clear vision in mind of what you wanted your music to sound like when you first started out?
The vision was pretty clear I think. We definitely wanted to have a psychedelic sound and image because that’s what the bands that we were into at the time had. I heard someone say that every band just wants to be their idols when they start out. I think that’s true most of the time.
Who do you consider your musical influences?
Grandaddy, The Flaming Lips, Air, Animal Collective, Melody’s Echo Chamber, Alex G, The Beach Boys, Carole King, MGMT are a few.
The first song of yours that I listened to was Cheesy Love Song back when it was first released. Can you give us some background on that song?
Cheesy Love Song was a rare one in terms of songwriting because Itay and I wrote it together whereas we usually write separately. We started writing it at our highschool after school one day. I think we came up with the verse and the chorus ideas that day. Then a while later, we finished the song off in Harvey’s room where we added all the other sections like the ending finale. Then we recorded it at home on Garageband when we had just enough recording knowledge to make it sound decent.
I read that you originally wrote and recorded the tracks from EP1 a few years ago before actually releasing it in 2020. Was there any particular reason why you decided to release the EP after a few years?
This is true! There were just countless things that took way longer than we thought. Initially we thought we could finish the whole EP in a week! Boy we were wrong. Learning how to record and mix took ages, then there’s cover art, mastering, printing CD’s, the list goes on.
To everyone listening to EP1 for the first time, those songs were brand new, but to you guys those were songs that you had written back in highschool. That being said, were you surprised by the positive reception the EP had?
Yes we were very surprised and flattered. Our manager picked us up right before we released EP1 so he worked a lot of his ‘industry magic’ which helped get the best reaction for the EP.
You have a new single titled Nobody Taught Me coming out soon! (May 6th) Are you excited to finally be able to share that with the world? What does this new single mean to the band?
We are super excited to get this one out in the world. This song was one that we kind of kept forgetting existed but then we would listen back and get excited by it again. Maybe it’s because the recording process was on the easier side so we have less memory of it. In other words, it has always been a loyal track to us. No bad vibes.
Can you give us some background on the track?
When I was younger, I would visit my grandparents who live in England every few years. On this one trip, I became friends with the kids who lived on my grandparents street. We would meet up everyday and do things that kids do like run around, have a hit with a tennis ball, play hide and seek, you know. Then the next time I went to England, I was so excited to catch up and play with them again only to find out that they had all left and moved houses. It was pretty sad but I still had a nice trip hanging out with my grandparents (who cameo in the music video). ‘Nobody Taught Me’ encapsulates the good and the sad times experienced in England, from the excitement of playing on the street to the heartbreak of being left alone.
Is this single an indication that maybe there's a new EP, or album in the works?
There may or may not be another EP coming..
Ideally, what would you like to accomplish through your music?
It’d be nice if we can transport people with our music. Escapism has always been one of the most enjoyable aspects of music for us so if we can give that to other people, that’d be so amazing.
Is live music a thing again in Australia? I haven’t been to a concert in over a year. What is it like to be able to do shows again?
It’s starting up again! We’ve done a handful of shows since covid and even watched a show at Enmore Theatre. The only thing that seems missing is music festivals. Hopefully they come back soon.
What is your favorite onstage moment?
There have been a couple of times when the audience has actually started singing along! For us that is super weird but very heartwarming of course.
What has been your least favorite onstage moment?
Two words: Pedalboards malfunctioning.
If I move out to Australia can the band adopt me? At least until live music is a thing again in the states.
If you can do a quad backspin 360 triple backflip on a scooter then yes, we’ll adopt you!
When bands are able to tour again in the US can you please come to Dallas,Texas?
We got so close to coming over for SXSW until covid stopped us so we can’t wait to actually make it over there!
What would you be doing if you weren’t pursuing music?
Harvey would be a professional scooterer, Itay would be a professional origami artist, Leon would be a professional guitar hero player (hope that doesn’t count for music) and Noah would be a professional cricketer. We’d definitely all be professionals though :)
What is something most people wouldn’t know about The Lazy Eyes?
Most people wouldn't even know about The Lazy Eyes in the first place but, if you do know us, here’s a secret for ya - We all wear wigs.
To wrap up, do you have any questions for me?
We’d like to hear this exact same interview but with you answering.
I'm really bad at answering questions. And asking questions. And conversation in general.
Thank you so much for taking the time to do this!
Thanks very much for having us! Hope to see you in Texas or to adopt you in Sydney.
Listen to Nobody Taught Me Here
Keep Up With The Lazy Eyes Here
Follow Us Here
(Does anyone ever actually make it this far down the page? If you're reading this DM me on Instagram or Twitter saying "Born Loser Magazine sucks", and I'll mail out some free merch to the first person that dm's me.)
