Merging Musical Past And Present With JOSH LARKIN From THE WHISKEYS

Interview by Kris Peters
Tweed Heads rock outfit The Whiskeys are a time bomb waiting to go
off.
After a number of years honing their skills, mainly by playing a
bunch of live shows, the double-edged sword of Benny Whiskey
(guitar, vocals)and Josh Larkin (drums) are now in the final stages
of getting ready to unleash their debut EP Old Soul Young Blood on
the world.
The EP cycle began in February 2024 when The Whiskeys premiered
their very first single, Hoedown, through HEAVY, and after a highly
promising start, it seemed as though the Metal Gods had claimed yet
another victim when more than 12 months passed without a follow-up
single.
But there was much more happening behind the scenes than the band's
lack of releasing more music implied.
Instead of rushing things out and hoping for interest, The Whiskeys
elected to play the long game, plugging away on the live circuit
and fine-tuning their songs so that when they finally come out on
June 20, they are given the best possible chance of invading the
earholes of as many people as possible.
After being privy to an advance listen, HEAVY can assure you the
wait has been more than worth it, with Lankin joining us earlier
this week for a chat about the past, present and future of The
Whiskeys.
"We recorded this close to two years ago," he admitted, "and we've
been sitting on it. We released one track already - Hoedown - which
we're really happy with. We've got good feedback from that, and
we're just ready to do the EP now. As life gets in the way and
things happen and time just goes pretty fast, so we were like, we
better drop this thing (laughs). We just made a decision, and the
time is now, next Friday."
We asked Larkin to dive into the musical nature of the EP.
"We wanted to pay homage to some old school vibe," he smiled. "Like
a bit of old soul, young blood, which is the name of the EP. We
wanted to hark back to the 70s and the 60s, Hendrix, Bob Dylan, and
just all the vibe that just gives modern rock its soul. We just
tried to dig deep into that and bring all our influences, which
comes from the modern punk rock and hardcore era. Then we just
threw it in a pot and served it up (laughs)."
In the full interview, Josh shared insights into the creative
process of The Whiskeys music, noting the blend of musical
influences and the challenges of balancing genres while maintaining
their unique sound.
We reviewed the EP's tracks one at a time, highlighting the
energetic Hoedown, the blues-influenced Places, and the catchy
Break Away, with Josh affirming their goal of creating an engaging
atmosphere. We discussed the intro and outro pieces and their
intended effect, as well as upcoming shows and more.


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