‘Are you having a good time? Can you dance to our music?” These are questions that concern Peachy Keen most when it comes to their work.
The five-piece band describe themselves as visually and audibly stimulating. It’s their blend of rockabilly, pop rock, swing, a pinch of punk rock and a dash of soulful jazz that gets crowds going.
Last year saw them play at six of the country’s most prestigious outdoor music festivals, ending the year as the last act to play before the countdown to a packed-out crowd at Rock The River music festival, a career highlight.
With their 50s look and sound it is a notably fresh feel. “We take our music seriously but not ourselves,” says drummer Brandon Shore.
“We’re 50s-orientated, upbeat. We prefer to mix punk, jazz, blues with a rockabilly feel. We don’t want to be pigeonholed as rockabilly though. We need to have an image in what we portray, then when people come to our shows, they see it’s different.”
Shore, alongside vocalists Dominique Otto and Alex Wise (two blonde-haired powerhouse eye-candies who say they are often mistaken as the only members of the group) are re- laxed as we meet at their preferred hang-out spot Hello Sailor in Observatory.
“We meet here once a month when we have a band dinner to discuss band meetings.”
The saloon venue suits them.
“People think we’re just these two little blonde girls bopping around, but we broke all stereotypes. We try not to be awesome – for girls. We can drink most boys under the table,” Wise chips in as they chuckle in agreement.
“We’re both lead singers, we’re like John and Paul from the Beatles,” says Wise.
The band started in early 2010 when long-time friends Otto and Wise joined forces after their stints in punk bands fizzled out. It was later that they met drummer Shore when out partying.
“We were all partying and got drunk and a Beatles song played at 2am in the morning we were all singing along and they asked me ‘hey, do you want to play with us’ and I was like, yes. They phoned me the next day, ‘Dude, are you still serious? And I was like, yes.”
The other two members, Greg Abrahams and Ryan McArthur, later joined the group.
The band recently launched a debut music video, for their single Shot a Man Down, to fans on YouTube and at a launch at Obz Café. Written in April 2010 by Wise and Otto, the video was directed by Ian “Bean” Morgan of Tin Toy Films in Cape Town last year.
“Our lyrics are about story-telling, boys and relationships. The way we write it too is in phonetics – ‘Double crossing’ – from the 50s”, says Otto.
Their love for the 50s era is evident. “Music from that time is honest, there’s no auto-tune,” says Shore. Honest, accessible and catchy. Along with its unique “call-and-answer” harmonies, slide guitar solos and upbeat tempo, it is a truly fresh sound out of a country rooted firmly in classic rock ’n’ roll.
Otto concludes: “Peachy Keen will make you dance even when you can’t walk.”