The New Year is set to start in a blaze of glory on the Australian festival calendar, with Full Tilt preparing to unleash their first event of 2022 at Eaton’s Hotel in Brisbane on January 8 before the travelling musical extravaganza heads to Adelaide on January 29 then Sydney on February 26 before finishing up in Melbourne on March 26.
Full Tilt is a celebration of Australian bands and music, covering genres ranging from rock to punk to metal and everything in between.
Spearheaded by Northlane, all four shows will also feature Thy Art Is Murder, Frenzal Rhomb and In Hearts Wake with a variety of local outfits completing each line-up.
HEAVY has decided to reach out to some of the local acts in a series of Q&A’s that tell you everything you need to know about music festivals and possibly some stuff you haven’t yet realized you should…
Today, we speak with Monique Pym from Sydney modern progressive metal outfit Reliqa.
HEAVY: You are officially part of history, playing at one of Australia’s newest festivals on the first line-up. That’s pretty cool, even if you never play again!
M.P: Right! We are so excited to be part of such a special occasion, and hopefully Full Tilt becomes a staple in the Australian festival rotation. This is one that if we weren’t playing, we definitely would’ve bought tickets, and that’s the best kind of show to play.
Full Tilt is happening on January 8 in Brisbane. Will your New Years Eve hangover be gone by then?
Well I can’t speak for everyone, but I sure as hell won’t be doing the Sydney to Brisbane drive hungover! I think either way, the adrenaline will be so high that the state of us will be totally irrelevant come showtime.
Festivals generate a great party vibe anyway, but this one should be pretty special.
Absolutely. Some of our most treasured memories have been made on the fields of Unify, Good Things, Soundwave – all the festivals we’ve been to as punters really. So it means the world to us that we can now experience that from an artists’ perspective. Hopefully we’ll be seeing that a lot more as we grow!
Which of the other bands on the line-up are you most looking forward to playing with?
Every act is top class, so it’s hard to pick! I’m personally really excited to be seeing Hellions for the first time since 2018, they always put on an incredible show. We also played a few shows with Thornhill on their tour back in April, so it’s gonna be great to reunite with them and see them back in action.
Who do you think will be the biggest pranksters?
I can see The Bennies getting up to some mischief.
Do bands actually pre-plan jokes on other bands, or are they more a product of opportunity?
This is gonna sound so nerdy, but I don’t think we’ve been around long enough to know, haha! We haven’t had our band prank initiation yet. We’ll take notes and report back to you with the 411.
Full Tilt has a great blend of rock, punk and metal on the line-up. How important is having that variety of genres on a festival bill?
Mixed bills are always a fun time, and such a smart move for festivals. Everyone’s got something they love and are comfortable with, but in my experience you always end up bringing home some new bands or genres to listen to, which can only ever be a good thing.
What survival tips would you give the fans?
Wear shorts or something breathable! The last time we played in Brisbane was for BigSound which falls around September, meaning you wouldn’t think it’d be that warm, so we basically only packed jeans. It was SCORCHING. I can only imagine that January is gonna be a whole lot hotter, so dress for heat and get on the waters!
What about other bands and yourselves?
Honestly, the same thing, haha! Maybe that, and say no to shoeys.
What plans does your band have heading into 2022?
Release-wise, we’ve just finished up in the studio, and we’re really, really proud of what came out of it. That will be coming in 2022 for sure, however we’re a band who takes their time with releases, so be patient! Apart from that, we’ve also got our first national tour lined up with Monolith Festival in March/April! There will likely be a lot more to come once we’ve established a plan for our releases. There’s always some element of surprise, even for us, so we can’t wait to see what’s in store.
