Interview with Reckless Coast: ‘It’s about not leaving breadcrumbs behind and getting rid of everything that’s not what you want it to be’

Brisbane’s self-proclaimed ‘coastal misfits’ Reckless Coast will release their surfy, pub mosh single ‘Bad Habits’ tomorrow (24 November), their first single from their upcoming debut EP.

The band comprises Jaeden Ogston (vocals and guitar), India Raine (bass) and Jono Frowd (drums), although they’ve had various members over the years: Their name references their upbringings, as they’re all coastal kids: ‘ I was raised not too far from Byron Bay,’ Ogston explained last year. ‘I was born in Stroud, Gloucestershire, but moved to the coast of New South Wales in Australia when I was two and Jono is from the sunshine coast up north,’ Raine said. Their name also references getting trapped in Coffs Harbour on their first tour, describing touring Australia as being like ‘a reckless coastline’.

”Bad Habits’ outlines toxic situations people keep returning to,’ Ogston said. ‘Sometimes we can get so used to a situation that we don’t see ourselves deteriorating. Like, “Am I actually in love with this person? Or have I become numb from all the bullshit?” I came up with the initial riff, I had a psych-surf riff in my head, it was trippy (laughs) and that’s what came out! I had a pub rock riff for the chorus and pieced it together with a blues shuffle. The band had the idea of addiction but transferred to relationships and feelings for people, when you know someone is a bad habit but you’re comfortable and don’t want to leave a situation.’ He describes the track as ‘coastal pub rock’: ‘You’re on a trip with your mates, it’s got that high energy, you’re in car, probably a convertible!’ Raine agrees: ‘Our inspiration came from 70’s and 80’s rock but we don’t want to just repeat ourselves, but we like the vintage element.’ It’s a song that grabs you from the glam rock guitar intro, crashing drums from Frowd, hooky, distorted bass and strong, catchy vocals and backing vocals from Ogston and Raine.

As the chorus goes: “And the people keep saying you’ve been down for a while. And I hope that it ain’t true. And these bad habits, baby, got me walkin’ to you. And I don’t know what to do.”

‘I play distorted chords, like Lemmy, it’s a kind of a Frankenstein song!’

Raine weighs in: ‘Even musically, he can’t pinpoint exactly where it started,’ she said. ‘The first notes I play for the bass, I play distorted chords, like Lemmy (laughs), it’s a kind of a Frankenstein song!’ It’s definitely a song that feeds into their different influences, including the Foo Fighters. Ogston was a big fan of AC/DC, Deep Purple and blues music growing up, including American blues musician and songwriter, Robert Johnson and is a fan of Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes. Raine was raised on The Beatles and The Black Crowes as well as the blues and has a tattoo of Kirsty MacColl on her arm. ‘We’ve taken inspiration from different artists and eras for this one, ‘Ogston said. ‘The energy of the song is quite lively but it’s about trying to make yourself happy but do what you need to do.’ Raine nods: ‘That’s what I love about the bridge, the lines ” I don’t want to see you go but I think it’s best for me to find my own way home”. I feel this was about friendships, that’s when the reflection happens, when friends grow apart or maybe move on.’

The artwork for ‘Bad Habits’ features Raine provocatively eating a strawberry, capturing an old school Hollywood vibe, due in part to its nostalgic pink and red colour palette. ‘The artwork was done by our photographer Charlie Falconer – @alwaysteary on Instagram,’ Ogston said. ‘The inspiration was based off retro Playboy magazine covers actually! Like the one with the stamp. The idea of the strawberry loosely references the whole Snow White thing, consuming what appears to be a normal apple but it’s poisoned inside. The strawberry represents toxic relationships/situations, they also looked more 70’s Playboy than apples. Apples did not look “Bad Habity”!’

Brilliantly, their upcoming debut EP is currently going under the working title of ‘Naked & Famous’, which they both love and say that Frowd needs a bit of arm twisting to come around to. I tell them that I love it and that it could also be the title of a Struts album and they get very enthusiastic: ‘It’s a cocktail!,’ Raine said. ‘We don’t actually want to be naked and famous (laughs). It comes from that British rock tradition, it’s raunchy and elegant, it’s got that retro vibe.’ Ogston laughs: ‘It’s got that Gatby style elegance,’ he said. ‘I used to make the cocktail but I’m a bit rusty, I think it’s got equal parts mezcal, Aperol, lime and yellow chartreuse, I’m gonna google it (he does). It’s based on a ‘Paper Plane’, it’s a really good fresh cocktail that has a lot of depth to it.’

‘It was the first share house I lived in in Brisbane, I had the best crew of housemates, we had a movie night every Sunday’

Also on the EP is another single that Ogston says they’ve ‘loved for ages’: ‘India’s mum came out of the bedroom and loved it, she said: “What is that song?!”’ Their next single will be that very song, ‘Burn Street’, which turns out to be the name of the street in first house that Ogston shared in Brisbane: ‘I had the best crew of housemates, we had a movie night every Sunday, there was a couple and a dog and also another guy there, too, he was a friend of the couple from high school,’ he said enthusiastically. ‘The couple got married and moved away, and the share house broke up. I didn’t realise that all share houses weren’t like that. The next one I had was dilapidated and horrible. The song is a nostalgic look back at the first house.’

The EP will likely also include the as-of-yet unreleased tracks ‘Running’, ‘People Piss Me Off’, which Raine says is her favourite, and ‘Dying Town’ as well as a track called ‘London’: ‘We’re going to record ‘London’ tomorrow,’ Ogston said. ‘I didn’t think it would be a band song but we did an acoustic gig recently and our fans loved it.’ I ask which of the Londons in the world it is about. ‘England, the original! It’s a love song,’ he said. ‘There is a girl I knew, I met her once, we became close on social media but then I realised that she’d moved to London.’ Raine looks at him: ‘I had tears in my eyes when he played it to me the first time, the girls will love it (laughs).’ Ogston laughs: ‘The lyrics aren’t tacky, I’m most proud of these lyrics, I wrote it after a break-up. Sometimes, you have to break something to see what’s inside.’ Raine agrees: ‘Jono, our drummer, had never heard it until the recent show and he just looked at me like “We’re fucking recording this!”‘

They find inspiration in wonderfully unexpected places, as Ogston recounts laughing: ”Running’ is based on a Matthew McConaughey motivational speech! It’s about not leaving breadcrumbs behind and getting rid of everything that’s not what you want it to be. I came across it on YouTube, it’s so spot on. I was playing the riff and somehow it connected to that speech.’ I tell them that another musician I interviewed recently wrote a song inspired by one of his films and they laugh: ‘He should have the royalties to the songs he didn’t write!,’ Ogston quipped.

‘Vintage pickups have that organicness to them – they’re not perfect – their perfection is their imperfection’

Both of them got into music at a very young age, as they told me when we chatted last year: ‘I was 5 or 6 when I started playing guitar, possibly 10 or 12 when I started singing,’ Ogston said. ‘Honestly, I have no idea why, I always had this calling to the instrument. I can’t say there’s a moment in time where it clicked, the interest seemed to just be there from the start. Then players like Angus Young just pushed me to take it further and further.’ For Raine, her grandfather’s basses acted as inspiration: ‘I first started playing guitar at age 7, and I picked up bass for fun on the side of my guitar playing around 14 years old,’ she said. ‘My grandpa was a bassist so we had his old basses around the house. I can’t pinpoint the exact reason I got into playing, but I knew I needed to. It instantly became a form of expression for me.’

If she could buy any bass on the planet, Raine goes for a Höfner bass: ‘For no other reason that I’m obsessed with Paul McCartney and a Rickenbacker one like Lemmy, it’s got this super old school vibe. I’d love a Fender Telecaster, Keith Richards style.’ We get chatting about pickups, particularly the beauty of vintage or vintage-tone ones: ‘Vintage pickups have that organicness to them – they’re not perfect – their perfection is their imperfection,’ Ogston said. ‘I’ve always wanted an old white Stratocaster. I’ve already got a Les Paul SG. If I had all the money in the world, I’d get a dark rosewood fretboard white Strat, some of the white Japanese ones are awesome, I’d be happy!’ Raine looks at him: ‘I’m not as obsessed with gear as much as you are,’ she tells him. ‘Jono and Jaeden will talk about guitars and pickups in the van for hours! My boyfriend, he’s got a Gibson Les Paul and he’s taken the pickguard off, it’s like a naked Gibson, it looks wrong!’ Ogston laughs: ‘The Les Paul has the standard pick ups but a lot of people change them for rare or boutique ones. However, it doesn’t matter half the time, ‘cos it’s in the player’s hands – I’ve realised that your ability as a player comes from your hands, so keep it simple!’ Raine agrees: ‘I feel the last 18 months to two years, I’ve stripped it back to a clean tone, I used to have different pedals and distortion, and it’s made me a much better player, you can’t hide behind the distortion!’

‘I’ll cook them something good and Gordon will yell at me’

They’ve posted some entertaining food videos on tour on social media and it turns out they they both love to cook: ‘Jaeden has this portable gas stove that we take on the road with us, the challenge is to try and cook for the three of us on A$10 a day (around €5),’ Raine said. Their favourite thing to cook is their ‘Reckless Breakfast’: ‘It’s basically a Breaky Burrito but we use taco seasoning packets and Jono uses way too much butter in the scrambled eggs,’ Ogston said. ‘The first rendition of it included a beer, too, which was wild at 10 a.m. in the morning!’

If she could have anyone to dinner, Raine picks Paul McCartney. Ogston has other plans: ‘Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver, so that I could see them argue! I’m sitting at the top of the table and they’re yelling at each other (laughs).’ Raine jumps in: ‘I’d have my mum and dad there, I’d want them to be having dinner with Paul McCartney,’ she said. ‘And George Harrison and Dave Grohl, he knows Paul McCartney. Just to hear their stories. My mum loves Gordon Ramsay.’ Ogston looks at her: ‘Keep my table separate to yours!’ I ask Ogston if he’d add anyone else: ‘No-one else to buffer. I’ll cook them something good and Gordon will yell at me, ‘cos it’s fucking gnocchi (laughs).’ Raine laughs: ‘Reckless Coast is into beautiful cooking, you’ll see some Reckless Coast cooking content soon!’ Ogston jumps in: ‘Yeah, Reckless Elvis, his peanut butter sandwich – we’ll gourmet it!’

Their camaraderie and sense of fun is always apparent when we chat and it extends itself to even little situations, as Ogston recounts: ‘This one may be too much info but we were at Frankie’s Pizza – it used to be the best rock ‘n’ roll venue in Sydney before they were forced to close. I was on the toilet and Jono rings me saying he has a shot for me. I said to him: “Dude, I’m on the toilet, gimme five or so” and so he literally comes and finds me, passes me the shot underneath the door, and does a shot with me, whilst I’m sitting there, in the cubicle on the toilet (laughs). I’ll never forget that and I’d love to know what everyone else in there thought, too!’