FINALLY FRIDAY: An Awkward start

Indie-pop newcomer San Cisco is “excited big-time” after signing to US and UK labels and breaking Triple J’s Hottest 100 before the band had even released its debut album.
Guitarist and synth player Josh Biondillo spoke to the Independent about the “nerve-wracking” experience of releasing the self-titled debut and tasting Triple J success.
“We’re releasing the album independently in Australia, so we’re interested to see what everyone thinks of it,” Biondillo said.
He humbly described signing with Fat Possum Records and Britain’s Columbia Records as“definitely one thing a band tries to do”.
Biondilla revealed San Cisco spent just a week rehearsing “solidly” to prepare the album’s tracks for live gigs.
“Our songs are harder to play live,” he said.
“In the studio we had access to a lot more instruments – extra synths and stuff – but we’re aiming to narrow it to use just one keyboard.”
Biondilla said San Cisco would be ready in time for its Geelong show this Friday night, playing songs including Awkward, which reached number seven on Triple J’s Hottest 100 last year.
Biondillo reminisced about bandmate and lead singer Jordi Davieson receiving a call with the news from Triple J hosts Tom and Alex.
“We’d been recording Wild Things and we were stuck in this hot studio with a broken air-conditioner.
“As it got closer to the top 10 we kind of started to think we weren’t going to get it.
“We thought a really small Perth band would be highly unlikely to get top 10, so we started to get a bit disinterested but then Jordi received the call.
“He wasn’t ready to receive the news – like, naïve – but we were still stoked.”
Biondillo said he preferred writing and recording in his bedroom alongside co-lyricist Davieson because studios made him feel “under the pump”.
The album’s outro was his favourite because it was “just a cool piece of music, not actually a song”, he said.
“I don’t know why but I just like it – it’s nostalgic because Jordi and I were just stuffing around in my bedroom with it.”