By Luke Voogt
Geelong band The Hollow Majors will keep the party rocking at the Sphinx after the AFL Grand Final with hits from the ’60s to now.
Hollow Majors front man Robert Cockerell spoke to the Indy fresh off the band’s debut EP launch last Friday.
“The crowd was pushed right up to the front of the stage,” he said.
“It was nice and loud and everyone was enjoying our original songs.
“It’s a shame the Cats had to go down (in the peliminary final) – it would have been an even bigger crowd.”
The man known onstage as Robbie Sea looking forward to a “packed” gig on Saturday.
“The bigger the crowd is the more we feed on it as a band,” he said.
“Most of our cover gigs are packed, full of dancing and singing. It will be a pretty rowdy crowd because everyone will be drinking that day.”
The Hollow Majors released their self-titled, five-track EP in pursuit of rock and roll glory this month, but they still planned on doing cover gigs for some time yet to earn their keep.
“We can now confidently say we’re an original band,” Robbie said.
“But we’re still getting tighter as a band doing cover gigs.
“Every cent we make from them goes to our kitty fund, and that goes towards the album that we’re going to do next year.”
Robbie’s dream of playing in front of thousands started when he was young.
“My old man has always been in bands,” he said.
“I’ve still got an old photo from one of his gigs – my head was high as the kick drum and I was playing a toy guitar.”
When the hyperactive 28-year-old truck driver put up fliers for band members in January 2016, he meant business.
“I thought enough mucking around,” he said. “Geelong needs to hear some new rock and roll.”
Robbie met guitarist Ash Wray, bassist Josh Dower and drummer Jake ‘Dono’ Donovan over a pint and parma, and they shook hands on his plan for greatness.
More than 40 gigs later the band is working on recording their first album.The “ADHD” Robbie described himself as a “front man” instead of a singer.
“There’s plenty of good singers but there’s not enough people that put on a show and feel what they are doing,” he said.
He said his guitarists were accomplished vocalists and that Josh was like a “second lead guitarist” on bass.
The Hollow Majors will play three 45-minute sets in Saturday night’s cover gig.
“We go flat out for the three hours,” Robbie said.
“Every gig we do – whether it’s a cover gig or original gig – we promote the s**t out of it.”
Read more about The Hollow Majors’ rock journey in the spring edition of Geelong Coast Magazine, out soon.
