Schoolfight is a six-piece mix of righteous Australian hip-hop infused with dirty funk undertones and smooth, three-part crooning verses. On-point flow, addictive keys and solid bass lines that are as big as they are bad-ass, perfectly combine with sweeping trumpet and chugging guitar to create a powerful sound that dominates the recorded and live domains.
Schoolfight is fronted by ex Cairns lad EmcYte, formerly of seminal Cairns Hip Hop act Souvenir City, and part time Member of the legendary Hot Rubber Glove.
Work on the third Schoolfight album, due for release in early 2016, is well under way with the first single ‘Australia’ being recognised in the finals of the 2015 QMA Urban category, a great follow up to Schoolfight’s 2011 QMA Urban winner, ‘Robots’.
Schoolfight hit the live stage hard last year, touring Far North Queensland, stomping Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast and visiting beautiful Byron Bay and northern NSW. 2014 saw Schoolfight grace stages in support of some heavyweight acts including the mighty Jurassic 5, TrueVibeNation, Horrowshow & The Funkoars.
The Fight’s live show, genre mixing style and musicality combine to create an experience to cater to any crowd. It’s hip hop based, but much more than that – catchy hooks, big beats, live instruments – real music, executed by a team of blokes that have stayed the course and continue to keep it real, for real. This year Schoolfight mark their 10th year in the music game. This alone screams volumes about the band and the music they make. The fact that crowds keep coming back show why Schoolfight is one of Brisbane’s most sought-after and respected live acts, blessed with a large and loyal fan base stretching coast-to-coast. This isn’t Johnny come lately radio meh – this is quality live Australian music.
I caught up with Schoolfight’s keyboardist and vocalist JB Lester for a chat..
TM:- Do Schoolfight have any plans to Hit NQ again this year?
JB:- Absolutely – it’s been too long since we’ve hit the tropics. We’re talking with some local venues now to lock in dates. We need it – it’s cold down here…
TM:- 10 years in the game and schoolfight just seem to get better, whats the secret?
JB:- Basically we’re getting a bit of salt & pepper around the chops and we’re a little smarter than we were at the start, marginally. Experience helps with any endeavour and music is no different. We know what works for us and it’s easier to lock it down after so many years churning out the tunes together. We’re also putting in more work than we ever have – tweaking, so much tweaking.
TM:- In the bands 10 year history, what are some of your favourite memories playing live with the Fight?
JB:- We’ve been lucky over the years – the big supports like Jurassic 5 and the trips up and down the east coast have been golden. But for me nothing is better than cranking out live beats in some uniquely Australian venues – at the point on Stradbroke Island, in amongst the sweet leaf of Kuranda, in between the greens at the local bowls club or in the rodeo ring out the back of a real country pub. Getting outside and making noise under the sun is hard to beat…
TM:- Great clip for 2AM (check it out below), I know YT isn’t exactly known for his shyness, but does being in front of the camera come easy for the rest of you guys?
JB:- For most of us, absolutely. If someone was prepared to pay us to waltz around in front of the lens talking garbage I’d have the makeup out in a heartbeat. A couple of the boys pretend they don’t dig it but we all know they’re just prepping an excuse in case they don’t like how the light catches their eyes. Plenty of credit has to go to the production team. The crew from Ninja Factory are the best – they even held back on the laughter when we tried to act…
TM:- Whats next for the fight?
JB:- This year is all about new music – we have released 2 singles from the upcoming album and we have 2 more singles to go before the end of the year. So many stinky hours locked away tweaking and refining, peppered with some cranking shows when we can. More film clips, more beats, more good times.
Schoolfight new single 2AM is out now, check out the film clip below.
You can buy Schoolfights music at their website www.schoolfight.com.au
Todd Macalpine
Photo by Pete Dillon
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