Ladies and gentlemen of the Dirtbin, it’s Friday! The waves were cooking this morning between the sticks and the vibe is high. Time to trade coffee for beer and idol office chit chat for bantz with the boys. Why not do this over a cheeky bit of live music, sounds lukka hey?
If this sounds like your typa jol, then pull into S43 tonight and treat your tympanic membrane to some surf’ful tunes by The Black Lapels!!
So, with the weekend ahead of us and the known fact that these dudes smaak a laka session out in the water, we got in touch to hear their story. Check out some of their music here:
Zag: Give us a little background to the band, where did it all begin?
TBL: The Black Lapels officially formed in 2012, we started off performing tribute shows at local theatres and also private and corporate functions, the band then held a residency and also ran the music program at the now legendary Dutch in Umhalanga, which was a period of immense growth both on and off stage.
Has surfing had an influence on your music/sound?
Most defiantly, Garth and I grew up on the South coast our local spot was Southbroom and later on St Mike’s, in fact our first single ‘Other Side of Love’ that was released mid 2018, describes a scene of me learning to surf at a spot called Ski Boat (our first surf spot) bay in Ramsgate, so many life/music lessons have been learnt in the ocean.
Most memorable moment as a band?
Live shows are always really memorable, We always take something away from every show…whether good or bad other than that, releasing this EP is a moment we will all look back on fondly, so much time, love and energy have been invested over this process, and we are really happy with the final product.
What are your hopes with your latest EP?
Really just that people will enjoy it, the hope was initially just to get it done and out…now we set her free and see what she does. (our eyes are on the next one!)
Favourite board in your quiver?
I bought a board with a Martin Potter-esk design from Kevin Colby, which is really great, I had a classic Shaun Thompson twin, blue rails and the original Instinct logo…I parted with that a few years back to a friend who was learning to surf……I miss that board.
In one sentence can you describe the vibe of the EP, All or Nothing?
A unique EP that reflect this spirit of our home both Durban and South Africa.
Where can we catch you performing over the next couple of months?
Obviously we are launching this evening at S43, the next few months we will be on the road for a bit doing press tours etc…but you will be the first to know!!
Where can we follow all the action?
You can find us on our Instagram and Facebook.
