It’s been a bit year for Pool House, and as they embark on only their second tour outside of home, it’s only looking up from here.
The band of mates, based in Christchurch and born out of the University of Canterbury, is tomorrow opening for Aussie group The Grogans- whose music inspires their own.
Standard of most Kiwi uni bands, Pool House have a pretty chilled attitude, but it doesn’t reflect in their passion and energy on and off-stage.
Samuel Crisp, Will Georgeson, Harry Van der Gulik and Flynn Fierro have always been keen musos, performing in high school clubs and choirs and attempting to maintain that life on top of university studies.
Crisp says it’s hard switching from band mode back into the busy engineering focus.
“It’s hard to go back to uni after doing something fun … but uni’s really useful for getting our name out there – really cool events, people willing to help us out or come watch us play.”
The band got together through mutual friends – Crisp and Georgeson were mates at college in Wellington, as were Van der Gulik and Fierro, also from the North Island.
Coming together following the cancellation of UC’s end-of-year festival, Tea Party, Crisp says they decided almost on a whim to put together a performance at his flat instead.
About 250 people turned up.
“We though we’d just see what happens … it was actually really, really fun, everyone dressed up and everything.
“Then, in 2022, we were like, ‘we’ll just give [the band] a go’ and it turned out alright.”
From there, Pool House started performing for university clubs and at student events, including the infamous Mono Nights.
More notably, they entered and won last year’s Dig the Gig, a competition shining light on UC’s favourite live music band.
Winning that meant a day-long session in a studio at Loho in Christchurch, recording and releasing a single, a paid-for music video and a trip to Los Angeles.
Being in the studio was a surreal experience for Pool House, able to learn from producers and mentors in the industry.
Crisp says they loved it so much they paid for another day to smash out even more music.
Their debut single, No Clue, had a “pretty positive response”, he says, as did their follow-up, Sunday, and they’re hoping for it to continue with a new release, out March 1.
Pool House describe their sound as a mixture between Australian surf rock and indie rock, similar to Old Mervs, and Crisp says the audience at Yonder tomorrow can expect a fun time with “simple good tunes and quality music”.
As for the future, he hints there’s plenty more ideas in the back pocket.
Pool House aim to release an EP this year and keep going with the flow, keep performing and taking life as it comes.
Pool House and The Grogans’ ‘Which Way Is Out’ Album Tour, Yonder, tomorrow, from 10.30pm. Free entry
