Follow The Leader… Cheetah

By John Bones on September 15, 2011 in Arts

Leader Cheetah formed out of songs written in the Adelaide Hills where the band’s singer and guitarist Dan Crannitch, and his drummer brother Joel, grew up, and where, joined by guitarist Dan Pash and bassist Mark Harding, they rehearse still, surrounded by the bush and the seasons.

Leader Cheetah won many new friends with their 2009 debut album The Sunspot Letters, after which they toured the country and played shows with fellow travellers like Elbow and Doves. Their recently released second album, Lotus Skies, confirms their place as one of the most exciting and distinctive bands to emerge in Australia in years.

As with most bands that are built to last, Leader Cheetah don’t sound like anyone else as much as themselves. No one can say for sure what accidents of history, genes and personality create an original sound in a band, but Leader Cheetah have it.

During the month The Beast caught up with the boys from Leader Cheetah in the lead up to their upcoming tour with Belles Will Ring…

Leader Cheetah in a sentence is… Link Wray hanging out with Lee Hazelwood in Adelaide, 2011.

First memory of music… Hearing I Get Around by The Beach Boys on the car stereo.

First album you bought… 100% Rap Volume 4.

Song that gives you goosebumps… Dock of The Bay by Otis Redding.

Fave driving album/s… At the moment it’s Harlem River Blues by Justin Townes Earle.

A Leader Cheetah highlight… Performing again at Splendour in the Grass this year was amazing. Covering REM for Triple J’s Like A Version a few weeks ago was a blast too.

If you could pick a supergroup its members would be… Link Wray – guitar; John Lennon – vocals; Mitch Mitchell – drums; Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn – bass.

Sydney bands giving you the good tingles at the moment… Belles Will Ring and Jack Ladder and The Dreamlanders.

Fave Sydney venue… I really like the Oxford Art Factory.

Band or genre that gives you an ice-cream headache… I was taught that if you don’t have anything nice to say…

If you bowed to corporate sponsorship it would be to advertise… RM Williams boots.

Your dream bill for a night (Leader Cheetah included of course)… In an alternate reality it would be Serge Gainsbourg, Nirvana, Link Wray, Howlin Wolf, The Beatles, The Doors, Buffalo Springfield, Townes Van Zandt, Love and Jim Reeves. In a normal reality we’d be happy with Magnolia Electric Co., Mercury Rev, Drive By Truckers, Justin Townes Earle, Midlake, The Decemberists, Gillian Welch, Ennonio Morricone, Neil Young and Crazy Horse.

An unknown Leader Cheetah fact… Mark is an amazing cook!

What next for Leader Cheetah… We’re about to hit the road with the glorious Belles Will Ring and we’ll be pulling up for a free show at the Beach Rd Hotel in Bondi on Wednesday, September 21!

To find out more about Leader Cheetah visit www.leadercheetah.com.