Hiaground – a Little Bit Salty, but Also Very Sweet.

By Dan Hutton on June 17, 2016 in Arts

With roots deep within the thriving surf culture of the Eastern Suburbs, Hiaground is made up of two best mates, two brothers, and a Spanish rock god (better know as Jimmy Heathwood, Kyle Maguire, Liam Byrne, Pat Byrne, and Fernando Durango). They’re basically a bunch of mates who channel their ADHD into a blend of rock and pop infused with blues and hip-hop. During the month The Beast caught up with Hiaground frontman Jimmy ‘The Granny Slayer’ Heathwood…

If I had to describe our sound in one sentence… I’d call it rock with a crispy outer layer, but a soft and gooey inside. It’s a little bit salty, but also very sweet.

Growing up my parents listened to… ABBA every Christmas. You are the dancing queen…

Our dream gig… would be our own festival in front of thousands on the green at the Coogee Bowlo, back where it all started. Plus, we’d get free beers.

If you come to see us play, you can expect… a hangover.

There was one time when we were starting out… that we played at the Coogee Bowlo every Sunday for four months regardless of how hung-over we were. This was the most alcoholic period of our lives, We have a song on our upcoming EP that is a story about the early days at the bowlo.

If we could have chosen one song to have written it would have to be… ‘Oh Loretta’ by Sex on Toast.

Our favourite song to perform would have to be… ‘False Feelings’. Everyone knows the words and Kyle knows the chords!

The best thing about the local music scene is… that we are all mates, we all support each other, we all gig together, and we even record together. All the bands in the local area are friends, or friends of friends. We have created a community that is literally bringing the love back to the live music scene in the Eastern Suburbs.

One person we’d still really like to record with is… Dann Hume (record producer and former member of Evermore). Everything he has put out in the past couple of years has been incredible. He is the king. That Sticky Fingers, album, oh my, and Matt Corby’s debut, wow.

Our biggest fan has got be… our manager, Harry Basset.

We’ll know we have made it when… Harry is no longer our manager.

To find out more about Hiaground, visit www.facebook.com/HiaGround or listen to us them Spotify, Apple Music or Soundcloud. Their biggest show to date is on June 4 at the Brighton Up Bar. Be there.