All Our Exes Live In Texas: When We Fall

Olivia Watson
29th May 2017

Sydney Scoop caught local indie-folk band All Our Exes Live in Texas at their "The Devil's Part" single launch tour at Oxford Art Factory gig last year. Since then they've released their debut album When We Fall, played at international festival giant SXSW and have just hit the US again to support Midnight Oil on tour.

In the midst of these exciting times, and prior to their headline Australian tour which kicks off in June, we caught up with Hannah Crofts (who covers vocals and uke for the group) for a quick chat.

It would appear you have been busy since we saw you in October. Can you tell us about your time at SXSW and the influence it may have had?

We had the best time at SXSW! It’s such a crazy thing – thousands and thousands of people all hanging around one block of Austin. We performed 8 times, did interviews, hired push bikes, swam at Barton Springs, played Chicken Shit Bingo, danced two-step at the White Horse, went vintage shopping and saw a whole bunch of incredible bands. We all worked really hard and I think we got a lot out of it as a band – met a lot of really terrific people!

Any travel blunders? Who runs the show when you're on the road?

When we were in the States last trip I cut my thumb open when trying to get a bagel and ended up at the emergency room along with ripping my passport in half and having to get an emergency passport to travel home on. No one runs the show when we are on the road, but I’m definitely the one that falls over the most.

You're building up an impressive list of musicians whom you've joined on tour already. How have these experiences affected your own music? Who or what else has shaped your careers thus far?

Getting to tour with musicians we really admire has been amazing for so many different reasons – on the road they all become your family because you are spending so much time with each other. Watching incredible musicians perform live, seeing how they live on the road, how they love their band mates, how they write songs, how they banter on stage – we’ve learnt a lot from everyone we have toured with. Our manager Clara has shaped our career because she is so hard working and passionate, our families for all being on board with supporting this life choice to be a musician and getting to write our first album with Wayne Connolly (he’s a genius).

Next for Australian audiences is your debut album launch tour, "When We Fall". How did this album come to be? And what can we look forward to in your upcoming Sydney show?

We’ve been a band now for four years, writing songs and playing together – so we eventually decided to start working towards releasing a record. We worked with Wayne Connolly, had our friends play on the record – we are very proud of the result. The upcoming shows we are playing the album, playing with an expanded band and also playing some new songs that will hopefully be a taste of album number 2!

And finally, what does the AOELIT gang enjoy in their spare time? What are some of your top picks for Sydney?

We all love seeing our friends play in Sydney. I’m also an illustrator so I love to draw. I’ve also been learning how to tattoo. We all love to exercise/swim/bush walk. In Sydney I love going to the Mountains for the weekend, vintage shopping and I DID love the Newtown Social Club may it RIP.

When We Fall is out now via ABC Music.

All Our Exes Live in Texas bring their national album tour to Sydney on June 16th at Cronulla's Brass Monkey, and July 1st at Marrickville's Factory Theatre.