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The Beautiful Girls.
 Over
the last few months The Beautiful Girls have been riding the
wave of success across the United States but have recently returned
home to share their beautiful roots and blues music with fans
across the nation. I caught up with vocalist and guitarist Mat
McHugh as he and fellow band members were settling down for
an afternoon feast of sushi in Brisbane.
"We started touring last night. It was crazy, it sold out!" beams McHugh. "It was as good as a first show back in Australia after six months as we could have hoped for."
The trio went their separate ways for a month or so each having a well deserved holiday after an extensive tour of the USA; first with friend Mason Jennings, then quickly followed up with a solo tour. "It definitely exceeded expectations," McHugh says of the American trip. "You're in the most the most bizarre place that you'd think you'd never be in and there's people there singing along to your music. It's quite crazy."
Not knowing what the fanbase was like in the States the band took a risk by heading overseas. "We knew we sold a certain amount of CDs there but we'd never been there. We can guess but we don't even know how many people are going to turn up to gigs in Australia to tell you the truth. It's one of those things that when we have a gig we wonder if anyone is actually going to turn up! We're always like that, so if anyone turns up or if one person buys a CD we're so stoked!"
It can be difficult to pigeonhole the style of music played by The Beautiful Girls because their sound is so varied. "We always have a problem with it because we have so many different sides. Our last record ['Learn Yourself'] was pretty mellow and acoustic and our live show changes every time too. At our shows everyone is always up and dancing and I think for us, that's amazing. If people can loose all their problems and inhibitions for a night and just have fun dancing around and smiling at each other and singing to the music, then that's pretty awesome!"
McHugh finds inspiration for both lyrics to his songs and enhancing his personal growth by keeping his eyes open and taking in what's going on around him. "I'm interested in the concept that no matter what walk of life you're from, what you do as a job, how much money you have in the bank or how much you don't have; there are a few basic concerns and problems and amazing things about being a human, and there's a few of those things that everybody shares," he explains. "I feel like they are the real things and a lot of the stuff that surrounds that is surface and it's not so important to your existence as a human. I'm interested in finding out what they are and learning more about them just for myself to be healthy and happy and find some kind of peace in myself. I think about those things a lot and they're obviously going to come out in what I write."
Given McHugh's positive attitude it's no wonder he is so appreciate of every aspect of making and recording his music. "You get something different live from what you get recording stuff. I get so amazingly satisfied when I go in to a studio and at the beginning of the day there's a blank tape and at the end of a couple of days there's something on there that you and your friends pulled out of the air," he laughs. "I guess it's the creative drive that any person gets when they create anything whether it's a tea cosy or the roof of the Sistine Chapel; there's nothing and then all of a sudden through you somehow there's something, whether it's your doing or whether it's some other kind of energy it chose you to be the conduit. It just amazes me. As far as playing live, the feeling of sharing music and energy with people and the power that music has over people including us, it's a trip. I close my eyes and I'm as into it as the most into it person at the show," he enthuses.
"It's one of the amazing things about being human. The world is getting less and less human with the amount of technology that is being brought in and it's important to keep humanity alive, art and relationships with people and sharing an energy bond. Sharing music with people is like creating a relationship with people that for me, sticks around forever.
"I am as in debt to the people who come to the shows and share it with us as they are to us. I feel like I should be paying them money to come and hang out. I bring it up often and our manager is like 'WHAT?!' Then he makes me sit in the trailer and not talk for the rest of the trip."
Kelly Parish
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dB Magazine proudly presents The Beautiful Girls at The Governor Hindmarsh Hotel on Fri 30 July with Goons Of Doom.
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