The Mill recently spoke to Chelsea House and Aubrey Berger, founding members of The Mods, about what got them together and what keeps them together.

The band grew out of an inter-years rock band organised by instrumental teacher Rohan, in 2020, composed of what were then Year 7s, 8s, 9s and 10s. That band got so big it had to be split according to year levels, throwing Chelsea, Aubrey (7s) together with Xander, Sienna and Sunday (8s). 

Sadly, Xander and Sienna left the school and the band. Luckily, Chelsea and Aubrey had already seen Jack play solo electric guitar at the Autumn soiree and “thought Yep, he’s great. We should recruit him.”

Their playlist started with a shared love of The Beatles and ‘whatever sounded good in Sunday’s playlist” but, according to Aubrey, they realised that they were quickly “becoming a Beatles cover band!” 

That was one of the band’s first challenges, working out how to negotiate which songs made it onto the setlist for each gig they played. They had to learn not to “stress if [we] have arguments. They’re always going to happen in a band.” 

They have also learned to adapt their sets depending on the event and who they will be playing to. According to Chelsea, “You have to base your plans on your audience. It’s really good when you have a detailed description of what the gig will be like. That’s how you get the best reaction.”

When asked how they know when the crowd are connecting with their music, Chelsea replied, “Dancing.” 

“Yeah,” Aubrey agreed,” they’ll be dancing shouting, ‘Aubrey have my babies!’ Sometimes the lights are so bright you can only see the people in the front row or the back but a lot of the time they’re jumping, and if they’re going up and down, you know it’s happening.”

Chelsea: And sometimes you can feel a connection with the band onstage. We can tell when that’s happening it must be good. I don’t know what you call that but when that’s happening on stage and we’re all comfortable and we’re grooving, that’s when it’s best.

The Mill: And the longer your’e together, the more frequently and easily you’re getting that feeling?

A: Definitely. Definitely. Last year there was a point when we were all nervously just standing there playing. Now we’ve got to a point where Jack will be dancing around the room because he’s got a blue tooth plugins for his guitar. We definitely are more confident around each other.

C: One time we were rehearsing and my brother, who also plays in bands, came in and said, During rehearsal you should be a whole lot more excited about what you are doing and dancing around because when you’re onstage it all fades down because of the nerves and you just want to get it right. So if you practise that stage presence when you’re offstage it becomes part of it.

This connection the band shares hasn’t come out of nowhere. Chelsea, Aubrey, Sunday and Jack have built up their relationship through hours of practising and playing together. 

A: I didn’t know Jack and Sunday before the band but now we’re all besties.

To kids thinking of forming a band they recommend:

A: Make sure that you have sleepovers every now and again because…

C: …you have these talks and suddenly you’re much closer… 

A: …or you bully each other all night and that makes you closer.

C: Yeah, Sunday drew a moustache on my face while I was asleep.

A: No I did that. And I put Sunday’s puffer jacket in the fridge.

C: (laughing) Make sure you’ve got the right people. Then make sure you go hard at it.

A: In the lead up to a gig, we’ll give up weekends, come straight after work. Lunchtimes. In the week before the Castlemaine Battle of the Bands, we all came to Jack’s house while he was doing a shift a Macca’s and set up and started as soon as he got home.

That hard work has been paying off for The Mods. The came second in the Castlemaine Battle of the Bands and won the People’s Choice award at the Kyneton BoB, where their cover of Blondie’s Heart of Glass got the crowd dancing. Footage of that epic moment is still viewable on the council’s webpage. 

A: I know that since joining the Mods Iv’e become a lot more confident. I used to be an introvert in a beanie. Now I’m improvising knock-knock jokes while Sunday’s tuning her guitar. Our first gig was at the Malmsbury Cricket Club. A car show. Tiny little stage that looked a bit like it was dipping, sank a bit when you stepped on it. But we did make $20 each. 

In December, The Mods will be supporting a gig by Lucy Wise and Babbaganoosh.

In the meantime, they have been working on some new songs. The Mill asked them about their creative process. 

C: I’ll be mucking around a keyboard, and guitar, writing parts and bring those to rehearsal and we’ll see what works.

A: I press record on my phone and then improvise everything, melody, lyrics and work the chords out later. I usually stick with the first draft.

But all the band members contribute ideas to each other’s songs. 

A: On Autopilot, Jack put in all this stuff with pedals in the bridge and Chelsea added harmonies 

It just came together in that week before Kyneton and we played it at Kyneton BoB.

The Mill: And you were a hit! Since then you’ve been selling stickers and badges, but what are The Mods’ plans for the future?

C: There’s a preferred path. We have a goal within the next 6 months to get gigs in the Melbourne area.

A: This isn’t easy because we are all under 18. They say we’re not going to pay you. This is why it’s good to work with the council. They will target young bands and connect us with opportunities. But unless we have some big break and become the Jackson 5 of the 21st Century, we’ll need to wait a while before we’re taken seriously.

Chelsea, Jack, Aubrey and Sunday are aware that they are already loved and taken seriously here in the Macedon Ranges. And their creative bond keeps getting stronger. 

C: Sometimes certain people just work well together. So if you’re forming a band don’t make it just cos Oh, you’re good at this instrument.

A: I have no idea what I want to do with my life but music is the one thing I know that I’m good at so if I can keep doing that, that would be fantastic.

The Mods will be supporting Lucy Wise at the Kyneton Town Hall on Thursday December 15th, but you know why you’re really going.