HUCKLEBERRY SWEDES - SUBURBAN DREAMING

The Huckleberry Swedes history is as chequered as hounds tooth pants, but a brief look into the band's origins will give some idea of the Huckleberry's make up.

Until February 2005, the Huckleberry Swedes worked mainly as a duo; Troy Loakes (vocals/acoustic guitar) and Mark Elberg (guitar/banjo/mandolin/ vocals), spending most of their time recording and touring in Europe under the name Canvas. The guys met in a Ski Village in Austria in 1994, performing in a “musical sweatshop” of a venue in which each act was expected to perform upwards of four sets a night.  Loakes recall's........

''meeting Mark in this environment which could sometimes feel musically unrewarding and extremely tough, I mean literally bleeding fingers and bouts of Bronchitis, mixed up with a poor diet and the DT's, was a breath of fresh air. We were like minded and we pulled off some of the wildest renditions of obscure covers you can imagine.''

 Troy and Mark spent their down time between sets writing and jamming together, and during these late night sessions discovered a musical chemistry that has kept them creating music together for the last fifteen years, over thousands of kilometres and just as many gigs.  In 2000, they independently released the self-titled album Canvas, launching it with a ten piece band of Adelaide's finest musicians.

With a line up change, new material and name change, The Huckleberry Swedes went into the studio in April 2005 with their original rhythm section consisting of drummer Toby Lang (The Audreys) and bass player Paul Cartwright and recorded the EP Hair trigger. Paul's other work commitments led him to bow out and he was replaced by Sam Willoughby in late 2005.

In January 2006 the band created a bit of a stir at Tamworth and made heaps of new friends, in particular the Flood and Bill Chambers. Shortly after, Loakes and Elberg embarked on a short European tour playing promo gigs, before June of that year saw the full band on the road, touring both as Bill Chambers' backing band and the support act.

Huckleberry Swedes spent 2007 writing, recording and doing short tours around the traps with new drummer BJ Barker (Kasey Chambers, Dead Ringer Band) now on board. 2008 saw them build their profile with appearances at some of Australia's finest festivals, including Tamworth, Byron Bay Blues and Roots Fest, Apollo Bay Festival, Gympie Music Muster and a handful of small, self promoted tours.

This is their debut full length album, produced by Midnight Oil's, Jim Moginie entitled "Suburban Dreaming."