During my summer vacation, I travelled to Messina, Sicily, a place with a rich history and a distinctly Greek element. From the first day, the Ellenic Festival attracted my interest from the title alone. Headliners were the inimitable Editors while the line-up was completed by other acts of the Italian rock scene.
Among them was The Whistling Heads, a local band that I learned are trying to keep the fragmented rock music alive in Italy, even if they are now making their first steps in the discography. With several live shows under their belt and a handful of songs performed in English, The Whistling Heads are embarking on their own journey into the industry with their soon-to-be-released album “Dull Boy” in a first attempt to gain exposure even outside the Italian borders.
Alberto, Sam, Santino and Giuseppe, are four young Sicilians who make up the band and certainly understand the value of their music, setting ever higher goals for the future. One listen to their first songs “Shoot Shoot” and “Teenage cliché”, is enough to confirm that The Whistling Heads are here to stay. But if you want to know more about them, read the exclusive interview they gave to SounDarts.gr.
Recently you opened for Editors’ concert at the Ellenic Festival in Valle dei Templi, Agrigento. How was this experience for you?
Alberto: Every one of us can say that it was a wonderful experience because we never played in front of that kind of crowd. It was beautiful to see the energy of all the people. Playing with the other bands was exciting because they are really big and it has never happened to us.
Sam: We also had a few words with Tom Smith, the Editor’s singer. They were very busy in the backstage, but we managed to take a picture with him.
Also, you released the music videos for the songs “Teenage cliche” and “Shoot Shoot”. What are the stories behind the creation of these songs?
Alberto: It’s hard to explain but it’s funny. They’re two completely different songs because “Teenage Cliché” is about being a teenager in a naive way, basically the ironic side of being young. “Shoot Shoot” is a deeper song about alienation, being oppressed by work and not being afraid to be part of the middle class. In the song I sing, “I am a poor guy, I am a poor guy” and I use a line from the movie “Shining”. “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” that became “all work and no play, I am a dull boy”. It’s like “Teenage Cliché” is more fun and ironic and “Shoot Shoot” is deeper, so they’re completely different. They are two singles in an album that can contain equally those kind of songs.
Since you mentioned it, recently you released the vinyl of your debut album “Dull boy”. When is it going to be released digitally?
Sam: Actually, we have a pre-order available for the vinyl online. We are just selling it locally in Messina or when we play shows, like an exclusive preview for the people that we see in person. But it will be available on September 1st both digitally and vinyl to shop on our label site, which is Disasters by Choice.
I really like the artwork.
Santo: Thank you. It was drawn by Beedallo. She’s an American artist from New Mexico. You can find her on Instagram.
What should we expect from this project?
Alberto: Well, I think that it’s an album full of different kind of songs. I don’t think people have to expect that it will be just a post-punk album or just a rock album. There are a lot of things, a lot of influences. I hope that when people are going to listen to the album, they can live an experience, because every song tells a different story.
Who are the Whistling heads? How would you introduce yourselves to your Greek audience?
Sam: We started playing in 2020, but it wasn’t this formation. When Alberto e Santino started playing, it was more of a casual situation but they were the ones that had the intention to pursue it more seriously. So then I joined the band. We are old friends with Alberto, and we had already been playing since we were kids, and finally Ziffo joined the band too. This formation brought chemistry between us and we all became serious about this project.
Alberto: We discovered that we can really play music not just for some sort of hobby, but also professionally. I sing and play guitar. I have wanted to have a band since high school and I met Sam. We were childhood friends, and I wanted to play with him. So I gave him a bass and said, “Play it, please, because we have to play together”. And then we had a few years when we didn’t talk much and I met the other guys. I met Santino. Then Sam rejoined the band, and finally Ziffo joined playing drums.
Who chose the name of the band and what does it mean to you?
Santo: This name has a meaning. It’s basically a joke that we use here in Messina. In fact, my father used to call me, pretty much “testa chi frisca”, which means “whistling head”. I really like that because it’s very catchy. So I proposed this name to the band as a joke, and then they liked it and we translated it in English. It was born like that, as a joke. But it has a really nice meaning. It’s kind of an insult but we embrace it because it represents the place where we come from. It feels like a signature name.
Until now are you satisfied with the reception of your music by the Italian audience?
Alberto: Most of the time, yes. I think that Italy is a challenging place to emerge musically, even more so if you’re from Southern Italy. So, yes, we’re satisfied, but we want more and we want to get out of Italy as soon as possible.
Santo: Post-punk or underground music is not so popular here. There is an underground scene, but very few people know about it. People might actually like it but they lack the initiative to discover new music. That’s the mentality.
What are your main influences?
Alberto: Well, I guess there is a bit of post-punk, but there’s also a bit of alternative. We also listen to a lot of electronic music, even if we have more of a classic instrument setup , but still there are a lot of influences by that kind of music.
Sam: If we should give a few names, maybe Blur, Wire, Joy Division, Pavement.
Which singers or bands would be the ideal lineup for a festival that you would participate also?
Ziffo: Well, probably Idles, Fontaines d.c, Dry Cleaning and Lifeguard. The new Crank wave scene.
How do you imagine yourselves as a band in five years from now?
Alberto: Well, playing Glastonbury or maybe KEXP or BBC. Take part in international shows. We want to go international. So those places are our dream.
What are your next professional plans?
Sam: We’re organizing a tour. We’re going to play in the north of Italy. Basically all the concerts we did until now were mostly in Sicily. Now we’re working to promote the album while still working on new music.
Ziffo: We also have another single coming out next year after the album release, but we can’t reveal the title yet.
What’s your motto in life?
Interview: Theodore Kolliopoulos
Many thanks to Ourania Plakouda for her assistance!
