Newcastle duo Leroy Macqueen and Kat Friend have built themselves an empire of eccentricity since relocating to LA in 2015, but they are about to venture back Down Under for a summer season in their hometown.

“We have just moved into an apartment in Newcastle so will be back for the summer at least,” the duo said.

“It will be awesome to be close to the beach again, driving to the beach from East LA takes AGES!!!”

With plans to record a new song in Sydney, the Gooch Palms are headed back to LA for just two weeks to pack up their lives, before moving home to Newcastle. But not without one last American hurrah.

“It’s going to be sad and tough so we’re going to make sure we splice in a lot of last minute LA sight seeing that we never got around to, heavy partying and as many karaoke times as humanly possible,” they said.

Alongside unpacking their sock drawers and hitting the Newcastle beaches, the Gooch Palms will also be venturing up the coast to play at Forster music festival Grow Your Own, on December 22.

“Being from Newy, heading up to Forster was always super exciting in school holidays, even if it is only a couple of hours up the coast,” they said.

“We’re pumped for Grow Your Own. We’ve got friends in Forster and are mates with a bunch of the other bands playing so it’s going to be a fun day for sure. Plus it’s a sweet drive so we can cruise up in our own car which is always chill.”

After years on the road touring together, Leroy and Kat are used to not having a lot of personal space.

“We don’t know how we have anything left to talk about or listen to but we always do,” they said.

“We stop a lot too and try and see as much of the stuff off the highways as possible. 

“We also make a lot of friends in every city too so it’s always exciting to go back to a place and see those people again. Keeps it all pretty interesting and fun.”

Now internationally renowned for their unique style, the Gooch Palms continue to look for new inspiration everywhere they go. Anything from a dog on the street to a random feeling can inspire in idea for new music.

“Mostly things just pop into our heads and we don’t know why, but we’re sure subconsciously it’s something we’ve experienced that has lead us there,” they said.

“All our songs go through a million changes before we settle on a finished product that we then start playing live or at least play at rehearsal.

“It’s always best to be able to bash out a song live at least a few times before recording it to see how it comes across and get the crowds reaction if it makes it into the live set. 

“We hope anyone listening to our music can find their own meanings to any of the songs. 

With a new album in the works and a whole lot of tour dates on the cards, 2018 is shaping up to be another big year for the Gooch Palms, but for now, the duo are looking forward to spending some downtime on their home turf.

“We can’t wait to have all the new songs we’ve been working on out there in the world!” they said.