Harpoon: Target Practice.

Harpoon play the 11th Annual Brisbane Blues Festival at the Waterloo Hotel on November 2.

Four-piece band Harpoon is not just another new line-up on the proverbial blues block. The formation features front man Junior Hickey with his natural powerhouse vocal range and musicians Mat Stevenson, Barry Harvey and Cameron Street who collectively boast an impressive performance career.

“These musicians are easily the best combination around, there’s no two ways about that,” says Junior. “Mat Stevenson is on guitar and been in God knows how many bands here and in Melbourne. He was part of the group that really lifted the Bomb Shelter at the Story Bridge Hotel in the 90s. Drummer Barry ‘Little Goose’ Harvey is from Chain, which is still going and he brings amazing rhythms and jazz feel and Cameron Street he’s got a solo show that’s really out there and very exciting. It’s sort of an industrial soundscape with different sound efforts that he creates himself, everything from dogs to squeaky toys to oscillating fans. I’ve never seen anything like it!”

Hickey a relative newcomer to the music industry is excited about his fortune to be in such a unit and he ‘makes no bones’ about why he and the boys decided to call it Harpoon.

“Oh cause its dramatic, its got a bit of assertion about it, like we’re on target and we have music with a point you know.”

The band is technically on a musical high and enjoying the Honeymoon stage every new band experiences. Since the members got together in July of this year they’ve been giggin’ in Queensland venues like the Melbourne Hotel, Pavilion and the Bribie Surf Lifesavers. Their Act to-date has been well received!

“Yeah we are such a new band,” say Hickey. “You know it takes time to get everyone’s vibe together and that’s why we do several Buddy Guy tunes, Hendrix, you know standards and other people’s tunes in the short term but certainly we’re doing a lot of writing just now. I’d like to do originals because it’s us talking.”

The Harpoon experience is not to be missed. It’s a new and refreshing outfit with an exciting stage personality and enough experience and talent to pull and hold a crowd.