Geraldton’s latest band Shark Smith debut single the sound of summer

There are big boots to fill when it comes to local music, but bursting on to the scene earlier this year was Shark Smith, and it’s looking like the shoe fits. The band is the brainchild of Ken and Jaz McCartney, of RATSALAD, as well as Sam Gevers, George Davidson and Ricky Clegg, and has been on the go since January this year. Last Friday the band released their debut single Toy Dog, alongside a music video filmed on the Geraldton Foreshore by Cian Salmon of local production agency, Can’t Create. “We had an absolute blast filming, and just got two perfect afternoons,” says lead singer Gever, thankful for the easterly that held off and for the response from the Geraldton Community Noticeboard Facebook page when it was released. The single is everything one can want in an a summery, upbeat indie rock song, thanks to the breadth of experience behind each member. The band has two more singles up their sleeve, which will be gracing their shiny, new Spotify profile between August and September. The wait is because “you’ve got to make people sweat a bit”, Gevers says. An accountant by trade, Gevers says it is “so exciting to see people do their thing. And then your track starts from very scratchy and goes through all the processes and the pieces get put together, you start to see the finished product being built in front of your eyes. So yeah, it’s quite, it’s quite a cool collaborative thing to be a part of”. Clegg drums for one of the most notable heavy-hitters in the Geraldton music scene, Alexia Parenzee, bringing priceless skills and experience to the group. Gevers says the process has revealed the quantity of administrative work that happens behind the scenes. “You don’t see it as a consumer, but it’s definitely there,” he said. The collaborative side was a highlight for the quintet, with each member involved in other musical ventures, “Ken is really good with the admin, he’s done it with a number of bands now — I would’ve stumbled through this whole process,” Gevers says. “Words can’t describe really, they are very, very good at what they do,” says the frontman, who is new to professional recording, and grateful for having a hand to hold throughout the process. The band has played live music before but are taking baby steps to reach a place where they can host their own gigs with original music and are gunning to be on stage by summer.