First up, what’s the story behind the band name?
Well, there are a few things. There’s a great Ginsberg poem called Footnote to Howl, which features the name. I also love double words and the look of two words. Holy Holy – it’s just kind of satisfying in some sort of symmetrical and reversible way. It’s also familiar and fun to say. The only downside is that we’ve had a few people think we’re a Christian rock band, which is definitely not the case and can lead to some strange post-gig conversations. ‘Tell us about your faith?’ Ummmmmm …

Who would you most love to see in your audience one night?
David Bowie.

If you could listen to only one record for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Kind of Blue by Miles Davis. I used to work in an office and I would listen to that record most days. It doesn’t really get old and it just puts me in the best mood. Miles Davis – his story is wild.

As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Various things at various times. At about age five, I was into money. My cousin said I would either be rich or in jail when I grew up … Neither turned out to be true. In order, a millionaire, a lawyer, a winemaker, a guitar maker, an event manager, an aid worker, a fireman, a social worker, a booking agent, a festival organiser and a musician.

If you could give your teenage self one piece of advice, what would it be?
Oh god. So many things … At the core, I guess I’d say if there’s something you actually really want to do in your heart, go after it with everything you’ve got and in about five years’ time you’ll probably have it. Also, drink less.

Not only can we find you on the stage, but you also work hard behind the scenes to nurture the local music industry as a booking agent for Fortitude Valley’s Black Bear Lodge. How would you describe the health of the Brisbane music scene right now?
There have always been great bands making great music in Brisbane. The styles shift and the little scenes come and go, but it’s consistent. People love making music and so many people do that there’s always a few significant projects developing at any one time.

You’re playing at The Brightside tomorrow night, what’s the best thing about a hometown gig?
Hometown shows are great because we can play a show and then sleep in our own beds. And it’s always nice to play in front of a hometown crowd.

You supported Boy & Bear this month and will be on the road again with The Preatures throughout November and December – how do you and Oscar keep yourselves entertained on the road?
We recently invented a game where you amalgamate band names that share a word or sound … So we got Simply Red Hot Chili Peppers, Eminemmylou Harris, The Black Eyed Keys and Tears for Fear Factory. Then we got next level and managed to get nine band names into one: Mental As Anything But The Girl Talk Talking Headhunters & Collective Soul Asylum. That took up about four hours of a drive between Sydney and Brisbane, and was a tour highlight!

What old favourites are always on your roadtrip playlist?
The Notorious B.I.G., Duke Ellington and Led Zeppelin.

For a time, you were based in Sweden while Oscar was in Berlin, now you’re in Brisbane and he’s in Melbourne. How do you keep the long-distance relationship going?
We get asked that a lot. It’s really no worries, we can chat anytime on the phone, we email back and forth with our manager a couple of times a day and then we’re on tour most weekends. When it comes time to write the next album, we might try to camp out somewhere for a few weeks, maybe Tasmania or rural Victoria, or maybe even back to Berlin.

How do you balance both of your opinions?
We each bring different things to the table and I think when something sounds or feels good, we both hear it and if it doesn’t work we can both sense it too.

You’ve played in some incredible venues including the Sydney Opera House, what’s been your most memorable gig so far?
I actually really enjoyed the Fremantle Arts Centre last week. We were camped out in the beautiful old stone building drinking beers and warming up – the acoustics were great and then we went out to the outdoor stage and got to play to 3,000 people in the open air to warm the stage for Boy & Bear. It was a great atmosphere and the last show of the tour.

We caught your solo gig at Jet Black Cat Music for Record Store Day earlier this year – do you find playing those intimate, acoustic gigs more challenging than bigger venues where the crowd is an anonymous blur?
There’s less room to hide in a solo show. In the band, I could drop a chord or even get unplugged for a few bars – it happens! – and it would still be fine. A solo show is more exposed. I still enjoy both though.

Is it true your latest single ‘History’ was spontaneously recorded during a break in the studio?
Oscar and I had been sending a demo back and forth between us for a while, so it wasn’t like we wrote the whole song in a moment. But we did just start jamming on it and found a strong sounding groove and we taped that to catch the idea – and that was the take we ended up using in the final recording. I did the vocals over the top and the bass and synth were also added later. So it was just the drums, rhythm and lead guitars from that early session that were used.

You’re also creative director of PANAMA Festival, which launched in Tasmania this year – can you share any inside knowledge on what we can expect from the 2015 event?
Ahhh, what can I say without giving anything away … We have one of the most exciting Australian acts in the country headlining and the other headliner is a band that I don’t think many people will have heard of, but they are amazing.

Only a Brisbane local would know … the Brisbane Jazz Club at Kangaroo Point is at once the daggiest and coolest venue in town.

FAVOURITE WEEKEND SPOT TO:
Perk up … Sourced Grocer, Teneriffe.
Relax … Musgrave Park Pool, South Brisbane.
Catch up … The End, West End.
Be inspired … inspiration comes in fits and starts for me, from all kinds of places, and sometimes from nowhere at all. There’s definitely not a place I could go to, to get it … That would be impossible.