Preview: Kathryn Kernohan

Some bands spend the first few years of their existence mucking around; gigging sporadically with the philosophy that ‘‘career’’ is a dirty word.

Not so Melbourne indie outfit Dancing Heals, who self-funded a two-week trip to Los Angeles to play shows and make contacts just 10 months after forming in early 2010. ‘‘We wanted to keep the band exciting from the start, and I knew it would be a good experience for us all to bond,’’ laughs singer Jon-Lee Farrell (right). ‘‘Playing in LA is like playing here, except people are a lot more receptive. Melbourne is a really spoilt music hub, you can go and see live music seven nights a week. LA is really spread out, so if you want to see a band you have to travel.’’

The three-piece – which regularly plays live as a five-piece – recently put the finishing touches on its independently funded debut album Into the Night, due for release in the next two months. ‘‘The album took about a year to record, which isn’t too bad,’’ says Farrell. ‘‘It was just held up by money, really, but we’re all really happy with the finished product.’’

Another coup for the band last year was its new single Live & Learn being used on a series of promos for US TV station NBC. ‘‘The money we got from that, and about a year’s worth of gigs, basically paid for the album.’’

The singer says Dancing Heals’ brand of uplifting, melodic rock is a collaborative effort. ‘‘We started the band just jamming out my old songs I wrote by myself and most of those songs are gone from our repertoire now,’’ he says. ‘‘Now, we just play stuff we’ve come up with as a collective. Dan [Trakell, guitar] and I come up with small pieces of songs separately and then all three of us come together and put them into a total song.’’

The first taste of the band’s album is double A-side single Live & Learn/Hillary May, which will be launched on Saturday at The Toff in Town.

The band will embark on an extensive national tour after the album’s release and plans to tour overseas later in the year. ‘‘It’s a good time for us, it feels like a lot of hard work is starting to pay off,’’ says Farrell. ‘‘It definitely feels like we’ve crammed a lot into a couple of years while evolving a lot.’’

Tickets are $10 plus booking fee. Visit The Toff.