Tell us about your new single ‘Second Hand Band’?
‘Second Hand Band’ is the third single off our upcoming EP and our fifth single release all together. It’s a real powerful, toe-tapping, ear-ringing, early 70’s tinged, pure Aussie pub rock track about us as a young rock band in Australia, finding our way and finding our voice. We actually recorded it last year along with the rest of songs on the EP, just after covid hit and all the gigs and anything music related got cancelled, we just hunkered down and spent a couple months perfecting the track and the EP in the studio so it’s been sitting on the back burner for ages now. And we honestly can’t wait to finally get it out there!
What are you looking forward to most about going on tour?
Well since our last East Coast tour got cancelled from everyone’s favourite pandemic, we’re just really keen to get out there! It feels like all this built up energy and fire will finally come alight once again and people should bloody prepare themselves. We’re especially keen to head back to Melbourne, as well as Newcastle as we really enjoyed our time there on our first tour, and also to finally make it up to Queensland, and down to Canberra, which we didn’t get a chance to do last year. I actually grew up on the Sunny coast so it will be great to get back there and have a bunch of old mates turn up to these shows.
What’s your favourite work at this point in time?
For me personally I’d have to say my proudest and favourite work I’ve done would have to be on our song Permanent Ink. It’s one of the hardest songs I’ve ever been recorded doing and as a whole really shows off our musicality and how far I/we have come in music. It’s also gained a lot of attention online and at live shows with over 100k streams/views on all platforms which also makes it one of our most recognisable songs. I even had my brother in the film clip which gives it even more of a personal touch for me and something I’ll be able to take with me for the rest of my life, it’s honestly one of my proudest moments as a musician.
How would you describe your sound in food form and why?
Meat and potatoes rock. Isn’t that how AC/DC and Rose Tattoo often describe themselves? Haha. Everything you want and nothing you don’t, real gritty, bare bones, roots stuff, no bells or whistles or effects or fakery. Thats how we like things!
Tell us a quick, on the road or studio, anecdote.
Well as I mentioned earlier, we hunkered down in the studio to record this EP during the covid lockdowns and things sometimes got a bit crazy haha. We we’re honestly just really happy to actually be together and making music at a time when so many people couldn’t, so we had lots of fun with it in the studio. And something that became a staple for us is that we would often record these funny little videos of one or more of us doing something incredibly stupid and chucking it up on instagram. People started really getting into it, and especially when you have someone like Ryan and Arthur in the band, who are major class clowns to say the least, there almost wasn’t a moment when we weren’t laughing. But it got to a point where the videos were just getting so outrageous, that the studio owner actually called our producer to ask if everything was ok. So that was definitely a highlight. We actually made a little compilation of those videos which we recently put up on our socials so you can see yourself, but some of the worst ones didn’t even make it in there haha.
What, or who, inspires you?
In terms of songwriting, it can be anything really a topic or a feeling, the usual and the unusual, like sex, drugs, rock n’ roll, parties, girls, dudes, people, cities, experiences, tattoos, school, work… the list goes on. And musically, there’s tons of bands and genres that inspire us, like early 70s rock, aussie pub rock, blues, 50s rock n roll, 80s metal, late 60s rock, blues again. Sometimes you just get an idea or a certain feeling you want to convey and go from there. I’m a firm believer that motivation and inspiration doesn’t find you, you have to find it.
Which song do you wish you wrote?
One of our all time favourites and a song we wish we wrote would have to be Shook Me All Night Long by AC/DC, just one of the all time great rock songs. It was supposedly one of the first Brian wrote lyrics for and still to this day manages to get anyone up on their feet. The classic open sounding guitar riffs filled with the perfect melody and lyrical content is something we’ve always strived for. Sometimes all a song needs is a bit of space and they really showcased that to perhaps the highest degree with that song. It feels like you’ve been hit by a train from start to finish and has the ability to make a pub full of punters or a stadium full of fans lose their brain which is such an awesome quality.
What’s next for you?
Well this will be the biggest tour we’ve done to date and hardest we’ve ever had to work for the band. 12 dates in 4 states over 5 months, including 2 festivals. It’s really gonna be massive and we can’t wait, you can find all the dates on our Facebook or our Instagram bio, as well as on Spotify, songkick, etc. And of course we’re keen to release our second EP in May which is what we’re doing all this for. We’re gonna be pushing that for most of this year and beyond that, we’re currently writing for a full length album and may get back into the studio after the tour!
What’s your scene?
Sydney is our main scene at the moment, we’ll play anywhere in this city from the western suburbs to the northern beach’s or even straight in the middle of the CBD. It’s where we started and we’ll always have a place in our hearts for it, not too mention houses some of the greatest local rock and metal acts that most people probably are unaware of.
AVALANCHE SHARE NEW SINGLE & VIDEO SECOND HAND BAND + ANNOUNCE NEW EP OUT MAY 11 – PRESAVE NOW + EAST COAST TOUR
“Having first formed in Sydney’s West a few years ago, Avalanche have been making a name for themselves as purveyors of blistering Aussie hard-rock in much the same vein as those who came before them, with clear influences being taken from the likes of AC/DC, Rose Tattoo, and The Angels. On their latest track, these influences are clearer than ever, with Avalanche delivering a track that is evocative of all those artists who have spent their days practicing their craft with dreams of making it all the way to the top.” Rolling Stone
Sydney’s hardest-rocking four piece Avalanche have today announced their rollicking new single Second Hand Band, a powerful track that encapsulates what it’s like for a rock n roll band on their way to the top, out April 9. The band have also released a potent video to accompany Second Hand Band, an ode to the band’s beginnings, rehearsing in an old steel factory in Sydney’s west. Avalanche’s highly anticipated new EP of the same name is set for release on May 11, and the group will be heading out on a massive east coast tour to celebrate, kicking off at Crowbar in Sydney for Home Brewed Festival on April 9, then moving through Port Kembla, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Melbourne, Wollongong, Newcastle, back through Sydney, then wrapping up at The Basement in Canberra on August 14.
The new single, Second Hand Band, is evocative of the Aussie pub rock greats – AC/DC, Rose Tattoo, The Angels – but with a modern, unique Avalanche spin. The listener can hear the years of practice, passion and grind that has gone into this project, and anyone who has ever dreamt of a life as a musician will relate to the subject matter behind this heavy, gritty romp. Lead vocalist Steven Campbell says, “With Second Hand Band, we tried to capture our experiences as a young rock band in Australia and the way we kinda see ourselves and how others may see us in the industry; thoroughly used, gently bruised and in somewhat working order and trying to find our own voice, where all the music we play is influenced by what we grew up on, the music in our dad’s record collection and the dirty pub rock of Australia’s past, but played through our generation. Because when you’re first starting out as a band and you’re at the absolute bottom of the feeding chain, a good live show is the only thing you have, so you better make it fucking phenomenal. That’s what we learned very early on and we always work our arses off at every show to do that, and then we kinda worked backwards from there to get that on tape and in our songwriting, and so the single and EP was born.” The video for Second Hand Band captures exactly that – the exceptional live show that has been at the forefront of Avalanche’s practice since the very beginning. Dramatic, sweaty and exciting, the video demonstrates Avalanche’s commitment to true entertainment.
The EP is as dirty, hard-rocking and moshpit-filling as one might imagine after hearing the single Second Hand Band for the first time. Recorded at DEF WOLF Studios with producer and engineer Mark Matula, the EP is as hectic and brash as you’d hope for from a rock n roll band like Avalanche. It’s a full-body experience; guitars and drums right in your face from the get-go, with lead vocalist Steven Campbell’s voice punching through the noise. Speaking on the inspiration behind the EP, Steven reflects, “Well, this EP basically is about our experiences so far as a rock band and also just as people and where we’re at in our lives and jobs and all that. We have songs like Down in The Gutter, Permanent Ink and Spit in My Mouth that are very fast, aggressive songs, about life and fuckwits getting you down, not taking what others try to shove down your throat and not caring about what other people think. Then we have ‘Get Back (To Fuckwit City)’ which is basically just a fun, tongue in cheek ode to our home city of Sydney!”
The true Avalanche experience is to witness them live – and luckily for fans they will be heading out on an extensive Australian tour to celebrate the release of Second Hand Band in April through to August 2021. Giving audiences a taste of what to expect from their explosive live show, Steven says, “Our live shows are what we do all this stuff for and when people come they should expect a good time. They should feel like they’re at the craziest, wildest party they’ve ever been too, you know the one that ends up on the local news. The ones you can’t quite remember, but you’ll never forget. They should expect blood, sweat, piss and hell even some tears sometimes – our live show is what we’ve come to be known for and something you gotta experience to understand, and our new material encapsulated it better than ever.”
Second Hand Band (single) is out April 9. Second Hand Band (EP) is out May 11 and is available to pre-save and pre-order now.
Avalanche is Steven Campbell, Veronica Campbell, Arthur Divis and Ryan Roma.
Stream: SECOND HAND BAND Watch: SECOND HAND BAND
AVALANCHE ‘SECOND HAND BAND’ EAST COAST TOUR
SAT 17 APR | CROWBAR, SYDNEY NSW | 18+
‘Home Brewed’ Festival | Tickets available from Oztix
SAT 24 APR | THE ARTHOUSE CAFE, PORT KEMBLA NSW | ALL AGES
‘Artsville Unhatched’ Festival | Tickets available from Festival Director
SAT 22 MAY | PADDO RSL, SYDNEY NSW | 18+
Tickets available from Oztix | 1300 762 545
SAT 19 JUN | KING LEARS THRONE, BRISBANE, QLD | 18+
Free entry
SUN 20 JUNE | VINNIES DIVE, GOLD COAST, QLD | 18+
Tickets available from Oztix | 1300 762 545
SAT 26 JUN | HOTEL WESTWOOD, MELBOURNE VIC | 18+
Tickets available from Eventbrite
SUN 27 JUN | THE LAST CHANCE ROCK N’ ROLL BAR, MELBOURNE VIC | 18+
Tickets available from Oztix | 1300 762 545 | https://thelastchance.oztix.com.au/
THURS 8 JULY | LA LA LA’S, WOLLONGONG NSW | 18+
Tickets available from Moshtix
SAT 24 JULY | HAMILTON STATION HOTEL, NEWCASTLE NSW | 18+
Tickets available from Oztix | 1300 762 545
FRI 6 AUG | KELLY’S ON KING, SYDNEY NSW | 18+
Tickets available from Eventbrite
SAT 14 AUG | THE BASEMENT, CANBERRA ACT | 18+
Tickets available from Oztix | 1300 762 545
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