AP first formed in 2015 when singer IsyV put an ad in a local music magazine looking for a guitarist into SOAD, Iron Maiden & Baby Animals. UK guitarist Dave Ben Lee was on a long search for a unique sounding rock vocalist and everything clicked into place.. Similar searching for Bass & Drums resulted in the completion of the four- piece in the form of two Aussie natives Scott Strong and Alex Freeworld. Both guys keen to get their teeth into a project with key goals of producing an EP, Album and strong LIVE show.
2 years of Rock mayhem ensued - writing, rehearsing, recording, performing, culminating in Accidental Presidents debut 3 track EP 'jiggery-pokery' for which they received stellar reviews from the likes of 100%Rock, the music, & Happy Mag, gaining the band airplay & radio appearances around Australia. Within a matter of months however, the singer had departed in order to focus her energies on other social interests, there was a core meltdown at the elusive Freeworld Bass Reactor & in true Spinal Tap fashion a small uncontrolled explosion culminated in the tub thumpers demise.
AP moved into 2018 with the recruitment of the prodigious Bethany Neville on lead vocals. A creative solo force of nature in her own right, Beth slotted right in with the AP sound, outlook & attitude, bringing her own inimitable style & no little flair. That was followed by the recruitment of genuine Hard Rock talent in the form of Alper Akin, who not only brought high quality cymbals all the way from his Turkish homeland, but also an exciting harder edged percussive sound to take forward into 2018's planned releases.
2. What’s the origin of the band’s name?
Being very socially aware the band draw inspiration from world events & current affairs. The name of the band is based upon a school of thought that anyone who wants to be in power should never be allowed to be, and the fairest, most balanced leader would perhaps be an Accidental President. ... A question often asked is ‘Is the band named after Donald Trump?’ But the idea behind the name is the very antithesis of that situation, arrived at prior to his surprising campaign & inauguration. None the less it does make for interesting discussion.
3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there?
Accidental President HQ is based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, Australia. The LIVE music scene is alive but not necessarily kicking at this point in time. A number of venues have closed down over recent years and support for bands at a grass roots level isn’t what it was in the INXS heyday –so I’m told! That said there is no shortage of artists and musicians who keep the ‘arts’ alive and touring bands are well supported. For AP, LIVE performances are a key factor in the selling point of the band earning plaudits for our dynamic LIVE show, artistic concepts & showmanship for which Bethany exhibits particular flair.
Are there any local bands you could recommend?
Accidental President haha, there seems to be a bit of a revival of past ‘greats’ just recently e.g. Midnight Oil, Dee Minor & the Dischords, Baby Animals etc. LORD are a great metal band out of Wollongong that supported Queensryche last year and another great band I saw recently supporting The Original Wailers was The Protestors.
4. How would you describe your style?
I’ve always loved bands that can really ‘bring it’ LIVE and am a disciple of good technique. And whilst I’m a Guitarist at heart, I love good musicianship allied with attitude and a sense of the theatrical. Over the years I’ve been to see everyone I possibly could. My first gig was Metallica when I was 15 and I’ve always loved James Hetfield’s attitude and swagger. With other influences like Alter Bridge and Dream Theater, and then Bethany’s influences such as Evanescence, the vision is to produce harmonically driven hard rock sound with a focus on hooks, melodies & vocal harmonies that supports a theatrical presentation.
5. What have you released so far and what can someone expect from your works?
Our debut EP in 2017 was ‘jiggery-pokery’ a selection of 3 songs to demonstrate our range. Hopes and Dreams was the title track with a big chorus and an epic feel, whilst the other 2 tracks showed our harder heavier side. Our new EP ‘The King is Dead’ has as its title track an up tempo, lead-guitar laced, hook laden, anthem feel, reflecting on a time old tale of Empires falling & Regimes changing. People can always expect a tight, well rehearsed, LIVE feel, full of soul and energy.
6. Do you have any new music in the works?
Yes, this EP is part of a plan! We’ll follow up The King is Dead with another EP & Video around September before finishing off this set of songs with an album at the end of the year. We’re releasing EPs as we go in order to get our music out there sooner rather than later and see where it takes us!
7. How about playing shows and touring, have anything planned out?
As we’re currently very much geared to producing the album, we’re looking to pick up any decent show opportunities that come our way but really to focus on the album with view to hopefully touring towards the end of the year & into 2019. And then World Domination into 2020.
8. What plans do you have for the future as a band?
After what happened with the disintegration of the band in 2017 that lead to this revitalised and exciting new line-up, we’re currently looking to seize the moment and produce the best work we can with the energy we’re all bringing to the table. Everyone’s really enjoying rehearsing and recording and I don’t think you can ever ask for more than that. The album is our number one goal at the moment and we’ll look to move forward however the cards fall after that. The only certainty I have is that I’ll always be shredding, writing, recording & working with good musicians..... & drummers
9. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
Now that would be very nice indeed. ‘The King is Dead’ will be released on 22nd June and will be available for purchase via all the usual digital distributors. Our debut EP is obviously already available from those same outlets. You can also stream our stuff from our website at www.accidentalpresident.com.au as well as the via Facebook & Reverbnation – AccidentalPresident.
10. What is it you’d like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first time?
I love it when people come to something new with open eyes, open ears, open mind and accept something purely for what it is rather than what it isn’t. I’d hope people pick up on our passion, our authenticity, our musicianship, our energy, our own unique blend of melody, harmony and rhythm and go away remembering most of all that we gave it our all. And hopefully some will want to come back to listen to it again!
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