Friday, May 3, 2019

AUSTRAILIAS AVALANCH INTERVIEW

1.Introduce yourself and your band and tell us why we should listen to you.
Hey I'm Steven Campbell, lead vocalist and bass play of Avalanche, we've also got Veronica ‘V’ Taleski on guitar and Ryan Roma on drums. We've just had Arthur Divis join us as well as rhythm guitarist. The music that we make is fast, punchy and hard hitting, it’s one of those energetic brands of rock that will make you want to get up and start smashing things. We're all quite young, but we play a brand of rock you haven't heard in a while, and you've definitely never heard it the way we do it.

2.What do you classify your sound as, Who do you tell people you sound like?
Heart-racing, gut busting, roof crashing, fast paced Rock 'N Roll. Influenced mostly by bands like AC/DC, Rose Tattoo, Guns N Roses and other 70s/80s hard rock bands, but played through the interpretation of our generation. We're loud, heavy, got a lot of blues influences and Chuck Berry influences, but we've also got a lot of things you've never heard before.
3.With digital music in today's world would you vote to keep or eliminate physical media?
Absolutely not, there's still something about going out and buying a record on vinyl or even CD and just lying there and listening to it without any distractions, and I think a lot of people our age would agree. Physical media will always have a place I think, we just ordered a whole bunch of CD’s for our new EP and they look and sound fantastic and we've already had a lot of interest in them. It’s just the only difference now is how much easier it is to get your music, there’s always gonna be the fans out there that will want a physical copy of whatever it is you’re putting out there.

4.What is the reason you decided to be a musician and has that reason paid off?
I think the reason I became a musician was because all I could do when I was younger was sit down and play, and it became a bit of an obsession and when I finally got onstage and started playing in front of people I realised it’s one of the only things I do that I could never get sick of or even put into the same category as work. For the most part, that belief has stayed the same for me and I feel it’s always fulfilled if I keep that belief.
5.How do you feel about females in metal getting special attention? Do you feel it is fair?
I think for the most part females in metal don’t really get a lot of attention, I don’t really feel they get any special attention and in a lot of ways it’s probably quite a bit harder to be taken seriously. But I’m all for anyone getting somewhere with there craft, after all we if we can’t be accepting and supportive of people in our own industry then how do we expect anyone to do the same for us. If you're good, you're good, shouldn't matter who you are.

6.In the world climate with hatred being at an all time high and metal being an “ angry” music
  Do you think your music contributes to anger and hatred?
No, I think rock and metal music is an outlet for anger, it doesn't breed anger or hatred, it allows the listener to let go of those feelings and what they might be going through or what might be happening in the world at the moment and just have a good time. That's how it should be anyway. I actually used to fall asleep to heavy metal, it used to calm me throughout high school when I was a pretty angsty but anxious teen, it’s almost as if you can put your own anger and frustrations into the artists and all of a sudden it disappears.

7.Are you opposed to religious beliefs or politics being used in music?
I guess it has its place for some bands, but we've never really been interested in doing that. We have songs about hell and the devil like any other rock and metal band worth their salt, but it's all in good fun, you won't see us at the satanic church anytime soon or anything. Religion and politics is already everywhere, when you come to our show, you can leave it at the door and just have a bit of fun with things.
8.We have dived into some pretty deep issues here do you think your music sends a message and if so what is it?
I think for the most part we just want people to have a good time when they listen to our music, and to release any frustrations they may have. I think when people hear our music they’ll probably feel a mixture of humour, excitement and raw energy. Our music doesn't have the most deepest meaning in the world, but it's raw and real and it means the world to us and I think anybody listening will feel that to.
9.The market has changed and many bands believe that record labels are a thing of the past, with many labels now charging bands to “sign” how do you think a band can make it in todays scene?
Well in my experience the best way to do it is yourself, at least for the first year or so. So you get an idea of what exactly goes on behind the scenes of being in a band, if you don’t know what these people are doing for you, you could be getting screwed and not even realise it. Once you get to a certain level where you feel like you actually need these people to help you that’s when it’s a good idea to go looking, and generally you can find a good deal with the right solicitor or someone in the know how. It’s not easy to ‘make it’ these days but it’s not an impossible feat, you just have to know what you’re getting yourself into and I feel the best way to do that is by going headfirst into it yourself.
10.Why with the thousands of options including netflix , sporting events everything on demand
    Why do you think people should take the time to listen to what you have to say in your music?
I think, from our experience at least, they'll always be people out there, both young and old who will want to listen to a guitar band. Music is one of the oldest art form and I think people connect with it in a way different to everything else, people will always want to hear music in some form of another and we’re pretty happy to say we play loud and fast. Hopefully people will take the time out to listen to us and follow our music because we can speak to them on a certain level. 

11.How do you feel about pay to play? Do you think it is fair for a band to have to pay money to play?
Nah, we haven't really come across that here in Sydney yet, but we don't think it's fair. It's not like we get paid much as it is, and often even when you are getting paid, you still gotta pay the sound guy and pay for petrol and all these other things, we're not complaining or anything, but you often end up losing money no matter which way you slice it, so why charge even more on top?
12.It is fact that you are the talent and the entertainment explain what you think is the most important key to success?
I think persistence and tenacity. It's physics, if you just keep going you're bound to get somewhere right? Most bands fail because they give up, if you just keep going and giving it everything you got, then failure isn't really an option because you don't have anything else. In other words, never have a plan B haha.

13.In country music and even in some cases rock music is written and performed by different people would your band perform a song written by someone else?
Nah, we've done covers of Johnny B Goode and a bit of AC/DC and such in the past, but too actually go out and a release a song that we didn't write we probably wouldn't do it. What's the point really if you can't write your own material?
14.If you are pro female in music are you pro using sex to sell your music?
Ask Veronica haha. Well a lot of our songs are about sex, we have Balls Deep and On Your Back so far and Veronica’s the one who came up with those. But even for the male’s, Rock’s always been a pretty sexualised genre, look at Axl Rose or Mick Jagger or Bon Scott? You think he wore jeans that tight by accident? You just gotta do what feels right, and there's no use denying what the genre’s about and what it's always been about, might as well embrace it I guess.

15.What is your view on the lawsuits against people saying lewd or unprofessional things to women or men and how does that affect an art described as sex drugs and rock n roll ?
Well obviously bad behaviour like that should not be tolerated, but when it comes to rock music, I think whatever's said or done in a rock song or a gig should all be in good fun and not to hurt anyone. Both men and women should be free to express their love of sex, drugs and rock and roll without harming anybody else or fearing judgement you know? From the shows we've been at and other bands we've seen, there hasn't been much of a problem and everybody always seems to be pretty cool with each other.
16. Ok lets lighten up a bit. What is your favorite band of all time and why?
I'll let Veronica take this one.

Veronica: AC/DC. We'd all seen them on the Rock or Bust tour on different dates before we were even a band. They are the reason I picked up the guitar and after seeing them live, realising they were just this band from Burwood which is a couple suburbs down from where I grew up, it just made me believe that I could do this for a living. I had heard from someone who had heard from the ex-drummer of AC/DC that Angus Young used to lock himself up in hotel rooms when they were on tour and just practice for hours on end each day, so I thought I better start doing the same. I went out and bought a shitty second hand epiphone SG from a police auction; played the shit out of that and now I've got 2 Gibson SG’s, one in cherry and one in ebony, and a vintage Marshall stack to boot. I met Ryan our drummer, and between us we know how to play every single AC/DC song there is and that's how we started playing together. They're music is just such a joy to listen you, they opened up a whole new world or musical influences, from blues to early rock and roll that I probably would otherwise have never listened to. Now I love the blues and rock and roll and metal but they pretty much started it all for me. They're still just the most powerful band I ever heard and I don't think anyone could ever top them.

17.What would you be doing if you were not in a band?
Whatever pays the bills so I can be in a band.

18. Do you have a favorite sports team?
Parramatta Eels the NRL, Aussie rugby team.

19.If you could get on stage with anyone dead or alive who would it be?
I would have to say Jimi Hendrix just from the raw power he had onstage, it would’ve been a true marvel even just to watch him do his thing but let alone be onstage with. There’s just no one I can think of that managed to be as big of an inspiration and influential guitarist. Veronica would say Angus and Malcolm Young, and maybe Keith Richards. Ryan would say Phil Rudd and also Motörhead, he fucking loves Lemmy.

20.This is your shot to let loose, Throw down your biggest complaint about the music biz
Man I tell you what sucks about it, it is one hell of an expensive industry to get into. All the gear, the rehearsals, the recordings, the artworks, the merchandise, the advertising it’s literally just one cost after the other and who the hell knows if it’ll ever pay off but you simply say you don’t care because you’d be doing it for nothing anyway cause you love to do it. It’s a weird job

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