Brisbane based rockers Avalon Drive have been on the road since their beginnings three years ago and today is no exception.
“We’re doing a residency tour,” explains bassist Ryan Kennedy from a bbq in Melbourne. “It’s over a three week period, you could say we’re in round two. Smack bang in the middle of it. We’re busy but it’s good to get out there and get our hands dirty.”
The band end the tour with a gig at Valley Fiesta this Friday.
“You can call that dessert,” continues Ryan. “We did a couple of shows in Brisbane before we came down here but we’re looking forward to getting back home where there’s some sunshine, Fourex beer, and numbers that start with 07. We’ve played Valley Fiesta a couple of times before but we’ve got a better slot this year which is a little bit more exciting.”
Avalon Drive have shared the stage with some big names over the past few years including Fall Out Boy, INXS, All-American Rejects, Yellowcard and California’s Hoobastank. They’ve also scored TV slots on Rove Live and Toasted TV. They also won Toohey’s uncharTED competition in April this year which landed them a deal with SonyBMG.
“We’ve looked at uncharted as a break for us and a stepping stone to get where we wanted to be. And it’s worked! Sony’s been fantastic they are really positive about things.”
While touring with The Veronicas, the band succumbed to their own version of ‘prank night’. After being pranked on stage by the girls, the boys went down to the local servo and cleaned them out of toilet paper and off loaded it onto the stage during the Veronicas’ set.
Next up, the band are moving onto their third EP which will be released in October. There are plans to release a debut album in 2009.
“We’re really looking forward to pumping that out as hard as we can,” concludes Ryan, “it’s going to be our first release in a long time. We’re really excited about it.”
Avalon Drive play Valley Fiesta Friday 12 September. The View From Afar out 4 October.
