Interview with Avalanche

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

Steven Campbell (vocals/bass): There are probably a fair few reasons why I got into music the way I did. My family, the therapeutic aspect and of course just for the enjoyment as well. My dad was a big influence on me as he was a musician himself back in the day, so there was always a sense of being closer to him through music. It's also such a good way to work through frustrations or emotions you may be dealing with and in a much healthier way too. And of course it's just loads of fun, it feels almost like a drug in a way.

What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

I've always enjoyed writing stories and reading a lot, especially when I was younger I actually got an English scholarship into the high school I went to. It helps a lot with lyric writing which I do a lot of in the band. Sometimes I try to write a song as a bit of a story in itself to help get the point across which I feel has definitely helped me just being more creative.

How long has your band been around? 

Veronica and Ryan (lead guitar and drums respectively) started the band when they were in high school then I joined in 2018, and after finding Arthur (rhythm guitar) soon after in 2019 we've been going strong ever since. So close to 5-6 years now and we’re pretty happy with all we've accomplished so far.

Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?

We're based in the mean streets of the Western suburbs of Sydney, Australia and our favourite band is ACDC, how much more Westie can you get? We've got our base deeply rooted in Aussie pub rock music and some of the absolute greats have come from right where we're from so I'd say it's a pretty big part of our identity in music for sure.

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?

As I mentioned previously, my dad was a musician and played in bands back in the day. In the mid to late 70s he played in an original band called Avalanche and did a full length LP with them. They had some charting singles from the album, were on Countdown (one of the biggest music shows over here), even played and shared managers with ACDC and other Aussie greats but unfortunately went their separate ways soon after. When we were first putting the band together I threw the name into the mix and well, it stuck!

Tell me about your most memorable shows.

There's a few that spring to mind, playing with some of our heroes in Buckcherry, Fozzy, The Iron Maidens and even Ian Moss from Com Chisel and a whole heap of others. We did our first overseas trip to Noumea, New Caledonia and played a few shows over there at one point. The rock festival we played over there was absolutely mental, a couple hundred people all screaming and going off their brains at us! A big one for me as well was when we released a cover of one of the songs my dads band made back in the 70s. We got my dad to come out onstage and sing it with us, we also did a cover of ‘Nutbush City Limits’ with him haha! That was a very special show for me especially.

What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

It's changed a bit through the years but I'd say pretty confidently speaking for the rest of the band that our favourite is Cherry Bar in Melbourne now. James and the crew there are absolute legends, they also take care of us as best they can and we love playing there. We did the last Cherryfest there last year and played the 1 am show afterwards…it was definitely the loosest and most wild show that we did last year!

If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

AC/DC would be the absolute cream of the crop to be able to open for, but I'd say just about any of the rock n roll greats would be a pretty easy go to. So Airbourne, The Angels, the Screaming Jets anyone along those lines would be an absolute dream to play for.

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?

I'd say the best advice to give younger bands is just to stay consistent with a practice routine, have a clear goal in mind and to make sure you're putting in as much work as everyone else is. For me personally the consistent practice routine when I was younger would've helped a hell of a lot.

If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?

I'd say a good consistent practice routine would be the best advice both individually and with the band. I mean it can be so easily overlooked when putting together a band and it's almost one of the most important aspects. When a band is well prepared and rehearsed it can be the be all and end all of difference, and it's like they say luck is preparation meeting opportunity.

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why? 

Just recently actually I wrote a song for the band which is gonna be the first song of my own that we'll have recorded since our first EP so that's gonna be a big one for me. I don't generally write guitar parts and structure songs that much - it’s  usually more Veronica and Ryan doing that and I'll just worry about lyrics. I'm super happy with how this one's come out and just can't wait to get it out there for everyone to hear.

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?

I'd say at the moment it would probably be ‘Hells Getting Hotter With You’ which is gonna be the next song we release as a single. It always gets the crowd going when we play it and seems to be a real ball tearer in a sense haha! You can pre-save it here: https://gyro.to/HellsGettingHotterWithYou

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

We have a few different ways we write music now, sometimes we'll come in with a basic riff or maybe two riffs that fit together and we’ll write everything around it with each other at rehearsal. We also have songs that one person has basically finished and brings in to rehearsal and we all just do what they want and add things where we think they would work the best. I don't think we prefer one way to the other or anything, it's always just about what's best for the song at the end of the day.

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

We’re not really a political band or anything, I don't ever want to feel like I'm complaining to people in that sense. I generally will try to find an emotion or feeling that I've gone through or maybe I'm experiencing at that time and I'll try my best to put that into a song. Phrases seem to work the best like ‘Killer Instinct’ or ‘Ride or Die’.

Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?

We just try our best to stay communicative to each other. That's the only real way to overcome issues in the band and disagreements. As long as everyone is on the same page and can bring up their own issues then problems tend to end up taking care of themselves.

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?

This year is gonna be massive for us, we're gearing up for a new tour across Aus and Japan for the new release of our upcoming single ‘Hells Getting Hotter With You’, we'll have a brand new music video to go with it as well. That's gonna be the first of many new singles for us this year so follow our socials and

https://www.avalanchebandrock.com/

 to make sure you keep an ear out for what we're up to in the next few months!