Just last week homegrown Metalcore heroes Parkway Drive announced a huge regional tour around Australia named the All Aussie Adventure Tour.
The name itself was chosen from a list of potential tour names put forth via social media by the band’s fans and in case you missed it, is a reference to everybody’s favourite mate – Russell Coight.
Though the tour doesn’t include Byron Bay in the list of stops this time (according to Winston, the album launch tour held a special spot for Byron Bay), there are multiple regional towns included along the way along with multiple all ages shows, affording fans a generous chance to catch a show.
Proud as we are of the local lads’ success, we took a little bit of time to chat to Winston about the tour, the genre, the new album and that’s about it.
CG – G’day Winston, what are you up to today?
PD – Just chilling around the house having a chat with people today, it’s good
CG – Sweet, so let’s talk about this tour. All Aussie Adventure Tour?
PD – Russell Coight!
CG – Yeah, that’s the first thing that popped into my head.
PD – That’s good! A lot of young kids just didn’t get it and took offence that we weren’t playing all over Australia so they were like “you can’t call it that mate”, but that’s not the point, it’s Russell Coight, it’s iconic.
CG – So you threw it out there for fans to name, what else was there? Give us the best, worst and funniest?
PD – Oh god, there was Skitztown Breakdowns… there were ones that were too crass to put on the poster but I can’t remember them all, there’s literally like a thousand of them or something. There was pages and pages of them, so much fucking work trying to pick one. If you want to go onto Instagram and find the hashtag #nameparkwaystour and pick the best one, go ahead, there’s some really decent ones on there!
CG – This tour is a really regional tour – which is great – what was the thought there?
PG – We haven’t done it in a while. We started doing it way back then because growing up in Byron we were one of the towns that got skipped over, so we know what it’s like to have a band that you enjoy and they’re touring but they’re definitely not coming to your area. We’re an Australian band and we come from a regional centre, so why not provide that access to other regional centres in Australia. I think it’s an important thing for kids to have access to live music, it’s a connecting community event, it’s very hard to go out to any music event and not feel like you’re part of something bigger than yourself.
CG – On that note – all ages shows are really popular amongst hardcore and hardcore punk, metal bands. It seems to be a really genre specific thing, do you think that has a part to play in the enduring success of Metalcore?
PD – Yeah definitely! I think it’s because of the access. The reason we all started doing this when we did, was because we couldn’t get into a pub to see pub music so you had to create your own and it was shitty punk rock cause you couldn’t play your instruments properly. But, it’s an all inclusive type of music. We live in a country that has really strict licensing laws which is very specific to the types of venues that provide music, it’s very different when you go to Europe and the States because the access to music is not completely dominated by licensing laws and access to alcohol. The fact that access stops anyone under 18 from going to gigs is a pretty big thing, I’m pretty sure most people get into music a hell of a long time before they become of age to go out and drink and go to a pub. It’s actually stopping them from participating in this cultural event, and it’s pretty big. When you’re a kid you want so badly to belong to something and what better place than up front watching a band who speaks the same language as you.
CG – It’s really great you guys have that in sight, a lot of bands grow and move away from regional centres and all ages gigs.
PD – It works both ways, we’re very aware that the whole reason we get to do this is because people come to gigs and people support us. It’s not like we create something and people are obliged to consume it and obliged to give us money to do something we care about. They could very well choose to not do this, so we’ll put in the effort to keep providing these opportunities to people that have supported us for so long; if they want us to play well we’ll bloody well come and play.
CG – Tell us a bit about how people have responded to the album, it’s been out 8 months now.
PD – Fucking hell 8 months, time flies! It’s been really really good. It’s been heartwarming and life affirming for us, simply because we created an album that had a lot of difference from anything we created in the past and i guess it was the first time we put ourselves in a situation where shit could have gone south really quickly. When it came to our career, there’s no better way to sink your entire band than create something that people really dislike, but at the same time it was something we really want to make and change the sound we fashion into the band. The band’s persona needed it and it’s something we really cared about so to have people react in a positive way towards it is really nice, it means we get to keep doing what we do and it means we’re not completely fucked! <laughter> It’s nice to be able to create something genuine and have a genuine response, you can’t ask for anything more really.
CG – People are always afraid of change, and this album is a bit adventurous so you’ve really pulled it off.
PD – Yeah, we’re stoked we were able to. It was literally like going on a journey to the middle of a lake and walking on ice the whole time waiting for it to crack. It’s easy to get stuck in a bubble where you think it’s good and you show your mum and she thinks it’s good, so you’ve got no real reference point until you put it out there.
CG – After this tour then, what have you got planned?
PG – We have a month off, then we go to Europe for the festival season which is pretty nuts. They’re going to be the biggest shows we’ve ever played and headlined which is really mental. Then we come back for some time at home, then I think we’re planning another North American tour after that, then the year runs out. Then we’ve gotta write a new record as well, it’s pretty non-stop for us.
We were in a position where we were going to write this record and sit back for a bit, but it kind of busted down doors and now it’s got more momentum than we have ever had, it’s just rolling on again which is pretty nuts to do after thirteen years into your career.
CG – Yeah, you guys are a long way in now and this feels like a new thing.
PD – Yeah it keeps going to these new levels we never even knew existed, it’s nuts. We get to throw pyro around on stage now which I’ve always wanted to do
CG – Cool. Thanks for chatting today Winston
PD – Thankyou!
