Following on from the success of the Tracks Party Tour earlier this year, we’re levelling up and heading to the Beach Hotel in Byron Bay on 16 August with a stellar lineup of bands headlined by Gerringong-based indie rock quartet Pacific Avenue.
The party takes place alongside the Byron Bay Surf Festival and Pacific Avenue will be supported by Crocodylus, Molly Rocket and Allensworth. You can purchase tickets for the event here.
Ahead of the event, we caught up with some of the boys from Pacific Avenue to learn more about the band’s beginnings, their inspirations and what they do when they aren’t touring Australia or the rest of the world.
The Indie rock quartet is made up of Harry O’Brien, Ben Fryer, Jack Kay and Dom Littrich. The boys are already headlining shows and doing tours across Australia and have supported acts like the DMA’s in the UK. Following the show in Byron next month, they’re also going on a co-headline tour across Europe and the UK with The Rions.
How did you guys come together and how long have you been playing for?
Harry: We’ve been playing together for around eight years now. The boys actually had a band before called Tropical Wax and I met Ben at a busking competition in town and he asked me to come and play with them. So we got together and started playing and it kind of evolved from there. We weren’t sure what to call the band but we’re all from Gerringong and nearby Kiama and the main street on your way to the beach in Gerringong is called Pacific Avenue so we named it that.
Jack: When we first started we were all fresh out of high school and everyone was starting to go to uni and study a bit, but we all knew that we wanted to go in the same direction and make something of this and take the band seriously.
Who do you guys take inspiration from?
Jack: In the early days we took inspiration from other Australian bands like Powder Finger and Jet. We wanted to try and emulate where we came from and the surf culture a lot of us grew up in. We all come from a musical background and everyone has their own taste, so everyone brings something different to the group and when you mix that together it creates a unique sound.
It definitely takes time to figure out who you are and how you want to sound.
What’s been your career highlight so far?
Harry: The first time we got played on the radio was massive. We’ve always had such an amazing community support from when we first started but it’s been mad to play outside of Australia and see people’s reaction. We just did out first international headline shows in the States and seeing people who you have never met before or have no previous connection to sing-a-long to songs you wrote in your bedroom is the craziest experience.
What’s your favourite Pacific Avenue track?
Jack: My favourite changes all the time but currently it’s either Devotion or Modern Lovers, they’re both so fun to play live.
Harry: I’m the same, it changes all the time but currently Leaving for London is probably mine, a lot of people seem to have gravitated towards it and resonates with them.
What are you guys doing when you aren’t recording music or touring and playing shows?
Jack: Both me and Harry surf so we’re always trying to get in the water when we are at home. It’s good to have that time in between touring to come home and reset.
What do you guys know about Tracks?
Harry: It’s funny because we were just recently talking about how we wanted to do a surf party or play a surf-related show and so this is the perfect opportunity. Tracks has such a big reputation, I remember when we were younger I’d get the magazine and cut my favourite surfers out the mag and stick them in my book at school.
Jack: I actually remember in Grade 7 we had to write a story for school and I wrote a surfing one. My teacher asked me my dream and I told her it was to write for Tracks, so my teacher helped me edit the story and we sent it to you guys. Although I don’t think it ever got printed. Haha
If you guys could play a show with any two artists, who would it be?
Harry: Probably Paul McCartney and Robert Plant.
Jack: From the benefits you’d get from it, supporting someone like Harry Styles would be crazy. I think the band I’d most like to play with though would be the Rolling Stones.
