TRR: Hey guys.  Welcome to Tru Rock Revival Magazine.  Let's get this thing started and have some fun with it. 

 

AD:  Sounds like a plan.

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TRR:  First off, congratulations on the new album, "Four Years."  How long did it take for the band to record?

 

AD: (laughing)  “Four Years,” funny enough, almost took four years, which is not what we named the album after.

 

TRR;  Why did it take so long?

 

AD:  The reason it took so long is because of a member leaving, another band member working away, the lead singer breaking his leg and our drummer Marc getting septicemia from a tear in his bowel.

 

TRR;  Wow!  Those are not your usual reasons why a record takes so long to finish.  But it sounds like everyone is doing ok now.

 

AD: Yes.  Thankfully.  So, all these issues dragged the recording process out a lot longer than we had hoped.

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TRR:  Who produced the record?  Whoever did, did an amazing job from start to finish.

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AD: Thank you.  Actually, we produced the album ourselves. It took a bit longer but we preferred the creative control.

 

TRR:  Well, it's a great record.  Are there any cool stories that happened during the recording of the album?  

 

AD:  The last song on the album “Bring Back Hotrods” was made up on the spot while tracking drums. We were waiting on someone to bring us KFC for lunch and it was taking longer than we thought so we quickly played a random 30-second take of us wanting our KFC. We liked it so much we threw it on the album.

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TRR:  A credit to KFC!  You should ask them for a sponsorship per diem!    The name of the band, Amberdown.  I like that.  Cool name and easy to remember.  Where did it come from?  

 

AD:  Our original bass player came up with the name off the top of his head and we immediately loved it, and we all don’t know why we loved it so much but we thought it would be a good fit.  Stay Away From Numbers was our first name for six months prior. 

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TRR:  I think you made a good choice.  Stay Away From Numbers?  I'm thinking....no.

 

AD:  We didn’t want to put a number in the name and our drummer said, “Yeah, stay away from numbers” and we thought that was cool also, but Amberdown had a cooler ring to it.

 

TRR:  Tell me about the band.  Who are the players?

 

AD:  Daniel Connell – Guitar and vocals     Jason Glatzer – Guitar and backings     Marc Lennon – Drums and backings     Jeremy Young – Bass and backings

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TRR:  How did all of you meet?  

 

AD:   Dan and Jase met in high school and played cover songs in the music room at lunch. We met Marc later on through an audition process and Jeremy was playing guitar in Marc’s other band so he came and joined us later on when his band fell apart.

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TRR:  There's so many different genres in music these days.  What do you think makes your band stand out from others?

 

AD:  We wear our emotions and angst on our sleeves especially when we play on stage. We’re loud and abrasive and I think people take notice of that.

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TRR:  (laughing) Where do you feel rock is these days?  I think it's really in an upswing, especially the hard and metal sounds. 

 

AD:  I agree.  We often talk about rock making a comeback. We feel as if it has a bit. Music is forever changing.

 

TRR:  Would you continue to make the same music, even if someone told you that rock is dead?

 

AD:  Yeah.  We are happy to do what we love no matter the relevance.

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TRR:  Who are the band's musical influences?

 

AD:  Pearl Jam, Silverchair and The Offspring were big ones for Daniel, Jason liked the Foo Fighters and Motor Ace while Marc (drummer) and Jeremy (bassist) enjoy heavier bands like Metallica and Sevendust.

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TRR:  How do you guys write your songs?  Is one of you the primary songwriter?

 

AD:   We usually write together. Someone will bring an idea to the table and we normally finish it as a team.

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TRR:  If you guys could get together with another band or artist and collaborate, who would that be with?

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AD:  Daniel Johns (Silverchair), during the “Freak Show” era, would have been a big pick for us. That was a huge album for all of us when we were younger and his songwriting is always amazing.

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TRR:  What other bands would you like to tour with?

 

AD:  A band like Sevendust or Trapt would be good. It would suit our sound.

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TRR:  I think I'd agree with that, especially Trapt.  What is your most memorable show, good or bad?

 

AD:  Hard Rock Café on the Vegas strip on Saturday night. Seeing our name in big lights on the big LED board out front was amazing!

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TRR:  That's pretty cool.  I'm sure that must have blown you away.

 

AD:  Oh yeah, most definitely.

 

TRR:  Tell me about your dream show.  What would that be?

 

AD: Madison Square Garden, opening for Pearl Jam.

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TRR:  Who knows.  Maybe it will happen.  I love to ask this next question because I get so many cool answers.  What has been your most memorable fan interaction?

 

AD:  We have a fan who is also a friend that has our band named tattooed on her arm. She has cancer and we wrote “Ember’s Song” for her and her struggle with it.

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TRR:  That's amazing.  You guys are first class. 

 

AD:  Thanks

 

TRR:  We're now about 2/3 through 2019.  What’s on the table for the rest of the year?

 

AD:  We will tour and gig throughout the rest of the year. Most likely rural and national Australia. Next January we are recording again and we will consider a European tour.

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TRR:  Don't leave the states out of the equation.  We'd love to see you guys here again.  Before we wrap this up, is there anyone you’d like to give a shout out to or thank you to?

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AD:  We want to thank Melanie Scrafton our manager who does the best job and does so much for the band. She is like a mum to us!

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TRR:  Guys, thanks for taking the time for the interview.  Good luck with the album and the rest of the tour this year.

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AD: Thank you too!

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For further information about Amberdown, check them out on Facebook or on their website.