.

.

.

Photo Credit: Andrew Bromley

.

How did the band come together? Who is the driving force?
That band came together back in 2018 when Chris and I had given up on music. We had been in multiple bands that had all failed due to members who weren’t committed so we had just about thrown in the towel. However, after the birth of my son I’d developed anxiety around crib death which led me to write my first song in ages. I was inspired by the sound in the Blink 182 self-titled album which led me to try and emulate that in a song called “Little Things”. I showed it to Chris and we agreed it was probably the best thing I’d ever written and it was enough to bring us back into music one more time. We started out with a drummer who wasn’t very committed. Things went very slowly until about 2020 when that drummer left and we were insanely lucky to cross paths with Joe and we instantly clicked. We see this as the true inception of the ban! While we could argue that Chris and I were the initial driving forces, in the end it was Joe that catapulted this band forward! Fast forward a few years and now we have Elise, who is taking us to another level!

How would you describe your sound? Why do you think fans resonate with your Music?
Early on we definitely had a very Blink 182 vibe, maybe with hints of Violent Soho and Box Car Racer. But with our new music, we are trying to add a heavier edge. There are definitely elements of Four Year Strong (clearly with Alan Day jumping on as producer) but we have still got those Blink 182 elements and stay true to our roots. We now have a more modern sound but you’ll never take the late 90s / early 00s out of us! I think that’s the main thing that our fans have really resonated with and still are, but now we are growing our fanbase even more with the new heavy vibes!

Which artist’s music and/or performance, past or present, inspires you today?
Personally, I am super inspired by Bring Me The Horizon and Ollie Sykes evolution as a vocalist. Unpopular opinion – new BMTH is better than old BMTH and he is one of my favourite singers in the world.

Your new EP ‘Compound Fracture’ has just been released! Describe its origin and evolution.
‘Compound Fracture’ came about when we wanted to move on from our comfort zone. As we sing and play our guitars at the same time, we have always written our guitar lines with very simple strumming in order to be able to sing with ease. However, we felt that this really limited the song writing. We were very inspired by how Four Year Strong were able to play insane guitar riffs while also singing totally different rhythms and we wanted to try and edge closer to that. Another big part of our evolution was that we felt our vocal ranges were very restricted. We could belt, but then after that we had no ability to do high harmonies. We were also really just rhythm guitarists, so getting Elise on board to handle the higher vocal side as well as the lead guitar side was a no brainer!

What are the signature tracks, and which is your favourite – to listen to and to play live?
My personal favourite track is Hivemind, I think the chorus absolutely goes off live! That being said, I was outvoted on whether it should be a single! Haha! I think Brightside will be the signature track, especially to play live – due to that massive breakdown. At our last show, the most pit went nuts for it. In terms of our old stuff though, I feel like Bother Me (our first ever song released in 2019) and Deadline (due to its iconic music video) are always going to be in the set!

.

.

Any tours or events coming up soon? What are you looking forward to, and what can the fans expect?
We’re just about to finish up on our tour right now, after that we have a few things planned here and there! So definitely be on the look out across our socials for shows that might be popping up!

If you could perform with any music artist, Alive or Dead, who would you choose? And Why?
I feel like this question gives us the opportunity to say the impossible – but Blink 182. Even though we have strayed a little from that sound, it would be epic to open for them one day! But that’s probably a little out of reach… in terms of who we could actually perform with – it would be amazing to jump on a show with Four Year Strong, The Story So Far, Trophy Eyes.

What are your long-term aspirations as a music artist and how are you progressing towards them?
Honestly, our only real long-term aspiration is to try and make this band as long-term as possible. We’re not totally driven by sales, streams, touring etc. We just really enjoy it and hope we can do it for as long as we can! But in terms of what kind of milestones we hope to achieve, it would be amazing to support a big band like Millencolin again but as a four piece! Poor Elise JUST missed out on that and had to watch from the sidelines. We almost owe it to her to land another big fish there! Then after that, I think it would be cool to go overseas at least once as a band (whether that be on tour or recording with a big name producer).

With that in mind, what piece of advice would you give to an artist starting out? 
Treat your band members with respect and treat it like a democracy. Even if you do the majority of the writing, or content creation, or planning etc – you are not the decision maker. If you are making all the decisions then the solo life is for you. Being in a band is all about making compromises so that everyone in the band can be happy. Bands should NEVER feel like a job or a chore.

What is the best thing about performing to a live audience?
Either watching people sing your lyrics or lose all control during breakdowns. Nothing better than crowd participation during your set!

What’s been the career highlight so far?
100% supporting Millencolin on their Good Things sideshows!

Finally, a few questions for some quick answers –
FAVOURITE:
Album – Changes all the time but currently it is Vacation by Seaway
Artist – Changes all the time but currently its Bring Me The Horizon
Movie – Alien if I’m in a horror mood or Hot Rod if I’m in a comedy mood
Place to visit – My mum’s house
Venue to play – Would love to play the Tivoli again!
Food – Spaghetti
Drink – Jack Daniels
Person in History – Judge Judy (I would marry her if I could)
Tattoo – (If you don’t have one, what would you get?) I am the only one in the band that doesn’t have a single tattoo so I am letting the team down. Any tattoo I get from this point on would feel like I am trying to fit in, but if I was to get a tattoo it would be just of my kids names

.

Drastic Park “Compound Fracture Tour” full details below.

Check out Glen Morgan’s (@glenmorganphotography) full gallery of the Sydney show HERE

Drastic Park, Sydney, Sep 23, 2023/ Photo – Glen Morgan’s (@glenmorganphotography)

.

DRASTIC PARK
COMPOUND FRACTURE TOUR

with special guests
Down And Out

Sep 23 – The Burdekin Hotel, Sydney NSW – Tickets
Sep 28 – The Bergy Band Room, Melbourne VIC – Tickets
Sep 29 – Lowlife Bar, Adelaide SA – Tickets

.

.

About DRASTIC PARK

Drastic Park are a 4-piece pop punk / punk rock band from Melbourne Australia. Referred to by Josh Merriel (Short.Fast.Loud) as a “very exciting young punk band” who can “write a damn catchy pop punk song”, Drastic Park have built a fanbase that love them for their distinct throw-back sound, as well as their comedic antics on stage and on social media.

Since they started in 2019, they have released 15 songs (4 singles and 2 EPs) and played a plethora of sold out shows, supporting the likes of 28 Days, DREGG, Antiskeptic, Ocean Sleeper and Agnes Manners. They have gone on multiple tours, including a triple headline tour with Clay J Gladstone and Wolf & Chain and their most recent tour across Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney and Brisbane in support of their single, “Deadline”.

After the band signed with Destroy All Lines for all bookings, they secured a slot at the inaugural Knight and Day festival, supported Real Friends at their Melbourne sideshow and then went on to land the main support for Millencolin at the Melbourne and Brisbane Good Things Sideshows.

In the past few months they have been working with producer Alan Day of Four Year Strong and introduced their 4th member, Elise, on guitar and backing vocals – all in order to inject heavier tones to their music and evolve their musicality.

2023 is shaping up to be a big year for Drastic Park!

.

Drastic Park, Sydney, Sep 23, 2023/ Photo – Glen Morgan’s (@glenmorganphotography)

.

Drastic Park are:

John Stokes – Lead Vocals / Guitar
Chris Tannahill – Vocals / Bass
Elise Felsbourg – Vocals / Guitar
Joe Larwood – Drums

.

COMPOUND FRACTURE
Track List

1. Backdown
2. Brightside
3. Freefall
4. Hivemind
5. Runaway

.

Follow DRASTIC PARK
Twitter – Instagram – Facebook

.

.

.

Press Release 20th September 2023 (below) HERE

DRASTIC PARK
release new EP
COMPOUND FRACTURE

+ Share video
for new single
BRIGHTSIDE

.

.

AMNPLIFY – DB