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ON THE COUCH WITH: The Galvatrons

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ARTIST INTERVIEW

Access All Areas.net.au: Hey, how’s it going today?
Galvatrons: Hey man, to be honest i’m struggling... before today i didn’t know there was a 9 o’clock haha. I’m not the best with mornings but i’ll manage, the label had me up at 8am for press & i wasn’t feeling it, but hey its for the band so its all good.

Access All Areas.net.au: Your debut record is due for release very soon, is the band excited for this?
Galvatrons: Yeah, we worked hard putting this together & we’re really happy & excited for our music to be released to the masses. The music we make is diverse, i’ll admit that, but we have some great songs that people can not only rock out to, but also dance to so its a good mix & we hope people like the songs we have.

Access All Areas.net.au: Can you tell me a bit about the making of this record?
Galvatrons: Well i guess as a band you get forever to make your debut & for us we are a young band, forming a little under 2 years ago so its been a little while coming. This record is the hard work & love for music of four guys from Melbourne who came together & wrote some really fun & we think great songs that people can enjoy. It took a little while for us to write the material, but it came together & we’re really happy with how the record turned out, its a great showcase of what we’re about. The songs are different to the typical rock style but thats just how we wrote & how our songs came about & we love it, we wouldn’t do things different.

Access All Areas.net.au: With the music, it is definitely diverse, with an indie feel, a rock feel & then the synths kick in & its a new direction in itself, did the band even know where these songs were going?
Galvatrons: Well as i said, we just wrote the songs & they came together. We have a lot of differing influences & from these we get the indie & the pop & the rock & even the synth & its just how we enjoy playing. Our direction is simply to write & make great music & we feel thats what the music listener will hear when the record comes out in July. I guess you can put us in a few sub-genres, but to us we’re just a band who play music that people can not only rock out to but dance along to & thats a real thrill for us & we get a lot of fun out of that.

Access All Areas.net.au: You are signed to Warner music, how is this for the band?
Galvatrons: This is amazing, the label is fantastic & we really couldn’t see ourselves being anywhere else. We were lucky enough to get picked up by a label & for us the people at Warner are so into not only our music but music in general & thats great for us. They gave us the chance to make this record & we’re hoping to repay the favour with some good numbers & touring & hopefully we’ll continue with the label as we love being signed to them.

Access All Areas.net.au: The first single from the record is ‘Cassandra, what can you tell me about this one?
Galvatrons: Its a really fun song, with a great piano line & just really cool. We wrote this one for the record & we felt it was a great track to be released to promote our record & it seems to be doing really well for us so far.

Access All Areas.net.au: In the time with the band, you guys have had some great opportuniteies, any standouts for yourself?
Galvatrons: Well the Def Lepard tour was a great experience, also getting overseas to the UK was fun. I’d say doing shows in general has been a highlight, its what we got the band going for, so thats probably the stand out for me. We’ve had some big opportunities & we hope to do some more with the band in the future... just gotta see how the record goes.

Access All Areas.net.au: When you’re not doing the band, what do you like to get up to?
Galvatrons: I’d definitely say sleeping in... sorry to say but these 9am interviews just aren’t my thing... but thanks for doing this interview with me. I’m just a regular person like the rest of the guys, we just live normal lives & hang with our families & friends & have fun... thats about it really.

Access All Areas.net.au: In support of the record you are going on tour, excited?
Galvatrons: Yeah, its going to be a lot of fun, we’ve been away for a little so its going to be nice to get back... i’m really looking forward to performing.

Access All Areas.net.au: You are joining Something With Numbers on tour, looking forward to this?
Galvatrons: Yeah, this will be really cool, something with numbers are an awesome band & we’re really excited to tour with them. They do a great show & have some amazing records under their belts so to tour with them will be great.

Access All Areas.net.au: Will you be showcasing much of the new material on this tour?
Galvatrons: Yeah, we’re looking to play a bunch of the record’s material to help promote the record... i guess mainly for sales but exposure as well. We’ll be throwing in the old favourites of course, to keep the old as well as the new galvatrons fans happy.

Access All Areas.net.au: Anything you are hoping to get up to while on tour?
Galvatrons: I guess just get out & play some good shows, visit some great cities again... love being able to travel... besides that probably just party a little & have some fun.

Access All Areas.net.au: Whats happening for the Galvatrons in the near future?
Galvatrons: Well we have this tour with Something With Numbers, in early July the record comes out which is exciting... from there we just look to keep touring. We will probably have a new single & video along the way so that will get done... besides that just more touring.

Access All Areas.net.au: Well thanks for your time, sorry it was so early, have fun on tour & all the best for the record release.
Galvatrons: Thanks man, its been great chatting. Bye.

Interview by: Ben Coby.

Debut album Laser Graffiti is out now!

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Where have all the great rock & roll acts gone? Acts that play the kind of uplifting cinematic anthems that aim for the stars. Well, here are The Galvatrons, just in time to save the world.

The synth-rock & roll saviours are masterminded by the effortlessly charismatic front-man Johnny Galvatron, who cherry-picked three diverse and incredibly talented musicians in Melbourne to bring the epic project to life. There’s the modest, oh-so stylish Gamma, classically trained in piano and a whiz on keys and synth; straight-shooting Bozza, who packs a punch behind the kit; and his brother Condor, a deft and dextrous bassist and Johnny’s perfect foil. Fitting for the Transformer-appropriated name, each piece of The Galvatrons is larger-than-life – but the sum is simply spectacular.

After moving from his hometown of Geelong to Melbourne to study and “write music for pop stars”, Johnny began crafting his synth opus at home before assembling The Galvatrons in August 2007. They were clearly onto a good thing; the buzz was on the saviours of rock & roll and everyone wanted a ticket to the show. After their fourth show, the band inked a deal with Warner Music.

“We had five songs. We got signed with five songs. We knew how hilarious it was at the time. We played for 25 minutes at the gig we got signed,” Johnny says.

Then came shows with You Am I, the Divinyls, Shihad, the national support slot for Def Leppard and Cheap Trick, and a set in front of 55,000 people at London’s Download Festival alongside Kiss, Judas Priest and The Offspring, and a gig with the Police at Hyde Park Calling in the UK. At home, they impressed on the festival circuit. With a fierce reputation stemming from their killer stadium-styled live shows, The Galvatrons made a big impact with their debut EP, When We Were Kids – its title track the most added to radio ahead of its May 2008 release. But while it’s been an auspicious rise for The Galvatrons, it’s one that’s deserving.

“We played the Big Day Out, Meredith, Splendour in the Grass, and I think we just thought that’s what happened to bands,” Johnny says. “I don’t think we knew how lucky we were.”

There’s more than luck at play on their debut album Laser Graffiti. A sweeping, visual trip through space and beyond, with honest emotion and empathetic storytelling that keeps it within sight of Earth, the set perfectly marries uplifting electronica with fist-pumping rock & roll. The making of it was equally epic – it took two months in Sydney’s Big Jesus Burger Studios with Scott Horscroft (the Presets, Sleepy Jackson, Silverchair) and another month of mixing to bring this synth-rock beast to life.

“Our catchphrase has been to do the soundtrack of the coolest sci-fi never made,” Johnny explains. “This whole band is inspired by that sound, the ’80s soundtrack as opposed to ’80s music. We’re more inspired by film than radio or records.”

From the synth-rock shredding of unrequited love anthem “Cassandra” and the bouncing Devo-style keyboards and beat of toe-tapping “Robots Are Cool”, to the rousing reach-for-the-stars epic “The Last Starfighter”, and the irresistible and organic keyboard melodies of more ethereal “Light Speed”, Laser Graffiti is an immensely rich and varied set. Killer Van Halen-esque rocker “When We Were Kids” has been re-envisioned superbly. And it’s bookended by two grandiose intro and outro tracks that ooze playful confidence.

“There’s a lot on the record. I think a lot of people expect us to have 12 songs that sound like ‘When We Were Kids’,” Johnny says. “I think the record will surprise a lot of people.”

www.thegalvatrons.com.au

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MY FESTIVAL EXPERIENCE

Behind Crimson Eyes
This year we were lucky enough to play at 3 Big Day out shows. It was great because we were friends with a fair few of the bands (Karnivool, Something With Numbers, Gyroscope, Hilltop Hoods) so it was such a great party vibe. Not only were we paid to get drunk and have fun with our friends we also got to see Rage Against The Machine play 3 nights in a row!!!

Ideal Lineup?
Blink 182, Guns N Roses (circa 1988), Marilyn Manson, Knye West, Muse and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Fave artist you've seen at a Music Festival?
Rage Against The Machine – Big Day Out 2008. I have been a fan of this band for so long and I thought that I would never get to see them. When I heard that they were confirmed for BDO I nearly shat myself!

Tips for attending Music Festivals?
Alcohol is usually very expensive at festival! All you need is a hip flask, a roll of tape and your preferred beverage. Don’t go too hard too soon as festivals usually go for 6-8 hours and you don’t want to end up as one of those sunburnt, passed out, semi naked people that litter these events.