It’s always nice to find a great local band that you can clearly see are headed for bigger things, and even though we may be a little late to the party – we like to think that one day soon we’ll be saying we knew them before they were famous. October Rage is that band and Sydney’s Central Coast should be proud of them.
I caught up with Will earlier in the week to get to low-down on a band that has already supported Bon Jovi and look destined for bigger things. Next time we meet looks like being under the summer sun in Texas at the start of their first US tour.
Mark: For those who haven’t heard of you before tell us a little about the history of the band. How did you get together? What got you to where you are today?
William: We formed in late 2008; Nick and I had were looking for people on the same page as us to form a new group with. Was rather funny, we went all over the world auditioning new members and the guys we ended up with lived two streets away on either side of our house. We were all friends in high school with a common interest in rock music so it worked out well.
William: We’ve come a long way and accomplished a lot so far, including a full length album and a support tour with the legendary Bon Jovi. The way we work as a team and having a great bond is essential to us having gotten this far.
Mark: And how would you describe your sound to someone who had never heard you before?
William: Rock. Pure and simple. If you want to get nitpicky, then you could say we are the lovechild of someone like Shinedown and Alter Bridge?
Mark: You’ve obviously made quite a splash locally already – opening for Bon Jovi recently must have been a thrill?
William: It was one of the best experiences of my life. It was a radio competition to find a support band that Bon Jovi did worldwide on the “circle tour”. We got to play three huge shows in front of 150,000 people. Quite a rush.
Mark: Did you get to meet any of the guys and if so did you get any words of wisdom?
William: Yeah we got to meet the guys, after our second show with them we got invited back to the end of tour after party and got a chance to have a good chat to both Jon and Richie Sambora.
William: They loved our set, which as you can imagine left us on a rather large high ha-ha. For the biggest band in the world they sure were humble guys, was rather refreshing to see!!
Mark: How did you feel you went down with their crowd? What was the feedback like?
William: It was amazing!! We knew going into the shows that we were there to support Bon Jovi obviously, and we are just fans ourselves, we took the time to stir the crowd up, Bon Jovi could hear us backstage and he told us he was impressed the way we whipped the crowd into a frenzy.
Mark: Coming from the Central Coast of New South Wales (just North of Sydney) how do you find the local scene is for rock out there?
William: It’s not too bad as there’s lots of talent here on the Central Coast, however the lack of venues is a growing problem as a lot of places are finding it hard to stay in business. For new Central Coast bands, they are going to find it tough unless they travel to the bigger cities like Newcastle or Sydney.
Mark: We loved the album ‘Outrage’ There’s some great songs on there and the production is pretty nice for a local release. Were you happy with it overall?
William: Thanks mate, we were definitely happy with the result as well. Adrian Hannan is an awesome producer and I’d like to work with him on future projects. I just remember driving back home from Melbourne with the band all listening to what we’d just accomplished and we all just nodded and went “….yep.”
Mark: As to the songs on there are we listening to a mixture of old and new material or did you write specifically for the album?
William: Some of the songs on the album like Reign of Fire have been in the making since before the band was formed in 2008. Others such as Two-sided Blade were written really close to the recording date. Most bands usually take 2-3 years to write the songs for each album and October Rage is definitely no exception.
Mark: One of our favorite tracks was ‘Set You Free’ that opens ‘Outrage’, that must go down well live?
William: It’s our favorite to open with! Especially after the Lords of Wyrd intro, we think it all fits in rather nicely and we definitely want to kick the show off with a bang. We’ve always thought that having a good live show is important as we want the fans to feel like they’ve had an awesome experience and leave feeling like their money was well spent!
Mark: We also loved ‘Silver Line’; some great modern rock and ‘Under The Wind’ which is a great song to close with. But in truth it’s a very consistent album. What are your particular favourites?
William: For me personally, I LOVE playing Wayside live. There is nothing like smashing on the bass banging my head to that song… definitely goes over well with the audience. Reign Of Fire is another epic live song, when that fast bit kicks in, the crowd goes wild. One of the best memories is our album launch with a packed room moshing in unison…was great!!
Mark: We can hear a number of influences on the album, but as a band who would you say your main influences are at the moment? And who or what was it that started you on the road to becoming musicians in the first place?
William: Nick and I grew up with Dad blasting Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple every morning ha-ha (great way to start your day trust me). Those bands have spilled over into our writing, we’ll always refer back to that style of hard hitting songs in a modern way.
For Tim, his favorite band has and probably always will be Judas Priest. Rory was heavily influenced by Chad Smith from Red Hot Chilli Peppers, who in turn was heavily influenced from Bonham from Zepp. We definitely noticed that flavor in his drumming when we first auditioned him.
Mark: What are you listening to at the moment?
William: Right now, I have been heavily listening to Shinedown’s new album, along with Black Stone Cherry, those guys KNOW how to rip it up. Also I have recently become obsessed with the super-group Black Country Communion featuring Glenn Hughes, Joe Bonamassa, Jason Bonham and Derek Sherinian.
Mark: Now that the album is out what is the next step for the band? Getting that CD out there and getting more exposure locally? Or are there bigger plans?
William: Right now we are about to embark on a tour of the USA. We have dates currently in Texas, Mississippi, South Carolina, Seattle and California, with more being added every day. We are also just about to release a new single WHITE WALKERS which is a tribute to George R.R. Martins Game Of Thrones series!
William: It will be available for FREE download at our Facebook page very soon.
Mark: How hard are you finding it in today’s climate to get heard?
William: With the birth of the internet it has made songs so much more accessible, we actively encourage free downloads because lets face it, you are not going to be able to combat the spread of internet piracy. What it WILL do however is get people to the shows, which I have always found the most successful way of doing things.
Mark: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given so far?
William: Follow the way when all others abandoned it. – Old Proverb…. Also don’t mix alcohol and milk…not fun…..
Mark: Tell us about what we could expect if we come to see ‘October rage’ live?
William: A show. Pure and simple. I always hated going to see a band where they would just stand there and never get into it… as an audience member you want to leave thinking “Wow, that was something different” because you only get one chance to make a first impression….you just wait until we get pyrotechnics…. Kiss has the right idea there.
Mark: Anyone you would particularly like to mention who have helped you along the way?
William: We wouldn’t be able to do the things we do without our AMAZING road crew: especially our stage manager Terry. These guys work tirelessly to keep things going; we love to dedicate a song to them at each gig.
Mark: Where can people check out your music and keep in touch with the band?
William: Both our Facebook page and website have the songs free to stream!
William: You can join our mailing list at The O.R.C (October Rage Club) if you want up-to-date secret Rage business or just want to hear what’s going on!
Mark: If you could have been involved in the making of any single piece of music at any point in time what would it have been?
William: Oh easily it would have to be Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven. That song took 18 months to record and they did three different solos. What a blast!!
Mark: What is the meaning of life?
William: Live long and prosper….
Mark: Cheers Will, I guess I’ll catch you in the US, have a safe trip over. Now I guess everyone out there should rush out and grab a copy of ‘Outrage’!