The music industry is , or at least can be, an extremely difficult landscape to negotiate. Especially in this era, where it is a daunting challenge just to be able to extricate a comfortable existence from a career in music.
I guess that is why it is so important to remember why we all do it. That is what R.I.F.F. stands for: ‘Remember, it’s for fun’. Not just a clever acronym for an album title, but the underlying ethos for Aussie Indy rock band , ‘D.Z. Deathrays.’ I recently spoke to Shane Parsons, the band’s lead vocalist and guitarist.
“We decided to call the album R.I.F.F. because that’s what we have always been about. We try to remember that we are there to make people feel good and have a good time. It can be hard work. We all have jobs, I have a family, so it’s important to just keep going and not give up.”
The band was originally comprised of just 2 members, Shane parsons (Guitar and vocals) and Simon Ridley (Drums) but have since added Lachlan Ewbank on guitar. and ‘Violent Soho’ bassist Luke Henry.
“We have been going since 2008. I grew up in Bundaberg, but Simon and I started the band in Brisbane. We used to live together, and in the beginning, we would just jam after work. Then we started to do a few house parties, and that turned into pub gigs, then a few festivals, and then a few tours, and it just slowly grew. That led to making a few records, and now we have been at it for 15 years. I spent a fair amount of time couch surfing, staying with ‘inlaws’ and the like, just so we could make it work.”
“We came up with the idea of the RIFF system in Wagga Wagga. In the end , we should be enjoying ourselves, because it’s a great thing to be lucky enough to be doing. There will be good shows and bad shows,and we have been around long enough to have played shows to floorboards, and to 5 thousand people, and most in between, so you just have to take each one as it comes and remember to always put the effort in, and to make each show as good as it can be.”
The band has had no small amount of success overseas, and the band’s commitment to touring is obvious.
“Prior to Covid, we were touring or playing overseas at least 2, maybe 3 times a year. Since my son arrived, we have dialed it back to once a year for obvious reasons.”
“We have done heaps in the U.K. and Europe. We haven’t done that much in America, because the cost is crippling. Just the cost of a visa is huge. We have done shows in Canada early this year, though. It can be hit and miss. Sometimes we play to a packed room, sometimes we play to the bar staff and like 8 people, but we just try to make it work and have fun.”
“It’s a good thing as a musician to see places and travel to places that we would otherwise never have seen. We’ve been to China, South America…, the list is too long to remember right now. It gives us opportunities to visit places we otherwise never would have seen”
I enquired about the band’s ARIA wins.
“Yeah, our first 2 records won ARIA awards. It’s a weird thing, the ARIAs. There’s a lot of hype in Australia about the ARIAs, but it didn’t really change anything all that much for us. We won this award, and it was huge, but then once it’s over, it was business as usual. We weren’t suddenly playing stadiums or anything . My Mum was happy, though.”
Having been around since 2008, the band has seen a lot of changes in the way music is consumed.
Their first album, ‘Bloodstreams’, was recorded in 2012, followed by ‘Black Rat’ in 2014. which have both been released in the U.K. and the United States. Since then they have recorded and released 3 more albums, ‘Bloody Lovely’ (2017) ‘Positive Risings’ (2019) and ‘R.I.F.F.’
“When we started, it was at the beginning of the internet music revolution. We saw Myspace, then Facebook, and the introduction of streaming services, and watched how this has affected the audience, and how they engage. Our main focus is still playing shows though”
And play shows ,they do, with an impressive resume of festivals and tours under their belt, including ‘Splendour in the grass’ and ‘St Jeromes Laneway festival’ (AUS), Reading and Leads festivals and “The Great Escape festival’ (U.K.) ,’ South by Southwest’, (U.S.A.) ‘A perfect day’ (Italy) , and support for ‘Blood Red Shoes’, ‘The Foo Fighters and ‘Unknown Mortal Orchestra’
The band has been to Cairns on 2 previous occasions, and have always had a warm reception. The upcoming show will feature the entire”Black Rat” album, as well as songs from the newest release,” R.I.F.F.”
The show promises to be a great night of Aussie indy rock at its best.
“D.Z. Deathrays” will be supported by local acts, “Wazzamaloid” and “Heffalump”
Doors open at 7:30, show starts at 8.
As always, tickets are available at Ticket Link or at the door.
Noel Keid
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