Pacific Avenue formed in 2017 and has since emerged as one of the most exciting bands from Australia (and one of our personal favorites).
Their debut album ‘Flowers,’ released in May, skyrocketed on the ARIA charts, reaching number 1 on the Australian Album Chart, number 3 on the Album Chart, and number 4 on the Vinyl Chart.
We had the pleasure of sitting down with Harry, Jack, and Dom to chat about everything from the album to the apocalypse.
So, you’ve just released ‘Flowers,’ and it’s been incredibly successful. It reached number 1 on the Australian album chart, number 3 on the album chart, and number 4 on the vinyl chart. Can you tell us a little bit about the process of creating it?
Harry: It took us about two years of back-and-forth recording. We wrote and recorded at a beautiful studio called the Music Farm, located on a farm in Byron Bay. We had a rough idea of how we wanted the record to sound and would spend a week at a time there, going a bit crazy and pulling it all together.
Do you have any rituals in the studio?
Harry: Not so much rituals, but when we’re recording, we try to capture a live feel as much as possible. We aim to get as much as we can in one take that we’ll use for the song instead of overdubbing everything. If there’s a good vibe in the room, even if it’s not technically perfect, we’d rather go for that because it feels more alive, like a show rather than something replicated later.
Dom: For a few tracks, it was pretty late at night, and we were taking shots of Fireball. Especially on “Devotion,” we recorded it completely live without a click track or anything, so we just went for it. After each take, we’d have another shot, and I think the take we ended up using…well, we had quite a few shots by then. Often, when doing a big live recording, we’ll have a few beers or shots to loosen up and get in the right groove.
Compared to “Strawberry Skies,” “Flowers” definitely has a slightly different sound. Do you think that’s because your influences have changed a bit, or do you feel you’ve simply refined your sound?
Jack: I think we’ve just refined our sound a little bit. Our influences have mostly remained the same, but there are definitely some artists we’ve been listening to more now than before.
Harry: Initially, we leaned into the surf-rock Australian theme for our first EP, but for the album, we embraced the music we also enjoyed listening to.
Jack: We also tried to define the kind of music we wanted people to associate with us, the type of music we want to play, and that’s what we aimed for.
Dom: With “Flowers,” we aimed to create a sound that was more unique to us, combining our inspirations in a way that didn’t feel like we were copying anyone else. Moving forward, that’s the direction we want our sound to take.
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What kind of audience are you hoping to build?
Harry: Anyone who wants to listen is more than welcome. It’s a great question because we’ve been playing the live pub scene since we started, so we have a solid following rooted in that environment. But recently, we’ve also had the opportunity to go on big support tours. For instance, we toured with Louis Tomlinson from One Direction, and he has an incredibly devoted fan base who are obsessed with everything he does. So now we have these two audiences, which is really cool. It’s challenging because we want to make our music relatable enough so that everyone can come and listen and have a dance.
How do you maintain authenticity?
Harry: I believe staying true to ourselves and being honest in our songwriting is crucial. When we released our first EP, we focused more on creating music that we thought would appeal to people and do well in the music scene. However, with “Flowers,” we decided to make the kind of music we genuinely enjoy playing, without worrying too much about how it would be perceived.
Jack: It’s easy to get caught up in the pursuit of becoming a huge band, but if we continue doing it because we love it, that’s an honest way to stay authentic.
Are there any recurring lyrical themes that you find yourself drawn to?
Harry: “Rain” is a motif that appears frequently throughout the record, along with the phrase “wake me up.”
Jack: Love, in general, is a significant theme for us.
Harry: In a way, every song can be seen as a love song.
Jack: That’s probably the main theme of the record. Additionally, you’ll find several references to The Beatles scattered throughout. Some were intentional, while others just found their way into the music.
What’s it like being an artist in Australia? Do you face different challenges compared to those from the UK, for example?
Jack: Touring in Australia can be quite challenging, especially when it comes to organizing large-scale tours. We have around 6 or 7 major cities, if that, and once you’ve covered them, it’s difficult to keep the momentum going. Moreover, these cities are quite far apart, unlike in the UK where you can travel just an hour and reach another major city with a ready audience. However, I believe the overall experience of being in a band is somewhat similar regardless of the country.
Dom: Being a band in Australia is great. There are plenty of festivals and venues to perform at, even though they may be far apart. However, many bands fall into the trap of limiting themselves to Australia. Considering our relatively small population and the density of Europe, the UK, and America, it’s crucial to venture overseas as soon as possible.
How quickly did you gain momentum as a band?
Harry: We’ve been playing together for a few years now, but it’s in the past few years that we’ve really dedicated ourselves to this path. We’ve spent a lot of time performing in small pubs, with the sound of older folks playing pokies in the background.
Dom: Fortunately, when we started, we had a supportive crew from our local town who rallied around our first release. That gave us a head start. We also had the opportunity to open for established bands, which helped us transition from being seen as a Sunday afternoon bowling club band to being taken more seriously. It’s definitely been a long grind over the years. In the last couple of years, things have escalated with radio play in Australia and landing bigger support tours.
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Pacific Avenue was formed in 2017. How long have you been actively playing music together?
Harry: We pretty much started playing together when the band formed. The other guys were in a different band before Pacific Avenue, and I was doing acoustic folk music. As soon as we started jamming together, we immediately wrote two songs, recorded them, and began performing them within the first month or two.
You guys played The Great Escape a few months ago. How was your time in the UK?
Harry: It was fantastic.
Jack: The Great Escape was one of the coolest festivals I’ve ever attended. I would definitely go back just as a spectator. The whole town had such an electric atmosphere. There was an abundance of exciting events, cool people, and great music everywhere. We even stumbled upon numerous bars offering free drinks.
Harry: We’ve been touring quite a bit lately, so we haven’t really had the chance to simply go out and enjoy a night watching new up-and-coming bands. We had some time around The Great Escape, so we took the opportunity to stroll around. There were so many amazing acts that we probably wouldn’t have had the chance to see otherwise, so it was a lot of fun.
Do you have any idea when you’re coming back to the UK?
Harry: We’re hoping to return before the end of the year.
Harry: Hopefully sometime around September. We might be heading over to Germany, so we might as well try to make it happen.
You’ve announced the Flowers Tour. What are you most looking forward to, and how are you preparing for it?
Harry: There are a few iconic venues that have been on our wish list for a while, and we’re finally going to play them on this tour. That’s going to be a lot of fun.
Jack: We’re also about to start using in-ear monitors, which is something we’ve never done before. We’re waiting to get them, and then we’ll have to practice as much as we can before the shows.
Dom: Personally, I’m most excited about playing the new songs from the album. While it’s been great playing our previous material, it feels like we’ve been performing those songs for the past couple of years. So, having fresh ones in the set is really exciting. It’ll be interesting to see if people have listened to the new album and gauge their reaction. Hopefully, we’ll even get a few people singing along.
How do you find touring and traveling?
Collectively: Oh, we love it.
Harry: If anything, we want to step it up. We’ve been touring a lot in Australia, but as we mentioned, there’s only so much you can do there. We want to start coming to the UK and visit America as much as possible.
Dom: Touring is the most enjoyable thing to do as a band, in my opinion. There are definitely moments when you have to put aside your personal life and responsibilities, but it’s cool because you’re in the zone and your only focus is getting to the next show. We’re fortunate that our manager also handles the tour management, so he takes care of logistics and ensures we’re waking up on time. I’m just really excited to go overseas, explore new places, and get out there.
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Would you guys say you’re well-behaved?
Harry: We’ve come close to missing flights but haven’t had to cancel a show yet.
Dom: We’ve come very close, about five times, but somehow we’ve never actually missed a flight. There was this one time at the airport when everyone fell asleep, but they were scattered all over the place. I was bouncing around, trying to find everyone, and we made it just as they were closing the door. We’ve definitely had some rough mornings, but we’ve always managed to make it work.
Jack: I think the toughest thing about being in a band at this level is that we don’t have much money, so we tend to book the cheapest flights, which are always the earliest ones. So, we go to bed at whatever time and then have to wake up for an early flight.
Dom: I think we’re getting better at being on our best behaviour, especially as touring heats up it kind of comes to a point where you’re like ‘I actually can’t, my body can’t take this’.
Do you have any hangover cures?
Jack: Another beer?
Harry: We often go to Vietnamese restaurants to get some Pho. It really soothes the throat and helps with everything.
Jack: Our manager is also great at finding the best cafes in each city. So whenever we arrive in a new city, he takes us straight to a café where we can have a delicious breakfast.
What’s the worst band purchase you’ve made?
Harry: Oh God, we had a terrible Mexican meal the other day. It almost ruined one of our shows.
Dom: Definitely the number of awful hotels we’ve stayed in.
Jack: We actually stayed in a really bad hotel in London. There were only two single beds that we had to share among the four of us, and there was no space around the beds.
Harry: We had just taken the train back from Scotland on a really rainy day. It was just really sad to see the hotel.
Has the dynamic changed between all of you over the years?
Harry: I don’t think so.
Dom: If anything, I think it has brought us closer together. Living together on the road, we’ve seen each other at our best and worst. We can sense when one of us needs some space, but overall, I feel like we’ve formed a brotherhood.
If you were all in a zombie apocalypse, who among the four of you would do the best?
Jack: I’d like to think it would be me, but I think Dom would excel.
Dom: Yeah, I think so too. Sorry, boys.
What’s the game plan?
Dom: I’d head to the bush out west. I have a bow and arrow, but only three arrows, so I’d need to have good aim. I used to be obsessed with being in the army, and I have plenty of camouflage gear, enough for all of us. I might quickly stop by the shops to grab some tuna. We’ll take a guitar and retreat into the bush to make some apocalypse music.
What would apocalypse music sound like? Something like Pacific Avenue?
Dom: It would probably be darker than our album, maybe incorporating some pointy Ibanez guitars.
If you were robbing a bank, what would each of your roles be?
Dom: I think Jack would be the driver.
Harry: Yeah, I see Jack as the driver, and maybe Ben would handle logistics. (Everyone laughs for a while). What? He’s a good strategist.
Jack: I feel like Dom would actually be good at going in and confronting them.
Harry: So, the bad cop?
Dom: Yeah, I could be the bad cop. Can I also carry a gun?
Harry: Well, yeah, that’s what the bad cop does.
Dom: Okay, cool. I’ll bring the bow and arrow.