Project Description

Interview with
BEDDY RAYS

(September 2020)

Interviewer – Dave Bruce

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PHOTO CREDIT: Luke McKenna

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Starts like a Living End classic, has a Chorus Ball Park Music would admire, and an instrumental breakdown that makes me think this band is the real deal. – Richard Kingsmill (Triple J)

Beddy Rays might be one of Brisbane’s best kept secrets, but if ‘Sobercoaster’ is anything to go by, it doesn’t sound like these dudes will be considered ‘underground’ much longer. – Mixdown Mag

This is a fantastic piece of Aussie punk rock that demands you to press play over and over again. – Nick Findlay (Triple J)

One hefty dose of sunny, catchy, heartfelt indie love from Beddy Rays. The perfect pump up to any day. Claire Mooney (Triple J)

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How did you all find each other and decide to share your musical talents as a group?
We’ve all been best mates since early primary school! Always hung out on weekends, played in each other footy teams, basically grew up together sharing a common love for punk music. We all picked up guitars in primary school Lewy and I used to write diss songs about our teachers. During high school benny picked up how to play drums from guitar hero world tour. After a little while we all threw in for a drum kit and we were away!

How would you describe your sound? Why do you think people resonate with your music?
Our music is pretty straight forward no bells and whistles. Two guitars, bass and drums. We’re always working on guitar tones, Lewis and I love buying different pedals to get new lead guitar sounds. We like to try write melodies people can get around and sing along too! When our audience is having fun we’re having a blast!

Which artist’s music and/or performance, past or present, inspires you today?
We’ve always been huge fans of The Kooks, our music doesn’t resemble them but the way they put songs together is inspiring! The absolute belter singalongs and scratchy lead guitar lines are an absolute groove! We also fans of bands such as Sunnyboys, Hoodoo Gurus, Green Day, The Kinks and The Police.

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Your new single/EP/Album has just been released/is about to be released! Describe its origin and evolution.
It started about a month into isolation. I was messing around with the chord progression for a while waiting for the lyrics to come. Once the first few lines were down the rest came pretty quick. After bringing it to the band it really came to life! We hope it can pick peoples spirits up if they’re finding it hard getting through covid!

Is there an EP or Album on the drawing board?
There’s definitely an EP on the drawing board! Hopefully we can get one out early 2021!

Any tours or events coming up soon? What are you looking forward to, and what can the fans expect?
Nothing has been confirmed but there’s some cool ideas floating around we’ll announce soon!

If you could perform with any music artist, Alive or Dead, who would you choose? And why?
Joe Strummer from The Clash that would be mental!!

Do you have any long-term aspirations as a music artist?
We don’t really look too far into the future, we just wanna play more shows in more places!! Keen for covid to cark it!

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What is the best thing about performing to a live audience? What’s been the career highlight so far?
I think our favourite part about performing Is that hour of expression you get to show people! Basically turning the amps up and blasting what you’ve been working on together! We also love meeting new people and getting to watch the other acts play!

Finally, a few questions for some quick answers –
FAVOURITE:
Album – Dookie
Artist – way too hard
Movie – Billy Madison
Place to visit – Minjerriba (North Stradbroke Island)
Venue to play – The ZOO
Food – Turkish Food
Drink – XXXX Bitter
Person in History – Johnathon Thurston would have to be our favourite person in history. Such an inspiration to us growing up and playing footy. Also he has a lot of time for community’s and charity’s which is bloody awesome!
Tattoo – (If you don’t have one, what would you get?) Have none but if I got one RHCP have an album called One Hot Minute, Open up the cd booklet, flick to the song walkabout, awesome artwork there!

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Check out BEDDY RAYS below
Website – Facebook – Instagram

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BEDDY RAYS
release new single and video
‘BETTER WEATHER’

Brisbane party-starters Beddy Rays hit a home run with their cracking recent release, Sobercoaster. The weekend kick-off singalong has amassed over 150,000 streams on Spotify since its debut two short months ago on Triple J’s Home & Hosed. Currently on high rotation on Triple J, the track’s memorable chorus perfectly captures the freedom and carelessness of a misspent youth and has earned the band a swag of new fans, which set a solid stage for new single, Better Weather.

Teaming up again with producer Brock Weston (of Bugs), Better Weather showcases the band’s distinct blend of indie punk/surf rock, reminiscent of their musical heroes’ Wavves and Dookie-era Green Day. The new tune speaks to the feeling of seclusion while the world around you continues to turn. The idea of Better Weather addresses the lack of motivation to be present in social situations – the sun may be shining, but it’s a stormy day inside your head.

Discussing why their latest release is so relevant to the current climate and the importance of mental health, Beddy’s frontman Jackson ‘Jacko’ Van Issum explains: “The song was written during the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, which really fueled that feeling of being completely isolated with a lot going on in the world around me”.

The concept for the supporting video compliments the subject matter perfectly, with band members Lewy (guitar), Brad (bass) and Benny (drums) enjoying the party scene whilst Jacko embodies the character described in the song’s lyrics, feeling out of place and trapped in his own thoughts. Having debuted on August 12, Better Weather is a solid contribution to the Covid-19 era soundtrack and serves as an important reminder to check in on your mates regularly during these difficult times. The repeated lyric over the outro riff “I know in time, that things get better” sparks a light at the end of the quarantine tunnel and highlights the forever positive outlook of these lovable Aussie larrikins.

From a friendship formed on the primary school oval to the sticky soles of the mosh pit floor, Beddy Rays are four young tradies who grew up together in a suburb just outside of Brisbane called Redland Bay (which is best and lovingly known as Reddy Bay). After throwing a few horrible names around they switched the letters of their hometown and bada-bing-bada-boom… ‘Beddy Rays’ were born. The fledgling band first emerged in 2017 with their debut EP ‘Lost Found Beat Around’ which is brimming with scuzzy bedroom jams, and then followed it up in late 2019 with the sharper and more refined sound in an ode to broken relationships, Kicked. The band have since gone on to cut their teeth on the road securing support slots for some of Australia’s biggest exports among the likes of Tones And I, Dune Rats and Hockey Dad.

Beddy Rays have already proven themselves to be a powerful live act with wrecking ball momentum. In such a short amount of time they have managed to solidify not only their lifelong friendships, but also a community of fans that continues to spread throughout Australia and beyond. These four young Reddy Bay boys are champing at the bit to make their mark and we think they are doing just that.

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AMNPLIFY – DB