Project Description

Interview with

THE VANNS

by Vicky Hebbs

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Praise for THE VANNS

“This is a big rocker, dudes. You’ve amped things up with heaps of energy and gutsy moves.”  – Triple J Unearthed, Dave Ruby Howe

“Hope you guys bought extra baggage allowance, ‘cos even the most experienced packer couldn’t squeeze these into carry on.”  – Triple J, Declan Byrne

“Great to see The Vanns back in 2018. Lots of passion, high amounts of energy and those loud roaring guitars are a statement and a half. This is going to be so much fun live. There’s no stopping now.” – Triple J Unearthed, Claire Mooney

“Produced by Oscar Dawson (Holy Holy, Ali Barter, Alex Lahey), ‘How Was I Supposed To Know’ is one of the band’s most accomplished and commanding tracks to date.” – Vents Magazine

“Showcasing the progress of their rock sound and progress of the band, the new single really packs a punch and captures the hard work the band has put in over the years, from a high school band to one of Wollongong’s finest.” – Hysteria Magazine

“It’s clear why they’ve built the following they’ve got with a flawless performance driven by their insane energy and danceable rhythms.  …Taking over every inch of your soul with their addictively funky sound that just left the crowd craving more of their electrifying showmanship.” – GC Live (2017)

“It’s the kinda music you play when dancing and kicking up sand around a log fire burning on the beach with your closest mates and beautiful strangers. Yes, there’s a fire band currently in place for such flaming shenanigans, but the fire that is ‘Shake The Hand That Picks The Fight’ cannot be so easily extinguished.” – LunchBox TV (Shake The Hand That Picks The Fight EP, 2017)

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How did you first get into music? When did it become a serious concern?

Individually, we’ve always been associated with music in our lives from early school years. We all started playing at an early age, and then met through other bands and shows around the Illawarra. The band became more of a serious concern once we realised we aren’t that good at doing much else!

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What kind of music did you grow up on? What artists inspired you and which do you still look to now for ideas?

These questions are always hard because you could go on forever listing artists, but i’ll name a few bands, why not! Lots of blues – SRV, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King to name a few. Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Jeff Buckley, John lennon, INXS, Bob Marley, Pink Floyd etc… you get it.

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What is one thing about you that your fans might be surprised to learn? 

Our band name is actually named after our lead singer ‘James Vann’.

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You’ve made a music video for your single, ‘How Was I Supposed to Know.’ Can you share the process of turning the song into a video?

The idea behind the song was about the collapse of a relationship and the frustration, confusion and envy that comes along with seeing the one you love moving on easily in every way, whilst you’re still caught up in what was.

So turning that into something visual, the idea was to have these two people having dinner, being civil and looking to be having a nice time, while on the inside, they’re blowing up at each other and hating being together.

We had a bit of a deadline and managed to get the whole clip filmed in about 3 hours, which was super surprising!  

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The video has a very creative narrative! Will you be keen to make more videos in the future? Any songs in particular you’d consider making a video for? 

We will definitely be making more videos in the future! Next single for sure, we’ve just got to work out what that will be first!

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Do you draw heavily on your own lives to write songs? Or do you prefer it to be more fictional material?

All of our songs definitely come from a very personal place and draw from life experiences. But the lyrics are always up for interpretation for the listener to be able to reference their own life.

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For anyone who hasn’t heard your music yet, how would you describe your sound? What song of yours would you recommend to them if they could only listen to one?

We play our own version of modern indie/alternative rock.

If you want to hear what that sounds like then our newest single ‘How Was I Supposed To Know’ would be a great place to start.

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You’ve been touring quite a bit recently – what has/have been your biggest or favourite show/s from 2018 so far? 

We’ve managed to get on a few festivals in 2018 which are always a good time. Big Pineapple and Yours & Owls festival and our recent Sydney show for the ‘HWISTK’ tour was really great also.

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If you could perform with any music artist, alive or dead, who would they be? 

Very tough question. INXS at Wembley would be pretty darn fun. Although i think that about any good artists.

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What are your plans for the next year? Are you working on new music? Touring more?

There may or may not be an album coming very soon, and maybe a bit of a world tour.

But honestly who knows, we’re just rolling with the punches at the moment.

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What are your major goals or milestones for the future?

Keep writing music and be able to travel the world performing that music.

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Finally, this is a paragraph dedicated to some quick discovery. Really corny, but for the fans, can you tell me your favorite album, artist, movie, place, drink, meal and person (living or dead) and some brief reasons why? Answer some or all please?

Favourite album – ‘Dark Side of The Moon’- Pink Floyd.

Favourite drink – Most beers.

Favourite food – Most types of food.

Favourite Movie – ‘Dude where’s my car’.

Favourite Person – Banjo (Tom’s Dog).

Favourite Place – Home.

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