They opened for and impressed Jackson United – Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett’s side project – and the eager punters at the Ding Dong Lounge. That’s a common reaction for the Calling All Cars boys.

But at this particular show, the vehicle taking them around the country, supporting some of Australia’s finest talents, had a visitor of its own. “While we were playing on stage, someone decided to smash the passenger seat window of our car and steal our GPS.

“Chris said, ‘Look on the bright side, you’re not hurt,’” vocalist/guitarist and older brother, Haydn Ing recalls. “They said if that happened where they came from, it would be at gun point,” adds drummer and younger brother, James.

Along with long time friend and bassist Matt Lonergan, the trio are enjoying the on-stage adventures and learning from being on the road – supplying an energetic opening encounter. They blew fans away on The Hot Lies national tour with their confident and hard-hitting approach to drawing the shy crowds in. “At the start of the show there’s always like the D barrier of fear that no one wants to enter. So it’s like if they’re not going to come to me, I’ll go to them,” says Haydn.

It’s a bold move, but one that is well received. “I haven’t had an experience where I’ve gone up to someone and they’ve punched me, but I’m sure it will happen,” he laughs.

Their stage presence is outgoing, with the lead man jumping from whatever seems to be of a reasonable height, pushing all physical and mental barriers. It’s full on and entertaining, which suits the bands “crazy” characters.

They definitely believe the pros outweigh the cons of being brothers in a band. At times it “forces [you] to be in each others’ face and we can deal with that a bit better [being brothers],” says James. “And we have this connection thing where I can look at him on stage and he knows what I’m thinking,” adds Haydn.

When their dad decides to come of tour and help out with the driving, his sons are very appreciative. For the Gyroscope support slot it was, “four days, four shows, four states” and a case of “play the show, load, and drive through the night. Then the next day it was straight to sound check. By the last show I was pretty frazzled and my voice was dead, but we made it through.”

Besides equipment, the essential items to take on the road? “Panadol! And No Doze is good. We try and take as much food as possible, which usually ends up going off anyway.” Add to that a mattress strapped to the trailer – “so if we are in the middle of nowhere and get really tired and can’t go on, we can just pull over” – and the trusty iPod shuffling a good mix, and they are set.

On return home, the first thought is of course to “eat real food,” laughs James. A bit of time with other family members is nice too. Luckily enough they have yet to come across a band that they haven’t enjoyed hanging with and it’s this connection that helps when on the road. “The more you do it, the more bands and friends you meet and can rely on to crash their pads,” says James.

All good adventures must end with a few on-stage shenanigans. So before they set off again and brace the stage alongside Trial Kennedy, Shihad and the Come Together crew, here is the closing antics from the last one.

“It was our last show [on The Hot Lies tour] and I did the skit were I put my guitar down, run around with the microphone and psych the crowd up. I went back to get my guitar to kick back into the song and it was gone. I looked around and backstage was Michael from Angelas Dish laughing. I was chasing him around the stage and I couldn’t catch him. The crowd loved it.”

Then came pay-back. “In the middle of one of their songs, Matt walked out on stage behind a Christmas tree…we were like, ‘Oh god, what is he doing?’, and he handed it to the crowd. He grabbed the microphone and tried to psych them up. Then their last song came and James went on stage with a big garbage bag, which went straight over Michael’s head, in the middle of the song.”

With that, the job was done and the road beckoned.

Calling All Cars are supporting both Trial Kennedy and Shihad on their national tours. They also play Come Together Festival at Luna Park, Sydney, on Sunday 8 June.

TRIAL KENNEDY DATES

Thursday May 8 – Queens Wharf Brewery, Newcastle
Friday May 9 – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
Saturday May 10 – Green Room, Canberra
Friday May 16 – The Evelyn, Melbourne
Saturday May 17 – Creswick Town Hall, Ballarat Freeza **AA
Sunday May 18- National Hotel, Geelong **2 shows, -18/+18’s
Thursday May 22 – Jive, Adelaide SA **Lic. AA
Friday May 23 – Karova Lounge, Ballarat
Saturday May 24 – Instore @ JB HI Fi, Melbourne **Free

SHIHAD DATES

Friday 13th June – Bar 388, Brisbane
Saturday 14th June – HI FI Bar & Ballroom, Melbourne
Friday 20th June – The Gaelic Theatre, Sydney
Saturday 21st June – Live on Light Square, Adelaide