It’s one thing to warm up a room for an established headline act such as Shihad, Cog or The Butterfly Effect, but it’s another thing to pull in the crowds yourself. That’s the challenge for Calling All Cars, who are currently headlining their first ever 30-date national tour alongside After the Fall.
“Because it’s our own tour, there’s all this crazy pressure,” says Calling All Cars bassist, Adam Montgomery. “At the start of the night, the room is always quiet. You don’t think about that when you’re at a show, but when you’re the headline band there’s all this nervous energy. Is it going to be a busy night? Is there a lot of presales? All this stuff that you don’t think about when you’re supporting.
“On the other hand it’s fucking exciting. You play and it’s a full room and it’s our full room. You finish the show and you’re a lot more satisfied.”
With two EPs under their belt and a debut long play now scheduled to launch in February, Calling All Cars have built their name by providing these high energy supports. Triple J’s play of first single Not Like Anybody off the album Hold, Hold, Fire hasn’t hurt either. “We just put it out to test the water and Triple J grabbed it and ran with it. They played the shit out of it, which is really cool.”
With this, Calling all Cars have definitely kicked up a gear. And helping drive the vehicle has been Shihad’s Tom Larkin, who has continued to be somewhat of a mentor to the band, producing the forthcoming record as well as now taking on managing duties. “I don’t know if we get on well,” Montgomery jokes. “He’s very hardline. He doesn’t settle for anything other than fucking nailed, which might be a drag when you’re in the studio and it’s hard work. But everything is sounding so good. You can’t deny that that’s an excellent way to produce.
“He’s been in Shihad for 21 years and he’s done everything you can possible imagine. He’s written and toured overseas, toured Australia so many times, put out records, been huge. Whatever we are doing, he’s done. He’s really good guidance.”
That guidance is seeing Calling All Cars produce even better music that creates a set worthy of a headline. They continue to hit the road, harder than ever. “We’re touring solidly until the end of the year but we’ll probably start writing again in January. If we get a week off. Maybe. Hopefully. Then I think we start touring again at the end of February.”
While the business side of things is passed down from educated professionals, “We’ve got management that drums that shit into us. I’m just pretending I know what I’m talking about.”
The band themselves are switched on to the need for a constant web presence to engage and interact with their fans. The series of Studio Diaries show the guys mucking around, breaking up the intensity of working on their album. “There’s a fine line between being just dickheads and subtly funny. Hopefully they’re funny.”
Their first-ever video clip for the album title track and second single Hold, Hold, Fire has just been released and aims to capture the band’s live energy “without looking like douchebags”.
Tour diaries are to come. “It’ll be hilarious I can imagine,” Montgomery laughs. “We’re going to steer clear of, – œOh look, that guy’s taking a piss. Oh it’s hilarious! Oh look, someone’s running into the room naked.’ We’ll probably avoid that clichéd Blink 182 kind of shit. They’ll be a little bit odd. Quirky and just weird, I guess.”
It’s only been a year since Montgomery jammed with and proceeded to join the Ing brothers to complete the bass-less trio. As a band, they’re always trying to find new ways to make it fun. “I hated the guys [before joining] to be honest,” he jokes trying to cause some controversy for entertainment.
Seeing he has taken on the role of talking to a lot of press, maybe he’s the brains? “I like to think I bring something to the band…my style to the band. Let’s just say, yeah, I do [bring something],” he laughs. “Maybe the looks? Can we say that?”
What won’t be debated by many is how well these guys perform on stage. With a – œthrow it all down’ attitude, Calling All Cars continue to satisfy each and every crowd, no matter what the circumstance. They pride themselves of being a solid live band, which is an absolute must.
“Hadyn’s a loose cannon as well,” Montgomery agrees. “The recent Frankston show is a good example. It was a busy show but the power went out midway through the set. James just kept playing drums and we just ran and got the rider. We had this ridiculously large rider, and it was just kind of pouring vodka into people’s mouths.” That’ll work.
Catch Calling All Cars and After the Fall on the remainder of the – œGo Hunting’ tour, proudly presented by FasterLouder.
Wednesday 28th October – The Loft, Warnambool
Thursday 29th October – The Karova Lounge, Ballarat
Friday 30th October – Sandbar, Mildura
Saturday 31st October – The Pub, Bendigo
Monday 2nd November – Royal Melbourne Hotel, Melbourne
Wednesday 4th November – The Foundry, Cannington
Thursday 5th November – Prince of Wales, Bunbury
Friday 6th November – Hyde Park Hotel, North Perth
Saturday 7th November – Players Bar, Mandurah
Sunday 8th November – Mojos Bar, North Fremantle
Friday 13th November – The Republic Hotel, Hobart
Saturday 14th November – Hotel New York, Launceston
Saturday 21st November – Trackside Festival, Canberra
Thursday 26th November – The Beach Hotel, Byron Bay
Friday 27th November – Club 299, The Valley, Brisbane
Saturday 28th November – The Swell Tavern, Gold Coast
Sunday 29th November – The Sands Tavern, Sunshine Coast
Thursday 3rd December – Fowlers, Adelaide (All Ages)
Friday 4th December – Louisianna Tavern, Elizabeth
Saturday 5th December – The Evelyn Hotel, Melbourne
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