In the lead-up to Melbourne’s biggest all-ages event the Push Over Festival, we sit down with Byron Bay hard-core heroes 50 Lions to talk underage gigs and life on the road.

The hardcore sound has always drawn a lot of energy from all-ages shows – are you looking forward to this Push Over for this reason?

Yeah we are definitely looking forward to it. We played Pushover the year before last and it was a really good response and fun day for us so moving forward two years it should be bigger and better than before.

I think all ages shows are a real test if someone is genuinely passionate about music whether it be hardcore/punk/metal etc because there is no other reason to be there – no alcohol, no after party and none of the business surrounding club and 18+ events.

Have any gigs you saw as an underage punter really stuck with you?

I would never have called myself “punter” haha, but yeah there was definitely some good shows before I turned 18. One of the most memorable would have to be the first Throwdown tour in 2002. It was the first international hardcore band to play Byron Bay so it was definitely a big deal for meat the time and was an awesome show.

In January, you did the Boys Of Summer tour and from the photos on FasterLouder, it looked wild at every stop. Were those shows good fun for you?

Boys Of Summer was cool. It was a different vibe for us for sure. It was the first tour we’ve done for a few years in Australia where we didn’t have to headline so I think there was a lot of weight off our shoulders. And we definitely played some towns we have neglected over the last few years to, like Wyong, the Gold Coast and Newcastle,
which were all awesome shows.

How are you feeling about the new songs from Where Life Expires in the live context? Are they translating well?

The new album has been slow but every show the response gets better. Every time you make a slight change to your sound kids are always going to complain like they’re expecting you to write the same album again and again – which just isn’t going to happen.

It is just a case of getting use to the newer songs live and blending them inwith the existing set list and making it all flow together.

When you’re in the studio, do you think about whether a song will work live, or does that consideration come later?

I think that it’s brought up before the studio. Hardcore to me is more about the show than listening to a CD or mp3. With that in mind I think that most of our songs are written for a live performance and maximum impact, be it hard breakdown or a catchy hook to sing along to.

With Luke Bainbridge in the ranks, was your approach in the studio on Where Life Expires different from past albums?

It definitely was on a lot of levels. Having ‘Baina’ in the band has obviously added some extra vocals into the mix, as well as some general input into songwriting. The studio process was a lot longer than we have previously had and we tracked things a lot differently and mixed ideas up on the fly nstead of just tracking what we already knew.

You always seem to thrive in places like the Tuggeranong Community Centre in Canberra. Is the vibe there a throwback to the days in Byron Bay?

I think along as Boz, Elmsy and myself are in the band we’ll always see Byron as the home of the band show wise. Even though not everyone lives there it’s always been a place where you’re guaranteed to have an awesome show.

Comparing that to other places, it seems to be more of a small room, fun vibe that’s the common thing. If you put that same show in a huge hall or club it might turn out to be completely dull.

About a month after Push Over, you set off to Japan. Is this your first tour there, and have you got high hopes for the shows?

Yeah it’s going to be our first time playing in Japan. It’s actually just a stop over/warm up for our Europe tour with Parkway Drive, but from what I’ve heard the shows are going to be super cool and the band we are touring with (As We Let Go) is really good. So worst case scenario we get to check out a new country and play with some new bands along the way.

And then on to Europe with Parkway Drive! Will it be a buzz touring with those guys? How have your past European conquests gone?

Touring with PWD is always fun, they’re some of our best friends when it comes to bands. So that alone is going to make it a sweet tour. Let alone playing to the 2000 kids
every night for 23 shows.

Europe has been really good to us for the two times we’ve been there. Kids are really open to new bands no matter where they’re from and seem to live for hardcore rather than just fade out after 6 months.

I always see familiar faces at shows in weird places like Poland, Germany, Austria etc. I’m really excited about going back and hopefully playing to some kids who have never seen us before!

50 Lions play Push Over festival Saturday 7th March at The Old Abbotsford Convent in Collingwood.