Strike Anywhere: Ready,aim...Australia!

Tue 27th Feb, 2007 in Features

How do you stand out in the punk rock world? What would be one thing you could say about your band that almost no one else in this big wide genre could honestly say? I think Strike Anywhere have the answer!

Strike Anywhere is a five-piece punk rock band that has had one unchanged line up for the best part of eight years! The guys are pretty proud of this, as they know that is no easy feat. There are plenty of reasons why this group of guys from all corners of the United States have been able to keep it together but it really comes down to friends and fun. The type of friends and fun you and I could only dream of having.

In these said years Strike Anywhere have taken their political ideals and powerful punk rock sounds to many places across the globe. The friends they speak of are most often the bands they get to perform with on any stage anywhere they strike. Bands like The Slackers, New Mexican Disaster Squad, German punk rock rioters the Do Nots and good friends NOFX are just a few in a long list of Strike Anywhere’s tour buddies. The band say touring can be super long but a party here and there with friends like these sure make it super fun.

The band is preparing now for a tour of Japan. A place they love and a place where they are loved. Matt Sherwood (guitarist) says, “it’s the one place where the kids line up outside of their hotel room or where they are recognised in the street. Well sort of. Its really only Thomas (singer) they recognise. We would love to say its because of his distinct looks, you know the long dreadlocks but it’s really the age old to the singer goes the spoils type thing.”

So what do we need to know about these guys? They are coming here next! That’s what! The new Strike Anywhere album Dead FM has prompted a tour and the guys are making their way downunder for a third time. “I’m really excited this time round,” says Matt Sherwood. “It’s our first time down to Australia in the months where the weather is good so even though it’s kind of a whirlwind tour we really hope to hit up the beaches and skate parks which should be really cool. Thomas has an uncle in Sydney and he is always great fun to catch up with so let’s hope that happens.”

The new album Dead FM is a proud piece for Strike Anywhere. The bands collaborative approach always assures they release something they all feel is really what they want. The title Dead FM is a little abstract says Matt Sherwood. “Sure it is a little about the despair we can see as a nation but we think people that listen to this album can draw their own opinions from the emotional content within the songs.”

See Strike Anywhere this March:

March 2: Club 299, Brisbane
March 3: Gaelic Club, Sydney
March 4: Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle
March 6: ANU, Canberra
March 7: Rosemount Hotel, Perth
March 8: Enigma Bar, Adelaide
March 9: The Loft, Hobart
March 10: The Evelyn, Melbourne (18+)
March 11: The Evelyn, Melbourne (all ages)