AS A RIVAL
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Saturday, July 13
Yours and Owls
After spending months in the recording studio working on a five-track EP, Melbourne trio As A Rival are looking forward to getting out on the road on what will be their first tour through NSW.
"It's been a long time in the making, probably six to eight months recording on and off and getting all the tour stuff ready, so we are really pumped to get out there," guitarist and singer Peter Cerni says.
"We haven't been up to NSW before so it's going to be really good.
"It's our first serious national tour, so it's exciting to be playing in new cities, new venues.
"We're just stoked to be out on the road and playing the new CD and to be playing to new fans and just getting our music out there and showing what we can do."
The EP, Concerning Trends, has been earning the band some good reviews, as has the first single from it, Warm Gun.
As A Rival may not have played in Wollongong before but in the era of Facebook and other social media it's a lot easier for bands to gauge their following in different towns and Cerni is confident they have some fans in the Illawarra.
"We've got a few fans and we're getting a few more on Facebook through our new single [Warm Gun] and film clip," he says.
"Plus we've got friends and family all over the place in NSW, so it's a good chance for them to finally see us play."
Cerni describes the As A Rival sound as "hard, fast melodic rock" - think punchy drums, dirty bass and riffing guitars.
It's also "a bit schizophrenic", he says, shifting from a full-throttle blend of punk and metal to quieter, more melodic moments.
"It's fast paced and we'll go into some changes," Cerni says.
"It can happen in the same song - some of the newer stuff we have been writing is like that. It's a big bowl of stuff all mixed up."
As A Rival formed about two years ago and Cerni says the band is now starting to hit its stride.
"Jayde, the bass player, and I have known each other for about 10 years and have played together in other bands previously," he says.
"Jonty we just found online when we were looking for drummers - he's young and full of energy.
"This EP is definitely a step-up for us. The last one was just a single, three songs, and I had written all the songs before we had started to rehearse and play.
"With this one we have all been together for a while and it's more of a collaboration. It is pushing the musical boundaries.
"We are trying to challenge ourselves musically but still make it fun for the audience."