For Melbourne’s The Getaway Plan it’s been an exciting few months. After coming back from hiatus they have not only won over a bunch of new fans but have given old fans what they needed: a killer album and a whole lot of shows. The talented four-piece are back and ready to show their true potential.
During the lead up to the release of Requiem in November last year, the song ‘Phantoms’ was put on the internet which lead to them garnering thousands of new fans on Facebook. The reception for Requiem at the start was mixed with fans eventually catching on to what the band was trying to portray. Requiem is an album that you need to listen to multiple times before you understand; it is full of depth which sets it apart from the previous releases. “So far it has been amazing. At first it was kind of slow. People were taking a while to kind of catch on and understand what we were trying to do. But now everyone is coming to peruse and people are giving us some great feedback,” exclaims singers and guitarist Matthew Wright.
After the release of Requiem The Getaway Plan began touring around Australia with a main highlight being the Big Day Out. They are no strangers to this festival playing it in 2009 but for them this year was a lot more fun. “It was more enjoyable this time for us. We had so many friends that were on the tour with us this time. There were quite a few Australian bands that we have toured with before and stuff. Last time we were kind of the odd ones out especially on the bill; stylistically we didn’t really fit but this time we definitely seemed to gel a lot better than we did.”
The Getaway Plan have just travelled roughly 17 000km around Australia on its 11-date regional tour which saw them play in as diverse places as Mulgrave in Victoria, Windsor in New South Wales and Caloundra, Queensland. “All the shows were actually really surprisingly good. It’s really tough, when you play regional areas, to know what to expect. They’re always so hit or miss. Every show was fairly solid, some obviously way better than others but I think my favourite show was maybe Ferntree Gully in Melbourne. It’s our home town. Everyone is a lot nicer to us here than everywhere else, not that they are not nice elsewhere.”
Wright goes on to explain why regional areas prove to be difficult: “People out there don’t get to see shows very often. People don’t know what to do with themselves when they come to these shows but it’s amazing to be able to get out there and give them music where they usually don’t get it.”
Now fans of The Getaway Plan might be getting a little worried. Too much touring was one of the reasons these boys went on hiatus in 2009. Considering they have been on the road since the release of Requiem it seems that they are going down the same path. Wright assures that this time round they are ready.
“We are ready for it this time round. The break was what we needed to be able to cope with the touring lifestyle. When we broke up we were obviously all pretty lost at first, we managed to balance out our personal lives and get everything in order there. Once we sorted all that out it seemed easy to do. We have had no problems thus far and nothing that’s foreseeable in the future.”
The Getaway Plan are also really excited to be on the line-up for Groovin’ the Moo, a festival taking both Australian and international acts to regional areas. Not only are they super excited to be a part of such a unique festival but they are stoked on the line-up. “Yeah, that’s going to be really cool. To be able to play more regional shows again as well is going to be awesome. The line-up is fucking great too.” Wright continues, “personally, I think I’m most excited to see Mutemath play. Either them or Andrew W.K, they will be another highlight for me.”
Wright has picked the right career as he would make a shocking used car salesman. When asked why people should check them out at Groovin’ he responds with. “They don’t have to if they don’t want to. Actually, they don’t really have a choice. There are only two stages so they have to.” Which shows how modest and down to earth The Getaway Plan boys are; this is one of the things that sets them apart, as well as their genuine love and passion for music. “A lot of bands in the industry these days are in it for the wrong reasons. That really upsets us to see bands that are in it for money and in it for other reasons than just to play because that’s what we’re about.”
The Getaway Plan will be appearing at Groovin The Moo nationally (tour starts 5th May in Bendigo), and have managed to slot in some headline shows while they’re on the road. Requiem is out on Warner.
