We are Evan & The Brave, a 4-piece band from Sydney who have just released the Single, ‘Stay This Way’. It’s a track from our upcoming EP release, that we recorded with brilliant Sydney producer, and friend, Tony Buchen (Andy Bull, The Preatures, Washington). We love dreamy sounds and good melodies.
Oh yeh, and we’re named after Daniel’s grand-father, Evangelou Bravos.
Word on the street is the band was formed after Daniel experienced a “musical reconnaissance” overseas in London and New York. What exactly inspired this epiphany?
Well I needed a break from music and everything else in Sydney at the time. And the weirdest thing was that I found myself walking around the streets of NY during the daytime listening to guys like Paul Kelly, Levon Helm, Simon & Garfunkel and Fleet Foxes in my headphones, but then going to RnB, Gospel and Jazz clubs in the night. And then add to that, going to London and watching great dirty electro rock bands playing in Camden really messed with my brain a lot, but in a really great way.
We’ve heard the band was initially meant to be called Daniel & The Brave before you all realised there was an American band with a similar name. Is there an unspoken rivalry now between you and those Yanks?
Yep it’s true! There’s no beef, in fact, we never were in touch with them, but if they ever step on these shores they better hope their Brave is stronger than ours.
Your brand new single, ‘Stay This Way’, is a brilliant hybrid of rock, folk and pop stuffed with infectious hooks. Is this good indication of what we can expect to hear when your new EP drops in August?
Oh thanks! Yeh the sounds are pretty spread and varied across the EP, although they’re all tied together sonically and melodically (or so we hope!).
Tell us about the recording process for the EP? Is it all finished up now?
The whole process with our friend (and producer) Tony Buchen was so, so great. We recorded our one-off Single from 2012, Lil Monster, with him, so teaming up with him again was an easy fit. Actually parts were rather grueling because we had less than 14 days to record everything before he was leaving for LA, so we recorded at Alberts and in 301 every moment we could during that period. Being in that sink or swim environment though, can be the best thing, and knuckling down to create/jam sounds and ideas with him and the boys was a really inspiring couple of weeks. It’s all finished now and we wish it could come out tomorrow so we can see what people think about it!
‘Stay This Way’ has been getting some serious spins on triple j. Does it ever get old hearing yourselves played on the radio, or is it still as exciting as the first time?
Yeezus it really is one of the best bloody feelings ever. Especially when you’re just listening to the radio and it comes on randomly without being pre-warned it.
Comparisons people make to your sound range from Beach Boys to MGMT to Empire Of The Sun. What kind of artists inspire your sound?
Funnily enough, when we were writing/recording Stay This Way, and the rest of the EP, we had a combination of sounds from guys like Blur, Bruce Springsteen, Phil Spectre, The Smiths and Elbow going through our heads. It’s kind’ve a really amazing idea that our brains have somehow filtered these sounds and produced something that has people hearing Beach Boys, MGMT and EOTS. We really love that.
‘Fess up. What was your first ever record/tape/CD?
I remember getting the NKOTB record ‘Hanging Tough’ for Christmas when I was very young, but I think the first Single (when they came out on CASETTE TAPES HAHAHA) was (Srsly can’t believe I’m writing this), Amy Grant – Baby Baby. God I’m the worst.
What would you say your music is the best soundtrack for?
One of our fans told us that our music made him want to climb mountains and drink premium liquor, so that’s really hard to argue with. In saying that, we just hope people can fall in love with all the sounds and ideas that are swirling around in the tracks – it was so fun making them, so hopefully that transfers into everybody’s ears.
What’s been the standout moment in Evan & The Brave’s young lifespan so far?
Being added to Triple J spot rotation is really hard to beat, but then playing Secret Garden Festival last year just before the heavens opened was pretty amazing – yet, the whole process of writing and recording the EP was such an incredible moment, too. Can we just say all three of those things?
Where we can see you play next, what releases do you have available and where can we get them?
We’re playing for Coopers’ After Dark show on June 28th in Sydney. Then we get ready for the release of the EP in August (with Tour Dates TBC).
