The name DZ Deathrays is a pretty recognisable one – mainly because it’s associated with one hell of a live show.
“Intensity has always been…what we wanted,” says Shane Parsons, singer and guitarist for the two-piece.
“We just wanted it to be a punch-in-the-face kind of thing. And we’ve kind of always played like that as well.”
However, things weren’t always as insane as they are now at the average DZ Deathrays show.
“There was this gig at The Tote we did a couple of years ago after the second EP. We go and play Melbourne and everyone was at the back of the room chilling with their arms crossed, and then they’d come up after the gig and say, ‘That was rad!’ And I was just, ‘cool’, because I didn’t know if anyone was into it.”
“Then one day, everyone was just going bonkers and jumping off the stage. And now it’s kind of hazardous with people jumping around on stage.”
“Moshing makes up 50% of the show. People would just go there to mosh!” Parsons laughs.
With all the high-octane energy, where did Shane and Simon [Ridley, drummer for the band] learn to go so mental?
“We grew up in Central Coast, Queensland, above Brisbane. There wasn’t much in the way of shows to see there,” Parsons recalls.
“We just wanted it to be a punch-in-the-face kind of thing”“The occasional band would come through, like Frenzal Rhomb and The Living End, but even then it’d be an over 18 show.”
“The only thing I had was Livid and Big Day Out, so we’d travel down on a bus to go see those.”
The inclusion of the band Violent Soho in Parson’s life really inspired the way they put on shows.
“I met the guys from Violent Soho and started going to all of their shows. They were just playing anywhere.”
“I remember seeing them play on Australia Day at this place called The Alley Bar, which has been demolished now. It was this bowling alley in Milton and there were about 30 people.”
“Luke Henery [bassist for Violent Soho] was wearing a g-string and a bra, and there were just 30 people in the front headbanging and going crazy. I was just like, ‘This is exactly what I’ve wanted to go see for the last few years’.”
The pub gigs that DZ Deathrays play now and love so much are a contrast to Big Day Out, the festival the band will be playing at in January next year. But Parsons isn’t concerned.
“We’ve done some big stages,” he says. “We did Splendour In The Grass last year. Because of the rain, everyone crowded into our tent, so that was the biggest show we’ve ever played…I loved it.”
“As long as it comes off sounding massive, I don’t even care. I just stay in my own little world on stage. Between Simon and I, we’ll just hope everyone’s having fun.”
In recent weeks, Big Day Out has run into a fair bit of controversy. The cancellation of headline act Blur left organisers scrambling for replacements. Since then, Beady Eye, Deftones, and The Hives have just been announced.
Parsons spoke of his reaction to the cancellation. “I’m pretty annoyed. I was really excited about seeing them.”
“It’s just tough being part of a line-up that has cancellations. It doesn’t really reflect on us, but you really think that when you put a line-up together, you hope that everyone’s going to show up and make that day really good for everyone.”
Regardless of the lack of Blur-ness, Parsons is incredibly excited to be on the Big Day Out tour.
“They’ve only heard me yelling at them over guitars, and now it’s me crooning over more melodic guitars”“We’re getting to play Big Day Out and at the end it’ll be worth it because we’ve been wanting to play this tour for a while – since I was fourteen.”
It’s interesting to hear why Parsons loves Big Day Out so much. “It’s those middle bands, like that year JEFF The Brotherhood made it,” he relays. “I really wanted to catch those guys so it was really cool.”
So what can punters expect from DZ Deathrays’ Big Day Out set, besides insanity incarnate? Well, there is a sophomore record in the works…
“We’ve written close to 30[songs] and about 20 are good,” laughs Parsons.
One of the songs off the record is their recent single ‘Northern Lights’, a departure from the traditional DZ Deathrays sound.
“We just thought to put it out there,” explains Parsons. “We didn’t want to come off as this sort of one-trick pony. We can do whatever we want to do.”
“There aren’t any rules. If we wanted to do an electronic song, we could do an electronic song. If we want to do a slow song…in the end, it’s going to have the same drummer, same guitarist, and it’s still gonna have that sound that we do.”
But overall, the singer isn’t worried about how the new direction will go down with fans.
“I think that song will fit in really nicely. It might only stand out at the moment because people have only heard that single, not the album.”
Laughing, he concludes, “They’ve only heard me yelling at them over guitars, and now it’s me crooning over more melodic guitars – but it’ll all come together on the record.”
Catch DZ Deathrays perform at Big Day Out 2014.
Big Day Out 2014 Dates, Tickets
Friday 17th January ~ Western Springs, Auckland*
Sunday 19th January ~ Metricon Stadium & Carrara Parklands, Gold Coast
Friday 24th January ~ Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne
Sunday 26th January ~ Sydney Showgrounds, Sydney
Friday 31st January ~ Bonython Park, Adelaide**
Sunday 2nd February ~ Claremont Showgrounds, Perth**
*For New Zealand Big Day Out 2014 lineup and ticketing details, please refer towww.bigdayout.com and choose AUCKLAND
**Subject to council approval
Tickets and info at www.bigdayout.com
