The Words

Artist Information

Biography

"The Words" play musical instruments whilst singing about stuff. Here’s how it works. Ryan makes the banging noise, Ben sings, Clint sings a little bit (but not as much as Ben) and Dylan makes all the other noises (as does Ben and Clint). And they do all of this at the same time. Journalists say it sounds like “The Jam and early You Am I”. The review people have also said it’s a “blend of classic rock n roll with a twist of indie pop”.

The four of them usually do all this at a top-secret location but they also do it in front of big groups of people. This is usually carried out in bars, but sometimes at festivals such as “Southbound”, “Rollercoaster”, “WAMI Festival” and "Groovin The Moo" etc. At such events, they normally play all their sounds before/after other groups. Names of these groups include "Gyroscope", "Jebediah", "Sugar Army", "The Living End", "The Panics", most recently "The Cribs" (UK) and the list continues on.

Sometimes "The Words" even get rewarded for doing the things they do. Examples: “APRA Song Writing Award”, “State Regional Winners – Next Big Thing”, "Drum Media - Single of the Week", a “WAM - Most Popular Song Of The Year 2009” for Run For The Hills and most recently being unearthed by JJJ to play "Groovin The Moo".

Occasionally these lads record their racket onto “compact disc” for people to listen at home, in the car etc. "Shaun O'Callaghan" at "Couch Studio" helped them do such a thing in 2008. They gave this debut EP a name - “Running A Maze” and people all over Australia were able to listen to it on the “Triple J” radio station. Australia liked it so much that the songs reached as high as #4 on the "JJJ Unearthed Charts".

"The Words" have also put some more singing/strumming/banging onto compact disc and a chap by the name "Andy Lawson" of "Debaser Studio" assisted them with it. They also classify this latest recording as an “EP”, being titled “We Don’t Dance Very Well”. People are able to exchange money for a “We Don’t Dance Very Well” as well as spectate “The Words” live at various venues.

The band is set to release 2 new tracks in October 2010.
Stay Tuned!!!

Instrumentation

Ben Macri: Lead Vocals, Rythm Guitar, Bass
Clint Macri: Backing Vocals, Lead Guitar, Bass
Dylan Macri: Lead Guitar, Bass
Ryan Mcdonnell: Drums, Percussion

Discography

Debut EP "Running A Maze" released August, 2008.
The 5 track release is streaming on www.myspace.com/thewordsaus and is available for purchase through iTunes Music Store.

"We Don't Dance Very Well", 4 track EP, released October 2009.
Tracks from the EP also streaming at www.myspace.com/thewordsaus, www.triplejunearthed.com and available to buy online through iTunes.

Digital Release of the singles "Skin of Your Teeth" and "Under the Knife" October 2010. Available through iTunes.

Official Website

http://www.myspace.com/thewordsaus

Audio

• Skin of Your Teeth
  Listen  
• Under The Knife
  Listen  
• The Words Medley/Compilation of 9 Released Songs
  Listen  
• Run for The Hills
  Listen  
• Got No Charm
  Listen  

Lyrics

• Run for The Hills
• Got No Charm
• Skin Of Your Teeth
• Under The Knife

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• The Cribs Support - 13/02/2010 [+ Show ]
  

  Gathering at the Rosemount are young and old Brit-rock fans all waiting to catch a glimpse of The Cr...Gathering at the Rosemount are young and old Brit-rock fans all waiting to catch a glimpse of The Cribs and former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr but they will have to wait. Luckily there are two local bands waiting to fulfil their musical needs.
  
  The Words have recently garnered great success both here and on US college radio. Their music is melodic with a certain amount of scorn. Ben Macri’s vocals pound through the room with a delicate tone not seen in too many vocalists (let alone in the rock genre). Most songs are Jangle-Pop based but have an added originality to them that is quite indescribable. After a 45 minute set, they say their polite farewells to a room of cheering supporters. Sometimes you hear about a band having their moment and this most certainly was The Words’s moment.

• Prince EP Launch - 17/12/2009 [+ Show ]
  

  Bunbury alternative rockers The Words may claim they don’t dance very well, but the bumper crowd at ...Bunbury alternative rockers The Words may claim they don’t dance very well, but the bumper crowd at the band’s EP launch last Thursday at the Prince Of Wales certainly knew how to. The three Macri lads along with drummer Ryan McDonnell launched into the infectiously catchy Strokes-esque Go, followed by new song Skin of Your Teeth. For a band that have only been together for a couple of years, The Words have given their music a more edgy sound, but still has plenty of youth appeal to dance too.
  
  Lead singer and head song writer Ben Macri worked his charm on the crowd, hitting the long notes during Control and Go All Night. Bassist Clint Macri thanked the fans for their loyal support just before receiving an impromptu Happy Birthday sing-along led by Michael from support band Luna Parade.
  
  The boys unleashed a couple of interesting covers during their show –first being Arlo Guthrie’s Coming in to Los Angeles and later a salute to stalwarts Travelling Wilbury’s in the form of Rattled, with Ben showing his talent on the harmonica.
  
  Previous hits from their debut release Running A Maze were well received, notably He Didn’t Know and Triple-J favourite Got No Charm, although wholesome soft-rock ditty Carry On didn’t manage to make an appearance – maybe next time. Drenched in sweat, having suffered for their art, the boys dug deep for the final track We Don’t Dance Very Well that closed a sensational set.
  
  The Words have come of age with this highly polished new release and now boast sound that is truly their own, laying the foundations for a live act that harbours incredible potential.
  
  Now that’s a tune we can all dance to.
  
  – Jay Margo
  

• Next Big Thing Southwest Heat [+ Show ]
  

  Esplanade Hotel, Busselton 21/06/08 To the surprise of virtually no one in the room, Bunbury b...Esplanade Hotel, Busselton
  
  21/06/08
  
  To the surprise of virtually no one in the room, Bunbury band The Words took out the south west leg of Next Big Thing WA for 2008. While The Words have enjoyed a bit of notoriety this year (playing Southbound in January for one), the thing with band comps is that any act is capable of taking the top spot if they’re tight, distinctive enough and marketable. It is for these reasons that four of the other five bands in this heat weren’t really in the hunt.
  
  Contrary to popular belief most judges involved with Next Big Thing are open to rewarding new, unknown talent. Sure there are set criteria to work with but there’s also a fair bit of subjectivity entrusted in the distinction between a foreseeable recording career and a pipe dream. This is how it all needs to work and there were really only two bands here tonight with general marketability and a foreseeable recording career, Collie’s This End Up being a fraction behind The Words as runners up.
  
  This isn’t to say that the other four were never in the race. Satago, for example, has an impressive offbeat, alt rock style with a young drummer, keyboardist and guitarist destined to do great things. Before It All went from being nervous and sloppy, to tight and confident by the end of their 20 minutes under lights. I reckon if both these bands had a few more minutes (and a bit more stage experience) up their collective sleaves their impact tonight might have been far greater. In general, both Satago and Before It All were let down by young, inexperienced vocals and high school 101 guitar chops.
  
  In third place, Tedium, with their RHCP meets The Meaning Of groove heavy rock, possessed a togetherness that defines a great trio, not mention a singing drummer of serious intent. Next To Nothing are all great musicians, with a fresh and progressive hard rock-meets-hardcore sound and dynamic stage presence. Tonight however, neither act scored high enough to join the other regional success stories in Perth.
  
  As far as the bands that didn’t make the top three tonight, it’s more to do with where they ‘are’ right now as bands or performers. And there in lies another wonderful aspect of band comps, the ability to get fresh, young talent up on stage at a great venue, with pro production and a big audience.
  
  But there can only be one winner and the super smooth indie rock/pop mood set by The Words was too good to let go. As a regional band, these guys are certainly up to a competitive metro standard and close as damn it to a national one.
  
  Ditto for the high school-aged This End Up, who simply set a fantastic party mood and scored so highly that they almost tied with The Words on two judging sheets. One piece of advice for This End Up is to drop the theatrics and let the music combined with a more constrained stage presence do all the talking. The ‘get ready to rock’ and ‘put your hands in the air’ stuff comes off contrived and unnecessary. All you have to do is look at the confident and charismatic performance of The Words for guidance on this front.
  
  All told it was a great heat, with the 18+ Espy Hotel doing a commendable job of allowing all ages to be a part of the performance and crowd. The south wet judges and Rockwest on sound all deserve praise in making this a highly successful regional heat for NBT.
  

Setlist

Original Live Set:
He Didn't Know
Carry On
Get In Line
Move
Scream And Shout
Go All Night
Sunshine To Storm
We Had A Ball
Not What It Seems
Let Me Off
Here She Comes
Control
Away
Got No Charm
Go
Try It Again
On Yourself
Attention
Run For The Hills
We Don't Dance Very Well
Skin of Your Teeth

An average set would run from 45 to 70 minutes depending on the format of the gig, with the set list taken from the above original songs. Depending on the circumstances we sometimes draw on a few covers such as:
My Generation - The Who
Satisfaction - The Rolling Stones
Revolution - The Beatles
Last Nite - The Strokes
Red Morning Light - Kings Of Leon
Alive - Pearl Jam
Coming into LA - Arlo Guthrie

Basic Requirements

Calendar