AT Band

Bands don’t come much more up-front than high-energy Brisbane four-piece AT.

In Queensland, Australia storms can brew up in mere minutes, and AT have developed a thundering live set to match the local weather: a devastating combination of acoustic songs and lightning-fast hard rock riffery that sees most venues declared as natural disaster areas well before the encore.

Up front, vocalist/lead guitarist Andrew Thomas and rhythm guitarist Ben Vawdrey unleash upon the audience a sound that is new and intense but also influenced by bands of old. The fluid playing of bassist Barn Gickel dovetails with the drumming of tireless powerhouse Pete Turner, making for a rock-solid rhythm section.

AT formed in June 2006 around Thomas, whose healthy diet of guitar-driven bands from the ‘70s and ‘80s shaped his distinctive style of playing. Directionless and drifting after a family tragedy, he was persuaded by a mate that there was never a better time in his life for realizing his dream of starting a band. This was the catalyst he’d needed; he placed an ad in Rave magazine that very day, with a clear ambition of forming a band within mere weeks.

Pete auditioned first, bringing his versatility, passion for big sounds and solid playing to the group. And on that very same day, Andrew also met Ben, who’d been killing time jamming rock, metal and grunge tunes with mates. In the first session the new three-piece had four songs sounding great. The search was on for a bassist, and at the end of June AT auditioned Barn, veteran of the Brisbane scene, whose rock/funk style saw him being offered the spot that night. The first phase of Thomas’s mission was accomplished.

Literally weeks after the band formed, producer Wernher Pramschufer was coaxed round to the band’s studio, The Vault, where they played him most of their set list. Impressed by the tightness of their playing and the catchiness of their tunes, he agreed to produce an EP for them – Chapter 1.

With four EP songs under their belts and 1000 copies in hand, the four lads then played their first gig at The Living Room in Brisbane to a modest but appreciative crowd. Gigs started to flood in and by early 2007 the band had played most of Brisbane’s iconic local music venues like Ric’s, The Zoo and the dearly departed Alley Bar. The boys really pounded the city’s rooms, playing to as many people as would listen - and by 2008 they’d pumped out a second blast of relentless riffery in the form of the Chapter 2 EP, which got them noticed not just at home but abroad as well. This convinced the band they had the framework set, and the time was right to record a debut album.

After seven months of hard work First Act was ready to be released in 2009. Recording the album was a democratic process for AT - every member had a full say, from which songs would be on the track listing to whether or not a guitar line needed re-doing. Thomas himself put the cap on the process, spending the final few weeks belting out his heartfelt and honest vocals which engage with all facets of the emotional spectrum: anger, sadness, regret, happiness and hope, a key theme in many of their songs.

First Act is the evidence of a high powered and dedicated group of musicians: not only did the collaborative way of working produce the best album possible, but the seven months of focused labour brought AT closer, tighter as a band than ever before.

With an album tour now behind them, AT is looking to the future. Already this year they’ve recorded a live and acoustic DVD and EP, AT Acoustic: Live in The Vault, and they’ll be making their voices heard up and down the country again soon.

Plus, as they remind us with their album title, there’s a lot more to come from the Brissy boys.

Influences: Our music is very riff based and we enjoy taking the time during a lot of our songs to break it down and jam.

We also enjoy playing acoustically to bring a totally new dimension to both existing rock songs and new acoustic tracks.