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Local band to get its own Taste of Chaos in Brisbane gig
IF you see four young rockers dancing in the streets of Mudjimba with grins from ear to ear, don’t be alarmed. Local band Drawcard have just got the news of a lifetime.
The Mudjimba four-piece outfit have won a state-wide competition to be one of four supporting bands at this Sunday’s popular Rockstar Taste of Chaos tour.
The tour, headlined by Thursday and Saosin, will draw more than 15,000 people to the Brisbane Entertainment Centre for Queensland’s only concert. But despite only learning the news on Monday, they aren’t worried – well, maybe a bit. “There were two competitions you could enter to win a spot,” lead singer and guitarist Paul Durkin said. “We didn’t win the first one and sort of forgot about the second one because we hadn’t heard anything, then I saw an email (on Monday) promoting the tour which had our name and pic on it.
“We’re so excited and really stoked about it... maybe a tiny bit nervous.
“We’ll be practising like mad before Sunday.” Not that the three-year-old eclectic band needs it. The group, which includes Paul’s brother Andi Durkin on drums, Jesse Clark on guitar and vocals and Mitch Goldstone on bass, has been playing on the Coast and Brisbane for three years and have released two sell-out EPs. “The tour is great. They bring a few genres together and bring it all together for all ages,” Paul said.
“It travels around the world. We saw it last year and thought, ‘how can we get on that?’ So we researched and entered this competition.
“It’s got to be the biggest venue we’ve ever played by about 10 times.
“It’s going to be so great for us brushing shoulders with some of the biggest international bands and chatting and handing out CDs to anyone we can.”
Drawcard will be on the same stage as a band that inspired their sound, Underoath.
Before Sunday’s big gig, the quartet will play at Coolum’s Sol Bar on Friday.
Photo Caption
MAKING THE BIG TIME: Drawcard will play in front of 15,000 people this weekend after winning a spot on the Rockstar Taste of Chaos Tour in Brisbane. Pictured, from
left, are band members Jesse Clark, Paul Durkin, Mitch Goldstone and Andi Durkin. PHOTO: WARREN LYNAM/160335F - Sunshine Coast Daily (Circulation 80,000)
A PROGRESSIVE foursome hailing from the Sunshine Coast, DrawCard caused ripples in the local music industry in 2003 when they wrote and recorded their first EP-demo and toured Queensland and NSW – in two months.
When they got back home there was no time to reminisce about the trip as a back-to-back gig list saw them perform non-stop for the rest of the year. No mean feat for a band hailing from the Coast’s competitive local music industry.
Fast forward to 2004: the guys regroup, redirect and channel their youthful exuberance into rocking riffs and explosive live performances, forcing those who once dubbed them “the young pop punk band” to sit up for a closer look and listen.
Lugging their gear into a studio was the next obvious step, along with securing producer Nathan Ironside. Their 2005 debut EP, An Artificial Heartbeat, exceeded everyone’s expectations and started another chapter in their evolutionary tale. Dynamic front man Paul Durkin is supported by Jesse Clark (guitar and back-up vocals), Mitch Goldstone (bass) and Andi Durkin (drums).
Playing every show as though it is their last, DrawCard delivers intuitive songs, energetic stage performances and airborne guitars – just as it should be in the tradition of rock.
“At the moment we are playing an onslaught of shows across southeast Queensland including Hervey Bay, Gympie, Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, Gold Coast and Toowoomba,” front man Paul Durkin said.
“We want to get our music out there to the local audience and are planning an East Coast OZ tour for early 2007.”
If you crave good music and originality, check out these young guns at the Sol Bar, Coolum, with Avalon Drive and Shifter on Friday, October 13, and at the Lake Kawana Community Centre on October 28. Check out www.myspace.
com/drawcard for more
shows. - The Entertainer (32,000 Circ)
Discography
2003 - Pieces of a forgotten History
2005 - An artificial Heartbeat
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
DrawCard catches fire!
After recently performing to a 10,000 strong crowd at Taste of Chaos Tour at Brisbane Entertainment Centre the lads from DrawCard are ecstatic with the way things are going for the band. Backing this up with performances at Gold Coast Parklands (10,000ppl), RNA Showgrounds (20,000ppl), along with an onslaught of shows in between, DrawCard are a hard working band that wont stop at anything to get themselves heard. The band has recently secured an international Management contract and has already placed tracks on a number of international surf, skate & Extreme sports films. The band now has a busy schedule ahead of them, performing in conjunction with the National Monster Tour of Destruction across Australia. This tour which they have coined the DrawCard Stadium Tour will cover most states across Australia where they will perform in front of an average of 9000 punters per show.
The guys are also currently working on tracks for their forthcoming release. A demo version of their single Running for their lives can be found on this site. More recently the guys have gained interest from a national marketing agency which will use the band on a new Promotional DVD for a big organisation which will be viewed by all Yr11 and Yr12 students across Queensland over the course of 2007.
DrawCard are featured in the March 2007 issue of No Cover Magazine which distributes 20,000+ copies nation wide across the US. Their track "Running for their lives" has also been featured on a compilation cd which will be distributed on the cover of 8,000 of the same magazine in March 2007.
A progressive foursome hailing from the Sunshine Coast, DrawCard caused ripples in the local music industry in 2003 when they wrote and recorded their first EP/Demo and toured Qld and NSW - all in a matter of two months. When they got back home there was no time to sit back and reminisce about their trip. Their local audience welcomed them with open arms and a back-to-back gig list saw them perform non-stop for the rest of the year. No mean feat for a band hailing from the competitive local music industry and selective audience of the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane.
Fast forward to 2004: the guys regroup, redirect and channel their youthful exuberance into rocking riffs and explosive live performances, forcing those who once dubbed them the young pop punk band to sit up for a closer look and listen. Lugging their gear into a studio was the next obvious step, so was securing producer Nathan Ironside. And before you know it their 2005 debut EP, An Artificial Heartbeat exceeds everyones expectations and starts another chapter in their evolutionary tale.
Front man Paul Durkin purely writes how he feels about; the world, the people, the places, and the way people react to all of this (the effects). Supported by his own dynamic guitar and vocal capabilities, along with Jesse Clark on guitar and back-up vocals, Mitch Goldstone on bass and Andi Durkin on drums, the sound, texture and structure of each song is as unique as the bands individual personalities
One Day at a Time on An Artificial Heartbeat is what Drawcards about, Paul says.
give & take what you can out of life and dont let the little things hold you up along the way.
The band draw inspiration from a number of different genres, with influential bands Underoath, After the fall and Story of the Year, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin stirring through their music.
As comfortable jolting and gyrating on stage at Taste of Chaos at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre as they are at their local pub, DrawCard holds your attention because they deliver with precision the things that matter most: intuitive songs, energetic stage performances and airborne guitars just as it should be in the tradition of rock.
Achievements and Milestones
Self managed and organised tour of QLD, NSW and Canberra. (2003)
Recorded and released Debut EP An Artificial Heartbeat. (2004)
Independently sold 200 copies of debut EP in the first 3 weeks of release. (2004)
Won an Australia wide competition and secured a spot on Taste of Chaos International tour. (2006)
Performed to more than 10,000 people at Brisbane Entertainment Centre on 15th October for Taste of Chaos. (2006)
Securing an international management and promotional deal with Los Angeles based Management Company. (2006)
Lined up with an Australia-wide promoter a number of stadium shows playing to upwards of 40,000 people in one month (Jan-Feb 2007)
Featured in 20,000 copies of No Cover magazine which is distributed nationwide in the United States. (2007)
Placed track on compilation disc (8000 copies) which is distributed nation wide across the US, bundled with a popular alternative music magazine. (2007)
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