Rock ‘n’ rollin’ free spirits Stonefield are about to once again hit the road for an Australian East Coast tour during April. The tour will promote the soon-to-be-released EP Bad Reality of which the lead single and title track has recently hit the airways.
Bad Reality, the single, is a typically blistering Stonefield song that centres on a yearning to escape one’s immediate surroundings. As the young, talented and intelligent Amy Findlay explains, the track is not necessarily a personal statement.
“I guess it’s just that whole youth thing. When you’re young you just want to run away and rebel… Not that I particularly am feeling like that at the moment. I just sometimes make up stories in my head and wanted to go with that whole theme,” Amy said.
“It came after we were stressing about the single… We were kind of feeling the pressure and stressing out a fair bit about not having this song. Then we realized there was no point putting this extra pressure on ourselves and we need to just relax and go back to how we used to write songs before… It just sort of came out really quickly, one of those natural songs where we had it in minutes,” she said.
Stonefield recently played their new single Bad Reality to a national audience when they appeared on Adam Hills in Gordon St Tonight. It was the first TV appearance for the young band and proved a different beast to that of a live gig.
“You know, it’s recorded and that’s it, that’s what everyone’s going to see… It was for like however long the song is, two and a half minutes or something and it was all over. Yeah, so it’s definitely quite a nerve-racking thing to do,” Amy said.
With TV appearance now checked off Stonefield’s ever-increasing list of achievements, the band will soon be able to claim an appearance at triple j’s One Night Stand, taking place June 2 in Dalby. The town is located approximately 3 hours west of Brisbane and has a population of around 10,000.
“It’s really exciting, playing in a town that we probably would never have visited…if we weren’t playing the One Night Stand there. It’s always an exciting thing.”
“The lineup’s quite diverse: it’s sort of covered all bases with Matt Corby, 360, The Temper Trap and us. Maybe we’re the rock, rock band (laughter).”
Speaking of rock, rock bands, in December 2011 Stonefield opened for none other than the Foo Fighters, who just happened to bring along good mates Tenacious D.
“Sarah and I got to meet Dave, who watched some of our set and said he really liked it and…Tenacious D were standing on the side of the stage watching our set, so we were very lucky; it was awesome,” Amy said.
Of course the aforementioned accomplishments are only but a fraction of Stonefield’s almost unfathomably rapid success. The band gained national attention when they won triple j’s Unearthed High contest in 2010, then under the moniker of Iotah. Last year they played the Glastonbury Festival followed by their single Black Water Rising appearing at #62 on triple j’s Hottest 100.
It’s not hard to imagine that the girl’s parents must be stoked…
“Our parents are extremely stoked and very happy for us… They’ve always loved music even though they don’t play it themselves. I think they’re really happy and proud that we’re doing what we love.“
“I think it’s a little bit too much to really sink in. At the same time, we’re really appreciative, but I think our heads will explode if we overthink it (laughter).”
However, despite all these accolades and milestones, Stonefield’s most impressive feat may be their recent commitment to act as ambassadors for Headspace (the National Youth Mental Health Foundation) throughout 2012.
“We basically were getting a lot of questions about supporting all these different charities and it’s really horrible having to say no because obviously we can’t do everything,” Amy said.
“So we wanted to pick something that was really relevant to us and that we actually knew what we were talking about… It’s something that we feel passionate about and can relate to. So hopefully we can help out some young people,” she said.
Headspace is a nationwide initiative that promotes the mental and emotional well being of youths and hopefully prevents any drastic measures such as teen suicide.
“If you don’t have somebody to talk to like your friends or don’t feel you can speak to any of your family members, Headspace is always available. You can just walk in there; you don’t have to make an appointment or anything.”
“It makes it a lot easier for kids to seek help, so just do it. Get the help and make yourself feel better.”
2012 promises to be another big year for Stonefield. The EP Bad Reality is due out any day now and the band’s debut is expected later this year. As for any hints on what the next single will be…
“It’s called Ruby Skies and we’re really excited about it.”
Stonefield East Coast Australian Tour 2012
Thursday 19 April
The Great Northern, Newcastle, NSW
Tickets http://www.oztix.com.au
Friday 20 April
The Zoo, Brisbane, QLD
Tickets http://www.oztix.com.au and http://www.thezoo.com.au
Saturday 21 April
Kings Beach Tavern, Caloundra, QLD
Tickets http://www.oztix.com.au
Sunday 22 April
The Coolangatta Hotel, Coolangatta, QLD
Tickets http://www.oztix.com.au
Tuesday 24 April and Wednesday 25 April
Northcote Social Club, Melbourne, VIC
Tickets http://www.thenorthcotesocialclub.com
Thursday 26 April
The Patch, Wollongong, NSW
Tickets http://www.oztix.com.au
Friday 27 April
The Standard, Surry Hills, NSW
Tickets http://www.moshtix.com.au
Saturday 28 April
The Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle, NSW
Tickets http://www.yourcambridge.com
