They say there ain’t no rest for the wicked but in Simon Ridley’s case, there ain’t No Sleep for the brutal. While suffering from Mondayitis, a casual evening phone call finds the energetic drummer of riotous two-piece DZ Deathrays driving through QLD en route to shoot a video for the second single from their anticipated debut album, Bloodstreams.
The notorious party band composed of Ridley and Shane Parsons developed a taste for all things loud and reckless growing up in Bundaberg, spending their free time playing in bands with their skate rat buddies. Eventually, Ridley devoted more time to music over skateboarding, as “you don’t get hurt playing guitar” and after moving to Brisbane for uni, Ridley and Parsons started a trio called ‘Denzel’ which eventually evolved to DZ Deathrays.
Fast-forward a few years and DZ Deathrays have cannonballed their music abroad and vigorously toured the globe enough times to deteriorate the soles of their favourite Converse. After experiencing some of the natural struggles of touring such as “Eating a lot of shit on tour”, “catching a double decker bus to a gig with gear” and “selling door spots and riders for cash”, their relentless commitment to keeping shows energetic and having a totally punk arse time paid off as they grabbed the attention of heavy weights like BBC’s Radio 1.
After setting the world ablaze and recording two powerful EPs, DZ Deathrays was itching to record their debut. Confidently, Ridley recalls the band’s objectives while recording their album, “We want to keep shows energetic and write a bunch of songs (for the album) that we don’t play live. There is more dynamic, a few down songs which are boring live but we wanted to make an album that was different from the two EPs to show we can write other songs.”
Further expressing the need to diversify, Ridley justifies hiring Math Rock mathlete Richard Pike from PVT as their producer, “We wanted someone from a different genre to come up with different ideas. If we had someone from the same genre then it would be the same ideas.”
The release of ‘Bloodstreams’ in April will spark a headline Australian tour, further proving how huge 2012 will be for DZ Deathrays. The band has already toured with St. Jerome’s Laneway festival, performed in New Zealand for Two Piece Fest and were featured as one of NME’s “Bands You Must Hear in 2012”. The blood streaming, beer-drinking, ball buster’s reign of terror will return to the UK, the US and Canada in March, while sneaking in a second and more illustrious appearance at SXSW in Texas.
Away from touring, recording and living the dream, Simon Ridley enjoys Battlefield 3 (on Xbox, I knew you would ask) and the sound of My Bloody Valentine. He and Parsons also find time to record with Brisbane band Velociraptor, who will be supporting DZ Deathrays on their ‘Bloodstreams’ tour. Surprisingly, this also means Ridley and Parsons will be performing back to back support and headline sets for most of their tour! But why?! “Velociraptor developed into this rotating roster and it’s more fun. Less responsibility and you can fuck up with less chance of people caring.” Past performances with an unplugged guitar were mentioned but on a positive note, Ridley exclaims, touring with Velociraptor is always hectic fun and believes their shows during the tour will be the same.
Expect the Jager to flow, the lights low and a true thrash show when DZ Deathrays tour the dates below. Don’t miss your chance to witness The Mess Up first hand.
TICKETS ON SALE THURSDAY 16TH FEB!
Thursday, April 12 | Elsewhere, Gold Coast
Tix: $12 + BF PRESALE / $16 DOOR
Tickets available from Oztix www.oztix.com.au or 1300 762 545
Friday, April 13 | The Zoo, Brisbane
Tix: $12 + BF PRESALE / $16 DOOR
Tickets available from Oztix www.oztix.com.au or 1300 762 545
Saturday, April 14 | Great Northern Hotel, Byron Bay
Tix: $12 + BF PRESALE / $16 DOOR
Tickets available from Oztix www.oztix.com.au or 1300 762 545
Wednesday, April 18 | Beach Road Hotel, Bondi
Free Entry
Thursday, April 19 | The Patch, Wollongong
Tix: $12 + BF PRESALE / $16 DOOR
Tickets available from Bigtix www.bigtix.com.au
Friday, April 20 | Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
Tix: $12 + BF PRESALE / $16 DOOR
Tickets available from Moshtix www.moshtix.com.au or 1300 GET TIX
Saturday, April 21 | Transit Bar, Canberra
Tix: $12 + BF PRESALE / $16 DOOR
Tickets available from Moshtix www.moshtix.com.au or 1300 GET TIX
Wednesday, April 25 | National Hotel, Geelong
Tix: $12 + BF PRESALE / $16 DOOR
Tickets available from Oztix www.oztix.com.au or 1300 762 545
Thursday, April 26 | Karova Lounge, Ballarat
Tix: $12 + BF PRESALE / $16 DOOR
Tickets available from Oztix www.oztix.com.au or 1300 762 545
Friday, April 27 | The Tote, Melbourne
Tix: $12 + BF PRESALE / $16 DOOR
Tickets available from Oztix www.oztix.com.au or 1300 762 545
Saturday, April 28 | Jive, Adelaide
Tix: $12 + BF PRESALE / $16 DOOR
Tickets available from Moshtix www.moshtix.com.au or 1300 GET TIX
Thursday, May 3 | Prince Of Wale, Bunbury**
Tix: $15 + BF PRESALE / $20 DOOR
Tickets available from Oztix www.oztix.com.au, 1300 762 545, Moshtix www.moshtix.com.au, 1300 GET TIX & Heatseeker www.heatseeker.com.au 08 6210 2850
Friday, May 4 | Amplifier, Perth**
Tix: $15 + BF PRESALE / $20 DOOR
Tickets available from Oztix www.oztix.com.au, 1300 762 545, Moshtix www.moshtix.com.au, 1300 GET TIX & Heatseeker www.heatseeker.com.au 08 6210 2850
Saturday, May 5 | Mojos, Fremantle**
Tix: $15 + BF PRESALE / $20 DOOR
Tickets available from Oztix www.oztix.com.au, 1300 762 545, Moshtix www.moshtix.com.au, 1300 GET TIX & Heatseeker www.heatseeker.com.au 08 6210 2850
**Velociraptor not appearing
