It wasn’t so long ago that The Getaway Plan did just that: devise a method of escape from dealing with the demands of success or perhaps more accurately, excess.
After the release of their 2008 debut record Other Voices, Other Rooms, the Melbourne quartet exploded onto the national stage and swiftly found themselves in high demand. The band was willing to meet expectations, but still in their early twenties, the rigour of constant touring wore heavily on the young musicians. Life had become unbalanced and in 2009 The Getaway Plan announced they would “no longer continue to make music together.”
Singer and guitarist Matthew Wright thinks back to a recent past when the future didn’t seem so bright.
“It was just tiring. I didn’t want to think about writing music, all I wanted to think about was being home”, Wright confesses.
“We were away so much that it just got to the point where it was, ‘Why the fuck are we even doing this if we’re all so unhappy and want to be home?’”
Now that The Getaway Plan had disbanded, its former members sought refuge in other notable projects. Guitarist Clint Owen joined The Amity Affliction. Drummer Aaron Barnett played with Deez Nuts and Wright formed Young Heretics.
For Wright this new musical outlet reinvigorated his passion for the songwriting process.
“For me…when we broke up I found inspiration to write music again because for the last 8 months of our career, I was pretty much unable to write, pretty much felt debilitated in that sense. Just being able to write something that wasn’t for The Getaway Plan kind of reignited that flame”, Wright explains.
In late 2010, The Getaway Plan reunited for a charity show to raise awareness of youth depression. The gig was supposed to be a one-time set, but the former bandmates quickly discovered they had unfinished business as a collective. Fourteen months later, The Getaway plan reemerged with their follow-up record Requiem.
With new music and a new perspective, The Getaway Plan were ready to once again take on the grind of touring.
“We’re ready for this now. All the same problems that were relevant before are no longer relevant”, Wright claims.
“Having that big break helped so much because it helped us find a balance between our personal lives and our careers. Before everything was way out of balance and that’s why we pretty much broke up, because our personal lives were all out or control.”
“We had put too much into the band and not enough into ourselves and we were going crazy. Now we’ve managed to find the balance, so it’s great.”
The Getaway Plan recently completed The Reckoning Tour, which saw the band take a hands-on approach in all facets of their live performance. Rather then relaxing backstage while roadies tirelessly work to ready equipment, the band took it upon themselves to setup before every show and clear the stage once the rocking was done.
“It just sort of suited the run for us coz’ it was like a regional thing and we all felt recently like we’ve become a bit detached from our own gear and the live environment.”
“We’re used to just getting to shows and having somehow set up our shit for us and then packing it up for us. So we don’t even see our gear all day apart from when we play, and I don’t know, you tend to just feel like a piece of shit after a while for doing that”, Wright sheepishly chuckles.
“It just feels like you’re being spoiled. I think also we just wanted to get to know our gear again as well, because when you stop setting up your shit you sort of lose touch with it after awhile and forget how things work.”
The regional run not only reacquainted The Getaway Plan with their gear but also the many surprises that can accompany smaller, remote venues.
“You never know what to expect from venues because you get out to some of these places and they’ve just got like a fucking piece of shit PA on a stick and a stage that’s like a metre square.”
“There’s always going to be a few shows here and there that are weird as shit…it can be nerve racking at the same time, but it’s good fun”, Wright spiritedly concedes.
With their DYI regional run completed, The Getaway Plan are currently touring as part of this year’s Groovin The Moo Festival, which kicked off this Saturday in Bendigo. Groovin’ The Moo is hailed by both bands and fans alike for targeting regional areas, and this year boasts an incredible lineup of both international and local acts.
“We’ve always been big fans of trying to get out to regional areas. Over the years we’ve played lots and lots of regional places in Australia.”
“It’s going to be fucking great”, Wright simply states.
Watch: The Getaway Plan – Move Along
The Getaway Plan Groovin The Moo 2012 Sideshows
Thursday May 3
The Corner Hotel, Richmond 18+
With New Empire
www.thecornerhotel.com
Friday May 11
The Standard, Sydney 18+
With New Empire
www.ticketek.com.au
www.moshtix.com.au
Friday May 18
The Amplifier, Perth 18+
www.moshtix.com.au
www.heatseeker.com.au
Groovin The Moo 2012 Dates
Saturday 5 May 2012 – Bendigo VIC
Bendigo’s Prince of Wales Showground
42 – 72 Holmes Rd, Bendigo VIC 3550
Sunday 6 May 20112 – Townsville QLD
Murray Sports Complex – Townsville Cricket Grounds
Mervyn Crossman Dr & Murray Lyons Cres Idalia QLD 4811
Saturday 12 May 2012 – Maitland NSW
Maitland Showground
Blomfield St, Maitland NSW 2320
Sunday 13 May 2012 – Canberra ACT
The Meadows, University of Canberra
Kirinari St Bruce ACT 2617
Saturday 19 May 2012 – Bunbury WA
Hay Park (off) Parade Rd Bunbury WA 6230
