They describe themselves as hard rock, blending heavy groove-based riffs with Melodic-Rock-with-a-capital-M-and-R melodies, and their influences range from the modern (The Winery Dogs) to the vintage (Led Zeppelin) to the in-between (Soundgarden).
Control is the first track to be released from Warbirds’ forthcoming EP, recorded at Coloursound Studios in Melbourne, and it’s being unveiled with a special show at Cherry Bar in AC/DC Lane. “Initially it was a show that we put together with a couple of other bands,” Anth says. “There was a Pearl Jam tribute night that we’d like to be involved with. We got the call up and we thought we’d add that to our single launch. We’ve got a band opening called The Pass-Outs, and then, us, then the Pearl Jam Ten tribute, for the 25th anniversary of that album, which will close the night out.”
Jared joined Warbirds around December last year, bringing an end to a long period of musical soul-searching. “I had an old, inactive profile on [online forum] Melband, and I’d left the profile up. Leroy came across it and gave it to Anth, who sent me a random Facebook message to say they were looking for a bass player. I liked the sound and the attitude and the three-piece outfit, which gives a bass player a lot of room to move.”
“We all fell in love,” Anth interjects. “Love at first riff,” Leroy adds. After a meeting at the Reverence over a few beverages, Warbirds found its dream lineup. “It was a long, painstaking year and a half search,” Leroy says. “We had someone in that we weren’t 100% happy with but we needed to keep the ball rolling. But it was tough, so finding Jared was like a needle in a haystack.”
But apparently it was meant to be. One day Jared zipped downstairs at the building where he works, and bumped into Leroy. Neither realised they worked for the same company in the same building. Small world, eh? “And he has an awesome Dingwall bass, so we thought ‘Let’s just get him in the fucking band,’” Anth says.
“It’s almost like we’re starting from scratch, in a way. We’ve been together in one form or another for about five years but now, with this lineup, it does feel like a rebirth and a new beginning. We feel like a really solid three-piece where everyone is really on board, whereas in the past we’d been juggling everything.
“It’s heartbreaking sometimes, when only one third or two thirds of the band are putting their heart into it. This feels really good and we’ll be working on an album within a year.”
The band’s plans for the next year or so are based around the ongoing EP project, the first taste of which is Control. “We’ve just finished recording the EP at Coloursound and we’ve finished up the rest of the songs that we’re going to be releasing,” Anth says.“We’re really happy with those, and we’re going to release those one at a time, centred around launch shows for each release.”
The band went into the studio planning to record three songs, but they had a few more that they decided to lay down, expecting to need further work on them. They fit so well with the rest of the tracks that they’re now a part of the eventual EP.
From there, the band hopes to head overseas at some point, and is also looking to score some great support slots. Who would be their dream support act? “The Winery Dogs would be it,” Leroy says. “We would have said Soundgarden, but…that’s heartbreaking. But maybe Van Halen or The Tea Party. Tea Party is a band we all really love. Especially as a three-piece, they’re the kind of band that we can relate to. Although we wouldn’t turn down Iron Maiden.”
