Area-7

“We’re really looking forward to polishing off 20 years with this summer festival. Can’t wait!” There aren’t too many bands out there that can say they’ve been around and going strong for over two decades, but Area-7 certainly can.
I was lucky enough to have a chat to Dan Morrison from Area-7 about their upcoming show at Soundwave, and general music things. Once I got over my nerves we were on a roll, chatting about not only Soundwave, but what they attribute their success to and the vibe they get from their audiences … and he was even kind enough to divulge a few road trip antics that go on.
“We are so excited to be playing at Soundwave, we were actually at rehearsal when we’d found out we’d got the gig. Let’s just say the boys were very excited when the news came through,” Dan says.
If you are heading along to Soundwave this year, you can expect big things from these guys – including a larger horn section, Dan reckons: “that’ll be good in terms of sound and stage-wise … those crazy horn players of ours throw themselves around on stage like some crazy kids, so that’ll be really great visually, too!”
You can expect a bit of everything from the set – it’ll be a perfect mash-up of everything they’ve recorded over the years. Area-7 aren’t all about themselves though, oh no, we also spoke about what they ‘get off on’, so to speak, from the audience. If you’re going, be sure to do some vocal warm-ups because I’ve been told that there will be a bit of audience participation happening, and they absolutely love it when the audience sing along.
“We love seeing everyone raise their hands and getting into it, being conducted by our frontman Stevo … it’s awesome to see,” he says.
Dan was so great to talk to that he even made me feel better about being in a big crowd at a festival, assuring me that even though we’re amongst thousands of bodies they can see all the individuals in the mosh and they really vibe off that energy which makes them play better, he says. Mosh pit lovers rejoice!
“There’s something a little bit special about doing a festival. We love playing intimate pub shows too, but festivals are just insane … and it sounds a little corny, but all the boys in the band are all really good mates and hang out and play music when we aren’t touring, so at a festival you’re basically up on stage, in a team hanging out with your best mates, having an experience like that together,” Dan says.
Dan admits that the past twenty years have been a ride, but the band are still great buddies, catching up outside of rehearsals to see a few bands, grab a bite to eat or have a beer together. “We hang out when we’re not away on tour … it’s a bit of a family, so to speak.”
You can really tell that when these guys are on tour it would be just like the old days, pretty much a bunch of guys on a road trip. I asked Dan if there were any on-the-road hijinks that we probably shouldn’t know about, but that he’d like to tell us anyway, and he divulged quite the tour secret. Apparently when on the road, their guitarist likes to muck around in the back seat.
“When we are doing a road trip and we’re all in the Tarago, driving from point A to point B, our guitarist has a horrid habit of sitting in the back seat with his pants down, just giggling to himself trying to get everyone’s attention. We turn around and there he is, in the back seat with his pants down.” So if you’re ever driving down the highway and look over into a Tarago full of boys, one with his pants down laughing, you can probably assume it’s the guys from Area-7.
After their success and experience over the years, I didn’t think Dan would mind spilling the beans on who he thinks are the next big thing in ska and punk. He made mention to a couple of bands in the circuit, but seemed pretty impressed by The K-Mart Warriors, Shanty Town and The Ska Vendors. He recommends getting to see as many of them as you can – and you never know, you might even bump into the boys from Area-7, as he tells me they’ve been getting out and seeing a lot of bands lately.
My particular favourite part of the interview was when Dan said that if they received a phone call in five years’ time asking them to be part of Soundwave again they wouldn’t be able to refuse. “If there was Soundwave in years to come, we’d be there with bells on … we love it too much to ever retire.
“We don’t play shows every week but if we were approached to do Soundwave or a summer festival, it’s just too good to give up. The adrenaline is too great to say no.”
It’s funny, after twenty years of roaring success it seems like landing a gig like Soundwave turns a band into mush … I hope they don’t hunt me down for saying that!
When&Where: Soundwave – February 21 & 22
By Montana Agustin