Luca Brasi have been in the game for 15 years, recorded 6 studio albums, of which the latest one – The World Don’t Owe You Anything was released in September 2023. They have done it all in the music scene in Australia.
And yet their passion for being on tour and sharing a live show with audiences around the country has never wavered. Next month will see them commence an Australian Wide tour, stopping in most major cities including Canberra and Newcastle.
They play the Northcote Theatre in Melbourne on Friday 17 May, and although excitement is building in anticipation for the tour that will see Los Angeles based Indie-punk outfit Spanish Love Songs support them, what remains paramount in its importance for the band is providing the opportunity for audiences to bear witness to their show in cities that wouldn’t otherwise attract many acclaimed acts.
Keep up with the latest music news, festivals, interviews and reviews here.
“It’s always nice to go and play places where they don’t get big bands coming to play a show,” says Tyler Richardson. “Like Canberra, or like Newy for example. We are really looking forward to playing Perth though.”
“We always love going to Perth, it feels like Tassie in a way, it gets left off a lot because it’s further away. So, there’s always this thing for us, like, we always make sure we go back to Perth. So, it’s nice to go back and they’re always really stoked to have us there.”
View this post on Instagram
For a band from the unassuming township of St Helens, Tasmania this attitude has stemmed from them having little opportunities at their disposal in the north of that state, and instead forcing them to cultivate their own opportunities to make a name for themselves as a band.
“You know, we never had a leg up being from Tasmania,” says Richardson. “It’s never felt easy for us. We always wanted to do these things. We wanted to tour Australia, we wanted to tour the world. We wanted to do festivals, and like, nothing ever happens unless you make it happen.”
“We didn’t have a choice back in those days, you know? Tassie has always been the underdog state.”
It is this very attitude that accounts for the theme of the most recent album, a concept that encapsulates the experiences the band have been subjected to over the years, but also experiences that keep unfolding too.
It seems like adversity has never ceased for Luca Brasi; it was just 10 months ago that Richardson’s son required treatment only accessible in Melbourne, resulting in a subsequent relocation of his family to the metropolis to ensure his son could receive the medical attention he needed.
“I guess how you deal with those blows that come,” he says. “A lot of the time you wish that something would be handed down to you, you feel like “Damn, that didn’t go the right way for me, I wish that did and maybe I deserve better” but it’s kind of supposed to be both a realisation and a reminder that the world doesn’t owe you anything. When I was writing this album, it really hit home that no one’s gonna really give you anything.”
“The world doesn’t actually owe you anything, you know, like things just happen. With this latest record it was a really strange circumstance because that record came out and then literally as it was coming out, we had to move to Melbourne for treatment for my son because he’s sick. So, we’ve been living here for the last year.”
What Luca Brasi have embodied in their artistry and the way they live their lives outside of their music is to keep moving forward. An approach that has seen them make a name for themselves in the world of Australian music, as well as have significant impacts on the communities they collide with around Australia.
“It’s like, I wish the world did owe me something, but that line of thought got me nowhere. The only time that I had good in my life is when I fucking had a go and tried to make something good happen, and then things happened.”
Lucas Brasi is playing Northcote Theatre this Friday 17 May. Tickets available here
