The Brisbane-based alternative pop/rock three-piece have been around for about two years now, but this was the year for them to really come to the fore.
“It definitely feels like we are at our strongest,” proclaims Numbers Radio frontman, Dave Orr. This is not a surprising statement really, considering the band’s progression over the last 12 or so months. But insightful, nonetheless.
The Brisbane-based alternative pop/rock three-piece have been around for about two years now, but this was the year for them to really come to the fore. Truly carving a name for themselves, 2010 has seen the lads infiltrate the airwaves and venues nation-wide. For Orr though, the touring hasn’t simply placed their name in the limelight. It has proved to be a learning-curve of sorts.
“Touring really does help a band get very tight and get their show down,” he says. “Just doing it every night and trying to become consistent as a band. That’s the thing that we have learnt, that a true professional band can pull it out every night and really slam it.
“You soon learn that you can’t party too hard because no one wants to see a hung over guitarist,” he adds, laughing. “You have to really treat it like a show and do your best every night.”
A valuable lesson learnt. Even if this piece of truth may shatter stereotypical ‘rock star’ images everywhere. But the loss of any stereotypical dream has been a worthy sacrifice. Not only have the trio been fortunate enough to tour with the likes of Calling All Cars, British India and Birds Of Tokyo, they have also been collating a stream of astounding live reviews. “I think the main thing is to get out there and do your best and hope that whoever is reviewing it gets into it as well,” he says of their reviews. “I think we have been pretty lucky. I think any gig that we haven’t thought we did a good job of was in some regional area. Fortunately, when people are watching we always feel like we put on a good one.”
And people aren’t just watching – they are also frequently listening to them on the air. The band’s current single, Final Day, has become a regular feature on Triple J’s rotation. “Triple J have been so awesome to us and we can’t thank them enough,” the frontman relates. “It’s been great, they have really supported us and I think that hopefully it means that they like it.
“Having radio play really is just like an advertisement for your band and when you get a song on the air, that’s your window of time to tour and get your record out,” he continues. “So, after we got on the radio, then we had to get it all happening as soon as possible.”
So, they did indeed get it all happening – the airplay essentially fuelled their latest EP effort, The Final Day. “We just went in there and smashed it out,” Orr says. “We smashed out the drums, the bass and the rhythm guitar at our producer’s place, Jeff Lovejoy. He has done all of our records as far as mixing and producing, and he has just been a godsend. He is an amazing producer. W always like what comes out and we work together really well, so why are we going to change? The main thing is we are evolving as musicians and maturing as a band.”
Then, the rest fell neatly into place in bassist Robbie Carlyon’s home studio. Orr and Carlyon simply locked themselves away and did not surface until the job was done. “I just stayed at Robbie’s place for about a week. We got cabin fever together and locked ourselves away,” Orr recalls. “We borrowed as many effects pedals and amplifiers as possible and just kind of sat there and got it done.”
This somewhat rigid approach seems to have produced results that everyone is happy with. The Final Day is an EP that is simple, raw and honest. “With The Final Day there are not as many over-dubs. It’s very raw,” he says of the latest effort’s sound. “We wanted to create a record that sounded like who we are when you see us live, we didn’t want to make something that we couldn’t replicate on stage. We just tried to let the songs speak for themselves rather than layer them up and make the EP sound very produced.”
“It’s awesome to get to work with some really good guys who legitimately like us as a band. The team has definitely grown as the band has moved forward. So, it definitely feels like we are at our strongest.”
NUMBERS RADIO are launching the brand new The Final Day EP this weekend. Catch them at Ding Dong this Saturday, October 30 for one of their infamous live shows. The Final Day will officially be released on Friday, November 12.
