From the van to studio to the stage, The Velvet Club stay on the move.
After an incredibly successful Australian tour that saw the guys from The Velvet Club venture up the musically prestigious East Coast, as well as blitzing an opening slot with Louis Tomlinson at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, you’d be forgiven for thinking The Velvet Club are living their lavish rock and roll lives.
Beat was lucky enough to sit down with lead singer AJ Tilyard, gaining insight into some of the hard work that goes behind embarking on a tour like the one that took The Velvet Club from Melbourne to cities like Adelaide, Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast (to name a few).
Keep up with the latest music news, features, festivals, interviews and reviews here.
“We were sharing rooms, sharing beds and everything on tour,” he reveals. The Velvet Club were up against Taylor Swift in Sydney, meaning accommodation wasn’t just hard to get, it was impossible. “We stayed on our mate’s floor in Dee Why, which is like 40 minutes north of Sydney.”
While AJ admits it was less than ideal, Swift-level excitement is as inescapable as it is exhilarating. One need not look further than the band’s Instagram page for memes about such. The Velvet Club label themselves as “reminiscent of early 2000s indie”, a label AJ wholeheartedly embraces, revealing what he deems as an “obvious” adoration of The Strokes.
“The style of music they make made me believe that I could kind of do it… it’s just good songwriting”, he says. “Now I’m on their rare B-sides… I actually love their latest album, for a band like in their 50s now.”
It’s a style that shines through in The Velvet Club’s work – simple, emotive tones with cohesive guitar parts weaving through each other. AJ’s highly stylised and conveyant vocals float atop the instrumentals. Their latest single, Sleeping In (released on Valentine’s Day) encapsulates this perfectly, poising itself as the Club’s next biggie.
Of course, AJ and the guys aren’t exactly strangers to successful musical ventures. They’ve toured Australia three times, often supporting big Australian acts including DICE, Ra Ra Viper and The Rions and tackling festival slots at Splendour In The Grass and Now & Again. Their music is well travelled, but AJ is quick to remind us of the best city in Australia.
“Definitely Melbourne was the favourite…the big hometown show at Howler…that was a crazy way to start[the tour],” says AJ. “We couldn’t believe it…when you’re at the venue seeing everyone pile in… you’re like ‘shit, they’re actually there’.”
On their way up the coast, The Velvet Club sold out venues and packed out bandrooms. It’s a herculean effort – one that many bands strive for. When asked how they do it, AJ revealed a tried and true method of winning over the masses.
“I think [what’s important is] just going up and down. We’ve always just kinda tried to attack the whole thing from an old school kind of way, just get in front of people and play,” he says.
It must go without saying, however, that touring a country as geographically challenging as Australia doesn’t come easy. “The whole way of touring as a band our level is kind of tough,” AJ admits. “You have to do [play] Friday, Saturday, Sunday, then Monday come back and go straight to work. Then do it again, you do that for like a month,” he says. “When people think you’re on a break… you’re actually working nine to five.”
It’s a high cost to be able to tour your music and the sheer workload is not lost on AJ. But, when asked to provide some pointers for younger bands wanting to do the same, the advice was simple. “Just do it,” he tells me (at risk of getting us into some legal hot water with a certain sporting goods company).
“The first time we did it we had nowhere near enough fans…no agent or manager, but just sent emails to all the bands and venues,” he says. “We spent all our money and just looked at it like a holiday.”
What’s impressive is that for fans of The Velvet Club, whether you see them at The Croxton or at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, you’re promised one heck of a show. It’s because of this that the guys are cementing themselves as an incredible staple in and around Melbourne.
If one thing is clear, The Velvet Club has no plans of slowing down. The band will be dropping a new single in May, ahead of a much-anticipated EP slated to be released later this year. As they continue building a name for themselves, you can either join the club or miss out on music that is as enjoyable as it is accessible.
Upon saying goodbye, AJ spoke on the broader aim of his music. He hopes “[listeners] would connect in some way”.
“None of [the songs] really are about anything. They obviously mean something to me, but I just hope that people can find something in ‘em… I think that’s kinda the beauty of it,” he says.
Keep up to date with The Velvet Club here.
