The Adventure Spirit

A tinge of Americana and a whole lot of Australiana, that’s what Melbourne country/soul four-piece The Adventure Spirit are offering up on debut album Grand Standard , according to bassist Ben Tansey. With a certain timelessness at the heart of their songs and an unshakeable determination to make their mark internationally, The Adventure Spirit are already well underway with Europe bidding for a taste of this distinctly Aussie pie.

“We are getting quite a bit of airplay in Europe,” states Tansey. “Places like Belgium and the Netherlands and stuff. We are actually planning to go over there sometime early next year. It’s only a rough plan at the moment because, of course, it depends on how well the album is going to go and what kind of deals will be available over there. But who doesn’t want to conquer the whole world?” he laughs.

“We’ve been playing music since 2006 and we’d love to earn a living off traveling around the world and doing gigs for as many people as want to hear us! We’re hoping to get as much exposure as possible, because the whole point for any artist is to have people hear or see your art.”

In the lead up to The Adventure Spirit’s album launch in Melbourne this weekend, Tansey says the band will stick to Victorian-only shows for the time being, however. After all, it’s the local shows that get the most frenzied reaction and get the blood pumping more than anything.

“We’ve been doing country gigs for a while now too, and we’ve found they’re really good,” enthuses Tansey. “You just don’t get the kind of appreciation for original live music anywhere else. Especially when it comes to the genre that we’re doing – the folky, pop-rock stuff – out in the country Victorian towns the people go nuts. The best thing is that they are really willing to have a drink and to party hard; they’re just more up for a good time than anyone else.”

Which is right up The Adventure Spirit’s alley, adds Tansey. Having worked on their first full-length for over two years, you can bet the lads are more than itching to get their new pride and joy out on the road.

“We’ve had so much great feedback for it,” announces Tansey. “It’s exactly what you need to hear after you’ve been working on an album for a couple of years. It’s like nothing else, really. It becomes such a personal thing. You’re working on it the whole time, from the original idea, to the ambitious project, to the concept of the record, and to the finished product in the end. Then you’re releasing it and then there is the relief that you haven’t fallen apart in the whole process!

“Getting played on Triple J and RRR has also been a big boost, it’s nice to have that acknowledgement.”

Financial and time constraints played the biggest part in dragging out the recording process over a two-year period. Being a struggling unsigned band was yet another factor, according to Tansey.

“We’ve had to save up money for each step of the way,” he recalls. “You save money to book in the studio, then that’s done. Then you have to save up money for the vocals. Then you have to save money for the overdubs. Then for the mixing… And it just goes on and on, it’s like baby steps. It just got spread out over that time.

“We were also very lucky to have had some help from a government grant. We got about $2,000 through Australia Council who were giving out these buzz grants a couple of years ago to artists under 25 years old. Heaps of people got them and ended up recording demos, and we were one of them.”

And while the experience has been absolutely priceless for The Adventure Spirit, Tansey claims next time around there are some things the band will definitely do a little differently…

“We’ll make sure that we have a lot more time in the studio to explore interesting ideas,” he says. “Not that this one isn’t interesting, but we’re keen to muck around a lot more with different sounds and using electronics. I’d like to head down a more modern pop style of music as opposed to this album which is a bit retro-sounding.

“Grand Standards,” he adds, “has quite open arrangements but the melody and chord progression is still the core of the song. We want to stick to that, the strength of the melody makes the song.

“We love that, but we’re also the experimental types.”

THE ADVENTURE SPIRIT launch their excellent new album Grand Standards at The Toff In Town this Sunday September 26 – from 6.30pm. What better way to finish off grand final weekend? They’ll also be playing a massive run of regional shows in the coming weeks, and to check those dates and grab a copy Grand Standard online check out myspace.com/adventurespirit.