Then things get really hectic for the band. Mid June sees them heading to the States for the Vans Warped tour, which sees them play 40 shows in around 50 days, in what is notorious as one of the most punishing live schedules in music. Singer and bass guitarist Ahren Stringer, speaking from pre-Soundwave rehearsals, looks forward to it all with a mixture of excitement and trepidation, but mainly excitement, and with their recent success they are stepping up in the world a little with regards to their levels of comfort on tour.
“Very excited, it’s pretty much all I can think about at the moment,” he reveals. “Vans Warped is a boyhood dream for all of us, and we’re just stoked to be a part of it. It’s definitely daunting and exciting at the same time, ‘cause we’ve done a few tours of America, even a month is a long tour. We’ve always done it in a van, this tour we’re doing it in a bus, we’re sharing a bus with (UK metalcore act) Architects. We’re good friends with them, so we’ll just be having a good time.”
Regarding the solid amount of heavy bands on the Push Over lineup, Stringer admires the popularity of the genre. “It’s good to see heavy music getting big in Australia.” He is also very happy to be chosen as one of the very few local acts on Soundwave. “Definitely, it’s great,” he enthuses. “There’s still a few great bands like Northlane and Confession, so it’s good to have a bit of Aussie in amongst all the North American bands.”
Even after the band return from Vans Warped, it is unlikely they will get to draw much of a breath, as the band and their management are trying very hard to get The Amity Affliction back to the UK and Europe. It’s still somewhat of an untapped market for them.
“We’re trying to get back to Europe, because we haven’t been there for quite a while, and not since our record came out as well. So we definitely want to get back over to mainland Europe and the UK. We haven’t had the time, and we haven’t been offered the right tour, so hopefully we can do that after the Warped tour.”
So what kind of tour would be appropriate for you guys? “I guess something fitting,” he says, “I mean we got offered a few dates with Stone Sour and Papa Roach. We kinda thought that wouldn’t really be worth our while. Obviously the punters would be there to see nu-metal and wouldn’t really get our music. So just looking for a tour that would suit us.”
Ultimately it is great to see an Aussie band in such demand locally and internationally, and Ahren is stoked for The Amity Affliction to be in this position.
“Definitely,” he agrees. “It’s definitely a good feeling to be wanted, and for the kids to want to see us and all that. So definitely grateful and happy about how things are going.”
BY ROD WHITFIELD
