Raucous indie surf rockers Caravãna Sun have recently released an infectious new single Beauty and The Pain, written to celebrate the good and the bad times within a relationship. The group have also released a video to accompany the track, directed by Jay Wennington at Bad Seed, the vid documents the creative process behind Beauty and The Pain and gives fans special insight into its conception. Caravãna Sun are hitting the road to play Beauty and The Pain for audiences across the country. They kicked off in Fremantle and Broome and now head to Melbourne, Sydney, Sunshine Coast and wrapping up at Black Bear Lodge in Brisbane on June 8.
While preparing for the tour, drummer Alex Dumbrell not only responded to our written Q&A but also presented us with a Six Quix video.
Alex Dumbrell – DRUMS in Caravãna Sun
What was your first drum kit?
A Tama Swing Star in Midnight Blue. After 5 years of playing on pillows and pots and pans my folks finally decided I wasn’t getting over the “drumming phase” and I luckily got this kit for my 12th and 13th Birthday’s and Christmas’s combined. Can still remember the feeling of getting home and setting it up…so pumped!
What’s your main snare now?
(Nerd alert!) 1960’s Pre-Serial Chrome Over Brass Ludwig Supraphonic – Kinda like the holy grail of snares for me, such a beautiful sounding instrument, always a bit nervous handing it to the flight check-in people but it’s too nice to let sit in a case at home. Instruments are made to be played!
What’s your latest recording and when will you be back in the studio?
Our latest recording is our brand new single “Beauty & the Pain”, we recorded it with Steven Schram down in Melbourne’s Sound Park Studio’s. It was such a challenging but fun recording process for us working with Schram, so we booked in to do the rest of the upcoming EP with him in a few weeks time….excited!
What gigs have you been playing lately?
One of the most memorable gigs from the last few months was bringing in the new year at the amazing Woodford Folk Festival. Probably one of my favourite festivals to play, after a couple of days at Woodford you’re deep in this beautiful bubble of continually seeing awesome music, roaring community spirit and delicious food. Combine that with playing shows to some huge crowds of dancing, smiling people and you’ve pretty much got the coolest festival ever!
Most memorable gig?
One that pops straight in my mind is a show we played last year in Germany in July. We were on a summer tour of Europe, playing a range of festivals and outdoor events and had been driving and flying back and forth across Western Europe and the UK for 9 weeks and we were all starting to get a little exhausted. Finally, it was the last show of the tour, it was my birthday AND we were doing a support gig with this really well known Bavarian brass band called LaBrassBanda to 6000 people. They were doing a tour across southern Germany to all these big beer tents (Germans know how to do it right!) and were lovely enough to have us come play with them. I had one of those surreal moments on stage where you realize where you are and what you’re doing and I think it really sunk in just how lucky we are to be doing what we do. EPIC!
Worst stage nightmare?
Don’t want to jinx myself here but my worst stage nightmare would be breaking a snare skin on the first song at a huge show with no spare snare around…talk about stressful!!
Album that changed your life?
Radiohead – Kid A
I luckily I got introduced to so much great music growing up from my older brother. He showed me this album when I was in high school. It changed the way I saw music and particularly opened me up to electronic music (before that it was pretty much strictly punk haha). Radiohead were (and still are) at the forefront of using technology at the time; continually challenging their listeners which was super inspiring. I still put it on to this day, whether it’s cruising on early morning long drives, or happy or sad times….the perfect album really!
What gigs are coming up in the next few months?
Very pumped to hit the road on our “Beauty & the Pain” single launch tour. We’ll be heading next to Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast. You can check out caravanasun.com for dates and tickets. Otherwise through July and August we’ll be touring Europe and the UK again for a huge summer tour. We’re excited to play some big festivals like Bestival (UK), Reggae Sun Ska (France), Madnes (Netherlands) and even the Farsons Beers Festival in Malta! Yeeehaa!
A drum tip for the kids?
Trust your gut instinct when it comes to playing music, don’t worry about others when it comes to bands you like or music you enjoy. It’s supposed to be fun! Let go, express yourself and be confident in your abilities.
Remaining Caravana Sun tour dates
FRI 1 JUNE | THE NIGHTCAT, MELBOURNE VIC | 18+
Tickets available from https://www.eventbrite.com.au/
SAT 2 JUNE | THE LANSDOWNE, SYDNEY NSW | 18+
Tickets available from www.moshtix.com.au | 1300 GET TIX | All Moshtix Outlets
THURS 7 JUNE | SOLBAR, SUNSHINE COAST QLD | 18+
Tickets available from www.moshtix.com.au | 1300 GET TIX | All Moshtix Outlets
FRI 8 JUNE | BLACK BEAR LODGE, BRISBANE QLD | 18+
Tickets available from www.moshtix.com.au | 1300 GET TIX | All Moshtix Outlets