Simonne Lupinetti was on exchange in Bologna, Italy when she stumbled upon a phrase that she would use as a band name years later.
“I went to a bar and I saw the list of beers they had off tap and the way they say 'off tap' is 'alla spina', and I thought that was a cool name for a band.”
Simonne is the lead singer and founder of local, ska-punk band Alla Spina. The band, who formed five years ago, toured Los Angeles earlier this year, which included a show with ex-Strangler Hugh Cornwell at the infamous Whiskey A Go Go in Hollywood.
The band will return to touring with an east-coast Australia run of dates after an opening slot for 1980s act The Porkers at their Brisbane show. “I saw [The Porkers] when I was 13, no 12, when I was in Noosa, in 1999 and it's pretty cool to play with a band that I've always known about. And definitely one of the biggest Australian, ska-punk bands.
"They have played with lots of big bands like No Doubt and Less Than Jake. They are really nice and they are still really good. Lots of energy,” Simonne says.
Alla Spina understand the importance of practicing and getting their sound right. “We want the sound and everything to be big, but at the same time we don't want to be robots either. We have a lot of tempo changes in our music, so you kind of have to be tight to execute them well. We play a lot of gigs which helps. We played over 20 in LA."
The band will release a new single, 'Goodbye', which will be accompanied by their first, music-video clip. “I guess we hope it gets a lot of views on YouTube... It makes a lot of a difference when you have a video. You seem to get more exposure and it is more interesting for people. And we would love to get on 'Rage', that would be really cool.”
Alla Spina Tour Dates
Thu 19 Nov - The Milk Factory (Brisbane)Fri 20 Nov - Nook & Cranny (Sunshine Coast)
Sat 21 Nov - Tatts Hotel (Lismore)
Fri 11 Dec - Johnny Brown's (Brisbane)
Sat 12 Dec - Kay's Place (Sunshine Coast)
