The Vanns are fresh off a 13-date Australian June tour. But the boys will be back in Queensland in August, hitting the stage and the surf at Shakafest.
In what could possibly be one of the first shows after the release of their new EP, The Vanns will bring the enthusiasm to Shakafest that have seen them support acts like British India, Tired Lion, Sticky Fingers, The Delta Riggs, Kingswood, and The Griswolds. “At the moment we're just writing like crazy and sitting in cold, dark rooms making music until it's done,” says guitarist and vocalist Jimmy Vann.
“[We] finished the tour and we'll be back in the studio pretty soon, so we're just gearing up for that. We're doing an EP and then straight after that we're going to get stuck into an album. Probably looking at next year for the album, but this year for the EP.”
The Vanns will again be working with Australian producer Nathan Sheehy, but like to get their hands dirty too when they're recording. “[Nathan's] produced Dune Rats and Birds Of Tokyo and he's a super-cool dude; we've worked with him for a few years now and we're going to stick with him.
“Me and Nathan work very closely and I guess you could say that I'm co-producing it as well. He and I just work off each other and essentially he produces it, but I'll be there creating stuff that I haven't already done. We're very involved when it comes to the recording process.”
The band have released one single from the new EP so far, ‘I’m Not The One’, and it's pretty sick. “We kind of complement the frustrated chaos: a kind of love song you'd wanna call it and we're just going jam on the music. That's the kind of approach we took; just keeping it raw and nasty.
“It was a song we came out with to show people that we're not just doing the same thing, because this will be our third EP and the previous two had a lot of songs that were all in a similar vein. We kind of wanted to come out with a bang, so to speak. There are still going to be songs on this new EP that have a lot of old elements that make us us. 'I'm Not The One' will probably be the rawest track on the EP.”
The drive for creating new material could be due to the response they received during their recent tour. “That tour was such a step up for us. We didn't want it to end to be honest. We had a ball and the shows were double in size compared to the last one and it was like everyone was just on this high and every gig we played was like, 'Holy crap this is intense'.
“The place that really stood out for us was Fremantle, over in WA. We'd never been there before, and the show was close to selling out and people we're losing it and we had no idea people over there knew who we were. I thought it would just be the classic pub gig where somebody yells out 'Chisel' or something.”
The aforementioned Queensland show is something the band are really looking forward to. “Dude, we're absolutely hanging for that. The bands in that are sick, especially because the Duneys [Dune Rats] are playing so you know it's gonna be a party. When you see their name on a poster everyone needs to duck for cover, or just embrace how crazy it's gonna get.”
Written by Ryan Grice
The Vanns Tour Dates
Fri 15 Jul - The Factory Theatre (Sydney)Thu 4 Aug - Colonel Light Hotel (Adelaide)
Fri 5 Aug - New Slang at Melbourne Arts Centre
Sat 27 Aug - Shakafest @ Miami Tavern (Gold Coast)
