Hayley Ferris June 07, 2012
New Empire Photo: Supplied
Jeremy, Pete, Sam and Kale have been playing music together since they were kids in Sydney. Having played right across Australia, the boys have captivated audiences with their phenomenal live shows and trademark sound, and have again impressed fans with their latest release One Heart/Million Voices. In 2011, their album Symmetry debuted in the Top 40 ARIA Album Chart, and reached the top five in Channel V's Oz Artist of the Year. The bands other popular hits include singles Give Me the World, Here In Your Eyes, Across the Oceans and Ghosts, all featuring on their latest album. The continual and growing support for the band has resulted in their latest acoustic One Heart/Million Voices Tour, which will see them play across the East Coast, including Canberra, before hitting the United States in July. One Heart/Million Voices is featuring as the theme song for this year's Olympic Games.
"To be honest we were all a little shocked! We all remember growing up watching the Olympic Games on TV, and to think that now we are somehow a small part of it is quite humbling ... It's an event that the whole world comes together for so we are really excited," singer Jeremy Fowler says.
New Empire say they want to create an intimate show for people that will stick with them.
"We really want to make the One Heart/ Million Voices tour a genuine musical experience ... We aim to create an atmosphere that is up close and personal, raw and honest," bassist Kyle Lane laughs.. "Almost as if we are playing in someone's bedroom or garden rather than a theatre." After sharing their love within the country the boys will be representing us Aussies in the international punk-rock arena.
"We head straight over to the US and Canada for the Vans Warped tour in July ... We're looking forward to bringing some Australian music into the mix!" Fowler says.
Having been together for 10 years now, the band has learnt many lessons along their musical way and says we should all remember to treat others as we'd like to be treated. "The most important thing I have learnt is to stay thankful each day for the opportunity to do what we absolutely love. Treating people with honour, love and respect is something we value highly ... We've found the saying 'you reap what you sow' really is true ... We don't regret any past mistakes we may have made along the way, because that is how we all learn and grow!" Fowler says.
The most rewarding part of being in New Empire is "knowing that we can be a part of people's daily lives in a small or bigger way through our music ... After all, music is all about touching the collective individual, not a disconnected mass," Fowler says.
NEW EMPIRE
WHEN: June 8 and 9, 7pm
WHERE: The Front, Lyneham
TICKETS: $15 + bf from www.moshtix.com.au
Hayley Ferris is a UC writing student with a great love for music