Sydney band Crash Through is full of dynamics, originality, onstage antics—and fine tunes to boot. In this pre-show interview before they take the stage at The Lair next Friday, July 18th for round one of Emergenza Festival Australia, they talk to us about what sort of musicians they are, what kinds of onstage craziness they’ve been a part of in the past, and what’s getting them psyched up for the upcoming gig.

HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE NAME CRASH THROUGH?
Crash Through comes from a quote by one of the band's heroes, former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. "When you are faced with an impasse you have got to crash through or you’ve got to crash." For Crash Through, this represented what they wanted to do with the band at the time—create something totally true to its own sound and only worry about what the band members thought about it—either crash through or crash with their own sound instead of compromising and taking a middle ground.

CAN YOU INTRODUCE US TO THE BAND?
Tim on drums is essentially Animal from the Muppets. A real force of nature with flailing limbs and enthusiasm to match. Rich on bass is the smooth Jazz Cat of the bunch. Very into his Dylan and his Miles Davis, he brings the solid, melodic bottom end. Alicia on vocals is the wailing high end of the vocal attack. The perfect counterfoil to Phil's gravelly baritone. Originally joining as a backing singer for their last album, she's gradually moving further and further into the spotlight as her fine voice deserves. Phil plays the guitar, sings, and is the primary songwriter, so if you're looking for someone to blame for the slightly acidic worldview of the lyrics and the drive towards mixing melody with abrasion, it's his fault. He's also dedicated to performing every guitar solo as a new improvisation, so you never know what direction they'll take on any night—you'll just know it's baked freshly.

IF YOU COULD DESCRIBE YOUR SOUND IN THREE WORDS, WHAT WOULD THEY BE?
Psychedelic, bluesy and verbose.

WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR MAJOR MUSICAL INFLUENCES?
The Drones, You Am I, Nick Cave, Funkadelic.

WHAT'S THE CRAZIEST THING YOU'VE DONE TOGETHER AS A BAND?
Tim used to have a habit of setting fire to his drumsticks on stage and then playing a literally flaming solo. Part postmodern irony, part appreciation if the art of needless party tricks, part pyromania. Safety regulations weren't always as well policed as they are now.

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO MOST ABOUT YOUR SHOW AT THE LAIR?
After it being a while since we last played in public, we're looking forward to going all out and leaving nothing in reserve.

WITH OTHER BATTLE OF THE BANDS COMPETITIONS AROUND, WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE EMERGENZA?
Emergenza seemed to have the best choice of venues to play at, so for a band like us that hasn't played live in a while, the opportunity to play a great venue and rock out a short, focused set sounds perfect for us.

For more details on the show at The Lair @ The Metro Theatre in Sydney on July 18th, click here.