Interview with The Demon Parade

Psychedelic rockers The Demon Parade Chat with Our Manly Music.

PERFECT PITCH - The Music Scene by Simon Forman

As a ray of pure white light strikes one side of a prism, a myriad of colours blast out of the other, creating a dazzling spectrum that reminds us of nature’s wonders.

It’s a phenomenon that became a part of the public consciousness back in 1973 when Pink Floyd used it on the cover of their classic album Dark Side Of The Moon… ensuring that the image became forever synonymous with the sound of psychedelic rock.

And now, inspired by the colour and shape of that band’s hypnotic sounds, Melbourne outfit The Demon Parade have arrived on the scene… bringing their own personal twist to this groundbreaking genre.

Be warned though, this ain’t no tribute band!

The Demon Parade are a law unto themselves…blending the heady sounds of 70’s psychedelia with the more contemporary drive of UK bands such as The Verve and The Stone Roses.

And with success snapping at their heels, The Demon Parade is a band not so much teetering on the edge of greatness as standing on the top of the mountain, deciding which continent to conquer first.

If the white light entering the prism was the electricity powering the instruments that the members of The Demon Parade wield, then the explosion of colour blasting out the other side is the incredible music that makes this band so mesmerizing to listen to.

The recent release of their debut EP ‘God Said It’s Legal’ has seen the guys gain the attention of industry heavyweights while their recent live performances have had enraptured audiences raving about their shows.

And so in anticipation of the show, OurManly caught up with the band’s Michael Badger as they prepared for their only Northern Beaches gig of this current tour.

Our Manly: For those people that haven’t had a chance to hear the band yet, can you offer us a quick description of your music?

Demon Parade: In short, it's loud, hypnotic and psychotic.

OM: Being an Englishman myself, I hear a lot of nods to the UK bands of the early 90’s in your music… acts like The Stone Roses, The Verve, Kula Shaker and Spiritualized.

What’s the attraction for you guys to these types of bands and to their music?

DP: You can lose yourself in their songs. Drenched reverb and massive guitar lines do it for us.

Interview with Melbourne band The Demon Parade.

OM: The Demon Parade is currently in the middle of a big tour, supporting the release of your new EP ‘God Said It’s Legal’. How’s the reception been from audiences at your live shows?

DP: We've played in a lot of places that we haven't been to before, so it's good to win praise from new fans.

Also revisiting cities for the second, third or fourth times, we’re starting to see crowds grow and people coming back each time we pass through.

OM: I read that the band took a ‘year-long lost weekend’ away from the scene in order to get back to creating the type of music that you wanted to. What was the reason for taking this break?

DP: That reference was actually referring to the demise of my previous band.

I was in a position where if I made the music I am most passionate about, it wasn't going to make the others around me happy.

Thankfully the band split, so it put me in a position where I had to go out of my way to find the people to play with in my next group, which meant finding people who believed in what I’d set out to do in the first place. And here we are now.

OM: What’s different about the music on this new release from your previous offerings?

DP: The recording process was a lot faster. We wanted to finish recording the EP before we went on tour with The Brian Jonestown Massacre and we really only had about 6 days to record, mix and master.

I liked the idea of doing it faster this time so it didn't give us too much time to dwell over unimportant things and to keep it more spontaneous.

OM: What’s a Demon Parade live show like and what can audiences expect when they see the band in full flight?

DP: We have 3 guitars, bass and drums, so it's loud and furious. Think layered guitars, tonnes of delay and lots of vocal harmony and melody.

OM: And finally, what’s the plan for the band after this tour?

DP: We will be concentrating on our first LP. We'll still play plenty of shows to work the new songs in and there's talk of releasing our second live EP this February.

OM: Thanks… and good luck with the tour.