Making Music: Gully Days

By Alasdair McClintock on February 12, 2021 in Arts

Pumped up youngsters: (From left to right) Holden, Lewis, Ethan and Luke. Photo: Paul McMillan

Take a stroll down to Bronte or Bondi Beach and there’s a good chance you’ll see a weathered Gully Days sticker somewhere. One might forgive you for thinking they’re already an institution in the Eastern Beaches, but in truth, they’ve only been going just over a year.
Formed in late 2019, they have a vibe and sound very much synonymous with the surf and skate scenes of the late 1990s and early 2000s, but the band insists this is more coincidence than design. Their list of influences is varied – ranging from punk to jazz – and perhaps that’s why it feels so genuine. There is no pretence of ‘let’s try and sound like this band’ about them, they’re just a bunch of young guys who like playing loud, energetic music.
The four-piece is made up of Ethan Eshuys on vocals, Lewis Kennedy-Hunt on the drums, Luke Morris on guitar (he shreds, trust me) and Holden Fadjukov on bass. If you happen to catch a live show, Beast readers might even spot a familiar old head strumming the bass, editor and band manager James Hutton, who offered to fill in and score some free beers while Holden earns his stripes.
It’s near impossible to talk about any band post 2020 without mentioning COVID-19, but Gully Days had a refreshing approach, opting for a DIY mentality when the gigs dried up. Luke explained, “It was a shame when COVID first hit because we’d only just begun to play live. It was pretty difficult with all the restrictions, but we were determined to play. We ended up buying our own PA system and mixer, and putting on our own shows at the local bowling clubs, as no venues would have live music. We would organise everything from the ticketing to the sound ourselves.”
This determination to play live was rewarded when they performed in front of 200 people at Spring Street Social, “who were actually allowed to stand up,” when the restrictions were finally lifted (albeit briefly), towards the end of the year.
Restrictions remain at the time of writing, and even self-organised gigs are up in the air, but Gully Days still have plenty to be excited about, with their first release due out on February 1. Single, ‘Go with It’, will act as a teaser for their debut EP, arriving later this year.
Luke said, “It’s been a long time coming. We were really lucky to be able to work with some of the best and experienced people in the music industry, including producer/mixer/engineer, Tim Whitten. Our main goal for the recording was to keep it raw and honest, like how we sound live. I think Tim was amazing in helping us to achieve that.”
You can listen to ‘Go With It’ on all the major streaming platforms from February 1, and follow @gullydays on Instagram. Fingers crossed, by the time you’re reading this you’ll be able to see the band play live too, standing or otherwise.