New Empire – An Emotional Journey

By Marcus Braid on October 11, 2013 in

Photo: Chad McGee

Things got worse when I rocked up an hour and a half early, finding my only solace in a young bartender happy to help me drown my sorrows.

But then, as if the good Lord had orchestrated it himself, the support act started, and it didn’t take long for me to realise that they were, well, kinda awesome.

This support act was, and still is, New Empire, and the first thing that struck me about them was the lead singer Jeremy’s pipes. The kid can sing. Not like the singer in a pretty decent cover band at the Coogee Bay Hotel can sing, but more like “holy crap, this dude could destroy Justin Bieber in a karaoke battle” can sing.

In fact, the whole band is bloody good, and they sure know how to bust out big, anthemic pop songs that deserve to be sung in stadiums… and hopefully one day will.

During the month band members Kyle, Jeremy and Nate sat down with me for a quick chatski….

Our hometown… (Kyle) is Cronulla Beach.

The most exciting thing about the local music scene is…. (Kyle) the vast array of people expressing themselves. It’s a beautiful thing.

I’d like to think that our music is…. (Kyle) hopeful, uplifting, motivating and emotional.

My earliest music memory is… (Kyle) listening to the classic cassettes on family holidays.

Growing up, my parents listened to… (Jeremy) The Beach Boys, The Eagles, The Beatles, Toto and Mariah Carey.

I wrote our latest track ‘Say it Like You Mean it’ when… (Jeremy) I was about to fall asleep one night at home when a melodic riff came into my head and wouldn’t leave. Luckily my home studio was in the next room to get the idea down. It’s a song about genuinely being excited to be alive and expectant that great things are to come in our future.

One song that makes us really nostalgic is… (Jeremy) The Boys of Summer – Don Henley.

One gig that we never want to relive… (Jeremy) was one of our first in 2006 when a beach ball hit the microphone stand sending metal into my mouth. Yum!

If I could have written any song, it would be… (Kyle) Bridge Over Troubled Water – Simon and Garfunkel. (Nate) Belief – John Mayer.

Our upcoming LP is… (Kyle) is titled ‘In A Breath’. Go out and buy it right now!

If you come and see us play, you can expect… (Kyle) an emotional journey.

The gig we’re most looking forward to on this tour would be… (Kyle) Our Oxford Art Factory gig on October 18.

My dream gig… (Kyle) is Toto. (Nate) Mine would’ve been an MJ concert.

We never want to get to the point where… (Nate) we’re not grateful for being able to play music to fans, be it 5 or 5000 of them.

We’ll know we’ve really made it when… (Nate) we’re not working two other jobs to help support our passion. Ha ha!

New Empire will be playing at the Oxford Art Factory on October 18 as part of an Australia-wide tour. For more information about the tour, jump on to www.facebook.com/newempireband.