They met at Collnwynpin State School and now three friends are using their band as a way of getting together on a regular basis.
They are Andy Mouland, of Capalaba (vocals/guitar), Anthony Nissen of Mount Cotton (bass/vocals) and Mark Gravina of Sheldon (guitar/vocals) who, together with Josh Casey (drums), are the band Down and Out.
Mr Gravina, 34, said the friends first played together in a garage in Capalaba and have played in various incarnations since that time. He said his first gig was at the Koala Tavern at Capalaba.
“That’s how local we are. We started Down and Out last year as a chance to hang out and to play music and have fun. It’s a stress reliever from my job but it does take its toll sometimes with late Thursday night gigs. We’ve gigged most weekends for last year and now we are pushing our new single and getting our name out there,” he said.
“With all of us living back in the same state again, it gave us a change to reconnect. It didn’t take long for all of us to realise there was still something there. The time away and the fresh energy the new band name brought, has been just the thing we needed.”
Down and Out has already scored quite the coup when American pop-punk vocalist, Nick Thompson – lead singer of US band, Hit The Lights – agreed to feature as a cameo on its debut single titled Horizon. Horizon will be released on Friday, January 12.
The single is a fast paced “go hard or go home” pop-punk track which epitomizes the antics of one of the band’s disgraceful Gold Coast weekend road trips.
“The song is all about those endless nights out as a band,” singer/songwriter Mr Mouland said.
“We’ve had some crazy times and wanted the video to flow from that feeling, from the road trip, to heading out and playing in the hotel room” Mr Gravina said.
Down and Out members have individually worked on a number of projects over the years, supporting acts like Neck Deep, Trophy Eyes, Kid Courageous and Lee Harding.
The pop-punk genre has always been home.
“We have always been pretty true to our music and our tastes. We were always pop/punk and will always be. When the other bands moved from pop/punk to emo, we were doing pop/punk. Then the same bands did a screamo album, we were still doing pop/punk. It’s either admirable or stupid,” Mr Gravina said.
“I tried playing in different bands with different styles, but pop punk was what felt like home,” Mr Mouland said.
Down and Out will officially launch its single at Rics in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley on January 20 and its EP at The Zoo on February 2.
Horizon is available from Friday, January 12 via iTunes & Spotify, www.facebook.com/downandoutau
