Something with Numbers

Something With Numbers are a rarity in today’s Australian music scene. They’ve managed to gig their way to the top. In their travels they’ve also managed to break the pigeon hole they were set, remain friends, and evolve their sound. It’s a tell tale sign these days; once an orchestra is brought in, and used as brilliantly as on “Goodbye Mickey Finn”, you know a band’s come into their own.

Having recently kicked off their national jaunt in honour of Mr Finn, touring is something that the band is certainly familiar with as they have been playing together now for four years. Emerging from the NSW central coast punk scene, they have refined their sound, developing from an 'emo' band into a solid rock outfit. Their live reputation has been cemented on the back of gigs which saw them sidling up to acts such as Good Charlotte and The Ataris.

The development of their sound has probably had something to do with the fact that the four band members have all been good friends since high school. Moreover, an element of their musical creativity is a direct result of Lachlan’s classical training, as he explained, "I had lessons for a year when I was 15, then went to the conservatorium of music in Gosford for 6 months. Since then I have been learning songs by ear or using the net to track down tabs”.

I asked Lachlan if he ever thought Australia could have too many RAWK bands, to which he emphatically replied "NO!!! There is never enough, live music is starting to make a resurgence in Australia, it's awesome". Within the Australian rock scene, Something With Numbers are certainly a band that has paid their dues; playing the shitty weekday gigs to eventually advance up the credibility scale to touring America. What was touring state side like for the foursome? "Amazing. It was like starting out all over again because no one knew who we where, so we had a whole host of new fans”.

There’s no doubt that the band loves touring, and that it helps to be good friends, as Lachlan explained, "We operate so well together because we are all mates. We spend so much time together it would be hard to be in the band with someone you don’t like."

So what inspires Something With Numbers, and who are their outright favourite Australian acts? "Silverchair, those guys have written so many great songs and probably will do for many years to come”.

And the inevitable question; what advice would you give to young hopefuls in today’s industry? "Stick at it, if you aren't the best band in the world after a year, don’t worry just stick at it..."

Share this article on Facebook