The Vasco Era - Blues and Rocks by the Seaside

Once upon a time in a quiet seaside town there lived three boys, Ted O’Neil, Sid O’Neil and Michael Fitzgerald. For years they played music, sometimes together, sometimes apart, and sometimes on their own, for example when Ted learned to play the recorder at the age of nine. But as they grew older, their love of music demanded they take it more seriously than most kids do.

They avidly listening to music around them, which included a band called Sliding Electric whom they regarded “an underground Melbourne band that has been hugely influential”. The boys started creating their own portfolio of songs and soon banded together as The Vasco Era - naming the band after ‘Vasco’, a character in the Leunig cartoons. Having won enough money in a local competition, they though it wise to go record some songs. When they finished the CD they called it Let It Burn and released it in August 2004.

After recording the CD they took to the stage with a seminal live set. They played and they played. It could be argued that they played more than they rehearsed; having only a handful of songs they played their entire set twice at the Apollo Bay Festival. As they honed their craft more and more their blues style became heavier and Sid’s larynx became more strained as he learned to project his vocal style. Drummer Michael was becoming likened to Animal from the Muppets for his wild flailing and rhythmic gymnastics.

As news of The Vasco Era spread, they were hooked up with other festivals, playing The East Coast Blues & Roots, Groovin' the Moo, Southbound and Falls, which gained them national recognition. This was confirmed by ‘The Industry’ when Universal Music Group took the initiative to sign a distribution agreement for their second EP, Miles.

By the time this EP had been released they had secured some credible support slots with Gomez, You Am I and The Zutons and had a taste of the international set by playing with Wolfmother in London. As a result, their CD became very popular at the merchandise table.

While the guys were overseas, the fans in Australia cried out for an album. Rather than return to the familiar tramping ground of Victoria, they decided to record their demos in the peaceful and tranquil surrounds of Tasmania. They spent a week recording enough demo material for the album, and when finished, the boys travelled to San Francisco to knuckle down record with renowned producer Jeff Saltzman (The Killers, Smash Mouth, Black Keys).

And so the record was carefully planned, right down to the album length; 34:56 a concept based upon having album length with consecutive numbers.

When they came back to Australia, they continued to play more shows just before their CD came out. While travelling, they met some A Fine Line writers eager to help them tell their story to the world. Together they went to a coffee shop and sat down and answered some questions about their debut album and what’s it like to be musicians…

The Dwarf: When did you pick up first instrument?

Sid: Drums when I was twelve
Fitzy: Drums when I was nine but piano when I was five
Ted: Piano when I was ten...no… write recorder when I was nine...

The Dwarf: So after you guys picked up a couple of instruments some might say it was no surprise that you guys would end up being in a band together since two of you are brothers. Although you guys did mix and match members in various bands in the past including one called Drawn, but how long were you guys playing music before you decided to take being in a band as a career?

Sid: Year ten.
Ted: When I was seventeen but I've been listening to music since he was ten and been playing seriously since twelve.
Fitzy: Year twelve... but I think we've always thought we'd be playing music whether it was a career or not.

The Dwarf: You guys recorded the demos in the Tasmanian town of Marion Bay, how much did the demos change compared to the album?

Fitzy: Yes it’s heavier than the demo.

The Dwarf: In your past EP releases, TV advertisements wanted to use one of your tracks but you turned them down.... does that mean you are against ads like iTunes?

Sid: It doesn't mean we won't say no to all ads 'something like a charity one' (Fitzy pipes in) or something like the one with Radiohead on it...the ‘I'll stand by you’ (For WWF) ad was good.

The Dwarf: The song titles off the album all begin with the word ‘when’ who decided that concept?

(All point to Sid) Sid: It’s a story about the people around town.

The Dwarf: These stories are penned by Sid, would you say he is the best storyteller in the band?

Ted: Fitzy's a good storyteller too. He can turn one idea into thirty minutes.

The Dwarf: The first song to be released from this record (beside the pre-release track “When We All Lost It”) is “When It First Showed Up” which you guys have posted a preview on your website. Is the official video broken up like that and more importantly did you do all your own stunts?

Ted: There are three parts to it... we weren't allowed to do our own stunts so I didn't do my own stunts... The stunt double for Orlando Bloom does Fitzy's stunts

The album Oh We Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside is to be released on May 5.

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