Roll of the Dice is a short interview format with a variable amount of questions. A Pair of dice is rolled and the total, between 2 and 12, is the amount of questions we can ask. All questions are given to the interviewee(s) at once, and no follow-ups are allowed. The interview may be lightly edited for content and clarity.
Sydney’s 51st Avenue have been blowing up the land down under with their recently released single “Remnant.” The alt-rock outfit from Down Under rolled the dice with TGEFM, where we discussed the band’s influences, the great Australian scene making waves right now and the way Twitch has brought the band to greater audiences.
Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview! What should our readers know about the members of 51st Avenue and your sound?
Ash (Guitar): Thank you so much for having us! We are a hyper-modern electronic-rock band, fusing electronics with heavy riffs to create a modern sound. We’re influenced by bands such as PVRIS, Bring Me The Horizon, Linkin Park and Architects.
What album or band or significant singles made you go “Yeah, this is what I want to do” Not just an influence but who or what was the catalyst?
Scott (Drums): When growing up and learning drums my biggest inspiration was Avenged Sevenfold. I enjoyed the way they created music and how every album was different on purpose. I remember watching interviews with A7X where they spoke about the process of writing music and that really resonated with me.
I thought it was just Fosters, kangaroos and Paul Hogan down there, but 51st Avenue, Catholic Guilt, Yours Truly and Between You and Me have all put out some amazing records over the last few years. What’s going on in Australia that’s led to such an overabundance of great music in the scene lately??
Ash: We think there’s always been a vast abundance of great music, but it’s most likely due to the covid lockdowns that’s allowed bands to really focus on their sound and further refine their new releases. However it is a double edged sword, some bands didn’t make it through the lockdowns and parted ways which highlighted those who are serious about their craft, and we also saw many new bands emerge once lockdowns started easing.
Nobody can deny the world has been changing drastically over the last few years. Where do you see the future of music, both for 51st Avenue and also for the scene at large transitioning in light of these events?
Scott: The world has changed drastically. Shortly after a lock-down here in Sydney, 51st Avenue joined the live-streaming world of Twitch. We got tired of waiting for the live scene to be revived (which is now thriving quite well in Sydney) and started to host our own live gigs and cover sets. We have now been streaming on Twitch for over a year. We love getting to interact with people from all over the world and being able to create a community around music. Most of the other streamers we have met on Twitch all joined for similar reasons. We have had the great pleasure of meeting up in real life with these people and being able to make music with some of them.
One of our obligatory questions in these interviews also tends to be the one I have found most important on a personal level. Who are some bands on your radar that TGEFM readers may not know about, but you think they should?
Scott & Ash: Continuing the theme of great Australia bands; Redhook, Clay J Gladstone and Days Like These are just some of our recommendations for the readers to check out.
What’s next for the members of 51st Avenue?
Scott & Ash: We are about to support NORA on their tour in Port Macquarie, Newcastle, Sydney and Canberra and the rest of our calendar is slowly filling up. We have dates booked in for the studio and this means we are looking to release a couple more singles this year.
Was there anything I missed that you’d like to share or dive deeper into with our readers?
Ash: This is just the beginning for 51st Avenue, we have big aspirations to release more music in the coming years so make sure to follow us to stay up to date. Our sound is always evolving as we don’t want to be locked into a specific genre or time period. We write music for ourselves first, and hope that it resonates with our listeners.
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed’s musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he’s self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/
