Twenty Sevens
 

Being personally invited by the legendary Status Quo to be their support act on a 31 date tour of the UK, and playing in Chuck Berry’s touring band, are just some of the highlights in the careers of the members of Australian band twentysevens.
Although only forming in late 2005, the members of the band -- guitarist Steve Tyson, bassist John Barr, and drummer Dave Parnell -- have travelled the world playing music or soaking up music for many years. Individually and collectively, they have shared the stage with some of the biggest names in the world.

Most recently, in November and December 2006, the band was invited to tour the UK opening for rock legends STATUS QUO. The 31 date tour saw twentysevens share the stage with Quo in venues such as Wembley Arena, Manchester MEN, Birmingham NEC, Glasgow SECC and many other legendary theatres throughout the length and breadth of England, Scotland, and Wales.

After four tours of Europe and many miles in Australia in previous line-ups from the mid 90’s to late 2004, the three of them took time out for several months, before re-convening as just a three piece in Steve’s studio in early 2005, to write and create without the pressures of touring. The end result was the band’s debut album SONGS FROM THE MIDDLE AGES, released in Australia in late 2005.
In attempting to describe their music on their debut album “SONGS FROM THE MIDDLE AGES”, the band responds as follows …
“…in the first instance, we were really trying to create music that the three of us could just play as a band. We are really into the approach of less-is-more, things being quite stripped back, plenty of room to move. Of course you can’t just set out to do that, it has to come from the songs. I think what we created is a reflection of lifelong influences, that include the Beatles, through early blues things like the Bluesbreakers, and all forms of roots music, as well as some of the groove type acts we’ve supported and played with over the years. After one of our first gigs, someone described our stuff as groove-based roots music, and I think that’s probably ok, but what became evident is that we were a band trying to find its feet. We wrote and recorded the album before we ever played a gig, which is an unusual approach, but we’d never had the time or luxury in the past just to take time out and make a record with absolutely no pressure. “

The album enjoyed solid radio support across the country, and in May 2006, twentysevens was invited to support FOREIGNER on their Australian tour, and also scored the support gig for STATUS QUO on the Gold Coast as part of Quo’s national tour. It was after this gig that Quo’s management extended the invitation to the band to tour the UK with them later that year.
As twentysevens continued to gig during 2006, the live dynamics of the band began to evolve, and a tougher edge to their songs became evident, almost certainly a product of Australia’s pub-rock culture. The band therefore felt the need to capture this approach, particularly evident in the new songs they had been writing, on record. In late 2006 then, they re-entered the studio to record the EP 7 track DIPLOMATIC, produced essentially as a special edition release to coincide with the UK tour. The EP was released in Australia in February 2007.
DIPLOMATIC featured six new tracks, but also included “Dancing Like A Diplomat”, the single from SONGS FROM THE MIDDLE AGES”. This song has become a live favourite, and has enjoyed solid airplay in the UK during the Quo tour. The decision to include it as part of the UK tour release was certainly vindicated as the UK audiences warmed to the song.

The band’s new album is “Sex, Politics & Religion”, a potent mix of hard-edged blues & groove flavours, and acoustic lo-fi touches, certainly the most cohesive set the band has produced. Says the band about the new album..
“... this record was a joy to make. We are now a band who has been out there playing for a few years, and we have found out what sort of band we want to be. As we have always said, the direction will always come from the songs, and we never set out to write a song saying it has to sound like a certain thing. But just naturally from playing gigs, the electric guitar has come to the forefront, and the acoustic guitar has taken a back seat. We are, quite simply, a rock & roll band. The groove thing is still a big part of how we play, and that is very evident on this record. Our lifetime influences are still evident, and we do venture into some lo-fi territory, but that is simply a reflection of whatever works for the song. Lyrically we still make a few comments on things we feel strongly about, but we are probably having a bit more fun in that area as well.”
Whilst on tour with Quo, the band took young film-maker Matthew Parnell with them to chronicle this once-in-a-lifetime musical adventure. The resulting documentary, “Keeping (Up With) the Status Quo”, has been released as a DVD with the new album.
Twentysevens took the album to the UK, Germany and Norway for a short tour in June/July this year, to continue their love affair with playing in Europe.

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