Avalon Drive are an Australian

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band from

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, originally formed in 2005. They released three

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

s, ''Avalon Drive'' (2005), ''The City of Burnt Out Lights'' (2006) and ''The View from Afar'' (2008) before splitting in 2008. They reformed in 2021 as a trio with original members, Damion J Douglass on lead vocals, Shane Holmes on drums and Wil Morris on lead guitar and synthesiser.

History

2005

Avalon Drive were formed as a rock group in 2005 in Brisbane by Benjamin John "BJ" Dillewaard on keyboards, Damion James Douglass (as Damion Page) on lead vocals, Shane Anthony Holmes on drums, Ryan Lloyd Kennedy on bass guitar and William "Wil" Morris on lead guitar and backing vocals. The band members had been school mates and played in various bands in the previous four years. Douglass and Holmes had been members of Prefix, which issued a self-titled extended play (EP) back in 2003. Avalon Drive released their debut self-titled EP in May 2005 on Valet Records/

MGM Distribution MGM Distribution (Metropolitan Groove Merchants) is the largest independent distributor of Australian music and music related merchandise and was established in April 1998 by Sebastian Chase. MGM Distribution was specifically set up as a dis ...

. ''The Metal Forge''s reviewer, Justin Donnelly rated the music disc at seven-out-of-ten, "first class all the way, and by far the most promising emo-rock act on the Australian scene." However he noticed that the bonus DVD, is "bit of a miss", which "tends to lose the plot mid way through." The Brisbane group supported international artists,

Anberlin Anberlin is an American alternative rock band formed in Winter Haven, Florida in 2002. Since the beginning of 2007, the band consists of lead vocalist Stephen Christian, guitarists Joseph Milligan and Christian McAlhaney, bassist Deon Rexroat, an ...

and Crowned King. The EP provided two singles, "This Simple Life" and "Outside Alone", received high rotation on both

Channel V Channel '' ("V" standing for the letter, not the Roman numeral "5") is a Chinese and former Asian pay television musical network originally launched by Star TV Hong Kong (now Fox Networks Group Asia Pacific). It was part of the unit of Disney ...

and Nova FM Both singles were co-written by Douglass with Jarrod Craik. To access more results, user may have to click on 'Load More Results'. Donnelly felt "Outside Alone" was a "huge anthem like number" and the EP's "obvious stand out track."

2006

Avalon Drive toured Australia variously supporting

the Veronicas The Veronicas is an Australian pop duo from Brisbane. The group was formed in 2004 by identical twin sisters Lisa and Jessica Origliasso. In 2005, the Veronicas released their debut studio album, titled '' The Secret Life of...'', which peak ...

INXS INXS (a word play, phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian Rock music, rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. The band's founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboar ...

the All-American Rejects The All-American Rejects is an American rock band from Stillwater, Oklahoma, formed in 1999.

Yellowcard Yellowcard is an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1997 and was based in Los Angeles beginning in 2000. The band is recognized for having a distinct sound in their genre, primarily due to the prominent use o ...

Houston Calls Houston Calls was an American rock band, based in Rockaway, New Jersey, United States. They formed in 2003 and were signed to Rushmore Records (a subsidiary of Drive-Thru Records). On June 9, 2009, they announced their official breakup.http:// ...

and

Matchbook Romance Matchbook Romance was an American emo band from Poughkeepsie, New York and was formed in 1997. They were signed to Epitaph Records. They released two full-length albums and one EP. Their EP, ''West for Wishing'', released in 2003 was their first ...

. In March 2006 when Avalon Drive supported Yellowcard on their Australian tour, they played to a crowd of over 3000 at the

Luna Park Sydney Luna Park Sydney is a heritage-listed amusement park located at 1 Olympic Drive in the harbourside suburb of Milsons Point, New South Wales, Australia, on the northern shore of Sydney Harbour. The amusement park is owned by the Luna Park Rese ...

's Big Top. They had to cut short their set after their fans broke the crowd barrier, forcing the Houston Calls to abandon their performance. Nevertheless Houston Calls asked the Brisbane band to support their sole Sydney show. Avalon Drive headlined three of their own tours and performed on ''

Rove Live ''Rove'', also titled ''Rove Live'', was an Australian television variety show that featured live music performances and interviews with local and international celebrity guests. The program premiered on the Nine Network on 22 September 1999, be ...

''. They released their six track second EP ''The City of Burnt Out Lights'' in June 2006 via Valet Records/MGM Distribution. Ben Hermann of ''BMA Magazine'' observed, " thad kick-ass songs that kept you coming back for more." It provided the single, "Get Up", which they performed nationally as ''Rove Live''s house band. They were guest performers on ''

Toasted TV ''Toasted TV'' is an Australian children's television program which aired on Network 10 and later 10 Peach from 22 August 2005 to 18 September 2020. ''Toasted TV'' replaced similar children's program ''Cheez TV'' in the same timeslot. The se ...

'', also on

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...

. "Get Up" was described as " catchy, mood-changing melodic rock/pop."

2007

The five-piece started 2007 by supporting

Hoobastank Hoobastank (sometimes stylized as h∞bastank, and originally known as Hoobustank) is an American rock band formed in 1994 in Agoura Hills, California, by lead vocalist Doug Robb, guitarist Dan Estrin, drummer Chris Hesse, and original bassist ...

in February; they also joined

Fall out Boy Fall Out Boy is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer A ...

on their Australian tour, as their single "Make Your Move" debuted on radio nationally and was released commercially as a digital single on 21 May 2007. Douglass said the track was "a very small taste of what is to come." It was produced by Melbourne producer, Forrester Savell, (

The Butterfly Effect ''The Butterfly Effect'' is a 2004 American science fiction thriller film written and directed by Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber. It stars Ashton Kutcher, Amy Smart, Eric Stoltz, William Lee Scott, Elden Henson, Logan Lerman, Ethan Suplee, an ...

Human Nature Human nature is a concept that denotes the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting—that humans are said to have naturally. The term is often used to denote the essence of humankind, or ...

Karnivool Karnivool is an Australian progressive rock band formed in Perth in 1997. The group currently consists of Ian Kenny on vocals, Drew Goddard and Mark Hosking on guitar, Jon Stockman on bass, and Steve Judd on drums. Karnivool emerged from a band ...

). "We all have very different ideas when it comes to writing so working with Forester really helped bring all that together," said Douglass. It is "an energetic rock song full of mood lifting spirit," according to Holmes who notes their March 2007 arena shows with Fall Out Boy as the highlight of his musical career. Douglass avers, "Lyrically it's about decision-making, it is about change and procrastination." In August 2007 Avalon Drive announced that Morris was leaving the band for personal reasons. According to Morris, "I worked about four meters away from ouglassevery day, and he didn't speak to me for two weeks." Morris was replaced by former St Lucia singer, Shane O'Keeffe, who took up guitar and backing vocals. At the end of 2007 the band members started writing for their proposed debut album. "We don't care how long this process takes" said vocalist Douglass. "We are all very different and all want individual things inside our music so putting a time limit on that is not something we are wanting to do. We have had to get over some pretty huge obstacles this year (2007) and the future is looking so good for us. So, until then".

2008 and beyond

Dillewaard departed Avalon Drive in early 2008. After two months and three rounds in the first Tooheys Extra Dry UncharTED competition of 2008, the group won a record deal with Sony BMG. In August they previewed tracks from their third EP, ''The View from Afar'' at a music venue, The Zoo,

Fortitude Valley Fortitude Valley (often called "The Valley" by local residents) is an inner suburb of the City of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. In the , Fortitude Valley had a population of 9,708 people. The suburb features two pedestri ...

. They undertook a co-headlining tour of south eastern Australia with

the Sundance Kids Sundance are an Australian pop rock/indie rock band from Adelaide, South Australia, formed in 2006. The group began as the acoustic trio of vocalist and guitarist Ash Gale as well as guitarists Jason Shepherd and Luke Zecchin, before they were ...

during August and September. The band's four track third EP, ''The View from Afar'', appeared in October and reached No. 74 on the ARIA Top 100 Physical Singles chart. In November 2008, Avalon Drive released a statement, mid-tour, saying the band had separated due to "irreconcilable differences" with all unfilled tour dates cancelled and pre-sold tickets refunded. Avalon Drive founders Douglass, Holmes and Morris performed a one-off reunion show at The Hi-Fi Bar in Brisbane on 5 February 2011. In 2020 Douglass and Holmes formed an indie electronic duo, Driver, which issued an EP, ''Crossover''.

Band members

* Damion James Douglass ( Damion Page or Damion Page-Douglass) – lead vocals * Shane Anthony Holmes – drums, samples * William Morris – lead guitar, synthesiser, backing vocals Former members * BJ Dillewaard – keyboards * Ryan Kennedy – bass guitar * Shane O'Keeffe – guitar, backing vocals

Discography

Extended plays

*''Avalon Drive'' (2 May 2005) – Valet Records/

# "Seven Minutes" # "The Simple Life" # "Outside Alone" # "At War with Butterflies" # "Several Minutes" (live acoustic) # "Outside Alone" (live acoustic) Bonus disc # "Behind the Band" (limited edition DVD) * ''The City of Burnt Out Lights'' (12 June 2006) – Valet Records/MGM Distribution # "Introduction" # "Emptiness with Grace" # "Get Up" # "That Very Day" # "Pictures" # "Too Many Reasons" * ''The View from Afar'' (2008) – Sony BMG # "Life Support" # "The Truth" # "Last One Standing" # "Make Your Move"

Music videos

# "This Simple Life" (live, 2006) # "Outside Alone" (2006) # The Making of "Outside Alone" (2006) # "Make Your Move" (2007) # The Making of "Make Your Move" (2007) # "Last One Standing" (2008) # The Making of "Last One Standing" (2008)

Tour

Supported

(July 2005) #

Rufio Rufio was an American rock band from Rancho Cucamonga, California, United States, in 2000. They released four studio albums: ''Perhaps, I Suppose'' (2001); ''MCMLXXXV'' (2003); ''The Comfort of Home'' (2005); and'' Anybody Out There'' (2010). ...

(July 2005) # Crowned King (July 2005) #

(March 2006) #

(May 2006) #

The Veronicas The Veronicas is an Australian pop duo from Brisbane. The group was formed in 2004 by identical twin sisters Lisa and Jessica Origliasso. In 2005, the Veronicas released their debut studio album, titled '' The Secret Life of...'', which peak ...

(August 2006) #

The All-American Rejects The All-American Rejects is an American rock band from Stillwater, Oklahoma, formed in 1999.INXS INXS (a word play, phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian Rock music, rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. The band's founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboar ...

(September 2006) #

(February 2007) # Fall Out Boy (March 2007)

Headlining

# The Get Up Tour w/

Angelas Dish Angelas Dish is an Australian indie pop band from the Central Coast of New South Wales, formed in 2003. The four-piece currently consists of songwriting duo, brothers Michael and Joshua Harris, teamed up with bassist Peter Clarke, and drummer C ...

(Jun 2006) # Pictures Tour (Sep 2006) # All Age Encore (Oct–Dec 2006) # ''The View From Afar'' Tour (Nov–Dec 2008) # The Residency Tour (2008) #The Reunion Tour (Feb 2011)

Festivals

# Rapid (June 2005, 2006, 2008) # Overcranked (March 2006) # Ruckus (16 December 2006) # Beats on the Beach (New Years Day, 2007) # Come Together (June 2007) # Brisbane Royal Show (Saturday, 9 August 2008)

TV appearances

# ''Rove Live'' (2006) # ''Toasted TV'' (2006) # ARIA Awards (2006) # Channel 31 (2006) # AAA TV (2007) # ''

The Shak ''The Shak'' was an Australian children's television program broadcast on the Nine Network. Its four hosts, Curio (Drew Jarvis), Nitro (Beau Walker), Picasso ( Kendal Nagorcka) and Eco ( Jacqueline Duncan) answered viewer questions, queries, d ...

'' (2007) # MTV ''UncharTED'' Showcase (2008) # ''

Mornings with Kerri-Anne ''Kerri-Anne'' was an Australian morning television program shown on the Nine Network, hosted by Kerri-Anne Kennerley. It was broadcast on weekdays at 9am for two hours. The final episode of the series was on 25 November 2011. It was replaced by ...

'' (2008) # ''WhatUWant'' (2008)

Radio interviews/performances

# Nova 106.9 (2008)

References

External links

Archived Official website
{{Authority control Australian musical trios Australian rock music groups Musical groups established in 2005 Musical groups from Brisbane