1.Growing Up

I grew up in a household surrounded by music – Dad had his Stones and Creedence records and Mum played piano, so we always had a piano in the house. My older brother was also listening to classic bands like Chisel and The Police. I started to learn piano but moved onto guitar when I realised it was easier to take a guitar down to the beach! I grew up listening to a lot of the classic ’70s bands and artists that my folks were into, and I was obsessed with The Beatles from the first time I heard them. Growing up listening to all these great songs and songwriters definitely helped shape my appreciation for great melodies and songwriting.

2.Inspirations

I first really started getting into music when the big grunge explosion hit, so it was bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam and The Smashing Pumpkins that were my early influences. Then I moved more into indie rock bands like The Lemonheads, Pavement, My Bloody Valentine, Pixies. More locally, You Am I were a huge influence. Seeing Timmy, Andy and Rusty onstage made you believe that you could also do it one day, without all the big stage show set-up and flashing lights – just three mates belting out tunes and having a blast!

3.Your Band

Anatomy Class is a three-piece indie rock lineup. It’s Nick Kennedy on drums, Paul Youdell on bass and me on guitar and vox. We all met through mutual friends in the music scene – we just started jamming and it clicked! We’re all big music fans (nerds) and really gelled through our shared love of indie rock classics, live shows and generally making a racket together. We tracked the debut album Tell Me What You See at a couple studios in Sydney, and then moved over to the iconic Alberts studios to finish off the record with Wayne Connolly, who produced and mixed the album.

4.The Music You Make

Our style is really a classic mix of indie rock, with power-pop and shoegaze influences in there too. We love playing live. It’s a chance to really connect with your audience and be in your own little world for a while. Even though we’ve all played in bands for years, it’s still a great buzz every time you get onstage. For us, it’s not about being in a particular scene or fitting a particular style – it’s about writing great songs, engaging with our fans, and having fun doing it.

5.Music, Right Here, Right Now

I think the live music scene in Sydney is pretty healthy at the moment – there’s a bunch of new venues opening up around Newtown, which is great. There’s so many great local bands we’ve played with over the last year or so – too many to mention! There’s definitely no shortage of great new bands to discover around town.

Tell Me What You See byAnatomy Classis released independently on Friday November 25; and lthey appear atOxford Art Factory Gallery, Saturday November 26.

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