Beyond The Strait – Venice On Fire’s “Issues”

We’re going Beyond The Strait to bring you a new Q&A with Australian alt-rock band, Venice On Fire. They’ve just released their latest single, “Issues”, discussing toxic relationships and domestic violence. Get to know the band below, and check out the new song!

From The Strait: Tell us a bit about your latest single, “Issues”.

Venice on Fire: We’re a band that loves telling honest and real narratives. We’ve explored toxic friendships and jilted ex-lovers, and in future singles we’re exploring even more personal stories. Issues talks about domestic violence and toxic relationships, mainly from the perspective of the abuser. I chose this because DV is overwhelmingly a male issue, and young men listen to our music. I want people to realise that perpetrators aren’t imaginary monsters – they’re people we often know, like our fathers, brothers and sons. This was the driving force.

FTS: What made you want to become a musician? Was it a song, a band, an experience?

VOF: I grew up listening to rock, folk, blues and alternative as a child. Mum and Dad had extremely diverse tastes in music, but the central artists were Pink Floyd, Billy Idol, Cat Stevens, Neil Young, James Taylor and the Ben Folds Five.While Nirvana got me into rock music, the Smashing Pumpkins are what got me into guitar. My style is heavily influenced by Billy Corgan, along with my songwriting. At his best, no one can top him.

FTS: If you could play a show where the audience was filled solely with other bands & musicians, who would you want in attendance?

VOF: A tough one, because certainly you never want to meet your idols. Honestly, I’d want the musos from the Brisbane music scene in attendance, and they often are. Brisbane (Australia) has an amazing and unappreciated rock scene. Some bands worth checking out are Semantics, Sweater Curse, Bugs, WAAX, Walken, Pandamic and Dopamine. We just finished a short tour with some other Brissie bands (Big Whoops, Hot Reno and the Buzzing Towers), and they are all amazing as well. I realise that’s probably not the answer you were thinking of, but that’s the one I’m going with.

FTS: Describe your sounds in five words or less.

VOF: Honest, aggressive and passionate.

Check out Venice On Fire’s new single, “Issues”!