Sanctuary Drive hail from the fertile breeding ground of Goulburn’s live music scene (shout out to the Goulburn Club!)
Four-piece alt-rock outfit Sanctuary Drive are ready to stain the sonic landscape with their gritty anthems.
Their latest single, “Ink,” tackles the consequences of bad choices with a heady mix of grooving jazz chords and fist-pumping rock energy.
We caught up with the band to dissect the track, unearth their musical origins, and get the goss on what’s next for this rising force.
Happy: Tell us a little about where you and what you love about it.
Sanctuary Drive: Goulburn is the place where we all became friends, and later bandmates. It’s the place we live, and the home of the Goulburn club, NSW best live music venue.
Happy: Can you tell us about the formation of Sanctuary Drive? How did the band come together?
Sanctuary Drive: We played together throughout high school. When we left high school we all moved in together and played regularly in the lounge room eventually deciding to take it further.
Happy: What are some of the major influences on Sanctuary Drives music and songwriting?
Sanctuary Drive: We use a mix of everything from groovy jazz chords through to heavy rock anthems using inspirations from bands such as King Krule, Smith Street and Hockey Dad.
Happy: How would you describe your music to people who haven’t heard it before?
Sanctuary Drive: Fun style of altrock music with powerful lyrics to back it up.
Happy: What is the typical song writing process?
Sanctuary Drive: Hogan is the main influence when it comes to sitting down and writing out some lyrics.
Usually in some cases Hogan or beef will come up with a chord progression where either Tynan or Hogan will write off the back of it.
Once the bare bones are in place everyone works together to figure out the structure and dynamics of the song.
Happy: How has the band evolved since its inception? Both musically and personally
Sanctuary Drive: Prior to the inception of Sanctuary Drive. We were in a 5 piece band for a year or so called Doozys.
Two songs were released under that name before the lead singer decided to respectively part ways.
That was when the 4 of us decided on a rebrand. With Tynan taking the rains of lead singer with his raspy vocals and hogans griddy lyrics, it helped us morph our sound into what is now our latest single INK.
From primarily playing shows in Goulburn to now mainly playing in Sydney we think that has helped us in the way we perform and interact with the audience, and helps us find people who our music resonates with.
Happy: What do you hope listeners take away from your music? Particularly INK.
Sanctuary Drive: We hope people come away from our songs having enjoyed the sounds we’ve come up with and are able to find bits and pieces in the lyrics they can relate to.
Happy: What can we expect from you guys in the future?
Sanctuary Drive: More gigs, more music and possibly an EP ;)
Happy: What makes you happy?
Sanctuary Drive: Getting up on stage and showcasing our music with our best mates.
Stay tuned to Sanctuary Drive here.
