The Prize On The “Easy Way Out”
Anti Fade’s new power pop/garage rock/ rock’n’roll sensations The Prize have premiered a video for their new single Easy Way Out, taken from the group’s forthcoming debut EP Wrong Side Of Town. The Prize will launch the single with shows in Melbourne and Sydney following a national run with The Chats. The Prize are Melbourne’s hottest new addition, a breath of fresh air and a shot in the arm for a city still bouncing back from a bitter start to the decade. Their first single Wrong Side of Town, released last month, was premiered on Triple J’s ‘Home and Hosed’ and received raves and airplay internationally.
Forming in early 2021 and figuring out a way to jam and write songs in between rules and restrictions, The Prize stumbled across a blend of power pop and rock and roll that’s equal parts brains and bravado. The joyous new five-piece bring three guitars and five voices that harmonise together to make some of the best power pop this city has heard in years. With lead vocals primarily shared between drummer Nadine Muller and guitarist Carey Paterson, the five-piece is rounded out with Joseph Imfeld on guitar, Austin Haire on guitar and Jack Kong on bass. After the dust settled from the city’s miserable hiatus, The Prize played their first show to a sold out Croxton Bandroom opening for Civic in November 2021. Drummer Nadine Muller answers some questions about the single and going on tour with The Chats.
How has the build-up been to the new single Easy Way Out?
It’s been amazing! We released the first single Wrong Side Of Town off our four track EP on Anti Fade Records about a month ago, followed by Easy Way Out a few weeks later. We just played our first show since the release on the weekend and it was really cool to see people singing along to the two songs they’ve got to know over the past few weeks!
What is the story behind the single?
Frustration, heartache. Just your classic, breakup themed tune!
What has the fan response been like so far?
It’s been really awesome having people from all over the place send us messages and tell us they like the songs or hearing that we’re getting played on radio shows around the world.
Is there pressure with your debut EP coming up with something that best represents the band right now?
I think there’s just a lot of pressure with recording in general. It’s can be a challenging thing in itself. We didn’t go in with too many preconceptions about the outcome and were fortunate enough to have lots of help from our friends. The main thing I really wanted to achieve with the recording was capturing our live sound and energy and I think Matt Blach (who recorded the EP) really nailed that for us.
Are there plans for more new music beyond the EP release?
Yeah, It’s in the works! We’re planning to release an LP hopefully early next year.
How pumped are you about heading out on tour with The Chats?
We’re all really looking forward to it! We haven’t done any shows outside of Victoria yet, so we’re excited to be playing in some new places, to some new faces!
Who would you say is the biggest shared musical influence/ inspiration for The Prize?
It’s hard to pin it to just one but if we had a top five it would have to be Cheap Trick, Thin Lizzy, The Angels, The Nerves and the Divinyls.
How did the band meet?
Most of us have played in various bands over the years and had crossed paths at different stages. Joe and Carey started jamming a few years back and knew their styles worked well together. During lockdown I was living with our bass player Jack and The Prize really kicked off from there. We were mostly having disjointed jams between lockdowns due to the restrictions in place so it was a bit of a slow process to begin with.
What inspired the band name?
We had our first gig booked and didn’t have a name so the pressure was on to come up with something pretty quick..! We were sitting in my dad’s shed, which is full of vintage bits and bobs, and an old poster had ‘THE PRIZE’ written in a cool, 60’s font. We basically went “that’ll do”.
What’s next for The Prize beyond the tour with The Chats?
We have our EP launch at the Curtin on October 1 with some awesome local bands The Blinds, Brick Head and The Glass Picture. It’ll be a fun one! We have a few more shows that are yet to be announced and besides that, knuckle-down and record the LP before the end of the year!
Interview By Rob Lyon
Connect with The Prize
Facebook ~ Instagram ~ Spotify
On tour with The Chats on the following dates…
