Introducing Parhelion…
Prog-rockers Parhelion from the Northern Rivers have released their debut single Banded Eyes. Mixed and produced by Lucius Borich and mastered by Tony Mantz the band is all systems go working on their debut EP. Scott Lancaster from the band answers a few questions about the band and their debut single.
Congratulations on the single Banded Eyes, have you been stoked with the reaction to it?
Thanks mate we really appreciate it! We have been really stoked with the response so far and to be honest really surprised, we can appreciate that its not everyone’s cup of tea, so to have the feedback that we have had early on is great! To be fair though between us all we have about fifteen kids and two grand kids, so we do have a bit of a jump on other bands in terms of a ready-made fan base!
What’s the story behind the single?
In terms of the story or theme behind the track, we are writing a short story e/book and each song is pegged to a chapter with each chapter having its own underlying theme (note: we definitely won’t be winning a booker or a Pulitzer for this piece of work) – the theme for this track is pretty cliché but essentially at an individual level it’s the journey through life and facing down whatever adversarial situation(s) life throws at you, maybe at a higher level its an existential piece – you travel through life and maybe at the end you need to face your maker.
Sonically, how would you describe Parhelion?
Like most bands we are a melting pot of all our influences and experiences, but in essence we are a Hard Rock band, we have some prog elements I guess, but we are sort of pitching ourselves as “poor man’s prog”, this is mainly due to our inability to compete with the number of talented musicians in the prog space.
We really like the idea of the different elements sort of going their own way and then coming back together for the critical parts of the tracks and we do try (with differing success) to find the balance with the writing to make sure no single element is too strong or overbearing.
Is the band building towards an EP/album?
Absolutely, we are 3/4 of the way through recording our next release, which is Homeland, I know all bands say this, but it is an absolute banger, these tracks will form a six track EP. These have all been recorded and produced with Lucius Borich at Keysound Studios in Byron Bay.
Does the creative process come easily to the band?
Kind of, it would come a lot easier if the rest of the guys just let me do what I want! But seriously, like a lot of things getting through the first 95% seems like a breeze and very organic, the final five percent can be a slog and is sometimes a bit frustrating, but ultimately its worth it when the product is finished.
How did the band meet?
Oby (Drums) and I literally met at our kids Under 9’s Hockey presentation, I think I was spruiking about a new guitar I had bought, and he overheard and mentioned he was a drummer, we agreed to catchup for a beer and have a jam, and that got the ball rolling. Paul was a mate of mine who had played guitar in the local scene and agreed to come and play bass, then he ditched us and moved to Adelaide for work, meanwhile Oby’s cousin Joel who had just moved back from Tassie, a great bass player decided to join us, lo and behold all of sudden Paul moves back from Adelaide, so we are guessing he just didn’t want to play Bass. Benny Whitwood then joined the band as our vocalist/songwriter and helped us transition to where we are today, however, due to other commitments, we parted ways. Cue Scotty Ward, who you can hear on the single Banded Eyes, an absolute cracker of a vocalist and a great guy !
Who are some of the biggest musical heroes for Parhelion?
It’s a real mixed bag, but the obvious one we wear on our sleeves is TOOL, but otherwise it’s an eclectic mix of everything! This will probably be more evident in some of the later tracks that vary from blues styles riffs through to more thrashy elements.
How did you come up with the band name?
Only after months of arguments! Oby took a pretty strong position on “Busted Sausage” and wouldn’t budge, I think he thought that if we named the band that we would just start writing two-minute songs in 4/4. Ultimately we landed on Parhelion because we could dovetail it into the story we were writing, and it was a rare and odd event (like us). After deciding on the name however we did realise there were a couple other Parhelions around, but rather than go through the “Busted Sausage” saga again we just decided to run with it !
Are there plans more broadly around the country?
Absolutely ! The plan is to get Homeland released and start gigging soon after, hopefully we can get enough supporters outside our direct family to justify us getting around to see some of the country.
What’s next for Parhelion?
We are working on an animated video for Banded Eyes which hopefully should be ready in about four weeks, we will release Homeland and in quick succession the rest of the EP, the plan is to flog these songs to death at some gigs and then probably settle down to write our terrible sophomore album!
Interview By Rob Lyon
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