Empowering lyrics and earth shaking tunes are what make Sierra so popular. Breaking out of the small town of Mount Gambier Sierra have seen their fair share of crowds and manage to make the room shake every time. What sets Sierra apart from the rest has got to be their connection with fans, the friendly nature of these South Australian rockers is carrying them quickly into the highest levels of alternative music. Their sound is unique and this intense crescendo are as enjoyable live as they are on their Self-Titled EP. PEARL highly encourages you to give their single Decadence a listen or if you’re looking for something more delicate give Chase a go. PEARL had the chance to sit down for a chat with this mixed bag of talent during their stay in Melbourne last month.
PEARL: Hey guys, so tell us your names and your roles in the band.
Kennedy: I’m Brett Kennedy, I’m a vocalist
Calacagno: I’m Lorenzo Calacagno, I play bass
Wilkens: I’m Logan Wilkens, I play guitar
Osbourne: I’m Jordan Osbourne, I also play guitar
Evagelistis: I’m Kristian Evagelistis, I play the drums
PEARL: Tell us, how has the Earthwalker tour been so far?
Wilkens: Its been such an interesting experience, its also been really enjoyable because were such good friends with the other bands, like Endless Heights we’re really good mates with and Being As An Ocean we’re really friendly with and it’s the first time for us meeting everyone else, and were so lucky because they’re all really good blokes, just nice people in general,
PEARL: Being on these bigger shows, have you seen your fan base grow?
Kennedy: At the start of last year when we released our ep [Self-Titled], going on social net work numbers we were quite small, but going into end of last year and continuing into this year were growing, its been crazy, especially since the ep has been peaking and its coming down from its peak now, even after being released from what seems like so long ago.
PEARL: That’s awesome for you guys, So would you say there’s any bands who influence your music?
Osbourne: We’ve always been into a lot of hardcore, but a band that’s really influenced us that we’ve actually toured with has got to be Hundreth, we stumbled across their music one day, and we fell in love with the first listen. We also are influenced a lot by Being As An Ocean, Worthwhile, Defeater.
PEARL: Your EP’s are up on your Bandcamp for free, can you tell us why you’ve chosen to do that?
Wilkens: I really don’t like restriction on music
Kennedy: I said to the boys to do it, because we’re not big enough to demand money from people, and if we charge no ones going to want to pay in the first place to give us a chance.
PEARL: You have definitely grown in popularity now, what are some of your plans for 2014?
Calacagno: We’ve just finished recording our ep so that should be out soon. We also want to do our own tour as well.
PEARL: We’re really looking forward to that EP release, last question, do you have any advice for up and coming bands who aspire to be in the same level you are?
Kennedy: you have to do the hard yards. you’ve got to get out there and do it and learn from your mistakes. we didn’t think we’d get here, so you never know if you have the music to back you up you’ll succeed. You’ve got to be prepared to sacrifice and drive 5 hours to play a gig that might only be to 10 people, you’ve got to give up a lot to succeed.
Be sure to check out Sierra at the Cranbourne battle of the bands on the 4th of July alongside Glorified. For now if you’re keen on listening to Sierra, you can find their self titled EP and single Decadence at their Bandcamp – SierraHC.Bandcamp.com.
MILLI RANSOM