Being personally invited by the legendary Status Quo to be their support act on a 31 date tour of the UK, and playing in Chuck Berry’s touring band, are just some of the highlights in the careers of the members of Australian band twentysevens.
Although only forming in late 2005, the members of the band -- guitarist Steve Tyson, bassist John Barr, and drummer Dave Parnell -- have travelled the world playing music or soaking up music for many years. Individually and collectively, they have shared the stage with some of the biggest names in the world.

Most recently, in November and December 2006, the band was invited to tour the UK opening for rock legends STATUS QUO. The 31 date tour saw twentysevens share the stage with Quo in venues such as Wembley Arena, Manchester MEN, Birmingham NEC, Glasgow SECC and many other legendary theatres throughout the length and breadth of England, Scotland, and Wales.

After four tours of Europe and many miles in Australia in previous line-ups from the mid 90’s to late 2004, the three of them took time out for several months, before re-convening as just a three piece in Steve’s studio in early 2005, to write and create without the pressures of touring. The end result was the band’s debut album SONGS FROM THE MIDDLE AGES, released in Australia in late 2005.
In attempting to describe their music on their debut album “SONGS FROM THE MIDDLE AGES”, the band responds as follows …
“…in the first instance, we were really trying to create music that the three of us could just play as a band. We are really into the approach of less-is-more, things being quite stripped back, plenty of room to move. Of course you can’t just set out to do that, it has to come from the songs. I think what we created is a reflection of lifelong influences, that include the Beatles, through early blues things like the Bluesbreakers, and all forms of roots music, as well as some of the groove type acts we’ve supported and played with over the years. After one of our first gigs, someone described our stuff as groove-based roots music, and I think that’s probably ok, but what became evident is that we were a band trying to find its feet. We wrote and recorded the album before we ever played a gig, which is an unusual approach, but we’d never had the time or luxury in the past just to take time out and make a record with absolutely no pressure. “

The album enjoyed solid radio support across the country, and in May 2006, twentysevens was invited to support FOREIGNER on their Australian tour, and also scored the support gig for STATUS QUO on the Gold Coast as part of Quo’s national tour. It was after this gig that Quo’s management extended the invitation to the band to tour the UK with them later that year.
As twentysevens continued to gig during 2006, the live dynamics of the band began to evolve, and a tougher edge to their songs became evident, almost certainly a product of Australia’s pub-rock culture. The band therefore felt the need to capture this approach, particularly evident in the new songs they had been writing, on record. In late 2006 then, they re-entered the studio to record the EP 7 track DIPLOMATIC, produced essentially as a special edition release to coincide with the UK tour. The EP was released in Australia in February 2007.
DIPLOMATIC featured six new tracks, but also included “Dancing Like A Diplomat”, the single from SONGS FROM THE MIDDLE AGES”. This song has become a live favourite, and has enjoyed solid airplay in the UK during the Quo tour. The decision to include it as part of the UK tour release was certainly vindicated as the UK audiences warmed to the song.

The band’s new album is “Sex, Politics & Religion”, a potent mix of hard-edged blues & groove flavours, and acoustic lo-fi touches, certainly the most cohesive set the band has produced. Says the band about the new album..
“... this record was a joy to make. We are now a band who has been out there playing for a few years, and we have found out what sort of band we want to be. As we have always said, the direction will always come from the songs, and we never set out to write a song saying it has to sound like a certain thing. But just naturally from playing gigs, the electric guitar has come to the forefront, and the acoustic guitar has taken a back seat. We are, quite simply, a rock & roll band. The groove thing is still a big part of how we play, and that is very evident on this record. Our lifetime influences are still evident, and we do venture into some lo-fi territory, but that is simply a reflection of whatever works for the song. Lyrically we still make a few comments on things we feel strongly about, but we are probably having a bit more fun in that area as well.”
Whilst on tour with Quo, the band took young film-maker Matthew Parnell with them to chronicle this once-in-a-lifetime musical adventure. The resulting documentary, “Keeping (Up With) the Status Quo”, has been released as a DVD with the new album.
Twentysevens took the album to the UK, Germany and Norway for a short tour in June/July this year, to continue their love affair with playing in Europe.

The band is based in Australia, with members living in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Byron Bay for various times of the year. Over the years, the three of them, either individually or collectively, have played festival stages in Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, France, Ireland, Estonia, Holland and Switzerland. In Australia, they have graced the stage over the years in support bands for acts such as Billy Joel, Elton John, The Average White Band, Gloria Gaynor, The Ritchie Family, and Osibisa. Steve played in Chuck Berry’s band during an Australian tour.
But this band has become the focus for the three of them, as they continue to play together for one reason and one reason alone – to get their own music across to as many people as they can, and have a damn fine time whilst doing it. www.twentysevens.com

Here’s a bit about the lads who are twentysevens ….

STEVE TYSON


By his own admission, Steve is a music addict. “I can’t help it. I can lose myself for hours in record stores every week. I’m slowly discovering downloading, but you just can’t replace that excitement that comes with grabbing a CD in the record shop and reading the liner notes.” His addiction started with the Beatles (“when I was a kid, I was too young to go to the Beatles concert when they came to Brisbane, but I knew they had to drive up my street to go to the airport the next morning. I sprained my ankle jumping out of my second storey window to get to the street in time to see them drive by”), continued through his discovery of blues, and grew to encompass just about every musical style imaginable. As a guitarist, he played in local bands Gentle Art, Spike, and Felix, that supported Black Sabbath, Elton John, Billy Joel, The Average White Band, Gloria Gaynor, Osibisa, The Ritchie Family and a couple of others he can’t remember, at Brisbane’s rock and roll headquarters, Festival Hall. Career highlights to date? “Playing in Chuck Berry’s band in his Brisbane shows. He actually shared my guitar when someone stood on his lead and snapped it off. We traded places mid-song. It was unbelievable.” Other highlights? “ The Bardentreffen Festival in Nuremberg, Germany in front of 20,000 people, and playing a gig at the Montreux Jazz Festival. And of course, the Status Quo tour – that’s the sort of thing most musicians dream about.” The road ahead? “ We want to make some in-roads in our own backyard, Australia."

JOHN BARR


JB’s first gig was a talent quest that his dad had to drive him and his band mates 150 kilometres to get to. They lost. But that gig started a love affair with the bass guitar, that saw him become a sideman for a whole bunch of people around Australia. He played in most of the same bands with Steve at those Festival Hall support shows when they were kids. Although he played a variety of styles as a bass journeyman, it was the honesty of the Stones, and Bill Wyman, that drew him to roots music in the first place, and has kept him firmly in touch with it ever since. Career highlights to date? 
“The Quo tour was obviously a huge thing for us, getting the opportunity to play to some 100,000 people over 31 gigs. Bardentreffen was probably a high point for all of us. The German people just love their music, and playing in that historic square in Nuremberg to a sea of faces was pretty amazing. Also the Skagen Festival in Denmark. We played it three times in Rough Red and we always had an absolute ball there” Now? “We are having a great time creating in twentysevens. We just want to get it out there now to as many people as we can.”

DAVE PARNELL


Classical guitar was Dave’s first instrument. He turned to his first love of drums when his parents finally relented, purchased ear-plugs, and allowed the first drum kit into the house, hoping it was a passing phase. By that stage, having moved on from the Partridge Family, he had discovered Led Zeppelin and all things John Bonham. Much of his early playing was done in the North Queensland town of Mackay, with JB as the other half of the rhythm section. A few sideways ventures back to guitar happened along the way, and a stint working as a sound engineer, before he ended up firmly behind the skins again. His musical enlightenment continues to this day by raiding Steve’s CD collection every week. Unfortunately for him, he will never, ever live down the story of driving a band tour van on the wrong side of the road into the path of an oncoming train at 2am in downtown Amsterdam. Whilst his navigational skills were never in question, he was banished thereafter from taking the steering wheel. Musical highlights? Besides the Quo tour and some of the great festival gigs, Dave says “ working on this album has been a career highlight for me. Not only has the creative and playing part been amazing, but the guys left the mixing of the album to me, and that aspect of the process I have really enjoyed.” From here on in? “Like the other guys, I just want to get our music in front of as many people as possible."