Well, doubleDrive is back home from Australia and better from the trip. You can check out interview and acoustic footage of the band performing “Big Shove” and “Imprint” at www.thebasement.com.au. As for some tales of the trip? Read on…a piece from their trip abroad: Australia…this place pretty much kicks ass. The band arrived for their first trip down under in time to take in the sites and freak out at everybody’s accent before playing their first show in Sydney at The Metro. MMM Radio or “Triple M” sponsored the doubleDrive shows and had winners from a contest flown in from Brisbane to meet the band and do the do. Rental gear for the boys to play arrived and the more than qualified Crew for the events (Craig, Bozz, Dave, Tim) was on the ball and handling things from the onset, all was lookin’ good. The band starts up for a blistering set and… Troy’s amp takes a dive right outta the box. No signs of recovery. Fuckin’ hilarious, right? He’s runnin’ in a circle and Josh, Donnie and Mike are plowin’ on down the road, beatin’ a path thru ’11:59′ and ‘Inside Out’. The crew’s hands were tied and the bands thinking, “Any sign of that amp yet?”. “All right people, how’s everyí¢ä‰åŒ_” and the show goes on. That piece o’ shit amp still ain’t workin’. But somehow after 3 songs of what should have been a bleak situation gone ultra bleak, laughter saved the show. Don’t ask how, but when the train starts it just goes. “We go halfway around the world with all this anticipation and build up to have an amp drop out on the first song…welcome to Australia!” and everyone was laughing with the fellas as they settled into their home away from home, the stage. “Everybody say, ‘we love you Troy you sonofabitch!'” and they did. The acoustic came out and Donnie and Troy stripped it down and reeled in the crowd with humor and genuinely captivating performances of ‘Big Shove’ and ‘Million People’. An exchange of amp heads – including one from the opening band, Plunja – got some rock happening on stage left and the party was brought up to warp speed for the remainder of the night. The band finished its set and knew it had made a connection to everyone with eyes and ears. A meet and greet ain’t complete without pool, people and of course Crownies and Victoria Bitters (do the math). Tons of media and press the whole time and the band did it all. Interviews with Kerrang!, Ralph (all men must have a copy), The Basement.com.au, TV and Film mags, webzines, Radio and the like were all met through the week with handshakes, smiles and songs from Blue in the Face as the boys left their indelible Imprint on the land down under. Now, off to Melbourne. A quick plane flight (1 hr 퉌_) and the band was at it again with Triple M and Austereo doing interviews and playing in some pretty cool studios for their taped performances to be aired throughout the coming months. Covers of ‘Pets’ from Pornos for Pyros and hints of ‘Up the Beach’ from Jane’s lured curious minds into the control room for an afternoon with dD as they played more from BITF. A trip to the Roadrunner office to sign posters and do phoners while listening to AC/DC, then off to the venue for sound check (with 4 amps this time). A quick but important photo shoot, then some rock. Plunja started things up again and dD prepared to do it old school. This time the band was relentless and it only took a few songs to get the new listeners motivated. We know the band is good to watch but they know how to access the magic pretty often. Donnie primed the pump and the audience let loose for what would be a stellar 1:10 minute set. “í¢ä‰åŒ_damn, this feels goodí¢ä‰åŒ_” and the crowd agreed loudly. At the last minute, sounds from earlier in the day surfaced in a “why not” sort of fashion and the band convened to let loose on some songs in the key of ‘Angus’ and pulled out ‘Shot Down in Flames’ from AC/DC, the Aussie natives themselves, before slamming it into ‘Seek and Destroy’ for good measure. “We hit the dressing room which is like right behind the stage and no sooner than you crack a beer you could hear, ‘we want more, we want moreí¢ä‰åŒ_’ that’s a fuckin rock show, jack!” So what was the highlight for the guys? Bondi Beach or playing on TV for 2 million people? Or maybe the encore in Melbourne? “I think it’s the possibilities, we love our jobs”