Photo by Bonn Creative, 2022
The city of Melbourne/Naarm can boast about its quantity of quality musicians and artists. So much of this is due to the culture the people who make up the scenes cultivate, and the artistic drive of the individuals dedicated to creating. With so much incredible work being produced it takes a special flare to really stand out and declare yourself as something to truly keep an eye on. Whether it be a unique take on a sound, a striking visual element, or an impressive live show these attributes are what so many creators strive toward to break out. One band who ticks all these boxes is Blue Vedder. A relatively new act whose sonic palette combines a collection of the alternative 90’s rock sub genres. Shoegaze and grunge with dreamy overtones that stands out as a contemporary take on these now over 20-year-old genres.
Blue Vedder is a project started by Seth Hancock during the late stages of 2020’s lockdown. Like many artists, Seth took this opportunity of isolation to experiment and write music. Enamoured with the varying sound from 90’s alternative rock Seth put together some Demos and ventured out to recruit for a band. One of the striking things about Blue Vedder’s formation was how seamlessly the four members came together. Lachlan Birch (Bass), Bryce Gardiner (Drums) and Lauren Eddy (Guitarist) had differing connections to Seth but managed to hit the ground running and began jamming the Demos Seth made in Lockdown. A crucial part to this building of musical chemistry was the 6-month period the four had before playing shows that they dedicated to practicing and building familiarity. Creating such a strong band dynamic was very important to Blue Vedder as their live sets have become a big part of the bands allure.
According to the band themselves their sound translates a lot better live. The layered textures of Shoegaze and its unique tones helps their live set feel like much more of an experience. Accompanying visuals to their set with projections supplied by Ollie Chapel enhance their already enchanting in person performance as the audience can be engaged on multiple levels. Blue Vedder have also credited their live shows as helping them gain fans. The always loyal DIY scene was also credited as being a great system of support. The live shows accumulating solid turn outs due to the scenes enthusiasm to check out new acts is a fantastic part of Melbourne/Naarms music community and Blue Vedders impressive live spectacle took advantage of this impressing many punters so early into their careers.
Visuals were a common theme throughout our chat and perhaps the most interesting link to visual stimuli was the way the band spoke about Colour. The way in which people associate imagery in their head with sound is inherently linked to their 90’s style of Alternative rock. The topic of the show Rage was bought up and the memories of watching music videos of the bands of that era. The grunge, Shoegaze, Hard rock and even Pop of that era having distinct visual cues that are just as linked to that era as their sound. It’s an indescribable feeling we are trying to chase says bass player Lachlan Birch. The avenue in which they are chasing this feeling is tying their song writing to Colour. One of their first singles Despite has an incredibly striking bright red cover art and the sound of the track was written to convey the feeling that this shade of red brings. With their new set of songs including their latest single Please (Proceed) the writing is focussed on the light blue. This intriguing connection between Colour and Sound provides an insight into the fully formed vision that Blue (hey another colour reference) Vedder have already despite their limited time as a band.
Also shout out to guitarist Lauren Eddy for being the first person we have met that has Synesthesia (being able to see colour in music)
Looking to the future Blue Vedder have many new and exciting things in the pipeline. They have a finished EP (make sure to look out for that) as well as some early plans for some sort of tour in the future. With lockdown over and now having the ability to write more together in person the band looks forward to collaborating more together and bringing each individual members own unique perspectives into their sound. As a mission statement for Blue Vedders sound Seth, Lauren, Bryce, and Lachlan look to create a sound that honours the niche stylings of the alternative DIY scene that can also be appreciated by more casual listeners. If their first 2 years as a band can tell us anything it’s that this statement is coming to fruition. Whether it be in a recorded or live setting, Blue Vedder are launching themselves from a strong foundation.
Keep up to date with Blue Vedder and follow them here
Listen to them via Spotify here
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