2ND AUGUST 2019

OCEAN ALLEY Q&A

We sat down with the fellas from Ocean Alley post European tour and talked all things work & play including their time in Portugal and love for all you can eat Sushi.

We sat down with the fellas from Ocean Alley post European tour and talked all things work & play including their time in Portugal and love for all you can eat Sushi.

What’s the best part about working/travelling together?

We always egg each other on and try to keep each other in a good mood. It’s a good thing to do when we are feeling crappy or a bit run down. But sometimes it's not ideal. Like when you get dared to eat a whole bowl of chilli or push your mate into a bush, stuff like that. It's always fun to be us with a bigger group like ours.

Tell us about your Euro tour? Highlights, funny stuff?

Travelling around Portugal with the Wrangler team was great fun. We spent the days swimming and enjoying the sun and ate some great food and partied at night. It's a place we'd never been and it was a cool opportunity to see the sights and feel some of the history in Lisbon and Lagos. Our show in London during the tour was a standout and the dark horse of the trip was definitely Zurich, Switzerland. We swam in the river, surfed on a wave machine and the show was in a super cool venue called Bogen F which was under an old viaduct. Too many good times to list them all here, we had so much fun and can't wait to head back and do it again.

How many sushi rolls do you think you collectively ate on your euro tour & best story involving sushi?

Maybe a dozen each per sitting. And we probably ate sushi 5 times during the trip. So maybe 60 times the 10 people on tour is 600 sushi rolls collectively in the month. Not a bad effort. As for the best story, there was this one Richy got, no joke, gnarliest roll I've ever seen. He stuck four of em' in his jean pocket and tried to walk out with them!

Whose had the worst haircut? (Explain the cut, how it happened, etc)

No one got a proper haircut this time around, although we were planning to give one to our videographer Tyler Bell. We bought scissors and everything but never got around to it. He's still due for one actually. Tom, Angus and myself actually shaved our beards into matching goatees so maybe that counts. We didn't have mirrors and it was in a dark carpark so we took it in turns holding up a light while the other shaved ya face. They stayed on there for about three days.

If you could be a part of any other band living or passed who would it be?

Rolling Stones. All the shit they've seen and done. The music they've made. And they're still doing it

What would your last meal request be?

Sweet nigiri.

Fave things about summer time?

Bindis and bluebottles.

How’d you guys start making music together?

We started when we were bored groms back in the day. Cheap instruments and crappy covers. It's all stemmed from that.

What are your biggest influences and inspiration for your music and style?

All the music we listen to, new and old, is probably where we draw most of inspiration for our music, even if we don't notice it.

Tell us a bit about a day in the life of OA. What’s the best part about your lifestyle/being part of the band?

If we are on tour it's normally traveling to the venue in the morning. A long afternoon and evening of loading in and sound checking and then after the show we normally have a few drinks to unwind. Nothing crazy we normally keep it pretty mellow. Don't won't a bloody headache in the morning am I right!! At home we go surfing and fishing and hang out with our friends and fam back on the beaches. Flying and spending hours in a shit van is not the most fun but seeing lots of new places is sweet as!

Dream gig venue/festival to play at?

Opera House would be sick. Not sure how you go about scoring a show in that room tho. Coachella would be cool too. So many people!

Tell us about your next tour to North America with Tash Sultana. What are you looking forward to most?

Tash has some huge rooms booked so they will some of the bigger crowds we've played to. Travelling around the states a second time I think it will feel familiar so maybe we can relax and take it all in more than last time. We're also keen to work and relax with Tash and her team. They are a great bunch of people.

A few of you guys live together too - who has the worst habits at home?

Everyone's got their shit habits but we get along pretty well. Mostly a bit of an "eye for an eye" kinda situation but we haven't killed each other yet. But to be honest Angus' sleeping addiction is getting out of hand. Time for an intervention.

Best part of living on the Northern Beaches?

Uncrowded surf.

Fave fit of Wrangler jeans?

I've got my Stompers on as I write this.

Would you rather...

All you can eat Pizza or sushi?

• Sushi

All you can eat seafood or Peri peri chicken?

• Seafood

A bad haircut or a bad sense of humour?

• Bad haircut

Can you add a few comments on your experience at:

All you can eat Sushi at Sushima in Lisbon

It really was all you could eat. And we ate all we could. I tried to take away a few nigiri in my jeans pocket. It wasn't as messy as you'd think so I can recommend this method of stealing sushi. Just don't put any wasabi on before it goes in the pocket.

Piri Piri traditional feast in Lagos

Best seafood feast I've ever had. We drank wine and ate crab and whole baked fish all afternoon. The chicken was awesome too. If you want the real deal, true authentic, nothing best going straight to the source.

Portugal: Lisbon & Lagos in general

In Lisbon we had a lot of fun getting lost in the city streets and venturing out without a map. The tiny bars with patrons spilling out onto the streets have such a loose vibe late at night. You can easily lose track of time and find yourself hungry and far from home at 4am. Lagos has a more laid back feel and being close to the ocean there's more to do like fishing swimming and boating. We went out for a sunset cruise and went snorkelling on dusk. A few beers on the way back to the wharf and we were ready to hit the town. The cliff top scenery was so spectacular and it was the perfect back drop for our photo shoot with the Wrangler team.

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