Grand Masters

Brisbane rockers Grand Atlantic make the sort of music your favourite band probably used to before they disappeared up their own arse; the sort of straightforward, unabashed power pop tunes that seem destined to monopolise radio waves and conquer the world.

“Everyone tells you how crazy South By SouthWest (SXSW) is,” says frontman Phil Usher, fresh off the plane after a victorious North American tour that included a stop at the legendary Texan festival, “but we managed to make some really good in-roads.

“We've got a lawyer representing us in the States now. He's a heavy hitter. Lawyers are the new A&R guys, so he'll be really handy. And we had some meetings with booking agents as well, so it felt like we achieved more than what we set out to do. That's a good feeling.”

Usher admits the band enjoyed their US touring experience - “the boys from Grand Atlantic like to party pretty hard, and you can probably just leave it at that” - but the focus is now firmly on this weekend's Big Arvo In at The Caxton. It'll be their first chance to get re-acquainted with local fans that followed their overseas adventures from afar.

“It's amazing how many people were living vicariously through us over there. We were pretty active online, and we got a lot of love back from people here. It's really nice to come home and give something to those people.

“We played the Big Arvo In last year, and it draws an interesting crowd. It's not just people who would normally come out to see live music in Brisbane, so that's pretty cool … as long as we don't have to play in front of the bloody NRL on the big screen again this year!”

As international praise continues to flood in for their 'How We Survive' LP, and the band prepares to visit Japan and the States (again) later this year, chances to see Grand Atlantic in their hometown are just getting rarer.

“There are quite a few doors opening in the States,” Usher says. “We've been getting a lot of airplay there, and you've got to go where the love is. There has been talk of relocating there if the opportunity comes up with a good label. Things can happen pretty quickly in the music industry.”

Grand Atlantic play The Big Arvo In at The Caxton Hotel on Sunday April 4. ‘How We Survive’ is available now through Laughing Outlaw Records/ Inertia.