Over the past few years indie rockers the Vanns have begun to cement their place as one of the country’s favourite up and coming bands.
Their debut album Through the Walls made waves in 2019 and was featured on triple j, leading to a spot on Like A Version where they performed Bon Iver’s Hey, Ma – a cover that has racked up 6.5 million streams on Spotify to date.
Having released their second album Last of Your Kind last year, which peaked at eighth spot on the ARIA charts, the Vanns are joining the growing number of bands prioritising regional areas around Australia with a 21-date tour around the country.
The tour, which kicked off this week in Victoria, brings the Vanns to the Torquay Hotel on Friday, March 1, a venue the band’s drummer Andrew “Banjo” Banovich said was one of their favourites.
“The last time we did Torquay it was a pretty rowdy one,” Banovich said.
“We’re always excited to get back to Torquay because of how much fun we had there the last time. It’s a cool little room – the bars on the roof are kind of at head height if you’re on that stage – which feels a bit grungy and underground and it’s real fun there.
“It kind of reminds us of venues we grew up playing in, more so than the venues that we do these days, so it’s nice to go back to those types of venues and keep doing that. So we’re super pumped for Torquay.”
While Banovich grew up as friends with the other members of the band – “I was in bands and we were opening for their bands and sometimes they were opening for the bands I was in” – he was not one of the original members.
Instead, Banovich had focused on session playing, audio visual production, drum teaching and study.
But when he was asked to join the band after the departure of former drummer Lachlan Jones, he jumped at the chance.
“When the lads asked me to be a formal member of the band I was pretty excited,” he said.
“I think I made the right choice, to put some more heart into the things I’m doing and committing to something. It’s quite rewarding.
“It’s also just an excuse to hang out with your mates all the time, really; you can’t get in trouble for ‘working’. I get to see my best mates all the time, I think that’s my favourite part.”
