FINALLY FRIDAY: Train on track

By Cherie Donnellan
EVEN lead guitarist Josh Crawley seems surprised about the appeal of Graveway Train’s combination of horror-themed country-style music.
“It was a bit of a joke at first but I guess a lot of people like zombies and vampires,” Crawley laughed.
“We seem to attract everyone, though. Punk fans, goth fans, hippy fans, hillbilly fans – it’s a great mix and I love it.”
Graveyard Train will bring its unique musical styling to Geelong this month to release new album Hollow.
Crawley said the band’s previous albums were all about “mummies and werewolves” but the new album was less outlandish.
“In this album we sing more so about natural horrors in day-to-day life. There are still strong country stylings, though.”
Crawley reminisced about the foundations of the quirky sextet in a North Melbourne record bar where the members listened to the same country blues records.
“I came from a bluegrass background, so I had the country style already but the other guys came from punk bands, so when we came together it was about finding that blend.”
Lead vocalist Nick Finch had “a sort of obsession with death” that drove the haunted lyrics, Crawley observed, but the songs were usually a collaborative effort.
“We’re pretty much always on tour, so we get a lot of chances to spend time together and write. With six guys, the ideas can get blown up a bit.”
Uno was the band’s favourite downtime game while touring, Crawley revealed.
“It just calms everyone down. Actually, no, everyone goes psycho,” he laughed.
Graveyard Train organised an international tour in its early days after reading encouraging comments on the band’s YouTube videos.
“We figured there must be some sort of fans so we just booked it,” Crawley said.
“We did all the work ourselves. We all chipped in to book shows, get contracts and talk to radio shows, all that.”
Crawley was looking forward to playing in Geelong again.
“Last time we played we had a lunatic who tried to sing every song with us,” he laughed.
“It was hilarious. I hope that guy comes down again.
“We have really dedicated fans in Geelong.”
Graveyard Train plays at The Bended Elbow next Thursday.