Maidstone is a four piece local Perth Rock band that really pumps the beat out. Maidstone offer a visual performance as well as an aural one showing that age can really assist a band trying to make it in the already difficult Perth music scene.

The calibre of sound that these guys perform is amazing, with the base player having a style that has been unseen since the 70's with some wicked moves and sounds coming out from his much loved base guitar.

We could see that Maidstone is serious about what they do and it definitely shows in the way they perform, with catchy intros that lead into some solid guitar work, solid beat and lyrics.

In our books Maidstone is up there with the some of the best live rock performers that we have witnessed in Perth.

To find out more info about Maidstone and where they are gigging, check out there website at www.maidstonemusic.com.

(Darryl Westrup)

****

Tell us about Maidstone.

Maidstone is a four piece rock band, Keanan (vocals/guitar), Mark(guitar), Paul (bass) and Justin (drums) that formed in mid 2003. Keanan and I did heaps of gigs as an acoustic duo before we tried forming a band - which took us nearly 2 years to get right! We hated playing acoustically in the end as it was something we never wanted to do. Keanan, Justin and I are all local guys - Paul came over from Canberra in 2003 and lucky for us joined the band just as we started tracking Bombay's Night at Studio Couch. It's been about 200 gigs so far for us and it feels like we're only now starting to find our own sound.

Since your first gig as a duo in 2001, how has Maidstone evolved since then?

It's taken a lot of hard work to get the band to this point. We're getting close to where we want the band's sound to be. We've tried changing everything from band members, guitars, amps, songs - you name it we tried it.

I believe it's the consistent gigging as well as constantly trying to upgrade our equipment that's helped move the band forward. The band is definitely getting heavier - which again is something we're happy about but something we never really planned.

What success have you had with your debut EP "Bombay's Night" since its release in November 2003?

For a debut EP that was recorded as quickly as is was we have had so much go right for us. Locally Nova FM picked us twice for WA made band which got "can't breathe" and "little things" high rotation. The EP was also Album of the week on RTR FM, Twin Cities FM and Groove FM. A few tracks got on compilation CDs and we had strong interest from commercial radio stations in Sydney - it was great the way they gave us constructive feedback. The EP was also a WAM (West Aust Music) featured EP for over 6 months!

JJJ also loved the disk. Lucky for us a number of presenters took the time to listen to the disk, give us some useful feedback and even give it a spin on home and hosed. We've also had some interest from USA based record companies, producers and engineers which should help us for our next release in 2005. We learned a lot by doing Bombay's Night - it's a good representation of where the band was at over 12 months ago.

Bombay's night is essentially a demo EP - it's the first recording Maidstone has done as a band. We're almost out of our first batch of CDs so the sales have not been too bad at all.

We see you in many SLAM line-ups, what has SLAM done for you?

We owe Stevie D big time, he is the nicest guy in the Perth music scene. SLAM has given us so many opportunities to play at some great venues. There are so many gig opportunities in Perth - we're so lucky. Consistent gigging is what has helped us get tighter and more confident in what we're doing.

What's in store for Maidstone in 2004/5?

We're going to be recording again in Sept 2005. LA based producer Anthony Cormican will be producing the project; we'll start tracking at Loop studios. The next Maidstone CD will be bigger and better, very different to Bombay's Night. Our focus for the next 6 months will be recording and writing new songs as well as plenty of live shows.

****

Click images for larger view

© 2004 - WA Gig Guide