Melbourne rockers Trial Kennedy have achieved something that many other bands fail to reach: longevity. Ten years in the music industry, to be exact.
Since their official conception in 2002, they have released a myriad of EPs, two full-length albums and have gone on tour literally hundreds of times. Sharing stages with bands such as Shihad, Gyroscope, Kisschasy, Fall Out Boy and Birds of Tokyo. A band with such a good track record as Trial Kennedy would not be without their diehard fans, so it was no surprise that with the announcement that their next tour would be their last, many a tear was shed.
The band’s vocalist, Tim Morrison, reflected on the band’s decision to break up and their plans for their national tour. “We’ve been through so much together,” he begins “so it would be incredibly hard to break the bond that we all have with each other.”
When asked about what the secret behind sticking together was , Morrison replies, “The most important thing is the fact that the four of us are friends, both in the band and outside of the band. We’ve been friends together since high school, so it’s actually been fourteen years that we’ve been a group for.”
Though Trial Kennedy as we know it may be coming to an end, or what Morrison calls “the closing of another chapter,” the singer wouldn’t indicated specific future plans. But as close friends, the quartet will certainly consider it to be something they can return to. “We’re going to remain best friends” says Morrison, “and I’m definitely not indicating anything but maybe Trial Kennedy will be revived later in our lives.”
“I have very strong feelings about people who leave a band and just throw away their talent,” he continues, “It’s stuff like that, that really keeps me up at night.” Nightmares of bands that split for no good reason? “I know of a few bands who went on hiatus,” says Morrison, “or just plain ended and now they’re in the work force and it’s so disappointing.”
“I mean, if, say, my drummer came to me and said ‘I want to be a forklift driver for the rest of my life’, that sounds pretty fucked up, but I’d totally support him in doing that. I’d just be a little disappointed that he isn’t using the incredible amount of talent he has.”
That being said, now that Trial Kennedy’s story is itself coming to a close, will there be other ways to ensure their own talents don’t go to waste? “I’ve got a few projects in the works that I started when we were in a bit of a lull,” reveals Morrison.
“Not because I felt like it was the end of us, but that’s just what we like to do. We love to make music!” says Morrison excitedly. Though best-known for pure-bred rock music, the members of the Melbourne-based band have other talents also, “one of us actually works at a company, pretty much writing jingles.” Then there’s always the offer of moonlighting for other acts, “I’m sure that we’d have our parts in filling in for other members in our friends’ bands, but really we may just have a well-earned rest at the same time.”
With such an extensive history of touring and gigging, it must be difficult for Morrison to pick a favourite among the Soundwaves and Big Day Outs. “Oh, wow” he concurs without subtlety, ‘there are too many to count.”
He does reveal a soft spot for Perth band Gyroscope however, “it’s definitely a toss-up between the tour before last and our really early tour with [them]. When we opened” reminisces Morrison, “they had been touring for a year or two already so they already knew the ropes.”
“They were so good to us,” he continues, “and it made the whole experience so much more fun. They really took us under their wing. The show before last was just really smooth and we all had a really, really fun time.”
Perhaps one final leg on the road will turn out to be Trial Kennedy’s fondest memory? “Yeah, definitely! We’ve tried to make it as much of a celebration as possible.”
The fans can help with the festivities too, enabling them to, as Morrison puts it, make “top requests for songs across our discography and making sure we play them, just to make things a little more special.”
Once again, his contentedness shines through, not only for what he and his bandmates have achieved, but also for the future. “ I’m hoping that it really is the perfect tour to see the first chapter of Trial Kennedy come to a close.”
– Tom Gaffney
