Tassie band Luca Brasi amazing act for fans who’ve been caught up in interstate floods disaster

Punk rockers Luca Brasi has revealed how they plan to give back to their loyal interstate fans doing it tough after the tragic mainland floods disaster. HOW YOU CAN HELP >>

It is the stuff of pure horror to look at the footage of flooded townships swept away and to see the faces of so many people you know whose lives are forever changed.

Memories of these faces and places continually flash through the mind of Tyler Richardson, frontman and bass guitarist of Luca Brasi, with the Tasmanian-based band having toured so extensively across NSW and Queensland over the past 11 years.

With a high profile platform and continually reaching new career highs, the band decided to use its success to help their cherished fans and friends.

Luca Brasi recently supported the Australian Red Cross and GIVIT in the Queensland and NSW flood appeals, organising a concert last week which raised more than $8000 and also made donations through merchandise sales online.

Luca Brasi frontman Tyler Richardson is angry and frustrated about what he feels is a lack of immediate and substantial government support for the flood victims. Picture: Matt Warrell

While determined to help, their motivation also stems from anger and frustration at what they feel is the lack of immediate and substantial government support for the flood victims.

“It always seems to fall to musos to band together and help out in scenarios like this, while people wait around for the government to do something,” Richardson says.

“It’s so sad.

“We’ve been touring for so long that these are people we know, places we know, musicians we know that have been affected and people who have been so good to us – so it’s lovely to be able to help them.

“It just sucks that helping people always falls to the community first.”

Richardson encouraged anyone with a few dollars to spare to donate to the flood appeals.

Family and community life is front and centre for Luca Brasi, with Richardson about to become the third band member out of four to take on the role of fatherhood in the coming months.

Hobart punk band Luca Brasi, from left, Thomas Busby, Danny Flood, Tyler Richardson and Patrick Marshall. Picture: SUPPLIED

The Hobart based punk-rockers – Richardson, Patrick Marshall (rhythm guitar/vocals), Thomas Busby (lead guitar) and Danny Flood (drums) – all hold down day jobs around their ever increasing band prominence.

Richardson is a wood and metal work teacher at Taroona High School.

“We all have young families and we’ve finally figured out that balance between work and our other passion of music,” he says.

“We have worked the band to the point where we can be weekend warriors, and still keep our day jobs.”

It’s a far cry from the early band ethos and subsequent song lyrics of “empty bottles, full hearts and no regrets” – which Richardson admits he cringes at now but says was representative of a time in their lives.

“When the first record came out I was a much younger man,” he says.

“As a 20-year-old you’ve got no responsibilities and cares, and you are just living your life.

“These days it’s a different ethos, more like have a few beers and go to sleep early.

“We never meant to be a band for this long, we just keep doing it and keep loving it and we’ve got that perfect formula now of band and home-life.”

While international acclaim has come their way it would seem the band has developed a softer side too.

Luca Brasi performing the JackJumpers theme song they composed at the team’s first NBL game in December. Picture: Nick Hanson

Luca Brasi is among a line-up of Australian artists who have recorded covers of classic tracks from popular long-running children’s group The Wiggles.

The group recorded a cover of The Shimmy Shake for the ReWiggled album, which was released on March 11, and was also the supporting act for The Wiggles when the group came to Tasmania, in February, for The Original Wiggles Reunion Tour.

“It was so cool to get a chance to play with them, they have no egos and nothing but pure love for what they do,” Richardson says.

“They are just legends.”

But true punk-rock is still the driving force for the Hobart-based group, renowned for their trademark melodies, meandering guitar lines, big drums and confessional lyrics.

With Covid-19 putting the music industry on ice, Luca Brasi is stoked to be out touring again from late March across Victoria, NSW and South Australia.

“When we released our last album (2021’s Everything is Tenuous) we didn’t have a chance to tour it, and album sales aren’t where people make money from, it’s the tours,” Richardson says.

“And I don’t think we realised how much we missed touring until it was gone.

“This industry has been hit so hard, so many musicians like us have worked their whole lives to be in a position where they can perform and travel with their band, so to have that ripped out from under us is awful.”

Luca Brasi lead singer Tyler Richardson, right, ahead of their performance at the Ashes, with Barmy Army trumpeter Darcy O’Malley at Blundstone Arena. Picture: Chris Kidd

Refusing to be stopped in their tracks by Covid’s tempestuous effects, the band spent the past year pursuing a variety of different and creative avenues.

Their successful February album release and related Tassie shows kicked off a stellar year, followed by collaborations in red wine with Built To Spill Wine and coffee with Straight Up Roasters, sales of printed shirts, sweats, crews and memorabilia in their online store, and rocking out at Party in the Apocalypse festival in Launceston.

“We’ve always had a million things going on all the time, we’re not good at standing still so definitely keep fingers in a lot of pies,” Richardson says.

Then of course, creating the theme tune for newly launched NBL team the Tasmania JackJumpers was a case of “write it and they will come”.

“We are massive basketball fans, so as soon as a team was announced I said ‘we are writing the theme song for this team’,” Richardson says.

“So we wrote it and dropped it in their lap, they didn’t ask us or anything, and we just awaited their response.”

Clearly well received, the band members were beside themselves to perform their composed piece at the JackJumpers first game on December 3, 2021, and for Spotify to list the theme-tune for streaming.

With 2022 starting to heat up as Luca Brasi kicks off its next tour and their music being available on three key streaming services; Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music, there is a clear goal in mind for the year.

“We are writing another record. We seem to keep doing it over and over, it starts with one song here and then it turns into 10 or more and then we think ‘well it’s time to get touring’,” Richardson says. •

For future concert dates visit www.lucabrasi.com.au and to donate to the

flood appeals visitwww.redcross.org.au/floodsappeal/ and www.givit.org.au/storms-and-flooding