MattBlack – Guitar/VocalsTravisDemsey – Drums/Vocals

JasonSkewes – Double Bass/Vocals

Sharing a name with a hard liquor ain’t no coincidence. In fact, the band Doubleblack and the booze are probably equally as comfortable in, on or behind a bar. But with a name reflecting the fact that there were two members of guitarist/frontman Matt Black’s family in the band at the time, Doubleblack is no stranger to the stage, nor a blistering live show­­­­­.

Australian music fans would know Black from The Fireballs and Fez Perez and drummer, Travis Demsey, from The Living End. If you want rock ‘n’ roll pedigree and proven musicianship, Doubleblack has it in spades.

Some years after mothballing thelegendary Fez Perez, Matt Black (Guitar, lead vocals) dusted off and fattened up the psychobilly sound he pioneered as one of the founding members of TheFireballs.

Coupled with an even fatter backbeat, thumping double bass and singing more than just backing vocals, Black took to song writing again with a vengeance and back to the stage with a newfound ferocity.

Jason Skewes spent ten plus years slapping double bass with many a Melbourne band, pursuing a sound both musical and muscular. His physical and melodic-style perfectly complement Doubleblack’s songs, equal parts roots and rock, propelling the band’s rhythm.

Paired up with Black on guitar on a stage, you’ll bear witness to maniacal, matching grins on opposite sides of the stage, egging each other on as the pace and intensity inevitably lift.

Last but very much not least, Travis Demsey joined Doubleblack in late 2012. Leaving The Living End at the height of their fame and sold out international tours, Demsey returned to Melbourne and, after drumming for a while with Celt rockers The Currency, went quiet – some mean feat for one of Australia’s hardest hitting drummers. Knowing his way around a powerful three-piece and knowing neither Matt nor Jason were in for the fame or glory, he quickly settled on the drum stool and bought another layer of song writing and musical arrangement to the table. Understated but definitely not underrated, Demsey is as solid as a rock.

Doubleblack’s debut 7-track EP entitled “Make Mine a Double” was independently financed and released in 2012. Tracks like the brooding opener, Burning Heart, and closer,Pedal To The Metal, equally bookend the EP and showcase the members’ musical approaches: it doesn’t matter what you dig, so long as it rocks and/or rolls,it’s all good.

The new single (and first recording with Demsey), Renegade, drops on iTunes in mid-May 2013, with a wink and a nod to Lux Interior and The Cramps. Backed by B-Side, Was It Something That I Said?,Renegade paints the picture of a wild colonial boy with an even wilder wife –all backed by a sneering, surf guitar beat.

Thoroughly entertaining in the true sense of the word, Doubleblack always delivers a high intensity show, honed from years of touring in Australia and abroad and a genuine love and passion for playing with like minded individuals.

It’s loud, hip shaking and holler inducing.

But most importantly, it’s honest and a helluva lot of fun – tongue planted firmly in cheek where it belongs.