Luca Brasi (band)

Luca Brasi are an Australian rock band formed in St Helens, Tasmania in 2009.  The current line-up of the band features Thomas Busby on lead guitar, Danny Flood on drums, Patrick Marshall on rhythm guitar and vocals, and Tyler Richardson on lead vocals and bass guitar.  To date, the group have released four studio albums: Extended Family (2011), By a Thread (2014), If This Is All We're Going to Be (2016) and Stay (2018); the latter became their first ARIA top 10. 

The band are currently signed to Cooking Vinyl Australia, and have toured with bands such as Violent Soho, PUP, You Me At Six, Turnover and Pianos Become the Teeth.  They have also performed at St Jerome's Laneway Festival, Splendour In The Grass and Falls Festival. 

History

Early years and Extended Family (2009–2011)
Luca Brasi - named after the character from The Godfather - formed in 2009 with Richardson, Busby, guitarist Mitchell Dobson and drummer Saxon Hall.  A demo EP, Sleeps with the Fishes, was released in 2010.  Three songs from the demo - "Theme Song From HQ," "Beacons" and "Isaac Bowen" - were re-recorded for the band's debut LP, Extended Family.  The album was recorded in Hobart with Nic White and Lincoln Le Fevre.  It was released in September 2011 via Poison City Records. 

Lineup change and By A Thread (2011–2015)
Shortly after the release of Extended Family, Patrick Marshall joined the band officially as a third guitarist.  This line-up would record one seven-inch together, entitled Tassie, in late 2012.  In September of that year Luca Brasi announced that founding drummer and guitarist; Saxon Hall and Mitchell Dobson respectively, would be leaving the band after playing their final show with the band at the Poison City Weekender in Melbourne.  Drummer Danny Flood – who had previously filled in for Hall on a tour with Title Fight in March 2013 - was brought in as a full-time replacement shortly before a national tour with Bodyjar.  Dobson was not replaced, converting the band back into a quartet.  

The band's second album, By a Thread, was released in March 2014; it was again put out through Poison City Records.  The album spawned two singles: "Borders and Statelines" and "Benthos," with music videos being made for both songs.  An assortment of songs that did not make the final cut of the album were compiled into an EP, Loose Threads, which was released in early 2015. 

If This is All We're Going to Be and Stay (2016–present)

A new single, "Aeroplane," was released shortly before the band undertook a national support slot on Kisschasy's farewell tour of Australia.  The song was the lead single from their third studio album, entitled If This Is All We're Going to Be.  It was released in April 2016 and marked the band's first-ever appearance on the ARIA Album Charts.  Their track "Anything Near Conviction" from the album was voted into the Triple J Hottest 100, 2016, at number 90.  Their Like a Version cover of Paul Kelly's "How To Make Gravy" was listed at No.  127 in the supplementary "Hottest 200" list.  The album also spawned the single "Count Me Out," which features vocals from Camp Cope vocalist/guitarist Georgia "Maq" Macdonald. 

In June 2017, the band released "Got to Give" and performed a headlining tour of Australia in support of it through June and July. " Let it Slip" was released in April 2018 followed by the band's fourth studio album, Stay on 22 June 2018; and is the band's first album to be released via Cooking Vinyl Australia.  The album peaked at number 10 on the ARIA Charts.  The band performed a six-date national tour to promote album in August.  After performing their tour's Sydney show, Luca Brasi called out several troublemakers on their social media for pushing and shoving people in the crowd, causing some fans to leave the show early.  Calling them "ropehead fucks," the band condemned their actions, stating "consideration for how you occupy space at shows, and showing respect for your audience mates, will always make for a better experience for everyone." 

The band announced another national tour for 2019, this time for their single "The Clothes I Slept In".  The tour is set to be the band's longest, spanning two months and twenty-one dates performing in regional hubs of all states. 

Members
Current members
 Tyler Richardson – lead vocals, bass (2009–present)
 Thomas Busby – lead guitar, backing vocals (2009–present)
 Patrick Marshall – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2012–present)
 Danny Flood – drums (2013-present)

Former members
 Mitchell Dobson – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2009–2013)
 Saxon Hall – drums (2009–2013)

Timeline

Discography

Albums

Extended Plays 

Singles
"Theme Song from HQ" (2011)
"Viva Tassie Cabrones" (2012)
"Borders & Statelines" (2013)
"Benthos" (2014)
"Aeroplane" (2015)
"Anything Near Conviction" (2016)
"Count Me Out" (2016)
"Got to Give" (2017)
"Let It Slip" (2018)
"Clothes I Slept In" (2018)
"Reeling" (2018)

References

Category:Australian punk rock groups
Category:Musical groups established in 2009
Category:Tasmanian musical groups