It is, apparently, another sparkling day in paradise when Luke Kilpatrick picks up the phone. As the temperatures dip and Hong Kong chokes on its own exhaust fumes, he describes the scene that surrounds him. The sun is shining down on Byron Bay - a picturesque beach town in northern New South Wales, Australia - and cool, fresh air is blowing in from the ocean. There's even a chorus of crows in the background, laughing, it seems, at just how perfect life can be. 'Byron Bay is just a beautiful town, with the backpackers and the beach,' says Kilpatrick. 'And yes, there's the crows - quite a few of them today, actually. It's not really the classic metal town or anything - it's just a surf beach, a tourist Mecca. But we just got into this sort of music and started putting on shows. And people started coming to see us.' And that's what makes Kilpatrick's story so surprising. From the peace and quiet of life on the beach has come one of Australia's most frantic metalcore outfits. Kilpatrick and his mates formed Parkway Drive in six years ago and they have shaken the Aussie music scene to its foundations. The band has graduated from playing small venues in their hometown to sharing the stage with the likes of Killswitch Engage and the Dillinger Escape Plan on tours of the US and Europe. And they're about to spread their message through Asia, with a tour this month that will take them to the mainland and Hong Kong before they head through Southeast Asia. 'Most of us met while we were at Byron Bay High School,' says Kilpatrick. 'We just all knew each other right from when we were kids and had come through other bands together. We all hung a lot. Except Jeff [Ling] - he was a bit of a random [addition] who we just heard could play guitar. That's how he got into the band. It all started for us at the start of 2003.' Parkway Drive has settled on a lineup of Kilpatrick and Ling on guitars, Winston McCall on vocals, Jia O'Connor on bass and Ben Gordon on drums. They shared the same influences from the start and so have been able to explore the band's sound as a unit. 'We all started off listening to a lot of punk - bands like Pennywise - and then we all started to get into more hardcore Australian stuff like Toe to Toe,' says Kilpatrick. 'But as the internet got more popular there were more bands we could listen to.' Thanks to its position on Australia's tourist circuit, Byron Bay has plenty of pubs and a fair share of live music. But Parkway Drive found it better to strike out on their own. 'There's a pub circuit here, but we've only played a pub here once and probably never will again,' says Kilpatrick. 'But 10 years ago we all started putting on shows just so the younger bands could play. When something gets trendy at school everyone starts following it and they all start coming. That's what happened with us, and it started blowing up.' After first hiring a youth centre with a capacity of 250, the band quickly established a following and soon were booking their old high school hall - and packing in 1,000 people at their shows. It wasn't long before the noise the boys were making was picked up in Australia's larger cities, and by acts that were trying to chart a similar course. 'We were lucky because I Killed the Prom Queen wanted to put out a split release with us early on in our careers,' says Kilpatrick. 'They already had a presence Australia-wide - a small one - but that led to us touring with them. That got us out there right away.' The rise of music with a harder edge in Australia also boosted their success - as did the contract they signed with the Epitaph label, home to the likes of Green Day and NOFX. They've now released two full-length CDs on Epitaph - 2005's Killing with a Smile and Horizons (2007). The success of those releases - Horizons entered the Aussie charts at No6 - has meant Parkway have been able to tour almost constantly over the past few years. 'There's more of a hardcore scene here than metal,' says Kilpatrick. 'And we're lucky in a way, because we're still small enough, I suppose, to be able to play the regional venues but big enough to support the major acts that can only play the big cities.' The trip to Asia is something new for all the members of the band, but Kilpatrick says they have had plenty of contact with Asian hardcore fans through various internet forums. 'We've played Japan, but never to China or Southeast Asia,' he says. 'To be honest, we know absolutely nothing about the music scene there. Some of our friends have been out there and they have told us the audiences are crazy, ridiculous and out of control - so we can't wait.' And although there is a certain - and perhaps more lucrative - life on offer for Parkway overseas, the boys are content to stick close to home. 'When we first tried to get out of Australia and start touring, a lot of labels and such weren't interested because we were based in Australia,' says Kilpatrick. 'They wanted us to move to America. But we're happy being at home. 'We had to do it the hard way, and do everything ourselves, but it has all come together,' he says. 'So there's no reason why we can't be based in Byron Bay - we've proven that. And being away from home so much means you just enjoy coming home so much more. It's the best place in the world to live, I reckon.' Parkway Drive, Feb 5, 7.30pm, Hang Out Youth Outreach Centre, 2 Holy Cross Path, Sai Wan Ho, HK$150 (advance), HK$180. Inquiries: 9528 5433
