Parkway Drive Isn’t Just a Street
Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia is home to the band Parkway Drive. It was in 2002 that band members first came together. From that time, the group has been able to release two split albums, two albums, one EP and one DVD.
Band Story
The story of the band’s name is a unique one. Parkway Drive used to practice in a house called Parkway House. The property sat on a street in Byron Bay from which the band took its name. The original band members then were Shaun Cash, Winston McCall, Jeff Ling, Brett Versteeg, Ben Gordon and Like Kilpatrick. At some point, the group collaborated with I Killed the Prom Queen to make the split EP “I Killed the Prom Queen/Parkway Drive.”
In the succeeding year, the band released “Don’t Close Your Eyes” which was their first EP with eight tracks. It was this first solo EP that eventually paved the way for the formation of a strong following for the band. A number of other bands, notably Hatebreed and Shadow Fall contributed to Parkway Drive’s fan base expansion after having performed in the same events.
May 2005 served as their first milestone when they traveled to the US to prepare and record their first ever studio album. After their first album titled “Killing with a Smile” was released, the band started to tour around to further promote the album. A year later, the album made its way to the US after they signed up with Epitaph Records. Around that time, bass player Shaun Cash left the band in good terms with the other members because of personal issues.
Later on, fellow bass player Brett Versteeg left the group too. Fortunately, Jia “Pie” O’Connor who had been friends with the band members for some time agreed to take on the role of bass player. The band was able to organize more tours, increasing their positive reputation among Australian fans and tour merch buyers. As a result of their expanding popularity, the EP “Don’t Close Your Eyes” was released again. It carried tracks from the Byron Bay Hardcore compilation and from the split EP. It wasn’t long before the second Parkway Drive album, “Horizons” saw the light of day.
Albums Out
It was “Killing with a Smile,” the band’s first album that really gave them their first big international break when it was released in the US in 2006. One contributory factor to its success is its producer, Adam Dutkiewicz, who is popularly associated with Killswitch Engage.
The second Parkway Drive album, “Horizons” came out October of 2007. It was a highly anticipated release because some of the songs were performed live. It was clearly a successful release since it took on the sixth spot on the ARIA Charts. In Europe, the album is multi-platinum and is officially the band’s bestselling work.
The band’s fans have something to look forward to in 2010 as an addition will be made to the Parkway Drive discography. Vocalist Winston McCall has revealed that a third Parkway Drive album is in the works. He calls it the band’s “rawest and heaviest record to date.” Fans can dig up more information about the album from the band’s official blog. The title of the yet to be released work is still unknown but its initial release will be before the Vans Warped Tour starts on June 2010.
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