FULLY AMTD: Australian Music Scene Reflections with Support Act and Ocean Grove’s Dale Tanner

Music permeates every facet of our living being. For us as fans, it is the lifeline to an otherwise dull and monotonous world, invigorating our souls with a glimmer of otherworldliness and providing an integral escape from reality in the form of live music. Yet, despite the joy that this craft enriches us with, there is a very sombre discussion that lingers behind the tracks that anthem our best moments. 

In Australia, the presence of networks like Support Act has offered a lifeline to artists caught in the spiral of life as a musician. With open arms, this organisation offers judgment-free emergency support counselling and crisis funding, beaconing solace in times that seem as though one’s whole world is imploding. Known colloquially for events like the now highly celebrated Aus Music T-Shirt Day, just last year alone, this event raised $981,000 and has annually brought more light to the desperation of the situation at hand. 

Support Act is integrating itself into everyday conversations, helming discussions on how we as fans can foster and support those in front of the microphone. Today, during the heart of Aus Music Month, we had an introspective chat with Support Act ambassador and Ocean Grove frontman, Dale Tanner. Having traversed through the toughest to the most gratifying moments of a musician's life, his story begins to outline the journey towards support and the importance of a helping hand. His journey culminates in the discussion of Fully AMTD, a festival now in its third year, with all revenue going back to the organisation that kept him afloat.  

Read on or watch the full chat below...

I assume most Wall of Sound readers are pretty competent in the knowledge of what you do for a living. But briefly, for those who don't know, what has been your primary experience working as an Australian musician?

I guess in a nutshell, I have performed as, originally as bassist and vocalist in my band Ocean Grove, which formed, gosh, way back in 2010, making me sound old. But yeah, so nearly half my life, my only band, and we formed in Melbourne. We have just been chipping away and slowly building our career ever since. Then I became frontman back in 2019. Now I'm the frontman vocalist, that's my duty now. We are lucky enough to go and tour the world. We've done plenty of touring this year around Europe, America, and Australia off the back of our recent album.

For those who don't know our sound, it's very much a nu-metal hybrid of sounds that we term Odd World music. It's our own flavour and twists on a lot of our influences. That would definitely be my main involvement when it comes to music.

Ocean Grove has made waves, you have breached America, but at your core, it is still an Australian project. On the topic of Australian Music Month and it being November, there are a lot of issues that come up, both economically, socially, and mental health-wise. Was there a moment in your career that you realized it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows to be a musician and that this would become intertwined in this career?

Yes. I guess there are a couple of points to that. I mean, being an Australian artist is a blessing and a curse. I think we're riding a very exciting wave right now in heavy music, especially! Wherever we go in the world, people are constantly asking the question of, “What's in the water down there?” It seems like everything that comes from Australia is just super potent and great, and it's just the best stuff is all Australian. It's a really lovely thing to hear because you can't help but agree and look around and be like, “Wow, yeah, these are all my friends, and this is the community that I've grown up in”. I'm so proud to look around and agree with that sentiment that, yeah, all these Aussie bands and artists are crushing it. There's so many great exports over the last 5, 10 years of this next generation that are really putting Australia and Australian heavy music on the map. I think because we are isolated by being down here on our island away from the rest of the world, it does force us to, I think, dig a little deeper. 

Things are just that little bit harder for us to reach that global market and whether that's just our sound being able to make it on American radio or to physically be able to get over there on tour. These things are expensive. That is, I guess, in terms of the blessing, the curse, that's the difficult part is that it's a lot harder and a lot more expensive for us to be able to do that. But I think the isolation also is what gives us that opportunity to thrive because we don't really have another option. It's a bit more cutthroat in that sense, where we really had to dig deep. It's really great that I think the community and just the encouragement that comes from one another and that sentimentality and energy that is surrounding supporting one another, I think is really growing day to day. You can feel that it's the tall poppy syndrome that has been so synonymous with Australian culture, I think is hopefully slowly dying off. It's really nice to be on a tour like we were just in Europe with Thornhill with three Australian bands and everyone's championing one another, everyone's celebrating each other's successes. Everyone's getting up and having a really great show and their own version of a headline set some nights. It hasn't necessarily always been that way. It's nice to be experiencing that firsthand and witnessing that evolution of a mentality of like, things are really, really difficult. They're only getting harder since COVID with the expenses of flights and whatever else just to put on a tour. 

As difficult as it is, it's pushing us to be better, be better musicians, be better people, and encourage one another on that journey.

Absolutely. I do like at the core, it's this sense of mateship and relating to one another. In some of the emails that were sent across to me before we had this chat, within the resources, I actually found out a lot more about Support Act that I wasn't aware of before, such as the hotlines available to artists and some more of the help that they do. When did it become privy to you that there actually was someone beyond artists helping each other to help you out as well?

I was reached out to quite a few years ago. It was, I think, around the beginning of the pandemic. I had been aware for a couple of years about Aus Music T-shirt Day, which is Support Act's largest fundraising day of the calendar year. I've been aware of that for a couple of years. Then Support Act had actually reached out to see if I would like to be an ambassador for the day a few years ago, to which at that point, that was my moment of taking a closer step in and really understanding that this is an amazing resource and organisation that not every country and not every scene in the world is fortunate enough to have. That safety net is so crucial, especially at a time right now where everything is just super temperamental and it's so unpredictable, having just gone through a pandemic and just the uncertainties that come with day-to-day life being a musician. 

You don't know when your next gig is going to come, and whether that paycheck is going to come. 

‍All these things that are just growing, growing stresses. It's amazing to have this charity and support act. That was my entry point, becoming an ambassador for Aus Music T-shirt Day and using that as a platform to voice and spread this message of why something like a Support Act is so crucial to our community. From there, I've been an ambassador every year since, and it's only just become more and more entwined with my story and my life because they've also been there to support me through my own difficulties.

Through all this difficulty and turmoil, it has flourished into something beautiful in the form of the Fully AMTD festival. Is it now making its third year in a row?

Yes, it's third year this year!

Now, for you, what goes into picking the artists that are going to be making an appearance?

Yeah, that's a great question! For me, it really comes down to an enthusiasm and a passion for what the show is about.

What makes Fully AMTD so unique is that it's the one show of the year that doesn't just focus on someone's album launch. It's not someone's headline. It's not a focus on anyone's particular spotlight or moment; it's a chance for us all to take a step back from that for a moment and actually focus on something a bit bigger than any individual, a bit bigger than ourselves. That being the scene and the community, and these topics of mental health and the conversations around that are vital.

It's important for us to gather and celebrate the Australian scene, but also talk about these really important topics. That's why I think a live show and a gathering like this, I felt, was so important, and I felt so inspired to start a few years ago. The way I go about choosing acts is it helps that they're friends. It's obviously a very good starting point. But that's not to disclude those that I haven't met yet. There have been many bands that have already played Fully that I've met through the process of them playing. Now, they become friends and see them on the street or see them at a show. It's like we're now forever more connected because of that. 

But as I said, I think the main factor for me is if I approach certain acts that I think will fit the criteria, if they're coming to me with a yes, can do, I would love to be part of it, a passionate attitude, I think that really speaks volumes. For me, that's a lot more important than, say, just the hot topic of the week or the band. The band is just going to pull tickets, but it isn't necessarily really representative of what this show is standing for. I think what's been really cool about these shows is that everyone, without me really having to say anything, everyone takes their moment on stage to voice something that they are standing for and that they're passionate about. That doesn't even necessarily need to relate to Support Act or mental health in general. It could be anything. But I find that in this process of selecting these artists, when I know that they grasp the idea of what I'm doing, I have a trust to know that, well, no matter what they stand for, it all comes back to this central point. That's been really reassuring. That's been my compass needle and my guide.

As long as there's that passion from that end, and they're really about it, and it's not just about the money or just about just another show, I think that's, again, what makes this show unique is that the selection process is a little different to usual.

That's quite an eye-opening sentiment to share because this feeling from the crowd, I assume, permeates backstage. There's a chance for you all to relate in a similar way behind the scenes. I know at every other show, you're always having these feelings of it's performing, it's getting out there, it's doing our best. But I feel like at a show like this, it's more so “look at how we're coming together and fostering community”. We're all doing this with the same intention in mind. And I think that's a really beautiful thing.

Yeah, no, fully. That's one of the best parts about the show. And that's the reason that encourages me to put it on again each year is that the feeling in the room and the connectedness and the warmth and the love that is being shared around the room is really infectious. And I think going back on that point of because it's not about anyone's particular show, and it feels very community-driven, there is that sense in the room that everyone here is here for that same reason. It's really nice speaking to some of the artists from last year and hearing how... Because with this selection process, I'm not basing it on one particular genre. I'm probably overly ambitious, but I like to be ambitious with trying to have as much a diverse lineup as possible, demographically, sonically, just trying to see how far we can push this envelope of really trying to get a nice cross-spread of the great amount of Aussie acts that we have in this country. There are a lot of bands and artists that come together on these shows that might not ever actually play shows together because that crossover isn't normally a natural thing, whether it's a punk band and an indie band. It just wouldn't normally work other than being maybe at a festival. But the festival doesn't have that very close, intimate setting that Fully AMTD does. I've had to just reflect with me saying, since that show, we've remained in touch, and we did relate to each other on topics outside of music. We're doing cool things outside of music. How cool is that? It's connected communities that might not have otherwise been connected, and it's created new friendships. That's the thing that I'm super proud of.

In the scope of that, besides the festival itself, you've had these conversations with so many people and how there's been almost a domino effect of this supporting Australian music culture. What has been the most heartwarming story of Australian musicians joining together for a cause that you can recall?

That's a great question. We took part in the Bushfire fundraiser at the Corner Hotel back in 2020. That was right before the pandemic. That felt like a pretty heartwarming moment where, in a matter of days, we were able to pull together a show that really just made action happen really quickly. It just showed the power of music, but also, I think, the integrity of heavy music as well. I think we just have a very precious community here in Australia. 

The other day we're at one of the shows and we were setting up merch, for instance, it's a bit of a tangent, but the staff were looking at the merch set up and in the boxes of the T-shirts. There wasn't really any cloth over the table to hide it away or whatever. They're looking at being like, “Oh, is there going to be people manning the merch stands all night? It looks like a bit of a five-finger discount type situation”. A bit concerned that maybe some T-shirts are going to get pilfered and whatnot. We're all standing there being like, "No, I think it'll be okay”. It was so cool to look at one another. I honestly said, in the 10 years that I've been doing this, and I'm normally manning the merch a lot of the time, I can't recall a single occasion where, yes, it would be quite easy for someone to probably just grab a shirt and make off with it. I can't recall a single occasion where that's actually happened. 

That's, for me, really heartwarming to know that in our scene, our community, and the heavy world in general, there's just this understanding that there’s a no dickhead policy, I would like to think. But as far as I believe, that's just how it is. We're all looking at each other, being like, that's not really the vibe of these shows. People don't really do that. I think that's a really cool thing to actually be able to truthfully say and believe.

Going back to what I was saying, in a bigger sense, that fundraiser was a really good example of that. Selling out a show and just seeing everyone come together. We raised a whole bunch of money and really helped out those who were doing it far worse than us in another part of the country that had been devastated by those fires. There are many other examples I'm sure I could think of, but that's one that's come to mind. 

On the topic of T-shirts as well, funny that you mentioned it. Aus Music T-shirt Day has gained so much exposure. It's becoming a primary force in the workplace to show your pride a little bit. Obviously, some things don't get as much exposure. As an artist to a fan, what are some of the main ways fans can support Australian music?

It probably sounds like a broken record because it is, unfortunately, just the truth, but it really is buying that ticket into a local show of a band that you like and you want to support. Getting that ticket but even better, bringing a mate along who hasn't maybe seen them or heard of them before. Because when we're on tour, some of the best interactions are when someone's been a fan, they've brought a friend along, or they've brought their partner along. They're coming in maybe blind, having no idea or context of what it's going to be like. They're coming up after the show, having experienced it going, “Wow, that blew my mind. I'm an immediate new fan. Let me buy a T-shirt, let me buy a CD”, whatever it might be. You have that instant conversion and real-life moment of changing someone's life, which is really cool. But that's a It's a very direct way. Sometimes, that friend that's been brought along becomes a bigger fan than the person who brought them to the show. That then has a ripple effect. They're then coming to the very next tour that comes along. They're there and they've brought another friend. That's a really cool way to do it. 

Getting a ticket, bring your friend to a show.

 Buying merch is obviously a massive one as well. That's where I think Aus Music T-shirt Day is touching on that and reminding people that the act of buying a band T-shirt, as you're wearing yourself, is a fantastic way and the most direct way to support an artist, especially when they're on tour. It's the main lifeline and the make-or-break element of any tour for any up-and-coming artist nowadays. To be truthful, especially in the heavy world. Again, that's a unique thing about our world is that you rock up to some venues and there's three bands playing, and the merch set-up is sometimes close to 20 designs up on the wall. You’ve never seen such a merch display. It's almost like a little shop. People are used to just maybe the headline having one T-shirt, and that's it and not really much else. 

Merch is such an integral part of the heavy music scene and community, and the way that we can keep doing what we're doing. They're the major ones that cannot be denied. 

I think beyond that, there are obviously ways of using social media and things like that that are beneficial, too. But they're no doubt the big ones.

Absolutely. You've got bands now that are making really cool shoes and selling them too… 

Yeah, exactly! Haha! You can almost get anything you want now.

A final big drumroll moment. Who will you be repping for Aus Music T-shirt Day this year?

That's a great question. Just because it's been such a significant year, tying my story so significantly, and our story has been so significantly tied with this band. It's been such a massive year for them.

Having just won an Aria and all the touring that we've done this year, I was able to pick up a Thornhill shirt on one of the final dates of our Europe tour. Something tells me maybe that might be the go on the day.

We've known them for a long time. They've been very good friends of ours, and it's been such an honour to tour the globe and really support and celebrate such an amazing album. They're just going from strength to strength. I would love to have a more local artist T-shirt, but I think I might have to pick that one up at Fully AMTD from one of the bands that's playing my show. I think that'll be my next chance to grab a newbie.

It'll be Thornhill on Thursday, but then come Saturday, there might be a new one in the bag. 

Aus Music T-Shirt Day is happening this Thursday!! Rummage through your drawers and champion your favourite Australian band in your workplace, in the park, or even on your couch! If you would like to extend your reach further, click here to donate directly to Support Act’s growing 2025 tally! 

To celebrate the nation of music at Fully AMTD, find the tickets here! 

Written by Georgia Haskins @ghaskins2002