Sutherland Shire band WoodHill is announcing the release of their debut album at Caringbah Hotel on November 24.
The young three-piece alternative rock band will take to the stage to launch Honey Covered Razor Blades.
Taking inspiration from grunge, metal, blues, punk and funk, naming Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and The Beatles as their idols, WoodHill members include two year 11 students from Cronulla High School, Noah McCallum (vocals/guitar), Max Lizzo (bass) and on drums, Flynn Williams, who is studying music at TAFE.
The band formed in 2021 after they met at school, but it took a while for a musical bond to develop.
Their on-stage chemistry and fresh, distinctive sound was recently recognised in the statewide youth rock competition Boom Clash Rockstar, where they placed second from hundreds of entries.
A highlight is the single Left to My Own Devices, plus new songs People Think I'm Crazy and Void. The debut album was also recorded at Caringbah's Pyroelectric Studios. It's produced by Sutherland Shire's Sammy Ackerman and Benny Short, and mixed Brent Clarke who has previously mixed albums for Midnight Oil and Silverchair.
With their powerful guitar riffs, thrashing drums and explosive vocals, the band has already begun making waves on the local music scene.
Flynn, who has been playing the drums since he was in primary school, said the album has been a two year process. "We have been writing since we formed," he said. "We would practice every day at lunch time when we all went to school together.
"Expect very 90's grunge/alternative rock, with some more upbeat funky songs. No two songs sound the same."
Their upcoming gig will be more than an early career highlight. Across the road from the hotel is where Kenrays Menswear store once stood, a long- established business started by Flynn's grandfather, Ray Haining in 1957. The band's name is a sentimental nod to Ray, whose much loved rural property bears the same name.
Ray, who died two years ago, would no doubt be proud to see WoodHill on the billboard out the front of what was his drinking hole for more than 60 years.
See them at Caringbah Hotel at 7pm.
