Tonight Alive: 'Our Live Scene Is Dead'

With Tonight Alive's new record set to be released later this month, vocalist Jenna McDougall has expressed concern over Australia's live music scene, citing their frequent international tours as a necessity to stay afloat.

“I just feel like there's not a community,” McDougall told theMusic.com.au on the eve of the band's forthcoming Australian tour. “I'm not sure where that fire has gone that there was when we first started.”

“There was such a scene, and even if you didn't know the bands that were playing on a Friday night, you still went; just because the venue was cool, or because there was always a crowd there. I'm not sure that so much exists around music now. I don't know what it's going to take to bring it back, but I hope we can be part of the wave of it.”

The band has spent most of 2013 touring internationally, only returning to record their new album, The Other Side.

“There's definitely a bigger market for our type of music overseas. I think it's just going to take being able to really ground ourselves internationally before Australia can really grab onto that as well.”

Having toured the US Warped Tour earlier this year and in 2012, Tonight Alive are set to appear on the festival's Australian comeback. McDougall hopes the festival will reignite the some of the lost passion.

“I just really hope it triggers something in the Australian music scene because it's so difficult, even for Australian bands, to be successful here. Unless you're maybe in an indie scene or if you get radio play and you're a solo artist. It's really hard for rock music to thrive here, because it's so hard to sell tickets and there's only so many venues you can play.

“I just hope this ignites something for Australian music fans, and I really hope that it keeps coming back and it keeps giving bands an opportunity to tour and get that exposure and experience in an other way.”