Brisbane based 10-14 piece band Velociraptor are back on the scene, having recently signed to Dot Dash/Remote Control Records the collective will be releasing their follow up to the 2012 album The World Warriors later this year.

In the last year and a half a lot has changed for the band. After an international adventure to the UK and Europe the band lost 3 of its original lineup to the bright lights and cloudy skies of the United Kingdom. Never fear though – they’ve become the Velociraptor Euro Division and will be delivering some dance floor anthems indicative of their new hometowns.

Recruiting local legends George Browning and Yuri Johnson takes the current Velociraptor touring pool to 10 and a solid 8 when raptors Shane Parsons and Simon Ridley are on the road as DZ Deathrays. The band are currently on tour in support of the single Ramona.

In light of the new member rotations we asked raptor Jeremy Neale to introduce us to the best ‘biggest’ (literally) bands in the world, which may or may not be officially the biggest bands in the world.

Band Aid 1984

Members: 41
“It’s a big call but my favourite Band Aid song would have to be “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”. With a powerful celebrity roster of the who’s who of the pop game of the time the best part is that it saw two of my favourite artists share a recording studio and film clip – Phil Collins and Spandau Ballet. It also featured Sting whilst he was still writing gold and not “Fields Of Gold”. Not be confused with Spandau Ballet’s “Gold” which is pure genius.”

Apeace (formerly Double B 21)

Members: 21
“K-pop boy band sensations Apeace boast a roster of 21 bros. The band then separates into 3 teams of 7 so they can assumedly play 3 shows in 3 different locations at the same time and make a bunch of money. Though which team is your favourite? Lapis, Jade or Onyx?”

King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard

Members: 7
“Everybody knows King Gizzard but they consistently release great records at a blistering pace and their live show is pure power. I’ve only seen them when they’ve been in Brisbane but it’d be good to catch a hometown show one day.”

AKB48

Members: initially 48 but has at its biggest roster boasted 92.
“If you can’t remember all their names then you’re not a true fan and we shouldn’t continue this conversation but lets just say you do so we can keep talking. Sure things could get hostile when you’re training your understudy – ever aware that you’ll be replaced as soon as you reach an age deemed too old to J-ROCK but lets just honour the sense of family and unity whilst it’s there. It’s a restricted lifestyle too because public perception is king in this world but you get the freedom to sing and dance and be adored by all until you “graduate” from the band.”

Barbarion

Members: 7
“If you’re new to Melbourne’s Barbarion then the best place to start would be with the powerful video for their 2011 classic “My Rock”. My favourite song though is probably the self-titled track “Barbarion”. Self referential tunes for the win. Great live costumes. Great songs. Metal for life. \m/”

Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings

Members: 10
“It’s a necessary numbers of members for the genre but they’re totally badass and I’ve never met them so I have no stories about them but I’m glad they exist.”

Joe Hisaishi & New Japan Philharmonic World Dream Orchestra

Members: Joe + approximately 50 people in the Orchestra + a lot of dreams.
“Joe Hisaishi is a genius. The man behind the scores of the Studio Ghibli films. Youtube the live performances. One minute he’s all like “check me out I’m conducting this badass orchestra” and then the next minute he’s all like “watch me get sensitive with a solo piano performance for a couple of minutes”. He takes you places. It’s an emotional journey.”

Velociraptor, Mateship Over Money

“People said that we’d never keep the whole roster and as all the internet money started coming in we’d be tempted to want to divide the tens of dollars between less band members. But you know what? mateship prevailed. The band that started as a bunch of friends conquered the odds / the naysayers of the industry. And it’s said mateship that makes a lot of stuff hyper fun. Touring, our Facebook internal group, gambling.”

The Trials Of Being In Velociraptor

“We all have to wear name tags so we know who each other are but to make matters worse we often forget what hammed-up personality traits we were supposed to be portraying to the public and frequently slip out of character.

Like the time Astro-physicist Raptor got confused and started acting like the Raptor we were marketing at the time as Oil Baron Raptor who was supposed to dress in 80s power suits complete with power business Pony-Tail. PR Nightmare.”

Velociraptor ‘Ramona’ Tour

THURSDAY 17 APRIL – EASY TIGER, SYDNEY w/ Special Guest Donny Benet
FRIDAY 18 APRIL – THE TOTE, MELBOURNE w/ Special Guest Donny Benet
THURSDAY 24 APRIL – BLACK BEAR LODGE, BRISBANE

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