They made be small in stature, but Central Coast three-piece Short Stack are standing tall, writes Jesse Kuch

There are no ifs or buts about it – Short Stack are living the dream.

Consisting of Shaun Diviney on guitar and lead vocals, Andy Clemmensen on bass and vocals and Bradie Webb on drums, the pint-sized rockers have been chipping away at their music career since their high school days on the New South Wales Central Coast.

Last year was undoubtedly the band’s big year, rocketing them to both national and international stardom courtesy of their infectious and accessible brand of pop-rock, glam, electro and punk.

Their album, Stack Is The New Black, was one of the breakout hits of last year, reaching the No.1 position on the ARIA albums chart, and delivering five hit singles, including the Australian No.2 Sway, Sway Baby.

They have also picked up numerous award gongs including winning the Channel [V] Oz Artists Of The Year award in 2008 and runner-up in the same category in 2009, and have supported the likes of Good Charlotte, The Veronicas, Kisschasy, Hellogoodbye, The Getaway Plan and much more.

The success of Short Stack lies in their own hard work and ability to connect on a personal level with their legions of adoring fans.

Poster boys for the internet music generation, it’s not unusual to see them replying personally to their Myspace messages and they are living proof of the power of new media in the music industry.

Their reality TV show, Short Stack TV, is currently one of the most-watched out of any Australian band on YouTube and it is a testament to their popularity within the social media generation.

Heading to Cairns in March for the first time in their career, timeOUT caught up with drummer Bradie Webb to find out about their history, their rise to fame and his own special connection to Far North Queensland.

>> Click here for a chance to win a double pass to see Short Stack at Brothers on March 12

So what is this connection you ask?

"My mum is actually from Cairns, so I’ve been up there six or seven times in the last couple of years," he says with a chuckle.

"It’s a beautiful place, but I’m not a big fan of the hot weather, especially as a drummer. We’ve never played in Cairns, although mum has been holding out for a while for that, so it’s gonna be great to get up there with the band, finally."

Bradie says Short Stack’s beginnings were anything but glamorous or spectacular.

"I’ve been playing drums most of my life and I met the guys at school.

"We started playing music to get girlfriends really, which has kind of worked out for us, because we’ve got lots of girls now. We gigged a lot around Newcastle in the early days and put in a lot of hard work. We were lucky enough to support a band from the US called Hellogoodbye, from that we got our core Sydney fan base and it all went from there."

As you may have guessed, talking to Bradie gives an insight into the mindset of the band – his relaxed, carefree attitude shines through in their music and it’s very clear that the boys are enjoying their rise to fame.

"I guess you could say we are living the dream," he says.

"Fame is something we never really expected. All of a sudden, lots of people were calling us an overnight sensation, but we’ve worked hard to get where we have."

Many don’t know that Stack Is The New Black isn’t the boys’ first album – they brought out their own, independent release early in their career, but it never achieved commercial success.

"A lot of people actually don’t know we did it," he says.

"I mixed and mastered it in my bedroom, so we were pretty experienced with it when it came to doing Stack Is The New Black.

"It’s great to do a big album though, we didn’t have to cut our own paper out and laminate it, which was good this time."

Bradie says he and the rest of the band never expected the album to do as well as it has, but are enjoying the success while it lasts.

"I think my mum probably bought about 70 per cent of the copies (of Stack Is The New Black)," he says with a laugh.

"It’s been pretty crazy, touring in a van and doing meet-and-greets every day. It is hard work, but we want to make the most of it while we can and hope that it continues for a while."

Bradie is the first to acknowledge the role that the internet and new media has had in their rise to stardom.

"I think a lot of bands don’t see how important it is these days," he says.

"Australians can be really old-fashioned, playing pub rock in bands like they did in the ’80s and ’90s. Our fans are like our friends, we like to keep in touch with them all as much as possible and this probably has a lot to do with our success."

He says these same old- fashioned attitudes have seen them cop their fair share of flak during their career as well.

"As much as I’m patriotic, Australia can be a bit slow at times. A lot of people think you have to earn your place doing the rock and pub scene and stuff and we do get crap from some of the older guys who smoke and drink a lot of beers. We are young, we don’t deny that, but at the end of the day we rock out like any other band."

While you only have to look at their MySpace and YouTube to see Short Stack’s fan base is predominantly female-oriented, Bradie says they haven’t had too many run-ins with crazy fans yet.

"It has been PG-rated so far," he says with a laugh.

"I imagine one day that might change; we are hoping to get overseas soon.

"I’ve heard it’s a bit more crazy over there."

So what does Bradie have to say to their legions of adoring fans in Far North Queensland ahead of the show?

"I think I can speak for us all and say we can’t wait to get up there and play to North Queensland," he says.

"We had a new single come out called Sweet December, so we’re gonna be playing that when we tour up there and in 2010.

"We are looking forward to rocking out."

>> Short Stack play Brothers on Friday, March 12, from 8pm, supported by 52 Flicks. This is an all-ages, 12+ show. Tickets are $50, available now online from http://www.brotherscairns.com.au/

The event is classified as licensed all-ages (12+). This means that the minimum age limit for the concert will be 12 years old and the following conditions apply:

>> There will be an 18+ licensed area sectioned off for arm-banded adults to drink alcohol.

>> Children under 12 years will not be allowed entry, due to health and safety recommendations regarding the volume levels of a rock concert in the auditorium.

>> Standard all-ages policy terms apply.

>> As a condition of entry, all minors must be accompanied by a parent, legal guardian or responsible adult prior, during and after the show.

>> The responsible adult is required to sign a consent form with full details as to who they are and whom they are responsible for. The form must be completed prior to entry and presented on arrival on the night of the show. The responsible adult will be held legally responsible for the minor while they are on the premises. For further information regarding the policy on this show, please phone Brothers on 4053 1053.

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