Valentine’s Day fittingly the first of seven Australian debut performances, UNITYTX frontman Shaolin G (a.k.a. Jay Webster) spoke of the band’s emotion and this very moment, as, together, we prepare to bid our lovingly last goodbyes to VOID OF VISION.
SR: Just 10 days out from your first trip to Australia, as part of a stellar lineup supporting VOID OF VISION bid their farewell, what is the feeling like amongst the UNITYTX crew right now?
SG/JW: Nervous but excited, and hungry. The anticipation is so insane and I know we’re gonna be feeling good, but I’m sure a little exhausted. I hope in the first couple of days we can relax and get our footing back, because we’re ready to do this damn thing!
Everyone is watching us back home and saying, ‘You guys are going to Australia? That’s the sickest thing I’ve ever heard!’ Of course, we’re like ‘Yeah!’, but we have to be on a plane for like 25 hours – it’s cool, but it’s bittersweet.
When we get over there though, it’ll be all love (except for when I see a spider, then I might have to do a backflip).
SR: A formidable bill to be part of for your Downunder debut, I’m sure there are some mixed emotions. How are you balancing the dualities of excitement and anticipation, also knowing your firsts will be Void’s final Australian performances?
SG/JW: It comes with a wave of emotion, a cathartic release, you know? Everyone is going to be happy, yet so bummed out. I’m hoping for the first few shows, we have a little time before we have to start loading in, where we get to hang out truly, everyone together even if only for 20-30 minutes.
I really want to experience what it’s like to be around the Void of Vision guys, but I know it might be a troubling time; they might be tired, Jack (Bergin) might need a little more rest. Truthfully though, I hope there’s time to create great memories. I’m going to try my best, bring my camera and capture footage of everything and the vibes.
This is going to be a tour to remember, never forgotten, because Void of Vision did everything they can – brought three international bands to their country, full of people who love them, and opening their world to us is a beautiful, incredible thing. I’m so honoured to be a part of it, but I know also… I might or might not, there’s a real chance at some point, I’m going to cry.
“…This is going to be a tour to remember, never forgotten, because Void of Vision did everything they can – brought three international bands to their country…”
And, it’s the first tour of the year! I’m like, our tour experiences are usually so cool because everyone we tour with are sweethearts or dope dudes – we’re already cool with GIDEON & KNOSIS (at least the lead singer, but the other guys have to be good if they’re hanging with Ryo) – but it’s hard to gauge my emotion.
It makes me all tingly, knowing there’s going to be so many dope people and much dope music, the amount of jokes and fun we’ll have in such a short amount of time, is exciting; a high you can’t imagine until it finally hits.
SR: An immersive experience from the moment you get off that plane, it’s going to be absolutely beautiful. Unity & Void sharing the distinction of releasing new records in 2024, your EP Masticate demonstrates the beauty of the short format. Can you articulate why Unity opted for the EP for this recording?
SG/JW: So, when we recorded Ferality in 2023, we had a couple of extra song ideas, but we knew that with the heavy touring we planned, it’d be impossible to get back into the studio.
Pretty much we recorded two songs in that cycle, and were going to release them earlier, but it turned out to be perfect timing anyways. The album came out in September, seven months before our (US) tour with ALPHA WOLF (in May 2024), so we had time to work through seeing what people liked from the album, and then we dropped Playing Favorites. The response was “this is crazy; this is new?!” I had to play it cool, but, yeah, it was.
So we decided to do that (the EP), because we were not going to make it to the studio again – we barely made it there the previous year. As much as I write new music all the time, I love music and don’t care how heavy it is, I want it to be cohesive. That’s why I’ve been standing where I am with everything, nurturing it for a bit.
I don’t think it’s possible for Unity to put out a new album every year, unless everyone is ready for us to not make full metal songs for, like, half of the album. Even though I wrote Ferality in about a month, essentially I wanted to let it marinate, let them (alluding to the listeners) figure it out. If I gave an album every year, how do I say it, we’d be treating them too good, they gotta earn the yearly release.
Let us get played, post and promote us, let us know that you’re listening, not just for the moment or because we told you to, but because you actually feel it and want to see us do great one day. In the age of TikTok, it’s hard to convince some, but people have short attention spans and it bothers me.
Everyone’s always like, ‘Where’s the next video, this that or whatever?’ I remember when I went on Instagram live to talk about Ferality, somebody asked ‘New music coming out soon?’, and I thought, ‘I just put a fucking album out two months ago!’
Everyone’s living in a fantasy world and I don’t think they even like most of these bands that are constantly coming out – they just like getting so much new music, hearing new sounds. I don’t want to be one of those bands that diminishes their value for the consumer who just wants something right now. If, in that case, we’ll just go back to using Soundcloud and post a single song every week or something. That’s easy, but it isn’t so much being in the industry anymore.
SR: No, the landscape is not, but you touched on it – there’s so much authenticity in the organic trajectory for you guys to continue; I’m all for that, and against the disposability and instant gratification of when you listen to music and it just passes. Whereas a band like yours, it sits and stays.
SG/JW: Yeah, that’s why we do stuff like DIAMOND DIEZ & Masticate (both EPs).
It’s not done like the last or next band, and people can’t get bored of it. Some will be like, ‘I love this song, it makes me feel really good’, others will listen to it at the gym, or on the way to the club. I’ve had people actually play our songs in the club, which is why I’m doing things like that. I don’t want to be an average metal band, I don’t want people to get bored with us.
SR: No chance of that, as we’re about to see in Australia – on a recent Instagram post, the quote ‘UnityTX – the only band you can knock someone out at & then shake ass right after’ is superimposed over footage of one of your shows. Certainly bringing an all embracing energy to the stage, what are UnityTX’s golden rules and red flags for live performance, to give and get the best from your audience?
SG/JW: Okay, so, a red flag for us usually is the weird stuff. For example, I’m sometimes cool with a mic grab, but not if your breath stinks. Get off!
(Laughing) I had a guy grab my mic once and scream into it twice, I got it back and had to buy a new one the next day. He just… You know I don’t think people brush their teeth as much as they say, and I could smell it unfortunately. I’m very sensitive about oral and dental hygiene.
On that, people who get on stage. I’m like, you can do that, but brother don’t stay on the stage, especially if you smell like ass! I’m gonna know and, not that I’ll call it out, but I’m gonna think, ‘Damn, our fans need to wash their booty!’
(Laughing) I’m not trying to be mean, but I’m a comedic guy who’s just pointing out the obvious. I mean come on, I’m on tour and I smell better than you! No, seriously though, it’s all love but take care of yourself.
Other than that there’s not too much. Of course, I see people trying to hate mosh to our music; I just laugh it off because our music is based way too much in hip-hop to be doing that. While they’re thinking they’ll beat on all these people, someone else’s ready to jump you, you’re going to get upset and I’m not going to say anything.
Some people get the wrong impression of our band, from seeing the way we carry ourselves, and think too hard about it being gangsta or whatnot. Me, I’m like, it is what it is – this is where I come from, I was born and spent most of my life in the streets, so I have a demeanour and personality, but I’m here for the music.
You can be as tough as you want, but you better make sure the girls are protected, the kids in the pit are too, that you’re not hitting any old people and knocking them the hell out, because young people can get out of control. Yeah, you can fight within reason to Unity, but we’re not that kind of band.
I watch other groups’ footage and think, ‘Damn, they’re beating the shit out of each other’. It’s cool, it’s great, and Unity gets crazy like that to an extent, but if it’s too much I’ll call it out – if someone got knocked out or pushed down, pick them the fuck up. Perhaps back in the day, when Unity sets were a bit like the Wild West I wouldn’t notice but now I’m looking.
You guys are looking at me, so I’m looking at you. Let’s get something going, and if it gets out of hand it’ll be handled immediately. And to that, the closest thing to a green flag is a group of girls having a lot of fun, or looking out at kids on their parents shoulders; that’s amazing to me.
So, really, I’ve not got a single negative thing to say about our sets and our audience (apart from maybe, sometimes you gotta brush your teeth).
SR: A lot of good life lessons for us all in that, in day-to-day life and gigs!
VOID OF VISION
WHAT I’LL LEAVE BEHIND
AUSTRALIAN HEADLINE TOUR 2025
WITH SPECIAL GUESTS
GIDEON (USA) + UNITYTX (USA) + KNOSIS (JPN)
TOUR DATES:
FRIDAY 14 FEBRUARY – THE TIVOLI, BRISBANE (LIC AA)
SATURDAY 15 FEBRUARY – HAMILTON STATION, NEWCASTLE (18+)
SUNDAY 16 FEBRUARY – MANNING BAR, SYDNEY (18+)
WEDNESDAY 19 FEBRUARY – UC HUB, CANBERRA (18+)
THURSDAY 20 FEBRUARY – NORTHCOTE THEATRE, MELBOURNE (LIC AA)
FRIDAY 21 FEBRUARY – THE GOV, ADELAIDE (LIC AA)
SATURDAY 22 FEBRUARY – MAGNET HOUSE, PERTH (18+)
Tickets from destroyalllines.com
