Rider Essentials: Lachlan Bryan and the Wildes

Lachlan Bryan is a singer-songwriter, producer, and musical director. He formed 'The Wildes' in 2009 and together the band has released four critically praised album, toured the UK, Europe, and the USA many times, and opened for artists ranging from Justin Townes Earle to Shawn Colvin and John Hiatt. They won The Age Music Victoria Award for ‘Best Country Album’ in 2014 and won the Golden Guitar for ‘Best Alt Country Album’ the same year. After two records with ABC, they released their first album through Social Family Records, Nearest Misses Live on April 9.

To get to know Lachlan Bryan and the Wildes a little better, we asked Lachlan to tell us one thing he and each of his band members always takes on the road with them for this week’s Rider Essentials.

The band and I (Lachlan Bryan - vocals) have been touring for a while now, and I used to travel really light. I once did a three-week USA tour with just hand luggage, but as I get older my shoe collection has increased and I’m starting to pack like Carrie from Sex in the City. Leather boots and black jeans are my essentials for sure!

Shaun Ryan (bass) always takes his laptop. He’s got a lot of side hustles going on, and the internet never sleeps. You’ll find him typing away furiously in the back seat of the van, complaining about poor signal one minute and motion sickness the next.

Damian Cafarella (guitar and sometimes drums) is more famous for what he doesn’t bring - which is sometimes his wallet, sometimes his phone, and occasionally his drum hardware. But he’s also well-known for his superstitions, including the one where he "must" have at least one beer before every flight (even if it’s at 7am), otherwise the safety of us and all the other passengers is in jeopardy.

Riley Catherall (guitar) always wears his headphones, but they’re rarely plugged in. He likes to distance himself from the meaningless chatter of other humans (particularly those in the band) and maintain the appearance of being quiet and mysterious. Off course, he’s really neither of those things.

Special mention goes to our former drummer (and founding member) Mat Duniam, who despite being a meticulous packer and brilliant organiser, once disposed of our van keys in a hotel room in Nashville, resulting in a 2am forage through the garbage hoppers at The Days Inn.  We found them just in time for a 300 mile drive to New Orleans for show, but we’ll never let him forget it.

Keep up to date with Lachlan Bryan and the Wildes on their Facebook page here.

For more of our Rider Essentials series, go here.

Image: Supplied