Should America be preparing for another Australian Invasion?

Not quite yet, although the power trio known as Children Collide is locked, loaded, and on the move. Where this collision course takes them is still to be determined. One thing’s for sure – they’ll make plenty of noise along the way.

The three young men of Melbourne – Johnny Mackay (guitar), Heath Crawley (bass) and Ryan Caesar (drums) – are close to wrapping up their first North American tour and no doubt have blown out their fair share of eardrums in the process. Their hybrid blend of punk, pop, grunge, and hardcore heavy metal is strange but true.

Supporting Nico Vega for a majority of the U.S. dates, Children Collide must have been an afterthought on the Marquis Theater’s four-act bill on June 19. After all, they weren’t even on the Marquis’ marquee. That honor was bestowed upon Colorado’s own My Body Sings Electric, the headliner of this all-ages show whose CD release party (They Don’t Want Music) was the guaranteed main attraction.

So Children Collide and their tour manager (and occasional producer), Paul “Woody” Annison, went practically unnoticed as they sat outside the quaint club only an outfielder’s throw away from Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies. (Annison appears at right in this photo of the band’s touring van, along with Mackay, middle, and Caesar.)

Thirty minutes before the club’s doors opened, the band found itself among pesky Rockies ticket scalpers and more charming beggars and choosers (“If you can’t give me some money, at least give me a smile,” said one). Preparing to chow down on some gooey slices from the Marquis’ own pizza joint, Annison helplessly watched one of his two pieces slip and go splat on the Larimer Street sidewalk before he reached their table. Strike 1.

With the Rockies in the midst of a streak in which they had won 13 out of 14, music of any kind was secondary on this near-perfect near-summer evening in Colorado. By the time Children Collide hit the stage at 9 p.m., only a handful of paid customers at the Marquis was paying attention. Strike 2.

And while the home team pounded the Pirates, more eyes were glued to the TV at the bar. But that soon changed.

Mackay (left), a handsome and magnetic force, displayed some major league power chords, unleashing the sound and the fury on an unsuspecting public. “We Are Amphibious,” off 2005’s six track EP We Three, Brave And True, made almost everyone in the house take notice, and even an adventurous few wandered onto the empty dance floor. Children Collide had connected, averting a strikeout while proving the Rockies weren’t the only game in town.

Article Author: Michael Bialas

A newspaper editor and former college football player, Michael Bialas makes sports his business but exploring and reviewing music, movies, TV and other forms of pop culture are among the games he enjoys playing now.
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