New Music

Skyway frontman Dan McMaster has gone solo under a new alias...

Feb 18, 2019

7 min read

While a bunch of us sit (im)patiently, eagerly anticipating the return of Gold Coast pop-punk band Skyway from their hiatus, we can pass the time for now with a new track from frontman ~~Dan~~ James McMaster.

'Heart Beats Right' is the new single from the now soloist and if you think of Dean Lewis with a blend of Vance Joy, you wouldn't be too far off what the new sound and direction is like. We grabbed Dan/James for a quick catch up about his new project, the sound and the name change...

Hey man, it's great seeing you back making music again. It's a bit different to the old pop punk stuff we knew you for. What inspired the change in direction?

Well, I’ve always kinda written songs and most of the time I’ve just left them in a pile and didn’t really do anything with them so I thought, why not? I’ve been playing around on the acoustic for years, so I thought I’d finally stop procrastinating and make a project out of it.

And the elephant in the room is you've gone from Dan McMaster to James McMaster... What's up with that?

My middle name is James and I wanted to differentiate the music from my personal life and because there’s already been a few Entertainers/Musicians with my name... I actually used to get Danny McMaster's (who’s a comedian and voice of Australia’s Funniest Videos) mail! Small world! Haha

hahaha well ok, then you're forgiven in that case! For those who have followed your career from the Skyway days, will there be any throwbacks or similarities between this venture and that band?

I suppose in the way of lyrical content etc, the usual love and heartbreak theme seems to follow me around regardless haha.

And you've got a show coming up too, a solo one to launch your latest single. Do you find it more challenging to perform on your own without the backing of a band behind you?

It definitely has its challenges there’s nowhere to hide haha but it makes for an intimate experience, and it’s a great feeling creating and performing something that you’ve put everything into, I’m hopefully going to be adding a full backing band later down the track.

Well we can't wait to see what you do, like all great pop punk frontmen who go solo, you're onto something here. Best of luck.

Interview by Browny @brownypaul

Take a listen to the new direction below and follow James' socials here

For those who want a throwback to the Skyway days, revisit Dan's cameo on our Parkway Drive special podcast of Wall of Sound: Up Against The Wall where we spoke about getting Winston McCall on one of their songs right here

Catch James on the Gold Coast March 16th

james mcmaster show gc