As we etch closer to UNIFY Gathering, one thing has been sitting on our minds since the lineup was announced back in September... who are these Friends that Tonight Alive will be bringing on stage with them for their performance? Here at WoS HQ we've been racking our brains to try and figure out who it could be so we've gathered a list of potential buddies that TA and co. could be sneaking in behind the scenes... Let's see how many we get right, starting with...
#7 - Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone (from The Amazing Spider-Man)
Sorry, this is in here for shits and giggles but fuckkkkkk imagine if they popped out on stage to help the band bust out this blockbuster hit from The Amazing Spider-Man 2!!!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRDVXnACx7Y&w=640&h=360]
#6 - Scott Eckel (MAKEOUT/Five North drummer)
Tonight Alive drummer MattyBest is currently in the states with Sleeping with Sirensplaying as their touring drummer so his absence leaves a spot behind the kit and who better to fill the spot than our very own musical export ScottEckel, drummer for US-based bands MAKEOUT and FiveNorth. We've followed Scott's story since way back in his IAmVillain/Satellites days and the guy can bash out a song or two quite well (Fun Fact: I first got into TonightAlive after seeing his drum cover of 'Breaking & Entering') so he'd be a perfect candidate for the job!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_dtaW5lva4&w=640&h=360]
#5 - Heroes for Hire
Back in 2010, TonightAlive and Heroes for Hire hit the road on the Hits, Tits and Pits Tour alongside The Wonder Years and Skyway. Now, I can't see any of The Wonder Years or Skyway lads heading to UNIFY (this year), but I can see members of HFH heading along, especially since it'll also be 10 Years since they released their breakthrough album Life of The Party which featured the song 'We’re Just The Footnote In Someone Else’s Love Story' featuring, yep, you guessed it, JennaMcDougall!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rzo-Mz0y-Y&w=640&h=360]
#4 - Whakaio Taahi (ex-Tonight Alive guitarist)
He departed the band back in 2017 but could one of the special friends be former guitarist Whakaio Taahi? He's got more than enough history with the band to step up and bash out a few songs for old times sake and I'm sure longtime fans would froth at the idea of seeing Whak on stage on more time!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RhWuyffcAg&w=640&h=360]
#3 - Lynn Gunn (PVRIS frontwoman)
Lynn features on TA's song 'Disappear' from their latest offering Underworld and could maybe, MAYYYYYBE be one of the special guests joining the band on stage. But don't hold your breath, this is a long shot guess, but it seemed more logical than CoreyTaylor or BenjiMadden, both of whom have also recorded songs with TA in the past.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaLLLHugwHw&w=640&h=360]
#2 - The Bride
How do you make a set at UNIFY one to remember for years to come? Well, you reform a band (that fans have been DYING to see play at the festival for years), for just one song and you absolutely get tongues wagging, bodies flying through the air and screams bellowing so surrounding areas of Tarwin Lower are left scratching their heads wondering what they're missing out on. The FOMO would be off the charts!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAzOe6TJzBk&w=640&h=360]
#1 - Dale Tanner (Ocean Grove) Matt Gravolin, Dre Faivre or Zac Britt
UPDATE: Ok so we completely forgot that Ocean Grove are on tour with Amity and playing in Adelaide the night/day Tonight Alive hit the stage. Unless he's getting flown into the show for one song (highly doubtful), there'll be another potential frontman needed for this spot... Let's say Matt Gravolin (ex-Hellions), Dre Faivre (Hellions vocalist) or as suggested by Dani Brown on our FB page, Zac Britt (Young Lions).
So as it turns out, there's one big song from TA's last album that has never been played live and that's 'My Underworld' which features the one and only Corey Taylor on guesties... Since Corey is a hard man to get hold of these days with his Slipknot, Stone Sour, fatherhood and husband duties taking up his life, who better to fill in for the song's live debut than Dale Tanner, who does a pretty rad job of fronting his own nu-metal hybrid band Ocean Grove + is linked to Ms Jenna McDougall herself. Seems like the most logical friend that could join the band on stage so we're throwing that name as our most obvious choice
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpvIy4qQ52w&w=640&h=360]
Time will tell who scores the honour, but if you wanna know first hand, I guess you have to be the on Saturday when TonightAlive take to the stage at UNIFY Gathering 2020... See you in the pit!
Written by Browny @brownypaul and Renae Egan @renaeegan_
UNIFY Gathering 2020
ARCHITECTS · THE GHOST INSIDE
NORTHLANE · POLARIS · SILVERSTEIN · TONIGHT ALIVE & FRIENDS ·
MAKE THEM SUFFER · STRAY FROM THE PATH · DEAR SEATTLE · VOID OF VISION ·
ANTAGONIST AD · KNOCKED LOOSE · TIRED LION · KUBLAI KHAN TX ·
THE BEAUTIFUL MONUMENT · EAT YOUR HEART OUT · BETWEEN YOU AND ME ·
THE BRAVE · DIAMOND CONSTRUCT · COLUMBUS · TAPESTRY · SLEEP TALK ·
WEIGHBRIDGE · SOMETHING SOMETHING EXPLOSION
January 9 -12 @ Tarwin Lower, South Gippsland, Victoria.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkLUt1Z95a4&w=853&h=480]
