Sunny Coast’s newest alt-punk rock band, Acended, has only been playing for four months and already played Solbar and Tribe Clubhouse. Their first EP, “Sundried Daisies”, is due out January.

This is a story about four young men destined for great things.

Meet frontman Tony Thompson, 26, and his best mate Izaak Kracke, 22.

The staunch music lovers met at Coles after striking up a friendship which would soon blossom into a sonic match made in heaven.

Tony started the punk-garage band in 2021, and soon after Izaak was on the punk train, with the pair playing at gigs across the Coast.

And while the band has seen members come and go, it was a chance conversation on Facebook where Tony stumbled on 15-year-old drumming wunderkind, Vann Little.

“I met Vann’s dad Matt (the band’s now manager) who told me Vann was young, but could play,” Tony said.

“All that matters to me is passion, drive and being able to play, so he was perfect from the get go.

“I’m a big believer in everything happens for a reason.”

But Tony was wanting a fourth member to balance out the band’s sound.

He said someone who could be the band’s answer to George Harrison from The Beatles or Pat Smear, made famous from Nirvana and Foo Fighters.

And then came the band’s youngest member, Benjie Flynn, 14, brought into the fold by Vann.

“I knew instantly at the first practice that Benjie was perfect for us,” Tony said, “and would balance the age gap between all of us, and bring exactly what we needed to decorate and perfect the songs, our style and chemistry, as people and a band.

“The current lineup seems to have the right magic.”

Created at Sonic Nest Studios, “Sundried Daisies” will feature six songs, and be unveiled at The Junk Bar in Ashgrove on December 16 and Fortitude Valley’s King Lear’s Throne on January 21.

Expect a full-throttle explosion of raw talent and high-octane energy that will reverberate through your veins.

Let’s meet them!

Where are you guys from?

Tony: Coolum Beach. Izaak: Yandina. Vann: Coolum. Benjie: Bli Bli.

Where did you grow up?

Izaak: My early childhood up to around 10 or 11-years-old, I grew up in Western Australia around the Bunbury and Busstleton areas, then we flew over here and lived in Cooroy with my grandparents for a few years, before we moved to Yandina.

Benjie: I was born here and lived here for about five years, then for my whole of primary school I lived in a little town called Moranbah.

Tony: Paisley in Scotland.

Vann: I lived in the Redlands until I was five, then we moved to Coolum.

How do you describe your music?

Tony: Tough question, I would call it anti-music. The boys would call it alt-punk or grunge. The crowd just call it nuts. I’d say it’s hard to pinpoint a certain style when we all have such vast influences. I adore the Beatles, Nirvana, The Pixies, Sex Pistols, Eminem, The Doors, Oasis and Elvis’ stage charisma, and I try adapt or adopt all of them into my style. All are instrumental to me as a person, and as the primary songwriter those influences aren’t hard to find through the songs, and the boys all have their individual influences also so we craft a new sound from our different perspectives and tastes.

What instruments do you play?

Tony: I write acoustically to really hear the stripped down idea, and then I start moving from there. I can sing, play guitar, harmonica and piano, but my favourite thing to do is write lyrics and put them together with the guitar. I am not a very technical guitarist but as Lennon said, “I’m not very good technically, but I can make it fuckin’ howl and move. I was rhythm guitarist. It’s an important job. I can make a band drive”.

Vann: Drums is life. I play fast and hard. It’s not real music unless there’s real drums being played.

Benji: Guitar. I also played drums for nine years before I picked up the guitar.

Izaak: I started out playing guitar and I’ve been playing bass two years ago.

How long have you been playing music?

Tony: I am self-taught. My first guitar was a $50 nylon that I still have in my closet that used to sit and stare at me for two years until I finally picked it up. I had cut out all distractions in 2018 to really learn and focus on it. It took me two years to really be comfortable to sing and play properly. I have written lyrics from age 10, so it was a natural choice. Teaching myself was the biggest change for me because I hate conventional norms or restrictions, so learning music from a teacher would have just pissed me off and deterred me from actually enjoying it and putting my style, feel and words in to it.

Izaak: Started playing the guitar in year five.

Benjie: Ever since I was two. I used to line up all the pots and pans or anything that made noise and I used to hit them with spoons and other stuff.

Vann: I have been behind a drum kit ever since I was two, but I have been properly playing for five years.

Why do you love what you do?

Benjie: I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. I love playing music so much.

Izaak: It takes your mind off all the things that are dragging you down and allows us to do something positive and just create something you’re proud of and want to listen to.

What made you want to be a musician, and is it everything you expected? 

Tony: It’s everything and more. “A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.” There’s anther Lennon quote for you.

Benjie: Parkway Drive is my biggest inspiration and I’ve always wanted to be like them, playing music is definitely what I expected it a so much fun.

Izaak: I don’t really know why, music has always been something I was drawn to it as a kid seeing guys like James Hetfield and Kurt Cobain play on the TV, it just moves you. I guess we all just want to be somebody.

Vann: I wanted to become a musician after hearing the song “In the Aisle” by Violent Soho. The film clip and the energy the song had made me want to play just like them. Being in a band is a lot like I had expected apart from how expensive everything can be.

What do you love about the Sunshine Coast? 

Vann: The community and the amount of activities you can do like skate, surf, snorkel.

Benjie: It’s really chill and it’s got surf and good street spots for skating.

Tony: It’s the best place on earth, especially Coolum. It’s pretty much perfect besides most shops or venues being shut at 8:30pm.

Izaak: It’s just a great mix of nature and new-age madness.

What do you hope for the future of music on the Coast?

Tony: I can see the Sunshine Coast being like Venice Beach in the late 60s early 70s, or Seattle in the 90s: a real hub of bands that are hungry and all about to explode at the same time.

Izaak: Local artists to really push and show people we’ve got talent and can create great music.

Benjie: A better scene and better venues.

Vann: More venues to open up with a bigger space.

Which country do you hope music takes you to?

Vann: New Zealand or America.

Izaak: Japan would be wild to visit. I’d love to live in Canada for sure, but you can’t really get much better than Australia.

Tony: Rome, Liverpool, New York, Japan and of course I’d love to go back to my mother land and catch up with the cold.

Benji: I love Australia. I would never want to live anywhere else but I’m really keen to travel the world when our band makes money.

Why do you love what you do? 

Vann: I can express myself through the kit.

Tony: I want to help people the way I’ve been helped by my influences such as Lennon, Cobain, Morrison and Eminem, and Cristiano Ronaldo’s work ethic and dedication to be his best are all vital to who I am as a person and an artist. I would be a different person if they didn’t decide to be who they were.

What is something unique about yourself we should know about?

Tony: Probably my Aspergers. I am high functioning and it can have an offset of problems that I have to deal with like burning myself out because I won’t let myself sleep eat or rest until I have whatever I’m doing sorted. And sometimes I have to perfect how I can be towards people if I don’t feel things are right, such as with relationships, work, family and especially with myself. I am extremely hard on my self and there are other spirals that probably are linked to this condition and how I treat myself like insomnia, depression, anxiety, and sometimes anger. My only medication is my music, which is therapeutic and a natural release of energy. Without it I’m not sure what I’d do.

Vann: In grade five I had broken my tooth in a skate accident and I was very scared when going back to skateparks so I didn’t skate a lot for a good year, but during that year I had decided to properly learn the drums and get lessons with my teacher Brett Newman who has helped me get a long way.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Izaak: Still making music.

Tony: At the Grammys with too many awards to hold between the four of us.

Vann: I see myself performing in big venues and touring the world.

Benji: Playing shows to more than a thousand people, and playing overseas.

What advice do you give others starting out?

Tony: If you’re starting a band or struggling to make things happen, or even thinking it’s too much work, just do it now, not tomorrow, and go for it. You will not regret it. It could happen quickly or take years, but it will happen if you put yourself to it.

Follow them on Instagram @Ac.ended and Facebook @acended.