For Jake Wilson, growing up in the outskirts of Melbourne, Australia, represented the sort of suburban cage that more often than not crushes ambition and creativity in favour of fitting in, getting along and getting ahead.
It was punk rock though, which smashed a window clean open, and changed the young vocalist’s life forever.
But without a band, the effervescent pop-punk energy Jake wanted to channel would have to wait a while. Instead he set about uploading a series of acoustic songs and covers to YouTube, gaining a local following that only served to further whet his appetite for musical endeavour.
And then, his inbox lit up.
“It was this band of guys who were already putting cover songs online,” explains Jake. “By the end of their first video I was like, ‘These guys are pretty good’ and after a few more I’d made the decision to go and audition for them.”
After a successful try out, the nucleus of Between You & Me was formed and the band, now completed by guitarists Jai Gibson and Chris Bowerman, drummer (and brother of Chris) Jamey Bowerman and bassist James Karagiozis set about forging their own sound out of their wide-ranging collective influences.