2020 was not the year anyone anticipated it to be. With the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down most of the world and international travel as countries scrambled to figure out the best safety and lockdown procedures, the music industry as a whole found itself coming to a grinding halt.

But as things began improving slowly, some countries saw improvements faster than others- leading nations such as Australia and New Zealand to find themselves out of lockdown and back to a state of semi-normalcy. And though global touring and live events have still not returned, some artists have been able to continue their creative ambitions in the studio and online.

One such artist is Australia’s own Poison Oak, who were able to channel their time into writing and recording new music- putting out four new singles, including an EP, in 2020.

Now, as the new year rolls in and the rest of the world slowly begins to catch up- Poison Oak are continuing to prepare new releases, hone their craft, and build up an impressive portfolio.

You can read our full conversation about the past year with the band below, and be sure to stream their latest release “Waiting,” out now.

Second Society Report: How are you holding up during this insane year that is 2020? Hopefully your friends and families are staying safe and healthy!

Poison Oak: We are all going pretty good! We live in North Queensland Australia, where it’s super hot and have been relatively unaffected by COVID-19, I guess we have been pretty lucky.

SSR: Did you have any big releases or tours that were put on hold because of the pandemic? How has that affected the band? (could be personally, financially, morale wise, etc.)

Poison Oak: We have a few shows lined up that had to be canned. But other than that, we continued to release music. It didn’t really stop us creatively.

SSR: How have you been spending your newfound “downtime” while the world has been essentially shut down?

Poison Oak: For myself (James), I played an old game, Age of Empires II. For Russ he just had a newborn daughter, so raising a child in itself is a full-time job. Ray also joined for games of Age of Empires II. Lachie and myself still managed to get through the drive through of KFC to get some chicken wings. While Chris, I’m pretty sure was working on his drum chops.

SSR: Have you picked up any new hobbies while quarantining that you’d like to share?

Poison Oak: Landscaping, i.e. building gardens, gardens seats and BBQ’s.

SSR: Have you worked on any new releases during this time? Any that are already out or that we can get a sneak peak of?

Poison Oak: “Sarah,” our next single is coming out on the 19th of February, while in October we released our latest single Waiting. You can find it here.

SSR: If already out- what was the inspiration for the release? Have you written any songs specifically about the state of the world right now?

Poison Oak: The inspiration for our releases is living life, relationships, work etc. We have not written any material about the current state… As I said before we really have not been affected, I guess anyone reading this could be slightly annoyed, as we got off pretty easy in the North of Aus.

SSR: How has it been being an artist in a time when you cannot tour? How have you been working to promote your music and expand your reach?

Poison Oak: Well, it’s really given us a chance to work on our material and refine our songs. I guess we don’t really think about “expanding our reach”, as it sort defeats the purpose of doing this in the first place. 

SSR: Do you have any words of advice for fans that are feeling particularly bummed out about the live music world coming to a halt?

Poison Oak: World goes through ups and downs, just like life, just embrace it. 

SSR: When the world returns to a safer spot and we are able to (hopefully) attend live shows again- say in 2021- what do you hope to achieve?

Poison Oak: A continued happiness with writing, creativity and recoding more material.

SSR: Is there anything you wish your fans would know about you or about the current state of the music world?

Poison Oak: We’re just a bunch of lads in Aus, North Queensland playing rock n roll music. Check us out!

You can stream Poison Oak’s new single “Waiting,” out now and be sure to connect with the band via the links below to stay up to date on all new releases.

Instagram / Facebook / YouTube / Bandcamp