PASh At the Pool Bar
SA’s Puberty Blues inspired four-piece PASH chat the magic of Adelaide’s East End, packing out a Laneway tent and track listing their brand-new self-titled EP, all while potting pool balls and chatting shit.
Interview Millah Hansberry // Image Brianna Da Silva
Between terrible pool pointers, reminiscing on nights sipping $3 schooners at The Crown and Anchor and laughing at each other’s expense, we wouldn’t imagine punters of Chalkers pool bar in Glenelg would have clocked onto the fact that an interview with SA’s own pop-rock act PASH was occurring this Tuesday night.
The four guys, Jett Gazely, Nic Bergoc, Daniel Maclean and Orlando Elliot, joined by myself, first met inside the walls of high school, possibly contributing to the fast, comfortable banter that swiftly filled the air. Or maybe this can be attributed to their shared love for Adelaide’s East End – where venues like The Exeter, The Cranker and The Austral pour pints and pull young musos onto their stages – a location PASH thank a lot for their grouping.
“Our first ever show was in the East End. I think that’s when it really started,” vocalist Jett Gazley mused, drink in hand. “Growing up, we spent so much time going to Cranker Wednesdays.”
“It was always the spot to go, hang out and actually have a good time,” guitarist Orlando pointed out, “Like The Exeter; sitting outside, your friends are there, smoking shitty imported cigarettes, “Squeezing onto a table, asking people for chairs,” laughed Jett, in between pool shots. “Worlds collided at The Cranker,” bassist Nic stated with a sense of finality.
So maybe this is why their brand-new self-titled EP plays like a love letter to Adelaide. That – and the fact that the EP’s lead single is called ‘East End Girls’ – an uplifting pop track reminiscent of early 5SOS mixed with prime INXS.
After a couple more rounds of lining up pool shots, the conversation peeled over to the song that kicked off PASH’s new era and their first release with AWOL, the label they signed to after being scouted in 2024. ‘Tracy’, the first taste of PASH’s EP, earned its fair share of spins on triple j and was met with a more than enthusiastic response Aus-wide, blasting the four-piece into a space that they joked could finally convince drummer Danny’s parents that the band was a “real” career venture (although, they do say the label helped with this too).
“Tracy just had this magic,” Nic smiled, “I think the first song that you put out of a project kind of sets the tone. And overall, we wanted the tone to be fun.”
“We always knew ‘Tracy’ wasn’t the song that showcased our musicality the best,” Jett cut in, “We just wanted to kickstart the new era with something that would really grab people’s attention.”
And grab people’s attention it did. At 2026’s Laneway festival, the four-piece played the song to a tent packed with around 1500 punters – many of whom sang the song right back to them with an infectious enthusiasm.
“I can’t even explain the feeling of the crowd,” Jett smiled, as the rest of the group erupted into cheery chatter, gripping their pool cues and reminiscing on the day.
“Before we went backstage, we were like, ‘let’s not just be shocked if there’s 20 people out there,’”
Daniel piped in. “I think we were preparing to be okay with whatever was out there, and when we got on stage, it was just rows and rows of people.”
The impact of ‘Tracy’ gave PASH a sense of credibility to the large audience, mostly comprised of new listeners. When the group kicked into the track, murmurs of “ohh, this song! I know these guys,” rippled through the crowd, verified by my own ears. But through the rest of the set, it was picks like ‘Ricochet’ and ‘Solid Ground’ off their EP that had audiences hanging on every word.
Written, demoed and recorded across five studios in Adelaide, Sydney and Brissy with producers like Nick Zaharias and ARIA Award-winning Konstantin Kersting, the EP presents itself as an eclectic piece.
After 15 or so minutes of neglecting the pool game and gushing about the EP’s collaborators, the four broke down the remaining tracks. “‘Ricochet’ was out second. It’s sexy, shows a bit more musicality than ‘Tracy’, but it’s still a fun song,” Nic explained, with Jett adding in, “A little bit more serious too. We wanted to show our audience what we were capable of early on.”
“Then ‘Down The Aisle’ was made in Brisbane with Kon,” Nic followed, “We were listening to a lot of ‘80s German pop. I always hear Cyndi Lauper when I hear that song.”
For ‘Solid Ground’, Jett explained, “It was one of the PASH OG’s, born in Orlando’s studio. It was a really interesting mix of being organically written by us at home, but then also really developed live.”
And then the final track ‘Another Day’, described as having “the most meat on the bone,” by= Orlando, was the track that took the longest to write and record, boasting a more emotional side to the band.
After a few surprisingly well-executed trick shots (one of which resulted in Orlando on top of the table), the conversation steered to PASH’s upcoming EP tour, taking the quartet around the country in September, a trip the boys are super keen to jump on.
“We’re hitting Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. Then we got some regional stuff. Some big venues, big ambitions,” Nic mused, noting that the tour is bookended back home at Lion Arts Factory.
“We love Adelaide. We’re doubling down on Adelaide,” Nic explained with a genuine sense of belief, talking about the tour, and also the band’s near-move to Sydney this month (which they thankfully decided against).
“We see ourselves in Adelaide until it makes sense to be elsewhere. Especially with our family, friends and the scene here… there’s absolutely no rush to get out of a city we love so much.”
“Adelaide is on the come-up. Now we’re starting to see a real birth and focus on building that out. We want to be here for that; we want to be a part of it.”
Catch PASH performing at Lion Arts Factory on Thursday 15 October. Tickets on sale via moshtix.com.au. Listen to their debut EP PASH here.
