Standing out from the crowd in today’s music scene isn’t easy, but Sydney-based pop punk band Pulse Mavens certainly have that special something that will make music fans and critics alike sit up and listen. With their debut EP Fight Back released, this pop punk five-piece have managed to create a tight sound, with strong basslines, pumping guitar and impressive vocals. From the opening bars of the first track, it’s evident that Pulse Mavens have a chemistry that will set them up for big things to come. It’s not surprising to know that the formation of the band was relatively organic, driven by a passion for similar genres and a motivation to play music. Consequently, the band’s live shows are dynamic, high energy and captivating, from the tenacious vocals of Kait Hudson to the impressive instrumentation of Joseph Fahri (drums), Travis Kay (guitar), Step Rogan (bass) and Chris Frede (guitar), Pulse Mavens are pushing the boundaries on music today with a sound for the future. For the maturity of their sound, it’s interesting to know that as an outfit, Pulse Mavens have only been together since mid 2013. All of the members have their own individual extensive backgrounds musically, each honing their talents from a young age. Coming together to form the band was something of a natural progression and it’s this reason why their approach seems so effortless. Kait Hudson and Joseph Fahri met through mutual friends half a decade ago, and initially joined forces to play covers and jam. Their jamming sessions resulted in the two of them beginning to write a song from the five track debut EP 'Fight Back' – Memories – and the two knew instantly that they were on to something. Drawing inspiration from similar music backgrounds, they found their musical niche and the transition from jamming to writing songs was seamless. Making the decision to step aside from all other projects and concentrate on the band that would become Pulse Mavens, Kait and Joseph tried out a few different guitarists. During this time they recorded their Debut Single 'Fight Back' Featuring Michael Brierley (ex. The Bride) Recorded with producers Shane ‘Buddha’ Edwards [Northlane], Dave Petrovic [Tonight Alive] and Whakaio Taahi [Tonight Alive], Pulse Mavens have really found their feet and their sound musically. They’ve managed to pull together a mixture of heavy and soft songs with high energy instruments and beguiling lyrics. Joseph says while the songwriting process predominantly involved bringing together ideas and jamming them out, the band also learned some songwriting tips to help get the most out of their creative concepts while in the studio. The result is an EP that really packs a punch, it’s hard to believe that this is a debut effort. It’s one of those releases that will make an indelible mark on the local music industry. Penning four other tracks together – The Truth, Benefit of The Doubt, Memories and Take a Second – Gearing up for the release of the EP, they started to prepare for the video clip of the first single – it was here, by chance, bassist Travis Kay joined the band. Initially he came to fill in for the music video, but instantly the band recognised they had a chemistry as they ran through the songs. Joseph says they had held lots of auditions for the bassist position but Travis was the first person who had all of the elements they were looking for. After the EP was released Kait, Travis and Joseph began looking for a permanant guitarist. Travis being a guitarist first, natrually took over Kaits place on rhythm guitars to allow her to sing freely. After many auditions finally they came across Chris Frede. "Chris was just so easy to get along with, which is so important, Of course also awesome at guitar. It felt really natural for him to join the band" Only a few weeks later while watching a band play at one of their shows they noticed Stephanie grabbing the mic and screaming in the crowd. Kait recognised Steph as being the bassist/screamer in a previous Sydney metal band 'The Vaine' and immediately asked if she would like to join. After an audition the missing puzzle piece fell into place and formed the final line up for Pulse Mavens.Remember the name Pulse Mavens, because soon it will be on everyone’s lips. ABOUT THE BAND Kait Hudson (vocals) – Kait started singing in high school and hasn’t stopped since. What began as singing covers with her sister on YouTube soon morphed into a full-time occupation. She picked up the guitar as an aside, more because at that stage, Kait hadn’t found the right chemistry with a guitarist yet. Expanding her musical knowledge turned out to be a blessing in disguise and now Kait lays down the foundations of her songwriting on the acoustic guitar. Her strength is really in the lyrics though, and with stacks of notebooks filled with lyrics and concepts, she has a wealth of material to draw inspiration from. Kait’s musical influences are all strong, revered vocalists such as Vic Fuentes (Pierce the Veil), Luke Boerman (Violent Soho) Hayley Williams (Paramore) and Serj Tankian (System Of A Down) to name a few. Travis Kay (guitar) – Travis started his musical career in high school playing guitar, He then began playing in a few local bands and also began uploading guitar covers onto youtube. He found he was inspired by other live bands while going to concerts and gigs and watching band documentaries about touring and being on the road. Travis is inspired by the likes of Good Charlotte, The Ataris, The Used and Mest to name a few. Joseph Fahri (drums) – Joseph’s passion for the drums started as a bit of a thumb at authority, during high school music class he wasn’t allowed to play the drums, which only encouraged him even more. His enthusiasm actually progressed into natural ability. Since then, the drums have become a prominent part of his musical life. Inspired by drummers such as Ilan Rubin, Matt, Cameron, Danny Carey and Travis Orbin, he has been honing his skills ever since. Growing up, his musical influences were the likes of Alice in Chains, The Vines and Ty Segal to name a few. Chris Frede (guitar) – Chris first started playing guitar at age 11! In the early years of high school, he became obsessed with music exploring many other bands and genres including Pearl Jam, Jimi Hendrix, The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Ghost Inside and Tommy Emanuel, just to name a few. Being inspired by a number of amazing guitarists including Matt Favelle, Mike Mccready and Steve Vai, Chris decided to take his love of music a step further and study at the Australian Institute of Music. This expanded his playing capacity and enhanced his ability to play the music he loved. Chris is heavily influenced by punk rock, pop punk and skate punk bands including Blink 182, Rancid and Sum 41. Steph Rogan (Bass) - Steph started playing bass at the age of 13 in high school. During this time period, Steph and her twin sister Clik, started a Pop Punk band, writing originals, playing covers and playing any show they could get! Towards the later years of high school, Steph started another project with her twin, founding metalcore outfit The Vaine, where she had the opportunity not only to learn a completely new sound and technique, but also to record an EP, album, and tour. Steph's love and passion for bass is more than just what she hears in metal/punk bands, but also heavily in electronic music; if it exists, she can hear and feel it. Steph's musical influences are varied from their styles and techniques, ranging from Flea (RHCP), Fieldy (KoRn), Paul Gray (Slipknot) and Johnny Christ (Avenged Sevenfold).