Margaret River local 'stoked' as music career takes off

Life, according to Margaret River local Peppa Lane, has moved at incredible speed since the young bass player took a big leap into her music career, joining WA band Spacey Jane in 2019.

"At first it was a big life adjustment to get used to, joining the band happened very fast," Lane told the Mail this week.

"Suddenly I was playing Splendour in the Grass and getting recognised in the street, but now my brain has caught up and I'm stoked!"

Spacey Jane formed in Geraldton in 2016 through high school friends Caleb Harper (vocals) and Kieran Lama (drums), who were joined by Ashton Hardman Le Cornu (guitar) and Amelia Murray (bass).

Their debut single 'Still Running' was released in 2017, followed by the EP 'No Way to Treat an Animal' the same year.

A Triple J Unearthed win in 2018 gave them a coveted Falls Festival spot, and by 2019 their song 'Good For You' made it to #80 on the Hottest 100 charts.

After studying at the WA Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), Lane stepped in to replace Murray in 2019, and said the band had made the transition an easy one.

"The previous bass player left big shoes to fill, which can be slightly terrifying at times, but the band is super supportive and I am enjoying each moment as it comes," she said.

In early 2020, the band signed a marketing and distribution deal with UK record label AWAL, and their debut album 'Sunlight' was released in June.

Now, in a poll that Triple J has promised is one of the closest ever races to the top of the annual list, Spacey Jane's 'Booster Seat' is tipped to chart close to the top - and could even take out the #1 spot.

Sportsbet has the song as second favourite behind Glass Animals' 'Heat Wave'.

If 'Booster Seat' takes the #1 spot it will be the first time an act from WA will achieve the feat, and a Top 10 position will put the band in the company of top-charting West Aussie bands including Jebediah, The Waifs, Tame Impala, Eskimo Joe, Little Birdy and the John Butler Trio.

Tame Impala's 2015 single 'The Less I Know The Better' was named the best song from the ten years between 2010 and 2020.

Eskimo Joe came close to claiming victory in 2006 after their hit single, 'Black Fingernails, Red Wine' placed second.

For Peppa Lane, the thrill of creating and working in the music industry and years of study, rehearsal and performance, is reward enough.

"This is what I have wanted to do my whole life," she said.

"And I still can't believe it's actually happening."