TWO bands changed Kram's life as a teenager and steered him down rock'n'roll's path with alt-rock legends Spiderbait.
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One were punk pioneers The Sex Pistols, with their unbridled attitude, the other were the greatest band of them all, The Beatles. The songs, the variety, the personalities - everything appealed to Kram when he first picked up his drumsticks in Finley.
"It was a real revelation; first and foremost I couldn't believe how many good songs there were," Kram says. "Every single song was fantastic, without fail."
That love affair hasn't diminished. Instead, spending almost three decades in Spiderbait has only solidified Kram's admiration for what The Beatles achieved in their eight-year recording career.
Kram found a mutual admiration for The Beatles in his '90s and early 2000s contemporaries Darren Middleton (Powderfinger), Davey Lane (You Am I) and Mark Wilson (Jet). After some urging from Lane, the four friends decided to form the supergroup ARC to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Beatles' final album, Abbey Road, by performing the record start to finish.
Unlike The White Album shows which have been performed over the past decade by Phil Jamieson, Tim Rogers, Josh Pyke and Chris Cheney, Kram says ARC won't be merely singing Beatles tracks in front of a rock orchestra, they will perform the majority of the album as a band.
There's even talk of ARC recording original material after Abbey Road.
"I guess the band is one of those supergroups, which often don't work because there's too many egos involved," Kram says. "But this is very much the opposite, which makes it feel like a real band in a sense, as there's so much equality.
"It's what I'm very used to in Spiderbait, but to do a production like this, we're all in it together, however it turns out."
The story of Abbey Road is remarkable. The album was recorded in 1969 following the bitter atmosphere of the Let It Be sessions, which all but dissolved the Fab Four.
John Lennon had become more interested in peace politics and the avant-garde with wife Yoko Ono, George Harrison was frustrated with his limited songwriting opportunities and Paul McCartney was attempting to drive his increasingly jaded bandmates, all the while they squabbled over the management of the group.
But for one final fling, the Liverpool lads united to record one of their greatest masterpieces. Abbey Road features some of their finest moments, such as Lennon's bluesy Come Together, Harrison's stirring ballads Something and Here Comes The Sun and McCartney's side B medley, which culminates in the poignant The End.
"It's sad for the rest of us that we didn't get to hear more Beatles tracks, but it saved them," Kram says. "The decision that was made [to split] is one of the things that make this album special."
Due to popular demand ARC has added a Abbey Road Live show at Wests NEX in Newcastle on August 22.