Kris from The Basics checks in with us from the road.
October 20:Sunday was one of those massive days that never seem to end - in fact it kinda doesn't. After a late Saturday night gig in the pit that Northbridge has become (Surfers Paradise is a retirement village by comparison), it was a relatively early rise for a Triple J ring-in, a spot on Nova FM with the lovely Mel Sargeant, and then a filmed interview with Radio Dingbat. There was a bit of verbal argy bargy during and after the interview, a result of too few hours of sleep and a bit too much sun, but it was all over soon enough and it was all smiles again.
A quick soundcheck for our Mojo's gig in Fremantle and I made a dash for my uncle's place in Leeming. A BBQ dinner with him and a bunch of cousins flew by before heading back to the venue. A ripper gig it was, plenty of family and familiar faces and it was a shame we had to head for the airport straight after for the red-eye flight back to Melbourne. Careening up the Stirling Highway toward the Domestic Terminal was a confusedly enjoyable affair, as Tim's navigation came second to another beer, but between the two of us (me behind the wheel), we pulled in to Virgin Blue with a minute to check in.
The rest is a bit of a blur - $40 worth of inflight snacks, witty repartee with the hostesses, and we passed out for an hour or two before bumbling forward into Tullamarine and straight for PBS FM...
October 21:
Following our 5:30am arrival into Tullamarine airport, we arrived at PBS FM shortly after and collapsed in the hallways for 45 minutes of sweet respite. Collecting ourselves, the interview at 7:30am came through with some pretty interesting answers from the three of us.
Lyndelle (inteviewer): So Tim! Describe your "new sound"...
Me: Well, we made an egg. A musical egg came out of our bottoms - full of musical nourishment.
Everyone else: Hmmm...
And so while Kris and Wally went back to Frankston to get the PA, I slept for a few hours.
We then met up at Parade College - Wally's old school. Unfortunately it was the Year 12 "Muck Up Day". As an all-boys school, it meant there were some hideous creations in the fashion department. 100 boys in drag sitting cross-legged staring at you at midday while you're completely sober is rather daunting to say the least. In any case, we got through it and then did a "Q&A" with Stuary Brownlee - the music teacher... who must have taught Wally a thing or two about "show business".
Stuart: So Wally, when you won your ARIA, did you go out and party, or just go home and eat a bowl of Weet Bix?
Wally: Not really. But after a gig there's nothing better than a bowl of Weet Bix.
Stuart: I hear you, brother!
It turns out that Wally never had Stu as a teacher but clearly somethings in life are only too good...
October 22:
Having played our "ghost member" Dave Bramble's school Hawthorn Secondary yesterday, today we drove the van to Castlemaine, about an hour and a half north-west of Melbourne, to play at Tim's old high school Castlemaine Secondary College.
Starting off with an untempo number (Yeah, Yeah), the kids are up and jivin' before we've even got to the first chorus. We've played in Castlemaine before and some of the students known our songs. It was nice to get such a positive energy directed back at us and so we stuck with mostly danceable rock'n'roll numbers. The students' enthusiasm was easily the strongest out of any high school we've played so far.
After the performance Tim led us to the gully behind the art supplies store room, where he used to smoke with his school mates. He told me this morning he was a little nervous about doing his old school today - "I was a bad boy, Wally. They might give me detention."
On the contrary, the staff were very positive, and our first workshop for the tour - although unplanned - had a good balance of Q&A and jamming with the music students. Let's try and find something other than a 12-bar blues next time though, boys - how about advanced African polyrhythms as applied to the contemporary drumkit?
