A Living End To 2018 Gigs

Author: Luke Voogt

Aussie rock legends The Living End lead a dozen-strong line-up of alternative bands in a series of gigs at Torquay over summer.

Barwon Heads drummer Andy Strachan was thrilled to play on Boxing Day at Torquay Hotel.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve done (pub) gigs,” he said.

“Everyone’s generally pretty loose and ready for a good time – I think more bands should do it.”

The gig kicks off an Australian and New Zealand tour for the multi-ARIA-winning band.

“I’m super excited – there are waves almost everywhere (on the east coast),” Strachan said.

“We should do this as an annual event – go on a little a surfing trip.”

The band recently released new album Wunderbar, featuring the single Don’t Lose It.

Jimmy Barnes, Kacey Chambers, Eddie McGuire and Ray Hadley appear in the track’s video clip parodying talent shows. “It was the most fun we’ve ever had doing a video clip,”

Strachan said. “Generally, with video clips, there’s a whole lot of waiting around but this one was just hilarious from start to finish.”

TV presenter Tom Williams, a good friend of Strachan’s, turns the satire up to 11 as a corny talent show host.

“He’s such a charismatic guy and he doesn’t mind the taking the piss out of himself,” Strachan said.

Living End guitarist Chris Cheney plays Boy George-esque judge ‘Valentino’ while bass player Scott Owen plays a corporate producer.

“I don’t care what they do, they can fart into a lunchbox,” Owen says in the clip.

“I just want someone who’s going to make money.”

Strachan said “all fingers were pointed directly at me” to play third judge, the Delta Goodrem-inspired Alexis Dream.

Molly Meldrum plays an Elvis impersonator, while The Wiggles’ Murray Cook and Puppetry of the Penis also make appearances.

“We had to blur some of that,” Strachan said.

“There’s an adults-only version somewhere.”

The number of celebrities “snowballed” once Cheney phoned Barnes for the video, Strachan said.

“He says, ‘whatever you need mate, I’m there,’ in his Jimmy voice.

“We’ve done a lot of stuff with Jimmy in the past – he and Chris get along really well.

“If you had said 20 years ago you’re going to be mates with Jimmy Barnes from Cold Chisel … it’s so surreal.”

The Living End finished Wunderbar in a few “intense” months of recording in Berlin, Strachan said.

Cheney wrote most of the new album, which Strachan described as high-energy and “sonically different to anything we’ve done”.

“Chris has a song-writing gift … but we all chip in,” Strachan said.

Jumping the tracks

Author: Andrew McMillen

The Living End’s new album, Wunderbar, should please the fans and attract new followers.

One of Australia’s greatest living rock songwriters sips a beer at an inner-Brisbane pub while musing on the fractured state of popular culture.

“I mean, that guy there: he might only listen to dance music,” says Chris Cheney, pointing at a worker in high-visibility clothing who sits nearby, enjoying a solo schooner on a Thursday afternoon. “We’re all listening to different things. These days, a hit is only a hit to the ­people who like it. It’s very rare to get people coming up to me saying, ‘Have you heard that song?’ or ‘You’ve got to get this record, it’s amazing!’ Everyone’s just on their own train.”

As frontman of the Living End, Cheney has navigated a prosperous and durable career for the Melbourne trio, whose 1998 self-titled debut contained a string of hit songs that came to ­define that era of Australian rock music. A ­decade later, fifth album White Noise was awarded an ARIA award for best rock album, while its title track won song of the year at the 2009 APRA Music Awards.

It’s a curious time to meet the musician in July, as he has one foot in the past while touring in a concert tribute to the White Album by the Beatles — the 1968 release from a simpler time, when cultural train tracks tended to share a ­single terminus.

Despite nightly performing timeless songs such as While My ­Guitar Gently Weeps, when he raises a glass with Review he’s looking ahead to the release of an eighth Living End album.

Even if his fellow day-drinkers at this quiet pub had never heard a note of his music, it’d be hard to mistake ­Cheney — who wears black sunglasses and his blonde hair swept back at the fringe — for anything other than a man who belongs on stage, guitar in hand, standing before a microphone.

This penchant for a distinctive dress sense harks back to his childhood. “I ­remember what it was like being an Elvis freak in high school,” he says. “People used to give me strange looks: I wore pointy shoes, had my collar up, and was right into the whole 1950s rockabilly thing. I’ve always felt some sort of empathy ­towards anyone that was sort of different.”

While watching his two daughters — now aged 12 and nine — start to express their indiv­iduality, and while tuning into recent national discussions surrounding subjects such as same-sex marriage and cyber-bullying, Cheney began to write a song about a social outcast.

That sketch became Not Like the Other Boys, a track built on a jangly chord progression whose first verse begins: “Danny was a little ­different from the rest / Not like the other boys / Always sitting on his own out in the schoolyard / Away from the other boys …”

Cheney’s adolescent enthusiasm for rockabilly — and, later, punk rock — was mirrored by double bassist Scott Owen. The pair formed the band in 1994, after meeting at Wheelers Hill Secondary College in Melbourne.

“We loved the Stray Cats, and what their roots were, while everybody else was listening to Bon Jovi, hip-hop and Nirvana,” Owen says by phone. “That’s kind of how we’ve always been and we’re still like that. We just make the music that we like, and try and show everyone: ‘Hey, look what happens when you put this and this together.’ It’s like cooking in the kitchen: ‘Here, taste this — it’s bloody awesome!’ ”

When it comes to writing words and music, Cheney has long since learned that his first goal is to satisfy himself, after years of honing his ­instincts. “I know that if I write something and go, ‘That is kick-arse!’, I know that Scott and [drummer] Andy [Strachan] and other people around me will [agree] — and then I know I’ve got something that’s undeniably catchy,” he says.

Eighth album Wunderbar was recorded in Berlin, with a view to having a new release ready ahead of the ­European summer festival circuit. Its evolution ­followed the familiar form of Cheney presenting skeletal ideas for his bandmates to build on, which is how the trio’s songwriting process usually works.

“Depending on the form­a­tion of the skeleton, it could be a few bones or it could be a complete structure,” says ­Strachan. “It could be a riff or it could be a few words that are really powerful. When we’re in the band room, we get excited, we fire off each others’ ideas, and that’s when things start to take shape.”

After spending much of his adult life as a performer, Owen says: “I think I play music more for myself now than I used to. Maybe I started off playing for ­myself, then I was straight out into the world of playing it for other ­people, and to try and make a living out of it. Those were a bit more intellectual sorts of reasons, rather than emotional. Now, I just feel totally privileged that we are still able to do this; still able to have a passion job.”

Given the stripped-back and distinctive style of rock ’n’ roll offered by its 11 tracks, Wunderbar will likely be met with enthus­iasm by the band’s packed train of followers, here and overseas. If any of its songs ­happen to jump the tracks and connect with a new audience, then that will be a happy bonus.

Wunderbar will be released on Friday via BMG.

The Living End

Author: Robert Dunstan

Last year was a big one for Australian rock trio The Living End as they toured Europe and the US under their own steam, did some shows in America as special guests of Midnight Oil and then came home to do another show with that band.

This year also promises to be another huge one for the band as they will kick it off by headlining a series of A Day On The Green concerts alongside American band Veruca Salt with Spiderbait, Tumbleweed and The Fauves being on the huge rock bill.

BSide Magazine chatted over the telephone late last year to drummer Andy Strachan while he was taking a break from a rehearsal.

“Yeah, we’re doing a gig for the NRL guys,” he says. “Funny thing is, I don’t know much about NRL and it’s a Triple M kind of thing. But we did a morning show for the AFL the other day.”

As Andy hails from South Australia – he was born and raised in Christies Beach and has now moved back after 25 years in Melbourne – we briefly discussed how NRL never took off in this state despite some major attempts before moving onto more relevant topics such as A Day On The Green.

“It’s an epic line-up and it’s going to be so much fun,” he suggests. “I’m really looking forward to it because it’s like a Big Day Out line-up. And, as that doesn’t exist anymore, it seems like the A Day On The Green guys have grabbed the concept.

“It’s also punter-friendly,” Andy enthuses. “It’s pretty relaxed and casual and we haven’t done A Day On The Green in Adelaide before although we’ve done a couple of interstate ones. And McLaren Vale is just such a beautiful spot with, arguably, the best wine in the world.”

“And I haven’t seen The Fauves for years,” he laughs. “Their Dogs Are The Best People is still one of my favourite songs. And seeing Tumbleweed again is going to be great. That will be epic. And fun. And we used to do heaps of shows with Spiderbait back in the old days but haven’t seen those guys for years. And I always though the two bands worked well together.”

Andy laughs when I mention A Day On The Green will be taking place on election day in Adelaide and that those on the electoral roll will be required to vote before heading to McLaren Vale.

“Maybe we can get a polling booth set up at the winery,” he then jokes. “People could have a couple of wines before they vote.”

Prior to joining The Living End in 2000, Andy was a member of various Adelaide bands before moving to Melbourne where he played with P76, Alcotomic and Pollyanna.

“I was with Violetine for a little while too,” he laughs. “But I was playing with Polyanna, who were about to wind up anyway, when I auditioned to join The Living End. I’d been recommended to them and then, when they asked me to join, I said, ‘You’ll have to wait a couple of weeks while I finish this tour with Polyanna’. So I literally stepped off a plane from Tasmania at the end of that tour and stepped into the rehearsal rooms with The Living End.”

The Living End released Shift in 2016 and launched it in Adelaide with two huge shows at the Governor Hindmarsh, but Andy says they are already in discussions about their next album.

“We had a fairly hectic run over in America – we just got back a few days ago – and prior to that we did a couple of European tours,” he reveals. “And while we were over in America, where we did a bunch of shows with Midnight Oil, we were talking a lot about the next album.

“So we’ll be getting together to do some writing soon and then look at what we’ve got for a new album,” Andy continues. “We actually feel pretty inspired at the moment because we’ve had such a good year. I dunno, but the harder we work overseas, the more it inspires us to continue. It feels really creative and I think that has something to do with playing night after night in America.”

Andy says that while touring overseas is good, the costs are considerable.

“We don’t make a million bucks out of it that’s for sure,” he laughs. “By the time you’ve taken in all the touring costs including airfares and stuff it doesn’t leave much. It all adds up but we put together some good shows and have a pretty loyal and quite fanatical following over there which helps. “And we generally play rooms that are comparable to the Gov in Adelaide,” Andy says. “There’s a place called Slim’s in San Francisco where we usually finish up a tour that’s very much like the Gov. It’s a well-run, dedicated, live music venue. And gigs at any of the House Of Blues venues are great to play as well.”

The Living End At The End Of The World

Author: Amanda VanElk

The announcement of the Day On The Green’s monster all-star 90’s line up for next March has everyone, including The Living End drummer Andy Strachan, feeling equal parts pumped and sentimental. The Living End, Spiderbait, Veruca Salt, The Lemonheads, Tumbleweed and The Fauves are touring 2018’s A Day On The Green- Australia’s last fully mobile music festival and Andy has a few things to say about his own taste in music, touring, and the wonders of Tasmanian seafood.

You’ve just finished a massive US tour, how are your energy levels going? Do you get more energised and inspired creatively by long tours or less so?
Oh man it was pretty gruelling by the end I think we’ve been hope for maybe nine or ten days now so body clocks are pretty much back to normal now which is nice but that was a pretty heavy run.

Do you tend to get personally inspired by longer tours or less so?
That’s a tough one, it’s pretty inspiring when you’re finished. As soon as you’re off the road you just wish you could go back on the road so it’s that catch 22 I s’pose. But it’s exciting to do all that stuff again and but it’s also great to be back home and I’m looking forward to playing shows in front of Aussie crowds again.

There’s a massive buzz down here around the announcement that you guys are touring Launceston for A Day On The Green next March. Do you think you’ll get any time to hang out in Tassie while you’re here?
Oh it generally doesn’t happen, we generally don’t have time anywhere we go but you can always hope! But anytime we get the opportunity we just go and eat as much fresh seafood as we can. Lots of oysters! That’s pretty special y’know. What’s that little area? Salamanca? It’s awesome, so we get pretty excited about oysters. We’ll probably go and try and find some of them…

Is the 90’s kid in you losing it a little bit at the prospect of touring A Day On The Green? You’ve got a pretty nostalgic Australian 90’s lineup with Spiderbait, The Fauves & Tumbleweed but also international heavyweights like Veruca Salt and The Lemonheads.
Yeah it’s gonna be unreal and were pretty good friends with the Spiderbait gang and we haven’t played a show with them in a long time so that’s just like wearing an old pair of shoes y’know, we always get together and have a good time. I think all the bands are gonna compliment each other and Spiderbait are such a great festival act, they’re always so much fun to watch. I haven’t seen the Fauves in it’d have to be ten years, even more.

The Living End released Shift in 2016. Can punters at A Day On The Green expect a focus on songs from this album for your 2018 live shows or are you gonna mix it up with the nostalgic stuff a bit?
I think we’re gonna play everything, we’re gonna pick and choose from every record. There’s seven records now so we kind of want to represent every record. Theres so many songs that we love to play but we really want to represent each album so everyone’s a winner at the end of the day. But yeah, we’re not going to be playing obscure B Sides or anything like thats we’re gonna play the songs that people wanna hear.

Do you listen to much music in your spare time or do you just look forward to silence when you can get it?
Oh a bit of both. I like surfing so that’s a past time where you can’t really listen to music because electricity and water don’t really mix. So that’s my quiet time but there’s generally music on wherever I am. If I’m driving I like to listen to music. If I’m at home I like to listen to music. It’s my job, it’s our job but it’s still a massive part of our lives outside of work. We all still listen to music just as excitedly as we did when we were a lot younger y’know. You know what I’ve

been loving lately? Dan Sultan’s new record. It’s called Killer and it’s just phenomenal. I hadn’t heard it and I put it on Spotify and I just can’t get enough of it now, it’s just incredible and I just hope people get to hear it because it’s really hard to get music out there these days and get it to that wider audience and it needs to be heard on a wider scale I think. He’s an incredible artist but it really blew my mind. It’s a masterpiece, incredible.

Can you tell me about something that has made you super proud recently. Be it musically or otherwise?
Pretty much every day when I see my little girl. She’s eight and when she comes home from school and she says she had a good day or she got an award from something. Y’know every time she says thank you…I don’t know she’s just a very cool human… she wrote a song recently. She’s pretty into playing ukulele and all sorts of things but she just writes songs now off her own bat. I’m proud of her, I’m incredibly proud of her. She’s just got a bunch of chords and she threw them all together and wrote some lyrics. It blows my mind. So I’m overwhelmed with proudness every day.

And finally, do you have a favourite drummer joke?
One of my favourites is: How do you know when the stage is level? Because there’s drool coming out of both sides of the drummer’s mouth.

The Living End

Author: Peter Hodgson

The music industry has changed. In some ways that sucks: bands don’t make money off recordings any more, audiences are fragmented, the album-as-art-form is under siege from the quick-hit single in a way we haven’t seen since the mid 60s. But in amongst the tumult are plenty of good things: bands are making themselves more accessible to fans than ever, they’re touring more, and they’re playing more unique and interesting venues. Case in point: the Twilight at Taronga and Melbourne Zoo Twilights concerts presented by ANZ. This year’s series has already featured the reunited george, Warpaint, Killing Heidi and Paul Dempsey, and next to take the stage are The Living End, with Dan Sultan and the String Sirens, supported by Gabriela Cohen.

“It’s such a different thing,” The Living End drummer Andy Strachan says. “I’ve never been to one of these shows but from all reports it’s amazing. Such a cool, chilled out vibe and a nice way to see rock’n’roll. We’re going to set the tone to fit into the environment a little more as well. We did a little photo shoot with some little llama-lookin’ things that were quite amazing. They were jumping all over us and being all affectionate and adorable. The zookeepers have the best job in the world. They seem to really love what they do and the animals seem really happy.”

So what kind of preparation goes into planning a show at a zoo? It’s gotta be different to a sweaty pub gig. “We’re gonna have elements of both, I think,” Strachan says. “The idea was to stretch ourselves a little bit and we’re going to do a bunch of stripped-back versions of songs. We have a couple of special guests. Dan Sultan is going to join us in Melbourne and we’ll have Josh Pyke and Jimmy Barnes in Sydney to jam with us. We’ve got a string section that’s going to join us for a few songs. It’s very, very different for us and a bit of a challenge, to be honest, but we’re really looking forward to it.”

From a logistical standpoint, Strachan will be playing a smaller kit: an 18” kick drum, a choked-up muffled snare drum with one cymbal and a pair of hot rods. “There’ll be acoustic guitars, and obviously Scotty’s bass is pretty much an acoustic instrument anyway, so we’ll be playing up that bluegrass kind of element. And I suppose that’s the challenge, at the end of the day: if it sounds good on an acoustic guitar and someone tapping along on their lap, when a song translates well in that way then it’s a good tune. But we really haven’t done this before. We’re just going to have as much fun as we can with it, and hopefully bring the house down.”

After these shows are in the rear view mirror, The Living End are hitting the road for an extended Australian regional tour. “We’ve got a bunch of shows coming up,” Strachan says. “We go straight into a regional tour to places that we haven’t been in seven or eight years. We’re going to Cairns, Geelong, Woollongong, places like that which we don’t often get to. We’re playing some proper rock’n’roll pub shows, and then a bunch of shows in Europe, a massive show in Hyde Park with Green Day, Rancid and a bunch of other bands and we’re very fortunate to be a part of that. Then we’re going to Spain, a festival in Canada and all sorts of places. And then I’m sure there’ll be another lap of Australia or maybe some festivals after that. There’s already talk of doing another record but when that happens, I’m not too sure. There’s still some fuel in the tank.”

As for the Zoo Twilights, the series continues with Kurt Vile, Tegan and Sara, Martha Wainwright and The Specials. All proceeds from the summer concert series go towards the zoo’s conservation work: Zoos Victoria have been fighting the extinction of the Eastern Barred Bandicoot, playing a key role in the recovery of the species, increasing community awareness and building programs to reintroduce it to the wild.

Living Endlessly

Author: Natalie O’Driscoll

It’s a bit of a scramble when I’m put through for my The Living End interview, as due to some crossed wires I’m speaking with drummer Andy Strachan instead of bassist Scott Owen. Suddenly all my carefully prepared questions about Scott’s notorious double bass playing are useless. I try not to panic.

Fortunately, the laid back Andy takes it all in his stride.

“It’s all good,” he chuckles as I explain why I’m discombobulated. “We’ll make it work. I could probably answer some of those questions for him, anyway.”

So we chat about Scott’s double bass collection, and whether or not they need a bunch of Batman-style reinforcements due the bashing he gives them. They must, I’m sure.

“He’s got a lot, and they certainly do need to be hot-rodded,” says Andy.

“He’s got this guy in Melbourne who basically gets a bass and then rebuilds it for Scott. The bridges are all reinforced and stuffed with pillowy stuff to stop it feeding back.

“Essentially it’s an orchestral instrument being played in a loud rock n roll band, so they’re bastardised versions for sure.”

Andy is charming and down to earth as we shoot the breeze about the music industry and the craziness of 2016.

“It’s a real challenge to survive as a band or musician these days,” he says.

Of course many musicians didn’t survive last year, in a more literal sense. I wonder if any of them hit him particularly hard.

“They all did in their own little way,” he says.

“George Michael the other day – you just don’t expect it – he’s too young! Bowie was one of the ones that – you know in his genius he knew exactly what was going on and he’s having the last laugh watching the world.”

Back to living artists. The Living End have collaborated with a veritable who’s who of the Australian music industry, with Jimmy Barnes, Jet and Paul Kelly all working with one or more band members over the years. Andy has his own list of dream collaborators.

“We’d love to work with Josh Homme from QOTSA that’d be really fun. I love the way he creates. He’s obviously an incredible musician, and he doesn’t let the rules get in the way of a good song.

“Jack White would be really great. The energy he would bring, particularly with Chris’ guitar playing!

“I would do almost anything to get in a room with Neil Finn and do some work. Chris did a really great version of a Crowded House song. Neil Finn would be incredible.”

2016 saw The Living End release their seventh studio album, Shift. Peaking at No. 4 on the ARIA charts, Shift gave fans both a healthy dose of the driving rock that they expected, and also a slightly shifted (sorry!) perspective with some down-tempo tracks, pop melodies and even a full string section.

Introspective track Coma received critical praise, something Andy agrees with.

“I really like Coma, which is probably the most different track on the whole record.

“Then there’s Death, which that’s pretty ballsy and that was the song that sort of got the whole thing rolling, it felt like we really got a hold of something.”

The trio is bursting with energy following their long hiatus, and excited to be touring the new album. Andy mentions that his musical heroes all have one thing in common – that they’re having the best time doing what they do. I wonder if that is the key to The Living End’s reputation as one of the best live acts, ever.

“Absolutely,” states Andy.

“Every show to us – whether it’s for ten people or ten thousand – we get completely caught up in the whole thing. ‘Cause it’s a three piece band, there’s no room for anyone to be lazy. When it’s really locking it’s a pretty powerful experience.

“Still after all these years it’s the best job in the world.”

Andy Strachan

Author: Tim Mayne

Andy Sang, Andy Watched
Better known as the drummer for The Living End, Andy Strachan has just released his self-titled EP, something the talented musician says was a labour of love, with a little help from his friends.

While The Living End are putting the finishing touches on the group’s seventh studio album, drummer Andy Strachan says he decided to continue on with another personal project, this time operating under his own name.
“The EP took forever because I did it in spits and spurts and finished recording the whole thing over a year ago and bashed it altogether. There is no pre-production, just a lot of tweaking and it came together and then I have to save some coin to release it, it takes a long time but is a real challenge and has been fun.”

The debut single from the self-titled album, Follow The Sun, certainly catches your attention with a mix of heavy riffs, solid lyrics and eerie melodies, something Strachan says got the thumbs up from his producer and good friend Woody Annison.
“That riff came along and I thought that is good and put it aside and Woody and I worked on the riff and it just sounded so heavy.
“My mind went into this negative thought process and thought about suicide and people jumping off bridges.
“I thought I did not want to be singing about that and put it on the back burner and a few months later I put a positive spin on it about getting out of bed every morning and getting on with it.
“When you are writing songs there are not fifty thousand options – there is just what sounds good to my ear and that cuts down the decision process a lot.”

Strachan is currently locking himself away in his ‘man room’ working out how he will play the tracks live. He notes that while The Living End is his main priority, his latest EP is about keeping the creative juices flowing in between recording and live performances.
“This is about keeping me occupied and I have a batch of 20-odd songs ready to go when I get the chance. I am a shit guitarist and occasionally I will wrap strings in dunny paper because I only want two strings working at a time. I have two guitars and there are a couple of super fast songs I have written and eventually want to record.”

Happy End

Author: Unknown

THE Happy Accidents are back at The Piping Hot Chicken and Burger Grill for a special show on August 30.

Andy Strachan (Living End), Simon Dawe and Tim Neal (and guests) will be cooking up their own unique brand of solid, high energy Funk with smatterings of Reggae all smothered in Soul.

Joining them on the night are guests ‘Last Coast’.

Last Coast hail from Barwon Heads and over the course of 2014 have been developing their brand of rock atmospherica.

Tickets are $15, available from The Piping Hot Chicken and Burger Grill, get them early as it sold out last time. Tel: 52551566.

Still Rolling On

Author: Stephen Bissett

The last time Aussie rock legend Jimmy Barnes graced the stage at Bimbadgen Winery, all 8000 tickets sold out on the first day. So, you can be pretty sure that his upcoming Hunter show to celebrate 30 years as a solo artist will be one for the ages – especially with the likes of the Living End, Baby Animals, Mahalia Barnes and the Soul Mates and Nick Barker on the bill.

“Mate, this show is going to be absolutely huge,” Living End drummer Andy Strachan told TE.

“It’s been a little while for us so to be hitting the stage with not only Jimmy, but also the Baby Animals, who are just an amazing band, Jimmy’s daughter and Nick Barker is very exciting for us.”

The Living End’s inclusion on the bill follows on from their recent collaboration with Barnes on a reworking of his classic track Lay Down Your Guns, from his upcoming 30/30 Anniversary album that also features collaborations with Little Steven Van Zandt, Tina Arena, Jon Stevens, Journey and Keith Urban.

If you’ve heard the 2014 version of Lay Down Your Guns you’d already know that this is Barnes in career-best form while the Living End provide a ferocious backing -possibly the only band in Oz that could match it with Barnes’ powerhouse vocals.

“The guy just blows me away,” Strachan said. “We basically did the song in one take – he just rocked up to the microphone and yelled ‘g’day boys’ down the mic and we just ripped into it – we didn’t really overthink things, we just went in there and belted it out.

While the Living End have been pretty quiet on the touring front this year, after two and a half years of solid touring off the back of their latest long player The Ending Is Just The Beginning Repeating, Strachan said that there had been talk of new material, although distance has made it a bit difficult.

“We have been a little bit quiet – I mean I’m in Melbourne, Scott [Owen, bass] is in NSW and Chris [Cheney, guitar] is in the US so it can be a bit tricky, especially when we’re the type of band that likes to do everything live – but we are definitely looking to record again in the very near future.”

However, Strachan added that punters could expect the band to pull out all the stops at the Bimbadgen show.

“We treat playing live like a footy match – we like to start big and end bigger.”

Catch Jimmy Barnes, The Living End, Baby Animals, Mahalia Barnes and the Soul Mates and Nick Barker at Bimbadgen Winery on Saturday, November 8. Tickets are on sale now via ticketmaster.com.au

Concert in a class of its own

Author: Jolene Ogle

TICKETS are flying out the door to Noosa’s first major music festival, with event organisers expecting the family-friendly concert to sell out.

The Originals Music Festival on 13 September will feature a tasteful blend of local talent and some big-name Aussie acts on two stages for the one-day concert.

Ash Grunwald will team up with The Living End band members, Scott Owen and Andy Strachan, as the headline act along with Triple J darlings Sticky Fingers, Kingswood, Bonjah and local heroes, OKA and Carl Wockner.

The funky reggae-inspired ln2Nation will also take to the stage, plus local acts Ayla, Bec Laughton, Electrik Lemonade and Sahara Beck.

The Originals Music Festival is the latest offering from East Coast Originals (ECO), the team that delivers the free community concerts, Peregian Originals and Cooroy Originals, every month.

The two Originals concerts have proven a huge success with more than 800 people gathering to hear the

latest in local, live talent every month, but the loss of major sponsor Peregian Surf Club left the group facing an uncertain future.

Event organiser Marcus Pluckhahn said the Originals Music Festival is designed to ensure the sustainability and self-sufficiency of the all-ages event for years to come.

“The Originals Music festival aims to keep its grassroots, family-friendly vibe for years to come,” he said.

“The idea of an Originals music festival was hatched to capitalise on the popularity of the Peregian and Cooroy community concerts, which will hopefully ensure a long life for the events.”

The festival will focus on a mix of local and national acts in an effort to remain true to the community concert’s focus on local talent.

“There is so much amazing music in Australia. We want to steer away from big headliners and pick great music that goes with our culture,” Marcus said.

“It’s very important for us to have people come to our festival because they trust the Originals will be a great day, no matter who we put on.

“It has worked with ECO for 14 years, so we see no reason to change the formula for the festival.”

The inaugural Originals Music Festival will be held at the Noosa AFL Grounds, Weyba Road, Noosaville, on 13 September, from 10am.

Tickets are available now from $40 for adults, $25 for children aged 13 to 17-years, and $5 for children 12 and under.

To grab your ticket before they sell out, visit www.originalsmusicfestival.com.au or get along to any Peregian Originals or Cooroy Originals community concert.