Bugdust are one of the toughest and more talented rock bands to emerge out of Melbourne recently and have gained a killer live reputation, you can check out some reviews here. The band are currently showcasing and recording new material for their debut album in Texas, USA with legendary producer, Neil Kernon (Judas Priest, Queen, Sex Pistols) and FasterLouder has managed to have a peek inside the band’s tour diary written by Shannon Trottman to see what the band have been up to.
Budgust travel to America via Japan.
After months of planning and preparation Friday 22nd of April finally arrived. We’d be leaving Bayswater behind for the next few months and heading to the US of Motherfuckin’ A to record our first full length album… ROCK’N’ROLL!!
We departed Melbourne by 9.30am, Alex (a rather nervous flyer) cranked Slayers’ Angel of Death on his iPod to see him through… he survived! Our first stop was Tokyo, Japan where we had a 18 hour lay over… enough time to get up to some mischief. Adam vomited his way through the landing (he blames the plane food, the rest of us blame the free alcohol). Tokyo was fantastic. We stayed just out of the city in the town of Narita, close enough to hit the streets and check out the culture.
Did you know that magazines are backwards in Japan? Trippy! We left the next day by early afternoon. Next stop Chicago, Illinois!
We arrived in the USA on the 23rd. Chicago was freezing, even snowing at times… seems we had brought the Melbourne weather with us! We met up with Martti from our record company and he put us up in a little hotel about 40 mins from the city in the town of Elgin, Illinois. We had a few days to kill here, so we kicked back and tried to adjust to the new time zone.
Chicago people seemed pretty friendly. Adam adopted a rather peculiar ex-marine who kept us pretty entertained for a few days, “I haven’t killed myself an Australian in at least an hour”... welcome to America, Bugdust!!
By midnight on the 26th we began our journey east, across four states in 16 hours to New York City! Crammed tightly into the van, we got to know each others body odours pretty quickly. Iron Maiden cranked and the miles flying by, we arrived at our hotel in New Jersey by 4pm the next day. It was great to be out on the road again, even if the cars travel on the wrong side.
Our first show was on the 27th at a seedy little venue called Don Hills In Manhattan, New York. It was amazing to be there in the largest city in the world. Our jaws gaped open at the sheer size of it. We played at about 1.30am that night. Rocked our asses off. We hadn’t traveled 11,000 miles for anything less. The show went down really well, a fairly small crowd, but appreciative of the Bayzy rock smashing through the P.A. We we’re a little sloppy by our own standards, but it was a great night anyway!
Of course, a few drinks followed…
The next night we hit Brooklyn at a venue called The Trash Club. With three other bands on, it was cool to check out some NY talent. The other bands were really cool and embraced us with open ears. By the time we hit the stage after midnight, we had won quite a few new fans. The show rocked. It seems that most bands only play for about 30mins in the states. So many people, so many bands I guess. We rocked with full force, I think the band after us were scared to go on! So we hung out afterwards, sold a bit of merch and drank with out new friends!
The next two nights over the 29th & the 30th were fucking awesome! We played at one of the most elite rock venues in Manhattan called The Snitch Club (partly owned by Duff, Slash & Scott Weiland from Velvet Revolver). A small venue, hidden upstairs, wall to wall with stock brokers and sexy women. We totally killed them there, smashing out our songs like it was Wembley Arena. Alex spat beer into the air. I stood on top of the PA speakers and shredded Shan Halen style. JT lost litres of water in sweat and Adz was electrifying in more ways than one! (dodgy earthing) For a couple of lads from Melbourne, Australia, we were showing these New Yorkers how it’s really done!! We had the time of lives, playing a bunch of shows we wont be forgetting in a hurry!
We ended up back in Brooklyn at our new favourite bar Duffs owned by a seven foot, hearse driving, tattooed legend called Jimmy Duff.
His bar was like home. Heavy metal, horror movies and beer! Jimmy couldn’t make it to the show, but sent down two New York Hells Angels on his behalf.
We definitely made the right friends in our four day stay in New York!
After another 16 hour drive, we made our way back to Chicago on the 3rd of May, which is where we are now, currently in pre-production with our producer Neil Kernon (Judas Priest, Queen, Sex Pistols) in a local rehearsal space. The adventures are only just beginning.
Next stop El Paso… Texas. We’ll keep you posted!
Van fever, farting, snoring and mischief by Shannon.
So there we were in Chicago. A few days of pre-production with our English producer Neil Kernon… things went well. We played through all of the possible songs for the recording and left him with copies to ponder over and scrutinize. Seems he’s pretty happy with the songs and is ready to rock!!
The next few days were to be pretty painful. A 1500 mile drive lay between us and El Paso Texas. Three full days of van fever, farting, snoring and mischief. We headed south from Chicago, made our way through southern Illinois, which consisted of some beautiful countryside. With all that we know about America, it’s easy to forget that it’s actually quite a picturesque country. The further south we headed, the hotter the temperature became. By the time we hit St. Louis (you know the one, with the giant grey arch that looks like half a MacDonalds sign) things were definitely pretty warm.
The three days cruised by surprisingly well. Super8 motels, massive home cooked truck stop diner meals and about 3000 cigarettes! We passed through Oklahoma into Texas on Sunday the 8th. We knew were in another state from the road kill. Instead of raccoons sleeping foolishly on the side of the road it was armadillos. The Texas flag flew in almost every direction, a country all in itself “Don’t Mess With Texas” was the feeling it left us!! Slowly the terrain started to dry out and the familiar sights of the desert started to take over. We even encountered a tornado warning along the way as a massive storm front moved in. No luck though, maybe next time.
On Monday the 9th, we rolled in to El Paso and reached Sonic Ranch Recording Studios, our home for the next three weeks. What a spectacular place. Nestled in amongst a 3000 acre pecan orchid, it’s like an oasis in the middle of the desert, beautiful and lush with greenery. As for the studio, our jaws dropped open at the initial tour of the facilities. Massive rooms, the biggest control room we’ve ever seen, amazing studios, a lifelong collection of guitars and amps. We were like kids in a candy store!
We started tracking on Tuesday the 10th, spending a good part of the first day setting up drums and gathering sounds. By later that night we were smashing out our first song, Mexican Death Squad seemed appropriate seeing as how we’re on the border of Texas and Mexico! Let the fun and games begin.
We’re about three days in now, have just finished the drum tracking on the 20 or so songs we’ll be selecting for our debut record. It’s so exciting. We’re still pinching ourselves that we’re actually here, all the way from Bayswater to El Paradise!!!
If you happen to be in the United States during June, you can catch Bugdust at these venues, if not, be sure to catch them on their return to Australian shores.
June
1st – Austin – Broken Teeth (Danger Toys & Watchtower)
2nd San Antonio
3rd – Houston
4th Baton Rouge
5th - Dallas
8th – Philadelphia
9th – Brooklyn
10th – Manhattan
11th – Manhattan
12th – New Jersey
14th – Cincinnati
15th – Cleveland
17th – Chicago
18th – Depart for home, sweet home.
to listen to their music now on 