Papa Vs Pretty Vs The VascoEra

Tue 25th Oct, 2011 in Features

The Vasco Era are about to load up the van for a national tour with Sydney’s Papa Vs Pretty tagging along for the ride. Before they set off PvP’s bass guitarist Angus Gardiner spoke to The Vasco Era’s Sid O’Neil to find out what he should pack, how to handle hecklers and the correct number of musicians to pile into a tour van.

Hi, How’s it going?
I am very good, I just finished a psychology exam and it was my last one for the year so I am relaxed. It was multiple choice so that always helps.

Touring with other bands is great because you get to pile into a van together for three weeks. Which Australian bands would you most/least like to pile into a van with? And how much piling is too much piling?
The band I would most like to pile into a van with is the John Steel Singers, because there are six of them and that would mean a party. You can never get bored at a moving party and vans move a lot of the time.

The band I would least like to pile in to a van with is Little Red because if we did any kind of quiz type thing I would lose.

There is no such thing as too much piling, anyone who thinks there is should remember the old ‘How many clowns can you fit in to a small car trick’ at the circus.

Has anyone made the mistake of calling your band ‘The Vasco Error’. And did they understand the grave irony of this mistake?
I have heard that about 100 times. One time on Mess and Noise, someone said “Who the fuck is the Vasco Error and why does this even qualify as a story?”. Someone also once called us Tabasco smearer, which I thought was quite witty.

Oddest gig experience?
I choked on a beer label that was stuck on the inside of a guitar slide that I was singing through. I couldn’t breathe for about 45 seconds and every one went really quite. Then my Dad ran up onto stage and performed the Heimlich manoeuvre on me.

Best ever heckler from the crowd? And your response?
Someone yelled out ‘Did they get a KFC in Apollo Bay?’ referring to the fact that I had put on weight. I responded by saying yes.

What do you guys do for day jobs?
I don’t have a job, but don’t let that trick you into thinking that we make any money off the band. I live off the money I get to go to uni, which is 370 bucks per fortnight. Having no money really is fun though.

Who are some of your favourite bands/individual instrumentalists?
Neil Young, Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, The Smiths, Pavement, Sonic Youth, Weezer, Neutral Milk Hotel, Panda Bear (kind of), Muddy Waters.

Which town do you think has the best music scene in Australia?
Tamworth, because it has the least amount of chin stroking, we played at the festival there once and everyone was having a really good time without worrying about nothin’. I also felt the same about Port Fairy, but I don’t really know if they are scenes, or just utopian weekends of awesomeness.

Anything you want us to bring with us on the tour that you guys will probably forget?
Bring some clothes cause I don’t have a bag and Ted gets tired of me stealing stuff.

The Vasco Era and Papa Vs Pretty tour:

Wednesday 26th October – ANU Bar, Canberra
Thursday 27th October – Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle
Friday 28th October – Manning Bar, Sydney
Saturday 29th October – Coolangatta Hotel, Coolangatta
Sunday 30th October – The Zoo, Brisbane
Thursday 10th November – Prince of Wales, Bunbury
Friday 11th November – Rosemount, Perth
Saturday 12th November – Mojo’s, Fremantle
Wednesday 23rd November – Karova Lounge, Ballarat
Thursday 24th November – Hi Fi, Melbourne
Friday 25th November – Bended Elbow, Geelong
Satursday 26th November – Adelaide Uni Bar, Adelaide