“This is the most excited we’ve ever been about a tour – we’re playing stadiums!” Ally Spazzy exclaimed to me one afternoon, and I think she’s just summed up the entire Coke Live and Local tour.
Whether it’s the swarms of kids eager to see some of Australia’s finest bands playing, or our finest bands playing to some of the largest crowds they’ve seen before, everyone’s going a bit loco over this tour. Building on from last year, which saw Coke put Magic Dirt, Jebediah and Machine Gun Fellatio amongst others one the road, this year they’ve come back even stronger, with a stellar line up of The Living End, Spiderbait, Dallas Crane, P-Money and the Spazzys. And they’re still ready to take it all over the country.
We spoke with Janet English of Spiderbait, and Andy Strachan of The Living End about the tour, and why everybody’s looking forward to it so darn much.
“It’s a bloody great Aussie showcase, I reckon!” Strachan explodes, “With Dallas Crane, Spiderbait and the Spazzys, what more could you ask for? Once we found out it was such a great line up we were stoked on the idea.
“It’s just awesome,” he declares, “It sold out really quick too. It’s very, very cool. We’re really excited about doing it. Not just because of the great other bands, but I believe the venues are really, really huge. So we’ll be playing to lots and lots of people, I can’t wait. It’s a great way to get a lot of new fans too. We’ll make sure of that. It’s a good way to get out there and play some new songs as well.”
The new songs Strachan is referring to are those from The Living End’s forthcoming album – one they chose to play out in secret shows before heading into the studio. “Part of our pre-production, I suppose, was to test drive the songs. We did a handful of funny little shows, they were really good. It’s a good way to work out what you have to change, and what works and what doesn’t. Hopefully people will be excited about the new songs, we’ll take them to the masses on this tour!
“This tour is such a good opportunity to show the kids what Australian rock really is. I love doing underage stuff. They’ve got so much energy, it’s always good fun. It’s a pretty easy task get up in front of a bunch of crazy kids that are enjoying it, and that’s what it’s all about. We love doing them, and hopefully we’ll do lots and lots and lots for the new album.”
An underage music scene is strangely lacking from Australia, and is something that needs to be blossomed, something that this tour has certainly highlighted. When a stadium tour sells out in two days, there’s obviously a market that should be addressed. “Absolutely!” Strachan agrees. I mean it’s always so hard to find the right venue, and get the right licensing, but it’s certainly something that we are looking forward to continue doing.”
When talk turns back to the tour, Strachan’s still excited, and understandably so: he’s about to go on tour with Australia’s best bands. “I’m looking forward to seeing everyone! The Spazzys are great fun to watch live. I’ve only seen them play twice, but they always have a good time when they’re playing. Dallas Crane, they’re Dallas Crane! They’re bloody awesome! And Spiderbait? Kram’s just a bloody character.”
With so much fun and craziness looming, surely there’ll be some great tour stories to tell when they all get home. “I hope there’ll be some crazy hijinks on this tour. Kram and bloody Shannon from Dallas Crane, they’re really funny guys. So I’m sure there’ll be some antics going on. It might just stay on the road, though!” Strachan says with a laugh.
English is taking a slightly different approach, looking to the future with this tour, and the opportunities it may open up for not only her band, but live music in Australia in general. “I think that it’s probably a good thing for us to be able to play live in venues like those. For Australian bands, it’s pretty big,” she says, almost in disbelief, “Gigs are kind of drying up for rock music, so it’s hard. Touring is more and more difficult. If you talk to Australian bands, then touring is the only way to put money into the band and keep going.”
But that’s not the only perk for bands. Coke Live and Local has helped establish another viable line up of gigs, that’ll certainly help out all the bands involved. “Those big summer festivals are great, if you’re on the run of the festival! But if you’re not, the touring for the rest of the year is really tough. This really, really helps out with that.
“We’re going to be playing stadiums, to tens of thousands of kids, and it’s all sold out. It’s a good sign, I reckon. It’s interesting, tour organisers may have to look at the underage market a little more now. Hopefully this means people are getting back into seeing live music, I don’t know.”
When Dallas Crane played some early, underage shows in the Coke Live ‘05 promotion, he seemed to take on a demeanour of Noni Hazelhurst crossed with Steve Urwin as he communicated with a somewhat foreign demographic. “That’s fantastic!” English says through a hearty laugh, “That’s not a bad idea! Our stage guy, the guy who does all our roady-ing and stage teching does a tour with us, and then he goes on tour with The Wiggles!
“I’m going to find out how they work the crowd. Apparently The Wiggles only play shows in the morning, then the kids can have a nap in the afternoon. Can you imagine getting rock types up to play morning shows?” English digresses, “That would be kind of tricky. Can you remember that show Recovery? It went live, so it started at 9am, and the problems they had with getting bands to get there on time was ridiculous. Most bands just stayed up all night after shows so they’d get there on time!”
But because this is all about excitement, surely there is something Spiderbait are excited about doing? “Well, we’ll be playing to a whole new crowd! When Black Betty came out, people were coming up to us going, ‘So, how long have you guys been around? When did you write this song?’ and things like that. The record company weren’t sure about putting that song out. It was a real struggle to get it released – and now look what it’s done!
“So, playing to a new crowd,” she settles, “Everyone thinks we’re a new band. They thought it when we released Calypso as well. We keep sounding like different bands. It’s definitely a good thing!”
If all goes to plan, this tour will breathe new life into local rock music over the next few years. “I hope so, I really hope so,” English agrees, and I couldn’t have put it better myself.
Check it out:
30 September 2005 Brisbane Entertainment Centre, QLD
1 October 2005 Sydney Entertainment Centre, NSW
6 October 2005 Perth Challenge Stadium, WA
8 October 2005 Adelaide Entertainment Centre, SA
9 October 2005 Melbourne Rod Laver Arena, VIC
