As Aussie rockers Grinspoon head out on their 'Chemical Hearts' national tour celebrating their back catalogue, guitarist Pat Davern reckons he's a pretty lucky guy.
“I get to tour with my band still. After almost 25 years I can still get up and go out for a tour every now and then, and I'm even looking to write some new music, which is great,” Pat says.
“So I'm very appreciative, and I'm very appreciative of our audience for allowing us to do things like that, it's absolutely mind-blowing really. I think we're very lucky.”
Last on the road in 2017 for the 20th anniversary tour of debut album 'Guide To Better Living', Grinspoon now take the opportunity on 'Chemical Hearts' to give their back catalogue a good airing.
“With our last tour, we hadn't toured since 2012, which was for our last album 'Black Rabbits', and the response we got from that tour was crazy,” Pat says of their 2017 run.
“That was probably the most successful tour we've ever done in Australia – everything was sold-out. We were totally blown away really. We weren't sure how going out again and doing a retrospective of our whole career, which is what we're doing this time, is going to go, but once again we've been blown away by the response. We can't be more grateful really.”
On the 'Chemical Hearts' tour, Pat says both the band and fans will get to enjoy songs from across their entire discography, including a few that have never been played live before. “At the end of the day, the 'Guide To Better Living' tour in 2017, we basically just played that album in its entirety and then tacked a few songs on at the end of it as a short encore,” he explains.
“This time we get to delve into our entire back catalogue. . . as far as the tour goes, the options are wide and far with the kind of back catalogue we've got so it gives us the opportunity to play stuff we haven't played for a long time and it also gives our fans the opportunity to hear songs from our entire career, not just from one album.”
Pat goes on to say that although it would have been easier to do a 20th anniversary tour for their 1999 album 'Easy', “that wouldn't have been cool”.
Instead, 'Chemical Hearts' will be a living celebration of Grinspoon, their music and the fans that have made them a fixture of the Australian rock scene, from their breakthrough winning the first triple j Unearthed competition, through lead singer Phil Jamieson's struggle with addiction and right up to this very day.
Grinspoon hit the road with the 'Chemical Hearts' tour in October supported by The Hard Aches, Gooch Palms and Bugs; a special edition 'Chemical Hearts' vinyl will also be available. “We wanted to package up a tour and an album that really represented everything we did,” Pat says.
“Everyone gets the opportunity to come out and see what we do and see the Grinspoon show.”
Grinspoon 2019 Tour Dates
Fri 11 Oct - Metropolis (Fremantle)Sat 12 Oct - Metro City (Perth)
Tue 15 Oct - Forum Melbourne
Wed 16 Oct - Forum Melbourne - sold out
Fri 18 Oct - UC Refectory (Canberra)
Sat 19 Oct - Waves (Wollongong)
Wed 23 Oct - Odeon Theatre (Hobart) - sold out
Sat 26 Oct - Adelaide Entertainment Centre
Thu 31 Oct - Waves (Wollongong) - sold out
Fri 1 Nov - NEX (Newcastle)
Sat 2 Nov - Hordern Pavilion (Sydney)
Thu 7 Nov - The Star (Gold Coast)
Fri 8 Nov - Fortitude Music Hall (Brisbane) - sold out
Sat 9 Nov - Fortitude Music Hall (Brisbane)
