St Kilda rockers Draught Dodgers will make a special trip from Melbourne to partake in the Adelaide Reclink Community Cup, a charity football match pitting music media against musicians.
With musical luminary and You Am I frontman Tim Rogers on guitar, the four-piece Draught Dodgers is fronted by Jack Davies.
The Draught Dodgers; the bio says you've crawled out of the swamps of St. Kilda. Can you pick up the story thread for us?
[Jack] Well, musically speaking, St Kilda is a bit of a swampland these days, due to lack of venues allowing amplified music. Unless you want to see a cracking Mumford & Sons cover done by a white guy with dreadlocks. A majority of the band have been living/ hustling/playing in ol' St Kilda town for dogs years. The place has a rich and important musical history. So it's kind of a grimy, rusty badge of honour that we would never be ashamed to wear.
You're the singer… has Tim been confined to the role of a finger-picker? Or will he jump on the microphone as well?
Tim sings backing vocals for most of the songs, but has entrusted me with the lead, which is super flattering. I think he wanted to be involved in something where he wouldn't have to bare the burden of being 'the guy'. He seems to be having a ball, assuming the famed role of 'lead guitarist with mystique'.
The players involved… aside from Tim, who else is part of the line-up?
Mick Sayers (bass) is both a savage and a gentleman. Similar in appearance to Dennis Hopper in 'Easyrider', but better looking. Evan Richards (drums) is everyone in the Australian rock scene's oldest and dearest friend. Has been on tour since he was a foetus (see Guinness World Records: longest touring foetus). And I'm Jack. I use smoke and mirror tactics to distract the audience from my average singing ability. All of our respective bands have crossed paths in some way, shape or form. It was Dr Rogers who decided to form a brethren of complete legends. They're all super talented and an absolute joy to play music with.
The band peddle boot-stomping action in the form of bluesy rock… do you expect your audience to sweat as much as the band does?
Very much so. In fact, we have a mandatory, sweat-measuring ceremony after shows. It's always a fun challenge, coaxing an audience into graduating from a foot tap to a hip shake. We simply must give a little to get a little. I think audiences are generally pretty clever when it comes to smelling bullshit. They can definitely sense if your heart's not in the performance, so why should they sweat if you don't?
You'll be playing the warm-up to the Adelaide Reclink Cup… any footy-inspired songs in the kit bag?
All of our songs have a subliminal message regarding football. This something that was agreed upon from the get-go.
And can we expect any of the Draught Dodgers to lace up the boots for the game the following day?
I reckon there's a good chance you might. I, on the other hand, will be watching from the sidelines, as it wouldn't be fair on the other players.
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What sort of original material do you have to draw from? Plans for a release down the track?
The dudes all tend to dabble in a variety of different stuff, which is great because we end up with product that sounds like the demented love child of Beefheart, The Cramps, The Stooges, The Stones and The Easy Beats etc. We are looking forward to recording/releasing an album as soon as possible. It's in the works.
Plans for other live shows with this band?
I think we'll definitely get a cheeky Australian tour happening to follow up our record. The handful of shows we've played in the last few months have been a stupid amount of fun and I don't see why that fun should stop.
What's happening with your other band, Bitter Sweet Kicks?
Each of the band members are currently on soul-searching missions in separate corners of the globe. There is no reason to suggest that the Kicks behemoth won't rear its bulbous head some time in the near future.
Draught Dodgers play the Adelaide Reclink Community Cup Warm-up Gig at The Grace Emily Hotel 6 August. The Adelaide Reclink Community Cup takes place at Coopers Stadium 7 August.
