Rock superstars Grinspoon are returning to Brisbane in March after a highly successful Big Day Out campaign to promote their seventh album, Black Rabbits.
Their new tour is promised to be something different, and all who attend will be able to experience a full-throttle and extensive performance. “It’s kind of one of those things where we usually play an hour, plus encore, but we’re just going to push it a bit,” explains frontman Phil Jamieson. “So, that lets us play our new material off Black Rabbits, but also not forget about our other records for people who’ve helped out the band since ’95, so they don’t miss out either. It’s kind of one of those things where we want to give back. I’ll probably do some mad dance moves… it’s going to be sweet.”
‘Branded’, one of the outstanding tracks from Black Rabbits, has a vibrant and engaging video clip, accompanied with a recent short film directed by Benn Jae and scored by Jamieson. “It's actually a really cool little film, 12 minutes long and lots of dialogue, lots of nice really moody pieces. It looks beautiful actually. I love the video clip and I love the short film,” says Jamieson.
The short premiered at The Chauvel Cinema in Paddington. As much as Jamieson enjoyed himself, he can’t exactly envision composing extensively in the future. “I couldn't compose something, for example, like John Williams. I'm not going to be able to do Star Wars for anyone, buddy,” he laughs.
The boys are regular fixtures on the Big Day Out stage, and have used their latest shows as a warm-up of sorts for their latest tour. Jamieson does get nervous, however, rocking out to smaller crowds. “I find myself getting more nervous playing solo shows in front of 20 people than I do in big crowds. Sometimes playing at an open mic night when no-one knows who you are, it’s a bit more confronting to me for some reason.”
Grinspoon have been performing together since 1995 and always look forward to coming to Brisbane, but this time they're making a point to play in the heart of the city. “Every other time we never seemed to play the city of Brisbane; we used to play in Alexandra Hills and places like that. I want to play in Brisbane. I don’t want to play in the ‘burbs. Nothing against people in the ‘burbs, I just want to play in Brisbane City.”
Speaking of his solo efforts, Phil also puts a tremendous amount of effort into Rock N Ride, an event where he and 10 others ride 3000 kilometres to raise awareness for young people who suffer depression, anxiety, bullying or drug and alcohol problems. “We left straight after Big Day Out Gold Coast and then rode to Adelaide Big Day Out, which was the next Big Day Out, and went through Wagga, Mildura, kind of through the outback and visited a lot of Headspace places, which is what we we’re raising awareness for.”
As great a job as they did raising awareness, Phil knows that the fight against these issues is far from over. “There were a lot of emotional things happening in those centres, so all in all I think we made a good start at what needs to be done, but I don’t think, by any means, the work is finished.
“I co-founded the event with Adam Zammit (CEO of BDO) so it’s kind of my baby with him and we’re just trying to move forward with him and make it not necessarily bigger, but just broader in its scope of what we can actually do to raise awareness that these centres actually exist, and also that people can get hope and that we’re just trying to make a better life for everyone.”
The amount of time Phil is away is tough for him at times, but he makes an effort to see his family when touring. “It’s tough in the beginning, but after the first week it just becomes normal. I’ve always done this and it’s what I’ve been doing for a lond time and I just look at it that I’m just trying to keep everyone clothed and fed.
“We don’t really play Mondays or Tuesdays so I usually just fly out and fly back in for those two nights and then fly out again. I’m going to be so sick of aeroplanes by the end of this fucking tour,” he laughs.
Grinspoon Dates
Fri Mar 15 — The Tivoli (Brisbane)
Sat Mar 16 — Metro (Sydney)
Thu Mar 21 — The Gov (Adelaide)
Fri Mar 22 — The Hi-Fi (Melbourne)
Fri Apr 5 — Prince Of Wales (Bunbury)
Sat Apr 6 — Capitol (Perth)
Thu Apr 11 — Waves (Wollongong)
Fri Apr 12 — Capital (WaggaWagga)
Sat Apr 13 — ANU Bar (Canberra)
Sun Apr 14 — New Albury Hotel (Albury)
Wed Apr 17 — Entrance Leagues (Entrance)
Thu Apr 18 — Panthers (Newcastle)
Fri Apr 19 — Hoey Moey (Coffs Harbour)
Sat Apr 20 — The Big Pinapple Music Festival (Woombye, Sunshine Coast)
Sun Apr 21 — The Cooly Hotel (Gold Coast)
Wed Apr 24 — Bended Elbow (Geelong)
Thu Apr 25 — Pier Live (Frankston)
Fri Apr 26 — Inferno (Traralgon)
Sat Apr 27 — Ferntree Gully Hotel (Ferntree Gully)
Sun Apr 28 — ANZ Stadium (Sydney) (Supporting Aerosmith)
