Mudhoney may be stalwarts of the Seattle music scene but they're equally at home in Australia.
The legendary grunge band cite The Birthday Party, The Saints and The Scientists as major influences and recruited Perth-born Guy Maddison as their bassist during a trip Down Under in 2001.
Mudhoney are set to return to Australia for the eighth time this January as they play the five-date Big Day Out festival.
“At first, we were just excited to travel to anywhere but there were so many bands that we loved from Australia,” reflects guitarist Steve Turner. “We met a lot of people and kept coming back and forging these long term relationships.”
Mudhoney join Arcade Fire, Snoop Lion and Beady Eye on the 2014 line-up, as well as fellow alt rock icons, Pearl Jam. “We've known them and we've been close friends with them since before the band started so it’s always great to tour together. Me and Jeff [Ament] are bringing our skateboards too.”
Mudhoney's Australian tour announcement tops off an especially busy 2013 for the band. As well as releasing their ninth studio album, 'Vanishing Point', the Sub Pop band celebrated their 25th anniversary. Returning to their Seattle roots, Mudhoney marked the anniversary with a gig atop the city's 605 foot Space Needle. "Life just kind of keeps going; that's why I'm perplexed by how earlier generations stopped doing what they did when they were young. I still like to play guitar in a punk band, I still like to ride a skateboard, I just do it with my kid now.”
Ice cream is another childhood pastime Turner still unashamedly enjoys. Seattle ice cream parlour Full Tilt recently released an official Mudhoney flavour (“honey cinnamon with a fudge swirl”) and recruited the band as official taste-testers. That fudge swirl must have been good — Mudhoney recently play a tiny gig at the shop. “We played Seattle to 17,000 people last week and now we're playing to an ice cream shop that they say can only fit 50 people, it's a funny roller coaster there.”
Mudhoney Tour Dates
The Big Day Out Sun Jan 19 — Metricon Stadium (Gold Coast)Fri Jan 24 — Flemington Racecourse (Melbourne)
Sun Jan 26 — Sydney Showgrounds
Fri Jan 31 — Bonython Park (Adelaide)
Sun Feb 02 — Claremont Showgrounds (Perth)
Mudhoney Sideshows
Sat Jan 18 – Zoo (Brisbane)Wed Jan 22 – Corner Hotel (Melbourne)
Wed Jan 29 – Oxford Art Factory (Sydney)
