To celebrate the one-year anniversary of their fourth album 'Closer To Home', Brisbane's preeminent purveyors of strung-out country rock, Mexico City, are bringing it all back home with a whirlwind tour of southeast Queensland.
The five-piece will perform three dates in October to thank their fans before they knuckle down to start work on a follow-up record. Joining them for the run of shows will be their country cousins Hillsborough, also from Brisbane, and the Sunshine Coast's very own Zac Gunthorpe.Mexico City's frontman Adam Toole says the tour is a chance to farewell 'Closer To Home' with fans and friends. "We're really proud of 'Closer To Home'.
"Because of COVID-19 and other factors, it took us a little longer to get out than we would have liked but the response has been really positive.
"We're keen to release a follow-up record as soon as possible, so it's time for us to put the ‘Closer To Home’ songs to bed for a while, so we can focus on writing, demoing and recording a bunch of new songs."
Who is Mexico City... We're a five-piece from Brisbane, but our members are scattered all over the place, including Northern NSW and Toowoomba. We've been around for quite a while, since the early 2000s. You'd think we'd be better by now!
We sound like... Tough yet tender garage countryish rock.
Our first gig was... At the old comedy club downstairs at the Paddington Tavern. They used to showcase new bands during the week. They had an MC introduce us as 'City Mexico' for some reason, which felt like a fitting omen.
I don't remember much else except that we invited all our families, friends and folks from work. We would have sounded terrible, I'm sure. I know there's video footage of it somewhere. One for the boxset, I guess.
When did you settle on the group's name, and was it a unanimous decision... The name Mexico City was taken from the Albert Camus book, 'The Fall'.
It kicks off in a bar in Amsterdam called Mexico City (for some reason), and I thought it was a pretty interesting name for the band. Of course, we didn't really think it through because no one can ever find us when you search our name on the interwebs.
In the studio we usually... Talk rubbish and tell ourselves how good we are.
If we could tour with anyone... We've been really lucky over the years to share the stage with some of our all-time favourite acts: You Am I, The Drones, Jason Molina, Cat Power, Black Keys and more.
Off the top of my head, we'd love to play/ tour with the likes of My Morning Jacket, Neil Young, Nick Cave and Wilco. Kurt Vile seems like a cool hang, and Ryan Adams is a talented dude, if a little unstable. That could be interesting.
Social media is... A necessary evil. I hate the thing, to be honest. It's full of phonies and hypocrites. But it does come in handy for letting people know what we're up to, upcoming shows, etc.
If it wasn't for the band, I wouldn't go near the thing. As NBA legend Charles Barkley said: "Social media is where losers go to feel important."
My favourite app at the moment is... Like social media, I try (and fail, for the most part) to limit my phone use, but, and this is going to sound pretty lame, I have been enjoying using this free spending app to track where all my money disappears. It's both enlightening and terrifying. The struggle is real.
To date, our most embarrassing moment was the time... The one that always sticks in my mind is a show we did in Byron supporting You Am I years ago. Our drummer and bass player at the time decided it would be a lark to go for a midnight swim after the show. They left their clothes on the beach and went in their undies.
Naturally, someone stole their pants and wallets while they were frolicking around in the waves together, so they had to do the walk of shame down the busy main drag of Byron on a Friday night in their undies, dripping wet. Some dude asked our bass player for a cigarette and he replied, with a look of shock and disgust: "Mate, I don't even have any pants."
Life on the road can be... I always enjoy it. I like seeing new places and being free of the usual routine – I feel like a dog that has jumped the fence and is strutting around the neighbourhood.
I'm sure it would wear thin after awhile, but we do it so sporadically, it's never been an issue for me. Hopefully we can get back out on the road in the new year.
If you'll have us on your bill, all we ask is that our rider contains... We're not too fussy, so are pretty content with a few beers, plus a can of coke or two for our non-drinking pedal steel player, Joe.
If we were coming over to your place, what would you cook us? I'm a really lazy cook, but our bass player, Conrad, is quite the culinary whiz.
One recording session, he whipped us up some awesome huevos rancheros for breakfast. Another time, he made this amazing stuffed Italian sandwich thing called a muffaletta. It was full of salami, cheese and olives and was a taste sensation. We still talk about it!
Last show you binge-watched? I really enjoyed the first two seasons of 'The Bear'. Super intense and funny, with really good dialogue and acting. Great soundtrack too. A lot of REM and Wilco, plus some cool needle drops from Mavis Staples, Van Morrison and Radiohead. Everything a middle-aged/middle-class white boy could want.
Mexico City 2023 Tour Dates
Fri 20 Oct - Banshees Bar (Ipswich)Sat 21 Oct - Sonic Sherpa (Brisbane)* early show
Sat 21 Oct - Stranded Bar (Brisbane)* late show
