1990s roots band Toothfaeries have reunited to play the Island Vibe Festival later this year.
The band, who officially broke up in 2000 because of musical differences, can't seem to stay apart. Every few years the lads reunite to play a few gigs, and this year they will again. “Every now and then we rip the old dead horse out and start flogging it, I guess,” singer/ guitarist Marcello Milani says.
“We just like playing together. I've gotten to play music with some really great musicians, but this one feels like home, and I think it's the same for all of us. We're a family, albeit a dysfunctional one. But we're family.”
With a career that reaches back a number of decades, Marcello has experienced some strange and interesting occurrences. “One of the strangest was this gig we did in Port Douglas, years ago, and it was a really small stage and there wasn't really room for us but we managed to squeeze on... It was quite a rowdy crowd. The first strum of the first song I broke three strings at once. That was really memorable, and also really strange because that never happens. So that took the wind out of our sails for about five minutes while I fixed it up. So that was pretty horrific.
“Another one was one New Year’s Eve at Woodford [Folk Festival], playing in the big top, and seeing this guy climb right up one of the upright [poles], hanging. I'm assuming he was fairly off-chops, he was hanging by one arm from the top of the big top, on the inside above the crowd. Meanwhile there's people up the front getting crushed, and we're having to ask people to take steps back so that no-one was going to get hurt. And there's this guy just up the top of this upright in the bigtop, a good six metres above the crowd — and just stopping a song and convincing him to climb down, which he did thank God.”
Marcello says the boys can't wait to head out to Straddie and play Island Vibe together. “It's just good to be a part of such a great festival. It's been running a while now and there's just something really cool about the whole thing — spending a week on Straddie and seeing lots of really good music and being a part of all of that ... It's great to be a part of Island Vibe and see that the festival is going [great] after all this time.
“It’s a great example of what can happen when people just follow what they’re doing. There’s been so much consultation with the indigenous community on the Island and I just think it’s a really fantastic event.”
While there are fewer live shows these days, the band have not been idle in their time apart. “Everyone's done all sorts of stuff since then – real jobs, other musical projects, all sorts of things. I almost became a lawyer at one point which was pretty freaky. I certainly worked out that that wasn't the path for me.
“I’m [now] involved in some other things, a group called Tibet 2Timbuk2, and another group called Jack And The Giant Killers. Grant’s in a group down in Victoria, our bass player has been playing with Sissybones. No one ever really stopped. Our percussionist, Mark, he’s been running a recording studio as well as playing gigs as a guitarist and singer.”
Written by Darcy Stephens
Toothfaeries play Island Vibe Festival, which takes place at Home Beach Pt Lookout, North Stradbroke Island 31st October until 2nd November.
