In mid August The Menzingers are touring east-coast Australia. The group's lead singer-guitarist, Greg Barnett, is looking forward to this jaunt around Australia.
Barnett has a love of being on the road with his friends in The Menzingers. Being in the band has brought opportunities he never thought was possible when the group first started. "It's crazy. I don't even know how many times we've been to Australia," he jokes. "Is this our fifth or sixth or fourth? I'm not even sure," he adds. "I just love Australia so much, and it's one of those places that we don't get to go to very often. So every time it feels like such a highlight of our year."
Barnett is thankful the band has been able to tour Australia so many times, as he shares a memory of trying to tour down under originally. "I remember, I never thought that we as a band would be able to go there.
"I think it was around 2010, I just started emailing booking agents from Australia, and I was like, 'hey, we're this band and here's our record, we'd love to come'. I received this long email from this big booking agent being like 'do you have any idea how expensive it is to get an American band over here, this is never gonna happen'.
"I always think about that. It's such a privilege to be able to travel that far, and to meet so many great people and play some really great shows down there. So I'm always reminded of that feeling of like, 'that's never gonna happen', and now we get to do it. It's so cool.
"It's just something that you try never to forget. It's important, I think, to remember that feeling of being like, 'this is not reachable, you can't do this'; and being like, 'no we're going do it', and then getting to do it. It just makes that feeling when you're finally there and you've reached your goal that much more exciting."
There's a clear sense of fondness as Greg talks about touring Australia, as he shares a story of the last time they visited. "The last show we played in Melbourne, was the last show before the pandemic which was really our last show for like a year and a half afterwards.
"When we played in Melbourne, it was just so magical and special. It is like a top five favourite show of my entire life. The shows are really, really good. The friends are great, the food's incredible. It's just a really fun place to be. It's a really great music community."
Community is something that is central to the way The Menzingers operate as a band. Barnett reflects on the community he and the group have been able to create.
"The community with our fans, and then our the family of our crew, to our wives and our partners to our family, to the bands that we associate with and go on tour, this whole world that we've been able to build around music has been like, it's been my entire life since I joined the band when I was 17.
"Everything has been around this [The Menzingers] and it's incredible. It's given me so much, I've met so many people. I just hope to be able to give them in the same way to everyone for everything they've given me. It's really important.
"It's interesting, you see bands that don't really have that, and it doesn't seem like they're really happy. I think it is the key to happiness to have a solid support group and your fans are part of that as well.
"That's what keeps a band going and wanting to do it because it does get hard. It's hard to disrupt your life for like five months out of the year, every single year to leave and go on tour, but when you're all part of something, it's worthy of that."
For Greg, as much as the touring is a big part of what The Menzingers do, it is writing and creating music that is at the heart of why he has been in The Menzingers for so long.
"I love writing music, it's how I make sense of the world in my life and make sense of my emotions and what I'm going through in the moment. It is like diary entries in a lot of ways.
"I could look at these albums, and they are like a time capsule of what I was inspired to write, not just the emotions, but just the style of writing. That to me is really exciting; and of course, the emotions that have everything that goes into it.
"So I look at a song about heartbreak and I remember what that felt like or what falling in love felt like or dealing with anxiety while travelling. All these songs are such pivotal anchors in my life, the lyrics that I wrote I find it's really cool to have songs like that."
There is a sense of gratitude throughout much of the conversation, especially as Barnett talks about the fans who connect with the music. Many people connect with The Menzingers because of their heart-on-sleeve relatable lyrics and style of music.
This is something that is at the core of how Barnett creates music. "It means a lot to be that band that can help people through really difficult times and their mental health. That really means a lot to me for things that I've of gone through, in my journey with that to hear other people relate to my stories.
"A lot of other people seem to be going through similar things, it's normal stuff and I think that I'll just always continue to write music, it means a lot to me to have that way of expressing myself."
The Menzingers 2024 Tour Dates
Thu 15 Aug - The Triffid (Brisbane)Fri 16 Aug - The Croxton (Melbourne)
Sat 17 Aug - Crowbar (Sydney)* sold out
Sun 18 Aug - Crowbar (Sydney)
