The Mentals Blog
March 17th, 09 - An Update
Our esteemed colleague Robert Souter recently passed a birth date milestone and it got me to wondering how old he actually was. I mean he's constantly being asked for ID at the entry to gigs but I've never heard him state his age. I suspect that he's younger than he has led us to believe and is trying to act more mature to fool us. Well, it is not working. The invite to his birthday party specifies "No gifts, donations to charity of your choice" so I've sent a blow-up sex doll to the RSPCA.
The Mentals are happily traipsing the countryside as ever. Padstow RSL was a hoot last night and the week before that we were at the good old Brass Monkey in Cronulla (pity about their football team there in Cronulla) and then Mayfield in the North of Newcastle.
From then we have a couple of weeks off before a trip to South Australia for a few shows. There are three gigs there and I don't think I've played any of them before. Mind you, I could be proved wrong and someone could come up to me and ask "remember me? we talked after your show twenty-four years ago". I'm always at a loss for words in that situation for two reasons. Firstly because there are quite a few gigs that I don't remember, secondly that I've only been in the band for ten years.
Anyway, happy birthday to Rob and we will no doubt be having a cheese and beetroot sandwich coupled with an ice-cold soda to celebrate at his party soon. Being the young guy that he is I know that he won't mind me texting a coupla hundred fab teenagers to gatecrash and then riot.
Duck
March 5th, 09 - Tents Up
What have we been doing lately? Well, I’ll tell, you, even if you didn’t ask. In the last fortnight we’ve been to Western Australia twice, even if they didn’t ask us to.
Now, I’m not much of a fan of watching in-flight movies but I tell you, that movie “Australia” is so ahead of its time. It can make a four and a half hour flight seem so much longer.
The gigs over there were excellent. We must be doing something right there because people keep turning up and clapping and cheering as opposed to throwing beer cans. I’d like to say a special hello to Bobby De-Wolf who does sound for us there. He and I once did a cross-desert (not dressing) trek that would make the Leyland brothers look like they were being the lollipop-men in a pre-school zone.
Also a big hi! To Kelvin ( Kelvis), (The Kelvinator) who I know will never read this because he doesn’t even have a mobile phone yet. Maybe I could just say what I think about him. This one night at band camp, he………….never mind.
Have I mentioned that we have two albums coming out this year? The first is “Essential as Anything”, a collection of the hits you should know well, and the second is “Tents Up”, a bunch of new songs what you’ve never heard before and most of which have lyrics with better grammar than the sentence what you have just finished reading.
The band has a relatively quiet time ahead of us and after three weeks gigging in Sydney we’ll be in South Australia and from then on, Queensland. Have I mentioned that we have two albums coming out this year? The first is “Essential as Anything”, a collection of the hits you know well, and the second is “Tents Up”, a bunch of new songs what you’ve never heard before? Have I also told you that I have learnt my advertising techniques from late night telemarketing on TV? Always repeat the offer.
Duck.
Feb 23rd, 09 - It's been a sweaty coupla weeks.
We did three gigs in Queensland that 'went orf" (we sweated) and then a gig in Melbourne. The three Queensland gigs were bloody great and the response was fantastic. Caboolture Sports Club went nuts! We sweated. After that we flew from Brisbane to Melbourne for a gig at the Australian Open Tennis. If anybody ever doubted that we actually work for a living then you should have seen us on stage at the tennis gig. I know the tennis players do up to five sets and we only do one, but I was sweating from places on my body that I hadn't noticed before. We sweated. The venue was "Spiegelworld", a place that was fuelled by a certain brand of beer and peopled with young men with tans, pecks, tattoos and girls who seem to be impressed by that sort of thing. Funnily enough the girls didn't mob me. It was so bloody hot on stage that I drank water. (There's a photo to prove it!). We sweated.
The Mentals are all excited about the imminent release of our new album coupled with the re-release of the Mentals back catalogue. The new album is called "Tents Up" and we're as proud as teenagers that we've done it. There are some beaut songs which possibly may change your life from the wrong that you've been doing to the possible good that you just know is in you somewhere. You may think that we have no more to contribute to Oz pop culture but 'Tents Up' lends value to the idea that mirth has its, place in society, if not in the law courts. (As long as there is a decent drink rider).
We have a joke in the Tarago that you can pick a professional musician by asking them where they played last night. If they look confused for a moment. they're a muso. So by typing that sentence just then I bought myself some time to remember that recently we played at.. Queensland!! The roast of the day at the Greenbank RSL was beef and it was fabulous but I like a little more gravy. I would never be so presumptuous as to ask for more gravy though. Then we flew back to Sydney to play Australia day at Rooty Hill. There were twenty-five thousand very very hot people there. We sweated, but it was pure Aussie sweat!!
Again, I'm as excited as a new car buyer about our new album coming out some time soon. It's due for release in the year 2525. You musicologists would get that joke. I have been told that my blogs have a very conversational style and taking that to heart, I've decided to tell you everything I think .. ,no sorry, drew a blank there.
Western Australia was fabulous last week. The first gig was at a pub called the "Charles". I was telling the guys in the van that somewhere around 1980 I was in a Perth cover band that had a Sunday arvo residency there for a few weeks. We built that crowd up from ten to at least thirty. Everyone in the band was impressed.
Duck
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