Melbourne Rockers Clowns are heading off on tour from this Friday (February 20th) and release their brand new album Bad Blood via Poison City Records. In anticipation, Herny from the group took some time out to share with us his five favourite venues in Australia, some of which they’ll be hitting up along their massive Australian tour!
Old Bar, Melbourne
Easily our favourite Melbourne drinking hole. Joel, Liam and Singha the three owners are absolute champions and just honest, hard working believers in Melbourne’s music and arts scene. The place pretty much acts as a sanctuary for young bands to really cut their teeth in a proper ‘music venue’ run by proper music people, instead of an empty sports bar with a crap PA and an angry bouncer telling you that you’re scaring off the locals in the pokies room.
We’ve filmed two video clips in the place, launched numerous records there, played our very first sold out show and even headlined a NYE event there once. It’ll pretty much remain our home in Melbourne for the life of this band, and I’m sure there are plenty of other bands, musicians or just regular people who think the same.
Brisbane Hotel, Hobart.
I’d call the Brisbane Hotel a playground for adults. Run by two carefree legends, Casey and Gibbo, who have been unbelievably welcoming to us since we first started playing there a few years ago. Not only is it a great venue to play at, but it’s also our home when we visit, as we also stay upstairs in their, very aromatic, and cultural (by culture I mean the culture growing on the bathroom ceiling) accommodation.
Every time we visit things just remain just as awesome as the first time we visited; rooftop parties fire exit parties, lock ins drinking with Casey until 9 am, bunk bed wrestling, the awesome food, bingo, hiding weed behind paintings upstairs that we couldn’t take home on the plane and it still being there 3 months later when we return, Gibbo’s VHS collection, playing grindcore on the jukebox at inappropriate hours of the day. The reason Clowns visited Hobart 6 times in 14 months was because of this pub!
Crowbar, Brisbane
I’ve always found that Queenslanders are lovely, but their music venues suck. That’s why I’m so thankful to Trad and his lovely staff at Crowbar in Brisbane, because without him there, I don’t even want to think about what kind of places we’d have to put up with when we visit. Getting us drunk from the first day we arrived was a sure fire way to our hearts, and I couldn’t even fathom wanting to play anywhere else in Brisbane.
Things always manage to get pretty hazy late at night due to the ridiculous drinks on offer, my favourite being a jug of “bongwater” which is this weird green foaming thing that tastes awesome and get’s you next level plastered. It’s the perfect ingredient to lubricate up your vocal chords to belt out some Suicidal Tedencies or Danzig late in the night during the Crowbar ‘Crowieoke’ that goes on after the bands each night.
Black Wire Records, Sydney
One of my favourite people I love visiting when we’re on tour is Tom who runs Black Wire Records in Sydney. Not so much a music venue but a record store that also holds gigs after shop hours on weekends, Black Wire is a safe haven from all the Bondi beach douchebagry, and Oxford and King street pretentiousness that plagues a lot of Sydney night life areas.
A not-for-profit record store run out of the kindness of his heart by Tom and his lovely staffy, with help from plenty of generous volunteers, who are always happy to let us play, sell us records for cheap (no matter how much we demand we pay full price), and even on occasion, let us chill out in the back courtyard with a beer or two bought from across the road or nap on the couches or floor while customers step over our sleeping carcasses after long car drives so we can recharge the batteries before we play in other venues that night.
Black Wire really is a space run by punks, for punks and Sydney is extremely lucky to have it. I’m sure if it was in Melbourne I’d probably never leave.
Your House, Where ever it is that you live?
Australia is lucky to have lots of great venues, but we really do love playing get out of the bar circuit from time to time and playing house shows in living rooms, kitchens, bedrooms, garages, backyards – wherever we can find the space. We’ve played lots over the last few years, some in particular that have gotten way out of hand, but we are always on the lookout to do more. If you want us to play in your house, seriously, just ask, we’ll more than likely jump to the occasion.
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Bad Blood is released this Friday, February 20th, through Poison City Records.
Beat Magazine and Poison City Records Presents…
CLOWNS – BAD BLOOD TOUR
With special guests American Sharks (USA)
Friday February 20 – The Spotted Cow, Toowoomba QLD
Saturday February 21 – Crowbar, Brisbane QLD
Sunday February 22 – Time Machine, Nambour QLD (AA)
Wednesday February 25 – Hombre Studios, Newcastle NSW (AA)
Thursday February 26 – Transit Bar, Canberra ACT
Friday February 27 – Studio Six, Sutherland NSW
Saturday February 28 – Black Wire Records, Sydney NSW (AA)
Saturday February 28 – Tattersalls Hotel, Penrith NSW
Sunday March 1 – Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney NSW
Wednesday March 4 – Club 54, Launceston TAS
Thursday March 5 – The Brisbane Hotel, Hobart TAS
Friday March 6 – The Bendigo Hotel, Melbourne VIC
Saturday March 7 – The Crown & Anchor, Adelaide SA
Sunday March 8 – Karova Lounge, Ballarat VIC
Monday March 9 (Labor Day) – The Bendigo Hotel, Melbourne (AA)
