CHIT CHAT VON LOOPIN STAB will never forget the last time he played in Newcastle.
He was headlining New Year's Eve celebrations at THE BREWERY last year with his band MACHINE GUN FELLATIO, playing the final show of an exhaustive tour that had taken the band on an extensive run across Australia and the US.
With the end of what had been the band's biggest tour of its career in sight, it was a welcome homecoming for the former Novocastrian.
``Midway through the last song I dived out into the crowd and got passed around and there were people pashing me, men and women,'' Stab said.
``I'm a heterosexual guy but I was so exhausted and I just remember thinking, `That's it. It's all over'.
``I was floating on this sea of hands with people grabbing me and it was just like, `God, I need sleep'.
``That was our last big, big tour and I'll never forget the people of Newcastle for pashing me,'' he laughed.
Stab and the band took time out after the show to rest and start thinking about the next album, On Ice. Tracks began to surface last year and while the record label was pushing for a quick release, the band decided to take its time and create something special.
Stab said pressure to match the success of One Ice 's predecessor, Paging Mr Strike, was felt.
``There was a lot of pressure on us because if you make a record that's too gaggy or whatever, people think you're a joke band.
``But then if you make a serious record people say, `Oh they've lost their sense of humour.
``We went through all that pressure and just kept writing and realising that some of the tracks were just really good songs, whether they were funny, sexy or sad. Once we started whacking all the good songs together the record started to make sense.'' The resulting 18-track album is diverse.
Machine Gun Fellatio had the chance to road-test some of the material when it performed a run of dates supporting KISS in May.
Stab said the band was looking forward to playing the album to its fans when it kicked off its tour tonight in Sydney.
``It's going to be nice to get out there and see how people like them.
``The tour is going to be a lot of fun. We've got a few very new ideas, it's going to be a little weird.
``We're playing about 20 to 22 songs, so it's a bit of a musical journey.'' Machine Gun Fellatio play NEWCASTLE PANTHERS tomorrow night with BUTTERFINGERS and THE SPAZZYS.
|
