Words by Mizzie Maxx
Pix by @yeahalrightcool
Last weekend Tribe Clubhouse put on the second Where We Belong Festival, this year at a new home of Settlement Cove in Redcliffe. By all reports, it was a great day, with The Screaming Jets headlining a line-up that also included Tailor Made Rejects, Pricey and Large Mirage.
With Mizzie Maxx – whose singer Mizzie is part of the HEAVY team – opening the main stage, Mizzie found herself in a position to chat with The Screaming Jets frontman Dave Gleeson about a stack of things, all of which she has collated for you to check out yourself.
With more than three decades at the forefront of Australian rock, The Screaming Jets continue to prove they are far from slowing down. A new guitarist has joined the fold, fresh music is on the horizon, and an overseas tour will soon see the band return to the UK for the first time in 25 years.
Before taking the stage at Where We Belong Festival on June 27, Mizzie Maxx caught up with frontman Dave Gleeson to chat about welcoming Pete Robinson into the band, debuting new music, returning to Bonfest in Scotland, and why supporting the next generation of Australian musicians is more important than ever.
MIZZIE: How has Pete settled into the band following Scotty’s retirement?
Dave: It’s been a bit bittersweet, really, because Scotty, the guy Pete replaced, had been in the band since 2007. Unfortunately, his health isn’t great, so he had to retire.
We didn’t want to go through the whole audition process because we’d known Pete from Electric Mary, who are a bloody great band. I also recently toured with him in The Fabulous Caprettos, which is a completely different thing altogether, with Joe Camilleri, Wendy Matthews and Rai Thistlethwayte. I’d already seen him play, and the man is a fucking gun.
Everyone gets to see that for themselves tonight here at Where We Belong Festival.
Can fans expect any new music soon?
We’re actually playing a brand new song tonight called Meet Me Halfway. It hasn’t been released yet, but it’ll be coming out in September.
We’ve also got a national tour coming up before heading over to Scotland to play Bonfest, which is a tribute festival celebrating Bon Scott. It’s held in the town where Bon was born, and I believe this is the 21st year they’ve celebrated his life.
We haven’t been back to the UK in about 25 years, so that’s something we’re really looking forward to. Our agent is working on adding more UK shows while we’re over there. We had some great success in the UK back in the day, so hopefully there are still a few fans hanging around waiting to see us again.
Is there a particular song you love performing live at the moment?
We’ve just put Stop The World back into the set from our first album. These days, I think it’s become even more relevant. I look at the way the world’s going and think, “Fuck man… just stop the whole fucking thing.”
When I first wrote it, it was about growing up in Newcastle and wanting to escape into the big wide world of rock and roll. But these days it feels a lot more poignant because everything just seems so fucked up.
After more than three decades in the music industry, what advice would you give to young bands starting out today?
One of the great things about being in a band is that it becomes your support network. Sure, there’s always a bit of competition because everybody wants to be the best band, but it’s important to support each other as well.
My son’s in a band called The Sleepers. It’s made up of three girls and my son on drums, and they’re doing really well in the Adelaide scene. I was talking to Ryno (Ryan Elson) and Crash from The Tribe Clubhouse earlier today, and there’s such a healthy young music scene happening all around Australia. It feels like after COVID, kids have really started picking up instruments again. Some of the young players I’ve seen today are absolutely incredible.
The other advantage young bands have now is that they don’t need to spend thousands booking expensive studios. As long as you’ve got somewhere to rehearse, you can throw up a few microphones, record everything into Pro Tools, and start learning how songs come together, how arrangements work and how to produce yourselves. You’re saving money while developing another skill, and that’s something young bands should really take advantage of.
More than anything, build a community around yourselves. Support each other, put shows on together, and help each other grow. That’s how this whole thing works.
