Tom Read - Bodyjar (01/02/2013)
The 59th Sound chats with Tom Read, of legendary Melbourne rock act Bodyjar about SLAM Day, their upcoming tour with The Descendents and having a song on Tony Hawks Pro Skater 3.
Hey Tom! First up, what made you decide come back to Bodyjar after a two year hiatus?
To try and revive our hideously shrunken ego's which have been getting beaten down by insatiable customers constantly for two years. Basically just getting a break from work!
Doing something you love, I think I'd forgotten that playing music was for fun!
You're sharing a line-up with Bouncing Souls, Frenzal Rhomb and of course, The Descendents. It's the kind of line-up a lot of punk rock bands in Australia dream of, how did you come to be a part of it?
Yeah, it's the ultimate for us getting to play with The Descendents, I think everyone involved just knew if they didn't put us the tour we would pester the fuck out of them until the end of days, so they just thought it would be easier to just let us on.
We would have been at every show anyway so we might as well take our guitars and shit with us!
The National SLAM Day is coming up this February. Why is live music in Australia, and in particular Melbourne, important to you?
Playing live is what it is all about for me, I love it. And I like nothing more than coming across a great band playing live, it is super inspiring and Melbourne is the heart of dirty live rock in Australia. It was the best place to grow up when the Punters club, Arthouse, Tote, Evelyn, shit even the Tankerville was a live venue back in the day! Now it’s a shithole. Great to see The Bendigo hotel doing great stuff now too.
Do you think Bodyjar will perform a SLAM Day gig?
Maybe acoustic style, we'll be celebrating my birthday down The Great Ocean Rd that weekend! …More likely an air guitar gig actually.
When did you find out about your live album? It said on your bio that you guys didn't know it was being recorded.
Yeah, we went upstairs to the bandroom after the show and I heard us coming out of a room down the hallway! Went down to check it out and there is a studio upstairs with a direct link to the mixing desk.
Timmy C, our mixer must have known but didn't say anything! I think that was a good way to do it, it was a really honest version of a Bodyjar gig. I know in the past it has played on your mind a little that the gig is being recorded, maybe playing a bit safe and shit, that wasn't the case that night. Clangers and all!
Did having 'Not The Same' on Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 increase your popularity worldwide?
For sure, that game was huge. We get messages all the time from people saying how they first heard us on that game. Thanks to Steve Cab for doing that! Fucking leg end.
I remember seeing Cola Wars (then Daughters of the Rich) perform with Birds of Tokyo back in 2008. A lot of bands have side projects nowadays. Do you see this as a natural progression for musicians to write music that doesn't fit in with their other band's sounds? Furthermore, does it then in turn influence your other projects?
Can't speak for Cola Wars but I know Burn The City was a great vehicle for me and Grant to work on writing songs, different arrangements, straying away from your safety zones, writing vocal melodies and playing with different musicians. We have had a lot of drummers in that band!
I suppose it is a good way to get that stoner rock side of me out, but I don't see that creeping into the Bodyjar sound.
Last year, you reunited in March to perform No Touch Red in its entirety at Melbourne's Corner Hotel. Could you tell us about how this came to be, and the reception from fans after the gig?
It started with the album getting released on vinyl, we just thought it would be great to play the whole album live in Melbourne, the show sold out super quick so we booked another one. We worked hard rehearsing the songs and everyone interstate was pissed off we weren't touring it so we thought “fuck it, lets get out there.” We had hooked up with our mates One Dollar Short for the tour and had a blast.
You toured with Pennywise and Blink 182 in the mid nineties. Both bands are coming back to Australia this year, will there be any kind of reunion?
Nah I doubt it, we're not in regular contact with any of those guys.
Could we be seeing a new Bodyjar album in the near future?
I think it is a good time for us to get writing again, Grant has a thousand riffs on the go at the moment so it must be time!!
And finally, what can fans expect from your shows this tour?
A quick set of the classics. We've brought back a couple of good oldies we haven't played for a while. For those who haven't heard us, we are just like the bastard Aussie cousins if the Descendents really!
Thanks for your time today guys, best of luck with the tour!
Thanks we will be having a good old time swilling piss watching the Descendents rock out every night!
Ryan Hyde
Hey Tom! First up, what made you decide come back to Bodyjar after a two year hiatus?
To try and revive our hideously shrunken ego's which have been getting beaten down by insatiable customers constantly for two years. Basically just getting a break from work!
Doing something you love, I think I'd forgotten that playing music was for fun!
You're sharing a line-up with Bouncing Souls, Frenzal Rhomb and of course, The Descendents. It's the kind of line-up a lot of punk rock bands in Australia dream of, how did you come to be a part of it?
Yeah, it's the ultimate for us getting to play with The Descendents, I think everyone involved just knew if they didn't put us the tour we would pester the fuck out of them until the end of days, so they just thought it would be easier to just let us on.
We would have been at every show anyway so we might as well take our guitars and shit with us!
The National SLAM Day is coming up this February. Why is live music in Australia, and in particular Melbourne, important to you?
Playing live is what it is all about for me, I love it. And I like nothing more than coming across a great band playing live, it is super inspiring and Melbourne is the heart of dirty live rock in Australia. It was the best place to grow up when the Punters club, Arthouse, Tote, Evelyn, shit even the Tankerville was a live venue back in the day! Now it’s a shithole. Great to see The Bendigo hotel doing great stuff now too.
Do you think Bodyjar will perform a SLAM Day gig?
Maybe acoustic style, we'll be celebrating my birthday down The Great Ocean Rd that weekend! …More likely an air guitar gig actually.
When did you find out about your live album? It said on your bio that you guys didn't know it was being recorded.
Yeah, we went upstairs to the bandroom after the show and I heard us coming out of a room down the hallway! Went down to check it out and there is a studio upstairs with a direct link to the mixing desk.
Timmy C, our mixer must have known but didn't say anything! I think that was a good way to do it, it was a really honest version of a Bodyjar gig. I know in the past it has played on your mind a little that the gig is being recorded, maybe playing a bit safe and shit, that wasn't the case that night. Clangers and all!
Did having 'Not The Same' on Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 increase your popularity worldwide?
For sure, that game was huge. We get messages all the time from people saying how they first heard us on that game. Thanks to Steve Cab for doing that! Fucking leg end.
I remember seeing Cola Wars (then Daughters of the Rich) perform with Birds of Tokyo back in 2008. A lot of bands have side projects nowadays. Do you see this as a natural progression for musicians to write music that doesn't fit in with their other band's sounds? Furthermore, does it then in turn influence your other projects?
Can't speak for Cola Wars but I know Burn The City was a great vehicle for me and Grant to work on writing songs, different arrangements, straying away from your safety zones, writing vocal melodies and playing with different musicians. We have had a lot of drummers in that band!
I suppose it is a good way to get that stoner rock side of me out, but I don't see that creeping into the Bodyjar sound.
Last year, you reunited in March to perform No Touch Red in its entirety at Melbourne's Corner Hotel. Could you tell us about how this came to be, and the reception from fans after the gig?
It started with the album getting released on vinyl, we just thought it would be great to play the whole album live in Melbourne, the show sold out super quick so we booked another one. We worked hard rehearsing the songs and everyone interstate was pissed off we weren't touring it so we thought “fuck it, lets get out there.” We had hooked up with our mates One Dollar Short for the tour and had a blast.
You toured with Pennywise and Blink 182 in the mid nineties. Both bands are coming back to Australia this year, will there be any kind of reunion?
Nah I doubt it, we're not in regular contact with any of those guys.
Could we be seeing a new Bodyjar album in the near future?
I think it is a good time for us to get writing again, Grant has a thousand riffs on the go at the moment so it must be time!!
And finally, what can fans expect from your shows this tour?
A quick set of the classics. We've brought back a couple of good oldies we haven't played for a while. For those who haven't heard us, we are just like the bastard Aussie cousins if the Descendents really!
Thanks for your time today guys, best of luck with the tour!
Thanks we will be having a good old time swilling piss watching the Descendents rock out every night!
Ryan Hyde