“We got offered a festival in the Czech Republic, a massive festival called Colours of Ostrava,” says Savage. “They got in contact with us and asked if we could come over, so that’s what got the ball rolling there. We were pulled rather than having to push over. We got ourselves a booking agent who set up a bunch of shows across Eastern and Western Europe and that’s how it all came about.”
Savage isn’t exaggerating when she calls Colours of Ostrava massive. “The headliners at the festival were Bjork and St. Vincent, and it was amazing,” she says. “It was in this old steel mill in Ostrava, Czech Republic, and it sold around 40,000 tickets. We were on one of the smaller stages at this incredible festival and we were pretty chuffed that we got to play it. I know that the festival director was quoted saying that it was a mistake to put us on one of the smaller stages, which was pretty good to hear.”
Despite playing a smaller stage, the scale of the festival helped attract crowds to their subsequent club shows. “Once we began playing around, fans started showing up all over the place,” Savage says. “It was unbelievable. We had no idea that we were going to have such a reception. A few of us got recognised on the train in Prague. For a second there we weren’t sure if we were going to get arrested, but they turned out to be fans which is pretty good.”
Cash Savage & The Last Drinks are back in town now and are set to appear at AWME this weekend. Plenty of acts on the AWME bill have been having a crack at the overseas market of late. However, while some artists have had mixed results, Savage’s fortunes are positively flourishing, with an imminent return to Europe looking likely.
“We’ve already had offers,” she says. “The festival offers started coming in as soon as people started seeing us, coming up to us with business cards and offering us more festival slots for 2016. Going back is definitely on the cards. It’s one of those things where you don’t really end up getting much financial reward out of what we do. But it definitely makes it worth it when you get a good reception – even travelling across Australia, but to cross the ocean? It’s great.
“When we were in Czech Republic, we’d start a song and people would start cheering because they knew them. We had no idea that was going to happen. People would travel and came to as many shows as they could. It was a wonderful experience, but I don’t know how bands do it for any longer than we did. We’d turned into monsters after it. When I say monsters, I mean drinking a lot and having a very good time.”
While the Northern Hemisphere beckons, Savage and co. are also working on their third album. They’d actually planned to finish it this year, but opted for the European tour instead. There’s a strong change they’ll debut some new material during their AWME showcase, which marks a return to the expo after a triumphant show a few years back.
“It was huge that one,” says Savage. “I don’t know how Ding Dong Lounge got so many people in that one, but we’re looking forward to this one. It seemed like the right step for us to do another AWME. This one’s at a bigger venue and the new crowd will be great.”
BY THOMAS BRAND
