Free entry, flowing frothies and freakin’ great talent; Young Henrys’ Best Served Loud live music series returns with a silver platter of Australian music delicacies.
Taking over Brunswick’s The Spotted Mallard on Friday September 27 are three incredible talents that bring their own variations to the blues, Fraser A. Gorman, Madeline Leman and the Desert Swells and The Fillmore Brothers.
While he has been likened to Bob Dylan as a songwriter and blues connoisseur, Gorman cut his teeth in Geelong at The Nash (in its former trashy glory) and the Piping Hot Chicken Shop in Ocean Grove fronting a Beatles-inspired original band, Revolver & Sun, alongside King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard’s Stu Mackenzie and Cook Craig, who’s also in The Murlocs.
That’s right; Fraser A. Gorman was a key player in creating two of the world’s hardest working bands.
“It does sort of feel like a lifetime ago; I reflect on that period like an apprenticeship of sorts, as though myself and my friends got to have a kind of ‘test run’ at being in bands before we started playing in Melbourne (and later around the world and wherever),” Gorman says.
“I look back at that time fondly, we had a great kind of musical upbringing and I feel like a lot of my musician friends cut their teeth at The Nash. It was our home for those late teenage years.”
As King Gizz and The Murlocs ventured more into the psychedelic chaos of the ‘60s and ‘70s, Gorman stuck with the sleepy rock‘n’roll sounds of the era on his first two solo albums Slow Gum (2015) and Easy Dazy (2018).
“It’s the golden era of many genres of music, particularly rock’n’roll, folk, country etc. I still listen to a lot of contemporary records too, but a lot of that is very inspired by the ‘60s and ‘70s,” he explains.
Like his former band mates, Gorman has been taking his music to audiences around the world, and along with the Young Henrys Best Served Loud show, he is currently in the midst of an Australian regional tour. With the endless touring, what does that mean for album number three? Well Gorman is taking a more ‘we’ll see what happens’ approach to the process.
“I feel like my next record will be even more relaxed, I feel like I’m a lot more relaxed within myself in general these days. I don’t really feel pressure anymore, I just feel like whatever I do is up to me and if I like it then that’s all that matters. It took me a while to come round to that place but it feels nice to be there,” Gorman says.
“One thing I do know is that I’d like to make my next record in a different space other than a recording studio, I find recording studios stifling and bland. I would like to make a record in a house or a barn or something a bit more homely.
“I’m turning 29 in March and I want to have a third record on the shelves by the time I’m 30, so I better get cracking on that.”
Along with making people around the globe happy with his own music, Gorman also has his own label, Brown Truck Records. The indie’s roster bears the noisy garage sounds of White Bleaches, cosmic country band Lost Ragas, as well as Gorman’s Best Served Loud support The Fillmore Brothers. LA outfits Moorea Sunshine and The Blank Tapes fill out the label’s bill.
As the label grows and his career flourishes, it’s clear the music world has been a great benefactor from the influence of Fraser A. Gorman and his former bandmates.
“I haven’t made a scratch compared to the impact that some of my friends have made on the musical landscape. That said, I feel very fortunate to be able to play a small part in what goes on.”
The next instalment of Young Henrys’ Best Served Loud series hits The Spotted Mallard on Friday September 27. Tix are free. Find out more about Young Henrys via their website, younghenrys.com.
