[Guitarist Daniel Firth] and myself are from Beechworth,” says drummer Liam Cuffley. “So My Left Boot has always gone back and played shows because we have a bit of a following there. People get pretty raucous and rowdy up that way. It’s small enough to have not picked up on all the change in scenes, which is good.”
Realising that a roadtrip to Beechworth is too much to ask of city dwellers, this weekend, My Left Boot are keeping the birthday buzz alive at Cherry Bar with Bootfest. Instead of hogging all the glory, they’ve thrown together a lineup jam-packed with their closest comrades, including Batpiss, Sherriff and Sun God Replica.
“We put a dream list together of all the bands we’ve loved over the years,” Cuffley says. “Some of the bands are actually getting back together again to do this show, which is really exciting – Ancient Man, Lethal Binge and The Feel Goods. We would’ve liked to have more bands there, but it was hard to fit everyone in. We’ve played with so many great bands over the years – that’s been one of the best bits about it.”
Ancient Man, Lethal Binge and The Feel Goods aren’t the only Melbourne rockers that’ve called it quits during My Left Boot’s lifetime. Likewise, there’ve been stacks of younger bands rise up the ranks. Despite such fluidity, Cuffley says the survival of My Left Boot has never been in serious danger.
“There’s been moments where it’s been tough, but I think we reached a point a few years ago where everyone was really happy with what we were doing. It feels more like a family than a band in a lot of ways. It seems silly to break up – no one would even think about it.
“Most of us have played in other bands whilst we’ve been doing this, which has been really good for us,” he adds. “It always feels very nice to come back and play with My Left Boot. We play really naturally together now. After ten years of playing together, you can read each other’s mind a little bit.”
Cuffley, Firth and frontman Matt Chapman have all been in the band from its inception (bassist Aston Cochrane joined later). Before forming My Left Boot, the members were already acquainted with the Melbourne rock scene. “Daniel and I previously played in a band which had worked pretty hard and toured quite extensively,” Cuffley says. “We didn’t want to let go of the lifestyle more than anything, plus we really enjoyed playing together. We got to meet Matt and we were absolutely blown away by him from the word go. It felt totally right at the time and it all came together really easily.”
Relishing the rock musician lifestyle isn’t the only thing that’s motivated My Left Boot during the last ten years. These days, they’re satisfied with their reputation for quality stoner rock tunes and beastly live shows, but earlier on, their aspirations were of a broader scale. “You have a bit more lofty ideas when you’re a bit younger,” Cuffley says. “We had all these crazy ideas we were going to do amazing things. But since then we’ve matured and we’re happy with where we are.”
On the release front, My Left Boot haven’t led a prolific existence. They followed Season of Time with The Ward EP in 2008. Then in late 2012, their debut full length Summer Songs finally arrived. Having got that first album out of the way, Cuffley says their release frequency should become less sluggish.
“We were always caught up in different ideas of how we were going to go about it, plus we’re hideously lazy as well. But after Summer Songs, whichwas a really great experience for us, we’ve made more effort to get stuff recorded. We do have some stuff recorded already and we’re working on some stuff for the future, so we’ll probably have things released a bit more often from here on in.”
One month after Bootfest, a considerably larger festival takes over Cherry Bar and AC/DC Lane. Rising above disapproval from the venue’s nasty neighbours, on Sunday May 10, Cherry Rock returns for its ninth consecutive year. International acts Red Fang and Beastwars are headlining the event, while My Left Boot join locals Child, Horsehunter and Fuck the Fitzroy Doom Scene on the bill.
“[Cherry owner] James [Young] has been really supportive, definitely as of late,” Cuffley says. “He gives us really great support, he’s put us on some good shows and we’ve been having a lot of good times at Cherry. With many bands you talk to, there seems to be this continual conversation about how great the Melbourne scene is. I guess Cherry Rock really reflects that. Just look at Child, Doom Scene, Horsehunter; they’re incredible local bands that are of international quality. The way they play and their songwriting, it’s phenomenal.”
BY AUGUSTUS WELBY
