Big beer man Jack McEwan enjoys the freedoms and the unspoken rules of being a musician. The only “rules” he likes to follow are the ones that say have as much fun as possible doing what you do. “What is professional anyway?” he ponders. “It seems like it changes in the music industry – it’s like have a beer, and that will lead to ten more beers.”
The vocalist for Psychedelic Porn Crumpets – Perth’s new psych-rock buzz band – has just had a crazy adventure at Party In The Paddock down in Tasmania. Festivals, he says, are where he has the most fun. “That was wild. Amazing, one of the best experiences, the best festival I’ve ever been to – I was a different person. I managed to walk around and talk to as many people as possible,” McEwan says.
“It was huge – Client Liaison, The Preachers – we played the same time as Gang of Youths. There was a guy [in the crowd] who had a double purple Mohawk [and was wearing] a Run DMC tshirt, and he had a sticker on his head that said “cook”. I made friends with that guy. He was my favourite.”
It’s a good thing McEwan speaks so fondly of festivals, because the festival fun isn’t stopping just yet for Psychedelic Porn Crumpets. They’re set to play Boogie Festival over the Easter weekend, the self-proclaimed cult extravaganza in Tallarook, Victoria.
Professionalism for them, however, is a grey area. “Gang of Youths and Client Liaison [at Party In The Paddock] had containers full of gear – they’re just at that level, they kinda professionalise,” McEwan says. “We were running around going on bouncy castles on acid till three in the morning and then waking up for a gig and they were like in, out. There must be some kind of difference with the level of professionalism.
“They’ve come to our shows, they know what we’re about but there’s gotta be some kind of middle ground to get to that level, where you’ve got to be professional. You can’t rock up to a paid gig and expect to get paid but you could after, mingle, hang with other bands.”
The boundaries of professionalism certainly change for musicians, according to the nature of their creative output and liberal manner. A pensive and playful mood cloaks McEwan as he says, “I don’t think there’s any particular code for professionalism in our industry, no rule book, which kind of compliments the whole idea of music.”
With a Psychedelic Porn Crumpets live show this statement certainly holds true. The band are well-known for their high energy zany antics on stage and don’t really seem to adhere to anything associated with the P-word. That energy and liberal performance evidently doesn’t change up too much at a festival, either.
“Festivals seem easier because it’s not about you anymore. If you’re going to play a pub show or a venue and you’ve sold 500 tickets, you’re the main attraction. There’s no one else to blame if no one likes you, everyone is there to see you. I think we have better shows at festivals because there isn’t any pressure. You don’t feel like you’re the only one held responsible for something,” McEwan says.
“We always want our sets to flow from song to song and keep the energy going. We definitely want every show to be the same – if you’re gonna come to see us at Boogie Festival it’ll be the same as a pub show. We’ve had an idea and a big discussion [with] the festival to make the set almost like theatre – Client Liaison do that really well, it’s the theatrical thing that captivates everyone, everyone’s dancing, having the best time they’ve ever had. You’re outside in a field, you can watch from your own personal space, it’s just amazing.
“I’d love to play festivals forever. I’m gonna be like one of those old guys, like Bob Dylan, just rocking up like ‘I’ll never die!’ swinging off a light fitting at 80, that’ll be the best.”
