Introducing Black Rhino Cherry Lips. “It’s our ultimate goal,” laughs guitarist Ash ‘Kinga’ King ahead of launch night.
“Hop Nation looked after the brewing process,” he adds. “We became involved with them before playing a show at Frankie’s Pizza in Sydney. They were showcasing a bunch of new beers and they asked if it was OK to use our name somehow on one.”
King admits he was even more surprised to see an image used on their band merchandise was chosen to promote the beer. “We rocked up to play the show and were stoked to discover they had used the image from the t-shirt that we were promoting at the time on one of the beer taps. You can imagine we are pretty chuffed that our rhino, sitting on a stack of pancakes, is going to be on the front of the beers that we will be slinging back all night.”
The official launch of the limited edition ale will be at the band’s local watering hole, Cherry Bar. “It will be our first gig back in Melbourne for six months,” King says. “We always try to make our shows feel like an event rather than just a band playing onstage. We’re up for doing crazy shit like pretending that we are Pink Floyd with lights, smoke, and stage sets. As well as launching the beer, we are planning a very special night.”
While each member of Smoke Stack Rhino is an accomplished musician in their own right, King says not taking themselves too seriously has helped them amass a diverse, yet loyal following. “When we started the band, Dave [Sirianni, vocals] and I posted an ad trying to find a drummer and a bass player, using the headline, ‘What would Rage Against the Machine sound like if they played the blues?’ and that’s been the compass we’ve followed the whole time.
“Growing up we were all heavily influenced by the blues, rock, rhythm and blues, and roots music, so that comes out naturally when we play. With that idea in mind we look to implement the blues scale wherever we can to see how many different contexts we can fit it in.”
Smoke Stack Rhino released their debut album Love and Other Monsters, late last year on the back of two years of relentless touring in order to be completely self-funded. “Our singer Dave and his other band, The Pass Outs, had already produced, recorded and released their debut album, so he’d had experience in making an album. The difference was, he had paid for that out of his own pocket,” King says. “Whereas I was really forthright and keen to book as many shows as we could to make sure that the income from the band was paying for our album and not the individual members. We worked pretty hard to get there.”
Following on from the success of their first LP, King says they have been approached by a studio to record an entirely live album that would only be released on vinyl. “That involves practising a lot and writing the songs first,” he jokes. “Although that would add an interesting element and challenge to our next release.”
Whatever they decide to do, Smoke Stack Rhino plan to have a good time doing it. “A lot of rock music tends to take itself very seriously these days,” King says. “One of our main influences is the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. We did a one-off gig last year, in tribute to the Blood Sugar Sex Magik album, and that process really fed into the fun aspect we enjoy as a band.
“We’ve got another couple of video clips coming out from Love and Other Monsters. One will be an animated clip for our song Rumblefish (Part 1), and the other will be a wrestling spoof, which will accompany our song Mrs. Foley’s Baby Boy. I’m looking forward to that one, we will get to dress up in ridiculous outfits and hit each other with chairs.”
