Australian punk pioneer Kim Salmon is a man that needs no introduction.
Having spent the better part of 30 years pushing every boundary in the Australian rock music landscape; first with The Scientists, then again with The Surrealists, now Salmon is back in the fold with arguably his most famous group, Beasts of Bourbon, 35 years on from their debut album The Axeman’s Jazz.
One could only imagine what it must feel like to pull those old dusty jeans back on for another go-around with the Beasts.
“It’s in my genes, isn’t it really?”, Salmon laughs. “That’s the thing. But yeah, it feels like they still fit. It’s an amazingly comfy, good fit.”
With a hard-earned reputation that precedes them globally, Beasts of Bourbon are the kind of band that you won’t hear on the radio, but are championed by heavyweights like Henry Rollins and Iggy Pop due to the sheer impact of their live performance alone. They’re the kind of band that you don’t forget how to be a member of.
Now they’re back with a new name, simply The Beasts, as well as a monster new album, Still Here. With a sound that hits you like a hammer and an attitude to match, it feels like a raucous celebration of every era of the band up to this point.
“I’d compare it, maybe not the sound, but the attitude … with when we started with The Axeman’s Jazz,” Salmon reminisces. “There’s a real ad-hoc, try-anything-on, ‘whatever works’ attitude.
“On [The Axeman’s Jazz], the songs were all about death but they were quite tongue-in-cheek,” Salmon dryly remarks. “Whereas there are a few songs that approach that with some reverence this time around. But I don’t think it’s an album that’s grim in any way.”
The lead single, ‘On My Back’, is a four-to-the-floor stomper that harkens straight back to 1997’s Gone era. “It’s funny – I was gone in the ‘Gone’ era”, Salmon chuckles – he had exited the band at that point. “But there’s definitely a bit of that sound in there. I think that my contribution, ‘Pearls Before Swine’, fits into that. That was a song that I had written for the band many years ago, and I’m so happy that Tex is singing it now – that’s what it was written for.”
Many assumed that the band had played their final performances last April – due to the passing of long-time bass player Brian Henry Hooper. Then, we lost the crown prince of Australian rock glory, Spencer P. Jones last August, who was arguably the biggest part of the band’s sound and somebody that almost everybody who was lucky enough to cross paths with ended up with a story to last a lifetime. Asked if he could leave us with a Spencer story for the road, Salmon obliged:
“There’s some that I couldn’t repeat,” he chuckles, “but this is a gentle story and the last, with the recording of the album. He made it on to just the one track, sadly [the sardonic swan song ‘At The Hospital’], but he lived up the road from where the recording was taking place.
“I was visiting Spencer, and the rest of the band were in the studio and were asking if they could pop in and see him. I thought, ‘Why not?’.
“We came in; it was Charlie, Boris and Tex. Tex sat down next to Spencer, and we were recounting some of the old days, and Tex seemed to have a bit of a cough. Spencer was in a bit of a fragile state, so he didn’t wanna get an infection or anything, so he says, ‘Hey, is that a bit of a cough you got there mate?’ And Tex was like, ‘Oh it’s past being contagious, it’s okay it’s okay.’
Spencer smiles and slowly drawls in his fragile state, “That’s okay mate, I just wanted to say… take care of yourself.”
Long live Brian Henry Hooper, long live Spencer P. Jones and long live The Beasts.
Catch The Beasts with special guests Dallas Crane on Friday February 22 at the Prince Bandroom and Saturday February 23 at The Croxton Bandroom. Tickets available via Oztix.
