We got in touch with Mick from Grindhouse when we saw they were going to go on an overseas excursion and we wanted to get up to speed with what they had planned and for the uninitiated, it was a chance for Mick to set out the Grindhouse stall so to speak.  Here with the chatter that matters about all things down under and Grindhouse is Mick ‘Two Fingers’ Simpson. 

Its always been a hotbed of Punk Rock and Roll down under – sure it might have taken a while for us snobs in the Northern Hemisphere to cotton on to some of the bands but the UK can’t get enough of Australian bands at the moment and the trail blazed by the likes of Radio Birdman, The Saints, Cosmic Psycos and Rose Tattoo has recently been reignited by the likes of Amyl & The Sniffers, Grindhouse, The Chats (to name just a few – I Could go on) all making a dent in the scene halfway around the world.  We wanted to get a hold of Grindhouse and see what’s up so we contacted Mick to get the inside track on all things Grindhouse.

G’day Mick. You say you were listening to bootleg albums of your rock and roll heroes hoping one day to imitate them. who and what albums were Grindhouse listening to in the back of that XD?

Ah I see you have done your homework, yeah I grew up on a lot of Australian independent rock kind of by accident. Not that I’m an old fucker but we didn’t have the internet back then so it was a case of finding bands by word of mouth or stumbling across them on peoples stereos at parties or riding around in cars looking for cheap booze and good times. That’s where I discovered Radio Birdman( Radios appear), The Saints, Tumbleweed( Galactaphonic) and Aasteriod B6182. Then wed go out on a Saturday night with a fake ID and watching these bands in the flesh. Ok now I feel a little older ha, ha

Tell us a brief history of the band where did you guys meet?

We all grew up in a seaside city called Wollongong but ended up in Melbourne, our drummer had unprotected sex and had to leave the band. We all warned him but he didn’t listen.

The nucleus of the band came from another garage band called the Wardens but I wanted an avenue to really play punk rock, sing about dirty shit and not give a fuck, that’s how Grindhouse came about.

You say you’re interested in vintage porn and Mosrite guitars. when you say vintage porn what are we talking here? John Holmes? and the guitars why the Mosrites?

Fuck me I probably wrote that when I first started the band and totally forgot to be honest. Pony plays a 64 Mosrite Ventures that sounds nasty as cat shit but very cool and I used to have a great vintage 70,s porn mag collection in the 90,s so maybe its art imitating life.

What does Melbourne make of Grindhouse? will you be welcomed back after your European excursion like prodigal sons or will they close the borders and pretend they’re out so you cant get back in?

We have a loyal bunch of misfits, part-time alcoholics, fare evaders, bum sniffers, serial masturbaters, Lube lovers, weed smokers, vintage porn collectors, speed creeps, and sex freaks we lovingly call Grindhouse fans and that’s just the members of the band.

Hopefully we just clear customs without a strip search( happy for a pat-down), other than that anything else is a bonus.

I’ve always loved me some Australian rock and roll but at the moment there seems to be a real demand for it over here in the UK. We recently had the Chats over as well as Cosmic Psycos and Amyl And The Sniffers and Radio Birdman always manage to play London or at least for the past few years. You guys are coming so what can or should we expect?

Its definitely taken off in the UK lately which is great, I think mainland Europe has always been the main staple of o/s touring for Australian bands so its great for bands to have the UK as another option. Historically the UK has always had a strong connection with Australian music from The Saints to The Birthday Party so its no real surprise. As for the mentioned bands, Birdman will always be Birdman but the next generation of younger bands coming through is great even for us as it creates interest in Aussie Independent bands. Amyl and the sniffers are a great live show, the Psychos seem to just find another gear and get better with age and The Chats just supported Iggy Pop in Melbourne so am I jealous? You better fucking believe it.

Any other recommendations you could tip us off with. Who would Grindhouse like to drag around Australia with them?

I love a band from Melbourne called Stiff Richards who id call the best garage band in Australia at the moment other than Grindhouse, there,s also a great Ramones inspired garage doo-wop band from Adelaide called Jullitte seizure and the tremor dolls who we love too.

Its been a year since ‘Can I Drive Your Commodore?’ came out. Are we near a follow-up? Tell us about any new music?

We have a plan to record a new album later this year with a working title of “ Sex, Punk, Power” and well be testing some of the new songs on the road which will be cool.

The titles on the record made me instantly smile and from those titles, I was buzzin’ to hear the songs and I knew exactly how they were going to sound. What’s the best title you’ve come up with so far? and why don’t more bands sing about Cheese and their love for friends like Gary? Isn’t shit cocaine dangerous? and is the Australian Car industry really dead?

I’ve always loved ‘Wild sex and machine guns” on our first album as its about a woman I worked with who loved those two things which cracked me up. Our titles are inspired by growing up in the suburbs of 80,s Australia so a lot of people connect to the songs. We don’t make cars in Australia anymore and we also have a lot of shit cocaine in this country so I’ve been told.

As for Peter Russel Clarkle, every band should have a song about a celebrity chef who loves tasty cheese.

Are you guys in shape now ready for a hot and sweaty tour of Europe? Can we have a bunch of shows in the UK, please

I don’t know if were hot but were sweaty and ready, id love to do the Uk so fingers crossed we can get there sooner than later. We have a band we love from Nottingham called The Hip Priests who wed love to do it with plus the beer in the UK is always ice cold.(it’s actually fucken very tasty).

Mick did say that they were looking to coming to Shit Island sometime next year hopefully with a brand new album under the hood so its our (and your) duty to demand it and make it happen by showing bands like Grindhouse that the UK loves them and wants to bring them here for some live dates.

Facebook

Buy Grindhouse Here