Band On The Run: Gasoline Inc

Day 1, Wed 11 April : Ready, Set, Go

This is it! It felt like we'd been waiting and rehearsing for this tour forever. We all met at Jason's house, and left at 7pm - all extremely excited and in good spirits! It was only a 5.5 hour drive to Wagga Wagga, where we would stay for the night. The drive felt short as we were all pretty amped about our first east coast tour supporting one of New Zealand's best bands, The Feelers. We arrived around midnight in freezing cold weather (3°C) and crashed as we had an early start and a long drive the next day. Did I mention it was bloody cold?!

Day 2, Thu 12 April : Dishy

We left Wagga Wagga early as we had a 16 hour drive ahead. It was a loooong day, with 5 blokes in a car driving each other nuts!! Kevin Bloody Wilson made the drive a bit shorter though! A quick stop at 'The Dish' in Parkes, NSW was a rare highlight along with Jase's ability to belch the alphabet! We arrived in Brisbane at around 11pm, welcomed with a good South African BBQ and a few beers supplied by the lovely Brown family, with whom we'd be staying for the next 2 days. It was with aching bodies that we went to bed, hoping we'd feel better come show time the next day.

Day 3, Fri 13 April : Tempo Hotel, Brisbane

First show of the tour and after hours in the car we were all keen to hit the stage and rock it out! Finally met The Feelers during sound check, and what a great bunch of guys they were! We knew then it was going to be a cracker of a tour, and the first show at The Tempo Hotel was a great start! We made a bunch of new fans who were keen to see us again on our return to the Tempo on June 1. Ready to pack up the gear after the show, and low and behold our road crew were nowhere to be found. Being their first time on the road the excitement got the better of them (as did the alcohol) and they ended up losing themselves in Brisbane's labyrinth of one way streets! The irony of it all was that they only parked a block away from the venue! Gab and Mick ended up roaming the streets for an hour in a taxi to try and find them and then had to wait another half hour for them to find their way back. Needless to say we got to bed quite late, but satisfied that the first show was a good one!

Day 4, Sat 14 April : The Cooly Hotel, Coolongatta

Had a chilled out morning at the Brown's house. Jase, Sooffa and Les spent most of it in the jaccuzi, which had a very powerful jet in the middle for massaging purposes! Meanwhile Gab was sorting out the release of our video for 'Shock' which was due out on the Monday whilst Mick was catching up with some old school friends. We left early afternoon for the show in Coolangatta that night and immediately went for a swim in the ocean. Had a few beers before sound check and few whiskies after sound check! By the time we hit the stage we were primed and ready to fire. The crowd response was fantastic, and we had an awesome gig! Afterwards, during The Feelers's set, Gab found a shopping trolley and thought it would be a good idea to jump in go for a spin through the crowd (we still have no idea where he found it, and neither does he). After some crazy backstage shenanigans – including the rather revolting sight of Gab answering Hamish's (The Feeler's drummer) dare to drink the sweat from his gig shirt, the band stumbled back to the motel with Soof and Les dragging Gab home after he decided to have a snooze on the street. Back at the Motel room the boys thought it would be fun to try the latest UFC moves on each other – not a good idea! Mick ended up dislocating Gab's shoulder and Soof had to manipulate back into socket….all captured on video!

It was a hell of a fun day!

Day 5, Sun 15 April : The Great Northern Hotel, Byron Bay

The aftermath of the previous night was not as bad as we thought, except for Gab's shoulder being sore. We left early for Byron Bay. What a great place! The band is considering relocating there... It was here that we realised how very worthwhile all those hours of rehearsals really were! When you're able to play well no matter how utterly crap you feel, you know it was all worth it. It was another good show. We had a few drinks with The Feelers afterwards and a few of us stayed up playing poker. It was great night and we all felt a real friendship and bond forming between the two bands. After a lot of man-hugging, we all went to bed around 4am.

Days 6 & 7 : Travelling

These 2 days were spent driving back to Melbourne, and after such a gruelling schedule and late nights, it was going to be a hard 2 days in the car! Of course we would happily do it all over again and again, because this is what we live for!

Day 8, Thu 19 April : Northcote Social Club, Melbourne

This was going to be another tough 2 days as we would be playing at the Northcote Social Club in Melbourne and leaving straight after the gig to drive to Newcastle for a show the following night. There was no road crew carting our gear on this leg of the tour so it would be a 14 hour drive ourselves with a trailer in tow – kindly provided by “Bill's Trailers”. As we loaded our gear onto the stage, we were ready to play to an empty club but miraculously, as soon as we started playing, the venue suddenly exploded, and a very enthusiastic crowd filled the room! It was a nice surprise and we rose to the challenge, playing a very good show! Then came the big drive...

Day 9, Fri 20 April : The Great Northern Hotel, Newcastle

It felt like we would never get there! It was a long drive, especially after doing a show. At times we all felt that we had lost our minds, and stopping for a leg stretch, Gab had not only lost his mind, but his clothing as well, going for a naked jog alongside the road (all captured on camera of course). At least the truck drivers saluted him with some loud horn honking! We arrived at the venue at around midday, all dying for a shower and a lay down, only to be told that we could not enter our rooms until after 3pm!! We decided not to go to sleep, as we felt that if we did, we would never wake up again. We thought that sore muscles and lack of sleep would affect our ability to play a good show, but we were wrong. Another cracker of a show, and once again all that time spent rehearsing had paid off! Needless to say, we slept pretty well that night, except for (you guessed it!) Gab, who had gone out to get food, not knowing that the hotel doors closed at 1:30am, and there was no getting in or out after that. Upon his return he called Soof to try and let him in only to have the alarm system triggered and security telling him off. He spent the night on the sidewalk, woken up the next morning by a laughing bunch of girls taking pictures of him...at least he had his clothes on.

Day 10, Sat 21 April : The Beach Road Hotel, Bondi

Bondi!! It was to be the last show of our tour with The Feelers, and we were going to make damn sure that it would be a show to remember! After arrival, we all went for a swim at Bondi beach to refresh ourselves and to soak in the atmosphere of this iconic place. It was a little bit of magic, and gave us the boost we needed to end the tour on a high note. And a high note it was! We played with a fire in our bellies, and it was an awesome show. The Feelers were also on fire, and by the end of the night, we had both bands on stage, sharing a bond and friendship like only musicians can, with song! It was a spectacle to behold, and the crowd loved it! It was a fitting end to a great tour, and afterwards, in the hotel rooms, the 2 bands had the acoustic guitars out, and we were singing and partying well into the morning light...

Day 11, Sun 22 April : Heading Home

Tired but satisfied, we packed the gear up, getting ready for another long drive home. It was sad to say goodbye to the Feelers. It's amazing how quickly bonds and friendships can form, and we go home with not only great memories and a few extra supporters, but with friends that we will keep for a very long time! We hope to go to New Zealand soon to do it all again, and to see our friends, The Feelers.

Gasoline Inc are on the road again:

Thursday 10 May - Bended Elbow, Geelong VIC
Saturday 12 May - Torquay Hotel, Torquay VIC
Friday 18 May - The Town Hall, Newtown NSW
Saturday 19 May - Astor Hotel, Albury VIC
Friday 25 May - Revolver Upstairs, Melbourne VIC
Thursday 31 May - Tatts Hotel, Lismore NSW
Friday 1 June - Tempo, Brisbane QLD
Saturday 2 June - Miami Shark Bar, Gold Coast QLD
Friday 15 June - Rocket Room, Perth WA