Mateship, Mayhem & A Bluegrass 'Riot': On Tour With Brissy Indie Band Shag Rock

Brisbane indie-rock four-piece Shag Rock are in the midst of a sizeable east-coast tour in support of their recently released debut album, Barefoot, proudly being presented by The Music.

We thought we'd check in with the boys while they're on the road before they hit their next batch of shows (starting tomorrow night in Canberra at Smith's Alternative) to find out what sort of mischief they've gotten up to so far. Guitarist Jacob Reed reports.

BYRON BAY – Treehouse on Belongil

What a roadtrip, hey. Kicked off the tour down to our favourite little town, Byron Bay, playing at the Treehouse on Belongil.

I tell ya, if it wasn’t for our mates and our relatives, this gig would have been a nice little quiet session and soothing start to the tour. Little did we know, after a few too many champaz, rumbos and whatever other liquid lollipops they ingested, it would turn into a riot of a gig and a rip-snorter of a night. With straw umbrellas, woodfired pizzas and local lagers, it was really just a dream setup for a chill couple of sets and we tried to play as quietly as we could control ourselves so the restaurant goers could dine in peace. But excitement got the better of us by the second set, and volume knobs seemed to turn up by themselves. Weird. It set the tone for a big night, though, as we capitalised on the free beers and danced all our troubles away at the Beach Hotel.

But great little venue, great gig and we’ll be back in Byron as soon as we can, that’s for sure. Also cheers to Mum and Dad for saving us from certain starvation the next morning and cooking us a huge brekky. What would we do without our parents?

BRISBANE – Milk Factory (Tia Gostelow support)

Next up was the little Brissy show. So weird actually selling merch for once. Our self-proclaimed tour manager and brother in ginge, Matt, wrote up a merch sign (with the help of his legend roommate Emi) on a XXXX Gold cardboard case, which worked a treat. Had some fans come and we actually spoke to some girls, which is rarer than a blue-eyed white dragon.

The gig was at The Milk Factory supporting triple j up-and-comer Tia Gostelow, and it's always fun playing there. It's not a big venue, so even a small crew of mates can make it feel full enough and get the vibe train flowing.

Being our last Brissy show until the album launch, we soaked it all in like a spilt beer on a T-shirt, and made the most of it. We watched Tia smash out her super- tight set, then smashed a few beers ourselves, smashed a few more, went back to Charles St (the scene of the crime for the Sunbleached Girl video) and had a blinder send-off. We also put roof racks on the van, which really felt like we were finally ready to live the dream, drop everything and road-trip it to anywhere and everywhere. Livin'.

noosa – café le monde

We had some legend fans travel some distances for us, which was another strange but flattering experience. Two Goldy blokes in particular travelled down to Byron to see us the other week and made the trek up to Noosa to watch us again; needless to say, we’re good mates now. One of our goals for the tour was to try and make mates with everyone we could and thank every fan that comes. Funnily enough it actually works… who would've thought not being average blokes for a change means people get around you more?

It was a really great vibe at Café Le Monde for the Noosa gig though; set up in the back corner, surrounded by leafy walls and rustic timber, with a vintage surf movie playing on a screen behind us. It really seemed to fit our intended vibe and the crowd seemed mellowed out to join us on what was a pretty successful little chiller session.

Huge cheers to the Cavdarskis for letting us stay at their place up the coast. It’s a pretty safe bet to say we won’t be having a better night’s sleep for a few months.

1770 – Agnes Blues Roots & Rock Festival

We trekked all the way from Noosa to Agnes Waters, which was a bit of how-ya-going after skipping a few turn-offs. John Clifford Way was the infamous road we took and, after realising it was 90% rocky gravel, almost everyone was saying 'fuck John Clifford' by the end.

Great little sleepy town though, once we finally arrived in 1770, and once again they gave us accommodation in a pristine apartment, which was just unreal. We totally didn't deserve that; we deserve a patch of grass to set up camp, that's all, but, you know, who can say no to the Ritz?

So we arrived at the Agnes Blues Roots & Rock Festival and this was a buzzing vibe, that's for sure, but a great set-up and was clearly organised extremely well.

There was basically a massive tent where a few hundred punters were seated under, having some drinks and watching the music acts perform on the big concrete stage. So we got up, smashed out an hour-long set and got the success of one mum and her young daughter that got up and had a dance. Felt a little like a scene out of The Blues Brothers, playing our music in a country town, although the crowd kindly refrained from hurling their beer bottles (probably cause they were only serving tinnies).

But the stoke was high and it really felt like the tour had set in, stepping out of our comfort zone a bit and hoping for the best. The Beech family made the huge trek up as well and treated us to restaurant feed, which we also didn't deserve, but was greatly appreciated nonetheless.

Although it was a great gig to play and another experience to put in the books, we thought Shag Rock maybe might be the wrong kind of band for the festival. We realised this when the band after had a mosh going to their country/harmonica/double-bass riot of well-known covers and revelry. But we still frothed the big stage and another day, another dollar… but, more importantly, another day doing something we love.

So, after bathing in the north-coast sunshine, stopping off at the Bundy rum distillery and meeting heaps of people along the way already, we’re more than gee’d to crawl our way to the bottom of the nation, as we get ready to tour down south in the van we’re now calling home.

Shag Rock continue their Barefoot tour from tomorrow night. See theGuide for details.