THE DRONES
Back by popular demand after a 10-year sabbatical, The Drones reform for a one-off tour of Australia, kicking things off at Darwin Festival.
Sauntering along the edges of chaos and precision, The Drones built a reputation off the back of their iconic live shows, delivering epic live shows that are both confrontational and liberating at the same time. Brooke Gibbs caught up with guitarist Dan Luscombe for a chat.
Dan, great to see you returning to Darwin.
Yeah, we were last there in 2015, which was actually the Darwin Festival as well. It’s a little, as you know, as I’m sure you’ve heard so many times, it’s a tricky one to just put on the route, you know.
Absolutely!
But, we’re very happy we got the chance to do this run and we’re starting the tour there.
Well, it’s great to see The Drones back together after 10 years. What’s the first thing that surprised you when ya’ll got back together?
Well, we’ve been in many rooms together during our time off, which thankfully makes things easier. We’re all still pretty good mates, so we kind of hang around the same ... Our Christmas barbecues and our mid-year get togethers.
I was in Greece last year with Gaz and Fi, and this year, Gaz and I went to Japan. So, it doesn’t feel like a bunch of strangers reuniting. I think our last show was 2015. Yeah, it is 10 years. Oh, my God. And we did a couple of shows last year, just a couple of sneaky ones in Melbourne. That was to raise money for somebody who was in need of some cash, and it was a fun way to do it.
We did two nights at the Croxton Hotel. We had Paul Kelly support us one night and Don Walker from Cold Chisel the other night, so we kind of broke the seal in a very small way last year, but there were kind of short sets. This time around, we’ve got to do a proper show.
Oh, beautiful! And no better way to kick off those proper shows than Darwin! Why here?
Well, the offer from the Festival came through and we thought that would be a pretty good opportunity to tuck an entire tour on the back of, so we’re grateful for the impetus. I’m looking forward to going back there.
I’ve played the Darwin Festival twice before. I used to play in Paul Kelly’s band many, many years ago before I joined The Drones. We used to go up there a bit with PK, but I don’t think I’ve been back for some time.
Well as I said, stoked to have ya back! If someone has made it through life without hearing a Drones song, which song would you tell them to play first?
Well, look, it’s probably ‘Shark Fin Blues’. But look, I’d say you need to listen to five because we cover a lot of sonic sort of territory. There’s that kind of classic guitar, bass, drums, Neil Young, Crazy Horse-ish kind of world in that song, and things get progressively more different as the record progresses.
Some great covers came out of that song. I loved Missy Higgins’ take on that classic!
That’s very lovely she did that. Wow, I just had forgotten. We did a tribute show to Kev Carmody some years back, and Missy was on that. I think that would have been where she thought, ‘this band is not as bad as I thought they were.’ We certainly weren’t travelling in the same circles up until that point.
Darwin crowds have a reputation for being loud, sweaty and up for anything. What’s your most memorable audience moment?
Wow. We did a show in France and the entire audience ended up on stage. I think it was because Gareth was just heckling the shit out of them, saying they were boring. They decided to show us that they weren’t. No damage was done, but it was pretty memorable.
I don’t know if Gaz employs it anymore. I haven’t seen him do it at any [Tropical F-ck Storm] shows. But sometimes, just berating the audience can bring out the beast in them, even when they don’t deserve it.
What’s the one thing on your list when you’re back up here?
I want to go to the Ski Club. Is that still there?
It sure is!
That’s one of the best places to have a drink in the country, so I’d start my day there and it might well end there too. I think we do have a day off there, and I think I will go to the Ski Club. Just please be kind to us at Darwin Festival. It’s our first show for some time and please forgive any hectic moments that weren’t intended.
We’ll forgive you just this once, Dan.
The Drones
WHEN SAT 8 AUG | 9PM
AT INPEX SUNSET STAGE
COST $44.20-$52
INFO darwinfestival.org.au
