Latest / HEAVY Music Interviews / Shifting Gears With RONNIE SIMMONS From RONNIE SIMMONS & THE REDBACK SPIDERS

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Shifting Gears With RONNIE SIMMONS From RONNIE SIMMONS & THE REDBACK SPIDERS · HEAVY Music Interviews

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: All right, Hello, I am Ronnie Simmons from Rose Tattoo,
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Richie Ramone and The Red Back Spiders ex Faster pussy
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Cat and yeah, the debut Red Back Spiders EP Bite
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: Part one drops worldwide November twenty second on Suburban Records.
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: Yeah it for Ronnie. Thanks for joining us today, brother, no.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: Worries, thanks for having me all right, problems at all.
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: So, as you mentioned, Ronnie Simmons and the Red Back Spiders,
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: unleash your debut EP Bite Part one on November twenty second,
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: So the countdown's on, brol How are you feeling.
• 0:32
  Speaker 3: I'm excited, man.
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: I was listening over the Masters this morning, just before
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: I started chatting to you, and I'm really psyched that,
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: you know, unleash this into the world. I'm really proud
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: of it.
• 0:42
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: Look, he used to putting music out there with other bands,
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: a few of you, me mentioned before. But this is
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: going to be your first one of actually your band material,
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: isn't it.
• 0:51
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's it is the first time. Yeah in a
• 0:54
  Speaker 3: long long time.
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: I'm out the front and doing my own thing, so
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: you know, fronting it. I played all guitar on the EP,
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: sang produced to Johnny Martin from La Guns played bass
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: and Richie Ramone played drums.
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: And is it any extra pressure on you think, like
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: going into it because you're carrying this this time, you know,
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: like it's it's your name and your ability their first
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  Speaker 2: and foremost. Is no one else to take the focus
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: off you one hundred percent.
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: Like it's a very new experience for me, like, you know,
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: putting myself out there like that, and you know, realizing that,
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: you know, because a lot of these songs you know,
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: straight from the heart, so you know, it's very different
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  Speaker 1: to slotting into an already existing band. And I'm I'm
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: enjoying it. I'm really you know, it's a lot to
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: think about and like I said, it's a new experience,
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: but you know, I think I've got enough gigs and
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: experience under my belt.
• 1:44
  Speaker 3: But it's like I'm giving it a solid.
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: Crack'd now, tell us a bit more about the EP
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  Speaker 2: from a musical point of view and what are you
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: going for with it?
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  Speaker 1: Well, honestly, what I was going for was I just
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: wanted to make a record that I'd like if I heard,
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: like it wasn't really pre med to mix my influences.
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: But I have said before, like I'm caught somewhere between
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: CBGB's in an Australian pub. So it's you know, a
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: lot of feedback I've got is like some people have gone, man,
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  Speaker 1: this is Aussie rock, and others have gone, this is
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: really Ramones and someone else just.
• 2:15
  Speaker 3: Said, it's just you man, it's running.
• 2:17
  Speaker 4: So that's probably the best problem and you could get.
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: You released the singles alone with you and a little
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: misunderstood today. So are they you got sonny coropresentation of
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: what do you expect? Or are they just like a
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  Speaker 2: small piece.
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: I'd say it's a small piece, like you know, the
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: guitar sound and you know, the production across the board.
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: I wanted an album that sounded like a representation of
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: seeing a live band. So you know, every song definitely
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: cohesively has the same guitar sound, you know, the same
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: instrumentation and mixed.
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  Speaker 3: But some of the other songs.
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: Are definitely going to be a little heavier and there's
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: some scar in there. Yeah, and just some i'd say,
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: like heavy New York Dollar influence songs as well. So yeah,
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: I'm excited to put it out. Like, you know, it's
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: funny a lot of people are like man. For a
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: guy that seems always really happy, you're fucking piste off.
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: It's got to go somewhere man, Like.
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: You recorded the EV at one more time, records are
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: over in La Mate, So how was op processing and
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: why did you choose to record it over.
• 3:25
  Speaker 4: In the air instead of here.
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: Well, it came about because in twenty twenty two I
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: was juggling both Faster Pussycat and Richie Ramone and I
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  Speaker 1: had this brief window of time where I could go
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  Speaker 1: in my buddy Clay Davies that's in Bullets and Octane
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  Speaker 1: engineered and owns the studio and mixed it and you
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  Speaker 1: know where like brothers. So it was one of those
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: things He's like, good, of course, do it here. So
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  Speaker 1: I just went in between touring basically and knocked it
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: out really really quickly. And it's just been a process
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: of getting everything mixed and mastered together for the release now.
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  Speaker 1: But it was kind of it started as I'm going
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  Speaker 1: to make a solo album. I just wanted to make
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  Speaker 1: a record to get the songs off my chest and
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: get them down and out. And then now being back
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  Speaker 1: in Australia with the Tats and wanting to play live
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  Speaker 1: and get out there, like I like lot. You know,
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: it's a rock and roll band, man, you know, I
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: need a band behind me to do it. So that's
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  Speaker 1: how the Red Back Spiders came into existence. So it's
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  Speaker 1: a vessel to perform these songs and gig in between
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: being a tat it is.
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: Now you also play a bit of sax on the
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: EP to your believe Is that true?
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  Speaker 3: That's true, that's true.
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  Speaker 1: Like I said, there's some scar songs in there, and
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  Speaker 1: I was like, this is a perfect opportunity to bust
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  Speaker 1: the sax out because I actually started playing sax before
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  Speaker 1: I even touched the guitar. And it's one of those
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  Speaker 1: things that I just never really I never.
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  Speaker 3: Gave it up.
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  Speaker 1: I just you know, I played basically for myself, but
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: come time to do this, it was like I was going, man,
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  Speaker 1: be good with some horns in there.
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  Speaker 3: Wait, I got a saxophone. I can just do it myself.
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  Speaker 2: Is that just on one song? Or is it over
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: the Holy EP?
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  Speaker 3: I'm not the Hole EP. It's a handful of songs.
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  Speaker 1: So it's on one song on this EP, and for
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: the next batch of songs, it's on a couple of others.
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  Speaker 4: As well, how many songs actually on the EP six?
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  Speaker 4: Right right now? One thing I love.
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  Speaker 2: About you, bro, is your confidence. Like you're coming out
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  Speaker 2: with the debut EP and you're calling it part one,
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: so invariably a part two has to follow, but you
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  Speaker 2: already know that this is going to be that fucking
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: good that part two is coming.
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  Speaker 3: I love it things man.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, it was very tough to pick what the first
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: six songs would be out of the bunch, so I
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  Speaker 1: just went with what I thought was the most honest
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  Speaker 1: representation and a foot forward first, and I'm looking forward
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  Speaker 1: to hearing whatever one thinks.
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you've been in a lot of different bands over
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: the years made and they've all been different sort of musically.
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  Speaker 2: So how has all that come together and influence the
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: sound of the Red Back Spiders And how would you
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: define yourself if you had to, ah, too rock to.
• 5:58
  Speaker 3: Be punk and too punk to be rock?
• 6:00
  Speaker 4: I love that.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's definitely influenced the sound. Like you know, there's
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  Speaker 1: a few song Like I said, there's some scar elements,
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: and someone went, where the hell did this come from?
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  Speaker 1: It's like, well, I did grow up a little punk
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  Speaker 1: kid and there was a lot of scar around. But
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: during the tail end of Lockdown, I was actually living
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: with Rick Torres, who was in the English Beat for
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: fifteen years, so it was just like that, in hindsight,
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  Speaker 1: seeped into the songwriting process because it was just a
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: big scar household. But yeah, the punk Scar rock, it's
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: just all the music I love and it's just an accumulation.
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  Speaker 1: But it definitely wasn't premeditated when I wrote it. It
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: was more a matter of after it was done going,
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  Speaker 1: I kind of don't know what box you could put
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  Speaker 1: this in, so again, hence why I'm keen to release
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: it and see how it goes. But the first two
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: I thought was, you know, a good starting indication, like
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  Speaker 1: start with the bang and rock song and then go
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  Speaker 1: in a bit more of the punk direction with Little Misunderstood.
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  Speaker 5: And then yeah, oh so tell me, bro, how does
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  Speaker 5: it go from La playing in a band like Bustard Pussycat,
• 7:03
  Speaker 5: end up in Australia playing with Angry fucking Anderson.
• 7:06
  Speaker 4: It's funny the other.
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, so I started out here, you know, being
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: from here originally, like you know, plenty of plenty of
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: years under my belt touring and playing the pub, so
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: it was you know, it was very full circle. It's
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: been you know, to be playing places like the Whiskey
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: and touring you know, massive venues across the States with
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: Faster pussy Cat was a really really cool experience and
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: I had a blast. But coming back and being able
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: to play in the Tats, especially the influence they've had
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  Speaker 1: on me, like it really means a lot. So I'm
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  Speaker 1: I've been enjoying being back and you know, getting real
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  Speaker 1: in touch with Australia because I was gone for basically
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: a decade, right, yeah, do.
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: You remember I did Dan from the four? I have
• 7:46
  Speaker 2: to fill in for you or someone else in Roastado recently.
• 7:49
  Speaker 3: That that's correct.
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  Speaker 1: Dan has been filling in for me because it turns
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: out I had a broken hand all year, didn't know
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  Speaker 1: and kept playing and I've.
• 7:56
  Speaker 3: Had to have corrective surgery. But I'm back.
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  Speaker 1: I've got a guitar in my head and now a
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: couple of screws and some metal.
• 8:02
  Speaker 3: In my hand, and I'm good to go.
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  Speaker 2: And how do you go? Like I could imagine that
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: guy would play like a motherfucker no matter who was with.
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  Speaker 1: Oh yeah, he's fucking great. Like that was you know
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: another reason when you know he would suggest that. I
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: was like, hell yeah, like we've been entering with the
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: poor already. He's a great player, he's a good mate.
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: And I went to the Sydney show when they played
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: with Buck Cherry and you know, I got to watch
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  Speaker 1: and it's as well as loving those songs to.
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  Speaker 3: Begin with, he's a fucking great guitarist.
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  Speaker 1: So I'm glad that he's been filling in for me
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: and keeping my seat warm from when I'm back next year.
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: But enough about Dan in the poul because they get
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: her on their own, fucking attention. Connie Simmons in the
• 8:37
  Speaker 2: Red Back Spiders are kicking off a tour to promote
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: the EPs, starting in Sydney on November twenty. First you
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: hit Brisbane, Bendigo and Melbourne, then finished back where it
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: all started in Sydney on December fourteenth.
• 8:47
  Speaker 4: Mates, So what can we expect from Larch Tray.
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: There's gonna be a lot of people out there who
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: haven't seen your mates, so what can we expect.
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: It's just going to be an in your face, high
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  Speaker 1: energy rock. Like I said, too rock to be pung,
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: too funk to b rock. It's a high energy show
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: and you know, just all the things I love about
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: the music. I've been playing with other bands. I've just
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: been challenging in my own like you know, marsh Marshall
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: stacks loud, real guitars in your face, lots of energy
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: and yeah, can you get up and do it?
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: And I understand that the Maturing band isn't the same
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: band that played on the EP.
• 9:23
  Speaker 4: Is that correct?
• 9:24
  Speaker 3: That's correct?
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: Because yes, like I said, when I recorded the record,
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: I hadn't actually come back here yet and wasn't sure
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: what it was going to become, if it was just
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: going to be a record I put out. And then
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: like I said, when it was time to you know,
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: I wanted to gig. I figured, you know, as well
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: as just putting the record out, I want to play
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: these songs live. And the band like Hated Magogaan and
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: Sean Anderson and their on guitar, Me and those guys
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: go way back, and Chip Scanner that's on drums is
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: a phenomenal drummer. The guy's incredible, and Tommy Hills it's
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: on bass as well. Like I basically just you know,
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: through catching up with everyone moving back to a Alia,
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: was like, all right, these are the guys we got.
• 10:03
  Speaker 3: In the rehearsal room, rehearsed it up.
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: And now I've been getting out there and doing it,
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: and then by correct and remembering that the Brisbane show
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: at least.
• 10:10
  Speaker 4: Is free entry.
• 10:11
  Speaker 5: Yes, correct a greasab that's just Brisbane or a few
• 10:14
  Speaker 5: of them.
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: Yes, part of the website. It's because it's beautiful.
• 10:27
  Speaker 3: I'm over.
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: Before I let you go, we'll start a new thing
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: in heavy called photo bombs. So basically before I chat
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: with you, I trolled through your social media and I
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: find a.
• 10:35
  Speaker 4: Few photos that I want to know a little bit
• 10:37
  Speaker 4: more about.
• 10:38
  Speaker 3: Oh this is gonna be funny.
• 10:40
  Speaker 4: I've got this.
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: One, mate, Like that is some serious fucking hangtime there.
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: Buenos Aires, Argentina, one of my favorite cities to play
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: in the world. I remember that gig very well. Have
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: are you playing with Richie Ramone?
• 10:54
  Speaker 4: He's very cool.
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: That's Richie Ramone behind the kit right there, and I
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: have not I can't remember what so that was. I
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: do that a lot, but yeah, that was buenness Aris, Argentina.
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: And I'm guessing two thousand and sixteen if I remember.
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: Correct and selly, bro, have you ever done yourself a
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: missic jumping around by that light? They're pretty tight jeans,
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: and there's a lot going on fucking around that area.
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: I got a really funny story on that note when
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: I was playing with Faster Pussycat and we did Dr
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: Pepper Park in Roanoke, Virginia, and it was like us
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: La Guns, Tom Keeper, thousands of people. And during the
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: second song we did Cathouse and me and Samband the
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: other guitarists to do these dueling kind of guitar guitar licks,
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: and he ran over and jumped on the PA speakers
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: on his side, so and we were both wireless. I went, fuck, yeah,
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: I'm gonna do that too. My PA wasn't strapped down.
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: I ate shit in front of like four thousand people
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: and fell in the second song and it was and
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: not meant like the rest of the week. I was like, Okay,
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: I haven't broken my leg, but it feels like I have,
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: like I was limping and everything. And after afterwards I
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: was just like, oh, man, I can't believe I did that.
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: And the fans were like, man, the look on your
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: face was hilarious. All it looked like was not my guitar.
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: And then I reckon.
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: They reckon, They said, yup, But that made you reckon
• 12:11
  Speaker 2: it was a stitch up, I hope.
• 12:13
  Speaker 3: Not if it was well played.
• 12:17
  Speaker 2: That's and I've got one more for you here, Like
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: that's a whole lot of fun fun picture.
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: Right, Yeah, that was That was Rod Labor in Melbourne
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: when yeah, the Slash too earlier this year, just after
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: sound Shack.
• 12:32
  Speaker 3: That was cool.
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: I've got to say they made I started thinking had
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: a bad break and then I see the shirt you're wearing.
• 12:38
  Speaker 3: A yeah in Melbourne too. I'm brave.
• 12:44
  Speaker 4: Huh are brave? I'm an essence supporter of mate.
• 12:48
  Speaker 3: Say god, it's all good man.
• 12:52
  Speaker 2: So how does it go? Like you obviously get to
• 12:55
  Speaker 2: go backstage and stuff and shows like that with Slash.
• 12:58
  Speaker 4: You talk about shop back there?
• 13:00
  Speaker 2: Is it just like more of a sort of social
• 13:02
  Speaker 2: catching up for mates and oh.
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: It's a bit of both, like because me and me
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: and Slash. Actually I have a close mutual friend in
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: la called Robert John like he was who shot all
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: guns and roses photos, he did the Appetite for Destruction
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: photo all that stuff, and he became a really close
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: made of mine, like when I first moved out there.
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: So we're in our dressing room and I hadn't met
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: anyone yet, and this was the first time.
• 13:21
  Speaker 3: I actually met Slash.
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: When we came mates, he opened the dressing room door
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: and came in and said hi to everyone. He just goes,
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: we have a mutual friend. Robert says, hi, and I
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: was like, huh h, Slash, pleasure to meet you. And
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: then it was you know, and then him and Angry
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: started telling stories from back in the.
• 13:35
  Speaker 3: Day and it was it was all just smiles. Man.
• 13:37
  Speaker 3: It was really really cool.
• 13:39
  Speaker 2: Right now, I'm able. Thanks for you, Tom ron It's
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: been a pleasure stat with here. Ronnie Simmons and the
• 13:43
  Speaker 2: Red Back Spiders were released by Part One on November
• 13:46
  Speaker 2: twenty second. The tour kicks off in Sydney the day before.
• 13:49
  Speaker 2: Get out and get some good old fashioned rock and
• 13:51
  Speaker 2: roll up here and having the time made I'll see
• 13:53
  Speaker 2: you in Brizzy.
• 13:54
  Speaker 3: Hell yeah, thanks mate, great chat and appreciate it.