Chris and Mikey recently went into the Undercover studios for a quick chat about Slow Burn and to lay down a killer acoustic version of ‘Ravine’. 

Stream the full video interview and performance here.

So, the tour’s been and gone, laughs were had, amps were broken, now it’s time to reflect.

Photo by The Boomeister

Next stop was the Transit Bar in our nation’s capital, an intimate but fun gig deep in the bowels of a backpacker’s hostel in the city centre. A few shots with the boys from support band Black Creek and an atrocious Hog’s Breath Cafe meal made this a truly memorable trip to Canberra.

A few hours north and we returned to The Hopetoun Hotel, a modestly attended but hard-hitting night of rock’n’roll at the Sydney institution with support from Ripping Dylans and a few of my old high school pals in The Maladies. A great night of boozing ensued at the somewhat lacklustre (but open) Cleveland Hotel after which I lost my mobile phone and woke up the next morning having been abandoned by the rest of the band who headed back to Melbourne to beat the sun. Luckily there was plenty for me to do in Sydney that night, with another chance to see Los Hories supporting my other favourite band The Straight Arrows at the Hopetoun.

Giving our Victorian followers another chance to turn it on, we hit Ruby’s Lounge in Belgrave the following Friday with an ace local band Cooper Street Exit, and the always devastating Gareth Eunson and The Graveyard Sons. Ruby’s is a great venue in a town which m

ight otherwise not appear to be a rock’n'roll destination. However, you’re still far enough away from the city to cop a bit of “fag!” and “get a haircut!”. Nonetheless, myself and Dallas Gale of the Graveyard Sons had a good time belting out the hits of Queen in the ride back down the Eastern Freeway.

Playing in Adelaide always feels like a homecoming in a way, and the following weekend at Jive Bar felt especially welcoming. Special mention must go to the Agars family who invited everyone in their address book and cooked a mean Aldgate breakfast the following morning. The only dark spot on the evening was poor old Julien’s debilitating bout of food poisoning which came on five minutes before we were due to hit the stage, the ferocity of which was matched only by Chris’s attack of the vom-voms outside the Grace Emily a few hours later…

The official tour wrapped up the next weekend up north, when we flew up to play the Sounds of Spring Festival at Brisbane Showgrounds. Festivals are always good fun to play at the best of times and even at the worst, they’re pretty alright. Turning up to the showgrounds on Saturday we were greeted with a quagmire and steady downpour that led to playing times being cut, changed, downright dropped, which led to our friends Mary Trembles only getting about fifteen minutes on stage, and The Spazzys getting offstage half an hour before their plane was due to leave. On the bright side, it was a good chance to see our sister band The Gin Club play on home turf, and they even lent us their keys man extraordinaire Dan Mansfield for our set. It was a great night full of wine, Trivial Pursuit, and a curious cable TV program called “Naked and Funny” - basically Candid Camera with norks.

And there you have it folks, a first hand account of the craaaaazy times we had. A huge thanks to everyone who came to the shows, bought the record, had fun, or told their friends. See you next time, Vandas out!

Well, we’re back from the tour and enjoying short break between proceedings.

Thanks to everyone who came out to the shows – we had freakin’ ball! We’ll do a bit of a tour report in more detail in the coming days.

In the meantime, there’s a coupla things to get out of the way.

Basement Discs in-store this Friday

Firstly, Chris and Mikey are playing a free all-ages lunchtime in-store at the fabbo Basement Discs in Melbourne from 12:45 pm this Friday, 24 October. So, if you’re in the CBD, drop by for a long lunch at one of the best rekkid stores in the country.

Pure Pop Records in-store

Secondly, Chris and Mikey make a return to that other burgeoning Melbourne institution, the Pure Pop Records beer garden, on Saturday, 15 November.

Apart from sinking beers and shooting the breeze with Spencer and Joel, Chris and Mikey are due to play a 60 minute set from 5:00 pm. Melbourne might even reach 20+ degrees by this date…

Full band show at Yah Yah’s

That same evening, the full band will make their debut at the best new addition to the Melbourne live music scene, Yah Yah’s. We’re playing two sets – 9:30 pm and 10:30 pm – and it’s free! Should be a fun night.

Slow Burn - still burning

Finally, thank you to everyone who has bought a copy of ‘Slow Burn’. We’ve had fantastic feedback from punters, and the great reviews keep on rolling in, including this pearler from Rhythms magazine – thanks Brian!

‘Slow Burn’ is in-stores now – thanks to everyone who’s picked up a copy so far. To celebrate, Chris and Mikey are playing an in-store from 3 pm Saturday, 13 September in the Pure Pop Records beer garden in St Kilda.

The weather will be a balmy 25 degrees, so what better way to spend a Saturday arvo than with a few cold beers and some tunes?

And…Saturday night we officially launch ‘Slow Burn’ at the East Brunswick Club! We’ll be joined by our new best mates, Johnny Casino & The Secrets, plus New Zealand garage punkers, Tour page for purchase links.

BTW, ‘Slow Burn’ is now available to purchase on iTunes.