In a way, it's what kept him going through the last few months. Brian was diagnosed with lung cancer late last year.īrian was determined to play at his own benefit, it was one of his last goals. Tex Perkins: The last time the Beasts of Bourbon played was at Brian Hooper's fundraising concert. He then re-joined, and so began my tenure in the Beasts Of Bourbon along with Spencer Jones. Basically, he wanted me to fill in for him. Kim Salmon: One day Spencer saw me at our booking agent's office and told me about this gig he had that I'd love you got to drink all you wanted and play all your favourite Alice Cooper and Stooges songs. Truly, I think that mythology did us all in, really. That's where the whole mythology of the Beasts really started. I guess we wore that as a badge of honour. Some enormous amount of beer was drunk on the days and nights the Beasts would play. Tex Perkins: Virtually due to the name, we got a reputation for being large consumers of alcohol.Īll those early shows that we did, the pubs were always very proud that they set new bar records whenever we played. I'm like George Costanza.Įverybody loves that band name, even me now. Naturally enough, if I think something's a good idea, you just do the opposite. I looked at him funny, like, 'What kinda name is that?'. His band had kinda gone AWOL and he still had some gigs booked, so he thought he'd change the name to the Beasts Of Bourbon. Kim Salmon: One day Tex told me he had a new band. It started with no more long-term goals than honouring two shows that would give us fifty bucks each. We were all enjoying it and people were enjoying it so it all rolled along. I probably didn't even ask him, it was just obvious: 'Oh, you've got some gigs? Let's do them.' Spencer was like that.īefore we knew it, by the third booking, it was obvious that this was a thing. I had a few shows still booked at a place called the Southern Cross Hotel. Half of my band at the time, The Dum Dums, left and went back to Brisbane very suddenly. Tex Perkins: The Beasts of Bourbon was a band that I started with Spencer. The legend is him downing shots of tequila. He be armed with endless stories about the subject and his own ideas about it. Spencer was a very thoughtful, erudite chap who was incredibly well-read and, if he was interested in a subject, he'd find out everything about it. The legend of Spencer is a little bit different. It was double-edged for him, because he also had time to live up to the legend. He was the guy who had time for everything and everybody. He drank fully from the cup of life, in all ways.
#Beasts of bourbon the low road rar files full#
I just remember him being in full flight from the word go. I have a deep emotional grounding with the people from that time. Tex Perkins: Spencer was like a big brother. He'd come and see you play and he was very down to earth and very lovely. My musical companion over many years.Īdalita Srsen: He was a good guy. In The J Files, we’ll celebrate his immense legacy.
Spencer’s passing this year has left a huge hole in Australian rock’n’roll. And, almost to the end, he was a tireless live performer, never missing an opportunity to share his gift with fans the world over. He served as a kind of mentor to countless up and coming bands, always showing his support for his beloved Melbourne scene as well as great rock bands from across the country.Īnd, as a solo artist and with his band The Escape Committee, he proved to be an astute songwriter who built up an enviable catalogue of high quality rock’n’roll songs. His guitar playing made the work of Beasts of Bourbon, Paul Kelly, The Johnnys and many other acts sound better. Jones was the unsung hero of Australian rock’n’roll. You can also use the search box to search the entire website).Spencer P. Lower case names are at the end (don't blame me if you picked a lowercase name for your band). So "Bob Dylan" is under "B" and "Captain Beefheart" is under "C" and "10,000 Maniacs" comes before "A". Note: musicians and groups are listed by the names they use on their records (first names first). This is a complete alphabetical list, as ofĭecember 2020 (for more recent musicians, see this page that is dynamically updated).
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