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 Returning and reforming for the first Float On fundraiser, DAVE MCCORMACK is in fine form condemning reporters and explaining CUSTARD’s laidback reunion approach to MITCH ALEXANDER.
In the wake of a catastrophic event, sufficient time should be allowed for grieving, but it can’t last forever. It’s only in the ‘acceptance’ stage where rebuilding can occur, not in the ‘maudlin clip show of human suffering soundtracked by the latest pseudo-inspirational pop duet’ stage that network television is still stuck in. Like a funeral reception with an open bar, even the most upsetting moments in human history require some sort of optimistic celebration. Or to put it another way, there’s a time for Karl Stefanovic and then there’s a time for Custard.
“The news coverage, don’t they love it?” asks a rhetorical Dave McCormack, reflecting on the difference between being a young sprat in Brisbane’s western suburbs during the 1974 flood and watching it unfold in 2011 from his house in Sydney. “All the television networks just go crazy for it, they love it!
“They go into people’s houses and have the camera right on them as they go in and see their lives destroyed, then ask ‘how does that make you feel?’ All the networks are trying to pretend they’re being sensitive and helping out, but they’re not. It’s just flood porn.”
So while the flag waving and ambulance chasing continues, upstanding members of the local music community – likely already affected by the flood hitting artistic fringe suburbs like West End, New Farm and Fortitude Valley … does the environment hate indie? … have taken a different approach with a string of fundraising performances across Brisbane. No commemorative pincushions or CD compilations, just a bunch of people congregating in a room to raise some dollars and hear good tunes. Enter Custard, a band fundamentally linked to Brisbane’s music scene, more so than any other from our checkered past. To not ask them to reform for this special occasion would be criminal.
“It’ll be wonderful, this is the third Custard gig we’ve done in 11 years, we did the Q150 show with Powderfinger in 2009, then the Meredith Music Festival in September last year,” he says. “So it’s good, this is our gig for the year, we’ll get it over and done with nice and early!
“We had close to 10 years of not being in the same room together, but now it’s nice. If the right thing comes up, we’ll get together and play a few songs.”
Although Dave no longer resides in Brisbane, frequent trips back secure a special place in the hearts of audiences and bands alike. In a night of spectacles, his performance of old favourite Apartment with Ball Park Music at Triple J’s Ausmusic Month gig in November 2010 was an early frontrunner for best song of the night. The game has changed drastically, but Dave’s typically casual approach to life refuses to let a natural disaster get in the way of a party.
“It’s bittersweet to be back in Brisbane for this, but it was fun to play that song with Ball Park Music, they played it better than we ever did!” he says. “Back in the early ‘90s, I don’t remember any of the bands in Brisbane being that good on their instruments.”
There’s a little known yet well-documented addendum to the final acceptance stage of the grief process. It’s called partying down, and Custard are more than equipped to be your counselors for one special night.
CUSTARD will perform as part of the Float On Brisbane Flood Relief Benefit at The Hi-Fi on Sunday Feb 6, alongside Kate Miller-Heidke, Hungry Kids Of Hungary, Screamfeeder, Gentle Ben & His Sensitive Side and Little Scout. A second show with Regurgitator, The John Steel Singers, The Boat People, Ball Park Music and Numbers Radio takes place Monday Feb 7. Tickets via www.thehifi.com.au.
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