The 90s really doesn’t seem like all that long ago. For those of us that lived through that time, It feels like yesterday. Sadly, it was not, and many of the acts that made the 90’s so memorable have faded into distant memory. Those that have endured and remain relevant today are few in number, but there is something about that era that is timeless. A few of today’s teenagers can still be found huddled in darkened rooms listening to the music that their parents grew up loving, and that in itself is a testament to the quality and relevance of the music of that time.

One of Australia’s quiet achievers of that era who has stood the test of time has to be The Badloves. With a work ethic reminiscent of the great bands of the golden era of Aussie rock, the 1970s, and a sound that defies containment into any specific genre, but still somehow stays true to its roots of old school rhythm and blues, the band has been steadily plugging away off and on since the release of their debut work, “Get on board” in July 1993.

I recently spoke to lead vocalist and guitarist, Michael Spiby about all things Badloves and numerous things Rock’n’Roll.

“We had been blissfully ignored by labels for a number of years, and had resigned ourselves to just having fun while it lasted. A lot of our mates were getting signed. When they finally signed us, I think the guy’s missus was more interested in our music than he was. Maybe she twisted his arm somehow. Green Limousine took us about 8 hours to record, in the wee small hours , but we were really happy with it. We came back the next day and had a listen to it. That’s when you know what you’ve got. You don’t really have an idea straight after recording. The record company guys came in and said ‘Oh well, that’s O.K., there will be other songs. That one can’t can’t go on the album.’ We said, ‘Bullshit, that’s the single’, so there was a bit of a standoff , but we won them over in the end.”

“By and large, though, they were pretty good. They pretty much left us to our own devices. They didn’t try to make us sound like ‘Pearl Jam’ or anything. They let us go out on a limb musically. There weren’t a lot of people doing what we were doing at the time.We kind of snuck in through the back door”.

Once they had an album, there was no stopping them. They began touring relentlessly, taking any show they could get.

“Because I grew up listening to bands like AC/DC, The Aztecs, Chisel, guys like that, I wanted to have a band that worked like that. So I got people that were ‘roadworthy’, who had been playing their instruments for a long time, (one of the guys was only 17, but he had been playing since he was 5) and we just wanted to get out and get amongst it like our heroes. That was the template. My old man had a work ethic like nobody else I know, so I figured I had to do the same if I wanted my family to see that what I was doing was legit. It can be hard for a rock band, (not that I see us as a rock band exactly) but with all the bullshit, the advertising and bureaucrats, its easy to lose sight of your roots. I grew up on that , seeing rock bands who worked hard “

“ I made the mistake of going to uni/ I wanted to be a teacher, because that’s what you do; study, career et cetera. Then I was at the cafeteria and I heard a band doing soundcheck, so I went down for a look,and it was (Cold) Chisel. There were only about 20 people there, out of about 1000 students at the uni. I thought ‘What the hell are they doing here. This is the wrong place for them. Then they played,and they were just phenomenal. They just nailed it. They left it all up there. That marked the end of my misadventure. When they packed up and left, it was like the circus had left town, and I wanted to go with them. I thought ‘That’s me. That’s what I want to do. Just to watch that close up was insane.
And so the seeds were sown”

“I used to play in cafes and the like, but it was mainly covers. Then at some point I thought that if I wrote my own songs ,I would have a reason to be doing it. I spent most of my 20s just writing songs every day, when I could have (maybe should have) been doing other things. I just wanted to write songs I was interested in. In The early days , I would start learning a song that was someone else’s, then I would get distracted and change them , and I think that’s where it really started”

With the amount of touring that The Badloves have done over the last few decades, the question of meeting one’s idols had to be asked

“One of my heroes is Ray Charles, and we got to share a stage with him. I was really nervous. I was stumbling over my words. We were playing 2 spots before Ray at a Melbourne blues festival. We were backstage. He was elderly and bent over, it was not long before he passed. He generates some serious heat. His version of ‘Yesterday’ by the Beatles is one of my favourites of all time.”

“We are putting the finishing touches on a live gospel style album. It’s called ‘Hymns for hard times’ It’s mainly originals , but it has some ‘versions’ of songs that were influential to me. I’m not religious, so it’s a bit strange. We aren’t singing about God or Jesus, but it is spiritual . One song I am excited about is a song about artist Albert Namatjirra. It’s a really sad story. He got caught between white and black culture, and ended up in neither.”

“One of the great things about getting older, is that you reach a point where you are no longer trying to impress anyone. By and large, nobody gives a damn what you are doing anyway, so it gives you the freedom to be authentic. Because I came from a tougher background, you couldn’t really call yourself an artist, or you would get told you’re full of yourself, but that is what this is . It’s an artistic journey, and if I am going to take that on, then I have to own it, and be true to that. It doesn’t matter where it hits the marketplace. That isn’t important. Making something of substance is what matters. If you are true to yourself, the right people will appreciate it.

The Badloves will be plying their trade at The Tanks art centre on Saturday, April 12th. Gates open at 6:30. The show starts at 7:10. The support act is soul and blues artist, Rob Longstaff.

Noel Keid

Tickets are available through TicketLink.

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