MIKE FROST & the Icemen tour
NZ's South Island
There were understandable concerns that living in each others pockets for nine days might lead us to blows and cause the demise of the band. Such fears were unfounded. Having established a few ground rules (eg. no smoking or farting in the car), we all got on famously, and ended the tour great mates and keen to do it all again.
The tour kicked off in Christchurch, where we were billeted with Mike's dad, ex pro-footballer Sgt.Maj."Filthy" Phil, who kept us in line, fed us, and blew reveille in time for us to break camp for the next battle. The weather was cold and wet for our first gig at the Southern Blues Bar, but apparently this is pretty normal, so a decent crowd of serious drinkers and blues fans turned out for our 11pm - 4am spot.
We immediately found that one must improvise when using borrowed backline. Mike had a nice Fender Concert, Tom had a decent bass rig, but poor Greg had to do battle with the house drumkit from hell. He got stuck in with Gaf tape and a tuning wrench, and with a borrowed stool from local blues duo Blair and Barb (great singers and players) turned a potential disaster into a triumph. Several locals, including venue owner Steve, joined us for a late night jam, and the gig was considered a success.
Brilliant sunshine greeted us for the scenic drive south to Queenstown, and held up long enough for Mike to grab an afternoon of spectacular skiing at Coronet Peak the next day. How he managed to stagger out of bed at noon, after a midnight-to-4pm gig (and the post-clean-up 'staffie' with the Chico's Bar crew and a carton of Steinlager) is anybody's guess. Once again, the local musos came through with good loan equipment and friendly support. After two consecutive nights at Chico's, we rocked up on our night off to see one of the local bands, featuring tasty guitarist Brian Harley, and drummer Tim Ebeling.
That last name may be familiar to long-time Brisbane blues fans. Multi-talented Kansas native Billy Ebeling was a resident of Port Douglas for some years, and spent a year or so around 1997 in Brisbane, playing in the Late For Dinner Band with Steve Lott, and touring as support act to Keb' Mo'. We chatted with his brother Tim and found out that the other Ebeling, Terry, was in Dunedin! I managed to touch base with Terry briefly at his solo gig in the Central Wine Bar a few days later. Small world!
The good weather couldn't last. Overcast, rainy conditions followed us to Oamaru, a sleepy town on the East Coast, north of Dunedin, but one blessed with lots of gorgeous late 19th century stone architecture, two penguin colonies, and the world famous Penguin Club, a community-run musicians club that hosts all sorts of performers, from standup comedians to hardcore punk. But they sure love their blues, and made us especially welcome. At this point our fearless leader had lost his voice and we were very concerned about how we would finish the tour. Advice was sought from the locals, and Mike scrupulously followed their prescriptions, which consisted of sipping warm Drambuie, Green Ginger Wine, and 'a wee dram' of whisky. He managed to croak his way through the gig, feeling no pain, and they loved us!
After a superb night's sleep in the 1915 Federation House homestay run by Rodger McCaw (dubbed Dodgy Rodger the Lodger Codger) we headed south to Dunedin in windy but sunny conditions. Normal weather (ie. rain) resumed shortly but the Caledonian capital of the South was a welcome sight, and well rugged-up we fronted the Musicians Cub, celebrating its 29th birthday soon. A great room and great people - another community-supported venue run for and by musicians. Mike's voice was back in shape and we had another mighty fine good-rockin' night.
After a longish drive North the next day, we looked forward to our final gig, back at the Southern Blues Bar in Christchurch. This felt like a homecoming and we were greeted like old mates. Greg found to his relief that the infamous house drumkit was pretty much as he had left it, and we settled in for a long but cosy night of good ol' blues. Once again Blair and Barb opened for us and the staff made us feel right at home. Next day it was back on a plane for Oz and a long session in the sack to re-set our confused internal time clocks.
It was a busy nine days, with little spare time, but with all the venues keen to book us again, we're seriously considering doing it all over next year. A word to the wise. If any other local bands are considering a trip across the ditch, don't expect to make a profit on the venture. Touring bands at our level are paid the same as local NZ bands (similar to Brisbane gigs), which will barely cover budget accommodation, meals and petrol money. If you can stay with friends and borrow a car, you may end up in front, but there's still the air fare to cover. Having said that, we all feel the experience was worth the cost. We now have a bunch of new friends and fond memories of good times in a beautiful country.