Celebrations All Round With CAM BAINES From BODYJAR

Interview by Kris Peters
One enduring quality possessed by the vast majority of Australians
is an untenable bond that ties us together and stays through thick,
thin or indifferent.
Be it the sporting arena or the social or even the blue collar
working mentality there is no denying that if one person can have a
good time doing something, then five could have infinitely
more.
It's sort of a pack mentality that sees us put everything on the
line for our mates and epitomises, to me anyway, what being an
Aussie is all about.
Which is why it shocked no-one earlier this year when Melbourne
punk legends Bodyjar and Perth rock machine Gyroscope announced
they were embarking on a trek around the country together under the
guise of a "tour".
But just in case there was anyone who dare doubt their motives,
both bands conveniently have album anniversary landmarks to
potentially celebrate so whether they like it or not the tour side
of the party became official.
Not that you would imagine the fun side of things was, is or will
ever be in any danger.
With Gyroscope celebrating the 15th birthday of their album Breed
Obsession and Bodyjar going ten better with their album No Touch
Red the stage for a travelling punk/rock extravaganza was well and
truly set.
Luckily for both bands they also rate highly on the live
performance radar so what could go wrong?
What indeed...
To find out just how much of a tour this will be and how much of a
social gathering it already is, HEAVY cornered Bodyjar frontman Cam
Baines earlier this week and gave him the chance to set the record
straight and what better way to cut straight to the chase than ask
if he has already packed and readied himself for the road.
"Not yet," he smiled. "I normally do my packing the morning that we
go, which really freaks out my wife. We're all jammed up; we've
been practicing, we've run through the old songs and made sure
we've got a few surprises for the crowds. Some of the Melbourne
shows will see some ex members and stuff get up and do a few songs,
so I feel mentally prepared, musically prepared and I think we're
raring to go. We've planning this for a while and a lot of the
shows are sold out and everything so we are hoping for a
banger!"
Being an anniversary party it only seems fitting that No Touch Red
will get the lions share of attention, which is affirmed by
Baines.
"Yeah, we'll be doing that in full, start to finish," he nodded,
"and then we'll just do whatever people wanna hear. The popular
songs people wanna hear like Not The Same, One In A Million,
Surrender... whatever people yell out we will play it."
In the full interview Cam talks about having to play an older album
in full, especially when at the time it wasn't even considered to
be a complete live package, his memories of when the album came out
in 1998 and how it impacted Bodyjar's career, recording it in
Canada and why, some cool recording stories and how that particular
album was almost doomed before being started, his thoughts of the
album back then and if he saw anything special or enduring in it,
touring with Gyroscope and why they are a good fit, writing new
music and more.