From the Sydney underground scene, Beasts Of Bourbon rose to attention in the early 1980's, when the radio airwaves were dominated by 'new wave' pop & disco beats & anything that remotely looked like being a bit off the beaten path was looked upon as a bit too threatening.

Triple J was then Double J on AM radio & only broadcasted to Sydney & it's style represented more what we now hear on community radio, so bands such as the Beasts had little choice but to do their stuff on the live scene. This is exactly what the band did & gained such a reputation for their live gigs that listeners to any of their recorded music these days would find hard to comprehend.

These days, the Beasts have 5 previous albums behind their reputation, with The Axemans Jazz, Sour Mash, Black Milk & the superb live & b-side compilation From The Belly Of The Beasts, plus the absolutely mind-blowing The Low Road, which cemented their popularity & firmly brought them into the upper echelons of Australian music folklore.

Their latest album Gone, which was recently released after much anticipation has fans breathing much easier after the 5 year break from studio recording. Brian Hooper, bassist for the band, recently spoke to me with some interesting insights into the Beasts Of Bourbon.

I first asked Brian what Gone represented for the band & whether this was the beginning of a new Beasts era. "It's hard to tell, we've had an enforced hiatus for a while, especially after Tex had to go off a continue following the success he's had with The Cruel Sea & the other guys & myself have also had other things going."

Something that intrigued me about Gone was the difference in recording, particularly noticeable between the Sour Mash & The Low Road albums, Brian elaborates on the recording process. "It's interesting you know, we all love album's to sound great, but the sound of the Beasts is always quite raw, which I think makes for an interesting time in the studio. Gone was took fairly long for us to do, two weeks, which sounds like a short time, but it really isn't, not for us. We like to get the sound down so we get what the songs actually sound like, not what the studio can make us sound like."

Hardly believing a band could take just 2 weeks to record an album, I was stunned into asking what made the band sound so dark. "I don't know really, probably a lot has to do with Tex as well as the rest of the band, I don't really think any one of us could change the Beasts, it's just the sound we make & when we play live, we give it our all. I've never played a gig that I haven't given everything to the performance."

That was a suitable point to ask about their long awaited appearance at the Big Day Out shows around the country. "The Big Day Out promoters have long been asking us when we were gonna play & our reply has always been that we

wouldn't play until we had a new album. So, here we are with a new album, they asked us again, so we're on the Big Day Out tour, simple as that."

When asked whether he was looking forward to the Big Day Out shows, Brian became strangely cryptic. "Well, sure, but some of the best shows I've ever played have been to 12 people in some tiny bar in Europe, you don't have to play to thousands to have a good time."

Any bands the Beasts were looking forward to seeing or playing with on the Big Day Out tour? "Well, we've played with quite a few bands over the years, so I'm just looking forward to the shows themselves & if any of the bands play well, then I'll be happy enough."

Off the live music scene & onto Australian radio content now & Brian has some interesting views on this, not dissimilar to other artists I've interviewed. "I simply don't listen to much radio these days, Triple J is playing Saturated off the album when I've turned it on, but they aren't as adventurous as they used to be, although at least they've still got their foot in the door. Commercial radio, well, you know, it's all the same."

Enough said, but what about community radio? "Absolutely essential these days isn't it? They've taken over where Triple J left off now that they're a national broadcaster."

So what now for the Beasts Of Bourbon? "As I said a bit earlier, it's possible that this might be the last album we ever do, but it might also be the start for some others too. I can't say. The time might be right for another album, but as the saying goes, it's the nature of the Beasts."

You might have been fortunate to catch the Beasts Of Bourbon playing near you, if not, check the new album Gone, it's available on Red Eye through Polydor.