Bootleg Rascal are going on a summer vacation and you’re all invited! Following on from their Yin and Yang Tour, the long-time Sydney collaborators Carlos Lara and Jimmy Young are taking a well earned holiday, going to 15 regional cities across regional cities for the Booty Camp: Summer Vacay Tour. Technically not a vacation but that doesn’t mean it won’t be a massively fun time. We caught up with Carlos Lara, mid-iron tables for a casino themed music video linked to a new song set for early New Year release, to run through their Booty Camp: Summer Vacay Tour itinerary.
“We wanted to break the format of the same old show of you just go see the band, so we wanted to give something back and convinced our manager to put on a funny little show for everyone which is going to involve the crowd and get everyone up for some games and they can win some cool prizes. It will be a bit more of an experience than anything else. Like a really dodgy circus house party. You’ll be immersed in the weirdness that is Bootleg,” Lara laughs.
Each venue on the tour will be transformed to include a live music component, and as Lara mentioned, a games section at ‘Bobby Dazzler’s Sideshow Alley’. Punters can participate in Pinger Piñata, Wheel of Misfortune, Pin the Toupee on Trump (Lara’s personal favourite), and the Australian version of true or false, Nah Yeah or Yeah Nah.
“That one is especially for the fans to get to know us a bit more. Pretty simply there’s going to be a few facts about us and it will be either ‘yeah nah’ or ‘nah yeah’. I’m definitely excited for the Pin The Toupee on Trump, that’s probably my favourites of night. Get it out there enough to tweet Bootleg Rascal and Pin The Toupee on Trump!”
No doubt Trump will go into a Twitter frenzy when it comes to his attention, hopefully sparking priceless exposure for the duo. What a genius marketing strategy! But it’s not all fun and games – wait actually, it is! Bootleg Rascal have tried to make the experience as fun as possible by curating their own line-up of emerging talent to keep the good times rolling for all involved.
“I think we all struggle as musos and artists when we start out, you struggle as people as well [laughs] but it’s important to give that opportunity back as well. We’re fortunate enough to be in a position where we sell tickets to our shows and there are people that actually want to come and see us. The ability to give back and have some awesome artists that we’re really into and might not have that opportunity to play in front of that many people and get that exposure, we’ll give that back to them. That’s also really exciting as well.”
On top of that, the boys have also managed to reach a gender diverse line-up which is not as difficult as you may think to achieve.
“It wasn’t hard at all, it isn’t and it shouldn’t be. It’s just about finding talent that is cool and finding that vibe and then asking them to play. If it works it works and thankfully for us it has and we’ve been able to balance it really well. I definitely think more needs to be done in terms of the effort that goes into find acts because there are heaps of girl bands, and bands with girls in them and it shouldn’t be that difficult, right?”
Bootleg Rascal are leading the way in innovation in live shows and representation and others should take note!
See the wild funhouse all come together at Sooki Lounge, Belgrave – January 9 & The Grand, Mornington – January 10. Tickets at www.bootlegrascal.com/touring
Written by Tammy Walters