This Saturday, Ballarat’s Eastern will be playing host to Drug Sweat, Tim & The Boys (SYD), Parsnip, Vertigo, and Lime Lagoons for one helluva night. We chat to Jake Robertson from Drug Sweat ahead of the gig.
Hey Jake how are you and what have you been up to recently?
G’day Talia, I’m not too bad – although I just ate two boreks and I’m feeling some massive fallout. I think my eyes were bigger than my stomach.
You’re playing at the Eastern on Saturday alongside Tim & The Boys, Parsnip, Vertigo, and Lime Lagoons. What kick-started this?
Old Mate Jimmy D playing his cards right. It’s a real treat to play with Tim & The Boys from Sydney, and playing with the others will be real good too. We’ve all been mates for years.
Will we be in for some surprises?
I’m going to skull a bottle of Rev milk before the start of each song.
Have you guys played together before? The event says you guys will be putting aside your grievances and make peace to call The Eastern home. Is there a back story there?
I can’t remember if Drug Sweat has… maybe once? I usually play the Eastern with all my other bands. It is by far the best venue in town. Sorry K-Lounge.
You guys have previously performed at the closing slot of Meredith Music Festival. Do you enjoy playing to festival audiences, they have quite a different atmosphere to a live music venue like a pub.
Give us a 4×4 room or give us a 60,000 seat arena and we’ll still shred some mad solos and drink a few litres of milk
Do you still see a big presence of bands in the melbourne punk scene? Is it tough to crack?
Yeah the Melbourne music scene is huge. The cracking part depends what you want to do – None of the bands I like tend to worry about ‘making it’ so it’s not really a problem.
Drug Sweat has been kicking around for a few years albeit brilliantly, might I add. How has the band transformed from the beginning to the now?
Drug Sweat started out as a “Little Band” (Primitive Calculators are still pushing it) We originally had Niblet and Marc playing keyboards, but neither of them could handle the heat. Our first wave of songs were all under 50 seconds. Now we have a couple of long groovy suckers mixed into the set.
Tell us about your six song EP – fave track? And what should people expect from it?
My favourite track is probably Pingu. People should expect The Bloc Party.
You guys have been keeping busy with gigs of recent times, what is in store for the future of Drug Sweat?
Get rid of all our guitars, Goodbye bass. ciao ciao drums. Hello orchestra.
Absolutely favourite thing to do at a gig?
Wear a hood, find a groove, chug some milk.
When & Where: The Eastern, Ballarat – July 29
Check out the event here.