It was the first time I’d ever been to the Powerhouse when I turned up to interview Regurgitator that afternoon (see bottom of page for interview) and I was pretty impressed with the whole layout of the place. I’d have to say I was a little worried how all the people were going to fit into such a small area but as the night progressed my fears were laid to rest.

The audience filled out pretty quickly as the doors opened at 4pm. It took little time to get things rolling after the bands started, with a line up of Full Fathom Five, Sekiden, Butterfingers, Regurgitator and Ponyloaf what else could you expect? It was like our own little Pre-Big Day Out party and the best part, it was free!

Even though I enjoyed the other bands, and have started listening to them more since, I was really only there for one reason – to see Regurgitator again. By the time Regurgitator were on stage the entire place was packed! All 3 levels had people hanging over the railings, there were people outside begging to get in and I even saw some guy pawn off his wristband. Their set was gold as usual, a good combination of old and new tracks. In no time at all the small but enthusiastic mosh pit was gyrating about. Of course my favourite “Black Bugs” really hit a cord.

One of the highlights of the night was the addition of a mysterious new band member. Ok, he was just some kid who ran up on stage and head-banged while playing air-guitar the whole set but it made me and a lot of people laugh.

Overall, I found that the Powerhouse gave the concert a different sort of feel and people really got into it, I’d definitely be up for another concert there.

A big thanks goes out to Marion Ganga and her team from the Powerhouse for their assistance with making this article possible.

Here’s what I got from Regurgitator’s Ben Ely:

We’ve seen you go from alternative to 80’s pop to electronica to hip-hop – what’s next?

Regurgitator: We did some recordings just recently and they were all kind of just straight rock and just played with a band so it was really organic. We did listen to it and we weren’t happy with all the songs, so we will probably go back and program a few of them but we are still probably going to use about 50% and the rest we’ll have to see how we go.

Where, or who do you feel you get your inspiration from?

Regurgitator: It depends on what kind of style you’re talking about. I really like punk rock kind of stuff like the Misfits or Reggae, that kind of stuff.

If you could be reincarnated as any animal, what would it be, and why?

Regurgitator: Ahh, that’s a good question, maybe a big bird because you could fly away from everything.

So you’d be a bird because you could fly?

Regurgitator: No, more because there’s nothing really threatening in your life, well there probably is, but you do what you like, you don’t get involved in too many peoples lives.

Do you guys find you get a bit stressed with the attention that you get?

Regurgitator: Well we haven’t done much for a while so we haven’t really been getting that much attention so it hasn’t been that stressful. I think in the past it has been stressful at times.

After Unit? (Released 1996)

Regurgitator: Yeah, that was a pretty busy period for us. But yeah, after Unit it was a bit stressful but as long as you don’t loose sight and you don’t loose the creative process then it all works out.

So what is your creative process?

Regurgitator: We’ve got our own studio at home and that’s where, when we get bored, we can come up with an idea and put it down right then and there.

What’s your stance on downloading music from Napster and the like?

Regurgitator: I’ve never really had a problem with it. I think it’s fine, music is for everyone and if someone in Canada or Russia wants to hear it and they can’t get it or if they have to wait three months for the import I have no problem if they steal it, music is for everyone.

Kylie or Dannii and why?

Regurgitator: I’d probably say Kylie because she’s a little less plastic than Dannii. I guess she seems more real…

What’s your favourite gig to date?

Regurgitator: I’ve had a lot of favourite gigs, it’s really hard to tell. I think the best one was probably Fuji Rock Festival in Japan, yeah, it was definitely the best. The way Japanese people get into the music is just really different to how people appreciate it here. They are very interactive with the show, they make up their own dances and their own chants. If it starts getting quiet they all start going “WHO WHO WHO WHO” and they really get involved, but they don’t mosh and bash each other, they have a lot of fun in their own space. But Fuji Rock festival was such a beautiful place, forest and hills with deers and monkeys running around and there was no litter anywhere. They are just a very respectful people. It was a great time and we really wanted to play that (Fuji Rock festival) so we worked towards it and we finally got it.

I come from Rockhampton – are you guys interested in doing more regional gigs?

Regurgitator: I’m sure we will, we’re doing the album in April so once we’ve recorded that properly and put it out, say maybe in the middle of the year we’ll be going out and doing our shows again.



Thanks for reading guys, hope to catch you next time!

Snoochies…