Rolling Stone Australia — July 2017

22 | Rolling Stone | RollingStoneAus.com July, 2017

G

rinspoon frontman phil

Jamieson and guitarist Pat

Davern are sitting in the Syd-

ney HQ of Universal Records,

reminiscing about the first

time the band toured America on the back

of their 1997 debut album, Guide To Bet-

ter Living. There was the night they played

New York’s legendary CBGBs, and were

so drunk drummer Kristian Hopes fell

offstage mid-set. “The whole gig implod-

ed,” cackles Davern. “Tim Rogers came to

[that] show and was like, ‘That was some

of the best shit I’ve ever seen in my life!’”

Then there was the three-month U.S.

tour supporting metal heavyweights An-

thrax, Life of Agony and Vision of Disor-

der, in which the band’s mode of transport

was a cramped Chevy Suburban contain-

ing the quartet and all their gear. “We had

a lot of disagreements,” smiles Jamieson.

The reason for this trawl through time

is sitting in a box in an adjacent office: the

vinyl pressing of Guide To Better Living,

released this month to mark its 20th an-

niversary (the album is also available as a

49-track CD, including bonus live versions,

unreleased songs and rarities). Coincid-

ing with the release is the band’s first head-

lining tour since announcing their hiatus

in 2013, which runs from June until Sep-

tember. To mark the occasion, here Jamie-

son and Davern nominate 10 of the most

important songs in Grinspoon’s career,

which began in earnest when they were Un-

earthed in Lismore in 1995.

More Than You Are Grinspoon EP

1995

Phil Jamieson: I was 17 when I wrote this.

I started writing it in Pat’s back room, and

that was the first song we ever really col-

laborated on, cos Pat wrote the middle-

eight. I’m kind of a terrible finisher. I can

get great opening lyrics and choruses, but I

need glue, and Pat becomes the glue.

Pat Davern: It was amazing [recording our

first EP]. Five songs in two days, recorded

and mixed. We went to Brisbane, we were

sleeping on the floor of the studio or the re-

cord company that signed us at the time.

Phil: I think I found some bourbon in

the kitchen and that’s why I don’t remem-

ber [much] about that session! The song’s

about me in a lot of ways, but it’s also about

[every] kid in regional New South Wales or

wherever. It’s about me wanting to become

more than I am. Challenging myself.

DC X 3 Guide to Better Living 1997

Phil: I was out in Wollongbar, I was stoned,

and I had to get to rehearsal. I got in my

Kombi, drove towards Lismore, which is

Phil Jamieson and Pat Davern reflect on 10 songs

that have defined the band’s career

BY ROD YATES

Grinspoon

OUR LIFE IN 10 SONGS

COURTESY

R&R

JUST ACE

Grinspoon in the

mid-Nineties (from left):

Hopes, Jamieson,

Hansen, Davern