BugGirl: Blood, Sweat, Beers and Rock and Roll
“She is a kind mistress. But sometimes she must be cruel to be kind. Sometimes, the nicest kind of mistress is the cruelest kind. Rock n Roll has me bound and gagged and fucked in the arse… and I keep comin back for more.”
That’s Amber Spence, one half of BugGiRL, explaining how to treat rock and roll. BugGiRL are currently ripping through Europe with a string of shows and then heading back to Australia’s shores. Amber talks about some of her most memorable European gigs of late.
“We had a really awesome show just this last Sunday, at a place called Skater’s Palace in Germany. As the name suggests, it’s also a skateboard hall full of half-pipes and ramps n shit. It has definitely been the highlight of this year’s Euro Tour. Plenty of sweaty Germans and German Beer, stage diving, wrecking and circle pits. What a dream gig! One fella had a tragic end to a stage dive attempt… off the mezzanine level. Fuckin' funny shit! This guy was the size of a baby hippo. The look of horror on the faces of people beneath him was priceless. The pit parted like Moses parting the red sea. The poor fucker came crashing down like a sack of shit. [Laughs] Excellent! Thankfully, he was okay. He just bounced back up like a giddy schoolgirl on a bouncing castle. But yeah, excellent show! There was a roller derby to kick the night off and we played with two of our favourite Euro motor rock bands; V8 Wankers & Peter Pan Speedrock"
So how are the crowds in Europe as opposed to those in Australia, does the language barrier at times make a difference?
“That’s a really tough question. I guess like anywhere in the world, some nights will just be fuckin awesome, with really great people and really great vibes… actually, you don’t even need a lot of people to make for a great night… other nights aren’t. No matter where you are in the world, some nights just don’t work. You know, we’re all about having an excellent time and celebrating rock n roll, and if people aren’t having a good time or if we’re not having a good time… then we feel pretty shit about it. But, having said that, I would say that most nights are pretty fuckin good,” she says.
“I love the rock and roll crowds in Europe and the UK, but more than anything, me and Clinno [Spence, Amber's brother and partner in BugGirl] really love the Australian pub rock crowds. We love a good regional show, when it’s really cookin’. This is Australia at its best. Places like Wollongong, Lismore, Adelaide and The Central Coast really know how to rock. In regards to the language barrier, we have no probs at all. Rock and roll is the language of beasts, anyhow! It’s all grunting and groaning and screaming and shouting! If you speak the language of Rock, then you’re talkin my language.”
So how does it work for Amber, with BugGiRL a duo and siblings? Is it easy to spend so much time together making music and living life?
“Super easy. Me and Clinno are best mates and we just work really excellently together. We rarely fight, only when we’re hungry... then we could take each other's eyeballs out! At the moment, we are into the third month on the road. Most nights we sleep in the tour van, cause we’re still too poverty stricken for hotels and too filthy for sleeping on other peoples couches. At the moment it’s around minus two degrees over nite, we’re using the drum carpet as a blanket… works a treat! You kinda have to get used to the close living quarters and be respectful of each other… It’s the only way”
With their home town of Wollongong waiting patiently for BugGiRL’s return, how is the duo coping with potential homesickness?
“If I said yes [I’m not homesick], I’d be totally lying. No, it hasn’t been easy. There have been plenty of challenges on the way… there are always challenges on the road. That’s what makes it so great and exciting. You’re exposed to the elements; it’s all about surviving from day to day. You never know what’s going to happen from one day to the next. One day you’re doing 140 km/h down the Autobahn and your wheel falls off, the next day you’re swallowing handfuls of buds that you forgot you had, under the steering wheel while some Border Patrol officer is asking “Passport please?”, the next you’re playing with Hawkwind or Girlschool or talking with Malcome Dome. It’s not easy, but it’s excellent. Aside from that, of course we miss Wollongong… the weather here really sucks and it’s hard to get a meat pie and... fuck I miss the beach!!”
So with a new EP released- Blood, Sweat & Beers- after a string of albums, Amber explains the reasons behind this move.
“It was just a fucked-up timing thing. We were actually writing for an album over last summer. We wanted an album for the 2009 tour. So, we got in touch with super producer Sylvia Massy, who has worked with Cog, Tool and Skunk Anansie. She really wanted to record our album. She was only available in June. We really wanted to work with her, except a June recording was not going to work for an August release. We needed an August release, as our tour was starting in August. So we kept our recording with Sylvia and recorded the album in California in June 2009. We decided a quick EP was the answer, so we recorded Blood, Sweat & Beers with the wonderful Mr Mark Opitz in April 2009… which we could take on the road with us in August. The EP was a last minute decision, an excellent mistake,” he says.
“Mark Opitz is just the best. What a fuckin thrill!! He is such a talented and down to earth bloke… and he’s become a really good friend. To work with someone who has been responsible for some of the world’s greatest rock albums is totally mind-blowing. Classic albums such as AC/DC Powerage, Let There Be Rock, Cold Chisel’s East, Rose Tattoo’s Blood Brothers, Australian Crawl, KISS and INXS. Wow! Incredibly intimidating! Incredibly exhilarating!,” Amber says.
“We were getting smashed at a pub near Central in Sydney, one of those one’s that are still open at 6am… and I swear, every song that came onto the juke box was one of Mark’s. I was like; “Is this yours?”, and of course it was and then he’d go into the best rock n roll stories about that band or about that particular recording session or whatever. He is a very eloquent storyteller. So fuckin' cool. holy shit! Mark Opitz is the heartbeat of Australian rock and roll. It was one of the most exciting experiences of my life and we just cant wait to work with him again.”
With such a flood of positive words from press and others in the Industry, we talk about feelings of pressure to perform.
“Oh God no! The positive responses come as a welcome relief! To every positive response or compliment, there are at least two hundred negative responses or criticisms. We live in such a critical society and people aren’t afraid of telling you exactly what they think. I’ve had plenty of punters say the most outta line shit to my face, without even blinking, they just keep on smiling as they put shit on you. Incredible. I just don’t get these people, it’s just rude. It’s like, if you don’t like it, then fuck off! Don’t come! But the positive responses are great, super excellent! Keep ‘em comin’, I say!!”
BugGiRL have worked pretty darn hard and the feedback is pretty inspiring. So who would provide the ultimate ‘pat on the back’ as far as saying they liked your stuff?
“It’s always the best when people you love and respect as artists or musicians like what you do… particularly your Mum. I think one of the biggest thrills for me, was receiving an email outta the blue from Angry Anderson. He said he’d seen some live footage of us in Switzerland or Germany or something and I was wearing an old Rosie Tatts shirt from the 70s. Real fuckin cool shirt too. Probably my favourite. I pretty much wear it everyday on tour. Anyway… maybe he knows I have a reputation for being a stinky bitch and he offered to send me some more Tatts shirts!! How cool is that? Oh yeah, he said he liked what we were doing too. Massive, massive thrill!"
So what’s next for BugGiRL? And with a short sharp approach Amber fesses up:
“Hopefully a shower!!”
Blood, Sweat and Beers is out now.
BugGirl are touring all over Aus in the coming months. Head to http://www.myspace.com/thebuggers for dates and deets.
