Recently, Ash Grunwald has been working with Scott Owen and Andy Strachan from The Living End and together they have created a catchy record full of crunchy tunes.
Gargantua was never meant to be an album, the guys thought a tour would be fun so they came up with cool tracks and decided to record a song that they realised a LP wasn’t out of the question.
The record was recorded in a week and tour had an added buzz behind it and with their gig at The Corner Hotel taking place the day before it dropped, the energy among the audience was telling.
Mr Cassidy was an interesting choice for opening act on the night. The band’s bluegrass styling was a little too slow and repetitive on the night and Grunwald’s different approach to his usual genre of music made Mr Cassidy seem out of place.
The Byron Bay group are talented musicians who know their craft and audience, but this crowd wasn’t for them. The lead singer was engaging on vocals and guitar, while the drummer was competent in his role, giving the solid beats of the genre tracks.
Scott Owen was entertaining on the double bass and his backing vocals worked well on the bluegrass, folksy songs.
Grunwald come out to raucous reception and played a self-made, no-budget documentary about the gas problems in country Queensland. The opening track of the album was playing in the background, with lyrics influenced by the negative effects of fracking.
After the documentary, the boys hit the stage and opened with the groovy ‘Mojo’. The infectious riff was an instant hook and the catchy chorus got people singing along quickly.
‘The Last Stand’ fired the crowd up with its balls to the wall sound, passionate politically-fuelled lyrics, and the energy all of three band musicians. Grunwald sung it with gusto, softly for the touching lines and swore with vitriol during the most intense moments.
They ripped into a cover of Gnarls Barkley’s ‘Crazy’ which created a buzz in the room. People were dancing and singing along, whether they were fans of the original version or not and clearly enjoyed the band’s heavier styling.
Grunwald was in fine form tonight, with his soulful and rustic voice and exciting guitar work. The rhythm section of Owen and Strachan was extremely tight and flowed well given their years together in The Living End. The backing vocals by both worked really given the rocky, heavy nature of the songs.
‘Walking’ was one of the standout tracks with its driving drum and bass. Towards the end of the set, Grunwald’s hit single ‘Breakout’ had the fans in raptures of joy as they jumped about and sung the chorus with Grunwald.
This gig promised to be interesting and it delivered the goods with the crunchy and funky tunes of Grunwald and the fast-paced rock of The Living End guys. The unlikely collaboration was both fun and engaging, with a number of genuinely groovy rock numbers to keep fans of both parties satisfied. Hopefully there will be more to come from these musicians in the future.
