By Luke Voogt
Geelong will host Aussie rock royalty next month with the Screaming Jets coming to town.
The Jets released their first album in eight years, Chrome, in May and will tour the country for the next two months.
Original lead singer Dave Gleeson said he was looking forward to the Go Hard or Go Chrome tour, which makes its second stop in Geelong.
“Me and the boys can’t wait to get out on the road,” Gleeson said.
Making the album was gruelling at times, he said.
“Sometimes you’re in the studio and it’s like pulling teeth. Other times you hang out with your mates, laugh and tell stories and record great music.”
The end result was an album which Gleeson described as classic Aussie rock.
“We have come out with something we are totally proud of – something to hold up as the real deal,” he said.
Jets guitarist Jimi Hocking said the album was influenced by the band’s eclectic tastes in punk, jazz and country.
But it still remains faithful to the band’s large fan base, he said.
“For me it’s a classic Screaming Jets record but it’s got enough different elements to show we’ve grown over the last 26 years.”
Hocking said the Jets had been touring Australia, road testing several new songs at each gig.
“By the time the album came out most of the hardcore Jets fans were familiar with at least a third of it.”
The Jets shot to fame with their smash hit Better in 1991 and have long been icons of Australian rock.
Chrome has reached the ARIA Top 30, following the band’s lengthy lapse between records.
The band suffered through internal strife following its second-last record Do Ya.
“There was talk of the band not having any sort of future after that record,” Hocking said.
But the band “cleaned up some business behind the scene” and got back to what it does best, he said.
Hocking can’t wait to perform in regional Australia. Despite playing for crowds of 40,000, he loves getting back to the band’s roots.
“In Australia, guys like us all cut our teeth playing in the pub scene,” he said.
“There’s something very earthy about playing at those rock and roll rooms.”
The Geelong show, at the Gateway Hotel on 8 October, will feature new tracks along with Screaming Jets classics.
“Those big hits that established the band – we don’t ignore them, we always play them,” Hocking said.
