Blues man: Ash Grunwald will film part of his Torquay stopover for a movie about his forthcoming tour.
ERIN PEARSON
ASH Grunwald fans will have the opportunity to star in his upcoming film Road Dog Diaries when he returns to Torquay in August.
Grunwald said he decided to document his upcoming 30-show tour after reliving the “crazy” places in which he had previously performed during his illustrious career as an Australian junkyard blues musician.
He hoped the film would reveal the excitement behind travelling through desert, snow and surf to play gigs.
“I’ve been performing for 10 years now and I remember travelling to a residency in Mount Bulla then before I knew it I was off to Western Australia in the heat of the dessert and thought ‘I have to document this stuff’,” Grunwald told the Independent.
“I want to perform and make films across some of the best places in Australia.”
The Torquay show will also mark a brief homecoming for the former Torquay resident who moved to northern New South Wales last year.
Grunwald said his tour, complete with film crew, would also offer an array of surfing-inspired photographs and video clips to portray his “ultimate surf scenario”.
“The gigs are all going to be surf-related with two-time longboarding champion Beau Young playing acoustic guitar and The Grains travelling with us,” he said.
“A Torquay filmmaker will also showcase vision of Torquay when we stop off on the Great Ocean Road and there will be photography from Bells Beach.”
“It’s going to be a bit of an extravaganza.”
Grunwald first made waves as a solo artist with his 2002 album Introducing Ash Grunwald. The album featured Grunwald playing songs by blues legends Howlin’ Wolf, Elmore James and Robert Johnson complete with stomp boxes and tambourines.
Grunwald’s latest record, Hot Mamma Vibes, is promoted as a blend of blues, “car door drumming” and electronic sounds.
Grunwald described the forthcoming tour as ambitious and cheeky.
The film version would feature footage from the Surf Coast, Adelaide with Hilltop Hoods, desert land around Mildura, the snowy mountains and through to Cairns in far northern Queensland.
Ash Grunwald will perform at Torquay Hotel on August 3.
