Join Cheryl Lee - That Radio Chick on STILL ROCKIN' IT for news, reviews, music and interviews with some of our favourite Australian musicians.
Today we share a zoom room chat I had recently with a talented bass player with Australian rock royalty lineage, Sam Brewster.
His great-grandfather was a pianist in the first Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, his grandfather a conductor and cellist, his father and uncle play guitar for Australia’s longest-lasting band, legendary The Angels, as does Sam.
Also tour manager for the band, Sam talks rock cruising, the love of vinyl and the upcoming 50th anniversary of the band.
Most importantly, we learn when the Brewster Brothers plan to retire.
The Angels - Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again
Chris Norman & Suzi Quatro - Stumblin' In
The Angels - Night Attack
The Angels - No Secrets
The Angels - Take A Long Line (Live)
The Angels - Le Grange
What have Sam Brewster and The Angels been up to lately … let’s find out!
Get out when you can, support local music and I'll see you down the front!!
Visit: ThatRadioChick.com.au
Join Cheryl Lee - That Radio Chick on STILL ROCKIN' IT for news, reviews, music and interviews with some of our favourite Australian musicians.
Today we share a zoom room chat I had recently with a talented bass player with Australian rock royalty lineage, Sam Brewster.
His great-grandfather was a pianist in the first Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, his grandfather a conductor and cellist, his father and uncle play guitar for Australia’s longest-lasting band, legendary The Angels, as does Sam.
Also tour manager for the band, Sam talks rock cruising, the love of vinyl and the upcoming 50th anniversary of the band.
Most importantly, we learn when the Brewster Brothers plan to retire.
The Angels - Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again
Chris Norman & Suzi Quatro - Stumblin' In
The Angels - Night Attack
The Angels - No Secrets
The Angels - Take A Long Line (Live)
The Angels - Le Grange
What have Sam Brewster and The Angels been up to lately … let’s find out!
Get out when you can, support local music and I'll see you down the front!!
Visit: ThatRadioChick.com.au
That Radio Chick, cheryl Lee, here with you. Welcome to the Still Rocking it podcast, where we'll have music news, reviews and interviews with some of our favourite Australian musicians and artists. Today we share a Zoom room chat I had recently with a bass player with Australian rock royalty lineage, sam Brewster. His great-grandfather was a pianist in the First Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, his grandfather a conductor and cellist. His father and uncle play guitar for Australia's longest-lasting band, legendary the Angels, as does Sam. Now, what are Sam Brewster and the Angels up to lately? Let's find out. You're with Cheryl Lee, that radio chick, and we are joined in the Zoom room today by Sam Brewster. Thank you for joining us, sam, thank you for having me.
Speaker 2:I've got Alf here as well. He's just sitting here. Have you ever seen Alf before?
Speaker 1:I don't know if I have seen Alf, but he's gorgeous.
Speaker 2:He's a good boy.
Speaker 1:Hi Alf.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he's missed me. I've been away for a while, so he's all clingy.
Speaker 1:Oh, he loves you. A lot of Australian music fans will recognise Sam's name bass guitarist of the Angels. It was lovely to catch up with you and your beautiful wife at the adelaide film festival at the nova cinemas the other week at the angels documentary. What are your thoughts? Is it the only documentary of the angels?
Speaker 2:there was another one made back in 2008 when they reformed the film crew just followed them around on that whole tour. That was called I think it was actually called no Way Get Fucked, Fuck Off.
Speaker 1:Really.
Speaker 2:You haven't seen that one.
Speaker 1:I can't believe. I haven't seen it.
Speaker 2:Oh, okay, you can watch it on YouTube, youtube Even. Yeah, I think it's on YouTube Anyway. So that was the other one and that was a bit more, like you know, kind of focused on all the infighting a bit more. This is more of a yeah, I mean they call it the definitive kind of documentary on the angels and it kind of is more representative of how they started and what they went through in those early days to those formative years.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was a little snippet of you as a little toddler. Yeah, that's right so cute, and now you've got a little toddler of your own. You've just dropped your little man off at care today.
Speaker 2:At daycare, yeah.
Speaker 1:How old is he now?
Speaker 2:He's almost two. So yeah, he's two in January.
Speaker 1:That's a beautiful age, because their personality really starts to come out and shine now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's right. Yeah, and I've only got one, obviously. So just sort of working our way through it, you know, you don't know what to expect. It's like I was away only for five days and I came home and he's it's like he's grown another, like he's got all these new words and like it's only been five days. It's crazy.
Speaker 1:They're like sponges, they just soak everything up. Yeah, and what's his name?
Speaker 2:Humphrey.
Speaker 1:Any plans for a playmate for Humphrey?
Speaker 2:Oh, maybe, yeah, Not right now.
Speaker 1:First one's always a bit of shock.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1:We ended up having five.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I know they're all great, your kids.
Speaker 1:Thank, you, sam, taught our twins, I think it was at Adelaide High School. That's right, isn't it?
Speaker 2:Yeah, just briefly, I was just doing like relief teaching, but yeah.
Speaker 1:Was there any other option for you, sam, other than you know, joining the family business when you were growing up? Or was it inevitable? Did you have other plans and it just sort of happened? How did it all begin?
Speaker 2:Well, I had other plans. I mean, my dad always said you got to have something to fall back on. So, initially, when I finished school, and you know, I went and did um hospitality. You know, I always had to do something education in the background so I did hospitality management course and then it wasn't really what I wanted to do. So I went and did a music degree and I was still working in bars and mainly function, you know, like um events and functions.
Speaker 2:And then, uh, just to you know, support myself while I went through uni.
Speaker 2:And then, um, the plan after that was I was going to become a music teacher because I was already teaching guitar in schools.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, then I did a deep ed online while I was still working, so that worked pretty well. And then, um, but in 2008 I filled in for my dad when he had the heart attack. So, uh, that was when Doc was still working, so that worked pretty well. And then, um, but in 2008 I filled in for my dad when he had the heart attack. So, uh, that was when Doc was still in the band and that was only half a dozen gigs, but, uh, it wasn't too much later that Chris got sick and then they were like well, sam's already kind of you know, knows the repertoire, and so they got me to play bass. And I wasn't a bass player at that stage, I was just a guitar player. So I really had to sort of learn how to how to play, and I just really studied Chris's parts, uh, because you know, chris's such a great player that was only going to be for like until he got better, and then he never did so, uh, unfortunately.
Speaker 3:So that, yeah, that's why I'm still here you are listening to still rocking it the podcast with Cheryl Lee.
Speaker 1:We'll be back more to speak to Sam Brewster of legendary Angels family, son of John Brewster, nephew of Rick Brewster. So let's get this song out of the way right up front, shall we? It's the name of the first Angels documentary.
Speaker 1:And also it's the last song that they sang at the Chris Bailey Memorial Concert at Featherton Theatre. Buzz Bidstrup from Ganga Jang was there. Diesel Swanee Rockin' Rob Riley, wilbur Wilde. Everybody turned out to honour Chris Bailey. Am I ever gonna see your face again? You're a great guitar teacher. My son James had a couple of lessons with you and it's always such a disappointment to me that he didn't continue on with it. Unfortunately, not his passion. He likes to build things. He's an apprentice carpenter now.
Speaker 2:Oh good stuff. Yeah well, that's a more stable kind of career path than being a muso anyway, so good on him.
Speaker 1:I never give up. He could very well pick it up later. I always hope that he will. Yeah, it sort of almost happened organically. As you grew up, you would have just been surrounded by the Angels music right from in utero, probably, yeah, yeah, so you almost took it in through your DNA.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, yeah, I always liked music and I started on piano and then switched to guitar at about 12. And I had a band at high school. And actually Nick Norton was at my high school too. Um, there's three years above me, so that's another organic thing there he's come from Adelaide, hey this was actually Sydney well, there you go, australia.
Speaker 1:It's a small world, isn't it?
Speaker 2:yeah, you know, I was playing at one of these music nights at my school, and then so was Nick, and my dad saw Nick and he was singing at this stage, because he sings, he's really good. I mean, he plays everything.
Speaker 1:And just for those who may not be aware, dad being John Brewster, founding member of the Angels and one of the legendary Brewster brothers, along with Sam's Uncle Rick.
Speaker 2:He was like oh, that guy's talented, I want to work with him. So my dad worked with him in his band for quite a while and they got signed to Harry Vander and I mean never really eventuated, but that's kind of his association with how he got into the band as well. So yeah, sort of all pretty organic and Nick and I know each other so well so we just sort of lock in. You know, I don't have to think of when I play with him, when he's on the drums, it's just like sweet, it's just easy, it's yeah.
Speaker 1:We'll talk about Nick, because he's going to get from behind the drums soon yeah, one of the new things coming up. But I'll just talk about the other day when we saw you guys at One Electric Day. Jesus, it was good to be out. Sunshine music yeah for sure. Little bit of drinking responsibly amazing, and I think you guys look like you're enjoying it almost as much as we were, if not more.
Speaker 2:Yeah, oh, yeah, definitely. Yeah, we always love doing those those gigs. You know they're always a good vibe with the crew and the uh and the other bands and you know I mean because a lot of the time like especially bands like baby animals, yeah, we're always back to back on those bills. So, yeah, they're just like kind of one of the family and they were very good interchanged members during COVID, like you would have seen that, that's right, dario playing, and you know.
Speaker 1:You got to play bass in Suzy Quattro's band.
Speaker 2:I did, yes, yeah. She came up to me at the start of the gig and she was like you're playing bass for me today. I went oh okay, yes, man, yeah, that's right, you've got to say yes to Susie. So I went yeah, yeah, yeah, okay, cool, cool.
Speaker 1:I loved it because she gave you her bass and then said don't beep it up.
Speaker 2:That's what she always says. I've done it like. This is like the third tour. I think she says it to Dave too Don't fuck it up, Don't fuck it up.
Speaker 1:Goodness me, has she still got it? Yeah, yeah, she's great.
Speaker 2:If.
Speaker 1:I have an ass like that when I'm 70, I'll be a happy woman.
Speaker 2:I don't know how old she is. I guess she would be yeah.
Speaker 1:Still rocking that podcast with that radio chick, cheryl Lee. Let's hear that song that Sam played bass on. That lead singer of the Angels, dave Gleeson, has sung a few times now at the end of a show with Suzy Quatro who, by the way, is aged 72, with the butt of a 22 year old stumbling. In this version she sings with Chris Norman.
Speaker 2:Love is a lie, and so we begin.
Speaker 1:In April you've got the Brist Brothers Electric. Yeah, that's going to be at the Gov and that's when Nick the drummer gets out from behind the drum kit. I'm really looking forward to it.
Speaker 2:Cool. So basically, john and Rick, they just love working. Even at their age, all they want to do is do gigs. That's what they live for, you know. So Dave's on the road a bit next year, I think. At that time there's a bit of a like a hole in the calendar and, as you've probably seen on that video, when there's a hole in the calendar you know it kept coming up in the movie.
Speaker 2:Like my dad's like. We've done that the Brewster Brothers before and even back in the day when Doc was in the band in 2008. You know the Angels would do a run and then the Brewster Brothers would do a run, and I actually played in the Brewster Brothers back then too, and so did Nick, but then it was my dad singing, but this time they just wanted to put Nick out the front Because mainly because of all the recording we're doing and you may notice Nick's on some of these tracks singing yeah, so they're just like, oh, we should just get Nick to sing you know, so we've got, yeah, different drummers probably that we use in different states, Because there are so many good ones Guest drummers.
Speaker 2:Played with us, so my brother will probably be playing with us in Sydney. Cool, mick Skelton will do some. Actually, we're doing a recording next week, yeah, with Ricky Ray, who's the Baby Animals sound guy and our sound guy for a lot of gigs as well. He's great. He's got a studio in Melbourne, so we're going to go record there with Mick Skelton on the drums and, yeah, nick out front. I think we're going to do Night Attack.
Speaker 1:Ah, Night Attack. Yeah yeah, you're going to re-image the title track of the 1981 album. Yeah yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, just as a Barista Brothers electric version of it, you know, yeah.
Speaker 1:I'm going to have to get a loan for all these albums. Did you see this album that I just got?
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah, yeah, I've seen this, yeah.
Speaker 1:You've got a vinyl, you've got a record player, it's vinyl and it's silver.
Speaker 2:Yeah, cool.
Speaker 1:That just arrived the other day. Now I've got to get the Night Attack single as well.
Speaker 2:Actually, I don't know if we're doing that on vinyl yet, but maybe we should.
Speaker 1:I haven't seen a vinyl single for a hundred years. You can get vinyl albums now. A lot of you guys are bringing out our favourite stuff back on vinyl, which we love. Why don't you do a vinyl?
Speaker 2:single.
Speaker 1:Yeah well, I'll pass that up the chain, you'll be ahead of your time, yeah, and you'd only have to pay me a small commission. Well, we're looking forward to seeing nick come out from behind the drums. That's going to be excellent. So that's in april, and then in june you've got the symphony of again. I think I've seen it twice before this. I think will be the third time playing with an orchestra. How amazing is that.
Speaker 2:It's great, yeah, yeah, I mean it's funny because it's not really. A lot of people are like is that hard? I'm like no, it's like just, you know, they've got their own sheets of music and the conductor and they've just sort of written it to go with what we already do. So I mean there are very minor changes to the arrangements that we have to remember, but they're only minor, so it's actually really easy. It just works.
Speaker 1:It's yeah and the sound. It sort of gives the angels songs a whole new life, almost. Yeah, like other people have done it the zet boys have done it, I've seen them and a few others but I think with the Angels in particular, because of your musical family history, it's sort of like full circle, because your grandfather, your great-grandfather, was in the orchestra.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, both of them, so great-grandfather was in the first ASO.
Speaker 1:Amazing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, as a pianist, and then my grandfather was the conductor of the ASO. He was also a cellist, but he actually conducted my grandfather, I think, on his last performance, and he went up the stairs and he had a heart attack on the way back up the stairs and that was the end of him.
Speaker 1:Oh dear. Wow at the actual symphony. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was at the what's the building on King William. We were there once right and we did like a gig on the balcony.
Speaker 1:Oh, can't remember.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was like five years ago or something.
Speaker 1:Oh, I do remember we're the Beatles at Town Hall?
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's right. Yeah, that's at Town Hall, that's where he died. The Beatles at Town Hall? Yeah, that's right. Yeah, that's at Town Hall, that's where he died. Oh goodness me. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Well, you know I don't really like this saying, but he died doing what he loved, you know. If you've got to go. You might as well go doing what you love.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we've all got to go at some point, so yeah, Exactly the Symphony of Angels. Yeah. So we've got Rest Point in Hobart later this month and then QPAC in December, qpac, and then we've got another Perth one.
Speaker 1:And you've got one here at Her Majesty's.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's next year. These ones have been moved around because of COVID.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and you know, and conflicts with Red Hot Summers.
Speaker 3:You are listening to Still Rocking it. The podcast with Cheryl Lee.
Speaker 1:We'll be back to speak some more with Sam Brewster very soon, but first let's listen to Night Attack from the 1981 release, first song on side two. The boys are re-recording this. Hopefully you'll see it in a single vinyl so that I can retire in the manner I'd like to become accustomed on all the royalties. I was going to ask about being in your own band. So you said you were in a band at high school. Is there any plan?
Speaker 2:to be in another band or are you going to stay in the family business for a while? I think if I try to join another band now might get end up with with a divorce.
Speaker 2:You know you get disowned probably disinherited oh well, and that and that, yeah, um, nah, look, I mean, I guess the if I was ever do anything else, it'd be just on my own. I've thought about that in the past. And then getting my brothers back involved, because we had a band together, the three of us it was me on guitar and vocals, my middle brother, tom on drums, harry on the other guitar, and then we had a bass player, yeah, and that was great, but everyone was so busy with everything else they were doing, it didn't really work, you know. But yeah, if I was to ever do anything again, it'd just be. I'd write and record it all and then just, you know, probably send it to them and say can you play over this? And we might do it that way, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we have the technology. I think the legacy of the family is in good hands with you and your brothers. What about Humphrey? Has he shown any musical abilities as yet?
Speaker 2:We can tap in time. He taps his foot along when I play to him, which is pretty amazing, see, yeah, it's pretty funny. Organically, without me or anyone coaching him into it, I play a song to him and it gets to the end and he goes one more song, one more song. It's like what happens at a gig, which I guess is maybe just like it's kind of like instilled in people from birth. Then maybe you know like yeah, Isn't that amazing?
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, oh. We can't wait to watch how he grows into his musical boot.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, I actually hope he follows after his mum, rather than you know. But yeah, we'll see.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what does mum do?
Speaker 2:She's a psychiatrist, a bit more stable of a career, you know better hours, and a bit more conducive to family life, I guess yeah.
Speaker 1:You mentioned that the bass wasn't necessarily your instrument of choice. What is your favourite instrument? What do you like playing the most?
Speaker 2:Well, it is now actually.
Speaker 1:It has to be now.
Speaker 2:Well, yeah, not even just because it has to be, but just because I just, you know, I guess, yeah, I just Grown to love it. Yeah, yeah, I love it. You know, when I'm practising at home it's always on the bass. You know, I play guitar to Humphrey because I've got acoustic, but I don't really do much guitar practice anymore. It's always bass. And you know, learning jazz tunes and practising reading and doing all that sort of stuff, and you know, getting better at certain techniques like slap and whatever else, like that's what I'm drawn to. So, yeah, I actually just love playing bass. Eventually I'll get an upright bass too. I love the upright bass.
Speaker 1:I'm sure you don't drive around in your car listening to angels songs. What do you like to listen to, Sam, when you're at home alone and you can put on whatever you like?
Speaker 2:I like a lot of different things, but you know, from like from jazz and r&b to like death metal. One of my favorite bands is mashuga, this swedish death metal band. They play eight string guitars and there's like no melody whatsoever really, but it's just this clinical kind of like. It's as extreme as you can go with metal like and it's not talking about, you know, eating babies or anything like crazy like that. The lyrics are all, even though it sounds like satan is like singing over it or something. It's just you read the lyrics and they're just about kind of like I don't know social observation and things like that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I like that band got to see him in sweden actually when we were there at sweden rock festival in 2015 and, um, they came out at 2 am and it was still light. At that time of the year, you know, they only get like four hours of darkness and then the reverse winter and Rick was there with me and Rick hates metal, hates it, and he stood and watched the whole thing with me and he was like, wow, these guys are amazing. Because they are, it's just like yeah, there you go.
Speaker 1:I thought perhaps you might have surprised me and said something like classical music.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, I don't want classical music as well, but yeah, I don't listen to a lot of it. I mean, I kind of like drums and bass and things you know, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Death metal is almost as far away from classical music as you can get. It sort of is. But then it's sort of like a lot of, actually well a lot of metal is inspired by classical music. Especially listen to, like ingley malmsteen or something you know, those shredder guys, I mean they're taking all those kind of classical scales and and that whole idea, like paganini, you know, paganini back in, you know, as a virtuoso. They're sort of like employing those sort of things into metal music. Yeah, so taking those concepts from, yeah, I mean you can kind of draw inspiration from lots of different genres, right, like yeah.
Speaker 1:Still rocking that podcast with that radio chick, cheryl Lee. We're Zooming with Sam Brewster, son of John Brewster, brewster brother who, along with his brother Rick Brewster, founding members of legendary Aussie band the Angels. I showed him earlier the Darkroom album, collector's edition silver vinyl. I thought we'd play the first single from that album, no Secrets, side one track one written by Graham Bidstrip and Doc Neeson, and we'll be back shortly to talk more with Sam, son of John, nephew of Brick, very shortly. Music, music down the track, and you may be getting together with your two brothers. What would you call yourself? You can't call yourself the Brewster brothers.
Speaker 2:we can, because there's more of us. You say, well, as you know, we outnumber you. No, I don't know what we call it. Um, one of the hardest things to do is to come up with a band name and every time you think you've got one, you look it up and you google, search it and it's like no, it's already a band name.
Speaker 1:I think you guys should just do that, you know, just for the pure enjoyment of it, just for the love of it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for sure. Well, I mean, I guess you know we would, oh, hopefully we'll at some point, yeah, getting it together and yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Because a couple of them live interstate.
Speaker 2:They both do yeah.
Speaker 1:I only moved here 10 years ago.
Speaker 2:I grew up in Sydney. Are you now an Adelaidean, do you think? Are you here to stay? Absolutely? Yep, yeah, I bought a house here. My wife works here. You know Humphrey was born here. It's kind of like. I mean, we're so entrenched here now I don't think they'd be getting any getting out, which is fine, because I don't want to get out.
Speaker 1:but yeah, you've got your family roots here now. Was your wife born here or did you guys meet in Sydney?
Speaker 2:Yeah, we met in Sydney at a gig.
Speaker 1:Oh what a love story. There you go. How long have you guys been together now?
Speaker 2:Like 13 years or something, probably. Yeah, something like that.
Speaker 1:And does she love Adelaide too?
Speaker 2:Yeah, we were only going to be here for a couple of years, so she did her internship and then she made a really good group of girlfriends and they're all this girl gang of, that's what I call them. You know hang out all the time and yeah, so you're here to stay now.
Speaker 1:Well, that's good, because I sort of love it that there's, you know, one of you still here in little old Adelaide, because your dad and your uncle did. They go over there for a while and then came back to Adelaide.
Speaker 2:Yeah, back then you had to move to Sydney because that's where all the work was.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I mean, I guess there was still work here, but you know, and that's where the recording, that's where Albert's was right, yeah, that's right, with George and Harry and all of that. I mean, they could just gig all the time just in Sydney, you like seven nights a week, and they still traveled a bit well, actually a lot, but there was just so much work there. So I guess that's why they did it. And then my dad came back, like it would have been early 2000s, like maybe 2005 or something, with his wife now, sue, because they didn't have a house at that stage and they were just like vagrants. Oh, they just wanted to go back to Adelaide, you know, because they both love that house that they're in in victor harbour.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, your dad and uncle are proof of my theory that rock and roll is the fountain of youth. I mean, well, you probably do get to see it all the time. Yeah, when we're out, you know in the front row. Yeah, the absolute joy on their faces as they're playing. Yeah, yeah, they're just going to go on forever.
Speaker 2:They will. They will do it till they can't. They'll probably end up like my great-grandfather, you know.
Speaker 1:Walking down the stairs after a gig.
Speaker 2:Yep, or up the stairs. I think that's what caused it, you know. Heart rate went up and he was like, ah yeah, they will do it until they physically cannot do it anymore, can't do it anymore, they won't do it out of. They will not retire out of like being like oh, okay, I think I've had enough. They will literally do it until they cannot do it physically, like for some like serious reason, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we're looking forward to many, many, many more years of the angels still to come. You lived through Doc leaving and Dave, you know the new guy, yeah, coming in. He's been uh with you guys for 10 years now yeah is he still the new guy?
Speaker 2:well, I think he is to some people. Yeah, I think some people, you know, still go like oh, who's fronting the angels? And it's like you know where have you been?
Speaker 1:which rock have you been under?
Speaker 2:yeah, they probably haven't seen the band for 20 years or something. And then they're like, oh, the angels are coming to my town. Yeah, who's singing for them? Then everyone knows that doc's gone, so that's probably fair enough. Yeah, I mean, even brian johnson still gets called a new guy right from asia. That's right since 81 or something.
Speaker 1:Yeah what I love, you know, dave joining the band is that it's given the band longevity and we still, as punters, can go out and see the songs we love, the songs we grew up with being played live still. So bless Dave for that, and you know he had pretty big shoes to fill and I think he's done a pretty good job.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he's great, dave's great.
Speaker 1:So keep him, yeah, keep him.
Speaker 2:A bit longer. Yeah, absolutely yeah, we're lucky to have him. I mean, that's who he is. He's just the rock front man and you know he doesn't have to turn it on, it's just who he is. He just gets out there and you know he's just sort of yeah, perfect for it.
Speaker 1:A lot of bands don't survive the change of lead singer. So kudos to you guys.
Speaker 2:Yeah, cheers, yeah, I guess it's the songs as well. You know, I mean it's the songs and also the delivery and you know the band's got a great. I think the band's got a great chemistry. The four of us, you know, behind Dave, you know we all play like we mean it, because we do you are listening to still rocking it, the podcast with cheryl lee, the song now from the take it to the streets album deluxe edition.
Speaker 1:It's a live version of take a long line, the first album with the new guy dave on vocals. Back for a little bit more of the Zoom Room. Chat with Sam Brewster, the new inverted commas bass player with the Angels.
Speaker 3:This is it, folks, yeah.
Speaker 1:What's the very next thing that we can look on the googleometer and get along to?
Speaker 2:we're going to be on the boat, so shut up, yeah, yeah, we're going on the um.
Speaker 1:You know, rock the boat already on facebook cruise spam right. Everybody I know is on it and I'm just like no, take me take me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, right, okay, you done it before right.
Speaker 1:Okay, you done it before Sam.
Speaker 2:Yeah, actually we did it last time with Suzy Quatro as well, so it's the same lineup again, basically, but also Russell Morris. I love Russell Morris, so I'm looking forward to that. The last time I saw him, Airlie Beach Festival, and we had Matt McNamee on the drums and he was great Because Nick couldn't get there because of the COVID rules and whatever. We were watching Russell from out the front and it was just so good you know just his voice and the guitar player that he had Matt Smith from Dursley Merck. Yeah, it was just amazing. I just watched the whole thing. It was just a perfect, perfect mix. It was just yeah. So I'm looking forward to seeing Russell on there as well.
Speaker 1:It is a brilliant lineup and it's a huge boat. This time They've got cruising country and rock the boat together on the one huge boat.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's right. Yeah, I think they must have retired the old boat or something. I think it was pretty old, Like it was still good, but yeah.
Speaker 1:Are you going next year?
Speaker 2:No, we're not on that one. Who is on that one?
Speaker 1:Another great Adelaide boy is on it. Who's that so?
Speaker 2:Barnsley's on it. Jimmy Barnes, oh, so he's the headliner. Yeah, okay, cool, yeah, sweet.
Speaker 1:I've only ever been once, and it's fabulous, and was in 2015 when Barnsley was on it. Yeah, right, but yeah, I'm pretty jealous. So hey, don't you have to get on a plane or something?
Speaker 2:We're getting on it near Mia this time. So I made it there just sort of just shortens it a bit for us, brought it away for a whole week, sort of decided that because we're so busy, you know, with other things that we're doing, and you know me personally because I'm the tour manager for the band now, so I book it all and I just, you know, said to the guys do you want to just get on Numea? Because that's what Suzy Quatro does, shaves about three or four days off Of just sort of sitting around. Oh, there's plenty to on board and you know, loving, last time I just went to the gym every day as well and then you know you can do that and then then the Arvo go have a beer with Norton or something, and there's plenty to do, plenty of bands to watch and and all that.
Speaker 2:It's more just the time of time away. You know, like, especially for me with Humphrey, yeah, and he gets quite upset after about day four he's like where's daddy, you know. So, yeah, to make it'm like, you know, my wife told it's not like there's nothing kind of where she's like you've got to come home. It's just more like, oh, humphrey's really sad, yeah not taking the family with you.
Speaker 2:No, well, my wife gets seasick. And also I thought you know humphrey's probably a bit young for that environment. He'd probably be only two year old on it, I reckon. Well, from what I've seen last time.
Speaker 1:It's a party boat, isn't it?
Speaker 2:It's a party boat and then you know lots of people drinking, lots of drinking their packages. You know.
Speaker 1:Not drinking responsibly.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's alright.
Speaker 1:I mean I don't care about that, but it's like you know little Humphreys running around and they'll probably be like ahhh you know you are very smart, because my husband and I took our five not on a rock the boat but on a cruise, and Charlie, the little one, was only really little and I literally spent the whole cruise going one, two, three, four, five. One, two, three, four, five.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I guess it's that. I mean, it's probably like if it was just a regular cruise it'd probably be fine. And because we've only got one, you know, not five, that's crazy. I don't know how you do that. Even my mum had three and I said, I said to my mum, how do you do that? Like how does that work? You know, and three boys, that's right, yeah, it was all right, but I think it's probably different times. Back then too right, like when I was growing up, you could just go out in the street and your mum would call you back for dinner or whatever when the street lights came on, exactly it was all that you know.
Speaker 2:So we're out like riding skateboards and doing whatever, and uh yeah yeah, great childhood, yeah, after.
Speaker 1:So the boat is sold out, and if you're not on the boat now, you've missed it pretty much. Yeah, what have you got after the boat?
Speaker 2:we're a couple of days at home and then we go and record with um, with the barista brothers electric thing, with mick skelton on the drums, and at ricky race, yeah, and then that's the day before we do one electric day in melbourne. So I've got two of those. And and then I think we go to perth, dupac, to do um the symphony, then brisbane to do the symphony. We've got two of those andphony, we've got two of those. And then we've got three bridges now at the end of the year and that'll be the last three gigs to take us up to Christmas and then we start again in early January.
Speaker 1:Get onto the Google-o-meter. It's theangelscom.
Speaker 2:Theangelscomau.
Speaker 1:And there you can get all your merch. You can get the latest vinyl and hopefully soon a single as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, yeah, maybe a vinyl single.
Speaker 1:Vinyl single. You can see where to catch the Angels or the Brewster Brothers Electric Symphony of Angels in your town. Thanks again, Sam, for spending some time with us this morning. It's been great having a chat. All the best with the family. Business Cheers Look forward to one day in the near future seeing you and your two brothers play.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, yeah, we might have to get that into gear, Maybe after the 50th year of the Angels, because that's in 2024. So that's going to be a very big year for the band 2024, which will be good. You know, there'll be a new double album coming out, or maybe I mean, who knows, it might be more than double.
Speaker 1:But yeah, we've got some big plans for the 50th year well, we look forward to being able to catch up with you a lot that year, and hopefully we'll catch you again a few times before then.
Speaker 2:I look forward to seeing your big kick oh yeah, yeah, I actually do that because my brother I did it once and my brothers years ago. They gave me so much shit about it so I just said, okay, well, I'm gonna do that every gig.
Speaker 1:Now just double down on it well, I told my husband, get sam's kick because he missed it coming for the thing now.
Speaker 2:It's just ridiculous. It's like athel, you know? Athel, yeah, he was, um, he was playing with dave once. He was playing bass for Take A Long Line and he goes I'm playing bass on Take A Long Line. He didn't ask me how the song went, he just goes. Do you stretch your hamstrings before you do the kick? I'm like what are you talking about, mate?
Speaker 1:it was more important for him to dance, that's the important thing you have to get the kick right. If I miss it, next time you'll have to do two.
Speaker 2:I do do two, always two, and that's it oh, that's it, that's it. Draw the line at two. I'm not going to be kicking around the stage like an idiot, so I just do two and I draw the line there. You have to give me a warning. Well, it's, it's in the first verse, in the third verse, I think, because it's on a push d you know there, you go there. That's where the kick happens.
Speaker 1:Well, now I know I'll be able to capture it next time. Yeah, yeah, yeah, your little dog. Look at him. He's just been there the whole time sitting patiently loving it. What a cutie. All righty Sam, have a great day, have a great cruise.
Speaker 2:Yeah, cheers, I'm so jealous.
Speaker 1:I'll see you when you get back.
Speaker 2:Sounds good.
Speaker 1:I'll see you down the front yeah, awesome. Thanks a lot, ta-ra. Cheers Still rocking that podcast with that radio chick, Cheryl Lee. There's so many great Angels hits to choose from to go out with, but I thought I might play something that maybe you haven't heard before La Grange, a ZZ Top cover. Lagrange, a ZZ Top cover, and I actually watched the Brewster boys and Dave record this at Mix Masters Studios in Adelaide a few years ago. Great song, great version.
Speaker 3:Rumours spreading round in that Texas town Bout a shack out. You're with Cheryl Lee that radio chick Down about out shack out.
Speaker 1:You're with Cheryl Lee, that radio chick. Thank you so much for joining me on the Still Rocking it podcast. Hope to catch you again next time. Get out when you can support Aussie music and I'll see you down the front.