Rabbit On

Under a fuck you summer sun in January this year, Phil Jamieson and his Grinspoon buddies returned to the Big Day Out main stage once more. It was beautiful thing. The 35-year-old, looking sharp in a pineapple print button-up, hair carefully parted to one side, commanded the absolutely massive crowd, the setlist delivered showcasing a band that had nothing left to prove but everything still to offer.

“It was a very flattering and a very nice feeling to have that main stage crowd in Sydney and in the Gold Coast,” says the singer, calling in on a rainy day from his Port Macquarie home. “In Sydney it was a 46°c day and the main arena was essentially empty before we played, and we came on and it was absolutely huge so... it was nice. We didn't know what to expect, we hadn't played for a long time in Australia, and not an event like that on main for a long time. And if there were any critics we kind of answered them. I think the people there had a good time – we had a ball.”

Since Guide To Better Living started blasting through the Discmans of every high schooler with a pulse back in the late '90s, Grinspoon have maintained a constant presence on the Australian rock'n'roll landscape. And although they've preserved the general foundation of their sound, each record since that 1997 debut has given the Lismore four-piece a new spin, if ever so slightly. Cue Black Rabbits.

Put together in Los Angeles with David Schiffman, a producer that Jamieson was originally drawn to through his work on records like Bronx (II) – “I love The Bronx; who doesn't?” says the vocalist – Black Rabbits could actually be sighted as the quartet's most accessible work. Sure, you get knocked around by some choice Pat Davern riffs, and the rhythm section of Joe Hansen (bass) and Kristian Hopes (drums) is, as expected, solid as a concrete slab; however, this seventh release sees the band embracing melody more than ever before. A reflection of the good place Grinspoon find themselves in right now? Jamieson doesn't think it runs so deep.

“Well... I don't know? I guess so. It's quite funny to be self-reflective isn't it?” he says quizzically. “The verses needed the choruses, it's just one of those things. The songs kind of leant themselves to bigger type melodic choruses, it wasn't anything pre-planned and/or how my meditation was going that day, that's just how it was. I wish I could be more succinct when I'm appropriating stuff about songwriting, but I've been legendary terrible at it for a long time. I just think that a lot of stuff happens in my subconscious, and also my unconscious, but it's the kind of vibe that sometimes dictates even my own brain with what this song's about, and often later on, it might be four years until I figure out what a song's about. It can sometimes take that long.

“So I guess I might be happy and [whatever], but really the verses leant themselves to...” his voice suddenly rises up in volume like he's screaming from a cliff top, “the verses are so fucking good they needed a fucking place to go to, yo!” Composing himself, he assures us that he's yanking the chain. “I think that the verses set themselves up to have those choruses written and that's just the way it works for me.”

Still, after speaking with Jamieson and watching Grinspoon take it to the hoop back in January, it's clear that life in the band right now is peachy fucking creamy. It's a stark contrast to where the frontman found himself six years ago. 'Ice Hell' was the headline that got thrown around the media. Sensationalised, yes, but from the outside looking in things didn't exactly seem healthy. Which makes the title of their latest outing all the more intriguing. Black Rabbits is rhyming slang for bad habits after all... “Well according to Patrick it is,” Jamieson says, his voice full of scepticism. “And I'm like, 'Buddy, last time I checked, black doesn't rhyme with bad'. So, according to Pat it's rhyming slang, but he's a guitarist so throw him under a bus. The bio was based around that a bit, but it's kinda a bit Da Vinci Code to me. Is it really? I think it's pretty funny.”

That's not to dismiss the fact, though, that Jamieson has left his 'black rabbits' behind and clearly cleaned up his act since those 'all day' sessions of old. However, that famous Andrew Denton interview on Enough Rope was not the point a page turned – it was simply a period of life – and with it Jamieson lived, learned and moved on. It's that focus on the present which has made sure there's always been a future, with himself, the band and otherwise.

“I think each record is a new chapter personally and creatively, whether there's substance abuse issues or not,” he reasons. “I think each album, considering they're called records/albums, are always going to [hold something] – creatively yes, and personally yes. But you can say that about the first four or five or six leading up to these last two. I think they've all been different chapters personally and emotionally, and artistically, yeah. But I wouldn't necessarily put it down to a newfound awakening since '07; you either sort your shit out your dead!” he hoots. “Basically it's that simple, so you have to get your shit together at some point or you just won't function so it was quite a simple thing for me, I just had to get my shit together. Unfortunately – or fortunately – I did it very publically.”

For this Black Rabbits headline tour, it's been billed that Grinspoon will be delivering the longest sets they've ever played. Sounds grand and epic, huh? Some real E Street Band shit right there. Unsurprisingly, in keeping with the entertaining trend of our interview, Jamieson simply cackles at the hyperbole delivered from the PR machine. But with their seventh release still fresh and the six before it offering a plethora of classics, it's no surprise they're looking to extend their stage time, dig into their canon and even rearrange a few things. Jamieson is nonplussed about those elements though. He's simply roaring to get back under the spotlights and shake his bad thing for our good selves.

“We're going to be playing longer [sets, yes]. But I just encourage people to come down and watch me dance because I've got some excellent dance moves, and my new outfit is fucking amazing! I'm taking the piss! I haven't got my outfit yet, but I'm sure it will be.”

Grinspoon will be playing the following dates:

Saturday 16 March - Metro Theatre, Sydney NSW
Friday 22 March - The Hi-Fi, Melbourne VIC
Friday 5 April - Prince of Wales, Bunbury WA
Saturday 6 April - Capitol Theatre, Perth WA
Thursday 11 April - Waves, Wollongong NSW
Saturday 13 April - ANU Bar, Canberra ACT
Wednesday 17 April - Entrance Leagues Club, Central Coast NSW
Thursday 18 April - Panthers, Newcastle NSW
Wednesday 24 April - Bended Elbow, Geelong VIC
Thursday 25 April - Pier Live, Frankston VIC
Friday 26 April - Inferno, Traralgon VIC
Saturday 27 April - Ferntree Gully Hotel, Melbourne VIC