Reaching New Lows

Although he dryly remarks that he could probably put his energies to better use, Jay Whalley is defying his instincts to hit the road solo, an acoustic guitar and a clean pair of underwear his only allies on this journey.

As expected, since announcing a national tour, the dreadlocked punk rock veteran has been copping constant grief from the rest of the Frenzal family. “The last text message [I got] from Gordy [Forman - drums] just said, ‘New lows,’ but I’m pretty sure he’s just heaps jealous.”

If ever there was a time for Whalley to tick this off his bucket list though it’s now; he’s got a four-year-old son at home, so he’s well trained in keeping the chaos quiet after penning songs for Frenzal’s Smoko At The Pet Food Factory (2011) when the boy was just a bub.

“When you’ve got a baby in the house and you’re trying to write a punk record you end up writing a lot of it on acoustic guitar and sort of whispering ‘fuck’ and ‘cunt’ really softly in the furthest [away] room in the house.”

The youngster has also been keeping Dad grounded – an essential requirement for any humble troubadour worth his salt. “I got out of the shower the other day and he looks at me and just goes, ‘Nice vagina,’” Whalley laughs.

The set will feature a mix of new tracks, covers, some Frenzal classics and a few that Forman simply refuses to play live because “they’re probably too sad, [or] in a minor key”. Whalley is also looking forward to engaging in his usual shit-talking session, though he’s keen to have a more civilised chat.

“Everyone’s pretty out of it usually so you don’t actually get a chance to have any kind of normal conversations. It’s heaps of fun, but I’m looking forward to talking to someone without them getting me in a headlock and spitting my own lyrics back in my eye.”

As for Frenzal Rhomb, they’re eying a potential 2015 release for their next LP. But don’t be worried – Whalley reckons this acoustic sojourn will be long forgotten by then and the band will continue to mine the same five groups of topical gold they have done for two decades.

“There’s your drugs and alcohol, your substance abuse; there’s bigotry, racism; a small category of environmentalism, and a massive category of ‘You’re a cunt,’ which seems to have about 500 songs underneath it.”