Swimming In The Pool

"I've been working on this pub that a few of us bought, something of a labouring job,” he begins, referring to his recent acquisition, the Yarra Hotel in Abbotsford (reopening February 2013 folks). “It's a funny part of town, I suppose. That eastern side of Collingwood and Abbotsford is a bit of a time warp.”

The various faces of his new group, The Roving Commission, represent something of a change of direction for Thomas. Well-known for his work during the 1990s in Weddings, Parties, Anything, and for the next dozen years with his band The Sure Thing, his new venture is less band, more Mick. “This is sort of more to do with myself and (ex-Weddings') Mark Wallace,” he says. “But there are now four people who can actively play the drums, we've got two bass players and any amount of melody players who can sit in with the band. So it's a really fluid line-up.”

Having called Melbourne his home for most of his life, Thomas is still enamoured by the local scene. “There seems to be a really good pool of musicians here in Melbourne. Everyone's really eager to play.” In terms of the roots music scene, “it's not a revival, because there used to be all these old blokes playing at venues off the rock circuit, pubs like the Lomond, the Dan O'Connell and the Railway. But then I think what happened, on a popular indie level you had the acceptance of roots music through Billy Bragg, The Pogues or the Weddings coming through who had some actual success. Now, you've got these two scenes mixing together and what it's left you with is a sizeable talent pool of musicians.”

Now, members of this talent pool like Thomas, Tim Rogers, Sal Kimber, Charles Jenkins & The Zhivagoes and the Toot Toot Toots, will play the second Clarkefield Music Festival in March. More than just a day of great live music, all profits raised will be donated directly to the Cambodian Kids Foundation. “There's a real parallel between the way they work and the way that people at our end of the music industry work,” Thomas says of the Foundation.

“It's not just all about getting big government money for them, rather they see something and they say, for example, 'There's a chance to build a school in Phnom Penh'. So, for no other reason than pure altruism, these people built a school. Then they got involved with this really poor little village up north in Kampong Thom and again said, 'We can help them build a school, a toilet block, irrigation'. They're not just giving them handouts.”

As for the festival itself? “I can't see why you wouldn't support it,” Thomas says. “I think it's a really good gig, run by good people for really decent reasons. (Clarkefield) has got a really good chance of becoming something strong. There are a lot of big festivals around now; it's very hard for them to distinguish themselves from each other. But it's a really good line-up that they've got together this year; they're really actively promoting it.”

And for city folk looking for a Sunday out of town, the V/Line train station is 100 metres from the historic Clarkefield pub, where the festival is held. “I think that train could make it really special,” Thomas reckons. “Someone recently asked me, 'Are you going to go see Bruce Springsteen?' I said, what? Sit in a fucking car park for three hours? Christ almighty, I could think of nothing worse. Now, I like Bruce Springsteen, but I'm not going to drive to Hanging Rock, walk for ten miles and sit in a car for two-and-a-half hours on the way home for the privilege.”

Mick Thomas will be playing the following dates:

Saturday 16 March - Caravan Music Club, Oakleigh VIC
Sunday 17 March - Clarkefield Music Festival, Clarkefield VIC