When Trent Crawford looked at the calendar at the start of 2026, a certain date in August made his eyes bug out. This year was going to be his 50th birthday. What to do?
A big backyard barbie with the wife, kids and a bunch of mates? Good idea, but not quite there. A big dinner celebration? Not really his speed.
Instead, he landed on a radical idea: Paying tribute to the pop-punk band with which he'd originally started his career nearly 30 years prior, One Dollar Short.
“As cliché as it is, there was a moment of feeling like time was running out,” says Crawford – speaking to The Music from his Central Coast studio. “I'd been relearning the songs over the last couple of years, and doing some acoustic shows here and there where I'd been playing them, but I really wanted to do something to celebrate them.
“This felt like the best way to do it – surrounded by mates, out on the road, playing the songs I grew up playing.”
It was with this that Crawford began to formulate Not Dollar Short, with a retooled line-up from his other band Through Being Cool. It features Joel Attenborough from Irrelevant, Dave McBeath from Something With Numbers, and Michael Dallinger from Frenzal Rhomb.
But who to play with? Crawford already had a band in mind: Bodyjar, who were also riding high at the turn of the century in the Australian pop-punk scene. If anyone was going to get behind a tribute to One Dollar Short, it was surely their old touring buddies.
Don't miss a beat with our FREE daily newsletter
“We were friends with them for a long time,” says Crawford. “I reached out to Cam [Baines, lead vocalist] and explained my idea to him, and they just so happened to be booking their tour for July at the time.
“They thought it was a good idea too, and a good fit for their tour. We'd honestly hang out with those dudes any given weekend – playing with them is just a huge bonus.”
Of course, there's an elephant in the room: Why isn't Crawford getting One Dollar Short themselves back together for this tour? It's been over 13 years since the Terrigal natives played their last shows, after all.
Crawford notes that, although there aren't any legalities or rock star dramas, the band members are in a pretty different place now – families of their own, work commitments and the kind of schedules that simply wouldn't allow a tour to be possible. “There's never been any real closure,” says Crawford.
“In my mind, there was always this big question mark. It wasn't this one big event, or any big falling out – it just came down to everyone going their separate ways. I've never said never when it comes to the band, but the timing has never been quite right.
“I don't know if there ever will be a right time, but I still have the songs – that's why I'm going out and playing them.”
Crawford formed One Dollar Short back in 1998 alongside four of his best mates, with an eye towards melodic punk-rock that was delivered with both precision and heart. An EP followed a year later, with two more arriving in 2001 to top 40 chart success.
“We didn't think we were going to do anything more than a few backyard parties,” admits Crawford. “I truly can't believe how lucky we were.” By 2002, with the eyes of the nation now on them, the momentum shifted.
“Is This The Part? had come out, and it had just been moved to high rotation on Triple M,” recalls Crawford. “Almost overnight, the numbers for that show went from fair-to-average to completely sold out. We were used to playing to punk-rock crowds, and there were all these guys in Jim Beam hats. That was a moment where it became clear we had reached another level.”
Crawford and co. racked up hundreds of gigs in their initial run between 1998 and 2005, including an adventure to Japan in 2003 and a spot on the 2002 Livid Festival alongside the likes of Oasis and Sum 41.
One gig in particular, however, sticks in Crawford's head a quarter-century later – for the best and worst reasons. “Slayer were on tour with Machine Head, and were playing the Hordern Pavilion,” he begins.
“Channel [V] had their studios [now known as Liberty Hall] across the road, and were going to have Slayer on this same live broadcast we were performing on. They were running late, so the producer told us we had to go out and play... in front of 300 angry Slayer fans.
“We were bubblegum pop-stars compared to Slayer! None of them booed or anything, but there was that underlying feeling we were going to get murdered.”
Thankfully, the band were treated far more kindly by the frontmen of these legendary bands themselves. “Tom Araya [of Slayer] was super nice, and Rob Flynn [of Machine Head] was totally awesome,” recalls Crawford.
“He came straight up to me and asked, 'What the fuck is that guitar, man?' It was a black Belman guitar, Australian made, and he'd never seen one before. He gave us all VIP passes to the show that night, and Mick [Smith, One Dollar Short drummer] was just looking at me like, '...what the fuck?'”
Crawford is excited to revisit One Dollar Short for a fleeting moment over the coming weeks. He's excited to ring in 50 by playing songs from half his lifetime ago – not only to people that were there, but also to some VIP guests that weren't.
“My wife and I weren't together when the band was, so it's going to be awesome having her there,” he says. “Our kids will be able to come and see what dad used to do, too.
“It was funny when I was relearning the songs – I thought I'd go have a look at some of the music videos on YouTube. You could see the kids' brains melting: '...why is dad on TV?'”
Not Dollar Short will be supporting Bodyjar during their upcoming New South Wales and Queensland gigs. Tickets to those shows, and the rest of Bodyjar’s tour, are on sale now.
Bodyjar
How It Still Works – 25-Year Scheduled Service Tour
Thursday, July 9th – King Street Bandroom, Newcastle, NSW*
Friday, July 10th – Crowbar, Sydney, NSW*
Saturday, July 11th – Waves, Wollongong, NSW*
Thursday, July 16th – Miami Marketta, Gold Coast, QLD*
Friday, July 17th – Crowbar, Brisbane, QLD*
Saturday, July 18th – Kings Beach Tavern, Kings Beach, QLD*
Thursday, July 23rd – Lion Arts Factory, Adelaide, SA
Friday, July 24th – Indian Ocean Hotel, Scarborough, WA^
Saturday, July 25th – The River, Margaret River, WA^
Friday, July 31st – Sooki Lounge, Belgrave, VIC
Saturday, August 1st – The Last Chance, Melbourne, VIC
*With Not Dollar Short
^With The Decline
This piece of content has been assisted by the Australian Government through Music Australia and Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body
