RegurgitatorIt takes a band of genuine longevity to even contemplate doing a tour playing only singles that they’ve released over their career, but it takes real veterans to have far too many singles for the undertaking.
Brisbane legends Regurgitator are in the midst of their massive national Jukeboxxin’ tour – casting their collective eye back over all the singles they’ve released since dropping debut banger Couldn't Do It (from their self-titled debut EP) back in 1994 – but as founding co-frontman and chief songwriter Quan Yeomans explains, they’ve racked up far too many singles to squeeze into a single set.
"There's been over 50, so we can't play them all,” he smiles. “I think we whittled it down to about 34, but then we got sick of playing a couple of them, so I think it's down to about 33 now, and that's more than enough.
“To be honest, I don't want to see a band that goes for longer than two hours. And I think for me personally, a band with this kind of speed – there’s a few slower songs, but it's mostly a couple of mid-tempos and a lot of upbeat tunes – it just becomes tiring after an hour and a half, in my opinion.
“So, yeah, we pick and choose and we've kind of got a flow now that seems to work and it keeps people engaged, but not too tired.
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“It's definitely a physical challenge,” he adds. “It’s unusual for us to play that long, and just the intensity of the band as well. So an hour and 50 [minutes] – sure, it's pretty normal for an older band to play that kind of length of show, but I don't think many bands jump around like idiots like we do still, at this age especially.
“So it's been good, it’s kept me fit. And I think people seem to be enjoying it – they seem to be appreciating the length of it and hearing songs that they don't necessarily always hear, so that's good.”
The Jukeboxxin’ premise – virtually ensuring that all stages of the band’s career are touched upon each night – is a fascinating one given that fans are always nostalgia-driven and love hearing the early material that first hooked them in, while artists are more prone to recency bias and love showing off their newest creations.
“I mean, it's a bit of a bell curve down in the middle for us anyway, in my opinion,” Yeomans laughs. “Nah, it's cool. And it's good that we're touring with Sarah [Lim] now who can play guitar as well as play keys, so I’m getting to play some duelling kind of guitar lines that I wouldn't normally have been able to do.
“That’s been cool as well to get some intricacy back to the live sound and not rely on backing tracks for some of those older tunes like Happiness and stuff like that."
Yeomans admits that he and his bandmates – founding bassist/vocalist Ben Ely and drummer Pete Kostic (who joined in late-’99, replacing founding skinsman Martin Lee) – are acutely aware of the enviable position that they find themselves in, still pulling massive crowds this far down the track.
“We're very fortunate, very fortunate,” he reflects. “Ben described it by saying that some record companies call certain bands ‘journeymen bands’ – bands that reach a certain level where they can survive, but they've got to kind of keep touring regularly, keep going everywhere, just putting themselves out there, keep writing songs, and keep going. And we're kind of that – we're kind of that level of band.
“We’re fortunate enough to be able to work, though still having to work reasonably hard, but it gives you enough kind of impetus to still keep that creative vibe going in the band.
“Whereas if you get to a little bit higher level and get a bit more comfortable and you don't have to work as hard and you're earning a bit more money by doing fewer shows, but you're kind of not really as engaged with your band necessarily,” he adds.
“So it is an interesting spot that we find ourselves in.”
Back in the ‘90s, as their star grew and grew on the Australian stage, Regurgitator – at the behest of Yeomans – decided to turn their back on the rapidly-escalating opportunities they were receiving from overseas, preferring to stay home and concentrate on life and their local obligations.
It’s hard to imagine that forgoing the brutal – and often soul-crushing – task of trying to crack massive foreign markets hasn’t played at least some role in the band’s ongoing vibrancy all these years later.
“I think it would [have helped], obviously you don't know what might have happened,” Yeomans ponders. “If we'd gone on that massive Green Day tour that was offered to us around the time they released [fourth album, 1995’s Insomniac] – the follow up to [1994 smash] Dookie – which was the album that they were touring the States on. Yeah, they invited us to go on that and I said, ‘Nah’.
“And I think the other two were kind of pissed off with me. But to be honest, we would have imploded, especially in that line-up with Martin involved as well. There's no way we would have lasted as long as we had, and we would have just probably quit.
“Well, it certainly would have been a harder decision to make moving forward, I think,” Yeomans adds. “So yeah, if you look at it like that, it definitely helped the longevity, maybe, but who knows? We might have done better. You just don't know.”
Such longevity can often prove a double-edged sword when it comes to releasing new music into the ether, as Regurgitator recently found out with their excellent tenth album Invader (2024), which – despite being their most free-flowing album in years and containing some absolute earworm bangers – struggled to gain traction either on radio or in the charts.
“Look, I think it's a position that most bands of our longevity suffer, because you're not fresh flesh and it's a young person's game in that regard,” Yeomans offers. “Obviously there's a nostalgic element for a band like us, so that's what people come to see – they come to hear the old records, and occasionally they'll buy a new record to have a listen to it – but you're certainly not going to have that kind of success that you think you deserve at this age, it's just very difficult to do. Unless you're doing something really spectacular.
“I think it's a good record as well. I think it's one of the best we've done for many, many years. It just seemed to come together at the right time and the right feeling and the right theme to it – it had everything going for it. But if you don't have that really big breakthrough single that just hits on radio or whatever, then it's impossible.
“And if you're an older band, there are radio limitations. You won't get played on triple j, for example, because we're too old,” he continues. “It's an ageist thing, and you just have to accept it because that's the way it is. It's a youth station, that’s fair enough.
“And it is a little disappointing when you play those songs live and they don't get the same kind of reaction that you hoped. They do get a good reaction though, you can tell that they're good songs, but it's different when you have that kind of media push behind you and you see it in the crowd reaction and you can feel that energy rise.
“And it is something you kind of get frustrated about a little bit, but it really comes down to just having a good time on stage and we still do that, so I can't really ask for more.”
Fortunately for all involved, Yeomans and his bandmates still get maximum enjoyment from playing the cavalcade of ‘90s and ‘00s hits that still bring the party into the live realms.
“Yeah, they're a good vibe,” the singer grins. “We still love playing them. Someone else asked me recently how I felt about the old lyrics and whether there was any cringe factor, and there is with a few songs, but we generally don't play them.
“Most of the songs we play, I think they've still held up comedically and politically – nothing much has changed or it's just gotten crazier, right? – so there's a lot of stuff that's still very relevant for young people.
“And what we've noticed, particularly in that last The Gov show we played in Adelaide, it was a sold out show and I would say at least 30% – or maybe 25% – of the audience was between the ages of 14 and 18. It was bizarre.
“And they all knew the words to those [early] records, obviously through their parents and stuff – because their parents had brought them along – but that's really heartening to see, and that gives you a buoyancy as your career goes on.”
It’s pretty crazy that after more than three decades their fervent fanbase is expanding organically in this manner, with new generations of fans joining the existing crew whose relationship to the ‘Gurge often extends back to their own youth.
“I mean, it's a relationship that you have with your art, your body, and your mind, and you can nurture that in many ways, and this is the way that we've chosen to do it,” Yeomans explains.
“We just have a very kind of youthful attitude when it comes to engaging with people, which allows older audiences to connect to their youth, and it allows younger people to connect to us because they see that energy still there that they have within them as well – maybe not quite as full on, but they definitely can see it.
“And if you look after your body, you can keep doing it for quite a long time, I think. And we’re very much into touring as a family, though occasionally it goes off the rails.
“Like, we had a big blow up at the airport because of a misunderstanding between some band members and I had to do some mediation between the two,” he explains. “But we can get to that point where we can have those conversations that need to be had, sort those things out and make sure that everyone's happy.
"So it works on a family dynamic level, it works on a physical level because we take care of ourselves and it also works on a mental level because we enjoy the youthful part of what we do. It is an energy exchange when you're onstage, and if you've got a lot to give then people take it and give it back, which is what we're about really.”
One way that Regurgitator has been proactive in keeping their fanbase engaged is keeping their entire catalogue available on both vinyl and CD, meaning that music lovers of all persuasions can access their music on an ongoing basis.
Yeomans is quick to handball credit for this part of their success to long-term manager Paul Curtis – also head of their indie label Valve Records – who’s been there behind the scenes from the get-go.
“He's incredible,” Yeomans states. “I mean, if we did not have Paul as a manager we'd be in a completely different position right now, and undoubtedly a much worse position, I would think. He's a key ingredient to the longevity of the band.
“He works like no other manager does. He's been there from the start, he’s never ripped us off, he’s always shared the same values ethically with us and politically with us as well. So yeah, he's just the perfect fit for us.
“And he's wired. The way his brain works is just this endless pool of energy, but without that superpower, there's no way that he would continue to be able to do the things he does for us.
“We've played over a thousand shows – I think he's said we've done 1,100 shows in our career so far – and he has seen 950 of them, been at 950 shows. What other manager would even come close to that?” yeomans asks.
“And he's done the merch for like at least half of those as well! You know, he's just into it and an amazing human being.”
Regurgitator have just added a swag of new dates to the Jukeboxxin’ tour – including return trips to New Zealand and Japan – as well as announcing the swathe of lucky support bands who will be sharing stages with them around the country.
The importance of gaining such support slots isn’t lost on Yeomans, who helped build Regurgitator’s Brisbane profile in their early years by supporting a swag of overseas bands such as Primus, Beck, Buzzcocks, and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, as well as emerging Aussie acts like Spiderbait, The Hard Ons, The Mark Of Cain, and Front End Loader.
“Oh, absolutely, and 90% of that was Paul as well,” he enthuses. “Just him being connected in that scene at that time, knowing people and being so excited, enthusiastic about the band and really pushing for those supports and us performing in front of those kinds of audiences and people seeing it really fast.
“That's why it was such a meteoric rise at the beginning. We were literally only together for six months before that [Warner] deal was brokered and we had a huge following. So it was very, very fortunate and a lot of hard work as well from him and from us, really.”
Before long, this extensive array of support slots was taking them around the country as well.
“It was just so much fun,” Yeomans continues. “I remember that Pansy Division tour – the first national tour we did was with Pansy Division, a relatively small gaycore band from San Francisco – and we played to no one: we just played to bar staff, and we just didn't give a fuck. It was so fun. I would just love to play, and Ben did as well. And Martin also.
“We just were young guys who just were doing it for the love of it and enjoying the shouting and the loudness and the noise, the distortion – that was our addiction at the time, amongst other things.”
Regurgitator’s introductory phase didn’t last very long because they were quickly co-opted by the public at a time in the mid-‘90s where ‘alternative’ bands were suddenly given the keys to the kingdom.
“Yeah, it was really cool,” Yeomans reminisces. “And it's lovely seeing those bands again coming back around, doing tours with Jebediah and doing tours with like Magic Dirt and really seeing them now and realising that they are really good bands live – they play really well, they have good songs, it's like... pretty impressive.
“I think my ego was probably a little bit too fragile to really enjoy it at the time – there's competitiveness, there's awkwardness – and now it's so much easier to be around them and listen to them for what they are and appreciate what they do.
“I'm really thankful that we can do that now as well.”
Catch Regurgitator on tour across March, April and May in almost every state and territory on their Jukeboxxin' national tour. Tickets are on sale now.
REGURGITATOR
JUKEBOXXIN’ - with a fistful of fizzers
2026 retrospective singles tour PART#2?
With special guests DEM MOB, Tonix, The Subculture Clique, Mankind, Golden Sunbird, Special Features, Rat Salad, Last Quokka, Media Puzzle, Kirklandd, Tropical Low and more...
FRI 6 MAR WA – Fremantle/Walyalup PORT BEACH GARDEN BAR*
SAT 7 MAR WA – Dunsborough/Wardandi DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN*
SUN 8 MAR WA – Perth/Boorloo THE CARINE* (doors 5 pm) - SELLING FAST
FRI 13 MAR NSW - Ulladulla MARLIN TAVERN*
SAT 14 MAR ACT - Canberra/Kanberri THE BASO* - SELLING FAST
SUN 15 MAR NSW – Albury/Bungambrawatha SS&A CLUB*
FRI 20 MAR NSW – Wollongong/Woolyungah LA LA LA’s - SOLD OUT
SAT 21 MAR NSW - Newcastle/Mulubinba KING ST - SELLING FAST
SUN 22 MAR NSW – Sydney/Gadigal Land CROWBAR - ALL-AGES - SOLD OUT
FRI APR 10 VIC – Melbourne/Naarm 170 RUSSELL - SELLING FAST
SAT APR 11 VIC – Melbourne/Naarm THE CROXTON
FRI APR 17 NQ – Cairns/Gimuy TANKS ARTS CENTRE
SAT APR 18 NQ – Townsville/Gurambilbarra THE WAREHOUSE
SUN APR 19 NQ – Mackay/Yuwibara McGUIRES HOTEL
FRI APR 24 QLD – Brisbane/Meanjin THE TIVOLI - SELLING FAST
SAT APR 25 QLD – Brisbane/Meanjin THE PRINCESS - ALL-AGES (doors 3 pm) - SELLING FAST
APR 26 QLD – Toowoomba/Tawampa THE EMPIRE - ALL-AGES (doors 4 pm)
FRI 1 MAY NSW – Sydney/Gadigal Land LIBERTY HALL
SAT 2 MAY NSW – Bathurst Dalman KEYSTONE 1889
SUN 3 MAY NSW – Springwood/Oryang-ora BLUE MOUNTAINS THEATRE - SOLD OUT
REGURGITATOR
JUKEBOXXIN’ - with a fistful of fizzers
2026 AOTEAROA NZ retrospective singles tour
with special guests DISPLEASURE and more...
WED 13 MAY NZ - Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland DOUBLE WHAMMY
THUR 14 MAY NZ - Whāingaroa/Raglan HARBOUR VIEW HOTEL
FRI 15 MAY NZ - Ōtautahi/Wellington MEOW
SAT 16 MAY NZ - Te Whanganui A Tara/Christchurch LOONS
This piece of content has been assisted by the Australian Government through Music Australia and Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body
