George (Cinema Prague)
Interview by Leo Abbs
It felt fantastic Leo. As one reviewer put it “it must surely rank among history’s greatest gambles” and for us it really felt like that. There were only two ways it could have gone – spectacularly or catastrophically. We put a lot of effort into the rehearsals, the songs and the promotion to leave nothing to chance and we gave ourselves lots of time to get things just right. It’s funny though, you can do everything conceivable, but once the night starts there’s nothing else you can do. You just have to enjoy it.
We had always intended on leaving the door open so we wanted to make it MORE than just a reunion gig. I think involving Roy (new bassist) helped in setting that “we’re moving on” vibe.
On the night, it was just awesome to see all the crew and lots of new crew too. It was a very sympathetic audience in that everyone wanted to have a good time. There we’re only a few people grizzling that it won’t be the same without Rex. You think we didn’t know that? It feels great to finally move on.
How does it feel to be playing with a new bass player?
Snakes Alive is the new album coming out. When it is to be released?
Who are the horn players? Are there any plans to include more members in the Prague live performance?
Where did you first meet Tim and Rex? Are you guys the original members?
We’d listen to bands like The Dead Kennedys, The Sex Pistols, The Cure, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Septic
Death, The Exploited, The Clash, Depression and many more. There was such a cool alternative scene and rivalry between Applecross, Perth Mod (where Rex went), Hollywood High and also Jarrahdale high.Lots of bleached jeans and Mohawks on 45-degree days and liquor that we would steal from our parents. At one stage, it was cool to be our manager, and we just couldn’t say “no” when people asked, so at one stage we had about thirty managers all doing their little bit for the Prague. When everyone turned 18, we could fill a pub, which really helped us get gigs.
What Prague songs are you playing in the setlist? Are you writing new material?
You have done international tours before. Which countries have Prague played?
This set us up for a quick national tour of SA and played in Jo-burg, Capetown, Durban and others. From there we went to Madrid but didn’t play any shows. We went to Amsterdam and did a couple of gigs before settling in London for six months. This is all in 1997. We did some shows in London, Liverpool and Manchester and went to America to do two shows in LA. That’s pretty much our international CV.
We came back to Perth, recorded Snakes Alive and then broke up. While we were over in Europe, I had to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Grail – Prague. I traveled there with my girlfriend at the time and we went and saw “Men In Black” at Cinema Prague – it exists!
Gig Details:
We have two shows this weekend:
Supports are Brash & Sassy and Day of the Dead.
$15 door sales from 7pm.
Saturday 24th November – The Bakery, Northbridge
$15 pre-sale through heatseeker $20 on the door from 8pm.