Beloved Aussie rockers Grinspoon have today announced their Easy Detention national tour, celebrating iconic albums Easy (1999) and New Detention (2002), with first ever vinyl pressings of both records set for release on Friday September 8 and available to pre-order now. The tour will make its way around the country later this year in October and November, supported by Private Function and Cupid & The Stupids. Kicking off at Miami Marketta Laneway on October 29, the tour will then swing through Hobart, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Sydney, and Newcastle, before finishing up at Astor Theatre Perth on November 24.
Tickets go on sale to the general public at 9am (local) on Friday June 2 from www.grinspoon.com.au, and fans are invited to join the band’s newsletter to jump in on presale tickets from 10am (local) Thursday June 1 – 8am (local) Friday June 2.
For the first time ever, Grinspoon will be offering a VIP soundcheck meet & greet package, but here’s where the real magic happens: one lucky fan at each show will have the opportunity to join forces with the band, jumping up to perform a Grinners song with Phil, Pat, Joe and Kristian at soundcheck. For more information on this thrilling VIP experience, head to www.grinspoon.com.au.
Lead singer Phil Jamieson is amped to bring the band’s notoriously high energy shows to a host of the country’s best live music stages. “We’re delighted to be hitting the road again later this year, I’m so enjoying putting together the set list for these shows,” says Jamieson. “We’ll be throwing in some songs we’ve never played live, believe it or not.”
2022 marked 20 years of Grinspoon’s acclaimed record, New Detention. Peaking at #2 on the ARIA charts, nominated for 5 ARIA Awards, and featuring the hits Chemical Heart, Lost Control and more, the album cemented the band’s status as local rock icons. To celebrate, New Detention will be available on vinyl for the first time ever, with a limited-edition marbled green disc and with the original cover art, as the record was intended to be presented. It’s accompanied by a special edition of Easy, also arriving on vinyl for the first time. Both will released just before the Easy Detention tour on September 8.
“I’m very affectionate towards Easy, I love that record, I think it’s my fave Grinners album. It’s flawed, but I think I like its flaws. I can hear the tumultuous times that we were experiencing during the writing and recording of it too,” says Jamieson. “And New Detention, well, it kind of changed everything for us.”
In 1997, the youthful Grinspoon uploaded the track Sickfest to triple j Unearthed, not knowing the life-changing success that was to come. With Sickfest, Grinspoon won Unearthed’s national band comp in its first year – and for the next two months the track was the station’s most requested song. What followed was an illustrious career, with seven albums, Top Ten ARIA chart spots, ARIA Awards, 13 ARIA nominations, more than 1,350 gigs, tens of thousands of frequent flyer miles, 7 appearances at the Big Day Out as well as slots at Homebake, Falls Festival, Splendour In The Grass, an NRL Grand Final and a Commonwealth Games Closing Ceremony in Melbourne. Despite these massive achievements, Grinspoon don’t have plans to wrap things up any time soon.
And the secret to the band’s longevity, according to Jamieson? “Absence makes the heart grow fonder and familiarity breeds contempt, so I think one of the smartest things we did in 2013 was go away,” he laughs. “We’d been ubiquitous on the fest scene since 2000, even if you didn’t want to see us at a festival, you were probably lining up for MGMT at Splendour and there we were! It was very healthy to take a break from touring and writing, but that’s not a secret, a lot of bands have done that. We came back in 2017 and did our Guide To Better Living tour and when we came back, we didn’t realise the affection the Aus public had for the band, and that was overwhelming and very assuring and felt like a very nice warm hug, so from that it made us take the group a little more seriously and has made sure we are not only delivering the best shows we’ve ever done, but better than the 90s… arguably the 90s are a little bit patchy for us!”
