Country dub has taken the world of art/noise/geeks by storm. At the Unsound festival in Wagga last Friday, the Re-mains newest experimental artform, based on the Phantom Loop Effect and the eerie parallels between country and dub lilts, proved highly successful and emblazoned the name of CR’N'R across a hole new and unlikely set of punter’s brains. More to come …

Greetings coalface connoiseurs,

This, my first missive for some time, comes at a conspicious, congruent and critically concatenatious time for the Re-mains, whose travails and triumphs at the Coalface have been considerable since last we spoke.

Since that time, which I believe was just after receiving confirmation of our rural touring grant, we’ve been flat out coming to grips with burdensome bureaucracy in the form of insurance companies and various other office-bound brutes which, with the gallant guiding hand of Ms Sarah Cumming Last, we were able to overcome and set out on the road in a Coaster bus, insured for 10 million bucks. We accordingly played in a vast assortment of rural venues in order to satisfy the requirements of the Australia Council and our own odd prevarications.
At Uralla we performed an intimate acoustic show in the bar to the delight of several surprised punters, two unidentified miscreants misplacing their amplifiers and the PA respectively.

The following night at the indomitable City Tavern we let rip with a suitably Tamworth performance, the details of which have escaped my amesiac brain but I’m sure it was spectacular.

At the Nymagee Festival the usually parched and barren paddocks were overflowing with green owing to the three inches that bucketted down the night before we got there. At this remote yet idyllic festival we joined forces with some other notoious coalface operators, namely the Toe Sucking Cowgirls, Tonchi, Campbell the Swaggie and other assorted compadres and for three days let rip with authentic country rock’n'roll which they’ll be talking about out there for generations to come.

After that we headed south to the Cowra Hotel, where, bolstered by Big Shane the Shearer’s urgings, we held forth and were regaled in turn by the usual onstage fisticuffs, fancy-pants dancing and unstinted gibberish. Thence to the Lass O’Gowrie in Newcastle, where with the Australian Beefweek Show, with whom I served a country rock’n'roll apprenticeship a few scant years ago, we played to a packed audience of flabbergasted Novacastrians. Next day, Beefweek came with us to sydney, where on Election night we attempted to keep our spirits up in the face of the impending Facist Victory and somehow got through this horrible night with the help also of the mighty SC Trash.

Sunday night was a historic occasion for two reasons. First is that we blew up the Coaster motor that day and second, we played the Grand Junction, Maitland for the first time. Now this gig, ladies and gentlemen, is, apart from the City Tavern, the coalface gig . Here abound true country rock’n'roll specimens in this, the spirtual and actual home of Johnny Greens Blues Cowboys and, with Johnny himself having a red-hot go at the bar, we put on the show of the tour, recieved four bellowing, unbelievably imperative encores and then, with the bus in tatters, were treated to an unholy shebang at Johnny’s house, where the Blues Cowboys very own Ezra distinguished himself with a flagon of port and his hair-raising escapades involving horses, barbed wire fences and a whole lotta turf.
After that, to complete the tour we headed out to Bingara, where we played behind the pool table on the smallest stage in history, abetted by the Maitland Ladies choir and in the absence of John from Bingara, who didn’t show up. Thence to Gunnedah, where we played to some frenetically excited teenagers and Wardy demonstrated to Shaun the noble art of carpet chiropractery.

After that it was a mere few thousand miles out to Hay for some workshops with a bunch of talented teenagers and then the long trek home to Moree and possibly, the worst show of the tour. Fortunately the audience were too blind too notice and told us we were fargen legends etc.

Incidentally, as part of all this carry-on, we have produced a new EP called Burnin’ Daylight, out through Croxton again, which we’re selling at gigs or you can send us $17 bucks for, to 214 Kings Rd federal NSW 2480, cheques to The Re-mains. It’s got seven tunes, including two live to airs at Darwin ABC. It’s pretty good, if in a less rambunctious vein than Thank You … and a fair precursor to Field Conditions, due in January, which is shaping up to be a monster.
That’s enough from me tonight. Keep an eye on the website for more gig updates. We’re in Wagga next week for the Unsound Festival and a gig at the William farrer, maybe the Gollan, Lismore on Nov 26, and a wedding at Bangalow on Nov 27. Cairns at Johnno’s Blues Bar from Dec 8-12 and then Woodford Folk Fest from Dec 27 to 30. City tav, Tamworth for New Years Eve and then of course again for the Country Music Fest.

Albury at the Mad Hatter regatta on Invasion Day, Jan 26 …

Out.