It’s widely touted that you shouldn’t meet your heroes. Over the past few years, I’ve been lucky to meet, interview and party with Australian rock royalty, so I know that’s not always the case. Still, the anxiety I had meeting the masters behind what I consider the best 2024 punk album, Beer Baby, was very real.
Dakota and I arrived nervously at The Brightside (or rather just me, Dakota always seems a lot cooler and calmer than I am), to interview Drunk Mums, who very quickly put my fears to rest and showed us that they’re well and truly committed to their name. Frontman Jake Doyle swiftly ushered us backstage where he presented us with frosty cans of their new-born, signature Beer Baby ale. Could Drunkies get any cooler? Yes, every gig.
This feeling was cemented for me the next night. During their secret pop-up gig at The Bearded Lady, I compared George from Shock Value to Iggy Pop, to which Jake replied “Oh mate, Iggy Pop has got nothing on this bloke! You need to get behind him, he is going to be a dead-set superstar. I’ve never seen such stage presence, he needs to be managed and promoted well, he is incredible.” Hope you read this George!
But I’m getting ahead of myself again. After knocking back a nice refreshing Beer Baby, we sat down rather aptly in the beer garden to ask Jake and bassist Adam Richie five quickfire questions:
1. If you were to have a Beer Baby what would you call it? Would it be bottle fed? If so with what?
Adam: If I had a beer baby, I would call it “Fluffy McLager” Ha-ha-ha!
Jake: Fluffy McLager! Yeah “Goo-Goo Lager”.
Adam: Goo-Goo Lager instead of ga-ga! Ha-ha-ha, what was the other bit of the question again?
OB: Would it be bottle or breast fed?
Adam: I don’t want to ruin my beautiful perky breasts, so yeah bottle fed.
OB: And I guess it would be fed Drunk Mums Beer Baby Lager?
Jake: Yep, that’s it!
2. Do you remember the scene in Indiana Jones where they are doing shot for shot in an arm-wrestling competition while trying to stay upright with the crowd betting on the winner? If you had to choose a competitor to be the DRUNKEST Drunk Mum in a similar competition, who would it be?
Adam: Ah, criminally I’ve never watched any of those movies.
Jake: Indiana Jones, hmmm… Within the band?
Adam: Probably us two actually.
OB: Who’d win?
Adam: Oh, I don’t know these days ha-ha-ha, it would be a draw.
OB: Did you get much practice on the European tour?
Jake: Over there it was like you just have to get sleep, or you’re not ever catching up with nineteen shows in a row.
OB: Nineteen? That’s hectic!
Jake: Yeah Dean (guitar) was the only one that didn’t sleep, and he got caught in party jail from it. I guess Dean’s got the all-nighter record, so you wouldn’t want to go up against Dean,
Adam: I guess Dean and Jonny (drums) because they aren’t here for the interview really.
Jake: I’ll say Dean’s dad, for his age he is quite a good drinker… We’ve taken him to Revolver before, which is the Melbourne late night club. We’ll start late night Friday and go through to late Sunday…
OB: And he is still going on the Sunday?
Jake: And he is still going… Yep, so shoutouts to Trevor Whitby. He will win for sure.
3. I am anticipating some Queensland heavy hitters (Drunk Mums are originally from Cairns) at the ARIAS this year, with Beer Baby being a perfect album, track for track! A true punk masterpiece. With this in mind, have you planned some Drunkies shenanigans for the occasion? Like who in the band is best and worse behaved on these occasions?
Jake: Cheers for that mate.
Adam: For the ARIAS?
OB: Think Private Function vibes…
Jake: We will definitely bring a pram with a keg in it.
OB: Yes!
Adam: Bring the baby with us on the red carpet definitely
Jake: Adam is probably the worst behaved on those occasions, he hates anything that’s like popular, or viral, or cheesy mainstream.
Adam: Yeah, but that’s not bad behaviour, I mean that’s just me. I mean define that. You mean like “I’m a cheeky little boy?” Because that will be Dean, I’ll just be grumpy in the corner is all, ha-ha-ha! Dean is the cheeky one.
4. I reckon the best lyrics on the whole album “cigarettes and cheesecake, taste like the money you make”. I love it, I play it over and over again Such a fucking classic line. So, I’ve created a few cheesecake recipes and names and I’d like for you to choose the winner.
Dakota: This question is the bad one, it’s truly disgusting!
OB: A. Winnie Blues Blue Cheesecake. Smells like a Dunlop volley used for a shoey three weeks ago that has been left to go mouldy in the wardrobe. The shoe has also doubled as an ashtray and is brimming with cigarette butts.
Adam: Yum, a delicacy for sure!
OB: B. Beer Baby Banoffee. Looks fluffy and cute just like Drunkies, but smells like a diarrhoea filled nappy from a rotavirus, with a warm liquid gooey centre.
Jake: Ha-ha-ha great!
Adam: Disgusting. Thank you ha-ha-ha!
OB: C. Drunky Mum Monkey. Lamington flavour cake absolutely full of enough Bundy Rum to kill a gorilla.
Adam: Oh man! Ha-ha.
OB: What takes you? What would you choose?
Jake: What do you reckon?
Adam: Probably the first one for sure.
Jake: Yeah, A. The Winnie Blues Cheesecake please.
Adam: I’d eat that.
OB: As luck would have it, here is one we prepared earlier. Would you like a slice?
Adam: No, you don’t! Ha-ha-ha.
Jake: This is great!
(Dakota shakes her head in disbelief but laughs along nonetheless)
5. As we look up the road, with a tear in your eye and a lump in your throat, what is your favourite memory of The Zoo?
Jake: Yeah, back in the day me and a friend missed out on tickets to see Battles ages ago, so we did a huge scale of the roofs, and we climbed up the front façade of The Zoo and snuck in through an open window on the top floor.
OB: Are you for real?!
Jake: Yeah, for real.
OB: Oh, that is mad, that is pure Drunkies at its best!
Adam: Mine is, I don’t even remember what show I was going to actually, because I was that drunk, I just fully fell down the stairs. And I got kicked out! I don’t even know what band was, at all. I was still living in Cairns, and I specifically came down for that gig and yeah, I can’t even remember it! Ha-ha!
OB: Oh no! We’ve all been there, right? Did you ever play in the Stranded Bar next door?
Adam: We haven’t played there, but we’ve been there a couple of times yeah.
OB: Oh, it’s a great punk vibe in there.
Adam: Unfortunate that it is kicking the bucket too.
Jake: And on the same block they used to have Tyms Guitars too?
Dakota: They don’t play live music at O’Skulligans anymore. Tenants moved in and complained about the noise from live music venues.
Jake: Bastards!
Adam: Fuckos! Let’s get em! Bloody landlords.
Jake: I think in Melbourne they have laws that if the venue was there before people move in then you have right of way sort of thing.
Adam: So, they should! Who moves into the Valley and complains about live music!
(Editor’s Note: The people who live my building which is across the street from 4ZZZ certainly do!)
OB: We have cultural recognition and national trust to preserve historic buildings and culturally significant architecture, the same should be applied to preserve the history of our art and cultural precincts by preserving live music venues.
We were all in agreement and raised our Beer Babies in a hearty toast together. Long live music in the heart of Meanjin! Thanks, Drunkies. We love ya!
Thanks to Dakota (@strictly.sentimental) for getting these snaps of the Drunkies doing what they do best (drinking)!
You can help Drunk Mums recoup the cost of having their fourth child by buying all their merch here.
Have a listen to the cries of their young Beer Baby too: