Does that make them Crazy?
Ash Grunwald and Scott Owen from The Living End are both Byron Shire locals – Ash has been around for close to five years and Scott almost three. The lads, who apart from loving the great food and culture, the people and long walks at midnight, (I’m not saying who said what), they also love the waves.
Bluesman Ash and world-renowned bass-straddler Scott’s friendship developed quickly around the coal pit in Ash’s backyard over many a soy sausage and a surf report. The two gents’ wives would form their band Mr Cassidy and soon enough, the lads themselves, would stand side by side on the stage as well.
And as things tend to do, one thing led to another, and soon The Living End’s drummer Andy Strachan would take to the road with Ash too, playing a handful of highly-received festival shows to Melbourne and Perth punters, who were delighted and shocked to see the coming together of these seemingly unlikely three.
And if it weren’t already unexpected enough, after a couple of rocking shows, Ash and his unforeseen band comprising two of Australia’s most successful rock musicians would end up in a studio together recording live to tape, the heaviest, bangingest version of Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy, known to man. Which of course, they would.
Rather than let this sonic anomaly gather dust on no-one but the trio’s own shelves of memory, Ash decided to send it out into the world – an aural totem of the spontaneity of life; and a cracking version of one of the world renowned bluesman’s all time favourite tracks.
As a treat for fans, Crazy has been released as a free download.
But wait! You also get… Ash will be travelling in June and July from Fremantle and Perth down to Hobart and up the east coast. Scott and Andy will be joining him on a tour of gargantuan proportions.
You can see the three locally at the Hotel Great Northern on July 4.
