Interview by Kris Peters
It's not like they have ever needed an excuse for a party, but you can be rest assured when a legitimate reason rears its festive head that the Cosmic Psychos won't fall over themselves complaining.
After four decades of delivering their own brand of brutally honest punk rock humour, Cosmic Psychos have dared to allow themselves time for reflection with three massive shows over three ever more massive nights at the Theatre Royal in Castlemaine over December 1, 2 and 3.
In true Psychos fashion there will be much fun and merriment to commemorate the occasion, with a Cosmic Psychos branded beer being released to ensure everyone is in the right mood for a party.
Each night will see a different selection of bands hand-picked by the Cosmic Psychos themselves, with The Chats, Amyl & The Sniffers and Dune Rats each taking their opportunity to close their chosen night of entertainment while the Cosmic Psychos savour their own beer after giving themselves the second last slot on the nightly run sheet.
Pretty clever for a bunch of old fellas.
But the party doesn't stop there.
Before the fat bloke in a red suit gets stuck in your chimney this December the trio would have also hit South Australia and Western Australia before regrouping for a massive run of East Coast shows in January with Zeke.
Must be something in the beer…
To find out more details HEAVY tracked down guitarist Macka in a barn somewhere in the US of A where the band are currently on tour with The Chats. It was an entertaining but almost doomed chat when Macka nearly died of thirst after not being able to locate his trusty bottle opener.
"I think you would probably say both, Kris," he replied when I asked if 40 years was cause for commiserations or congratulations. "I don't think there's either side to it. It's good. We've seen a few things, good and bad, but overall we're still going, and it's good fun."
While the sound and thought of a three-day bender to celebrate entering the Naughty 40s might sound like a heap of fun, it's not exactly something that becomes easier to do the more the years pass. We point out that the boys have set the bar possibly unrealistically high.
"It depends on what the record is," he quipped. "It might be low, we'll see (laughs). We're looking forward to it. There's some great bands playing and all that sort of stuff. We've got people coming from overseas to do it, like Pat Todd. He's nearly 70, and he hasn't even been to Australia yet so this is his first trip. Blowers, Dead Clampetts, etc."
In the full interview, Macka talks more about the bands playing over the three nights and why they were asked, whether the band had to taste test the Psychos beer for approval, the after-show festivities, what range of songs they will play over three shows, who he thinks will stay the distance, the possibility of new material and more.