Dave Graney'n' the Coral Snakes - who else could take you there?

I always write "Dave Graney 'n' the Coral Snakes", never just "the Coral Snakes". Because.
Well because they're all mostly my songs and I sing them and it feels funny to refer to the situation without myself in it.
We have our modern band which is Dave Graney and the mistLY. Thats, me and Clare, Stu Thomas (since 2004) and Stuart Perera (since 1998).

We'll be doing more shows both historical and modern in the future.

See, the language is getting taut isn't it?

I read an interview with David Thomas from Pere Ubu and he referred to the intial period of Ubus activity as their "historical period". Same goes for other bands I really like such as WIRE. They had that amazing first run of albums, Pink Flag, Chairs Missing and 154. Then they stopped and did  work with different combinations of the band, duo and solo works. Then they got back together and made amazing records and still tour. In their case, it took a long time for them to let their audience find them. They had been hugely influential in the US and toured there in the late 80s with label mates Depeche Mode. Wire were only interested in playing their new music at their own shows. Luckily there was an American band who played their first album PINK FLAG note for note and in perfect album sequence. So Wire got them to be the opening act. They were called The Ideal Copy. Cute, huh?

Robin Casinader, keyboard player for the Coral Snakes, lives in Canberra. We waited for him to come down to Melbourne where we had to go into PBS FM in Collingwood to do a  live to air performance on the Wednesday before our show. Barry Douglas aka Barry Takes Photos was in the studio to film it.




After this session , WE WENT OFF TO REHEARSAL!

The show was at the Corner Hotel. We wanted to do a show in a rock 'n roll venue, in contrast to the MEMO MUSIC HALL we had played at last year. That had been more of a sit-down-theatre kind of setting. A great room also, we just wanted something different.

It was a great night. We had our friends the Sand pebbles and the Ancients play opening sets. Both were wonderful. Great people. Great music.

We did everything for the show ourselves.  All the logistical arrangements and hiring merch people and sound mixer etc as well as talking with the other bands.

I'm saying this because people, even friends, assume we have "people" who do things. All we have is a booking agent. Thats the limit of our engagement with the Austrralian music scene. Its all personal. Our lives are 90% admin.

Thanks go out to Community radio for connecting us with people.

We soundchecked in the afternoon at about 4pm until 5:30 and then hung around until doors. We ate and talked with the Sand Pebbles and friends.

At 11pm we came on and I must say it was an absolutely epic show. After all the hanging and admin and rooting about, to finally just play the shit out of that stuff was quite joyful.

This kind of show is a decade of moves and poses and shapes and song selections all compressed into 75 minutes.





We played so many shows during the 90s and played it in isolation. Fucking grunge years- how funny were they? We were the best, and so we were at the Corner.

If there was a music press there would have been a  review of the show. Who could review Dave Graney 'n' the Coral Snakes though? I tell you, to get a handle on what was going on they would have had to have had a team of scribes, especially a DANCE critic, just to talk about the MEANING OF MY MOVES within each song and within those songs within the greater drama of the show and our career.

As I like to say "who else could take you there! Droppin' some fuckin' science on you there, pal!"

I shit the critics.

It's been great playing with Rod Hayward and Robin Casinader again. Man they play LOUD!

Robin is a genuine freak, and I mean that in the most positive of ways. I'm a proud freak too.
He just starts to meditate anywhere. He cares not for idle chat or what may make other people uncomfortable. He talks when he wants to. We drove him to his hotel after rehearsal and talked of Lionel Barts last great folly and of Anthony Newley. Who else could take us there?

When we first got back together and went over what songs we would play we got to "rock'n'roll is where I hide". I had to mention to Rod and Robin that this song lights up the room wherever we play it. People call out for it even though they don't know the name of the song. Its a monster. They expressed quizzical surprise.

This is the show closer from July 9th 2016.

Dave Graney and the mistLY play the Grandview Hotel in Fairfield,Vic
Saturday August 20th

Dave Graney and the Coral Snakes Brisbane Festival (Spiegel tent) September 3rd

Dave Graney And Clare Moore – Bowral Bowling Club September 16th

Dave Graney and the mistLY – Petersham Bowls – September 17th

Dave Graney And Clare Moore – Smith’s Alternative- Canberra September 18th

Dave Graney and the Coral Snakes Semaphore Festival (Adelaide) October 2nd