Popping The Cherry    

For ten years, a Custard reunion seemed like an impossible dream. Now the Brisbane legends are about to play their fourth show in two years. What happened?

“People have always asked us to reform,” explains ringleader Dave McCormack, “but a couple of the band members, for whatever reason, didn't want to do it. Then flukishly we all went, ‘yeah, let's do it’, and we had such a great time that we thought we'd do it again later. If it's the right event, and it's a bit of fun, we're really enjoying it.

“It's just one of those things... it's like the four minute mile. Once you crack it, it's easy. Initially it was like, ‘nah, we don't want to’, and then we popped the cherry on it and it was like, ‘you beauty! This is alright.’ It's good, just on a personal level, for us to hang out again. Well, we don't really hang out that much. If we do one or two gigs a year, we see each other once or twice a year. But it's nice to connect with old friends.”

McCormack is so excited to connect with old friends, in fact, that he refuses to rule out the possibility of new Custard material. “Imagine that! Maybe! I don't know. I'm feeling very feisty and excited today so I can't say no to anything. We haven't done anything, we haven't rehearsed or really thought about new songs, but the idea seems attractive to me now. After years of not really thinking it was appropriate, maybe it is. “Maybe we'll be one of those bands that everyone hates because they break up and then they get back together and then they start recording new material that no one's really interested in. We could be one of them!”

Luckily, Cold Chisel and John Farnham have increased the nation’s tolerance for these sorts of shenanigans. “Oh, good on them,” McCormack says. “Good on them! Look, it is exciting to have Custard mentioned in the same sentence as Chisel and Farnham. It seems right to me. I think we should be up there. Next it'll be an ARIA Hall of Fame award. Come on!”

The Brisbane music scene has been through a few changes since Custard’s heyday, but for the most part, McCormack likes what he sees. “I rate (Brisbane’s young bands) very highly,” he says. “I think they're a lot more professional than back in our day. Everyone seems to be really good at their instrument and quite together in the business sense, which is quite amazing. In our day, I'll be the first to admit we could hardly play. It was a bit more of a happy accident before. But everyone seems more prepared for it now, so that's good.

“They've all got good gear, they're all really confident on stage, they can sing well, they've got lots of energy. My recollection of the old days is that we were just fumbling. We were quite uncool and borrowing guitars and having shitty amps and not really knowing how to do anything.”

So which bands in particular get the McCormack seal of approval? “Look, you've got me,” he admits. “I don't know a lot of younger bands. The ones I know, I think, are my picks. I don't know many. There's Ball Park Music, The John Steel Singers, there's the Hungry Kids Of Hungary, and there's a band with the Tickle sisters, who are they?”

Little Scout? “They were good. See, I don't even know their names but I do meet people... Look, I'm getting old now, so I don't really go out to see bands. Unless I'm playing on the bill I don't really see many bands. I know I probably should, but it doesn't happen.”

It’s this sort of honesty that McCormack’s fans love about him, but he’s pledging to keep the talking to a minimum at Custard’s Brisbane Festival show. “I'm prone to just waffling on a bit on stage, but with Custard we're going to play about 25 songs, so we haven't got time to be sidetracked. We've got to stay focussed.

“(But) look, it's always going to happen. I'm always going to have a chat. It's just so fun to have a chat, especially when I've got the microphone and no one else does, so they can't really answer anything back. It's a control thing. It comes down to a deep-seated control issue; I need to have control.“

Custard perform - as part of the Brisbane Festival - under the stars at QUT Festival Theatre on Saturday September 17. brisbanefestival.com.au