ANDEE VAN DAMAGE [08:08:07] VS THE AIRLINES Ever feel like having one name just isn't enough? Maybe you should consider following the lead of Andee Van Damage - he has four. "There are actually four or five different aliases but I'm not telling you the others, there's one for each of my personalities," Van Damage explains. "Andee Frost is a lil' bit more disco and Andee Van Damage is more of a party favourite." The partying version of the Melbourne DJ has just returned from his Van Damage Vs The World tour - a tour name that begs the question - who won out in the end? "British Airways won by losing all my music and luggage in the first week of the tour, I'm still waiting for it back," Van Damage says indignantly. "Between me and the world, I think it was a draw." Van Damage says that despite his airline mishap, the tour itself brought about plenty of great gigs, and some adventures that won't soon be forgotten. "The best gig would have had to been the Modular weekly in London - having a full room of raving loons and two bottles of Stoli ... it was also the last time I saw my CD wallet, God I miss it," he laments. Now that he has returned to his home town, Van Damage says it's just back to business as usual, which includes going back to his job in a record store, DJing, recording and contributing to Melbourne street press, among other things. "We've also just started doing t-shirts, which has been a good change from the music," he says. "I get very little time to myself, but when I do I love snowboarding - it's the easiest way to unwind, throwing myself down a big icy hill." But no matter where he is, or what sort of show he's playing, there is one thing you can guarantee you won't hear from Van Damage. "I play tracks because I like them," he says simply. "If I don't like something I'm not gonna play it just 'cos it's in the ARIA chart. I carry around 300 tracks with me on CD and vinyl so I can always take the show somewhere different if the crowd or I aren't feeling it." Erika Hennessy Andee Van Damage plays at Coo Coo KaChoo this Friday, August 10. He'll be joined by Hook n Sling, Aniki, Cutloose & Friends. back to top ^

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