Noise Levels: Clobassi

Showing posts with label Clobassi. Show all posts

Saturday, November 23, 2024

Planet Rock, Daly Planet, Penrith, 16th June, 2000

VENUE: Planet Rock, Daily Planet, Penrith

DATE: Friday, 16th June, 2000

OTHER: Win tickets to the Grounded 2000 Festival.

BANDS:

Friday, August 2, 2024

Orange Blossom Festival Youth Expo, Castle Hill Showgrounds, 18th September, 1999

VENUE: Castle Hill Showgrounds, Castle Hill

DATE: Saturday, 18th September, 1999

OTHER: 'Orange Blossom Festival Youth Expo'. Free. All Ages Event. Rides, Food, Activities.

BANDS:

Toe to Toe
Testeagles
Room 101
Army of Prawns
Skulker
The Shirkers
Clobassi

Saturday, July 20, 2024

Grounded Festival, Museum of Fire, Penrith, 17th June, 2000

VENUE: Museum of Fire, Penrith

DATE: Saturday, 17th June, 2000

TIME: 10am

OTHER: Grounded Festival. $25 entry.

BANDS:

Testeagles
Ceasefire
Nitocris
Skulker
One Dollar Short
Cryogenic
DJ Stu 'n' Eli
Sunk Loto
Army of Prawns
Room 101
Loki
Fatigue
Game Over
Ballpark
Enertia
Unpaid Debt
For Amusement Only
Never Pay Retail
Segression
Second Best
Quadbox
Shenavyre
Clobassi
Swindle
Psi-Kore
POW
The Hassle Brigade
The Brain
The Shirkers
Ebolagoldfish
Mourning George
Glister
Fifth Place

Thursday, July 11, 2024

The 1998-99 Melrose Hall Incidents

Penrith Star, June 23rd, 1998

VENUE: Melrose Hall, Emu Plains

DATE: Friday, 19th June, 1998

TIME: 6pm

OTHER: $5. Organised by Craig McVea.

BANDS:

Spilt Milk (possibly did not play due to disruption)
The Hassle Brigade (did not play)
Clobassi
Futile

Penrith Star, June 16th, 1998

The First Melrose Hall Incident:

In the years since, the 'Melrose Hall Incident' has become one of those hard-to-pin-down stories. In the last 8 months I've been researching this for fun (because that's the sort of person I am; tragically obsessive and a local history nerd). Today, while trawling old Penrith newspapers on the microfiche at Penrith Library, I finally found confirmation of when this incident happened and who was approximately there.

The difficulty in pinning this story down comes down to the probability of there being multiple incidents. In fact, there's likely a cause and effect chain between these incidents - it's not a coincidence that violence erupted multiple times at Melrose Hall, there was something akin to a territorial dispute happening, with a local gang (or gangs) taking exception to teenage punters enjoying alternative music in their 'hood.

Studying history is fun.

My guess is that this show on 19th June, 1998, was the first incident (and the one that included an actual shotgun). This fits with The Hassle Brigade's timeline, in which this was their first proper show after reforming. Anything earlier than June, 1998, would have been before The Hassle Brigade had gotten back together with a new drummer and bassplayer. The reason it's a struggle to make all the details fit (I've spoken to many people about this now) is that there must have been a later show that featured a different combination of bands in support of The Hassle Brigade. This later show may have included Speckled Foam, Below the Belt, Room 101, and/or Little Lunch.

[Or maybe The Hassle Brigade didn't play the other show and the Below the Belt-related violence happened earlier? I think this is less likely as I think the newspaper coverage I've included here would've mentioned that this incident was the latest in a long line, blah blah blah, that sort of thing.]

Long story short, the 19th June show was underway when a gang appeared on the scene through the back door. Some people may have been bashed and threatened. Police arrived after being called in by the hired security and they chased down some of the gang members, apprehending one who had a shotgun on his person.

Let's hear from some people who were there. I'll just add the disclaimer that it's sometimes difficult to figure out if people are referring to this show or the later one (which seems to have been more violent but without a shotgun). These are the comments that I think relate to the 19th June show:

JASE: I just remember them smashing a door down once the bands wrapped up.

Jason Percy-Spiller, punter, 2024

CRAIG: It was a bit weird. Cops were all over it. It all happened out in the oval away from Melrose. Also separately, there was a local footy team who used to roll and bash punters between sets outside. Often gate crashers would walk straight through, not pay, and be a problem. I met with the cops and council before every venue/event booking I did. Anyway, at this show the cops confiscated a 'home made gun'. Cops were definitely watching this guy. But yeah, there were a lot of 'homies' and baseball bats... so many close calls.

Craig McVea, show organiser, 2024

MATT: A mate of mine was telling the homies to fuck off at the door. It's a bit blurry... someone said one of them had a gun - I didn't see any gun or knife or even the people; the door was chained I think.

Matt Cleary, Futile, 2024

PRESTON: My mate defended my drums. Rae got a black eye, Jakob got a cymbal stand over the head. I recall a friend had a nose ring that one of the homies tried to pull out, which kicked things off.

Preston Peachey, Clobassi, 2024

ADAM: It was our first show back with 400 people there to see us but we never ended up playing. This still cracks me up to this day, Spilt Milk were halfway through their set. We were all out back just chilling when suddenly the power went off, then we heard people screaming and yelling. Turns out two rival gangs who I remember as the Penrith Boys and the Emu Boys were having a feud and chose our gig as a battle ground. A fight broke out in front of Melrose Hall and one of these nitwits produced a sawn off shotgun. Then apparently after police were tipped off they had cars mobilised nearby ready to pounce the minute the trouble started, next thing we know - about half a dozen cop cars and assorted paddy wagons turned up and the cops shut off the power. I remember walking to the side of the stage and Spilt Milk were still on stage wondering why their amps wouldn't work and why the lights were out... then the cops started rounding up the crowd, telling everyone to go home. Turns out the idiot with the gun shit himself when the cops arrived and did a runner, only to trip over and twist his ankle, hence he got pinched.

Adam O'Sullivan, The Hassle Brigade, 2010

IVAN: We set up the drum kit and we were kind of ready to go and then we were told to stay in the back room and we just hid there until police came and took the guy away. There was actually a bunch of them, it was when the Penrith kind of gang stuff was happening in the light '90s. Back then, Penrith and Emu Plains were pretty rough places comparatively to now. Two of the rival gangs were there, and someone had a shotgun and some machetes and stuff.

Ivan Lisyak, The Hassle Brigade, 2024

MATTY: That Melrose night... it was twice. The shotgun night, we were there. Whether we were on the stage when it happened; I can't remember that.

Matty Albert, Spilt Milk, 2024

-------------------

The interesting thing about the newspaper coverage is that both papers advertised this show a few days before it happened. Then, after the incident happened, one of the paper's (The Penrith Star) described it as a party with 400 people in attendance. See the image at the top of this page... they don't even mention that bands were there and they make it sound like the gang members were invited to this 'party'. If the writer of that article had simply looked at the previous issue of his own newspaper then he would have been able to write a far more factual account of what happened.

Penrith Press, June 16th, 1998

And here's the Press's coverage of what happened. They also call it a 'party' rather than 'show' or 'band night' but at least they mention that bands were there. I've included a transcript for this one due to the scan being such poor quality. You'll note that this article combines two evidently unrelated incidents as if there is a crime wave occurring across all of Penrith. In my 8 months of reading through about 2 years worth of locals papers from this time period, I do have to admit that Penrith crime seemed a lot worse back in the late '90s, however, this article has the typically alarmist hallmarks of hack journalism in its insistence of combining these two separate events.

Penrith Press, June 23rd, 1998

Transcript: A dance party in Melrose Hall, Emu Plains, where several bands were playing, turned into a near riot on Friday night and was out of the control of the security men on duty. Several police units responded about 9pm to calls for help from the security man - police said two were on duty.

Police were told a youth at the party had been wielding a shortened 22 calibre semi-automatic rifle, creating panic among other guests. When officers attempted to talk to a man he allegedly fled and was chased by police. The young man ran across the Great Western Hwy and in the course of the chase fell and injured himself, a police spokesman said.

The spokesman said a search of the backpack a suspect was carrying revealed a tomahawk and three knives. A man was taken to Nepean Hospital for treatment.

Across town on the following night, five men crashed an 18th birthday party with 100 guests int he Kingswood Park Community Centre, with one of them pointing a shotgun at a guest's head, police said. The five were asked to leave after they had assaulted one guest and harassed others but returned a short time later.

Party guests finally had enough and tackled the gatecrasher with the shotgun and chased him when he ran to nearby premises. It is understood the pursuers began taking defensive action in the form of hurling pot plants at their tormentor and possibly inflicting injury on him,

A police spokesman said all local medical centres had been alerted to look for and report to authorities a man of Mediterranean appearance, dark brown shoulder length hair, wearing a light blue sport jacket and light blue dress trousers. Two of his accomplices have been described only as of Mediterranean appearance while the fourth was Pacific Islander in appearance.

Melrose Hall, 2024. Built in 1934.

The Second Melrose Hall Incident:

Now that we've sorted that out, let's look at the second incident. This event doesn't seem to have included any guns and the police may not have been there for this one, however, from the recollections of those who were there it definitely seems to have been a much more violent altercation.

I don't have an exact date for this show but I think it probably took place in early 1999. This allows for a time period where both Speckled Foam and Room 101 could share a bill together. This event is much harder to confirm as there doesn't seem to have been any local newspaper coverage of it (believe me, I've checked). This is why I've also made the assumption that the police probably didn't show up at this show as it would be the police who would communicate with the local papers afterwards.

The bands on this bill were definitely:

And possibly:

The Hassle Brigade
Little Lunch

Here's some recollections from those that I think were most likely at this show:

CHRIS: I had loaded my amp into the car and left before the chaos ensured. I heard the homies got into the back room and picked up drum stands and started swinging. I think that one of the guys from Little Lunch got stabbed.

Chris Duckworth, Speckled Foam, 2024

MICHELLE: I remember being outside and a huge group of homies were tearing across the street with trolley poles and then I think they gained access to the back room of the Melrose where bands loaded in. I remember being outside and a chick was smashing my female cousin's head against the glass from the inside of the building... I feel like the thugs were trying to smash everyone's equipment. My boyfriend at the time went into the back room and dragged my cousin out and then the chick started bashing him, which was super gnarly. He ended up running away as he didn't want to hit a girl... I think we scattered before the cops arrived.

Michelle Catanzaro, punter, 2024

JOSH: Allan cracked a dude with a chair and then four of them jumped him. Was pretty messed up.

Josh Eivers, punter, 2024

ALLAN: I woke up on stage after getting dogshotted from behind. Went in to help Easton and Sharples (Below the Belt), they were going hammer and tongs with the homies.

Allan Stone, Below the Belt, 2024

EASTON: I got stabbed, had broken ribs and a fractured skull. I can remember the scuffle pretty well.

Daniel Easton, Below the Belt, 2024

KENNY: It was Room 101's first ever gig. My drum kit was used as a weapon!

Kenny Cowell, Room 101, 2024

PABLO: It was at the height of the 'Homies vs. Grungers' era, the hall got broken into by homies. They smashed the windows and jumped everyone, broke gear, stabbed kids. I remember it was just insane news across the scene. It kind of killed the scene for a year, to be honest. I remember there was just no shows for ages after that, it just wasn't safe.

Pablo Andres, punter, 2024

-------------------

Obviously a lot of time has passed since 1998/1999 and some of the recollections are going to contradict each other due to adrenaline, alcohol, the memory-crystalising nature of violence, and the fact that the above stories have no doubt been told and retold many times in the decades since. If you have a memory of either of these shows or want to set the record straight on something, post in the comments below.

Monday, April 22, 2024

Clobassi

ORIGINS: Penrith, NSW

GENRE: Alt-Metal, Hip Hop, Rap Rock

YEARS ACTIVE: 1997-2001

MEMBERS:

Craig McVea - Vocals, Bass
Preston Peachey - Drums
Narayan Green - Guitar (1997)
Steve Williams - Guitar (1998-1999)
Sam Parker - Guitar (1999-2001)
Billy Brown - Guitar (2001)
Michael Noel - Percussion (2001)
Wesley von Grabill - Bass (2001)
Karen Booth - Saxophone (2001)

RELEASES:

Let's Get Physical (1999)

1. Too Little Too Late
2. Game Over
3. Action Jackson
4. Little Penny
5. Sensitive New Age Guy

Clobalisation (2000)

1. Keep on Truckin'
2. Rollback
3. Stretchin' the Friendship

The Bronx Executioner (2001)

Keep on Truckin'

Full Tilt Boogie (2001) [Unreleased]

1. Unknown song
2. Unknown song
3. Unknown song
4. For All the While

SUMMARY: Clobassi was the brainchild of Craig McVea, who had played in punk bands but yearned for something a little different in the vein of early Beastie Boys. Teaming up with other core member, Preston Peachey, the dynamic duo recruited a series of guitarists to pioneer a heavy alt-metal/punk style that sat comfortably within a wave of late '90s alternative Australian bands (Quadbox, Beaverloop, Dogbuoy). McVea was one of the most visible faces in the late '90s/early '00s Penrith music scene, putting on many All Ages shows and writing regular local music columns for local newspapers and zines, and this helped build a lot of momentum for Clobassi.

In their final years, the band experimented with expanding to include additional members for performances - such as Wes Von Grabill on bass (allowing McVea to focus more on vocals) and Michael Noel on percussion. After 4 years of solid gigging, and recording an EP that then went unreleased, the band members moved on to work on other projects.

SHOWS:

Blowout, Kiama Showground, Kiama - 27th September, 1997
Melrose Hall, Emu Plains - 12th January, 1998
Blackheath Community Centre, Blackheath - 13th June, 1998
Melrose Hall, Emu Plains - 19th June, 1998
Civic Centre, Katoomba - 14th August, 1998
Vertx Indoor Skating, Penrith - 20th December, 1998
Twist 'n' Skank, PCYC, Penrith - 23rd April, 1999
Orange Blossom Festival Youth Expo, Castle Hill Showgrounds - 18th September, 1999
Wastelands, PCYC, Blaxland - 6th November, 1999
Xpoz, Panthers Leagues Club, Penrith - 7th November, 1999
Right Here Right Now, PCYC, Penrith - 12th December, 1999
Skankheath, Bates Hall, Blackheath - 4th March, 2000
Prankfest, Civic Centre, Katoomba - 1st April, 2000
Community Centre, North Richmond - 8th April, 2000
Planet Rock, Daily Planet, Penrith - 5th May, 2000
Rodney, Blaxland Hall, Blaxland - 27th May, 2000
Planet Rock, Daily Planet, Penrith - 16th June, 2000
Grounded Festival, Museum of Fire, Penrith - 17th June, 2000
Kelts Bar, Blaxland - 6th July, 2000
Prankfest 2, Civic Centre, Katoomba - 26th August, 2000
Gearin Hotel, Katoomba - 1st September, 2000
Big Penrith Olympic Party, Penrith Oval, Penrith - 1st October, 2000
Planet Rock, Daily Planet, Penrith - 13th October, 2000
Ballyhoo, Q Theatre, Penrith - 21st October, 2000
Swamp Bar, UWS, Kingswood - 2nd November, 2000
Grounded Festival 2, Museum of Fire, Penrith - 17th March, 2001
Assyrian Fest, Fairfield City Showground, Fairfield - 1st April, 2001
Ballyhoo 2, Evans Theatre, Panthers Leagues Club, Penrith - 27th April, 2001
St Marys RSL, St Marys - 5th September, 2001
Channel Cafe, Penrith - 8th September, 2001
Kelts Bar, Blaxland - 13th October, 2001

ORAL HISTORY:

PRESTON: I saw an ad for a drummer, could have been in Drum Media, which was was the Bible in those days. I was keen to do more groove stuff and grew up on rap music and r'n'b. The ad said Toe to Toe and Beastie Boys, which sounded pretty cool. I called this guy, Craig... he lived in Leonay and I was five minutes down the road in Emu Plains. We setup a jam at his house in their spare room and we had just a really fun jam. Craig was probably jumping around. He called his friend Jay to listen over the phone (I'm sure it didn't sound amazing). Craig had a mate, Narayan, who played guitar, so we became a band... named after a phallic sausage.

Preston Peachey (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

CRAIG: I think it all started at my 18th birthday party in '98. I had The Hassle Brigade and The Shirkers play in my backyard (those were the days when bands didn't start shit about other bands and had a respect for each other no matter what style you were!). Anyways... I wrote a song called 'Wookie' that I wanted to play. So I got some friends together and just did it. Everyone seemed to like it so we played it twice. I had only just met Preston at this stage. He was like, 'fuck, we got to get a band together quick.' A couple of members and gigs later, we stand before you as Clobassi.

Craig McVea (Vocals, Bass), Anti-Charisma Issue 3, 2000

PRESTON: I think Craig had a real sound and feel he was going for... he would have already sketched-out ideas and I just wanted to rock out. I had been listening to heavy stuff and he introduced me to new music. Really inspired by the Beastie Boys instrumental album The In Sound From Way Out and some 'world' music and 90s stuff such as Nitin Sawney. Craig was into all sorts of music that I got into; a lot of discovering new sounds, new drummers. I was also really into Sepultura so I'm sure that was a big part of our sound too.

Preston Peachey (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

PRESTON: Craig was doing TAFE at Nirimba and I was finishing Year 12. Our first shows I was 17, so I had to sit in the coolroom at Kelts Bar, but most of our shows were all ages.

Preston Peachey (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

CRAIG: The fuzzy bass... I copied from a bass player I jammed with once. I used to always quote other bands I liked in my set. I was young!

Craig McVea (Vocals, Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

PRESTON: We recorded somewhere in the most Blue Mountains'y house ever. The guy was a super chill hippy who made the best chai on his stove.

Preston Peachey (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

CRAIG: The high school in Wentworth Falls publicly deemed our first demo as the work of Satan, which is a bit rich considering the cover is a cartoon pic of a skateboarding anus.

Craig McVea (Vocals, Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

CRAIG: One of our best or most memorable gigs would have been Blowout '98 in Kiama. During Frenzal Rhomb's set I was on top of the front speakers about 4 metres from the ground with a hose between my legs spraying everybody, yelling, "When the shit goes down ya better be ready!"

Craig McVea (Vocals, Bass), Anti-Charisma Issue 3, 2000

CRAIG: You wouldn't believe some of the fights we had to deal with around Melrose Hall. Me and Preston and Steve Williams got rolled by the Nepean High School Rugby League team after a Melrose show. The band Save Some For Daddy got in some fights with them too. There were a lot of close calls - definitely a lot of kids were getting rolled in Emu Plains. Another time I went to a prom with Joe Cool (Joey Catanzaro) - it was three couples, we were 19 or 20. We all nearly got rolled with baseball bats in Werrington. I was dressed like Neil Hamburger... I shouldn't have done that.

Craig McVea (Vocals, Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

PRESTON: Best gig... the first Planet Rock gig with Testeagles went off and one gig at the Melrose was cool - it was our first guitarist's last gig. Our worst gig was when we went to Melbourne and played in the back of this tacky pub and the crowd of two fell asleep. Or at Blacktown PCYC - empty hall, shit sound, my kit was falling apart. I wasn't happy.

Preston Peachey (Drums), Anti-Charisma Issue 3, 2000

PRESTON: Steve was an amazing guitarist and friend but I remember a gig in Katoomba where Craig and I played most of our set as a two-piece before Steve finally showed and played a few songs. When we found Sam he was a solid addition and also a phenomenal songwriter on his own, and a great singer. Kind of felt like he was doing us a favour.

Preston Peachey (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

CRAIG: Prior to 2000, none of our guitarists have ever looked or sounded very Clobassi. None of them have ever given Clobassi much time. And I think that's a good reason why we're not touring at the moment. It just feels like we haven't found him or her yet. It always has.

Craig McVea (Vocals, Bass), Anti-Charisma Issue 3, 2000

SAM: I went to music school with Preston and Craig at Nirimba TAFE. They were a lot of fun. Craig was extremely dedicated to the band and he wrote all the tunes. He was also dedicated to the scene in Western Sydney and was certainly an asset out there.

Sam Parker (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

CRAIG: We were playing in Katoomba with Quadbox. I was really angry at the time and I jumped off my amp and broke through the stage.

Craig McVea (Vocals, Bass), Obzine Issue 5, November 1999

SAM: We got kicked out of a band competition because Craig broke the microphone.

Sam Parker (Guitar), Obzine Issue 5, November 1999

REVIEW: Clobassi have been doing a lot of shows recently and this performance was only a few hours after their warm up in Blacktown. As always they kicked out a happy vibe with their blend of heavy rap and punk pop. Craig was definitely into the performance and sported a pair of headphones for the first few songs. Once again, an energetic performance. Clobassi played new and old tunes with a couple off their new CD which doesn't really have a title at the moment due to copyright infringements on their previous title.

Mark Alston, Obzine Issue 6, December 1999

REVIEW: Finally, it was time for Clobassi to show their stuff. With the main lights out, the coloured lights really lifted the atmosphere, and the mistakable heavy-rap stomping sound filled the hall. Craig, the singer with the fuzzy bass guitar, seemed determined to have fun since putting on this Right Here, Right Now show had cost him many dollars. There was a sizeable mosh and most people seemed to get right into it. At the end of the set, which included songs off their CD, Clobalisation, the crowd's shouting for more was enough to extract one last song out of the band.

Mark and Dave, Obzine Issue 7, January 2000

REVIEW: Clobassi's awesome stomping punk/metal/rap sound is too much for any self-respecting skanker to resist. The band is going off and we all dive for a Skankheath T-shirt as it is launched from the stage. The smoke machine has set off the fire alarm, but everyone is enjoying the music too much to care. The set finishes on a high note with 'Keep on Truckin'.

Dave Schleter, Obzine Issue 9, April 2000

WES: I was 16... from the West Coast of America... and Craig was 18 or 19 and already an accomplished musician and performer. My stepdad was Craig and Preston's TAFE teacher and he took me to a uni gig late one weekday to try and motivate me to get more into music and stay in the country. That's where I first saw Clobassi live and they were fantastic. I instantly took notice of Craig's charisma and energy on stage, jumping onto the bar with his bass as Preston smashed his drums with a hint of lag similar to my favourite drummer of the '70s. I remember Craig used to cover his bass in a furry material he customly sewed on (probably because he couldn't afford a good bass and was insecure about it but that creativity ended up making his bass so much more unique and cool than the most expensive bass in the world). This bass-condom of sorts gave birth to him calling his bass THE WOOKIE. To this day it's still one of the most original concepts conceived by us 'humble' bass players.

Wesley von Grabill (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

CRAIG: Playing the Opera House steps with Preston and Sam was a great memory. Another favourite memory was stage diving at Melrose Hall and not face planting it.

Craig McVea (Vocals, Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

REVIEW: Clobassi rocked as hard as they could. They pulled out all the crowd faves: Keep on Truckin', Too Little Too Late, Stretchin' the Friendship and Wookie, to which the crowd moshed up a frenzy. The Daily Planet bouncers soon cottoned on to this and realised what they were meant to be doing, and formed a barrier in front of the band so that no one would get too close to the stage. Bassplayer/vocalist Craig pulled out all his usual moves, stroking his furry bass and jumping about like an acid-crazy maniac, causing the crowd to get very excited indeed. I think Clobassi were my favourite band of the night.

Luke Bartolo, Obzine Issue 11, June 2000

SAM: The Testeagles support at the Daily Planet was chockers and the crowd was amped. Neither of the others drank so I got the whole rider.

Sam Parker (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

WES: My favourite Clobassi memory was at the Melrose Hall. Skuzz supported and Clobassi headlined. We did 2 newspaper photo shoots for the gig and put up posters everywhere. It was packed. They performed their first EP and at one point Craig put down his bass, and the guitarist and Preston kept playing and he jumped into the crowd. They carried him and passed him down from the front of the stage to the back of the hall and then back onto stage again without him ever touching the ground. That was a full house! And perhaps the peak of Clobassi's powers.

Wesley von Grabill (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

CRAIG: Preston was a weapon. We just couldn't settle on a guitarist. Michael Noel played final year or so with the band; he was awesome. We were at our best then. I think of Michael regularly; such a beautiful soul. We were lucky to get the time we did with him.

Craig McVea (Vocals, Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

REVIEW: Clobassi kicked arse at the Grounded Festival. Craig was jumping around so much I half-expected him to crasgh through the stage. They were joined by a member of Sickend with percussion and a small brass section, which really added to their heavy funk-laden sound.

Daniel, Obzine Issue 12, July 2000

PRESTON: We guested Michael Noel on percussion and this is how I met Michael and he later joined Endusk. We also had Wesley Von Grabill join on bass towards the end when Craig wanted to run around and go crazy.

Preston Peachey (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

WES: Craig was nice enough to let me play bass for him on stage a couple of times. Once in the back alley of a High Street Penrith venue and once at a Grounded Festival. Both times I was shitting in my pants.

Wesley von Grabill (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

REVIEW: The almighty legends of local hip-hop-rock, Clobassi, made their way up in front of the Blaxland audience. They rocked. If you haven't seen them then I honestly don't know what's wrong with you. As always the band made themselves interesting to watch, with Craig adding demonic-sounding scats to some of their tunes, as well as leaping from the top of the P.A. during 'Rollback'. Another standout of their set was the song 'Wookie', where crowd members were invited onto the stage to say their cheesiest pickup lines, with invariably comical and bizarre results. The band ended on the epic masterpiece 'Keep on Truckin'.

Luke Bartolo, Obzine Issue 12, July 2000

SAM: I ended up leaving the band because I was living in the Inner West and didn't have transport. Lugging gear on the train wasn't really an option. Preston was the Uber then, but it just ended up wearing a little thin.

Sam Parker (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

REVIEW: It's the second Grounded Festival, it's Craig's birthday, and he doesn't look like a hung over man after enduring a night of partying. He's all smiles as Clobassi fly onto the stage with a presence I have never seen from them. A new guitarist, guest rapper, and Prestons' new kit make for a fresh set from these funk rap rockers.

Reviewer, Obzine Issue 20 June 2001

BILLY: I came to be in Clobassi through Karen Booth, ex-sax player for Clobassi. I was good friends with her. She hooked me up, they needed a guitarist so I said yeah, I'll try out. They tried a couple of guys, they got me two practices in a row or something. Craig actually asked me if it would be cool to have two guitarists and I kinda of said 'nah', cause when it comes time for recording, and you'll see why on the new CD Full Tilt Boogie, I like to have a good range of what I can do.

Billy Brown (Guitarist), Obzine Issue 22, September 2001

CRAIG: Our new guitarist Billy has really injected his musical personality and character into the band. I love it. I don't think I've seen all of what he can do yet.

Craig McVea (Vocals, Bass), Obzine Issue 22, September 2001

PRESTON: I think the band just faded and fizzled as we moved onto other stuff. Craig did Fat Slinky and I did Endusk. We were all pretty close friends though. We had a basketball team called Team Larraby.

Preston Peachey (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

CRAIG: We didn't release or sell our last EP Full Tilt Boogie. We moved onto other projects... I didn't really wanna do prog rock but I loved what the other band members went on to do. Everyone started their own direction - some went punk/ska, some went prog rock. All great musos.

Craig McVea (Vocals, Bass), Noise Levels correspondence,2024

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