By Peter Douglas
THE Screaming Jets are set to thrust local audiences into the musical stratosphere, with the renowned hard-rockers to touch down at York on Lilydale on 10 February.
Fresh from releasing their eighth studio album, ‘Chrome’, the band is hitting the road again with their third run of dates since the May 2016 release.
The latest offering has received a typically warm reception for the Jets, peaking at number 30 on the ARIA Mainstream Charts, an incredible effort considering the band first burst onto the music scene in the early 1990s.
After 27 years of touring and making records, the band knows how to rock Aussie audiences and with tracks such as ‘Better’, ‘Helping Hand’, ‘Needle’ and ‘Come On’, mixing with new tracks such as ‘Automatic Cowboy’ and ‘Cash in your Ticket’, their live shows never disappoint.
Front-man Dave Gleeson, now 48, told the ‘Mail’ their ongoing success was a result of their traditional rock values.
“We’re still there to bring the fire to our stage shows,” he said.
“We’ve got those eight or nine songs everyone wants to hear and we’ll hit them with that straight away.
“We’ll then back off and I’ll talk with the crowd … let a few things out … then we’ll smash home the show.
“As far as hard rock ‘n’ roll fans go, they want to see people on stage playing their instruments.
“They want to see Jimi and Scott ripping out, and they want to see Paul stomping around the stage owning it, and Mickl banging away … and me throwing myself to the floor.”
Gleeson said the album has gained significant momentum, which he is proud to say is of not a result of social media.
“I don’t do Facebook – if I want to say something, I just let loose and say it on the stage,” he said.
“If I say it on the stage, then I don’t get upset about anything at home – except for losing a game of pool.
“You look at someone like Selena Gomez with millions of Twitter followers … a third of them are just there to spread hate.”
Throughout the 1990s, the Screaming Jets became a household name after a string of successful songs and albums.
The band also became widely known for their intense live shows.
Though, the rock star lifestyle never seemed to claim the band, only pushing them further creatively, with ‘Chrome’ the perfect testament to the love of their craft.
Today, the Screaming Jets are Dave Gleeson (vocals), Paul Woseen (bass), Scott Kingman (guitars), Jimi Hocking (guitars) and Mickl Sayers (drums).
“Our present line-up is eight years in and we’re all about having fun,” Gleeson said.
“We went to Byron Bay to record and had a blast.
“We’re still in a great place and having as much fun as ever.”
The Screaming Jets will perform at the York on Lilydale on Friday 10 February.
For more details, visit www.yorkonlilydale.com.au
