Blam Blam Blam: We're Putting the Band Back Together

We're putting the band back together you see, to borrow the immortal words of the all-too-mortal John Belushi. We've lost a few comrades of the road along the way too, so it's with a deep sense of satisfaction that I can sit here and report that all three members of the band formerly - and it would seem, currently, known as Blam Blam Blam - are all present and correct, possess most of our faculties, and have the band honed to a high lustre of musical perfection. Well we're working on it!

Tonight we're blowing off the dust with a warm-up gig at Auckland's cosy Tabac bar. If there's going to be any train wrecks it's better to die in front of 100 people than 1000.

This whole thing started through a chance meeting of bass player Tim Mahon, myself and stage production guru Peter Grumley last year. Would we, he wanted to know, be interested in resurrecting the Screaming Blamatic Roadshow for the True Colours concerts at the end of NZ Music Month? He was referring to the three-van roadtrain juggernaut which was the Screaming Mee Mees, Newmatics and Blams who pooled their meagre resources to rampage up and down the country in the early '80s.

Headscratching eventually turned to nods of affirmation when we realised we couldn't think of a decent reason why not. We (the Blams) were all living in Auckland after years of being scattered to the four winds, the music seemed to have aged gracefully enough to consider replacing the full stop of the van crash of '82 with a comma, a big musical party taking in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland (the latter 21 years to the day of the accident), and then a full stop. Hell, we might even make a few bucks and flog a few re-mastered CDs into the bargain.

In truth it all came together, if not exactly easily, at least in a pretty stress-free way. We hurled ourselves into the time tunnel and popped out in a practice room in Queen St with a fair bit of work on our hands.

Fortunately we'd all done some individual revision so that the songs were starting to gel quite nicely by the third full rehearsal. By the sixth we were done, out of time, and as ready as we were going to be.

To take a little pressure off Don McGlashan, our doughty drummer/vocalist who had barely touched a kit in those 21 years, we enlisted the services of boy-genius betchadupa drummer Matt Eccles for the last half dozen songs. This ploy allowed Don to get out from behind the kit and play some guitar and euphonium, which also introduced new melodic possibilities to songs like Call For Help, The Bystanders and Don't Fight It Marsha.

Although not even born when the Blams folded, Matt (son of True Colours co-promoter and ace drummer Brent Eccles), took to the sometimes challenging (for all of us) feels and arrangements like the total young pro he is.

The Tabac warm-up proved to be a triumph of atmosphere over nerves. The presence of both TV One and TV3 cameras plus a credible music scribe at soundcheck indicated that our story had legs.

Next stop Christchurch Town Hall, where a reflux of nerves and a difficult on-stage sound made for a less magic experience, although the Newmatics and Chills were clearly enjoying themselves. However by Wellington we were back on track and playing with a lot more composure to an appreciative crowd.

Hometown Auckland at the St James was always going to be The Biggie, and through a combination of adrenalin, good vibrations, complete sobriety and the knowledge that we were bootlegging ourselves, coupled with a shit-kicking Oceania PA and light/slide show from Blam lighting stalwart Jenny Pullar, we managed to pull off the tightest Blam Blam Blam gig of 2003 - and possibly ever - in my humble opinion. Phew and amen to that!

I think now we can happily, if slightly wistfully, put the old girl back in the garage knowing that she still handles like a dream, still has a few miles left on the clock, and with a bit of a tweak, a tune-up and some minor modifications still goes like a scalded cat.

It's just that nostalgia is a great place to visit but you wouldn't want to live there, because there's too much still to be done. As much as this reunion lark has been a blast, as great as it's been to catch up with old mates and re-live our 20s, the best thing I'm taking home from this tour is a healthy desire to make more music with a 'best before' date as open-ended as the Blams!