Tripod - Weapon Of Choice
When Blur said modern life is rubbish they may have been onto something. Nowadays there are a million varieties of coffee and instruction manuals for technology that far outweigh the new gadget itself; which makes you wonder if we are suffering from information overload and being inundated with decisions that have to be made. But I digress, because before I turn this article into a Grumpy Old Woman manifesto I would like you to turn your collective attention to Tripod, a musical comedy trio who seem to embody the aforementioned sentiments of contemporary life by defying categorisation. Here is a group who began life as a musical covers act but discovered that they were better at making audiences laugh. They are renown as darlings of comedy festivals both nationally and overseas; yet they won an ARIA award in 2005 for their “proper studio album”, Middleborough Rd. They usually tread the boards at intimate comedy venues, yet they are not averse to appearing at the occasional music festival. Confused? So am I, so what better reason to sit down with Yon (Simon Hall) and get a few answers to our questions.
For the uninitiated, Tripod’s live shows have sent them affectionately dubbed the “Dukes Of Haphazard” due to the mayhem that often ensues. For example, at the group’s recent Christmas show in Sydney, Gatesy (Steven Gates) jumped off the stage and raced after an audience member who decided that after one song it would be an opportune time to visit the bar. Yon describes the Tripod live experience as follows, “It’s hard for me because I take it for granted. For a start I suspect it’s a bit wackier than I think of it, just because of some of the things photographers ask us to do in photo shoots. But we stand there in a row and sing funny songs. Two guitars, three voices. It used to be more mayhem because we were a bit of a mess musically and that often provided us with comedy moments. But we’ve been doing it for a while now, so we’re better at the music and therefore have to have actual jokes”.
Ask any comedian anywhere and they will invariably have a story involving the thing most of them find they love to hate, the audience heckler. On the one hand this extraverted individual can ease the tension in the room; on the other hand, they can continue interrupting the show and become an absolute nuisance. Yon adds, “There was a guy in Brissy once who kept yelling out in gibberish for the first third of the show until we managed to shut him down with something witty like, ‘Shut the f**k up.’ He came up after the show, as hecklers often do, wanting us to know that he was the guy. What he was actually doing was singing some Indian song he’d heard on the radio and thought we would know exactly what he meant. But he didn’t even know the song that well or anything- he was literally yelling out gibberish. He was rather crestfallen when we didn’t laugh our arses off in recognition about it”.
Tripod’s songs are renowned for their idiosyncratic subject matter. One of their older songs is about working for the man who makes the plastic television sets that IKEA use for their furniture displays. This begs the question, is there any subject matter that is too odd to turn into a song? “We had one about not wanting to do compulsory national service in a foreign country because you wouldn’t speak the language and know all the customs and that. The audience looked at us blankly when we did that one”.
On a lighter note, many musicians have a favourite song they have penned and Yon is no exception. “Mine is one called ‘Not All of Queen were gay, okay?’ We’ve just written it. (We) haven’t played it live yet, so we’re not sick of it. And it hasn’t had a crowd to burst its bubble”.
The song writing process can often be an interesting one and in this group it appears to consist of the extracurricular pursuit, playing computer games. Yon reveals, “We do try and play Xbox to loosen up our minds a bit. But I’m pretty sure we would all admit it deadens our minds. Or maybe it’s just me, cos I get my arse kicked and then am not in the mood to do anything. Some of my ideas come from my wife. Sometimes I credit her. Sometimes I don’t”.
Yon and the others have had ample time to perfect the song writing process as the group have been together for over a decade. Looking back, Yon describes their time together as, “Nobbing about to (sometimes) beautiful music.” And often to appreciate the present, one needs to look back at the past. When asked about his earliest memory involving Tripod, Yon remembers, “Rehearsing in Scod’s (Scott Edgar) shed late at night and getting to a loud bit when Scod’s dad banged on the door and scared the sh*t out of us”.
In a previous interview Gatesy recalled miming to the Chipmunks’ ‘Call Me Let’s Go’ using a rope attached to a stick as his first memory involving music. Yon offers, “There’s a song by ELO called ‘Tightrope.’ My cousins and I used to turn out the lights and pretend to be Draculas”.
Tripod will shortly be performing at the Falls Festival in Tasmania and Victoria to welcome the new year. Yon says the group do not consciously choose to perform their upbeat songs at such shows, but rather can tailor their act so that it involves less laugh-out-loud material if they want. I wonder if the process of preparing yourself for a ‘comedy show’ differs to preparing to perform for a strictly ‘music’ audience. Yon answers, “Not really, although music audiences tend to bring more energy to a gig. Like they naturally cheer when you come out without you having to ask them to. Whereas comedy crowds are like: Okay. Now make us laugh”.
Ahead of their festival slots, Tripod will also be performing a series of Christmas shows in various cities around Australia. In previous years these shows have featured special guests like Corrine Grant, Peter Helliar, Wil Anderson and Alan Brough. On the current run, Yon reveals that The Bedroom Philosopher will be appearing at the Perth, Melbourne and Adelaide shows in addition to some extra surprise guests at the final date in Melbourne. However, when the choice of any special guest in the world is presented, Yon does not immediately choose someone from the traditional comedy realm as his pick. “David Bowie, I suppose. I just always think of the thing he did with Bing Crosby singing ‘The Little Drummer Boy.’ It sums up the kind of Christmas vibe we want to create”.
The ‘Christmas vibe’ may also include one of peace because the advertisements for the shows feature Tripod staging a faux bed-in and the title pays homage to John Lennon’s infamous quote about Jesus with the more politically correct and sedate, ‘Smaller Than Jesus.’ As I contemplate this, I wonder if Tripod ever were to stage an actual bed-in, what cause would they represent?
“Gatesy and I have this idea for a charity called don’tmakemechoose.com. What we do is cater for people who don’t consider any charity to be more worthy than any other. So for a small fee we distribute their donation across every charity in the world so they never have to choose”.
In the meantime, Tripod have busy schedules to contend with, what with Christmas shows and festival appearances to boot. When asked about further plans for the future, Yon replies with tongue firmly placed in cheek, “(We have plans for) an animated series. We’re all these puffin-like creatures who fly through space, solve problems and of course, sing funny songs”.
Dear readers expect Yon to appear as a cartoon character sometime soon, or alternatively you can see him appear alongside the other entertainers at the Falls Festival. Or better yet, if you see Yon and Gatesy appear on your doorstep for their own Christmas Appeal you can be rest assured that your money is going to a good number of causes and know that they have at least attempted to simply one thing in modern life, organised charity giving.
Tripod play the Falls Festival Marion Bay and Lorne December 30th - January 1st
