Supergroups come in all shapes, sizes and genres. Bands like Black Country Communion, Chickenfoot & The Dead Daises have been more recent successes in the rock n’ roll world but Australia is about to get a brand new ‘supergroup’ in the form of The Fabulous Caprettos featuring Daryl Braithwaite, Jack Jones (Southern Sons, Irwin Thomas), Russell Morris & Rai Thistlethwayte (Thirsty Merc). The group will very much be performing as a band throughout the entire show as they blitz their way through their own songs, they have been better known for individually but will also be unleashing some newly written material too.
The Rockpit got wind of these imminent shows and managed to track down Jack Jones. Having finished his recent Chant Du Vin series of gigs in the Hunter Valley alongside Sarah McLeod & Mahalia Barnes, Jones is back out to more wineries but this time in New South Wales with Eskimo Joe’s Kav Temperley & McLeod completing the bill. Jack kindly gave us a little insight into what to expect, how the project came together and just how it feels to finally reach the big 5-0!
Jack: G’day mate [laughs] Bro, how are ya?
Sean: Very well thank you Jack. How are you doing?
Jack: I’m well thank you mate.
Sean: Well, I have to say I’m quite excited about this Fabulous Caprettos project which kicks off this week in Adelaide. I bumped into promoter John Starr a few months ago and he started to tell me a little bit about it and I could tell he was pretty excited too. He had told me you’re all on stage for the entire show playing the songs very much as a band. Have you managed to write any originals too?
Jack: Yes, Russell (Morris) and I have written a couple of new songs together which I have produced, and they feature us all singing on them and playing to them to, I guess. Rai (Thistlethwayte) plays some keys on them and I play all the guitars and bass and a little buddy of ours, Pete Drummond plays drums and all the guys have sung on them. I raised the vocals bits for them, and we all got together one day in Sydney and took some photos, and we had a little recording session so everyone could record their bits. So, there will be a couple of new songs that come out with the programme, so when people buy the programme, they’ll be able to get this thing… you may have heard of it. It’s called a CD [laughs]. So, we are really excited about that. I’m really stoked to be honest. You know, for me it’s a real privilege to be sharing the stage with these guys because I’ve grown up with most of their music for most of my life. Rai, who is the young fella of the group, he came into the fold and he’s just a musical mountain. The guy is phenomenal.
Sean: It’s a wonderful collection of artists. How did this come to fruition?
Jack: Yes, and it’s just a really wonderful experience. It came out of a few conversations that Russell & I were having, quite a few years ago now, when we were doing a little Beatles thing in Sydney and Russell just asked about how I felt doing this kind of thing. As soon as he said he was thinking of doing I said, “I’m in!” He mentioned Daryl and that he was thinking of asking Rai and I said to him I thought it was a great idea. Then Rai couldn’t do it because he was going on tour with Joe Satriani and a bunch of other things. But we have finally managed to get everyone together which is great. We get to play everyone’s songs, so we are kind of like a Travelling Wilburys type band in a way I suppose. We are all on stage playing each other’s songs playing with each other as a group so it’s not the kind of thing where we come on one at a time to play our own songs with a house band… we are the house band! [laughs]
Sean: It really is a supergroup by the very definition.
Jack: Ah thanks mate.
Sean: Something else that has happened since we last spoke is that you have joined the 50-Up Club on your recent birthday. How does it feel? [laughs]
Jack: [laughs] It feels like the new thirty bro. I’ve got to say man, thirty really hit me, not sort of hard but for me when I hit thirty, I had this big… maybe a lot of people feel this when they hit forty… they look at their lives and maybe think they weren’t sure where they would be and this is where they are or are they ok with being where they didn’t expect to be, you know? Then when I hit forty, I didn’t make much of a big deal out of it and maybe even less of a big deal of it when I hit fifty because for the most part people were still in a state of flux about whether they were going out, so I just went and caught up with a couple of mates and we had dinner and that was my birthday. But I must say, I feel great… almost in some ways I feel like I’m starting to get some things about life. [laughs] Maybe I’m a slow learner but I’m really enjoying this next phase. I made a few choices that I would lessen things like drama and a lot of stuff that was like noise and I think through doing that its really brought a newfound focus.
I feel that the COVID year, even though it was very tumultuous for a lot of people and we’ve had better years, but it did bring some sense of focus and Reggie (Pete Bowman) and I wrote a lot of songs so out of that terrible year have come a lot of good things and The Fabulous Caprettos is one of those good things that has actually transpired. And here we are, about to embark on our first show in Adelaide. I’m currently on this winery tour through regional New South Wales with Kav Temperley & Sarah McLeod this week and I’m just going to soundcheck, going on stage to do my set then going straight back to the hotel to work on the songs so it’s been pretty crazy. These winery shows finish Sunday then I get Monday off, then Tuesday & Wednesday we rehearse, Thursday we have off before heading to Radalaide for Friday’s show then on to you in Perth for Saturday & Sunday, Bro. So, I’m very, very excited. It’s going to be a lot of fun.
Sean: Of course, the last time we got to see & hear you here in WA was on the Farnham show out at Sandalford’s and sadly for you, you were struck down with a terrible throat infection and were advised not to perform but you did anyway and for me that made it even more special. When you came out to announce you were struggling but didn’t want to let anyone down, you could hear a pin drop in the crowd – they were hooked on every word and even helped you on the harder notes. Incredible performance.
Jack: It’s ironic because that’s the time when you want people to least hear you [laughs]. It was beautiful and yes, I did go against my ENT specialist’s advice on that one. You know what? We committed to do a tour and a whole bunch of shows and I just felt I had to… and no one made me feel I had to do it, but I just wanted to do it. I picked up some horrible virus and it was just before that whole COVID things started late 2019. Look, I loved the crowds doing those shows because I felt they really carried us… well, carried me along and I’ll never forget that. I just really wanted to be on top of my game for all of those shows for everybody. Western Australia has always been a great place for me. I’ve always got such fond memories and the people have always been so warm & welcoming and I don’t see this as being any different mate, I really don’t.
Sean: Well, I can’t wait to see this show.
Jack: I’m looking forward to seeing you there.
Sean: I’ll try pop back to say hello.
Jack: Make sure you do mate. It will be great to see you.
Sean: Jack, thanks ever so much for your time as always and we wish you all the best for the opening night and we’ll see you at the weekend. Safe travels mate.
Jack: Thanks for chatting about this Sean. Much appreciated mate. See you at the weekend.
TOUR DATES
FRIDAY, 21 MAY 2021
Bridgeway Hotel, Adelaide, SA
SATURDAY, 22 MAY 2021
Astor Theatre, Perth, WA
FRIDAY, 28 MAY 2021
Sydney Coliseum Theatre, NSW
SATURDAY, 29 MAY 2021
Anita’s Theatre, Wollongong, NSW
SUNDAY, 30 MAY 2021
Toronto Hotel, Toronto, NSW – SOLD OUT
FRIDAY, 4 JUNE 2021
Rumours International, Toowoomba Convention Centre, QLD
SATURDAY, 5 JUNE 2021
Twin Towns Clubs & Resorts, Tweed Heads, NSW
FRIDAY, 11 JUNE 2021
Revesby Workers, Sydney, NSW
SATURDAY, 12 JUNE 2021
Falvey’s Hotel Yamanto, Ipswich, QLD
SUNDAY, 13 JUNE 2021
NightQuarter, Sunshine Coast, QLD
SATURDAY, 19 JUNE 2021
Mansfield Tavern, Brisbane, QLD
THURSDAY, 24 JUNE 2021
West Gippsland Arts Centre, VIC
FRIDAY, 25 JUNE 2021
Geelong Arts Centre, VIC
SATURDAY, 26 JUNE 2021
Crown Melbourne, VIC
