Better late than never, Melbourne’s the Casanovas will get back to doing what they do best – rock’n’rolling under lights, on a stage, in front of an audience – when they launch their much-acclaimed fourth album REPTILIAN OVERLOARD at Richmond’s Corner Hotel on March 6.
Released back in August, Reptilian Overlord was the Casanovas’ first album in five years and arguably the best-reviewed album of their 20 year career. Produced by iconic Oz Rock engineer/producer Mark Optiz (AC/DC, Angels, Chisel, Divinyls etc), and featuring singles including “Hollywood Riot” (which was appropriately picked up by legendary LA DJ Rodney Bingenheimer) and “Lost and Lonely Dreams”, the album was described by Melbourne’s own preeminent rock booster James Young (owner of the world famous Cherry Bar) as, “It’s like they’ve captured all my favourite rock acts – Cheap Trick, Stones, Kiss, ZZ Top & AC/DC, and crammed them all into their own jar of Vegemite.” Indeed it captured the band’s soulful rock’n’roll groove like never before and drew attention from around the world:
The Casanovas formed in 1999 and got caught up in the early 21st-century rock mania, sharing a bill with a barely-known White Stripes early on before touring Europe with the Datsuns. Then came SXSW, Triple J rotation, The Big Day Out, and shows/tours with Motörhead, Mötley Crüe, The Darkness, The Living End, The Black Crowes, Redd Kross and Airbourne and others. They always had deeper roots though; they were as much the Powder Monkeys as AC/DC, and very much a merging of two great local traditions – hard rocking punk and larrikin Oz rock – which meant they naturally stuck to their guns even once the dream faded. These days it’s like the early days at the Tote all over, and with new drummer Brett Wolfenden on board (Wolfie is a longtime sideman of You Am I’s Davey Lane in The Pictures, Thee Marshmallow Overcoat and with Jim Keays and Todd Rundgren), joining frontman/guitarist Tommy Boyce and longtime bass player Damo Campbell, they are finding an even greater joy in playing.
The Casavonas launch “Reptilian Overlord” at the Corner Hotel, March 6 2021. Special guests tbc. “Reptilian Overlord” is out now on Rubber Records, and is available to order on all formats here .
