Although Melbourne band Blueline Medic have been around since the late ’90s, they’ve been on hiatus since early 2009 – bobbing up only for the very occasional show since then. They’re about to resurface again, joining Bodyjar on their 20th anniversary tour. Jovial founding member Donnie Dureau is thrilled to be dusting off his guitar and getting back out on the road, especially alongside such a legendary Aussie band.
“We haven’t played a show in quite a while,” he laughs. “To be able to go out with the ’Jar boys and Samiam for a bit of a get-together, reunion of old times, is just great. I can’t wait!”
Despite the schedule ahead, Dureau is unsure as to whether this means Blueline Medic are back together officially. In fact, strong doubts remain about whether the band will ever return in a full-time capacity, even if the desire is there.
“It’s hard to say,” he admits. “I think everybody in the band would like to keep kicking away at things, and keep working on bits of music. In fact, in the last couple of rehearsals we’ve had, we’ve gone over some so-called ‘new’ songs, songs that didn’t appear on the last record, that were going to be for the next project. But our lives just went off into different directions. Once a member leaves Melbourne to pursue other things, that puts things on an indefinite hold.
“Now, while I’ve been in Melbourne and we’ve been rehearsing, it’s felt like, ‘Oh yeah, there might be something blowing in the wind, we’d like to play again.’ Except, now the big tour’s come up, I’m moving to Warrnambool [in country Victoria] again. So I don’t know whether that’s going to affect us logistically again. Everyone’s got pretty demanding lifestyles. I think everybody would like to do it, it’s just a question of being able to fit it in.”
In the shorter term, fans can be happy about the fact that Blueline Medic will be playing some of their new material on the Bodyjar tour, alongside a majority of their more well-known and loved tunes.
“It’ll be mainly old stuff, but I think we’re going to throw in two so-called ‘new’ songs,” says Dureau, “songs that haven’t been released. And depending on how the last rehearsal goes, we might throw another one in as well.”
Overall, people turning up to the Bodyjar 20th anniversary shows can expect to see another high-energy rock act which likes to play just a little bit on the edge of chaos.
“I find that our energy can sometimes get the better of us,” Dureau says. “When we’re playing live, if we get excited, sometimes our technique can kinda go out the window, and we resort to old habits. We’re used to playing really emotive and fast. A lot of us come from fast and heavy bands.
“Adrian [Lombardi, guitar] used to play in Mid Youth Crisis, and I used to play in Caustic Soda, and you tend to develop a lot of habits when you’re younger. You throw yourself headlong into the song and that can sometimes mean that the song can be twice as fast as what it ought to be [laughs].
“I think if we’re feeling it, people can expect something energetic, tempered with more subtle and sensitive moments, indicative of our age and temperament,” Dureau chuckles.
Blueline Medic are supporting Bodyjar at Manning Bar on Friday August 8, tickets online.
