Sex On Toast

That is, of course, with the exception of him and his own band. In an age where four-chord punk songs are more Australian than celebrity builder Scott Cam, and Bon Scott’s flannelette-coloured dream is becoming a taxpayer-funded reality, Sex On Toast buck the trend with a unique brand of funk that commandeers the mind, heart and erogenous zones of the listener all at once.

As Leslie explains, the formation of Sex On Toast was a very lucky and happy coincidence. “I happened upon all of the band members at once,” he says. “They were sitting in front of a snake charmer. He was playing one of those oboe things that snake charmers play. He was sitting in the middle of Rundle Mall in Adelaide, and they were all in front of him. I was just there on holiday because it’s Australia’s number one holiday destination. So there I was, standing next to nine other guys who were in front of a snake charmer, kind of convulsing a little bit. Afterwards I introduced myself to them, and I introduced myself to the charmer who told me he was reprogramming their brains to become exceptional virtuosos at their respective instruments. Before that, they were all just amateurs; now they’re all stunning. That wasn’t even that long ago – that was in 2006.

“I didn’t want to get the snake charmer in trouble, so I brought people to the band in instalments, which is why the band has sort of grown steadily over time,” Leslie adds. “It seemed to me a little too suspicious to have everyone reach such a high level of virtuosity from the very beginning.”

Presently Sex On Toast are continuing their gradual domination of the globe, and the adventure brings them to Sydney this week to launch their latest single ‘Oh Loretta!’ According to Leslie, it’s something of a haphazard love story.

“It’s a love song from the perspective of a charlatan who is professing a singular love to two different women, because the first verse is about a girl called Loretta and the second verse is about a different girl called Becca. It’s kinda light, kinda breezy; it’s got some big horns in it, got some Yamaha CP-70 in it, it’s got a slamming backbeat and it’s got some claps in it as well.”

To go along with the single itself, the band has put together a film clip – one that’s equally stimulating, and features an appearance from a much-loved member of Australia’s showbiz royalty.

“It is what I like to describe as an intersection between Top Of The Pops, Countdown, Soul Train and a horrible David Cronenberg nightmare,” Leslie says. “It features an appearance from esteemed Australian icon Molly Meldrum as the host. We’re then brought into quite a surreal world, which shows us performing for fans. Let’s just say it gets a little sick and it goes a little wayward from there. It’s directed by a guy called Yoav Lester, and Yoav Lester walks with the stars.”

Love them or loathe them, Sex On Toast have injected some much-needed irreverence into a musical community that has an unfortunate predisposition toward cynicism.

“I think there’s music with humour in it, and I think there’s musical comedy, and the two are very different things,” says Leslie. “I’m a big fan of bands like Ween, Captain Beefheart, musicians like Charles Ives and even The Beatles. There are all sorts of musicians that use comedy. I’d prefer to use ‘comedic’ rather than ‘comedy’ because ‘musical comedy’ suggests Flight Of The Conchords or Tenacious D, and that’s not what we’re going for at all. We’re much more about creating music that we like and infusing it with a humorous element in order to engage an audience.”