Top 5 Musical Firsts with Perth’s Laurie Luke

  1. First time I was arrested – I had just turned 18 and my band Licking Pink (our drummer had an unhealthy obsession with the artist Pink) had just finished playing our first show. We trashed our gear at the end of the set and we were feeling very punk rock. After the show we decided to go to a local sushi restaurant where one thing led to another and I was arrested. When the police were escorting me to the paddy wagon I pleaded with them to let me drive myself to the police station to be processed. I had all of our gear (guitars, amps etc) in my car and I didn’t want to leave it behind (the gear was worth more than my car!). Somehow they agreed, so myself and the bass player followed the cops, in my car, to the police station so I could be fingerprinted. Very punk rock.

  2. First Concert – Silverchair had just released Freakshow and it was the middle of summer and I had been blasting it day and night since its release. To say I was excited would be an understatement. My best mate and I were looking as cool as we possibly could while being accompanied by our parents. The smell of weed floating through the air and the sheer volume of a real rock concert had me hooked. Everything was new and familiar all at the same time. I also discovered Frenzal Rhomb and Magic Dirt that night, my life changed forever.

3. First time I heard Throwing Copper by Live in a stolen car – A friend called and said he’d pick me up in 10 minutes so I’d better be ready. Ready for what? I was 14 and walked down to the end of my street and a white commodore came flying around the corner. The car pulled up, I saw my mate and some other people I didn’t know and jumped in. The music was LOUD, this was a joyride, I had no control, and all I remember was screaming, “What band is this!?” That was my intro to Live. All Over You was on repeat for most of that afternoon. What a snare sound!

4. First local show – I had a friend who was obsessed with a local band called Karnivool. He said they were playing a show at the Grosvenor Backroom. I had never heard of them and had no real experience with a local music ‘scene’. It was another world walking into the venue, Karnivool were playing with Heavy Weight Champ and a band from the east coast called Frankenbok. I remember being impressed that Drew (Karnivool) was playing a Paul Reed Smith guitar, I had never seen one in real life before, only in magazines. I was also impressed that there were people that lived where I lived, who could play and perform that well. It was early days back then, but still impressive. It was definitely a moment where I remember thinking I can do this too.

5. First time hearing Jimi Hendrix – I was 10 years old and was trying to stay up late on a school night. My folks were watching a music documentary on the history of rock n’ roll. I promised I would go to bed as soon as it finished. They agreed….and then Jimi Hendrix explodes onto the screen. I have never seen anything like this, I don’t even know what is happening. You can play guitar with your teeth? Behind your head? And then set it on fire! What just happened? Why does he make those faces and move like that when he plays guitar? He was long gone, but to me he had just opened up my world. The next day I grabbed my mums copy of Jimi Hendrix’s greatest hits and she never got it back.

‘Way Back When’ EP out now feat. ‘Seventeen’ + ‘Rainbow Bomb’
iTunes – Apple Music – Spotify – Google Music

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