Dispatches: Propagandhi: Episode 2

With under a month to go until Propagandhi release their new album, Supporting Caste, the band is joining us for a series of Dispatches as they tour Australia and New Zeland.

You can click Read More for bassist Todd Kowalski's first Dispatch, and the second of the series .

Wow! Australia has been good to the old Propagandhis!
Our whole trip has been a non stop good time. To leave Winnipeg where it's -30 C all winter and come to Australia is a real treat.The last time we ever went anywhere in winter was the last time we were here 12 years ago! This time has been even better than last time. Everyone been has very nice and a lot of people have come out to multiple shows. This tour has felt more like a holiday than anything else even though we're doing 2 hour soundchecks. We have done a lot of exciting things. The fact that we practiced like crazy before we left Winnipeg and don't have to spend every waking minute worrying about sucking the bag helps a lot too. haha.

Sydney was a real highlight for me. At the show I told the crowd at the show that Sydney sucks the bag but, between you and me, that place is wicked! We saw giant wild bats hanging from the trees like bags, I was bitten by a cockatoo a bunch of times, and we went to an unbelievably good Thai restaurant and we walked all over the place. Now that's a good time! The Sydney crowd was great for us as well.

Today in Wollongong we tried our hand at surfing. We were lucky enough to have a woman named Souli helping us with the tour and her brother is a surf instructor. Believe it or not our decrepit bodies all managed to stand on the boards and ride the waves. Beave took home the prize for being the surf champion. I had some goggles on and scared the living shit out of myself when I thought I saw a stingray coming my way. I had to be a little bit careful on the surf board due to the fact that I popped three tendons in my knee a few months ago. Somehow I survived to play another show!

On our way out of Wollongong we ended up at a huge, huge Buhdist Temple where they sold Vegan food. I would never think there'd be a temple like that in Australia. When I say it's huge I mean HUGE. So I said my prayers got wild and agitated punched a few people and ate the delicious goodies!

Another cool thing about this tour is that we've hooked back up with our good old buddy Robbie O'Brien who's driving the van, selling shirts, and telling us hilarious stories. Last time we came to Australia Robbie took one for the team in our huge brawl agains a bunch of out of control security guards. He had to go get stitches. So far, except for a few dregs fighting, the violence at the shows hasn't been too outrageous, Last time it was a little out of hand.

And so, that brings our little story to Canberra. We are preparing to give 'er 100%. Me and Chris have even invested in ginseng to give ourselves that mental advantage. haha.. See ya everybody. Thanks for reading this. Have a good day. Say Hi to your Mom, dad, cat, sister,granddaddy or whatever..

…From the land down under!!!!!!