Cosmic Psychos’ Top 7 Places To Get A Beer
Australia’s most unlikely rock’n’roll heroes, Cosmic Psychos, are currently in the middle of the revival of their lives. Stalwarts of Australia’s ’80s pub rock scene, the band has been thrown back into the spotlight due to the documentary Blokes You Can Trust, a new album and a national tour announce.
Having frequented hundreds of pubs, both as band blokes and barstool warmers during their decades-long career, the Psychos definitely know a thing or two about what makes a spot a worthy location to sink a beer. Vocalist and guitarist ROSS KNIGHT has shared his seven favourite spots to do exactly that.
#1 DB’s Utrecht, Holland
It’s got beer. It’s got bands. And it’s basically been our European home base for over 20 years. It’s a part of our band’s history. You can’t compare it to anywhere else in the world. There’s even 20 rehearsal rooms and a recording studio in there if you can get past the front bar (we never have – let us know if it’s any good).
#2 The Tote, Melbourne
This iconic Melbourne rock pub is an unreal venue. It has a grouse front bar, and it hasn’t really changed in 30 years. It still looks and smells the same as it always has. My first band Spring Plains (which turned into Cosmic Psychos) did a residency there in 1982/1983 when Slim from The Johnnies’ Parents owned it. Many tins have been sunk there.
#3 Ding Dong Lounge, NYC
The original Ding Dong is a great haunt when I’m in New York. The city is full of fancy bars but no one has Ding Dong beat. Good bands, good company, good beer and it’s open to 4am every night.
#4 The Bridge, Castlemaine
Grouse little Australian venue. They have really good tucker, very cold beer, and the friendliest locals you could ever meet. Also it doesn’t hurt that its not too far away from home when I have a designated driver. I tried to walk home once, it didn’t go that well.
#5 The William Creek Hotel, South Australia
This beaut is right on the shores of Lake Eyre. The good thing about it is that it’s in the middle of nowhere, and if you wanna nick in to grab a pie from the bakery at Coober Pedy, it’s just a quick six-hour round trip.
#6 The Barwon Club, Geelong
For similar reasons to The Tote, the Barwon Club has just come to feel like home to the Psychos. It really is a bit of an underrated institution. I think our first show was doing a New Year’s Eve show there around 1987. Short of a few minor things, it’s still essentially the same. It’s bloody nice.
#7 My shed
I like drinking surrounded by my stuff. Because there is no windows in it, I can be anywhere in the world (because there’s no view). Might sound off to some but it’s comforting to me. And as it has ‘special’ insulation, the enemy can’t zero in with their satellites and see what I’m doing. My stuff includes a load of gym equipment, motorbikes, spider webs, old beer posters and nerf guns, as well as a draw of ‘secret stuff’ that I’m not telling you blokes about.
Cosmic Psychos are touring Australia’s East Coast, including a bunch of regional stops, from August 28 to September 8. Check out full dates and ticketing details here.
