HUN GRY

Rip It Up, Issue 71, 1 June 1983, Page 6

HUN GR Y

Russell Brown

ylnyl^f

Quite a party, we have found ... Beautiful people drinking, talking, laughing, falling over. Music, video, blacklights, gaily dresed waitresses flitting about with bowls of jellybeans. It's swinging and Mental As Anything are in the kitchen.

"Can we eat these?" says Reg Mombassa, pointing to several plates of plastic-wrapped sandwiches and rolls. Guess so. So what's the best thing about being back "home"? (Reg was born here more years ago than he probably cares to recall.) "I like the bacon and egg pies. In Australia you can get quiches, but not the real thing. Here, they're everywhere." Yes, the Mentals did get a reputation for liking some of the local tucker the last time they were here. Especially Greedy Smith ... "Look!" says Greedy. "The only reason I'm called Greedy is because I ate too much once, five years ago and Reg called me Greedy! I'm not really! Mr real name's Andrew." Stick with Greedy. But what was this story we heard about the band's appetites getting them into trouble on their North American

Tour with Men At Work last year? "That's been blown out of all proportion. We just ate the crew's food. You see, in the States they've got this union rule that the road crew gets an hour break and dinner. We came in and saw the food and thought it was for us." And were almost lynched by angry roadies. So how was the tour? "We enjoyed it. It was good being two Australian bands together. Of course the crowds were ready and waiting to lap up Men At Work but we had a few more cheap tricks than them, so we got along. We try and make friends with the audience." "Australia's the latest thing there," comments Reg. "It's trendy to like koala bears and that sort of thing. The next thing you know you'll be able to get a meat pie. You can't get a meat pie in America. The thing we didn't like about the place was the fast food, it turns to concrete in your stomach." "If you tour a lot. one of your main preoccupations is finding a good meal," Greedy says. "You can become preoccupied with food." The Mentals are to do thfe USACanada bit again soon again supporting Men At Work. It can't be a happy lot for the support band on these cross-continent treks? "Yeah, but I enjoy seeing the places and people," says Greedy. "The people are different but the same. If we get preoccupied with the music it'd be silly we get preoccupied with the audience. "Half the time we're pissed anyway no, no we're not really. We've had to cut back a little bit on our drinking. You just end up drinking all the time ..." There follows discussions on the best late night burger bars in town ('That sort of local knowledge is very important"), shorthand, cricket, rugby and ... food. Martin Plaza wanders by and gives the inside dope on international fast food chains. He worked in most of them in his student days. The kitchen crowd has grown, but eventually it's time to go back and mingle. It's sort of expected of them. And anyway, the sandwiches are finished.