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 TREVOR WINTERS gets into gear with SHIFTER guitarist and vocalist JOAL PASCOE to find out about the Brisbane quartet’s upcoming reunion special.
Onetime Triple J Unearthed winners Shifter spent the most of the last decade powering their way through Big Day Out slots, American tours and endless gigs, picking up a truckload of fans along the way… The band then promptly dropped off the map. So what happened? And with the announcement of a reunion show, what brings them back? Read on…
TREVOR WINTERS: It’s pretty much been a whole year since we’ve heard from the Shifter camp; what was the reason behind the hiatus?
JOAL PASCOE: Our bass player Per is from Sweden, and unfortunately he had to go home after his visa ran out. It was really sad as he had added another dimension to the band. I guess we didn’t want to go through the ordeal of finding a replacement. There have been a lot of line-up changes in the group, and finding the right person for the job is extremely difficult. Even Per we had to import from overseas!
TW: What have the individual band members been up to?
JP: Peter and his wife had twin girls, which is keeping him very busy. Micky has bought a nice little block of land a few hours out of Brisbane, and Reddy and I have been drinking too much...
TW: You guys have a one-off reunion show coming up at Club 299; what’s the special occasion?
JP: Our agent called us and asked if we would play the show, and it sounded like a lot of fun. We love playing those songs, and playing music together in general. It’s great that Club 299 is starting to transform into a real live music venue – especially when venues are constantly shutting down in Brisbane. I’ve been to Club 299 recently and the room looks great. We’re looking forward to it.
TW: Are there any plans to reform Shifter on a more long-term basis in the future?
JP: There’s a lot of sentiment in the group, and I think we all get the itch to play occasionally. There are no plans for the immediate future, but you never know...
JP: As former Triple J Unearthed winners yourselves, do you keep an eye on what’s happening with that initiative these days?
Absolutely. We invited Numbers Radio to play some shows with us just before they won Unearthed, and it was very exciting for us to see a great Brisbane band getting the recognition they deserve. Unearthed has been great stepping stone for a lot of bands in Australia, and I can only hope the tradition continues.
SHIFTER play Blink (Club 299) on Friday Oct 2, supported by Chickflick and The Disconnection.
  
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