Live rock & roll in Brisbane is about to receive another sad blow, with the imminent closure of The Waterloo Hotel, one of Brisbane’s liveliest and refreshingly “un-sceney” venues. MATT THROWER sits down with Shifter guitarist JOAL PASCOE, whose band is one of many acts determined to see off the Waterloo with one heck of a party.

Shifter are one of many diverse live musical acts who have graced The Waterloo’s stage over the years. The venue was also among the earliest to support then-up-and-comers Butterfly Effect and Cog. They’ve also played host to Diana Anaid, Fu Manchu, Testeagles, the popular annual Brisbane Blues Festival … Joal Pascoe and I agree we’re losing a vibrant little venue.

“It’s a double blow for me, because I live nearby and The Waterloo is not just a great live music venue, but it’s my local,” he sighs, “It’s always had such a diverse range of bands play there and you never feel you’re intruding on anyone’s scene, everyone has always been welcome there.”

To acknowledge The Waterloo’s contribution to live music, Shifter is joining the likes of Asa Broomhall, Diana Anaid, Mercy Dolls, The Tenants (who are reforming especially for the show) and a whole bunch more for an epic, multi-genre event of live music. The perfect ‘hurrah’ then. And what can we expect from Shifter?

“Well, of course we’ll pull out a few old numbers,” says Joal. “But we’ve also got songs from our new album to perform.”

That album is Heartache Time, a record the group are putting the finishing touches to, with the help of legendary producer/engineer Rob Feaster (whose incredible resume includes everyone from Joni Mitchell and Blink 182 to Morphine and Whitney Houston). A specific release date isn’t yet established, but Joal assures me the final result will showcase a more dynamic and ambitious Shifter than we’ve heard before.

“We’re having a choir perform on one of the songs … I think it’s a very mature record in terms of the songwriting,” he enthuses. “I honestly never expected we’d make this record. It’s light years from what I thought we’d achieve. I’ve genuinely been thinking “Wow, did we really do this?”. It’s got a lot of really different elements – real rocking songs and lovely, quieter moments.”

The description has me thinking about how Shifter have evolved over the years. From jangly Byrds/Beach Boys-inspired pop, the group went on to unleash their inner Stones into the mix as well.

“Yeah, when I first joined the group, I was instructed to listen to Pet Sounds and to drink beer,” Joal reminisces with a smile. “We’ve certainly moved into a rockier direction, which makes perfect sense for us. Michael, for instance, is a brilliant singer. He can sing sweet Brian Wilson type melodies, but when he needs to, he can totally rip The Sonics as well.”

And can we expect a tour to promote the album?

“Yeah, but we’re going to be a bit smarter about touring this time over,” he explains. “We really feel that we need to get out there and play live, but to keep it fresh we want to do it a bit more sporadically and make it really count when we actually get out there and perform.”

SHIFTER will appear at the Waterloo Hotel’s Final Stage event on Saturday, July 5.

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