On Silly Things I’ve Done With My Life Gusto is getting ready to embark on the trip of a lifetime. Well, one of many trips of a lifetime. We’re not going to forget that time we all got into a van and drove out to Geelong to play a festival to absolutely no-one. The comment on arrival was ‘apocalyptic’, and as we stood there on a baked dry sports oval amidst a ring of food trucks and carnival rides with absolutely zero punters, it felt a little on the nose. We won’t forget driving from Melbourne to the Blue Mountains, all seven band members in a Honda Odyssey with instruments tetrised in between legs and over head rests, to arrive at a ‘winter solstice festival’ where most of our set was taken up by the MC running an enthusiastic celtic ritual that involved saluting all four directions and wishing your hopes for the year to come. It was so cold that by the time we got on stage the clarinet wouldn’t work, but we played a raucous 15 minute set, wondering if the ten hour drive each direction was worth the effort. We won’t forget playing the main-stage at Woodford Folk Festival for the volunteers afterparty. I had fallen off my bike and undergone hand surgery just before the tour so I was playing the drums in a sling, doing my best to keep the band together with one arm, but the crowd brought the energy and we fed off it. Continue reading “On Silly Things I’ve Done With My Life”