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Junior and Greg Arnold.
 "Basically,"
states Things Of Stone And Wood frontman Greg Arnold, "because
there's so many parents within the act, this is the sort of
live show we'd all like to go to, you know? It's an afternoon
thing with plenty of kids running around, so it'll be great.
Junior do a set, I do a set then we do an all out folk-rocking
rock-out together."
Thus he describes in a nutshell the upcoming family affair that's quickly become an annual institution: a child-friendly folk rock-cum-BBQ jamboree, if you will. "Well, folk rock's such a sad term really," concedes father of two Arnold, speaking from Perth during his current acoustic tour, "as it really is the responsible end of the rock genre. It's a daggy genre, so what can I say? It's hard to imagine that I've become daggier than I already was. Like, I go out on tour now and look at that as an opportunity to get as much sleep as I can: I get woken up so early at home by my boys and in a beautiful way it's kind of like being mugged; one will work the ribs while the other attacks the face. So I go out on the road nowadays to catch up on my sleep. I mean, that's not the true spirit of rock. That's not throwing TVs into swimming pools, is it?" he sighs. "I know, I'm a disgrace to my industry."
But the real motivation behind Arnold's latest lap of the land is to road test his next solo studio album, 'Lost Marie', due mid-2006 and to flog a few copies of his "available at shows only, nine song cottage industry sort of CD," - the Paul Greene-produced 'The Cool Light Of Day', which contains acoustic takes of old favourites and brand new tunes, as well as a cover of Frankie Goes To Hollywood's The Power Of Love. "There's a much more of a 'singing' approach on the acoustic CD," enthuses Arnold. "Paul's approach was simply to say, 'you're a singer/songwriter, so sing me a song'. That's it, and not to worry about all the other stuff."
 "It's
not mandatory to have kids to come along," Junior vocalist Justin
Slater insists when I ask him about the show, "but it is a good
opportunity to not be out late at night and The Gov's such a
good space during the day because they can open up that back
room and it's a big free for all, so it's a bit of fun coming
up to Christmas. And the gig's not going to be like a creche,"
he assures me, "just a smoke-free environment to bring the kids
along on a sunny Sunday, that's the plan. We're just trying
to bring back some of that old community feeling and there's
something about getting a whole bunch of people together to
have a quiet drink, listen to some music and still be back home
early enough for tea. That's what we did last year and we'll
also chuck a whole heap of snags on the barbie, and everyone's
welcome."
Other than Junior's mighty fine acoustic based musical output, the band's collective 'Kidsography' stands at five: three girls and two boys, an undeniable factor that lead towards their initial instigation of the event. "Our kids have all grown up around music and a lot of our other musician friends are in the same boat," notes Slater, "and The Gov's a safe venue so you know that they're not going get out and run onto Port Road, so it's great opportunity for the mums and dads to take a load off and know that their kids are happily running around with other music loving kids. It's a chance to turn off the Disney DVDs, and that's where a lot of our motivation comes from. To get the kids along and get them involved in art and music and at the same time enjoy your time listening to some music rather than just sitting around worrying about your superannuation and how you remember the good old days. I mean, so many people talk about music like it's something they were into when they were young, and that's what I love about these family days. We had a few hundred people in there last time we couldn't believe its success, and now Greg's jumped on board we're stoked."
Steve Jones
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Greg Arnold and Junior play at the Governor Hindmarsh on Sun 11 Dec: it's free entry for kids and doors open at 1pm.
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