Melbourne’s Cash Savage and the Last Drinks take over The Estonian House Brunswick for two days in August, with 10 bands on the line-up, each featuring a member of the Last Drinks – all in the name of raising money for local acts and charity, while doing their bit to champion the independent music scene.
Cash Savage and the Last Drinks are known for their rollicking bluesy demeanour; with Cash herself leaning on all that is brooding and guttural in the rock’n’roll halls she roams. For every honey-tinged emotion she releases, it’s met with a gravelled whisky tension that sobers us all.
The band, which formed in Melbourne in 2009, have released five studio albums – their latest So This Is Love is out now.
On Friday August 23rd and Saturday 24th, Cash Savage and the Last Drinks have invited Real Sunnies and Joshua Seymour to perform on day one of their mini-festival, while a family-friendly matinee gig happens on the Saturday – featuring Uncle Kutcha Edwards, Our Carlson, Georgia Knight, Kate Alexander, Howl and the Moon and a DJ set by members of the Rolling Blackouts.
Cash Savage talks to The Write Drop about her love of The Old Bar in Fitzroy, why Ruckers Hill Northcote gives all the feels, and a wine night she’s curated for friends – so they get to sample a fancy bottle together.
MY CITY
I like to point out to my daughter that the view of Melbourne from the top of Ruckers Hill on High Street, Northcote, is our city – that particular aspect is ours. There are many angles of Melbourne but for me, that’s the skyline that all other skylines are measured by. Melbourne is the only city in Australia that is truly a 24-hour city. There is always somewhere to go and a lot of the time, there are too many places to go. I think for the most part, Melbourne is accepting of its many subcultures, and they come together in a way that is more akin to some of the older cities in the world.
FAVOURITE FOOD MEMORY
Mussels in Binic, France back in 2015. It was the night before we played an incredible show at a massive festival, and we were about to really hit our stride in France. It was a turning point for the band, our shows in France really started to take off after that weekend. But one of the most memorable moments was the whole band sitting down to a massive pot of what the French call Moules.
We were in the garden section of a rammed cafe and everyone in the place had these massive pots of mussels. One of the Last Drinks had a very hilarious interaction with a waiter that involved him trying to find the word for mussels, but using the English word ‘clam’ – it was a real ‘Chowd-err!’ situation (see The Simpsons, season 5, episode 101).
We all received variations of the four different dishes they served. I had the dish with white wine and garlic – it was incredible. I’ve since learned that you can go to almost any cafe in Brittany, France at that time of year and get some really amazing Moules. I’ve also learned a lot about France, because since that weekend we have played a lot of shows there.
We all talk very fondly of that meal, and of our youthful naivety that we hope was endearing. It was a beautiful meal with beautiful friends and the beginning of something that is now a very big part of who we are as musicians.
FAVOURITE BAR
The Old Bar, in Fitzroy. There is the stuff on the surface: live music seven nights a week, and fair prices for drinks (they are currently running an offer for $5 pots if you pay cash). The thing I love the most about The Old Bar is that the owners are genuine champions – not just of music, but also of community. They have made decisions that have impacted them financially for the good of the community they have built. They are a very big part of why The Old Bar is safe space for many community subsets. My last drink there was a $5 pot (paid for in cash).
DRINK THAT DESCRIBES YOU
Calimocho, equal parts red wine and coke. Because it sounds way fancier than it is, and it’s great at parties.
BEST HANGOVER CURE
The best hangover cure is already being hungover. I have a well-tested theory that you can’t be hungover two days in a row. So, what I’m saying is, if you are hungover, go out again and go harder. You have a get out of jail free card. (Not actual jail. Don’t blame me if you go to actual jail.)
BEST INTERSTATE BAR
The Eltham Hotel, NSW is a classic country community pub that has had some of the best bands in the world grace its outdoor stage. We’ve played there twice now and each time, the show sold out and, more importantly, was really special.
I love that during the afternoon you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between The Eltham and any decent small-town pub, but on a weekend night the outside dining area turns into a venue. There is a lot of love for the pub around the area and people travel from Lismore and Byron for gigs. The crowd at the Eltham have been a highlight of the last two tours we’ve done.
FAVOURITE WINE
I’ve just started having mates over under the title of “Really Nice Wine Night” (RNWN). It was born from me realising that a round of drinks is $45, and I could have bought a very nice bottle of wine. For RNWN evenings, everyone has to bring a bottle of really nice wine. It’s like a dinner party with no dinner. I’m saying all of this because the wine I have fallen in love with, is WAY out of my regular price range of $5 cash beers. It’s terrible that I even know this but Coal Pit Tiwha Pinot Noir 2020 is now my favourite wine. Please keep in mind that I will drink Sangiovese at any price. One, because I love a soft red; and two, because I love to sing “Sangiovese!” to the tune of Don Giovanni.
TELL US ABOUT THE ESTONIAN HOUSE TAKE-OVER
Over the last couple of years, I have watched as international conglomerates slowly push their way into every part of the music business. These businesses have made themselves unavoidable and toxic. If you do a small dive on what Spotify has done for the record industry, you’ll get an indication of how bad it has become.
There are many companies that are just as bad that now have their fingers in bands’ live revenue, which for us is the last and only way we can make a living from music. So we decided to do something different and run the show from the ground up and have a bit more say in where our dollars go.
All of the income from the Estonian House gig will go to musicians, and ticket fees go to charity. It’s not going to change the world, and we know there is no way that we can avoid working with these companies in the future, but we just wanted to do something that felt organic and for the community of musicians around us.
There are many quotes from me floating around the internet about how hard it is to be a musician in the current climate. I guess this is us putting our money where our mouth is.
HOW HAS THE MUSIC INDUSTRY CHANGED SINCE YOU STARTED PLAYING MUSIC?
The gender diversity in the Melbourne scene has really come a long way. It’s been great to watch and be a part of. When I started playing shows in Melbourne 15 years ago, venues would regularly try and put us on an ‘all female line-up’. I used to tell them that if they list every other day as an ‘all male line-up’, then I would do it. If anyone tried to do that now it would seem Draconian and incredibly out of touch, and I think that is amazing progress.
IF YOU COULD HAVE ONE LAST DRINK [PARDON THE PUN] WHAT WOULD IT BE
I think it’s the character Dunbar in Catch 22 who likes to Skeet Shoot in his time off from the frontline because he hates it and thinks his hate for it makes time drag. In that vein, I would have anything with tequila in it because drinking it would be so painful that my last moments of time would feel like a lifetime, and when I finished it I would be ready to die.
