Get ready to rumble
Each Wednesday in March, Melbourne underground rock'n'roll heavyweights face-off in the ring for Tote'L'Rumble Rock'n'Roll Wrestling at The Tote. You can expect mighty rounds of heavy riffs as the bands duke it out to see who will become Rock'n'Roll Wrestling Champs of the Wood! I catch up with the event organiser and rock'n'roll wrestling mastermind Andre Fazio to find out more.
2 March 2016
Don Bosco vs High Finance
Tote’L’Rumble, The Tote
Zo Damage 365 Project
Day 7/366
ZD: This is fantastic. What gave you the idea?
Andre: Thanks. This idea is really just a whole lot of other ideas rolled into one. It’s Later … With Jools Holland meets Celebrity Deathmatch. I was a fan of wrestling growing up and have always felt that playing in a band is like playing on a basketball team ... combining sport and rock’n’roll was a natural progression.
A few years ago, I saw a band called the Swinging Nutsacks, who managed to squeeze two bands worth of people onto this tiny stage. I thought that the overcrowded set-up looked cool, and the image of two drummers in front of a wall of guitars created a bit of a visual spectacle.
Then I was at the Retreat many years later, taking in the honky-tonk decor and trying to think of a good excuse to play a show with Tankerville. The cow skull hanging above the stage reminded me of the "Rawhide" scene from The Blues Brothers. Suddenly, all of these memories collided, and I had a vision of my band (Mod Vigil]) and Tankerville surrounded by wrestling-ring rope, battling against each other on stage ... The idea just kind of snowballed from there. A special thank you to Tim Wold, Richard Stanley and Snoop Mitchell for making it happen.
2 March 2016
Don Bosco vs High Finance
Tote’L’Rumble, The Tote
Zo Damage 365 Project
Day 7/366
ZD: How does it work?
Andre: Basically, two bands set up facing one another on the floor of The Tote Bandroom and take turns playing songs. At the end of each set, the winner is decided by whoever gets the loudest applause. There are three shows over three weeks, and they're all free entry. Winners from the first two weeks get a free jug of beer on top of their rider and have to battle against each other in the third and final week to become the ultimate Tote'L'Rumble champion.
ZD: The line-ups are sick. How'd you go getting the bands on board?
Andre: I just pitched the idea to bands through Facebook. Everyone involved is either an old friend of mine or has become a new friend by agreeing to be a part of this ridiculous event. Originally, it was going to be every Wednesday in March, but it turned out to be a lot harder to organise than I thought ... But I agree, the line-ups are sick, and I'm really stoked to have all the bands on board.
ZD: What can we expect at the finals?
Andre: Blood, sweat, tears, broken strings, Don Bosco, Cosmic Kahuna, more of our fantastic host Gene "Mean" Ulmer and some surprise guests.
2 March 2016
Don Bosco vs High Finance
Tote’L’Rumble, The Tote
Zo Damage 365 Project
Day 7/366