Q and A: Phil Rose (Nursery Crimes)

This band quickly became a staple of my gig diet.

The band? Nursery Crimes.

Recently touring with The Descendents and whipping up some new tasty treats, I spoke to vocalist Phil Rose about some stuff…

Hot Metal: Hey Phil, How did the gigs go with Descendents ? Any other shows planned ?

Phil Rose: “Hey Adam, we’ve got a show coming up at The Barwon Club in Geelong on Cup Eve with The Hard Ons and Dead so really looking forward to that. It’s part of the Hard Ons’ 40th anniversary and will be our first gig since our short Melbourne and Sydney run with The Descendents last October. We have a new drummer Dave Ross (ex-Mass Appeal/Caligula/Civil Dissident) on board and also have a headline show we will announce in the near future. The Descendents tour was enjoyable; influential & inspirational band that we’ve been lucky enough to share the stage with on a few occasions: in 2017 and in 1990/91 when ALL toured Australia.

HM: Nice to see you up and about. Any plans for new material ?

PR: “Yes, we had planned to record a new single – our first new material in over 30 years –  in early 2024. But unfortunately, we had to contend with line-up and life issues so it never eventuated. The plan is to do this in early 2025. I’ve been accumulating a lot of material and I know that David has too. I’ve also got a solo single that I’m working on and hope to have finished in the coming months.”

HM: I gotta say, Crimes fans would love a few more recordings. How have you seen the recording industry change over time?

PR: “I suppose in the early NC days, you’d go into a studio like Sing Sing in Richmond or Hothouse in St Kilda and try to rush through things as quickly as possible due to financial constraints etc. A lot of folks have home studio set-ups now, so the process is streamlined, especially for indie artists. For example, I co-wrote a bunch of songs for a project I’m a member of called TQX in 2018. A lot of the instrumentation and vocals we recorded ourselves and then used whatever budget we had on mastering and getting people to mix a few of the songs overseas.”

HM: Some fave memories from back in the day?

PR: “Playing at The Lansdowne Hotel in Sydney with bands like Mass Appeal & Front-End Loader, those Corner Hotel All-Ages shows in the early nineties were amazing … along with The Meanies, Bored! and Spiderbait. Recording or debut single ‘All Torn Up Inside’ and hearing it on the radio.”

HM: How was the  FMN tour?

PR: “I remember the gig at The Old Greek Theatre in Bridge Road Richmond.  The Real Thing had just come out and they were starting to get huge. They were really affable guys, devoid of any rock star pretensions; I remember Billy Gould giving me his address in Redondo Beach California and inviting us to crash there if we ever made it over.

HM: How did Nursery Crimes come to be originally and how have you seen that progression?

PR: “I was in a band called Slush Puppies in 1988 and we split in early 1989. Drummer Todd and guitarist Mick went on to form Hoss with Joel from GOD. I’d known David Dixon from our teenage band Alligator Parade and we were keen to start another band ASAP. So we recruited bassist Paddy Chong and lead guitarist Caine Knight. The last person to join the original line-up was Russell Hopkinson, who I’d know from the eighties hardcore scene when he was in Vicious Circle.  We’ve had our fair share of line-up changes & huge breaks over the years, which I think keeps the whole thing fresh. You don’t want to drown in a sea of nostalgia.”

HM: Ok, serious part of this chat … which album or artists catalogue would you take to a deserted island ?

PR: “Right now? Probably The Fall or The Gun Club, The Swans.”

HM: Do you follow sport? Being a Melbournian, you must have an AFL team ?

PR: “More into soccer (Melbourne City) but one of my sons follows Hawthorn and the other GWS, so my allegiance is shared between those two!”

HM: Hope all is well man, see you at a venue soon I’m 100 per cent sure.

PR: “Eat drink and be merry. Thanks Adam, hope to see you soon!”