Peter Bibby Goes Track By Track Through New Album 'Grand Champion' Out Now

PALM SPRINGS

This is a song of true lust, written in the West Australian desert whilst I fell foolishly in love with a girl. We would later drive each other close to insanity after we drove across the Nullarbor. 

LONG BABY

Long Baby is a song about my ex partner sleeping more than me. It is a high energy song about her lack of energy and the problems that arose from her extensive slumber: hunger, impatience, anxiety, these are but a few of the afflictions I suffered before knuckling down and penning this tune.

MEDICINE

I wrote this song whilst suffering an unstoppable lurgy, one which the doctors could not wrap their heads around. Their only solution was a healthier lifestyle! Unhappy about the lack of healing pills they gave me, I wrote this song in protest.

PISSBIRD FLOWERTRUCK

Once upon a time a time, deep in the Huon Valley in Tasmania, I wrote this song about my girlfriend who was different to me in so many ways but we still enjoyed the shit out of each other for a while. She was a lovely stoner and I was a dirty wino, the song explores this and several other contrasts between us, and also offers a little recap of our time together in Tasmania.

BIG CHOOK

Big Chook was written when I was in LA after playing at SXSW, feeling fairly disillusioned with the music industry. I drew comparisons to politicians and cults to paint the cooked picture I was aiming for. Strawberry Pete played nice drunken violin and I threw in some slide guitar for a bit of hillbilly swagger. I particularly like Johnny's bass playing in this track, true bass commander.

WORK FOR ARSEHOLES

I wrote Work For Arseholes to make myself feel better about being a thirsty, unemployed insomniac whilst sitting in my bedroom in Northcote, Victoria. It didn’t make me feel that much better, however I have, for the most part, avoided working for arseholes ever since and I see that as a great success.

WAKE UP HUNGRY

Wake Up Hungry is a fairly cranky song about all sorts of shit, appetite, underpay, overwork, sexual frustration, all that good stuff. I taught Dirty Dave Taylor (drums) the song in the studio and I believe it took 78 takes before he got it right.

FUCK ME

This is a fun little ditty about credit cards. Strawberry Pete nearly set his violin on fire through sheer ferocity. Cosima Pay of Jaala fame had come up with the backing vocal bit when we were sitting on our front porch back when we were housemates and Johnny kindly recorded her singing it over in Melbourne and sent it over for me to include in the finished product.

WANGARATTA GAZZA

Wangaratta Gazza was, for a long time, my opus, my proudest work. I had to do actual research to write this rambling tale about a fat fuck up turned bush ranger. It took me a long time to remember all the lyrics. When I first recorded this version, it had a cliche cowboy ending, the old spit at the cymbal type thing. It annoyed me; Gaz deserved a better burial, but how? With the help of some strange mushrooms someone gave me, I came up with the perfect plan: doom metal ending. Sam Ford doubted me when I came in with the idea to drop in at the end and put a new ending on, he said it couldn't be done, but I showed him. 

HIPPIES

Hippies. What a pack of losers. This song is about them. I am quite proud to say I recorded everything on this track myself, besides Shiny Joe Ryan's spectacular sitar playing which is definitely a highlight of the entire album. I had a great time playing barber shop quartet with myself and three other me's, but my favourite moment of the entire recording was quite possibly ripping that mean, flat-as-all-hell kazoo solo. Originally I wanted to get a brass section to do all that stuff properly, but I am very pleased I went with the DIY option and gave myself the opportunity to share my very special talents with the world.

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Listen to Grand Champion in full here. Bibby will embark on a headline tour of the country in support of the album next month; scroll down for a look at all of the dates and venues.