Grinspoon are one of Australia's most diverse bands, after many hard years together they have now reached the status of Aussie rock icons. The demand for Grinspoon has reached mammoth proportions since the release of their first album in three years, New Detention.

I had a chat recently with Kristian from Grinspoon about their new album and their recent mainstream success. He feels that the diversity of sounds and styles found on New Detention can be attributed to the fact that everyone in the band has written on this album. There is a new discipline and maturity among the band members that is apparent from the first track on the album right through to the last. Grinspoon's evolution from alternative band to mainstream legends is now complete. Their music seems to be thriving from the widespread recognition.

Kristian talked about the success of Chemical Heart and the trepidation of the band about releasing it as the first single off the album. The band felt that the success of New Detention was reliant on the success of Chemical Heart. It is such a different sound for Grinspoon that it "could've blown up in their face" (says Kristian) and taken the album with it as has happened to many other artists. They need not have worried Chemical Heart and the new single Lost Control have been Grinspoon's biggest successes to date.

I broached the subject of the "mainstream teens" who have taken such an interest in Grinspoon this time around. I asked him whether the band consciously courted the attention of the mainstream audience. Kristian said that Grinspoon had not gone after that market but the decision to release Chemical Heart with its softer edge, was a step in the right direction to capturing the attention of that audience.

Kristian talked about how the fans that have stuck by Grinspoon would take to this new album and its different mixture of sounds. I asked whether he felt that Grinspoon fans expected a particular sound. If the older fans of Grinspoon are confronted by the different sound on this new album Kristian doesn't seem bothered, he feels that Grinspoon's loyal fans will not be disappointed with this new album. Grinspoon hope that the new mix of maturity and style on this album will impress them.

To coincide with the album Grinspoon are off on tour. To their credit Grinspoon are one band that doesn't mind doing the little gigs. Their last tour took in towns as remote as Port Hedland in far north Western Australia as well as the big cities. I asked Kristian about touring and which gigs they preferred and the answer was clear the big gigs are great but the audiences in the smaller ones rock harder and seem to appreciate the gigs more. They are booked up for the next couple of years! This tour starts with a seven week Aussie tour that kicks off in Perth followed by dates in New Zealand, Europe, England, America and Japan, so our boys are set for even more success by the looks of things.

Nicole Scanes