What has Russell Morris been up to lately? OR Fabulous Caprettos, Footy Fandom, and Cosmic Curiosities

Join Cheryl Lee - That Radio Chick on STILL ROCKIN' IT for news, reviews, music and interviews with some of our favourite Australian musicians.

What happens when rock legends come together to form a supergroup?

Join us on the Still Rockin' Podcast as we welcome the iconic Russell Morris, who takes us behind the scenes of his latest musical venture, The Fabulous Caprettos. Featuring powerhouse talents Dave Gleeson, Jack Jones, and Ray Thistlewaite, Russell shares the fascinating dynamics of the band and how it contrasts with his past experiences in supergroups like Cotton, Keays & Morris. 

Shifting gears, Russell and I navigate the emotional rollercoaster of being a die-hard Richmond fan and pondering the challenge of footy tipping, where heart often clashes with head. 

Russell reveals his aversion to grand celebrations and we dive into the mind-bending mysteries of black holes and theoretical physics. 

Closing the episode, we tackle the tricky task of curating the perfect setlist, balancing personal favorites with crowd-pleasers to guarantee an unforgettable live performance. 

Don't miss this captivating blend of music, sports, and cosmic curiosity!

What has Russell Morris up to lately?  Let's find out!!

Get out when you can, support local music and I'll see you down the front!!

Visit: ThatRadioChick.com.au

Transcript

Cheryl Lee: 0:07

That radio chick, cheryl Lee, here. Welcome to the Still Rockin' Podcast, where we'll have music news, reviews and interviews with some of our favourite Australian musicians and artists. Legends of rock unite on stage. Multi-award winner Dave Gleeson from the Screaming Jets and the Angels will join forces with Aria Hall of Famer and and multi-award winner Russell Morris and music giants Jack Jones from Southern Sons and Ray Thistlewaite from Thirsty Merc performing their biggest hits together on stage as the Caprettos get back together and on the road again. To catch up on podcasts from other favourite artists, simply go to thatradiochick. com. au. Hi Russell, how are you going? I'm good. Are you doing good? Yeah, well, thank you. It's a bit cold here in South Australia. How about over there?

Russell Morris: 0:59

It's cold in Queensland at the moment. I got back from Melbourne, though, and nothing's as cold as Melbourne. No, Melbourne was horrible. We were down there and it was freezing. I went to see my grandson play soccer, and we were standing in the rain for an hour and a half, and it was like seven degrees. No, so it's cold up here at the moment, but not hideously so.

Cheryl Lee: 1:21

I think it was 2 here this morning. It's a little bit better now.

Russell Morris: 1:25

That's not good for me. I don't like it.

Cheryl Lee: 1:26

No, I don't like it either. Ah, alrighty, we better get stuck into it, no worries. Okay, you're with Cheryl Lee, that radio chick, and I'd like to welcome into the studio today Russell Morris, a man who needs no introduction.

Cheryl Lee: 1:45

Thank you for joining us today, Russell. It's a pleasure always a pleasure to join you. We've talked at great length in the past about all of your achievements and great hits and accolades, and if anybody would like to hear about those and be reminded how much and why we love Russell, pop back and have a listen to one of the previous podcasts. But today we're talking about your boy band.

Russell Morris: 2:05

That's right, the boy band. We are the boy band, the goat band.

Cheryl Lee: 2:09

This is not your first super group. It's not even your second super group, twice before you've been involved in some great bands with some great mates Cotton, Keays and Morris and Burns, Cotton and Morris. Can you draw any comparisons between those mates and these mates?

Russell Morris: 2:27

Sort of. It's just that with Daryl and Jim, I'd known all my life virtually, and when we put the goats together, we tried to pull the best from each genre and, like the first version of the goats, we wanted guys that were virtuoso musicians as well, whereas Daryl, Jim and I were just sort of I'm an average guitar player, and so was Daryl. But you look at people like Rai and you look at Jack. Rai is a superb guitar player, but a frighteningly great keyboard player. They're using him, Joe Satriani has him on tour with him, and Sammy Hagar is using him, and Jack is right up there as well.

Russell Morris: 3:09

So we wanted to put together a band that was like incredibly good as musicians as well, so we didn't need another guitar player. All we needed to get was a bass player and a drummer, and the band was itself self-sufficient. It worked out that way really beautifully and it's been fun. The first incarnation was with daryl B, of course, my good mate dazzler, yeah. And then, uh, then along came the unpredictable and absolutely lovable dave. Dave gleason is just a breath of fresh air. He's just wonderful he is.

Cheryl Lee: 3:42

He's a larrikin. He's a lovable larrikin. We all love him. Tell me, did you swap out Daryl for Dave because Daryl kept doing 12-minute versions of Horses?

Russell Morris: 3:54

Daryl kept standing in front of the spotlight that was shining on me so I said he's got to go. Daryl found it uncomfortable because he doesn't know what to do with himself when he's not singing. Daryl found it uncomfortable because he doesn't know what to do with himself when he's not singing, so he felt a little bit uncomfortable with it and we understood that and he wanted to pursue other stuff. So we let that go and we thought Dave was the perfect person to do it. And it's worked out that way and I love playing Dave's songs, as I love playing Jack's and Ray's. So it's an ordeal of pleasure.

Cheryl Lee: 4:32

Well, I think we shall have a song from the new goat on the block. Everybody knows Dave Gleeson as the front man of the Screaming Jets and, of course, formerly the front man also of the Angels. But what you may not know is that he is also a little bit country. Going to play the title track of his debut, in fact his only solo album, wanted man. I wonder if the Goats, the greatest of all time, are going to play a Dave Gleeson song at the Fabulous Capretto's gig. Mmm, interesting. We'll be back to speak to the most senior of GOATs, russell Morris, straight after this.

Cheryl Lee: 5:24

I think I've seen you each time that you've come to Adelaide. I spoke to Ray and Dave back in November before your gig at the Bridgeway. Ray mentioned that, John Starr and you guys. There was a little bit of talk of an album. Did anything ever come of that? Is that still a possibility? Cheryl, do you have any pets? Yes, I've got a 14-year-old dog.

Russell Morris: 5:49

Dogs are different. In this band there are actually six cats and if you try and herd a cat, a whole bunch of cats into one spot, it's impossible. We've tried. We've written two songs and recorded two. The other month we were rehearsing and everyone started clowning around and Ray, who was just a genius, starts singing giggledy-goop words and it was fantastic. And I said does everyone like this? And everyone said, yeah, it's great, it's great. So I went home and wrote a lot of the lyrics and sent them back and I said change what you want to do. Yep, yep, oh, it's fantastic, it's fantastic. Nothing, nothing's been done. We haven't done anything. So it's very hard, particularly with Ray overseas. He's constantly overseas and Jack is constantly trying to build his recording studio. So it's just. I thought, oh, I'll just write my own songs, damn it.

Cheryl Lee: 6:43

Jack was here in Adelaide only a week. Ray did allude to that. He said getting you all together in the same place at the same time was the tricky part. But are you saying it won't happen overnight, but it might happen one day?

Russell Morris: 6:58

I'm not sure, and I think the problem is I'm not sure what their commitments are to record companies. Like I know, if we do an album, my record company is going to say, well, I want it on my label, I want it on my label, and their companies would say exactly the same thing. So that's where it becomes a bit of a problem.

Cheryl Lee: 7:15

Ah yes, it's not as simple as just selling yourselves to the highest bidder.

Russell Morris: 7:20

No, it's not that, because we're contracted. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Cheryl Lee: 7:26

Still off on the podcast with that radio chick, cheryl Lee. I think we should have one now from the youngest greatest of all time, ray. Now, from the youngest greatest of all time, ray Thistleweight. He's just a baby at 44, born in 1980. Really, here he is out the front of his band Thirsty Merc, from the self-titled album 2004, summertime Been back to speak to the senior goat, mr Russell Morris, straight after this.

Speaker 3: 7:52

Baby in the summertime and even if I have to wait till next year, Go, Mr Russell Morris straight after this Is Jason Voyer with you, this time on bass.

Russell Morris: 8:04

No, I fired him. He was a pain in the neck when he sang that song better than I could. I thought I've got to get rid of him. He did not. No, he's still with us as long as.

Russell Morris: 8:11

I thought I've got to get rid of him. He did not. No, he's still with us. As long as he can work with us, we'll keep him. The problem is he has a commitment to Daryl, so we have to work out when Daryl's working and not working so we can use Jase. And also the same with Jackie Barnes, because when his dad snaps his fingers and said, jackie, I'm on the road, jackie, that's his first commitment. Yes, of course, yeah.

Cheryl Lee: 8:31

So is Jackie joining us this time? Yes, excellent. So how is poor old Jason feeling at the moment with regards to the footy?

Russell Morris: 8:41

Jason and I ring each other and cry every Monday morning. It's just hideous. But hey, you can't complain. Three premierships we were pretty excited. Three premierships you've got to be grateful, even if we stay on the bottom for a while. That's the way it is, but that's football. Let another team have a good shot at it. I'd like to see some of the teams that haven't won it, like St Kilda in particular. That would be great to see them win.

Cheryl Lee: 9:08

It's good to see teams come from nowhere and build their way up there. True, the only thing is I'm at the bottom of the footy tipping because I vote with my heart, not my head.

Russell Morris: 9:15

Yeah, no, it's a hard one. It's really hard to tip. I would always tip against the Tigers because that way you win both ways. If your team wins, it's such a big thrill. It doesn't matter that you've lost out on the tipping. But if the team loses which you might expect you get a tipping point lost out on the tipping. But if the team loses which?

Cheryl Lee: 9:33

you might expect you get a tipping point. That's right. At least you've got the tip correct. Good thinking, that's right, I like it. John Farnham, another great Aussie talent, has just turned 75 this week and you too have a big birthday this month. Any plans for a big celebration or a big party, Russell?

Russell Morris: 9:52

No, no, I never have birthday parties. If a birthday party comes along, it's because some bloody idiot's organized it for me. I don't believe in celebrating milestones. It's funny, it's just the way I am. I'm not one of those guys that put big store on Easter or Christmas or things like that, and it's probably my fault that I miss out. I just think it seems just like another day and time rolls on and you just have to keep rolling along with it and I just feel so it was my birthday. What's that mean? It's just one more day.

Cheryl Lee: 10:22

Any excuse for a party in my eyes.

Russell Morris: 10:24

I've had too many parties in my time. In the music business, every gig's a party, maybe. Oh yeah, you work with Brian Cad long enough and you just don't want to party anymore.

Cheryl Lee: 10:33

I've heard he's a very naughty boy.

Cheryl Lee: 10:43

Time for a song now. Let's have, always and Ever, a beautiful song by Southern Sons, with one of the GOATs, the fabulous Caprettos Jack Jones, aka Irwin Thomas, out the front, and we were lucky enough to see him perform this song with his band here not that very long ago. And then we're back to speak to number one Richmond ticket holder, russell Morris Morris. This one in Adelaide is Thursday, the 10th of October. Get onto the Google-o-meter and get your tickets. Norwood Concert Hall is seated. This time we were able to do a little bit of dancing at the Bridgeway, but I think this one we're all going to be sitting down.

Russell Morris: 11:32

Yes, you're going a bit flash. It'll be all right. I think people will enjoy it. At least I'll get to see everyone I get to see all the time. So I don't know, maybe people can dance on the sides. I'm not sure how it works there, but like I never dance because I look like Peter Gatlin trying to dance, you know how he used to look, like he's escaped from somewhere, yes, when he was in the stage. That's how I look when I dance and it's horrifying. So I never dance intentionally because I don't want to embarrass myself.

Cheryl Lee: 11:59

I'll see you down the front because, if we're allowed to, I'll do a bit of a dance on the side, because I do like to listen to music, some songs in particular, with my whole body.

Russell Morris: 12:09

There are people like that. They feel it physically yeah.

Cheryl Lee: 12:11

Is there a question that you wished some journalist would ask you? Why doesn't anybody ask me about this?

Russell Morris: 12:20

This is a theoretical wish. I wish a journalist would say to me wow, how do you feel now that you've solved the problem and the answer to what lies inside a black hole at the centre of our galaxy? That's the question I'd like to be asked.

Cheryl Lee: 12:34

Wow, and how would you feel if you did that?

Russell Morris: 12:36

Well, I'd feel I'd know the answers to a lot of questions.

Cheryl Lee: 12:40

The meaning of life.

Russell Morris: 12:41

Maybe we don't know. We don't know. It's an interesting question. Yeah, that's about all. I don't know any other questions. What else would I like to be asked? Yeah, I'm more interested in stuff like that.

Cheryl Lee: 12:53

That is interesting. I don't know if we're going to know the answer to that in our lifetime.

Russell Morris: 13:00

But no, all mathematics and everything breaks down theoretically because of a singularity, so I don't know if I'll ever get to a solution of it. No one's ever going to go in there.

Cheryl Lee: 13:08

No, well, if they do, they won't come out again in there?

Russell Morris: 13:12

No well, if they do, they won't come out again, that's right, yeah, or they might come out somewhere else, that's right.

Cheryl Lee: 13:15

You have got such a vast and broad back catalogue We've got the Australian Trilogy and Shark Mouth and Van Diemen's Land and Red Dirt, red Heart, two Jack Crome albums plus all the early hits how are you going to pick what to play for us?

Russell Morris: 13:33

It's hard sometimes to know what to pick because, strangely enough, my favorite songs are usually not the audience's favorite songs. So I tend to have to wear two hats. So I have to wear a hat where I'm an entertainer and people need to feel that they've got their money's worth coming to see the show. So if I had my way, I'd be playing a whole lot of songs that people would probably go oh, that's not my favorite song that he does, but my favorites are other people's unfavorites, I guess.

Cheryl Lee: 13:57

So you have to give the people what they want to a certain extent.

Russell Morris: 14:01

Yeah, yeah, I indulge myself when I record. I record things that I want to do and hopefully out of the stuff I put down, some of those songs will become people's favorites.

Cheryl Lee: 14:16

And they're the ones that you tend to play live at concerts, still rocking the podcast with that radio chick, cheryl Lee. We mentioned earlier that this is not Russell's first boy band. I'd like to play you something from Cotton, keys and Morris live at the basement. As Russell mentioned, we've lost Daryl Cotton and we've lost Jim Keys. Rest in peace, playing in the boy band in the sky. This is a beautiful song. It's a master's, apprentice's song, written by Doug Ford and Jim Keys, because I love you. Back to speak a bit more to the goat, the greatest of all time, senior, fabulous capretto Russell Morris. Shortly your other love is acting. You were riff-raff in the Melbourne production of the Rocky Horror Show and is it Time Warp that Pete Robinson plays for you? We transvestite. That's right. Is that like an ode back to then or do you guys just like the song?

Russell Morris: 15:24

Well, it was a joke. It started as a joke. What happened one night? Pete was telling me. He said all I ever wanted to do was star as Frankenfurter. Really, I said really. He said I know the whole show backwards. I said, really there you go on stage that night I said to pete.

Russell Morris: 15:40

I turned to pete and I said hey, you have a secret. And I said what is your secret? And he said I don't know what you're talking about. I said you wanted to play frankenfurter. Yes, that's right. Yeah, blah, blah. And I hadn't heard him play it. I said, all right, play something from the show. And he looked at me and he didn't want to do it and all of a sudden he launched into Sweet Transvestite and the audience just went nuts and he just played it. He played it by himself. It was fabulous. So I kept it in and every now and then I would throw it to him. I'd say Peter, come on Sweet Transvestite. And he eyes and do it and the crowd would go nuts.

Cheryl Lee: 16:12

I love it. I mean, it's one of my favorite movies. I always see the stage show if it comes to town. So yeah, I love it when you guys play it.

Russell Morris: 16:22

I have a newsflash for you. When I was living in Los Angeles, we went to the Roxy, which was a little club on Sunset Boulevard. It's near Beverly Hills. There it's a tiny little place. We went in to watch the stage show of the Rocky Horror Show with the original cast Tim Curry Meatloaf. It blew my mind. I could not believe how fabulous it was. You're a lucky bugger, yeah, that was the first time they performed it and it was just. It was absolutely fantastic and I became a fan from then. Also, what's-her-name Richard was in it. Richard the writer by the boys riffraff.

Cheryl Lee: 16:58

Richard O'Brien.

Russell Morris: 16:59

He was in it Really really good you are listening to Still Rocking it.

Speaker 3: 17:06

The podcast with Cheryl Lee.

Cheryl Lee: 17:08

Well, here it is Sweet Transvestite by Tim Curry from the Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack from 1975. And if you see Russell and his band, pete Robinson, who also is in Electric Mary, does a great version of this. We're going to be back to address rumours of a fifth gauche, a fifth member of the Fabulous Caprettos, and to say farewell to Russell after this.

Speaker 3: 17:39

I'm just a sweet transvestite from transsexual Transylvania.

Cheryl Lee: 17:48

You've got a very special goat joining you for this. We're Back tour, encore tour. You've got Joe joining you.

Russell Morris: 17:56

I think Joe only joins us in Perth. I don't think he's doing the whole tour.

Cheryl Lee: 18:00

So we might miss him in Adelaide by the sound of it.

Russell Morris: 18:03

Yeah, I think Joe only does Perth. He couldn't do the whole thing. I don't think. I'm not sure what the way it worked out, but that's the way it is.

Cheryl Lee: 18:11

Is this like an interview, a tryout?

Russell Morris: 18:17

Is he going to be a goat, do you reckon? He's wanted to. From the beginning he wanted to be one and it didn't work out that way. We thought we needed someone like a Dave, who was a rock god sort of. So we got Dave in and he's added that crazy zany thing. But we may end up going with Joe. We may end up doing it with Five, who knows? Yeah, Joe's a phenomenal performer and we all love him. As a guy he's great.

Cheryl Lee: 18:40

Well, this will be a good tryout for him. We'll see how he goes, shall we? Exactly what's on your playlist at the moment? What's the favourite song of yours, what are you feeling at the minute? And I'll play it.

Russell Morris: 18:52

I tell you who I really do. Love is Post Malone and one of his old songs. I Really Love Circles.

Cheryl Lee: 18:57

Thank you so much for talking to us today. Senior leader of the GOATs, the fabulous Capretto's, russell Morris, I'll see you down the front when you get to our fabulous town.

Cheryl Lee: 19:08

Yeah lovely to talk to you again, still rocking the podcast with that radio chick, cheryl Lee. We will leave you today with Russell's favorite song of the moment Circles by Post Malone from his Hollywood's Bleeding album of 2019. And I look forward to seeing you at a fabulous Capretto show very soon. You're with Cheryl Lee, that radio chick. Thank you so much for joining me on the Still Rocking it podcast. Hope to catch you again next time. Get out when you can support Aussie music and I'll see you down the front.