Interviews, gig fottage and more...
FISHSTOCK
Photo: Sam Fisher
5/29/2020
About and hour away from the city of Melbourne, there is a little treasure hidden in the Yara Valley..
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Every year twin brothers Sam and Tom Fisher invite loads of great bands and people to their backyard in the Gully, where they host their laid back one-day festival - Fishstock.
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It all began with a birthday jam in the backyard when the brothers turned 21, and has since then turned into a much bigger event. Their father Keith's old paint shed was transformed into the stage where talented musicians now come to perform each year in front of a susceptible crowd, who are all thrilled to set foot in the Gully again.
The event has the kind of atmosphere you'd would wish to find at any event. There's just friendly faces and respect for one another - no dickheads whatsoever!
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This February Fishstock went on it's 7th year. The day started off with people chilling in the sunshine to the music and ended on a festive note with loads of dancing, and people spontaneous going on stage to rock out under a night-sky filled with millions of starts.
INTERVIEW WITH SAM AND TOM FISHER
Photo: Sam Fisher
What inspired you guys to start Fishstock?
Well, both of us love music and both play guitar. So, for our 21st birthdays we just set up a couple of amps, a drumkit, had a few friends over and just had a jam and a bit of fun. Then it just grew from there, a few friends were in bands, and the next year they played, and it just kept growing. Someone, can’t quite remember who, came up with the name Fishstock – at times we think it’s a bit rich to have it somewhat named after us – but the name stuck and we have continued to roll with it! Every year more people started coming along and people really loved it. We’d get messages from people saying how much of a great time they had, So yeah we just kept working on it, and it kept evolving, into what it is now, a little DIY festival.
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Could you highlight the most important values of your event?
We want everyone to have a good time, so we only want kind people, who are kind to all people who come along. We’re both a big fan of Meredith Music Festival, which has a strict ‘no dickhead’ policy, we’re following a similar sort of thing. We want everyone who comes along to have a good time, feel safe and comfortable. This year we came up with our own version of the ‘no dickhead’ policy with a new word; ‘Gullyian’ people only. (Define Gullyian; people who are kind and respectful to ALL PEOPLE).
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Does everybody seem keen on helping out with prepping the festival, as with cleaning up the place once the party is over?
Our family help a lot in preparing the event. And on the day a lot people help. For example, at this year we had a different PA system and we were bloody struggling in setting it up and running it, luckily a few people from some of the bands helped us set it up and run it all day & night. And we had a couple of people run the BBQ as well and help out with the bar. We’re thinking next year we’ll get a bit more organised and set up a bit of a volunteering thing so it’s little bit less chaotic. We also have our good friend Jman design and create the poster for the event every year, which is always an exciting part of the leadup to the event, seeing what new crazy good thing he has created. This year we had two posters, Jman did an insane ‘Stranger Things’ themed poster and Tom did one this year as well with a bit of message from a local Koala.
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Are all the musicians who perform friends of yours? If not, how do you discover them?
Some of them are friends we’ve known for a long time, some are friends of friends, friends of bands, others we’ve sort of just found through the music community. When we first started, bands got beer/drinks for playing, now we’ve gotten a bit bigger we have a ‘recommended donation’ on entry which gets divided up amongst the bands. It still isn’t a lot though, so we’re always very very grateful to those who come and play.
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Where did you get all the couches from?
Hard Rubbish! Which is roadside rubbish collection. Fishstock normally takes place in January or February and It’s always on in January in the area that the Gully is in. So it’s the perfect time to go for a drive around and add some new couches to the collection.
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In the past you brewed your very own Long Gully Ales. Could you tell us more about them, or is it all part of a top-secret business strategy?
We try adding something new to the festival every year, and as beer lovers (probably only second to our love of music) we thought what better than a Long Gully beer. We would love to talk about ancient brewing techniques, hops, and so on, but we have absolutely no idea what we’re doing, and are surprised they were drinkable at all. Long live Long gully ales.
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Who is “the King of the Gully”?
The king of the gully is our dad. He bought the land that we hold the festival on in 1969. The original house on the land burnt down in 1980. He built the current house ‘The mudbrick Castle’ on the property after that. He really got into Fishstock when we started doing it. ‘The gully royale’ – the stage, is his old paint shed which was filled with old paint cans before we started doing Fishstock. He converted the shed into the stage, and also does all the tree art and gardens around the stage area. So he became the King of Fishtock, King of the gully in the bizzaro myths and legends we write up for the event description every year.
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In what way do you experience the difference between bigger corporate festivals and backyard DIY gatherings like Fishstock?
We haven’t been to a lot of the huge corporate festivals. But compared to larger festivals, I suppose for one thing it’s a bucketload cheaper… and I guess it’s kind of like a local gig vs some massive stadium gig. As in, at a local gig, the bands are often hanging out watching the other bands, and you can sort talk to a lot of people that are there, there’s a bit of community. Fishstock is kind of like that, a local gig, that is on a bit of land out in the bush, with camping.
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Would you like this event to become bigger or do you prefer it just the way it is?
We’d like to keep growing but not too big! Its always great when new people come along and enjoy it, so we’d like to keep expanding our community and including more people and ideas!
Photo: Sam Fisher
The King of the Gully
POSTERS AND MUSICIANS
Josh Brandon (aka JMan) is the mind behind this Stranger Things inspired poster. He is the bassist of Whoopie Cat - a band who are close friends with Sam and Tom and play at Fishstock every year. This poster features the King of the Gully in the middle surrounded by his sons, the members of Whoopie Cat in the Right corner and friends of the brothers and Whoopie Cat; Heathgoat, Rozza and Ghoul.
This poster was designed by Tom Fisher during the horrific bushfires Australia was struggling to contain not long ago. A burning koala with "Safe the Planet, Not Your Wallet" written across its hat as a critic of the Australian government, who are unwilling to do anything about climate change, which is a direct cause of worsening bushfires - but supporting the coal mining industries who continue to demolish the land and pollute the air sounds like a great idea to them.
Sadly, the asshole who've come to power (Scott Morrison), seems to care more about money than preserving the incredible wildlife and nature Australia has to offer.
LINKS FOR THE BANDS WHO ARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA
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Whoopie Cat
https://www.facebook.com/whoopiecatband/
https://www.instagram.com/whoopiecatband/
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Barefoot Spacemen
Barefoot Bowls Club
Check them out!
Fishstock had an incredible lineup where the music varied from a mellow groove, to powerful guitar riffs and straight over to funky horns that would make the most sunken couch potato get up and dance. Watch this video to see them all in action!
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GALLERY
Photo: Kelly MacLean
Photo: Sam Fisher
Photo: Kelly MacLean
Photo: Sam Fisher
Photo: Sam Fisher
Photo: Sam Fisher
Photo: Sam Fisher
Photo: Kelly MacLean
Photo: Kelly MacLean
Photo: Sam Fisher
Photo: Sam Fisher
Photo: Sam Fisher
Photo: Sam Fisher
Photo: Kelly MacLean
Photo: Sam Fisher
Photo: Sam Fisher
Photo: Kelly MacLean