The Necks and The Dirty Three

By Litmus Media

In our podcast episode ‘The Necks & The Dirty Three’, Tony Buck and Jim White discuss their origins as drummers and the contrasts between their bands, The Necks and The Dirty Three, in a conversation hosted by music curator and radio presenter Woody McDonald.

Both White and Buck have a cult legacy in Australia – and an extensive history of avant-garde approaches and experimental performances. White was known to perform using an "ironing board covered with letter boxes and other domestic detritus” (Stewart Lee) as early as the 1980’s. Buck, on the other hand, has a conservatorium background – leading to the musical exploration that created The Necks. The contrast of the backgrounds of both drummers who have led experimentation in the possibilities of what rock drumming can be.

Guided by McDonald, the conversation between Buck and White on their experiences with minimalist and expressionist approaches to drumming sets context and acts as an introduction to the genre-defying realm of The Necks. The conversation touches on experimental sound, alternative music and their shared love of pub shows.

The Necks are RISING festival’s band in residency – performing across multiple venues, as both a band and live score to Back to Back Theatre’s piece Food Court (you can listen to our podcast episode on Back to Back’s play, Ganesh vs. the Third Reich, here). Alongside performances as The Necks, there are also solo performances at the Melbourne Recital Centre by both Chris Abrahams (member of The Necks) and Tony Buck.

You can listen to our RISING 2021 podcast episode ‘The Necks and The Dirty Three’ via Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.