THE music of The Screaming Jets remains in Craig "Rosie" Rosevear's DNA, despite 18 years having passed since he left the legendary Newcastle rock band.
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That's why Rosevear is fully confident in casting off his real estate auctioneer's suit and tie momentarily for his old drum kit for two special performances.
The Screaming Jets open their Dirty 30 anniversary tour at Wests Cardiff on May 3 and 4 and for the first time in Newcastle since 2001 Rosevear will be on the drums.
"It all feels very natural to me, and when you've played for so long you stick in the groove," Rosevear said.
"It'll be good to play with the guys again. After you've played with them for so many years and those songs, everything feels very comfortable on stage, both musically and personally."
Rosevear has remained friends with original members Dave Gleeson and Paul Woseen since leaving the band and filled in on drums at a Sydney show two years and for an appearance on The Footy Show last year.
For this latest tour Rosevear will only play the Cardiff shows before he hands the sticks to Palace Of The King's Cameron McGlinchey for the rest of the tour.
"They could see an opportunity with it being in Newcastle to do something a bit different and something special for the fans," he said.
Rosevear was part of the classic Screaming Jets line-up of Gleeson (vocals), Grant Walmsley (guitar), Woseen (bass) and Jimi Hocking (guitar) from 1993 to 2001 when the band produced the albums The Screaming Jets (1995), World Gone Crazy (1997) and Scam (2000).
After leaving the band, Rosevear moved to the US before returning to Newcastle and establishing Rosie's School of Rock music tutelage for children and venturing into real estate, where he was since hosted his own NBN show, Location...Lifestyle...Living.
Rosevear's brief return to the Jets will only add further intrigue to the fractious split within the band that has existed since Walmsley left in 2007.
In February founding members Walmsley, Richie Lara (guitar) and Brad Heaney (drums) launched JetsPlayJets with new members Justin Ngariki (vocals) and Paul Coxon (bass) to perform classic Screaming Jets material at music festival Live At The Foreshore.
Walmsley told the Herald in February he wrote a letter to Gleeson and Woseen hoping to bury the hatchet before launching JetsPlayJets, but he never received a reply.
Rosevear is friends with both parties and said the launch of JetsPlayJets was "cool" for fans.
"If you're a fan of the band, you can see The Screaming Jets, you can watch Grant play or the other guys," he said. "It all comes from the same source."
The Screaming Jets kick-off their Dirty 30 anniversary tour at Wests Cardiff on May 3 and 4.
Josh Leeson
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
