COLOURFUL Newcastle rock duo The Gooch Palms have announced their upcoming national tour will be their last.
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Leroy Macqueen (vocals, guitars) and Kat Friend (vocals, drums) broke the news on Thursday through social media.
"This is really hard to say but after a lot of discussion and back and forth on the future of the band, we've decided that our upcoming tour will be the last time we venture out as The Gooch Palms," they said in a statement.
"We've been a band for 10 years, played close to 1000 shows across the world, released some 7" vinyls, three full-length albums and some stand-alone singles. We've both had multiple nervous breakdowns and experienced some devastating lows, but thankfully, overall, mostly dizzying highs!
"We've played with so many amazing bands in so many amazing venues and seen cities and countries we never thought we'd be lucky enough to visit. Playing in the band forced us out of our introverted shells into the world and through touring we have had so many unimaginably wonderful moments and met some great people, a lot of whom we now call our closest friends.
"But to quote Kenny Rogers, "You've got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em". And it's time for us to fold 'em."
Since the release of their debut album Novo's in 2013, The Gooch Palms have become one of the most successful Newcastle bands of the past decade.
They became renown for their wild live shows which often featured Macqueen stripping naked, wacky outfits and an unashamed Novocastrian pride.
No Gooch Palms show was complete without a "New-cast-le, New-cast-le" chant or some reference to the Newcastle Knights' 1997 grand final heroics.
The Gooch Palms' lo-fi garage-rock sound, which blended the punk-pop of The Ramones with surf-rock harmonies, was also a big influence on younger Newcastle bands like Raave Tapes and dave, who rose out of the local scene in the wake of Novo's.
The Gooch Palms followed with the more polished albums Introverted Extroverts (2016) and III (2019) and spent several years living in Los Angeles while they toured the US extensively.
Last year the duo also completed their largest ever support run with Grinspoon for their Chemical Hearts tour which played at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre.
The Gooch Palms will headline the inaugural Sound Station Music Festival at The Station in Newcastle on April 4 before playing their final Newcastle show at the Cambridge Hotel on May 29.
The last gig will be at the North Wollongong Hotel on May 31.
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.
