The legendary frontman and guitarist of The Living End will be bringing his solo chops to the free festival this weekend for the first time ever.
“It’ll be my first time as a player AND as a punter,” exclaims Chris when we catch up on the phone from his house in Melbourne.
“I’m really looking forward to it and the lineup is AMAZING.”
He’s not wrong. With a headline set by music royalty Tommy Emmanuel, as well as appearances by Don Walker, Melbourne Ska Orchestra, Emma Donovan and the Putbacks, The Turner Brown Band and more, this year’s lineup is set to be a who’s who of the blues, funk, country and folk worlds.
“[Blues on Broadbeach] is all about the music and that’s what we want,” says Chris.
“To see Tommy Emmanuel in person doing his thing, I mean, he’s the all time greatest.”
We pause to have a chat and a chuckle about our recent interview with Tommy, where heartily denied such a title, despite regularly appearing on the “best of” lists of many of the “best ofs”.
That is fair enough,” says Chris. “He’s come as close to mastering the guitar as anyone can but it’s not really about the technical prowess, it’s the music that comes out of it, that’s why I’m such a fan of him.”
Chris is no slouch himself. The 48-year-old rocker has been playing guitar since the age of six, self teaching with AC/DC tapes that he’d play over and over, picking up the riffs by ear. The Living End formed in 1992 when Chris was in his teens, coming to national prominence following a support slot for Green Day in 1996.
They've barely left Australian airwaves since, picking up a slew of ARIAs, No 1 album charts and Top 20 hits along the way. Throughout their career they’ve regularly made the top of critic’s “best live acts” lists, and Cheney himself is known in the industry as one of Australia’s greatest guitarists.
In 2022 he launched a side solo project, and delivered 10-track long player ‘The Storm Before the Calm’.
“I sort of found this whole new tangent and this new path,” Chris muses about his solo venture.
“I couldn’t have imagined what it was going to mean to put a solo record out. I had a different vision of what that would be.
“Seven years ago I thought it would be like a singer / songwriter in the corner room, finger picking and more mellow, but the way it eventuated it’s turned into a pretty diverse album.
“The first single was kind of a pop rock song I never saw coming. I’ve loved having a keyboard player and another guitar player in the band.”
Having Scott Owens and Andy Strachan from The Living End get behind his decision to branch out was a big deal for Chris.
“This was always something that I wanted to do on the side, just because I could. I was given the opportunity from the other guys that it would be okay to do it. And they’ve been very supportive which is great, because it’s taken up a lot of my time.”
As for the feedback on the album, Chris has been pleasantly surprised.
“It’s been amazing,” he says incredulously.
“Just to get noticed these days is a big enough task. People’s attention spans are small, and come and go so quickly. The response that I got exceeded my expectations, I was blown away actually.
“The best compliment I’ve received was ‘I didn’t you know you could do that, that you had that ability.’ I guess they see you as one thing in The Living End and when you put on a different hat and a different persona, it becomes about do people believe it or not? And I think people do.”
So what can fans, new and old alike, expect from Chris’ set at Blues on Broadbeach?
“It kind of feels like a bar band, in the Tom Petty realm,” explains Chris.
“Those are the types of songs I was trying to channel. I guess it’s a lot more personal, it’s not the kind of rousing, anthemic, all-guns-blazing rock n roll that The Living End does, it’s more introspective.”
As for whether or not Chris is going to have some down time while he’s up here, he’s pretty keen.
“Perhaps I’ll have a couple of days either side. We're actually thinking of moving up there! You don’t have as much rain up there. I think coming from LA after nine years, back to Melbourne, has been pretty brutal. I love Queensland and I love the Gold Coast. You just have more sun.”
I think I speak on behalf of all of us when I say you’d be welcomed with open arms, Chris Cheney.
Catch Chris alongside a lineup of legends at Blues on Broadbeach this week, with festivities kicking off Thursday 18 May and continuing through to Sunday. Visit bluesonbroadbeach.com for more.
