Meet the … Comedians
28 May 2016
Music and laughter are two of life’s greatest enjoyments, and creating songs while making people smile is just a day’s work for award-winning musical comedy act, Tripod.
Simon Hall (Yon), Scott Edgar (Scod) and Steven Gates (Gatesy) are the holy trinity who make up Tripod. They’re three guys in their early 40s who have been “singing songs with harmonies and messing around on stage together for 20 years”, says Yon. Hailing from the Melbourne live music pub scene in the mid-90s, Tripod started as a band with no actual comedy intended.
“We were busking and doing gigs at a pub in Yarraville, not taking it too seriously. People mostly just laughed because we’d goose around [on stage]. Then we eventually clued on that people liked it, so we did a comedy festival,” explains Yon. The trio added jokes to their repertoire as soon as they realised comedy was what audiences wanted.
Influenced by legendary musicians Queen, David Bowie and Prince, as well as comedic greats Monty Python, the trio combine their love of music and comedy to create songs that cover an array of topics that go from deeply personal to completely frivolous.
“Inspiration is drawn from things that are in our consciousness at the time, like climate change,” says Yon. “But sometimes we also think, ‘hey that’s a stupid idea, let’s do it!’”
Tripod’s catalogue boasts songs with titles such as Gonna make you happy tonight, Lingering dad, and Yon’s personal favourite, The hotdog man.
“When you perform a song 100 times, you forget why you found them funny in the first place, but The hotdog man still tickles me,” he says.
Besides writing music with your mates for a living, the fellas say that the best thing about their job is the affirmation received when performing on stage.
“It’s very addictive when a crowd laughs,” says Yon. “Even hecklers add to the experience. It’s easy when there’s three of you because if one of us can’t think of something funny, hopefully one of the others can. And it can really add to a show. Every now and again you’ll do a so-so show until someone pipes up in the audience.”
The trio has come a long way since their busking days. Filled with extraordinary experiences such as winning an ARIA award for their album Middleborough Rd, and performing at international comedy festivals, it was their recent collaboration with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra that stands out.
“I can speak for all of us when I say that doing the show with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra was a definite highlight,” says Yon. “It was such a thrill singing with an orchestra who were playing our music. We’ve wanted to do it for ages. We’re going to do it again this year in Adelaide and then hopefully everywhere. It would be great to do it at the Sydney Opera House.”
Tripod will be performing at the Sydney Comedy Festival (18 April–15 May). Visit: sydneycomedyfest.com.au
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