Interview by Kris Peters
After Australian fans were left retreating to the jungle following last years postponement of Paradise Kitty's tour, relief is finally around the corner as the world famous Guns 'N Roses tribute band touches down in this country for a run of shows starting in Geelong on March 24.
Not only will the girls be bringing the sounds of Sunset Strip to the other side of the world, but they are also performing the Gunners classic debut album Appetite For Destruction IN FULL.
It is a show not to be missed - personally endorsed by Guns 'N Roses themselves - and one which transcends the usual tribute performances, instead recreating a time, world, and era of modern music history.
HEAVY recently caught up with drummer Rachael Rine to find out what we can expect, starting with memories of their previous successful visit in 2018.
"It felt like home to me," she smiled. "I felt so at home there. I didn't feel like I was on the other side of the planet in a different country. Everyone was so lovely. Australia really has some amazing rock fans so it was fun to be a part of that. It was a really liberating experience and I'm excited to come back."
As mentioned Paradise Kitty will be revisiting Appetite For Destruction on this tour, with Rine explaining her view on why people connected with that album on a universal scale.
"I think that album start to finish... there's a lot of great albums out there, but to have an album...," she measured, "first song plays and you're like oh my God, this must be the best song on the album. Then the second song plays and you're like this must be until you get through the whole album and every song was the best song on the album. That's rare. And that created such a movement that it's still pushing and fanning the Guns 'N Roses flame decades later."
We press Rine for her very first thoughts on Appetite For Destruction when it came out in 1987.
"I was a young kid in school and we were in P.E class, and we had to run around the track," she laughed. "I remember I was running around the track to Welcome To The Jungle and it was interesting, and it was cool, and it felt so appropriate in life at that moment being a young kid - I think I was nine or eight, just a little kid - but there was this freedom of running and listening to rock and roll. I was raised on rock and roll but I dunno... I clearly, clearly remember that moment of the track under my feet and hearing it for the first time and running to it on the track."
In the full interview, Rachael talks about living on the famed Sunset Strip, the timeless nature of Appetite For Destruction, what bad habits she picked up from their last visit to Australia, reproducing the sound and feel of Guns 'N Roses, playing with members of the band, the personal satisfaction she gets out of playing in Paradise Kitty, the legacy of Guns 'N Roses and more.