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Cash Savage and the Last Drinks is an Australian band from Melbourne, formed in 2008 by singer and guitarist Cash Savage. Currently, the lineup also includes guitarists Joe White and Dougal Shaw, fiddlist Kat Mear, percussionist Rene Mancuso, keyboardist Roshan Khozouei and bassist Nick Finch. They have released five studio albums and one live album: Wolf (2010), The Hypnotiser (2013), One of Us (2016), Good Citizens (2018), Live at Hamer Hall (2020) and So This is Love (2023).
Cash Savage and the Last Drinks | |
|---|---|
.jpg) At Orange Blossom Special Festival, Beverungen in 2022 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Melbourne, Australia |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Labels |
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| Members | Cash Savage Nick Finch Rene Mancuso Dougal Shaw Roshan Khozouei Kat Mear Joe White |
| Website | cashsavage |
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2008–2014: Formation and Wolf and The Hypnotiser
Singer and songwriter Cash Savage grew up in Port Albert, in the Gippsland region of Victoria, and is the eldest of five children.[1] Born into a musical family, Savage's uncle was Conway Savage, a veteran Australian rock musician and keyboardist for Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.[1][2] Savage began playing gigs around Melbourne at age 17.
In 2008, Savage formed the Last Drinks as her backing band, with no fixed line-up, but instead including whoever was available to play on any given night. A self-released, self-titled EP was released in 2008. Savage credits Fitzroy venue The Old Bar as the band's spiritual home.[2] In 2010, the band released Wolf.
The band's line-up was solidified in 2013, and they recorded The Hypnotiser at Head Gap Studios in Preston, Victoria, produced by Nick Finch (Graveyard Train) and engineered by Nao Anzai.[2] The album was featured in year-end critic lists by Triple R, PBS 106.7FM, and Beat Magazine. "I’m in Love" was nominated for Best Song at the Music Victoria Awards of 2013.[3]
2015–present: One of Us and Good Citizens
In 2015, the band was signed to independent Australian label Mistletone Records to release its third studio album, One of Us (2016).[4] The album's lyrical content reflects a tumultuous personal period for Savage.[5] Upon its release, One of Us received very favourable critical reviews from publications such as the Sydney Morning Herald, the Herald Sun, and Beat Magazine,[6][7][8] and was named Album of the Week by Triple R.[9] The album's success saw the band tour Europe in 2015 and 2016, playing shows and festivals in Czech Republic, France, Poland, Netherlands and Austria.[10][11]
Following their first international tour, the band received distribution for their 2nd and 3rd albums across Europe by Beast Records.[11]
2020–present: Live at Hamer Hall and So This is Love
In 2020, in between lockdowns, Cash Savage &The Last Drinks were asked to perform at Melbourne’s iconic Hamer Hall to cameras and no audience. The show was so powerful that it was pressed as a live album by Glitterhouse Records in Germany, and Mistletone in Australia.
Reflecting on the Hamer Hall performance, Cash stated; “There were mixed emotions going into this performance. Melbourne had fared well through the first lockdown, and as we were rehearsing for this, it felt like we were going to come out of it okay. By the time we performed, it was the very beginnings of the second wave. “Having the opportunity to play Hamer Hall was huge. It was an adjustment of expectations to think of it as a gig with no audience. We decided to make this something different — not a gig with no audience — its own thing. A performance in one movement. No gaps, no empty space. No back and forth with the crowd. Just us. We didn’t intend on releasing it when we recorded it. It was performed for the moment.” [12]
On the 28 April 2023, Cash Savage and the Last Drinks released their fifth studio album So This is Love through Mistletone in Australia and Glitterhouse in Germany. Rough trade said about the album - 'The theme of fragility runs through the album like a faultline. Fragile mental health, a fragile economy, the fragility of the environment and our personal relationships, all on the brink of collapse, threatening to crack under pressure; this is the fraught territory So This Is Love inhabits, and fearlessly explores. The opening three songs of the album flow into each other with increasing urgency, declaring the gravity of the situation. True to the album title, Cash Savage delves deep and with ferocious honesty into what love means to her, as a queer woman coming to terms with a marriage breakup and a mental breakdown. “All love will end, all love will change form”, Cash observes. “If you experience deep love, you don’t judge it as a failure if it doesn’t last. You can love someone after they die, you can love someone in a different way.” Romantic love, family love, the bonds of friendship, self-love and the affectionate intimacy of spending the night with someone are some of the forms that love takes, as the stories of So This Is Love unfold'.[13]
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Studio albums
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Wolf |
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| The Hypnotiser |
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| One of Us |
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| Good Citizens |
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| So This is Love |
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Live albums
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Live at Hamer Hall |
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Extended plays
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Cash Savage and the Last Drinks |
|
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ARIA Music Awards
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony held by the Australian Recording Industry Association.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | So This Is Love | Best Blues and Roots Album | Nominated | [19] |
Music Victoria Awards
The Music Victoria Awards (previously known as The Age EG Awards and The Age Music Victoria Awards) are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music.
National Live Music Awards
The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) commenced in 2016 to recognise contributions to the live music industry in Australia.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Cash Savage and the Last Drinks | Live Blues and Roots Act of the Year | Nominated | [23][24] |
| 2018 | Cash Savage and the Last Drinks | Live Blues and Roots Act of the Year | Nominated | [25][26] |
| Kat Mear (Cash Savage and the Last Drinks) | Live Instrumentalist Act of the Year | Nominated | ||
| 2019 | Cash Savage and the Last Drinks | Live Indie / Rock Act of the Year | Nominated | [27][28] |
| Kat Mear (Cash Savage and the Last Drinks) | Live Instrumentalist Act of the Year! | Nominated | ||
| 2023 | Cash Savage | Best Live Voice | Nominated | [29] |
| Nick Finch (Cash Savage) | Best Live Bassist | Nominated | ||
| Cash Savage | Best Indie/Rock/Alternative Act | Nominated |
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