GUD Articles/Reviews

[Azelma]

... comedian Mick Moriarty

Mick's a comedian now? He's quite funny when he actually does talk, but he doesn't talk that much compared to Paul and the other lil' fella.

What does that make Paul, a musician? :p

*covers head to protect self from angry protests from Paul fans*

[Munchkin]

Originally Posted by Azelma

What does that make Paul, a musician? :p

*covers head to protect self from angry protests from Paul fans*

*chirp* *chirp*

Article from Rip It Up Magazine (www.ripitup.com.au)

GUD

by Catherine Blanch



Induce by a big opening night at the Adelaide Fringe 2004 on the prior evening, having performed with comical cabaret trio GUD; featuring feisty singer and comedic front man Paul McDermott plus keyboard and vocalist Cameron Bruce, Mick Moriarty had not long awoken from a deep sleep when we called him on the phone. The slightly weary singing guitarist began by talking about GUD’s first Fringe gig.

"It went well, and it was nice to get one under out belts. They were a great crowd and quite into it — even though the three of us were feeling just a little rusty, and were very forgiving with our [pause] looseness!" he sighed with a half laugh. "It was a lot of fun though."

So how did it all start?

"Paul and I continued writing together after Good News Week ended, sort of serious type stuff, but after a while I said, ‘c’mon, I can’t just write all the time, we have to go do something’," Mick chuckled.

You’re a fairly sedate creature by nature, aren’t you?

"Yeah, that’s a fair assumption," he agreed. "But being in GUD for the past two years has been a lot of fun and I’m playing a much different to the style of music I usually do with The Gadflys. The silliness in me was generally kept among close friends, so it’s been quite odd to be silly out loud. GUD is a great outlet for my idiocy [laughs]!"

What’s in like performing in a movie cinema?

"It’s a bit strange because you can’t hear the crowd very well, which we had been warned of before we played," Mick replied. "You know that people are reacting to what’s happening, but the sound doesn’t travel up to the stage as well as some other theatre-type rooms; there’s no echo."

GUD have played to sell out crowds at the Edinburgh Fringe and Adelaide Cabaret Festival, and will be venturing on to Victoria for their second Melbourne Comedy Festival after the Adelaide Fringe has come and gone. I asked if there was time for them to contemplate releasing an album of GUD tunes.

"That’s one of the things we have been talking about," he revealed, "although considering it to be in the works is a bit of a strong term, I’d say it’s more in the chats [laughs]!"

Does GUD ever offend?

"We had a interesting time in Melbourne Comedy Festival last year with a kind of pre-emptive offending" Mick recalled. "This guy got up and walked out because he thought we were going to get into some subjects that he might find offensive, which I found very interesting. I thought that was very George Bush of him [chuckles]!"

If you were a flavour of ice cream, what would you be and why?

"Pistachio comes to mind."

Why, because it’s green and snot-like [big laughs]?

"Because they’re tasty nuts — but I’ll leave that open for you to ponder!" Mick happily concluded.

GUD continues at Nova Cinema 2 from 6pm until Sun Mar 14. [/url]

[Azelma]

"Because they’re tasty nuts — but I’ll leave that open for you to ponder!" Mick happily concluded.

Goodness! He's been spending too much time with Cam and Paul - although some may argue that's a contradiction in terms.

[Munchkin]

DB Magazine

Gud
Paul McDermott, Cameron Bruce & Mick Moriarty
Nova Cinema 2 Until Sun 14 March


Gud are good. It's that simple.

A mix of songs, entertaining on-stage banter and towering stage presence, Gud had the potential to be self-indulgent twaddle but the sheer energy of the performances and the wit involved easily overcame my initial reservations. By the end of the show - an incredibly tight medley of popular songs outlining the entire Iraq crisis - the entire audience (bar the girls swilling the Bailey's Minis) was hankering for some more.

Paul McDermott (ex DAAS and Good News Week) was the tight suited front man about town, Cameron Bruce, keyboards (Dave McCormack & The Polaroids) played between laps of the audience and spewing trenchant criticisms and one-liners while Mick Moriarty (The Gadflys) was relegated to the role of stoner guitar God. They were tight, they fed off each other brilliantly and they had fun that, seemingly effortlessly, had the audience in the palm of their collective hand. Harmonies were strong and the sound was generally good, except for Moriarty who was a tad muffled at times.

The show followed the format of a cabaret; big introductions and a fair bit of on-stage preening with seemingly classic tunes belted out with enthusiasm, audience participation and irreverence. They are clearly unafraid of improvisation and seemed often to makes things up to suit the night and the audience - Bruce proved to be quite a master of the enjoyable rude ditty. The non-stop movement reinforced the cabaret nature of the show with dancing (sleazy gyrating then) from McDermott and Bruce adding another level to an already fun filled show.

Song titles included Free The Sheep, "even Nelson Mandela got his own cell" and Stand By Saddam giving an indication that no subject was too precious to satirise or parody. If there was a disappointment it was that they failed to introduce the songs even after often lengthy but amusing background to the tune. The songs themselves are jam-packed with comic goodness and pointed social comment.

They claimed that we were about to witness Solid Gud, and for once the advertising proved spot-on. I enjoyed it immensely.

Darien O'Reilly

[Mythor]

Originally Posted by Munchkin

and towering stage presence

Wonder how much Paul paid for that review.

[Azelma]

Yeah, I agree they have stage presence but I wouldn't describe any of them as 'towering'! :p

[Munchkin]

Here'll do

GUD flyer

[Spoofy]

thats quite a nice photo actually...but Cameron still needs to shave!!

you know its bad, when Mick looks better than Cameron

[Azelma]

Originally Posted by Beckslee

why do I now have this weird image in my head of all three in overalls doing square dancing

LOL ... I have exactly the same picture in my head too, except Mick's got a banjo instead of a guitar, and Paul's wearing a cummerbund with his overalls. :p

[Munchkin]

MX 25/03/2004

Gud save the comic
By Laeta Antonysen

Paul McDermott has been all but a blip on the entertainment radar for the past two years.
He bombed out as host of the 2002 AFI Awards and saw his starring role in the stage show Witches of Eastwick come to an abrupt end with the axing of a national tour.
But with a revamped TV career hosting the ABC's Strictly Dancing and his musical comedy trio Gud to return to this year's Melbourne International Comedy Festival, he is very much back in town.
When likened to Kylie Minogue for his ability to reinvent himself, his thoughts turn to hot pants.
"If I could look like her in hot pants singing and spinning around I'd be happy,'' he said.
But McDermott said he'd had enough of TV when he pulled the plug two years ago.
"After five years I felt I wanted to do other things,'' he said.
That included his first foray into the world of short-film making with an entry in the Berlin Film Festival, and writing and illustrating several "humorously dark'' children's books.
McDermott said he was enjoying his Strictly Dancing role and speculated about a future as a game show host.
"At a certain age you postulate what you will do,'' he said.
"From a very early age I never wanted to do brekkie radio, never wanted to be a performer.
"Not on my life did I think I would host a dancing show or a game show. But it is more interesting to do things that are alien to you.''
Gud, made up of McDermott, Cameron Bruce and Mick Moriarty, is similar to his old breadwinner, the Doug Anthony All Stars.
McDermott said Gud which pays homage to the American accent and performers' fascination with thanking God, or "Gud'', when accepting awards took a musical comedy approach to topical issues.
"When we (the All Stars) stopped for a long time I had nothing for an outlet,'' he said.
"It is great to have two musicians, who can actually play very, very well, to team up with.''

[GentleZephyr]

"It is great to have two musicians, who can actually play very, very well, to team up with.''

It's nice to hear him praising the other members. Many articles seem to infer that it's a one man show.

[Munchkin]

Beat Magazine March 2004

CAMERON BRUCE

SulidGud

GUD, hilarious cabaret trio and all round personalities, are Paul McDermott (singer, comic), Cameron Bruce (keyboardist), and Mick Moriarty (guitarist). Winners of The Age Critics Award at the 2003 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, they are back this year with SULID GUD. I had a chat to the very laid-back, very dry Cameron Bruce, who refused to answer any questions seriously. Being the Comedy Festival this is clearly appropriate. By the end of the interview, I didn’t seem to know much more about the show, but I laughed the entire time.

So what exactly is this show about and how does GUD relate to us, their adoring audience? “I’m your cousin. We talk to the audience, the bar staff and the manager, just a chat with no tops on… it’s like being in a sauna. We encourage the audience to take their tops off as well.” The show is “a lot of whatever comes, no narrative, music and banter, a lot of improv. Not much nudity, just the top half – we’re not gonna take our pants off this year.” The music varies in the show from “Cock out rock” to “weeping sentimental shit-house balladry” and each performer in the show has a slightly different role. “While Paul is very acidic, I befriend the audience and make love to them.”

This year’s show is different from the previous, as Bruce explains with a burping prelude. “Much more wizardry. I think you will find we are a bit older than last year – Mick’s habit has really kicked in. His eyes are glazed over more. I hate Paul more – which can only happen over time. And I mean true unadulterated hatred of an individual – I can barely be in the same room as him.”

Chatting to the fabulously frivolous Bruce, I was intrigued to know how a show with such spontaneity gets off the ground, and how it has developed since GUD formed. “We all get together and write the songs and generally banter will come either side of that – often times the banter develops through the show. Initially it was going to be a concept dance piece involving music wizardry and of course, dance – turns out it’s just wizardry and …music.”

GUD have just completed a highly successful season with Adelaide Fringe. They have performed sell-out shows at The Famous Speigeltent in Melbourne and Sydney and of course had a ‘triumphant sell-out season at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The world famous Gilded Balloon venue was the focus of the GUD UK hysteria with huge crowds cheering, stamping and demanding more at every show.’

GUD (Gas Und Dampf) is German for gas and steam. I don’t know if this has anything to do with their name, but it seems to describe this trio perfectly. The Metro (Glasgow) describes GUD as “abrasive and brilliantly unpredictable...the show's apparent semi-chaos is underpinned by superb singing.”Based on the brief conversation I had with this musician, it is bound to be an extemporaneous blast.

Wes Snelling

[Munchkin]

The Age 02/04/2004

McDermott's star keeps shining
Andrew Murfett, Reviewer

SULID GUD
Paul McDermott, Cameron Bruce, Mick Moriarty, Supper Room, Melbourne Town Hall, until April 18

Once an outfit for Paul McDermott's outrageous stand-up and cabaret with an apt side-kick (Cameron Bruce) and kicking-bag (Mick Moriarty), GUD have grown musically. But McDermott's vicious irony and wit ensure he is the star of the show.

In Tuesday's show, GUD opened with an excellent musical discourse denouncing the murderous nature of heavy metal when compared with "soft-cock rock". GUD's songs are all about pop-cultural references and any song that drops ELO and Bryan Adams into its lyrics and ends as a dedication to Rick Astley is bound to draw laughs.

A terrific song suggested Rene Rivkin should face up to his crimes and sleep underneath Ivan Milat's bunk. It ingeniously concluded to the strains of Rick Price's obscure early 1990s hit Don't Walk Away, Renee.

Despite the amusing material in their songs, much of GUD's laughs arise during the between-song banter usually initiated by McDermott.

One of the most cocksure and confident performers at the festival, McDermott used the gaps between songs for routines or as a chance to spar briskly with his side-kicks (or the audience).

On Tuesday, Bruce almost outshone McDermott with some sharp one-liners and deadpan retorts. At one stage, McDermott decided an impromptu demonstration of the mating ritual of rifle birds was in order and invited a female audience member on stage and proceeded to give a strangely realistic exhibition.

Perhaps a little outdated was their ode to the Australian sheep that were trapped on a ship in the Middle East, Free the Sheep, which featured the clever line "Even Tiananmen Square was in the open air". McDermott then wondered aloud whether the Bee Gees still perform Stayin' Alive.

An encore was demanded (notably by McDermott himself) and the boys lurched into a peculiar song about Santa that noted his fetishes for drugs and strip-clubs.

It all came to a timely end with a gratuitous ode to Michael Jackson.

Sulid Gud relishes the task of lambasting seemingly untouchable topics, and is clearly not for the easily offended. Still, it's a fast-paced, vitriolic, musical metamorphosis that's pretty damn funny.


[I think this may be an early favourite for Gutter Monkey's THE GOLDEN BROWN NOSE AWARD]

Originally Posted by Munchkin

An encore was demanded (notably by McDermott himself) and the boys lurched into a peculiar song about Santa that noted his fetishes for drugs and strip-clubs.

Is this Santa song a new one???? hmmm Santa

boof