Thirsty Merc celebrating 20 good years in Busselton

With hits like In The Summertime, Someday, Someday, and Tommy and Krista still in regular rotation on our radios, there's far more than 20 Good Reasons for Thirsty Merc to set off on a massive 20^th anniversary tour.

Oddly enough for an eastern states band, they're kicking it off in Paraburdoo before heading down the coast on a 10-leg run, including their first show in Busselton on June 25.

What a great excuse then for us to catch up with one of Australia's favouite songwriters, Thirsty Merc's frontman, Rai Thistlethwayte.

It was after his not so fuel efficient 1979 Mercedes 280SEL that the band was named, but he was able to upgrade pretty quickly as the band soared up the charts with their debut EP, First Work.

Thistlethwayte said that initial period of success from the first single release, to their 2005 ARIA nomination was a bit of a blur.

"Because you're in it yourself, you don't realise the ambience of how things are going out, these little concentric circles of energy from the band. You don't know where and when people are listening to it.

"You're just trying to get to the next gig, having to drive a long way, and set your gear up. It kind of doesn't stop.

"I remember thinking this is a good problem to have. It's nice to be working. A lot of people would love to be in this position, so I didn't take it for granted."

It wasn't until years later, he said, that the band really felt as though they'd made it. It wasn't 20 Good Reasons going platinum, it was a simple gig at a Sydney pub.

"There were two rock pubs. The first one was called the Hopetoun Hotel, and the second one was the Annandale Hotel. We thought, if we could play at either of those, even as a support band, that'd be great.

"I remember when we finally got to be able to do that. We did a couple of all ages shows at the Annandale Hotel, and they were both full of people."

It's not to say that the platinum single didn't help. In fact it's one of their many songs we still hear on the radio today. Thistlethwayte is still excited by it every time he's in a shop and one comes on, but he said it won't compare to the first time.

"It's kind of like having your first kiss," he said.

"There's a kind of romance that comes with that, when a radio DJ back-announces your song. That was a pretty exhilarating thing."

The experience was made all the better by a fond 'radio sound' he said he remembered from riding in the car with his dad. The subtle crackle of the wireless signal, the compression and volume boosting to get over the road noise.

"It had a different sound to it from what I remember in the recording studio. Hearing that sound it was like, wow, it does sound like it's on the radio. It's different, you know."

Thirsty Merc had stiff competition for that radio airplay with acts like Missy Higgins, Ben Lee, Wolfmother, Jet - a whole host of artists who still occupy our playlists.

Their strong melodies managed to break through in that crowd, but it wasn't a concerted effort to write catchy songs, but a constant exposure to them that Thistlethwayte credits with the band's success.

From his dad's car rotation of The Beach Boys, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones - to his classical pianist mum's admiration for Beethoven and Tchaikovsky - he said it was music that has stood the test of time that inspired Thirsty Merc.

"The stuff that got forgotten about obviously wasn't very strong, but the stuff we still listen to today is actually still melodically very strong.

"I've always been a fan of that, That's probably why I didn't shy away from choruses that had that kind of thing. I liked the simplicity behind stuff like that."

That love of melody combined with what Thistlethwayte admitted were very simple stories of growing up in Australia which, thanks to our large middle-class, a lot of people can relate to, regardless of where or even when they come from.

"I was a suburban kid really. We were just bushwalking, and riding our bikes around, I had crushes on girls at school. I was just writing my high school lyrics about that sort of stuff.

"We were just talking about our childhood experiences, and keeping it simple. Hopefully I've evolved since then, but I probably haven't."

Thirsty Merc's 10 show tour of WA is just the start of a nationwide celebration run of two decades of music. Despite all that time playing shows across the country, there's still parts Thistlethwayte is using this tour to go and see.

"I'm mates with a great musician (in WA), Ben Vanderwal, who's always been raving about Busselton. I don't think we've played a show there before, so it'll be really cool to check out the landscape."

Vanderwal is one of WA's most sought after drummers, and he'll be joining the band for the entire WA leg of the tour.

Thirsty Merc will be playing Sunday night at Albies. While they have some new tunes in the works, They promised they won't shy away from the hits.