Shetland rockers Ten Tonne Dozer refuse to let their far north location dent their bid to take their legendary show to their fans.
Set to celebrate their 20th anniversary next year the five piece’s behemoth live performances have packed out shows in Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and the UK.
However singer and founding member Dave Kok lifts the lid on the “nightmare” logistics in getting their live show beyond Shetland.
Originally from Tasmania in Australia, Dave insists it costs a minimum of £600 for the band just to travel to the mainland.
Even then that journey is dependent on the weather with Dave admitting “you are never guaranteed to get on or off when you want.”
Yet groove metal band Ten Tonne Dozer have never missed a gig.
And when not delivering a charismatic presence as the band’s front-man Dave oversees a sanctuary for wallabies, emus and possums – 9,500 miles away from Australia.
He said: “It is such a nightmare to get off Shetland at the best of times.
“It costs around £600 just to get off the rock before we even play our first gig, and that’s the cheap rate.
“Which means when we do a tour we try to make the most of it.
“We have toured Germany, Belgium and Holland as well as Scotland and England.
“Doing those kind of tours makes it more worthwhile to help get the finances back to cover your costs.”
‘Being island bound doesn’t stop us’
The band released single Two Thirds Beast last year and have previously delivered albums I Smell Skin (2017) and Monster (2015).
Ten Tonne Dozer will undertake the mammoth journey from Shetland to Aberdeen when headlining Krakatoa in the Granite City in October.
Dave said: “We try not to get to the mainland after October because the thing with Shetland is you are never guaranteed to get on or off when you want.
“You are based on what the weather is like in Shetland.
“Luckily we have never missed a gig on the mainland.
“We played Krakatoa a couple of years back in December and were thinking ‘oh, let’s just see how we go with that trip’.
“Luckily everything was calm although very icy so the boat still went.
“Logistically it is not easy. Being island bound doesn’t stop us and we’re looking to do a tour for our 20th anniversary next year.”
Metal, wallabies, possums and emus
Vocalist Dave is joined in Ten Tonne Dozer by Jamie Duncan (lead guitar), Jamie Dalziel (rhythm guitar), Barrie Scobie (bass) and Dean Williamson (drums).
Australia might be almost 10,000 miles away for Tazmanian Davee.
However when he is not fronting the heavy rockers he runs The Outpost – a sanctuary for animals including wallabies, emus and possums .
Dave said: “We rescue animals and I have Ossie animals like wallabies, emus and possums.
“As part of things we put on for the community we have a music festival that usually has about 30 Shetland bands that plays.
“I have been in Shetland now for the bulk of 25 years and always wanted wallabies here.
“It is a good climate for them as it is never too cold and never too hot.
“Emus self-regulate their body temperature so they are fine.
“The Outpost offers good therapy is is good for the community as well and for school groups that come along.”
‘Why did you bring a circular saw on stage?’
The band are former winners of the Scottish Alternative Music Awards “Best Metal” category.
Ten Tonne Dozer recently signed to Fraserburgh based label Morningstar Records and plan to release an album next year.
The band played at the Tall Ships Races event in Lerwick on the Holmsgarth Main Stage in July last year.
Dave said: “I’m the vocalist so I’m the one who gets pulled up by people saying things like ‘why did you bring a circular saw on stage?.
“I just forget half the time that I do that mad stuff.
“One of the highlights for me was doing Tall Ships last year in front of 5,500 people which was pretty cool.
“However having said that I also love doing a pub gig in somewhere like Elgin with 50 people going mad.
“Shetland is renowned for folk music but there are a lot of other genres as well, especially rock, metal and punk.
“There is a great music scene here.”
Conversation