Brad Shepherd has a few reasons to be happy, the most obvious being that he’s alive right now. Halfway through last year, the 49-year-old Hoodoo Gurus guitarist underwent surgery to remove his lymph nodes, which had turned cancerous six years after he had a melanoma cut out from under his neck.
“I had like 50 staples up here,” he says, revealing the thick purple scar that runs from his back up through the middle of his left armpit and around to the bottom of his shoulder. “It’s only been six or seven months since I had the surgery but I’m almost unaware that I’ve had it now. The first couple of shows I could feel it cramping a bit but I’ve been to Japan since then playing shows and I’m as good as gold.”
Another reason for Shepherd’s happiness is that the Gurus are back with a new ninth album, Purity of Essence, their first since 2003’s Mach Schau, and the band is preparing to hit the road for their first bout of touring in years.
The third reason is his incredible guitar collection, which he has agreed to show off for Australian Guitar.
He lays the many road cases on the floor of the Gurus’ rehearsal studio. As he crouches down to flick the catches and flip each lid, it’s like he’s opening the doors to his own guitar heaven.
An orgy of Gibsons, Fenders, a Gretsch and a funky old Maton stretches out before us like a scene out of the guitar equivalent of Caligula, as Brad regales us with the stories behind his favourite guitars…
Brad Shepherd with The Hitmen playing the Jet Sports Club in 2010.
Video courtesy of Boris Zemljacenko
