190 Proof: OF LIMBO Members Jake and Luke Davies Discuss Throwing a Few Back

We all need a little bit of danger in our rock n’ roll, which OF LIMBO can supply a lot of. The brotherly duo have taken that danger on the road this past month as they have spent the better part of the last month touring around the U.S. with Faster Pussycat. As fans in these cities could attest to, this pair can make any show a rock n’ roll party. They are out in support of their latest single release, “California Demon.” Released in September, the song is heavy as hell and has a certain glam element to it. It’s infectious rock at its best, rebellious, unruly, and aggressive in all of the right ways.

The cornerstones of OF LIMBO are brothers Jake and Luke Davies. They were born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, but to jumpstart their careers decided a relocation was in order. So they picked up and moved to Long Beach, California, where they are surrounded by more of an active music scene. They have become well-known locally, and have earned the respect of their peers. The Davies brothers have toured nationally, playing over a hundred shows per year, and supported some stellar bands. That list includes Wolfmother, Hinder, Candlebox, Buckcherry, and more.

What goes best with heavy rock? Booze, of course! Joining us today are Jake and Luke Davies for a conversation about alcohol, hangovers, performing while buzzed, and more!

First things first: Beer, wine, or liquor?

Jake Davies: “Liquor. We’ve always said, ‘When life gives you lemons, add vodka.’”

What’s the most unique/strangest/most batshit thing you’ve ever had to drink? Describe the experience.

Jake: “We were on tour heading through Vegas and we stopped at the shittiest (literally) dive bar we could find… the Double Down Saloon. As we sat down, we noticed shots being served in mini-toilets… and knew we had to experience one. The shot itself is said to be made from whatever leftovers are in the bottoms of the bottles at the end of a shift, as well as spillage in bar mats and rails. They call it ‘ass-juice.’ You have to be absolutely depraved to drink this stuff, so naturally, we had two rounds.

“As well as the toilet shot glass, we included a shot of the actual toilet at the Double Down as reference. Also, note they had a chain and lock securing the toilet paper to the wall, if that’s any indication of their regular clientele.

Of Limbo beer pour

What’s the funniest thing you’ve ever done under the influence?

Jake: “Well, there’s always this…”

If you got to have a drink with anyone from history, who would it be?

Jake: “It’s my life’s life’s dream to party with Alex Jones in Austin, Texas. Preferably Bohemian Grove-era Alex Jones. He is, to this day… America’s greatest entertainer.”

What is your favourite brewery/vineyard/winery/distillery you’ve ever visited? What made the experience so special?

Luke Davies: “While enjoying some down time in North Carolina, we stopped in for a night at Whistlehop Brewery for some getting down time. It turned into various challenges to decide who was the least drunk. After our standard 360 competition, the challenge culminated in the high kick off. Which Jake clearly lost.”

OF LIMBO “California Demon” single artwork

Favourite drinking game?

Luke: “As we often say, Australians will make a drinking game out of anything. I recall we had a few days off in Colorado and we went camping. We spent a whole afternoon and evening throwing rocks at empty beer cans from different distances, with drinking penalties to those who miss.

“In terms of traditional games, we are pretty intense with our beer pong. So much so we have a custom table with our Davies brother crest at the home end. Many a night we’ve spent screaming and laughing over some pong.”

Jake: “We have a game called Matchbox where you sit at a table with your drinks in front of you. You go around clockwise taking turns throwing a pack of cigarettes (the Matchbox) over your drink. If it lands on its side, two drinks to the next person. If it lands on its ass or head (vertically) it’s four drinks to the next person. But the numbers compound, growing and growing until someone fails. But landing it flat on the back or the face of the pack. So the loser very often will have to finish their drink if they have failed after eight sips debt has been built up.

“We used to play this at Crow’s Nest in Long Beach. A well known Cougar Bar where we once had VIP cards that allowed us UNLIMITED drinks from 7 to 10 PM nightly for 10 dollars. After we abused the generosity of the VIP card to a degree Crow’s management could have never foreseen, our VIP status was revoked and the entire VIP program was permanently ceased.”

Describe your worst hangover, ever.

Luke: “For our most recent music video we had a release party next door to our local watering hole. There’s a huge billboard on the street corner that we commandeered by throwing a massive roll of paper over it using a 25 foot ladder, and then projected our video onto it. The party very quickly got out of hand as we invited people back to our place afterwards… It continued well into the next day and Jake and I both had to call out of work for the two subsequent days. Not sure if that’s the worst I’ve EVER had, but it’s certainly the worst in recent memory.”

Whiskey dick, fact or fiction? Maybe you’re a mattress monster and impervious to it, if not, tell us your most embarrassing whiskey dick story!

Jake: “Thankfully Whiskey dick doesn’t apply because we almost always drink vodka (and beers). However, we have been known to piss the bed from time to time (laughs).”

Of Limbo card

Do you like to write music while drinking or having just drank? If yes, what?

Luke: “Definitely. Some of our best work has come after booze-fueled nights at our local bars, either the V-Room or Shannon’s. That was arguably what started the band. After I moved from Boston to Long Beach, we’d go to work by day and hit the bars at night pretty religiously. Music just started pouring out of us faster than we could record it. All inhibitions were gone, it was just two brothers having fun creating the type of music we wanted to hear ourselves. Although we’ve slowed down a little since those days, we still LOVE a good rager to get the creative juices flowing.”

Best (or worst) drunk band story? Go!

Luke: “After a show at the Viper Room, where he was enveloped in so much smoke machine smoke to the point the audience couldn’t see him from five feet away, our drummer at the time decided to go on an angry bender with a liquor store bottle, just walking the streets and alleys of Sunset Blvd. After calling his phone like 60 times to get him back to the van to drive home after the bars closed. He was nowhere to be seen. He told us the next day, he woke up inside a dumpster, and luckily, his phone still had enough charge to call himself an Uber.”

Of Limbo toilet

Best (or worst) booze-related on-stage fiasco?

Luke: “We were on tour with Small Town Titans last year in Indiana and it was the final show of the run. Now stage-diving is kind of my thing… I’d done it at least a half dozen times on that tour alone, but I guess that night I’d had a few too many and wasn’t able to recognize that there weren’t nearly enough people in the crowd to pull it off.

“So as STT were hitting the climax of their set during ‘The Devil’s Choir,’ I jumped up on stage with them then superman launched myself off. I was essentially suplexed by an older lady as I took us both down to the ground, cracking my head against the concrete. She then proceeded to stomp me in revenge while I was on the ground. I had to get twelve staples in my head that night in the ER.”

Which city has your best drunken memory… and what is it?

Jake: “Long Beach for sure. One night the show Dexter paid us 500 bucks to stop partying on our balcony because we were in their shot while Dexter was going to dump a body or whatever in the bay. So we splashed cash like an NBA player at a strip club after winning a ring! Chosen venue was Dogz Bar and Grill where their signature shot is the ‘shoot the dog’ which consists of Everclear, mustard, Bloody Mary mix and a mini sausage soaked in Everclear. It’s best to swallow that thing whole… chewing will result in instantaneous involuntary vomiting. But hey, at least they give you this hat to commemorate the event.”

What’s the worst (or best) dive bar you’ve ever gone drinking to?

Jake: “So many. There’s one in Austin called Dirty Bills that holds a very special place in our heart. They sell bottles of blue and orange Mad Dog 20/20 for 5 dollars, so naturally the hangovers from there are pretty gnarly. They also have an annual event during which they play nothing but Taylor Swift songs all night. We suffered through with ear plugs in, only because we’ve never seen a ratio of hotter girls to basically zero guys line up around the block.”

What’s your worst/best puke story?

Luke: “Well I am known as ‘Pukey Lukey’ for a reason. It’s so frequent for me it’s quite hard to narrow it down to just one memory. In fact, it’s happened so often that we now have designated ‘barf bags’ dispersed throughout the van. So no matter where I end up in there on any night, the van’s interior is safe.

“Guess Jake was one that got caught on camera though…”

Ever been hit on stage by someone throwing their drink/bottle?

Luke: “We were touring with Hinder, playing at Pub Station in Billings, Montana. Thirty seconds into our first song, Jake, our singer, got hit in the head with a bottle from the crowd. Full ‘Roadhouse’ style. When he realized what had happened and security was strong arming the assailant out the door Jake said over the mic, ‘Damn, that dude really didn’t want to have to wait another second for Lips of an Angel I guess.’ The crowd went wild.”

Of Limbo puke