About the Author

Jonathan Griffiths was born in New Zealand, in the shadow of Huntly’s coal-fired power station. He first came to fame as the singer of the infamous punk band Proud Scum in 1979.

He spent the ‘80s and ‘90s in Sydney as a playwright and taxi driver. And he’s been hiding in Melbourne ever since, churning out his first novel and his first collection of short stories.

: The Author 2010

: The Author 1980

: Sex, Drugs and a Good Book

: Author with water pump

Interviewed by Gerard Smith on the TV show The Beat Goes On, Jonathan Griffiths talks about the launch of the book.

Watch a short video – also from this author. A short film written for the Tropicana Film Festival of 1998.

The human heart is like a water pump.

It looks fine; it sounds fine. But if you don’t look after it, if you’re always running hot, or your system’s full of shit, your impeller blades wear down, your bushes go, your gaskets start to leak. But it still looks and sounds fine, till suddenly one day you find yourself stopped at the roadside, boiling over. You open your bonnet and you say, shit, my water pump’s fucked. Look after your heart. … [Read More...]

Sex

"At the lights at Boundary Street, she moved to the front seat so I could massage her spine. I started at her neck. By Mona Vale Road, I’d reached the small of her back and was feeling a stirring in my loins. ‘That’s not too hard is it?’ I asked. She shook her head. By Telegraph Road, I’d reached her coccyx and was headed for territory beyond the jurisdiction of the Chiropractic Society. My fingers slid between her buttocks as we turned off the Highway. She unzipped my fly and opened … [Read More...]

Drugs

On the way there, Alistair, the bass player, insisted we stop at a chemist. He came back with a 500ml brown glass bottle. He’d studied chemistry at university, so he knew all the best drugs. As soon as we got to the motel, he unscrewed the cap and a sickly smell filled the room. ‘It’s a funny drug, ether,’ he said, as we passed the bottle around and inhaled, almost to the point of blackout. ‘It has the effect of separating the hemispheres of the brain in such a way that you receive … [Read More...]

Rock n Roll

"It was an ugly concrete box, which I suddenly remembered Johnny Blob had told me had the worst acoustics in the Southern Hemisphere. ‘One, two. One, two.’ God that sounds awful. Sid and Alistair tried to tune the guitars. Alistair had forgotten to tell us that ether distorts your hearing. We couldn’t afford guitar tuners; we always did it by ear – normally a five-minute job – but in that place, in our state, almost impossible. Fifteen minutes later we seemed no closer. The crowd was … [Read More...]

Launch confirmed

The launch of The Bits is scheduled for 1st July, 3pm, at The Substation, Market Street, Newport, 3015. Be there. … [Read More...]

The Bits that Didn’t Fit now available in bookshops

The Bits is creeping onto bookshelves. Book and Paper in Williamstown and The Sun Bookshop in Yarraville are now stocking The Bits that Didn't Fit. Copies are available from The Sun stall at The Williamstown Literary Festival this weekend, and I'll be reading from the book on Sunday (some time around the middle of the day) at the Open Mike at Willy Lit Fest. … [Read More...]