Finding myself upside down in Australia, I ask one of my all-time rock heroes Kim Salmon to meet up for a drink. He suggests we rendezvous at the Merri Creek Tavern, an intimate Melbourne vinyl bar with a dimly lit Twin Peaks-y venue in its posterior. The back room is so sexy they keep it open even when there’s no show. Kim and I order a couple of local brews and take them back with us.

Though Kim’s ultra-affable, where do you start a conversation with a seminal figure in Australian punk, a living statue in the power pop pantheon, the creator of a fuzzed-out heaviness that directly inspired grunge, and an artist who’s never stopped churning out compelling new work?