Known for their outlandish punk and scantily clad live performances, these Sydneysiders are perhaps even more well known for their hilarious fly on the wall Comedy Central series, which unites the two not so distinct worlds they live. We speak with team leader Jamie Timony about the mini mockumentary and debut album.
Hi Jamie and thanks for taking the time out to speak with us at Musicology.
My absolute pleasure. Thanks for having me.
Firstly, congratulations on the release of your debut LP You Work For Us. It has been a little while in the making, but you have hit the ground running with the single Space In Hell. Can you elaborate a little on the subject matter of the single?
The in-house directed clip for Space In Hell is a slick and feisty-looking video. Did you storyboard a few concepts before arriving at the final vision for the single?
Actually, yes we did. Initially, the video was going to be set in a beauty salon. However, we went scouting for locations and couldn’t find one that was quite right. The idea of an intimate performance video set against a backdrop of warm flesh popped into my head a couple of days before we were due to shoot and we ran with it. Stoked with how it’s turned out.
Based in Sydney, how is the current climate, that is to say, inner west music scene, generous lockout laws, cheap and plentiful apartments, a smooth and efficiently run city, and low-cost living, reflected in your music?
You can feel the presence of government/law enforcement in the streets of Sydney. It’s very straight-laced. It didn’t feel like that when we first moved here. However, the Sydney music community is strong right now despite the new laws and everything. There are barely any venues to play at, but people are working around that.
One of the overlooked aspects of punk is its comedic edge and ability to highlight glaringly obvious flaws in society through sarcastic lyrics and witty observations. Artists like Guttermouth and Chain & The Gang come to mind but in your case what inspiring artists do you draw upon who have successfully incorporated humour into their music?
Artists like Kirin J Callinan, Connan Mockasin, Alex Cameron (and his beautiful horn player Roy Molloy), and Californian band The Garden do it well. It’s a fine line to toe. Often, in film, the best dramas are funny. And some of the best comedies can make you cry.
Case in point is your hilarious and absolutely brilliant mockumentary which would make Spinal Tap weep with joy. The skilfully crafted six part series is a masterclass in awkward, cringeworthy footage and one that is deceptively hard to pull off successfully. Where did the idea come from, and how did it all come together?
We made a mini mockumentary one day at a rehearsal studio with a filmmaker friend of ours and were all pleasantly surprised with the result. Afterwards, we started talking about it like, ‘We should make our own show’ etc. – as you do. Then, we just kept talking about it and got carried away and excited and started writing and planning and took it from there.
Your live performances are nothing short of wild and I would love to see a double-headline bill with yourselves and Totally Unicorn for a battle royale. What lessons do you take from watching bands as a punter that you weave into your own sets to elevate the show from a performance to an all-out free-for-all?
I didn’t grow up going to shows and didn’t really pay much attention to guitar or punk music as a teenager. I grew up doing theatre, acting in plays, and that kind of thing. The first live band I saw that really got me going was Cut Off Your Hands from New Zealand. I hated it at first. But, like most things that I’m put off by initially, I grew to love it. Nick had so much energy, and it really excited me. Of course, there are plenty of other artists I have cherry-picked bits and pieces from over the years. Most of the stuff I learn from watching bands is what not to do. I love that stuff.
You will be touring nationally later in the year, for those who haven’t had the privilege of seeing you live yet, what can they expect from one of your shows?
We’re rather heavy-handed with the strobe lights and smoke machine. Todd’s guitar is always too loud and spoils the show (or at least for me). Routinely, there’s some heckler that needs restoring to his factory settings. People try to take our nipple tape off, and we slap the fuck out of them.
