You're all relatively young but have been involved in Sydney's music scene for quite a number of years. How did you all become involved and tell me about your previous bands.
It's a really long and crazy story actually. Im 19 now, but It started in early 2004, walking home through Newtown, when i was 15 years old. I used to look like a Ramone, I ran into this guy Dizzy who also looked like a Ramone and his girlfriend. He played guitar and said he wanted to start a band, through him I met Sindy who played drums and was as crazy as I was. We formed a band called "The Skanks". We started off as a three piece playing Ramones and New York Dolls covers, with me singing, but needed a bass player. We met our first bass player Matty at a keg party and then started gigging round town.
We were insane, it was like the Ramones meets Motley Crue, still the craziest time of my life I had in that band. It was sex, drugs and rock n roll, but as time went on the more and more we grew to dislike Dizzys girlfriend and the more she got involved with sticking her nose into the band's business. By mid 2005 Matty had had enough of her and quit, who we then replaced with a wild long haired guy called Mikey who we met again, drunk at a party, who works into the story later. We played a couple of shows with that line up before Dizzy himself had enough and quit.
I was drinking really heavily by this time so, frustrated I replied to an add for a Wollongong band called Shotgun Wedding, it didn't work out but through the process I met this blonde dude called Pete who played bass and we hit it off, drinkin like fish and writing songs I hooked up a band with me on guitar, Pete on bass and Sindy Drumming. The Beginning of L.U.S.T. We found a singer in 2006 called Timmy who we recorded our EP with Peter Northcote with, another life changing moment. Peter Northcote is the most influential person I have probably met aside from the guys in the band, he has been really on my case to become a better player, but Timmy had other commitments and became too unreliable by the end of it. This is where Mikey comes back into the story, Its 2007 by now, outside a Motorhead gig I ran into him for the first time in months. He told me he was singing now, so I was keen to check it out, he came round and sang a few bars of one of the songs and we were like dude this guy has got it. So thats it.
Your biggest influences when you began on the live music circuit? (anything… doesn't even have to be musical influences)
Far out time flies... When we started I think our biggest influences were each other, me n Sin both had a real passion for over the top psycho rock n roll like Motley Crue and Kiss but also bands with lots of punk attitude like the Sex Pistols and the Ramones. Combine those in a 15 year old kid and give him alcohol in a club it's pretty much a recipe for insanity. It was like play guitar all day then onstage playing guitar behind my head and going nuts trying my hardest to be like Johnny Thunders or Nikki Sixx, then off stage it was "how much alcohol can I drink before I throw up and pass out?". I lost count of how many girls I'd been with by the time I had turned seventeen. I burned alot of bridges and got ripped off alot.
Biggest influences now? (anything… doesn't even have to be musical influences)
My past influences the present alot. I still love over the top rock like Kiss and Motley Crue, and still idolise Sid Vicious. I'll never learn! haha. No, alot has changed since then, Peter Northcote is definately my biggest musical influence now. He has taught me alot about harmony and melody. I learned that while its cool and fun to party, doing it to that extent that i was before a show is cheating the audience and yourself. What's the point in being "rock n roll" if you can't play cause your too busy throwing up. We influence each other and work as a unit, a psychotic rock n roll machine.
Insanity comes out in our lyrics, and at the after parties. For example our latest song "Gimme A Fix" is all about what it's like when getting wasted every night is your best friend. "That's Rock n Roll" the second track off our EP I wrote when the Skanks had broken up, my girlfriend had split cause I was a jerk, and I had no idea what I was going to do with myself. The stuff we write isn't just some cool ideas we threw together to try and sound cool, it actually happened. Sure I've lived through quite a few horror movies however through it all i have had a hell of a lot of fun too. Which is another thing I like to emphasise, focus on the positive! Lots of fucked up stuff happens in life, that's part of it, enjoy it while it lasts, even if it is insane! Thrive in your insanity!
You guys are no strangers to playing shows at venues in Annandale. Tell me about your best, worst and funniest experiences… and where.
The best experience personally was soloing on the Annandale's bar. That has always been a dream of mine, but we've had quite a few crazy moments. One time in Wollongong a brawl broke out in front of the stage between the punx and the metal heads, that was insane! I have a wireless so I always like to find the one person in the audience who looks like they're not enjoying themselves and harass the shit out of them, that's always a highlight for me. People always want to know the worst experience! as if I want to tell you that! I jumped off the Annandale's stage in the middle of a guitar solo and then realised I had no way of getting back onstage, that was pretty damn bad.
How do you feel you have developed as a musicians and performers over the years?
So much and so well, that is definately the most positive aspect of everything that we've been through as a band, we have never given up and come out better performers and musicians because of it. It's the most important and often overlooked thing, you have to be able to play and perform well. It's one thing to be able to write a really good song. To record it well, then play it live as good, or better than you do on record is really something. Something we are always working really hard to try and achieve. Persistence is the key and practice really does make perfect. We pride ourselves in keeping things going as crazy as possible onstage.