Music Feeds chats with Tom Kell from The Upskirts in the lead up to their gig at the a North Shore showcase Showtime. This Saturday they’ll be playing with a horde of other local bands demonstrating that the North Shore has had the talent, and the fans all a long…
Music Feeds: How did it all begin?
Tom Kell: Nick, Matt and I started playing together for a music project in high school, just like every other band ever, and we started hanging out playing terrible Green Day and Sum 41 covers in various garages and lounge rooms. Matt changed schools and met our other guitarist Henry, who looked like the dude from Wolfmother and, naturally, we assumed he’d be awesome at guitar. More jamming and more terrible covers and, yeah: we just sort of came into serious being about 2 years ago.
MF: You’ve recently finished your first EP; give us a bit of a run down of Vacations
TK: It has actually been quite a laborious exercise getting this EP out in the open. The songs featured are some of the first songs we wrote together, and the recording process was dragged out with holidays and general tomfoolery from all sectors. We were very happy with the end result though: we play loud, disheveled garage punk about getting drunk and getting girls, which are the only things that plague our troubled minds thus far.
MF: What was the greatest show you’ve ever played?
TK: We played MUM @ World Bar late last year, and a whole bunch of our friends came out to check us out. There must have been something else on that night because the second storey room was absolutely packed with people. A circle pit was started, everyone was dying of heat exhaustion, Nick’s amp got drenched in beer and a dude offered me amal mid-song. It was messy, sweaty, deafening, cramped and glorious grub punk madness: like every show should be.
MF: Favourite album out at the moment?
TK: I don’t necessarily vouch for the other fellas, but I’ve really been getting into New Brigade by Iceage. The production values on this album really capture the essence of a raw and dangerous punk gig with cacophonic guitar lurches and tumbling drums. I think it’s important for bands to embrace alternative recording techniques nowadays, so that their music can act as faithful advertisements for their live shows, and by the sound of this album, a live show from these dudes would be fucking brutal.
MF: Sum up the world of The Upskirts in one word
TK: …violating.
MF: When can we check you out next?
TK: We’ve got a bunch of shows coming up all over the place. We’re at Port Macquarie, Armidale and Cabana Bar in St Leonards this week, which will be fun. Then we are playing a show at the Australian Museum on the 30th as part of the ‘Jurassic Lounge’ series curated by the museum. We will appear alongside art installations, performance artists, and a stunning array of creepy stuffed animals. If enough people come down, I’ll play the entire show in leopard skin-print underpants. No homo.
Catch The Upskirts with Static Silhouettes, I’m No Thief, Beaufields, Dan Allars and Lovers Jump Creek at Cabana Bar and Lounge, 80 Christie Street St Leonards this Saturday night.
