MAU

Hi, and welcome to another episode of the Modern Australian Underground. I'm Christina pap, and on the show today I'll be having a conversation with rich Stanley and Jake Robertson. Rich started making music in the early 90s. Playing in different sorts of bands such as The Onyas and more recently, the ooga boogas, and running aarght records here in Melbourne. Jake joined Rich running aarght records in the last seven or so years around the same time they started making music together during the band drug sweat, AC DC cover band The Acca Daccas and are now working on a new project with Grahame Clise from annihilation time and lecherous gaze. Jake also has been or currently is in a number of other bands such as his solo project alien nose job, smarts Heirophants, hardcore band swab, school damage, leather towel, and the recently defunct Ausmuteants. I really wanted to talk to both of them together to get an idea of the different experiences moving to Melbourne, playing in punk and rock bands, and how they got into the different creative outlets they do, as well as local music that has inspired them and kept them going, collaborating with each other over the last 10 years, as well as getting a few funny stories of tours and shows that have happened along the way. Keep listening as I talk to Jake and rich here on the modern Australian underground. Just to get the ball rolling. Maybe do you guys want to tell me your name. And then what you're currently up to right now in a creative capacity.

Rich Stanley

My name is Richard Stanley. Creatively, currently in a band with Jake called - well, we don't really have a name, we're just instrumental band sort of working things out. Is that the one with Graham, right?

Jake Robertson

Yeah and Kirk. It's definitely got to be the stingers right? Biston Stingers

MAU

you're gonna name it after

Jake Robertson

Graham's Guitar Business

MAU

What happened to Dr. Blood?

Rich Stanley

Well, he's not sure he wants to keep that name. Yeah,

Jake Robertson

I'm not sure I want to keep that.

MAU

I'm not the biggest fan.

Rich Stanley

I'm fine with Dr. Blood but we could get a professor Blood

Jake Robertson

It was called something else before that right?

Rich Stanley

they we going to be called frozen creature. Sorry, Skids. The Skids was gonna be called. I think that might be changing. To that, yeah. All right, because there's no excuse and there's legal suit.

Jake Robertson

Do you remember when that happened with the Ooga Boogas at flip out?

Rich Stanley

So yeah, when Johanna was doing all the publicity for that flip out festival. Um, there's a, like a web design.

MAU

They were like, they're like a kid's clothing company.

Rich Stanley

Yeah, they do graphic design or something around the corner from my house. And they called Ooga Booga.

Jake Robertson

Is that them in Thornbury?

Rich Stanley

So they issued a cease and desist. Yeah, saying you can't promote this band for your festival called Ooga Boogas. So we change their name to the door. When I moved into the neighbourhood, our second album , it was a few - like 2013, about five years later, and I saw that shop. And our second album had just come out. And I said, we went into the shop and I said to the guy, are you the store that like that band sued to try and get you to change your name? He was like, No, no, we have the name. We have the copyright on the name. We asked them to change their name. I was like, Oh, really? Well, let's still go. And they called Ooga boogas. They've got a new album that is all over Triple J. He got his nose outta joint and walked out. I think he knew.

MAU

So anyway, yeah. Doing the band together, you doing anything else at the moment?

Rich Stanley

Ooga Boogas have changed their name to power supply, which is finishing off the first power supply album. We recorded the last year in September. And it's taken a long time.

Jake Robertson

It was the just before they recorded it there was the death of the Ooga Boogas show at the tote

Rich Stanley

Yeah, we announced any number wearing power supplies t shirts.

MAU

Ah, cool.

Rich Stanley

Sort of cool

Jake Robertson

it's very power supply

MAU

What about you, Jake?

Jake Robertson

I'm just being doing alien nosejob stuff in my bedroom at the moment and starting to have band practice again. Swab with yourself and the stingers or doctor bistons with rich and we had a smart Smart one last night from first time since maybe may or something

MAU

So that album is great, by the way.

Jake Robertson

Yeah. happy with how it turned out.

MAU

And it's cool that it came out. I'll feel it as well in the States.

Jake Robertson

Yeah, for sure. Sam did a bang up job. Yeah, I don't know. What else have I been doing? I just recorded an album with Mikey in Thornbury a couple of weeks ago.

MAU

Alien nose job?

Jake Robertson

Yeah. And I don't know, I've just been like packing boxes at Sound Merch. Oh, does it sound that really?I think personally, I'm a very big home body person anyway. And I kind of like to lock myself in a room and make weird little noises.

MAU

Oh, the problem you like playing so many bands that you like being a homebody, But you're at most nights playing shows, Right?

Jake Robertson

I'm not really I am looking forward to like seeing people again and like, going to a show but I'm not really I don't really care about playing a show and in the foreseeable future. But it'll happen soon.

MAU

So you guys are doing like this stingers band together, but you haven't played live the last live band? You played it together? Was that the Daccas?

Jake Robertson

Oh, drug sweat?

Rich Stanley

drug sweat did a show. I think in February

Jake Robertson

Gutter girls launch. Maybe?

Rich Stanley

did that one with Rot TV. And Shove. we do that other show with? cash out? This 11 year old 12 year old rapper? At the Grace Darling. He just messaged the tote saying I wanna I want to -

MAU

How was that?

Jake Robertson

It was fantastic.

Rich Stanley

He was amazing. His parents were there. He's 12 years old, right is this idea that I'll play you know, and I play one song for $100 and I play two songs.

Jake Robertson

It w a s a lot he had to add a zero on to that thing.

Rich Stanley

But I said look, you know, this is actually not sort of how it works. We can put you on a bill and we split the cash and stuff. I can't offer you a show at the tote but my band drug sweat has a show coming up and if you'd like to play you'd be most welcome. He came along and he he had the backing track he did a cover of juice world and then he goes upstairs at the Grace Darling and he his parents so they already made him go downstairs. But they sort of snuck up to this top of the stairs I was like look you can just poke your head on it

MAU

that's cute. So maybe moving it back a little bit if that was drug sweat what like his drugs what the first band you guys were in together? And when did that when did that happen?

Rich Stanley

April Yeah, April 2014. Shortly after I'd started booking the tote

MAU

but you guys met before like a while before that

Rich Stanley

2011

MAU

are you really know your dates

Jake Robertson

I reckon we first met at Wooly Bully. Or even the Gaso.

Rich Stanley

Maybe it was the Gaso. With John and Mitch. john was in Leather Towel with Jake. That came about through Jake hanging out at Wooly bully all the time. And then

MAU

And was this when you were living in Geelong still?

Jake Robertson

Yeah, I was living in Geelong and then woolly bully which was a comic book and record store cafe in North Melbourne. I just used to frequent like being a comic book nerd and a record nerd. And a hot sauce nerd. I frequented that place and got to know john and Mitch and basically just slept on the couch for like, weeks at a time. just because, you know, whenever I couldn't be asked going on the on the V line. I think I actually I do. I remember when I met you because like, I was playing Mario Kart with Mitch and it was like really heated. I was beating her and it's really like she owned the game. I didn't so I was like, Fuck you, Mitch. And then like, rich came in you like, hey, like, I'm rich. And I was like, hey, like, I remember like, for like, a couple of weeks feeling bad that I did like a shitty introduction.

MAU

I think that's pretty valid.

Rich Stanley

It's totally valid.

Jake Robertson

I won as well. If you're listening Mitch, Fuck you.

Rich Stanley

I wouldn't have interrupted a game of asteroids for you, Jake.

MAU

I remember seeing Ausmuteants play at Woolu Bully

Jake Robertson

Ah, yeah, well, the stupid t shirts. I remember that.

Rich Stanley

It was maggot Fest 3 upstairs

Jake Robertson

I think that that was Sean's first show

Rich Stanley

I'd seen you previously at the tote front bar.

Jake Robertson

That was our first show. First, your first Victorian show? Yeah, our first show was in Brisbane, the Bonniewells the Heirophants and living eyes, which all had members that would make up Ausmuteants we were all playing a show. Like we did a tour together to Brisbane. I think we hadn't maybe like me and Billy had like mucked around and played like, maybe made up three songs or something. And Mark was there and we just taught him how to play it beforehand. So we just opened the show. Yeah, Brisbane, and then booked to show like with Bad Aches, which was Al from Geld

MAU

I interviewed them for my fanzine.

Jake Robertson

Yeah. Oh, cool. And yeah, it was them and Bat Piss, which is such a weird lineup. Yeah, for me, just to look back on but yeah, anyway,

MAU

Brisbane is where you're from, right? When do you move down here? you've been here for a while?

Rich Stanley

Yeah. I had a I had a lot of moving around through the naughties. I sort of started playing bands. I had my first band rehearsal in 1988,

Jake Robertson

which was what band Rich?

Rich Stanley

that didn't have a name. we were just doing covers of transmission by Joy Division, and I few other things. A friend's dad owned a smash repairs in Cooperoo and played in there on the weekends. My high school band, we did a covers band that just like some friends put this band together just asked me to play bass. and it was like that played the end of high school dance like a so not not a dance as so much as like at in Brisbane in the 80s. This was December 89. The year I finished high school, what we used to do was, they'd always be one of the rugby leagues club or rugby union club would have like, they hired out and all the school kids would go there and just get smashed. And the cops didn't mind it because the kid meant that they were like 500 kids live in one area, and they weren't all on the streets and everything and so we thought this would be a good someone came up with this idea that we hire the whole and make it that the party and a band would play. So they put together this band called the shots but we just did covers of like, the first time we ever played was Durango 95 by The Ramones, we did like angels take a long line by the clash, blister in the sun and all those songs are really popular in the 80s and what ended up happening was it ended up being a total shit show and there was like the cops came in arrest. Arrest I'm sorry, shut the whole thing down there were kids smashed outside. And the drummer whose dad owned this masterpiece joint he was there. And he knew all the cars because you know that the panel beaters, this guy came along and sort of pulled us all aside and he singled me out. He said did you put this show on the show together? And I was like I was one of that eight people? I said Yeah. Did you come here? He said to me, You know, there's 14 year old girls pissing on the sidewalk over here. This is 100% your personal responsibility. And I'm like, okay, sorry.

MAU

So what did you do?

Rich Stanley

I apologised. The party was shut down.

Jake Robertson

Was this before My Bike Sucks?

Rich Stanley

Oh yeah. After that I was in i didn't i didn't know the shot so the first time ever heard of it. In 1990 I was in Brisbane in a record store. I just walked in and saw this like flyer you know, all the flyers it used to be in record store for starting bands and stuff. All these no time wasters on there but those is one that had all these drawings of like Shit and poo and vomit know this kind of stuff. This band called Hairy Pie. Let's say we got a, we got a fuck shaft and a cock head and someone else and we're looking for a loser to play drums. I was like this is me. So I ripped down the flyer and I went around to every single record store and tore all the floors down so that nobody else could apply for this band. went home and rang him up and they came around and we're like, just we want you to audition for drums. And like play really badly. So I was like, sort of playing a bit at a time there. No, , like, just hate everything, like smash it. And so I just like this. Hit the drum kit like a total cockophany. Like I said, that's it. We've got one riff This is all we're doing. This was this. I guess it was performance that was it in the most annoying fucking music you could possibly play which is on YouTube and SoundCloud. You can listen to the Harry Potter type on on YouTube. Listen to us all the best songs got my bike socks. I think my bike sucks. It was a song called Roy's dead because really all of a sudden it just died. Those these guys from Acrobat who are actually professional musicians now one of them runs a music school in Sydney. That's where it all began. And then when the audio started a little you know, I think about a year later, nobody wanted Look, the first review we ever got was featuring a member from here.

Jake Robertson

So we should do on the drugs. Fine, but

Rich Stanley

tell us about but chef jack. Um,

Jake Robertson

I started at a year right talent quest. It was me. My buddy Kane and his big brother Lucas who, who got up and played a blitzkrieg bop Maxwell murder by rancid and then hitching a ride by Green Day. And we didn't have a drama, or a drum machine. It was just like a bass guitar and a sing and a singer came second, which made us like it really propelled us to really thrive and strive to get the best sound possible. So then, you know, Kane's Big brother did his own thing and just like a bunch of us in here, right started like, you know, let's let's be in an punk band and like gonna sound like this and we get a sound like that. You know how it is in high school. It's like, we want it to like, have the kind of like we want to sound like Dead Kennedys meet sublime. Yeah. Which, you know, I've listened back to the recordings and it kind of does. The kind of sounds like Dead Kennedys gross with sublime. Very, very ranted heavy. But yeah, I don't know. We use it like alpha show outside of our high school was at a bowling alley in Hornsby. We put on a shirt in the New South Wales, right? Yeah, it's maybe like Hornsby would be like an hour north of Sydney, and also an hour south of where we were from. We just had a friend who worked in a bowling alley, and we're like, Can we hire it out for a show? Which he was fine with? I don't

MAU

know is the best shirt is like, yeah, pads and like the bowling alley?

Jake Robertson

Yeah, I don't know if I'm just out of touch. I'm seeing that happen for a long time hasn't happened for a long time.

MAU

Yeah,

Jake Robertson

hopefully it still does. And I'm just out of the loop. But

MAU

there's still a couple of things happening, I think in like maybe Footscray every now and then. It's so accessible to play shows and venues in Melbourne.

Jake Robertson

Like, especially being over 18 as well. Yeah, there's, you know, we were like, probably 14 at this stage. And we found out that there was a punk band in Sydney, like, you know, thinking like oh, there's only one like, cuz I guess like MySpace it only just come out or whatever. And, but yeah, that will code. The racket who ended up being like a reggae band. They played punk rock bowling and Hornsby to well,

Rich Stanley

actually just, you know, the thing is with those bands, but shaft and Harry Potter's when you're when you're that age, like I think you were like 12 or 13. I was 17. But going on 12 you're having the most fun you could possibly have is extremely exciting. Every jam, every rehearsal. every damn ID, you've got every gig. Like with Harry Potter, we would just go into the only gigs we would show would be into Roth awards. No, we actually made it to the final of one of them just on entertainment value a lot. And

MAU

also, I remember I was like, I'm brought this up with you already, but I went on your disc cogs page and your nickname is blind, Jake.

Jake Robertson

Yeah.

MAU

Yeah, this one rich.

Rich Stanley

Oh, no.

Jake Robertson

It was just one shot. Like it's, I don't I don't know if this is like it seemed pretty bad taste, but it was just real. It's maybe like 2007 or eight or something. I played a show in Cheyne Valley Bay, which is in the central coast of New South Wales. And it was the first show I'd done without other like solo show or whatever. And I was just Playing like blues covers, and I was real, real nervous. And I had this idea that like, if I pretend to be blind, then people can't Heckle me. So I like, had glasses on and like spent the whole day like pretending to be blind and then played the show. It was really but like, I can't even blame being young or anything. I was like, pretty bad thing to do. But anyway, I don't know why or how that ended up on the Discogs page.

MAU

I saw the photo of you have you seen your photo on the Discogs page? No. Because I was gonna ask you what show that was from? Yeah, don't say that.

Rich Stanley

what's what's the photo? Like? I

MAU

mean, you look pretty young. you're rocking out?

Rich Stanley

Well, it was like, Oh, no,

MAU

you look like a Ramon. Kinda.

Jake Robertson

Sorry, I just pulled out the photo of rich. There's lots of books,

Rich Stanley

VHS trash videos at the launch of trash video, a video rentals looking only for and I was the first employee, the guy who owned it, Andrew leavold. He's still pretty active with all this stuff here.. He was still working to he couldn't devote full time to the video job. And I was on I was on the dole at a time. So I worked. I think I worked from sort of Two tikl six o'clock on Wednesday to Friday, something like that in return for free rentals. And was this like, b grade movie free rentals forever? Right? What I did for six months or a year or something? I did like did you

MAU

take advantage of it after that? Yeah. And he got really shitty at me

Rich Stanley

rent like 20 videos and given back a month later, but yeah, fair enough. I gave

Jake Robertson

him a contract if you wanted that. Yeah.

Rich Stanley

Yes. Always to look at it at that trust video. You're hoping not

Jake Robertson

who chooses the photos? Yeah. Discogs that's why I think

MAU

just random people that just like making Discogs pages about stuff fair enough. All records.

Jake Robertson

listener release I've ever done where I've uploaded it.

MAU

I haven't done anything. Someone else. When did it start? So

Rich Stanley

that was 2007. So the boogers had started in 2006 rehearsing on the first rehearsal with the six of the six of the See, the day that Slayer God hates us all came out. And it was just it was just Mikey and, and pear and I and pear didn't have a drum kit. So he drowned was drumming on a plastic jerrycan. And that'll do. Yeah. And eventually we got Stacie and I think a year later, we waited until we had like 18 songs before we played our first show. But a year later we had we played a first shot at this venue I used to book X on Smith Street, which is grumpies grain it became the place with mezzanine floor on Smith.

Jake Robertson

Did you do that with

Rich Stanley

Pear? Or did he just do did DJ and I know there was another dude on you from Brisbane. It's got grime he used to playing strata. And he was the DJ and I was a band Booker. And that all ended acrimoniously because of certain things and he ended up coming in and throwing a brick through the front window and shadow me and everything and it disappeared in New Zealand.

Jake Robertson

Now he just loves listening to podcasts and

MAU

good as

Jake Robertson

yours and another then another

Rich Stanley

at home.

Jake Robertson

shoppers are you asleep?

Rich Stanley

So I made this a little something Yo,

Jake Robertson

think about a future.

Rich Stanley

So we were rehearsing there. And at the time, I think I sort of got sick of doing drop kick Records, which, you know, the last drop kick record dropping release was in 2006, which was the first eddy current record. So I was working. I've been working at corduroy with Mikey since 2000. And so we had worked on that together, and I was sick of dropkick. I never liked the name of it and all of that kind of stuff and was sort of like I thought maybe it was time to start a new job. I said the market would you like to do a record label together because he was still said, corduroy had sold the Record Plant to obese records, hip hop label, hilltop hoods and all that kind of stuff. And they had moved it to Richmond and he was the only sort of hangover from then and the obese guys in named at Zenith and it was over at Richmond and then the boogers were practising there in the in the control room there as we recorded their first single so we I think we got Stacie to to sing and then aside the day before I said to Mikey Hey, do you want to start a record label pair had said to Mikey, do you want to start a record label? So I think the three of us are sort of did it for a while and instead it was like a Buddhist practice it was us three and Stacie. Then eventually Stacie joined officially.

MAU

That's cool. It's nice to have a good crew.

Rich Stanley

Yeah. And so a lot of the first thing was Mikey was sort of responsible for I did it I was responsible for a couple pair was responsible for a few then around the time I think just after the first up race record, Mikey left, because he just wanted to not be so concentrating on doing that, but just do the mastering. So he left and Stacie had been working for years on this record, which was this song is this similar to old mining songs recorded in the 50s that came out on on Smithsonian fireflies. He had or at least that is it had some stuff on Smithsonian folkways, complex songs of mining songs and things like that. But he had seen them in a documentary that time was about the construction of the Snowy River hydro scheme. Yeah, these mining songs and he had spent two years life travelling all around Canberra and southern New South Wales like finding down tracking down the families of the people involved and getting the whole story behind this whole thing. I think it MetLife you know, the granddaughters and grandsons of like the people that the two musicians in the band and who never knew that they had these like ancestors who had this like quite famous history playing jazz and that kind of stuff. So, anyway, Stacie put that record out, which I thought that was one of the worst selling record we did it a lot of ways it's the most. There's 200 I had left I think I gave 100 to record paradise.

MAU

I managed to do 500 500

Rich Stanley

maybe 300 I've got I've got about 50 or so. But it was really really fully researched with liner notes and the whole thing and we did a we did a screening of the of these this experimental film that there was about the snow River. Yeah, there was commissioned by shell back in the 50s. Also,

Jake Robertson

it's it's so good like it right. It's

Rich Stanley

incredible. It's just it's just not like we you know, it's the kind of thing what art records not many art records people are gonna. So for years, I was just getting mail order, mail order on orders, and I'll just chuck one in there. He's got a record. He's got a freak Copy this record

Jake Robertson

which is actually like even though I met you at Willy bully my first correspondence with you is buying stuff from corduroy I bought like a shut down 66 record I got like three extra records so I sent like an email back and I'm pretty sure you would have been you wrote back to me just be like hey, it's cool you from the Central Coast and into this SEO

Rich Stanley

quarter I had at this time I probably 5000 just random God singles that you just couldn't body cell. So we've just if you ordered a preset random seven inch

Jake Robertson

TellTale Heart seven inch, the early hours, which I think I chucked on once and I was just like, Nah, No, thank you. Sorry. You didn't know me then school can't remember the other probably like fuzzy turns assumption.

Rich Stanley

Yeah. So yeah. And so Mikey left, and then I think Stacie wasn't too involved with the label. And then that was sort of like phase, the phase one of that sort of stopped around 2011 when the US home record came out.

MAU

So how come after that you like you decided to like just kind of keep going with it when?

Jake Robertson

Well, I had a hell so I

Rich Stanley

had all my health problems, which

Jake Robertson

also hair was still doing, it was still doing it.

Rich Stanley

And Stacie was normally still involved not really doing a whole lot but doing the bookkeeping through the book. he's a he's the lawyer stack is his alter ego, Jonathan Walmart was low. But then I think we sort of took a break from it really, a year or two. But when we're after I, because I'd been on dialysis for a few years, and from sort of 2006 to 12 and 2012. I had my transplant. dialysis was six years. Damn, yeah. Well, the whole time that starting the booger started, I wasn't dialysis in July 2006. And the Buddha started one month before that started a month after and then we did tour two, two tours of the states with the boogers and ad con well, while on dialysis carrying a dialysis machine, I

Jake Robertson

would never really wow, that time at the gas when I met you was the you're like, I'm not on dialysis anymore.

Rich Stanley

It would have been a little because I I had the trends and then I had to stay home for months because I was so heavily immunocompromised. I mean, it's suppressed. So heavy duty. We put the label on hold but then that eastlink tape had come out as a cassette but that that song wild dog I think parent I was just like, this is so good. It just has to be on Seven, eight, you know? Yeah, it's that it was just that good a song. So we did that. And then bogus albums. And his second book, his album was ready. And then so guess he sort of get started again. Like, yeah,

MAU

it's hard to kind of stop a label when like, you don't want to keep doing it. But then you know, people that make such amazing music and you just want to be involved with

Rich Stanley

total. And then the next thing that the next thing that kicked the label along was this blog.

MAU

Yeah. So tell me the story of that house. Well,

Jake Robertson

I was it was me bugging me. Yeah, that's how I remember it. Like, it took me a little while to realise how many good independent bands they're all in Australia. And they have been for like, decades. I

MAU

think it took me a while as well.

Jake Robertson

But you know, when I like growing up in the Central Coast, when I first heard like, the straight hours were the first band that I was like, oh shit there. Oh, actually straight jacket as well. Like I had those two. I was like, oh, like there's bands in Australia at the moment that are like doing good stuff. I saw frowning clouds playing Sydney and I was like, that kind of like blew me away at that point to the point where I was became friends with him and move down to jolanda.

MAU

Yeah, I've told you before. I'm like, not a lot of people make the move from Sydney to get alone.

Jake Robertson

Yeah, I guess I wasn't living in Sydney though. I grew up like a pretty small town. So I didn't want to live in a city and I still, I mean, the only reason why I moved to Melbourne was because like, Yeah, because my partner was pretty keen on it. Or like she was from Melbourne and like, you know, gonna be living in Melbourne Bay like, Oh, okay. I'll go live with his drop cake with no job in July. Yeah. What we Why did I start telling him about this label? Like, Oh, yeah. And you know, so then like, during frowning cloud, I joined frowning clouds. And even though I think that that bad, like I quite liked the songs of that band. And I think that people making like the songwriting or whatever in that band is like, the next level, they're really good at it. It was the only band I've ever been in that has like a book. And a manager. The the shows that we would play would just be like, the biggest dogshit shows and it just got me into this, like, Australia doesn't have any good bands. Because I was just in this weird circuit where I was playing like most nights of the week with just like Triple J wannabe bands,

MAU

basically a bad guy just kind of

Jake Robertson

Well, I mean, not. Yeah, like he was booking a shirt and we're getting paid. So it's kind of like doing his best Whatever but like, it just wasn't at all what may or what I later found out any of the other members wanted to do. So, you know, it was around this time when I just started going to record stores a lot and just becoming friends with the locals in in Melbourne because I just didn't really know anyone in Melbourne.

MAU

What are there any records? So isn't too long.

Jake Robertson

Yeah, there's like this place called the meal in jalon, which has, which is like a big kind of secondhand like, clothing thing or whatever, but they have record stores inside, which are like, decent, but none of the it's kind of like a market stall or something. So the people who run the record department on there, you just kind of

MAU

Yeah, when you want to take it to the end and they pay off later.

Jake Robertson

Yeah. So you didn't really have that kind of like you don't get to know them and then like find out what the new releases are or anything like that. And also like I didn't know in the Central Coast, you don't have community radio, and I didn't know anything about that until actually like years off the hidden Victoria was like, oh, like triple R and PBS you actually hear like, local stuff.

MAU

What year was this around? That

Jake Robertson

was like 2010, right? Yeah, I just started like, I played Boogie fest with frowning clouds and UV rays were playing again and I recognise Dan and owl from straitjacket, which I'd seen like a few years earlier. I hadn't really been to any punk shows or anything for a while. And I was like, Oh shit. Yeah, I recognise you guys. And then like UV rays, just like they they opened with an electric eels calibre. And they were just so haphazard and falling apart, but kind of staying together at the same time. I don't know. It was just the only band at that festival that actually like spoke to me or whatever. So yeah, I like bought their record. And then I just realised that it was on art. And I just went back and pretty much just bought whatever I could on that label and then found all these other labels around like, yeah, like rip society. Yeah. I'm kind of drawing a blank at the moment.

MAU

But do you listen to stuff like a tunnel? soundcheck and Brisbane?

Jake Robertson

Yeah. Yeah. And like, and just like, what was the What was that? blog that during a blank? I can't remember. I don't know. Basically, it was around like 2011 or whatever. I was like, Oh, okay. Like there's a bunch of people my Iron Age or like, you know, within like a 10 year kind of radius. Who are making cool like not even just like punk music or whatever, just any kind of music but like something left and centre. It was probably like the maggot fest. 2012 where I was just kind of like, Oh, shit, this is hit like a peak. Like, I still think that that was like the peak of Victorian like Melbourne under. Sorry. Yeah, it was that was when I was just like, Fuck, there's heaps of people that are into this music now. Which is funny, because I remember I reckon I've talked to you about this, Christina. And I recommend that that was the point where you were like, I need to leave milk.

MAU

Yeah, that's why I was just thinking I was like, it's funny that like, I've had totally a different, like, different experience, like at that time for me, you know,

Jake Robertson

I guess cuz like, I just been like, small town growing up or whatever. I didn't really like the friends that I had to, like, don't really have outside of the bookshop. People obviously, don't have any interest in music, like small town syndrome, where you just think, oh, there's no one else like,

MAU

yeah,

Jake Robertson

I I have like the Ramones records, I know everything. There's no one else you know, that kind of thing.

Rich Stanley

Also, remember, Mikey had said, Look, I've just mastered this thing, by all means. And I'd seen them the it was a split personality singing and Jake had sent it to him. And I think actually Mikey sent it to me and said, You know, I think he's, this is worth considering for art. I had to listen to it. I was like, this is it's cool as luck. It's got that whole crime thing. And yeah, it's like really, really low phi strip back, synth punk. But I've just thought it wasn't worth putting on an LP. At that point. I thought maybe this is a demo tape. And if we were gonna get behind it like I mean, I would totally abandon

MAU

release like that and put anything up.

Jake Robertson

Yeah, it was it was just me and Billy at that point. Like it was a type that we didn't need bedroom and we made 30 copies of every single one of them went to bully bully.

MAU

I was gonna ask how because I don't actually know how I was meeting started like if sorry, it was just like

Jake Robertson

it was Yeah, me being very Jelani is very well at least in 2010. It was very very like flower people garage, everything. Everyone have a good time everyone like, feel the vibe. I was doing my head and I just wanted to. I was like Billy, I want to be like the most hated band ever. Which is such like I did. Dan Stewart interviewed me when I was just off to this point. Basically he did a In interview with me around that same time, and, and I said something along those lines about like wanting to be the most hated man in the world. And he was like, Oh, yeah, how old were you? And I was like, oh is younger? And he's like, when did when did that come out? And he did the math. And it was like, so you What? You were 22? Yeah.

MAU

Yeah, not 14. Yeah.

Jake Robertson

But yeah, anyway. Yeah. So

Rich Stanley

did you say break into Billy's house when he was like yourself in Billy's house and just start recording?

Jake Robertson

Yeah, I've got like a very good relationship with Billy's whole family because they're like, the best people on a budget. yet. So the kind of thing like even though I haven't been living in Milan for like, ideas or whatever, I reckon I could probably go to Billy's mom or dad's house and just break in and say, and they wouldn't care. Like, yeah, I'm not gonna do it. But like, I reckon I could get away with it. Yeah, yeah. So you know, Billy, would Billy worked at a cafe in the morning or whatever. And I just most of this time, we did it together. But there's a couple of occasions where I was like, I got this song I want to record and I just break into his house and recorded

MAU

Yeah, yeah. This is still in July, right?

Jake Robertson

Yeah, it's in westerlo. Yeah,

Rich Stanley

yeah. And so they did that. And I said, Look, we'll pass on it. They did the second one. And I think like they had recorded all the songs that were going to be amusements, and they recorded like 23 songs. And I listened to it there was this like in and I had this idea for the songs they wanted to be on the album and the songs they wanted to be on the singles and pair and I will listen to it honestly. Like there's so good live and we like all this on this record, but but they've recorded but we can't like this This album is put together so this is not really representative of what's best about your band. Would you mind if we like you know, chose the songs? Or worked with you on like, what what are the best songs do you raise it like,

Jake Robertson

way would like the songs but we would also not be offended if he told us to go get fucked.

Rich Stanley

Yeah, cuz I was just like with it with the honours if a label ever had ever told me what songs to put on a record, I would have just been who the actual fuck do you think you are. And I had never been like that without before. But and that's why I think paranoia was sort of like, hesitant to sort of get because you're on tour with Fran and clouds. And he does it on a house, he does really want to know what's going on. I was about to find out a label for this label here. This really came, I said, Look we want to do but this is I carefully work with you on the tracklisting I thought that was a big sort of a breach of the role of a record label, as far as you know, staunchly

MAU

how you go about it as well. Like if you have like the polite conversation and like phrase your wording carefully and you're not just like, hey, some of your songs suck, and some of them don't. Yeah,

Jake Robertson

I honestly like it. Had it been like BMG or something or like, you know, some label who clearly hasn't heard any of the songs I probably would have been like get fucked, but like, it's okay. You're actually listening to the songs you want to have input. Why would I? Why would I have any thing against that like, and I'm Stark that anyone would listen to it.

Rich Stanley

I didn't really know how the while I sort of approached it was I want to convince a lot of my old might Dave Lang, who's like a record collector is a total

MAU

Yeah, I work at a record store. Round and round. Yeah,

Rich Stanley

okay. And I was lucky if I needed to convince him that there's a great young band who was like, the newest, greatest thing, I'm just gonna put up put the best six songs on that CD and send to him. Like I put like 10 or 12 songs on and I sort of the way I approached it, I remember just the amount of time I was spending on it like in iTunes working out the best song or the best sequence all that kind of stuff. Yeah, I was the first time I'd done this, like in a label capacity. And I played the songs like the play count was like 70 or 80 on each each of the songs.

Jake Robertson

Yeah. What do you reckon they were in my so it sounds right.

Rich Stanley

And then Jake, but those guys was like, totally like, well, if you want it, you know, we're not precious about it. So, but I had a bit of a backward forwards because Billy, I think inducing instinct and pissed man was the other one piece myself, for us were the two that we were like, Oh, we got a chance or on them and he was insistent. I was like, Okay, fine. swap those around. And I think we got like pretty much the perfect sequencing, which is really important for them. What is it? Bad? I

Jake Robertson

didn't know the answer. So I think that and then I and then I came up with the artwork and all that kind of stuff. And that was that was the rest was all up to them. And I just knew that written by the handwriting is Carolyn uncredited, which she mentioned to me. And I think the photography also uncredited Dom or Julia. So just here's a shout out to you guys. I'm sorry.

MAU

I'm sorry. It's too late.

Jake Robertson

It's too late. It was what 2012 2012

Rich Stanley

don't seem like to end the album came out in November 2000 today,

MAU

all right, sorry. And I think This point you still weren't working with rich on a

Rich Stanley

non ideal parent. Yes parent at that point, I think and then then Jake sort of had we had the second lesbian sale when then he had leather towel with pear. And that was obviously going to be an art because because pear and jQuery, but it's also because it was so fucking good. I thought I just thought that was just

Jake Robertson

the best name. Oregon. It's like, best band name. Yeah. In Yeah. Fly the talent drugs, but I'm blessed. Didn't make up either of them. But I'm happy to

Rich Stanley

wear leather towel. I mean, that's taken away that came from you hanging out at Billy Billy with

Jake Robertson

Tom now that was pear. Pear came up with that. Okay. Yeah, but band. Yeah. Oh, yeah, the band all revolved around willy nilly again.

Rich Stanley

And anyway, you get up and I think by that stage, you know, pair had maybe lost in the pair was still involved when we did the non album, but I think it was, like 2015 or early two very early 2016 that I think Jay got involved in because that's

Jake Robertson

that Steve albini talk. Me you and Oh, yes. And Bill went to Yes. You're like, I remember you in the car. We were talking about recording van in the future. And then you're like, I don't know if I've made fuck doing on anymore. It's like

Rich Stanley

yeah, and I've been thinking about conject for a couple of years. But I was just like, I don't want to like take all the writing songs I don't want to take getting getting doing fucking admin leading writing songs. So anyway, so he and he got involved cuz I mean, he was in every second rap band on the label anyway. Yeah. Same idea with Mikey with doing it with with doing art in the first place. Yeah, we did any current together. And so when I had done drop kick, and one of the sudden new band and so I just asked like the two people in you know, I'd done sales records and eddy current records and sort of start a band with the people on the label. And then 2014 comes around, I wanted a new band and to start a band with people on the label. I decided we're going to tone anguses work on the tight roll on to just move down from Melbourne from Brisbane, he was in cobwebs who had played with Osmonds a few times. Yeah. I did a split split cassette with hairpins efforts. And we just got and that just kind of that we we actually started, we rocked up at the toesies little bands thing that you know that they'll play with calculators in Clifton Hill in the 70s. And they did it though doing a new thing. But we just did it and we had six people in the band. And we had record we had our first gig on a Wednesday night roll and I rocked up at 730 I think Jacob

MAU

This is Roland. It's in Subic Bay.

Rich Stanley

Yeah. And we started jamming just completely crappers whatever we came up with first thing we came up with, and, and niblet was there. So niblet had a Casio keyboard and he just got Boston over and put it on full speed the whole time and stuff.

Jake Robertson

And he's niblet of 3d TV fame. And electric guitars. Yeah.

Rich Stanley

Richard walks from Sydney. We all know him from Sydney, right? And then we're halfway through a set which was improvised songs injector started, right. And I think halfway through the set, Jake started playing the chords, which will became hectic with her. Alright, and Angus has jumped up and started playing songs, and he could drum in time. And so he got a second little Casio thing. So we had two little rinky dink drum machines, and then a couple of live drums and two guitars and two keyboards and

Jake Robertson

think at that point as well. It was like unmark was it? maxing until you bet Yeah, I think at that point, um, all right, we got we got to play for 10 minutes. Let's do 10 one minute songs. But that didn't last very punk.

MAU

So drugs were played at the start of the that was your last Sure. You said. So what about when was our last release?

Jake Robertson

It'll globally go global.

Rich Stanley

I haven't run 49 releases now. So we'll have to do a 50 Ah,

MAU

it's gonna be it's gonna be a big one.

Rich Stanley

Might be a little one the seven inch.

Jake Robertson

That's true. Tape. Dad,

MAU

is it something that you've discussed at all?

Rich Stanley

Yeah, but I can't talk about top secret. Okay. It'll be it's not

MAU

even funny. The modern Australian underground podcast

Rich Stanley

if it happens, it'll be worth you ever heard of the little band called

Jake Robertson

frenzel room? Ever had a little vanco 28 days?

MAU

What about a area?

Jake Robertson

area? Come on man named after a special

MAU

area?

Rich Stanley

Yeah, we got an offer from fat boss. And they were studying this new district distribution thing called house arrest records, which is all through Sony red in the States. Yeah, played against against them. And

Jake Robertson

I think I remember 2016 or 1716.

Rich Stanley

Yeah, so all those leather towel and paraffins Records came out through house arrest, ultimately Sony but it was like, they had like most price lines. So if you have a seven inch, it has to come out of this retail price, like at this wholesale price of $3 at five us or whatever it is right? I will actually cost us more than that to make the thing shipped over there. So we'd have to, if you wanted them to do your seven inches, you had to lose like $1 or record or whatever. But that's

Jake Robertson

not worth it also convinced us to press CDs of everything.

Rich Stanley

Oh, so we've got this distributor in Germany who wants for for 400 leather towel, CDs? I'm sorry, you don't have to be a professional look at industries stonewater understand that an Australian band that is never gonna tell you what one country that needs 400

MAU

I think they put like they do the easy thing, which is put a blanket over all the bands and they don't actually look at the bands and like kind of

Rich Stanley

Yeah, but as I just argue the toss. I said we don't need to do this. No, no, we need to fulfil these orders. And so I go down to implant and get 400 CDs leather towel made send them over. And I mean, we never even got paid for stuff and they'll be sold in the UK. You know, there's there's a bunch of cosmic psycho Cities sitting in a warehouse. I never managed to get back out of them. Yeah, it was just a waste of time. That sucks. cost us about 10, grand,

Jake Robertson

10 grand, and also any enthusiasm,

Rich Stanley

all enthusiasm for the life out of the live like any man should have known. But it seemed like a really good thing. They were like, We were the first label they're chosen because they're like you don't, you know, you don't do a lot of releases. But every single release sort of stands alone. And the band's unique, but there's sort of there's this cohesive vision to the label. And I think what's your options to go through them? And really, so and then after that, I think we just did sort of 2017 we just went to doing singles? And I think we did one year we did spotting spotting drugs. And we do rabid dogs and then we did

MAU

what I think I kind of like what art has done, like if you look at the catalogue, I feel like there's been like this carry over across like, like, because it's been going for a little while you can see this, it's kind of like a display of the the scene for the last like 15 years and kind of gives you like a story. You know, like even when I was interviewing beckon Andrea yesterday, I was like, after nihilistic orbs kind of went down. I was like, odd did the non record and it's like, you kind of carried that sound over a little bit until it got picked up with bands like spotting and even then you put that out, you know? So it's like, it's cool to look at the catalogue of art, because it does have that history of different sorts of Australian music and you're not just sticking to one thing. Yeah, you're just like, kind of picking up things that you believe in and you like,

Rich Stanley

Yeah, and it's sort of just makes I mean, I remember that being at one point, the three bands that we had that were going on the label solo, it was like those moons none and exhaustion with, you know, boogers and eastlink sort of thing that always made sense to me as a as an overall sort of, you know, yeah, coterie of bands.

Jake Robertson

So the majority of bands and members of bands, it's like, people we hang out with and quiet. I mean, sometimes, like most often, at least, can't really think of any examples where it's like, no,

Rich Stanley

yeah, no.

MAU

Can I ask, Jake, what's your favourite show that you've seen? Like, where Rich's been playing? Can you remember? Oh, yeah,

Jake Robertson

yeah. straightaway, the first thing that came in my head was on is at the start. And there was a so it was like the first time the audience had played in years. And from MIT, I'm gonna say that you didn't have a practice even though I could not tell. It was like, it was pretty on point. I can't remember whether any of the other bands that played but there was a cover of alley going by

Rich Stanley

john Vincent. JOHN.

Jake Robertson

That's right. And we're rich. Does the backups always have? Yeah, right.

Rich Stanley

There's a colon response song. This is la radio DJ,

Jake Robertson

are you going or Yeah, you

Rich Stanley

got. Are you going or are you going Porat so any holding? you viewed cold it up cold it up. crack a cold you viewed

Jake Robertson

See you later. See you later. See you later. See you later. Anyway. So say the onions are covering it. And bridge is responsible for all the colon responses and he just didn't have a mind. He was singing into just like just a cable, like the microphone. And I don't know whether you'd noticed or

Rich Stanley

not, but like, Oh, no, probably.

Jake Robertson

Definitely acting like you hadn't noticed. But yeah, that that was a that's the first one that came to my mind. Oh, probably. I actually like the first show I saw as an over 18 year old was on your show. With shut down 66 eddy current and the sailors and probably a bunch of other bands. I was close for we were in our

Rich Stanley

we did a package tour. All right. And we went and played the Annandale with that lineup and maybe a couple other shows with that lineup.

Jake Robertson

Right. There was a I reckon that was a shot down. 60 she shot down 66 show the next day at the sander, and I can't remember. No, we didn't put it right. Yeah, 2005 maybe it's

Rich Stanley

about the time that before any count had blown up. And I think maybe that was their first. I think

Jake Robertson

it was their album launch. I think really? Maybe not. I can't remember. But um, I yeah, I just went cuz like, I met a friend. Olivia, who was my first Sydney friend who was like, into cool music. She was like, you gotta check out this band, Eddie jaren. And, you know, at the time, I didn't really get Eddie car. It took me a couple of years before I like got onto them. But I really liked the other bands that played. And yeah, I remember just saying, I remember seeing the news and thinking these guys did to Australian

Rich Stanley

law. It was, it was you know, we're just driving in the van and I just had boardshorts and came in and we had just been hanging around and then it was time to play and someone else had the key to the van. So I didn't have any time to get my songs answered barefoot.

MAU

Isn't that so weird? Or that? Like, we were raised in a culture where Yeah, you're like, Oh, I didn't know there were Australian bands. Like I didn't when you say something Australian. Like that's weird, you know? ages same like, and I hate it. I hate the conditioning in Australia for young kids or like, you know, growing up is just like, you're looking to America, you know, when there's so much good stuff going on in Australia and like Americans look at Australia and like, you know, look at the bands that I hear you know, and then because I remember going on terminal boredom and just thinking it was funny that all these Americans into Australian bands, but

Jake Robertson

when we played Ghana fest that was 13 Australian bands clean was that 2014

MAU

I went I think 2011 or 12 when royal headache and kitchen floor played

Jake Robertson

Ark and Easter bilby was like a very, very big raising

Rich Stanley

catalyst. Yeah. So he came out here and I first met him when the other boogers and Eddie calm played golf is for in 2007 solvable. was we any camera going over there? pair? Whose wife we're about to have? See their first kid. And stalking I will up Why don't we go under a power supply a member of power supply? And why don't why don't we just go over there? What does it get Danny from a counter plan we'll do another bullish show. So we did a tour of one show in Memphis. And we did a tour t shirt which has been shown and it accomplished that one. And that was really fun. And so I think the Buddha's led can't play it again. The next year so 2007 was when Yeah, he kind of did the first tour of the states and I went around with them just selling merch and they had to get an extra a double size van so they get to take my dialysis machine with the flu. And then the second time boogers did a full one month tour again with me taking dialysis.

Jake Robertson

Yeah, and on the oz mutants to Bruce from east to bilby was a driver. All right like kind of organiser and match guy in everything categor it was good.

Rich Stanley

We first met when the book is towed and stuck and he just met us and was like all you guys are starting a band and he was obsessed with Australia and stuff and it gave us a lift around where we needed to go whatever and I remember Stacie just in the back of the car. He was telling us about hush puppies. Isn't that American food and Stacie just endlessly punishing you about the size of them in relation to golf balls or tennis? Let's deep fried little bread balls. is working into five minutes about how big could you how many would you have in a standard look I serving of hush puppies.

Jake Robertson

They like every member of us means is the Stacie we're just like you haven't heard before. agitator, check out these regurgitated songs

Rich Stanley

for and then I think the second oldest slow, you know, boogers would like we were we were we played first on the set at Murphy's, and we were just like, is this addition as a kindness from Eric, because it is played Memphis with the oblivions earlier and he loved this and Silas had played there before and it was allowed well, you know if you guys are in a battle Chuck is on and he gave us 200 bucks and I remember at the end of the night, that night, stacking our hammered and we said let's go fucking get Eric and corner him and his punish him about how little he paid. Oh my

MAU

god.

Rich Stanley

Jonathan, this well, it must have been Jonathan. Yeah, so we got we went there and we just honestly like cornered him and I said, Hey, john, do you want to drink CL whiskey sour? Our whiskey, sir. Came back. No. Whiskey cider. So Oh, and we just said listen airy look, we came along. Just 200 bucks. I couldn't get nowhere. It was and the shotgun is fine. Of course we Yeah. That first he was like the gas. Yeah.

Jake Robertson

And then you guys did a band

Rich Stanley

together? We did. Yeah,

MAU

we abandon Eric

Rich Stanley

from God. Yeah. When the oblivions to the States, we I'm sorry, when they move into Australia. Greg did a sideshow with the members of the reigning man which were the the reigning sound covers ban, right. And he did basically a set of writing sound covers. I also know that social club and Eric had been in a bunch of other bands like the bad times and true Sons of Thunder and sector zero and all that kind of stuff. And we he got up the boogers to be his backing band. And we did a whole song of like songs that he had. He had written in all the various bands, some oblivion songs to black like, Yeah, I was, I don't even know I just, you need to remember that. This van you need to pairs is obsessed with I have this. You've got to look into the light, light, light, light, light, light, light, light,

Jake Robertson

light, light, light, light, light, light, light, light, light, light, light,

Rich Stanley

light, light light. We did that for like 10 or 15 minutes.

MAU

Do you remember seeing Jay playing a show? Or like what's your favourite memory of Jake playing a show?

Rich Stanley

There was a time at that early, early drugs wet stuff, where it was pretty loose, and like spontaneous. And we made up a lot of songs were on the spot. And we were I remember we go into the art what's now the tote kitchen. And that was where they store the PA bands would always stored on either front bar pa wasn't set up. Like to the walls, it wasn't actually like, yeah, on the walls. So it was all just sitting there. And so we would just go in there and like set angles and set the PA up. We just sort of use whatever ants were lying around. And like this tiny little room, six of us would cram in there. And that sort of formed the way that the music had to be played. Because there was so much we're so tired, and you couldn't just all play the same thing. So you sort of had to play parts off each other and around each other a bit. That sort of helped to find the sound of the early stuff. But it was so like, sort of just ridiculous and outlandish. You know, yeah, remember, there's some songs where Jake was just like, rolling around the stage and, and that was happening a lot for about a year. I think that band had that magic about it in 2014, early 2015 I remember to sometimes being on stage and watching this game. Good Lord, I hope everyone else is having a fun time watching this design. Yeah,

Jake Robertson

I can I got to a point where there was a stage around that time. It was also a jaw softer out American toy when I realised that like, especially playing shows in the Midwest and stuff where people actually very stupid while watching a ban, which,

MAU

which is magic. It was amazing.

Jake Robertson

Yeah, like I mean, I think that's like you're meant to kind of like lose yourself in it or whatever and do whatever you want. But I was doing that quite a lot and like rolling around on the ground will show it well bands playing and then like you know, trying to take people's feet out from underneath them, which is so stupid. So you know, yeah, but at the time, it seemed like a fine thing to do. I remember, Olga's were playing at xanes birthday. Like Zane of serial killer fame. He he was wearing like Yasmin gave him this big overcoat blouse kind of thing. I don't know what you even call it looked like a wedding dress or something there. Yeah, mumu gave gave saying this big, like, what murmur to wear. And he was wearing it all night. And then I sized it. I was like, what I was thinking Google was playing and I was like, I'm gonna get like, stupid here. And I saw this like big murmur sounds like I'm gonna pick up Zayn and drive him into the ground. And I picked like, Did this like football tackle. I drove him into the heck into the ground so hard. And I realised that he'd like given given it to his partner and I just like, and it was like, at that point, I was like, I gotta stop doing this. Like, yeah. Yeah, sorry. I'm sorry, but have fun. She was cool about it been. I was definitely I've been sheepish ever since

Rich Stanley

there was another time where I think as mutants were just before the US too ahead, played, you know that. And I was when I record order of operation, I was trying to tell them, don't record it before you go to the stage, go to the states and record and you are going to come back a completely different band, and then record this album, there'll be so much better.

Jake Robertson

Guess who didn't listen to you? Right?

Rich Stanley

They recorded it. But it was good because they had an end gone up with the record out in time for their American tour. And so that was really great. When they came back, they played mega Fest, and I think they were like, headlining on whether or not we're playing last downstairs.

MAU

What you is, this

Rich Stanley

doesn't 15

MAU

Okay.

Jake Robertson

14, it was just it was, yeah, we

Rich Stanley

got back from America, like the day before. And I was just a completely different band completely locked, a change. It was super hard and tight and fast and everything. It was like really intensely rocking. It's like

Jake Robertson

touring. That is I mean, it's not easy in terms of like, it's easy in terms of being like, okay, I'll travel three hours and play another show. But I mean, it's not like Salt Lake

MAU

City. Terrible, but it takes like eight hours to get there and eight hours to get out of the Tell me like I mean, we've been talking about Australian punk and like what you guys have kind of been doing for the last 10 years in being involved in it. Do you want to let me know, an album that you really write an Australian album that you write from the last 10 years in Australian punk,

Jake Robertson

though? Well, I guess we already touched on it. But the one that kind of like the one that I guess I'd pick would be up race armour just because it was the one that like, there was a couple of records around that same time as well, like straight out straight hours. It's happening. And it was like a straightjacket record. It's like it was probably around that time, right? And even just like holy bomb and stuff. That might have been

MAU

a really magical time for music.

Jake Robertson

Yeah, like 2011 was it 2011 Yeah, and also, I just like fucked up for my home and moved to jalon and like, got like in new kind of like all my friends in jalon were into music, which I hadn't had that experience before. So it was definitely like a nice time. Yeah, so for me it would be

Rich Stanley

Yeah, primary falls to pick something not on art that we haven't talked about earlier. The first thing that's coming to mind already is that first off demo. I remember I got the tape of that and I had a car with a cassette player at the time and I just played that just day in day out and turn it really loud and I just the guitar sound on that was all recorded guessing as recorded analogue and these nice old amps

Jake Robertson

recorded by Mike he wasn't

Rich Stanley

I was that the the album was recorded by Mikey The first one I don't know he recorded it. I actually liked the that more than their debut. And I hadn't really got into I hadn't really listened to a lot of you know, modern, you know sort of Sabbath reworking type stuff. Sabbath Wendy stone or whatever want to call it that she had his own original spin on it, but I never disliked every song I've ever loved and every, like the sound of it, I loved it and drawn to it was perfect. And I've listened to it. Oh, it's I think the the old demo tape is, um, you know, my favourite. It's not part but it's, you know, it's rock rock music. Yeah, this

Jake Robertson

this train underground. Exactly. Was

Rich Stanley

that Yeah. And of course, they've

MAU

gone to the lock

Rich Stanley

up big, big they got the source on the fly. Listen, they obviously moved into music has progressed quite a lot away from where they started. But that was

Jake Robertson

on was that on heavy chains. Yeah, Tasmanian that has my name.

MAU

Yeah, that labels cool. Other things. I

Rich Stanley

mean, 45 that I really loved was a Tommy Thai single, that raw prawn, single,

Jake Robertson

raw prawns and go that it should have been and they recorded now that I've got some of the songs. Chris? I don't remember. remembers. Played, but I'm

MAU

like, I mean, you're reminding me of all these old bands that I haven't listened to in ages. But like, yeah, it was

Jake Robertson

just like such a good time for me. Yeah, like two housewives seven inches. So many good bands at that point. Yeah. But then, you know, when he like, he, like talk about what should taco go to, like a little talk about pumpkin 77. And as always these like, people, like, people just don't understand that in 77 it just like didn't happen. Like that. Doesn't happen like that anymore. It's like, yeah, guys, and it still happens now like it's, you know,

MAU

people not being able to look outside their bubble and it's just because it's not happening in your community. It doesn't mean it's not happening. Yeah, they're on DIY shows that I know of doesn't

Jake Robertson

mean there aren't DIY. It's like in my age bracket. And for me 2012 was like this golden era. But it's like I'm looking at it in rose coloured glasses. Yeah, my I'm romanticising the past like it's still well actually shows shows on happening at the moment like they will again soon

MAU

they all started to happen again standing on the edge of like 2020 being through all the things that you've been through in like the last like 1015 whatever years do you have any expectations of 2021 in terms of like what's gonna happen with shows?

Rich Stanley

I'll just have no no music

Jake Robertson

hopefully like some more like daytime outside shows would be nice Yeah, I don't know. I'm like I missed more just like hanging out in pa god no, whatever. Like is the actual content shows a nice fit?

MAU

I would love like even just like backyard shows like yeah, I mean,

Jake Robertson

it used to happen so free time and I haven't been to backyard sure all like hiring at a hotel or something. Oh, like I haven't been to one of those shows in ages. Yeah. And I definitely miss it.

Rich Stanley

What is it for me personally, I'm gonna probably at a different point than most people because I was so involved with the tight booking upwards of 15 shows a week for seven years. I've just I've absolutely had a gutful Yeah, I don't want to get involved in with any shows and i don't i personally just I mean, I'm there's gonna be you know, a lot of venues and bands are going to be working really hard in order to try and find ways to make shows work and all of that, but I just think personally, I can't really be a part of it at the moment. I just want to live plant headband practice. I don't want to have to think about playing shows. I just want to look after my kid and find a new job. jam with a band.

Jake Robertson

Yeah. band practice is always always the best part of it. Oh, I've never been like band practice. Maybe in the morning I've been like like go to work all day and then go to bed. The second I walk in I'm like was a fun

Rich Stanley

now you want to talk about the best shows we've ever seen. One was the oily boys show when they supported Gutter Gods upstairs for their launch at the Tote in 2014 March 2014

Jake Robertson

I know you're talking about oily boys but did you see that Gutter Gods show upstairs at the Gaso where singer man just didn't show up for ages and they just did this hawkwind kind of jam.

Rich Stanley

That was unreal. But I did so when I just started booking the tote there was this cool death Christmas party which was the one that ended up with that wild west brawl where I think one of the I think that's someone from the bar staff got into a bingo with Tommy T and ended up with security guys like throwing punches and people diving over tails and throwing barstools everywhere and the whole thing and at the time that owners were like, that same is not coming back. Fuck them.

MAU

Yeah,

Rich Stanley

I was just like, I had just sort of come from the gaso I work in in the kitchen. And that is just like, close down. And so it's like, you know, December 2013 And the Gaso has closed in October. And what I really wanted to do was make sure that that guess I sort of saying sort of had came to the tote. And so I had to fight tooth and nail to let them know that, we could make this shit work and it was worthwhile. Yeah, no way. And we sat down and I think Snoop and I, who was the the venue manager and I sat down with I think, Bradford and Coco. Yeah, maybe Tommy, I don't know, just sort of sat down. It was worked this out. And so we did. And that's what that's why make this kind of the tote, that kind of stuff. But so I think three months after that, the first show the next year they wanted to do was the Gutter Gods album launch, which was their last show, and Oily Boys came down to play. And so I'd been on dialysis for a long time and sort of out of the hardcore scene, I've been out of the hardcore scene for a long time, and not really, I just lost it. And I just didn't really give two shits about it. But I just started going to see shows again and so that this hardcore stuff was like that way that psychedelic hardcore that was going on, and every band was like, check a phase pedal on and go for it. Yeah, and it was like the velvet whip and Simfuckers, that kind of stuff. That oily boys show just like completely blew my mind. I just could not believe what I just seen. It was so unhinged and wild and loose and everything and you know, that band can be a bit hit or miss but when they hit it's like absolutely blinding white light and I wear that. Yeah, the other one was Justin fuller playing and solo upstairs. this was Liberty social. I think some bands he played and he was he was last below sort of a younger dance crowd had come come in. And he was doing his thing where he's getting that really pounding techno thing going and then the crowd would get all dancing and stuff. And then he would just go just go white noise confuse it. corrupt the data sort of sound, you know? Yeah. And I just be like, they'd stop there stunned. And then he sort of you know, for like a minute. I didn't get them all dancing again. And right when they This is tight, it was like comic timing was perfect. Right when they were all like getting into we just got white noise and that sort of stuff, you know, and he got he got like three or four times he suckered him right in and as punished him tripped him over.

Jake Robertson

Like kind of recently, I guess. I'm J. MacFarlanes reality guests at Golden plains was good because I was kind of just like it was in the morning. And that was really nice. It was amazing. They were so good. The highlight of my weekend

MAU

parsnip played and I got a good video of Jake dancing side of stage two parsnip

Jake Robertson

what else I don't know. Like Like, even though I joined this band after that like the first time I saw a frowning clouds I was like very very into it, just cuz it was the first time I'd seen a band play garage music without having any punk influence whatsoever. I went to see the Dirt Bombs at Oxford art factory and Straight arrows opened. And Angie who was the bass player just didn't show up. So they just got someone else to play bass who did not know the songs. it was a mess. But it was cool. And also me being maybe 18 or so that was like an eye opener. The best show almost always outside of like, you know, like, you don't want to go to a show and say G3 or something like, you know, there's like buckethead and Joe Satriani wanking each other but like when a band like I think this is why like UV rays really kind of like hit it with me it's like they almost fall apart and bands like another band that unfortunately never recorded now - The Clits. They were amazing. Probably at the time when you're in America more though, like had the kind of, you know, jangly go betweens kind of sound like early go betweens kind of sound but they fell apart and also they were just get on like in fisticuffs on stage like they would get in fights on stage.

MAU

Yeah, I'm I missed out on so much being overseas. There was just like so much amazing stuff that came through.

Jake Robertson

Yeah. For me personally - When did you leave like 2004 - I remember you came. You came to my house like the day or two before you left?

MAU

Yeah, I remember cuz lumpy sent me a record,

Jake Robertson

the gibbous record and I was like, oh, let's we should hang out soon. You're like I'm getting out of here. Okay. Bye.

MAU

And that concludes a conversation I had with Jake and rich. Thanks so much to both of them for coming in. And as we come to the end of the show, I want to remind you that if you have any questions, an event, new release or an interesting topic you want to raise in line with the Australian underground, You can hit me up at Litmus dot media. Subscribe and leave a review if you feel inclined. And don't forget to stay tuned you can listen to modern Australian underground at Litmus dot media or wherever you get your podcasts