The Chats

Formed in their mate’s bong shed in Coolum, Queensland 2016 at age seventeen, The Chats represent everything that’s good about Australia and nothing that’s bad: a rebel spirit, gallows humour and the endless hedonistic pursuit of A Bloody Good Time. Cold stubbies within close reach, 24-7.

Starting in their music class while at St Theresa’s Catholic College in Noosaville, a suburb of Noosa, Queensland, two hours north of Brisbane, they began practicing in the shed in nearby Verrierdale (pop: 775) during their final year of education (the school’s website notes “Whilst their music may not be everyone’s cup of tea, they have certainly made an impact, and they continue to Dare the Dream.”). Their name meanwhile comes from the nearby suburb of Chatswood.

Drawing influence from the same fertile Australian pub rock scene that spawned everyone from AC/DC and The Saints to Cosmic Psychos and The Hard Ons, and sharing a similar singular self-contained approach to their art as such latter-day Aussie rock heroes as King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, The Chats describe themselves as “dropkick drongos from the Sunshine Coast of Australia”. It’d be difficult to argue otherwise.

Their dress-down image of mullets, shorts, sports tops, thongs or a sandals-and-socks combo, and cheap sunnies celebrates this fact. But don’t by mislead: The Chats are sharper than you think, and they write killer songs that hold their own in any era. Their self-titled debut EP was recorded in their school’s studio in 2016 and featured seven joyous sky-punching tracks that combined 60s garage punk and 70s new wave punk (highlights included ‘Mum Stole My Darts’ and the 53 seconds bratty thrash of ‘Yeah Nah’). It was followed in 2017 by Get This In Ya, another thrilling seven song slice of economic, stripped-down, early Buzzcocks-styles punk tension, whose lyrics read like a litany of things to hate for youthful malcontents the world over (overdue social security payments, lack of bus fare, Nazis).

But where their forefathers cut their teeth on the spit-and-sawdust circuit of beer halls Down Under, The Chats bypassed years driving down dusty Outback roads when the lead single ‘Smoko’ became a 24-carat bona fide viral hit on Youtube. The Chats found themselves propelled from their Queensland shed to almost overnight renown in all the right circles.

Celebrating the great Aussie tradition of the cigarette break, an allotted smoking time protected by union law, and accompanied by a lo-fi video shot for no budget on a building site, ‘Smoko’ was a perfectly put together punk song protesting the drudgery of dole queue angst, minimum wage life and work-place hierarchies. Were they serious? wondered listeners / viewers. And, more importantly, who even cares? It didn’t matter: with its pared-down pop hooks, singer Eamon’s adolescent snarl and an unforgettable chorus, ‘Smoko’ was an instant classic of a youth anthem on a par with ‘You Really Got Me’, ‘My Generation’ or ‘Teenage Kicks’.

At the last count ‘Smoko’ has had more than 12 million views. Dave Grohl loved it so much he sent it to Josh Homme, who immediately booked the band to support Queens Of The Stone Age in Australia. Iggy Pop did the same when he played Melbourne, and keenly quizzed the band on their lyrical content. Idles were heard covering on the song on their recent Australian tour. At the time, singer Eamon was working at supermarket chain Coles. Adhering to the mantra ‘Business at the front, party at the back’ he currently maintains his mullet by trimming the front himself every couple of weeks, while his mum handles the rest of the tricky business. Drummer Matt, who was expelled from school for joyriding a golf buggy, is a professional skater.

In October 2018, The Chats brought their pub-punk (they prefer ‘shed rock’) to the UK, where all their shows sold out within a day and were immediately upgraded, including a memorable show at the Electric Ballroom, London, where they were joined onstage by Charlie Steen from Shame. Not bad considering the teenagers had never left Australia before. With two hundred gigs under their belts, The Chats began 2019 by signing a publishing deal with Universal Records and started their own label records, Bargain Bin Records

More music followed: single ‘Do What I Want’ (“about doing whatever the fuck you want”) and the glorious follow-up ‘Pub Feed’ (a paean to “above average” pub food, including “chicken schnitty”, “parmigiana” and “rump steak – well done”) in 2019, a song that seems destined to take up residence in punk jukeboxes the world over. The Chats document the simple things in life, with songs that transcends language to tap straight into the youthful energy source. It’s a tricky artform that many attempt but at which few succeed. Still in their teens, The Chats have mastered it.

Mozart began composing at the age of four, but these boys were born singing anthems, and their debut album seems destined to be the greatest collection of music ever made, not only in Coolum, Queensland, but the entire universe. Every other musician should probably give up today.

“Here’s three ugly looking blokes, touring the world, playing at all these wonderful cities, dining at all these wonderful restaurants, meeting all these famous people. In the back of ya head I’m thinking to myself ‘Im a fuckin’ farmer!’” – Ross Knight

“Even thou the Cosmic Psychos never had the commercial impact or success that Nirvana and Pearl Jam had, they were still a major influence on them, and I think a lot of it had to do with the spirit and the sound of their music.” – Butch Vig, Record Producer.

The Cosmic Psychos are (almost) an Australian punk rock institution who formed in Spring Plains, Victoria in 1982, spearheaded by founding member and bass player Ross Knight.

To date, the band have released 10 studio albums since their self-titled debut (1987) and their influence has been global, with UK band The Prodigy sampling their music on 1997’s ‘The Fat of the Land’ LP and Nirvana producer Butch Vig proclaiming them an influence on both Nirvana and the Seattle grunge scene of the 1990’s.

In 2009, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam spoke candidly of the effect the band had on him growing up in Seattle. The band’s repetitive lyrics, fuzzed out guitar and wah-wah bass sound has remained unchanged over their 30 plus year career and continues to win over new audiences.

A documentary by film maker Matt Weston, released in 2013, titled ‘Blokes You Can Trust’ featured a who’s who of global indie tastemakers and music makers espousing the Cosmic Psycho’s legacy in Australian musical history. The documentary has given the band new life and they currently find themselves fielding touring and interview requests as far flung as Spain, Germany and Costa Rica.

It’s been a wild ride for the Psycho’s mainstay Ross Knight who originally formed the band in 1982 for ‘shits and giggles’. He’s been trying to balance the demands of fronting one of Australia’s defining punk bands and managing his vast third-generation farm ever since; which includes running cattle, tending a vineyard and volunteering his time and tractor to the local fire service.

Rounding out the Psycho’s line-up since 2005 is Melbourne born Dean Muller on drums and John ‘Mad Macka’ McKeering on guitar. Macka (formerly of Brisbane stalwarts The Onyas), has spent time as a lawyer, pizza delivery driver, carpet factory worker, bartender and swim coach. These days, when not hanging with the Psycho’s he teaches punk rock chords to guitar students and regales beginners with stories about the time he once beat Olympian swimmer Kieran Perkins in a medley race.

The Cosmic Psycho’s have survived the passing decades, musical trends and fashions with ease. Most fans will tell you they’re simple blokes (you can trust), just making straight-ahead, good-fun, Australian influenced punk rock.

In 2019, the Cosmic Psychos celebrate 30 years since the release of their second album ‘Go the Hack’ – which perfectly sums up the career trajectory of one of Australia’s most loved bands.

“They’re our ambassadors, have a listen to their lyrics, they sing about dead kangaroos.” Ray Ahn – HardOns

Over the last few years, THE SCHIZOPHONICS have built up a formidable reputation around the world as an explosive live act. Tapping into the same unstoppable combination of rock 'n' roll energy and showmanship that fueled THE MC5 in the heyday of the Grande Ballroom, their wild live show is heavily influenced by artists like JAMES BROWN, IGGY POP, JIMI HENDRIX, LITTLE RICHARD, and THE SONICS. Singer/guitarist Pat Beers and drummer Lety Beers formed the band in San Diego in 2009 and have worked tirelessly since then, playing hundreds of shows around the globe. In 2013 they were recruited as the backing/opening band for EL VEZ, which helped the band make a name for itself in Europe. Since then, they've played in numerous countries, and supported tours by like-minded acts like ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT, LITTLE BARRIE, THE WOGGLES and have opened for the DAMNED, DEVO, HIVES and CAGE THE ELEPHANT. Shindig magazine described their live show "Like watching some insane hybrid of WAYNE KRAMER, JAMES BROWN, and the Tazmanian Devil".

The band is more than just a live act, they're also committed to writing great memorable songs. Their new album in due in the fall of 2022 along with extensive tour dates. The Schizophonics- hailed by Spotify as the "wildest live band in America" - wouldn't want it any other way.

GYMSHORTS is from Rhode Island and like the band’s home state frontwoman Sarah Greenwell is a petite powerhouse that marches to the beat of her own drum. Endearingly rebellious, fiercely independent, and hellbent on causing a commotion, Greenwell embodies the kind of rambunctious unpredictability that has personified some of pop culture’s most legendary troublemakers; a little bit Bart Simpson, a hint of Kevin McCallister, and a dash of Dennis The Menace form the inspirational foundation of GYMSHORTS’ particular brand of punk n roll, smoked to perfection in the back of Jeff Spicoli’s van.

GYMSHORTS are a sarcastic grin and a pair of bloodshot eyes behind pitch-black Wayfarers in the back row of class, a best friend and a bad influence all rolled into one.

GYMSHORTS takes musical cues from a deep well of sources, with touchpoints that range from trailblazing new wave punks The Nerves to sassy turn of the millennium bad girls The Donnas tossed into a creative woodchipper with midcentury surf guitar and wooly, flannel wrapped grunge. The resulting sound is ragged and raw and immediately magnetic, rough and tumble with the kind of lived-in authenticity of a scuffed-up pair of skate shoes. A sturdy platform for the band’s unabashedly unique identity that is equal parts bratty and wise, tightly wound and poised to launch in nearly any direction at a moment’s notice.

Blistering speed and high-octane thrills characterize a GYMSHORTS’ live set, like a juiced-up NASCAR laying a righteous burnout in the winner’s circle, a springy mosh of unbridled exuberance that has earned the band coveted spots supporting Death Valley Girls, Tacocat, La Luz and many others on tours stretching across the globe from Texas to Thailand. As buoyant ambassadors of plucky stick-it-to the-man attitude, GYMSHORTS never fail to leave crowds sweaty and satisfied in the aftermath of a ferocious blitzkrieg bop, decimating eardrums in a whirlwind of maximum volume sonic debauchery with an enthusiastic heart of gold. GYMSHORTS’ catalog is available on Bandcamp and your favorite streaming platforms. Pick up their LPs and 7”s at your local record store and don’t miss an opportunity to party hard with GYMSHORTS when the band comes to your city.