THE HYMIES ARE ONE OF AUSTRALIA'S BEST RAWK'N'ROLL BANDS AND THEY HAVE JUST RELEASED A CD COLLECTING ALL THE SHIT THEY RECORDED AND RELEASED IN THE LAST COUPLE YEARS... IF YOU DIG FAST, RAW, FUZZY PUNK ROCK WITH CRAZY LYRICS AND A FUCK YOU ATTITUDE, I STRONGLY SUGGEST YOU'D BETTER GET HOLD OF THIS BAND. WE TALKED WITH BRAD, THE BASS PLAYER, FOR A SHORT BUT COOL INTERVIEW WHERE YOU'LL BE ABLE TO CATCH SOME OF THEIR ODD AUSSIE LIFESTYLE...

GD- How did the Hymies start and what about some band history?
Just started as a bit of a muck around really. Otto and Turbo were living together and then I started hanging out with them, we'd get stoned and Turbo would teach me to play bass. We all had really similar taste in music and stuff so it just all clicked. We are friends first, band members 2nd.

GD- You've just released a killer CD on Wild Eagle Records, can you tell us something more about it? Is it a collection of older and less old songs or what?
The cd is 17 tracks, 10 songs are about 3 years old (the first 10) and the last 7 are newies. We released the old 10 ourselves when we first recorded them and sold out really quickly, but being as slack as we are we couldn't be fucked getting more copies made up. So when James eagle of Wild Eagle records ask us if we wanted to do a release we said "cool" and thought it was a good chance to put the old stuff out as well. 2 dead birds, 1 stone if you know what I mean. James is a great guy too, and really digs putting out Brisbane stuff so it all worked out royally.

GD- Your imaginery draws equally from horror movies and topics to booze and chicks, what are your main influences?
Most of the stuff is just bullshit really, Otto mainly just makes up shit and fortunately we sorta all just get what he means. We all get into different stuff and these things are all reflected in the songs, like Turbo has an insane Submarine fetish so Torpedo came out. Alot of the songs are private jokes, we get it and thats all we care about.

GD- How's Australia musicwise? I think we know pretty much nothing of what is really going on overthere...
It's really hard to say at the moment....about 5 years ago things were so good in the underground scene here, Brisbane especially was unbelievable. Strutter had just released "Motha fuckers from the bowels of hell" (which would have to be the best record to come out of this country in the past 10 years), you could see some fucked up show every weekend, get rotten drunk, it was fantastic. But in the last 1 to 2 years things have got kinda serious, people think they might be able to make a dollar from noise, and it's made all the bands loose their edge. Nobody wants to piss anybody off, which bores me to tears, I'd rather see something annoying then something boring. I can't remeber seeing something that made think "fuck yeah" in ages.

GD- What do you think of today's music? And what about punk rock?
I'm sure there is good stuff being made out there but I just don't know about it. It really is all about money, not many people are making noise for fun. Get a job if you want to make money. Sometimes though when you hear a record and just go "fuck!". "Kicked in the teeth" by Zeke was like that, that makes all the shit music you have to hear all worth while. I have pretty bad taste in music though, I really dig bad disco.

GD- One of your song's called "Going to see the Onyas", what's the link with the band?
That song is about what was a ultimate night out for us a couple of years ago. It's stepping out the door with $10 in your hand, paying 5 bucks to see the Onyas play a show, spending the other 5 on beer, managing to get spastic drunk, make a complete dick of yourself and end up waking up in your front yard naked. We eventually become friends with the Onyas through these sorta nights and they helped the Hymies out a fair bit, they even gave us our first show and have filled in when I couldn't play and stuff. They are the big brother band and that was our tribute.

GD- I guess Turbo is a great Turbonegro fan and If I'm not wrong we can see him pictured inside their latest album with his Turbo-tattoo... what do you think of Turbonegro? You told today noise is made to make money, don't you think Turbonegro are selling out?
Turbo is a huge Turbonegro fan, so am I. That sure is him on the new record sleeve, he was pretty excited about that. A friend had emailed a photo of Turbo with his tattoo to Happy Tom a few years ago, and he thought it was so cool. Australia must seem a long way from Oslo. As for the selling out thing I'm kinda torn about that issue, over here they are very far from being popular but they are rumoured to be playing a pretty mainstream festival later in the year so that could change. The new record is wierd, when I first heard it I was like "this is soft as fuck" it kinda reminded me of "Frankie Goes to Hollywood", now after quite a few listens it's grown on me. It does come very close to being complete shit though, a little to cheesey, even the make up and clothes they are wearing seem a little forced at the moment. But over all "Ass Cobra" and "Apocalypse Dudes" changed my life so I can forgive them selling out a bit.

GD- Who's the chick on the sleeve? How's are Oz rock chicks? I mean, was it hard to get her in underwear for your sleeve or you live between a pervert-bimbos army?
That's dead girl Donna and in a couple of weeks we are getting married in LasVegas. Most of the Aussie rock chicks are pretty stuck up though really, trying to prove they are as tough as the boys which really annoys the shit out of me, I'm a lot more female then half of them. I find it incredibly easy to get anybody to strip down to their underwear, it's my gift in life!!!

GD- What are your future plans?
What's a future???

GD- Tell whatever you want to our readers....
I'm sorry I'm so god dam young!!

CONTACT THE HYMIES CLICKING HERE