BRAT

Written by: Keeley Thompson

Images by: Keeley Thompson

Mould takes residence on a suburban city's worth of plates stacked precariously in the exhausted Queenslander sink. Flies meet their slow, sad demise in the accidental trap of half-empty beer bottles scattered around the house like red pins on a hitchhiker's map. There’s an unmistakable thickness to the air, a combination of heavy bong smoke, humid summer air and raging headaches. It’s in this air that a low bass growls like a radio static travelling through a tunnel as another night of regret, heartache and borderline self-destructive debauchery is documented on a loose page of the lounge room floor.

One might consider this house the final resting place for creativity, while others, (like Brisbane punk rockers BRAT) might consider it the perfect location for ideas to live.

BRAT is the punk/grunge/(dare I say it) alternative rock project of Blair (Guitar & Vocals), Jake (Bass & Vocals) and Justin ‘Lobey’ (Drums). With thick distortion and shifting rhythms, BRAT breaks down reckless martyrdom, self medication and blissful ignorance with the honesty of an unfiltered journal entry backed by punchy, sand-in-your-shoes choruses. Taylor Street is a colourful exploration of the spectrum of mental illness and addiction where every action has a consequence and every consequence has a middle finger waiting for it.

K: What’s the origin story of BRAT? Tell me the story.

BLAIR: It really was Jake and I at Taylor Street - We started writing songs and tunes more as a creative outlet than the expectation that it would lead to anything really.

JAKE: Yeah! 4102 represent! I would say it really started when we realised the link between our working week feeling like garbage because of the way we spent our weekends. The party lifestyle and recreational drug use was kind of the catalyst for a lot of our music - as Blair said, the music was a creative outlet for us to discuss the way we felt, and the way I’m sure a lot of people felt/feel in their 20’s. There’s nothing more inspiring than a fucking horrible comedown.

BLAIR: When we moved to our house in Bulimba we decided we wanted to take this musical infant of ours and raise it to adulthood, or teenagehood at least. We found our drummer, Lobey through Brisbane Music Scene Facebook pages and the rest is history.

K: There’s a lot of self-loathing, but fun in self-loathing themes in your music - would you say that’s where a lot of your inspiration comes from?

BLAIR: Yeah, I think there’s a lot of meaningful stuff behind acknowledging your issues and the impact that your actions are having.

JAKE: We also know how to make fun of ourselves. You have to make fun of the misery because if you don't laugh, you will cry.

LOBEY: I try to write my drums for energy, both for myself and for the people listening. I’m quite hyper myself and my main goal is to make people jump around.

K: Where do you find you pull your inspiration from? Do you have any bands, art (or other things) that have shaped the way you make your music?

BLAIR: That’s interesting because we all have different inspirations, but grunge/punk is definitely the glue between us all which is what leads us to this kind of odd amalgamation of sounds. I love Violent Soho, Smashing Pumpkins and Deftones and really love the depth and tones in their music.

LOBEY: When I started learning drums, I learnt the entire Violent Soho discography front to back. I pull a lot of inspiration for my drumming from the punk and emo scenes of the early to mid 2000’s.

JAKE: I’ve always had an affinity towards grunge music. Perhaps when we were writing the songs that was what I was trying to aim for, or thought I was aiming towards. But when the songs were actually finished they came out very differently, like they already knew what they were going to sound like before we did.

K: It’s always really interesting to see how a bands/artists sound will change and grow with them. Would you say your style has and/or is changing?

JAKE: Oh fuck yeah! We’ve definitely gotten a lot heavier musically and lyrically as we’ve gotten older and arguably wiser. We’re always going to have that element of fun and silliness, but a lot of our songs were written when we were more reckless and more apathetic towards our own actions. I suppose with life experience comes knowledge and it would be a disservice to ourselves and our audience to stay in the same place we were in 3 years ago.

K: Bit unrelated but what’s your three desert island albums?

LOBEY: Oh shit that’s hard! Hold up, I gotta get 'em up.

BLAIR: Siamese Dream by the Smashing Pumpkins is an absolute given. One of the Led Zeppelin records, but I haven't decided which one yet. Aaand, like a So Fresh 2000 and something, just to keep it fresh!

JAKE: Oh you bastard! I was going to say a So Fresh Album

BLAIR: We’ll take different years! You take 2008, I’ll take 2006.

JAKE: Look let's just get the obvious out of the way, Nevermind would be in my picks. God this is hard!

You know what, I’d rather listen to silence than pick.

KEELEY: Silence? I don't think you would.. I don't think you’d last a day in silence.

LOBEY: Frenzal Rhomb, Sans Souci. First Ditch Effort by NOFX and The Used self titled album.

K: What’s your proudest moment as a band?

LOBEY: Selling out King Lear's Throne for our first Single Launch for sure.

BLAIR: Yeah I’d have to agree with that.

JAKE: You know I’d have to say when we played at Bearded Lady. That was our first time as a three piece and it was kind of the first time it felt ‘real’ for me.

K: You’ve got the EP Taylor Street out now. How’s that all feeling for you?

BLAIR: It’s really quite surreal. Shout out to the weapon, Callum at Twin Sound Studios for his skills in turning our shit into beautiful, shinier shit.

LOBEY: I gotta say being mastered by Paul Blakey is a massive honour too.

K: Well that’s pretty much it from me! What’s next for you boys? What’s the dream?

LOBEY: Look, to play a gig outside of Queensland would be pretty sick.

JAKE: Yeah that’d be huge.

BLAIR: Keep your eyes peeled and your butt cheeks clenched!