Episode 115: Ron Hitler-Barassi & Humphrey B. Flaubert – TISM

I'm going to preface things this week by saying this is going to be far from anything close to a normal podcast.Why? Well, it's because this week's guests are TISM co-founders Ron Hitler-Barassi and Humphrey B. Flaubert.Formed in Melbourne back in 1982, TISM have had a long and storied career. Known for hiding their identities behind masks and pseudonyms, high-energy live performances gave way to music which is as sharp, literate, and satirical as it is catchy and driven by a keen sense of melody.TISM would quietly split in 2004 but after 18 years, they reformed in 2022 and have been playing shows with relative consistency ever since.Now, they're getting ready to launch their No Mistakes Tour, their first national trek in 30 years, though they're aptly labelling themselves TSIM for the run and making it hard for editors all across the country.Ever since they reformed, I've jumped at the chance to interview TISM every time the opportunity has come my way, and every time has been something of a shambolic mess. That's nothing against my skills as an interviewer, rather, it's a testament to how anyone attempting to have a chat with TISM might as well be bringing a knife to a proverbial gunfight.This time around, I was brave enough (maybe foolish is a more accurate term) to say yes to having them on the Trusty Chords podcast.However, remember when I said this episode is far from normal? Well, that's because trying to get TISM to do anything is like herding cats – masked cats who know their Jean-Paul Sartre from their John Paul Jones. As such, I knew that from the get go to the let go, I was going to have no luck asking any of my normal questions, and woe betide me if I was to try and run through the standard Trusty Chords segment near the end.I will say, however, I did speak to someone once before on this podcast who knows a lot about TISM. I don't recall his name, but that's available way back in episode 47 if you find yourself eager to go further.Anyway this is where I'll say, buy a ticket to their upcoming tour, have a listen to our chat, and I’ll see you at the end of the episode for some general housekeeping and… I don't know… penance.

I don't think I'm talking out of school when I say that Tex Perkins is a man who wears many hats (and oh my, does he ever look stylish when he does).If you're a casual consumer of music, then band names like Beasts Of Bourbon or The Cruel Sea would come to mind upon mention of his name. If you're a bit more of a diehard, then I could start mentioning the likes of his solo work, the Dark Horses, the Fat Rubber Band, The Tennessee Four, The Band Of Gold, The Butcher Shop, The Ape, the Bush Oysters, the James Baker Experience, Minced Meat, Salamander Jim, The Dum Dums, Thug, and collaborations like T'N'T with Tim Rogers, and the wonderful Tex, Don & Charlie with Don Walker and Charlie Owen. Good gravy, I think I'm going cross-eyed just mentioning them all.And you know what? That's not even all of them. Tex has been in more bands than I've had hot dinners, and frankly it's a wonder he has time to do anything else in his life.In recent years, we've seen The Beasts wrap things up, and we've seen The Cruel Sea release their first album in 24 years. If you're listening to this thinking we're about to be chatting about those bands, well, here's a curveball for you – we're actually chatting about 'Before The Show', Tex's new album made in collaboration with Matt Walker.It's a stellar piece of work, and as the pair head out on tour, Tex was kind enough to donate his time to chat about his musical origins, and just what collaborating with an artist like Matt Walker is all about.Anyway, have a listen to Tex Perkins and Matt Walker's 'Before The Show', buy a ticket to their current tour, have a listen to our chat, and I’ll see you at the end of the episode for some general housekeeping.

As far back as I remember, I've never been someone to really find myself attracted to bands that generate a lot of 'buzz'. I mean, I remember realising as a kid that I had to listen to a song numerous times before it really clicked with me.That's probably why I was pretty surprised I found myself really digging Getdown Services when they first came across my desk.Having only been around for the past five years, the duo – comprising Ben Sadler and Josh Law – have fast made a name for themselves. They released their debut album, 'Crisps', back in 2023, with a string of EPs following soon after. Along the way though, their live shows swiftly drew attention for their frankly wild nature. See, while Getdown Services are like musical chameleons with a noted sense of humour, they're not a 'joke' band or anything like that. They're simply a pair of lads who know how to make good music, know how to have a good time, and want you to do the same.They've managed to make a fan in Harry Styles, and earlier this year, they undertook their debut Australian tour, which swiftly sold out.Just last month, they released their latest album, 'Massive Champion', and it's a massive success for the pair. Frankly, it's easy to see why they're being called Britain's best band.That's why I was stoked to have a chat with them recently, where we talked about their musical journey, and why it is that people don't take music seriously if it has a sense of humour.Anyway, have a listen to Getdown Services' 'Massive Champion', have a listen to our chat, and I’ll see you at the end of the episode for some general housekeeping.

It's always really fun watching artists catch on quickly and suddenly seeing their popularity skyrocketing as folks catch on and pay deep attention to them.That's pretty much what happened with Sydney outfit The Lazy Eyes when they first formed about seven years ago. Launched by a bunch of school mates, they swiftly found themselves performing at events like BIGSOUND before they released a single, and then as they did, a global pandemic happened and halted their momentum.Thankfully, they didn't stagnate, and while singles like 'Cheesy Love Song' were followed by a pair of EPs, their profile continued to rise. In 2022, they released their debut album, 'SongBook', and months later they were supporting names like The Strokes.Though impressive, it'd take a while before we heard new music from the band. In fact, it would take about four years, with their return occurring earlier this year as they got ready to unleash their second album, 'Cheesy Love Songs'.It's a gorgeous piece of work that showcases that indie rock mentality of The Lazy Eyes and blends it with their clear love of melody and pop sensibilities, wrapping it up and delivering it in a package which is as self aware as it is impactful.This week, I was lucky enough to have a chat with The Lazy Eyes members Harvey, Leon, and Itay. We didn't quite go deep on all the standard questions relating to their Trusty Chords (we had a good time regardless), but we certainly touched on their formation, their new record, and why their second record shares a name with their debut single.Anyway, have a listen to The Lazy Eyes' 'Cheesy Love Songs', buy a ticket to their upcoming tour, have a listen to our chat, and I’ll see you at the end of the episode for some general housekeeping.

It's always fascinating to see how songs can catch on and – in some cases – become emblematic of an entire era. For many, the early '90s hip-hop scene is typified by songs like 'Jump Around', the debut single from Los Angeles trio House Of Pain.They charted around the world, and while that debut single hit No. 3 in the US and No. 15 in Australia, they never quite matched the same critical and commercial heights.By the time they'd hit the big time, one member of the group – Everlast – had already gone solo with a debut album in 1990, having previously emerged as a member of Ice-T's Rhyme Syndicate. But once House Of Pain called it quits in 1996, Everlast went solo once again, with albums like 1998's 'Whitey Ford Sings The Blue's going top ten in the US.He even took home a Grammy in 2000 thanks to 'Put Your Lights On', a collaboration with Santana which is still a track I go back to regularly.However, while albums would come relatively regularly, his most recent record – 2018's 'Whitey Ford's House Of Pain' – was his last for some time, with live shows being largely put by the wayside, and new music emerging only rarely. As he explains, there was a lot going on: COVID, a house fire, a divorce, and even a health event which left him unable to play guitar.This year, however, he returns with 'Embers To Ashes', an album which falls into vintage Everlast territory, pairing his vulnerability with acclaimed musicianship in a way that appeals to fans both longtime and nascent.This week, I was lucky enough to have a chat with Everlast (well, we had the chat back in May, if you want a peek behind the curtain), to chat about the new record and everything associated with it.If you're eager to hear war stories about his time in House Of Pain, I will admit you may be disappointed, but Everlast – or Whitey Ford, if you prefer – is someone who can still tell a good story, and share some real interesting tales about his experiences with music.Anyway, have a listen to Everlast's 'Embers To Ashes', have a listen to our chat, and I’ll see you at the end of the episode for some general housekeeping.

Cast your mind back to the early-to-mid-'00s, and it was pretty hard to escape Epicure. That is, if you were listening to triple j, the Ballarat outfit were a hot commodity.Having formed in the mid-'90s, a few formative releases gave way to a bit of a personnel shuffle and something of a musical refocusing. What came next was the sort of thing that most bands of the era could only dream of.Slick support slots, constant airplay, and even placings in the annual Hottest 100 countdown made Epicure's name one that a lot of fans were quite familiar with, while albums such as 'The Goodbye Girl' and 'Main Street' were mainstays of those same fans' CD players.By 2010, however, it was clear that things were reaching an end, and after the fittingly-titled Quietly Into The Night tour, the band found themselves no longer a going concern.Members still made music, of course, including Juan Alban, who released a string of solo records in the coming 15 years. However, many fans of the band – and I include myself in that list – were not expecting to receive word that 2026 was bringing with it a new record from the group.Dubbed 'Evenings In Honduras', it's a wonderful piece of work which feels like a perfect continuation of what the band had delivered all those years ago, and also serves as a perfect example of a 'reunion' done right.My excitement for this new record led to me giving Juan a call to chat about this new record, how it came together, and what fans can expect going forward.Anyway, have a listen to Epicure's 'Evenings In Honduras', buy a ticket to their upcoming tour, have a listen to our chat, and I’ll see you at the end of the episode for some general housekeeping.

When I first started this podcast, I made a wishlist of people I wanted to chat to. I've still not achieved my most-wanted artist (but I came close earlier this year!), but one of those first names I put on that list was none other than Eric Michener, better known as Fishboy.If you're not across Fishboy, then you definitely need to go back and right that wrong immediately.I truly believe Eric is one of my favourite songwriters, with albums like 'Albatross', 'Classic Creeps', 'Waitsgiving', and 'Art Guards' providing a perfect example of his broad storytelling skills, and the way in which he is able to construct and craft dazzling character-driven narratives that connect like satisfying jigsaw puzzles. That is to say, if you want an album to sound good and feel good too, then darn it, you need to listen to his discography.To this day, I believe that 'Art Guards' may actually be my favourite album, solely due to the satisfaction obtained from this lyrical narrative.Of course, in recent years, 2021's 'Waitsgiving' may have overtaken things as his most popular record – especially if you're in Eric's home of Denton, Texas, where the annual Waitsgiving celebration takes place.However, it's been a few years since the last album was released, and last month, that all changed with the arrival of 'Bravest Neighbor'. Described as a "12 song examination of how a game of telephone in an imaginary community can touch on isolation, embarrassment, estrangement, and heartbreak," I'm not lying when I tell you this is a very good album.The lyrics are impressive, the music is accomplished, the narrative is stunning, and the additional musicians on here (I mean, it was recorded by Kid Koala in Montreal, so you know it's going to be good) are stunning. I don't want to give anything away, but I urge you to listen to this record at least once before you hear this episode. I've listened to it close to a dozen times and I'm still discovering things. In fact, Eric and I actually discussed whether to make this episode spoiler-free or not in the lead-up to our chat.Oh, in case you can't tell, my guest this week is indeed Eric Michener, who was kind enough to spend a couple of hours on a Saturday afternoon talking down the computer to a dedicated Australian fan about his craft, his records, and his love of music.Now, I will admit that there are a few audio hiccups at play here. Namely that I could hear my own voice echoed through Eric's audio, so if you're hearing a little bit of doubling up when I'm talking, that just means my countless hours of audio editing have not quite reached their peak. Sorry about that.Anyway, have a listen to Fishboy's 'Bravest Neighbor', have a listen to our chat, and I’ll see you at the end of the episode for some general housekeeping.

Has there ever been a musician harder to categorise than Pinky Beecroft? (Okay, for those saying Frank Zappa or Ween, that was more of a rhetorical question, so please hold onto your opinions for the end.)For the vast majority of music fans, his is a name which would have come to prominence thanks to his role as the de facto frontperson of Machine Gun Fellatio, a group whose very success needs to be studied by academics under the guise of answering the question 'How on Earth did that happen?"Machine Gun Fellatio were a genre-defying outfit whose existence was tantamount to a loose collective of weirdos – that is, a collective that just happened to make some amazing music. Despite their less-than radio friendly name, lyrics, live shows, and songs, they persisted, supported artists like KISS, Duran Duran, and Robbie Williams, and after three studio records, called it quits in 2005.Shortly after that, as members went and did their own thing, so too did Pinky. He launched the band Pinky Beecroft & The White Russians, released an EP and two albums, and sporadically emerged from the shadows to play live shows.Pinky Beecroft & The White Russians soon became The White Russians, and then performances as The Wreck Tangle and Pinky Beecroft 4.0 followed, but for 17 long years, no new music arrived. That is, until this year.In fact, this month sees Pinky releasing the new album Lonesome Wolf. It might sound bizarre to say, given his storied career, but it's a stunning piece of work. Equal parts heartfelt, affecting, and powerful, it's enough to remind you that behind the chaos he's known for, he knows his way around a song – after all, he does also share a co-write on the ARIA Award-winning 'No Aphrodisiac' by The Whitlams.Truly, it's a wonderful album that ebbs and flows in terms of intensity and reflection, and it's one that I urge you to listen to with the headphones on, allowing it to wash over you as it unfolds.While Pinky might have had a wild life, the release of 'Lonesome Wolf' proves that there's more to him than what many fans would expect. Of course, diehard fans like myself have long been aware of that, but it's nice to be able to share that with others.This week, Pinky was kind enough to invite me into his hotel room in Melbourne for a lengthy chat about his musical career, his time with Machine Gun Fellatio, his solo work, and everything in between.Anyway, have a listen to Pinky Beecroft's 'Lonesome Wolf' when it arrives next week, buy a ticket to his upcoming tour, have a listen to our chat, and I’ll see you at the end of the episode for some general housekeeping.

I say this a lot, but as a former Adelaidean, I really do enjoy listening and chatting to musicians from South Australia.If you're someone whose finger has firmly been on the pulse of the City of Churches' music scene, then you might be aware of Any Young Mechanic, a quintet whose music is a true delight for anyone who enjoys a blend of indie, folk, and rock in equal and appropriate measure.They're actually a somewhat nascent addition to the music scene, because before they adopted their current name in late 2024, they were better known as Wake In Fright, having taken their moniker from the 1971 film of the same name.Due to issues with the film's estate, they took on this new name and made a very auspicious 'debut' of sorts.That debut has taken on a tangible form by way of their stellar record 'The Modern Shoe Is Ruining The Foot'. It's not just a dire warning for any fans of podiatric health, but also one of the finest records you'll hear this year. Former triple j Music Director Richard Kingsmill likened the record to The Middle East (the band that is, not the region), and as a massive fan of that group, I have to agree that this is an album that one can only describe as truly special.Now, all of that glorious praise I just shared above is why I'm heartbroken to actually note that this is possibly the worst-sounding podcast I've recorded to date.For those unaware, a lot of media interviews take place these days either in person, over the phone, or – most commonly – via Zoom. Any Young Mechanic were taking part in a press day in Sydney while we chatted, and while press days may usually feature in-person chats, our differences in distance necessitated the five of them speaking to me from a couch over Zoom.While that usually wouldn't present any problem, this one did – for some reason – find itself presenting numerous *audio* problems whereby there are times when members simply cannot be heard, and their answers are almost entirely unintelligible. This isn't just a you problem either, listeners – I couldn't hear the band either during these responses, which is a shame, because what I *could* hear sounded very passionate.I'll offer a promise to have the members back on an episode at some point in the future (perhaps when they're next in Melbourne), but in the meantime, I've presented the episode here with the audio cleaned and enhanced as best as I could.Anyway, have a listen to Any Young Mechanic's 'The Modern Shoe Is Ruining The Foot', have a listen to our chat, and I’ll see you at the end of the episode for some general housekeeping.

Ahead of making this podcast, I really had to think back to where I first discovered the band Metric. Hailing from Toronto in Canada, the group came together back in 1998, initially forming as a duo between Emily Haines and Jimmy Shaw, before things expanded, evolved, and early releases started arriving.There's an interesting story about how their first records actually came about (stay tuned for that one), but personally, I think I would've come on board with Metric around the time of their fourth album, 'Fantasies', in 2009.That's where a lot of folks came on board, to be quite honest, and I'm not too ashamed to say I was definitely among the many who were drawn to the band's immersive sound and their rising popularity.Since then, they've been a constant figure in the 'new releases' list, with this past April resulting in the release of their tenth album, 'Romanticize The Dive'. It's an album you should definitely check out if you're a fan of their earlier material, and it's one that you'll likely find yourself returning to quite a few times.This week, I was lucky enough to have a chat with Emily and Jimmy about the band's history, their new record, and how it's all up to me whether they make it back to Australia or not.Incidentally, as we spoke, they were gearing up to return to one of the most Canadian tour line-ups imaginable, with Broken Social Scene and Stars as their tourmates. (Sure, Emily is a former member, and Jimmy is listed as a current member of Broken Social Scene, so it's not that out of the ordinary, but what a bill that is!).Anyway, have a listen to Metric's 'Romanticize The Dive', have a listen to our chat, and I’ll see you at the end of the episode for some general housekeeping.