Stinkbug

ORIGINS: Campbelltown, NSW

GENRE: Punk, Grunge, Metal

YEARS ACTIVE: 1993-1998

 

MEMBERS:

• Brendan Penzer - Vocals, Bass
• Darren Stapleton - Guitar
• Nathaniel D'ugo - Drums (1993-1997)
• Wayne Langfield - Drums (1997-1998)
  

RELEASES: 

• Smells Like Fish, Tastes Like Chicken (1995) - Download Here.
  
• 1. Stinkbug
• 2. Gonk
• 3. Gurgy
• 4. Argh!
• 5. Koko Plops
• 6. Remo / F.O.P.

• Caveat Emptor (1996) - Download Here.
  
• 1. Woody
• 2. Jellytree
• 3. Insatiable Appetite
• 4. Frying Pan
• 5. Come On! Continue!
• 6. Fish Hooker 
  

 

• Self-Titled (1997)
• 1. Change the Channel
• 2. Funzanoon
• 3. Windchimes
• 4. Sunshine
• 5. 5BII
• 6. Don't Try It!

• Social Cognition (1998)
  

 

SUMMARY: Stapleton and Penzer began Stinkbug after their previous band Sister in a Coma finished, recruiting a younger friend to play the drums and then playing a lot of shows around Sydney's Southwest and beyond. After recording three demo tapes across three years, original drummer D'ugo left following a falling out with the singer. The band played for another year or so with a new drummer and recorded a CD before breaking up. 

 

SHOWS:

• Junior Records, Revesby -unknown date
  
• UWS (Macarthur) Bar, Campbelltown - 23rd August, 1996 
• Sandringham Hotel, Newtown - 4th July, 1998 

ORAL HISTORY:

DARREN: I started Stinkbug when I left high school, along with Brendan from Sister in a Coma. Brendan worked with a young guy, Nathaniel, who was still at school and we recruited him for drums. Brendan played bass and sang, and I played guitar and wrote all the music. The name 'Stinkbug' didn't really come from anywhere, I just thought it sounded good as a band name. I don't anymore, haha.

Darren Stapleton (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

NATHANIEL: I worked with Brendan at the local Shell and we got chatting about music. I mentioned that I played drums and he said he was a bassist and knew a guitarist from school. Not long after that we started jamming. I was only 15 or 16 at the time so I was stoked to be jamming with blokes in their 20s. The music was a mix of early Helmet, Fudge Tunnel, Quicksand, Radio Birdman, and Regurgitator.

Nathaniel D'ugo (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

NATHANIEL: Our first show was at a club in Liverpool with a band called Frown. It was across the road from a guitar store. I can remember our very worst and very best shows. The worst was at Forrest Inn in Bexley. It was a week night with hardly anyone there. The in-house guy was this weird old due and between songs we heard a voice over the PA telling jokes and for a second we couldn't work out where it was coming from but it was the sound guy who had decided he was going to spice up the night with his very own brand of dad jokes. The best show was supporting Frenzal Rhomb at Bigge Park in Liverpool. It was a youth festival of some kind that put on this free show. It was packed with I don't know how many hundreds of kids but it was such a great show to play.

Nathaniel D'ugo (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

DARREN: We played a lot of shows, many All Ages shows at Youth Centres around the Campbelltown area but also in the city, Liverpool, South Coast, etc. We played with so many different bands because our style kind of fit with so many others. We played with punk bands, metal bands, indie bands, rock bands, and so on. 

Darren Stapleton (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

NATHANIEL: Recording was a lot of fun. We did most of the stuff at the old Zen Studios. We'd usually knock it out over a few days - the songs were complete before we got there so it was just a matter of playing through them. We used to put samples from The Simpsons on the recording so we would add those in later and then dub all the tapes. 

Nathaniel D'ugo (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

NATHANIEL: I left after Brendan and I had a disagreement about something turned into a little scuffle. No idea what it was about but as I was a typical late teens idiot and Brendan was a few years older than me I was probably being a dick while he was trying to discuss something serious and it got silly. 

Nathaniel D'ugo (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

RELATED BANDS: Sister in a Coma, Tuskin Raiders, Veto, Strawdogs, Shinobi, Omerata, Restraint, Slowly Building Weapons, We Lost the Sea, Stronger Than Hate, Cobra Kai and the Leg Sweeps