Tuesday, November 5, 2024

Downtime

 
ORIGINS: Sydney, NSW
GENRE: Hardcore
YEARS ACTIVE: 1993-2002, 2009-2010
 
MEMBERS:
  • Billy Hughes - Vocals, Guitar
  • Brenden Peace - Drums (1993-2000)
  • James Meek - Bass (1994-1998, 2009-2010)
  • Damian Judd - Bass (1993-1994)
  • Sean Lipsett - Bass (1994)
  • Mark - Bass (1998)
  • Eric Grothe Jr. - Bass (1998-1999)
  • Joel Ellis - Drums (1999)
  • Dave Dunn - Bass (1999-2002)
  • Percy Ricaud - Drums (2000-2002)
  • Grant Lawrence - Drums (2009-2010) [Live fill-in]

The band's 'classic' lineup - Brenden, Billy, James (1994-1998)

RELEASES: 
  • Demo (1994)
  • Self-Titled (1994)
  • Lose Yourself (1995)

 

  • Break Him (1995)

 

  • Tempered (1996)

 

  • Tooth and Nail (1997)
  • First in Line (2001)
  • Compilation-only Tracks
    • 'What is Black?' and 'What Does It Mean' (different versions to Lose Yourself) - on Neoteny (1994)
    • 'Walk All Over You' (different version to Lose Yourself) - on Fusebox (1995)
    • 'Rock for Light' on Rock (1998)
SUMMARY:
  • 1988:
    • Billy Hughes and Brenden Peace form shortlived punk band King Pest.
  • 1993: 
    • The band that would be Downtime forms under the name 'Madhouse' and then changes name to 'Madhouse Suicide'. 
  • 1994:
    • Band changes name to 'Fracture', 'Super 8', and then back again to 'Madhouse Suicide' after replacing their original bassist with Sean Lipsett.
    • Self-Titled 7" is released under new band name 'Downtime' by Lipsett's label No Deal Records in September 1994.
    • Two songs recorded for and featured on the Neoteny comp, released December 1994.
    • Lipsett leaves, is replaced by James Meek c. October 1994. 
  • 1995:
    • Downtime signs to Zen Records and plays the Big Day Out.
    • The band releases the Lose Yourself album on 5th May, 1995, which enters the Alternative charts at Number 7.
    • Nasser Sultan becomes manager of the band. 
    • Downtime plays Alternative Nation festival in Brisbane and likely the Sydney Alternative Nation show as well. 
    • The band supports Channel Zero (Belgium), L7 (USA), Sick of It All (USA), and tours Australia and New Zealand with Suicidal Tendencies (USA) 
    • Break Him EP released 9th September, 1995.
    • Returns to New Zealand for their own tour to launch Break Him EP.
    • Downtime supports Pennywise, Blink 182, and Bodyjar on the 'Good Times' tour. 
  • 1996:
    • Downtime undertakes tours and shows supporting: The Cosmic Psychos, Front End Loader, All (USA), Goldfinger (USA), The Sex Pistols (UK)
    • Tempered single released sometime before September 1996.
    • The band plans to record their second album in L.A., USA, with Bill Stephenson and Stephen Egerton. This doesn't pan out.  
  • 1997:
    • Second album Tooth and Nail recorded in Sydney. Released in December, 1997.
    • Downtime supports Bad Religion (USA) on their national tour of Australia, and undertakes interstate shows supporting SNFU (USA)
  • 1998: 
    • Downtime records a film clip for their song 'Monkey' from Tooth and Nail. 
    • The band appears as part of the Vans Warped Tour in Australia.
    • Bad Brains cover 'Rock for Light' is recorded for the Rock compilation. This would be the last recording to feature the classic lineup of Billy, James, and Brenden. 
  • 1999
    • Lineup shuffles - James Meek leaves, replaced briefly by Mark (last name not known), and then by Eric Grothe Jr. 
    • Drummer and founding member Brenden Peace leaves not long after James, is replaced by Joel Ellis.
  • 2000
    • Eric Grothe Jr. leaves to focus on his football career with the Parramatta Eels, is replaced by Dave Dunn. Dave then brings in former Shattered Mass bandmate Percy Rimbaud on drums.
  • 2001
    • First in Line EP recorded by the lineup of Billy, Dave Dunn, and Percy Ricaud. Released on 9th April, 2001.
  • 2002:
    • Downtime breaks up.
  • 2009: 
    • The band reforms with James Meek returning on bass and Grant Lawrence filling in on drums. 
    • Performing as part of the Monster Sessions shows. A previously unreleased recording is released on the accompanying compilation CD.
  • 2011: 
    • Billy tragically dies in a motorcycle accident in Newtown.
  • 2015: 
    • A severed arm is found in the Maribyrnong River in Victoria with a tattoo almost identical to the artwork featured on the Tooth and Nail album. 

SHOWS: 
 
1993-1994 


1995

1996

1997

1998-2002

2009-2010

ORAL HISTORY:
BILLY: The people in the city used to call us Westies and the people in the west used to say that we were 'money kids'. We were nowhere. The flats where I grew up, in Ashfield, were full of Hispanic families where 15 families would have 10 kids crammed into one or two bedroom places.
Billy Hughes (Vocals, Guitar), HM Street Press, 1995
 
BILLY: Me and Brenden grew up listening to heavy English punk like Discharge, Antisect, G.B.H., and James was influenced by American stuff like Black Flag, etc. These days I don't think any of us listen to much heavy music really but for some strange reason we sort of come out with the style that is Downtime. I still pull out my punk records every now and then... I like Ted Hawkins, he's a black busker from California. I really get into his lyrics. Very inspiring. 
Billy Hughes (Vocals, Guitar), Bar Code the World Issue 2, September 1995
 
Unknown Street Press extract, 1993

BRENDEN: Billy and I met years and years ago, about '86, playing in punk bands around Sydney and continually we couldn't get any gigs cause we were so young, so we gave up and went our separate ways and did our own things then got back together mid-last year.
Brenden Peace (Drums), Serpent Tongue Issue 2,  October 1995
 
BILLY: The band probably started around 1986 or about that... I answered an ad in Phantom Records. I met Brenden and he wanted to start a band. We played a few gigs around the place. Anyway, a few things happened, years went past... me and Sean were playing in Toe to Toe. I left Toe to Toe and Sean did as well... Me and Brenden got another band going together. That was something that I always wanted to do - play in a band with Brenden again. We were sort of jamming around a bit and we played a few gigs as Madhouse and Super 8, but we really needed a big bass sound to back up what we do so we ended up getting Sean because we played in Toe to Toe together and work really well together.  
Billy Hughes (Vocals, Guitar), Loaded to the Gills Issue 4, June 1994

1993 lineup, as 'Madhouse Suicide' - Brenden, Damien, Billy.

BRENDEN: We were called Madhouse but there was a band called Madhouse. So we changed our name to Madhouse Suicide, which we hated, so we then changed it to Super 8... which we hated. 
Brenden Peace (Drums), Loaded to the Gills Issue 4, June 1994

BILLY: Our first show... we were (supporting the Baby Animals and) playing to very, very straight people. We got up there and we played the first two songs and didn't stop in-between. They were very, very fast and very, very heavy and I was screaming fuck this and fuck that. Towards the end, people were booing and telling us to get off. I got really sick of it and said stuff like, "This song's about smashing skinheads" and stuff like that, just trying to get any reaction. It was just so ugly and so yuck.
Billy Hughes (Vocals, Guitar), Underground Surf Magazine, 1998 
 
Billy, Loaded to the Gills Issue 4, June 1994
 
BILLY: The old bass player at the time said to me that he wanted to take the name 'Super 8' so we were pretty much stuck with a gig in a week's time and with no band name. So we said, fuck, we'll go back to Madhouse Suicide. That name doesn't really suit us... Sean came up with the name Downtime.
Billy Hughes (Vocals, Guitar), Loaded to the Gills Issue 4, June 1994
 
SEAN: Downtime basically means loss of productivity. It just came up at work. My boss is always going on about downtime like, "We've got to become more efficient, we've got to cut out the downtime", that sort of thing. 
Sean Lipsett (Bass), Loaded to the Gills Issue 4, June 1994
 
Sean, Brenden, Billy, 1994
 
BILLY: I left Toe to Toe and I didn't want anything much to do with playing in bands at that time. Madhouse Suicide was a muck-around band and when we decided to get serious... I don't know what the turning point was, but I think I just got inspired to be in a band and it sort of changed, things happened and we went through two bass players. The first bassist was a nice guy but he had just started playing bass whereas Brenden and I had been playing in bands for 10 years or something... so Madhouse Suicide broke up and Super 8 started, with Sean of No Deal Records for two shows. 
Billy Hughes (Vocals, Guitar), Bar Code the World Issue 2, September 1995
 
Sean, Loaded to the Gills Issue 4, June 1994
 
SEAN: I had never really played on stage before with a band until Toe to Toe. That gave me a lot of experience with crowds. For half of my time in Toe to Toe I was pretty uncomfortable on stage and fucked up a hell of a lot. With Downtime, I'm a lot more comfortable. I'm enjoying myself a lot more than I did with Toe to Toe... The stuff Billy writes is fairly unique and it's pretty off the wall type of shit. I don't think our band's following anything. I mean, three piece bands are not the goer anyway and we've got long hair. Everyone that's cool has got short hair. So we're not really following a fashion.
Sean Lipsett (Bass), Loaded to the Gills Issue 4, June 1994
 
BILLY: All the bands I've been in before had the attitude that you've got to do it yourself, the kind of punk attitude. And none of us feel that way any more, we don't want to play to one crowd anymore. We want to be able to reach broader audiences.... For 24 hours a day since I was 16, I've been playing in punk bands. Most of the guys my age are all right, they've grown up and mellowed out, we've all got jobs and stuff. But a lot of people who've just come into it, they've got this attitude that we had years ago, 'do it yourself, don't play with this band or that band', be truly independent punk. So we're being snubbed off in certain circles. It's silly because Australia is such a small country, and you've got to do what you've got to do. In America, you can be totally DIY 100 and still get a thousand people at your gig, just because of the massive population. Here in Australia it's just not feasible.
Billy Hughes (Vocals, Guitar), In the Streets, 17th January 1995
 
Rebel Razor, 1994
 
SEAN: Billy had asked me to join Downtime soon after I left Toe to Toe. They were called Madhouse Suicide and I wanted to change the name, landing on Downtime after a phrase my boss would say all the time ("we've gotta cut out all this downtime"... hahaha). I left just after I released the self-titled 7" on No Deal records because the others wanted Nasser Sultan to manage the band and I never liked the bloke. James (Massappeal, Hostile Objects) then joined and that was that... I liked Downtime but never saw them again after I left. Billy and I remained friends up until he sadly passed away.
Sean Lipsett, Noise Levels Correspondence, 2024
 
BILLY: I respect Sean for the decision that he did not want to get involved with a band on that level. He's very independent and staunch about it and he bowed out. No hard feelings there at all. In fact, we laughed a lot at all the rumours that we hated each other...
 Billy Hughes (Vocals, Guitar), Bar Code the World Issue 2, September 1995
 
Review of Self-Titled 7", Loaded to the Gills Issue 7, February 1995

REVIEW: Hard and fast guitar, that's the Downtime forte. A three piece assault that pouts, punches, cranks up the volume and leaves a dull ring in your ears that swells and simmers to the medley of Ramones pearlers during the break 
Review of Metro Theatre show with Cosmic Psychos and Nitocris, 22nd July, 1995
 
BILLY: I concentrate on my lyrics probably a lot more than I do on my music, but they're definitely not political in any way. They're a lot more personal these days. I talk about pain. There's silly songs, like fun and happy drinking songs. There's songs about friendship, friendship gone wrong, love, love gone wrong, happiness, sadness. Everything, just every emotion, I suppose.
Billy Hughes (Vocals, Guitar), Loaded to the Gills Issue 4, June 1994
 
James and band manager Nasser Sultan.
 
BILLY: We were playing some shows and pretty much got to a certain level where we couldn't go any further, really. So we decided that, because we hated dealing with record company people, booking agencies... we'd get a manager. I was doing it myself - hanging out after the show, getting ripped off, organising tours, etc... it's a headache. I am trying to hold down a job, write music, play in a band, and have a social life. So we thought it was inevitable as the band grew. We approached Nasser from Nightmare music and said, are you interested? And he came to see us and really liked us. That was it and we're happy about it.
Billy Hughes (Vocals, Guitar), Bar Code the World Issue 2, September 1995

REVIEW: Special guests for the Channel Zero tour were Downtime, who as usual, put on an excellent show. I gotta say, I'm a bit of a fan of these guys so you're going to be hard pressed getting me to say anything bad about them. They are one of the few bands that are guaranteed to always put on a good show - whether they are playing to a small inner-city pub crowd or a large audience in support of an international act. Their characteristically huge sound contrasts with the physical stature of the lads - it's funny how such little fellows can make so much noise. Downtime inspired the crowd into some heavy mosherama. 
Dave Lornie, Review of show at Phoenician Club, Sydney, in HM, 8th September, 1995 

Street Press, mid-1995, touring Melbourne in support of album Lose Yourself
 
REVIEW: Downtime are barely a year out of the box, yet they were the surprise local heroes at this year's Big Day Out, now release their debut album Lose Yourself (Phantom).
Alternative Charts, 1995
 
BILLY: I want to play for as many people as possible. I want to go overseas. I never used to admit this to myself, I used to be embarrassed about the fact that I wanted to get somewhere with my music. I used to think it was all right just to stay small and play for the cool people. And when I did realise that, I had to make a few decisions that made me unpopular and move in a few different directions. But that's what had to happen... Our goal is to still be heavy but to maintain that 'finger on the pulse' vibe. Y'know, that heavy and dangerous edge, but break through.
HM Magazine, 1995
 
BILLY: The tour that stands out for me was supporting Suicidal Tendencies. Fantastic learning experience, great meeting the guys who I've been listening to since I've been into punk. We've also toured by ourselves. We went to New Zealand with Suicidal Tendencies and got an excellent responses - it was that good that we are back there in October (1995). We don't play a lot of our own shows... a lot of shows we support bands. When we play our own shows we try to give supports to smaller punk bands... we only play our own shows once a month.
Billy Hughes (Vocals, Guitar), Bar Code the World Issue 2, September 1995
 
Downtime on tour in New Zealand, 1995
 
PRESS RELEASE: Getting their big break less than 12 months ago at the Sydney Big Day Out, Downtime has gone from strength to strength. Among their long list of achievements are a number four spot on the National Alternative charts for their debut album and tours with Suicidal Tendencies, L7, Alternative Nation and most recently Pennywise. All the while the band has built a steady following through constant tours of their own of Australia and New Zealand.
Nasser Sultan, Press Release for Street Press, December 1995
 
 
Pic from Noisecrash Issue 3, November, 1995
 
BILLY: Break Him is a 5 song EP that's different from what we did before. The first song is mellow and slow, the next three songs are standard Downtime songs, and the last is an acoustic with me and my guitar, hahaha. It's about people who put others down, and one day your world will come crashing down as well. Not everyone can be up all the time. 
Billy Hughes (Vocals, Guitar), Bar Code the World Issue 2, September 1995
 
REVIEW: Break Him features a track called 'Falling Down', which shows a bit of a departure from the band's established smash 'em up, knock 'em down style but (...) it was something that had to be exorcised as opposed to developing a new direction. 
Review by Darrell Bassett, InPress Magazine, 11th October 1995
 
Advertisement, Phantom Records 1995
 
Review of Break Him, in Drum Media, 25th October 1995
 
Review of Break Him, unknown publication, 1995
 
BRENDEN: It's been a pretty big year for the band, no doubt about it. We've had a lot of lucky breaks starting with the Big Day Out in Sydney and everything's fallen int place since then. We've been complaining of overwork but then we wouldn't have it any other way... At this stage we're pretty happy with Phantom Records so we'll probably stick with them until we, hopefully, head overseas and see what we can find over there... We haven't really decided where we are going to launch ourselves, it'll either be Europe or America. We're getting pretty good audiences in Sydney but we're starting to feel that Melbourne is starting to pick up a lot now and a bit of a vibe seems to be getting around. The turnouts in Melbourne have been very encouraging.
Brenden Peace (Drums), InPress Magazine, 11th October 1995
 
REVIEW: Tonight Downtime exuded a contagious energy which was unstoppable. Their set included songs from their first album Lose Yourself and their new EP Break Him. Years of playing in the scene was obvious with a set full of tight and heavy songs.
Review of Metro show by Mishka, Beat, 1995
 
 
ARTICLE: "One second we're playing to 40 people and the next we're laying to 5,500 at the Big Day Out," explains a Zen-like but very-heavy-on-the-volume Billy, guitarist/singer/songwriter. Looking like displaced urban hippies, Downtime actually come across more like Slayer crossed with the Hard-Ons. "Well, that's one person's opinion," he sniffs, "But we're more influenced by what's around us, like if I've had a shit day at work and I'm pissed off... The theme (of Lose Yourself) is about being down and getting back up again, fighting back and swinging punches. Not blaming anyone else for anything. It's definitely about positive vibes and getting rid of negative energy. Singing about being insecure and questioning myself".
New Faces Article by Jeremy Chunn, Rolling Stones, December 1995

Press Release from band member Nasser Sultan to Drum Media columnist Murray Engleheart, September 1996


PRESS RELEASE: Downtime's latest offering, Tempered, encompasses all the energy and spontaneity shown on their previous releases (Break Him and Lose Yourself) but in a more refined fashion. Tempered captures the powerful raw feel of a live show... the result is an EP that is guaranteed to set the pace and become the yardstick for punk and hardcore in '96. 
Press Release from Phantom Records, 1996

Press Release, to Drum Media, December 1996

REVIEW: Downtime, one of the finest hardcore bands in Sydney, put in an excellent performance of their own brand of metalish-hardcore with abrasive vocals from Billy. They have a new album recently released called Tooth and Nail and tonight's set featured several tunes from it. But being the generous guys that they are, Downtime also played a sizeable chunk of their Lose Yourself album of 1995 just for the fans - it can be noted that these tracks are much more harsh and grindier than the newer ones, which have a decidedly more melodic feel. Downtime seem to have greatly matured as a band during the period between albums, becoming a cohesive unit rather than an exercise in how heavy a three-piece band can sound. Some enthusiastic punters took part in some inventive moshing during the set with a plastic chair being used to propel the person who was seated in it across the shiny and slippery floor. Remarkably all parties to this act came out of it unscathed, much to my disappointment. Blood spilt would have really topped a good night off. Downtime were very impressive tonight, with highlights from the set being 'What is Black?' (the old and abrasive) and 'Monkey' (the new and melodic).
Review of the Hardcore BBQ in Katoomba (6th Dec 1997) by Hans Floggenoff, Anti-Charisma Issue 2, 1998
 
REVIEW: In reality what Downtime have unleashed is an album of such strength and conviction, of such power and honest intent, that no one in their right mind could deny their standing at the forefront of the Australian hardcore brigade.
Review of Tooth and Nail by Greg Chamberlain, Loudmouth, Feb 1998
 
REVIEW: This is a solid sort of hardcore release with just a touch of metal style riffs sneaking in now and then. Lyrics dealing with the well-covered topics of alienation, independence, and taking charge of your life... If you like aggressive hardmetalcore, give this a listen.
Review of Tooth and Nail, TMT Issue 25, June 1998
 
REVIEW: This one really means it. If you're sick of punk rock songs about fast food and teen heartache, Tooth and Nail sounds one step closer to class war.
Review of Tooth and Nail by Simon Wooldridge, Juice Magazine, Feb 1998

Eric Grothe Jr., Sydney Morning Herald, 2nd May 2000

ERIC: I was a fan of Downtime - used to go and watch them play a bit and a mate of mine had this new music store, Sector 7G in Campbelltown Mall, and hired the band to play out front of the CD store for the opening day. They came, except the bassplayer didn't turn up. I don't know what happened the night before or whatever, they had a gig somewhere else... the bassplayer just did a no-show. He'd told them earlier he was thinking about leaving anyway. They were all kind of waiting for it and this was the day he just didn't turn up. So my mate Dazzo (Darren Stapleton) who owned the CD shop rang me and said "Mate, Downtime are here" and I said, "I know, I'm coming down later to watch 'em" and he goes "No, they're here and they need a bassplayer. You know all their songs, come and play bass for them". I'm thinking, you're full of shit, as if I'm gonna play bass with Downtime. Anyway, I went down there and sure enough... they needed a bassplayer. They didn't want to abandon the gig so the singer gave me an acoustic guitar and said "Come out the back and show me if you know all the basslines on a few of our songs so we can play here today and it's not just a no-show". So anyway, I did that, and I ended up playing four songs for them on bass out the front of my mate's shop, all off the Lose Yourself album - 'Dissident', 'Downtime', 'Help', and 'What Does It Mean?'. It was a good little crowd, all my mates were there, it was a bit of big moment for me, I was 17 or 18, and then the singer, after it, because I didn't make any mistakes, hands me a CD and says "Can you learn all these songs and come to Zen Studios and practice and try out for us?" So I did and I ended up getting in the band and the next minute I was in Downtime. Pretty crazy, man, 'cause I was a big fan and then all of a sudden I was in the band but then a year later footy started so I had to brush it, but it was good times.
Eric Grothe Jr., Noise Levels correspondence, 2024 
 
ARTICLE: Grothe gave up football for three years and only resumed last season. He spent his 'downtime' with Sydney punk band Dowtime, touring up and down the east coast and doing their best to follow in the footsteps of Offspring and Green Day by breaking into the mainstream. 
Steve Mascord, 'Origin selection proves young Eric's a Guru, too', Sydney Morning Herald, 2nd May 2000 

ERIC: I ended up pretending I couldn't play a lot of Downtime's new songs because I didn't really like their new stuff. I used to pretend... I didn't quite know it so we'd always used to play a really strong setlist from just the first album, which won me some respect from some of the old school fans but sometimes it pissed off the band members.
Eric Grothe Jr., Noise Levels correspondence, 2024 

ERIC: The gig that stands out was when we supported the Deftones at the Iron Duke in Alexandria. That was awesome. They were probably my favourite band at the time, the Deftones, so when I found out we were going to be supporting them it was a pretty special moment. The gig itself was when Deftones were touring their Around the Fur album. It was just monstrous - it was such a small, tiny venue, the Iron Duke, however, because of that the sound, the noise, and the energy of the place lifted the roof off. Another gig we played that stands out was playing a gig in Newcastle at the Hunter on Hunter and all of Downtime's old school fans were there and because I'd pretended I didn't know the new album and didn't play much of the new album live with Downtime, we played a lot of the old album and the old school fans loved me because they thought I was bringing back the old school sound but, really, I wasn't - I was just playing the songs that I liked. It was a packed house and a big energy crowd.
Eric Grothe Jr., Noise Levels correspondence, 2024 
 
ERIC: I wrote two songs with Downtime. One I'd already had before I joined Downtime but I gave it to them. We didn't end up recording it or anything because I left the band not long after I'd shown them the song. But we did record the other song, we did a demo for it and it came out pretty good. Because I was only in Downtime for about a year or so we didn't get around to writing a new album or anything like that, it would've been good though.
Eric Grothe Jr., Noise Levels correspondence, 2024 
 
ARTICLE: Eric Grothe Jnr is set to play again this season after being released yesterday by Parramatta... To be a professional footballer, Grothe had to quit a band he played in, Downtime. His manager insisted that league remained Grothe's priority and said he hoped to find him a new club soon.
Brad Walter, 'Parra's Grothe takes flight...', Sydney Morning Herald, 2002

First in Line lineup - Dave, Percy, Billy

PRESS RELEASE: Management and label changes together with the recent addition of new bass player Dave Dunn has seen Downtime reinvigorated and busy writing for their next album due for release later this year.
Downtime Press Release, 2000
 
REVIEW: 2001 sees the Downtime lads spring back into action with the limited edition EP First in Line, which will both surprise and please the loyal fanbase. First in Line is a slight sound departure for Downtime, with healthy melodic bursts being incorporated with their traditional riff-heavy sound found in older recordings like the excellent Tooth and Nail and Break Him. The opener 'Superficial Friend' and the rather boppy 'Payday' is where these melodic poppy moments have appeared on this new recording. These songs have nice elements of bands like Millencolin, No Use for a Name, and NOFX but without sounding derivative. It's no surprise really that 'Payday' has gotten some Triple J airplay. Old school Downtime fans have nothing to fear though with songs like 'Trinity', 'Follow Me' and the best song on the EP, 'On My Way', showing the group is still at their devastating best. This EP feels almost like a good transitional release from the group. With several line-up changes over the past few years, the current line-up will hopefully be the basis for the next full-length release.
Review of First in Line by Bryan, OzMusic Project, 2001
Reformed Lineup - James, Grant, Billy

James, Grant, Billy (2009)

Headline from 2015 article in The Age

ARTICLE: Unidentifiable remains began floating to the surface of the river in Melbourne's inner north-west from Thursday and the only way police could find out whose they were quickly was to release the one identifiable feature - the tattoo. On the same night that the police released the image internet sleuths spotted the connection between the devil in the tattoo and the one on the Tooth and Nail album... The band's bassist, James Meek, copied the devil after he found it in an old skating and graffiti magazine. In the magazine, the devil was holding a spray can, but Mr Meek changed his so it was holding a bouquet of flowers.  
Tammy Mills, The Age, 10th February, 2015

RELATED BANDS: Tutti Parze, King Pest, Toe to Toe, Massappeal, Epics, Grand Fatal, Hostile Objects, Lojetz, Lord Sword, Minds-R-Controlled, Ramps, Seconds Away, Twin City Faction, Crankees, AVO, Moral Panic, Nunchukka Superfly, Toulouse, Mink Jaguar, Shattered Mass, Black Elvis, The Greg Brady Overdrive

Brenden Peace, 1997

Band rider, 1996



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