Fatigue

ORIGINS: Campbelltown, NSW

GENRE: Punk, Alternative

YEARS ACTIVE: 1992-2005

 

MEMBERS:

• Sean Flynn - Vocals
• Kieran De Silva - Bass (1992-1997, 1998-2000)
• Adam Audley - Guitar (1994-2005)
  
• Rob Chamberlain - Drums
• Juzzo - Bass (2000-2004)
• Mick Romeo - Bass (2005)
• Glenn Smith - Bass (1997) [Fill-in]
  

RELEASES: 

• Demo (1993)

• EMI Demo (1993)

• Falling On My Keys (1999)
• 1. Falling on My Keys
• 2. Chevy's
• 3. Ram Chandra
• 4. Quietus (demo version)
• 5. Unified Punk Theory (demo

 

• Dizneeland (2000)
• 1. Dizneeland
• 2. Bite (Tandoori Todger Tickler Mix)
• 3. Bite (Demo version)
• 4. Shorts (Spazz-Core Remix)
• 5. Three on the Shelf

• Does Anybody Want Anything Down the Shops? (2001) - Download Here.
  
• 1. Teevee
• 2. Falling On My Keys
• 3. Dizneeland
• 4. Froghurt
• 5. Shorts
• 6. Carrot Stomach
• 7. Klunk
• 8. Beer Off the Ground
• 9. T.N.V.N.
• 10. The Empty Space (in Rob's Emotional Chip Packet)
• 11. Down the Shops
• 12. Whack Shit Mofos
• 13. Motions
• 14. Gimme Gimme
• 15. Chevys
• 16. Ram Chandra
• 17. Rock Stars
• 18. Bite
• 19. Cuniform
• 20. We Pray

• Demo (2003)
  

SUMMARY: Fatigue started as a high school band in the early '90s under the name 'Metal Fatigue'. After recording a demo and playing All Ages shows in Southwest Sydney, the band managed to get their demo in front of the label EMI, who commissioned a second demo, but this did not lead to a formal signing with the label. Dropping the 'Metal' from their name, Fatigue were picked up by Lisa Willows, who managed the band over the rest of the decade as they began touring relentlessly and worked towards recording their album Does Anybody Want Anything Down the Shops? Along for the ride also was sound engineer / tour manager Dan Lia, who later took over management of the band towards the end of their run. Ironically, the band began to experience their own sense of fatigue after playing hundreds of shows in just a couple of years and their output slowed in the '00s until they finally called it a day sometime around 2005. 

 

SHOWS: 

• Annandale Hotel, Annandale - Tuesday, 21st January, 1997
  
• Southern Cross, Brisbane (QLD) - Thursday, 17th February, 1998  
• Civic Centre, Campbelltown - Friday, 4th June, 1999 
• The Alex, Leura - Friday, 10th December, 1999
  
• H2Whooooo Music Festival, Blacks Beach, Kiama - Saturday, 11th March, 2000
• Prank Fest, Civic Centre, Katoomba - Saturday, 1st April, 2000 
• Oberon Showground, Oberon - Sunday, 2nd April, 2000
  
• Flat Earth 2000 Festival, Deniliquin - Saturday, 8th April, 2000 
• The Alex, Leura - Friday, 28th April, 2000
• Blaxland Tavern, Blaxland - Thursday, 18th May, 2000
• Daily Planet, Penrith - Friday, 2nd June, 2000 
• Grounded Festival, Museum of Fire, Penrith - 17th June, 2000
  
• Iron Duke Hotel, Alexandria - Friday, 16th July, 2000
  
• Burwood Street Project Space, Wagga Wagga - Saturday, 29th July, 2000 
• Panthers Leagues Club, Penrith - Friday, 4th August, 2000
  
• Prank Fest 2, Civic Centre, Katoomba - Saturday, 26th August, 2000
• Kelts Bar, Blaxland - 22nd September, 2000
  
• Refectory, University of Canberra, Canberra - Wednesday, 18th October, 2000
• Atrium, Macquarie University, Epping - Thursday, 19th October, 2000
• Sutherland Entertainment Centre, Sutherland Shire - Friday, 20th October, 2000 
• Daily Planet, Penrith - Friday, 1st December, 2000
• Kelts Bar, Blaxland - Saturday, 24th February, 2001
• Iron Duke Hotel, Alexandria - Monday, 16th July, 2001                                                                                                                                                            
  

ORAL HISTORY:

ROB: I was in the grade above the other guys in high school and there were bands thrown together all over the place. We were all in a Bulgarian choir too. I'm not sure how we eventually locked in, but I knew Sean could sing and play guitar really well for a 14 year old and I think I may have suggested having a rehearsal with him and Kieran. By '93 we'd recorded a demo and then Adam joined shortly after. 

Rob Chamberlain (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

ADAM: Sean, Rob, Kieran and I all went to John Therry College in Campbelltown. We were in various bands at the school and in exchange for using the school's equipment and music room, we were all balckmailed into join the the school Baroque Chamber Choir together. The band was originally called Metal Fatigue and probably started around Year 9.

Adam Audley (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

ROB: Our first show was probably a school festival. We played at Australia's Wonderland early on. Occasionally, I'll find old photos of us playing on a stage in front of a tall ship. Kieran was playing sax in the school band that day too and missed his performance because he was waiting in line for The Demon (a rollercoaster).

Rob Chamberlain (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

ADAM: Our musical interests at that time really varied and personally I was into lots of different genres from rap/hip-hop to metal and punk. I've always had an appreciation for pop music and most our live shows featured some sort of pop song blended into one of our breakdowns. I always remember the look on people's faces of either joy or horror when we burst into a verse of Craig David or Destiny's Child in the middle of a song. As a group though we liked tight technical music. We grew up on the big metal bands and the '90s grunge movement. Specific to our sound though, we were directly inspired by our common love of late '90s and early 2000s punk and hardcore; NOFX, Propagandhi, Sick of It All... so many bands, I could go on forever.

Adam Audley (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

ADAM: There was an underage club in Campbelltown in the '90s called Quadrophonic. It was run by Daniel Courtney and was the most amazing thing for kids like us who loved heavy music. I don't think we even realised how lucky we were to have this at the time in our area. We played at Quadrophonic many times and Daniel introduced us to Lisa. At the time Lisa was managing Deni Hines and Marcia Hines, and then she became our manager. We were 16 and hanging out with these girls in their 20s who were in the music industry and they could get us into metal and goth clubs in the city. It was awesome. Anyway, Lisa had contacts at EMI. Our first demo sounded a bit like Silverchair and, I think because EMI had missed out on Silverchair, they liked the demo as we were in the same ballpark. 

Adam Audley (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

LISA: I first discovered Fatigue when my band played with them at an All Ages nightclub in Campbelltown called Quadrophonic. At the time, I had a small management company called Clockwork Management with my friend Julie, and we managed a few bands. We were always on the lookout for emerging talent and Fatigue definitely stood out. Their energy and potential was undeniable, and it wasn't long before we started working together. It's funny how the connections in those early days can shape the path ahead!

Lisa Willows (Manager), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

(Left to Right), Lisa, Rob, unidentified person

ROB: We quickly changed our name from Metal Fatigue to just Fatigue before recording our first demo. The first demo sounded like a cross between Silverchair and Green Day and it got us a meeting at EMI, which we proceeded to fuck up by using their money to make a terrible recording of our fastest pop-punk tunes for them. We were not to be the next Silverchair after all, haha. Lisa had picked us up as our manager and she did a great job of getting our songs in front of people.

Rob Chamberlain (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

 

ADAM: EMI put a publishing deal in front of us and we went to Troy Horse Studios in Redfern to record and that's when Lisa introduced us to Dan Lia. I'm pretty sure we recorded 2 to 3 songs. One of them was probably 'Elastic Man'. EMI hated all of these songs and they immediately stopped talking to us. To be honest, that's when our band actually started in my mind because that's when we started playing and writing music we wanted to play.

Adam Audley (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

 

LISA: What I liked most about the band, beyond the fact that all the people involved were amazing, was their undeniable talent and love of music. They had great songs, and what really stood out was their potential. At just 15 years old, they were like a clean slate - eager, open, and ready to create something special.

Lisa Willows (Manager), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

 

DAN: I met them at a show. I think I was mixing the sound for Frenzal at the time and I'm fairly sure Lisa introduced them to me as we were dating and she had discovered them. I was totally blown away. They were young and full of punk energy. They had great songs full of intelligent, controversial, and funny lyrics. Their musical talent was above their age and they played like they'd been playing for years, entertaining and pulling in the crowds. I really wanted to record them and from that point I was their live engineer and the studio engineer and tour manager and co-manager with Lisa Willows.  

Dan Lia (Tour Manager/Sound Engineer), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

 

 

ROB: By the time EMI 'pased' on the second demo, I think we were already playing All Ages shows in Campbeltown at different civic centres, house parties, the Festival of Fisher's Ghost, etc. We even bought a small PA and played the Appin Pub once. It was full of artificially aged regulars who acted like they'd never seen a live band before. They were like angry zombies. We were also still playing pubs in the city while we were in high school - Collectors Tavern, Agincourt Hotel, Feedback. We had to have an adult with us for those.  

Rob Chamberlain (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

 

ADAM: We were all very close friends and we hardly ever had any issues. There is definitely a different connection that comes through playing together in a band. We are all still great friends. 

Adam Audley (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

 

LISA: In the '90s, the Australian music industry was a different space - less convoluted and less saturated than it is today, so it wasn't that hard to get the band in front of the right people. The band was signed locally to Pacemaker Records who had the Presidents of the United States, and they were signed internationally as well, finding an audience in Japan via Sky Tower Records. What was truly challenging for Fatigue wasn't getting in front of the right people but rather finding an audience and carving out a clear space within the market. Their unique blend of thrash, pop, and punk made it difficult to fit into a specific genre. Old school punk bands often saw them as too 'pop' or 'too rock' for their scene, while rock bands considered them too 'punk' to add to their bills. Despite this, Fatigue found themselves able to support a diverse range of acts, from Millencollin to Grinspoon, as they navigated the complexities of their emerging sound. I always felt they were ahead of their timer and if they had formed a decade later they would have found their audience.

Lisa Willows (Manager), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

ROB: Once we turned 18 and could drink at the venues, things get a little blurry in terms of my memory. From around 95 to 98, I can remember just bits and pieces. We did a lot of local shows initially with bands like Stinkbug, Turtle Slime, Lawnsmell, and Ballpark. We headed up the Blue Mountains a lot. North Coast, Central Coast, South Coast. We played a huge punk festival in Kiama. Played a lot of shows with the sweet boys from Topnovil - Wollongong had a great scene back then! Kieran took some time off around '97 and Glenno (Lawnsmell) filled in for a few gigs on bass.

Rob Chamberlain (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

 

GLENN: I did the art for the album. My friends managed the band and they were great. Young and from Campbelltown. Good songs that worshipped Frenzal Rhomb. Kieran the bassplayer couldn't do a few gigs so I was asked to help. And I did. Really lovely bunch of dudes.

Glenn Smith (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

 

ROB: We never sold our demos at our earlier shows. We didn't even sell merch until we went on tour around 99-00. We had about 30 songs to choose from by the time we did our album and we were regularly trying new songs out. I think we wanted enough to cull down the album to about 12 or 15 tracks, but everyone seemed happy with around 20 songs. There was a guy named Nick who had access to a studio out in the industrial area of Ingleburn. We spent a good few weeks there; every day we could. It gave us time to do a little experimentation. I think we just had a whiteboard and everybody ticked off their parts. It was a fairly straight forward process.

Rob Chamberlain (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

 

 

ADAM: We recorded the album at a studio in the Minto industrial area It was above a plastic manufacturing plant. I can still remember the smell of the plastic, haha. Recording was about a month off and on. It was a lot of fun. Nick (the studio owner) was very generous and we became quite good friends. I took his motorbike for a spin and ended up crashing it into a pile of wooden pallets in the car park. He was very nice about it. We also ended up driving Sean's Barina into the factory downstairs and getting vocal mics inside it. We recorded a few vocal tracks inside the car. We called the album Does Anybody Want Anything Down the Shops because we all decided it was an underrated classic Aussie line.

Adam Audley (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

 

DAN: We recorded Does Anybody Want Anything Down the Shops at my friend's studio in Minto. It was above his dad's factory in an industrial area and it took about a week for me to record and mix it. Rob nailed all the drums in 2 days. The rest of the boys smashed it out too - bass, guitars, vocals. Mixing the album was all hands on deck, with some tracks having all of us on the faders turning things up and down as there was no automation back then. It was a real team effort.

Dan Lia (Tour Manager/Sound Engineer), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

 

Review, Obzine Issue 5, November 1999

 

ROB: 'Falling on My Keys' was the first (and radio friendly) single from the album. It got played a bit on Triple J. I wasn't really expecting that, so it was a confused feeling of excitement and anxiety - like we might have to take it seriously now. The second single was 'Dizneeland'... I remember being in the van on tour when we found out that the CD also contained a video file of our 'Dizneeland' clip. 

Rob Chamberlain (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

 

REVIEW: Fatigue returned to the Alex in fine form. Fatigue are always entertaining and tonight they did not disappoint! Their song Sheeortz may have been the reason they too were told to drop their shorts - and they did. Then Kieran had to play with them at half-mast! (I bet they look forward to more helpful suggestions from Alex crowds!) They played their latest releases - Falling On My Keys and Dizneeland as well as an assortment of their greats! 

Review by Lucinda, show at The Alex in Leura,  Obzine Issue 11, June 2000

 

REVIEW: Fatigue kicked out a tight-as-hell punk rock set filled with favourites like Falling On My Keys. The boys seemed to have fun as a single skanker took the dance floor. Fatigue have a harder edge to their punk and it's an all-i onslaught through their set. 

Review by Mark Alston, show at Blaxland Tavern, Obzine Issue 11, June 2000

 

ROB: When we released the album we really ramped up the shows and toured. When we played with Millencollin at Sutherland Entertainment Centre, I remember it was the first time seeing a sea of kids all violently moshing to us. We'd play nearly every day. Sometimes twice a day in uni towns. I've heard that we were known that year for playing some ridiculous number, like 240 shows, but the intensity of it really was like a blur. We were a bit exhausted after playing in a band for so long, but it was also pretty gratifying. Being in close proximity with the other guys so much was stanky. And hilarious. Everybody was as funny as they were annoying, so it was a nice balance.

Rob Chamberlain (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

Review of Dizneeland single, Obzine Issue 11, June 2000

REVIEW: This band seems to never stop gigging, but were anything but jaded in their entertaining performance. I liked the super-catchy 'Falling On My Keys' and the singer's rock-star sunnies but could have done without the guitarist stripping down to his underwear.

Review of Grounded 2000 by Daniel, Obzine Issue 12, July 2000

ADAM: I loved playing live. We did have a few massive tours with heaps of shows. The one that stands out to me was the tour with The Hassle Brigade. They were awesome guys and it felt like the two bands just blended together. We played a lot of regional shows on that tour so there was a lot of time driving between locations. So we had a lot of time to get to know each other and get up to mischief. There were definitely a few escapes on foot from sirens on the streets of Brisbane. Thank god CCTV wasn't a thing back then! All clean fun though. They were just such a great band and I looked forward to watching them play every show.

Adam Audley (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

 

On tour with The Hassle Brigade

DAN: I drove the 12-seater bus with a trailer. It was a crazy time with the boys finding ways to keep themselves amused while we toured South Australia, Victoria, Queensland. Some years it was at least 100 shows. At one stage the band got a regional touring grant and we played all the small country towns between Adelaide and Queensland. Bringing punk rock to the bush, hahaha. One time we hit a bunch of kangaroos in western NSW in the middle of the Hay Plains in the middle of the night. We'd also been through a locust plague and when we hit the kangaroos everything was smashed in - the bull bar, the headlights, the windscreen - and we drove into Denilquin like that! It was a pretty scary moment. I also remember another time on tour with The Hassle Brigade and ended up singing Queen songs in the middle of the night as we drove towards Queensland. I remember us doing different parts. The Hassle Brigade were a great bunch of guys. Fatigue enjoyed touring with them.

Dan Lia (Tour Manager/Sound Engineer), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

ROB: The crowd was so wild sometimes. Sean was rocking out at a show with Grinspoon where the security guards needed reinforcements. Phil from Grinspoon had a bottle thrown at him that night. Square right between the eyes like the third eye of Hanuman. Brutal.

Rob Chamberlain (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

REVIEW: Fatigue play half-decent Australian punk (as opposed to Frenzal Rhomb who have entered the realm of bland mediocrity with their new single 'War'. How many times does one band need to sing about being punched in the face/beaten up? They're almost getting as bad as American punk. Let's be racist, fuck America. Fuck their culture, their arrogance, their attitude, their ego. Sure I'm generalising and stereotyping but I"m in a narrow-minded mood tonight.) Some of my friends don't like Fatigue but I thought they were alright going off their performance tonight.

Review of show at Kelts Bar by K., Obzine Issue 16, November 2000

LISA: As the band grew up and fully embraced their rock 'n' roll lifestyle, there is certainly no shortage of wild stories to tell - some X-rated, but many more G-rated memories that really capture the chaos that was Fatigue. One unforgettable moment happened at the Iron Duke Hotel when Keiran wired a speaker box himself and it caught on fire mid-gig, causing an evacuation of the venue! A true testament to his punk/DIY attitude. He was also known for playing some university gigs with just a fig leaf covering his privates, or nothing at all, always ready to push boundaries. Another memorable tale was when the guitarist, the only member of the band not nervous before a huge Grinspoon support at Panthers, threw up on stage, much to the delight of the crowd, who serenaded him with chants of "Chucky!" He was a great sport about it, laughing along with the audience. The band had a real-life rockstar vibe that was evident in everything they did.

Lisa Willows (Manager), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

ROB: We always toured by van. Dan, our glorious and extremely patient tour manager/mixer was blind in one eye. He drove extremely... efficiently. Rare toilet stops and drifting incredibly close behind massive semi-trailers to increase fuel efficiency. We were like a sucker fish attached to a Megalodon at 111 kph. I used to sleep with my head square against the right side back window so that if we had a high speed crash, I would die instantly... While we were on tour we were a menace in terms of disrespecting the road rules. Kieran got arrested in Port Macquarie for saying "aaaah that's fucked" when a cop told us to get off the road. It was very funny. We always

Rob Chamberlain (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

LISA: One of the more terrifying experiences came during a tour to Port Macquarie, when we were travelling in a van that had a hole in the exhaust pipe, sending fumes straight into the cabin. We honestly thought we might die from carbon monoxide poisoning. On that same tour, Keiran got tossed into a local jail for 'swearing' at a police officer.

Lisa Willows (Manager), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

ADAM: We auditioned for the TV show Recovery to be the house band. I thought we were filming the show so I told family and friends we were going to be on TV and then it was some other band. I didn't realise it was an audition. Pretty embarrassing. The upside was that we met Nitocris, who were also on the show, and we ended up playing with them a fair bit after that. The other upside was that, in order to get paid, we had to become employees of the ABC and had to fill out all these forms. One of the guests on the show was Isla Fisher, who was on Home and Away at that point. She was struggling with the form like all of us and turned to me to ask for help. I got really star struck and basically forgot how to speak. Lisa gave me shit about this for nearly 10 years.

Adam Audley (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

Review of album, Obzine Issue 21, July 2001

LISA: There are countless stories - chaotic, hilarious, and unforgettable - each one encapsulating the essence of a band that truly lived their rock 'n' roll dreams. I knew they corrupted some young up-and-comers throughout their time, such as Ballpark. They also did the pilot for the Recovery program and it was thought they get the role of 'house band' but once again, too punk for that.

 Lisa Willows (Manager), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

ROB: After touring the album we demo'd a few more songs. There were a couple that were really choppy, weird, and heavy - songs I loved, and I still write with that disjointed arrangement style. We had used up all of our holiday leave from work and the thought of going on another tour probably wasn't popular. Rehearsals thinned out and so did writing. We were absorbed back into society. Actually, Kieran probably wasn't absorbed. He might be the only one to have escaped banality. He sadly said his goodbyes after the album tours and we had Juzzo AKA Gus AKA Jizimon AKA Ahh Grey Hams join on bass.

Rob Chamberlain (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

ROB: The name 'Ahh Grey Hams'... honestly, it's too nebulous to analyse. Campbelltown slang was such a huge part of the Fatigue vernacular that it often resembled a kind of hobbit language. It had lineages and specific situational context to your previous indiscretions, your social standing, or your booze habits. For example, Kieran wore a mango orange dress shirt at the start of our tour with The Hassle Brigade. Immediately he had his name changed to 'Chutney' - for two years. "Ahhhh Chutters!"

Rob Chamberlain (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

ROB: We did a sick last show at the Lansdowne. We fucked around for years not really playing and then did that show out of the blue around 2005. For the last couple of shows our good buddy Mick brought out his 5-string bass; he closed out that massive last show. We finished with a new super heavy song. I remember getting to the last couple of parts of that song and thinking, okay, this is starting to click in again. I'm gonna come back to this.

Rob Chamberlain (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

LISA: Fatigue were invested in the scene and worked tirelessly, showing a level of dedication beyond their years. Their music has a timeless quality, and I truly hope that with the 2024 re-release, Fatigue finally finds the audience they deserve. With this release, the band lives on.

Lisa Willows (Manager), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

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