Sunday, December 8, 2024

Thought Crime

 
ORIGINS: Wollongong, NSW
GENRE: Punk
YEARS ACTIVE: 2001-2004
 
MEMBERS:
RELEASES: 
 
  • Self-Titled (2003) - Download Here.
    • 1. Kaos
    • 2. Circle A
    • 3. Concrete Coffins
    • 4. Disjointed
    • 5. Down But Not Out
    • 6. Fear
    • 7. High Song
    • 8. I Need a HUg
    • 9. MYC
    • 10. Clique
    • 11. New Ska
    • 12. Possessed to Suck
    • 13. Stool Crazy
    • 14. Straight Jacket
    • 15. Thoughtcrime
       

  • Split w/ Dick Nasty (2003)
    • 1. Set Up of One
    • 2. Bleed
    • 3. Britney
    • 4. Painless
    • 5. Blister
SUMMARY: Thoughtcrime was a punk band from Wollongong with shades of hardcore and ska-punk influence. The band played regularly in the Illawarra region and also in Sydney, slimming from a five piece to a four piece in their final year before members moved on to other bands.
 
SHOWS: 
 
ORAL HISTORY:
ROBBO: Thought Crime was my first band. Cohen was a few years below me at school and we became friends as not many other people were into what we listened to. We sort of introduced each other to bands and I wanted to start something up. I saw Eamon sing in a band he was in called Zaproxyn and liked his voice so after he left Kamikaze Harry we asked him at a show if he would join. Val was our drummer for a few jams but then Nagy joined; he'd played in a band called Britney with Eamon. 
Paul Robertson (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
 
COHEN: Robbo was a few years above me in high school and he'd heard I was into punk - my band Tenfold were already playing together at that point. Anyway, our first conversation was about what bands we were listening to, and that led us to an album swap. He lent me Dead Kennedy's Give Me Convenience and I lent him Operation Ivy's Energy. After that he asked if I wanted to have a jam with him and Eamon. Our first rehearsal was in Eamon's parent's garage the day after his 19th birthday - he was too sick (hungover) to sing! Later, Scott Nagy joined on drums and it was 'Crime Time'!
Cohen Brown (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

EAMON: Robbo called me up out of the blue one day in early '00. He and Cohen had been talking about getting something going for a while. He said they wanted something that was a cross between Op Ivy and MYC and they then came 'round to my place to have a jam. I was too hungover and they just laughed while I repeatedly vomited. I was still living at my parents' place at the time. I'd been jamming with Scott in another band called Britney so we enlisted him too. Meanwhile, Regrette had just moved to town for uni and we'd become skate/drink/mischief buddies. So I asked her to join on second guitar. We jammed. Magic happened!
Eamon Leggett (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
 
SCOTT: It all began when I was working at the Reject Shop during uni. A friend named Keith gave me a mixtape and told me to get in touch with a guy called Eamon. I'd never even heard that name before, so I was intrigued... before long I found myself in a band called Britney with Eamon, Sean, Beth, and Renee. I thought we were pretty good, but for some reason, it didn't last. Oh well, onward and downward... I'm not entirely sure what happened next but, before I knew it, I was jamming with Thought Crime like it was 1984. They already had a few songs and we pretty much nailed them on the spot. 'Crime Time' was officially upon us!
Scott Nagy (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
 

 
ROBBO: First show was on the back of a truck in a skate park. Run For Cover and Topnovil played. It was fun but I remember we played that night at Bulli PCYC too and that show was amazing. I think Iron Sausage maybe played that one. It was a stand out show.  
Paul Robertson (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
 
EAMON: Our first show was April '01 at Albion Park Rail Skate Park to an unenthused bunch of hood rats. Our second show was later the same day at Bulli PCYC with Dystempa. For the most part, Robbo and I tended to organise our shows. Robbo knew all the more 'punk' folk and I was down with the more 'hardcore punk' folk. We just played wherever we could. We relied heavily on the Wollongong Youth Centre free Thursday night shows. We also became friends with Fran from the Hippycrits and he put us on a bunch of shows in Sydney. I think a lot of it was just knowing people in the scene. The usual nonsense.  
Eamon Leggett (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024


COHEN: I don't remember our first show but, to be fair, I don't remember many of our shows. I was 14 and getting blackout drunk/stoned before most of our sets. We were part of a very DIY anarcho-hardcore-punk scene at the time and played a lot of squats and house parties around Sydney and the 'Gong.
Cohen Brown (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

SCOTT: I met a whole new crew of friends while playing in Thought Crime and joined an incredibly accepting scene. 86B4lyf! We played day gigs at community centres, local warehouses, house parties, and skate parks. We were always the first band on and it was an absolute hoot. Pure chaos and a ton of fun!
Scott Nagy (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

ROBBO: We played a lot. We used to play with lots of different bands and there was lots of stuff happening. The punk scene was pretty diverse. We used to play in Sydney a lot as well. Sydney had a lot of good bands and shows around that time, there was some amazing shows in both Sydney and Wollongong.
Paul Robertson (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

Thought Crime with guest vocals from Dan Stewart on a cover of Black Flag's 'Depression'. Stewart's guest appearance on this song was a regular feature of Thought Crime's set.

EAMON: We'd done a lot of home recording to four track, a couple of which came out okay but weren't entirely up to scratch. One of these times, Scott's van burst into flames. It just... suddenly caught fire out the front of my house while we jamming. Some electrical fault. Luckily my mum was a firefighter, so she made short work of it. It was a right off, though.  
Eamon Leggett (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
 
SCOTT: My dad's van blew up while we were recording our first demo at Eamon's house. We had just finished the session only to come outside and find the fire brigade hauling away my dad's smouldering van. Turns out the electronics shorted and it basically roasted itself. Dad got a new van, but the real kicker? The only Britney tape in existence went up in smoke that night too - literally. A pretty fitting end really...
Scott Nagy (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
 
EAMON: Robbo knew Adam from Mainstreet and we just booked some time with him. The first recording we did as a five piece - fifteen tracks in an afternoon and I had some kind of throat infection.
Eamon Leggett (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024 
 

 
COHEN: Reflecting back on this time as an adult brings mixed feelings. On one hand, it was cool to be exposed to the new music, radical ideas, and different modes of being at such a young age. Aside from squats or 'social centres' like the Midnight Star, there were a number of punk/artist communes around at the time where people were experimenting with alternative ways of living. On the other hand, I'm relieved to have survived it in one piece. Like many underground scenes, it attracted some hazardous elements - which was part of the appeal - but there was often violence, substance abuse, trouble with the cops, authorities, etc.
Cohen Brown (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024 
 
EAMON: Regrette left after a year and a half or so. We continued on as a four piece for one or two years after that and did a second recording. It was meant to be for a split 7" with Dick Nasty from Brisbane. Nicky was gonna release it on Nickstart My Heart Records but it eventually only came out as a split CD instead. I later burnt CDrs of all the tracks - twenty in total - and hand-cut cardboard cases for them. I think I made twenty of these and just gave them out. 
Eamon Leggett (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
 
 
ROBBO: The first recording we were telling the engineer not to polish it. The stuff we did second on the Dick Nasty split sounds much better but I do like a lot of those early songs more. We were always super disorganised and had shitty gear. The first recording reflects this, hahaha. For the second recording, there was a dude called Nick and he put it out. It was supposed to be a 7" but it ended up being on CD. I was supper happy 'cause the Dick Nasty stuff had the guy from Bjelke-Peterson Youth on vocals and it was really good.
Paul Robertson (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
 
SCOTT: To be honest, I'm not entirely sure why we wrapped it up. I thought we were just starting to hit our stride, but maybe our time had simply come. Our last show was at some wild house party. We drank an entire bottle of Cohen's tangerine liqueur, and that was it - Crime Time was no more. That's all she wrote.
Scott Nagy (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024 
 
ROBBO: Cohen wasn't that into it for a while and after a party we played in Wollongong he told me he didn't want to do it anymore. I think we just called it then. Personally, things had gotten pretty out of control and I took some time out. They were pretty wild times.
Paul Robertson (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024
 
EAMON: The band finished because I think we were just over it. Same shows. Same people. Cohen was also doing more Brazen Hearts stuff and I think Robbo was playing in Rukus by that stage. It was just time. Our final shows were in 2003. One was a backyard party at my house in Beatson Street in Wollongong and the final final show was a very drunken backyard party at the Beach Street house on an overgrown mini ramp. Both those houses have since been demolished.
Eamon Leggett (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

RELATED BANDS: Zaproxyn / Dystempa, Kamikaze Harry, Britney, Vengeance is Mine Inc., Things Fall Apart, Takedown, Cleaned Out, Big Sack of Power, Rude Rahlis, Sloshpit, The Culture Industry, The Skarntz, Lost in Line, The Malphs, Steel City Allstars, Rukus, Under the Influence, Oxygen Thief, Problem Solved, Run For Cover, The Brazen Hearts, Clenched Fist, Reason Strikes, Topnovil, Steppin' Razor, Not OK




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