Instant Mayhem

ORIGINS: Sydney, NSW

GENRE: Ska, Reggae, Punk

YEARS ACTIVE: 2002

 

MEMBERS:

• Luke Mernagh - Vocals
• Ryan McCluskey - Guitar
• Kent- Bass
• Brock Devlin - Drums

SUMMARY: With a lifespan of about 5 months, Instant Mayhem was a Clash/Sublime-influenced reggae-punk band that formed during the demise of McCluskey's previous band The Mad Dash. The band did not get to the point of recording anything and only played a few shows before members drifted into other projects.

SHOWS:

• House Party, Campbelltown - unknown date, 2001
• Northpoint Tavern, North Sydney - 3rd March, 2001

 

ORAL HISTORY:

LUKE: Ryan was a friend from just going to gigs and when I was in The Shirkers we knew all the Bradfield College kids - he was in that crew. I don't really remember meeting him but he was like our official roadie for The Shirkers (he was set on working in the music business) and he did such a good job. We started hanging out heaps and he had a car and would drive around and come hang out and stuff. He was always just so nice and calm to be around. It was pretty early on that I knew he'd be one of my best mates for life. I'm not sure how I met Brock - we met at gigs and we would chat sometimes. He was a super nice and kind person and was very unassuming. We had a close mutual friend named Jo from the Northern Beaches we both loved pop punk like crazy. I still talk to Brock every few months, he's a super interesting guy who just loves music so fucking much.

Luke Mernagh (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025 

BROCK: Me, Ryan and Luke all met through the Bombshellzine forum and then connected at shows at the Iron Duke, Northpoint Tavern, the Green Square, the Sando, and some of the big tours at The Metro and Gaelic Club. We started talking about doing a ska/reggae/punk band. I was pretty obsessed with Sublime at the time and wanted to do something along those lines. I kinda wanted to just do a bit of a party band that could play with anyone and fit on any random bill.

Brock Devlin (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

RYAN: Brock, Luke, and I had been talking about starting something more reggae-influenced and having known Brock from gigs for quite some years I knew we had a shared love for Sublime, Long Beach Dub Allstars, and that Long Beach reggae scene (which at the time was in its infancy). Luke and I had also been listening to stuff like Common Rider, Big Audio Dynamite, The Clash's more reggae-influenced stuff on their album Sandinista, etc. There was no on in Sydney really doing this, and I can't think of any other band in Australia at the time doing this style of reggae/punk. The band Rope Burning, who were an early version of The Bennies, started in Melbourne about two years later. 

Ryan McCluskey (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

BROCK: We needed to find a bass player so we did the old put-an-ad-in-Drum-Media and basically took the first guy who called, which was Kent. I lived in southwest Sydney at the time and so did he so I'd pick him up and drive us into Zen for rehearsals. I think because three of us (Luke, Ryan, myself) had all played in a few bands beforehand, coming up with songs and a direction was pretty easy. We just jammed and came up with things. 

Brock Devlin (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

LUKE: Everyone was heaps into ska at the time. I kind of liked a few bands like Suicide Machines, Assorted Jellybeans, Against All Authority, and Choking Victim. I also really liked The Specials and Op Ivy. I think as a massive Rancid fan I had a soft spot for early ska and reggae - though I thought I was  more likely to make it like Op Ivy than Junior Marvin. I thought it would be fun to have a band like Op Ivy/Sublime that sang songs about chaos, disorder, politics, futility, etc. I guess that's where the name came from, even though it sorts of seems immature and maybe downplays all those themes. 

Luke Mernagh (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025 

BROCK: We played two, maybe 3 shows. One was a house show and the other two had house show vibes. Just a bunch of mates hanging out and listening to tunes, and drinking beer or smoking - if you were that way inclined.  

Brock Devlin (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

LUKE: I wore a collared shirt at our gigs because I thought that is kind of what ska bands did, hahaha. It was a fun band and I enjoyed just singing but it was anxiety-inducing not having a guitar and having to move around the stage. Something felt a little familiar about this band because Dagnabit did a lot of Op Ivy covers. I felt a little weird being in a punk band that was very ska. I was definitely pulling a lot of Jess Michaels' monotone vocals and singing flat.

Luke Mernagh (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025 

RYAN: We only played two to three shows max. One was at the Northpoint Tavern supporting The Mad Dash and one was ay Brock's house in Mascot. I swear we played the Green Square too but Brock can't remember us playing there, haha... the memories are kinda hazy and weed was a pretty strong theme in this band at the time.

Ryan McCluskey (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

BROCK: I'm not really sure why we finished There were never any arguments or anything like that. Ryan and Luke started Stereo City and Instant Mayhem just kinda fizzled out. 

Brock Devlin (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

RYAN: It ended after a short time because of a few things like other bands, uni/work commitments, etc. I have always wished we'd given this band another go at some point because the songs came together quite easily and I really enjoyed playing with those guys. 

Ryan McCluskey (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

LUKE: Ryan and Brock are great at their instruments. It was a pretty decent band, to be honest. We also had a young bloke called Kent on bass - he was a champ, super super young. 

Luke Mernagh (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025 

RYAN: The last time I ever saw Kent he was leaving Micko's house with permanent marker all over his face and he hadn't realised at that point that he'd passed out drunk and Micko drew all over him. This could be a good reason why we never saw him again. 

Ryan McCluskey (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

RELATED BANDS: Dagnabit, The Shirkers, Own Enemy, The Breakout, The Panic Attacks, Stereo City, The Lock Ups, Black Jaw, Colytons, Step Too Far, The Mad Dash, Bags Not, Fungal, 2by4, Televised Schoolyard Massacre