Split Sceen

ORIGINS: Western Sydney, NSW

GENRE: Grunge, Alternative

YEARS ACTIVE: 1989-1993

 

MEMBERS:

• Matt Downey - Vocals
• Joe Xerri - Guitar
• Adam Hockey - Drums
• Peter Montgomery - Bass (1990-1993) 
• Steve Incorvil - Bass (1989)
• Olly Mathys - Bass (1993)
• Unknown - Guitar (1990)
• Mick Sadovy - Bass (1993)

Special thanks to Drew Bowie for assistance with tracking down some of the material below.

RELEASES:

• Demo (1992)

• Self-Titled (1992) - Download Here.
• 1. Mother Earth
• 2. Dead Brown Dog
• 3. Rubber Missile
• 4. Clouds
• 5. Take a Pick Axe to Your Problem!
• 6. More Than This Melissa

• Rockin' Up a Storm Vol. 2 (1993)
• 1. New World
• 2. Spit
• 3. Mr Pollock
• 4. Sceen Trip
• 5. The French Dragonfly
• 6. These Disposable Chords

 

• Compilation-only Releases
• 'I Do Not' and 'Typical' from the Streetwise III comp put out by Harding Richards in November, 1992.

SUMMARY: Forming in high school, Western Sydney band Split Sceen worked their way towards stage-fitness by 1992 and then had an energetic 18 months of activity - releasing two EPs, touring interstate, and playing many shows throughout Sydney. The band underwent some lineup changes in mid-'93 before folding by the year's end.

 

SHOWS: 

• School Hall, Unknown School - Unknown date, 1990 (as The Never Ever Beens)
• Party, Badgerys Creek - Unknown date, March, 1992
• Battle of the Bands, Sandringham, Newtown - 13th May, 1992
• Hopetoun Hotel, Surry Hills - 8th July, 1992
• Lewisham Hotel, Lewisham - 16th October, 1992
• The Sight, Piccadilly Hotel, Sydney - 4th November, 1992
• Lansdowne Hotel, Sydney - 5th November, 1992
• Evening Star, Sydney - 13th November, 1992
• Punters Club, Melbourne - 21st November, 1992 (VIC)
• Streetwise Showcase, Selinas, Coogee Bay - 27th November, 1992
• Hopetoun Hotel, Surry Hills - 3rd December, 1992
• ANU Bar, Canberra - 11th December, 1992 (ACT)
• Lansdowne Hotel, Sydney - 10th January, 1993
• Suburban Slam, St Marys Memorial Hall, St Marys - 16th January, 1993
• Annandale Hotel, Annandale - 24th January, 1992
• Tom-Tom Cafe, Kings Cross - 11th February, 1993
• Max's, Petersham - 17th February, 1993
• Lansdowne Hotel, Sydney - 28th March, 1993
• Hopetoun Hotel, Surry Hills - 21st July, 1993
• Jungle Bar, Sydney - 31st July, 1993
• Three Weeds Hotel, Rozelle - 26th August, 1993
• Tom-Tom Cafe, Kings Cross - 14th October, 1993
• The Pot Belly, Canberra - 9th August, 2014 (ACT) - Reunion show
• Lewisham Hotel, Lewisham - 30th August, 2014 - Reunion show
• Frankie's Pizza, Sydney - 20th July, 2019 - Reunion show

ORAL HISTORY:

MATT: I loved music from a young age. Having discovered my mum's 45s and, in particular, 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' by The Beatles, I loved how it made me feel and enjoyed the maths and mechanics of it, though I really didn't understand that for years. My first love was always pop in all its various presentations. Music was always on in my house and the late '70s and early '80s was a treasure trove of emerging sounds - on 2SER you'd hear The Beatles, Blondie, Talking Heads, Devo, The Clash, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Bowie. If a person my age with that kind of access to the radio isn't 'into music' they must have been deaf.

Matt Downey (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

JOE: Music was always in the house growing up and I loved watching The Beatles cartoons as a kid. I'm the youngest of four children and I still remember being envious of my siblings heading out to local pubs and clubs in the mid-'80s when I was way too young to join them. Local acts on any weekend would have been The Angels, The Radiators, Rose Tattoo, Midnight Oil, INXS, etc., and so I picked up a guitar as a 13 year-old because my best mate Adam bought a drumkit. 

Joe Xerri (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

ADAM: Joe and I played music all of our high school years, we played in different bands and variety nights at school. We both shared a love of Jane's Addiction. I think Joe then met Matt somewhere and took me along to have a jam in his lounge room in Rivertsone. Matt would write songs on piano and Joe would transcribe them to guitar.

Adam Hockey (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

JOE: Adam and I played in school bands with nothing really worth sticking to. Then, when I was 14 or 15, I met Matt (our soon-to-be singer) at a church of all places. We met at a youth show where we were paired up to do a few covers for a small youth festival. We got to talking and soon after started writing a body of music together. 

Joe Xerri (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

MATT: With the access to competent (actual) musicians - never having considered myself as such - Split Sceen was my first opportunity to manifest ideas via an initially very clunky process of describing chords and notation to Joe, who in turn could better transcribe them for other musicians. Undiagnosed (until recently) ADHD, Bipolar, and Autism are all tied into the traits associated with my interest in music and my inability to play an instrument properly. Anyway, my mother was keen for me to join a band as she had identified my interest in frontmanship. She was aware of some Christian Kids thing that needed a singer. I don't really remember the specifics but Joe was this established, accomplished muso and his band were great. We learned a bunch of covers for the initial gig that were 'God-referential' but by bands we could actually enjoy playing. After the gig we were all mutually complimentary and wanted to continue playing together.

Matt Downey (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

High School performance, c. 1990?

ADAM: We had Steve - he was a good bass player and was a school friend who played with us at the very beginning.

Adam Hockey (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

JOE: Then Matt, Adam and myself started rehearsing these songs with bass players coming and going. Pete would eventually join us on bass in early 1992 not long after we finished school. That's when things got serious.

Joe Xerri (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

MATT: The lineup changed a few times but the kernel from the earliest days of it were always Joe, Adam, and myself. We played a backyard gig and from memory there may have been an additional guitarist at that point too. He was there in the really early days. Across the band's short life on bass we had Steve, Pete, Olly, and a guy called Mick who sat in for a few shows.

Matt Downey (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

ADAM: Pete was in a year above us at school. I think he was one of the original members of Kilswitch. He added a crazy energy and was heavily influenced by The Ramones. 

Adam Hockey (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

JOE: We were four guys influenced from different scenes but all playing together, hence 'Split Scene'. But then 'Split Sceen' was a typo on our first T-shirt and, not knowing the pain it would bring, we stuck with the typo. 

Joe Xerri (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

MATT: The 'Split Washers' was a short term former band name from which 'Split Sceen' emerged. It was also a particular piece of hardware that would make for an excellent logo but our early second guitarist pointed out that it had implications of 'arse' washers... fair at the time and fairer in retrospect!

Matt Downey (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

JOE: Before we played any commercial venues we played a biker's party in Badgery's Creek and a show with Kilswitch on a property at Orchard Hills, which was Ruben Sanchez's 21st birthday party. Pete was friends with Ruben's brother, Rick, and I've been friends with Ruben ever since (we even played a few shows together a few years back in a Descendants tribute show). After we were lucky enough to get a good run of shows in the Inner Sydney circuit over the next few years. Our first official show was at the Sandringham in Newtown for a battle of the bands comp. 

Joe Xerri (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

ADAM: It took about a year before we played some shows. We did a lunchtime gig at our school and our first gig at a pub was Max's in Petersham. Joe and I would have been 16 or 17 at the time. It was a bit more relaxed at venues back then. We were going to pubs to watch bands and play pool at that age. We just faked being older.

Adam Hockey (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

MATT: Demos were always such a thing back then. I get the necessity in theory but it didn't make sense to me to record and refine just to record more, with no actual real product at the end. Our problem was being far too productive. We must have had 30 songs before we left the garage for our first shows. Not to suggest any of them were any good but the rate at which we'd develop a song and be enthusiastic about it before ultimately never playing it again - it would mean that we could have theoretically knocked out an album every few months. Sometimes we'd just record everything we had in a live demo; some have survived but to my great regret, I've never been precious or nostalgic enough to hold onto any of them.

Matt Downey (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

JOE: The first recording was a live-to-DAT demo of around 12-14 songs that we recorded at Troy Horse Studios in early 1992. The intention was to put a demo together with a bio so we could chase live work. The sound engineer from that session, Colin, would turn out to produce our next two EP releases.

Joe Xerri (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

Blacktown Advocate, January 1993

MATT: We played a gig that we organised at a hall in St Marys and I think we all only then realised how many kids from that area actually dug us. Blowing the other bands off the stage at Selina's one night was very cool too.

Matt Downey (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

Notes, Drum Media, January 1993

Playing Suburban Slam, St Marys, 1993

ADAM: We did shows at the Sandringham in Newtown and the power would cut out if you reached a certain amount of decibels. That happened to us. I remember one crazy show at The Evil Star and we were due to go on at 1 or 2am. We got one of our friends, who was a chef, to cook sausages on stage and hand them out to the crowd. The room was packed at that crazy time. We also played Suburban Slam - which we organised with Kilswitch from St Clair and was held at a hall in St Marys. We were stoked to be able to bring a show back to our home town. 

Adam Hockey (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

JOE: We did a few good shows at Selina's as part of the Streetwise compilation album release. Harding Richards (the guy who booked the Evening Star Hotel) had taken a liking to us. He was the guy behind Streetwise.

Joe Xerri (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

MATT: Our first legitimate recording was our self-titled EP. We recorded at Troy Horse in King Street in Newtown on a borrowed 1/4 inch tape. The bulk was recorded live and the overdubs were the odd solo, second guitar, vocals, and a somewhat cathartic opportunity to smash bottles in a metal bin. Our engineer/producer Colin Wright still teaches the art of recording at a studio in Newcastle. He was instrumental in developing our sound and was always up for something experimental. My girlfriend's brother worked at a printing plant and organised the 100 art slicks and then we ordered and assembled our own jewel cases in a working bee. The band, our partners, and even our incredibly supportive producer, Colin, sat around the table ruling, cutting, and folding. Subsequent releases would be packaged for us but this was our baby and CDs were a cottage industry back then. In fact, our option was still to go with vinyl as a viable medium but CDs were this modern, shiny giant. Colin's support didn't end at the studio - he directed us to labels, posted stuff for us, and even drove around with stock to the stores that would take it on consignment. We were out of product very quickly, which was impressive to us. Unfortunately I don't think the recording stands up - it's brittle, toppy, and sounds like the tech that was affordable to us at the time. But it kept us buoyant and gig-worthy for the following few years.

Matt Downey (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

PETE: We did an EP instead of a single because we couldn't pick just one song to release out of about 28. And nobody buys singles anyway. You'd rather buy something with about six songs at least on it.

Peter Montgomery (Bass), Drum Media, November 1992

REVIEW: A great new album worth checking out is the first self-titled offering from inner city Sydney outfit Split Sceen. Independently financed, recorded and released, this is six fresh, energetic tracks. Four young guys from Sydney's suburbs, these guys have well and truly proved good independent recording doesn't have to sound like Seattle clones. This may be a bit difficult to track down but make the effort now and have the satisfaction of saying, "I told you so".

Review of first EP by Scott Ellis, Time Out, 1992

Review of first EP, InPress, December 1992

InPress, March 1993

Street Press, November 1992

Advertisement, On The Street, November 1992

REVIEW: If I were in a young, up-and-coming band, I would have gladly donated a kidney to have been included in Street Wise III at Selina's. The six band bill displayed a fair amount of diversity, including... Split Sceen's hyperactive guitar rock marathon.

Review, On The Street, January 1993 

JOE: We released both our EPs 100% independently. The two songs on the Streetwise compilation were live-to-DAT recordings we had floating around. 

Joe Xerri (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

MATT: The problem with Sydney, unlike other cities and states, is that you couldn't play more than a couple of times a month and expect a decent crowd. We were fortunate that the bulk of our band had barely left school and were all part of a broad friendship group - so we had a kind of guarantee that we could amass a decent crowd often enough. We had a residency at Max's in Petersham that was a standout because we pulled it off. The launch of our second EP at The Hopetoun was just huge - sold out in fact - but then we played the very next week in Balmain to just our girlfriends and the sound engineer!

Matt Downey (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

Review, Street Press, 1992

Beat (Melbourne Street Press), November 1992

Melbourne, 1992

JOE: I remember picking Adam and Pete up for our drive down to Melbourne for our CD launch. Adam jumps in the car with his bag and Pete gets in with an empty plastic bag and a fork. I said, "Pete, where's all your stuff?", and Pete says, "I have everything I need."

Joe Xerri (Guitar), Split Sceen Facebook, 2014

MATT: We went interstate to Melbourne and Canberra but not all together - we were too poor. Only Joey and I had consistent work. The trips were far from financially beneficial, but are they ever? We went to Melbourne on the back of another band's tour. Pete and maybe Adam travelled with the equipment in the back of a Hi Ace. The ever-dependable Colin drove (he was doing sound for both bands), and it's likely that Joey drove too. Touring is a romantic concept that hasn't ever yielded much of a financial return for any of the ventures I've sung for. Split Sceen had no radio support, no label support, few friends interstates, and so we struggled for recognition in most places. People for the most part were always complementary and other shows would happen off the backs of those, but this was before the internet or mobile phones. To get traction it would take a solid release with regular airplay through the fractured network of simpatico programs and stations - we just didn't have that. All that said, trips with the band were really fun for sure. We sort of lived in a perpetual tour - we shared houses, rooms, build rehearsal studios in our lounge rooms, and we played weekly. The 'road' wouldn't have looked much different for us back then. 

Matt Downey (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

Street Press in Canberra, December 1992

REVIEW: Independently recorded, independently released, this is what Sydney's inner city scene was famous for before the rot set in. The songs are thoughtful, well written, and still raw enough to remind us there is still some energy left out there.

Review of Split Sceen from Streetwise comp by Scott Ellis, 

The Daily Telegraph Mirror, December 1992 

JOE: Pete played the first two shows we did '93 - his last one with us was the Suburban Slam, which was one of the only two shows we played locally (the other being Reactor One at Panthers Leagues Club). Olly joined us in March '93 and played on our second EP.

Joe Xerri (Guitar), Split Sceen Facebook, 2014

Advertising for a new bassplayer, Drum Media, February 1993

MATT: At first we briefly had a guy named Mick Saodvy on bass after Pete left. We all loved Mick and wanted him to stay but he was busy elsewhere. Olly then joined the band on bass between the first and second EPs and shortly after we curated the Suburban Slam show in St Marys. Olly came to us through a series of auditions and it was a really good fit immediately. I think we needed the fresh blood because I remember that period being our most, for want of a better word, professional. Pete was such an integral part of Split Sceen's origin story; being that he was friends with the other guys and had an energy that rivalled only his adaptability, but Olly was more even-keeled. He could be as mature and considered as Joey but also as loose and fun as Adam. Plus, anyone that's been in a band can attest - when you get new members there's some degree of rebirth and renewal. 

Matt Downey (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

OLLY: I think I answered an ad in On The Street or Drum Media. The band had a friend, Mick, fill in on bass after Pete left. I had a couple of practices, learnt the songs off their CD, and that was it. I played some great shows with the band - St Mary's Hall was an early one with good support bands. Selina's was food but we couldn't get our gear out after the show 'cause the venue lock the back doors, so I asked for a room for the night. A lot of people stayed - was fun. Quite a few fun shows. 

Olly Mathys (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

MATT: Colin Wright got us a bargain rate to use the reel-to-reel studio at Rich Studios on Kent Street near the QVB in Sydney. Bands such as The Divinyls had used it to record. With Olly on board and a full head of steam we knocked over the 2nd EP in two days. It was a truly exciting experience. I remember Joey and I discussing music clips for each of the songs and the room full of engineers made us feel like gods. It was the first time I'd seen the technique of recording the bass DI so that Olly could play in the live room with Adam and Joey then have it played back through his headphones. The mistake bands still make is reserving songs that they think are their best for later opportunities and this was a regrettable misgiving of our too. Years later I would spend the same quantity of time in a similar studio and hadn't really appreciated 'til then how much we saved thanks to Colin. Proud as we were of this EP and as much as it cost to record, package, and distribute, it was something of a death knell for the band and by the end of it all I'd spent the equivalent of a house deposit on it. Anyway, despite having recorded, toured, released, chased press, and done interviews for 5 years and despite being surrounded by fans, family, and much smarter friends - it wasn't until I was in Phantom Records, pleading with the guy to take more than 2 copies on consignment, that I had to argue about the spelling of the band's name. The clerk kept insisting it was likely a typo of 'Split Screen' and only then, 5 years into lineup changes, airplya, etc., did I learn that me and my equally dyslexic band mates hadn't spelt 'scene' correctly.

Matt Downey (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

Launch for Second EP, 1993

OLLY: The CD launch at the Hopetoun was a great gig. I asked Frenzal to support and they agreed. At one stage Matt was stepping on my lead and when I moved I lost my balance and had to play laying on my back for a bit. Also, the agitator drum that Matt bashed as percussive sound was fun. Recording the Rockin' Up a Storm EP was good fun - we all knew the songs well and it went smoothly. Rich Studios is amazing - Colin the sound guy worked there and there'd been a cancellation so we turned up in the evening and recorded all night. Then we did another night for mixing. I worked in construction two blocks away and went straight to work after being up all night. Found a quiet spot and slept!

Olly Mathys (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

OLLY: There was a review in On The Street of the second EP. The comment was 'Early days, much praise'. We liked that.

Olly Mathys (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

JOE: Sadly, we didn't release our best stuff. We were hoping to dangle the carrot, prove ourselves, and get financial backing. Well, that never happened. By the end of 1993 we were pulling in different directions - more than normal! When we closed out '93 we didn't book any further shows and went our own separate ways. 

Joe Xerri (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

MATT: I don't think we ever really found our groove. I wanted to be in The Buzzcocks, Violent Femmes, or Stone Roses. Adam was an Aus-Paisley Shirt kind-of-guy (The Church, Tall Tales But True, etc.), Pete was a Ramones tragic, and Joe - inarguably the sound of our band - was balls deep into Guns 'n' Roses. I hated all that glam shit but Joe could never resist throwing in a little Slash here and there, haha. More uniformly, we all absolutely adored Janes Addiction and The Pixies. If we were locked-in sonically that was more likely luck than engineering!

Matt Downey (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

OLLY: Split Sceen ended as we had all gone as far as what we thought we could. I'm glad they reformed later though. I have been in contact mainly with Joey but then kind of lost touch. Who knows... maybe one day I'll catch up with Joey and we can jam in his garage studio. 

Olly Mathys (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

JOE: Once we started playing it was a wild ride for about 18 months. We played somewhere between 50 to 70 shows, released the two EPs, and then imploded. You've definitely opened a can of worms, haha. 

Joe Xerri (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

OLLY: My favourite thing about being in Split Sceen was just how fun it was. I'm a fair bit older than the others but never took myself too seriously so we had great times both at gigs and at band practice in Riverstone, where Matt lived. Matt always had funny stories, his dad was a tow truck driver affiliated with a panel beating shop and we practice there after hours. Kept the gear in a corner. Matt wrote nearly everything but we had good input with riffs and back up vocals. Joey had some awesome riffs. I really liked Matt's style with music and lyrics. Mainly, it was just about spending time with a few guys making and playing music, which means it can be friends for life.

Olly Mathys (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

MATT: The first reunion was skilfully engineered by Pete, a master manipulator. He told Joey and I independent of one another, that we'd each approached him about a reunion (Parent Trap style). It worked and I'm glad for it. The second reunion came about because Caligula reached out to us.

Matt Downey (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

OLLY: I'm glad they reformed with Pete and played reunion gigs. Wish I had been able to go and maybe even play a couple of songs but I was away studying and then lived down the coast.

Olly Mathys (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

JOE: We all agreed to a reunion show in 2014, which turned out to be awesome as a catch up, putting the time in to get ready for the one-off, Then we ended up playing another show supporting Caligula at Frankie's Pizza in 2019. I'm grateful we all see each other in a good light.

Joe Xerri (Guitar), Split Sceen Facebook, 2014

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