The Ghoulstones

ORIGINS: Blue Mountains, NSW

GENRE: Metal, Horror Punk

YEARS ACTIVE: 1990-1993

 

MEMBERS:

• Jason Jordan - Vocals
• Richard Downs - Guitar
• Sam Skinner - Guitar (1990-1992)
• Kevin McGlashan - Bass
• Matthew Conolan - Drums (1990-1992)
• Matthew Hobson - Drums (1993)

RELEASES:

• Demo (1991)
• 1. Ghouls
• 2. Undead Pantomime
• 3. The Lake
• 4. Whatever It Was, It's Dead

• Self-Titled (1992)
• 1. Hippy Zombies
• 2. Short Fuse
• 3. Faust
• 4. Whatever It Was, It's Dead

• Selected songs - Download Here.

SUMMARY: The Ghoulstones began when vocalist Jason joined with the rhythm section of an earlier band called Tempting Fate. The Ghoulstones were part of a wave of bands that emerged in the lower Blue Mountains during the early '90s, often playing venues such as Old Lawson Hall. A lineup shuffled occurred towards the end of the band, with a new drummer coming in. 

 

SHOWS: 

• Warrimoo Hall, Warrimoo - 21st September, 1991
• Old Lawson Hall, Lawson - 9th May, 1992
• Old Lawson Hall, Lawson - 12th December, 1992
• St Marys Memorial Hall, St Marys - 16th April, 1993

ORAL HISTORY:

JASON: Metal, particular the faster metal, was chewing up a lot of my listening time.. Whenever I had enough money saved to buy a record I would take a train down to Utopia Records in the city, having to fare evade so that I didn't have to spend the few bucks I had to buy a record. Steadily I listened to more and more of this more extreme kind of metal and when I saw local band Third Degree, I was like wow! I tried to get my hands on everything Metallica did. Their EP Garage Days Re-Revisited... was very raw. In particular, the last two songs on the album, 'Last Caress' and 'Green Hell', played back-to-back, stood out for me. They were originally by the American horror punk outfit The Misfits. I became very curious about The Misfits, having a love for horror movies I naturally wanted to find out more. Before long I locked onto The Misfits with an addictive obsession.

Jason Jordan (Vocals), Grunge Mountain, 2018

SAM: My parents weren't musicians but they played music all the time. My dad was usually Rolling Stones, Zappa and Bob Dylan. Mum played classical '60s and '70s folk music. I loved it all but the first time I heard Joan Jett singing 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll' I was hooked. Something about the dirty guitars an dangerous sounding lyrics. From there it was a path to Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. As for playing, it was really the people around me who already played that inspired me. The first Metallica song I heard was 'Leper Messiah' on someone's Walkman on a school bus. They counted it in with "1,2,1,2,3,4,5". The heaviness, odd time signature, and aggressive vocals were a revelation. I bought a cheap Les Paul knock off and started jamming with whoever would put up with me. I could barely play. 

Sam Skinner (Guitarist), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

JASON: I was at this party at the end of Elison Rd in Winmalee and I was watching this band, Tempting Fate, at a safe distance... During the night, one of them knew I was a Misfits fan and asked if I'd like to sing a Misfits song, 'Brain Eaters'. With the okay from the other singer, I took up the mic and pounded it out. It felt great... A week later I got a call from the bass player, Kevin, asking me if I'd like to join. I said yes, but with the proviso that they change their name, which I thought was awful (...) I was keen on calling us The Ghouls, a very Misfits genre name, but I wasn't getting any traction with it. I remember Richard saying that we needed a cool name like The Rolling Stones... so someone said, "What about The Ghoulstones?".

Jason Jordan (Vocals), Grunge Mountain, 2018

SAM: The Ghoulstones was my first band. We were all friends at Winmalee High School. Richazrd, the lead guitarist, could play and Matt the drummer had his dad's kit at home and a rehearsal room. Kevin and I just fucking winged it but we practiced every weekend. We played parties at first, then gigs were organised at Community Centres for kids.

Sam Skinner (Guitarist), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

JASON: It came time to play our first gig at the Boys Club in Springwood. People started showing up, quite a few people. I was getting very nervous, but I kept it mostly in. There was a guy there also called Jason, who gave me a few swigs of Vodka before I went on and it did the track. While we lacked a lot of basic musical skill and we sounded pretty bad, we had the right energy... Among the songs we did was 'Sunshine of Your Love', 'Mother' by Danzig, and "Drink Till I Die'. 

Jason Jordan (Vocals), Grunge Mountain, 2018

SAM: Our first show was at Springwood Community Hall, which got condemned after the gig because the floor collapsed in front of the stage. People stacked chairs over the hole so kids didn't fall through and we could finish playing. My neighbour, Rob Spark, did the mixing. I think he was quietly horrified at all the punk and metal as his favourite band was Huey Lewis and The News. Once the ball was rolling with kids being interested, a few people got more organised. Matthew Parsonage, who was a couple of years older than us, called venues and put up posters... He got us added to Blue Light Discos, and we played in Katoomba, Lawson, Blaxland, Springwood, and Penrith. 

Sam Skinner (Guitarist), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

DAN: In 1989/1990 I was playing in a high school covers band called Third Degree. We'd do gigs up and down the Great Western Highway wherever we could - our setlist was a daft mix of excellent songs by Slayer, AC/DC, Metallica, The Misfits, interspersed with two of the greatest Oz Rock songs you've never heard by The Heroes, with a couple of songs by The Cars and Spy vs Spy for some reason. Through some of these gigs I met Sam, Kevin, and Matt, who told me they had started up a band too - The Ghoulstones - and we should play together. Third Degree broke up fairly soon after that but The Ghoulstones played all the time. They were a great, fun five-piece band that would pretty much play entirely Danzig and Misfits covers alongside at least a half dozen of their own songs, that sounded quite a bit like Danzig and Misfits, so win/win. 

Dan McKay (Friend of the band), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

JASON: Most of the material was horror-themed as I was very much immersed in everything Misfits related. The first song we wrote was called 'Ghouls'. It was shamelessly derivative of the stuff I was listening to at the time, mostly Danzig-inspired material. 

Jason Jordan (Vocals), Grunge Mountain, 2018

CRISTIAN: I saw a bunch of bands at the Old Lawson Hall in the very early '90s. Ghoulstones were my favourite back then because of their Misfits/Danzig covers. The Ghoulstones were full Misfits and Metallica worship. 

Cristian O'Sullivan (Punter), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

JASON: We went to my friend's neighbour's house, his name was Benny, and we recorded an EP in his parents' basement on his four-track mixer. Benny was a whiz at mixing, he's already recorded some very funny songs and other bits and pieces... years later he went on to record funny topical songs for the Ray Hadley show on 2GB. He did our recording for nothing and the whole experience was awesome. 

Jason Jordan (Vocals), Grunge Mountain, 2018

DAN: All Ages gigs at Old Lawson Hall and Springwood Community Centre would get any teenagers with a passing interest in a distorted guitar to come along for regular nights of punk and metal. At this point most bands in the area tended to fill their sets out with a few covers. Just about everyone was underage and played in a band. I started hanging out with Sam, Kev, and Matt a lot - we'd go to any of these All Ages gigs that we could. One night Kev and I worked out we were born two days apart and we vowed to celebrate EVERY BIRTHDAY TOGETHER! Which we didn't, but we did when we could, and still do when we can.

Dan McKay (Friend of the band), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

JASON: Most of our performances were at youth events in Community Halls and at parties. Some of the parties were great and some were downright terrible. I remember playing at a guy's house in Winmalee where barely anyone showed up. The poor guy was devastated... The worst party we played was at a rental of several of the band members. We barely played and the house got totally trashed. There was one party we played up at Leura... I put a hole in the wall with my back after plunging into it during a song. I had to pay for the repairs in the ensuing months. It was a nightmare because I was only working part-time as a trolley boy and a night filler and paying it back seemed to take forever. 

Jason Jordan (Vocals), Grunge Mountain, 2018

DAN: The Ghoulies had enough songs to record a demo or two; maybe one of them was recorded with Ben 'Benny' Robertson on a Tascam 8-track or similar. Bass and Guitars direct-in for full fly-in-a-jar tones! 

Dan McKay (Friend of the band), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

JASON: I was involved in a fight in one of the final Old Lawson Hall gigs. I turned up and I immediately noticed this guy giving me death stares. I heard he had a problem with me because he thought I was full of myself... We'd learnt Metallica's 'Master of Puppets' and when the intro started I saw this guy right up the front trying to stare me down. The music got the better of me and without even thinking I got close enough to get in a good headbutt. Straight after that I launched myself onto him off the stage and we started laying into one another. he got on top of me and had me pinned down. The intro to 'Master of Puppets' was long and I found myself yelling, "Let me up, man, I've gotta sing!" To my surprise he just let me up and I finished the set unhindered. Afterward, he wanted to continue what I'd started. I wasn't having any of it. He looked like he kne whis way around a good stand-up fight, so just talked my way out of it. I was offended that he thought I'd hit him in the head with my microphone. I said, "No, man, it was a headbutt". 

Jason Jordan (Vocals), Grunge Mountain, 2018

Blue Mountains Gazette, December 1992

DAN: At some point Matt Conolan split from the band and Sam followed either at the same time or pretty much immediately after. The Ghoulstones recruited gun drummer Matt Hobson who brought a more polished vibe to the band - he was big on The Beastie Boys, Living Colour, Faith No More, etc., so with him on drums and stripped back to one guitarist the band took on a different vibe and recorded a new set of songs with Wayne Grech at Saturation Level Studio in Blaxland. I don't really know why the line-up changed but Sam, Kev, and Matt Conolan still hung out all the time and lived together for a bit so there was definitely no ill will. Sam, Kev, and myself started up a little band called MEAT with Cristian O'Sullivan, who'd go on to bigger and better things with Low Life. MEAT had a couple of originals and played some Meatmen songs, early Spiderbait tunes, Massappeal, The Hard-Ons...

Dan McKay (Friend of the band), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

JASON: We did some recordings at a sound studio in Blaxland with Wayne Grech. We'd saved up some money and we booked in a session at this cool renovated house/studio. Wayne was a drummer himself and he had converted the upstairs of his parents' house to a fully decked out studio. It was so amazing. We spent the whole day there recording four original tracks. It was a very unique experience and a step up from Benny's basement and four-track recorder. 

Jason Jordan (Vocals), Grunge Mountain, 2018

DAN: The Ghoulstones never really busted out of the Mountains. They'd played a stack of gigs, wrote heaps of songs, and were a heaps good band, but they just kind of fizzled out. Jason, Matt Hobson and myself started a band with a guy called Muzzy and we played just the one gig in Springwood. Then me and Kev got Crotch Rot/Gritter happening with Jason Carey, Nigel Chad, and later Jacob Cook and Rod Hunt. Eventually Sam moved to Goulburn to study music. The Blue Mountains between 1989 and 1996 had a pretty cool live music All Ages scene. Not so much in pubs - the pubs were more or less cover bands and the kids at the All Ages shows were the ones writing new music. That's my memory of things... but maybe the memory is as hazy as the peaks you see driving west up the Great Western Highway. 

Dan McKay (Friend of the band), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

RELATED BANDS: Fish River Dam, Crotch Rot, Gritter, The Beanies, Meat, Tempting Fate, The Harridens, Chaos Theory

Sam Skinner

Sam Skinner

• Tempting Fate (1989-1990) - Guitar
• The Ghoulstones (1990-1992) - Guitar
• MEAT (1992) - Guitar
• The Beanies (1992-1993) - Guitar
• Fish River Dam (1994-1995) - Guitar
• The Harridens (1996-1998) - Bass

REGION: Blue Mountains, NSW

Obzine

LOCATION: Blue Mountains, NSW

GENRE: Music

YEARS ACTIVE: 1999-2002

NUMBER OF ISSUES: 26

ISSUES IN THE NOISE LEVELS ARCHIVE: All issues.

EDITOR: Mark Alston

CONTRIBUTORS: Chris Alston, Brad Deadman, Adam O'Sullivan, Nathan Nott, Craig McVea, Mick Bell, Keturah Bedford, Adam Wotherspoon, Phil Williams, Caleb Bedford, David Schleter, Lucinda, Roy Van-Fonz, Auntie Edna, Lisa Jenner, Troy Schleter, Samantha Dixon, Skankin' Shaun Ahern, Daniel Herborn, Phillip Jefferey, Michelle Grisdale, Luke Bartolo, Ralph Music, see individual issues for more.

Grunge Mountain

LOCATION: Lower Blue Mountains, NSW

GENRE: Music, Metal

YEARS ACTIVE: 2018

NUMBER OF ISSUES: 1 

ISSUES IN THE NOISE LEVELS ARCHIVE: #1

EDITOR: Jason Jordan

CONTRIBUTORS: Jason Whatt

NOTE: One-off zine focused on Blue Mountains grunge/metal scene of the early '90s.

AUSTRALIAN BANDS INTERVIEWED: The Ghoulstones, Citadel

NOTES ON AUSTRALIAN BANDS: Third Degree, Tempting Fate, The Vaughans, Citadel, Mercury, Coda, Mutated Muppets

If you have any additional information about this zine or can photograph/scan/digitise copies to send to me for the archive, please comment below. 

Blacklisted

LOCATION: Blue Mountains, NSW

GENRE: Hardcore, Music

YEARS ACTIVE: 1999-2001

NUMBER OF ISSUES: 3

ISSUES IN THE NOISE LEVELS ARCHIVE: Issue #1 

EDITOR: Dave and Greg

Issue #1 - 1999

AUSTRALIAN BANDS INTERVIEWED: Voice of Dissent, Restraint

AUSTRALIAN BAND RELEASES REVIEWED: Restraint, Voice of Dissent, Vicious Circle

AUSTRALIAN BANDS LIVE REVIEWED: Blurred Vision, Ceasefire, Not For You, The Blurters, Found My Direction, Restraint, Irrelevant, Throwdown, Vicious Circle, Right Idea, Fistfull, Tuskin Raiders, Conation, Veto, Standard, Arms Reach

Michael Noel

Michael Noel (Rest in Peace 2005)

• Bred from Hate (1998) - Percussion
• Sickend (1999-2000) - Percussion
• Clobassi (2001) - Percussion
• Endusk (2000-2004) - Percussion

REGION:  Lower Blue Mountains, NSW

Rob Schneider is a Poor Man's Pauly Shore

LOCATION: Blue Mountains, NSW

GENRE: Comedy, Music

YEARS ACTIVE: 2007

NUMBER OF ISSUES: 1, plus 1 split issue with CTW

ISSUES IN THE NOISE LEVELS ARCHIVE: Both issues

EDITOR: Evan Burns

Fatboy

ORIGINS: Lower Blue Mountains

GENRE: Punk, Ska-punk

YEARS ACTIVE: 1995-1997

 

MEMBERS:

• Simon Smith (Vocals, Guitar)
• Paul 'Johnny' Cullens (Bass)
• Dan Scutts (Drums, Backing Vocals)
  

RELEASES: 

 

• Self-Titled (1996)
• 1. Unclean
• 2. Politician
• 3. Modus Vivendi
• 4. Diminished
• 5. Society
• 6. Bran Flakes

• Richard and the Giant Strawberry (1997)
• Same songs as 1996 demo.

• Put My Clothes Back On (1998) Compilation - Download Here.
  
• Unclean (Different recording to demo)
  

SUMMARY: Fatboy formed out of the demise of an earlier band, CFBP. Operating as a three-piece, the band played shows in the Blue Mountains, Western Sydney, and Sydney, building a solid following in that time.  When the band broke up after 3 years, two members went on to form Fuznut with ex-members of The Hassle Brigade.

 

SHOWS: 

• Manning Bar, Sydney University, Sydney - 19th April, 1997 
• Melrose Hall, Emu Plains - Friday, 13th June, 1997
• Civic Centre, Katoomba - 5th September, 1997

 

ORAL HISTORY:

DAN: When Dan Wright left CFBP, it kind of felt like a new band. CFBP was Simon and Dan, so it was time for a new start I guess. Fatboy was my first band to play lots of shows and I think Simon was just the most amazing guitarist and songwriter.

Dan Scutts (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

 

PAUL: Before Fatboy, Simon and Dan were in a band called CFBP... My best mate is Dan's brother and he told me his brother's band needed a bassplayer. I listened to some tracks of theirs and the music was unreal. So I tried out and I got in. They decided to start fresh with a new name so we came up with Fatboy. 

Paul Cullens (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

DAN: The demo was recorded at the local practice studios in Penrith on Simon's 4-track. Simon was studying at a studio or something similar, and was an absolute genius at stuff like that. For most of it, Simon was playing guitar and sang, Johnny was on the bass, and I was on drums and some backing vocals. The song 'Society' was what we called 'swapsies', with me on guitar and vocals and Simon on the drums. Simon was a musical genius, and I'll always be thankful I got to play drums in his band.

Dan Scutts (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

 

PAUL: The name was a mix up of the two atomic bombs that were dropped on Japan. One was called Little Boy and the other was called Fat Man. So we put the two names together: Fatboy. Our lyrics were mostly political.

Paul Cullens (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

DAN: Favourite memories include when we supported Propagandhi. I sent our demo to a dude and that's how we got to play with them. We played with Crank and Gilgamesh on the day. Propagandhi was probably my favourite band back then, and still is. Gilgamesh and Crank are also two of my favourite Australian bands.

Dan Scutts (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

 

RELATED BANDS: CFBP, Fuznut/Offset, Strength Within, Bad Blood, Boneless, Tuskin Raiders, Last Exit to Nowhere

Youth Week Big Gig, Civic Centre, Springwood, 1st May, 1999

VENUE: Civic Centre, Springwood

DATE: Saturday, 1st May, 1999

TIME: 4pm

OTHER: Youth Week Big Gig, organised by Blue Mountains City Council

 

BANDS:

• Futile
• Superphonic
• Guest Speaker
• Moneypenny
• Dermus

Milford

ORIGINS: Blue Mountains, NSW

GENRE: Indie

YEARS ACTIVE: 1998-2003

 

MEMBERS:

• Paul Mckenna - Vocals, Guitar
  
• Christian Menzies - Bass
• Nathan Cox - Drums
  

RELEASES: 

 

• Me and My Monkey (2000) - Download Here.
  
• 1. End It
• 2. The Sky is Blue
  
• 3. Thumpy
• 4. Another Taste
• 5. Downy
  

SUMMARY: Milford was the brainchild of Paul Mckenna, who wanted to start a new band when he moved back to Blue Mountains after studying in Canberra for some time. He recruited heavy metal drummer Nathan Cox and then set about teaching his good friend and housemate Christian Menzies how to play bass. The band went on to play a handful of shows concentrated around the Blue Mountains, building a cult following and releasing an EP before slowing down and disappearing altogether.

 

SHOWS: 

• Jasper, Blaxland Community Hall - 26th June, 1999 
• Blaxland Tavern, Blaxland - 25th May, 2000
  
• Monkeyfest, Blaxland Hall, Blaxland - 16th December, 2000
  
• Community Hall, Warrimoo - unknown date
  
• Gearin Hotel, Katoomba - unknown date, 2003
  

ORAL HISTORY:

PAUL: I moved back from Canberra to the Blue Mountains as I was about to start studying industrial design at UWS. Sharing a house with my girlfriend at the time and my mate Christian, who I'd been to high school with in Orange. Although he had no musical talent and couldn't play an instrument, I had been widening his taste and appreciation of good music, and set to teaching him the bass. I spent every afternoon/evening for a couple months teaching Christian bass. One note at a time, over and over, until he was able to play about ten songs. The songs I was teaching him were all my own tunes, and as soon as he was competent enough we invited Nathan Cox to jam. Needless to say, Nathan was a fucking brilliant drummer. Being a metal/heavy style drummer, he was all over my indie stuff instantly. He understood the dynamics of my musical style and I barely had to explain what drum patterns or beats/fills I wanted at all.  

Paul Mckenna, Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

NATHAN: Milford was pretty much Paul's baby. He's one of those very gifted musicians that can just play anything.

Nathan Cox, Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

CHRISTIAN: Ha, I never played bass. Paul said he needed a bass player and that he'd teach me to play! We were friends from school. I learnt from scratch, he was a patient teacher. Found a cheap 2nd hand lefty bass and started plucking away. Was hard but Paul and I lived together at the time so it's pretty much all we did... decked out the garage as a jam room.

Christian Menzies, Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

PAUL: There was a Uni band comp at UWS Nepean coming up so we blundered through the handful of songs Christian could play, over and over, for a few weeks, and started getting tight. The comp was fun. Christian was shitting himself haha. We played well and got a good crowd reaction and certainly impressed a few of the punters but didn't get any further in the comp. I remember one of the judges coming up after the set and commenting that we were fucking great, and a few people asked when our next gig was. There was a bunch of the mountains crew that came to see what this indie band was that Nathan the rock god was drumming with. They were ready to tell us how shit we were... but were suitably impressed. Not a bad result for our first performance. 

Paul Mckenna, Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

 

CHRISTIAN: I was peaking... nervous. But I knew Paul and Nathan would keep it together if I fell. It was fun, that show at the Uni in Kingswood. It got easier over time. Like I said, Paul and I spent a lot of time in the garage jamming.  

Christian Menzies, Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

PAUL: After the band com we started playing around the mountains a bit. Blaxland Tavern was our first 'real' gig. We played with another band, Glister, and I think another band that I can't recall. Again, we had a large contingency of local metal heads who were all very keen to hear this indie band Nathan, Lord of the Drums, was playing in... Matt Cleary, local rock god, who we had 'borrowed' Nathan from, told me he was quite impressed that we "didn't sound anything like that You Am I shit" and that it was okay for Nathan to keep playing with us. Haha! Some old dude also came up after the set and was full of praise. He said the way we played reminded him of the Hendrix Experience... not our songs but the way we played with simple and steady basslines and full drums and guitar sounds. I was a bit chuffed by that - but we definitely didn't sound anything like Hendrix.

Paul Mckenna, Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

 

REVIEW: Milford kicked off the night to a small audience but didn't seem discouraged as they pumped out some form of rock I would like to compare to the likes of You Am I. I don't know much about this band but they held together very well, and I was particularly impressed with the vocals.

Anonymous Review of Jasper Show, Obzine Issue 2, August 1999

 

REVIEW: Milford opened the night around nine with their own blend of Sonic Youth/Smudge/noisy guitar styled rock. It's cool to watch the famous Nathan (Sickend/ex-Futile) play pop-type drumming. I really like this band, they have style. 

Mark Alston, review of Blaxland Tav Show, Obzine Issue 11, June 2000

 

CHRISTIAN: The Jasper gigs were definitely fun, and some Battle of the Bands show at the Tav was fun too.  

Christian Menzies, Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

PAUL: Nathan often disappeared for weeks, sometimes a couple months at a time. He was hard to keep track of. Appearing and staying at our place for a week or two, then vanishing again. 

Paul Mckenna, Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

 

CHRISTIAN: Recording was great. It was my first experience recording, playing to drums in headphones. Nathan nailed it first go of course. Took me a few goes. A friend did for us - Matt Capper. Turned out nice; lo-fi. We used to also do lots of old four track recording at home too. 

Christian Menzies, Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

Review by Mark Alston, Obzine Issue 11, June 2000

 

REVIEW: They're a band I definitely want to see again. Their dirty guitar sound and melodies, and the vocal delivery, remind me of Bluebottle Kiss in their 'higher up the firetrails' days. 

Review by Phil Williams of Monkeyfest, Obzine Issue 18, February 2001

 

PAUL: Our last gig was at the Gearins Hotel in about 2003 I think. We hadn't jammed or played for about a year and a friend's band were playing there and needed another band so we said, fuck it, let's play. We had one jam a couple days before and just did it. We opened for Christian's mates and they weren't going to play after us because they said we were too good and couldn't believe we hadn't played for so long! We all got a kick out of that and were keen to get back into playing but, sadly, it just didn't happen, and that would be the last show for Milford.

Paul Mckenna, Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

RELATED BANDS: Chuck, Futile, Amongst the Demons, Sickend, A Case of Severed Limbs, Brown Helmet, Grenade, Steel Cap Therapy

Skuzz

 

ORIGINS: Blue Mountains, NSW

GENRE: Alternative, Grunge

YEARS ACTIVE: 1997-2002

 

MEMBERS:

• Mark Graham (Vocals)
• Jeremy Brown (Guitar)
• Wesley von Grabill (Bass) [1999-2000]
  
• Lucas Coe (Drums) [1997-2000]
  
• Luke Bartolo (Bass) [2000-2001]
  
• Cameron (Drums) [2001]
• Jay (Drums) [2001-2002]
• James Hirst (Guitar) [2001]
  

RELEASES: 

 

• Self-Titled (1999) - Download Here.
  
• 1. U Suck Jellyfish
• 2. Yesterdays Turned Tomorrow
• 3. I Am Who I Am
• 4. Tidal Wave
• 5. D.C. Diver
• 6. Plead to You
  

SUMMARY: Forming as 'Rarest Bloom' in 1997, the band changed its name to Skuzz (short for Skuzzlebutt, a character from South Park) in 1998 and recorded an EP shortly afterwards, then playing a range of shows in Western Sydney and the Lower Blue Mountains. The lineup changed after Von-Grabill and Coe left in 2000, with the band moving through two drummers, a new bassist, and an additional guitarist. The second lineup of the band only played one show before calling it a day.

 

SHOWS: 

• Vertx Skate Park, Penrith - 20th December, 1998
• Melrose Hall - unknown date, 1999
  
• St Marys RSL, St Marys - 5th September, 2001
  

ORAL HISTORY:

MARK: Back at school, Jeremy and I had started a band called 'Rarest Bloom'. It became Skuzz a couple of years later when we had others join the band. The music came from artists that we were into. We all loved a bit of punk, but I loved the Seattle sound whereas some of the other guys were Seattle, punk, heavy. We all had our different styles. 

Mark Graham (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

 

JEREMY: The idea behind Skuzz was complex solos, DIY punk sensibility, and being bored in Year 10 Science classes. It started with me and Mark Graham, word got out an Lucas came onboard for drums, followed by Wesley. Word of mouth was key. 

Jeremy Brown (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

 

WESLEY: I was new to the school, with no friends, so I went to the music room, grabbed this big red heavy bass, stood next to Jeremy, and followed his fingers. We were a humble band from the Blue Mountains who won a random band comp at our tiny Christian high school one afternoon... as a result of winning this competition we were rewarded with free studio recording time. 

Wesley von Grabill (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

 

ARTICLE: "Skuzz's music is an upbeat blend of hard rock, grunge and punk, and the band is working on a recording to be released next year."

'Skuzz Creates Buzz at Hypo '98', Penrith Press: Time Out, 11th December, 1998

 

 

WESLEY: Our EP was everyone's first recording experience and it was that experience that made us feel like an official band. We all about 16 or 17 and were lucky enough to play gigs with Clobassi, Beaverloop, Room 101, and others, thanks to my friendship with Craig McVea. Otherwise we probably never would have played another gig outside of school campus.   

Wesley von Grabill (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

 

JEREMY: The first show was playing support at Vertx Skate Park for Clobassi and Beaverloop. Lots of random skating and mega nerves; we got much better in time. Our first good show was with The Hassle Brigade and Clobassi at Melrose Hall. We smashed it.  

Jeremy Brown (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

 

MARK: Vertx was a pretty unique show - playing on the ramps as skaters skated around you. Pretty cool gig. 

Mark Graham (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

WESLEY: Craig (McVea) was actively putting on events for bands. Except for the lame city council-funded events, no one else in Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains was doing anything to support musicians or the arts for underage kids or late teens... During this time I was working with Craig on these events and learning on the job. As well as a couple of bass lessons, he showed me how to book a venue, hire a PA, submit a press release, go to the printer store, and beg the graphic designer to make us a band poster. Suddenly it became as much fun organising and planning for a gig as the actual gig was... (Craig and I) didn't want to just sit around and wait for shit to happen, we wanted to make it happen. 

Wesley von Grabill (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

JEREMY: The biggest challenges faced by the band was overzealous parents seeking to control the band's events after they overreacted to some wild gigs, disorder from girlfriends (think The Beatles...), and trying to keep Mark from breaking some limbs. Me and Wes had a falling out too... pretty lame in hindsight really. Wes was great at helping bring me out of my shell and 'front up' on my solos. I've got positive memories of his friendship and encouragement.

Jeremy Brown (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

 

 

WESLEY: Sadly, Skuzz was a constant struggle. Not with the members of the band - who loved playing together, worked well together, and loved being in a band together - but due to the over-the-top, overly protective, almost cult-like parents of the band's members. Parents of the singer, guitarist, and drummer doing everything they could to try and stop the band like it was some '80s teen movie or a band version of Footloose. They were extremely religious and they felt that their kids' involvement in live music and bands would send them in the direction of drugs, alcohol, and 'being influenced by the devil'! I remember my parents having to go to a 'parent band meeting' because the three boys' parents were so worried about them being in a band... My family were coming from a totally different world. My stepdad was a jazz musician and is now a professor of music. My mother has been a singer all her life and was in musicals growing up. My father was a singer and guitarist, and a Beatles fanatic. He showed me all the good music of the '60s and '70s. My grandmother was a jazz and lounge singer her entire life... in fact, my great grandfather S Becker von Grabill was knighted by the King of Germany for being a famous piano player, giving us a family title! 

 

So you can imagine my parents going into this meeting to discuss their son's little band, knowing how happy and how much fun we were all having, and meanwhile, these other parents (who couldn't play an instrument, or do anything other than sing a couple of church songs out of key) had this hilarious agenda to discuss 'how evil non-Christian music was' and 'how dangerous it is for these teenagers to be playing music together'. Anyways, my poor parents must have thought these people were batshit crazy. And let's be clear, they were so over the top and not in any way supportive. These were good kids, I was there, and none of us did anything bad at all. For me, Skuzz was a great starting base. I knew what I wanted to do now - play music! I left the band. Skuzz was fun for about 10 months but the band never really got a chance in the end. No hard feelings, great memories.

Wesley von Grabill (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

JEREMY: We got James in on guitar and he was awesome. Top bloke, good with suggesting gear (my gear sucked at the time), and he helped fill my solos out. He also brought a more groove-based metal edge to our tacks. It was a solid move; I must say I miss him. Shout out to James! Luke also came in on bass and he knew the scene, played bass well, and taught me to keep it simple and have fun.

Jeremy Brown (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

LUKE: I was looking to try my hand at playing bass after I'd been playing drums for a couple of years, so I answered an ad from Jeremy in Obzine. The first year of being in the band was kind of low-key as it was hard to hold down a drummer. Jeremy knew some 12 year old kid named Cameron, I think they were from the same church. He was an amazing drummer but his parents had issues with the band's music because it didn't seem very Christian. It was also a bit weird because the rest of us were all between the ages of 17 and 21.

Luke Bartolo (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

 

JEREMY: Some of the stuff now has turned out pretty heavy, one guy was surprised cause he thought we'd sound like skate punk, but there's too many punk bands already, so we're a bit heavier, a bit different. If anyone's expecting the old Skuzz it's not gonna happen. We've had a few different drummers, and, you know, you change drummers and it completely changes your sound. 

Jeremy Brown (Guitar), Obzine Issue 22, September 2001

From Obzine Issue 22, 2001

LUKE: We used to practice in the Cricket Clubhouse next to Panthers Stadium because Mark played for the cricket team. We became a five piece band but we only played one show with this lineup before things just fizzled out. You couldn't find a group of five people who were more different... Jay was an old punk who had played drums with Frenzal very briefly in the early '90s. Jeremy and Mark were a tight duo with a shared church background and still living with their parents. I was very much not of a church background and was living in a chaotic share house. And then Jeremy found this guy James, who wanted to turn the band into a Korn-style nu-metal band... he was a bit out there and kept talking about 'jump metal', which is a genre I've never heard anyone else ever talk about. Anyway, I enjoyed playing with Skuzz - Jeremy and Mark were great songwriters and band practice was very chill and never stressful.

Luke Bartolo (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

MARK: Obviously when you get older the challenges are that you start working. Later on in life, when we had another band called Crucial Times, we were balancing families as well. Getting momentum with gigs was hard because you had to self-promote for a lot of the smaller venues. We played at Melrose Hall, Newtown RSL, the Oriental Hotel in Springwood. Once you started playing gigs at these places it was easier to get crowds because they liked what we were doing, but we did rely a lot on friends and the other bands' friends as well. 

Mark Graham (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

RELATED BANDS: Clobassi, Fat Slinky, Endusk, Crucial Times, Keepsake, Superb Lyrebird, MCP, Demons to Diamonds, The Shenanigans, Earth to Nigel, The New Justice Team, The Bernie Lomax Five, Circle of Gin, Frenzal Rhomb

Mark (Vocals)

Jay (Drums)

Luke (Bass)

Jeremy (Guitar)

James and Jay

James (Guitar)