Melrose Hall, Emu Plains, 13th June, 1997

VENUE: Melrose Hall, Emu Plains

DATE: Friday, 13th June, 1997

TIME: 6:30 pm.

OTHER: $5 entry. Organised by Bomber.

BANDS:

• Feline
• Scratch Habbit
• The Hassle Brigade
• Fatboy
  

Wonky Concoctions Show, 7th February, 1997

VENUE: Unknown

DATE: Friday, 7th February, 1997

TIME: 6pm

OTHER: All Ages. Organised by Wonky Concoctions

• Quadbox
• Meaneither
• Feline
• The Hassle Brigade
  

Youth Arts Festival, Kingsford-Smith Park, Katoomba, 21st December, 1996

VENUE: Kingsford-Smith Park, Katoomba

DATE: Saturday, 21st December, 1996

TIME: 10am

OTHER: All Ages. Free. Organised by Katherine Dale (of The Dumb Bitches)

• Nancy Vandal
• Flaming Ferals
• Machine Curse
• Quadbox
• Meaneither
• Peabody (may not have played)
• The Hassle Brigade
  

Iron Duke Hotel, Alexandria, 25th June, 2000

VENUE: Iron Duke, Alexandria

DATE: Sunday, 25th June, 2000

OTHER: Organised by Deplorable Records. Artwork by Glenn Smith.

BANDS:

• Vanilla Pod (U.K.)
• The Hassle Brigade
• Unpaid Debt
  

Green Square, Zetland, 11th September, 1999

 

VENUE: Green Square, Zetland

DATE: Saturday, 11th September, 1999

TIME: 8pm

OTHER: $5 entry.

 

BANDS:

• The Hassle Brigade
• The Shirkers
• Sucker Punch
  

Grounded Festival, Museum of Fire, Penrith, 17th June, 2000

VENUE: Museum of Fire, Penrith

DATE: Saturday, 17th June, 2000

TIME: 10am

OTHER: Grounded Festival. $25 entry.

BANDS:

• Testeagles
• Ceasefire
• Nitocris
  
• Skulker
• One Dollar Short
• Cryogenic
• DJ Stu 'n' Eli
• Sunk Loto
• Army of Prawns
• Room 101
• Loki
• Fatigue
• Game Over
• Ballpark
• Enertia
• Unpaid Debt
• For Amusement Only
• Never Pay Retail
• Segression
• Second Best
• Quadbox
• Shenavyre
• Clobassi
• Swindle
• Psi-Kore
• POW
• The Hassle Brigade
• The Brain
• The Shirkers
• Ebolagoldfish
• Mourning George
• Glister
• Fifth Place
  

The 1998-99 Melrose Hall Incidents

Penrith Star, June 23rd, 1998

VENUE: Melrose Hall, Emu Plains

DATE: Friday, 19th June, 1998

TIME: 6pm

OTHER: $5. Organised by Craig McVea.

BANDS:

• Spilt Milk (possibly did not play due to disruption)
  
• The Hassle Brigade (did not play)
  
• Clobassi
• Futile

Penrith Star, June 16th, 1998

The First Melrose Hall Incident:

In the years since, the 'Melrose Hall Incident' has become one of those hard-to-pin-down stories. In the last 8 months I've been researching this for fun (because that's the sort of person I am; tragically obsessive and a local history nerd). Today, while trawling old Penrith newspapers on the microfiche at Penrith Library, I finally found confirmation of when this incident happened and who was approximately there.

The difficulty in pinning this story down comes down to the probability of there being multiple incidents. In fact, there's likely a cause and effect chain between these incidents - it's not a coincidence that violence erupted multiple times at Melrose Hall, there was something akin to a territorial dispute happening, with a local gang (or gangs) taking exception to teenage punters enjoying alternative music in their 'hood.  

Studying history is fun.

My guess is that this show on 19th June, 1998, was the first incident (and the one that included an actual shotgun). This fits with The Hassle Brigade's timeline, in which this was their first proper show after reforming. Anything earlier than June, 1998, would have been before The Hassle Brigade had gotten back together with a new drummer and bassplayer. The reason it's a struggle to make all the details fit (I've spoken to many people about this now) is that there must have been a later show that featured a different combination of bands in support of The Hassle Brigade. This later show may have included Speckled Foam, Below the Belt, Room 101, and/or Little Lunch. 

[Or maybe The Hassle Brigade didn't play the other show and the Below the Belt-related violence happened earlier? I think this is less likely as I think the newspaper coverage I've included here would've mentioned that this incident was the latest in a long line, blah blah blah, that sort of thing.]

Long story short, the 19th June show was underway when a gang appeared on the scene through the back door. Some people may have been bashed and threatened. Police arrived after being called in by the hired security and they chased down some of the gang members, apprehending one who had a shotgun on his person.

Let's hear from some people who were there. I'll just add the disclaimer that it's sometimes difficult to figure out if people are referring to this show or the later one (which seems to have been more violent but without a shotgun). These are the comments that I think relate to the 19th June show:

JASE: I just remember them smashing a door down once the bands wrapped up. 

Jason Percy-Spiller, punter, 2024

 

CRAIG: It was a bit weird. Cops were all over it. It all happened out in the oval away from Melrose. Also separately, there was a local footy team who used to roll and bash punters between sets outside. Often gate crashers would walk straight through, not pay, and be a problem. I met with the cops and council before every venue/event booking I did. Anyway, at this show the cops confiscated a 'home made gun'. Cops were definitely watching this guy. But yeah, there were a lot of 'homies' and baseball bats... so many close calls.

Craig McVea, show organiser, 2024

 

MATT: A mate of mine was telling the homies to fuck off at the door. It's a bit blurry... someone said one of them had a gun - I didn't see any gun or knife or even the people; the door was chained I think.

Matt Cleary, Futile, 2024

 

PRESTON: My mate defended my drums. Rae got a black eye, Jakob got a cymbal stand over the head. I recall a friend had a nose ring that one of the homies tried to pull out, which kicked things off.

Preston Peachey, Clobassi, 2024

ADAM: It was our first show back with 400 people there to see us but we never ended up playing. This still cracks me up to this day, Spilt Milk were halfway through their set. We were all out back just chilling when suddenly the power went off, then we heard people screaming and yelling. Turns out two rival gangs who I remember as the Penrith Boys and the Emu Boys were having a feud and chose our gig as a battle ground. A fight broke out in front of Melrose Hall and one of these nitwits produced a sawn off shotgun. Then apparently after police were tipped off they had cars mobilised nearby ready to pounce the minute the trouble started, next thing we know - about half a dozen cop cars and assorted paddy wagons turned up and the cops shut off the power. I remember walking to the side of the stage and Spilt Milk were still on stage wondering why their amps wouldn't work and why the lights were out... then the cops started rounding up the crowd, telling everyone to go home. Turns out the idiot with the gun shit himself when the cops arrived and did a runner, only to trip over and twist his ankle, hence he got pinched. 

Adam O'Sullivan, The Hassle Brigade, 2010

IVAN: We set up the drum kit and we were kind of ready to go and then we were told to stay in the back room and we just hid there until police came and took the guy away. There was actually a bunch of them, it was when the Penrith kind of gang stuff was happening in the light '90s. Back then, Penrith and Emu Plains were pretty rough places comparatively to now. Two of the rival gangs were there, and someone had a shotgun and some machetes and stuff. 

Ivan Lisyak, The Hassle Brigade, 2024

MATTY: That Melrose night... it was twice. The shotgun night, we were there. Whether we were on the stage when it happened; I can't remember that.

Matty Albert, Spilt Milk, 2024

-------------------

The interesting thing about the newspaper coverage is that both papers advertised this show a few days before it happened. Then, after the incident happened, one of the paper's (The Penrith Star) described it as a party with 400 people in attendance. See the image at the top of this page... they don't even mention that bands were there and they make it sound like the gang members were invited to this 'party'. If the writer of that article had simply looked at the previous issue of his own newspaper then he would have been able to write a far more factual account of what happened.

Penrith Press, June 16th, 1998

And here's the Press's coverage of what happened. They also call it a 'party' rather than 'show' or 'band night' but at least they mention that bands were there. I've included a transcript for this one due to the scan being such poor quality. You'll note that this article combines two evidently unrelated incidents as if there is a crime wave occurring across all of Penrith. In my 8 months of reading through about 2 years worth of locals papers from this time period, I do have to admit that Penrith crime seemed a lot worse back in the late '90s, however, this article has the typically alarmist hallmarks of hack journalism in its insistence of combining these two separate events.

Penrith Press, June 23rd, 1998

Transcript: A dance party in Melrose Hall, Emu Plains, where several bands were playing, turned into a near riot on Friday night and was out of the control of the security men on duty. Several police units responded about 9pm to calls for help from the security man - police said two were on duty.

Police were told a youth at the party had been wielding a shortened 22 calibre semi-automatic rifle, creating panic among other guests. When officers attempted to talk to a man he allegedly fled and was chased by police. The young man ran across the Great Western Hwy and in the course of the chase fell and injured himself, a police spokesman said.

The spokesman said a search of the backpack a suspect was carrying revealed a tomahawk and three knives. A man was taken to Nepean Hospital for treatment.

Across town on the following night, five men crashed an 18th birthday party with 100 guests int he Kingswood Park Community Centre, with one of them pointing a shotgun at a guest's head, police said. The five were asked to leave after they had assaulted one guest and harassed others but returned a short time later.

Party guests finally had enough and tackled the gatecrasher with the shotgun and chased him when he ran to nearby premises. It is understood the pursuers began taking defensive action in the form of hurling pot plants at their tormentor and possibly inflicting injury on him, 

A police spokesman said all local medical centres had been alerted to look for and report to authorities a man of Mediterranean appearance, dark brown shoulder length hair, wearing a light blue sport jacket and light blue dress trousers. Two of his accomplices have been described only as of Mediterranean appearance while the fourth was Pacific Islander in appearance.

Melrose Hall, 2024. Built in 1934.

The Second Melrose Hall Incident:

Now that we've sorted that out, let's look at the second incident. This event doesn't seem to have included any guns and the police may not have been there for this one, however, from the recollections of those who were there it definitely seems to have been a much more violent altercation.

I don't have an exact date for this show but I think it probably took place in early 1999. This allows for a time period where both Speckled Foam and Room 101 could share a bill together. This event is much harder to confirm as there doesn't seem to have been any local newspaper coverage of it (believe me, I've checked). This is why I've also made the assumption that the police probably didn't show up at this show as it would be the police who would communicate with the local papers afterwards.

The bands on this bill were definitely:

• Speckled Foam
• Room 101
• Below the Belt 

And possibly:

• The Hassle Brigade
• Little Lunch
  

Here's some recollections from those that I think were most likely at this show:

CHRIS: I had loaded my amp into the car and left before the chaos ensured. I heard the homies got into the back room and picked up drum stands and started swinging. I think that one of the guys from Little Lunch got stabbed.

Chris Duckworth, Speckled Foam, 2024

MICHELLE: I remember being outside and a huge group of homies were tearing across the street with trolley poles and then I think they gained access to the back room of the Melrose where bands loaded in. I remember being outside and a chick was smashing my female cousin's head against the glass from the inside of the building... I feel like the thugs were trying to smash everyone's equipment. My boyfriend at the time went into the back room and dragged my cousin out and then the chick started bashing him, which was super gnarly. He ended up running away as he didn't want to hit a girl... I think we scattered before the cops arrived. 

Michelle Catanzaro, punter, 2024

 

JOSH: Allan cracked a dude with a chair and then four of them jumped him. Was pretty messed up.

Josh Eivers, punter, 2024

 

ALLAN: I woke up on stage after getting dogshotted from behind. Went in to help Easton and Sharples (Below the Belt), they were going hammer and tongs with the homies. 

Allan Stone, Below the Belt, 2024

 

EASTON: I got stabbed, had broken ribs and a fractured skull. I can remember the scuffle pretty well.

Daniel Easton, Below the Belt, 2024

 

KENNY: It was Room 101's first ever gig. My drum kit was used as a weapon!

 Kenny Cowell, Room 101, 2024

  

PABLO: It was at the height of the 'Homies vs. Grungers' era, the hall got broken into by homies. They smashed the windows and jumped everyone, broke gear, stabbed kids. I remember it was just insane news across the scene. It kind of killed the scene for a year, to be honest. I remember there was just no shows for ages after that, it just wasn't safe. 

Pablo Andres, punter, 2024

-------------------

 

Obviously a lot of time has passed since 1998/1999 and some of the recollections are going to contradict each other due to adrenaline, alcohol, the memory-crystalising nature of violence, and the fact that the above stories have no doubt been told and retold many times in the decades since. If you have a memory of either of these shows or want to set the record straight on something, post in the comments below.

Freeze Up, Iron Duke, Alexandria, 20th November, 1999

VENUE: Iron Duke, Alexandria

DATE: Saturday, 20th November, 1999

OTHER: 'Freeze Up'. All Ages.

BANDS:

• The Last Hemeroids
• Topnovil
• The Bedlam Beggars
• Backy Skank
• The Shirkers
• Unpaid Debt
  
• Dr Raju (did not end up playing)
  
• The Hassle Brigade

Green Square, Zetland, 3rd June, 2000

 

VENUE: Green Square, Zetland

DATE: Saturday, 3rd June, 2000

 

BANDS:

• Fatigue
• The Hassle Brigade
• Ballpark
• Swell
  

Planet Rock, Daily Planet, Penrith, 2nd June 2000

VENUE: Planet Rock, Daily Planet, Penrith

DATE: Friday, 2nd June, 2000

 

BANDS:

• Fatigue
• The Hassle Brigade
• Fifth Place
  

Outdoor Winter Fest, Panthers Leagues Club, Penrith, 10th June, 2001

VENUE: Panthers Leagues Club, Penrith

DATE: Sunday, 10th June, 2001

TIME: 4pm

OTHER: All Ages, Outdoors Winter Fest

 

BANDS:

• Heifer
• You Blabbed About Mars
• The Hassle Brigade
• Little More Than You
• Invertigo 

Katoomba Civic Centre, Katoomba, 5th September, 1997

VENUE: Civic Centre, Katoomba

DATE: Friday, 5th of September, 1997

TIME: 6:30 pm

OTHER: Organised by Wonky Concoctions

 

BANDS:

• Gilgamesh
• Dogbuoy
• The Hassle Brigade
• Fatboy

Photo of the show - not sure which band is on stage.

 

Civic Centre, Katoomba, 14th August, 1998

VENUE: Civic Centre, Katoomba

DATE: Friday, 14th August, 1998

TIME: 6pm

OTHER: $6 entry. All Ages. Organised by Wonky Concoctions.

 

BANDS:

• Dogbuoy
• Crettins Puddle
• Game Over
• The Hassle Brigade
• Clobassi
  

Xpoz '99, 7th November 1999, Panthers Leagues Club, Penrith

VENUE: Panthers Leagues Club, Penrith

DATE: Sunday 7th November, 1999

TIME: 2pm

OTHER: All Ages. Organised by Ralph Music.

 

BANDS: 

• Buff Tundrel
• Argus Tuft
• Plummet
• The Hassle Brigade
• Speckled Foam
• Sandalbutt
• Clobassi
• Primary

Wastelands, Blacktown Masonic Hall, Blacktown, 2nd June, 2001

VENUE: Wastelands, Blacktown Masonic Hall, Blacktown

DATE: Saturday 2nd June, 2001

TIME: 2pm

OTHER: All Ages. Co-presented with Salubrious Melodies.

 

BANDS:

• The Hassle Brigade
• Unpaid Debt
  
• Topnovil
• Oiska
• Neveready
• Polystigma
• Swindle
• Run for Cover
  

Prankfest 2, Civic Centre, Katoomba, 26th August, 2000

 

VENUE: Prankfest 2, Civic Centre, Katoomba

DATE: Saturday 26th August, 2000

TIME: 12:30 pm

OTHER: $5 entry. All Ages.

 

BANDS:

• The Hassle Brigade
• Fatigue
• Topnovil
• Neveready
• Sickend
• Unpaid Debt
• Below the Belt
• Swindle
• Grinade
• Spudgun
• Glister
• The Shenanigans
• Ancora
• Under Empathy
• Autism
• Indiscretion
• Four Against One
  

Bombshell Blitz 2, Kelts Bar, Blaxland, 7th December, 2000

VENUE: Kelts Bar, Blaxland

DATE: Thursday, 7th December, 2000

TIME: 8pm

OTHER: 'The Bombshell Blitz 2', put on by Brad 'Bomber' Moore

 

BANDS: 

• H-Block 101
• The Hassle Brigade
• The Shirkers
• Vial 8
  

The Hassle Brigade

 

ORIGINS: Lower Blue Mountains, NSW

GENRE: Street Punk, Ska-Punk

YEARS ACTIVE: 1996-1998, 1999-2001

 

MEMBERS:

• Adam O'Sullivan (Vocals, Bass)
• Aaron Baker (Guitar, Vocals)
• Ben Brady (Drums) [1996-1998]
• Ivan Lisyak (Drums) [1999-2001]
• Luke 'Swanny' Swannell (Bass) [1999]
  

RELEASES: 

• Bust-a-Move '96 (Compilation)
• Boom Boom Boom - Download Here.

• Self-Titled Cassette (Recorded in 1996 and 1997) - Download Here and Download Here.
  
• 1. Weekend
• 2. School
• 3. Phil
• 4. That Way
• 5. Don't Tell Me What to Do
• 6. Fuckin' Unreal
• 7. Arse Kisser
• 8. ID

• Self-Titled Cassette (1998) - Download Here.
  
• 1. Degenerate
• 2. She's a Lesbian
  
• 3. Better Off Dead
• 4. Aint That Bad
• 5. No Way
• 6. Drug Squad
   

•  Blood, Sweat and Beers (1999) - Download Here
  
• 1. Stay Clean
• 2. Fuckin' Unreal
• 3. Deadbeat
• 4. Turn Away
• 5. Triple J
• 6. Act Your Age
• 7. Squat
• 8. Better Off Dead
• 9. Oh My God
• 10. This Town
• 11. No Way
• 12. I.D.

• She's a Lesbian (2000, Unreleased until Rare Stuff album in 2013) - Download Here
  
• 1. Medication
• 2. Fuck the World
• 3. Life Can Suck
• 4. TV
• 5. Daddy's Little Girl
• 6. Severe Migraine
• 7. Stupid
• 8. Destroy the Airwaves
• 9. She's a Lesbian
  

SUMMARY: 

 

 

 

 

1992: Adam starts playing guitar/bass at 13 years old. Playing in garage band called Cremation (later called Animosity). 

1993: Adam plays first show with Cremation; 5 songs - all Nirvana and Sex Pistols songs. 

1994: Adam playing in a punk band, Concrete Diver, at 15. They record a demo tape and play a couple of shows. 

1995: Aaron and Ben playing in punk band Spasm. Adam now living in the city and playing in a grunge band. 

1996: Aaron, Ben, and Adam are all at Wycliffe Christian school at the same time. They form The Hassle Brigade and play their first show (4 songs) at Uncle Bucks Jam Night in Mt. Druitt. Ben writes regularly to The Vandals Voice (Fox Trotsky's zine). Fox invites the band to record a song for the compilation Bust-a-Move '96. This also leads to the band recording their first cassette (4 songs) with Lex Feltham (Frenzal Rhomb). Cassette sells for $3, launched at Blaxland Community Hall (AKA Jasper). 

1997: The band plays lots of shows around Sydney, Penrith, Blue Mountains. Second cassette tape (4 songs) is recorded and sold at this time. Ben leaves the band and The Hassle Brigade breaks up. Ben and Aaron form Fuznut with ex-members of Fatboy. Adam joins Dropzone. 

 

1998: Aaron decides to leave Fuznut and also plays in a band with Ivan called Special Sauce. The Hassle Brigade re-forms as a 4 piece with new drummer Ivan, and new bassplayer Swanny. Adam plays guitar. Melrose Hall incident occurs here. Swanny plays about 4 shows, a demo tape is recorded by this lineup with 'She's a Lesbian' on it. Swanny leaves and Adam goes back to bass - the band decides to stick with being a 3-piece. 

 

1999: The Hassle Brigade record their album Blood, Sweat and Beers in 12 hours and launch it at St Mary's Memorial Hall (now the Don Bosco Youth Centre). Dan Leah (?) becomes manager for the band and they start playing shows with lots of bigger bands (Frenzal Rhomb, The Porkers, Nancy Vandal, Def FX, Insurge). Interstate tours take place. Lots of touring with Fatigue. 

 

2000: The band records 9 tracks for an EP that doesn't get released. Brad 'Bomber' Moore becomes manager for the band and focuses on online promotion. The Hassle Brigade undertake an East Coast tour.

 

2001: The Hassle Brigade breaks up after a show at Winter Magic in Katoomba. Ivan goes on to play in the Architects. Aaron and Ben form Badanga with Checky and Dean from Detox Unit. 

2013: Adam re-releases Blood, Sweat and Beers on vinyl. He also releases the majority of the other recordings on a new compilation album called Rare Stuff.

2016: Adam passes away.

    

SHOWS: 

• Youth Arts Festival, Kingsford-Smith Park, Katoomba - Saturday, 21st December, 1996
• Unknown - Friday, 7th February, 1997
• Harbour Cruise, Sydney - 2nd May, 1997
• Melrose Hall, Emu Plains - Friday, 13th June, 1997
  
• Club Mac, UWS Macarthur, Campbelltown - 8th August, 1997
  
• Katoomba Civic Centre, Katoomba - Friday, 5th September, 1997 
• Melrose Hall, Emu Plains - Friday, 19th June, 1998
  
• Katoomba Civic Centre, Katoomba - Friday, 14th August, 1998
• St Marys - Friday, 11th June, 1999 
• Green Square, Zetland - 3rd July, 1999
• Iron Duke, Alexandria - 18th July, 1999
• Green Square, Zetland - 11th September, 1999
  
• X-Posure, PCYC, Penrith - Sunday, 12th September, 1999
  
• Citizens Hall, Warrimoo - Saturday, 25th September, 1999
  
• Emu Plains Community Centre, Emu Plains - Saturday, 9th October, 1999
• St Marys Memorial Hall, St Marys - Saturday, 6th November, 1999 (Album Launch)
• Xpoz '99, Panthers Leagues Club, Penrith - Sunday 7th November, 1999 
• Warrimoo Citizens Hall, Warrimoo - Saturday, 13th November, 1999
• The Boardroom, Canberra - Friday, 19th November, 1999
• The Iron Duke, Sydney - Saturday, 20th November, 1999
• The Alex, Leura - Friday, 10th December, 1999
• The Iron Duke, Sydney - 23rd January, 2000
• Woden Youth Centre, Woden (ACT) - Friday, 4th February, 2000
• Southern Cross, Brisbane (QLD) - Thursday, 17th February, 2000
  
• The Iron Duke, Sydney - 23rd February, 2000
• Downstairs, Maroubra - 10th March, 2000
• Prankfest, Katoomba Civic Centre, Katoomba - Saturday, 1st April, 2000
• Showground, Oberon - Sunday, 2nd April, 2000
• Parramatta PCYC, Parramatta - 7th April, 2000
• Grounded Festival, Museum of Fire, Penrith - 13th May, 2000
• Blaxland Tavern, Blaxland - Thursday, 18th May, 2000 
• Planet Rock, Daily Planet, Penrith - Friday, 2nd June, 2000 
• Green Square, Zetland - Saturday, 3rd June, 2000
  
• Grounded Festival, Museum of Fire, Penrith - Saturday, 17th June, 2000
• The Iron Duke, Alexandria - Sunday, 25th June, 2000
  
• The Alex, Leura - Friday, 30th June, 2000
• Gearin Hotel, Katoomba - Friday, 30th June, 2000
• Prankfest 2, Katoomba Civic Centre - Saturday, 26th August, 2000
• Blaxland Tavern, Blaxland - Thursday, 30th November, 2000
• Bombshell Blitz, Kelts Bar, Blaxland - Thursday, 7th December, 2000
• PCYC, Penrith - Friday, 22nd December, 2000
  
• PCYC, Penrith - 25th February, 2001
• Green Square, Zetland - 10th March, 2001
• Prankfest 2001, Springwood Train Station Carpark, Springwood - 12th May, 2001 
• Kelts Bar, Blaxland - 17th May, 2001
• Green Square, Zetland - 24th May, 2001
  
• Wastelands, Blacktown Masonic Hall, Blacktown - Saturday, 2nd June, 2001
• Outdoor Winter Fest, Panthers Leagues Club, Penrith - Sunday, 10th June, 2001
• Winter Magic Festival, Kingsford Smith Park, Katoomba - Saturday, 23rd June, 2001

 

ORAL HISTORY:

ADAM: I played a gig at the Axolotl. And Adam and Ben were there and they were talking to me about their band, and they were saying they wanted a bassplayer. I asked them what style, and they said 'punk', and I was like, 'yeah, that's all I wanna fucken do.' And we started jamming in Aaron's mum's lounge room. And it clicked, we started writing songs together, it was really cool. We all had a mad time.

Adam O'Sullivan, unreleased interview, 2000

AARON: We ended up going to this gig at Panthers, it was like a downstairs Panthers all-ages jam thing, and there was a band playing there called Concrete Diver. And Concrete Diver... weren't all that good, but they were fronted by Adam, and we were like, fuck, we know this guy, this will be really cool. So Concrete Diver come up onto the stage, Adam's walked up in a pair of cut-off army slacks and a blue flanny and an AC/DC T-shirt, walked up to the 'microphone and went 'Fucken'... 1 2 3 4!' (...) Concrete Diver, they were okay at what they did, playing Hard Ons-y pop punk sort of stuff. I'm pretty sure Adam wrote all the songs. He made them.

Aaron Baker, Noise Levels Episode 1, 2024

 

ADAM: Our first band practice was in Aaron's parents lounge room. We got absolutely fucked up on cheap wine and wrote a punk song. I started writing all these songs, one being Fuckin' Unreal and another called I.D., and those are the only 2 original songs from that period that we kept playing after Ben left the band. It's a shame because from that first wave we had some blood great songs that I still remember. We had one song I loved called Why Am I Such an Idiot? and another called Don't Tell Me What to Do.

Adam O'Sullivan, unreleased interview, 2009

AARON: Our first live gig ever was Uncle Bucks in Mt. Druitt and it was a jam night, we got to play four songs... I don't think we went down all that well.

Aaron Baker, Noise Levels Episode 1, 2024

AARON: It took a little while, we kind of started getting an overinflated opinion of ourselves. We thought 'we can do this shit, we find it easier than other bands just to punch out loads of songs', and we were young and arrogant enough to think we were better than everyone... Ben used to write to The Vandals Voice, and he used to send cartoons and stuff, and they used to write back. And Fox ended up saying 'Hey, would you guys be interested in doing an '80s cover for a compilation on Half-Arsed Records called Bust-A-Move '96'. So we recorded 'Boom Boom Boom, Let's Go Back to My Room'. It took fucken' 5 minutes to write, or re-write, and so we done that. We recorded that at Zen Studios with a fella called Geoff Lee and he suggested we come back and do a demo with our originals, so we did, and that was our first little cassette that we released, and we sold it for $3. And we printed all the covers in fucken' Video Ezy, cut out all the stickers ourselves. I think that was it, because we got those songs out there by playing those local gigs at the Jasper Hall in the Blue Mountains and we just had this cheap cassette that was decent quality and the songs were there, they were catchy, and we were kind of funny, and it just became accessible.

Aaron Baker, Noise Levels Episode 1, 2024

ADAM: We played with some top bands like Nancy Vandal, Frenzal, Gilgamesh, Toe to Toe, Downtime. Played with some shit ones too like Quadbox and Dogbuoy. One gig we did with Gilgamesh in Katoomba, one of our fans who loved us was getting king hit by some guy, so me and Aaron halfway through a song dropped our instruments and dived in.

Adam O'Sullivan, unreleased interview, 2009

AARON: We worked pretty hard just playing loads of jam nights, loads of youth halls, loads of... a couple of gigs in the city... We used to play the Waterloo Tavern, which isn't there anymore. We worked really hard, Adam was living in the city for a while and on the piss. Sometimes that would be pretty hard... there were musical differences... Adam was really wanting to move towards the old style rock 'n' roll punk-rock, a little bit of ska. Benny was sort on more on the Cali scene, because that was exploding at the time. I was sort of caught in the middle, I just wanted to play. Adam wasn't in a good space at the time. Six months into that (after Hassle Brigade broke up), that's when Adam joined Drop Zone.

Aaron Baker, Noise Levels Episode 1, 2024

ADAM: The Hassle Brigade broke up (the first time) and I started hitting it really badly. I started hanging around, like, a big group of skinheads and punks who lived in Epping. And they started helping me out 'cause I was really loathing, and miserable, and feeling sorry for myself and they made me feel welcome in their, fucken, family, 'cause there were heaps of them, y'know, hanging out together and going to gigs.

Adam O'Sullivan, unreleased interview, 2000

ADAM: I bumped into Aaron and we got talking about how good it would be to have The Hassle Brigade back again. So we got this guy Ivan on drums who was only 15 when he joined the band and he played like a fucking champion, and we got this guy Luke on bass. We recorded a demo with 4 songs and played around 3 shows in that format... then Luke left and I ended up going back on the bass and we started playing gigs as a three piece again, from then on it was a fucking riot.

Adam O'Sullivan, unreleased interview, 2009

IVAN: I started learning (the drums) as soon as I could walk. My dad was a drummer back in the day so it just came naturally to me and I started learning when I was about, maybe, 5 or 6 years old. So The Hassle Brigade already had a drummer, Ben, and he kind of dropped off, and Aaron asked me if I wanted to try out for The Hassle Brigade because they were looking for someone.

Ivan Lisyak, Noise Levels podcast, Episode 1, 2024

LUKE: I was super lucky to be a part of such a special band. Really was a privilege to be asked to join the band when theyr eformed. Surrounded by three awesomely talented muso's; Adam, Aaron and the drummer Ivan, I really did feel out of place at times. But I had a lot of fun with The Hassle Brigade and really do count myself lucky to be a part of the band, even if it was a short stint on the bass.

Luke Swannell, Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

ADAM: The Hassle Brigade got back together and I haven't drank for a year or done drugs for about a year. I started doing something constructive. I went through detox about 4 times and after that I wanted to start doing something with myself, and I had the idea of a record label, putting out CDs for fun. Raunchy Records.

Adam O'Sullivan, unreleased interview, 2000

ADAM: I remember our first show back, 400 people turned up to Melrose Hall to see us but we never ended up playing. This still cracks me up to this day. Spilt Milk were halfway through their set. We were all out back just chilling when suddenly the power went off, then we heard people screaming and yelling. Turns out two rival gangs who I remember as the Penrith Boys and the Emu Boys were having a feud and chose our gig as a battle ground. A fight broke out in front of Melrose Hall and one of these nitwits produced a sawn-off shotgun! Then apparently the police were tipped off, next thing we know about half a dozen cop cars and assorted paddy wagons turned up and it was the cops that shut off the power. The story was in the Penrith Press and The Star! I remember walking to the side of the stage and Spilt Milk were still on stage wondering why their amps wouldn't work and why the lights were out. Then the cops started rounding up the crowd telling everyone to go home. Turns out the idiot with the gun shit himself when the cops arrived and did a runner, only to trip over and twist his ankle, hence he got pinched. So we didn't get to play our first official show back.

Adam O'Sullivan, unreleased interview, 2009

IVAN: We set up the drumkit and we were kind of ready to go and then we were told to stay in the backroom until the police came and took the guy away. But there was actually a bunch of them, it was when the Penrith gang stuff was happening back in the late '90s, back then Penrith and Emu Plains were pretty rough places, comparative to now... two of the rival gangs, and someone had a shotgun and some machetes and stuff. I think (The Melrose) was maybe a few shows in, our first show was a private party somewhere with some punks in a backyard.

Ivan Lisyak, Noise Levels podcast Episode 1, 2024

AARON: We landed a few decent supports with bands that we loved like Lawnsmell and Frenzal. So we thought we'd like to record. We went to Damien Gerard Studios and pumped out Blood, Sweat and Beers in 12 hours. That was nuts. Russell Pilling was the engineer for that and he just let us go. He was pretty cool... we sold it for 12 bucks. 12 songs in 12 hours for 12 bucks.

Aaron Baker, Noise Levels podcast Episode 1, 2024

IVAN: Some of the songs were just one take. Some of them it took a bit longer and Adam wanted to put a bit of keyboard on top and stuff like that. The keyboard you hear on some of the songs was one of those little Casio tone keyboard from the '90s.

Ivan Lisyak, Noise Levels podcast Episode 1, 2024

ADAM: At St Mary's Memorial Hall, I stage-dived and no one caught me. I also stage-dived at Melrose, but the majority of times I've been caught. Anyway, the Memorial Hall was packed and I jumped in and theymoved out of the way, and they were staring at me lying on the ground. Fucking idiots.

Adam O'Sullivan, unreleased interview, 2000

ADAM: I never took any bands too seriously, except for The Hassle Brigade, which seemed to get lots of gigs for some reason, people just kept asking us to play.

Adam O'Sullivan, unreleased interview, 2000

 

IVAN: It was a lot of very short songs played really fast with a lot of banter in between by Aaron and Adam. The banter would go from kind of being convivial to accusational to really offensive and everything in-between. Sometimes it would appear that they had arguments on the stage but it was all part of the fun, they were never really trying to blue with each or anything like that. I would sit there and wait for them to be ready for the next song... sometimes I would just count it off and they would have to stop and start playing. That was always pretty funny.

Ivan Lisyak, Noise Levels podcast Episode 1, 2024

ADAM: We did the Grounded Festival twice, which was fucking awesome. Playing in front of a thousand people is a fucking amazing experience, plus I got to borrow the bass amp from Killing Heidi and my girlfriend stole a heap of good that their manager put out for them.

Adam O'Sullivan, unreleased interview, 2009

AARON: We played a gig at the Gabba (Brisbane) and Rollo from Blowhard mixed us, rest his soul. He was great, he gave us a great compliment when we walked off, he said 'Well done boys, fast and tight', and that was nice.

Aaron Baker, Noise Levels podcast Episode 1, 2024

IVAN: We did a few East Coast tours. One of them was with Topnovil and that was in the middle of 2000. That was fun, in a van with a bunch of punks and staying in rickety old terrace houses and squats and stuff. That kind of era was really kind of important in how it changed my perception of punk rock.

Ivan Lisyak, Noise Levels podcast Episode 1, 2024

ADAM: I turned up at Uncle Bucks, and we were supposed to play. I was drunk out of my fucking mind. I'd been drinking since about, what? Nine that morning? And I'd had about 14 Strongbow Drys and after I'd been to the pub and I'd had about 7 schooners, not exaggerating by the way, I was out of my mind. So I was in there having an argument with me missus, and she was going off at me 'cause she didn't want me to get drunk, and I thought, 'fuck it, I can get drunk', but I was being a dickhead, I admit. I ended up going to the toilet and I ripped one of the doors off the cubicles and apparently I smashed the fucking mirror and broke a couple of tiles in the toilet. The owner came in and fucking turfed me out. And then four regulars at Uncle Bucks came out and decided to deck me. So I had four people punching into me and my missus freaked out and we walked up the street and they followed us and we hid int he chemist.

Adam O'Sullivan, unreleased interview, 2009

AARON: There was supposed to be an EP, a six song EP that we were talking about putting out. All of those songs were demo'd at Zen, we were going to go off to somewhere and record the big shebang but that didn't happen... I think the EP was going to be called She's a Lesbian.

Aaron Baker, Noise Levels podcast Episode 1, 2024

AARON: (Adam and I) didn't talk for a long time, until about 6 months before he died and I'd given him a phonecall... I rang him and hear this 'Hello' and I said 'Hey man, how you going... are we all good, man?" and he said, "It's all water under the bridge" and he sound content, he sounded happy.

Aaron Baker, Noise Levels podcast Episode 1, 2024

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