I’ve been at this for a long time now and while I’m not a harsh critic by any means, I listen to so much music that it’s hard for me to really latch onto a certain act. But once in a while, I do come across a band whose music really grabs me and makes me take a proper deep dive. And the band in question here are Stimpies.
Hailing from the streets of Frankston, the very same band that they started in their teenage years has taken them all the way to the stages of Brisbane for BIGSOUND. Stimpies have been doing this for about as long as I have at this point, so they’re lifers like I am. That might have been part of the reason that I felt an immediate connection with their music.
Their sound is very eclectic but it’s always raw, no bullshit, and unmistakably them. Stimpies have one cowboy boot planted firmly in old school rock n’ roll and the other one in garage punk, with their third eyes firmly open. If you liked 12 Bar Bruise and Eyes Like The Sky from back in the day, Stimpies are right up your alley.
Most bands try and squeeze BIGSOUND in as part of a tour and Stimpies definitely made the most of their time in Queensland, playing like five sets while they were up here even after traipsing across Australia for the past month. Which is why I was very glad to be able to interview them amidst a very packed BIGSOUND schedule, all thanks to their manager Penny who managed to squeeze us in before their show at Junk Bar. And so we all squeezed onto the one bench outside the venue and tried to ignore the roar of the Brunswick Street motorcycles to get the interview underway.
Stimpies are:
- Ned McKenna (Guitar/vocals/synth)
- Ethan Robins (Guitar/vocals)
- Bec Wigg (Bass/backing vocals)
- Van Willis (Drums)
1. You’ve been on tour recently and are capping things off here in sunny Brisbane. How has it been so far and have you been anywhere new that you haven’t played before? Have you been playing any new tracks and if so, what’s the response been?
Ned: The tour has been fantastic. We’ve gotten along for the most part so far. We have played a few places that we haven’t played before. We played Wollongong for the first time at La La’s, which is fantastic. And we did definitely our best show in Sydney by far. We had about two hundred people there, which we’ve never had before in Sydney for a headliner, so that was very exciting. First time in Brisbane, first time in the Gold Coast on the weekend, first time in the Northern Rivers in Byron Bay.
OB: A lot of firsts by the sound of things!
Bec: A lot of firsts, yeah!
OB: In regards to playing any new tracks, have you been playing anything off the forthcoming album?
Ethan: Yeah, we’ve always been doing the new singles off that EP that’s coming together (the singles off the album bundled into one). But we’ve also been trying out other new songs that you’ve just got to try out to see how they go live.
2. Have you done BIGSOUND before as a punter, an artist (presumably for different project), or a worker?
Everyone: No, first time for all of us!
3. That brings me to my next question, how are you feeling ahead of your first set?
Bec: Nervous. I think we’ve worked it out (already). I mean it’s a lot of firsts, so it’s like intimidating. You don’t really know what to expect. But we’re also super excited ‘cause I think we’ve really got to enjoy like coming to new venues and with all our new songs, we’re super just enjoying playing heaps (on this tour). And it’s really fun to play. We’re really excited for tonight. It’s a cool venue here at Junk Bar, so sick.
OB: Have you played an industry showcase like this before?
Ethan: Nah, definitely not!
Ned: Nope!
Bec: We’re fresh!
Ned: It’s a great energy though. We’ve loved just walking around all day today and just being able to like hear a band and go, oh that sounds cool. Let’s pop in there. That’s something we’ve never really been able to- like there’s not many places you can go and just do this (in Australia).
Bec: It’s really a privilege to be invited and to be able to access all these, you know, be able to pop into every bar and not have to pay for a ticket. It’s like the availability to watch all the bands that are around you. It’s been super fun.
OB: There’s BIGSOUND and then there’s also the Valley Crawl, we’re basically able to do this twice a year in Brisbane. Valley Crawl used to be sponsored by Mountain Goat, now it’s by Sailor Jerry’s.
They hold that in the summer though, and it is absolutely sweltering. So you’re running from venue to venue like you do here, but like you are like pouring sweat. I have a lot of good memories from Valley Crawl of all the heat and the chaos.
[Editor’s note: BIGSOUND Day One was actually fairly mild but by Day Two, spring had made itself very well known and my hangover sweats were terrible]
4. These won’t come out until after the festival is over, but what or who are you on the prowl for at BIGSOUND 2026? Have you been successful so far?
Ethan: Um I think we’re just looking for…
Bec: Opportunities
Ethan: Yeah opportunities, more of a team behind us as a band. We’ve got a beautiful manager. And we do have an Australian agent. It’s good to play in front of people that have come from overseas to watch us play as an Aussie band too. And maybe find someone over there.
Ned: We’re looking for like international help. That’s a big, big part of what we’re here for. Also just to anyone that likes us, like if anyone sees us and they want to say hello and offer something, that’s great. But if they have nothing to offer, we’re just glad that they enjoyed the show.
5. On October 9th, you’ll be letting the world know that you’re Doing Good. How was the writing and recording of this record compared to your last one?
Ethan: Well we stayed in the studio for a whole week and then we just like hung out, had a lot of late nights, and went for a lot of cleaner recording, a bit more hi-fi I guess. Still very analog but like just done nicer. And yeah, there’s a bit more love in this one I think.
OB: I am aware Van hasn’t actually said anything yet, if he had anything to add to this one.
Van: I did lay down the drums for this one. And it was fun. It was a new experience for recording drums for me because I’m used to just doing a live recording with my band, but we took it very seriously this time when we played to a click track and we got down exactly what we wanted, which was great.
OB: Did you learn anything new this time around compared to when you Spent the Night with a Spirit?
Ethan: I don’t know. I think we like, we just do things differently. Like we’re always trying to do something different. I don’t know if we’re learning
Bec: Maybe learning more about ourselves.
Ethan: We’re learning about ourselves as yeah, just as a producer I guess.
Ned: We haven’t touched on it and you did ask about the writing process, I definitely think we’ve learned to be a lot more vulnerable and be comfortable in being more vulnerable in our songwriting and in our playing as well. Feeling a lot more ourselves and not mimicking other bands.
OB: Is there anything you want to tease about after the album release? Do you have another tour planned or something or are you going to keep all that under wraps?
Ned (laughing): We’re looking at it at the moment. We’ve kind of- the whole year’s planned up until BIGSOUND. The album comes out October 9th and then we’ll figure it out after that!
6. I’ve read that the shoot for your music video for Planet of Love was quite the undertaking. Filming something on Super 8 film isn’t something you often see nowadays. Can you tell me a bit about how the concept came together?
OB: You worked with a director you’d collaborated with before for this one?
Ned: Yeah we sat on the song for a while. We knew it was going to be the first single. And we had no idea what to do for a music video. And I remember like one night just kind of having this light bulb moment and calling Ethan and Bec and being like “We need to go out for dinner. I’ve got an idea. Let me tell you.” And so yeah, I think I kind of came up with the idea of doing it in the pub. And then brought it to Declan who shot it, and he kind of came up with the whole craziness of it. And yeah, it was an undertaking for sure. It was huge.
OB: Well how long did the shoot take and what was it like wrangling everyone into the pub?
Bec: It was a massive effort. It took quite a few slabs of beer to convince all our friends to be there. And I remember we were sitting out in the beer garden with all our mates that we had invited and convinced to come down and wander around in the afternoon.
And we were running around— the main stress was trying to keep our friends entertained enough to be there and going “Yeah guys, it’s going to be a really fun time”. And they’re all just waiting outside and we’re like “Is there enough beers? Oh my gosh, someone go back down to the servo”. But it was really good. We’ve kind of pictured out like the kind of cameos that we wanted for every person that suited them.
Ned: We went through five slabs of beers that day.
Bec: We went through so many beers, and it was just enough. But it was really lovely ‘cause everyone got their little moments together and then we all got to celebrate and do like the final shot of everyone dancing together. And that was a fun ending, throwing confetti up in the air, everyone’s cheering, kissing, and hugging.
Ethan: The best thing was like, the director Declan was saying all the time— you know, ‘cause it’s all Super 8 and you’re going to get the zoom with the tape measure to make sure it’s in focus and everything’s ready. But you can only do it a couple of times because every second that camera’s rolling it’s running.
Bec: We don’t have the budget to do it multiple times!
Ethan: And the director Declan would just be like “Alright, remember three, two, one, money going through the camera, go”. And then we’d go for it.
Bec: I mean it meant that everyone put on like their best, best show. Everyone did such a good job. Yeah, couldn’t thank them enough.
7. One of our writers Stephen is always talking about the tight knit music community you have in Frankston. I haven’t been but it’s like a second home for Steve and quite a few of the bands he’s interviewed have a lot to say about it. What makes it so unique and why do you think word is starting to get around?
Bec: It is awesome. I mean, I’ll hand it down to you guys (indicating to the others), but I’ll start to say that it was it’s been our home to us. I wasn’t born there I found about it through music. We played our first gig there when we were fifteen.
And Stu who runs the venue that we base ourselves around, Singing Bird Studios, he just always supported youth in music and whatever style, whatever thing you wanted to do, it was always about how can we make you guys keep doing it and doing it the best.
That was really cool. And we continue to see as we get older, we’re no longer the young people there. There’s like the new groups coming through and we get to influence them and they learn from us.
OB: I’m very much like that. I’m in this exact situation. I’ve got a very young and talented music journalist with me learning the ropes (I indicate to the newest member of our team Matthew who was sitting in on this interview). Do the rest of you guys have anything else to add to that?
Ethan: Frankston has a lot of hate towards it, like in Melbourne at least. Like a lot of people look down at that place. Pretty rough area. But I think the community, everyone knows how rough it is, we kind of all milk the fact that we grew up playing music there and we don’t care. And it’s just making it a place— everyone thinks it’s ugly, but it’s beautiful to us, you know? And the community behind the music and the bands that come through there, we make it what it is because we all just care enough, you know? That’s pretty much all I have to say about that.
8. You describe yourselves as band comprised of best friends and lovers and being driven by passion, not profit. I can see that you’ve actually been doing this since you were teenagers. What was it like growing up together and who came up with the idea of starting the band first?
Ethan: I mean I met these two. These two have been together since they were really young, Ned and Bec.
Bec: We went to highschool together.
Ethan: Yeah we went to highschool together. And I was actually the witness to their first like official kiss at a gig where I met them and it was crazy. I was just there for all their moments I guess but like— it’s— I don’t even know what to say.
Bec: We met at a gig in twenty eighteen and Ethan was having his birthday party coming up turning sixteen. And we all loved the same music and so he was like, he wanted to have a gig at his party. So ever since then we’ve been jamming, going to gigs together, and the band has come about. We all loved playing music as kids in different ways. And from that we’ve become us, and continue to be best mates from it obviously.
OB: Well now you’re here at BIGSOUND all these years later. If you could tell your younger self something you’ve learned about being in a band, what would it be?
Van: I don’t know what to say, bro. What would I say to my younger self about where I am right now? Well you did it bro, you’re fucking living the dream and you’re still drinking just as many beers as you used to.
Ned: Yeah, I would say keep going. It’s the best way to live your life. I’ve enjoyed every year of it so far, and I will continue to no matter what.
9. This is your platform now. What’s one thing that you want everyone in Australia to know about you and your music?
Ethan: We fucking rock.
Van: We’re going to teach them a Frankston lesson.
Ned: Yeah we’re going to teach them a Frankston Lesson!
Van: It’s hand-picked rock and roll, baby. You know that.
Bec: Watch this space!
Stimpies did indeed teach the crowd a Frankston lesson at the Junker and to all other crowds they played at BIGSOUND. What was that lesson? Well they just said it. Stimpies fucking rock, it’s hand picked rock n’ roll baby! Their sets deliver such a great mix of garage rock thrashers and these bluesy, slow burners. They could rock the stages of LEVITATION as easily as they could the old roadhouse, much like the Young St Tavern where they filmed the Planet of Love music video appropriately enough.
Speaking of rock n’ roll, the lyrics to their recent single Young Life may actually be the most succinct statement I’ve ever heard about being young and playing in a touring band. “Hey they say that life is more than rock on roll, well life is ticking” and “Don’t tell where to go, don’t tell me what I know” perfectly encapsulates the youthful defiance that comes with the territory. When you’re in a band like that, you don’t want to listen to some cunt telling you what to do with your life, you wanna tear up the stage every night for the rest of your life and you’ll be damned if you’re gonna let anyone stop ya.
Perhaps buoyed by this mentality, after their set at the Junker ended, I felt the immediate need to see them play again. Which of course I was able to do the very next day because we were at BIGSOUND! And yet I’m still itching to catch them live yet again. Well their sophomore album Doing Good comes out on October 9th so I doubt that I’ll have to wait for A Long Long Time before I get to see them. In fact, I’ll be Counting The Days!
Thanks to Lola Beeby (@oohmy__lolaa) for all the photos of Stimpies and to Letty (@letty__pb) our new team member for the videos of their Junk Bar set, if that was what brought ya here.
They’ve got four singles out from the album already so make sure to give them a listen below and follow them on their socials to stay in the loop about the next chapter for Stimpies:
