Welcome back to the biggest procrastinator in punk media. I owe Cutters and R.U.B full gratitude for patiently waiting for me to finally transcribe these interviews that are gathering electronic dust particles on my phone. Volunteering as a time traveling punk journalist is bonkers fun but between work, downtime, and writing for my other magazine Good Call Live, I’ve neglected my OnlyBands duties.
The labour of love continues now that my editor Quintin has granted me a pay rise to bring me back in focus. I now get paid twice as much. He’s just added another zero to the other zeros, bringing my total salary now to $0000.000 per annum. How generous!
With this new wealth, I splurged on the best cargo bay available on a postal flight to the spiritual punk heartland of Collingwood to see Cutters in full effect. Cutters kick like a cassowary, with froth-whittled song lyrics so fresh they come straight out of the festering Yarra River mud.
On stage Mr Savage Garbage himself (Al Hall) delivers hot serves of Depresso Rants (68 & 69) with a jaw cracking intensity. Punters be warned, if you are standing on the barrier, you are going to get your face sliced.
We caught up for pre-gig beers at Night Hawks before the Bendigo Hotel show. I broke the ice by reminding Al that Cutters are the only punk band that have bullied me into ironing their band shirt when I wear it.
Editor’s note: All photos in this article are from their preceding show at The Tote.
Cutters are:
- Al: Vox
- Stringer: Bass and backing vox
- Gaz: Guitar
- Max: Drums
1. Tonight’s gig is a Gangster’s Dream. Is it true that Tony Mokbel’s prison release appeal was largely based on him attending tonight’s show? I heard from an unconfirmed source he is a mad Cutters fan? Is this true?
Stringer: Well, if he is into cutting shit, AKA drugs, then maybe he is a fan of us!
Al: Yep. We only agreed to play this show if pingers would be back. And we knew the only way pingers would be back is if Mokbel was free. So, we pulled some strings and had him released, now he is back on the mean streets of Brunswick.
Stringer: Bring him back!
2. Does moshing or headbanging too hard at a Cutters show result in Psychic Injury? Or am I Frail In The Mind to suggest this? Basically, what should a punter expect at a Cutters show?
Stringer: Open to anything, I guess…
OB: Particularly if Tony Mokbel is there?
Stringer: Especially if big Tony is there, “Heya Tony!” (said in a cliché gangster accent). We approached this band, wanting to do something that’s got the energy of a hardcore punk band, but also has a bit of rhythm like a rock n’ roll band. So, headbang! We’ve had people waltz to us before, whatever you’re feeling. Whatever floats your boat really.
Max: Cutters are for the people.
OB: Now that’s a good quote. Ha-ha!
Al: Dance like no-one’s watching, love like you’ve never been kissed.
OB: Oh stop it, ha!
Gaz: You can always mosh harder.
OB: The quotes are just writing themselves off the page here!
Max: You can expect a cheeky cover, now and then. We like to do a hardcore punk cover and pay tribute to the greats. We’ll be doing one tonight, you’ll see, you’ll see. Two covers tonight, which is rare.
OB: My only addition to that is on behalf of OB followers, please come to QLD some time. I have to throw that in.
Al/Stringer: It’s next on the list… These new dad’s just have to work out when they can and when they can’t.
OB: Maybe hire a bus and bring Stiff Richards, Split System, Public House, Cutters…
Max: Bring the whole family! Ha-ha-ha yeah.
Gaz: Yeah, I wanna play The Bearded Lady, I‘ve been there. It is fucking sick! I keep raving about it to these guys. Love that place.
Stringer: As long as there are plenty of XXXX’s, I’m keen.
(We spoke about how the Beardo was the OB’s Best Australian Venue of 2024, how they just enabled every artist to have a red-hot go, and the incredible shows the venue has hosted. Alas, The Bearded Lady closed shortly after this interview happened. R.I.P. Rest in punk!)
3. What is a great way to escape the effects of Modern Problems and fight back against the Robo Debt Blues… (Ways to have a fun on a budget)
Al: We endorse shoplifting from supermarkets (referencing An Ode to Shoplifting).
Stringer: Come to a Cutters show, we’ll put you on the door.
Max: Have a good accountant, so nothing comes back to bite you in the arse!
Gaz: Or do what I do and don’t pay your taxes. Fuck it!
OB: Cash only on the door?
Gaz: That’s it.
Stringer: We will also do trades for merchandise and records.
(A friendly debate ensues on who bought what merch to sell for tonight’s show)
OB: Al is the only band member I’ve interviewed that has slipped their own song title into the response to a question, I like that.
4. Melbourne is a honeycomb structure of so many great bands just seeping out of the walls with a plethora of venues. What’s a local Aussie band that you have Revelations of Divine Love for to share with OnlyBands?
Max: The Brakes.
Gaz: Future Suck.
Al: Milly Strange is going to be famous one day, I’m backing that.
Max: 100%!
Stringer: I wish you quoted your own other band just then Al.
Al: Lothario… (said in a nasally, pompous sort of voice bringing everyone to laughter) Playing at The Tramway with Elvis 2 on May 13th. Anything coming out of Frankston and Singing Bird Studios is our little home to many beautiful things… Gnome.
Gaz: Ah, fucking W.O.M.B.A.T!
OB: Yes! I’m gagging to see Elvis 2, Gnome, and W.O.M.B.A.T!
Max: There is this young band coming from Frankston called The Breakaways, and they are fucking sick. I back them. Yeah, especially for how young they are, it’s crazy.
OB: Thank you, this is how we get new leads, and provide shoutouts to up and coming acts giving them some exposure too.
Editor’s note: This interview was held during the 2025 federal election campaign. The following question provides a historic snapshot of voter sentiment within the Arts community in Australia. All views expressed are those of the artists alone:
5. The Federal election looms close, this is a classic example of Jobs for the Boys in both major parties. With Peter Dutton wanting to create a Landlord Nation, and the cost of living crisis under the ALP reminiscent of I Hate The Public. What advice would you suggest voters be mindful of on Election Day?
Al: I Hate the Public is a tram driver’s song.
Max: I’ve got a good one, it literally just popped up on my phone. This is strictly about live music (reading from screen): “The Greens will introduce a 10% tax offset against the tax of hosting live music for venues, 50% tax offset for expenses for touring artists, 40% offset for live theatre production”. So that’s my contribution for punters’ considerations.
Stringer: Where Gaz and I are from on the Mornington Peninsula about 90 minutes south of here, there’s…
Gaz: Where Al is from-
Stringer: Yeah, where Al is from and will refuse to ever live in Rye again
OB: I’d Rather Die Than Live In Rye.
Stringer: Exactly!
Al: I actually lived in Port Melbourne a few years before we moved down there.
Gaz: Oh sorry!
Stringer: Well, there are a few candidates going for that electorate. One of them is the only one that supports live arts and the local music scene: Sarah Race. She is Labour, but I can’t find myself voting for an ex-cop with allegations of Indigenous abuse. It’s a double-edged sword anywhere you go with that. So for me it goes down to what is morally right and being a good person, all politics aside, so I can’t support her.
OB: Two great answers to that question.
Gaz: Well said, there’s a tear in my eye.
Al: I’ve got a tale for you. Firstly, Cutters endorse any left-wing wing nuts, and we hate the Liberal Party. And this draws back to when I was down on the ‘Ninch’ (Mornington Peninsula) our local member at the time was Greg Hunt, who is now out of politics, but was the Health Minister at the time and visited my school in 2002.
Anyway, I was in cooking class and he comes in, and he gives this little speech. After it, I offered him one of the brownies that I had cooked and he eats it, right? And then he dusts his hands off right over the rest of the plate of brownies, soiling the rest of the batch, and I thought that was disgusting. I was like this guy ‘Nup!’. If this is how he treats my brownies, this is how he will treat the rest of the electorate!
Max: Fucking Greg Cunt!
Al: Yeah, Greg Cunt.
OB: That reminds me of the other day when Peter Dutton kicked a footy into a camera man’s face and injured him. Then Dutton laughed and mocked his injuries even when he dropped to the ground. Like any decent human being would say “Oh my God, are you ok?”. What an absolute prick!
Max: Yeah, even if you are straight up evil or whatever, and if it was just for the cameras, you’d pretend to care. But he just stood there awkwardly laughing at the guy!
Gaz: Is that like when Abbot clean bowled that kid with a cricket ball?
OB: And when Scomo tackled that eight-year-old kid!
Stringer: Politicians, maybe work on your motor skills a bit more.
Al: And buy a Cutters record ya fuckin dogs!
OB: Ha-ha! Well, that’s all my questions, but I do have an extra one from Rui Pereira of The Drones. I met him at The Tote. After explaining that I’d come down to see Cutters, he looked me in the eye and said Cunters? We both laughed at this and he asked:
6. Could your career have run differently if you went by the name Cunters?
Skinner: I think we would be cancelled in Melbourne immediately. But also, we’re a bunch of nice fellas!
Gaz: Yeah, don’t judge a book by its cover.
Skinner: No.
Max: Or it’s Cunter! Ha-ha-ha.
OB: I promised Rui I’d ask this due to the comedy value alone.
Max: There was a pretty popular Melbourne band called Cuntz. For years they were on Aarght Records, which was Rich Stanley’s label and I think people really got around them so they got away with it!
Stringer: I think the beautiful thing about a band name is you can have the most dog shit band name, but if your music is good, your fans will eventually love you because they love the music.
Al: Well, why are we struggling so much?
Stringer: Because our songs are dogshit!
The Bendigo Hotel show later on provided ample evidence that Cutters songs are anything but dogshit. I wouldn’t have busted my hump to come see them play if that was the case.
I continued rolling the tape after the interview, and the fellas kept laying down the stories. The best one was of Costy (the current C.O.F.F.I.N bassist) arriving at a Garlick Nun show on a Harley Davidson, driving right up to the stage, dismounting the bike while wearing a fishnet body suit, and running straight onstage to perform. The rest of the stories are trade secrets.
Thanks to Jacob McCann (@blokeyoucantrust) for all ripper shots of the preceding Cutters show at The Tote!
Not too much coming out these boys over the next few months due to aforementioned family commitments so run up their songs on streaming services so that they earn all of two bucks to put towards that Queensland trip:
