Does anyone here remember director’s commentaries and the behind the scenes documentaries for movies back in the day? Not so common now in an age of streaming. But our next interviewees are just old enough to remember what it was like to watch a movie a million times and get bored enough to go and explore the Special Features behind the DVD menu.
With the low-hanging fruit out the way, Special Features are a band that I’ve seen a fair bit of in recent months. With their jangly, indie rock melodies punctuated occasionally by walls of noisy, nineties distortion, Special Features are a band that immediately make you feel young again in the melancholy, wistful sort of way that comes with having enough distance to reflect on the past while still being close enough to it to remember all the ups and downs.
Buoyed by the release of their most recent single Che Guevara T-Shirt, which actually represents a bit of an out-of-genre experience for the band, Special Features have been making some serious noise around the place. When I learnt that they were opening for our perennial riff lords DZ Deathrays, it made me think that it was high time I had a look behind the scenes to see how the Special Features all came together through our Five Quickfire Questions!
Special Features are:
- Zac Carr: Vocals and guitar
- Jeremy Sankey: Vocals and bass
- Karissa Liu: Guitar
- Alex Smith: Drums
Zac and Alex
1. What would be the worst place or occasion to wear a Che Guevara T-Shirt to?
Zac: Um… fucken……ugh…
Alex: This is a Jeremy question. (Jeremy sings the song)
Zac: Yes, this is a Jeremy question, ask this one to Jeremy and he’ll finish it off.
Alex: I dunno, maybe like… an Australia First march?
OB: Definitely, yeah. I was going to say a meeting with your boss or HR. But yeah nah, Australia First march also works well.
2. You named a whole EP after it and it’s still January for just a day longer, so can you tell us one thing you’re going to do for Self-Improvement in 2026?
Zac: Um, probably wake up earlier.
OB: Wake up earlier? Yeah if I wake up late, I don’t get any work done.
Zac: Yeah, I start work at like 9:00 AM, and I wake up at like 7:50 to catch a train at like 8:20. So like, I just usually get up and just head straight to the train station. So I think I need to get up earlier and, you know, allow some time in the morning to chill.
Alex: Yeah. I think, be on time. I’m very bad at being on time and being organised. I think we all kind of are, but I think that’s something I definitely want to work on because, hopefully, it doesn’t affect the people around me.
OB: Punctuality.
Zac: Yes, punctuality.
Alex: I think that’s what we all need to work on.
Zac: Surprisingly, we weren’t late to this interview actually.
[Everybody laughs]
3. Sometimes, having a helping hand makes all the difference. What’s something that you never want to do Alone Again?
Zac: Um… huh. These questions are very… caught me off guard. I feel like I don’t know what to say.
OB: It’s often like that. That’s why we usually send the band the examples first!
Alex: Yeah. Maybe doing an interview alone. I feel like I need support.
[Everybody laughs]
Zac: Yeah, maybe doing an interview alone.
OB: I was going to say moving. Because last time I moved, it was just me and the removalist and it was a shit-fight the entire time. But yes, doing an interview? Very definitely daunting when you do it alone.
4. You’ve just been handed a drink, let’s say it’s basic spirits with some sort of mixer, but it’s a bit Weak and Thin. What are some Special Features you’d add to make a cocktail more to your liking?
Zac: Um… some bloody… what’s that… what’s that liquor that’s like the strongest liquor in the world?
OB: I think you’re thinking of Absinthe?
Zac: Yeah! I’m gonna add some Absinthe to it. Yeah that’ll get ya.
Alex: Add some fucking petrol in there.
Zac: Yeah, add some fucking petrol in there.
OB: Absinthe and petrol, that is definitely a cocktail for real rockstars…
Zac: Yeah, have one sip before you go on stage. It’ll keep you going.
OB: Give you some fuel.
5. Sometimes you get surprised when someone from a completely different walk of life has some of the Same Things in common with you. Can you tell us about a time in your life where someone ended up having something in common with you that you completely didn’t expect?
Zac: Um, I think… Do you know the band Mclusky? My old boss… I used to work at a hotel and he really liked McLusky. And I liked McLusky a lot, they’re one of my favorite bands. And I was like, I don’t know… he didn’t really seem like someone who would like Mclusky. So I was like, “Fuck, you like McLusky? That’s dope.” Never got along [otherwise], so that was pretty unexpected I feel like.
Alex: God, I don’t know. This is a tough question. I need to like, really think.
OB: Oh, for me it’s usually my name. I only know a very amount of few Quintins.
Zac: [Interrupting] Have you seen The Big Lez Show?
OB: Yeah, I have but I was talking about when I actually meet another Quintin in real life. There’s a dude at my work, he sits behind me on calls all the time and there’s another member of his team also called Quintin, but I also work with this guy. So I always hear “Quintin, do you want to do XYZ for me?” and I’m like “Huh?” . And then I’m like, “Oh no, he’s talking to the other Quintin on his computer.”
Zac: That’s crazy. Yeah, I think the only time I’ve ever heard another Quintin was probably, yeah, Big Lez Show. But Quintin’s a sick cunt, so that’s dope.
Alex: One thing for me that was crazy is I did this… like back in school, this jazz… little clinic thing. And the other drummer, there was me and another drummer, and he had the exact same name, first and last. And I was like, wow. And we also played drums, so someone else in common. So… that was crazy.
Zac: That’s pretty insane.
OB: There we go. Meet someone with the exact same name as you.
Alex: It was my clone.
Zac: I actually saw an Alex Smith the other day actually.
Alex: Yeah, they probably play drums too.
Zac: They weren’t as good as you though.
Jeremy and Karissa
1. What would be the worst place or occasion to wear a Che Guevara T-Shirt to?
Jeremy: Um, probably either like, my high school reunion. Or like, I don’t know, maybe like a UQ [University of Queensland] house party? Yeah, I’d say that. Yeah.
Karissa: Oh, probably Westfield Mt Gravatt.
OB: Funnily enough, I went to school in Mansfield—same school that Violent Soho went to — Mansfield and Mt Gravatt, for readers who are reading this, is a very conservative Christian area.
Jeremy: Ha-ha-ha yes!
OB: They have more churches than anywhere else, basically in Brisbane. So yes, definitely do not wear a Che Guevara T-Shirt there.
2. You named a whole EP after it and it’s still January for just a day longer, so can you tell us one thing you’re going to do for Self-Improvement in 2026?
Karissa: My New Year’s resolution this year, I’m locking in. I’m going to be so good at everything. I think I’m coming up to the age where my frontal lobe is developing. So this year, yeah, I’m really locking in to all aspects.
Jeremy: Um, well Quintin, I’m actually not a believer of New Year’s resolutions, but there’s a certain aspect of this year—it’s the Year of the Horse. And there’s this like line from a rap song where it’s like, “Horses don’t stop, they keep going.” So, maybe my resolution is like, resilience? I guess, this year. To keep going. You know?
OB: Well needed in the year of our Lord 2026.
3. Sometimes, having a helping hand makes all the difference. What’s something that you never want to do Alone Again?
Jeremy: Oh my god, this is… This is a hard question. Maybe like… this is a bit of a long story—but like when I was in Europe and like my train in Switzerland got delayed, and then I was going to miss my whole flight back home to Australia. And I was alone the whole time. And it was really fucked up. I had to buy like a really expensive train ticket in the end to get to my flight. And I only had around ten Euro left in my bank account. And like, that was it. If I didn’t have any money left, I couldn’t get home. So that. I’m never doing that Alone Again.
Karissa: Mine’s traveling related as well. I think something I would not do alone again is travel via airplane. I’ve only ever done it once. I flew to Sydney to see Coldplay two years ago. And I left the day before my really big anatomy exam at uni. I left my laptop at the Gold Coast airport. Went to Sydney, didn’t realise. And then woke up the next morning—I was going to fly back to the Gold Coast to sit my exam—and I… I lost my laptop. It was horrible. And it was an online exam as well. So, yeah. I really cooked myself. I would not do that again.
OB: Christ, that sounds rough.
4. You’ve just been handed a drink, let’s say it’s basic spirits with some sort of mixer, but it’s a bit Weak and Thin. What are some Special Features you’d add to make a cocktail more to your liking?
Jeremy: Um, I can definitely think of some funky things to add to that. Can I go all out on this?
OB: You can go all out. Whatever Special Features you want to add, it’s good.
Jeremy: Ah, probably some LSD? To be honest. Yeah, add that. I think that’d be pretty fun. You know, like, right time… you know, just all hanging out. Maybe not too much, just a little bit, you know? And like, just to shore up around the edges—maybe like, a bit of tequila? Like some Patrón, that really expensive shit?
Karissa: You know how in like fancy cocktails to make, like the white foam on top, they shake up egg whites? I think I would put that in my drink because Zac, our singer, is such a scab. And every drink that I have, he has to have a sip. And he’s allergic to eggs. So I think I’d put some of that so he can’t touch it.
OB: Oh, you know that this interview will be held against you when this ends up in the Courier Mail right? You know: Frontman of Popular Brisbane Band Dead of Egg Allergy.
5. Sometimes you get surprised when someone from a completely different walk of life has some of the Same Things in common with you. Can you tell us about a time in your life where someone ended up having something in common with you that you completely didn’t expect?
Jeremy: Uh, yeah, I got a good one actually. James Gartry from My Friend Chloe is like a long time Brisbane Roar fan. And I am as well. Like ask me any question about Brisbane Roar, I’ll probably know it. And like, he just mentioned it one time and he knew it as well. And it’s like, Brisbane Roar fans, you don’t find many of them, you know? I was like, holy shit. That’s crazy. So yeah. Shout out James Gartry. That was a really wig-out moment finding out about that.
Karissa: I have the same tattoo as one of my coworkers. And we only found out last week because she was wearing like a strapless top and I looked at her and I was like, “Oh my god, we have a box… like exactly in the same spot on like the same side of our back.” Which is pretty crazy.
A huge thanks to Harrison Hay (@hay.stl) for all the shots in this article! Make sure to check out more of his work.
You can listen to Che Guevara T-Shirt and the rest of their discography below:
Make sure to give them a follow on the socials as well:
