Emerging from the surf and the sand of Redland Bay, Beddy Rays have had a real rollercoaster of a rise to become Australia’s indie rock darlings. Here at OnlyBands, we’ve seen them go from playing the 4ZZZ carpark to selling shows across the country and sharing the stage with the likes of Violent Soho and Tones and I. Right before the sold-out final show of the Schooner or Later Tour, we sat down with Beddy Rays in The Triffid green room/shipping container to ask them five quickfire questions!
Beddy Rays are:
- Jackson “Jacko” Van Issum: Vocals/Guitar (Interviewed)
- Lewis “Lewy” Mckenna: Guitar (Interviewed)
- Bradley O’Connor: Bass
- Benjamin Wade: Drums
1. This is the Schooner or Later Tour, so first up, I’d like to know what’s the furthest you’d be willing to travel for unlimited free beer?
Lewy: Oh, I mean, how far can you go? Like Elon Musk put us in a spaceship and send us all right up? I mean, you know, it’s unlimited beer at the end of the day. You can’t really go wrong with that.
Jacko: It depends how much money there is aside, you know, for it. Elon Musk, if you can get us to do that, we’ll go to the moon.
2. The idea of a combined tour featuring DZ Deathrays, Beddy Rays, and King Stingray had been floated before. If it happens, what act with a Ray-related name would you pick for this tour?
(There’s some brief confusion over the nature of the question)
OB: I was gonna suggest Ray Gunn, the Olympic break dancer just because-
Jacko: Oh, I thought you meant like out of us three (who would be first up). I was like, fuck.
OB: Oh nah, I meant just like an act with a ray-related name. Just because the night can- we’ll start the night (of each show) low and it can only go up from there.
Lewy: I’d have her on as headliner.
Jacko: Everyone knows who she is out of everyone (who’d be on the line-up). She’s the one who’s more famous, she’s the one bringing the tickets through the door.
(Lewy agrees)
OB: I’m not going to ask what your favorite milk is because I guess we’ve got photographic evidence (as pictured above), but you’ve also said Paul’s Smarter White Milk before.
Lewy: I’m not specific to any brands. I just like full cream milk. You know, I’ll even go Woolies brand if I have to, it’s fine.
Jacko: I was actually down on the Goldie yesterday driving for work and I drove past the Norco factory.
Lewy: Norco’s good!
Jacko: And I was like, fuck, we should do like a tour there and get some funny content. Go around, have a yarn, see how the milk’s made.
Dakota: Do you know when the bands collab and get a beer made? You guys should do like a Beddy Rays milk.
Jed: Oak will do a collaboration!
Shelvo: And Gocsy will promote it!
Lewy: He would to! I fucking love that.
3. The question actually was: Can you describe a situation in your life where you’ve stumbled into some good fortune and decided to Milk it for all it was worth?
Jacko: Oh, I know what it is. The fucking Woolies card that you (Lewy) have.
Lewy: Oh, ha-ha-ha-ha!
Jacko: Yeah, nah it’s not good fortune, but it’s just like what fucking Woolies fucking owes us motherfuckers.
Lewy: Yeah, I get mad discounts because I work for a specific brand of bottle shop.
Jacko: Yeah, and we just go down to the pub and just fucking slap oysters all day.
OB: Oh, I’m jealous!
Lewy: Oh, oysters, steaks! Schooners of milk.
Jacko: Yeah, like let’s just get into it.
Lewy: Oh, so good.
4. Week on Repeat is all about the weeks blurring into one another amidst the daily grind, but once in a while you get the opposite. Is there a week in your life that you’d love to repeat again?
Lewy: Oh man.
Jacko: That’s a difficult one ay.
Lewy: Honestly, like I can’t really pick which one, but like usually Splendour. When I was working full time, that was like my one time of year where I’d have a bit of time off and you have the week off because you get the post-Splendour depression that kicks in and all that. So honestly, I’d love to repeat any one of them from 2015 up to when it stops.
Jacko: Yeah exactly. Cause like when you get home or you’re on your way home, you get like so depressed. I don’t know what exactly it is that makes you so depressed-
OB: Probably the come down.
(Everybody laughs)
Jacko: I think it’s because all the music’s over and you have to listen to the fucking radio again and not live music. Yes, you just want it to repeat again. You want it to be the start and be fresh. You want it to keep going and to keep going and keep going. Yeah, that’s probably it.
5. Imagine you now have an unlimited budget to build a Beddy Rays Sobercoaster amusement ride. What sort of ride would it be and where you put it? Could be at a theme park, a carnival, or somewhere a bit more left field.
Lewy: (To Jacko) It would have to be in your backyard on your property.
Jacko: Yeah, probably in the backyard and what you do is you’ve got to jump off the roof into this cart, do a backflip into the pool, and then you land and then there’s like a can waiting for you when you get there. That’s probably what it’s gonna be. I think we should actually do that.
Lewy: We should, if budget permits. I reckon we should get that up on the go.
Jed: Yeah, let’s do it, get a GoFundMe account for Beddy Rays.
6. We have a bonus question from Shelvo. Can you tell me about something you miss that’s now “Lost”, something you “Found” that means a lot to you, and something/someone you feel is “Beat Around”?
Lost
Lewy: Honestly for me it’s my old Skegss t-shirt. The one with the VN Commodore. RIP. Some Thai person’s got my shirt. I really hope they’re fucking enjoying it!
Jacko: I guess just being young. Just being young and having your mates around in the pool, getting red eyes, playing Nintendo 64, that’s a bit lost in my life right now. I think I need that back.
Found
Jacko: What’s something that we’ve found that means a lot to us… Love, love.
Lewy: My love for you Jacko, I’ve already found my love! Nah um-
Jacko: I guess just the appreciation for being in a band with the boys and just like- we’re best mates and we argue and get into tiffs all the time but at the end of the day we fucking love each other and that’s like something that we find, like at the end of the tour we all get together and we go “Let’s go again!”. Probably something wholesome like that.
Lewy: Yeah, that sounds good.
Beat Around
Lewy: I guess it’s been pretty tough being the music industry at the moment. Everyone’s feeling the economy at the moment as well. It’s pretty shit, but I know, that’s fucking boring. But like music industry, it’s just been a bit tough, like festivals being cancelled and stuff. But on the other side of that, it’s also the most resilient industry I’ve ever been in for sure.
Jacko: Hundred percent. People are like “Oh the tickets, they’re not selling” or whatever. Fucking who cares cunt? Just go play a show. People will rock up, people that love music will rock up. Yeah, like tonight, sold out Triffid, let’s fucking go Brissie!
(Everybody cheers)
Thanks to the Beddy Rays boys for their hospitality and letting us drink all their beer afterwards. With another sold out Triffid show under their belt, it seems like there are no breaks on the Sobercoaster for these boys. Their next show is happening at Hoey Moey in Coffs Harbour on November 16th and it’s free with an RSVP!
Massive thank you to Dakota (@strictly.sentimental) for all shots in this article. Check out her portfolio here!