We’re back and a little sooner than usual without the usual months long gap in-between anything that we release! I (Quintin) feel like we should be congratulated for our new found work ethic ha-ha-ha. Steve’s Five Quickfire Questions at Inner Phest 2024 interview went off like a frog in a box so we decided that we should do a few more and see how sharp some other artists are. It just so happened that one of his favourite bands, Sophisticated Dingo, were up in our neck of the woods for their I Don’t Mind Tour.
A garage punk duo hailing from Melbourne, Sophisticated Dingo are composed of childhood mates Lewis ‘Lewy’ Matte (guitar and vocals) and James ‘Jimmy’ Medley (drums and backing vocals). Before their sold-out show at the Junk Bar in Ashgrove, Brisbane, Steve and I sat down with Lewy and Jimmy separately (because we thought it’d be funny if they had wildly different answers from each other) and asked them five quickfire questions that certainly got the gears turning.
Lewis
1. If your tour van was about to fall off a cliff and you could only save one piece of gear, what would it be?
Lewy: Um… I would probably grab my investing book, that I am trying to learn about. Hahaha!
Shelvo: Right, (both laughing) even over your guitars?
Lewy: No! Yeah, no… Ha-ha-ha… Nah I’d change that I’d go with…. What am I obsessed with at the moment… A T-Rex: Dr. Swamp Pedal, is the go. Yep, that’s the one. Definitely. Not a self-help financial investments book ha-ha!
2. If you had to represent Australia on Eurovision, what song would you pick to play and why?
Lewy: Oh, great question. The cover’s gotta be… Acca Dacca! TNT! AC/DC.
Shelvo: Oh yeah with a Dingo flare?
Lewy: Yes, definitely. Nice.
3. If you had to cook a meal to please a Sophisticated Dingo, what would you serve it?
Lewy: A Sophisticated Dingo deserves to eat… I dunno, it’s got to be a very fancy element and then a rough as guts element too… A real well-done ragu perfectly cooked, with meat… Meat that’s like… mutton. A rough cut of fatty, crap meat turned into something fancy. That’s our way.
Shelvo: (both in hysterics) Something very fancy out of some rough stuff?
Lewy: Yesss! Mutton or a chewy blade steak, something no-one would buy turned into this beautiful ragu.
4. Fictitiously speaking, if Sophisticated Dingo didn’t come about, what’s another band could you see yourself in and why?
Lewy: Oh! A band I’d love to be in? I would say, far out… It would be… FIDLAR. I reckon that would be fun. I don’t reckon I’d fit in, but it would be so much fun. I love them and really respect them as musicians, I reckon that would be great.
Shelvo: There’s not been a crossover production with FIDLAR so far with the Dingo?
Lewy: No, no. No involvement with them yet. I’d love too though.
5. You’ve done a lot of travelling together over recent months, with many more to come. What are the unusual travel habits of your band mate that you’ve got used to?
Lewy: Jimmy leaves the least amount of time, he has all day to get ready for the show, but he leaves the last window. The very last possible gasp of time to do his shower and bathroom routine. So, his time management is interesting.
Shelvo: It’s said that procrastination is a sign someone wants to do a job really well, and leave things to the last minute. Jimmy must be so focused (the show not the showering I should specify) right?
Lewy: Yeah right… We all are perfectionists! But come on man, Jimmy we all are! Ha-ha! I just gotta accept Jimmy’s routines and try not to be late. Ha-ha no, no I love him.
Jimmy
Quintin: Now it’s time for the lightning round!
1. If your tour van was about to fall off a cliff and you could only save one piece of gear, what would it be?
Jimmy: Oh man, that is such as good question. Well, this isn’t going to be a lightning round because I’m working very slowly here. I honestly think I would save… My ride cymbal for sure, my K Series Sweet Ride Cymbal ha-ha-ha. That’s a very serious answer yeah, but I think it’s like the most expensive part of the drum kit I have.
2. If you had to represent Australia on Eurovision, what song would you pick to play and why?
Jimmy: (laughing) Um… Oh wow ha-ha-ha (has a sip of his drink while trying to think of an answer). The Postman Pat theme song. The Postman Pat theme song, I’m locking that in!
3. If you had to cook a meal to please a Sophisticated Dingo, what would you serve it?
Quintin: Imagine like an anthropomorphic dingo in like a nice suit.
Jimmy: Yep. Ah, I’d probably go like something like f-… Make them garlic cheese bread for the entree and then for the main course do like crab. Softshell crab but you eat it in like a crab salad. And then for dessert like… Frogs in a pond for sure.
Quintin: (Laughing) That’s faster answer than I would have come up with for sure!
Jimmy: Hospitality’s my thing man! That just sounds delicious, I wanna eat that now.
4. Fictitiously speaking, if Sophisticated Dingo didn’t come about, what’s another band could you see yourself in and why?
Jimmy: Like an existing band?
Quintin: Yeah.
Jimmy: Um… I could definitely see myself like- I dunno. I could see myself just doing other two pieces really but maybe I’d like play guitar and sing. An existing band? Yeah, I dunno. I don’t deserve to be in existing bands other than Dingo right now but I could definitely see myself singing and playing guitar at some point but I’d have to get better at guitar.
5. You’ve done a lot of travelling together over recent months, with many more to come. What are the unusual travel habits of your band mate that you’ve got used to?
Jimmy: Oooh. I think he (Lewy) probably has more interesting habits to get used to of mine. We… Oh, Lewy talks to himself a lot in the mornings especially. So, like most people aren’t morning people, they perk up slowly throughout the day. In the morning like Lewy, doesn’t matter if he’s hungover or I’m not even back in the hotel room, like I’m missing, like it won’t matter, he is just up and talking to himself as he does his morning routine. And he talks to himself like when he’s brushing his teeth like he just yeah-
Quintin: I do that a lot myself as well, my missus isn’t a fan of it ha-ha-ha.
Jimmy: Yeah, I dunno if it’s like a neurotic personality trait or something like. It’s fucking hilarious. Like I’m so used to it at this point, like yeah even just sitting on a plane. He get’s very excited, which is awesome. I think I’ve got weirder things (habits) like I don’t dry myself properly so I always leave the shower floor wet you know. But yeah, he’s always just chattering way, and I’m like did I miss something?
Quintin: Yeah, nah I’m the same ha-ha-ha, I’m always talking to myself and people are like “Are you talking to me Quintin?”.
Cheers to the Dingoes for putting up with our tomfoolery for a few moments! They’ve got some new music out very soon but in the meantime, you can checkout all their tracks here.