It’s true, OnlyBands has a penchant for grimy, dirty Australian punk, the stickier and harder, the better. However, it’s not the only genre that we step in and out of. Besides aren’t you curious to hear the story of a couple of renowned Brisbane punks that teamed up to drop a blaring boom box beat in a bubble bath full of beer? All under the shimmering lights of a mirror ball just to see what would happen?
Well, I’ll tell you what happened: sparks flew with a retro bang! An ominous purple cloud appeared and spat out the dance punk duo Trim Reaper, composed of Matt Somers and Michael “Mikey” Hardy onto a beer-soaked dance floor.
In-between recording sessions for, we met at every Brisbane muso’s favourite haunt, Netherworld, and over a beer and burger, I asked them five quickfire questions to help us all unravel the mysteries of Trim Reaper.
1. On your debut track Modest Salary, you guys proclaimed that you’re broke and can’t win on a modest salary. I got a job on a Modest Salary and I’m broke on it too. I have twenty-five dollars in my pocket. It’s all I have for two days. Tell me how to make the most of it to go large for tonight.
Mikey: Twenty-five bucks for two days, damn! Oh man…
OB: Not really, but it’s in line with the concept of the track.
Mikey: Yeah ok, I’m getting that…
Matt: We go to Netherworld! Ha! Poutine and beer. Yes!
(Have to agree with Matt there, particularly with Netherworld looking out for 4ZZZ subscribers with their discounts)
Mikey: Yeah, go to Netherworld, and tell them I’ll pay them back!
OB: Oh yeah ha-ha-ha!
Mikey: Or a multi-pack of Mi Goreng and a few long necks? That should work?
OB: Yeah, that’ll do it, then you get two nights out of it.
Mikey: That’s good for me but maybe not for Matt!
Matt: One fancy long neck for me please.
Mikey: Yeah, just drink it slow, ha!
2. Your latest release Defeater has that hypnotic Dust Brothers sense of motion and percussion from the Fight Club What is the Trim Reaper approach to defeating obstacles in your way in the music industry, one fight at a time? Or are you not allowed to talk about it?
Mikey: Easy, we are not part of the music industry! Ha-ha-ha!
Matt: We gave up on that a while ago! Ha-ha-ha…
Mikey: I dunno, I think we just do our thing. We’re not super obsessed with trying to find every part of the team straight away. We are with a label now, but that felt really right, because they came to us…
OB: Oh yeah and on your terms yeah?
Mikey: Yeah! There were very little terms you know. They said “Here’s a simple deal, do you guys want to work together with us?”. Yeah! Why not? Let’s see what happens. What kind of thing. And that is our whole deal, that is what we like doing.
OB: Nice, the Trim Reaper ethos.
Mikey: Yeah, we manage ourselves, we book ourselves, we don’t have publishing… If you want to give us publishing, please come to us!
OB: That’s probably what twenty years of experience does in this situation right, I guess?
Matt: Yeah, you just learn to prioritise fun.
Mikey: Yeah, we are prioritising fun, and hoping to make some money from that too.
OB: Love that. The R.I.F.F approach.
Matt/Mike: Yeah… Yeah!
3. If you could go full Tyler Durden for a moment, but instead of splicing movies with porn scenes, you do a pirate remix of any album by any artist, and you mix it in that Trim Reaper What artist’s album would you chose?
Matt: I’d go Pet Shop Boys, Actually.
OB: Oh! Yes sir!
Mikey: Maybe… Oh man, Heatmiser, Elliot Smith’s old band. Getting the top line of that and turn it in to something really weird! Yeah, an incredible punk band from the early nineties… I think that would be pretty fun, that would be upbeat.
OB: Imagine if we could layer the two together with a Trim Reaper feel?
Matt: Why not? We might as well give it a go.
Mikey: Sad melodies over happy synths, why not?
4. The next couple of questions are to be answered separately. How well do you know each other? Can you answer these questions about one another?
OB: First up, I have Trim and then Reaper. Who’s Trim and who’s Reaper?
Mikey: Ah, you’re about to find out all about Trimmy. We can’t tell you about Trimmy just yet!
Matt: You would be Trim, as you are more responsible than me. I’m just like the demon that comes in and gets wasted…
OB: Ha-ha. With that logic, it looks like first up is Trim. I’ve got Mikey then.
(Matt waited outside while Mikey answered questions about him and vice versa)
- What’s Matt’s favourite album?
Mikey: I’m going to go with Either/Or, Elliot Smith.
OB: From before?
Mikey: Yeah, we both love that album, but I know he loves it… A lot.
- What’s Mikey’s favourite album?
Matt: Hm… Maybe Either/Or, Elliot Smith.
OB: Ow!
- What’s Matt’s most cherished musical possession?
Mikey: His Styrmon Deco delay pedal. Wait! Actually, it’s his TASCAM 244 Portastudio 4-Track Cassette Recorder… We use it for every album we do.
- What’s Mikey’s most cherished musical possession?
Matt: Probably his Tascam 388 reel to reel, although technically it belongs to both of us! Ha-ha!
- What’s the wildest story you can tell me about Matt?
Mikey: Oh man! Where to start? He has a pretty good time when he gets goblin drunk, it’s pretty unpredictable but its never a dull moment, and I quite like that.
- What’s the wildest story you can tell me about Mikey?
Matt: Ah… I can’t think of anything, nothing real crazy to be honest.
- What’s a skill in life that Matt’s red hot at but doesn’t know he is?
Mikey: Drumming I reckon, yeah. He has got great rhythm. He can’t drum, but I reckon if he tried it, he’d smash it! He plays cowbell pretty well.
- What’s a skill in life that Mikey’s red hot at but doesn’t know he is?
Matt: I think he kind of knows, but management. People and general life management yep.
OB: That’s a hell of a compliment.
5. Your new track Release Love has just dropped and it reflects a history of mutual understanding and combined vision. What is the nicest thing you think someone would ever say about your bandmate?
Mikey: He is a good, generous, kind hearted, and soft in the best possible way bloke.
Matt: He is such a great dad. I think that is probably the nicest thing he would consider people to say about him.
OB: Oh, that’s lovely. Yeah, I have seen him at the Reclink Cup, and the Dunies album launch last week in full Dad mode, it was very sweet.
OB: That’s it, I’ll let you get back to recording. Thank you for your time today, and we can’t wait to share your new music soon.
Matt and Mikey: Thanks, OnlyBands!
This was my first paid article. Matt and Mikey gave me two Netherworld gaming voucher coins. I guess this old OB is no longer Pro Bono Publico?
Credits to our good mate Luke Henery (@luke_henery) for all the press shots in this article.
Give Trim Reaper’s latest track Release Love a listen below: