Spilt Milk - Justin Time (Demo)

Matty in Spilt Milk. This is the only image I have of anything to do with the band.

 

When I was 15 years old I got a drumkit for my birthday. I wasn't hugely into music at this point but I wanted to play in a band with my friends and everyone needed a drummer. The music of the time at Cranebrook High was Nirvana, Metallica, Pearl Jam, and any number of American grunge/metal bands. It was 1995. 

Then one day I was at my new school, St Marys Senior High, and some other students had put together a skate punk band called Linoleum. They performed in the playground at lunchtime and played a cover of a Spilt Milk song called The Simpsons. I thought it was the greatest thing ever... the lyrics were hilarious, the music seemed accessible enough to play, and it was fast and energetic. Plus the band who actually wrote the song, Spilt Milk, were locals!

This was the moment I knew that I wanted to play punk music. 

Anyway, this is something different for this blog but hey, it's my blog so I'm just gonna roll with it. 

Spilt Milk were a Western Sydney-based punk band that started in 1994. The original lineup consisted of Matty Albert (bass, vocals) and three other guys - Warwick McGee-Wright, Daniel Paterson, and Steven Kittney. Everyone except for Matty left or was kicked out sometime not long after formation. Marty Durkan then came on board on guitar and Lee Graham joined 6 months after that on drums. After another 6 months, Lee was replaced by Damiem Elliot... this was the most stable lineup and the one that I think most people probably remember when they think of Spilt Milk.

Adam Check (AKA 'Checky', previously bassist and vocalist for the band Detox Unit) joined as a second guitarist in 1998 and left about ten months later... the band only lasted another 3 months after that, breaking up in 1999. 

In their five years Spilt Milk brought out two demo tapes.

Justin Time (1997)

1. The Simpsons
2. Sandwich
3. Kissing Cousins

It Would Suck to be a Duck (1998)

1. Service Station Food
2. Wanker
3. Exploit Me
4. Nah Fuck It

They also had some various tracks on comps and stuff. They played a lot of all-ages shows in Western Sydney, a lot of pub shows in Sydney, and toured Melbourne twice. Says Matty, when I asked him about his time in Spilt Milk back in 2008, "It still spins me out that after all this time people ask me about this band, ask me if we could reform and even yell the name out at me in the street."

Matty and Damien went on to form Unpaid Debt after Spilt Milk. Matty has also played in My Therapy, Columbia's Pain (also with Damien and Checky), Toe to Toe, and a bunch of other bands. Checky went on to play bass in One Dollar Short.

A while ago, in 2012, Matty gave me permission to make the first Spilt Milk demo available online. Here's what he had to say:

MATTY: Okay, this was the first demo Spilt Milk did and it was paid for on the back of winning a band comp in Richmond after rehearsing once and getting 3 songs together. The main prize was a $500 voucher which was used at Zen Studios. With this we managed to record with Geoff Lee, press 500 demo tapes with black and white covers, and a few posters. Justin Time was the name settled on for the demo. Spilt Milk was started by myself on lead guitars and vox with a mate Warwick McGee-Wright on guitar. We were joined by Daniel Patterson on bass and Steven Kittney on drums. These are the first songs I'd ever tried to write and the lyric content wasn't exactly groundbreaking but fuck it, it was fun.

1. The Simpsons (Click here to listen/download)

MATTY: OJ is about the stupidity that the Aussie media had such a large coverage over a story about a guy we didn't give a fuck about. Not even the sport he played and his shit appearances in movies. Remember there wasn't any ESPN or pay TV at all.

2. Sandwich (click to listen/download)

MATTY: Sandwich is a piss take on munchies and Aussie vegemite.  

3. Kissing Cousins (click to listen/download)

MATTY: Kissing Cousins is a true story like a lot of my later punk writing about dirty, wrong people in the world. Especially the West of Sydney.

Bonus Track 1: Hot Stuff (click to listen/download)

MATTY: Hot Stuff is a Donner Summer cover. We were asked by Fox (Nancy Vandal) and the boys to be involved in the Bust a Move compilation in a tribute to 80s disco. We scored the second spot on the CD because Fox apparently liked it so much. At this time we had the longest and probably most well-known line-up as a three piece with Marty Durkan on bass and Damien Elliot on drums. The latter moving on to Unpaid Debt with me. He's also in a few other bands, with the most recent being Between the Devil and the Deep.

Bonus Track 2: Sex Me Hard (click to listen/download)

Editor's Note: I'd found this song at the last minute so wasn't able to get any words off Matty at the time about it. I believe it featured on another compilation.

Sources: This was pulled together from two main sources, a blog I used to write for the now-defunct Orble Network called Music Australia, and retired counterculture site called Duderocket. Many thanks to Matty for chatting with me both times and allowing for the songs to be posted. If anyone connected with the band has any corrections, suggestions, or retractions, feel free to let me know and I'll adjust the blog accordingly.

Punk Punk - A Gallery of Subgenres

The -punk suffix genres can be a great discussion starter; there are various permutations and sub-categories that force or push stories in certain directions, and that writers experiment by combining elements to create new science fiction subgenres by leaning into particular aesthetics and ideas. 

Without taking retroactive classifications into account, the cyberpunk genre is unarguably where it all all started. Cyberpunk combines a dystopian near-future setting with a heavy emphasis on emerging technologies; in the 1980s this meant things like the internet, virtual reality, and practical body modification. Cyberpunk became a prominent subgenre after William Gibson helped to define it in his groundbreaking 1984 novel Neuromancer.

Just for fun, here are a range of other subgenres that have developed in the years since, each of which use the -punk suffix as a marker to let audiences know they are engaging with a fictional world. The various subgenres explore potential futures through highly specialised aesthetics - some of them are superficial in outlook, emphasising style over narrative, whereas others hone in on particular themes and concerns.

Steampunk: The most popular of the -punk subgenres (after the 80s/90s computer tech of cyberpunk) is the Victorian-era aesthetic of steampunk, which is perhaps as much about cosplay and fandom as it is about colonial-flavoured alternative realities. Think Jules Verne, The Golden Compass, some Studio Ghibli films.

Dieselpunk: Most of the -punk subgenres are heavily fixated on a particular aesthetic and its through this that the genre is defined. In this sense, dieselpunk presents alternative realities built from combustible engines and 1930s tech. See: Indiana Jones, The Rocketeer, the comic series Hellboy, the first Captain America film.

Clockpunk: Clockpunk is a subgenre that draws on Renaissance designs and iconography to present an alternative sci-fi realm that images a post-medieval world of light and strength. Think Da Vinci, conquistadors, 15th century Europe.

Rococopunk: This seems to be more stylistic than an actual genre of storytelling. It relates to a combination of cyberpunk and rococo/baroque fashion. One of the best things about the -punk suffix is that the suffix itself has the power to inspire bold new combinations of history and storytelling, with fandoms branching out to create their own costumes from the most flowery recesses of their imagination. When I hear 'Rococopunk' I mostly think of music videos like The Killers 'Mr Brightside' or Adam and the Ants.

Atompunk: When 1950s atomic-age aesthetics are used to present an alternative future with a decidedly retro look. Sometimes called 'Raygun Gothic', used to describe everything from The Jetsons to the original series of Star Trek or the film Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.

Biopunk: Biopunk is a sci-fi subgenre that focuses on biotechnology and synthesised biology. Think David Cronenberg's films eXistenZ or Crimes of the Future, the animal-splicing of Island of Dr Moreau, H.R. Giger's monster designs. A genre that explores the blurring of lines between technology and nature, and the disturbing consequences that might ensue.

Solarpunk: An aesthetic built on a hypothetical utopian future scenario in which climate, environmental, and sustainability issues have been solved. It functions as both a subgenre of sci-fi and art, and can also be observed in the more speculative flourishes of architecture and town planning.

Formicapunk: This is a recent branch that demonstrates the way that the -punk genre tree will always continue to grow and revisit territory in new ways. Formicapunk leans heavily on retro-futurism and the stylistic flourishes of the 80s. Also known as casettepunk. You already know this look and love it.

Lunarpunk: A less-developed idea but one in which scenarios have been put forth where sustainable technology is combined with Wicca, supernatural, and pagan-esque iconography. 

Decopunk: Calling upon the aesthetics of the Art Deco movement, this subgenre combines 1920s architecture with sci-fu futurism... hello Metropolis! Aside from the superficial elements that contribute to a particular look, this subgenre also alludes to fascism and Italian futurism.

Feudalpunk: A personal favourite. Feudalpunk combines sci-fi tropes with medieval settings and scenarios in order to explore the intersection of society, control of knowledge, and the devastation of technologies beyond our understanding. It's not a popular subgenre but it certainly exists, see: A Canticle for Leibowitz, Gene Wolfe's novels, the original plans for Alien 3, Riddley Walker, and Dune.

Steelpunk: The uglier, updated, more industrial son of dieselpunk. Rivets, hardware, and pollution abound in this grimy post-apocalyptic permutation. Common in '90s and '00s visions of the future - see films like The Terminator, Mad Max, Robocop, The Edge of Tomorrow.

Silkpunk: A steampunk alternative that draws on Asian antiquity rather than the Victorian era. First identified by Chinese-American writer Ken Liu, this subgenre has been a point of contention in relation to accusations of cultural appropriation - with some Asian writers asserting that its co-opting by Western authors serves as a creative intellectual cousin to colonialism or exploitation. 

Elfpunk: Elfpunk transports fae and elven characters into a gritty urban setting - exploring a juxtaposition of the faerie realm with motorcycles, rock bands, and nightclubs.

Sandalpunk: This one combines technology and speculative worlds with alternative versions of ancient European and Middle Eastern civilisations. Examples include Stargate, various depictions of Atlantis, and 300.

Stonepunk: Stonepunk does the same thing as other -punk subgenres but with dinosaurs and/or a prehistoric setting. The Flintstones didn't set out to slot into this genre (it hadn't been invented yet) but it retroactively fits the bill! Perhaps more of a fantasy derivative than sci-fi.

Cattlepunk: This is the territory where sci-fi meets the Western - cyborg cowboys, robot horses, and super-powered railways abound. This genre perhaps exist mostly as an excuse to keep the tropes of the Western genre alive into the 21st century. Examples include Cowboys and Aliens, the comic East of West, the Will Smith movie Wild Wild West, Westworld, and the TV series Firefly.

And, as far as I know, that's pretty much it for the moment. There are others that don't feel as developed or don't seem differentiated enough from other genres (nanopunk, hopepunk, capepunk, oceanpunk, nowpunk, mythpunk) so I've left these out. Perhaps one day we'll see an Indigenous Australian approach that things like Cleverman could retroactively fit into (ochre-punk?) If you know any other -punk genres that I haven't mentioned, please let me know!

Disclaimer: This is an expanded version of a Twitter thread I wrote five months ago. Most of the images were sourced through Pinterest, where such things are shared and shared again in an endless recursive loop. If you are the artist of any of these pictures and would like credit or for the image to be removed, just let me know and I'll do that.

Sydney Writer's Festival: MCA Zine Fair 2017

Zines as far as the eye can see. Or, more accurately, to the edge of this image.

Last week I caught the train to Circular Quay and visited the MCA Zine Fair, which was running as part of the 2017 Sydney Writer's Festival. The fair runs yearly out of the Museum of Contemporary Arts, with each featured table a little extension of a zinemaker's art and work.

Coming from a background of writing/contributing to zines, self-publishing, and distributing a variety of materials of this kind (in a life before teaching), I felt like the MCA Zine Fair was a step back into something that had moved on without me. I felt like a man released to the outside after a long stint in gaol; each zine familiar yet alien, and disconcertingly unrecognisable. I found myself squinting into this room... where were the titles I'd known? Was this fair an extension of the zine world I was once so immersed in?

I picked up a $15 A5 zine and flicked through it cautiously. This already felt very removed from the zines I'd grown up with. When did something so punk, so do-it-yourself and independent, so agency-stimulating, also become so artisanal and profitable? 

The genre has evidently transmuted into something completely different to what I'd collected and absorbed as a teenager; gone are the $2 self-made diatribes on local music, cult movies, and satire. In their place is a vast array of expressionistic art, no less interesting but a helluva lot more expensive. I dare say the audience and purpose of this text type has changed.

That aside, I still found plenty of cool stuff hidden away at the fair.

Dulwich High School stall

My absolute favourite was a stall that represented Dulwich High School of Visual Arts and Design, easily the stall that - in my eyes - represented the true ethos of what zines were and can continue to be. The creativity and passion of the teacher and her students was more than evident in the colourful array of anarchic, freewheeling, hilarious, and heartfelt zines on display. They ranged from micro-zines for under a $1 to more in-depth zines for $5.

'Digital Bread' was one of my favourites; a micro-zine on the evolution of bread-graphics in computer games. Yes, that title is not ironic or metaphorical - this zine does exactly what it says it will, and I found it hilarious.

Microzines!

A robot and its dreams.

This microzine featured finely-observed line drawings depicting different facial expressions and eyes. I really liked the artwork - clearly a talented student!

More great artwork, and experimenting with comic narrative and frame arrangement

This one featured a variety of short comics, all of which were really funny.

It's been a while since I incorporated zines into my teaching. When I first started teaching English I did a short zine-focused unit a couple of times with Year 10, and saw the students create some really amazing things. The medium of communication offered by zines is a free-form approach in which anyone who ever had anything to say can express themselves. The beauty of the genre (and its various subgenres) is that it revels in breaking rules, subverting code and convention, and highlights the independent voice of the writer. 

I don't object to the artistic, artisanal connotations of the zines at the MCA Zine Fair. It's just that some of the extreme prices jar with my understanding of the non-mainstream nature of zines... $10 or $15 is okay for a magazine or a book or whatever, but when it's a couple of home-made pages stapled together I think that you're missing the biggest (and largely-marginalised) sector of your demographic. Zines have and always will appeal to those at the margins of society; the young and the punk, the unrepresented and independent. The moment a zine goes above the price of a couple of coins then it suddenly becomes something else - something that appears to be more about making money than expressing a previously unheard voice.

That's why I loved the Dulwich High School zines so much - they represent the joyful, unabashed creativity of youth who have been given the means of expression. The traditionally low price of zines demonstrates how easy it is to exist in the economy of the zine world, and will hopefully encourage some of the Dulwich High students to continue creating on their own terms in a way that is readily accessible to those who will listen most closely.