The Ending Goes Forever

Metal On Metal. At the end of 1991 into the early summer of 1992 we recorded our first album, Flour. Tim and Kellie chat how it came about and how we made it happen. There's lots we don't remember, or we half remember, or we think we remember, it was a long time ago! We marvel at the album's "unusual" sound, and wonder how it ended up sounding like that. We also chat about how every song sounds like we're wanting to emulate one of our guitar-hero bands at the time (which we were).This episode includes the story of the band's name change, after Kellie joined, from The Madmen to Screamfeeder.It also tells the story of how Tim and Kellie met, and how Kellie joined the band, and explains how and why there are two versions of this album.Tim blabs on about alternative guitar tunings a bit too much (you better get used to that, sorry).Kel tells us about how she wanted to be "the best bass player in the world" and how that's panned out for her. And somehow the quote "The opposite of your balls dropping" gets a look-in. Enjoy this episode!Read about Flour hereWatch the TOWER video hereListen to the deluxe edition hereAnd the original version from 1992 here

Desk Wars. In 1993 we drove to Sydney in Tim's van, to record our second album Burn Out Your Name. We remember all the strange and funny details around the recording, and the songs themselves, and Kellie dives into her diaries for some "on the ground" insights into what we got up to.We chat about fighting over the mixing desk when the producer's back was turned, the origin on the Fingers & Toes song title, and Wrote You Off being "too poppy and catchy" for the grunge era.We also mention our brief path-crossing with Steve Albini, and our band ethos of the time; "indie indie indie all the way", with Tim and Tony actively rejecting anything NOT indie.As a flip side, Kellie divulges her most rock'n'roll moment of decadence, "Don't let my mum listen to this". We also go off on a tangent and introduce bit players Bunty Pring and Tricia Candy, and explore Tim being "cock-blocked by Mrs Candy", at the age of 15. It's crazy stuff. Also The Darkness gets mentioned; Tim's love of the actual band, and Kellie's love of - and side hobby of - embracing the actual darkness.Enjoy this episode!For the 2014 re-release, Jamie Hutchings from Bluebottle Kiss wrote:Ah.. the lottery that is life. I used to see Screamfeeder at every opportunity around this time. They were going head to head with You Am I on a lot of bills, and I honestly had no idea who would win out in the rock’n’roll path of fame stakes. They were that good! Good enough that I’d usually pay to see them open up for bands I had no intention of sticking around the rest of the night for.Chunky, tinnitus-inducing riffs, bittersweet melodies and throat-implosion vocals; and on this album a dreamy molasses-like glaze over everything. Burn Out Your Name has everything that was special about the band during this era. Now it’s etched deep within the grooves of a vinyl record – where it belongs.Youtube PlaylistBurn Out Your Name on SpotifyRead more and buy on our website

Whatever Happens, Happens. Tim and Kellie chat about our "weird" third album Fill Yourself With Music. We were listening to a ton of early Flaming Lips at the time, we discuss their influence, as well as those of Sebadoh, and Seam, amongst other early 90s heroes of ours.Kellie reads from her diaries from during the recording session and we both remember the problems and stresses that we were experiencing, and how our producer Wayne Connolly combated these (with calmness and brandy).We remember the carefree and liberating approach in the studio - along with several magic moments, Tim and Tony's songs largely sounding like "sitting around in the back garden of Warmington St in Paddington with an acoustic guitar", and their killing of Buffalo Tom, for Kellie.We also go off on a tangent recalling some of the adventures we had back in the days of having a land-line phone. Oh the things you could do..There are plenty of laughs in this episode, despite the album attracting some very opposing views and reviews at the time. Still, we came away from this still very fond of our third child, and definitely with the feeling that "music can save you".Fill Yourself With Music:On SpotifyOn YoutubeOn our Website

Punching People in the Throat. In 1995 we recorded our fourth album Kitten Licks. The recording took place at Rocking Horse Studio outside of Byron Bay, and it rained solidly for 13 of the 14 days we were there. Kellie reads from her diaries about the rain, and about everything else; our new drummer Dean, our producer Paul McKercher, and the excitement surrounding our new batch of songs.1995 was a big year for us, we had a line-up change and got Dean Shwereb in the band. This was a massive deal, his drumming changed everything for us; our approach to songwriting, our practice routine and even the songs themselves. We felt a huge creative freedom.Dean also brought a crazy new level of fun and humour to the band - we try to explain his "unusual" mind, and tell the story of how he got his nickname Rat Beef.Tim explains that a lot of the lyrics and song titles on the record were blatantly stolen from various places: books, films, and other bands' records and songs.Kitten Licks changed us forever. We wrote the songs in a new, fast and spontaneous way, throwing ideas around in the practice room together, where anyone was encouraged to step up to the mic and “sing any old shit”.Take a peek inside preceding months as we worked the songs up, the two rainy weeks we spent in the studio, and hear the inside dirt on all the songs.See below for all the places we’ve stolen from, as well as others we were heavily influenced by:Martin Amis: London Fields, also: Money and other early 90s booksDouglas Coupland: Shampoo Planet, also: Life After God.Neal Stephenson: Snow CrashLiz Phair: Shane (song, on Whipsmart)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsEvv237rGU Win Wenders: Until the End of the World - filmDream Whip fanzineRegurgitator: Blubber Boy

Playing God with GodIn 1999 we were stuck in a “weird label situation” where we weren’t allowed to record and release the songs which would become Rocks On The Soul, so we decided to make an album of some of our favourites by other people instead.Tim and Kellie chat about working with Magoo; it was the first time we’d recorded digitally and was a hugely fun and creative session.Kellie recounts one of the only hiccups, "I just started to spiral"; the nightmare scenario of trying to record the most basic 2 note bass riff ever, with everyone breathing over her shoulder saying “I’ll do it”.We feel super fond of this record; our playing and singing on it as well as the songs themselves - after all they were written for us, by some of the best.The track we mention by Bluebottle Kiss is Boredom You Are Breaking My Heart from their album Somnambulist Homesick Blues. Listen to it on Spotify here.We toured a lot with BBK in the late 90s and really fell in love with their music.Home Age track list:1. Walls Come Tumbling Down – Style Council2. So Sad About Us – The Who3. The Word Is No! – Sesame St4. Boys Keep Swinging – David Bowie5. Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Any More – Walker Brothers6. Keep Hanging On – Husker Du7. King Of Carrot Flowers – Neutral Milk Hotel8. Off To One Side – Come9. Falling Out Of Love (With You) – The 6ths10. Tomorrow Never Knows – The BeatlesHere’s a playlist of the original versions: Home Age OriginalsHome Age on Spotify On our website On Video: The word is NO! | Tomorrow Never Knows

The Future, and How We Fit Into It. In the middle of 2000 we finally got the green light to record our fifth album Rocks on the Soul. We traveled to Melbourne and spent three winter weeks in a tiny studio with producer duo The Pound System. It was a great if somewhat confronting session; Dean especially feeling pushed into unfamiliar territory with the extreme editing of parts in the then-new(ish) digital recording domain.We'd had the songs sitting around for ages and we were more than ready to let someone else take control of how they were played, recorded, and would eventually sound. The album was a sharp change in direction for us, after the noisy energetic Kitten Licks; a lot of fans of the band didn't get the new sound and feel at all. Understandable, as Tim and Kel discuss in detail, with focus on the opener Stopless (with its Seinfeld reference) and its subdued groove-based feel. It was our first release which was really a Kellie album, her songs book-ending the record, and standing out as highlights throughout. Themes emerged which she'd go on to explore again and again, the rapidly changing world and our alienation from it, in the "desolate and disconnected" feel of If You Lived Here, the "trying to paint a bleak picture" in Close Again, technology's increasingly bludgeoning and de-humanising influence, consumer culture, and her probing reflections on her own youth and life choices.It was a time when music was changing, the 90s were over, it felt like our indie rock enclave was transforming into something different, and we weren't sure where to go with it. Also our world was changing - a couple of us had mobile phones for the first time ever (and were faced with the task of dividing up colossal phone bills with those who hadn't made the leap, yet were still happy to send hundreds of texts every day on the others' Nokia 610s, at 22 cents a pop). We go deep on every song, exploring the lyrics, music, and what we were trying to achieve. In retrospect we're still extremely happy with the majority of songs, one or two only end up getting picked apart and allocated to the "maybe not really good enough" pile.The musical snippets are longer in this episode, we hope you enjoy the story of Rocks On The Soul!Read more about it here Buy it here Listen on Spotify YouTube playlist