THE PASS: BLOOD, SWEAT, AND CRYWANK Melbourne's Sludgy Powerviolence Destroyers chat with Mark
THE PASS: BLOOD, SWEAT, AND CRYWANK
Melbourne's Sludgy Powerviolence Destroyers
You've been mentioned alongside bands like Primitive Man and Iron Monkey. How does that feel?
Alana: To be honest, we feel pretty stoked to be mentioned alongside those bands.
Hemi: First of all, I don't think of it as a weapon—it's more like first aid. Our happy place, right? Going to see these bands is a happy place, being involved with those scenes is a happy place, and playing music is our happy place. So it's more first aid than a weapon.
Joel: And we're grateful to be involved.
Tell us about recording with Dav from Iridium Audio.
Alana: It was super fun. We got to hang out and talk shit between takes, some mates dropped by, and for a first-time recording, it was a rad experience, if nerve-wracking! But Dav helped put me at ease and was patient with me having to re-record many sections.
How did the band start?
Joel: It didn't start off with any grand plan, did it?
Hemi: It was just a reason to hang out with some mates. Just us spending time together, and whatever we produced was what it was.
Joel: We weren't in a scene, we weren't even thinking about doing shows. We just wanted to play music together. After the lockdowns, we got back together for another jam. Rather than find someone to take the guitar spot, I figured I could hammer through with some drop D chaos. Even after that break, making noise was still so much fun, so I persevered and started writing caveman riffs.
Alana: The guys asked if I fancied joining the band on vocals, which was the coolest question I could have hoped to be asked! But I had no idea what my "singing" capabilities were because I'd never sung before or been in a band. Ideally, I just want to sound disgusting, but I have a sweet little high-pitched voice, so I was concerned I wouldn't meet the brief. The band were super patient whilst I learned through experimentation what I could achieve. My voice is constantly evolving, even from this recording, which was done a good year or so ago.
The whānau/family aspect of the band is probably fundamental to its core. Alana and Joel are married, and their son has been to all the rehearsals and recordings. Hemi is his godfather, and he and Joel have known each other since high school in Aotearoa. Pat is part of their closer network of friends and family in Melbourne.
Joel: Once Alana started doing vocals, it really began to head in this disgusting new direction.
What was the catalyst for your particular style?
Hemi: Oldness and exhaustion.
Joel: Yeah, we needed breaks. Being pretty new at guitar, I could only write stuff I was able to play. The early stuff on this recording was "just keep it simple," then "how fast can I do this?" Then "this is hurting, let's do some slow shit." And slower is heavier always. Live, it kind of goes from shit noise madness to just crushing heavy. I love it.
Pat: I'm just holding on for dear life.
Alana: I just wanted to do yells and sound like how the inside of my brain sounds sometimes.
Let's talk about the album title.
Alana: It means "to cry whilst wanking." The original story I heard was actually crying whilst having a wank in the shower.
Joel: That makes sense because crying in the shower is redundant—you're just wasting tears. And a shower wank is hard enough, and a crywank is even harder, so it's kind of threefold. That's how hard it was to make the album. [laughing]
Alana: I thought it was fitting in terms of the lyrics. A lot of the inspo comes from me getting to expel the era of my life where, look, there was a lot of crying and masturbating. And also, we're not that serious about anything. And it's fucking funny.
Talk about your musical influences and approach.
Joel: Since I started playing guitar and couldn't really play, I had to literally write stuff I was able to play. I had zero concerns about the rest of the band—they were always going to bring it together as long as I kept in my lane. I could only write to my abilities, and caveman shit was to my abilities. It was easier to learn to play faster than to learn sick riffs. So the first songs were three notes and just smash it.
Joel: Yeah. For me to be in a band with people I love, I just had to figure it out. After that long break, I realised how important it was.
In terms of influences, there's no doubt that whatever I've been listening to heavily, I lean into when roughing stuff out. But we all appreciate quite different genres of music, so when it all comes together, it really changes from what might initially be in my head to how each person interprets the concept. There's no ego or leaders—just mash it up and see what comes out.
Alana: Influence-wise, when I was younger, I was absolutely obsessed with Tairrie B from Tura Satana/Manhole/My Ruin. I dreamed of sounding anything like her, but I've veered more into trying to move towards a Lord Mantis, Iron Monkey vibe. I like that fry-ish style that just sounds like you're expelling a demon from within. It's how I view vocals—like an exorcism.
You incorporate political elements into your shows. Talk about that.
Alana: I don't expect people to listen or hear what I'm saying, but having those opportunities to say "free Palestine" or acknowledge stolen land and use your literal platform—the stage—no matter how small you are, matters. I feel like enough small things can add up. It's an opportunity to put something across in my lyrics that I feel strongly about. I wrote a lot of dark poetry in journals in my younger years, so a lot of my lyrics come from past emo shit I've had stored in my brain for decades. Now I can finally make people listen to my woes.
What does political hardcore mean to you?
Joel: Because we're all kind of older with the bullshit that comes with that, we don't play shows often. More recently, being able to do more DIY and backyard house gigs has been so good. Taking the money aspect and expectation from a licensed venue and making it about fundraising or mutual support has been great.
Hemi: It's nice that scenes aren't always just about the music, but also that people feel the same way about aspects of society and the world in general. The bands might be different, but we all feel the same way about how fucked up things are. Let's do what we can to help, however small.
Pat: And while DIY shows themselves aren't necessarily political, being part of a larger community at a grassroots level removes the capitalist aspect. They're doing it themselves without any expectation of financial benefit.
Alana: I think it's amazing to hear people standing up for those who don't have a voice. Why the fuck would you not add these elements to your art?
What do you hope listeners take away from this recording years from now?
Alana: I hope they get a sense for how fun it was for us to make awful music with our mates.
Hemi: And anyone can do it. It doesn't have to be technical.
Pat: Yeah, it encourages people to go into the shed and make some noise.
Joel: At any point in your life as well.
Alana: If people listen to hardcore music and feel inspired to get out and seek more of it, then that is pure transcendence, right?
For readers who might be new to this scene, what would you tell them?
Hemi: You should seek it out in its live format. There's nothing more fun than going to see a local band and supporting small venues with good owners. It doesn't cost much, and it gets you off the couch. Go have a lemonade and watch a band.
Alana: They should definitely seek out live shows. The joy that comes from playing live—you can't necessarily see that on a recording. Go see the actual blood, sweat, and tears that go into music. This album was a super fun start to this rad new way of expression for me. The drive forward comes from the feeling we get when we play, when we feel a new song come together. Love it. Love these guys.
The Pass contains some wonderful creatives. What do band members do outside of audio violence, and what's the crossover to the musical output?
Alana: I make jewellery under the name Cut Off Your Hands jewellery. I guess the way I make jewellery is another expression of the way I like my art and music—brutal, harsh, textured, dark and brooding. I like to work with heavy metal. [laughs]
Joel: Alongside The Pass, I do a lot of illustration and design. I also screen print my own designs on tees or whatever I can get hold of in my shed in Ballarat under Fast Love Press.
The Pass are: Joel Hammonds (guitar/Fast Love Press), Alana (vocals/Cut Off Your Hands jewellery), Hemi (bass/Kaitunu at True North cafe), and Pat (drums).
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/theMFpass
https://www.instagram.com/the_mf_pass/
https://itsthepass.bandcamp.com/album/gra-trunka
https://cutoffyourhandsjewellery.com/
Comments
Post a Comment
Feel free to comment, but anything racist or sexist goes in the bin, as you should also.