IN the 15 months since Surf Trash made their live debut at the Croatian Wickham Sports Club they've been kicked out of their own gigs minutes before showtime for being underage, sold out an east coast all-ages tour and supported Ruby Fields and The Bennies.
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It's been a wild ride. One the Valentine-Eleebana three-piece of Lachlan Jackson (guitar) and brothers Andy (drums, vocals) and Nick Scott (bass) have worked hard to realise.
"We started playing live in April last year and you'd take on anything you could get," Andy said.
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"In Newcastle it's easy to support people, but once we supported bigger Australian bands that are from Melbourne or Sydney, and did two or three of those shows, it helped us take that next step and getting exposed to other people. It was just a matter of playing live heaps."
Surf Trash released their first track So Long in late 2017 before playing a show. From there singles like Summer and Over My Shoulder and an EP Busy Doing Nothing established Surf Trash as Newcastle's answer to in-vogue surf-punk bands Skegss and Hockey Dad with their crunching guitar riffs and pop melodies.
The trio starting jamming after they bonded over surfing. Andy and Nick's father, Adam Scott, was also a source of influence given his experience playing bass in Newcastle '90s band The Fools, who supported Radio Birdman and Tumbleweed.
However, 19-year-old Andy admits Surf Trash's development has been stymied by the lack of all-age venues. Nick and Lachlan are both 16 and in year 11 at Warners Bay High.
"It's always been a struggle and it continues to be a struggle," Andy said. "We've been kicked off our own shows before. In Sydney they wouldn't let us into our own show and it was 15 minutes before we went on."
The obstacles aside, Surf Trash are preparing to embark of their biggest tour yet, supporting Novocastrian indie-punk heroes The Gooch Palms on their national tour next month.
"The sick thing about the Goochies is it'll be the first time we've played three nights in a row for a month and we're playing places we haven't played yet either," Andy said. "That's really exciting for us as it means we can play in front of potentially new people and see old friends as well."
Surf Trash headline Lord's House at the Small Ballroom on Friday with Pals, New Boon, Megan Core, Diplazar and Straight A's.
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Josh Leeson
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
