DANIEL Johns walks into a bar and buys a round.
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Unbeknownst to the Silverchair legend, two of the random guys he's just shouted in an near-empty Sydney pub are Jamie Timony and Todd Andrews from punk band, turned comedians, These New South Whales.
Ironically, Timony and Andrews were in the midst of writing season two of These New South Whales' Spinal Tap mockumentary-style TV series about a "Newcastle punk band" struggling to crack Sydney's music scene.
One of the draft episodes they'd written was based around meeting the Novocastrian rock star at his Merewether home and getting signed to his #Boom Tish punk label. But they were yet to approach Johns' management with the pitch.
TNSW became fast friends with Johns and his appearance in season two was one of the show's best moments.
"Daniel's a beautiful guy and a good friend," Timony said. "He's been nothing but supportive and lovely to us.
"It was a dream come true getting him on as we all grew up listening to him and we were so grateful when he said yes. It was bit of a long shot and happened in quite a miraculous way."
Despite the cult success of their TV show on Comedy Central and the commissioning of a third season, TNSW are more focused than ever on the music.
The four-piece's debut album You Work For Us in 2017 still had comedic elements buried within is proto-punk sound, but the follow-up I Just Do What God Tells Me To Do is a serious record that has expanded TNSW's scope to post-punk and new wave.
"We weren't interested in making anything that was funny or stupid," Timony said. "We wanted to make something that was more in line with our actual interests at the moment.
"We've got the comedy show, so that's such a great outlet for our comedic tendencies, but it's nice to keep them a bit more separate."
Timony's background is in acting and he's appeared in the Australian film Sleeping Beauty (2011) and John Woo's US action cult sequel Hard Target 2 (2016).
The TNSW frontman said acting and singing provided a similar "job satisfaction."
"It's a rush, but it's dangerous if you get too excited," he said. "It's nice after a show to spend 20 to 30 minutes relaxing and coming back to earth."
TNSW may enjoy a greater profile due to the show and their albums, but Timony said the band were still "down in the trenches" living the lifestyle that creates hilarious fodder for their show.
"In that show we're laughing at ourselves and our own ambition and own egos," he said.
"We're definitely taking the piss out of ourselves in our show. There's no end to the inspiration."
These New South Whales play the Cambridge Hotel on November 30 with support from Raave Tapes.
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.
