Shouting from the rooftopsScreamfeeder style

Tue 24th Jul, 2007 in Features

Brisbane rock veterans Screamfeeder have journeyed a long way since firing off their indie rock seal and melting the kids for all they were worth back in the 1990s. It’s hard to believe but I was there – 1994’s Sydney Big Day Out and we’re watching them sock everyone with the single at the time, Flour. This is when you could still get The Ramones and The Breeders on the same bill. Sigh.

But with eight albums and fifteen unstoppable years behind them, Screamfeeder illustrates their sheer elbow grease in music land as a testimony unto itself of what is an unswerving commitment to a higher pop-rock consciousness. After a short break they perform in Melbourne this week with a three-show stint alongside new drummer Stephanie Hughes.

Speaking with Screamfeeder singer Tim Steward he offers “We’ve had the line-up change and well, we sort of haven’t really done anything for the first half of this year and it’s the first time for as long as I can remember that we’ve never really done anything. It’s been weird but having said that, both Kellie [Lloyd] and I have been busy with our other bands so it’s been busier than usual but just not doing Screamfeeder stuff”.

Usually when band members dabble with removed sideline projects it develops into one of two outcomes. Becoming enmeshed by new directions and the time spent apart it either sees them leave the initial band altogether or it can create a healthy rekindling of a band’s marriage. Steward acknowledges it has been the latter. “When you’ve got so many bands there’s only so many you can pay attention to at once. But basically Kellie and I are really good friends and we both trust each other so that’s a good foundation. Plus doing the side-band thing over the last two years has just taught us both so much about music and about organising ourselves that when we come back to Screamfeeder it only makes us stronger”.

Which brings us to their first show for 2007 showcasing their newly recruited drummer of only a month. As part of the Queensland Music Festival’s Pig City, held in Brisbane earlier in July, it was Hughes’ first brush with a larger than large crowd. “It was really good”, Tim says. “We were on reasonably early and we walked on stage and there were five thousand people and Steph’s like – œOh my god, this is the biggest gig I’ve ever played’. It was her first show with us and a friend of mine commented that it was like a little kid driving a big truck but doing really well!”

“Gosh that’s cute!” I say. “So how did you enlist her to play for Screamfeeder?”

“Well I’d seen her playing in The Wellingtons and in Children Collide and I thought she was pretty cool so I just kept in touch with her. She stayed at my place one time when The Wellingtons were up here and thought – œshe might be the one’.”

With shows in Melbourne this week I had a feeling Steward would be desirous in getting on stage and fine-tuning it even further with the new noise-rock dynamic Hughes will administer for the band. “We’ve only rehearsed two and a half times and it’s been interesting but I know, you’re right, gigs will tune it much more than a rehearsal can.”

The band will also procure the – œfrequent jet-setting muso look’ considering Hughes lives in Melbourne and Steward and Lloyd continue to reside in Brisbane. “What we want to do is meet up every month for a weekend, get about 12-15 songs together over the next few months and get a new album out early next year in reality.” In shedding light on what a long-distance working relationship may unfold he adds “I think it’ll be interesting and it’ll probably make us work harder”. Considering their veteran status it’s a work ethic Screamfeeder know a little something about.

Check out this clip of Tim Steward in solo mode