It doesn’t hurt that their songs are some of the most ear-catching punk tunes to hit the Aussie scene lately (or that they have such fun titles, like Spike My Drink But Don’t Take My Kidneys and I’ve Had Islamabad Day).
BMDS are also one of the hardest working bands on the road right now, with three months of intense international touring to go. We chat to Parker on a lonely stretch of road somewhere in South Australia.
“We’ve pulled over out in the middle of nowhere, and there are a million sheep staring at me,” Parker says. “Somewhere near … Hamilton? Some shit like that. See, a fucking rosella just flew into the car, and it was part of a pair, so we’re gutted. They pair for life. So we said some quiet words. It sucks but you know, he’s the one that flew into us. Kamikaze. Hang on, let me light this joint.”
It’s not exactly a great omen to encounter before a gig, but that said, they are on the way to Adelaide, the city of churches; if we’re talking sacrifices to a higher power, it’s a fitting destination. There’s precious little time for bird prayers, though – BMDS are a band on a mission.
“After [this] we go to New Zealand, and then we play with Teenage Bottlerocket, AJJ,” Parker says. “The following week we go to Asia. We’re announcing Japan now as well. Working hard. You always want to build it up. When you’re touring around for no special reason, there’s not as much electricity. Here, you’ve just worked your arse off on an album, you’re taking that fresh set of songs around. It’s exciting for us, and exciting for people to hear it. It’s our first album tour, so it seems to be going down really well. It’s really humbling because we’ll get out there and see there’s people singing the words.”
I’ve never caught the Brisbane natives live before (they moved down to Melbourne at the start of 2015), but that’s set to change with their upcoming launch at Old Bar. Whenever I speak with punk and hardcore musos, it’s hard not to be struck by how chilled out they seem in comparison to their onstage persona, but for Parker, you get the impression that live energy isn’t far removed from his everyday life.
“I’m very full on,” he says. “We’re making new mates all around the country, and we want everyone to have a good time. The connectivity is a big thing that’s lost in today’s society. Everyone is disconnected, and we want to change that. We’re not some stupid snotty punk rock band that’s like, ‘Fuck you all.’ We bring a punk rock show, but we’ve got some solid ideals and we’re nice people. I think.”
His mention of ideals isn’t some throwaway line. BMDS happily wear their politics on their sleeve, and while they’ve courted controversy in the past (mostly regarding poster design and cover art), they aren’t out to offend. A song like I’ve Had Islamabad Day, for instance, is more about unity than division.
“Punk rock has always been about pushing boundaries and making people think,” Parker says. “That song isn’t at all a racist song. It’s basically a song that says I don’t care about whatever religion you believe in, just fucking live your life, believe what you want to believe. Don’t blow me up, just blow me. Like, fuck, settle down, your religion isn’t that important that you have to go around destroying other people’s lives. It definitely isn’t a racist song.
“I’m a stickler for good lyrics. We have funny songs where we want to make people laugh, and we have serious ones. We really do pay attention to what’s going on around us, to the political and social issues around the world. We always have an element of that, because we’re not stupid. I don’t want to be remembered as some dumb punk band. I want us to be remembered as smart musicians. Maybe even talented,” he says.
