There’s something about grungy, surfy, garage band that we Aussies can’t get enough of. Bands like Dune Rats, Hockey Dad and The Bennies have all made waves in the popular genre, but arguably one of the most celebrated are Skegss.
Comprised of Toby Cregan on bass, Jonny Lai on drums and Ben Reed on vocals and guitar, Skegss are known for their raucous tunes and surf-rat sound. The band originated in Byron Bay where Lai and Cregan were already living, after Reed relocated post-high-school.
“When I finished school I pretty much drove up to Byron because I wanted to…” Reed starts.
“Start a rock and roll band,” interjects Cregan, spluttering with laughter.
“Yeah,” Reed laughs in agreement. “There’s a pretty good music scene up there, and I was looking for someone to play the drums, and me and Jonny are family friends.”
“Benny moved into my house, kinda couch surfing,” Cregan explains. “I think he was sleeping on the veranda, but then we had a room come up.”
Cregan didn’t become part of the band until after a year or so, while Reed and Lai were playing together under a different name.
“I joined the band to play the bass because they didn’t have a bass player. I originally just wanted to make the video for ‘L.S.D’, but then…I can’t remember if I even asked to join the band. I think I just did,” he says with a laugh.
The three of them then began playing and releasing music as Skegss, a name they “read on the back of a muesli box.” They’ve been doing it for four years now, with five singles and two EPs under their belt, and their first full-length album just around the corner.
Reed and Cregan are currently admiring their handiwork, the hard copy of My Own Mess, which is set for release soon.
“I think we worked on it so hard. It was the most gratifying thing, to work on something super hard and now it’s the first time we’re seeing the record and seeing all the artwork that Irvine’s done. It’s cool to start something and finish it,” Cregan says.
The whopping 15 tracker is true to Skegss’ style. Short, punchy tunes with thrashing guitars, heavy drums and lyrics about the messiness of life for the boys from Byron.
“It’s a mash-up of everything you listen to and you try to create more of that music that you love,” Reed says of the band’s distinctive sound.
“Not for me, because I pretty much just listen to trap music,” interjects Cregan with a laugh. “Nah,” he continues. “I think it’s whatever you listen to. It can be a song that makes you want to go write a song. Sometimes it’s like an outlet anyway, so it can come out without thinking about it too much.”
Despite their steady stream of music releases over the past few years, the guys don’t consider themselves as musicians (“fuck no, no way,”), and believe that their sound has taken on a life of its own.
“I’d say it’s mutated into a weird alien form, and now it has its own personality, it drives itself around,” Cregan muses.
“We’ve been doing the same thing for so long and it’s working, so if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.”
The boys have also become recognisable for the scribbly comic style illustrations that adorn their merch, drawn by their mate (and unofficial fourth member) Jack Irvine. Irvine has gone all out for My Own Mess, creating a 28-page magazine that comes with the hard copy album.
“The idea was originally to try and transcribe some of the lyrics into comic form, for all of the songs, but then we just picked a few,” Reed explains.
“There might be a line out of it that Jack Irvine’s drawn his spin on too, while he was listening to each track. For each page, whatever he was feeling would just come out.”
Now the lads are about to hit the road again for a massive Australian tour, with shows in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney selling out in a flash.
They’re no strangers to the touring life, having done a run of Europe and the UK earlier this year, as well as playing Splendour In The Grass.
“Splendour was definitely one of the craziest things, and when we went over to England we had so much fun over there,” Reed says.
“The best part is being able to drink any time of the day and it’s acceptable,” Cregan laughs. “It’s the biggest tour we’re ever done, so I can’t wait to hit the fucking road.”
They’ll be bringing New South Wales band Scabz along for the ride, as well as US indie-rockers Twin Peaks.
“We’ve always been fans of those guys, and I think we’ve wanted to go on tour with them for years,” Cregan explains. “We hit them up years ago, and they left us on ‘seen’ for a year or two and then they finally hit us back in the DMs.
“Maybe we’ll confront them, maybe now they’re coming that’s the first thing we’ll do, hit them up when they land. Hopefully one of their visas doesn’t get approved or something,” he jokes. “Nah, they seem like nice guys.”
