Three cities, two flights and a whole lot of hours to get here, US punk rock legends The Bronx have landed Down Under for an incredible run of shows. Frontman Matt Caughtran, despite the serious jet lag, could not be more excited to be here. “When we travel to Australia, it gets crazier and crazier.” he cries.
Twenty-six hours on a plane, feeling like a marshmallow, the stale and grotty sensation doesn’t last long, Caughtran is feeling good. The big deal about this Bronx tour is that the band are heading out on a bunch of regional shows, which isn’t something many Aussie bands do let alone visiting international artists. Tied in with Halloween, Caughtran only has one mission objective. “It’s the same M.O. as anywhere else, we’re looking to fuck shit up.
“We’re starting our Australian takeover, you have to hit the little towns and let them know what’s up. The little towns are where all the revolutions start – they don’t start on Broadway, they start in the alleyway.
“You gotta get in with the people on all levels, and that’s what we’re doing. It’s kinda crazy, it’s like a suicide mission at some point, but you’ve gotta do it.”
Speaking of the people, The Bronx are taking two of our own out on tour with them – High Tension and Private Function. These two bands, Caughtran says, compliment The Bronx’s mission objective. “High Tension’s an awesome band and they’re a different band. They’re super heavy, super aggressive and Karina [Utomo] is a super badass frontwoman.
“They [both] fit with The Bronx in the grand scheme of things because they like to do their own things and so do we. In Private Function, you have an awesome rock‘n’roll band and that’s what Australia’s bread and butter is, just awesome garage rock‘n’roll.
“In the respect were super stoked to have them as part of the tour – I think it’s a super cool lineup, I think it’s something different, and I hope people are stoked on it.”
The Bronx are big fans of Halloween, Caughtran observing in other interviews how our country seem to be becoming more receptive to the concept of the American holiday.
“I’m not some like crazy Halloween guy but what it is, is a chance to throw an awesome party, and that’s what I don’t understand about Australian Halloween. Yeah okay it’s tradition and you dress up and stuff like that but at the end of the day it’s just an excuse to have a great time and Australians love to have a great time. I don’t know why everyone’s fighting Halloween.
“You have this aura of the dark side of life, the graveyards, grim reapers, zombies, and death coming to life. It’s a cool thing. It’s not like I’m some crazy goth dude who wishes Halloween was every day of the year but at the same time, it’s kind of a no-brainer if you like to have a good time.”
The Bronx are here to do some damage, about to throw themselves into their first show in Brisbane, ready to greet old friends, play some great music and get the party started. “We’ve been playing our asses off lately, we’ve been touring non-stop this whole year and we’re in a good spot. We’re ready to go. Everyone’s in the zone. Playing music is fun.”
