The last time Beat spoke to Melbourne band The Resignators, they were about to take on the world. As to how that all actually panned out, it “failed miserably,” reports trumpeter Tom Dittman with a laugh, as both he and trombone player John ‘Johnno’ James chuckle down the phone line while as each one attempts to convince me which of the two is the biggest piss-pot in the band.
The last time Beat spoke to Melbourne band The Resignators, they were about to take on the world. As to how that all actually panned out, it “failed miserably,” reports trumpeter Tom Dittman with a laugh, as both he and trombone player John ‘Johnno’ James chuckle down the phone line while as each one attempts to convince me which of the two is the biggest piss-pot in the band.
Jocularity aside, the ska-punk exponents boast a new multitude of fans in the US and especially Canada, after shows in both countries, following the recording of their new album See You In Hell, in the land of the maple leaf last June.
“We went across to Montreal in Canada and that was amazing going over to that part of the world to record, ‘cos everyone was – well, the theory was that everyone would be focused if we were all together all in the same space and just have no distractions,” explains Johnno.
“What we didn’t realize is that Montreal is one of best cities in the world,” interjects Tom, “so we ended up going out most nights and being pretty ridiculous for the recording sessions in the morning.”
“But it was an amazing experience and I’m really glad we went over to Canada to do it,” adds Johnno who touts Alex Gigure (guitarist with One Night Band and Beatdown) for the work he did in producing The Resignators’ sophomoric effort. Says Johnno of Alex’s job on See You In Hell, “He’s got some amazing sounds and we’re really happy with the work he’s done on it… and with everything he’s done, he was just the right choice.”
Tom says he’s particularly pleased to report that the band’s new album See You In Hell “seems to be working for us,” he figures. “We’ve had, I think, quite a bit of airplay, so we’re pretty excited about it. So, we’ll launch it and gauge how it goes and how many people turn out. For a period there we’ve had a fair bit of exposure. We’re pretty popular, I guess, in Canada, especially they’ve got a really good scene for it,” he notes.
“I think that’s a credit to Stomp Records who look after us in Canada,” adds Johnno. “They’re just excellent guys, always having a bit of fun and they look after us.”
The result, while not as purely ska as their first offering, See You In Hell bears The Resignators’ trademark high-energy and upbeat sound, and now the band are gearing up for their forthcoming launch at The Hi-Fi this Friday.
Some of the more quirky notions that inspired some of the melodies on the album derive from the band’s experience of chowing down on some of the worst kinds of junk food while playing the US. Another track recounts lead vox man Francis’s experience of how an ex ended their relationship via text message. And while the latter prompts a more thorough probing, unfortunately both Tom and Johnno profess that neither of them is privy to the minutiae.
One thing’s for sure, the band continue to plough-on despite the logistical problems a consistently shifting line-up and other impedimenta create.
“People come and go. And obviously being a six or seven piece band, I mean, it’s quite difficult to get us all together at the same time to rehearse and obviously sometimes people’s priorities are in different places and that’s all good.
“People have to do what they wanna do and that’s cool with all of us and there’s no hard feelings between any of us and any of the other members of the band; they’re all still family to us,” says Tom describing the logistics of corralling seven different people as “extremely painful.”
Again, as talk returns to excessive drinking Johnno ponders its commonality among ska lovers.“I think it goes hand in hand with ska music,” he muses. “Every time we seem to play or I go to another ska gig or something like that, every time there happens to be a ska band it usually involves a hell of a lot of drinking.
“I’m not sure if that’s saying that ska music is really terrible and you have to be extremely drunk to enjoy it, or it’s just good fun music and people have fun when they listen to it –I’m not sure where it’s at, but when we played a show at The Corner (Hotel) a couple of years back, apparently we drank the bar dry – not the band,” corrects Johnno, “but the whole crowd; everyone were just heavy drinkers.”
What that says about lovers of ska music, expounds Johnno is that, “we’re probably just a bunch of awkward misfits that have drinking problems. I dunno,” he laughs.
“We’re very mismatched; very diverse,” adds Tom, thoughtfully – and really, the more you think about it, truthfully.
And while both Tom and Johnno continue augmenting each other’s alcohol-fuelled histories, by the time the interview winds-up there’s a nagging suspicion the lads may just be two-pot screamers, after all… but, having seen them yuk it up live, we’re forced to give them the benefit of the doubt. And, with an album like See You In Hell under their belts, you get the feeling there will be a lot more shows and a lot more drinking to be had.
THE RESIGNATORS launch their thoroughly excellent new album See You In Hell – with help from The Go Set, The Ramshackle Army and Earl – at The Hi-Fi this Friday December 10. Tickets and info from thehifi.com.au and theresignators.com. See You In Hell is out now.
