I’ll be the first to admit I might have gone a little cuckoo over the past year in regards to the bands coming out of Australia as of late. I’ve lugged parcel after parcel of Aussie discs into the house trying to piece together some unfathomable puzzle I don’t have the brain power to figure out in the first place. But all those nights of listening and drinking weren’t a total waste. Somewhere in there I heard the excellent debut 45 by Melbourne’s Bitch Prefect.

The few things I’ve read about this trio on the interwebs seems to mention comparisons to the early roster of the Flying Nun label a lot, and yeah… I can hear that. But perhaps due to my age or my affection for limeys wearing funny hats, they remind me of the more drugged-out and not-so-twee bands that were on Sarah Records in the late 80s, like the Golden Dawn or 14 Iced Bears. But hey, that could just be me. Nonetheless, the single has been a perfect fit around here the past few months, so I got in touch with Bitch Prefect guitarist Scott O’Hara to see what makes ‘em tick.

VICE: I guess just give me the basics on how the band formed.
Scott O’Hara (guitar): OK, well Liam (guitar) and Pat (drums) knew each other from school and had this amazing share house in Adelaide, the town where we all grew up. Sooner or later, a room opened up and I moved in. Next thing you know, every one is drunk and there’s an eight-track and some music gear and we’re a band.

Prior to Bitch Prefect, Pat and Liam played in this group called Weevils, which was amazing. Pat was out in front of that one instead of behind the drums. He’s an amazing frontman. We still do a song where he comes out front whenever there is a drummer in the audience who we can convince to play a song with us. Pat also has a rap outfit with Liam called Silly Joel and the Candy Men. For a few skinny white crackers, those boys sure can rap. They’re all over the internet.

You guys come from Melbourne, right?
Well Liam and I live in Melbourne now, but we come from Adelaide, which is where Pat still lives. But I’ve been playing in Melbourne-based bands for years and years. Melbourne is amazing for music. So many good venues, good bands, and you don’t have to be too lucky to get good audiences as well. But the main part of that is the good bands. Dudes like Panel of Judges, Beaches, Boomgates, Twerps, Love of Diagrams, Full Ugly, and Lower Plenty. These guys are all just around playing music and it rules. There’s heaps more good bands too, but I figured that was enough name-checking.

With Pat still in Adelaide, is it tough to play out?
We only play out a limited amount—it probably works out to around once a month or so if you include little interstate tours. The limited amount we play is due to us not all living in the same city and someone having to catch a plane every time we want to play a show. But we make it work all the same.

Were you guys ever into hardcore?
I get confused about what the difference between hardcore and punk is, which probably means that I wasn’t that properly into hardcore, but I sure have put in a lot of hours listening to the Germs and Harry Pussy. Are either of those guys hardcore?

Well, what about the Cro-Mags? Do you listen to the Cro-Mags?
I hate to sound ignorant, but the “Cro-Mags” doesn’t mean that much to me at all. I’m going to Google them when I’m done here.

The Cro-Mags don’t mean that much to you? Jeez… I’ll try to salvage this interview somehow, I guess. How did the band name come about?
Just some silly guys with a silly band name. I heard once that someone thought it was some sort of ironic word play based on the term “pitch perfect.” I like that idea, but honestly, we weren’t that inventive. I hate naming bands, I stink at it. Except this one band I played in named The Labia Coats. We only played a few shows, but I thought that name was pretty clever when I was young.

What do you think of all the attention the recent Aussie music scene in getting in America?
I don’t really know much about that, but due to things like this interview, I’m aware that at least a few people on the other side of the world are paying attention to what’s happening here. It’s very flattering. I don’t know what to attribute it to, maybe the internet making it easier for people to find music that doesn’t necessarily have a big label behind it or a band that doesn’t have much money. Fancy labels and having money doesn’t always reflect writing good songs. And now people can write and record songs and make a film clip and put that stuff on the internet pretty much for free. If it’s a good song people will find it, just so long as they have access to the internet. It’s a nice system.

Yes, I would say without the internet the genius of someone like Bangs would have gone unnoticed. So what spurred you to start playing music?
I started playing guitar when I was 19 or 20 and it just came about from a total obsession with music. Bands I was listening to, like Galaxy 500, made real simple songs that sounded amazing, and it made me think that maybe I could play guitar too. When I would listen to other types of music, especially during the 80s when I was growing up, playing music seemed impossible. The only music I had any access to seemed to be made by freakish musical geniuses, but once I realized that you don’t have to play guitar like Slash to have fun making music, it was on. Then you start listening to the Meat Puppets and you figure, “Well, maybe I could sing as well.”

I guess I’m trying to say that I started playing music to have fun. I loved these great bands that made me feel like maybe I could do it myself, and that was encouragement enough for me to start playing. But let’s face it, I just wanted to impress girls. I don’t think I’ve done that, but it turns out that playing music is heaps of fun.

I think Liam has been playing music since he was young. I haven’t ever really asked, but I’d assume so. It comes so naturally for him that I figure it’s one of those things that he’s been doing since he was real little. I think Pat played bass in school. I might be making that up, but then again, maybe I’m not. I don’t know what would’ve made them want to start playing music. Probably girls too.

Do you know much about birds? I love birds and am a keen observer of the things they like to do. Most of the interesting stuff is what birds do instinctively during the breeding season. Some of them build really elaborate nests and bring great gifts (these are the equivalent of rich guys), some perform spectacular physical displays (these are the equivalent of guys who spend all their time dancing at clubs), some just beat the crap out of any competition (the equivalent of jocks), and some just try to sing songs. I don’t see why humans would make music for any higher purpose than birds do.

Uh… sure. So what are some current American bands you like and would like to play with?
I’m a bit behind the times with current music. I really like this band called the Box Elders, their songs are real poppy and seem like a lot of fun. I also like a lot of the stuff Siltbreeze was putting out a few years ago, bands like Times New Viking. I don’t know how simple those songs are, but they sound like good, straight-up pop tracks that are scuzzy as fuck.

So I hear there’s a whole Bitch Prefect LP recorded and raring to go.
Oh yeah, we just recorded a new album with Jack Farley. He’s recorded some amazing bands recently, some of whom I’ve mentioned before, like Beaches, Boom Gates, and Twerps, and he also did the Zond record. Do you know Zond?

Oh yeah! That record’s awesome. It sounds like waves of wet cement hitting you.
Yeah that record’s great! But in terms of seeing them live, you haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen Zond. When they’re nailing it and it’s all coming together, it’s a total spectacle. Sometimes I think it’s really hard for the energy of a band like Zond to be caught on a recording, but Jack did a really good job. They worked hard on that album and it shows. Those guys are total pros.

How did you get the seven-inch released on R.I.P. Society?
That came about from boozy chats and good times. Nic’s (R.I.P. Society proprietor) band, the Bed Wettin’ Bad Boys, played a show with us early last year, and Nic mentioned that he’d like to put out a seven-inch for us. We were very pleased with this. It was really that simple. I’d met Nic a few times before that, and if you’ve ever met him, you’d know he’s real easygoing and a pretty good guy.

Is the LP going to come out on R.I.P Society, too?
At this point, it looks like the album is going to be put out on a label called Bedroom Suck. They’re based in Brisbane, and through a series of interstate shows we’ve become really good friends with those guys. Their label is really solid, too, with a bunch of great releases including the Kitchens Floor EP. I’d be very excited to be on that label, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this all happens.

So if you’re going to be on Bedroom Suck, that means you’re going to be labelmates with Slug Guts. Got any good stories about taking drugs with those guys?
Those guys! They sure have a reputation, don’t they? I’m not sure I’m the best candidate to answer questions about them and drugs. I have some good stories about some good times with most of those guys, but nothing drug-related. One story involves the cops and a rottweiler, but I’ll save that for another time.

TONY RETTMAN

Here’s a sneak listen to a track from Bitch Prefect’s upcoming LP.

Score a copy of Bitch Prefect’s debut 45 stateside here.