Interview: Screamfeeder (AUS) - Aotearoa Tour 2025

Heroes of Brisbane Meanjin's indie-rock community from 1991 'til infinity, Screamfeeder are finally back in Aotearoa next month for their first local gigs in a whopping twenty years. With a career-spanning new double album of demos DEMOLITION just launched on vinyl LP via the band's site (out digitally next month), veteran bandmates Tim Steward, Kellie Lloyd, Darek Mudge and recent recruit on drums Phil Usher have headline dates lined up for Ōtepoti, Ōhinehou, Tāmaki Makaurau and Te Whanganui-a-Tara — joined by top tier supports Swallow The Rat, Groopchat, Imperial April, HOIHOI, Francisca Griffin & Ro Rushton-Green, Ivy, Dateline, and By a Damn Sight.

Their story retold in director Jacob Schoitz's 2024 documentary The Ending Goes Forever, Tim Steward generously spared time to reflect on Screamfeeder's previous visits to NZ, their nineties reign at The Big Day Out festival, the art / life dynamic that keeps the group's creativity sparking, peers in Aussie alt-rock and more. Read onwards and give Screamfeeder a warm welcome back this summer...

Screamfeeder

Wednesday 5th February - The Crown Hotel, Ōtepoti / Dunedin with Francisca Griffin & Ro Rushton-Green, Ivy*
Thursday 6th February - Wunderbar, Ōhinehou / Lyttelton with Imperial April, HOIHOI*
Friday 7th February - Whammy Bar, Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland with Swallow The Rat, Groopchat*
Saturday 8th February - Meow, Te Whanganui-a-Tara / Wellington with Dateline, By a Damn Sight

*Tickets on sale HERE via UTR

Chris Cudby: Twenty years between visits to New Zealand is ages! Do you have any standout memories of when you played here last?

Tim Steward: We loved being there and seeing the country. The most standout memory however is arriving in Christchurch to play our gig, and turning up at the venue to soundcheck only to find we’d been double booked and there was already a hip hop group setting up to play. So we had no choice but to return to our salubrious accommodation. A little later we decided to go and search for some dinner, and we stumbled across a suburban chippy where we bought a $12 “Family Pack”. All four of us ate until we couldn’t eat any more, and there was still half the food left. It was insane, the “pack” was the size of a dustbin lid. We didn’t really understand, but comatosed by food, and too full to even have a beer we opted for a very early night. Weird times. I hope that chippy is still there!

Classic question, but I must ask — what has kept Screamfeeder bound together as a group for over three decades, still writing & releasing new music and touring?

I guess we just never really put too much pressure on ourselves. We keep it fun, we stay friends, we have enough shared history to always be able to rely on each other — and make each other laugh. We do take the band very seriously and it really has become our life, Kellie and I especially. What else would we possibly do with ourselves? More and more as time goes on we feel that the combination of personalities is as important as the music, both for ourselves and even sections of our audience. We validate each other, we give each other a reason to be. And at the end of the day we just really like the band, the songs, rocking out on stage and everything that goes with it.

What was the impetus for your latest album Five Rooms? Do you have any new recordings in the works currently?

It had been 4-5 years between albums already so we felt we needed to get back to work. We like recording, and the subsequent touring that always happens, and we needed to assert that “we’re still here!” It was our most disjointed collection of songs as far as writing went however, what with Covid, general life busy-ness and general life. It was still fun putting it together, despite feeling like total amateurs, or kids making their first record most of the time.

As for new recordings, no — not at the moment, but it’s on the horizon for sure, it’s time to turn on the tap again.

Screamfeeder were regulars at The Big Day Out festival in Australia — which funnily enough is experiencing a bit of a surge of nostalgia in NZ right now, with BDO-themed club nights. What was the live music culture like during the nineties? Do you reckon audiences were rowdier at concerts / festivals back then, or is that idea a bit of a myth?

Oh it was definitely looser — a younger crowd, less rigid security, more drugs. Also the general vibe and feel across society was looser and that you could “get away with” more, which we all did. The whole first half of the '90s especially was so wrapped up in the grunge and indie rock waves which were coming in thick and fast, it really felt like a movement. With no social media you were really forced to go and get your entertainment and have your fun in the real world, and going to festivals and gigs was something people were hugely passionate about. It was like a religion. You were part of the experience, not just a passive observer like you find yourself being so much now. So yes the live music culture was bigger and more energised, very exciting, thrilling, unpredictable — all the things it should be.

What are some personal high points for you from Screamfeeder's journey together so far?

There are too many really to recount, but as well as the obvious things like playing Big Day Out, or supporting some of our heroes and musical idols, there are the more nuanced moments you experience in band life; traveling together and sharing a joke which you’ve been trotting out for 15 years already, seeing friendly faces in the crowd and they’re singing the right words while you’re singing the wrong ones, meeting young people who are totally into your entire catalogue, finishing a new song and knowing it’s just right. So many moments.

Phil Usher is by far the most recent recruit to your band, which must be a bit like inducting a new family member. Did you have Phil specifically in mind, or did you go through an audition process to find the best fit for Screamfeeder?

Much as we might have entertained ideas about trying out different people or holding actual auditions, it was always going to be Phil. Finding someone who gets the songs, can play them with flair, can turn up and band practice week after week with a smile on their face, always be available to play and travel, and be a nice human being, is like finding a needle in a haystack.

Any Australian groups you consider to be your peers / fellow travellers during the past 30 plus years?

Basically all of them from the '90s. You Am I, Regurgitator, Jebediah, Magic Dirt, Grinspoon, Frenzal Rhomb, Mark of Cain, Spiderbait, the list goes on. We’re all still out there doing it, or back, doing it. Every single person appreciates how lucky we are to be able to do so, and to still be a part of that big sprawling loose community of oddballs and misfits. We all cross paths pretty often. It’s a real nice feeling.

What can Aotearoa fans look forward to at your shows here next month (great local supports btw)?

Our band has a pretty weird set of songs, some are fast and punky, some are slow and sprawling. Most are poppy or have poppy elements to them, beneath the noise. We’re kinda chaotic, there will be mistakes and looseness. There will be jokes and dumb banter. But hopefully with all that comes a night of loud, joyful, spontaneous, exciting and celebratory rock ‘n’ roll. We have fun, we hope it’s infectious. We can’t wait to play Aotearoa again!