The Living End: Living Large
Fresh from a tropical interlude, The Living End talk with The Note about the joys of old-school festivals, staying fresh without losing their sound and getting it oh-so-wrong with a super-fan.
Words by Timothea Moylan // Image by Cybele Malinowski
The Living End are back from a week of sun and surf in the Maldives and they’re struggling to readjust. “It was paradise,” sighs bassist Scott Owen. “Snorkelling, diving, jet skis… and then you come back to Melbourne. It’s brutal.”
The legendary punkabilly three-piece were playing a festival called ‘This is Living’ which also featured Australian rock stalwart Tex Perkins and blues musician Matt Walker. It was an intimate tropical island setting and saw The Living End in close quarters with just 120 die-hard fans. “We spent the week hanging out with them - by the pool, drinking at the bar, having dinner,” Scott says.
Drummer Andy Strachan adds that it was all a far cry from connecting with fans via social media. “It’s much more heartfelt when you can shake hands with someone and have a proper conversation. I remember joining the KISS Army when I was 12 years old, and being sent a parcel with a sticker, a badge and Dynasty on cassette. You felt like you were a part of the band. Now anyone can direct-message Lars Ulrich from Metallica. It’s so personal, yet so impersonal.”
The trio has been touring relentlessly for almost three decades, their gutsy, no-frills punk ‘n’ roll earning them a place in the hearts of loyal fans all over the world. While their sound has evolved, their raucous, anthemic brand of rockabilly still hits as hard as the self-titled 1998 release that made them a household name.
Scott cites Midnight Oil and The Clash as strong influences, noting the evolution of their sounds over time. “These bands have had amazing careers that span 40 years, but they still sound like themselves. I don’t think it’s something we try to do – it just happens. We approach every album and every song as something new, without getting off track or disappearing too far up the arsehole...”
“There’s no bullshit in the band,” Andy clarifies with a smile. “We try to keep it simple so we can just let a good song shine.”
The Living End took this approach into the making of their eighth studio album, Wunderbar, in 2018. Recorded in Germany, it’s a release that feels fresh yet true to the sound audiences know and love. “We wanted to get out of Melbourne, away from the day-to-day distractions,” Scott says of the recording process. “Berlin in winter is snowy and freezing, so there’s motivation to stay indoors, which means immersion in the work.” He adds with a grin: “We could’ve gone to the Maldives to record an album, but me and Andy would’ve surfed four times a day and I don’t think a lot of work would’ve gotten done.”
They struggle to remember the name of the town where they worked on the record with Berlin-based producer, Tobias Kuhn. “We say we were in Berlin, but we spent half the time in this quaint little river town in central Germany,” says Scott. As they rack their brains for the name, Andy remembers that the town was famous for a grim slice of history. “It’s known for being home to the first agreed case of cannibalism ever recorded. Some guy signed papers so this other dude could kill him and eat him!”
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Luckily the dark juju didn’t rub off on their experience - both band members speak fondly of working with Kuhn, their eyes lighting up as they recount his chaotic driving, lost-in-translation conversations and his “childlike” enthusiasm for music. “He knows every record that has ever been put out into the world, but he still gets excited about hearing an E chord,” Andy laughs. “It felt like he was the fourth member of the band.”
With a pre-pandemic average of 120 shows per year, The Living End continue to bring a colossal energy to their live performances - anyone who saw them at 2022’s Harvest Rock can attest to this. “That was the wettest gig ever,” Andy recalls. “Everything went wrong technically, flights were getting cancelled and our monitor guy turned up three songs from the end. But it was so much fun – we had a ball. That was a great festival, it felt like an old-school, proper festival.”
It’s impossible to raise classic festivals without mentioning Big Day Out, the stages of which The Living End graced many times. The band recalls one event in particular: they’d returned from the US after their 2003 hit ‘End of the World’ had blown up following its inclusion on the iiconic video game, Tony Hawk’s Underground 2. Come the festival, the band was delighted to see the pro skater himself standing side of stage during one of their sets.
“He’s such a massive music fan and supporter, and he’d watch all the bands,” Andy recounts. “Our manager at the time got him kicked off the stage – she just thought he was some random dude that shouldn’t be there. She was like: ‘Who the fuck are you?!’ and he was so apologetic. We had to tell her: ‘That was Tony Hawk.’ It was a bit of a red-faced moment.”
Andy likens the generational experience of discovering new music through videogames to his own connection with the soundtracks to surfing videos. “You’d hear a song alongside footage of your favourite surfer doing massive off-the-tops, and the song becomes a more exciting thing. I guess for those who played skateboarding games, ‘End of the World’ might have the same emotional connection.” And to a whole generation of 20 to 30-somethings who grew up virtually kickflipping their way to glory in their living rooms (and subsequently plastering their walls with The Living End posters), it certainly does.
The band is looking forward to playing Adelaide’s Beer & BBQ Festival on July 14, noting it as a highlight of this year’s touring schedule. While the wintery stages of the Adelaide Showgrounds might be a far cry from the swaying palms of the Maldives, we know they’ll bring the heat – and a few leaps and spins off the double bass while they’re at it.
Catch The Living End play at Beer & BBQ Fest on Friday July 14. Tickets are on sale now.
