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Music

Low Life’s Mitch Tolman Talks Lads and Gary Numan Royalties

These Sydney punks hate meatheads as much as pedantic political correctness.

Honesty, it's a virtue that everyone in the music scene claims to be 'about'. The reality is vastly different.

But honest is the only way to describe Dogging, the debut LP for Sydney punks Low Life. When Mitch Tolman sings of 'testosterone' and 'pussy and hate' on "DNA", or drinking Bacardi Breezers in his polo shirt at the greyhound track on "Down at Dogs", it comes from very real observations and experiences.

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Though the songs have been around for a while (the album was originally set for a 2012 release on Negative Guestlist before the sad passing of the label's operator Brendon Annesely), the taut and aggressive diatribes seem aimed at Sydney life in 2014. With punk rock in the Opera House and Oasis wannabes walking about Oxford St and Newtown, the wild and uncomfortable music of Low Life is an open provocation.

Noisey: The lyrics on Dogging are some of the best and most honest I've heard in a long time. The opening line "As if I've got a choice, as if I've asked for this" and later "I went out and necked a couple, came home and belted me household".

Mitch Tolman: We appreciate that people consider it honest because honesty in music is pretty much the only thing we value or respect. These songs were written over a period of a year and they definitely range in terms of content. You just write what you know. A lot of the songs delve into aspects of our lives past and present.

But there is also humour. On "Speed Ball" you use the term 'Murray Cod' which I assume is rhyming slang for 'on the nod'.

They are what they are. We love a laugh. Life is grim enough so have fun but we are definitely not into romanticizing anything. A lot of it is tongue in cheek. People should lighten up. I first heard the Murray Cod reference in Melbourne when a guy in leather chaps was piling on at a tram stop. A scarecrow looking guy came up to the guy who was 'relaxing' and whispered into his ear, "On the Murray Cod?" The guy then dropped his coke, which exploded into his face. It was amazing.

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You've added Shogun from Royal Headache on second guitar. How's he fitting in?

Really well and he brings so much energy and enthusiasm to the live format. It's proper brotherhood. He's filled out the sound and thickened it up and it frees me up. Eventually he'll be playing synth too. Shogun never has to 'fit in'. He is one of us. I've been friends with him for about six years now and Cristian and him have been friends for fifteen years.

You sing about 'lads' and I know you have some interest in UK 'casual' culture of the 80s but then you have a song "DNA" which seems to rail against the current Aussie 'lad'.

It'd be interesting exploring the criteria of what makes a lad. Obviously it would be a combination of aesthetics, slang and your current socio-economic status. We should run a four-part Low Life lecture at UNSW on 'Ladism'. Shogun could come in at the end and play all the South West Sydney meth-hop he likes. "DNA" personifies all that we hate in men and in Australian culture. It's what we grew up with and were subjected to. We detest that perspective however we also can't handle people being too PC and pedantic.

I assume 'Hammertime' is a play on words with smack and West Ham. I thought you were a Spurs fan!

I am a Spurs fan. "Hammertime" is about the I.C.F (Inner City Firm) and 'West-Ham' football hooligans. Spurs hooligans are called the 'Yid Army'. Unity, the sense of a brotherhood, loyalty, these are things I value and are interested I'm. I'm definitely not religious but football serves a similar purpose to me. I got a home-job electric toothbrush style tattoo of 'Yid Army' but the ink didn't work and it faded pretty quickly. Considering I'm not from the area, I think it was a good thing. Probably the only thing I romanticize is football hooligan stuff. I play for a team called Easts F.C, with boys from Housewives/ Ghastly Spats/ Ruined Fortune/Raw Prawn etc. We're all fans. Football means more to me than music stuff. Cristian hates football; he's more of a league guy. Shogun hates sport.

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I heard that in the past you had some problems with your cover of Gary Numan's "M.E"

We did. I never thought that we'd have to pay Gary Numan royalties. It turn's out it was only $75 but it's still pretty funny. I wonder what he thinks about it. That song has confused a lot of people. It was for B.A. [Negative Guestlist's Brendon Annesly] when he emailed about how much he loved it and how it was one of his favorite records. So naturally we did it in 2011 and it worked well. So unfortunately it ended up being a tribute to him. I just hate the fact that he never got to hear it. Anyway, at least the records done and there is a bit of closure for all of us.

'Dogging' is available now through RIP Society and Disinfect records.

Go dogging with Low Life;

June 28 in Melbourne at Boney

June 29 in Melbourne at Minimum Wage

July 11 in Sydney at Newtown Social Club

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