We caught up with These New South Whales frontman, Jamie Timony
These New South Whales just might be one of the hardest working bands in the country. And they’re having a blast while doing it…
From bursting onto the Sydney music scene back in 2017, intriguing gig goers with their unapologetic punk/rock show, draped in nipple tape and party smoke…
To 2021, with two hilarious Comedy Central TV Shows - These New South Wales Season 1 & 2 and TNSW Tonight! - featuring cameos from the likes of Jimmy Barnes, Daniel Johns, Dune Rates and Bronson from Round The Twist (what a bloody icon); A ‘uuge podcast What A Great Punk which reached Spotify’s #5 Most Listened to Music Podcast in 2020, welcoming guests like Glen Robbins (Kath & Kim), Amy Taylor (Amyl & the Sniffers), The Cure’s Roger O’Donnell, Stella Donnelly to name a few.
Not to mention a catalogue of hard-hitting punk music with more on the way, including two LPS: You Work For Us and I Just Do What God Tells Me To Do, and their latest singles: Broken System and Remote Control.
Contrary to popular belief, these guys are no joke.
With Young Henrys coming onboard as the offical sponsor of their podcast What A Great Punk, we thought we’d catch up with lead singer Jamie Timony to see what the hell is up.
So stoked to be working with you again, thanks for getting us involved in your poddy!
Yoooo! No probs, thanks for getting involved!!
What A Great Punk has nearly 100 episodes and it’s only been around for a year. You guys keep BUSY. Who’s been your favourite guest so far on the podcast?
Yes, we can hardly believe it ourselves! It’s been a wild ride. I’m not sure I could pick a single favourite—there’s been so many! It was pretty crazy having Roger O’Donnell from The Cure on for a double episode!!! We really loved our chat with Glen Robbins (Russell Coight, Kath and Kim) as well, he gave us some really sick behind the scenes insights into Kath and Kim which I loved. Other favourites were Stella Donnelly, Becky Lucas, Amy Taylor (Amyl and the Sniffers), Aaron Chen and Nats What I Reckon, to name just a few.
In the early episodes, you’ve got a pretty laid back approach to chatting to guests. I admit, I haven’t listened to all 89 episodes, so how have the episodes evolved since the beginning?
Todd and I started out with no experience podcasting or hosting really, so the whole thing has been a huge learning curve for us both. We just knew that we didn’t want it to be an interview podcast, it’s more about chatting and worming ourselves into these interesting pockets of conversation and getting an insight into our guests and the minutiae of their lives. I think we have just gotten a little better at keeping the conversation moving in entertaining directions. It’s a real challenge and something that we both really enjoy.
The two-season, Comedy Central mockumentary series is hilarious and super well received! I bet it was pretty fun to put together?
Thank you! Making our mockumentary series was probably the most fun we’ve had together as a group. There was just such a great feeling on set everyday, like anything could happen. The performances in the series are all improvised, so the most important thing was turning up in the right mood to be brave, have fun and be stupid. Then throwing guests like Jimmy Barnes and Daniel Johns in the mix for a day was just so much fun. Quite surreal.
Likewise with the TNSW Tonight, how’s this new series going down?
TNSW Tonight! kinda came out of nowhere for us, we had this idea to make a new show in a new format and it all came together quite quickly. We broadcast the episodes live to YouTube (they’re all up on YouTube now, go watch!) which was a really exciting feeling. It’s been received really well, our fans loved it.
Comedy can be a little tricky, especially if people don’t understand your humour. How have you found the music industry’s reaction to TNSW, especially seeing as they’ve been your main audience?
The response to our show has honestly been better than we could have ever imagined. When we made the first season of our mockumentary, I seriously had no idea if anybody would find it funny. The humour felt so niche and almost in-jokey, so I was really surprised and stoked at the amount of people that connected with it. We definitely discovered that you don’t have to be a music fan to relate to the characters. I love when I speak to a fan of the show and they tell me their favourite part is this tiny, obscure moment that I thought nobody would ever even notice. That rules. It just goes to show that if you find something funny, there’s guaranteed to be someone else out there who will find it funny too. With that said, a lot of people in the music industry have not been quite sure what to make of us over the years, like... ‘are they a joke band? Or are they for real?’. Well, let me answer that right now. We started as a joke band. We are not a joke band anymore, BUT... we do make comedy show, so work that out!!! It shouldn’t be super hard to get your head around, I don’t think. Those who get it, get it.
We’re currently in the middle of Sydney Comedy Festival, Young Henrys being the official beer lords! It seems like stand-up comedy is growing rapidly and is becoming as popular as watching live music now, why do you think this is?
I thought my Dad was the official beer lord?...See? Comedian... God, I don’t know, the world can be stressful! People love laughing!! There’s nothing better when you’re feeling overwhelmed than the escapism that watching some comedy offers.
Would the band ever consider a stand-up comedy show?
I think it’s safe to say at this point that we would consider anything. I’ve actually done stand up twice. Aaron Chen curated a show one night and asked me to do a little set and I gotta say I’ve never been more scared in my life. He asked me to play a character he had seen me do on another show, so in a way, I was hiding behind a character, which made it easier. But it was exhilarating. Another comedian friend, Jenna Owen (Freudian Nip) asked me to do some character stand-up in her show one night. I really loved it, so much fun. I’ve never done it just as myself though. I have a notes file in my phone for stand up gags. It’s looking pretty bare. Only joke there is: “Hey fellas, how about those toilet seats that don’t stay up when you’re trying to piss?” Needs work.
I remember seeing you live for the first time back in 2015 at an art gallery, back in the nipple tape and smoke machine era, and was completely blown away. To this day, I still don’t know if it was real or a joke...Did the music come first or the comedy?
It was real, and a joke. The band originally started as a complete piss-take. But we were having the best time performing live. I don’t think any of us anticipated how much fun it would be to perform in a band where the only objective was to confuse people. After a while though, writing bad joke music got boring for us, and we started writing music that we would want to listen to. To answer your question, the music definitely came first, but the Comedy Central series was a natural progression and it’s what put our band on the map a bit.
Amongst all the funny biz, you’ve still managed to release some incredible, hard-hitting music, including two LPs, and two recent singles Broken System and Remote Control. What’s in the pipeline for the rest of the year?
We’ve actually been working super hard the last couple of months on some new music. We are putting together our third album. There is a great creative energy amongst us at the moment and I think it’s going to be a stonker.
Where’s the first place you’ll be hitting when borders finally reopen?
Fucking ANYWHERE but Melbourne!!!!!!
YH have been fans for a while, why’d you guys leave us for Melbourne ?
It was a total accident. I came down here for a month which turned into two, and then just never went home. The rest of the boys moved down here in dribs and drabs and all of a sudden we’re a Melbourne band called These New South Whales! Perfect premise for the third season of our show, don’t you reckon?!
In all seriousness, what is the best diss you guys have ever gotten?
That’s a good question! There’s been a few ‘real punks’ over the years who have found our making light of the ‘punk’ scene quite offensive and have accused us of not being ‘real punks’. lol. Shocking allegations and completely unfounded !!!!!
Thanks so much legends, catch you soon!
Thank you! xx
The latest episode of What A Great Punk Podcast welcomes Methyl Ethyl’s Thom Stewart and is out now. Check it our below. Episodes are coming out weekly on Monday, head to Spotify to listen.
