Dear Seattle and STUMPS interview each other ahead of Trophy Eyes support slots

Two of our favourite rising rock groups out of Australia this year have been Dear Seattle and STUMPS, the former signing to Domestic La La (the record label brainchild of Violent Soho's James Tidswell) with their self-titled debut EP last year (and a really huge 2019 to come) and the latter rising and rising with their own debut EP, this year's Just Another Stay At Home Son. While the two bands are brilliant in their own right, there's actually quite a lot of cross-over between them too - with Dear Seattle and STUMPS sharing homes, family names and even band members at one point as they respectively climb the Australian rock ladder, something which is bound to continue as they support Trophy Eyes on their colossal album tour throughout October - deets and dates at the end of this article.

They've also just released new singles too, with STUMPS returning to their Brit-flavoured, The Strokes-esque brilliance with their first post-EP release Conversation, Conversations and Dear Seattle starting what's bound to be a mammoth year ahead with the first tease of their debut album Maybe - the full release expected sometime next year. In celebration of the new singles and their upcoming support slot for Trophy Eyes, we brought the two bands back together as they interview each other, and look, it's a bit of a wild ride. Get into it below:

STUMPS Interview Dear Seattle:

Brae, how influential was the toilet reverb in our family home for the sound DS have cultivated?

Paramount. Creating music is like creating a scene in a movie; you have to understand what parts of a set design make the scene most relatable to the audience to make it entirely believable and genuine. The Fisher family bathroom reverb is my reference point in making honest music.

It’s pretty obvious that you four are trying your utmost to land a Garnier Fructis sponsorship. Who in the Australian music scene is at the top of the “hair game”?

Personally, I think Merrick Powell, the bass player of STUMPS, has the best haircut in Australia. I don’t know who cuts his hair, but that guy is a wizard with the shears and should be knighted.

Is there a reason McCoy has stopped wearing his 'fart loading' t-shirt?

The sex appeal was too much for the fans; we had to tone it down a notch. He’s a modern-day Elvis trapped in a cage.

If Brae and Kyle didn't shave for the whole TE tour, who would have the most upsetting facial hair?

The amount would be equal, a painful “not heaps”, but Brae is 23 and Kyle is nearing 26 so let’s go with Kyle’s being more upsetting.

I often think of Merrick and Brae’s relationship like a cartoon; Rick and Morty, or Finn and Jake from Adventure time. If you could pilot an episode of the “Mez and Benny Show” what would the plot be?

Pilot S01E01: The Day My Bowl Went Psycho

Mez’s bowl cut is constantly detaching itself from his body and running off. One night, when he follows his hair, he learns that there is a plot by all of the world’s bowl cuts to take over New York City. Specifically, the bowl cuts plan to create one enormous bowl cut that will sit over the city like a dome, blocking out the sunlight completely. When in place, the bowl cuts will fill the dome with toxic gas and all humans will be rendered unconscious. While they are unconscious, the bowl cuts will seize their chance and begin attaching themselves to every human in New York, making bowl cuts the dominant and only haircut in the city. Mez, in all of his guilt and fear, tells Benny of his bowl cut’s secret plans, and they realise they have only one solution. They must fight fire with fire. So the night, while Mez’s bowl cut is out planning, he sneaks over to Benny’s house to give him the only haircut that could save humanity from such perils, the only all-rounder, the only cut that is both smart and fierce, vicious and endearing, aggressive and graceful. The almighty mullet.

To be continued…

Dear Seattle Interviews STUMPS:

Tell us the story of how Spock came to be the bass player of your band.

Firstly, I'm not sure why you are asking us this question, as you know you are solely responsible for all of Merrick's Spock-inspired haircuts. Secondly, you know my eyebrow game is severely lacking and does not stand up to the big dog himself

How does it feel to know that you lost the battle for Simmo*? (*Lachlan 'Simmo' Simpson is the guitarist in Dear Seattle)

We knew from the start that the affable enigma that is Simmo was too good for us. He, like a wholesome doggo meme, warms the soul and reminds us all that there is pure, unwavering love still left in this world.
Sometimes you have to lose the battle to win the war

In your song Matthew McConaughey, what was the daytime movie that Nan recommends? And do you have any recommendations of your own for the elderly readers?

The film was “The Lost Weekend”. A film that I could only describe as bewilderingly eye-opening to my Nan’s character and my probable genetic impulse for a midday shandy.

Kyle, in your song Piggyback you sing “the liquid beneath my feet got there ‘cos you got here”. Is this a modern retelling of the time you fell into the canal outside our house trying to get a grape skin out of your braces? Elaborate.

Wow! Really well found. I did not expect anyone to find this little Easter egg; but here we are.

When I was about 7 or so, Brae and I lived in a stereotypically suburban area of San Francisco called Foster City which was built on an enormous lagoon. So when I unfortunately got a grape skin stuck above my spacer I, dim-wittedly, tried to huck the skin out of my mouth and over the lagoon instead of using a toothpick like a rational human being. I hucked so hard that I propelled myself over the edge of the lagoon and into its algae infested depths causing yourself (Brae) to scream repeatedly: “Oh my god! Kyle’s dead”.
Dad ended up rescuing me and pulled me out like The Creature from the Black Lagoon and into the shower where he told me that I was a dickhead.

How soon after being in a band did you start wearing spray jackets? And have you ever heard of a band called DMA’s?

It was a total coincidence. In all honesty, they are brilliantly reliable, warm and resilient pieces of clothing that have made me extraordinarily confident in light showers. They are in no way, shape, or form for aesthetic purposes, only for function; I’m sure DMA’s share this notion.

Tour Dates:

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