DEADLIFT interview with singer Simon Boyles.

(Interview by Allan Reid. Photos by Jordan Compte)

Queensland's Sunshine Coast region has been an integral part of the Brisbane hardcore community for the last ten years or so, with kids making the trip south to play and attend shows in the city on a regular basis. Deadlift consists of a small handful of individuals who, over the years, have been active in the Brisbane hardcore scene in various ways and helped nourish local hardcore on many levels. Here is a quick catch up with Simon (vocals) to find out more about the band…

Who are the members of Deadlift and what roles do they play in the band?

Bubba plays drums, Matt plays guitar, Jackson plays bass and I sing.

How would you describe Deadlift to someone who has never heard of the band before?

I have often thought about how to respond to this because I have been asked what we sound like and I find it hard to explain. I'd like to think that we are sticking to the traditional sounds of hardcore that came out of the NYHC scene along with some of the Australian bands from the late 90's like Within Blood, Found My Direction, Toe To Toe and Grim Reality. I am not saying we sound like these bands but we definitely get a lot of inspiration and direction from them so I think that would at least give people some idea.

How did the band come together? What was the motivation to start Deadlift?

I remember commenting on a post Luke (Bubba's brother) posted relating to bands. I said I was desperate to sing for a band again, so Luke introduced me to Bubba. Bubba knew Matt and Matt knew Jackson.
I think the motivation for all of us is to have an escape from work and everyday life like most people in hardcore bands. The escape lasts for about 20 minutes every month or so on stage and is worth all the money spent, time used and distances travelled to make that happen. Plus the fact that we all love punk and hardcore.

What have been some highlights of the bands existence so far?

Releasing a 7inch with What Remains Records is hands down the biggest highlight. Personally I have known Allan for over 10 years and to work together after all that time has been amazing. Another highlight has been Bubba moving to the coast so we don't have to jam in Gympie every Sunday night haha. 
The local shows seem to be getting better and better each time. We have played with a few international bands which has been great but playing with the local Brisbane bands The Struggle and Restrictions among others has been a lot of fun. We played a hot rod festival and old Greasers were loving it, that was pretty cool.
The Mindsnare show is going to be a massive hightlight.

The members of Deadlift seem to have a fairly broad range of interests and influences, how does the band approach song writing, and what would you consider to be Deadlift's main influences musically and lyrically?

To give you an idea of how broad the Deadlift spectrum is, Matt rides a Fixie and Bubba rides a Harley. Matt can listen to Punch, Bubba can't. Jackson is a lad, I'm a surfer.
In saying that, when we practice and write songs the connection seems to be seamless. One week Bubba will bring a beat the next week Matt or even myself sometimes will bring a riff. We don't put boundaries on the style or genre, whatever feels good gets the nod.
Lyrically, like most, I use life experience and my perspective on certain issues to write the songs. My approach is a very positive one and stems from my beliefs, some of which are also inspired by The Way of the Samurai. It's all about self progression and courage.

Would people recognise the members of Deadlift from any previous projects?

Maybe in Brisbane haha, some of the bands we have been a part of include Pride of Place, Third Strike, Provoke, Death Grip, The War and Live Today.

What is the bands musical output to date, and where can people hear Deadlift?

We have released the Soul Rage demo and the Tried and True 7".
www.whatremainsrecords.com is the place to go for links and information.

Also we have a Facebook page and Youtube that can be found by searching Deadliftschc.

Lastly, what is in store for Deadlift in the near future?

We have a show in November with Mouthguard in Fortitude Valley and in December we are playing with Mindsnare which is also in the Valley. We have new songs and are keen to record them so that's coming up too.