Bored! is a legendary garage rock band from Geelong, Victoria, Australia that formed in 1987. Fantastic Mess Records recently reissued their third studio album, ‘Feed The Dog’.

Originally released in 1991, 30 years on, the third studio album by Australia’s punk rock band Bored! finally gets a fresh go on LP/CD/Cassette with two extra tracks!

It’s really fantastic to have you. How are you doing lately? Australia has a really long lockdown period. Have you found the isolation creatively challenging or freeing?

Russell Baricevic: Both challenging and freeing, but difficult from a hardware issue. I have children with IT needs so when something breaks it’s been very slow to get things repaired. They get to use my studio gear for their school work. So not much home studio time. Add procrastination too.

Buzz Munday: Hi Klemen of It’s Psychedelic Baby! Magazine! For me personally, the lockdown has given me a chance to catch up on a lot of things and set up my drum kit at home which I haven’t done for over 20 or more years. I am classed as an essential worker so to be honest the lockdowns didn’t affect me a great deal.

What can you tell us about growing up in Geelong? Was it boring? Were there any cool places you could hang out with?

Russell Baricevic: I grew up in Melbourne so Buzz can explain. I will add that it was a separate city back in the 70’s to even the early 2000’s. There are more commuters now so the differences don’t appear to be as great.

Buzz Munday: I’ve lived in Geelong my whole life and it was a great place to grow up. Geelong is located about 20 minutes from some of Australia’s best surf beaches so I grew up surfing. I met Dave Thomas when I was 14 years old in 1986. The music scene at the time was kind of boring, hence the name of the band, but by 1987 things were very different. There were many local bands and a few venues we could play at.

How did you first encounter records by The Stooges and the likes?

Russell Baricevic: I discovered the Stooges and the MC5 et cetera in the 70’s via Iggy’s solo material, Radio Birdman, The Saints and so on. In High School hardly anybody liked anything related to “that type of music”. The Stooges et al are influenced by all these other types of music like Blues, Soul, music from other cultures and fields. It is important to know where they got their influences from to understand where they were heading.

Buzz Munday: Well, I was introduced to The Stooges when I first met Dave. I remember Dave telling me he had bought a wah-wah pedal when he was in his early 20s. In the instructions it said to listen to Hendrix and The Stooges for examples of wah-wah being played…. And the rest is history. Haha.

Do you recall a special moment when you knew that you wanted to play music?

Russell Baricevic: Yep, I was in preps at primary school miming to the Kinks ‘All Day and All of the Night’ with a couple of other kids at the front of the class. I had a very cool teacher. She played guitar and was a brunette antipodean version of Mary Hopkin.

Buzz Munday: I can’t remember a special moment, but when I was around 12 I knew I wanted to play drums.

What were some of the early (pre-Bored!) bands you were part of? Are there any releases available?

Russell Baricevic: A few. Some of them: The Gasbabies, Macho Clowns, Unclean Spirits. There are various old releases available from the second-hand market.

Buzz Munday: Our very first gig we were called International Rescue, that didn’t last long, when it was Sister Anne, White Noise then Bored. Before Bored, we did some demos, nothing was released, until now. There is a White Noise 7-inch which came with the book, Bored – This was Geelong.

Tell us, how did you know each other and what led to the formation of Bored!?

Russell Baricevic: Let Buzz answer that as I come in after Grant and Tim.

Buzz Munday: Well, Dave and Grant lived together. I used to hang out with the little brother of one of Grant’s friends, who passed on my phone number when they were looking for a drummer. We had a jam together, and it worked!

In 1989 you recorded ‘Negative Waves’. What are some of the recollections?

Buzz Munday: What comes to mind, is that the recording sessions seemed to have really dragged on. We got the basic rhythm tracks down and then we had to save up more money, to go back and record over dubs. We were never really financial so it did take awhile.

“Our studio albums never really came close to our live sound and energy”

‘Take It Out on You’ followed a year later. How do you recall recording in the studio? Do you feel that you managed to capture the energy of your legendary live shows on the records?

Buzz Munday: For me I was not 100% happy with our recordings, our studio albums never really came close to our live sound and energy. I found recording not as fun as the gigs and wasn’t interested in the technical sides of it. In saying that ‘Take It Out on You’ is up there as one of my favourite recordings.

What clubs did you often play and what were some of the other bands that you enjoyed locally?

Russell Baricevic: The Great Britain, The Corner, The Palace, The Barwon Club, The Telegraph, The Prince of Wales to name a few. There were many great bands. Not all of them got to release material which is a loss.

Buzz Munday: The club we played at most would be The Barwon Club. We would headline local shows and support interstate bands. One Australian band that comes to mind is Tumbleweed, they would never disappoint!

What can you say about the ‘Feed The Dog’ session?

Russell Baricevic: It was fairly straightforward. Not many take on most of the songs. From memory minimum overdubs. Mainly vocals and lead. It was recorded at Phantom Toll Booth Studios in Carlton (an inner-city suburb of Melbourne). Just an 8-track Teac tape and some basic effects and outboard equipment. Very basic but had a fantastic feel. The recordings were possibly going to be demos at first. But the outcome was better than expected. It was a very enjoyable experience. Bo and Perry had a unique vibe and set up with the studio.

Buzz Munday: Our first record with Russel was ‘Feed The Dog’, and Russel can answer that. To tell you the truth I can barely remember our recording sessions.

How about ‘Junk’ and ‘Scuzz’?

Russell Baricevic: ‘Junk’ was the follow-up album to ‘Feed The Dog’. We recorded at Hot House Studio that had the legendary vintage 1974 Neve 8024 desk. Kent Steedman (The Celibate Rifles) produced the recordings from there. And backing Vox as well as a bit of guitar from memory. There were some very different sounds on this album. It also had some material with Pete Wells producing at Damien Gerard’s Studios in Sydney. He played slide on a couple of tracks one being ‘Degenerate Boy’ which he told us was a song Ian Rilen proposed for Rose Tattoo but was dropped. It went with Ian to life in X. Pete must have told Ian about it because as soon as I got back to Melbourne Ian wanted to hear it. A couple of coffees, a hug and a slap on the back later, he loved it!

‘Scuzz’ was a compilation of live recordings and demos. It was also a collection of covers we loved. Kind of a garage days type of album in parts. Morat gave 4k out of 5 in Kerrang! Happy with that. Thanks for the great review Morat!

Are you excited that your music has been reissued? What runs through your head listening to ‘Feed The Dog’ again?

Russell Baricevic: Definitely excited. Scotti Henthorn has done an amazing job with the packaging and presentation. Mickey Young did an incredible job at mastering. It knocked me over. The sound has a lot more body / force to it. It sounds better than I remembered.

Bang! Records in Basque Country has rereleased most of our material on vinyl as well as a compilation called ‘Piggy Back’. Check them out. It is very humbling to have so many people love our music to take the risk and challenge of releasing it.

Buzz Munday: Yeah it’s great that Scotty has re-released ‘Feed The Dog’, he has gone above and beyond with the presentation of the album. I love it. I am my worst critic, so I don’t really listen to our recordings a great deal. But when I do hear the songs they bring back some great memories.

What can you say about the extra tracks included in the reissue?

Russell Baricevic: I was discussing the extra tracks with Dave as to why they were left off. They amazed us. Wow! What happened? We just ran out of space. I think there are a few more lurking somewhere from various sessions. I am on the search.

I’m sure you’re full of crazy stories. What would be the most insane thing that happened to you while in a band?

Russell Baricevic: On our way in Europe and running out of fuel in the French Alps late at night. There wasn’t an abundance of 24-hour fuel stops back then. That was a long night. The other was arriving at a place in Germany that was full of garden gnomes. A little trippy.

Buzz Munday: One of the most insane memories I have is, when I was 16, on tour in Sydney. I was locked out of our hotel room in the hallway, totally naked. The drummer is always the brunt of the jokes. [Laughs]

It’s already been two years since we lost Dave Thomas.

Russell Baricevic: Dave is missed by his family and friends. It is hard to believe what has happened. He is someone who championed and supported younger bands. There was a strong egalitarian attitude towards the music industry with Dave. Something it lacks in spades. In some of the discussions we had during his illness, Dave wanted to do some more recordings and play again but his health got in the way. I am proud to have known him as a friend and colleague.

Buzz Munday: There is so much I could say about Dave. He was a perfect friend. He had such a passion for music and was always so generous in sharing what he’s discovered. It is still hard for me to think he really isn’t here.

What occupied your life after Bored!?

Russell Baricevic: I was in a band Pray TV on bass and backing vocals. We released a few albums. One was produced by Ed Kueper and another was produced by Andy McPherson. Great people to work with. I loved the music produced but it was not very popular, unfortunately. Later I was in an R&B covers trio called Barry Savage and the Little Ceasars / Barry Savage and the Mau Mau’s. That was with Pete Andrews from The Shindiggers on guitar and Duncan Talbot from the Black Popes on drums. That was the early 2010’s. That was a lot of fun. Playing pubs where the floor is the stage and having these young Irish and UK student/ working holiday types signing along. the audience and band become one at times. A lot of fun! Might have to revisit that one! I’m currently in Radio KSG (Kent Steedman Group). We have an album out soon. BANG! is releasing it overseas and Laneway Music for Australia. It has Kent Steedman (guitar), Ben Brown (vox), Vince Donato (drums) and recently Angie Jones (guitar). During the time of COVID we have managed only one live show that was with the reformation of Charlie Marshall and the Body Electric. A great night.

Buzz Munday: I’ve always been into old motorcycles and cars. That has always been a big part of my life.

Looking back, what was the highlight of your time in the band? Which songs are you most proud of? Where and when was your most memorable gig?

Russell Baricevic: The fact of being in a band that helped a lot of younger bands along the journey. Dave Thomas was very supportive of younger bands from Melbourne, Geelong and elsewhere. I can’t select a song that I am most proud of. I know this is a cliche but it is like picking your favourite child. I am proud of all of them.

There are two. The Big Day Out in 1994. Experiencing a sea of people moving in unison to our music. The other is Augsburg in Germany where we were asked for multiple encores. Maybe four at this point. We had done all the songs we knew except for ‘Sister Ray’. So we agreed to do it except for one member who said, “I don’t want to do anymore” or something along those lines. “If we do that I’ll play naked” … well we played it! The audience loved it!

Buzz Munday: Highlight for me was the 8 week tour of Europe back in 1990. ‘Little Susie’ was probably the song that had the most airplay on local radio. I really don’t have a most memorable gig, there were so many great times.

Thank you for taking your time. Last word is yours.

Russell Baricevic: Well, I’m packing up and heading to a Bored! rehearsal for a benefit show later this year. We may have to call it Bored! DC. To add we are completely thankful and blown away for the interest in this reissue. And all the others. Thank you. Stay safe and enjoy the music.

Buzz Munday: Thanks for the chat. Sorry my answers aren’t in great detail. I was really living for the moment back then. We played so many gigs, that things tend to blur together. What I take away from the whole experience of Bored! is the great friendships I have and how lucky I am to have met Dave and the guys at 14 years old.

Klemen Breznikar

Headline photo: Bored! in 1993 | Credit: Ron McPherson

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