Quick Fix – noun; an easy remedy or solution, especially a temporary one which fails to address underlying problems.
Sydney’s newest hardcore act Quick Fix’s first demo is a strong display of fierce, optimistic power. The 4-piece addresses personal and political matters like feminism, discrimination and land rights through fast & angry minute-long tracks.
Made up of members of Death Bells, Berzerker Boyz, Controlled, Ill Brigade and countless other Sydney HC groups; Quick Fix’s music could be compared not only to Boston hardcore from the past and present (à la Exit Order) but to ‘Equalizing Distort’ era Gauze, only mixing these influences with the heavily chorus-affected punk that Sydney has become known for in contemporaries like Oily Boys, Low Life & Nervous Habit. This, however, is more traditional hardcore; short, simple and overtly political. Read our interview with singer Brooke about their new awesome 5-track demo.
CVLT: How do you all know each other? Why did you start Quick Fix?
Brooke: I’ve known Coyle for a really long time through hardcore and when my partner moved down from the Sunshine Coast, he moved in with Coyle. Coyle started jamming with Matt and they played together in Society’s Chain with Aron. Essentially, we all met/got tight through hardcore. Matt and Coyle had been playing around with some shit they had written and I think they started talking about getting someone to sing on a Facebook status and I jokingly volunteered to do it, half expecting to be shot down like numerous times before but I only got encouragement. I then had a little think about it and said fuck it, now or never. I’ve imagined myself singing in a band since I started going to shows and this was the first time anyone was actually keen to make music with me, the bonus is that it was my boyfriend and a good friend so I felt supported right off the bat. We got to thinking about who we knew that played bass and that we also vibed with, so we asked Aron to do this thing with us. Then we fucked around for a couple of months throwing around band name ideas before settling on Quick Fix.
Why? Because Coyle can’t ever sit still and why would you want to stop that creative flow?! Matt was itching to keep making music. Aron likes playing music and hanging with mates and I needed to try it to see if I could and to get some shit off my chest and to stick it to the motherfucking boy’s club!
CVLT: On the subject of punk being a bit of boys club… how does the environment and political climate in Sydney/Australia/the world affect what you do and the songs that you write?
B: Anyone that’s got any kind of social awareness will realise just how bad the political environment is and has been for a long fucking while. I tend to avoid watching the news and reading the paper because it’s inaccurate, biased, fear mongering, blown out of proportion or just fucking depressing but all the major stuff tends to find its way to social media so it’s often hard to escape. I’ve been channelling the stuff that makes me particularly angry or sad into my writing because I feel like if I’m angry about it then chances are, I’m not the only one and maybe it will be cathartic and maybe it will create awareness or discussion. Either way, I feel this opportunity I have and this privilege that I bestow is best used to talk about real shit and not about the recycled old garbage that millions of boys have already sung about for years and years before me.
CVLT: Is punk still relevant? What do you think about this idea that punk/hardcore can be so many different things?
B: Punk will never not be relevant. It’s still a place of rebellion for a bunch of weird kids that didn’t get mainstream society, a place we feel we fit into better than anywhere else. It’s still an outlet for frustration and a welcome place for creativity and inclusion (room to improve, always, but we’re getting there). Punk is what you make of it and it’s definitely something that’s been ingrained in each of us for a long time and will be for a long time to come.
Like I mentioned above, punk is what you make of it or what you take from it and I don’t think it’s fair to write people off who don’t seem to be your typical ‘punk’. I think you can take the energy and the ethos and let it inspire or shape you and the music you make and I think that’s a really cool thing. Elitism fucking sucks and punk is for everyone. If punk can inspire musicians and people from all works of life then I think that’s something to be pretty proud of. However, if musicians are fetishising punk culture because it’s cool and not for genuine reasons then they can stay in their fucking lane.
CVLT: How much of an influence does the history of Australian DIY music play a part in your lives and in the bands that you play in?
B: DIY music has been a huge part of all of our lives, probably for as long as any of us can remember. There has always been a strong attraction to the genre and particularly for cut/paste zines for me, I tried my hand at a bunch when I was younger and enjoyed reading and collecting stacks from around Australia as a kid. My Mum begged me to throw them all out on more than one occasion and although I hadn’t read them in years, I couldn’t part with such an important part of Australian DIY history. It’s a huge influence on Quick Fix as we’re doing everything on the lowest budget possible to try and capture a raw and unpolished sound and also to help out mates and have them help us out. I think our tape art/layout is an MS Paint special and we’re pretty keen to have as much involvement in the recording process as possible. It’s fun and it means we get to do shit our way!
CVLT: Why are DIY punk and hardcore communities important?
B: I can only answer this from a personal perspective and I will say that the DIY/punk community is important because it brings people together and gives them a sense of belonging which is incredibly important for humans, period. But more than that, it also creates a space for really important things to come from.. like pushing for inclusivity and equality in punk and beyond, it brings us together to address important social issues and to share our creative work with people, it allows us to write powerful and inspiring music and make lifelong friends and help people and be helped by people and to stand against the bullshit that society throws at us.
CVLT: Tell me about the song ‘Island Of Shame’?
B: I wrote the song about Manus Island and Nauru prior to them being shut down because I felt very strongly about how despicable our treatment of refugees and asylum seekers was and I was so furious with our government because these people that had already endured so much trauma, tragedy and loss. It was a call out for the atrocities we were committing and a call to take responsibility for something we should never have gotten away with. I definitely stole the song title from Lagwagon. Trashed was one of the first records I owned, and the title just seemed to fit so well (sadly).
CVLT: What does hardcore in 2018 sound like/mean to you?
B: Punk in 2018 = inclusion, intersectionality and individuality. There is some cool shit coming out and it’s exciting because sound is going new places and there is more and more diversity. Inclusivity and diversity is necessary and we need to keep making space for First Nations people, people of colour, transgender, non-binary or gender diverse, queer, womxn with disabilities and womxn within this space.
Hardcore in 2018 = Hardcore sounds like jaded old dudes and kids that think they’re boss. It needs to outgrow the toxic masculinity that’s plagued it for years and realise that ‘being hard’ isn’t about violence.
Physical copies of the demo are available now and limited to 50 hand-numbered cassette tapes via Australian DIY label Urge Records. Copies are available from their Bandcamp, website or in-store location. Otherwise stream it below.
