One Big, Happy Wamily

Since its inception in 1985, WAM has held a special place in the hearts of everyone involved in the WA music scene.

It seems appropriate that this conversation is taking place over a cheeky pint at the Rosemount Hotel, one of the most prominent music venues in town. There’s a lot to celebrate and discuss with Timothy Nelson, lead man of the ever-consistent Timothy Nelson & The Infidels; Coin Banks, up and coming hip-hopper who has just released a new EP; and Bailey Lions, drummer for the gutsy ‘90s-style punk duo, Lionizer. All three have been doing fantastic things within the local music scene over the last year, and with the WAMi Awards celebrating its 20-year anniversary this year, Nelson has more reason than anyone to celebrate. His band, Timothy Nelson & The Infidels, is nominated in a whopping seven categories, including Most Popular Act, Most Popular Live Act, Best Album, Best Pop Act, Best Keys/Synth Artist, Best Male Vocalist, and band member Luke Dux is nominated for Best Guitarist.

It’s all very exciting, but Nelson has to have a laugh about it. “It’s awesome they got the genre right this time. We were best folk act last year but we haven’t played folk music in about five years. It doesn’t matter really though, it’s all just a great excuse to eat lamingtons and party. I stand to lose seven times, and in the middle of that, I have to play [on the night]. There’s a large spectrum of absolute failure on the cards… There’s Part One, where I lose, then there’s the middle, where you get to throw tomatoes and pies at the band, and then there’s more losing. It’s cool to be nominated for them; they definitely make you more popular.”

“Are we going to get a massive, angry set out of you [if you lose]?” Banks jokes. “No offence, but it’d be cool to see Mathas win best male vocalist.”

“Fucking oath, it will be!” Nelson exclaims. “He totally deserves it. He must be the first MC to be up for it too.”

Banks himself has had a huge year – having formerly been part of The Stoops, he’s began carving his own career and is on the verge of releasing his second EP, Tails. He’s nominated for three awards, including Most Popular New Act, 2014 Breakthrough Artist, and Best Urban Act. “It’s my first time nominated for a WAM thing,” Banks says animatedly. “I wasn’t expecting it at all, I just started getting these emails through and yeah, it’s crazy. I’m also playing Block Party [as part of the Saturday Spectacular], so yeah, should be good!”

"It’s all just a great excuse to eat lamingtons and party."

While Lions isn’t a WAM Award nominee, she’ll be an integral part of the WAM weekend, playing with Lionizer and joining the panel at the WAM Music Conference. While she recognises it’s crazy to be speaking alongside some hugely notorious industry figures on a national and international level, she’s looking forward to bringing some important points across when she discusses gender in music.

“The topic is quite large, but I’m really keen, it’ll be exciting to stand up in front of as many people that attend WAM and talk for 15 minutes or so.” Lions explains. “Up until about two hours ago I only knew I was talking about gender in music, but I really want to talk about how I really hate the term ‘female-fronted’, and that was where I was going to go with it, but I don’t know if it’s going to be my angle yet. Talking to industry people about industry tags isn’t really a smart play, especially considering no one really knows who the fuck I am,” she chuckles. “But yeah, it happens a lot, being in Lionizer and being two girls, we always get stuff like ‘chick-punk’ or being a ‘female-fronted ‘90s punk band’ – the last review we got was, ‘They sound just like all those other ‘90s bands with female vocalists’ and it’s like, I’m sorry, what does a vagina sound like exactly? That’s what you’re saying when you say ‘female-fronted band’. You’re saying, that person sounds like they have a vagina.

"It’s bullshit, it’s not a genre. There’s no such thing as a ‘male-fronted punk band’; there’s no ‘male punk’, it’s just ‘punk’. I have a lot of opinions, and I’m not afraid to stand by them. It’s problematic not because it exists, but because it is considered the standard. If someone in the band is a female, they’re considered token-esque, or a songstress; there’s all these gendered terms because being a woman in a band is actually kind of different still, so when people are talking about it, they want to use terms that bring up that difference, but in doing that it’s othering and distancing, and you get people like, ‘Hey, I don’t usually like girls that sing, but you sound really nice’, and it’s like, seriously?”

Everyone nods in agreement, and while we can enjoy the awards night and weekend performances, the fact that WAM provides the opportunities to discuss these sorts of issues is all part of what makes the event so important, especially considering the isolation of our city, which also makes its way into the discussion. While it’s detrimental in a lot of respects, it definitely has its perks.

“WAM is extremely integral,” Nelson volunteers. “It’s the biggest part of everything going on here. People slag Perth off all the time, but Perth takes for granted how overly supportive its own scene is of itself. You go over east and these sorts of things don’t exist. There’s no WAM over there.”

“I went to Bigsound [in Brisbane] last year and WAM was a big part of it,” says Banks. “Everyone knew about it, whereas there’s nothing like that in their own state.”

“Maybe it’s something to do with the isolation and small population here, but WAM feels like a family, and when you’re in a band for long enough, you feel part of it.” Nelson continues. “You need to be encouraging everyone in order to nurture their talent. I think mediocrity does get encouraged [at times], but better that and having a band come up and out due to encouragement. I’ve played some shocking gigs over the years, but no one told me about it, so I didn’t quit.” He laughs.

“It’s a great way to keep standards up too,” Lions offers. “The level of isolation Perth has, WAM is the go-to spot to learn and get beyond that level of just being a band that plays for tips down at the pub."

"The people who make the music for all the wrong reasons don’t go very far because there isn’t enough to support that journey."

It’s a fair point to make – WA’s had a fantastic run over the last few years in regard to national and international success, and as a city, Perth is becoming noticed around the world for some of the bands it has produced who are making an impact on other continents. It’s a great thing, but it doesn’t mean it makes it any easier to break out. Rather than stew on that thought, Nelson finds it to be a positive thing, and believes it’s a big influence in why the quality of music in Perth is so high. “If there was a chance that anyone from a major label was going to walk into your gig and sign you, you might have that on your mind when you’re making music, but you know it’s probably never going to happen, so you make music for all the right reasons. The people who make the music for all the wrong reasons don’t go very far because there isn’t enough to support that journey. People just want to get on board with what’s good, and that’s how you’ll do well here.”

And that, ultimately, is where WAM comes into play. “It’s just a constant, ongoing pat on the back for everyone,” Nelson says with the hint of a chuckle. “It’s such a big player in how self-congratulatory Perth is, and that’s good, because it encourages people, and the more we can big people up and encourage them to make more music, the better.”