Unpaid Debt

"Before this album, we'd released some EPs and stuff, but that was nothing like what we went through when it came down to recording a full-length record, like, an actual album," says vocalist from New South Wales' punk-rock quartet Unpaid Debt, Joey Catanzaro. "There really is a lot of hard work involved so it can get pretty exhausting sometimes."

Following on from Unpaid Debt's hugely popular EPs 'The Sucker Punch', 'Talk To The Hand' and 'Broken Hearts And Broken Bones', the new album 'Southern Cross Bones' sees the band mix it up a little, adding a more rockabilly/ska flavour.

"We didn't want it to sound exactly the same as the rest of the stuff that the band has done over the years, there's some really ska-ish bits in there and you'll definitely be able to spot some obvious rockabilly moments too. It's just trying to have as much fun as you can in the studio while you're doing what you love. I think with this album people will definitely be able to see some of our influences, it's not just punk. The album comes out any day now but what we did was streamed one album track each week to lead up to its release, which has kept the fans of the band pretty happy."

Catanzaro adds that working with producer Lachlan Mitchell at Standing Wave Studios was an extremely satisfying experience,."The band couldn't be any more happier than we already are about the way the songs have ended up sounding. It's just awesome. We had a hell of a lot of songs written and waiting to be recorded for this album, there's still some left over, possibly for the next album. Oh yeah, there is also one kind of documentary preview and a live clip of the band playing live. It's good fun."

Despite the fact the band only got together in 2000, Unpaid Debt have played some pretty impressive support slots from One Dollar Short, The Hard-Ons and The Vandals to their own idols, The Bouncing Souls, and have established themselves as one of the hardest-touring bands in Australia.

According to Catanzaro, "The band has been a massive fan of The Bouncing Souls for ages, so when the opportunity came up the whole thing was surreal, it was like a dream come true. It's always great playing with real punk bands, none of this poser stuff you see with the haircuts and whatnot. I think there's a lot of problems with punk at the moment, but on the other hand I also think that there are some really great, genuine punk bands around as well to even it out. Unpaid Debt doesn't care about the trends, I mean, most of us don't even look like we're in a punk band or whatever. We prefer comfort," Catanzaro laughs.

With the release of their new album, the guys are also heading our way for a national tour this August, which will see them in Adelaide mid-month.

"Yeah, after being in the studio you really look forward to getting out and playing some gigs. As I said before, we streamed the songs on the Internet but the studio and a gig are two different mediums, so even though the fans will probably be quite familiar with the songs, it will still be interesting to see their reaction when we play them live. We are definitely looking forward to getting back out there."

Perth especially, according to Catanzaro, is an old favourite when it comes to touring, with the band having made many friends in Western Australia along the way.

"When I think of good times and just generally good memories, Perth tends to come up quite a lot. I mean, we have fun everywhere anyway, but it's always been especially Perth. They are a really tight-knit little community and their music scene is getting stronger and stronger, they really love their music over there so it's always good fun to head over there and play some shows. The other place is Adelaide too, there's some pretty cool people over there. But we're not thinking city-specific right now, we just want to head out on the road and start playing some gigs again. Actually, the tour kicks off on Sunday, pretty much just after the record comes out, so it's not too long to go, we'll be seeing you very soon!"

Nina Bertok

Unpaid Debt play at the Crown And Anchor Hotel on Sat 19 August. 'Southern Cross Bones' is out now through Shock.