Third Time Lucky

They're from Adelaide, they're punk, they've just released a new album called 'Deja Brew' and they want to let people know about it.

In person, Third Time Lucky's frontman Mat Duscher is chatty and affable, but on the phone, I must admit, he sometimes sounds like he doesn't even know who he's talking to or what to say to the simplest of questions, despite the fact that in real life he is a mate of mine.

I have seen the band live on numerous occasions, the last of which, after hearing him announce the millionth song that was about hating something or someone, I yelled out, "Do you hate me?", to which he retorted, "Yeah I fucking hate you," then paused and continued with a sarcasm-laden, "No I love you man."

You have to understand that as a band, Third Time Lucky put a lot of emphasis in their shows on having fun, as Duscher explains. "It's all about the fun of the live show. We want everyone at our shows to have a good time and to be involved. If you see a band where everyone is just looking at the ground and playing their instruments, there is just no connection with the audience at all, whereas we thrive on that connection."

Considering our last conversation at Third Time Lucky's show, I ask Duscher to tell me about his penchant for hating things.

"Really, I just hate everyone. I have a feeling that the other guys in the band think I've got a bit of a problem. It was actually brought up in one of our band meetings. It is often my way of actually saying that I love someone. Almost all of it is tongue-in-cheek, if everyone took what I said seriously, I'd be lucky to be alive," Duscher says with a quiet laugh.

As I've already mentioned, there's a huge emphasis on fun and interaction with the crowd at Third Time Lucky shows. So, without all of that interaction, how did the band find it while recording their new album in the comparably sterile surroundings of a studio?

"It wasn't that hard, I mean we are just so used to playing with each other. We just laid the 13 tracks down really quickly over one weekend and we did about two or three takes on each song. We were jumping around in the studio like it was a live show; we had cameras to catch the footage so we were showing off as well. But you can't break things in the studio; you get in a lot of trouble."

Of late, Duscher has been doing a lot to try and raise the profile of the punk scene in Adelaide mainly by trying to organise shows by himself wherever and whenever he can.

"It is just something that I just recently got into. The band had just taken a big break from the live scene, then when we came back I found I didn't have any connections anymore. So I thought that if I was going to start getting gigs for us, I might as well do it for myself, so I started introducing myself to all the venues and all the people in the know. It's getting easier, people are starting to get to know me so it's going as well as can be expected.

"I don't know whether it's just that I'm organising the shows, or whether there is just a lot more good bands in the scene these days. From what I have seen so far, the music constitutes some of the best shit I'm listening to at the moment."

Duscher certainly loves his on-stage banter, but how does the crowd react? Do people ever tell him to just shut up and play the song?

"No, not really,' he reflects. Then as an explanation tells me, "I think people must be scared of me or something. But heckling is something that I'd definitely encourage. I think the other band members might want to say things at times, but because I am running around and organising shows, they sort of just have to deal with it. Otherwise they probably would have kicked me out already."

Duscher and I share a laugh at the other band member's expense - knowing that that would certainly never happen.

Sam Vinall

Third Time Lucky play at the Glenelg Jetty Hotel on Sat 21 October. 'Deja Brew' is out now independently.