“We just thought, [second album Bite Your Head Off] came out in October, but we’re getting vinyl especially for this show,” Young says keenly. “We wanted to do a bit of a show in Melbourne at the end of the tour just to say thanks to the Melbourne people who support us, because this is probably where our main fan base is. Have a bit of a party and send the year out with a bang.” King Parrot got a chance to play their new material during Bastardfest, a national tour run by mates of the band. “They’re friends of ours from years ago,” Young confirms. “We’ve all played in other bands before so we know those guys just from our previous dealings and whatnot. We were just sort of lucky enough to be asked to play. It was really cool to be on board for that, it was a really awesome tour. We got to play in front of a whole bunch of people that we probably wouldn’t have [otherwise].”
King Parrot’s drummer is especially seasoned in the scene, and Young speaks of him with clear esteem. Rizzo is a natural talent with a real fluidity to his fantastic technicality. “He’s played in Blood Duster and a whole bunch of metal bands in Melbourne over the years,” says Young. “We feel we’re really lucky to have someone with his ability. He’s got amazing feel and can adapt to pretty much any type of music that you throw at him. Ari, Squizz [and Slattz] who play guitars and bass are all really talented in their own right, in their riff-writing abilities and their songwriting abilities.”
Young doesn’t discount his own input, though. “I just do what I do, throwing vocals on top, singing about ridiculous stuff and acting like a lunatic.” The singer’s lyrics mix references to heavy incidents with waggish, ironic jokes, and they often have an Australian allusion. “I guess I’ve just always had an interest in death metal, and the Australian bands who did it as well, and the macabre, and the ridiculous sort of shit that’s gone on in Australia,” he says thoughtfully. “As a young teenager, even the Chopper books. Seeing movies like Wolf Creek and Snowtown and stuff; Snowtown just almost made me violently ill. I guess loosely referencing stuff like that goes with the territory, the music. I definitely don’t think I’m the sort of person who would go out and commit any of those crimes, but it’s fun to write about,” he says.
King Parrot are looking forward to their Melbourne show and playing with Extortion, one of Young’s favourite bands. It’s brilliant to hear how much the supports are revered; a change from the nonchalance some headliners display. “I guess we’re sort of slanted in the old school in everything we do,” the singer says simply. “And that’s probably just because we’ve been around for a while. We want to do things the right way. When you approach a band in that way it has a more genuine feel to it, and it rings true for a lot of people as well.”
BY ZOË RADAS
