What is your name?
Hey there! We are The Mess Around

What is your genre of music?
We play a bit of a mix of Surf Rock and Aussie Alternative.

Give us a little bio about you.
We are a Surf Rock band based in Perth Western Australia. Our members are Joel Bradbury (Vocals), Alex Ford (Drums), Chris Dyson (Guitar), Cian Moore (Bass) and Luca Bonini (Guitar). We are a music loving group of larrikins that love taking our shirts off and jumping around on stage. Our music is energetic and endeavours to bring messages of hope, friendship and self-improvement. 

What made you go into music?
For a lot of us the love of music drove us to pick up our instruments at an early age just simply to imitate the artists we found so awe inspiring. Then from there the community you find as a musician is one of the biggest motivating factors that encourages you to stick with it. Whether that’s playing in local venues, jamming with mates or recording at a studio – ultimately music becomes about the people you do it with.

Who are your influences?
Each member brings their own personal style and influences to the band, though as a group we draw influence on bands and artists such as The Chats, Skeggs, The Terrys, Spacey Jane, Ocean Alley, Jane’s Addiction, Smashing Pumpkins and Bloc Party. 

Are you signed?
We are not currently signed, but let us know if you have any connections (our instagram is @themessaroundofficial – looking at you Sony and Columbia). 

You released your new single ‘Still Broke’, tell us more about the single.
“Still Broke” is one of our more melodic tunes and draws on cascading lead lines and a classic surf rock beat to provide a song that we hope provides good vibes at your next Sunday sesh. Verses spill into choruses that then open out into a signature Mess Around bridge section before then diving back into a final outro to tie it all together. It is this dynamic flowing nature that allows the listener to feel lost inside a good time, just as you so often are when trying to wrangle the larrikins we call friends on a night out.  

What is the meaning behind the single?
“Still Broke” tells the story of a wild time out and about on a long hot Aussie summer night. Influenced by the hectic nature of the Aussie summer and arvos BBQs that turn into sunset beach seshs that turn into nights out on the town and watching the sunrise from the roof of  your mates 4×4, in this song we attempted to capture the instant nostalgia of a great time had around great people. 

What was the writing and recording process like?
As with a lot of our music “Still Broke” started from riff powerhouse, guitarist Chris Dyson. Often he’ll come into rehearsal sessions with a smattering of riffs that the boys can choose to jam on, and the boppy chord progression that sits under the song’s melodic lines was what happened to be on offer. From there our singer Joel found his way through the song’s catchy melody lines (paired with crass demo lyrics about farts and balls) whilst drummer Alex and bassist Cian locked into a groove tighter than an atomic bond. All that was left was for Luca to lay down his signature lead lines and backing vocals and the song began to really rock. As for recording, our incredibly talented drummer Alex handled the engineering and tracking as each member played their part and was able to beautifully capture the sonic landscape of the song and its beachy intentions. 

Describe the track in two words.
Good Vibes

Do you have any live shows or a tour coming up and if so let us know where we can catch you at?
Absolutely! Recently we have departed on our “Kings of the South” Tour on the back of our latest single release “Still Broke” hitting towns such as Mandurah, Margaret River and Esperance just to name a few. Being our first time playing shows outside the Perth Metro Area, we are stoked to be bringing our unique brand of surf rock as well as some killer supporting bands to local music lovers across the state’s picturesque south west. For more of our tour dates check out this link

What else can we expect in 2022?
2022 began for the us as a period of writing some of the great tunes such as “Still Broke” and “Balance” that have since been released out into the world for all to enjoy. Since then we began a period of heavy gigging which ramps up with their “Kings of the South Tour” from August to October of 2022. After that you can expect to see us writing and recording down at Oracle Studios once again working hard at what we love to do. 2023 will also hold much more time spent in the studio for us and who knows, maybe even a trip across the desert to visit their neighbour’s to the East ;).

Where do you see yourself now in 5 Years?
We see ourselves still making some killer music and enjoying our creative process. We’ll still be playing our hearts out to audiences whether that’s local, national or international we’ll be giving it our all. 

What quote or saying do you always stick by?
In a world where you can be anything; be kind. 

When you are at a gig, what are 5 things you cannot forget?
Absolute number one for any gigging musician is earplugs – gotta protect those ears! Two would be backup guitar strings and drumsticks (always broken at the worst time). Three has got to be merch, we never hit the stage without some saucy t shirts in case people wanna rep the band. Four might be a bit cliché, but a sense of gratitude to the audience for coming down to support local live music and the venue for having us on – so important. Lastly, five is our secret weapon – QR Code Cards so that anyone who wants to find us on Insta or Spotify can do so with one their phone camera and one click of a button. 

 

Do you have social media accounts so your fans can follow you?
Anyone wanting to find us can do so at on Instagram or as 
The Mess Around on Facebook, spotify, apple music and wherever you get your music! If you do, make sure you send a message letting us know if you enjoyed our latest single “Still Broke” (we love hearing from our followers!)