On the recent Tracks electric cool, surf experiment we had the pleasure of being entertained by Bondi lads Tropical Zombie. The five-piece, originally hailing from the Central Coast play catchy surf pop that makes you want to get up and dance. Tracks caught up with the boys on the eve of their East Coast tour.
From left to right, a young Jack Black, Gerard Depardieu, Bill Murray, Orlando Bloom and Seth Rogan.
Photo: Matt Macready
Tell us how you guys formed Tropical Zombie?
Rob Swords: We’re all good pals with a ton of similarities, such as enjoying good wine, nice weather and ant farms. Before we started getting vacationaly corpsed (tropical zombie), the five of us were all abroad doing stuff… heaps of STUFF. We happened to all arrive home at around about the same time at the end of 2012. Not long after we were asked to play a festival on the Central Coast and being a mixture of 2 different bands we thought it’d be fun to play a show all together and sport Hawaiian shirts and celebrate weather, vacations and ant farms (laughs) … nah not ant farms … hmmmm actually ant farms are fun, building communities and fucking with ants tiny mechanical ways. Well so that’s how we formed Mr. Tracks… and now we are going to keep playing a ton of shows when and where ever we can, travel, and melt faces with music and ants.
Your lyrics are surf related, is that where a lot of your inspiration comes from?
Alain de Carne: Yeah for sure, growing up on the beach and surfing has definitely influenced our style of music. Along with surfing some other influences are traveling, blue vain cheese, female relations, spiced rum and daytime discos.
Do you guys plan on releasing an EP in the near future?
Matt Swords: Yep. We just finished recording a 4 track EP and we will be launching it on November 15th at World Bar in Kings X. Come get tropical with us.
Tell us about the upcoming Reckless Youth video clip, I heard you guys were looking for five elderly men in there 70s. Any luck?
Alain de Carne: Yeah we need some old dudes to be future us. What are your grandparents up to next weekend? They need to look either like Bill Murray, an old Jack Black, a wrinkled Orlando Bloom, and 70 yr old version of Seth Rogan or a weathered big nosed Frenchy, what’s that guys name haha Gérard Depardieu?
Has being in a band ever helped attracting the opposite sex?
Matt Swords: Yeah I think it definitely helps give us super extra ordinary beaver power, but you have to strike fast after a gig or else the beaver powers wear off and the beaver retreats, alas we get no beaver.
How do you guys keep entertained when traveling on the road?
Alain de Carne: We have solid verbal burning sessions, usually about each other’s appearances and we talk future ant farming endeavors. Birdy plays games on his iPhone.
You’re about to kick off a tour of the East Coast, tell us what you’re most excited about?
Rob Swords: Well we’re driving a bus called the LSD Machine from Wicked Campers with a stage on top and stripper poles. But I’m mostly excited about getting an emu pie from Freddo’s, they smell like fart in pastry but taste delicious. And getting a photograph of us next to the big prawn… shit head, sweet rig…
Getting tropical at La Casa in Byron Bay during The Tracks Electric, Cool Board Experiment. Photo: Katrina Parker
Get along to one of the Tropical Zombie shows and check out their track R.A.C for free here.
Tropical Zombie Tour
Sydney Blues Festival, Windsor – October 25th
Mojo Surf Festival, Arrawarra – October 26th
Byron Bay Brewery – October 27th
World Bar, Kings X – November 15th
