Hi Stza, thanks for your time, I know you are busy while touring.

For the younger readers of this website, can you give a bit of an introduction to who Leftöver Crack is and what you are all about?

We are 5-6 people from New York & California. We started in a squat in NYC & we are all about ending slavery & holding the proponents of this system accountable for their devaluation of humanity.

 Where have you toured so far this year and where have you enjoyed the most from this tour and why?

 We’ve toured the south east-the southwest & the west coast of the U.S. We’ve probably enjoyed southern California the most because of the nice weather during our cold winter here.

Your last toured Australia in 2009 since then you’ve released Yyour new album ‘Constructs of the State’ so in regards to your set list what era’s did we hear?

You heard songs from all three LOC full length albums & a few CV songs. Everything else like our splits will be ignored.

As you’ve been touring lately have you developed any pet hates or passions about constantly being on tour and if so what are they?

 I’ve learned to enjoy touring a lot. I always try to eat healthy & exercise. My only pet peeve is that I can’t hang out & talk to a lot of people every night because I tend to lose my voice doing that, but, if the weather’s warm, I can bend that rule a bit.

You’ve just released your new album ‘Constructs of the State’ which has taken a more metal path, what would you say has influenced this heavier sound?

 Every record I’ve done has as much “metal” as the new record. We just don’t usually place it as the 5th track… It’s usually the last song or towards the end of the records.

Your last tour of Australia was in 2009 what would you say was the most memorable show from that tour and why so?

 Melbourne was a really good show that stands out from that tour. A good crowd & a good response. That tour was an odd one. I had never been so far from where I was from before really. Not as an adult I suppose.

Any message for our readers about your shows?

 We put on our most complex show to date with a mix of all of our records & I played keyboards on some of these songs that really sound great with extra strings & organs & such. The songs should sound closer to the records than ever before. I don’t know. It’s pretty far for us to travel, so, it was great that people made the effort to come out as we don’t come around often.

Thanks heaps for your time,

Cheers, Kit

Kit’s Review of the Melbourne show.

Easter Sunday is traditionally a day of reflection and humbleness but this year it was a day of celebration and rejoice for Leftover Crack fans as they played their first Melbourne show of the 2016 Australian tour at the Bendigo Hotel in Collingwood. From the nooks and crannies of Melbourne the fans emerged. Easily recognised by their patched battle vest’s piercings and tattoo’s they all seemed truly callused by the punk scene and so this concert truly felt like a journey home for many. The energy walking towards the venue seemed like an extended family meeting up again after years of separation, the constant “dude! I haven’t seen you in forever would be constant up until the music started being played. For those who haven’t been to the Bendigo hotel before the venue is truly a haven for metal heads, punk rockers and classic rock alike. The pool table centring the main room asking for a pub brawl to begin around it, motor head blaring from the speakers and long hair as far as the eye could see. In the corner of the pub, next to the bar the loud thumping of more speakers could be heard like the energy was trying to break through the doors. As we were let into this dark room of excitement the punks began to divide from the rest. Mohawks became more frequent and I discovered a new addition to the punk style that I didn’t realise existed, let alone was a large factor at punk gigs. The dread mullet. The dread mullet is formed when a (mildly insane) person shaves all of their head except for a patch at the back, usual about 15cm high and 10cm wide at the lower back centre of their head and dread it.

The support acts includes Shock Rock Thrash, Jerkbeast, Indi Reggae Ska Punk Jammers Phat Meegz, and crust punk trio Wet Pensioner. Wet Pensioner was possibly the most interesting stet of the night with the front man sporting a police outfit, the bassist dressed as a surgeon, going by the name “Dr Caveman” (also wielding the mind bending dread mullet) and the drummer looking strangely similar to Kyle Sandilands but dressed in a fake afro and aviator (I can only assume this was meant to be a 70’s disco star outfit). What I first thought was fake bullets in the lead singers belt was then revealed to the crowd as a belt full of Nangs (for those who do not know what this is, its nitrous oxide or happy gas that has become a new age party drug). This was explained to the crowd when a front row member was asked to come on stage for some “future air”. The fan then stumbled around the stage for the song and then eventually decided to join the band in singing which became funnier as we started to realise he’d probably never heard the band before so he just began yelling noise into the empty mic. Eventually he decided to leave the stage at which point Officer Nang declared “anyone can have some but you have to do it on stage”. This proceeded in various people coming on stage and nanging away. Along with this crazy adventure the actual content of the songs brought to us very touching stories. There was a song about when your craving chicken nuggets but it’s too early in the morning and you can only get the breakfast menu, another song was simply about smoking meth and my personal favourite was a Ballard about the 1997 film faceoff. Once this set had finished the crowd stood around somewhat dazed and confused after the glorious train wreck that was Wet Pensioner.

After a while the crowd began to sense the arrival of the headline, what was once patchy was now filling and by the time the sound check had concluded the band was almost a quarter of the way through they’re first song of they’re set. The crowd was roaring, the pit was bouncing and the people were truly soaking in what they had paid for chanting every song almost loader than Stza (the front man of the group). Another interesting aspect of the concert was they the stage was at knee height and so whenever the crowd pushed forward the front row would end up bowing over the floor speakers and hoping that the crowd would pick up and step back. The benefit of this low key venue was the closeness that the crowd got to share with the New York 6 piece, a closeness that some may say was abused by the punk crowd. On numerous occasions Stza would try to either tell an anecdote or explain something and a member of the crowd would silence him with such classic catch phrases as “SHUT THE F*** UP AND PLAY THE MUSIC”, “PLAY A F***ING BALLARD”, or another favourite moment of the night “SHOW US YOUR D***!”. Along with the set list comprising of songs off all of the bands albums the set also flared with a very ska punk cover of Men At Works “Land Down Under”.

When the fill in bassist confessed he couldn’t play choking victims “500 Channels” the crowd became extremely aggressive but as per usual the angst was released in the pit at the next song. Another highlight song for the night was a quick happy birthday to Jesus (which as per usual the crowd screamed “IT’S NOT HIS BIRTHDAY!! And “F*** JESUS”) but brought joy to the Satanist portion of the crowd. In conclusion the concert brought great joy to all the fans and those who wanted could go to the next day’s all age show.

Interview and Review by Kit Lindsey