Interview: Kitchen's Floor

Brisbane outfit Kitchen's Floor will serving up their unique brand of downer punk at Kings Arms Sports Bar tomorrow evening as they launch into a 14-date New Zealand tour, which will see many stops supported by our own purveyors of bleakness, Girls Pissing On Girls Pissing.

The lengthy excursion will be the first time Kitchen's Floor has ever played on our fair shores in their 10 year history, and comes on the heels of the their brilliantly bitter third album Battle Of Brisbane which was released late last year via American label HoZac. In anticipation of their trip Michael McClelland spoke to frontman Matt Kennedy about the Brisbane scene, nicknames and The Simpsons...

MM: At which point, and how, did listeners from outside Brisbane begin getting interested in Kitchen's Floor?

MK: Kitchen's Floor has never been that big in Brisbane to be honest, it's always elsewhere that people seem most interested in what we're doing. I think of Kitchen's Floor as an export-quality band. We've toured a lot over the years which is the best way to make the world aware of you. I've always wanted overseas labels to release our albums so Siltbreeze and HoZac have released our stuff in the USA, Bruit Direct Disques have released us in Europe etc. Our lack of money limits what we can do but the band is still very much independent and I'd like to think that we've worked hard for the little interest we do get.

The phrase "Loneliness Is A Dirty Mattress" sums up a very specific bummer very accurately, and I reckon a bunch of NZ bands at the moment are on this wave too, perhaps psychically. (And you're playing with many of them!) Anyway, does Brisbane inform that sense of bleakness?

I spent many years sleeping on the same dumb mattress in the same dumb room in the same dumb sharehouse so that album and most else of Kitchen's Floor is my attempt to make an honest soundtrack of my immediate surroundings. Brisbane is my home but it can also be very dull and indifferent which can make ya feel quite down on a bad day but luckily I've had enough bad days to know how to channel them into good songs.

Negative Guest List has a hefty underground following around the world but, like many things Australian, I feel it's had less attention here in NZ. Can you explain what NGL was, and is, for the unfamiliar?

Negative Guest List was a Brisbane punk fanzine and record label helmed by Brendon Annesley from 2009-2012. He was a close friend of ours and one of the best music writers Australia has ever produced. A true champion of underground freaks. The zines span the gamut of outsider rock n roll along with some of the funniest negative reviews put to print. If he really liked something he'd write passionately about it but if something irked him he was fearless in tearing it apart. The NGL label started as a compilation CD-R being given away with the zines but soon turned into vinyl and tape releases with everything from cult Brisbane stuff like The Lost Domain to cult American stuff like Watery Love to cult NZ stuff like Axemen. The whole discography is worth delving into and if you stumble across an NGL zine grab it.

Even though I never met her, it really sucks to hear about Bek Moore passing away this year... Scrabbled has been one of my favourite recent discoveries and I find myself singing 'Brisbane Town' constantly. Auckland badly needs a song like that, and in fact I reckon every fucked confusing small city needs one. Clag, too, are fucking phenomenal and they musically resemble a certain optimism-in-the-face-of-fucking-misery that NZ's legions of junkies and depressives gone by have proudly shouldered. What I'm trying to say is, it must've been awesome having a person with such quality behind her name in your city...

Bek was able to express all of the good and bad unique stuff about Brisbane better than anyone else so it's good to know people outside of here are discovering and listening to her music as you won't find a more honest expression of home town frustrations than Scrabbled or sweeter pop than Clag. Bek was a good friend to everyone around these parts and gave everything to support the creativity of the people around her. A total legend!

So, uh... what's your favourite Simpsons episode?

The Frank Grimes episode, it's probably the most nihilistic episode Simpsons have ever done. That ending is dark as fuck.

My flatmate told me that Australians love making nicknames for each other. Is that an actual thing? Is he lying?

Probably as much as people love sports here which is heaps so yeah I guess it's a thing. I dunno I've never had one or even enjoyed calling people by nicknames, I've never liked sports or people that much.

You've got a live recording from Real Bad Music, a disheveled hovel in what I found to be in a disused Brisbane suburb. It's a shame that it's gone, I fear the lack of easy electrocution will leave Brisbane residents without character. What's it like now that a beloved DIY venue in Brisbane is gone?

Real Bad Music was our local experimental stronghold for many years and since it closed down last year things have definitely been less communal. The regular Real Bad crowd has scattered a bit but there's still semi-regular house shows and generator shows in public places keeping the spirit alive until the next Real Bad comes along. Brisbane has always subsisted on a house show diet when venues get scarce so we just gotta stick it out.

Kitchen's Floor New Zealand Tour

Thursday 28th July, Kings Arms Sports Bar, Auckland
Friday 29th July, Nivara Lounge, Hamilton w/ Girls Pissing On Girls Pissing
Saturday 30th July, Venue TBA, Palmerston North w/ Girls Pissing On Girls Pissing
Sunday 31st July, Moon, Wellington
Wednesday 3rd August, East Street Cafe, Nelson
Thursday 4th August, Log Recording, Christchurch w/ Girls Pissing On Girls Pissing
Friday 5th August, NONE, Dunedin w/ Girls Pissing On Girls Pissing
Sunday 7th August, House Show, Oamaru
Tuesday 9th August, Barrytown, Barrytown Hall
Wednesday 10th August, San Fran, Wellington
Thursday 11th August, Lucky Base, Whanganui w/ Girls Pissing On Girls Pissing
Friday 12th August, The Bach, Tauranga w/ Girls Pissing On Girls Pissing
Saturday 13th August, Wine Cellar, Auckland w/ Girls Pissing On Girls Pissing
Sunday 14th August, Audio Foundation, Auckland

Tickets to most shows available HERE at UTR