Few bands personify Brisbane indie rock like Screamfeeder, the local group who have been doing their thing since the early 90s and who show no sign of slowing down. In their fifteen years of existence the band have averaged almost an album per year and existed in various incarnations. Screamfeeder frontman Tim Steward moved to Brisbane from Townsville in 1990 where he formed Screamfeeder with bassist Kellie Lloyd and has never looked back. The three-piece has played all the major Australian festivals including Big Day Out and Homebake and had Triple J hits in Static, Dart and Hi Cs, among many others. They have also toured various countries including the USA and the UK, although Steward, speaking from his Brisbane home, maintains that his favourite place to play is Japan, “because the fans are so crazy”.
		Above photo courtesy of The Shock Factor

Last year Steward released a solo album, How Does It End, to critical acclaim in the local press. “It was something I’ve wanted to do for a long time,” says the singer-songwriter. “It took me six years, on and off”. This isn’t the only side project of the band – Tim also plays in The Whats while Kellie is part of local groups the warm guns and also White Mansions.

Steward’s partner in The Whats and Screamfeeder’s long-time drummer Dean Schwereb recently left the band in an amicable split. His replacement is ex-Wellingtons drummer Steph Hughes. Says Tim: “When Dean quit the band it left a big hole…we saw (Steph) play a year and a half ago and she was really ripping it on stage – so we asked her to join”.

The singer agrees that the local music scene has changed a great deal in the past fifteen years – he thinks it’s harder to book gigs and maintains that the demise of many of Brisbane’s live music venues over the past decade hasn’t helped matters. Despite this Screamfeeder managed to perform a blistering set by all accounts at the recent Pig City festival in Brisbane and will be playing some Melbourne dates in late July. Don’t miss out!

Article written by Miranda Forster for AusNotebook Music & Creative  (16/7/07)