Creed McTaggart’s Band, Wash, Is Going On Tour

Aussie punk is alive and well – it’s thriving out of a town called Byron Bay (of all places). Fronted by Creed McTaggart (bass, vocals), Ellis Erickson (guitar) and Beau Foster (drums), Wash is one of the more recent additions to the wonderfully crossed-up world of surf and music. Much like the way Ozzie and the Goons Of Doom, Alex Knost and Tomorrow’s Tulips, Noa Deane and Blister or Droid and Power Lunch do it, the trio have been venting their creative angst via distortion pedals for over a year now, touring and inducing head banging at shows across the country.

They released their debut Ep Point Of View last March, four tracks of grit, power chords and Creed’s slap-backed vocal. It’s like the amp-up section of a late nineties surf video tape, with an element of early The Horrors – before the electronic direction, back when they played simple, raw and dirty. The trio had Jez Player of The Pinheads and Owen Penglis of The Straight Arrows behind the production, two of the brightest in Australia’s garage movement. Now they’ve just released another Ep Don’t Touch Me and have lined up with Melbourne trio Dumb Punts for an Oz tour which will be wrapping up in Sydney with The Brixton Broadcast. It’ll be a vibrant and likely heated affair. If mosh pits make you nervous then you’ll want to keep your back to the wall.

We asked Stab’s vid man and bass slinger of Skegss outfit, Toby Cregan, to describe the Wash experience: 

“Unpredictable and exciting,” replied Mr Cregan. “I have seen Ellis jump in the crowd…. Creed kinda freaks me out with his spooky dark vibe, but I mainly watch Beau belt the fuck out of the drums – he hits ‘em real hard.”

 “Surprisingly at their shows it’s not heaps of surfers, a bit of a mix but I would say there are quite a few people that don’t even know that the boys surf.”

And how does Creed go on the mic? “Yeah he’s good… Soz… I wanna say he is like dark and intriguing but I don’t wanna be quoted saying that… The boys are away right now and I feel like I am talking behind their back lol.”

Tour Dates:

Thursday, March 2: Foundry, Brisbane
Friday, March 3: Great Northern, Byron Bay
Saturday, March 4: Shark Bar, Gold Coast
Wednesday, March 8: Bangas Pub, Bangalow
Thursday, March 9: Federal Hotel Bellingen
Friday, March 10: Coat, Newcastle
Saturday, March 11: Brighton Up, Sydney
Wednesday, March 15: Rad Bar, Wollongong
Thursday, March 16: Commercial Hotel, Milton
Friday, March 17: Leadbelly, Newtown