return to Brunswick Hotel

THERE’S something very fitting about Brunswick Hotel hosting Surf Trash on April 19, a venue just minutes from the ocean welcoming a band whose sound has always shared its rhythm.

From bedroom jam sessions to international touring circuits, Surf Trash have steadily carved out a reputation as a high-energy indie rock band, often drawing comparisons to Skegss and Dune Rats.

The band have toured across the UK, Europe and North America, an experience which drummer and lead vocalist Andrew Scott described as “pretty surreal.”

“Seeing different places, meeting people, and watching how music connects across cultures is incredibly inspiring,” he said.

“It also shows you the reality of life on the road, playing most nights, staying tight as a band, and constantly refining the live show.”

Despite the global reach, Surf Trash’s foundations remain firmly local.

Scott is on drums and lead vocals, Lachlan Jackson on guitar and vocals, Patrick Russell on guitar and vocals and Nicholas Scott on bass and vocals, with the band beginning as little more than a group of friends from Lake Macquarie passing time between surfs together.

“We were just mates surfing and hanging out, and eventually started jamming in my bedroom,” Scott said.

“It slowly grew from there.”

Scott said many of his lyrics act as a tribute to their hometown of Lake Macquarie.

“It finds its way into the music, sometimes directly, sometimes more subtly,” he said.

That sense of place is part of what makes Australian surf and indie rock resonate so strongly overseas.

“I think it comes down to the lifestyle here,” Scott said.

“It’s pretty unique, and people resonate with that.”

“When we’re overseas, people are really drawn to it.”

For Scott, songwriting isn’t about manufacturing that identity, it’s about reflecting it.

“I just write from my own experiences and surroundings,” he said.

“So, I guess that reflects where we’re from.”

The band’s 2025 single Pacifico reflects their coastal heritage and youthful energy.

With lyrics that lean into wild rebellion and living for the moment, the song centres on the pursuit of thrills, a theme long present in Australian rock.

For Scott, Surf Trash has been shaped by the bands that came before them.

“It’s hard to look past them,” he said.

“I grew up hearing stories from my dad, who played in a band called The Fools in the ’90s alongside acts like Tumbleweed and Radio Birdman.”

“That whole world felt larger than life to me as a kid.”

“I was obsessed with everything, writing songs, playing live, artwork, and it all soaked in naturally.”

That early immersion still shapes the way he approaches songwriting today, not as a fixed process, but as something fluid.

“There’s no single thing I write about, it’s always changing, which I think is important,” Scott said.

“There’s so much to draw from in everyday life.”

It’s an ethos that resists repetition, favouring honesty over formula.

When it comes to how the music is received, Scott is just as hands-off.

“I don’t really try to control how people interpret our music, that’s up to the listener,” he said.

“It’s a personal experience.”

“If anything, I just want people to feel something, and for the music to come across as real and genuine.”

That authenticity has helped Surf Trash build a loyal following along Australia’s east coast, particularly in the Northern Rivers.

“It usually starts with a few mates coming to shows, and then it grows from there,” Scott said.

“We always love coming back to the Northern Rivers, it’s such a special part of Aus.”

Surf Trash will play at Brunswick Hotel on April 19 at 4pm.