Five for Five with Chelsie Bomb of Friends With The Enemy

Chelsie & I go way back. Long story short, I met her on a punk forum (remember them?) back in Australia, searching for people to start a band with. She mentioned her brother, Ben had just moved back to Sydney and i should contact him, which i did (or he contacted me - i forget). Being the small world that it is, we recognised each other after not seeing one another for, i guess, 15 years. Anyway, we both wore Dickies that were 13 sizes too big, whatever Drive-Thru (remember them too?) band we were vibing on at the time, probably The Starting Line and definitely The Movielife and we started my first band (hi Ben, hi Alex!). Cut to our first tour and Chelsie's first band band played a bunch of shows with us. Both bands broke up, i started a Dillinger Escape Plan worshipping tech metal band and she currently kicks a bunch of ass with her band "Friends With The Enemy". They are all good eggs and Stu (Chelsie's husband) is no joke, one of my favourite guitar player's i've seen AND got to play shows with. I urge you to cheeck them out here if you like melodic, fast, technical skate-punk like A Wilhelm Scream. Not such a short story after all, sorry about that.

1. What are your 5 favourite bands of all-time?

Pennywise, Mad Caddies, Mute, Strung Out and Wiseheimer. 

2. Tour vs Home?

Touring is one of my all time favourite things to do. Exploring new places and countries with the band has definitely been some of the best memories I've had. It's definitely a bonus having my husband in the band too so we can experience it all together. But nothing beats home, especially when you have kids. Nothing makes me happier than the laughter and fart sounds our 2 boys make. 

3. Best show you've played?

That's a hard one. There's been lots of memorable shows that I could talk about. But the one that sticks out was playing our first show in Japan at 7th Avenue in Yokohama. The hospitality in that country is amazing and like nothing we've experienced before.

From the 'meet and greet' before the show, where all the bands on the bill stand in a circle and introduce ourselves. Takes away any negative too-cool-for-school vibe (not that Japan would have that vibe anyway. I really think Australia needs to adapt this as it makes the whole show experience so much more positive and enjoyable.) 

The show itself was amazing. We didn't know what to expect as it was our first show in Japan, but it definitely blew us away.

At the end of the show the venue put on an after-party and served up amazing food. Such a beautiful culture, we can't wait to get back over there. 

4. 5 desert island albums?

 *Pennywise- From The Ashes. Such an underrated album, but some of my favourite songs on there.

*Mute- The Raven. My husband and I have spent many sleepless nights analysing every aspect of that album. Haha. Holds good memories. 

*Mad Caddies- Rock The Plank. Listened to that all through highschool, and still my favourite Mad Caddies album. Chuck Robertson's voice is probably my favourite voice. 

*Wiseheimer- Industrial retribution. Heath Rowley will always be the master of harmonies. So stoked he recorded our first EP, and vocals to our full length. Without his input, our melodies wouldn't be as good. I look up to him vocally as a god. Haha!

*Ellwood- Lost in transition. One of my favourite albums that I listen to weekly. It's Chuck Robertson's side band that only ever put out one album. A more chilled reggae sound compared to Mad Caddies. And his voice is 👌.

5. Hardest thing about being in a band?

Having myself and my husband be in the band and having kids. One of us can't stay at home to look after them, so we're always trying to organise someone to babysit which can sometimes be difficult if we have lots of shows booked close to each other. My mum has been awesome when we've gone on tour overseas, and she's taken time off work just to look after them. So we are forever in her debt.

But with us both in the band it's also one of the best and easiest things, as writing music comes together easily, and its always fun touring together. Definitely need him there when I've drunk too many OG Four Lokos and run off angrily into San Francisco without a phone and no idea where I am. He's always there to look after me and make sure I don't end up lost on the side of the road. Haha!