With The Quickness #10: Birdman Curate Birdman or: The Unexpected Virtue of An Australian THPS 1+2 Soundtrack Playlist (THPS Edition)

Birdman: or The Unexpected Virtue of A Tony Hawk Pro Skater Cover Band (CREDIT: Dallas Maurer)

"'Birdman: or The Unexpected Virtue of A Tony Hawk Pro Skater Cover Band..." the ridiculous name parodied off one of greatest and most ridiculous films of the last decade says it all. What started off as a novelty idea amongst six friends with an undying passion for the greatest video game soundtracks of their teens, has now morphed into an out-of-control nostalgia joyride, shared with an army of like-minded gaming and music fans. Packing an epic arsenal of tunes from the likes of Goldfinger, Bodyjar, Millencolin, RATM [Rage Against The Machine], CKY, Dead Kennedys, Ramones, Sex Pistols, and Motorhead to name just a few, they've started mosh pits at some of the best festivals in the country, including headlining the sold out Secret Garden, headlining the (also, sold out) OktoberWest with guest appearances from Frenzal Rhomb & Totally Unicorn, headlining (you guessed it—the, also, sold out) PAX, their infamous set at Vivid, supported Guttermouth (US,) and have partnered with African/Australian charity Skateworks—raising much needed funds for skate programmes for indigenous youths in The Northern Territory."


"In June 2019—the band embark on what they've considered as the peak achievement—receiving an invitation direct from Tony Hawk himself to perform for The Tony Hawk Foundation alongside Bad Religion in San Diego. And as a gift to the thousands of fans present—were able to serve up a huge surprise of Tony Hawk singing with the band. Blasting through decades of Punk, Rock, Metal, and Hip-Hop hits (while firing off a few confetti cannons for good measure,) Birdman: or The Unexpected Virtue of A Tony Hawk Pro Skater Cover Band shows bring together friends, new and old, to re-live the days when life was all about Long Manuals, Sick Grinds, Big Air, rad tunes, and "Re-starting Level until "Superman" by Goldfinger plays." They've been featured on Channel 10's The Project, Kotaku, Pedestrian, Music Feeds, The Daily Mail, The [Huffington] Post, The Ringer, and Broadsheet, and now that The Legendary Tony Hawk is regularly sliding into the DM's of the members' personal Instagram accounts just hanging for a chat, the band feel like they've truly peaked."

"We're stoked that there's a few new Aussies on the THPS1+2 [Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2] soundtrack. Very proud of the rep flying our flag! We spent a good few days putting this playlist together. We needed to stay true to the era—a soundtrack curated 21 years ago that featured the best "new" and the best classic tracks and still had the diversity of Metal, Punk, Hip-Hop, and, Hell, even Nü-Metal! After all, the original soundtrack dictated our musical taste for the rest of my career—this playlist would need to have the same influence and power, so we dug deep into what resonated, not just with us, but the music and scene. Frenzal Rhomb have been on the scene for decades—a staple of our [Australian] Punk scene and they're always a band associated with skate culture. Other Punk mandatories were The Living End, Grinspoon, Front End Loader, Bodyjar (who were featured on THPS3,) and 28 days. We snuck Shihad in, even though they're Kiwis, but they're THAT good that we're willing to let it slide."

"General Electric was a staple in every Aussie's CD collection. The heavy-hitters come in the form of Mindsnare (f**k, I love these guys,) Sunk Loto (are they our version of Papa Roach?) Mid Youth Crisis, and Toe to Toe. We loved including a few left of fields, like TISM, Testeagles, Regurgitator, and Hard-Ons, that really nail the Aussie sense of humour and outlook, but still a core part of that Alternative scene that developed here in the late 90's. Our Ska bands are there, too—in the form of Area 7 & The Porkers. And bands like Magic Dirt, Skulker, and Ratcat brought the cruisy [The] Ernies vibes. Our Hip-Hop equivalents were a smaller scene (that all exploded in 2003-2004, just after the original release dates) but are strongly repped by Sound Unlimited & 1200 Techniques. And just like the originals bringing the classics back and making them culturally-relevant again, we went with Celibate Rifles, Beasts of Bourbon, Radio Birdman, Cosmic Psychos, and, of course, The Saints."

- Simeon "Simibum" Bartholomew (@BirdmanTHPS)