A year in the life of SKORTZ

Brat punk duo SKORTZ are celebrating their first birthday with a headline show at the Buffalo Club on Saturday, July 25, with special guests Australian Critters, Ratshit Strap and Spacerhead. BOB GORDON chats with singer/guitarist Alex Wallish and drummer Agi Gajic about the formation of the band and what the future holds beyond their debut EP. 

What were your previous band histories, and what was the lead-up to you coming together as SKORTZ?

Agi: I played in Sawcy Paws (Adelaide) and lied a bit about my drum-playing ability to join the band. Turns out I was good enough company to keep around. Then went on to form Ratshit Strap in Freo after meeting founding members through a brief stint in a Cake cover band.

Alex: I played in Zadien and Sharkweather in Freo and did the odd acoustic set at some local pubs. We started a band in 2012 called The Fuckstains, but we only had one jam. In 2024 we were having a coupla beers and had the fine idea to give it another crack.

The two-piece guitar/drums is such a great setup for playing punk-inspired music. What are the advantages and limitations of being a two-piece, and what do you feel it brings out in the both of you?

Agi: If you’ve ever been in a band, you know the punishment of trying to get multiple players each with their own multifaceted lives in one place at one time. Being a two-piece makes life a lot easier in that regard. Because our live sound is made up of less instruments, it’s been challenging to create the big sound our style of music deserves. I think we will always continue to find ways to harness our two-piece power, which is kinda part of the fun.

Alex: There’s absolutely nowhere to hide in a two-piece, which keeps us on our toes. But yeah, trying to find gaps to tune and have a sip mid-set can be a challenge. Aside from that, it’s wicked, decisions get made easily, and ‘cos we’re such good mates, we’re pretty much always on the same page.

What are your songwriting sessions like? Do you write quickly, or are you happy to let ideas bake for a little while?

Alex: I have the ability to piss out songs sometimes. We generally come to a jam with some ideas and themes and go from there. Some songs are quicker than others. We have a bunch of songs that are half-baked right now.

Ceiling Fan is the lead single from your debut EP, Coupla Squats—describe the song, its theme, its energy, its essence…

Alex: It’s basically a song about shit blokes. Former bosses, boyfriends, random strangers at times, etc. I had a boss once say that I needed to ‘get better at deflecting shit, just like a ceiling fan’. It didn’t make much sense at the time and still doesn’t, but it formed the chorus. I get pissed off all over again at those suckholes every time we play it.

Mitch MacDonald produced the EP. How was it working with him?

Agi: Mitch is our people. Never mind the fact that he’s hilarious, sweet and has a really cute studio dog. He’s genuinely so excited about what he does, and that comes out in his finished product. He’s encouraging, and you really feel like you’re working together as a team, which makes the experience really special, especially in moments where it’s feeling hard.

Alex: Nailed it, he’s an absolute legend.

How would you describe your first year as a band—what have been the highlights and the challenges?

Agi: It’s been wild! We’ve been asked to play so many rad gigs with musicians we admire, so that’s been a highlight reel in itself. We’ve made a bunch of new friends along the way, and we’re really appreciative of that. We’ve had to learn a lot really fast, which has been challenging at times. But we are really lucky to have good crew around us who have helped us a lot.

Alex: It’s tricky sometimes balancing heaps of gigs with work and life, but we love it. And being busy is a good distraction from reality at times. Meeting crew in other bands has been amazing; we have such a special community here.

Are you the band that began in the first rehearsal, or is it evolving into something besides?

Agi: Naturally, we are always evolving, so I’m sure our music is bound to as well!

Alex: We’re pretty much the same, but we’re getting tighter and getting better at communicating in our drum/guitar languages. We love so many styles of music and reckon we’ll start exploring a bit more down the track. We’ve been gigging heaps and are looking forward to having a bit of space after our birthday party to write more songs and have plenty of jams.

To the future of Skorts… how does it look?

Alex: (Laughs) Bloody huge! It’s hard to tell, but we just hope we’re still having fun and playing sick gigs. We’d love to have an excuse to go to Radelaide sometime soon!

Agi: World domination, obviously! (Laughs) Nah, just kidding. We just wanna keep playing shows, meeting nice people and creating together. Would be a bonus to play in some other states and maybe even countries, who knows?

SKORTZ hit Buffalo Club on Saturday, July 25, 2026. Tickets are on sale now from humanitix.com