Mouth
By Ben Courtice
"Capitalism — your want for personal gain ... In this world there is not enough for you to own so much", screams Tim Evans, singer and guitarist for the band Mouth — a classic line, echoed on T-shirts and stereos all around Hobart.
Mouth are probably the most popular of Hobart's punk/thrash/grunge bands. They describe their main musical influences as being such famous groups as Fugazi, Minutemen and (early) Black Flag. Their sound is different from any other band in Hobart, making them one of the most interesting groups around.
Mouth formed about six months ago, with Cameron Stops on bass and the brothers Tim and Paul Evans on guitar/vocals and drums respectively. In Tim's words, "We're one of those bands who, rather than practising a lot and getting our material together, we started playing gigs right away".
Their following has grown with each gig, and now a reasonable crowd can be expected whenever they play. A couple of batches of their T-shirts and a tape all quickly sold out. Mouth should go a long way.
One of Mouth's notable features is the message in the lyrics. Strong social and political comments can be found in songs like the "Anti-Capitalism Song", "Homophobia" ("Homosexuals, they question your whole lifestyle, a lifestyle based on sexism"), "Hate Cycle", and others.
Tim says that the inspiration for his lyrics comes from his negative experiences, including from his school days. He tries to transform those experiences into a positive comment. And indeed, Mouth's social attitude seems to reflect this positive consciousness.
In May, Mouth will be in Melbourne. They plan to play around the town, and hope to get to Adelaide before they return to Hobart. Tim says there is a bit of an exclusive "grunge clique" in Melbourne — among bands and fans — but Mouth don't want to get involved with breaking into the trendy groups. They just want to play whatever gigs they can get, and perhaps win a different kind of following.
They are a band to look out for. Their energetic but focused music is not to be missed.