Tyler Jenke

When Melbourne alt-rock band Tism were announced as one of the main acts for this year’s Good Things festival back in June, it was something of a special moment for those in the Australian music scene. Here was a band who had long been absent from our collective consciousness (18 years, to be precise), and whose legacy as not only troublemakers, but musicians and live performers preceded them. Thus, it meant we were likely about to be drawn back into the group’s calculated lunacy multiple times over the coming months as we tended towards Good Things’ kick off in December. But from the point of view of both a journalist and a longtime dedicated fan of the band, it meant the chance of interviewing the band was back on the table. Stories have long been traded throughout the band’s fanbase about the ridiculous hoops that Tism would make journalists jump through. Of note are the oft-repeated tales of a journalist ​​forced to interview the band in a freezer, or another whose interview took place in a Melbourne restaurant while dressed in a wetsuit. Soon after the announcement of their reunion, I took a chance and had my first chat with the group. As expected, it was 20 minutes of abject futility. Attempts to ask questions about their reunion, their return to the Australian music scene, and what fans could expect when they return to the stage later this year fell upon deaf ears. Rather, instead of providing me with an invaluable insight into the mind of Tism, I was instead met with