"We're loud! I think we're a bit Patti Smith meets Guns N' Roses meets punk," says Jess Finlayson, the Mis-Made's lead vocalist and songwriter/guitarist. "We're not rules orientated. Not that kind of genre, not that kind of people!"
Since forming in 2012, the Sydney hard-rock band have been making lots of noise. After cramming 2016 with an Australian tour, a double single release, a supporting gig for American hard rock/metal favourites L7 and a nomination at the Musicoz Australian Independent Music Awards, the Mis-Made's debut album is due in mid-2017 and they fly to the northern hemisphere for the third time.
![The Mis-Made: (left to right) Ned Wu, Jess Finlayson, Rexy Yasa, Jess Coram.](/web/20170202135155im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/3/2/7/v/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gu2wbo.png/1486023450394.jpg)
Finlayson's musical cohorts are fellow songwriter/guitarist Jess Coram, bassist Rexy Yasa and drummer Ned Wu. Finlayson says the band's varied experience allows them to merge creative influences in their songwriting.
"I've been playing hard rock since I was 14, Jess was always in punk and hard-rock bands, same with Ned, and Rexy has played in a lot of pop-rock bands, jazz and classical," says Finlayson. "So I will write a song and bring it to the band, then everybody else writes into it."
It was daunting going to Europe at first, Finlayson says. "But we got to do things we don't normally get to do. One of the members of The Clash was living in the studio we recorded in in Prague. We took over his apartment, so you'd see Keith Levene walking down the stairs and you're like 'Hi Keith!'.
They have also scored some choice support gigs – most notably with L7 at Sydney's Metro Theatre last year. They're about to appear with Austrian psych-rock group Mother's Cake at Marrickville's Factory Theatre.
"They gave us a gig in Austria, so when we found out they were coming here I was like, 'Give us the gig!'," says Finlayson. Many connections were made on their northern hemisphere tour. "It's like we have a weird family over there and we can't wait to go back."
They don't have to wait too long. The Mis-Made play the UK's Rebellion Punk Music Festival in Blackpool in August, alongside the likes of Bad Religion and Sham 69. Before the band head off, there's plenty more work to be done, including promoting their singles Blood Money and Ice ahead of the release of their first album. It's mostly new material, as well as a few gems from the Finlayson/Coram archives.
"Jess and I have both been writing songs since we were really young, so there's a couple from the past we've never used, or weren't suited to what we were doing. Now when we look back on it we're like 'That was a really good song!' "
For a band that seems too explosive for the confines of a studio, it's a little surprising to find the Mis-Made are in their element behind the recording desk.
"Recording is my favourite thing," says Finlayson. "At gigs you can't hear the nuances of what's going on. When you record, you get to sit down and take it apart and hear all the little things."
It's also an opportunity for the band to stretch themselves creatively and technically. "You've got to be able to reproduce what you've changed in the studio, so it's a challenge every time. You learn more about the song, you learn more about playing, you get better every time you do that process. I love it."
That's not to say Finlayson doesn't love playing live – the band have plenty of gigs coming up, at Penrith's Australian Arms Hotel, Beats Eats Drinks on Glebe Point Road and Frankie's Pizza in the city.
"It's always been about the music for me. I like the adventure of it, the buzz of playing gigs," she says. "You never really know what's going to happen or who you're going to meet. It's addictive."
The Mis-Made
Gig February 11, The Factory Floor, Marrickville (supporting Mother's Cake)
Tickets $21.50, factorytheatre.com.au
Live Raucous, high-energy and lyrical
Best track Blood Money