It's fair to say Tired Lion have owned 2015.
So far, they have scored the following gongs: Best Rock Song at the WAMIs; winners of Channel V's Discover; their Like A Version, Violent Soho-Smashing Pumpkins mash-up melted minds; and they were chosen by Triple J Unearthed to play this weekend's Splendour In The Grass. Can you feel the heat?
Tired Lion
While SITG is the highlight of their national tour, which begins in Sydney this Wednesday (22 July), the band (well, at least one member) are grabbing every last opportunity to indulge in the wonderful world of video games. Lead guitarist Matt Tanner has "decided to nerd out and talk about my favourite video games, I guess ones that have had a lasting impression on me.
"I’m not really a hardcore gamer or anything, so don’t expect an insightful review or anything like that, but I enjoy the nostalgia they bring when I remember playing them as a kid."
1. Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time & Majora’s Mask (Nintendo 64)
I’m going to go ahead and cheat straight-up by listing two video games as my number one. 'Ocarina Of Time' came out when I had my first N64 around 1998. I remember my seven-year-old self spending hours trying to work out the puzzles in the dungeons and sitting with the other kids in my street discussing how we passed certain temples.I really loved the main character, Link, and would daydream in school that I was him and could leave my house and go on an adventure like he did in Hyrule. A couple of years later I tried 'Majora’s Mask' and found it too hard; it wasn’t until this year that I re-tried it and loved it (possibly slightly more than 'Ocarina', but nostalgia trumps all).
2. Pokémon Red Version (Gameboy)
There are two types of people from my generation: Pokémon obsessed (the majority) or the naysayers; me being the earlier. Just after the 2000 New Year my family moved to Perth from Sydney; this was before the days of TV screens in the back of seats and a colouring book wasn’t going to cut it. I got stuck into 'Red Version' on the plane and became hooked (playing every 'Pokémon' Gameboy release to date).The other week, some mates and I reminisced about surfing up and down Cinnabar Island for the Rare Candy/Master Ball cheat with Missingno… good times!
3. Super Smash Bros. (Nintendo 64)
When I first moved to Perth as an eight-year old, my mum would take me 'round to other kid’s houses; I guess to find some friends as I was the ‘new kid’. The first group of mates I came across (one still being my best mate to this day) were all into 'Super Smash Bros.'; we’d have sleepovers on a Friday night after school and play this game from the minute we got home until midnight.We ended up pretty good at the game, and created a little competition within our street with the intention of playing other kids. We put up posters at the shop, but I don’t think it eventuated into much.
A couple of months back this year I got drunk and entered a 'Super Smash Bros.' competition held at a coffee shop in Perth; it was pretty novice but I came third. I was pretty stoked I remembered how to play all these years later.
4. Metal Slug (Arcade)
When I lived in Sydney, we had a caravan which was permanently set-up in a holiday park on the Central Coast. Every second weekend we’d go up from Friday to Sunday and besides riding our bikes around the park the other pastime we was begging our parents for $1 coins for the arcade.My favourite game was 'Metal Slug', where you were this dude who gets heaps of different guns and tanks and kills people. The best part about it? As you killed an enemy they’d let out a pretty funny scream (kind of like the Wilhelm Scream), which as a kid kept you pretty entertained.
5. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PS2)
This game is a little more dark and serious than the previous ones I’ve listed, but it was one of the first titles I played where I clocked a tonne of hours into a game when I really shouldn’t have.These days I put off starting a game if I have commitments like songs to write or people to meet because I know how involved I can get with a decent game. I loved the twists this game had and character development; I started to look at it as if I was watching a really long movie.
Tired Lion's 'Figurine' EP is out now.
Tired Lion Tour Dates
Wed 22 Jul - Goodgod Small Club (Sydney)Thu 23 Jul - Black Bear Lodge (Brisbane)
Fri 24 Jul - Splendour In The Grass (Byron Bay)
Sat 25 Jul - Shebeen (Melbourne)
Sun 26 Jul - Crown & Anchor (Adelaide)
Sat 8 Aug - Amplifier (Perth)
