Tag Archives: d.i. wireless film

The Other Option Documentary: Australian Bands in Southeast Asia

I recently discovered that, besides BANANA PUNK RAWK TRAILS, others are producing interesting work on Malaysian, Indonesian and Singaporean hardcore punk.  The Other Option is a recent documentary on Australian punk and hardcore bands and their touring routes to Southeast Asia. Check the official trailer here:

Intrigued by it, and especially because I lived in Australia in 2009, I immediately contacted director Rohan Thomas to ask him why he decided to get involved in such a project. I also wanted to know if it’s true that, as I thought, Southeast Asia has become a crucial territory for the promotion and touring of Australian hardcore punk bands.

The following is an interview I conducted with Rohan by email in December 2015.

What moved you to investigate this particular topic?

I used to run a punk rock podcast before working on this film. For my third show I interviewed a band from the Gold Coast called Not OK who had just toured South East Asia. Two things jumped immediately out at me. First, there was a punk scene in South East Asia – and I wondered, what it was like?

Second, I just saw Not OK play a local show in front of about 10 people. How did they go from this to playing a 12 date overseas tour in Asia to packed rooms and festivals? Once I started investigating these two questions, I thought that the history of Australia and Southeast Asian punk rock touring was interesting enough to try and document it. Continue reading The Other Option Documentary: Australian Bands in Southeast Asia