OCTOBER MINI ZINE 0.3
Welcome to Wanderer Minizine issue 0.3—our October issue. It’s a bit of a big time in the Wanderer studio — as we write this, we’re about to release our 9th big mumma print issue. By the time you’re reading this, we’ve done the hard work and the issue may already be out in the world. If not, you can pre-order the issue now through the QR code on the back cover. (Link included below)
This issue, we walk to Binx of Chimers—who I’m sure a lot of you know from around the community. She’s a drummer, and a mother, and one of the loveliest people we know. We were so excited to talk to her, particularly because she’s playing with Chimers at an exciting, upcoming party of ours.
We’re hosting Issue 9’s launch party on the 11th of October, at our Warehouse in Bellambi and obviously we want all of you to be there! We’re hoping there’s enough tickets so that everyone who wants to come can come—but we sincerely recommend getting your tickets as soon as you read this! Because of our amazing intimate event space, they’re sort of limited. Tickets are also available via the QR link. (And below)
The launch is in collaboration with Newcastle band dust, who will be celebrating their album launch - ‘Sky is Falling’ out October 10. dust plays an amazing post-punk fusion that’s awesomely experimental. We're obsessed with everything they create—so we’re beyond stoked to be holding a joint event with them. We’ll also have Chris Frape (whose name you may remember from the first issue of the minizine) DJing in the afternoon. If that’s not enough to get you there, there’ll be plenty there to drink as well, if that’s your thing.
Our 9th Issue is themed ‘Which Way Now’. It’s a huge magazine, with many amazing interviews that we’re really excited to be sharing with you all. The theme stems from something we’ve been thinking about a lot— that we all heavily relate to, and we’re sure a lot of you will as well. It’s about getting to your mid 20’s, where you’ve already gone to highschool, and maybe uni after that, or you’re in a job, thinking it’s about time I make something happen. Move overseas, save up for a house, do something completely new—we’re faced with so many decisions and are being pulled in every direction.
We interviewed people who inspire us—who live locally, in Australia or worldwide—about how they managed this part of their lives, or if they’re still in it: what’s next? How they deal with the existential questions, and make decisions in their personal lives, career and creative fields. We were searching for answers, and we got them! We hope that you too will get some soon from reading this issue, or at least an idea. It’s been very interesting to explore this topic, that we now know to be universal.
So… That’s all about our 9th issue, which has been taking up all of our brain space for a long time now. We’d love to see you at the launch, but if you can’t make it, we’d love for you to still buy a copy! We’ve worked very hard on it, and we’d love for you to be able to see what we’ve been working on!
In the meantime, enjoy Issue 0.3 of the Minizine, and enjoy your October!
- Amber
CLICK HERE TO PRE-ORDER ISSUE NINE
CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS TO OUR MAGAZINE / ALBUM LAUNCH WITH DUST
WOLLON-GUIDE
WEEKLY
MONDAY Ryan’s 2-4-1 meals, Ciro's $20 pizza night
TUESDAY Trivia @ La's, $10 burger night at Papi's, $5 Tacos @ Bar Cabron
WEDNESDAY North Gong Shnitty Night, Wing Night at Gringa
THURSDAY Joker Poker @ Principle Brewing, Free Live Jazz @ The Servo
FRIDAY TBH Friday’s Free Live Music
SATURDAY Free Live Music at RGBM and Dicey's Saturdays
SUNDAY RGBM Free Live Music
OCT 2: Think About You at The Servo
Trivia at Principle Brewing
OCT 3: Pacific Avenue at UOW Unibar
OCT 4: WANDERER FESTIVAL 4-5 OCT
Dave Graney & The Coral Snakes at Waves
OCT 5: Eliza and the Delusionals at La La La's
Georgia Mulligan at Frank’s Wild Years
OCT 6: Swimming Bell - Australian Tour The Servo
OCT 8: Reub Goldberg Brewing Machine Oktoberfest 8 - 12 Oct.
Frank’s Turns 10! Events 8 - 12 Oct.
OCT 9: Sonny + The Sunsets (Solo) at Franks Wild Years
OCT 10: Live Karaoke at Frank’s Wild Years (FREE)
OCT 11: WANDERER X RAD PRESENTS: WHICH WAY NOW, SKY IS FALLING LAUNCH W DUST
Battle of the Bands for Convoy at The Servo (11-4)
The 515 “With Love” at The Servo (5-LATE)
OCT 12: Pop Filter + Body Type & more at Frank’s Wild Years (FREE)
OCT 15: Proxy Diver: For the Gong (Wollongong Homeless Hub Fundraiser) at La La La's
Radical Reels Presents Adventure Reels Tour 2025 at Anita's Theatre
OCT 16: Hard-Ons at La La La's
OCT 17: Inner Mechanics: surf film premiere at The Servo w/ live soundtrack by The M1
OCT 18: Seth Sentry at UOW Unibar
Gabrielle Adamik Art Show at VanQ Vault
OCT 19: Battlesnake at La La La's
OCT 22: Sylvie (USA) w/ Winter McQuinn at Franks Wild Years
The Jam Sandwiches at La La La’s
"Duck Pond" at the IPAC 22-25 OCT
OCT 23: Menace Co. Presents Pre-Halloween Masquerade at La La La's
"Public Access" at Wollongong Library 23-25 OCT
OCT 25: Loud & Clear Festival 2025 at Society City
Blackout Fun Club x Scatter Light Double Headline at The Servo
OCT 26: COALCHELLA @ Coledale RSL
The Annual PK Handball Tournament, The Servo [FREE ENTRY]
OCT 28: Lauren Spencer Smith at Anita's Theatre
OCT 30: Spooky Trivia at Principle Brewing
OCT 31: Beyond the Grave w/ Clueless at La La La's
Adults Halloween Night w/ Costume Contest and Pumpkin Carving at Principle Brewing (FREE)
INTERVIEW WITH BINX FROM CHIMERS
Chimers is the inevitable partnership of two incredible musicians and life partners, guitarist Padraic Skehan and drummer Bianca Z or ‘Binx’. Highly regarded as one of our best exports, Chimers is proudly a Wollongong band— born in their family home in the confines of Covid lockdowns. In the few years since then, they have released two electric albums and toured their raw, energetic punk rock across the world. Still, they find their home in the Illawarra.
We spoke to Binx, the band’s rhythm powerhouse, about her first steps into Wollongong’s surging music scene as a teenager in the 90’s with her band Evol, some notable faces and places that shaped this golden age and the full-on touring schedule Chimers has ahead of them. Not just music, we also talk about raising a family in the Illawarra, the sense of belonging she finds here and the region’s tight-knit community that continues to thrive.
You can witness Binx and Chimers in all their glory at our Issue Nine magazine launch this October 11th. Tickets via QR code on the back cover.
Lewis: Who are you, what part of the Illawarra are you from and what do you do?
Binx: I'm Binx, also known as Bianca. I'm from Fairy Meadow originally and now live in Figtree, and I play the drums in Chimers. Do you wanna know what I do for work as well? I wasn't sure, haha. I work in community services. I'm a support officer for foster carers.
Oh wonderful, that makes sense to me! You said you were from Fairy Meadow already so my next question is obvious. What motivated you to set up camp in the Illawarra? Haha, you've been here the whole time!
Yeah, I've been here the whole time. Though, I moved away in the late nineties. Padraic and I are a bit unsure about this, but we think it was '98. I went overseas to Ireland on a three week holiday, ended up staying there for three years. When I finally came home, Padraic went to America. We had planned to live over there—but the winter weather was really shitty and it was so nice here. He decided to come over and that's how we ended up [in Wollongong]. I'm quite close with my mom and dad as well. They've been a great support to the family. We decided to stay in Wollongong when we had the kids because it's a really good lifestyle for them here. In saying that, our 17-year-old wants to move to Ireland as soon as she's 18 <laugh>
It is a great place to raise a family and just a beautiful part of the world as well.
Yeah, it is. Lately, I'm really appreciating it more. I'm not a huge beach person, but last summer I definitely got more into going to the rock pools in the evening. There's always something to do as well, always gigs on and all ages shows for the kids. You can go to La La La’s on your own and you'll know a heap of people there. La La La’s has really done a lot for the music scene and for Wollongong as well.
Well, that leads us to the next question: Wollongong has a vibrant music scene with a long history. When did you start to be involved in this community?
I started playing music when I was 15 but the involvement came when I joined Evol. I was around 16 or 17. There were a lot of all ages gigs at The Rex Hotel, which is now Beaches. They’d put on these shows called 'Noise Up North' and we'd all go there. That's when I really became part of the community so I was quite young. A teenager.
In our August interview with Chris Frape, he mentioned your band Evol and playing together at the venue Sunami back in the nineties. Is there a band, a person or a venue from Wollongong's past that you feel deserves a shout out?
I found this really hard to answer. Am I allowed to mention four people briefly?
Of course!
Perfect. I am gonna start off with Kim Waters. She started Sunami with her partner at the time, Dave. They wanted an all ages venue that was a safe space for young kids to hang out. It was a great venue to play when we were younger. She also started a free magazine— I had to text my friend Greg about this to check haha, but it was called the Independent Music Monthly. This is pre-social media, pre-internet. The way that we would find out about shows was through this little magazine. She'd do a whole guide of who was playing that month, she'd interview local bands. It was just good to have something like that 'cause you read it and find some new music or a new local band that you were unaware of.
The next person is Dave Curley. He was one of the main people that started up the Wollongong Youth Center. He was very much for all ages shows and putting on outdoor events. It was just such a good space to be in, the guys would skate outside, you could rehearse there for $2 each, super cheap and affordable. He was so encouraging, he made us feel really welcome. He was also part of a collective that put together free CDs of young bands. They made two compilations called 'Socket Wood' and 'No Dress Regulations'. They'd put packages together with info about the bands and send it off to radio stations to try and get our music out there. He's done a lot, he did a lot for us back in the day.
One of the bands that I want to mention is Full Tab. One of my good friends, Greg Alfaro, used to play in that band. They were a big inspiration for me and opened my eyes to a completely new range of music. He went on to be the drummer for Low Life which was another great punk band. Lastly, photographer Katelyn Slyer. She has documented the Wollongong punk scene since she was, I wanna say, in her early teens. She's that girl that always had a camera in her hand and did some amazing documentation of local gigs, especially in the DIY space.
We've got a piece on Katelyn in our next print issue. We'll have lots of her photos and a piece written by her friend Katherine Morgan.
Oh, fantastic! I really think she's really underrated for the work that she does.
It makes me wish that I was living then. It might not have been her intention—she was taking photos of her friends, living her life. But it’s really interesting art because it is such great photography.
She has such a fantastic eye, especially for those candid moments. Quite similar to a photographer Ricky Adams. He has the same kind of eye as Katelyn and documented the DIY punk scene in Belfast and Ireland. He's gone on to do some amazing books so I'm really hopeful that Katelyn also gets that recognition. She deserves it, she's an amazing person and an amazing artist.
You are set to play the launch party for that new issue ‘Which Way Now' in October with your Chimers and with Newcastle’s dust. Are you as excited as we are for this show?
I sure am! Hahah
What else are you looking forward to in the upcoming future?
We are definitely looking forward to that dust show. I also want to say that I love that space [Nebula]. I went to the DJ event out there last weekend, that was really fun, and I like the fact that this show is being held in a different kind of space like that. Is it all ages as well? My daughter and her friend, who are both 17, really wanted to see dust at the Rad Show but couldn't, so they were hoping to come.
They're more than welcome.
Great! Band wise, we've got a lot coming up: We are playing at Chopped next weekend down in country Victoria. We've got OK Motels coming up. We've got the Parramatta Lanes festival too with Arse and Party Dozen. Most of the gigs that we've got coming up we're looking forward to, really, but the bigger thing for us is that we are off to America in November for three weeks. Then back to the UK and Ireland with The Saints [‘73-’78]. Then coming home, and it might seem like we're having a break, a break from touring anyway, but we're really just finishing off the next record <laugh>.
So a very, very busy schedule.
There's a lot coming up, yeah. We're also looking forward to a break around Christmas time when there's nothing…
Thanks so much for speaking to us. I really appreciate giving up your lunch break
Thanks for thinking of me! I'll see you in a couple of weeks at the launch show.