Strung Out will bring their 30th anniversary celebration of Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues to Australia in September, with local punk acts joining the band across eight headline shows.
by Paul Cashmere
California punk-metal band Strung Out have announced the Australian support acts for their September national tour, which will mark 30 years since the release of Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues. The eight-date run will take in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Caloundra, Wollongong and Sydney, with a different Australian act supporting at each show.
The supports give the tour a distinctly local focus. Ratsalad will open in Perth, Stabbitha and the Knifey Wifeys in Adelaide, Away From Now in Melbourne, Dad Fight in Brisbane, Something Something Explosion on the Gold Coast, Deadheat in Caloundra, Wiseheimer in Wollongong and Irrelevant in Sydney.
Released in 1996, Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues became one of the defining records of Strung Out’s early catalogue. The 13-track album runs for approximately 32 minutes, combining the speed and aggression of melodic hardcore with the band’s increasingly prominent heavy metal influences. Songs including Firecracker and Wrong Side of the Tracks helped establish the record’s place in the band’s catalogue.
Strung Out formed in Simi Valley, California, in 1991 with vocalist Jason Cruz, guitarist Rob Ramos, bassist Jim Cherry and drummer Adam Austin. The group became one of the early signings to Fat Wreck Chords, the independent label associated with NOFX’s Fat Mike, after releasing a self-titled 7-inch in 1993.
The band’s first album, Another Day In Paradise, was recorded in late 1993 and released in May 1994. Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues followed two years later, establishing a foundation for a catalogue that would subsequently include studio albums, live recordings, compilations and rarities collections.
Personnel changes have been a continuing part of Strung Out’s history. Cherry left in 1999 and died in 2002. Chris Aiken subsequently became the band’s bassist and later moved to guitar, while Jordan Burns and RJ Shankle each had extended periods behind the drum kit. Daniel Blume took over drums in 2022. Derik Envy joined on bass in 2024, while Jake Kiley’s departure that year ended his more than three-decade association with the group.
Strung Out’s catalogue continued through releases including The Element Of Sonic Defiance, An American Paradox, Exile In Oblivion, Blackhawks Over Los Angeles, Agents Of The Underground, Transmission.Alpha.Delta and Songs Of Armor And Devotion. The 2018 EP Black Out The Sky explored a more acoustic direction, while Dead Rebellion continued the band’s punk-oriented approach in 2023.
The Australian shows will place Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues at the centre of the set while drawing from the broader catalogue. For a band whose history stretches across more than three decades, the anniversary provides a chance to revisit a specific period without restricting the performances to one album.
Strung Out’s Australian tour begins in Perth on September 16 and concludes in Sydney on September 26. Tickets are currently on sale.
Tour Dates
September 16, Perth, The Rosemount
with Ratsalad
September 18, Adelaide, Lion Arts Factory
with Stabbitha and the Knifey Wifeys
September 19, Melbourne, Croxton
with Away From Now
September 20, Brisbane, Crowbar
with Dad Fight
September 22, Gold Coast, Miami Marketta
with Something Something Explosion
September 23, Caloundra, Kings Beach Tavern
with Deadheat
September 24, Wollongong, Dicey Riley’s
with Wiseheimer
September 26, Sydney, Crowbar
with Irrelevant
Ticket Details
Tickets are on sale now via SBMPresents.
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