A QUICK CHAT WITH PAPAYA TREE

How did the band come together and where did the name come from?

The band started with Jack and Lee working in a butcher shop together making each other promise to start a band after they finish high school. They kept their word and enlisted the only other musician they knew, being Jordan the trumpet player. Two Guitars and a trumpet was the start. Shortly after Jack and Jordy started Uni at the conservatory of music so they bought Joe, Ali and Zac into the fold. 

Lee went off to law school. When thinking of the name of the band, Lee was studying corporation law and kept stumbling on the word proprietary, saying papaya tree instead. We agreed that papaya tree sounded wanky enough for an indie band so it just stuck. 

Lead singer, Lee McDermott, recently made the move from Sydney to Melbourne. Which city has the best cafe's?

It's hard to say as we have been in and out of lockdown for the entire time I've lived here. I would have to say Melbourne based on the fact that you can go to a cafe at midnight. Late-night coffee is disgustingly underrated. 

You recently played your "Flowergirl" launch show at The Vanguard in Sydney, with Lee spending two weeks in quarantine to play to the sellout crowd. What Australian tunes kept you company while you were in quarantine?

I was spinning the new EP by Haircare, The new Peter Bibby album and deep-dived into the back catalog of mental as anything. 

When can we expect the new EP from Papaya Tree? Is there a common theme or experience that runs through the tracks?

Our Debut EP "Mortuary Magic"  will be out on November 13! Mortuary Magic is where you repair something that for all intents and purposes could not have been repaired; Each song and indeed our band in general sometimes feels like its taken a bit of mortuary magic to  come together so the title just works. 

You've worked as Mortician's in the past, what's the weirdest/most fascinating part of the job?

The weirdest part was the fact that Jordan and Lee looked after one winner of the official "Darwin award" for running themselves over.  We saw things that 99 percent of the world's population would never witness and it made us really appreciate the sanctity of life. We also flipped the work van on our last day, seemed a fitting way to end mortuary work, by almost ending up in one. 

If Papaya Tree were a flower what would you be?

The Gypsy flower.  A thousand little opinions that individually would be insignificant but when placed together they form a beautiful bouquet.