Rising Gippsland surf-punks Cheap-Skate have released a new single Fly Away. Arriving accompanied by a delightfully low-fi video which features frontperson Blaike Murphy playing the role of a road traffic control employee, Fly Away is a passionate surf-rock anthem with a punk spirit that rallies against the soul-crushing reality of interminably long days spent by the roadside holding traffic signs.
Inspired by Murphy's real-world experience, the song serves up instantly relatable lyrics for the high-vis including the rather specific but perfect"Cameron should not let Beuller (Bueller) Drive his dads GT Get away from me This unsealed gravel country backroad ain’t need for speed".
Watch the video for Fly Away below.
Produced, engineered & mixed by Darcy Handley from Melbourne prog-pop-punks Terra and mastered by Christopher Vernon of Belle Haven and Better Half fame, Fly Away follows early 2023's Demons in affirming Cheap-Skates tune-smithery, setting them up to continue a rapid rise since the project debuted in 2022 with I Don't Mind. To celebrate the release of Fly Away, Murphy was kind enough to write a little 'how to' guide to help Maniacs everywhere correctly interpret traffic signs (coz it seems some of you really could do with a reminder).
Cheap-Skate's Guide To The Three Standard and BASIC Traffic Signs (For Those Who Don't Know How To F***ng Read)
"Now this is coming from a traffic controller who’s had many near death experiences with D-Head drivers…. If you decide you don’t want to obey the signs, I’m not your boss, just keep your eyes peeled, for both workers, and what’s to come in the world of CHEAP-SKATE ."
Speed signs
So these are the signs that have numbers on them… now if you look at your dash while driving, you’ll see numbers there too, when you see these signs it usually means you should slow/go the same speed that’s on the sign, if the sign says 80 and your dash says 140, try slowing down to 80!
Road Work Ahead/do not overtake
So this sign that says “road work ahead”, “do not overtake” with the digger man, usually means there’s road works ahead where people might be on the road, digging perhaps, this is a good indication to maybe slow down
Prepare to stop
These signs, Yaknow, the one with the lil dude holding the stop bat? with the text “40” and “Prepare to stop” at the bottom? Usually means prepare to be stopped, either by a lil dude with a stop/slow bat or a traffic light… probably best if you do 40 and not risk running over the lil dude…
Having played shows with the likes of LOSER, The Smith Street Band, Satin Cali, Chasing Ghosts, Friends of Friends, Semantics, Rum Jungle and headlined The Terry's first Battle of the Bands event and locked in shows with The Reytons (UK), The Bennies, Young Lions & These New South Whales, and selling out several shows of their own, Cheap-Skate show no intention of slowing down.
Fly Away is out now.
Listen to Cheap-Skate
