DEL-SLACKERS // Let The Good Vibes Roll

Chasing some cheery tunes? Jack Isaacs, the creative force behind Del-Slackers, has got you covered with his latest ditty, Waste My Day.

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It’s an ode to unemployment and making the most of your days, and we wanted to know all about it. With so much to dig into, we got Isaacs on the line for a chat. 

Hysteria: Tell us about yourself and what inspired you to get into music.

Jack: I got into music through skateboarding. I would watch a lot of videos of people skating, and they often had punk-rock music in them. I wanted to pick up an instrument after that. I was around 12, and I started learning all these songs and covering the classics from Green Day and Blink-182. From there, I started writing my own music and getting into bands with friends. Now I’m here.

We feel like so many people got introduced to punk-rock through Tony Hawk.

Yes, it was totally through Tony Hawk! On Pro Skater 4, one of the first songs I heard was Bloodstains by Agent Orange. That was one of the first songs to get me into punk. 

I wanted to go skating and be outside, I didn’t want to waste the whole day on my phone. Hence the song title.
[ Jack Isaacs ]

Waste My Day is such a feel-good track. Tell us about how it came together.

I wrote it right before I moved out of Byron Bay and back to Sydney. I had spent too much time on my phone that day and thought it sucked. I just wanted to do so much more. I wanted to go skating and be outside, I didn’t want to waste the whole day on my phone. Hence the song title. I demoed it and sent it around to some friends.  I wasn’t going to do much with it, I might’ve just popped it on a compilation tape, but it had a catchy chorus so I decided to make it into a real song and get the band involved.

We love how down to earth the music video is. What were some of your standout moments from that?

The music video was just a day at the carpark. All the skateparks were closed because of COVID, so everyone just went to the streets. There was a trolley and a rail there, so we had some fun with them. It was a one-day/one session thing, we just took the camera out and filmed it. There’s this one shot where my friend Elijah did an ollie over the trolley. It was a cool day with all the homies. We just drank some beers and skated.

Who are some of your biggest influences?

The first bands I got into were Blink-182 and Sum 41. Then I graduated into older punk bands like Descendents, Black Flag, Agent Orange and T.S.O.L. I think that’s where the pop element comes from. Descendents were one of the first pop-punk bands to put melodies to that kind of music.

What’s in store for the rest of the year?

I’m planning to put out an EP called Volume 2. I’ll be looking to release that before winter is over. If things go back to normal, I hope to play more shows too. I just want to see kids crowdsurfing again.

Purchase and stream Waste My Day here.