Eco values underpin upbeat tunes

Jason Neptune of grunge-roots band The Lost Thylacines has recently toured the Mid West with a more acoustic feel.

Although usually playing alongside drummer Rob Meier, Neptune will hold the fort while Meier works away on the Abrolhos Islands.

With guitar in hand and a stomp box under foot, Neptune will get the crowd up and dancing with The Lost Thylacine’s upbeat tunes.

The duo has spent the month travelling around rural WA, before heading over to Victoria in January.

“I never get sick of travelling around WA — it’s a beautiful place,” Neptune said.

“It’s a good way to live and I never get sick of exploring, so I’m always happy to come back and play.”

Growing up in a family of music lovers, Neptune has been passionate about music for as long as he can remember.

Originally hailing from Victoria, Neptune relocated to Margaret River to help his mum move house.

After landing a few gigs around town, he decided to stay, eventually running into Meier, who “magically appeared” at a friend’s house while Neptune was on the hunt for a drummer.

The two have been playing together for a few years now, hoping to release their debut EP in the new year.

When it was time to come up with a name for their musical pairing, Neptune said they looked to the mysterious Tasmanian tiger for inspiration.

Despite being extinct for 80 years, sightings of the animal are still reported around WA.

“We came across the story of the Tasmanian tiger that had supposedly been found in some caves and out in Nannup,” Neptune said.

“It’s like a nice bit of symbology of our migration over here, and we also do a lot of conservation work outside of music.

“We’ve tried to include something that’s probably one of the significant animals Australia’s lost in terms of extinction in recent history.”

As well as helping local community groups with conservation projects, the pair visit Indonesia regularly to do rubbish collection projects.

Neptune said the time away from home is when he writes most of their songs.

“It gives me a bit of time to think and put some stuff together,” he said.

“A few of our songs do have some conservational themes through them, but generally it’s all pretty evenly spread out across global experiences.”