Hailing from Lilydale in the state’s north, Shawn Arnold is the frontman of band Teens – who just released their debut album, after being active in the local music scene for over a decade.

Where did you grow up and where do you live now? I grew up in Lilydale and funnily enough I’m back living here. Growing up here was great, a lot of people I’m still friends with today I met here. I used to help a guy named Barney Bennet do some hay carting sometimes, he taught me a lot about music, intro­duced me to some cool bands and he’s a killer guitarist. After work we would have a jam in his shed and it was the best, we tracked a few jams to a cassette recorder. Great memories!

Tell us about your band. Teens is a band I started over a decade ago now. It’s taken many different forms since then but it started as an outlet for the songs I was writing by myself. I would record these songs on my own. Eventually I asked a couple friends if they wanted to play these songs with me and they did – we started doing small shows in Launceston and the occasional one in Hobart. Thinking back the band was super green and there were some train wreck shows but we still had fun. As some members left, other friends would join to help out with the live shows. I’d like to think we got a lot better. Fast forward a bunch of years, Teens’ sound became a lot heavier, faster sounding and it became a more collabo­rative experience which I find a lot more fulfilling.

How does it feel to finally release your first album? It feels great and the response has been really positive. I never thought it would all come together, if it wasn’t for band mates Alex Davern, Jono Tate and Jack Storay. So I really owe a lot to those guys. They gave me motivation to get things rolling.

Is it true you recorded most of the album in a single day? It’s true. We had to get all Jack’s parts recorded because he was leaving for Melbourne. It was impor­tant for us to do that. Shout outs to Joss Thomas who recorded us at his studio in Paradise, love ya man.

The band has been plagued with injuries and obstacles. Can you elaborate on that? I feel like we were getting to a place where we were thinking about recording and then I tore a bunch of tendons in my right shoulder mountain bike riding. It put a total stop on everything. We didn’t play for a long time. Accidents kept happening and the band wasn’t really doing anything.

It has been a long road. Something would happen every time it felt like we were in a good place to record. Band members coming and going, not because of any bad blood. Just life happens and people want change. The Brisbane Hotel closed down. It was a significant hub for musicians and artists. I loved that place. I saw so many amazing bands there and made so many friends there. It was a huge loss to the Hobart/Tasmanian music community and I honestly don’t think it has actually recovered.

Who do you admire? My dog Bonnie.

Favourite podcast? What a Great Punk by These New South Whales.

Secret vice? Spicy margarita, it’s no secret though.

What was your first job? Stacking shelves at an IGA.

What are your daily news/social media habits? ABC, Instagram, FB Marketplace, Reverb. I’m a fiend for music gear.

Your favourite place for…

Breakfast: Room for a Pony.

Lunch: Pub, any pub.

Dinner: Pizza from Ti Ama or Local Pizza.

Dream holiday destination? Austin, Texas.

Favourite Tasmanian secret? Paradise.

Parting words? You can listen to us on Bandcamp, where you can buy our vinyl! We’re on all those streaming platforms. Big thanks to anyone who’s bought the album so far or came along to a show. It means a lot to us.

Track Teens’ upcoming live shows via their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/Teensbandtas.