HARDCORE punk outfit, I Exist have three priorities in life: booze, blues and bongos. “Sometimes you just gotta connect with nature you know, and bongos are a good, natural way to do so, we’re all for keeping it natural,” says guitarist  Aaron Osborne.

The seven-piece band, consisting of Sam Provost, Simon Murphy, Jake Willoughby, Adrian Kelly, Josh Nixon, Alex Young and Osborne, will be part of the strong contingency of local bands to play at Canberra’s Groovin’ the Moo.

“We have played some smaller festivals around the place but not one as big as this, especially not in Canberra,” Osborne says.

“It’s awesome for us really, we are super greatful that GTM wanted us on it, we get to play with a number of really good bands/performers and it will give us a chance to show people in Canberra who might not get out to the usual shows we play who we are, hopefully they have fun watching us and like the songs, then maybe they can come and check us out at another show in the future.

“Also, getting to play with Public Enemy is pretty awesome.”

A far cry from their very first gig back in 2009.

“Our first show was at Tuggeranong Youth Centre in early 2009 with our friends Dropsaw from Newcastle, it was fun, we were probably pretty sloppy and loose, but that’s a good thing and I was definitely pretty nervous, being that I hadn’t played guitar infront of people for around seven years, ” he says.

“But it was good fun, and it obviously paid off starting the band, we’re still kicking.”

Although for the past year Osborne, originally a southsider, has lived in Melbourne, the rest of the band still have their roots firmly planted in Canberra and over the years, its “isolation” has played a big part in how the band has evolved.

“Even though we come from a place that is inside another state, and isn’t too far from major cities, Canberra can feel and be pretty isolated from the rest of the country at times, and for us I think that is a good thing,” he said.

“I dont think we really conformed to what anyone was doing in the scene we are a part of when we started nor do I think we have now.

“So that made us really have to carve our own style and work to get our name out there, obviously we have been influenced by a lot of things but I like to think that our music is pretty original.

“And aside from that, we have the most supportive network of friends, family and people who are just into our music from Canberra, they have been there since we started, and they still come out to every show when we come back. It’s a great place to come from, and come back to.”

I Exist have released two albums with another of the cards. Over the next six months they’ll be playing a series of shows around the country with the possibility of performing in NZ.

I Exist will be performing at Groovin the Moo at The Meadows, UC, Sunday May 13. For tickets visit gtm.net.au.

To listen to I Exist visit http://www.myspace.com/iexistmusic