State Champs’ Ryan Scott Graham Recalls His Wildest Aussie Tour Memories: Kangaroo Pies, Cliff Jumps & Arena Chaos

State Champs are no strangers to Australia. With multiple visits under their belts—from sweaty club shows to full-blown arena tours—the New York pop-punk heavyweights have built a loyal following Down Under.

But ask bassist Ryan Scott Graham to pick a favourite memory, and you’re in for a wild ride through the Outback, roadside diners, dead kangaroos, and spontaneous cliff diving.

Back on Australian shores for Neck Deep’s ‘The Dumbstruck Dumbf!*k Tour’ this week, Graham sat down with Tone Deaf to look back on the band’s earlier trips with a mix of nostalgia and disbelief.

“The first time we ever came with Neck Deep, I remember that one being so fun because it felt like a DIY tour that we do in the States,” he says. “We were all smashed in a van, both bands together, driving across Australia—which is not small.”

You could say they underestimated the size of the country.

“You might look at it on a map and think, ‘okay, I live in the States, this isn’t that big.’ But once you get there, you’re like, ‘dude, we’re driving through the Outback for hours and hours.’ We weren’t flying between shows like we are now—we were in a van.”

One day, somewhere in the middle of nowhere, that van pulled up to what Graham describes as “a diner—the only thing around for miles.”

“I was starving,” he recalls. “There’s this big sign that says kangaroo pie. I was like, ‘I don’t know how ethical this is… do people really eat kangaroo? Whatever.’ So I had a kangaroo pie.”

Full of Aussie pride and ready to meet one of the country’s iconic marsupials, Ryan was in for a rude awakening.

“I was so excited to see a kangaroo in the wild. The first one I saw was dead on the side of the road—got hit by a car. The magic was totally stripped away. But I’ll never forget that. I mean… it wasn’t the same kangaroo I ate in the pie. I hope.”

Not every off-day was quite so cursed. In fact, one of Graham’s most cherished tour memories involves a surprise adventure in Wollongong.

“We had a day off and found this big swimming hole. I don’t know if it was a state park, but we ended up cliff jumping and swimming together,” he says. “We’re not super adventurous—I think I am—but as a band, not so much. So for us to spend a day doing that, it was rare. I just remember that day being really fun.”

But when it comes to true tour pinch-me moments, nothing beats their time supporting 5 Seconds of Summer across Australian arenas.

“5SOS bringing us out on that arena tour was probably one of the craziest things that’s ever happened to us,” Graham recalls. “We had one record out. I was just reflecting on it recently—I tweeted about it, and people were like, ‘Wait, what?! You toured with Five Sauce?’”

It all started with a tweet.

“One of the guys in 5SOS had tweeted our video for ‘Elevated’, and suddenly our Twitter was blowing up. A few months later, we’re playing these massive venues.”

But the real kicker?

“We were still so small that in between arena shows, we were playing clubs. So it was like 20,000 people one night, then 300 the next. Then back to 15,000. It was this totally unique experience—I don’t know how many bands get to do something like that. We were just kids running around on stage, no idea what to expect. No in-ears. No tour manager. Just vibes.”

Years and albums later, Graham still looks back on those early days with wide-eyed wonder.

“It was just crazy—and so fun. And the fact that it happened in Australia? I’ll never, ever forget it.”

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