TISM

TISM ( TIZ-əm; an acronym of This Is Serious Mum) are a seven-piece anonymous alternative rock band, formed in Melbourne, Australia, on 30 December 1982 by vocalist/drummer Humphrey B. Flaubert, bassist/vocalist Jock Cheese and keyboardist/vocalist Eugene de la Hot Croix Bun, with vocalist Ron Hitler-Barassi joining the group the following year. These four members have formed the core of the band since their inception, with the line-up being rounded out by guitarists Leak Van Vlalen (1982–1991), Tokin' Blackman (1991–2004; died 2008) and Vladimir Lenin-McCartney (2022–present), as well as backing vocalists/dancers Les Miserables and Jon St. Peenis. Noted for their dark humour, sarcastic delivery and melodic songwriting, the seven members of TISM appear in public as a pseudonymous, semi-paramilitary collective masked in a variety of balaclavas (usually as part of a more elaborate costume), and are known for their "chaotic" appearances in Australian media, often frustrating interviewers with absurd non sequiturs and tongue-in-cheek nihilism.