The Panics are an indie rock band originally from Perth, Western Australia, and currently based in Melbourne, Victoria. History 2000–2006: Band formation and LittleBigMan Records The band started out while Jae Laffer (then known by his actual first name, Justin) and Drew Wootton were still at high school in Kalamunda, an outer suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Laffer and Wootton met on their first day of school. The duo added Drew's younger brother Myles on drums, Paul Otway on bass and Jules Douglas on slide guitar, keyboards and vocals and formed The Panics. After being spotted playing at the Inglewood Hotel by Happy Mondays' Gaz Whelan and Pete Carroll, following Happy Mondays' Perth performance at The Big Day Out in 2000, they were the first signing to the UK-based label LittleBIGMAN Records. Laffer later said "That's what's been really cool about us and the label is that it was just the fact it was new for everyone and we weren't just another band that they were adding to their roster. It felt really exciting to be part of a label that seemed to have really good ideals and be run by guys who certainly have their heads in the right place and are pro-artist as opposed to pro-money and I truly believe that." The Panics first release was a self-titled EP in January 2002. Tracks "My Brilliant Career" and "Give Me Some Good Luck" enjoyed high rotation on Australian radio station Triple J A second EP was released in 2002 and tracks "This Day Last Year" and "How's It Feel" were also played on Triple J. In 2002, The Panics were the first Australian band to be invited to play at In the City, the UK's annual music convention. Laffer said "It was just a very spooky event. It was like playing a pub in Perth. It was condensed down to a couple of nights. In this one kind of block in Salford in Manchester there was about ten pubs all within walking distance, each with about five bands playing a night and just a huge huge amount of industry just doing the rounds, walking through. Every person in the crowd had a laminate. Our place was packed when we played which was great but it’s very hard to read industry people 'cause they don’t want to jump around and cheer. We’d just finished recording and I remember being on