Stems announce supports, venue change and a new date

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By The Barman

The Barman

17 May 2024

Hits: 2373

Legendary garage rockers, The Stems, have announced supports, an extra show and one venue shift on their tour to celebrate 40 years. .

Power-pop rockers The Prize will kick off the national run as support for both the August 24 show at The Corner Hotel in Melbourne and a newly-added date at the Theatre Royal at Castlemaine in August 24.

Adelaide can expect the dark folk-pop of Romana Ashton & The Reeds as support. Acclaimed indie-pop rock outfit Ups And Downs are set for the Brisbane gig, which is now at the Mansfield Tavern.

In Sydney, The Stems will be joined by The New Christs. The Rinehearts have the main support in WA with Fremantle alt-rock four-piece Vancool opening.

The Stems
40^th Anniversary Australian Tour
AUG
+ The Prize
23 - Theatre Royal, Castlemaine. VIC
+ The Prize
24 – Corner Hotel, Melbourne
+ Romana Ashton & The Reeds
25 – The Gov, Adelaide
+ Ups & Downs
30 – Mansfield Tavern, Brisbane
+ New Christs
31 – Manning Bar, Sydney
SEP 
+ The Rhinehearts
+ Vancool
5 – Freo Social, Fremantle
Tickets here

• new christs
• dom mariani
• the stems
• australian tour
• ups & downs
• the prize
• 40th anniversary tour
• the rhinehearts
• romana ashton & the reeds

MC5 tribute shapes as a gig for the ages

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By The Barman

The Barman

15 May 2024

Hits: 2663

It will be a gathering of the faithful when some of Michigan’s most respected and enduring rock and roll acts take to the stage at the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor for “A Tribute to The MC5” on June 9.

A fundraiser for the late Wayne Kramer’s Jail Guitar Doors Foundation that uses music to rehabilitate jail inmates, it was instigated by former Scott Morgan’s Powertrane bassist and current Mazinga member, Chris “Box” Taylor after the recent passing of the Five’s last man standing, drummer Dennis Thompson.

• powertrane
• mc5
• wayne kramer
• dennis thompson
• scott morgan
• danny kroha
• the strains
• chris box taylor
• the paybacks
• hiawatha bailey
• mazinga
• kenny olson
• jail guitar doors

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Gurus mark debut's 40th with Australian tour

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By The Barman

The Barman

15 May 2024

Hits: 2221

Musical anniversaries are coming at us coming quicker than a Dee Dee Ramone "1-2-3-4" count-in, but there’s a special place in Australian rock and roll sensibilities for the 40^th birthday of the seminal Hoodoo Gurus album “Stoneage Romeos”.

The band has already unveiled vinyl and CD re-issues of the their debut LP and there’s a run of Australian dates in November and December this year on which the Gurus will reprise the long-player from go to whoa.

Originally released in March 1984, “Stoneage Romeos” featured the hits “Leilani”, “Tojo”, “My Girl” and “I Want You Back”. It reached #29 on the Australian Album Chart and went on to win Best Debut Album at the 1984 Countdown Awards. “Stoneage Romeos” has consistently appeared in the Top 10 on almost every Top 50 and Top 100 Australian album lists.

• stoneage romeos
• hoodoo gurus
• australian tour
• 40th anniversary

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Ex-Barracuda Jeremy Gluck's march of time perfectly captured on career retrospective

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By Robert Brokenmouth

Robert Brokenmouth

11 May 2024

Hits: 1803

I Am Time - Jeremy Gluck (Glass Modern)

This is one of the few times I cannot quantify a musical release. I cannot answer the question: “How many bottles?”

Really? For this? No, you may as well say “I Am Time” is as high as that thing over there, or as round as it is long. 

“I Am Time” is a rather startling career overview of the tempting output of one Jeremy Gluck - and, yes, we're all aware of the sniggerment possibilities of Jeremy's surname, so if you quit cackling at the back there we might be able to get to the meat of the matter at hand.

• the birthday party
• nikki sudden
• the gun club
• the barracudas
• i am time
• glass modern
• jeffrrey lee pierce

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FLASHBACK: Dennis Thompson and The American Ruse

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By Ken Shimamoto

Ken Shimamoto

10 May 2024

Hits: 3392

^{Dennis Thompson (rear) with Fred Smith, Wayne Kramer, Rob Tyner and Mike Davis.}

We are marking the passing of Dennis Thompson, last man standing from the MC5, with this flashback interview. Ken Shimamoto conducted it in two parts, beginning on March 24 1998 and winding up on March 28, 1998.

Besides being the party who propelled the MC5 (and New Order, and New Race, and The Motor City Bad Boys, and...) into the stratosphere with his percussive power, Dennis "Machine Gun" Thompson is also undoubtedly the greatest living high-energy conversationalist on the planet. He talks the same way he plays the drums -- energetically, assertively, aggressively, thoughts spilling over each other two or three at a time, punctuated by explosions of laughter.

K: How'd you get started playing music back in Lincoln Park?

D: Well, what it was, was that I had a friend named Billy Vargo who played guitar, and I'm thinking, how old were we, we were like maybe 15-years-old, and he was the leader of the band. We had three guitars, no bass, and me on drums. And I was doing it, I was playing.

My brother is 10 years older than I am, and he's been a musician all his life. So when he was 16, I was six years old, and they had a rock and roll band, practicing music in my basement, the drummer would leave his drums, so four year old, five-year-old Dennis would run down there and bang on the drums and Mom would yell down there, "Dennis, get off those drums, they're not yours!" But she'd always give me at least 10 minutes, you know?

• fred smith
• mc5
• wayne kramer
• sonic
• rob tyner
• dennis thompson
• michael davis
• new order
• new race
• ken shimamoto
• jon landau

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Vale MC5 drummer Dennis Thompson

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By The Barman

The Barman

10 May 2024

Hits: 2306

 _{Grande Ballroom image by Norm Lye.}

Vale Dennis “Machine Gun” Thompson, who was Last Man Standing from the MC5 until today. “MGT” passed away peacfully in hospital in Detroit where he had been rehabilitating following a heart attack in April. He was aged 75.

The Detroit Free Press reported earlier today that he was still at Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital during his initial recovery when he heard that the MC5 was headed into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on April 21.

• mc5
• dennis thompson
• new order
• new race

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Pismo Beach's finest mark 40 years with Australian match-ups

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By The Barman

The Barman

03 May 2024

Hits: 1891

It's been four decades since they burst onto the Australian rock and roll scene, and Pismo Beach’s own Psychotic Turnbuckles are descending Down Under for a three-state tour.

With three albums and a dozen singles and EPs to their credit, the Turnbuckles are still The World Rock and Roll Tag Team Champions and retained their crown on a Japanese tour that included an appearance at the world-famous Tokyo Halloween Ball. 

The 40 Years Undefeated Tour will take on the Tote in Melbourne on Saturday, June 29 for their only Victorian show, presented by The I-94 Bar.

Guests on this leg are Sydney’s glam kings Starcrazy and Melbourne’s retro sound champions The Vibrajets.   

• psychotic turnbuckles
• vibrajets
• australian tour
• starcrazy
• the fadeaways
• bahne super-flex
• strike-outs
• the dangermen
• the busymen
• kill pill

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Perch and Destroy: Bumper Birdman book is in the nest and poised to take flight

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By The Barman

The Barman

01 May 2024

Hits: 3237

The long-awaited Radio Birdman biography from Australian writer Murray Engleheart is on the launch pad, ready for release.

“Radio Birdman: Retaliate First” is drawn from more than 150 interviews with band members, their closest associates, devotees and observers and will be published on July 2.

You can pre-order here.

A 448-page opus in paperback format being published by Allen & Unwin, it threatens to be the last word in text-rich Birdman books.

(The title of Best Visual History already belongs to the George Munoz-authored "Radio Birdman: When The Birdmen Flew".)

In the words of the publisher’s blurb: “Sydney's legendary Radio Birdman were a stake through the satin and scarfed hearts of the mid seventies' music scene, revolutionising the conservative Australian industry in the process.

“Regarded as one of the earliest punk bands, before the world had heard of the Sex Pistols, Birdman were feared and loathed by many, yet adored by fiercely loyal fans. But their story has never been told in depth—until now.

• radio birdman

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Lost Sydney band Grooveyard's recorded legacy emerges from the vaults

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By The Barman

The Barman

28 April 2024

Hits: 3339

_{Larry McGrath photo.}

Another cache of gems has emerged from the mists of time that obscure the 1980s Australian underground music scene: The back catalogue of Sydney’s Grooveyard have been posthumously re-released.
Hindsight shows The Grooveyard was something of a supergroup. At various times, its ranks included future Paul Kelly and Messengers, Chinless Elite and Hell To Pay member Jon Schofield, Lime Spiders drummer Richard Lawson, ex-Razar member and future Screaming Tribesmen Bob Wackley, Geoff Rhoe (ex-Minuteman), Ian Little (Bambalams) and Sean Maguire (ex-Minuteman).

 Swimming against the Detroit tide that was gripping most of Sydney, Grooveyard peddled a distinctive and stunning brand of ‘60s-influenced powerpop and issued the Chris Masuak-produced “Avalanche of Love” single (1984) and 12-inch EP (“Grooveyard”, 1989). All tracks are rolling out on digital platforms from today..

• lime spiders
• razar
• Richard lawson
• grooveyard
• avalanche of love
• the grooveyard
• bob wackley
• bambalams
• ian little
• minuteman
• sean maguire