Richard Duguay's latest is nothing like a decline

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By JD Misfortune

JD Misfortune

25 July 2023

Hits: 2785

Beautiful Decline – Richard Duguay (Cursed Blessings Records)

I've already told pretty much everyone I still know personally about this one-in-a million original black cat, Richard Duguay, who's been kickin' around the glam rock underground maybe even longer than myself.

He's played with everybody from Personality Crisis to Duff's solo band, there was even talk of him replacing Izzy Stradlin in Guns N Roses at some point. 

I'm obsessed with all his songs-you know they get compared to vintage Bowie and Alice and 70's punks like the Heartbreakers, but for me what makes his music so resonant besides the stellar production, amazing guitar tones, lived it vocals and poetic heartfelt lyrics is the simple fact that Richard is expressing his own uniquely distinctive point of view and doing it all his own way with imagination, guts, and style and flair. 

His wife who he collaborates with also has a really good voice. 

• glam
• richard duguay
• beautiful decline
• duff
• cursed blessings records

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When Wrongs sound so right: Jody Stephens in conversation with Darryl Mather

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By Darryl Mather*

Darryl Mather*

30 July 2023

Hits: 2614

_{Luther Russell and Jody Stephens in Those Pretty Wrongs duo format.}

As drummer and a founding member of the legendary Big Star, Jody Stephens is an icon to so many of today's musicians. The musical legacy of Big Star is as omnipresent as it's ever been and undoubtedly this enormous global respect is due to the band's recording of three of the greatest albums ever set to vinyl.

A hugely successful reformation by Big Star in the early ‘90s produced a world tour and a fine fourth album. Pleasingly, over this past decade, Jody has gone on to create even more marvellous music wth a duo outfit with Luther Russell, Those Pretty Wrongs. 

As a songwriting pair, their music is refreshingly honest, supremely melodious and inherently tender in its style. And the recordings are super hi fi harking back to the quality of John Fry’s famous work at Ardent Studios with Big Star. 

It is therefore the music of Those Pretty Wrongs I primarily wished to focused on in this Q&A in advance of Those Pretty Wrongs’ exciting upcoming second tour of Australia. I was especially keen to seek a deeper understanding of how Jody’s own musical journey influences the music of Those Pretty Wrongs. 

• big star
• australian tour
• those pretty wrongs
• jody stephens
• Luther russell
• darryl mather
• orange humble band

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Michael Canning's science of pop

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By The Barman

The Barman

19 July 2023

Hits: 1927

Chirality - Michael Canning (Ghostjogger Records)

Michael Canning, a UK-based New Zealand scientist and occasional multi-instrumental character, has released his fourth LP. Which is joyful, groovy, interesting and downright fun. 

The word "chirality" comes from the Greek “kheir”, meaning “hand”; a familiar chiral object. It's a term used by chemistry and physics characters. To quote a textbook: "Stereoisomers are isomers that differ in spatial arrangement of atoms, rather than order of atomic connectivity. One of their most interesting type of isomer is the mirror-image stereoisomers, a non-superimposable set of two molecules that are mirror image of one another. The existence of these molecules are determined by concept known as chirality."

But you knew that, right?

• pop
• new zealand
• michael canning
• chirality
• ghostogger records

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Teen no longer but boredom isn't an option

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By Robert Brokenmouth

Robert Brokenmouth

18 July 2023

Hits: 2804

Replay the Adverts - TV Smith and The Bored Teenagers (Easy Action Records)

You say you liked the punk stuff at the beginning? If you don't have the first Adverts LP, “Crossing the Red Sea with..”,  or their second, “Cast of Thousands”, then this will do nicely. 

Sure, we weren't at the fabled 100 Club, or the infamous CBGBs in the Bowery, or the Mermaid in Sparkhill when Swansplayed ... but we have our own memories of the fantastic, never to be repeated underground. 

And, let's face it, the only thing that elevates a shithole is the scene we punters and creatives make. When the scene ebbs and flows away, the shithole is still a shithole. I bet CBGBs is a lot cleaner now (it's a designer clothing shop) and while the 100 Club is still around at a different location, it's well and truly part of the establishment. Perhaps appropriately, the Mermaid stands as a gutted derelict after a fire.

• tv smith
• easy action records
• bored teenagers
• replay the adverts

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Appeal opens to help Ron Peno and partner in their cancer fight

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By The Barman

The Barman

14 July 2023

Hits: 2684

• Peno
• support act
• ron s peno

It's coming out on vinyl so let's get the band together again

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By The Barman

The Barman

12 July 2023

Hits: 1914

It’s 30 years since the “Night of the Wolverine” album and to mark the occasion,  Dave Graney is reforming The Coral Snakes and going on the road to promote a vinyl pressing.           

Originally only available on CD, “Night of the Wolverine” was the breakthrough that took ex-Moodists leader Graney to overground success and his eventual crowning as Australia’s Kling of Pop.  

The 53-minute album will be pressed over four long player discs and isw available via Graney's Bandcamp.

Graney will be joined by original Coral Snakes Clare Moore on drums, Rod Hayward on guitar and Robin Casinader on keys and violin, and his frequent sideman Stu Thomas on bass.

“We will be playing two sets, the first being the 'Night Of The Wolverine' album and the second filled with songs that came before and after that breakthrough (for us) record,” Dave says.

• dave graney
• coral snakes
• australian tour
• night of the wolverine

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Boatshed allows Sydney rock and roll's ghosts to be heard

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By Edwin Garland

Edwin Garland

09 July 2023

Hits: 3521

_{Graham Hood and Dave Thomas from The Crisps.} 

The Crisps
+ Sonic Garage
+ 4 Barrel Hemi
The Old Manly Boatshed, Manly NSW
Sunday, 9 April 2023

The Old Manly Boatshed could be the oldest running live music venue in Sydney, now operating for almost 40 years. it’s an institution in Manly. It is a ghost of the Old Manly when the streets were haunted by Henry Lawson’s ghost that walked that back streets and drank the night away. 

Lawson captured the yarns and characters of a seaside suburb that does not exist anymore - of “kindred souls and outsiders we knew”.

When The Boastshed started, Manly was Rock ‘n’ Roll Central outside the inner city of Sydney. The legendary Flicks, The Manly Hotel and the Rugby Club were just up the road. Rock ‘n’ roll ruled most nights of the week. The Corso was packed with outsiders - surfers, bikers writers and Boehmians. Midnight Oil had an office here. Wallabies hopped around  backyards and there were entire housesholds of musicians.  

• sonic garage
• the crisps
• manly boatshed
• 4 barrel hemi
• manly

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Have feedback will travel

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By The Barman

The Barman

07 July 2023

Hits: 2551

Travels and Travails – Penny Ikinger (Off The Hip)

Originally slated to be a Best of album, “Travels and Travails” is a collection of 11 songs from Penny Ikinger’scareer, spanning 2004-23. Considering it was recorded with half a dozen different bands in various places around the world, it hangs together remarkably well.

There’s no real need to reference Penny’s musical beginnings in the hothouse that was Sydney’s underground in the 1980s. It’s as an artist in her own right back in her hometown of Melbourne, that she’s made her mark. 

She also has a appetite for taking her music offshore. These are collaborations with artists from France, Australia, Japan and the United States – live and in the studio. Fans will recognise the odd re-working of previously released material, but most cuts are new. 

• scientists
• penny ikinger
• dimi dero
• jim dickson
• Masami Kawaguchi
• travels and travails

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Surviving Big Star member Jody Stephens brings Those Pretty Wrongs to Australia

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By The Barman

The Barman

07 July 2023

Hits: 1981

Jody Stephens, sole surviving member of iconic early '70s power pop legends Big Star, and latest song-writing partner Luther Russell are bringing their band Those Pretty Wrongs to Australia in August.

With a third album under their belt, Those Pretty Wrongs recall the soulful jangle of Big Star and ‘90s alt-country. Stephens’ presence will instil adoration among fans of his previous work. 

Stephens is the only man other than Alex Chilton to play on all three of Big Star’s peerless original albums. He was also a member of supergroup Golden Smog, alongside members of Wilco and the Jayhawks.

• australian tour
• those pretty wrongs
• jody stephens
• Luther russell

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