Television Generation b/w Hit Parade/What Could She Do - Sheer Fun (Fantastic Mess Records)

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By The Barman

The Barman

17 August 2019

Hits: 2477

Yes, it sounds more dated than Beta format videotape and borders on twee but therein will lie the charm for lovers of what was once called New Wave. It’s a limited edition, seven-inch single of three previously unreleased songs by Sheer Fun, a short-lived 1980 Melbourne band.

Formed by Adelaide expats Jude Ladyman and guitarist Grant Lang. Ladyman, vocalist and associate/occasional songwriter of The Aliens. The Aliens were an Adelaide band that briefly threatened to cross-over into the major label-owned mainstream. Lang and Ladyman had headed to Melbourne in search of a place in its arty punk scene. As Jude Stapleton, Ladyman went on to co-own Kings Lane Studios in Sydney, a home for many of that city’s bands in the late’80s.

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A Festival of Sue tickets go on sale

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By The Barman

The Barman

15 August 2019

Hits: 4607

Tickets for The Festival of Sue, the tribute to late Sydney music booker Sue Telfer, are now on sale here.

X, the New Christs, The Johnnys, Kim Salmon, Front End Loader, The Mis-Made, Penny Ikinger, The Holy Soul and The On and Ons have been announced in the first wave of bands on the bill.

Proceeds from the October 20 show - featuring a dozen bands over two stages at The Factory Theatre in Marrickville, Sydney - will go to Support Act, the charity for music industry members who have fallen on hard times.

It's a dazzling line-up with more names to be added and will run from 2-10pm. It will sell-out so don;t delay.  

• kim salmon
• penny ikinger
• tribute
• steve lucas
• front end loader
• the on and ons
• x band
• factory theatre
• sue telfer
• support act
• marrickille
• the mis-made

Celebrate Damien Lovelock

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By The Barman

The Barman

14 August 2019

Hits: 4474

The private funeral has come and gone. There will be a public celebration of the life of one of the world's great characters in yoga teacher, sports commentator, writer, musician and waterman, Damien Lovelock, of the Celibate Rifles on Saturday, August 24 at Newport Surf Club in Sydney from 2pm.

 

Surfers wil conduct a paddle-out, followed by a gathering in the clubhouse of all who wish to pay their respects.

• celibate rifles
• damien lovelock

Soft – Songs of Love. Distance & Destinations – Fast Cars (Method Music)

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By The Barman

The Barman

11 August 2019

Hits: 4694

In case you haven't noticed, trans-global duo Fast Cars kissed their mod past goodbye a long time ago. moving into dreamy shoegaze and pop-psych.  On their second full-length album, “Soft – Songs of Love. Distance & Destinations”, the core of Di Levi and Fabian Byrne has staked its claim on folk-pop.

“Soft” leads with the A and B side of the seven-inch single that preceded it. “Real Love?” and the slightly acerbic “Stainless” grow with each listen, reverberating with echoes of Britpop and the faintest strains of the Church. It’s Di Levi’s elegant vocal that’s the distinctive take-out here and that rings true for all 13 songs.

Expect no in-your-face rockers on “Soft”. Fast Cars are aided and abetted by an array of guests in Australia and the UK and there's some quality playing. Melody lines and musical textures abound. On this one, Fast Cars seek to beguile rather than badger.

• method records and music
• fast cars
• fabian byrne
• di levi
• soft

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Burnt Trees in The Snow – Fraudband and Donovan’s Brain (Kasumuen/Career)

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By The Barman

The Barman

11 August 2019

Hits: 5500

An unlikely pairing or a reckless act of inspiration? The contrasts on this split LP couldn’t be more obvious, but somehow the partnership works brilliantly.

Fraudband is an Australian duo (drums and guitar) that plays stark and evocative instrumentals, while Donovan’s Brain is a long-running American collective with roots in psychedelic West Coast and paisley pop. This LP, which you can buy on either side of the Pacific, gives each a toehold in the other’s musical market. As is often the way in these digital times, the vinyl comes with a download code for six extra tracks, all of them as good as the 10 LP cuts.

Half the Fraudband contribution comes from a CD release called “Blinkered vision and blurred horizons”, the rest of which ended up on a Bevis Frond split album. The Donovan’s Brain stuff is drawn from a seemingly bottomless well of material, pieced together by leader Ron Sanchez.

• career-records
• fraudband
• Kasumuen Records
• donovan's brain
• burnt trees in the snow

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By Request - Steve Lucas & Friends (SL Express)

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By The Barman

The Barman

11 August 2019

Hits: 4564

This four-song single and accompanying 10-track CD is a labour of love, a mission completed at the request of the late Chris Wilson, the celebrated Melbourne singer and X collaborator who was claimed by cancer in 2018.

Steve Lucas is backed by a San Diego band on the single, and augmented by Melbourne players on the rest. The majority of instrumentation is by Lucas, The CD includes the vinyl tracks so you're good to go in whatever format you please.

This is the X singer as you haven’t heard him - unless, of course, you’ve been to one of his thoroughly entertaining solo shows where he does away with stylistic boundaries and sings whatever takes his fancy. Mostly-acoustic, largely recorded live but augmented by sympathetic players, it resonates with raw spontaneity.

“By Request” has a distinctly Americana mood to the music. That should not surprise - the EP tracks were recorded with Mexican musicians in America, as Chris Wilson asked. Their number includes Hector Penalosa of The Zeros but they are all accomplished local players.

• steve lucas
• chris wilson
• x band
• by request

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Sydney music champion Sue Telfer to be celebrated by all-star line-up

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By The Barman

The Barman

11 August 2019

Hits: 5417

Friends of Sydney music scene legend Sue Telfer have banded together to assemble a line-up of bands to pay tribute to this much-loved lady at The Factory Theatre in Marrickville on Sunday, October 20. Over eight hours and two stages, a line-up that includes X, the New Christs, The Johnnys, Kim Salmon, Front End Loader will crank up the volume for Sue.

Sydney’s live scene suffered a monumental blow in June when long-time administrator, venue booker, confidante and den mother to countless bands, Sue Telfer, passed away suddenly at her Sydney home.

Sue grew up in in the halcyon days of Sydney’s inner-city scene of the 1980s. A employee of musicians’ rights organisation APRA-AMCOS for 32 years, Sue was around Surry Hills’ vibrant music pubs and clubs for even longer, most notably as the long-time booker for its legendary Excelsior Hotel.

• kim salmon
• the johnnys
• x band
• factory theatre
• sue telfer
• support act
• news christs

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Ron Keeley offers original Birdman drumhead

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By The Barman

The Barman

09 August 2019

Hits: 5250

Foundation Radio Birdman drummer Ron Keeley is offering a rare piece of memorabilia for sale on the UK eBay site, taken from his own collection.

This item is a 24 inch (61cm) diameter painted bass drumhead from his white Rodgers kit. It was hand-painted by the band’s long-serving bass player and their artist, Warwick Gilbert. It saw action from 1976-78. It was re-used by Ron after Birdman broke up and he joined The Visitors, at that point being covered by a cardboard fascia with that band’s logo.

“It was on the kit for ALL the Radio Birdman gigs we played during that time, including all those at the Funhouse, the famous live session at 2JJ Studios, both of the legendary 1977 Paddington Town Hall gigs and many others,” Ron said.

“Condition is pretty good considering its age and the number of ‘skirmishes’ it was involved in…although it’s a bit battle-scarred (and stained in places with splashes of beer and other unidentified liquids.)”

The item comes with a personally signed Certificate of Authenticity stating that the drum face is a contemporaneous item from Ron’s personal collection, and describing its provenance.

• radio birdman
• the visitors
• ron keeley
• warwick gilbert
• ebay

Address to the Nation – Chris Masuak and the Viveiro Wave Riders (I-94 Bar)

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By Ron Brown & Edwin Garland

Ron Brown & Edwin Garland

09 August 2019

Hits: 5695

Hello from the Dimboola farmhouse folks and has it been rocking here!  The reason is that Chris “Klondike” Masuak and the Viveiro Wave Riders have released a rocking good album. Their second long player, “Address to the Nation”, is the follow-up to 2016’s “Brujita” and is pure guitar driven tracks from start to finish. 

Myself, I think it’s a lot stronger than the first album - there is less pop and more grunt.

Well, let’s start with any folks who are not savy to Klondike’s cv: RADIO BIRDMAN, HITMEN , THE NEW CHRISTS, JUKE SAVAGES, NORTH 40 and the wonderful SCREAMING TRIBESMEN. To name a few.

• hitmen
• radio birdman
• i-94 bar records
• screaming tribesmen
• chris masuak
• address to the nation
• viveiro wave riders

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