Originally a member of South American garage band Los Peyotes, Rolando Bruno is now a solo artist in his own right. He’s peddling the weirdest brew of salsa-garage-exotica heard outside of an Buenos Aires coke den.
Los Peyotes were on Dirty Water Records. Rolando dipped his toe in the solo artist water while still with them. Voodoo Rhythm Records is his new home. The label has a habit of signing weird and wonderful one-man bands (case-in-point: its owner Beat-Man) and Bruno is no exception to the rule.
This autobiography by American pop-cum-punk-rock guitarist Frank Secich is a charmer. It’s big on warmth and doesn’t dish the dirt.
Its vignettes sometimes run to less than two pages apiece and are served canape style rather than in large chunks. Its 200 or so pages won’t suck up more than a few days for most people to consume.
Polite charm and gentle humour shine through.
You’d never guess its author spent two years touring with one of America’s most notorious punk bands.
Frank Secich cut his musical teeth in a bunch of Mid-western garage and teen hop bands in the ‘60s, almost cracked the big time with major label signings Blue Ash and was a sideman on bass for the latter-day Dead Boys, with his good mate Stiv Bators.
Secich worked with Stiv in his time as a solo artist for Bomp Records, retired and went on to a second career with Club Wow (with Jimmy Zero) and garage rockers Deadbeat Poets. He’s paid his own dues and those of several other people.
Sydney Northern Beaches-based ambassadors for rock and roll, The Overtones, have scored a coup by landing themselves a spot on the Meatstock barbecue festival at Olympic Park this Saturday.
Always making the most of any opportunities - and playing in front of 5000 people has to qualify as one – The Overtones will use their 3pm spot to launch their debut album.
They’re playing with The Beards, Snowdroppers, Henry Wagons and Blind Ray but too bad if you want a ticket – the first day of the all-weekend event has sold out.
To those who witnessed Ed Kuepper’s live shows last year in which he first aired this new crop of songs, we were set afloat in a dimly-set world and intimate setting.
Ed was sitting on his throne; his approach was self-absorbed, ambient and ethereal, yet focused. With the odd Scotch on the rocks being downed, Kuepper was in fine form.
Want to know what the classic line-up of Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers sounded like live? Most of us missed them the first time around and with three of them no longer with us there’s no chance whatsoever of them reforming - at least in this life.
So you’ll just have to settle for listening to “Live At The Village Gate”.
Glad you asked.
“Live At The Village Gate” is a newly-minted album on Los Angeles label Cleopatra Records. It’s out on LP and CD. It was recorded at the legendary jazz venue, The Village Gate, in New York City in 1977. Our review is here.
To many ears, it represents the ultimate recording of the infamous Heartbreakers at their highest peak. No slop, no pop. Pure power and energy that’s powerful enough to level a New York City block. It captures the notoriously drug-addled quartet in clear-eyed form and totally on their game. Out to impress and definitely Down To Kill.
Radio Birdman's 2015 European tour made enough successful noise for them to gain spots this coming June on several European festivals, most notably Spain's Azkena Rock Festival and Belgium's Sjock Festival.
The impact of their sold-out London show was such that they have been invited back to the UK with Manchester and Leeds added onto the itinerary and several other shows being slated.
The good news for Australian fans is that prior to their return to Europe, the band will play a limited number of local shows over the first two weekends of June. These are expected to be the band's only Australian shows for 2016.
Tickets go on sale Monday, 1st February from 12PM AEDT:
RADIO BIRDMAN
AUSTRALIAN TOUR
Friday, 3rd June 2016
The Factory, Sydney NSW
Tix: http://bit.ly/1JDGYd7
Saturday, 4th June 2016
The Triffid, Brisbane QLD
Tix: http://tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=59587
Tix: http://tickets.thetriffid.com.au/?Event=59587
Friday, 10th June 2016
The Brisbane Hotel, Hobart TAS
Tix: http://brisbanehotel.oztix.com.au/?eventId=59552
Tix: http://tickets.oztix.com.au/?eventId=59552
Saturday, 11th June 2016
Max Watts, Melbourne VIC
Tix: www.maxwatts.com.au or 1300 724 867 or www.oztix.com.au
Sunday, 12th June 2016
The Gov, Adelaide SA
Tix: http://thegov.oztix.com.au/?Event=59520
Here we have Javier Escovedo's new release, "Kicked out of Eden", courtesy of Saustex Records in San Antonio, Texas, and it's a good one.
We probably all know Javier from his work with The Zeros and The True Believers. He co-founded The Zeros (the so-called “Mexican Ramones”) and was a leading light in the West Coast punk scene. Surprisingly, "Kicked Out of Eden" is only his second solo recording.
Here’s the exclusive debut of “Cheer Squad”, a non-album digital-only single and taster on Conquest of Noise for Leadfinger’s forthcoming album “Friday Night Heroes”.
“Cheer Squad”is a high-energy bolt from the zeitgeist...it's a song about social media and not fitting in with the crowd, with an attitude that harks back to the ‘70s punk era. “Cheer Squad” is backed up by “The Man I Used to Be”, from the upcoming album. Buy and download the single over the next month and you’ll also get an amazing non-album bonus track called Three Brothers. Three great songs for $A4 and they’re all available here.
Leadfinger will play "Cheer Squad" this Friday night at an I-94 Bar show at Sydney's Marrickville Bowling Club with special guests Simon Chainsaw (with an all-star band of ex-New Christs, Hell Crab City and Filth members) and the garage groove of The Escapes.
I’ve played this CD several times since I received it, and the reason it gets only three bottles is that while it’s really good, it just doesn’t seem to get up and grab me. Maybe that’s me, maybe that’s the production, or the recording on the day. Call me a bastard, feel free, but to me the pace seems just a little too slow, lacking in attack… or something. I can’t quite nail it.
It seems that the imperative a band like this should have has not come out. This happens far too often with recordings (several favourite Adelaide bands who I absolutely loved have released CDs and LPs which seem sheepish rather than roar like a bull buffalo in Kakadu; the worst part is, when a band know the record isn’t up to snuff, they know it and feel bad. The next step should be to determine to do better next time).
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The Stallers
+ DISGRACEland + Motordose
MoshPit, St Peters, NSW
- June 21 (3pm)
Nursery Crimes
+ Chainsaw Preachers
+ Fear & Loathing
The Metro Hotel, Adelaide
- Jun 20
Tickets
+ The Skunks + Cull the Band
+ The Dandy Buzzkills + DJ LeRox
Port Noarlunga Football Club
- Jun 21
Tickets
I-94 Bar presents
Spitting Chips
(ex-Cosmic Psychos)
+ Jupiter 5 + The Sugar Beats
Marrickvile Bowlo, NSW
- July 11
Tickets
New Christs
w/ Tumbleweed
Hamilton Station Hotel, Newcastle
- June 21
Pete Ross & The Sapphire
+ Looch Lewis & The Press Gangsters
Marrickville Bowlo
June 22
(4.30pm - free)
The Blowers
JUN
20 - Shotkickers, Melb
21 - Trash Cult, Bendigo
09 - Grace Emily, Adelaide
10 - The Cumby, Port Adelaide
Sick Fizz
(album launch)
+ The Owen Guns
+ The Jane Does
The Duke, Enmore, NSW
- Aug 2
(Free)
The New Christs
UK and Europe Tour
AUG
13 - Night ´n Day, Manchester UK
14 - Stereo, Glasgow UK
15 - Oslo, London UK
16 - Edonè, Bergamo IT
17 - Flog-On Plen Air , Firenze IT
19 - TBA Bologna IT
21 - Shake Club, La Spezia IT
22 - Molotov, Marseille FR
23 - Secret Place, Montpellier FR
24 - Le Moulin du Rousseau, Perigueux FR
28 - Relache, Bordeaux FR
29 - Festivalle Tobalina, Quintana Martin Galinde ES
30 - 16 Toneladas, Valencia ES
31 - Stereo, Alicante ES
SEP
2 - Sala Upload, Barcelona ES
4 - Sala El Sol, Madrid ES
5 - Sala Milwaukee, El Puerto de Santa Maria ES
6 - Hogaza Rock, Alfacar ES
Cherie Currie
Australian Tour
with Hot Machine
SEP
5 - Rosemount, Perth
6 - Crown and Anchor, Adelaide
11 - The Corner Hotel, Melbourne
12 – Sydney Crowbar
13 – Brisbane Crowbar
Tickets
Dead Kennedys
Australia and NZ
SEP
16 - Auckland, Powerstation
17 - Wellington, Meow Nui
19 – Melbourne, Northcote Theatre
20 - Brisbane, Tivoli
24 - Perth, Astor Theatre
26 - Adelaide, The Gov
27 - Sydney, Metro Theatre
Tickets
The Jesus Lizard
Australian Tour
OCT
15 - The Croxton, Melbourne, VIC
17 - Liberty Hall (ex Max Watts), Sydney, NSW
19 - Crow Bar, Brisbane, QLD
4ZZZ presents
“ZED 50”
Ther Saints ’73-‘78
+ Regurgitator
+ Tropical Fuck Storm
+ Full Flower Moon Band
+ Big Noter + Butterfingers
+ Screamfeeder
+ Nice Biscuit + Party Dozen
+ Frangipanis + Dancingwater
+ Platonic Sex + Velociraptor
Roma St Parklands, Brisbane
- Oct 25
“4ZZZ Joint Effort 50”
Dave Warner’s From The Suburbs
+ X
+ The Survivors
+ XERO
+ The Black Assassins
+ Pineapples From The Dawn of Time
Hamilton Hotel, QLD
- Nov 8
PO Box 334
Oatley NSW
2223 Australia
Get in touch: barman@i94bar.com
