byron bay

_{Tamam Shud back on stage at Byron Bay's Great Northgern Hotel.   Al Heeney photo}

The Northern New South Wales Australian coastline has changed dramatically over the last 50 years.

Remember the pilgrimage of holiday time, with caravans lined up on the Pacific Highway…the tribe of kids in the backseat of the Kingwood (or Ford Falcons) bellowing out of boredom on the inteminable drive north? Then there was the weekend pilgrimage of surfers with their Sandman panel vans. Followed, of course, by the night drive back to work to Monday. It was a long trip back down to Sydney with car headlights on high beam, dodging speeding semi-trailers with speed-driven truckies, in-between stopovers at the Oak Milk Bar or the Big Banana.

Dotted along the NSW coast, from Hornsby to the Gold Coast, are memories. Of stop-overs at Frangipani-lined caravan parks, or pitstops at the homes of relatives. Memories marked by places like Foster, Nambucca Heads, Coffs and Byron. Sleepy little towns that were bursting at the seams on long weekends and Chrissie holidays.

Home, James And Don’t Spare the Horse Power - Anytime James (self released)

The dictionary defines “raunch” as “energetic earthiness; vulgarity”, and the second album from Anytime James has it in bucketloads. 

Anytime Who? Read on.

Anytime James is an outfit of musicians from the Far North Coast of New South Wales, assembled and led by former Asteroid B612 guitarist Michael Gibbons. At the risk of (more) accusations of hype, let's toss caution to the metaphorical breeze and say Anytime James might be the best band you've never heard of. Here's why.

It is with deep regret and many apologies that Sunnyboys announce they are unable to perform this weekend's shows in Byron Bay and Brisbane.This Australian ‘flu season is one of the worst on record and unfortunately it has struck the band, leaving one member bed ridden. However, the boys have been able to reschedule quickly.

The new and remaining dates are:

Sat August 13: Melbourne, Corner Hotel  (limited tickets available) with Underground Lovers & Little Murders
(tickets from July 9 valid for this date)
Fri August 19: Byron Bay, The Northern (limited tickets available) with Mick Medew & The Mesmerisers
(tickets from July 15tand August 5 valid for this date)
Sat August 20: Brisbane, Princess Theatre (limited tickets available) with Mick Medew & The Mesmerisers
(tickets from July 16 and August 14 valid for this date)

In The Fridge Vol 1 - Suburbia Suburbia (self released)

Biting satire and blues rock make a happy couple. Suburbia Suburbia know the value of three chords and a bucketload of wit and employ both on "In The Fridge Vol 1".

You could call Suburbia Suburbia yobbos. They'd shout you a beer for it before they'd thump you. It's stating the obvious to say Australia's bogan rock heritage had its origins in the "suck more piss" bluster of Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs and lives on through Cosmic Psychos and Amyl and the Sniffers.

Suburbia Suburbia are gnarly old hard-heads who have been around the Australian live music block a few times. With a grounding in sticky carpeted pubs across Sydney, Brisbane, Toowoomba and the Gold Coast, they don't so much take the piss out of suburban culture as revel in it.