top ten

10. Fifteen blokes of a certain age in a dodgy bar somewhere.
In the latter part of 2022 I quipped on FB that our (Joeys Coop) lot in life appeared to be to play to the same 15 blokes of a certain age in a dodgy bar somewhere. I got a bit of feedback from some of my musician age peers that I’d pretty well hit the nail on the head.

Now my quip might sound like a bitch about bands with a collective history, but no heritage, not being able to get a decent gig – and to be fair in part it is – but in truth it was also a celebration of the fact that after 40 odd years of playing we could still get a gig in a dodgy bar (my favourite kind) somewhere and we could rely on 15 blokes of a certain age to turn up to support us. That sure beats the fuck out of playing golf, going to fancy restaurants with pretentious retired couples, playing bridge, accompanying the better half to a musical, or other age-appropriate activities.

So, to Keith, Graham, John, Ian, Murray, John, Kev, Dan, Tony, Chris, Ben, Jeather, Henny, Sue, Diane, Adriene - OK that is 16 and some of them are gals of a certain age but you get the idea – we and every other band of a certain age thank you for joining us in not acting our age. We love youse all. You make it all worthwhile.

1. In February, we played a gig at the now closed Platform 5 in Clayfield, Brisbane. This venue was always good to us and we were very sorry to see it go.

2. In March, we used our frequent flyer points to head to Melbourne to launch our 2022 album, “Love Is Calling”. (ED: WHAT NO RECORD COMPANY TAB?)Dave Graney and Clare Moore invited us to open for them at The Night Cat in Fitzroy. What an honour! And what a great turn-out. We then played on the southside at The Lyrebird Lounge with special guest Penny Ikinger. Thanks to Suzi and all our Melbourne (and even Tasmanian) friends and fans who made this trip so special for us. We'll be back!

_{Photo by Alex from The Underground Stage.} 

I've decided to go with my Top 10 Concerts of 2023 since there were so many great ones! In chronological order...
  

_{Mark Roxburgh fronting Joeys Coop. Murray Bennett photo}

In no particular order a bunch of music and music related things that have grabbed my attention. Some of it is shit and some of it I’m ambivalent about but all of it has fed my passion for music.

A.I. and music @ Skynet
I was researching AI and design about five years ago and saw that much of what designers did would soon disappear and design would split into two camps – bespoke design “crafted” by people or mass-produced design generated using AI via the prompts written by people. I suspect music will follow a similar path. 

People will still write and play songs the old fashion way and it will probably be a bit of a niche / bespoke activity. A lot of mediocre mass-produced music will be generated using AI via the prompts written by people. We’ll probably hear more of it in things like corporate videos or ad jingles and the ubiquitous Tik Tok videos to begin with but I suspect it will eventually dominate the popular music landscape. The precursor to this is of course sampling. 

The advent of sampling has led to a huge growth in genres of music that is not written so much as it is cut and pasted together. Honing one’s prompt craft to get a song out of AI is the next logical step. The soundtrack of Skynet. Meantime I’ll still write and sing songs no one will listen to apart from 15 blokes of a certain age in a dodgy bar somewhere.

1. Collingwood- having done these Top Tens at the Bar for a few years now, I had to make a best team category, just so I could get my beloved Pies in. Now we won the flag, no need. The Magpies take their rightful spot as the best of the best of 2023.
   
   
2. Test Cricket- great series of cricket from the Aussies in India and England, and a ripper series between England and New Zealand, as well as the Kiwi’s against Pakistan. And while some controversy dominated the headlines (Johnny, what were you smoking?), at least people are talking Test cricket again.

Top 10 Things of 2023
as designated by Fox

This was an absolute banner year for Australian rock & roll which made me feel very proud of my country which was a nice change of pace from feeling ashamed by it, which also happened this year. Anyway, - here comes a list!!

Morons Morons - High Tension Situation LP
Before delving into our domestic successes let’s hear it for this demented Polish outfit and their barnburner of an album. It’s energetic pedal to the metal punk rock with a healthy dose of The Damned DNA. Puts it’s foot on your throat and does not let up. Glorious band name, logo and album cover too.

Stepmother - Planet Brutalicon LP
The latest project from U.S expat Graham Clise of Annihilation Time and Lecherous Gaze fame. I first saw him with the latter in Sydney about eight years ago and was blown away by his guitar playing. It was pure classic rock but played with an energy and intensity that felt like I was watching Leslie West or Mick Ronson after a quick trip in the old Time Machine.  Though I shouldn’t get hung up on ye olden days comparisons - It rules that this kinda music is being made in 2024 and it should be celebrated. This album is driving Detroit-flavoured pub rock and has been a constant on my turntable since it landed.

This year I honour my dear friend and musical collaborator the late Louis Rohan Tillett (13 March 1959 – 6 August 2023), whose music most readers of this webzine will be familiar with. Louis was a singer, song writer and multi-instrumentalist, who was based in Sydney. Sadly, he passed away in August 2023.

If it wasn’t for Louis’ encouragement and support of my music, I most probably wouldn’t have embarked on the musical path that has consumed my life over the last four decades.

Another year of almost zero fun in Sin City (if not the rest of Oz/the rest of this mortal coil/earth) for most of us/those in the lower/working class, some relief could be found through the following Top 10...

Margo Price - "Strays" album

Lucinda Williams - "Stories from a Rock-n-Roll Heart" album

Eilen Jewell - "Get Behind The Wheel" album

Lydia Loveless - "Nothing's Gonna Stand In My Way Again" album

Cable Ties - "All Her Plans" album

Leah Senior - "The Music That I Make" album

Pat Todd / Mad Macka @ Golden Barley Hotel, Sydney 

The Mezcaltones (CD launch) @ Marrickville Bowling Club, Sydney

Righto, Squatter the Cockatiel here with my Top Ten for 2023.  

For those of you who don't know how famous I am, I allow Chris Converse and Cathy, both of Punkfest Brisbane and 4ZZZ, to share a house with me so I meet a lot of cool people.  I would say cool cats, but I don't get on well with cats.

Five out of five chirps for the following (in no particular order):

Glitoris - Self titled album

The Go Set-- The Warriors Beneath Us album

Blowhard- All the Kings Horses 

Vicious Circle – “Split This Open” album

Dad Fight - “Guillotine” single 

The Owen Guns - “Monks in Sexyland” mini album

Whoroboros – “Consuming and Being Consumed” EP 

Piss Shivers - Self titled album

Painters and Dockers – “Advance Australia Where” single

Square Tugs – “One Minute Love Song” single

TOP 10 FROM OUTTASPACE!
By Adam Brzozowski and Milly Dalton, co-owners at Link and Pin cafe and live music venue, Woy Woy, NSW, and the Outtaspace record label.

The label went a bit quiet (because REASONS), but we’re ending 2021 with a BANG!

1. NOT THE JOHNNYS Link and Pin, New Year’s Day 2021
Hoody, Slim and special deputies Kane Dyson and Matt Brown had the audience fit to bust; it was our first proper rock’n’roll show in the beer garden after the Avalon COVID spike. There were a few tears between us when the fellas ripped into ‘Injun Joe’. You can see THE JOHNNYS live at Link and Pin on 9 January, 2022! Tickets here.

 TOP TEN CIRCLES OF HELL FOR 2021

1:The circle of passive rebellion where the damned must battle eternally painful loopholes.

Reserved for DICKNOSERS, CHINWAGGERS, NECKBREAKERS and EAR RINGERS. A mask is a simple thing.  You just embarrass yourself by failing to wear it correctly.  Special shout out to dickheads who punch a hole in their masks to smoke cigarettes.

2: The circle of deep regret where the damned spread disease to their loved ones before spending eternity intubated.

Reserved for Antivaxers. Vax up or shut up you medieval floor lickers.

2021 was a year of invention, reinvention and history slowly fading away – and that’s just on the subject of Brisbane music! Losing Fred Hardon of the Hardons and the Leftovers’ Ed Wreckage dealt huge blows as two pioneers from the first wave of punk gave their last middle fingers towards the sky.  

From a personal standpoint, Phase 4 Records sadly left Fortitude Valley after six years and not because of the price of rent – just the ultimate cost of nobody bothering to walk its promenades while the sun was out. It’s the customers who help pay it after all!   

After a brief stay under Backbone’s wing in East Brisbane before the council decided it’s best to turn a vibrant and accessible venue and artspace into greenspace (or is that developers’ dreamspace?), we again moved the store to a new forever home on the top floor of the Cave Inn, a ball’s throw from the grounds of the Gabba. Here, at the discretion of Omicron, we will be hosting bands and events as well as running Brisbane’s only after hours record and vintage emporium.  The only downside could be the loss of our slender figures, with the pizza and beer providing fine companionship for our racks.  

VOIGT/465 – "LIVE KIRK GALLERY 19/05/79" (Download only, self-released) 
Sydney's Voigt/465 used punk almost as a cue to unleash a sound that captured their love of (daggy) UK art-rock of the early 70s and throw it right into the fire of Sydney’s ever-expanding inner-city music scene. Their Kirk Gallery show – which you’ll find on their Bandcamp page - was originally recorded via the ABC’s mobile truck for a radio broadcast that never happened.  

This show (which was shared with the Thought Criminals and Tactics) serves as an impressive aural document from this short-lived act that left us with only one single and an album over their all-too-brief life. And if one more person spells the band name as Voight/465, I too may scream like co-lead vocalist Rae Macron Cru! 

This is not a real Top Ten list as such. Just a list of personal highlights that were beacons in what was another shit year for most of us.

The passing of Johnny Nolan (Bored!, Powder Monkeys, Powerline Sneakers) did not help. After his death, I read through al private messages we exchanged over the past decade. Johnny was a man of passion and so much love for music a genuine lovely bloke with his bands. R.I.P.

The Sonny Michaels Show
This shambolic pisstake on the bad ‘70s TV host has equal parts Norman Gunston and Don Lane. We get two hours per month. It is so funny.  Paula and Mike Brown are a talented duo and the Sonny Michaels character is world-class.  They also present at least 15 artist videos who would not normally get viewed outside their YouTube channels .Great work. 

_{One of these people is Greg Chappell.}  

HIGHLIGHTS OF A DANGEROUS 2021 LIFE

1. Pubs re-opening.

2. White Knuckle Fever at The Link and Pin, Woy Woy, NSW,

3. Hard-Ons at The Link and Pin.

Heartbreakers – “LAMF - The Found '77 Masters”.
As the title hints at the original mixdown tapes had long been lost. The reissues had all been dubbed from vinyl and the original pressing from 1977 was considered by some to sound muddy (not by me though). A chance rummaging through an attic and bingo! The tape was found. This newly remastered edition sounds as solid as a rock! (I only have the CD, the record store day vinyl re-issue was under pressed and sold out in a milliseconds. A re-re issue will happen in 2022).

Buffalo (Revisited) – “Volcanic Rock Live”.
Imminent LP release (January 2022 I am told). It has been a rock and roll dream for me (as a long time Buffalofan) to be playing these songs live with Buffalo foundation member Dave Tice. A live gig we did was recorded and deemed more than worthy enough for mass release by USA label Ripple Music.

Top Ten albums from Joey Bedlam, vocalist for Melbourne-based garage band DollSquad.

10. Shutdown 66 – ‘’Come on girl gimme half a chance’’

9. Le Beat Bespoke V9 (compilation by New Untouchables)

8. Rough n Tumble – ‘’Eyes on the Road’’

7. The Smoggers – ‘’Funeral’’

6. The Laissez Fairs – ‘’Curiosity Killed the Cat’’

5. The Seeds – ‘’Butterfly Child’’

4. Calidoscopio – “Get Ready’’

3. The Chevelles – ‘’Steve McQueen (I wish I was)”

2. Sonny Vincent – ‘’Snake Pit Therapy’’

1. Steve Lucas – ‘’Joshua Tree’’ (because it’s a great song about The Joshua Tree and because it’s a Christmas song!!!)

My name is Marcus Fraser and I'm the singer in Sydney band STARCRAZY.

In another rollercoaster thunderfuck of a year, these are the tunes that kept me grounded and positive. Some of these artists I'm proud to call my friends and I'm SO stoked on all the amazing music coming out of Australia, Oi Oi Oi!

In no particular order:

1. Molly & The Krells - Silver & Gold
2. Pond - America's Cup
3. Arianne Gozzing - The New Queen
4. Thunder Fox - Not For Sale 
5. Smoke Stack Rhino - Ultraviolet 
6. Alpha Goose - Why Not
7. Amyl and The Sniffers - Guided By Angels 
8. Geese - Low Era
9. Astrodeath - Invasion 
10. Lucid Hoops - Kinder Company 

Jade Felicia photo montage

MONSTER THUNDERCLAP’S TOP TEN

1. EAST COAST LOW – “SEAS ON FIRE”
Cause I f&*king like it!

2. LUCIFER STAR MACHINE – “THE DEVILS BREATH”
Cause I F#&king like it!

3. GRINDHOUSE – “SEX PUNK POWER”
Cause it’s SEXY!!

4. SHOWS 2021
Cheers to all the awesome bands we shared a stage with, and a huge shout out to all the venues…. CAUSE I SAID SO!!!  

5. LEADFINGER AND SWEDISH MAGAZINES AT MARRICKVILLE BOWLO, NSW
No explanation needed!!

6. TUMBLEWEED 30^TH ANNIVERSARY SHOWS AT LA LA LA’S, WOLLONGONG, NSW.
Brilliant!

7. SPIDERS – “SHAKE ELECTRIC”
Cause it’s Killer!

8. MONSTER MAGNET – “A BETTER DYSTOPIA”
Cause it’s a mind-blowing album of covers!

9. MARVEL – “LIZARD LOUNGE”
Cause they do it for me!

10. AUSSIE BANDS
All the great Aussie bands putting out inspirational music (WE SALUTE YOU!) F@$k all the lazy MOFO’s, that say there isn’t any good music anymore.

Monster Thuinderclap plays guitar for Wollongong's The Dark Clouds. 

 
2021 Top Ten

But I am choosing to not count very well as I wanted to share a lot of stuff. I was at home for most of the time – of course. An amazing time to live through. Knowing most of the entire world was going through the same thing, figuring out the same problems, trying to work out what was real and what wasn’t in the daily news. Incredible.

And it levelled the music scene. I loved that! All the competitive shit between players just stopping for a while. I also kept doing a  weekly show on RRR in Melbourne - doing it remotely like most of the volunteers on air – and all I wanted to play was music made in this time. And there was a lot of music coming out.

_{The Scientists with LIndsay Hutton.}

During these times when time and space seem displaced to a point beyond rescue, here’s a wee list of what’s been keeping me going during that which was designated 2021. We’ll approach this alphabetically because I don’t believe in that numerical bollocks. I’m reporting here while Scotland waits on the thundersnow to arrive. Thundersnow is a weather phenomenon, not an act you need to check out.