vinyl

The Hard-Ons are vinyl fans. They believe, like many others who are a bit greyer, that vinyl records that were released before the digital age tell fascinating stories about the song/artist/record label, that streaming and MP3s can’t quite relay.

The band is playing two shows this month that celebrate vinyl. The big news is that the first 120 punters to arrive at the June 1 show at the Chippendale Hotel in Sydney and the June 2 gig at the Cambridge Hotel in Newcastle will receive a discretely brown paper-bagged seven-inch single from the personal collection of the band members

Says Ray Ahn: “There are 240 random records culled from our personal collections and the like. Some are GREAT. Some are good. Some are OK. Some are pretty shithouse. All are from another time and place, there will be records from 50’s, 60’s, 70’s 80’s. In addition, three mega-rare Hard-Ons records that are probably worth a fair amount from the HARD-ONS’ archive will be up for grabs to six lucky punters.”

The band promises loads of Hard-Ons seven-inch records will be on sale at the merch table as well, including some long deleted rarities.

FRI 1 JUNE: CHIPPO HOTEL with WHITE DOG + HELLEBORES
SAT 2 JUNE: CAMBRIDGE Hotel NEWCASTLE + Human Failure + Obat Batuk

And later this month, the Hard-Ons hit Europe again:

Hard-Ons in Europe
JUNE
France
20 - TBA
21 – La Rochelle 
22 - Clisson, Hellfest
24 - Orleans, Blue Devil
Germany
25 - Essen, Don't Panic
26 - Osnabrück, Bastard Club
27 - Hamburg, Port Klang
28 - Berlin, music & peace
Finland
29 – Tampere

Damo The Musical – The Celibate Rifles (self released)

Sunday, September 22, in the year 2019 P.P. (Pre Plague) was the date when The Celibate Rifles took to The Enmore Theatre stage in Sydney to pay tribute to their late frontman Damien Lovelock.The show was originally scheduled for The Factory Theatre, but demand for tickets outgrew the room. And it sounded something like this…

This LP is a dozen songs from the night and a fitting tribute to the man widely known as Damo. With his place at the centre stage mic vacant, some friends had to fill it. More on them later, but first some observations.

The instrumental mix is as punchy as fuck; with an big bottom-end. The vocals are up and down - but put that down to the vagaries of varying mic technique. It was a round robin of singers without the luxury of extended rehearsals. The Rifles excelled in accommodating the rotating cast which gave its best in return.

And not before time: Finally seeing the light of day again is a remastered vinyl edition of the Powder Monkeys' classic album from 1995, “Time Wounds All Heels”.

“Time Wounds All Heels” was originally released on the Dog Meat Records in Australia and was recorded by the power trio line-up of Tim Hemensley, TJ Ray and John Nolan. The Melbourne band was an unstoppable force, a powerhouse comparable to the finest moments from the MC5, Motörhead, and Black Flag.

Spanish label Bang! Records is re-issuing the classic which is usually considered the group's finest recorded moment, and one that has been out of print in any form for many years.

It includes an inner sleeve and poster and can be procured here.

Finally seeing the light of day again and for the first time on vinyl, the classic 1995 Powder Monkeys album "Time Wounds All Heels" is about to drop.

Originally released on the Dog Meat label and comprising the power-trio line-up of Tim Hemensley, TJ Ray and John Nolan, the band at this point were an absolutely unstoppable force, a powerhouse comparable to the finest moments from the MC5, Motorhead and Black Flag.

Garage rock legends The Fleshtones released their Yep Roc debut “Do You Swing?” in 2003 to wide-acclaim. Two decades latyer, it’s being re-issued on vinyl.

Produced by Southern Culture on the Skids’ Rick Miller at his infamous Kudzu Ranch recording studio, the songs answer the question proposed by the album’s title, featuring a swingin’ selection of 11 original tunes,plus Super Rock renditions of The Searchers’ “Alright” and Led Zeppelin’s “Communication Breakdown.”

The album has been out-of-print on vinyl since its original 2003 release and fetches tidy sums in the circles of garage rock aficionados. It’s been remastered for vinyl by Mike Westbrook of MW Audio and is pressed on limited edition pink splatter vinyl. Buy it.

The vinyl revival will suddenly become more accesible if you’re an Australian band looking to press an album or single.

With just one local pressing plant (Zenith in Melbourne) capable of a substantial run, Australian bands have been starved of choice with the cost of having a record manufactured offshore compounded by shipping costs. A new plant is set to open in Sydney’s inner-western mid-year, according to the facility’s manager Vincent Chen.