- Details
- By Robert Brokenmouth
- Hits: 554
There are a number of “memorabilia” books out there, but none, I repeat, none, are as intimate and lovely as "Glitter & Glue. Young, Loud and Ephemeral: Curating the Teenage Rampage" and no others cover the pivotal, crucial period 1972-79 so well. And there's only 450 of these, so get yer skates on.
The author is Dave Twist. More on him soon. The publisher is Easy Action, also a record company, and you should have many of their releases. Their blurb is a great strarting point:
"While chronicling his own fan-rampage – from the freak rock glamour of the early '70s through to punk…Glitter & Glue's collection also represents the journey that pretty much everyone involved in the early UK punk scene will have travelled, at least part of the way. (It’s) the first book to cover this extended time-frame with the full range of ephemera available – with some dedication – to the provincial teenage fan."
There are two forewords; and one quote from each should suffice to get your attention:
"Looking through this book is like stepping into a time machine that speeds one back into a music obsessed teenage boy’s bedroom in the early 1970’s. Not any teenage boy, mind you. Dave Twist’s collection of Third Generation Rock and Roll’memorabilia is second to none."
- Details
- By Mark Roxburgh
- Hits: 146
Album Number Three. Who’da thunk it? OK, Joeys Coop have been chugging along for 14 years and maybe should have a few more under our belt but it’s not like there is massive demand for shows or recorded output from a bunch of 50 - 60-year-olds that aren’t a heritage act but do have a bit of history.
Recorded at the wonderful Golden Retriever Studios (in Sydney's Marrickville) owned by the eccentric, talented and delightful Simon Berckelman. Simon is the brains behind Philadelphia Grand Jury and his dad, Richard, was the drummer in Kiss My Poodles Donkey and he built the studio. There is a lot of great gear there and the big room is the space you can hear around the drums.
Our pre-production on this was typical of how we work. Given funds are always tight, we work as hard as we can in rehearsal to nail arrangements, parts etc. Because of that, and because the boys also practice all their parts at home, we tend to be a one or two take band. I track vocals when we do the bed tracks.
- Details
- By Robert Brokenmouth
- Hits: 653
Kim Salmon. Photo by The Barman.
It's taken a long to get to this, folks, but I love Smoked Salmon's new LP “Totally Sick!!”. So much squeal and skronk, in measured and carefully ladled doses. Utterly captivating. Such a damn groovy LP.
Apart from anything else, the production on these songs is right up there; noisy but clear and with brutally separated layers. It sounds fucking fantastic.
But first, some context.
The other day I noticed that “The Horses” guy, Daryl Brackawacker, is finally calling it quits. No surprises there for many people, I suppose, but I thought he'd died 20 years ago. And Russell Morris, called it quits last year. I thought Kate Ceberano, Angry Anderson, John Farnham and (more rock 'n' rolly) Ratcat had hung up their boots. Oh, god, make it fucking stop before I blurt out even more names of appalling retirees or retirees on their last tours like Ordinary as Anything. TISM. fucking Pseudo Echo.
- Details
- By Robert Brokenmouth
- Hits: 1789
Guy Maddison has it all in hand. Jim Bennett photo supplied bye the aertist
You'll probably recognise the names Mick Turner (Dirty Three, Moodists, Bleak Squad and Mess Esque), Claire Birchall (Paper Planes, Phantom Hitchhikers, Kim Salmon's Smoked Salmon;, Joel Silbersher (GOD, The Sunset Strip, Charlie Owens, Tex Perkins and the long-standing Hoss) and Guy Maddison (Greenhouse Effect, Lubricated Goat, Bloodloss, Mudhoney).
What do they have in common? They've formed a band called Fancy Weapon Claire's on drums and lead vocals, Silbersher and Turner are both on guitar with Joel on co-vocals, and Maddison's on bass.
Some Melbourne shows have been well-received, supporting The Double, The Beasts, Penny Ikinger, Toody Cole, Savak, Mogwai and Tortoise. There's a few singles, “Squid”, “Squirmin' Merman” and “27 Minutes” with a video for each on Poison City Records'YouTube channel.
- Details
- By Matt Ryan
- Hits: 747
Jasmine Hirst photo
The Queen of No Wave, Lydia Lunch, returns to Australia in June with two unique shows.
Lydia will perform her no holds barred, spoken word, with support from Tex Perkins in solo mode playing guitar and laptop. Lydia will also team with Andrew Coates of Melbourne band Black Cab to perform the songs of Suicide and Alan Vega. The latter has been a passion project for Lunch, having done the songs of Vega and Suicide for years in the USA and Europe with French experimental musician Marc Hurtado.
Lydia spoke to me via Zoom from her New York pad.
- Details
- By Robert Brokenmouth
- Hits: 900
WORDS: ROBERT BROKENMOUTH
PICTURES: THE BARMAN
Some myths should be forgotten. As an AFL-denier, Melbourne's St Kilda/Collingwood rivalry has always smacked of juvenile footy gibberish. Besides, Sacred Cowboys were no strangers to Collingwood back in the day, and what was then remains then (and that's Zen) and what was then is certainly is not now (and that might be Zen, too).
Then and now, from my own window Sacred Cowboys still embody so many of the varied aspects of Melbourne culture - their performance of “Nothing Grows In Texas” on an industry-led TV show I loathed (yet watched religiously), “Countdown”, showed them successfully crossing Melbourne's apparent “dividing rift” - as did The Models.
Some myths should be rediscovered, dusted off, celebrated and redressed, and we should dance with them around a maypole.
- Details
- By Robert Brokenmouth
- Hits: 1544
You may know Melbourne's Dave Laing from many places. He’s been a record label head for decades, with his own Grown Up Wrong and Dog Meat labels, home to such influential bands as Powder Monkeys, Bored! and Hoss, and more recently Lipstick Killers, Screaming Tribesmen and Flamin’ Groovies.
He’s also worked with the likes of The Pretty Things, The Imperial Dogs, Dead Moon, The Cheater Slicks, Billy Childish & Thee Headcoats, The Devil Dogs, Teengenerate, The Real Kids, the Screamin’ Mee-Mees, The Barracudas, the Jeff Dahl Group, The New Bomb Turks and Chris D.
What you may not know is that he's a power pop freak - one who doesn't merely trudge through the record crates, either. These days he's a music publicist and (again) runs the two labels that he started way back in the 1980s. He's also an occasional music writer for Ugly Things and elsewhere.
Last year UK label Cherry Red released one of those astonishing box sets that they excel at. “'I Wanna Be A Teen Again! - American Power Pop, 1980-1989”. It was curated by the very same Dave Laing, who also wrote the liner notes and publicised it.
- Details
- By Robert Brokenmouth
- Hits: 1218
Delicate Barflies, I'm more than a little stunned. The breadth, beauty and sophistication of Peter Black's latest two solo albums. “A Bowl of Spiders” and “The Boss Is Gone Gone Gone” is really damn exciting. These LPs are world-class and really, the man needs exposure overseas outside the context of his bands, Hard-Ons and Nunchukka Superfly.
As far as I can see, Australia has no idea what constitutes a pop song anymore - the mainstream seem happy enough with some oik ranting or squawking over a vague wafty structure.
Anyway. Fucking hell. I've asked my local record shop to get Blackie's latest two records in for me.
- Details
- By Robert Brokenmouth
- Hits: 714
Hmmm. Smells like Smoked Salmon. Artist supplied.
Scientist and Surrealist Kim Salmon is one of those persistent, wilful artists who simply cannot stop.
LA label In The Red will soon be releasing a reissue of the first Kim Salmon and The Surrealists LP, “Hit Me With the Surreal Feel”. This is the one you can never find. On top of that, would you believe a new Scientists live album? “The Definitive Article Live” was recorded at Brisbane's The Triffid back in 2017, with Kim, Boris Sujdovic, Tony Thewlis and the late, much missed Leanne Cowie.
To whet your appetite, Kim has announced a brief but unique tour, combining personnel from both The Scientists and Surrealists. Surreal Science appears at the Corner Hotel in Melbourne on Friday April 10, followed by the Oxford Arts Factory in Sydney on Saturday April 11, and finally the Rosemount Hotel in Perth on the following Saturday, April 18.
Since can't get to any of these gigs (and believe me, I'm gnashing my teeth and wondering if I could clone myself), I thought I should ask Mr Salmon a few questions to see what condition his condition was in.
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The Living Eye
Joeys Coop
"Sawdust Memories"
Album Tour
JULY
18 - Indie Festival, Bellingen, NSW
Indie Sounds of the Harbour City Vol 2
Launch Tour
JULY
17 - Lou Lou Room, Wynnum, QLD
18 - Coffs Harbour Hotel, Coffs Harbour, NSW
19 - Blah Bar, Lismore, NSW
24 - Crowbar Sydney
25 - Vi-Nil HQ, Ourimbah, NSW
26 - Link & Pin, Woy Woy, NSW
31 - The Vic, Orange, NSW
AUG
1 - Crossroads, Dubbo, NSW
7 - Diamond Dogs, Dapto, NSW
8 - Wings & Tins, Dee Why, NSW
The Strike-Outs
"Double Negative" Launch Tour
JULY
25 - Ryan's Hotel, Thirrhoul, NSW
"Two Headed Dog Euro Tour"
Chris Masuak's Dog Soldier
+ The Crisps
JULY
23 - Krakow - Klub Baza (PL)
24 - Warsaw - Klub Mechanik Warsaw (PL)
25 – Berlin - Wild at Heart (DE)
31 – Paris - L'Armony (FR)
AUGUST
1 – Paris - Holy Holster (FR)
(Unplugged)
6 – Toulouse - L'Autan Bar (FR)
(with Big T & The Nuts)
7 – Montpellier - Secret Place (FR)
(with Big T & The Nuts)
8 - Marseille - L'Intermediare Live
9 – Sete - Guinguette Thau'thèmes (FR)
Amammoth + None For One
+ Old Heathens + Buzz Wagon
+ The Limited + Headspacer
+ My Velvet Exit
Lazy Thinking, Dulwich Hill, NSW
2.30-11PM
- July 25
Smoked Salmon
Totally Sick!! Tour
JULY
24 - Mojo's, Fremantle, WA
25 - Prince of Wales, Bunbury, WA
31 - Bridge Hotel, Castlemaine, VIC
AUG
1 - Shotkickers, Thornbury, VIC
2 - Wheatsheaf, Adelaide, SA
6 - La La La's, Wollongong, NSW
7 - Petersham Bowling Club, Petersham , NSW
8 - Link & Pin, Woy Woy, NSW
9 - The Oak Tighes Hill, Newcastle, NSW
(free)
14 - Tanswells, Beechworth, VIC
(free)
15 - Smiths Alternative, Canberra, ACT
21 - Republic Bar, Hobart, TAS
22 - Royal Oak, Launceston, TAS
28 - Junk Bar, Brisbane, QLD
29 - Blah Bar, Lismore, NSW
30 - Cabarita Beach Club, Cabarita, NSW (free)
SEP
4 - Young St Tavern, Frankston, VIC
The Exploding Universe of Ed Kuepper
Ed Kuepper 50 Years Retrospective
JULY
30 - Avoca Theatre #
31 - Canberra, The Street
AUG
1 - Wombarra Bowlo
6 - Adelaide, The Gov
8 - Melbourne, National Theatre
9 - Barwon Heads Hotel
15 - Fremantle, Freo Social
20 - Brisbane, The Princess
21 - Coffs Harbour, The Jetty Theatre
22 - Murwillumbah, Regent Theatre
27 - Sydney, Enmore Theatre
Tickets
Joeys Coop
AUG
22 - Union Hotel, Newtown, NSW
+ The On and Ons
28 - Smiths Alternative, Canberra
+ Sanctimonious Fux
30 - Link & Pin, Woy Woy, NSW
SEP
13 - Marrickville Bowlo, NSW
+ Swaggerland
18 - Tap Room, Castlemaine, VIC
19 - Painted Lady, Ballarat, VIC
+ Cold Irons Bound + Neutron Flow
20 - Union Hotel, Brunswick, VIC
NOV
28 - Blah Bar, Lismore, NSW
29 - Junk Bar, Brisbane, QLD (arvo)
Huxton Creepers
12 Days To Paris Tour
AUG
7 - Sooki Lounge, Belgrave, VIC
+ Icecream Hands
8 - Croxton Bandroom, Thornbury, VIC
+ Icecream Hands
14 - Marrickville Bowling Club, NSW
+ The Johnnys
15 - Marrickville Bowling Club, NSW
+ The Johnnys
16 - Hamilton Station Hotel, Newcastle, NSW
(afternoon show)
+ The Johnnys
21 - Norton Music Factory,
Caloundra, QLD
+ The Johnnys
22 - Crowbar Brisbane, QLD
+ The Johnnys
+ Mick Medew and Ursula
23 - Wallaby Hotel, Mudgeeraba, QLD
(afternoon show)
+ The Johnnys
The Damned
Final Damnation 50
Australia and New Zealand
SEP
8 - AUCKLAND, Powerstation
10 - SYDNEY, The Opera House
11 - BRISBANE, The Tivoli
13 - MELBOURNE, The Forum
Tickets
Public Image Ltd
Australia and NZ
JAN
20 - Auckland, Powerstation
22 - Brisbane, The Tivoli
23 - Sydney, Enmore Theatre
24 - Melbourne, The Forum
26 – Adelaide, The Gov
28 - Perth, The Astor
Fresh Reviews
-
Copulaters will give you a boning
08 July 2026
-
Album Number Three hits the mark for Joeys Coop
04 July 2026
-
The Strike-Outs load the bases with electricity
28 June 2026
-
A Jungian and a tofu thief walk into a bar...
29 May 2026
-
You need Fowl Weather Vein to know which way the wind blows
22 April 2026