This show will be Unbelievably Bad

Written by The Barman on 20 May 2014.

Impossible to ignore Aussie magazine "Unbelievably Bad" is celebrating its milestone 13th issue with a live gig and more at Sydney's Factory Theatre on July 19. Kicking off at 4pm in the arvo and going long into the night, the event will feature a healthy line-up of bands and a record fair.

Twenty bucks gets you live performances by Meat Cake, White Knuckle Fever, Chinese Burns Unit, Join The Amish, Hostile Objects, The VeeBees...plus a very special guest band.

Klondike launches B side flimclip

Written by The Barman on 20 May 2014.

Our favourite Canadian-born guitarist, Chris Masuak of Radio Birdman/Screaming Tribesmen/Hitmen fame, has a cheap and cheerful film clip doing the rounds online for the B side of his "Another Lost Weekend" single on Spanish label New H. Here's "Animal".

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Bob Short's Complete History of Rock and Roll Episode 7

Written by The Barman on 20 May 2014.

 You know the Ramones are bubblegium? Got a problem with that? Bob Short tells you to get over it in Episode 7 of his Complete History of Rock and Roll.

45 Revelations Per Minute - Suzie Stapleton (self released)

Written by Edwin Garland on 18 May 2014.

Since, I was recently taken back by Suzie Stapleton’s compelling performance at the Bitter Sweet Kicks album launch Prince in St Kilda on Anzac Day, I did some searching. I found Suzie’s hypnotic and dark EP, “Obadi Diablo”, and it’s been on heavy airplay for more than two weeks. I contacted Ms Stapleton and requested a copy of her self-released debut EP of a few years back. Again, I was not to be disappointed.

Eat Your Young - Bitter Sweet Kicks (Beast Records)

Written by The Barman on 16 May 2014.

Melbourne’s Bitter Sweet Kicks believe in the ethos of hitting hard and fast and then moving on. Each of their three releases to date has been a seven-track affair, long on dirty, high energy rock and roll and short on indulgences.

Claim To Fame - Scorpion vs Tarantula (self released)

Written by The Barman on 15 May 2014.

Their influences couldn’t be more obvious if they’d stamped the words: ‘AC/DC’, ‘Dictators’ and ‘Joan Jett’ on their heads with a branding iron. If you like this hard rock outfit from Arizona, the good news is that there are two more recent albums with which to assault your senses.

Cadillacs - Garry Gray (self released)

Written by The Barman on 15 May 2014.

It’s been a long time since Garry Gray strode stages in Australia with a de-toothed chainsaw swinging at hip level as he fronted the psychodramatic Sacred Cowboys, so it’s reassuring to hear his menacing tones emanating from a studio again. This four-track EP is a taster to an album and measures up to expectations nicely.

More Primitive - Lonely Shack (Alive Natural Sound)

Written by The Barman on 15 May 2014.

Never underestimate rock and roll’s ability to look inwards, and backwards, to re-heat its own bones in an attempt to sound new. Cue Lonesome Shack, who hail, geographically if not spiritually, from the flanellete shirt and trucker cap American frontier of its North-West.

Before The Devil Knows You're Dead - Chickenstones (self released)

Written by The Barman on 14 May 2014.

It seems a lifetime ago when the two great outposts of Sydney rock and roll were its northern and southern beaches. They were feeder tributaries to the inner-city and spawned bands like the Celibate Rifles and the Trilobites, to name just a couple. 

The venues that were their spawning grounds have long closed down, the bands willing to play their own music thin on the ground. Only a hardy few are still willing to take a risk and make the swim up-stream.