benefit

Needing to leave Queensland for a fresh start in March, Lime Spiders vocalist Mick Blood said a sad farewell to his beloved dog, Monty, and set off looking for a new home. After a torrid few months, Mick finally found a new home in Newcastle, NSW, and set about getting back into work and getting on with his life.

Within a few days of moving in, however, disaster struck when Mick was bashed unconscious at a local nightspot, leaving him with serious head injuries. He is now in hospital and requires a long period of treatment, recuperation and life re-building.

If you’re are in Adelaide on Friday, June 7 then get on down to Fowlers Live where The Mark Of Cain will be performing a very rare live show in benefit of their good friend and original vocalist Rod Archer, aka Big Boss, who is battling cancer.

The Iron Shieks  - another former band of Rod's that’s pictured above - will be reforming and rounding out the all-Adelaide bill will be The Plague (reforming for this show only) and Crackling Static Fuzz.

Bring your money with you as there's be merchandise and some special artwork for sale including rarities from the Cosmic Psychos. Attendance numbers will be limited to 500. Tickets are just $25 and available here. The Facebook event is here.

Hot on the heels of the Perth show and a day after the Sydney gig, there's a Brisbane benefit for Lime Spiders vocalist Mick Blood happening in Brisbane.  

"Bloodstock" is being held at Roma Street's Beetle Bar on Sunday, September 28th from 1pm and features the talents of friends and former bandmates.

You can catch Screamin' Stevie, Dr. Bombay, The Busymen, The Counterfeit Umbrellas, The Pretty Fingers, Hill 60, Team Utopia and Brisbane's own Burlesque beauty, Miss Red Devotchkin, from 1pm.

Tickets are available at the door for $10. All proceeds will go directly to Mick's Support Act fund.

Mick is recovering in a Newcastle hospital after a pub altercation left him with brain damage.

Bloodstock on Facebook

www.supportact.com.au

Legendary Melbourne bluesman Chris Wilson (Crown of Thorns, Harem Scarem) has pancreatic cancer.

The multi-instrumentalist - best known as a stunning vocalist and stellar harmonica player – has been a fixture on the Australian music scene for 40 years, collaborating with bands and performers as diverse as Paul Kelly, Diesel and X.

A benefit concert is being organised at the Corner Hotel on Friday, August 24. The first round of acts on the bill includes Steve Lucas, Kerri Simpson, Finn & George Wilson, Jerome Smith, Barb Waters, Shane O’Mara, Barry Palmer, Tim Rogers, Dave Hogan, Jo Jo Smith, Matt Dwyer and radio’s Max Crawdaddy on the decks. You can buy tickets here. 

A GoFundMe campaign for the Wilson family is operating here.

Mandy Hall photo

Get in fast if you want to be a part of the Sydney tribute to late Hell Crab City singer Scott “Groges” Barker, who suddenly passed away in January. The gig is on track to be a sell-out. 

As well as sets by Hell Crab City with guestr vocalists and 300 StClaire, Asteroid B612 will reform its original line-up (with Bullet McIvor on vocals and Leadinger on guitar) and The Crusaders will make a rare re-appearance. 

It's happening on Thursday, April2  at the Factory Floor in Marrickville. All proceeds will go to Scott’s family. Tickets here.

On December 6, 2013, some of Sydney's best-known rock and roll stalwarts gathered to celebrate the life of Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton, who passed away in 2009. 

Mick Blood’s life was turned upside down in June this year when an altercation in a pub in his new home of Newcastle left him in hospital with serious head injuries. 

The vocalist for legendary Australian band the Lime Spiders suffered brain damage and faces a long road of rehabilitation and recovery.

The Lime Spiders were one of the most influential bands to spring from the fevered Sydney underground scene of the 1980s. After the success of their "Slave Girl" single on Citadel Records, they went on to sign a global record deal and toured the world.

Over the course of three studio albums, four EPs and a live record, the Spiders cut a swathe through the Aussie music scene, appearing on the soundtrack to the “Young Einstein” movie and earning praise from the likes of Jello Biafra, Iggy Pop and Joey Ramone.

The cream of the Sydney scene is now rallying behind Mick in his hour of need with an all-star benefit show scheduled for the Bald Faced Stag Hotel at Leichhardt in Sydney from 3pm on Saturday, September 27.

Friends and former bandmates are staging a memorial gig in Sydney on Saturday, September 20 for the late Christian Houllemare, bass player for the Happy Hate Me Nots, New Christs, Someloves and Bad Brains. Funds raised will go to his family in France. 

In early May thieves broke into Dan Sullivan's Johnston Street recording studio in Melbourne and stole guitars, effects pedals and recording gear worth thousands of dollars.

Despite the best efforts of friends and fellow musicians, the equipment and gear has yet to be recovered, leaving Sullivan and James McCann personally and financially devastated.

The studio has recenty been used (for free) to record tracks for an upcoming Spencer P Jones tribute album.

On Sunday, 22 May members of the Melbourne music community will come together at The Tote in Melbourne to raise money to replace the missing gear. The event will feature performances from Kim Salmon, Garry Gray & the Sixth Circle, James McCann & the New Vindictives, Penny Ikinger, Midnight Scavengers, Fraudband, Los Dominados, Claire Birchall & the Phantom Hitchhikers, Jules Sheldon, Helen Ryder and Tex Napalm.

Come along and see some great music, while helping out some hard working members of the Melbourne music community in a time of need. Keep an eye on the Facebook event for playing times and to spread the word.