peter black

PETER “BLACKIE” BLACK
Hard-Ons and Nunchukka Superfly guitarist and solo artist
Sydney, Australia

My "top ten" is a mess and i know some of the records i'm yakking about, i only got this year. OK? Sometimes, ya gotta play catch up, 

1. Canine – “In Dog Years Ya Dead”
Came out last year but i only scored it half way thru this year…really progressive in parts, top notch! And at the same time i brought Concrete Lawn’s “Aggregate”. Saw ‘em live and thought, "Fuck yea". Played the record and thought "FUCK YEA!" The singer Maddiso sounds like Cal from “Grave New World”-era Discharge.. ..there's no complaints from me :-)

2. Dead – “Raving Drooling”
HUGE actually they sound slicker yet heavier than ever before.. love it.

3. Some killer sludge from both Lucifungus – “Derek” (check out the track “Quintro”) and Witch Skull's third album, “A Driftwood Cross” \\m/

4. Rivers Of Snake – “Sleight of Hand”
Go straight to track two “Black and Gold”…then you may start the album again.

5. Owen Guns – “Violating Community Standards”
Remind me of the wonderful Aussie punkers, Rocks.

THE BARMAN
I-94 Bar barkeep
Sydney, Australia 

“Monday Evening Gunk”
My favourite thing to do on a Monday night. Props to Jill, Wax, Pat and Sonjaat MoshPit, News and Brews co-pilot Rossy,  tech-head Zac, photographer/chronicler of choice Shona Ross, and the many guests and hosts involved. My original Top Ten was going to be a chronological list of Gunk episodes because it would be like picking a favourite child. 

“Goose Lake” – The Stooges (Third Man Records)
What a fucking trip.

"If This Is The Hand I'm Dealt" and "I'm Gonna Cheat As Much As I Can" solo albums by Peter Black
Got to these very late in 2020 and the Hard-Ons and Nunchukka Superfly guitarist just goes from strength-to-strength with his quirky, catchy and compelling solo work. One acoustic, one electric. Get a full hand.

If This Is The Hand I’m Dealt – Peter Black (Cool Bananas)
I’m Gonna Cheat As Much As I Can - Peter Black (Cool Bananas)

At first blush it’s D-U-M-B-everyone’s-accusing-me for an artist to release his sixth and seventh albums simultaneously. Flooding the market breaks a fundamental rule in the mythical music industry marketing manual about (a.) controlling supply to build demand and (b.) maximising the impact of “product”.

But Peter Blackis the guy who, in 2016, set himself the challenge of recording a year’s worth of music and releasing one track a day, and you know that convention is for squares.

The latest episode of the I-94 Bar streaming show "Thursday Evening Gunk" is here for your viewing pleasure. 2RRR radio host Chris Virtue speaks to Peter "Blackie" Black and Ray Ahn of the Hard-Ons and Nunchukka Superfly about both bands and their parallel development. The episode closes with a scorching Nunchukka Superfly set. 

Thursday Evening Gunk is streamed from the MoshPit Facebook pageon Thursday nights from 8pm Sydney time or you can take part for free at the bar on King Street in St Peters, Sydney. This week, Celia Curtis of White Knuckle Fever chats with Fred Negro of I Spit On Your Gravy about the racucous documentary "Pub: The Movie" that explores his musical anmd artisticv career and the St Kilda secene in Melbourne. Also joining are director Andrew Leavold and producers Jonathan Sequeira and Brett Garten. Our feature act is White Knuckle Fever.

He’s best known as the voice and scorching guitar of the Hard-Ons and Nunchukka Superfly but there’s another string to Peter Black’s bow.

Just back from a seven-week tour of Europe where he played 44 shows in 46 days, Blackie is promoting solo album number-four, “Clearly You Didn't Like The Show”, in Australia.

Dates are as follows:

Saturday, 7th November 2015
Blackwire, Sydney NSW

Saturday 14th November 2015
Transit Bar Canberra ACT

Wednesday 25th November 2015
Hamilton Station Newcastle NSW

Thursday 26th November 2015
Black Bear Lodge Brisbane QLD (with Mark Zain)

Friday 27th November 2015
Old Bar Melbourne VIC 

Friday 4th December 2015
Ruby L'otel Rozelle, Sydney NSW

Sunday 6th December 2015
Rad Bar Wollongong NSW

Hand-Ons/Nunchukka Superfly guitarist, singer-songwriter and much-loved Australian punk-rock icon Peter "Blackie" Black has dropped the first video from his solo album "If This Is The Hand That I'm Dealt”. 

The album was released late last year in tandem with another solo record, "I'm Gonna Cheat As Much As I Can". The two albums, when taken together, reveal the breadth of Blackie's pop smarts, the quirkier and heartbroken ends of which can both be heard in  "What The Fuck Should I Be Thinking".

The film clip was co-directed by Jonathan Sequeira (director of the acclaimed Radio Birdmandocumentary "Descent Into the Maelstrom") and his partner in Cheap Music Videos, Wade Jackson. When asked to comment about the video, Jonathan said:

"‘I thought Blackie was joking when he told me about wanting to do the pec dance. But he got it one take so we knew he’d been practising in front of the mirror’.

“That is actually true, but probably not the quote you want.How about:

"'It was great to work with Peter, one of Australia’s best songwriters, and I love the new albums so was keen to do a video. He had a simple idea and really let me run with it, which wasn’t difficult because he gave such a great performance, and it was a lot of fun shooting it.'"

I first saw Blackie when I was 16. It was the Hard-Ons’ 21^st birthday tour, and I was stuck in Coolangatta, a long way from home. I knew nothing of the band but the name intrigued me so I went along. To this day it’s one of my top five gigs.

Hit after hit of pop punk brilliance, and for me the Hard-Ons are the gold standard in the genre. And here was guitarist Blackie, who combined metal style shredding with fast three chord punk rock playing. My tiny mind was blown.

Since then Peter Black has launched a solo career. 2020 marks the release of his sixth and seventh solo offerings. One electric, one acoustic. Aside from being one of the country’s best guitarists, Blackie’s solo work proves what a beautiful songwriter he is. The man can do no wrong

I-94 Bar: Now you’re playing a gig this Saturday with the Hard-Ons, and I saw a while back you did a gig in Sydney with Nunchukka Superfly, which was 20 people only. You obviously love playing live, but I take it with the lockdown period playing live now must be that extra bit more special?

Blackie: Man, I tell you how fucking weird this is. We did a couple of gigs recently, where I played solo and with the two bands, and I did a solo gig with John Kennedy’s 68 Comeback Special. But three weeks ago Nunchukka played a gig with a band from Canberra, and it didn’t really occur to me, as I had been driving for three-and-a-half-hours, it was all so trippy, like fucking hell, now I got to sing!

It hit me as it’s the first time I had been out of Sydney for 10-11 months. It was weird, but awesome. I’m like now I got to find the venue, find a park, and lug the gear. I loved every second of it

His nearest and dearest might know him as Peter but you'll most likely recognise him as Blackie from the Hard-Ons. Not that this, his second solo album, bears much relation to that esteemed band's fast and furious output. "No Dangerous Gods…" is off-the-wall, whip-smart and often lush acoustic rock that suggests Syd Barrett more than Sid Vicious.

_{Would you buy a song a day from this man?}

Peter "Blackie" Black, notably of the Hard-Ons and Nunchukka Superbly, has always done things differently. He’s taking his own path again as a solo artist, releasing a song a day via his Bandcamp site Subscribe to Peter Black Solo.

Why, you ask?? When we asked him, after scrunching his face for a few minutes, his reply was: "Why not!"

Hard-Ons and Nunchukka Superfly co-founder, Peter Black, (aka Blackie) is launching his third full solo album with an Australian tour that includes a run of dates as special guest support to King Buzzo of The Melvins.

"The Paintings On The Wall Say Gambler! Gambler!" is said to be "a flaming solid ball of creative explosion, whereby storm-trooping guitars and rhythm" that abandons the storm-trooping sounds of Hard-Ons and Nunchukka for "beautiful, introspective and whimsical".

The man always known as Peter Black - but perhaps best known as Blackie from the Hard-Ons - is releasing his sixth and seventh solo albums on November 27.

"If This Is The Hand I'm Dealt" and "I'm Gonna Cheat As Much As I Can" are acoustic and electric efforts respectively, and both were recorded with Jay Whalley of Frenzal Rhomb and Neptune Power Federation. Whalley also contributes some keyboards and vocals  and his partner in Neptune Power Federation, Lauren Friedman, contributes vocals. Musical pals like Heather Shannon from the Jezebels,  fellow Hard-On Ray Ahn and former Nunchukka Superfly drummer Joel Ellis also help out.

It might be apt to drop in some Dylan to catch your attention from the get-go (“There’s something happening here and you don’t know what it is/ Do you, Mr Jones?”) but it’s not necessary. Cutting to the chase, Peter Black is using melodies and colouring here to make a solo album that’s his most captivating to date.

My Top Ten is all over the shop - non sensible and I’m sure a few were from years back, but I only just caught up!

1. Get Back by Peter Jackson 
Stupendous all the way through. 

2. McCartney 3,2,1
Stupendous all the way through. 

3. Radio 2SER-FM

Favourite Live Gigs in Sydney

DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS (Metro Theatre):
It was a long time between drinks but
they finally made it back to our shores and gave the crowd an Alabama
ass-whuppin'for the ages! With 14 studio albums up their sleeves it's
impossible to hear all of your favourite tunes,but it was a wonderful
evening of top-shelf Southern Rock whichever way you slice it.



CHEAP TRICK/THE ANGELS (Enmore Theatre): 

A crackin' night of pop-infused rock'n'roll from the get-go. I loved The Angels back in high school but lost interest by the late 80s, so it was a pleasant surprise to hear a
solid set of classics by a rejuvenated lineup now boasting 4 x Brewsters
in the ranks! They'll never have a frontman as great as Doc Neeson, but
they're still a fun night out. Cheap Trick were in top form delivering
hit after hit - if you don't enjoy these blokes you may be in need for a
check-up from the neck up!