Ahead of the premiere Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney screenings of “20 YEARS IN THE CRYPT: EMBEDDED ON TOUR WITH DEAD MOON” I ask:

"WHY THE FUCK DIDN'T EVERYBODY WHO WAS PART OF SYDNEY'S '80S GARAGE SCENE GO HOG-WILD FOR DEAD MOON, THE BAND LED THROUGHOUT THE '90S BY FRED COLE OF THE LOLLIPOP SHOPPE???"

That's the question. It's been on my mind for 30+ years.. 

Does anyone have an answer?

More than any city in the world I reckon, Sydney's music scene from the end of the '70s through a good chunk of the '80s, was heavily into '60s American punk/garage rock, and the “Pebbles” series of compilations in particular.

The likes of the Lime Spiders and the Wet Taxis (and numerous others) tapped that material to the point that Kim Salmon in the Scientists' Sydney days used to complain about all the “Pebbles covers bands”. 

Maybe it's because by the end of the '80s that scene in Sydney was kinda dead. I dunno. But when Dead Moon appeared with their first album in 1989, they should have been a Sydney garage-rocker's wet dream.

Here was not only a new band playing this kind of music, here was a band with a direct link - in the form of their main man Fred Cole - with the Pebbles/Nuggets era. Fred Cole wrote and sung "You Must Be a Witch" by the Lollipop Shoppe in 1967.

It was slated by Lenny Kaye to appear on volume 2 of “Nuggets” (indeed it featured CD2 of the later boxset and on the recent belated 2LP “Nuggets” 2 release) and later appeared as track one, side one on “Pebbles” Vol.8.

It was generally recognised as one of the great songs of the era, and a lot of people in Sydney would've known it. Not only that, but Dead Moon actually sounded like the Lollipop Shoppe, played “You Must Be A Witch” live, and, more importantly, had heaps of Fred Cole originals in THE SAME VEIN and JUST AS good.

It took a few years for Dead Moon to get here - by which time they had a huge cult following in Europe and were starting to break out at home in the US. When they first toured New Zealand in '92 not only did they not come to Australia but they knocked back an American tour with Nirvana because they'd already said Yes to promoter John Baker in Auckland.

But when they got here in 1995, Melbourne was all over them. They formed a bond with the mighty Powder Monkeys, and the audiences loved them.

But still Sydney didn't give a shit. And as far as I can see, it still doesn't.

And seriously, here was a band, a raw as all fuck, with the GREATEST guitar sound  - Fred's guitar always sounded like his amp was on fire - with THAT VOICE (listen again to "You Must Be  A Witch' if you can't remember it) and literally ALBUM AFTER ALBUM of incredible original songs, songs that sounded like they belonged on an early Love album or something.

I mean, I'm not the first Melbourne person to ask this, but Sydney, what the fuck is wrong with you?

Anyway, it's too late now and Fred Cole is sadly no longer with us (nor is Dead Moon amazing drummer Andrew Loomis, but at least Fred's bass-playing wife Toody is, and she was in some ways  the heart of the band.)

But Sydney, you can kind of make amends by attending the Sydney premier screening of the amazing new documentary “20 YEARS IN THE CRYPT: EMBEDDED ON TOUR WITH DEAD MOON”, which is a follow-up of sorts to “Unknown Passage - The Dead Moon Story”, which was made by the same people in 2001.

The new film is taken from the countless hours they shot for the original film and it's more of a concert/road movie type thing. It's AWESOME.

“20 YEARS IN THE CRYPT: EMBEDDED ON TOUR WITH DEAD MOON” screens in Sydney March 30 at The Dendy in Newtown. Blackie from the Hard-Ons plays an acousitc set beforehand. Go and see it. Buy some Dead Moon records. Admit that you were wrong - it'll make you feel better about yourselves. 

Adelaide and Melbourne get screenings too, Adelaide this Sunday. Complete dates are as follows:

Sunday March 23 - The Piccadilly Cinema, Adelaide 
(w/ live solo acoustic performance by Sunee Holland before the film) 
Tix

Sunday March 30 - The Dendy Cinema, Newtown, Sydney 
(w/ live solo acoustic performance by Blackie - Hard-Ons - before the film)
Tix

Sunday April 13 - Cinema Nova, Melbourne 
(w/ live solo acoustic performance by Joel Silbersher - God, Hoss, Tendrils, Fancy Weapon - before the film)
Tix