_{Mark Fraser photo.}

The Hard-Ons have announced the supports for their “I'm Sorry Sir, That Riff's Been Taken” Australian tour - their first with their new line-up which features new singer Tim Rogers.The tour comes on the back of the band's first ever ARIA Top 5 album, and takes in all East Coast capitals and key regional hubs.

The tour was pre-empted by NSW warm-up shows at The Link & Link in Woy Woy (December) and Frankies Pizza by The Slice in Sydney (February), billed under the name Clandestine Sausage, attracting rabid fan attention.   

The list of supports includes strong locals as well as a couple of bands with a shared history on the Alternative Charts in the '90s – namely Smudge in Sydney and The Meanies in Melbourne. Sydney's C.O.F.F.I.N. are main support for tour closer at the Corner in Melbourne. 

For full dates, click More.

Excuse us for being excited but cowpunk kings The Johnnys play their first Sydney show since February 2019 at Sydney's Marrickville Bowling Club this Saturday night with the two-headed raunch machine that is White Knuckle Fever and country-rockiers Broham (including former Vanilla Chainsaws frontman Simon Chainsaw.) It's an I-94 Bar show and tickets are here.

What may be the final word in posthumous Stooges recordings for the foreseeable future is looming on UK label Easy Action and it’s a doozy.

Firstly, “A Fire of Life” is a double CD or LP collection compiling 2006 and 2003 live recording by the Pop-Asheton-Asheton-Watt line-up in Sydney and New Orleans respectively, coupled with high quality basement demos of tracks that would appear on “The Weirdness” and an in-store appearance. 

It will be rounded off with 11 tracks from the legendary stripped back appearance at Newbury Comics in Cambridge MA in 2003 by Iggy and the Ashetons (with Scott on cardboard boxes!)  

You can hear “Dirt” from the Sydney Big Day Out here and here is “Little Doll” from the basement. Pre-order here where you can read the full tracklist.

But that’s not all. 

The first autobiography from a Radio Birdman member is on its way. “Faith and Practice in Bedlam” is by the band's former guitarist Chris "Klondike" Masuak (Screaming Tribesmen, Hitmen, The Raouls, Chris Masuak and the Viveiro Wave Riders, New Christs, Juke Savages, Klondike’s North 40) and is 4-6 weeks from release.

It’s on West Australian imprint High Voltage Publishing and the 280-page paperback is available here at the special pre-order price of $A24.95.

Says its editor (and I-94 Bar writer) Robert Brokenmouth: “When he decided to write about his life, Masuak found that his writing came in short, precise bursts, like songs.

“After a while, he realised that the order in which these stories should be read should not be chronological, but thematic.

“Also, he discovered that his life, as reflected here, formed a trajectory of self-discovery, with redemption peeping out from the wings. To allow us to dwell on that story of self-discovery, most real names have been disguised or omitted.”

We may be biased but you'd be mad not to want to go to this.  X, White Knuckle Fever, Jupiter 5 and Rubber Necker on the I-94 Bar Stage in Sydney on March 20. Tickets here.

Australian rock band Leadfinger and Golden Robot Records are pleased to announce the release of “Silver & Black”, the  long-awaited new album and their first since 2016’s “Friday Night Heroes”. 

The album will be launched at Marrickville Bowling Club on Saturday, April 2 with support from Rubber Necker and Hellebores and tickets are on sale here.  Tour dates appear below.

The story of “Silver & Black” began not long after the career high of the first tour of Europe in October 2017 when the band's singer/songwriter, Stewart Cunningham fell ill and was shockingly diagnosed with lung cancer.

Following almost two years of treatment that included losing one of his lungs and a long, painful recovery the band began to try and regroup, not even knowing whether Cunningham would be able to play and sing again.

Somewhat miraculously things slowly fell in to place in the isolation (and therapy) of the rehearsal room and then in and around Covid and lockdowns the band managed to write and record the new album at Garth Porter's Rancom Street Studio in Sydney with Brent Clark producing.