Appeal launched for James Baker

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By The Barman

The Barman

23 July 2024

Hits: 4349

Australian music industry charity, Support Act, has launched an appeal on behalf of iconic Perth-based punk/garage-rock figure and drummer James Baker, founding member of legendary outfits The Victims, The Scientists, The Hoodoo Gurus, The Beasts of Bourbon and The Dubrovniks. 

James was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer nine years ago and now requires constant care, which means his partner Cathy has to give up full-time work to support him. James and Cathy have been working with a specialist medical team to keep James around for as long as possible. A target of $50,000 has been set to assist with medical and household expenses associated with James' palliative care.

You can donate here.

• scientists
• victims
• james baker
• appeal
• hoodoo gurus
• support act

Messin' With The Drummer: A pot of tea with Ivor Hay

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By Robert Brokenmouth

Robert Brokenmouth

18 July 2024

Hits: 3080

 
Take a look at the photo. There they are. The original Saints, outside their Brisbane share house, Club 76. Now a posh real estate agent's rather scrappy-looking digs, the house still stands. 

Queensland does have a heritage register: the Saints' Petrie Terrace share house should surely be on the list, but it's not. Queenslanders, make it happen!

It's mid-winter in Adelaide, and I'm reflecting on the passage of time. As I get off the bus, I pass the new and improved Her Majesty's Theatre on the corner of Pitt Street and Grote, adjacent to the shop I worked in for a year nearly 30 years ago. A few doors up Grote, toward Victoria Square, was the one building I worked in periodically over 22 years, The Antique Market, run by Dean Donovan and his wife, Kathy.

Quite an awkwardly-designed building, after Dean sold all the stock in 2018, it was sold, remodelled and occupied for a few years, then finally emptied and demolished; today a huge hotel or somesuch is heading upwards with a great deal of clamour, gusto and grunt. 

• ed kuepper
• peter oxley
• mark arm
• chris bailey
• the saints
• mick harvey
• the aints
• ivor hay
• (I'm) stranded
• the saints '73-'78

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A small part of Adelaide's underground music mosaic

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By Robert Brokenmouth

Robert Brokenmouth

17 July 2024

Hits: 1551

The Beautiful Black – The Beautiful Black (self released) 

Before we start, perhaps I should explain. This article is not just a review, but a homage to Ross and Caz. As the Barman politely explains to me, “Uh, Robert. ...Who ...? Context?”

Right, then, context.

First, like so many other large Australian cities, Adelaide has had a strong and diverse music scene for decades. There was a distinct hand-over of the baton, too. You could see it in the composition of the audience which rolled out to see XTC on their first tour compared to their second the following year: the first tour, it was mostly older folks (I was 15, so everyone was older than me, but I'm talking 30+ here).

• the beautiful black
• ross martin
• caz ward
• dave ormsby
• shane rowe
• neil mackenzie
• naomi cain

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Not just a tribute, "Retaliate First" lays it bare

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By The Barman

The Barman

16 July 2024

Hits: 2560

Retaliate First: How one band smashed the rules of Australian rock and roll
By Murray Engleheart
(Allen and Unwin)

What becomes a legend most
When the musicians have come and then leave her
What becomes a legend most
Besides being a legendary star
What Becomes A Legend Most” - Lou Reed (1984)

It’s finally here and it’s great. For the first time, the Radio Birdman story has been thoroughly told from start to dotage (if not the end) in print, and with a sense of perspective that puts contestable versions of the story in plain view.

For the first time?  What about Vivien Johnston’s 1990 “Radio Birdman”? For many years it was the best (only) reference point. As invaluable as it was, it was ultimately a biography shoehorned into a university thesis, and the tenuous link it tried to make between the band and Australian indigenous culture was odd. 

And there's “Radio Birdman: The Illustrated History” from George Munoz,  an amazing visual record of the first life of the band but doesn’t try to be commentary. 

Murray Engleheart’s “Retaliate First” is an effort to re-tell the story as it should be told and it’s an invaluable companion to Jonathan Sequeira’s brutally honest “Descent Into The Maelstrom” documentary.

• radio birdman
• retaliate first
• murray engleheart
• allen and unwin

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The rise (and The Fall) of cover bands

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By Robert Brokenmouth

Robert Brokenmouth

16 July 2024

Hits: 1692

When is a cover band not a cover band?

“Doing The Fall songs can often feel a bit like driving a juggernaut with no brakes, or falling down some stairs, pissed...” according to Ben Toft - one of the singers in The Fall tribute band,  The Look Back Bores.

So, no. It's not as easy as you think.

The Animals(and Friends) have just finished an encore tour of Australia with 83-year-old John Steel behind the kit and a well-seasoned group of younger English musicians, all steeped in r'n'b, boogie and so on. The band provides high quality entertainment, doing justice to a time and place that the participants can only remember but hazily.

• sonics
• buzzcocks
• the fall
• robert brokenmouth
• the animals
• can
• the look back bores

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Sydney's heading to Pismo Beach on Saturday while The Fadeaways cruise to a sell-out in Melbourne

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By The Barman

The Barman

11 July 2024

Hits: 1427

• psychotic turnbuckles
• jupiter 5
• the strike-outs
• bahne super-flex

The Saints (dead and alive) keep marching in

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By The Barman

The Barman

10 July 2024

Hits: 1883

^{Latter Day Saints: Chris Bailey (right) with drummer Peter Wilkinson and bassist Caspar Wijnberg, in Amsterdam in 2006. Elisabet Corlin photo.}

Here's some more news on long-rumoured posthumous recordings from late Saints singer Chris Bailey.

In an Instagram post today, Church Street Studios engineer Sean Carey flagged that the recent digital single, “Break Away”, comes from a forthcoming album, “Long March Through the Jazz Age", It is the first release of new material since Bailey's passing in 2022.

Recorded by Sean Carey in Church Street Studios, Sydney, Bailey is on vocals, guitar and bass and is aided by long term drummer, Pete Wilkinson and guest Davey Lane (You Am I) on guitar.

• saints
• ed kuepper
• chris bailey
• davey lane
• sean carey
• the saints '73-'78
• pete wilkinson

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Charlie Owen takes to the road again

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By The Barman

The Barman

07 July 2024

Hits: 2689

Guitarist extraordinaire Charlie Owen (Beasts of Bourbon, New Christs, Tex Don & Charlie, Paul Kelly, Working Class Ringos) is taking his “Searching For Charlie Owen” stories and song show on the road again in Australia in August and September, following last year’s run of sold-out gigs.

Presented by Soundpressing Records, I-94 Bar & Rhythms, the tour takes in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.

Part spoken word, part songs, "Searching for Charlie Owen" is an engorssing, emotional and illuminating journey through the ace guiatrist's back pages. Full dates and ticket link: 

Soundpressing, I-94 Bar & Rhythms present
Searching for Charlie Owen
Australian Tour
AUG
8 – Vinnies Dive, Gold Coast QLD
+ Dana Gehrman Duo
9 - Doo-bop Jazz Bar, Brisbane
+ Dana Gehrman Duo
10- The Citadel, Murwillumbah, NSW
+ Andrew Kidman
11 - Banshees Bar & Art Space, Ipswich, QLD (2pm)
+ Dana Gehrman Duo
16- Django Bar, Marrickville, NSW
+ Cam Butler + Peter Ross & The Sapphire
17 - Smiths Alternative, Canberra, ACT (8pm)
+ Cam Butler
30 - Wesley Anne, Northcote, VIC
+ Martin Frawley
31 - Theatre Royal, Castlemaine, VIC
+ Martin Frawley
SEP
1 - George Lane, St Kilda, VIC (2:30pm)
+ Martin Frawley
Tickets
https://www.charlieowen.au/tour

• beasts of bourbon
• new christs
• paul kelly
• charlie owen
• tex don and charlie
• searching for Charlie owen

Your flight boards now if you don't want to miss happy hour

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By The Barman

The Barman

06 July 2024

Hits: 3626

Happy Hours Air Travel Club – O.C. Rippers (Ruined Records)

From what can be worked out their online footprint, OC Rippers are your typical punk rock band circa the 2020s: Feet firmly planted in their home turf (New Jersey), they’re not out to win friends or influence people and aren’t embarking on any world tours any day soon.

They’re not fussed being pigeon-holed because their influences are as varied as the quality of cocktails in a beer barn. They’re also realistic about their chances of hitting the heights because they’re aged (at a guess) in their 40s and not named Taylor.

• punk rock
• o.c. rippers
• ruined records
• oc rippers
• happy hours air travel club

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