Black Bombers' rock and roll guillotine

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By Robert Brokenmouth & The Barman

Robert Brokenmouth & The Barman

07 January 2024

Hits: 4666

Viva La Revolution – Black Bombers (Easy Action)

Yeah, alright, it took a little while to get to me.

And yeah, by now you've heard they've broken up.

Which, if there were any justice in the world, would've been more worthy of a spot on the ABC than that meeting between two psychopath grifters in New York a couple of weeks back. 

(Sorry? well, one of them was on trial and spouting lies and misinformation every time he turned up, and the other is yet to be on trial but absolutely should be but hey. She'll be right, mate.)

• johnny thunders
• black bombers
• birmingham
• the godfathers
• gunfire dance
• viva la revolution
• dave twist
• dave crittall
• alan byron
• alex mcgowan

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Listen up! These stories are worth getting hung up on

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By The Barman

The Barman

04 January 2024

Hits: 1773

Stories To Tell – The Hangmen (Acetate Records)

There’s a timeless quality about the music of The Hangmen that can’t be touched by many. Swagger meets roots rock on a seedy Los Angeles backstreet, they’re now up to Album Number Seven with no signs of the fire diminishing.

Formed in 1984 around singer-guitarist Bryan Small, signed by major labels (twice), they’re (yet another) American band chewed up and spat out by an industry that panders to the lowest common denominator. Always has, always will. Drugs got in the way, too. Raise a glass to little labels like L.A. imprint Acetate for giving them a home. 

• los angeles
• the gun club
• acetate records
• jimmy james
• the hangmen
• bryan small
• stories to tell

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Vale Melbourne music writer Patrick Emery

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By The Barman

The Barman

28 December 2023

Hits: 10715

Melbourne music writer and good friend of the I-94 Bar, Patrick Emery, has passed away suddenly, aged 52.

In a brief statement posted on Facebook earlier tonight, Spooky Records chief Loki Lockwood spoke on behalf of Patrick’s family.

On behalf of Patrick’s loving wife Bettina, and children Babette and Baptiste, I’ve been given the solemn task of sharing the untimely passing of my beautiful friend Patrick. On Christmas Eve at home, Patrick suddenly collapsed and was rushed to the Austin Hospital where he was diagnosed with a stage 4 inoperable brain tumor. He passed peacefully with his beloved family by his side. 

Patrick was a passionate and beautiful soul. There will be many from the music community around the world that will be shocked by this news. Patrick wrote for many publications across Australia over the years I knew him: Beat, The Australian, The Age and The I-94 Bar, to name a few. There’s no doubt that anyone with a passing interest in music will have read his music reviews and interviews for thousands of bands.  

For those that he wrote about, I know they will be overwhelmingly shocked by the news of his untimely passing. His greatest gift to us all was his belief in his beloved local music scene - always wanting to help elevate some little known artist through his writing because he could. 

• patrick emery
• obituary

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The men don't know but Little Girls understand

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By The Barman

The Barman

19 December 2023

Hits: 3036

Valley Songs – Little Girls (Playback Records)

If only all retrospective collections were half as fun - and done as well - as this look back on 1980s Los Angeles surfer girl power-poppers, Little Girls. There are 26 bouncy rave-ups on this CD, it’s accompanied by a booklet full of photos and liner notes, and it took an Australian label to put it out.

Little Girls were diminutive sisters Caron and Michele Maso, two Coloradoans transplanted to L.A. who turned heads as a duo at a 1980 party by singing alternative lyrics to “Anarchy in the UK”. Now, who hasn’t wanted to do that?

Things got serious after they met guitarist Kip Brown, freshly late of local punks SHOCK, while hanging out at The Troubadour club. A full band ensued.

• playback records
• valley songs
• little girls
• kip brown
• SHOCK
• caron maso
• michele maso

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Rod McLeod and his part in the Punk Wars of Brisbane 1977-83

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By Donat Tahiraj

Donat Tahiraj

18 December 2023

Hits: 6535

Brisbane music stalwart Rod McLeod died last week after a short and aggressive bout of lung and liver cancer which went to his brain. LCMR Records head, Queensland underground music archivist and friend Donat Tahiraj has penned this remembrance. 

* * * * * 

I first met Rod McLeod sometime in the 1990s when record fairs in Brisbane happened only quarterly. It was a time when vinyl records weren’t exactly in the front of many music listener’s minds.

The occasion was in the sheds of the Mt Gravatt showgrounds. My fellow record-collecting friend Mick Baker and I had noticed a man wearing a seemingly homemade t-shirt with a white iron-on transfer among a sea of people.

Upon closer inspection, he was holding a small handful of 7” singles which, prior to the explosion of eBay, were only obtainable by chance or through want lists. Facing towards our line of sight was one by the Bodysnatchers – a Brisbane punk band that played one show in 1979 and happened to release a record that same year. Its cover with the band’s name done in spray paint in white on a black background was in fact inspired by the “Neu! ’75” shirt that Rod had thrown on that Saturday morning.

• brisbane
• leftovers
• LCMR Records
• donat tahiraj
• fun things
• rod mcleod
• bodysnatchers
• just urbain
• warren lamond
• ed wreckage

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A coast with the most

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By The Barman

The Barman

14 December 2023

Hits: 1714

Indie Sounds From The Cenny Coast - Various Artists (Vinil Records)

A lot of people try before they buy physical CDs or vinyl, whether it be via streaming or the ubiquitous Bandcamp website. 

Fair enough, too; If the various post offices around the globe are going to ream you and make you take out a second mortgage just to have something shipped across international borders in a padded envelope, you wanna be sure it’s music that’s worth playing more than once. 

Unless you’re one of those vinyl-fixated numb-nuts that buys every coloured variant of the latest release and photographs the sealed copies on a custom-built shelving unit for other fools to admire on Insta, you probably care more about the music than the medium.

Just remember, they’re records not vinyls, and that we’re here to help.

• vi-nil records
• indie sounds from the cenny coast

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Stones or Diamonds? A Penny for your thoughts

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By Robert Brokenmouth

Robert Brokenmouth

11 December 2023

Hits: 2758

Catipalism: Where cats become dissatisfied with its lot they are unable to rise up in revolt clutching scythes, axes and burning brands (for all sorts of reasons) and decapitate their 'owner', so whenever able, they head to nearby houses in search of better pats, better food and some peace and quiet.

This happened with my first cat Doody who, after shimmying through the side door, zipped off and simply never came back. A street crowded with houses with small yards, and a main road nearby ... I was desolate, until a few weeks later I spotted the little bugger on a wall nearby. He knew me, sniffed my hand, turned his bumhole on me and sodded off.

I'd fed the little bugger for 18 months and helped him whereever I could. Of course, I'd also had him desexed, for which he might not have forgiven me. And he managed to burn his whiskers once, before I could get to him. So, gratitude might not have been high on his list of priorities.

• rolling stones
• penny ikinger
• mick jagger
• travels and travails
• hackney diamonds

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Stu and his Connections are crawling back to you

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By The Barman

The Barman

05 December 2023

Hits: 2919

In the ever-evolving landscape of Australian rock and pop, Stu Wilson, the rhythmic backbone behind acts like Lime Spiders, Chris Masuak’s Dog Soldier, Aberration and New Christs, steps into the spotlight with his latest project, Stu & The Connections. 

Their new single, "Crawling Back to You" b/w "Best Of Me," marks a departure into a realm that's darker, moodier, yet unmistakably Stu.  

It intertwines Stu's signature pop sensibilities with a more brooding undercurrent, a blend that's as intoxicating as it is introspective. 

The flip side, "Best Of Me," offers a lyrical introspection matched with an acoustic backdrop that's both raw and refined. This release showcases the band's versatility, navigating the fine line between rock's ruggedness and pop's catchy melodies.

Both tracks are available digitally now on Bandcamp.

Check the video after the MORE link.

• new christs
• stu wilson
• lime spiders
• crankinhaus records
• Stu & The Connections
• crawling back to you
• chris masuak's dog solider

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Pat Todd weaves street-level magic Down Under

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By Edwin Garland

Edwin Garland

04 December 2023

Hits: 4295

Pat Todd
+ Mad Macka
Golden Barley Hotel, Enmore, NSW
Saturday, 25 November 2023 

Australian music legend and label owner Sebastian Chase once said to me: “Punk rock is folk music with volume - street music, if done right”. And with local bands like Cosmic Psychos and X, a case can certainly be prosecuted that street music and its stories can be  found in bars and pubs across the land.

Mad Macka has played his fair share of pubs and bars for almost 40 years, originally with The Onyas and lately with Cosmic Psychos. Macka’s music mirrors what you’ll still see and hear in drinking establishments across the land: cynical yarns by blokes on the punt and into their sixth schooner.

• mad macka
• cosmic psychos
• lazy cowgirls
• pat todd
• the onyas
• golden barley
• rankoutsiders

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