Top Tens for 2024: John Pettex of Brisbane label SoundPressing

Details

By John Pettex

John Pettex

21 January 2025

Hits: 1161

I wish I could remember more of the first half of the year… Not sure if I should blame the Melbourne Bitter longnecks. Likely culprit. This is pretty close to a Top 10..

Big love to all involved in the SoundPressing projects and tours throughout the year. In particular Mark Spinks (Gravel Samwidge) and Skeleton Boy (Art Gray Noizz Quintet) who spurred an incredible split 7” that was mail ordered and posted to all corners of the globe.

• charlie owen
• the beasts
• gravel samwidge
• john pettex
• the art gray noizz quintet
• soundpressing
• the saints '73-'78
• kim salmon's smoked salmon

Read more …

Crunchy single "Hey Jack" released ahead of The Crisps shows

Details

By The Barman

The Barman

21 January 2025

Hits: 576

Sydney via Berlin band The Crisps have released a single to coincide with their brief return run of gigs this weekend. "Hey Jack" is the song and it's available for download here.

The Crisps are bassist Graham Hood (The Johnnys), vocalist-drummer Stuart Wilson (New Christs, Lime Spiders, Chris Masuak's Dog Soldier), Dave Thomas (Doomfoxx) and guitarist Chris Nacard (Orange County). The shows are happening because Thomas is back in Australia from his adopted home of Germany. The band has plans to play Europe later in 2025. 

Catch them in and around Sydney at Manly Boat Shed (January 24) with DISGRACELand and The MoshPit Bar (January 25 from 2-6pm) with The Research and The Sugar Beats before heading north to Woy Woy's Link and Pin Cafe with The Dunhill Blues and The FNCs on January 26 from 11am-5pm.  

• single
• the crisps
• hey jack

Top Tens for 2024: Legendary 2RRR announcer Big Daddy K of the Sydney Sounds program

Details

By Kev Cherry

Kev Cherry

18 January 2025

Hits: 2138

I prefer to refer to the list as BIG DADDY K'a 0 SIGNIFICANT EVENTS OF 2024 rather than a top 10, as it's not ranked in any particular order. 2024 was a year of milestones with several Australian bands and institutions celebrating significant anniversaries. Hewre are a few:

1. Public Broadcasting Radio Station RYDE REGIONAL RADIO (2RRRFM)
The station that I have been involved with for 37 years, celebrated its 40th anniversary. Started by a lobby group and initially only broadcasting for a few hours a day from a garage in the grounds of Meadowbank TAFE. Since 1988, the station has been located at Henley Cottage, where it currently has two studios. It now broadcasts 24/7, featuring a wide range of musical genres and talk shows of local community as well as general interest, and runs a radio training course.

The station hosts several alternative rock music programs that would be of interest to I 94 Barflies, most notably “Sonic Stew” on Monday nights, “Virtual Unreality” on Friday evenings, “Timeslides” on Saturday afternoons, and, of course, my program, Sydney Sounds, at 2pm on Saturdays. (Several of the shows are podcasted, or you can stream them live via 2rrr.org.au and all the streaming radio apps).

• hard-ons
• top ten
• slavetrader
• kevin cherry
• big daddy K
• 2RRR

Read more …

Top Tens for 2024: Melbourne writer and drummer with The Tommys, Robert Lastdrager

Details

By Robert Lastdrager

Robert Lastdrager

13 January 2025

Hits: 1123

_{The Tommys on tour in a tuk tuk:  Robert Lastdrager, Jonathan Lickliter and Ollie Laurie.}

1. Getting the band back together after 20 years.
Playing numerous Melbourne inner-city bars in 2024 with The Tommys has been a blast.

2. Touring regional VIC and NSW with Cambodian Space Project on their April Oz tour.
A real treat to play beautiful venues like the Theatre Royal in Castlemaine, George Lane and Memo Music Hall in St Kilda to such appreciative crowds.

3. Marrickville Bowlo
We flew into Sydney and out the next day. Played a rowdy loud evening of garage R&R topped off by sinking a flotilla of schooners with old mates I hadn’t seen in 20 years!

• top ten
• robert lastdrager
• cambodian space project
• 2024

Read more …

Top Tens for 2024: Scotty Bradbury, drummer for The Dark Clouds

Details

By Scott Bradbury

Scott Bradbury

13 January 2025

Hits: 1321

_{Scotty Bradbury. Photo by Lisa G Photography}

Top 10 Drum influences for 2024
Let me start this by acknowledging that John Bonham is a given for any rock drummer, so to make it fun I will leave him off this year, honourable mention to Zigaboo Modeliste of The Meters (Cissy Strut).. who had an influence on the great Bonzo of Led Zeppelin, for sure.

This list is a mix of old faithful and new players that got me off the sofa in 2024, only to land straight back on my ass … putting the drum throne through its paces.

1. Phil Rudd (AC/DC)
Phil Rudd is a feel, an adjective in drumming. Comments like “give it more Phil Rudd” can be heard in studios across the world. His less is more, play to serve the song, dig into the grove – see “Whole Lotta Rosie” approach is legendary. We only ever miss him when he isn’t there, because man… does he make a difference. The heartbeat to some of the most iconic rock songs ever, there is no other like him. I would refer the reader to the eight count at the beginning of “Back in Black”. The guitar scratches along for the first six beats … the last two hits on the Hi-hat “three…. four..” are to me, the best two notes ever played in rock’n’roll.

2. Dave Grohl (Nirvana, QOTSA, Them Crooked Vultures, Killing Joke, Probot)
Yeah look, a lot has been said about this guy musically …my wife rolls her eyes and leaves the room whenever I mention his name …I probably do talk about him a lot, so what, he really is that fucken good…albums like “Songs for the Deaf” or “Them Crooked Vultures “ and songs like “No One Knows” or “Elephants” come on!! Oh and please listen to “Killing Joke” (2003 album) this album lived rent free in my head for a full year when it came out, it’s a really cool record, the drums were recorded last and Dave Grohl worked to adapt parts written on a drum machine all of which is a little unconventional.

Dave doesn’t play fancy, lots of doubles and Triplets where the hand speaks to the foot in reply, he is creative and hits hard. You have to hit the drums to make em sound good, dynamics are fine but …tapping them won’t work. Drumming and music come naturally to Dave; he manages to play great parts most every time. “Dave Grohl – Play” (Official Video) is a good example of the level that this guy is at, it’s a journey no judgment if you don’t watch it all the way through. If an artist sounds like themselves then you are truly serving the moment. You can be influenced and inspired by anything, but when you play, if people recognise that sound as you, you channelling through an instrument …. That’s a most excellent moment.

• hard-ons
• rose tattoo
• peter kostic
• the dark clouds
• nitrocris
• andi dyson
• scott bradbury
• phil rudd
• dave grohl
• digger royall
• paramore

Read more …

Top Tens for 2024: Mine host at The I-94 Bar, The Barman

Details

By The Barman

The Barman

14 January 2025

Hits: 1408

In no particular order and with the caveat that there are notable omissions because I haven’t heard the Chimers album yet and have only seen parts of the Hard-Ons documentary.  Yes, it’s more than 10 but I plead undiagnosed dyscalculia (i.e. I can’t count). As for the rule of not reviewing I-94 Bar label releases or shows, it's being bent. Slightly. 

The Dictators – The Dictators
It’s hard to come to grips with a Manitoba-less line-up and many of Andy's songs are re-heated versions of old material. Judged on its merits as the work of a new line-up, however, “The Dictators” is a credible comeback album that holds up to repeated listens. We need Ross The Boss' guitar roar and Andy's lyrical smart-arsery now more than ever.

In The Zone – Mick Medew and Ursula
Yes, it’s on the house label and Mine Host generally doesn’t review I-94 Bar shows or releases, but others have.  Great enough to earn Mick and Ursula the Keys to Brisbane City and have digi-single “Punk Grandma” finish Number-Three in the 4ZZZ Hot 100. All hail The Zeds (and 2RRR and 2XX and 3RRR and 3D…) 

• the on and ons
• cosmic psychos
• psychotic turnbuckles
• little murders
• the stems
• the damned
• jupiter 5
• the fadeaways
• the strike-outs
• the saints '73-'78
• the dictators
• pat todd and the rankoutsiders

Read more …

Top Tens for 2024: Don Drum of Melbourne label Kasumen Records

Details

By Don Drum

Don Drum

13 January 2025

Hits: 801

Top gigs

Sacred Cowboys @ St Kilda Bowlo
Visceral, dangerous, enticing and exciting, they still have it and are more forthright about putting it on you!

Sister Paul @ The Belgrave Hotel
Never seen such a convincing two-piece, no need for any more onstage, tough and fun, danceable and rockin', record breaking merch sales too!

Dirty Three @ Forum, Melbourne
it was like seeing them in the '90s all over except they played for three hours. They just make big stages feel like The Old Bar.

• sacred cowboys
• dirty three
• kasumen records
• battlehounds
• Buddhadatta
• superchunk
• don drum
• sister paul

Read more …

Top Tens for 2024: Ross Nelson of the Sonic Stew program on Sydney's 2RRR-FM

Details

By Ross Nelson

Ross Nelson

13 January 2025

Hits: 1209

Another year, another stack of great recordings! From all the records that found their way to my ears and turntable throughout 2024 here’s my attempt at ranking some personal highlights. 

Rock & roll is still inspiring and remains the most exciting music on the planet. Here’s proof!

• john dowler
• the dahlmans
• the courettes
• jupiter 5
• vanity project
• lemon twigs
• the prize
• pleasants
• loose lips
• fleur
• 2RRR
• fastbacks

Read more …

Flashbacks galore as live album captures a magic Marrickville night for John Kennedy and his band

Details

By Edwin Garland

Edwin Garland

12 January 2025

Hits: 2854

Live at The Marrickville Bowl. - John Kennedy  and the New Originals (I-94 Bar Records)

Lately, I have been thinking about the Australian movie “Death in Brunswick”, a bona fide classic and a brilliant black comedy. It features a kitchen from hell in a decrepit nightclub, populated by the dodgiest of characters. The smell of rat poison and mouse shit, and there’s a cockroach invasion that resembles an army removing food scraps. 

Now, I once worked one night as a kitchen hand at the notorious Kardomah Café (aka "The Dark Coma") when I was living in Kings Cross. The kitchen was not as horrifying as the one as in the movie, but I did feel like the Sam Neil character, channeling Dostoyevsky as I chopped onions, prepared soggy fries and tried to cut over-ripe tomatoes to sit forlornly atop nondescript cheeseburgers. 

• i-94 bar records
• matt galvin
• john kennedy
• murray cook
• peter timmerman
• phil hall
• live at the marrickville bowl

Read more …