al creed

Seas on Fire – East Coast Low (Crankinhaus Records)

The promise of their first recordings (an album and a promotional EP) has been realised and “Seas On Fire” showsEast Coast Low has the requisite rock and roll cojones to take on all comers.

A five-piece with most of its membership drawn from the matter-of-fact city of Newcastle, a couple of hours north of Sydney, East Coast Low is a product of its home-town: Nothing is overly dressed up and most of the songs get straight to the point, with no fucking around. 

This is a well-travelled band. Grizzled, if you like. High rotation on the national youth network doesn’t beckon (though we all know they don’t program anything with a hint of ageism about them.) The Low formed in 2015 with members playing in Newy bands like The Fools and No Reason. The influences are myriad, although the ‘70s punk lineage is strong.

 _{The reformed Panadolls (from left) Big Al Creed, Ash Thomson, Ken Archbold, Matt Bannerman and Phil Van Rooyen,  at Link and Pin in Woy Woy.}

For the second half of the 1990s, Dangerous Rock and Roll had an address on Sydney’s Northern Beaches and used the pseudonym The Panadolls.

Deriving their name from a prescription painkiller, The Panadolls were troublemakers in a crowded Sydney scene that had not yet been battered into submission by poker machines, over-regulated venues and changing tastes.  They ran with like-minded peers ,the Celibate Rifles, Hellmen, Powder Monkeys, Asteroid B612 and Brother Brick, and pushed a brand of Detroit-tinged high-energy rock that was equal parts Dolls blues squawl and a Stooges-like attack, all channeled through an Oz Rock filter.

Any band with the guitar attack of Big Al Creed (ex-Dr Fruitworld, later to join the New Christs) and bassist-cum-frontman Ken Archbold (ex-Hellmen) had a distinct advantage. The Panadolls did not sit long in any genre and burned brightly for only five years. Their sole album, “From The Glitter To The Gutter”, and “From The Valley Of The Panadolls” EP went out of print soon after.

And now they’re back. Sorta. Latter-day drummer Ashley Thomson (ex-Kelpies, Roll Cage) has issued both digitally here, supplemented by an outtakes/rarities release called “Dirty Hits”. The Panadolls also reformed for two “don’t blink or you’ll miss them” shows in July, both outside hometown Sydney.

It all sounded like an excuse to corner Kenny Archbold and pose some hard questions. The Barman did the honours.

Aberration are one of those bands who you have probably heard of word of mouth. Did you ever see them live back in the ‘80s? No recordings survive so you just have to believe they where good if you didn’t see them kicking around Sydney in 1983-87.

Aberration were playing high-energy British metal/punk until as the liner notes to this album “Tuckerbox” attest, destructive forces took their toll. The band split with little to show for their wild live reputation.

Fast forward 35 years. “Tuckerbox” is the first release for Aberration, one member of which survives in Alan Creed. It‘s newly-recorded and 10 tracks of sheer raw power.

Van Ruin
+ The Cants
Link and Pin Café, Woy Woy, NSW
Friday, September 21, 2024
Photos; Tony McNamara

 The Link and Pin has become a special venue that has created its own scene and mythology. It has own mix of outsiders, rock pigs’ mis-fits, eccentrics and those that you will not find at the local RSL club poker machine room.  

It’s located outside Sydney at Woy Woy on the New South Wales Central Coast. In its own unusual way, the venue has been celebrating Octoberfest in September and I say, why not?  Bavarian lederhosen and Ramonestee-shirts make for a great look.

_{Van Ruin (the band) are bassist Pete Trifunovic (Mushroom Planet and Sonic Garage), Phil Van Rooyen, guitarist Al Creed and  drummer Stu Wilson preparing for their live debut this weekend past.}

Van Ruin is, I suppose, the Australian way of pronouncing Phil Van Rooyen's surname. Perhaps best known to I-94-Barflies as one of the guitarists and vocalists in Manly's finest, Chickenstones, Phil has also been a mainstay of Panadolls, the Circus Chaplains,and Sonic Garage. Van Ruin is also the name of his new solo band. 

Phil's influences have always been worn on his fretboard; phrasing seems not so much Detroit rock but more Radio Birdman, New Christs, Celibate Rifles or even Died Pretty... That said, he developed his own way of thinking and playing long ago; to my mind, he's a distinctive and, with other writing partner and Chickenstones bandmate,  Andy Doc Temple Ellard, a very under-rated musician and songwriter.

The debut EP by Van Ruin, "Jails, Death & Institutions”, is out now on Crankinhaus Records so I asked Phil a few questions.