hard-ons

“The Most Australian Band Ever!”, the internationally acclaimed 2024 documentary about the early days of legendary Sydney punk band the Hard-Ons,is being released on Blu-ray and the deluxe edition is a bloody ripper.

The Jonathan Sequeira-produced doco won Best Film at the LA Punk Film Festival and the physical edition is out just as its sequel “Harder and Harder” starts a run in Australian cinemas.

So here's the bloody low-down.

It’s hard to work out when Hard-Ons ceased being just another band and evolved into an unstoppable force of nature. Thirty-four years after publicly emerging into the dim lights of an inner Sydney pub stage, this indefatigable trio keep punching out albums when most of their contemporaries have long put their own cues in the rack.

Ask any record tragic. There’s a tried and tested rule for albums. Most long-lasting bands deliver one or two gems at their high point and the rest are shit or on a plateau. “Peel Me Like A Egg” easily stacks up against most of the Hard-Ons’ 10 previous studio efforts. It’s not so much because the band has stayed true its composite punk, metal, speedcore and pop roots (it’s always good to know what you’re going to get) as much as they’ve managed to make each release sound fresh.

_{Would you buy a song a day from this man?}

Peter "Blackie" Black, notably of the Hard-Ons and Nunchukka Superbly, has always done things differently. He’s taking his own path again as a solo artist, releasing a song a day via his Bandcamp site Subscribe to Peter Black Solo.

Why, you ask?? When we asked him, after scrunching his face for a few minutes, his reply was: "Why not!"

Hard-Ons and Nunchukka Superfly co-founder, Peter Black, (aka Blackie) is launching his third full solo album with an Australian tour that includes a run of dates as special guest support to King Buzzo of The Melvins.

"The Paintings On The Wall Say Gambler! Gambler!" is said to be "a flaming solid ball of creative explosion, whereby storm-trooping guitars and rhythm" that abandons the storm-trooping sounds of Hard-Ons and Nunchukka for "beautiful, introspective and whimsical".

The man always known as Peter Black - but perhaps best known as Blackie from the Hard-Ons - is releasing his sixth and seventh solo albums on November 27.

"If This Is The Hand I'm Dealt" and "I'm Gonna Cheat As Much As I Can" are acoustic and electric efforts respectively, and both were recorded with Jay Whalley of Frenzal Rhomb and Neptune Power Federation. Whalley also contributes some keyboards and vocals  and his partner in Neptune Power Federation, Lauren Friedman, contributes vocals. Musical pals like Heather Shannon from the Jezebels,  fellow Hard-On Ray Ahn and former Nunchukka Superfly drummer Joel Ellis also help out.

_{Angry Andrson pontificates and Bob Spencer enjoys it. Shona Ross photo.}  

Rose Tattoo
Hard-Ons
Metro Theatre, Sydney
Friday, March 29 2019

Photos by Shona Ross

There were plenty of people giving plenty of reasons why people should not go to this gig. The announcement that Rose Tattoo would team with the Hard-Ons for a the national "Still Never Too Loud" tour caused some people to lose their shit online - and not in a good way. More on that soon.

The more mundane reasons were timing (“it’s a Friday night in Sydney after a long working week, maaaaan”), the venue (“the sound at The Metro is sooooo dodgy”) to ignorance (“I never heard that was on”) so most of it was nothing unexpected. Another apathetic night in the Harbour City.

Then there was The Angry Issue.

 _{Tim Rogers frontign the Hard-Ons is As Beautiful as a Foot.} 

Hard-Ons
Ratcatcher
Enigma Bar, Adelaiude
Saturday, April 3, 2022

Long story short - I'm still reeling. The Hard-Ons have crossed the Rubicon and what they're doing in Australia is anyone's guess. Right now they should be out slaying the world, Europe then USA, then South America. We're damned lucky to have them. I might add, I don't reckon we deserve them.

Cull was  mean to be the opemnig band but cancelled. Dammit. I've tried about six or seven times to get out of the door to see them. The one time I get there... Reports have reached me that they're damn fine. 

New support, Ratcatcher, went on later than planned because one of the folks in the band second on the bill couldn't do it – thanks COVID.

It’s a brilliant idea so why didn’t someone do it before?

What’s that? you say. Record a bunch of iconic, mostly Sydney, underground songs in a way that honours the originals but makes them their own – at least for a few minutes.

UK-born, Brisbane-bred John Kennedy became a fixture on Sydney inner-city scene in the 1980s after cutting his musical teeth in his hometown. His distinctive “urban western” songs, and his bands JFK and The Cuban Crisis and John Kennedy’s Love Gone Wrong, earned him a healthy niche in a city that back then was groaning with musical talent.

John Kennedy was always backed by excellent bands and inevitably joined his peers in spreading their versions of the word on the national touring circuit, before moving overseas for a time. He and various line-ups of his John Kennedy’s ‘68 Comeback Special have been kicking around the now skeletal Sydney scene (read: Inner-Western Delta) for the last decade or so.

Not the original EP but a collection comprising it, the bits-and-pieces LP "Hot For Your Love Baby", early singles and live and rare cuts, this is the first of a series of re-issues putting the first 10 years of the Hard-Ons' recordings in one place. We're talking a feast here with this 1984-87 package containing 61 songs and spanning 150 minutes.

Revived Sydney record label Method Records and Music is crowd-funding a collection of unreleased and rare recordings by some seminal Australian artists.

“Sound of Sydney Volume 4” reprises the compilation series the label issued in the 1980s and so far includes tracks from Ups and Downs, Deniz Tek, the Hard-Ons, Happy Hate Me Nots, Even As We Speak and Fast Cars.

“The purpose of this crowdfunding is essentially a pre-sale for the latest volume of the Sound of Sydney,” says label owner Fabian Byrne, also part of Fast Cars.

“We want to press on vinyl as well as CD and print a really cool T-Shirt based on the album design which will feature one of legendary artist Peter O’Doherty’s brilliant paintings of Sydney."

Sydney's finest purveyors of glam alt-rock, Starcrazy, are back with a hard hitting, hard rock rendition of ABBA's, “S.O.S”' and have given I-94 Bar first look at the brand new music video, which is due for release on streaming channels tomorrow. You can pre-save it here.

You can catch the band live at The Lady Hampshire in Sydney on Saturday, September 23 along with local up and comers, Mayeflower, The Polymics and DEDPAN. Tickets are here.

In only a few years since forming, Starcrazy have sold out multiple electrifying shows, released two independant EPs, received ongoing radio airplay from Alice Cooper, opened for world class artists (such as The Animals, Faster Pussycat, Wednesday 13, Chris Klondike Masuak and Hard-Ons), and even performed on national television!

Lead singer, Marcus Fraser, says of the new single:" We've always been into anything 70's and decided to incorporate a rocked up version of ‘SOS’ into our live set. 

“It took a little patience learning the three-part vocal harmonies and transposing the piano part to guitar but audiences have been super responsive so we decided to record it in the studio. It's really fun putting our own spin on a classic pop tune. 

“We added a completely new backing vocal part in the last chorus written by our bassist, Jack Barratt."

The music video was filmed and directed by John Flaws and edited by their very own, Jack Barratt. It pays homage to the original ABBA video from 1975 with crazy spinning camera effects and unique mirrored close ups of the band members.

Kiwi powerhouses The D4 have announced locasl supports for the hit-and-run Australian leg of their reunion tour and with one member living ont he other side of the globe, it might be your last chance to catch them on this side of The Ditch.

There are just three dates in Australia with most of their shows not unexpectedly in their home country.

In Brisbane they'll be joined by Tape/Off and Gentle Ben and His Shimmering Hands (The Brightside, February 13). Mary's Underground is the Sydney venue with Hard-Ons and Finnocuns opening preceedings on February 14. For the February 15 gig at Melbourne's esteemed The Tote, Mach Pelican, Raging Hormones and The Stripp fill out the undercard.

The fifth and final chapter of the Hard-Ons re-issues of all their pre-sabbatical releases on Citadel Records is upon us and it’s a bumper crop.

1992’s “Too Far Gone” was the last Hard-Ons record before they broke up (temporarily) in ’93 and remains one of their most off-the-wall and adventurous offerings.

In the spirit of previous re-issues, Citadel is packaging it as a two-CD set with a whopping 53 tracks.

The original 14-track album is complemented by outtakes, live cuts and demo’s in a six-panel fold-out wallet.  

We could go on at length but can’t do better than the media release (Click MORE):

It might be apt to drop in some Dylan to catch your attention from the get-go (“There’s something happening here and you don’t know what it is/ Do you, Mr Jones?”) but it’s not necessary. Cutting to the chase, Peter Black is using melodies and colouring here to make a solo album that’s his most captivating to date.

Waiting For The Last Gasp Of My Generation – Nasty S and The Ghost Chasers (Twenty Something Records)

French journeyman Nasty Samyhas been on the European underground touring circuit as long as anyone can remember, playing with the likes of Second Rate, Hawaii Samurai, The Black Zombie Procession, Demon Vendetta, Cab Drivers Stories, Teenage Renegadeand a bunch of other bands you’ve possibly never heard of.

He’s a lifer.

He’s also a magazine writer of some repute.

“Waiting For the Last Gasp…” is a cover album, with Nasty S playing most of the stringed instruments on a selection of ‘80s and ‘90s punkish and powerpop songs that he digs, and with a rotating cast of guest vocalists.

Impossible to ignore Aussie magazine "Unbelievably Bad" is celebrating its milestone 13th issue with a live gig and more at Sydney's Factory Theatre on July 19. Kicking off at 4pm in the arvo and going long into the night, the event will feature a healthy line-up of bands and a record fair.

Twenty bucks gets you live performances by Meat Cake, White Knuckle Fever, Chinese Burns Unit, Join The Amish, Hostile Objects, The VeeBees...plus a very special guest band.

Hard-Ons have a new album about to land - their first with their old drummer Keish de Silva back as lead vocalist. Here's a film clip for lead track "Crushed" shot by Jonathan Sequiera, producer of "Descent Into the Maelstrom" and boss of Cheap Music Videos, who you need to engage if you want your band to have a filmclip without morgaging its backline. 

The Hard-Ons
So I Could Have Them Destroyed Tour
NOV
8 - Evelyn Hotel, Melbourne, VIC

15 - Rosemount Hotel, Perth, WA
16 - Mojos, Fremantle, WA

22 -  Vinnie’s Dive Bar, Gold Coast, QLD

23 - The Foundry “Punk Fest”, Brisbane, QLD

29 - Altar, Hobart, TAS

30 - Pub Rock Diner, Devonport, TAS

DEC
6 - Crown & Anchor, Adelaide, SA

7 - Brighton & Seacliff Yacht Club, Seacliff, SA

13 - Lansdowne Hotel, Sydney, NSW

14 - Dicey Riley’s, Wollongong, NSW

A quick follow-up to the news that You Am I's Tim Rogers has joined the Hard-Ons. Pre-orders are open for their album "I'm Sorry Sir, That Riff Has Been Taken" which is out on Cheersquad on LP, CD and digital on October 4. Grab your copy here.

The announcement certainly has people takling. And the official word from the principals? Hard-Ons’ Ray Ahn says: “I’m thrilled to have Tim on board, and I am loving his contribution!” 

Bandmate Blackie concurs, "How fucking good is this!!"

And Mr Rogers? “I was already the luckiest goof in rock’n’roll, and I get asked to make a racket with my heroes? Strewth. Wake me up sometime, will ya?”

The first fruit of the partnership, a single “Hold Tight”, is out on all streaming platforms on Friday, August 13.

This lavish double CD package closes the lid on the first life of the Hard-Ons, nicely. Not in the literal sense of the term. Far from it. It's like a skateboard ride down a very rough track, a mix of disparate hardcore and metal songs that sits at odds with much of what came before. 

When the original album came out in mid-1993, nobody knew (but band members could sense) that it was the last recording by the Hard-Ons with their original line-up. That's the context and it now makes sense. 

It’s funny how records released in the past evoke specific memories when revisited years later. For me, this one doesn’t throw up much. I think I bought it well after it came out. It seems lots of fans shared that indifference.

1. Dion Lunadon “Beyond Everything” Album
This is the second solo album by ex-D4 member Dion Lunadon. I actually discovered his first album via a reviewon this very site and loved it instantly. If anything this one is even better - a really cool mix of super raw Stooges-y guitars, moody synths, atmospheric interludes and balls-out garage rock.

2. Love Gang "Meanstreak" Single
This band's debut album “Dead Man's Game” was one of my favourites of 2019 so I was stoked to get this tasty morsel from their follow up due in January 2023 on the excellent Heavy Psych Sounds label. It’s a roaring greasy blues proto metal number that absolutely pummels the listener. Kind of sounds like Budgiemeets Motorheadand all the awesomeness that would entail.