joeys coop

_{Joeys Coop.}

JOEYS COOP
+ THE SMART FOLK
MoshPit, St Peters, NSW
Saturday 26 March, 2022

A Sydney night of intermittent rain stifles the post-COVID nightlife revival. Or so it seems. The Best Little Small Bar in Sydney, The MoshPit, has other ideas - and so do Joeys Coopand supports The Smart Folk.

It almost goes without saying that pandemic lockdowns have put obstacles in the way of everything. Joeys Coop put the release of their second album on ice and tonight is the Sydney leg of a much-delayed world (read: New South Wales) tour to launch “Lachlan Valley Dirt” at The MoshPit in Sydney’s inner-west.

The impacts of the dirty little virus live on. A whole bunch of MoshPit patrons who were at the King Street Crawl gigs a fortnight before were taken down by it. An unrelated infection forced The Smart Folk to play the Sydney Rock ‘n’ Roll & Alternative’s Sixities Stage without bass-player Keith Claringbold.

Tonight’s news is that another wave of COVID infections and the seven-day isolation rule has shut down a two-band bill at the nearby Golden Barley Hotel. A few punters and unaffected band members make their way to this show.

_{Emmy Etie photo.}

It will be an all-supergroup affair when the eminently well-credentialed Joeys Coop (pictured) launch their debut album in Sydney on April 8 with help from an all-star supporting cast.

The On and Ons (featuring ex-Hoodoo Gurus, Screaming Tribesmen, Kings of the Sun and Stems members) and Cub Calloway and The Revolutionaries (featuring ex-New Christs, Saints and Died Pretty members) will join them at The Factory Floor in Marrickville.

“Service Station Flowers” is the forthcoming album on CD on the Citadellabel.

Joeys Coop was formed by Mark Roxburgh (ex-Decline of the Reptiles) who co-wrote the album with bandmate and Died Pretty guitarist Brett Myers. It will be the first record with Myers credits in almost 10 years and the band includes past and present members of The Barbarellas, The Visitors, Deniz Tek Group and Loose Pills. You can score tickets here. 

Died Pretty guitarist Brett Myers has re-surfaced in Sydney band Joeys Coop, whose debut seven-inch single is due out soon on Citadel. Joeys Coop is Mark Roxburgh (Decline of the Reptiles), Andy Newman (Deniz Tek Group, Decline of The Reptiles), Matt Galvin (Eva Trout, Perry Keyes, Loose Pills), Lloyd Gyi (Perry Keyes, Dave Warner) and Myers.

We at the I-94 Bar are fans of the members' bands but we're especially keen on that distinctive Myers jangle-and-soar so you can guess what we think of the song. Joeys Coop will launch “Take Me Away” at Petersham Bowling Club on Sunday March 22 with supports Knievel, Buddy Glass and Matt Shacallis. More gig details here.

Last drinks beckon for the many devoted followers of inner-western Sydney institution John Kennedy and his band The New Originals. Kennedy is poised to say adios to Australia this month and relocate to Spain. 

Coming off the back of an incredible run of six albums in as many years, he'll play his final Australian show for the forseeable future at Marrickville Bowling Club in Sydney on Saturday, May 13.

Along for the final ride are New Originals bandmates Peter Timmerman on drums, bassist Phil Hall and Murray Cook and Matt Galvin on guitars, Kennedy will be performing a career-spanning set with songs from his bands JFK and the Cuban Crisis, John Kennedy's Love Gone Wrong and John Kennedy's 68 Comeback Special.
 
The Urban and Western music hits will be featured along with song from the new John Kennedy And The New Originals album.

Joining Kennedy will be special guests Joeys Coop (featuring Brett Myers of Died Pretty and Mark Roxburgh of Decline Of The Reptiles), and mostly girl garage-pop sensations The Jane Does. Tickets are moving fast here.

Sydney underground rock’s best kept secret, Joeys Coop, brings up its 10^th anniversary with a special show at Camelot Lounge in Marrickville at Saturday May 4.

Fronted by dapper Mark Roxburgh (ex-Decline of The Reptiles) and with a sound shaped by the distinctive guitar stylings of ex-Died Pretty guitarist Brett Myers, the gig follows a five-month absence from the stage.

Joeys Coop promises special guests, a giveaway release of previously unreleased material and (maybe) balloons and party hats. Tickets are available here.

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Seasoned Sydney-via-Newcastle outfit Joeys Coop are prepping to release their sophomore album, “Lachlan Valley Dirt”, and the first video single, “I Am Alive”, has been unveiled.

Featuring the songwriting talents and playing of Brett Myers (Died Pretty) and Mark Roxburgh (Decline of the Reptiles), the line-up is rounded out by ace bass wrangler Marc Lynch (from 90s JJJ faves Glide) and Lloyd Gyi (drummer for Perry Keyes and Dave Warner). "Lachlan Valley Dirt" is out on February 26 and is the follow-up to "Service Station Flowers". 

Joeys Coop will be playing dates to support the album:

Link and Pin, Woy Woy - Fri March 4
Moshpit, Newtown -  Sat Mar 26
Federal Hotel, Bellingen - Sat April 2
Cave Inn, Brisbane-  Sat April 30
Hamilton Station Hotel, Newcastle - Sun May 8
Flow Bar, Old Bar - Sun May 22

"In The Flesh" with
Joeys Coop
+ Paul Berwick
The MoshPit, St Peters, NSW
October 11, 2020

I attended a very special show from the delightful Joeys Coop. Must have been something in the stars or numbers - as on 10/10/20 we were part of something special. In these Covid days where we have been starved of live music, the hip MoshPit played host to 20 fans and close associates of the band AND it was live-streamed by Zenn Stream.

I felt hugely privileged being there and in the company of my music bestie after a wonderful Greek taverna feed nearby, and felt obligated to share my thoughts.

For those who need an intro, JC is a supergroup of sorts with the critically acclaimed Brett Myers (Died Pretty) on guitar, Mark Roxburgh (Decline of The Reptiles/ME262) on lead vocals, the engine room of Lloyd Gyi on percussion/vocals (Perry Keyes/ Sicarios et al) and Marc Lynch (Glide), they are a tight and sophisticated outfit who play smart Rock from the heart.

Most serious musicians would have an aneurysm if someone wanted to release recordings from their callow youth. They’ll tell you they’ve been hidden in a sock drawer for 40 years for good reason, and that demo recordings are just that. 

Of course, people with OCD, completists and the truly curious and/or obsessed - and any or all of these descriptors could apply to most of us - vehemently disagree. This release from the amazing Buttercup Records label in Melbourne satisfies our shared jones. 

Lachlan Valley Dirt  – Joeys Coop (Citadel)

Following John Ventura’s pre-release review of the album that appears below is almost redundant, but let’s have a shot now that the record has undergone repeated listening.

It would be lazy to say that if you grew up with the underground sounds of Australia in the 1980s then you need “Lachlan Valley Dirt”. Of course you do -  but the appeal deserves to be much broader.

This is a world-class “grown up rock” record – and that label is both a term of endearment and a reflection on the absolute dross that passes for most popular music these days.

It’s tempting to do as the marketing does and label Joeys Coop’s “Service Station Flowers” as an outlet for Died Pretty guitarist Brett Myers. His distinctive sound is all over this album, like sunscreen and a rash-shirt on a redhead in summer, but this really is a record that’s more than just a billboard with all-star billing for one.

Singer Mark Roxburgh conceived Joeys Coop a couple of years ago, after the implosion of the reformed Decline of the Reptiles, and his vision was simple: He wanted to play with people whose work he’d long admired and to find an outlet for his own songs (something that Decline clearly was not.)

What would there be not to like? Double-jangle melodic pop with a hooky melody on one A side and a soaring piece of extended majesty with a searing guitar solo on the second.

It’s what used to be called a Super Band. Which is to say the members have graced a lot of “name” acts from Sydney’s underground past. That might be important to anyone with a modicum of history but Joeys Coop also stand on their own feet. The song-writing is strong and the playing equally so.

“Take Me Away” is the pop song and it’s a beauty. The feel from Andy Newman and drummer Lloyd Gyi is rock-solid but it’s the simple interlocking of Brett Myers (Died Pretty) and Matt Galvin (Loose Pills, Eva Trout, Perry Keyes, Happy Hate Me Nots, Barbarellas) on guitars that builds the song,. Ex-Decline of the Reptiles singer Mark Roxburgh’s warm vocal elevates this to top-shelf pop.

10. Fifteen blokes of a certain age in a dodgy bar somewhere.
In the latter part of 2022 I quipped on FB that our (Joeys Coop) lot in life appeared to be to play to the same 15 blokes of a certain age in a dodgy bar somewhere. I got a bit of feedback from some of my musician age peers that I’d pretty well hit the nail on the head.

Now my quip might sound like a bitch about bands with a collective history, but no heritage, not being able to get a decent gig – and to be fair in part it is – but in truth it was also a celebration of the fact that after 40 odd years of playing we could still get a gig in a dodgy bar (my favourite kind) somewhere and we could rely on 15 blokes of a certain age to turn up to support us. That sure beats the fuck out of playing golf, going to fancy restaurants with pretentious retired couples, playing bridge, accompanying the better half to a musical, or other age-appropriate activities.

So, to Keith, Graham, John, Ian, Murray, John, Kev, Dan, Tony, Chris, Ben, Jeather, Henny, Sue, Diane, Adriene - OK that is 16 and some of them are gals of a certain age but you get the idea – we and every other band of a certain age thank you for joining us in not acting our age. We love youse all. You make it all worthwhile.

_{The Barman at an I-94 Editorial Board meeting with Our Man in Dimboola, Ron Brown (left).}

THE BARMAN’S BEST ALBUMS OF 2022

Do The Understanding – Ron S Peno and The Superstitions (self released)
Ron S Penohas equalled and maybe surpassed his output with Died Prettyafter a succession of excellent records with his champion Melbourne band. The man needs a muse and found an outstanding one in co-writer and guitarist Cam Butler.This is the Album of the Year.

The rest in no particular order:

_{Captured in his element by Jonathan Sequeira.} 

Top Ten Sydney Gigs of 2022

Rubber Necker - Hollywood Hotel, Surry Hills.
Three sets!! Free admission! On a school night! In Surry Hills! Just like the old days and Rubber Necker were brilliant. Their debut album is coming in 2023.

The Professors were formed in 1978 and were part of a booming inner Sydney scene that developed following the departure of temporary residents The Saints and homegrown Radio Birdman. They took their name from singer, Stephen Vineburg’s friendship with Chris Bailey of The Saints.

Vineberg - was name-checked by their friend, Saints vocalist Chris Bailey, in the lyuics of "Know Your Product" ("Where's the Professor?/We need him now").

The Professors were a prime example of the DIY ethos. They were largely self taught and established a successful music venue at the corner pub: The Royal Oak Hotel in Chippendale. They also played at most of the popular venues in Sydney including The Civic Hotel, the Rex Hotel, Paddington Town Hall and Henderson Road. 

A brand new powerpop-rock combo with an impeccable pedigree, The On and Ons, are launching their Citadel Records CD album, "It's The On and Ons Calling", at the Factory Floor in Sydney on July 18.

The back story is this: Ex-Screaming Tribesman and Kings of the Sun member Glenn Morris (lead vocals and guitar) and his brother Brian (drums), of The Zeros (the Australian band) toured Australia and the US in 2012 as members of The Paul Collins Beat.

That successful stint encouraged them to record their own album of Glenn's original songs. The resultain record "It's The On and Ons Calling" was produced and engineered by legendary Australian guitarist Dennis Wilson, of Khavas Jute fame.