mesmerisers

Number 1
February 2 at The Lyrebyrd Lounge, Ripponlea:  The Lyrebyrd Lounge was the first of seven shows for me in Melbourne this year. It felt like coming home; what a marvellous club - run by my buddy Leon Storch. This show also featured Penny Ikinger and would turn out to be the start of something good.

Number 2
Late January marks the birth of my special new friend '' Arthur Robert Collie''

Number 3
Stephen Cummings at The Triffid on April 4:

An unlikely choice for my Top Ten but when you are hot you are hot. This was the gig of the year, no doubt about it. Clare Moore on drums and Sam Lemann on guitar.  

MICK MEDEW
Mick Medew & The Mesmerisers, Mick & Ursula, solo artist, Mick Medeww & The Rumour, Screaming Tribesmen, The 31st
Brisbane

1.  OVERSEAS SHOW OF THE YEAR
Nick Lowe and Los Straitjackets @ The Tivoli theatre Brisbane on February 19.

2. COMMUNITY RADIO
Community Radio saves the day again , they save the day for musicians and fans alike as well as shining a light on the injustices that occur in our communities  and beyond

3.   DAVE GRANEY AND CLARE MOORE  "Stage it"  Live streaming shows
Thursday nights have never sounded better

_{Brian Mann and Mick Medew trading licks in Thirroul. Shona Ross photo.}

Gonna break that rule about not reviewing I-94 Bar gigs, as the second of this two-night engagement was badged thus. If you can’t write about things you like, what’s the point? It’s the ethos of why we do this e-zine thing.



So let’s be up front and say that Mick Medew is a good mate and his band, The Mesmerisers, are lovely people. In customary evangelical spirit, I’m unashamedly going to tell you that if you love rock and roll then you have to see them - in their native Brisbane or on one of their few forays outside of Queensland. 

The first leg of this two-night weekend stand was a support to the mighty Sunnyboys, opening a bill shared with the mercurial Ups & Downs. The venue was the magic Anita’s Theatre in Thirroul, an hour-and-a-bit south of Sydney. The second was a Sydney show at the increasingly familiar stamping ground of Marrickville Bowling Club. The Mesmerisers are making the road trip a family affair with partners and two offspring in tow.

In no special order:

1. The Damned at The Triffid, Brisbane, March 15
A school night: Wednesday. The Mesmerisers go on at 7.30pm to a packed house. We carve, the crowd makes us feel like they are there to see us. The Damned 's tour manager remarks that he has never encountered a support band being granted a bottle of Gordon's gin as part of their drink rider: another milestone ticked.

The Damned play for two-and-a-half hours - brilliantly. They are a big hit with the audience - and with Captain Sensible back in the band, they could hardly miss.

2. Perfect Match
Now I do know where she comes from: Banyo. I’ve got a Date with a Banyo girl, tonight.

3. Died Pretty, Radio Birdman and The Mesmerisers at The Tivoli Theatre, Brisbane, June 23
The crowd have all turned up early and turn on to us straight away. Died Pretty get better every time I see them. They always were a fantastic band.

4. Perfect Purchase
My Zoom H5 portable recording device does everything i wanted it to.

5. Gap Farmers Markets, Brisbane, June 25
Andrew Ross and Co sure know how to put on a festival . We go on before dusk. I wear my sunglasses for half the set. Michael again chooses the right shirt for the occasion.

Radio Birdman is playing just two Australian shows this year - June 21 at The Factory Theatre in Sydney and June 22 at the Cambridge Hotel in Newcastle - and Mick Medew and The Mesmerisers are joining them for both.

East Coast Low complete the bill in Newcastle and The Dark Clouds join the Sydney line-up.

The support spots will be part of a busy year for Mick Medew and his band with their forthcoming album expected to be out in time for the shows.

Both gigs will sell out with tickets available from both venue websites.

Psychopharmacologist - Mick Medew (I-94 Bar Records)

Issued by this website's very own head honcho, The Barman, who is responsible for organising many, many gigs which you've all thoroughly enjoyed. The kind of punter who decides he wants to see bands, and figures you will, too, so he puts them on. 

This LP rates 5 bottles, and that's not because I know Barman and he's slipped me a brown envelope behind the cistern at Central Station, but because “Psychopharmacologist” is bloody lovely, and you absolutely need it in your collection. The press release explains that this is “Mick Medew’s first true solo album and his most surprising musical adventure yet with its broad stylistic sweep and kaleidoscopic use of sound”, and that's a fair comment.

It’s been a long time between shows but Sunnyboys are re-emerging for a three-state Australian winter tour.  

When they last toured in 2020 Sunnyboys chose the salubrious surrounds of Taronga Zoo, Melbourne’s Forum and the like; this time though, the band will get down and sweaty playing intimate venues more akin to their breakout year of 1981.

Melbourne pop-rockers Even will join the fun in Sydney and Melbourne while former Screaming Tribesman Mick Medew will bring his band The Mesmerisers to Brisbane and Byron Bay. All shows are on-sale tomorrow May 6 at feelpresents.com

Sunnyboys
JULY
1 – Factory Theatre Sydney + Even
9 – The Corner, Melbourne + Even + Little Murders
15 – Great Northern, Byron Bay + Mick Medew & The Mesmerisers|
16 – Princess Theatre, Brisbane, + Mick Medew & The Mesmerisers
Tix here

Our own loss-leading I-94 Bar Records is proud to announce the imminent release of "OPen Season", the new album by Mick Medew and The Mesmeriers.

Led by Brisbane legend Mick Medew, the band includes members of his Screaming Tribesmen, the Lipstick Killers, The 31st and Shy Impostors.  "Open Season" is available for pre-order from our Bandcamp now and will be out on CD and digitally from June 4. Enjoy this teaser and the ordering link is here.

Mick Medew and The Mesmerisers bring their killer brand of rocking powerpop to New South Wales in March for just two shows. 

Catch them Friday, March 27 at Marrickville Bowling Club in Sydney and Sunday, March 29 at Mayfield Bowling Club in the Hunter.

The only Sydney show pairs them with Peter Simpson and his Vanity Project, the  rock machine par excellence led by Peter Simpson of The Dubrovniks and his hand-picked line-up. 

Opening proceedings will be local psychedelic-garage rock super-group Jupiter 5, with members of Psychotic Turnbuckles, Buffalo Revisited and Sheek the Shayk. Tickets are on sale here. 

It’s 4pm doors at Mayfield where the supports are Imaginary Things, The Stoids and The Perils. The Mesmerisers hit the stage at 9.30pm.

“Open Season” is the latest album for Mick Medew and the Mesmerisers (on I-94 Bar Records) and it’s full of clever, hooky song-writing, a soulful engine room and driving guitars.

And of course there’s the unique voice of Mick Medew, front-man for the Screaming Tribesmen, the Brisbane-born and Sydney-bred pop-rock legends who topped independent charts in Australia and the US in the ‘80s.

Long regarded as one of Queensland rock and roll's most venerable singer-songwriters, Mick Medew is returning to a Sydney stage after a five-year absence with his band The Mesmerisers.

With one album ("The Mesmerisers") under their belt and another underway, Mick Medew and The Mesmerisers will play Marrickville Bowling Club on Saturday, February 24, with support from Loose Pills and The Dark Clouds. Tickets are on sale here.

The Sydney show has been added to follow a support to The Sunnyboys in Thirroul on February 23.

Vocalist-guitarist Medew is co-founder of the Screaming Tribesmen and more recently leader of Mick Medew and The Rumours, and he's been making a mark on Brisbane (and Australian) music for more than 30 years.

Originally a member of seminal inner-city Brisbane band The 31st, whose ranks included future members of the Hoodoo Gurus, the Hitmen and Died Pretty, Medew went on to front the Screaming Tribesmen, a band schooled in tough guitar rock overlaid with alternately hooky and plaintive melodies.

The Tribesmen outgrew their home town and moved to Sydney in the 1980s, becoming Australian independent music chart toppers with the classic single "Igloo".

The band lasted 16 years, signed to a US label, released three albums and toured North America and Europe (twice) before Mick moved home to Queensland and put them on hiatus in 1993. Reunions for tours followed in 2011 (Australia) and 2012 (Europe).

Ex-Screaming Tribesmen Mick Medew has been awarded the Grant McLennan Lifetime Achievement Award by Queensland's peak music organisation, QMusic. 

Mick received his honour at last night's Queensland Music Awards in Brisbane.

Previous recipients include the late GoBetweens member Grant McLennan, indigenous artist Kev Carmody, producer Mike Chapman, the Bee Gees, Railway Gin vocalist Carol Lloyd and Ed Kuepper of the Saints and solo fame.

I-94 Bar Records is proud to announce the impending arrival of “Psychopharmacologist”, Brisbane musician Mick Medew’s first true solo album and his most surprising musical adventure yet.

It will be out on CD and digital on October 2 and pre-orders here will receive an early release track, "When The Wood Is Brown (Full Return)", via download. 

Medew has shown with his current band, Mick Medew and the Mesmerisers, and past units, the Screaming Tribesmen and Mick Medew and the Rumours, that he's a master of guitar pop-rock. “Psychopharmacologist” puts him in a different place with nine songs that make optimum use of the studio and bring wildly varied influences to bear.

The I-94 Bar's Top Tens are about to roll-out and you'd be surprised if both this year's releases on I-94 Bar Records didn't make the grade for The Barman's picks.

A couple of months ago, we posted a track-by-trackby Chris Masuak of "Address to the Nation" by Chris Masuak and the Viveiro Wave Riders. Now it's Mick Medew's turn to walk you through "Open Season", the long-player from Mick Medew and the Mesmerisers. 

It's a killer album of pop, power and melody and if you don't believe us, check out the reviews here. 

The words below belong to Mick Medew, the photos are by Jeff Ram.

* * * * * 

“Imaginary Friend''
This song was principally written by our guitar player, Brian Mann. He wrote the lyrics to the first verse and I found it easy to run with his theme. 

I grew up in inner city Brisbane in the 1960's and ‘70s where there was plenty of exploring to be done and no security guards in sight.  I have one Sister (11 years older than me ) so i was effectively an only child for a lot of the time. At least it felt like that.

I needed to apply my imagination; necessity being the mother of invention.

Love is Calling - Mick Medew and Ursula (I-94 Bar Records)

Two years of lockdown were not wasted by Mick Medewand Ursula Collie-Medew.Besides getting married, they also managed to entertain every second Sunday with their live lockdown streaming gigs.

The streaming shows were wonderfully received, with Mick playing some classic songs from his back catalogue with the Screaming Tribesmen and others, plus new tunes, and Ursula sitting in on keyboards on a few. When words reached The Farmhouse that Mick and Ursula were releasing a new CD of songs written over lockdown, I for one was excited to hear how these tunes would sound with full production.

And it’s pure gold, folks.

This is a return to the record store racks (those that are left) for Mick Medew and one that's well overdue. His regular band The Rumours are still a going concern and this was conceived as a solo side project, but grew into a full-blown, plugged-in album with a new band. "The Mesmerisers" is a superbly rounded record.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all and thank for your support throughout another year.  Things right across the board have been slower and less frequent although there are still many good things to report.

1. In March Ursula and I began recording out first full length album together.
It is due for release early March 2022 on I-94 Bar Records.

2. April 25 – Died Pretty  
Mick Medew and Ursula supported The Died Pretty  at The Triffid. Ron was in wonderful form as was the band and I continue to find The Triffid one of my favourite venues in Australia to play or have a night out.  

3. May 9  - Dave Graney and Clare Moore at The Junk Bar, Ashgrove. 

 _{Bec Lee photo}

Hi all. This is my first Top Ten. Happy 2022 to you all.

1.In May this year I married my partner in life, and now in music, Mick Medew.Taking the self-appointed term “Brisbane power couple” to the next level was a most fun and loving day and to be surrounded by our families and friends was truly lucky, considering these times.

2.In April Mick Medew and Ursula (the Meduo) were invited to support two shows with Died Pretty at The Triffid in Brisbane. I wanted to look my best, so an online acquisition from Spotlight, meant fringing kept me busy sewing. But I still had time to practise with Mick and the whole night was amazing! Plus I got to see Died Pretty perform twice in one night. It was lovely spending time with the blokes backstage too...

_{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:

R.I.P. Ed Yonker. At the time of his passing earlier in 2022, I was going to write a few words about this legend of the Australian music Industry.

This quiet achiever in an industry full of sycophants, where inflated egos don’t match their mediocrity.

There few gems I have encountered in “the industry” like Ed Yonker. He was one of the good ones. A hip cool cat with his leather jacket who, as a teenager, had seen the Beatles, Rolling Stones and The Animals in Holland in 1963-65. At first, he was not that impressed by what he found in the Australian musical landscape when he migrated here.

Ed was of the one first attendees at Beatle Village on Oxford Street in Sydney. He used to catch the train, avoiding the bogans who wanted to fight a cool kid in what was the early days of the Bohemian inner-city music scene. He was often at the gigs by The Easybeats , The Creatures and The Missing Links.

 
_{Rob Younger at The Factory Theatre. Shona Ross photo.}

Radio Birdman
+ Mick Medew & The Mesmerisers
+ East Coast Low
Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle, NSW
Friday, June 21, 2019

Radio Birdman
+ Mick Medew & The Mesmerisers
+ The Dark Clouds
Factory Theatre, Marrickville, NSW
Saturday, June 22, 2019

The Aints!
+ Colonel Kramer & The Eamon Dilworth One Man Brass Ensemble
Factory Theatre, Marrickville, NSW
Friday, June 28, 2019

Your own legacy is a hard act to follow. This is a tale of two bands.

On one hand you have Radio Birdman, a thoroughly re-tooled and different beast to its previous incarnations and still carrying a substantial reputation. They’re a prime reason why The I-94 Bar exists.

On the other, you have The Aints!, who are led by foundation Saints member Ed Kuepper and armed with a setlist partly planted in that band’s past, with the balance comprising songs that were written for the old band but never recorded.