tour

_{Credit: Minivan Photography.}

They formed in 2009 but it's in the last few years that San Diego’s Schizophonics have convincingly cemented their reputation as one of the world’s hardest-working and most dynamic bands.

Gymnastically-inclined singer-guitarist Pat Beers, drummer (and his wife) Lety Beers, plus a series of bass players, have been wowing audiences around the world with their unique brand of explosive garage rock. They’re poised to pay Australia and New Zealand their second visit in a year in February and March, before hitting Japan for the first time.

The Schizophonics have been likened to a cross between James Brown and the MC5. Local bands have been lining up to join them on bills. Aussie all-female combo, The Fangin’ Felines, are lucky enough to be joining them for two support spots - in their own hometown Wollongong (Lalalas, March 12) and Sydney (Marrickville Bowlo, March 13).

Strong females are integral to both bands, so it made perfect sense for the I-94 Bar to host a pre-tour conversation between Lety Beers and Fangin’ Feline singer Carrie Phillis. The ladies spoke over Skype earlier this week. Pat Beers joined them and uber fan Russell Hopkinson (You Am I, ex-Radio Birdman) made the whole thing happen.

San Diego's dynamite trio The Schizophonics is returning to Australia and New Zealand after pre-COVID visits in 2019 and ’20.

Returning on the back of their latest LP, "Hoof It", The Schizophonics are husband and wife duo, singer/guitarist Pat Beers and drummer Lety Beers, and have built a formidable reputation around the world as an explosive live act.

Tapping the same wellspring that fuelled The MC5, James Brown, Iggy Pop, Little Richard, Jimi Hendrix and The Sonics,this electrifying outfit has released three albums since 2009.

Joining the Schizophonics for most Australian shows are The Unknowns,who hail from South East Queensland and share members and a record label with The Chats.

The Unknowns are set to release their second album "East Coast Low" on Bargain Bin Records around the time of this tour. Combining '70s style punk and power pop in a manner not dissimilar to the classic first three Ramones albums, The Unknowns' music is timelessly exciting and fun for all ages! 

Schizophonics
Australian-NZ Tour
MAR
Australia
1 – La La La’s, Wollongong, NSW
+ The Unknowns
2 – Crowbar, Sydney, NSW
+ The Unknowns
3 – Drifters Wharf, Gosford, NSW
4 - Tent Pole Festival, Mt Duneed, VIC
8 – Northcote Social Club, VIC
+ The Unknowns
9 – Hotel Westwood, VIC
+ The Unknowns
11 – King Lear’s, Brisbane, QLD
+ The Unknowns
12 – Vinnie’s Dive Bar, Gold Coast
+ The Unknowns
Tickets here
New Zealand
15 - Space Academy, Christchurch
16 - Valhalla, Wellington
19- - ONEONESIX, Whangarei
+ Neon Serpent
22 - Whammy Backroom, Auckland
+ Ratso
23 - The Green Room, Thames
+ Neon Serpent
25 - Piha Bowling Club, Piha
+ Neon Serpent
Tickets here

_{Kim Salmon in full flight. Photo by Barry C. Douglas of Barry Takes Photos.}

Before we start: The Scientists were bloody brilliant; Geelong hosted a magical gig. See them while you can, you may never get this chance again.

Now, then. There really are times when not being a multi-millionaire is, frankly, a bit of a fucking niggle.

So there I was, reading that a certain band were going to tour Australia - they’ve played a few reunion gigs overseas as one of the two guitarists lives in London - but they haven’t toured Australia in well over a decade. So there’s every chance this could well be the last time I’ll ever see them.

_{Andreas Heuer photo}

You heard about the body of a murdered man being found in Goodwood, South Australia?

After the gig, me, Ocky and Robert Stafford (of Meatbeaters fame) were perched at the back of the tram as it lurched and whined its way homeward. This is Adelaide, not Melbourne, and we can only afford one tram. So it whines.

Anyway, we’d got through the city and were on the last stop before the parklands when suddenly there were cop cars everywhere, zig-zagging before parking on the tram tracks. A crim ute appeared, and a rather scary-looking Alsatian as one cop ran up to the driver while others peered in at us with a worrying hopefulness.

Iconic punks The Damned are returning to Australia and New Zealand for a series of highly anticipated shows in June.

Forged in the hot fire of first wave, The Damned are the greatest surviving British punk band, still firing on all cylinders. They are often regarded alongside The Clash and Sex Pistols as a seminal force in driving the genre’s popularity.

Sydney fans of Portland’s mighty The Sonics take note: The previously scheduled performance date of Sunday October 2 at The Manning Bar has now been brought forward to Friday, September 30. Support acts (The Crusaders and The Pink Fits) remain the same and all tickets purchased remain valid for the new date.

Unfortunately, Newcastle has been lost in the shuffle with all tickets purchased to be refunded at the point of sale.

In related news, all supports are now locked in. Check the dates below for the added goodness at your chosen show:

_{Robert Fagan photo.}

By tragic coincidence, a few hours before my interview with L7 guitarist and singer Donita Sparks, news broke of the passing of Irish musician and songwriter, Sinead O’Connor. 

At first glance, the association between L7 and O’Connor is opaque: L7 was a hard-rocking, all female rock’n’roll band who emerged from Los Angeles; O’Connor was a talented singer and songwriter from Ireland, whose angelic voice belied her outspoken views on religious dogma and practice. 

But on a cold evening in October 2009 at the Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne, O’Connor had taken to the stage as part of the Melbourne Music Festival’s “Seven Songs to Leave Behind” to belt out a mesmerising version of L7’s “Shitlist” – a track which O’Connor had chosen, per the structure of the evening for the various guest performers featured, as the song she’d wished she’d written.

Influential first wave punk Stiff Little Fingers have announced Australian tour dates.

Formed in 1977 in Belfast, Ireland, Stiff Little Fingers were at the forefront of the punk movement with the likes of TheClash, the Sex Pistols,The Jam, Buzzcocks, Undertones, Sham69 and theStranglers.

They wrote initially about their own lives growing up at the height of The Troubles in Northern Ireland. In November of '77, they released"Suspect Device"and"Wasted Life"on their own Rigid Digits label, and sent a copy to BBC Radio One DJJohn Peel - who started playing it every night.

These were the first of what became SLF's signature style: lyrics that meld the personal and political, music that combines the energy of punk with infectious hooks, and delivery that rings of honesty and commitment.

 Legendary garage rock icons The Mummies are almost certainly going to be making just two Australian appearances.

The Mummies play Max Watts (formerly the Hi Fi Bar) in Melbourne on Wednesday, March 9 with the mighty Mesa Cosa and Midnight Wolfe supporting. Tickets are available here. On March 13 they're billed to appear at Adelaide's Kustom Kulture Show. 

We're told that organisers will put on a Sydney date only if Melbourne doesn't sell - which seems highly unlikely - and there's no thought to playing anywhere else. 

Seminal stars of the ‘70s Brit-punk movement The Stranglers are making their way to Australia in 2016, celebrating more than 40 years of raising hell.

Winding around Australia to all mainland capitals, The Stranglers will play hits and much loved tracks from their extensive back catalogue, from 1977's acclaimed debut “Rattus Norvegicus” through to 2012's return to form “Giants”.

Forming in 1974 in small-town England, The Stranglers are now revered as one of the most exciting, credible and influential bands to have emerged from the British punk scene. 

As far as The Stranglers go, he's the man who wrote the hits, sang the hits and played guitar on the hits. Hugh Cornwell was an integral member of the band until 1990, before carving out his own solo career.

Cornwell will grace Australasian audiences with his presence in May with a tour playing music from The Stranglers and his latest solo album "Monster". 

Expect "Golden Brown", "No More Heroes", "Strange Little Girl", "Always The Sun", "Nice And Sleazy", "(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)" and "Peaches" – the great songs that established the legend of The Stranglers - after a set of his own material with his crack UK band.

MAY  
1 - Christchurch – Churchills
2- Wellington – San Fran Bath House
3 - Auckland – Powerstation with The Murder Chord
4 - Brisbane – Triffid
5 - Adelaide – Gov
8 - Canberra – Basement
9 – Manning Bar with Little Murders 
10 - Melbourne – Max Watts
11 - Perth – Rosemount with The Painkillers 
Tickets on sale here

It is literally the hottest ticket in town - Sunnyboys at Sydney's Factory Theatre - and nearly as desirable everywhere else. After selling out their two shows at the inner-west venue in just four days, Sunnyboys are pleased to announce a third and final Sydney show.

The new date is Sunday, February 11 at The Factory Theatre in Marrickville with support (again) from the Celibate Rifles. The gig runs over the schoolnight-friendly times of 6-9.30pm.
 
The sold-out shows are the fastest-selling Sydney Sunnyboys shows since the band’s reunion in 2012. Elsewhere, the iconic band - born in the ‘80s but with all-time appeal - set a first-day sales record at Sunshine Coast venue The Shed @ Aussie World, selling a third of all tickets.

It's the band’s first performance on the Coast since their reformation and just their third appearance in the region ever, their last visit being in 1983 at the Noosa Hop,  an all day festival featuring Skyhooks, Midnight Oil, The Church and others.

Tickets for The Factory are on sale now via www.factorytheatre.com.au You'll find the rest of the gig dates and ticketing informaiton here.

Comeback kings the Sunnyboys have announced a full-blown Aussie summer tour, along with deluxe releases of their second and third studio albums.

The 2015 tour will include shows in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide plus a slot at the Perth International Arts Festival, just the second Sunnyboys appearance in the W.A. capital since 1984.

Brisbane and Sydney will be treated to appearances by their former sparring partners, the Riptides. Other guests on the February tour include The New Christs (Melbourne and Sydney) young punks Bad // Dreems (Adelaide) and Dom Mariani's post-Stems vehicle DM3, in Perth.

A heads-up that the Sunnyboys' February 2018 Australian tour is selling like wildfire with one Sydney gig (February 10) at Marrickville's Factory Theatre sold out in 36 hours, and tickets for a just-added extra date (February 9) now 85 percent gone.

Is it a surprise? No.

The fact is that the second all-oringal member incarnation of the Sunnyboys has now lasted longer than the band did in its first life. 

The time around, without the pressure of recording schedules and the demand for chart hits and with a mutual love and respect for the music they made, Sunnyboys can just do what they do best; play live. 

Joining the fun will be Sydney surf-punks The Celibate Rifles, who have carved out their own indelible history in the Australian music scene over a 35+ year period. The Rifles will join Sunnyboys for their first show on the Sunshine Coast since 1982; the Sunnyboys' first Brisbane performance since 2015, and most other dates.

Melbourne fun-punks Painters & Dockers, will join the rejuvenated Sunnyboys for a massive Melbourne Zoo performance.

Sublime guitar band Television re-awakened after years of inactivity in 2013 with gigs all around the world - including its first in Australia. 2014 looks even busier with the band embarking on what looks like a world tour.

The Mark Of Cain returns to the stage this October performing their debut album “Battlesick” in its entirety. 

Originally released in 1989 via indie Adelaide label Dominator, Battlesick sounded like no Australian album before or since. Tracks like “Wake Up”, “Dead Man’s Mail”, “The Setback”, “Call in Anger” and the title track addressed the fear of dreams, the threat of death, anger over disappointment and personal setbacks; not exactly the subject matter of an era when Kylie Minogue was queen and Ratcat were primed to become the pinnacle of the underground.

They're releasing a new single, "Grey-11", from their acclaimed 2012 album "Songs Of The Third & Fifth" so The Mark Of Cain have announced their first Australian tour since March last year.

It will take in the usual hot spots and also includes a return to Newcastle (for the first time since 2002) and a trip to Hobart for the first time in almost 20 years.

Heavyweights The Mark Of Cain return to Australian stages with a national tour in November and December, including a two-night stand in hometown Adelaide to raise money for a cancer charity.

“Having lost family members, friends and work colleagues to cancer in the past, I thought it was time to personally do something about cancer - not only to raise awareness, but also to do something directly to help fund cancer research,” TMOC singer-songwriter John Scott said. “As everyone knows, cancer doesn’t discriminate and we are all potentially only a doctor’s appointment away from hearing those life changing words."

Twenty-five years on and Australian punk legends The Meanies have somehow weathered many a storm to still be not only around but being more relevant now than ever before. 

The band is about to launch a national tour to mark a quarter of century in “the business”.