Melbourne’s royal rock’n’pop trio Even - who did include a stonking cover of the Sex Pistols’ "Pretty Vacant” on their recent “Down The Shops” covers collection - reckon that the Queen’s Birthday is worth celebrating. Indeed, they reckon it is their Antipodean duty to do so, especially given that Prince Philip is now no longer around to start the party.
 
But with four shows across the holiday weekend at great venues in the city’s inner north, south, east and west, "Even Saves The Queen’s Birthday Weekend” is not just a celebration of a fabulous public holiday, but of the great rock’n’roll city that is Melbourne.

Even’s Friday to Monday run is gonna provide some right royal rocking with four hand-selected support acts adding a unique flavor to each show.

New Cosmic Country queen Freya Josephine Hollick opens proceedings at the Gershwin Room on Friday, June 11. From then it's the tres glam Imperial Leather, featuring entities from both RRR and PBS-FM at the Westwood on Saturday the 12th; stranded Mississippi-based Canadian-Australian bluesy country singer-songwriter Meghan Maike on Sunday the 13th at the Leadbeater; and melancholy and melodious young trio of singer-songwriters the Folk Bitch Trio on Monday the 14th at the Northcote Social Club. 

Monday's show is a matinee and under-18's are allowed in if accompanied by an adult.

ESPY - GERSHWIN ROOM
Friday 11 June
With Freya Josephine Hollick
Tickets here

HOTEL WESTWOOD
Saturday 12 June
With Imperial Leather
Tickets here

THE LEADBEATER HOTEL
Sunday 13 June
With Meghan Maike
Tickets here

NORTHCOTE SOCIAL CLUB
Monday 14 June (Afternoon)
With Folk Bitch Trio
Tickets here

Fetishists alert! Ed Kuepper is on a vinyl re-issue spree so of course he has to have a limited edition box set. “Behold the Exploding Universe of Ed Kuepper” will contain:

• 1 x Ed Kuepper Singles LP on green, yellow, blue or black vinyl
• 1 x Laughing Clowns LP on clear vinyl.
• 1 x The Aints! LP on red vinyl.
• 1 x autographed 8” x 10” Laughing Clowns photo by Judi Dransfield Kuepper
• 1 x high quality Exploding Universe of Ed Kuepper iron-on transfer
• 1 x The Aints! vinyl sticker.
• 3 x press releases printed in full colour on quality stock.

Naturally, it will be housed in a beautiful black lift-top box. The run is limited to 100 copies and ships from May 28. You can order exclusively here.

The latest release on our own I-94 Bar Records is on sale and it's a killer. It's the debut 45 for Sydney band Jupiter 5, "H-Bomb" b/w "Supersonic Hero" and it's unveiled at The MoshPit in Erskineville, Sydney, on Saturday night. 

Pre-sales of the vinyl are here and come with an instant download of both A sides and a live cover of the Dictators' "Minnesota Strip", which is on the limited edition CD exclusively on sale at gigs.

Jupiter 5 is a fuzz-laden garage-punk and hard rock five-piece with DNA extracted from Sheek the Shayk, Hitmen DTK, Thurston Howlers, 69BC and the Psychotic Turnbuckles. 

They'll be supported by 50LgE, a bulldozing trio from the NSW Far North Coast making their Sydney debut and comprised of former members of the Psychotic Turnbuckles and The Eastern Dark. Doors open at 8pm or you can buy a pass to stream the show here.

Operating in the crystalline shadows and existential backwaters of the psyche, Dez Dare constructs psych-hymns and soft-punk that punches you in the brain while tenderly calling you to inaction.

No other time calls for expression more than times of suppression. Trapped in reclusion under the germs' eye in the UK, expatriate Aussie Darren Smallman (BATTLE WORLDWIDE, Low Transit Industries, Thee Vinyl Creatures, The Sound Platform and Warped) has built a Frankenstein's Monster within his own house. Bolted together with old pedals, guitars and synths, he is about to release an album’s wortrh of tracks about existence, social normality and the illusion of reality.

New single “Dumb Dumb Dumb” is lifted from the forthcoming new album “Hairline Ego Trip”, out on June 4 on Ch!mp Records and is available for pre-order here..

The long-awaited anthology of material by Australia’s legendary Lipstick Killers finally arrives on CD and LP on Grown Up Wrong! Records on June 25.

“Strange Flash – Studio & Live ‘78-‘81” as a double-LP will include the original 1979 “Hindu Gods of Love”/”Shakedown USA” single, the posthumous “Sockman/Pensioner Pie’ 45 plus additional studio masters from the same ’78 session; an unreleased album-length 1980 demo session recorded by Australian guitar god Lobby Loyde; and the near-complete LA show that comprised the original live album “Mesmeriser”.

The “Mesmeriser” tracks will add additional tunes and subtract a couple that one band member wasn’t happy with.The set features liner notes by Ugly Things contributor and Grown Up Wrong! Records’ Dave Laing, some killer pix and flyers and repro’s of the stunning Lipstick Killers posters designed by highly collectable Sydney poster artist John Foy, and a piece by Byron Coley.

The LPs will be a run of 500 copies on orange vinyl an 500 on black.

The double-CD includes adds a near complete live show recorded in Adelaide in 1978, some of which was released on a handmade cassette by members of the band in the mid-‘80s, and a couple of the tracks of which appeared on a very limited run 45 also released by the band in later years. But a good chunk of it has never been heard - and it is wild.

The reformed Dictators - three founding members Andy Shernoff, Ross The Boss and Top Ten, and Albert Bouchard from Blue Oyster Cult - are back with a fun secxiond single from their recent recording sessions. Top Ten has since stood down from the band due to health reasons but "Let's Get The Band Back Together" was recorded before he made his decision.