Sydney Northern Beaches-based ambassadors for rock and roll, The Overtones, have scored a coup by landing themselves a spot on the Meatstock barbecue festival at Olympic Park this Saturday.

Always making the most of any opportunities - and playing in front of 5000 people has to qualify as one – The Overtones will use their 3pm spot to launch their debut album.

They’re playing with The Beards, Snowdroppers, Henry Wagons and Blind Ray but too bad if you want a ticket – the first day of the all-weekend event has sold out.

Radio Birdman's 2015 European tour made enough successful noise for them to gain spots this coming June on several European festivals, most notably Spain's Azkena Rock Festival and Belgium's Sjock Festival.

The impact of their sold-out London show was such that they have been invited back to the UK with Manchester and Leeds added onto the itinerary and several other shows being slated.

The good news for Australian fans is that prior to their return to Europe, the band will play a limited number of local shows over the first two weekends of June. These are expected to be the band's only Australian shows for 2016.

Tickets go on sale Monday, 1st February from 12PM AEDT:

RADIO BIRDMAN
AUSTRALIAN TOUR
Friday, 3rd June 2016
The Factory, Sydney NSW
Tix: http://bit.ly/1JDGYd7

Saturday, 4th June 2016
The Triffid, Brisbane QLD
Tix: http://tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=59587
Tix: http://tickets.thetriffid.com.au/?Event=59587

Friday, 10th June 2016
The Brisbane Hotel, Hobart TAS
Tix: http://brisbanehotel.oztix.com.au/?eventId=59552
Tix: http://tickets.oztix.com.au/?eventId=59552

Saturday, 11th June 2016
Max Watts, Melbourne VIC
Tix: www.maxwatts.com.au or 1300 724 867 or www.oztix.com.au

Sunday, 12th June 2016
The Gov, Adelaide SA
Tix: http://thegov.oztix.com.au/?Event=59520

Here’s the exclusive debut of “Cheer Squad”, a non-album digital-only single and taster on Conquest of Noise for Leadfinger’s forthcoming album “Friday Night Heroes”.

“Cheer Squad”is a high-energy bolt from the zeitgeist...it's a song about social media and not fitting in with the crowd, with an attitude that harks back to the ‘70s punk era. “Cheer Squad” is backed up by “The Man I Used to Be”, from the upcoming album. Buy and download the single over the next month and you’ll also get an amazing non-album bonus track called Three Brothers. Three great songs for $A4 and they’re all available here.

Leadfinger will play "Cheer Squad" this Friday night at an I-94 Bar show at Sydney's Marrickville Bowling Club with special guests Simon Chainsaw (with an all-star band of ex-New Christs, Hell Crab City and Filth members) and the garage groove of The Escapes. 

Onetime Richard Hell and the Voidoids guitarist Ivan Julian is battling cancer, his record label has revealed.

“The prognosis looks good for Ivan, but for the next six months or more, flexibility to do his work will be greatly diminished, which means a direct impact on his income,” Plowboy Records said in a statement on its website. Julian was diagnosed almost immediately after writing and recording The Fauntleroys’ new single, “Wait For Me”  b/w “All The Way Down (In The City Of Angels).

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Plowboy Records and The Fauntleroys are offering the new singles in digital, vinyl and CD formats with all profits going to Ivan Julian. Go here to score the new single or the band's debut EP and help a punk rock icon.

Plowboy is also home to ex-Dead Boy Cheetah Chrome.

With the late Robert Quine, Julian was one-half of one of the most innovative guitar combinations on the New York punk scene and more recently had worked with Matthew Sweet. 

Punk rock icon Sonny Vincent is in the middle of a family tragedy and desperately needs your help.

His son Robert Ventura, daughter-in-law Sarah and nine-year-old grandson Cayden are on life support in a North Carolina hospital after a gas fire engulfed their home.

Sonny has flown in from his own home in Germany with only the clothes on his back and is on a bedside vigil. 

A GoFundMe crowdsourcing campaign has been established to help the family here. A benefit show in NYC is also in the pipeline.  

Sonny is a former member of seminal punk band The Testors and has a long and storied career as a solo artist, collaborating with the creme de la creme of the underground rock scene. 

https://www.gofundme.com/xnvynbcc

Ex-Radio Birdman guitar slinger Chris Masuak has released a promotional clip to launch a crowd-funding campaign for his forthcoming album to come out on CD and it's likely to cause a stir with fans of his former band. The song's title is "Bird Brain."

You can get on board the crowdfunding campaign to grab anything from Birdman and Hitmen rarities, a Masuak show in your backyard to a copy of the album (when it comes out) here. Meanwhile, here's the clip: