Former Celibate Rifles guitarist Kent Steedman has teamed with onetime Vanilla Chainsaws frontman Simon Chainsaw for an incendiary project called Bullet Tram. The first result of the partnership is a dirgey, bluesy  track called “Bought The Lie”.

Simon, who sang the vocal, says: “’Bought The Lie’ was inspired by the famous Hunter S Thompson quote: ‘The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side’.” 

Since the passing of Damien Lovelock and the end of the Rifles, Kent Steedman has embarked on a solo career and has a growing back catalogue of projects, including Deep South and Radio KSG. He also records and tours with Midnight Oil’s Jim Moginie.

Simon Chainsaw started Vanilla Chainsaws in Sydney in the 1980's with a sound that was a thick roar of layered guitar chords that was reminiscent of Husker Du.

French label Rogue Records has jumped aboard The On and Ons powerpop express.

Seizing on the Sydney band’s rating by “Little Steven’s Underground Garage” listeners as the Ninth Coolest Band In The World for 2023 (no mean feat), Rogue has released two of their singles on a seven-inch vinyl single.

“Looking Out Of A Mirror” b/w “Hey, What’s Going On?” showcases facets of The On and Ons’ rocking and jangle-pop qualities and is a stellar addition to their catalogue.

Of course a previous single on US label Get Hip and CD albums plus an EP on Aussie imprint Citadel should already be in your collecrtion. 

For the uninitiated, The On and Ons are a vehicle for the songwriting of former Screaming Tribesmen and Kings of The Sun guitarist-vocalist Glenn Morris and the consummate playing and harmonies of bassist Clyde Bramley (Hoodoo Gurus) and drummer Brian Morris.

They recently added former Died Pretty keyboardist John Hoey to the ranks and you can sample and secure your single here.

It’s going to be a special afternoon when the I-94 Bar presents Kit Identity (aka Bruce Warner of ground-breaking Sydney punk band Thought Criminals) at Sydney’s MoshPit Bar on Sunday, May 26.

The Thought Criminals were one of Australia’s most influential and enterprising punk bands to spring from the febrile Sydney scene. They formed in late 1977, and disbanded in late 1981, leaving three albums in their wake, all on their own Double Think label.  

Bruce now lives in Perth and has been active in ViviKit, a duo with fellow former Thoughtie and Do Re Mi member Stephen Philip, and as a solo artist.

He’ll showcase songs from his most recent solo album, “Kit Identity With The Cosmic Zooclouds”, and some Thought Criminals classics.

Support will come from Sydney’s most exciting postpunk protagonists, Rubber Necker, playing the closing set.

Opening act Wiz and The Trailler Trash Boys, a self-proclaimed supergroup comprising members of the Celibate Rifles, Buffalo Revisited, Filth and Bosom, will be playing a selection of songs about love, hate and drugs. The gig is $15 at the door and runs from 2-5pm, with Kit Identity playing the middle bracket.

After a year of celestial alignment and astral preparation, the Sydney rock veterans of Jupiter 5 are unleashing their debut album "5th From The Sun" upon an unsuspecting universe.

This dazzling 13-track masterpiece is a protopunk-garage-meets-rifferama-psych explosion that will shake the foundations of your reality!

The launch party for this otherworldly odyssey takes place at Marrickville Bowling Club on Friday, May 3, marking Jupiter 5's first planetary descent since their last in-the-flesh appearance in July 2023. Tickets are here.

Born from a necessity to combine a succulent Chinese meal with swampy garage rock’n’roll, The Silver Dragons (named after a retro Chinese restaurant in Umina on NSW Central Coast) formed at The Link & Pin café in Woy Woy after singer, Anton Hughes, was asked to support Sydney alt-country star Adam Young.

Over a year of gigging the band has morphed into a garage/guitar-pop/fuzz/rock band and has just issued its debut recordings as a digital four-song EP.

Sick of hearing about the collapse of big ticket festivals (especially that steaming pile of shit called Pandemonium Rocks where the line-up is being stripped of headliners as we speak but is still selling tickets and being falsely advertised?) Well, here’s some better news.

The New Christs are headlining an all-day, multi-band bill in Newcastle this month for the ridiculously cheap door price of 30 bucks.

HellNation 24 is at the Lass O’Gowrie Hotel in Wickham on Saturday, April 13, kicking off at the ungodly hour of 11.30am.

There are loads of out-of-towners and local acts to make a weekend stay worth your while and tickets are going here.