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the on and ons

  • kev cherry 2021Kevin 'BIGDADDYK' Cherry
    SYDNEY SOUNDS 2RRR 88.5 SATURDAY 6PM (Sydney time)
    TOP 10 + 2   OF 2021.

    DATELINE: FRESHWATER BEACH, SYDNEY, NSW: I'm fortunate to be living within 10 minutes walking distance to the birthplace of Australian surfing - affectionately known to the locals as Freshie.  I usually go there in the early evening around 6pm when it's un-patrolled as there are less people and cooler so I’m less likely to get sunburnt. Water temperature has been tropical (around 21 degrees Celsius) but refreshing.  A great, healthy and socially-distanced way to spend Summer.

    The following 12 highlights (in no particular order) are by local bands recorded during Covid lockdown and regularly played on The Sydney Sounds Show ON SaturdayS 6pm 2RRR 88.5mz.

    1. MOONLIGHT FIVE
    Made their debut last year (and listed in my Top 10 of 2020) with the polarising song/video “Lockdown Blues”, followed a few months later with the more accessible “Listening to Gospel Music on The Radio” - both of which received radio airplay, locally and overseas, to critical acclaim. About to launch their third song/video “I Just Want To Be Me” which had its radio airplay debut on SYDNEY SOUNDS on January 8. A band that are not afraid to go out on a limb and create something a bit different from the usual Sydney rock sound.

  • celia curtis 2021 sandra kingstonAt the MoshPit Bar in Sydney. Sandra Kingston photo 

    Celia Curtis’ Top Ten-ish of 2021 (in no particular order)

    Pat Todd & The Rank Outsiders - “...there’s pretty things in Palookaville...” Album.
    Sixteen songs from the Punk/ Country/ Blues/ Rock’n’roll master craftsman. Pat Todd is the real deal! Sure, it’s not as instantaneously enthralling as 2008’s “Holdin’ on to Troubles Hand”; But seriously, SHOW ME AN ALBUM THAT IS? “..pretty things” grows on you like a stubborn fungus.

    Literally anything Pat does in a year is Top 10 worthy. Luckily he put this record out so I didn’t have to rate one of his turds. (Which would have been good shit by the way).

  • Chris Klondike Masuak 2021

    CHRIS “KLONDIKE” MASUAK’S TOP SEVERAL FOR 2021

    What’s another year without the obligatory screed from Klondike? 

    You know that my tongue is firmly in cheek but my heart unashamedly on sleeve when wishing you all as peaceful, calm, and rockin’ a Christmas as is possible to the human mind! 

  •  mark fraser 2021Mark Fraser with Blackie of the Hard-Ons

    Ten best albums for 2021… no particular order.

    HARD ONS- “Sorry Sir, That Riff’s Been Taken”
    Is it pop? Is it Punk? Who cares, its fkn perfect.

    THE QUICK SIXES – “Swamped”
    Swampabilly meets surf in the most perfect of ways.

  • penny2021GIGS:

    Adalita - Melbourne Town Hall
    Adalita performed in the magnificent space of the Melbourne Town Hall, with J.P. Shilo playing the four storey-high Grand Organ. They were accompanied at various stages by Adalita's band, plus backing vocalists Charm of Finches and The Letter String Quartet. Adalita's emotive and well-crafted songs were driven home by her powerful guitar playing and the brooding sound of the swirling organ. A contender for one of the best gigs I’ve ever seen in my life.

    Ed Kuepper and Jim White  - Rising Festival
    Ed Kuepper and Jim White opened the ill-fated Rising Festival in Melbourne at the Comedy Theatre and what a show it was. It felt pretty exciting to be at a gig in another iconic building. There was also an element of fear - in this seated though crowded space, was I going to get out of there virus free? All in the name of rock ’n' roll!!!

    The Rising Festival had an eclectic, artistically challenging and ambitious programme of events but unfortunately was closed down on the second day due to you-know-what. Another one bites the dust.

    Liz Reed photo

  • edmund 2022R.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.

  • penny ikinger 2022MARVELLOUS MUSICAL MOMENTS OF 2022 AND MORE MUSINGS:

    Firstly, thanks to The Barman and I-94 Bar contributors Keith Claringbold, Dylan Webster, Matty Ryan and Edwin Garland who included my shows with my band in NSW and Melbourne in their Top Tens for 2022. That is so cool and greatly appreciated! Thanks to everyone who came to these shows! It was fabulous to see so many “old” friends there!

    Thanks to the musicians who played in my band – Tim McCormack on bass, Jason McGann on drums, Julian Held on guitar, Sam Billinghurst-Walsh on guitar and Ryan Oliver on keyboards. They are worthy of the attention they have been getting.

    In fact, thanks to all the musicians who performed live on the indie rock circuit in 2022. These are not easy times for many musicians, and it’s been fantastic to see so many artists back in action on stage, in the post lockdown world. Often, I cross paths with them when they attend other people’s gigs as well. It’s a wonderful thing to behold - intrepid rock’n’roll soldiers leading the charge to bring live music back into the forefront of our hearts and minds! 

    Thanks to all the punters who have been supporting live gigs. Thanks to the music journalists for reviewing our shows and new releases and to the radio presenters who have been playing our music. Thanks to the venues and the promoters, with a special thanks to The Barman for his tireless efforts to keep our rock scene alive and well.

  • kc 2023

    2023 Top Ten(ish)

    Gigs

    The Smart Folk/ The Golden Rail/ The Autumn Hearts, Marrickville Bowling Club, NSW. A bittersweet occasion for me as a member of The Smart Folk but it was a great night thanks to the stellar support of The Golden Rail and The Autumn Hearts.

    The Apartments/Halfway - The Great Club, Marrickville, NSW.

    Raising Ravens/DOWNGIRL/Gaia Rising: Marrickville Bowling ClubNSW.

    The On and Ons/ Penny Ikinger Band: George Lane, St Kilda. Great venue, great bands, great company.

    The Silversound - Brunswick Ballroom, VIC: Mind blown, album immediately purchased.

    Snarski Circus Lindy Band - The  Great Club

    Jo Meares’ Silver Bullets - The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville, NSW:  Jo brought his Melbourne combo with him and wow, did they deliver.

    Dane Blacklock and the Preacher’s Daughter: The Duke Hotel, Enmore, NSW: Satanicabaret!

  • joanne bennett 2024Top Ten for 2024 in order of event

    The Breeders at Enmore Theatre
    Starting off with "Saints", ending with "Divine Hammer" and everything you’d want to hear in between.

    Grazza-Fest at The Great Club
    We lost a beautiful man last year so we all got together to celebrate Graham Bowditch the best way we know how. With the music he loved. Held on the weekend of his annual BBQs, the bands were: The Strike-Outs, Hellebores, The Glycereens, Rocks, The Pink Fits, The Hard-Ons, and they all provided a great night of entertainment.

    Recording with The Jane Does at Rancom St Studios
    The studio is owned by Garth Porter from Sherbet and we had the opportunity to record a song ("Around the Bend)" there for an upcoming pop culture doco by Larry McGrath called "Yesterday’s Highway". We had Tim Carr as producer and he worked his magic with us.

    Human League at Enmore Theatre
    Managed to score a last-minute ticket to this one thanks to my bandmate Matt. Performing the classic "Dare" album in full plus a selection of their other songs. Given that it’s mostly done on synths they were able to replicate their sound perfectly.  

  • chris virtue 2024A Virtual Unreal Top 10
    A little quieter for me in 2024. It’s getting harder to get me off the mountain or am I just getting old?

    1. Birdman Five-0
    Birdman at 50? I first saw them in Melbourne in 1977 at La Trobe uni. My mates hated them. I loved them.

    I nearly didn’t go to this one because I’ve seen them so many times, but when I was told that these were to be their last gigs, I pulled the finger out and got a ticket to the last show. In a word, fantastic, but they always are. Deniz and Dave play so well together, Rob remains one of my favourite frontmen and everyone else does their bit.

    Hard Ons were great in support. Glad I went.

    2. Murray Engleheart’s Birdman book
    What a book! I loved every word of it and it told me so much that I didn’t know, including stuff about myself. His retelling of how the band came together is a sublime piece writing. You’re practically watching these guys get into each other’s orbits and once they did, forming a band was inevitable.

    These are complex people and Murray deals with the tensions and frustrations within the band very fairly. Everyone gets a good run. An extremely satisfying read.

  • the barman 2024In no particular order and with the caveat that there are notable omissions because I haven’t heard the Chimers album yet and have only seen parts of the Hard-Ons documentary.  Yes, it’s more than 10 but I plead undiagnosed dyscalculia (i.e. I can’t count). As for the rule of not reviewing I-94 Bar label releases or shows, it's being bent. Slightly. 

    The Dictators – The Dictators
    It’s hard to come to grips with a Manitoba-less line-up and many of Andy's songs are re-heated versions of old material. Judged on its merits as the work of a new line-up, however, “The Dictators” is a credible comeback album that holds up to repeated listens. We need Ross The Boss' guitar roar and Andy's lyrical smart-arsery now more than ever.

    In The Zone – Mick Medew and Ursula
    Yes, it’s on the house label and Mine Host generally doesn’t review I-94 Bar shows or releases, but others have.  Great enough to earn Mick and Ursula the Keys to Brisbane City and have digi-single “Punk Grandma” finish Number-Three in the 4ZZZ Hot 100. All hail The Zeds (and 2RRR and 2XX and 3RRR and 3D…) 

  • ned alphabet 20252024 was quite year for me. I attended some amazing gigs, met some amazing people, resigned from my day job, and completed a year of service with Majestic XI, along with increasing the profile of Balkan Grill.

    Spring of 2024 was when I got the news that my all-time favourite Ex YU band Električni Orgazam (aka Electric Orgasm/El Org) would be touring Australia in Jan 2025, and that Balkan Grill would be one of the support acts for their Sydney show on 25 January. The show went off, by the way. But as this list is for 2024 events, you can see and read all about it on my Facebook profile as well as the Balkan Grill band page. On with the list (in no particular order). 

    1. Dinosaur Jr – Enmore Theatre – 21/02/24
    It was my birthday, so I got a ticket as a present to myself. They didn't disappoint, plowing through the album "Where You Been?" from start to finish. They followed this with a few songs from different eras, the obligatory "Freak Scene" and "Feel The Pain" of course, and The Cure's "Just Like Heaven". J Mascis has the best Neil Young distortion tone ever, and his shredding is just superb.

    2. Kim Salmon solo – Enmore Hotel – 09/03/24 & 18/05/24
    Totally amazing performance on both nights. Powerful. Great dynamics. Loud and dirty at one end, gentle and tender at the other. Many memorable moments. At one point on both nights Kim dedicated a song to his old friend Ron Peno RIP. To my surprise and delight it was "ETI (Extraterrestrial Intelligence)" by Blue Öyster Cult.

    It was a very sweet moment. I'm kicking myself for not recording it, but I was just so caught up in the moment having a great old time singing along. Being a BÖC nerd, it was such a perfect moment, surreal and celebratory. Life affirming even! Although, I think I ended up annoying Kim by the end of the second show. Oh well, I was pretty high at the time. Fuck it. Kim Salmon is a genius regardless.


  • Members went on to Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls, the Lime Spiders, Hell To Pay, the Screaming Tribesmen and The Bambalams, but The Grooveyard was the one that got away in the febrile Sydney inner city scene of the 1980s. Next weekend's I-94 Bar presented reformation shows in Canberra and Sydney are some of the most keenly anticiopated of the year so far and supports have been announced.

    Local heroes Il Bruto are on the undercard at Smiths Alternative in Canberra on Friday, February 7 and are an obvious choice with a set list reprising many of the songs that influenced Australia's underground scene, while at Sydney's Marrickville Bowling Club on Saturday, February 8 supports will be powerpop supremos The On and Ons and Van Ruin.

  • richard lane ripAustralian underground elder statesman and co-founder of The Stems, Richard Lane, has passed away in Fremantle. An announcement has been made via The Stems’ Facebook page.

    Richard had lately been a member of The Painkillers, the hard-rocking garage outfit formed by James Baker, and rehearsed with them last Saturday.

    Richard and Dom Mariani formed The Stems in 1983 and went on to have a fruitful if tumultuous musical partnership. Lane was a driving musical force behind the band’s early garage sound, epitomised on their early singles. He also played guitar and keyboards on the debut album “At First Sight Violets Are Blue” and the 2007 reformation record, “Heads Up”.

    The band dissolved in 1987 but has reformed a couple of times. Richard was not a part of the line-up that was reconstituted in 2013.

    Richard spent time living in Perth and Sydney. He formed a small record label,  Idaho Records, in Perth in the 1990s and played in a number of other important bands including The Chevelles, The Rosebuds and The On and Ons.

    Richard founded Penny Lane’s Music Workshop in Fremantle in 2003 as a community-based outlet to teach music. He is survived by second wife Cathy and daughter Penny.

  • look up thereThe On and Ons Glenn Morris and Jon Roberts with guest guitarist Murray Cook . Shona Ross photo

    At the risk of stating the bleeding obvious, this was a night of three contrasting but not dissimilar bands when The Smart Folk, Loose Pills and The On and Ons weaved their guitar pop web over Marrickville Bowling Club. It was also the album launch for The On and Ons' wonderful CD "Welcome Aboard".

    These sorts of night are infrequent in Sydney these days. Ones where the bands on the bill complement each other and the venue doesn't turn people off, so they turn out in good numbers.

    You’re here to read a live music review? Hang in there. There's a bit of preaching to go through, first...

  • welcome aboard lgSublime Sydney pop-rockers The On and Ons are preparing to unleash their second album, “Welcome Aboard”, this month on the redoubtable Citadel label.  They’ll launch it at Marrickviille Bowling Club in Sydney’s inner-west on August 26 with special guests, Loose Pills..

    With a line-up of Glenn Morris (guitar-vocals), his brother Brian (drums/vocals), Clyde Bramley (bass/vocals) and Jon Roberts (guitar), this is a band with a musical pedigree that includes the Hoodoo Gurus, the Screaming Tribesmen, Paul Collins Beat and The Barbarellas.

  • On and Ons WelcomeGreat guitar pop is timeless and that’s what Sydney’s The On and Ons have delivered (again) on their second long-player. 

    Well established on the strength of their 2015 debut, “It’s The On And Ons Calling”, Morris and Co have doubled down on the pop factor on “Welcome Aboard”. The rock is turned down just a tad and (to these ears at least) it takes a few more listens for the songs to take hold.

    Truth-be-told, I almost marked it down half-a-beer for not rocking as much as the debut - but the pop smarts won out. 

  • glenn bowloGlenn Morris of the The On and Ons.

    The On and Ons
    + The Amazing Woolloomooloosers
    Marrickville Bowling Club
    Sunday, 12 December 2021
    Photos: Shona Ross

    Sometimes things are just obvious. Like using the term “pop music”.

    It’s an archaic phrase and more than a little quaint, with its origins way back in the mists of time. Probably severely devalued, too, due to its prolific over-use in modern times. 

    According to the The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, it originated in Britain in the mid-1950s as a description for rock and roll and the new music styles that it influenced.

    Last Sunday afternoon-evening at Marrickville Bowling Club in Sydney’s inner-western blues delta was an occasion for pop music fans. And whether it was a breaking of the lockdown drought or an appreciation that this was an album launch, they turned out in their droves.

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