Tonight I headed to the Retreat to see Ratcat frontman, Simon Day, play a solo show with Suzie Stapleton. Arriving just 5 minutes before Simon took to the stage, it was indeed good timing. Truth be told, I have never been a huge fan of the Retreat though because I don’t like the way the room is set up. There’s too many chairs and tables and people are always walking past the front of the stage to get to the toilets or the beer garden making your viewing experience most annoying and also the band’s experience, no doubt, awkward. Still, I’ll pay that price to see Simon Day bust out some old Ratcat tunes. And that is exactly what he did.
His first set was a bunch of tunes that were for the most part, unknown to me. Still, it was enjoyable. The second set was where the gold was. All the Ratcat hits we know and love were played solo and the last 4 tracks played with Suzie Stapleton helping out on guitar. Hearing these tunes stripped back to just Simon and a guitar was quite strange as Ratcat’s music was always extremely noisy and fuzzed out yet now it was all melancholic and bare. An interesting way to hear such classics as That Ain’t Bad, Don’t Go Now, Baby Baby and Don’t Go In The Water.
Suzie Stapleton came on and followed with her mellow guitar fuzz ala The Drones. Not bad at all. Never seen her before so this was new to me. Four songs in and Simon Day got on stage with the band to run through the Ratcat song “Getting Away (From This World)” which was a nice touch. All smiles coming from me, that’s for sure. I should also say that Simon’s a nice chap. He signed a couple records for me and he has agreed to give me some insight into the book I am writing on the Australian music scene from the 80′s and early 90′s. Heaps good!
Of course, when you have such a huge collection of songs, you can’t play everything but still, it was good fun and a decent set. For those of you counting at home, here’s the setlist.
It shows Run & Hide but that wasn’t played unfortunately as that would be an interesting song to hear done in this setting, and Don’t Go Now and My Bloody Valentine were played in set 2. Not a bad set and I hope Simon returns to Melbourne with the full band of Ratcat to play a string of shows. Seriously, good power pop hardly exists now in Australia and they were definitely one of my faves. Yep, Rock.
Hunting through all my video tapes, I came across this little gem of a video of the almighty Devil Dogs. I remember the day I discovered the Devil Dogs, I ordered some records by the New Bomb Turks and also a 7″ called “Radio Beat” by the Devil Dogs all cos the review that was in the Spiral Objective Mailorder catalogue said it was great. I was randomly buying records back then and I was stoked when I played “Radio Beat” and immediately found the Devil Dogs to reek of awesomeness. Heaps good! I then hunted down CDs, LPs, etc. anything at all that I could find of this awesome band. Unfortunately, I don’t think they ever got the attention they so deserved. An extremely underrated band. I have a bunch of videos of these guys and each show is really 100% high energy rock n roll. This short spot was not on YouTube anywhere and I felt it shouldn’t go unwatched. So here it is… another gem found in the Long Gone Loser archives. Have fun.
Highly recommended Devil Dogs listening is the album “Saturday Night Fever” (Crypt Records). Hunt it down and crank it up cos it’s an excellent batch of kick ass songs.
This week’s show is full of great songs and rants. I am in a damn good mood for scoring a job that I actually want and I think it shows. Granted, the week had a bit of a downer to it but still, I am staying positive and optimistic. It’s all good, right? Yeah, thought so. Anyway, I talk about The Domnicks show that I went to, I rave about just how awesome the Off The Hip BBQ was and the stellar performance by Los Chicos. I also attended the premiere screening for the movie Burlesque at the Melbourne Underground Film Festival and while recording this tonight, a surprise came through and so I talk about that too. And why not? I also give dedications, talk about Ratcat as Simon Day plays a solo show at the Retreat in Melbourne this weekend, there’s upcoming tour and festival news, and there is just so much more that I don’t want to bore you any longer. Trust me, this show is damn good stuff! It’s all happening. Listen in now by clicking this link or download an mp3 of the show right here.
Enjoy tunes by:
The Little Girls
Slush Puppies
Ratcat
Los Chicos with Johnny Casino
Screamin’ Furys
Heaven The Axe
Backyard Babies
The Shazam
The Replacements
GG Allin
Eddie And The Hot Rods
Radio Birdman
Hunt out the links on Myspace, I’m too tired to search them out but in the meantime, to celebrate the movie Burlesque’s success, I will leave you with this uber hot poster for the film. Enjoy!
So tonight I saw The Domnicks. For those not in the know, The Domnicks combine the guitar twangin’ talents of Dom Mariani (The Stems / DM3 / Someloves) and Nick Sheppard (The Cortinas / The Clash) and together with Howard Shawcross (The Elks / The Jackals) on bass and Marz Frisina (DM3 / The Calhoons) on drums, they make a blend of blues swagger and rock n roll. If you’ve been tuned in to this site, you may recall my review of their “Hey Rock ‘N’ Roller” mini-album that came out on Off The Hip. If not, here it is again:
THE DOMNICKS – “Hey Rock ‘N’ Roller” (Off The Hip)
Dom Mariani (The Stems) and Nick Shepherd (The Clash, replacing Mick Jones when he went off to that Big Audio Dynamite shit) have gotten together to dish up a nice little mini-album of melodic garage rock n rollers. It definitely has that UK R&B soul from the 60’s and early 70’s and the track ‘Already There’ reminds me heaps of Grand Funk. Works for me! I love that shit. Mixed by the team of Rob Younger (Radio Birdman) and Wayne Connolly (The Welcome Mat), they have given The Domnicks a superb sound that is a sure fire hit and destined to be a fave for years to come. You see, truth be told, I am not the biggest Stems fan. I mean, I like ‘em but I am not a diehard “The Stems Are The Greatest!” type of guy so for me to praise this, you gotta trust me that I aint doing it for the cred. I am pissing in these guys pockets cos this is a really good record, well, CD. There’s not a dud track in these 8 songs. That’s pretty good bang for your buck in a world where people are buying singular tracks cos so many albums these days are filled with filler cos bands have gotten lazy. A solid release from these cats and I hope to see a follow up in the not to distant future cos these 8 tracks… I mean, a mini album? Really? Who does mini albums these days? Full length please.
I was pretty happy to hear they were coming to Melbourne to play a show and arrived to the Spanish Club all excited to hear tracks from this CD played live. Sadly, the turn out tonight wasn’t huge. A real shame cos this venue was quite big so with only around 50 punters, it looked quite empty. Plus, a lot of people chose to sit down while the band played which must have made the band feel really awkward. I mean, to be up on stage rockin’ out and getting into it and watching a handful of people dancing up the front and enjoying the band while a bunch of people were sitting 30 metres away against the back wall must make you feel a bit shitty. A bit rude to our friends from Western Australia but oh well… who am I to judge, anyway? Still though, The Domnicks gave it their all. It was cool to see! The songs sounded great and as the gig went on, the show got better and more people got groovin’. I liked it. Really. It was a gas and the tunes were a treat. I was glad to have been there. If they pass through your town, by all means go see them. It’s good honest rock n roll from people who do it cos they give a damn. Hell yeah! Here’s some photos I took…
For anyone who has been following the life and times of Long Gone Loser (aka Me), you’re no doubt familiar with a few things that have become a staple part of my life: 1) I listen to a lot of music. 2) I love Japan. 3) I have far too much time on my hands and therefore spend countless hours scouring the shelves of JB Hi-Fi looking for new trashy films to watch. This brings us to a lovely review of a film that mixes my love for Japan, trashy horror films, and hot Japanese girls all together in one instant classic film. And why not? Exactly. The Machine Girl (Directed by Noboru Iguchi) was one of those movies that stood out to me from the shelves. The cover just looked awesome. So awesome in fact that I need to find a poster of this for my office wall… but I digress. I grabbed the DVD off the shelf and flipped it over to read the blurb on the back. Immediately I was taken in. All points were checked and the $12.95 price tag was just perfect. So tonight I decided to sit back and watch The Machine Girl; a movie about a school girl named Ami Hyuga whose brother, Yu, gets killed by Sho Kimura (played by Nobuhiro Nishihara), the son of a Yakuza boss. Yu gets mixed up in some dodgy scheme or something and owes money. Why? I don’t know. It’s never explained. But it doesn’t matter cos Ami (played by the extremely cute Minase Yashiro) goes on a trail of revenge, carving up anyone who gets in her way and that’s fine by me. I guess I’m easily pleased.
The film kicks off with a huge bloodbath as the credits roll and we see Ami destroy and brutalise some bullies. It immediately hooks you in, that is, if you like slice and dice bloodbaths and enjoy watching a hot Japanese girl with a machine gun for her arm destroy and mutilate the bodies of her enemies. And I do. Ami teams up with Miki (played by the uber hot Asami), the mother of Yu’s best friend, Takeshi, and together they take on the Yakuza armed with a chainsaw, guns, swords, the whole deal. What you get is a complete rampage of blood and guts as the 2 Japanese babes become slashers and slice up a limb flyin’ gorefest as they fight towards victory. You excited yet? You should be. This is Japanese wackyness at its best.
Sure, at times the effects are a bit over the top but for this type of movie, you just have to suspend disbelief and just accept it for what it is: A hell of a good time! Sure, there are people who will be quick to scream “Planet Terror!” but you know what? The USA has stolen so much from Asia that I guess it’s payback time, even though this film has no zombies and the gun sits on her arm, not her leg (although Miki uses a chainsaw on her leg… but still, it’s different). The fight scenes are completely brutal and at times ridiculous but it’s welcomed due to the film’s style and idiom that is used throughout.
Now without spoiling the movie by revealing the entire plot, I shall say that this movie is heaps enjoyable. Director Iguchi has made a film that I wish I had made. It’s funny, it’s over the top, it’s horrific, it’s silly, it’s gory, it has hot Japanese babes including one wearing a drill bra (think about it), there’s Sushi fingers, and finally, it’s non-stop action from the opening credits til the final showdown. Oh, and it even pays homage to the classic film from 1977, “Master Of The Flying Guillotine” which was most awesome to see acknowledged. Everything about this film made me love Japan even more than I already do. If you are into cult films, or you just simply want to watch something that differs from the tripe coming out of the USA, then this will suit your lonely dateless Friday night just fine. I loved it and would even go as far to say that it is highly recommended viewing.
For any small time label to get past release one is a feat in itself but when you have 100 releases under your belt and a shitload to follow, that’s commendable. Melbourne label Off The Hip Records has done just that. They have stuck with their product, stood by it through thick and thin, rejected digital downloads, and come out on top. Today, brothers and label owners Mick and Chris Baty couldn’t be happier. Not only do they run Melbourne’s finest independent record store, but they have also put on an incredible showcase of bands from the label all for a measly $15 complete with a bonus free CD for the first 50 payers through the door (I scored the 2006 release by The Dolly Rocker Movement, “Electric Sunshine”… just sayin’).
The day kicked off with label newcomers, The Living Eyes. A young bunch who are following in the footsteps of those other young lads from the label, The Frowning Clouds. It’s unfortunate for them as that is who their comparisons will be, what with their age and their style of music. The only thing missing, really, is the capes but there’s still time. It’s tough for any band to go on so early and to any rock n roller, 1:30 in the afternoon is early and with the doors only being opened for 15 minutes, The Living Eyes still bashed it out including a decent version of the covered-far-too-much, ‘Milk Cow Blues’. They’re still in the early stages but I give them a year and they should be really cookin’ with gas.
Mass Cult Suicide followed on and were a band I had never seen before. This trio played a bunch of lo-fi punk garage rock with the cute Yolanda (of Dollsquad fame) shredding on guitar. Not a bad effort at all even though the band did seem tired… or maybe they were a bit put off by the small crowd who chose to stand towards the back of the room… the usual standard of behaviour for punters who have arrived early to shows and are not yet filled with alcohol. Ha!
Tasmania’s Sole Stickers came on next and plowed through their new album from top to bottom. A great way to advertise your album that was just released on Friday. These guys were good. Nice and simple songs of garage power pop. Unfortunately for me, I haven’t heard the album so it was hard to appreciate the band at its full potential as I didn’t know the songs. Next time though, I should be well schooled and ready to rock as I believe this album was sent to be reviewed. Heaps good.
Melbourne duo Wrong Turn were up next and their noisy retro two-piece feed of grungey blues was just the thing the people needed to begin closing the gap between the mixing desk and the stage. I don’t mind Wrong Turn at all. They seem to get better and better with each show that I see. Sometimes I feel they need a bass player but then I see shows like this and realise they don’t cos it works without one. Good stuff.
Long time running power pop band, The Little Murders, came on next and got the crowd movin’ and boppin’ playing tracks from their ‘Stop Plus Singles’ CD released last year on OTH including my fave tune of theirs; ‘Things Will Be Different’. Good Sunday afternoon music.
The Cheats were up next and it was back to crazy garage rock as they powered through their stuff and unfortunately, the BBQ had started by this time and I was busy stuffing my face with food so I missed most of their set but I did hear it and that’s cool. Yep. Awesome.
The Russian Roulettes followed and these cats were wild. They are such high energy and having just returned from Europe where they shared the stage with the likes of KISS and Bob Dylan, the Roulettes show no signs of slowing down any time soon. No sirree, playing the same show as KISS was just the beginning and this gig was another ball-tearin’ taster of what’s to follow. This band’s gonna rock ya. Nice one!
Midnight Woolf took to the stage next and were as crazy as ever. Throwing their instruments around and rolling all over the floor, it was a mess of rock n roll antics and I was loving it. I saw these guys on Friday and thought they were great but tonight they were better still. The crowd were definitely movin’ and groovin’ now and the place was rockin’ and rollin’. I was diggin’ it. I still miss the female drummer though, she was cute.
The night continued with awesomeness as Johnny Casino & The Secrets played another mindblowing set kicking off with ‘Cowboys and Indians’ and finishing with an incredible version of the MC5′s ‘Black To Comm’. This finale was unexpected and completely brilliant. I have seen Johnny Casino numerous times and each gig just gets better and better. If you’re yet to experience this rock n roll outlaw, you need to rectify that, STAT! Tonight’s show, I was blown away and so were the rest of the people in attendance. Johnny had the audience in the palm of his hand and the place was jumpin’. Wow.
Before the almighty Spainiards hit the stage, local Spencer P Jones (Johnnys, Beasts Of Bourbon) took to the stage for a few solo numbers with the guys from Los Chicos gladly providing the backing. The guy’s a Melbourne institution and the crowd happily enjoyed this inpromtu set (SPJ was not scheduled to play but ended up on stage anyway). Classic!
The night’s much anticipated performance from Spain’s Los Chicos was met with an ecstatic crowd who were ready to party and Los Chicos were kind enough to not let them down. In fact, the band really outdid themselves this time. From engaging the crowd into a gospel of rock n roll dancing to special guest stars tearing up the stage with them to the Chicos finishing off their set with a heartfelt yet messy yet ass-kicking version of GOD’s “My Pal”; a song so special to not only Melbourne rock n roll fans but also to punters of The Tote and tonight, special guitar duties were provided by none other than John Nolan of Powder Monkeys fame. It wasn’t perfect by any means but it was more rock n roll than most. The place erupted into more smiles, cheers and emotions than ever thought possible by the human form. It was the perfect ending to a 13 date tour for the Spanish crazies as they wind down and head home tomorrow. I tell ya, I for one will be sad to see them go. They are without a doubt one of the hottest bands I have seen this year. But you know what? The night was still not over. There was one band to go. But seriously, how could any band top this performance? The truth being that you couldn’t. I don’t make the rules, it was what it was; fucking awesome!
Buried Horses followed and brought the long day to a close. They gave it their best but truth be told, this was Los Chicos night. Thanks for coming.
After 10 hours of rock, I was exhausted. I said my goodbyes and whatnot and it was time to go. Today was sweet. Thanks to Chris and Mickster for putting this on. An excellent show indeed. I look forward to the next BBQ and here’s to release 200!
Back in 1995, the MTV Movie Awards was not something I would usually sit down and watch, mainly because I knew the likes of John Waters, Russ Meyer and Herschell Gordon Lewis weren’t going to be receiving any awards for anything anyway but before the program started, there was a comercial break. During this commercial break, it was announced that the Ramones would be performing at the awards show. I jumped up. What the fuck? The greatest band in the world are going to be on my TV? I quickly put a tape in and pressed record. I had to. I had no idea what they were going to play as I don’t recall their songs being a big deal in any movie to anyone else but me. Still, this was exciting. The tape recorded and I sat eagerly watching and awaiting for the 4 gods to shake the foundations.
The Ramones were performing the 5 songs that were nominated for the best soundtrack in 3 minutes using 3 chords and mixing in some of their own songs. They played songs by Madonna, Elton John, Stone Temple Pilots, Warren G and Neil Diamond and it was awesome. Now, here is every single second of that performance, including the interview with Marky and Joey at the start of the show, brought to you by the good folk at Long Gone Loser. Ramones forever!
This week’s show is to celebrate OFF THE HIP Records’ 100th release. Yeah! Heaps exciting for a cool independent label to release 100 releases and there is plenty more to come, I’m sure. So what I did this week was just play bands from the Off The Hip label and you’re gonna love it cos all the bands are tops. True story. In other news, I just ramble on a bunch of general chit chat and talk about the Australian election that happened today, the Off The Hip BBQ which is happening tomorrow and upcoming tours from Baroness and Soundwave sideshows and of course there’s more… and you can listen to it all by clicking this link or if you’d rather download an mp3 of the show, you can do so right here.
Also, last night, August 20th, I attended the Off The Hip instore party where Midnight Woolf and Los Chicos tore the store apart with rock n roll. Here’s a snapshot I took of the instore. Enjoy!
I found this on another video. This must be from the late 80′s. Here in Australia, this show, Hard Copy, was shown on our TV’s on Friday nights. It was kind of like an entertainment meets current affairs type show and would always have some kind of sleazy segment on the show. Whether it’s a segment on Playboy Playmates, drug lords, or in this case, Heavy Metal Groupies, this show always delved into the stuff the prime time shows ignored. For some reason I saw this show a lot and I must have taped this after seeing it mentioned on the commercial breaks.
I have always found the groupie stories to be amusing and at times quite weird. Like, I’ve read the stuff that happened in Motley Crue’s book, “The Dirt”, and I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I have heard what happens backstage at A Perfect Circle shows, I have been told some real degrading things that have happened backstage from friends whose band’s have been the support group for the likes of System Of A Down… and time and time again, they always make me wonder just who is worse: the bands or the girls willing to do it. Alas, after dating a couple groupies (well, they claimed they weren’t but it’s clear they were), I quickly got over the whole groupie thing. To me, I just don’t get it but that’s not saying it’s wrong, just that I don’t see the appeal to it. I don’t understand why my ex-girlfriends are attracted to guys in bands, and then to top it all off, once they got a guy in a band, they then cheated on them anyway. Kinda like those band members do to their wives and girlfriends while they are out on tour. Maybe the ex-girlfriends were rebelling against this and decided to take back the power? Or something. Except this was a role reversal that worked against people like me. Thus the break-ups. Anyway, I rewatched this video and tried to get an understanding. It still makes no sense to me. Maybe I’m just weird.
Oh, and just how good is Grand Funk Railroad? Yeah, heaps good. You know it.
So back in the day, around 1989 I think, this was shown on TV here in Australia. Page One was a current affairs type program that played on late night television on Channel 10. I remember the night clearly: I was in the lounge room laying on the floor, my mate was sitting on the couch and my mum was on another couch, we were all watching. I guess my mum knew we were all into metal and she wanted to take an interest in what we were listening to, or something. So here we were, sitting down and ready to watch a program that was going to warn my own mum about the music I was listening to. Now, 21 years later, found on some tape with the words “Heavy Metal” written on the label, you can watch this piece of visual history as Page One takes you through a look at the likes of Metallica and Judas Priest being blamed for the suicides of teenage kids.
Part 1
Part 2
I really like how they mention Venom too… those lyrics are gold! In fact, so much that I am gonna have to listen to Black Metal as I write this. See, Venom can be associated with anything. So good! I remember the day when I found the Satanic messages that are in the Venom song ‘In League With Satan’. Me and my brother were stoked. So much in fact that we showed my mum who, sadly, wasn’t so enthusiastic. Her words were something along the lines of ”Well that’s bloody nice, isn’t it?” and then she walked off. She doesn’t seem to share the same appreciation for Venom as her sons. I guess it’s a bit more full on than the Beatles messages of “Paul Is Dead… Miss Him… Miss Him!” Either way, Venom are still awesome. But I digress. This archival piece is pretty darn awesome and includes exclusive interviews with Lars Ulrich, Rob Halford and some dude named Rocky.
So there we have it… another relic found in the archives of the Long Gone Loser video collection. I hope you enjoy this piece of heavy metal history. Have fun!
Side note: Does anyone know the garage thrash band featured in this special? Always wanted to know who they were. Especially cos they have fans who saw off their casts, live in middle class suburbia and all seem to like Overkill.
I love Japan, it’s as simple as that. I have been there a number of times and you really can’t beat the awesomeness of the place. It’s like one giant amusement park with lots of bright lights, nice people and great music. This video below was a segment from a TV show on Japanese culture that was screened on Australian TV about 15 years ago. I think this video is the one thing that kicked off my fascination with Japan. I had been discovering the whole Estrus Records thing with my first purchase of Japanese rock n roll being a 7″ by The 5.6.7.8′s called ‘I Walk Like Jayne Mansfield’ (ES750), bought purely because I also have a fascination with the life of Jayne Mansfield; my favourite blonde bombshell who sadly saw her fate in a car crash on June 29, 1967 at the young age of 34 (yeah, I am such a Jayne geek that I actually know that). ANYWAY, upon receiving the record in the mail, I played the wax immediately and became intrigued with Japanese rock n roll. There was something cool and quirky about this band, The 5.6.7.8′s, and I needed to hear more. Oh, and yeah, the drummer’s hot.
One day while shopping in Thrash Grind & Grunge, I was talking to part time worker (and Smash it Up radio host), Dave Manning, about rock n roll and he advised me that on SBS that night (SBS is a TV channel in Australia that shows many foreign shows) there was going to be a special on Japan and in particular, there would be a segment on The 5.6.7.8′s and Japanese rock n roll. When I got home, I set up the video and recorded this special on Japan. Now, rediscovered on a grubby old VHS tape 15 years later, direct from the Long Gone Loser Archives, I bring to you the highlight of the show… the 10 minute segment that focuses on the lives of The 5.6.7.8′s.
The 5.6.7.8′s most notably got some stardom with their cameo in the Quentin Tarantino film, Kill Bill, where the girls run through renditions of ‘Woo Hoo’, ‘I’m Blue’ and ‘I Walk Like Jayne Mansfield’. It’s good to see the band finally get the recognition they so deserve and I hope it made people search out more great bands from the land of the rising sun because believe me, that country has some of the best rock n roll bands on the planet.
From here, my fascination of Japanese rock n roll grew and I discovered such great bands as Guitar Wolf, The Jet Boys, The Pebbles, Supersnazz, Sit & Spin, Puffy, MAD 3, Boris, Jackie & The Cedrics, Gasoline, Estrella 20/20, The Switch Trout and many more. It’s all good! If you’re not hip, now’s the time. Look ‘em up. You’re gonna have a ball!
Sometime in the mid to late 90′s, there was this awesome record store in Adelaide called Thrash Grind & Grunge. It was also home to Dominator Records; a label that was home to such bands as The Mark Of Cain, Bloodsucking Freaks, Grunter, and Truth Corroded, just to name a few. Each week I’d go there and snap up bargains and buy records and all that stuff. It was pretty awesome. You could easily unloads wads of cash at this place and walk out with some serious rarities at ridiculous prices. It was definitely my favourite record store at the time and I even did some part time work there. ANYWAY, one day, a Thrash Grind & Grunge regular named Kami decided to open a book store next door. He named the store Factotum Books and started selling alternative books, trash magazines, crime fiction and most famously, paintings, postcards and other such memorabilia from serial killers. It attracted a lot of attention and raised a few eyebrows. The fuzz took notice of this small shop’s infamous wares on sale and the journalistic heroism of the current affairs program Today Tonight decided to do a story on this new controversial store in the serial killer capital of the world, Adelaide. Here’s that story:
Sadly, Factotum Books no longer exists and either do half the serial killers whose paintings and memorabilia were being sold so if you were lucky enough to buy a crappy painting of clowns or birds, you are indeed the proud owner of some rare collectable art that is hopefully worth more than you paid for it.
I remember the day I discovered Man Or Astro-man? The singer of Undertone, Grover, and myself were record shopping in Adelaide sometime in the mid 90′s and he purchased a 7″ record called “Inside The Head Of Mr Atom” (Estrus, 1995). Grover always had mixed tapes playing in his car and one time Man Or Astro-man were playing and I asked who they were. He had read about this band, I think, in Maximum Rock N Roll or something. Or maybe he just bought that record out of curiousity cos after all, the Art Chantry designed cover does look cool. ANYWAY, I was into it immediately and bought an LP called “Destroy All Astro-men!” (Estrus, 1994). This LP was awesome and totally blew my mind. I was hooked in immediately to their instro insanity and the whole retro deal with the samples from old sci-fi movies and the echo twang of their guitars. Plus, how could you ignore a band whose band members have names like Birdstuff, Dr. Deleto and his Invisible Vaporation, Star Crunch and Coco The Electric Monkey Wizard? These guys were pure genius! I always hoped I would get to see them live and the chance to did come my way when they toured Australia supporting You Am I back in the late 90′s. Unfortunately for me, at this same time, I became really sick and missed the show. Sources told me it was awesome and one of the band members played a show with a TV on his head with his face where the screen would be. How awesome is that? I still haven’t seen Man Or Astro-man live but this video was sent to me on good ole VHS tape so I decided to upload it and share it with you now as it is quite enjoyable and even has a vocal performance. Enjoy!
I was going through my old video tapes and stumbled across this. After re-watching this I knew I had to upload it for all to see. Right here we have a classic interview with Nicke and Boba from Sweden’s greatest rock n roll band, The Hellacopters, being interview by Australian Idol host, Andy G. Why do you need to see this interview? Because it’s funny. It’s quite clear that Andy G doesn’t really know a lot about rock n roll besides seeing KISS in concert. But I have met dudes who have 6 year old kids who like KISS too so it doesn’t really count. Anyway, this interview shows a very disinterested Nicke and Boba be subjected to questions about the weather and why they chose to see an AC/DC video. Seriously. This is quality journalism. Not that I am any better but there’s so much to the Hellacopters history that could be spoken about. Either way, click, watch, laugh and share.
This show I talk etched records. You know the ones, those records that have drawings on one side of them. Yeah, of course you do. Anyway, I spin one of those. I talk about my current unemployment status and my continued search for work, failing job interviews and other such stuff. I also talk about Iron Maiden’s upcoming tour and the fight to secure tickets. I also babble about tons more random thoughts and topics. It’s all quite interesting really and judging by the amount of people subscribing and listening to this podcast, some of you are even enjoying it. Sweet! Thanks! Appreciate it more than you’ll ever understand. Now to the music, you’re gonna love this week’s selection. Rare Alice Cooper, old school punk, power pop, pysche, garage rock, metal, acoustic pop and some 70′s rock. Heaps good. You see what you get when you subscribe? That’s right… a bunch of awesomeness. Click this link to start listening or go here to download it as an mp3.
Enjoy tunes by:
Alice Cooper
Bad Religion
The Meanies
Urban Junior
The Powerchords
Fifteen
Les Annees
Hoss
Gwar
Rory Gallagher
Tegan And Sara
Again, I’m too lazy to write up all the links but you’re a savvy bunch and I know you’ll follow through and seek them out if you want more. Have fun!
On this show, I gotta say, I was fired up. So much great new tunes to play and so many cool things to tell… like seeing both Ash and Testament in the same week. Awesome! In news I talk tours of Iron Maiden and Super Wild Horses, there’s a bunch of Soundwave news, Big Day Out and festival horror stories. I miss the show by Los Chicos but I make up for it by giving you this amazing hour of great tunes that you are gonna totally love. There’s even some Degrassi talk as an added bonus! Plus, there’s still more… Listen in now by clicking this link or download it as an MP3 here!
Enjoy tunes by:
Violet & Anya
Super Wild Horses
Ash
Sixtyniners
Iron Maiden
Johnny Casino & The Secrets
Los Chicos
The Jesus Lizard
Billy Gaz Station
Harry Sons
They’re all on Myspace so go and find them… but listen to this episode first.
Following on from what I wrote on this blog last week with the review of the new Paul Collins album, this episode I go through the album, play tunes from it and talk about it and give you my biased review of his new power pop opus. Just click here and you will be able to listen in to my thoughts and the awesome sounds of Paul Collins.
Arriving early to the venue, I was greeted with an aftershow pass much to my surprise, which is good because I took along a piece of history just in case I had the chance to bump into Tim and Co. while at the show; a poster from their very first Australian tour in 1995. I secured this poster as I happened to have been in Melbourne at the time and was sitting in a cafe in Prahran and saw it on the wall and sneakily took it down and took it back to Adelaide with me. Now, here I was 15 years later taking it to an Ash show in Melbourne. How bizarre!
I walked in the venue and whilst witnessing some of the worst fringes in alternative rock history on members of the crowd around me, I got myself some water, took a look at the merch and thought to myself: “I’m glad the merch isn’t so good cos I can’t afford any anyway.” I’m happy with my Girl From Mars shirt… oldschool!
The first band came on but I forgot who they were and they weren’t my thing anyway. Good musicians but the music was a bit stock. We Are Scientists came on and I didn’t know their stuff. I know they’re a big deal at the moment but they’re not my thing. I asked my mate Kahlil, “do you know these guys?” He said he liked one song. They didn’t play it. He probably felt ripped off. Alas, again, I thought these guys were also pretty stock. I wasn’t blown away or anything but I listen to Poison so it’s clear I know nothing about music, anyway. Still, looking around the crowd, the girls were doing the indie dance head nod thing so their approval suggests that W.A.S did good. I should also point out at this time that We Are Scientists and Ash do indeed have a very attractive female fanbase.
ASH… wow! They came on stage to the opening track from their 1977 debut LP, “Lose Control” and I was lit up with excitement. Only moments before had I tweeted that them playing 1977 from start to finish would be the best thing ever (minus “Gone The Dream” cos that song just doesn’t do it for me - honesty is my only excuse, sorry). Could they have read my tweet? Tim kicked off with that opening riff and as soon as the band kicked in, the sound blew the goddamn roof off the place. They sounded huge! Well done to the soundguy for making this show sound heaps awesome. I was always hoping to one day hear them play this so I could have heard and witnessed Tim’s guitar-tapping, which he did a lot of in true Eddie Van Halen “Eruption” fashion (which, I should say, he acknowledged before their encore!). When they played “A Life Less Ordinary” as the second track my anticipation of them possibly reading my Twitter was dissolved. But that’s ok cos that song rocks… but when they kicked into ”Goldfinger”, the place went beserk. Oh and when I say beserk, I mean beserk in an indie dance kinda way (read: more head nodding than usual) although I did see a small group of people dancing. For a band who wrote so many lovey dovey slow songs, they know h0w to make them work in the live sense.
As the set went on, the band got really into it as much as the crowd did and by half way through, everyone was loving it. Not a single sadface amongst the crowd. Ash gave it their all. No rockstar bullshit. They just got up there, played music and rocked the fuck out. By the time they got round to Kung Fu (which surprisingly I thought would have been the encore), I was exhausted. Still though, I wasn’t going to not enjoy such a great tune and enjoy it I did. Following it up with “Arcadia”, the first of their A to Z series, I was loving it. These guys were on fire tonight. Hit singles “Girl From Mars” and “Burn Baby Burn” had the place going schizo with excitement and there were smiles all round. We saw the band leave the stage only to return with the night’s supergroup of both ASH and WE ARE SCIENTISTS on stage together, aptly named WASH, to run through a smashing cover of Mudhoney’s “Touch Me I’m Sick” and finishing with Weezer’s “Only In Dreams”.
Wow! That was the word of the night. Wow! A perfect set. A great night. Hanging around after the show, I met other fans for the aftershow party including a dude who was invited to the gig and aftershow as he sold an item on eBay to Ash’s bassist, Mark Hamilton, and since he was gonna be in Melbourne anyway, he decided to save on postage and just collect it at the gig. Now, what was this item? It was a Yo Gabba Gabba lego type blocks thing. True story! Mark was stoked. I saw the hand over and the excitement of Mark’s face when he collected this item to take back home for his daughter. An awesome moment that I was happy to witness.
Met all the guys who were all nice and friendly and not rockstar or egotistical. They were just cool guys who love music. Was a tops night. I managed to confirm with Tim that yes indeed, they are only releasing singles from now on. They’re done with the albums thing. I totally understand his way of thinking. This also puts pressure onto the band as the single is usually the big song for the band so they’d have to make sure every song they write from now on was of the same calibre as “Kung Fu” (their Back In Black) and not “Lost In You” (their Stiff Upper Lip). Still, here they were doing 26 killer singles for each letter of the alphabet in the space of a year! That’s commendable. It also got ‘em into the Guinness Book of Records. Well played!
Heaps of reviews today. Some of these were written at the time the album arrived and some of them were written over this last week. Still, here we go with another batch of music that was sent in for review. Songs from these releases can be heard on the Long Gone Loser Rock Show. Enjoy!
AMERICAN UPRISE – “American Uprise” (Full On) Once this 5 track EP started, I honestly thought I was watching the highlights from a WWE Pay Per View. It just had that sound. You know the one I mean and if you don’t, just watch the end to this years Royal Rumble and you’ll see what I mean. As people fly off the ropes, get put through tables and cop a Hurricarana from Rey Mysterio, this EP’s opener could very well serve as a soundtrack to such pre-determined violence. Once the second track, “She Gets What She Wants” (definitely the best track of the lot) kicks in with its big riffs, you’ll be startin’ brawls of your own in no time… but only within the confines of small bars in small towns in South Dakota instead of the squared circle. Unless of course you’re like me and don’t like violence… then you’re more likely to suck down a brews and headbang and air guitar in front of your stereo speakers while it blasts through at maximum volume (which I am sure I would do… if I drank beer, headbanged and hung up my Flying V for the much lighter kind). The third track, “You Already Know” rolls up and shades of WWE territory flash through my mind again and whilst this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it will be hard to keep this from falling into the genre of progressive rock / metal like Nickelback (which I hate) and Drowning Pool (which I don’t mind). The EP’s 4th track, “Take Me Away” is possibly what Kyuss would sound like if Josh and Nick weren’t in the band but the dudes from Saliva were. Final track, “Long Ride” sounded familiar (could be a cover but I’m not sure) has a big groovin’ riff with off time drumming and chugga chug metal bits. Not a bad effort and I really think these guys should pursue Vince McMahon and push for some WWE airtime… or just sue the fuck out of Rev Theory for stealing their sound.
A YEAR TO REMEMBER – “Targets” (Boomtown) Brisbane quartet playing emo melodic rock ala Saves The Day, Motion City Soundtrack, The Get-Up Kids and Mayday Parade (without the misogynistic lyrics) and I gotta say, it aint bad at all. Nice and catchy. Good singalong feel good songs of happiness and probably heartbreak. This EP is 6 songs of radio friendly, sugar coated, niceness and bad fringes… but it still rocks. I dig it and I will defend it’s sappyness til the death (OK, so maybe not that far but still). Try not to handclap along to the verses in “Bombs”. I’m definitely lookin’ forward to the album… if they record one.
BILLY GAZ STATION – “Skins And Licks” (Kicking Records) I reviewed Billy The Kill’s solo album a bit aback and wasn’t heaps impressed by it. I mean, it wasn’t bad but it wasn’t spectacular so I wasn’t sure what I was gonna think of this. His solo album was a bunch of acoustic numbers but this time, Billy Gaz Station is his rock band. I put the CD in the player and got started. I was hit with a bunch of hot licks and big riffs that bordered on metal crossed with punk. Nice! I really dig this album. The songs were a lot better written, the recording had balls, the vocals had good harmonies and it all fit together just right. The song structures would bounce from rock to punk to metal to power pop to even a hint of power ballad glam yet it all came under one umbrella of Billy Gaz Station. Nice work! Think Weezer meets The Wildhearts meets Fugazi meets 80’s rock. Yeah, I’m into it.
CRUD! – “Devil At The Wheel” (Sony / Megaforce) Never heard of them before but this is Crud! An electronica rock outfit from Detroit that from looking at this bio, they’ve been all over the place, in movies, on TV, yet I just hear of them now. So what does this Crud! sound like? Well, you can file Crud! right next to the likes of Ministry, NIN, Rob Zombie and the first Marilyn Manson album. It’s the stuff you’d hear in those horror goth punk films or something. It’s interesting, not really my cup of tea but it’s ok. I was intrigued, that’s for sure. I think this album needs to be heard while fucking… and probably on drugs. Yeah, that’s what I reckon. Why do I think that? Cos of the beat, man! The groove, man! You dig? It’s jivin’ stuff. So put her on top, crank up the volume and grind away boys and girls. Added bonus: The hot chick on the cover gets 2 thumbs up.
DND – “Flow” (Amphead) DND hail from London. They sound like they’re stuck in the 80’s playing indie rock with guitar licks drenched in that New Order-esque reverb. Pretty catchy upbeat rock, not really a big fan of this stuff but it’s not bad. The opener is a definite winner and a repeated listen has me finally realising who these guys sound a lot like, think how Eve 6 would have sounded in 1984. Yep, that fits perfectly. If you’re still lost and confused I’d suggest giving them a listen and coming up with a much more accurate description. I did, however, find 14 songs hard to sit through in one sitting. I am a Ramones fan after all.
HELLBATS – “Unleashed ‘N’ Alive” / “One Minute Suicide” (Kicking Records) Dirty gritty punk n roll ala Peter Pan Speedrock, early Turbonegro, Speedealer and The Turbo AC’s which is a pretty damn fine mix if you ask me. Bordering on metal, these French motherfuckers of heavy rock power their way through 11 songs of sheer fury and regurgitated guts. Fuckin’ nice! Their addition of Anthrax riffs during their tune “Lost Indians (Revisited)” deserves a high five indeed. The opening track to “One Minute Suicide” (‘A Beautiful Death’) had me almost singing Turbonegro’s “This is my final warning!” If you like rock that packs a punch and doesn’t sound like the Hellacopters, this would be a fine and highly acceptable choice for dishing out your bucks. Both of these albums are really fuckin’ good. Nice and heavy, brutal shit and for a taster, head on over to http://www.myspace.com/hellbatsofficial and have a geezer at that.
HIPBONE SLIM AND THE KNEE TREMBLERS – “The Kneeanderthal Sounds Of” (Voodoo Rhythm) When I first heard this band, I was hooked. I really liked their lo-fi dance hall sounds of rockabilly mixed with 50’s doo-wop and guitar twang. I was all over their previous works and this one is up to scratch and a damn fine album to boot. If you like groovin’ and eatin’ pizza with your dame and then headin’ to a drive-in for some neckin’ finishing with a night at inspiration point to consummate your relationship, this band is for you. I can vouch for their greatness. Have I ever been wrong before? Of course not. This is the shit! And there’s a song called “Dig That Grave!” which reminds me of that scene in The Young Ones episode “Nasty” where the old woman asks Neil who is holding a spade, “Excuse me, do you dig graves?” and he replies “Yeah, they’re not bad actually”. Classic! I guess you have to see it. Still, I loved this album.
HOUSE VS HURRICANE – “Forfeiture” (El Shaddai / Amphead) They call this band ‘cinematic hardcore’… and yeah, I am just as confused as you are. This band was a hard nut to crack. It was all over the shop. We’d get screamo hardcore, metal and rock riffs and keyboards n stuff with emo singing / crying and then all of a sudden, it’d break out into techno drum beats. I was like ‘huh?’ and after 7 songs, I was still thinking the same thing. It’s weird. Like this is definitely moving forward with the whole crossover of genres thing but that techno shit has gotta go. Or maybe it doesn’t. I dunno, I can see how it works but this band is just insanely chaotic and a tough one for me to get into but I will say that they have put it together quite well. It’s like Alesana or Poison The Well gone keyboards and hippity hop. I didn’t start breakdancing though. After repeated listens, I’m afraid that the jury’s out on this one cos I’m still fuckin’ confused. Listen to it yourself on Myspace or something and make up your own mind. Please note: LGL takes no responsibility if you decide on wearing neon colours, dropping acid and dancing on the spot to Commodore 64 sound effects after indulging in ‘Forfeiture’.
KILL TEEN ANGST – “Kill Teen Angst” (Good Cop Bad Cop / Inertia) This 5 tracker from Perth’s melodic noisemongers have taken the harmonies from the likes of the Archers of Loaf, taken some timing lessons from Fugazi and throw the whole bloody lot into a mixer with oldschool emo power popsters like Knapsack and Samiam. This experiment in home economics has them developing a style so unique and cool that KTA might actually just become one of my favourite bands this year. For those keeping score at home, they used to be called Ten Speed Racer who I must say, I had never heard before but that’s not really important cos the fact that Kill Teen Angst have released a superb offering to the world of music is enough to have you heading to the record store tomorrow to get a copy of this, their debut EP. I predict big things for these guys… unless of course they break up, then that would be a real shame cos this is some good shit. You should own this.
LAME EXCUSE – “Life. Like. Wild.” (Self-Released / Amphead) No doubt lumped in to the emo pile (which I can’t do cos the photo of them is obscured and I can’t see their fringes and let’s not be judgemental here), these dudes play melodic rock with a tinge of punk. Lotsa big harmonies, nice catchy radio friendly music that probably doesn’t get played on the radio, but I like it. I know nothing about these guys other than they play catchy tunes and they recorded some of this at a place called Ginger Ninja’s Lair. How fuckin’ cool is that? I wanna record there. If you listen to Burzum and the sounds of, in the words of Ryan Adams, “romantic black metal”, I can assure you now, you’ll probably hate this. It’s very Alkaline Trio and at times crosses paths with Bodyjar (especially on the song ‘Wicked Witch’) so much in fact that I had to double check to see if Bodyjar’s Cameron Baines was making guest appearances without telling me. The likeness is uncanny. The only real difference is that Nursery Crimes’ Phil Rose didn’t write the song for them (as he does all the best Bodyjar tunes). Regardless, Lame Excuse… good tunes. I like it.
LAUREN HARRIS – “Calm Before The Storm” (Demolition) It’d be way too easy to pick on hot-body Lauren Harris’ rise to fame and glory, what, with her being Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris’ spunkrat of a daughter so I am just gonna be honest here. I went to see Iron Maiden in February 2008 when they toured with Lauren in tow as a support and all my friends were like “She sucks” and I doubt they’d even heard her music. I know I hadn’t heard a single song and her album wasn’t released til June that same year so they couldn’t have been able to judge her by her music either. But being the loyal friend that I am, I hung around with my mates and missed her gig as support band to her father’s heavy metal extravaganza. I then headed to Sydney to see Iron Maiden again, 2 days later. When we got to the venue I decided to not hang out in the bar but to go in and actually witness Lauren live in concert. I mean, I had paid for the ticket, and I don’t drink anyway, so why not, eh? And do you know what? I liked it. I kicked myself, just silently, I might add, for missing her set at the Melbourne show and forgave myself quickly so I could then thoroughly enjoy her Sydney set. And I did, muchly. Time had passed and one day her album appeared in the mail for me to review. I threw it on and listened with open ears and bust this… again, I liked it. Let’s be honest here, the lyrics are pretty crappy but then again, she’s not out to change the world or get all political on ya. The music is melodic hard rock with some cool riffs and some top guitar solos. She’s not the world’s best singer but hey, either is Courtney Love and people dig her bigtime. Lauren Harris’ debut album is 12 tracks of catchy rock that I found myself doing some major toe tapping to. She sings about broken hearts and getting over them, fucking her ex, being a woman whose living life and rockin’. And quite simply, it’s fun. Don’t compare it to the works of her father cos there’s no match and you won’t be happy. Besides, they’re 2 totally different styles of music. Lauren’s a party girl and her music shows she’s just here to have a good time. Works for me. Give her a go. Don’t be all ‘that guy’ and refuse to give her a chance cos you’re too tough to have an open mind. “Calm Before The Storm” is a decent debut and I bet her next album will be a lot better now that she’s toured all over the world, caused a kafuffle, and tasted the rock n roll lifestyle (all under dad’s watchful eye).
LES ANNEES – “Les Annees” (Off The Hip) I have to be honest here; I was really put off by this album’s cover art. It’s not flash, in fact it’s actually quite boring and there is no reason why I would pick this album to have a look at if it wasn’t sent for review. So I put the disc in and was greeted with psychedelic wig-out rock! Wow, this is cool! The cover’s misleading but this album is great! Reminds me a lot of The Black Angels; a psyche band from Austin, which is cool cos they are one of my favourite discoveries from the last 3 years. It’s fuzzed out melodic pop with organs and slow drum beats. This album would sit nicely in the genre now known as ‘shoe gaze’ and that’s not a bad thing. Really into this! Seriously, fans of the Black Angels take note. You’ll be all over this one. Some albums should only be released on wax… this is most definitely one of those albums. A must-have album for your collection.
MOVIE STAR JUNKIES – “A Poison Tree” (Voodoo Rhythm) The Movie Star Junkies aren’t the best band on the VR roster but they’re still alright by me. They’re like a 60’s fuzz band and whilst I do like that, this may sound trivial and possibly even pathetic to those pro-digital peeps, but I find that a CD ruins the vibe of this band’s style. They’re definitely a vinyl band cos the clean sound of the CD I feel removes the sonic effect that these cats need to be heard in; the way they were supposed to be. Does that make any sense? I just found the flat digital sound of the CD kinda gave it a drab effect, if you know what I mean. Also, the songs themselves are not instant winners for me, even though I liked them. I just had to play the album a few times before I clicked with it. I really liked the song “The Walnut Tree” although I don’t know why, I just thought it was a good one. These dudes sound kinda drunk, or stoned, or both. Still, it’s alright.
NEWTONHEATH – “Come Together And Unite” (Self-Released) Kinda like Bodyjar meets Mere Theory. It falls into that bucket; melodic and poppy punky and a bit emo. Not bad though, the opening track was a bit repetitive but the album picked up although none of the songs made me go “yeah, fuckin’ awesome!” and shake my fist in the air or kick out the jams. It was just an album of melodic music. Nothing more, nothing less. Interesting that they’re from Adelaide and I had never heard of them. It shows that I am truly slipping in what’s happening within the music scene these days in my old hometown. Either that or I am just getting old. Probably the latter.
PERIAH – “Conversations” (Amphead) Heavy riffage rock that borders on metal but it’s put here and not in the metal reviews cos it doesn’t fall into traditional metal but yeah, it’s classed as metal. This is more like screamo hardcore metal. I think musically these guys are gifted but the vocals I found pretty bland. Like there’s no life in them. It may just be me being old but I dunno, the singing is a bit flat (although yes, he does sing a lot better than me). Periah are clearly influenced by Budd, The Mark of Cain, anything Steve Albini has touched, and maybe that band Cog and they absolutely deliver the goods musically… it’s just the vocals. They didn’t grab me.
SIXTYNINERS – “Too Drunk To Truck” (Voodoo Rhythm) Hilarious country music about truck drivin’, live stock and any other Southern cliché you can fit into one album. This two-piece feed deliver it all, probably in the back of a pick-up truck with a gun rack in the back. I loved it. From the moment the album kicked off with the title track, I was smiling. Probably cos of the ridiculousness of the play of words on the Dead Kennedys track, but this ain’t no Blowfly re-working, no, this is a 100% original number. If you love country and blues played by punk rockers, you are gonna love this one. Put your hair in a quiff, shoot some squirrel, live in a caravan park and eat at a topless diner with the sixtyniners!
SONIC’S RENDEZVOUS BAND – “Live, Masonic Auditorium, Detroit, January 14th, 1978” (Alive / Shock) This live album by post-MC5 rock n rollers, Sonic’s Rendezvous Band, is a raw as fuck, ass kickin’, sonic assault on your ears in every way that you’d want your ears to be assaulted. Led by guitar shredder and MC5 co-founder, the late Fred “Sonic” Smith, this here is 7 tracks of wailin’ solos and real rock n roll. Listening to this, you can definitely see where those first 2 Hellacopters albums found their inspiration. This shit is real and it’s fuckin’ awesome. The set finishes off with their Detroit anthem and contender for one of the greatest songs ever written in the history of music, “City Slang”. This is from a time when guitars were not just instruments, but weapons that could fuel a full scale attack for a rock n roll war. It mattered then and it matters now. If you aren’t listening, you’re wasting your time and you should start asking yourself if anything you say is valid. And to be honest, it probably isn’t. Personally, I hate live albums for the most part but this album sounds so good, it’s like it takes you there. Front row centre. Oh and just like the CD says, play at maximum volume. Fred “Sonic” Smith, the musician of the 20th century, may he rest in peace.
STARK – “The Curse” (self-released) Stark are a band from New York City. Their singer is a hot and spunky punk chick named Lani Ford who spends her evenings reading the news on some TV station and when she ain’t doing that, she’s fronting Stark. A band that, sad to say it, have no guts. Like there’s just no ball tearing rockers on here and the recording is all just so bland and generic. She swears a bit though and has some confronting lyrics but the music just goes nowhere and I was left feeling quite bored. Good looks just aren’t enough when it comes to rock n roll.
THE BLACKLIST – “Total Blacklist” (Drugbust Records) Do you like the Hookers and Zeke? If so, meet your new favourite band. Melbourne’s The Blacklist play metal as fuck hate punk and you’re gonna punch the fuck out of random cunts once you get strung out on this, their second album. There’s no stopping once the 3 guitar rock n roll train gets started, a head-on collision of brutality, guitar solos and sluts. Sex, violence, blood and guts. It’s all here and you know you want it. There’s also a nice cover of Gang Green’s “Alcohol” which, even if a gazillion other bands have covered it previously, it doesn’t matter cos it’s a great tune. Real heavy ballsy stuff that is well worth your dole money. Guarenteed to make you unpopular with the ladies but knee deep in whores. Nice!
THE BLACK ZOMBIE PROCESSION – “Mess With The Best, Die Like The Rest” (Kicking Records) There was a band called Franky Lee that were reviewed in LGL #13 and for a moment, I thought this was their second album. Yeah, the similarities are uncanny. But that’s cool cos that Franky Lee album is awesome. The difference here is these guys are French, not Swedish and the songs are about horror movies and Franky Lee’s weren’t. Really cool metal riffage played by a pop punk band with lots of melodic vocals and harmonic guitar licks. I will say that 55 minutes was a long album to get through especially since I am used to 38 minute albums due to my love for vinyl, but thankfully the songs are rockin’ enough to get you through. Mention must be made of the fantastic cover art by Ed Repka; the mastermind behind Megadeth’s iconic ‘Rattlehead’ and many other classic metal album covers. Way cool!
THE DANGEROUS SUMMER – “Reach For The Sun” (Hopeless) From the moment opening track, “Where I Want To Be” kicks in, you’re immediately drawn to it’s infectious harmonies and catchy jangly guitar hooks. With guitar stylings similar to UK artists like New Order and Ned’s Atomic Dustbin crossed with the punk rock inspirations of the Alkaline Trio and Jimmy Eat World, The Dangerous Summer deliver an album of sweet melodies to make every emo girl add love hearts to each side of her username on Myspace faster than you dyed your hair black after seeing Refused’s “New Noise” video. Yeah, admit it, we all know you did that. Anyway, there are 11 tracks on this debut and each one is good enough to make it on to your iPod. Well, that is, if you like emo-ish styled music… of course. I’m impressed though and I couldn’t care less if you agree with me or not.
THE JOYSTIX – “…And Joystix For All” (Self-Released) Hungarian punk rock n roll! These guys smoke! They clearly wear their influences on their sleeve and there aint nothing wrong with that. Think Hanoi Rocks, Backyard Babies, the Ramones, New York Dolls, etc. and you’ll get the idea. I really dig them. Cool and catchy with a fun attitude. Vocalist / Guitarist, Blondie (no, not Debbie), was once a band called The Suckerstarz who I have an EP of and that rocked too. He knows what he’s doing and if you love the bands we write about here, you’ll be right into these cats. This is their second album and it’s a winner. And I am even gonna overlook the fact that “Handful Of Hate” sounds so much like Kid Rock’s “I Am The Bullgod”. Why? Cos I actually like that KR song. Yeah, true story. But I also like The Joystix and you should to.
THE SHIMMYS – “Brunettes On The Rocks” (Off The Hip) Remember The Pandoras before they went glam rock and released an album called “Stop Pretending”? Well think what an album would sound like if the next album after that came out before The Muffs first record. Confused yet? Well don’t be. It’s a trio of chicks playing garage rock with fuzz and groove. I really got into these gals when I heard their previous album and this, their last as the band have sadly called it a day, is their finest of the 2 I have heard. Kickin’ off with a cover of The Saucermen’s “Danger Boy”, you’ll be groovin’ instantly and there’ll be no stoppin’ the bop ‘til you drop. A really damn good album of fun and non-stop knee high boots and short skirt lovin’. The retro cover art reminds me of a Shag painting and this album comes on glorious vinyl for the audiophiles amongst us. I likey!
UNCUT WHITE NOISE – “Uncut White Noise” (High Voltage / Amphead) These Melbourne guys cover GOD’s ‘My Pal’ on this very EP. If you’re not hip to that tune then you need some schoolin’. It’s one the great Aussie rock anthems that should have been bigger than the Tatts ‘We Can’t Be Beaten’. UWN’s version isn’t the best but it’s respectable. I mean, how can you better something that’s already the best? You can’t but these guys gave it an honourable try. More importantly though, these guys deliver 4 originals that scrub up nicely as well. It’s gritty, dirty, and smells like a sweaty bar full of drunken derro’s… kinda like The Tote; the greatest rock venue on the planet. Awesome. One of the tracks, “2 bad If It’s 2 Loud” was once a Stiff Meat song but Matt joined these cats and brought it with him after SM went bust. Cool riffage. If you like bar fightin’ punk rock n rollage, then get this EP on High voltage (that rhymed). You’ll be punchin’ out dudes, bigtime.
URBAN JUNIOR – “Two Headed Demon” (Voodoo Rhythm) If Voodoo Rhythm is known for one thing, it’s the discovery of the many one-man bands across the globe and he’s found another in Urban Junior. A dude who plays every single instrument you can think of… sometimes all at the same time. This dude is one talented soul and this album is a collection of one-take wonders. That’s right, this dude lays it down in 1 go with no overdubs or retakes. Filled with quick catchy numbers, Urban Junior’s third album is a good time fun record of dance numbers that should be spilling out of jukebox’s in pizza parlours around the world. Hell, if I owned such a pizza parlour, I’d make sure this was crankin’. The bio calls it “Swiss-Spankin-Electro-Trash-Garage-Boogie-Disco-Blues-Punk!” and if that isn’t a Dr Seuss tongue twister than I’ll eat green eggs and ham, mate! I love this record. Can’t wait to buy this on wax cos this CD needs that extra groove that only the warmth on an LP can bring. I love this album. One of my favourites so far for 2010. Hell yeah!
VANITY INK – “More Senseless Random Behaviour” (Swedmetal Records) Female fronted Finnish hard rockers, Vanity Ink, are back with their second album and you know what? It’s good, baby! Following on from 2007’s “On Your Skin”, these guys have grown in leaps and bounds and their songs are right up there, in your face, and they have delivered a balltearer with this new slab. Nice gutsy guitars that pack a decent punch and crunch and some nice solos to boot. It’s ballsy, it’s bluesy, it’s hard rock as fuck. Think Hardcore Superstar, latter day Hanoi Rocks, The Wildhearts, Backyard Babies, etc. except fronted by a cute chick. Yeah, you got it. Vocalist Annabella sounds like she can tear up a storm on the stage and break your heart in the bedroom, always a good combination for fucked up rock n roll. Hell yeah, love it! Granted there are a couple of tracks where you think “why would you put that bridge / chorus there?” but with the right producer (Mike Clink, for example), these cats could be dishing up their own Appetite For Destruction in no time. Check them out at http://www.myspace.com/vanityink and see what I mean.
Hunting through all my video tapes, I came across this little gem of a video of the almighty Devil Dogs. I remember the day I discovered the Devil Dogs, I ordered some records by the New Bomb Turks and also a 7″ called “Radio Beat” by the Devil Dogs all cos the review that was in the Spiral Objective Mailorder catalogue said it was great. I was randomly buying records back then and I was stoked when I played “Radio Beat” and immediately found the Devil Dogs to reek of awesomeness. Heaps good! I then hunted down CDs, LPs, etc. anything at all that I could find of this awesome band. Unfortunately, I don’t think they ever got the attention they so deserved. An extremely underrated band. I have a bunch of videos of these guys and each show is really 100% high energy rock n roll. This short spot was not on YouTube anywhere and I felt it shouldn’t go unwatched. So here it is… another gem found in the Long Gone Loser archives. Have fun.
I love Japan, it’s as simple as that. I have been there a number of times and you really can’t beat the awesomeness of the place. It’s like one giant amusement park with lots of bright lights, nice people and great music. This video below was a segment from a TV show on Japanese culture that was screened on Australian TV about 15 years ago. I think this video is the one thing that kicked off my fascination with Japan. I had been discovering the whole Estrus Records thing with my first purchase of Japanese rock n roll being a 7″ by The 5.6.7.8′s called ‘I Walk Like Jayne Mansfield’ (ES750), bought purely because I also have a fascination with the life of Jayne Mansfield; my favourite blonde bombshell who sadly saw her fate in a car crash on June 29, 1967 at the young age of 34 (yeah, I am such a Jayne geek that I actually know that). ANYWAY, upon receiving the record in the mail, I played the wax immediately and became intrigued with Japanese rock n roll. There was something cool and quirky about this band, The 5.6.7.8′s, and I needed to hear more. Oh, and yeah, the drummer’s hot.
