OVERKILL – The HiFi Bar, Melbourne, September 24th, 2010

It took them a long time to come to Australia but they finally made it. Was it worth the wait? Hell yes! What a night! I have dug Overkill for many years now (what metal fan hasn’t?) and I knew this was going to be a good show. The HiFi Bar was packed solid which was good to see. Overkill shirts were everywhere. Denim vests covered in patches were everywhere (I am guilty of this also). It was like 1986 all over again. Let’s get down to it.

Australia’s very own thrash band, Mortal Sin, played through a huge back catalogue of tunes for around an hour. Playing old classics and new thrashers. The first time I saw Mortal Sin was supporting Metallica at the Thebarton Theatre in Adelaide in 1989. It was pretty chaotic. My second gig (the first was AC/DC in ’88) and what could be more thrash than seeing Mortal Sin and Metallica in 1989? Mortal Sin did a good job, even if I think some of the new guitar solos were a bit stock, they still gave the fans a good time. The crowd were happy. But this was only just the beginning.

Overkill came on at 10:30 and they killed it. There’s no other way to describe just how good this band was. They were 1 guitarist down on this tour but they didn’t let that stop them being the masters of thrash metal that they are. They know they were important and they should be damn proud that they still are. Bobby Blitz is easily one of the greatest frontmen in Metal. Period! He’s up there with the best of them. Bursting full of high energy, you can tell he has an honest love for what he does. His connection to the audience was honourable. No rockstar bullshit. Just a dude who gives 110% to his role. I’ve seen a lot of metal bands over the years but I’ll say it again, this guy, hands down, is one of the best frontmen I have ever seen.

They covered their entire career which if you are unaware, has clocked up around 15 studio albums and then some. Quite impressive and a feat they are no doubt proud of. With his long time co-songwriter and bassist, D.D.Verni, they have the style and genre perfected. Why were they not part of this “Big 4″ thing? Don’t get me wrong, I love those bands included in the “Big 4″ but surely Overkill would give them all a run for their money. Anyway, the set included so many classics and newie’s like Rotten To The Core, Hello From The Gutter, Coma, Thanx For Nothin’, Wrecking Crew, In Union We Stand, Old School, Ironbound, Elimination, plus blistering covers of The Subhumans classic Fuck You! and Motorhead’s Overkill combined together. It was simply incredible. What a band! They played a set that clocked in at just under 2 hours. Well worth it! Hell yes, thanks for coming. I’d do this again, without fail.

Here’s a video I shot of the band performing Hello From The Gutter. Enjoy!

And here’s some snapshots I took.

 

  

http://wreckingcrew.com/

EPISODE 118 – Podcastin’ Sickface

So I’m sick. Again. But, like the trooper that I am, I didn’t give up on this week’s show and after a failed first attempt, here it is, this week’s show. I kick off the show with a kick ass song. Great lrics and great music with cool vocalisin’ and you get perfection. How ironic. You’ll see why. Anyway, it doesn’t stop there. Actually, if it did, that’d be quite lame… a 1 song podcast isn’t cool.  I talk about the Calling All Cars gig that I saw last night, I play a rare unearthed demo from The Wildhearts and talk about the time we saw them do this very song in Japan. I remember T.Rex, rock out to some Mustang, get nostalgic over NOFX, get metal with Manowar, get confused over festival organisers, and still obsess over The Black Keys latest album. Yep, it’s all here and so much more. What are you waiting for? Start listening by following this link or if you wanna be that guy and download it in mp3 form, just right click and save here.

Enjoy tunes by:
Silver Ginger 5
Calling All Cars
The Wildhearts
T.Rex
Mustang
NOFX
Manowar
Valient Thorr
Feeder
The Black Keys

Yep, rock. Bedtime cos I’m sick.

CALLING ALL CARS @ Corner Hotel, Melbourne, September 18th, 2010

I was offered some freebie guest list action to last night’s show thanks to the good folk at Shiny. Pretty awesome considering I am a little broke at the moment due to paying bills, my loan off, etc. You get the drill. Anyway, for those who don’t know anything about Calling All Cars, they supported AC/DC on their Australian leg of the Black Ice tour and I reviewed their debut album on this site a few months back which you can read here.

I got to the venue around 9:30pm just as Young Revelry were to hit the stage. From the first note, these guys reminded me of The Black Angels from Austin, Tx but as the set went on, those similarities diminished and their sound became more like the grunge era; you know, Nirvana and stuff. They were alright. I didn’t mind them at all. Lots of wah pedal noise, reverb vocals and pounding drum beats. The guitarist needs a haircut though. Oh, and apparently, if you don’t like their music “you can fuck off”. That’s a direct quote.

Next up was Brisbane’s own Numbers Radio. Never even heard of these guys before (yes, I’m out of the loop) but they brought it bigtime. Good rock songs with high energy on the stage. Dudes were having fun and the guitarist is destined to be a rockstar. I liked their songs and the crowd did too. If I had money, I probably would have bought their CD to play on the radio show. But I don’t so I didn’t. They seemed to have made everyone happy and ready to rock. I’d like to hear them on record now to see if it lives up to their live show. Both the bassist and the guitarist have good voices that work well blended together. Good stuff guys!

Calling All Cars hit the stage in their first headline show at the Corner and they were stoked. The crowd were really into it and the band’s sound on stage was huge for a 3 piece. You could see how happy they were that all of this touring has paid off as they have perfected their live set over time and they have moved to that next level. I am sure they learned a lot from the AC/DC tour about upping your game to put your band that bit further ahead of the pack and it shows. Good stuff. Their set included all the hits from their “Hold, Hold, Fire!” album, a new song and a blistering cover of the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s “Whatever Happened To My Rock N Roll”. Nice one! They ended off the set with radio favourite, “Disconnect”, sending the crowd into a frenzy and then left the stage as the house lights rose and the venue emptied.

Here’s some photos of Calling All Cars doing their thing:

  

  

http://www.myspace.com/callingallcars
http://www.myspace.com/numbersradio
http://www.myspace.com/youngrevelry

Interview with GINGER

Anyone who knows me personally knows that The Wildhearts are a big deal to me and a bunch of my friends. Why? Just cos they have that something that so many other bands lack. They’re not doing a lot these days but frontman, Ginger, is still active as one of the guitarists in Michael Monroe’s solo band and he also fronts his own solo band. In fact, this solo band has a new album planned. Heaps good! ANYWAY, a good mate of mine, Nick, hosts a vote every week with Ginger where people on Twitter can vote for a movie to watch on the weekend and Nick will find it online and direct you where to watch it. Everything is on there and is yours for viewing. Anyway, it seemed fitting that Nick interviewed his cohort of cinematic bliss. Here is what transpired… take it away, Nick!

Nick: You’re obviously a great movie buff, what initially started your interest?
Ginger: I was lucky enough to be brought up in the 70′s when the art of movies hardened up to reflect the politics of the time. 60′s idealism was replaced by a more paranoid form of expression represented in such hard hitting stuff as The French Connection, The Godfather, The Exorcist and ultimately Straw Dogs and Clockwork Orange. This was my time of wide eyed awe. Before that I was addicted to the movies of the Hammer studios and anything with monsters in it.

Name a movie that you have seen more than 10 times.
Grease, The Godfather, Pee Wee’s Big Adventure and, of course, my favourite of all, The Excorcist. I’ve seen the 80′s films of Italian director, and splatter icon, Lucio Fulci more than ten times each. I’ve seen The Rutles and Spinal Tap way more than 10 times each too, but I think every musician has.

Name an actor who would make you more inclined to see a movie, and an actor that would make you less inclined to see a movie.
I’ll watch anything with Lance Henriksen or Christopher Walken in. Also De Niro makes any movie worth a look. There are tons of great stars that are always wonderful to watch, Tim Curry, Ricky Gervais, Christopher Eccleston, Bruce Campbell, Michael Sheen, Timothy Spall…the list goes on. As far as actors that turn me away, I am allergic to Tom Cruise. I couldn’t watch anything with him in.   
 
What is the most offensive movie that you have seen?
A Serbian Film takes some beating. And recent stuff like Grotesque and The Butcher are, successfully,  designed to be hard to watch. The Antichrist still makes me squirm when I think of it.  
 
Name a movie you keep meaning to see, but you just haven’t gotten around to yet.
Capitalism: A Love Story by Michael Moore. I only ever see it when I’m falling asleep, and it’s the kind of thing you need to watch when wide awake. I guess it’s more reason to actually buy it, y’know? I have to justify buying every movie I own because I buy so many. Unfortunately I find it quite easy to justify purchasing movies.  
  
Ever walked out of a movie?
Yes, The Mexican with Brad Pitt. Not even sure why I was in the cinema to watch it but I made it through about 15 minutes before I realised that doing anything else was more important than watching this rubbish. I can’t believe I didn’t walk out of The Happening. I guess I was so infuriated at how much that movie insulted it’s viewers that I wanted it to redeem itself in the final reel. It didn’t. I hope M Knight Shyalaman stops making movies.   
  
How often do you go to the movies (as opposed to renting them or watching them at home)?
I will always go to see a movie at the cinema if I’m excited about seeing it. How often? That really depends on how many great movies are being released. The last movie i saw at the cinema was Piranha 3D. I loved it.  
  
Have you considered working in the movie industry in any particular capacity?
Yes, I would like to write my first screenplay soon and get involved from that angle. I’d also like to direct someday and, of course, I’d like to make music for film too. I don’t have any desire to be an actor but I’d like to do any of the other jobs related to making movies. I think I like movies more than music for the most part.  
  
Who would play you in Ginger:The Movie?
Christopher Eccleston as he could play anyone. Michael Sheen seems to be able to play anyone too. Incredible talent. 
 
Finally, what five movies should everybody reading this see immediately?

1. The Damned United
2. Mystery Men
3. Day Of The Beast
4. The Eye (Pang Brothers version)
5. The Castle

Who am I kidding, five movies is nowhere near enough. Make sure to follow @gingernyc for more classic movies you should be forced to watch, every Friday. 

 

Also, keep your eyes peeled for a new solo album by Ginger and don’t forget the new Michael Monroe album which is sure to be freakin’ awesome! Oh, what’s that? You’re in the UK and wanna see him live? Well you can! Purchase tickets here, NOW!

 

Ginger’s solo page

The Wildhearts online

Michael Monroe online

Episode 117 – I Was A Teenage Podcaster!

It’s been a long week as I have been busy studying, working, writing, and seeing shows. It was heaps good to have some time to kick back and spin some records. This weeks show is filled with heartbreaking, relationshit rock n roll and power pop! Again, it wasn’t planned that way, it just happened. One song just lead to another and the show just flowed and rocked. There’s so much included in the show this week including talk of record fairs, the Pyramid Rock Festival, the No Sleep Til Festival, The Replacements, gig reviews, September 11th remembered, plus so much more. The music is heaps awesome this week and you can listen to the show right now by clicking this link or if you would rather download an mp3 of the show, you can do so by clicking this link.

Enjoy tunes by:
Goo Goo Dolls
Roky Erickson & The Explosives
The Last Shadow Puppets
Big Star
The Black Keys
Against Me
Vibeke Saugestad
Andrew WK
The Hellacopters
Cheap Trick

My back hurts too much tonight to sit at this computer any longer. Crank this up and then hunt out the bands on Myspace.

SOULFLY – Billboards, Melbourne, September 8th, 2010

Let’s be honest here… I don’t listen to Soulfly. I couldn’t even tell you a single song title. Yeah, really. I mean, sure, I know who they are, I know that the dude’s from Sepultura and I know a lot of dude’s who wear basketball jersey’s, camo shorts and have shaved heads, goatee beards and baseball caps dig ‘em, but other than that, I know nothing about them. But then on Tuesday night a message came through asking me if I wanted a free ticket. Of course I accepted cos who knows, maybe I’d dig it? So I got to the venue at around 8pm and met my friend and in we went.

The first band were playing. They were called Incite which isn’t the best of band names but then again, either is Spiders In The Biscuit Jar and at the time we thought that was awesome (we were kids so quit the laughing). Word on the street is that the vocalist is the son of Mr Sepultura himself, Max Cavalera. Incite were pretty good. They got the crowd ready and the inbetween song banter was amusing. I dunno about you, but personally, hearing someone scream “Heavy Fucking Metal!” in death metal voice just makes me laugh. Still though, not a bad set. Pretty heavy stuff with some good riffs.

City Of Fire came on next. These dudes were like a supergroup with members from Fear Factory, Hatebreed and Strapping Young Lad. That’s a pretty beefy sausage party right there. I didn’t know what to expect when they came on and immediately I was diggin’ it. I hadn’t heard a single song by these guys either so for me to get rocked without knowing any of the tunes I thought was quite cool indeed. These guys did an awesome version of The Cult’s “Rain” which I thought was a highlight of the entire night. It just sounded cool in the middle of so much testosterone. Here’s a photo.

Soulfly came on and the place started jumping immediately. They have that groovy metal sound that has jungle drums and stuff to get people pogo-ing like they were at a Sex Pistols show in ’77. The driving beats and rhythm of each song had everyone dancing from the first chord til the last. I have to say, I liked ‘em. It was groovy. You could totally move to it. The only downfall was the amount of douchebags there. I mean, really? Being a tough guy drunk fuckwit pushing people around because you are metabolism-challenged is not cool. Whatever. Cavalera had the crowd in his palm and gave them everything they wanted including the Sepultura classic, “Roots”, in the encore along with crowd favourite, “Eye For An Eye”. It was a great set and the crowd loved it. Seemed the people were more than happy. And Max has crazy dreads.

Besides the few who got into “tough guy” phase, the show was most awesome and I am a converted fan. Granted, you won’t see me in a basketball jersey anytime soon but I was definitely impressed. Awesome stuff. Here’s some photos of Soulfly and one of the crowd goin’ sick.

  

 

  

NAPALM DEATH @ The HiFi Bar, Melbourne, September 5th, 2010

So last night I witnessed my first Napalm Death show. Yeah, true story. Let’s go back to the start… I first discovered Napalm Death when this dude at my highschool went to the UK and brought back a video tape that had some show he recorded off the TV there. It had Napalm Death and Slayer on it. This program was called ”Thrashed To Death” or something. Anyway, the segment was the old-school line-up of ND with Lee Dorian on vocals, Mick Harris on drums, Shane Embury on bass and Bill Steer on guitar. So I am watching this video and thinking to myself “what the fuck is this?” and couldn’t stop laughing. It was hilarious. Like really funny shit. There’s this dude with dreads trying to light a match on the monitors so he can light his cigarette. He starts headbanging with the cigarette in his mouth and it’s so funny. Actually, you can see that video for yourself right here as some kind soul has uploaded it to YouTube:

But back to last night… I arrived to the venue, caught up with my friends Leah and Dave and headed in as guests of Napalm Death guitarist, Mitch Harris. Yeah, we’re awesome. We wandered in and I saw some band but wasn’t sure who they were if it was Rotten Chop or Extortion. I apologise to whoever you were cos I forgot which band you were. Either way, they were extremely loud and full on.

Up next… Dying Fetus. These guys who were just brutal. There’s no other way to describe them except ”Brutal!” I thought they were most definitely a lot better than the records because you could see the energy on stage was just intense. I am a fan of watching bands like this live cos I think the music is so ridiculously fast and chaotic that the only way you can really experience it, is in the live context. Dying Fetus totally shredded and blasted through a shitload of songs in the time they had. Impressive.

Napalm Death came on to a thunderous applause. I was able to take photos; first 3 songs only and NO FLASH! Goddamn, I hate those rules! They’re lame. I don’t understand them and I hate the way the security are about these things. Fucking rude! Anyway, I snapped a bunch of pictures and all was good. So the band played all the hits; Scum, The Kill, Deceiver, You Suffer (yeah, all 1 second of it), Massappeal Madness, Suffer The Children, the title track from their latest album Time Waits For No Slave, and of course, no ND set is ever complete without their reworking of the Dead Kennedys classic, Nazi Punks Fuck Off! All up, a most brutal set and the dreadlocks were flying in all directions. Chaos indeed. I was pretty much blown away by their heavy riffs and intensity. I also liked vocalist Barney Greenway’s little words of wisdom between the songs. Now let’s hope that people put it into practice. It’s all good to cheer when a dude talks about peace but going outside and wanting to start fights cos you’ve had too much to drink and turned into a drunk fuckhead is just not cool. Not saying it happened, I’m just sayin’.

Anyway, it was indeed a good night. Ended up chatting to the band after the show and enjoying the gourmet food (since I hadn’t had any dinner, this worked out quite well). Heaps good! Here’s some photos I took.

  

  

Episode 116 – This Podcast Is On The Loose Tonight

The weather is pretty crappy here in Melbourne this weekend so what better way to pass the time by staying indoors by the heater or log fire and chowing down pizza with your favourite beverage while the LGL Rock Show plays away on your computer, iPod or stereo. Yeah, that’s an awesome way to relax. This show has a huge amount of Australian rock n roll. I didn’t plan it to have this much Aussie content but hey, I ain’t complaining and I hope you aren’t either. Plus, it just happened. I fitted so much into this hour long show as I talk about record fairs, upcoming tours, movies, gig reviews, albums, plus so much more. I am pretty happy with this show actually. It just turned out to be pretty darn good. So instead of reading this post, you should start playing it by either clicking here and a new window will open and it will start playing automatically, or clicking this link to download the mp3 file right here.

Enjoy tunes by:
The Mothers
Super Wild Horses
The Dubrovniks
The Missing Links
Powderfinger
Lunachicks
The Mooney Suzuki
Exploding White Mice
Voodoo Lust
Diamond Dogs
The Wildhearts
Hellmenn

No links cos I’m too hungry to look for them. I know, lame excuse but what do you expect from a Podcast called Long Gone Loser? Yeah, right! Crank it up and hunt those records down.

SUPER WILD HORSES – Farewell Show @ The Curtain, September 3rd, 2010

Ever since I saw these girls play an instore at Missing Link Records, I was hooked. Sure, I have the first single they did and was totally into it but after seeing them play, my thoughts were confirmed. I dig ‘em. A lot. And it has nothing to do with the fact they’re cute and female. They could wear wrestling masks and I’d still think they were cool. Actually, I think anyone who wears a wrestling mask is cool so that doesn’t hold much merit. Anyway, you know what I’m saying; the music is what counts here. So anyway, this show was a bid to say farewell to the dynamic duo of cuteness (yes I put that there just to annoy the feminists and to completely disregard my previous comment) as they head off overseas for a journey across the USA which will see them taking in sites fom New York to San Francisco. They’re gonna love it. The USA is so freakin’ awesome and the USA people love us Aussies. Especially those who play rock n roll.

The girls advertised on their Facebook page that for the first 5 people to bring them mixed CD’s for their roadtrip across the USA, they’d get free entry. I took along a copy of “Too Dirty For Hippies”; a mixed promo CD released by some Brisbane dudes who love music showcasing the crop of Aussie rock from around 2003. Bands included are Mustang, Giants of Science, Greensteam, Aampirellas, Muscle Car, Jed Whitey and many more. This is a great CD and I figured that since I still had a couple of these CDs left over, they may dig a song or two from it and being that all the bands are from Australia, they may get a feeling that Australia is with them wherever they go. Or something. Anyway, I didn’t expect to get free entry as I thought the gig would be packed to the rafters by the time I got there at 9pm. Alas, I was the 2nd person hand delivering a mixed CD. Yay! Free entry! It was my first time to the Curtain so up the stairs I went. A decent sized room with a good stage and PA. They should look at fixing the toilets though. They’re horrible.

The first band on were Constant Mongrel. Never seen them before, or heard of them for that matter. Either I am out of touch or they’re new but I gotta say… what is it with this new wave of bands holding their guitars way too high? Like they’re having trouble reaching them or something so they set their straps so their guitars sit in front of their boobs. It doesn’t make any sense to me and looks totally awkward. Dee Dee Ramone wouldn’t be caught dead like that. And he’d know. Anyway, their sound was very indie pop with some reverb noise. They didn’t look like they were really having fun though. That always weirds me out when I watch bands. I like to see the band enjoying their show, I mean, isn’t that what it’s all about, having fun? They were ok. They had a tape on sale at the merch desk. Yeah, a tape! I didn’t buy it. I don’t have a tape player.

Next up were The Twerps. Another band who have succumbed to the short guitar strap syndrome and didn’t look like they were having fun either. Granted, it’s not always about having fun, some emo bands have made careers out of acting depressed, but I dunno, this new wave of indie pop rock bands are playing music that sounds fun so why not have fun? The singer did say he was sick though so maybe that was the problem. Either way, they do have a cute girl on guitar who has nice eyes and a nice voice so I think she should sing more. Their music didn’t really do it for me but either does that new song by Eminem and Rhianna and thousands of people like that so I guess it’s clear that I know nothing about music anyway.

The Erotics took the stage next and I had heard great things about them. They play a style of surf guitar meets rockabilly meets jungle stomp. Yeah, true story. I thought these guys were great musicians but the songs needed something else. Like a big chorus or something. I’m no expert on surf music though so maybe this is how it’s supposed to be and if that’s the truth then I am not the right person to be reviewing such bands so ignore my thoughts. Still, these dudes were having fun and tons of it. Was good to see since I was thinking that maybe the venue had everyone sign contracts to be unhappy on stage.

Then the finale came on. Super Wild Horses were all smiles as they took to the stage, first decorating it with Lai’s and paper lanterns, then painting the room with their simplistic yet catchy power pop rock songs. The whole “less is more” approach that these girls have towards music is awesome and definitely works in their favour. It just goes to show that you don’t need wailing guitar solos and huge production values to deliver entertainment (although when seeing the likes of Motorhead, it definitely helps). Halfway through the show, the girls swapped places and continued powering through the 13 songs they brought with them for us tonight. No encore, no rockstar bullshit, no attitudes. Just good ole fun. And I like it. I wish them all the best on their USA tour.

Here’s some photos of the girls doing their thing:

  

 

 

You can buy Super Wild Horses swag on HoZac Records. You can also pick up the latest 7″ single which is not available in shops but directly from the label as part of the HoZac Records Hookup Klub. Heaps good!

Have a look and listen to the Super Wild Horses right here and now:

Head on over to their Myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/superwildhorses so you can hear tunes, see pics and also check out the venues and dates of their upcoming USA tour. Go see ‘em.

 

MICHAEL MONROE and GINGER in Japan.

So what happens when you mix 2 awesome singer / songwriters with a kick ass country? You wind up with this interview. Shot during the band’s time in Japan earlier this year for the Summersonic festivals, you will find some interesting stories and anecdotes from Michael regarding the band and how they got together to kick out the jams and rock like fuck. This is pretty darn cool. Enjoy!