tribute

Tickets for The Festival of Sue, the tribute to late Sydney music booker Sue Telfer, are now on sale here.

X, the New Christs, The Johnnys, Kim Salmon, Front End Loader, The Mis-Made, Penny Ikinger, The Holy Soul and The On and Ons have been announced in the first wave of bands on the bill.

Proceeds from the October 20 show - featuring a dozen bands over two stages at The Factory Theatre in Marrickville, Sydney - will go to Support Act, the charity for music industry members who have fallen on hard times.

It's a dazzling line-up with more names to be added and will run from 2-10pm. It will sell-out so don;t delay.  

Three years ago, family tragedy thrust Sonny Vincent from being a cult New York punk legend into the role of full-time carer. 

Based in Europe for two decades from where he prolifically recorded and toured, he was suddenly pulled back to the USA by a home gas explosion and fire that left his son, daughter-in-law and grandson on life support in a North Carolina hospital.

Sonny’s family has survived but his music is on indefinite hold. Day-to-day life now revolves around his 12-year-old grandson Cayden, still undergoing skin grafts while trying to live the life of a schoolboy. Sonny hasn’t picked up a guitar since that fateful night and has been existing on donations.

Perth’s powerpop label punching way above its weight, Zero Hour Records, has announced a double CD tribute to Cheap Trick.

The 38-song collection includes music from The Affections, Rob Smith and Danny McCarthy, Plasticsoul and Spike Priggen and is due out on May 22.

Pre-orders get a swag of extras and you can take the plunge here. 

You can also pick up dirt cheap stuff from Dom Mariani (his unplugged acoustic album is an underrated gem), Turnaround and a slew of lesser-known acts from the garage-pop underground.

Ramblin’ gamblin’ guitar man Johnny Casino is taking leave of his adopted home of Spain in October to play two shows in Australia. 

Sunday, October 8 he and The Secrets play Petersham Bowling Club on a tribute to late Asteroid B612 bandmate Scotty Nash.

Support will come from The Carrie Affair, The Escapes, Dave Favours and The Roadside Ashes and Scotty and the Family Nash, a supergroup of Nash musical mates.

The handful of tickets that remain for the 4pm gig are here. 

In Melbourne, Johnny and The Secrets will play one night only at The Old Bar, Fitzroy, on Friday, October 6. Special guests are the Simon Juliff Band and Rockin' Pelmets. Tickets for that one can be had here.

Gonna Rock Tonight: A Tribute To Roy Loney
The Chapel, San Francisco, USA
Friday, February 21, 2020

Roy Loney’s passing on December 13, 2019 was a very sad day for the music and arts community. He last appeared on stage May 29th, 2019 at the the second warm up show for the Flamin’ Groovies' "Teenage Head" European tour. Always the trooper, Roy continued to perform live despite his declining health. Sadly Roy was forced to pull out of the tour after collapsing at San Francisco Airport.

"Gonna Rock Tonight: A Tribute To Roy Loney" brought together many of the musicians he’d worked with, musical friends and fans for a night to remember Roy.

There’s a news story that’s been doing the rounds of mainstream media about a man with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder who was given a brain implant that turned him into a Johnny Cash fan.

If you want to delve further, the journal “Frontiers in Behavioural Neuroscience” (yeah, I read every issue) describes the case of “Mr B”, a 58-year-old Dutch man who had suffered severe OCD from the age of 13. The insertion of a brain pacemaker apparently turned him into a follower of The Man In Black.