PyramidiacsHaving been forced to take a detour via my nearest Automatic Teller Machine, although already running considerably late, only to find out that Westpac in its never ending quest to piss off every non-commercial bank customer has relocated it to another suburb and the next closest ATM is inexplicably closed (come to think of it, what's so hard to explain - clearly the uncaring hand of capitalism is yanking my chain tonight), not only am I now running even later than ever, but I am also still completely skint. I arrive just in time to catch the last three songs by Jason Walker & The Last Drinks (with someone looking remarkably like the Pyramidiacs' Michael Carpenter helping out on guitar); covers of Danny O'Keefe's "Goodtime Charlie's Got The Blues", the Byrds' country rock springboard "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" and an original, though breathing heavily from the same rural, bucolic air.
After handing over the eight bucks to get through the door and then forking out for a Coopers Ale (but a bargain at only two thirds of the price the Basement extorts for the same brew), I find I've got enough cash left for one more beer and that's it. It's at this moment that I realise that this show is an album launch for two of the three bands playing tonight. As it turns out, Jason Walker has a fairly recent album to flog as well, but since all three of the songs I did get to hear had more of a C&W twang than I usually go for (notwithstanding that I do have both of the original albums from which those covers were taken; on vinyl no less), my sense of loss is somewhat diminished in that direction, though by the end of the night I do ache to own both of the other albums up for grabs.
Over the past decade the Pyramidiacs have played sell-out shows all over Spain as part of four European tours (at least; there might have been others that I haven't heard about), yet none of their records are available locally and they remain virtually unknown beyond a close circle of mainly fellow musicians, most of whom are or have been at some time in a band with Michael Carpenter... well that's the way it seems anyway. Every time I front up to one of their shows, it's with an underlying sense of dread in case someone realises that I'm the only person in the room who not only isn't in a band, but who can't even play an instrument. Perhaps the sensation of solidarity, harmony and all round amity which permeates the room whenever they play would get me through that awkward moment, if it ever came to such an unfortunate unmasking. I'm guessing that all those who are in the know might be so busy basking in the inner glow derived from their exposure to Oz Pop's best kept secret that maybe they wouldn't object to the odd untalented civilian stumbling in from the cold to join them.
However, if the Pyramidiacs are Oz Pop's best kept secret, then what does that make the Scruffs? Admittedly I've failed miserably until now to do a single thing to help raise their profile either, not least by never getting around to reviewing even their last gig before they went away - to Spain as well as it turns out, supporting the Pyramidiacs and coincidentally promoting their own first album, also being launched tonight but otherwise available only on the Iberian peninsula. What with these successes in Spain, the Finkers being big in Germany and DM3 being equally big in Italy, how is it that Australian power pop can continue to be so criminally ignored here at home, with none of these bands able to get a second look from any record label, while what passes for "pop" on the radio is an anemic, superficial and sickly sweet concoction of boy and/or girl clone bands endlessly churned off a production line in some secret laboratory; preprogrammed to dispense with inspiration and originality, but adroit at unimaginative and mechanically coordinated dance steps (which are completely lost on radio, but does that slow their remorseless advance)? How can the music industry be so mediocre and generally clueless?
• The Pyramidiacs' Mick O'Regan plays in the Finkers with former Pyramidiacs drummer Mick Baty and current Pyramidiacs drummer Michael Carpenter (who switches to bass for that gig);
• The Finkers' Matt Allison guests on guitar on the Pyramidiacs' new album;
• Pyramidiac Grant Shanahan also consorts with Carpenter and the Scruffs' Matt Galvin in Eva Trout;
• Shanahan, Baty and Galvin moonlight together in Hey! Maker, where Eva Trout's Steph Miller is an occasional guest...
Come to think of it, with all the Upsets' bass player problems over the past couple of years (and Michael Couvret having finally gone back to the Celibate Rifles, with whom Pyramidiac Bill Gibson has been known to make the odd guest appearance), I am astounded that they (the Upsets) haven't made him (Gibson) an offer, since he and Tony Harper were together in the New Christs (and as revealed in a Bar interview not so long ago, Gibson also played in Hey! Charger with most recent New Christs' guitarist Al Creed and in Shaggin' Wagon with former New Christs' drummer Pete Kelly). To top it all, he was also part of what many aficionados consider to have been the quintessential power pop band, the Eastern Dark (and I'd like to know what sinister and malicious intrigue kept them off the commercial air waves during and following their brief span).
Conspiracy theorists can draw their own conclusions from the preceding but, if they're not in a spin already, then perhaps being told that both the Scruffs' and Jason Walker's albums were produced by Michael Carpenter and recorded in the seculsion of his own Stagefright studio might just do it. Wait a minute! Upsets drummer Phil Jacquet started out with the Celibate Rifles, same time as Michael Couvret, who was then replaced by James Darroch when he left. After a couple of years Darroch left as well to form the Eastern Dark. Meanwhile (or later?), Jacquet also departed to form Voodoo Lust with... Tony Harper. My God, how deep do these connections go? Is this tangled web of allegiances, associations and backroom liaisons so complex and pervasive that the full extent of the intrigue may never be known? Am I just ranting incoherently now? Stay tuned, my brain is on fire; film at 11.
Er, I started out to talk about the Scruffs... didn't I? The Scruffs are fronted by Ryan Ellsmore and the album they are pushing tonight is "The Actual Size". Is this a sly reference to "Things Look Larger Underwater" by Ellsmore's previous band Hammerfish? Conspiracy theorists can jot down their comments on the back of a used envelope and leave it inside any tree stump in the public park of your choice... a member of the Illuminati will contact you in due course (come to think of it, wasn't the New Christs' most recent drummer Stuart Wilson in Hammerfish as well, or am I thinking of another drumming Stuart Wilson who had nothing to do with the New Christs and incidentally denies involvement in or even recollection of any events on or near the grassy knoll...?).
Some power pop bands jingle jangle, while others crunch. The Scruffs crunch. I was impressed with them the last time I saw them, so I've come tonight with high expectations. Traveling around together in a foreign country seems to be a make or break experience for many Australian bands; in this case it's been "make", as in make the sound tougher and tighter (not that it was ever soft or sloppy to begin with though). Tonight's set comes as both a surprise and a revelation, as they charge through a fine selection from the album, leaving me so electrified that I simply must own a copy. Hmm, I wonder if I can get anybody to accept an I.O.U.? Can somebody let me in on the secret handshake?
The
Pyramidiacs' own new album is "Nobody's Fools" (which seems to be
hinting that they might know more than they are letting on... perhaps we need
to get them in for questioning?) and the songs played from it tonight are as
crisp a bunch of melodies as you are ever likely to come across, overlaid by
some incredible harmonies since all four members sing (and sing bloody well
too). Damn, sounds like it must be another fine album that I just have to own
a copy of.
They have claimed the Stems, the Sunnyboys and the Replacements as influences, but who knows what private plot they may be pushing when they say that? More often they sound to me like the Beatles might have sounded if they'd had Dave Davies on guitar instead of George Harrison, but am I just laying down a false trail to throw you off the scent when I say that and if so, how do I then explain the riveting cover of "Paperback Writer" with which they end their set; capturing the feeling of the original, while using their harmonies to add a little extra emotional colouring to it? Ultimately though, it's their originals rather than their covers which are important.
In the all too likely event that these two albums languish undistributed locally for far longer than they deserve (because what they do deserve is instant, broad distribution), you can get them direct from the bands. If you can't wait for their next gig (I couldn't), their web sites (www.go.to/pyramidiacs and www.scruffs.cjb.net) would be good places to initiate contact and open negotiations.
If you're really keen, the Scruffs' earlier "Take a Bath" EP was put out by Antfarm Records a few years back and may still be available from them, while orphan tracks by both bands (and Hammerfish) have appeared on one or other of Antfarm's compilations ("No Guts, No Glory" and "Cop It Sweet").
A final note: Eddie Owen is the Fourth Pyramidiac; since he doesn't seem to be active in any other bands at the moment, he didn't get named earlier in this rambling attempt at a review, but since he seems to be one of the chief song writers of the band, I feel obliged to mention him now for the sake of completeness.- John McPharlin
