Out Of My Head - Paul Collins (Alive Natural Sound)

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By The Barman

The Barman

25 July 2018

Hits: 3463

Has it really been four years since “Feel The Noise” and eight since “King of Power Pop”? The release of another Paul Collins record is a special occasion and “Out Of My Head” doesn’t disappoint.

While its predecessors explored rocking and powerpop songs respectively, “Out Of My Head” finds Collins sitting squarely in pop territory. Ringing chords, the odd minor key melody and Collins’infectious vocals rule throughout. Well crafted songs with depth. 

Paul Collins seems to work best when he has a crative partner to bounce off and in this instance it’s bass player Paul Stingo, whose melodic tone and vocal harmonies suit to a tee. Collins plays the guitars and drums and the record was recorded in a Brooklyn studio.

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Friends rally around Aussie bluesman Chris Wilson

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By The Barman

The Barman

24 July 2018

Hits: 5614

Legendary Melbourne bluesman Chris Wilson (Crown of Thorns, Harem Scarem) has pancreatic cancer.

The multi-instrumentalist - best known as a stunning vocalist and stellar harmonica player – has been a fixture on the Australian music scene for 40 years, collaborating with bands and performers as diverse as Paul Kelly, Diesel and X.

A benefit concert is being organised at the Corner Hotel on Friday, August 24. The first round of acts on the bill includes Steve Lucas, Kerri Simpson, Finn & George Wilson, Jerome Smith, Barb Waters, Shane O’Mara, Barry Palmer, Tim Rogers, Dave Hogan, Jo Jo Smith, Matt Dwyer and radio’s Max Crawdaddy on the decks. You can buy tickets here. 

A GoFundMe campaign for the Wilson family is operating here.

Mandy Hall photo

• benefit
• cancer
• gofundme
• chris wilson
• crown of thorns

Second Sydney show added for Radio Birdman

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By The Barman

The Barman

24 July 2018

Hits: 4517

Tickets for the previously announced Radio Birdman Sydney Manning Bar show on Saturday, October 6 are selling fast, with a sell out expected. The band has announced a second show at the same venue on Friday,  October 5 and tickets are on sale here.

Radio Birdman is doing a limited number of Australian East Coast shows over two weekends this coming September/October before heading off for a 22-date tour of Europe. Supports on the Australian tour will include Adalita (Melbourne), Brisbane's HITS (Brisbane and Sydney) and all shows will feature special guests from Spain, Los Chicos.

Last year's Australian tour with co-headliner Died Pretty was surrounded by the buzz of the limited cinema release of "Descent into the Maelstrom", the Jonathan Sequeira-produced documentary about Radio Bifrdman. The local release on DVD with bonus content will coincide with the tour with a special edition available at the band's shows.  

• sydney
• australian
• radio birdman
• australian tour

Thirteen is lucky for some

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By The Barman

The Barman

23 July 2018

Hits: 2967

The Simon Chainsaw contest has closed and the winners have been randomly selected.

Most of you had no problem picking Vanilla Chainsaws as Simon's 1980s-90s band (although Greg Brady Overdrive and the Chainsaw Men got look-ins as well.)

The following Barflies have won the latest Simon Chainsaw album “Thirteen” plus a copy of the SC/TC (Simon Chainsaw/Tony Curenti) CD single:

Luke Di Salvia (Leeton, NSW)
Mark Davidson (Mount Coolum, QLD) 
Declan Hart (Somewhere in Australia) 
Andy Wallace (Ettalong, NSW)
Jay Chittenden (Durham, Connecticut, USA). 

Congratulations to the winners. The rest of you can find the new album here.

Bloodbath of Fuzz - 45 Spider (self released)

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By The Barman

The Barman

22 July 2018

Hits: 5505

Rockabilly guitarist Grady Martin is widely credited as the father of fuzz, taking Link Wray’s dirty tone a step further in the early ‘60s, thanks to a faulty pre-amp. "Red" Rhodes made the first distortion pedal for his friends in The Ventures. Add 100 watt amps to the picture and the rest is tinnitus. 

45 Spider - so named for the adapter used to make big-hole seven-inch singles work on a turntable spindle - should build a monument to Martin and Rhodes in their home town of Cleveland, Ohio. Their “Bloodbath of Fuzz” is 17 songs long and you won’t find a clean guitar note hiding anywhere.

A fuzzed-up cover of The Gentlemen’s “It’s a Cry’n Shame” opens the album and sets the scene: Meaty guitar and bouncy rhythms behind Ms Hadley K’s cute-sultry vocal. The template was designed long ago but it still works. 45 Spider plays a mix of semi-obscure covers and their own songs and if not familiar with the originals, it’s hard to tell the difference. That’s a compliment.

• cleveland
• '60s punk
• 45 spider
• bloodbath of fuzz
• acid punk

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Hey Sydney. Who's up for a Day At The Pub?

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By The Barman

The Barman

21 July 2018

Hits: 6281

The event name, “A Day at the Pub”, is exactly what it says - a Sunday date in Sydney with beer and some of Australia’s best rock n’ roll acts. 

Sydney’s Black Heart Breakers have searched through time and space to find a first class line up to bring to you at their home town’s legendary Lansdowne Hotel. Tickets for the gig are ridiculously cheap at $15 each and are available here.

The Day runs from 1pm to midnight on Sunday, August 19 and the line-up is a cracker. Here's a pen picture of each band with some Facebook and YouTube links:

• a day at the pub
• flickertail
• black heart breakers
• black aces
• the ozskas
• particles
• raised as wolves
• wolfwolfwolf
• japanese death machine
• stacy gacy

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Help yourself to some rock and roll history and help someone

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By The Barman

The Barman

19 July 2018

Hits: 5256

Righteous Brisbane record store Phase 4 is hosting a massive silent auction of historic and highly desirable posters from Australian rock and roll’s heyday for a good cause.

The store is raising funds for Ipswich retro clothes retailer (of Poison Arrow Retro Shoppepe) and rock and roll fan Angela Love who’s unable to work while fighting breast cancer. The posters come from the collection of her partner, Wayne Kemp.

Beasts of Bourbon, GoBetweens, Exploding White Mice, Hard-Ons, The Girlies and Riptides are among the Aussie artists represented, while Dark Carnival (signed by Ron Asheton and Niagara), Status Quo, Portishead and Screaming Jay Hawkins are some of the overseas crew. There’s a treasure trove of more than 100 posters online until July 24. Bidding is by email only and you’ll find the website here.

• phase 4
• auction
• online
• poison arrow

Pretty Things take final Australian bow

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By The Barman

The Barman

18 July 2018

Hits: 6644

Iconic first wave British R&B and psychedelic cult heroes, The Pretty Things, will perform some of their final live performances in Australia in October.

The band has announced it will cease playing electric shows with a final hurrah in London on December 13, with special guests Special Guests David Gilmour, Van Morrison and Bill Nighy. Securign the Pretties for a run through Australia is a coup for promoter David Roy Williams. 

Local legends – and massive Pretty Things fans - including Tumbleweed, The Sand Pebbles and The Living Eyes are onboard to help send them off.

The Pretty Things are waving goodbye. Be there to wave back....

Tickets are on sale from 10am (AEST) on Friday here.

Wednesday 3rd October - Sydney, FactoryTheatre
+ Tumbleweed + DJ Owen Penglis
Thursday 4th October - Brisbane, The Zoo
+ Golden Age of Ballooning
Saturday 6th October - Melbourne, Thornbury Theatre
+ Sand Pebbles + The Electric Guitars
Sunday 7th October - Melbourne, Caravan Club
+ The Breadmakers
Wednesday 10th October - Geelong, Barwon Club
+ The Living Eyes
Friday 12th October - Melbourne, The Tote
+ The Living Eyes + Banagun
Saturday 13th October - Adelaide, Fowlers Live
+ Somnium
Sunday 14th October - Perth, The Charles Hotel

• pretty things
• australian tour

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A Call to You b/w Won't Say it to My Face - The Art Gray Noizz Quintet (Robellion)

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By Robert Brokenmouth

Robert Brokenmouth

17 July 2018

Hits: 8913

The last time I saw Stuart Gray was in Adelaide in 1990, at a grotty pub on Brighton Road which is now another craft-beer haven for the smug and pointless, and Bloodloss were playing what would be their last Adelaide gig, and the final with that line-up. They'd been hanging out with Stuart, and he'd been persuading Renestair EJ and Martin Bland to join his band Lubricated Goat.

It was quite an evening, somewhat bereft of punters, and The Goat promised, at the very least, overseas adventures. And, possibly, more punters. Frankly, it was a better opportunity for them than slugging out the gigs and LPs of great music to an uncaring town, so Ren and Martin left ...

I'd seen Stu in several bands by that stage; The Bad Poets and The Brats, notably. Each time Stu joined an existing band, he'd lifted them mightily. Eventually, he left for Melbourne and Sydney, as all ambitious Adelaide artists did. I expect you know the rest; he was with Tex Perkins' outfit Salamander Jim and there was a stint with the Beasts of Bourbon.

• beasts of bourbon
• new york city
• lubricated goat
• WOMAN
• stu spasm
• stu gray
• ryan skeletonboy

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