Died Pretty announces club shows

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By The Barman

The Barman

23 October 2015

Hits: 6168

It's been three years since Died Pretty last played on an Australian stage - as part of the Dig It Up concert series - and the same classic lineup of Ron Peno (vocals), Brett Myers (guitar), John Hoey (keyboards), Chris Welsh (drums) and Steve Clark (bass) has announced two sideshows as part of their partcipation in the A Day On The Green dates in March.

This will be a rare opportunity to see the band perform a selection of their most loved songs in an intimate club setting. Supports are to be announced soon.

Friday 4th March, 2016 
The Factory,Sydney NSW
Tix:Ticketek and SABO

Friday 18th March, 2016 
Max Watts (formerly The Hifi), Melbourne VIC
Tix:Oztix.com.auandTicketscout

• died pretty
• ron peno
• brett myers

Eddie Spaghetti 1 - Cancer 0

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By The Barman

The Barman

22 October 2015

Hits: 8253

After tense times, Supersuckers leader Eddie Spaghetti is on the mend after successful cancer treatment. Spaghetti has told Facebook followers that his chemotherapy is at an end and tests indicate his cancer is in remission.

“So it's finally over. My last day of radiation was today and I'd be lying if I said it's been easy,”  he wrote in a post today.

“The upshot is that I am now CANCER-FREE! (And I weigh a cool 160 lbs, which is nice). Also, all the support from friends, fans and complete strangers has been an overwhelming and extraordinarily humbling experience as well.

“The downsides are that I can no longer grow a manly beard (the only thing I can muster up is this stupid "cop mustache". Ugh) and that my neck is now blackish red (quite literally, like a beet!). ANYWAY, thank you all for all your help and good juju you've put into the air for me. Now it's time to do some healing. I'll see you all soon! “

• supersuckers
• eddie
• spaghetti
• cancer

Forty years later and the buzz is still strong

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By The Barman

The Barman

22 October 2015

Hits: 5296

Original UK punk act the Buzzcocks kick-off their 40th Birthday celebrations this March with a tour of Australia and New Zealand. The stars of Dig it Up! 2013 return for the Golden Plains Festival plus headline shows across most capitols. Guests include HITS and Ausmuteants.

Pete Shelley and Howard Devoto formed Buzzcocks in Bolton in February 1976. The band, completed by the addition of Steve Diggle and John Maher, opened for the Sex Pistols in Manchester on July 20th, a follow up to the now (in)famous Lesser Free Trade Hall gig which Devoto and Shelley had organised the month before.

• live
• feelpresents
• buzzcocks
• sex pistols

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Undercover: Live in China – The Boys (Action Records)

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By The Barman

The Barman

20 October 2015

Hits: 6257

The Boys rode the original wave of UK punk in the ‘70s, missed the crest and ended up in the shallows; it wasn’t their fault. They suffered from poor distribution after signing to a second-order record label, but in the end they were far too musical to be lumped in with most of their contemporaries.

The Boys - specifically singer-guitarist Matt Dangerfield - had their origins in England’s most celebrated non-functioning band, the London SS, whose ranks included Mick Jones (later of The Clash) and Tony James (who went on to Generation X.) Both their subsequent outfits and the Sex Pistols made their first recordings in Dangerfield’s rented Maid Vale basement. Talk about being at the scene of the crime. Casino Steel did time in a glam band the Hollywood Brats who almost out-pouted the Dolls.

• punk
• clash
• live
• sex pistols
• new york dolls
• the boys
• generation x
• english
• china

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Many Ways in…One Way Out - Fraudband (Kasumuen Records)

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By Robert Brokenmouth

Robert Brokenmouth

13 October 2015

Hits: 6204

Fuckin’ five bottle feedback and dronecrush alert. Among other things.

Melbourne band Fraudband are seriously determined to get your attention. “Many Ways in…” has a great cover, good packaging, and … ah, yeah. The songs. Five bottles, Barman, did I mention..?

“Many Ways in…” is a re-recording of Fraudband’s first two EPs, neither of which I knew existed until I saw the press release. More fool me. Loki Lockwood is the dread at the production controls because he mixed them live, loved them and put himself forward.

• fraudband
• loki lockwood
• sonic youth

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R.I.P. Steve Mackay of the Stooges

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By The Barman

The Barman

12 October 2015

Hits: 5359

Peter Whitfield photo

Tributes are flowing for Stooges saxman Steve Mackay who has passed away in hospital in California following complications from surgery.

MESSAGE FROM IGGY ON STEVE MACKAY'S PASSING: pic.twitter.com/haOUe7Wd7p

— Iggy Pop (@IggyPop) October 11, 2015

• iggy pop
• stooges
• steve mackay

Transmission – The Volcanics (Citadel)

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By The Barman

The Barman

10 October 2015

Hits: 6824

This one’s an excuse for a trite throwaway line like: “Rock is back”, right? Because that’s what a mainstream music publication would do. Well, fuck that. You can use the fingers of a one-armed man to count the number of Aussie music mags that would give “Transmission” anything more than lip service - and you’d still have digits left over. The Volcanics deserve better than that.

This Perth band has been doing the hard rock thing since the early half of last decade - mostly in and around their hometown (although they're on their way to Europe soon.) There’s only one man standing from the original line-up (that’d be singer Johnny Phatouros) but the vision has been consistent throughout. They’re all about delivering straight-up, high-energy rock and roll that goes for the throat. Simple in theory but not easy to pull off without coming off like a re-heated and inferior version of your influences. Which “Transmission” is not.

• Citadel
• sonics rendezvous band
• perth
• rob
• younger
• asteroid b612
• volcanics

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Catch Leadfinger and The Saloon Daddies...on the quiet

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By The Barman

The Barman

10 October 2015

Hits: 5396

Hey Sydney: you don't wanna miss rock royalty, Stewart 'Leadfinger' Cunningham in rare solo mode (playing both six and 12-string acoustic guitars) at the Midnight Special in Newtown on Sunday, October 18.

Leadfinger's history speaks for itself - The Proton Energy Pills, Brother Brick, Asteroid B612, Challenger 7, The Yes Men - and the opportunities to see him this stripped back and intimate are few and far between.

Joining him are acoustic alt-country punks, The Saloon Daddies. Entry is free and it's an early start at 6pm.

• leadfinger
• live
• saloon daddies

Till The End Of The Road - Papa Pilko and The Binrats (Off The Hip)

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By The Barman

The Barman

05 October 2015

Hits: 5138

There was a time when everybody wanted to be in the Cramps and Voodoobilly was a thing. As is the nature of trends, some excelled and many bands were terrible at it. Generally speaking, harking back to rock and roll’s earliest roots (which is all the Cramps were doing in their own extreme way) was a good thing to do because it opened up so many ears.

It’s all in the beat and although Papa Pilko and The Binrats want to bury themselves deep in a swamp they sound like they’ve washed up on the shores of Lake Michigan, somewhere near the Windy City. Not that this is a bad thing. Chicago Blues is cool to revel in and this Sydney six-piece immerse themselves deep. Remember, it’s all just labels anyway and there’s even a lashing of outlaw country stirred into the musical mix.

• off-the-hip
• blues
• soul
• garage soul
• papa
• pilko
• binrats

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