On what would have been his 64th birthday, the late Spencer P Jones has been paid tribute by way of a double LP of his own songs played by some of his friends. French label Beast Records and Melbourne imprint Spooky Records have released “All The Way With SPJ” as a unique international tribute to the New Zealand-born, Australian rock'n'roll cult hero and underground icon.
Spencer died on 21 August 2018 at the age of 61 and was a noted guitarist and singer-songwriter, known for his work with the Beasts of Bourbon and the Johnnys as well as wider associations with artists including Rowland S. Howard and the Drones.
Check out the magnetism: Paul Berwick, Jiom Diockson, Matt Galvin and Nick Kennedy.
You could say they’re about to “step into the light” because that’s the name of the debut single for Sydney band Paul Berwick’s Magnetic Quartet. Bandleader Paul Berwick was the guitarist, singer and songwriter for Sydney’s late 1980s favourites Happy Hate Me Nots and has teamed with old friends Matt Galvin (guitar), Jim Dickson (bass) and Nick Kennedy (drums) to produce new original songs.
The individual band members have a wealth of experience (Happy Hate Me Nots, Radio Birdman, New Christs, Knievel, Big Heavy Stuff, Died Pretty, The Orange Humble Band and Settlement) but have played only a couple of shows together as Paul Berwick’s Magnetic Quartet. They’re a class outfit as evidenced by their I-94 Bar promoted support to Leadfinger earlier this year.
They’ll launch the single with good mates Joeys Coop (featuring Died Pretty guitarist Brett Myers) at Sydney’s MoshPit Bar on Friday, November 12. Limited numbers of in-person tickets (and unlimited streaming passes) are selling here. (We’ll post a link to the single on Bandcamp after the gig.)
It’s being lauded as a definitive word on the this was geelong. Geelong rock and roll scene. It’s a 680-page book called “Bored! This Was Geelong” and one of the fertile breeding ground’s offspring is making sure they mark its release with a bang.
Warped is releasing a seven-track batch of compilation-only and live tracks called “Precocious Little Bastards”.You can see them both if you drag your mouse over the image at right.
But frst things first. The book is out now and the first 500 copies comes with two limited edition 45s featuring Bored!, White Noise and Seminal Rats. It’s selling here. It ain't cheap ($A225) but it looks incredible. For detailed information about the contents, hook up with the publishers on Facebook here.
Warped formed in 1990 as “three teenagers armed with three chords and no fear”, taking to the stage of the Eureka Hotel in Geelong to support The Dirty Lovers and Bored!. Beer cans flew, obscenities were flung and a beast was born.
Thirty years on and the band are still going strong, a force in the rock landscape of Australia.
The first line-up, featuring Lightning Watkins on guitar, Cris Crime on drums and Darren “Dez” Dare on bass, laid the groundwork for the decades to come, worshipping at the altar of cheap pedals, noisy rock and one-up-manship on stage.Partial to destroying gear and the occasional Humphrey B Bear chair, they stormed through supports with the likes of Hard-ons, Bored!, Celibate Rifles, 5678s, Dead Moon and Fugazi.
In 1992 Darren parted ways with the band and formed Toad with Dave and Buzz from Bored! and Thee Vinyl Creatures. Ben and Cris have continued on to tour extensively and release many records. “Precocious Little Bastards” is available in digital form here.
One of Europe's top trash garage and go-go weekenders, The Wild Weekend, is coming to Australia for the first time. The three days of monstrous mayhem will run in Melbourne. From December 31 to January 2.
Presented by The Luwow & Zombie Zoo Productions, The Wild Weekend has been held in Europe since 1998. This insane weekender has blazed a trail for other trash festivals across the world and brings a wealth of entertainment experience and an insane level of production detail to a crazy event.
Zombie Zoo Productions’ Skipper Josh and Babz Collins present a weekend of retro fuzz, crazy Ccstume parties and vinyl throwbacks, set in various venues in the Melbourne CBD. The Wild Weekend features top retro trash bands, gruesome go-go goddesses, deviant decor, dastardly disc-jocks, crazy cabaret, mad movies, a boat cruise to nowhere and the Surf-fink Swap-meet.
Full details and tickets are here. Here’s the band line-up:
On the approach to the world's oddest rock and roll label's 30th anniversary,Voodoo Rhythm Records is marking the milestone with a return to its compilation series.
“Vol. 5”is the Swiss cult label’s first collection since 2013 ,and will showcase 15 tracks of new and old cuts from a global stable of outlier artists in the punk, garage, one-man band, cumbia, psychedelic, and country folk-trash genres.
The bands featured hail from Europe, America, and Japan. They range fromn the amphetamine n' vinyl fetishes of The Devils, the lonesome drifter country-trash ballads of Trixie & The Trainwrecks, the heroin-groove reverb of francophones Destination Lonely, and the dark, rural folk orchestrations of The Dead Brothers.
This limited edition compilation will be an exclusive vinyl release with an animated, live-action illustration by Bucharest-based artist Andy "Sinboy" Luke. You can view Sinboy'sportfolio, including his gig posters, animation clips, and graffiti work. “Vol. 5” is out in October and pre-orders are here.
Here's your first taste of the new album "Snake Pit Therapy" from old school New York City punk Sonny Vincent, out September 19 on Svart. Pre-orders are open here and you can read a rewview of his book by the same name here.
In case you missed it - Sydney's Hard-Ons, who have been cranking out their own brand of punk rock for nearly 40 years now) have announced the addition of a new frontman/singer in Tim Rogers from You Am I. And today they've released the first single and video with Tim on board, a tearaway punk-pop number called 'Hold Tight".
Tim is a long-time fan of the band, having first seen them play in his teens. And while he of course remains with You Am I as well, he has already recorded an album with the Hard-Ons. A tour was all set to go before lockdowns ramped up, and will definitely happen at some point.
The album “I'm Sorry Sir, That Riff's Been Taken” is out on October 8, and currently available for pre-order and pre-saving. The album will be released on CD, digitally, and in a number of different colors of vinyl, each available in strictly limited quantities. Originally it was just black vinyl and a run on orange - with the orange vinyl having nearly sold out already on pre-orders the band has now added a short blue vinyl run. Fans are suggested to go here to reserve their copies.
A quick follow-up to the news that You Am I's Tim Rogers has joined the Hard-Ons. Pre-orders are open for their album "I'm Sorry Sir, That Riff Has Been Taken" which is out on Cheersquad on LP, CD and digital on October 4. Grab your copy here.
The announcement certainly has people takling. And the official word from the principals? Hard-Ons’ Ray Ahn says: “I’m thrilled to have Tim on board, and I am loving his contribution!”
Bandmate Blackie concurs, "How fucking good is this!!"
And Mr Rogers? “I was already the luckiest goof in rock’n’roll, and I get asked to make a racket with my heroes? Strewth. Wake me up sometime, will ya?”
The first fruit of the partnership, a single “Hold Tight”, is out on all streaming platforms on Friday, August 13.
Australia most enduring musical contradictions the Hard-Ons have pulled another surprise out of the hat by recruiting You Am I’sTim Rogers as frontman.
The announcement was quietly made on Facebook via a change to their page’s` listed line-ups on Tuesday. A photo of the reconfigured Hard-Ons was released on social media overnight, along with word that a single with their new singer would appear digitally on August 13.
The band parted ways with founding drummer-turned-frontman Keish de Silva in March this year after historical allegations of sexual impropriety.
You Am I released their 11th studio album, “The Lives Of Others”, in May.
Online reaction to recruitment of Rogers has ranged from incredulous to delighted. Rogers' recruitment has beewn a closely-guarded secret for some months.
There’s no word on live shows yet although lockdowns in Australia are making touring problematic for any act with dispersed members.
Check out the magnetism: Paul Berwick, Jiom Diockson, Matt Galvin and Nick Kennedy. 
It’s being lauded as a definitive word on the this was geelong. Geelong rock and roll scene. It’s a 680-page book called “Bored! This Was Geelong” and one of the fertile breeding ground’s offspring is making sure they mark its release with a bang.
One of Europe's top trash garage and go-go weekenders, The Wild Weekend, is coming to Australia for the first time. The three days of monstrous mayhem will run in Melbourne. From December 31 to January 2.
On the approach to the world's oddest rock and roll label's 30th anniversary, Voodoo Rhythm Records is marking the milestone with a return to its compilation series. 
A quick follow-up to the 
Australia most enduring musical contradictions the Hard-Ons have pulled another surprise out of the hat by recruiting You Am I’s Tim Rogers as frontman.