Braindead need not apply

Written by The Barman on 30 October 2022.

Dawn of the Braindead – The Owen Guns (Outtaspace Records)

Excuse the sneaky little  Zappa-ism but does humour belong in punk music? You betcha. Australian punks The Owen Gunsare prima facie evidence.

They may know them from their previous EP or from their song about Donnie Trump beinbg repeatedly pulled from YouTube. If not, here's a nice way to make their acquintance.

Hailing from Sydney and its sometimes awkward cousin city Wollongong and with roots in a bevy of old school punk bands, the four-piece Owen Guns deliver a dozen powerful and puerile tunes on their debut album on Outtspace. 

If burning down churches, stomping on racist skinheads and putting the Doc Marten into Bono ain’t your things, better break out your Leonard Cohenbox set, adjust your chakras and do whatever it is that’s done with patchouli.

Marky Ramone tells: Why I didn't punch Bono

Written by The Barman on 22 November 2017.

Ex-Ramones and Voidoids drummer, author and sc-fi fan Marky Ramone starts his first Australian tour in almost a decade this week. Marky Ramone's Blitzkrieg reprises the back catalogue of the Ramones with Marky driving the backbeat behind a crew of hand-picked punk rock players.

Pete Howlett of Adelaide band The Pro-Tools was given the chance to pitch him 10 questions. Here's the result.