Know Your Product: Mark Fraser and the re-birthing of Vi-Nil Records

 _{Mark Fraser (in cap) and soe of the Vi-Nil Records stable christening another INDIE SOUNDS compilation last year.}

If you’ve seen gigs by the cooler bands from Wollongong, Newcastle or the Central Coast over the last few years, you would have seen Mark Fraser at the merchandise stand.

His record label Vi-Nil Records has been responsible for releasing some killer records, some of them in a compilation series called “Indie Sounds” showcasing various scenes from Sydney’s environs. Mark has been part of the street level scene now for almost 45 years, as a writer, venue owner, muso and head of his own label.

The first Vi-Nil record I bought was  the “Surfing On My Face” single by the Hard-Ons. It dates from 1985, a time when there were 50-plus music venues across Sydney. Then-local radio station Triple-Jay played cool shit and thousands of like minded kids were packing rooms seeing original bands.

After a long break, Mark revived the Vi-Nil imprint in 2022. I was curious what drew back him back and what changes he’d observed. So we sat down and had a yarn.

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• hard-ons
• newcastle
• lipstick killers
• mark fraser
• vi-nil records
• rust
• the sugar beats
• INDIE SOUNDS FROM THE HABOUR CITY
• central coast

Location, location location? No, home is where the music or book library is

So many of us rock'n'roll fans buy into the mythology of it all. But I have often wondered, at the top tiers, apart from the music, the idolisation of the audiences and the implied streams of sex and drugs, what else is left at the end of the day?

Well, there are a number of options. Drug addiction, decay, tragedy (or tragicomedy) and an early death; perhaps a few flops and a crawl back to the mansion and sodden reminiscences (perhaps followed by a reunion/final tour which is critically acclaimed by folk who were never there at the start, but which critically disappoints everyone who was, and everyone who was a fan until those appalling limp todgers flipped from between the flies).

Or perhaps extravagant, opulent mansions, models and bimbos and more drugs. And, perhaps, trainsets. 

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• Donald Trump
• henry rollins
• peter kriss
• rod stewart
• ozzy

2025 Top Tens: Big Daddy K Kevin Cherry of 2RRR's Sydney Sounds program

TEN MEMORABLE MUSIC EVENTS OF 2025 IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER

(1) WOLLONGONG AND NEWCASTLE
Sydney's satellite cities have long held the mantle of creative incubators, with their alluring property prices, sun-kissed beaches, and a vibrant local populace ready to both entertain and be entertained. While the Sydney music scene has seen better days, it’s refreshing to witness bands from Wollongong and Newcastle stepping into the limelight, particularly in the realms of post-punk and alternative genres,

These regional cities are breathing new life into the music landscape, fostering a plethora of new acts supported by improved venues and facilities, creating an electric atmosphere for more creative music.

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• top ten
• psychotic turnbuckles
• kevin cherry
• the beasts
• east coast low
• big daddy K
• jupiter 5
• drugs in sport
• 2RRR
• fuck the neighbours

Sacred Cowboys ride high on a new Manifesto

In The Manifesto - Sacred Cowboys (Torn &Frayed/Beast Records)

It’s cause for a celebration whenever Sacred Cowboys release a new album. Principal member Garry Gray holds his freak flag high in a fight against mediocrity in music, and he’s now reunited with a fellow founding member in Mark Ferrie.

I have long argued that the Celibate Rifles captured the frantic and wild, surf-meets-Detroit Sydney Sound with their own laconic touch. Sacred Cowboys are a shining light of what the best of the Melbourne Sound. They play rootsy bar room blues, swampy while embracing post punk's excursions and maintaining a sense of punk's urgency.

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• beast records
• sacred cowboys
• garry gray
• mark ferrie
• in the manifesto
• damien fitzgerald
• timothy deane

Mick Harvey's Bleakean Year (among other things)

 _{Mick Harvey. Andrew Trute photo @andrew_trute_aus}

Recently the call went out that Bleak Squad - that startling, noir-esque band comprising Marty Brown (Art of Fighting),  Mick Harvey, Adalita Srsen (Magic Dirt) and Mick Turner (Dirty Three) - are touring Australia for the firsdt time after playing a handful of gigs in October last year. 

Having recently relistened to Bleak Squad and finding that I enjoyed them - a process I commend to you - I decided it might be a good idea to ask Mick Harvey a few questions.

The interview ranges a bit wider than just Bleak Squad. As you will see, Mick was very patient with my questions and irreverence, and I must thank him for finding time to complete these questions when I know he was extremely busy.

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• adalita
• the birthday party
• the saints
• mick harvey
• the saints '73-'78
• bleak squad
• mick turner
• marty brown

Guitar Wolf's Jet is heading right back to Oz

After insane Australian tours in 2023 and early 2025, Tokyo's Guitar Wolf returns to Australia in March along with a new album, “MOREJET!”

Starting in erstern Australia, the run takes in the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and Brisbane, Sydney and Wollongong, and Bendigo, Castlemaine, Melbourne, and Balnarring. Supports include Alien Nosejob, Split System and Itchy & the Nits with more to be announced, 

“MORE JET!” is Guitar Wolf's first new album in seven years and will be released locally on Sorcerer Records . It's preceded by the first single "9pm Pornomag Planet", which is available now from the band's Bandcamp page.

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• australian tour
• guitar wolf
• 2026
• morejet!

One Monstar of a return

Grrrr! – Girl Monstar (Vicious Kitten)

The groove is the thing on “Grrrr!!” - and so it should be on an album with a name approximating one of the many Best Of collections by the Stones. Drummer Susan Shaw (nee Sue Wold, of The Wraylettes, The Wet Ones, The Exotics and Plastic Section) and  Janene Abbott lay down smooth ‘n’ slinky rhythms, and the rest follows.

So to the review but first, the backstory: Girl Monstar existed in Australia a very different time. Home base Melbourne was artier than its rawer cousin Sydney but bands like Girl Monstar were spanning both. The Big Day Out festival juggernaut emerged at the tail end of their run and pushed the underground onto a different level.

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• vicious kitten
• anne mccue
• girl monstar
• sherry rich
• janene abbott
• susan shaw

It's a Long Way Back: Mach Pelican reunites with a new single

After a 20- year wait, Melbourne’s Japanese-Australian band Mach Pelican are finally releasing new music. The first is a seven-inch, “A Secret Session “, that features two songs, “Remember It“ and “Summer Sun”. They’re both fun, Ramones-y punk rock. They’re also very Mach Pelican and the kind of music that I find hard to believe anyone could dislike.  

Mach Pelican have an amazing backstory: Three kids from Japan meet in Perth, start a band based on their shared love of the Ramones, go on to become one of the most beloved band bands of the 1990s and early 2000s in their adopted country and tour overseas, leaving three albums and a stack of singles in their wake before a logn lay-off.

Singer-guitarist Keisuke Nakamura spoke with me from his Melbourne home via the Zoom machine.

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• mach pelican
• cheersquad records
• toshi maeda
• Keisuke Nakamura
• a secret session

Old man shouts at cloud

You recall the Monty Python sketch about the poor sod who goes on telly to promote his book and discovers to his horror that the TV presenter is only interested in his lame nickname, “Arthur ‘Two Sheds’ Jackson”?

Books are damned difficult to start, maintain and complete; any author should be proud of their achievement in completing a book, never mind getting the sod published. However, Jackson's long hours and hard work are worth precisely zilch in the eyes of the TV presenter and his bosses: all they care about is the ratings scored by making far more of Jackson's pathetic nick-name than it deserves.

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• robert brokenmouth
• the molly fet circuit
• facebook