The Soundtrack Of Your Aussie December

The following is from Richie Ramone, longtime Melbourne rock and roll ingrate who's living the dream (although probably working his arse off) by owning and operating that city's numero uno music hotel, the wonderful Tote in Collingwood. It's of most interest to Australian punters, although it's an illustration to the rest for the world of how some of the greatest music can sometimes struggle to gain traction:

Please forgive the group email, I don’t do it very often and it’s with good reason I do so now.

For at least 11 years I have been introducing friends and complete strangers to the wonders of a band with an unusual, some would say pretentious, name – The Soundtrack of Our Lives.

I rate The Soundtrack of Our Lives so highly in fact that the cover image of their first album, “Welcome To The Infant Freebase”, is tattooed on my “Arm of Rock” – alongside such other great acts as Iggy & the Stooges, The Ramones, Radio Birdman, The Clash and Rose Tattoo. High praise indeed, for a band from the far off land of Gothenburg, Sweden, to be placed alongside such Immortals of Rock.

The Soundtrack of Our Lives will visit Australia for the first time this coming December. I have been fortunate enough to see this band on 3 separate overseas trips, including last year when they supported Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin) in New York and then floored me with their own, 2 hour set at The Knitting Factory. I am extremely excited by the prospect of my fellow Australians finally having their own opportunity to see this band perform.

"The music of The Soundtrack of Our Lives shows a deep assimilation of past highs - early Rolling Stones, Love, Syd's Pink Floyd, The Beatles, The Who, The Stooges, The Pretty Things - at the same time expressing a very personal vision rooted firmly in the NOW." - Mike Stax, Ugly Things

“Soundtrack are a Godsend” – Mojo

I could go on and on about the praise they have received from their peers worldwide, but I think with a short listen you will understand why this band should not be ignored. There is a very good chance you will be familiar with the MP3 link to ‘Sister Surround’ included here (in compressed form), as it has been used on the magnificent TV show “Six Feet Under”, played live on Letterman, as well as rotation on JJJ, RRR and PBS.

Alternatively, you could visit their Mediabox in http://tsool.net/index/index.htm for the full experience and I would encourage you to also have a look and listen to ‘Instant Repeater 99’, ‘Believe I’ve Found’, ‘Mantra Slider’ or any of the other clips and audio found in this section. Click on the "Media" box found up top, then Video / Promos.

So come and join me (not like in some weird cult kinda way, although lead singer Ebbot does wear a kaftan!) at any of the following shows:

Saturday 2nd December – CORNER HOTEL, Swan St, Richmond
with Spencer P. Jones & the Escape Committee, Shooting At Unarmed Men (ex-Mclusky and bloody incredible!) and the psychedelic sounds of The Great Apes.
Tix $32 + b/f at www.cornerhotel.com or 9427 9198

Friday 8th December – ANNANDALE HOTEL, Parramatta Rd, Annandale
with The New Christs, Johnny Casino and the Secrets, and the Dolly Rocker Movement . Tix $28 + b/f at www.annandalehotel.com

Tuesday 12th December – THE TOTE, Johnston St, Collingwood
ONLY acoustic performance (actually electric, just kinda stripped-back)
with Dan Kelly and the Alpha Males, with more to be announced, plus a FREE BBQ !! . Tix $32 + b/f at The Tote front bar, Polyester (Brunswick st. Fitzroy), Missing Link (Bourke st. City)

Although TSOOL are a big deal in Europe and were Grammy nominees in the USA, the Aussie sojourn is very much a DIY effort with the band and/or Richie booking most things themselves. A local record company only came to the fore yesterday with boutique label/distributor Reverberation announcing they're rush-releasing the retrospective double CD set "A Present From the Past", a collection of B sides, hard-to-find EP tracks and 13 (count 'em) songs that are unreleased or in alternative form.

Treat this as a heads-up. I can't see tix lasting long.