Kim Volkman- "Heaven & Hell" CD

Considering how many people come to this blog via the I94 Bar site, this may be superfluous, but anyway...I worked hard on this Kim Volkman CD review, and the CD is a great piece of work. He has some tracks up on his myspace- you really should give them a listen.

Lee Hazlewood

A great if somewhat depressing article on the man here.
And those lyrics for "Some Velvet Morning", that you always wondered about, too.

No flags required.

Lots to put in here for the Australia Day weekend, so I'm getting it in early.

On Friday, the Greyhound has a BBQ on in the beer garden from 5.00pm, followed by the Violent Mood Swings super group- essentially anyone in St. Kilda who owns a musical instrument will be there. No link for this- it seems they have stopped updating their gig guide, now it has been confirmed that live music will stop there (at least temporarily) at the end of February.

Meanwhile , the Killer Birds will be working hard, mixing their album under the watchful eye of Cosmic Psycho Ross Knight during the day, then playing at "Cocktails in the Gutter II" in the Ian Rilen Room at Torquay Football Club, with HOSS, in the evening.

Fiona Lee Maynard has a busy weekend too- the Tijuana Souvenirs are giving away Big Day Out tickets at the idGAFF, where they play with Kids In Cults:

while the Souvenirs and Fiona's other band Femme Royale are both playing an invite only show in Footscray on Saturday.

Also on Saturday, Dern Rutlidge reunite as youngbreeder at the Tote , and if you are up for a really long long weekend, Spencer P Jones is at the Gem in Collingwood on Sunday night- I think this is the last weekend of his residency.

And me? Well, Saturday's undecided, but on Friday I'll probably eat some lamb, then go and race a plastic duck with the Lord Mayor.

True. Go, number 3648!

In-Fidelity signs the Double Agents

A community service announcement, for anyone who's not on as many mailing lists as me:

As usual, click on the pic to enlarge

Radio Birdman tour news

Spotted this in a blog comment dated 17 January, on their myspace site:

Hey everyone,
After finally catching up on a thousand hours of lost sleep, on a tour where we went through amplifiers the way others go through guitar strings, we are now ready to saddle up and ride out again. We lost our drummer, Rusty, but there are some great candidates out there and we may have some exciting news in the next week or two.

Best,
Deniz

This reads to me as a legit post from Deniz Tek...so, it seems Russell Hopkinson has moved on, but there will be more live dates to come. Watch this space.

Mystery shopper

You may recall that earlier in the week this blog notched up it's 1000th hit.
I was online at the time, and noticed when the site counter clocked over. I quickly signed into the back end (the bits you don't get to see) and was amazed to find out that visitor 1000 was actually sitting in an internet cafe nearby. So I went to see who it was- and here she is:

Well, I think it's her, anyway- she wasn't very friendly. In recognition of her part in reaching this milestone, I asked her to look after things for the next few days- especially important as I've got a long weekend on- and she stopped threatening to call the cops and agreed to do it. "Yes, yes, just as long as you leave me alone", she said, as she headed off down Bridge Road, Richmond.
I didn't even get her name...

Need something to do?

Them Gingers are in the Espy Front Bar tonight (Friday 19th) supporting Sydney's Goons Of Doom.
Eddy Current Suppression Ring and a bunch of other bands are playing a benefit in Richmond from 3.00pm on Saturday- this place will be packed, I guarantee you.

If you can't get in, try The Tote which will probably be full too, as the Bakelite Age are launching their new 8-track EP (on Bang! Records, 12" vinyl will be for sale on the night) with supports including Gareth Lyddiard from the Drones playing solo. Or, as the Drones put it- "sex symbol gareth will be supporting sex symbols the bakelite age at the tote on saturday 20th of january. go there." Can't argue with that, really.

Boot problems

Day by day I wear a pair of black R.M. Williams boots. But weekends usually see me in my Blundstones- unless it's a special occassion, in which case I'll often pull on my Roccos.
I got my first pair of Blunnies when I was about 15, while working in a foundry over the summer. They were ugly steel capped things, but light on the feet and served me well for years. I've managed to get through half a dozen pairs since then, with the current ones nearly ready to retire.
And while I don't want to get all political here, the news that Blundstone are moving production overseas really pisses me off. And what are they going to export from Tasmania now? Chocolate in wooden boxes? God knows their beer is crap...

1000 views

Well, that didn't take long- clocked it up at 12.46am this morning. I had no grand ideas or clear expectations when I started doing this, and certainly never dreamed it would actually be popular with anyone but me.
Thanks to everyone who's taken the time to look in so far. This is the view from my side of the fence, by the way:

You realise of course that this means I'm going to keep this thing going...

Magnificent

is pretty much the word I'd use for the New Christs at the Espy on Saturday. Actually, it's definitely the word. But then they have never let me down. If Rob Younger & Jim Dickson gave it all up during Radio Birdman's world tour recently, well, they've managed to recharge their batteries somehow since then. The Pink Fits were excellent too. Some discussion here.
Many friends there, some interesting sights too, from a dancing dwarf to someone filming footage of a toilet door on their mobile phone for a band video .
I may have made a disasterous personal decision in choosing to go, rather than keep another appointment, but I guess I'll have to live with that.

Family sauna party

In a blatant attempt to appeal to the lucrative Scandanavian market, I've got these carefree folks looking after the place for me this weekend:

Have you ever been hit with a bunch of wet birch twigs? I have. It's not as bad as you might think.

No R n R Hall for the Stooges

They missed out - Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five being deemed the more notable contributors to rock and roll, of course - but who really gives a toss? Sure, it would have been great to see an acceptance speech by Rock Action or his brother Ron wearing black tie to go with his (Deniz Tek-donated) camo jacket, but when it's all said and done the Hall of Fame in Cleveland has very little to do with Rock and Roll. It could have done with a little subversion from within but if the Stooges are left outside, looking in on all that comodification of music, maybe that's not altogether a bad thing.

Bang! Records- Butcher Shop reissue

Saw this note over on the I-94 Bar

Spain's Bang! Records are doing a re-issue of the back catalogue of Tex Perkins' noise terrorists the Butcher Shop and need your help. On the 1990 Normal pressing of the "Pump Action" CD, there was a bonus track called "Deep Throat". Neither Bang! or Tex can come up with a copy. if you can help out with a burned copy of the song, drop Juan a line here. You'll make a mad Spaniard and Mr Perkins very happy.

which triggered a vague memory of being given a cassette of Butcher Shop demos by Lachlan MacLeod back in 1989 or so. I dug it out last night- watch this space.

Music for January (part II)

What a great way to open my account for the year- Tiger by The Tail & Kim Volkman at the St. Kilda Bowling Club, last Friday night.
It was hot, it was crowded, it was great. I may have had several beers- I vaguely recall harrassing Richard Sharman to take my picture for a change.
Anyway- on to this weekend.
Almost exactly 20 years since Rob Younger & Jim Dickson pulled the New Christs back together, (March 1987 according to this:) the current line up line up hits town for a couple of shows- Thursday 11th at the Tote and Saturday 13th at the Espy- which is free, so you have no excuse to miss it. I may have to stand down the back, for some reason my ears have been ringing constantly for the last month or so.
February is already shaping up well, with SixFtHick playing Melbourne on the 16th, 17th & 18th. And yesterday I got a heads-up that X-rated US funk/soulster BlowFly is coming out for a national tour with Dr. El Suavo. I believe they are still looking for "exotic dancers" for some dates, feel free to drop the Doc a line if you're interested.

click that New Christs pic to enlarge & read

A pleasant evening spoiled by false teeth.

It was a hot night last night, but I cooled down after a couple of Coopers' pale ales followed by a scoop or two from a bucket of frozen margarita.
Walking down the street, bathed in the rosy glow of Melbourne's most sunburnt woman (I'd say her back was done in "Pink Parakeet", according to this chart) I nearly landed flat on my hairy arse when my boot skidded out from under me. The culprit? These were lying in the middle of the footpath-

If they are yours, you can pick 'em up from the office, embedded sesame seeds and all.

Music for January

There are a few things going on this week/month.
Of note, Pure Pop Records in St. Kilda have a string of free shows going on every weekend, all the way into February.
There is a good line up including Dave Graney, Conway Savage, Lisa Miller, Darling Downs & lots more out at the Red Hill Harvest Festival, if you find yourself down the Peninsula way on the 21st. Those Red Hill Brewery ales are worth the trip on their own.

This Friday night? Saturday? Who knows? Check back closer to the weekend, I'll see what I can do.

2006 Top Ten list. At last.

I sent this in to the I-94 Bar a little bit late, so it's not going up there until the Barman gets back from holiday/out of detox.
Regardless, this is the shit-hot illustrated interactive version. It took me HOURS to do, so I would appreciate it if you could at least read the goddamn thing, OK?
In rough chronological order, then, here's a list of things that made an impression on me last year:

1- Getting kidnapped from the Niagara exhibition opening night at Outre Gallery, by Niagara & Colonel Galaxy. Two of the most charming and witty people you could ever hope to meet- Tracey and I spent an excellent hour or so drinking and chatting with them in the deserted beer garden of the Town Hall Hotel in North Melbourne.
We picked up a copy of the "Hot Box" 5 CD set, as well as a print:

2- Having my nose broken by an old friend in a stupid fight. I fixed it myself, at the bar of the Greyhound Hotel, with a handful of ice cubes in a napkin. Looked straight enough at the time.
So yeah, I finally ended up in Fred Negro's "Pub" comic strip- the hard way:

3- The second Tiger By The Tail LP. If it lacked the same impact as the first, that’s only because I had a better idea of what to expect. I’m looking forward to more from them in 2007.

4- Brewing- among other things, I brewed three batches of all-grain beer this year- malt, water, hops & yeast. From mash to mouth in a month. All tasted pretty damn fine to me, too. Then Little Creatures Brewery released their Bright Ale, which kind of removed the need to make it myself.
But our labels are better than theirs

5-
Pet frogs- if you want a really Zen pet, get a tree frog. They just sit there and look at you in a very calming way. Don’t get a yabbie, it will end in tears.
Note: they do get an absolutely murderous look in their eyes at feeding time, though. And they make a noise like a chainsaw, click here and scroll down to "calls" to listen. Then imagine hearing that at 6.00am in the morning, and repeated at random throught the day.

6- I can’t believe I only saw the Drones once in a whole year. Shit.

7- Radio Birdman- both “Zeno Beach” and the live shows. Standing inside the crush barriers at their final Melbourne show for the last few songs gave me as intense a barrage of music as I’ve ever seen and felt in my life. And of course them Bellrays, too. What did Lisa Kekaula whisper in my ear that night? I’ll never tell…
And I still can't get over this poster, which arrived in the mail, unsolicited and unexpected:

8- The net- all that myspace, podcast, message board and blogging stuff. I found old friends-hi, Hank! hi, Lindsay!- made new ones- hi, Grrtch!- heard some great new music, and tried to spread the word. Hope you found it entertaining.

9- Ian Rilen. Enough said.

10- Now I’m not really a list guy, so I’m gonna cheat by sticking a load of things in one item. I didn’t like the way the epicentre of live music in Melbourne got dragged even further north of the city this year. I did like the way so many people got it together and released their own CDs. Looking forward to – new Beasts of Bourbon, Penny Ikinger, Killer Birds & Double Agents CDs, the Lethal Weapons reissue, more RRR, more Kim Volkman, less broken noses…
I've heard the new Beasts album, and it's great. The Killer Birds are being produced by Ross Knight of the Cosmic Psychos- can't wait to hear it.

New Year's Eve.

I'm back.
Not usually up for much on NYE these day- it's an amateur drinker's fest. The competition is poor, but the field is large.
Went over to Richmond early in the evening and ate way too much excellent Vietnamese food. A bit later, I watched through a taxi window as a swarm of fruit bats came across town to feed, just as the 9.00pm fireworks were starting along the river bank.
Then fireworks on the beach- I'm sure someone in a boat out on the bay tried to hit the police helicopter with a flare gun at 11.55- and home. The fireworks were pretty corporate and all, and there was a crappy dance party going on too. But on the way home we ran into a local homeless guy sitting on a bench. He had an open stubbie of Coopers Pale Ale clutched in one hand, and three more in a plastic bag between his feet, and seemed to have the right spirit going on.