BROADCAST #09
AIR DATE: 02-27-07

How ya goin’, Fanatics?! I am in Australia tonight. I am here doing some press and luckily for me, The Evens are here in town and I am getting to see them play two nights. Stoked! In honor of the many great bands down under, we listened to Australian bands except for one track by The Evens. Tonight I drew heavily from two 2CD sets called Tales From The Australian Underground Vols. 1 & 2. My pal Tim Pittman put those out. He has been my agent here since 1989 and has been doing his part in archiving some of Australia’s rarer Independent and Punk releases with these CD sets. I didn’t have a great deal of time to prepare this show so the notes are a bit brief, really brief. I was working on a different show for this night and then this press thing confirmed and I had to change plans and put this together. Some of the rarer tracks we heard tonight, I don’t know much about the bands so please forgive the lack of information but you have to admit, it’s a great set of music! Australia has so many great bands, I don’t know how they do it. I hope you liked the show. I’ll be back live next week. Get a dog up ya and STAY FANATIC!!! --Henry

Information on the Tales From Australian Underground CD sets: We used a lot of tracks from these CD sets that were put together at great effort and are really worth checking out. Here’s the Amazon.com info on the two Tales CDs: http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Australian-Underground-Various-Artists/dp/B000088DTM/sr=1-2/qid=1172540464/ref=sr_1_2/002-3779000-2178456?ie=UTF8&s=music
and Vol. 2:
http://www.amazon.com/2-Tales-Australian-Underground-Tales-1977-1990/dp/B000GLL1OW/sr=1-1/qid=1172540464/ref=sr_1_1/002-3779000-2178456?ie=UTF8&s=music
The Sunnyboys CD set:
http://www.amazon.com/This-Real-Singles-Live-Rare/dp/B0002XNLII/sr=1-1/qid=1172540642/ref=sr_1_1/002-3779000-2178456?ie=UTF8&s=music
And you can go direct to the label site here: http://www.feelpresents.com/thelabel/768/releases.html

For you Europeans, Australians and New Zealand Fanatics, there is a re-broadcast time of Friday mornings, 0200 – 0400 hrs. West coast time so you all can check out the show and not have to set your alarms to too rude an hour.

The Mark Of Cain – Battlesick: From the Battlesick album. This is the first TMOC album I ever heard and it kicked my ass. We were on a bill with the band in their hometown of Adelaide and after the show, they gave me a copy of the CD. I didn’t have a way to play it on the road so I had to wait until I got back to America. I put it on and immediately became a fan. I put this album out in America and worked on the band’s 3rd album Ill At Ease.

Beasts Of Bourbon - Something To Lean On: From The Low Road album. This is the first band I saw when I got to Australia in January of 1989. Whenever we listen to this band, it’s always a track from this band. Sorry about that, I like all their other albums too but this is the one I always go to. I saw them play a few times last year and even though they no longer have Kim Salmon, they were still great.

The Saints - Nights In Venice: From the classic, must-have (I'm) Stranded album. You can’t talk about Australian music and not mention The Saints. We have played this band on our show many times. For me, it’s the first two albums, this one and Eternally Yours and the singles around them that are my favorites from their catalog. Great stuff.

Radio Birdman - What Gives?: From Radios Appear. Ian was the first person I know who had a Birdman record. I think this song ended up on some of his mix tapes. Along with The Saints, Radio Birdman are seen as the tall trees in the forest. They were making their music where there was no scene for what they were doing. They went through a ton of bullshit to get shows and to get records out. Radios Appear came out in 1978, In recent years, the band has toured Australia a couple of times. I believe Radios Appear was one of those albums like ones by The Saints and The Vibrators that were released in America with no tour and not much promotion. It was at one point picked up by Sire but I think they dropped the ball on the band in America. Thankfully, there has been a well deserved resurgence of interest in the band and all their stuff has been re-released.

AC/DC - Sin City: From the Powerage album released in 1978. This is one of my favorite AC/DC songs. The band has been with Brian Johnson for so long, it’s almost rare to hear the Bon Scott version of the band. What a band.

Cosmic Psychos - Lost Cause: from one of the Tales From The Australian Underground sets. You have heard this song played on our show before. I have seen the band play a few times and really liked them. I don’t have any of their records and only have this one track of theirs. I will look in the shops while I am here and see if I can find anything of theirs. I remember their live sets being great like this song. I have never heard anyone onstage ever tell the audience to “Get a dog up ya!” between every song. I love Australia.

Sunnyboys - Love To Rule (Original): Cool and smart Pop/Punk music from this Sydney based band. Tim put out the really cool Sunnyboys comp. This Is Real: Singles/Live /Rare. The band’s leader Jeremy Oxley suffered from schizophrenia and eventually was unable to go on making music. They were around ‘80 – ’84. I don’t know a great deal about the band and had never heard them until Tim gave me this CD set. I ended up with the CDs in my car for weeks, really cool stuff. Here’s some info on the band: http://www.i94bar.com/reviews/sunnyboys.html

Birthday Party - Fears of Gun: From the Bad Seed EP. The Birthday Party, what a miracle of a band. For me, all their records are great and they got better as they went along and their last EP, Mutiny, is the band’s finest moment. You can now get Bad Seed and Mutiny together on one CD and it serves as a monster album. As all you Fanatics know, this is Nick Cave pre-Bad Seeds. The band broke up in 1983 and the Bad Seeds formed in 1984. I saw the BP in ’83 and the BS in 1984, it was interesting to see Cave make the transition. I saw the Bad Seeds before their album was out on a night off when Black Flag was on tour in England. I took the train up from London and saw them in Bristol. I taped the show and it came out great. I forget if I have played any of that on our show yet. I should bring that one in some time. Wait until you hear the rare BP outtake I have for you next week!

The Moodists - The Disciples Know: When I saw the Bad Seeds play that summer in England, this was the opening band. I saw them again in Europe at some point but I don’t remember where or when. It’s how I met good ol Dave Graney, who fronted the band. I have a lot of his solo albums. My since departed pal Mick Geyer managed Dave at one point. I should get some of Dave’s music on the show some time. The Moodists were from the ultra cool Melbourne scene. It’s kind of funny walking around St. Kilda sometimes and seeing the hipsters still trying to hold onto it with their thinning hair still dyed black as they sit at the outdoor cafes with a pointed boot gently rocking the baby carriage. Come on you guys! This track was taken from the Tales From The Australian Underground CD. There is a 2CD set of all things Moodist called Two Fisted Art but it’s hard to find these days.

These Immortal Souls - Up on the Roof: Basically, when the 1986 line-up of Crime And The City Solution split apart, the ones who left, formed These Immortal Souls. Rowland S. and Harry Howard along with Epic Soundtracks formed the band along with Rowland’s gal Geneieve on keyboards. I was in Europe when their first single came out in September of 1987, it was one of the first CDs I ever had. I have aware four releases: Marry Me (Lie! Lie!) EP, Get Lost (Don't Lie!) LP, King Of Kalifornia EP and I'm Never Gonna Die Again LP. They are interesting records but I don’t know if they are in print anymore. They were on Mute so hopefully, there are enough of them out there that you can find them used. Any music involving Rowland is of great interest to me so I have tried to keep up with the guy’s releases. Here’s a thing on the band on the Mute site. http://www.mutelibtech.com/mute/immortal/immortal.htm

The Victims - I've Flipped Out Over You: I forget when I got this record but it was a long time before I ever went to Australia. The band released two singles as far as I know. I looked up information on the band and apparently they hailed from Perth. I pulled this from the Tales From The Australian Underground CD. There’s a small write-up on the band here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Victims.

Scientists - Solid Gold Hell: Some early Kim Salmon here. From the Absolute CD. The band released a ton of singles and some LPs. I think all that is in print is a few different best of CD comps. I have a couple of them and they are great. I think The Scientists had an interesting take on music and was the Australian band that made me see that the sheer geographic location of the country allowed them to exist without so much noise from music television and the normalizing factors of the American entertainment industry, to a certain extent. It’s not like Australia is cut off from the world but records and influences seem to wash up on their shores out of time. You’ll see bands with old Blues influences there, young bands who are crazy about some obscure band from the sixties or something. I think The Scientists have some of that going on. They had at least a passing interest in sixties music and they must have been interested in different sounds, they covered a Captain Beefheart song. The Scientists were a great band and Kim and his music has always been cool.

The Numbers - Government Boy: I don’t know anything about this band. I have been able to find a picture of the single sleeve. I am in Australia at the time of this writing, I will see if I can get some information from Tim, who put the Tales CD together. Later: Ok, just off the phone with Tim. He told me that the EP that this song came from is pretty much the only release of this band that has this sound. He that later on, the band did an LP that is more 80’s rock and not as edgy as this song. This is yet another track taken from the Tales CD set.

The Eastern Dark - Julie Is A Junkie: I have this single. I don’t remember where or when I got it but I have it. This is from Tales From The Australian Underground. A sad story here. I remember being told about this. The band was just getting going, all things were looking promising when band member James Darroch was killed in an auto accident. Band members Geoff Milne and Bill Gibson were also injured in the accident but recovered. The single was produced by Birdman Rob Younger and the song was much loved but the band’s career was tragically cut short.

The New Christs - No Next Time: Taken from Tales From The Australian Underground. All I know about this band is that it features Rob Younger from Radio Birdman. I don’t have any of the records. This is a part of Australian music I have to learn more about, all the Radio Birdman alums like Deniz Tek and all his stuff which I have heard here and there and always liked, he’s a cool guy. Rob, I met one time at a record store. This is a b-side. It was issued along with Born Out Of Time on the A side. Luckily, I will be talking to Tim Pittman while I am out here and will be able to get a list of the records to check out and will get a handle on my historical ignorance.

The Fun Things – When The Birdmen Fly: From the Tales From The Australian Underground CD set. You’re not likely to find an original copy of this EP as there is only 500 made and since the rhythm section of the band ended up in the Hoodoo Gurus, the popularity of the record is ridiculous. There is a great 2 CD series called Murder Punk that has the entire EP. That one’s hard to find as well. I just went on e-Bay and saw an original copy of the EP going for 250.00. Cool song.

The Boys Next Door - The Nightwatchman: From the Door Door album. This was The Birthday Party before they changed their name. Interesting to hear the band develop from this into the malevolent force that was The Birthday Party. Early Boys and Birthday Party show their influences and then incinerated that stage and started influencing bands. When I hear BND and early BP, I definitely hear Pop Group and The Fall. Cave’s vocals are very wiseass and almost school boy compared to what was to come. At this stage they were like babies—baby cobras.

Crime & The City Solution - The Dangling Man: Found on the Room Of Lights CD as an extra track. The album came out in 1986 and The Dangling Man EP came out the year before. As the band went on, the line-up changed but was always fronted by Simon Bonney, one of the more likable musicians to run into. The band started in the late 70’s but I never heard of them until they reformed in the 80’s after a long break. I guess I was interested in them initially because the band had Rowland S Howard and Mick Harvey, both of The Birthday Party as you Fanatics know. They were on Mute so I figured I better hurry up and get that record. C&CS may not be everyone’s taste, it’s heavy, sometimes ponderous stuff but it’s worth the trip, I think. A closer look at the line-up reveals itself to be even more interesting. Harry Howard on bass and Swell Maps member Epic Soundtracks on drums. That was the line-up when I saw them the first time. It was Washington DC, 1986. I don’t remember how many times I saw that line-up. I know it didn’t last long, perhaps it was only that one time. I remember just as when I saw the Birthday Party, I stood right in front of Rowland and got blasted by all that guitar. I have all their records but listen to the ones with Rowland on them most often. If you type the band’s name into your browser, you will no doubt run into Maurice’s very cool bad-see.org site that has all kinds of info on the band. Maurice is a Cave scholar and Fanatic, also a good guy. We need more like him around I think.

Kim Salmon & The Surrealists - Melt Pt. 1: You know Kim Salmon from The Scientists and The Beasts Of Bourbon. You have also heard several songs of his on this show. I have seen Kim play in some of his different incarnations, unfortunately, I missed The Scientists except for once when I saw them on TV. This track is from their 2nd release, Just Because You Can't See It… which came out in 1989 after 1988’s Hit Me With The Surreal Feel. In my opinion, all his records are great and should be checked out. I have been lucky to have seen the man play many times and he’s always great.

Salamander Jim - Hot Cakes For Daddy: This is Tex Perkins, Beasts, Cruel Sea, etc. I have one EP by these guys called Lorne Greene Shares His Precious Fluids, it may be their only record. I heard this band first by a tape sent to me by Harry Butler of Adelaide who was at one time, one of the most amazing tape hook ups in the tape trader world, one I used to spend quite a bit of time in. Those were some great days, waiting for that jiffy pack to show up and opening it with great expectation. Apparently, Kim was in this band for a minute. They sound a little Birthday Party to me at least on this track. I was just looking through my tapes and see that I have a live Salamander Jim tape as well as another band with some Salamander boys in it called Zulu Rattle. I will have to bring in some of that ZR stuff, it’s really cool. This track is taken from Tales From The Australian Underground.

Venom P. Stinger - Walking About: I think it was on one of my very early visits to Australia when I encountered this band. I don’t remember if I saw them or not. I don’t know much about them besides there were some Dirty Three members in this band. I have an album and songs on a couple of compilations. This was taken from the Tales From The Australian Underground.

SPK – Mekano: From the Tales From The Australian Underground - Volume 2 1977-1990 CD. Many years ago, SPK camped out at SST for a day or so. I remember they were very cool but intense and quiet. I went to see them play, I forget where they played. I remember it was very intense and that I liked it. I have two of their live tapes, Live At The Crypt and The Last Attempt At Paradise. but none of their albums. I remember at point, they were very expensive. Perhaps they have been re-issued. I don’t know much about them but do remember at one point, they changed their thing around 1983, I remember their Metal Dance release was very 80’s looking. I want hear all their old stuff again. Someone at SST had all their stuff and I heard a great deal of it but don’t remember it past it being incredibly noisy and intense. One of those you’ll dig it or run situations.

The Evens - All You Find You Keep: From the 2nd Evens album, Get Evens. They are live in Australia and I hope anyone who had the chance to see them did so. New Zealand, you’re next! Go to the Dischord site http://www.dischord.com/ to the tours section and see if the band is showing up in your area.