Australian Rock and Roll

Australian Rock and Roll. Nothing against Skyhooks and AC/DC - but I can't stand either of them, really (well, maybe a little of the latter - with the expired frontman). I want mainly to call attention to the amazing bands that came out of Australia and New Zealand in the 60s - and the surf/garage punk revival of the late 1970s -1980s.

The 60s

Some of the loudest, wildest bands of the 1960s I have ever heard emerged from Australia and NZ in the 60s in response to bands like Pretty Things and The Rolling Stones. It seems that when the new sound hit those Asian shores, it mutated, became tougher, wilder, cruder (The only English beat band I can think of that possessed an equivalently crude ferocity was The Downliners Sect) Examples of this proto-punk beat noise are finely represented by bands like The Chimney Sweeps, Chants R&B, The Missing Links, The Flies, The Pink Finks, The Cherokees and, of course, The Atlantics.

The Atlantics started out in the early 60s as an instrumental "surf" band (there was a scene, others on which included The Denvermen...), led by guitarist Jim Skaithitis. The Atlantics, as Japan's Takeshi Terauchi did with The Ventures, took their cue from the UK instrumental rock band, The Shadows, along with the sound coming out of southern California, and developed an amazing sound, uniquely their own. Heavy on echo, rather than the USA-favored reverb, their Bombora lp, is a loud, melodic, technical wonder - the band using only their instruments to achieve strangely beautiful, lush effects (the only comparison I can think of is The Ventures "In Space" lp, which, I believe came out after Bombora).

After the surf music fad dissipated, the Atlantics picked up lead vocalist Johnny Rebb (who had been in rockabilly bands in the late 50s) to become, in 1965, one of the first bands on the Australian beat music scene.

When I come up for air, I'll go on about the bands who picked up the torch in the late 70s: Radio Birdman, Saints, Scientists, etc. Feel free to augment, clarify, or contest my "facts."

Atlantics (surf era) sound clips:

http://barry.triode.net.au//html/atlantics.html

the above, i think, recent re-recordings by the band. Here are clips of the vintage stuff (sorry, but I can't seem to find whole songs):

http://www.guitar9.com/thebestofatl.html

1970s-80s

Sadly, here in DC at least, the Australian bands who got the most radio play were those who sounded most like their new wave radio friendly easily listening English and American contemporaries. I have in mind The Church, Midnight Oil, Men at Work (the one station I could pick up from time to time, WHFS -at the time listener supported - would occasionally play The Saints or Radio Birdman).

MEANWHILE there was a whole scene that did not get much airplay in the US (at least in the DC area) and seemed to pay hommage to the Detroit rock scene of the late 60s-early 70s: particularly The Stooges. The earliest of these bands were Radio Birdman and The Saints. As I did not followe The Saints (who once claimed they had no influences), I'll wax purple about Radio Birdman. Deniz Tek - a guitarist (and MD and Navy fighter pilot) from the US - along with vocalist Rob Younger founded the band in 1974. The band (named after a misinterpreted line from The Stooges' "1970") has claimed its major influences as The Stooges, The MC5, Blue Oyster Cult and the 60s "garage punk" scenes in the States and Australia. Not only were their 2 officially released lps great rock and roll albums (punk, garage rock, tuneful, melodic, LOUD) - but the band inspired and, occasionally, produced a new generation of Australian (punk) rock and roll bands: The New Christs, The Hoodoo Gurus, The Lime Spiders, The Stems, The Psychotic Turnbuckles, Exploding White Mice, Bored!, etc.

After the band split up, Younger and Tek went on to form New Race, wihich ex-Stooge Ron Ashton and Dennis Thompson of the MC5. After that band split up, Tek showed up in various bands throughout the 80s and, since the 1990s, tours and records with Wayne Kramer and with The Deniz Tek band. Younger formed the New Christs and continued to produce new bands in Australia. Radio Birdman reunited on a few occasions in the late 90s - and, I believe, released new material.

Radio Birdman has released their first album of new material in 30 years: Zeno Beach (vinyl and cd). Here is an interview with founding members, Deniz Tek and rob Younger:

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/features/article/6180/radio-birdman-does-the-pop-ag...

Kind of a tangent, but perhaps of interest to benwaugh ... the Stooges are playing the Fox Theatre here in Detroit tomorrow.

Love to see it - but, despite logistics, I assume the cost factor for admission is the same as it was here in DC - quite elevated.

Radio Birdman,I have recently learned will be on tour in the US this summer. A rare (arcane to most) event.

Did you leave out the Celibate Rifles? I loved some of their stuff. And, wasn't the Birthday Party (Nick Cave) an Aussie? Good thread, good group. Looking forward to contributing.

Hello and welcome. Yes, among many others I also left out, I'm sure (Died Pretty, The Sunny Boys...). I like a bit of their stuff (some it sounded a bit same-ish to me): "I Wouldn't Live Here If You Paid Me", is a great song. I have a couple of their lps.

The guitarist, Kent Steedman, I think is his name, has played in The Deniz Tek Band from time to time in the 90s - possibly still does (Tek was the American guitarist/fighter Pilot/Physician who founded Radio Birdman).

Nick Cave was/is Australian - though most of his career has been based in England. I believe The Boys Nextdoor, his pre-Birthday Party band, was based in Australia.

Oh, yeah, I think I have a Boys Next Door 7" single somewhere. Died Pretty - forgot about them, too.

Gosh, I can't even begin to count how many years it's been since I've heard The Sunny Boys referred to (or listened to the band either!)

I quite liked them back in the day.

Hello marietherese. I have a cd or something by them that I bought years after I heard them. My collection, though, is mainly the noisy stuff. It was bands like The Stems and Radio Birdman that got me from punk into the 60s "garage rock" noise, - US and OZ.

Isn't some reincarnation of Radio Birdman touring right now? Think I read that on a message board somewhere.

ha - as old as they are it might seem like a reincarnation. I heard from their management about a month ago that the band was undertaking its second tour of the States this summer. Most of the original members are still in the line up: Rob Younger on vocals, Deniz Tek and Chris Masuak on guitars - I think Warwick Gilbert is still there as well, but not sure.

I highly recommenmd picking up both Radios Appear and Living Eyes (there early, official releases). The new album "Zeno Beach" is ok, but much more wistful, melancholy - againg, death and all that mortal stuff we graying/balding types find so tedious.

I just realized that I forgot to add three of my late 1980s favorite Aussie bands: Feedtime, Lubricated Goat, and the Cosmic Psychos. Feedtime and Lube Goat were really sludgy noise rock stuff; Cosmic Psychos were real meat-and-potatoes punk. Never got to see any of them live. I did however, see the Hoodoo Gurus in 1984 when they played Minneapolis (where I grew up) and they were terrific. That first record of theirs (Stoneage Romeos (?)) is still a great rocker.

I remember seeing Lubricated Goat opening for the Dwarves at the 930 Club in DC. I recall they were quite noisy... extended noise jams as opposed to the Dwarves blitzkrieg pace of furious noise.

I have never heard the Cosmic Pyschos - will need to look them up - and I still like that first Hoodoo Gurus lp as well - particularly that song where they pay homage to EVERYONE who influenced them - from Danny and the Juniors to The Ramones.

The Hoodoo Gurus are still around, still making music. They recently toured the US. I didn't get to see them this time round but a friend did and said they were still very energetic, very noisy and a lot of fun.

Woah, don't 'diss' AC/DC! They were my (late) father's favourite band, apart from the Sabbath, The Stones and Dr Feelgood. He was RnB crazy from a young age and saw some brilliant bands when they were starting out on the GB scene in the early 60s. I still remember the first time he saw AC/DC 'live' on TV one night; must have been about 1977 when they were doing covers like 'Baby Please Don't Go' and he was so excited he got their albums.

Then the house literally rocked to AC/DC up until 1980. I still love them and listen to them (pre-1980s only). Witty, rhythmic, dirty and full of blues. Live they were incredible.

That aside, I don't know too much about Australian music, except for Rose Tattoo, INXS (brilliant live too), Kylie'n'Dannii, Natalie Imbruglia and other pop stuff. Oh and anything by Mushroom Records: the incidental music in Neighbours (I'm too old to blush; I've been watching it since it started and it's the ONLY thing I watch on TV). I do love the Australian ethos and love Australian Arts. Just don't diss AC/DC. ;D

I had tickets in 1977 or 78 (whichever year was Bon Scott's last tour) and my ride ditched me while I was at work and I missed what those heartless soulless bastards described the next afternoon as a so on and so forth "great show".

Fond memories of AC/DC: one Halloween night, late 70s, hauling around in my scabrous 65 Malibu SS, my associates and I, hurling pumpkins and drinking beer we had neglected to purchase.

After much mindless havoc and irresponsible driving, we pulled into a cul de sac to determine in colloquy our next course of action. With the motor humming and Highway to Hell blaring from the speakers we were surrounded by more cops than any of us would have thought the situation warranted. The looks on their pink well-shaven faces as they scanned all the pumpkins and empties was nearly worth the humiliation of detainment and arraignment.

My lawyer, went on to become a politician - sweet guy, actually.

Many of my formative moments happened to AC/DC's music.

I always associate Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (the whole album) with my dad: he laughed every time he listened to it. The Stones allusions alone made him adore Bon Scott, as I did. I had to be sent home early from school the day I heard he died: I was heartbroken. He died nearby, actually. There is/was a blue plaque: I know at least two London AC/DC fans who have one. (I keep some rough company, I blame rock'n'roll).

Quite soon after Bon Scott died, I gave up listening to heavy metal and broadened my horizons considerably in musical terms. So I have the second singer, Brian, to thank for hanging around with mods for a while and (finally) getting my hair cut and wearing a dress, even. Thank you, AC/DC.

My favourite LP is definitely Powerage. I listen to that quite a lot. It's great. Especially Riff Raff. Amazing guitarist, Angus Young.

I always thought of heavy metal as background music for criminal activity... thank goodness for "punk" rock music with its emphasis on good clean living.

#20 hahaha.

Everyone knows punk's just the New York Dolls speeded up.

But with cooler clothes, obviously.

Heavy metal and punk share one thing - age does not become them. There is something sad about late middle-aged men (usually) bashing 3 chord out the same songs 30 years later, perhaps it's to do with the sentiment of the music/lyrics.

I went to see AC/DC a couple of years ago on a whim - Angus Young still does the schoolboy schtick but now, rather than being fun, it is slightly creepy, although not as creepy as Jeanette/Jimmy Krankie.

True, true sort of. But then I think - at least those middle aged men don't have my job. They get to stay out and rock! ;^) And didn't David Bowie (the guy who watered down The Stooges) say somewhere along the upper-end of 40 line that rock and roll is "our" (old folks) music, not kids' music?

In the many years back before I matched (nearly) the above description, all we could get on the radio (in DC at least) was AC/DC, The Eagles... etc. When the local non-profit radio station WHFS (RIP) picked up punk rock and "new wave", they also played all the precursors to the so-called new sound that many of us had never known was out there: The Stooges, The Dolls, The MC5, The Flaming Groovies, Modern Lovers, etc.

Of course none of this would compel me tp pay $100 to see a 60 year old Iggy Pop - but I sure do wish he and his mates a successful run of it.

Well, my husband went to the first Stooges reunion at Coachella in 2003 and apparently they were amazing. On the other hand, we went together to the Sex Pistols reunion in 1995 and they were terrible.

#23 - did Bowie water down the Stooges or just produce them badly? He did rescue Pop, and Lou Reed, from obscurity. Personally, I think "Raw Power" is the Stooges best album, especially now it's been properly remastered.

Radio in the UK was completely different in so much that stations would play a complete mishmash of styles. The whole ideal of genre radio has only really hit here in the last decade. It's a terrible idea - it removes the thrill of hearing something new.

$100 is a lot of money to see Pop & Co. It somehow feels against the ethos of the Stooges as well. We all know that the Stones and Eagles are as much corporations as musical units.

To bring it back to Australia - has anyone listened to the Triffids? They released a handful of great albums in the 80s. Sadly, the main songwriter, David McComb, first needed a heart transplant aged 33, then died following a car crash 4 years later, so his solo career never really got going.

Raw Power better than Fun House? Can such things be? Bowie's rescue operation, in my opinion, made Iggy Pop a commodity - which, I'm sure was not a bad thing for his career - but it really took the edge off. The apocalyptic violence of Fun House never returned on any subsequent official release - although the orphaned tracks that were not included on Raw Power (Gimme Some Skin, I Got a Right, etc.) are some of the most intense animalistic compositions I have ever heard (James Williamson's guitar technique was aform of aural battery, amazing and unprecedented).

Raw Power should have been a great lp. As far as it's remastering goes, do you mean the further mangling Iggy Pop subjected it to? It seems all he did is brought the bass up front. I prefer to listen to Bowie's original production.

As to the couple of solo lps Bowie produced. Well, they were very Bowie-like (more tuneful, lyrically sophisticated - less, er - rock and roll). I preferred the effect of Detroit influence on Bowie (Alladin Sane),to the reverse of the process.

I have heard the Triffids on a few comps - the couple of tracks I have sounded sort of "arty". Mind you it's been years since I've heard them. I will dig it out this evening and play it again.

Message 25> Jargoneer, I am a passionate Triffids fan and have been one almost since the band's beginning. McComb was a remarkable songwriter, one of Australia's very finest, and his untimely death was a tragic loss. Both his songs and his voice possessed a quality that seemed to me quintessentially Australian.

There are plans to remaster/reissue all of the Triffids' recordings. 'Born Sandy Devotional' was rereleased last June and 'In the Pines' and 'Calenture' have just recently hit the shops. Graham Lee, Triffids' guitarist, is the main man behind the reissues and he keeps fans up to date on the reissue projects process at his Triffids' website . The CDs are released on the Liberation label in Australia and New Zealand and Domino Records in the UK, US and rest of the world. I don't have the most recent reissues yet, but 'Born Sandy Devotional' sounds fantastic! Well worth purchasing if you like the band.

All that being said, however, I suspect the Triffids are most definitely not benwaugh's cup of tea (or "bottle of beer", "dram of whisky", etc. etc. Insert appropriate metaphor of your choice.) ;-)

#27 - The new releases (I have "Calenture" and "In the Pines") of the Triffids are excellent, lots of nice bonus tracks. The second cd of "Calenture" is the whole album in demo form, which creates a sound not dissimiliar to "In the Pines", and is possibly better than the original album.

#26 - I grant you that "Fun House" is a great album, but "Raw Power" still edges it for me. The problem I have with Bowie's production of the album is that it sounds thin, the same problem as "Transformer". "Ziggy Stardust" is probably the only good rock album produced by Bowie, and even then the tracks sound better on the BBC Sessions versions - more crunch, more Mick Ronson.

I don't mind those two albums ("Lust for Life" & "The Idiot"), some good songs but I agree completely - they are Bowie albums sung by Pop, even the musicians are the usual Bowie hands. (I take you have blotted out the 3rd collaboration, "Blah Blah Blah", now that was a real mistake).

Question about a New Zealand band, I'm guessing from the late 80s: Garbage and the Flowers. Girl singer with sort of a post-punky racket behind her, if I remember correctly. Really all I can be sure of is I liked what I heard.

Is there anything out there available on any format? I heard them on an indie station here in the Bay Area, probably four years ago.

There is this... several videos:

http://www.myspace.com/thegarbageandtheflowers

Any who are interested in pure, raw r&b/ rock and roll will be pleased to hear Norton records has released an lp collection of live and studio tracks by New Zealand's legendary Chants R & B - and at $9 (cheap!). For those of you who are unfamiliar with the band (occasionally anthologized on comps like Pebbles and Kave-In), it might be helpful to think of early The Pretty Things on a methedrine binge. Along with The Stooges, they're one of my favorite bands.

http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/photo/johnny-cooper-the-maori-cowboy

The birth of rock n roll in New Zealand!