Australian Punk Rock

axl blaze

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hey all - I am looking for bands like the Saints, Radio Birdman, any band that has that 77 Brisbane sound. for my documentary



the more punk, the more Aussie, the better
 
The scientists (early Kim Salmon) and The boys next door (early nick cave) are more 70's/80's punk sounds.

If you head into the late 80's and early 90's you stumble across The Radiators, cosmic psychos, The Hard ons, the meanies.

To be fair by the mid 80's most Australian punk was consumed by hard rock and everything was short fast and loud.

One of my personal favourites were the mark of Cain. No so much short (usually long intros) but more in keeping with that early raw sound of the saints

[video=youtube_share;weMxBhapC3A]http://youtu.be/weMxBhapC3A[/video]

This film clip even incorporates classic Australian poetry
[video=youtube_share;cgm6EYzwxpg]http://youtu.be/cgm6EYzwxpg[/video]
 
no offense - as a brash American can't do Southern hemisphere hip hop

I think it has to do with your lack of guns

that song won't work with my docu at all
 
[video=youtube_share;lN0OIiS6EH8]http://youtu.be/lN0OIiS6EH8[/video]
This is the original of the Mark of Cain video busty posted above. Played a show with the singer Steve Lucas last year; he is a much more...refined character nowadays. Still just as awesome though.
 
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[video=youtube_share;UpkV8nHbttI]http://youtu.be/UpkV8nHbttI[/video]

I think this is what you're looking for. The Saints and the Victims were first-wave aussie punk rock.
Victims being from Perth, an isolated backwater town in its own right...
 
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[video=youtube_share;ViWlT-L2y70]http://youtu.be/ViWlT-L2y70[/video]

Some friends of mine...
Good tunes; the Saints are fucking awesome, i saw them a couple of years ago.
There was a great doco about them on ABC TV a couple of weeks back. Could probably dig up a link if you havent seen it?
 
Oh, one more Birthday Party number, 'cause they're so fucking good.
[video=youtube_share;l5I2vEcVC_I]http://youtu.be/l5I2vEcVC_I[/video]

One of the best videos ever made too. Filmed on location in a Melbourne rubbish tip. They put out an ad in the local music press saying they were coming to town, and they wanted all the freaks to come out and get freaky for the shoot.
They weren't disappointed.
 
Eh, what the fuck...i could post this shit all day.
Sorry 'bout the multi-post, friends.
These are some more mates of mine. From 1990, but this is the shit (same drummer as the Victims and the Scientists, the legendary James Baker).
[video=youtube_share;MARwF3lOfLI]http://youtu.be/MARwF3lOfLI[/video]
 
right on! I knew a guy with your haircut would hardly let me down!!

thanks a lot - never heard of the Victims and I am really digging them...

now to convince one of the bands I mess around with to cover a Saints song

what are Australians feelings to this type of music? is it totally niche? I know it's old punk rock, so it's not in the forefront, but I would have to imagine it is steeped in the philosophy of some rock bands (like in the States), and perhaps every decade or so there is a resurgence?

dude thanks a lot... again... thanks!
 
^ fuck yeah, kissin cousins is my favourite cut off that record :)
I saw an interview with evan dando once where he said he and his friends had a drinking game in high school where they would listen to a Saints album and take a drink every time chris bailey said "yeah" or "alright" between lyrics.
...i bet they all passed out before the end of side A.

Note: the above is a UK (i think?) band called The Victims!
This is the Australian Victims:
[video=youtube_share;5cuMs5wtygA]http://youtu.be/5cuMs5wtygA[/video]

(The singer Dave Faulkner went on with the drummer James Baker to form the Hoodoo Gurus, one of Australia's biggest rock exports from the 80s).

And as for how these bands are remembered in australia? Fondly, i think.
Not everybody knows of them, but i think when we realise someone is a fan, there is a knowing look or something that makes you click - "ah, has good taste in music".
Like when you meet a fellow lou reed fan or whatever - not entirely underground, but just obscure enough to know you're on the same page.
I think these bands were considered dangerous (ie gigs were a police target) in their time, but that has cooled off completely as their (original) fans are middle-to-retirement aged.
And yeah, heaps of aussie bands are influenced by these sort of groups - it was probably the first burst of true original Australian rock culture (although there were a few good bands in the 60s, most local bands played covers), but few bands are anywhere near as good :)
 
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yeah man, although these bands were certainly influenced by that NYC '77 sounds - I like how these bands are true Australian, doing their own thing, creating their own culture. certainly paved the way for such bands like Rose Tattoo and AC/DC?

and the lead singer of Birdman Radio was from the Midwest, USA - like myself - so that is pretty kewl

next time I'm in Oz we're jamming! "kissing cousins" it is
 
Yeah, Deniz Tek is a pretty amazing guy - a doctor, a pilot and the lead guitarist from radio birdman!
A Detroit boy, i believe? I Radio Birdman a few years back, they still got it!

The bass player in the first video i posted - Ian Rilen from X - was actually a founding member of Rose Tattoo as well, so there was certainly some cross-pollination there!
And AC/DC's Malcolm and Angus young had a big brother named George who was in a great garage rock band in the 60s called the Easybeats - not exactly punk rock, but a pretty great band in their own right.
So yeah, lots of links there!

Also the drummer i was talking about - james baker from the victims - went to nyc in '76 to see the ramones and other CBGBs bands like the heartbreakers and the victims - then went to london and saw the sex pistols and the clash before they became famous - was friends with Sid Vicious when he was still John Beverly (pre-sex pistols) - all before the "punk" thing as we know it now existed, so the influence was certainly there - but aussies were more aussie in those pre-globalised days as well.
I think most youth and music culture is far more homogenised nowadays, which is both good and bad.
Next time you're in oz? Alright, alright, alright ALRIGHT!
 
LOL alright!

have you ever seen that show Housos? it's a pretty funny Oz show and the leader of a biker gang is that bald singer from Rose Tattoo. pretty awesome

and I heard that lead guitarist is from Ann Arbor, which is close, but also where Iggy is from

and yeah about the Heartbreakers. prolly one of my fave bands of all-time, and I see the influence in these bands for sure
 
Johnny Thunders and Iggy are both fucking amazing :)

Angry Anderson from Rose Tattoo is fucking funny!
 
no offense - as a brash American can't do Southern hemisphere hip hop

I think it has to do with your lack of guns

that song won't work with my docu at all

This dude appears to give less then 2 shits about what he posts here... An interesting perspective on aussie punk indeed. I'm guessing his favorite psychedelic song is by the backstreet boys. :\

Carry on :)
 
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