What’s The Rockbrat Listening To Today ? Sour Jazz: Homage To Catatonia

 In the world of rock n roll there are some outfits who’ve existed who have ‘that’ sound. Let me explain…….it is a solid wall of sound which hits you when you hear them or see them live. The Beasts of Bourbon had it; the New Christs did too, Spencer Jones (obviously) had it, Deniz Tek had an abundance of it, when I’ve seen Cheetah Chrome live, he had it too. Lobby Lloyde most definitely had it. You get the picture ? Most of these names will remain unknown to the masses, but the masses are indeed – asses. Sour Jazz are another band who have ‘that’ power. But when you see the pedigree within their ranks, the solid wall of sound they produce makes sense. I cannot explain this in words – you need to see or hear for yourself.  So in the European summer of 2010, Cowboy Mark, Splat Action and Misters Popular and Ratboy,  blasted their way through Spain with a packed week of shows. The result is this amazing soundboard recording from the 16th June gig at Barcelona’s Sala de Apolo. Damn hard to pick one particular highlight here, but if pressed, set-opener ’Fun Dumb Daze’ and ‘Masquerader’ – both from the glorious American Seizure album gets the nod from Mr Rockbrat, closely followed by ‘I Gotta Change’, which I recall first hearing on a comp Hiroshi The Golden Arm did some time back.  I still reckon their amazing track ‘I Live On A Street Called Rock & Roll’ shoulda made the cut, but you cannot have it all right ?! Oh and in this modern world where we find ourselves Ramone-less (no disrespect Mr Bell) their take on ‘I Wanna Live’ is about as genuine and as authentic as you’re gonna get. Two thumbs up. With band members scattered all over the globe, seeing this outfit live could be some kind of logistical challenge. Hearing them though is not.   You wanna know how cool Sour Jazz are ? Cool enough my friend to ‘give’ this album the ‘green light’ to a well-known downloading blog. Was available for a short time over the Festive Season but it would seem the rock n roll Christmas Tree has yet to be boxed up. Get it here before the Grinch has his way. You should also check out Acetate Records. Actually I am in the mood for some Sour Jazz video – below is the promo clip for ‘That’s Cool, Too’.  Always comforting to have rock n roll in safe hands…

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Rockbrat Wonders: Bands Who Should Call It Quits: Status Quo

The Parfitt-Rossi Band. That's time gentlemen, please...

Well here we have the latest recommendation for band’s ‘being put out to pasture’. And this is one very tired sounding outfit – who really should’ve call it a day by now. So at great risk of being physically injured by an elderly, denim clad limey – may I suggest
Status Quo pulls up stumps and head for the pavilion, once and for all. What has given Mr Rockbrat the inspiration to put forth the once mighty Quo in this unpopular category ? Well, I was given a 4CD set recently called ‘The Best Of’, and believe me, it was anything but. It was in fact one of the worst compiled compilations albums you will ever have the misfortune to hear (i.e. a pile of shit). Some of the tracks on this thing made me cringe and I felt genuine pity that a band whom I once loved, could only offer up so many sub-standard tunes on a so-called Best Of. When a band of this calibre covers Elvis Costello’s Pump It Up or Canned Heat’s On The Road Again, well, it is a clear indication of a band sadly out of ideas. In The UK at least, Quo have become something which is akin to a national treasure, like the Queen Mum, ‘sunny’ holidays down at Bournemouth-by-sea, Chocolate Digestives or dare I say it – Cliff Richard. Now when I think Quo, It is three chords, heads down boogie – of Lancaster growling through Roadhouse Blues, of Big Fat Mama being played loudly to hungry, early 70′s rock audiences all over Europe ! THAT is Status Quo. Much like Kiss, who refuse to call it quits, Quo once embarked on an End Of The Road Tour back in 1984 ! What a shame they did not call it quits back then. But let’s call a spade a spade. It has been the Parfitt-Rossi band since Lancaster departed anyway. Quo continue to survive on their glorious past, but in my humble opinion, any man on the street could have trouble naming anything of quality which they’ve released in the past 25 years. I saw them live in 1991 and they were great. Good fun. So too in around 1998. Good fun. Grab a beer, take in the nostalgia, have a good time right. Why don’t they go out on the road and play On The Level or 12 Gold Bars back to front ? It would make more sense. Quo must be closing in on 50years right ? F&#k me dead. End it already. This album could’ve been packed with some seriously lethal, early 70′s Quo power – stuff like Roll Over Lay Down, Backwater Road etc. But tell me how stuff like All The Reasons, or Big Fata Mama gets overlooked in preference for a lame take of J Geils Band – Centrefold ? ! Or even a lightweight interpretation of Born To Be Wild ? Plod, plod, plod.  You gotta be kidding me ! The inclusion of the Beach Boys tune they did with the evil ginger wizard Mike Love, is always best forgotten and should never, under any circumstances make a best of album. The addition of a track by some UK DJ rapper called ‘Scooter’ where he samples Whatever You Want, made me cease listening and is in fact no different to that Mr Blobby children’s novelty tripe from 1994. Very, very sad. This album could’ve been so great, yet ended up sounded like a hastily thrown together K-Tel compilation catering only for the musically retarded.

Judas Priest – Budokan, Tokyo, Japan – Friday 17 February 2012

Priest's final Budokan appearance...cold outside, fiery hot inside.

Tonight’s show at the legendary Budokan saw the venue being covered with snow. Strangely enough, a heavenly setting indeed for one of the most iconic HM bands of my lifetime. Priest are on their farewell tour and deliver a greatest hits type package with a couple of rarities thrown in as well. From what I understand, once retired from long tours, they will continue to perform the odd show in the years ahead. Like many rock fans I was disappointed to be seeing Priest on a farewell jaunt without KK Downing on board. The band have done the right thing in attempting to fill his big shoes and going out on the road one last time with a replacement. It is ultimately, a blot on their history that, after so many great years with the band, Downing could not bow out with the band in style. That being said, his replacement Richie Faulkner does a superb job, and if you’re 15 years old, you ‘d probably never even know the difference. Faulkner and Tipton work well together, and the band just look so comfortable that they could not have chosen a better replacement. Consider he was born when British Steel was released and is now on that stage with rock icons ! Priest will always be – Downing and Tipton though – end of argument. If you are a rock n roll scholar, and you’re ever in Tokyo, you should make an effort to visit this most iconic of Japanese venue’s. If the backstage walls could talk huh !? The Beatles, Kiss, Zeppelin, Cheap Trick, Stones, The Who, Queen – most of the biggest names in popular music have stood on that stage beneath the national flag ! A couple of minutes before show time, the intro tape of Sabbath’s War Pigs, gets a loud airing to a welcome response. Then, without much fanfare – lights drop and the trio of Halford, Faulkner and Tipton are huddled in a small group blasting through ‘Rapid Fire’. It instantly brought back memories of 1982 and playing this on a local HM comp which my brother used to own. Great days. ‘Metal Gods’ follows next and the pretty much sets the mood for rest of the night. Tonight Priest were L-O-U-D. My ears have been assaulted by some serious volume over the years, and this was yet one of the loudest showsI have been to. It’s never too loud though ! Right !? Heading Out to the Highway is next and is truly great. Cannot recall all the the set, but I do know Starbreaker from Sin After Sin was played. Amazing. Diamonds & Rust was magic, a very catchy
Turbo Lover, and a great take of The Sentinel. Felt like 1986 !
A good thing right ! Cannot do any better than hearing The Green Manalishi in 2012, followed by the obligatory Breaking the Law. Encores were true HM classics: The Hellion, Electric Eye, Hell Bent for Leather, You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’ and finally Living After Midnight. Cannot be topped. No sir. Nights like this are sop special to many rock fans like me, as it is essentially a look back on my life in rock n roll. Bands like Priest have always been with me, on my journey through life, so to watch them churn out hit after hit – many attached to memories of growing up – it’s hard to put into words. For example I can recall buying British Steel on cassette and just playing the thing over and over and over again, or once finding a 7″ of ‘Take On The World’ at a market back in 82 ! It was all part of my rock/metal discovery – all a part of who I was and what I became. A lifelong rock n roll soldier.
So with a setlist packed essentially with my memories, it would be hard to select any particular song/s as highlights….but Heading Out to the Highway’, Metal Gods and and an amazing take of Diamonds and Rust were very memorable. Halford’s voice is amazing and shows no sign of any weakness, not that I could hear anyway. If you get a chance to see the band on this farewell tour, do not miss the opportunity. They have never sounded better and and are indeed bowing out with style and at the very top of their game.

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Lifting The Lid On The Rockbrat Treasure Chest: Died Pretty/Cosmic Psychos NYE gig tee-shirt

Here is a pic of a long lost gig shirt I once owned. Amazing double bill, considering what the Australian ‘live’ scene is like nowadays. It’s from a NYE show at Melbourne’s Sarah Sands. Supports were Nursery Crimes and Swirl. Is this 1990 ?

Rockbrat Introduces You To: Yuto Miyazawa

OK. So if you are a regular YouTube surfer and an Ozzy fan, then you’d no doubt be aware of Yuto Miyazawa. For the uninitiated, he is a ‘child prodigy’ guitarist from Tokyo who this month turns 12. His style is metal. Now, the jury is still out on whether all this child prodigy stuff is a good thing. The cynic in me thinks that in today’s era of instant success, where scheming parents can view social media as a playground they would like to ‘encourage’ (ahem) their gifted children towards, I can’t help but think that 8 years should be content to play on the swings, read a book, or trade gum cards – but hey, maybe I don’t get it. He has appeared on several US TV chat shows over the past couple of years with his Randy Rhoads custom model polka dot Flying V in tow, playing the licks to ‘Crazy Train’ note for note. Behind every child prodigy is a scheming parent who recognizes that the said prodigy is at their most bankable before they hit their teen years, so they have to milk the marketing cow for all it’s worth. Maybe his folks oughta check out Nathan Cavalieri (who Mr. Rockbrat and I saw live), who played bona fide blues and did the same US TV circuit etc as Yuto, yet ultimately grew up, and when the novelty factor goes, you are up against all the other schmucks. The kid can obviously play, but the whole child prodigy guitar thing reeks a little too much of cash grab for my liking. I smell a rat. Osbourne does not make any uncalculated moves, and I’d be surprised if Sharon Osbourne wasn’t behind this. The fact that Randy Rhoads’s music is again being dragged out further reinforces in my mind how reliant the Osbourne’s are on Rhoads’ music and legacy for Ozzy’s relevance. Watch this video clip of Yuto on the leso friendly show Ellen. Yes, his parents have put him in a CBGB shirt and yes, he nails the licks note for note, and I do tip me lid to him, for as a 9 year old to play and sing this, well, it’s pretty amazing. What I find amusing is the naive studio audience who gasp at the kids performance, failing to recognize that he IS playing a Rhoads  song which is dripping in originality and still sounds great 30 years after it’s release. This reinforces in my mind that Randy Rhoads was, and still is, head and shoulders above all the other guitar bozos in the metal genre.

Rockbrat Wonders: about some ‘uncool’ shows which rocked !

Rock n roll confession ! Yes, we’ve all been there. You get dragged to see some band who you are not really into, but lo and behold – you walk away with a new-found appreciation ! Over the years I used to see most major rock and metal bands if they toured, some were awful (Warrant in 1992, David Lee Roth in 1988, Yngwie Malmsteen in 1990). On the opposite side of the scale are those ‘uncool’ acts who you ended up thinking being more than impressed with.  ! Here are a few of Mr Rockbrat’s….blog disciples are welcome to add theirs…..I will add more as I think of ‘em !

Simple Minds – Paris 1991.
As a motorcycle riding, leather jacket wearing, loud rock n roll disciple, bands like Simple Minds were never on my radar. Especially in the 80′s. Hell, they never woulda made the pages of Circus or Rock Scene anyway. Yet, in the summer of 1991 I was in the French capital and taken to see Simple Minds supported by Transvision Vamp. Well, suffice to say they were very cool. Some great tunes, a great live show and vocalist Jim Kerr gave a great performance. No I never did go and purchase the back-catalogue, but that night was a real suprise.

Michael Bolton – Canberra (2010)
Definitely not gonna win you points with your supercool punk pals, but make no mistake, Michael Bolton was great ! Okay so I had a head start on his career via Blackjack (any Kiss drone would know of the Bolton, Bruce Kulick connection – and he penned some tunes with Stanley as well), but he gets dissed by the majority as very ‘uncool’. Yet Flea’s soooo cool ? Gimme a break. Bolton’s voice is powerful, and he can do the tenor trip with ease. He had a killer back-up band, with two smoking hot female vocalists. At one point he disappeared from view and emerged in the centre of the crowd, actually inches away from me – and belted out a number. Is that an old Kiss trick ? Anyway, a great night and if you dismiss guys like this because of one or two massive AOR hits, well, your loss.

Elaine Paige – Canberra (2010)
Okay so I had free tickets, but that’s besides the point. I was never a fan of the theatre thing. Cats, Les Miserables whatever. Somebody clear those damn props so the rock band can set up ! But this legendary British songstress was astounding. As an unabashed all-girl band geek lifer, I have seen my fair share of lady vocalists. I love Joan Jett as much as Annie McCue, or Melanie Safka, or Gig Hangach, Lori Carson, Cheris Currie, Donita Sparks, Nicolette Larson, Kathleen Hanna, ONJ, Kat Bjelland etc all equal. They are all different and those few, and many other personal favorites get the thumbs up from Mr Rockbrat. However no one (with the possible exception of the late Eva Cassidy, whom I never saw law) will ever match the power and strength of Elaine Paige that night. It was power beyond anything I could imagine. The stuff to make your goosebumps get goosebumps. One show I will treasure.

Joe Cocker – Manchester (1991)
He was on a triple bill at Old Trafford, opening up for Rod Stewart, with Status Quo also on the bill. Joe Cocker wasn’t hip, right ? To me I just wanted to get to Quo and Rod. Man at about 5pm, this guy came onstage with no fanfare, no fuss. Just sauntered up to the mike and ripped into it. A great backup band. I knew most of his set, but it was the vibe, the tightness and energy of he and his band which I fondly recall. It set the mood for a great evening…..

John Paul Young – Manly (1988)
Again, not very cool to say you liked JPY in the 80′s. If you had that opinion, you lose. WTF couldn’t you have an open mind and go see The Church or Voodoo Lust one night, and JPY the next ? Nothing worse than a blinkered rock fan. This guy was always a great, fun night out. This one show from the late 80′s was great. He played an auditorium, with his amazing back-up band of legendary Oz rock musicians such as Ronnie Peel, ‘Pig’ Morgan and Johnny Dick. The place was jumping with many merry punters (was this a dinner show ?) up out of their seats and dancing.  Squeak’s place in Australia music history is assured, as his time at the Alberts ranch. Good time rock n roll folks.

Worst Album Art The Rockbrat’s Seen ? Jim Keays – Lucifer Street

Not sure what the story was behind this bizarre artwork from 1980. If you need a rock n roll history lesson, Jim Keays is most well-known in Australia as frontman for the Masters Apprentices. In more recent times he has done the live circuit as part of the Cotton, Keays and Morris trio, which is a fantastic live show. Like many late 60′s, early 70′s performers, Keays found himself out of the public eye during the early-mid-80′s. I can recall the Cowboy telling me he once saw Jim give a sizzling live performance in the 80′s at a record fair ! Anyway, this 7″ which I picked up a lifetime ago has artwork which I guess, only those in the know could explain. That’s Jim of course in the middle, his arms draped around a shady looking dude with beard, shades and hat – whilst his other arm is straddling a big trannie with make-up overkill. I apologize m’am, if indeed you are indeed, a female. Look a lot of puzzling album artwork, you are never going to ship gold with decisions like this. Pills, a dead bird, bizarre characters, a grinning Jim Keays….any North Balwyn residents reading this call Lucifer Street home ?

Lifting The Lid On The Rockbrat Treasure Chest: The Shivers Gig Poster, The Tote, Collingwood, May, 1991

Been receiving some nice comments in regard to a post on the blog about the much maligned late 80’s Melbourne powerpop outfit, the Shivers, so I fished around in the Rockbrat archives today and found this old gig poster. It is for a Shivers show at the Tote in Collingwood, and Im pretty sure it was in May, 1991.

Rockbrat Wonders: Do Guns n Roses Still Deserve To Be Playing Big Stadiums ?

Axl dresses sensibly for a Rio rain storm...

Recently I got ahold of the Axl Rose Band live at Rock in Rio, from October of 2011. It is horrible. A damn freak show in fact. The massive audience only go nuts when vintage tunes are played – especially anything from ‘Appetite’. Which begs the question: are this band still deserving of playing large stadiums around the world ? The answer is a definite no. Yes folks, out of sheer boredom over the new year break, I made the decision to reintroduce myself to GnR via this video – the ‘current’ GnR. It is true I did not hear Chinese Democracy. It is also true the last time I saw them live was at Wembley in 1991. That being said, I was curious to see what they looked and sounded like nowadays. My god they are a band of misfits – and I don’t mean the Bobby Steele variety either. Ironic that Motley Crue have been pushing the ‘freak show’  element for some time now, in order to stay in the rock spotlight. Yet, when it comes to overall weirdness, GnR have it nailed.
I think they only draw punters because of two reasons. One, as I have mentioned in a previous rant, are the kids too young to recall the halcyon days and want to say they’ve seen GnR. The other reason I think is that Rose was out of the spotlight for so long, and it was in fact this time period of inactivity which in fact enables him to still pull crowds (and has helped in prolonging his career).
Here are the worst bits from this show. They come on stage after midnight, which is Rose’s usual schtick. They kick off the set with something from Chinese Democracy, which was as much a fizzer as their pyro, when they hit the stage. Like Metallica, this band are so far removed from their original roots it is not funny. Rose is dressed in something like a yellow raincoat and detective hat. Good choice during a Rio de Janeiro rain storm, but not the individual I fondly recall who once wore denim, leather and a Rose Tattoo tee-shirt. Don’t give me that ‘artistic growth’ bullshit either, cos this is one band who have an attending crowd that solely want to hear the ‘hits’ . Why is it so hard for this guy to grasp this ? The band themselves are all fine players, but a rag-tag bunch nonetheless. Is that Dizzy Reed on keyboards ? He hung around long enough, so I guess he still deserves his shot. Pretty hard to be all bad-ass when you’re a keyboard player, but I digress (no keyboards needed in Hollywood back in 86 mind you !). The guitar player, with his beard and top-notch reminds me of Krist – that lean, dorky bassplayer from Nirvana (currently residing in the ‘where are they now’ file – though happily cashing large royalty checks til his dying day!). This freak would look more at home in that goddawful MTV-lovin’ act the Spin Doctors. Remember them ? (I wished I didn’t)  He even dons a Star Wars, Storm Trooper-type helmet at one point ! Nice one dork. Cannot recall Cocksy, Keef, nor Malcolm ever carrying on with this rubbish. He often has to lift the thing up to see his fret board ! There are two other faceless ‘dudes’
on guitars. Is one of them Bucket head, the dude who would sport the KFC  container on his head ? Would you have to pay royalties to the Sanders klan (ahem) for this nonsense ?  Are there three guitarist now ! Murray, Smithy and Janick you ain’t. With their wallet chains, dyed black hair, leather jackets, scarves and low slung axes, they strut and pose like they were the last rock stars alive. Sorry chump, that title goes to Dave Kusworth.  One kid even looks like Stradlin !This look is so tiring now. They remind me of Dregen-clones, who himself is one of the worst apists -  keenly eying Thunders, Perry and Richards videos as a youth before heading for the bedroom mirror. There’s one of you on every street corner. The drummer,  though competent looks like he belongs in Simon and Garfunkel, or the Robert Palmer band. A ‘nice’ environment !. Not pounding the beat for the former ‘most dangerous band alive’ ! I cannot overstate the importance of Izzy Stradlin to the sound, and overall structure of this once great rock n roll band. At one point, there are stage hands with brooms sweeping the stage free of water…or is this part of the GnR show nowadays. This is Spinal Tap.  I will restate my opinion: this band do not deserve to be playing big stadiums. Rocklahoma, the County Fair circuit – sure. But not big events like this. They are past it and have nothing new to offer. I would not see them if they were playing in my backyard.

Lifting The Lid On The Rockbrat Treasure Chest: Candy Harlots – Debut Single Flier

...memories from the late 80's

Here is a flier from mid-1989 for the debut single from Sydney’s Candy Harlots. These A4 pink fliers were pasted around the streets of the CBD and it is an interesting time piece. Maybe you have one ! There is a story behind this. I know because I designed it. Do devout fans still make fliers ? I guess, though it ain’t quite the same. With modern technology, every kid seems to know their way around Photoshop so whipping up a flier would be a sinch ! My brother and I were heavily hooked on this band. I wanted them to success. Those shows, especially in 1988 – just after Leeno Dee joined were magic. They coulda been right at home on any big stage, yet here there were – shaking the walls of tiny, stinking, shitty pubs like the Lansdowne in Broadway ! For only a select few, they were a great secret – or “Sydney’s Biggest Live Secret” as was once written.  I can remember making this flier like it was yesterday. The band logo I hand drew and coloured in from their gig adverts I would see in OTS mag. The stars were stickers pasted on, and the letters were those ‘rub off’ kind you could buy at newsagents. A friend of mine knew a cartoonist, whom I supplied with a band photograph. I would later enlist her skills whilst working with Melbourne’s Girl Monstar. I was very happy with her finished sketch. So with my original A4 sheet all glued down, I purchased an amount of ‘glam’ pink paper, then risked my job by keeping the phoocopier hot ! My brother and I walked around   all the record stores, including the 2nd hand ones in the city and handed these fliers out. From memory the band were playing a gig at the Sydney Cove Tavern later that evening, and I recall putting one under the wiper of Easton’s red FJ. My favorite memory from all this is when guitarist Ron Barret gave me some merch later that evening to show their thanks. He was a sweet guy. I interviewed vocalist Mark Easton some time back on Rockbrat Radio where he talks about much of this time period. Great days !!! Great memories !!! There you have it. So if you think the passion for rock n roll runs deep in my veins via this blog, clearly, the signs of rock n roll adoration were pulsating around me long before this !