We got in touch with Mick from Grindhouse when we saw they were going to go on an overseas excursion and we wanted to get up to speed with what they had planned and for the uninitiated, it was a chance for Mick to set out the Grindhouse stall so to speak.  Here with the chatter that matters about all things down under and Grindhouse is Mick ‘Two Fingers’ Simpson. 

Its always been a hotbed of Punk Rock and Roll down under – sure it might have taken a while for us snobs in the Northern Hemisphere to cotton on to some of the bands but the UK can’t get enough of Australian bands at the moment and the trail blazed by the likes of Radio Birdman, The Saints, Cosmic Psycos and Rose Tattoo has recently been reignited by the likes of Amyl & The Sniffers, Grindhouse, The Chats (to name just a few – I Could go on) all making a dent in the scene halfway around the world.  We wanted to get a hold of Grindhouse and see what’s up so we contacted Mick to get the inside track on all things Grindhouse.

G’day Mick. You say you were listening to bootleg albums of your rock and roll heroes hoping one day to imitate them. who and what albums were Grindhouse listening to in the back of that XD?

Ah I see you have done your homework, yeah I grew up on a lot of Australian independent rock kind of by accident. Not that I’m an old fucker but we didn’t have the internet back then so it was a case of finding bands by word of mouth or stumbling across them on peoples stereos at parties or riding around in cars looking for cheap booze and good times. That’s where I discovered Radio Birdman( Radios appear), The Saints, Tumbleweed( Galactaphonic) and Aasteriod B6182. Then wed go out on a Saturday night with a fake ID and watching these bands in the flesh. Ok now I feel a little older ha, ha

 

Tell us a brief history of the band where did you guys meet?

We all grew up in a seaside city called Wollongong but ended up in Melbourne, our drummer had unprotected sex and had to leave the band. We all warned him but he didn’t listen.

The nucleus of the band came from another garage band called the Wardens but I wanted an avenue to really play punk rock, sing about dirty shit and not give a fuck, that’s how Grindhouse came about.

 


You say you’re interested in vintage porn and Mosrite guitars. when you say vintage porn what are we talking here? John Holmes? and the guitars why the Mosrites?

Fuck me I probably wrote that when I first started the band and totally forgot to be honest. Pony plays a 64 Mosrite Ventures that sounds nasty as cat shit but very cool and I used to have a great vintage 70,s porn mag collection in the 90,s so maybe its art imitating life.

 


What does Melbourne make of Grindhouse? will you be welcomed back after your European excursion like prodigal sons or will they close the borders and pretend they’re out so you cant get back in?

We have a loyal bunch of misfits, part-time alcoholics, fare evaders, bum sniffers, serial masturbaters, Lube lovers, weed smokers, vintage porn collectors, speed creeps, and sex freaks we lovingly call Grindhouse fans and that’s just the members of the band.

Hopefully we just clear customs without a strip search( happy for a pat-down), other than that anything else is a bonus.


I’ve always loved me some Australian rock and roll but at the moment there seems to be a real demand for it over here in the UK. We recently had the Chats over as well as Cosmic Psycos and Amyl And The Sniffers and Radio Birdman always manage to play London or at least for the past few years. You guys are coming so what can or should we expect?

Its definitely taken off in the UK lately which is great, I think mainland Europe has always been the main staple of o/s touring for Australian bands so its great for bands to have the UK as another option. Historically the UK has always had a strong connection with Australian music from The Saints to The Birthday Party so its no real surprise. As for the mentioned bands, Birdman will always be Birdman but the next generation of younger bands coming through is great even for us as it creates interest in Aussie Independent bands. Amyl and the sniffers are a great live show, the Psychos seem to just find another gear and get better with age and The Chats just supported Iggy Pop in Melbourne so am I jealous? You better fucking believe it.

 


Any other recommendations you could tip us off with. Who would Grindhouse like to drag around Australia with them?

I love a band from Melbourne called Stiff Richards who id call the best garage band in Australia at the moment other than Grindhouse, there,s also a great Ramones inspired garage doo-wop band from Adelaide called Jullitte seizure and the tremor dolls who we love too.



Its been a year since ‘Can I Drive Your Commodore?’ came out. Are we near a follow-up? Tell us about any new music?

We have a plan to record a new album later this year with a working title of “ Sex, Punk, Power” and well be testing some of the new songs on the road which will be cool.

 


The titles on the record made me instantly smile and from those titles, I was buzzin’ to hear the songs and I knew exactly how they were going to sound. What’s the best title you’ve come up with so far? and why don’t more bands sing about Cheese and their love for friends like Gary? Isn’t shit cocaine dangerous? and is the Australian Car industry really dead?

I’ve always loved ‘Wild sex and machine guns” on our first album as its about a woman I worked with who loved those two things which cracked me up. Our titles are inspired by growing up in the suburbs of 80,s Australia so a lot of people connect to the songs. We don’t make cars in Australia anymore and we also have a lot of shit cocaine in this country so I’ve been told.

As for Peter Russel Clarkle, every band should have a song about a celebrity chef who loves tasty cheese.



Are you guys in shape now ready for a hot and sweaty tour of Europe? Can we have a bunch of shows in the UK, please

I don’t know if were hot but were sweaty and ready, id love to do the Uk so fingers crossed we can get there sooner than later. We have a band we love from Nottingham called The Hip Priests who wed love to do it with plus the beer in the UK is always ice cold.(it’s actually fucken very tasty).

Mick did say that they were looking to coming to Shit Island sometime next year hopefully with a brand new album under the hood so its our (and your) duty to demand it and make it happen by showing bands like Grindhouse that the UK loves them and wants to bring them here for some live dates.

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Ahead of the release of his new solo album Duff has announced a string of tour dates in support of ‘Tenderness’.

GUNS N’ ROSES’ DUFF McKAGAN ANNOUNCES EUROPEAN TOUR

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2019

Thursday 30th May 2019​​TLA, Philadelphia, PA USA

Friday 31st May 2019​​​City Winery, Washington, DC USA

Saturday 1st June 2019​​City Winery, Boston, MA USA

Monday 3rd June 2019​​Irving Plaza, New York, NY

Thursday 6th June 2019​​Thalia Hall, Chicago, IL USA

Saturday 8th June 2019​​Cannery Ballroom, Nashville, TN USA

Monday 10th June 2019​​Historic Scoot Inn, Austin, TX USA

Thursday 13th June 2019​​El Rey, Los Angeles, CA USA

Friday 14th June 2019​​​Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA USA

Saturday 15th June 2019​​Aladdin Theater, Portland, OR USA

Sunday 16th June 2019​​Showbox Presents, Seattle, WA USA

Thursday 22nd August 2019​​Stodola, Warsaw POLAND

Friday 23rd August 2019​​Astra, Berlin GERMANY

Saturday 24th August 2019​​Blue Moon Festival, Amsterdam HOLLAND

Monday 26th August 2019​​Gloria, Cologne GERMANY

Tuesday 27th August 2019​​Alte Feurwache, Mannheim GERMANY

Thursday 29th August 2019​​Islington Assembly Hall, London UK

Saturday 31st August 2019​​Electric Picnic Festival, Dublin EIRE

Sunday 1st September 2019​​Manchester Academy3, Manchester UK

Tuesday 3rd September 2019​​Le Trabendo, Paris FRANCE

Wednesday 4th September 2019​Ancienne Belgique, Brussels BELGIUM

Friday 6th September 2019​​Dynamo, Zurich SWITZERLAND

Sunday 8th September 2019​​Santeria Club, Milan ITALY

European headline dates go onsale at 9am GMT Friday 26thApril, 2019.

For tickets please see www.livenation.co.uk

TOUR WILL SEE McKAGAN BACKED BY SHOOTER JENNINGS + BAND

Pre Order Duff McKagan ‘Tenderness’ Here

Duff McKagan is giving fans another sneak peek launching “Don’t Look Behind You” – click HERE to listen.

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20th March 2007 was the last time I saw the “classic” line up of Towers of London live, in of all places London. It was also to be one of their last headline gigs together. Fast forward 12 years and the prospect of seeing Donny, Dirk, Rev, Snell and Tommy back together on stage really is getting me all nervous. Not least because I’m due to meet up with the guys beforehand to hand over some much sought-after film footage that has been in possession all these years that the guys now need for an upcoming documentary. A film, as I was soon to find out, they want to be a true reflection of their time together back in the mid-noughties, not some cheap expose piece only looking to create headlines.  

That reckless sense of irresponsibility that drove the band first time around has very much been replaced by a more focussed and mature set of heads all looking to finally set the record straight both off and on stage, and what better way to start than by heading off on an eight date UK tour supporting The Wildhearts with Massive Wagons also along for this rock ‘n’ roll rollercoaster ride too.

Unfortunately tonight I can only stick around to witness the return of  Towers Of London so I’ll leave the full gig reviews to my RPM colleagues to pick up at subsequent dates, but this is a very well-attended tour that’s for sure, with two dates sold out in advance and quite a few of the others close to capacity . This, in turn, means Towers of London get to play to full rooms and most importantly to a largely new audience, so come 7:30 sharp I’m stood a couple of rows from the barrier waiting for that infamous air raid siren intro tape to go up, before the 5 black boiler-suited Towers guys open fire with ‘I’m A Rat’ and suddenly all the years they’ve been away just seem…well….insignificant.   This is the band who I thought could be the UK’s answer to Guns N’ Roses and save for a few, ahem, “misplaced” career decisions along the way what this line up did leave us with was one of the finest debut albums of the last 40 years.

Tonight then their nine-song set is split 60/40 in favour of that ‘Blood Sweat and Towers’ album and along with the likes of ‘Beaujolais’ and ‘Air Guitar’ the newer tracks (all set to be included on their as yet untitled third album) like the stadium rocker ‘Shot In The Dark’ complete with Snell thumping the kit and Rev adding the guitar chops now come over as with much more sneer and a lot less veneer, and the more polished sound that had been creeping into the band’s musical direction really has been toughened up with the return of the old guard. ‘Kill The Popscene’ indeed, but sadly that anthem is nowhere to be seen tonight.

Finishing their 30-minute set with Donny face to face with the front rows for a stinging ‘Fuck It Up’, it’s his comment “we’ve all fucked something up” just as he lets the microphone fall to the floor that perhaps best sums up this new/old version of Towers Of London. It’s that old Drink Fight Fuck spirit but without any of that “baggage” getting in the way of you finally realising that Towers of London were never really a guilty pleasure they were always a fucking great rock ‘n’ roll band. 

Now, let’s have album number three and the highly anticipated documentary and perhaps finally we’ll get see Towers of London make it big. Who’s with me?

Author: Johnny Hayward

8 sticky tracks of moist sexual punk rock action.  Not my words, of course, the work of Micky ‘Two Fingers’ Simpson the guitar and voice of Australias Grindhouse who just happen to have snuck out a mini album recorded live and in the raw. There is no studio trickery or pro tools involved nor is autotune a feature of Grindhouse live.
Literally kicking things off with ‘Sleeping At The Peeps’, ‘You say so’ this lethal concoction of human flesh and bones gathers momentum and by the time they hit the ramshackle breakdown and solo things are cooking and that’s continued with a frantic ‘Wild Sex And Machine Guns’.
‘Throbbing Eye’ is pure filth and the riff is even faster live as the boys in the band channel their inner MC5 and Stooges mojo and just piss out rock n roll excellence.  I’m not sure there is a finer Australian band out there at the moment sure Amyl & The Sniffers are about to unleash a mighty fine long player and Cosmic Psycos are back in the saddle but these big boys have got the chops and are just kicking out the jams at every turn.  Seems like they can do no wrong. Whether it’s Shit Cocaine’ or calling out a ‘Demolition Dirtbag’ they are having it.
Over the course of this mini album, you get treated to songs from all three long players included a false start to ‘Can I Drive Your Commodore’ before it goes off like a brawling mob hocked up on cheap whiskey and even cheaper speed. but boy does their racket sound pretty. Hell yeah! Micky, Rick, Neil, and Adrian have donned their shit kickers and aren’t content with kicking the shit they are dancing on its grave – digging it up and going again. by the time ‘SLR 5000’ Comes to its abrupt end I’m a bit gutted there aren’t more songs because even us big bones guys can throw ourselves around when the mood takes us and the filthy fuckers in Grindhouse have the chops to get us on our dancing feet and throwing some shapes to the steady beat they are throwing out.
Eight songs in twenty minutes is about spot on and a snack-sized portion of filthy Garage Rock n Roll that contains enough meat for everyone sure I’d have loved to hear ‘Peter Brock’ or ‘Eric Estrada’, Hell I’d have taken ‘I Fucking Love You Gary’ Christ I wouldn’t know where to stop so I guess eight is as good a place as any.  Now for five Australian $$ you can own this digital wet dream and impress your friends and repulse your neighbours.
Come and join the cool kids and fill yer boots with Grindhouse ya filthy punks! It’s like the best bits of Turbonegro, The Stooges, The Hip Priests and Radio Birdman rolled into one giant ball of Rock and Roll fun.  Get it, don’t think about it just do it!
Live At Goatsound is available Here 
Author: Dom Daley

 

In support of their fourth album, Giuda returned to rock London. Having seen them twice before, I knew that this was going to be an unmissable gig. Last time around, they had White Trash and Cyanide Pills on the bill; one of the best line ups I’ve ever seen. Tonight, it’s the turn of Suicide Generation to open proceedings. You can’t fault their energy, though their set seems blighted by guitar/amp issues, and they are a little light on tunes, but they reminded me of the great Ray Zell’s Marionette, so I warmed to them.

 

Thee Dagger Debs were more to my tastes. Indeed, so fine was their performance that I bought their vinyl album at the end of the night, and risked it on a packed tube train. To some, ‘pub rock’ may be faint praise, but they recognise its value; there’s a whiff of good, old Canvey about them. More rhythm than solos, punchy bass lines, and tunes to get the feet moving, I hope to see them again soon.

 

So, what can be said about Giuda that hasn’t been said before? After tonight’s show, I’m running out of superlatives. You are guaranteed a great night out at a Giuda gig. While their records are fabulous, they are even better live. From the first chord, they are in control. Tenderer embodies the joy of their music, a frontman immersed in every song, urging the crowd on. And the choruses keep on coming, new songs like ‘Space Walk’ and ‘Overdrive’ fitting seamlessly into older classics.

 

As ever, they keep the gaps between songs to a minimum. If like me, you’re singing along, you barely have time to catch your breath before the next chorus hits. And, most of us were singing; it’s a celebratory atmosphere. We’re all here to forget the world and have a good time, and Giuda are built to deliver. I can’t give you a set list, as my feet were moving all night. This is music to lose yourself in. We danced, we sang, we smiled. Some of the most important things in life. What more do you want? Tonight belongs to Giuda. They were glorious. Thank you.

Author: Martin Chamarette

Giuda Facebook

Thee Dagger Debs Facebook

Review Of Giuda album ‘E.V.A’ Here

 

 

 

 

Let’s not muck about here folks these are the dates already announced –

The tour gets underway in Oslo on 22 October and features UK dates as well as a headline performance at the Hard Rock Hell festival in Great Yarmouth on 9 November. Full dates are…

Oct 22: Oslo, NO John Dee
Oct 23: Gothenburg, SE Pustervik
Oct 24: Stockholm, SE Fryhuset Klubben
Oct 25: Copenhagen, DK High Voltage
Oct 26: Hamburg, DE Headcrash
Oct 27: Berlin, DE Frannz
Oct 29: Paris, FR La Maroquinerie
Oct 30: London, UK O2 Academy Islington
Nov 01: Leeds, UK Brudenell Social Club
Nov 02: Milton Keynes, UK Crawford Arms
Nov 03: Southampton, UK Engine Room
Nov 04: Birmingham, UK The Mill
Nov 05: Glasgow, UK Garage
Nov 06: Manchester UK, Club Academy
Nov 07: Bristol, UK Fleece
Nov 08: Stoke, UK Sugarmill
Nov 09: Great Yarmouth, UK, Hard Rock Hell Festival

More shows are likely to be added. Tickets are available here.

As far as soundtracks go this was a no brainer for me.  Having seen the film and always been a huge Bators fan in this day and age I’ll take anything on offer and Danny Garcia did such a great job I can’t imagine a Stiv fan not wanting a piece of this. I know its been a long time coming but its finally here and just ahead of the video or DVD release April saw a RSD special with the soundtrack hitting certain shelves (mainly) through America I know at first I couldn’t get my paws on it over here on Shit Island but thankfully I managed to score a copy off the internet and not too soon the Red 12″ record sort of landed on my mat.

 

Featuring twelve cuts from the likes of Deadbeat Poets, The B-Girls, Lustkillers and Jimmy Zero to name a few its a quick smile at the cover art with Stiv van surfing and the needle drops.  Side one kicks off with the wonderful Deadbeat Poets ‘The Stiv Bators Ghost Tour’ then the wonderful B Girls and ‘Mystery’ before Stivs track ‘Don’t Go Away’ that was previously released on the Easy Action album released a few years ago of the work Stiv was working on before he passed.  I can only presume this is from the very same sessions so would feature Neil X on guitar but I can’t say for sure as there aren’t any credits on offer here it’s just your basic sleeve with tracklist a few thank yous and a nice Red slab of vinyl.

I love the Lustkillers and ‘Revenge’ is an excellent track taken from ‘That which Does Not kill Us’ It’s uncanny that two people could sound so alike and play similar kinds of music but I love it and think ‘Revenge’ is such a good tune. Next up and one that made this a must-have was Stiv performing ‘Evil Boy’ live in Berkely Sq back in 1980. Club Wow performing ‘Nights Are So Long’ is another great cut even if I am more familiar with the Michael Monroe version which he did so well this is a top tune and brings a really strong side one to a finish. Jimmy Zero from the Dead Boys, Jeff West from The Testors I guess it all fits together with Deadbeat Poets with Frank Secich and this (club Wow)  Jimmy Zero and Stiv its a big family at times but it’s not all at the same time.  These songs are such killer songs It breaks my heart to think that only a (relatively) small number of people get to hear them and exposure is minimal especially in today’s quick as a flash musical climate.  I’m always really excited to hear about films like ‘Stiv’ and records like this coming out in the hope that these bands and artists have a lasting legacy and who knows some kids might dig it again and we see a resurgence in some great music.

Anyway, flip it over and side two is more of the same great songs starting with the dark and brooding ‘Paris’ from Jimmy Zero followed by the fantastic ‘You Don’t Go Away’ from Alpha Kitty whilst The Stiv Bators Ghost Tour are back for a second bite with the excellent ‘Room Full Of Strangers’. Danny Fury rocks up with ‘Dark Star’ from his band Tango Pirates before the soundtrack is signed off with ‘To Feel You’ The Primadonna Reeds pure Noo Yawk cool like you didn’t already know that.

 

All in all there is so much good music on offer here and as far as soundtrack records go it might not be the Ghostbusters soundtrack but its got an abundance of great songs by great bands for a great cause and if you have any sort of love for Stiv and his legacy then you need to snap this up pretty quickly before they’re all gone and you won’t be able to find one for love nor money.  Get out of here!

Buy Stiv Vinyl Here or CD Here

Order The DVD of the film Here

Author: Dom Daley

Ryan Hamilton and the Harlequin Ghosts have announced a UK tour for June 2019 in support of the new album This Is The Sound.

This Is The Sound’  is released on 31st May 2019 on Wicked Cool, Pre Order the album Here the label run by Little Steven Steven van Zandt, a long-time supporter and co-writer of current single ‘Mamacita’ – 

13 June / NOTTINGHAM, Bodega

14 June / CAMBRIDGE, Special Event Venue tbc

15 June / LONDON, Borderline

20 June / EDINBURGH, Bannermans

21 June / BUCKLEY, Tivoli

22 June / BLACKPOOL, Waterloo

23 June / HALIFAX, Lantern

Bristol is like band central tonight, Angelic Upstarts, Terrorvision and  Fat White Family are all in town and with all of them playing within easy walking distance of the rather splendid Hy-Brasil Music Club  you could be forgiven for thinking that a gang of five nerdy Norwegian garage punks might be struggling for a crowd in such a claustrophobic gigging situation.

Rest easy though my RPM chums because common sense (and that Ash support tour from last year) has saved the day and by the time Death By Unga Bunga take to the venue’s compact and bijou stage the dance floor if full of people, who just like me, have just happened to have discovered one of the best-kept secrets in rock music right now.

Up first though tonight is local Indie (as in proper mid-80s/early 90s Indie) trio Seek Warmth who plough a kind of 4AD furrow whilst managing to be somehow understated yet also remain intriguing all at the same time. I can’t say I’m a huge fan of this kind of music personally, but the band is tight, have some very decent tunes and have one hell of a drummer behind the kit. I actually found it kind of refreshing to be whisked back to that age before grunge when Indie guitar music didn’t sound as forced and manufactured as it does today, so credit indeed to Seek Warmth for making that happen.

With Iron Maiden’s ‘Ides Of March’ booming out from the PA there is an immediate shift in my 80s throwback mindset, as I travel back to an age when metal also was nowhere as stylised as it is today and taking one look at the five musicians that are clambering onto the stage like extras from the Ant Hill Mob it makes me feel warm inside to say Death By Unga Bunga are never going to be called fashionistas. One look at the already sneering face of frontman Sebastian Ulstad Olsen and I can’t help but chuckle at his ‘70s Dennis Waterman meets Blakey (from On The Buses) image and he radiates that bad boy you love to love persona to absolute perfection. On the downside, he’s forgotten his Killers T-shirt tonight and is instead sporting a Dickinson-era Iron Maiden affair so he loses a few instant cool marks for this. Still with songs as amazing as opener ‘Into The Night’ who really give a flying fuck what Death By Unga Bunga look like, the sounds they create are some of the most original feelgood sensations you’ll ever experience live, and I’m just going to let myself be totally immersed in the next 30 odd minutes of absolute powerpop perfection.

With their roots in the Norwegian punk scene watching Death By Unga Bunga is not unlike that fist in the face experience you would expect from a hardcore show, especially when Sebastian is off the stage and prowling the raised area of the club looking for even more converts to join us on the dancefloor, its just that songs like  ‘Turn My Brain Off’ and the knock out blow of ‘Soldier’ could very easily be hit singles and have seen the band on Top Of The Pops, if such a thing still existed of course.

Amongst all the tongue in cheek between song banter there’s also an underlying appreciation of all things hard rock that makes the Bunga truly bounce live, with ‘Cynical’ sounding even more like Thin Lizzy live than it does on the band’s amazing ‘So Far So Good So Cool’ album, and is something which manifests itself into all out fanboy status when the guys (jail)break into a brief segment of ‘The Boys Are Back In Town’ before leaving us all wanting “10 more songs” (something the dreadlocked punk next to me is screaming like his bus fare home depended on him securing the deal for us).

Watching Death By Unga Bunga live makes you smile, it makes you sing and most of all it makes you want to dance, and in the world we live in right now that’s all you can really ask for from a great rock n roll band, the thing is watching Death By Unga Bunga makes me want to do it every night. I wonder if they need a sixth member?

Author: Johnny Hayward

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ROCK’N’GROWL RECORDS, a division of ROCK’N’GROWL PROMOTION have announced the release of a digital Rock/Metal Sampler ‘RAWKAHOLIC Volume 1‘ with 15 exclusive – unreleased studio and live tracks for June 2019. The first three bands to be announced are SYTERIAAIRFORCE and DESOLATION ANGELS.

 

#1 SYTERIA featuring Jax Chambers from the legendary Girlschool is a four piece UK rock band formed in 2015. Syteria Facebook

#2 AIRFORCE is an original, classic rock band from London who formed in 1987 and was
a major force within the early NWOBHM scene. Airforce Facebook 

#3 DESOLATION ANGELS was formed in 1981 and are a NWOBHM Band with colossal ‘HEAVY ROCK RIFFING’ from London England UK! Desolation Angels are ‘Classic Rock’ but with a modern and contemporary twist! Desolation Angels Facebook

There will be a further twelve bands to come

www.rockngrowl.com
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