Thursday, April 30, 2009

Andrew Pendlebury - Zing...Went the Strings


Frequently cited as one of the finest guitarists in the nation,
Andrew Pendlebury has always seemed destined towards a
career in music. From age four he studied violin under the
auspicious direction of Nathan Gutman, and at an early age
played Vivaldi and Bach with the prowess of someone far
beyond his tender years. Andrew is the son of two celebrated
Australian artists, Laurence Scott Pendlebury and Nornie Gude .
It is little wonder that Andrew also possesses a great talent with
the brush, and that his sister Anne was encouraged in her career
as an actress with stage and TV credits. After leaving school
Andrew set about forging a career for himself in the art world.
He held a number of successful exhibitions of his impressionist
style works, but music still held his attention. Exposed to Django
Reinhardt by a friend of his father who was a dance band
guitarist
in WW2, and excited by the new sounds evolving from
players
like Jimi Hendrix bursting onto the scene,
Andrew began to
focus his creative energy into the guitar.
Andrew Pendlebury is a gifted composer and has built a strong
catalogue of works over the years across a broad range of genres
from theater music to blues, classical, country and
contemporary.
Ever busy, and continuing upon his journey
of musical discovery,
Andrew has undertaken numerous
recording and writing projects
over the past few years.
Venturing into composing music for live
theatre,
Andrew has scored for many prominent Australian

productions, working with some of the best directors this country
has to offer. Pendlebury finds theater a new and exciting
challenge
using his playing to illustrate moods and sentiments
within the
story lines he is accompanying, creating the aural
accompaniment
which allows the audience to get lost in the
performance of the
actors and the intricacies of the script.
His work in this field has
bought him many accolades from
the critics and audiences alike.

Like all great players Andrew Pendlebury, even after his
thirty-five years of playing so many styles of music, is excited by
what the future holds and is still invigorated by the sheer desire
and inner passion for music. Like a master artist working on the
great canvas of his career, he is not swayed by fashion or
commerciality. In a world where we love to define music into
categories, Pendlebury has truly created his own unique voice,
he is a man who in his own words says, “There are only two types
of music, good and the other type”. You can rest assured that
Andrew Pendlebury will continue to ensure the survival of the
art form of great music.

From the Sports to Andrew Pendlebury's solo career.
This is fantastic album by one of the greatest guitarists Australia
has ever seen. His 3rd solo album Andrew has released some 5
albums which I own, this one like most of them is purely
instrumental.


Track list
01 - Rodeo
02 - Small World
03 - Catalina
04 - Rosa Lee
05 - Lullaby for A.J
06 - Ruthven I
07 - See for Miles
08 - Finished Business
09 - Blues Power
10 - Blue Mountain Spring
11 - Ruthven II
12 - Zing...Went the Strings

Download Here

Friday, April 24, 2009

The Sports - Sondra

And the Sports 1981 release Sondra, which gave us
the single Stop the baby talking and was their final
album. This album really leads the way into Stephens
1st solo album Senso.


Track Listing

01. Against The Dance
02. How Come
03. When We Go Out Tonight
04. Black Stockings (for Chelsea)
05. Clint 1
06. This Is Really Something
07. Softly, Softly
08. Passionette
09. Stop The Baby Talking
10. Lucky Shop
11. Clint 2
12. Face The Tiger
13. Happy Feet
14. Last House On The Left

Download Here

Thursday, April 23, 2009

The Sports - Suddenly

Back to the Sports for their 1980 release Suddenly
which gave us the fabulous strangers on a train.

Track List
01 Suddenly
02 No Mama No
03 Between Us
04 Go
05 Strangers On A Train
06 It Hurts
07 Murmurs
08 I Tried To Love Her
09 Blue Hearts
10 Perhaps
11 The Lost And The Lonely
12 Never Catch Her

Removed due to DMCA take downnotice

The Models - Live at Shepparton 26 April 1980

I'm on a Models roll, this is an excellent soundboard live
recording from when the Models were a fantastic band.

Track List

01. Use the Gun Instead
02. Whisper through the Wall
03. Brave New World
04. She Pulled the Pin on Me
05. Keep it a Secret
06. Early Morning Brain
07. Body Shop
08. Young Rodents
09. Current Affair
10. I Owe You Nothing
11. John From Earth
12.Strategic Air Command
13. Light Fling
14. Atlantic Romantic
15. The Other People Incident
16. Happy Birthday IBM
17. Holiday House
18. Golden Arches

Download Here

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

From The Vaults - The Models


Its a real treat from Chucks library of Australian music
memorabilia. A 11 page " From the vaults" history of the
Models with complete discography, detailed band evolution
and some wicked photos. Even mention of Mark Ferrie,
his leaving and subsequent replacement with James Freud
and his next couple of bands, the Sacred Cowboys and the
Slaughtermen. Truly a great read for you Australian music
fanatics out there.
Thanks to the mighty Chuck.



Download Here

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Sacred Cowboys - Selftitled Album 1984


From the Slaughtermen via Mark Ferrie we come to the
Sacred Cowboys.If you are a regular viewer of the SBS series
Rockwiz you may now the bass player for the rockwiz orchestra
is Mark Ferrie.
Mark also best known as the Models bass player, played in the
Slaughtermen and this band the Sacred Cowboys.

The Sacred Cowboys' frontman is Garry Gray
(lead singer/lyricist),
who as a member of the
'Negatives' ('77/'79) and the 'Reals'

('75/'76) was a pioneer of indie music in Melbourne.

He was a founding member of the 'Sacred Cowboys' in 1982.
Gray reformed the 'Sacred Cowboys' in 2006 with a stellar
line up which includes: Spencer P Jones (guitar);
Penny Ikinger (guitar); Nick Reishbeth (bass);
Stephan Fidock (drums); and special guest on keyboards
for the August 2006 shows, Ash Wednesday (keyboards).

Founding 1982 members include Johnny Crash (drums) and
Mark Ferrie (bass) who were both previously members of
Melbourne pop band the Models; Terry Doolan (guitar);
Andrew Picouleau (bass); and Ian Forrest (keyboards).
Nick Reishbeth joined the group in 1983.
In 1987 Stephan Fidock joined on drums.

The 'Sacred Cowboys' began playing inner city Melbourne
in early 1982. Gray thought of the name after viewing an
episode of Get Smart with Mark Ferrie, from the episode
where the Groovy Guru and his band the Sacred Cows set
out to subvert America's youth with prycadellic music.

Within six months, the 'Cowboys' signed with
Mushroom/White Label and recorded the 'Nothing Grows In Texas'
single. After their so-called 'legendary performance'
on Molly Meldrum's Countdown pop TV show on the ABC,
Molly said, "This is the worst group I've seen in 5 years."
This set the tone for their long career as one of Australia's
seminal alternative groups.

Between '82 and '85 the Cowboys relesed 2 singles, 'Texas' and
'Bangkok', a self-titled EP on the White Label, their first
self-titled album on French Label, New Rose, and the
live/basement tapes 'We Love You' album on ManMade.

Track List
01 - Nothing Grows In Texas
02 - Twisted Nerve
03 - Bankok
04 - Slow Kill
05 - Is Nothing Sacred
06 - Strip Cell
07 - The Absolute
08 - Pay For It In The Next Life
09 - Limbo Jig
10 - Nailed To The Cross

Download Here

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

The Slaughtermen - Live Naturally

"The Slaughtermen were, and still are, one of the most original
bands
ever to see the light of day in Australia."
Mathew W. McPherson, Rolling Stone Australia

Meandering from Steven Cummings via Australia's greatest
guitarist Andrew Pendlebury, we come to the legendary
Slaughtermen. As my late but never less inspired Easter post.

Australian's only post-punk southern gospel group began
in Melbourne in 1984.
The band's first single, "God's Not Dead" b/w
"Jesus Saves White Trash",
was released on the Au Go Go label in 1986.
This was followed with 1987's Still Lovin' You LP on the
Cleopatra Records label,
and 1988's Melbourne, Memphis and the Mansion in the Sky
LP on the Agape label.
Founder members were Ian Stephen (vocals and keyboards),
Mark Ferrie (bass guitar and vocals),
Andrew Pendlebury (lead guitar and vocals),
Terry Doolan (rhythm guitar and vocals),
Des Hefner (drums and vocals).
The Slaughtermen gained a following playing revved up versions of
southern gospel songs and barroom country classics at inner city
rock venues in Sydney and Melbourne between 1985 and 1988.

The band enjoyed a years residency at the Rising Sun Hotel
in Melbourne which built a fairly even following of believers
and skeptics.
Singer Ian Stephen, only added to the mystique and/or confusion
by purchasing a twenty five dollar Reverendship from a religious
organization from out of the back pages of the National Enquirer.
A nationally broadcast hour long live concert on Australia's
ABC TV, cemented their unique place to this day, as Australia's
first and only southern gospel group, albeit twelve thousand miles
from the original source of the inspiration, America's Deep South.

After a lack luster Sydney tour in 1988 the band ceased performing.
In 1995 the Slaughtermen returned to the stage with the original
line-up at a well received one-off concert in Melbourne,
to coincide with the release of a CD Gospel Gold on the Massive label.
This 20 track disc featured live recordings of their gospel material
culled from the Live Naturally album and various sound board
recordings. In 1994, 1997 and 2007, the original members
reformed for one-off concerts in Melbourne, Australia.

Tracklist
01 - Beautiful Day
02 - Luxury Liner
03 - Jesus Is Your Ticket
04 - She thinks I Still Care
05 - When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder
06 - Satan has No Claim On Me
07 - Lonely Too Early
08 - The Yellow Rose Of Texas
09 - That Day Is Almost Here
10 - Jesus Saves White Trash
11 - Gods Not Dead
12 - Streets Of Gold

Download Here

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Stephen Cummings - Firecracker


I've been so preoccupied lately, busy you might say, big things
are changing in my life and I'm away for Easter from the
Tuesday night till the next Monday, so I will be most likely
offline the whole time. As Arnold Schwarzenegger said
"I will be back."
A quick post or two before I leave.
This is Stephen Cummings, Fantastic 2003
Album "Firecracker"

The prevailing mood of Firecracker is fun. Firstly, Cummings is
having fun with the form, toying with a dreamy, stranded-at-the-
drive-in ballad (One Kiss, which Chris Isaak should steal
immediately);
swishing up skirts with a bit of New Orleans
stepping (Love's Coming);

getting a little hiccupy one minute (Baby What's Come Over You)
and sweaty but nice, a la Ricky Nelson, the next (Nothing's Too
Much).
He even knocks over a couple of Elvis sneers you imagine
must have
been sung in a pink sports jacket over black drape
slacks
(Gone Baby Gone, for one). The band are clearly loving it,
too, while Shane O'Mara produced it with a very light hand that
offers
plenty of room around the instruments.
But among the fun there is still craft. As ever, the maxim is true
that
the simplest things can be the hardest to get right, and
right they
are here: Cummings is too good a songwriter for it to
be otherwise.
Even with the lyrics, which are deliberately pared
back from his normal
style, Cummings still pulls out some
juicy lines.
My favorite is in Love's Coming, which begins:

"Quietly as lovers creep at the middle moon,
Softly as players tremble in the tears of a tune,
love's coming,
talk to the thin air,
love's coming,
I knew not that it was there."

Bernard Zuel
February 15 2003
Sydney Morning Herald

Track listing

01. The Popular One
02. Go Right Ahead And Break My Heart
03. Nothing's Too Much
04. Love's Coming
05. Baby What's Come Over You
06. I Want You To Want Me
07. How Much Longer
08. One Kiss
09. Sweet Saturday
10. Gone Baby Gone
11. Music In The Air
12. Why Doesn't She Want Me
13. Flying Blind
14. The Keys To Her Heart

Download Here