Foco Nuevo

One of my favorite things to post on is the fantastic concerts I get
to and this Friday night was a wonderful night of music.
Ever since I ran into two old friends Lachlan and Sue at the dreaming
festival and they told me of this project, I have been meaning to
check it out. So what is Foco Nuevo, lets hear from the web site, here
that along with email is the sole promotion that this project has.

Foco Nuevo is the performance project of Brisbane-based
Jumping Fences, the songwriting/performing partnership
of Sue Monk and Lachlan Hurse.
It was initially organised in association with the Ellen Taylor
Community Centre (formerly Ahimsa House),
a community space in West End, Brisbane.
The name Foco Nuevo refers to Brisbane’s FOCO Club, a lively
and alternative performance space which ran on a weekly basis
during the late 1960s. The mix of music and social issues has
given a particular character to Brisbane music over several
decades, and has never been far from the inspiration behind
the song writing of Jumping Fences. Their original work and
the influence of their long association with Latin American
music have given them a unique profile in Brisbane.
Foco Nuevo is a performing space that draws on the approach
of the Latin American 'peña', and places it in the Australian
context, with a diversity of guest performers and a focus on
original material.

It commenced on 28 March, 2008.

The nights entertainment was varied and engaging,
Jumping Fences, as I mostly remember them, opened
as a duo. Then a fellow from Texas, Felix Guerrero , who is here
on holiday, played some great songs he had written.
On on the program he was an added extra,
in that fine folk tradition of flexibility.

The Goodwills, Bob and Laurel Wilson were next playing their own
compositions both humorous and serious, as well as a brilliant Paul
Kelly cover. These guys who live now in Maleny sing folk in the old
tradition, they sing of the everyday in the way that gets you thinking.
They have been singing since the 70s and in some ways a like a time
capsule tranporting you back a few decades.

Jumping Fences were up next, with a fantastic percussion section
and electric lead guitar. I'm used to seeing them play as a duo and
theextended line up was a relevation. Their unique sound is a Latin,
folk blend unlike anyone else, organic and honest.
They sing heartfelt songs that capture their concerns and the things
that touch them.
Always a pleasure to watch.
If you want to hear some of their music and read all about them visit
their web site here


Celtic Fyre finished up the night with their traditional Celtic, mainly
Scottish folk music. Lots of wonderful instrumental stuff as well as
some diverse songs. Of course my favorites were Streams of
Whiskey and The Great Song of Indifference.
A great night, great music and a fantastic do it yourself, grass roots
approach to music and promotion.

Where Joy Kills Sorrow - Various Artists

A request from Sam from the States has me posting this out of print
but wonderful album. Some fantastic artists, many whom
I have posted on before and a great follow up to the
Man in Black show that I saw a couple
of weekends ago

Where Joy Kills Sorrow has achieved a kind of legendary status.
It features Australian rock singers - famous, infamous and unknown,
singing country songs of the finest order (if a little obscure).
Tex (Greg) Perkins, Mick Harvey, Paul Kelly, Renee Geyer,
Dave Graney and Clare Moore, Matt Walker, Robert Forster,
Joel Silbersher, David McComb, Vika and Linda Bull, Uncle Bill,
Warren Ellis and his father John -
they all turn in amazing performances.
It's one of those CDs that has a life of its own and has been selling
steadily since its release in 1997 largely through word of mouth.
A slice of history as well as a great CD.
If you want to hear Warren Ellis from the Dirty Three sing
(!!) get this record.

Track List
01. Just A Little Bit Of Rain-Mick Harvey
02. When Your Tired Of Breaking Other Hearts-Joel Silbersher
03. I Scare Myself-Renee Geyer With Uncle Bill
04. Yellow Roses-Greg Perkins
05. The World's Got Everything In It-Uncle Bill
06. Mis'ry Is My Middle Name-Warren And John Ellis
07. The Speed Of The Sound Of Loneliness-Robert Forster
08. Thanks A Lot-Paul Kelly With Uncle Bill
09. Duchess-Bruce Haymes
10. If You Don't Want My Love-Rob Snarski With Matt Walker
11. I'd Rather Be Sorry-Vika And Linda Bull
12. The Way You See Me-Chris Abrahams And Melanie Oxley
13. Still Alive And Well-David McComb
14. When I Dream-Matt Walker And Ashley Davies
15. This Is Forever-Dave Garney And Clare Moore

Download Here

Seven Ballerinas - Sometimes I Feel/Circles, single

The Seven Ballerines haled fro the Gold Coast, about 1 hour drive
south from Brisbane. The song "Sometimes I feel like" had high
rotation on 4 ZzZ at the time, a song I am fond of.
I thought I had a single of theirs but it turns
out to be a contemporary band of theirs also from the Gold Coast,
The Sigh Of Relief.
Both bands played their debut gig together at the Miami Hotel
on the Gold Coast on the 26th of June 1981.
Now for some more trivia I hand over to Chuck who ripped and
scanned this single, thanks Chuck.



this single has had a hard life - heat and maybe water damaged
cover and well played vinyl, but it doesn't jump so worth a listen.
They had another single, American Dream

Seven Ballerinas 79 -82
Jeff Harris - drums
John Hipprocates - drums
Micheal Palmer - Guitar
John Smethurst - Vocals Guitar
Mario Spina - Bass

John Smethurst and Mario Spina were previously in a band call ratpak
Mario Spina went on to play in the Ballistics, Bossanova Kids and the Tellers
John Hipprocates also played in the Bossa Nova kids and the tellers
Jeff Harris also played in Cross the road and Jump and Jive

Download Here

The Birthday Party - Friend Catcher/ Waving Arms/Catman, single

Released in this month in 1980 its hard to explain how
ground breaking Nick and his band of misfits were at
the time. Originally released by the Boys next door and
on the Album that I have posted here called the Birthday
Party, the Boys became the Birthday Party and went on
to become one of the most influential bands of the 1980s,
certainly in Brisbane.



It seemed within two years the place was over run by
Birthday Party inspired bands. This is a great place to
start if you don't know this band, 3 tracks of pure brilliance.
Is there anyone much pushing the boundaries of music
like this these days?
I can't remember when I first heard this, but I did rush
out and buy the album, I think I had "Door Door"
first, but this is an incredible shift from that.
These are the records of my later teen years,
I made the punk to post punk move easily.
To me these guys were at the forefront.

Thanks Chuck for ripping and scanning this wonderful 7"


The Friend Catcher - Birthday Party

I, cigarette fingers
Puff and poke
Puff and poking the smoke
Touches the ground

You, your lungs and your wrists
They throb like trains
Choo choo choo
It's a prison of sound

Of sound

She, by my chinny chin chin
Hee - Haw,Hee - Haw,
Like a zippo smokes the way
Hope, around

You, your lungs and your wrists
They throb like trains
Choo choo choo
It's a prison of sound

A prison of sound

She, by the hair of my chinny chin chin
Hee - Haw,Hee - Haw,Hee - Haw,Hee - Haw
Like a zippo smokes the way
Hope, around

You, your lungs and your wrists
They throb like trains
Choo choo choo
It's a prison of sound

I poke around...

Download Here


The Friend Catcher Live

Anyone have a Time Machine?

Some very interesting blasts from the past scanned by
our resident would be Time Lord Chuck.
Both these gigs would have been well worth seeing,
I would have loved to seen JFK back then but I
got into them after they had left for the bright lights
of Sydney, I did see Xero back in the day however.
This shall be followed up by some fantastic music,
so stay tuned in.

Chuck has this to say

if i ever finish building the time machine this will be hi
on the list of gigs to see... a bit b4 my time sadly...
probably 1982 from dates and stuff on the rocking horse ad on reverse..
a good excuse also to post some bday party stuff and some ballerinas

The End - Hot Records Cassette

Bazzil from the most wonderful Prehistoric Sounds website
and Blog has digitalized his rare copy of the ends hot
records cassette release. Combining both studio and live
tracks it is a real treat.
Thanks Bazzil for digging out and bringing this into the
digital age.
The liner notes below are brilliant, more information than
I've been find anywhere on the web.

Download Here


Click to enlarge

The Man In Black - The Johnny Cash Story

Last night I went to see the fantastic Man in Black show staring
Tex Perkins, Rachael Tidd and the Tennessee Four.
The show is running a season here in Brisbane at the Twelfth Night
Theatre.
Here's the official publicity blurb.

Two hours of Cash’s magnificent music interwoven with the story
of his rise to stardom, his fight for survival and his eventual
redemption.The show explores his relationships –
with hardened prisoners to the beautiful June Carter and lots in
between.Johnny Cash was dealt a very tough hand, early in life,
but through his music and dedication, he became a legend throughout
the world

The incredible Tex Perkins is perfect in the role of Johnny Cash,
often he sounded just like Cash while singing.
He was certainly convincing, his performance like acting as much
as singing. A truly brilliant performance. The audience had a large,
lets say, older age demographic. Tex was no doubt unfamiliar to
these people, but he had them eating out of his hand.

Rachael Tidd was equally brilliant, I was unfamiliar with her
so here's a bit about her.

Rachael studied and played music before training as an actor at
the Victorian College of the Arts, graduating in 1997.
Since then she has performed in theatres all over Australia,
playing an electric guitar-wielding ingenue in Shakespeare
and an accordion-bending, saxophone-toting gangster moll in
Brecht, amongst others. She has appeared in musicals such as
Always, Patsy Cline and Sondheim’s Company, and counts
herself lucky to have been part of many premiere productions
and workshops including
All Het Up, Spontaneous Broadway, Your Dreaming and Sign of
The Seahorse with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
She has worked with Melbourne Theatre Company, Sydney
Theatre Company, Playbox/Malthouse, Chamber Made,
Majestic, Handspan, Theatreworks,
Really Useful Company, and Australian Shakespeare Company
to name a few. Rachael has to her credit a sprinkling of screen
roles, and holds a Masters Degree in Speech and Language
Pathology from La Trobe University.
She is also a voice and accent specialist, working regularly in
film, television and radio.

She has the most incredible voice and of course played the role of
June Carter, Cash's incredible wife and co-performer, for some
40 years.


The songs well lets see what I can remember.
Ring of Fire, I Walk the Line, Folsom Prison Blues,
Sunday Mornin’ Coming Down, Get Rhythm,
A Boy Named Sue, Hey Porter, Hurt, Bird on a wire,
Jackson, Were You There (When They Crucified My Lord),
Help Me Make It Through The Night, It Ain’t Me Babe,
Busted, Cocaine Blues, Greyston Chapel, Starkville City Jail,
Man In Black, 25 Minutes To Go, Dirty Old Egg-Suckin’ Dog
and If I Were a Carpenter.

The highlights, well the big songs were all highlights but special
mention goes to Jackson, perhaps the greatest duet of all time,
Hurt, this was incredible as haunting as the Cash version,
Were You There (When They Crucified My Lord),
given extra significance as Tidd and Perkins account for the period
surrounding Cash’s brother Jack’s untimely demise at the hands
of a whirling table saw in 1944,
It Ain’t Me, Babe, another fantastic duet and just a great song,
as was If I Were a Carpenter.
Of course Ring of Fire the song June wrote for him and
the very last song John performed before his death
was a fitting end.
A fantastic tribute and that's never going to be an easy thing to
pull off when you are talking about someone with a legacy
such as that of Johnny Cash.


The Band , oh weren't they great, they played every song with the
up most respect for the songs, faithful in the reproductions.

The Tennessee Four.

Dave Folley, Shane Reilly, Steve Hadley and Shannon Bourne.

The End - Brisbane Hotel, 1979

Steve aka duckdogtwo a frequent contributor here has
added to the end post with this fantastic live recording
of the end back sometime in 1979.
Heck that was when I was in grade 10 or something.
I remember trying real hard to see the Boomtown rats
then, but I digress. It would be a couple of years before
I started hitting venues like the Brisbane Hotel, where
the Saints ( with ed on bass) would deafen me.
This is a great recording, I'm thinking soundboard,
great vocals high in the mix, all instruments clear
and it starts with the classic John Cale song This heart
of mine. Fantastic with a great version of Just Skin
and my confession is supurb.
Thanks Steve.

Now does anyone have the Hot records cassette release.



Track List
01. This Heart Of Mine
02. Real Good Time Together
03. Stand On My Head
04. Lost
05. There She Goes Again
06. Chelsea Girl
07. Not The Day
08. Trees
09. Just Skin
10. Sunday Morning
11. My Confession
12. Mannequin
13. Something's Wrong
14. I Said Oh
15. Waste My Time
16. When You Said
17. Saw You
18. Stay Away

Download Here

No Dance - Carnival of Souls, ep

Described as an acoustic, studio side project put together by Damiem
Lovelock while his band the Celibate Rilles was taking a break.
Damien along with Louis Tillet and Brett Myers recorded this
3 track ep which includes a very early version of Just Skin,
a song from the end repertoire and later part of the Died Pretty
canon. It seems each person provided one song to the project,
the Louis song Swimming in the mirror was later released on
the excellent hot records compilation High Temperature,
that I posted last year here

Thanks again to Chuck and his fabulous record collection.

Download Here

The End - 7"single - My Confession / White World

Chuck has pulled out this rare and historic single
from Brisbane band The End, a band which was
the forerunner to Died Pretty. It is said Ron Peno
was a fan and was constantly telling them what
they needed was a great singer and that would
be him.
Thanks Chuck for making this available to the
masses.

Below is from the Citadel Records site here

Also playing around the Brisbane traps at the same time
was a young band called The End. Guitarist / singer
Brett Myers was a Velvet Underground devotee who had
formed The End during February 1979 specifically to
fulfil his desire to play a heavily VU-influenced
brand of music. Alongside Myers, the original End
line-up comprised Andrew Massey (bass), Murray Davis
(keyboards) and Colin Barwick (drums).
Massey was soon replaced by Jonathan Lickliter.
Myers tastes were broad and as well as the Velvet
Underground, The End covered songs by Wire,
New York Dolls, The Stooges, Destroy All Monsters,
Eno, The Feelies, Pere Ubu and The Ronettes.
Myers also contributed a small but steadily
increasing number of original songs that eventually
included 'Birthday Boy', 'Just Skin', 'Lost',
'Through My Heart', 'White World' and 'My Confession'.
Although gigs around Brisbane were few and far between,
The End built up a cult following playing alongside the
likes of The Go-Betweens, The Riptides, Razar,
The 31st, The Apartments and Fun Things.
In September 1981, The End issued the single
'My Confession' b/w 'White World' (EMI Custom 13199)
in a pressing of only 300 copies. The single was a
moody evocation of the future Died Pretty sound with Myers'
resonant guitar lines and Davis' spooky keyboard fills.


Download Here

North 2 Alaskans - Gonks Go Beat/ Freaky Gonk Thang

From Cow punk to Hippy Punk, I think.
Found in the dark recesses of Chucks
underground record bunker.
This North 2 Alaskans single is described
as below on the Red Eye Records site.

ULTRA RARE ORIGINAL 2 TRACK 7" VINYL SINGLE FROM
1982 by defunct outfit led by Spencer P. Jones
of the Johnnies/Beasts of Bourbon (Tex Perkins).
Issued by Green in picture sleeve. Beautiful condition.



Its a great record and is leading me now by a small
degree of separation to a man I'm off to see on
Friday Night the one and only Tex Perkins.
Thanks Chuck for this "ultra rare" beauty

Download Here

The Johnnys - Injun Joe/Cannonball

Another top single from the boys coming to us from
Chucks enormous music vault,
Thanks Chuck.
Now a bit about Spencer.

From the font of all knowledge wikipedia

Spencer P. Jones is a Melbourne based guitar player from
Te Awamutu, New Zealand.
He has been a member of The Emotional Retreads,
Country Killed the Cow Penalty, Escape Committee,
Cuban Heels, Beats Working, North 2 Alaskans, The Johnnys,
The Beasts of Bourbon, Olympic Sideburns,
Paul Kelly and The Coloured Girls, Legendary Stardust Cowboys,
The Rock Party, The Bother Shop, Mince Meat,
Hell To Pay, Chris Bailey and The General Dog, Maurice Frawley
and The Working Class Ringos, Sacred Cowboys,
Paul Kelly Band and Singers For The Red Black and Gold.

Download Here

The Johnnys - Showdown/ Rebel Yell

Lets have us some Spencer P Jones type fun,
kicking off this bunch of posts we have the
Johnnys "Showdown" single from Chucks
expansive record library,
Thanks Chuck.

From Wikipedia,

The Johnnys were an Australian pub rock band
that fused the fun of punk rock with the 3 minute
pop sensibilities of Hank Williams.
They were contemporaries of The Gun Club and
LA's X. The Johnnys collapsed in the late 1980s
only to reform for shows in 2004 where they once
again proved themselves to be absolutely
brilliant showmen. Their album Highlights of
Dangerous Life is a widely regarded Australian
classic, produced by Ross Wilson of Daddy Cool.
They had at least two smash hits
(Injun Joe-Bleeding heart) in Thessaloniki-Greece
in the year 1987 on radio "Mousikos Diavlos"FM 97.3.

You learn something new everyday, The Johnnys were a hit
in Greece.
Check out Barking dogs fabulos blog,
Beast ofBourbons Twangsville,
for all things Johnny's here
Thanks Barking Dog.

Download Here

The Models - Cut Lunch, mini album/ep 1981

A request from Col via facebook for the models has me posted this
ep which I thought I had already posted. Can't find it so I'm
doing it now. I have also re uploaded "Local and or General"
This ep is fabulous, showcasing the Models at their innovative best.

Col Says
"Hi Bob, found your blog, "Striped sunlight sound"
We have very similar taste and passion for Aussie 80's & 90's
music. I am a huge fan of the early Models stuff and have it all
on tape but was chasing it in digi form

Well how can I refuse such a heart felt request.
I have also included the promo video for the track
'Two Cabs To The Toucan"
Love this song




Download Here

Max Q - the album

Thanks to Mona and his/her quick response we have the Max Q
album. What I didnt know was he had posted about it and his
brush with fame already complete with videos check it out here

In 1989, an interesting change of pace for watchers of INXS
came in the form of a collaborative album involving
Michael Hutchence and Ollie Olsen. Olsen, ex-Whirlywirld
mastermind, and a Melbourne-based musician and DJ of
some repute, had worked with Michael on music for the
Richard Lowenstein film Dogs In Space a couple of years before
and scored an Australian hit with the alluring track
'Rooms For The Memory' (from the film and soundtrack LP).
Dubbed Max Q (after Ollie's dog of the same name),
the band consisted of mainstays Olsen and Hutchence
with an attachment mob of musicians drawn from the
underground scene.
Held in high regard by fans and critics alike, but unsuccessful
commercially, Max Q is a remarkable album indeed.
Considered ahead of its time upon release and now out of print
(when it could be most appreciated); Max Q deserves some long
overdue attention. Constructed around Olsen's hybrid electronic
song structures, Max Q explodes with invention at every turn.
'Sometimes' and 'Way Of The World', both featured tracks on the
album, bristle with a vibe of punk/agro meets disco/house splendor
- an area bands like Depeche Mode and Massive Attack have
explored in depth. Jittery guitars clash with looped percussion
attacks, and Michael's raging vocal workouts head butt powerful
orchestral flourishes and the odd sonic bleep.
There's a lot of raw noise going on here, but some of it is certainly
beautiful - i.e. 'Monday Night By Satellite' and 'Ot-Ven-Rot'.
Faint traces of Talking Heads, Eastern influences and the
specter of Barry White also frame this exciting music.
Tracklist
01 Sometimes
02 Way Of The World
03 Ghost Of The Year
04 Everything
05 Concrete
06 Zero-2-0
07 Soul Engine
08 Buckethead
09 Monday Night by Satellite
10 Tight
11 Ot-Ven-Rot

Download Here

Max Q singles

Max Q consisted of Hutchence (vocals) and Ollie Olsen
(songwriting and production) who were accompanied by key
members of the Melbourne post-punk scene, most of whom had
previously collaborated with Olsen.
The project followed on from Hutchence and Olsen's work on
the film Dogs In Space, where they met.




Max Q released their sole self-titled album in 1989 and had
minor hits with the songs "Sometimes" (originally recorded by
Olsen with Orchestra Of Skin And Bone) and "Way of the World".
The album was more critically-acclaimed than commercially
successful, and ever since it went out of print,
it has yet to be re-issued.
Also, the band had never performed any live shows.



The brilliant Australian movie "Dogs in space"
who's soundtrack I posted last year has made
it to DVD and a complete soundtrack, with missing
unreleased tracks added has been recently
posted on the Psychotic Leisure music blog here.
Read this excellent review of the movie here,
Thanks to Mona for the heads up on these happenings
and many thanks to Chuck for delving into his
very big music Libary to pull out these Max Q singles.
Now has anyone the album?

Download the singles here