All My Friends Are in Bar Bands

Brian Wilson once said that he just wasn't made for these times. Imagine, then, how Charlie Parr feels - he's essentially the greatest 20s bluesman to have been born some 40 years after the fact. He might feel like he's from a different plane of existence entirely, but Parr's dozen-plus albums all immediately feel like home in their own unique way. Before a show at the Brass Monkey in Cronulla, Ch...

From choirboy to heathen, Marcus Whale has become one of Sydney's most consistently interesting singers, songwriters and performers. He pops and locks with Collarbones, raves to the grave with Black Vanilla and leads a one-man army as a newly-minted solo artist - all the while delivering challenging, unique takes on electronically-tinged outsider music. During an afternoon of lawn bowls and live m...

Brendan Maclean dances like no-one is watching, sings like his life depends on it and performs the hell out of every role he finds himself in. Solo at the piano? You got it. Choreographed pop with dancers? Bring it on. A star of the ultimate jukebox cabaret/circus spectacular Velvet? Five stars. In short, Maclean gives it all wherever his career path takes him - and the world is ever grateful for...

Bad//Dreems arrived on the scene less than five years ago, covered in dirt and spoiling for a fight. These days, they count themselves among the more popular guitar bands in the country, selling out shows nationwide and scoring huge points for their acclaimed debut album, Dogs At Bay. Before another typically high-energy and rough-and-tumble gig - this one taking place at Sydney's Vic on the Park...

10 years ago, Frank Iero was on the front-line of the Black Parade, leading the so-called emo revolution out of the alt-club nights and into the arenas, guitars and eyeliner in hand. As guitarist and backing vocalist in My Chemical Romance, Iero was a part of the major dynamic shift in both what a major-selling contemporary rock band could look like, but also sound like. Fast forward to present da...

Melbourne via Hobart via Sydney's Courtney Barnett has come a long way since kicking around in bands in her youth. This supposed overnight success story has come through years of DIY touring, slide-guitar detours and a steady build up to one of the country's most celebrated contemporary songwriters. Days before chalking up four songs in the Triple J Hottest 100 - and hours before performing a sold...

For the final episode of 2015, we're speaking with two figures of Sydney music - one mini, one mega - that have built up a devoted, loudly-singing audience in their near-decade together. Keiron Steel and Jack Bruun-Hammond are Corpus, and their particularly live-and-loud brand of post-hardcore-oriented alternative rock has impressed everyone from Black Wire regulars to Bert McCracken. With Jack's...

It's party time! Anty Horgan and Craig Selak have been raising hell since their school days, flying through puerile teenage bands and dreaming of the big time. They began the journey by borrowing the name of a pop superstar, but it's as The Bennies that they've carved their niche as one of the most exciting and fun-loving live bands this great southern land has to offer. With a half-hour between d...

Screaming their way out of suburban Adelaide, Raccoon City Police Department (aka Raccoon City PD, aka Raccoon City, aka Rack City, aka Rack Rack City Bitch)are one of the more unique acts to emerge from Australia's south in recent years. With all members dividing their time between a myriad of projects, their united focus brings them to a mix of math rock, indie-punk and the sound that is colloqu...

The timeline of Apart From This spans pop-punk, melodic hardcore, alternative rock and stoner jams; not to mention a slew of different members whom have all entered the fray at different stages of the band. Perhaps therein lies what makes the band so interesting - they're a constantly evolving and rapidly-improving beast; edging closer and closer to having one of the best live shows in the country...

A dislocated shoulder and a few happy accidents lead a punk part-timer into the role of the lifetime - the driving force of The Smith Street Band, who have evolved into one of the country's most respected and beloved contemporary rock bands. Chris Cowburn might not be up-front - either literally or figuratively - but he's been a part of the band since its formation, and has also moved into various...

You've bought your favourite records off him. You've watched him slap the bass for bands like A Death in the Family and Freak Wave. But how much do you know about Andy Hayden, the man behind Poison City Records? Across two separate chats that pre-gamed and post-gamed the Weekender, the big boss man opened up about Metallica mixtapes, Geelong dreaming and how punk rock took him from Portland, Victo...

Down the Mountains into Marrickville, Tim Levinson - aka Urthboy - has gone from serving up $3.40 bags of fresh hip-hop to a national tour with Paul Kelly. He stands as one of the most interesting, intelligent and staunchly-independent figures in Australian music; the head honcho of Elefant Traks, a noted solo artist and one-eighth of legendary Sydney crew The Herd. In a rare extended interview, U...

Jack Richard Reilly came straight outta Kiama with a dyed black fringe and a fetish for Frenzal Rhomb. A decade on, he's shifted through post-grunge, post-punk and post-rock - ending up in a place he likes to call Middle Everything. We took a moment with the now Sydney-based singer-songwriter to peer into his musical evolution; providing some insight into one of Australian music's most likeable ge...

Finger-tapping wizardry, strikingly-melodic hooks and one of the busiest drummers this side of the equator - Brisbane's Seahorse Divorce are cult favourites among Australia's DIY scene; and with valid reason. In Sydney for the so-called 'emo weekender' back in July, we roped in Ben, Josh and Justin from the band to detail their various wheelings and dealings; from sax-driven grindcore to cheesy pu...

It's been a quick ascension to the top of the food chain for Dylan Farrugia and Jacob Rossi. As one half of Oslow, the duo have already played with the likes of Title Fight, La Dispute, Knapsack and RVIVR. That's not even taking a glimpse at the shows the band have packed out in their own right, presenting a strong case for being one of Sydney's most interesting and exciting bands. Recently, light...

It's the grrrls! Ahead of a national tour devoted exclusively to promoting and supporting the talents of women and non-binary people, we get the story behind the Club's initiation and what they hope to achieve. Founder/creator Rachel Maria Cox is in this week; along with cohort Sarah-Marie "Ess-Em" Marriott, for a chat on establishing positive spaces, high-school nightmares and emerging from the M...

This episode almost didn't happen - David Le'aupepe almost didn't come back to music, almost didn't form Gang of Youths and almost didn't release one of the most acclaimed debut albums of the year in The Positions. A series of life-changing events lead the singer-songwriter back into writing and playing music in spite of - or perhaps because of - anxiety and uncertainty in his midst. Over lunch in...

They're the life and death of the party. The sweatiest dudes in the room. The strangest, weirdest and most wonderful thing to ever happen to punk and hardcore in Australia. If you haven't had your local terrorised by this crew of mystic beasts, you know someone that has - and they probably haven't shut up about them since it happened. Before a show at Rad, where the band have had some of their mos...

The two Toms and Max of Burlap are in the building this week. We've got McEwen, also of Unbranded Animals and McLovin fame; as well as Houlahan, who has played in bands such as F'Tang and Ted Danson with Wolves; and Max Edgar, formerly of Halal, How Are You?. Together, these three have been most recently stomping holes in the local music scene with their brutal, brooding sludge/noise project Burla...

We've never gotten to say this before, but... we did it in the back of the van! In the midst of a brutal tour with King Parrot and Colossvs, High Tension's fearless frontwoman talked through her colourful history with music; which takes us through the mean streets of Jakarta, the roundabouts of Canberra and the hotspots of Melbourne. A remarkably honest look at identity, representation, interperso...

It's our first-ever crossover episode! For something a little different, All My Friends Are in Bar Bands has teamed up with Melbourne-based podcast Oblivious Maximus for a collaborative look into one another's lives. Oblivious Maximus is hosted by I Exist guitarist and former Outright drummer Aaron Osbourne; who talks through his upbringing, touring with his heroes and his own quest to get to the...

TASSIE! For the last few years, Luca Brasi have been flying the flag for the Apple Isle. In that time, they've put out two albums, toured the country countless times and established themselves as one of the most heartfelt and endearing Australian punk bands. Kicking around just after soundcheck at Sutherland's Studio Six, Tyler and Pat shot the shit on high-school kickabouts, rooms full of mates a...

It's not often that the podcast has a guest that was born into a world of music, but this is certainly the case when it comes to Georgia Macdonald - known professionally and colloquially around the traps as Georgia Maq. The daughter of Redgum alum Hugh Macdonald, Georgia has had lyrics, harmonies, chords and songwriting quite literally bred into her. She emerged as a solo act a few years ago and i...

You may have seen him wielding a bass for Milhouse and Between the Devil and the Deep, a guitar under the name zzzounds or a banjo as one half of Pinch Hitter. Under any circumstance, it's always a delight to watch Dave Drayton express his inner-most and most honest self upon the stage. Over a cheeky arvo beer and a rollie or two out the back of Black Wire, Dave takes us from Hornsby to New York a...