AKA Beasts Of Bourbon or members from that Aussie band!
Third weekend with gigs in a row too, the first of two I’m going to be blog about!
When Beasts Of Bourbon formed back in 1983 or sometime around then it would be Australia’s first super-group before they were a thing and before anyone in the band was very well-known in the Aussie music scene, maybe only in the indie scene which will be another ten years before anyone really care! Reading Tex Perkins as he wrote in his auto-bio book a couple of years ago which he talked about forming endless groups back then, play a show at some mates pub on the weekend then be playing with someone else by the next weekend. Beasts Of Bourbon were just going play a couple or more shows together, Perkins had some shows these pre-booked but no band at all so asked some mates to play with him and at the very early stage just played some covers but someone else who had a indie label booked a studio to record them. Basically because the gap in-between those gigs and the recording session was so huge everyone involved in the band had wrote songs so they recorded them and more gigs were booked so this band stay together. Over the years they have been a few line-ups and last year a couple of the members passed away. If you don’t know them for some reason? Here are the names: Spencer P. Jones on guitar from the cow-punk band called The Johnnys, Kim Salmon on guitar from the punk-garage rock and for-runner for grunge music The Scientists, James Barker on drums from more mainstream rock band Hoodoo Gurus and also drummer of early The Scientists too, Boris Sujdovic on bass from The Scientists completed the early line-up of Beasts Of Bourbon. That album was entitled The Axeman’s Jazz which that linked to something I wrote a couple of years ago but if you google it you’ll find something better all about it!
Over the years at different times everyone but Tex and Spencer has swapped members to Charlie Owen on guitar who was also member of a early 90’s Divinyls and late 80’s The New Christs, Brian Hooper on bass of Kim Salmon & The Surrealists and Tony Pola on drums also from Kim Salmon & The Surrealists. Tex even calling the band minus him and Owen a Western Australian band because all of The Scientists, Hoodoo Gurus and Kim Salmon & The Surrealists are from over here, you know? Perkins did say but don’t tell the Victorian’s, you’ve got the best footy team too! Off course that’s the West Coast Eagles who won the 2018 AFL season’s grand final in one of the most insane finals of Aussie footy even! What else did he say? Because he’s always been a great front-man, oh yeah he recommend a real younger and hipper band to cover Drunk On A Train and turn it into a big hit song because it’s a hit just waiting to happen! James Baker was dragged back on stage to sing Drop Out track with a opening monologue I wish I could remember because it was funny as fuck!
Playing all these new songs from the whole brand new album in full which just had to pick-up a copy then. The older songs from the old Beasts Of Bourbon albums they also fit into the setlist on Saturday night was Graveyard Train, Drop Out, Bad Revisited, Just Right, The Low Road, Saturated, Execution Day, maybe I’ve forgotten a couple or some more but I’ve just got to share one old track, if you’ve never hear it before? Please play it loud: Chase The Dragon!
This new album is dedicated to Brian Henry Hooper and Spencer P. Jones who both sadly passed away last year and with thanks to Ninevah Hooper and Angie Louise Jones for taking such good care of our departed Beasts. Might as well included the album’s details below, 1st six tracks I’ve embedded above but physical copy’s are available from a Spanish label linked here, if you want one?
Still Here track list is:
1. On My Back
Written by Perkins
2. Pearls Before Swine
Written by Salmon
3. My Shit’s Fucked Up
Drums – Andrew Hehir, Written by Warren Zevon
4. Just Let Go
Guitar – Tex Perkins, Written by Perkins
5. At The Hospital
Acoustic Guitar – Spencer P. Jones, Written by Jones
6. Drunk On A Train
Written by Baker & Reynolds
7. The Torture Never Stops
Written by Frank Zappa
8. It’s All Lies
Written by Salmon & Perkins
9. What The Hell Was I Thinking
Written by Hooper
10. Don’t Pull Me Over
Written by Sujdovic
11. Your Honour
Written by Owen, Salmon & Perkins
Recorded at Soundpark studios Melbourne by Andrew “Idge” Hehir
Mixed by Idge and the Beasts
Additional mixing and mastering by Richard Stolz at Woodstock studios
Kim Salmon – Guitar, Banjo, Vocals
Tony Pola – Drums
Boris Sujdovic – Bass
Charlie Owen – Guitar, Banjo, Organ
Tex Perkins – Vocals
Supporting The Beasts were local legends The Painkillers, who’s the original duo line-up/songwriters of Drunk On A Train, see above but I’ve embedded their older acoustic guitar and drums recording of the song plus that rest of the debut album is there too! Off course, James Baker was the original Beasts Of Bordon back in the early-mid 80’s was their drummer too! Joe Bludge/Reynolds is the singer, guitar player plus The Painkillers now-ish and newer line-up includes The Triffids/Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds bass player Martyn P. Casey and on lead guitar in The Stems’ Richard Lane which I’m don’t know if they did got well-known oversea or anything? But from mid 80’s into the 90’s The Stems were pretty huge here. Anyway released last year is the song entitled Oldest Friend which is also embedded just below, I’ve blogged them before but it’s been a little/long while seeing them! I hope you enjoy them, if you press play?
It was wicked bloody great night and maybe should have gone Friday too because hell knows, if they will ever do it again? But a Euro/UK tour is in the works coming soon, maybe follow the fb page for updates linked here!
Cheers 🙂
a1000mistakes 