EPs etc. (1996-1998) - Sandpit

***2018 UPDATE***
You can now buy the Sandpit EPs at a very reasonable price from their bandcamp page. A number of rare demo recordings have also been uploaded, so have a good listen!
***

This post has been a long time coming. Sandpit are, without doubt, my favourite band of the period and possibly my favourite Australian band of all time (tied with TISM). Indeed, their lone LP, 1998's On Second Thought, gives this blog its very name (and the EPs Lessons In Posture and Tyranny Of Distance its URL).

Perhaps famous for being the band that featured bassist Stephanie Ashworth before she joined Something For Kate (Dik of S:Bahn, not long ago: "Sandpit? Is that Steph's band?"), the creative linchpin of Sandpit was ostensibly guitarist and vocalist Brendan Webb, formerly of Benalla.

Sandpit started in 199x, springing from another band that both Webb and Ashworth were playing in at the time. Paul Sciacca joined on drums and filled out the trio, who were signed to Fellaheen in May of 199x. They released a couple of outstanding EPs with producer Greg Wales at the helm, who then assumed drumming duties with Sciacca's departure prior to the recording of On Second Thought in 1998. The band split soon after, catalysed by Ashworth's new role in Something For Kate.

Sandpit were sufficiently popular that they sprouted not one but two rather comprehensive fan websites, No Rock and Pessimism Strikes You Cold. Both contain a wealth of info on the band, and are useful for obsessive anarchivists like myself. Another fansite, Diplomatic Type-O Guy, brands itself as a 'sequel' to that latter site. A forerunner to No Rock can also be found in the Archive here.

In addition, they also had an incomplete, posthumous, official website, with mp3 links to demos and such (unfortunately all of the link in the archived version are broken). That said, four of these are actually included in the attached zip. If anyone can find the unavailable tracks ('The Way To You', a BL Stryker song; 'So Easy', another Webb solo) then please let me know.

There are also an abundance of interviews still lurking in the Archive:

• Brendan interview with Warm Cola Fanzine, where he mentions that he likes Lou Barlow! Good. Warm Cola is another zine of the period that will probably get a write-up on here at some point as an Archive Treasure post. Also in non-archival format here.
• Brendan interview where he goes into detail about the band's origins.
• Brief Brendan interview from around the time of their second EP.
• An interview with Steph probably around LP release time
• Also a gig review of Sandpit and Screamfeeder on the same bill! Gosh!

Superficially, they received constant comparison to Sonic Youth. Whilst Webb's use of alternate tunings tended attract this description from lax music journalists, Sandpit were very much an Australian product, far more intimate and introspective than their cooler-than-thou contemporaries.

They released a few videos over their brief existence. The video for 'Along The Moors', which featured Super-8 footage of Webb doing the vacuuming and mowing the lawn, has unfortunately been deleted from YouTube at time of writing. The video for 'Drawing Straws', the first track from Tyranny of Creeps is still up, however.

Later on, they even garnered a spot on Recovery, of which on YouTube there is footage of them doing a version of 'Greater Expectations'. It's a somewhat strained performance, which might be understandable given the state of the band at the time. Wales does speed up markedly on the kit as the middle of the first verse hits, much to the song's detriment (and possibly Webb's concentration). Listen to the end for the S:Bahn plug.

I first encountered Sandpit through a random CD purchase at, I believe, the Salvos in Elsternwick. Spying the attractive cover and 'Made In Marrickville' on the back, I made the purchase and, all of a sudden, my belief in desirable Australian 90s indie was verified. The hunt had begun. I slowly acquired (almost) all of Sandpit's catalogue and most of it is archived here.

For this upload, I've compiled their EPs, the two singles (including B-sides) released from On Second Thought and two non-Sandpit tracks. You'll note that I haven't included the LP itself - this is because it's still available from Microphone and Loudspeaker, who reissued it in 2013. Buy it now in digital or on vinyl, it's worth every penny.

There's also a cover of The Pixies' 'Where Is My Mind', which Webb appears to have uploaded to YouTube. This track was originally slated for a compilation that was never released, according to the alongthemoors.com page.

Whilst this is almost every Sandpit track (aside from demos, etc.) that I could track down, it's not complete. I don't have a copy of The Hunting Picture, a compilation of their first two EPs on one CD for the American market, thus the added closing track 'The End' is not included here. Instead, I have included two tracks from By Ferry Or Steamer (BFOS), a post-rock band that Webb formed after the demise of Sandpit. These were featured on the Musikal Identikit compilation I uploaded some time back. You can listen to these as well as two other BFOS tracks at this bandcamp page.

BL Stryker was Webb's solo outfit. Ostensibly there are a few releases here, none of which I've managed to track down. If you have some, please let me know!

• Warm Cola Zine #1 Tape - contains 'PVC'
• 7" on Spunk Records - contains 'Uno'
• 7" EP on Handpressed Records, featuring Matthew Dufty  - no idea if this was actually released
• They Say The Owl - 15 songs, probably a private demo

In addition, the 'secret track' at the end of Lessons In Posture is listed as a separate track under the name 'Three Of Wands' on The Hunting Picture. In this compilation, I've used the original EP sequencing (i.e. as the second half of 'Blinders').

Well, here's Sandpit. Enjoy. My favourite.

1. Die 501        2:06    Sandpit    Lessons In Posture
2. Tractor Beam        3:38    Sandpit    Lessons In Posture
3. Wonder Twins        4:03    Sandpit    Lessons In Posture
4. Keflex        2:37    Sandpit    Lessons In Posture
5. Blinders/Three of Wands        7:15    Sandpit    Lessons In Posture
6. Drawing Straws        2:45    Sandpit    The Tyranny Of Creeps
7. Bear This Cross        2:59    Sandpit    The Tyranny Of Creeps
8. X-10        3:32    Sandpit    The Tyranny Of Creeps
9. The Horns Sing        3:58    Sandpit    The Tyranny Of Creeps
10. Mock Arizona        2:56    Sandpit    The Tyranny Of Creeps
11. Along The Moors (Single Version)        3:26    Sandpit    Along The Moors
12. No Rock        3:48    Sandpit    Along The Moors
13. The Horns Sing (Demo)        3:59    Sandpit    Along The Moors
14. Mr Diamond        1:12    Sandpit    Along The Moors
15. Greater Expectations (Single Version)        2:58    Sandpit    Greater Expectations
16. Brunch In Chicago        2:21    Sandpit    Greater Expectations
17. D.I./Eclipse Remix        3:53    Sandpit    Greater Expectations
18. Spanish Summers        5:01    By Ferry Or Steamer    Musikal Identikit
19. Theme From By Ferry Or Steamer        3:32    By Ferry Or Steamer    Musikal Identikit

EPs etc. (1996-1998) - Sandpit

Lot's The CD (1994) - Various Artists

Now for one of my personal favourites, though not necessarily for the music. Lot's Wife is the student publication of Monash University in Clayton and has been going in one form or another for the past 50 years (or shortly after the uni's inception). Nowadays it's a somewhat insipid and vacuous glossy that occasionally shows up in the union building's ever-declining array of brochure holders, but at various times it exhibited the best of student involvement. Without getting into the abolition of voluntary student unionism in the 1990s and its subsequent slow dismemberment of student culture, let's just say that the undergrads were a little more creative back then.

Highlights of this compilation, released in 1994, include a live cut from Painters and Dockers ('The Boy Who Lost His Jocks At Flinders St Station'), recorded in the basement of the union building (hah! try setting a gig up down there these days...), a Muffcake track (see Decimus Gnu once again) and the odd inclusion of two Raspberry Cordial tracks. For those not in the know, Raspberry Cordial was a delightfully cringey hip hop duo featuring future local media star John Safran. This explains why the scan above (of my own copy) has his signature on it (done at a book signing for Murder in Missisippi). This particular copy was picked up at the Salvos in Brandon Park Drive.

Some of the skits on the CD are also great. Sadly, the Menzies Building's legacy as 'The Ming Wing' has derailed over time, with only the senior staff calling it that to the perplexment of students.

See Safran's bit on Raspberry Cordial in this episode of Music Jamboree (skip to 8:54 if impatient):

1. Turn The Page And The Salt Joke        0:15    Lot's Wife
2. The Boy Who Lost His Jocks At Flinders Street Station (Live)        5:43    Painters And Dockers
3. Wet Patch        3:26    Quite and Very
4. The Badger        5:03    Treehouse
5. The Interview        15:24    Leanne Paton with Prof. Chubb and Gai Baldwin
6. Rocky & Bullwinkle Skit        0:12    Lot's Wife
7. Candleabra        6:10    Clock Work
8. Burgo        3:29    Nude Rain
9. Legalise        6:06    Muffcake
10. The Count        0:44    Lot's Wife
11. Moment Of Rising        5:39    Aubergine
12. Melbourne Tram        4:25    Raspberry Cordial
13. Snake Like A Tongue        6:48    The Clowns Of Decadence
14. NDS        1:55    Lot's Wife
15. Demons Dwell        2:58    Stronger Than Dirt
16. Vampires Kiss        4:43    Clint Goad
17. One Sunny Day Inside Your CD Player        0:56    Lot's Wife
18. No Compromise        1:26    Raspberry Cordial

Lot's The CD (1994) - Various Artists

Christmas (2002) - Sandro

Now we're talking! In stark contrast to their debut, the Christmas EP, their final (?) studio recording, is a far more rollicking affair recorded eight years on. Gone are the gossamer atmospherics, replaced with more power pop intensity. Enjoy.

1. Christmas        2:37
2. I Will Not Go Into the Light With You        4:18
3. False Homes        3:16
4. The Island        3:43

Christmas (2002) - Sandro

Live By Rivers (1996) - Sandro

Another band that came up during my excavations of the Sandpit, Sandro's debut (?) is quiet, almost fitting the sadcore pigeonhole. In fact, the whole album was recorded live in a hall somewhere within a commission housing block in Collingwood, as frontman Gareth Edwards explained in an interview some while ago. This Cowboy Junkies-esque approach makes for very subtle listening, an experience that didn't quite endear me to the recording in my current search for period-era musical red cordial analogues.

Cameron Potts, drummer, also played drums with Laura Macfarlane (herself the original Sleater Kinney drummer, a fact I enjoy mentioning to neophytes at Ninetynine gigs) in Ninetynine, who are still going. He also played alongside Evelyn 'Pikelet' Morris in Baseball, who I'm going to get on this blog at somepoint, I'm sure. On a tangent, Ev recently did an excellent and at times confronting interview with Steve Albini recently on the back of Shellac's last tour down here.

Anyway, the first Sandro album. How good is that cover?

1. Racing Car Driver        3:30
2. Watching Dogs        4:21
3. Tanja's Soldier        3:20
4. St Charles Song        4:07
5. Tonight        7:12
6. There's Nowhere To Go Without You        4:35
7. Skinny        4:28
8. Werribee        2:38
9. This House Has Fallen        1:21
10. The Villa's Cursed        5:21

Live By Rivers (1996) - Sandro

Whats For Sale (1996) - LUL

Scant information available on this release, other than it was recorded at Birdland and released on Paper Mill Records (PMILLCD.721380). The band is ostensibly LUL as that's what the booklet and inlay have labelled in common - the spine reads 'Automatic Girl', so either this was the tentative title of the release or I just got a copy with the wrong booklet. The disc itself has three signatures on it! Another delightful purchase from the Kilsyth salvos, where I was hoping for the kind of records advertised in the seminal Beanz Baxter fanzine. This isn't quite up to that ilk, but is actually pretty good indie rock, once you get past the Bono-isms of the lead singer (that voice just doesn't sound right!) There are even some Sonic Youthisms on the title track. Even 'Lost Soul' is kind of Jawbreaker-esque! Any info on this group much appreciated in the comments.

1. Automatic Girl        3:45
2. Stuff U Round        3:10
3. Whats For Sale        2:56
4. Lost Soul        3:59
5. I Feel Fine        4:17

Whats For Sale (1996) - LUL

Digging Around: 99 Reasons Why

Adelaide band. Broke up 2003ish.

Just a quickie post this evening because it's getting to my bedtime... I stumbled across this band and their impending reformation gig tonight, and was enamoured enough to post a bunch of YouTube links to their songs (it seems to be the only way of accessing much of their material without resorting to dodgy forum and blog posts...) There's scant information on them on the internet (such as their Discogs entry, which only lists a few apparent comp appearances), a J-play page, and this Tripod band history page. Oh yeah, they were interviewed in Issue #7 of Beanz Baxter. Nice melodic hardcore that just about slots into the desired emo paradigm.

Stay tuned for when I can actually dig up some releases...

Actually stuff linking all of those videos, just use the playlist I made here.

UPDATE: Oh, looks like someone HAS uploaded their back catalogue onto SoundCloud. Well, excuse me. Here's aforementioned tracks, converted to mp3 and sorted into zip files.

99 Reasons Why (1998) - 99 Reasons Why

This Is Not My Beautiful Life (1999) - 99 Reasons Why

Careful What You Wish For (2003) - 99 Reasons Why

Diolene (1995) - Diolene

One of the first CDs I sought out when I started this odyssey, Diolene (from Perth!) was part of the Fellaheen Records stable that featured the likes of Sandpit, Fur, Budd, Noise Addict and early Gerling (which I'm still trying to track down). Their page on the period-era Fellaheen website describes frontwoman Silvana Delbene as 'a songwriter on par with the Malkmus' [sic] and Deals of the world'. While this is a bit of hyperbole (and I'm not very keen on Pavement at all, by the way), the album's got a nice sound with surprising variety in some of the guitars, slotting into the indie paradigm pretty well.

The band (to my ears) is a bit like a more hi-fi ninetynine, though without the worldly excursions. Maybe it's just the voice? In any case, definitely worth a listen, even if just for the amusing nang effects in the closer.

1. Obviously Not        4:13
2. Nailed        3:51
3. 30 Minutes (Steady)        2:36
4. S.J.M (Cool Fingers)        2:31
5. Lateral Thinking        4:36
6. Sodapop Kid        3:54
7. N2O w.Nangerlude        3:54

Diolene (1995) - Diolene

Way Over There Catalogue (1998) - Various Artists

I picked this up ages ago! Before this little incessant archival project was even a twinkle in my eye! Where and when I'm not sure exactly, it would have been some kind of op-shop and probably sometime in the past six years.

Way Over There records doesn't feature prominently in my excavations. Perhaps due me immediately passing them off as 'swampy folk punk' or something, which doesn't adequately describe the compilation. The music on here is a lot more diverse. That said, there's a fair amount of post-Mad Season folk-grunge going around - 'Song In D' by Sickbay is pretty good. Admittedly, the only bands I'd heard of on this comp were Machine Translations and Blue Grassy Knoll. Also, the Ergot Derivative's singer sounds a little bit like Guy Picciotto!

Interestingly, the Way Over There homepage is still online! They also have a Facebook page, being active in the capacity of supplying 'music programming' to various Australian festivals, including that most cherished by Triple-J-core-worshipping would-be hipster tweenies, Groovin' The Moo. It appears that the agency closed down in 2014, being absorbed under the Corner Presents umbrella.

Also included in my copy was this newspaper clipping detailing the release of the comp and interviewing label boss Richard Moffat:

1. Intestinal        5:32    Breather Hole
2. Shiteyes        3:17    Three
3. Brainded        4:17    The Ergot Derivative
4. Song In D        3:54    Sickbay
5. Drifter        4:47    James Dixon
6. Errol's Pad        4:17    P. Harness
7. Dear Michelle        3:19    Wild Pumpkins At Midnight
8. Blue Throat        3:43    Circushead
9. We Connect        5:25    The Body Electric
10. Hold My Breath        3:47    Wally Gunn
11. Armageddon Nothing        5:22    Mississippi Barry
12. On My Way Home        4:35    Mighty Servant
13. Rumpy Pumpu        5:17    Snuff Puppets Band
14. Leonard Cohen's Suzanne        4:08    The Dead Salesmen
15. Love Theme        2:13    The Blue Grassy Knoll
16. Tribal        4:29    Fimo
17. Abstract Poverty        4:22    Machine Translations
18. Misfortune        3:18    Disaster Plan

Way Over There Catalogue (1998) - Various Artists

Speed Queen (1996) - Lust In Space

One of a small handful of CDs I picked up from a record fair a couple of years ago, the same fair where I purchase the Shock sampler I put up a little while back.

An odd blend of stuff, drawing on bits of metal, original UK punk and even what sounds like a few gothic nods (particularly in the vocals) to Crow. Overall, it fits into the para-britpop spectrum. Not quite my thing, but you might like it.

Taken from the band's Facebook page...

"The band formed in 93 when Al Lynch and I (who both though each other was still in Melbourne) happened to meet up in a pub in Launceston. We'd both run out of cash and come "home" for a while. We recruited Rod Fulton on drums and quickly got a set happening doing stuff like Iggy Pop, The Godfathers, Buffalo Tom,Status Quo, Cheap Trick, MC5 etc... then we started writing songs. Our home in Lonny was The Trades...it was more or less the "alternative" venue and used to get packed. You knew everyone which I liked. From 18 year olds to over 50s...they were great days. We played other joints btu The Trades was the biz.By the end of 93 we'd written a bunch of tunes and were offered some free recording time at the TAFE studio...yes please...Jolly Walter engineered 12 songs in two days and that became Glamnesia. david Williams at Shock like dit and released on their Current label. We moved to Melbourne but Rod stayed behind due to family/work stuff. Phil Lally from Al's main band Fridge joined us. Phil was the most handsome man in rock so that was a bonus. Then we started playing the pubs...you might have seen us...."

1. Air Mail        5:17
2. Haywired        4:20
3. One Of Your Bets        4:29
4. Surrender        4:49
5. Tell Your Sister        3:59

Speed Queen (1996) - Lust In Space

Rock n Roll High School Volume 4 (2001) - Various Artists

Continuing the theme of my research into Scenestar and young people involved in a local scene, we have Rock'N'Roll High School. Possibly named for but not related to the movie or song by the Ramones. Alas the former is all I can usually turn up when looking for their comps on eBay.

There's a link between the two groups, as Scenestar co-founder Pheona Donohoe played in the band Tuff Muff who were part of the RnRHS stable. Unfortunately their contributions are not documented on this release, but likely appear on an earlier volume of the comp (two of the members were interviewed about their RnRHS involvement around the time of release of Volume 3). For a zine tangent, take a look at the page for the THUNDERPUSSY zine, whose issues featured interviews with Tuff Muff and Sheraw.

The institution was not exclusively for young women, with young men in bands such as Melissa's Partisan also cutting their teeth (and three-track demos) at the venue. One of their tracks, again one of the better ones, appears on Volume 4 below. Said band also, frustratingly, appears on the elusive Volume 3. They also played with Skip Tracer, which is cool.

The creation of Hecate drummer Stephanie Bourke, RnRHS was set up as a venue to promote rock music and DIY principles to a primarily female cohort, happily coinciding with the height of the riot grrl movement. Bourke also played in Litany, who feature alongside Hecate on Volume 4. According to that link (replete with a rather dumb sumamry of the band at the bottom as being unable to wedge into either of two fem-band stereotypes), you can still get Litany's release on Time Bomb Recordings on iTunes. Worth browsing the Time Bomb site, apparently they released Screamfeeder's landmark Kitten Licks.

RnRHS was based at a former Milk Bar in Collingwood (I think) and hosted regular all-ages shows there through the RnRHS heyday. Fugazi even played the venue during their 1993 tour (I think, or was it their 97 tour?), as apparently did the Melvins, Juliana Hatfield and Veruca Salt. Though presently a private residence, all-ages gigs are still occasionally held there to this day (as far as I know). Not long ago I saw World At A Glance play there, the first time I saw Becalm (I think).

Perhaps the most famous RnRHS alumnus is Distillers frontwoman Brody Dalle. I find the mention of Rancid's visit to the venue in this article particularly amusing given the later relationship beween Dalle and Tim Armstrong. Dalle's band at the time (recounted by herself here) was called Sourpuss and also featured Cobina Crawford (later of the fabulous Effigy). I'm trying to hunt down those Sourpuss releases if you can help me out (a split EP with Janelle 7 and a self-titled (?) 7"). Her opinions of RnRHS are mixed:

“We started rehearsing at this place called Rock ’n’ Roll High School, which is run by these psychotic feminists in Melbourne — I mean psychotic feminists, like Nazi sows, out of their fucking minds,” she remembers. “It’s a rock & roll girls’ school, designed to help young women learn how to set everything up and plug shit in, which is great. It was a cool setup — American bands like Sonic Youth and Babes in Toyland would come in and donate instruments and money to the cause, and they’d watch us play.”

    But the consequences for frequenting the place were not so good: “I hated playing under this banner of a girls’ school,” she says, “because it did more damage than it ever helped us. We weren’t taken seriously at all, and I resented it so much that I just didn’t want to be a part of it anymore.” 

Alright, so how does the actual comp sound? The overtly metallic first three or four tracks (including the Hecate cut) don't rub me up the right way - as usual, it's the punkier tracks that tickle my fancy. The good stuff starts with the Aspasia track, with a chorus saving the day, followed by a typically upbeat (and very early!) cut by the Spazzys that completes the Ramones worship theme. Having tracks by bands called Litany and Tirany serves to confuse us, but are similarly solid. The vaguely Art Of Fighting-esque intro to Myagi's first track was the most endearing part of the comp for me, but loses it with the metalisms further in (still good though). Probably the standout of the bunch for me is Screamfeeder/Effigy-esque Lego with 'Sharpshooter'. Similarly Transatlantic's 'Cobalt' gets my thumbs-up.

Also, Oi Ska!'s 'Front Bottom' is bloody catchy. Enjoy!

1. High And Dry        4:48    Tribal Clown
2. Internal        3:58    Resistica
3. Cathedral        3:31    Hecate
4. Dicky Di Do        3:17    Aspasia
5. I Wanna Cut My Hair Just Like Marky Ramone        2:10    The Spazzys
6. So Long        3:17    Tirany
7. Volunteer        3:55    Litany
8. Kool Kat        3:46    Bindi
9. Differential Images        2:07    Matramuta
10. Cowboy        2:26    Firesign
11. Front Bottom        3:31    Oi Ska!
12. From The Inside        4:43    Myagi
13. Starshooter        4:22    Lego
14. Cobalt        4:15    Transatlantic
15. Almost Gone        6:04    Melissa's Partisan
16. Dishes        2:38    Unfolding Mud
17. Cartwheel        2:23    The Cartwheels

Rock n Roll High School Volume 4 (2001) - Various Artists

In Search Of Charm (1998) - Angler

Post-rock in the age of Regurgitator. Breaking up the grungy echoed guitars are washes of buzzsaw synth, the occasional arpeggiated gurgle and other verbal attempts of music critics to appear theoretically credible. The first three tracks are somewhat more contemplative than what comes next. 'G-Force' is a short gurge-esque rocker breaking up the affair, whereas the subsequent '3-Stripe Babe' has a few more of those echoey wavetable synths to play around. With the tremolo and Morricone-synth-whoosh on some tracks I think the label 'desert rock' is far more applicable here than applied to 2 Litre Dolby, with whom they didn't share space with on the Wonder From A Quarter Acre comp and instead appeared on the later Musikal Identikit.

Information on the group is scarce, though I'll enter it here as I scrounge it.

I found this particular disc at the Rowville Salvos around the same time I picked up the Suburban Superheroes comp I posted not long ago. There are no album credits to be found anywhere on the back or within the CD inlay, making tracing the band difficult. I've so far turned up a single album from the group (1999's 'Lonesome High', also apparently self-released). If I can obtain a copy of this, I'll upload it in due course.

In Search Of Charm (1998) - Angler

Li-lo-ing (1995) - Crow

Crow piqued my curiosity when browsing the Half A Cow Records bandcamp page and noted 1.) the appealing cover artwork for Crow's 1990 debut EP Sunburnt Throats and Happy Thunderclouds and 2.) that their debut LP My Kind Of Pain was recorded by none other than Big Steve himself. Evidently, Albini's minimalist live approach wasn't quite to the band's taste, as songwriter Peter Fenton recalls in this Mess+Noise article.

I had a fair listen to aforementioned debut LP and as much as I appreciate some of the song writing ('Railhead' is a killer classic, 'Never Said' is brilliant Dino J-esque indie rock) I can't get past the unfavourable comparisons with Little Nicky Cave and the Bad Seedlings. Still, their second offering (with the wholly charming title Li-lo-ing, which in my mind involves floating down an outback waterway on an inflatable mattress) is to my ears the more coherent of the first two albums. Don't ask me why exactly, I didn't listen to it for as long as I should have, but I did form that opinion when it was on rotation on my Music Device a few months prior.

Incidentally, through doing a bit of Googling for this post I've found that someone (unsurprisingly) had the same idea for a blog as I. Much like trying to set up a local youth music outlet and discovering one had come and gone before. I will have my head nestled in there for a few weeks and suggest that you rummage also. Some awesome stuff in there, although the focus is more on the more gothy side of Oz-rock in the 80s and 90s (Triffids, NDW, Nicky Cave, Kim Salmon, all that jazz that gets the Caravan Music Club people excited). My blog is conversely looking for the sad teenage 90s wedge of the slice. Sadly, it looks like it's no-longer updated. There may be some doubling up, but it looks much more extensive than my collection - rummage away! I have no idea if the links work.

They even have the Wonder From A Quarter Acre comp that I posted not long ago! Pre-emptive strike.

1. Kilkeel        2:58
2. Privlige        3:22
3. Least Entitled        3:10
4. Big Idle        1:54
5. Paper Eyes        4:33
6. Uncontrol The Soul        2:48
7. The Buddha Salute        3:24
8. Angel Lily        4:52
9. Little Scars        2:42
10. White Knuckles        3:46
11. Smothered        2:56
12. Rabbits        6:15
13. After All        4:02

Li-lo-ing (1995) - Crow

Suburban Superheroes (2000) - Various Artists

Since the mid-90s, various youth initiatives named 'FReeZa' and 'The Push' (I'm not sure where the delineation of duty lies) have gotten young people in the community involved in making music, organising events and generally avoiding drugs and street crime. I'd be curious to know how the degree of outreach and youth involvement has changed over the years - my impression is that there would be a general trend of decline since the 1990s with a brief resurgence in the mid-00s, due to the loss of prominent, charting guitar-based music in that time (subjectively, of course).

Each municipal council would often follow the FReeZa (UPDATE: period-era link) or Push outlay as part of their Youth Services obligation (explain how it actually works in the comments, I'm only speaking from my own experience) and occasionally such a Youth Service would put out a compilation like this, recording the bands from the Youth Hall often at a discounted rate and giving them something that they could take home and later stack the shelves of the local Salvos with. The Decimus Gnu comp I uploaded a while back is an earlier example of this.

Most of these compilations are, somewhat expectedly, pretty average and derivative of the major tropes of the day. More to the point, few are of historical mention as very few of the more enduring indies from the time (with a few notable exceptions) came from the South Eastern suburbs where these youth organisations were most pervasive. In fact, the relative dearth of alternative music coming out of this region is a continuing demographical fascination of mine, as we shall see if I ever actually persist with writing this bloody blog.

So, WHY have I uploaded this compilation, an overall quite average mix of suburban bands mostly of the Blink-182, Limp Bizkit and Live/Ugly Kid Joe schools? Because it came from ROWVILLE.

Yes, Rowville.

I grew up there. I lived in a eucalyptus-lined cul-de-sac for 22 years, an entire eight more than prescribed by TISM for various crimes. I now live in Mount Waverley, or at least wish I did.

Granted, most of these bands aren't actually from Rowville. One is, the Crettins Puddle-esque Gelatine, whose contribution 'Blue Collar' does kinda grow on you after a while. They actually use the word 'emo' when describing themselves in the booklet, which is another plus. After all, one of the overarching aims of this blog is to uncover any Australian analogues of the 90s midwest emo scene that I am so fond of and associated derivatives.

Most of the tracks are of course post-grunge nu-metal schlock (even ska gets a foot in with the Commissioner Gordon and Jaded Temple entries), but there are a few highlights here, mostly the pop punk offerings from bands like Gelatine, Underside, The Blindspot and Bugdust, who are probably the most enduring of the bands on the comp.

I have another motive for this comp. Whilst the Greater Dandenong and Monash city councils have active FReeZa initiatives, Knox doesn't. I thought of rectifying this years ago by Getting Involved With My Local Community, but never summed up the energy to. It turns out that their was a Knox FReeZa/Push initiative, Mentor Productions, who put out this very comp. As to the fate of the group, I've never investigated further. It's like trying to create a scene in your home town, discovering that there was one long ago, but not finding out why it died out. I'm sure there's a parallel to a video game plot in there somewhere.

1. Other Side        3:04    Acetylene
2. Wrong Time        4:20    Lustre
3. Bend        2:12    Mighty Boy
4. Blue Collar        2:36    Gelatine
5. 21        5:46    Rush Hour
6. Psycho Ward        3:42    Polaris
7. Motive        3:32    Shagrin
8. Two For You        4:03    Underside
9. That Was Fantastic        3:04    Commissioner Gordon
10. My Best Friends        3:40    Jaded Temple
11. Taken Away        4:16    Taken
12. Design Desire        5:06    Passive
13. The Twist        3:22    The Blindspot
14. Step On Me        3:01    Bugdust

Suburban Superheroes (2000) - Various Artists

UPDATE: A few links to the various Mentor web presences in archived format, more for my convenience than yours.

Freeza Youth Committee Entry
GeoCities Page
8m Page

Also, an explanation as to where 'FReeZA' came from! Not Dragon Ball Z!

The name FReeZA was selected from 200 competition entries by a judging panel of 13 young people aged 14-18. The two young Victorians who created FReeZA said the name highlights the freedom the program offers young people to be themselves in a relaxed atmosphere free of drugs and alcohol. The name FReeZA emphasises credibility for young people, that it is cool to attend FReeZA events. 

ANOTHER UPDATE: Acetylene is one of the bands in this piece of history (and it's an established fact that the more TISM a blog post has, the better)

Archive Treasure: Astro-gurrl Zine

First up from the linked sections of Pig Meat's Zine List we have Astro-gurrl (AG), a zine the brainchild of Helen from Sutherland, NSW. Helen started AG in 1996 at the age of 15,

The earliest archive of the main page is from 1999, where Helen describes her zine as such:

astrogrrrl is a small fanzine done sporadically by me, helen a 17 yr old grrrl in australia... my zine is small and i like it that way.. zines are whatever you want so there are no design rules etc etc.

Typos, liberal use of Comic Sans and an almost stream-of-consciousness approach editing typify what I'm increasingly labelling 'Web 1.0 earnestness', a delightful pre-social media naivety about web design and content.

For a 17 year old (at the time), the author appears somewhat insightful about the contemporary culture of the period:

recently i have realised the futility of despising commercial youth culture(Australian example=recovery US equivalent=mtv) and that it should follow that the logical thing is not to adopt other peoples ethics, morals, culture but to make yr own.. yay.

Although I actually rather like Recovery (despite the zaniness and occasionally cringe-coolness of the hosts). Probably my own personal grass-is-greener para-nostalgia acting up. They looked like they put so much effort into it, it looked FUN. I digress.

There are some darker portions of the site, as evidenced in the intro blurb:

so this zine is by me for my friends and like minded people who know that kids belong in the world and get pissed off in cyberculture when you search for "teen" or "girl" all you get is a list of porno sites. boring.

And the poodle poem sets off alarm bells:

  my poodle is suicidal.
i can tell by the slash marks on her paws.
her down trodden disposition and her
general loss of enthusiasm whilst eating and chasing her gold plated stick.
i think she wishes that she was not fed fried mince every night.
mabey she is sick of being treated like a fashion accessory.
i am sick of her lack of cheerfulness and want her put down.
anyway, dalmatians are fashionable now.
i wonder if they come in lime green.
.............grumpy.

But on the whole, the page is a good example of teenage zine media, which is all too lacking in today's creative climate seemingly dominated by hipsters in their late 20s who bombed out of their arts degree and have been bonging on ever since. I'm just kidding, I made that last bit up, but it fits everyone I've ever met in the past two years that print zines. Well, the ones I don't like anyway. Shut up Iso, you're talking rubbish.

The links section is another veritable portal of period info. There's a link to Thunderpussy, another grrl zine that I've come across that I'll likely profile on here at some point. The zine also tipped me off to the band Earth To Nigel, a charmingly Sebadoh-ish noise pop group entirely made up of Kram's cousins. They will receive their own feature on here in due course.

Miss Helen seemingly continued on the same pathway and later stepped up the effort into the more sophisticated Astro Publishing, a portal for her own and associated works. Sadly, almost all of the links are unarchived. This is a massive shame. The Spycorp 3 zine ('the wheneverly journal of the suburban riot kid underground') sounds enormously promising.

Worth a dig around!

One final note. The Cynical Youth Coalition sounds absolutely badass.

P.S. dog photos

Rubbing All The Right People Up The Wrong Way - Again (1998) - Various Artists

I THINK this is a Shock Records comp from 1998, there's nothing on the cover to suggest otherwise. Incidentally, the cover appears to be a 12" square poster that you need to fold out to get the track listing. I assume this is a sequel to an existing comp, which I have yet to track down.

In between the sludgy prog and doom (not my kind of thing, but you might like it) there are a few gems that stand out; the buzzsaw of Cosmic Psychos' 'Guns Away' (a tale of suburban obssession?), MYC's memorable 'Know Something' (a staple of late 90s Melbourne punk), some Frenzal (always welcome), the upbeat skate punk of H-Block (sadly poorly documented - isn't there supposed to be a 101 in there? More stuff here. UPDATE: There's a bandcamp!) and Crettins Puddle (who will surely get there own feature on here at some point, they keep cropping up in my research).

Also worth a mention, Nancy Vandal (who from what I can tell dominated with their ska/rockabilly punk around the time, and I think did a reunion not long ago) and Budd, who I still need to dive into (they're still semi-active and pulled off the Albini-isms better than Ricaine did in my opinion, from what I've heard, WEDGES of noise).

Some tracks, like the Intoxica track, are downright greasy and don't quite sit right. Also 'Sadistik Exekution'? There are a few parts of the 90s I tend to gloss over.

The intro to Downtime's 'Monkey' is heavenly. Shame it doesn't quite correspond to the rest of the song (I was really hoping for pseudo-Knapsack territory for a second).

This came from a record swapmeet I went to and bought up every cheap Australian-produced CD I could find from the 90s in hopes that I'd uncover another Sandpit, but no such luck. In fact, some of the ones I picked up were pretty crap. These will be uploaded in due course.

I also highly recommend driving around Bayswater and Croydon blasting this in a '92 Ford Laser on a hot summer's day, which is what I did about half a year ago looking for crap drains.

1. Falling Short        2:16    Toe To Toe
2. Know Something        2:44    Mid Youth Crisis
3. Heat        2:13    Mindsnare
4. Karma        4:03    Superheist
5. Monkey        3:47    Downtime
6. Mum's Changed The Locks        1:57    Frenzal Rhomb
7. Legalised TV Violence        2:28    H-Block
8. Vodka & Lime        2:40    Crettins Puddle
9. Rock & Roll Concert        2:01    Nancy Vandal
10. Pulse        3:04    Front End Loader
11. Hot Rod Chick        3:15    Intoxica
12. Guns Away        3:30    Cosmic Psychos
13. Golden Cow        2:53    Horse Head
14. Kneecap        2:39    Budd
15. Johnny The Song        4:07    Beanflipper
16. Spiritual Justice        3:47    Abramelin
17. Road To Ubar        5:37    The Alchemist
18. Sadistik Elektrokution        3:47    Sadistik Exekution

Rubbing All The Right People Up The Wrong Way (1998) - Various Artists

Archive Treasure: Pig Meat's Zine List

Hand in hand with the development of much music in our era of focus was the proliferation of ZINES. I've yet to scratch more than the surface when it comes to 90s Australian zines (not just indie/punk zines either) but as you might guess information is rather scant. My first two ports of call were the Warm Cola and Beanz Baxter web pages from the late 90s/early 00s.

Pig Meat, a rather unusual web portal maskerading as a Tripod homepage, contains a trove of such useful info, specifically their epic Australian Zine List (still live! Archived version here). Pig Meat was a zine itself, making its way onto the internet at the dawn of the modern era (1996). Unfortunately, the archive of the zine doesn't look like it was ever finished (correct me if I'm wrong)

The doctored John Howard image on the landing page immediately sets the setting. Selecting 'no frames' (of course),  you're soon greeted with a beautiful illustration in lieu of a textual site map, surrounded by links. I recommend exploring some of these, there's a wealth of info on countercultural activities of the day, as well as even a few live recordings and an apparently Nirvana radio interview (in .rm format, regrettably).

I recommend trawling the archived page for links, as most of them are defunct and this eliminates the extra step of having to enter dead URLs into the Wayback Machine.

Another note regarding the Zine List - home addresses publically listed for zine correspondence! Unthinkable in this day of inscrutable paranoia! What a beautiful example of Web 1.0 Earnestness and Naivete.

I'll be slowly going through the Pig Meat zine list and evaluating these pages for Archive Treasure posts in the future. Stay tuned!

The Plastic Hassle (1993) - Ripe

Celebrated by indie darlings The Sugargliders, whose brilliant 2012 compilation A Nest With A View (which you all need to BUY because it's really good) contained the liner notes that repeatedly name-dropped Ripe and subsequently lead me to track this album down.

Released in 1993 on Beggar's Banquet in the UK, the group drew various comparisons to Sonic Youth and Velvet Underground but for me they come across more as a proto-Britpop type ensemble, with the added concession of being local and somewhat ahead of the wave. What you get is mildly catchy distorted pop (typified expertly by perennial favourite, album opener 'Something Fierce').

Guitarist Peter Moran also featured on a Sugargliders track or two, indicating some synergy between the two bands despite their very different sonic outlays.

Ripe had several other releases (including lots of singles/EPs) that I will likely put up if I ever find them. Someone had the insight to upload their first album Filterfeed but the link is broken at this time of writing. They also made the Britpop reference, and I only found the page after writing the bulk of this post! Synchronicity.

Enjoy!

1. Something Fierce        4:20
2. Supernatural        4:11
3. Centre Of The Universe        6:13
4. Moondriven        5:25
5. The Plastic Hassle        7:23
6. Get Your Shit Together        4:10
7. Mother Figure        3:54
8. Daylight Wants To Kill        10:51

You can now get this album officially on Bandcamp!

The Plastic Hassle (1993) - Ripe

El Caballo Rojo (1999) - 2 Litre Dolby

I'm sure this has received some international recognition. Post-rock, sadcore-esque. They were signed to Nic Dalton's Half A Cow Records, where they were described as 'desert rock', perhaps fittingly so. Seminal, atmospheric, all those adjectives.

2 Litre Dolby formed in Sydney around late 1996. At some point late in their existence they relocated to Melbourne and were allegedly threatened with legal action by the similarly named creators of various noise-reducing (lo-fi-virtue-ruining) technologies.

Recorded and mixed in 1998, El Caballo Rojo was the sole offering from the group aside from a split 7" with Art of Fighting and an earlier EP 'The Wrong Compass' (or 'Fist Fit' - ambiguous A/B side delineation), released on Blind Records in 1998. It was well received at the time (as far as I can tell) and continues to be referenced in various Facebook-based emo fan groups. See their artist page on the Half A Cow website for a more detailed run-down of this album. HAC also have a great deal of stuff available for purchase on their Bandcamp page, which I wholeheartedly recommend partaking in.

I've got two copies of this - one was hidden in the copy of Wonder From A Quarter Acre I bought from the Narre Warren Savers. Coincidentally, they also make an appearance on this comp with a truncated version of El Caballo Rojo's second track 'Frida Kahlo'.

Excellent emo sad music, such that I can't really listen to it.

1. The Fish + The Drowned Man        10:08
2. Frida Kahlo        9:04
3. Good Morning Hal        3:34
4. Dead Letter Office        6:24
5. Nostromo        1:28
6. The Paper Dawn        13:13
7. Mystery Of Sixes        11:06
8. Johnny Bombay        11:31

El Caballo Rojo (1999) - 2 Litre Dolby

European Farming Methods (1994) - Food

Yet another cut from the auspicious Au Go Go catalogue (boy, we're getting a lot of mileage out of them aren't we?), this time the sparsely-documented FOOD from Geelong.

Before this project was but a twinkle in my eye, I mused about what an Australian Fugazi equivalent would be, and thus took my first tentative steps into the world of 90s Aussie indie rock. Years later whilst trawling through the archive looking for info on Sandpit, I came across a gig review (announcement? I can't find the page...) mentioning Food, basically describing them as Fugazi wannabes.

Which is funnily enough a reasonably good assessment. Duly, I bought the lone copy of their 1994 album European Farming Methods that was on eBay at the time and had a listen. The vocals are McKaye-esque to a fault, as is the dual-wield guitars and slightly reverby rhythm section.

Whilst Food fall short of the subtleties and elegant simplicity of most of Fugazi's catalogue, they do convey much of a sound with the concession of being local. A little like the Ricaine/Shellac relationship (though I just had a listen to Ricaine's 'Urbanity' and it's pretty good, much more varied than their first album, which is the only other I have).

1. Adhesive        2:56
2. They Float        2:50
3. Essay        3:46
4. Hunger Pain        4:12
5. Judgement        2:19
6. Saturation        4:20
7. Through My Teeth        2:59
8. Penis Arrow        3:08
9. Guess Who        3:06
10. White Lie        3:22
11. Word        5:10
12. Everyone's Someone To Somebody        4:01
13. Bottled Water        4:21
14. Paper Bag        3:45
15. When        4:22

Food - European Farming Methods (1994)

Musikal Identikit (2000) - Various Artists

Another great Au Go Go comp from the latter days, I'm not sure if this was released in 2000 or 2001 but most of the bands recorded their contribution in the first months of the former year, so I'll go with that.

For me, the highlight was the By Ferry Or Steamer tracks, featuring the inimitable Brendan Webb on guitar (whose former band Sandpit give this blog its very name and URL). These are like a more subdued Sandpit, delving further into the Dirty Three-esque instrumental sadcore Sandpit occasionally touched upon during the final stage of their all-too-brief existence.

Similar highlights from Sleepy Township, featuring Guy Blackman of Chapter Music fame, whose jangly indie pop is entirely endearing. The obscure Angler also make an appearance here, featuring their vaguely-post-rockish instrumental stylings (maybe by way of Regurgitator). The Tigers are probably my favourite relative unknowns here, and as such finding further material from them is at once frustrating and ongoing.

Perhaps not quite as consistent as the Wonder From A Quarter Acre compilation from two years prior, Musikal Identikit is another essential piece of period listening.

1. Caribbean Delight        4:40    Sleepy Township
2. Loose Change        4:37    The Hired Guns
3. Spanish Summers        5:01    By Ferry Or Steamer
4. One Trick Pony Show        5:16    The Frustrations
5. Guts        2:34    Angler
6. How Delightful        4:22    The Disappointments
7. Wish Me Well        6:32    Gersey
8. Deutsche Fraulein        3:47    Registered Nurse
9. The Tinsel Stage        2:44    The Tigers
10. Slayer Bells        6:07    The Tigers
11. Laundry Powder        3:16    The Frustrations
12. Seduction Of An Old Flame        6:22    Angler
13. God Preys On Small Things        3:07    Registered Nurse
14. Theme From By Ferry Or Steamer        3:32    By Ferry Or Steamer
15. OK Wonka, How Much?        3:31    The Disappointments
16. Stationary        2:30    Sleepy Township
17. Are You Gonna Leave Her At The Church?        4:15    The Hired Guns
18. A Few Fans        1:56    Gersey

Various Artists - Musikal Idenitikit (2000)

Archive Treasure: 'The Site Formerly Known As Scenestar'

Something that I spend long, long nights doing is digging up primary sources such as these, through the Internet Archive.

The site, created by Matt Atlee, age 17 (!), presumably in the Box Hill High computer lab, started as an online presence for Scenestar (which I mentioned in my first post) but soon became a more sprawling collection of local scene info, with (all-ages) gig listings, links to band pages and zines. Special highlights include a mention of Fugazi's 1997 Australian tour, with S:Bahn and One Inch Punch supporting an all ages show at the Lava Lounge. It's also a reminder of how personal web pages could be in that era, Matt's personal page an example of Web 1.0 earnestness.

These kinds of sites are vital for my kind of research, as there is no Google-like time-specfic search capability in the archive (as far as I can tell). The only way to find info is to jump form archived page to archived page, digging through the archives.

I've started bookmarking a fair few of these pages, particularly ones that serve as 'jump points' for others. I hope to paste a few of them over the course of this blog.

The number of comps mentioned on the news page... I'll need to trawl through these...

Update: lots of links on this latterly archived page.

Wonder From A Quarter Acre (1998) - Various Artists

This incredible comp was released by Au Go Go in 1998, similar in tone to their subsequent 'Musikal Identikit' offering. I first came across it when S:Bahn put their two tracks up on their Bandcamp page to download. Featuring artists such as Art of Fighting, Sea Scouts, Golden Lifestyle Band and 2 Litre Dolby, the compilation is a nice cross section of this particular niche in the late 1990s.

Highlights include both of Art of Fighting's tracks (all I have of their catalogue thus far, unfortunately), the S:Bahn tracks ('Down on Broadway' being one of their finest moments, an angular slow-burner), 'Frida Kahlo', a different cut of the first track from their seminal El Caballo Rojo LP (this one is shorter by three minutes) and El Mopa's jangly contributions.

Jutting out are two early tracks from The Avalanches (probably pertinent given the recent release of their second album), which are in primordial form of that further explored on their debut, rather than the earlier noise rock that I was hoping for. The protracted grunge of the Sphyzein tracks, whilst good in their own right, tend to stick out like a sore thumb.

1. The Chorus Is Suffering        4:26    Art Of Fighting
2. Under Sea Community        4:01    The Avalanches
3. Tenderhook        3:23    El Mopa
4. Lake Of Fur        3:50    S-Bahn
5. Zac Heard A Scream        4:22    Sea Scouts
6. Bit        3:21    Sphyzein
7. Honey Von Cutulle        3:04    2 Litre Dolby
8. A Call Backward        4:21    The Golden Lifestyle Band
9. You And Me On Mars        6:13    Art Of Fighting
10. Yamaha Superstar        1:53    The Avalanches
11. Frida Kahlo        6:29    2 Litre Dolby
12. Down On Broadway        3:56    S-Bahn
13. The Againth Of Must I        4:37    The Golden Lifestyle Band
14. The Ascent        3:53    El Mopa
15. Deep Seat        3:31    Sphyzein
16. The Lighting Song        6:15    Sea Scouts

Various Artists - Wonder From A Quarter Acre (1998)

Decimus Gnu (1995) - Various Artists

A little while ago I was interested in graphing the prevalence of all-ages gigs over the past 30 years, to see whether or not there was a decline or not.

Key in the all-ages scene for a while in the mid-90s was Scenestar, a promo/booking organisation dedicated to getting AA gigs happening. There's a Wikipedia page on it here.

Scenestar was spearheaded by Aaron Shipperlee and Pheona Donohoe, the latter of whom was active in Dandenong's Muso Network (under the FReeZA community youth events banner), Rock'N'Roll Highschool (playing in the band Tuff Muff) and eventually got a spot on ABC's Recovery, which is probably one of the most amazing bits of archival footage I've ever seen (aside from when they did the vox pop at The Glen and aired it on Rage... that was a good morning).

Mentioned on the Wikipedia page is this compilation, Decimus Gnu. Mostly poorly recorded grunge bands, it's an interesting document from an era particularly relevant where it's difficult to imagine indie rock shows being held in Noble Park, let alone all-ages grassroots events. Some of the standout tracks include those from The Reflection, whose other lone appearance (as far as I know) on Indent's (?) Incestuous comp has almost persuaded me to track this latter CD down, and Muffcake, whose 'Esprit' is amongst the higher-fidelity offerings on here.

Listening to this makes me think of riding BMXs in the Noble Park (Mile Creek) canals on a summer day, drinking Big Ms, heading up Mosh's Tomb drain in Clayton... but none of that is likely representative of the time. Does anyone know the bands on the AA bills for the Noble shows? I had that info somewhere but it's lost in my bookmarks somewhere. 

Perhaps you were in one of these bands? Comment accordingly...

1. Silver Lungs        6:10    Superhunchbacks
2. Models Inc.        2:23    Powersect
3. Break Free        4:16    Seaweed Gorillas
4. The Misadventures Of Gerry Gerbal        4:17    Headcase
5. What You Said        2:18    Caffeine
6. Manson        2:04    Salmonella
7. Kilcunda        4:27    Paddycome Home
8. Tusk Rock & Roll        3:33    Tusk
9. Super-Seeded        4:33    The Reflection
10. Another Day Another Near Miss        2:51    The Reflection
11. Diggin' The Blues        4:44    Tusk
12. Lowlife        5:10    Powersect
13. Just Don't Know        4:07    Super Hunchbacks
14. Rumpelstiltskin        2:49    Salmonella
15. Lock And Load        3:47    Seaweed Gorillas
16. Granny's House        1:50    Headcase
17. Attention        5:10    Caffeine
18. Esprit        7:32    Muffcake

Various Artists - Decimus Gnu (1995)

UPDATE: This is what the Noble Park Youth Resource Centre now looks like! Three bedrooms and a shopfront SOLD! Gee whiz!

It appears all ages gigs in Noble Park were held at Memorial Park, which is now as I understand the same Ross Reserve where we did athletics day in high school.You can now hire the hall for an exorbitant fee.