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