Rock n Roll High School Volume 3 (1998) - Various Artists

 

Volume 3! My, how far we've come. Now awaiting the elusive Volume 2 to drop into my hands...

For more discussion, see Vol. 4. The Gritty Kitty track on this is fantastic, as is the Litany/Hecate track 'Aurora', which I'm sure I've heard somewhere before... 

And a couple of links that I don't think I had in the earlier posts...

Medium.com article

The Age article

It also appears that someone is building a Rock n Roll High School website with Google having already crawled a number of band pages. However, it doesn't look like it's gone live just yet - lets hope we get to see it in the new year!

1. I Shot Andy        2:19    Snotrag
2. Ivy Rash        1:26    Oi Ska!
3. Le Fins de Siecle        1:43    Hyrum
4. Ella        2:36    Sheraw
5. Aurora        2:52    Litany (Hecate)
6. Womb        4:26    Resistica
7. Whinge        2:00    Midget Stooges
8. 3 Star        2:09    Tirany
9. ESP        2:21    Otis
10. Muffcake        2:13    Tuff Muff
11. Friends Feathers        3:51    Skinny Frances
12. Room        3:04    Gritty Kitty
13. Do Ya Wanna Fight        3:30    Bindi
14. Elevenate        2:31    Harmpit
15. Biggest Critic        2:21    Melissa's Partisan
16. Under The Rug        2:33    Smutterfly
17. Aquarian Type        1:57    Susy Brown
18. No3        1:55    Dead Girl
19. You Decide        3:51    Sagacity
20. Outside        1:40    Cystine 

Rock n Roll High School Volume 3 (1998) - Various Artists

Rock n Roll High School Volume 1 (1993) - Various Artists

The long awaited Volume 1 of this compilation. I rabbited on fairly comprehensively in the post regarding Volume 4 quite a while back, so I'll spare you the drivel and let you look below...

1. Private School        2:19    Hecate
2. Cheers        3:33    Bindi  
3. Limehouse        1:46    Protea  
4. Tugboat        3:09    Smurfblood
5. Rapunzel        5:04    Hecate
6. Beauty Queen        4:00    Camden
7. Over The Edge        4:19    Spot The Beast
8. Eve of Execution        4:12    Leviathan
9. Catch Me        3:29    Blinde Spectators
10. Sitting        2:05    Snodra
11. Crazy Bitch        2:37    Bindi
12. Chainsawed Emotions        2:09    Gritty Kitty
13. Shithouse        2:41    Midget Stooges
14. Crazy        2:17    Four
15. Cure Ticket        3:13    Smurfblood
16. No        5:20    Blinde Spectators
17. Body Bag        5:49    Spot The Beast

Rock n Roll High School Volume 1 (1993) - Various Artists

Proton Energy Pills (1990) + Bonus - Proton Energy Pills

Ah, Wollongong. This is the other side of the tape that I originally posted containing demo tracks from Dweebs, from a roadside pile in Rowville.

Some reasonably good quality audio here, and the Proton Energy Pills sound great. Again, more of the grunge-inflected indie rock of the day, but with perhaps less Psychos-oriented yob flavour than the Dweebs. Guitarist Stewart Cunningham went on to play in Asteroid B-612, whose tape in the haul will be uploaded before too long. There is something of an obit for the late GOD guitarist Sean Greenway from Cunningham here.

Additionally, see this blogpost for a much better, more comprehensive writeup on the band compared to what you're reading now.

This cassette features the lone Proton Energy Pills self-titled EP, and closes with a few Tumbleweed (featuring guitarist Lenny Curley) tracks dubbed on the end to complete the Wollongong theme.

You can buy a compilation featuring these tracks and others in much higher quality at Waterfront Records.

Wollongong. It rhymes with Geelong.

1. Victims        3:38    Proton Energy Pills
2. Where Do We Go?        2:13    Proton Energy Pills
3. The Ride        4:49    Proton Energy Pills
4. Nothing        4:31    Proton Energy Pills
5. Red Water        5:30    Proton Energy Pills
6. Carousel        4:52    Tumbleweed
7. Millennium        2:17    Tumbleweed
8. Healer        4:04    Tumbleweed

Proton Energy Pills (1990) + Bonus - Proton Energy Pills

Twitch (1996) - Jebediah

I assume Jebediah need no introduction? This is their first offering, and while it doesn't have reach the highs of 'Leaving Home' or that other track off Slightly Oddway that I really like, it's still quite good. Some would argue that Jebediah came closest to being period-era Aussie emo, in any official sense. After all, they did do a split with Jimmy Eat World, if that counts. But, there's something a little flat about this recording in particular. The band were very young at the time. Maybe Of Someday Shambles was a bit more jangly? I don't know.

Period era fan webpage!

And another one!

1. Mister Masonic        4:02
2. Ferris Wheel        3:10
3. Smiler        2:39
4. Superhero 6 And A Half        3:28
5. Tracksuit        4:51

Twitch (1996) - Jebediah

'Demo' (1996) - Sauce

Another tape from the hard rubbish pile (it's a gift that keeps on giving). From the little I could garner on the internet, Sauce was a band featuring Matty Whittle, formerly of GOD. This tape is labelled 'Sauce demo' but the tracks are somewhat beyond demo quality so I assume that they constituted an LP release that I couldn't unccover the name of.

Really, this post is just a pointer towards the same tracks posted on Soundcloud (this is where I got the track names from, as there were none listed on the naked cassette). They're in much higher quality than this cassette rip, the original having suffered from having the input of the recording deck overloaded, giving you the distortion in the accompanying files.

The Sauce entry on Discogs points to a 7", the lone release on Schmicko records, on which two of these tracks appear.

1. Peel        4:04
2. Pineapple        3:44
3. If Any        4:47
4. Unnecessary        3:42
5. Chameleonic        6:16
6. Selfish Jean        5:48
7. Fungus Farm        4:34
8. Shower        3:38
9. Supposed        3:35
10. Non-Existence        4:28
11. Frottage Fromage        3:22
12. Erase        4:38
13. Reality Shift        5:46
14. Spacepod        6:49

'Demo' (1996) - Sauce

Love And Other Catastrophes Soundtrack (1996) - Various Artists

The soundtrack to a movie I have yet to see, it stands inclusion by virtue of being studded with leading indie rock bands of the time, with a couple of international artists. Domestic acts such as Underground Lovers, Spdfgh, Tumbleweed, Rebecca's Empire, Godstar, Died Pretty and The Cruel Sea appear, to name a few.

I mainly got it because I don't have any Spdfgh tracks aside from the one on the Moo Chewns sampler, plus I'm a big fan of Underground Lovers.

1. Manhattan Walk        2:02    Daryl Mckenzie
2. Sunday Morning        2:53    The Velvet Underground
3. Just A Man        4:03    The Cruel Sea
4. You're Just Too Hip Baby        4:18    Dave Graney 'n' The Coral Snakes
5. Recognise        3:35    Underground Lovers
6. PushPin        2:27    Godstar
7. Empty        3:12    Rebecca's Empire
8. TV Genocide        3:23    Tumbleweed
9. Steal Mine        3:55    Spdfgh
10. Fake That Emotion        5:51    Tex, Don & Charlie
11. Ain't No Use        3:53    Belly Dance
12. Rainy Daze        4:28    Monday Michiru
13. Perils Of Mia        1:58    Los Boners
14. Carnival        3:25    The Cardigans
15. Bubbles        3:37    Bellydance
16. Let's Do It        2:22    Simon Holmes & Morgana Ancone
17. Good At Love        2:51    Died Pretty

Love And Other Catastrophes Soundtrack (1996) - Various Artists

Can't Lust The Distance - Spunkluster

Indie post grunge in the vein of L7 and maybe Babes In Toyland. I'd sworn I'd come across this band online in my travels, but a cursory glance through Google suggests that there's not much information on this band. There's someone trying to flog this on Amazon for over $100, so maybe it's worth something. Or not.

One thing the search turned up was a gig guide entry in The Age, December 22nd 1995, so that gives you an idea of the vintage. Additionally, the spine suggests a self-release or a tiny label ('Grouse One 1001') and the EP itself was distributed by Shock. Unfortunately, there's no date listed so I haven't included one in the file name. Any information on this band is most appreciated.

1. Happy Trigger        3:10
2. Flashback        3:00
3. Shakin' The Ramble        3:42
4. Surferella        3:59
5. Mass Contradiction        4:02

Can't Lust The Distance - Spunkluster

Super (1994) - Atticus

One of the CDs that my friend Dodgy gave me (he runs a second hand store). Reminds me a bit of The Fauves. Fitting with the recent trend on these pages, there's not a lot of online info regarding this band. It was released on Current records with the catalogue number Raison 011, but distribution once again done by Shock.

There are some math-rock overtones on this release. Interestingly, this recording was produced by Greg Wales, later producer (and drummer) for my second favourite Aussie band of all time, Sandpit.

All together it's a bit too angular for me, with not enough atmosphere, but some of the guitar tones are quite nice and track 4 has a rather nice melody that runs through it. Sometimes the guys sounds a little like Robyn Hitchcock.

1. Dog's Breakfast        3:02
2. Play Dead        3:04
3. Turn        3:37
4. There With a Plan        4:28
5. Same Shovel, Different Spades        3:25
6. Butt        3:38
7. Two Door Television        7:03

Super (1994) - Atticus

V8 (1992) - Peachfuzz

Excellent debut EP from the Melbourne trio Peachfuzz. The first few tracks sound a bit like closing music in their tone, and things really hit their stride in the middle. I listened to it whilst driving around Park Orchards looking for drains.

Surprisingly, there's not a lot of info on Peachfuzz. Almost all of my info on them came from this website, which contains a lot of info on the now-gone Deakin Uni Rusden Campus student life of the time (i.e. mid-90s onwards). There are also a handful of tracks from Peachfuzz's other releases to sample, which are included in the zip below.

Drummer Cameron Potts went on to play in Sandro and Ninetynine, whilst Stefan Schutt later played in Schmozzle. However, Potts only plays on the last four tracks (all impressively recorded live), with the remainder recorded with drummer John Edwards.

My pick of the tracks is the awesome power-pop-bordering-on-pop-punk 'Body', base around a catchy distorted bass hook. The Lemonheads-esque closer 'Dallas', an ode to a cat and not a girl as I first thought, is another highlight.

My copy of V8 has a photocopied 'songbook' in the inlay with the lyrics printed on it - how many of these were released?

There are many tracks available for streaming on YouTube.

UPDATE 2019 - It appears that in early 2019, Cameron and Stefan built this beautifully 1990s website with a bunch of Peachfuzz live recordings. However, it appears the site is incomplete, with most of the YouTube links going to the same previously uploaded recordings regardless of title. Go there to get the good stuff!

Enjoy!

1. Hurt You        3:44    V8
2. Dancing On My Grave        2:49    V8
3. Oh Friend        3:44    V8
4. Body        3:07    V8
5. Ram        3:03    V8
6. Shirt        3:04    V8
7. Octopus        2:04    V8
8. Dallas (Wondercat)        2:45    V8
9. Diana        3:01    Watermelon Man
10. Intense and Depressed        3:11    Watermelon Man
11. Having A Fight With Somebody        3:04    E. Coli
12. 10, 24, 10        3:59    E. Coli



V8 (1992) + Bonus - Peachfuzz

Wicked! Wicked! Wicked! & Squasm (1991) - Dweebs

Another tape from the Rowville Hard Rubbish collection, this cassette had two demos from Dweebs, as well as tracks from Proton Energy Pills and Tumbleweed on it. Up first are the Dweebs tracks..

There's little info available on Dweebs, aside from their well-stocked Facebook page, with plenty of amazing period era photos (zipped here for archival purposes). They supported Fugazi at the Hull/EVs, Cosmic Psychos (whom they also covered) and best of all they came from MULGRAVE!

Wicked! Wicked! Wicked! was apparently their first demo tape, and was released sometime around 1991. I've put 1991 as the date of release for both of these, but it's probably a year or two out (can someone please correct in the comments?). Devron Schwind has put these up on SoundCloud for your enjoyment. The image above was taken from his posting to the aforementioned Dweebs Facebook page. However, the dub I've uploaded is missing the last two tracks ('Keep On Keeping On' and 'Brass God') so better hop over there and have a listen.

Later came their second (?) offering, Squasm. I couldn't find any reference to this release elsewhere on the net, though there are pictures of the tape itself on the Facebook page. Artwork above taken from an image submitted by Evan Rock Richards.

For more history on Dweebs, have a browse at the aforementioned page!

Wicked! Wicked! Wicked!
1. My Baby        1:50
2. Gone        3:03
3. Stimulation        2:50
4. Something Stupid        1:34

Squasm
1. Cake        3:48
2. Bumblebee        2:22
3. Squasm        3:16
4. Russ' Fishtank        2:21
5. VB Man        2:23
6. Smell        3:48
7. Breakfast Cereal        1:44
8. Nuckles        3:00

Wicked! Wicked! Wicked! & Squasm (1991) - Dweebs

Crawling Low (1992) - Blind Mesiah

Kind of grungy, kind of punky. Sometimes the singer sounds a little Ian MacKaye, a little Rollins. The overall sound ranges from Dinosaur to Danzig. This came out of a big pile of tapes that I pulled off the side of the road in ROWVILLE of all places. There was a lot of local material dubbed onto various cassettes that I'll be putting up, as well as episodes of Rage taped onto VHS, all kinds of stuff.

Ostensibly a demo tape, it's roughly recorded.

As the liner notes (included in the .zip) state:

"BLIND MESIAH evolved in late 1991 from ex-members of The Aphids, Legend Killers and Ursula's Dream. We have since strived to create an intense, dynamic and original guitar rock sound. This is the first installment in our quest for sonic fulfillment.

Recorded: May 1992 Australian Audio College, Preston
Engineer: Matthew Barker
Alex: Vocals     Dave: Guitar
Elliot: Bass     George: Drums
Marcus: Guitar/Backing Vocals
Management: Simon Howard (03) 561 1275
All songs by Blind Mesiah"

I couldn't any ready reference to Blind Mesiah on the net, nor The Aphids or Ursula's Dream, so there you go, the obscure of the obscure. Can one of you readers please enlighten us in the comments?

I did pick up a handful of references to Legend Killers - their guitarist was Paul Waste, a 3PBS announcer, which may explain this reference in Phil MacDougall's bio. There's even a song of theirs on YouTube:

This was ripped using the same setup I used for the Popsicle 2 tape. I have applied a bit of EQ as the left channel has overloading the interface below about 150 Hz. Otherwise, the recording has not been processed.

Beware, there is a bit of Zeppelin worship.

Side A
1. Amelia        4:40
2. Little Man        4:21

Side B
3. Any Life        3:02
4. Cry From Crawl'n        3:27
5. The Deep Low        4:03

Crawling Low (1992) - Blind Mesiah

Mint 400 (1995) - Ammonia

Major label debut from Perth band Ammonia. Excellent post-grunge with some proto-emo moments. Sometimes comes across as a much more bearable Oasis.

I had a bit of a dive through the Internet archives but not a lot comes up in the zine circles. Hopefully I'll add a little more research as I come across it.

1. Ken Carter        3:55
2. Drugs        3:27
3. Sleepwalking        3:10
4. Face Down        5:09
5. In A Box        2:35
6. Suzi Q        2:37
7. Little Death        5:24
8. Mint 400        2:17
9. Small Town        2:25
10. Burning Plant Smell        3:07
11. Z-Man       2:37
12. Million Dollar Man        3:57

Mint 400 (1995) - Ammonia

Peculiar World (1998) - Litany

The first upload of 2018, from a track encountered on the Rock n Roll High School Vol. 4 comp previously uploaded, is this offering.

Much of the history surrounding this group might be garnered from the aforementioned RnRHS page. Litany was a band featuring RnRHS founder Stephanie Bourke on drums and vocals. They bridged a range of styles, sometimes playing straight garage indie followed by something bordering on power metal. This breadth is quite refreshing and the album is very listenable.

See period era reviews here and here.

1. Madrigal        3:43
2. By Myself        4:37
3. Aurora        2:53
4. Labyrinth        3:12
5. When You Gonna Stop        3:53
6. Rome        3:41
7. Schubert        1:10
8. Bad Faith        3:49
9. Cathedral        4:51
10. Buy Me An Ocean        3:45
11. Rapunzel        3:32

Peculiar World (1998) - Litany