Short and Sweet! – This probably best describes the life of Johnny Dole & The Scabs.

Johnny Dole & The Scabs were one of the first Punk Rock bands in Australia, they played live and recorded in Sydney during 1977 – 1979.

THE BEGINNING

In early January 1977, The Strays were looking for a new drummer to complete their line up and after deciding on the right one, it was time to rehearse and honour a gig commitment four weeks later. During this initial rehearsal period the style of the music was changing and one of the original members decided to leave. This meant that the line up was now a 4 piece and this style was taking the shape of Punk Rock, which was new to the Sydney music scene; their songs were being played faster and grungier.
Embracing the new style was easy for the band as they had all felt it was the right direction, so with this new direction a new name was needed and after careful consideration Johnny Dole & The Scabs were born.

THE FIRST REAL GIG

After more rehearsal where some original songs were now being crafted to suit the new direction, it was time to look for work. Johnny and Peter approached George Kringus, manager of Radio Birdman who booked the bands at the legendary Oxford Funhouse in Taylor Square – Darlinghurst. The bands first gig was on Friday 15th April 1977. The band was well received and they played there 3 more times before the Funhouse closed its doors.

Other regular gigs at the Paris Theatre and supports to both Cold Chisel and The Saints were some of the highlights.

RAY WALSH

During this early stage Johnny Dole’s brother was recruited as manager. Ray Walsh was an ex wrestler who had many contacts in the media and he put these to good use, beginning with interviews and articles in all the local Sydney newspapers including The Sun, The Daily Mirror and The Daily Telegraph as well as music magazines like Ram and Juke.

THE GRAND HOTEL

Because the Oxford Funhouse had closed and there was no other venues at the time that would put on Punk Rock bands Johnny, Peter and Ray went in search of a venue that would. About to give up because of so many knock backs, they tried one last hotel in Broadway before going home and they found the publican Dennis was open to their suggestions. After agreeing to the request of not changing the décor and only putting posters on the walls, the back room of The Grand Hotel opened its doors to Punk Rock for the first time on Friday 16th September 1977.

The Grand Hotel was considered to be ‘the’ Punk Rock venue in Sydney with many notable bands playing there including Rocks, Tommy & The Dipsticks, The Leftovers, Filth, Psycho Surgeons, Blackrunner, Shock Treatment and Mental As Anything to name just some. Punk Rock being what it is, unpredictable at best, The Grand Hotel closed its doors late 1979 but has taken its rightful place in Punk Rock History. Unfortunately The Grand Hotel was bulldozed in the name of future development and is no longer standing, although the lane way where the bands loaded in still is!

RECORDING

As the band were writing more and more original songs, it was decided to record them so Ray approached Sydney radio station 2JJ to see if they were interested. Because Punk Rock was only new and 2JJ were an independent radio station, recording a band like Johnny Dole & The Scabs was quickly considered and Keith Walker was asked to be producer. The band recorded in the ABC Studio 201 where all the live to air concerts were televised. The band recorded all the tracks live then over dubbing the lead guitar and vocals. Eight songs were recorded and all overdubs and vocals were done on the same day, with Keith Walker mixing it soon after. Interviews on 2JJ were arranged so these recordings could be played on air and the songs at the time were well received and had good rotation.

POSSIBLE RECORDING CONTRACT

Ray took the recordings to a number of record companies and arranged a gig for the record company executives to see the band live. This gig, which was at the Journey’s End Wine Bar Woolloomooloo on Saturday 17th December 1977, was a great success with a number of offers being made to the band but unfortunately no contracts were signed. A three year publishing deal with Penjane Music Publishing was signed but without a recording contract the recordings were never released and it wasn’t until many years later that the recordings surfaced, thanks to both Bruce Griffiths (ABERRANT RECORDS) and Steven Danno (Brain Salad Surgery).

FILM CLIP

The band was approached by a student from NSW Uni, with the proposal of doing a video clip to one of the band’s songs, Aggro. As part of her studies, Peita Letchford had been given a grant from the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS), so a time was arranged to film the band at a demolition site at Woolloomooloo. This film clip had never been seen or aired on television and has only recently been located in the archives of the AFTRS and can now be viewed on You Tube. Unfortunately Peita Letchford died of cancer in the late 90’s.

A CURRENT AFFAIR

Next on Ray’s hit list was an interview on Channel 9’s A Current Affair program and true to form, the interview was arranged. Mike Carlton and his crew came to The Grand Hotel and filmed the band performing live. After the gig later that night, the band members were interviewed. Unfortunately Channel 9 has indicated that this interview would no longer be available having been destroyed many years ago.

THE END

The A Current Affair interview was aired January 1978 and not long after this Greg Morris was asked to leave the band in late February 1978. Soon after Greg’s departure, Dave Berry also left and Johnny Dole and Peter Mullany continued with new members but never regained its popularity and soon folded. They then joined forces with Tommy & The Dipsticks to form the band The Crooked Hearts.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Unfortunately Johnny Dole passed away from a drug overdose in 1987.

After The Crooked Hearts disbanded Perry Mullany joined The Broken Toys who then became Sekret Sekret. Becoming disillusioned by the music business he moved to the country.

Dave Berry moved backed to the mountains from where he came and was last known to be playing in blues band Blue Roots.

After Johnny Dole & The Scabs Greg Morris joined Rocks and soon after recorded the sought after six track EP You’r So Boring. After Rocks disbanded, Greg was in many bands including The Prisoners, The Fringe, The Undecided?, That’s Right!, Peabody Deluxe and is now playing in Sydney party/cover band, Mad Cow  http://www.madcowtheband.com.au/ .

BAND MEMBERS

• Johnny Dole – Lead Vocals
• Peter Mullany – Guitar
• Dave Berry – Bass/Vocals
• Greg Morris – Drums/Vocals

ORIGINAL SONGS

• Little Lord Punk (Walsh/Mullany)
• Halfwit Rock ‘N’ Roll (Walsh/Mullany)
• Lucky Country (Walsh/Mullany)
• Aggro (Walsh/Mullany)
• Stuff Your Rules (Walsh/Mullany)
• Blow My Nose (Berry)
• Living Like An Animal (Walsh/Mullany)
• I Don’t Wanna Work (Walsh/Mullany/Berry/Morris)
• All That’s Goin’ On (Walsh/Mullany)
• Psycho Analyst (Walsh/Mullany)
• Hurts My Brain (Walsh/Mullany)

Images

Known Gigs – Line-Up One Only

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Other resources

• Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Dole_%26_The_Scabs
• Listen to Johnny Dole & The Scabs Here: http://www.reverbnation.com/johnnydolethescabs

The History of Jupiter ……….so far

Jupiter formed in 1976 in Sydney Australia

Ron Mazurkiewicz and Philip Edwards had played together for many years in a well respected band called Elmtree. The band had been through many incarnations and was heading towards a more Jazzier Fusion focus and so needed the talents of a great guitarist which led them to Dieter Kleeman who was playing with local band “Forever”.

It certainly was a meeting of the spirits for these 3 musicians who quickly realised that they were well suited to be playing together. Next they needed that special bass player…………..

By placing an advertisement in the paper they thought there would be a line a mile long of talented bass players eager to join this new outfit…..

The one and only Bass player who answered the advert was Phil Laycock, which in hindsight was a great relief to the other members as he was perfect for the job of completing the new line up now called Jupiter.

It didn’t take long to have a wide ranging repertoire of tunes drawn from their musical influences. This included the likes of Chick Corea, John Mclaughlin, Tony Williams, Elvin Jones, to name a few. Eventually the list would include some memorable original tunes like Full Moon, Camellia and much more.

Gradually, after being isolated for months in a small house on the outskirts of rural western Sydney the band ventured out to hit the traps with their new and innovative style of music.

Jupiter didn’t fit into the normal jazz scene, they were to rocky, they didn’t fit into the rock scene as they were to jazzy. They had to forge ahead by astounding people at places like French’s Wine bar in Oxford Street, and the Pinball Wiz at Circular quay.

Once at one gig out of town they were told they would not get the full fee promised as their singer had not turned up…… these early days of Jazz/Fusion instrumental music were tough but the band continued to develop a strong loyal following of people who needed more than the usual 3 chords, without the tradition of some Jazz gigs.

The band contributed to the sound track of a surfing film called ‘Drift Away” and played live at the old Regent theatre in George St Sydney. One of the last bands to play there.

The ABC radio station “JJ” as it was then called were having a series of live performances and were inundated with requests for Jupiter to play a “Live to Air” concert. This occurred in late 1976 and was a wonderful night for all concerned this helped the band to develop a wider audience.

The band recorded reel after reel at Atlantic studios in Sydney’s Earlwood with a goal of releasing an album. Unfortunately trying to get backing to release this material proved all to hard and eventually the band broke up with members going in vastly different directions.

Jupiter have just had a 34 year reunion. Although Ron Mazurkiewicz and Philip Edwards have jammed regularly over the last 10 years or so, its only been the occasional session that Dieter has been able to play with them. Phil Laycock has been busy and had not been seen for some time. So it was April 2010 that the lads were able to get together in the same studio at the same time.

It was at Atlantic studios in Earlwood that Jupiter spent so much time recording and generally fooling around, so it was wonderful they should have their reunion in the same studio.

Phil Laycock arrived, and within 5 minutes had his bass out and was encouraging the rest to get started, well what a night, the very special feeling that a band such as Jupiter created had not been lost, just faded a bit. Gradually the tunes came back and a fantastic night was had.

The evening was recorded and filmed for a future project.

It was a massive surprise when Phil Laycock reminded us all that we were filmed at Frenchs wine bar in Oxford St around 1977, it was even more surprising when he told us that he had the video tape.

The tape was quickly passed to Philip Edwards, who is now involved with video production, and immediately he had to find someone with a machine that could play a “Helical Scan 1 inch video reel to reel tape”. Eventually finding someone with a old machine, the tape was baked to remove 30 years of moisture and turned into a digital file.

Jupiter are now watching themselves play a gig recorded over 30 years ago, and it has been a fantastic find.

Gradually this will be part of a documentary of the band that we are putting together and soon will be available for all to see.

Thanks to all those people that still remember the band and the effect we had on them…. all good we hope

The journey continues….

Members

• Ron Mazurkiewicz – Keyboards
• Phil Laycock – Bass
• Philip Edwards – Drums
• Dieter Kleeman – Guitar

Images

About Jimmy And The Boys

Sydney based band. 1976-1982

“Outrageous and often obscene shock/horror group led by Ignatious Jones, who pioneered the use of theatrical trappings for Australian bands.”
From the Who’s Who of Australian Rock

History

“Jimmy and the Boys were an Australian New Wave band, active from 1975 to 1982, best known for their incredibly violent stage shows. The act revolved around vocalist Ignatius Jones and keyboard player Joylene Hairmouth – a couple of friends from Cranbrook and Riverview, exclusive private schools. Since 1976 the duo had been surrounded by various combinations of backing musicians, the constant guts and gore probably accounting for at least some of the member turnover. Their performance, their visual image, their on and offstage behaviour were all carefully designed to elicit the maximum level of shocked outrage from a public long since bored with the standard media fare of moral decadence. Sadomasochism, transvestitism, self-mutilation, drug abuse, inebriation, simulated sex and mock rape all took starring roles in Jimmy And The Boys’ blisteringly paced tribute to cultural degeneracy. The band was known for often causing audience riots in the more homophobic venues they played.”
From Wikipedia

Members

• Ignatius Jones – Vocals
• William O’Riordan aka Joylene Thornbird Hairmouth – Keyboards
• Scott Johnson – Drums
• Michael Vidale – Bass
• Stephen Hall – Lead Guitar
• Rick Sutton – Guitar
• Joseph Attullah aka Joe P. Rick – Guitar
• Danny Damjanovic – Sax, Flute
• Barry Lytten – Drums
• Michael Parks – Bass, Guitar

Recordings

Albums

• Not Like Everybody Else – 1979
• Teddy Boys Picnic – 1981
• In Hell With Your Mother – 1982
• Out Of Phase – 1988

Known Gigs

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About

Sydney based band, Jonah’s Road, has developed a significant following in the Australian music scene over the past few years. The contemporary sound is a feature gaining them many new fans and the respect of their peers thanks to fantastic live shows, tight vocal harmonies and great songwriting.
The highly anticipated new album, Counting Down The Days, was released in January 2007 and is expected to repeat the success of the band’s multi-award winning first album Hold On. Jay, John & Rodney spent most of 2006 writing and recording the album. It was recorded and co-produced by Matt Fell at Love Hz studios and mixed by Robbie Specogna
at Main Street Studios. The result is a collection of upbeat songs and soaring ballads highlighting the harmony-driven, country-pop sound for which the band is becoming well known. The first radio single is the title track Counting Down The Days which is an upbeat song written by Jay & Jasper Somerville-Collie in collaboration with Travis List.
from Jonah’s Road Bio

History

The debut album Hold On was released in September 2004 and received great feedback from fans, music industry personnel and the media. The release of the album led to several awards and host of nominations for the band:

• Won the Best Country Album in the 2006 US based Independent Music Awards for their debut album Hold On.
• Won Best Group in the 2006 TIARAs (Tamworth Independent Artists Recognition Awards).
• Winners of the Best Independent Release at the Victorian & National Country Music Awards in Feb 2005, where they also had Top 5 finalist nominations for Best New Talent and Song of the Year.
• At Tamworth in 2005 they were nominated for 2 Golden Guitar Awards for Best New Talent and Best Vocal Group/ Duo, a TIARA for Best Group/ Duo and a Top 10 Golden Guitar nomination for Best Album.
• In addition to their success at Musicoz in 2003 (won Mark Holden Producer Prize), Jonah’s Road was named in the Top 5 for the Country category in the 2004 Musicoz Awards and was named as finalists in the Pop category in the 2005 Musicoz Awards.
• The writers of the first Jonah’s Road single, Getting By Without You (Jay Collie, John Kater & Jasper Somerville-Collie) were also nominated in the Top 12 of the Country section of the International Songwriting Competition.
• Jonah’s Road was nominated as finalists in the 2005 Telstra Southern Stars Australian Independent Country Music Awards for Single of the Year and Album of the Year and were nominated in 2006 for Best Group.

from Jonah’s Road Bio

Members

• John Kater – Vocals/Bass
• Jay Collie – Vocals/Guitar
• Rodney Auld – Vocals/Guitar

Videos

Recordings

Albums
• Hold On – 2004
• Counting Down The Days – 2007

Other Resources

• Jonah’s Road Website
• Jonah’s Road on MySpace
• Interview on AMO

About

Judge Mercy was formed in 1991 by Andy Cichon, a former bass player for Swanee.

History

The band’s first product would be the live EP ‘Live With It’, recorded at The Venue in Sydney’s northern beach suburbs on 9th May 1991 and released that June. A full length album, ‘Protocol So Holy’, arrived in late 1993. JUDGE MERCY garnered an enviable live reputation and such was the band’s standing they landed the prestigious support slot to AC/DC’s ‘Razor’s Edge’ Australian dates. Other noteworthy guest spots saw the band opening for IRON MAIDEN, MEGADETH and IAN GILLAN.

JUDGE MERCY was set to record a follow up during 1994 but a protracted legal battle with Management ended the bands career. With the band’s demise drummer Mick O’Shea teamed up with the final line up of Kiwi act DRAGON in 1996. Cichon relocated to New York where he came to the fore as touring bassist for Pop-Rock diva SHANIA TWAIN as well as working for BILLY JOEL.
From Rock Detector

Video

Members

• Andy Cichon – Vocals and Guitar
• Ismet Osmanovic – Guitar
• Craig Forster – Bass
• Mick O’Shea -Drums

Recordings

• EP “Live With It” – 1991
• Album “Protocol So Holy” – 1993

Images

Known Gigs

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