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The Meanies – expanded Desperate Measures Tour 2022

Cheersquad

November 16, 2021

THE MEANIES RESCHEDULE AND EXPAND THEIR REGRETTABLY-NAMED BETTER LATE THAN NEVER ‘DESPERATE MEASURES’ TOUR

LINK MEANIE’S NEW PROJECT BAGFUL OF BEEZ ALSO GIGGING FOLLOWING RELEASE OF THEIR DEBUT ALBUM DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC BEATLES

ONLY in these crazy times might a band tour its new album the year after the year after it was released, but that’s what the Meanies will be doing when they hit the road in January to finally give Desperate Measures a proper live airing. Desperate Measures was released in July 2020, by which time the shit had already hit the fan. Their “Better Late Than Never” DESPERATE MEASURES TOUR was first announced earlier this year – 2021 – when things looked like they’d cleared. They got bumped a couple of times, and now they’re on for 2022.

At least the certainty (?!?) of things as they stand now has allowed for more shows to be added. It’s also given Link Meanie – aka Link McLennan – a chance to release the debut album by his new project Bagful of Beez.

The Meanies’ Desperate Measures is a hard, fast and catchy onslaught of hard-hitting Meanies mayhem. It evokes the classic sound that made the band a household name in all the worst houses back in the ’90s, and which has influenced generation after generation of young punks ever since. Their “Better Late Than Never” DESPERATE MEASURES TOUR is gonna be worth the wait.

Desperate Measures is out now on Cheersquad Records and Tapes.

See below for all tour details.

THE MEANIES’ BETTER LATE THAN NEVER DESPERATE MEASURES TOUR 2022

JANUARY
Sat 22 – Uncaged Festival, Brisbane QLD – Tickets

FEBRUARY
Fri 4 – Jive, Adelaide SA – Tickets
Sat 12 – Uncaged Festival, Sydney NSW – Tickets
Fri 18 – Railway Hotel, Macedon VIC – Tickets

MARCH
Thu 10 – The Zoo, Brisbane QLD – Tickets
Fri 11 – Eleven Dive Bar, Maroochydore QLD – Tickets
Sat 12 – Spring Loaded Festival, Eaton’s Hill QLD – Tickets
Sun 13 – Miami Marketta, Gold Coast QLD – Tickets
Fri 18 – The Tote, Collingwood VIC – Tickets
Sat 19 – The Tote, Collingwood VIC – Tickets
Fri 25 – Barwon Club, Geelong VIC – Tickets
Sat 26 – The Eastern, Ballarat VIC – Tickets
Wed 30 – Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle NSW – Tickets
Thu 31 – The Lansdowne, Sydney NSW – Tickets

APRIL
Fri 1 – Narrabeen RSL NSW – Tickets
Sat 2 – Yours & Owls Festival, Wollongong NSW – Tickets
Sun 3 – The Basement, Canberra ACT – Tickets
Sun 24 – Grindhouse Festival, Snake Valley VIC – Tickets

As mentioned above, Melbourne’s lockdowns enabled Link Meanie aka Link McLennan to record an album by his new project Bagful of Beez, and that album Do Androids Dream of Electric Beatles, is also out now on Cheersquad Records & Tapes.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Beatles is a brilliant and eclectic mix of classic pop styles, and the result is the sort of everything-including-the-kitchen-sink approach that studio-enamored pop savants have been known to take ever since Todd Rundgren recorded A Wizard, A True Star. Link recorded the album completely by himself, playing all instruments. He played out solo with a drum machine as Bagful of Beez a couple of times earlier in the year but has just enlisted Even drummer Matt Cotter to ensure a stronger live presence. (Even of course is also the second home of Link’s Meanies bandmate Wally, and Even’s Ash Naylor has also performed with Link in the Meanies on occasion.)

Bagful of Beez have two shows coming up:
Thu 25 Nov – Nighthawks, Collingwood + Maggie Alley (tickets on the door)
Sat 27 Nov – River Rocks, Geelong w/ Tumbleweed and heaps more. Tickets here.

“Link is the Dr Seuss of music. Bending the beautiful, bizarre and brilliant around each other in creations I’m perennially in awe of” – Tim Rogers

“This is the pure sound of a brilliant, crazed, talented savant. I listen to so much of Link’s music with a sense of wonder and joy. But this takes it to another level.” – Bruce Milne (Au-go-go Records)

Gigs

Tumbleweed 7″ boxset + XMAS shows

Cheersquad

November 14, 2021

To celebrate their 30th anniversary as a band, Wollongong’s legendary Tumbleweed are releasing a limited, deluxe singles box set that includes all the singles recorded with the classic line up of Richie Lewis, Paul Hausmeister, Lenny Curley, Jay Curley and Steve O’Brien. The boxset is out November 26. PRE ORDER here.

Tumbleweed will be back on the road to launch this box set and celebrate their 30th anniversary next year, while also recording new music to follow up last year’s ‘Shadowland’ release. In the meantime they’ll be celebrating at home in Wollongong with a five-night residency – five shows in five nights, each with different local supports – at La La La’s, in the week leading up to Xmas.

Sat 18 December w/ The Drop Offs
Sun 19 December w/ Dropping Honey
Mon 20 December w/ The Dark Clouds
Tues 21 December w/ Baby Machine
Wed 22 December w/ Private Wives

Tickets here.

Facebook event here

Tumbleweed XMAS at La La La's 2021 — Tumbleweed XMAS at La La La’s 2021

Gigs

XMAS EVEN 2021

Cheersquad

November 14, 2021

It’s on! It’s happening! Indie chart-toppers EVEN continue the XMAS tradition in style, with two exclusive shows at the Brunswick Ballroom to close out a monumental 2021! Wednesday 22 December support is by Folk Bitch Trio, and on Thursday 23 December Nick Batterham will open the night.

These two shows are sure to sell out, so don’t wait too long to book your tickets. A Dinner & Show option is available, which includes premium reserved seating.

Wednesday 22 December
Facebook event here
Tickets here

Thursday 23 December
Facebook event here
Tickets here

Gigs

The Hard-Ons Australian Tour 2022

Cheersquad

September 16, 2021

The Hard-Ons Australian Tour 2022

Following the fantastic response to new single Lite As A Feather and its predecessor Hold Tight, and amid the great anticipation for their new album I’m Sorry Sir, That Riff’s Been Taken – their first with new singer Tim Rogers – Australia’s punk legends the Hard-Ons have announced their first tour with their new line-up.

Whilst the announcement last month of Rogers’ recruitment was met with excitement, bemusement and yes the inevitable few grumbles from old fans, the new line-up is not going to give fans anything to complain about.

Both new singles suggest the band is in magical form; in fact the magic comes at least in part from the fact that Tim Rogers is one of the band’s biggest fans.

MARCH
Thu 17 – Southport, Vinnie’s Dive – tickets
Fri 18 – Brisbane, The Zoo “Punkfest” – tickets
Sat 19 – Eltham, Eltham Hotel – tickets
Fri 25 – Narrabeen, Narrabeen RSL – tickets
Sat 26 – Newcastle, The Cambridge Hotel – tickets
Sun 27 – Wollongong, La La La’s – tickets
Thu 31 – Canberra, The Basement – tickets

APRIL
Sat 2 – Adelaide, Enigma Bar – tickets
Thu 7 – Geelong, Barwon Club – tickets
Fri 8 – St Kilda, Gershwin Room at the Espy – tickets
Sat 9 – Melbourne, Corner Hotel – tickets

Gigs

EVEN shows moved again to January 2022

Cheersquad

August 19, 2021

Indie rock trio EVEN set out to play four shows across the Queen’s Birthday holiday weekend at great venues in the inner North, South, East and West of Melbourne. Regretfully, due to Melbourne’s lockdown, these shows were first moved to late August, but now will take place late January 2022. The new run takes place in the same four venues, and the band has even added a fifth venue! Tickets for the shows remain valid. Refunds can be arranged at the point of purchase for those who are unable to attend on the rescheduled dates.

These five EVEN shows will be a celebration of the great rock’n’roll city that is Melbourne.

These shows are gonna provide some right royal rocking, with hand-selected support acts adding a unique flavour to each show.

They start off with stranded Mississippi-based Canadian-Australian bluesy country singer-songwriter Meghan Maike on Tuesday the 25th of January at the Leadbeater.

Melbourne singer-songwriter Fenn Wilson on the afternoon of the Wednesday, January 26th public holiday, at the Northcote Social Club. This show is a matinée and under-18s are allowed in if accompanied by an adult.

Thursday 27th of January sees a new venue added to the mini tour, The Railway Hotel in Macedon. EVEN will be supported by Moody Beaches.

Melbourne indie-songsmith Cahill Kelly supports Even at the Gershwin Room on Friday the 28th of January.

From then, it’s the très glam Imperial Leather, featuring entities from both RRR and PBS-FM at Hotel Westwood, Footscray on Saturday the 29th.

That is a real celebration of Melbourne music, so we suggest you grab tickets to quite a few of these shows, to explore the length and breadth of our rockin’ town and make a proper party week of it!

Oh, and EVEN would also like it known that we’ve been working on album #8, and it’s coming along nicely.

THE LEADBEATER HOTEL
Tuesday 25 January 2022
With Meghan Maike
Tickets here
Facebook event

NORTHCOTE SOCIAL CLUB
Wednesday 26 January 2022, matinée
With Fenn Wilson
Tickets here
Facebook event

RAILWAY HOTEL MACEDON
Thursday 27 January 2022
With Moody Beaches
Tickets here
Facebook event

ESPY – GERSHWIN ROOM
Friday 28 January 2022
With Cahill Kelly
Tickets here
Facebook event

HOTEL WESTWOOD
Saturday 29 January 2022
With Imperial Leather
Tickets here
Facebook event

News

I’m Wanita at the Melbourne International Film Festival

Cheersquad

July 13, 2021

Jaw-dropping new Australian documentary “I’M WANITA” will have its Australian Premiere at next month’s Melbourne International Film Festival, it was announced today.

”I’M WANITA” is the story of a chaotic, flamboyant force of nature & her lifelong odyssey to realise her childhood dream – sometimes at the cost of those dearest to her. It’s a searing portrait of a complex and controversial personality – the self-proclaimed “Australia’s Queen of Honky-Tonk” best known as ‘Wanita’. The film, shot over several years, chronicles her quest to travel to Nashville to record her definitive album and asks- “Can Wanita keep her date with destiny?”

The Australian launch follows the film’s International Premiere in May at Canada’s prestigious Hot Docs Festival, where Screen Daily listed it as “one of the 15 docs to look out for this year”, and reviewers lavished praise on the film and its one-of-a kind heroine.

Directed by Matthew Walker, “I’M WANITA” was produced by Carolina Sorensen and Clare Lewis through their People Productions banner, in association with Tait Brady’s Acme Film Company.

Wanita’s new album, also titled “I’M WANITA” is released in Australia this week via Cheersquad, and features the tracks recorded in Nashville during the making of the film, produced by Nashville legend Billy Yates.

I’M WANITA screens at MIFF across August 7 – 14th, including sessions in Melbourne, Bendigo, Geelong and Castlemaine – before releasing in cinemas nationally in September/October, through Label Distribution.

Tickets: https://miff.com.au/program/film/im-wanita

More information about the movie: http://wanitathemovie.com.au

Buy the album: https://www.cheersquad.com.au/releases/im-wanita/

Wanita - I'm Wanita - red vinyl — Wanita – I’m Wanita – red vinyl

Gigs

EVEN shows moved to late August

Cheersquad

June 15, 2021

EVEN - August 2021 dates — EVEN – August 2021 dates

Indie rock trio EVEN set out to play four shows across the Queen’s Birthday holiday weekend at great venues in the inner North, South, East and West. Regretfully, due to Melbourne’s lockdown, these shows had to be moved to late August. The new run takes place in the same four venues and tickets for the shows remain valid. (Refunds can be arranged at the point of purchase for those who are unable to attend on the rescheduled dates.)

“EVEN Save … EVEN Save The Queen’s Birthday Weekend” is a celebration of the great rock’n’roll city that is Melbourne.

These shows are gonna provide some right royal rocking with four hand-selected support acts adding a unique flavour to each show.

They start off with Melbourne indie-songsmith Cahill Kelly at the Gershwin Room on Friday the 27th of August.

From then, it’s the très glam Imperial Leather, featuring entities from both RRR and PBS-FM at the Westwood on Saturday the 28th.

Melancholy and melodious young trio of singer-songwriters the Folk Bitch Trio on Sunday afternoon the 29th at the Northcote Social Club. This show is a matinée and under-18’s are allowed in if accompanied by an adult.

Stranded Mississippi-based Canadian-Australian bluesy country singer-songwriter Meghan Maike on Sunday evening the 29th at the Leadbeater.

That is four great line-ups and a real celebration of Melbourne music, so we suggest you grab tickets to all four shows, explore the length and breadth of rockin’ town and make a proper weekend of it!

Oh, and Even would also like it known that we’ve been working on album #8, and it’s coming along nicely.

ESPY – GERSHWIN ROOM
Friday 27 August, 8pm
With Cahill Kelly
Tickets here
Facebook event

HOTEL WESTWOOD
Saturday 28 August
With Imperial Leather
Tickets here
Facebook event

NORTHCOTE SOCIAL CLUB
Sunday 29 August, matinée
With Folk Bitch Trio
Tickets here
Facebook event

THE LEADBEATER HOTEL
Sunday 29 August, evening
With Meghan Maike
Tickets here
Facebook event

News

World upon a Shelf, new video by Cahill Kelly

Cheersquad

May 20, 2021

Melbourne indie-folk-rock revivalist Cahill Kelly‘s first offering of his debut album Classical and Cool Jazz, is the single ‘World upon a Shelf’, a track filled with swagger and sentimental musing. Using objects on his mantelpiece as a source of lyrical inspiration, ‘World upon a Shelf’ sees Kelly reflecting on the notion that all our encounters throughout life contain profound meaning beneath the surface.

“When writing ‘World upon a Shelf’, I was trying to see if I could write a song about even the most mundane of subjects while still evoking some kind of narrative and emotion,” says Kelly.

“At the time I had a number of sentimental trinkets from various countries on a mantelpiece above my desk. I ended up finding deeper meaning in the song, reflecting on the idea that everything we come across in life, be it places, people, objects, ideas, once you take a deeper look there’s always so much more to the story.”

This is reflected in the video, directed by revered local filmmaker and photographer Gil Gilmour, which presents solitary objects as surrealist symbols against an otherwise blank backdrop, but ultimately hints at a deeper, more profound meaning to what we are seeing.

“Cahill Kelly’s ‘World Upon a Shelf’ is one hell of a surrealist trip. Distorted snakes, upside-down spinning salt rock lamps, and falling pianos are just some of the things that feature in this wild music video.” – Beat Magazine

Originally from far North Queensland, a young Kelly grew up on a diet of Crowded House and Tom Petty. Later, he channelled his heroes in his first musical projects, The Broken Needles and Willow Darling. With the latter seeing him assume the role of a natural frontman, Kelly developed a knack for writing songs about everyday life with sparkling detail and depth, delivered with casual grace.

Buy Now

Gigs

Meanies Desperate Measures Tour

Cheersquad

May 19, 2021

“Howdy folks in Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Ballarat, Macedon, Wollongong, Sydney, Narrabeen, Newcastle, Geelong and Canberra who were hoping to see us old age teenagers live in concert in July; It ain’t gonna happen. We’re sincerely sorry, but this Covid shit is continuing to fuck with everything, and we need to postpone to August/October/November. Current ticket holders will be able to use those tickets. Refunds will be available if you can no longer attend.

————————

The Meanies take desperate measures, finally!

Melbourne punk rock legends tour their new album a year late; with national ‘better late than never desperate measures tour’ .

Byron’s Dicklord open most shows!

Better late than never, and in the midst of their part in the national Spring Loaded tour with a few old buddies, Australia’s punk-rock heavyweights The Meanies announce their ‘better late than never desperate measures tour’. The tour is a belated celebration of their ‘new’ album Desperate Measures, which is out now on Cheersquad Records and Tapes.

Desperate Measures is a hard, fast and catchy onslaught of hard-hitting Meanies mayhem. It evokes the classic sound that made the band a household name in all the worst houses back in the ’90s, and which has influenced generation after generation of young punks ever since.

Joining The Meanies as they take their desperate measures are one such group of rowdies, the mighty DickLord, whose album ‘It’s Soooo Boring’ is out now on Valve.

RESCHEDULED:

~~Saturday 21~~ ~~August (rescheduled)~~
new date to be announced soon
Barwon Club, Geelong, VIC *
+ Poppin Mommas + Eyeroll (no Dicklord)
Tickets here

Saturday 16 October (rescheduled)
Jive, Adelaide, SA
+ Cull The Band
Tickets here

Friday 22 October (rescheduled)
The Tote, Melbourne, VIC
+ Persecution Blues + Cheeky Geezers
Tickets here

Saturday 23 October (rescheduled)
The Tote, Melbourne, VIC
+ Super American Eagle + Sidesplitter
Tickets here

Friday 5 November (rescheduled)
The Eastern, Ballarat, VIC
+ Dicklord + The Dawdlers
Tickets here

Saturday 6 November (rescheduled)
Railway Hotel, Macedon, VIC
+ Dicklord + Persecution Blues
Tickets here

Friday 12 November (rescheduled)
The Zoo, Brisbane, QLD
Tickets here

Wednesday 17 November (rescheduled)
The Basement, Canberra, ACT
+ Charlotte & the Harlots
Tickets here

Thursday 18 November (rescheduled)
Lansdowne Hotel, Sydney, NSW
+ Blitz Babiez
Tickets here

Friday 19 November (rescheduled)
Narrabeen RSL, Sydney, NSW
+ Tshitaki
Tickets here

Saturday 20 November (rescheduled)
Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle, NSW
+ I Hate People
Tickets here

Sunday 21 November (rescheduled)
La La La’s, Wollongong, NSW
+ Ape Rib
Tickets here

News

Thirty Four, new video by Nick Batterham

Cheersquad

May 5, 2021

Rich, evocative, haunting, beautifully harsh, ‘Thirty Four‘ is a bruising affair, a tender, raw, at times simmering indie rock journey drenched in wonderfully emotive piano. It’s a song that evokes the comparisons Nick Batterham has had to Elliott Smith and Nick Drake; you can add Ken Stringfellow to the list as well.

Formerly involved with bands such as Blindside, The Earthmen and Cordrazine, Nick has teamed with photographer, videographer Thuy Vy to create a music video for ‘Thirty Four’ themed around Polaroid photos.

“I love Polaroid film and have wanted to make a clip with it for a very long time,” Nick says. “I used to scan my Polaroids as they developed, with the intention of animating them. This was labour intensive and time consuming. Thuy suggested filming them time-lapse and setting them in locations that helped to tell the story.”

“The video is an extension of a long fascination with photographing my friends,” Nick adds. “I like that a photograph captures one perspective of a moment in time, yet in Polaroid form, remains ephemeral. They take time to appear then can fade over time. A romantic relationship is a collection of shared moments and experiences, which can be well communicated by photographs. They also capture the fractures within a relationship before either person can see it for themselves. My dear friends Nick and Tiara were amazing to work with. So honest and generous, as well as being ridiculously good looking! I can’t thank them enough for their presence and patience.”

‘Thirty Four’ features on Nick’s new solo album ‘Lovebirds’ that he will launch at Melbourne Recital Centre on June 25th. Go here for more information on the album launch.

“Nick is a wonderful musician, composer, sound designer and lyricist,” Thuy Vy says. “The more I listened to his music and read his lyrics I found that our works share a similar sensibility. We’re both concerned with ideas of love, melancholy, preservation of memory, vulnerability and fragility of feelings. This video is a distillation of our shared interest in photography as a personal way to hold onto time. And our love of Polaroids as a medium, in particular a Polaroid as an only copy of a moment and the preciousness that it holds.”

Pre-order Nick Batterham’s beautiful new album Lovebirds on limited edition red vinyl, black vinyl, CD or digital here.

NEWS