Exit The Excrement: A Guide To REAL Australian Music

For those who are unaware. I am an Australian. And for a vast majority of my life I have been involved with the local music industry. I have played with the best and brightest this country has to offer from all walks of life, from all genres of music and who are skilled in all types of musical instruments. And in my career spanning two plus decades (I started very young). working within every known aspect from roadie to performer, agent to stockroom boy, I have not only witnessed the potential for musical greatness that this corner of the globe was once famous for, but have been front and centre to experience the catastrophic decline this once genre defining industry has suffered in the past 15 years. In fact, upon achieving my new position here at Whatculture I went on to document the reasons as to why "Aussie rock" is clinically dead in comparison to the glory days, which you can read by clicking here. But although I am officially retired (never say never), for all of my rhetoric I haven't actually used my new found online infamy to rectify the situation have I? Even though I have some issues of the current crop of young musos circulating who think they have the right to act like they play for Metallica just because they release a video on youtube, I feel it would be hypocritical of me not to use my knowledge and experiences to try and create a nurturing environment for any REAL Australian musician. Those who like I did, struggle under the weight of an industry that not only has completely lost its identity but lacks any vision and has devolved into nothing more than an American Pop Cullture cloning machine.

So with that in mind I now present to you what I hope will become a regular series of articles that showcase the great Australian bands that you have never heard of. The musicians that lose out each and every week to glorified karaoke competitions on the idiot box or the soul devouring, pure evil entities known as poker machines. For as I said in my previous aricle, those type of live bands that once defined a generation, the ones that you remember so fondly like AC/DC, INXS, Midnight Oil, The Divinyls, Cold Chisel, Skyhooks, Rose Tattoo, The Angels, Crowded House, Radio Birdman, The Bee Gees, Nick Cave, The Screaming Jets and Hoodoo Gurus (and that's not even scraping the surface). They are all still out there, if under different names and behind different facades. We have some of the greatest live acts on the planet but the everyday Australian wouldn't know it, because they are too busy putting their wage in the Pokies or having a smoke outside. Or just not even bothering to care, letting the execs tell them who and what Australian music is via reality television. The worst part of it all is that the rest of world never gets to experience these awesome bands as the corporate higher ups in this country simply won't stand for anything with originality or that requires actual talent. They are all just looking for the next Justin Beiber or female equivalent. Lets hope we can sort through the excrement and do our part to rectify this situation, and allow real Australian musicians to climb (or exit) out of the proverbial "s$#t. A man can only dream. Side Note: If any unsigned Australian band out there wishes for me to review their tunes, contact me via this site or my facebook muso page. Even though I will be VERY selective on what I showcase and my expertise is more aligned with Rock and Metal, I am not limited by these genres and will give everything a go, except for hip hop, pop, techno or country. But be warned, I subscribe to the "Lester Bangs School of Music Journalism." As I believe that although it may be harsh, the truth shall set you free. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpISLkb5L5E