Author: Paul Drummond
Before the hippies, before the punks, there were the 13th Floor Elevators: an unlikely crew of outcast weirdo geniuses who changed musical culture. Through a rich and diverse array of primary materials – including previously unseen band photographs, rare artwork, items from family scrapbooks and diaries, new and archival interviews, dozens of press accounts, (and many Austin Police Department records!) – this impressive volume tells the complete and unvarnished story of the band. Born out of a union of club bands on the burgeoning Austin bohemian scene and a pronounced taste for hallucinogens, the 13th Floor Elevators were formed in late 1965 when lyricist Tommy Hallasked a local singer named Roky Erickson to join up with his new rock outfit. Four years, three official albums, and countless acid trips later, it was over: the Elevators’ pioneering first run ended in a dizzying jumble of professional mismanagement, internal arguments, drug busts, and forced psychiatric imprisonments. In their short existence, however, the group succeeded in blowing the lid off the budding musical underground, logging early salvos in the countercultural struggle against state authorities, and turning their deeply hallucinatory take on jug-band garage rock into a new American institution called psychedelic music.
Author: Jimi Kritzler
This volume documents the music, songwriting, aesthetics and struggles of fifty of Australia’s most innovative and significant bands and artists currently at the creative peak of their careers, providing rare insight into the critically heralded cult music scene in Australia. The author, Jimi Kritzler, is personally connected to the musicians he interviews: their discussions cover the musicians' struggles with drugs, involvement in crime and the death of band members.The book is complimented by previously unpublished photographs of all bands interviewed.The Australian underground scene in the last five years has been heralded not only in Australia but also in Europe, and particularly in America. Known as the ‘Australian Invasion’, many of the bands interviewed in this book have received a great deal of hype and press in America, with many of the bands signing to American record labels. Bands featured in the book, such as The Drones, Eddy Current Suppression Ring, Royal Headache, Uv Race, Circle Pit, HTRK, Lost Animal, Oren Ambarchi, Total Control, Witch Hats, Deaf Wish, Blank Realm, New War, Holy Balm, Fabulous Diamonds, The Garbage and The Flowers, Straight Arrows, xNoBBQx, Naked on the Vague, Kitchen’s Floor and My Disco are all on American record labels, and have toured America at least once. Eddy Current Suppression Ring even lent their song ‘Memory Lane’ toan American telecommunications company advertisement, which was played repeatedly during the Super Bowl. While that may indicate the influence of the band in America atthe more mainstream end of the spectrum, at the other end, Eddy Current Suppression Ring are a culturally significant and revered underground band, who play to thousands of people at any given show.
Author: Bryan Ray Turcotte
This title exposes the lasting impact of punk on visual culture. Hundreds of flyers, photos, set lists, vintage fashions and other ephemera from all of your favourite bands are jammed into this menacing volume. It features a wide spectrum of bands that initially ignited the scene and later fuelled its global expansion. It also features interviews with Ian Mackaye, a respected voice of the DIY music underground, and Malcolm McLaren, a promoter of the early punk movement.Contributing writers such as Wayne Kramer, Arturo Vega, Kid Congo, David Yow, Annie Anxiety, Duane Peters, Marc Mc- Coy, Tony Alva, Don Bolles, Trudie and Pat Smear flesh out the visual assault. It also features hard hitting interviews with Ian Mackaye, one of the most respected voices of the DIY music underground, and Malcolm McLaren, likely the most impactful promoter of the early punk movement.
Author: Craig Horne
Melbourne is able to support around 465 live music venues – compared to 453 in New York and 385 in Tokyo. Melburnians are committed to going out to listen to live music and have supported generations of musicians. This title is the socio-political history of live music in Melbourne and the stories of those musicians who played anything they wanted: jazz, rock, country and blues.