Hard-Ons

All Music Guide:

One of Australia's most popular, most enduring, and most defiantly independent punk bands, the Hard-Ons have been around on and off since 1982. In that time they have been an influence on more than one generation of punk fans while earning respect from musicians around the world. Their own description their mix of punk, pop, and metal is "Motörhead playing the Beach Boys." Peter "Blackie" Black was one of many musicians inspired to form a band by the Sex Pistols. Unlike members of Joy Division and the Buzzcocks who got their inspiration from seeing them in the flesh, Black saw them on TV while he was a Sydney high-schooler. After rushing out to buy their album, he visited his friend Keish de Silva and told him they were forming a band, no questions asked. Black learned to play the guitar and de Silva the drums. They were joined by a fellow student of Punchbowl Boys High, Brendan Creighton, on vocals for their first gig at the school's end-of-year party. Prophetically, the police had to shut them down for being too loud. They first called themselves the Dead Rats, then the Plebs, before finally settling on the Hard-Ons for its ability to annoy adults. Creighton left and later formed the band Thrust, and the Hard-Ons were joined by Ray Ahn on bass while de Silva took over the singing. A three-piece punk band with a singing drummer, made up of underage kids from migrant families, wasn't the norm for the western suburbs of Sydney, but their sound and their violent stage antics impressed the crowds. Their debut, the 1985 EP Surfin' on My Face, featured Ahn's cover art as part of their do-it-yourself ethic, which also had them promoting themselves, personally choosing their support bands and even managing their own merch stand. It also marked the beginning of the love affair between the Hard-Ons and Australia's independent charts, making it to number two. A brief flirtation with the RCA label produced their first album, Smell My Finger, in 1986. Friction between the band and RCA, which wasn't impressed by the album's title, ended with the Hard-Ons returning to their independent roots for the rest of their career. Broadening their sound with dashes of power pop, psychedelic rock, thrashy metal, and a healthy dose of humor lead to successful tours of Europe and a constant string of albums from the hardworking Hard-Ons. In 1987 they released their self-titled album as well as Hot for Your Love Baby and The Worst of the Hard-Ons The next year they released Dickcheese and a split 10" with Brit band the Stupids, called No Cheese! Their final release from this prolific period was 1989's Love Is a Battlefield of Wounded Hearts. Touring Europe and the U.S., where they supported the re-formed Buzzcocks, the Hard-Ons found they had fans on the other side of the world. One of these fans turned out to be Henry Rollins, who met with the band in 1990 to record a cover of AC/DC's classic "Let There Be Rock." Other fans included the Ramones, who asked for the Hard-Ons to be their support act during their 1991 tour of Australia. That year they released the album Yummy!, named after a sign they passed while arguing over a title. For the first half of the '90s they remained prolific, releasing Dateless Dudes Club in 1992 and Too Far Gone in 1993. They toured for two more years before calling it a day, ending the band to follow other projects.

The breakup didn't last long. In 1997 they were playing gigs as the re-formed Hard-Ons and a Best Of was released in 1999. Their 2000 release, This Terrible Place, was to be the last featuring Keish de Silva. Black took over the vocals in his stead and they were joined by Pete Kostic of the bands Regurgitator and Front End Loader on drums. The new lineup released Very Exciting! in 2003. Rumours of a double album were quelled when the Hard-Ons instead released two more albums back to back. Most People Are a Waste of Time, their 2006 release, focussed on their old-fashioned pop-punk sound, while Most People Are Nicer Than Us, their 2007 release, focussed on their thrash metal sound.

Wikipedia:

The Hard-Ons are a punk rock band from Sydney, Australia that originally formed in 1981. They have been called Australia's most commercially successful independent band, with over 250,000 total record sales.

Biography

1980s: Early days

The Hard-Ons' origins can be traced to Western Sydney's Punchbowl Boys High School, where all band members were students. The first version of the band featured Keish de Silva on guitar and vocals, Peter Black on guitar and Brendan Creighton on drums. In 1982 Creighton left and was replaced by Ray Ahn on bass guitar with de Silva taking over the drumming. Being too young to play in pubs, the band featured at birthday parties and school dances. On 20 June 1984, the Hard Ons played their first official show at the Vulcan Hotel in Ultimo. Quickly gaining a considerable following, the band released its debut EP Surfin' On My Face the following year. This was the beginning of a series of releases for the band that netted them remarkable run of 17 consecutive #1 listings on the Australian independent music charts.

Subsequent recordings like Smell My Finger, Dickcheese, Love Is A Battlefield Of Wounded Hearts and Yummy! set the blueprint for the 'Hard-Ons sound': messy pop-punk with metal and psychedelia elements. The band also showed their independent punk spirit, with the members deliberately controlling their own careers: recording, booking and promoting themselves, creating their own artwork (mostly done by Ahn), choosing support bands and even managing the merchandise desk whilst on tour.

While maintaining a solid if underground following in Australia, the Hard Ons were particularly popular in Europe, scoring a Top 10 hit in Spain and a Top 5 slot in Greece with their 1989 album Love is a Battlefield of Wounded Hearts. That album also made the Top 5 in the NME chart. At the time, this made the Hard Ons only the third Australian band after Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and the Go Betweens to have achieved this. In 1989 the group also recorded a split EP with British band The Stupids. Two years later they teamed up with Henry Rollins and released a version of "Let There Be Rock" that was released in a limited edition on 10" vinyl.

1990s: Split and reformation

Following the release of 1993's Too Far Gone and after recording a live-album for Your Choice Records, the band members announced that they were breaking up, with an interest in pursuing projects outside the Hard-Ons' style of music. This break was interrupted by a 'reunion' gig in October 1997, which was followed by the release of a new EP ("Yesterday And Today") and a "Best Of" Compilation album in 1998. Following This Terrible Place... in 2000, the band's first line-up change occurred, with Keish De Silva deciding to leave the band. To accommodate this, Peter Black took up full-time vocals with the group and Front End Loader/Regurgitator drummer Pete Kostic was brought into the line-up. This new trio released Very Exciting! in 2003, their first album for Chatterbox Records. 2003 Split-hard-ons & boom boom kid. In 2005, the 21st anniversary of the band's first pub gig was celebrated by Australian and European tours as a four-piece, with Kostic drumming and De Silva on vocals. Although technically still a three-piece band, it is clear that Keish De Silva still shares a close relationship with his old band. Recordings were made in 2006 with contributions from all four band members (though primarily Black, Ahn and Kostic) with the intention of releasing a double album of material. This project was eventually released as two separate albums: the 'poppier' Most People Are a Waste of Time (2006) and the 'heavier' Most People Are Nicer Than Us (2007), with subsequent tours around Australia. The band reportedly recorded U.S. comedian Neil Hamburger on guest lead vocals in January, 2008.

In April 2011, the band announced via their website that Pete was leaving the band with the following statement:

'Pete is leaving us... shitty news indeed... hes been bashing his drums and his head against the wall with us for ten odd years.. and now with two gorgeous and demanding kids its ... sniff sniff ... time to say "see ya".. he ain't going without a bang so as well as the next European tour we have just recorded a five track tour "souvenir".. this is a scorching session and i hope ya guys dig it!! more on that soon. me and ray spent a good 28 seconds before deciding that we will keep the hard ons going.. we have too much more music in the wings to pull the plug yet. it ain't gonna be easy as we demand a lot from a drummer but rest assured that it,ll happen and we,ll be back in no time at all! of course we wish Pete all the best and cant thank him enough for being with us for the last ten years... many people bemoan the fact that keish left.. but me personally .. hell i never look back! A its boring and B why would we when we are kicking it like fuck with this dynamo behind the kit!! some of the best gigs i,ve ever played were with Pete and i loved this line up!!! raise ya glass and say "good on ya mate'

Murray Ruse from the bands Conation and Captain Cleanoff played his first show as the new Hard-Ons drummer on the 5th of August, 2011.

Musical style

A 1987 BEAT Magazine article described the Hard-Ons' sound as "Motörhead meets the Beach Boys" ; a quote that goes some way towards describing the band's take on the punk rock genre. Though originally inspired by punk bands such as Sex Pistols, The Buzzcocks, The Damned, Ramones and The Saints , the band also blended pop, psychedelia and metal elements; "death-pop" as once described by Ray Ahn. The band were also noteworthy not only within punk but also within rock music for having their lead vocals handled by de Silva, the group's drummer. The physical challenge of drumming to the band's fast punk rock songs as well as singing (as opposed to shouting) made for charismatic live performances. Guitarist Black provided another original touch to the band with his distinctive guitar sound that is both melodic and messy, often making use of feedback.

Major recurring lyrical themes range from girls, love and relationships (e.g.: "I Do I Do I Do", "Just Being With You", "Girl in the Sweater") to toilet humour ("I Farted", "Oozin' for Pleasure") as well as other variations, particularly in the post-Keish line-up of the band.

Fan reaction

Although not as widely known as some classic punk and independent bands, the Hard-Ons have carved a niche in the world of punk rock and have assembled a cult following of fans worldwide. They are Australia's most successful independent band, with over 250,000 records sold worldwide and 17 consecutive #1 hits on the Australian alternative charts. Their popularity far outreaches Australia, with large cult followings in Spain and Greece. At one time there was a Hard Ons cover band in the UK known as Suck n Swallow.