Great Read: Will It Be Funny Tomorrow, Billy? by Stephen Cummings

Well, I read this last year but I was re-reading it the other day so I thought I'll write a blog post about it. So to start with this is the most enjoyable rock music memoir since Bob Dylan's. It was first published in 2009 but I picked it up at a book shop sale and read the first page and with sentences like this in the first paragraph: "The past smells like rotten eggs and apparently you have to break a few eggs to make an omelette." and second paragraph: "I had protracted periods of anxiety, migraines, hysteria and dread." so I knew I would like it but in the end I loved it. To be honest I didn't even have any of his albums but did buy Good Bones, his latest album after I finished reading it. I really had only a vague idea who he is but now I'm a fan and would like to get some more stuff by him. I would recommend this book to anyone, it's that great.

He's brutally honest about the music industry. Why would anyone want to be a rock star but of-course he is one - this is a perfect example of what this book is like, he likes to contradict himself. He's got a few too many could have been story's too. He tells a story about a school trip to Alice Springs and being bitten by a dog and what happens next which sets up the rest of the book absolutely splendidly in the first few pages. He writes about growing up in Melbourne in the 60's, so many Aussie bands people have long forgotten but should be remembered and why he loves music so much which leads to starting a band. One of the early chapters is about his first bands residency in Perth which is where I'm from so extra special and funny too. This is not the band he's remembered for but if you don't know who that is they were called The Sports maybe I thought because Aussies love their sport more than anything else really but to quote Stephen Cummings it's because "Being Not much of a sportsman, I decided to call it The Sports." They signed to Australia's biggest major label, Mushroom Records and one of England's biggest indie labels at the time called Stiff Records. Then recorded four or five albums, E.P.'s and a hand-full of of hit singles. Michael Gudinski got shot down in flames but then again he does that to himself throughout the book too.


I'll not tell you everything that happens in his book because I want you to read it yourself. A few bio details just to finish of after The Sports broke up Stephen Cummings has had now sixteen solo albums and two novels but has kept a very low profile as a solo artist which is fair after what he writes in this book. The last thing I'll say is he's worked and toured or just some name-dropping of some great Aussie artists The Church's Steve Kilbey, Neil Finn, Paul Hester, The Go-Betweens, Paul Kelly, Kim Salmon, Don Walker, David McComb all make cameos plus the chapter on Nick Cave is the reason why I haven't written anything more about him after finishing my top 50 songs last year, it's so completely perfect about Cave nothing more needs to be said or written. Plus after that new song "I'll take the money and run, rabbit" rubbish why bother. Anyway stop reading this and go out and find Will It Be Funny Tomorrow, Billy? by Stephen Cummings, you'll find out who Billy is too. I would give it 5 stars or 10 out of 10 and tell you to read it yourself today or tomorrow.

Here's an old song from youtube video of classic Sports' Who Listens To The Radio track.

So than was Stephen then and the middle photo is now by Fred Kroh and the top image is the front cover of Will It Be Funny Tomorrow, Billy?

Stay tuned for more soon...

More Gaz: A Painting, 3 Albums, 5 Songs & New Video

Well, it's another post about Gareth Liddiard (surprise, surprise) so I'm just going to title them all More Gaz from now on and hopefully write about something else too but this post is just nicking stuff from other websites really which I hope is OK. I've read these the other day but just lost them and just going to re-post here to go with all the other Gaz posts as some kind of collection.

First up is Gareth Liddiard top three Aussie albums which I have to ask why only three? five or ten would be better even twenty maybe thirty, fuck-it if Liddiard wrote a book called 100 greatest Aussie albums I would buy it and read it over and over. I love it when he name-drops stuff because he always comes up with wicked music and I've never been disappointed with it because most of it I have and if not I can go out and find it. It's a bit of a history lesson in Aussie music, stuff that is less known but should be listened to more than it is. This is from the great people at FasterLouder and like someone said in the comments "He sure has a way with words" so I've cut and pasted it into my blog sorry if I'm breaking some copyright law but it's too good to edit or anything.

1. Kim Salmon & STM – Hey Believer

"When I was a young snapper I did all sorts of work at and for Kim Salmon shows. I was too young to drive a hire car but I had to drive the Surrealists around ‘cause they were too drunk and their promoter hated that about them. No one told me about Tarago handbrakes so the van always stunk of fishy hot brake pads and I was henceforth mocked. The Surrealists were amazing but STM was another story all together. The band was made up of Kim, Warren [Ellis] and Jim [White] from the Dirty Three and a double bass player called Andrew [Entsch] who died a long time ago. They only did one tour and made one album. One of the best bands I’ve ever seen live. And in true Australian fashion, no one gave a fuck because they weren’t from some other country run by white people."

2. AC/DC – Let There Be Rock

"As far as guitar sounds go, you can’t really beat this recording. It’s intense. And interesting considering that everywhere except Australia they’re known as the biggest rock band ever. Bigger even than the Beatles and Pink Floyd. They didn’t do a lot of compromising considering. But they didn’t come from somewhere else that’s run by whites or something so forget that. And Rupert Murdoch and Julian Assange don’t run the planet right now either. And Peter Singer isn’t usually right about everything and Les Murray isn’t one of the greatest three or four living poets right now. Elsewhere in the west is always best, remember that. Pretend you’re them."

3. Rowland S. Howard – Teenage Snuff Film

"This is Rowland’s masterpiece. He was the greatest, most original guitarist Australia has ever had. On the break up of the band that brought him fame he went on to record 10 or so records solo and with various bands that were mostly overlooked. Probably because his original singer appealed more to record companies that needed to make a buck, though Rowland was always, at least, equally as good. You never see him on those “greatest Australian album” lists which is nuts. He’s not alone though, Rowland and Spencer P. Jones are the most underrated songwriters on the planet. Everything on this record is perfecto, the tunes, guitar playing, production, Mick [Harvey], Brian [Hooper] and Rowland’s voice which was as jocular as it was jaundiced."

Next up is something called Take Five from Triple J radio. The five songs for each capital city in Australia because well he's on tour again, I guess. You can re-play it as much as you like too on the player links at the bottom of the page. Most of the songs are at the tail ends of the albums they're from and none are the singles or the more poplar tracks from them. I wish Liddiard would be a DJ after this because he would play the best songs and I could listen to his talk forever, even if it's his jokes and him laughing. Anyway I've cut and paste one paragraph and the playlist from their website too, oops I did it again.

He dropped by the triple j studios just before the start of his national tour with Dan Kelly to play five songs that remind him of different places - and not surprising he picked five fantastic Aussie tunes. He talked about how he visited Sydney just to buy a copy of X's Aspirations, why Kim Salmon & The Surrealists blew his mind and his love for the Dirty Three.

Here's what he played:

1. Kim Salmon & The Surrealists - Redemption For Sale (Perth)
2. Laughing Clowns - Song Of Joy (Brisbane)
3. X - Good On Ya Baby (Sydney)
4. Dirty Three - Red (Melbourne)
5. The Mark Of Cain - Summertime (Adelaide)

Gareth Liddiard - Strange Tourist from Two Fish Out Of Water on Vimeo.

So above is his new video for Strange Tourist which was re-recorded for this in his home in the Victorian mountains. The video directed by Jasmin Tarasin who is the same person who did the one for the Blondin Makes An Omelette video last year. I'm still slowly writing that big post but not finish yet. I've been sick this week but I did get to see him last weekend and it was a great live show too. The top image is a new painting for the Archibald Prize 2011. It’s not all Henry bloody Lawson is the title and it's painted by Jason Benjamin.

Stay tuned for more soon...