Mad Charlie

Contraban Here to Stay EP Launch + Mad Charlie + Static Silhouettes

Notes, Newtown

3 June 2011

Review by Monica Strut

Photos by Loretta Mihaljek

In a city like Sydney, where the music industry continuously flips between promising and flailing, there are a handful of bands that are putting in the hard yards to make sure they not only stick around, but have their game lifted high enough to be noticed. One of these bands is CONTRABAN; the Sydney locals who released their debut EP Here to Stay last Friday night at Notes, Newtown. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the night, particularly because this sit-down venue normally hosted jazz acts. But as I stepped inside the room, I was overcome with smoky haze of a rock n’ roll venue complete with longhaired, freshly tattooed punters doing tequila shots at the bar. The space in front of the stage was cleared to stand in. Above the stage was a giant CONTRABAN banner.

STATIC SILHOUETTES used the energy of the room to their advantage playing a suspenseful intro of driving bass lines and wailing guitar. Their singer seemed to appear out of thin air and the band launched into their set of 70’s-influenced indie rock. Musically they were together, and they also put on a good show. There were plenty of great guitar solos, and the singer – who alternated between synth and acoustic guitar – had an amazing voice. I did feel there were one too many slow, ballady songs but all in all a good set which added variety to the night.

A lot of talk prior to the gig was surrounding the main support band, MAD CHARLIE. For the band that has been rocking Sydney’s live scene successfully for over two years, this would be the night they farewelled their old singer, and introduced their new one. As MAD CHARLIE launched into their opener Wasted, I couldn’t help but think that this new guy had big shoes to fill. But just as soon as the thought came into my head, it left. The first notes out of the new vocalist’s mouth were guttural screams that made the whole room turn their heads quickly towards the stage.

The latest addition, later introduced as, “Jordan,” not only sounded the part but looked the part. Girls stared longingly as if his beauty was causing them some sort of pain. They also danced wildly in the front row. I honestly could not fault anything about MAD CHARLIE’S show. Every song they played was absolute killer -particularly Killer on the Run that had wicked, thundering bass lines. The old songs were given a new life and fresh attitude. A couple of new numbers were also played, however. One was called Stumble. The lyrics, about a long, drunk walk home left as little to be desired, basically explaining every step of this tedious journey, “I think I’ll take a minute to sit on the stairs…” however the singing in the verses was very Alice Cooper and the song itself was darker then their old stuff and very cool.

Mid set, MAD CHARLIE’S original singer came on stage to sing the first song written together as a band. It was a little weird – kind of like introducing an ex to your current partner – but mostly a sweet tribute and the audience definitely appreciated the opportunity to see the line-up one last time. If you haven’t seen this 80’s hard rock-influenced band, get yourself to a show quick smart because they are one of the most promising acts I’ve seen in this genre in a long time.

CONTRABAN have paid their dues to the Sydney live scene. They are also incredibly good at promotion - postering and flyering the inner-city suburbs guerrilla-style until you really can’t miss at least one of their ads. Their hard work playing and promoting paid off at their launch and CONTRABAN took the stage to a packed room. Their first song left the audience cheering. The band was on fire. As the bassist growled at the audience and ran around stage, a fan seemed to appear out of nowhere to blow the guitarist’s hair back Bon Jovi-style.

The young four-piece played a set of bluesy rock ‘n’ roll with an almost country twist. I’m Not To Blame was a highlight but they should have kept it’s original name which they revealed was, “If I’d Shot You When I’d Met You I’d Be Out of Jail By Now.” The twin guitars and drum rhythms created a unique atmosphere in the room, much like a modern rock ’n’ roll ho-down. I challenge anyone who watches a CONTRABAN show to make it through without grooving along. From there they launched into Baby Come Home. For the new audience members who weren’t so familiar with CONTRABAN’S tunes, I fear it may have been difficult to differentiate between songs, but the crowd didn’t stop dancing once and everyone seemed to be having a good time – a very important factor.

It seemed CONTRABAN’S set was a little short when they ended with Here to Stay. But as to be expected, the band was cheered back onstage for an encore where they played the single from their EP – My Town –with intensity. It featured a cool solo and a chance for some loud sing-alongs. This was their best show yet and to top it all off and say thanks to their fans, old and new, CONTRABAN ran backstage to grab the remainder of their drinks rider which they handed out to the front row. What more could you ask for really?

- www.sludgefactory.com.au

Mad Charlie - Stones and Snakebites - CD Review
Mon, 10/01/2011 - 20:35 Mad Charlie

Stones and Snakebites

Independent Release

Release date: out now

Review by Mark Mason

Tattoo inspired artwork – check. Song with rock ‘n’ roll in the title – check. Booze – check.

“Oh god what have I got myself into with this one?” are my thoughts before I turn the CD player on. Some lame bunch of wannabe MÖTLEY CRÜE types trying to prove how rock n roll they are? How bad they are? Oh, god no… This is EXACTLY why one should NEVER judge a book by its cover.

Quite frankly, this band rocks. I should have clued in when I read the inside of the CD; Jacko – Rhythm Throat, Rick – Rhythm Bass, Brendan – Rhythm Guitar, Mitch – Rhythm Skin Hitting. This should have been my first clue. Most wanna be bands normally read: LEAD Guitar (even though there’s only one guitar player), LEAD bass, LEAD drums. Ok, that’s a bit SPINAL TAP but you get my point. These kids get it.

Rock ‘n’ roll isn’t about how many notes you can play or about who’s looking good in the lights. It’s about THE RYTHYM; hard two’s and four’s – it’s sex music (rock ‘n’ roll is old black slang for sex), hard, driving, raw, Keith Richards, Malcolm Young…MAD CHARLIE play solid rock in a slightly more modern vein and what they may lack in song craft they make up for in passion.

This is about the absolute desire to rock, the type of absolute NEED, where you sit at your stinking desk day in, day out and all you can do is sing AC/DC’s Big Balls in your head, to keep you from killing every single person in the place… Yeah, that desire to rock. Don’t get me wrong, there isn’t anything wrong with the song writing, you just know they haven’t hit their full stride just yet and it’s only going to get better from here.

The overall sound on the CD is good; big guitars, passionate vocals, slinky bass, big drums, it’s all there. Personally, I think they could do with more drums, but that’s a minor quibble. Killer on the Run starts things off with a big hard straight up rock song. A bit bluesy, feels a l’il old, a l’il new. I like it. It’s nice to hear a vocalist who’s not auto-tuned within an inch of his life. It’s nice to hear him go out of tune every now and again when he’s going for it. The kid ain’t gonna be singing any Ronnie James Dio (praise him) songs anytime soon, but I’d bet you fifty dollars he’d rip Raw Power or Search and Destroy a new one.

Tell Me gets a bit more half time, more slinky and sexy. This is the song, to me, that made me think of VELVET REVOLVER when I listened to them. Everywhere picks up the pace taking it into more of a BACKYARD BABIES type sound; punky, hard rock. Dig it.

Ok, now I brace myself for the “song with ‘rock’ in the title cheese fest”, thankfully the cheese was good vintage cheddar rather than that horrible orange American stuff. It manages to be a great sing-a-long song without being too overly cliché, which it very well could have been. It’s a jumpy rock song and, thankfully, instead of trying to prove their rock cred by singing about “I need a fix because I’m an outlaw (that lives with my parents) who’s doing coke (that I don’t have and can’t afford) and drinking Jack Daniels (that I can’t handle the taste of, nor more than two drinks of).

Not that there’s anything wrong with the above, but if you don’t do it, don’t sing about it…

This is honest, from the heart and it connects to me; Mark in Sydney Australia, not Izzy Serious living on the sunset strip. Remember what I said about sitting at your stinkin’ desk at your stinkin’ job? Yeah, that’s what this is about.

As these guys say, “Down the road for a ten dollar steak… when the rock band hits they stage they blast my blues away.” Can’t we all relate?

Mad Charlie

http://www.madcharlie.com.au/

- www.sludgefactory.com.au

The Poor + Black Label + Mad Charlie

The Sando Hotel, Newtown, Sydney

10 December 2010

Review by Colin Diamond

Photos by Robyn Morrison

The start of the night was a little bit Spinal Tap. I arrived upstairs at the Sando just after 8pm as MAD CHARLIE was performing their sound check. After a couple of minutes, smoke started coming from one of the foldback speakers. It subsequently caught fire and had to be put out with an extinguisher by the sound engineer. Whether or not this was because MAD CHARLIE had turned their amps up to 11, I’m not sure.

After a small break to get things sorted out MAD CHARLIE was called back to the stage and they kicked off the night with a rocking groove laden track ; a sound a little reminiscent of some early STONE TEMPLE PILOTS. The Sando had some punters in early to watch them and they didn’t disappoint, displaying good energy onstage and solid rock tunes. They portrayed some good onstage rock swagger too with the vocalist pausing occasionally to banter with the crowd and slug on a bottle of Stones.

While still staying firmly in the alternative rock vein they showed some good variety to their tunes and some memorable songs. I’m not sure exactly how long these guys have been together but released their first EP not long ago. I think as the band matures and with more shows they’ll only get better. I’d see them again for sure. Next up was a band that you could tell had played plenty of shows together. BLACK LABEL’s sound and stage moves were at the pro level, no doubt about it. You could see the difference in confidence early on and this also allowed them to step things up performance wise. A five piece with two guitarists sharing rhythm and lead duties, they had a big sound and presence onstage.

By this stage the Sando was really starting to fill up. And interestingly it was almost exclusively with well seasoned rockers. It was a shame that some younger demographics weren’t able to witness some of the fine Aussie rock ‘n’ roll on display. One thing that really stood out in their set was the performance from the guitarists in the band. In particular, the guitarist on right stage shredded the hell out of his Gibson Les Paul all night, showing off some of the finest lead guitar playing I’ve seen in a while with tasty blues leads and lightning quick runs.

BLACK LABEL had themselves a pretty decent following in the crowd with plenty of punters singing along to the choruses and everyone seemed to be digging the sound. To sum up their sound I’d call it melodic hard rock with some Maiden influences in there for sure (respect). BLACK LABEL certainly aren’t forging forward with any new style you haven’t heard but nor would they want to. They’re pretty damn good at playing the one they do right now.

Just as the performance lifted for the change in the first two bands, unsurprisingly once THE POOR stepped on stage, everything stepped up again. Vocalist, Skenie immediately took charge of everyone’s attention as the band ripped through their opening track Trouble and the band would hold it for the rest of the night.

THE POOR have plenty of years under their belts having originated from Darwin in the mid 80’s. They had some good success in the 90’s and now the boys were back showcasing tunes from their new CD Round 2 on the night. In case you aren’t familiar with their sound THE POOR play Aussie hard rock in the vein of the mighty AC/DC, Rose Tattoo, The Angels and other Aussie rock legends. And that’s exactly what was served up on the night along with a whole lotta rock ‘n’ roll swagger as well. Skenie, the master frontman, kept the banter up all night keeping everyone entertained between tunes chatting away and throwing in the odd story.

Crowd participation was good with plenty singing and dancing in the packed out Sando. Unfortunately though, the sound gods were not kind to the boys with some issues slightly marring an otherwise great performance. One of these being some issues with Skenie’s guitar – which had to be changed twice, the other being the volume of the mix and some occasional mic feedback. On the volume front, the Sando is not a big place and if you got up anywhere near the PA at the front of the stage (one of the best places to see the band) you basically got hammered. Still there were plenty of fans willing to sacrifice their eardrums for the boys and the front of the stage was a hive of activity. In particular, it has to be said with girls dancing, I think THE POOR have earned themselves a bit of a following there.

I have to admit I was slightly missing the big sound afforded by BLACK LABEL’s two guitarists with Skenie restricting his guitar duties to only the rhythm during guitar solos. This was more than made up for however, on the strength of THE POOR’s well written and super catchy rock tunes and the Skenie’s presence onstage and vocal performance. I still wonder whether another guitarist couldn’t improve things further and leave Skenie to do what he does best.

The band closed the night with their big track that of course everyone knew the words to; More Wine Waiter Please and plenty were singing along with the big chorus. Again the band were let down a little by sound issues but they still put in a great performance and showed a lot of professionalism in the way that they coped with the sound dramas. I’m sure some in the crowd wouldn’t have noticed even such was their ability to keep the song powering on and everyone entertained.

THE POOR have a really great stage presence which is why you can see plenty of their fans from the old days making the effort to come and support the band. Let’s hope they can get some more success with the new material and some new fans can come onboard.

Overall the night was great value (under 20 bucks!) with a strong line-up and performances from all the bands. Good times.

For more gig photos, click on this link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=45365&id=157173674294512&l=d1d32cc265

The Poor

http://www.thepoor.com.au

Black Label

http://www.blacklabelaustralia.com.au/

Mad Charlie

http://www.myspace.com/madcharliespace

- www.sludgefactory.com.au

rating: 5/5


great sound, real blues crunchyness. Keep the rock alive.

dude that rocks
20 Nov, 2009
- TripleJUnearthed.com

rating: 3/5


More like 3.8. Good steady sounding song, a bit like Spiderbait, Grinspoon mabey even a little bit motorhead. Good song...the only probeblm I have is it might sound just a little bit too much like those bands. Tryed and true I supose.

Parked in radio
15 Feb, 2009
- TripleJUnearthed.com