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The Porkers
Mach Pelican
Los Capitanes
The Pornskas
The Annandale Hotel
05/05/06
by Robyn Anson
Ska music. You either love it or loathe it. And judging by the size of tonight’s crowd which had sprawled from the main band room and overflowed into poker machine annexe, there are a lot of people in ol’ Sydney town who fall into the latter category.
Tonight’s ska event is brought to us thanks to Pete Porkers’ 40th Birthday Disappointment Show. First up tonight is Newcastle’s Pornskas. The Pornskas have often been dubbed as Newcastle’s ska supergroup and with musical resumes including Muzzy Pep and The Retro Rockets. It was pretty obvious that these lads had the ability to combine musical talent with a sense of humour with songs such as Victim of My Own Penis as a stand out in their set.
As Spinal Tap The Movie played in silence on the big screen, so far there were no Stonehenge or Dwarf sightings on stage. This led us into a blistering set from Canberra’s Los Capitanes. Injecting a mix of reggae, punk and ska into their highly infectious music, their appearance was also the unofficial launch of their latest CD No Fun Intended. And this couldn’t be further from the truth. Making an early appearance at his birthday spectacular was Pete Porkers’ onstage antics during the Los Capitanes set.
Half way through the evening and the Annandale was feeling mighty toasty with the anticipation of Melbourne’s favourite Japanese punksters, Mach Pelican. Sounding like The Ramones but looking like Uni students in a rock n roll makeover, Mach Pelican has become a Melbourne institution. It’s hard not to tap your foot or sing along with this band. Their energy is endless. Straight up, no mucking around punk ‘n’ roll. Second cab off the rank tonight as far as unofficial launches go, Mach Pelican unveiled their new single Radio. This appropriately titled single was a shot of catchy, melodic punk rock.
As the room began to burst at the seams in eagerness for The Porkers to make their long overdue appearance, it wasn’t long before this anticipation was put to rest. For almost two decades now The Porkers have been at the helm of the Australian ska scene and tonight’s blistering set proved why. A jam packed stage of Australia’s most talented and entertaining musicians did their absolute utmost to keep the crowd entertained. A whole lot of skanking, surfing and moshing was present in the audience and at one stage towards the end of the set, there was even a conga skank line forming.
The Porkers extravaganza was definitely a party vibe more so than just another Friday night show. It was hard not to be entertained, smiling and satisfied by the end of the night. Pete Porker was the quintessential frontman engaging the audience to hang on his every word and move. It was hard not to notice that the rest of the Porkers had a faultless performance. Once again, the local talent pool proved they could be worthy of an international arena.
Happy Birthday Pete Porker. It was one of the most entertaining parties I’ve had the pleasure of attending. It may have been a disappointment reaching the big 4-0 so quickly; however this show was anything but.
- Drum Media, Sydney.
The Porkers
Live at Nakanoshima (Sound System Records)
The Porkers are the best ska band in Australia, take that as you will. But beyond the awesome promotional packaging for the disc (chopsticks, wasabi and soy all provided along with the CD), it's one of the best live albums I've ever heard. A 67 minute start to finish gig, nothing edited out, with The Porkers rampant skank inducing live show, witty banter and infectious grooves all included. 20 tracks, perfectly capturing the awesomeness of a Porkers show entirely, and I guarantee you will be loving it as much as the crowd does. A live disc as true to the artist as NIN or DJ Shadow's "In tune & on time".
ALISTAIRE ERSKINE - BMA Magazine, Canberra, June 2005
......on returning to Australia Pete had 2 weeks to organise the Porkers for a 9 date tour of New Zealand. During the tour The Porkers played at a club in the town of Ohakune, near the volcanic Mount Ruapehu. Amazingly the volcano erupted (for the first time since 1945) right after The Porkers had finished their live set, and Ohakune was evactuated the next morning. The Porkers took full responsibilty for exciting the mountain god. - Rude Magazine UK 1996
These guys just blow me away, they have 'more power' full stop! One minute it's a skankin' reggae groove then they're rocking out with some sort of cosmic funk ! They're like the white version of Fishbone, with Aussie accents!
My track pics - 'Too big for your boots', 'Keep my Cool', and the Latin jazz of 'Yoy!'
GET THIS !
D.C.S. - Dem Bones fanzine USA
Discography
1990 - 'Tired of Being Pork Hunts' - 7" single EP.
1994 - 'Grunt!' - CD Album
1996 - 'Not Bad, Pretty Good, Not Bad' - CD mini album
1998 - 'Hot Dog Daiquiri' - CD album
2000 - 'Time will tell' - CD album
2001 - 'The Porkers VS SalmonellaDub' - CD EP
2004 - 'Now hear this' - CD mini album
2005 - 'The Porkers live at Nakanoshima' - CD album
+ a whole bunch of CD single/EP's
+ 'Best of' CD album compilations in Japan and Brazil.
National radio play in Australia on the Triple J network, high rotation of tracks - 'Too big for your boots' and 'Waiting for us'. Plus spot plays of 'Swinging like Tiger Woods', 'Chemical Imbalance', 'X-Factor', 'Perfect Teeth', 'Keep my Cool'.
'Swinging like Tiger Woods' in top 20 of Brisbane's 4ZZZFM 'Hot 100'.
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
The Porkers come out Swinging !
I remember as a child watching one of those shitty educational cartoons that the ABC used to play in the afternoons, and there was this dog singing a song about persistence. The song has always stuck in my head – it was that god damn awful – but the stupid little mutt’s message didn’t really mean a lot to me until recently, when a new six track EP from the Porkers landed in my lap. Now, if that dog was looking for a bunch of blokes who have lived his little ditty, then he couldn’t find better candidates than the Porkers, and their new release Now Hear This proves it. It’s almost criminal the extent to which the Porkers have been ignored by the Australian music industry. Tim Rogers likes to whinge (quite legitimately) about how You Am I never got the fucking kudos they deserved, but his story sounds like a prissy little prat chucking a tanty compared to the tale of the Porkers. In ska circles, Australia has never produced anything bigger (no, don’t even mention Area 7). Pete Porker and his band of no-goods have won the respect of everyone in the international ska scene – from the Mighty Mighty Bosstone’s Dickie Barrett (who described their second album Hotdog Daiquiri as "fucking awesome") to Rancid’s Tim Armstrong (who has recorded with the Porkers horn section) and even the Cuban born 'Godfather of Ska' - Laurel Aitken sang their praises after a show together in New York City. Even American Rolling Stone – that bastion of elitist music-snobbery – had to admit that the Porkers were one of two highlights from the 1999 Vans Warped Tour (the other being the Living End, funnily enough). And yet, here in Australia, it seems to have made little or no difference. While the Porkers have had tracks on over 30 international compilations and had their albums released everywhere from Europe and the US to Japan and Brazil, it’s been hard to get a break at home. Hard, in spite of the fact that the Porkers are one of this country’s best loved live bands. They’ve entertained thousands (even inciting a spontaneous strip tease one memorable night in Bathurst), and blown some much bigger bands off the stage. They’ve toured hard, played everywhere, and won fans at every turn. They’ve also done it all off their own bat. Independent, and damn proud of it, almost everything the Porkers have ever done has been self-funded. Three albums, 2 mini-albums, a string of EPs, and not a hint of selling out. Even when ska went pop, the Porkers refused to cash in, sticking instead to their roots and choosing to make sure that somebody was around to remind the world that there’s more to ska than "Second Class Citizen". So what’s it all achieved? Well, a shit load of loyal fans for one. And they’ve also amassed a great swag of songs that is still setting crowds alight everywhere. But, maybe most importantly, the journey they’ve taken has won the Porkers some genuine credibility. They’ve learned the lessons, dodged the cliches, and come out the other side. There’s basically no other band on the planet who can make ska sound as fresh and vital as the Porkers do in 2004 – one day, the powers-that-be are going to realise that. Let’s just hope that Now Hear This, and its lead single "Swinging Like Tiger Woods" is the thing that finally catches their attention. After all, there’s only so long we can pretend that that stupid singing dog didn’t have a point.
Dan Lander, Editor - Australian Guitar Magazine 2004
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