No Anchor

7 Inches of Fun

2012-01-31T20:33:00.002+10:00

It's been a bit quiet on here. Sorry about that.

After a flurry of activity over the new year, the band, quite literally went off in different directions. Currently Ian is in Adelaide and oh, Adelaide, can we please have Ian back sometime soon - we kind of need him up here.

Currently we're working out the details for our first run of gigs over the coming months. We'll be sure to let you know all about it once we've got more than one foot nailed to the floor.

The one thing that we here in No Anchorland want you to know about is that these little critters landed on our doorstep today. Yeeeaahhh! (and there was much rejoicing).

Over the coming weeks we'll get these all packaged up and wrangle ourselves a launch to help spread the joy.

We hope your week is going as great as ours is.

Alex.

JANUARY RUINED!

2012-01-03T07:40:00.000+10:00

Every Thursday in January Undead Apes will be playing at The Waiting Room (Browning st west end) with tons of other rad bands including but not limited to The Quickening, Tiny Spiders, Last Chaos, El Motel and Tangle

We're playing their first stint this coming Thursday! This will most likely be No Anchor's only show until we launch our 7" in March.

Every Thursday will cost $5 and will rule immensely. Doors at 8pm and it's all done and dusted by 10.30pm.

The month runs something like this...
Thursday 5th Jan - UNDEAD APES - NO ANCHOR - TANGLE
Thursday 12th Jan - UNDEAD APES - TINY SPIDERS - EL MOTEL
Thursday 19th Jan - UNDEAD APES - QUICKENING - LAST CHAOS
Thursday 26th Jan - UNDEAD APES in a strange new format - TURNPIKE - the ARCOLAS

***please note 26th of JAN shall now be known as APESTRALIA DAY***

The Waiting Room is at 11 Browning St, West End.

In Your Own Backyard

2012-01-01T20:14:00.002+10:00

We're pretty quick to admit that Brisbane is a great place with tons and tons of great bands. Brisbane is where we play 90% of the time and it's great to know that folks are into our weird-ass music.

On New Year's Day Brisbane's best locally minded radio station 4ZZZFM (102.1FM) has since 1976 played the top 100 songs of the previous year (as voted by the station's listeners). Well, last year we released Real Pain Supernova and we're chuffed to hear that our song 'Wolves Bite & Disappear' off that album has come in at No.7 on their list!

Check out the whole list here!

So a big thanks from us! It's a pretty great way to start 2012!

...oh, and as far as we can tell there's two metal bands in the list of 100. Us and Anthrax. HA!

Reprezent! (updated)

2011-12-30T07:46:00.001+10:00

...or whatever the slang is so to speak.

What started off on the desk of Murdoch Stafford...

eventually became this:

and since then it has gone on to be a whole lot of this...


Photo from Collapse Board

Ivens (from Melbourne)

We've even reached these great hights...

If you're one of the many fine folks who have rocked the No Anchor T then keep kickin' ass!

If you've got a picture of yourself in either of our two t-shirt designs then let us know, or post it here! If it's better than these then bring it on. If it's worse then that can only make it better.

Ag.

Update: Dave of Melbourne sent us this. We have no idea what he did to end up like this but we sure do hope he had a good time! ps: you'd be well advised to not use No Anchor t-shirts as body armor.

The Gift Of Giving And Getting

2011-12-26T13:04:00.000+10:00

Apart from selling a bunch of CDs and vinyl this year (a healthy thing for an independent band to do), we also had a silly amount of people download the digital version of Real Pain Supernova - over 6000 people as far as we can figure out. To us it doesn't much matter who of those folks forked over a few dollars for it and who didn't. Just so long as those who listened to the album dug it then we're cool with that.
...and so coming to the end of the year, we found ourselves in a few peoples lists of what they liked listening to in 2011. Some, like the Mess and Noise critics pole was a nice surprise. Others like showing up in Forbes magazine was something none of us saw coming. So surprised were we that we have to mention and highlight the absurdity of it here!

GO TO THE ARTICLE HERE

Merry Festivus from No Anchor

2011-12-20T21:18:00.000+10:00

Ok, ok, you're probably not going to get a christmas card in the mail from us. But regardless of your personal denomination/slant on the things we all hope you enjoy your holidays.

Consider this our christmas card to you...

"The Seven Nights Of No Anchor" (A Short Film) from No Anchor on Vimeo.

...and thanks to everyone for the best year we in No Anchor have had to date. Everyone who bought/downloaded our record. Came to one of our shows, played a show with us, wore one one of our t-shirts out in public and generally were rad to us.

2012 has already kicked off for the three of us. We sent a 7inch record to the pressing plant today and tried to nail down some brand new songs tonight. Onward and upward!
Alex.

This is how we passed the time

2011-10-24T14:41:00.000+10:00

Our friends have asked us if we got along in the van on our tour. Why, yes we did!

How?

The answer lies in the car stereo. These are the albums we listened to out on the open road...

Tool
Tim Hecker
Deftones
Tommy Guerrero
Rolling Stones
Nirvana
You Am I
Julie Christmas
Queens Of The Stone Age
Fugazi
Guided By Voices
Autolux
Oxbow
My Bloody Valentine
Part Chimp
Arab Strap
Shellac
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Led Zepplin
Wu Tang Clan
Battle Of Mice
Cloaks
Kanye West
Sonic Youth
Tourche
Nine Inch Nails
The Stooges
Magic Dirt
Odawas
HTRK
Electric Wizard
Wugazi
Big Strong Brute
Die Antwood
Kyuss

...and yes, some albums got listened to more than once and some bands had all their albums played.

This must be why we make such well rounded music? Ha!

And a big-up four-shot double coffee to ya!

The Real Gain Supernova Pedal

2011-10-21T13:02:00.000+10:00

Yep, it really exists! The custom No Anchor guitar/bass distortion pedal.

Go read the write up of it from the man who invented it: Tym Guitars

The pedal has also now been manufactured (in small numbers for the moment) and you can check it out in store at Tym Guitars Retail or nab one online at Tym Guitars Online Store.

Seven Nights of Awesome!

2011-10-13T21:20:00.000+10:00

This is happening starting this week so let's recap...

After their album launch in May of this year, NO ANCHOR reached an impasse. They had released a double LP (better known, colloquially, as ‘commercial suicide’) containing weird heavy metal songs and to release it they played onstage for an hour with four bass amps and a strobe. It seemed like an apex. It felt like the end of something. There was nothing left. For these three otherwise ordinary people, it seemed as though there was no rational step beyond this point. And it was a dark time.

Finally, a new idea emerged. What about a new, lateral form of brutality. Not louder, not more smoke machine, not more drone, more strobe, more sludge but MORE TIME. What if the answer to all of No Anchor’s existential questions was temporal.

We just needed more time.

And so it came to pass…

---

SEVEN NIGHTS OF NO ANCHOR

For seven consecutive nights in October, No Anchor will play shows at West End venue The Waiting Room.

All shows feature a different set list.

All shows start at 8PM and are BYO.

(Wear earplugs, always)

---

SATURDAY
Oct 15th @ Waiting Room
w/Dick Nasty & Death Cobra
$10

DICK NASTY are the only band to have ever played a No Anchor song that isn’t called No Anchor. They’re also amazing. And relatively nice people. They’re a hardcore punk band of sorts but the very best kind: the kind that other hardcore punks bands don’t generally like. Meanwhile, experimental freak-flag ensemble DEATH COBRA are that rare band that emails No Anchor and asks for supports (we are VERY intimidating), so we gave them this, sound unheard. Hope they’re good.

http://www.myspace.com/thedicknasty
http://thedeathcobra.com/

---

SUNDAY
Oct 16th @ Waiting Room
w/ Martyr Privates & Golden Bats
$5

MARTYR PRIVATES are probably the best named band in Brisbane and as such we never tire of this witty moniker of theirs. An added bonus is that they’re actually good: droning chords, pop smarts, vocal hooks and a subtle presentation. All the best stuff. Imagine Spaceman 3 meets not-giving-a-shit-about-influences-don't-be-a-wanker.

http://soundcloud.com/martyr-privates

---

MONDAY
Oct 17th @ Waiting Room
w/ Tiny Spiders
$5

TINY SPIDERS are fucking great. Sludge pop. Or maybe they take us instead to a parallel universe where ‘pop-rock’ is actually a good thing that good people want to listen to. Either way, it’s bold and essential stuff. Also, their film-clip is properly good, there's no better argument we can make:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjJ7gkGeWao

---

Tues Oct 18th @ Waiting Room
w/ The Legend!
$5

One of two INTERNATIONAL guests to appear at this event, The Legend! has released records on Sub Pop records, appeared onstage with Nirvana, Calvin Johnson and The Grates AND is surprisingly level-headed about all this. He is, without doubt, the most argued about person on No Anchor tours interstate….but it is ALWAYS us doing arguing for, unilaterally, on his behalf. Fans.

http://www.subpop.com/artists/the_legend

---

WEDNESDAY
Oct 19th @ Waiting Room
w/ Big Strong Brute
$5

BIG STRONG BRUTE is what we listen to since Jason Molina has gone into seclusion. Beautiful alt-country, sung in a longing baritone by a popular Courier Mail journalist. He may, technically, be what comes after the blues. Also: a snappy dresser. Ask your girlfriend/boyfriend.

http://www.bigstrongbrute.com/

---

THURSDAY
Oct 20th @ Waiting Room
w/ Feathers & Three Pieces for Jack Rose & John Fahey (Damon Black) + Blank Realm DJ's
$5

Imagine a band that didn’t just sing about weed and cats but actually were about weed and cats? Imagine it. Local psych-outfit FEATHERS are that + that moment in all the good David Lynch movies where narrative goes out the window and it’s just eerie things, a montage and endless reverb. Added to which is their band ethos, which is strongly informed by refusing to ever ever ever put out a record. Instead they impress with a live show powered by it’s own steam and good character.

http://fourfeathers.tumblr.com/

---

FRIDAY
Oct 21st @ Waiting Room
w/ The Keep On Dancin’s & Happy New Year (US)
$10

THE KEEP ON DANCIN’S should be famous and might be, thus their inclusion here (remember us). A dreamy garage band that somehow doesn’t equate to garage-rock minus all the edges; they make no sense to us but we love it. In keeping with the technicolour vibe of the evening, HAPPY NEW YEAR from New York open up. Haps NYE is the shoegaze pop songs of Eleanor Logan and her friends/pick-up band The Rational Academy. Fucking good.

http://keepondancins.tumblr.com/
http://happynewyear.bandcamp.com/

---

Address:
WAITING ROOM
11 BROWNING STREET
WEST END 4101

---

Yep! Everything you read above is true! What can't be confirmed is that No Anchor will be wearing (I've heard rumors of Donnie in a dress and Ian as Han Solo).

We've decided (weather permitting) that we are going to have a big old BBQ on the Sunday afternoon evening. Check out our facebook page for specific details. We'll put them up sometime on the weekend.

We've also added some other awesomness to proceedings. We've made seven high quality A2 art prints on fancy thick art paper to commemorate the shows. We'll have these on sale from the first night or until they sell out.

Lastly, murmuring on the interweb suggested that there might actually be people in Brisbane crazy enough to come to all seven shows. Kind of like those kids who kept going back to Expo 88 again and again and again. Well we've made up five little passport books for the first five people who come along on Saturday night and buy... wait for it... a season pass! Each night we'll stamp your book (and probably give you a high-five upon entry).

If you rock up on the first night and buy a season pass, it will cost you only $35 dollars... and for that you will get over four hours of No Anchor (punishment in some places in the world).

Of course we've planned more than just this but we don't want to give all our secrets away on the internet. We'd much rather do that in person.

See you at the show and remember - we do whatever we want!
- NO ANCHOR

http://noanchor.bandcamp.com/

The Annual No Anchor tour of OZ! (Pt.1)

2011-10-13T20:46:00.000+10:00

A few weeks ago No Anchor went on tour. A real, gettin' in the van type tour. We've toured before but this time we were going to do it properly. It was early on a Wednesday morning when the Kia Carnival hit the road with thousands of kilometers of highway and 10 shows over the next 12 days ahead of us.

I took a bunch of photos on my camera. Some of those are below. Ian and Donnie took their video camera... you'll see that footage sometime soon. If I can find the time, I'll chuck up my tour diary sometime soon too.

If you live in Australia, you've seen this before. It's called the open road.

Even noise rock bands need to stop off for a bit of wholesome sightseeing.

When we arrived in Geelong, we discovered that Tupac wasn't dead and that even such a working class town had some OG's!

This is 'Face On Fire'. They like blood, intestines, baby embryos, giant squirting penis's, death metal/grind, make-up and generally making a complete mess of a venue. That's how they role in Geelong.

Harmony played on our album. We we're pretty stoked about that. In Melbourne we went one better though. We got to play live with them and Dead (our friends Jem and Jase are in that band and they're also amazing) and we did it all in the best bar in the country - The Old Bar in Fitzroy.

Touring isn't all truckstop food. It's also about compulsory trips the the Veggie Bar. We ate like kings!

We saw a lot of 'big' stuff on the highway. Although the consensus was that the Bannana was only "quite large" and as for the prawn, it was condemned and falling apart. However the title for the shittest 'Big' tourist landmark goes to the oversized concrete Koala. It was so crap, we didn't even stop.

They say that the roads between Melbourne and Adelaide are dead straight and go on forever. This is even more true when doing the 10 hour drive on three hours sleep.

This is Space Bong from Adelaide. They are way better than their name suggests. In fact, they are worth driving 10 hours to the venue to experience. Donnie reckons they have "the best riff eva!" Ian and I couldn't really argue the point after their set.

By this point we had been on the road for six days and done a lot of long halls between cities. I believe I was the one to convince us to go running through the field of canola. That shit looks intense smattered amongst the arid Australian countryside.

We arrived in Woolongong only to find that our outrageous party had to be cancelled. Oh well, there's always Sydney!

The day we left home we set the odometer. As we snaked back up the east coast towards Queensland we realised we had done a lot click-o-meters.

So that was just under two weeks. We had a few days off then we played some shows with the Japanese band Mono (they were great too). This time we stepped it up and flew.

We also demanded on our riders that we have a boardroom to conduct all offical buisness between soundcheck and showtime.

I took this at the bakery in Perth. The second last show for Mono on what had become an almost two year world tour.

After the Perth show, Mono invited us out to eat a couple of hundred dollars of Szechuan Chinese. This is how much we enjoyed it!

The next day we flew from Perth back to Brisbane and marveled at the Australian outback.

Along the way we made sure that local record stores had our LP. Polyester in Melbourne now has a bunch of the second pressing. 78 Records in Perth now also has Real Pain Supernova too so if you saw any of our shows but didn't get your hands on a record, it should be easy enough to find. Alternatively, use the paypal buttons on the right hand side of this page and I'll personally send you a record (or not if you grab the fancy digital version).

And so now we're home again. Normal people would kick back and relax in the knowledge that we got to play in front of a lot of people and play alongside some of our favourite bands. But no... we might have done 13 shows in three weeks but that's going to be nothing compared to what's coming next!

Thanks for reading! Alex.

The Next Twenty Two Shows

2011-09-09T19:12:00.006+10:00

Yeah, we're pretty active at the moment.

SHOWS #0 TO #1:

Sat, Sept 10 - The Zoo, Brisbane QLD
w/Russian Circles (US) and Scul Hazards.

Website: https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=182023881852404

SHOWS #2 TO #11:

Wed, Sept 21 - The Croatian Club, Newcastle NSW
w/ Bare Grillz and Lennon Lenin.

Thurs, Sept 22 - Photospace @ The ANU School Of Art, Canberra, ACT
w/ Scattered Order

Fri, Sept 23 - The National Hotel, Geelong, VIC
w/ Now You're Fucked, The Mung, Face On Fire +

Sat, Sept 24 – The Old Bar, Melbourne, VIC
w/ Harmony and Dead.

Sun, Sept 25 – The Squatters Arms Hotel, Adelaide SA
w/ Space Bong, Hydromedusa and Satellite Sleep

Mon, Sept 26 – The Northcote Social Club, Melbourne, VIC
w/ High Tea and Onion Engines

Tues, Sept 27 – The Make It Up Club, Bar Open, Melbourne, VIC
w/ The Swamp and Joe Musgrove

Thurs, Sept 29 – The Patch, Wollongong, NSW
w/ TBC

Fri, Sept 30 – Repressed Records (Afternoon Show), Sydney NSW

Fri, Sept 30 – Cozy Castle (Address TBA), Sydney, NSW
w/ Dora Marr + TBC

Website: https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=188152497921322

SHOWS #12 TO #14:

Wed, Oct 5 - The Hi-Fi Bar, Brisbane QLD
w/ Mono (Japan) + Secret Birds

Sat, Oct 8 - The Manning Bar, Sydney, NSW
w/ Mono (Japan) + SleepMakesWaves

Sun, Oct 9 – The Bakery, Perth WA
w/ Mono (Japan) + Usurpers of Modern Medicine

SHOWS #15 TO #21:

SEVEN NIGHTS OF NO ANCHOR

For seven consecutive nights in October, No Anchor will play shows at West End venue The Waiting Room.

All shows feature a different set list.

All shows start at 8PM and are BYO.

(Wear earplugs, always)

Website: https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=197618523639074

---

SATURDAY
Oct 15th @ Waiting Room
w/Dick Nasty & Death Cobra
$10

DICK NASTY are the only band to have ever played a No Anchor song that isn’t called No Anchor. They’re also amazing. And relatively nice people. They’re a hardcore punk band of sorts but the very best kind: the kind that other hardcore punks bands don’t generally like. Meanwhile, experimental freak-flag ensemble DEATH COBRA are that rare band that emails No Anchor and asks for supports (we are VERY intimidating), so we gave them this, sound unheard. Hope they’re good.

http://www.myspace.com/thedicknasty
http://thedeathcobra.com/

---

SUNDAY
Oct 16th @ Waiting Room
w/ Martyr Privates
$5

MARTYR PRIVATES are probably the best named band in Brisbane and as such we never tire of this witty moniker of theirs. An added bonus is that they’re actually good: droning chords, pop smarts, vocal hooks and a subtle presentation. All the best stuff. Imagine Spaceman 3 meets not-giving-a-shit-about-influences-don't-be-a-wanker.

http://soundcloud.com/martyr-privates

---

MONDAY
Oct 17th @ Waiting Room
w/ Tiny Spiders
$5

TINY SPIDERS are fucking great. Sludge pop. Or maybe they take us instead to a parallel universe where ‘pop-rock’ is actually a good thing that good people want to listen to. Either way, it’s bold and essential stuff. Also, their film-clip is properly good, there's no better argument we can make:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjJ7gkGeWao

---

Tues Oct 18th @ Waiting Room
w/ The Legend!
$5

One of two INTERNATIONAL guests to appear at this event, The Legend! has released records on Sub Pop records, appeared onstage with Nirvana, Calvin Johnson and The Grates AND is surprisingly level-headed about all this. He is, without doubt, the most argued about person on No Anchor tours interstate….but it is ALWAYS us doing arguing for, unilaterally, on his behalf. Fans.

http://www.subpop.com/artists/the_legend

---

WEDNESDAY
Oct 19th @ Waiting Room
w/ Big Strong Brute
$5

BIG STRONG BRUTE is what we listen to since Jason Molina has gone into seclusion. Beautiful alt-country, sung in a longing baritone by a popular Courier Mail journalist. He may, technically, be what comes after the blues. Also: a snappy dresser. Ask your girlfriend/boyfriend.

http://www.bigstrongbrute.com/

---

THURSDAY
Oct 20th @ Waiting Room
w/ Feathers
$5

Imagine a band that didn’t just sing about weed and cats but actually were about weed and cats? Imagine it. Local psych-outfit FEATHERS are that + that moment in all the good David Lynch movies where narrative goes out the window and it’s just eerie things, a montage and endless reverb. Added to which is their band ethos, which is strongly informed by refusing to ever ever ever put out a record. Instead they impress with a live show powered by it’s own steam and good character.

http://fourfeathers.tumblr.com/

---

FRIDAY
Oct 21st @ Waiting Room
w/ The Keep On Dancin’s & Happy New Year (US)
$10

THE KEEP ON DANCIN’S should be famous and might be, thus their inclusion here (remember us). A dreamy garage band that somehow doesn’t equate to garage-rock minus all the edges; they make no sense to us but we love it. In keeping with the technicolour vibe of the evening, HAPPY NEW YEAR from New York open up. Haps NYE is the shoegaze pop songs of Eleanor Logan and her friends/pick-up band The Rational Academy. Fucking good.

http://keepondancins.tumblr.com/
http://happynewyear.bandcamp.com/

---

SHOWS #22 to #22:

Mere Noise Meltdown 2011

Guitar Wolf (Japan)
Hits
The Horrortones
Texas Tea
No Anchor
Undead Apes
Keep On Dancin's
The Danger Men
Tiny Migrants
Cannon
The Chokes
Go Violets

Saturday 3rd December
Woodland (Venue Change)
Tickets on sale from Oztix now!

More information: https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=247067325333742&ref=ts

BUY YOUR TICKET: http://tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=22770

---

WE DO ALMOST ANYTHING WE WANT*

NO ANCHOR

* Except support Motorhead.

Dead Pony (Official)

2011-08-01T16:07:00.004+10:00

Directed by Tara Wardrop
Cinematography by Matt Winkler

http://noanchor.bandcamp.com/

Taken from the album 'Real Pain Supernova' by No Anchor. This album is available for pay-want-you-want (including free) download from the above site. A second pressing of the 2 x LP version of the album is available now, but is limited to 150 copies worldwide (see Bandcamp for ordering).

'Real Pain Supernova' was recorded by Donovan Miller at Nowhere Studios, 2011. Mastered by Mel Dettmer (Boris, Sunn O)), Earth, etc).

In Production:

2011-08-01T15:04:00.001+10:00

Available soon from Tym Guitars. What does it sound like? What do you think.

2011-07-03T18:34:00.000+10:00

All outta real pain

2011-07-02T11:57:00.007+10:00

A quick community service announcement to let you know that our Double LP Real Pain Supernova is almost sold out. We made 150 copies and as of today there is only (at most) 10 to 15 copies left.

Remaining copies are currently stocked in...

Jet Black Cat Music (West End, Bris)

Tym Guitars (Fortitude Valley, Bris)

Repressed Records (Newtown, Syd)

and Polyester Records (Melbourne City)

Thanks to the 130 plus people who have purchased the record over the last two months. You've made us a very happy band!!!

Gear Under Review

2011-06-17T14:06:00.000+10:00

2011-06-17T11:38:00.001+10:00

2011-06-13T16:21:00.000+10:00

Things to do this week that will improve your standing in the community

2011-06-09T09:33:00.003+10:00

Firstly tonight, No Anchor's drummer, paper folder and it would seem, would-be artist Alex is launching his art show down at Nine lives Gallery in Fortitude Valley from 6pm tonight. The show is him with good friend Murdoch. Murdoch is the guy who did up the sweet No Anchor t-shirt of a three headed skeleton playing a double neck rick. If you haven't seen it yet, check it out!

The tomorrow night (Friday), there's a bit of homecoming / get together with ex-pats Scul Hazzards at the Step Inn. Add to the bill Turnpike and Cameron Hawes from I Heart Hiroshima's new band Martyr Privates and you have a guaranteed good time!

See you on the streets...

Future No Anchor lyricist in the making...

2011-06-08T18:39:00.002+10:00

2011-05-26T10:44:00.001+10:00

The Worst Part of DIY

2011-05-20T11:57:00.002+10:00

The weekend after the night before!

2011-05-17T10:04:00.003+10:00

Damn we had fun last Friday night at Woodland! Thanks to everyone in Brisbane who came to our album launch, danced along, grabbed a record or simply stood up to the ear and eye bashing we most likely gave you. Good times all round!

We've pulled ourselves together and this week have turned into budding mail room chimps and have been wrapping and packing and posting out all the LPs that folks have pre-ordered. So keep an eye on your mailbox over the next week for presents to arrive.

Which leaves one more RAD event on the horizon... Our instore at Tym Guitars (see above).

Obviously, not everyone could make it out last Friday so if you missed out then you should all come down to Tym's in Winn St, The Valley this Sunday around 2pm. If you didn't want to juggle a beer and an LP at Woodland, we'll have copies of our new album with us as well as some new t-shirts we've made up. And while you're there, you can have some lunch or a coffee at Flamingo cafe, check out Nine Lives Gallery next door or pop into the Outpost. All very civilised ways to spend a Sunday afternoon.

So, hopefully we'll see you soon and thanks to all the folks who have said so many positive things to us about our record. After so much time spent making it, it's nice to know that you are all into it!

Cheers,
Alex.

Real Email Supernova

2011-05-12T10:51:00.000+10:00

We've started putting together a newsletter. Sounds lame but it might not be. Actually, I'm hoping this will become more like a zine (by us) rather than outright spam (kinda like this blog). You can read the first issue here.

You can subscribe using the box in the right-hand column. We'll probably be doing these every second month or so.

The Portable Pain Supernova

2011-05-09T12:51:00.003+10:00

Today we're releasing the digital version of our album 'Real Pain Supernova'. You can find it here. And while you're there, you can name your price and that price can be $0.00, that's fine. Pay what you want or what you can. To be honest, we don't know what 50 mins of MP3s are actually worth so this seems like a fun experiment.

The digital version is a little different from the vinyl 2xLP set. The track list is different and the tracks have been 'adjusted' by Lawrence English for your listening pleasure. As a digital album, I think it flows a lot better than the collected MP3s that came with the vinyl.

There's also a PDF of the artwork as well.

- Ian

PS: We're launching the album this Friday night at Woodland w/ Undead Apes and Dreamtime. After party is elsewhere, enquire within.

Danzig: The Homeowner

2011-05-08T11:59:00.007+10:00

All about this at the moment:

2011-05-04T20:08:00.001+10:00

No Twitter

2011-05-01T14:04:00.005+10:00

You wouldn't expect so but we seem to be making ourselves right at home on Twitter:

Stream/Pre-Order Real Pain Supernova

2011-04-28T12:49:00.000+10:00

&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://noanchor.bandcamp.com/album/real-pain-supernova-deluxe-and-regular-vinyl-editions-pre-order"&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Real Pain Supernova (Deluxe and Regular Vinyl Editions / Pre-Order) by No Anchor&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

A quick word of thanks

2011-04-28T07:14:00.005+10:00

WOW!

Yesterday was kind of surreal in No Anchor land. That time when you really find out if folks care about the music you make. And the three of us were overwhelmed by the response not only from our friends but a whole lot of folks who we've never met who stepped up and were amongst the first to secure a copy of our new album. In fact were as stoked as that guy above.

When you write songs, play them for weeks, months and more and then go through all the repeated listens that comes with recording, mixing and finishing a record, you soon forget that other people haven't heard those songs.

The deluxe edition of the new album sold out in about five hours and by the end of yesterday we had ended up on the frontpage of the Bandcamp website due to all the activity.

So thanks a bunch!

...and remember that if you're in Brisbane, our album launch is at Woodland on Friday 13th May. If you've pre-ordered and don't want to wait for the postman to deliver your record (I know I'd like the Brisbane rain to stop soaking all my packages) - come along to the show, we will hand you your copy of the vinyl on the night and we'll give you back your postage costs which you can magically turn into a goodtime beverage!

Anyway, Hope you're all diggin' the digital download, I think the vinyl kicks it's ass hands down (but I would)!

See ya'll soon and remember... whenever possible, leave the house in a viking helmet!
Alex.

Look at these fucking freaks:

2011-04-26T12:53:00.001+10:00

The Album 'Real Pain Supernova'

2011-04-12T16:17:00.011+10:00

It's good times here in the No Anchor camp. This morning a big old box of vinyl records arrived on our doorstep, thus completing the final part in the puzzle of No Anchor's third album.

Come May 13th (and Friday the 13th at that), we'll be handing over to you the album we have spent the last year working on. Yep, trawl back through the posts on this blog and you'll see it was many moons ago when Ian announced that we were in the studio. It's been long and (lucky for us), it's been cheap. Due to Donnie having mad recording and mixing skills, we didn't spend a dime making the album which left us with a pretty rad opportunity once we finished and that was to put the album out as a double LP. When was the last time an independent Australian band put out a double vinyl Lp?

So here's what our new album looks like:

Tracklisting:

Side A.
The End
Wolves Bite & Disappear
Come Again

Side B.
Dead Pony
Shut My Mouth
Keycutter

Side C.
The Perils Of Smalltown Living
Body Double

Side D.
Gatton Bohemia

Before you ask, there is no plans for a CD version of this album to be made. We've got 150 LPs made and the album is going to be available digitally too. It should be known though that the vinyl has an extra (rad) song that's not on the version that's going to be available digitally. There is three different colour versions of the artwork and on top of that, 25 copies of that 150 will be available as deluxe editions. These deluxe versions will come with the blood-red artwork, vinyl album, digital version of the album, t-shirt (designed by Murdoch Stafford), an original woodcut print of the image that adorns the front cover, hand printed by Alex and screened by Matt Deasy (http://7thdisaster.blogspot.com/) and a second download code to the song 'Mt.Sylvia' which isn't with the standard LP edition or digital version.

The standard Lp version will be available for $25
The deluxe version of the Lp will be available for $40
*plus postage if we're sending it to you.

Pretty much all of it has been hand made (except for the wax) by us or our friends. And as we speak, Alex is hunched over his kitchen table trimming the covers and putting the records together.

Sometime in the next week, we will put up the details here so that folks can pre-order and secure a copy of the album. Interstate folks will have their Lps sent out the week starting the 9th May and Brisbane folks will get their first chance to receive/pick up their copy at our album launch.

The album launch (as the poster below explains) is at Woodland, Friday 13th May and we'll be playing alongside the awesomeness of Undead Apes and Dreamtime. Dj Swede Tooth will be Dj'ing dub vibes to massage your ears between the bands. Anyone who saw No Anchor at the last Burst City show should prepare themselves for a return (but this time more luxurious) descent into hell.

So there you have it! Keep checking back as we put up more details. For now it's back to the assembly line!

The Doctor (aka:Donnie's Cat)

Compilation Track

2011-04-06T13:02:00.002+10:00

We're contributing a Boris cover to the upcoming Soundcrane project. You can read all about it here: http://soundcrane.tumblr.com/

It's due out in the coming weeks.

And yes, of course we did a Boris track. We did this little number:

And yeah, we suck at playing lead guitar and thus our impression of Wata is, uhm, impressionistic, at best. In the spirit of experimentation if you will.

We'll keep you posted. Please consider buying the compilation. The money is for a good cause (disaster relief in Japan).

We're playing this!

2011-03-05T09:14:00.003+10:00

Our first album is now on Bandcamp

2011-02-04T09:19:00.001+10:00

It's $5 to download in whatever hi-res digital format takes your fancy + comes with a PDF of the artwork. You can stream it here or go to our Bandcamp page.

Take it to the woods, take it to the stage!

2011-01-24T13:09:00.004+10:00

I have to say that No Anchor's third album is so close to cooked I can smell the burning solder coming from the amps! Seven months in the making, we're pretty damn stoked and a round of high-fives are in order.

But there's no point having new songs if you can't play 'em to your friends! We've got two awesome gigs coming up and were ready to get in some batting practice with your ears...

I think it was our friend Frith who said we'd played to many support slots of late so we've rectified the situation and will be throwing our (combined) weight around the luxurious Woodland club in a few weeks time. Come out and hear out new stuff. It shit's all over our old stuff (as they say).

But before that...

It's a double edge sword that this show, this weekend is top shelf but it also heralds the end of our beloved DIY venue Burst City. :(

Like all venue's of it's ilk (610, Russian Hall, St Alban's etc), it wasn't meant to last but it was a blast at every gig! Teargas are going to be scarce in the future what with band members traveling and the band hitting the US in a few months so make sure you catch Brisbane's best hardcore band too!

Later skater,
Alex.

This Is A Serious Problem:

2011-01-21T14:42:00.002+10:00

2011-01-06T12:29:00.000+10:00

2011-01-04T13:01:00.002+10:00

Countdown to takeoff...

2010-12-30T12:00:00.003+10:00

We said it before and we're saying it again.

We're playing with EARTHLESS next week and we're pretty amped about it (mild pun intended).

These guys are one of the best aural trips going around and it's a thick sonic soup they're gonna fill the Zoo with.

Merry Xmas from No Anchor

2010-12-24T20:08:00.003+10:00

4.3 drinks in a can. Very convenient, very portable.

2010-12-22T12:54:00.002+10:00

A bunch of good friends are in this video. Gillies and I both dig the Monster Monster / Saint Surly album released earlier this year. And Brendan is repping his No Anchor shirt so it's relevant here.

2010-12-19T17:05:00.000+10:00

We're supporting Earthless = hell yes!

2010-12-13T11:44:00.002+10:00

Thurs Jan 6 @ The Zoo w/ Feathers.

2010-12-08T18:08:00.005+10:00

This is our last show of 2010 and it's gonna get weird. At the Stepp Inn THURSDAY December 16 UPSTAIRS.

We have a habit of not sucking when we play in that space. Joined on the night by John Chantler from the UK, xNoBBQx from Brisbane and AMSS who are great and all but should definitely be called 'Gillies, English and Lewis' instead of that weird acronym. Think Emerson, Lake and Palmer but tribal sans melody.

Costs $10.

Starts at 8pm.

Yes, you should come.

You sort of know you want to. Believe.

If you need any more incentive: Alex and I have new haircuts.

RSVP here.

- Ian

Cleaning out...

2010-12-02T09:56:00.002+10:00

I'm having a bit of a cleaning rampage at the moment. I was going through some old DVDrs the other day and I found a bunch of old No Anchor things. Most of it would be direly boring to anyone not in the band but I did dig up two things I thought might be worth preserving here:

Watery Graves (Demo) by No Anchor

This is probably as early as NA gets. 'Watery Graves' is the first song on our first album 'Fire Flood & Acid Mud' and this is the demo I made of it before my first practice with Alex. It's weird, I don't have a great memory for dates and places etc but I remember that I recorded this on my laptop while Iron On was in the studio mixing our last EP 'The Verse'. (That EP is rubbish by the way; maybe I should have paid more attention to it instead of working on this). Anyhow, it's weird listening back to this now. In some ways it's a lot doomier than the jittery noise-rock version on 'Fire Flood & Acid Mud'.

First Practice by No Anchor

Yep, 20th of June, 2007. This should be the worst thing I can think to listen to but it's strangely not REALLY that terrible. It is relatively terrible. But we actually committed far greater crimes in later practices. This is definitely the sound of Alex and I trying to work out what the hell to do with our gear to make a band. And failing.

What is kinda interesting is to think that 18 months later we were writing and playing songs like 'Steam' which seem much different. Noobs, take note.

- Ian

Kicking Back, Kicking On

2010-11-26T09:12:00.003+10:00

Well, seeing as we (being No Anchor) now have an album in the can, you'd think that we'd all take a load off and chill out while everything get's mixed and someone tries to figure out how something so radiant and ugly as a No Anchor album should sound.

Fat chance! With one thing crossed of the 'to do' list, we turn to the next. Ian has put his solo band, Ambrose Chapel, in his backpack and is currently trekking round the country. He showed Melbourne a good time a few nights ago and if you're reading this from Sydney, then you have to go check him out this weekend. It's all explained in it's infinite radness in the poster below...

Back in Brisbane, I'm going to be part of a group art show called 'Wasted Dream' next week. I'll be one of seven local artists of which Murdoch Stafford (who designed No Anchor's amazing t-shirt), Mikel (from Teargas) and more will take over Brisbane's most righteous DIY venue Burst City for one night, Saturday 4th December (the night after No Anchor at Woodland).

For those unfamiliar with Burst City, it's across the road from the Qld Museum (directly across from the two large dinosaurs, T-Rex and the other one with the plates on it's back). Everything kicks off around 7pm...

And as For Donnie, his life has gotten really busy now that he's finally kicked No Anchor out of his studio. He's been recording the likes of BMX-RAY, The Rational Academy and more. If you're in a band or know folks who need their tunes captured for the world to hear, then you should get in contact and let him work his magic!

Get all the details here!

Oh, and go see the advancements in his other band Die On Planes who have been putting most of their recorded material online: http://dieonplanes.blogspot.com/

2010-11-22T11:53:00.002+10:00

Donnie before he was Donnie

2010-11-12T15:58:00.003+10:00

I stumbled across this the other day. Thought it should be up here for prosperity's sake. This is Brisbane through and through: Donnie interviewing me for a zine he was making about a year before he ended up joining the band. Not sure if he ever put that zine out so this might be the first time it's been put anywhere.

Especially weird seeing that this is - from memory - the only print interview I've ever done for No Anchor.

[PS: This is not the first time something like this has happened to me. I feel like most Brisbane band members usually run into each other in the city years before they start playing music together. Example: One night I was playing in Iron On and I asked the crowd if they were having a good time and then pointed at one girl in particular and said 'Are you having a good time?' and she was all 'It's okay, I guess.' Major burn. That ended up being Marieca Paige who later joined the band on drums. Small town.]

----------------- Original Message -----------------
From: No Anchor
To: Die On Planes/Role Reversal Records/Mud Zine
Date: 20 Apr 2009, 09:54 PM
Subject: RE: hello

Hi Donovan

Guess what? This is the very first interview I've done for No Anchor. Alex does most of them.

Here's the answers....

M: No anchor. tell me about how it all began.

A: I knew Alex from shows. He was always the tall skinny guy standing up the front dancing, even if there were only 30 people there. I think we'd had a half-dozen conversations about any old shit until one night we were both at a fancy record label party of some sort. (He's a music writer and I used to play in pop band Iron On, so we'd both get invited to those things and you go because you get free drinks). Anyway, we ended up having a long conversation about The Melvins at this industry party and a few weeks later we got together to make some noise. I really didn’t think it was going to amount to anything at all and for a long time it didn’t.

M: What are you trying to achieve through this particular project?

At the beginning it was mainly about trying to find a way not to suck. There’s quite a few heavy two-piece bass/drum bands around (Big Business, Lightning Bolt, Death From Above 1979, Om) and we couldn’t play like any of them. So from the get-go, it’s been a process of trying to see what we can actually do, rather than what we want to do. That’s still happening. The beginnings of an aesthetic are starting to emerge but it still feels a little scattered and experimental to me.

M; Are you finding it at all difficult reaching a sympathetic audience playing the style of music that you do?

No, not really. People have been overly kind to us.

M: How does playing in a two piece compare to more member bands to you, do you find that you are able to satisfy your creative visions easier?

It’s not as much of a limitation as you’d think. When I light my amps up, it doesn’t feel that different onstage compared with bigger bands I’ve been in. We’re really loud. And if you think about it, when you go and see a rock show, most of what you hear is vocals, drums and bass anyway. In terms of creativity, it was only at the very beginning of the band that it felt difficult or unusual. Now it’s just what we do and like any band, some ideas work and some ideas don’t.

M: How do you feel about the general brisbane music community? this would include venues and supporting bodies.

My feelings about Brisbane change month to month. It’s just the nature of living in a smaller city that a lot of the most exciting, active people leave almost as a right of passage. So even when it’s all going great in terms of venues, bands, artists, friends, etc, it is only a matter of time before the wave will break and some of it disappears. On a happier note, the city is always in renewal and we can be a very creative and resourceful community. And being so small, I’ve found that the scene can be extremely cheerful as well, especially in underground circles. The venue situation in Brisbane right at the moment isn’t great but I’ve been through this bloom and burst scenario enough times to know that it’ll improve in the future.

M: Who pisses you off?

I’m not overly fond of Evan Dando. I think he should be stopped.

M: You have a new record out. Why should people buy it?

People should buy it because dogs have no use for it.

M: How important is the DIY attitude to you?

Not very important at all. The DIY attitude, in and of itself, bores me senseless these days. When I love an artist’s music, I try as hard as I can to trust them. They get to do whatever they want with their band, whatever it takes to get the art done. In return I want them to be as honest and open as they can be and to be completely undogmatic and ready to do whatever is necessary to make a small portion of my boring life more exciting and meaningful. I think it’s a pretty fair deal. And it’s the only deal I’m offering anyone else with regard to my own band. I mean, if you don’t trust us, why on earth are you listening to us?

Peace,

- Ian

2010-11-02T11:06:00.002+10:00

Recording

2010-10-27T00:24:00.002+10:00

As promised...

and

-d

2010-10-23T11:51:00.000+10:00

2010-10-19T21:06:00.000+10:00

The Album

2010-10-12T23:35:00.003+10:00

Recording is great fun. At least it is in my opinion. Just today I recorded my new amazing organ, and it sounds fucking great. It takes a long time though, especially when your studio is your rental house and all you have is old digital technology and a few decent mics to get you there.

I thought i should update anyone who gives a fuck that, yes, we are indeed still making a record, we're just taking longer than No Anchor has ever previously done before, by a long-shot! I blame myself for this fact, but apologise to none.

I'm going to make an effort of sorts to document our recording more often and post anything that may be of interest on this here web-site, so if you find that kind of thing interesting than this will be the place to check from this point onward.

Let's see if I do,
Donovan

Todd Trainer (Shellac) and Uffizi

2010-10-11T10:58:00.000+10:00

You have to come to this show

2010-09-02T20:17:00.002+10:00

No one makes noise-rock like Tokyo's Zeni Geva. Their first time here in almost 15 years.

2010-08-12T11:03:00.001+10:00

Get On The Internet (Melvins/Converge)

2010-08-11T08:27:00.003+10:00

Thought the Melvins remix album was a bit too harsh noise? Try these remixes of Electric Flower from their new album courtesy of Scion A/V.

Scion A/V Remix: The Melvins - Electric Flower by ScionAV

From Scion's Soundcloud: "For the latest installment of the Scion AV Remix series, legendary rockers the Melvins put their dooms and gloom anthem “Electric Flower” in the hands of some of the most exciting producers working in house and dubstep today. J Phlip, MRK 1, Lovelock and Doorly make the godfathers of grunge’s driving guitars and harsh vocals pop and hiss like you wouldn’t believe."

I would believe but I know what they're getting at.

Also: Converge playing live In Session on the BBC here.

Remember that time Ian played in denim shorts?

2010-08-10T10:42:00.001+10:00

This was like that but worse:

More photos from Burst City last friday night here: http://charlyncameron.com/?p=2134#more-2134

2010-08-07T21:24:00.001+10:00

A Dose of Boredrum

2010-08-07T13:51:00.002+10:00

This is The Boredoms. Their from Japan and all of us in No Anchor think they're pretty damn awesome! They're coming to Australia in October. It's the first time in years they've been here, so long now we can't even remember when they were here last.

Anyway, they're playing The Melbourne Arts Festival which has a whole bunch of great people also playing. Some of us in No Anchor were considering going down to it. Now however we've gotten something better. We've been asked to support them for their only other Australian show at The Metro in Sydney.

Right now, excited would be an understatement.

Next Show For No Anchor

2010-07-20T17:13:00.000+10:00

Album #3 Recording Starts Today

2010-07-02T13:08:00.004+10:00

We're Supporting OM!

2010-06-29T18:45:00.001+10:00

No joking! Sunday July 18th at The Hi-Fi. Tickets on sale now. Click here to buy online.

God Hates Brisbane

2010-06-20T11:48:00.005+10:00

I put together that mess that was God Hates Brisbane.

Photos here by Stephen Goodwin.

Bootlegs here by Brendan Eales.

Debriefing here.

Thanks for coming.

The God Hates Brisbane hell mouth will open again later in the year. Interested bands should email us.

- Ian

No Anchor - Wolves Bite & Disappear - Live

2010-06-14T13:40:00.000+10:00

Gear Humpers!

2010-06-07T08:29:00.003+10:00

Mix-Tape #3: Small Town Living

2010-05-27T16:36:00.002+10:00

Download

1. 1349 - Legion
2. Black Sabbath - Megalomania
3. Burzum - Det Som En Gang Var
4. Tool - Crawl Away
5. Nunchukka Superfly - Bleed From Their Mouths
6. Nine Inch Nails - Ruiner
7. Electric Wizard - I, The Witch Finder
8. PJ Harvey - The Slow Drug
9. Autolux - Here Comes Everybody
10. Autolux - Plantlife

Running Time : 1 Hr 5 Min 15 Secs

It was pretty much two years ago that I first moved to Brisbane, I came here to play drums for Butcher Birds, which at the time was something that I never even thought I'd even come close to accomplishing.
You might take this as a me being a bit trivial, seeing as almost everyone I know in this town now, plays in a band on some level or another, but you need to understand that at that time in my life I had achieved very little. I maintain it was the best thing that has ever happened to me.
These songs are representative of my roots, musically and otherwise, I came from a town in Northern NSW called Lismore, I was born there and I didn't leave until I was 19 when I came to Brisbane. I was an under-achiever in High-school and at University, I've always been prone to binge drinking and I spent most of my teens drunk and stoned out of my brain. Although this behavior impacted my early learning career negatively, I became totally engrossed in my music practice... I wish I had the tenacity to drum now as much as I did then. I also became involved in sound engineering whilst in Lismore and I'm pretty good at that now to boot.
In no chronological this is the (sort of) soundtrack to my Childhood and Teens and I feel as though these songs, the most, have shaped my taste for listening to and making 'darker' and more 'atmospheric' sounding music.
Playing in a two-bass band fucking rules by the way, it's all the fucked-up loud and brutal fun you'd imagine it'd be, times a million!

Finally, I'd like to dedicate this mix-tape to my late father Brad Miller, who passed away this time last year. I miss listening to Autolux with you dude!

Sorry for all the long-winded, mushy shit!
Peace,
- Donovan

God Hates Us All...

2010-05-18T10:57:00.002+10:00

The Inaugural No Anchor t-shirt

2010-05-05T07:15:00.017+10:00

Design by Murdoch Stafford (http://murdochhardware.blogspot.com/)

They cost $20 at shows or $25 mailed in Australia or $30 (AUS) mailed internationally:

----

And there's more. If you want a copy of Steam or Press Start and Wait For Drone mailed off with your shirt, we can do that (we can do almost anything, including magic). You even get an goooooood discount:

T-shirt + CD = $33 / $38 AUS for international

T-shirt + Both CDs = $40 / $45 AUS for international

You can listen to both albums here: http://noanchor.bandcamp.com/

----

Here is the button to press:

Thanks for buying. We're about to start on No Anchor album #3 and so your purchase will make that record a reality a little sooner.

You can't expect anything...

2010-05-04T10:52:00.001+10:00

No Anchor from Tom Hall on Vimeo.

Burst City Limits

2010-05-02T21:18:00.003+10:00

New Brisbane venue Burst City is fucking good times. Like a creepy Freemason death lodge! That's what we look for. That and Easy Rider on the big screen, as was played after the show.

Alex was the first guy ever - EVER in the world - to eat dinner on-stage last night.

What has your band done recently?

Mix Tape #2: The Decade Punk Sucked

2010-04-06T21:35:00.007+10:00

To Download:

CLICK HERE

A selection of handpicked songs from the fertile decade that closed the 20th century from the band that defined sludge to Green Day and Rancid fans. I never liked either of those "punk" bands but I sure as hell took solace in Buzz, Dale and a revolving circus of bass players. I still do today as a matter of fact.

11 songs from 1990 - 1997 from the albums: Bullhead / Lysol /King Buzzo EP/ Self-titled EP (you know, the indian one) / Houdini / Prick / Stoner Witch / Honky /Stag & even a retake from Electroretard.

1. Second Coming
2. Boris
3. Revolve
4. Roman Bird Dog
5. Buck Owens
6. Rickets
7. Mombius Hibachi
8. Queen
9. June Bug
10. Joe
11. Honeybucket

Compiled by Alex

Enjoy!

Hanger Show!

2010-04-01T17:10:00.004+10:00

It's been a while between drinks for us at The Hanger.

We're playing there on April 10th w/ Del Toro, Turnpike & Karl Monticone. $10. Guarenteed to be a good night because going to The Hanger is always a good night.

---

In other news we're demo-ing/recording over the weekend for album #3. Why the slash? Because we never really know what we're doing when we set up the mics (I read that Eddy Current Suppression Ring are like this too). Our first album was supposed to be a demo. Our second album was supposed to be 'something weird' we'd put out on short-run CDr (like a boris lowercase album) and the live record, pfffff, we didn't even know we were recording.

So something's happening this weekend.

We have nine new songs now. One of the them is about 15-20 mins long.

---

Dear Internet,

Krist Novoselic's onstage-wear was supremely, supremely radical. I'd like to take this moment to salute and congratulate him formerly on our blog.

I especially dig the following examples:

Exhibit A
Yeah! Look at this. I think Krist must have been able to see into the future during the late 80s. Not only was he in Nirvana already (good work if you can get it) but he's also already rocking the 2010 teenage psych-revial look De rigueur. How'd that happen?

Exhibit B

Wearing the same belt but on the cusp of celebrity, Krist made 1991 more than the year punk broke. He made it the year when a man wore this outfit in front of epic crowds. People bang on about the 90s but really, the reason it was good was because famous people dressed like Exhibit B. You don't need sunglasses with cigarettes on them when you're rocking as hard as this in stonewashed red denim.

Exhibit C
Tumbleweed learn't a lot from this guy. No dis. I would have ripped on that look too.
Still might.

Sincerely,
- Ian Rogers

Justin Broderick (Jesu/Godflesh) Interview

2010-03-16T18:31:00.004+10:00

Watch this:

Ritual - jesu interview on MUZU

Yep, Godflesh are reforming.

Three Things:

2010-03-15T15:41:00.004+10:00

We're playing a show THIS weekend, Sat 20th @ The Step Inn.

It's the EP launch for Sydney band Zeahorse. Donnie recorded the EP.

The line-up is beyond fkn sweet:

There's a review and some photos of us playing Lost & Found the other weekend over here.

The radical fish eye show below is by Justin Edwards.

I'm playing a show with my solo project.

Normally, I try not to spam out our blog with my solo endeavors but this upcoming show is with Oren Ambarchi. A long-time solo artist and sonic adventurer, Oren also plays in Sunn O))). (Very) occasional No Anchor vocalist Tom Hall is also playing.

More free stuff...

2010-03-01T09:59:00.002+10:00

If you like us and and bands way better than us, get on Kowloon Walled City.

Their new album is one of the best I've heard in a while and it's free to download at their site.
Sounds top notch (the bass sound in particular is awesome). Like a sludgey Unsane.

Perhaps of interest to No Anchor listeners...

2010-02-27T13:05:00.003+10:00

I'm doing a workshop on doom/drone at The Edge (State Library of QLD) this weekend, Sunday the 28th. I work one day a week at The Edge doing arts programming. It's a fun job. As part of that job, I was asked to present on my own practice and thus...it's going to get loud and heavy.

Should be a good afternoon. This is a totally free event. Starts at 2pm. It's open to everyone and you need know nothing about music or software to attend. No RSVP required. Basically you're welcome to just come along and listen to my presentation, have a play around with the facility (and my rig from No Anchor) and come and go as you please.

- Ian

Here is the brief:

Ableton Live Undead: The Basics of Using Live To Make Drone Metal

Facilitator: Ian Rogers

Ableton Live is a software-based recording and performance platform typically used in the creation of experimental and electronic based music. Renown for its non-linear arrangement, beat making and live looping capabilities, Live can be used in a wide variety of musical settings.

In recent years, Brisbane musician Ian Rogers (No Anchor/Ambrose Chapel) has developed strategies for using the software to forward his drone, metal and ambient music projects.

This workshop serves both as a beginners guide to Ableton Live and an exploration of its use as a tool for creating and shaping heavier, darker sounds. Attendees will be led through the basics of Ableton recording environment, studio recording of bass and guitar, looping, synth-making and live performance.

Radical free shit...

2010-02-21T21:54:00.007+10:00

I've been listening to three records lately and all of them are 100% free on the internet. But aren't all records free on the internets Ian? Yes and no. These are actually legitimately free, unleashed as it were, on purpose.

First up is the latest New Weird Australia compilation. As the name suggests, these dudes put together digital comps of weird shit from around the country. The latest installment is a cracker. There's Scissor Lock's Fennesz styled hazy stuff (we played with Marcus in Sydney last time, good guy), the 'midi-evil disco' of Tantrums and an epic drone pad by Automating. I love it. And look at the artwork by Anna Vo:

Sweet jesus. Most records don't look that good when people actually make them and ask y'all to buy them.

Don't fuck with this record, it's radical. I've never seen The Encircling Sea (they're from Melbourne) and I can't even really remember why I downloaded this but I did and it delivers. One long MP3, split into two movements - this takes some work but I've been going back to it. What does it sound like? Creamy soundscapes with crushing slow doomed out parts? Hey! I've got an idea, why don't you download it yourself and make up your own mind.

Also looks nice:

The last Grey Daturas show in Brisbane was recorded by Brendan over at Turn It Up! It sounds really good for a bootleg, especially the drums. And I thought the set was all killer on the night, so this is A+ for me. You can find it here: http://www.mediafire.com/file/zqhqzwrttn0

Press Start And Wait For Drone...is available now!

2010-02-16T11:48:00.004+10:00

We have a new record out. Recorded while we were still a two-piece, 'Press Start And Wait For Drone...' is us documenting that phase of the band's life before moving on.

The recording was made in April 2009, a few months after 'Steam' was released and a few months before I toured overseas with AXXONN and my solo thing Ambrose Chapel. As soon as I got home in September, we set about finding a second bass player and that's where we are now. So think of this as a bit of stop-gap between Steam and our next record.

- Ian

PRESS START AND WAIT FOR DRONE

Available from: http://noanchor.bandcamp.com/ for $10 + postage. You can also preview a track over there.

Recorded by Murray Paas via hard disk off the soundboard at the Troubadour. Later mixed by Murray at the Foundary. This is not a bootleg.

Tracklisting:

1. Steam
2. Wolves Bite And Disappear
3. Real Pain Supernova (previously unreleased)
4. Drone Me Out
5. Everything You Say

Running time: 33 mins.

Some more 4ZZZ Carpark Photos.

2010-02-06T18:34:00.002+10:00

Courtesy of Max.
Check out more here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fivesilentmiles/tags/noanchor/.

Things I Probably Won't Do Again...

2010-02-01T13:17:00.003+10:00

#1
Play in cut-off shorts

Do a wah solo in cut off shorts

#3
Allow drummer to play in muscle-tee whilst I'm doing #1 and #2

There's no photos of Donnie (yet) but rest assured he was wearing aviator sunglasses. And his mystical keyboard cat tee.

Awesome afternoon at 4ZZZ Carpark show. Thanks be to Zeds.
And Dick Nasty (who are now a decade in the making), Turnpike (a decade plus in the making) and One Shot Salutes (who are noobs by comparison, but also good).

Dick Nasty played a No Anchor song (K from Steam). If a bootleg turns up, I'll post it up. They ruled at it. Completely.

Thanks John, for the photos.

When you buy direct from us...

2010-01-29T13:28:00.002+10:00

...you get very metal packages in the mail:

YEAAAHHH!!!

2010-01-28T14:53:00.004+10:00

I can feel this show vibrating through the ground already:

13th February @ Rosies feat:
Birushanah (Osaka, Japan)
Whitehorse (Melbs)
Teargas
Mongrel's Cross
& us

Weird Things...

2010-01-22T15:56:00.004+10:00

...are afoot.

I'm scared we're becoming a PROPER BAND!

Consider these arguments for:

Three-Piece: We now have a slightly more conventional three-piece line-up. My father was actually quite concerned by our two-piece drum/bass line-up. He felt that venue bookers might not consider this a proper band. He was legitimately interested in whether this would work. I told him The White Stripes had brought the two-piece to the masses but also, yes, they had classic rock stylings and were better than us. Now, I'm not sure how Dad would feel about bass+bass+drums (I haven't asked him yet) but the 'three-piece' descriptor has to count for something right? Nirvana were a three-piece.
Radio Play: Not only did we willingly write a 2.5 minute song ('Wolves Bite and Disappear') but we also submitted it to radio (JJJ) and they played it the other night. That's proper-ish band behaviour. They played New Buffalo after us.
Touring: We're going back on tour again in April/May. Like every other wannabe band in Australia.
Live Album: We just finished making a live album. It's called 'Press Start and Wait for Drone...' It does what it says on the tin. And it actually sounds PROPER. I think people might expect something a little scratchy and gnarled out from us but no, our live album sounds 'good'. It has two new songs on it: a live version of our radio breakout single Wolves... and a new new song called Real Pain Supernova that is so good we've already scrapped it. The CDr (with fancy packaging) will be available at shows from now on. I'll put up some buttons on the site soon.

Things arguing against our status as a PROPER BAND!

Gross Unprofessionalism: On the live album, in the new song, I just sing aragh argh arghahs aaaa, in the second verse because I kept forgetting to finish the lyrics. I think a proper band would have deleted that song from the album.
Habitual Gross Unprofessionalism: We'd probably played that above mentioned song about a half dozen times before that show we recorded. But still, no lyrics. Lame. The only thing that (maybe) excuses this/me is that we didn't actually know we were making a live album. Thinks Murray Paas - we probably would have sucked harder had we known.
Key Change: We have a new song that has a key change in the third bar. Pretty sure that's a bad idea AND WE'RE STICKING TO IT.
Off-Stage Behaviour: I've been watching Gossip Girl. There I said it. There's no way we could be in a 'proper' doom band when I'm at home in front of the tele yelling 'Serena, what are you doing! You're turd, you're just a turd up there! Try and be a good person, just try! Gawd!'

XOXO Retardos!

New No Anchor song FREE!

2010-01-13T10:37:00.003+10:00

We recently contributed a brand new track to US label FSS.
That compilation is now available as a free download. Click here. Comes down the line with artwork and high-res MP3s or Wavs.
You can read a bit about the compilation here.

Our track 'Wolves Bite And Disappear' was recorded by Todd Dixon at the Old Museum and later mixed by Lawrence English. Here is a video of our set up for the recording (and includes a brief commentary by Alex about why playing gigs with too many bands on the bill is thematically unsound):

Enjoy the song. It's one of out favourites.

Thanks yo!

2010-01-02T12:20:00.002+10:00

Thanks Triple Zed. Two songs off 'Steam' made it into the station's Hot 100: #14 for 'Steam' and #36 for K. Way to go radio people/listeners for voting for our long ones!

PS: We're releasing a live album soon called 'Press Start & Wait For Drone..' I'm current round at Alex's finishing up the artwork, looks nice. Expect decent/good sound, new songs and old Triple Zed Hot 100 charting 'hits'. Limited to 100 CDrs.

A Decade of Dick Nasty!

2009-12-29T12:15:00.004+10:00

This will be our only show for Janurary.

(PS: I listened to MOSS on Christmas Day. Pretty bad ass huh!)

No Anchor announced for Lost Weekend Festival (March 2010)

2009-12-17T13:54:00.003+10:00

We've been added to the first year of 'The Lost Weekend' - a big, fancy multi-day festival held just outside of Brisbane. Lineup looks freakin' awes and we actually like some of the bands playing (unusual for an Australian music festival):

Dinosaur Jr
Brian Jonestown Massacre
Tumbleweed
The Drones
Tim Hecker
Qua
Justice Yeldham

...and heaps more to be announced.

Tickets and details available here and include camping.

We're billed as a 'local experimental band'. Awesome. I'm glad someone has legitimised our experimentation with Black Sabbath's backcatalogue.

This Friday Night!

2009-12-16T13:45:00.001+10:00

Raymond Pettibon's Black Flag logo appears...

2009-12-15T13:39:00.003+10:00

...in my halloumi sandwich.

A sign?

Sabbath Peel Sessions

2009-12-14T14:38:00.003+10:00

Hard to believe that this was recorded 26th April 1970 by John Peel for his radio show.
Awesome!

Here’s the tracklist:
1) Black Sabbath
2) War Pigs
3) Fairies Wear Boots
4) Behind the Walls of Sleep

Download: http://tinyurl.com/yaomxcd

Ian's Top Fifteen of 2009...

2009-12-11T17:50:00.010+10:00

...sort of. These are my favourite heavy/metal releases of the year in no particular order:

Converge – Axes To Fall - Great band delivers yet again.
Jesu – Infinity/Opiate Sun - One hour long drone jam and one pop EP; both releases find Broderick back on-song albeit working on the opposing margins of what he does.
Mastodon – Crack The Skye - People almost seemed put off by how over the top this album was, not me. I want my stadium metal godz to get as epic and weird as possible and things got very epic and very weird here. (Almost excluded due to mispelt album title)
Ben Frost – By The Throat - In my wildest fantasies my bass always sounds like bass does on this record.
Moss – Tombs Of The Blind Drugged - 'Exactly right' is as good as innovation. Doom craftsmen?
Mount Eerie – Wind’s Poem - Black metal and Phil both live in the woods musically, thus this record strangely makes sense. What made it great was the songs, some of his best.
Grief No Absolution – Eurostopodus Argus / Crypsis - Pitched as 'bleak metal' but something I ended up listening to more than you (or I) would expect. One LP that is a brutal snowstorm of hiss and crackle + a 7" that's sharper and altogether nastier.
Black Boned Angel – Verdun - Essential doom made right in our backyard (sort of).
Secret Birds - Asleep On The Dragon - Friends delivers a fine sounding album. A very personal take on a a very broad range of psych ideas and flavours and much more cohesive than expected.
The Nation Blue – Rising Waters - Australia's best band deliver a dense and completely fucked up classic. Maybe a career high and if not, too close for me to care.
Om – God Is God - New drummer, new textures and that riff. I never really tire of it.
Part Chimp – Thriller - A slightly underwhelming album from a completely overwhelming band. So a technical win and thus still essential listening in 09.
Them Crooked Vultures – S/T - One of the better Queens of the Stone Age albums and how could it not be. A lot of fun but too long.
Sunn O))) – Monoliths & Dimensions - What is there to say about this? It's good. It introduces a whole new realm of possibilities for the band. And it's brutally heavy.
Tom Hall & Bonnie Mercer – MIDweekMID - Two giant lava flows built out of guitar and electronics. This tape is just completely untamed. I feel like I'm forever turning it DOWN when I've got it on. Love it.

Photos from the other night...

2009-12-01T15:39:00.001+10:00

...by the guy I kicked off stage. Sorry guy (i.e. Stephen Goodwin)! Unfortunately Stephen momentarily entered the Triad of Pwnage and it made things feel weird. BUT, the photos are radical and we like them a lot.

Free Show This Week

2009-11-30T12:41:00.002+10:00

We're playing a free show this Friday night for

our good friend Cam Smith at Incremental Records

(i.e. the guy who has made nearly all of the NA records).

Ian's Inspirations...

2009-11-18T11:35:00.004+10:00

A lot of times when we're in the middle of an epic 20+ minute doom haze, I just zone out and think of things.

Things like this...

No Anchor... 3

2009-11-17T13:40:00.003+10:00

Six Hands To Hurt You

2009-11-16T14:54:00.002+10:00

We're happy to announce that we've got a third No Anchor now, Donovan Miller. Donovan currently plays in Butcher Birds and Die On Planes as well. Busy guy. But not too busy to bring the brutal with the No Anchor hobby apocolypse.

He also seems to like the band. Here is a photo of him moshing the fuck out at our Halloween show last year:

Also note: That's Zombie-Tom Hall on the far right and just over Donnie's shoulder you can spot Amelia Golding of The Rational Academy dressed as a pirate or Nadine from Twin Peaks, I forget which.

In other news I put out a press release before updating our blog so by now you may already have heard that we've got an unreleased track call 'Wolves Bite And Disappear' coming out on forthcoming compilation of FSS. Recorded by Todd Dixon in a disused museum and mixed by Lawrence English, sounds pretty good.

We've also started writing our new album. Alex and I wrote quite a bit of new stuff post-Steam (like Wolves) but a lot of now seems destined for B-Sideville. New stuff sounds - to me - a bit like 70s occult metal and bit more out and out doomed up. Maybe we weren't joking when we told every0ne we were a doom band?

Best. Blog. Ever.

2009-11-05T22:49:00.007+10:00

A few posts back, I mentioned LA rock juggernaughts Tool and their prominent role in my suburban heavy metal dreams. Now let me even up my street credit a little by mentioning that after Tool (and Helmet) came a lot of amazing Australian heavy music that few people ever talk about but completely rocks. When I was eighteen, everything became about Budd (I still think their early work is probably the archetypal Australian sludge sound - it's my archetype anyhow). After Budd came Au-go-go Records' Magic Dirt and Midget. After them came S:Bahn, Ricaine, 2litredolby and Tweezer. Then The Nation Blue.

And what gives me call to mention all this is that some radical adult has started a blog that shares some out-of-print goodness from many of those above bands. The good/bad news is that almost all of this work is out-of-print so whole discogs are up there. Visit and see here: The Lost & Found Music Library.

What I recommend in order is:

El Cabalero Rojo by 2litredolby. This album is a dead certainty, it's amazing. Ask anyone anywhere who worked in an independent record store in the 90s and they'll back me up. Download it now.
Total Abandonment of Better Understanding by Midget. Australian noise-rock of the highest calibre. My copy of the CD looks like it's been in a 1000 backpacks because it has.
Stock Footage by S:Bahn. Fractured, fucked up noise-pop music. Golden. Said blogger has very wisely appended two killer comp tracks to this EP download.

The rest of it is good too: early Gerling (when they were an indie-guitar band), impossibly rare 7s from Midget and 2litredolby, Sealifepark, Purpelene and even some super, super rare Heinz Riegler.

Best. Blog. Ever.

PS: Speaking of rarities, my cousin and I are trying to track down a good quality boot of Magic Dirt Live-At-The-Wireless circa Friends In Danger / Young & Full of the Devil era. We both had it on cassette but have both lost it. It's fucking ruling...they play Sparrow, Babycakes, Choker, Rabbit With Fangs and maybe Friends In Danger (?) but it's with Dave Thomas instead of Raul. If anyone has this and can send me a link to it, I'd flip out I'd be so happy.

Next Show: Nov 27th.

2009-10-31T13:13:00.002+10:00

In The Front Bar of The Stepp Inn Friday, November the 27th.

First show with the new guy.

Also playing are:

The Rational Academy (http://www.myspace.com/therationalacademy)
Yout Dem (http://www.myspace.com/youtdem)
Whyte Lightning (http://www.myspace.com/zachariasszumer)

Starts 8:30pm. Costs $8.