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puppets on strings with their wild moves ..Keish the drummer was singing and this was the first time I had ever seen this done, and then he stood up on his seat and continued bashin away and beltin' out the lyrics...wow!! ...thrashy, trashy and crude..and the mix of Vietnamese, Sri Lankan and Croatian members was politically confronting for that time in Australia too..long may they reign in Punchbowl..I heard Keish became a postie ..Blackie and Ray still rock today, and Ray's unique art inspired me with my work as well...

3. The Saints- Eternally Yours 1977

This band were from Inala in Brisbane which is about as tough a neighbourhood as you could get in 1974...it was a real wasteland and from the primordial ooze sprang the legendary Saints...this is their best album for mine, progressing from the nihilism and brutal white noise of their first disc...I remember seeing the clip to Know Your Product on the ABC and it seemed so full of attitude and aggression, but with a cool horn section hook ..was and is an all time classic record with Perfect Day, Misunderstood, Lost and Found and more...the Saints were DIY all the way and blazed a trail for the hundreds that followed them.

4. Celibate Rifles- Roman Beach Party 1987

I found this record at the pawn brokers in Upper Mt Gravatt in 1988 along with some other Aussie punk classics...cost me 3 dollars and still got the vinyl LP today...the production on this record sounds awesome with boiling aggro guitars, pulsating bass, some of the best punk drumming ever recorded in my opinion and all topped with the laconic nasal monotone of singer Damian Lovelock..and nary a synth in sight..there is a great versatility in the Rifles canon, from super chilled surf tinged slow stuff through folk through straight up hard rock to thrashy punk , they go from one to the other effortlessly...I saw them in 1991 for the first time live and sat on stage left in awe of rhythm guitar god Dave Morris with his Mosrite buzz-sawing away and feeling the stage shake as Lovelock pounded the boards, and me hoping not to get busted for being underaged...a great night.

5. Exploding White Mice- Nest of Vipers EP 1985

To me at age 14, the Mice looked so cool in their Ramones-like leathers and denim with goth and hippy overtones, and on the cover was a pic of them in what looked like their lounge room...I saw this and immediately had my blueprint for what I thought the inside of my house would look like..smoke haze, pipes, empties, exotic material draped around with ornate candles, b grade sci-fi posters etc etc..I thought this was so cool...and on the back they were at the beach in their finery, looking like vampires caught in the sun about to melt...I was pretty young and stupid at this stage, and didn't realise the EP had to be played at 45 rpm, so I happily listened to it at 331/3rpm and it sounded like some stoner doom/death band!! But I was too dumb to know the difference ! One day I played it at 45 and was kinda disappointed cause it sounded "normal"! ..I soon got used to the sound the way it was intended and got their awesome followup Brute Force and Ignorance on white vinyl on the strength of it...from that same ol' pawn shop...someone must've hocked a pretty good collection there..

Now we'd like to hear about the albums/songs/bands/gigs that influenced you. Send 'em in to the TNES boys, they'd love to hear from you. From the stage thanks Le Murd! We are looking forward to getting to know your band this year and can't wait for more!