Interview/Articles -

Tauschke, Steve, 1997, 'Monkey business', Beat Magazine (Melb.).
Local trio Powder Monkeys return with a new 7" single and a launch to go with it. Steve Tauschke hears from Tim Hemensley...
Beat: Powder Monkeys have been fairly quiet of late although you did play a show last week at the Tote.
Tim : "Yeah, it was our first show in seven months. We played on New Year's Eve. I think the last two years we played maybe a couple of hundred gigs and we just felt worn out and a bit burnt out. So it was a good time to take a break. The single was recorded at the Tote in November so it's not like it's been occupying our time as such... we actually recorded it live onto a videocassette, it was a pretty raw recording. It's a good and a good indication of where we were at the time. It's a new song and "Wasn't Born Yesterday" is an old one.

Beat: What's the single called?
Tim : "It's called "Get The Girl Straight". It's a song we've actually been playing since about January last year but we haven't done any recording in that time so this seemed to be as good a time as any to put out a version."

Beat: Get The Girl Straight is the title from an experience of yours?
Tim : "Sure is (laughs)."

Beat: Do you want to elaborate?
Tim : "Well, the best thing people can is listen to the song I suppose.  It's about hanging out with girls who maybe think they can keep up with me on the intake level of substances - and who maybe can't compete. I don't mean that in a put down sense. It's kind of a tragic song, tragi-comedy.

Beat: Whatever happened with your American Recordings deal?
Tim : "Well, what happened was it was a signed, sealed and delivered  contract. We signed it and then they reneged on it. After about eighteen months of sitting on our arses and twiddling our thumbs and waiting for this to happen they turned around and said "we're not going to release it!" At the same time they did the same thing to The Blackeyed Susans. I believe the wing of the label which signed us is now in receivership and the whole thing's closing down or something like that. To cut a long story short we're owed a considerable amount of money from this deal cos obviously we employed a lawyer, and all that kind of shit, to go through the contract. It's really sad. They reneged on it. No explanation given."

Beat: That's disappointing considering the prospects you had of touring overseas there.
Tim : "Sure, and that was in the contract. We were waiting for them to write to us... and it just never happened. After a lot of phone calls and leaving messages and sending faxes that were never replied to, we got the news that they just weren't interested... So the current situation is now that Time Wounds All Heels (1996 album) is going to be released by a label called Mordam in the States, through Au-Go-Go of all people considering my dealings with them in the past with God and whatever. So maybe that's a foot in the door for us. In a way it's sort of better that's it's on that label, on that level."

Beat: That's the level you've operated on all along isn't it?
Tim : "Yeah, exactly. It felt a little bit funny to be suddenly thinking of ourselves in these terms "Oh, we're on the same label as Johnny Cash!" We're not a band that has ever sat easily with these executive types. In a way it was inevitable that it would fuck up and fall in a heap."
Beat: When you were negotiating with them was there a little voice in your head telling you that you'd have to deal with some guy in a suit deciding your A and B sides.
Tim : "That's always been a worry of mine. I don't like to let go of the control of the band anybody, let alone some idiot from the industry who going to dictate what they like and what they think is going to be a "seller". That's why it's really nice to be able to do just a single. And it's just a live tape, there's no expense involved in the thing.  There's no wheeling and dealing. It's put out by some buddies of ours,  a small time operation who we can ring up or go visit and who are not going to jerk us around."

Beat: What happened with Dogmeat?
Tim : "Dogmeat's closed down! This is a really sad thing. After many years in the trenches Dave's just found it pretty much impossible to keep his head above water financially, as far as the label goes. So Dogmeat's closed and (laughs) it kind of leaves us without a label."

Beat: Are you shopping for one?
Tim : "Ideally, it would be great if someone did put us out but I mean we've been around six years now... it would really have to be a good thing for us to go with now. Obviously we want to record another album. We've got a new set together and we're all pretty confident we can make a third album but it would really have to be an ideal time and place to
do it. Things would really have to fall into place before we considered signing with anybody else... I just wonder how much longer we can. I mean obviously the seven month break has been good for us but I'm just not prepared to jump in the van and start playing little dives for the next six years. I think it's time to really consolidate things and to play to some different people for a change. It gets a bit incestuous playing the same places over and over and over again... I've done my dash (laughs) as far as being in the trenches. That's what it feels like. But that's not to say I'm giving up, you know, we've got a new set together and I'm really confident in it."

Beat: Well, by the sounds of it the new single will be raw and rough, like the "I Thank You" recording you did a few years ago.
Tim : "Oh, that's my favorite Powder Monkeys recording! The new single is really raw. I don't think it will get too much airplay or win us a legion of new fans or convert the mindless masses to our cause. But if people like raw, punch-in-the-face, aggressive rock'n'roll then this is about as raw as it comes."

Wilson, Hayley, 1994, 'Straight until next time', Inpress Magazine.
Straight Until Morning is the latest offering from renowned three piece The Powder Monkeys. Hayley Wilson spoke to guitarist John Nolan and found out about the current hankerings of this mischievous trio...
"This is the first thing we've like recorded for years," announces Nolan of their latest release. "The album that we put out at the start of this  year (Smashed On A Knee) was like recorded years before its release and this is the first time the band have actually recorded in a long time," he admits.
"We've gone through a lot of changes since then. We're a three piece now, so the EP's about the first time people have heard us for the last two years on record which is good if they haven't seen us live then they wouldn't have a clue what it sounds like."
    So much for pulling punches.
    The Powder Monkeys are undisputedly in a whole league of their own so to speak. Unlike many bands of a similar calibre they would rather be honest to themselves and their music to the point of shooting themselves
in the foot rather than complying to restricting mainstream standards.
    "All of us really ended up hating it," he says casually of Smashed On A Knee. "But the guy who looks after the record label already spent so much on us that we were sort of obliged to finish it. Most of the time with records you just end up hating them. But we've had a break and hopefully we're all keen to get stuck into it next year," he quickly adds. "But the songs aren't that stylised. I find there's a little too much preconceived thought goes into it. But pretty much its just the sum of what all three of us are doing."
    At least you know he's being honest. While the band have quite obviously been going through quite a few unseen changes, foremost the reduction of the group from a four piece to a three piece is just after the recording of Smashed On A Knee had led the band being increasingly unified. The move had paid off in the long run. Now what you see is very much what you get.
    "We believe in the music and what we're doing," explains Nolan. "Now all our personalities come through a lot more in our songs. It's got to the stage now where we can't do without each other."
    Which is probably not such a bad thing considering Straight Until Morning has been described as 'tearing strings' off all previous releases. Fueled with the ferocious catharticism characterised by their maniacal enthusiasm, at least you know it will be good.
 
'Time Wounds All Heels', 1996, Punter's Club Form Guide, Issue 29
This is the record that everyone knew the Powder Monkeys had in them, stripped bare, bad ass punk rock; maybe even the best example of this since the Saints (I'm Stranded).
    The performances on this are great. John Nolan's Coltrane inspired, Greg Ginn style chop, lay the ground for Tim's, Lemmy meets Iggy, full throated psych-nightmare workouts, and bubble up into one hell of an intense listen.
    Timmy  Jack Ray (drums) gets a go on vocal duties on the Steve Tyler sounding 'Ten Minds'; which really breaks the record up, but fits in nicely overall.
    The songs themselves are great,  more punk than metal and that's not your 'Rancid' or 'Offspring', type punk, more 'Stooges' or 'Lazy Cowgirls' style workouts, which have seen the band progressing miles since 'Smashed on a Knee'. Monkey magic indeed.

"Get the Girl Straight 7", 1997, Punter's Club Form Guide, Issue 47
Well I think most folks would know what to expect here, but for those who haven't had the pleasure...  well the Powder Monkeys deliver pure unadulterated  Detroit/Rosie Tatts style rock'n roll. Being a live recording capturing the band at a particularly pissed off point this one rocks  even more the (than?) usual. Even the lyrics rock more than usual (let alone the vocals). Rock'n Rock!

"The Powder Monkeys - Smashed on a Knee", 1994, Prehistoric Sounds Magazine, Vol 1, Issue 1
Unfortunately the Powder Monkeys' Smashed on a knee lacks something in the production department (evidently, it nearly didn't come out in this form) with John Nolan's guitar parts not cranked up enough overall, but there's a wealth of first-class songs on this set. Cuts like, Persecution Blues, Yin Yang, Atomic Resolution and Crank Me Up really build up a head of steam. Hopefully, next time the Powder Monkeys will get the production sound right, in order to do justice to the otherwise excellent delivery.


Janes, Timothy, 1996, 'The Powder Monkeys - Time wounds all heels', Inpress Magazine
A quick listen to the album opener In The Doldrums confirms the highest expectations of the Powder Monkeys' second long player. Recorded in just over a day by Chris Thompson, Time Wounds all Heels captures the essence of The Powder Monkeys that so many have experienced in their totally unbeatable raw, live performances. This is frantic, authentic rock'n'roll.
    Insane Old Game is a standout track with John Nolan throwing in some inspired crazed guitar work. When Tim Hemmensley howls 'Don't tell me your shit doesn't stink' you've kinda got to believe him! The recording has a lot of feel, obviously a result from the live nature of the recording.
    Wasn't Born Yesterday sees the band in rock boogie mode, reminiscent of finer moments from AC-DC The Cult. Not as frantically paced as the rest of the album, John Nolan finds a fine guitar groove with Tim putting in a passionate vocal effort.
    First single Supernova that Never Quits is probably the definitive Powder Monkeys tune with bleeding riffs driven with apocalyptic power. Ten Minds sees the drummer Timmy Jack Ray writing and taking lead vocals on one of the album's finest moments, with the dual harmonies going down a treat.
    Exciting news for the band is that they've inked a three album deal with Rick Rubin's American Records. They're now ready to take on the world, but is the rest of the world ready for the Powder Monkeys? We'll soon find out with tour plans on the drawing board to coincide with the release of this fine album.
    Raw Power!

Jenkins, Jeff, 1999, 'Monkey Business', Inpress Magazine
It's a gig that will become a part of Melbourne rock'n'roll folklore. After a great set from Nick Barker in the lounge at the Espy last Saturday night, I wandered at to the Gershwin Room, hoping to catch a couple of songs from the Powder Monkeys. More than 30 minutes later, they were still blazing away - setting a new record for playing overtime at the Espy. In the end d took three bouncers to get on stage to stop singer Tim Hemmensley. Would you ever say no to an ESPY bouncer? Hemmemsley did, demanding to play one more song before the other two Monkeys dragged him away - not before he jammed his bass into the foldback, threw the band's remaining beers into ffle crowd as well as the entire beer trough. He then slapped the hands of the erred crowd, high on the bands blistering set. All of this followed repeated requests to stop playing from the bands sound guy as well as an old guy who had jumped on stage. In the end, the PA was turned off, the bar was closed, but the Monkeys kept going. This was a farewell to remember, with the Powder Monkeys now heading to Europe. If there was any need for confirmation, Hemmensley delivered, showing he is rocks real deal and Proving that this statement on the band's website is fact and not hyper": 'This is WAR, baby, a Rock 'N' Roll war against the grim Purveyors Of slick-dick Commercial schtick, and when the smoke clears and the last call sounds, You better be clear about which side you're on. Are you Part Of the Problem or Part of the solution?, The Powder Monkeys leave us with a live album, Blood Sweat And Beers, ironically recorded at the Gershwin Room. Here's hoping they make it home alive. But long may they wreak havoc.

Trethewie, David, 1999, 'Powder Monkeys', Beat Magazine
1999 marks a decade for an enduring musical partnership, John Nolan and Tim Hemensley of the Powder Monkeys. They may not have ever been that fashionable but their dedication to their music and fanatical devotion to live, raw rock has to be admired. People now talk of the Nolan/Hemmensley lineup of Bored! in hushed awe but the two musicians wore already veterans when that lineup of Gealong's biggest band dissolved around 1991. Hemensley had achieved a level of notoriety as a member of God - the teenage band of the late 180s which featured Joel Silbersher at Matty Whittle who were responsible for at least one Australian rock classic in 'My Pal'. Nolan emerged from Geelong's fledgling punk scene in the mid-'80s as a member of Behind The Magnolia Curtain, which metamorphosed without Nolan into The Sunset Strip. Yet despite the impressive pedigree and wholly committed attitude the Powder Monkeys claim to have hit the ceiling in Melbourne. They're now looking O.S. - Europe to be exact, including Britain and former Iron Curtain countries like Yugoslavia.
    "We're going over to Europe on the 23rd of March," John Nolan explains, "so we've got three gigs in Melbourne coming up. We've got a new record coming out in Europe, it's called Blood, Sweat and Beers - the live thing we did at the Espy last year for the PBS live-to-air. I think we're going to have more or a chance over there than we had here."
    Europe is known as a happy hunting ground for Australian rock bands of the punk persuasion, mainly because the population over there is so big that people from Australia can carve out a sizable niche audience by playing the right gigs at the right venues. "l went over to Europe in 1990 with Bored! and it really was like that," Nolan explains. "People in Europe just love Australian rock'n'roll. They know more about Australian bands than what we would - they really take an interest in it, We bit the ceiling in Melbourne four years ago and since then we've been sliding back down. Four years ago we got 600 people in the big room at the Prince Of Wales and that's about the biggest crowd we ever got as a headlining band. Now we're lucky to get 60 people at The Tote. There's no place to go a rid we seriously want to keep the band going and keep interested in the music and keep it real. Europe seems to be the easiest place to do it. Since I've been organising this tour I've been surprised at how many People know of us over there. The thing about guys like us who've been doing this all our lives is we're going to get left behind as fads come and go. I mean, we're not going to go lo-fi because it's the latest fad. lf what we do is popular at the time, we'll be popular with it - that's what happened with Bored! We were just lucky to get on the same European label as all the Subpop stuff. We lucked in with all of that and took off."
    I point to the possibility that the lack of interest in rock bands these days might have something to do with the current popularity of deejays and big clubs but Nolan has a few theories of his own. "Triple J hasn't helped,"he says frankly." it seems that now with bands the difference between making it and not making it is really down to whether you get rotation on Triple J or not. l worked in a record store for a while and I saw how it worked, the radio stations are told what to play by the record companies. People think because a band's getting a lot of coverage and airplay they must be good but it's just not the case sometimes. It means that the band has really good management. For us there's just nowhere else to go in Australia. We've been playing for eight years now and to keep it interesting we have to think of overseas. It's long overdue for us but I think it's going to work out.
    "Me and Tim have been playing together since 1989 and I don't think you'll find too many guys who've played together in bands for that long. We're just good mates and with our playing itends up being almost telepathic. You don't really know it's happening until you hear a tape later and you go, 'Fuck, that sounded really cool." The music goes a certain way and that's an unconscious thing that's developed between us from just playing together week in-weekout."
The Powder Monkeys are playing at the Tote in Collingwood this weekend, these are their last shows for a while as the band are heading off to do shows in Europe. Special guests on Friday 5 March are Speed Demons, The Chosen Few and Masspenny Four and Saturday night March 6 Megalong Valley, Stuntcar Drivers and Filthy Habits. ..

Campbell-Jones, Charles, 1999, 'The Powder Monkeys, Red Shift - The Esplanade Hotel (Gershwin Room)', Beat Magazine. 
Having spent the last few months overseas, it was with considerable excitement that I ventured to the Esplanade to receive a healthy dose of Australian rock n'roll. And boy did I get it. As Fred Negro predicted so accurately earlier that night, the men of The Powder Monkeys and Red Shift quite literally tore the Espy a new arsehole.
    Battling sound troubles, Red Shift managed to put on a very solid performance, interspersing their own hard- yet-tuneful music with some excellent covers with other hard-yet-tuneful music by The Saints and The Dead Boys. Although I suspect that their cause would beaided by the addition of charismatic frontman, Red Shift is nevertheless an impressive band. In a display of comradeship, Tim Hemmensley of The Powder Monkeys proved to be the most enthusiastic audience member, shouting requests and working up a sweat in front of the stage. At one point, he even jumped up to add some complimentary vocals.
    Thus, the crowd was well oiled - in more ways than one - by the time The Powder Monkeys took the stage. I had already observed Hemmensley down a considerable quantity of beer during the Red Shift gig, sowhen he dragged on stage a large red tube full of VB I felt a growing concern for his ability to perform. I need not have worried. It was The Powder Monkeys final show before departing for an indefinite period to tour Europe, and they meant business. In short - The Powder Monkeys rock - hard and frequently. In The Doldrums and Persecution Blues were standouts; Crank Me Up was nothing short of awesome, The band was tight and extremely loud. Moreover, Hemmensley exudes a formidable and intimidating presence quite disproportionate to his small physical stature, which en sures a fascinating spectacle.
    Notwithstanding, recurring feedback between songs, which I fear has left me with some permanent ear damage, the gig was an absolute blast. It is now apparent why fine bands like The Hellacopters hold The Powder Monkeys in such high esteem. They are the real deal - right down to the bass shoved through the foldback and the rider distributed among the crowd at the end of the show (a treat reserved for the Espy management, who af 1:30am refused the band one final song). May The Powder Monkeys enjoy the success they deserve in Europe.


Trethewie, David, 1999, 'Powder Monkeys', Beat Magazine, Issue 666, p 38
After watching their audiences diminish in Melbourne as the demand for raw rock-n-roll wavered in the face of techno and power pop, the Powder Monkeys headed to Europe earlier in the year. While places like Spain and Germany were known to be underground rock hotspots, the band really found a niche in Scandinavia where their friends the Hellacopters live. The tour was in support of the Blood, Sweat and Beers album which was released only in Europe.
    "We don't have a record label here," says Powder Monkeys bassist and singer Tim Hemensley, "and we haven't had one for almost five years. Blood, Sweat and Beers came out on a Spanish label called Safety Pin Records on Vinyl and on CD on Butcher's Hook in London. We started the tour in Spain and after that we played in Germany, in Holland, then Scandinavia and the Scandinavian leg covered Norway, Sweden and Denmark with the Hellacopters, the Nomads and Wayne Kramer - it was a package tour called Where the Action is '99. It was eight gigs we did all up with the Hellacopters and five gigs we did with the lineup I just mentioned.
    Considering the Powder Monkeys have been playing for eight years now it's not surprising that they've built a solid fanbase in Europe and much respect amongst bands from there. "Amongst those musicians we're very well respected," Tim says. "We played with the Hellacopters when they were in Melbourne in October last year and they'd been fans of us (the band) previously - that's how we caught up with them to begin with. We'd read an interview with them a few years back where they mentioned Time Wounds All Heels as their favourite album of that year. The Nomads were really rapt to be playing with us as well, which was quite an honour. They're a legendary Swedish band - they've been together 18 years now. Me and John didn't even know they were still playing, we remembered them from the '80s and they started in '81. We played at their album launch when we were in Stockholm and we stayed with them. They were great guys and a really great band."
    Swedish bands continue to produce white hot rock-n-roll and the scene is growing immensely.
    Hemensley: "It's all over the place in Sweden - we were staying in Stockholm for nearly a month at the end of the tour, we stayed there and recorded an album for White Jazz, the Hellacopters and Nomads label - it's pretty much the label of that kind of style over there. I guess Norway and Sweden are the Two places the bands are coming from. It's an explosion of rock-n-roll, of our style of music. It's huge, it's bigger than I've ever seen. A band like the Backyard Babies are probably the biggest, commercial, of that style of music in Scandinavia. We went to their gold record party. They'd sold 40000 albums in Sweden which is a country of eight million."


Healey, J.M., 1999, 'The Powder Monkeys @ Greyhound Hotel', Inpress Magazine, Issue 571, p61
Australia's own monsters of rock, the Powder Monkeys have done us proud with their much raved about European tour. Raved about on the European side of course.
    Having unleashed 7" EPs with The Hellacopters, as well as a wealth of of their own releases on many of old Europe's more respected rock-n-roll labels, the Monkeys capped it off by recording a full length album for the Swedish label White Jazz; home to both Sweden and Norway's exceptional bad boys of rock, the Hellacopters and the almighty Gluecifier! Hoping to see that released this year!
    The Powder Monkeys are a band, who when on fire, are truly on fire. Their performance this evening didn't exactly leave the room filled with smoke and the stench, of, burning rubber, but there was an inkling or two of the bands legendary magic.
    Performing some new numbers and a track that had never ever been performed live prior to this, the crowd received a tightish, albeit disrupted set. The Monkeys didn't seem to be coming together between songs and these delays stole the intensity from the more rockin' tracks they did unleash. Tracks like Ugly, Crank Me Up and Another nite in Hell went down well and while I was most disappointed that the band didn't play Atomic Resolution, their drawn out version of Before I Get Sleazy was a fine way to cap off the evening.
    As usual, the Powder Monkeys put on a show. The sheer conviction of Tim Hemensley, comibined with the smokin' guitar playing of Mr. John Nolan, never fails to impress, even if on this occasion the band were short of their electrifying best.

Donald, Peter, 1999, 'Powder Monkeys, @ Greyhound Hotel', Beat Magazine
It was my first night at the Greyhound and to see that the spirit of St Kilda has settled so cosily into this pub gave it a unique character with the vibe that once held the Prince of Wales now resonating through the 'hound with the Space Invaders machines.
    Powder Monkeys have again hit the boards after a break and early in their set, some of the crowd were too restive to give them due attention, until Tim Hemensley asked what they paid their *%$&ing eight dollars for. But maybe the same problem applies to them as did Armoured Angel a few weeks ago; been around before, used to it. The Monkeys were loud enough and tight and sweaty enough, but I had an impression that the feeling a bit taken for granted, they degenerated a bit from playing for real to going through the motions. Their straight-forward, in your face approach is still the Powder Monkeys strength, and stand out songs. "No Stranger to Dirt" and "Break away" (Breakdown Coming?) did it early in the set. But it was one of those nights that tests the inner strength of a band.
    Nunchukka Superfly...
    Whoever was early enough for the Stuntcar Drivers, would have been granted a surprisingly pleasant treat. What you got was sharp riffing guitaring played on Gibsons through Marshalls like idling fifties Triumph and Vincent motorcycles. Standout songs were "Taxi Driver", "Talking 'bout the end of the World" and "Frankenstein Girl". If some bands play road songs, then the Stuntcar Drivers do Grand Prix Gems in the finest tradition.