Min Stokes grew up in the UK during the first wave of punk rock and was an instant convert. She used to sneak out of her boarding school to watch punk bands play live in London and was there at the right time in the right place. Sometime later Min moved to Perth and joined the punk band SSA on bass. Having lots of links to bands in the UK she started organising Australian tours for the likes of the Sub-humans, Steve Ignorant of Crass and Killing Joke.
Punk West is an oral history of Perth’s punk scene. David Redding (Burn the Airwaves) talks to the scene’s stalwarts, stand-outs, and elder statespeople about the gigs, the bands, the venues, and the sounds. This episode is the final instalment of Punk West’s first season.
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Punk West #12: Murray Figg
Perth punk in the 1990s was largely hardcore, and when Murray Figg started listening to the likes of Cremator and Pestilence, that was the direction he wanted to take. He was a member of the legendary late 1990s Perth punk band PC Thug and later Dropsick Injektors. PC Thug’s first gig was a sell out at the Rosemount Hotel, and he speaks to us about the excesses, tragedies and thumping music of the time.
Punk West is an oral history of Perth’s punk scene. David Redding (Burn the Airwaves) talks to the scene’s stalwarts, stand-outs, and elder statespeople about the gigs, the bands, the venues, and the sounds. This episode comes with a coarse language warning.
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Punk West #11: Jackie Coffin
Jackie Coffin doesn’t like to stand still. She needs new challenges in her life and when she discovered the Bunbury skate scene, she dived in headfirst. This led her to meet like-minded people and she decided to give drumming a go, joining Chickspit. Jackie’s heart is punk rock, and she eloquently gets her point across with passion and venom on this episode of Punk West.
Punk West is an oral history of Perth’s punk scene. David Redding (Burn the Airwaves) talks to the scene’s stalwarts, stand-outs, and elder statespeople about the gigs, the bands, the venues, and the sounds. This episode comes with a coarse language warning.
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Punk West #10: Kim Salmon
Kim Salmon‘s musical career has spanned nearly fifty years and he has been a prolific writer and performer over that time.
Never content to sit back and admire what he has done, he would rather see what he can do next. On this episode of Punk West, we speak to Kim about the early days playing covers six nights a week in a Fremantle strip club to playing in Perth’s first punk band the Cheap Nasties before moving onto the early days of The Scientists.
Punk West is an oral history of Perth’s punk scene. David Redding (Burn the Airwaves) talks to the scene’s stalwarts, stand-outs, and elder statespeople about the gigs, the bands, the venues, and the sounds.
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Punk West #9: Dennis Cometti, The Band
Dennis Cometti, the band, is made up of Mitch, Alex and John, who formed the band in 2014 and quickly gained a solid fanbase writing songs about the CBD, playing footy and the WAFL.
In 2020 they released their debut album as well as the single “WAXIT”, which became the most played track of the year on RTRFM. (It also placed #69 in our most played list of 2021, and was voted #26 on RTRFM’s 45 Greatest WA Songs poll this year.)
Their punk tunes have a unique Western Australian theme and their love of the state and each other really comes across during this chat on Punk West.
Punk West is an oral history of Perth’s punk scene. David Redding (Burn the Airwaves) talks to the scene’s stalwarts, stand-outs, and elder statespeople about the gigs, the bands, the venues, and the sounds.
On the face of it, Perth seems like a respectable, middle-class city, where people love the beaches, the Sunday sessions, and the cover bands. But scratch away a little bit and you’ll find an underbelly of great punk music. Starting from the ‘70s, Perth has influenced and been influenced by others, and has chucked out some of the greatest punk tunes and punk bands.
Punk West is an oral history of Perth’s punk scene. David Redding (Burn the Airwaves) talks to the scene’s stalwarts, stand-outs, and elder states(wo)men about the gigs, the bands, the venues, and the sounds.
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