Interview by Kris Peters
The Hard-Ons are the ultimate Aussie punk rock larrikins and purveyors of great music.
Over thirteen previous albums the quality of the Hard-Ons music has only been superseded by their attitude and humour inherent both in their songs, their general demeanor, and their now legendary live performances.
At the turn of this decade the band welcomed in new singer Tim Rogers (You Am I), with the future uncertain in the fact that Rogers - while a great vocalist and frontman in his own right - was not the first choice for some of the band's long term fans.
But, as is usual with the hard-Ons, they cared little for public sentiment and opinion and pressed forward into the unknown, confident that this would provide a new, successful chapter in the bands illustrious career.
The ensuing album I'm Sorry Sir, That Riffs Been Taken was a breath of fresh air on the music scene, combining the punk ethos of the Hard-Ons with Rogers own unique characteristics to become one of the smash records of 2021.
The tour that followed only solidified the strength of the Hard-Ons, with Rogers quickly dispelling any doubts over his ability to take the band forward.
With the Hard-Ons to release the follow up album, Ripper '23, today, June 2 - the first album started and completed together by the new line-up - HEAVY caught up with guitarist Peter 'Blackie' Black to find out more.
"Every record is a step up (from the last one)," he explained. "If your records aren't a step up from your last one then you should give up. Wherever we are or whatever we do, whatever we do next is gonna be better than the one before. I feel really strongly about this one. It's a huge step up from the last one."
HEAVY reviewed the album recently and described it as a catchy release with a bit of something there for everyone, a point Blackie agrees with.
"I think that also shows our age, because albums really excite us," he measured. "Just those old albums in our collection, and for us an album is a journey from beginning to end. So that's what we try to do as well. It's not a conscious effort of putting in a little bit of everything, but just having this smooth, flowing pieces of work."
In the full interview, Blackie talks more about the album musically, if the Hard-Ons have their own sound by now, how Tim has settled into the band on his second album, if the process was different this time around, their upcoming Ripper '23 tour and what to expect, touring Europe for the 20th time and more.