ent
FRATT
ANK
by Mike Gitter
HARD-ONS
Hard-ons? The name is packed with
juicy connotations. Irreverent, sexist, self-
proclaimed stupid, these high-energy
Australian muppets blast out their own
brand of thrash-metal with a pop feel.
They're the juncture between the Saints,
the Scientists, Radio Birdman, Aussie
hardcore and AC/DC; three fun-loving
shag heads who got together in 1982 simp-
ly because "it seemed like a good idea."
"Sex was the reason," drummer Keish
Disorder says half jokingly. When Keish,
bassist Ray Ahn and guitarist Blackie
picked up instruments in their senior year
of high school, they had no grandiose illu-
sions of slam-dancing to change the world
like the clench-fisted hardcore purists to
follow. They simply wanted to have a bit
of fun.
"We didn't have any ideas about play-
ing in a punk band or a metal band," says
Ray. "We just wanted to play in a band-
a rock and roll band, which is what we are
today. I guess you could say we were a
bunch of metal heads that discovered
punk. Judas Priest, Led Zeppelin and
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AC/DC were all we listened to before we
discovered punk."
"AC/DC were like gods when we were
growing up," remembers Blackie.
"Although they weren't from Sydney,
which is where we're from, you'd think so
if you went there. They were so huge!" The
Hard-Ons carry on the Angus Young
legacy-their live shows are noted for
frenetic explosions of flying hair that would
make even Soul Asylum jealous.
"Once I saw the Pistols on TV. and I
knew it was what I wanted to do," says
Blackie. "I always liked watching AC/DC,
but the Pistols were like a revelation."
Choosing a name they felt "would draw
chicks," the then suburban teens began
playing gigs with everyone from fellow
Sydney contemporaries, the Psychotic
Turnbuckles to native superstars, the Lime
KANG Spiders. An Australian visit by U.S.
politigogues The Dead Kennedys was also
highly inspirational and pushed the band.
toward harder and faster turf. "We were
fairly lucky, since we were the only band
in Sydney that could play with both the
mohawk hardcore bands like Kaos and the
TER
A lunatic hairball with legs, Ray Ahn rocks on.
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