Hoodoo Gurus

[ButlerBob]

Recently went to go see one of my favorite bands from college (mid 80s) the Hoodoo Gurus. Their a band from Austraila that I couldnt' understand why they weren't more popular here in the states. Are there any other Hoodoo Gurus fans here?

I recenly got their latest album Crank from iTunes and think it's very good.

[Footix]

I saw them a couple weeks ago at SXSW at a party thrown by the Australian Music Council. They were fantastic.

I was hanging with some guys from other Australian bands down there, and they talk about the Hoodoo Gurus with the same kind of respect Americans give to Springsteen or Tom Petty. Pretty cool.

If you are interested in state-of-the-art new Australian music, check out Dappled Cities (http://www.dappledcitiesfly.com/)and The Panda Band (http://www.thepandaband.com/).

Maybe someone on these boards from down there can bolster my meager contribution to this thread.

[babytiger2001]

They're really, really good. I can vouch for their value on Australian rock radio, on Triple M and on other stations, too -- their music has a timeless quality to it.

And to add to ButlerBob's sentiments, they're not the only Aussie band that never got their just due in the U.S., back in the day. Why Jimmy Barnes and his band, Cold Chisel, never got any radio airplay in the U.S. is beyond me, to pick out just one band from around here.

[bojendyk]

We respect Tom Petty? :confused: ;)

Speaking of Aussie/Kiwi rock, there's a pretty good blog called Antipodean Underground (http://www.antipodeanunderground.com/) that focuses on punk/post-punk from down under. It's worth a read.

[NoRightFoot]

They're really, really good. I can vouch for their value on Australian rock radio, on Triple M and on other stations, too -- their music has a timeless quality to it.

And to add to ButlerBob's sentiments, they're not the only Aussie band that never got their just due in the U.S., back in the day. Why Jimmy Barnes and his band, Cold Chisel, never got any radio airplay in the U.S. is beyond me, to pick out just one band from around here.

There's simply too much competition, Will. The other problem is Australian bands are usually a little less willing to toe the company line which is a must in the States. Unless you're an AC/DC, Men At Work or an LRB (I'm going back a while) where the stations have to play the material due to popularity, you're in a no win situation. My advice for groups heading to the US is to flaunt your product to the people first and forget about the radio stations and record execs.

Also it's not just Australian outfits. Their own bands struggle to get recognition. Whatever happened to Tower Of Power? Or Toto? Or Steely Dan? Why do these exceptional musicians have to go to countries like Sweden, Holland, France, Australia or Germany to make any money or get any publicity? All of them have recent LP's with discs wothy of air play. Hell in 2000 the Dan won an emmy FFS. The rap bullshit has really sunk the music scene in the US and everyone has noticed. It's a shame because Americans are great people and have a genuine understanding of music due to what they've been exposed to and the whole thing has gone down the shitter.

I've gotten off the subject a little but that is something that has always angered me. I'm fully aware that gaining interest from the teenyboppers is paramount but thats not an excuse for simply wiping off pure talent. My former group (Gwyn Aston Band) sold 7100 copies of our first album in Austin, TX mind you it was a very bluesy outfit, but people were asking where is this band? Barnes (as you mentioned) was always a hit in Oz but I always thought Ian Moss was the better singer and am surprised that Bo River never made it to American shores but such is life I guess. Barnes went to the States in the early millenium and was killing them in the Soul circuits so I guess for him thats some consolation.

Btw, thanks for the PM re-Doobies, personally I was more of a fan of the Michael McDonald Doobies. What a fool believes still kicks ass and I thought their version of Lil' Darlin' was first class, especially the solo by Jeff Baxter. Hate to live in the past or anything, tho. ;) :eek:

[yossarian]

I was a Gurus fan when I was in high school. They sort of disappeared....at least from the U.S. music scene....right after "Blow your Cool" came out but they were really fun to see live and their songs were certainly catchy.

I'm speculating but maybe one of the reasons they never caught on more was because a lot of their songs (although good) were seen as a bit jokey......I'm thinking "Dig it Up," "Lelani," "Kamikaze Pilot" etc. Maybe songs like those caused some to not take them as seriously?

But for whatever all that's worth......"What's my Scene" is an absolutely amazing song, IMHO.

[babytiger2001]

There's simply too much competition, Will. The other problem is Australian bands are usually a little less willing to toe the company line which is a must in the States. Unless you're an AC/DC, Men At Work or an LRB (I'm going back a while) where the stations have to play the material due to popularity, you're in a no win situation. My advice for groups heading to the US is to flaunt your product to the people first and forget about the radio stations and record execs.

Agree with the competition angle.

As far as Cold Chisel was concerned, I remember reading somewhere (where, I cannot remember) that Chisel's Australian label weren't about set to sign off on having them tour the States, in an effort to crack the American marketplace. And this was amid Barnesey's objections against his own label, IIRC. So in this instance, Cold Chisel were hardly recognized outside of Australia even at the fault of its own people at the corporate level!

And as you say, it wasn't until Barnesey went to the States and started doing his own stylings of some Motown standards -- you want to know how good he was at it? First time I heard him doing "Higher And Higher", I thought it really was Jackie Wilson communicating to us from the great beyond -- in which he was being appreciated by the U.S. audiences.

Also it's not just Australian outfits. Their own bands struggle to get recognition. Whatever happened to Tower Of Power? Or Toto? Or Steely Dan? Why do these exceptional musicians have to go to countries like Sweden, Holland, France, Australia or Germany to make any money or get any publicity?

Let's not forget, for that matter, that Jimi Hendrix spent a lot of years in the U.K. before he started getting appreciated by American audiences and the American marketplace. To me, that's the classic example of people not knowing pure genius when it's being belted over their heads, that's for sure.

[NoRightFoot]

Let's not forget, for that matter, that Jimi Hendrix spent a lot of years in the U.K. before he started getting appreciated by American audiences and the American marketplace. To me, that's the classic example of people not knowing pure genius when it's being belted over their heads, that's for sure.

The Jimi Hendrix thing was a farce. Problem was he was too white for black people, and too black for white people such was the state of society in the US at the time. The white kids loved the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Otis Redding and even earlier Little Richard, but they weren't allowed to admit it. Thankfully the Brits fell in love with blues due to the exploits of Clapton & the Stones otherwise the world still probably wouldn't know who Hendrix was.

[Iceblink]

Strangely enough, XM radio plays them a LOT. Not all of their songs, but quite often. You can see when everything has been played below. They are definitely one of two bands I thought should have been more popular. Guadalcanal Diary never made a dent either!

My favorite since high school has been "Tojo"


Hoodoo Gurus

Little Drummer B
Request: XM 107 -
Last Played: December 26, 2006 1:28 AM ET

Hoodoo Gurus
Little Drummer B
Request: XM 108 -
Last Played: December 24, 2006 9:39 AM ET

Hoodoo Gurus
MARS NEEDS GUITA
Request: XM 30 - Hitlist
Last Played: September 02, 2003 8:14 PM ET

HooDoo Gurus
(Let's All) Turn
Request: XM 43 - XMU
Last Played: February 20, 2007 8:07 PM ET

Hoodoo Gurus
I Want You Back
Request: XM 43 - XMU
Last Played: February 20, 2007 8:04 PM ET

Hoodoo Gurus
Little Drummer B
Request: XM 43 - XMU
Last Played: March 07, 2007 1:53 PM ET

HooDoo Gurus
Arthur
Request: XM 43 - XMU
Last Played: February 20, 2007 12:11 PM ET

Hoodoo Gurus
DIG IT UP
Request: XM 43 - XMU
Last Played: February 20, 2007 12:16 PM ET

Hoodoo Gurus
Come Anytime
Request: XM 44 - Fred
Last Played: April 02, 2007 7:30 PM ET

Hoodoo Gurus
Out That Door
Request: XM 44 - Fred
Last Played: April 04, 2007 2:46 PM ET

Hoodoo Gurus
What's My Scene
Request: XM 44 - Fred
Last Played: April 05, 2007 9:41 PM ET

Hoodoo Gurus
Death Defying
Request: XM 44 - Fred
Last Played: April 06, 2007 2:19 AM ET

Hoodoo Gurus
IN THE MIDDLE OF
Request: XM 44 - Fred
Last Played: March 30, 2007 8:31 PM ET

Hoodoo Gurus
LIKE WOW-WIPEOUT
Request: XM 44 - Fred
Last Played: April 02, 2007 10:44 AM ET

Hoodoo Gurus
TURN ON
Request: XM 44 - Fred
Last Played: August 06, 2003 5:11 PM ET

Hoodoo Gurus
I Want You Back
Request: XM 44 - Fred
Last Played: March 26, 2007 2:47 AM ET

Hoodoo Gurus
POISON PEN
Request: XM 44 - Fred
Last Played: April 05, 2007 5:05 PM ET

Hoodoo Gurus
Bittersweet
Request: XM 44 - Fred
Last Played: March 26, 2007 2:57 PM ET

Hoodoo Gurus
I WAS A KAMIKAZE
Request: XM 44 - Fred
Last Played: March 28, 2007 8:50 AM ET

Hoodoo Gurus
PARTY MACHINE
Request: XM 44 - Fred
Last Played: April 03, 2007 8:24 PM ET

Hoodoo Gurus
DIG IT UP
Request: XM 44 - Fred
Last Played: June 28, 2005 5:30 AM ET

Hoodoo Gurus
Noboday
Request: XM 44 - Fred
Last Played: April 04, 2007 10:53 PM ET

Hoodoo Gurus
LEILANI
Request: XM 44 - Fred
Last Played: March 26, 2007 8:54 AM ET

Hoodoo Gurus
GOOD TIMES
Request: XM 44 - Fred
Last Played: March 19, 2007 9:53 AM ET

Hoodoo Gurus
TOJO
Request: XM 44 - Fred
Last Played: March 25, 2007 12:17 PM ET

Hoodoo Gurus
ZANZIBAR
Request: XM 44 - Fred
Last Played: April 01, 2007 1:17 PM ET

Hoodoo Gurus
Miss Freelove 69
Request: XM 44 - Fred
Last Played: April 03, 2007 3:38 AM ET

Hoodoo Gurus
Come Anytime
Request: XM 54 - Lucy
Last Played: April 03, 2007 6:00 AM ET

Hoodoo Gurus
Miss Freelove 69
Request: XM 54 - Lucy
Last Played: April 05, 2007 4:06 AM ET

Hoodoo Gurus
Little Drummer B
Request: XM 54 - Lucy
Last Played: December 24, 2006 1:20 PM ET

[StiltonFC]

I really like Hoodoo Gurus. I hadn't listened to any of their music for a while. This thread sparked me up.