Hard-Ons are an Australian punk rock institution serving 40 years on the stage.
When they announced the coronation of rock royalty, Tim Rogers, as frontman in their punk palace in 2021, the sonic tectonic plates shifted, quaking with I’m Sorry Sir, That Riff’s Been Taken.
Following a nine-date national tour and European tour, the iconic music pairing has been stamped as permanent.
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Hard-Ons’ mainstay Peter ‘Blackie’ Black explains, “We like the music that we’re making together. So you know, there’s no real reason to stop or question it or anything like that. I get people saying ‘How can he be doing that?’ And it’s like because it fucking feels good, you know? I don’t analyse shit. It’s either right or it’s wrong. And for us, this definitely feels really fucking good.
“We’ve had people come who have been seeing us for like 30 years now and have come up to me after a show and go, ‘I don’t know how you fucking do it. It’s 30 years later and you’re more powerful than you’ve ever been’. That’s just really awesome to hear. I think we are renewed in a sense and Tim has brought a lot of that energy to us.”
I’m Sorry Sir, That Riff’s Been Taken saw Rogers rock up to the studio for a first introduction, jumping head-first into rehearsal and recording mode with songs provided by Black and guitarist Ray Ahn. Heading into album number two, the 2 June release of Ripper ‘23, there was a songwriting dynamic shift.
“For the first record, obviously a lot of songs – almost all of them except one – were written before Tim actually joined. And this time, all the songs were written knowing he was going to be the singer. When I write, I know the person’s strength and to me, Tim is like having a soul singer in a band. So it’s like we can do this and we can do that. It’s actually been a nice, gentle continuation of what we’ve been doing, and now that Tim is in the band and super keen, he’s written a bunch of stuff as well, so it’s progressing very nicely,” says Black.
“Knowing Tim’s now in the band, it’s like we can maybe go a little bit outside what the Hard-Ons box is and I feel like the Hard-Ons boxes are pretty big ones anyway. We’ve always, from day one, gone all over the shop.”
It’s especially notable on the closing track ‘Ordinary Things’ – a track spearheaded by Rogers which features piano and a glorious crescendo. It pushes Hard-Ons into new territory without removing their signature DNA, but it did take some convincing from Blackie to make the final cut.
“That one did take some convincing but I just knew it was right for us! We’re one of the first bands Tim ever saw live. So I guess there’s a fair bit of what we do in his musical DNA anyway. There’s nothing that he’s brought that’s horrible; that hasn’t been anything but excellent. That song is an example of that and if we’re not growing as a band then what the fuck are we doing? People were confused when he joined but I still can’t see anyone being perplexed because he has been fucking awesome. And to be honest, we don’t care! We just look at the work that we’ve done with the last two records and know that it’s right for us!”
Comfort in the songwriting process has also translated into building Ripper ‘23’s branding. Ripper ‘23 includes more of Tim Rogers than his soaring vocals and songwriting skills. His derrière makes an appearance on the album cover, paying homage to the greatest hits compilation vinyl of the 80s. It also answers the age-old question, “Who wears short shorts?”. Tim Rogers wears ripped denim hot pants!
“Welcome to the band. Now get your ass out for the next album cover,” Black laughs.
“Ray, being the art director, had that idea and after we finished pissing ourselves laughing, we went back and asked him. Tim was like ‘Yep no problem, I’ve even got a photographer in mind’. I can’t wait to see it on a billboard.”
Hard-Ons 14th studio album, Ripper ‘23, is out now via Cheersquad Records & Tapes with the band taking it on the road across June/July, stopping in Victoria in Ballarat, Torquay, Melbourne and Castlemaine.
Tickets via Oztix.
