The Prize

Thin Lizzy, Dublin’s phenomenal rock ‘n’ roll group fronted by the charismatic singer/bass guitarist Phil Lynott had a dramatic influence on many bands. Melbourne garage rock band The Prize could be one such band.

Formed from the remnants of Mr Teenage, The Prize has delivered its first vinyl EP, a classic punk rock sounding release entitled Wrong Side Of Town.

Its three awesome originals and a cover from 1979, that clocks in under 10 minutes.

The title track has the vibe of a Phil Lynott lyric – Spend all your money/Rolling the dice. Real life stuff. Nadine Muller’s ace drumming reminds me of the velocity, precision, drive and heart of Nandi Bushell, playing with Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters.

Side two kicks off with Had It Made; this has Cheap Trick hot kicks, Pixies melodicism in the vocal department with the sonic signature approaching Place Without a Postcard/Glynn John’s rock ‘n’ roll sound. Had It Made is a cousin to the Oil’s Hercules. Solid.

The music was recorded by Matt Black, mixed and mastered by Mikey Young. They’re pressing up a second batch of vinyl, such is the love of this debut EP.

A brief look at the form guide, and we have The Prize playing at The Gem as part of Leaps and Bounds Festival. At Negative Waves Festival, Barwon Club, they played on the SPJ stage (all the way with SPJ), playing before Swedish Magazines. On Friday, September 16, they supported The Chats at The Forum Theatre, Flinders St. The Prize may have the keys to the highway.

Someone has placed on YouTube with the blessing of the band a live audio recording of The Prize performing a blistering set of music on a Sunday Arvo in May at The Tramway Hotel. The audio has been eq’ed and compressed; sounds brilliant.

The Prize has The Wrong Side of Town EP vinyl launch with The Blind, Brickhead and The Glass Picture on Saturday, October 1 at The John Curtin Hotel. Along with the vinyl records, The Prize t-shirts, designed by guitarist Austin Haire, will be available on the night. The future starts now for The Prize. Hail, hail The Prize.

Kutcha Edwards’ beautiful song Mrs Edwards is getting plenty of radio play on 3PBS, 3RRR and 3CR. Kutcha has filmed a fantastic series of interviews with musos, actors and creative artists. The project is called Kutcha’s Karpool Karaoke; very entertaining to experience. It’s available to watch on YouTube.

Triple R, 102.7 FM, had their Radiothon in September. It made for great radio, highlighting how vital community radio is to Melbourne. Listeners were treated to the best in the arts, music, literature, science, politics, the epicurean universe. One of the many highlights of Radiothon was Vika and Linda Bull serenading the Breakfasters morning radio crew.

You’ve gotta love The Cherry Bar, 68 Little Collins St, Naarm (Melbourne). It’s one of the most iconic music bars in Victoria. Cherry has at the bar a new, most collectible, limited edition, original, authentic Cherry Bar t-shirt. Make it a good luck charm. Get there before you forget to.

Melbourne band Ivy Streep achieved the distinction of a Thursday night residency at Cherry Bar in September. Fans of Fu Manchu, Kyuss, Dern Rutledge, Bored!, Powdermonkeys will be at Cherry in abundance on Thursday, September 29, enjoying the fuzzed out tones of Ivy Streep as they rock The Cherry Bar. •