Garth Barnes is the signer/guitarist/songwriter for Tweak (now CrashCarBurn) who dominated South African radio in the early 2000s with their incredibly catchy and relatable pop-punk songs.

Scoring multiple chart singles across their early albums, Tweak became a household name and bridged the gap between the pioneering early 90s SA rock bands with the modern, more internationally-flavoured second wave of bands and beyond. Supporting massive international artists, they took off like a rocket and tried to hold on.

Tweak was renamed CrashCarBurn when the band relocated to London, UK, and changed members along the way. While they never reached the insane heights of the Tweak days, CCB have released four outstandingly written and produced albums, and continue performing to this day. I loved this chat, as Garth and I have somewhat of a parallel history in the early 2000s.

Please, do enjoy.

TWEAK: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5a111cSPcXfRJAbY2MdtLS?si=rZqeAIL9TGC325nXeyySlg

CRASHCARBURN: https://open.spotify.com/artist/184sdcjHnD6iVWbPEhxJoC?si=tZVeQIbHTrumxYmHs0B-7g

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Sugardrive were a formative influence on me and I was beyond thrilled when my friend Kerry-Anne Allerston hooked me up with Paul, singer of this legendary South African band. Their debut, 'Hey God It's Me Again' made a massive impact on all of us, and 'Sand.Mand.Sky' is a bona fide classic record. The song 'Disco Lazarus' off third album 'When I Died I Was Elvis' took them to new heights with extensive national airplay.

No wonder they headlined Oppikoppi multiple years running, they were just untouchable live.

We talked right through their career and Paul was astute, well-spoken and a real laugh throughout. Also, he remembered everything really clearly, which was a real treat. This episode is a proper full circle moment and I am super proud to be able to have recorded it. Thank you so much to Paul and Kerry-Anne for making this happen.

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Fokofpolisiekar are a household name in South Africa, and rightly so - their honest, insightful and highly intelligent lyrics are delivered with powerful, intricate guitar work, propulsive drums and bass, and Francois Van Coke's raw-throated vocal. And it's this magic combination that formed a band who truly connect with people, on multiple levels and across genres and walks of life.

The band's history is well summed up in the epic documentary 'Fokofpolisiekar' - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/video/detail/amzn1.dv.gti.0eafcf3f-cc57-9552-80ed-bf687d8c6276?autoplay=0&ref_=atv_cf_strg_wb

And Francois has now told another side of the story in his awesome book, 'Hoe Ek Dit Onthou' - https://woordfees.co.za/en/program/francois-van-coke-hoe-ek-dit-onthou/

Fokof continue to be very active, both as a band and in their various side projects including Van Coke Kartel and AKing. Their last album 'Dans Deur Die Donker' came out in 2023, so there's a lot of creative mileage left in the tank - and it's befok.

In this short but awesome chat we tried to get to the heart of what made Fokof so great.

Find out more about Fokofpolisiekar here: https://www.fokofpolisiekar.co.za/

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Esjay Jones hails from Durban, South Africa - the same town as me - so we've gigged and hung out quite a bit in the past. She went on to front the successful SA pop-rock band Stealing Love Jones before making the big leap to the USA where she pursued and achieved a very impressive songwriting and music production career.

She's collaborated with people like Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins), Brian 'Head' Welch (Korn), Dave Navarro (Jane's Addiction/Red Hot Chill Peppers), Shifty Shellshock (Crazy Town), Alien Ant Farm and Morgan Lander (Kittie). In fact, the collab with Lander led to the creation of the pair's alcohol-free beer phenomenon, KittiePIG (https://kittiepig.com).

And that doesn't tell half the story - how her unique talent, drive and determination has seen her through, taken her places most musicians only aspire to. Hopefully our chat uncovers at least some of that.

Thanks for your time Esjay, it was a real fun one!

Find out more about Esjay Jones: https://www.esjayjones.com/

Listen to We Are PIGS: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0QRmv4wNihLdpSIjRxFFrz?si=DuHBmFh4TyGhefqecBXrpw / https://music.apple.com/gb/artist/we-are-pigs/1545506097

Listen to Stealing Love Jones: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1h5Z07yv6lnDhygWTDmCGE?si=Drbw1WzVSd68xcWyQWUfFQ / https://music.apple.com/gb/artist/stealing-love-jones/280223554

Listen to my music on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6EU9T2T2wFtIZGwhYeYkxx?si=CTjGWZFMTheaK7iTCnhOXQ / https://open.spotify.com/artist/5sHBcFmZOnDRoyIcJCtvI9?si=8wG3vDRaSgqhqH-gN3fxVQ

Listen to my music on Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/gb/artist/thumbofrule/1560754178 / https://music.apple.com/gb/artist/anova-skyward/971275560

Download Caught In Time and other tracks: https://anovaskyward.bandcamp.com/album/caught-in-time / https://thumbofrule.bandcamp.com/album/bad-hair-in-the-house-of-the-king

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Perez were one of my favourite SA bands, probably one of the top three I listened to - and they were mates and peers, so a very meaningful band to me and musically very unique in the scene. This was important, especially when the scene was generating some like-for-like versions of overseas bands - Perez kept their identity and kept the song as the main focus, with some highly impressive vocal and instrumental chops to boot.

What made them work so well was the tight friendship and musical understanding between the four members - something that becomes difficult to achieve later in life. Check some of this early magic in Tamsyn Curtis' awesome documentary: https://youtu.be/YsrILzwhe0Y?si=wZdCzOesIDt_tQin

Their live shows were transfixing, with all of them exuding magnetism and just knowing how to work a stage, and their best gigs were ones where they would collectively get lost in the music. They did some big things during their short tenure, were played all over national radio and headlined many festivals - which is why so many still love them.

They didn't reach the heights they could have, and have all moved on to other projects, but the music speaks for itself. Go and get it.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/4G30SsYmThGzZPCCyDN1bH?si=7mP-9FhyQnyHMtfIscgTPA

https://music.apple.com/gb/artist/perez/1538334873

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This episode sees me talking with singer Kahn Morbee and guitarist Paul Hodgson, some good friends as well as very well known names on the South African scene (and internationally too).

I first toured with the Parlotones in 2002 and we shared many a stage over a couple of years, including one in London. I immediately knew they were absolutely class songwriters and wasn't surprised when their trajectory just kept going up and up.

Even so, they've done some pretty amazing things few SA bands have achieved, and it's been an absolute blast to delve into their past, explore their evolution, learn about triumphs and lower points, and share some pretty funny stories.

Explore the Parlotones and get connected to their socials here: https://theparlotones.co.za/

Parlotones songs featured in this episode:

Colourful

Beautiful

Push Me To The Floor

Here Comes A Man

Giant Mistake

Ashton Nyte - 'Rivers Run Back'

Boo - 'Lucki'

Neon Choir - 'Young Blood'

Anova Skyward - 'Caught in Time'

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This episode sees me talk to Martin 'Cito' Otto, vocalist and songwriter for South African pop-rock-funk legends Wonderboom. A true gent, he waxed lyrical about their history and some choice moments from their incredible career. They're a band absolutely devoted to the stage and crafting the best songs they can - successfully giving the middle finger to convention while writing stuff that's totally memorable and accessible.

Visit https://www.wonderboom.co.za/ for more info!

Songs featured in this episode are:

My Name Is Freedom: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/my-name-is-freedom/1730584928?i=1730585329

Miss Demeanour: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/miss-demeanour/1730584928?i=1730585344

Smile Pantsula: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/smile-pantsula/1510392528?i=1510392538

She Cries: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/she-cries/1510392528?i=1510392536

Space Man (Springbok Nude Girls): https://music.apple.com/gb/album/space-man/1258394974?i=1258395222

Charlie: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/charlie-aint-slavin-2-da-habit/588691527?i=588691606

Shadows: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/shadows-2001-barney-simons-shadows-2001-remix/588691527?i=588691752

Southern Light: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/southern-light/1634644523?i=1634644531

Never Ever Ever: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/never-ever-ever-ever/582363370?i=582363373

Ooh La La: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/ooh-la-la/1634644523?i=1634645210

Animal: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/animal/1634652426?i=1634652433

Hell: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/hell-single/1634664216

Songs featured by my solo project ThumbOfRule are:

Last To Leave: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/last-to-leave-single/1580286542

Caught In Time: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/caught-in-time/971275559

Thanks to Cito for his time and kindness in helping me put this episode together.

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Springbok Nude Girls are one of South Africa's most beloved rock bands, even now some 30+ years after forming. Their debut album, 'Neanderthal One', immediately captured hearts with the iconic single 'Bubblegum On My Boots' - and they became a household name with the bittersweet anthem 'Blue Eyes'.

Guitarist/songwriter Theo Crous has become one of South Africa's premier music producers and engineers, cutting his teeth alongside masters like Kevin Shirley before helming many award-winning records by bands like Fokofpolisiekar, AKing, Van Coke Kartel and many more. Theo has been a major part of my musical development, producing and engineering my very first recording, the Jimmy 12-Inch EP 'Diaphoraspora' featuring singles like 'Even Steven' and 'Shorn's Song.'

The accomplishments and adventures of Theo and SNG are too many to list here, so I recommend checking out their massive discography here: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3hz6VscKnCkBeeeiy66Qzh?si=7gAqKc6IRVCnKfR0QibDWg

Songs featured in this episode are:

Blue Eyes: https://open.spotify.com/track/7DirY6NZx5zbsNChNHUZNb?si=c609d13202c64e46

Bubblegum On My Boots: https://open.spotify.com/track/7rpkHhI6GttrGTphdCNYIC?si=35ac7acea7a04035

Bubblegum On My Boots Today: https://open.spotify.com/track/5xSbVtcrrNp36uwltJFKfb?si=999ac73d32b84ac3

Little: https://open.spotify.com/track/1rJ0NNDUPUGPeU8I9xHHqP?si=2b8e2e838f934b98

X: https://open.spotify.com/track/3n3K0SzVpeI9jdzhzHRd2b?si=6fe28f91ab414d11

Giant Love Affair: https://open.spotify.com/track/0Zk5DkUqVIrcr61xH0erFo?si=26e1966c542744cf

Gang Gang: https://open.spotify.com/track/2KGPdwbWakpMxzgH5bIVyc?si=21347a1fb9cf4dc7

Watch the documentary Springbok Nude Girls on Apple TV here: Springbok Nude GirlsApple TVhttps://tv.apple.com › movie › springbok-nude-girls

Also visit https://springboknudegirls.co.za/ for more info about the band.

You can download the Jimmy 12-Inch back catalogue here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ggsdl76bxyu2avj/AACYLtefCfS07_gVEVM1tOaqa?st=uhrgrcpq&dl=0

________

Follow me on social media at:

Instagram: @adamstanleydrums /

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61563275038371

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