Ep491: Aussie Legend Tex Perkins - The Cruel Sea, The Beasts & Beyond

The Vinyl Guide - Artist Interviews for Record Collectors and Music Nerds

Nate Goyer

Music, Music History, Music Interviews

4.7 • 579 Ratings

🗓️ 31 March 2025

⏱️ 68 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Australian icon Tex Perkins takes us through his legendary career, from The Cruel Sea & The Beasts recent works, to wild ARIA award nights, his atrocious habits with vinyl records, reissuing his works on vinyl and lots more.

Topics Include:

Tex Perkins rehearsing with The Cruel Sea for upcoming gigs.
Bringing back "deep cuts" from 30 years ago.
Band already prepared the songs before his arrival.
Feels like "personal karaoke" returning to old material.
Gains fresh perspective on older songs with time.
Sometimes writes songs instinctively, not from personal experience.
Song "Hard For You" channeled rage he hadn't experienced.
Recorded with Kid Congo Powers from Bad Seeds.
ARIA Awards incident clarified - didn't stab anyone.
Hit someone with a glass at an after-party.
Molly Meldrum was present during the altercation.
Lived with Jules Normington of Phantom Records.
Paid rent by washing Jules' dishes.
Had access to Jules' extensive record collection.
Especially enjoyed 60s punk and garage rock records.
Met John Foy, who was pedantic about record handling.
Music scattered across many different record labels.
Controls some albums, but not all.
Universal owns The Cruel Sea and some Beasts albums.
Axeman's Jazz recorded and mixed in six hours.
Recent album "Ultimo" recorded differently - basic tracks then laptop.
Modern recording allows more experimentation without studio costs.
Prefers vinyl album lengths around 18-20 minutes per side.
Three Legged Dog being released on three vinyl sides.
Spanish reissues were "handshake deals" with unclear accounting.
Appreciates unashamedly Australian content in newer bands.
Newer bands don't hide their Australian accents.
Never experienced censorship of his music.
Had releases in different regions without his knowledge.
No accounting from Big Time label after bankruptcy.
Performed with The Legendary Stardust Cowboy in 1985.
"Ledge" known for having "world's worst record" - Paralyzed.
Backed Ledge with James Baker, Spencer Jones, Lachlan McLeod.
Ledge progressively stripped during his performance.
Threw Frisbee paper plates with drawings into the audience.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, record nerds, check out the next level audiophile furniture at sidetracked workshop.com.
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0:17.8	Don't keep your records and crates, and don't trust that feeble IKEA furniture. Give your
0:22.9	vinyl the respect it deserves with furniture from sidetracked workshop.com. And now on with the show.
0:30.6	Welcome to the vinyl guide, the podcast for record collectors and music nerds. Here's your host,
0:36.1	the biggest record nerd of them all, Nate Goyer.
0:38.8	Oh, well, hello, everyone.
0:40.2	It's Nate.
0:41.2	Welcome to episode 491 of the Final Guide, the podcast for record collectors and music nerds.
0:47.8	And ladies and gentlemen, it's a really very funny episode today.
0:52.6	One of the rare times that the artist, the interviewee, was also in
0:58.1	Sydney. We were able to be in the same physical location. We had a great time. And I, of course,
1:02.4	am speaking of the absolute Australian deadset legend, Tex Perkins. Now, you may know Tex
1:08.3	from his work with the Cruel Sea. You may know him from the Beasts of Bourbon,
1:12.4	you may know him from Thug or a myriad of other bands and projects he's had over the years,
1:18.3	but today, Tex is going to take us through his legendary career, from re-engaging with Cruel C
1:24.2	and their upcoming shows, to talking about some wild ARIA Award nights.
1:29.9	He answers the question, did he stab someone with an ARIA Award?
1:33.6	Well, you're going to have to listen in to find out.
1:36.7	Tex talks about the record label trials, backing the infamous legendary Stardust Cowboy.
	...

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