Six Ft Hick: Chicken

Label: Valve/East West Records
Distributor: Warner Music Australia
Cat No: 8573-85678-2
Year Of Release: 2000
Produced by: Tony Cohen
Mixed by: Tony Cohen (tracks 1 - 4), Jeff Lovejoy (tracks 5 - 13), Loki Lockwood (track 8)
Personnel: Geoff Corbett (vocals), Ben Corbett (vocals), Dan Baebler (guitar), Fred Noonan (drums), Karim Mellowship (electric banjo)

Back in 1999 - 2000, Warner Music in Australia was riding high on the Brisrock bandwagon with Regurgitator, Pangaea and Pretty Violet Stain. This band slipped through the cracks commercially, but are one of the most exciting and energetic and controversial rock'n'roll acts to ever come out of Brisbane.
Led by the Corbett brothers, the band grew up in the ultra-conservative bible-toting town of Nambour before starting out in Brisbane in 1995.
This album is a holy combination of rockabilly, punk, and swamp rock bristling with some great fuzzy scrubbed guitars, more swagger that makes Iggy Pop look like a choirboy and frantic drumbeats.
Geoff Corbett recently confessed to me that it was a very interesting time for the band during the recording sessions. You can virtually smell the alcohol and whatnot wafting through the studio during the making for a band that enjoyed their unmarried childless reckless yoof to the max.
Some of the song titles ensured that this band would not get airplay on Austereo networks such as the delightfully titled "Dog Eared Porno Mag", "Oysters", "Jesus, Gimme Peace" and "Goddamn". The Corbett's naughty glands work overtime on this album as well as on stage (you have to witness Ben's throwing himself and writhing on the floor and smashing his microphone on his forehead as well as Geoff sculling beer out of his cowboy boots).
If indie, emo and grunge bore you to death and you just feel like a good throwback to the days when rock'n'roll was fun and dangerous to like at the same time then definitely give this album a few spins.
These days, the band are in their 40's and both the Corbett lads are married with children but the wild stage antics and their facetious and socially biting humour are very much still intact. If old age doesn't get to them, rock'n'roll will first.

7/10