Deniz Tek of Australia's Legendary Punk Band Radio Birdman Set to Shred This Weekend

Will Griffith | Jun 15, 2018 10:00 am | Add a comment | 1971 reads

When American garage punk pioneers The Fleshtones rolled through Beijing and the rest of China back in the fall of 2016, it left quite the impression on the grizzled veterans. As anyone who recalls that fateful School Bar show can tell you, it was utter insanity. Afterward, guitarist Keith Streng got the word to another rock legend, the American-born Australian-raised Deniz Tek of Radio Birdman, one of Australia’s first punk bands and pioneers in their own right, whose decades of DIY ethos and trailblazing tunes influenced rock and roll long after the band first called it quits in 1978. With the help of Shanghai punk circus ringleaders Round Eye, Deniz Tek, along with the aforementioned Keith Streng, will come barrelling through Beijing for two shows, one at DDC on Jun 15 and at 77 Theatre on Jun 18 as part of Fête de la Musique (more on that here).

Deniz Tek is just the latest act Round Eye has brought over to China – over the past few years the saxophone-wielding, doo-wop flavored Shanghai renegades have invited MDC, Mike Watt and The Missingmen, D.O.A., The FUs, and The Boys (UK), among others. In many ways Round Eye has been a vital passage to punk and rock’s history, giving access to folks around China a chance to see their heroes, the ones in the trenches from the get-go.

As Chachy, the shaggy vocalist for Round Eye tells me, "The DIY music touring scene is alive and well, and like anything on this planet, the more global guanxi you have the easier life will be. Reach out cause in most cases not only will you have an extra resource of helping you along, you'll have a new friend and family member to embrace on the journey through this insane circus of DIY rock and roll living."

While Radio Birdman first split in 1978, just four years after emerging, the band’s impact lingered on long afterward among the nation’s punks-to-be as well as seeping into the licks and attitude of the bands that its members went on to play in.

It wasn’t until 2007, one year after releasing their 2006 album Zeno Beach and 30 years after forming, that they earned a spot in the Australian Music Hall of Fame. Upon releasing Zeno, Rolling Stone described the band's sound eloquently when they said Radio Birdman created "a then-unprecedented attack music from surf music, Nuggets-style garage, the primal assault of the Stooges and the twin-guitar terror of Blue Oyster Cult.”

Tek is straightforward in recognizing the band's constraints in the early days, telling the Beijinger, "I only ever did the music that I wanted to do. We would rather be thrown out of a venue, or banned from playing, than cleave to anyone's idea of what we should be doing, or to try to be "commercially viable." That happened often in the '70s – not so much now. The main enemy now seems to be indifference. These days pop music has an extremely narrow focus … it has become fast food."

While the band has reformed a couple times over the past two decades, Tek is optimistic as ever with their current lineup which also features the Godoy brothers on bass and drums (notorious among many a pro-skater circle) – “we hit some peaks almost every time we go out and play – the current lineup of Radio Birdman is like driving a Ferrari."

READ: Fête de la Musique Returns to Beijing With 6 Free Concerts, Jun 18-23

As Loreli co-founder and Australian citizen Kerryn Leitch put it in regards to her and her fellow countrymen's mark on the world: "We may be lightweights when it comes to cultural impact on the world but when we hit, we hit hard." The same rings true for Radio Birdman.