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The Onyas

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The Onyas
OriginBrisbane, Queensland, Australia
GenresPunk rock
DiscographyDiscography
Years active1991 (1991)-present
Labels
Spinoffs
Members
  • John McKeering
  • Richard Stanley
  • Jordan Stanley
Past members
  • Anton Bladwell
  • José Bernardo "Joseber" Tolosa

The Onyas are an Australian punk rock band that formed in 1991 in Brisbane. The members are John "Mad Macka" McKeering (vocals, guitar) and the brothers Richard "Stanners" Stanley (bass guitar) and Jordan "Jaws" Stanley (drums). They have undertaken five international tours, three to Europe (1996, 1997 and 1998) and two to the United States (1997 and 2000). They issued two studio albums, Get Shitfaced with the Onyas (1996) and Six! (1998).

History

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The Onyas were formed in April 1991 in the Brisbane suburb of Jindalee, Queensland.[1][2][3] Founding members were John "Mad Macka" McKeering on lead vocals and guitar and the brothers Richard "Stanners" Stanley on bass guitar and Jordan "Jaws" Stanley on drums.[1][4][5] McKeering had met Richard in 1989 when they were swapping music tapes.[6] Richard and "Jaws" were born in Sydney and had relocated to Brisbane's western suburbs, where they "hung out at Indooroopilly Shoppingtown and went skating at the Jindalee bowl".[6] Both were influenced by the American group Kiss.[6]

The Onyas' first performance was at the 1991 Queensland Rock Awards.[6] The group released a seven-track extended play, Brack, in 1991 on cassette tape with McKeering on drums, Richard on guitar and vocals, "Jaws" on bass guitar (vocals on one track) and Stuart on vocals (on another track).[6][7] Their next EP was a split album with three tracks each by themselves and Big Bongin' Baby, which appeared in December 1993.[8] After three years of performing at local venues they were signed by Bruce Milne of Melbourne-based Au Go Go Records.[1] The label issued their single "Beer Gut" in 1994.[4] The group undertook their first tour of Europe in early 1996 with Melbourne punk rockers Cosmic Psychos.[1][4] On 19 October 1996 the Queenslanders supported the Sex Pistols on their Filthy Lucre Tour, at the Festival Hall, Melbourne.[4]

The Onyas' debut album, Get Shitfaced with the Onyas, was issued independently in 1996 while its Au Go Go Records' version followed in February 1997.[4][9] Vicious Kitten Magazine's Denis Gray felt "[it] is the most punishing slab of punk you'll hear all year."[10] The Barman of i94-Bar reviewed its 2006 re-issue and found that they were a band "Desperate to be heard, a band desperate not to be stuck in the relatively small pond of Brisbane's often strangulated scene any longer."[11] In 1998 the group relocated to Melbourne where they established a warehouse as their base.[1] In July 1999 Richard founded Dropkick Records, which issued the group's compilation album, Heterospective (April 2000).[1][12]

By 2000, the Onyas had undertaken five international tours with three to Europe (1996, 1997 and 1998) and two to the United States (1997 and 2000).[10][3] Australian musicologist Ian McFarlane observed "[they] played fast, stupid, 'couldn't-give-a-shit' punk rock... [and] issued three albums of rough-hewn punk rock".[4] "Jaws" joined the Casanovas in January 2004 replacing Patrick Boyce on drums.[13] In 2006 McKeering also joined Cosmic Psychos on guitar, after the death of that group's Robert John "Rocket" Watts.[6] Thereafter the Onyas seldom performed: "roughly once per year".[14] Richard reflected, in 2012, "we all went off and joined or started other bands... The Onyas is a distant embarrassment for all of us."[14] In 2016 the Onyas celebrated their 25th anniversary with a concert on 1 April at The Tote, Melbourne.[6]

Members

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Current members

  • John "Mad Macka" McKeering – vocals, guitar, drums
  • Richard "Stanners" Stanley – bass guitar, guitar, vocals
  • Jordan Stanley (p.k.a. "Jaws") – drums (1991–1998)

Previous members

  • Stuart – vocals (1991)[7]
  • Anton Bladwell – guitar (1992), backing vocals (1998)
  • Randy Longbar – guitar (1992–1994)[15]
  • José Bernardo "Joseber" Tolosa – guitar (1997)
  • Joey Hellhound – drums (1998)[4]

Discography

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Albums

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  • Get Shitfaced with the Onyas (1996) – Every Band in Brisbane Sucks Including Yours/Au-Go-Go Records (ANDA 196CD)[4][9]
  • Six! (August 1998) – Au-Go-Go Records[4]

Compilation albums

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  • Heterospective (April 2000) – Dropkick Records (BEHIND 003)[4][15][12]

Extended plays

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Split extended plays

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  • [untitled] (by The Onyas / Big Bongin' Baby) (December 1993)  – Destroyer (009)[8]
  • Pissin' & Peckin' with the Onyas (by The Onyas / the Rockford Files) (1995) – Knuckledrag (URK01)[4][16]

Singles

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  • "Beer Gut" (1994) – Au-Go-Go[17]
  • "Live for Rejection" (1994) – Lance Rock (Canadian label)[4]
  • "London... Paris... Bracken Ridge!" (1997) – 1 + 2
  • "Hit You up the Guts" (1996) – Munster Records (Spanish label)[4]
  • "Drink 'Em up Motherfuckers!" (1998) – Sheep
  • "Three More Hits from the Onyas" (1999) – Junk
  • "Admission of a Lifestyle" (2000) – Dropkick

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Whammo Browse: Onyas". Worldwide Home of Australasian Music and More Online (WHAMMO). 2001. Archived from the original on 6 April 2001. Retrieved 18 October 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ Bredgaard, Mads (23 April 2015). "Get Shitfaced with Mad Macka". sseennsseess. Archived from the original on 16 May 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  3. ^ a b Johannknecht, Norbert. "Interview". Ox-Fanzine (in German). Solingen, Germany. Archived from the original on 19 August 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n McFarlane, Ian (2000). "Encyclopedia entry for 'The Onyas'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 9 August 2004. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  5. ^ Condon, Dan (19 December 2012). "London, Paris, Mustang Bar". themusic.com.au. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h * "The Onyas" 1st version: Emery, Patrick (30 March 2016). "The Onyas". Beat Magazine. Archived from the original on 19 August 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023. The Onyas' first release was a seven-song collection of demos released in 1991, titled Bracks CS.
    • "The Onyas" 2nd version: Emery, Patrick. "The Onyas". Beat Magazine. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2023. N.B.: has different introduction.
  7. ^ a b c Onyas (Musical group) (1991), Brack, Mick at Uibrafeel, retrieved 17 October 2023, Title: Brack / The Onyas. Contents: Side one: Pretty Dark, Origin, Mags on My Van, T.A.B., Docks of Melbourne. Side 2: Ekka, Oh Juel, Rig-Bee.
  8. ^ a b Onyas (Musical group); Big Bongin Baby (Musical group, performer) (1994), [untitled compilation], Destroyer, retrieved 17 October 2023
  9. ^ a b * Onyas (Musical group) (1996), Get Shit Faced with the Onyas, Every Band in Brisbane Sucks Including Yours, retrieved 17 October 2023
  10. ^ a b Gray, Denis (1997). "The Onyas". Vicious Kitten Magazine (5). Archived from the original on 19 August 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  11. ^ The Barman (12 June 2017). "Get Shitfaced with the Onyas & Six! - The Onyas (Swashbuckling Hobo)". I-94 Bar. Archived from the original on 18 October 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  12. ^ a b Onyas (Musical group) (2000), Heterospective, Dropkick, retrieved 17 October 2023
  13. ^ "Foo Fighters and Chick Corea to Perform Together". Undercover News. Paul Cashmere, Ros O'Gorman. 30 January 2004. Archived from the original on 17 May 2005. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  14. ^ a b Condon, Dan (19 December 2012). "'London, Paris, Mustang Bar' ♫ Interviews: The Onyas Richard Stanley". Time Off (theMusic.com.au). Archived from the original on 19 February 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. ^ a b c "The Onyas". grunnenrocks.nl. Archived from the original on 29 May 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  16. ^ Onyas (Musical group); Rockford Files (Musical group, performer) (1995), Pissin' & Peckin' with the Onyas, Knuckledrag, retrieved 17 October 2023
  17. ^ Onyas (Musical group) (1994). "Beer Gut" : "Run Amok!". Brisbane, Qld: Au-go-go. Retrieved 17 October 2023.

Further reading

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  • Beteta, Manuel (2016). El año que matamos a Skippy: Un recorrido por el high-energy, punk, garage y power-pop australiano (in Spanish). Barcelona: 66 rpm Edicions. ISBN 978-84-945330-6-8.
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