I’ve been listing to the Hard-ons from afar for decades, ever since I picked up their US debut EP on Bigtime in 1987, purely because the cover had a skateboard on it. I’ve never been able to see these guys live, and the only thing I know about them as humans comes through looking at their artwork and listening to their music. Aside from the skateboard on the cover, the racial makeup of the band portrayed in that crude illustration definitely had an appeal to me. It was unlike anything I was seeing in punk a the time. I assumed they were punk because, you know, 80’s DIY art and a skateboard. The style of the some of the music threw me for a loop at the time as my tiny brain recoiled at anything vaguely-heavy metal. However, their spirit really stuck with me, and I loved the underdog nature of an ethically diverse non-mainstream band from Australia. I kept buying their albums and they really grew on me. Terrible Happy Talks has a long interview with bassist and founding member Ray Ahn. You can listen on THT or wherever else you might find podcasts. This is an atypical band member interview. When asked some of the standard band-type questions, Ray becomes deeply introspective and gives very personal answers. Given their discography and artwork, it was a bit of a surprise (to me at least) to learn that Ray is such a serious fellow. The interview is long, slow placed, and very thoughtful. It may not be for everyone (like their music) but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Bonus fact learned: The Hard-ons toured with the infamous skate rock band The Stupids.
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