And at that nexus of garage rock/power pop/mod/protopunk are many bands who have come and gone and whose members seem to reform to create new groups, with the various members building their legacies. Case in point: The On and Ons.
Clyde Bramley, bassist for the On and Ons, explained to Garagerocktopia that bands effectively travel through revolving doors, joining, seperating, then rinse and repeat with members of other bands whom not long before were jamming the same night you were at a club across the alley.
“The late ‘70s and in the post-Radio Birdman scene in Sydney, there were a lot of bands forming, breaking up, forming new bands,” recounted Bramley, who along with guitarist and songwriter Glenn Morris, talked to Garagerocktopia via Zoom. “It’s a relatively tight family tree. I wouldn’t say it’s a small pool of musicians, but it’s different than the U.S. There, you’re very decentralized whereas in Australia it’s very centralized around Sydney and Melbourne and the coastal cities.”
The On and Ons were founded by Glenn and his brother Brian. Glenn had already staked out a reputation as a solid guitar player and plied his trade in bands like The Screaming Tribesmen and Kings of the Sun. And, both Glenn and Brian lent their skills to other bands and artists, most notably American power pop stalwart Paul Collins.
And being longtime members of the Sydney rock and roll community, there was no shortage of players with serious cred to recruit. The Morris brothers teamed up with Clyde Bramley, ex of The Hoodoo Gurus and bassist for the band’s landmark Stoneage Romeos album. Joining soon after were Richard Lane, formerly of The Stems and ex-Barbarellas guitarist Jon Roberts and The On and Ons were, well, on.
The band has been building an international audience for years and seems to be knocking on the door of a breakthrough. It recently inked a deal with the U.S.-based power pop label Jem Records. The band’s album from 2023, Let Ya Hair Down! received airplay across the world, even poking through to commercial radio airplay primarily via the syndicated program Little Steven’s Underground Garage, while also receiving steady play on its namesake satellite radio channel. And the band’s name seems to be steadily popping up on more and more non-commercial radio playlists across North America and Europe.
In 2024 the band also released a couple of songs for the French garage rock label Rouge Records which continued to net them airplay, particularly on non-commercial stations.
“Rock and Roll is our common ground,” explained Bramley. “Being in Australia, we got the best of the U.S. and the best of the UK, plus the best of Europe. We got a real mix over here, but what went on was basic rock and roll.”
“We all have a similar sort of interest in the same genres of music, so we have that same shared background, growing up in Australia and listening to the same kinds of music, to AM radio, then FM radio and liking the same things coming through the punk boom and the post-punk kind of thing. All the bands we’ve been in have been rock groups.”
Added Morris: “Even the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, we love all that stuff, especially the harmonies, right through to music from the ‘70s”
The band’s latest release is Come On In, slated for a January 17 release on Jem Records. It is mostly a compilation of songs from previous albums but does contain new songs as well and is an excellent showcase for the band’s adept melodicism across genres.
The breezy title cut for the aforementioned Let Ya Hair Down! is included. If it’s straight-up garage you’re looking for “All Over Heavenly (You’re My Everything)” and “Lovin’ Soul” nicely hits the mark, while “Games People Play” evokes more of a freakbeat vibe. Roller Coaster” and “To Die For” should easily scratch any power pop itch a listener might have.
The cuts “Sunny Jim,” “Run To Tomorrow” and “Long Ride” strongly recall no-nonsense Aussie pub rock, the cradle of so much of the country’s rock and roll music, known or obscure. To hear Bramley explain it, pub rock is virtually imbedded in the band’s DNA.
(Note: Australia’s version of pub rock is a different phenomenon than the London version of pub rock, though in some cases there are similarities, but the genres and histories are distinct from each other.)
“We all have that in common and it’s a very Australian thing,” Bramley verified. “What you call pub rock, or Oz rock, a lot of bands who cut their teeth by playing at pubs around the country.”
The leap to the attention of American audiences, though, was likely a connection to a prominent American power popster that led Jem Records to The On and Ons and eventually a record deal.
“That may have come about because Paul Collins is signed to that label,” Bramley said. “Glenn and Brian have a history – they’ve played with Paul Collins, and Collins probably put in a good word for us to Jem. They were interested, they approached us, and it seemed like a good combination, or a good fit for what we wanted. It was always in the back of our minds that we wanted an American label to put us out. They’ve been putting out some of the songs and they have been getting airplay, and hopefully that will continue.”
For the impressive assortment of hooks and melodies that no doubt will help the group’s cause, Bramley credited Morris’ songwriting strengths that permeate through the band’s music regardless of what genre or style on which a particular song might lean.
“Glenn tends to write a variety of songs.” said Bramley. “They’re not all the same and there’s a great deal of variety to how they feel, so there’s always a lot to play with. There’s always a strong melody, so you can try all different kinds of background and all different styles.”
“He is a very prolific songwriter, and we’re very lucky to have him. We’ve always got stuff we can be working on. We start recording more songs generally than will be on the record, and we’ll drop a few along the way.”
Morris shared a straightforward description of his songwriting style and why it works well for the band. Further, all band members are clear about their roles.
The band has been fairly prolific over the past few years, and the good news is, especially with the new record deal in hand, is not letting up. Bramley and Morris divulged that The On and Ons are working on an all-new album and hope to have it released soon.
“It’s well underway, and we’re hoping to get that out in the early part of the second half of 2025,” reported Bramley. “We think it’s a strong album. We’re on the way recording and now we just have to find time to finish it off.”
In crafting the new album, Morris and Bramley described a sort of reverse process the On and Ons employ to choose which songs will make the cut and which might be saved for use later.
“In the past, bands would road test their songs first and play them live before an audience so they could see what works and what doesn’t,” explained Bramley. “We don’t tend to work that way – we record the songs first before we play them live. It's the reverse of how most bands do it, but it works for us. And gradually the songs mutate into what becomes the finished product.”
Over the course of the interview, the rather collegial relationship between so many of the members from the various Sydney bands came up again and again, so much so that.Morris and Bramley revealed that some special guests would be playing on the new album. The name they dropped was Richard Burgman of the ace mod/power pop band The Sunnyboys. And, just leaving a band does not mean one leaves the friendships that formed in it. Bramley mentioned he still has a warm relationship with his ex-bandmates in The Hoodoo Gurus.
“I saw them last month,” Bramley revealed. “They played here and invited me along to the gig and saw (guitarist) Brad (Shepherd). We’re still friends, but they do their thing and we do ours. But I do get invited to their annual Christmas party and it’s always good to see them”
Don't Forget to listen to Garagerocktopia Radio, alternating with Blue Mood, Tuesday nights on KUCR Radio, 88.3 FM Riverside, California, where you can hear artists like The On and Ons, plus many others who have appeared on our hallowed pages and whose music has inspired us. Can't tune in live? No problem! head over to Mixcloud and catch the show there.
We have some other features already in the works here at Garagerocktopia. Artists have been sending us some very cool stuff. As always, we don’t make any guarantees in stone but we’re happy to say we’ve gotten a lot of very promising music sent to us, and we’re always happy to spread the word about about bands that are playing the way-out kinds of music we profile here. Send us a line and we’ll talk.
Also, we do have a Facebook page for this blog. We don’t put personal stuff on it – no pictures of grandkids (which we don't have anyway) or our dinners or politics or anything like that. What we do post are announcements about upcoming features, maybe extra stuff about the bands, and any cool music, movies or TV Shows we stumble across that might have even the most tangential connection with the music featured here. While we don't spend all day thinking about it, we do like "likes" and "follows" on both Facebook and Mixcloud if you're so inclined ...
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