RENEGADE
JOHN GIBSON AKA JOHNNY BEER
Renegade from Melbourne was one of the first bands in Australia to play thrash metal. They formed back in the early eighties and they released just one album. The underground classic Total Armageddon back in 1987.
They gigged with Australian bands like Mass Confusion, Depression, No Remorse and Hobbs' Angel of Death before breaking up in 1988. I have talked to Renegade's vocalist John Gibson aka Johnny Beer about the good old days. The tours, the album and about the passing of Renegade's guitarist Ron Cartledge. Renegade also appeared recently in a documentary called Metal Down Under, Which is a documentary about the Australian metal scene.
Now over to Johnny Beer.
You were one of the first to play thrash metal in Australia, what bands influenced your sound?
It's funny but we were influenced by almost exactly the same bands that were influencing the U.S. thrash bands but we didn't know about what was happening in the U.S.A. back then. We had all grown up on Black Sabbath and Judas Priest etc, but had recently got into Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Angelwitch, Saxon and other bands from the NWOBHM. Our guitarist, Ron, was also into a lot of punk music such as Dead Kennedys.
I remember hearing the Dead Kennedys at Ron's place and thinking that it was the fastest music I had ever heard. Then Ron told us about this local punk band called Depression. The Dead Kennedys came out to Australia to play at the Seaview Ballroom and they were supported by Depression. Depression had all the aggression and speed of punk, but they were also technically good musicians. We eventually became good friends with Depression and their guitarist, Smeer, actually produced a little demo tape that we did which was never publicly released.
You recorded a demo in 1985. Was it well received?
It was pretty well received locally, although the production was a bit thin and weak. The problem was that Melbourne producers of that time didn't know how to produce metal.
Your only full-length Total Armageddon was released back in 1987, what do you think of it in retrospect?
Again, it suffers badly from poor production and lack of funds. The whole thing was recorded and mixed in 2 days - it would have been great to be able to spend some more time on it.
Renegade's bassist Scott played in Hobbs' Angel of Death for a while. You must have gigged a lot with them back in the days?
We did a few gigs with Tyrus, which featured Peter Hobbs on guitar and vocal, Alex Radanov on lead guitar, Chris Phillips on drums and Dave Frew on bass. I am still good friends with Chris, having played in several bands with him, and Alex.
You also played with Mass Confusion, are you still in contact with any of those guys?
Again, still good friends with Chris (played in Tyrus and Mass Confusion, as well as a million other bands), and also with the rest of the guys. Phil the bass player played with me in a band called Rong, where we do covers of pop and alternative songs but play them heavy and down-tuned. Also in Rong are Sham, the drummer from Nothing Sacred, and George Larin on lead guitar (ex Taramis, Nothing Sacred, New Religion).
I am also getting an original old-school metal band going with Phil in the near future. I am good mates with Darren the singer from Mass, and also with the guitarist, Slob.
You toured Adelaide with Depression, How was that tour?
The Adelaide tour was fantastic. Depression were such a great band and that tour was as heavy as shit. The crowds were great and the music was thrashy and heavy.
On the 23rd of July in 1988 Renegade did their last gig together with Mass Confusion and No Remorse. How was that gig? Was it decided before the gig that it would be your last?
We didn't know at the time that it would be our last gig.
Why did you disband?
I I left the band shortly after that gig to pursue another career and we all went on to do other things.
You were included in the new documentary about the Australian Metal scene titled Metal Down Under. What can you tell us about that DVD?
The documentary was a great idea put together by Film-maker Nick Capakdjian and it was an honour to be a part of it. There were a few omissions but it is impossible to include everything in the space of a few hours. For Renegade, the greatest omission was radio host Andy Accept, who hosted "Demon Night" on a local station 3PBS, who did a hell of a lot to promote Renegade. The other radio host, Alan Thomas, who is heavily mentioned in the DVD was a wimpy dickhead who did nothing for us.
Your guitarist Ron Cartledge died earlier this year. What happened to him?
Ron died suddenly on 25th March 2015, from natural causes. His death was sudden and unexpected and has really knocked us all for six.
What's the highlight of your career?
Playing music to regular crowds of 300-400 people and getting to know some awesome metalheads, many of whom are still friends.
Have you got any funny story to tell, if anything weird has happened while gigging or so?
There are quite a few funny stories and some great memories but they are best told over a cold beer.
Last but not least, is a reunion possible?
Ron Cartledge was the driving force behind Renegade and since Ron is no longer with us a reunion is not possible. There may be a time when a couple of us get up on stage at a gig and do a song or two, but a complete reunion would not be possible without Ron. We have recently discovered some old recordings, including rehearsals, gigs and even a demo we recorded with Smeer from Depression doing the engineering.
We are in the process of retrieving the audio from these tapes and converting them to digital - keep a look out for some "new" old recordings soon!
Cheers, Johnny Beer
By/Ruthless
(23-04-2015)
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