Review / Book Review
Tex Perkins
Tex

Macmillan Australia (2017) T

Tex Perkins – Tex cover artwork
Tex Perkins – Tex — Macmillan Australia, 2017

Pizzazz. 
Omph. 
Attitude.
Sensibility.
A sardonic sense of humour.
Charisma.
Swagger.

If your music depends entirely on that, the dependency is too great.

So much for the basics.

See, you could claim that Tex Perkins and his incarnations have had a more than profound impact on my ever since I planted a foot on terra australis. 

Tex Perkins has been in the game for close to four decades. 

He oozes the aforementioned qualities yet his oeuvre stands for itself.

More than three decades of versatility and effortlessly moving between a range of genres and incarnations, while still retaining his own DNA.

Tex Perkins has fronted some of the most spirited best bands Australia has to offer, e.g. The Cruel SeaThe Beasts Of BourbonTex, Don & CharlieDark HorsesThugThe Ladyboyz and many other projects, including performing as Johnny Cash in the acclaimed Man In Black theatre show. 

His memoir Tex documents a life less ordinary.

A life that has been lived the hard way and against the odds.

Having been raised as a Catholic and socialised in the narrow minded streets of Brisbane, the book starts with Gregory Perkins’ escape to Sydney and sheds light on his metamorphosis to “Tex” and the frontman personality that would first front odd bands before finding mainstream exposure as the iconic frontman of internationally acclaimed outfits and with it success, its trappings and spoils.

Gigs. Albums. Tours. Fights. Feuds. Arrests. Drugs. High times. Low roads. The good life.

A tour de force of a life documented and driven by Tex’s dry wit and idiosyncratic energy.

9.0 / 10T • July 31, 2017

Tex Perkins – Tex cover artwork
Tex Perkins – Tex — Macmillan Australia, 2017

Related news

Rock the Gate to feature 60+ bands and raise funds

Posted in Shows on November 20, 2014

Recently-posted album reviews

Tigers Jaw

Lost on You
Hopeless (2026)

Tigers Jaw was formed in 2005 in Scranton, PA by high school friends. After a brief hiatus in 2013, the band is once again carefully crafting and delivering a sound that is equal parts upbeat angst and mellow moodiness. The current lineup, consisting of Ben Walsh (guitar, vocals), Brianna Collins (keys, vocals), Mark Lebiecki (guitar), Colin Gorman (bass), and Teddy … Read more

N.E. Vains

Running Down Pylons
Big Neck Records (2026)

N.E. Vains’ Running Down Pylons delivers that kind of glorious, basement-level destruction. You know, back in the ’70s when every basement had those flimsy swinging room-dividing doors, and your skinny 130-pound frame suddenly ripped them clean off the hinges in a fit of imagined superhuman strength? The day you went from sand-kicked weakling to full Charles Atlas mail-order muscle miracle? … Read more

Poison The Well

Peace In Place
Sharptone (2026)

There’s no way to talk about Peace In Place without acknowledging the shadow it steps out from. Poison the Well isn’t just another reunited band dusting off an old name. They’re literally architects of the genre. The Opposite of December… A Season of Separation didn’t just help define metalcore, it rewired how heaviness and vulnerability could coexist. And honestly, is … Read more