The Painkillers bring together the battered acoustic guitar of Joe Bludge and the massive rock n roll beats of James Baker. A fixture of the Perth scene, The Painkillers have played more gigs in that city than any other act since forming there in 2005. Their sound began with the common ground between Bludge's love of proto-rock and Baker's punk-tinted take on rock n roll, but quickly evolved into a genuine garage audacity that draws upon other influences at whim.

The name James Baker is of course synonymous with Australian garage rock. His musical exploits read like a who's who of legendary Australian music - one third of legendary Perth proto-garage punk outfit The Victims, original drummer (and songwriter) with the garage pop incarnation of The Scientists, skinsman in the first line-up of The Hoodoo Gurus, founding member of Australia's best known rock supergroup, the Beasts of Bourbon and drummer with the sadly under-appreciated Dubrovniks.