26 June 2014
How do you get noticed as a band these days? It’s not always easy, but luckily the Push Start Battle of the Bands gives aspiring rockers and rollers the chance to shine. Hosted by the awesome FReeZA team, regional heats take place from February to August each year. Regional finals then take place between October and November, with the Grand Final finding home at the Push Over festival in March. On August 7 the Geelong heat will take place at Courthouse ARTS. The event is being headlined by 2013 runner-up and Geelong hometown heroes, Residual.
26 June 2014
How much hardcore can you handle until your brain begins to melt? You’re going to have a chance to find out when Rock City Takeover comes to town. Presented by Old School Cartel, Rock City Takeover is a hardcore night out with Rust Proof, Deadly Visions, Street War, South Paw and XuppercutX. Featuring members of Tenth Dan, Blood Money and Speartackle, Rust Proof is a band with a healthy amount of hardcore DNA – tough, punishing hardcore with unparalleled energy.
26 June 2014
We’re in for a real treat with UK songman Lloyd Cole currently in Australia for a run of shows. Born in Buxton, Cole studied law for a year before switching to philosophy and English at the University of Glasgow. It was here he would meet other members of what would become the Commotions. Following a run between 1982 and 1989, the band broke up and Cole embarked on a solo journey.
26 June 2014
Gone are the days where embarrassing tattoos of ex-partners’ names or genitals are forever inked on your skin. Thanks to new laser technology, Jacqui Norton-Bee and the folk at Geelong Laser Tattoo Removal, you can now show your skin with pride. After almost a year, Geelong Laser Tattoo Removal has fixed the regrets felt by around 100 clients, many with multiple tattoos. With statistics showing that up to 40 per cent of people regret their tattoos afterwards, business is booming for the local clinic. Though each client is as different as the last, their reason behind getting their tattoo removed or altered is much the same, with regret being the main driving force behind a tattoo’s removal.
25 June 2014
Ah, songs about boozy nights, bad decisions, broken hearts and the best intentions – sounds like a recipe for success. Many of us would have our story to tell about at least one of the above, which makes connecting with Brooke Russell and the Mean Reds’ county/blues/folk/swing tunes so easy. The band is inspired as much by swing, alt-country and traditional jazz as they are singer-songwriters including Ryan Adams and Tom Waits.
25 June 2014
The WONDERLUXE team is back for another humdinger of a show – and humdinger isn’t a word one throws around loosely. For those not in the know, WONDERLUXE is an arts and music project supported by a City of Greater Geelong Community Arts Project Grant. One of the bands set to perform at the event is Melbourne-based trio Love of Diagrams. The band formed back in 2000 and released their debut album, The Target is You, in 2003.
25 June 2014
In support of their new album Beautiful Wild, Bonjah are heading out and about for some sweet, sweet shows. Produced by Jan Skubiszewski, Beautiful Wild debuted at #41 on the ARIA chart, #11 on the ARIA Australian chart and #2 on the AIR Independent Album chart – a massive effort for any band, let alone an independent outfit. Earlier this year the band returned to the streets that shaped them by playing a couple of shows on the corner of Elizabeth and Bourke streets in Melbourne’s CBD.
24 June 2014
Paul Kelly is widely regarded as one of Australia’s greatest lyricists. Nick Cave, too. But in 1983 Austen Tayshus, the stage name of Alexander Jacob Gutman, released a song whose lyrics were quite brilliant. The spoken-word hit ‘Australiana’ was the number one single in Australia for eight weeks and remains the highest-selling Australian single of all time.
23 June 2014
Now, I would like to tell you how the Good Time Aussie Bogalars describe their band on Facebook, but it is a little rude for a respectable publication such as this. However, they do use a word beginning with ‘C’. Clue: it is a word that has been used a great many times recently to describe a certain prime minister and his sidekick. So cleaning it up, they write ‘Loose Tunes from Scamps in Ballarat’. And loose they indeed are – loose by name, loose by nature.
20 June 2014
How’s this for a bit of an early treat as we eye the weekend? The first line-up for 2014’s Queenscliff Music Festival has been announced and it’s a ripper. Taking to the lovely small town on the Bellarine Peninsula will be The Jezabels, Stonefield, Xavier Rudd, Kasey Chambers, The Waifs, The Church, Perfect Tripod, Hiatus Kaiyote, D.D Dumbo and The Bombay Royale.
20 June 2014
Songman Daniel Champagne is slowly winding up his final Australian tour for the year, a tour which began back in March. While most five-year-olds are running around committing felonies, Daniel had a guitar in his hand. It has pretty much been there since. Writing songs from the age of 12 and classically trained throughout his teen years, the young songman left school at the age of 18 with an eye cast on the big open road.
20 June 2014
Through fusing toe-tapping country dance hall fun with urban blues and folk-rock, Bellarine Peninsula’s Murdena have created a sound that tips its hat to the likes of Justin Townes Earle, Shovels and Rope and Mason Jennings. And it would seem the music world is taking notice, with the band taking out top honours in the Foot in the Door competition at Queenscliff Music Festival in 2012, as well as winning the Tamworth Music Festival’s Battle of the Bands Competition in 2013.
19 June 2014
As Dr. Seuss wrote – ‘A person’s a person, no matter how small’. There is a joy found in children that is so free that it is utterly infectious. Plus, they are the coolest toys you could have. They don’t even need batteries. So why shouldn’t kids have a festival just to themselves?
19 June 2014
Thin Lizzy, Mötley Crüe, The Angels – Adelaide’s Laced in Lust have been likened to bands with some serious rock credentials. The band performed their first show in 2012, finding success early when they took out the Rocking Angel Bourbon Encouragement Award. The prize money allowed the band to self-fund and release their debut single ‘Fire’.
18 June 2014
Multi-platinum Irish folk band The High Kings will hit Australia shortly for a healthy run of shows across September and October. The band is the combined talents of Finbarr Clancy, Brian Dunphy, Martin Furey and Darren Holden, four men from accomplished musical pedigrees.
18 June 2014
Songwoman Melody Pool and songman Marlon Williams have announced a monster co-headlining tour which is due to kick off next month. With songs reminiscent of Joni Mitchell and Jackson Browne, Melody released her debut album, The Hurting Scene, last year. Thanks to a successful crowdfunding effort, the young Kurri Kurri songbird found herself recording the album in Nashville.
18 June 2014
A particularly shady pawnshop in Brunswick is where the story of punk rockers The Sinking Teeth begins. More accurately, the flat above a particularly shady pawnshop in Brunswick is where the story begins. You see, there were holes in the walls and the roof leaked. The owner of the pawnshop also threatened the band with shooting if they practised there. What’s an aspiring band to do? Not let the threat of shooting get in the way. So they set about writing tunes and had some epic parties.
16 June 2014
Chatting with the guys from the Surf Coast’s own Barbarella is like listening to some sort of mutual admiration society. Barb Peppard and Evan Jones are just so full of praise for each other’s abilities and clearly deeply respect each other as musicians. The duo plays a mixture of a few covers and Barb’s original songs, with Evan providing the lead guitar alongside Barb’s acoustic rhythm and beautiful vocals. They met while playing in a backing band for Victoriana Gaye and then decided to play some solo gigs.
15 June 2014
On July 1 songbird Tracy McNeil will release her new album, Nobody Ever Leaves. The album is one which fuses two worlds – that of her homeland, Canada, and her now permanent Australian residency. Tracy said hello to Melbourne’s music world as one-half of alt-country-folk duo Fireside Bellows; the other half being Jordie Lane.
15 June 2014
Playing music that nourishes the soul, Grace Barbé is an artist whose music has been compared to Angelique Kidjo and Miriam Makeba. While the Seychelles islander’s music is filled with the cultural influences of her Indian Ocean heritage, touches of modern reggae, pop and soul dance playfully within her sound.
14 June 2014
D at Sea is set to release a new EP next month. The stage name of songman Doyle Perez, D at Sea found his following through his acoustic covers of hardcore and metal tracks. However, he has showed us he has a few tricks in his bag. Titled Anchors & Diamonds, the EP is said to be a more polished, layered effort. It also features a full backing band. D at Sea recently wrapped up a tour with Gabrielle Aplin.
14 June 2014
Mike Perry is Paces, a guy on the DJ watchlist. Mixing influences from Jersey Club, Future Beats and Garage, Paces released his debut EP, The Pact, last year. He released the EP on Kastles’ US label Symbols, being their first Australian release. At the beginning of the year he followed it up with Julian. The EP featured the vocal talents of Erin Marshall on the title track. It also found its share of love, with triple j, London’s XFM and New Zealand’s George FM all giving the EP a working.
14 June 2014
If you were to ask someone to rattle off some of the most iconic punk bands of all time, you would hope they would mention The Vibrators. The original incarnation of the band – comprised of Ian “Knox” Carnochan, Pat Collier, John Ellis and John “Eddie” Edwards – formed in 1976.
13 June 2014
Due to a bout of laryngitis, Chet Faker has been forced to postpone his Geelong date at The Wool Exchange Entertainment Complex. The rescheduled show will now take place on Wednesday, July 2. Chet: “This may seem lame but it’s only temporary. I’ve been advised by my doctor that I need one more day of recovery from laryngitis … I hope you guys understand. All other shows are going ahead as planned. Peace and Love.” Apologies have been extended for any inconvenience. Tickets will remain valid for the new show.
