13 June 2014
Brooklyn-based music-makers Obits are back for their second tour of Australia. What do they do? They play music in the areas of garage, punk and surf. You can call ’em surf-punk if you like. Garage-punk works, too. Just don’t be calling them surf-garage. The lads have a new album to show off, last year’s Bed & Bugs.
13 June 2014
The charming blues-folk-rock favourites known as The Audreys will play Kyneton Town Hall on June 13 and The Vine, Bendigo on June 15 in support of their latest album, ’Til My Tears Roll Away. The album saw Taasha Coates and Tristan Goodall once again team up with Shane O’Mara, their longtime partner and friend.
13 June 2014
“Trappist Afterland makes spirit music for the dispossessed. They explore psychedelia, ritualism and chanting amidst folk songs.” And with that introduction we are welcomed to the world of Trappist Afterland. The Melbourne band’s 2013 release, Like a Beehive, The Hill Was Alive, has found a lot of love from bloggers locally and internationally; now they are working on a newie.
12 June 2014
On a scale of one to ten, how much do you love Ball Park Music? ’Cause you see, the band is hitting the road in September for their Trippin’ the Light Fantastic Tour, which should give them just enough time to fine-tune their new songs. Not that they really need it, being such a well-oiled musical machine. Hey, did you know that ‘Trip the Light Fantastic’ means “To dance, especially in an imaginative or ‘fantastic’ manner.”
12 June 2014
While many of Bendigo’s musical identities attended high school in the days when bands like Guns N’ Roses and Metallica were in their prime, Stacy Varner’s both a current student and a fan of music by older hard rock and metal bands. “People will disagree with me here, but I just like the whole vibe of the old stuff,” she says. With a father who used to turn the family home into a heavy music haven on Saturday mornings while his wife was at work, the fourteen-year-old singer/acoustic guitarist developed musical tastes that aren’t necessarily shared by her peers.
12 June 2014
Baghdad-born and honourary South Australian, Motez Obaidi, who works under Motez, is a man showing that Adelaide’s music scene is far more than just hip hop. The electronic prouder has won favour for his remixes of some of RnB and pop’s biggest names, including Mark Morrison’s ‘Return of the Mack’, Justin Timberlake’s ‘I Like You’ and Frank Ocean’s ‘Thinking About You’. He has also performed alongside the likes of Disclosure and Pete Tong on his way to becoming a club favourite.
12 June 2014
I say, I say, The Band Who Knew Too Much is a bona-fide foolproof floor-packing band. Whether it is performing on the festival stage, busking in the streets, or anything in between, I tell ya, they’re all class. They perform washboard/accordion-driven songs about spending the rent, hard rubbish nights, and every drinker’s favourite time of the day, Beer O’Clock. Yep, every hour is happy hour when it comes to this outfit.
12 June 2014
Blues Boot Camp is a two-day workshop and live performance camp that is designed to give those with a love of music a chance to shine, through both the learning process and through performance. Students from Year 6 up, with an intermediate ability level in instrumentation, or a beginner to intermediate level in vocal performance, are encouraged to enter.
12 June 2014
Rhath is the name chosen by Ry Hamilton-Smith as an outlet for his electronic dark chill and horror hop. Ry started going under the name after he discovered Sun Araw (aka Cameron Stallones) through the video game Hotline Miami. Initially, Ry fit the songwriter-guitarist mould, before taking a few steps over to the electronic genre. Influenced by instrumental hip hop, Ry combined this with his video game influences, notably the soundtracks of titles such as Hotline Miami, Portal and the Fallout series.
12 June 2014
Having always been an avid music lover and playing a bit of it himself back in the day, Pete Raimondo’s decision to open a blues music restaurant here in Little Malop Street was a no-brainer in his mind. Pete’s gamble has paid off, with his business giving a new edge to Geelong’s dining and music life. One of the first artists that started Pete’s love affair of blues music was Chris Wilson. From there his passion evolved and he discovered his love for blues music.
12 June 2014
The wonderful Eddi Reader is the guest of honour at this month’s Karingal Appeal Launch Concert. Born in Glasgow, Reader found fame with acoustic pop outfit Fairground Attraction. Although a short-lived band, they had a monster hit with ‘Perfect’. She released her tenth album, Vagabond, in February. All funds raised will assist in the building of The Eastern Geelong Community Centre, a new inclusive space that will provide recreational, social, cultural, economic, community and health benefits for people in the Eastern Geelong region.
12 June 2014
Violinist and vocalist William Stahlut and Linden Lester are the musical souls behind The Imprints, a little duo with a big sound and a whole lot of energy. Using a loop station and a guitar effects pedal, the duo creates bass, synth and guitar-like sounds.
12 June 2014
Hepburn Springs’ Old Hepburn Hotel delivers yet another amazing musical month in June, with Surf Coast’s ‘one-woman’ band Jessey Jackson set to take in the venue tomorrow night, June 13. Jessey received her first guitar at the age of seven. She attended a few guitar lessons here and there, but by the time she was 11 she had forgotten all but six chords. A little later down the track she would pop up at the occasional open mic, but it wasn’t until she turned 25 that something clicked.
12 June 2014
Geelong-based school girl soul outfit, Sweethearts, are heading to the US. The massively talented band recently took to Pozible to raise funds for what will be their maiden tour of the US. Included in their tour itinerary is a date with Milwaukee’s Summerfest, the world’s largest music festival, attracting some 900,000 visitors.
12 June 2014
Ocean Grove will host the first Australian version of a worldwide charity concert supported by rockers Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls, Joe Grushecky, Darlene Love, Willie Nile, Garland Jeffreys and many others. What began as a birthday party to lift the spirits of co-founder and guiding inspiration Bob Benjamin, a well-known New Jersey/New York music business figure after his Parkinson’s diagnosis 15 years ago, the Light of Day Foundation has raised over US$3 million worldwide through the ‘Power of Music’ in its fight against Parkinson’s and related neurodegenerative diseases like ALS and PSP.
12 June 2014
Hello all that want to be individuals, Daniel here with what’s on the line-up in Ballarat’s primary live original music venues. The Karova Lounge kicks off this issue’s agenda with the Hard-Ons playing tonight, Thursday, June 12th. This punk rock band has been setting standards in music since 1982 and they’re set to rock out with support from Clowns and Dead. So get a ticket from New Generation, The Regent Cinema or Oztix for $15+ and get set for a loud night.
12 June 2014
An iconic Geelong pub has been resurrected under the leadership of local custodians Kym Robertson and Don Little. Previously trading as The Bended Elbow and then The Yarra Hotel, Bended sits at 69 Yarra Street and owes its name to that of the prior establishment. Although maintaining they aren’t associated with the Bended Elbow brand, Kym says “we’ve called it Bended to emulate the great things that Bended Elbow was famous for”.
12 June 2014
Don’t take your Snuggie out of mothballs quite yet – and as James Brown would put it, “Get up offa that thing!” – because the Ballarat LoungeRoom is transforming winter in Ballarat into some place warm and wonderful! The cold weather cousin of the popular summertime Ballarat Backyard Tasters has found cosy digs through June at M.A.D.E. (Museum of Australian Democracy @ Eureka) and is bringing musical experiences from the world over to the dance floor for the season.
12 June 2014
While Green Day are off saving the planet or doing whatever it is they do these days, American Idiot, Australia’s number one Green Day tribute band, will be dropping by Bendigo this weekend. Based out of Melbourne, American Idiot is a high energy outfit dedicated to doing justice to the punk rock heavyweights. They dress in character and perform in character, playing songs from Green Day’s entire back catalogue.
11 June 2014
You have big shows and then you have BIG shows. Even that is selling this one short. Early in the year Southern California’s hardcore heroes the Adolescents announced a wee number of Australian shows. Now Geelong has been added. I know, awesome news, right?! Cancel your wedding if you have to. Formed in 1980, the band is widely regarded as one of the leading bands of the 1980s hardcore scene. Their career has been stuttered, but their music has never faltered.
16 May 2014
“I get people saying to me all the time I don’t like going out to see bands because there’s too many shit bands out there,” he says. “I don’t book shit bands full stop … that sounds arrogant, but the people I book they’re original, they’re creative, they have an obscene amount of quality control. They’re career-minded musicians,” he adds.
16 May 2014
“Music is everything at this point,” John says. “It’s my job. I teach music, and I love that, and every other hour I’m writing music, recording music, playing music, rehearsing music, doing publicity for music: it pretty much consumes my life at the moment. On weekends I usually spend most of the time inside a dark room either mucking around with recordings or rehearsing. It’s definitely a driving force in everything I do.”
