So Frenchy So Chic Returns to Brisbane Powerhouse – 14 June 2010

Feeling a little European as winter closes in? Those fine purveyors of the best new music from France, So Frenchy So Chic, will help complete the feeling when they bring the hip new voice of chanson, Berry, and your favourite troubadours of 80’s reinvention, Nouvelle Vague to Brisbane Powerhouse on Monday 14 June.

Berry is currently riding a wave of success in France which has seen her remarkable debut album, Mademoiselle, go gold. Featuring the widely popular and catchy single, “Demain“, it’s an album sung mostly in French and a poetic and sophisticated look at love.

Beyond her striking voice and elegant songs is the inspiring story of Berry herself. Ready to drop out of school at sixteen, she was encouraged by an insightful teacher to stay on and study theatre. A natural talent for acting soon emerged and Berry may well be one of only a few top-selling French recording artists to also receive rave reviews for her acting.
Continue reading So Frenchy So Chic Returns to Brisbane Powerhouse – 14 June 2010 →

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CD Review: Escape The Fate – “This War Is Ours”

Review: Ben Hosking

  Escape the Fate (ETF) just doesn’t know what they want to be. The Las Vegas quartet plays a very American, largely accessible rock/metal blend for the most part. Their tunes switch back and forth between swaggering mid-tempo rockers, unconvincing ballads and even more surprising and bewildering blasts of deep growled passages over menacing riffage.

So just what is it that ETF are trying to achieve? Their vocalist Craig Mabbitt is reminiscent of most of the emasculated faux-metal front men currently in circulation.

You know the kind: a little nasal and still awaiting puberty. This means that they’ll never be fully accepted by the metal or hardcore scenes. Their big choruses and pop sensibilities have helped them to win over 20 million MySpace page views and 400,000 friends; yet they’re far beyond the realms of Australian radio. Continue reading CD Review: Escape The Fate – “This War Is Ours” →

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KARNIVOOL fans demand more shows

  Once again, KARNIVOOL, Perth’s hugely successful purveyors of heavy rock prove their popularity and status on the live music scene! With 8 shows on their national tour sold out the band is pleased to announce final extra shows to cope with demand for the New Day tour – their last national headline Australian tour for their Sound Awake album.

Continue reading KARNIVOOL fans demand more shows →

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Band of Horses – National Tour July 2010

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  Band of Horses is Ben Bridwell, Creighton Barrett, Ryan Monroe, Tyler Ramsey and Bill Reynolds. Though the band formed in Seattle, the gents hail from the southeastern United States, specifically the Carolinas. ‘Infinite Arms’ is the follow up to the critically acclaimed ‘Everything All The Time’ (2006) and ‘Cease to Begin’ (2007), and marks the recording debut of Ramsey and Reynolds, both long time touring members of the group. The band have become a

cohesive force with all members making invaluable contributions to the unmistakable sound that Bridwell has crafted since the band’s inception. As Bridwell himself concedes, “in many ways, this is the first Band of Horses record.” Continue reading Band of Horses – National Tour July 2010 →

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Photo Gallery: Biffy Clyro @ The Hi-Fi, Brisbane 18 May 2010

Photographer: Stuart Blythe
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Biffy Clyro
Biffy Clyro
Biffy Clyro
[Photo: Stuart Blythe]

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Biffy Clyro @ The Hi-Fi, Brisbane 18 May 2010
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Brisbane, Concert, Music, Photos, Stuart Blythe

Shwayze featuring Cisco Adler announce Australian Tour – June 2010

Illusive Entertainment announced that LA trendsetters and rulers of indie hip-hop – Shwayze and Cisco Adler – are returning to Australia after their brief sold out East Coast tour of Australia in February. The June dates will see the duo taking in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, and for the first time, Adelaide and Perth.

Shwayze (a.k.a Aaron Smith) and his partner in crime, Cisco Adler, are no overnight success story. Shwayze’s self-titled debut album ushered the unlikely duo to unlikely heights. A string of multiple hits (Buzzin’, Corona and Lime) fueled by millions of internet plays carried them to top ten album sales, landed them a coveted slot on the Vans Warped Tour, and turned them into reality television stars on MTV.

In early 2010, Shwayze and Cisco released their highly acclaimed sophomore album, Let It Beat, which quickly propelled them to a whole new level. The first single, Get U Home, was the feature song for the ’09 film Sorority Row. Since then, Shwayze has gone on to appear on the Jimmy Kimmel Live Show, performed on Good Morning America, as well as being featured in a nation wide ad campaign for Pontiac Vibe. In a twelve-month span that has seen him sell two million singles and headline festivals like the Vans Warped Tour and Bamboozle, it’s evident that Shwayze’s breath of fresh air has been welcomed with open arms – the same arms that carry him atop wild moshpits on a near daily basis.

The Knux The now-LA-based, New Orleans hip-hop duo, are the new comers on the scene and quickly building a massive buzz. From losing their family home in New Orleans due to Hurricane Katrina, to seeing the light at the end of the tunnel when the guys got signed to Paul Rosenberg’s Management Company (Blink-182 & Eminem) and inking a record deal with Universal Music. In the summer of ‘07 the guys would finish up their debut album, and hit the road with Common on his Finding Fever tour. Since then, the guys haven’t looked back. With music that channels as acts as diverse as Outkast, Tha Pharcyde or The Strokes, they have created a truly unique sound. Catch The Knux on their first Australian Tour.

Shwayze featuring Cisco Adler
The Knux
Dj Jason Smith
Australia – June 2010

Tickets on sale from Thursday 20th May 2010

Thursday 17th June 2010 Tivoli BRISBANE 18+
Ticketek 132 849 or www.ticketek.com.au

Friday 18th June 2010 Home The Venue SYDNEY 18+
BUY TICKETS: Click here for Moshtix

Saturday 19th June 2010 The Espy MELBOURNE 18+
Oztix 1300 762 545 or www.oztix.com.au

Thursday 24th June 2010 HQ ADELAIDE 18+
Venuetix 8225 88 88 or www.venuetix.com.au

Friday 25th June 2010 Villa PERTH 18+
BUY TICKETS: Click here for Moshtix

Adelaide, Brisbane, Concert, event, Melbourne, Music, Sydney, tour

Mark Lanegan Touring Australia – July 2010

In an announcement that has been long awaited by rock fans, Mark Lanegan will perform a series of shows across Australia and New Zealand for The Frontier Touring Company. The July shows will be his first solo tour since 2004, sharing with us an array of his impressive and extensive back catalogue.

With a musical career spawning from the early Seattle ‘grunge’ days, Mark Lanegan is a creature of undying integrity and an ever existing nuance. He has been noted as a poetic misfit whose lyrics remain forever etched in your memory long past first hearing them. Continue reading Mark Lanegan Touring Australia – July 2010 →

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Virgin Mobile announce free surprise gig in Brisbane – 20th May 2010


  The next Virgin Mobile Surprise Gig is set to entertain Brisbane. Popular Gold Coast pop band Operator Please will play a surprise concert in Queen Street Mall on Thursday 20 May at 1pm. The gig is free for all to attend.

In addition to the gig Virgin Mobile is giving away a ringtone of Operator Please’s new single ‘Back and Forth’ taken from their new album ‘Gloves’. The ringtone will be available from Thursday 13 May for anyone to download for free (limited to 500 downloads) from Virgin Mobile’s Members Lounge (memberslounge.com.au/surprisegig).

Continue reading Virgin Mobile announce free surprise gig in Brisbane – 20th May 2010 →

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REGGAETOWN 2010 – Now 2 Days – First Artist Announcement

Cat Empire   With a new look, a new feel and new timing…Australia’s premier Island, World, Roots & Reggae Festival Reggaetown, set in lush tropical Far North Queensland a few kilometres north of Cairns, is back for 2010. And, for the first time, taking place over 2 days — Friday 10th & Saturday 11th of September 2010 — in our idyllic location at Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park. Continue reading REGGAETOWN 2010 – Now 2 Days – First Artist Announcement →
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Interview with Nik Kaloper of The Jezabels

2nd May 2010: Nik Kaloper (NK) of The Jezabels tells Stuart Blythe (LMM) about band life, touring and lessons learnt along the way.

The JezabelsLMM: You’ll be touring with Tegan and Sara on their Australian visit throughout May. Tell us about the tour and how it came about.

NK: Well, we were lucky enough to tour with Tegan & Sara January 2009 and we seemed to be a good fit for the bill. We really enjoyed what they were doing, and apparently vice versa – we were able to keep in touch and jump back on the bill this time around. It’s even better this time though, because we get to go all the way out to Adelaide and Perth with them – even playing Groovin the Moo festival together, very exciting times. Despite the tour being longer than the last one – we’re looking forward to relaxing in some of the cities. Because there are two shows in Brisbane and Melbourne, we’ll have an afternoon that doesn’t involve driving (something to be cherished when you’re on tour).
Continue reading Interview with Nik Kaloper of The Jezabels →

Artist, Interview, Music, Stuart Blythe

TWINKLE TWINKLE LITTLE STAR – SOUTHERN CROSS SOLOISTS SECOND SHOWCASE SERIES – 1 June 2010

Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) proudly presents Southern Cross Soloists’ second Showcase Series concert for 2010, featuring guest flautist Wissam Boustany on 1 June 2010. Continue reading TWINKLE TWINKLE LITTLE STAR – SOUTHERN CROSS SOLOISTS SECOND SHOWCASE SERIES – 1 June 2010 →

Brisbane, Music, theatre

DAN PARSONS DEBUT ALBUM RELEASE & TOUR DATES

  Dan Parsons’ debut album is less a case of boy meets girl but rather boy meets world. It’s a snapshot of someone who after spending his high school years emulating seventies heroes on a reel to reel eight track, leaves his bedroom and begins tumbling through one blinding, visceral experience after another.

What Parsons could grab hold of and pin down from experiences such as this, and his first brushes with the Brisbane music scene after growing up in country Queensland, inspired a drastic change to the primarily acoustic sounds that were on his 2008 mini-album Old Brown Shoe.

Continue reading DAN PARSONS DEBUT ALBUM RELEASE & TOUR DATES →

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Photo Gallery: Jeff Martin @ Corner Hotel, Melbourne 14th May 2010

Photographer: Naomi Rahim
Click the image to view the photo gallery
Jeff Martin with Pear
[Photo: Naomi R]

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Jeff Martin @ Corner hotel, Melbourne – 14th May 2010
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Concert, Melbourne, Music, Naomi Rahim, Photos

Macabre (USA) Australian Tour – July 2010

  Macabre blends elements of true crime, math rock, nursery rhymes, punk, thrash, folk melodies, death metal, jazz fusion, black metal and more into an energetic, catchy and unmistakable amalgam, refers to Macabre’s signature style. It’s a genre of one. The all-too-true tales of man’s inhumanity to man are delivered with knife-edge precision, interspersed with Corporate Death’s patented (back when he was a toddler) screech.

Fast and heavy, with a focus on things that make happy shiny people cringe, the original members, Corporate Death (guitar and vocals), Nefarious (bass and vocals) and Dennis the Menace (drums) are still together. Macabre have brought mayhem to the world in the past decade, playing dozens countries over the years.

Macabre’s rabid fans, including members of bands ranging from Carcass to Slipknot, relish the band’s tight and increasingly sophisticated music; they exult in their musical chops as much as in the band’s sense of humor, their killer music, and its deadly subjects.
Continue reading Macabre (USA) Australian Tour – July 2010 →

Adelaide, Brisbane, Concert, Melbourne, Music, Quick Bits, Sydney, tour

Interview: Ben Weinman – The Dillinger Escape Plan

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By: Ben Hosking
[Click here to listen to the audio version of this interview]

In a scene where many bands tend to follow the latest musical trend and the industry doesn’t know which way is up, The Dillinger Escape Plan stand clearly out from the crowd.
THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLANFormed in the late 1990s, the group has gone from strength to strength thanks to an unwavering self-reliance and unique ability to churn out some of the most twisted, ugly riffs available. Founder member and guitarist of the New Jersey band Ben Weinman (BW) talks to LifeMusicMedia’s Ben Hosking (LMM) about band dynamics, society’s relationship with technology, illegal downloading and their new album ‘Option Paralysis’.

LMM: How’s the tour going?
BW: Pretty good. Everybody’s a little sick, but we’re holding it together.

LMM: Too much partying or more a case of ‘one guy gets sick, we all get sick’?
BW: I think it’s the latter, man. We’re all on a bus together, so when one person starts hacking up a lung, it just spreads like wildfire.
Continue reading Interview: Ben Weinman – The Dillinger Escape Plan →

Artist, Ben Hosking, Interview, Music