Tag Archives: September 2012

Interview with David Rogers – Nantes

Interview by Stuart Blythe
It’s been a busy year for Sydney duo Nantes and with their debut album on its way, they look set to be even busier. Life Music Media caught up with vocalist/bassist David Rogers for a chat…

LMM: You’ve been in the studio working on your debut album. How was the recording process and working with producer Simon Todkill?

David: It was a really relaxed process getting this album together, we weren’t stressing on making sure everything was perfect, we were trying to record as purely as possible, we were trying to capture the essence of how the songs were written. Working with Simon is great because he’s a good friend of mine so there are no awkward moments; he usually molests me at some point.
 
 
LMM: Singles ‘Fly’ and ‘Unsatisfy’ have been well received and been on high-rotation. For the uninitiated, how do you describe your sound?
Continue reading Interview with David Rogers – Nantes

Live Review: The Amity Affliction, The Ghost Inside, Architects, Buried in Verona @ The Big Top, Luna Park – 29 September 2012

Words and Pics: www.hoskingindustries.com.au

Tonight’s all-ages gig meant it was an early start for punters hoping to check out all four bands playing The Big Top at Sydney’s Luna Park. While the eager crowd wrapped its way around the Luna Park grounds in serpentine fashion, patiently waiting for the doors to open, it seems as though most of the other press outlets missed the memo on playing times, with the photo pit looking rather barren for opening act, Buried in Verona.

Playing to a half-full venue, the Sydney sextet appeared a more polished, confident band than when this reviewer last caught them supporting Sweden’s Soilwork at the Manning Bar at the tail end of 2010. They’re plagued by the usual opening-act muddy mix, which is exacerbated by the three-guitar attack that’s the fashion these days. And while the clean vocals (courtesy guitarist Richie Newman) have improved a lot, every time singer Brett Anderson tries to sing along it all falls apart.
Continue reading Live Review: The Amity Affliction, The Ghost Inside, Architects, Buried in Verona @ The Big Top, Luna Park – 29 September 2012

Live Review: Ingrid Michaelson at Metro Theatre, Sydney – 14th September 2012

Words and photos by Ant Ritz
On a darkened stage and with little fanfare, a pretty and bespectacled Ingrid Michaelson walked to the mic and proceeded to set the Metro Theatre in Sydney alight with a brilliantly entertaining performance. She did much more than just sing well crafted pop songs, – she entertained and she had the crowd enthralled not just with her wonderful music and sweet voice, but also with her wit, humour and quirky storytelling.

Sometimes singers struggle with attempts to engage the audience with dialogue and hence so many just avoid banter like the plague. Many concert goers would actually prefer to just hear the music. However, at Ingrid’s concert she really captured and held the audiences attention with her story telling – they appeared to follow her every word and were moved by the ebb and flow of her stories. There was a lot of laughter from the audience as a whole throughout the show and yet on other occasions they were quiet when she was more serious, albeit rare. She’s a great communicator and that communication comes across in her songs too.
Continue reading Live Review: Ingrid Michaelson at Metro Theatre, Sydney – 14th September 2012

Interview with Mark Lowndes

Interview by Stuart Blythe
It’s been a busy year for singer/songwriter Mark Lowndes. Performing *and reaching the finals* on Australia’s Got Talent, recording his latest EP “Present”, running workshops for younger musicians and recently kicking off on an extensive tour. Life Music Media caught up with Mark for a chat.
 
 
 
 
 
LMM: Hi Mark, it was great to see you performing and reaching the finals on Australia’s Got Talent.
It must have been a great experience?

Mark: It was an experience that I will never forget. 
So many things I learnt behind the scenes about the commercial world, things I’ll never forget. 

 
 
LMM: Your song “Afternoon” received rave reviews from the judges. How did you feel about that and how much do you take on board from their comments?
Continue reading Interview with Mark Lowndes

Photo Gallery: BIGSOUND Live 2012 – Day 2

Photographer: Cynthia Lee

Continue reading Photo Gallery: BIGSOUND Live 2012 – Day 2

Live Review: Shihad @ The Hi-Fi, Melbourne – 6 September 2012

Review by Ben Connolly
Boldness is not generally an adjective jumping to mind when you think of Kiwi band Shihad. With its skinny black-jeans clad legs planted firmly in the safe melodic-tinged rock scene pushed forth as the genre de jour of the late 90s and early 00s, you’d hardly seek out their albums to push boundaries or explore sonic adventures. Even more so in the past few years, where they’ve rotated around the all-too-familiar downward spiral of record-promote-tour-hope for relevance-rinse-repeat: it’s hardly a recipe for the cutting edge.

There is, however, an impressive boldness with the simple honesty with which they’ve approached their career crossroads moment: shunning the best-ofs and karaoke tour of their past glories in favour of a 38-song full career retrospective (a completist’s wet dream), a fly-on-the-wall cinema doco exposing the bands lowest moment of changing their name in a doomed attempt to storm the US market, and topping it all off with a solid live whip-around aimed squarely at the true believers.
Continue reading Live Review: Shihad @ The Hi-Fi, Melbourne – 6 September 2012

Photo Gallery: BIGSOUND Live 2012 – Day 1

Photographer: Stuart Blythe

Photographer: Stuart Blythe

Event: BIGSOUND Live 2012 – Day 1 – 12 September 2012

Artist: The Good Ship
www.awakeniam.com – Awaken I Am
www.strangers.net.au/ – Strangers
www.snowdroppers.com – The Snowdroppers
www.heroesforhire.com.au – Heroes For Hire
www.facebook.com/violentsoho – Violent Soho
Velociraptor – www.velociraptor.com.au

Date: 12 September 2012

Continue reading Photo Gallery: BIGSOUND Live 2012 – Day 1

Interview with James Roden – The City Lights

We caught up with James Roden of The City Lights as they prepare for the launch of their new album ‘I Just Got To Believe’ this September with shows in Sydney and Brisbane.

:: What track changed your life ::
In The City by The Jam.

:: What is your favourite Album ::
Exile on Main Street by The Rolling Stones

:: Name a band or artist we should checkout ::
For younger cats, please see The Sunnyboys at Meredith Festival this year. They were incredible at Dig It Up. For older dudes, please see The Straight Arrows or Royal Headache.

:: Favourite Quote ::
Christopher Hitchens in relation to religion and the supernatural – “”That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.””

:: When on tour, you can’t live without ::
Comedies on DVD. Non-fiction Books. Beer. Laughs. Phone.

:: When you think of Australia, you think ::
Fantastic animals. Incredible natural beauty. Some beautiful buildings that are always under threat from ‘developers’. A clash between those that appreciate Australia and being alive and those that want to exploit its resources, its animals and its people. But we are lucky to have a stable democracy given how insanely destructive and petty human beings can be. So in short, I think of the beach and that makes me smile.
Continue reading Interview with James Roden – The City Lights