Review by Natasha Wyborn
Walking into The Gum Ball for the very first time I admit I was unsure what to expect. Rain poured and lightning threatened to end the Friday evening before it even began. Looking around I saw all walks of life from hippies to couples as straight as an arrow and even a mermaid yes you hear right. The common link between all parties was calm, peace and tranquility. I must say from the outset this is the perfect family festival, kids were everywhere and very welcome. There were plenty of activities to occupy them as well. From skateboard ramps to open puppet theatre this was a very clever addition.
Continue reading Live Review : The Gum Ball 2016 – Dashville – Hunter Valley, NSW Australia
Tag Archives: The Break
The Break @ The Globe, Brisbane June 24, 2010 – Photo Gallery
Photographer: Gerry Nicholls
Click the image to view the photo gallery
Photo: Gerry Nicholls
The Break @ The Globe, Brisbane June 24, 2010
Continue reading The Break @ The Globe, Brisbane June 24, 2010 – Photo Gallery
The Break – “Church of the Open Sky” [CD Review]
Review: Lana Harris
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Ah, the beach. Golden sands, blistering sunshine and pounding waves are all an integral part of Australian culture, so it’s perhaps surprising that we haven’t heard more surf rock acts spring up locally. Instead, the genre is much more heavily associated with American waves, Hawaiian surf shacks or perhaps the laid back vibes of San Francisco.
Well, The Break are out to change that. They’ve taken rockers who are a part of Australian culture (drummer Rob Hirst, guitarists Jim Moginie and Martin Rotsey, from Midnight Oil) added in |
an American who recently moved to Hobart (ex Violent Femmes bassist Brian Ritchie) and created a surf rock record that should see Australia in general, and The Break in particular, usher in a resurgence of this laid back style of music. Continue reading The Break – “Church of the Open Sky” [CD Review]
Live Review: Hoodoo Gurus, The Break, The Gun Street Girls @ The Hi-Fi, Brisbane 29 April 2010
By Denis Semchenko
 [Photo: Stuart Blythe] |
Tonight’s triple bill at West End’s Hi-Fi is more Aussie than Paul Hogan’s thongs, Merv Hughes’ handlebar or Rolf Harris’s wobbleboard – and all the more fun for it. Specialising in no-bullshit, classic pub rock, Gun Street Girls provide an invigorating start to the evening as the predominantly middle-aged, ’80s-weathered punters fill the venue. The erstwhile Dallas Crane dynamo, frontman Dave Larkin hammers a very cool Gretsch White Falcon and belts it out like one of the best screamers in Oz-rock that he is. Barnstormers How I Roll, Right Under The Wind and powerpop-tinged Party In Hell get the heads nodding and feet stomping; I consider myself nicely warmed up for the next sonic wave…
…which duly hits as The Break – an instrumental rock combo comprising three former Midnight Oil members and Violent Femmes’ bassist – open with a crunchy Ventures cover. |
Photo Gallery: Hoodoo Gurus w/ The Break + The Gun Street Girls @ The Hi-Fi, Brisbane 29 April 2010
Photographer: Charles Williams
Click the image to view the photo gallery
[Photo: Charles Williams]
Hoodoo Gurus w/ The Break + The Gun Street Girls @ The Hi-Fi, Brisbane 29 April 2010
– Buy: Click here for HOODOO GURUS from iTunes
– Buy: Click here for THE BREAK from iTunes
– Buy: Click here for GUN STREET GIRLS from iTunes
Continue reading Photo Gallery: Hoodoo Gurus w/ The Break + The Gun Street Girls @ The Hi-Fi, Brisbane 29 April 2010
Fresh swell on the horizon set to BREAK!
Related: Our CD Review: The Break – ‘Cylinders’ Single
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Australia’s most exciting new surf rock outfit THE BREAK are primed to deliver a power packed set when the band perform tracks from their debut album ‘Church Of The Open Sky’ live at a venue near you during April and May. Audiences will be treated to a mind blowing experience as classic surf meets spy-fi psychedelia when the three core members of Midnight Oil; drummer Rob Hirst, guitarists Jim Moginie and Martin Rotsey, join with bass player Brian Ritchie of Violent Femmes to present a whole new and contemporary approach to the surf music genre.
THE BREAK’S first official tour kicks off on the Easter weekend with festival appearances at Victoria’s hip and happenin’ Boogie Fest and the esteemed Blues Fest in Byron Bay. On Good Friday the band will take their unique surf sounds to The Westernport Hotel on Victoria’s Phillip Island – an area renowned for its pumping surf – which is particularly apt as many of the tracks from the album are named after hot surf breaks. |
Following a stupendous introduction to Sydney fans in February, the band will return to The Annandale Hotel on April 11th to officially introduce their new album ‘Church Of The Open Sky’ released on April 16th on the independent Bombora label through MGM. On April 20th they’ll turn on the local Newcastle fans with a special show at Lizotte’s at Lambton. From there THE BREAK team up with their mighty mates The Hoodoo Gurus as special guests for select shows on The Gurus ‘Purity Of Essence’ tour. Being old mates expect the unexpected as the two bands hit the road for the first time ever!
Continue reading Fresh swell on the horizon set to BREAK!
CD Review: The Break – ‘Cylinders’ Single
Review: Lana Harris
The Break was formed from three of the previously in-your-face-political pub rockers Midnight Oil (Rob Hirst, Jim Moginie and Martin Rotsey) plus the bassist (Brian Ritchie) from the grungy, always a bit teen-angst Violent Femmes. The love child spawned is nothing like its parents. Instead, it is a fun loving, apolitical coast dweller called The Break.
‘Cylinders’ is the pre release, first impression of the new creation. What is presented is a three and a half minute instrumental surf rock track. Surf rock? If you have ever seen a movie with teens at a beach shack party, circa 1960’s, you’ve heard surf rock. Remember ‘Wwwwwwwwipeout!’ Surf rock. It was repopularised for a while in the 1990’s – the opening credits to Pulp Fiction are overlaid with a revamped version of surf rock in the form of song ‘Misirlou’ and put the genre back into the population’s consciousness.
The Break’s postmillennial take on the genre has a heavier, deeper feel. Darkness washes across the laid back and loose vibes from the sixties, as though a man with sinister intentions is hiding amongst the palms that surround the beach shack party. There is a strong energy to the track, which explodes in your face like salt spray from a crashing wave. The Break thump straight into up-tempo, driving, full band participating music that ebbs and swells as the song progresses. The beach theme and vibes will continue with debut album Church of the Open Sky (released by Bombora Records) promising to be a mostly instrumental surf rock record with tracks named after famous surf breaks.
– The Break available at iTunes
– Midnight Oil available at iTunes
– Violent Femmes available at iTunes
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