Category Archives: Artist

Sunset Sounds 2010 First Line Up Announcement – Brisbane 6-7 January 2010

Yeah Yeah Yeahs   Australia’s newest, hottest, summer music festival SUNSET SOUNDS is back for its sophomore year after the inaugural SELL-OUT event in January; returning to the stunning Brisbane Botanical and City Gardens over January 6 and 7 to invoke a sumptuous summer soiree of delights.

With tickets to The Falls Festival selling out each year, fans need not despair as the most sumptuous of the handpicked spices from around the globe that are playing The Falls will frolic in the park at Sunset Sounds, such as;

The kaleidoscopic vocals of Karen O guiding the formidable YEAH YEAH YEAH’S (USA); iconic songwriter and producer, MOBY (USA); rewriting the hip hop rulebook comes HILLTOP HOODS; nerve-shatteringly beautiful and likely

contender for Album Of The Year, GRIZZLY BEAR (USA – First Ever Australian Shows); harmony-laden whole hearted dynamism of THE TEMPER TRAP; in his first Oz performance with new international band comes XAVIER RUDD; iconic modern rockers the EDITORS (UK); the ethereal, organic and immaculate performance of SARAH BLASKO; the unbridled dynamic energy of incendiary guitar virtuosos RODRIGO Y GABRIELA (Mexico); a hootenanny hoedown from bluesman SEASICK STEVE (USA); captivating soaring vocals and sonic alchemy of EMILIANA TORRINI (Iceland); the dazzling guitar work and shimmering tapestry of future folk from KAKI KING (USA); Chicago-based multi-instrumentalist and lyricist, the eclectic ANDREW BIRD (USA); diversely mixed palate of classic gypsy-pop from YVES KLEIN BLUE; sweet pop-folk sensibilities of LISA MITCHELL; the 11-peice psychedelic-soul big band explosion from dynamite act KING KHAN AND THE SHRINES (Germany – First Ever Australian Shows); the rare multi-instrumentalism and indie-rock melting-pot of THE JOHN STEEL SINGERS; three sets of funky hands from the feel-good brand of obscure pulsating electro/pop from ART VS. SCIENCE and the lush, raw, emotive power from Townsville folk darling’s THE MIDDLE EAST. Plus, LOADS MORE LOCAL & INTERNTAIONAL ACTS to be announced
Continue reading Sunset Sounds 2010 First Line Up Announcement – Brisbane 6-7 January 2010 →

Live Review | The Herd @ The Zoo, Brisbane – 31 July 2009

By José Eduardo Cruz

The Herd
The Herd supported by Koolism.
July 31 @ The Zoo

This is to be The Herd’s final national tour for twelve months. Although they had decided not to tour for the remainder of 2009, they succumbed to popular demand for another tour. Since this is a fan’s tour, their fans came out in absolute support and made this night a Sold Out night several days in advance.

It is always good to see a support act receive acknowledgements from a crowd that is eagerly waiting for the headliner. Koolism do an excellent job at drawing several acknowledgements from tonight’s crowd. It is amazing what two guys, a laptop and some decs can do. It’s worth a mention that several punters, at the conclusion of their set, quickly moved to the side of the stage to personally greet and congratulate them.

Continue reading Live Review | The Herd @ The Zoo, Brisbane – 31 July 2009 →

Live Review | Kev Carmody “Cannot Buy My Soul” Landmark Australian Music Event @ Brisbane Riverstage 1 August 2009

Review By: Elize Strydom

Kev Carmody“You’re going to a Kev Carmody tribute, eh?” Silence. “So, who’s Kev Carmody?”

Sadly that was a common response when I mentioned tonight’s gig to friends. Sadly, it was my initial response, too. However, I’ve been told that that is what the show is all about: taking one of Australia’s finest songwriters and exposing his talents to a whole new audience. Kev Carmody has been singing about the realities of Aboriginal society for the past 24 years through blunt protest songs and poetic ballads; blending folk, country, rock and gospel. In 2007 Paul Kelly pulled together the who’s who of the Australian music scene and an album was released featuring those singer songwriters performing Kev’s songs. Tonight those artists – including Paul Kelly, Bernard Fanning, Missy Higgins, John Butler, Clare Bowditch, the Herd and the Drones – will take to the stage to honour a man who is very much alive and passionate about his people and his country.
Continue reading Live Review | Kev Carmody “Cannot Buy My Soul” Landmark Australian Music Event @ Brisbane Riverstage 1 August 2009 →

Sunday Selection: RogerThat : 2 August 2009

LifeMusicMedia Sunday Selection is your weekly view to Queensland Artists

Rogerthat
[Photo: Stuart Blythe]
   Rogerthat is a rock-reggae band that shakes every room they play in. A band that could have come from just about any era. Their contemporaries could be the Black Crowes or the Black Keys. Anything from the Woodstock era, Marley and Lee Scratch Perry or the steel blues of Muddy Waters (circa Electric Mud)… if you could mash the raw electric, psychedelic rock-reggae rep’s of those, you’d get close to the quartet

Rogerthat are back in Australia in August and Sept to mix their peyote and melt minds. On a national tour to prop the release of The Desert’s Call, their debut album (out thru MGM).

The band are currently in Europe for a month long run after smoking it in Canada – 9 gigs in 2 weeks thru West Canada to rooms full of RT converts.

Continue reading Sunday Selection: RogerThat : 2 August 2009 →

Pearl Jam Announces Australian and NZ Tour November 2009

Pearl Jam
[Photo credit: Danny Clinch]
  Pearl Jam announced today that they will play a series of outdoor shows in November in Australia and New Zealand, in support of their new album, Backspacer.

Pearl Jam will be returning to Australia for the first time in 3 years, bringing with them their old touring mates, Ben Harper and Relentless7 and Liam Finn, to play for one night only in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Auckland and Christchurch. Tickets for all shows go on sale on Monday 17 August.

Continue reading Pearl Jam Announces Australian and NZ Tour November 2009 →

Ian Moss ‘Shake It Up’ Australian Tour Oct-Nov-Dec 2009

ian_moss_1
[Photo: Stuart Blythe]
  The voice of Ian Moss has modestly purred beneath his searing guitar playing for more than 30 years – but no longer. For his sixth solo album, Soul on West 53rd, Ian’s sweet, soaring vocal is the pivot around which famed American producer Danny Kortchmar has built a rich, soulful sound, drawing on classic songs from the likes of Sam Cooke, Al Green, Otis Redding and Bill Withers. Unleashing this surge of soul power has unlocked a whole new chapter in Mossy’s performing career, which ironically was triggered by his appearances on the television series It Takes Two that highlighted vocal duets.

“When I put aside the guitar and sang a few soul ballads on that show, people were suddenly listening to me differently. They’d say ‘Yeah, we knew you sang, but we didn’t know you could really sing’. It was both flattering and frustrating. I kept wondering what they thought I’d been doing for past 30 years. It showed that there was a different side of my music that hadn’t really been heard by enough people before.”

Continue reading Ian Moss ‘Shake It Up’ Australian Tour Oct-Nov-Dec 2009 →

Live Review: FourPlay @ The Tivoli, Brisbane 25 July 2009

By: Stephen Goodwin
FourPlay String Quartet @ The Tivoli, Brisbane

FourPlay String QuartetFew bands could be as innately suited to The Tivoli’s lush interiors as the sonically eclectic FourPlay String Quartet. Coaxed all the way to Brisbane to feature in the Deborah Conway-curated 2009 edition of the Queensland Music Festival, the fourtet of Sydneysiders grace the venue with an exquisite set worthy of a far-larger audience.

Over the course of a little more than an hour, the ensemble treats a small, enthusiastic crowd to new material that shows they still have the creativity and talent to match their genre-crossing ambitions.
Continue reading Live Review: FourPlay @ The Tivoli, Brisbane 25 July 2009 →

Interview: Lost Valentinos’ lead singer Nik Yiannikas on all things ‘Conquistadisco’

Lost Valentinos   You’ve just come back from a European tour, what cities did you go to? Any interesting stories?

Barcelona, Brussels, Paris, London, Manchester, Brighton.
On our way to Barcelona we missed our flight due to a massive TM (tour manager) fail. Ironically she was the only one who had slept the night before. However, just when it looked like our Barcelonan dreams would be snatched away from us,

we found the world’s most expensive flights on the world’s worst airline and made it to our show where we towered over 2,500 crazy Spaniards.
Continue reading Interview: Lost Valentinos’ lead singer Nik Yiannikas on all things ‘Conquistadisco’ →

Lost Valentinos Conquistadisco Tour : July-August 2009

LOST VALENTINOS – CONQUISTADISCO TOUR
DEBUT ALBUM RELEASE: 09.09.09
TITLE: CITIES OF GOLD

Lost Valentinos   Just back from a convincing European tour, Sydney’s LOST VALENTINOS have left their suitcases packed and ready for a run around Australia this August on their ‘Conquistadisco’ tour. LOST VALENTINOS will be heralding the arrival of their sizzling new single ‘Thief’, which comes on the eve of the unearthing of their glorious debut album “Cities of Gold”.

Produced by the hugely sought after producer Ewan Pearson, the album “Cities of Gold” becomes legal on 09.09.09. Born from a journey that took in two years and the cities Sydney, Berlin and London, it remains a brilliant, fresh, cohesive body of work that more than accounts for the attention and acclaim this band has attracted since birth.

Continue reading Lost Valentinos Conquistadisco Tour : July-August 2009 →

Lamb Of God Australian Tour – Dec 2009 w/ Devildriver + Shadows Fall

Lamb Of God   Contemporary metal doesn’t get more blistering than Lamb Of God. The Virginia five piece’s mix of groove laden chunky riffs, inhuman screamed vocals and evil lead guitar work make for an explosive and unstoppable force. Their latest album Wrath has seen them elevate to one of the biggest metal bands and they “sound as powerful composing songs as they do cranking out riffs—and the transformation is career-defining.” – AV Club

Hitting with the force of an invading apocalyptic army, Lamb Of God are back to inject Australia with a crippling dose of their pure American metal. Coming armed with a barrage of crushing riffs, a pounding backbone rhythm and growls, “it’s safe to say that this one-cell prison of a genre finally has an escaped convict” – Sputnik Music

Continue reading Lamb Of God Australian Tour – Dec 2009 w/ Devildriver + Shadows Fall →

Live Review: LIAM GRIFFIN @ The Troubadour 12 July 2009

Review by Bec

Liam Griffin   Sunday night at The Troubadour is a casual affair. “When is it supposed to start?” asks the merch girl.

“About seven?” headliner, Liam Griffin suggests; seems uncertain.

It feels like solo artists, Liam Griffin, Mardi Lumsden and (very late ring-in), Cameron Elliott, have put on a party and are waiting nervously for friends to show. Sure, they’re not huge acts but they’re great local talent and deserve a good turnout.

Continue reading Live Review: LIAM GRIFFIN @ The Troubadour 12 July 2009 →

Sunday Selection: The Sunburys : 19 July 2009

LifeMusicMedia Sunday Selection is your weekly view to Queensland Artists

The Sunburys
[Photo: Jo Bell]
   Here Comes The Sunburys is the debut album from Brisbane’s freshest antidote to unlistenable radio.

As their name suggests, The Sunburys are a band with an appreciation of great moments in the history of rock and roll. Like Steve Marriott quitting the Small Faces to form Humble Pie. Or Bob Dylan going electric. Moments when greats become legends, risking obscurity for the sake of creative integrity.

Having already done the rounds of Australian festivals, enjoyed high rotation radio and flaunted their chops on national television in previous bands, The Sunburys have taken a diversion. They are prepared to risk not being popular, for the sake of making music for people with soul and good taste. They don’t really give a toss about whether you approve of their haircuts. They do love the swagger of warranted attitude, but have little time for those who rank style above substance.

Continue reading Sunday Selection: The Sunburys : 19 July 2009 →

Interview with singer songwriter Clare Bowditch

Interview: Elize Strydom

Clare BowditchThe girl can’t help it. She’s surprised and excited and confused. She’s asking questions, making plans and speaking out. Clare Bowditch is just being Clare Bowditch.

Elize Strydom catches the fire.

“I really love the idea of his stories living on. It’s great to be able to do a tribute with someone who is very much alive and there! You see what’s happening in the culture at the moment with Michael Jackson – I think that’s too late to celebrate someone. My theory is if you love someone, do your best to celebrate them while they’re alive and can enjoy it.”

Clare Bowditch is talking about legendary Indigenous singer/songwriter/storyteller Kev Carmody. And she wants you to know about it. On August 1st Bowditch will take to the stage with a swag of other artists including Paul Kelly, Missy Higgins, John Butler, Bernard Fanning and the Drones for Cannot Buy My Soul – a tribute to Carmody and the culmination of the Queensland Music Festival.

Continue reading Interview with singer songwriter Clare Bowditch →

Sounds Of Spring 2009: 3rd Artist Lineup Announcement

Just when you thought Sounds of Spring 2009 couldn’t get any better…another 23 acts join us to round-out the line-up

Related: Interview: Tex Perkins on Sounds of Spring, Album and Film Scores

Sounds of Spring    Tex Perkins, Salmonella Dub, Something With Numbers, Kram, Calling All Cars, Midnight Youth, Mary Trembles, MM9, Jericco, Ouch My Face, Astronomy Class, Coalition Crew, Omni Anti featuring DINO, Root!, Further, Amity Affliction, Hungry Kids of Hungary, Grand Atlantic, The Scare, Mexico City, Melodyssey, Nova Scotia, Drawn From Bees.

Continue reading Sounds Of Spring 2009: 3rd Artist Lineup Announcement →

THE DEER REPUBLIC ARE CROWNED THE UNCHARTED WINNERS!

The competition was fierce at the Tooheys Extra Dry uncharTED Grand Final for competition 1, 2009. Three of Australia’s top emerging bands battled it out for the major prize – a spot on the bill at Splendour In The Grass 2009, plus an artist development package worth $25,000. Nova’s Rosso hosted the event, as the Oxford Art Factory reached full capacity and the crowd were treated to a special performance from Kram.
After astounding live-sets from each finalist, The Deer Republic from Sydney came out on top and was crowned the uncharTED winner, just beating Hot Little Hands and Foxx On Fire in the industry and public votes. Having only been together a couple of years, The Deer Republic captivated the audience with their melodic indie-rock and catchy hooks. It seems there’s no stopping this Sydney outfit, as they get ready to play one of Australia’s best festivals, Splendour In The Grass.

Nick Andrijic of The Deer Republic describes their win “Phenomenal; ecstasy; fantastic! I’m not just saying this because we’re gracious winners; the other two bands that played tonight are fantastic… It means the world to us to play at Splendour… the fact that we’re going to be sharing the stage with some of them [our favourite bands], it’s indescribable at the moment, I don’t think it’s going to hit me for a couple of days… we’re looking forward to it.”

uncharTED competition 1 attracted more than 2,300 entrants this year, and an esteemed panel of industry experts and an A&R team selected the Top 50 artists in Round 1. Round 2 saw the unveiling of the Top 10 semi-finalists, made up of four media picks and the 6 publicly voted bands. Round 3 announced Foxx On Fire, Hot Little Hands and The Deer Republic as the Top 3 finalists – and after 10 weeks of vigorous voting, the competition ended with a bang at last night’s Grand Final, with The Deer Republic leaving with the major prize!

Tooheys Extra Dry uncharTED competition 2, 2009 is now open. If you’re a solo artist or in a band looking to make it big, head to www.uncharted.com.au to register. You could be on your way to becoming Australia’s next big thing!