Axle Whitehead is back doing what he does best. No, not flashing his naughty bits to kiddies at the ARIAs, or even hosting Video Hits. Axle’s giving this music thing another try.
Fans may remember Axle’s shortlived stint on the first series of Australian Idol. He just missed out on a top 12 possie, but his jazzy scatting was pretty unforgettable.
Axle’s debut single “I Don’t Do Surprises” will be released in January, with the album Losing Sleep to follow.
Does anyone out there remember the Baby Animals? They were huge in the early ’90s, with hits like “Early Warning,” “One Word,” and “Rush You.”
Well, after an extended hiatus they’re on the comeback trail with a new album and tour in the works. Their new release Il Grande Silenzio is due out on the Liberation Blue label on January 19.
“It means The Great Silence, for those who don’t speak spaghetti western,” explained lead singer Suzi DeMarchi. “It seemed appropriate. It’s a soft, quiet, dreamy kind of record. And it’s been a long time.”
Like other albums released through Liberation Blue, it will include a mix of new acoustic songs and classic tracks.
They’ll take the new album on the road in January. Their tour kicks off in their hometown of Perth on January 18 before heading to Melbourne, Sydney, and regional New South Wales.
Saturday is World AIDS Day and Melbourne is commemorating the day with a massive free concert.
The concert features an eclectic line-up including ex-Australian Idol contestant Cosima DeVito, hip hop outfit Illzilla, reggae group Cousin Leonard, Frankie Wants Out, Whitley, Diafrix, Josh Owen, Kinematic, Tess Henderson, Slinkee Minx (are they still around?), Drew Bowden Trio, President Roots, Chiara Hunter, Ouso, and TRS.
The stars will turn out to support The Burnet Institute, Australia’s largest medical research and public health institute specialising in infectious diseases. Donations will be collected during the concert, which kicks off at 1 pm at Federation Square.
Image source: Bermix Studio @ Unsplash
Airbourne may have their sights set on finding new fans in America, but they’re certainly not going to make any new friends back home. Lead singer Joel O’Keefe has slammed other local success stories Jet and Wolfmother in an interview with Canada’s Chart Attack.
“Jet and Wolfmother are not for real. We are. That’s the difference. They’re not for real. They’re doing it to be cool, and you can tell,” he said.
“Wolfmother and Jet are a bad example of rock that comes out of Australia. They’re just carbon copies of something they want … they’re wannabes. They’re like American Idol or something like that. They’re not legit.”
Joel said Airbourne plan to focus on the American market and treat Australia as a “tourist destination.”
“We intend to move here [North America] for good. Australia will become a tourist destination for us. We’re all going to live in a house together. We’re here to get drunk and get wasted and have a party with everyone.”
Funnily enough, I don’t think Australia’s going to miss them. “Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast” was a minor hit, but they haven’t really made a big impression. And we don’t tend to like bands who turn their back on Oz and rubbish our other artists. Good riddance Airbourne!
Image source: Eetwartti @ Wikimedia Commons
After a seemingly endless telecast, last night Natalie Gauci was crowned this year’s Australian Idol. She faced stiff competition from season golden boy Matt Corby, and no one seemed more surprised with the result than Natalie herself.
“Are you sure?” she asked host James Mathison after her name was called. “I don’t believe this is happening.
“It just feels like it … like it never ends and it just keeps going and the buzz is always there and it makes me so grateful to know people have voted for me around Australia. It’s really exciting.”
Tickets to her Winner’s Journey tour are released today, and her debut single “Here I Am” is on sale on Wednesday.
“I’m going to put on a really good show and I hope everyone comes to watch me,” Gauci told the crowd.
I know there are a lot of big Matt fans in here, but honestly, I don’t think they need to worry about him. He’s shown what he can do, and I’m sure the record companies are going to snatch him up. I also think he’ll be better for it. Just look how far previous runners-up like Shannon Noll and Anthony Callea have gone!
Image source: Violetion @ Wikimedia Commons
Whether you’re a football fan, a music lover, or both there’s no other place to be on Thursday than Melbourne’s Prince of Wales.
The pub is hosting a massive fundraising night, dubbed Roo-sistence, for the North Melbourne football club. If you’re out of the loop, the Kangaroos may have to move to Queensland if they can’t raise some cash pronto. Frankly that’s just un-Australian, so the local musos are going to lend a hand.
You really couldn’t ask for a better line-up. Where else can you see supergroup The Wrights playing alongside You Am I, Something for Kate, Tex Perkins, and Mick Thomas? And that’s just for starters.
Tickets are just $40 plus booking fees from the Prince Bandroom.
Image source: Wikimedia.org
I’ve got to tell you, I’m more than a little bit excited at recent news that Michael Bublé is heading back to Australia next May to promote his third album, Call Me Irresponsible.
I’ve seen Michael on his last two visits to Australia, and he never fails to impress me. It may have something to do with his amazingly pure voice, it may be about his old-school charisma, or it may just be those gorgeous brown eyes. Either way, his return is good news.
It seems the man himself is also pretty chuffed by it.
“I love coming to Australia,” he told AAP. “You are all so nice. Sort of like Canadians, but with good suntans.”
Awww, doesn’t it just make you all warm and fuzzy inside? Also heartening is the news that unlike most artists, Michael’s keeping his ticket prices low. The best seats in the house will only set you back around $100, which is a whole lot less than most of the big stars charge these days.
Of course, at these prices they’re going to go quickly. Sydney and Perth fans can get theirs on December 3, while shows in Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Brisbane will go on sale on December 6.
Image source: Quintin3265 @ Wikimedia Commons
You may not have heard of Melbourne indie outfit Borne just yet, but after they scooped the pool at last night’s MusicOz awards that’s all set to change. MusicOz is the largest awards recognising Australia’s unsigned and independent artists.
The group picked up the awards for best acoustic/singer-songwriter, the Garth Porter producer award, the Nova unsigned initiative award, and the big one, artist of the year. This prestigious title saw them take home a $70, 000 prize package, more than enough to help them get a leg up in the industry.
Past Australian Idol contestant Amali Ward and metal outfit Anjeliina were handpicked by rock photographer Tony Mott to win the Tony Mott photography award.
Sydney’s Super Massive took home the best alternative artist gong, and Melbourne quintet The Shades won the best schoolies artist.
Other winners on the night included songwriter Simon Shapiro, country outfit Jonah’s Road, pop act IRiS, and dance/electronic group The Vangarde.
To see what they’re all about, check out Borne’s new video for “The Guide.”
A statue of Australia’s pop princess Kylie Minogue will be unveiled in Melbourne today. It will join statues of John Farnham and Dame Nellie Melba as part of the Variety Entertainers of the Century art installation at Docklands.
The installation will feature 100 plaques commemorating the names of Australian artists, similar to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It will also include a giant mosaic mural celebrating the stars, and the life-sized bronze statues.
The Kylie is the work of acclaimed Melbourne sculptor Peter Corlett. He’s the guy responsible for the Weary Dunlop statue on St Kilda Road, the Phar Lap sculpture in Flemington, and the Teddy Whitten piece in Footscray.
His Kylie piece took three months to complete and it is an exact replica of the Aussie diva, right down to the size of her waist. Peter liaised with Kylie’s management and dressmakers in London to get the body measurements, and then used a real-life Kylie clone for the finishing touches.
“I actually found a young woman working in a cafe in Brunswick St who had virtually the same measurements as Kylie,” he told the Herald Sun.
“I hope the final Kylie will become a popular place to visit for all her fans.”
Image source: James Roberts @ Wikimedia Commons
Kylie Minogue is entering the digital age in a big way. Last week I told you about her cool social network site, Kylie Konnect. Now she’s launched a brilliant new Facebook application that allows fans to create their own little Kylie characters.
Facebook users can browse more than forty Classic Kylies wearing some of the divas most iconic outfits, or create their own from scratch. I think my favourite is this cute little Intimate Kylie, but there’s also the”Can’t Get You Out of My Head” Kylie wearing that famous white pantsuit, and the “Spinning Around” Kylie complete with sexy gold hotpants.
Once you’ve created your mini-Kylie you can download it to your computer or send it to a friend. Check it out at http://apps.facebook.com/kylierobotics/home.
Image sources: Kylie Facebook page and Georges Biard @ Wikimedia Commons