Category: News

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Bird’s Basement Brings Jazz to Melbourne

Jazz lovers are in for a real treat with Bird’s Basement set to open its doors in Melbourne.

The club has already assembled an impressive line-up for its opening month, with American jazz legends Ravi Coltrane and Lee Ritenour scheduled to play on the first night, and Wendy Matthews, Joe Camilleri and the Black Sorrows, Albare, Joe Chindamo, Mike Nock, The Young ‘uns, and even Brian Mannix shows within the first month.

Bird’s Basement is a purpose-built club in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD. It will offer two shows nightly – one at 6 pm and the next at 9:30 pm, accompanied by an Italian a la carte menu. Now this is how I want to see music. Melbourne, I’m officially jealous.

Bird’s Basement will welcome music lovers from March 1. You’ll find it at 11 Singer’s Lane.

Image used with permission from Cavanagh PR

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Steve Clisby Covers “I Still Call Australia Home”

I might be a little biased, since my husband is American, but I think there’s something so special about people who choose to live in our country. I love Australia, but I’ve also not known what it’s like to live anywhere else. I was taught my country was the best, and I never questioned it. But when people have lived abroad and they choose to make Australia home, they’re doing it because they’ve seen what else is out there and they truly know Australia is the country for them. Like me they were probably told the place they grew up is superior, but they explored beyond their immediate environment and rejected what they were told.

Perhaps that’s why I warm so much to Steve Clisby’s version of “I Still Call Australia Home.” I can truly feel his dedication to our country coming through this performance. And is there a more beautiful backdrop than Sydney Harbour?

Steve said he recorded the iconic Peter Allen song because he wanted to give back to the supporters he’s found in his adopted home. “I’m originally from California, but have lived in this beautiful country for over 16 years now – I fell in love with it the moment I arrived. I definitely call Australia my home and being able to do this now is very powerful for me,” he said in a press release.

I can’t think of a more appropriate time to share this single with you. Happy Australia Day!

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

The Foundry Honours David Bowie

Like so many music lovers, I’m still feeling the loss of so many musical luminaries of late. Glenn Frey hit me hard. I only saw the Eagles live last year, and I’d have put money on him being the last man standing. He seemed so vibrant and full of life. And then of course there was the loss of David Bowie. I’d wanted to see him live when he came out in 2004 but I’d already booked tickets to the US to meet an online boyfriend at the same time. Thank goodness I ended up marrying that boy, because otherwise I’d really be sore about that missed opportunity.

But I digress. There are so many Bowie tribute nights being organised, and quite rightly so. But I wanted to make sure to promote the show at The Foundry next month. The good folks at this venue aren’t profiting from the event, which is sure to be a sell-out, but donating all proceeds to cancer charities. In light of the way we lost Bowie, this seems like the best way to really honour his memory and contribution to the music world.

If you want to get together with like-minded people who know just how much Bowie’s music meant and see it performed by some of Brisbane’s brightest young talents, get along to The Foundry in Fortitude Valley on February 21. Doors open from 5 p.m.

Image used with permission from Mucho Bravado

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

PBS 106.7FM Announce Drive Live! Line-Up

PBS 106.7FM’s annual Drive Live! is approaching, and it looks like it might be one of the best yet. From February 1 to 5, some of the best musicians in Melbourne will perform live at PBS’ Collingwood studios between 5 pm and 7 pm. I’m talking The Drones, Sui Zhen, Jess Rebeiro, Mollusc, and heaps more. It’ll be a treat for music lovers across the Victorian capital and a real thrill for those lucky enough to earn a place in the studio.

If you want to be one of them, send an email to events@pbsfm.org.au with the subject line: NIGHT (Monday, Tuesday, etc.) YOUR NAME and MEMBER NUMBER (if applicable). It’s free to go, but capacity is limited so send off your requests ASAP.

Here’s the full program so you can decide what you want to see or hear.

Monday, February 1 – Zen Arcade
Taipan Tiger Girls
friendships
Mollusc

Tuesday, February 2 – Mixing Up The Medicine
The Drones
Deaf Wish
Deep Heat

Wednesday, February 3 – The Afterglow
Terrible Truths
Sui Zhen
Jess Ribeiro

Thursday, February 4 – Fang It!
Batpiss
Wet Lips
Grotto

Friday, February 5 – Stone Love
Little Desert
Waterfall Person
Drug Sweat

Image used with permission from Higher Plains

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

STREWTH! The Elephant Hotel Celebrating Australia Day Weekend

I don’t know about you, but I’m a little over this working thing. The Christmas holidays seemed to fly by, and I’m still not feeling rested enough. Thankfully Australia Day is just around the corner.

If you’re looking for a great way to spend the Saturday before the public holiday, head to The Elephant Hotel in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley for their second annual Australia Day weekend party STREWTH. The line-up’s looking fantastic, with Velociraptor, Babganouj, and WAAX already announced and more bands on the way. The venue is also cooking up their famous spit roast rolls and you could win a BBQ by purchasing a schooner of Coopers on the day. How Aussie is that?

STREWTH hits The Elephant Hotel from 2 pm on January 23. It’s all completely free, so there’s really no excuse for missing out.

Image used with permission from Mucho Bravado

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

BATTS Say Hello and Goodbye

Don’t you just hate discovering an act, only to have them up and leave? That’s the case with BATTS, a collaboration between Aussie musician Tanya Batt and British producer and instrumentalist Alisdair “Ficci” Mason. They’ve actually never played a show here, but they’re going to squeeze in just one before Tanya moves to the United Kingdom to work with Ficci full time.

If you like what you hear, head to BATTS’ debut and farewell show at the Shadow Electric on January 22. They’ll play with a superstar line-up including Hayden Calnin, Will Cuming (Lanks) and Lacklan O’Kane (Eagle and the Worm, Canary, Dorsal Fins). Canary and Zlatna will also provide support on the night. Tickets are just $10 on the presale or $15 on the door.

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

2015: A Year in Review

I can hardly believe we’re at the end of the year already. This one seems to have flown by in a blur of home renovations, holidays, trivia nights, roller skating classes, and of course music. Speaking of, before we pop the champagne there’s just time for me to look back at the music that made 2015 so memorable for me. What got you going this year?

Top 10 Aussie Albums/EPs

1. Cast of Yesterday – Tim Wheatley
2. Absence – Alanna Eileen
3. Til Night Meets the Sun – Loren Kate
4. Limbo – Bad Pony
5. Love is the Great Rebellion – Ben Lee
6. Jess & Matt – Jess & Matt
7. Home Movies – Kevin Dolan
8. Change Colours – Reece Mastin
9. Twelvefour – The Paper Kites
10. Through the Forest – Benny Walker

Top 10 Aussie Tours

1. Joshua Radin
2. Sam Smith
3. Jack Carty & Jordan Millar
4. Anthony Callea
5. The Eagles
6. ‘80s Mania
7. Peter Cetera
8. Uncle Jed
9. Mark Seymour
10. Richard Clapton

What did you love in 2015?

Image source: hakee @ Flickr

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Vale Stevie Wright

Like so many music lovers, I was saddened to wake up to the news that Stevie Wright has passed away at age 68.

This isn’t one of those bolt from the blue deaths. Stevie’s been battling ill health for decades. But that doesn’t make the news of his passing any less tragic. I don’t know about you, but sometimes when a person seems to keep soldiering on despite ill health you almost start thinking that they’re made from stronger stuff than the rest of us, and that somehow they’re just going to keep on keeping on.

Stevie rose to fame as the frontman of The Easybeats in the 1960s. I’ve often marvelled at the way that songs like “Friday on my Mind” and “Sorry” still sound fresh as daisies despite all the years that have passed since their release. For me though, the name Stevie Wright will always be synonymous with the epic “Evie.” It was only on Boxing Day that I gave the DJ on the radio a thumbs up for playing parts 2 and 3, rather than just cutting it off at part 1 as so many do. It’s one of the best story songs of all time in my opinion, and that story deserves to be sold in its entirety.

RIP Stevie. I hope you’re up there rocking out with all of the greats who’ve gone before you. Thank you for the music.

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Peter “Blackie” Black Plans a Song a Day for 2016

It’s that time of year when many of us are thinking about making New Year’s resolutions. Perhaps you’re planning on quitting smoking or taking more time to smell the roses. I can almost guarantee that whatever’s on your agenda, it’s not as ambitious as the New Year’s resolution of Sydney singer-songwriter Peter “Blackie” Black.

Blackie plans to release a new song every day from January 1 through to December 31 via his Bandcamp page.

“There’s actually a million reasons why I wanna do this but to try and put it in a nut shell… I’ve been playing music my whole life, its wonderful. It just gets more wonderful every single day so while I’m still able I… wanna go nuts!!” he said in a press release. Hard to argue with that!

Recording so many songs that sound great takes money, so Blackie is asking music lovers to subscribe to his Bandcamp page to help fund his efforts. The $9 monthly subscription fee is a fairly small price to pay for 30 or so new songs. They’ll also be available for free, if you just want to dip your toe into this crazy experiment and see what it’s all about!

Image used with permission from RiSH Publicity

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Free TAD App Makes Cover Art Easy

Unless you’ve got the backing of a big studio, releasing an EP or album can take some serious coin. After you’ve paid for studio time and professional mixing and mastering, there’s little left over for things like cover art. However, cover art is so important because it gives music lovers their first impression of your work.

Your cover art needn’t let you down with TAD, a brand new and totally free locally made cover art app created by indie musicians, for indie musicians. TAD, which stands for Thumbnail Art Design makes it easy to create high-quality cover art for Soundcloud, Bandcamp, iTunes, Spotify, and other popular platforms. Check out the video to see a demonstration of TAD in action.

TAD is available for free download for iOS devices from iTunes now.