Category: News

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

The Foo Fighters Announce Brisbane Flood Benefit Show

The Foo Fighters have always had a special relationship with Australia, so I’m thrilled to see Dave Grohl’s band are winging their way back here for a Brisbane flood relief concert.

The American rockers will play one show only on at Brisbane’s Riverstage on Saturday 27 to benefit the Queensland Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal. You Am I and Cloud Control have also been announced as support acts, and local artists are encouraged to join them. Brisbane bands wanting to be a part of the show can e-mail info@frontiertouring.com.au with a link to their tunes on Sunday or Monday.

Tickets are dirt cheap at $99 each, and there’s a limit of four per customer to keep things fair. They’ll still likely sell out fast, so make sure you log onto Ticketmaster on Monday 21 March at 9 am to get yours.

Image source: Flimsical @ Flickr

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Cold Chisel Heading Back Into the Studio

Cold Chisel are determined to soldier on despite the untimely death of their bandmate Steve Prestwich in January. The remaining members say they’ll record some new material over the coming months.

Charley Drayton will step in for Steve as needed on the new tracks. Steve can’t be replaced of course, but Charley brings with him a wealth of experience after recording with Keith Richards, Iggy Pop, Neil Young, the Divinyls, and Simon & Garfunkel.

“We’d already recorded a number of new songs with Steve prior to his passing. Plus all five of us have written songs over summer with the intention of more recording this year”, explained Don Walker. “Hopefully Charley can help us complete the work we began together. Steve was totally into everything we’d been planning for 2011 so while the last few months have been very difficult to deal with, we all feel that he would want us to complete the plans we made together.”

Cold Chisel aren’t sure when they’ll release this material, but when they do all profits will continue to be split five ways. Steve’s children will fittingly inherit his share.

While we’re waiting on the new stuff Warner plans to release the Cold Chisel back catalogue in digital form. These revamped albums will include unreleased tunes recorded way back when, so there’s something there for the fans who already have the originals.

I’m thrilled to see Cold Chisel are keeping on with this new stuff. It’ll never be the same without Steve Prestwich, but I’m sure he’d want them to go on in his absence. I’m excited to see what the band comes up with!

Image source: Cold Chisel Facebook page

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Rumer Launches Aussie Mailing List

British folk-soul songstress Rumer has created a special mailing list just for her Australian fans. Which of course makes us all ask the question, why?

I can’t recall ever hearing about an international artist, or even a local one, speaking directly to the Aussies. So what’s in store? I’m immediately thinking of a local tour with special presales or even free tickets offered to those dedicated fans, but it’s still unusual to see a special mailing list for us. Maybe Rumer’s cooking up something even more brilliant. Any wild crazy theories you want to throw out there?

Either way, if you’re a fan of this promising new British talent you’ll want to click here and register your deets!

Image used with permission from Warner Music Australia

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

President Obama Gets an Aussie iPod

If the art of the mix-tape was dead, someone forgot to tell Julia Gillard. She apparently gave President Barack Obama an iPod chockfull of Aussie music.

News.com.au was quick to slam its AC/DC omission, but I think whoever was compiling this playlist had the right idea. The beauty of the Australian music industry is that it’s so insular. Our heroes are performers that folks in the rest of the world would have no idea about. That’s pretty special.

So while there were a few artists with international profiles, including John Butler Trio, The Temper Trap, and Crowded House (they’re mostly Aussie, right?), the bulk of the musicians were performers that Obama were heard of. They also represented so many genres of Australian music: we had the jazzy James Morrison, funky Cat Empire, Paul Kelly, indie darling Washington, urban Bliss N Eso, and modern indigenous music of Saltwater Band to name a few.

It’s easy to bandy around the names that were missing. I’d have loved to see Obama learn about Richard Clapton, Slim Dusty, Human Nature, and James Reyne. But AC/DC? I reckon he’s already clued in.

What did you think of the president’s new Aussie playlist?

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Congratulations Jenn and Alana!

Congratulations Alana McDonald and Jenn Rasmussen! You’re both about to be inundated with The Trews!

Keep an eye on your mailboxes for tickets to The Trews’ Aussie shows, a copy of the Canadian band’s album Friends and Total Strangers, and some extra Trews goodies.

Thanks to everyone that entered. Hopefully I’ll have another competition for you soon!

Image used with permission from Revolutions

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Katie Noonan Leaves Sony for Independent Projects

Katie Noonan has parted ways with Sony Music Australia after three years and two albums.

Katie worked with Sony on her Beatles cover album Blackbird and Emperors Box, the album with her band The Captains. But now she’s spreading her wings as she looks to stretch herself artistically in a more creative, independent environment.

“My creative musings have always been fairly left of centre and we just felt that, moving forward, this may be better housed in an independent environment,” she said in a statement.

Katie will leave The Captains, at least temporarily, as she returns again to Elixir. The trio plans to record an album inspired by the poetry of Thomas Shapcott. It sounds intriguing, as most Katie Noonan projects do, so I can’t wait to give it a listen when it hits stores around August!

Image source: The Harbour Agency

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Dan Sultan & Archie Roach Play Bilyana

Two of Australia’s leading indigenous performers, Dan Sultan and Archie Roach, will come together for one special show on April 9.

These two talents will play at Bilyana, a natural amphitheatre nestled in Mount Pilot National Park, just outside the small Victorian town of Eldorado. It’s a beautiful spot, where families can come together to appreciate music. So it seems fitting that in Dan and Archie we see two generations coming together to entertain the masses.

Show tickets are available from the Try Booking website for $55 for adults, $38 for children, and $165 for families. This price includes use of a camp site at Bilyana, so it’s a great deal for music lovers looking for a show that’s a bit different.

Image used with permission from AUM

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Win The Trews Prize Packs Including Concert Tickets & CDs

Canadian rockers The Trews are enjoying an extended holiday in our fair land as they take up residency at pubs and clubs in Sydney and Melbourne. I’m giving two lucky Sounds of Oz readers the chance to catch the band in the flesh, plus a whole lot more.

I have two prize packs to give away which are jampacked with Trews goodness. The winners will each get a double pass to The Trews show of their choice, a copy of the band’s album Friends and Total Strangers, a Trews sticker, and a badge.

Simply leave your details in the comments below, including the show you want to see and your e-mail address so I can tell you if you’ve won (no one else will see it, I promise!). Entries close at 5 pm AEDST on Sunday March 6, and I’ll announce the winners next Monday. Here is the list of remaining shows so you can choose the one which suits you best!

9 March 2011 – Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills
10 March 2011 – Sandringham Hotel, Newtown
11 March 2011 – Old Manly Boatshed, Manly
12 March 2011 – Bridge Hotel, Rozelle
13 March 2011 – The Brass Monkey, Cronulla
17 March 2011 – The National, Geelong
18 March 2011 – Cherry Bar, Melbourne
19 March 2011 – Cherry Bar, Melbourne
20 March 2011 – Cherry Bar, Melbourne
23 March 2011 – Annandale Hotel, Annandale

Image used with permission from Revolutions

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Evil Eddie Covers Geto Boys’ Protest Song

I was saddened this week to hear of the death of 21-year-old soldier Jamie Larcombe in Afghanistan. He’s the 23rd digger we’ve lost in the country since 2002, and it makes me wonder why we’re still there protecting a nation with which we have little real ties to.

Brisbane’s Evil Eddie seems just as frustrated as I do, because he’s just released a cover of the Geto Boys’ 1991 underground hit “Fuck A War.” I could have added those polite asterisks I saw in the press release, but we all know what the song’s called!

If your ears aren’t too delicate, you can own a copy of this foul-mouthed protest song for free. Just sign up to Evil’s mailing list by March 11 and he’ll send the MP3 straight to your inbox!

Such generosity isn’t very evil, is it?

Image used with permission from Reckoning Entertainment

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Laneous and the Family Yah Announce Scissors EP Tour

Goodness those folks from Laneous and the Family Yah work hard! Barely five months have passed since the release of their second album Found Things, but they’re already preparing to release a new EP called Scissors tomorrow.

The EP is the first from the Found Things Collection, a kind of companion series to the Found Things album. Yes, we can expect to see Paper and Rock join it on record store shelves in the coming months. Scissors features a melodic soulful sound, while we can expect some quirky indie pop from Paper and a bit of afro punk and hip hop from Rock.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Before all that the band will tour Scissors with a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it East Coast tour. Here are the places you can catch this inventive Queensland act.

24 March 2011 – The Zoo, Brisbane
25 March 2011 – The Evelyn Hotel, Melbourne
26 March 2011 – The Annandale Hotel, Sydney

Image used with permission from Heapsaflash