Category: News

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Celebrate Record Store Day This April

As an old school music fan, I’m a big supporter of Record Store Day. There’s just something so satisfying about thumbing through the CDs and taking your tangible purchases to the counter that iTunes and the like could never hope to replicate.

Record Store Day celebrates that experience with appearances from some of the music industry’s heavy hitters. Last year we saw Jessica Mauboy, Short Stack, Wes Carr, and even Irishman Ronan Keating making old-fashioned instore appearances, and I’m expecting another big line-up this year.

To see who’s visiting your local record store on April 17 keep an eye on the Record Store Day website. There’s been no announcements made as yet, but if the first year was any indication this one’s going to be big!

Image source: Opethpainter @ Flickr

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Crowded House Sign with Universal

Crowded House have a new home, with the band leaving long-time record company EMI for Universal Music. The first release under the new deal will be the album Intriguer, which should hit stores in the middle of the year.

Lead singer Neil Finn is apparently delighted with the move, commenting “I look forward to a long and productive relationship with Universal Music, who are obviously the music company setting the benchmark now. We’re delighted to be in the company of music-loving people who believe in us and are eager to spread the word.”

Local fans may get a sneak peek at some of the band’s new material when they play a couple of Australian and New Zealand dates in the next few weeks ahead of their European tour. The band will then head to the United States. Here are all those dates for my readers abroad!

28 March 2010 – West Coast Blues & Roots Festival, Fremantle
31 March 2010 – Enmore Theatre, Newtown
1 April 2010 – Bluesfest, Byron Bay
8 April 2010 – Town Hall, Auckland
18 May 2010 – Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle Upon Tyne
19 May 2010 – Clyde Auditorium, Glasgow
21 May 2010 – Usher Hall, Edinburgh
22 May 2010 – Music Hall, Aberdeen
24 & 25 May 2010 – Symphony Hall, Birmingham
26 & 27 May 2010 – Apollo Manchester, Manchester
29 May 2010 – Royal Theatre and Event Centre, Castlebar
30 & 31 May 2010 – Olympia Theatre, Dublin
2 June 2010 – Colston Hall, Bristol
3 June 2010 – Plymouth Pavilions, Plymouth
4 June 2010 – Cardiff International Arena, Cardiff
6 June 2010 – New Theatre Oxford, Oxford
8 – 10 June 2010 – HMV Hammersmith Apollo, London
12 June 2010 – Isle of Wight Festival, Newport
14 June 2010 – Train, Aarhus
16 June 2010 – Amager Bio, Copenhagen
18 June 2010 – Vorst Nationaal, Brussels
20 June 2010 – Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam
21 June 2010 – Essigfabrik, Cologne
24 June 2010 – Sala Razzmatazz, Barcelona
25 June 2010 – Sala Heineken, Madrid
26 July 2010 – Filene Center At Wolf Trap, Vienna (USA)

Image source: Alterna2 @ Flickr

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Win Last Chance Tickets for This Week’s Bacardi Express Shows

The Bacardi Express is just about ready to board, and tickets are all sold out. But if you’re still keen to catch La Roux, Art vs Science, Yves Klein Blue, Miami Horror, Cassette Kids, and Sampology, listen up.

Last chance tickets will be given away on the day of the concert, but you’ll need to join the Bacardi Express Facebook page or listen to Nova to get your hands on them. And of course, as this is an adults only event, you’ll need to be over 18.

If you do manage to bag tickets, make sure you tune in to MTV during May. The music network will screen a fly-on-the-wall documentary about the massive tour, so you might just spot yourself in the crowd!

As a reminder, here are the Bacardi Express dates. If you’re still hoping to score tickets, good luck!

25 March 2010 – The Tivoli, Brisbane
26 March 2010 – Club Coffs, Coffs Harbour
27 March 2010 – Panthers, Newcastle (midday)
27 March 2010 – Big Top @ Luna Park, Sydney (7:30 pm)

Image used with permission from Peer Group Media

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Angus & Julia Stone Debut at Number One

Angus & Julia Stone have debuted at number one on the ARIA charts with their sophomore effort Down The Way. The local brother sister act was no match for last week’s number ones Gorillaz, now sitting at number three, or international touring sensation Lady Gaga, who occupies the number two spot.

It’s great to see Angus & Julia Stone outselling the rest of the pack considering the lack of local talent in the current ARIA charts.

Australia also has a new number one single, with Train moving up one position with “Hey, Soul Sister.” They may not be Aussies, but as a long time fan I’m thrilled to see these boys sitting at the top of our charts once again!

Click below to see the full ARIA top 10!
Continue reading “Angus & Julia Stone Debut at Number One” →

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Parents Criticise Lady Gaga Shows, But Should Kids Be There Anyway?

Lady Gaga is just two nights into her Australian tour and already parents have jumped on the flamboyant performer. They’re begging us to think of the children and calling for concerts to carry a classification similar to films and albums.

Lady GaGa performs live in concert at Glasgow's SECC as part of her Monster Ball Tour

Personally I think the whole thing’s ludicrous. I’m not a parent, but if I was I wouldn’t take my child to see Lady Gaga. I have nothing against the performer or her brand of entertainment, but it’s one built on shock value. Her recent film clip for “Telephone” contains a healthy dose of violence and nudity, so I’d expect her live concert to feature similar elements. It’s just not something I’d expose a small child to, but I don’t condemn any parent who does.

While I don’t condemn any parent who opts to take their child to see Lady Gaga, I am critical of those who bring children to a show without being informed. I think it’s good parenting to be aware of the content of art your child is consuming and make a choice accordingly. If you want to expose them to entertainment that’s edgy, do it by all means. But don’t attend a performance blindly and then express your moral outrage.

I don’t see how we could possibly give concerts a ratings system. They’re live performances, and at their best completely unscripted. Consider an artist who lets a few f-bombs fly while bantering with their audience between songs. Should they play to a strictly adult crowd, or be forced to watch their language? What I love most about an evening of live music is its spontaneity. If we introduce ratings we lose that, which would be a very sad thing indeed.

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Who’s Your Most Eligible Music Bachelor?

Most often I’m a serious music journalist. But sometimes I’m just a woman who loves to admire good looking men. So every year I like to cast my eye over the contenders for the Cleo Bachelor of the Year title to see which local musos are in the running.

Celebrities At Crown Oaks Day

It makes sense for musicians to feature prominently in the list. John Mayer once said that a guitar was the ultimate airbrush, and he’s probably right. Although I’m just as likely to become weak-kneed when a man sits behind a piano or drum kit!

Isn’t it interesting to see Rob Farnham make the list? I remember thinking the Lanstrum singer had the potential to be hot when his band Nana-Zhami toured with John Farnham in the late 90s. Back then he was a little young and it felt a little pervy, but now he’s on my radar!

I still feel it’s a little pervy to consider Short Stack’s Andy Clemmensen as an eligible bachelor, but the 21-year-old has also made this year’s cut. I’m sure the tweens are voting in their droves though!

I’m much more interested in DJ Angus Gruzman. I think my inner hippie chick is responding to all that long shiny hair and all the vinyl behind him.

Rob “Millsy” Mills is another lad right up my alley. I must admit, his appeal was lost on me during his Idol stint. But you whack that man in tights and put him on a musical theatre stage and my heart beats faster.

I’m also a fan of Sam Clark. While he’s better known as a soap actor, he’s showing real promise as a singer-songwriter. He’s also easy on the eyes!

For the indie girls we’ve got Royce Akers of Hot Little Hands. He’s not my cup of chai, but he scores points for loving Tom Waits.

Dave Rennick of Dappled Cities also has that indie cool thing going on, but perhaps a little too much. Honestly he looks like a bit of a tool standing there scowling with his sunglasses on.

If you want to vote for any of these talented musos just click their names in this post!

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Danimals Release “Fox” From The Lab Recording Sessions

I’ve been waiting with bated breath to see what would come of Danimals’ dream recording sessions in New York courtesy of The Lab, and now I can hear for myself.

“Fox” is the result of a week spent writing in the Dap Kings’ Dunham Studios in Brooklyn and another week recording at the legendary Electric Lady Studios. Mark Ronson and TV On The Radio’s Dave Sitek added the finishing touches on the tune. If you want to learn more about the process, check out the behind-the-scenes videos at TEDthelab.com.

You can have a listen to the track below and if you love it, download it. If you’re one of the first 5000 to download the song, you’ll go in the draw to win one of 20 Numark PT01 Portable Turntables and an autographed 7 inch Danimals single. Free music and the chance to win some great prizes sounds like awesome incentive to me!

Fox by TEDTheLab.com

Image source: TED The Lab

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Do Our Singer Songwriters Sound Like Little Girls?

On reading my review of Angus & Julia Stone’s latest disc Down the Way a friend asked me whether I could write an article on the phenomenon of young Australian women who sing like little girls.

My immediate response was to come to the defence of the women he mentioned. They’ve created some of my favourite albums in recent years. But the more I thought about it, the more I had to admit that he was on to something.

There are definite similarities between the voices of many of our local female singer-songwriters, Julia Stone, Lisa Mitchell, Sarah Blasko et al. There’s a certain breathiness about their delivery, an almost squeakiness about their sound. I think it’s more flattering to compare them to classic artists like Melanie Safka than little girls, but the fact remains that we have a lot of women who seem to sound the same.

I wonder, do record companies see they’re onto a good thing and decide to strike while the iron’s hot, signing up as many sound-alikes as they can? Does it come from local artists influencing others in their niche? Or is it all simply a coincidence?

Image source: Dazza17 @ Flickr

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

DJ El Devine Joins Bacardi Express Off the Rails Tour

DJ El Devine will join Art vs Science on the upcoming Bacardi Express Off the Rails sideshow tour. El Devine, aka Elliot Devine, was handpicked from hundreds of entries received through inthemix.com.au.

“I’d like to throw a massive thank you to everyone who took the time to vote for me in the Bacardi Express competition,” said El Devine. “It’s a great opportunity and I promise I’ll make the most out of it. I can’t wait to warm-up the crowds for Art vs Science, and expect that the shows in Perth, Adelaide and Albury will be completely off the hook.”

El Devine went the extra mile with shameless promotions and this clever campaign video, leaving the other 20 finalists in his wake. The Bacardi Express Off the Rails show will hit the following venues with great music and exclusive Bacardi mojitos. Listen out to Nova in Perth and Adelaide and Star FM in Albury to win your way into the shows!

11 March 2010 –  Paddington Ale House, Perth
12 March – Live, Adelaide
13 March – Paddy’s, Albury

Image source: inthemix.com.au

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Hoodoo Gurus Release Travel on Wheels Webseries to Promote New Album

Have you seen the Hoodoo Gurus new webseries Travel on Wheels yet?

The series is a tongue-in-cheek look behind the scenes of the making of the band’s new album Purity of Essence. A mockumentary with a healthy dose of comedy, it’s a little Metallica’s Some Kind of Monster and a little Spinal Tap. Although if you believe the band, it’s more like “a dysfunctional Partridge Family!”

“I’d always wanted us to do a radio serial back in the band’s early days,” explained lead singer Dave Faulkner. “I imagined we’d do an episode with a new song each week, something written especially for the show. Finally, after all this time I’ve realised my fantasy though here I get to be Fellini with this rockumentary, or whatever it is.”

There are a couple of episodes already up, but new ones will be added each week until there are six in all.

If you like the songs you hear in the webisodes, make sure you grab a copy of the Hoodoo Gurus latest album Purity of Essence when it hits stores on March 12.