Acclaimed roots singer Alexis Nicole and her outfit Alexis & The Missing Pieces will launch their new EP Paper Cut Outs later this month.
The Melbourne native travelled to Brisbane to record the EP with Yanto Browning of Kate Miller Heidke and The Medics fame. Members of The Gin Club, The Wilson Pickers, and Good Oak also lent their talents to the project. You can see Alexis talking about the EP in this video.
Given Alexis has two adopted hometowns, it’s only fitting that Alexis & The Missing Pieces will launch Paper Cut Outs in both Brisbane and Melbourne. See them play the Black Bear Lodge on November 21 and The Toff in Town on November 28.
The title track’s been floating around the internet for some time, but tomorrow Sydney band Panama will finally release their brand new EP It’s Not Over.
The band flew to Los Angeles to record the EP with acclaimed producer Eric Broucek. The result is a disc which puts a modern spin on ’80s traditions. The single is a fitting introduction to the disc which is as nostalgic as it is innovative.
Look for It’s Not Over in good record stores tomorrow.
Ahead of his Bear in a Birdcage tour, I caught up with Tassie’s Ben Wells of Ben Wells and the Middle Names to chat about the new single, time on the road, and his band’s ever evolving sound.
Your new single “Bear in a Birdcage” has a different sound than the songs I’ve heard from you before. What inspired it?
Something we pride ourselves on is our onstage energy, so I suppose we wanted to write music that we could really let loose to and get the crowd involved in a little more. Also, with the change in the line up of the band recently we wanted to start making a different sound that suited having two lead guitars rather than a violin.
You’re about to kick off a tour of the East Coast. Are you looking forward to it?
Ah I’m so excited about going on tour. Playing live is my favourite thing and because we’re from Tassie we don’t get the opportunity to play to different crowds as often as we’d like, so we take full advantage of going on tour!
You must have the touring bug as you’ve clocked up more than 10, 000 kays in the last year alone. What is your favorite part about being on stage?
I love feeding off the crowd’s energy and the other guys in the band. It’s the only time you can really let loose. Plus you know the people who are there are there to see you play, so we don’t hold back at all.
How do you keep things fresh when you spend so much time on the road?
That’s probably the hardest part about going on tour. Making sure you eat healthy and spend lots of time doing your own thing when we aren’t playing. Going on tour is a good time to check out the rest of the country too!
Probably part of the reason you travel so much is that you live in Tasmania. When so many bands move to the mainland, what is it about the state that keeps you there?
We’ve talked about moving to the mainland before but living in Tassie has its conveniences as well. We recorded “Bear in a Birdcage” at the studio in my house, where we rehearse and write. I think it would be hard to be able to do that in a major city and be able to afford it on a musician’s wage. Plus the music scene down here is really starting to fire. There is so much good music coming out of Tassie it’s all time!
The video for “Bear in a Birdcage” is so much fun. How much input do you have in that creative process?
Thanks! I picked out the direcor (Simon Treweek) for the clip because he’s a prolific surf cinematographer and I knew he’d know what I was getting at with the song. We put a few ideas toward the clip but he knew what he was doing and he nailed it!
Short Stack may have called it a day, but the band’s former frontman is still making music. Shaun Diviney is preparing to release some new material under the not so cryptic moniker Diviney.
Shaun heads up the five-piece which features talent from Operator Please and Die for You. Don’t expect another Short Stack though. Shaun left the band with dreams of creating a brand new sound. The first single “You’re So Cool” is our first taste of that.
You can hear more when Diviney plays the following shows.
5 January 2012 – The Old Museum, Brisbane (All Ages)
12 January 2012 – The Lair @ Metro Theatre, Sydney (All Ages)
19 January 2012 – Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne, VIC (Under 18)
Hunting Grounds’ debut album In Hindsight just won’t quit. The band has released another single, “Star Shards.”
“Star Shards” is the third song lifted from In Hindsight, and it’s set to be another radio favourite. I love its anthemic quality and dreamy reverb drench guitars. The video, directed by Ballarat’s own Vegadeet Films, is also pretty brilliant. Who would have thought a scrap metal yard would be the perfect venue for an epic hockey match?
Hunting Grounds will support the release of “Star Shards” at a handful of shows before joining the Big Day Out tour this summer.
3 November 2012 – Bradbury Oval, Campbelltown (FREE)
5 November 2012 – Vault 8 @ Banana Alley, Melbourne
18 January 2012 – Big Day Out @ Sydney Showgrounds, Sydney
20 January 2012 – Big Day Out @ Gold Coast Parklands, Gold Coast
25 January 2012 – Big Day Out @ Adelaide Showgrounds, Adelaide
26 January 2012 – Big Day Out @ Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne
28 January 2012 – Big Day Out @ Claremont Showgrounds, Perth
After more than 12 months in the studio, Melbourne’s Texture Like Sun are itching to release their debut EP to the masses. The recording features the new single “Bottle,” a cruisy number with jangling guitars and hushed vocals.
Texture Like Sun will launch their self-titled recording with three shows in the major capitals next month. They’ll take indie-folk up and comer Patrick James along for the ride. I was so impressed by Patrick’s set at Howie Day’s Sydney show earlier this year, so I recommend music lovers get to the venues early to catch his performances.
8 November 2012 – Black Bear Lodge, Brisbane
9 November 2012 – FBi Social Club, Sydney
15 November 2012 – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne
Queensland’s Cub Scouts are taking us back to our youth with the ’90s inspired video for their latest single “Told You So.”
Honestly I think the song’s a bit sleepy, but the clip featuring Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Bubble-O Bill totally saves it. Do you think it’s a winner?
Charlie Horse wowed me with their debut single “Dead Roses,” so I was thrilled to catch up with one half of the band recently. Read on to see what Paul McDonald had to say about his duo’s debut album, their musical influences, and the need for “creative isolation.”
When I heard your single “Dead Roses,” I was struck by its classic sound, so I wasn’t surprised to hear you were influenced by listening to your parents’ Johnny Cash and Neil Young records. What is it about that music that really revs you?
Well, you summed it up right there; it is timeless classic music. I spent most of the ’90s coming from that school of art, have a different guitar in a different tuning for every song and then carry nine guitars with you on tour and at least five of them had to be Fender Jazzmasters and Jaguars. I started to think, are we just being clever for the sake of it and is this just sonic posing? I am not sure if you know much about music theory and chord structures, but it is generally deemed uncool to write a song that goes E, A, D but any song that is considered “classic” tends to have very simple chord structures. And we didn’t go E, A, D with Dead Roses, we went D, A, E, so how avant garde are we?
What was it about “Dead Roses” that made you want to release it?
I suppose people hassling me saying “this has to be the single,” ha! I was looking at releasing something a bit more obscure but got out voted by the band. What would I know? I do really enjoy playing it live as it tends to connect with a lot of the fans. It’s nice to have people singing the lyrics with you.
The single comes from your album I Hope I’m Not a Monster. I love the title. What’s the story behind it?
I was getting the train up to the studio when I noticed somebody had scratched “I hope I am not a sea monster” into the back of the train seat. I mean who does that, and what does it even mean? It had to be the album title.
I hear that you recorded the album in your studio in the Blue Mountains, because “creative isolation” is really important for you. Why is that?
Well, we started the album in East Balmain on Darling St. Not a lot of isolation there. Then we did some writing in Bread St in Edinburgh near the castle. Not a lot of isolation there as it is in the seedy side of Edinburgh, lots of strip clubs and drunks. So we packed up and took to the Mountains. It is important to us not to listen to trends and the opinions of all the experts. Give somebody a laptop and an e-mail account and they will want to tell you what you shoulda, coulda and woulda be doing wrong or right. The music we play does not come from any scene or desire to be cool, so that kind of counts us out of the race for a lot of things now … hah. Nobody dictates to the Drones or Jack Ladder what they should sound and look like. Well maybe they do, but I am guessing they don’t listen either.
Queensland singer-songwriterBrad Butcher will unleash his self-titled debut album later this month. I caught up with Brad recently to chat about the album, his upcoming launch shows, and what it was like growing up in a small mining town.
You’re releasing your debut album later this month. How does it feel to be on the verge of its release?
It ‘s a great feeling knowing I’m about to finally put it out there. Making the album has been a great learning experience for me and I have made some great new friends. I’ve grown as a performer and a songwriter and I’m very proud of the songs I have and I can only hope that others will enjoy listening to them and get something from them.
What can you tell me about the album?
I have always written songs that are quite personal. I’m a very visual songwriter, meaning I find it easier to describe something I have seen or witnessed rather than to pull the image from thin air. This group of songs is almost a diary of my life and the people in it so far. From falling in love to falling apart, birth, death and about not giving up along the way.
It features the single “Conversations and Complications,” which has been embraced by community radio. Did that take you by surprise?
Everything has been a surprise for me over the last two years. I was surprised that other people thought I could do this. I was surprised with how much I liked the writing and recording process and I was even more surprised to find that people genuinely like the songs. I had a dream of making an album and everything since it was finished has been an unexpected but very welcome bonus.
Saritah spreads good vibes with “Tears of Joy,” the lead single from her soon to be released debut album Dig Deep.
This is just the kind of song we all need to get out of the funk that’s come with this extended winter. It’s a gorgeous blend of reggae, pop, and soul that’s instantly accessible without being lightweight.
There’s much more of that to come on Dig Deep, an album which brings together tracks Saritah penned in a Mozambique beach shack, a caravan in Canada, and her hometown of Melbourne. With such global influences it’s only fitting that Saritah recorded it in California, her home away from home for the last two years.
Saritah’s been creating a real buzz in North America, and now it’s our chance to see what this homegrown talent’s all about. Saritah will return home to launch Dig Deep, which hits record stores on November 9.
1 November 2012 – The Beach Hotel, Byron Bay (FREE)
2 November 2012 – Mandala Organic Arts, Mermaid Beach
3 November 2012 – FullMoon Dance, Verrierdale Hall, Sunshine Coast
4 November 2012 – Call Out Collaboration Festival @ Greenslopes Bowls Club, Brisbane
9 November 2012 – The Fly By Night Club, Fremantle
10 November 2012 – Settlers Tavern, Margaret River (FREE)
15 November 2012 – Eclipse Festival, Far North QLD
22 November 2012 – Manly Boatshed, Manly
23 November 2012 – Rock Lily @ The Star, Sydney (FREE)
30 November 2012 – The Brunswick East, Melbourne