The Lucky Wonders are stepping out of Byron Bay and taking their music around Australia with the recent release of their debut album Thirteen O’Clock.
Singer-songwriters Jessie Vintila and Emma Royle join bassist Brent Calcutt and drummer Anastassijah Scales to create some of the most gorgeous folk-pop I’ve heard in some time. “So You’re Never” is a taste of the music we can expect to hear on the LP. The disc was recorded in Byron with the assistance of Anthony Lycenko (Xavier Rudd, The Beatiful Girls, Pete Murray).
“This album covers a lot of ground, the individual tracks read like chapters in a bigger story, and in the end you’re left with something real but optimistic,” explained Emma. “Despite our contrasting life experiences we create something special when we write together. It’s like, yeah, life can hurt sometimes, but if you stay open, there is a chance at something bigger and fuller.”
If you like what you hear, make sure you catch The Lucky Wonders when they visit a town near you. And with 40 plus dates on the Thirteen O’Clock Album Launch tour, there’s bound to be one near you!
1 April 2010 – Pacific Hotel, Yamba
7 April 2010 – Lizottes, Newcastle
8 April 2010 – The Vanguard, Sydney
9 April 2010 – Heritage Hotel, Bulli
10 April 2010 – Hotel Gearins, Katoomba
14 April 2010 – The Oxford Tavern, Wollongong
16 April 2010 – Club Sapphire, Merimbula
17 April 2010 – Milton Theatre, Milton
18 April 2010 – Front Bar, Canberra
19 April 2010 – The Phoenix, Canberra
23 April 2010 – The Wesley Anne, Melbourne
25 April 2010 – Bendigo Hotel, Melbourne
29 April 2010 – The Republic Bar, Hobart
30 April 2010 – The Royal Oak, Launceston
1 May 2010 – Stage Door, Bernie
8 May 2010 – The Gov Front Bar, Adelaide
14 May 2010 – UWA, Perth
16 May 2010 – Mojos, Fremantle
20 May 2010 – Quindanning Inn, Quindanning
21 May 2010 – Dunsborough Tavern, Dunsborough
22 May 2010 – Settlers Tavern, Margaret River
23 May 2010 – Denmark Tavern, Denmark
28 May 2010 – Camel Bar, Geraldton
29 May 2010 – Clancy’s, Fremantle
30 May 2010 – The Paddo, Perth
4 June 2010 – Gascoyne Hotel, Carnarvon
5 June 2010 – Monkey Bar, Monkey Mia
10 June 2010 – Coral Bay Hotel, Coral Bay
11 June 2010 – Whalers Bar, Exmouth
16, 18 & 19 June 2010 – Divers Tavern, Broome
20 June 2010 – Matsos Brewery, Broome
23 June 2010 – Station Township, Kununurra
25 June 2010 – Ski Club, Darwin
26 June 2010 – The Happy Yess, Darwin
27 June 2010 – Mindil Markets, Darwin
2 July 2010 – Firkin and Hound, Alice Springs
3 July 2010 – Outback Pioneer, Ayers Rock Resort
4 July 2010 – Residents Club, Ayers Rock Resort
Image used with permission from Heapsaflash
Sony Music will release a special tour edition of I Dreamed a Dream to coincide with Susan Boyle’s first promotional tour to Australia this May.
The souvenir edition sees a DVD packaged with the eight-times platinum album. The disc, the first of its kind available to Susan’s loyal fans, will feature her original Britain’s Got Talent audition, her headline grabbing interview with Molly Meldrum, and a short documentary charting her rise to fame. We’ll see it on record store shelves on April 16.
Susan’s bound to be busy during her time in Oz, with appearances already locked in for the Logie Awards on May 2 and Hey Hey It’s Saturday on May 5.
“I am so excited about going to Australia. This time last year I never dreamed I would leave Blackburn, now I am travelling to the other side of the world. Now that can’t be bad!”the clearly chuffed singer said in a statement. “That I have been invited to perform on Australia’s biggest awards show is really something. I can’t wait to get there, to meet the people, to see the sights and to sing.”
And I’m sure all the nannas around the country will love having her here!
As a one-time disenchanted checkout chick, the new video for Angus & Julia Stone’s song “Big Jet Plane” struck a bit of a chord with me. Emily Barclay stars in this poignant music video shot by Kiku Ohe. What stunning work. And the song’s not bad either!
The Strokes are winging their way to Australia for a blink-and-you’ll-miss it tour this July.
The rock quintet will play shows in Sydney and Melbourne for the first time since the release of their 2006 album First Impressions of Earth. Something tells me it’s going to be worth the wait. If we’re lucky we’ll also get a sneak peek at album number four which the band are currently recording with Grammy Award-winning producer Joe Chiccarelli (U2, Beck).
Of course, after such a long absence we can expect the tickets to sell quickly when they go on sale on April 12. Ticketek will sell tickets for the July 29 performance at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion, and Ticketmaster will handle the July 30 show at Melbourne’s Festival Hall.
It’s an exciting time for Damien Leith fans. Remember June, the lovable Irishman’s second novel, hits stores today. The novel is the follow-up to Damien’s first book, One More Time. The tale tells the story of a family who escaped a turbulent life in Northern Ireland ten years earlier, but are haunted by their past.
Then tomorrow Damien’s latest single “Forgive, Forget” will be available for digital download. The new single ise available as a digital bundle with “Hallelujah,” one of Damien’s signature tunes from his Australian Idol stint.
“Hallelujah is my all time favourite song,” Damien said in a statement. “The lyrics and the melody are both haunting and magical and I am thrilled to release the track recorded in full for the first time ever.”
Damien will perform his cover of this Leonard Cohen classic at the Good Friday Appeal at Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium tomorrow. The charity event will be broadcast on the Seven Network, so Damien fans should make sure they tune in!
As if that wasn’t enough Damien news, remember that he’s still travelling around the country on his Keys and Strings tour. The tour sees Damien play songs from his acclaimed Remember June album alongside covers of Irish tunes that have inspired him musically. If you haven’t seen the show yet, make sure you get to one of the following venues!
1 Apr 2010 – Cafe Coast Restaurant, Perth
2 Apr 2010 – Friends Restaurant, East Perth
3 Apr 2010 – Charles Hotel, North Perth
9 April 2010 – Kingsford, Souths Juniors
10 April 2010 – Dee Why RSL
14 April 2010 – Clarendon Guesthouse, Katoomba
15 & 16 April 2010 – Brass Monkey, Cronulla
17 April 2010 – Lizotte’s, Newcastle
23 April 2010 – Coffs Ex Services, Coffs Harbour
24 April 2010 – Ballina RSL
30 April 2010 – Brothers Leagues Club, Cairns
1 May 2010 – Dalrymple Hotel, Townsville
2 May 2010 – Magpies Sporting Club, Mackay
4 May 2010 – Proserpine Cultural Centre
5 May 2010 – Rockhampton Leagues Club
6 May 2010 – Gladstone Entertainment Centre
7 May 2010 – Hervey Bay Boat Club
8 May 2010 – Gympie RSL
9 May 2010 – Tewantin Noosa RSL
Image used with permission from Sony Music Australia
Did you notice that Angus & Julia Stone are still sitting pretty at the top of the ARIA charts? Their latest album Down the Way has retained the number one position for the second week, and achieved gold status to boot. The album has already sold more than 40, 000 units, and counting!
The siblings will wrap up their current Australian tour at this weekend’s Bluesfest. From there it’s off to the United Kingdom, Europe, and North America for tours to support the album’s international release. Many shows have already sold out, so if you’re abroad I’d pick up your tickets soon!
10 April 2010 – Schouwburg Motel Mozaique, Rotterdam
12 April 2010 – Duke of York’s Picture House, Brighton (SOLD OUT)
14 April 2010 – Pavilion, Falmouth (SOLD OUT)
15 April 2010 – Cooler, Bristol (SOLD OUT)
16 April 2010 – Brudenell, Leeds
17 April 2010 – King Tuts, Glasgow
18 April 2010 – Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh
20 April 2010 – Glee Club, Birmingham
21 April 2010 – Ruby Lounge, Manchester
22 April 2010 – Shepherds Bush Empire, London
26 April 2010 – Gebäude 9, Cologne
27 April 2010 – Atomic Cafe, Munich (SOLD OUT)
28 April 2010 – Lido, Berlin
29 April 2010 – Molotow, Hamburg (SOLD OUT)
30 April 2010 – Vega, Copenhagen
2 May 2010 – Debaser, Stockholm
3 May 2010 – John Dee, Oslo
5 May 2010 – Paradiso, Amsterdam
6 May 2010 – Oosterpoort, Groningen
7 May 2010 – Café de la Danse, Paris
26 May 2010 – Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Hollywood
30 May 2010 – L’Astral, Montreal
2 June 2010 – Revival, Toronto
8 June 2010 – Union Hall, Brooklyn
Australia is known the world over for its sun, surf, and sand. And so when it doesn’t deliver for our international guests, I almost feel like we’re letting them down. Alas, today it was grey and stormy when I caught up with The Fray’s guitarist David Welsh for a chat. However, we were determined not to let the gloomy weather get us down as we chatted about the band’s current Aussie tour, upcoming album, and wave of success.
I’m sorry we couldn’t have turned on better weather for you!
You know what? It’s alright. We were in Singapore the last couple of days and it was blisteringly hot and humid. This is not bad.
You’re regular visitors to this country. What keeps you coming back?
Well we can still play here, so that’s a positive. It’s a great place to play, actually. I don’t know, it’s something about some combination of our music and the fans here, and the connection that that makes. I don’t know, it’s working and it’s a lot of fun.
You played the first show of your Aussie tour last night in Sydney. How did that go?
It was great. It was really great. There was some very great synergy between the people and us on stage. I think we kind of needed it. The Singapore show was a little rough; it was the first one in a couple of weeks off and we were a little rusty.
And I believe that the Asian audiences can be a bit more reserved too. Is that right?
I think anybody is reserved compared to an Australian!
Fair enough! Will you get a chance to do any sightseeing while you’re here?
I don’t know. I went to a store just now that a friend of mine from LA recommended and I got a shirt, so that’s cool. So that’s something I did!
Continue reading “Q & A with The Fray’s David Welsh”
Legendary guitarist Slash will headline a very special show next month to celebrate the launch of pay TV channel MTV Classic.
MTV Classic will replace music channel VH1.It will focus on music from the 1980s through to the naughties. Gee it makes me feel old to see music from my generation is now classed as classic!
“Music is at the heart of MTV Classic … and who better to launch a channel devoted to iconic tracks and artists than one of the greatest rock guitarists of all time, Slash,” said Rebecca Batties of MTV Networks. “We’re excited to be staging MTV Classic: The Launch in Melbourne – a city with major music heritage – and Slash’s performance will be an explosive start – and, no doubt, a defining moment – for MTV Classic and our audience.”
The Slash show will hit Melbourne’s Palace Theatre on April 28. If you’re lucky, you could win tickets through Nova and MTV Australia. Otherwise you’ll just have to catch it when MTV Classic launches at 5 pm on May 1!
Image source: Daigooliva @ Wikimedia Commons
We’re Not Alone, the debut EP from self proclaimed anti-scenesters Chemical Transport will hit record stores this Friday, April 2.
The EP delivers the band’s traditional grunge and nu-metal sounds with a surprising twist of pop rock and dance. The result is music that is both fresh and instantly accessible.
Chemical Transport will showcase tracks from the recording at the following shows. If there’s not one near you, don’t sweat it. The band promises to announce more gigs around the country soon!
10 April 2010 – Bondi Blitz, Bondi Beach
15 April 2010 – Bull n Bush, Baulkham Hills
24 April 2010 – Spectrum, Sydney
1 May 2010 – Tuggeranong Youth Centre, Tuggeranong
Image used with permission from AAA Entertainment