ROOTS DOWN One of the most underappreciated records of 2011 was the latest from Steve Cropper, Dedicated, a tribute to one of his earliest inspirations, The “5” Royales. The record covers a bunch of The “5” Royales’ finest tunes with a cavalcade of guests in tow including BB King, Sharon Jones, Lucinda Williams, Steve Winwood, Bettye LaVette and Brian May to name a few. If you’re not familiar with Cropper, he will always be best known as the founding guitarist in Booker T & The MG’s, though he found his first success with his high school band The Mar-Keys and their awesome 1961 hit, Last Night, and has played on a cavalcade of soul gems from the likes of Otis Redding, Sam & Dave and Wilson Pickett and even co-wrote the timeless classic, In The Midnight Hour, with Wilson Pickett. Because of his writing prowess he is a welcome name on the first list of artists and songwriters appearing as a part of APRA’s Song Summit this May, where he will join Paul Kelly, Imogen Heap, Kev Carmody, Abbe May, Brendan Gallagher and even Guy Sebastian among others to talk about all things songwriting. Here’s hoping he’s able to play a couple of shows while he’s in the country too. Rest assured I’ll let you know if that’s the case. For now you can see him in conversation at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre from Saturday 25 – Monday 28 May. No Australian blues fan can even pretend to be legit without having been to a Bondi Cigars show. These veterans of the Aussie rhythm’n’blues scene are one of the most hardworking bands around when they get on a
BLUES AND ROOTS WITH DAN CONDON
Honestly, it’s just insane to believe that Lloyd Spiegel is only 32 years old. This year he celebrates his 21st year as a touring musician (yeah, he started pretty young) and it looks like he’s pretty keen to keep things moving at the steady rate they have done for so long with a couple of shows with his new drummer Tim Burnham in tow set to happen up this way early next month. You can catch him playing plenty of tunes from his great Tangled Brew record of 2010 and plenty of other blues gems when he hits Camelot Lounge on Saturday 10 March and in Maitland at the Grand Junction on Sunday 11 from 4pm.
LLOYD SPIEGEL roll and that’s precisely what has been the case over the past couple of months. They’ve been busy performing at some of the bigger festivals around the place over summer and are now ready to kick it up a notch with another round of big headline shows that’ll have your feet stomping and your grin widening. Blues isn’t all they deal in; there are elements of soul, funk and rock’n’roll in what they do and they do it all very well. Check it out for yourself when the band play The Old Manly Boatshed on Friday 23 March, The Brass Monkey on Friday 13 April, Towradgi Beach Hotel on Wednesday 25 and The Vault in Windsor on Friday 27.
They’re considered by many to be the greatest blues band this country has ever produced and a listen to some classic Chain records makes that lofty comment very difficult to dispute. They are seemingly influenced equally by blues from American and British artists, but they inject it with a distinctly Australian slant that is a great point of difference and one which hits home beautifully for many Aussies. The band still get out there after all these years and put on really genuinely great shows, if you haven’t seen them for a while then maybe it’s time to change that? Sydney audiences get their chance to do that when the band relive some of their finest moments at Lizotte’s in Dee Why Thursday 12 April, Lizotte’s Newcastle on Saturday 14 and Lizotte’s Kincumber on Sunday 15.
Havana-born now Brisbane-based Marialy Pacheco represents the next generation of Cuban jazz pianists. This Friday and Saturday, she brings her trio, featuring Brisbane drummer Joe Marchisella and Sydney’s own Alex Boneham on bass, to the Sound Lounge to showcase her most recent album, Songs That I Love.
JAZZ/WORLD WITH MICHAEL SMITH
Bernie McGann Quartet – 505
Blue Beat in Double Bay hosts the launch Wednesday of the new and seventh album, Lust Angeles, from Jimmy Vargas & The Black Dahlias featuring Liliana Scarlatta, an evening of tease, torch and noir guaranteed. Friday sees 505 hosting an evening of last year’s hit of the Sydney Fringe Festival, Five Eliza, as part of celebrating the opening of artist registration for this year’s festival, with music courtesy The Rusty Spring Syncopators and Geoff Bull’s New Orleans Four. New York City-based Australian jazz singer Chris McNulty returns to Sydney for one night only, performing at 505 Saturday with Steve Barry on piano, Cameron Undy on bass and Andrew Dickeson on drums,
Musica Linda – Lewisham Hotel
THURSDAY
Elixir featuring Katie Noonan – Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre, Penrith Spike Mason & Matt McMahon – Colbourne Ave Glebe Monique diMattina – 505
MARIALY PACHECO showcasing her latest album, The Song That You Here. Tuesday 6 March sees the launch of The Gypsy Art Club at Camelot Lounge in Marrickville, with three sets of Gypsy jazz from Gadjo Guitars and life drawing to boot. Sunday sees the full complement of The Subterraneans together again in the one room since November as guitarist James Hauptmann, back from touring with Bluejuice, kicks back with the rest of the gang – James Muller, Steve Hunter and James Ryan – at the Town Hall Hotel Newtown.
TUESDAY
FRIDAY
James Morrison – The Basement ShawNuff Swing Band with John Redmond – Newtown Jets Rugby Leagues Club Tempe Cumbia Muffin – Camelot Lounge
SATURDAY
Paul Sun Trio – Epitome Café Lane Cove
WEDNESDAY
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ROCKABILLY/PSYCOBILLY/ALT.COUNTRY WITH PEDRO MANOY
SATURDAY
Pianist Bridie King has a new album, Blue Ivories, she’s launching with a big night at Notes this Friday featuring Pat Powell, Narelle Evans and Katie Glendenning along with The Foreday Riders, with whom King will play a special set.
44 • THE DRUM MEDIA
Sam McNally + Jo Elms + Tracey Campbell Trio – Blue Beat
Yuki Kumagai & John Mackie – Well Connected Café Leichhardt
James Valentine Quartet + Orly – Golden Sheaf
THE SWAMP SHACK Also on Friday The Pigs bring their madcap footstompin’ bluegrass sound back to the Empire for one night only! Here’s a band loved by country, folk and pop music audiences alike with their high energy mix propelled by some fine musicianship and a wicked sense of humour. Joining The Pigs is their Tasmanian banjo player Cousin Montz who I’m reliably told is one of the hottest bluegrass pickers in the land. The Pigs also play at the Corinbank Folk Festival, a unique three-day music and arts festival held in the picturesque Brindabella Mountains, just outside Canberra, beginning this Friday, featuring an eclectic lineup grouped together under the broad banner of “folk”. Along with The Pigs you’ll be treated to Josh Pyke, Busby Marou, Bonjah, Skipping Girl Vinegar, The Bamboos, The Barons Of Tang, The Crooked Fiddle Band, Ganga Giri, The Little Stevies, the Fred Smith Band, Julia & The Deep Sea, Sirens, Lucie Thorne, The Beez, The Ellis Collective, Jack Carty and many more. There’s plenty of camping space for both tents and campervans with hot showers and toilets on site. The festival is also very child and family friendly with kids under 16 admitted free. One of the unusual features for an inland festival is a small floating stage, which hosts solo and duo performers.
Gang Of Brothers + Victor Martinez – Camelot Lounge
Matt McMahon Trio – Warehouse 15 Cockatoo Island
Mike Nock Trio + Ben Panucci Trio – 505
The Steve Edmonds Band make the best of our late summer with a harbour cruise on the Rocks Rhythmboat, departing 11.45am from Pyrmont Bay Wharf with bookings essential on 0458 080 553. The Gosford Electric Blues Jam featuring Mama Jane & Friends takes over the Central Coast Hotel from 2pm. Eugene Hideaway Bridges moves to Lizotte’s Dee Why and the Fiona Boyes Hammond Trio play the Lakes Hotel at the Entrance.
LUCIE THORNE
SUNDAY
WEDNESDAY
Johnny Casino plays his cards straight in the downstairs bar of the Sandringham Hotel. The Musos Club Jam Night hosted by Jim Finn and Al Britton is a weekly magnet for all blues lovers at the Bald Faced Stag.
THURSDAY
Popular US visitor Eric Bibb and Staffan Astner play the Sutherland Entertainment Centre.
FRIDAY
Bridie King launches her brand new album at Notes. The Dave Tice Band play The Vault while Eugene Hideaway Bridges delivers a night of blues and soul at Lizotte’s Kincumber.
The ABC have done us all a favour by bringing together the year’s best in blues‘n’roots in a special two-disc release called Best Of Blues‘N’Roots 2012. Included are tracks from Aloe Blacc, Lanie Lane, Josh Pyke, Husky, City & Colour, The Jezabels, The Audreys, Dan Sultan and Ash Grunwald among many. The album is available now.
IT’S A BLUES THING
Australia’s Rose Carleo will be featured on It’s a Blues Thing: A Half A Century of Molten Electric Blues, with the track, That Season Again, from her latest album Life Gets In The Way. Carleo is one of three female artists included on the two-disc compilation, which sees only a handful of other Australian musicians, including Billy Thorpe, The Aztecs and Rose Tattoo. It’s been a big month for Carleo, who was also declared the Female Vocalist of the Year in the 2012 National and Victorial Country Music Awards.
NORAH JONES’ BROKEN HEARTS
Norah Jones has announced she will release her fifth solo album, Little Broken Hearts, April 27. Jones’ debut, which she described as “a moody little record”, took out five Grammies, while Come Away With Me was recently announced as the #10 bestselling album of the whole Soundscape era. Further, the album sold over 25 million copies worldwide. Her dad, Ravi Shankar, must be proud.
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BLOW Sunday sees the Royal Botanic Gardens host a free day of music, art, dance and more in a mini-festival called Autumn Vibe, with the music component featuring TaikOz, Matthew Doyle, the Sydney Youth Jazz Orchestra, Ying Liu & Tony Wheeler, the Macquarie Uni Gamelan Ensemble, the Mosaic Saxophone Quartet, Sydney Conservatorium Tuba Quartet and more across the day.
THE VERY BEST OF BLUES ‘N’ ROOTS
It’s a busy weekend of harbour cruising as the Sydney Blues Society also get aboard the Rocks Rhythmboat with the Fiona Boyes Band departing 11.45am from the King Street Wharf with bookings on 0437 991 461. The Cool Charmers, who include members of the legendary Huxton Creepers, bring their ‘60s garage sound to the Sandringham Hotel from 4pm along with The Escapes. Tony Cini’s Blues Explosion featuring Penney & The Mystics, Claude Hay, Bec Sandridge and Isaiah B Brunt stage a great evening at Beaches in Thirroul from 5pm. Chris Turner’s Cave Men play the Bald Rock Hotel from 6pm and Eugene Hideaway Bridges takes his travelling roadshow to Lizotte’s Newcastle. swampshack@drummedia.com.au
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REOPENING THE CAFE
Taking up the legacy of his late father, English composer Simon Jeffes, and his Penguin Café Orchestra, Arthur Jeffes put together Penguin Café. Wednesday 7 March, they come to the City Recital Hall, but before they arrive, we asked Jeffes whether it was daunting tackling the original Penguin Café Orchestra repertoire. “We started almost by accident when, in November 2008, a year after I’d played a series of concerts with my dad’s old band to mark ten years since his death, I was asked to play something at some friends’ house in Italy where they were holding a tiny festival. I took along Darren Berry, Tom CC and Andy Waterworth (violin, ukulele and double bass respectively) and we just played a bunch of my dad’s tunes cheerfully, chaotically and – this was at a vineyard – probably not that accurately. We did have an amazing time though and it was such a joy to have the music being played live again and somehow felt right. After that we got asked to play at some Christmas parties in London and each time we did we’d pick up another instrument – Andy’s sister Rebecca plays cello, our mate Neil Codling (Suede’s keyboards player) plays most things. Quite quickly there were nine of us and in the end I asked David Jones, my dad’s old promoter, if he thought we might be able to get into some festivals over the summer. That summer we headlined the Acoustic Stage at Glastonbury, did Big Chill, Bestival, Snape and a great many more. There’s a real thirst to hear my dad’s music again and I think it was based in the same thing that drove me, a sense of joy at seeing an old friend you thought you’d never see again.”
YOU’RE THE VOICE
Four-time Grammy-award winner Keith Urban is back in Australia to film the Nine Network’s latest talent competition, The Voice, joining the judging panel alongside Delta Goodrem, Seal and Joel Madden. During publicity interviews, Urban said, “I did a few of these things when I was younger and I know what it’s like to just be crucified,” and that he’ll be listening for authenticity in a new voice.
US FANS ABANDON RADIO
A study compiled by Eddison Research in the US has revealed that one in five country music fans don’t listen to country radio stations, favouring websites, their own collections on music devices or other genre-playing stations. It was also found that those that do listen to country music stations prefer older county tunes from the ‘60s and ‘70s rather than newer tracks. It was also revealed that artists with a ‘twang’ in their voice have more chance of dividing fans than pop-country artists like Carrie Underwood.
ULTIMATE COUNTRY COMPILATION
Building on the success of his Ultimate Hits album last year, Lee Kernaghan has now released an Ultimate Hits DVD, which has debuted at number #5 on the ARIA DVD chart. The DVD is said to capture Kernaghan’s entire music career since his first hit, Boys From The Bush, was released 20 years ago, to latest award-winning album, Planet Country. The videos include Love Shack, Planet Country, Goondiwindi Moon, The New Bush and Southern Son.