[NEWS NEWS]
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THAT OLD CHESTNUTT
INDUSTRY
Cody Chesnutt – name-checked alongside the likes of Prince and Curtis Mayfield – arrives here in October with a four-piece band to electrify Australian audiences with his blend of R&B and gospel-tinged Southern soul. See Chestnutt live at the Metro Theatre on Saturday 19 October.
PARTON ME South Australian piano pop-rock band Bill Parton Trio have released their self-titled debut EP. Bill Parton Trio’s sound combines the catchiness of The Beatles with Coldplay-like chords and melodies, the impressionism of Jeff Buckley and Radiohead, along with the chilled-out mood of Zero 7. Bill Parton Trio perform at Heritage Hotel, Bulli on Thursday 29 August; Pot Belly Bar, Canberra on Friday 30; Lewisham Hotel on Saturday 31; Great Northern Hotel on Sunday 1 September; and Pacific Hotel, Yamba on Friday 6.
AJ Maddah
SOUNDWAVE BOSS MUSIC BIZ’S MOST POWERFUL PERSON AJ Maddah, the festival and touring powerhouse behind the Soundwave and Harvest events, has been named the most powerful person in the Australian music industry. The annual Power 50 list of the industry’s top powerbrokers has been released by the Australasian Music Industry Directory – published by Street Press Australia, publishers of The Drum Media – and they’ve named Maddah number one for managing to cultivate a punk and metal scene that provided a platform for Soundwave to grow into one of the country’s biggest festivals. The impact of that also re-empowered the Australian scene as a whole. He’s also pioneered a level of interaction with punters through that infamous Twitter account. Reacting to the news Maddah told theMusic.com.au, “To be perfectly honest I am shocked and a little bit uncomfortable. To paraphrase Groucho Marx, I do not care to be on any list that would have me at number one. I’m still learning on the job and taking lessons from masters like Michael Gudinski, Frank Stivala, Carl Nicholas, John Parker, Denis Handlin and Michael Chugg, all of whom are more knowledgeable than me and continue to be very generous to me with their time and advice.” He added, “I’ll keep the spot warm ‘til Michael Gudinski reclaims his rightful place in the next AMID.” The full list of 50 and its analysis is in the Australasian Music Industry Directory, while the top ten are as follows: 1. AJ Maddah – Soundwave, Harvest; 2. Michael Gudinski – Mushroom Group; 3. Michael Chugg – Chugg Entertainment; 4. George Ash – Universal Music Group; 5. Paul Piticco – Splendour In The Grass; 6. Jessica Ducrou – Splendour In The Grass; 7. Richie McNeill – Totem Onelove Group; 8. Janelle McCarthy – iTunes; 9. Richard Kingsmill – triple j; 10. Millie Millgate – Sounds Australia
INDUSTRY NOTES Independent label Inertia have announced they’ve acquired a 50 percent stake in Melbourne music publisher Gaga Music for an undisclosed amount. The Gaga team will remain in Melbourne, with Inertia directors Ashley Sellers and Colin Daniels joining the company’s board.
HAVIN’ MORE FUN Something With Numbers
REUNITED AND IT FEELS SO GOOD The Reunion Festival is back in 2013 and promises to deliver yet another amazing experience. Over one massive day and three stages, The Reunion Festival line-up this year includes a mix of emerging Central Coast talent and established acts like Something With Numbers (pictured), The Snowdroppers, Gay Paris, The Lazys, Tropical Zombie, Blind Valley, Taylor & The Makers, Paper Wolves, The Defiant Few, Sons Of Alamo, The Dirty Eights, Set Backs, Valley Of Kings, Bleeding Gasoline and The Rubix. It all happens on Saturday 21 December at the Entrance Leagues Club.
IT’S ELECTRIFYING GET SOME EXCORCISE Brisbane industrial rockers Darkc3ll have announced tour dates to celebrate the release of their second album (due out September), from which they’ve already released two singles: Six Hundred & Six Six and Exorcist. Catch Darkc3ll at The Basement, Canberra on Friday 25 October and Hermann’s Bar on Saturday 9 November.
Martha Davis & The Motels are confirmed for an Australian Tour hitting our shores in October. See them perform hits such as Only The Lonely, Take The L Out Of Lover, Total Control and Shame (just to name a few) at Newcastle Wests on Wednesday 13 November; Revesby Workers Club on Saturday 16; Penrith Panthers on Sunday 17; Entrance Leagues on Thursday 21; The Juniors on Friday 22; Waves, Wollongong on Saturday 23; and Hornsby RSL on Sunday 24.
FULL FORCE SWAGGER Things are going to hit all kinds of fever pitch when two of urban music’s biggest superstars partner up for three capital city dates along the east coast as part of the inaugural Episode One tour. This tour will see one of rap’s most successful MCs T.I. play his first ever Australian shows, joined by the ever smooth Akon. See both stars on Friday 11 October at Allphones Arena.
A major clean-up was needed at The Annandale Hotel after the iconic Sydney venue was broken into and robbed last week. Police Media have confirmed the venue was ransacked just after midnight on Friday morning, with thieves stealing an unknown quantity of alcohol and cash. Lisa-Maree Bray from Superstylin’ Entertainment said the “entire place was thrashed”. Last week’s Monks Of Mellonwah gig had to be cancelled due to the incident.
WANDERING TIGER With the release for their third EP, Wandering Eyes, this Friday, Sydney’s ever-growing favourites Tigertown are proud to announce the accompanying national tour. This year alone, they’ve completed a national run with Bob Evans before leaping right into an extensive run of their own on the back of the new EP’s radiosaturated first single, What You Came Here For. See them at Oxford Art Factory on Thursday 5 September.
GET SIETTA TO GO Sietta’s new single Let It Go is an artistic statement; James Mangohig weaves ethereal plucked harps, subtle sub bass tones and tribal percussion with the inspired Caiti Baker in her element. It’s a cinematic scene of high drama in slow motion. Check it out for yourself when they play at The Vanguard on Wednesday 28 August.
ROARING GOOD TIME
Melbourne City Council has unanimously voted to accept a petition sporting 6,000 signatures supporting the idea of a laneway to be named after late rock singer Chrissy Amphlett, which was presented to them in early July.
The influence of Splendour In The Grass is still being felt across the ARIA Charts this week, with festival headliners Of Monsters & Men enjoying the biggest jump in the Albums Chart top 50. Promoted to the main stage’s closing set of the weekend after Frank Ocean pulled out, the Icelandic indie-folk outfit’s album My Head Is An Animal jumped 21 places to sit at 17. Frank Ocean himself gained 13 positions with Channel Orange promoted to 11 and the not-so-secret band alt-J’s An Awesome Wave is up to 25. Last minute fill-in Lorde’s The Love Club EP moved up to two on the ARIA Singles Chart.
Tigertown
MARTHA MARTHA MARTHA
Canberra post-hardcore group Hands Like Houses have debuted at number 37 on the Billboard 200 chart this week with their second record Unimagine.
Hoodoo Gurus frontman and New South Wales live music ambassador Dave Faulkner has hit back at controversial columnist Andrew Bolt, after he attacked the government in the wake of $560,000 in funding over three years for the National Live Music Office. Pointing to the economic value of live music, Faulkner told theMusic.com.au, “Just how big does an industry have to be before a blowhard like Andrew Bolt thinks it is one worthy of attention from the Australian government?”
Super-duper new cosmic surf trio Dumb Blondes announce their run of first-ever live shows, to launch their debut single Into The Light. Dumb Blondes is a collaboration between Jordan Malane (Bleeding Knees Club), Nicholas Futcher (Kite Club) and Joel Abbott (current touring drummer for both bands). Catch them at the Upstairs Beresford on Saturday 24 August; Goodgod Small Cub on Wednesday 28; and Wilbur Lane, Cronulla on Sunday 22 September.
The Holidays
In mid-2012, four Sydney dudes came together with a singular goal in mind: to create some righteous punk rock. The result was Born Lion, with a roaring wall of sound made up of fucked up chords, angular rhythms, hard beats and double shouty vocals. New track D For Danger is no exception. In commemoration, the boys are hitting the road. Witness them live at the Great Northern Hotel, Newcastle on Wednesday 4 September, the Annandale Hotel on Friday 20 and Spectrum on Saturday 21.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
CLAP A TON
The Holidays are hitting the East Coast this September and October for their first headline performances for 2013, which, along with the release of their new single Voices Drifting, mark their return to the local and international music scene. Voices Drifting is from the band’s new album (due for release in early 2014). See the band at Goodgod Small Club on Thursday 19 September.
Richard Clapton is a name that is synonymous with Australian rock music and this year marks his 40th year as a recording artist. To celebrate this auspicious occasion, Clapton is making his annual pilgrimage to Sydney’s State Theatre on Saturday 2 November for a night of nostalgia.
Lightning Bolt have become infamous for Brian Chippendale’s explosive and intense drumming combined with Brian Gibson’s earth crushing and complex bass techniques. Emerging from Providence, Rhode Island in ’95 as an art project, Lightning Bolt soon became known for destroying the conventional idea of live performances with their guerrilla style shows. Lightning Bolt return to Australia this October for ATP’s Release The Bats Festival and national tour, including a show at The Standard on Friday 25 October.
SIRENIA CALLING One of the pioneers of symphonic gothic metal artists, Sirenia will perform tracks off their recent new release Perils Of The Deep Blue, as well as a comprehensive selection of tracks across their discography when they tour Australia for the first time. See them perform at the Factory Theatre on Saturday 14 December.
BEARDOS REJOICE For the first time in history, Sydney will host its own World Beard Day celebration by staging a concert at the Annandale Hotel on Saturday 7 September, and headlining the evening will be Australia’s kings of totalitarian beard rock: The Beards. The event will be hosted by bearded comedian Dave Callan and will be streamed live right around the world. It will also feature various bearded bands from across Australia including Jackson Firebird, The Stiffys and Manchoir. In addition, punters and web-viewers alike can witness an array of beard-based activities in the Annandale’s ‘beard garden’, including a bearded man kissing booth and free bearded piggy-back rides.
FIRE IT UP Greek power metallers Gus G’s Firewind are hitting Australia for the very first time in October/November to unleash some damn fine European power metal. Known by many as the guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and by his tenures in Dream Evil, Nightrage and as a touring player with Arch Enemy, Gus G and his Firewind crew have always kept the power metal flame alive. See ‘em live at the Manning Bar on Thursday 31 October.
10/10
The Finnish metal invasion that’s relentlessly pummelling our shores continues with Moonsorrow the latest group to announce dates for later in the year. The pagan beasts will tear apart Aussie venues throughout November, including the Manning Bar on Friday 22.
FBi Radio is proud as (spiked) punch to announce the second round of artists for FBi Turns 10! The festival’s second (but not final) announcement of acts includes FBi sweetheart Sarah Blasko, Kirin J Callinan, Bleeding Knees Club, Deep Sea Arcade, Oliver Tank, Katalyst, Fishing and Naughty Rappers Collective. It all happens on Sunday 8 September at Carriageworks.
CONCERT FOR CAMBODIA
WE ALL SCREAM
NIGHT LIGHT
On Monday 30 September at the Enmore Theatre, Cambodian Children’s Trust presents an extraordinary line-up of artists collaborating for a common cause – the Concert For Cambodia, to help break the cycle of poverty in South East Asia’s poorest country. It’s hosted by comedian Arj Baker, with special guest appearances by Jimmy Barnes, Lior, Diesel, David Campbell, Mahalia Barnes, Darren Percival and iOTA.
It has been nearly three years since The Screaming Jets have graced – or disgraced, if you like – the stages of Australia. They are now getting ready to embark on their first national tour in ages. Catch the show at Entrance Leagues Club on Friday 15 November; Waves, Wollongong on Saturday 16; Metro Theatre on Saturday 23; and Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle on Thursday 12 December.
Catherine Traicos & The Starry Night return to the stage at Proper Music Social at the Union Hotel in Newtown on Thursday 22 August to launch Light In The Dark, the first single from their upcoming album The Earth, The Sea, The Moon, The Sky. The single launch will be your only chance to catch Catherine & The Starry Night before she heads overseas for her first European tour.
SHIELDING FROM THE LIGHT
14 • For more news/announcements go to themusic.com.au/news
Catherine Traicos & The Starry Night