18 May 2014
Shades of Bob Marley, Yothu Yindi and Santana are all present within Larry Maluma’s eleventh studio effort Ndakondwa (I’m Happy). Like smooth Jamaican rum, throughout all of the tracks on the album are many stories explored through both English language and Maluma’s native tongue.
18 May 2014
We speak a LOT on the phone and have regular ‘team meetings’. During our writing phase for the album we emailed each other a new song every two weeks. We came up with an agreement that if the song wasn’t submitted by Sunday night midnight, there was no coffee or tea allowed for the following fortnight!
16 May 2014
When Boy & Bear hit the stage the mild-mannered seated audience erupted as the guys started playing their first song. Drummer Tim Hart had a rather minimal set-up which was a nice change from most bands you go and see these days. The boys were grouped together much more than they needed to be, only taking up about a quarter of the enormous stage that is Costa Hall.
16 May 2014
If you’re like me and my friends you probably grew up listening to Frenzal Rhomb, with Meet the Family (’97) and A Man’s Not a Camel (’99) burnt into your brain like soundtracks to high school – and having seen them live more times than you can count. “You seemed to have turned out OK!” frontman Jay Whalley laughed when I told him Frenzal Rhomb was my first ever gig/mosh pit (do the kids still say that?) experience at an ice skating rink back in the mid-nineties.
16 May 2014
The part-Bulgarian, part-Norwegian’s cheeky sense of humour was clearly evident through the whole set, kissing his guitarist and long-time friend Joseph on the cheek and introducing his song ‘Come On’ as a “song about Chris Brown and Rhianna’s loving relationship”, to which all had a bit of a chuckle, and even whipping out a trumpet.
16 May 2014
On an otherwise quiet spot on Aberdeen Street is where you’ll find Gin & Co., Geelong’s newest night-time establishment. Iridescent lighting and handpicked vintage furnishings help Gin & Co. achieve an atmosphere of both old-world aristocracy and a 1920s speakeasy. The Supper Club combines a late-night bar with a dining venue that caters until midnight and offers sweet and savory sharing foods, each priced at eight dollars.
16 May 2014
Absolutely crazy and sweaty … We never in a million years would have imagined we would end up with a platinum record and a song that would get to #5 on the ARIA Charts. Stuff that dreams are made of!
16 May 2014
Darren Percival is coming to Geelong on May 24 as part of his national Lovelife tour. The soul singer rose to prominence on the first season of Channel Nine’s The Voice in 2012, in which he was mentored by Keith Urban and finished runner-up. Already a professional singer prior to gaining fame, Darren says the experience on The Voice hasn’t really changed him at all.
16 May 2014
Can you believe it’s been almost twenty years since three blonde-haired boys from Oklahoma MMMBop’d their way into the charts and the hearts of girls (and maybe a few guys) across the globe? Like The Beatles, every fan had their favourite – and now, thanks to a recent catch-up ahead of the Australian leg of their world tour, mine is the older, wiser and notably shorter-haired big brother, Isaac.
16 May 2014
The Grovey underwent their own ‘House Rules’ project, with demolitions starting Monday 5th and being near completion by that Friday the 9th. The adjustments have included the removal of the built-in stage, carpet, fixed furniture and the additions of a stud wall to frame the TVs for sports games, new furniture and fittings amongst the room.
15 May 2014
In this latest episode of Nature Sessions Sam Burtt, lead singer of local Geelong band Residual, belts out an acoustic version of their latest single ‘Numbered’. Fresh from a tour promoting said single across the east coast of Australia, Burtt’s voices takes over the usually quiet lonely path while tall trees provide a majestic green backdrop. Turn up the volume and take a listen!
15 May 2014
The critically acclaimed production that stunned audiences in Brisbane in 2012 hits the road for a four-month National Tour and arrives in town for a strictly limited season. George Orwell wrote 1984 in 1948 as a prediction of our future and 66 years on the themes resonate deeply, making the novel a reappearing title on many “must read” book lists.
14 May 2014
It would be a safe assumption to make that during my late teens and early 20s I spent more time than is perhaps considered normal waiting outside of stage doors after gigs, waiting for a glimpse at (or, on more occasions than most, a photo with) the artists I had just watched play a gig. There was a period of time where my success rate in ‘stalking’ these stars literally sat at 100 per cent.
14 May 2014
As the name suggests, Sex Criminals is about sex … and it features some criminals. The thing is, though, that they’re not initially criminals: Suzie is a librarian, and Jon is a banker/repressed actor. What’s unique about them, though, is their secret: when they orgasm, they can freeze time.
14 May 2014
Good music is a wonderful thing – great music can change your life. Just ask James Hunt, drummer for Sydney dance trio RÜFÜS. “Life feels a little surreal at the moment. Our debut album [Atlas] just went gold and we’ve been able to tour internationally. These are milestones we never saw happening eighteen months ago when we started writing the album. It’s amazing, and we remind ourselves of that every day.”
14 May 2014
The future doesn’t just happen. Well, it kind of does – it’s going to be 2020 one day no matter…
14 May 2014
It’s been a long journey from Zambia to Australia for Larry Maluma, and finally after ten years his eleventh album, Ndakondwa (I’m Happy), is hitting the shelves. Since coming to Australia in 1985, Maluma has had the opportunity to work with the likes of Paul Kelly, Diesel and Nicky Bomba to highlight but just a few collaborations. In the lead up to the release of Ndakondwa, Maluma speaks animatedly about this set of tracks.
14 May 2014
If you watched at home then you’d have witnessed the shambles where there were long awkward silences, the long cut to the feed, the terrible sound, the lengthy technical issues before Guns N’ Roses’ hour-long set, and when Joan Jett and Taylor Momsen were asked to perform their rendition of ‘I Hate Myself for Loving You’ for a second time straight after they finished.
14 May 2014
One of the things about blues is its amazing international flavour. Take Ivan Zar. He was born in Alexandria, Egypt and migrated to Perth in 1963. At an early age he taught himself the harmonica and Delta blues style guitar. Five years after getting to WA, he formed his first band, King Biscuit Co.
14 May 2014
The airline has clearly taken a huge hit since the disappearance of MH370, and with no explanation in sight, I imagine that this will be a continuing trend for the time being.
14 May 2014
We all know us punk rockers dig a good horror movie, but sadly, you can’t always believe the hype surrounding them. This is most certainly the case with the new Australian movie The Babadook.
14 May 2014
The Meat Puppets are the original band’s band, loved and respected by some of the world’s most influential musicians. In their career spanning over four decades, they’ve caught the eye of rock ’n’ roll royalty like Flea, Henry Rollins and the late, great Kurt Cobain, who personally invited the Puppets to appear alongside them at the now legendary gig, MTV Unplugged in New York, back in ’93.
14 May 2014
Here at Forte we love punks – particularly Low Desert ones. Enter the incomparable Brant Bjork and his hand-picked band of rockers: “I’m excited to come back, man. It’s pretty obvious I love Australia, so I’m bringing some good buddies of mine and together we’ll bring some serious rock!”
14 May 2014
Nature Sessions is kicking off their third episode with musician and joint creator of Nature Sessions, Olly Friend. Having been creating music for years, Friend is no stranger to busking in the Melbourne CBD or to playing gigs in Geelong pubs and bars such as the Barwon Club and Beav’s Bar.
