24 March 2015
His dreamy indie/folk/pop tunes have us dreaming of travelling the world, and it’s no wonder as the young musician fancies a bit of exploration himself. We had a chat with Dustin about taking adventures, his time in Sweden and his love for Thom Yorke.
20 March 2015
Due to overwhelming demand, Darren Coggan will return for national encore performances of his critically acclaimed portrait of Cat Stevens in Peace Train – A tribute to Cat Stevens, touring Australia and New Zealand from January – September 2015.
20 March 2015
Rolling Stone Magazine have proclaimed z-star as having the new sound of heavy soul and rock ‘n roll, and we can’t help but agree. They’re the band who seemed to skip the “emerging” status and jump straight to bigger things, one of those being a tour around Australia. We had a chat with Zee Gachette, lead singer of the band, on what they’ve discovered for their first time in Australia and playing for fans in their lounge rooms.
20 March 2015
Starring in the upcoming Led Zeppelin tribute, Whole Lotta Love, Melbournite Jimmy Couples is no stranger to the Aussie rock scene. His soaring vocals are often compared to the great Robert Plant, making him a fitting inclusion to this tribute show. We caught up with Jimmy to find out a bit more about the show which comes to Geelong on March 20.
20 March 2015
While there are musicians and bands in this world with one goal in sight: to get famous, and with management pushing for the goal to be achieved it can be quite hard to maintain a level head in the industry. Though if there’s a band that’s making music for the pure joy of it, The Pretty Littles are they.
19 March 2015
If you’re an avid listener of the indie pop-rock genre, Ball Park Music is a band you’re likely all too familiar with. The Brisbane band have come leaps and bounds in their seven years of playing shows and writing music, having developed three albums, self producing their third, and planning to do the same with their fourth – of which they’ve already began writing.
19 March 2015
If you’re a lover of Game of Thrones, Walking Dead or House of Cards then this adaptation of Richard the Third is for you. Giving a twist on the Shakespearean classic director Christine Davey talked to Forte about the rich script, modern soundtrack and planning murders. If there’s anything you need to expect it’s that this show will blow them all out of the water.
19 March 2015
After mixing the new Ultra Dance 2015 compilation, Melbourne-based DJ Samual James is establishing himself as one of the country’s biggest artists to look out for. Describing the opportunity to mix the soundtrack alongside fellow Aussie DJ Will Sparks as “out of the blue”, Samual lists Ultra as the record label that “I really wanted to work with pretty much since I started”.
19 March 2015
While Australia is seen as the golden country for many, for Melbourne rock band Bellusira the States is where they’re making a name for themselves in the industry. “We’d only been there eight months and we’d got a record deal. It just goes to show there’s so much more opportunity for our genre of music over there.
19 March 2015
Vika Bull has enjoyed an extraordinary career. Although she is probably best known for creating unforgettable harmonies alongside her sister Linda as part of The Black Sorrows, she has been making waves in the Australian music industry for almost 30 years. “I’ve been very lucky in my life – we’ve done some amazing things,” she smiles.
19 March 2015
Things are about to get real for the Sydney based DJ and producer. Her album is due out in a day and she’s certainly feeling it. “I’m excited but I’m really nervous,” she adds with a quick grimace. “I dunno, it’s an album, it’s my album!”
19 March 2015
What better way to Rock Off a wretched disease than organize a concert with great live music and donate all funds to much-needed research to find a cure? At the age of 53 local Geelong health worker Jenny Simko was fit, enjoying life, happily married for 30 years and a proud mother of 3 wonderful children.
19 March 2015
“All it is booking a flight and making the decision to go – that’s as simple as it is. I think it was exciting because I was running away from, I don’t even know what I was running away from really, I guess running away from comfort,” Marta says. What started with the move from the outer suburbs of Canberra to the bustle of Melbourne, Marta soon escalated things with relocating to Toronto, Canada and New York for three years respectively.
19 March 2015
Tony Joe White is a man that needs no introduction. Over the past six decades he has become a legend of the blues guitar, revolutionising the swamp rock sound and influencing countless number of players along the way. Having grown up on the music of TJW, it was quite a moment to be able to sit down and chat to the man himself as he sat in his hotel room in Sydney on the Monday of the Labour Day weekend.
19 March 2015
It’s 9am in the UK and Frank Turner couldn’t be more awake. Frank Turner is a man who likes to keep himself busy, between launching his new book, rehearsing for a tour and performing various DJ sets, he managed to fit me into his schedule to talk about his upcoming tour of Australia.
17 March 2015
Twelve months ago, you may remember reading an article about Cherry Rock 2014. At that time it was quite an emotional piece,because it was the last festival to be held in AC/DC Lane. But no need to despair Forte Readers, because Cherry Rock will take place in AC/DC Lane once again due to the awesome business negotiations of Mr. James Young, owner of Cherry Bar.
13 March 2015
The Pants Down Circus will be rolling into town with a performance at Drysdale’s, Potato Shed. The show is performed by four very refined artists who are coming off the back of a successful showcase at the Edinburgh Fringe and are currently finishing up at the Adelaide Fringe. We caught up with one of the stars, acrobat, Joshua Phillips.
10 March 2015
Ruby and Rome are so much more than just the names of two adorable staffy dogs, it’s also the name of a local up-and-coming home décor brand created by Kyle and Ali BLANK. Forte had a chat to Kyle about how they first started out, their favourite things and being stocked at places like Frankie Say Relax.
8 March 2015
The Cactus Channel aren’t exactly your typical bunch of young musos. As a 10-piece instrumental soul group from Melbourne, this band of ’90s kids have made a name for themselves over the past few years with their funky sound and soulful live performances.
6 March 2015
In her tracks Courtney Barnett sings honestly of emotions and daily happenings in what can only be described as an unaffected voice, talking over the phone she takes a similar tone and it almost feels as if you’re listening to one of her tracks unfold through the speaker. Always modest and full of insight, it could be a combination of the two that has allowed her to become a well known face overseas.
6 March 2015
Aside from the greatest memory of all – the infamous house party that the band was inspired to form from – Northeast Party House have spent the past few years creating lifelong memories, as guitarist Mitch Ansell tells me, the most memorable was the chance to play at Falls Festival in Lorne on the same stage he had seen many of his favourite bands play and the stage he also managed to creep backstage at after catching the drummer’s stick from Midnight Juggernauts.
6 March 2015
Taylor Henderson is gearing up for one hell of a year. Since the release of his number one album Burnt Letters in 2013, the Geelong born and bred musician has been working on his next plan of attack. When I spoke to him, he was preparing to head off on a writing trip to the UK and America between stints in Sydney and Melbourne.
6 March 2015
With a self-titled debut release already receiving rave reviews, claiming it as the perfect roadtrip mix with music that will get you up and dancing. Put simply, if you haven’t heard it by now you should have and the band are set for an East Coast tour so you can familiarise yourself a little bit more with their sweet tunes.
5 March 2015
Often the best judge of how passionate you are about something is what you come out with at the end of the process. For Jessica Skye Baker, there’s no question of her passion as her studio space is laden with resin artworks wall to wall and stacked on top of each other in colourful displays.
