3 April 2014
Todd Mckenney is the original triple threat – he has sung, danced and judged his way into our hearts over many years. Now he’s bringing back one of his most beloved characters, so dust off your maracas – it’s time to reminisce with ‘Todd Mckenney Sings Peter Allen.’ When I was assigned to get the 4 – 11 for Forte readers, I expected Todd to be professional and courteous – a result of his years in the public eye. I didn’t expect that I’d be immediately put at ease by his warm greeting, humorous responses and all-round nice guy demeanour.
3 April 2014
Regional live music contributes $61 million dollars to the state economy. For years now, there has been a stack of great live bands touring around the regional circuit; and so therefore, we need to ensure its health into the future for generations to come. Leading the charge to make sure that happens is Music Victoria, the peak body that confers between the music industry and the State Government to make sure it happens. That said, Local and State Government are unconvinced that live music is a good thing and so Music Victoria is setting out to change that mindset.
3 April 2014
When I first met local DJ/producer Galtier, he immediately struck me as one of those people that was gonna go places no matter what it was he decided to do. With a lust and enthusiasm towards life like no other man I’ve met, Galtier has been prominently producing quality electronic sounds for a solid few years now, all the while studying and regularly deejaying at some of the finest clubs in Melbourne and Geelong.
3 April 2014
Rollo Ellis has just released his third album entitled Songs From Under the Stares and will be touring the record in support. Admittedly, before the interview I hadn’t heard of Rollo, but from having a chat to him, he has led a rockstar lifestyle. After growing up in Detroit and playing in bands throughout the ’60s and ’70s, Rollo moved out to Australia in the early 2000s after meeting the love of his life.
3 April 2014
After travelling the world, Kirsty Mac has come back to her hometown of Geelong for her new show Feminazi, which she performs at GAPA as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Kirsty first left Geelong when she was 18 but has since toured around Canada and the UK – and become a fully qualified dog trainer. Feminazi is a project Kirsty has worked on and nurtured for the last several years, waiting for the moment when she was happy to share it with the world.
3 April 2014
On the back of the release of their fourth album Oddments, local psychedelic rock legends King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard are off around the country. Kicking off with the WA leg of the tour, the tour winds its way around Australia before a couple of regional dates in Castlemaine, Ballarat and Geelong. A day or two before the tour kicked off, I got the opportunity to sit down with Stu Mackenzie from the band to chat about their rise to fame.
3 April 2014
Forte’s favourite mad men of mixtapes have done it again! Their fifth instalment of mash-up madness, Oddity Number 5, is out now for your listening pleasure. Like the others, it’s available for free online – and has already been touted as their best yet. So to celebrate Gaz and Guy have enlisted the help of a few rising stars to launch Oddity Number 5 to infinity and beyond. “We think it’s great music – and we’re our own worse critics, so hopefully people dig it!” Gaz confessed. “These shows we’re planning will be a lot of fun.”
3 April 2014
Once in a while there will appear a person with the ability to produce an atmosphere and excitement that results, more often than not, in a kick-ass party. It appears that Bryce Spratling, aka Bad News Toilet, has that ability. Wielding an arsenal of classic mash-ups and a drunken stagehand and a big ol’ pile of costumes, Bad News Toilet tears apart clubs in a messy whirlwind of hilarity.
3 April 2014
With the release of their third album Raise the People, Calling All Cars are showing progression and growth in the sound many fans have become accustom to over the years. If you are hoping to find the same band that released ‘Hold, Hold, Fire’ and ‘Dancing with a Dead Man’ in these new songs then you may be disappointed, but as frontman Haydn Ing reveals, it’s a risk the band was willing to take.
3 April 2014
DMA’s are a band with an air of mystery about them. Signed to label I OH YOU without releasing any material or playing any gigs, the band was snapped up off the strength of a few demo tracks recorded in a bedroom. Their sound is self-described by lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Matt Mason as “noise pop” and “Garagey”, with a very ’90s Manchester rock feel about it.
3 April 2014
When US rockers Killswitch Engage disarm and descend on our east coast next week, they’ll be bringing with them a rare treat. Bassist Mike D spilled the beans: “We’re coming over with L.A.-based Kill Devil Hill [not to be confused with The Kill Devil Hills, country crooners from Fremantle] – Pantera’s Rex Brown is heading up the band. I’m a huge Pantera fan, though I haven’t seen them live yet. I’m waiting for the surprise the first night we play – I think we’ll be a match made in heaven.”
3 April 2014
Within the pages of Forte you’ll find stories of aspiring musicians alongside those of household names. No two interviews are the same, but there’s always a common theme: unforgettable music. The Fratellis know a thing or two about writing a catchy tune. Their smash, ‘Chelsea Dagger’, has become an indie-rock anthem loved by millions the world over; an instant classic. But as I found out, The Fratellis are no one-hit wonders.
3 April 2014
Groovin’ the Moo will soon play host to some of the best acts from around the globe. Billed as “Australia’s only regional musical odyssey”, 2014‘s line-up is arguably the finest yet. Add to that each event is set to the backdrop of the stunning Australian countryside and you have the makings of one hell of a welcome home party for The Jezabels.
20 March 2014
Twenty years ago, Geelong was a hub for some of the freshest metal and grunge bands this country had to offer. However, as time has passed Sleep Hollow has taken folk music under its wing, and one of our region’s hottest up-and-coming folk artists is Olly Friend.
20 March 2014
As one of the acts to watch in 2014, Tully on Tully, on the back of the release of their debut EP, have been kicking goals all around the music industry. Having recently played a couple of stellar shows at Apollo Bay, the band is gearing up for the release of their new disc and international touring. Out the back in the green room behind the main stage, I caught up with vocalist Natalie Foster following their final performance to find out a little more about this success story.
20 March 2014
Standing out from the pack comes naturally to Tasmanian technical-metal titans Psycroptic. Formed back in 1999, they’ve steadily become the benchmark for many burgeoning metal bands around the world. In that time they’ve accumulated over 125,000 followers – from Paris to Poughkeepsie and everywhere in between. I sat down with founding member/drummer, Dave Haley.
20 March 2014
“I was always the one out of my friends to have a camera, but I never thought about it as a career. Now I look back it was always on my radar. I purchased my first SLR camera five years ago for my final year as a graphic design student, and then it sat in my cupboard for about a year until I started experimenting one day – and I haven’t looked back since.”
20 March 2014
So often our cinemas and DVD shelves are flooded with films glamorising violence, sex and drugs that we forget to see anything with a little bit of substance. But that’s where Girl Rising steps in. Girl Rising is a film created by Academy Award-nominated director Richard E. Robbins with the hope to deliver a key message: that educating girls will change the world. Nobody knows that better than 17-year-old Geelong local Janey Kennedy, who is aiming to get everyone in Geelong to watch the film – and just so happens to be the regional ambassador for the film.
20 March 2014
Ukulele Queen of the Bellarine, Sarah Carroll, is back once again with a cracking new record with her acoustic duo, Soft Gold. It’s been quite a few years in the pipeline but this project is definitely a change to the other bands that Carroll has been involved in over the years. A collaboration with Melbourne guitarist Marcel Borrack, Soft Gold has over the past few months in the lead up to the release of this record drawn heavy comparisons to acoustic duos such as Gillian Welch and David Rawlings.
20 March 2014
After playing in Pigeon for a few years and growing up in a family of seven, Danny Harley is now stepping out and making waves in his side-project, Kite String Tangle. His newest release, ‘Given the Chance,’ has gained significant airplay on triple j as well as over 750k listens on Spotify. But Danny didn’t expect it would surpass his previous song, ‘Commotion’.
20 March 2014
It’s been a couple of years away from the scene, and now finally in 2014 Shaun Kirk is releasing his highly anticipated third album, Steer the Wheel. Moving a lot more in the direction of electric blues in relation to his previous albums, it is a welcome return for the now renowned blues and roots performer. Having relentlessly toured the country over the past couple of years, Kirk is about to crack in once again for a two-month national tour (his most extensive to date), which also sees him play at both Deni Blues Fest as well as Byron.
20 March 2014
Voted as Mr Ocean Grove in 1971, Brian Mannix has in the years that followed become an Australian institution that in a way rivals the Dog on the Tuckerbox at Gundagai. Throughout the ’80s, Mannix’s band, the Uncanny X-Men, had a string of hits – and in the upcoming months, Mannix is bringing the Absolutely ’80s show to the Gateway Hotel as well as the Barwon Heads Hotel in April. With such an affinity to Geelong and the region having gigged relentlessly around years ago, these shows are a sort of homecoming.
20 March 2014
Hemmingway said it best: “The circus is for me the only spectacular, the reality, a really wonderful dream vision” – and one man who couldn’t agree more is Silvers Circus’ own Ringmaster and Illusionist, Simon Tait. With over thirty years in the ring, Simon is the authority on all things big top. “I’ve been around for a while – I ran away to the circus when I was twenty-one, fresh out of university.”
20 March 2014
Less than eight short months ago the boys of Residual hadn’t even played a show together; but since that point the band have grown beyond belief. They have recorded their debut EP, announced their first east coast tour of Australia and have rapidly gained fans all over Victoria – all achievements the boys never expected so quickly.
