Tagged By New Music

PBS 106.7FM ‘Drive Live’ featuring Pop Singles, Extreme Wheeze and Lost Animal

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Pop Singles live in PBS Studios

PBS 106.7FM is running ‘Drive Live’ this week in Melbourne and I rocked along to catch Pop Singles, Extreme Wheeze and Lost Animal. The week is presented by APRA and Arts Victoria and features a tightly curated selection of bands each day between 5-7pm. The best part is you can rock up for free and check it out. PBS members also get free beer! Seriously. Don’t miss the critically acclaimed ‘Twerps’ on Friday, who ended up on almost everyone’s best of 2011 album list.

Check out details on the PBS 106.7fm site here.

Full set of photos after the jump. (more…)

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DZ Deathrays – ‘No Sleep’

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DZ Deathrays definitely played my fav set by an Oz band at Melbourne’s Laneway Fest on the weekend. This is the first single from their soon to be released debut LP out on I Oh You. Kinda reminds me of the Beastie Boys ‘No sleep to Brooklyn’ but less punk and more guitar licks. Catch these guys at the final Laneway shows this weekend.

Pick up the single from the itunes link on their site here.

DZ Deathrays – ‘No Sleep’

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Interview w/ Husky Gawenda

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husky

Following on from Mel T’s interview with Geoffrey O’ Connor. I spoke to Husky Gawenda of Husky, another Australian band set to play the Laneway Festival circuit this summer. Husky have had a lot of love on the site for their singles and live shows. In October they released their debut record ‘Forever So’ and have been touring the country playing to sold out crowds and very happy fans.

I started by asking about the release of ‘Forever So’.

We finished the record last year so we were sitting on it for a little while. We’d spent a lot of time and energy and love on the record so waiting to release it was a bit hard in a way cause we really wanted to get it out there and have people hear it. So to finally put it out and start to get feedback in all sorts of different ways – on Facebook and twitter and all the ways you get feedback these days – it’s been quite amazing. The fact that there are people out there connecting with it and enjoying it is an amazing feeling.

and having that direct connection with fans?

Yeah, its a beautiful thing because in the past the only feedback you get other then meeting people at shows, which is a great way to get feedback but other then that the only feedback you get is from critics. That’s all good but it’s a different sort of feedback I think. So to be able to just read people responses to the album on our Facebook wall is great. It’s a great way to gauge how people are feeling about it.

How has playing shows and the time since writing the record changed the way you feel about the record ‘Forever So’?

It’s interesting, I don’t listen to the record. I don’t think that much about the actual record. Obviously we’ve been playing and touring a lot so the record has become a live creature. It’s a thing we do live, we’ve had to work on translating the recordings to a live setting and we’ve had a great opportunity to do that this year because we’ve had so many support tours and now we’ve had our own tour. I’m still feeling really good about the songs, I still feel that most of the time I can connect with them while I’m playing them. Sometimes they mean something different to me while I play them to perhaps what they meant when I wrote them but there is nothing wrong with that, that’s the nature of songs and any sort of art. I’m really enjoying playing the songs and seeing how people respond and connect with them – it’s great fun.

The arrangements on the record are quite unique, have you had trouble translating that to a live set – you have a lot of scope to play around with? (more…)

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Don’t look back – photo review

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I have been posting on WTH for 2 years so for my 50th post I thought I’d share my top 5 gigs over that time. Thanks for getting out and seeing live music, it’s a joy to cover for you.

eddie current suppression ring

Let’s kick off with Brendan Suppression riding the crowd during an Eddie current suppression ring gig at Billboard on the 18 December 2009. It was so damn hot that night, I thought I was gonna pass out. I couldn’t find my way out when trying to leave and had to have a bouncer walk me out as I was so freakin delirious. These guys sent the crowd into a frenzy and to get this shot I jumped up onto the stage and faced back into the crowd. I wouldn’t advise doing that but at the time it felt right and I’m pretty happy with this picture.

parades east brunswick club

This shot is of Tim Jenkins of Parades and I think it’s fair to say he was in the moment. Parades were a pretty nice surprise for me as I had not heard any of their music prior to this gig at the East Brunswick Club 4 May 2010. From the get go I was hooked into the melody and their energy on stage was intoxicating; these guys were young and having loads of fun. I really enjoy shooting at the EBC as there is plenty of light and a wide stage to shoot back across to get a clear frame like this – signature EBC photography.

kimbra the forum

Before Kimbra did that catchy tune with that guy who’s gonna win all the ARIA’s she supported Little Red at the Forum on the 29 Oct 2010. Whoah… hot damn! I was so impressed by her voice and presence on stage that I considered going home after. It was a real shame for Sparkadia and Little Red as those guys seemed dull compared with the sparkle of this glamorous diva. Her very photogenic posing with full stage lights made the hardest part choosing which image to post.

strange talk

I love festivals and Good Vibes on the 4 Feb 2011 was a great summer day that kicked off with Melbourne band Strange Talk. These guys have picked up on the popularity of dance/rock or indie/electro as the critics prefer but for me it is simply feel good tunes. Strange Talk had the kids dancing before anyone was peaking and during the self-conscious opening slot in the middle of the day. I really enjoyed shooting Strange Talk plus a crowd reflection in sunglasses is photo gold! Expect to see more of these guys during the summer.

airborne golden plains

As for the camping festivals, I’d recommend Tassie Falls as my fav but on the mainland, Golden Plains in March takes the cake. This may come as a shock to cool indie folks but Airbourne were probably one of the most exciting acts at this years Golden Plains. The very hip Wavves was so lazy and boring compared to the riot these guys brought for 45 minutes of musical mayhem. I loved everything about this set – the sneakers with torn jeans and no t-shirts. The beer blasts and crazy nonsense screaming at the crowd. The shit load of marshal amps and the guitarists running back and forth across the stage like lunatics. Airbourne played their guts out and everyone that let themselves enjoy it, did so with a huge grin.

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Rewiggled Party feat. Dead Letter Chorus

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Murray, The Wiggle

Listen to
Dead Letter Chorus – Wiggle Bay

I went along to the Rewiggled party with a healthy dose of skepticism tucked firmly into my pocket. I mean, it’s a Wiggles cover album – those songs were cool when I was in diapers, but there’s no way they can transcend genre boundaries (as well as a couple of decades) – and the live performance wasn’t going to be any better. Boo to me, it turns out. Dead Letter Chorus pulled out one hell of a cover, and delivered their own track Run Wild with their usual style – and the album, well shit. It’s fantastic.

Dead Letter Chorus

Rewiggled has only just gone into final production, but the gentlemen and women at the ABC were kind enough to provide a preview CD, and I can assure you, it’s damn delightful. At points it’s bittersweet – listening to your reimagined childhood is an odd experience – but one full of grins and these ridiculously warm moments. It jumps across all kinds of musical boundaries – rolling folk from Dead Letter Chorus, hard-style rawk from Frenzal Rhomb, softly spoken awesome from Oh Mercy and almost heart-breaking stillness from Paul Greene (among so many others) – and really captures the heart of The Wiggles, as well as showcasing some of Australias best music.

Dead Letter Chorus

I really can’t wait for you all to listen to this, ‘coz it’s one hell of an experience. To say that The Wiggles have had an impact on Australian culture is a massive understatement – and Rewiggled truly does them justice. Stay tuned for more of this goodness – or head along to the ABC store and get your pre-order on. There’s also a Facebook page, where you can check out a few previews, and revel (wriggle?) in the musicy goodness. You can pick it up on November 4.

Oh, and check out Dead Letter Chorus. They’re real good. By the way, that guy at the top – that’s Murray. He’s a Wiggle.

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