Perth Music

The gypsy caravan of enlightenment that is the NEVEREVERLAND festival is set to sweep our wide brown land again this December. 2007 saw NEVEREVERLAND’s ecstatic inauguration, headlined by seminal dance music androids Daft Punk. This year, to coincide with the 10 year anniversary of renowned Australian independent record label Modular, NEVEREVERLAND is proud to be throwing all but the entire Modular roster plus some likeminded spirits onto the bus for a raucous celebration of a decade of decadence and dance.

The Presets, Klaxons, Hercules & Love Affair, Cut Copy, Whitest Boy Alive, Ladyhawke, The Bumblebeez, Muscles, Van She, Tame Impala, The Bang Gang Deejays, AJAX, The Lost Valentinos, Mission Control, Temper Trap, Canyons, Pepperoni, Andee Van Damage and Bag Raiders are the first names to be announced to take part in this, the second coming of NEVEREVERLAND.

NEVEREVERLAND 2007 was, to many people, the pinnacle of their life. Daft Punk had never toured Australia before, and it wasn’t looking all that likely they ever would. NEVEREVERLAND saw their first and potentially last ever trip to our shores, and the shows were a blindingly euphoric experience for all lucky enough to grab tickets.

As a gift to those coming to celebrate the 10 years in bizness, every ticket holder will receive a Modular birthday sampler featuring the highs and lows of 10 years at sea.

NEVEREVERLAND is Modular’s 10th birthday party, and EVERYONE is invited.

Tour Dates:
Sat 13th December - Hordern and Surrounds, Sydney
Sun 14th December - Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne
Sat 20th December - Brisbane Riverstage, Brisbane
Sun 21st December - Members Equity Stadium, Perth

Tickets on sale Friday 7th November from www.ticketmaster.com.au and www.ticketek.com.au

For more info visit www.nevereverland.com.au

In 2007 P!nk staged the biggest Australian concert tour ever by a female artist, with more than 307,000 tickets sold for a 35 show itinerary that grew to a run of more than 8 weeks around the country’s arenas. Winning the 2007 Helpmann Award for ‘Best International Contemporary Concert’, 2007’s I’m Not Dead Tour was a spectacular that drew critical raves and standing ovations!

Now P!nk brings her Funhouse Tour 2009 to Australia for what is certain to be another recordbreaking run of shows. Aiming to top the raunchy theatrical performances of the I’m Not Dead Tour, Funhouse will not disappoint! Expect a dazzling carnival-styled stage set, feats of aerial daring and surprises that can only be hinted at… and at the core, the confident and charismatic vocal powerhouse that is unmistakably P!nk .

Set to add substantially to the accumulated albums sales of 23 million world-wide, P!nk’s 5th studio album Funhouse will be released on October 25 by Sony/BMG, and features the #1 smash hit So What. It follows the massively successful I’m Not Dead album - which spawned seven top 5 smash hits and has to date sold more than 600,000 copies in Australia.

Tour Dates:
Fri 22nd May - Burswood Dome, Perth
Tue 26th May - Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide
Wed 27th May - Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide
Sat 30th May - Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne
Sun 31st May - Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne
Wed 3rd June - Newcastle Entertainment Centre, Newcastle
Sat 6th June - Sydney Entertainment Centre, Sydney
Sun 7th June - Sydney Entertainment Centre, Sydney
Fri 12th June - Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane
Sat 13th June - Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane

Tickets on sale Friday 31st October from www.ticketmaster.com.au and www.ticketek.com.au

Wednesday 8th October 2008
Metropolis Fremantle
Supergrass
The Panda Band

A lot of mid-week gigs of late have had disappointing crowds but UK rockers Supergrass proved they can still get a huge number of fans to come along to an Aussie show.  Although they were at their peak in the Brit-pop 90’s era, Supergrass are just as tight on stage as they were 10 years ago.   Having six albums to choose a set list from is also a big advantage for the band as well as the fans that tonight got a great mix of newer songs and older classics.  Diamond Hoo Ha was released by the band earlier this year and this tour was in support of it, proven by the first two songs that was played: Diamond Hoo Ha Man and Bad Blood.

Lead singer Gaz Coombes looked genuinely appreciative to be on stage playing to the excited crowd and he proved this by playing a whole bunch of classic Supergrass tracks.  She’s So Loose from their 1995 release I Should Coco was followed by Mary and new song 345.  Late In The Day and Brecon Beacons showed off how good the band play together and how touring for 15 years can make a band look as comfortable together as if they were family.  The crowd got even more excited as Ghost of A Friend from Diamond Hoo Ha was quickly followed by their smash hit Richard III.  The upstairs balconies of Metropolis Fremantle was now packed with fans bopping along to the band and cheering as Gaz bantered between songs.

New song Outside was then played followed by Moving and another new song in Rebel In You.  Rob Coombes on keyboard played like a man possessed and has complimented the band ever since joining in the late 90’s.  St Petersburg and Strange Ones allowed the crowd to have a breather as the pinnacle of the night quickly approached.  There was a few big Supergrass hits that were on everybody’s lips and had yet to pop up in the set and the anticipation was built up perfectly to this part of the gig.  The roof was almost blown off the building as Caught By The Fuzz and Pumping On Your Stereo took everybody back in time and put a smile on every face.  A huge thank you from the band was followed by a quick break and a just as impressive encore of Sun Hits The Sky, Next To You and Lenny.  Even if it was for one night only, Brit-pop was alive and well in Perth tonight.

Cog released their sophomore album, Sharing Space earlier this year to great reviews and have been exciting crowds nation ever since. The Sydney prog-rockers have been Triple J favourites ever since their debut album, The New Normal came out in 2005 and have played music festivals all over the country including The Pyramid Music Festival, Homebake, Big Day Out and Rock-It. When Sharing Space was released in April this year it debuted at number 2 on the ARIA chart and since then it has gone gold in Australia and been nominated for the J Award this year. The band have been on a headlining national tour since August and play 9 WA shows starting this Friday at Metro City. Bass player Luke Gower talked to Justin Middleton for this exclusive interview.

Sharing Space was recorded over a period of ten months in Australia and the US. It was produced by Sylvia Massy who also produced Cog’s first album and has also worked with Spiderbait, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Tool. “We are extremely happy with the reception the album has had so far and are very proud with how it has turned out. I’d have to say this record was the best thing that has happened for the band and the way we created it was extremely productive” Luke explained.

In March 2008 Cog played Triple J’s One Night Stand in Collie, WA along with Pnau and Faker. “The One Night Stand was really a special gig that all of us loved to be part of. It wasn’t just a normal gig to us and I don’t think it was just a normal gig to the people that were there. It really did bring the whole community together and it seemed that it was an event that was good for the town. While playing I remember looking out on the crowd and it seemed like the entire town was there watching us and really enjoying themselves. We really enjoy coming to WA and especially the beaches there. Believe it or not the main two things we bring on tour to WA are our musical instruments and our surf boards” Luke said.

The band got to perform in England for the first time in July this year when they played at Shepherds Bush Empire and Guilfest along with Shihad. They are hoping to get a European label and these shows were aimed to showcase their talent to an international audience. “The tour was extremely productive and the two shows that we did were great. Playing to a new audience is always great and playing in a new country is even better. Now that we have two albums under our belts it made it even easier to play a great variety of songs and all the touring that we have been doing has made the live shows even better” explained Luke.

Tour Dates:
Fri 24th October - Metro City, Perth WA
Sat 25th October - Big Top Show, Bunbury WA
Tue 28th October - Karratha Tavern, Karratha WA
Wed 29th October - Pier Hotel, Port Headland WA
Fri 31st October - Wintersun Hotel, Geraldton WA
Sat 1st November - Big Top Show, Rockingham WA
Thur 6th November - NSomniax, Albany WA
Fri 7th November - Esperance Civic Centre, Esperance WA
Sat 8th November - Big Top Show, Kalgoorlie WA

Sharing Space is out now. For more info visit www.cog.com.au

Cog - Birds Of Feather

Perth is about to go Stereosonic.

After announcing the finest fleet of beat-makers on the planet, the next generation of Stereosonic acts coming to Claremont Showground on Sunday, November 30.

First release tickets have completely sold out – but you can still secure your pass to Stereosonic 2008 in the second ticket release. We’re completely blown away with the response to the inaugural Perth Stereosonic.

Canada’s multi-talented superstar Stu Stone will be heading south for Stereosonic 2009, which takes in dates across the nation. As acclaimed for his acting (Donnie Darko) and net radio programs as much as his rap and music production skills, Stone is a rare talent and we’re blessed to have the man bound for Perth.

He’s one of the most talented titans of trance of his generation and the second biggest act on Paul van Dyk’s VANDIT label – he is Giuseppe Ottaviani. Voted Best Live Act at the Trance awards in both 2004 and 2006, Ottaviani’s latest release No More Alone blends gorgeous melodies with fresh electronic sounds and floor shuddering beats and sumptuous breakdowns.

One of Australia’s finest fish in the sea of electronic music, Sam La More has worked with the greats of the dance of the dance, R&B and pop worlds. His production credits span the globe and his beats are consistent club faves. We welcome him home to Australia for Stereosonic.

Also joining these three icons of the music world are local electronic greats Piet El v DJ Freestyle, Dan Ash & Dave Mule, Hickey, Dasha & Poonie, Benny T & Luca, Zelimir, Maxwell, Paul Scott, Rousa v Simon Barwood, Dr Willis, Brad Every, Jus Haus and Sketch.

They join Sneaky Sound System, Paul van Dyk, Carl Cox, PNAU, Midnight Juggernauts, Booka Shade, Infected Mushroom, DJ Hell, The Crookers, Kaz James, TV Rock, Vitalic, Japanese Popstars, DJ Funk (ed banger), Tommie Sunshine, Headman, Don Diablo, Mowgli, Dave Nada, Devlin and Darko (BBC/Spank Rock DJs), Mr Maqs (ed banger), Ajax and Andy Murphy in the ultimate day of beats and bliss.

First Release tickets are completely sold out. Second release tickets at $95 + booking fee are available from www.stereosonic.com.au and www.moshtix.com.au

Well the Australian Record Industry Association Awards have come and gone for another year and luckily it haven’t turned into the Brownlow Award yet with an hour long red carpet special or taking itself too seriously. Here a few thoughts I had on the night:

- Hamish & Andy actually did an ok job at co-hosting and only seemed to be trying a bit too hard a couple times.
- Gabriella Cilmi needs to learn how to talk. She had 6 chances at it and failed each time.
- I’m happy Sam Sparro didn’t win anything.
- Faker = Awesome.
- The Living End = Always awesome.
- It was weird that they invited Axle Whitehead back and then every chance they could, reminded everyone what he did to get in trouble 2 years ago.
- Well done to The Presets. Album of the Year, Best Dance Release, Best Group & 3 Artisan Awards.
- Seems Nick Cave doesn’t really care about the ARIA’s at all anymore.
- The Panics the only WA winners with best Adult Contemporary Album.
- Don’t really understand why some of the presenters were chosen: Axle, Jabba, Ruby Rose, Myf, Ricki-Lee.

The Awards were run very professionally and tight and the organisers should be extremely happy with the outcome. My thoughts are that hopefully next year it can be a little rougher around the edges.

All the winners can be found here - www.ariaawards.com.au

Fans in Newcastle, Brisbane, Sydney, Wollongong, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth will be treated to the ‘Revenge Is Sweeter’ tour in what is The Veronicas’ most extensive tour since 2006. Special guests at all shows will be ‘Shake It’ superstars Metro Station, and Sydney’s own Short Stack.

The past 12 months for The Veronicas have been the most frenetic of their lives. Their versatility has been on display as they’ve launched a clothing line, a series of reality videos, toured with the Jonas Brothers, Hanson and Natasha Beddingfield across America, and have received a plethora of favourable US press:

This triple bill of pop rock goodness will be one of the best tours of 2009 and tickets will sell fast. Avoid disappointment and secure yours when they go on sale this Tuesday 28 October. Please visit frontiertouring.com for pre-sale details.

Tour Dates:
Fri 13th February - Newcastle Entertainment Centre
Sat 14th February - Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Mon 16th February - Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Fri 20th February - WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong
Sat 21st February - Royal Theatre, Canberra
Tue 24th February - The Palais Theatre, Melbourne
Thur 26th February - Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide
Sat 28th February - Challenge Stadium, Perth
Sun 1st March - Challenge Stadium, Perth

British India, Dukes Of Windsor, Bluejuice, The Panda Band, Red Jezebel, Harlequin League, John & The Inverarities plus a special DJ surprise.

Sun 23rd November on the lush grounds of University Of Western Australia, Hackett Drive, Nedlands.

Gates open 2.00pm – 9.00pm.
All Ages Welcome.
Licensed Area 18+ Only ID Required. No BYO. No Pass outs. Good food - good times - good toons

General Public Tickets (Strictly Limited Capacity) go on sale 9AM Thurs 25th September.
Available from:
BOCS www.bocsticketing.com.au 9484 1133, 78 Records www.78records.com.au 9322 6384, MOSH www.moshtix.com.au 1300 GET TIX and Ticketek www.ticketek.com.au

DISCOUNT – Student Prices available for a limited time on campus from UWA Student Centre ph 6488 2269, www.guild.uwa.edu.au. ECU Mt Lawley. Central TAFE Leederville. Murdoch Uni.

We have 2 double passes to give away!! Just email perthmusic@gmail.com with VROOM in the subject line along with your name, age and mailing address.

Competition ends Friday 14th November.

Jessica Mauboy has just released her debut single Running Back featuring world renowned rapper, Flo Rida. Co-written by Jessica, this urban anthem was recorded in Sydney and then Flo Rida added his verse in Los Angeles. For 19 year old Jessica, it was a dream come true. Running Back is taken from Jessica’s forthcoming album Been Waiting which she has co- written and recorded over the last 12 months. Featuring a mix of rhythmic pop, urban and pop tracks the album is a testament to one of the brightest new talents on the Australian music scene. After finishing a guest spot in Perth for this year’s Telethon, Jessica caught up with Justin Middleton for this exclusive interview.

I asked Jessica what it was like being in Perth as a guest for Telethon. “It was really good. It was my second time back to Perth doing Telethon so it was really nice to see everybody and all the newcomers doing their new acts and everything. It was really lovely raising that amount of money. There were a couple surprises, one of the guys from American Idol, ummm….Mike….Mark….I can’t remember his name but he had such a great voice (Michael Johns). We were chilling in the green room along with the Home & Away crew, it’s really cool.”

I also asked Jessica how she feels about the huge response she has had for the new single already and also how the song ended up Flo Rida on it. “It’s been amazing. The feedback has been great and everyone has been really positive and of course the record label are really excited. We didn’t know this was going to be the first single, we wanted to come out with something really nice and really sing about something. I wrote the song and I was in the studio and finished the production of it and doing a bit of a touch up and re-vocalling and there was a part that needed a little bit more. So we thought maybe we could do a rap and obviously I knew I wasn’t going to do the rap because I CAN NOT rap. The producers knew a couple of rappers, friends of friends, and they came in and did there thing but it didn’t quite fit. The producers were like “Yeah they were good but nah, we’ll keep looking around”. So I was talking to my A & R guy and being Sony BMG they have heaps of connections. He went off and said “I’ll do something about it” and when he came back he said “I’ve got the best thing for you” and then just said “Low low low”. I knew straight away it was Flo Rida as I’m a huge fan of his and so I had a listen to what he did. Apparently he did all of his bit in one take and that was it. I couldn’t believe it because it wasn’t thought out, it was something unexpected and just happened. I’m just so grateful to the record label and their connections.”

While Jessica made a name for herself as part of Australian Idol as well as part of The Young Divas, her debut album is really her growing into herself musically. I asked her if this is how she sees it. “I mean being in The Young Divas and Australian Idol was totally different to what I’m doing now and this album has helped me grow and made me confident and I just wanted to make the most it and do it the way I wanted to do it. The album is complete and we have just finished the artwork and everything so hopefully it will be out before Christmas and we are also just planning a tour for later in the year.”

I also asked Jessica what else she has been up to since departing from The Young Divas. “I was over in Indonesia as an ambassador for multiculturalism and that was just so much fun. Growing up in Australia and being able to share that with the people in Indonesia was great. We are so close and we just wanted to build that friendship and help each other out. Not having travelled that much it really did open my eyes and it has made me want to do a little bit more. Music really brings people together so it is something I love to do to. The last time I was there was as an invited guest on Indonesian Idol which was great, singing in a different language as I am part Indonesian. I also got to go to some of the schools that the Australian government are in the process of building.”

Running Back is out now. For more info visit www.jessicamauboy.com.au

When Moo, You Bloody Choir, was released in 2006, it sparked 18 months of furious activity for Augie March. Accolades poured in at home, with the album winning them the Australian Music Prize in 2007, four ARIA Award nominations, while the single One Crowded Hour topped the Triple J Hottest 100 in 2007 and was named song of the year at the APRA Awards later in the year. Moo was also the album that finally brought Augie March critical acclaim and a swelling fan base in the United States. The world singer Glenn Richards has created for Augie March’s fourth album, Watch Me Disappear, is certainly not everyday and for the first time, Richards’ imagination has taken precedence over introspection. Keyboardist Kiernan Box spoke to Justin Middleton for this exclusive interview.

Click here to download the podcast of the entire interview. (18:14 - 2.1Mb)

After touring with Crowded House last year Augie March found themselves actually recording their new album in Neil Finn’s new studio in New Zealand. I asked Kiernan what was involved in the recording and if it was a different process to their previous albums. “We recorded a lot of it in New Zealand, in Auckland at a studio owned by Neil Finn which he’s building up for a while. I think we were the first act to actually record in the new, finished main studio. We planned to do all of it there, in the past albums end up being a piece meal, a little bit here and a little bit there. Different sounds at different studios with different recording engineers. So one idea this time around was to record it all in the same place and get a big, solid consistant sound. We got a lot of it done but not all of it, we ran over time and had to finish quite a bit of it in Australia and a little bit of it was recorded in Los Angeles. So in the end there is a little bit of that global production but we didn’t intend on it this time.”

“It was different. We worked with an American producer (Joe Chicarelli) and we hadn’t worked with a producer who brought such a strong vision of his own into the studio before. In the past I think there has been a person there who has tried to keep us in a straight line, kind of let us do want we do and then trimming off the edges. But this time we had a guy who had a pretty clear idea from the start what he thought the record could sound like, and to get that we had to work pretty hard. We did many more takes of songs than we did in the past and we spent a lot more time on individual instruments.”

I also asked Kiernan how well the new songs are translating to the live shows compared to before they were recorded. “Really good. Because we rehearsed them and played them so much, in one sense they don’t need any more rehearsal but I also think it’s very important that we shake them up a bit. The record is pretty intense and methodical and ambitious in a structural and sonic kind of way. That’s all there when you play it live but you also want to create an energy to make it work with a live audience. Let it off it’s leash a little bit. We’ve got a very talented musician joining us on tour named Dan Kelly and his backing vocals alone are worth the price of admission. He’ll be playing a lot of guitar and a little bit of keyboards. We’ve also been working with a horn section but I don’t think we’ll be able to get them over to Perth.”

Watch Me Disappear is out now. For more info visit www.augiemarch.com

Tour Dates:
With Special Guests Dan Kelly with The Ukeladies
Thur 30th October - Metro Theatre, Sydney
Mon 3rd November - Regal Theatre, Perth
Sat 8th November - The Uni Bar, Hobart
Thur 13th November - Governor Hindmarsh, Adelaide
Sat 15th November - Ormond Hall, Melbourne
Fri 28th November - The Tivoli, Brisbane