Blog

A short and sweet interview with Ned Collette can be found [here](https://www.indieoma.com/public_journal.php?d=46ba9f2a6976570b0353203ec4474217). Enjoy, Chinch xx

Firstly I wanted to share with you a recent experience of editing... I was asked to write a news piece on the rising number of International Students in Australian Universities, here's what I wrote : According to a forthcoming research report to be issued by overseas student recruiter IDP Education, International Student demand in Australia will double in the next two decades with Universities struggling to meet the demand. Currently Overseas students comprise approximately 17% of the Austral...

The latest instalment of my series, featuring Folk Music from the 70's onwards can be found <a href="https://www.indieoma.com/public_journal.php?d=d395771085aab05244a4fb8fd91bf4ee" target="_blank">here</a> Enjoy!

This week was another week where various elements kept pointing me towards a certain way of thinking, again, I'll just go through the week and ramble a bit... Err, Tuesday, Tuesday?? Oh yes, I had a job interview (the first of many this week) for an exam supervisor job, a fairly easy interview when I kind of got the impression that we all had the job already but the recruitment people were never actually specific about that fact. In the afternoon I probably did something, god damn, my memory i...

According to a forthcoming research report to be issued by overseas student recruiter IDP Education, International Student demand in Australia will double in the next two decades with Universities struggling to meet the demand. Currently Overseas students comprise approximately 17% of the Australian student body with just over a quarter of those studying in Victoria, how much does and will this affect Victorian students? Whilst not as big as input as we may be led to believe, International St...

I Heart Hiroshima are one of many Australian bands operating on independent labels who distribute through major companies (In their case MGM), funding releases from touring, merchandise and hopefully previous releases. It&rsquo;s a model that their label &lsquo;boss&rsquo; Paul Curtis believes is a template for the future, he&rsquo;s a man who&rsquo;s brain I intend to pick more of in the near future&hellip; In the meantime, back to the band. <strong>How and why did you decide to form a ban...

p>I&rsquo;m sure the booze and drug fuelled &ldquo;characters&rdquo; of Collingwood keep stealing CD&rsquo;s from my post box, as yet again I enter an interview with an artist who&rsquo;s album I never received. Never mind, it&rsquo;s making for interesting conversations as both parties struggle to make sense of each other and all the local Junkies are gaining a healthy and varied taste in music. 747&rsquo;s could be described as a world band, or at least a European band in the literal sense, h...

A compilation of rarities from a band I've never heard of, it seems one half of their permanent line up (Davey Lane) is something of an Australian institution, an institution that never made it past the Pacific Ocean, so I'm off the hook. The problem with rarities albums is that they will often only appeal to hardcore fans, generally being full of slightly dodgy tracks, cover versions and poor recordings, 'The Fantastic sound of the Picturesî contains examples of all of those (A Particular high...

A folk hero belonging truly to the old school, Carus has chalked up an average of 200 shows annually over the past few years and still found the time to release several albums, 'Three Boxesî being his third. It's mellow and laid back but brimming with passion, dedication and earnest emotion, the lyrics are tales of his experiences and life on the road, containing equal elements of regret and happiness with his lifestyle, the excitement and the loneliness. A beautiful album that can be listened...

The biggest surprise is that The Exploders are a two-piece, how on earth do they recreate guitar, bass, drums, keys and vocals live? ìEasy and the Sunî starts very well, mellow Ozzie rock, well played and crafted, but a majority of the tracks are much too long for a commercially viable pop rock album and about half way through things start to drag somewhat, the guitar sound, vocal delivery and pace of songs falling into something of a rut, never changing or varying (apart from the final song,...

It&#39;s taken me a long time to get round to writing this review, I&#39;ve kept putting it off, not due to a dislike of the album, but because for the first time since I&#39;ve arrived on the shores of Australia I&#39;ve found an artist who clicks with something inside of me and putting that into words is a tough and daunting prospect. I&#39;ve not found an artist or album like this since Frank Turner&#39;s &quot;Sleep is for the Week&quot;, an album full of disillusionment with life past, pr...

This could be a long post... Have you ever had a week where it feels like someone or something is trying to tell you something? Where a series of events seems to transpire that lead your thoughts into a certain direction and state of mind? Well I've had one of those weeks, sort of, well a few events have made me think about life and stuff like that and realise a few things, good things. I'll start at the beginning and we'll see if this goes anywhere. To top up my writing income I teach, th...

Angus Tarnawsky and Bill Forshaw, the drums and guitar of Bachelor of Arts respectively are leading me down successive Laneways in search of dinner. Angus, tall, assuming and confident hasn't stopped talking to me and the random strangers who approach us since meeting in the venue ten minutes ago. Bill, quiet, shy and unassuming, looks bewildered by the situation, like he's more than used to it happening, but that it never ceases to amaze him.<br><br>Settling on Thai, we discussed Australia, mus...

Let's talk about loop pedals. These little boxes of tricks are popping up everywhere at the moment, giving musicians the capability of layering tracks of instrument loops to produce a texture of complex harmonies, great in theory, but becoming a little tired. Pikelet is the Mistress of such gadgets, not only layering sounds but manipulating them on the fly, speeding them up, slowing them down, for example, using her voice to create a cello like sound. The problem is that due to the fundamental d...

Landing the opening slot is a daunting and unenviable task for any band, doubly so when you're an acoustic act at a rock gig, you have to work extremely hard to even get the audience to acknowledge your existence, let alone actually listen to you. Sacha Ion's unique voice with its equal measures of vibrato, warble, screech and heart-felt gentility performs a good job of gaining the interests of at least some of the small crowd slowly building at Ding Dong tonight; she earns respect and hopefully...

There are a lot of young bands like Karate Party, some nice songs, with a few interesting riffs and melodies lurking within them, but the two piece line up of keyboards and drums lacks the drive needed to get them across. Jo and Cat's intersong banter is also irritatingly fey, causing a few cringes, however as the set nears it's conclusion the girls seem to be getting it together and the songs are having more impact, perhaps a few more live shows and rehearsals are needed?Bitchslap and their fuz...

It's a busy weekend for all age's shows and there is something very strange about attending gigs where there's no alcohol, not even on stage. Tonight all the adults keep dashing to the pub over the road between bands bewildering and frustrating the sole bar man who seems annoyed that his (obviously) usual quiet Saturday night is being disturbed. Meanwhile the kids do what they always do on a Saturday night and illicitly sip cans of cheap booze on municipal steps and get in the way, oh happy days...

All Ages gigs are tough; everyone claims there are not enough taking place and not enough opportunities for under 18's to attend live music. Unyet when an organisation goes to lengths to organise an all ages show with a strong line up at a prestigious and large venue, attendance is a little disappointing. Why is this? Perhaps running an all ages show in the evening is too late for some parents to allow their children to attend. Perhaps the lack of alcohol dissuades over eighteens attending, whic...

It seemed appropriate to group these two shows together as my last experience of both bands was about two years ago as they were enjoying a rapid rise in popularity, success and hype. Two years ago both bands were still learning their craft, their showmanship and the ropes, so now after two years on the road and two albums each, how do they compare? Kaiser Chiefs and their more poppy blend of rock are in the larger venue, the horrendous Festival Hall, which is like an aircraft hanger with a sta...

The feelings of frustration and slight depression abated this week, maybe it was a lunar thing, there was an eclipse here last week, and maybe a seasonal thing, who knows... This week was a good week, and a very busy week... I landed a contract to make a DVD, quite lucrative, but it took up a lot of time, throwing my weekly routine into confusion, which was a good and a bad thing really... Monday, Cate and I took the day off to look into visas and flights, the upshot of it all is that we wil...

The gaps between my personal posts gets longer and longer, I'm going to try and take more time to do a few more things that I want to do over the coming weeks and months, been spending far too much time doing things for work or to achieve something, and not enough frivolous fun, so here's a blog post about not a lot in particular... Firstly, I finally, after years of playing in bands, bought my own amp! It's a Fender Pro Junior and I got it $300 cheaper for some reason, so it cost $600, about...

Politics in Folk music, part 1... Quite proud of this one, read it <a href="https://www.indieoma.com/public_journal.php?d=539fd53b59e3bb12d203f45a912eeaf2" target="_blank">here</a>.

It's been a while, I've moved countries, got a new band together, got my feet under the table and now it's time to tell everyone what's been going on. ## Macaca Mulatta My current band has a new line up, new songs, new shows, new photos, new live videos, new logos and a new website, we're off into the studio to record our debut album in September and have been going down a storm all over Melbourne. Any of you sending bands out here, please consider the band for support slots. Drop by www.mac...

Eddie Current Suppression Ring (Henceforth ECSR or this review will go on for ever) do things their own way. Despite rising to the heady heights of 'buzz band' status, they book their own gigs, promote their own gigs, manage themselves and still find the time to write some damn good material. Roxanne's is packed tonight with a crowd biting at the bit and raring to go, Dead Farmers, resplendent in checked lumberjack shirts (Grunge dead? Never!) Don't quite seem to ever get going, stopping and sta...

Gym Class Heroes are perhaps one of the oddest, biggest bundle of contradictions, confusions and concerns you may ever witness in a music venue, which is a bold statement considering how screwed up a lot of Hip Hop generally is. The 'backing band' is a bunch of highly proficient musicians with very decent equipment, which always smacks of 'manufactured' session musicians, despite what the bands biography might tell you. Travis on vocals bounds around the stage attempting to perfect a sort of cut...

It's always hard to review one track single samplers, especially if you like what you hear and want to hear more! 'City Walls and Empiresî is a jaunty and radio friendly ditty, the 9 members of the band creating a complex interweaving of melodies and counter melodies, complete with a rousing unison of vocals in the chorus. Radio friendly, upbeat, a good tune, what more could you want from a single? Published in www.rockus.com.au

Jeff describe his music as 'City and Westernî which is the best description for the genre of Americana tinged mellow rock that Jeff Strong purveys, so I'm going to stick with it and probably borrow the phrase, if he doesn't mind. The album is home recorded with a lovely warm and familiar feel, which suits Jeff's, comforting and gentle voice down to the ground. Some tracks are pure Jeff, strumming his acoustic guitar, others feature additional instrumentation, and all ten tracks are calming infl...

Ninetynine's live show is a stupendous feat of intense musicianship and song writing craft, so how a band takes such a show, commit it to record and lose none of the live buzz is a challenge. 'Worlds Of Space, Worlds Of Population, Worlds Of Robotsî makes a determined effort, and is twelve tracks of finely constructed, arranged and played songs of epic proportions, some beautiful, some inspiring, some fast and frantic, others slower and brooding. The production of the album lacks some sparkle t...

It's hard to mention Tilly and the Wall without mentioning Tap Dancing, they have no drummer, the tapping of toes and heels on a specially constructed 'Tap Boardî produces the only percussive rhythm, and generally only one pair of lithe and active ankles is doing all the work. The lack of solid beats reduces the potential drive and danceability of their songs, there are a lot of bad jokes about extraneous drummers, but as the adage goes, 'You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone.î However...

I think my main problem with this release is it's press release, it's almost as if it's describing the wrong band, I find it very hard to hear a lot of the supposed comparisons and descriptions. I know it's the job of a PR to ensure a band sounds good, but this one makes them sound like the best band on the planet. It's a fine album and Voxtrot are a perfectly competent Indie-Rock band, but fairly generic jangly American Indie, the clean type, very sharp, clear and precise, full of carefully con...