All posts by Marshall Cullen
Violent Femmes – We Can Do Anything Album and National Tour
UPDATE Jan 20 – 2016
FURTHER TO THE BELOW A WHOLE BUNCH OF SHOWS ARE NOW SOLD OUT ! PLUS SINGLE PREMIERE….
THE VIOLENT FEMMES – ON TOUR
• March 1 – Auckland – St James – SOLD OUT
• March 2 – Auckland – St James – SOLD OUT
• March 4 – Sydney – Taronga Zoo – SOLD OUT
• March 5 – Hunter – A Day On The Green – SOLD OUT
• March 6 – Sirromet – A Day On The Green – SOLD OUT
* March 7 – Brisbane – The Triffid
* March 7 – Brisbane – The Triffid
• March 9 – Canberra – ANU
• March 11 – Adelaide – Womadelaide
• March 12 – Yarra – A Day On The Green
• March 13 – Meredith – Golden Plains
• March 17 – Melbourne – Corner Hotel – SOLD OUT
• March 18 – Melbourne – Corner Hotel – SOLD OUT
• March 19 – Perth – A Day On The Green – Kings Park
THE SINGLE ‘MEMORY’ RECEIVED ITS FIRST AUSTRALIAN SPIN ON DOUBLE J LAST FRIDAY DURING MYF’S SHOW.
VIOLENT FEMMES OFFER GLOBAL PREMIERE OF
NEW LP’S FIRST TRACK, ”MEMORY,” VIA NPR’S FIRST LISTEN -Here
WE CAN DO ANYTHING FIRST NEW ALBUM IN MORE THAN 15 YEARS OUT MARCH 4
FANS CAN PRE-ORDER THE ALBUM NOW http://umusi.cc/WCDA
Exclusive bundles available from the Official Violent Femmes Australian Store: http://umusi.cc/VFPO
(New York, NY) – Legendary American band Violent Femmes premiered the first song, “Memory,” from their long-awaited and highly anticipated new record We Can Do Anything, due out March 4 on via Universal Music Australia. The irresistible track stands out as vintage Violent Femmes, and is one of the many new songs featured on We Can Do Anything that were chosen from singer/songwriter/guitarist Gordon Gano’s voluminous archives of ancient cassette demos and old journals. NPR’s First Listen premiered “Memory” earlier today, and fans can pre-order the album now.
“There was a massive amount of material to draw from,” Gano says. “I had so many cassette tapes, with songs and musical ideas recorded over 20 years or more. First we had to bring them into the digital world as to be able to access them and then it was just an incredible amount of listening. We did a whole lot of compiling and discovering forgotten songs.”
VIOLENT FEMMES WE CAN DO ANYTHING
LEGENDARY AMERICAN BAND RETURNS WITH FIRST NEW ALBUM IN MORE THAN 15 YEARS
10-TRACK COLLECTION INCLUDES NEW CLASSICS “MEMORY” AND “ISSUES”
ON TOUR IN AUSTRALASIA – WEEK OF RELEASE
(New York, NY) – Violent Femmes have announced details of their eagerly awaited new LP. WE CAN DO ANYTHING arrives via Universal Music Australasia – March 4 2016.
Violent Femmes’ ninth studio album and first full-length collection in more than 15 years, WE CAN DO ANYTHING is among the most provocative and playful in the legendary trio’s remarkable canon. As the album’s title makes plain, the band – singer/songwriter/guitarist Gordon Gano, bassist Brian Ritchie, and drummer Brian Viglione – remains as intrepid and fearless as ever before, traversing genre and emotion via their immediately identifiable, still utterly idiosyncratic, mash of rambunctious folk, minimalist punk, cubist blues, cosmic jazz, and backwoods rock ‘n’ roll.
Produced by Jeff Hamilton – a longtime member of the Horns of Dilemma, Violent Femmes’ ever-evolving cabal of multi-instrumentalist backing musicians – and mixed by the legendary John Agnello (Sonic Youth, Kurt Vile, Dinosaur, Jr.), WE CAN DO ANYTHING was recorded in studios in Brooklyn, Nashville, Los Angeles, Milwaukee and Denver, while on tour during the summer of 2015. The album’s cover image was drawn by Barenaked Ladies’ Kevin Hearn, who also contributed accordion, guitar, keyboards, and backing vocals on several recordings. Rounding out the live touring band and members of The Horns of Dilemma are John Sparrow and Blaise Garza who has been playing with the band since he was 14 years old.
Gano gathered the album’s material by diving headlong into his own voluminous archives, listening to ancient cassette demos and leafing through old journals in search of suitable songs. Among his finds were such new classics as the murderous “Big Car” and the fractured fairy tale, “I Could Be Anything,” Of the album’s more recent songs, “Foothills” and “Holy Ghost” were both penned with the team of Sam Hollander and Dave Katz (Train, Joe Cocker), while “Issues” – co-written by Gano with Hollander and Better Than Ezra’s Kevin Griffin (Christina Perri, Howie Day) – stands out as vintage Violent Femmes, as lyrically cutting as it is musically kinetic. Penned by Gano’s big sister, gifted folk singer/songwriter/artist Cynthia Gayneau, “What You Really Mean,” the album’s sole cover, might as well be an original composition, hewing remarkably close to the frontman’s own sonic sensibility and lyrical heart. Colored by explosive arrangements that veer on a dime from hard charging stomp to intimate melancholy, WE CAN DO ANYTHING is Violent Femmes at their very finest – joyous, exciting, and eternal.
Violent Femmes will celebrate WE CAN DO ANYTHING with a full-scale tour of Australasia on the week of release.
THE VIOLENT FEMMES – ON TOUR
- March 1 – Auckland – St James
- March 2 – Auckland – St James – SOLD OUT
- March 4 – Sydney – Taronga Zoo
- March 5 – Hunter – A Day On The Green
- March 6 – Sirromet – A Day On The Green
- March 9 – Canberra – ANU
- March 11 – Adelaide – Womadelaide
- March 12 – Yarra – A Day On The Green
- March 13 – Meredith – Golden Plains
- March 14 – Launceston – A Day On The Green
- March 17 – Melbourne – Corner Hotel
- March 18 – Melbourne – Corner Hotel – SOLD OUT
- March 19 – Perth – A Day On The Green – Kings Park
For up to the minute news and information, please see www.vfemmes.com/tour.html.
One of the most beloved bands of the golden age of indie rock, Violent Femmes returned to action in 2013 with an acclaimed performance at Coachella, their first live appearance in several years. Drummer Brian Viglione (The Dresden Dolls, Nine Inch Nails) came aboard in 2013. The Violent Femmes embarked on a wide-ranging tour that included headline dates and ecstatically received festival sets around the world. The Guardian applauded their London show as “a triumphant rampage through their back catalogue,” declaring the band’s self-titled 1983 debut to be “a cult classic of teenage alienation – a sneerier, post-pubescent Catcher in the Rye, if you like, with added nocturnal emissions and rattling acoustic bass solos.”
Violent Femmes came together in 1981 and were quickly ranked among the era’s most inventive and original, constantly pushing forward with their singular blend of folk and punk, sarcasm and spirituality. The trio released eight studio albums and more than a dozen singles, among them such iconic classics as “American Music,” “Gone Daddy Gone,” “Nightmares, “Add It Up,” “Kiss Off” and of course, “Blister In The Sun.” Violent Femmes’ remarkable three-decade career earned them cumulative sales in excess of 10 million worldwide, with 1983’s VIOLENT FEMMES earning RIAA platinum certification eight years after its initial release.
With the turn of the millennium, Violent Femmes began a long hiatus from the studio, only coming together in 2009 to record a cover of Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy,” returning the favor after the psychedelic soul duo’s cover of “Gone Daddy Gone” proved a worldwide smash.
For more, please see www.vfemmes.com and www.facebook.com/officialviolentfemmes.
Kinsky-I am the Mountain
After their critically acclaimed 2013 debut album Sunset On The Good Fight, Sydney soul reggae band Kinsky are back with a new 6 track EP The Edge Of The Wine-Dark Sea slated for release in early 2016.
To celebrate the first single, I Am The Mountain, Kinsky will turn out on stage at Camelot Lounge December 10th for a night of hearty tunes guaran- teed to move the feet and soothe the soul.
In the past 18 months, apart from playing with top local acts, the nine-piece have opened for international acts such as Groundation, The Skatalites and Balkan Beat Box commanding a whole new legion of admirers.
Songwriter and lead singer Ernie Garland teamed up once again with legendary Catalan studio engineer Enric Carbonell in Tokyo to mix the tracks at the esteemed Volta studios and the results speak for themselves.
Single: I am the Mountain
Release: Dec 4
Out On: Kinsky Music
File Under: Reggae
Sounds Like: Bob Marley, Salmonella Dub Location: Sydney
Kinsky –
Liftin’ Up The Ceilin’ Dealin’ Out The Healin’
Micheal P Cullen and The Soul Searchers – Live
Michael P Cullen takes his band ‘The Soul Searchers’ onto the stage to perform new single/video ‘Believer’ see opposite- (currently receiving Double J Airplay) and the rest of the critically acclaimed ‘True Believer’ album at Lazybones Lounge in Marrickville on Thursday November 19.
In his own words-
“For this show, Producer and Musical Director Tim Powles (The Church) put the Soul Searchers together with some guys he met on the road in America. It’s like this amazing unknown band, these guys walking the back roads carrying their guitars in battered old cases. I have been waiting for them to arrive. I just didn’t know when they would get here and now they have”.
“Turning what was created, in open ended recording sessions over a number of years, into something that can be recreated on stage by a 5 piece band in a one and a half hour set is a bit of work to be sure. But its the best kind of work and the Soul Searchers are pushing me and making me think. They bring their own energy and life’s experience to a set of songs about life’s twists and turns. It’s fresh and exciting for me and I hope it will be a truly memorable experience for everyone on the night.”
Michael P Cullen and the Soul Searchers will bring True Believer’s unique blend of Noir, Spaghetti Western, Motown and New Wave to the stage for one exhilarating night. Not to be missed!
For One Night Only – Thursday 19th November at the Lazybones Lounge 294 Marrickville Rd, Marrickville.
Michael P Cullen – New Single+Live Show Nov 19 Lazybones
Tailor Birds – Sophie Explains
Tailor Birds -Winters Fall-New Tour dates
Update
Now on tour and currently finishing some northern shows, Tailor Birds is heading south for the end of March and beginning of April:
Sat 19th March Harvest Festival VIC
Sat 26th March Y Water Discovery VIC
Sun 27th March Sedona Winery VIC
Sat 2nd April The Exeter Adelaide SA
Sun 3rd April Flinders St. Market SA
Some words from Sophie about the tour so far: “After QLD, we headed to NSW, to play Wollongong, Sydney, and Newcastle. We played some promo shows at the Glebe and Paddington Markets, and the Rocks, and were lucky enough to play Mr Falcons. What a feeling that if you bring something slightly left of center, people welcome it with open arms. Mr Falcons has to be, one of my favorite shows to play – intimate, and beautifully welcoming. Our sound was sucked up with open arms, and it’s these kinds of shows that make us want to keep going in this wild world.”
Here’s a taste of their live show filmed January 25th 2016
and previously……
Returning from no less than their 3rd European tour this Melbourne group
Release the first single from their forthcoming second album…….
With electric violin at its’ finest, and at the core of the sound, this is music that soothes the soul and warms the spirit. Experimental, electric act, Tailor Birds bring you their new single, Winters’ Fall(Cd Baby-Oct 30).
We were able to have a chat with the groups founder Sophia Kinston
1Tell us about your early influences?-
“I started playing violin from a young age, doing my undergraduate studies in the UK, it wasn’t until I came out to Australia in 2006, to study at the VCA, where I really found my feet. The vibrant music scene in Melbourne inspired me to be part of something positive. Australia has such amazing festivals, that you can’t help but want to be a part of that.
Playing in the Rosie Burgess Trio, I became immersed within the independent artist world, touring Australia wide & America/Canada. And then performing and recording for various other such as Sally Dastey, Hussy Hicks, Pataphysics was also in part, the inspiration that led me to setting up Tailor Birds.
So many elements go into creating your own act. Artists such as Sigur Ros, Gorillaz, Kronos Quartet, all think outside the box, and so i guess it was inevitable alongside inspiration of course, that has led me to this point.
Studying music and fine art, and growing up in London, exposed to multiple arts, and to be performing within orchestras, quartets, choirs, bands, to shift into a touring act, recording, traveling, performing, Tailor Birds has been the result of all this work.”
2 Australian Music?
I think that Australian music is quite spectacular. In Australia you can tour and perform as an independent artist. You can sustain and grow, and really produce quality.
Of course there will be the classic artists such as Jeff Lang, Lloyd Spiegel, and John Butler who are hugely respected and loved. Aussie greats, who I hope, will continue through many years, and stay strong to their roots, but also act as spokespeople for music in Australia. However, there will be an underlying current of acts that are independent that will come and go, some will tour and travel and become big in other countries, and will surprise and enchant us.
And then there will be some who will really step up and represent something new and fresh, some breakout artists, such as wonderful act, DD Dumbo.
We will continue, what with our plethora of venues and wonderful festivals, but the change of media and online mediums will enable and challenge us to to grow in ways we wouldn’t expect.
3 This year and next?
In 2015 I finished writing Tailor Birds’ 2nd album, and things are gradually slotting into place. I am now back from europe’s 3rd tour, launching the new single, Winters’ Fall.
And so 2016 it’s just about continuing the work – touring the new single, releasing the 2nd album, and touring both of these through Australia and Europe (particularly Holland and Ireland). There’s always the focus on performing in places that we make an impact. With Tailor Birds being left of centre, alternative, but on the edge of mainstream, we have to grow where it makes sense. But yes, the future looks bright, and it’s a case of always moving and continuing forward.
“Being a band is not the thing i think about, as bands come and go. But the thing that sticks, is the music, and the energy, the passion, and most importantly the artistry. Baring your soul i guess.” – Sophia Kinston
Heartache Video
Hussy Hicks Talk It Up
Hussy Hicks – That Old Heartache
Coastal Heart, Southern Soul.
Added to 2016 BLUESFEST LINEUP FOLLOWING THEIR STUNNING AMW PERFORMANCE
Now receiving air play by Sarah Howells on Roots n All – Triple J
and as of today NUMBER 3+6 ON AIRIT METRO AND REGIONAL CHART
When you think of the USA’s Deep South, you think of bluegrass and country, rhythm and blues. And when you think of the Gold Coast it’s all about the surf. Hussy Hicks have taken the best of both and brought them to life with their latest single ‘That Old Heartache’.
The girls from Burleigh Heads with countless local and international tours under their belt venture out yet again for summer with a new single and tour to lead into their 2016 album release….interview and tour dates below….
Here’s some background from a chat with singer Leesa-
- What inspired you to become a singer/writer/ and who are your early influences.(Leesa) I grew up listening to really traditional country music, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, Tammy Wynette, Dolly Parton… you get the idea! I think the initial inspiration to become a singer was when mum and dad took my sister and I to the Tamworth country music festival, it must’ve been about 1990, and after watching all the concerts and glitzy costumes I was totally sold… Singing was pretty much all I wanted to do from that point, so I started having vocal lessons when I was 9 years old and then started playing pub gigs with my sister at about 13. Julz started really young as well, she was plying violin from about age 3, then picked up the guitar at about 7 or 8. She hit the gig trail at 13, just like me, playing with a bunch of different Gold Coast acts and eventually joining the Phil Emmanuel band. Julz’s influences are definintely more from the blues world, her dad is a real blues-lover and you can hear a lot of that in her playing.
2-Tell us a little about how you write, how do the songs come? What gets you going creatively? I write in bursts and under deadlines… I always have books full of bits and pieces of unfinished lyrics and melodic ideas and then when it’s time to get back into the studio I’ll knuckle down and finish off half a dozen songs in an afternoon or two. Sometimes I’ll sit and dedicate time to writing and it will be a complete failure, then I go through phases where almost everything I hear will inspire a little song to emerge in my head.
3-A recent story would be? An article popped up recently that mentioned an incident from many years ago that has been a real talking point of late – Julz once got into a bar fight with Osama Bin Ladens cousin… it sounds rather dramatic but it actually happened by accident and was over before we even realised what went down. I’ll elaborate: Julz and I were playing a series of shows in Dubai back in 2006 and we hit the clubs one night after our gig. We were having a great time and got a little over-exhuberant with our dancing, pulling out some kind of ninja moves and Julz stepped back and bumped into Prince Bin Laden. He pushed her out of the way and Julz continued to play along with her ninja dancing thinking he was totally in on the fun, until things got serious and security came running in and took the prince away to the VIP room and gave us a very stern talking to!
4-Fave food or drink and is there a story associated with that…. Julz and I like to tend toward vegetarianism but both of us are suckers for Cajun Crawfish. It’s a totally southern thing and it’s one of the many drawcards to spend time in Alabama. They’re essentially yabbies that get boiled up with cajun spices and are usally served with corn and potatoes… and they’re the perfect food for a lazy afternoon sipping on beer and watching the world go by
Tour Dates
October
10 – Federal Hotel, Bellingen NSW
16 – Taps, Brisbane QLD
18 – Buskers by the Creek Festival, Currumbin QLD
21 – house concert, Thirroul NSW
22 – Lazybones, Marrickville NSW
23 – Sydney Blues and Roots Festival, WIndsor NSW
24 – Great Northern Hotel, Byron NSW
30 – Currumbin Creek Tavern, Currumbin QLD
November
1 – Grass Roots Music Festival, Brisbane QLD
6 – Cinema under the Stars, Ballina NSW
7 – State Library, Brisbane QLD
18 -The Basement-Sydney
19-22 Australian Music Week, Cronulla NSW
28 – Destination Blues, Glasshouse Mountains Tavern, Qld
Dec
4 – The Night Quarter, Gold Coast QLD
