music
For no real reason, I decide to list all the gigs I can remember attending, all confirmed in one way or another. I haven’t listed repeat gigs, unless noted. I’ve also excluded any gigs I played at, with one exception. The gigs took place while I lived in Claremont (1966-77), Hobart (1978-81), Sydney (1982-84), Newcastle …
I’m finding snippets of last week’s Daniel Champagne gig in Wollongong last week bubbling back up at me. Such an interesting musician, who’s crafted a fascinating relationship with his acoustic guitar. Not just using it as a percussive instrument (which he does brilliantly) but also as a stage prop, almost another character on stage with …
Appropriately enough, I finished this book, subtitled How Australian Music Changed the World, on Australia Day. That’s appropriate on two fronts. First, the focus of Up from Down Under is the success of Australian bands in the US and other overseas markets, specifically Peter Allen, Helen Reddy, Olivia Newton John, the Little River Band, the …
We asked the Smashing community what podcasts they listened to, aiming to compile a shortlist of current podcasts for web designers and developers. We had what can only be called a very strong response — both in number and in passion. First, we winnowed out the podcasts that were on a broader theme (e.g. creativity, …
Which Podcasts Should Web Designers and Developers Be Listening To? Read More »
Well, here it is the third day of March, which means summer in Australia is technically over. As I sit here in 30 degree heat looking at a cloudless, sparkling blue sky with just a mild, cooling breeze – that’s hard to credit. Nevertheless, it’s as good a time as any to summarise my summer …
When I started this binge of Oz Rock books, I was fully expecting that some individuals would recur from book to book, being significant figures in our music industry – people like Ted Albert, George Young, Philip Mortlock, Michael Gudinski and Molly Meldrum. And, indeed they all do pop up variously in The Angels by …
Ah, Facebook. Love it or hate it, you’ve got to love it, haven’t you? Yes, I know that doesn’t make sense. Which is why it sums up how I feel about Facebook. The trouble is there’s just so much to love and hate about the pervasive, addictive, simple, complicated, easy-to-use, frustrating-as-hell social media giant. I …
My son Cormac has been talking about picking up the guitar again. Being 12 now and all grown up, the 3/4 size Valencia nylon string classical he used in early music classes is not going to cut it. He’s been displaying more interest in making music lately, and I was pretty impressed when he worked …
It must feel pretty good to stand on a stage under a spotlight in front of an audience and open a show by saying, “I’m a jazz singer”. Vince Jones says it as a simple statement of fact, and goes on to explain just what that means. “A soul singer uses a diatonic scale and …
I went to see the Sydney Festival production of The Giacomo Variations at the Sydney Opera House on Saturday night. It was as challenging, engaging and inspired a piece of theatre as I have seen in many a day. To my mind, it is ideal festival fare, stretching the boundaries of how theatre and music …