20 March 2015

Fergus Maximus’ debut single is now live …

This is a song about a bloke called Derek, written for everyone who has ever lived in a sharehouse. And for all those who wish they had.

‘Derek’ is the first official single release from Fergus Maximus and is the lead single from his forthcoming EP/LP Songs & Stories – Live @ The Austral (launching in May 2015). Derek is available on Kicktone and iTunes and CDBaby and pretty much everywhere you might expect to find such things (Spotify and Pandora coming soon).

It was recorded live at The Austral Hotel in Adelaide, South Australia on Thursday, 13 November 2014 by Noni Espinosa. Noni did the live mix and recorded it straight to disk and then tweaked the levels a bit and, well, that’s pretty much all that happened. It was mastered by Peter Maher in London (because The Internet). Daniel Ralph and his sister Deborah ran cameras that night and then Daniel used magic and electrons to stitch together the video you see before you.

The gig was one of the regular weekly showcases of original music put on by SCALA (the Songwriters, Composers & Lyricists Association). They’ve been putting on such evenings for over 25 years. Go SCALA, you rock! www.facebook.com/scalasongwriters

Ferg says that all the above-mentioned people are awesome and great to work with and you should definitely check them out. We had assumed he includes himself in that statement but when we asked him to clarify, he responded with “No Comment” so you will have to make up your own minds.

The amiable Daniel Ralph can be found at www.PressStopProductions.com.au or via his FB page at www.facebook.com/PressStopProductions

The cheerful Noni Espinosa can be found doing sound at SCALA gigs at The Austral or with his riotously fun band Funk Latin Union www.facebook.com/funklatinunion

The legendary Pete Maher, Master Masterer Extraordinaire, can be found at www.petemaher.com

15 February 2015

What happened to January?

Our January has disappeared. We could have sworn we left it lying around here somewhere but it’s gone.

To help identify our January in the event we have to report it to the police as stolen, here are some identifying features:

1. We had our annual gig at the Moana Surf Life Saving Club‘s Wine By The Waves food and wine event on 11 January. How many times have we done that now? Four or five? Something like that. It’s always fun. Great food and wine and the venue is wonderful, right on Moana beach.

2. We kicked off our regular gig calendar at The Artel Lounge Bar and Restaurant on 18 January. Great to get back to where we belong. It’s a terrific venue and has been a regular thing every month or two for a few years now.

3. We got invited to participate in the 2015 Crush Festival (that’s the Adelaide Hills Food & Wine event, not the hardcore moshpit that the name might seem to imply) on 25 January. A great afternoon at The Barker Hotel.

If you happen to find our January somewhere, please send it home. We miss it.

Ferg

6 December 2013

#OzMusicMonth â€“ Part 3 of the List of Things That Were Spun

To celebrate Triple J’s #OzMusicMonth, I dug out some old favourites and threw on some of the recent discoveries that are currently floating my boat. This is the third and final part of the List of Things That Were Spun (click for Part 1 or Part 2).

#OzMusicMonth #21 – if Pete O’Doherty says it’s not a suitcase, it’s not a suitcase – Right Reg Mombassa? – www.dogtrumpet.net

#OzMusicMonth #22 – Doctor DeSoto’s Chills No More EP – get onto it before the Government Crackdown makes it illegal – doctordesototheband.com

#OzMusicMonth #23 – Sarah Blasko’s We Won’t Run – “There is far to go now, Let’s not waste a minute more in denial” – www.sarahblasko.com

#OzMusicMonth #24 – IcecreamHands’ Rain Hail Shine – Charles Jenkins still rocks with The Zhivagos – charlesjenkins.com.au

#OzMusicMonth #25 – there’s No Cure For Love – Zkye’s voice is incredible. Brilliant, deep-fried, southern soul – www.zkye.com.au

#OzMusicMonth #26 – Kate Miller Heidke likes me better when I’m not around – check out her new fan-funded album

#OzMusicMonth #27 – Paul Greene may be caught in the crossfire but I’m pretty sure he’s done nothing wrong – #RockOn – www.paulgreene.com.au

#OzMusicMonth #28 – Alpine’s “A Is For Alpine” – “There’s gasoline in your heart / There’s fire in mine” #Kaboom – www.facebook.com/alpineband

#OzMusicMonth #29 – the first time I heard Washington‘s Clementine I was transfixed (already late for an appointment, I sat in the carpark to hear the end and find out who it was) – Keith Loutit’s video was pure icing (it’s not the official video – you can find that here)

#OzMusicMonth #30 – Extra Knusprig by 1.1 Immermann – restless, exploratory and wonderful – nice work Jarrad Payne

5 December 2013

#OzMusicMonth â€“ Part 2 of the List of Things That Were Spun

To celebrate Triple Jâ€™s #OzMusicMonth, I dug out some old favourites and threw on some of the recent discoveries that are currently floating my boat. This is Part 2 of the List of Things That Were Spun (click for Part 1 or Part 3).

#OzMusicMonth #11 – Butterfly Boucher’s Scary Fragile is sonic bliss – she has just re-recorded and re-released her debut album Flutterby (long story) and it is genuinely awesome – butterflyboucher.com

#OzMusicMonth #12 – the live version of Yup! – the title track from Marmalade Circus’s debut album – joyful jazz/world delight – marmaladecircus.com.au

#OzMusicMonth #13 – Jen Cloher’s aptly-titled Mount Beauty rocks! – The Dyson Stringer Cloher tour was brilliant

#OzMusicMonth #14 – Mental As Anything’s “Tents Up” was well worth the protracted wait – Greedy Smith says there will be new material in 2014 – www.mentals.com.au

#OzMusicMonth #15 – Jim Moginie’s All Around The World glistens in the sun – from the terrific “Alas Folkloric” – www.reverberama.com.au

#OzMusicMonth #16 – Skipping Girl Vinegar‘s spacemonkey rocks – their 3rd album is coming (I’m super-jealous that they have the awesome Brad Jones producing) but they need your help – www.skippinggirlvinegar.com

#OzMusicMonth #17 – Drapht may be sick of Jimmy Recard but I still love him (everyone does; that’s the point innit?) – www.drapht.com

#OzMusicMonth #18 – Diamonds for your Tea – the title track from Little Stevies’ new album which some genius described as “a handful of glittering jewels” – www.thelittlestevies.com

#OzMusicMonth #19 – Hoodoo Gurus brilliant, Literate What’s My Scene from 1987 – #GaragePop #OzRock – www.hoodoogurus.net

#OzMusicMonth #20 – Rose Wintergreen was one of 2013’s loveliest discoveries – check out the taphophobia-inducing video for Feet in the Sand – rosewintergreen.com

2 December 2013

#OzMusicMonth – Part 1 of the List of Things That Were Spun

To celebrate Triple J’s #OzMusicMonth, I dug out some old favourites and threw on some of the recent discoveries that are currently floating my boat. This is Part 1 of the List of Things That Were Spun (click for Part 2 or Part 3).

#OzMusicMonth #1 – Holy Roadside by The Badloves – the Mushroom doco is fascinating #losttreasures – www.michaelspiby.com

#OzMusicMonth #2 – The Bamboos “Medicine Man” album is wonderful. Megan Washington’s vocal on Wilhelm Scream is perfect – www.thebamboos.com

#OzMusicMonth #3 – Midnight Oil’s 10-1 bristles with power and passion – check out Oils on the Water #Oils – www.midnightoil.com

#OzMusicMonth #4 – FAB’s Happy People is one of my favourite 80s tunes. Stuart Day is now with The Beggars (and they are a lot of fun)

#OzMusicMonth #5 – Juno & Me by The Dugites from 1984 album “Cut The Talking” – the Horn Section is The Bomb!

#OzMusicMonth #6 – Last Dinosaurs are a breath of fresh air – Zoom is rifftastic fun – new album soon? Please? – lastdinosaurs.com

#OzMusicMonth #7 – Clare Bowditch’s adventurous “Modern Day Addiction” – The Start of War is a call to lay down arms – clarebowditch.com

#OzMusicMonth #8 – Seth Sentry – from the chewy-bacon Waitress Song to the heartfelt plea of Dear Science – sethsentry.com

#OzMusicMonth #9 – the haunting, beautiful Film Noir from Inga LiljestrÃ¶m’s “Elk” – ingaliljestromusic.com

#OzMusicMonth #10 – the gorgeous DreamPop of Tigertown’s Go Now from their 1st EP – www.tigertownband.com

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