SHEPPARD 'Christmas Without You' Interview

GERONIMO!!!

As we say Bombs Away to closing another challenging year, beloved Australian pop band SHEPPARD release their first Christmas song, 'Christmas Without You' a heart-felt sensation, for anyone not able to be with their loved ones at Christmas time. Brendan the blind guy was thrilled to catch up with the Sheppard trio to chat about the heart-felt single, plus their performance at the Lord Mayor Christmas Carols in Brisbane on December 11, the band's third studio album 'Kaleidoscope Eyes' and much more to free-dive into that'll make you go bananas!

Eskimo Joe '99 Ways' + 2022 National Tour - Interview With Kav Temperley

“LITERALLY INFECTIOUS”

Multi-platinum selling household names of Aussie rock ESKIMO recently released their "literally infectious" new single '99 Ways' plus announced the 'Black Fingernails Red Wine In The City' National tour, playing both iconic albums 'Black Fingernails Red Wine' and 'A Song Is A City' in both their entireties plus a surprise! "the surprise being..."

Brendan the blind guy was thrilled to catch up with Eskimo Joe lead singer Kav to chat about the new single, tour, Barry Gibbs' vocal warm-ups and much more to throw a ball at!

Check out tour dates, all relevant info and buy tickets for Eskimo Joe’s ‘Black Finernails Red Wine In The City’ 2022 National Tour via the official Frontier Touring website here

TRAVALLEY 'Dear Babe' Single Q&A

MEDIA RELEASE:: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, THURSDAY MAY 7

TRAVALLEY DROP RAUCOUS NEW SINGLE AND BONKERS VIDEO DEAR BABE

Aussie brothers, Travalley have today dropped their seriously fun, raucous new single, Dear Babe.  The track is accompanied by a fittingly bonkers video that sees the duo, Levi and Sam Mellington, munch through as many chillies as possible throughout the duration of the clip, and they’ll be celebrating the release with a livestream single launch on Saturday May 23 at 7pm on Instagram.

Upbeat and hooky as all getout, this driving indie rock track will be lapped up by fans of Lime Cordiale, The Jungle Giants, Hockey Dad and Skegss, and will have listeners toe-tapping, singing along with the insanely catchy backing vocals and coming back for more.  Recorded in a Melbourne home studio, engineered by Fabian Hunter and mixed and mastered by Austin Asvanonda (The War on Drugs), Dear Babe is about lead singer Levi’s lack of ability to be able to flirt or express how he feels. “I always manage to say the wrong thing or give too much away too early which tends to end up in the “what if I said this” situation happening over and over again and then repeating the process with the same results,” Levi explains. “About a year ago, I finally stuck to my guns and held back from blurting out everything about myself to a girl, I was so impressed with myself that I decided to write a song about all my past experiences, and now here we are! We just hope people really enjoy the song and get a laugh out of the film clip.”

Filmed and edited by Gareth Harrison (DJ for Yacht Club DJs who also tours regularly with DZ Deathrays and Dune Rats), the concept for the Dear Babe video was inspired by the DZ Deathrays The mess Up film clip where the guys drank as much alcohol over the duration of the song.  An extrapolation of this was then released by Dune Rats in Red Light Green Light where they smoked as much as they could.  Pretty chuffed with their ingeniousness with this video concept that is sure to set tongues wagging, and rightfully so, Levi explains, “We decided to continue the trend that these two amazing bands created, and stupidly ate as many chillies as we could within the time of the film clip. Little did we know that we ate far more than expected and experienced all sorts of pains for days after the video was filmed!”

Having spent a lifetime together, and the greatest part of it playing music together, the visceral bond present in their playing and their vocal harmonies is obvious, and their onstage banter is infectious.  And though the brothers have been combatting a heap of change during the Covid19 madness, they’re also able to see the positives. “We’ve had a lot more time to write new music and expand our sound, and we’ve had to come up with more creative ways to keep our fans engaged, but it’s also given us the opportunity to sit back and relax for the first time in a long time,” says Levi. “But like many other bands out there, we had to cancel our entire tour and a bunch of bookings too. The biggest thing we’ve missed is playing live to our amazing fans that travel to come see us play. Once this has passed and we are able to start playing music in front of people again, we can only imagine how amazing and hyped everyone will be to get out and have a great time.”

Dear Babe is released today.

Stream: Dear Babe

View: Dear Babe

DEAR BABE | LIVESTREAM INSTAGRAM SINGLE LAUNCH | SATURDAY MAY 23 | 7PM

CONNECT WITH TRAVALLEY

TRAVALLEY Q&A

What’s the inspiration behind Dear Babe? 

 “The song was inspired by my inability to get my message across to someone that I like. I'm sure everyone has experienced something like this over the years so it’s an ode to everyone who freezes up or becomes awkward in those tough times in life.” 

Who are your greatest musical influences?

 “Jungle Giants and Hockey Dad for sure. We have looked up to these 2 artists ever since we started making music really. They both make absolute bangers and their live shows are super  high energy. We have taken bits and pieces from both artists. More so chord progressions from Jungle Giants as they suit our sound better. “

What do you bring to the live stage? 

“ We bring a very high energy to each show and generally bring audience members up on stage to enjoy the time with us. We have found by being welcoming to the crowd and acknowledging them quite a lot, they generally become more involved with the show. Our best shows are always the ones where the crowd are dancing and singing. “

How was the recording process? 

 “The recording process was extremely quick. The entire process of writing, recording and releasing the track was incredibly quick to be completely honest. It was fun though. We recorded  through a guy in Melb just before lockdown happened so we got in just at the right time. We were able to get the entire song recorded in about 4 hours. Because it is short and fairly simple there wasn’t anything exciting to happen.” 

What was the inspiration behind the music video? 

“We got inspiration from DZ Deathrays and Dune Rats. They did very similar videos to us except what they consumed was  a little different, check them out if you are curious. For us, eating chillies was the next best thing and boy did we regret it the next day.” 

How would you describe your writing process? 

 “The writing process I use is pretty bizarre but it works. I use a shitty 5 string guitar with a huge crack through the body of the guitar. IT sounds horrible.. However, if i can get it to sound good on that, it will sound good on anything. After I write the guitar section I will generally write the vocals and then bring it to a jam session.” 

Give us an interesting personal fact!

“I can hold my breath for a really long time, we are talking like the entire length of Dear Babe.” 

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DIP ROAD DOGS 'Shakshuka EP' Q&A

PERFECT FOR A LAZY SUNDAY LISTEN!

DIP ROAD DOGS 
DROP NEW SINGLE ‘LAZY’ 
AHEAD OF FORTHCOMING EP ‘SHAKSHUKA’

Reemerging from that dusty dirt track deep in the Mallee are the Dip Road Dogs, who have today dropped their dreamy new single, Lazy, a comforting, hypnotic journey into Americana.  Lazy is the third taste of their new EP, Shakshuka that is set for release on May 21. 
 
Dip Road Dogs are back with some of their finest music to date. Lazy is exquisite Americana folk rock from the fun loving Aussie country boys.  For fans of The National and The Church, haunting cello, and mesmerising, deep vocals will entice the listener, but it’s the unassuming emotional force that will sock you right in the feels and keep you coming back for more.  Contrastingly, Lazy is a song about a relationship where one partner is not pulling their weight with the household chores and the other becomes fed up with this behaviour and finally leaves for greener pastures. “It’s a warning to everyone to make sure you mow the lawns and do the dishes or you will end up alone!” Jests lead singer and songwriter Dave Chirnside.
 
Recorded in Nashville, Tennessee between The Amber Sound Studio, The Secret Genius Studio and producer Josh Frigo’s home studio, and mastered by John Davis (The Killers, Gorillaz, Royal Blood, The XX) at Metropolis Studios in London, the EP is a real mixed bag, with all six tracks working as a commendable package that showcases the band’s diversity and capability.  “The EP title Shakshuka is a very apt analogy for the EP as it is a delicious tomato-based dish that can be served at dinner or breakfast and you can throw nearly anything in to make it work. Our EP is a collection of old and new ideas that have created quite a variety of genres and sounds, so it’s a bit of a mixed bag but we think the songs gel well together,” explains Chirnside. “Once we had recorded the demos we got in touch with Josh Frigo in Nashville and set a date in June 2019 to head over and start recording. Josh’s time was very tight between touring so I locked in the dates without asking Matt, Ollie and Jack - better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission, Jack had been travelling around Australia and was in Rockhampton when I called him to ask if he would come and record in Nashville, he had to put his trip around Australia on hold, but there wasn’t a whole lot of objection!”
 
Dip Road Dogs are a group of friends who once shared a house on Dip Road in the Mallee – now living miles apart from each other all around regional Victoria, they are one of the few bands that haven’t been hugely affected by these bizarre Covid19 times.  “We have been practicing isolation all our lives, so we feel we are well placed in these interesting times. There are a lot of challenges living so far away from each when it comes to live touring, but it doesn’t affect our writing, as long as our internet doesn’t cut out!  And we have a studio in Appin where we can put our collective ideas together - demos for the next release are well underway.”

Dip Road Dogs is Jack Pay, Dave Chirnside, Oliver Close and Matthew Close.
 
Lazy is out now and Shakshuka will be released on May 21.
 
Stream: Lazy
View: Lazy lyric video
Stream: Shakshuka

DIP ROAD DOGS - LAZY (lyric video)

DIP ROAD DOGS - LAZY (single artwork)

DIP ROAD DOGS - SHAKSHUKA (EP artwork)

Q&A WITH DAVE CHIRNSIDE (LEAD VOCALS)

What’s the inspiration behind your new single & EP? 

“The EP is a bit of a mixed bag of ideas stemming back from around 6 years ago up until early last year but the main inspiration was to create music that people can enjoy, whilst challenging ourselves musically.  it sounds very cliché, but it’s pretty much all it came down to!”

Who are your greatest musical influences? 

“I’m a big Tool fan so I’d have to say Maynard James Keenan, his story is pretty impressive and not your typical “rock star” story. I also love that he’s in Agriculture as well with his vineyard in Arizona! The Brian Jonestown Massacre is another big influence for the band.”

What do you bring to the live stage? 

“The Dogs bring plenty of Fazazz to the stage that’s for sure. If you have been to any of our concerts you have most likely been on the stage with us or played an instrument for us. We love to get everybody involved!”

How was the recording process?

“The process was amazing and a little unconventional I guess. We found our producer Josh Frigo online and he liked our demos and invited us to record with him in Nashville, because of his touring requirements we had a week to get the EP done. This meant our time in Nashville was very full on but we loved every minute of it. We still managed to fit in some honky tonks of a night.” 

What was the inspiration behind the music video? 

“Nate Hill was the man behind this one and we love it, he had about 3 nights to get it done as we were very disorganised and what he came up with was terrific. He really bought our album cover to life and the video is incredibly soothing.”

How would you describe your writing process? 

“Our writing process to date usually starts off with a riff on guitar or a drum beat and then thrown to the band for input, once we have the song basically done the lyrics are usually the last thing that comes to us. With the exception of our latest single, Lazy where the lyrics came pretty early on in the writing process.”

Give us an interesting personal fact! 

“I’m a scorpio!”

Check out Brendan the blind guy’s review of Dip Road Dogs ‘Shakshuka EP’ here.

BEACHWOOD - 'God Only Knows/Marbles' Listicle Feature

GOD ONLY KNOWS WHAT THIS HOLDS!

WHO ARE BEACHWOOD / HOW THEY STARTED OUT?

Beachwood are a Melbourne-based electropop duo of multi-platinum producer/writer Jarrad Rogers (Charli XCX, Lana del Rey, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Icona Pop) and indie filmmaker/songwriter Angeline Armstrong. They met in 2016, when Angeline, new to the buzz of Los Angeles, found herself at Jarrad’s family Christmas party. Over lamingtons and pav, they were surprised to learn that they’d both grown up in the Western suburbs of Melbourne and had also, coincidentally, both chosen the Beachwood neighborhood in LA as their first port of call. They began writing together in Jarrad’s backyard studio, Angeline’s folk-heavy songwriting style colliding with the progressive electronic beats that Jarrad has become known for. It was two years later, at the very end of 2017, that electropop outfit BEACHWOOD was officially formed and the two began writing for the project.

SONGS THEY’VE WRITTEN AND THEIR INFLUENCES:

Beachwood have released four singles to-date. Since returned to the homeland (Australia) from their respective times in LA, the newcomers quickly found favour in both local and international markets. Their debut track, ‘Miracle’, attracted critical acclaim including several awards for their boldly artistic debut music video, winning out over Aussie legends The Veronicas, Guy Sebastian & Peking Duk at the 2019 Clipped Music Video Awards. Their second single, ‘Love Me Or Leave Me Alone’, found its way onto over 30 international New Music Friday playlists and is nearing on 1 million streams. ‘Marbles’ & ‘God Only Knows’ are the most recent ‘dual single release’ track. ‘Marbles’ features the eclectic MC Tray Haggerty from Texas, securing the duo’s trajectory of making waves across international borders. Where ‘God Only Knows’ is a bold take on the classic ‘perfectly written song’ by the Beachboys.

It’s hard to pin point a list of our influences tbh. I can say what we try and do!! We strive to make honest, lyrics that loads of people can relate to. We look to make music that makes you feel good. Helps you get through the day. We love electronic elements and using technology to create something unique. But at the same time we both love organic elements. We try and combine them as often as we can. We also try and make a bunch of the elements that create our beats ourselves. Sampling ourselves hitting things for rhythmic colour etc. Oh and there’s the vocal. That’s the most important thing. That has to be front and centre and be the best it can be. Ange does a great job at that!! I guess you could look at people like Louis The Child, Flume, Drake, The Beatles, Beachboys...something like that!

PAST/UPCOMING NEWS:

Beachwood recently played a sold out show at the Gasometer in Melbourne and are currently finishing their debut EP set for release early next year. 

FUN FACTS:

• Though spending most of her time growing up in Australia - Angeline is actually half-kiwi and half-filipino, and calls all three countries home!

• Beyond the Beachwood act, Jarrad has collaborated around the world as a producer/writer with renowned artists such as: Ms. Lauryn Hill, Lana del Rey, Charli XCX, Montaigne, Luke Steele (Empire of the Sun), Icona Pop, Bea Miller, Andy Grammar, and Rachel Platten.

• As well as being a musician, Angeline is also a filmmaker whose career was kickstarted by a mentorship with Aussie legend Baz Luhrmann and a debut short film made alongside Baz & NIDA that premiered at the Sydney Opera House while Ange was still at university!

• If Jarrad wasn’t a professional musician he’d probably have a crack at being a professional athlete!! Or a baker…or maybe a swim coach. Basically he’d be lost if he wasn’t a musician!

RACKETT - 'Machinations' Single Q&A Interview

READY OR NOT, HERE IT COMES!

Hey everyone, Brendan the blind guy here! Chatting to awesome musicians is like a drug, and even if I Tried To Quit… well, we all know I’d re-lapse, because like it or not, I Please Myself at the end of the day, and honestly, it makes me feel so Alive! If your brain hurts from the onslaught of interviews, well this will Kiss It Better for you surely! So Ready Or Not, ladies and gentlemen, RACKETT!

Brendan; Recently you recreated the name Rackett to be a solo project, and released your innovative new track ‘Machinations’, taking a more untethered electronic-punk approach to your previous pop/alternative-punk style. Apparently you’ve really found your happy place with this song, so what inspired the new direction/flavours? Has working with and promoting other artists with Beehive PR helped you with this?

Bec; I was inspired by pop music. I was listening to a lot of pop artists redefining pop and creating sounds and structures that seemed to push back against what was expected of pop. I was inspired by A.I and developing technologies and virtual realities and I wanted to create art music that was concurrent with a plastic future.

Brendan; As for the lyrics, I know first-hand you’ve got a copious amount of stories and experiences to write about, but what exactly was the story behind this track?

Bec; The track is about going out of my mind. Machination means to scheme. I had to go into the pits of myself, the illusions I had created, the delusion and find a way through the turmoil and into a future self. I had to scheme a way out.

Brendan; Currently you’re taking over the stages in Japan on quite an extensive run of shows, that must be such an amazing experience! AND THEN, after you get back from Japan, you’re hitting up Sydney and Melbourne only five days after you land home, barely enough time to shake off the jet-lag! So how are the crowds there in Japan responding? Is it a bit contrast to your Aussie fans? I mean, I can’t imagine the Japanese ladies would be as inclined to flash their boobs at you like the wild Aussie ladies here do?

Bec; Well I haven’t seen any flashing boobs, but I have seen a band give their lead singer a bubble bath mid-set. I’m actually only back in Australia for 1 day before my Australia single launch shows begin. I’ve learned so much and their are contrast in priorities here verss Australia. In Japan you must be on time for soundcheck and be present for a pre show meeting where everyone is introduced to each other There are no riders or free drinks, but the schedule is very proficient and support bands on this tour have been the highest calibre of musicians I have played with.

Brendan; I know I kind of gave a bit of a teaser to what a Rackett show brings, (you did say last time you see a lot of tits) But give us a taste of what this new Rackett brings to the stages? Will I still be compelled to flash my chest at you?

Bec; I think you’ll be compelled to dance. My new music is hyper fun, fast and nothing really below 128 BPM which is prime dance tempo. Its still punk in attitude but a future-punk that has those digital elements more present in dance music.

Brendan; Right, now I reckon it’s time we get exclusive Bec, just me and you… and all the readers. So, what would be an exclusive fun fact about yourself

Bec; A fun fact about myself? I don’t know that I can say I have fun facts, I guess that’s in the eye of the beholder. I love a random dance on the street, I love to Heely, I mix up names a lot. For example, there was a Japans band covering Blitz Screen Bob by the Ramones and I got up on stage and thanked them for their cover of ’Split-screen Bob’.

Brendan; Now for my favourite question of all, that’s right people, it’s WTF time! I know I’ve asked you this before, twice actually, and you said how early on you found a dirty nappy in your travel bag on the plane, and last year you told me how at one show, a girl you kissed during ‘Kiss It Better’ took you quite literally, to the point where you had to reluctantly pull away from her to catch up to your singing. But this time, has there been any WTF moments in Japan?

Bec; WTF moments for me have been pulling an all-nighter in Shibuya, doing the rounds of bars and ending up in a party in Love Hotel. Actually this tour has been an all-around WTF moment. Every night has been an adventure, seeing really weird support bands. Another one aside from the bubble bath one was a band that dressed as ‘Where’s Wally’ and sang Queen covers.

Brendan; As always it has been a pleasure chatting to you Bec, but we’ll leave it with one more. So, what’s next for Rackett?

Bec; What’s next is more music! I have another single out in January next year and will be reassessing more and more next year. I’ll be touring, working on my Heelys game and waiting for the future to arrive.

Carthasy - Q&A Interview

JOIN THE ASCENT OF ROCK GREATNESS!

Hey everyone, Brendan the blind guy here! We all know it gives me Endless joy and an Endorphin rush when I get to Connect with talented bands on The Ascent in the Aussie music scene! Today, ladies and gentlemen I have the distinct pleasure of chatting to an alternative rock band breaking down all Walls in their path, CARTHASY!

Brendan; Thanks for being here guys! First up, the name Carthasy, what’s the story and meaning behind this intriguing name?

Lindsay; Cheers Brendan, thanks for having us. I think we were going for something which reflected the idea of catharsis, of releasing strong emotions, of everything coming together in huge moment. I think that when we're at our best we can get there with our music. Having that name has unfortunately led to a 'career' of having it pronounced a hundred different ways by everyone we meet, but it's always fun to see what people come up with.

Brendan; You guys recently unleashed your second studio album ‘Revolve’, a dynamic power-house of booming angst and furocity accompanied by fierce driving riffs, cracking beats and confronting vocal edge. So, what does this album and the songs on it represent to you, individually and as a band?

Lindsay; For me the album is a really nice testament to what we can achieve as a band. We went into the writing process with a really clear idea of what we wanted out of it, the sounds we were chasing, and the end result that we wanted to achieve. Getting to that goal required taking a lot of things away. We wanted an stripped back, raw, aggressive album, which meant there was no room for ego on any of us. We wanted a really huge guitar sound, which meant everything else had to get out of the way. We wanted a really consistent theme and impact on the songs, which meant that we weren't able to indulge some of our proggier tastes. I've always thought that the hardest thing to do in music is to write a simple song that's really good, and I think that at our best points on the album we've achieved that. Directionally, "Revolve" was also another step down a much heavier road than we've taken before, which required a bit of a recalibration in the vocal delivery and the tones we were using. Our vocalist Garry did an incredible job of adapting his vocals to the sound we were seeking for this album, and for me his performance is the highlight of the album.

Brendan; When I personally listen to this incredible album, I’m treated to stylistic attributes reminiscent of Karnivool, Dead Letter Circus, Something With Numbers’ first album ‘Etiquette’ and even the mighty Tool. So, are these incredible bands key influences for you musically?
Man, 'Etiquette'! I absolutely thrashed that album in high school, I haven't thought about that album in years. There's definitely chunks of that album buried in Garry's and my DNA which are probably still coming through in 2019. I'm going to listen to it now, I bet it's still buried in my memory somewhere. 'Sunshine Showers' is an eternal jam. Born too late to explore the pop-punk universe...

Lindsay; Aside from forgotten and underrated millenial Australian pop-punk bands, our main influences on this album were Norma Jean, Rosetta and, for me at least, early Pelican. The album was also written during a period where I was listening to Architects' 'All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us' more or less on repeat so there are probably some thematic cues that have bled through there. We've also been trying to write a song with as much melody as an Oceansize track for some time. We'll get there one day.

Brendan; More exciting stuff that Revolve around the album’s release! You guys recently played an album launch show on July 12 in North Perth. How’d that go?

Lindsay; Playing live is always an absolute thrill and it was great to have a chance to play the new album stuff for more or less the first time. Being significantly stripped back, the new album tracks translate significantly better to a live environment, it was nice to not have to play 10 minute prog jams. We were lucky enough to be joined by our great mates in Altona who were launching an album on the same night and it was a pleasure to share the stage with them.

Brendan; For those of us who couldn’t make it to this show, tell us what we missed out on? Did you guys blow the speakers? Was there any brawls? Did you break everything in sight? Or was the atmosphere tame, civilized and full of elderly Bingo-enthusiasts complaining that it’s too loud?

Lindsay; Perth has its share of people moving into new apartments which overlook live music venues then complain about the noise, and Garry's amp does go to 11 (genuinely - Soldanos do for some reason), so I'm surprised the last one didn't happen. Nothing too crazy from us, I think most of the crowd we get down are now a bit past the brawling stage and guitars are expensive. I'm also tied to a laptop these days for samples and such so I can't even run too far from the drumkit. I think the whole big rockstar move of smashing shit is fun if your parents are buying your guitar or you're getting them for free from the manufacturer - neither are true for us yet unfortunately!

Brendan; Right, I reckon it’s time we get exclusive! So, what is an exclusive fun fact about each of yourselves?

Lindsay; Ha ha, we all have reasonably professional lives so I'm going to duck that question - nothing too scandalous or doxxable sorry!

Brendan; Now it’s time for my FAVOURITE question! That’s right people, it’s best cat-video on Youtube time!... just kidding, it’s W.T.F time! (although who doesn’t love a good cat video right?). So guys, what is THE MOST hilarious, priceless W.T.F moment on your musical career thus far?

Lindsay; It's gotta be our last album launch, where our bassist Jack launched himself off a cab and immediately shredded his ACL. He managed to get through the rest of the set on adrenaline and beer but realised what he'd done as he was trying to give me a hand carrying my drums out at the end of the night. The best part of a year worth of rehab and he was ready to play again without sitting on a stool on stage. He makes his living now as a stage manager in the UK for awesome bands like the Psychedelic Porn Crumpets so clearly he's still able to carry heavy shit. A credit to his physiotherapists.

Brendan; And last but not least, what else can fans look forward to from you guys lurking around the corner?

Lindsay; Life's getting in the way for all of us a little bit at the moment and we're spread across the world - I'm the only one in Perth most of the time - but we'd love to put out some more music when the time's right. Rumour has it there might be a few more tracks from 'Revolve' that were trimmed from the release, I'd love to get them out at some point - if nothing else because one of them has a pretty sick drum part. It depends on whether finances or my ego win out in the end I guess!

Lindsay; Thanks for having us mate, much appreciated.

The debut single from Carthasy's upcoming album 'Revolve'.