Random selection of weekly pop music columns, appearing in The Daily Telegraph, Sydney, since 1996.
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THU 03 AUG 2000 so finger lickin' good Those gorgeous lads from Powderfinger paid us a flying visit last week, here in a ceremonial capacity (ie helping Triple J launch its latest Unearthed program) and to give everybody across the land the first sample of their latest classic, Odyssey Number Five. We got a chance to have a chat with the lads but, first, let's get some of the Powderfinger news out of the way. Like, are we ever going to get to see them play live again? The answer is yes. Powderfinger have a national tour planned for October and will play the Enmore Theatre on Saturday, October 14, and the University of Newcastle on Tuesday, October 17. Tickets go on sale on August 21. In case you don't know already, My Happiness, the first single from the new album, will be out on August 14. The album will follow on September 4. ``And the trick is the release date is timed to coincide with the Olympics, when all the visitors are here,'' frontman Bernard Fanning smiles. ``They can go into HMV and pick it up.'' Chips in John Collins: ``It'll be the first thing they do as they get off the plane. We'll have duty-free CDs in boxes.'' Darren Middleton: ``Johnny Farnham should be singing My Happiness at the opening ceremony, which will be good.'' Yes, he damn well should, Dazza, that is if SOCOG has even a speck of taste within the realms of its bureaucratic black hole. Anyhow, we here at dino were given the great honour of a sneak preview of Odyssey Number Five and if the sound of My Happiness on the radio hasn't been enough to convince you that something special is coming your way, then you're going to have to take our word for it: Something special is coming your way. ``The first day we got together this year after our holidays, we said, `What do we want to do?''' Fanning says of the conception of Odyssey. ``The thing we agreed on was that we wanted to make the album sound really big. ``And that's what we worked from, that was our base point. It was the first time we've ever sat down and said, `Let's make an album that sounds like this.''' And, well, that sound is so big and beautiful that ... oh, sorry, we're about to start crying again ... dazed by success You'll remember last week that we went to some considerable effort and spent close to half a million dollars (don't worry, it was SOCOG's money) trying to track down the members of 28 Days to throw in a ``How's it feel?'' query. About topping the album charts with Upstyledown, that is. ``They're too hungover,'' we were told by management types. ``They're party animals, you understand.'' Well, last week's failure is this week's, um, well, we got to speak to drummer Scott who informed us that rumours of his band's excesses were somewhat overblown. ``I was just at home by myself,'' he says, setting the scene about how he got the chart-topping news. ``And I just went to bed, actually. It sucked. I found out at like midnight, so I just went to sleep.'' Is that rock or what? As nonchalant as it gets, hey? Of course, the boys did get to celebrate the following day, but then it was straight back into business, on the road for a national tour. ``It hasn't sunk in at all,'' Scott says. ``I think if we start getting mobbed in the streets and get buckets of money thrown at us, it might start sinking in but, at the moment, everything's exactly the same. ``It's sort of exceeded the plan. I'm sure the record company had much bigger plans than we did, as far as getting commercial success, a number one album and all that. ``But for us, we just wanted to make an album that we were happy with, something that represented the best things about the band. We kind of feel we did that but, yeah, I think it's exceeded the grand plan. To get into the top 10 would have been enough.'' This week, Upstyledown is still sitting handsomely at number four on the charts. money for nothing Hey, it appears that if you are in a band these days, the Government gives you money for nothing. No, really. This week, another 30 acts shared a total of $300,000 in grants under the Federal Government's Contemporary Music Touring Program. Acts to benefit from this third round of handouts included 78 Saab ($12,000), Christine Anu ($20,000), Muzzy Pep ($10,000) and Ruby Hunter ($15,000). Applications for the next round of grants close on October 6. Get details by phoning 18000819461. livid about the delay Damn deadlines: the first batch of Livid bands hit our desk last week, just after the paper went to beddie-bye. So, just in case you've been in a hole for the last few days, here's the initial list: Green Day, Lou Reed, The Living End, sonicanimation, Boss Hog, 28 Days, Money Mark, Millencolin, Grinspoon, Royal Crown Revue and Muse. But that's not all. Stay tuned to this space next week for a major announcement regarding Livid. Of course, the festival itself is taking place at the RNA Showgrounds in Brisbane on Saturday, October 21.
THU 17 JUN 1999 cheeky ricky Hey girls, did something just move in our pants or is Ricky Martin planning to tour Australia. Both! That's right. That cheeky Latin chart-buster will be here for a promotional tour in September to build up a bit of excitement for his tour proper in November. Oh, you cheeky Ricky, as if we need you to come out here to stir up excitement about you coming out here. C'mon, just admit you can't live without us! life's a bleach Forgot to mention: The offices of dino got a call a couple of weeks back from a fellow claiming to be the mysterious Bee Gee Bleacher. The man said he was the one responsible, indirectly at that, for an incident that nearly caused the cancellation of the Bee Gees' Stadium Australia show in March. (Stadium Australia show? But wasn't that joint only officially opened last weekend? How could that ... Oh, doesn't matter.) Anyway, the story goes that a couple of nights before the One Night Only concert, Maurice Gibb and his lovely wife decided to take a spa in their Sydney hotel suite, one of the very spa baths that our BGB was paid to maintain. Unfortunately for everyone involved, there was a malfunction with the bath's chlorine dispenser, and something like 20 times the recommended dosage of the cleansing chemical was released into the water. The Gibbs realised something was wrong soon after they felt a slight burning sensation all over. They knew something was really wrong when their hair went zing! and white. Sure, you'd think that wouldn't be too big a problem in Maurice's case but hair experts had to be immediately flown in from the States to deal with the situation. And apparently the pin came very close to being pulled on the whole shebang. Unfortunately, our accidental bleacher got sacked from his job over the matter. And the show went on. versatile finn Neil Finn showed off his new band at the Tibetan Freedom Concert on Sunday. It features among its ranks Jim Moginie (Midnight Oil), Liam Finn (his son) and Wendy O (she of Wendy & Lisa fame and Prince's New Power Generation.) Sounded fabo. Imagine it would have sounded even better the night before when the combo went through its paces at the Bridge Hotel in Balmain as a warm-up for the big day. The 250 invited friends of the band were treated to a bonus when Mr Tim Rogers jumped on stage to help Finn out on She Will Have Her Way. The 8000 music fans who braved the chill the following day at Homebush also got to hear this strange, beautiful coupling. ``I've been doing a hugely, amazingly different variety of things,'' Finn said of his recent activities. ``It ranges from writing a song for the All Blacks to writing a song for Kiri Te Kanawa to singing at the millennium bash, writing a few songs for movies, writing a bunch of my own stuff. And I'm just about to embark on a bit of recording, getting the process started on a new record.'' Finn intends to see out the year and the century in the company of old bandmates Split Enz. They'll be performing a concert on the North Island of New Zealand with Te Kanawa and David Bowie. stadium standoff Oh, no -- could this be true? Some nastiness surrounding a certain comeback show at Stadium Australia last weekend? Not that we usually care what happens to all that scum employed by the opposition, but a certain broadsheet clicker got a bit of a shock last Friday while covering sound check for the stadium spectacular. Having been granted a session with a certain band and their new stand-in singer, the photographer decided to take a couple of shots of the new venue itself on his way out. Next thing he knew, he'd been bailed up by a security man, demanding he hand over his camera and film. Apparently there was a blackout on shooting this afore-(non)-mentioned band while they were on stage. A two-hour standoff saw lawyers from both the venue and newspaper slugging it out over the phone. The clicker was finally allowed to go home after signing a piece of paper swearing he wouldn't publish the contentious pics. Ahh, the Olympic spirit has arrived a year early. global problem After more than a year of headaches concerning noise levels, the proprietors of Newtown's Globe venue are suing the acoustic engineers they hired to sound-proof the joint in the first place. The venue has spent a fortune trying to appease its neighbours (one household in particular has been the source of most of the hassles). Regular patrons are all too familiar with the ridiculous sound limits placed on the Globe and the ensuing early closures.
THU 03 DEC 1998 what a stinker While the rest of the world lent their moral support to the Chef Aid concert on Monday night, the cause of all the legal drama and Chef's financial woes -one Ms Alanis Morissette -hid in a place as far away from South Park as she could get. Namely Sydney. But we at dino managed to corner Ms Morissette and lay on her the hard-nosed question that's been poised on everyone's lips: Did she really steal Chef's song Stinky Bridges and claim it as her own? Morissette, the quintessential pro, didn't bat an eyelash. In fact, she started giggling uncontrollably. "I love it," Morissette offered cryptically. "I think it's hysterical." So what did she mean by that? Did she find the whole situation comical, perhaps a little bizarre? "Not so much these days, just because the entertainment industry becomes a very small place once you really feel like you're immersed in it," Morissette said. "It becomes a very small world. So it's understandable, it's hilarious." just poo-ing Fun and games on the current Superjesus tour. Seems the headliners and their support acts -international visitors Local H and Melburnians Violetine -had the time of their lives together. Let's start with the clean stuff. In true rock-doggy tour tradition, the lads from Local H and Violetine took to playing the odd practical joke on one another before going on stage. At the Selinas show last Saturday night, the H boys smeared the V lads' microphones with fake poo (did we warn you that this was going to be sophisticated stuff?). The V lads didn't falter, bassist Greg Lewis smearing the chocolate-coloured stuff all over his face. From there, things got a little more complicated. During Local H's set, a beetroot-red stripper, dressed as a policewoman, leapt on stage and started strutting her stuff. So impressed were the band by her performance, the girl didn't end up going home alone. (Note to lawyer: Can we name the band member? Note back to dino: Do you like your job?) But that wasn't the end of the sexromping. There was the drummer and the radio station girl, the singer and the member of the sound crew. Oh, rock 'n' roll isn't dead, kiddies, it's just too frightened to come out of the dressing room. house talk For all his talk about never putting the House back together again, Neil Finn has hinted at a return to the studio of sorts for his old outfit. Pressed to explain, Finn says there's a whole bunch of unreleased Crowded House songs that he hopes to clean up and get out at some point. "It's not like jumping into making new music with Crowded House at all," he said. "It's just a project that's set in the nebulous future somewhere. "There is a bunch of probably at least 12 to 15 very worthy tracks that have either only appeared as B-sides or have not been released at all. I think it would be really good to get those into shape and make another album with them at some point." Finn has also revived the notion of getting Split Enz back together for a couple of new songs, if the circumstances allow. manson beat-up More joyful stuff from soon-to-be-tourist Marilyn Manson. First, the misunderstood boy's manager came out during the week to clear up all the misinformation surrounding his team's supposed hotel room trashing binge in Poughkeepsie (near New York). While local papers claimed the band caused more than $25,000 damage to four hotel rooms and the dressing room at the Poughkeepsie Civic Centre, manager Tony Ciulla explained the whole incident had been blown way out of proportion. "Once again, when it comes to Marilyn Manson, the media have taken a story and given it a life of its own," Ciulla said. "The reality was, there was damage to a phone. The total damage they were charged for was under $1000 and that was inflated hotel prices." Thank God we finally managed to get to the truth of the matter. Undoubtedly the other story that surfaced this week, that Manson invited the editor of US rock monthly Spin into his dressing room after a New York show, got a couple of his goons to hold the guy up against a wall while he screamed, "I can kill. I can kill your family. I can kill everyone, you know," is probably crap too. As if Marilyn would do such a thing just because he didn't get his nog on the cover. But wait a sec. Spin isn't a tabloid. It's a highly respected, serious music journal. Why would its editor make up such lies? good living To celebrate its debut album topping sales of 100,000, The Living End will be giving a free performance for its fans at the HMV store in Pitt St tomorrow night, starting at 7pm. It will be the band's second-to-last gig in Australia (they're on the Homebake bill the following day) before taking off for their German tour next week.
THU 22 OCT 1998 STARS TOGETHER It's nice to know you're not out there alone in the big wide pop world. When we caught up with Savage Garden's Darren Hayes this week for a pre-ARIA chat, he let us into the intricacies of his strange little non-relationship with Australia's other main pop export of the moment, Natalie Imbruglia. Hayes didn't meet Imbruglia for the first time about a year ago when the two stars walked past each other on a street in New York. According to the boy, the two of them gave each other what Hayes calls the "famous person doublelook" (you know, the oh-my-Godwasn't-that-Natalie-Imbruglia/DarrenHayes look) and that was that. The second time they didn't meet was at a record industry party. Again they glanced at each other without a word. Then the other morning, outside the Sebel, the two crossed paths again. This time Hayes decided he'd break the ice. Hayes: "Hi, How you doing?" Imbruglia: "Good, how are you?" Hayes: "Good. (Pause) Okay, see ya." Hayes, who counts himself as a major Imbruglia fan, thinks in retrospect that the two went too long without talking to have anything left to say to each other. It's funny that the two artists responsible for the top two songs on Billboard's recent survey of the most played songs on American top 40 radio can talk to so many millions of people but not each other. You can see the irony in that, can't you? Still, the other night's ARIA festivities will have loosened everyone's lips. FAIR GAME It'll certainly bring a tear to the eye of all genuine Sydney music fans to learn that the Annandale Hotel, for so long the premier breeding ground of local bands (and the "secret venue" of choice for visiting demi-gods), has been sold to buyers unknown. We hear the price tag was a cool $2.1 million. After the venue was advertised to potential buyers as a "top gaming opportunity", it's a fair bet the joint's music heritage wasn't high in the new owner's priorities. But let's all pray to our rock Gods that we're wrong. TICKING OFF Gee, people -do we have to handfeed you everything? Listen closely, this is the last time we'll tell you: you can't get your Big Day Out tickets at Ticketek. So stop hassling them. The best way to get your tix is through the BDO's Website at www.bigdayout.com. For the rest of you, ask the cool guys and gals at your local indie record store. Otherwise, after November 13, you'll be able to order tickets through Ticketmaster. Phone Charge on 13 61 00. Oh, and don't forget to keep January 23 free. That's when you have to turn up to the gates of the new Sydney RAS Showgrounds in Homebush, give your ticket to the person in the yellow shirt and then go inside and have a good time. Think you'll remember all of that? FRIEND IN PLACES Brisbane glamsters Lavish have invited a special friend to town to help them put together their debut album. Clint Mansell, he of Pop Will Eat Itself, has been seen all around the place over the past week or so, soaking up a bit of local culture before confining himself to the studio with the boys and taking up his production duties. HUTCHENCE While there's been no more word about the all-star concert to commemorate the first anniversary of Michael Hutchence's death in November, the rest of INXS isn't about to let his memory fade. We hear that the band members plan to converge on a studio in Sydney next week to start work on touching up a swag of unfinished INXS tracks. They've got three weeks set aside for the project with a vision of releasing a posthumous album of "new" songs. MISS-GUEST U2 took the unusual step this week of deny a report that controversial author Salman Rushdie has been living in the guest cottage of Bono's Dublin home for the best part of five years. The Edge told London's New Musical Express that the article which appeared in Ireland's Sunday Independent newspaper was "not really accurate". "In fact, we're a bit pissed off about it because it implies that Salman was staying for long periods in Bono's house, which wasn't the case," he added. "He did stay for the weekend on maybe two occasions. But it wasn't like he was living with Bono for months on end, which is sort of what the story claimed." Bono and the rest of U2 have never tried to hide their close friendship with the author, who until recently had a price on his head. During the PopMart world tour, Rushdie appeared on stage with the band. He is also said to have recently collaborated with Bono on some lyrics.
THU 20 NOV 1997 OH, parting 'tis such sweet sorrow: Tonight sees the first of the Hoodoo Gurus' three farewell Sydney shows but Dave Faulkner ain't shedding no tears. Nor is he expecting any of the Gurus' disciples to quite understand why their spiritual leaders have pulled a rockin' harakari. "It's hard to explain because it doesn't make sense to anyone," said Faulkner. "I really loved In Blue Cave [the band's last record] and I couldn't hear an album after that. We got together and we thought about it and it seemed like a good idea. "We've been waiting for this moment for quite a while, talking about it, anticipating it. We knew it wasn't going to be a permanent band forever, we've all got different things we want to do, so seize the moment. "Everyone's really happy about it so that's the main thing." Of course, the guys gave us all a bit of time to come to terms with their decision, announcing the break-up back in March before taking off for their Brazilian sojourn. Faulkner's only hope now is that his band will live on in our hearts for a while yet, even though we'll no longer be able to count on one of their tours with the regularity of summer. "I hope we stay in the mix for a while. I think some of the songs will stick around on radio at least. I think we've influenced a few people over the years and that will probably be our legacy. "I just hope people will still enjoy the records because that's all they'll have. I don't really think about it. It's what I think about it that really matters to me. And what I think is pretty good, I was pretty happy with it." If there's one minor regret to all of this for Faulkner, it's the fact that despite all the Gurus' gold and platinum awards, their chart success, the loyalty of their audience, the continual regeneration of their fanbase, despite all that, the Hoodoo Gurus never seemed to get the respect from the music media that they deserved and earned. But, Faulkner admitted, that neglect was probably of his own doing anyway. "We planned it that way, in a way," he grinned. "We never felt part of the mainstream or the side-stream or any stream. We were always in our own little billabong, festering away, and we didn't really care to be in the swim with everybody else. "In some ways, that may have kept us free of the problems with being celebrated and lionised. We were our own club and we didn't really care. If you wanted to join, fine, but you weren't going to co-opt us into your society." The Hoodoo Gurus play Selinas in Coogee Bay tonight, tomorrow and Saturday night. DON'T forget, punk kids: you heard it first right here on Triple A FM! Keep Monday March 9 free because that's the night Pearl Jam will be back in Sydney to play the Entertainment Centre. The band's new single, Given To Fly, will be out shortly and the new album, tentatively titled Yield, will be out in time for the tour. Eddie and the boys are currently in San Francisco where they're doing a handful of warm-up shows as openers for the Stones. They're also about to go in front of the cameras for director Cameron Crowe (of Jerry Maguire fame) to perform the new album live for video. Tickets for the Sydney gig go on sale November 27. LEGENDARY Melbourne techno-head Ollie Olsen is preparing to storm the mainstream again with a project he's titled Primitive Man. A belated follow-up to his classic Max Q album from 1989, Olsen has decided not to go with a famous head to front things this time. Instead, a girl called Sophie Heathcote is set to give the project a voice. Olsen met Heathcote while doing some soundtrack work for the ABC's RAW FM. Heathcote plays the "luscious lesbian Sam" on the program. The band will also feature a swordswallowing, steel-toothed backing vocalist named Ritchie Rich. Expect a single around March with an album to follow soon after. SAY it ain't so, Lord: After a week of boos, lost managers, talk about solo Spices , could it be our Spiceworld is collapsing in on itself? Earlier this week in Paris, Scary promised us that it was all lies: "No man is going to come between the Spice Girls." Let's hope they've reminded Baby about that. And those two-faced British hacks aren't helping matters. The Mirror on Tuesday ran a full page of Spice-related gags, bottom of the gutter-type stuff like: How do Spice Girl brain cells die? Alone. Or: Geri walked into a bar with a pig tied to a piece of string. "Where the hell did you pick up that?" asked the landlord. "Won it in a raffle," said the pig. Maybe they need a Kylie-esque duet with Nick Cave to give them back their cred. HAIR today, gone tomorrow. Paul Simon has done away with the toupee and is set to release his first album in seven years on December 8. The Capeman features a selection of tracks from a full-scale musical which the rolly baldy little bat-faced boy has scheduled to open on Broadway in January. The multi-million-dollar production is based on a true story surrounding a murder case in the late 50s. STOP PRESS: Death In Vegas added to Starbait. More details next week.
