KILL TV AT I LIVE MUSIC FESTIVAL
Kill TV are still coming down from the amazing success of their Never Gonna Change single launch last weekend and are back to do it all again this Saturday March 1 at The Brunswick Hotel for the I Live Music Festival along with 15 other bands. Kill TV hit the stage at 10.15 and entry is free.
DEVIN TOWNSEND REACHES PLEDGE GOAL
Over the weekend Devin Townsend launched a pledge drive for his next album, Casualties Of Cool. Described by Devin as ‘evil Johnny Cash,’ it’s influenced by country and the ‘50s, and is unlike anything else in his catalog. The crowd funding drive via Pledge Music reached its goal within hours but you can still pledge, with different levels beginning with a download of the album and going all the way up to Skype vocal or guitar lessons with Devin and even one of his guitars (but that one was taken pretty quickly). Any funds beyond those required for Casualties will be applied to Devin’s next project, Z2, which is the sequel to Ziltoid The Omniscient.
GUTHRIE GOVAN MASTERCLASS
Guitar virtuoso Guthrie Govan (Steven Wilson, The Aristocrats, Asia) is coming to Australia for a rare masterclass thanks to the folks from Thump Music and sponsored by Galactic Music, RotoSound, Australian Rock & Metal Institute, GruvGear, oh and my guitar blog, iheartguitarblog.com. Hehe. His Melbourne appearance will be on Sunday July 27 at midday, doors at 11.30am. Keep an eye on thumpmusic.com.au for venue info or to buy tickets. Guthrie is absolutely, positootely one of the greatest guitarists in the world, and this is a great opportunity to see and hear his magic close-up. He’s also a very eloquent speaker and has magnificent hair.
JOE SATRIANI AUTOBIOGRAPHY ON THE WAY
Speaking of guitar virtuosi, Joe Satriani is preparing to release Strange Beautiful Music – A Musical Memoir. Written with music journalist Jake Brown, the book goes into detail about Satriani’s early days as a guitarist in Long Island where as a 16-year-old Joe taught a 12-year-old Steve Vai how to play guitar); his move to San Francisco where he taught the likes of Kirk Hammett, Testament’s Alex Skolnick, Charlie Hunter and Primus’s Larry LaLonde; his rise to multiplatinum fame with Surfing With The Alien, and his supergroup Chickenfoot with Sammy Hagar, Chad Smith and Michael Anthony. I’ve just finished reading an advance review copy and it’s one of the best musical biographies/autobiographies I’ve ever read, at least if you’re into stories about the creative process and the fine details about what it takes to be a guitar god, rather than if you’re only in it for groupie stories. Anyway, the book is out in April, so keep an eye out for it. Joe is already taking pre-orders on his site including signed copies.
GET YOUR PUSH MUSIC FIX FOR FREE AT MOOMBA
You may have heard that the Push Over festival has been cancelled for this year due to low ticket sales. But fear not! A free Push Pop Up Stage will present three Push Over acts at this year’s Moomba festival: The Smith Street Band, Chance Waters and Remi, as well as showcasing the best young bands from around the state. The Push has presented the Beats stage at Moomba for the past five years, and Moomba welcomes the FReeZA Push Start Band Comp Grand Final along with special guests to the brand new Push Pop Up Stage on Monday March 10 from 1pm to 9:30pm at Birrarung Marr. This year’s nine FReeZA Push Start finalists going head-to-head to win music industry prize packs and recognition are Alkali Fly (Croydon), Baking Blind (Dingley), Residual (Geelong), Darcy Fox (Moe), Listerdale (Wodonga), The Rims (Alphington), Bel Air (Ballarat), Worship The Fallen (Mildura) and Great John Himself (Airport West).
THE NIGHT PARTY ALBUM LAUNCH
Lo-fi garage soul brothers Rick Sands and Buck Lexton are The Night Party and they’re about to launch their brand spankin’ debut album Get To You in their hometown Melbourne at The Workers Club on Friday March 21 with support from Gator Queen, Richie 1250 and The Brides Of Christ, plus DJs Eddy and Ken Eavel (3PBS FM) spinning discs. Entry is $8, doors at 8.30pm. Their 12 track album showcases the cornucopia mish-mash of influences that this Melbourne (via Gippsland) duo derive from, coming together in seamless cohesion that packs a punch and has the struttin’ coolness of The Stones ala their “Little Red Rooster” days…be it on their rockin’ tunes or slow soulful meandering tracks.
BEGIN THE SOUNDWAVE SIDESHOW ONSLAUGHT
We’re now in the thick of Soundwave week, so here are the remaining Sidewaves ahead of the big day on Friday.
Volbeat, Filter, Hacktivist – The Espy, Wednesday February 26
Black Vein Brides, Heaven’s Basement – Arrow On Swanston, Wednesday February 26 [All Ages]
HIM, Nostalghia, The Defiled – 170 Russell, Wednesday February 26
Avenged Sevenfold, Five Finger Death Punch, Asking Alexandria – Festival Hall, Wednesday February 26
Alter Bridge, Living Colour – The Forum, Wednesday February 26
Rob Zombie, Korn, Mushroomhead – The Palace, Wednesday February 26 [Sold Out]
Less Than Jake, Bowling For Soup, Zebrahead – The Hifi, Wednesday February 26
AFI, Crosses – Prince of Wales, Wednesday February 26
A Day To Remember, The Ghost Inside and I Killed The Prom Queen – The Forum, Thursday February 27
Gwar, Amon Amarth, Satyricon and The Black Dahlia Murder – 170 Russell, Thursday February 27
Pennywise, Stiff Little Fingers, Trashtalk, Authority Zero – The Corner Hotel, Thursday February 27
Placebo – The Palais, Thursday February 27
Alice In Chains, Down, Walking Papers – The Palace, Thursday February 27
The Dillinger Escape Plan, Glassjaw, Dir En Grey – The Hifi, Thursday February 27
