KILL TV AT THE TOTE
Kill TV play two sets at The Tote slow club Wednesday March 19 from 9.45pm. $5 entry. Catch them while you can cos the band head to Sydney in April, are currently locking in New Zealand after that and could end up in America later this year.
HOTEL WRECKING CITY TRADERS RETURN
On Wednesday April 16 Hotel Wrecking City Traders (HWCT) will release Ikiryō, their first full length LP since 2008’s Black Yolk. After a series of successful collaborations and splits with Desert Rock forefathers Gary Arce, Mario Lalli (Yawning Man/Fatso Jetson) and a steady bout of touring Australia and Japan, the duo got the urge to record as a duo again, churning out the five songs (some of which are pretty dang long, hence the ‘full length’ designation) over a three-month period in 2013 and recording them over a two-day period in January 2014 with engineer Jason Fuller at his Goatsound Studios in Melbourne.
ROBYN HITCHCOCK/STEVE KILBEY TOUR
Robyn Hitchcock (The Soft Boys) and Steve Kilbey (The Church) were both born in England, a year and 25 miles apart. Both were influenced by the sixties icons like The Beatles, Bob Dylan and The Archies, and took great inspiration from the British psychedelic movement. Yet they’d never met – until now. With a thousand or so songs to choose from and armed only with their guitars, Hitchcock and Kilbey promise an unforgettable evening of whimsical wordplay and psychedelic nursery rhymes at the Melbourne Arts Centre Playhouse on Saturday May 3, with special guest Dave Mason from Australian New Wave band The Reels (of Quasimodo’s Dream fame. Tickets are available now from tombowler.com.au/hitchcock-kilbey
DON FERNANDO CHERRY RESIDENCY
Wollongong Stoner Rockers Don Fernando saw 2014 in with Californian bands Earthless and The Shrine, played both Sydney and Melbourne as support to Maryland’s legendary Clutch off the back of Soundwave, and will be also supporting Monster Magnet with locals King of the North and Matt Sonic & the High Times then hitting up CherryRock2014 for both Melbourne and Sydney. But you can catch them before then: they’re playing a residency at Cherry every Wednesday night, rocking it hard with some of the local legends.
ORPHANED LAND ADD FREE ACOUSTIC SHOW
Israel’s breakthrough heavy metal band Orphaned Land will be hitting Australia this month for their first ever tour here, taking in shows in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. As pioneers of the Oriental Metal genre for the best part of nearly two decades, Orphaned Land has become renowned internationally for fusing elements of traditional Middle Eastern music with the fundamentals of progressive heavy metal. The tour will be in support of the recently released All Is One (Century Media, 2013), the album that frontman Kobi Farhi has deemed as “the greatest album we’ve made to date.” And in addition to their show with Orsome Welles at The Gershwin Room at The Espy on Saturday March 22 (tickets from Oztix), they’re also doing a free acoustic show at Deakin University on Friday March 21.
ZAKK WYLDE’S AXE STOLEN
Some jerk stole Zakk Wylde’s beloved Pelham Blue Gibson Les Paul Custom guitar on the weekend during a stop of the Experience Hendrix tour in Chicago. They also stole Zakk’s leather vest. Both crimes are punishable by death, at least if Zakk’s fans get a hold of the culprits. Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society release Catacombs of the Black Vatican on Friday April 11.
JOE HOLMES RETURNS
Farmikos, the band featuring former Ozzy Osbourne/David Lee Roth guitarist Joe Holmes, is releasing four digital singles this week, Scapegoat, Kings of Dust, Exit Stencils and The Sound of My Gun. The tracks mark Holmes’ long-awaited return to the music scene after taking a lengthy break following his five-year stint with Ozzy. And they’re killer. Imagine Alice In Chains but with shreddy, Randy Rhoads-inspired guitar work (Joe was a former student of Randy’s).
