Back in late 2020, in the darkest, pre-vaccine period of the pandemic, Australian singer-songwriter Emma Swift was riding the crest of an unexpected wave from her kitchen table in Nashville, Tennessee. Her self-released debut album of Bob Dylan covers Blonde On The Tracks was an indie hit, breaking into the top 10 in Australia and […]
Emma Swift: Resurrection and Redemption Read More »
You’ve just put out a coffee table book of photographs of your early years with Blur. I imagine you didn’t have too many expectations at the time. Why had you stopped taking photos by the time the band blew up? I told myself that I was not experiencing life, that I was looking at it through
Blur’s Dave Rowntree: 10 chaotic questions Read More »
It’s a tradition almost as old as popular music itself: a band name that puns, plays on, or pays tribute to the name of another artist. In the rock & roll era, you can trace it back at least to Chubby Checker. Known to his mum as Ernest Evans, the Chubber named himself in homage
My petty gripe: ba(n)d puns Read More »
You had to see Jeff Buckley to believe him. Jon Pope, a veteran of the Australian music industry, was tour manager for the singer on his first visit to Australia, in 1995. Three days after Buckley’s first show at the Metro in Sydney on 28 August, the road crew were preparing for a much more intimate gig at the
Jeff Buckley: Once in a lifetime Read More »
Occasionally the musical universe offers unexpected gifts that we might never have thought to ask for and had no right to expect. Strange Love, the debut album by new Melbourne supergroup Bleak Squad, is one such gift. The names speak for themselves: Adalita (Magic Dirt), Mick Harvey (the Bad Seeds, the Birthday Party), Mick Turner
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You’ve played many prestigious venues in your career. How do you feel about gracing the Sydney Opera House stage? It’s on a lot of people’s bucket list, so I’m very excited. I’ve been doing this show [Don’t Tell Anybody The Secrets, based on Williams’ memoir] at different venues. When I play, I always tell a
Lucinda Williams: 10 chaotic questions Read More »