Musicadium Blog

Whyte Zebra’s distinct calling card is a vividly unique sound created in the genre of alternative folk rock. Based in the Central Queensland region of Australia, this five-piece band consists of lead vocalist and lead guitarist Andy Stanhope, drummer Louis Parish, bassist Steve Quinn, violinist Rebecca Romeo and vocalists Jackie Perryer.

Sarah from Musicadium had a chat with Andy and talked about the Central Queensland region and what it’s like for regional artists.

1.    Whyte Zebra have been around for a few years now, and always seem to having something on the go, what’s the secret to your longevity?

Over the last couple of years we’ve released an album and a 4 track single/DVD and both of these releases have been funded by the RADF (Regional Arts Development Fund). Each project as somehow involved other community members or local businesses. I think doing things in conjunction with the local artists and community has helped develop a name and drive more business for Whyte Zebra. We’re all very passionate about music and strive to create even bigger ventures for our regions artists.

2.    You have supported many large Australian act such as, The Living End, Spiderbait, The Butterfly Effect and The Herd. Has there been a stand out favorite, or any interesting stories to tell?

We were lucky enough to perform at the Coconet Classic at Boyne Island last year and it was an awesome feeling to play on the same stage as some of Australia’s best. It would be the biggest festival we’ve played at to date. I think a stand out favourite would be the Yeppoon Village Festival. They get some great artist to perform and it’s a really ‘chilled out’ gig. We all have different stand out favourites however collectively none of us could forget playing after The Fumes and Mammal’s stand out performance at the Classic.

3.    The band is mainly based in Gladstone, did you find this helped or hindered you when you were first starting out? And do you think these regional areas have had any influence on your music?

Starting out it was probably easier to get the standard 4 hour pub/party gigs as there wasn’t too many cover bands in the Gladstone area, but for original music there are limited venues compared to that of the big cities. In the last 24mths our region has seen an explosion of really amazing original artist, many of which have developed further opportunities to play original music, like The Coconet Classic.  In this day and age with social networking sites you could be a “fan” of an artist who plays a world away so the exposure is not limited to just Gladstone. That’s what makes touring all that more exciting.  I think the region has had a large influence on our music evident in our film clip to ‘Double or Nothing’. Without the support from the local community and artists we certainly wouldn’t be having this much fun.

4.    You have mentioned that you are really keen to host a number of workshops throughout Australia in the coming year, what will these involve?

This year we’ve had the pleasure to work with some really cool young and old muso’s at local events, festivals and even remote gigs. We’re looking forward to the festivals later in the year to run some more workshops.  We run a few different workshops including song writing, alternate guitar tuning and a musician establishment workshop to help people get a kick start in their career by providing them the info they need to get an ABN, set up a website and book gigs etc…

5.    To all new listeners out there, where would you say the perfect environment to listen to your music is?

Probably on the back veranda with a quite ale or two on a Sunday afternoon. “Music for fly-swatting back-porch days” as described by Anna Angel, RAVE Magazine March 2010.

Check out WHyte Zebra’s music on or at their MySpace!

Musicadium Promotions and Development Manager Tim Price caught up with Brisbane singer/songwriter Joel Myles for a chat about his great CD packaging and awesome attitude towards songwriting/touring/playing.

1.    Congrats on the EP - looks great!  We hear the inside of the physical packaging is pretty nifty - tell us about that?

Thanks!  Yeah I had this idea about how I wanted people to feel about the “Kaleidoscope the keys” record.   I wanted the listener to feel like they are looking in to another place, time or dimension through the songs.  I didn’t want to just slap a picture of a psychedelic Kaleidoscope in the artwork but the idea of a scene with more dimension and story.  Straight away I thought of those old 3D Viewmaster’s.  I hunted around a few Opp-shops and collectables and found an original USA 60’s one at a Comics and Collectables store.  It came with a few slides and it looked very cool.  So I decided to have on the inside of the wallet style CD pack, a panel as the viewmaster and the actual disc a slide.  It worked out really cool.

2.    Was it an effort to give people an added incentive to purchase the physical product?

Not really.  I just wanted to make it special.  It was such a fantastic experience recording the EP, everyone who worked on it put their heart in to it.  I’m really proud of this release and I wanted to give it a great physical representation too.  Also, when I buy records I like the art involved, the personal touch.

3.    Between the Joel Myles band and your other project, RVLR (also a Musicadium-distributed artist) you have supported some of the biggest names in the business, including Wolfmother and Karnivool.  What was that like? Did you hook those support slots up or was that through a booking agent??

Playing with bands like this is such a thrill.  Even loading in your gear is exciting.  The Wolfmother show came from nowhere.  We (Joel Myles) had a show booked as a part of the tour at Villa Noosa with our friends from the Gold Coast “Brothers”.  We found out that afternoon that Wolfmother were joining the bill as a secret show (practicing a fill-in drummer) before their ACDC support the next night.  I hadn’t played any shows on the Sunshine Coast with my solo project, I expected about 6 people to show up…. There were around 600 now!  The biggest kick is getting the chance to have a beer and chat with these guys and play in front of a strong crowd who are all really excited about being there.  The audience really got in to the Joel Myles music too.  I was stoked about that.  When RVLR played with Karnivool it was just when Themata had taken off.  The Zoo was packed and the vibe was amazing.  We got booked for that support through Karnivool’s management.  I’m pretty sure they rang up Timeoff and asked their opinion on who would suit.  Most of the time we are proactive in finding these support slots.  Other times our agency will get us on the line-up.  All of it comes down to staying active as a band and looking out for any opportunities.

4.    What do you think is the most important thing for an artist in 2010 to have in their arsenal of promotional tools?

A website.  It’s your business card.  A good site allows the punter to get connected with your music in a way that will always top any social networking site.  Don’t get me wrong they are key tools and can all be spun together on your site.  I got my www.joelmyles.com site done by Mike “unfamo.us” (www.sitefloat.com).

5.    Where do you buy all of your music??

I’m slowly starting to buy music from iTunes.  I don’t seem to have as much time to head into a CD shop anymore.  Occasionally I will head to “The Music Shop” in the Valley mall.

6.    What’s the plan for Joel Myles band? What’s next?

We are shooting a video for “Smoke and Mirrors” very soon.  We are continuing the tour to Melbourne and Sydney in support of the EP in the coming months.  I’m really looking forward to getting the songs on the road.  I have started writing more material lately which is a good sign too.

Kaleidoscope the Keys is now available on

This week’s featured artists are pretty damn special for a multitude of reasons.

1.  They’re amazing songwriters and musicians.

2. They put on a killer live show and pack out every venue they play.

3.  They’re supporting psychedelic wizards Tame Impala tonight at the Tivoli in Brisbane.

4. Musicadium favourite family member Ashley Roulston is their manager, and that lady knows music.

5. The lead singer of the band Jack Bratt agreed with me one night after a few beverages that Rick Price is a solid musician.

Don’t let this put you off though, (Rick Price haters!), Blonde on Blonde are pretty much one of the coolest bands you’ll see and hear in 2010.

Musicadium’s own loveable troublemaker Trent Moody caught up with them for a chat about their own troublemaking as a band, John Farnham duets and a gossip about Ash.

You were drawn together by your love of smoking, Jack Daniels and a burning desire to quit your day jobs’ how’s that working out for you?
We  still love Jack Daniels, and we still have day jobs we want to quit, so it’s keeping us together! We are also great friends and we love playing music together, so there are other reasons for us being in a band despite our substance abuse and work. We basically started the band because we were spending all of our time together anyway, eventually we had one of our “What are we doing with our lives” moments, and it made sense to do something more constructive then just drink. Being in band justifies our drinking a little bit. At least to us it does.

You gained a lot of popularity so far in Brisbane all without ever playing a gig before, why have you kept us in suspense for so long?

It has been more out of necessity than anything else. I was always very worried to show any of the music I had written on my own to anybody. When I eventually showed a few of my friends, they pushed me to pursue it further. I wanted to see if it was going to be music people would enjoy before we went out playing shows and really putting the hard yards in, so we recorded the EP and just sat back and watched. The response in the short amount of time since the release has been overwhelming.

Musicadium’s very own Ash Roulston is managing you guys at the moment, how’s she treating you?

She is a delight. We call her Mum. We are constantly yearning for her approval. She came along at the perfect time when we had really done all we could on our own. We are all such a bunch of troublemakers and she is very good at keeping us all in check and taking care of us, I really don’t envy her.

If you could play with any artist in the world, who would it be and why?

John Farhnam. We hope to one day be popular enough that we can invite him on stage with us to perform “You’re the Voice”, complete with bagpipe solo.

Your EP “Tease” featured Dave Atkins, who was the drummer for Wolfmother and also plays with Resin Dogs, what was it like working with him?

Dave is just a genius. He was really the driving force behind the EP. He has been a friend of ours for a long time, and Matt had been talking to him about the music we were writing for a long time. So one day Dave called Matt and told him he had booked time in the studio for us and gave us the dates, without even asking us first! It was panic mode after that; the songs were not even finished. So we had to buckle down and work like crazy to get everything ready. I remember being in the live room, playing guitar with him playing drums, I had the cheesiest grin on my face. He does things on drums you just don’t think are possible. And he is such an easygoing person to work with. It couldn’t have been a more pleasant experience. We would still not have our shit together if it weren’t for him.

Hopefully you’re going to tell us that you’ll be recording a new album soon? How long do we have to wait and what can we expect from it?

We are really itching to get back in the studio and make an album. The songs on the EP are getting quite old for us, so the concept of recording new material is very exciting. We are going to be able to spend a lot more time and money on the album, so it will be a lot more polished. The new songs we are writing have a lot more energy. There will be Lots of guitar riffs, and more provocative songs. We hope to have it recorded and out by the end of the year.

Check out Blonde on Blonde on

Also check out their MySpace here.

This week, the featured artist on iTunes is one that we are especially excited to be distributing!  It is Australia’s answer to the “Supergroup,” Basement Birds.

No Doubt, you have heard of the other acts they front - Kav from Eskimo Joe, Kevin Mitchell AKA Bob Evans and Josh Pyke from…Josh Pyke.

Musicadium’s Artist Relations Manager Sarah Hamilton talks with Kevin Mitchell and Steve Parkin about music purchasing habits, cheesy/embarrassing tunes and how the boys came together to create their harmony-filled tunes.

1.     Ok, we have to ask the obvious question because we’re keen to know the answer! With 4 amazing creative minds in the band, does ego get in the way? Or is it more a case of that there is never a shortage of creative ideas?

SP: DEFINITELY THE LATTER. ONE THING WE DISCOVERED IS THAT WE ALL HAVE SURPRISINGLY SIMILAR TASTES IN SONGWRITING AND PRODUCTION, AND THERE IS DEFINITELY MORE A BAND VIBE THAT A “FOUR SONGWRITERS” VIBE.

KM: No one in the band seems to have an out of control ego which is a bit of a shame because that would probably make us a bit more interesting but at the same time reigning in ego’s can become such a tiresome affair after a while.  There are always a handful of songs being tossed about at any one time, jockeying for position to be the next one given the royal recording treatment.  I think our songs have bigger ego’s than we do!

2.    How did the concept of Basement Birds come about?

SP: KEV AND I HAD WRITTEN A SONG, AND I HAD CO-WRITTEN WITH KAV BEFORE WITH ESKIMO JOE AND ON OTHER PROJECTS. JOSH AND KAV HAD COLLABORATED ON A SONG, SO SOMEHOW THE IDEA AROSE FOR US TO ALL GET TOGETHER IN A ROOM WITH SOME BEER AND SEE WHAT HAPPENED!

KM: I believe it was probably Steve and Kav’s idea.  I don’t really know the answer to this question so I’m going to have a guess and suggest that, because Steve and Kav spent the most time together previously, they probably cooked up the idea.  Kav had just been on tour with Josh and Steve was touring with me at the time and Josh and I were already mates.  Conceptually, we thought we might like to make an album that relied almost solely on acoustic instruments and also indulged our collective love of harmonies.

3.    How does the songwriting process work? Does one of you start off and it just builds from there or do you each get assigned different parts?

SP: MOSTLY, IT’D BE A BASIC SONG STRUCTURE THAT ONE OR TWO OF US HAD COME UP WITH, THEN WE RUN THROUGH IT TOGETHER AND ADD IDEAS, MIDDLE 8′S ETC. IT VARIES. “BUS STOP”, FOR EXAMPLE, WAS PRETTY MUCH JUST A BOOZED UP KEV AND JOSH ON THE PORCH. KAV AND I RAN OUT AND YELLED “STOP! THATS A HIT! PLAY IT AGAIN!”

WE ALL WORKSHOP LYRICS AND MELODIES THOUGH, ITS ALL ABOUT WHATS BEST FOR THE SONG.

KM: We know we have a song ready to go when either Josh, Kav or Steve yell out, “It’s a hit!”.  Having never written one before I find them unrecognisable so I go along with their better judgement.  Someone always has a song they are working on and want to bring to the band so everyone throws in ideas to finish it.  We also work out amongst ourselves who will sing main harmonies, second harmonies or perhaps who might take a middle eight to sing.  The process is actually pretty fast as once we are all on a roll creatively we tend to work pretty quick.  Some songs are almost fully formed when they arrive and some songs are pretty much written entirely on Kav’s porch moments before they are recorded.

4.    We like the approach that you have taken to your release schedule - less tracks, more often.  Do you feel that this approach is the middle ground between the fall in album sales and the lack of “decent margin” on single sales? Or do you feel it is more a reflection of consumption trends?

SP: IT WAS MORE OF A CASE OF - “OH SHIT, THE ALBUM’S NOT FINISHED YET”, TO BE HONEST! IN ALL SERIOUSNESS, I LIKE THE IDEA OF MAKING SOME SONGS INSTANTLY AVAILABLE, AND ANY PHYSICAL RELEASE TO BE A BIT MORE SPECIAL. I THINK THE DAYS OF THE JEWEL CASE WITH A ONE CARD SLIP ARE OVER, TO BE HONEST. AS DYLAN SAYS, “THERE’S NO STATURE TO IT”

KM: Woah - slow down!  “Decent margin”?  “Consumption trends”?  It was our managers idea.

5.    You seem to have fairly similar tastes in music, but do you secretly love any bands/artists that you’re usually embarrassed to admit to but can unveil to us now? (If it makes it any easier mine are Roxette and Beyonce…)

SP: I’VE ALWAYS MAINTAINED THAT BRITNEY SPEARS’ “TOXIC” IS ONE OF THE FINEST SONGS WRITTEN THIS CENTURY. SHALL WE COVER IT LADS?????

KM: Oh I’m never embarrassed about music that I like.  That’s why I have absolutely zero musical guilty pleasures.  I love Billy Joel’s “She’s Always A Woman”.  Infact I love everything Billy Joel did up until 1985.  Beyonce’s “Halo” and “Single Ladies” are also phenomonal.

6.    How do each of you purchase music? A combination or is one of you a vigilant vinyl collector?

SP: I STILL BUY CD’S. I WORK IN A RECORD STORE (MILLS RECORDS IN FREMANTLE) AND MY BOSS WOULD BE A BIT DARK IF I DIDN’T! I LOVE VINYL, I STILL THINK IT’S THE BEST WAY TO LISTEN TO MUSIC, RATHER THAN JUST HAVE A SHUFFLE OF UNNAMED MP3′S PLAYING ON AN IPOD IN THE BACKGROUND. THE ARTWORK, THE SMELL OF NEW VINYL, EVERYTHING ABOUT IT! I AM REALLY HOPING WE GET TO RELEASE THE BASEMENT BIRDS ON VINYL.

KM: I used to collect vinyl but I must admit it has been slowly beaten out of me.  I haven’t bought vinyl in about 7 years and my collection rarely gets played these days as my record player isn’t even plugged in anymore!  Although I love the romance of vinyl.  That will never die.  I don’t even buy many cd’s anymore.  The majority of my albums/songs are bought from iTunes these days and listened to on an iPod.  I love the immediacy of it.  If I’m wasted at 2am and suddenly realise that Donna Summer disco is the best music in the world to dance to, I can be shakin’ my hips to her greatest hits collection within minutes!

7.    Finally, if you could add a fifth member to the Birds (living or dead) who would it be?

SP: LIVING OR DEAD?? LIVING, I’D HAVE TO SAY PAUL KELLY. THEN WE WOULDN’T HAVE TO WRITE ANY SONGS, THEY’D ALL BE THERE ALREADY AND BRILLIANT! WE’D JUST HAVE TO SING THEM! DEAD? I’D ADD ROY ORBISON. THEN WE COULD COVER THE TRAVELLING WILBURYS WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS…

KM: Anyone as long as it was a woman.  There are times when I think what the four of us is doing is absurd.  We’re four grown men and sometimes it just feels ridiculous.  A woman in the group would add an extra depth I think.  But what kind of sadistic lady would want to join?
You can download the iTunes Single of the Week - Basement Birds - Waiting for You at

Some music can be like an addiction. We’ve all had bands or songs or even lyrics that for some reason you need to spin over and over again. There’s an indescribable constant craving to hear how it all fits together, and there’s no explaining why you love it as much as you do.  Since Ross from Disco Nap dropped into the Musicadium office a few months ago, the band’s tunes are always one of the first to be played from the Musicadium iTunes playlist. If you haven’t listened to them, do it now. You’ll be touting ‘I told you so’, to anyone with an ounce of musical taste who’ll discover them in a week or so. They’ve had spins on JJJ, and the single ‘The Soft Sell’ debuts on Rage tonight and is a taste of what is to come from their debut album Running Red Lights. For a band that had their first gig ever at the Sounds of  Spring festival in 2009, you can expect a lot. Don’t worry, they more than deliver.

We caught up with Disco Nap’s frontman Ross Hope, and asked him a few questions about the new project and his music.

Disco Nap’s music strikes a real mix of crossovers in different genres, what would you say were the main influences in the writing and recording stages?

There were a variety of influences in the writing and recording stages of the Disco Nap album, notably: my favourite songwriters, favourite albums and favourite TV shows. Artists like Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie/The Postal Service), Elvis Costello, Robert Smith (The Cure) and Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes) were huge influences on the songwriting.  After listening to one of their albums I always felt inspired to write better lyrics, better melodies and to become a better songwriter in general by telling stories and conveying emotions.  I didn’t know at the time if the songs I was writing would ever be used for anything but I knew they were different to the songs I’d written for my previous band Iron On and I became interested in different production ideas.  I even went and listened to a lot of electronic music, something I hadn’t really done much of previously.  During the writing process I also watched the box set of Six Feet Under and that definitely influenced the themes of the record and some of the imagery in the lyrics.

You’ve collaborated with and worked with some great musicians who’ve helped out on the album. Do they play live with you? How does it alter the recording process having featured special guests?

I feel very fortunate to have had some of my favourite musicians lend their talents to the recording process. At the time of recording I hadn’t actually thought through what I was going to do once it came time to play live, I just wanted to be able to hand-pick the guests and worry about the live sound later. I’d been a big fan of Dean Shwereb’s (Screamfeeder) drumming since I was a teenager so he was my number one choice in that department. Of course I knew that when I asked people like Scott Bromiley (John Steel Singers) Pip Branson (Something For Kate, Infusion, Pip Branson Corporation) and Seja Vogel (Sekiden, Regurgitator) to help out that they weren’t going to be able to be in the live band, I was just happy to be able to sit back in the studio and watch them do their thing.

You have said that the music was inspired around the central themes of life, death, love, family, and rebirth, tell us a little bit about how this came about?

The combination of what was going on in my life while I was writing these songs and the feelings I had as a result of watching the box set of TV series Six Feet Under led to those themes becoming central to the album and The Soft Sell in particular. At the time my previous band had just broken up and I felt like I was at a bit of a cross-roads both musically and in my life in general. I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to continue writing songs and releasing music. Gradually though these different kind of songs started coming to me and I tried to not have any judgement about what they sounded like or what they were for. The themes from Six Feet Under – life, death, love, family and rebirth - really just reinforced the process I was already going through and the ideas I was grappling with – as one things ends another starts, as something dies something else comes to life.

You guys have just come out of the studio recently recording your debut album “Running Red Lights”, was it a big process? and have you found it rewarding?

It was a big process and a slow process but absolutely essential to how the album turned out. Unlike my previous recording experiences where I’ve been in a band that’s booked out a three-week block of time at a studio, the The Disco Nap album was recorded sporadically over a six-month period. Basically whenever Darek Mudge (Producer) had time and I had money we’d work on it for a few days. The best thing about this process was being able to take my time with everything and make sure it was right. The process of starting with 12 acoustic demos and ending with a fully fleshed-out album was very rewarding, it just required a lot of patience.

In September 2009 Disco Nap won Triple J’s Unearthed to play at the Sounds of Spring festival, this was your very first show. How was the experience of playing your first show at a festival and what other opportunities has come from this?

It was very exciting but also fairly terrifying. Stein our bass player had only been in the band for about three weeks when we got the call from Triple J, so to play our first show on a festival stage was a bit daunting. I think when you’re presented with an opportunity as good as that you pretty much have to jump in and make the most of it. From all accounts the show actually went well and being an ‘Unearthed artist’ has created a lot of other opportunities since that first gig. It also hasn’t hurt to get our debut single The Soft Sell on rotation at Triple J.

For those who haven’t heard your new single ‘The Soft Sell’ yet, could you describe what it’s about in a sentence?

The Soft Sell is a song about taking a risk and letting go of all that has previously felt comfortable to you in order to find something new.

Click below to purchase Disco Nap’s Latest Single The Soft Sell on iTunes:

We’re told, among other things, that isolation instills an acute creative awareness. Then it should be of no surprise that out of the mythical isolation of North West Tasmania can emerge a band who creates musical sound and performs with an obvious demonstration of an acute sense of creativity. A band whose four comrades shared a modest musical upbringing in the mythical ambience, and remote wilderness, of North West Tasmania. A band who had the audacity to call themselves my+escapade.

The world is taking notice, as they scored the highly coveted iTunes single of the week position. Download ‘It’s Your Move’ for free this week here on

1.     Congrats on being chosen for iTunes Single of the Week! Did you at any point realize that this track was going to stand out as the single? Was there a magical moment in the studio?

During tracking this song I remember sitting back, listening to the track come to life, and realising that this song was something special, but had no idea it would go to the places it’s gone so far.

2.    You’ve had your music featured on television show, Rexona’s ‘Australia’s Greatest Athlete’. A lot of artists out there are interested in sync and similar opportunities. How did this come about? What advice would you give to young musos out there about getting their music placed on television or movies?

It came about because of a number of fortuitous events. Our manager Jonathan Tibbits from White Cub Management was able to get the track to the right person, they heard it and loved our music. It’s Your Move seemed to sync particularly well with the TV show, even though it was never written with that in mind. It was almost strange to see it on a sports TV show. I’d never encourage anyone to write songs with something like a TV show or product in mind, song writing has to be real and genuine for people to connect with it. If it happens to work with some form of product, great, but its always got to be about the art.

3.    You’ve moved from beautiful but isolated Tasmania to the Gold Coast – polar opposites in lots of ways. How has the transition been? How do the music scenes differ?

Stepping out of Tasmania has been an interesting journey for all of us. Tasmania was a great place for us to nurture and establish our sound as there’s basically no music industry there at all. We gigged around with a lot of other local bands, and supported a lot of the bigger mainland artists coming on tours to our home state, until we felt that it was time to bring what we had created to a broader audience. We’ve had a lot of fun since we arrived. We’ve quite enjoyed checking out the local scene in Brisbane and the on Gold Coast. Been enjoying some of the bands.

4.    Your music has been likened to the Temper Trap and Coldplay – two astounding acts. Have they influenced your sound? Which artists and bands out there do you find inspirational?

Thanks for the compliments. Two fine artists indeed. I think people tend to hear elements of artists they’re already familiar with, we often have people say we sound just like an artist I’ve never heard before. I’ve only actually just recently discovered The Temper Trap, so it’s interesting to be compared to a band that we weren’t drawing influence from at the time of recording Soul’s Reflection. We probably share similar influences, which give us those similar sounding elements. Vocally I’m a big fan of Jeff Buckley and Adele, throw in a lot of jazz stuff too. We all come from very different musical backgrounds - Chris knows a lot of jazz, Alan’s more classically influenced and Simon and myself grew up in punk bands - quite the mixed bag.

5.    Your website is a great introduction to you as a band. Did you play a part in it’s design?

From the start we’ve always had a strong idea about who we are and who we want to be. We worked closely with our manager, who primarily designed the site, in developing something we were happy with. We’ve got a lot of ideas for further creative expansion. I do a lot of photography work also so that side of things has always been a passion for me. From artwork to press stuff we always stay pretty heavily involved - we’re working with some acutely creative people and there is a lot of collaboration going on within the my+escapade lair.

6.    Finally, what’s in store for My Escapade over the next few months?

We’ll be continuing to promote the Soul’s Reflection EP. We’ve got a few shows lined up around Australia to coincide with Single of the Week, and we’ve also been lucky enough to be involved in a promotion with the new iTunes U program, so there’s things happening in all quarters. In the near future, we’ll also be releasing our next single, All That Confronts You, with the accompanying film clip - which was filmed in our practice room back in Emu Bay - an abandoned classroom that we’d been rehearsing in for the last year or two. We’re really looking forward to all that the next few months have in store. Be sure to watch this space closely. Thanks!

Glenn Proudfoot is one talented man. A self-taught guitarist, he has conquered Australia and Europe as a solo artist, touring in popular covers band Dr Elephant and as the lead guitarist for one of Europe’s most respected rock bands, Prazsky Vyber.

Now he is set to release a solo album that is 20 years in the making. Covering every range of musical genres from heavy rock to blues to acoustic to country, the album was recorded and produced in Prague in 2009/2010 by Glenn and his team.

Recently Glenn kindly took a few minutes out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions for the Musicadium team.

You began playing the guitar at age 11 and are self-taught which is an amazing feat,
what made you want to play the guitar to begin with?

It was Angus Young from AC/DC that got me hooked on guitar, just hearing that sound and the solo’s and watching the way he moved sent pure electricity through my body! Nothing had ever made me feel like that before; from that day onwards all I ever wanted to do was play!! At the time I was 10 or 11 and we never had much money growing up but my oldest brother had just started working and he spent his entire pay cheque to get me a guitar as a surprise. From that day I never put it down!!

You have toured extensively around Australia and worked with some of the best in the business, what
is your favourite memory from these tours?

There’s no specific moment, but being on stage alone playing a guitar solo in front of 40′000 people is something that I can’t describe. The energy and feeling you get is out of this world! Also having the privilege of meeting and spending time with some of my heroes like Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and Slash has been simply incredible.  Something I will never forget!

So how did you manage to find yourself on the other side of the world as the lead guitarist in a Czech rock band?

I was playing guitar for Brian Mannix from the Uncanny X-Men at the time, Brian was and still is a massive support in my life and music. Brian had told me about this drummer, Klaudius Kryspin, who
he had met. Klaudius was a big rock star in Europe. In turn Brian was talking me up to Klaudius. We eventually met in Melbourne and I had prepared a video of myself playing a 5 minute guitar solo
(great to watch hard to listen to…. hahaha!) which I gave to Klauda in the hope that he would watch it. Turns out he did watch it many times; so he took it with him to Europe and showed the other
guys in the band. But it wasn’t until 7 years later that they called me and asked if I would like to come and record with them. Before I knew it I was in the band and on stage in front of 40′000 people!
It was truly unbelievable.  The solo I wrote for that video took 3 months and had over 5′000 notes in it, people thought I was crazy but it worked!

You have said that you used to practice for 8 – 12 hours a day, how often do you practice now?

Yes that is true, I was very serious about guitar right from the start and figured the best way to be the best I could was to work the hardest I could, so everyday I would practice between 8 and 12 hours and sometimes even 14 hours! There were no exceptions for Christmas or Birthdays or anything! Now I spend most of my time playing shows and writing music, very rarely will you catch me without a guitar in my hands!  If I’m not touring or recording I will still practice between 2 and 4 hours everyday. The guitar for me is a release; some people go for a jog or play video games for release but I simply need to play.

What advice can you give for young aspiring musicians out there?

Never lose sight of the joy that music brings to yourself and others. Admire your peers and learn from them but be yourself, they are themselves thats why you love them so much! Practice makes perfect, a lot of people have natural talent but most of the time its the people who work the hardest that are the best!

Click below to buy Glenn Proudfoot’s album Lick ‘Em on iTunes:

Scott Spark

Scott Spark is one very talented musician and performer. Having been compared to Ben Folds and Rufus Wainwright among others, he has taken the Australian music scene by storm over the last two years. His 2007 Ep Wet Behind The Ears saw him gain the honour of sharing the stage with Fergus Brown, An Horse and Last Dinosaurs. Between touring and completing a residency at The Empress in Melbourne, Scott has been busy working on his second Ep The Kathleen EP and his first full length album Fail Like You Mean It due out in June 2010. Scott protrays his versatile talent on both of these works, as he moves from the trombone to the bass to the toy piano to the wurlitzer as well as many other instruments while singing his heart out about everything from shift work to love and wanderlust at Christmas time. Other performers on the EP include: Megan Washington: backing vocals, Adele Pickvance: bass, Yeo Choong: beats, Roger González: cajón, shakers, Emerson Bavinton: guitar, claps, Sophie Weston: Flute. Recently Scott had a chat with Michelle from Musicadium and this is what he had to say.

1. You have an incredibly unique sound, what inspired you when you were creating your music?
Songs are like your mother - you love them more than life itself, but they have the uncanny habit of seeking you out, right when you’re in the middle of something (eg. getting crushed by rush-hour crowds at the train station, making out, throwing up, having a nap, remembering how to spell “accommodate”, flossing - all that). So, first it might be a lyric or a line of melody, but it really all starts coming together once I’m at the piano. As for genre and style, I’ll take a song wherever it wants to go - and that may also come down to whoever you’re mucking around with in the studio. In any case, how ever a song ends up in the studio, they’re pretty much all written at the piano. The instrument has an incredible way of carrying almost any song.

2. What was it like to work with such a versatile producer as Tucker Martine?
Tucker is a certified legend, and I’m entirely humbled and grateful for him stepping in at the very moment we’d given everything we had, and taking it that extra mile. He mixed 18 songs in total - Californian rock, late-night crestfallen strolls, 80s angst ballads, Glee-like showtunes, city folk, baroque pop - he took it all and not only made sense of it, but made it sing. Plus, he’s a super nice, genuinely awesome dude.

3. How did you come to be working with him?
He’d worked with a lot of artists I love - Laura Veirs, The Decemberists, Sufjan Stevens, among others - and we got talking online. I sent him some earlish rough demos, and we took it from there.

4. You are doing a residency at The Empress Hotel in Melbourne at the moment, can you tell us a little about it and how you got into it?
I’ve been meaning to play Melbourne for quite some time now, so I really ought to get a kick up the arse. The Empress is an institution, and I didn’t want to simply come and go in the space of 24 hours, so I decided on a residency. The band won’t be with me for this stint; just keeping it intimate and minimalist, with supports from talented souls - Courtney Barnett (7th), James O’Brien (14th), Yeo (21st), D. Rogers (28th).

5. Amongst touring and releasing your debut album in June, which you are no doubt excited about, what else is happening in 2010 for you?
You always feel pretty alive playing solo - there’s nowhere to hide and no way of faking it - and that’s the way it’ll be for the Empress residency, but I’m also really enjoying transforming songs with Tim (bass) and Hik (drums). We’re playing a residency at the Brisbane Powerhouse Friday evenings throughout April. We’re shooting a couple of music videos soon. Sydney’s also on the cards. And, it looks as though songs from the album will end up being adapted into a theatre production, that’ll be staged next year. Apart from that, I’m pining for a mellotron. They’re making them again, right?

Visit Scott at his Myspace, Triple J Unearthed and Facebook for all the latest news and happenings and upcoming tours.

Last week, the Musicadium team were ecstatic to receive a phone call from Phil Buckle, member of Australian band from the 90’s, Southern Sons, who wanted to add Southern Sons’ catalogue to iTunes via Musicadium.  We thought that it would be interesting to get Phil’s perspective on the industry as it is right now. What we got was a fantastic interview with a great (and realistic) view on the industry with the benefit of hindsight. 

Tim Price interviews Phil Buckle:

Southern Sons experienced a great deal of exposure in the early 90’s and had a number of singles and albums that charted quite highly in the ARIA charts.  How do you believe that experience in that timeframe compares to today’s music industry?

I think the main difference is that it is no longer imperative to secure a recording deal with a major label. Although to achieve total world domination it probably still is. But if your aim is to make a living out of what you love doing then the internet has made it possible to do so……………but it’s still hard.

In those days the artist would leave it up to the Record Company to do all the “grunt” work. Publicity, liaising with the radio stations and keeping the members of the band financially solvent during that whole process. For this service they charged a premium…………and it was quite a premium. They got their pound of flesh. In the final analysis, when the math is done, our Record Company profited far in excess of what the band…..as a whole did. Far in excess.  And bear in mind that we had a very shrewd manager who cut us an exceptionally favorable deal with the record company. They made a lot of money on their investment. Don’t get me wrong, we were not ripped off at all in anyway but the deals are structured in such a way that the company will make millions while the artist will make thousands. In those days the artist would have to sell multi platinum and tour extensively to pay off their recording costs and advances. There are plenty of stories of well known bands who never recouped and worked themselves into the ground, eventually disbanding and still in debt.

So you don’t need to do that anymore. The downside being that you don’t have the weight of the company behind you so you miss out on the distribution networks and instant radio relations. The internet is not really going to replace those things. Why? Because EVERYONE has the same advantage. You are competing with everyone else who calls themselves an artist……..and their mums, brothers and sisters and pet dogs. Everyone is shouting for attention and all believe they are worthy of it.

There were benefits with the old system and there are benefits with the new system. Bottom line is that it’s still tough out there.

How do you think that the experience of releasing these albums independently now into the digital realm will differ from the first time round these albums were released, via a label?

The first time around we had the benefit of years of gigging and of course the power of a major label. Plus we were new. I’m not thinking of this as a “release” or even a “re release”. We are making the music available for those that never got to hear the whole albums and for the new generation who were too young to be interested. The real big difference is that the music is available internationally. We never had an international release even though we worked hard on it.

The band certainly contained some great names - Jack Jones, yourself and Virgil Donati.  You have all gone on to play in bands with and write songs with people like John Farnham, Rick Price, Gary Beers, Tina Arena and Steve Vai.   Are you still in contact with the rest of the band – are you all excited about getting your catalogue into iTunes?

From time to time we bump into each other. Sometimes I see Virgil if I’m in LA and I’ve met Jack at a couple of gigs. I haven’t seen Geoff in a very long time as he moved to Spain and only recently returned. We all came from very different musical backgrounds and we all dived in different directions when the band split. These albums have not been available for the last 10 years so I’m excited to get them out there again. We had to wait until all contracts had lapsed and the master recordings had returned to our company.

What were highlights of your years in Southern Sons?

Truly the whole thing was a highlight. I mean that sounds like a sucky answer but you have to understand how many years the band worked to achieve what it did and the musical climate of the times. We just didn’t fit in and everyone was telling us just that. I came from a background of  Dylan and Joni Mitchell and then years of Jazz guitar, Mahavishnu and Alan Holdsworth. Virgil came from Buddy Rich to Toto and Jack from Van Halen to Hendrix………in the alternative Australian culture we were seriously “not cool”. We defined “not cool”. We were not part of the street culture, we were practiced musicians.

Look at it this way……..at that time some popular bands were Hunters and Collecters, Spiderbait, The Screaming Jets, You Am I…………..all great bands in their own styles but here WE were singing “Heart In Danger” and “Hold Me In Your Arms” and Virgil was doing 10 minute drum solos that defied description.  I mean WE were the alternative band!!

So to have such success after the years of slogging and lineup changes and record company rejection etc etc was just very, very sweet.

Are you (Phil) playing live music at the moment?

Funnily enough I’m rehearsing at the moment for a show in Sydney in March. Some folks have talked me into performing a sort of “songwriter plays his stuff and has a chat” sort of night. I’ve got some guest vocalists singing and a little band as well. Apart from that I haven’t had time to play……or the inclination really. I still practice Jazz guitar a LOT!!! Mainly I write and produce and I do this 7 days a week.

You co-wrote a personal music favorite of ours in the office (and ARIA song of the year in 1990), Burn for You, with John Farnham.  How did that come about and was it a difficult song to get out?

That song was originally for the State (my band before the Southern Sons)……….well at least the part I had already written was. It was an idea I was working on for about 6 months. I had the guitar part and the “Burn For You” title and chorus melody. The problem was that I couldn’t sing it. It was way beyond my capabilities as a singer. So I kept putting it off and every now and then I’d come back to it and try again. Every time I sang the chorus I would get emotional…….I would actually well up with tears…….so I knew I was onto something and that there was a little bit of magic in that fragment. So then one day I get a call from John’s producer Ross Fraser (an old school friend of mine) and he asked me to go over and do some writing with John and him. I couldn’t believe it. Ross had just signed my band (The State) and had liked the songs so he was going to give me a go. This was truly a lucky break for me and I stayed up most of the night trying to come up with ideas. Around lunchtime on the first day of writing John asked me if I had any ballads I was working on. Remember that I was keeping this little idea for my own band,so I played him another idea that I had. It was a song with a girls name in the chorus so he wasn’t too keen on it. (it was called Analise) “What else have you got” he asked. So of course out came my very shaky chorus of Burn For You and John and Ross and I finished it off in the next couple of hours. We wrote the verses and bridge and recorded it then and there. John had the idea of writing about being away from Jill when he was touring. I learned a lot about song arrangement from those guys.  I wish I had that version we recorded that day. It was my first experience of working with a gifted singer and as part of a writing team. It was a great day and marked a turning point in my career. Not only had I been initiated in the art of co writing but I had heard how a good idea could be transformed by a great singer into something really special. How would my other songs sound, I thought, with a really good vocalist? I was about to find out. The next day I called my manager and we decided to fire me as the singer in the band. We were now looking for a good vocalist……and we were in the middle of recording an album!

Reunions are all the rage. ACDC, Guns and Roses, Cold Chisel.  Chances of a reunion?

If there was a compelling reason then perhaps. I can’t speak for the other members but I just couldn’t stop everything I’m doing and commit to it.

I truly miss the musicianship of that band though. It really was a bunch of shred heads disguised as a pop band and when that band cranked up it was a joy to be on stage.

But we had that time and it was great and it ran its course……………next.

Once again speaking for myself only, I’m addicted to making new music. I don’t feel any real desire to go back and visit the past.

What do you think of the new generation of Australian Rock? Any favourites?

At the moment I’m enjoying The Temper Trap and Empire Of The Sun and Lisa Mitchell. I’m also interested to see how Adelaide guitarist Orianthi does in the US as we did a lot of work together and well…….I do have a track on that album!

I’m also an admirer of Daniel Johns and look forward to anything he does.

I like bands that aren’t scared to nay say the mainstream……..and these days the mainstream is as much alternative as it is commercial. Originality is truly a scarce occurrence in the music world and just being different doesn’t equate to originality. In fact being different is the easy part. Being good…..however you care to interpret that……….is the hard part.

How do you purchase your music?

I buy everything……and I buy a lot of music…………..on iTunes.  Except for the rare guitar things like Wayne Krantz in which case I’ll buy from the artist’s web site.

Southern Sons’ catalogue of Zone, Nothing but the Truth and Self-Titled will be live on iTunes very soon.  In the meantime, read up about the band at Wikipedia or watch the filmclip for Hold me in your arms on YouTube.

Musicadium recently caught up with Husky Gawenda, lead singer and guitarist for Melbourne based band Husky. Mixing folk, blues, classical, pop and great melodies, this four-piece band are one to watch. Check them out at www.huskysongs.com.

1. You released your debut album “Quiet Little Rage” in September 2008, what have you been up to since then?

Since the release we’ve been playing in Melbourne and throughout Victoria and up and down the East Coast. I spent a lot of 2009 writing, at home in Melbourne and in various places by the sea, in the country, in the mountains - anywhere I could find to refresh the senses and get the imagination flowing. We have spent the last few months recording our new album, and released the first single, Dark Sea, with some shows up the East Coast towards the end of 2009. We are currently holed up in the studio finishing the record.

2. If you could play with any artist, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

It’s a difficult one to answer. I’m bad at making decisions at the best of times. I would probably have to say Leonard Cohen, because he’s been my biggest inspiration. I put him up there with the best song writers and the best poets of all time. Playing a gig with Ludwig Van Beethoven would be pretty interesting though!

3. You and fellow band member Gideon are cousins, what are the positives and negatives of working with a family member?

Well the obvious advantage is that there’s a love and trust between you, that is very hard to find, but so important in making music and working together so closely. We also have a lot in common, which is not necessarily the case with family members but is true in our case. The negatives haven’t really come up so far. So I’m not going to mention them for now and hope that we remain a rare case of perfect harmony!

4. You guys have scored a spot on the Laneway Festival Sideshow, what can audiences expect to see when you take the stage?

Yeah, we’re really looking forward to that one. We’re also doing the Queen Vic Night Market in February - it’s nice to have a couple of out door shows over summer. We work hard to really bring our songs to life on stage. Playing live is the essence of what we do and love. You can expect to see four guys digging deep and playing like there’s no tomorrow.

5. With your album release just around the corner, what can we expect from Husky in 2010?

We’ll finish recording the new album over the next couple of months. We’ll be releasing it mid year. Dark Sea is the first of a couple of singles we’re releasing. Then we’ll be spending a lot of time on the road, playing shows. I think that’s the plan for 2010 - Play lots of music!

Quiet Little Rage and Dark Sea are now available to purchase on . You can also find Husky on Myspace and Facebook.