Musicadium Blog

Sydney’s Tokenview have all of the ingredients for a phenomenal musical feast. Friends with Australia’s musical elite, extensive performing experience, a savvy approach to online marketing and social media and of course - brilliant songs. They have been showcased this week by iTunes as the free Single of the Week download for their track, ‘What Can I Do’ and if you have a listen, you’ll become as excited as we are for their upcoming album due in August.  We caught up with frontman Ed, for a chat about directions, musical discovery and obscure dancing styles.

1.    Congrats on your upcoming album which features the likes of Wally de Backer (Gotye and the Basics), Washington (JJJ Unearthed winner) and Midnight Oil’s Rob Hirst! How did these collaborations come about?
Just us inviting friends whose music we admire to come and help us make the best album possible.  We’ve toured with The Basics quite a bit – they’re good mates.  Our manager and I received a tip that Megan Washington was amazing, so we went and saw her in a little bar in Melbourne about a year ago.  She sang in front of roughly 15 people and it was completely mesmerising.  We needed a female voice for a couple of tunes, so we asked her and she said yes.  Thrilled to see her star rising so quickly as of late.  Rob Hirst is a close friend of DC (producer of our 2 EPs) and I’ve met him a bunch of times.  We needed a bombastic percussion solo on one song, so we gave him a buzz.  A consummate gentleman and a hero of mine.

2.    How would you describe Tokenview’s sound to someone that hasn’t listened to you yet? What can we expect from the upcoming LP and a Tokenview live show?
An exploration and celebration of rock music and its various forms.  We love 60s harmonies as much as we love all the decades that have followed.  We make pop music, but hopefully pop with a little thought behind it.  Most of the songs on our record segue into each other, and hopefully it’s a bit of a trip for the listener.  Although we take music extremely seriously, our live show is centered around being as much “fun” as possible.  Hard to describe.  Come say hello.

3.    I heard that there’s an interesting story behind the artwork for your upcoming album, can you tell us about that?
We’re still in talks with the photographer, but if it comes through it’ll be amazing.  My old man bought a print a couple of years ago in New York that I fell in love with.  I googled the photographer and found the whole series of photos.  They’re basically shots of these wild horses on an island off the coast of Nova Scotia that are among the most striking images I’ve ever seen.  We’ve chosen photos for the album booklet that, purely by coincidence, loosely match the themes and lyrics of the songs.  It’s difficult to explain but when you see the photos, you’ll immediately see the appeal.

4.    You’ve embraced twitter and other types of social media, have you found these platforms to be beneficial?
We were reluctant at first, because we didn’t like the idea of small bands being self-indulgent and telling people what they ate for breakfast.  But ultimately, these mediums are a great way of interacting with others in that direct, basic human-to-human connection kind of way.  Plus, they are what you make of them.  I could tweet about my breakfast, or I could tweet about a great film I’m really passionate about and want to share with people.

5.    What Aussie and International acts are exciting you at the moment? How do you find these acts – are you a fan of music blogs?
Can’t speak for the other boys but at the moment, in terms of larger international indie stuff, I’m really enjoying Passion Pit, Grizzly Bear, Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, Phoenix, Elbow, The National, M83, Silversun Pickups and so much more.  Locally, Bertie Blackman’s new album sounds really interesting.  I think Paul Dempsey and Sarah Blasko have really beautiful new songs.  Saw Tame Impala live recently and thought they were awesome.  Bought Leader Cheetah’s album and digging it.
As for the second part of your question – I am indeed a blog reader.  I read Pitchfork regularly, though mostly as a news source.  I don’t agree with their reviews all the time.  Joe Hardy and Angus @ Twelve Major Chords are two quite prominent Aussie bloggers who are friends of our’s.  I read their blogs.  There’s always so much good music to be found for those who seek it out!

6.    Finally, how should a punter dance to Tokenview’s music (if at all)?
Awkwardly, but completely without abandon! Many dancers have graced our shows, and non other impressed me more than the guy who cleared a space to start doing push-ups.

Get your copy of Tokenview’s EP and the free single, ‘What Can I Do’ from

We loved Seth’s Waiter Minute EP when it came in, with it’s vibrant, intricate cover art and cool, easy on the eyes look.  We listened to the tracks and loved them.  Before we knew it, we were hearing his fantastic laid-back oz hip-hop single, The Waitress Song on Triple J.  We love chilling out in the office to that song and we love that Seth is seeing so much success from it.  We just had to talk to him about his outlook on being an artist!

Here’s what Hip-Hop Sphere had to say about his EP:

Emerging from Melbourne’s live hip hop scene with the November release of his highly-anticipated debut EP, The Waiter Minute, Seth Sentry has a busy summer ahead, finalising his debut full-length (due for a late 2009 release) whist touring and promoting in support of the EP.  The culmination of several years’ involvement in the local scene and a strong musical partnership with respected Melbourne producer Matik, The Waiter Minute EP has quickly garnered widespread media attention and favourable reviews:  “Every track on the release welcomes you into the eyes of the 25 year old Melbourne MC with an outlook on life like no other I have heard … along with his hypnotic voice and flow change ups, the entire EP stands to create tracks with an incredibly high re-play value.”

What’s the name of your band? What’s the origin of that name? Who came up with it?
I go by the name Seth Sentry.  My real name is actually Seth Marton but I just didn’t think it sounded cool enough as a rap name and plus MC Cool was already taken so I chose Seth Sentry.

“The Sentry” is also the name of one of a really strange comic superhero.

Your single, The Waitress Song is enjoying loads of play on JJJ. That’s fantastic.  How did you push it to them?  Did Kingsmill love it, or did you get it played on the Hip Hop show with Hau and then it got moved to high rotation?
Yeah it’s been quite strange switching on the radio and hearing a song that I wrote in my bedroom. I guess the way it came about is I threw a bunch of songs up on Triple J’s Unearthed site. Steph from Home and Hosed stumbled across them, loved “The Waitress Song, and asked me if I’d like to be Triple’s J Feature Artist of the week.  Which basically meant a studio interview, unearthed interview, but most importantly daily play for a week!
So during that week I rallied friends and family to just request the hell out of it and it just went from there.  I would definitely recommend Triple J Unearthed to anyone trying to get their music out there.

What’s the scene like where you are from for your genre?
I feel like it’s a very exciting time in Australian hip-hop at the moment.  It’s more popular than ever which some would argue is a bad thing, however I think that this rise in popularity has improved the quality of Australian HipHop being released.  It seems that the general public is more aware of the different styles of hip-hop instead of myopically viewing  Australian HipHop as “bogan rap”.  It seems like there’s a more informed music listening public and it’s forcing artists to experiment and break the mould so to speak.

Who are your favourite artists?  Who does your music generally draw comparisons to?
My favourite artists are lyricists such as Aesop Rock, Thom Yorke, and even Leonard Cohen.  I just love analysing lyrics, it’s beautiful thing.  A few times lately I’ve been compared to Mike Skinner from The Streets, which is a great compliment. I love his music, his story telling is spot on.  Someone also wrote in an interview, “if Mike Skinner and Ben Lee had a Melbourne rapper baby, it would be Seth Sentry”.  I thought that was kind of a creepy.

What are your rehearsals generally like? Do you have a set time each week in which you practice or are rehearsals more spontaneous?
I probably rehearse twice a week with Chris my DJ.  Chris is a good mate as well so it’s a pretty casual thing, an hour or two of running through the set then we usually get a curry delivered.   At the moment I am in the process of organising a live band, so unfortunately I don’t think these lazy rehearsals will last much longer.

Hip Hop is big on collaborations.  Who have you collaborated with before and who would be your dream collab?
To be honest I haven’t really collaborated with many people in the scene.   I have done two tracks with my buddy Pez, one off his album and another for the Forthwrite mixtape.  I’m hoping to have a few special guests on the full length album I’m currently working on.

My dream collaboration would probably be with Aesop Rock.  On a beat that RJD2 produced.

What inspires you? What makes you wake up and think “wow that really matters?” What makes you want to write songs that make people sit down and think?
To be honest, I get inspired by the tiniest most seemingly trivial of things.  I think my favourite things to write songs about are the little things that people don’t really think too much about.  I love telling stories in my music, so I try to find something like a waitress crush or a shitty housemate and tell a story about it.

How do you promote your music that you have for sale in the digital outlets? Live shows and hours of myspacing.  That’s pretty much it, at the moment I spend between 3 - 5 hours in front of the computer just cyber hustling.  I’d love to spend less time staring at a screen but at the moment it’s not really possible, this is just the way of the modern music world.  Musicadium’s been dope for getting all the online distro sorted though, that’s definitely made things easier.   So that’s it, make sure you grab a copy of my debut “The Waiter Minute EP” and come check out a show.  Cheers guys!

You can check out Seth at MySpace, Twitter and you can buy his music on

Musicadium artist, Casey Barnes has secured some fantastic exposure for his music - he will be featured on all Jetstar Flights in April!  Jetstar are featuring Casey’s newest release ‘Red Lion Motel’ which is distributed through Musicadium.

From the Gold Coast Bulletin:
GOLD COAST rocker Casey Barnes is being splashed all over Jetstar Radio, the budget carrier’s inflight entertainment program, where passengers can tune in on his new track, I Promise.

During the chat, Barnes talks up his new EP, Red Lion Motel, and the international success of Tiny Dancer, the dance cover of the Elton John classic for which he supplied the vocals.

Casey can be found on MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/caseybarnesmusic and you can purchase Casey’s EP at

Local Brissie boys 52 Flicks are fast becoming the new pop/punk/melodic band that demand attention from high-profile producers and screaming girls alike. Stuart Stuart who has previously worked with the Veronicas, Small Mercies and Repeat Offender produced the new 52 Flicks EP ‘Bedtime Stories and Morning Glories’ and the resulting sound is polished, punky and enticingly electro.

Sarah caught up with the boys for a chat about what’s new, what’s old and what’s in store next for 52 Flicks.

You guys have just finished a new EP – congrats! How does this one differ from the first?

Thanks! This one is a lot more professional than the previous. The first EP was more like a demo, it got us started and assisted in getting the fan base underway. However, it lacked in sound quality and arrangement. Our latest EP is the real representation of us. Everything on the cd is played live and we have added electronic synth riffs to bring out more originality in the music. We are extremely pleased with how it turned out, and so is our rapidly growing fan base!

You guys have a show at the Zoo on the 8^th of April. What can punters expect from a 52 Flicks live show?

We are very much a live band. We just go off from the start right till the end. We have fans say, “your cd is amazing, but you guys are even better live.” Its just something about playing live that we like so much. We were born entertainers, so we get very involved with the crowd and often expose ourselves! We will manage to keep people entertained from the start till the end of our set!

Your latest EP was produced by the renowned Stuart Stuart (The Veronicas and Small Mercies) – how was it, working with him?

Stuart is an amazing producer. He has an excellent ear for music + he’s funny! We discovered him through a band we liked, so we got in contact and went from there. He came over to our rehearsal space, had a listen, and was really into it. So we dug further with him and got the best possible result we could have hoped for. It was a little difficult at first trying to accept some of his decisions but as we soon realized, he really new what was best for the music and the band’s direction. We rate him 5 star!

52 Flicks have recently done a high school tour – how was that experience? Were there a lot of screaming schoolgirls?

There was too many screaming girls. They were popping our ear drums! The high school tour was amazing, we really connected with a lot of students and made a large fan base as a result. It was hard doing 4 weeks of constant touring, spending more time setting up and packing up PA systems than playing, but it really pushed us in the right direction and has given us a good indication of where the band is going! We certainly looked forward to doing it again, maybe not the organizing so much

What’s in store next for 52 Flicks?

Well its been a massive year so far, but we only expect it to get bigger. We are currently organizing a 6 week high school tour up North to Bundaberg, Rockhampton, Gladstone, Townsville, Cairns and Mackay. After that we’ll be having a quick rest, be writing a few more songs, and then we’ll play a few shows in Sydney and Melbourne. After that we’ll begin to get ready for our 3^rd EP. The best thing is that we’ve organized everything ourselves and it’s working out awesome! We look forward to exciting times to come!!!

Catch 52 Flicks‘ music on

This week, we are featuring The Short Fall, a pop-rock band who write killer tunes and who have supported some of Australia’s biggest bands….in a regional town!  Great work.  They will be available on iTunes very soon - they are playing the Coconet Festival alongside Australia’s Finest - The Living End, The Butterfly Effect, Butterfingers, Dukes of Windsor and more.  I caught up with lead singer, Angelo Conway.

I hear this EP was recorded in your bedroom, how did that come about?  It sounds waaaaaaaay better than a home recording.  Who did the recording/mastering?

We recorded it over Christmas and New Years at my house, downstairs in our band room - Matt Dever from Song Doctor Productions recorded and mixed us - it wasn’t exactly a home recording job - he has tens of thousands of dollars worth of gear that he specially brought up with him from Brisbane to record us…so yeah, we own him! haha

Mastering was done by Dave Neil from Modern Mastering - he did an awesome job!

When putting this EP together, we didn’t have a massive budget, but still wanted lots of input and flexibility in the way the songs where recorded - something we wouldn’t have gotten in a studio with our budget. We’ve been mates with Matt Dever for a while now, so he kinly agreed to come up and record us.

Where are you from?  What’s the music scene like there?
We are from Rockhampton, Queensland. It’s hot here.

The music scene here has really improved in the last few years, thanks to some committed local bands and a guy called Tim Price (*plug!*)… We get a heap of up and coming bands touring through, so its great to get support slots for these guys! Obviously its nothing like the big city for variety and original music, but you have to take the good with the bad I guess…

What’s it like playing with your brother in the band?
It’s cool - we have very similar voices, so harmonies flow REALLY well. It’s also easier to say what you think in regards to songs etc…we don’t fight too often…nothing like Oasis or anything!! Haha

Ryan also plays wicked guitar, so creatively its awesome!

You have supported bands such as INXS, The Butterfly Effect, Youth Group, Dead Letter Circus and Musicadium artists, Kisschasy.  How was that?  Who was the coolest rockstar?  Who was the rudest??  Dish the goss!
Dead Letter Circus and Kisschasy seemed like awesome guys - they were really down to earth.

INXS were the ‘rock stars’ - they had all their own tents and shit with five sourse dining and eskies full of beers out the back - it was insane. JD Fortune tried to be nice, but came across as a dick. The other guys were really nice, though.

The other artists we really didn’t get to talk to.

What are you plans with your digital presence??  How do you plan to sell some tracks on iTunes??
We’d love to sell a heap of EPs online, as large scale CD distribution is unrealistic. We really love the concept of digital distribution, as it breaks down the distance barrier for those who can’t physically buy a CD or can’t watch us play.

Myspace and Facebook are the 2 biggest ways we see our EPs getting sold online.

What has been your favourite gig that you’ve played and why?
There has been a few…i’ll give you a couple!

Rockfest 2007 supporting Youth Group in Rockhampton was pretty memorable, as it was our last gig with bassist, Ben Wilson and guitarist, Vinnie Kemp, who both moved down to Brisbane. At the end of our set we announced we would be giving away free CDs in the corner of the venue - a couple of hundred people suddenly flocked and packed themselves within a 10 x 10 metre area, all screaming and getting crushed!!! It was awesome!! Security didn’t think so…
We gave away 300 cds in the space of 5 minutes. Nice.

Supporting INXS was insane, simply because of the size of the rig they turned up with. They had about $6 million worth of gear and lighting on stage! It was the best on-stage sound I have ever (and will ever) experience. Amazing.

The final memorable gig is a covers gig we did in 2006. It was the closing of the Birdcage - the Uni bar. It was the end of an era, and we got to play at the final gig. I remember playing “Killing in the name” by R.A.T.M with a couple of hundred screaming uni students moshing to it…it was the biggest rush ever!

Who is one of your musical idols and why?
Incubus - they are amazing in how they can change the dynamic of their music with every album, yet still maintain that unmistakable ‘incubus’ sound. I wish I could sing like Brandon Boyd.

What direction would you like your music to take?

Hmm…not sure…whethever the wind blows i guess…

Finally, what are your plans for the 2009? Coming to sunny Brisbane anytime soon? If so you will have to come and hang out on the Musicadium couches and play a game of fusball with us!
Plans for 2009 are to sucessfully realease our new EP and sell a heap of them! We’ve got some cool local shows coming up, so its going to be an exciting year for The Short Fall.

No plans for Brisbane as yet - we’re content on sweating it out on Rockvegas…

Fusball sounds tempting though…

Thanks Angelo…!

Check out The Short Fall’s music at their myspace - http://www.myspace.com/theshortfallrok!  Their music will become available digitally very soon!

Hi Lee, you are currently living in LA! How is that going?

Things are going great in the states and in Europe. I have been working with Jeff Blue (Linkin Park, Macy Gray, Korn, Limp Bizkit, The Last Goodnight) and we have recently completed the mix for the songs we recorded at Universal. I feel very fortunate that, while I have made the decision to remain independent, I still have the opportunity to work with people like Jeff and other great musicians like Ely Rise from The Last Goodnight and Klaus Luchs, an amazing guitarist from Chicago Illinois. Ely played Keys on the tracks we recorded in LA with Jeff, and we are hoping to work on more projects in the not too distant future.
I’m steadily building a global fan base through myspace, facebook, and youtube. It’s a tough market and there are no short cuts. My music, which is best described as a Sarah McLachlan with a splash of Evanescence, is well suited to the American market and parts of Europe and Asia but as an independent artist there is no corners you can cut without a massive budget. I have a lot of encouragement from people in the states, Europe and back home so I’m more than happy to do the hard yards knowing that in time it’s going to pay off.

You were forbidden from playing music for cultural reasons – an issue that would be foreign to a lot of musicians. If you don’t mind, can you go into some more detail about this? Was it extremely difficult to sacrifice something that you loved? Do you think that this 12 year period where you didn’t play music has affected your music and the way that you song write? How did it feel to start playing again?
Like all parents my parents wanted what they thought was best for me and they believed that, for cultural reasons, a career as a musician was inappropriate. That was a seriously hard pill to swallow because while I was scared of the challenge of a career in music, it was still my dream and I believe that that’s why it’s come back to me. Thinking about it right now, it still blows me away that it’s happening.
The 12 years I was away from music I lived a life that many people would have loved, great job, great husband, a house, a car, lovely friends….all the boxes ticked and to be honest I felt like the luckiest woman in the world. It wasn’t until music came back into my life that I started to feel the devastation of it having not been there.
Before I left music my instrument was the saxophone. But when I music found me again ,I had words to write and melodies to play so I just went out and bought a keyboard and just decided that I would know how to play it. And play it I did. Day and night for months and months. I would go days on end with no sleep but felt move alive than I could ever imagine. Finally experiencing the full force of the what I had previously lost was beginning to liberate me from my past and lead to many significant life changing decisions.….slowly my world started falling apart while the artist in me began to breath again.
It has been some five years now since music found me again and it has been an intense road to say the least. My life is very different and I am very different. I have learned many things but the most important thing I’ve learned is the importance of my choices. Whatever happened in the past has happened, but I choose to do music as a career now. Because I understand what it is to not have my music I hold precious the opportunity to do my music in whatever the capacity- whether it be in Universal Studios in Hollywood, or standing at a coffee machine writing lyrics on a napkin in a café in Sydney. Music is my life and no-one can take it away anymore!

What has been your most memorable gig to date and why?
I would have to say that my most memorable gig was also the most unusual and unsuspecting gig I could have ever imagined I’d play.
It was about 4 months ago now in mid September ’08 and I had only just arrived in LA after a month of preproduction in Chicago. It was my first Saturday night and my roommate invited me out to a Jam night that he said was ‘unusual’. Immediately my mind went to a million different places trying to think what ‘unusual’ could possibly mean in Hollywood- the place where anything goes- particularly when it comes to music. He later explained that this Jam night was held in after an AA meeting to give the people that attended the meeting somewhere to do or watch music on a Saturday night without the alcohol. I was immediately intrigued. I had no intention of singing but an AA meeting in Hollywood doesn’t have your average Joe at the meeting if you know what I mean. A lot of the best session musicians in the world are in Hollywood, and well music and alcohol seem to go hand in hand.
So we went along and the meeting was about 15 minutes from wrapping up. As someone who doesn’t drink alcohol because of a hypersensitivity to it’s effects, I have to say I learned a lot about some of the stories that I heard in just that 15 minutes and the conversations that I has afterwards. But once the meeting was over and I got chatting with some of the uber musicians there I started to realise how hard this was going to be for some of them. I hadn’t realised that most of these uber super cool musicians hadn’t ever played gig’s sober before and used alcohol as a vice to calm their nerves before getting on stage. Doing a few songs, without a drink, in a room filled with 50 people was amongst the hardest of gigs some of these guys has played and I was honoured to be there to witness them. I was even more honoured when I was invited to get up and sing with them. It’s a night I will never forget- a little Aussie chick from Sydney who doesn’t drink alcohol, singing with super cool musicians at a Jam night after an AA in Hollywood….who would’ve thought it!!!!

Who are your idols in the music world and why?
I don’t really have Idols. There are artists that I admire though but mostly for their approach to their musical careers rather than the music itself. One such artist is Alanis Morissette. She is bold and doesn’t censor herself to fit the mould.
Are there any songs that you feel completely changed your life?
Saxophone was my first instrument and is still an instrument I love very much. In the early 90’s a song called ‘Lily Was Here’ played by Candy Dulfer and Dave. A Steward made it to number one on the charts. It was a sax and guitar duet. This song was the first song I played with a band and the last song I played with a band when I was 17 before music left my life for 12 years. The world stands still whenever I hear that song to this day…

What are your plans for 2009?
The main focus for 2009 is gig’s. 2008 was year of recording and building business relationships both in Australia and overseas. 2009 will be focused on gigging all over Australia in preparation for a European Tour that is planned for early 2010 and an American Tour planned for the second half of 2010.
Also in early 2009 I will be launching my second EP- ‘Take Me Away’, which was recorded in LA with producer Jeff Blue (Linkin Park, Macy Gray, Matchbox 20, Korn, The Last Goodnight). I’m extremely excited about the release of this EP and particularly about touring this EP. The songs on this EP have a greater variety of emotions and tones. They are more commercial and will be so much fun to gig along with the songs from the debut EP ‘Who I’ve Become’ that was released 6 months ago.
2009 also see’s the newest member on my team, my European publicist- Stuart Henshall director of D’vyne PR UK. Stu took me to see the twilight movie while I was in London in January. After seeing the movie he contacted the twilight bloggers and vloggers for their opinion on having my music included in the next movie in the series ‘New Moon’. Well they love it and raving particularly about the song ‘I’m Here’. Filming for the movie starts in March and there is a good chance that we’ll get the song included on the soundtrack.

All in all it’s going to be a seriously busy 2009 but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

If you like Lee’s Music, be sure to check it out on or go to her MySpace account at - http://www.myspace.com/leesafar.

Here at Musicadium, we have a wealth of performers and we believe that Geraldine is an absolute treasure.  Geraldine is a comedian, musician and celebrity speaker.  We love you, Geraldine!

Geraldine Doyle has had an extraordinary career in the performing arts including several US tours, radio and television work in both Ireland and Australia and even a 24 episode series with The Irish Rovers for Canadian TV. Geraldine has released three albums that are being distributed by Musicadium entitled, ‘A Drop of the Funny Stuff’ (comedy CD recorded in Arizona USA), ‘Stand On Your Man’ (a collection of comedic country music songs) and a CD recorded with her brother Danny Doyle and produced by Bill Whelan, composer of the hit stage show ‘Riverdance’.

Tell us about your first stand up gig. Was it a pleasurable experience or utterly terrifying?
Well actually I didn’t go straight into stand up I started out as a folk singer in Ireland. The comedy just crept in. I would introduce songs in a funny way or would talk about something funny that had happened to me or stuff that was in the news or my mad family. So the introductions just kept getting longer and longer so there was less time to sing and eventually the comedy took over. I didn’t really realise I was doing comedy. At the time I thought comedians were people who told long jokes and I didn’t do that. What I was actually doing almost unknown to myself were routines.  But doing standup can be traumatic at times. Sometimes it’s a bit like walking up a gangplank with no ship at the other end. Kinda like a nervous breakdown with a paycheck at the end. It’s a strange thing when you want to do comedy — it’s a bit like being a cleptomaniac people will try and talk you out of it but you’re still going to do it. It’s a compulsion.

Female comedians are often stereotyped as only being able to speak about standard women’s issues. Do you feel that you have had to fight harder to forge a career path as a female comedian or do you feel that it was easier in some ways as there was a gap in the market?
Hell no it definitely wasn’t easier. There’s a song on the Stand on your Man album called  “You’ve got to Twice as Good to if ye wanna get Half as Far” and that about summed it up when I was started to do comedy. For instance when a male comedian walks onstage people presume he’s going to be funny when a female walks on they think she better be funny.  That’s the way it was when I started. I think things have changed now because people are more used to female comedians. And although the prejudice was there I never used it as an excuse for not succeeding. I think that’s why I did succeed.  And ye know what the Aussies say “Never let the bastards get ye down”.

Does your family have a strong musical background? Were there sing-a-longs in Irish fields (or down at the pub)?
Yes we have a very strong musical background my brother Danny is a wonderful singer I made Emigrant Eyes with him. He was very well known in Ireland had his own tv show and countless hit records. My Grandmother on my Mother’s side was a great singer I believe and won lots of singing competitions. Unfortunately I never got to hear her. My Mother is a wonderful singer. She knows hundreds of songs. She was always singing when we were children so we learnt from birth. Sometimes she would sing in hotels for her senior citizens group holidays and people would think she was a professional. She’s still singing like a lark at 87 – she’s remarkable. She should have been a professional but she had eight kids so that’ll put a stop to your gallop.

What has been your most memorable gig and most memorable heckling experience?
Well I did a gig when I went to Australia first in a club and there was a magician on in front of me and he’d left the stage looking like a rubbish heap. I had to come on after him. So I bounce onstage and went head over heels. Well I’ve never got such applause or laughs on an entrance from that day to this. I was wearing a black top with little straps and a chiffon black blouse over it (I was thin at the time) So I painfully picked myself up and started into my act. I was getting huge laughs but they were all in the wrong places. Then a woman in the front started to point at my top. So I look down and see that the straps on my top had broken and had fallen down so all I had on was the see through chiffon top. I was mortified. So with great fusterin” and fusterin’ I  managed to tie the straps of the top around my neck. I said “Ladies and gentlemen I am so sorry” and a laconic Aussie in the front says “Aw don’t worry love we just thought two flies had landed on your chest”.
As far as the hecklin’ goes strangely I virtually never get them anymore. I did get them when I was starting out in comedy – they can smell fear. But I learned how to handle them. One night I had a guy at an all male function who just kept heckling me I did some soft heckler lines on him but he wouldn’t shut up. So then I said ‘Is there an engineer in the house and guy put up his hand and I said “ Well if you’re ever thinking of building a dickhead, there’s a blueprint sitting right over there. And that was the end of him.

Your husband Paddy or ‘horizontal’ often joins you on stage and takes a good-natured ribbing. Can you explain to us the nickname? Does he have one in return for you?
Yeah he’s got a great sense of humour and he’s very confident about himself as a man, so it doesn’t bother him. Anyway he gets his own back on me behind the scenes all the time. I just adlibbed the name Horizontal one night because at the time the only time he was vertical was when he was propping up a bar. And yes he does have a nickname for me he calls me “His little money maker” Or sometimes The War Department or My Present Wife. See what I mean about getting his own back. But I don’t think our marriage would have lasted as long as it has without us both having a sense of humour.

Finally, if you could collaborate with any musician (living or dead) and any comedian who would they be?
Oh my God the list would be endless I’d love Tom Lehrer to write some comedy songs for me.  But I don’t think that’s going to happen. And I’d love to do another album with my brother Danny and use the musicians we used on Emigrant eyes cause they’re the best, I feel privileged to have worked with them at all. There are so many wonderful musicians in Ireland I’d be happy to work with any of them.

Check out Geraldine’s great work on

Little Scout are a perennial favourite in our office space here at Musicadium.  Their Dead Loss EP is a laid back, easy to take in, relaxing album.  It makes up the soundtrack of our days in the office. We love the lyrics and the cute guitar work in the album.  Check them out at their MySpace and their Facebook Group.

Little Scout are Brisbane’s fresh quartet creating sweet and low indie-pop with a touch of fragility. Enamoured with a good dose of encouragement from their pals, and with the help of a triangle, casio beat and a tamborine, the band took to the bright lights of the stage in May 2008. Little Scout released their debut, self-produced EP “The Dead Loss EP” in August 2008. The EP has been very well received by Triple J and has resulted in the band being announced as one of Triple J’s ‘Next Crop’ for 2008. Earlier in the year, Little Scout made it to the State final of the MTV Kickstart Competition and were also Triple J’s Unearthed Feature Artist of the Week. Things have happened extremely quickly for the Brisbane based four piece, who have recently completed shows with Yves Klein Blue, The Holidays, Cuthbert and the Night Walkers, Cloud Control, The John Steel Singers and Dead Letter Chorus. Little Scout draw their musical influences from the likes of Sufjan Stevens, Camera Obscura, Iron & Wine and Feist.

If you love Little Scout’s music, check them out on

Leave a comment below if you love Little Scout!

In the wonderful world of the musical industry, there are the inevitable massive egos kicking around and some pretty repellent personalities that unfortunately exist. This could not be further from the truth however with Musicadium artist Casey Barnes - who, apart from being a fantastic musician who has achieved some dizzying heights,  is also an all-round nice guy. (For proof of this, check out his appearance on Sixty Minutes where he helped out a young musician with some serious health problems).

Casey has just released his latest EP ‘Red Lion Motel’ and if his previous successes are anything to go by, we should expect more great things from this artist. His previous single with DJ/producer Marco Denmark which was re-working of the classic Elton John hit ‘Tiny Dancer’ reached #1 on the UK club charts, and was played and remixed by some of the world’s top DJs including Pete Tong, DJ Tiesto, Armin Van Buuren and Carl Kennedy.

Check out his latest EP ‘Red Lion Motel’  at

We caught up with Casey for a quick chat about what to expect from his latest release.

Your track ‘tiny dancer’ was a huge hit on an international level, achieved the #1 spot in the UK club charts, and has been remixed by Superstar DJs such as DJ Tiesto, Armin Van Buuren, Pete Tong and Carl Kennedy. How does Red Lion Motel differ from your previous releases?

Yes Tiny Dancer has definitely done very well especially throughout Europe, America and Brazil  but ‘Red Lion Motel’ definitely has a different feel all together. With this release I especially wanted a more acoustic/raw sound and deliberately worked with a fresh group of musicians, studio and producer to give it a new vibe.

What has been the most memorable live gig that you’ve played?

Supporting Bryan Adams on his last Australian tour for the Day On The Green concert series has been by far my most memorable gig so far…. once you get a taste of playing in front of crowds like that you just want to do it again!

You’ve also travelled extensively, performing around the world. Where is your favourite place to perform and why?

I really enjoyed performing in America.  For some reason people over there really come to ‘listen’ to live music and really do appreciate live performances…. not that Australians don’t, it’s just slightly different over there I guess with so much musical variety.

What are some Aussie acts that are exciting you at the moment?

I’d have to say my good friend Marco Demark who I recorded Tiny Dancer with. He’s definitely one to watch over the next 12 months… and as much as I don’t normally tune into Australian Idol I am a big Wes Carr fan only because I heard his original stuff before he went on idol and its brilliant.

If you could collaborate with any musician/songwriter who would it be?

I’d love to work with Bernard Fanning…. also his guitarist Andrew Morris who is another Brissy boy and an amazing singer songwriter himself.

Any funny/embarrassing moments onstage?

Lots and lots of those… from forgetting the words on stage to have all in brawls brake out at venues I’ve played at over the years… I’d love to write a book one day all about all the weird and funny things that happen to you at gigs…. too many things to answer in a short response but I’m sure any guy that’s spent the last 10 years playing many a gig in many a pub would have some similar stories to tell!

How should punters dance to Casey Barnes’ music? (if at all)

Ha ha… um that’s a tough one to answer. My latest release ‘Red Lion Motel’ is more a listening album… if you’re more the ‘dancing type’ then definitely check out ‘Tiny Dancer’.

Finally, what are your plans for 2009?

I’d love to look at another full album release at some point in the year with a lot more live touring too… I’m already excited about what 2009 may bring… stay tuned!

Charlie Trindall is one of Australia’s most prolific indigenous singer songwriters. A descendant of the Gamilaroi people of North Western NSW, Charlie began playing music in his early teens and has risen to great heights, having released two independent EP’s “Going Home” and “When Angels Fall” in 2008 alone.   Musicadium caught up with Charlie after recently discovering he’s latest accomplishment, a nomination for the 2008 Deadly award for ‘Single release of the year’. Congratulations Charlie!

How did you start playing music?

I started playing when I was a teenager and couldn’t do sport because I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis.  My mum got me a guitar as my mate played so he and I started to learn!

Who or what has influenced your music throughout your life?

I loved to write poems and I loved to listen to the radio and always wanted to either play football or music! I loved to listen to the lyrics of artist such as Bob Marley and John Lennon and later the likes of Paul Kelly and Kev Carmody so I sort of got a feel for songs that told of social influences…

How do you tackle the song writing process?

I get an idea or an issue to write about in my head and toss it around for a while but this could be minutes, days, weeks or even months depending on how much I am inspired or moved at the time. The words start to flow and some kind of beat or tune and usually it flows from there!

What career would you have had if you’d not been a musician?

I write and play as well as work as a Project Officer in the Public Service.  I have also worked for many years in the arts industry which has helped to influence my creativity for so many years.

What has been your best performance experience so far?

I played at this years (2008) Yabun concert with my band mates from Armidale on 26 January in Sydney!

If you could collaborate with any other artist, who would it be and why?

I would love to co-write a song with Paul Kelly as he is a national icon in the Australian music industry and I love his lyrics and music.

What are you plans for 2009?

I plan to complete my new album and do heaps of live performances, touring and shows

Check out Charlie’s music on