New Gear fo' da New Year

So its feb already! Farrrr out. Im in a new job, doing new things, playing new shows in new places and enjoying new stuff. I have a new guitar, new idea's and finally some new music to wrap my ears around!

I have begun to find myself hungry to hear some good hip hop. It doesnt have to be much, just a good hook, some works in verse and a fresh beat.

I found Urthboy. He's on the mark.

Heres a track from his web site, there's two up for grabs from his first LP so go ahead and get the other one.

Long Walk Home

Oh and here's his web page

(*actual picture of urthboy)

I was over in New Zealand recently which was fun too. I was floored by a Kiwi hip-hop act we played with at the Parachute Festival. The dude's name is Brad but he goes under the title 'Rapture Ruckus'. Web linkage....nnnnnnow

If you visit his page you can get his new single 'No Matter' for free after signing up for the newsletter thingy. Trust me..if you like the 'holy-hip hop' like moi' then you want to get on board with this dude. Positive, motivating and phat.

Anyway the album i bought (see pictured) is great and ive been really getting into it!

(*actual picture of RR!)

And one of the best releases of last year which went almost totally un-noticed by the general public was this...blistering, blazing bloody amazing blast of hardcore punk from adelaide called 'God So Loved The World'. They got together and wrote some old school style hardcore songs about God, life, politics and issues. Its pretty blatant-in-your-freeking-face christian hardcore here...but wether you rejoice like me or find yourself turning the other way, this stuff is nuts. Seriously awsome gear... go and get the album right now from JBHiFi for like $12!

They only have a myspaz page so i must resort to that for a link... and they broke up a lil while back so there wont be much more than this i imagine.

This song ripps... Nails

In my absence....

Man i cant believe its been like... since last year that i blogged! Man a lot has happened in the time that's passed and rather than offer an explanation, i will offer diversions.
Go here: http://www.whothehell.net/
Freaking best aussie music blog ever... i seriously love this blog. I read it all the time. He has mp3's, pictures and blurbs and then on the weekend he colates youtube vids for us. This space is the bomb.

Im majorly addicted to my DS. In particular homebrew stuff. I have one of those R4 chips which means i can down stuff off the net and play it. Rad times...oh yes. A particularly aswome app ive been playing with is an i-pod/iphone clone for the DS. So now i put all my mps and junk on that and listen in the car! Rad times...yes indeed. So in lieu of posting stuff, im still looking for the gold and waiting for my mates to reelase new stuff ha ha ha ha ha!!!

So what've i been listening to? Hmmm... not much aussie gear i can tell you that right now. Yeh theres been a swell of releases over the holiday period, sure we had some aria's and festivals and stuff...but that happens every year. Im waiting for the stuff that smacks me in the head and says 'hey retard, pay attention. this is the new edge, get on it.' Cant wait till ive got some time back on my hands to go find it....

Keep ya eyes on http://www.angelasdish.com
We hooked up with them cats the other week for a gig and they rocked it.
Skeppers' are gonna be a pretty active over the next few months, racking up some frequent flyer points too. That may just be the ticket to bringing some new jams for yall.

On a sad note i gotta just mention how incredibly shit it was to loose a mate over the holidays.
RIP Damo. You all wouldve heard about the crash up near Coffs Harbour everything.
Nuff said.

Mates bands...

We (being ANTISKEPTIC) recently did a Youth Alive event over in regional South Australia where we caught up with some very quality peeps. We hooked up with the darling Sundance Kids' again and they were great as norm, but the bonus part was when i did merch for em... i noticed a bunch of rare 'Thinktank' CD's in the merch box! Jeremy (the bass player) used to be in Thinktank and our guitar tech and all round nice guy Kev was 2nd guitar in the 'Tank as well! Im well pleased to announce that their 2nd album 'Here is the Moment' is once again available to the music buying/loving/sharing public!! It's actually the first two EP's re-released as an album for their European Label Household Records.Frickin awsome tho...still measures up better than heaps of the current brand of indie trash out there today!

Buy it here...

Listen to one of my fav tracks Pale (first song on the disc)


Another rad A-town band to keep eyes on is Newtonheath! They have just released their new full length disco called 'Come together and Unite'. I was especiall y amped about this cos i was a mega fan of their previous band 'Edison Music' and to a lesser extent 'Sumi'. (sorry guys)

Mat and Rach have been doing this music thang for years and under a few different names as well. A quick looky at the web page gives you some mp'3s of previous work and a bit of background to digest. All in all its a pretty solid record from the outset, a bit up and down, it feels like this might really grow on me as i give it time but im still coming to terms with the fact that this does NOT sound like another Edison' record. I feel dumb because i think i was expecting one! Theres some uber big rock moments, great choruses and some pretty guitar parts dispersed throughout, not just an emo/rock thing...but more developed and urgent.

Anyway...

Rad song off the album...

Web page...not a myspaz page thankyou!

A favourite Eidson song for yall..

Going solo...

I love Something For Kate.

I mean a) they're from melbourne, b) a three peice and c) an indie band that got big so whats not to like! They capture my breath, my imagination and sometimes my heartache's and hopes. Thats what a good band can do sometimes! Paul Dempsey does solo gigs about the place from time to time and has a special one coming up actually.. see here... He could totally get away with releasing a live-solo album cos the shows are just that good but fans have beaten him to it. If you go here... you'll find a two-disc live bootleg from a solo show he did some time ago capturing all the clapping, chatting, tuning and singing you'd get at a show. Its pretty cool actually so go have a listen! Here's my favourite track ::> Captain (million miles an hour)

NB: SFK have a 'best of' release, would be a great introduction to new comers!

The other dude im gonna blog about, well dosn't exactly inspire me quite the way Paul and co. have been able to, but none the less is an artists who proudly flies the flag for indie bands! Im speaking of Ben Lee. For some reason he's hated by people as much as he is liked, i dont get it! He writes cheeky, happy pop songs that get stuck in ya head, he wins awards, makes people smile and he speaks his mind. I guess that must really piss people off....?? Anyway he's recently dropped a new album and its doing ok, single on the radio, name popping up around the place and all that BUT... have you heard the OTHER ALBUM he put out recently? Its great, political, challenging, anthemic and totally not even his songs!! He covered the new 'Against Me' album called 'New Wave' completely acoustic with ditsy keyboards and paper thin loop drums and all the Ben Lee trimmings. Its an interesting listen made all the more enjoyable by the fricking awsome songs. You can get it from Ben Lee's blog.. here...

This is the title track New Wave and you should go get the rest of Ben's version of the album (which is free!) and then buy the Against Me! version from a shop somewhere.

After all, it is said that plagiarism is the highest form of flattery!

From the Horsells mouth...

There's an awsome trio based in melbourne, they've been around for a good few years honing their craft with several blistering EP's, they play anthemic hard rock flavoured with hardcore ... they swing guitars about and make all sorts of angsty noises with the fury of The Nation Blue and the severity of The Mark of Cain but add to that the choruses of someone like Gyroscope.

Im talking about the mighty 'Horsell Common'. Probably like my favourite melboure band. Nay, one of my favourite aussie bands. They've FINALLY dropped their full length album 'The Rescue' and its great...
They have a blog too... http://horsellcommon.blogspot.com/ so go have a peek and tell what ya think about stuff! This track is from the record and it fully ripps... play it loud...

The Rescue

And since i gave the Mark of Cain' comparison.. (sadly many wont remember them!) i feel it only right to share the love: Retaliate (best song on the 2001 head smasher 'This is This'.) Now Antiskeptic (*and our previous bands) owe a lot to the stlyings of these boys from a-town. Big stoppy-starty 6/8 grooves, staggered 7/8 riffs and what not... mmm meaty. I dont know if Horsell also tip the hat to them but my ears hear some similarities and thats good to me!! More Than Kind

And thats my blogging done for today. Im feeling pretty excited at the mo' cos we just got some shows in Thailand next month and NewZealand in January. We're going O/S yall...here's hoping for more!

Townsville...bringin the goods

Townsville...
So far away and removed from the rest of the major cities on the east coast being so far north. I didnt know they had such amazing bands up there but it seems they do! One of my mates Carl Jackson came from up there, he was in a rockin punk rock band called 'Wishful Thinking'. They moved to Melbourne and rocked our faces off for a few years but broke up last year. He's doing solo stuff now...heaps 'not punk rock' and i really like it...have a listen.

This one of my favourite tracks Carl's done... Shining On You

And this is another one of my fav's from another project of his: Look up and point
He's got a site here: http://www.virb.com/carlwjackson
( and here http://www.myspace.com/prisonerslikesand )

PS: You'll find a stack of the old Wishful' tunes up here for your listening pleasure..
http://www.mp3.com.au/wishfulfthinking

And...now a band i'd mentioned previously in the blackstump blurb: The Middle East are also from Townsville. They're brilliant. Sounding a little bit like Sufjan Stevens dating Explosions in the Sky i am caught up and swept away in their music each time i listen to it. Amazing live, great recorded and i can't wait for the next release! So far they've only done a split ep with another amazing band (but from Cairns) called 'Sleeping in Trains' so until then...get this!

Song here: http://www.triplejunearthed.com/themiddleeast

( and http://www.myspace.com/visitthemiddleeast )
Buy it from ebay.. yeh they sell it on ebay and why not!

But also from: http://www.fist2face.com.au/

Sweet

Blackstump 07....

Let there be rock...

Stump 07 has wrapped again and what a weekend it was! I wasnt even there for the whole thing this year but still managed to take in the dust, sights n' sounds of several awsome acts i hadnt seen before as well as catch up with a few mates! The evtn atracts artists from as far as townsville to adeliade and all inbetween!! 'Antiskeptic' did its duty on the main stage Saturday evening and hopefully everyone enjoyed the set as much as we did!!!

There were many triumphant returns this year following the awsome '06' lineup which featured loads of unknowns and plenty of fresh new faces! They included 'The Middle East' & 'Sleeping On Trains' who totally wowed and stunned crowds last year and did it again for 07 ....but i am focussing this post on my friends in 'The Sundance Kids'. A top quality act from Adelaide who are going to be famous and get signed and get bloody massive. Its obvious really..the songs are just great. The band is just fantastic (made up of all star adelaide rock alumni) and the product is hot. Way hot...feel free to get on board now before you start hearing them on Nova and MMM and all that!!!

Im still working out the bnitty gritty of file hosting and what not so until i have a better grasp on the ins and outs... you 'll have to settle for some linkage...

You'll find three golden 'Sundance Kids' tracks over here...taken from the 2006 demo. Some of which were re-recorded for the amazing 'Including the Atmosphere EP' which features a whole band rather than the all acoustic approach.

http://www.triplejunearthed.com/thesundancekids

And try this .... if it works... is the first track off the EP...

http://www.mediamax.com/seaniam/Hosted/01%20Solutions%20-%20The%20Sundance%20Kids.mp3

It would go without saying that there's a myspaz page for them as well...but you knew that already right? Go ahead and make them your friends...but more importantly wrap your ears around some of the best bands to come out of adelaide in a fair while!