Sound Relief – Benefit Concerts Announced

Australia’s music community have banded together for two stadium benefit concerts scheduled to run simultaneously in both Melbourne and Sydney on Saturday March 14, 2009 under the unified banner of SOUND RELIEF.

There are some remarkable performances announced. Split Enz, Hunters & Collectors and Midnight Oil are reforming for the Melbourne show while Icehouse are reforming to play in Sydney. Jet and Wolfmother are playing both shows, crossing paths in mid-air as they fly between cities. Jack Johnson is flying in to play.

The concert is also remarkable in that it sees the reunion of Michael Chugg and Michael Gudinski.

Michael Gudinski, Managing Director of The Frontier Touring Company said;
“The Sound Relief concerts are for the survivors of the bushfires. The sad reality is that rebuilding their lives and communities will be a lengthy and costly process. It has been phenomenal seeing everyone pull together in this horrific time. Without doubt these concerts will be once in a lifetime events that will live on in the memories of everyone who attends.”

Michael Chugg, Managing Director of Chugg Entertainment said;
“Around the world, some of the words that are used to describe Australians include “big hearted”, “generous”, “battlers and “troopers”. These concerts will honour all of those characteristics of the Australian people, both those who have suffered so much through this terrible tragedy, but also saluting the heroes who fought against the fires, and the courageous people whose fight is just beginning. With the help of the Australian Music Community, these concerts hope to bring people together, not just on the hallowed turf of the MCG and SCG, but around the country as we share the joy of live music. We will remember those who have lost so much, and celebrate the heroes of this devastating story.”

Both concerts will be held in their city’s most iconic venue; in Melbourne at the MCG and in Sydney at the SCG.

Some of Australia’s most legendary artists will be joined by leading International and Domestic chart-toppers. In city by city alphabetical order the line-ups are:
MELBOURNE
Augie March
Bliss N Eso with Paris Wells
Gabriella Cilmi
Hunters & Collectors
Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson with Troy Cassar-Daley
Jack Johnson
Jet
Kings of Leon
Liam Finn
Midnight Oil
Paul Kelly
Split Enz
Wolfmother

SYDNEY
Coldplay (ACOUSTIC)
Eskimo Joe
Hoodoo Gurus
Icehouse
Jet
Josh Pyke
Little Birdy
The Presets
Wolfmother
You Am I
+ more acts to be announced

The concerts will be a celebration of multiple music genres, with artists playing short sets packed with hits. Concert goers are encouraged to attend the concerts from start to finish as major artists will be spread across the bill right from the very start of the day.

Coldplay and Kings Of Leon, who both have sold out concerts on March 14 in Sydney and Melbourne respectively, have kindly donated time from their busy schedules to perform 3-4 songs in the early afternoon.

Tickets will be sold for $75 and will go on sale from Ticketek 132 849 www.ticketek.com.au on Wednesday March 4, 2009 at 9am. GA Standing on the field and reserved seating in the stands will be available for both concerts.

100% of the profits from the Melbourne concert will be donated to the Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal.

For the Sydney concert 50% of the profits will be donated to the Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal and 50% will be donated to The Premier’s Disaster Relief Fund Appeal in QLD to aid the victims of the Queensland floods.

Particular thanks is extended to the Victorian Premier’s Department, Cricket Australia and Cricket Victoria for their magnanimous decision to move the Sheffield Shield final out of the MCG, in turn freeing this iconic venue to be used for the Melbourne Sound Relief concert on March 14.

Tickets to Sound Relief go on sale from Ticketek 132 849 or www.ticketek.com.au on

STOP PRESS : Midnight Oil will do two warm up shows in Canberra on March 13 and 14 at the Royal Theatre. Someone was cheeky enough to suggest that this will be the most useful thing that Peter Garrett has done in the nations capital in several years.

New Paul Kelly Tour Announced

2009 looks like being a busy year for Paul Kelly – even by his standards. He’s already ventured around the country with Leonard Cohen, in what was an early contender for “tour of the year”. Now he’s about to head up to Byron Bay for the East Coast Music Festival.

When that is done Kelly will embark on his own tour and its one of the most extensive he has done in several years, that’s if you call the whole East Coast of Australia ‘extensive’. SA , WA and Tasmania probably have a different definition.

The tour celebrates the recent release of ‘Songs From The South – Volume II’ – the latest in a series of best of albums which we estimate will reach Volume V by the time Kelly retires in his early 90’s.

Kelly will be joined by a cracking good band – not surprises there – including  Pete Luscombe on drums and vocals, Bill Mc Donald on bass and vocals, Ash Naylor on guitar and vocals and Cameron Bruce, on keys and vocals.

The era covered by Songs From The South Volume II begins with 1998’s ‘Words & Music’ and carrying on through to last year’s ‘Stolen Apples’, it is a period defined by countless collaborations, different bands, genre hopping, eight official studio albums, some 102 new songs, plus another half-dozen-or-so soundtracks, musicals, plays, live recordings and tribute records.

Volume II would make for a great set but it will be supplemented  by songs from Volume I which included such gems as Leaps and Bounds, Sweet Guy, Dumb Things, From Little Things Big Things Grow, Before Too Long,  From St Kilda to Kings Cross, When I First Met Your Ma, To Her Door,  and How to Make Gravy and about ten other gems.

Kelly’s choice of opening act is very interesting. Joining him on the road is Charlie Parr from Duluth, Minnesota, whose style bears the influence of hours spent listening to country blues records and Smithsonian/Folkways field recordings.

Charlie’s finger picking, freewheeling tune, ‘1922 Blues’ is the soundtrack to the recent, hugely successful Vodafone TV campaign. Charlie plays original and traditional folk tunes, plus blues covers by the likes of Mississippi John Hurt and Charley Patton, favouring National resonator guitars, 12-string guitar and banjo in his performance.

His self-taught mix of slide, finger-picking and quasi-frailing technique come together with a voice that’s low on drama and high on impact. Dignity, and the struggle to keep it, are central themes in Parr’s songs. The gamblers, the union workers, the criminals and the sinners that wander around his songs come straight from real life observation. The stories he tells get into some dark spots; that place where regret and remorse part company.

Tuesday 28th Apr – Sawtell RSL Club (Sawtell), NSW
Wednesday 29th Apr – Queensland Performing Arts Centre (Brisbane)
Thursday 30th Apr – The Events Centre, Caloundra (Sunshine Coast)
Friday 1st May – Twin Towns Services Club (Gold Coast)
Saturday 2nd May – Empire Theatre (Toowoomba)
Sunday 3rd May – Ipswich Civic Centre (Ipswich)
Tuesday 5th May – Brothers Leagues Club (Cairns)
Wednesday 6th May – Townsville Civic Theatre (Townsville)
Friday 8th May – Pilbeam Theatre (Rockhampton)
Saturday 9th May – Brolga Theatre (Maryborough)
Sunday 10th May – Moncrieff Theatre (Bundaberg)
Wednesday 13th May – State Theatre – Sydney
Thursday 14th May – Wyong Leagues Club (Wyong), NSW
Friday 15th May – Newcastle Civic Theatre
Saturday 16th May – Regent Theatre (Wollongong)
Sunday 17th May – Canberra Theatre (Canberra)
Tuesday 19th May – Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre (Shoalhaven)
Friday 22nd May – Palais Theatre (St Kilda)
Sunday 24th May – Peninsula Lounge (Moorooduc)

Chill Out On Good Friday

Good Friday has always been a difficult day to fill in. No footy, no races, the pubs are shut, the Telethon fairly dreary viewing. Once you’ve paid your religious respects and dropped a few coins in the collection tins it’s a bit of a boring day.

Until now.

Chill City, a joyous celebration of music, food and wine, will be held in
the heart of Melbourne at the Alexandra Gardens on Good Friday, 10 April
2009.

This one day event will deliver the finest collection of blues, roots, soul,
rock, R&B, country and world acts from across the globe with festivities
taking place in one of Melbourne’s most beautiful gardens, in the heart of
the city.

Presented by Justin Stanford, founder of Chill Island and Mario Maccarone,
co-owner of the legendary music venue, the Continental Café, this value for
money event will also offer a lip-smacking, delightfully lingering selection
of the best local food and wines.

Here’s the line-up:

Featuring:

John Butler Trio

Paul Kelly

Betty Harris (USA) with The Bamboos

Ben Kweller (USA)

Easy Star All Stars (USA)

Dan Sultan

Whitely

Mamie Minch (USA)

Tickets: www.chillcity.com.au , Greville
Records 03 9510 3012, Missing Link 03 9670 8208, Polyester Records City 03
9663 8696, Polyester Records Fitzroy 03 9419 5137, The Espy 03 9534 0211 ext
233, The National Hotel, Geelong 03 5221 1211

Kids under 12 admitted free. All patrons under 18 must be accompanied by an
adult.

Now we’ve all got a pretty good idea who John Butler and Paul Kelly are but some of the other names are less familiar.
Best known for her 1963 hit Cry to Me, New Orleans soul singer, Betty
Harris, was mentored by blues chanteuse, Big Maybelle Betty, and comes from
the throaty, gospel tradition of Etta James, Otis Redding and Wilson
Pickett.  In 2004 she made a very welcome comeback to the music scene after
a decade long hiatus.

Betty will take to the stage with Australia’s own masters of deep funk and
super heavy soul, and ‘The best new Deep Funk band in the world today….’
(Adrian Gibson, The Jazz Cafe/Freestyle Records U.K), The Bamboos. The
Bamboos live shows are a non-stop mixtape-style throw-downs that draw the
links between Hip Hop, Soul, Funk and old-school Breaks.

American singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, the ‘stylistically
restless’ Ben Kweller (USA), shifts from indie rock to ballads to anti-folk
to melodic rock, often from song to song, but for his latest and fourth
album, Changing Horses, it’s pure country. The 27-year-old Texan-bred
musician is known for his unforgettable melodies, deeply soulful lyrics and
sensitivity. The CHILL CITY audience is in for a treat.

The Easy Star All Stars (USA) are a funky collective of some of the finest
reggae musicians in the New York area who specialise in covering popular
albums in a reggae and dub style. Their album, Dub Side of the Moon (2003),
the complete reggae re-vision of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, is one
of the most successful reggae albums of the 21st century. It has spent over
five years on Billboard’s Top Reggae Chart and Reggae Catalog Chart. In
2006, the band followed up Dub Side with Radiodread, a complete reggae
re-vision of Radiohead’s OK Computer. That record has also been a huge
success, sparking great reviews, and even garnering praise from Radiohead.

Dan Sultan continued his rise to popularity on the Australian music scene in
2008 performing with the likes of Paul Kelly, Kev Carmody, The Waifs and
Missy Higgins. A member of Black Arm Band he shared the stage at The Sydney
Opera House Concert Hall with Archie Roach, Jimmy Little and Shane Howard
amongst other greats. Dan performed his song Roslyn, written about the
stolen generation at the Sorry Day celebrations at Federation Square, a day
to remember for all Australians with the emotion charged audience delivering
a standing ovation.

Rounding out the CHILL CITY line up is Melbourne artist, Whitely, who blends
acoustic flavours with electronic overtones creating songs with hushed,
whimsical tales of love and loss, and the voluptuously voiced Mamie Minch
(USA).

Paul Kelly Interview

Welcome, strangers, to the show … Eleven years after his first best-of album, PAUL KELLY has added another volume to his “Songs From The South” collection. He chats with JEFF JENKINS about songwriting, success and Warnie.

Years have come along/ Years have gone/ Some friends have risen/ Some have moved on/ And my old winter coat still hangs by my front door/ Holding all the stories/ I don’t remember any more” – Wintercoat

Paul Kelly is driving down Punt Road in Melbourne. He sneaks a peek at the Nylex Clock. “I always check it,” he admits. “And I always get a little buzz when it’s 11 degrees.”

Leaps And Bounds has been feted as a classic Australian sports song. “I always get asked to play it on footy shows or at big events,” Paul says, “but I’ve never seen it as a sports song. It’s kind of a song about nothing, about feeling good, for no particular reason … just some days you feel like you’re floating.”

Leaps And Bounds is one of 40 tracks on Paul Kelly’s new best-of, Songs From The South Volumes 1 & 2.

How did Paul enjoy compiling the album, going back and listening to his old songs? “It’s always a bit of a mixed bag. I never really like listening to myself singing, so I find that a bit of a hurdle to jump. But at the same time you get some surprises, sometimes good ones, sometimes you think you’re singing them better now.”

Paul concedes that the songs on Volume 2 did not get as much radio play as the tracks on Volume 1. The story of the second disc is diversity and more musical experimentation, featuring Paul’s work with Professor Ratbaggy, Uncle Bill, The Stormwater Boys and Stardust Five. “There’s been more collaboration with the songwriting. Like all writers, I get sick of my own habits, you fall into your old patterns. I write a lot of songs in G or D, those simple keys. Writing with other people is a way of breaking those habits, so I consciously tried to do more projects where the songs were group-written.”

The best-of draws on material from 17 albums. Has Paul got a favourite Paul Kelly album? “I don’t think so. What tends to happen is some songs fall away, some songs remain. They’re what I call working songs, the songs that you take to work, tools in the kit. You can pull ’em out and you know they’ll do the job on a particular night. I often forget what songs come from where, they just become the songs in the swag.

“But if I had to pick an album, maybe Post. Even though it was my third record, in my mind it’s my first. It was the first record where I felt that I was starting to hoe my own road. Is that the phrase?”

Paul’s first two albums, with The Dots – 1981’s Talk and 1982’s Manila – were not hits, and he once said: “I wish I could grab them and put them in a big hole.”

“I was probably just one of those late developers,” he explains. “Francis Bacon, the painter, destroyed all his early paintings. Suddenly when he does his exhibition, there are great works of art right off the bat. I didn’t have great works of art straight away, but Post was just the sound of me maturing, I guess, just getting a bit better at what I do. Some people write great songs when they’re 18 or 20, I wasn’t like that. It took me a while to figure it out.” Indeed, in Nothing On My Mind, the song that kicks off Volume 2, Paul declares: “I never did one damn good thing till I was over 30.”

In 1986, Paul, then 31, sang: “Every dog will have his day, any dog can win.” The words proved prophetic – Before Too Long became his radio breakthrough. He will never forget the day he heard it on the radio for the first time. “I remember that vividly – The Coloured Girls were doing a lot of touring, driving between Melbourne and Sydney, in a Holden Kingswood, and the song came on the radio. We turned it up to the max, jumped out of our skins, it was fantastic.”

Paul calls songwriting “a scavenging art, a desperate act”.

“For me, it’s a bit from here, a bit from there, fumbling around, never quite knowing what you’re doing. I might have a melody or a scrap of words and I’m just trying to get them to fit. If I knew how to write a song, I’d write one every day. You can’t really pull out the manual and follow Steps A, B and C and make a song, it just doesn’t work like that. You just have to get a bit lucky.

“Songwriting is like a way of feeling connected to mystery.”

Can Paul recall the first song he wrote? “It was in open-tuning and had four lines about catching trains. I have got a recording of it somewhere.” What was it called? “‘Catching A Train’. I wrote a lot of songs about trains early on, trains and fires, and then I moved on to water.”

“Paul Kelly’s concise insights and acerbic wisdom are exactly the music for strolling the bottom of ancient oceans, both literal and metaphoric” – Russell Crowe

A double-disc best-of is quite an achievement. Paul has come a long way since his public singing debut, in Hobart in 1974.

“I was living there at the time and there was a folk club in Salamanca Place. They had a night, I think a Monday night, where anyone could get up. I sang Girl From The North Country and Streets of Forbes, a traditional Australian song about Ben Hall. I can’t really remember how it went – I remember I had a lot to drink afterwards from relief. I was incredibly nervous.”

As well as Adelaide, Melbourne and Hobart, Paul has lived in Sydney, Perth, Darwin and Alice Springs. How does location influence a songwriter?

“A lot of my influences were from ’50s American music and British pop, so I don’t know if location is that important. It’s really where your imagination goes. A lot of my songs are set in particular places, but I still don’t think it’s that important. My songs aren’t really about the places I’ve lived, they’re usually about men, women and children and what they do, and they could happen anywhere.”

A lecturer in contemporary art, Chris McAuliffe, declared that Paul wrote about “the heroism of everyday life”. Is that what he’s doing?

“No, I’m just trying to get music to fit rhymes. Having said that, as I get older, I think my friends and people I’ve known for a long time get more heroic to me, and you become more admiring of them, just for making it through, living their lives and doing the best that they can.”

“For a generation or two of Australians, Paul Kelly is the closest thing we have to a poet laureate. His songs are like postcards – little snapshots of the countryside with our experiences, dreams, hopes and problems scrawled in the lyrics. He’s captured who we are like no other writer, but when asked once if he was the voice of ordinary Australia, he had the grace and wisdom to reply, ‘I don’t know any ordinary people. Do you?’” – Andrew Denton

Bob Dylan once had a crisis of confidence because he knew that music critics would be quoting his lyrics. Is it hard being Paul Kelly, having to live up to people’s expectations?

“Um, confidence comes and goes, but it’s not really ruled by external things. Most of the pressure, nearly all of it, is inside, it always has been. If I’m not writing, I feel useless, I feel like I’m not really functioning properly. That’s what makes me write, I don’t even know why. It’s not that I think there are people out there waiting for a new record. I mean, I’ve made enough records. At some point, people don’t need to hear another one of my songs.”

Songs From The South Volume 2 features one new song, Thoughts In The Middle Of The Night.

“It’s a band song, we all wrote it together. There’s a poem by James Fenton, a British poet, called The Mistake, which is probably an influence on the lyrics. It’s a waking up in the middle of the night song, for anyone who’s woken up at 3am and not been able to get back to sleep.”

“Paul shits me. He tries more outrageously flowery bullshit than I could ever allow myself and he comes off smelling like a saint! It’s because he’s such a good singer. It takes real willpower to get over that cute, smoky tone and listen to what the bastard’s doing with your mind” – Dave Graney

David Fricke from American Rolling Stone called Paul “one of the finest songwriters I have ever heard, Australian or otherwise”. Has he ever had a bad review?

“Yeah, there have been bad reviews. I try to forget them. Try to forget the good reviews, too. It’s probably best to read them and forget about them.”

Paul’s songs are now studied in Victorian high schools. Does that mean a lot to him? “It was a thrill. I don’t know if it means a lot, but I hope it’s good for the students. I’ve started doing shows for the Year 12s, they’ve been great fun. I play for about 45 minutes and then do a Q&A. That’s always quite stimulating.”

The sixth of nine children, Paul was born in Adelaide in 1955. He went to a Christian Brothers School, where he played trumpet and captained the cricket team. He once said that songwriting was about “sex and death and cricket. I mean, what else is there?” He later amended that to “sex, death, love, family, friends and cricket”.

“Having met Paul, it is easy to realise how his passion for everything in life is transformed into great songs. He is a one-off, dinky-di Australian” – Dennis Lillee

Volume 2 features the first physical release of Paul’s YouTube favourite Shane Warne. Has the spin king heard the song? “We’ve had no reaction,” Paul says. “We sent it to him and no reaction. I don’t know what that means.”

Paul’s first cricket song, Bradman, did get a reaction. “I wrote Sir Don a letter and sent him the song. I mentioned that he may remember my father – he knew my father in Adelaide. And he wrote back and said he remembered my dad well. At the end of the letter, he said: ‘Not having access to the income of pop stars, I don’t own a video player, so I’ll go and have a look at the video at my daughter-in-law’s place. Thank you, I was flattered by your attempt.’

“I got a letter from The Don!”

Remarkably, Paul has never had a number one album. The first volume of Songs From The South, released in June 1997, is his biggest seller, going double platinum and peaking at number two.

As he adds another volume to his career retrospective, how would Paul describe his career? “The successful avoidance of a career. I got into music to not have a career. I never wanted to have a five-year plan or a 10-year plan, or be tied to a routine. Playing music and being in bands was a way of not having a career. I’m still trying to duck it.”

What does he love about music?

“Um, without music, life would be a mistake. I didn’t say that, Friedrich Nietzsche did. I don’t agree with everything he said, but I agree with that.”

“I remember, I remember, I remember everything …”

Songs From The South Volumes 1 & 2 is released by EMI and is out now

SIX SONGS FROM THE SOUTH – Paul Kelly talks about half a dozen gems

From Little Things Big Things Grow
“It’s an old Sunday school melody, it’s like an old buggy that just keeps on going down the road. That song comes in and out for me. Sometimes I get sick of singing it, other times I really like it. It’s one of those funny songs for me.”

God Told Me To
“The Bible’s always been there, it’s always bubbling up in my songs, one way or another. The Bible’s got everything. Tarantino can’t touch it – it’s got violence and heroism and great pettiness, wisdom, whim, grandeur and vindictiveness.”

Gunnamatta
“I’m a bodysurfer. I’ve never ridden a board – I’m not very good with equipment. In the early days, I was always travelling light, so I couldn’t carry a board. A little cassette player and a guitar was all I could carry with me.”

How To Make Gravy
“That recipe (‘just add flour, salt, a little red wine and don’t forget a dollop of tomato sauce for sweetness and that extra tang’) is from my first wife’s father, my first father-in-law. Tomato sauce was his suggestion. I tried it and I’m quite fond of it.”

To Her Door
“The song ends at the beginning and I’ve always kind of liked that – you don’t know what happens next. As for the characters, they kind of keep coming back, I think. The guy in To Her Door seems like the same guy in Love Never Runs On Time, he could be the guy in Gravy. Yeah, he’ll keep coming back, I think.”

You’re 39, You’re Beautiful And You’re Mine
“Tex Perkins actually wrote the second line. I sent Tex, Don and Charlie the song before I recorded it. I had written: ‘I don’t talk all that much, I guess it’s a kind of crutch’, which wasn’t a great second line, but it was the best I had at the time. Charlie Owen dropped off a tape and Tex had changed the second line to ‘I don’t talk all that much about how I feel and such.’ Much better. I always thank Tex for that.”

Barnes and Kelly Do Victorian Wineries

Jimmy Barnes and Paul Kelly will perform at two separate Day On The Green Shows in Victoria early in 2009.
Jimmy Barnes will perform with Kasey Chambers, Joe Camilleri & The Black Sorrows and Ella & Jess Hooper’s new band The Verses at All Saints Winery,
Rutherglen on Saturday January 31.
And Paul Kelly will play with Tex Perkins, Augie March and C.W Stoneking at
Seppelt, Great Western on Saturday February 28.
These all Australian bills give Australian artists a much welcomed opportunity to enjoy one of the performance highlights of the year.
“A huge part of what we do is providing a platform for literally dozens of
Aussie artists to play to big crowds at our beautiful wineries,” promoter
Michael Newton of Roundhouse Entertainment said. “That’s been our main aim
since day one. Both Jimmy and Paul have been ‘a day on the green’ stalwarts
for a long time, as has Joe Camilleri.
“The artists really enjoy playing the outdoor wineries and it provides these
areas with a great day of music. We’ve found our regional shows have become
a great opportunity for friends and family, who often live some distance
apart, to get together for a memorable day together.”
The line-ups certainly are interesting with the Kelly Show in particular bringing together and outstanding evening’s entertainment.

Paul Kelly Collectors Pack Available

To celebrate the release of Paul Kelly’s new “best of” album  “Songs From The South Volume 2″ a Deluxe Collector’s Pack is available for a limited time.

Each limited edition pack contains; SONGS FROM THE SOUTH VOLS 1 and 2, the DVD Video Collection (over 35 video clips and live performances from the past 23 years), a rare poster, a vintage T-Shirt, laminates and a facsimile of the original hand written lyrics to  ‘How To Make Gravy’, individually signed by Paul Kelly.?Only 2000 of these packs will be released. Although a small number will be available in selected record stores, we recommend getting your orders in via Paul’s website www.paulkelly.com.au

Once you have placed your pre-order you will have INSTANT digital access to Songs From The South Volumes 1 & 2, which should tide you over until your pack arrives in the first week of December.??You can get your hands on the Deluxe Collector’s Pack for $AU130 plus postage and handling. If you are outside of Australia options for overseas shipping are available.

Go to paulkelly.com.au and place your pre-order to take advantage of this rare opportunity to get your hands on Paul Kelly collector’s items.
Of course in other news Paul Kelly is the special guest on Leonard Cohen’s Australian tour next February which should make an amazing night even more amazing.