February 2010

Week 4 26/02/10 Ok, there will be no updates over the weekend, so The Point will have a bigger one tonight. Next Thursday, will be the beginning of the SUNSHINE COAST INVASION of Brisbane. The Stepp Inn will host Tranzluzid, Rob Stanley AND Morning Gloree next Thursday night, March 4th. Mark my words, this is only the beginning. MIA Entertainment is aiming to bring more Sunshine Coast talent down to Brisbane (yes, we've had some great bands play regularly in Brisbane - Signal the Firing Squad, The Ailment, Panda Panda Panda, Dunsinane etc, but not in larger chunks). Inhailed tonight at Rosies. Night of punk at the Jubilee tomorrow night. MASC have organised a meeting in relation to licensing legislation which is an issue for the continuation of live music on the Sunshine Coast. It's happening next week (you had to register by today, but don't blame me, I only got word of this this afternoon). The Point has registered to attend, so hopefully they'll let us in so we can get a scope of what's planned to happen for the live music scene on the Sunshine Coast. This could be a very big deal. The Cindy Mackenzie Breast Cancer Foundation Gala Committee (CMBCF are a fantastic LOCAL organisation) are searching for a great local jazz band that can welcome guests as they arrive from 6.30pm – 7.30pm (ish) on Saturday 15th May. They are hoping to find a band that would greatly benefit from the exposure of 400 glamorous locals hearing them play and therefore donate their services. It's become one of the biggest Gala events on the Sunshine Coast, so even though you'll be donating your efforts, think of the exposure you get (plus the clientele... talking high flyers of the Sunshine Coast etc). If you're interested, contact The Point and we'll put you in touch with the Committee. 25/02/10 Received an update from Mr Rob Stanley, regarding his upcoming album - "I have one more track to do for my solo album, then it's mixing, mastering and it's done. I have some new artwork to dress it up with and hopefully I'll get some sort of replication/distribution deal with someone TBA. I was originally planning to have it finished by the new year, but you know how these things pan out." - Rob. Judging by the material he has released so far, this will be one EPIC album. Looking forward to finally hearing it AND reviewing it. Inhailed tomorrow night at Rosies in Brisbane. Huge punk fest at the Jubilee on Saturday (it's a fundraiser) featuring Fire Driver, Dementia 13, The Kombi Killers and more. Like always, check the Gigs page for more details. Saturday will also be a day for brutality at the Black Box in Nambour, as The Ailment support Dead Kings and more. Tranzluzid will be headlining at the Stepp Inn next Thursday night, with 3 other bands. 24/02/10 The next Peregian Originals on March 7th will feature... The Floating Bridges, who will then have to head off to Brisbane to play their first show at Ric's Bar that same night. Big things for this band this year. They head into the studio on Friday. Those of you that have been following the rant about a disgusting 'article' (more like Letters to the Editor) about how 'Musos should face reality', then you're going to love this Press Release that was in the latest Live@Joe's eNewsletter that came yesterday - Click here to read the follow Press Release. 23/02/10 Happy Birthday to Elliott (Panda x 3 Manager, amongst other things), and to.... uh, me. The Great Noosa Campout happening on the Easter Weekend (April 2, 3, and 4) is looking to be an epic lineup, with tonnes of talent. Tickets on sale now at www.thegreatnoosacampout.com Inhailed are playing this Friday night at Rosies in Brisbane. Go check out and see why The Point named them one of THE bands to watch in 2010. 22/02/10 Gandalf the Grey (if you haven't heard of them, check their myspace page) will be heading into the studio in April. Received the following information today that is VERY important to all you Coast Muso's in regards to QMusic workshops - Sunshine Coast Council is looking to host a selection of Qmusic workshops over the next 6-12 months as part of our AMPED/A-venue (A music program enabling development) project. Rather then pick them ourselves we would like you to indicate which ones you would actually attend! Please email a list of 3-6 workshops (from the list below) or if you want any more info about AMPED/A-venue to: adam.lewczuk@sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au While you’re at it, feel free to also include a blurb about your band/duo/solo act and a link to your website/MySpace/etc which we will put in our database of Sunshine Coast bands which is used to find bands for events that Council organises. NB: Workshop’s will be FREE and occur centrally on the Sunshine Coast. List of currently offered Qmusic workshops: Industry Entrepreneurs – Get up close and personal with Music Industry entrepreneurs and get some tips on running your own business Don’t believe the hype –twittering/blogging/spamming/facebooking – what actually works in drawing you new fans and selling your music? Gigs and Touring - Entry Level Touring Nationally - Aspiring and professional levels International Touring and Music Export - Aspiring and professional levels Getting Your Press Kit Together - Entry Level Marketing and Branding - Aspiring and professional levels Publicity and Promotion - Aspiring to professional levels Getting your Music heard (Radio plugging) - Entry to professional levels Band Management - Entry to professional levels Tour management - Entry to professional levels Event Management - Entry to professional levels Copyright and Protecting your Intellectual Property - Entry to professional levels Licensing and Synchronisation - Aspiring and professional levels Songwriting - Entry to professional levels Recording and production - Entry to professional levels Releasing your Music - Physical and digital distribution: Entry to professional levels The Changing face of the Music Industry - Entry to professional levels

Week 3 21/02/10 Hope those of you that went to SOUNDWAVE had a blast. I know I did. Saw members of Melodyssey, Ablaze Withsin, Excruciate, The Floating Bridges, Dead Letter Circus and more roaming the crowd. Peregian Originals today. Good way to wind down listening to some very cruisey music for FREE behind the Peregian Beach Surf Club. Jen Mize, Simon Shapiro and The Map Project playing from 2pm today. The Floating Bridges are heading into the studio next weekend, to record their follow-up to their debut EP. Tracks rumoured to appear on the next recording will be crowd fave's Fire, Spanish Split, and Changes (with 1 or 2 more). They'll be recording with Brian (known to some of us as Melodyssey's sound engineer guru), and will be under indie label, Gumnutz. Those Old Soles are looking to get a live recording done at their next public show at the Music Kafe on March 14th. Details are yet to be sorted. Dead Letter Circus will be on tour from this week. Looking forward to the single release, and finally the album in May. Take Anthia have put up a blog on their myspace - video footage of their studio time. 20/02/10 Just a quick one before I head off to SOUNDWAVE! Tranzluzid will be playing the Stepp Inn on March 4th with Levic, When in Mexico and Gust of Gravity. Good to see the guys and girls hit the Brisbane scene. 19/02/10 The Reggae will be rising when the third Drop the Junk event hits the Coolum Beach Hotel on March 6th. Featuring One Love, The Outlook with Mr Boikin, The Green Room, The Clay Pavers, and The Lady Throat Killers, you can take in this massive night for $10. Peregian Originals returns this Sunday with Jen Mize, The Map Project and Simon Shapiro for FREE. SOUNDWAVE tomorrow! Hopefully will see some of you there. 18/02/10 Oh, this is going to stir up some feathers. Big thanks to Dan for bringing this article from the Noosa Journal to The Point's attention. First, click here to read the article in a separate window. Finished? Ok, love the stereotype of 'musos' the first letter to the editor goes on about. Fact is, he couldn't be more wrong. The majority of musicians I know on the Sunshine Coast work full-time, or at least part-time. There's very few of them that are 'bludging' off of Centrelink. Secondly, the writer has no clue what he's on about. He wants Sunshine Coast musicians to hire out the J or Bicentenial Hall in Noosa? Wait a second. How can they do that if they have no funds as they're all waiting to claim their next Centrelink payment. These venues are quite costly to book for a show. Not to mention the outrageous Public Liability Insurance fees etc. It is The Point's opinion that if these people who are complaining about the 'loud' music want their peace and quiet, well, head out to Cooroy or Pomona on an acreage. Simple. Also, to label these musicians as 'just not good enough for people to pay to watch them perform' is laughable. They're doing the local communities a service YOU IDIOT, by providing FREE entertainment. Also, a lot of these bands that play (seeing as he's pointing reference to Peregian Originals) are actually highly regarded National, Local, and sometimes International acts. As for the second letter's mention of Jay (organiser of Peregian Originals), that's just downright rude. Sorry for the rant, Point followers, but reading this really got my goat. This is not a 'what will the youth do without live music' issue. No. The majority of live music lovers on the Coast are aged in their early 20's upwards. Hell, I know a lot of people in their 40s and 50s that LOVE their live music (the Blues Jam nights are a great example of this). It seems, the Sunshine Coast is destined to become one MASSIVE retirement village. All these people that move up here for 'peace and quiet' and think it's owed to them. Well guess what? There's a large population of younger people on the Coast too. Sure, we love our peace and quiet (Sunday mornings are a favourite...oh wait, guess who wakes me up at 7am with the sound of a distant mower and whipper snipper? hmmmmm), but we also LOVE our music. Another interesting fact - Australia has some of, if not THE, toughest noise pollution laws in the world. It's a big country - we should be able to make some noise yeah? While doing some updates for the Facebook page today, I had an epiphany. I say, it's about time all Sunshine Coast musicians revolt! I say we give it back to them (them being the minority that the Local, State, and Federal Governments seem to pay more attention to when it comes to matters like these). Here's an idea. How about we synchronize a date where a massive series of backyard parties featuring local bands (of any genre) will perform at the same time all across the Coast? Now that, would be interesting. There's no need for violence. Let the music speak for itself. (Hey, I'm allowed to dream). On the gigs front, don't forget there's a massive night of punk coming up at Brisbane's Jubilee Hotel on February 27th with The Kombi Killers, Fire Driver, Dementia 13 and more. 17/02/10 Idle Theory have announced a new show at the Stepp Inn, playing Inferno's Free night of metal on Wednesday March 17. Tranzluzid are hitting Club 299 tomorrow night. Say their name at the door at get cheap entry. A little word from Pete, drummer for Coast Goremetal legends Excruciate - "The artwork to Excruciate's 2nd album "Depth's Of Impurity" is finished and looks rediculously awesome. Everyone's faces are going to melt." Sounds pretty brutal. 16/02/10 YES! The Dead Letter Circus album is complete!!! Now we just have to sit back, relax, tap our fingers, and wait, first for the new single, then the whole SHEBANG! We do however, miss out on some DLC love as the closest we get is the Lost Weekend Festival. The Point spoke to Quizmical from Sunshine Coast Hip Hop chargers, The Lady Throat Killers, and they've nearly finished their album. It is, to quote Quizmical, '13 trax of goodness'. Looking forward to it, champ. And in other Sunshine Coast Hip Hop news, and this is a good one, it looks like Drop the Junk is returning in March! This one will have a reggae/dub flavour, apparently, and The Outlook with Mr Boinkin have been named as one of the acts, with the possibility of The Lady Throat Killers joining the bill too. More on this as we find out. 15/02/10 Have had a sneak peek at the line-up so far for this year's Ripe Festival in Noosa. Let's see... The Cat Empire, Grinspoon, British India, Urthboy, Kid Kenobi & Shureshock, Infusion, Cassette Kids, and importantly, the MASC local stage featuring Drew Wilson, KAHN, The MAP Project, Mick McCombe Band, Cleveland Blues, The Vagrant City Scandal, The Marsden Lee’s, The Dawn Chorus. For more information head to www.ripenoosa.com Have uploaded (finally, no thanks to Optus and their sh*thouse wireless reception at the moment) the footage of The Floating Bridges at the Villa Noosa last Friday night. It's up on their review.

Week 2 14/02/10 Happy f*ckin' Valentines Day. Nu-Blues trio, Those Old Soles have announced some dates in March at the Music Kafe. Go check the Gigs page. Only 6 days till Soundwave! I know a lot of Coast musicians are heading out to the festival, so The Point will try and catch up with them and get their take on their favourite International/National acts, as well as what they've (the Coast muso's) have been up to. 13/02/10 The Villa Noosa got Bridge-ified last night. Seriously, The Floating Bridges rocked/grooved/booty-shook the venue last night, with probably one of the shortest sets I've seen them do (that's saying something, though a 45/50 minute set isn't regarded as short, in comparison to seeing these guys do three 50 minute sets, it put things into perspective). A full review will be up shortly (plus some footage I took on my phone...disregard the pure sound quality, just watch them dance around like men-possessed). Young guns, Morning Gloree have been asked to play the Noosa Festival of Surfing, playing just before headline act, Max Judo. The guys are reportedly 'stoked' about this gig, which will be at Lions Park, Noosa Heads on March 14th. Speaking of things all Morning Gloree-ey, they will also have their TV debut on February 26th, on Channel Ten's Toast TV. Get up early (like 7am) and check it. Another band has caught my attention of late - Kindread (thanks to Bel Ellis for pointing these guys out). Some very tasty Reggae/Dub sounds. For all you muso's that will be travelling back and forth from the Coast to Brisbane regularly, please be aware that this year, sometime soon, there will be a 'point to point' speed camera system in place from Caloundra Rd to Wildhorse Mountain (where the Mobils are on the Bruce Highway). Basically, this works on an 'average' worked out from your speed between the different points, and if you are found to have an above average speed, the details and photos will be sent straight to SCAR and you will receive notification with 2 to 3 days, instead of the normal 4 weeks. The strip where the cameras will be set up is roughly 13km. So, please exercise some caution on that stretch in particular. Don't want to have to see all you muso's spending your hard-earned gig money paying off speeding fines. 12/02/10 The Floating Bridges play the Villa Noosa tonight from 7pm. Word is they're working on some new material, but not sure if they'll unleash that tonight. Guess you'll have to go and find out for yourself. Post-punk/Hardcore lads Mayfair have put up some footage of tour shenanigans on their myspace page. Pretty amusing stuff. Check it out here. Former Coast DJ, Ryzer, has put up some 'works in progress'. Listen to Ladies I'm Your DJ here. Mate, sounds pretty damn good for a work in progress. 10/02/10 Uni night returns tomorrow night, at the new club, ENVY in Ocean St, Maroochydore. Apparently ENVY will also become a regular live venue, and according to sources, MASC will be running it, so get in contact with them if you want to organise a show there. A community service announcement from Pine Cone Throat - "Shootin new DEAD KELLY film clip in the comin weeks for the new track RETURN OF THE QUIN KIN LORD.... who wants to put on a pair of stubies and a wife beater get blind and BE IN IT!!!!!! I will tea up a day let me know if your keen . its gonna be fucken sic cheers" Get in contact with The Point if you're interested in being a part of this (either via direct email, or leave a comment on the Facebook page). Look, as Editor, I do get asked questions about 'how do I get my band in the street press or paper - I've sent them info but I get nothing'. Thing is, street press, newspapers etc get a lot of that info on a daily basis. You need to set yourselves apart, and more importantly, interest the journalists/editors. If you make their job easier by sending them an easy-to-read, well-read press release with a HIGH RES photo, then you'll have more of a chance of getting your news published. Go read the Fox PR blog on Band media, and it will tell you the basics. You can access this blog here - Getting your band in the media 09/02/10 Thanks to Rob Stanley, we now have a review up for the last Live@The Rolling Rock show that featured Bloodspots, Electrik Dynamite and Rob himself. You can check it out at the reviews page. The Coast gets the chance to witness the awesome The Floating Bridges on Friday night when they play the Villa Noosa. *A word from the Editor - It's been a while since I've had a rant, but a saw something today while trawling the internets and the googles that caught my attention. Book-a-Band-Direct have teamed up with 'Sunshine Coast' street press, Tsunami, with an interesting deal that sees Book-a-Band-Direct interviewing bands, and in return Tsunami will print their gig guide. Seems like a fair deal. However, as you may recall, we had a similar 'deal' with Tsunami last year where they were to take news from The Point, and in return, The Point would get a mention in the 'I Heart Local' section. Due to political BS and red tape, this eventually fell through, and though I feel a little bitter about this, this is besides the point. This is a long way about explaining a story, but I'm getting there. Basically, this all links back to my frustration with Tsunami. Yes, they are an informative music magazine, with a decent gig guide and little interviews with touring artists (and they also help aspiring music journalists get some portfolio material), but, and this is a big BUT, for a magazine that was started on the Sunshine Coast, and claims to be the only Sunshine Coast street press, to be honest, I'm not seeing an awful amount of Sunshine Coast news in there. The 'I Heart Local' section is a huge disappointment, as it has great potential, but really, half a page (and of that probably 3 of 4 paragraphs WHOLEY dedicated) for local music news??? Let's put things into perspective, shall we? Tsunami have a whole team dedicated to interviewing, writing pieces, and sourcing news. I know they have AT LEAST 2 full time staff (not going to name names). They work at least 5 days a week, and produce the magazine once a fortnight (give them credit for that). Now there's little ol' me. Believe it or not, The Point is run by ONE person. Yes, we get contributers for reviews occasionally (thanks to Rob Stanley, Rohan, and Emma), but apart from that, it's just me. I work FULLTIME in another occupation, so I spend my lunch time (30 minutes) and some afternoon home time (between bathing my kids, helping with dinner, spending time with the missus etc) gathering information from the internets. I SOMETIMES get information sent to me by particular bands on The Point (kudos to those bands for taking the initiative), and I'm still able to gather enough information to do DAILY updates. Sure there are days where things are re-iterated, but that helps things sink in, the bands/venues get extra promtion etc etc. Oh, and another thing, I DON'T GET PAID to run The Point. So don't think money is the motivator behind this rant. Now comes the big bit... I am hereby issuing a challenge to Tsunami magazine to increase their I Heart Local section. I'm fully aware you can no longer dedicate an entire street press to local talent, and you have to get the ads in to pay, that's besides the point. I challenge Tsunami to get up to TWO WHOLE pages dedicated solely to I Heart Local, (and that does NOT include the paid-for interviews/advertorials). I am more than confident that Tsunami can do this. Like I said, there's no monetary gain for me in The Point, or issuing this challenge (and as you can see, I have been very careful and diplomatic NOT to slander the magazine - I actually used to be an avid reader), the real winners will be YOU - you, the musicians. You, the bands. You, the lover of LOCAL music. Let's see if they pay attention and come up with the goods. (and don't think I don't know you read this, Tsunami people). -Ed. 08/02/10 Keep those applications coming in to the Homegrown committee. If you want a shot at playing the first Homegrown festival of 2010, then you need to get your applications in before Feb 22nd. Please email a one paragraph brief, describing your band/act and recent performances to: homegrownfestivals@hotmail.com with a link to either your music via MySpace or website. One of The Point's artists to watch in 2010, Take Anthia are heading into the studio this week. Very interested to hear what comes out of those sessions. Uni night returns this week at the new club, ENVY in Ocean St in Maroochydore. It makes its return on Thursday night, Feb 11th.

Week 1 07/01/10 Live@ The Rolling Rock tonight from 7pm. The Floating Bridges have a big night coming up at the Music Kafe in Brisbane's West End on February 13 - 3 hours of music from the urban hippies who The Point has tagged as one of the artists to watch in 2010. Just spoke to Pine Cone Throat, who has informed The Point that the new Dead Kelly track is finished, with just mastering to go. It's been 2 months of arduous tasks, but it will be worth it. Stay tuned for a review on the new track, plus maybe some inside footage on the filming of the filmclip. 05/01/10 BANDS - Don't forget to get your applications in for Homegrown. Applications close Feb 22nd. See below (Feb 2nd news update) for details on how/where to send your application. Left the podcast uploading while The Point went and checked out the Blues night (celebrating it's 5th birthday) at the Royal George in Nambour. By the time The Point got back, the bloody thing had failed to upload, so it's going up now. This week's (and 2010's first) podcast will be up shortly featuring The Point's who to watch in 2010. Speaking of the Blues night, never had we seen a Nambour venue packed out like it was (on a Thursday night no less). Awesome Blues music, with seasoned pro's mixing it up with up and comers. Young band, No Problem (who won the Rock Camp run at Doonan a few years back) impressed, and even Rohan Nitschke got up and jammed with a Mouth Harp player on Robert Johnson's 'Crossroads'. Highly recommend, if you've never been to one, go to the Blues nights at the Royal George in Nambour town. Excruciate and Idle Theory are playing tonight at Rosie's in Brisbane, in a gig that looks to be utterly BRUTAL. If your diet is seriously lacking in metal, then head down to Rosie's. End of Summer Stomp tomorrow night at the Kings Beach Tavern, with a whole heap of bands (check the Gigs page). Rob Stanley, Bloodspot, & Electrik Dynamite at the last Live@The Rolling Rock on Sunday. Peregian Originals are back, so head down behind the Peregian Surf Club on Sunday arvo to check out some awesome music, including Kingfisher (reggae act from Brisbane). 03/01/10 Mayfair are playing Snitch at 299 in Brisbane tomorrow night, with Widow the Sea, The Storm Picturesque, and Chasing Sirens. Young band Morning Gloree were filmed playing at Seaworld this morning, to feature on Channel 10's Toast TV. The episode goes to air on Feb 26th between 7am and 8am. Nice work. 02/02/10 Attention local bands - a little note from the HOMEGROWN Committee. 'The MANIFEST Committee are now calling all interested bands to apply for the chance to perform at this awesome event. Please email a one paragraph brief, describing your band/act and recent performances to: homegrownfestivals@hotmail.com with a link to either your music via MySpace or website. Otherwise send your CD & Bio to P.O Box 542, Maroochydore Qld 4558. Entries close on Monday 22nd of February. Bands will be selected through a fair and intensive selection process by the existing MANIFEST Committee which is made up of local young people.' So...chop chop kiddies. 01/02/10 Holy crap this year is already going fast. February already? Working on a list of 'Who to watch in 2010', and thanks to The Point fans on Facebook, we've been getting some cool suggestions. Those Old Soles had their first gig at the Music Kafe last night. There's already a review up thanks to Emma, and if you look for Those Old Soles on Youtube, you'll find a few live clips as well. The Point has set up their profile page where you can listen to/download the live version of 'Monster' for free. Huge huge huge night of music this Saturday with the End of Summer Stomp at the Kings Beach Tavern. The Point highly recommends checking out bands like Fire Driver, Take Anthia, Georgian Ivy, Dementia 13 and more.