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This website dedicated to bringing you the latest Australian country music news |
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NEWS ARCHIVES DATELINE : WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2006 Allied Artist splits Australia's biggest country music booking agency Allied Artist & Event Services has split after 10 years, Christie Eliezer reports in his weekly music industry column. Directors Maurius Els and Rob Potts have started their own companies, dividing the roster. Both said that the business had come to a logical end. "We looked at new ways to do things," Potts said. Added Els, "We had 10 great years." Els' new company Artist Network Australia will look after Troy Cassar-Daley, Sara Storer, Adam Brand, Melinda Schneider, Lee Kernaghan and The Flood. Contacts are (02) 9819 6411 and email marius@artistnetwork.com.au. Potts' company, Rob Potts Entertainment Edge, will handle Keith Urban, Tommy Emmanuel, Catherine Britt, Jed Hughes, Adam Harvey, Steve Forde and Jake Nikolai. Current contact is 0419 273 607. 2006 WA Award winners The 2006 Western Australian Country Music Awards were hotly contested at the weekend with winners in all categories of a high standard, according to organisers.
Dean Johnson of Newcastle won Junior Songwriter while Debbie Beckett of Craigie took out the Songwriter – Australian Content – award. Connie Kis Andersen from Bentley won the Female Vocal title with Chad Woods from Bunbury taking out the Male Vocal award. Cyclone Jason & The Hurricanes from Busselton won the Open section. In the tradition of 21st birthdays, the Boyup Brook Country Music Club turned on a WA Country Music Festival at the weekend to surpass all others, according to a spokesman, with an attendance of more than 10,000. Special guests at this year's Festival included Carter & Carter, Greg Champion, Brendon Walmsley, Melinda Schneider, Sovereign the Sunny Cowgirls. A total of 180 utes and 50 trucks took part in the main street parade. At the conclusion of the Festival, President Daly Winter thanked all the volunteers from the local town and surrounds for their hard work and support over the past 12 months in preparing for the 2006 Festival. Planning for Festival 2007 is already with dates announced as February 16, 17 and 18. Photo: the winners on stage. WAM Hall of Fame Meanwhile, the Western Australian Music Industry Association (WAM) has announced inductees into the WAM Hall of Fame.
Steve and Alan Pigram of Broome group The Pigram Brothers are the first indigenous inductees into the WAM Hall of Fame. Paul Bodlovich, Executive Director of WAM, said: “These men were selected because for over two decades they have been at the forefront of indigenous music in this country. From their early days with Scrap Metal, through a long history with The Pigram Brothers, they have brought recognition not just to Indigenous musicians, but (have) also been central in branding the Kimberley as an important breeding ground for quality Australian Music." Singer/songwriter/guitarist David McComb was inducted posthumously (he died in 1999) for his long history of success with The Triffids and subsequent bands. The Triffids were pioneers in the '80s, taking Western Australian music to the UK with success and critical recognition that was not easily matched by other bands that were their peers. James Baker, as a drummer for the Manikins, Scientists, Hoodoo Gurus and Beasts of Bourbon (just to name a few), "has well and truly earned his stripes in the West Australian music scene," said a WAM spokesman. He was involved in formative lineups of a number of local bands that went on to major national and international fame and he is still active in the local scene. Hall of Fame inductees were to be presented with their certificates at the WAMi Awards night last night (no news to hand on award winners as we go to "net"). Further information can be obtained from wam.asn.au. Vale – Larry Dulhunty Country recording artist, variety entertainer and author Larry Dulhunty died last Thursday, February 16, at Charters Towers, Queensland, aged 83.
In his 2001 review of Larry's book "Our Blood Stained Past", Ian Hands said Larry grew up on a small cattle property south east of Charters Towers, Queensland. After volunteering for and then serving in the armed services during World War II, he again, when discharged, became a stockman working around his original stamping grounds. Feeling restless and unsettled with a return to the old life, however, he took to the road with a touring wild west show. During his travels, which have taken in every state of the continent, Larry has personally entertained a paying public by cracking whips, trick shooting, tent boxing, rough riding and as a bush story teller. For many years, he concentrated on an annual circuit that often included Cooktown, the Kimberleys and Kalgoorlie, but in 1968 he took a short break and journeyed to Sydney where, on that first visit, he performed whip cracking and vocals on the John Laws TV Tonight Show and was also a guest artist for Dita Cobb on an opposition channel. In 1970, for variety performances in "outback" Australia, Larry was featured in a 13-photo nine-page spread in America's Time Life magazine. In 1972, he made a 20 minute documentary in a Townsville hotel cabaret for Pat Harding's popular ABC program called Point's North. The following year, he performed a similar show for the Rockhampton based ABC TV Camera Three. In 1975, during a brief visit to Melbourne, Larry appeared daily whip cracking and trick shooting. In 1979, he had his whole show filmed in Western Queensland as an episode of "A Big Country". Back again to Sydney in 1980, Larry Dulhunty catching the sudden boom in country style entertainment, settled into his longest ever run of city performances – 18 months in clubs, restaurants, hotels and shopping centres. Although having broken well into the Sydney entertainment scene, Larry, suffering from itchy feet, embarked from Newcastle as a Trick Shot with Brophy Bros, newly formed Wild West Circus. After finishing a tour with Brophy Bros, he, in company with Paula Smith and the Fighting Hippy picked up other artists, worked around Brisbane and also again toured the Australian outback. In 1983, Larry was asked and gave permission to the ABC to enlarge his Big Country documentary into a motion picture short called "Glove Hustler" and have it screened with the Australian movie "Buddies" in the Hoyt's Cinema chain. These two pieces of Australiana brought good reports from viewers across the continent. At the time of the book publication (2001), Larry Dulhunty was again touring Outback Australia, an area he knew so well. APRA PDA winners to be announced in March Winners of the 2006 APRA Professional Development Awards (PDA) will be announced at a reception on Monday, March 27, in Sydney.
Almost 500 applications were received for this year's awards via 22 partner organisations. Short-listed entries are currently being judged by 25 music industry professionals grouped into panels for each category of music. "The quality of PDA submissions for 2006 are testament to a flourishing creative community that, with encouragement, has the potential to make a significant contribution to music in Australia," said Nigel Westlake, Composer and APRA member. Perth City Muster '06 Back to WA and the 2006 Perth City Muster – a nine-hour country music spectacular – will be staged at the Claremont Showgrounds this Saturday, February 25. Stars of the 2006 Muster are Beccy Cole, Adam Harvey, Paul Kelly, Lee Kernaghan, Tania Kernaghan, Ronni Rae Rivers, Aleyce Simmonds and The Topp Twins with Jim Haynes as MC. A "Best Ute" competition will be conducted as well as the the WA Whipcracking Championships and the Shear Power Invitational with international shearers challenging World Records. Further information available from www.citymuster.com.au. Jeanette to release Opal Blue
Described as a real career benchmark, "I am incredibly excited by the way the 10 original songs have come up." she said. "To celebrate, I am offering interested radio DJs and media a special preview copy next month - as soon as it gets back from the manufacturer. "And to say thank you to everyone who has shown such overwhelming support for last year's single If This Isn't Country." The first single from the album will be released on NFS 104 for distribution on March 27 and the album is in stores from March 20.
The ACMLA Peoples' Choice Awards were staged at Wests Diggers during the January Country Music Festival in Tamworth. Travis Sinclair won Best Country Album with Rush and Best Male Singer while Tania Kernaghan picked up her third Best Female Singer award. Peter Pratt took out Best Country Heritage Song with his recording of Eric Bogle's It’s As If He Knows and Graham Rodger won Best Bush Ballad for Country Towns. Newcomers to the Awards stage were The Sunny Cowgirls who won Best Country Music Band/Group/Duo while Carter & Carter took out Best Country Song with God Didn’t Make Mistakes. Charts update... Keith back at number one Keith Urban's Better Life retained the number one spot on the Country Tracks Top 30 Australian singles chart this week for the fifth week.
Adam Harvey's I've Been Loved By The Best fell to fourth position, Troy Cassar-Daley's Lonesome But Free was steady at five and Felicity Urquhart's The Flood dropped to number six. Brian Letton's Two Chords and Shania Twain's Shoes held steady at seven and eight respectively while the Dolly Parton/Keith Urban re-make of the Twelfth Of Never jumped to number nine and SweeneyKilleen's Running entered the top 10 at number 10. Bullet performers this week included The Flood's Hello Blue Sky (15 to 11), Sara Storer's Since I've Gone (up to 12), Paul Costa's It's Good To Be Me (up to 14), Tom Curtain's She Stays With Me (up to 15) and Keith Urban's new single These Are The Days (up four to 25). New entries to the chart this week included Darren Colston's Come By Chance (at 29) and Alex Watt with Window (30).
John Williamson's Chandelier Of Stars held steady at number three while Sara Storer's Firefly moved back up one to number four. Catherine Britt's (pictured) Too Far Gone slipped one place to five and Troy Cassar-Daley's Brighter Day and Paul Kelly & The Stormwater Boys' Foggy Highway were steady at six and seven respectively. Lee Kernaghan's Big Ones Greatest Hits moved back up to number eight while The Very Best Of Slim Dusty dropped one to number nine and dropped one place to nine while Keith Urbn's Golden Road was steady at 10. Bullet performers this week were Steve Forde & The Flange with Howdy (up six places to 12) and the Troy Cassar-Daley double album pack Long Way Home/Borrowed & Blue (moving back up to 17). Major tours kick off Four of Australia's leading contemporary country stars hit the road in March. Australian Country Music Entertainer of The Year Beccy Cole teams up with six times Golden Guitar winner Adam Harvey and this year's Male and Female Vocal Golden Guitar winners Sara Storer and Troy Cassar-Daley are also doing a double act. Troy and Sara launch their tour in Mudgee on Thursday, March 9, while Beccy and Adam's tour kicks off in Mittagong on Friday, March 17. Further information can be obtained at the artists' websites... www.troycassardaley.com.au, www.beccycole.com, www.adamharvey.com.au and www.sarastorer.com.au.
Last year's winner of the American Idol title, country singer Carrie Underwood, has released her album in Australia. Titled Some Hearts, the album is on the Sony BMG Music Entertainment label. Twenty-two-year-old Carrie has been dominating the charts in America with the album, her first. – top40-charts.com CMT Music Awards 2006
Nominees and voting instructions can be found on the CMT website (www.cmt.com). First-round voting ends at 11:59pm American Eeastern Time on March 9. Final nominees in each category will be announced March 15, when final voting begins. The final four nominees in the Video of the Year category will be announced during the live broadcast April 10. DATELINE : WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2006
Keith Urban has taken out the Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance with You'll Think Of Me from his current top selling album Be Here. The award, announced in Los Angeles last Thursday afternoon (February 9, Australian time), is Keith's first Grammy. In other Country categories, Emmylou Harris won the Female Country Vocal Performance award with The Connection, Alison Krauss and Union Station won the Country Album award with Lonely Runs Both Ways, the Country Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal award with Restless and also the Country Instrumental Performance award with Unionhouse Branch, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw took out the Country Collaboration With Vocals award with Like We Never Loved At All, and Bobby Boyd, Jeff Hanna and Marcus Hummon won the Country Song award with Bless The Broken Road (recorded by Rascal Flatts). In the overall Awards, the 48th to be staged, U2 won Album of the Year with How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb and Song of the Year with Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own and Green Day took out Record of the Year with Boulevard Of Broken Dreams. Full details of this year's Grammys can be found at www.grammys.com. Photo: Keith performs at the Grammy Awards. 2006 Victorian Award winners Winners of the Victorian and National Country Music Awards were announced in Whittlesea on Friday night (February 10).
Whittlesea Country Music Festival Committee President Alan Hayward said there were only two multiple award winners. "Adam Harvey (pictured at right) was the only artist to win two national awards tonight, for Male Vocalist of the Year and Song of the Year with Missing Heroes, while Carter and Carter (pictured, bottom right) won both the National and Victorian awards for Best Duo. "That shows how competitive each award category is," he said. "It also makes it clear that Australian country music in 2006 has an incredible depth of talent, among both established and emerging artists." A capacity crowd of 500 country music fans filled the Plenty Ranges Arts and Convention Centre for the awards ceremony. They were entertained by Hard Drive, who won the National Country Music Award for Best Bluegrass and Traditional Country. Special guests at the gala dinner, Adam Harvey and Beccy Cole (right) took out the top Male and Female Vocal awards. Peter Denahy (bottom right) became the first winner of Bush Ballad of the Year, a new category in 2006, with Peppercorn Tree. The Victorian and National Country Music Awards were first held in 1992 in Kyneton, before moving to become part of the Whittlesea Country Music Festival in 2001. The Awards began in response to two years of research which found Victorian country music artists wanted local opportunities to further their careers. “These awards provide an alternative to the Golden Guitars in Tamworth,” Alan Hayward said. “In 2006, they covered more categories and attracted more entrants than the Golden Guitars. These awards, and the Whittlesea Country Music Festival, are acknowledged throughout the country music industry as second only to Tamworth."
In Victorian categories... Female Vocalist: Rebecca Lee Nye (pictured, centre) with It's A Heartache. Male Vocalist: Travis Sinclair (pictured, top) with Rush. Group/Duo: Carter & Carter with God Didn't Make Mistakes. Album of the Year: Paul Costa with Walkin' In These Shoes. Victorian Entertainer of the Year: Rodney Vincent. In the national categories... Claye Middleton and Ruckus tied for the Hawking Brothers Best New Talent award with Free And Flying and Ruckus, respectively. John Williamson won the Trailblazers Heritage Award with The Camel Boy. Johnny Chester took out the Smoky Dawson Best Independent Release award with Get A Little Dirt On Your Hands. Bush Ballad of the Year: Peter Denahy with Peppercorn Tree. Duo of the Year: Carter & Carter with God Didn't Make Mistakes. Bluegrass & Traditional Country: Hardrive with Mighty Dark For Me To Travel. Jake Nickolai won Instrumental of the Year with Sidewinder. Song of the Year: Adam Harvey, Rod McCormack and Jerry Salley with Missing Heroes. The Vibe won Best Australian Group of the Year with Walk Away. Female Vocalist of the Year: Beccy Cole with Just Because She Always Has. And Male Vocalist of the Year: Adam Harvey with Missing Heroes. Boyup Brook gears up... Organisers of this weekend's Country Music Festival and Awards in Boyup Brook, Western Australia, are looking forward to another successful event.
The Festival kicks off Friday Afternoon with free country music behind the Tourist Centre in Boyup Brook featuring Girls with Guitars (pictured at right, below), Busty Brasierri (Deborah Minter) and bush poets. Friday Night, Carter & Carter, Greg Champion, Brendon Walmsley and Cowboy X star. Saturday morning features a street festival, buskers and street performers and a parade with floats, utes and trucks. Saturday afternoon and night is time for a Concert in the Park starring Greg Champion, Melinda Schneider, Sovereign, the Sunny Cowgirls (pictured at right, above) and more. Also on Saturday, some Awards contestants and previous winners will appear. Sunday kicks off with a bush poets' breakfast followed by gospel music at the Anglican Church with Carter & Carter. The Sunday Concert in the Park wraps up the Festival with Connie Kis Andersen, Sovereign, the Sunny Cowgirls and many more. A feature of this year's festival – and new for 2006 – will be a Blue Singlet Count Guiness World Record Attempt where organisers hope to beat the Deniliquin Ute Muster record of people in blue singlets. Finalists for this year's Awards are... In Female Vocal... Connie Kis Anderson, Danielle Simich and Judy Tilley. In Male Vocal... Steve Dix, Matt Starcevich and Chad Woods. In Instrumental... Kingsley Day and Linda Fisher. In Junior Vocals... Chelsea Basham, Lauren Brede and Kallen Hair. In Open... Country Horizon, Cyclone Jason & The Hurricanes and Super Dextas. Songwriter categories have already been determined with Debra Beckett winning the Senior Songwriter award and Dean Johnston taking out the Junior title. Further information can be obtained from www.countrymusicwa.com.au. New release for Slim A new double CD and double DVD set titled Slim Dusty Live will be released on March 12.
Slim’s enthusiasm was infectious and his live shows delighted hundreds of thousands of Australians for more than half a century. While his early shows drew heavily on the music hall tradition, his performance style evolved over the years. The strength of the Slim Dusty Show was seeing and hearing Slim sing real songs about real characters in such a down to earth, straightforward manner. Surprisingly, this is only Slim’s fifth live recording from his career spanning more than five decades. Achieving gold and platinum CD sales for Slim was commonplace but it is fitting that before he passed away Slim earned his first platinum award in the new DVD format. This puts Slim in the unique position of earning gold or platinum sales awards for all commercial audio and visual formats - 78rpm, 45 rpm, 33rpm, cassette, eight-track, CD, VHS and now DVD. The 33 track, double Slim Dusty Live CD was captured during the 2000 sell out Looking Forward Looking Back concert tour which celebrated Slim’s multi-platinum 100th album release. The previously unreleased concert recording also features performances from the McKean Sisters and Anne Kirkpatrick. The simultaneous double Slim Dusty Live DVD release features all previously unseen performances including concert footage filmed at Mike Walsh’s Richmond Regent Theatre in 1987. This concert was originally intended to become the pilot for a proposed television series to be hosted by Slim, however the series didn’t eventuate. Thanks to Joy McKean and Mike Walsh, now, some 20 years later, fans can enjoy the historic performance. The second DVD features another previously unseen Slim Dusty concert, filmed in 1992 at The Geelong Performing Arts Centre. These two historic concerts are complemented by the inclusion of two rare bonus Slim Live tracks, Three Rivers Hotel and Camooweal, both filmed in 1975. Fans will be delighted to discover that there is virtually no song repetition over the three hours of live performance featured on the Slim Dusty Live CD and DVD. Slim chance there'd be no Dusty on this mural Meanwhile, much in the way Slim Dusty turned ordinary tales into beautiful music, his lined face has now transformed a school wall in Queensland into an attractive mural.
Teacher Greg Retschlag is passionate about Australian history and every year, students from his class sing a medley of country music at the School's year-end concert. It was only fitting, then, that the country music legend grace the assembly area wall. "Slim Dusty had to feature in that," Greg said, pointing to the colourful new mural. "You can't do country music without Slim." The other Australian to feature on the mural, designed by graphic designer Megan Bourne, who incorporated the students' ideas, is poet Banjo Patterson. A windmill and water tank represent the outback, while native Australian flowers, including the banksia, wattle and Queensland's Cooktown orchid, complement the scene. "I sat down with the kids and said, 'Right, we want an Australian mural. What should we put on it?'" Greg said. "Then they watched their ideas take form on the wall." Money for the mural was granted by the Regional Arts Development Fund, which gave $2,000 towards the project. The school's P&C also contributed $1,500. School Principal Tom Otto said: "Slim Dusty was a great Australian and I am pleased that the children asked that his image be included in their mural." I've Been Everywhere goes even further Remember the movies "Ghostbusters" and "Honey, I Shrunk The Kids"?
The Canadian Press reported that Moranis, after nearly a decade-long self-imposed hiatus from major screenwork, had unintentionally launched a side career as a singer. Over the years, we've come to know him through memorable TV and film characters like the nutty scientist who shrank his kids. Since its release last fall, his offbeat country album – The Agoraphobic Cowboy – has taken off, earning major label support and a nomination for last week's Grammy Awards. And no one is more surprised than Moranis himself. After all, it began as a lark. "I sort of pulled out of everything a few years ago," said the Toronto-born Moranis who's been raising his children in New York since his wife died of cancer in the early 1990s. "I needed and wanted to spend more time at home and then I discovered that I just didn't miss any of it and didn't go back to it."
"As much as it is somewhat of a departure, it's not completely a departure because I've always done a lot of music," said Moranis, who started out as a radio DJ in Toronto before moving on to standup comedy. "I don't know if I'm capable of writing anything straight. I just can't take myself that seriously." Moranis said country music seemed a natural genre for his humour. "Country music is a place where from time to time you hear some really funny stuff," he said pointing to artists like Johnny Cash, The Statler Brothers, Roger Miller and Ray Stevens. Moranis, 52, made the album available for sale via his website using Artistshare, web-based technology that allows artists to sell self-produced music. The initial release sold a few thousand copies with barely any effort on Moranis's part. "It just made sense to see if we could take it a little bit further," he said. "I was running into people on the street in New York who were saying 'Hey, I heard about that thing. I gotta go pick it up'." The Agoraphobic Cowboy was recently made widely available in stores courtesy of a deal Moranis struck with Warner Canada. "I don't know what's going to happen now," he said, but he may cut a music video for I Ain't Goin' Nowhere, in which he sings: "I ain't goin' nowhere, man/Never gonna go nowhere/I'm cuttin' my own hair, man." Graeme back on the road
"Simply Graeme Connors" presents this multi awarded artist and gifted songwriter in intimate, solo mode while "…in a different light" is an insightful, interactive stage performance where Graeme invites the audience to share a day in his life set in his "inner sanctum" with writing desk, guitar, piano and his view to the world. "…in a different light" is descibed as "a journey into the creative process where imagery and inspiration merge with theatre and technology to reveal the private Graeme Connors at work" Graeme Connors "…in a different light" has received many outstanding reviews and, on this tour, he is joined on stage by musicians Sam Hawksley, James Gillard and Scott Hills. Recently inducted into the Walk of Fame in Tamworth, Graeme has released 12 albums and has achieved three Gold and one Platinum record sales awards, 12 Golden Guitars, "MO", APRA, ARIA and PPCA Awards among many other local and international accolades. Visit www.graemeconnors.com for tour details and more information. Big Brisbane year for Laurel The Australian radio news website radioinfo reports that 2006 is proving to be a huge year already for 4KQ breakfast host and media personality Laurel Edwards. | |||||||||
Chelsea Basham from Wongan Hills won Junior Vocal with Smarter Than Smoking.
They are Alan and Steve Pigram (pictured), David McComb and James Baker who were formally recognised by WAM last night (Tuesday, February 21) during the WAMi Awards for their contributions to and achievements in the WA music industry.
His funeral is being held today.
Six Professional Development Awards will be presented on the night in the categories of Country, Jazz, Film & TV, Popular Contemporary and Classical Music. The Jessica Michalik Contemporary Music Endowment will also be announced in conjunction with producers of the Big Day Out.
Jeanette Wormald's new album Opal Blue, her first full album project with producer Michael Cristian, will be officially launched in April.
Catching up on Tamworth 2006 – Peoples' Choice winners
Samantha McClymont's Heart Of A Man jumped to number two while George Strait's She Let Herself Go rose to number three.
In this week's ARIA (Australian Record Industry Association) Australian Artist Country Albums Chart, Keith Urban retook the number one position with Be Here, pushing back The Winners 2006 to number two.
Carrie Underwood's album in Australia
Voting for country music's only fan-voted awards in America – the CMT Music Awards – has opened.
Keith wins his first Grammy
Organisers said winners for 2006 were evenly spread, with no single artist or group dominating the awards ceremony.
The full list of 2006 Victorian and National Country Music Award winners...
More than 150 artists will be involved through Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
"As always, when I got too big for my boots," Slim is quoted as saying, "I went back to touring. There’s nothing like being out there on stage, connecting with the folk who come to hear my songs and tell me what’s going on in the real world."
The Toowoomba Chronicle's Kathleen Donaghey reported the Australian-themed mural was painted over the Christmas break at Withcott State School and features iconic Aussies of whom the Grade 4/5 students were learning about.
Rick Moranis (pictured at right), the star of those films (and more), has recently turned to country music and released an album which includes a parody of Geoff Mack's I've Been Everywhere called I Ain't Goin' Nowhere.
Inspired by his two teenaged children, who'd been listening to alt-country and bluegrass, the 13 tracks on the disc include Wheaties Box, Oh So Bucco and It's the Champagne Talkin'. And there's the parody of the Geoff Mack (pictured here) song which was originally a hit in America for Hank Snow.
Graeme Connors is back on the road taking his new solo show “Simply Graeme Connors” and an innovative theatre production “…in a different light” to NSW and Victoria.