News:
· Puff 'n' Stuff
Everything that's happening in Adelaide this fortnight.
· Industry
The latest from the music industry.
· Puffio
Theatre news.
· Dance
Dance and electronica news.
· Metal
Updates from the wide world of metal.
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Industry.
New Station Cruises Into Town
Cruise 1323, Adelaide's newest radio station will commence broadcasting from mid-November. It was launched last week by Australian Radio Network - with Leo Sayer popping in for the festivities as he was in town to do gigs.
Steve Rowe, GM of ARN in SA said, "We needed a radio station that would complement Mix102.3 - when we looked at the available radio market, the under 40s are well and truly catered for so we went for the Baby Boomers and beyond. It made sense when we studied our population - 54% are over 40."
The announcer line up is: ex-2CH Peter Burgham (breakfast/PD), Craig Huggins (mornings), former 5AD and 5DN head Mark Elliston (arvo/drive), Bob Peters (night), and Alan Baskin doing breakfast news.
Knocking Boots ARIAs Style
A highlight of the ARIAs was of course Eskimo Joe's Stuart MacLeod announcing he'd got engaged to girlfriend Genevieve and using the telecast to tell his mum and dad he was getting married. Kasey Chambers and singer songwriter Shane Nicholson announced backstage they got engaged.
The media room was hosted by Triple J's Robbie Buck who was expected to run out any time - his girlfriend Ann was due to give birth. They had a boy last week.
During the awards people noticed that Savage Garden guitarist Daniel Jones and fiancee Hi Five's Kathleen de Leon were absent. They were honeymooning in Greece after a ceremony on the Gold Coast.
One singer arrived separately from his boyfriend and didn't sit near him - but fooled no one.
WOW FM Fire Bombed
WOW FM was firebombed after threats were made to it - a Molotov cocktail was thrown into its studio, destroying all technical equipment. Fire crews were called to its premises in Swan Tce, Semaphore. The station is off air but management is trying to get a temporary service up, and the station's phone was constantly engaged the last time we tried.
AMP Prize Changes Criteria
The organisers of the inaugural $25,000 AMP (Australian Music Prize) have changed the criteria for minimum length of release - from 40 minutes to 33 and a 1/3rd (33 minutes, 20 seconds). See www.theamp2005.com.au for more info. Organisers expected 300 to 350 entries. In the first three weeks, over 450 entrants downloaded the entry form. As a result, the AMP Steering Committee has decided to close off early. The new closing date is 5.00pm Fri 23 Dec.
Scam Of The Week
Quick witted Kiwis managed to buy songs from iTunes Australia for the first day. When setting up an account to use the site, they simply entered "New Zealand" as a city in any Australian state allowing them in. Apple moved quickly to reject NZ credit card numbers.
Hey Grandpa!
Axl Rose of Guns N'Roses was voted second "coolest" old person by teen magazine 'Ellegirl' - although he hasn't been a blip on the radar for eight years. But 10,000 readers worldwide reckon the 43-year old is rad. Also on the list were Clint Eastwood (75), Elvis Costello (51), Julie Andrews (70), designer Karl Lagerfeld (67), Madonna (47), Mick Jagger (62) and designer Vivienne Westwood (64).
Lifelines:
Born: son to Triple J's Robbie Buck and partner Ann.
Born: son, Tom, to publicist Michelle Buxton and manager Andrew Walker (Stephen Cummings, Joe Camilleri) who runs Head Records.
Born: son, to music journalist Justin Donnelly and Louise Myhill.
Born: son, to C91.3 Campbelltown (NSW) music director Dave Archer and wife.
Born: daughter, to British R&B singer Jamelia after a 21-hour labour. "Like giving birth to a sumo wrestler," she gasped.
Expecting: Coldplay's Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Engaged: 2DAY newsreader Geoff Field and boyfriend of 13 years, Jason Kerr after the latter proposed on air.
Jailed: Poison guitarist CC DeVille for 80 days, for drunken driving. He backed out of his girlfriend's driveway, crashed into a car and then into another, activating the airbags and injuring her.
Injured: US rapper Cam'ron was shot in both hands with a single shot by a would-be carjacker at traffic lights in Washington DC.
Arrested: The Game for creating a disturbance in a Halloween mask at a North Carolina mall with his posse.
In Court: Brisbane electrical trades assistant James Bontoft, 24, pleaded guilty to cutting the support cables on Radio 4BC's two 72-metre towers in August 2002 (he didn't like their music), causing $900,000 worth of damages and lost profit. He was given a two year suspended jail term and 240 hours of community service.
In Court: A Minneapolis judge dismissed a suit by Eminem's uncle and aunt Jack and Betty Schmitt he evicted them from their house.
In Court: Courtney Love by a Seattle law firm for non-payment of $340,000 after they got her $5 million worth of deals.
Jailed: UK garage band So Solid's producer Carl Morgan, for 30 years, for shooting the new lover of his ex-girlfriend.
Died: Troy Garner, 38, executive asst at Community Broadcasting Association of Australia and sports broadcaster on Koori Radio.
Died: Garry Dunstan, former executive producer of 'Video Hits', of a massive heart attack in Sydney.
ARIA No. 1 Chart Awards
The third ARIA No. 1 Chart Awards are held on Thurs 17 Nov at Crystal Ballroom, Luna Park, Milsons Point in Sydney. This year sees the introduction of music DVDs being acknowledged. This year, 26 releases from 21 Aussie acts have reached #1 on the ARIA Singles, Album or DVD chart.
Lawry At Jazz Awards
26-year old Jo Lawry from Adelaide was runner up at the National Jazz Awards, held at the TAC Wangaratta Festival of Jazz. She won a cash prize of $3,000. Winner was Elana Stone of Sydney. See www.wangaratta-jazz.org.au
Triple M Announces 'New Zoo'
Triple M Adelaide has announced that its drive team of Scott McBain (well known breeder of race horses), Andrew "Cosi" Costello and Melbourne based John 'Hey Hey It's Saturday' Blackman will move to the breakfast slot from 7 Nov as 'The New Zoo'. They replace The Cage. The Cold 30 takes over drive, and an hour-long best of The Cage airs nightly.
A Dancing Mobile
Hutchison's 3 Mobile has launched Australia's first mobile TV dance music channel. It is called 'Vandalism' and hosted by DJ Andy Van, with news, videos and gossip. 3 Mobile, the first 3G service in Australia, has also expanded its music service: it has brought in EMI Music's catalogue, and added more tracks from existing suppliers Sony BMG, Warner Music and Festival Mushroom Records. Genres: Jazz & Blues, Chill Out, Metal, Global, Classic Tracks and Soft Rock have been added to the music list. 3 Mobile's music download service launched in May 2004 at $3 for music and video tracks, and has had 1.75 million music downloads according to Scott Taylor, its general manager of content and services. Research by 3 shows that two thirds of its subscribers visit the website, and 53% of those people were downloading mobile TV clips, news, sport and music.
DMX Faces Jail
Rapper DMX faces 60 days in prison after pleading guilty in New York to violating a bond. He is sentenced on 17 Nov. Last June he crashed his sports utility car through a gate at Kennedy airport after telling a parking lot attendant he was a federal agent. He was put on a good behaviour bond for a year. But in that time, he drove a car at 104 mph near his Westchester County home, and involved in a three-car-crash in April, one of which was an unmarked police car.
Street Nation Fined
Street Nation Pty Ltd, was fined over $16,000 in the Melbourne Magistrate's Court after being found guilty on charges under the Radiocommunications Act 1992. Street Nation operates on a low power open narrowcasting (LPON) service. During 2003, it interfered with other LPON services by transmitting at over 2k from its transmitter. After ignoring several warnings, the ACMA prosecuted.
Fantin Takes A Break
After 15 years of handling publicity & media relations for events including Big Day Out, Splendour In The Grass, the ARIAs, the APRAs, and countless tours, Fantin Comes Alive has ceased to operate in its current guise. Viv Fantin is taking a break, and will return in March to work on Splendour. Patti Revson and Kathleen Evans will handle Big Day Out publicity. Their email addresses have changed to patti@bigdayout.com and kathleen@bigdayout.com
JB HI-FI Confident
JB Hi Fi chief executive Richard Uechtritz had good news for shareholders at the company's annual general meeting last week. He said that trading was in line with expectations in the first few months of 2005/06, and predicted a fairly healthy Christmas and New Year. "In a very competitive market, we continue to gain market share with strong margins and costs under control," he said. The chain plans to open 12 new stores, eight of them in NSW, taking its total to 60. It reported a record $20.7 million annual net profit in 2004/05.
And Now... The Kiss Rally
Kiss fans are more than happy to fork out for anything Kiss, and Kiss are more than happy to come up with new ways, including coffins and condoms. As Kiss were left off last month's list of nominations for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Kiss Army plans to stage a protest around the Hall. A New York documentary maker will film the rally, set for Aug 5 2006, for a future project on the Hall's snubbing of Kiss.
Stones Drink At Starbucks
The Rolling Stones have struck a deal with coffee retailer Starbucks. They will release their November 22 "rarities" CD 'Rarities 1971-2003' (live, b-sides, remixes) in Starbucks and music stores in America and Canada. Their label Virgin will handle the foreign release. This deal is non-controversial unlike Alanis Morissette who allowed Starbucks to sell her latest album six weeks before everyone else, leading HMV to pull her albums off its racks in protest. The Stones can't afford to antagonise anyone. Their 'A Bigger Bang' has flopped in America despite critical acclaim and heavy push. It debuted the charts at #3 but slid to No. 63 in its sixth week, and sold 295,000 copies.
Lisa Maxwell Launches Ezine
In the downtime before her next album, singer Lisa Maxwell is launching on November 7 a new music e-zine called "Aardvark Ranch" (www.aardvarkranch.com). She cheerfully describes it as "Part tabloid rag and part music industry journal." They are seeking bands to interview and writers to contribute their skills - and don't care if you're shamelessly commercial, super indie cool or irritatingly over rated. Contact info@aardvarkranch.com for more information.
Quote Of The Week
"I am becoming the guy I used to hate - and I like it a lot" - former Machine Gun Fellatio singer turned TV presenter Chit Chat has left the decadence of inner city Sydney for the outskirts of Brisbane, has a new obsession with his fish tank and lives 10km from a pub.
Alice Festival Hits With Resignations
The Alice Springs Desert Festival was rocked with three resignations - artistic director Craig Mathewson who joined in April, and two full timers, general manager Bryony O'Callaghan and admin assistant Isabelle Kirkbride. The major anger was the lack of space at their office and lack of proper funding to conduct a 10-day festival.
Canberra Crackdown
From the 'Canberra Times': Canberra police warned they are going to crack down on nightclubs and festivals through the summer. Deputy Chief Police Officer Commander Shane Connelly was speaking after two raids allegedly led to the uncovering of $80,000 worth of E and grass.
Ministry Of Nova
The Ministry of Sound "sessions" two hour clubland radio show is now heard on Nova, after 15 months at Austereo. The show will continue to be heard in Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, and Melbourne for the first time. It is hosted by Tara Colgrave between midnight Friday and 2am, and executive produced by Michael Watts.
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