Issue 454

Adrian Belew

Adrian Belew is not your typical rock star. With a career that spans nearly 40 years and guitar-slinging and vocalist appearances with artists like King Crimson, Talking Heads and David Bowie, anyone would think the man, at nearly 60 years of age, would be slowing down and taking life easy. But taking a break is the last thing on his mind; the guitarist headed down under for a string of shows in Australia with The Adrien Belew Power Trio (with Eric and Julie Slick). Calling from the last leg of his European tour in Lithuania, Belew is happy about the positive reaction audiences have had to his new band, the success of which he attributes in part to their improvisational approach to music.

Quan
The Amateur
Valve


It's entirely possible that, without his history as a foundation member for Brisbane avant punk troupe Regurgitator, the debut solo album by Quan Yeomans would be arriving in a blaze of hype, with glowing puff pieces here, there or anywhere. He would be being called the finest exponent of Australian hip-hop to emerge since...well, possibly ever.

So good is 'The Amateur' that it seems ridiculous that, in all likelihood, it will go ignored by many who claim that the likes of the Hilltop Hoods, Bliss N Eso and other makers of the so-called 'skip hop' genre are pushing it forward in Australia. When their successful releases are held up against 'The Amateur', they truly pale in comparison.

So, you wanna get along to the Big Day Out, but you haven't sorted yourself a ticket? Well the good folk here at dB are too discreet to enquire whether it's Neil Young, The Prodigy, Arctic Monkeys or TV On The Radio that you're jonesing to see - perhaps you just want to go because all your friends will be there, but whatever your reason, dB's got you covered. If you'd like to get your hands on a pair of VIP tickets and a swag of CDs from artists appearing at the festival courtesy of this fine publication, it's all very simple....

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