Founding Editor and Publisher of the AU review. Currently based in Toronto, Canada. You can follow him on Twitter @larry_heath or on Instagram @larryheath.
Shortly after he left the main stage, I sat down with up-and-coming singer/songwriter Dan Sultan, who alongside bandmate Scott Wilson, teaches us what a Skin Flute is, and chats extensively about being an independent artist in Australia, and shitting himself before he hits the stage. Welcome back to Bluesfest Dan! Thanks to for talking to…
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With her debut album Nerve Up now available in Australia, Manchester’s Julie Campbell, aka Lonelady, took time out of her busy European touring schedule to chat to the AU review! She provides us with some insight into the “Mancurian Sound”, recording in a concrete box and expectations of the European audiences. Hey Julia thanks for taking…
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In the years that followed the success of their breakthrough debut LP, Oh We Like To Be Beside The Seaside, Australia has eagerly awaited new material from Melbourne’s The Vasco Era. Finally, they have returned, emerging with a new album, Lucille, and an energy that sees them reborn. It had been well over two years…
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Back in February, Oxford Art Factory launched a new band night – The Revenant Club – a celebration of local music curated by the folks behind Exquisite Corpse. Featuring Danimals, Dark Bells, Virgo Rising and more, it gave us a taste of what was “hot right now” in the underground Sydney scene – and most…
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While at Bluesfest, we had a chat to one of the bands invited to play the festival each and every day – Poor Man’s Whiskey. Dressed in Wizard of Oz attire, the San Fransisco based six piece were here to play tracks off their immensely entertaining Dark Side of the Moonshine double album – an…
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The opportunity to sit down with the enigmatic frontman of New York’s Gogol Bordello was something I couldn’t pass up. For Eugene Hutz, Movember is every month, and purple is the greatest colour. Sitting in his dressing room just before he heads on stage, we chat about Australia, performing live, women and the new album!…
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Here at AU review HQ, one Australian band you’ll often hear me rave about are incredible Sydney quartet The Jezabels. They’re just about to embark on a national tour with Tegan & Sara – a band who have a history of taking bands away from us (An Horse). So I beg of you, T&S, please…
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On the final day of Bluesfest,you can’t help but feel a combination of sadness and relief. By the fifth day, Bluesfest has become a way of life, something you almost couldn’t imagine being without. But by the fifth day, your body and feet aren’t in agreement on the topic. You’re lucky to get 6 hours…
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As we just about bring our SXSW coverage to an end, we chat with Asdru Sierra from LA’s Ozomatli – who sings lead, composes and plays keys and trumpet for the band. He’s a busy man on that stage! We chatted all things Austin, as well as about their forthcoming album release, Fire Away, and…
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Growing up, there are several bands who I can distinctly remember singing along to in the back of my parent’s car. One of these bands was Supertramp. So let me be quite blunt here: Roger Hodgson, formerly of said band, was the reason I returned to Byron Bay for the 2010 Bluesfest… and while he…
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“Who on earth is that band rocking the socks off the main stage?” I thought to myself as I entered the Bluesfest showgrounds for my third day. “Led Zeppelin? The Mars Volta?” Whoever it was, they sounded absolutely incredible. I would later find out they were Carney, from Los Angeles – one of the surprise…
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While I was up at Bluesfest in Byron Bay, I had the oppertunity to sit down with the face of Blue King Brown – singer and guitarist Natalie Pa’apa’a. We chatted about what Bluesfest means to her, the upcoming Blue King Brown album, and what it was like to record in Jamaica! So welcome back…
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You’ve already heard from Brisbane’s An Horse, but while I was in at the SXSW Aussie BBQ, I chatted briefly with a few other Australian bands performing at SXSW. Here’s what they had to say about their experiences. RICKY KRADOLFER Guitar and Vocals – CITY RIOTS (Adelaide) ”We’re here playing at the Australian BBQ (in…
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The SXSW chats continue at the Aussie BBQ in Texas! Ozzy and Ray of GOONS OF DOOM (Sydney) How’s your SXSW experience been? Ray: Yeah it’s been cool! Catching a lot of bands and playing a couple of shows. Ozzy: Good times. Is it your first time here? Ray: Yep. Virgins no more. Highlights so…
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As I headed into the festival grounds on Friday, I couldn’t help but feel a great deal of excitement as the sun beamed down on me. Today was a ridiculously fantastic line-up. Entering the gates, Old Man River could be heard opening on the main stage – the familiar “Sunshine” wafting through the air, to…
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Oh Hark, The Sun Approaches! The Byron Bay Blues and Roots Festival (aka Bluesfest) and sun are not two things that necessarily come hand-in-hand – think more along the lines of rain and mud. Like any good festival, really. But this year Mother Nature gave attendants a bit of a treat – amazingly beautiful weather,…
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Meet four boys who grew up in and around Sydney, who now live in the Inner West and bring us some pretty damn entertaining music. They call themselves The Snowdroppers, a name derived from 1920’s slang for cocaine addicts. It’s this sort of nostalgia that they bring to the stage with their fresh (slight tongue…
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During SXSW, I had the opportunity to sit down with Kate Cooper and Damon Cox of Brisbane outfit An Horse, one of our most recent international success stories. The duo chatted to me as we sat by the Colorado River – the ducks swimming by, and the music from SXSW already drifting along the streams,…
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Comprised of singer, guitarist and namesake Erland Cooper, guitarist Simon Tong (The Verve) and David Nock (Paul McCartney’s The Fireman) on drums/percussion/keys and production, Erland and the Carnival are the latest buzz band to emerge from the London underbelly. And now the trio, who met at Tong’s What the Folk club night on Portobello Rd…
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When I started my final night adventure, there was only one band on my mind: She & Him – the quirky duo that is Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward. They’d been playing all over town throughout SXSW, yet I kept missing their appearances. Well, tonight was my final chance, as they headlined Auditorium Shores –…
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This Thursday we celebrate the launch of the 21st annual Byron Bay Bluefest – one of Australias most loved music festivals. We’ll be there covering the event, but before we do, I wanted to take us back to 2006 – I was 18 and it was my first ever Bluesfest. I wrote a blog about…
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At the SXSW Stimulus day party at The Parish, I was introduced to Dave Schulz – perhaps best known for his work on the keyboards with the Goo Goo Dolls. He’s here in Austin promoting his debut solo album Connect, and I had the chance to chat with the artist before he hit the stage….
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While the posters say the music goes until March 21st, it’s on the 20th that 90% of the music in Austin comes to an end, so with that in mind, welcome to my fourth and final day from Austin. SXSW really was something truly amazing – an event that’s quite hard to fathom – let…
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As rumours were indeed correct, the UK three-piece and powerhouse that is Muse managed to fit a last minute SXSW appearance into their schedule – an hour long set at Stubbs – an outdoor venue which holds little more than 1,500 people. If that. I arrived during the encore break and found myself surprised when…
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Heading next to the Cheapo’s record store for an interview, I caught a bit of Batusis, a tongue-and-cheek rock group who are quite the supergroup, featuring Sylvain Sylvain (New York Dolls) and Cheetah Chrome (Rocket From The Tombs/Dead Boys) they were a guaranteed good time. And with little more than 150 people watching the icons,…
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Austin, Texas. Not a place most people outside of North America would attribute to being one of the world’s leading cultural meccas. Not a place I ever expected to visit. But sure enough, stuck in the middle of a state known the world over for is pro-war, pro-death penalty and pro-Bush stance, is a little…
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As the afternoon moved along, I next checked out the Canadian Blast BBQ in Brush Park, catching the Montreal electro-hip-hop outfit Radio Radio. Singing in Acadian French, the trio were in town promoting their third LP Belmundo Regal. Their take on hip-hop is modern and inspired, and I found myself connecting with their music through…
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At the Warp Records showcase at The Pheonix, I caught the end of Pivot (pictured above and below), their set jam packed with new material. Yes boys and girls, the Sydney/Perth via London three-piece are back, and you better believe they sound better than ever. They ended the night with “O Soundtrack to my Heart”…
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I ended my first day at SXSW at Emo’s Main Stage, catching the end of the only hard rock band I’d have the chance to see at the festival – New Jersey’s Dillinger Escape Plan (pictured below). Those who know me will know that they’re not my sort of band, but I felt myself sucked…
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It took a great deal of effort to get me out of my bed on my second day of SXSW. After heavy drinking, eating and almost 40 hours of no sleep, I had a good deal of catching up to do. You feel bad when you sleep in at SXSW – there’s always so much…
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