So What’s Been Happening?

EP116 - So What’s Been Happening? - Mark Sinton

EP116 - So What's Been Happening? - Mark Sinton
Mark Sinton is a Northern Irish born, Melbourne based singer songwriter with 25 years of experience fronting guitar driven bands in Ireland, Australia, and the U.K. Having toured and recorded internationally Mark returned permanently to Melbourne to set up home and commence a lengthy sabbatical from the industry.
Inspired by an unexpected trip to his hometown, Mark’s song writing was reignited, leading to his stellar 2022 album ‘Change to Something New’ which explores mortality, grief, anxiety, love and hope through impeccable songcraft.
Mark’s music draws comparisons to Bowie, Lennon, Todd Rundgren and early Billy Joel. His live show sees him shifting between piano and guitar to deliver his timeless songs, with pitch perfect singing and the comfortable stage banter of a Vegas pro. Marks second release ‘Live at Headgap sessions’ was released through Shankly records in October 2023, a series of songs recorded solo with acoustic guitar, live to tape. 2023 consolidated Mark as a firm fixture in the Melbourne music scene, gathering a strong following through solo and band performances. Expect album #2 and plenty of live performances in 2024.
Join us for a chat and a few LIVE tunes from 8.00pm AEDT on Wednesday 8th November on Facebook live and YouTube. Join in the chat anytime.

EP115 - So What’s Been Happening? - Jamie Hutchings

EP115 - So What's Been Happening? - Jamie Hutchings
NSW artist Jamie Hutchings (Bluebottle Kiss, Infinity Broke) releases his sixth solo studio album A New, ahead a run of national tour dates early in 2024. A prolifically creative musician, Jamie Hutchings has built a career in the Australian scene that stretches back to the early 1990s.
He first established himself as the cornerstone of noisy indie-rock auteurs Bluebottle Kiss before embarking on a solo career with the release of The Golden Coach in 2002. If that wasn't enough to satiate his musical curiosities, Hutchings also formed the band Infinity Broke, releasing the first of their three albums in 2014 and using the framework of the group to venture even further into angular guitar art rock, with a strong through-line of inventive and repetitive rhythms and percussion.
Earlier this year Hutchings released his most experimental solo album, Making Water, a collage of rhythm and noise, drone and abstraction that explored free jazz, Krautrock and the kind of terrain inhabited by The Necks and late period Talk Talk. As Hutchings tends to do, he has pivoted again stylistically, returning to a more traditional sounding solo album with A New.
FOR FANS OF: Bluebottle Kiss, Califone, Elliott Smith, Sparklehorse.
Join us for a chat and a few LIVE tunes from 8.00pm AEDT on Tuesday 7th November on Facebook live and YouTube. Join in the chat anytime.

EP114 - So What’s Been Happening? - Zoë Fox

EP114 - So What's Been Happening? - Zoë Fox
Described as a "Modern Blondie" and "Mary Poppins on Acid", Zoe Fox and The Rocket Clocks launch 'Flirting with Aliens' Spawned from an illegal picnic in Melbourne’s eastern greenery, ‘Flirting with Aliens’ is the first single to emerge since Zoë Fox and the Rocket Clocks’ rebellious intergalactic debut album ‘Clockwerks’. After an enforced lockdown on the night of her album launch, Fox strikes back with this new single, new band members, new space-age costumes and…an alien MC. Since establishing The Rocket Clocks in 2017, Zoë Fox has appeared at Falls Festival, NYE on the Hill and internationally. Over the years, she’s been described as “Syd Barrett goes to the disco,” “Modern Blondie,” and “Mary Poppins on acid.” Watch her ever expanding dream world come to life through characters, videos, costumes, and her curious connection with the world of word and discuss her launch at Howler in Melbourne from Oct 20, for the ‘Flirting with Aliens’ launch party.
We chat to Zoë Fox LIVE on 1st November at 8.00pm AEDT, join in the chat anytime.

EP113 - So What’s Been Happening? - Justine McAllister

EP113 - So What's Been Happening? - Justine McAllister
Justine McAllister is a muralist and contemporary artist. Her works are dynamic amalgamations of colour and chaos. Often creating motifs that are playful and theatrical, McAllister pairs objects and symbols with abstracted elements to explore ideas of identity and persona. She also utilises references throughout art history and brings them into a modern context. For the last 10+ years, McAllister has focused her practice around large-scale murals for the public art space. We will find out what makes Justine tick, earliest art memories, inspirations, influences and current projects all on the agenda.
Join us for a chat LIVE from 8.00pm AEDT on Tuesday 31st October on Facebook live and YouTube. Join in the chat anytime.

EP112 - So What’s Been Happening? - Jessica Luxx

EP112 - So What's Been Happening? - Jessica Luxx
Adelaide-based country/folk singer-songwriter Jessica Luxx comes from a long lineage of artists and musicians who have their roots deep down in the good earth of gospel and folk music. Her unique story telling and sing along choruses will leave you with a feel-good sense of nostalgia and sweet 'n' dusty vibes. Jessica stole our hearts away with her debut single, Heavy Lifting - a song that resonated deeply with listeners and is still featuring in community radio airplay charts nationwide.
She recently headlined Adelaide's iconic Wheatsheaf Hotel and wowed a jubilant full house with an inspired set. With a new single, The Temple, and accompanying video and promo tour, along with appearances at Summer Festivals and an eagerly anticipated debut EP on the horizon, the later half of 2023 and the new year is looking very busy for this enchanting songstress. "Jessica Luxx opened with a set of haunting country pop originals. Her voice is a powerful instrument, reminding at times of Angel Olsen, and always putting across real emotion with graceful melodies…" - Sonic Vandals For fans of: Lana Del Ray, PJ Harvey, Sierra Ferrell, Laura Marling, The Audreys, Little Birdy, Tami Neilson, Stevie Nicks, Nancy Wilson, Patsy Cline, etc.
Join us for a chat LIVE from 8.00pm AEDT on Tuesday 24th October on Facebook live and YouTube. Join in the chat anytime.

EP111 - So What’s Been Happening? - FONT

EP111 - So What's Been Happening? - FONT
Among many other things Melbourne rock quartet FONT are a testament to stickability. Like many musicians in the pandemic’s ‘Most Locked Down City In The World’, their pursuits were blocked and momentum halted, but with a kick in their step and no small amount of determination to see through on the band’s early potential, they have emerged through the quiet years with their debut album, the ever so aptly titled Coburg-19. Pretty Lately is accompanied by a video filmed and edited by FONT at Shogun Studios and follows the themes of time, place and mood inherent across the album.
Join us for a chat LIVE from 8.00pm AEDT on Tuesday 17th October on Facebook live and YouTube. Join in the chat anytime.

EP110 - So What’s Been Happening? - Emilee South

EP110 - So What's Been Happening? - Emilee South
Emilee South plays commanding and fervent rock music. Combining the raw edge of punk with the driving force of rock, South shout sun apologetically over chaotic guitar riffs and charging rhythms to themes of capitalism, feminism, privilege, and the power of community. With influences ranging from Grinderman and IDLES to Sharon Van Etten, the band transitions seamlessly from urgent hooks to unyielding power. South and band have released two EPs to sold-out crowds, performed at Bigsound, Americana Music Festival, St Kilda Fest and Brunswick Music Festival; and will appear at LuliePalooza as part of their stacked 2023 lineup. Emilee South has supported Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, The Teskey Brothers,Mo’Ju and Phil Jamieson, and has seen support from radio and press like RRR, PBS, Double J, Beat and The Music.
South's new single ‘ Weekend ’ is all about the rat race ! Corporate jobs, a cog in the machine, a rat on the wheel, working for The Man™ day in and day out. A rallying cry against the monotony and pressures of modern life, and a resounding anthem of defiance. Produced by Anna Laverty, ‘Weekend’ is out now, with a launch at The Old Bar on October 13 with Bad Bangs & Kate Alexander.
Join us for a chat LIVE from 8.00pm AEDT on Wednesday 11th October on Facebook live and You Tube. Join in the chat anytime.

EP109 - So What’s Been Happening? - Humble (Stephen Holmes)

EP109 - So What’s Been Happening? - Humble (Stephen Holmes)
Out of the disparate urges of youth and middle age, the Kiama NSW trio formed in March 2022. The result is primitive, literate yet defiant, lyrically abstract yet nostalgic, musically searching, “slouching without, frantic within.” Dad rock, if your Dad is Rob Zombie.
Humble combines the crashing classic rock drums of Ryan King (DE/4D, The Talkers, Dirty Headbangers), the confident and propulsive groove of bassist Darcy Wall (Kaleidoscope, Jayhawks) and the jangling, heartbreaker guitars and direct vocals of Stephen Holmes (DE/4D, Human Auto, Floating Axe Studio). The latter's voice channeling everyone from Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock to Stephen Malkmus and Pere Ubu's David Thomas.
The impressively diverse There's Still Time, released late in 2022, included three singles: ‘Sure Thing’ seethes with lusty, cosmic frustration, filtered through jerky post-punk and primitive rock 'n' roll dynamics. Second single ‘That Don’t Work’ threads the Smiths and the Byrds together with the indie hooks of NZ band Garageland and Madchester jangle folk, while on the album's third single, 'Wasted On Purpose', the song emerges from a dissonant sonic fog, an insistent kick drum driving the song onwards over a post-punk bass melody and Holmes' infectious Malkmus-esque vocal hooks. "An intriguing collection of refined chaos that is as utterly compelling as it is fun. Ranging from the raw delicacy of
The Go-Betweens to the swagger of the New York Dolls, the troubadour musings of Jonathan Richmond to the clattering post punk sounds of The Fall, the genetic influences are many and varied but the delivery is swaggering and assured. 8.3/10 - Backseat Mafia
Join us for a chat LIVE with Stephen Holmes (Humble) from 8.00pm AEDT on Tuesday 10th October on Facebook live and You Tube. Join in the chat anytime.

EP108 - So What’s Been Happening? - Velvet Bloom

EP108 - So What's Been Happening? - Velvet Bloom
Velvet Bloom’s music speaks to the human spirit with an oozing honey pot of silky vocals, lush soundscapes and raw emotion. Fusing delicate songwriting with a luscious and vibrant soul sound that can fill any venue. The band are fresh off the release of their 2022 debut EP ’Glimmer’, which saw them tour nationally around Australia through VIC, NSW, QLD, ACT and TAS, with sold out shows at Lazy Bones (NSW) and The Night Cat (VIC). Released via independent label, Cousin Will Records, ‘Glimmer’ snagged several Spotify editorial playlist additions including The Local List, Soulful Day, Fresh Finds, Equal AU & NZ and Broad Chords. Velvet Bloom went on to perform on ABC’s Spicks and Specks, The National Gallery of Victoria, Loch Hart Music Festival and Tanglewood post release. The full band then embarked on a national tour with WA indierockers, Great Gable as their main support. “Blown away with the sheer volume of talent oozing out of this release.” - Jay-Dee Pitcaithly, Moshtix Velvet Bloom are hard at work in the studio gearing up for their debut Album which is set to be released in 2024. Keep an eye out for an acoustic EP that will keep you warm while you are waiting.
Join us for a chat with Maddy Edwards from Velvet Bloom LIVE from 8.00pm AEDT on Monday 9th October on Facebook live and You Tube. Join in the chat anytime.

EP107 - So What’s Been Happening? - The Wash Up

EP107 - So What's Been Happening? - The Wash Up
The Wash Up of the AFL Grand Final, Collingwood Magpies became Premiers for 2023 beating the Brisbane Lions by 4 points. KISS proved that they Still Want to Rock 'n Roll all night ... or did they.
We will also discuss the NRL Grand Final where powerhouse Penrith Panthers made it a 3 Peat against the Brisbane Broncos.
Join us for a chat LIVE on Wednesday 4th October from 8.00pm AEDT.