Sunday, November 7, 2010

Shows

Below are some shows I've got coming up in Syd and Melb.

Nov 10 and Dec 2 are free entry. Sun Nov 28 is $10 pre-sale via the Vanguard website and it's one of the best line-ups I've had the pleasure of being on.

Wednesday November 10 at The Gaelic, Surry Hills (w/ Cadeaux, Dylan Thai)
Sunday November 28 at The Vanguard, Newtown (w/ Tash Parker, Cogel, Jess Chalker & 49 Goodbyes)
Thursday December 2 Dec at Barbara Lounge, Richmond, VIC

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

You Tubery

You know when you have a really good run on the ol' YouTube? I think I'm in the midst of one now, and I don't want it to end. I've seen many an amusing thing as of late - here's some highlights...




Thursday, September 23, 2010

5 Songs

This blog's starting to look pretty video heavy, so I thought it might be time for something written. Last week, the wonderful Emma Swift had me pop into her radio show on FBi (In The Pines) for a chat and a live song. She also asked me to contribute an 'online mixtape' to the In The Pines blog, comprising five contemporary songs that I love. Below is what I wrote. If the words pique your interest, be sure to get on iTunes and download the tracks. What's $1.69 per song after all?


Kid Sam - 'Soft, Grey Rain'

For my money, Kid Sam's self-titled debut was the best Australian album of 2009. The melodies and performances are unique and stirring while the lyrics are vivid, controlled and incredible. When I first heard this song, the record's closing track, I was moved to tears. It seems to tell the story of two lovers driven apart by their separate yearnings and out-of-sync travel desires. And it's got a great Kerouac reference - always a good thing. Someone just needs to convince Kid Sam to bring an acoustic guitar on tour, cos I don't think they play this song or 'The Sunday Bus' live, which are two of the album's towering highlights.

The National - 'Slow Show'

Anyone who thinks that a love song written in our day and age can't offer anything new needs to listen to this. It provides clever turns of phrase ('I leaned on the wall, the wall leaned away') alongside unexpected lyrical detours and brutally honest admissions ('Can I get a minute of not being nervous and not thinking of my dick?'). As a singer, Matt Berninger has been a big influence on me by showing how a restrained baritone can pack an emotional wallop.

The Radio Dept. - 'Domestic Scene'

This Swedish band released what I reckon is the most underrated thing that I've heard this year (underrated in Australia anyway) - an album called 'Clinging to a Scheme'. Three years in the making with awesome dreamy melodies and a wonderful balance between lo-fi production and hi-fi attention to detail (if that even makes sense). The second song on the record, 'Heaven's on Fire', should have been a big radio hit here. I think it'd really appeal to fans of The Avalanches, Ariel Pink et al...

David Byrne - 'Glass, Concrete & Stone'

A remarkable man and a bottomless pit of creativity. 'Stop Making Sense' might be the greatest concert film of all time. My parents tell me that as a child, I used to watch the VHS and mimic David Byrne as he set down the tape recorder prop at the start of the film before performing 'Psycho Killer'. It's an appreciation I've carried with me ever since. His songs are endlessly inventive and uniquely arranged, but almost always anchored by a genius hook.

PJ Harvey - 'The Garden'


PJ Harvey's songwriting is raw, fearless and intensely powerful. I've seen her a few times live and each time was better than the last. 'Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea' is probably my favourite PJ album and 'This Mess We're In' my favourite song. But everyone always says that, so I thought I'd pick something from 'Is This Desire?' cos it's a tremendous and often overlooked record filled with great songs.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Saturday, September 18, 2010

'You Can Call Me Ed'

My friend Josh Groom (director extraordinaire and arsekicking bball player) came down to the show at the Sando the other day. A couple of people challenged me to cover Paul Simon's 'You Can Call Me Al', and I'm never one to back down! Here are the results:

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Monday, August 9, 2010

A Residency

A friend recently told me they'd received a thank you card in return for a thank you card that they'd sent out.

Are they now then obliged to send a thank you card for the thank you card for the thank you card? The mind boggles.

Anyhoo... I have a Wednesday night residency at the Sandringham in Newtown coming up in September. $10 entry on the door.

Night #1 - Wed 15th Sep - w/ guests Ole Sport & Cogel

Night #2 - Wed 22nd Sep - w/ guests Guitarzan & Honeytree

Night #3 - Wed 29th Sep - w/ guests Bec Richardson & James Hiller

Friday, July 9, 2010

Buy These Albums

My fave records of the year thus far:

The National - High Violet
The Radio Dept. - Clinging to a Scheme
Yeasayer - Odd Blood
Massive Attack - Heligoland
The Roots - How I Got Over
Four Tet - There Is Love In You
Beach House - Teen Dream
Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
Tame Impala - InnerSpeaker
Local Natives - Gorilla Manor
Toro Y Moi - Causers Of This
Spoon - Transference
Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot, The Son of Chico Dusty
LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
The Morning Benders - Big Echo

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

In The Beginning

Well, my solo "career" (hmm... why does that word feel like such a wank in this context?) has kicked off to a humbling and most enjoyable start.

At the start of June I get an email telling me that one of my heroes - Australia's greatest-ever rock drummer, iconic songwriter and all-round gentleman Rob Hirst - had chosen me for the Vivid Festival's new 10 x 10 initiative. Basically, the initiative means that 10 Sydney icons across various fields (Margaret Pomeranz for film, Heidi Middleton for fashion etc) choose 10 up-and-coming creative Sydneysiders that they feel have something worth checking out. And Rob picked me for my music. Ridiculous and absurdly flattering.

I attended the launch night for this initiative and it barely acknowledged the 100 selected creatives. I'm also doubtful that anything will come of it, but what it symbolised for me is actually really moving. To have Rob choose me for something like that is insane. So thank you Rob.

Moving on, I just wound up a couple of shows with Cogel and Tash Parker. My second and third-ever solo performances to be exact. These gigs were so much damn fun and I have the utmost respect for those guys as musicians and as people.

We were joined by my brother Lloyd and friend Wally (Gotye, The Basics), which resulted in some great collabs. Prince's 'Kiss' was busted out to close the first night, which was hilarious and bore absolutely no resemblance to the mellow sets that had just preceded it. We did Feist's 'I Feel It All' at both shows, Tash sung a tune with me and Wally joined me on drums and b/vocals for my song 'Tie Up The Birds'. So so awesome. Thanks to everyone that attended.

I've also got finished EPs now, so if you want one (is anyone out there?), drop me an email - edwarddeermusic@gmail.com

Til next time,
Ed