Matt Gresham

OK. It’s guitar fetish time (give me a break, I haven’t done this for a while)

Matt Gresham is quite an amazing guitarist. If you don’t like guitars then I would move along BUT if you do , check this guy out.

So the quick version of the bio – he’s 20 years old, been gigging for over 6 years, have a couple of albums out, a third in the pipeline, plays up to five gigs a week and has a huge following

Some hype from the website…

Pulling from influences which stretch back over the past half century Matt has a truly individual original sound with a positive message. He has a joyful, infectious and exuberant style which floats his audiences from soul to the packed dance floor. Spine-tingling vocals soar above Matt’s band which combines bass guitar, percussion and drums to intensify the dynamic feel of the catchy melodies and driving rhythms.

BUT skipping over all that, he was in Melbourne this week and I was lucky enough to hear him doing a live to air performance on 3RRR. ( I missed him playing at The Lomond Hotel on Thursday though)

I was even luckier to remember to press the record button.

Here are the three  songs he did.

Weissenborn guitar

First up was “Gracetown”, his reworking of the Paul Simon song played on his Weissenborn guitar. Glorious sounding guitar and just wonderful playing. There are bits sound just like he’s channelling David Lindley. I so want one of these guitars, and the talent to do it justice would be kinda cool too – I digress.
Gracetown –

Friends was the last track he did and it’s one of his own. This is also played on the Weissenborn guitar and is rapidly becoming my favourite.
Friends -

Just to show you he can also play a “normal” guitar, here is  “Give Some Good”.  Another original and damn he is a spiffy guitarist.

Give Some Good –

So there you have it, three live tracks as well as the material he has over at www.myspace.com/mattgresham

Highly recommended ( and I am seriously envious – I’ll get over it).

Yves Klein Blue

It’s been a long while since a band from Queensland impressed as much as Yves Klein Blues (named after French Dada artist Yves Klein and his wonderful piece from the 50′s “Blue – but I digress). Smart arse name aside this is band that knows how to play hard, have a listen to “Silence Is Distance” over at www.myspace.com/yveskleinbluemusic. They certainly impress.

But the real find was “Getting Wise”, this puppy is seriously slick. I am in awe of the clever lyrics and the phrasing. It sounds so casually thrown away as a performance, but damn it’s slick. And then there is the rest of the production, polished?  This is so shiny bright that you will need shades to listen to it. The organ provides just the perfect counterpoint to the understated guitars.

Am I gushing? You bet but they are worth it. They have a great rep as a live act and the release of the new CD will confirm them as a great recording act.

Here is “Getting Wise”

Recommended (and make sure you don’t miss “Silence Is Distance” over at Myspace – it’s a gem)
Websites at www.myspace.com/yveskleinbluemusic and www.yveskleinblue.com

Paper People

Paper People, don’t know what to make of them. A bunch of guys from the Sunshine Coast in Queensland who began by jamming on an old mandolin.

The tracks are raw, lacking in polish and badly mixed. The vocals at best are impassioned, the level of musicianship leaves a lot to be desired but and I can’t stress this enough, they have a spark that cries out loud and proud “perfection is over rated”.

Yes, despite their shortcomings they have got something that makes you sit up and listen to their songs. Take for instance Mood Indigo which can be heard on their MySpace site. This is a schizophrenic little number the has a really pretty mellow groove building up to a raunchy electric guitar solo.

From their website:

The Paper People have evolved, from a few mates jamming with their granddads antique out-of-tune mandolin, to battle of the band competitions, gigs, promotions and album recordings. The thing’s that inspire the band’s songs are girls, life experience, and life experience with girls. But the generality of the bands songs come from the world as they see it from a musician’s point of view, which of course, may seem a little obscure. Not everything in life is about making money, it’s about what you experience and how you express it, it may be in the form of an art work, or a poem, but in The Paper People’s case, it’s all out, in-depth expressive alternative rock music.

Sweet Nothings is another standout track that really shows their potential. I’m unable to verify if they are still gigging but I hope they are.

Low Pressure Productions

So back when I was a lot younger , I used to go and watch movies about  surfing.  There was something about the visuals, the music and the whole “pushing the envelope” attitude the surfers I had thaat was seriously attractive.  This was also back in the days when you could smoke in theatres.

I should add I didn’t surf. I played at windsurfing a lifetime back and that was very cool, I even treid surfing… I am even more in awe of these people now.

Today’s post sort of takes me back to that period with some really interesting music.

I will just rip of the stuff from the website.

Low Pressure Productions

The next release for Low Pressure Productions is the sound track to Life Like Liquid, a film by Dave Rastovich. Available now at Switch-foot.com

Life Like Liquid” is an exploration into the creative realms of surfing, sound and fluidity. This is what happened when a group of sonic surfers came together with no other intention than to ride sound waves, ocean waves and record the thrill of the ride. The plan was to have no plan at all. To allow intuition, chance and circumstance be our compass within every moment. The improvisational aspect shared by these two art forms is the escence of the Life Like Liquid experience.

The soundtrack was played and recorded in a beach house that was converted into a makeshift studio right on the dunes with views over the best waves in the region. The crew that were present just jammed, surfed, ate and slept every day for a two wk period. Heaven.

Life Like Liquid Trailer

Recommended.

There is a website at www.myspace.com/lowpressureproductions

Wendy Ealey has a voice that takes me back to smoke filled folk venues of Melbourne 30 odd years ago. With good reason, she has been a performer on the folk scene both in Australia and in Britain since the 70′s.

Hers is a big beautiful voice that resonates with passion as she sings songs penned by herself and others accompanying herself on guitar. Political songs nestle comfortably with love songs to form a quilt of human experience.

A song written by Mary Caruana with Brent Parlane called “Bigger Than This” can be found on on her MySpace site, is a ballsy dig at the treatment of “illegal” immigrants. “Child of My Heart” is the story of grief felt by an infertile woman.

She also performs with friends in a quartette called Unsung. Here is the video for “Winter Sun” written by Moira Tyers performed by Unsung (Wendy Ealey, Leticia Maher, Neil Robertson and Moira Tyers) at the Darebin Songwriters Guild at 303, Northcote, Melbourne, Australia on June 8, 2008

A selection of MP3′s are available for download through her website, including “No RIght Way” another song that ponders the choices that people make.

If you aren’t lucky enough to catch her act live then a CD “out of the Shower” is available for purchase through IndieCDs.com.

Casual Projects

Casual Projects are a big band. No not that kind, I mean there are a lot of members – eight of em.
Pat Lillicrap – Vocals
Muchtar Johnson – Vocals
Julian Abrahams – Guitar/Vocals
Munro Melano – Keyboards/Vocals
Dan Bray – Saxophone/Synths
Nick Keeling – Vocals/Synths/Trombone
Kane Watters – Bass
Yen Nguyen – Drums

“Time” is the third single from the 2008 “No Rest”, it’s a ripper. Full of really aggressive guitar licks, Australian voices rapping and some of the wickedest funk grooves that have ever bumped up against a killer rock beat. When it it hits the middle eight it just kills. This is awesome stuff. I have had it on high rotation on the MP3 player for the last month and it shows no sign of leaving.

Hype from their site

” Combining elements of hip hop and rock, “Time” was produced by heavyweight producer Tony ‘Buchman’ Buchen (Macromantics, Pigeon John, Abby Dobson, Blue King Brown, The Whitlams and Kid Confucius). Delivering a beat which punches through a funky guitar riff ‘Time’ combines Casual Projects’ trademark lyrical honesty with a hook that could catch a shark. With Halloween just around the corner, the band decided to shoot the ‘Time’ video clip on site at the very spooky Kenmore ‘Haunted’ Psychiatric Hospital in Goulburn, NSW. There’s nothing like a zombie love story to tear at the heartstrings. Keep an eye out for this one!

Check out the video here …

The rest of the stuff at the Myspace site is just as good. The band currently have a residency at the Evelyn Hotel  here in Melbourne for the next couple of weeks. Don’t miss your chance to see what all the fuss is about.

Highly Recommended.

Website at www.myspace.com/casualprojects

Liz Stringer

It’s turning into a catch up week. I just realised that I wrote up Dan Wilson and forget to write up Liz Stringer who was on the same Rockwiz episode.

Liz Stringer (who I might add plays guitar, five-string banjo, blues harp, lap steel, vocals… the words “over achiever” pops to mind.) walked out onto the stage and just wiped the floor with my head. Smart lyrics, great guitar and a voice to die for. My first reaction was “where the hell did that come from?”. I have the song playing in the background as I am writing this and I have to say she is quite awesome.

Seriously, head to   www.myspace.com/lizstringermusician and have a listen to “You Say So Many Things”. What a great song. and if you weren’t lucky enough to see the show, there is a clip at the Rockwiz site.

Highly Recommended.

Websites at www.myspace.com/lizstringermusician and www.lizstringer.com/

As an aside, the duet that Liz and Dan performed at the end of Rockwiz is a ripper. If you have heard Robert Plant and Allison Krauss doing “Killing the Blues”, you will love this version. Don’t miss it.

Some hype from the Warner website:

Galvatrons are putting fun back into rock with their debut EP, When We Were Kids, which features the popular track of the same name.

When We Were Kids was recorded in Melbourne by Lindsay Gravina (The Living End, Shihad) and mixed in Hollywood by the legendary Tim Palmer (David Bowie, Pearl Jam, U2, The Cure).

The melody driven musicians Johnny Galvatron (lead singer), Manny Bourakis (drums), Pete and Pete (edifying isn’t it?) are set to take on the world with their up and coming debut album – due early in the new year. Head to MySpace for a few tracks and over to YouTube for another video.

Worth a listen.

El Witeri -The Mighty Red Eyes

This Melbourne Indie crew play smooth Reggae/dub. A big part of their sound includes the trumpet playing of Richard Burns and (Adam)A13 who plays samples and turntable. The dynamics will change with their departure to pursue other options. Meanwhile that still leaves James Orr on sax and Adrien Shaw on trumpet; so they still have a very fine brass lineup.

The rest of the ensemble are frontman El Witeri on vocals and occasionally guitar, Rohan Sherlock on bass, Steve Allingham on drums, King Charlie on guitar and Dan Marsh on keyboards. Together these guys make up a pretty hot team.

THE RED-EYES are led by fiery singer El Witeri who draws on his Maori heritage for inspiration. THE RED-EYES live show is nothing short of incendiary. The pressure builds with melodic slow-burners and sci-fi dub and erupts with fist-in-the-air militant reggae.

Find them on MySpace and they have some more samples on the band website. If they are playing in a state near you, go along and have a listen.

So after endless touring (which they claim to love… I am sure they are being ironic) they plonked themselves down in a studio here in Melbourne and ten days later had recorded their second album “The Shiralee”.

The song I have had on the MP3 player for the last month is “Heartbreaker”, a song that sounds like it has jumped forward in time from the Sixties. Very trippy. The other one that I am currently enjoying is “The Eagle”. It’s a short sharp piece with an great break of guitar in the middle eight. Sarah definitely knows how to get a great pallette of noise from her Gibson.

“Heartbreaker” film clip From “The Shiralee” 2008 Directed by Clare McLay…

The album is well worth a look. Recommended.

Website at www.myspace.com/theredsunband and www.theredsunband.com/