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Australian News Briefs 1/17
Check out the latest bit of news from Australia.
Scotland’s Sandi Thomas canceled her first Australian tour, a five-date theatre run set to kick off in Perth January 28. Frontier Touring Company blamed "Last minute promotional commitments in the U.K." and said the tour would not be rescheduled.
In-Tense Touring also announced that Dead Moon’s February visit was canceled, as the band had broken up after 20 years.
Farris To Give Keynote At WAMi
INXS’s Andrew Farris has been tapped as keynote speaker for the Australia Post WAMi Music Business Conference, set for February 21-25 in Perth.
He will give the artist’s perspective on the future of the music business. Among the first 12 speakers announced by the West Australian Music Association were artist managers Catherine Haridy and Buzz Bidstrup.
From the United States are Isabel Pappini of Undercover Tracks and Janine Kerr of NBC.
Metro Home To ‘The Lair’
The Sydney Metro is home to MTV Networks Australia’s new live music show, "The Lair."
MTV revamped the venue to allow acts and audiences to cut loose, network executive producer Ean Thorley said.
"We wanted to steer as far away as possible from the glossy clinical studio look," he said. "Music has always been about getting dirty, sweaty and a bit crazy so we needed a venue that was going to give us the space and freedom to capture that."
Bono On Kylie DVD
U2 singer Bono’s "Kids" duet at Kylie Minogue’s Sydney show last November will be included on the DVD, "Kylie Showgirl – Homecoming Live," due out in Australia February 3.
Ill health dogged Minogue during her current U.K. tour. A few dates had to be canceled as the star and band suffered from the flu.
One of the new songs on the show was "White Diamond," which she co-wrote and recorded in New York with the Scissor Sisters.
Downloaded Directory
The January 2007 edition of the AustralAsian Music Industry Directory (immedia.com.au/amid) will, aside from its print and online format, also be iPod- and iPhone-ready.
It will deliver all listings, e-mail addresses and URLs of music business entities in 70 categories and be updated every fortnight online.
Vale Ben Gannon
Three-hundred members of Australia’s film, theatre and music community bid farewell to producer Ben Gannon at a church in Sydney.
Gannon, 54, died at his home January 4 of cancer.
His legacy was to give local audiences a series of musicals and films about Australian heroes and experiences.
His best known was "The Boy From Oz," about singer/songwriter Peter Allen.
After a hit run downunder, the show went to Broadway in 2003 with Hugh Jackman in the lead role. It scored Gannon a Tony nomination.
One of his dreams, sadly unfilled, was to take an arena-style version of "The Boy From Oz" to the U.S.
Pollstar also farewells country music songwriter Garner Wayne, who wrote 100 songs and made 300 recordings for Viking Recordings. He died at his home in NSW aged 86.
also farewells country music songwriter Garner Wayne, who wrote 100 songs and made 300 recordings for Viking Recordings. He died at his home in NSW aged 86.
Short Notes
The Oz City Song Circle kicked off the weeklong G’Day USA celebration of all things Aussie on January 9. Songwriters MiG Ayesa, Wollongong-bred Porcelain, Hopkinson and ex-Skunkhour singer Aya Larkin showcased at the Mint club.
Hayden Johnston and Adam Yee of Sydney’s Level One Agency split their business after four years together. Johnston will retain the name and concentrate on production and tour management. Yee took the booking roster, which includes Sarah Blasko, Gerling, and Mess Hall, to his new company, Mobile Industries.
He joins a bill that includes
The show will raise money for the Bon Scott statue in Fremantle. Evans now lives in Texas and tours with his band Badasses.
Two Michael Coppel Presents tours have been resounding success stories.
MCP announced sixth shows for Brisbane and Melbourne for the comedy act
Minnesota band
Promoter Michael Chugg estimates that the Robbie Williams tour in December injected half a billion dollars into the Australian economy.
Metal band Herratik is to announce a March tour.
Rod Stewart hints he might return this year. Bob Dylan is a strong possibility. Comedian Neil Hamburger will return in April.
After seeing the Sydney production of "Priscilla Queen of The Desert," is
Of the 55 invited to showcase at South By Southwest. Thirty Australian bands and 13 New Zealand artists have accepted.
Regurgitator plans to reprise its "band in the bubble" experiment – they lived in a plastic igloo and recorded their Mishmash album – in London and possibly in the U.S.
A 27-year old Icelandic tourist died from severe head injuries after his parachute failed to open during a jump at NSW dance music festival Superfreak. The three-day festival was held in Bonalbo, a two-hour drive from Byron Bay. The helicopter jump was among adventure activities on offer at the festival, police said.
The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra’s concert with