HELEN SHANAHAN ANNOUNCES VIDEO FOR CAMOUFLAGED + NEW ALBUM EVERY LITTLE STING + ALBUM TOUR
Helen Shanahan has today announced her new single and video Camouflaged (out April 28), the perfect follow up to previous single I Only Hide, expressing curiousity as to who she would be without the burden of anxiety. Camouflaged is another taste of Helen’s new album Every Little Sting – a versatile, considered and skillful collection of folk-country tunes from the outstanding songwriter, set for release on May 5. To celebrate the release, Helen will be hitting the road throughout May, kicking off on May 5 at Fly By Night Musician’s Club in Fremantle, then moving through Margaret River, Yallingup, Melbourne and wrapping up on June 1 at Petersham Bowling Club in New South Wales.
Moody, yet buoyed by casually-cool percussive rhythms, Camouflaged is like frustration encapsulated in a piece of music. “What would it be like if I wasn’t always hiding away, when everybody shows their face”, asks an exasperated Helen in her heartstopping falsetto, accompanied by the pulsing band that perfectly represents the ever-present nature of anxiety. Working with filmmaker Brendan Joel (Jacob Diamond, Sam Perry), who she also worked with on her 2015 release Across The Sea, Helen has released a stunning, one-take video to accompany Camouflaged. Reflecting on the song and the idea behind the impactful clip, Helen says, “Camouflaged is about realising you have to back yourself, and believe in yourself in order to be heard. I so often find I prefer to stay in the background, but when it comes to my music, I realised I needed to do the best I could to put myself out there instead of being ‘camouflaged’… This clip mirrors my previous single I Only Hide with themes of wanting to break free from anxiety and to be comfortable in my own skin. Themes of ‘breaking out’ of my anxious self to experience the joy of being ‘wild’ and ‘free’ come through in the chorus scenes when I am playing with my band in a vibrant setting.”
Camouflaged is but one example of the soft, subtle power of Helen Shanahan’s songwriting, which is on full display on her new album Every Little Sting. Recorded and produced in Nashville, the perfect place to hone her country-inspired catalogue, Every Little Sting is a triumph for the inspired songwriter. Helen’s understated voice tackles even the most intricate phrases with utmost ease and remains the standout musical factor throughout the record, despite the powerful playing that accompanies her. Recorded with producer Brad Jones (Missy Higgins, Bob Evans, Melody Pool), Every Little Sting features the adept skills of drummer Jason Cheek, string player and arranger Chris Carmichael (Taylor Swift, Buddy Guy, Jessica Mauboy), and Helen’s husband Matt Allen and the Grammy-nominated Kim Richey on backing vocals. Helen reflects on the process and the themes explored in Every Little Sting, “The calibre of the musicians in Nashville was out of this world, I felt lucky to even be in the same room most of the time…The main theme that runs through the album is having anxiety, and being more sensitive to issues that arise in daily life. The title track Every Little Sting is a good summation of the album, that I feel everything strongly – which is a blessing and a curse as it has been the inspiration for many of my songs, but at the same time has been a hard thing to deal with. The album looks at feelings of being stretched thin, and feeling overwhelmed in Paper Thin. The album is balanced with some songs I wrote many years ago about my now husband, Now You’re My Baby and Cover Is Blown. The album is a mixture of emotions, but hopefully finds a good balance between light and dark.”
Helen Shanahan will be bring Every Little Sting out on tour, where audiences will have a chance to experience her remarkable talent at intimate venues across the country. Helen gives fans a sneak preview of what to expect from the shows, “If you are planning to come to the launch at the Fly By Night Musicals Club, you can see the album played in full by my band (also known as the Shanaband) and a string quartet. Strings were a massive part of the album, and it will be amazing to showcase the arrangements live. For the rest of the dates, it will be myself and my husband Matt singing and playing in duo form. I’m hoping that later in the year I can get my full band and strings out on the road if people are liking what they hear!”
HELEN SHANAHAN ‘EVERY LITTLE STING’ SHOWS
FRI 5 MAY | FLY BY NIGHT MUSICIANS CLUB, FREMANTLE WA | 18+ **FULL BAND SHOW**
Tickets available from www.flybynight.org | (08) 9430 5208|
SAT 6 MAY | COLONIAL BREWING CO, MARGARET RIVER WA | ALL AGES
Free entry | (08) 9758 8177
SUN 7 MAY |CAVES HOUSE , YALLINGUP WA | ALL AGES
Free entry |(08) 9750 1888
SAT 13th MAY | SOME VELVET MORNING, VIC | 18+
Tickets available from www.velmo.com.au
THURS JUNE 1 | PETERSHAM BOWLING CLUB, NSW | 18+
Tickets available from www.trybooking.com/PQTS | (02) 9569 4639
PETE MURRAY RETURNS WITH NEW SINGLE ‘TAKE ME DOWN’ + ALBUM ‘CAMACHO’ AND 33-DATE NATIONAL TOUR
Byron Bay singer-songwriter and one of Australia’s most loved musicians, Pete Murray has today released his new single, Take Me Down (out now), alongside the announcement of his sixth studio album, Camacho – available June 2. With over one million album sales to his name, the quiet achiever of Australian music will showcase new tracks and old favourites on an epic 33-date national Camacho Tour that will kickstart in Lismore on July 12 and finish up in Darwin on September 9.
Beat-driven and anthemic, Take Me Down cleverly reveals a new direction for Pete, yet still manages to feel like a catch up with an old friend – his smooth, familiar voice both warm and inviting. “Take me down is about a beautiful relationship with an unknown future,” insights Pete. “It’s about not knowing how much time is left and being in the moment. It’s emotive, moody, sexual and vulnerable.”
Determined to shake things up and find a fresh sound for the album, Pete explored different writing and recording techniques. “My main goal was to work with loops and beats and to have a cool, phat drum sound,” says Pete. He collaborated with hip hop producer Trials (AB Original) to achieve the drum sounds he was looking for, and saddled up with an array of well-known industry talent to get the Camacho show on the road. “There was only one guy that I was interested in mixing this album and that was Eric J Dubowsky. He was starting to do a lot of phat, warm sounds and I really wanted this flavour of mixing on my album.” Also in the assemblage was Aussie producer Tony Buchen (Montaigne, The Preatures, Bob Evans), Sydney-based producer One Above aka Andrew Burford (Hilltop Hoods, Drapht, Allday), and ARIA winning producer Jon Hume (Matt Corby, Lisa Mitchell).
“The thing I wanted to do different with this album was to take my time and get it right. So many times in the past I have jumped into a studio for 4 – 6 weeks and recorded an album. Once the recording time is over, so is the album,” explains Pete, “with Camacho there was no rush, it was going to be finished when it was finished.”
And finished it is – guaranteed to be lapped up by new and old fans alike, Pete Murray has delivered a cool, uplifting, emotive, and powerful album and it will be celebrated and brought to life on the greatly anticipated Camacho Tour. Following sell-out shows across the country, the 33-date tour will take in capital cities and a host of regional centres throughout July, August and September.
Pumped to hit the road and play his new tunes for fans across Australia, Pete enthuses, “I’ll be taking the full band on the road and heading to a stack of places I haven’t been to in a while. I’m also really excited about playing the new music for the first time and cannot wait to get out there and see the crowd’s reaction.”
Camacho is set for release on June 2 and is available to pre-order from www.petemurray.com – all album iTunes pre-orders will instantly receive the Take Me Down single.
PETE MURRAY NATIONAL CAMACHO TOUR
Presented by TEG LIVE
WED 12 JUL | LISMORE CITY HALL, LISMORE NSW | LIC AA
THU 13 JUL | VILLA NOOSA, NOOSAVILLE, QLD | 18+
FRI 14 JUL | THE TIVOLI THEATRE, BRISBANE, QLD | 18+
THU 20 JUL | GREAT WESTERN HOTEL, ROCKHAMPTON, QLD | LIC AA
FRI 21 JUL | RACEHORSE HOTEL, IPSWICH, QLD | 18+
SAT 22 JUL | THE STAR GOLD COAST, QLD | LIC AA
SUN 23 JUL | REDLAND BAY HOTEL, REDLAND BAY, QLD | 18+
WED 26 JUL | CEX COFFS HARBOUR, NSW | 18+
THU 27 JUL | THE CAMBRIDGE HOTEL, NEWCASTLE, NSW | 18+
FRI 28 JUL | THE ENTRANCE LEAGUES CLUB, BATEAU BAY | 18+
SAT 29 JUL | ENMORE THEATRE, SYDNEY NSW | LIC AA
THU 3 AUG | NAUTILUS THEATRE, PORT LINCOLN, SA | LIC AA
FRI 4 AUG | HER MAJESTY’S THEATRE, ADELAIDE, SA | LIC AA
SAT 5 AUG | LIGHTHOUSE THEATRE, WARRNAMBOOL, VIC | LIC AA
WED 9 AUG | EASTBANK THEATRE, SHEPPARTON, VIC | LIC AA
THU 10 AUG | CHELSEA HEIGHTS HOTEL, CHELSEA HEIGHTS, VIC | 18+
FRI 11 AUG | WREST POINT SHOWROOM, HOBART, TAS | 18+
SAT 12 AUG | LAUNCESTON COUNTRY CLUB, LAUNCESTON, TAS | LIC AA
THU 17 AUG | BATEMANS BAY SOLDIERS CLUB, BATEMANS BAY, NSW | 18+
FRI 18 AUG | WAVES, WOLLONGONG, NSW | 18+
SAT 19 AUG | CANBERRA THEATRE, CANBERRA, ACT | LIC AA
SUN 20 AUG | BEER DELUXE, ALBURY, NSW | 18+
WED 23 AUG | ULUMBARRA THEATRE, BENDIGO, VIC | LIC AA
THU 24 AUG | REGENT MULTIPLEX THEATRE, BALLARAT, VIC | LIC AA
FRI 25 AUG | FORUM THEATRE, MELBOURNE, VIC | 18+
SAT 26 AUG | THE WOOL EXCHANGE, GEELONG, VIC | 18+
FRI 1 SEP | WINTERSUN HOTEL, GERALDTON, WA | 18+
SAT 2 SEP | FREMANTLE ARTS CENTRE, FREMANTLE, WA | 18+
SUN 3 SEP | DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN, DUNSBOROUGH, WA | 18+
WED 6 SEP | EMPIRE THEATRE, TOOWOOMBA, QLD | LIC AA
THU 7 SEP | THE VILLE, TOWNSVILLE, QLD | LIC AA
FRI 8 SEP | TANKS ARTS CENTRE, CAIRNS, QLD | 18+
SAT 9 SEP | DARWIN SKI CLUB, DARWIN, NT | LIC/AA
TICKETING INFORMATION
Velocity Frequent Flyer is offering a pre-sale window on selected shows for a limited time to Velocity members, available via Velocity Live from 1pm Friday 7 April 2017 until 8am Monday 10 April 2017. Visit www.velocitylive.com.au for details.
The general public will have the opportunity to purchase tickets from 11am Monday 10 April 2017.
For further information, head to www.petemurray.com.
GRINSPOON ANNOUNCE 27-DATE NATIONAL TOUR + 20TH ANNIVERSARY DELUXE EDITION OF ‘GUIDE TO BETTER LIVING’
Post-grunge Aussie rockers, Grinspoon have today announced a 20th Anniversary deluxe edition of the album that kickstarted their long-standing music career, Guide To Better Living, alongside an epic 27-date national tour of Australia, playing the album cover to cover for fans throughout June, July, August and September.
It’s 1995. A band from Lismore named Grinspoon (named after Associate Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Dr Lester Grinspoon who supported the medicinal use of marijuana) submitted the track, Sickfest to triple j’s Unearthed national band comp in its inaugural year. To everyone’s amazement, they won – and for the next two months the song was the station’s number one request. Fast forward to September 1997, signed to Universal Music’s Grudge imprint, Grinspoon released their debut album, Guide To Better Living.
Going on to boast double-platinum accrediation on the back of five singles; Pedestrian, DC×3, Repeat, Just Ace and Don’t Go Away – Guide To Better Living (GTBL) spent 36 weeks in the ARIA Top 50. The album stands now as a similar coming of age as The Angels’ Face to Face, Cold Chisel’s East and Midnight Oil’s 10, 9, 8… were at the time. Since then, it’s been a rolling success and yeah, occasionally, excess story with certified sales of well over half a million, seven albums all very familiar with the Top Ten, ARIA Awards, 13 ARIA nominations, more than 1,000 gigs, tens of thousands of international frequent flyer miles, 7 appearances at the Big Day Out as well as slots at Homebake, Falls Festival, Splendour in the Grass, an NRL Grand Final and a Commonwealth Games Closing Ceremony in Melbourne.
Twenty years later – with the album chalking up a double decade of acclaim – Grinspoon are emerging from hiatus to celebrate their debut album with the Guide To Better Living tour. Supported nationally by Hockey Dad, they’ll be playing the album cover to cover across June-September 2017, alongside a selection of later favourites from their albums that followed. The tour takes in 27 dates across the nation – the first tour of such scale since the band went on hiatus in 2013, broken only for a support slot on Cold Chisel’s Perfect Crime tour of Australia in 2015.
Candidly chatting about the 20th anniversary of their monumental debut release, vocalist Phil Jamieson jests, “I hate nostalgia, it gets my goat. What I do love are tunes, and we’ve got tunes! NBT – Balding Matters – Scalped are probably what are considered to be album tracks or ‘filler’, but I can’t wait to spit ‘em out with as much venom as I did as a 19 year old. Then there is Railroader – Repeat – Just Ace – Champion – Boundary …. it’s like a little treasure box of ditties! I don’t think I really knew what I was doing when I made Guide To Better Living, but I know that playing this album from start to finish is going to be one of the most challenging, enjoyable & kickass things I’ll ever do! Bring on the road, bring on the tour, bring on the shows… happy 20th birthday GTBL!”
To correspond with the tour, an accompanying expanded, multi-format reissue of the album will be released on June 23. Grinspoon have curated a 20th Anniversary edition of Guide To Better Living, expanding the original 16-track album to a mammoth 49 track feast of rarities, live tracks and unreleased recordings. The album also appears on vinyl for the very first time in the form of a limited edition red vinyl pressing, coupling the original album with a second disc Live At CBGB’s – an incendiary 10-track live recording of the band taken from the fabled CBGB’s venue in New York. The recording was found in a scour of the vaults late in 2016. The physical 2CD edition is packaged in a deluxe slipcase, alongside a 36 page book featuring unseen images, scans of memorabilia, full lyrics and essays from each of the band members.
The original 16 track album is augmented with Live recordings, rare B-Sides and an unreleased track ‘Green Grass Meadow’ recorded at the time of Guide To Better Living, unheard until now. The set is finished off with a previously unreleased 13-track performance from the Falls Festival of 1997. 49 tracks in all!
“IIt’s a real honour to be releasing the 20th Anniversary of Guide To Better Living. It was an amazing time in the band’s life. Going back and listening to the album and watching old footage reminds me of what was an unbelievably exciting time in all our lives,” says guitarist Pat Davern.
Grinspoon is Phil Jamieson on vocals, Pat Davern on guitar, Joe Hansen on bass and Kristian Hopes on drums.
Guide To Better Living 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition is set for release on June 23. Pre-order album bundles are onsale from www.grinspoon.com.au.
GUIDE TO BETTER LIVING NATIONAL TOUR DATES
Presented by TEG LIVE and Triple M
FRI 23 JUN | KAY ST ENTERTAINMENT COMPLEX, TRARALGON VIC | 18+
FRI 30 JUN | MARGARET COURT ARENA, MELBOURNE, VIC | LIC AA
SAT 1 JUL | VILLAGE GREEN HOTEL, MULGRAVE, VIC | 18+
FRI 7 JUL | ENMORE THEATRE, SYDNEY, NSW | LIC AA
SAT 8 JUL | THE TIVOLI THEATRE, BRISBANE, QLD | 18+
SAT 29 JUL | ONE TROPICAL DAY @ DARWIN SKI CLUB, DARWIN, NT | LIC AA **
THU 3 AUG | THE WOOL EXCHANGE, GEELONG, VIC | 18+
FRI 4 AUG | PIER BANDROOM, FRANKSTON, VIC | 18+
SAT 5 AUG | GRANADA TAVERN, HOBART, TAS | 18+
THU 10 AUG | THE JACK, CAIRNS, QLD | 18+
FRI 11 AUG | DALRYMPLE HOTEL, TOWNSVILLE, QLD | 18+
SAT 12 AUG | MAGNUMS, AIRLIE BEACH, QLD | 18+
THU 17 AUG | VILLA NOOSA, NOOSAVILLE, QLD | 18+
FRI 18 AUG | REDLAND BAY HOTEL, REDLAND BAY, QLD | 18+
SAT 19 AUG | SHAKA FEST – MIAMI TAVERN, GOLD COAST, QLD | 18+ **
THU 24 AUG | DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN, DUNSBOROUGH, WA | 18+
FRI 25 AUG | METRO CITY, PERTH, WA | 18+
SAT 26 AUG | ADELAIDE ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE, ADELAIDE, SA | AA
THU 31 AUG | THE CAMBRIDGE HOTEL, NEWCASTLE, NSW | 18+
FRI 1 SEP | LISMORE CITY HALL , LISMORE, NSW | 18+
SAT 2 SEP | RACEHORSE HOTEL, IPSWICH, QLD | 18+
THU 14 SEP | THE ENTRANCE LEAGUES CLUB, BATEAU BAY, NSW | 18+
FRI 15 SEP | WAVES, WOLLONGONG, NSW | 18+
SAT 16 SEP | UC REFECTORY, CANBERRA, ACT | 18+
WED 20 SEP | CSU, WAGGA WAGGA, NSW | 18+
FRI 22 SEP | BEER DELUXE, ALBURY, NSW | 18+
SUN 24 SEP | BATEMANS BAY SOLDIERS CLUB, BATEMANS BAY, NSW | 18+
**Hockey Dad not appearing
TICKETING INFORMATION
Telstra is offering their customers an exclusive Telstra Thanks 48-hour pre-sale on most shows from 9am Wednesday 5 April 2017. For more details regarding the pre-sale, please visit www.telstra.com/music.
Velocity Frequent Flyer is offering a pre-sale window for a limited time to Velocity members, available via Velocity Live from 11am Friday 7 April 2017 until 8am Monday 10 April 2017.
The general public will have the opportunity to purchase tickets from 9am Monday 10 April 2017.
For further information, head to www.grinspoon.com.au.