GRINSPOON ANNOUNCE NATIONAL EASY DETENTION TOUR FOR OCT/NOV 2023 WITH SPECIAL GUESTS PRIVATE FUNCTION AND CUPID & THE STUPIDS + ANNOUNCE EASY AND NEW DETENTION VINYL PRESSINGS FOR SEP 8 – PRE-ORDER NOW
Beloved Aussie rockers Grinspoon have today announced their Easy Detention national tour, celebrating iconic albums Easy (1999) and New Detention (2002), with first ever vinyl pressings of both records set for release on Friday September 8 and available to pre-order now. The tour will make its way around the country later this year in October and November, supported by Private Function and Cupid & The Stupids. Kicking off at Miami Marketta Laneway on October 29, the tour will then swing through Hobart, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Sydney, and Newcastle, before finishing up at Astor Theatre Perth on November 24.
Tickets go on sale to the general public at 9am (local) on Friday June 2 from www.grinspoon.com.au, and fans are invited to join the band’s newsletter to jump in on presale tickets from 10am (local) Thursday June 1 – 8am (local) Friday June 2.
For the first time ever, Grinspoon will be offering a VIP soundcheck meet & greet package, but here’s where the real magic happens: one lucky fan at each show will have the opportunity to join forces with the band, jumping up to perform a Grinners song with Phil, Pat, Joe and Kristian at soundcheck. For more information on this thrilling VIP experience, head to www.grinspoon.com.au.
Lead singer Phil Jamieson is amped to bring the band’s notoriously high energy shows to a host of the country’s best live music stages. “We’re delighted to be hitting the road again later this year, I’m so enjoying putting together the set list for these shows,” says Jamieson. “We’ll be throwing in some songs we’ve never played live, believe it or not.”
2022 marked 20 years of Grinspoon’s acclaimed record, New Detention. Peaking at #2 on the ARIA charts, nominated for 5 ARIA Awards, and featuring the hits Chemical Heart, Lost Control and more, the album cemented the band’s status as local rock icons. To celebrate, New Detention will be available on vinyl for the first time ever, with a limited-edition marbled green disc and with the original cover art, as the record was intended to be presented. It’s accompanied by a special edition of Easy, also arriving on vinyl for the first time. Both will released just before the Easy Detention tour on September 8.
“I’m very affectionate towards Easy, I love that record, I think it’s my fave Grinners album. It’s flawed, but I think I like its flaws. I can hear the tumultuous times that we were experiencing during the writing and recording of it too,” says Jamieson. “And New Detention, well, it kind of changed everything for us.”
In 1997, the youthful Grinspoon uploaded the track Sickfest to triple j Unearthed, not knowing the life-changing success that was to come. With Sickfest, Grinspoon won Unearthed’s national band comp in its first year – and for the next two months the track was the station’s most requested song. What followed was an illustrious career, with seven albums, Top Ten ARIA chart spots, ARIA Awards, 13 ARIA nominations, more than 1,350 gigs, tens of thousands of 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. Despite these massive achievements, Grinspoon don’t have plans to wrap things up any time soon.
And the secret to the band’s longevity, according to Jamieson? “Absence makes the heart grow fonder and familiarity breeds contempt, so I think one of the smartest things we did in 2013 was go away,” he laughs. “We’d been ubiquitous on the fest scene since 2000, even if you didn’t want to see us at a festival, you were probably lining up for MGMT at Splendour and there we were! It was very healthy to take a break from touring and writing, but that’s not a secret, a lot of bands have done that. We came back in 2017 and did our Guide To Better Living tour and when we came back, we didn’t realise the affection the Aus public had for the band, and that was overwhelming and very assuring and felt like a very nice warm hug, so from that it made us take the group a little more seriously and has made sure we are not only delivering the best shows we’ve ever done, but better than the 90s… arguably the 90s are a little bit patchy for us!”
Tickets go on sale at 9am (local) on Friday June 2 from www.grinspoon.com.au and fans can join the band’s newsletter to jump in on presale tickets from 10am (local) Thursday June 1 – 8am (local) Friday June 2
The Easy and New Detention vinyl records will be released Friday September 8 and are available to pre-order now, and will be available at the merch desk at all shows.
Grinspoon is Phil Jamieson on vocals, Pat Davern on guitar, Joe Hansen on bass and Kristian Hopes on drums.
GRINSPOON EASY DETENTION NATIONAL TOUR
Presented by Triple M, Metropolis Touring, Wonderlick & New World Artists
With special guests Private Function and Cupid & The Stupids
SUN 29 OCT | MIAMI MARKETTA LANEWAY, GOLD COAST | YUGAMBEH QLD | 18+ GA Floor | 3:30-8pm
Tickets available from www.oztix.com.au | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix Outlets
FRI 03 NOV | HOBART CITY HALL, HOBART | NIPALUNA TAS | 18+ GA Floor, RES Balcony | 7-11.30pm
Tickets available from www.oztix.com.au | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix OutletsMON 06 NOV (Cup Eve)| FORUM, MELBOURNE | NAARM VIC | 18+ GA Floor, RES Booths | 7-11pm
Tickets available from www.ticketek.com.au | 132 849 | All Ticketek Outlets
FRI 10 NOV | FORTITUDE MUSIC HALL, BRISBANE | MEANJIN QLD | 18+ GA | 7-11:15pm
Tickets available from www.ticketmaster.com.au | 1300 446 925 | All Ticketmaster Outlets
SAT 11 NOV | HINDLEY STREET MUSIC HALL, ADELAIDE | KAURNA SA | 18+ GA | 7-11.15pm
Tickets available from www.moshtix.com.au | 1300 GET TIX | All Moshtix Outlets
FRI 17 NOV | ENMORE THEATRE, SYDNEY | GADIGAL NSW | 18+ GA Floor, AA RES Balcony | 7-11:15pm
Tickets available from www.ticketek.com.au | 132 849 | All Ticketek Outlets
SAT 18 NOV | NEX, NEWCASTLE | MULUBINBA NSW | 18+ GA Floor | 7-11:15pm
Tickets available from www.oztix.com.au | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix Outlets
FRI 24 NOV | ASTOR THEATRE, PERTH | BOORLOO WA | 18+ GA Floor, AA Balcony | 7-11:15pm
Tickets available from www.ticketek.com.au | 132 849 | All Ticketek Outlets
SHELLEY SEGAL SHARES NEW SINGLE + VIDEO ‘MOTHER’
Photo credit Sean Muniz // @seanietsunami300
Just in time for Mother’s Day, the glorious new single Mother from Melbourne singer-songwriter Shelley Segal simultaneously tugs at the heartstrings and awes with warmth. A stirring ode to Shelley’s own mother, Mother is also accompanied today by a sentimental music video featuring footage of Shelley with her mum that perfectly complements the raw and beguiling new track.
Showcasing Shelley’s lead guitar finger-picking and haunting vocals alongside a captivating mix of strings, lead violin, trumpets and electric drums, Mother is a powerful and honest outing that also affirms Shelley’s own eclectic musical influences, ranging from Ani DiFranco to Ben Harper, as well as more recent inspiration from Phoebe Bridgers and Tiny Ruins. And while Shelley’s enchanting sonic stylings permeate every corner of her latest single, it’s also her genuine reflection of her relationship with her own mother and herself that beats at the sublime heart of Mother, as Shelley elaborates, “The start of the song came to me when I walked past my bedroom mirror. I caught my reflection in the corner of my eye and my first thought for a split second was that it was my mum. I’m not sure what it’s like for everybody else, but for me – some days I see myself and my body and I feel great, other days I may have negative thoughts or focus on things that I don’t like rather than see the whole image. When I thought for a microsecond that it was my mum who I was seeing, I realised how differently I viewed the image and how external some of those negative thoughts must be because when the same image is projected in my mind as her, I saw and experienced something completely different.
“Now in my mid-30s I’m finally starting to see and appreciate the ways in which I am truly like my mother,” Shelley continues. “In character, in my looks and my body, in the way I laugh, my personality. All these qualities I am now able to appreciate in myself through this new lens because I appreciate them in her. I would never accept those hateful messages if they were directed at her. So, I have reached a point in life where I am immune to these harmful ideas. I will no longer accept, absorb, or give power to these messages when directed at myself since I now see her in me. Her beauty is undeniable, and carrying her beauty myself, means that my beauty is undeniable as well.”
A family affair both in the studio and on camera, Shelley co-produced Mother with her husband Rob J Robertson (Humans As Animals), with many of her nearest and dearest also co-producing, and her father Danny Segal appearing on violin and friend Kelly O’Donohue (Vance Joy) on trumpet. And creating the accompanying music video for Mother with creative powerhouse Lex Giana, the end result of the heart-warming clip will hit you right in the feels with actual footage of Shelley and her mother also featured throughout the video. “The goal of the music video is to express the journey to unbreakable self-love, through the love that I have for my mother, from insecurity, self-doubt and self-criticism to freedom and joy,” shares Shelley of the brand new Mother music video. “Throughout the video clip there is old footage of my mother and me from when I was a child. It was very special to be able to include these precious moments with my mother, I feel very grateful for the unconditional love I have experienced.”
Starting her musical journey at an early age, performing in her father Danny’s wedding band as a pre-teen and writing original material before releasing her first self-titled EP in 2009, Shelley has spent 10+ years on the US touring circuit, and the last seven of those years based in Los Angeles firmly spreading and galvanizing her creative wings. Establishing a strong foundation working across a broad range of styles since day one, Shelley has gone on to work with a dazzling array of artists over the years while also racking up millions of streams worldwide, including creating music for documentary Transmission Love, working as a publisher for Prince Chapelle on his Billboard #1 charting song with NCT 127, working and touring with Vanessa Amorosi at her independent label Scream Louder Records, and landing sync deals with major networks, including HBO MAX, Peacock, Riot Games, NFL and more. Shelley’s diverse yet powerful skillset has also seen her appear in Germany in 2022 to perform her new work Murtadd at the Celebrating Dissent Festival, alongside work on German artist Betül’s Eurovision contending song and creating an English version and video for Shervin Hajipour’s Grammy Award-winning protest song Baraye, supporting the Mahsa Amini protest in Iran.
Pivoting during the pandemic to opening her own studio and production house Secret Sauce with good friend and collaborator Prince Chapelle, Shelley is set to return to Australia this September for some special performances, while also working with Music To Life to develop her conservation-themed program The Watershed; a multi-disciplinary project geared at inspiring environmental activism. As one of 10 selected in a national cohort of music-changemakers with the American non-profit, Shelley’s 2023 dance card continues to burgeon; but it’s her latest single Mother that ultimately offers fans a chance to intimately step into Shelley’s sensational world; and it’s a moment equally special for Shelley, as she concludes, “This song has been a long time in the making. Being a tribute to my mother and her incredible beauty (inside and out!) is very meaningful for both of us and it’s so special to be able to release the song for Mother’s Day.”
Mother is out today, Friday May 12.
RICH WEBB SHARES NEW SINGLE + VIDEO ‘BRUNSWICK ST’
They say you can’t keep a good man down, and critically-acclaimed Melbourne alt-country singer/songwriter Rich Webb is proof positive of that old adage, with new single Brunswick St arriving as his first piece of new music for 2023. Brunswick St arrives just a few months after the release of his latest album, RIGHT!, with the uplifting, driving track presenting itself as an equally powerful ode to the Melbourne street which bears its name.
Armed with lyrics as nostalgic as they are contemporary, and backed by an instrumental that is punchy and exciting, Brunswick St is something of a full circle moment for Rich as he pays tribute to the very same Fitzroy street that crafted and curated unforgettable memories in his early days in Melbourne, and has served as a warm homecoming with every return visit. Approaching his new music with a clearer vision of what he wants to accomplish, Brunswick St sees Rich again working with his talented band, and this time taking a greater hand in the mixing process alongside Oh Mercy’s Rohan Sforcina. The end result is a track which is unapologetically Rich Webb, is close to his heart, and takes influence from the very bands and musicians that soundtracked his early years on Brunswick Street, including Magic Dirt, The Fauves, Kim Salmon, Chris Wilson and The Dead Salesmen.
As Rich explains, “It’s a story song. I was walking down Brunswick Street and randomly bumped into a pretty wild dude I used to run with back then, who I hadn’t seen for years. He was still going hard and it was great to see him. There was some common ground and a lot came flooding back. It’s about the way people and places change for you, but you also carry a bit of them forward with you too. I still get a tingle of excitement walking down there, and I think that’s because I experienced such a great time in my life on that bit of pavement. Always been a fun place for me, and I tried to catch that in the song. It’s still a cracking strip – get yourself over there!”
With Brunswick St being viewed by Rich as a progression from the music on 2022’s RIGHT!, he also looks at the song as one which could easily have sat on his 2019 album, Le Rayon Vert – which deservedly took home the Alt-Country Album of the Year award at the Independent Music Awards in New York. It’s a testament to his work as a multi-dimensional creative and as an artist not content with standing still. This much is evident within the joyous strains of Brunswick St, whose emotional roots are planted within the past while keeping an eye on the future and the opportunities it provides.
The accompanying video for Brunswick St sees Rich collaborating with Julian Abrahams and Ty Ridgeway of Shoelace Creative (Lime Cordiale, Didirri, Angie McMahon) as he takes the viewer on a trip down the song’s namesake before ending up at The Evelyn Hotel – quite likely mirroring his experiences on Brunswick Street back in the ‘90s. As Rich puts it, “The song is about a random walk down Brunswick St, so it seemed pretty clear we needed to do something similar for the video – and have some fun with it, as that’s what it’s always been about for me down there. I end up in The Evelyn Hotel also, which back then was and still is, a firing joint – The Punters opposite and The Evelyn were the heart of much of what was happening this side of town for a while.”
Having spent more than two-and-a-half decades as a staple of the Australian music scene, Rich Webb shows no signs of even thinking of slowing down, with two launch shows for Brunswick St slated for Melbourne in the coming weeks – including a matinee show at The Brunswick Ballroom on Saturday May 20, and an evening show at St Kilda’s George Lane on Friday June 2. As Rich humbly puts it, the upcoming shows will be nothing short of an “unmissable life-affirming show of brilliant unforgettable tunes”. With lead guitarist Matt Dixon (who recently toured with Jim Lauderdale)in tow, Rich is also joined by bass player and backing vocalist Alics Gate-Eastley (The Well Oiled Sisters) and drummer and backing vocalist Jim Carden (The Warner Brothers), the line-up he’s been out and about with for the past year. “This tune totally kills live too!” adds Rich.
Brunswick St is out today, May 11.