January 24, 2009

Summer Tones form guide

dan
Dan Deacon

Dan, Dan, he’s our man!  Dan Deacon blew everyone’s sweet minds when he toured Australia with last year’s Laneway Festival & we are thrilled to bits that he’s coming back to headline Summer Tones. Dan is the founder of utopian Baltimore art and music collective Wham City, and is about to release his incredible new album Bromst. Wherever he wanders, Dan’s high-energy performances whip audiences into a delirious frenzy as he constructs his manic pop songs with a mess of old-school electronic equipment. Expect crazy fun times & audience participation that’s guaranteed to leave a big silly smile on your dial.     Summer Tones Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane & Adelaide

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High Places

High Places are Mary Pearson & Rob Barber, two hyper talented humans from Brooklyn (recently transported to Los Angeles) who are making their first journey to Australia. The magical High Places blend of world beat, dance music and underground pop is a wonder to behold and will transport you to another, much better place. Expect otherworldly polyrhythmic layers of tribal percussion and heavenly vocals. Check out their lovely blog here.      Summer Tones Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane & Adelaide

james
Lawrence Arabia

Lawrence Arabia is the pseudonym of James Milne, born 1981 in Christchurch, NZ, former member of the Brunettes, the Ruby Suns and one time touring member of Okkervil River. Transplanted to London, James has lately been creating some of the most dazzling and endearing pop music we’ve ever heard. He is bringing his four piece band to Oz for the Summer Tones shows. Lawrence Arabia’s astonishly brilliant new album Chant Darling is coming out on Mistletone in February.    
Summer Tones Melbourne, Sydney & Brisbane 

BEACHES
Beaches

Hot off the festival circuit (Laneway, Big Day Out, All Tomorrows Parties, Meredith… is there nothing these gals can’t do?), Beaches bring their wall of guitars and dreamy psych rock sounds to Summer Tones. Indeed, Summer Tones Brisbane will be the occasion of the official Brissy launch of Beaches on CD and vinyl, beautiful vinyl.  
Summer Tones Melbourne, Sydney & Brisbane

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The Ruby Suns

The Ruby Suns are indie/pop adventurers Ryan McPhun and Amee Robinson from across the Tasman Sea. Ryan moved to Auckland from Ventura, California a few years ago & played in bands like The Brunettes and The Tokey Tones before doing his own beautiful thing with The Ruby Suns. The Ruby Suns are a DIY cottage industry in which Ryan records and produces all of their music in his own home, and Amee meticulously crafts all of the band’s artwork. We dig what they do.      Summer Tones Melbourne & Brisbane

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Pivot

We are honoured indeed to have Pivot on the Summer Tones Melbourne bill. Since signing to the esteemed Warp label (the first Australians ever to do so), the brothers Pike and laptop artiste Dave Miller have been traversing the globe with many famous people. They say they are on a mission to ‘bring back geek chic’, which sounds good to us. Pivot list their influences as Jean Michel Jarre, Talking Heads, Brian Eno, Liars, Aphex Twin, Ricardo Villalobos, Andrew Pekler, Vangelis, This Heat, Lightning Bolt, Arcade Fire, Chris Lilley, Garth Marenghi, Tim & Eric. Best. list. ever.     Summer Tones Melbourne

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Rowland S Howard

Our special guest for Summer Tones Melbourne is none other than Mr Rowland S Howard. Having been thoroughly enchanted with his ATP performances we are looking forward to seeing Rowland take the Gershwin Room stage. Rowland is renowned for his work with The Birthday Party and The Boys Next Door, and his collaborations with Lydia Lunch and Nikki Sudden, but his body of work as a solo artist is about to expand with his long-awaited (and reportedly amazing) new record.       Summer Tones Melbourne

stabs
The Stabs

The Stabs are one of this nation’s great bands. Here are some things that important personages have said about them: “They sound like Thurston Moore reviewing The Birthday Party” Ben Blackwell (The Dirtbombs/Cass Records). “Think of an angrier, fuzzier Mudhoney and you’ll be in close proximity” Chris Grier (Mess and Noise/To Live and Shave in LA). “Think The Scientists jamming with The Dream Syndicate aboard an out of control school bus.” Nicky Shutdown (Shutdown 66/Corduroy Records).
Summer Tones Melbourne

qua
Qua

Qua is none other than Melbourne producer Cornel Wilczek. By day, Cornel is an in demand soundtrack composer and producer, who also runs his newly created studio “Electric Dreams”. As a producer and musician he has worked with Architecture in Helsinki, Mountains in the Sky and Clue to Kalo – to name a few. Armed with a Masters in Sound Art and dance chops, Qua can get you thinking whilst making you dance. Featuring Bongo-Legs on drums & percussion!      Summer Tones Melbourne

mark
Mark Barrage

Melbourne’s favourite warped synth pop wizard Mark Barrage comes to Summer Tones with a bag of electronic tricks to confound your expectations and merrily mess with your mind. As a wise street press scribe recently opined: “It’s refreshing. And it’s ‘electronic’. And it’s ‘independent’. And it doesn’t really sound like anything else going around at the moment… It’s part Kraut (Neu, Kraftwerk), but kind of more disjointed. A little bit like Trans Am… it’s plain fucking fun.”       Summer Tones Melbourne, Sydney & Adelaide

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Witch Hats

Rummaging through the bones of 60s pop, late 70s post-punk, 80s and 90s noise rock, Witch Hats have come up with their own unique sonic: a frenzied skree of sex noises, papercuts to the tongue and electrified, ozone melting howls. Right on! 
Summer Tones Melbourne

john
Mountains In The Sky

Clouds, lightening, sunshine, mountains, sky: somewhere someone’s outside looking up. Mountains in the Sky is John Lee’s own mercurial concoction; an anthro-mechanic experiment, an exploration of personal alchemy. Live, MITS’ sounds dance playfully around in his audience’s heads, whilst visuals create an engaging backdrop inviting you to a place beyond the clouds.     Summer Tones Melbourne

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Ned Collette Band

Summer Tones will be Ned Collette Band’s first show of 2009, and their first joyful reunion since touring Europe in October. Since then Ned has spent three months writing in Glasgow, toured solo through Europe again, and is heading to New Zealand to appear at the final Camp A Low Hum festival. A third album, at one point considered finished, is now back in the workshop being mysteriously tinkered with, due for release when it is good. A curious mix of new and old and made up on the spot will resound its way through the hallowed halls of the Espy….      Summer Tones Melbourne

kb
Kes Band

Kes Band has been pared down to the essential triangle of Karl E. Scullin (guitar/vocals), Lehmann “Bubs” Smith (bass/vocals) and Julian Patterson (drums). Described by The Age as “one of Melbourne’s best live bets, a powerful folk-rock revue in the vein of late ’60s Bob Dylan or English oddballs the Incredible String Band”, the Kes Band live experience is always awe inspiring. Look out for Kes Band II, the magnificent new instrumental masterpiece set for release on Mistletone in the autumn.    
Summer Tones Melbourne

fab d
Fabulous Diamonds

Fabulous Diamonds are ever mesmerising — anchored by Nisa Venerosa’s self-taught heavy, steady rhythms (her approach channeling the decidedly non-“rock drummer” spirits of drum machines and Maureen Tucker), the dense textures of Jarrod Zlatic echo across, with songs led by electric organ and alto saxophone.  2008 was a watershed year for Fab D with the release of their acclaimed and much loved debut album on Nervous Jerk (featuring iconic cover photography by Karl Scullin), a 30 date US tour with Times New Viking and Psychedelic Horseshit, and a vinyl release on the iconic Siltbreeze Records.    Summer Tones Melbourne

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The Smallgoods

Like catching the distorted ghostly tendrils of an AM radio harmony drifting on a passing ocean breeze, so are the days of the Smallgoods. The Smallies’ latest and greatest album Down On The Farm was a highlight of our lives last year and we are never happier than when listening to these lads sing, and do their melody-upon-melody thing.
Summer Tones Melbourne

panel
Panel of Judges

Look, seriously, how good are Panel of Judges? When Panel are peaking & the kids are shimmying & it’s just one awesome song after the other, there’s no place we’d rather be. To quote Two/Three Thousand, theirBeat Happening-style-minimalist-pop is so charming, so thankfully un-professional, so gleefully egalitarian, it’s a breath of fresh air.”     Summer Tones Melbourne

frockets
French Rockets

Hot on the heels of their first tour to Melbourne in November 2008, Perth psychonauts French Rockets return with their unique concoction of sound and vision to Summer Tones. Being the band’s only Summer performance in Melbourne, this is a show that simply cannot be missed for those wishing to be bathed in a sensory lather of other worldly sights and sounds. “French Rockets have mystique.. they bring their own incredible lighting, and the sound? Like an airplane hitting the runway… sound thunders, steadily throbs through you, then hollows out and departs”  –Drum Media Perth. Or more precisely: “French Rockets should have been handing out acid at the door, but even if they had, the crowd could not have been prepared for the onslaught of sensory input they were about to experience.” – FasterLouder.com.au     Summer Tones Melbourne

diamondsea
The Diamond Sea

The Diamond Sea is an independent Melbourne-based band consisting of four friends inhabiting that city. Their musical influences are vast and varied – from bands like The Cure, Television, The Feelies and The Wipers through to Electrelane and The Organ. They also have a shared passion of caffeinated beverages, spinach triangles and pizza.      Summer Tones Melbourne

dick d
Dick Diver

Whilst ignominiously unheralded during his brief existence, Dick Diver has graciously returned – albeit on account of prospective wads of cash being toted by big-gun Mavericks. Dick writes and plays all the songs himself. A reserved man, he says: “I just wanna play beats.”      Summer Tones Melbourne

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Ships Piano

Ships Piano are Sebastian, Liam, Toby & Yue, four quick witted, street smart 16 yr olds representing East St Kilda.  Their upbeat, brash & catchy alt/punk tunes are anecdotal tales chronicling the good & bad times growing up in Melbourne’s inner city suburbs.  Although they’re still in high school completing yr 10, Ships Piano have been gigging regularly around Melbourne with all the frantic, fast-paced (& sometimes loose) youthful energy only a teenager could possess.       Summer Tones Melbourne

twerps
The Twerps

The Twerps formed one sunny Sunday afternoon at Marty’s gaf. Three friends came together to to have fun in the sun (Moomba), drank larger and enjoyed each others company until the yonder sun burnt the sands of the horizon. ‘Let’s rip off bands we like’, they cried. So Marty plucked a strand of hair from his big head, tied it to a branch and began to strum. Rick had thicker hair, so he used his own to make a bass guitar. And Pat… well Pat beat his chest until it hurt before deciding to dust of ye olde drum kit. The story wasn’t finished there! Just a few short weeks later Julia road in on her mustang and demanded to be heard. She shreds they said! The rest is recent history.
Summer Tones Melbourne

brutals
The Brutals

Featuring current and ex-members of Melbourne’s own Treetops, The Brutals are part Rickenbacker twang, Mustang swing, hamstrung acoustic 12-string and a ride cymbal you could set your watch to. The Brutals rely on their casual banter, loose summer chords and four-part harmonies to create an atmosphere of camaraderie and casual drinks, transforming the seediest setting into a Californian Sunday afternoon. The debut Brutals album Honeymoon Period is due in April.     Summer Tones Melbourne

swh
Super Wild Horses

Melbourne two piece Super Wild Horses met at high school in the summer of 96. Six months ago they started brewing songs about blood, golden arrows and pockets full of ghosts. Their dual vocals are set against teen stomp beats, messed up rhythms and schoolyard yells. This is loud, primitive summer fun.      Summer Tones Melbourne

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Parking Lot Experiments

Dave J Connor, the obsession-addled manchild who politely leads the Parking Lot Experiments once said: “The more live shows we play the better we get. And we try to make every show different and we try to make every show as good as we possibly can.” In a nutshell, the Parking Lot Experiments are an artistically ambitious posse. At every show, they play the most beautiful and intriguing and interesting songs they can possibly think of, with the most energy and desperation and sheer cathartic joy they can imagine themselves possessing. Minutes after walking off stage, they begin to make plans for how to push every single thing further. Finding genre tags for these guys and girls is difficult. Their songs almost always have one guitar and their live show is layered, primal, purifying funtimes.     Summer Tones Melbourne

GET YOUR SUMMER TONES TIX NOW!

FBi presents SUMMER TONES SYDNEY
Friday Feb 27 @ Oxford Art Factory w/
Dan Deacon, High Places, Lawrence Arabia, Beaches and Mark Barrage. Tickets $32 + BF on sale now from Moshtix, phone 1300 GET TIX (438 849) or online here.

3RRR presents SUMMER TONES MELBOURNE
Saturday Feb 28 @ The Espy w/
Dan Deacon, Pivot, High Places, Lawrence Arabia, The Ruby Suns, Rowland S Howard, The Stabs, Beaches, Qua, The Smallgoods, Witch Hats, Mountains In The Sky, Kes Band, French Rockets, Ned Collette Band, Fabulous Diamonds, The Diamond Sea, Mark Barrage, Panel of Judges, Ships Piano, The Twerps, The Brutals, Super Wild Horses, Dick Diver and Parking Lot Experiments. Tickets $35 + BF on sale now online, phone 1300 762 545 or pick your tickets up from The Espy bottle shop, Missing Link or Polyester Records.

(mini) SUMMER TONES ADELAIDE
Sunday Mar 1 @ Urtext Studios (Level 2, 14 Grenfell St Adelaide)
w/- Dan Deacon, High Places + Mark Barrage.Tickets $25 + BF on sale now from all Oztix outlets.

SUMMER TONES BRISBANE
Friday Mar 6 @ The Zoo w/
Dan Deacon, High Places, Lawrence Arabia, Beaches and The Ruby Suns. Tickets $32 + BF on sale now from The Zoo and Oztix outlets or call 1300 762 545.

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