World | Musicosity

NICK CARVER & THE MEAN STREET BUTCHERS

Nick Carver: It's been a long time since any of us have played The Espy! Back in the day, Chris and Nick held many a residency in the front bar with their band The Object - Lesson, before playing one last show in the basement in 2008. We can't wait to bring the Mean St Butchers to the basement stage!

Having released our second album this year, and being booked for a swagger of summer festivals, we'll be playing a special St Kilda headline show post footy season. And we're bringing our good mates The Kids Next Door. AND IT'S FREE ENTRY!

Combining rough-edged rock and soulful blues with walloping Americana folk roots , Nick Carver & the Mean Street Butchers have unleashed the beast with their eagerly anticipated sophomore album ‘ANIMALS’ - out now.

With outlandish singer-songwriter Nick Carver leading the charge, the Melbourne-based (Inverloch, VIC) rock/ roots outfit has been showcasing their class in the lead-up to this ultimate body of work, serving up singles ‘Two-Legged Dog’ and ‘The Way That You Walk’ earlier in the year.

Now, Nick Carver & the Mean Street Butchers have brought it all together with an 8-track collection of artistically crafted tunes that reflect the band’s camaraderie, Nick’s home life and the long country drives where his inspiration is uninhibited, and his imagination is free to roam wild.

"It has a gorgeous dirty country blues feel to it, with big earthy guitars and rough-edged vocals. It’s foot-stomping, it’s a riot, yet comforting and personal." (AU Review)

"The Way That You Walk is a smooth and moody piece that is rolling with bright keys, rolling brushed drums and Nick Carvers swoony vocal delivery." (AAA Backstage)

"Searing soulful sludgy blues! That slide is getting a thrashing and sounds amazing. Love the brooding swamp this one's rising up from. Unbeatable stompable rhythm." [About 'Two Legged Dog'] (Steph Hughes, Triple J)

"I'm glad I'm wearing boots while listening because I felt the intense need to stomp."
[About 'Two Legged Dog'] (Stacy Gougoulis, Triple J)

"Blow me down and let rip Nick! This is the kind of grit I can sink my teeth into."
[About 'The Way That You Walk'] (Kath Devaney, Triple J)

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Erinaki (album launch)

Stavroula Thomopoulou and Kostas Kalamaras are Erinaki, Melbourne's new Greek duet. Apart from their dynamic presence in Melbourne's music scene the duo has undertaken to record their original creations in a new alboum.

Stavroula Thomopoulou spoke to SBS Greek about the duet and project that share the name "Erinaki". The duo has written original songs in Greek and the music draws inspiration from the sounds of Greek music, mostly folk and rebetika, but with a more contemporary twist:

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Pastel Vespa

Discover all the shades of Pastel Vespa. Imagine a Latin blonde with the charm of Judith Durham and the silky voice of Claudine Longet surrounded by musical maestros that could be re-incarnations of Bacharach, Jobim or Tony Hatch. Think of a cabaret star from Australia , a real Queen of Easy Listening, a groovy and cheesy Shirley Bassey. OK? Then put the best bossa nova and easy listening moods and camp cover versions of hits by The Sex Pistols, Astrud Gilberto, Kiss, Chumbawamba, Ian Durie or Alanis Morrissette. This is The Experience. Enjoy the unique sounds of Pastel Vespa Exotica? Lounge pop? Mambo Pop? Anarchy Cha-cha? Odd kind of nostalgia? Time for action.
Pastel Vespa is the voice of Spring, a fresh daisy in dappled sunlight, but just as comfortable après-ski after an Audrey Hepburn-style day on the slopes. Sports cars, impossibly long white scarves, knitted daisy dresses. This is the world of Pastel Vespa .
"L'Anarchie" (siesta 162), the first full-length album and testament to the talent of this new star. Armed with unforgettable songs by Messrs. Lynott, Morrisette, Dury, and Rotten, amongst others and aided by the rhapsodic musical direction of Mr. John Thorn, Pastel takes you on a journey into exciting new musical terrain. Mariachi bands strum where electric guitars once howled, smooth lounge blows the angst from Chumbawamba and "Ironic" gets the torch song treatment it always craved. Pastel slows the KISS classic "I Was Made For Lovin' You" down to a bedroom purr, "Teenage Dirtbag" goes adult-contemporary and "Evie Pts 1, 2 & 3", the quintessential Australian 70's rock anthem, becomes a melding of lounge, The Carpenters and Latin disco! Yes the boys are back in town, but this time they're packing marimbas! And as for Pastel's singing, suffice to say it's as warm as the sunlit waters of Bahia .
“Takin’ The Back Roads” (siesta 192), is an extraordinary second album that only takes a few spins to blossom. Essentially when Pastel sings, nations meet nations, her vocals glide - Metallica meets Kaempfert, The Cure meets The Four King Cousins, Nakamura meets Joao Gilberto, Prince meets Tito Puente, The Angels meet Brigitte Bardot and New Order/ Joy Division meets Herb Alpert, just to name a few. Think of the United Nations of Pop or the majestic Tower of Babel and the integrating capacity of art. All the cover versions from this chanteuse are appealing and replete of singalong hooks.

Fiona and John Thorn are prolific, mobile and versatile artists. Their fecund imagination has generated from spontaneous and improvised Broadway Musicals “every night” to theatre plays of great success not to mention their musical restlessness of different sources and latitudes. They have played in Thailand , Emirates and Indonesia , always with great recognition and pleasure. They have been recently commissioned for the first moon festival in 2015. Let’s fly!

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