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VulgarGrad

VulgarGrad are a seven-piece Melbourne-based band who play unique folk-funk-polka-punk renditions of traditional Russian folk and "Thieves' Songs". Band members: Jacek Koman : vocals
Andrew Tanner : contrabass balalaika
Renato VaCirca : drums
Ros Jones : trombone
Adam Pierzchalski : trumpet
Nara Demasson : guitar
Phil McLeod : piano accordion www.vulgargrad.com

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Directions In Groove

Directions In Groove (aka. d.i.g - not to be confused with the Californian grunge band "DIG" ) burst onto the Australian music scene in the early 90¹s with a sound whose freshness and originality quickly won them an enormous audience of fans. Call it acid jazz, jazz funk or just great grooving music d.i.g delivered a level of musical excitement that has seldom been replicated. Directions In Groove (DIG) were a popular Australian acid jazz band originally from the suburb of Redfern in Sydney, who produced several distinctive acid-jazz / groove / funk albums in the 1990's.

Charles Bradley

Charles Bradley is no stranger to hard times. Born in Gainesville, Florida in 1948 and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Charles spent the better part of his childhood living on the streets. One of the more optimistic moments of his childhood came in 1962, when his sister took him to see James Brown at The Apollo. Brown’s energy formed a lasting impression on Charles. He went home and immediately began practicing microphone tricks with a broom attached to a string, imitating the Godfather’s every move.

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God God Dammit Dammit

The twelve-piece juggernaut, God God Dammit Dammit has its roots in the punk and metal scene of Adelaide, South Australia. Among others, the band includes members of post-hardcore act, The Rivalry, but that influence doesn't overpower the funk/soul bent that drives the band, the horn section being a huge feature of their sound.

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Baby Animals

Baby Animals are a hard rock band from Australia, formed in 1989 by vocalist Suze DeMarchi, drummer Frank Celenza, guitarist Dave Leslie and bass player Eddie Parise. They scored an immediate domestic No. 1 single with “Early Warning” and featured further Top 10 hits with “Painless”, “Rush You” and “One Word”. Their eponymous debut album Baby Animals was released in February 1992 and went multi-platinum. In 1993, the group released Shaved and Dangerous and attempted to break into the international market. However, in 1995, on the verge of their first major US tour, their US-based record company Imago Records folded. Following contractual problems and DeMarchi requiring surgery for her vocal cords, the band split in early 1996. DeMarchi eventually married guitarist Nuno Bettencourt of Boston-based Extreme and released a solo album, Telelove in 1999.

Baby Animals reformed in 2007 and released an acoustic CD of their hits entitled "Il Grande Silenzio" on January 19th 2008, as part of the Liberation Blue Acoustic Series. January 21st 2008 saw Liberation Records re-release their previous two albums ("Baby Animals" and "Shaved and Dangerous" remastered) as a 2 CD set, albeit missing the track "Big Time Friends". The band also toured Australia in January 2008 and appeared live on the Australian breakfast TV program "Sunrise" on January 22nd 2008.

On January 12th 2009 Baby Animals announced another Australian tour, playing 14 shows across Adelaide, Melbourne, Wollongong, Sydney, Sunshine Coast, Brisbane and the Gold Coast during April 2009. Frank Celenza resigned from the band only to reinstate himself two days later, and due to this and other internal conflicts DeMarchi & Leslie decided to continue the band with two hand-picked Sydney musicians, Matt Cornell (Bass/ Vocals) and Mick Skelton (Drums).

DeMarchi moved back home to Australia with children Bebe and Lorenzo in 2010 and the plan was for her husband, Bettencourt, to follow soon afterwards. The move never happened with Bettencourt sending an email saying the marriage was over. The breakup gave rise to the song E-Mail which features on the 3rd album This Is Not The End that was released in 2013.

The Baby Animals lineup behind that 3rd album now boasted a new line-up of Suze DeMarchi (Vocals/Guitar), Dave Leslie (Guitar/Vocals), Dario Bortolin (Bass/Vocals) and Mick Skelton (Drums). The album was a fast turnaround. After an intensive writing period, the band entered a two-week pre-production period. The recording stage at Sydney’s Blackfoot Studio was also relatively quick. This Is Not the End was cut in three weeks, and mixed-down in another two. The album was followed by an intense number of tour dates.

Baby Animals celebrated the 25th anniversary of the self-titled album in May 2016 with a concert in Melbourne and Sydney that featured both the current and original line-ups. The current line-up played songs off of the 2nd and 3rd albums, whilst the original lineup powered through end-to-end set of the self-titled album. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

The Liberators

There are at least two bands under this name. A Dutch rock band and a Australian afrobeat-centered act. - The Liberators was a band from the southern Dutch province Limburg and based in the city of Maastricht.
The band existed from 1979 until 1992 playin' all over Europe. Concerts from Bergen (Norway) all the way down to the Canarian Island and worldfamoust in Maastricht. The band made three albums for Polydor, and the Belgium KKRecords.

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The Bakery

The Bakery are an 11 piece band from Sydney, Australia. With a sound that is a mixture of funk, reggae and ska these guys have some balls. They have two charismatic female singers whose vocals are comparable to the great Gwen Stefani but with a little more soul, and a five-piece horn section. Naughty lyrics and a playful nature this band has a loyal following, and their debut album launch sold out The Basement in Sydney. Emily Collins: Vocals
Rosie Henshaw: Vocals
James Maybury: Trumpet
Dave Dziedzic: Trumpet

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Wolf Mail

WOLF MAIL
As one of North America’s most outstanding stage performers, Wolf Mail’s career has been marked by one success after another. In a remarkably short time, he went from performing the local Southern California scene to opening act on Robben Ford’s European tours and international acclaim as one of the most compelling artists on the scene, touring 25 countries in the process, maintaining his previous release “Solid ground” for 3 weeks in the Japanese top 10 best selling CDs and a spot in the U.

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Michael Franti & Spearhead

Michael Franti is a gifted and much-heralded spoken word artist and political activist from San Francisco, CA. As leader of the politically and socially-charged group Spearhead, Franti is at the forefront of hip-hop's renaissance, expanding the music's boundaries as he draws on funk and soul-driven beats. Through his music and poetry, Franti tackles a range of issues--the criminal justice system, corporatization of our daily lives, AIDS, gay rights, homelessness, the death penalty, drug addiction and suicide.

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