Nick Craft is supporting Paul Dempsey for a 5 day run of sold out shows at the Gasometer Hotel in Melbourne.

Perhaps best known as songwriter, musician and front man for the psychedelic rock band Sidewinder, Nick recorded ‘Minerva’ with his brother and former band mate, Martin. The brothers formed Sidewinder as teenagers in the 90s, before releasing several acclaimed albums, and constantly touring the Hume Highway live circuit and as a fixture on festival line-ups including The Big Day Out and Homebake.

This record marks the first time they have worked together since Sidewinder, this time in very different capacities. Martin took on the roles of producer and arranger, taking Nick’s lyrically-driven songs performed on an estate sale nylon strong guitar into a new realm with his understated and sophisticated string arrangements. These arrangements were recorded with a crack squad of musicians in Los Angeles, using players who are more used to working on film soundtracks or with high profile artists such as Father John Misty, Quincy Jones or Brian Wilson.

The first single from the release is ‘No Silver Lining’, which Nick suggests is: ‘a song that does its best to argue that we should maintain our optimism, even in the face of a world that suggests optimism never pays off. It’s somewhere between a love song from an optimist to a pessimist, and a work of self-help, depending on what time of day I listen to it…’

For this song and the remainder of the album Nick has drawn on a diverse and disparate array of influences. Of his musical influences, he says: ‘While I don’t think I’ve been a slave to any one example, I’ve certainly drawn on the canonic examples of Leonard Cohen or Nick Drake, trying to drive a deep and reflective channel with my lyrics, and move them as close to poetry as I’m able to do… which is perhaps odd, given that I started off in music wanting to work in the My Bloody Valentine tradition of wanting to obliterate the lyric…’

‘I’ve also been inspired by the quiet examples of singers who’ve laboured in obscurity and quiet domesticity–like Sibylle Baier singing into a tape recorder after work just for herself, or Anne Briggs who chose to live a life away from the microphone…’

Tracks from ‘Minerva’ will be accompanied by videos edited from old films that have lapsed out of copyright: ‘In the case of No Silver Lining, it’s shows a woman waking up, removing a skull from a cupboard and throwing it out of the window, only to find it’s returned to the same place. Which is pretty much a good analogy of the circuit this song is trying to break…’ 

‘Minerva’, the 9-track debut album from Nick Craft is available from Bandcamp and online retailers.

Nick’s website
Nick on Instagram

Paul Dempsey’s Facebook
Paul Dempsey’s website

Money For Rope are off to Europe for shows in Germany, Austria, Switzerland & the UK to celebrate the release of their album Picture Us.

16th May Cafe Galao Stuttgart DE
Facebook event

17th May Club Stereo Nurnberg DE
Ticket link
Facebook event

18th May Manic Str. Parade Munchen DE
Ticket link
Facebook event

20th May John Montagu Innsbruck AT
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23rd May Boston Music Room London UK
Ticket link
Facebook event

24th May Dot to Dot Fest Manchester UK
25th May Dot to Dot Fest Bristol UK
26th May Dot to Dot Fest Nottingham UK
Dot to Dot website
Ticket link
Facebook event

28th May Ziegal Oh Laco Zurich CH
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29th May Coq D’or Olten CH
Ticket link
Facebook event

30th May Grabenhalle St. Gallen CH
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1st June Way Back When Festival Dortmund DE
Festival website
Ticket link
Facebook event

3rd June Tsunami Club Koln DE
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4th June Monarch Berlin DE
Ticket link
Facebook event

6th June Molotow Hamburg DE
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7th June Ostpol Dresden DE
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8th June Orange Blossom Special Festival Beverungen DE
Festival website
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As we hurtle rapidly towards the end of another lap around the sun, Melbourne’s favourite three piece is preparing to deliver the time-honoured, and traditional, XMAS EVEN shows. This year there’ll be two. The Melbourne show is at the Night Cat in Fitzroy on Saturday 22 December and the Sydney show is at the Lansdowne Hotel on Sunday 23 December.

MELBOURNE | SAT 22 DEC 2018 | NIGHT CAT | 8:00PM – 11:30PM | Buy tix here
SYDNEY | SUN 23 DEC 2018 | LANSDOWNE | 6:00PM – 9:00PM | Buy tix here

This year’s approach will be a little different, as you get to choose the setlist! Yes, it’s XMAS EVEN – BY REQUEST! The band will play anything from their extensive back catalogue, from debut EP ‘In Stereo’ to current LP ‘Satin Returns’. Head over to the EVEN website and vote for the EVEN songs that you’d most like to hear at XMAS EVEN. EVEN will be playing the whole concert over a couple of sets with special guest DJs in between. In Melbourne we have 3RRR’s FEE B-SQUARED and in Sydney DJ KAT MEZKO. Tickets are available now via Eventbrite for the Melbourne show and via the Lansdowne website for Sydney.

See you all at XMAS EVEN 2018!

Facebook event Melbourne
Facebook event Sydney

CHEERSQUAD presents Japanese 4 piece garage rock ’n roll band STOMPIN’ RIFFRAFFS who head to Australia for the first time ever with a whirlwind visit early November. Inspired by an invitation to perform at this year’s Viva La Gong Festival in Wollongong, the band said yes!!, a few more shows were booked and the band took a week off work!
Come and hear classics from the STOMPIN’ RIFFRAFFS album ‘A Man & Three Chicks’ and the singles Phantom Rock, Mondo Topless and Horror Show. Renowned for their wild live shows, some wild guests have also been booked to ensure these four shows are unforgettable.
You can catch the STOMPIN’ RIFFSRAFFS at:

THURSDAY 8th
Night Cat, Fitzroy (VIC)
w/ INTOXICA + Mesa Cosa
Tickets here
Facebook event

FRIDAY 9th
Vic On The Park, Marrickville (NSW)
+ Los Tones + Bone Graft
Facebook event

SATURDAY 10th
Viva La Gong Festival, Wollongong (NSW)
www.vivalagongfestival.org

SUNDAY 11th
Special Surprise End of Tour Party!!

In their words…. STOMPIN’ RIFFRAFFS, formed in Tokyo in 2006, are comprised of three chicks—Rie (bass), Miku (keyboard and theremin), and Saori (drums)—and fronted by their man Nao (guitar and vocals). They have been regular fixtures of the Tokyo underground since their inception and regularly tour around their native Japan while still finding time to play internationally with regular frequency.
STOMPIN’ RIFFRAFFS combine all the elements of the golden age of ferocious rock and roll without sounding simply derivative, providing irrefutable proof that despite their homeland being known for propriety, orderliness, and manners, these Nipponese can still hit as hard and fast as anyone else.