Gold Rush As Oz Rock Comes Out Of A Hard Place

The Sunday Age

Sunday July 16, 2006

MICHELLE GRIFFIN, PREVIEW EDITOR

OZ ROCK is in the middle of a new gold rush. It's not as if Melbourne three-piece Something for Kate has altered its sound radically since it signed with Sony in 1995. Rather, the musical landscape has changed over the past decade.

These days, the big record labels, commercial radio programmers and, most importantly, the punters are hungry for hard-rocking, high-energy guitar rock of the kind that was once confined to Triple J.

A lot of the credit can be given to a trio that doesn't play music: Andy Cassell, Andy Kelly and Pete Lusty, the brains behind the innovative management company Winterman & Goldstein. Its successes internationally with Canberra wild cards the Vines (2001) and Melbourne retro stylists Jet (2002) proved that this team knew how to generate excitement for its acts.

Now it manages a big roster of chart-bothering bands, including Youth Group, Neon and the Sleepy Jackson, and has offices in Sydney, Los Angeles and London.

Other labels and managers followed suit, launching acts such as Sydney's big-hair noise-boys Wolfmother with chest-beating pride, elaborate websites and lavish industry showcases.

The excitement became infectious, the scene expanded, and even veterans such as Something for Kate and Perth stadium-rockers Eskimo Joe got a look-in.

And it's not over yet. The debut record for Warrnambool hard-rockers Airbourne won't be out until next year. They've played very few gigs, but already they're huge. For those about to rock, as the godfathers of the new scene once said, we salute you.

Australia's Top 10 albums

1 Desert Lights (Something For Kate) MUR/SBME

2 Black Finger Nails, Red Wine (Eskimo Joe, right) Warner

3 Best Of Chris Isaak, Warner

4 The Greatest Hits: Why Try Harder (Fatboy Slim) COL/SBME

5 High School Musical (Soundtrack) EMI

6 Bring You Home (Ronan Keating) PDR/UMA

7 Here Come The Drums (Rogue Traders) COL/SBME

8 Stadium Arcadium (Red Hot Chilli Peppers) Warner

9 Taking The Long Way (Dixie Chicks) COL/SBME

10 Personality - One Was A Spider One Was A Bird (The Sleepy Jackson) CAP/EMI

© 2006 The Sunday Age

Back to News Index | Back to Home