SONGS AND STARS AT THE BALLARAT OBSERVATORY
Saturday night at the Ballarat Observatory was a magical experience, combining great local music and the starry wonders of our universe. Congrats to Mick Trembath and the crew for making it happen.
Just as I’ve just been writing about the exciting project currently happening between ABC Open and Triple J Unearthed (check out the link here sometime soon)- matching local musicians with film-makers to create filmclips- it’s great to see people coming together from various fields and backgrounds to make great entertainment, build friendships and skills and basically do fun, interesting stuff. I love it, and looking at the audience that came out armed with picnics and bug spray (unfortunately we weren’t among the latter and got eaten alive!) a lot of other Ballaratians do too.
The Ballarat Observatory celebrates its 125th birthday this year and what better way to appreciate and discover the beautiful space and history than with the Starry Summer Nights Festival. The audience was treated to three amazing performances from Mick Trembath himself, the divine Freya Hollick and the inimitable Underminers headed by Justin Hayward and featuring a lovely moment where a swarm of adoring dancing children attempted to drag him from the stage (he sang on perfectly of course!). The band were also lovingly provided with bug spraying mid-set from their attendant mothers, at which point sound extraordinaire Rex Hardware commented, “You can’t get more Ballarat than that.” Lovely!
The evening also featured 3D space movies, viewings of Jupiter and the Tarantula and Orion Nebula (not sure what the plural of nebula is, sorry folks!) through the historic telescopes and a special star tour led by observatory astronomers.
Thanks so much to all involved and good on the team from Ballarat Uni Sound and Lighting Course for getting out and assisting great events such as this, the sound was excellent! Anyone that was there, don’t forget to get your feedback forms in so that more of this fun kind of thing can continue.
The Observatory is located on the corner of Cobden St and Magpie St and is open Friday and Saturday nights, half an hour before sunset. Check it out!
Baby songs
Thanks to Steph and Marcia from Red Brick Gallery for the chat and anyone who is interested in the upcoming group show or getting involved as an artist or designer don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Here’s what we played:
Baby Love: The Supremes
Daddy Cool: Boney M (for Chris Daly, a new daddy cool)
Pretty little Baby: Josephine Baker
No Woman No Cry: Bob Marley (dedication to “Action Jackson” from his dad Pip)
When My Baby Comes: Grinderman
Just Kissed My Baby: The Meters
Gone Baby Don’t Be Long: Erykah Badu
Too Busy Thinking About My Baby: Marvin Gaye
Nobody’s Baby: Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings (for the skaters!)
Beautiful: Snoop Dog feat Pharell (for Steph and Milla)
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds: Beatles (for Lucy)
Weather with I’ll be Your Shelter, wooo
Will you Be There?: The Raah Project
Wade in the Water: Sweet Monas Choir
I Can’t Quit you Baby: Led Zep (request from Trevor)
Baby Blue: Martina Topley Bird
My Baby Just Cares for Me: Nina Simone (for the Curnows)
Didn’t Leave Nobody But the Baby: Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss & Gillian Welsh
Baby Day: Melanie
Baby I Love You: Aretha Franklin (Happy Birthday Abbie)
Millano: Sigur Ros
Catch you next week and keep Thursday 24th Feb free for Tinderbox first birthday fun!
Baby Love!
Starting the day with Satie and lemon balm and mint tea, mmm. Breaking news, Lauren and I both became aunties yesterday to our first little nieces (good timing brothers!)- Welcome Milla Eve Daly and Lucy Eliza Tsilemanis! Twill be baby love this week on the show with some Josephine Baker, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, The Metres, Hope Sandoval etc to say hello to these new little ladies.
& don’t forget to join us on Facebook for easy updates, giveaways etc
Back at the mics
We’ve been taking some much needed rest but will be back at it together next week from 6, with a mix of musical delights and a chat with the gals from new creative space Red Brick Gallery. You can check out some pictures taken at their recent exhibition launch and some other bits and bobs from around town in our photo gallery. Enjoy x
Roof leeks, films about naked people, and smooth ‘soul-shaking’ tunes
A nice relaxed evening in the Tinderbox complete with Julian reading to us about the aesthetic values of Japanese toilets. Hope everyone’s safe and dry and a big thanks to Neil for an hour of sweet tunes, opening with the stunning cover of traditional Wayfaring Stranger by young soulster Jamie Woon and closing with the father of Ethiopian funk/jazz/afro-beat, whatever the hell you wanna call it! Mulatu Astatke.
You can check out the music site that Neil has been a part of called Research and Development, and re. the awesome show he was part of in last years Melbourne Fringe Festival I looked up Disco Mongolia on you tube and it somehow led me to Kenny G, aghhhh, save me!
Tonight’s Playlist:
Jungle Boogie: Kool & the Gang
Obscured by Clouds track 2: Pink Floyd (for Raymond, from soundtrack for La Vallee)
Ticket to Ride: Beatles
Playing to the Dead: Speed Orange (playing tomorrow night, Friday 14th at the Prague in Preston)
If You See Me: The Black Keys
Isobel: Bjork (Portishead remix)
New Piano Song (Live): Jonsi
Alive: Pearl Jam (for my bro Alex)
Carry Me: Nick Cave (for Lauren)
You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away: Beatles (Looking Through a Glass Onion at Her Majesties- homage to John Lennon)
Sun on My Face: Amaya Lauciricia (playing on Monday, Jan 17th, at the East Brunswick Club)
Wild is the Wind: Nina Simone
Hell is Around the Corner: Tricky
Hercules: Aaron Neville (for Kez)
Thursday January 13th
Howdy folks, tune in tomorrow night for the usual mix of tunes then special guest Melbourne DJ Neil Stafford taking over between 7 & 8- shall be fun! Catch you then, get in touch with any requests etc x (Pink Floyd coming out for you Raymond!)
Check out some other funky Melbourne pals Planet Jumper doing their thing here. It’s a little something you might not know about me, but I dig basketball. Shoot a mean 3-pointer (or did when I was 12 anyway, haha!)
Ahoy maties
Hello and welcome to the first post of 2011! Hope you’re having fun summer times, slip slop slap and all that.
Hope you enjoyed our first broadcast of the year, unfortunately I forgot to record it so no repeat tonight but until some other radio stars come along and take the slot, the show will keep repeating on Saturday nights 7-9. And your ideas for theme shows have started coming in, exciting! Keep em coming.
So we played some of our favourite stuff from 2010 or thereabouts, with some Marvin Gaye and Queen thrown in the mix for good measure:
Everybody Loves the Sunshine: Seu Jorge and Almaz (Seu Jorge and Alamaz, 2010)
Bicycle Race: Queen (I like to ride my bicycle!!..)
How Long it Go Take?: The Public Opinion Afro Orchestra (Do Anything Go Anywhere, 2010)
Assosa: Mulatu Astatke (Steps Ahead, 2010)
I’m leaving: Swing Republic (White Mink Black Cotton Vol 2, 2010)
Settle Down: Kimbra (still waiting for album, comeon lady!)
Hurt Me: Jezabels (
Bellringer Blues: Grinderman (Grinderman 2, 2010)
I Turn my Camera On: Spoon (Triple J Live at The Wireless Vol 3)
Aht Ah Mi Head: Shuggie Otis (from Late Night Tales, Cinematic Orchestra, 2010)
Lauren reads the weather to Roxette’s She’s Got the Look (‘what in the wold can make a brown eyed girl turn blue?’ A poignant question indeed)
Julio’s Tinderbix tips for maximum Tinderbox listening pleasure (a new weekly spot-get in your ideas kids!)
Heart Skipped a Beat: The XX (The XX, 2009)
Trouble: Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions (Through the Devil Softly, 2010)
Sexual Healing: Marvin Gaye (preview for our ‘Getting it On’ show)
I’ll Still be True: Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings (I Learnt the Hard Way, 2010)
Babel: Massive Attack feat Martina Topley Bird (Heligoland, 2010)
Dreaming: Goldfrapp (Headfirst, 2010)
My Fall: Cowboy Junkies (Renmin Park, 2010)
It’ll Never Happen Again: Lisa Miller (Car Tape 2, 2010)
Keep You Beautiful: Tindersticks (Falling Down a Mountain, 2010)
We’ll be taking it easy through January with some guest programming and laid-back tunes so give us a bell if there’s anything you’d like to hear or if you’d like to come be a guest on Strange News from February. Also stay tuned for details on the Tinderbox First Birthday bash- fun!