25Nov2000
- TPA: Gig report 25.11.00 <return to top> HEATWAVE 2000 @ Gosford - KILLING HEIDI and
Grinspoon were magnificent ! Small crowd (3.5-4k)but huge response
14Nov2000
- AUSTRALIA: Killing Heidi
to help kids kill time <return to top>
By Leisa Scott.
THE prospect of rejection didn't enter their heads. Bored and starved
for entertainment, the kids of Maryborough had the pluck to ask
international sensation Killing Heidi to play a gig in their town.
And ask, and ask, and ask.
Seven months later, the answer came back "yes", as Killing Heidi's
sympathies for bored kids in country towns overcame the scheduling
difficulties of a young band busy making waves in the US.
"The gig in Maryborough is important to the band. It is part and
parcel of where they were brought up (in Victoria's sleepy Violet
Town) and what they know about how hard it is to get live music
in provincial centres," said Manny Kyriakidis, general manager of
the band's Queensland agent, the Pushworth Group.
The November 30 show is the brainchild of YAMMIT, the cockily named
Young Adults Making Maryborough an Interesting Town. Maryborough,
about 300km north of Brisbane, may be a pretty city, steeped in
history and on the doorstep of world-renowned Fraser Island, but
to youths the self-proclaimed Heritage City is a "hole".
Youth unemployment in Maryborough is at more than 15 per cent and
youth crime is a burning issue. The city council formed YAMMIT in
a bid to give the younger members of the community a voice.
"When we first started two years ago, common words I used to hear
from young people when you asked them what they think was, `We'd
tell you, but nothing ever changes'," said the group's adult co-ordinator
Barbara Quinn.
"So this has given them a role to say, `Okay, I can make some changes'.
This whole thing with Killing Heidi, they're just bubbling, they're
just blown away."
YAMMIT member Adam Head, 14, said big-name bands always skipped
Maryborough. "There's nothing to do, just the cinemas and skateboarding
around town," he said.
Now, the Killing Heidi gig - for which YAMMIT members have raised
funds, organised the band's accommodation, run promotions and hired
security - is the talk of the town.
Spare a thought for Care Factor Zero and Laconic, the local high
school bands that will be the support acts for Killing Heidi.
(c) Nationwide News Proprietary Ltd, 2000.
Source:
AUSTRALIAN (THE) 14/11/2000 P3
12Nov2000
- AUSTRALIA: Online CD sellers
call the tune <return to top>
THE plunge of the Australian dollar has proved a winner
for local online CD retailers.
Leading e-tailer ChaosMusic claims local and international consumers
are saving up to $50 for five CDs by buying from Australia online
rather than CDNow.
"The drop in Australian currency against the US dollar and other
currencies has not been overlooked by overseas buyers, who see Australia
not only as a cheap price alternative but also as a source for collectibles,"
ChaosMusic general manager Victoria Doidge said.
"Since we fulfil 80 per cent of our orders with 80 per cent locally
produced product, our Australian clients are also seeing significant
savings against buying from offshore retailers."
The success of Australian artists in the UK and US is further increasing
sales as international music fans snap up local releases not yet
available overseas.
Online sales for Killing Heidi have grown since word of their haul
of four ARIA awards spread overseas, even though their album, Reflector,
won't be released internationally until next year.
Special tour packs or CDs with bonus tracks released only in Australia
are also popular.
"Collectible products and hot Australian artists are giving us a
mounting export market," ChaosMusic CEO Rob Appel said. "For example,
Killing Heidi are generally unreleased overseas, yet we're seeing
an upsurge in sales of their album as the word gets out."
(c) Nationwide News Proprietary Ltd, 2000.
