SOMETHING TO HOOT ABOUT: Newcastle band The Owls will release their new single Feels Like Gold on August 15 after the initial audio files were stolen last year.
THEY were the songs The Owls thought may never see the light of day, after a hard drive containing the audio files was stolen from a bag at the Cambridge Hotel last spring.
But the Newcastle indie rockers persevered. They regrouped and re-recorded the tracks in Sydney with renown producer Lachlan Mitchell (The Jezabels and The Vines). The end product wasn’t the debut album they initially planned, instead The Owls will release half of the stolen tracks as their fourth EP Don’t Waste Your Time On A Rainy Day. The first single Feels Like Gold will debut on August 15. It’ll be the band’s first release since their impressive 2014 EP Own The Streets.
The rest of the stolen songs will appear on their fifth EP, due out in 2017.
“The idea was to do an EP with five new songs and then do another one early next year, so do the album in two parts,” The Owls bassist Joey Bourke said. “At the same time it’s pushed us back, but it didn’t stop us from releasing music. We took the losses with the wins and put the CD out.”
Catch The Owls on Friday night at the Newcastle Museum’s five-year celebration.
BIRTHDAY BASH: Joab Eastley, centre, is organising RAAVE TAPES' Winter Wonderland festival to raise money for five-year-old Emilia Moya. Picture: Josh Leeson
BIRTHDAY RAAVE
HOW do RAAVE TAPES celebrate birthdays? With a rave party of course. To mark frontman Joab Eastley turning 25 the psych-rock three-piece have organised RAAVE TAPES’ Winter Wonderland featuring 14 bands over 12 hours on August 20.
However, the gifts won’t be flowing for Eastley. Instead the pre-school teacher will raise funds for one of his students five-year-old Cessnock girl Emilia Moya, who has down syndrome and has been diagnosed with leukaemia. Proceeds from the day will also be donated to the Hunter Community Environment Centre. See next week’s Soundbites for details on the line-up, which is tipped to feature a host of Newcastle bands and acts from interstate.
PLEASING VIDEO
NEWCASTLE lads The Treehouse Children have released the first video from their forthcoming debut EP Please. The title track’s video debuted on Monday night and was directed by local videographer Jack Rudder.
The Treehouse Children get a tad cheeky in the video with vocalist James Osborn singing to the camera while a scantily-clad girl lies in the background. Please follows the band’s love of bright and upbeat pop riffs, coupled with a singalong chorus.
The video’s release begins a busy few months for the four-piece. On Saturday The Treehouse Children play at the Small Ballroom. It will kick-off their seven-date Hey, Hey It’s Saturday Tour along the east coast with Wollongong’s Latham’s Grip.
SIGNED UP: Brisbane's Ball Park Music have joined the bill for the This That Festival in November.
THIS THAT DROP
THE Newcastle Foreshore is gearing up for its largest ever dance party after the This That Festival dropped its full line-up on Tuesday.
Local producers Hermitude, L D R U, Peking Duk, SAFIA and Moonbase Commander and Perth rapper Drapht join the already-named headliner, US hip-hop star ScHoolBoy Q, on the November 5 bill. Swedish pop-songstress Elliphant, known for her tracks Love Me Badder and Down On Life, will bring more international flavour to This That. There will also be something for rock fans, with Brisbane indie band Ball Park Music announced. Other acts booked include Benson, Enschway, Feki, Jess Kent, Koi Child, Luen, Made In Paris, Monday Morning, Ookay, Planete, Running Touch, Sampa The Great, Shantan Wantan Ichiban and Stephane 1993.
Pre-sale for This That tickets begins on Tuesday, followed by the general sale on August 11.
ROCKING BOOK
WERE you among the hundreds of punters who crowded into the dark and smoky, yet thriving, pubs around Newcastle in the ‘70s and ‘80s to witness the city’s supposed golden age of music? You can relive your youth later this month when Newcastle musician Gaye Sheather releases her book Rock This City: Live Music in Newcastle, 1970s–1980s. The book maps the rise of Newcastle’s pub rock scene, its infamous venues the Star Hotel and Jolly Roger and the many bands who rose to prominence like The Heroes and DV8.
BEACH PARTY
WINTER is almost gone and the weather will soon be heating up, and so will Newcastle’s live music. Beach Street III has been announced for October 1 at the Lass O’Gowrie and organiser Joey Bourke from The Owls has promised the most eclectic bill bet. It follows the widely successful first two Beach Street festivals in January and March.
“We really tried to diversify the acts,” Bourke said. “We’ve got a lot of acoustic acts playing in between bands. It started as an alt-rock day with 10 bands and it’s gone beyond that with other genres and fashion.”
RAAVE TAPES, PALS and dave will headline that 16-act bill, which also features Newcastle’s Foemen, NTL Landmarks, Split Feed, William John Jr, The Owls, Voodoo Youth, Milli Casey Music, Aitäh, Grace Turner, The Treehouse Children and Nude. Wollongong’s Capital Coast and Fizzy Izzy round out the bill.