"Check out Beat Magazine’s interview with T-Bone Pig.. he talks all things Pig… n its even an bit serious…. enjoy!" http://www.thepigs.com.au/category/news.
"Despite the details given by television show Australia’s Got Talent, four-piece bluegrass band The Pigs aren’t from Tasmania and are in fact based in Sydney. One of the band’s two lead vocalists T-Bone Pig explains the origins of the misinformation presented on the show. “We were doing this long convoluted joke, which I think they edited out every other part apart from us saying that we’re from Tasmania. Now the whole world thinks we’re from Tassie.”
The Pigs reached the final stages of said TV show performing a re-interpretation of Kanye West’s Gold Digger. A large percentage of The Pigs’ repertoire is similarly unique covers of chart-busting hits andT-Bone reveals the rationale behind adopting the particular songs that they do.
“The main thing is that we look for songs that may need some help and there’s not many songs that can’t be improved by banjo. Something like Beyonce’s Single Ladies, her version has just got a couple of keyboard stabs in it, so we’ve fixed it up and given it a whole new lease on life. If you’ve heard it you’ll probably agree we have done it a hell of a lot of justice.”
The Pigs’ inclination to enhance songs with a magic banjo touch doesn’t mean they’ll cover any old song purely because they think they can help it. T-Bone adds that they’re usually attracted to decently well written songs, which they then proceed to give a distinctive re-model.
“It’s got to have a message or something that we like. We’d never do a song that we don’t like. We go ‘hang on there’s something cool about this song,’ and we like to take it to our own level or the next level, depends how you see it.”
Having also reworked the likes of Kelis’ Milkshake and LMFAO’s Party Rock Anthem, The Pigs add a bluegrass tint to popular hip hop and R&B songs with seeming ease.However, T-Bone explains that there are occasions when the re-formatting process reveals a lack of substance in the song under review.
“We do have a few dance or electronic tracks in our repertoire and often they require major rewriting. Often there’s one chord that would go through the whole song, whereas that’s sort of boring if you’re playing that in a band. It’s probably boring for the crowd as well. In a way we rewrite the chordal structures to make it better and people can’t really tell, just that it sounds good. But if it was in its original form it wouldn’t translate very well.”
The Pigs tread a fine line between a covers act, a novelty/comedy act and an authentic country/bluegrass act and dipping into all of these areas makes them a difficult band to succinctly categorise.
“At the gigs they get it, they can see it and they’re part of that whole immersive experience. Telling other people, for example doing interviews and trying to advertise and get what you do out there, is actually quite difficult because you’re not just giving that one message ‘yeah we’re this,’” T-Bone admits.
It’s a fine balance to make music that involves having a hearty laugh while also wanting to be taken seriously. T-Bone explains that the band’s development from friends jamming into a touring attraction wasn’t exactly planned and it can be hard to communicate the integrity behind it.
"It’s a constant battle because we do want to be taken seriously but also we do have a lot of fun and act a bit like idiots sometimes. When The Pigs started we just did it for a laugh and we did it for complete fun and it didn’t have to be anything. Then the people started to come to the shows and we thought, ‘Oh wow people like this, a few guys up on stage having a laugh.’ Then the songs started to become original stuff. It sort of just morphed into that. There’s some serious stuff, we also love doing the fun stuff and we love doing the covers.” BY AUGUSTUS WELBY
THE PIGS TOUR DATES
MANLY (NSW)
Friday 30th Aug
OLD MANLY BOATSHED
KATOOMBA (NSW)
Saturday 31st Aug
KATOOMBA RSL
BYRON BAY (NSW)
Friday 13th Sep
BEACH HOTEL
BRISBANE (QLD)
Saturday 14th Sep
REDLANDS COUNTRY MUSIC CLUB
KANDOS (NSW)
Saturday 21st Sep
KANDOS HOOTENANY
CRONULLA (NSW)
Friday 4th Oct
BRASS MONKEY
WISEMANS FERRY (NSW)
Saturday 5th Sep
WISEMANS FERRY BOWLING CLUB
COOLONGATTA (QLD)
Friday 11th Oct
COOLONGATTA HOTEL
BUNDABERG (QLD)
Saturday 12th Oct
BEERFESTABULL
WINDSOR (NSW)
Saturday 26th Oct
SYDNEY BLUES & ROOTS FESTIVAL
JIMNA (QLD)
31/10 - 01/11/13
MUD BULLS & MUSIC
CANBERRA (ACT)
Friday 16th Nov
PJ O'REILLY'S
ALBURY (NSW)
Saturday 17th Nov
KINROSS WOOLSHED
QUEENSCLIFF (VIC)
22/11 - 23/11/13
QUEENSCLIFF MUSIC FESTIVAL
TAMWORTH (NSW)
23/01 - 25/01/14
TAMWORTH COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL
[video]http://youtu.be/pfyWV3R9PXs[/video]
Rough Cut is one of Melbourne's favourite Country Music and Rock n Roll dance bands, they slide easily from Country to Rock n Roll and back again! Come along to enjoy good company, dance music, finger food and drinks.
ABC Music is thrilled to announce the signing of Australian superstar Adam Brand. Brand established himself as one of Australian County Music's biggest stars over a decade ago and in recent years, he has also become a major mainstream media identity.
His most recent album, There Will Be Love, debuted at #4 on the ARIA Albums Charts (all genres), with the title song achieving metropolitan FM radio airtime and broader recognition on major network television and other mainstream media platforms. There Will Be Love was arguably Australian Country's biggest commercial hit of 2012.
Brand is a 12 time Golden Guitar winner, has five #1 ARIA Country albums to his credit, over half a million album sales and has been voted CMC Oz Artist of the Year a record five times by Australian Country Music fans.
"Adam Brand is an undisputed star of Australian Country Music and his profile in a broader market sense is not higher than ever. The loyalty and ongoing commitment of his dedicated fan base is simple legendary. Adam has exciting plans ahead for the next couple of years and we are thrilled to now be plaing our part in the next phase of his career as his record label," said General Manager of ABC Music, Natalie Waller.
Adam Brand joins a label roaster which includes leading Australian country artists Lee Kernaghan, McAlister Kemp, Sara Storer, Jasmine Rae, Catherine Britt, The Wolf Brothers, Jayne Denham and Baylou, as well as celebrated artists Tim Rogers, The Audreys, David Hobson, Anthony Callea and The Wiggles. ABC Must artists won a total of seven ARIA Awards in 2013.
"I am absolutely thrilled to be starting this next chapter of my career with ABC Music. The team at ABC are undoubtedly at the top of their game and I can't wait to work with them." said Adam Brand.
Adam Brand's' first release will be an acoustically focused album, titled My Acoustic Diary, on November 8, 2013. A new full studio album will then follow in mid-2014.
Latest updates from the Country Music Guild by Frank McHugh.
FRIDAY AUGUST 23 - LES & JOY KEATS MEMORIAL AWARDS NIGHT
This is our big night of the year - we will be handing out the awards for The Most Popular Band and The Most Popular Vocalist for the past year as voted by members of The Country Music Guild.
The Dalton Gang will be the house band for the night with performances by many artists who have performed for us over the years.
To fit all this into one night, the band will commence at 7.30 pm and finish around 11.45 pm.
FRIDAY AUGUST 30: THE DALTON GANG
They have a week to recover from the Awards night and then they will be back to do a full night.
SEPTEMBER:
We have a big month planned for September with two (count ‘em) NEW bands.
Phoenix, Michael Edwards (CD Preview), Rough Cut, Colin Jones & The Gentlemen of Country.
More on our website including photos, band line-up and links to YouTube clips and other websites.
Please forward this email to anyone you know who enjoys going out to see LIVE country music
As always, check our website for who’s playing and get the latest information on The Guild
www.northwestfm.org/countrymusicguild
***************************************************
Frank McHugh
Public Relations
Country Music Guild of Australasia (CMGA)
Radio Program: “That's Country”
Sundays 12 noon - 3 pm
98.9 North West FM, Hadfield 3046
Studio Phone: (03) 93044 989
Also streaming live on www.northwestfm.org
Melanie Safka, professionally known as Melanie, enjoyed a string of hits throughout the 70's including Brand New Key, Lay Down (Candles In The Rain), Ruby Tuesday, Look What they've Done To My Song Ma, Alexander Beetle and Mr Tambourine Man to name just a few.
A singer-songwriter who'd infused the Age of Aquarius with her own brand of girl power and idealism, Melanie had soared through the late 60's and 70's, peppier than Joan Baez and lots more fun than Joni Mitchell.
During Melanie's performance at Woodstock 41 years ago, while singing in the rain, the audience lit candles that flickered throughout her performance.
That night inspired Melanie's signature song Lay Down (Candles In The Rain), her anthem of ideals and dreams to end the Vietnam War.
Fast forward to 2013, Melanie returns with a brand new album Ever Since You Never Heard Of Me. The new single from the album Every Breath Of The Way is a fitting and heartfelt tribute to her late husband and producer of 44 years Peter Schekeryk, who recently passed away from a heart Attack. Click here to listen to the track: [MP3]http://itscountry.com.au/music/Melanie - Every Breath Of The Way.mp3[/MP3]
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