Industrial Strength: October 23

KEITH URBAN TOUR HITS $30.7M

 Keith Urban’s Graffiti U World Tour doesn’t hit Australian shores until January but so far in North America, it’s grossed $30.7 million from 48 shows.

Nine were sell-outs, seven of these in Canada.

On the weekend it was announced that Urban is performing at the Country Music Association awards on November 14.

AUSSIE DJS RANK HIGHER IN TOP 100

Not only were Aussies doing well in the latest DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs list, but many climbed up the rankings since last year.

The list was topped by Martin Garrix yet again, while Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike retained their #2 spot for another 12 months.

Melbourne twins Nervo were swinging at #27 (up 15 spots), Sydney’s Timmy Trumpet at #33 (up ten spots) , Melbourne’s Will Sparks at #56 (up 27 spots), Carl Cox who lives half the year in Melbourne at #59 (up nine spots) Dutch-born-Australia raised MarLo at #88 (re-entered) and Alison Wonderland at #96 (down 7 spots).

 RIGHT THERE ON MY TV

Nine Network’s telecast of the Hay Mate Buy A Bale charity concert from Scully Park in Tamworth begins at 7 pm on Saturday October 27. On the bill are, John Farnham, Guy Sebastian, Daryl Braithwaite, The Veronicas, Jon Stevens and Adam Harvey.

The acts at the opening ceremony of the Invictus Games in Sydney – including the Ian Moss, Kate Ceberano & William Barton team up, Birds of Tokyo and Lee Kernaghan – reached an Australian viewership of 606,000 overnight metros. Global audience figures are not available yet.

ABC’s new 3-part music education series Don’t Stop The Music, with Guy Sebastian among those mentoring primary school kids picking up instruments for the first time, premieres on Sunday November 11 at 7.40pm.

Nine’s launch show for 2019 confirmed the return of The Voice and an Abba special.

EMINEM BREAKS TWO RECORDS

Eminem’s surprise Kamikaze has become the biggest selling hip hop album of 2018, beating competition from the likes of Drake, Post Malone, XXXTentacion and Cardi B.

The single Killshot has become the most viewed hip hop video within 24 hours, with 38.1 million views.

Across the board, it’s the third most viewed in the first 24 hours, beaten by Taylor Swift‘s Look What You Made Me Do which hit 43.2 million last year, and BTS’s Idol which topped the list with 45 million views in August.

LOCKOUT RALLY OUTSIDE PARLIAMENT

Following a call by NSW deputy premier John Barilaro to scrap lockout laws in the Sydney CBD (but not Kings Cross), Keep Sydney Open is holding a rally outside NSW parliament on Thursday October 25 — just when a bill to scrap the lockout is being put before the Legislative Council.

The rally will meet at the top of Martin Place on Macquarie Street before shuffling the short trip to the front of Parliament House.

The time will be announced via Keep Sydney Open’s social media channels as soon as the parliament’s order of business is scheduled.

Spokesperson Tyson Koh said, “There has been a push to have the lockout laws scrapped from within the government.

“This is our chance to reinforce at this crucial time how deeply despised these laws are and how they have crippled Sydney.

“With a NSW election in March next year we need to send our message loud and clear: enough with the lockout laws!”

WHY LANEWAY IS SKIPPING SINGAPORE

Laneway is skipping Singapore next year for the first time since the Australian festival made its debut there in 2011 and drew 10,000 this year.

A Laneway spokesman told The Straits Times: “The festival will not be going ahead in January 2019 due to unavoidable logistical and programming complexities.

“However, we are still hoping to bring Laneway Singapore back later in 2019 and are currently busy making plans with that in mind.”

NZ PRODUCERS LOSE APPEAL ON RAPE CONVICTIONS

The NZ Court of Appeal has denied an attempt by New Zealand producers Peter Chambers and Mark Arona to have their jail sentences squashed for the rape of a woman in a Tauranga motel room.

They were jailed in January 2017 for 8½ years after a jury found the two, both aged in their 40s, guilty of sexual violation by rape and sexual violation by an unlawful sexual connection.

During the court case, Chambers was deemed to be the principal offender, while Arona’s role was to encourage him.

Arona argued that his jail sentence was too severe given his minor role.

The men claimed the woman consented. The jury found she was too drunk, and further disoriented after smoking a joint.

They also argued that the woman had exaggerated the level of her incapacity because she was ashamed of her actions.

FREMANTLE FESTIVAL CHANGES SEASON

Australia’s longest-running festival is shifting from spring to winter in 2019 for the first time in its 113-year history

Fremantle mayor Brad Pettitt said that Fremantle Festival’s offerings were more suited to winter to underline its uniqueness.

Now held in July, it will present 10 Nights in Port, an expanded program of contemporary music, theatre, visual arts, film and live performance that would make it more diverse and inclusive.

I’M TALKING BACK FOR DATES …

 Kate Ceberano planned to reunite I’m Talking for a wellness festival she was co-curating in regional Victoria.

But the festival slashed its budget. However, the band will reunite for the first time in 30 years for the Bryan Ferry tour and a run of A Day On The Green winery shows also with Ferry as well as with Died Pretty and The Models.

The lineup consists of originals Ceberano, Robert Goodge, Barbara Hogarth, Stephen Charlesworth and Zan Abeyratne.

But drummer Ian Cox and sax player Cameron Newman can’t make it, and will be replaced.

…DO RE MI RETURNS WITH ALL-FEMALE LINEUP

After a triumphant return at the Australian Women In Music Awards in Brisbane, singer Deborah Conway and bassist Helen Carter extend Do Re Mi’s run of dates.

The reinvented Do Re Mi will also feature drummer Julia Day and keyboardist Clio Rener.

Aside from By The C Festival appearances (featuring Icehouse and The Sunnyboys) there are headline shows in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Carter, who after the band split went on to work for Greenpeace, aged care and disability organisations says, “Playing those songs again and listening to the words, I’m struck by how danceable they are and sadly, how the forces we railed against persist.

“Those songs are still relevant and it goes to show how long it takes for real social change to happen.”

According to Conway “After 30 years we’re opening a time capsule and rediscovering artefacts that have been out of circulation for more than half my lifetime.

“Breathing life back into this treasure trove of tunes, words, riffs & rhythms is a loving enterprise. I come to them again with an appreciation of our passion, affection for our naivety & awe of our energy; I am looking forward to reopening that time capsule for our older and wiser audiences & for their great-grandchildren”

X MARKS THE SPOT IN NEWCASTLE

University of Newcastle hosts Festival X (Wed November 7 – Sun November 11) where its School of Creative Industries students offer sound and music, performance, movies, virtual reality, visual art and design, illustration, animation and combinations of these as well as panel discussions.

Triple j host and artist KLP brings together a group of female artists, producers and songwriters for a week of creativity.

PUSSY RIOT COMPLAIN TO HUMAN RIGHTS COURT

Pussy Riot’s Maria Alyokhina has filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights over her sentencing at a street rally in support of messaging service Telegram.

Authorities had banned Telegram for refusing to allow Russian secret service FSB to decipher messages sent by its users.

In April,SYN Alyokhin and eleven other activists gathered outside FSB’s office and threw paper planes (Telegram’s logo) at the building.

She copped 140 hours of community service, charged with having “created obstacles for passers-by and vehicles” and that the protesters “formed a dangerous gathering that hampered free movement of passers-by”.

Alyokhina argued that the detention and sentencing violated the European Convention on Human Rights in terms of freedom of assembly and freedom of expression.

YOUTH RADIO NETWORK SYN MEDIA GETS FUNDING

Melbourne’s youth-orientated SYN Media which through the years has created new generations of radio presenters and producers, has been granted state government funding of $400,000 over four years for Student Youth Network Media’s Youth in Community Radio program, to begin in 2019.

In 2015, the Labor government doubled its funding for SYN Media from $200,000 to $400,000 to expand the program, create a new radio broadcasting mentoring initiative and provide more training for rural and regional young people wanting to volunteer at their local community radio station.

As a result, more than 970 young people gained skills and experience in planning, content development and production of radio and television programs and other digital media over the past three years.

More than 30 also received one-on-one mentoring from industry professionals, while 200 young regional Victorians have attended SYN Media workshops on innovative models for youth radio.

STUDY: MORE YOUNG WOMEN TURN TO GUITAR

A study by Fender guitar makers found that young women now make up 50% of people starting to learning to play guitar in the US and UK.

Fender CEO Andy Mooney said: “Today’s players have grown up in a different cultural context and popular music landscape, and rising artists like Mura Masa, Tash Sultana, Youngr, Daniel Caesar, Grimes and Ed Sheeran are changing the way guitar is being used.

“As a brand, we are committed to creating tools – both physical and digital – that this generation of creators needs for self-expression, now and in the future.”

UPPER HUTT POSSE FOR NZ HALL OF FAME

Political hip hop group Upper Hutt Posse will be inducted into the NZ Music Hall of Fame as part of the music awards.

Upper Hutt Posse, based around founder Dean Hapeta, released the country’s first rap record in 1988. Titled E Tū, it was an indictment on racial injustice and a call to arms to the Maori community.

An ardent fan of America’s Black Panthers and Malcolm X, the song was inspired by James Brown‘s Say it Loud, I’m Black And I’m Proud.

NEW HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL FOR DISNEY

Disney’s upcoming streaming service will see the launch of the 10-part series of High School Musical: The Musical in late 2019.

It stars 17-year old unknown Joshua Bassett in the male lead of Rocky and is based on the Emmy-winning franchise.

It will be shot doco-style as a group of East High students work at staging a performance at a school musical.

LUIS FONSI SETS SEVEN GUINNESS RECORDS

The blinding success of Despacito from January 2017 has seen Luis Fonsi land seven new gongs in the latest Guinness World Records.

Most weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart

Most-viewed music video online

Most-liked video online

Most-viewed music video on YouTube (duet)

Most-streamed track worldwide

First YouTube video to receive 5 billion views

Most-viewed video online

PETER BIBBY DROPS DOCO

As his latest headline national tour winds up this weekend in Canberra, singer-songwriter Peter Bibby, has released a 30-minute documentary Chasing Palm Springs.

Directed, filmed and edited by Dan Nicholls, it follows the tumultuous cross-country journey that preceded the release of his new album Grand Champion.

According to the blurb, it’s about “a tour gone awry, a cursed van, two lovers and the continent that separates them.”

Adds Bibby, “The recording of the album was interrupted by a gruelling return trip across the Nullarbor from Perth-Melbourne in a car that would have been better as a storage container, taking two months rather than the expected two weeks.”

VICTORIA’S CULTURAL TOURISM BOOMING

Cultural tourism to Victoria is booming, with record numbers of international visitors enjoying the state’s creative and cultural offering, including Melbourne’s flagship museums and galleries.

New figures show international cultural visitors injected almost $2 billion into the state economy last year, an 88% increase since 2013.

China is the city’s biggest and fastest growing international market for cultural tourism and is expected to be worth more than $1 billion alone by 2025.

Melbourne Museum is one of Victoria’s top attractions for international tourists, with an average of 9.3% of daily visitors coming from overseas.

Over the last year the Carlton museum has seen a 76% increase in visitors from China – almost 20,000 Chinese tourists visited in 2017/18, more than any other international group.

ROZ PAPPALARDO TACKLES FERTILITY IN NEW SHOW

Queensland singer-songwriter Roz Pappalardo explores the taboo subject of fertility in her new music comedy one-woman show Banging On The Door.

It launches at the Brisbane Powerhouse as part of the Wonderland festival, with just her voice, a guitar, a trestle table and a script.

“I think almost everyone has had a think about their fertility, their mortality, their future lineage, what it means to them and how they want to be part of that,” she says.

“I also think that many of us know someone who has had a baby, or who has tried to have a baby, and the issues that may arise from thinking about this new addition to your life – whatever the outcome may be.”

AND A FEW OTHER THINGS …

Did Taylor Swift and party spend a few days in Cairns resting up before heading to Perth for their first show? It was before 50, 900 fans at Optus Stadium who stayed with her despite the slight drizzle.

Which singer has issues with her local council re the ashes of her beloved pet?

The wife of a former Gold Coast nightclub promoter may have to fork over $500,000 to the state under “unexplained wealth” laws, says the Gold Coast Bulletin.

Currently on a US tour behind their self-titled debut, Sydney’s Castlecomer posted they were involved in a six-car pileup outside New York. They were not injured.

The site for the new 12,000-capacity Gold Coast stadium has been picked but not officially announced. Promoters are suggesting it would be their venue of choice over Brisbane venues.

Kyle Sandiland’s last minute no-show at the Australian Commercial Radio Awards (ACRA) in Melbourne allowed hosts The Chaser to pay out full time. “So Kyle’s not here. Which is great news for the rest of us … and the even better news is that Alan Jones isn’t here!” Another barb was about, “his Channel 10 Trial by Kyle … a show where the rhyme in the title was the most creatively ambitious thing in it”.

But Smiley Kylie was not shirking off, even after he and partner Jackie O won best metro on-air team. Yesterday morning when his KIIS FM show newsreader quizzed his absence, the big feller roared back, rattling the window panes, “It’s a piece of shit event – that’s why I never go. It’s one of the world’s most boring events. It’s the most boring, long, drawn-out, ‘Yes, I know I’m going to win…’”

The awards next year head to the Gold Coast, which the Coasters are smirking about since they also yanked the Logies from Melbourne.

Love Comes In Spurts: Diddy has split from longtime hand holder, singer-songwriter Cassie Ventura, but has quickly moved on to Jocelyn Chew, a 26-year-old model.

The Sydney Morning Herald’s The Goss column pounced on model Montana Cox at the Salvatore Ferragamo Studio Bag launch at its Westfield Sydney boutique, about rumours she was with newly-single nightclub operator Justin Hemmes.

“We are just friends, we have always just been friends, I think people just like to talk about things,” Cox cooed. “I’ve got no one.”

The Ariana Grande/Pete Davidson split-up is facing a real crisis: how to get rid of those tattoos they got done to denote that their love would last longer than the cosmos itself, She only had a small tatt done and coyly covers it with a Band-Aid. He on the other hand, went berserk with the ink and has been using laser surgery.

Justin Bieber and Hailey Baldwin were seen house hunting in LA.

Hiatus Kaiyote‘s Nai Palm shared the news that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Currently touring through the US, she took to Instagram to say she is “riddled with anxiety while trying to practice courage and patience daily in the face of the scariest and most emotionally triggering shit I’ve ever had to endure.”

Screaming Jets are sponsorship The LCR Extreme Sidecars/Screaming Jets Racing team on the Gold Coast.