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Meet the Bands Playing at O-Week

The Toot Toot Toots

Performing at O-Week on Wednesday 27 February, 12pm.

 

The past three years have been busy for Melbourne doom-country shimmy-shakers The Toot Toot Toots. Forming in 2009 at a bar on the spur of the moment they have developed a solid reputation for their unique country blues sound and their frenetic and hyper-energetic live shows.

2012 marked the release of their debut album Outlaws, a spaghetti-western rock-operatic concept album. Produced by Loki Lockwood (The Drones, Graveyard Train) and released by Spooky Records, Outlaws is set in the fictional gold rush town of Gomorrah Fields and follows the story of émigré Eli Rayne and the vengeance and bloodshed that shadows his arrival. The album was received with great critical appraisal in print and online and was recipient of Radio National’s Album of the Week. The Toots followed up the success of Outlaws with an extensive east coast tour of Australia, culminating in a sold-out show at Melbourne’s HiFi Bar.

The Toot Toot Toots explore the sounds of 60’s spaghetti-western, the lyricism of Tom Waits, and the theatricality of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Their shows are a dynamo-flamboyant, hyper-rowdy carouse complete with horn section and go-go dancers.

 

The Harlots

Performing at O-Week on Thursday 28 February, 1pm.

 

The Harlots are slick like pop, but ragged like garage; the Harlots
sting like the new wave and burn like soul. Swelling dance floors with
their sultry brand of ego-rock since late 2010, Melbourne sextet the
Harlots draw on the diverse musical inspirations of its members to
produce an urbane, sinister sound that ranges from the literary to the
crude, blending sophistication with sweat and saliva. The Harlots come
armed to the teeth; the Harlots are here to stay.

 

Ten Thousand

Performing at O-Week on Tuesday 26 February, 1pm.

 

Having spent the winter months writing and recording at Birdland studios with legendary Australian producer Lindsay Gravina (The Living End, Jet, Shihad, Eskimo Joe) Ten Thousand are gearing up to take their explosive live show back on the road over summer. Armed with a string of new singles the band has further developed its sound, straddling new territory and fusing together razor sharp rock n roll riffs, echoing spaced out melodies, a thunderous fuzzed out rhythm section and soaring melodic vocals. With influences as varied as Motley Crue, Muse & 30 Seconds To Mars, Ten Thousand destroy the barriers between progressive and classic rock n roll.

 

Acid Western

Performing at O-Week on Wednesday 27 February, 1pm.

 

Acid Western is the mysterious and beautiful love-child of Jack and Ben, a duo of cheeky bandits who met at this here university. Mike and Riley (also of the said institution) were added to the fray soon after for their skills in magic, and hence the Indie-Rock four-piece was born. The stewards of tune have been hard at it, recording a disc of music over the summer for all you kiddies to purchase. Conveniently, they are also holding their EP Launch at Ding Dong Lounge on FRIDAY MARCH 1ST, and tickets are available from any band member for $10 or online at dingdong.oztix.com.au.

 

Francolin

Performing at O-Week on Wednesday 27 February, 2pm.

 

Recognised for their unashamedly pop sound, sparked with witticisms and thoughtful observation, Melbourne’s Francolin have been dancing up a storm around their hometown over the past two years. Led by Swedish singer and songwriter Staffan Guinane, Francolin play three-minute tunes that sound cheerful, sorrowful, silly and serious all at the same time.

 

Francolin take in American folk, Highlife Afro beats, Dixie Jazz and mixes it with harmonies, narrative songwriting, word games and ever-present pop.

 

Francolin debut album ‘Won’t Let You Down’ has been praised for it’s unique sound and lyrical style, which has been compared to Paul Simon and well read 60s poet Michael Dransfield.

 

Ali E

Performing at O-Week on Wednesday 27 February, 11am.

 

Ali E’s musical career spans many years. While being involved in bands such as Little Athletics, Heavy Beach and Damn Terran, her desire to cultivate her solo project has grown into her debut album ‘Landless’. The result of this release has been an outpouring of praise and the evolution of her solo act into a full band to do the record justice. Her evocative and compelling music breathes tales of dark desire and constructs metaphors of emotive and weathered landscapes.

 

Immigrant Union

Performing at O-Week on Thursday 28 February, 11am.

 

Immigrant Union are a psych alt country rock band featuring Brent DeBoer of The Dandy Warhols, Courtney Barnett, Bob Harrow of The Lazy Sons and Gamma Lubulwa formerly of The Galvatrons, amongst other members. If Tom Petty and Neko Case had Anto Newcombe from The Brian Jonestown Massacre as their love child who grew up only listening to Neil Young you’d start getting close to their sound. Traditional Country twang with a healthy dose of psychedelic rhythms.

 

The Human Electric
Performing at O-Week on Thursday 28 February, 2pm.
The Human Electric is an alternative rock band from Melbourne, Australia.
Forming in late 2008, after releasing their five track EP ‘Mannequin’ in September 2011, The Human Electric have now recorded their second EP ‘WARBIRDS’ engineered and produced by the great Jez Giddings at Hothouse Studios.

With a twin brother rhythm section , these guys are as thick as thieves. The band is Ben Oborne (Vocals/Guitar), Dylan Snelling (Bass/Vocals), Kurt Snelling (Drums/Vocals), and Daniel Burgess (Guitar/Vocals).

2011 saw The Human Electric performing at the inaugural ‘ FESTIVUS for the Rest of Us Festival’ in Geelong alongside Children Collide, After The Fall, The Vasco Era and Red Ink.

They have also had the pleasure of supporting international bands such as Lydia & Ben Jorgenson (Armour For Sleep) and well known Australian bands Gyroscope, Kisschasy, The Galvatrons, The Sundance Kids, Calling All Cars and many more.

 

Mani and the Rissoles

Performing at O-Week on Tuesday 26 February, 2pm.

 

Mani and The Rissoles, consisting of one man and three delicious meat products, is a band whose genesis took place at Monash University, Clayton Campus in 2010. All members were undertaking their First Year of Engineering when a common interest in a vast array of music bonded them together.

 

Mani (drums) and Greg (bass) spent many years together in various different musical projects prior to Mani and the Rissoles and gelled well with the grungy/punk/alternative sounds that Kurt (guitar/vocals) brought to the table. Jimmy (keyboards/guitar), who joined several band practices later, instantaneously simmered in to the mix, and the cauldron of rock started to ooze ‘epicness’.

 

Today, Mani and The Rissoles continue to push the boundaries of the norm, working on ballads, trilogies, dance songs (that no one can dance to) while still striving towards the age-old unpretentious goal of writing ‘good music’.