LATEST NEWS…HOMEBAKE RETURNS TO KICK OFF THE FESTIVAL SEASON: Festivals remind one of summer, sweat and….songs. Homebake is an annual festival that represents the Australian music scene showcasing an all-Australian line-up with the occasional act coming from our sister land, New Zealand. Homebake is set to commence on the 3rd December 2011 at the Domain in Sydney after a one year break in 2010. With an even bigger line-up than the preceding year Homebake is sure to be a sell out. A few of the renowned acts that make up the huge line-up are Nick Cave's Grinderman (pictured), Pnau, Gotye, Gurrumul, Icehouse and The Vines. The Homebake line-up literally hits home on how great the music talent in Australia is. Tickets are on sale now from Ticketek & Oztix. Check out www.homebake.com for more info…EVERYONE LOVES A BAD SEED: In more Nick Cave news, the bad, brooding Australian rock icon isn't even dead yet and they are already paying homage to him with tribute concerts set to tour his mainland Australia in November. The songs of Nick Cave are to be reinterpreted by some of Australia's top vocalist's including rock chick, Abbe May and You Am I's, Tim Rogers. Brought to you by Triple j the shows concur with their own Ausmusic Month. Nick Cave has had a busy life with 35 years experience under his belt giving the artists chosen a lot to work with; it will be interesting to see who can pay tribute to his work most respectively. Tickets are on sale now, sadly for the young folk all shows are 18+…CHICKS CAN DJ! - DJ MINX TAKES OUT SHE CAN DJ TITLE 2011: The She Can DJ final was held at cream of the crop Ivy bar, where ten finalists battled it out with twenty minute sets, proving that yes chicks can DJ. Supported by big name sponsors and full to the brim with industry super stars such as the likes of international guest ambassador and DJ direct from Pacha Ibiza, Sarah Main and Stereosonic Festival co-director Simon Coyle, the event was more than impressive. DJ Minx won the title however isn't the only fox that has a future to look forward to with EMI Music, the brain behind the competition. Alison Wonderland also scored a recording contract with the EMI family and recently accompanied DJ Minx and the She Can DJ crew to London & Ibiza where they will worked alongside DJ kings, David Guetta and Swedish House Mafia playing at Ibiza parties notorious for dance music…SO LONG KURT COBAIN. NEVERMIND IS HERE TO STAY: Nevermind is an album that will never be forgotten or put aside to collect dust. Twenty years on since the release date September 24, 1991, Nevermind is being celebrated and praised by living music legends as well as today's music geniuses. Following grunge record Bleach was Nevermind, the mastermind of Kurt Cobain who was the group's chief songwriter. Cobain, a self confessed heavy metal devotee wanted to write more pop driven songs but what really helped the band in its aim to create a mix of pop and rock with Nevermind was getting American producer Butch Vig on side. Entering the charts in November 1991, Nevermind remained there for 52 weeks but took three months to get to number one. Twenty years on and Nevermind still belongs at number one in many musicians and music lovers minds…TRIPLE J HAS 'UNEARTHED' A NEW STATION: Triple j Unearthed started as a band competition in the 1990s, which then turned into a music sharing website and is now becoming a new ABC digital radio station along with already established radio station Triple j. Triple j unearthed is a digital station dedicated entirely to playing unsigned and independent Australian music. Unearthed is a music commune open to musicians and the public to upload, download and review tracks. Triple j's new born station gives Australian bands an original and exciting avenue to get noticed in this dog eat dog world…TWO TAKES ON NEIL YOUNG @ BLENDER GALLERY: If you are into photography Blender Gallery is Sydney's mecca of the exhibition world, especially if you are heavily into music. Blender Gallery specialises in Fine Art Music Photography and Limited Edition Rock 'n' Roll Prints. Being home to a number of iconic Rock 'n' Roll photographers and their collections such as AC/DC EXPOSED! by Philip Morris and Pattie Boyd (The Beatles & Eric Clapton), Blender Gallery will soon be providing accommodation for music photographers Henry Diltz and Joel Bernstein and their limited edition prints of legendary musician Neil Young. Both men are multi talented who are photographers as well as musicians, which has given them an advantage to understand and capture Neil's visual persona. Make sure to visit Neil Young in all his glory at Blender Gallery, 16 Elizabeth St, Paddington, Sydney from Thursday, November 3 at 6:00pm - December 3 at 6:00pm…LEONARDO SWEEPS OUR SHORES: Leonardo Di Caprio has introduced many unknowing Australians to the novel The Great Gatsby just by arriving here in September to begin filming on the drama romance film adaptation of writer F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic 1925 novel of the same name. With a $120 million budget and being directed by Baz Luhrmann, The Great Gatsby consists of a reputable cast, amongst them is Australian actor Joel Edgerton who will take on the role as Tom Buchanan. The Great Gatsby has before now been filmed six times and is due to be released for the seventh time on December 25, 2012 by Warners Bros. Pictures…CONCERNS FOR ADELE'S NUMBER ONE ASSET: Anyone who owns a radio would know Adele for her chart hits Rolling in the Deep and Someone Like You. Who truthfully knows any other of her songs as these are the only tracks that get any airtime and substantial amounts at that? Concerns surrounding Adele's voice have been the reason for her absence from the recent Q Awards and a run of performances in the U.S. Adele has been battling with a haemorrhaged vocal cord since January and still continues to struggle with throat problems. 21 is Adele's second studio album which was only released at the beginning of the year on the 21st January 2011. Die hard fans are hoping that she gets back to full health swiftly as they are anxious to have new tracks of hers replayed and stuck in their heads…STEVE JOBS, THE MAN BEHIND THE PC: Where do you begin with Steve Jobs? His career was so innovative and significant that there are not enough words to praise him with. Jobs' has had such an impact on the world that it feels a felony to try and summarise his life. Jobs' has been in the news not just since the day of his death but through out his career so it is not necessary to try and begin to summarise his remarkable life. Everyone knows his achievements and how he battled with a terminal illness. This piece is merely a tribute to his life and his contribution to the world. Jobs' was not only a genius inventor but a family man like everyone else. Jobs' creation is in most family homes in the form of a notebook, an iPhone, iPod, iPad, the list goes on and the Apple empire will continue to expand and continue to be apart of everyone's family and the way the world connects…TAME IMPALA: AUSTRALIA'S OWN WAVE OF PSYCHEDELIC: Tame Impala have proven that Australia has still got it by bringing back the sixties roots of when psychedelic music became a craze. The band comprises of four young, bare footed psychedelic rockers who have already made a name for themselves in the music industry and signed a worldwide deal with independent Australian label Modular People in 2008. Among the Modular team are well recognised acts such as Wolfmother, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Ladyhawke. In their short career Tame Impala have already played at Glastonbury, Big Day Out, Vivid Live, have had a slot on the Jimmy Fallon show and are headlining at Bengkel Night Park in Jakarta on the 29th October 2011. If you happen to be in Indonesia be sure to watch them take over its capital city…
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PHILADELPHIA GRAND JURY - Hope Is For Hopers

The story of Philadelphia Grand Jury (or The Philly Jays as their fans affectionately refer to them) is a simple one: Two normal childhood buddy dudes - and a rotating ensemble of drummers - writing, recording and touring their own indie punk soul hits around the country and winning fans everywhere they go.

2009 has been a pretty busy year for multi-instrumentalists Berkfinger and MC Bad Genius - yes those are their real names. This year has taken them to all corners of the country to play live, and sometimes even to record - not by design however. This year the band has spent literally more weeks on the road than off. In between featuring on Underbelly, playing the Big Day Out and Laneway Festivals, touring with Manchester Orchestra, Dappled Cities, Yves Klein Blue, the Unearthed Tour, Bluejuice, and selling out their own national headline tour there hasn't been time to do much else. Yet even amidst all of that touring they have managed to squeeze out a self-produced, self-engineered and self-released hit EP on their own label called Normal People Making Hits, which months after release is still sitting pretty in the top 10 of the independent charts.

The band and are now releasing their debut album 'Hope Is For Hopers'. Recording and mixing for 'Hope Is For Hopers' was completed by Berkfinger in various places with a recording budget of less than $5,000. It was done during night time lock out sessions at Big Jesus Burger Studios (where Berkfinger works as an engineer); in the day times at Berkfinger's grandparents' basement; and on the road wherever they could find electricity to plug the pro-tools recording rig in - for example at MC Bad Genius' Uncle Trevor's lounge room in Brunswick.

The term DIY comes to mind. And so do the words authentic, genuine, fun, and real. Philadelphia Grand Jury are a 'real' breath of fresh air in a musical climate where many acts will blur into each other.

'Hope Is For Hopers' is available now.

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