MATT JOE GOW &
THE DEAD LEAVES
Matt Joe Gow is a musical wanderer.
Matt grew up in Dunedin, New Zealand, a city famous for its independent music scene and sited on land that gives visual evidence of the ravaging elements that shaped it. Land and the elements, a common theme in country music and a firm platform for Matt Joe Gow's heartfelt lyrical approach.
As a young teen, Matt's great musical love was for the alt country sounds of bands like Wilco and Whiskeytown, and for artists like Grant Lee Buffalo, Neil Young, Gram Parsons, Bob Dylan, Ryan Adams and of course, Johnny Cash.
"I was just drawn to anything raw, anything real with great lyrics or melodies," Matt says. "Country music, being such an honest form of music, lends itself to the songwriter. It really resonates with me."
But there was too big of a world out there to stay still for long, so Matt set out on his voyage of discovery. His wanderlust took him trekking through Asia, Europe and North America, where he immersed himself in the various cultures, formed bands and always wrote new material.
Now Matt has taken musical root in Melbourne and is again writing songs that are too beautiful to keep to himself. He's formed a new band, The Dead Leaves , and after six short months of gigging around Melbourne together Matt Joe Gow and The Dead Leaves already sound as though they've known each other for years.
"Working with The Dead Leaves has become an intricate part of the writing process,'' Matt says.
In March this year, Matt Joe Gow and the Dead Leaves entered Melbourne's Woodstock Studios, and in three intense days of recording laid down what became their debut EP- More Brothers Ride .
"Our idea was to create a recording that was raw and in keeping with our style. We wanted to make an accurate representation of our live sound," Matt explains.
"We decided to record in a way that was similar to the records we grew up listening to, using vintage mics and recording 'live off the floor' to tape. Everything from the drums to the vocals and the harmonica strapped around my neck were tracked together in the same take. Ultimately I felt this achieved a sound that is exciting and refreshing," Matt says. "I wanted the record to simply be what we sound like."
More Brothers Ride is exactly that. It captures the raw energy of Matt Joe Gow and The Dead Leaves' live shows, and that hint of Dunedin in Matt's songs. You can hear it in their laidback Americana-influenced alt country sounds, inspired by the songs that thrilled Matt growing up.
There is a yearning for home that Matt's songs have in common with so many great country songs and that deliciously languid pacing and sense of open space that makes Matt's music his own.
Matt Joe Gow & The Dead Leaves are:
Matt Joe Gow- vocals/guitar/harmonica/percussion
Chris Elliott- drums/vocals/piano/organ
Andrew Pollock- guitar/vocals
Kain Borlase- double bass
Brendan Mitchell- pedal steel
Management Contact:
Chrissie Vincent
ph. 03 9534 6999
m. 0405 427 915
e. chrissiev@cvp.net.au
The Vandas - 'Slow Burn'
It's taken a while for The Vandas to get to this point
All the doubts, fears and frustrations are put to rest. Four years after four gentlemen from west and north of the Murray River colluded in the southern capital, their first long play record is finally here.
Despite expectations, borne of two well-received EPs, and a loyal live fanbase of punters and peers gathered everywhere from the corner pub to the big stage with the likes of You Am I, The Drones, and The Beasts of Bourbon, come 2007, The Vandas were drifting. An album was past due but the wheels were barely turning, scars still not faded.
Enter Joel Silbersher. A chance meeting on the factory floor where Chris Altmann and Mikey Madden were workmates with the GOD, Hoss and Tendrils frontman, saw handshakes exchanged and studio bookings made. The record's aim was to be true to The Vandas' greatest strength: playing live. Right down to the choice of their favoured rehearsal studio, Soundpark in Northcote, Victoria, and their live mixer, Justin Hermes, to engineer.
In one long day, they laid down fifteen songs intended as demo's for the album proper. But the performances and sounds were so visceral, so right for the songs - so right for The Vandas - that thoughts of tempting fate with 'proper' recordings were soon nixed. After two more days at Soundpark in the summer of '08, followed by two weeks mixing in glorious analogue by Ben Hurt at Newmarket Studios, the record was done. David Bromley's striking original paintings complete the album, providing a fittingly sardonic visual.
The album's title, 'Slow Burn', comes from the final song put to tape, written between sessions and recorded in two takes. An apt title for a record that sees promises finally kept.
'Slow Burn' is honest, raw, heart-worn, and devoid of the arch pretence or tired detachment of those chasing the zeitgeist. Those familiar with The Vandas will recognise their classic melodies, barbed lyrics, and truly Australian sound throughout the record. But this time the delivery hits harder, the songs cut deeper.
Great art is rarely offered from a place of comfort. The Vandas' scars are there for all to hear on 'Slow Burn'. Anyone left dazed and misused by the fickleness of love's hopes and diminished returns will find a redemptive affirmation in these ten songs. Time can lead to triumph.
'Slow Burn' is released August 2 through Liberation Music.
The Vandas are:
Angus Agars: drums, percussion, backing vocals
Chris Altmann: guitars, keys, pedal steel guitar, vocals
Julien Chick: bass, backing vocals
Mikey Madden: guitars, vocals
Media Enquiries:
Chrissie Vincent Publicity & Management
Chrissie Vincent Jacqui Wilson
e: chrissiev@cvp.net.au e: Jacqui@cvp.net.au
m: +61 418 598 929 m: +61 405 427 915
Alberts is synonymous with many of Australia's most celebrated songwriters and pop and rock bands -- such as the Easybeats, The Angels, Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs and Harry Vanda and George Young, not to mention one of the world's most successful rock bands, AC/DC. But few people know the extent to which Alberts has influenced the country's musical history and culture.
