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A deep fragile fallen angel’s voice, delicately wild lyrics gambling dangerously with despair and combined with a gloomy franco-british pop sound reconciles Serge Gainsbourg and The Cure, or Françoiz Breut and Lloyd Cole.

Two years after the release of ‘ Aux Jours Meilleurs’ (On Better Days ), a debut album that won wide acclaim from enlightened media (from Paris-based renowned cultural magazine Les Inrockuptibles to the major radio France Inter and on indie radio worldwide), the scandinavian-named french boy has landed in on our coasts with an intransigently beautiful new album ‘Perdition.’

SvenSson’s music distills mixed influences from the Joy Division’s and The Smiths’ new-wave cool and modern french songwriters’ intimate literary influences with an an unrestrained mixture of hypertensive electric explosions and naked moments of grace.

In concert, alone in pub cellars as well as under the bright lights of big stages, the alchemist from Toulouse is joined by folk guitars, violin and “cellobass”,to create his own unique blend of baroque rock. SvensSson has played in France and Denmark for both his “Better Days” and “Perdition” Tours, sharing unplugged gigs with some of the most elegant representatives of the french (Miossec, Daniel Darc, Da Silva, Prohom, Nicholson, Verone, Miro) or anglo-saxon (Andrew Bird, The National, The Posies) indie-pop-folk-rock scene. SvenSson and his inspired team will be on the road again in December ‘07 for an “Australian Perdition Tour.”

“SvenSson combines heavenly and abyssal zones like never before (…) a seriously distressed dandy.”

6 December – Excelsior Hotel with The Cuban Heels and Hunter Dienna
64 Foveaux Street, SYDNEY, New South Wales Tix available on 02 9211 4945

8 December – The Sando with Jo Meares, Liz Martin, Michael Bridges and Hunter Dienna
Sandringham Hotel – 387 King Street, NEWTOWN, New South Wales – Cost : $10 – Tix available on 02 9557 1254

13 December – Manchester Lane with Charles Jenkins & The Swedish Cowboys and Jo Meares
36 Manchester Lane, MELBOURNE, Victoria – Cost : $12 – Tix available on 03 9663 0630

15 December – Central Club with The Cuban Heels and Hunter Dienna
293 Swan Street, RICHMOND, Victoria – Tix available on 03 9428 1480

16 December – Brunswick Green
313 Sydney Road, BRUNSWICK, Victoria – Cost : free – further info on 03 9381 2413

19 December – Retreat Hotel with Jo Meares
280 Sydney Road, BRUNSWICK, Victoria – further info on 03 9380 4090

SvenSson’s Australian Perdition Tour is proudly supported by the Ambassade de France en Australie.

Look our for more news coming soon and don’t miss the opportunity to see SvenSson here on our sunny shores.

Cheers, Karen

Hey Rockers,

We here at PR HQ are very proud to announce our association with Love Hope Strength Foundation and their next fantasic initiative, Everest Rocks!

For the uninitiated, LHS has been organising major events around the world including Empire Rocks (benefit concert at the Empire State Building in NY) to help fight cancer and the LHS Army is growing! You can check out their website at www.lovehopestrength.org.

Cancer is one of the world’s most powerful killers and will touch each and every one of us in our lifetime. It knows no borders and see’s no color, race, religion, age or socio-economic demographic. It is a global issue in need of support from a worldwide network.

Love Hope Strength Foundation (LHSF) is an international charity with chapters in the US, UK and Australia. Founded by leukemia survivors Mike Peters of the Welsh Rock Band the Alarm and President of CSI Entertainment James Chippendale with the goal that all people should have the same opportunities they did to overcome cancer. That includes access to information, quality cancer treatment and the best medication available.

LHSF CONCERTS/CLIMBS
Through innovative concerts and climbs, LHSF will be providing critical funding for cancer centers worldwide so that ALL people have access to quality treatment and are given the best chance at survival.

I am very proud to be associated with Love Hope Strength and will be promoting their next initiative, the Everest Rocks concert at Mt Everest!

EVEREST ROCKS. This October will be the most momentous climb and concert yet for the LHS Army – benefiting The Nepal Cancer Relief Society (NCRS). Cancer survivors and co founders of the Love Hope Strength Foundation (LHSF) Mike Peters and James Chippendale will lead 40 musicians, cancer survivors and mountaineers to Base Camp to perform an acoustic concert to help the Bhaktapur Cancer Hospital build the infrastructure of its clinic, NCRS, by providing them with much needed equipment and funding. In a country where the Avg. annual income is $300 a year our donation and support is going a long way to save lives NOW.

“Everest Rocks” is a fourteen day trek and acoustic concert at the base camp of Mt Everest, with a grand finale rock concert in Kathmandu. The finale concert will host 800 attendees in the breathtaking Gokarna Forest in the shadows of Mt. Everest. The entire journey will be captured by an MTV and BBC documentary team headed by Alex Coletti (the acclaimed producer of MTV’s ‘Unplugged’ series). The taping will include the training, kickoff events, trek and base camp acoustic set. The trek will also be captured by Everest summitters and writer Alan Hobson and photojournalist Jake Norton**. The ever-growing list of performers includes: Mike Peters (The Alarm), Slim Jim Phantom (The Stray Cats), Dave Wakeling (The English Beat), Glenn Tillbrook (Squueze), Nick Harper (legendary UK fold artist) and local Nepalese artists.

OTHER LHSF PROJECTS

ONLINE PATIENT SUPPORT NETWORK. The online support network will provide filtered listings of informative websites so one can learn as much as possible about the challenges they are facing. This will include providing the, “Ten Tools for Triumph*”, links to the leading doctors, treatments, hospitals, treatment centers, medications, holistic options, diet, exercise, meditation/prayer, clinical trials, books and support groups.

LHSF ARMY
Mike Peters (The Alarm) – Cancer Survivor and Co Founder of the Love Hope Strength Foundation
Billy Duffy (The Cult)
Slim Jim Phantom (Stray Cats)
Jimmy Barnes – Musician
Dave Wakeling (English Beat)
Nick Harper – Musician
Glenn Tilbrook (Squeeze)
Cy Curnin – (The Fixx)
Alan Hobson – Leukemia Survivor, motivational speaker, author and Everest summiteer. Alan is making his first trip back to Everest since overcoming cancer.
Jake Norton – Everest Summitter and Photojournalist.
Alex Coletti – Acclaimed MTV Producer / MTV Unplugged creator
Tony Visconti -Award winning music producer behind legendary artists David Bowie, Morrissey, Thin Lizzy, Moody Blues.
Sean Swarner – 2 time cancer survivor, first cancer survivor to summit Everest and reach all 7 of the highest peaks on each continent, author, speaker.
Welsh Guards – 2 members of the British Army from Buckingham Palace

GET INVOLVED
JOIN THE ARMY. Opportunities are available to become a Love Hope Strength musician, venue sponsor, title sponsor, supporting sponsor, gear sponsor, trekker, vendor, promotional sponsor and more. Contact Shannon Foley at Shannon@lovehopestrength.com or 303.518.8938 for more information.

BUY MERCHANDISE. Available at www.lovehopestrength.com

SELL MERCHANDISE. Show your support by selling our famous “Camo Cuffs” at your store or office. Contact Shannon Shannon@lovehopestrsngth.com or 303.518.8938 for more information.

AND STAY TUNED TO FIND OUT WHICH AUSTRALIAN ARTIST AND JOURNO WILL BE ROCKIN’ OUT AT THIS EVENT AND JOINING THE LOVE HOPE STRENGTH ARMY!

In Australia, please contact me on 0400 527 365 to give these good people money or donations of any kind!

See you at the top of the mountain,

x Karen

Hey soul lovas,

Australia’s First Lady Of Soul Ms Renee’ Geyer will be performing live at Milanos Brighton Beach Hotel on Saturday, 8 September. Tickets are available from the venue for $33 show only and $65 two course dinner and show, but they’re nearly sold out so get in now!

MILANOS BRIGHTON BEACH HOTEL
4 The Esplanade, Brighton ph: 9592 3555

Renee’ will be singing songs old and new, and you’ll be treated to a preview of the tunes from her brand new cd.

‘Dedicated’ is Renée Geyer’s twenty-second album. And she’s convinced with this record she’s reached a turning point.

“I do rhythm and blues,” Renée explains. “This genre of music picked me. I didn’t pick it. From a very early age I was listening to it on my transistor radio under my pillow. At fourteen or fifteen years of age I knew that this was the music I connected with. With this record I’ve turned some kind of corner where the suit that was bought for me as a young girl, that I knew was a beautiful suit, only just now fits. It just feels right.

Rave reviews for ‘Dedicated’ are already beginning to roll in:

“I’m in love with this record. I have to admit it. This time, I really am. Normally, I’m over it by the time, through the process of recording and then mixing and mastering, we’ve heard everything a million times over and over again. It’s kind of like when couples fall in ‘love/lust’, get married…and then the ‘lust’ part of the relationship fades. This album sounds and feels as fresh as ever….every time I hear it (thanks in no small part to the incredible musicians appearing on it.) I’m still in ‘lust/love’. End of story.”- Ed Nimmervoll

See you at Milanos for a night of incredible soul shakin’ music with that divine diva Ms Renee’!

xKaren

Moon Lantern Festival continues to reinvent age old community celebration!

This local celebration of an ancient traditional Chinese and Vietnamese ritual is held each year at the Richmond Housing Estate to the delight of thousands. The Moon Lantern Festival has proved over the years to be a model of community cultural development and has found a place in the hearts of the 6,000 plus people who come together each year at this colourful event to celebrate and commune with their families and their neighbours, both within the estate and in the wider community.

Liss Gabb, Artistic Director of the Festival, says “On a recent trip to Vietnam I found that many of the Moon Lantern traditions are being eroded by the recent development of consumerist culture, so the Richmond Moon Lantern Festival is helping to both preserve and reinvent the ancient traditions of this age old harvest celebration. This year we will focus on creating lanterns and installations out of recycled materials that are associated with consumerism and the age of disposable products. We’re very lucky to have artist Amanda King, renowned festival and large scale installation artist directing the Lantern Parade and lantern making workshops.”

The Moon Lantern Festival is free and open to all members of the public. The day’s activities begin at 3pm and include the free lantern making workshops and activities for kids, followed at 6pm by the famously colourful and luminous lantern lighting and parade. This ritualised walk for all ages will pass a series of spectacular installations as it weaves its way around the Richmond estate at dusk. Multicultural food will be served all day, followed by a fantastic hip hop finale featuring African and Asian dance groups strutting their stuff and concluding with a spectacular fireworks display!

Moon Lantern Festival 2007 details:

Saturday 22 September, 3pm – 8pm, free

Richmond Housing Estate, Cnr Highett and Lennox Streets, Richmond
Melways 2G K3, Public transport: Train to West Richmond or North Richmond; tram 23, 24, 42, 109 to corner Lennox Street

All members of the public are welcome!

For interviews with Artistic Director Lis Gabb or Artist Amanda King or for photos please ring Karen Conrad Publicity on 0400 527 365 or email kcpublicity@optusnet.com.au

See you there!

xKaren

RELAUNCH OF THE MOST STYLISH VENUE IN TOWN

MILANOS BRIGHTON BEACH HOTEL!

Finally Bayside has its own dinner show venue again with the relaunch of music at Milanos Brighton Beach Hotel. The venue will be hosting a variety of premium dinner/ shows beginning on August 17th with Jon Stevens.

Catch Jon in this delightful intimate setting, performing a selection of music including hits from Noiseworks, INXS and his more recent releases. This unique acoustic performance captures the essence of Jon live; rough, raw and ready. Jon translates his songs into a stripped back format showcasing his voice amidst an unconstrained acoustic backdrop, backed by some of Australia’s finest musicians.

Bayside’s iconic waterfront Hotel is surely among the most exciting addresses in Australia – the venue features spectacular views across Port Phillip Bay and beyond! Conveniently located at 4 The Esplanade, Brighton Beach the venue is easily accessed via direct train and car along one of Melbourne’s most scenic beach routes.

Cetainly not your run of the mill dinner/ show menu, Milanos is offering choices of Premium Eye Fillet with Red Wine Jus, Grilled Atlantic Salmon Steaks and Chicken Breasts stuffed with Bocconcini and sage wrapped in prosciutto. A fine assortment of desserts as well as tea and coffee will also be served.

With the same team back on board which previously gained Milanos a fabulous reputation as an entertainment venue and presented the very best of Australian and overseas talent, Milanos invites you to once again experience excellent shows with Renee Geyer on the 8th September, James Reyne on the 14th September. Dates will soon be announced for Dragon, Ross Wilson and many more.

Tickets for Jon Stevens are available from the venue for $33 show only and $65 two course dinner and show.

MILANOS BRIGHTON BEACH HOTEL
4 The Esplanade, Brighton ph: 9592 3555

More info to come!

Cheers,

xKaren

Hey Everyone,

I’m excited to announce that Minnie Wood’s new single for Jeans 4 Genes is on sale at hmv and through www.jeans4genes.com.au! Minnie has produced an awesome cover of The Police song ‘Message In A Bottle!’ Some fabulous Melbourne Rock Chix backed Minnie up including: Della Harris on backing vocals, Christine Carley on bass, Nat Allison on guitar and Tanya Cavanagh on drums.

The rock version was recorded & produced by Jimi Maroudas and the remix was produced by Pete Goodwin from Red Light Disco. Both versions are up for you to have a listen at Minnie’s my space page www.myspace.com/minniewood.

You can suport the excellent work of Jeans For Genes by buying ‘Message In A Bottle’ via www.jamm4genes.com.au website for $9.95 incl. postage and handling, and its up on www.itunes.com . It’ll also be available in HMV Bourke St Store in Melbourne from Monday July 30!

So go gedda copy and rock out with the Minnie and the ladies to support this excellent cause!

xKaren

Dear ZOOPHYTE Peoples,

ZOOPHYTE EP LAUNCH: “ANOTHER POINT OF VIEW” AT THE PRINCE OF WALES!

Zoophyte’s eclectic blend of roots, funk and rock has seen their emergence as one of the most progressive, exciting bands to evolve from Melbourne’s burgeoning indie scene. Their latest EP Another Point of View is hands down their best, showcasing the funkin’ rockin’ sound that audiences all around Australia are growing to love and highlighting Zoophyte’s flair for fusing lilting bluesy ballads, funky horn laden toe-tappers and balls-out guitar tracks!

Fresh off the road from their pre-release national tour which included the Make Poverty History benefit gig, Zoophyte will be officially launching Another Point of View at The Prince of Wales in Melbourne on Friday July 20th with friends Bonjahbango (NZ) and Dave Mann (WA).

Zoophyte is Cam Lee (vox, 6 & 12 string guitar, didge, percussion), James Johnson (guitar), Yiorgo Sgourakis (bass), James Majernik (drums) and occasional guest Andy Lee (vox, trumpet).

Sporting phat grooves, melodies that get stuck in ya head and punchy percussive breakdowns you won’t see coming, Zoophyte’s live show is STOMPIN’!

Doors at 8.30pm.
Tickets $13+BF – Available from the venue or online at www.princebandroom.com.au

For more details see www.myspace.com/zoophyteband or www.zoophyteband.com

See you at the Prince!

x Karen