Brad Strut announces national tour

Brad Strut spent the past weekend performing at the Edinburgh Festival in a UK v Oz soundclash with geezers Mark B (producer for Delta’s The Lostralian, but you knew that) and MC Honeybrown. We’re still waiting to hear the results of this global face-off, but in the meantime, the dates for Brad’s long rumoured Australian tour have been revealed. Taking in 12 dates across this great sunburnt country, the list of support acts Strut is bringing with him is almost as exciting as the news that the man himself is touring.

In a neat twist, the Brisbane show gets supports from Melbourne in the form of Hospice Crew/Broken Tooth Entertainment chiefs Ciecmate and New Sense and the undercard for the Melbourne show is Brisbane’s finest: Lazy Grey with Jake and DJ DCE.

Twelve dates of rawness:

Saturday 22nd September @ National Hotel, GEELONG ft TREM with guests FATTY PHEW ft SPIT – $15 on the door.
Sunday 30th September (Labor Day Long Weekend) @ Colonel Light Hotel, ADELAIDE with DAMO ft WORDS, CLANDESTIEN (WA), DJ KANSEL ft BVA, PATTI & CONSEPS, 2BIZ, K21, EVOLVE & PURPOSE – Earlybird tickets $20+bf from Clinic 116 or http://www.venuetix.com.au.
Friday 5th October @ Cape York Hotel, CAIRNS with BUTTAHS THE WORDSMITH, DJ MORPHIX – $20 on the door.
Saturday 6th October @ Exchange Hotel, TOWNSVILLE with THE NORTH WARD (SOLDIERS HILL + SUGAR HEIGHTS), TIPPETT STREET HOUNDS – $15 on the door.
Friday 12th October @ Heat Nightclub, PERTH with CLANDESTIEN, HUNTER, WOLVERINE, DJs ROB SHAKER & DEFYRE. Hosted by HUNTER – $25 from 78 Records, The Butcher Shop and Mill Records, $30 on the door.
Friday 19th October @ The Venue, CANBERRA with DOUBLE & BIG LU. Hosted by SHREKK & TOAD – $20+bf pre-sale through nurcharecords.com, $24 on the door.
Saturday 20th October @ Bar Broadway, SYDNEY with SCOTT BURNS, OVERPROOF, DOUBLE & BIG LU, DJ OLOGY. Hosted by SHREKK & RIVALS – $22+bf pre-sale through nurcharecords.com, $25 on the door.
Friday 26th October @ Hotel Great Northern, BYRON BAY with CIECMATE & NEWSENSE (HOSPICE CREW, VIC), BILLY BUNKS (VIC), STRICKNINE, KINGSKONEKTED, VERB ILL & L FLOWS, DJ BOE- $17+bf from Hotel Great Northern, http://www.byronbayentertainment.com; http://www.oztix.com.au; Music Bizarre Lismore; ABC Centre Balline 02 6686 2436.
Saturday 27th October – The Waterloo Hotel, BRISBANE with CIECMATE & NEWSENSE (HOSPICE CREW, VIC), BILLY BUNKS (VIC), STRICKNINE, KINGSKONEKTED, VERB ILL & L FLOWS, DJ BOE – $20+bf from Rockinghorse, Skinny’s, Butterbeats, Sunflower Music, Moshpit or http://www.oztix.com.au.
Saturday 3rd November @ The Western Port, PHILLIP ISLAND ft TREM with guests TRANQUIL ARTILLERY – $15 on the door.
Friday 9th November @ The Espy, MELBOURNE ft TREM & BOB BALANS, with guests LAZY GREY ft JAKE BIZ & DJ DCE (QLD) and more – $15+bf from This Is It and Obese Records.
Saturday 10th November @ Brisbane Hotel, HOBART with MATTY B (WA), EPC, HEADS OF STATE – $15 from Ruffcut Records.

Planet Asia does Splendour, sideshows, free download!

Download “Comin’ Home” (mp3)
from “Jewelry Box Sessions”
by Planet Asia
Gold Chain Music

• Buy at iTunes Music Store

More On This Album

Cali Agent and chief-jewellery-rocker Planet Asia is hitting Australia for the first time, with five shows scheduled in four days! With a conveniently timed new album on deck (which, if I’m not mistaken, comes less than a year after his last full length, the Evidence-produced The Medicine), Asia brings his rock solid flow and stage presence to Adelaide, Melbourne (free show!), Sydney, Byron’s sold out Splendour in the Grass festival and Brisbane this week. See above to download a track from the new album Jewelry Box Sessions.

Those dates in full:
1st August @ Electric Light Hotel, Adelaide: $20 (or $12 before 9pm). Featuring DJ Sum 1 on the cut and BVA from Mnemonic Ascent.
2nd August @ The Espy, Melbourne: Free! Support from DJ Flagrant, Illy, M-Phazes and One-Sixth. And it’s free!
3rd August @ Bar Broadway, Sydney: $21 on the door/$15 before. Asia joins the 2nd birthday celebrations for ever-busy local label Nurcha. Last Credit launch their album Breakfast of Champions and Def Wish Cast perform.
4th August @ Splendour in the Grass, Byron Bay: The only international hip hop act at this year’s Splendour (though megastars the Hoods and The Herd rep for the homeland), Planet performs what must be an afternoon set at the sold out winter festival before hot-footing it north for:
4th August @ Step Inn, Brisbane: $22.50 presold. Asia rocks the venue formerly known as the Shamrock. Support from DJ Staen 1, Clinic, Stricknine, Proclaim, Nikk C and Kingskonekted.

Jehst to bring Parky, not Asaviour, for SYD, MEL, ADL dates

In what is possibly the most overdue hip-hop tour to Australia ever, the twice-delayed Jehst dates now seem locked in for mid-October. Rumours of a Brisbane date were quickly nixed, but heads in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide will be able to catch the High Plains Drifter aka J-Star aka Billy Brimstone along with DJ Konny Kon and, if the grapevine is correct, Micall Parknsun instead of the previously announced Asaviour.

Holding it down for down under at all shows are Delta the Lostralian and DJ Staen1. Assuming the promoters get the ‘h’ in the right place, all should go smoothly!

Those dates in full:
11th October @ The Manning Bar, Sydney: $35 plus bf. Additional support from The Tongue, Wisdom2th, Dj Ology and Dj Chromek.
12th October @ The Espy, St Kilda: $35 plus bf. Additional support from Low Budget, Dj Kamo, Jolz and Dj Chromek.
19th October @ Fowlers Live, Adelaide: $35 plus bf. Additional support from Roach Scholars, P Body and Dj Chromek.

Check out Micall Parknsun (with a cameo from J-Star) in ‘Dunya’, the single from Jehst’s Underworld Epics production album, which dropped mid-2006 on Low Life.

Jehst on MySpace
Micall Parknsun on MySpace

Elefant Traks news, tour dates

More news from the Elefant Traks camp! Sophomore solo records are due from The Herd’s Unkle Ho (May) and Urthboy (mid 07, produced by Count Bounce of TZU and Elgusto of Hermitude). Unkle Ho’s Roads to Roma was criminally overlooked. Don’t sleep this time!

Astronomy Class, fresh off smiling with one Ms Lily Allen on her recent sideshows, hit the road for a national tour with Mr Savona, pimping the much acclaimed Melbourne meets Kingston record on most dates.

SKOOL DAZE TOUR DATES
Saturday April 7 – The Great Escape Festival, Newington Armory
Saturday April 14 – Shoreshocked Festival, St Leonards Park
Thursday May 3 – Ruby’s Belgrave + Combat Wombat
Friday May 4 – East Brunswick Club + Combat Wombat
Friday May 11 – Beach Rd Hotel, Bondi
Saturday May 12 – Groovin the Moo Festival, Maitland
Saturday May 19 – Republic Bar, Hobart
Sunday May 20 – Lewisham Tavern
Thursday May 24 – Pirate Radio @ Yallah Roadhouse
Friday May 25 – The Red Room, Katoomba
Saturday May 26 – The Annandale Hotel, Sydney + Unkle Ho
Friday June 1 – Three Bears, Dunsborough
Saturday June 2 – The Rosemount Hotel, Perth
Sunday June 3 – Mojo’s, Fremantle
Friday June 8 – Great Northern Hotel, Byron Bay
Saturday June 9 – The Columbian Bar, Brisbane
Sunday June 10 – Solbar, Coolum

Rugged Logic for Akrobatik tour line-up

This has gotta be one of the weirdest US tour packages we’ve seen in a while (and yes, the dead prez/Naughty By Nature/Phrase-helmed ‘Uhuru War-I-Tour’ is still fresh in our minds). You’ve got Akrobatik, who’s on that super-lyrical, conscious, pro-Black shit; you’ve got RA the Rugged Man, who’s on that crazy whiteboy, stab-you-in-your-fuckin’-face-just-for-livin’ shit; and of course Lenny Kravitz lookalike Louis Logic (pictured above) who, as one astute observer pointed out to me, is “basically a fag now” (no Electric Circus-era Common).

And what’s this – Dilated Peoples spin-off Expansion Team Sound System (Rakaa & DJ Babu) on the Adelaide bill too! Nice work…

The tour (which is definitely worth a look, despite its random nature) will be rollin’ through Adelaide and Melbourne (on April 5th and 7th, respectively), with Brisbane and Sydney shows still to be confirmed. Ticket prices look like being in the $40 vicinity at this stage.

Obese Block Party goes national

Obese’s annual showcase of its artists is going national, hitting all state capitals in April and May. Starting in melbourne on 20 April, the roadshow hits Hobart on 21 April, Adeladie on the 27th, Perth on the 28th, then Sydney on 5 May and Brisbane on the 6th.

According to the press release:

The Obese Block Party has been a sold out event for the past 3 years in Melbourne and now because of high demand and repeated requests from interstate, Obese Records have decided to take this legendary showcase national.

Obese artists are renowned for their charismatic stage presence and energetic, skilful sets and a number of acts have been enlisted on this national tour to bring the finest home grown talent to your city, making each night an unforgettable experience.

No word yet on which artists will join the tour. Bias B seems a likely choice, with his new album hitting shelves this week. Muph n Plutnoic and Funkoars may have toured in the last few months, but surely haven’t worn out their welcome. Stay tuned for line-up revelations as they happen.

Obese Records

Roll up the dank and pour the drank

Reports indicate Snoop Dogg has been added to the Good Vibrations line up for Melbourne on February 10 and Gold Coast on February 11. Their official site has yet to mention him, but their MySpace does, proving once again that the web will soon be made obsolete by Rupert Murdoch’s popularity contest.

Supastition dates finalised, Overproof added to Sydney show

The flyer pretty much says it all. Tickets are around the $30 mark.

ITM reports Roots dates.

Inthemix.com.au is sponsoring five dates from The Roots, including the Illadelphians’ appearance at the Blues and Roots Festival in Byron Bay.

The Roots tour dates:
Sat Apr 7 – Byron Bay, East Coast Blues & Roots Festival
Tue Apr 10 – Sydney, Enmore Theatre
Thu Apr 12 – Adelaide, Thebarton Theatre
Fri Apr 13 – Melbourne, The Metro
Sat Apr 14 – Perth, Metro City

While jaded punters in the US have been reporting for a while that ?uesto and Co. are becoming staid on stage, it’s most likely due to repeated exposure that Australia has avoided thanks to the tyranny of distance. There’s no doubt that these (okay)players are one of the hardest touring acts on the rap circuit and worth seeing at least once in everyone’s life.

Support comes from another “live” hip hop group, Melbourne Triple J favourites True Live (that ‘TV’ song).

The Roots website

J-Zone to tour in April.

In what’s shaping up to be a great year for international shows, the Bo$$ Hog Barbarian himself hits these shores in April. Backed on the decks by DJ Sheep (ex-Brisbane, most recently Taipei Ministry of Sound hip hop resident), J-Zone will performing pimpin’ favourites from his catalogue then digging in the gangsta crates (also with Sheep) to bring you what will surely be the most ig’nant DJ set of the year.

Saturday 21 April is confirmed for the Gaelic in Sydney. Melbourne and Adelaide dates to follow.

J-Zone website
DJ Sheep website