Rolling Stone Australia November 2015

For Chris’s Sake CONSIDERING HOW MANY burn-outs never came out the other side of the Seattle grunge explosion, it’s encouraging to see that Chris Cornell has remained sane and healthy – if only Cobain, Layne Staley, Andrew Wood etc had possessed some of the same intestinal fortitude. Glenn Saari, Goulburn, NSW READING THE FEATURE ON Chris Cornell, I was struck by something when I saw the photo of him interviewing Jimmy Page. Surely Sound-garden are my generation’s Led Zeppelin, right? Cornell is up there with Robert Plant for ball-tearing wailing, and Kim Thayil is a monster on the guitar. Just putting it out there. Dan West, Downer, ACT Where In the World Is Eric Clapton? ERIC CLAPTON, THE MAN, the legend, inspiration to many, where is he now? After his…

WRAP-UP LIVE LODGE 2015 ALL ACCESS PASS Our bespoke pop-up venue is back in Sydney for three massive weeks of live music. Catch up on the wrap-ups and watch exclusive behind-the-scenes coverage, including galleries, interviews and live videos. WATCH JAMIE LAWSON LIVE AT THE RS OFFICE The British singer impressed Ed Sheeran so much that he signed him to his label. He plays live for RS. EXCLUSIVE HEAR DAN KELLY’S NEW ALBUM FIRST We’re streaming Australia’s favourite Paul Kelly-related songsmith’s new record in its entirety. Hear it first! VIDEO AT HOME WITH MAC DEMARCO ROLLING STONE spent a fun day with the rising indie-rock star at his house in Rockaway, Queens. DeMarco is playing Falls Festival this New Year. POLITICS THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MALCOLM Now that he’s had time to…

Heavy Dose of Rock AC/DC brought a new line-up and new songs to New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium for their Rock or Bust tour, which will hit Australia in November and December. PALE EMPERORS Tourmates Billy Corgan and Marilyn Manson made a scene at a SiriusXM event in Chicago. Why the nun outfit? “Easiest answer would be to say, ‘Nun comment’,” says Manson. WHAT’S IN A SHIRT? At Bigsound, Peter Garrett donned a “With Goodesy” T-shirt. All proceeds from sales of the shirts go to the Go Foundation. HELLBENT FOR LEATHER St. Vincent gave a shout-out to the “freaks, queers and dominatrixes” at San Francisco’s Outside Lands festival – and covered a snippet of Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus”. FLEA’S BEES The Chili Peppers bassist has a new hobby: his “beautiful little…

‘LOUDER!” SAYS KEITH RICHARDS, raising his index finger as he peers into a sound booth at New York’s Electric Lady Studios. Soon, “Crosseyed Heart”, a raw Delta-blues stomp, blares from the speakers. The room is filled with the sound of Richards’ fingerpicked acoustic guitar and familiar growl as he sings about juggling two lovers at once (opening line: “I love my sugar, but I love my honey too”). Richards, looking stadium-ready in a snakeskin jacket, is holding a listening session for Crosseyed Heart, his first solo album since 1992’s Main Offender, which was recorded with his band the X-Pensive Winos. Crosseyed Heart is a more intimate album: Richards played the majority of the instruments himself, and showed off his musical personalities – including hard-luck rock & roll (“Trouble”, “Something for…

WHEN HE SCREWS UP THE opening verse to “Wasn’t Expecting That”, Jamie Lawson chuckles quietly, apologises to the audience at his Nova 96.9 Red Room Global Tour gig and begins the song anew. “Usually no-one knows my songs so I can get away with that,” he confesses. Those gathered inside Dublin’s Whelan’s pub are in on the joke. A hit single in Ireland in 2011, the bitter-sweet “Wasn’t Expecting That” has been newly classified double platinum in Australia, turning the 39-year-old singer-songwriter, largely unknown in his native England, into an unlikely pop star. But if Lawson sounds humbled by this most slow-burning of ‘overnight’ successes, for his most high-profile champion, cheering on from side-stage, it’s an overdue vindication of the singer’s talent. “Jamie’s ready for this,” says Ed Sheer-an, saluting…

WHEN VIOLENT SOHO RE- leased Hungry Ghost in 2013, their gameplan was simple. “We got some time off work and presumed we’d do the one album tour,” says guitarist James Tidswell. “Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, back to work.” Such was the success of their third LP – it was certified Gold in September last year – that the initial run of shows grew to nearly two years’ worth of dates, before the band finally brought the touring cycle to a close last December with a triumphant gig in Mansfield. After a few months off, during which frontman Luke Boerdam holidayed in Europe, the Brisbane quartet regrouped in May to listen to the songs the singer (and main songwriter) had begun piecing together during the Hungry Ghost tours. If there was any…