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THE WPA TRAIN COMES TO A HAULT
AFTER A HUGE MONTH OF SELL OUT SHOWS
Well, there it was. A huge month of shows around the country with our good buddy Ron Hawkins in tow as well as a bunch of very fine bands in each state helping us out. Every show was memorable for its own reason and boy did we have a blast. Thanks to everyone who came out and saw a show, it was great to see so many familiar faces (and some new ones) and to catch up with a load of people we hadn't seen for years. It was fitting to be able to finish up the Australian leg of the tour with five huge sweaty nights in Richmond, the traditional home of WPA and what fun nights they were. As we speak we are gearing up for the last hoorah this Friday night (Anzac Day) at the Astoria II in London. Joined by our good mates The Go Set, I predict a bit more fun is still left to be had. See below for ticket info and details on this show.
We at the WPA camp would like to say a big thank you to the amazing Danny Rogers and Leesa Ellem for pulling this monster together with such professionalism and grace and to all the tireless behind the scenes workers who contributed as well, Katie, Stacey, Bubbsy... it's been a pleasure and we couldn't have done it without you. And of course to anyone who came to a show... Chonk On indeed.
CORNER HOTEL LIVE BOOTLEG
BOUGHT TO YOU BY NEW FOUND FREQUENCY
WPA's triumphant return to the Australian music limelight has sadly come to a close with an unprecedented series of shows at The Corner Hotel in Richmond. History was made with their five night residence and New Found Frequency were there to capture it. That's right, WPA is pleased to announce that they have created an exclusive *Artist Controlled Bootleg of the Wednesday April 16th show. For those who attended on the 16th, NFF recorded and instantly delivered a recorded 'bootleg' CD immediately after the show which then remained on sale for the following four nights at The Corner. It is a single disc comprising of 70+ minutes of audio (encore may be omitted). The first 1,000 pre-sales have been signed by the band themselves so get yours early!
Click on the cover (left) for more info..
MICK THOMAS & THE SURE THING
WELCOMES BACK MICHAEL BARF BARCLAY..
For those who may have noticed Michael Barclay behind the drums again with The Sure Thing recently (and how could you not), this is largely due to the fact that Al Barden has decided to take some time off and concentrate on being a dad to the beautiful Bea Barden.
It is with sadness that we wave him goodbye but also with many great memories of laughs, tears and mighty fine shows with Al on board. We welcome back Barf with open arms and look forward to the next year of Sure Thing gigs up and down and around the country once the 2008 WPA beast is finally put to bed.
For those wanting to contact Sure Thing Management for any gig or general enquiries, we would like to formally announce that Carmel Nunan is no longer in the directors chair.. for all enquiries at present, please email The Office Of Sure Things.
Sure Thing tour dates will be up on the tour page very soon. See you at a show!
RON HAWKINS HEADS BACK TO TORONTO
LEAVING BEHIND A BUNCH OF NEW FRIENDS..
After a 15 year recording career, Ron Hawkins (Canada) has finally had one of his fine records (Chemical Sounds) released in Australia and has just completed a month-long Australian tour as very special guest on the WPA reunion jaunt. Ron has spent much of his career fronting Lowest Of The Low, a fine, passionate, lyrical rock band from Toronto who released two incredible albums in the 90's and have since been inducted into the Canadian Rock'n' Roll Hall Of Fame. WPA fans will no doubt recognize Ron's song, Rosy & Grey, a long-time WPA cover fave. He managed to win over Australian crowds where-ever he went playing some blinder shows both solo and with the help of WPA as his backing band. WPA and Ron go back a long way and the band were very excited to have him along to help out on such a big, emotional, whirl-wind of a tour. Hopefully we can coax him to come out again soon as he managed to make a truck-load of new friends and win the respect of music fans all over the country and it was very sad to see him go.
RJH, we salute you.
For those who forgot to pick one up at a show, the Australian release of Ron Hawkins' fantastic new album, Chemical Sounds is out now and available through Croxton Records.
BILLY BRAGG A SURE THING..
Mick and the Sure Thing are on board for the east coast leg of the 2008 Australian Billy Bragg tour in January. The shows are The Great Northern in Byron Bay Tuesday 22nd Jan, The Metro in Sydney Saturday 26th Jan, and Wednesday 30th and Thursday 31st of Jan at the Prince Of Wales Hotel in St Kilda. Billy has been gracing our shores for many years now, even singing for the first generation of Big Day Out goers in 1996, each tour always impressive and leaving no-one doubting that he is a force to be reckoned with. The tour is presented by RRR and tickets go on sale on Monday 10th December at Polyester Records, Readings St Kilda, the Prince Of Wales and Ticketmaster Phone: 136100 & online at www.ticketmaster.com.au.
NEW WEDDINGS, PARTIES, ANYTHING DVD..
"Weddings, Parties, Anything began life in Melbourne in late 1983 finishing up at the end of 1998. In those fifteen years they traveled the globe, developing a huge loyal following of fans through the high energy live performances and regular releases. In the later part of their career, live shows would sell out in hours and single night shows became week long residencies. The band hung up their boots knowing they'd had a great run.
Coaxed back together in 2005 for a charity event, the band soon realized that the magic and the fun was still there, so when a performance at the 2006 Queenscliff Festival was mooted, it seemed like a good idea to do the show and get it on film as there had never been a DVD of the band. The result is a fantastic record of the Weddos in their element thrilling a large crowd with yet another frenetic live performance featuring all their old favourites. Add to this a complete collection of all the WPA film clips and the rare short film Roaring Days, and this is the definitive Weddings Parties Anything release."
Madman Entertainment / Nov 2007
The WPA DVD is available for purchase at Mick's live shows or online now, see the WPA Page...
MICK HOPS IN THE INTERVIEWER'S CHAIR
Check out the second installment of Mick's Song For Song interviews with Darren Hanlon. They run for around 10 minutes, the idea being that you get to hear a bit about the band in question, Mick will play along with one of their songs, then the artist in question will reverse the interview on Mick and look at one of his songs and have a play. Loads of fun. Stay tuned for more...
copyright 2008 Mick Thomas / website design FIN GRAPHICS
  
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