What started as a solo project for small-town singer, Jamila Grace transformed over the pandemic into GRXCE, an indie rock band comprised of university classmates and strangers plucked from Facebook. We caught up with the band ahead of their show at The House of Music and Booze this Friday.

How has the response to your new single been? Tell us a bit about the song and what it means to you.

It has been overwhelming how beautiful the response has been! This song is super personal to our lead singer as it directly relates to her childhood and how she grew up with separated parents. Something super personal like this is so hard to put out into the world so seeing people love that is very heart warming.

The band have stormed the Sydney scene in the last few years and have gathered a large amount of support through consistent gigs and releases.

One thing we’ve noticed about the band is the huge gig hustle, how has it been playing so many shows? 

It’s one of our favourite things to do! We always strive to sound as good live as we do on recordings. We like to see people groovin’ along and getting into the songs and we absolutely love interacting with everyone afterwards. We wouldn’t have it any other way!

Your show at The House is this weekend, what can punters expect?

Think head banging, toe tapping, Jam making some horrible dad jokes, shedding a tear under a disco ball kinda vibes.

What’s next for GRXCE?

We will be hitting up the entire East Coast for our tour after this show but we also have so much fresh material that we cannot wait to release. 2023 has so much in store, we’d like to say it’s the year of GRXCE haha.

Make sure to grab tix to their show this Friday night here!

BACK FOR ROUND 2# AT THE HOUSE OF MUSIC & BOOZE!

How good was our Christmas Edition of Country & Inner Western? So bloody good!! So bloody good that we have decided to lineup another big Sunday at The House of Music & Booze in a couple weeks time!

This time our friends Sweet Talk, that mucked up their schedules for the December edition, have tripled-checked their planners and locked in flights for Jan 29th.

Melbourne’s very own southern boogie lords are whiskey bent on one thing, and one thing only – to play rollicking “good time” music to the masses! Already renowned for their high-energy live shows across the country, readily whipping unsuspecting punters into frenzied states of boogie and unabashed song at the drop of a cowboy hat. We are pumped to see them back in Sydney and beyond excited to have them playing C&IW for the first time!

On main support duties is the incomparable inner west golden girl Lady Lyon and her band. Coming off the back of a big ol’ east coast tour of her most recent release ‘Texas Golden’, Hayley and her band are ready to give you a toe-tappin’ heart beatin’ bloody good time….and you will probably see them on the decks getting the party started later in the night as well!

This week we were lucky to get an insight into what makes Sydney favs Salarymen tick, and how they feel about the Australian music scene right now, ahead of their annual Christmas show at The Vic on the Park. Take a read below!

Salarymen have ended their year with a bang, after a calender jam packed with shows, the band have managed to release an incredible 5-track EP ‘Head in the Sand’.

Tell us a little bit about your new EP and what inspired it?

“This collection of songs was born from a rollercoaster of emotions – written partly during lockdown, and partly as we emerged. For example, we wrote ‘Summer’s Coming’ when Spring was just around the corner and the world was opening up. The lyrics reflect on us yearning for a simpler time, where the biggest thing on our mind is what beach we’re going to, and where to find a cold beer. Conversely, we wrote ‘Rerun’ smack bang in the middle of lockdown, when we were desperate to just feel something, and have something to look forward to.”

The live music scene in Australia is in a weird state of post-pandemic exhaustion. From zero gigs one month to one-hundred the next, the live landscape is still finding its feet in certain respects.

As a very active band in the Sydney music scene, how do you feel about the current state of live music around your city and beyond?

It could definitely be better in Sydney, particularly in terms of the number of smaller venues and the types of events that you’re allowed to legally hold. It seems like other cities are teeming with live venues and their restrictions aren’t as tough. If it works there, it can work here. Nevertheless, we’re really grateful for all the venue managers who’ve stuck it out just like us through tough times!

Moreover, the international scene seems to be finding its own way back to life as well which is amazing to see. Salarymen recently toured Japan.

You recently toured Japan, how was that?

An insane amount of fried chicken and beer was consumed!! It was one of the best experiences we’ve ever had as a band. The Japanese audiences were super attentive and lovely, and the venue managers took us out after the shows and made sure we felt very loved.

As with every MBC Chats, we gotta have a cracking show to follow. Salarymen take on the Vic this weekend for a Saturday night of Christmas cheer!

Your Christmas show at the Vic is fast approaching, what can punters expect? 

Silly season is upon us! There’s nothing merrier than a singalong inside a pub, and we promise you’ll know the words to one of our covers ☺️ It’s our tradition to play the Vic each year in December as that’s where our first ever gig was. Always a great time and a fun audience, and it’s totally free. Make sure you come down and catch The Brights as well, who will be playing alongside us.

Homelessness affects over 116,000 Australians daily, and frankly that sucks. Neighbourhood Xmas is about giving back to a community that cares for us. Velvet Futon are throwing a Christmas bash to showcase the local Sydney music scene, strengthen community and raise a bit of dosh on the side for a neighbourhood institution.

100% of profits raised from this event will go to supporting the Newtown Neighbourhood Centre to help continue their amazing work in creating a more vibrant, connected and equitable community.

We were lucky enough to chat with the man spearheading the whole thing, an event we’re very luck to be a part of.

1. What’s the story behind Neighbourhood X-Mas? Give us a little insight into what it means to you..

Neighbourhood X-Mas is kind of born from these events called Shake It Up that I used to put on. They were in collaboration with Shake It Up Foundation and was all about raising funds and awareness towards Parkinson’s Research. Something that is close to my family. We attempted to pull one off in between lockdowns but we unfortunately fell foul of the pandemic.

I think it’s really important to support, promote and acknowledge the community around you and all its different facets. Homelessness affects some 116,000 people in Australia daily and this can be particularly prevalent and tough around the Christmas/holiday period. Newtown Neighbourhood Centre do such incredible work in helping to create a vibrant and equitable community, so Neighbourhood Xmas spawned out of wanting to look a bit closer to home, whilst raising awareness for something that affects a wider scope.

I wanted it to be about the all-encompassing factors of mental health, substance/alcohol abuse, domestic violence and the many contributing factors that may lead to people sleeping rough. We organised it and chose the NNC as the beneficiary for this event, it just seemed like a perfect fit.

Neighbourhood Xmas’ line-up is absolutely stacked full of some of our favourite local acts, including Big Wheels, Organs and more.

2. The line-up is absolutely amazing, what were your thoughts whilst curating this one?

Thanks! We’re really stoked with this line-up. Curating this was a wish list of bands we’d love to see, love to play with and have just generally been loving their output. It can be hard because that wish list is full of bands who are keeping busy and having their own run, which in itself is amazing, so locking down a line-up is tumultuous.  I can’t thank the bands who have agreed to play enough.

I think that it’s easy to be really tough on the Sydney music scene. To point out the many reasons why it’s hard or the powers that be that push back on a vibrant culture. We’ve almost been formatted to think that way. It may take a moment to deconstruct the negative, but we have a very active music scene with some INCREDIBLE bands.

3. How can people support the Newtown Neighbourhood Centre outside of coming to the show? And what do you hope people take away from the event?

Our event is one of many ways. We are fundraising on behalf of the Newtown Neighbourhood Centre. The NNC themselves are consistently putting on great neighbourhood events or discussions, not to mention their work with the Newtown Festival. Best bet is visit https://www.newtowncentre.org/ where you can check out the Support Us page which has options to donate or volunteer. They also keep their campaigns & events updated there too.

My hope for people attending this event is that they have a really, really fun time. That they respect the beauty of a safe space in which to let yourself go. But I also hope they might recognise the privilege we have in being able to attend these events actively and support the community this way. That it’s important to pause and respect the many different situations we are all in.

4. What’s on the horizon for your band, Iain T. McKelvey and the Midnight Tangos next year?

I’m both excited and daunted about the prospect of next year. I tend to get wrapped up in the what ifs as opposed to the right nows. We have been putting in A LOT of work as a band to build something we are really proud of. We’ve got some recordings & studio time on the horizon for a set of new songs, an EP,  that will hopefully open up some exciting paths for us. We’re kind of nodding to what we’ve released but looking to take the safety restraints off a bit and explore. It also looks like we’ll be taking the Midnight Tangos show on the road with some interstate shows that we’re really excited about – but I might keep those cards close for now 😉 We’re also looking to make Neighbourhood Xmas a continuing thing.

Make sure to grab your tickets for Neighbourhood Xmas now, before they run out!

We have another rippin’ week of shows coming up. Delivered to you weekly, here’s your shipment of the freshest gigs in town as chosen by our staff.

Friday – Dead Witch EP Launch – Waywards

It’s fair to say that Dead Witch has played a big part in the revival of big-riff, fuzzy rock ‘n’ roll here in Sydney, and seem to have a lot of fun doing it. We’re very lucky to be hosting Dead Witch on the 18^th at Waywards. It’s always a special moment seeing the five-piece grace the stage and captivate audiences.

Friday – Jess Cornelius – The House of Music and Booze

Now based in LA, Jess Cornelius was born and raised in New Zealand before moving to Melbourne, Australia, where she released three critically acclaimed albums as Teeth & Tongue, receiving nominations for the Australian Music Prize and a J-Award in 2016. She has performed the world over playing alongside Courtney Barnett, Ty Segall, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and Paul Kelly as well as at Meredith Music Festival, Laneway Festival, Falls Festival. SXSW and CMJ.

Saturday – Johnny Hunter – Paddo RSL

An office favourite, and someone that is on high rotation on all of our playlists, Johnny Hunter. Saturday night at Paddo RSL with local heartthrobs Mac the Knife. This will be one of the shows of the year as they close out their album cycle with these encore shows across the country. Get in quick on tix because they are flying.

Saturday – PANIA – Golden Age Cinema

If you’re looking for something a little different, PANIA at Golden Age is your top choice. Despite being in the infant stages of her career, Pania’s vision has always been global. Raised in the cultural melting pot of West Melbourne, the singer took inspiration from her Maori and Indian heritage, fusing it with the fiery desire to achieve bigger and better things. RSVP is super limited and is first in best dressed.

All tickets and info can be found here!