The News Review:
- British by night in LA
- Meet Beth Ditto: the coolest woman on the planet
- Rise Against – Gig Reviews – Music – Entertainment – smh.com.au
British by night in LA
Los Angeles Times – Nov 23, 2006
Rex would come and hang out. The club closed down at the end of 1975 but Bingenheimer got his shot on radio in 1976 just as a new genre of music called “punk” was exploding in Britain. At a time when most American DJs were playing Boston and Aerosmith Bingenheimer was spinning the Sex Pistols. In the early 1980s KRQ opened its airwaves to English bands such as Duran Duran Depeche Mode and the Cure- still prime draws in this city- along with kindred American spirits like Devo and ingo Boingo. ut in radio land a gang of kids followed along to a palette that included punk post-punk new wave early goth and industrial. ne of them was ?-promoter Jason Lavitt who created Club Bang! with Cafe Bleu’s originators Piper Ferguson and Shalyce Benfell.
Meet Beth Ditto: the coolest woman on the planet
Independent – Nov 23, 2006
Beth is a larger-than-life lesbian activist from the Deep South. During childhood she recalls being so poor she had to eat squirrels. But now her punk band Gossip is on the verge of completing a rags-to-riches journey to the dizzy heights of global stardom. In recent days Beth has been compared to Aretha Franklin Janis Joplin and Debbie Harry. The New Musical Express describes her as a future “rock goddess”. Noel Gallagher reckons she’s “fookin’ immense”. At the age of 25 she’s just signed a major record deal and is about to become very very famous… “The refreshing thing about Beth is that she actually stands for something” adds Murison. “She’s one of the first really talented lesbian musicians that we’ve seen for some time. In both her clothes and her music she’s pulling down stereotypes about what lesbian woman should look like and stand for. “Despite her size (at little more than 5ft she weighs in at 15 stone) Ditto is also described as a style icon. “She’s glamorous and sexy and is completely obsessed by clothes. The queer politics as she puts it is also a big thing for her and she’s not afraid to stand up and shout about it. “Success has arrived at a gallop for the Gossip.
Rise Against – Gig Reviews – Music – Entertainment – smh.com.au
Sydney Morning Herald – Nov 23, 2006
“We’re all vegetarians for different reasons and all became soat different times in our lives” says bass player and co-founderJoe Principe. “We’re against the meat industry it’s a f—ed-upindustry. For me personally animal-rights literature which youoften find at punk gigs really opens your eyes to what exactlyhappens to the animals – it’s not very humane. So I don’t like tosupport it. Principe formed Rise Against in 1999 with vocalist Tim McIlrathafter the break-up of their old punk band. Influenced by Chicagounderground bands such as Naked Raygun and the Effigies as much aswest-coast punk and Washington hardcore Rise Against started theircareer as underground darlings. They have since successfully courted a more mainstream audiencewith the melodic polished sound of their past two albumsSiren Song of the Counter Culture (2004) and this year’sThe Sufferer & the Witness which reached the US top10.