Brent 'Heart Breaker' Staker- What's he like?

"Snag Central" just hanging out the dirty laundry.

Fresh from the magazine cover of Cleo, Brent Staker plays his 150th AFL game this weekend. A great effort after a rough few years & a couple of knee reconstuctions.  Stakes is a regular in the social pages and for good reason, this dreamboat is one of Brisbane's finest bachelors.

Plenty of his time is spent in the Lions gym and the man loves pumping his tunes,  let's see what he likes -

Who's your favourite artist? All time is Michael Jackson and Rolling Stones. At the moment Daft Punk 'Instant Crush' has my attention.

Pop song stuck in your head? 'Hello' by The Stafford Brothers

Do you listen to music before games? Yeah but nothing in particular.... I just let songs play out.

To pump up or relax? To pump up I'll listen to Def Leopard "Pour some sugar on me" and to chill out Frank Ocean or The Beach Boys.

Any musical talents? Nope not a musical bone in my body.

Did you do any music at school? I was in the school choir for Year 9 and 10.

What radio station do you listen to?  B105

Karaoke song? 'How do you do'... Roxette.

Your thoughts of my musical taste? It's really random but very interesting mix. Always something new but the on the flip side you enjoy the golden oldies.

If there was only one song you could listen to for the rest of your life, what would it be? Cat Stevens 'Father and Son'.

Oh what a snag!

Kicking goals on & off the field 

Thanks heaps Stakes. I can't wait to see the banner for Saturday nights game.

Splendour in the Grass: Preview

 Splendour starts tomorrow in Byron Bay and has another killer line-up. The guys from Village Sounds seem to do it every year!

 While I'm in Adelaide trying to knock over Port Power  in our most important game of the season the likes of Mumford and Sons, The National, Frank Ocean and TV On The Radio will be rocking out to 30,000 punters.

Of the 90 bands playing over the 3 days, I will give you a hand so you are not overwhelmed with choices.

-As a general rule always go International acts before local ones. At festivals you are always going to have clashes.You are a better chance to see the local acts again but it may be the last opportunity you ever get to see the International act.

Friday:

Must See:

Mumford & Sons
Darwin Deez
Haim
Robert Delong
Waaves

Clashes:

Portugal,The Man vs Boy & Bear (Portugal)
Baby Shambles vs You Am I ( Baby Shambles)
TV On The Radio vs Matt Corby (TV On The Radio)
Klaxons vs Architecture in Helsinki (Klaxons)

Mumford & Sons will close Friday night.

Saturday:

Must See:

The National
Flume
Bernard Fanning
Empire Of The Sun
The Polyphonic Spree(Doing 'Rocky Horror Show')
Cold War Kids
Vance Joy

Clashes:

Jagwar Ma vs Violent Soho (Jagwar Ma)
Jake Bugg vs Chet Faker ( Jake Bugg)
Cloud Control vs MS MR (MS MR)

The Tough Call:

Flume vs The National.

 Both killer acts.The National are the International, so on my theory they get the win but I know Flume will be dropping some new tunes, so its not one you wanna miss. Flip a coin.

Sunday:

Must see:

Frank Ocean
Of Monsters & Men
James Blake
Everything Everything
Passion Pit
Snakadaktal
The Jungle Giants
Little Green Cars

Clashes:

The Presets vs Laura Marling ( two different genres- whatever floats your boat)
James Blake vs You Am I ( James Blake)
Mystery Band vs Hermitude ( Alt -J was named as the Mystery band- Dont miss them)
Gurrumul vs The Rubens ( The Rubens)
Fidlar vs The Bamboos ( Fidlar)
Alpine vs Surfer Blood ( Surfer Blood)

Here is my Splendour playlist on Spotify to get you pumped and ready. Or it can just remind you what you're missing out on!

Have a good weekend.

In the Industry: Billy Russell Channel [V]

The [V] crew

Billy Russell is a music lover, presenter on Channel [V] and a mad Collingwood supporter.

Even though Billy does support the Magpies he's still a good bloke and has the inside word on the latest from the music industry.

Billy who is your favourite player?

My favourite player of all time is Tarkyn Lockyer. He was my absolute idol growing up. To me, Tarkyn was living proof that little dudes could match it with the big fellas out on the footy field. He was hardworking, consistent and a real unsung hero amongst a lot of the showier players running around in black and white at the time. I still beam a little when I see him on TV alongside the coaching staff.


Did you ever play?

My relationship with football is a lot like my relationship with music: one defined by a spectatorship where I sit on the sidelines and offer my uninvited and often unwanted criticism. This is a nice way of saying I can’t play either for shit, but that I’m very vocal about both. 

Which band is killing it at the moment?

I reckon there’s a heap of good stuff coming out of Melbourne at the moment, but my favourite is probably Dick Diver. Their first album came from nowhere to define my 2011, and their follow-up effort, Calendar Days, is doing similar things for me this year. I don’t know what it is about them, but there is something incredibly special about their odes to suburban Australia and that state of being all sad and mopey in your late twenties. Plus, Steph Hughes’ songbird voice just slays me. Definitely a band on top of their game.



Which band would win the NAB rising star?

I’m pretty enamoured with The Preatures right now. That new single, Is This How You Feel?, is one of those rare pop gems that literally stopped me in my tracks when I first heard it. These guys have such a bright future. 

Runners-up: Parquet Courts, Standish/Carlyon, Courtney Barnett. 



What gig you looking most forward to this year?

Like pretty much everyone else, I’m on board the Frank Ocean train. I can’t wait to swoon and carry on when he brings the live set to Splendour and its sideshows. I’m also pretty pumped to see TV On The Radio again. They’re a band that is incredibly important to me and their gigs never disappoint.  

Wonderwall or bitter sweet symphony ?

Wonderwall for the song, Bitter Sweet Symphony for the video.

Smells like teen spirit or killing in the name of?

Ooh, controversial! I totally get Smells Like Teen Spirit’s cultural significance and influence blah blah blah… but I’m a Killing In The Name man. It’s just so angry, defiant, and totally unifying. We cranked this track at my mum’s 50th birthday party and even my Maltese nanna who can barely speak English was screaming “Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me!”. I reckon we’ve all got a bit of rebellion somewhere in us; it just takes a badass track like this to unlock it.

Who's your pick for the GF?

I’d love it to be a Pies/Swans grannie, and I don’t think it’s completely out of the question (however unlikely it may seem). After relocating from Melbourne to Sydney a few years ago, I’ve been faced with an onslaught of dumb Swans fans who look for any chance to put me in my place (and who had a great opportunity after last year’s Prelim). Oh, how sweet it would be to hit them where it hurts this year.

Do you like Bucks as a coach?

Yes. Next question.

Billy "Belieber" Russell

Hey thanks so much mate, keep up the good work and keep the dream alive, clubs are always looking for mature recruits. And on that budding music career, you can always become a DJ. 

Stay Rad.

Joely Patfull- What's he like??

Joely 'Porky' Patfull played his 150th game on the weekend, a great achievement for someone who was given 'the arse' from Chocco Williams at Port Adelaide. No one is happier then myself that he was, Joely has had my back for most of my career, he's ever reliable & one of the most underrated players in the competition. 

He's also one of the coaches favourites. Vossy is always saying how he loves when Joely 'puts blokes to bed' ... oh wait that doesn't sound right??

Anyway let's see what Porky's music taste is like - 

Who's your favourite artist of all time?  Taking Back Sunday

 Who is it at the moment?  The Rubens

What pop song gets stuck in your head? 'Alive' from Empire of the Sun

Do you listen to music before games? Yeah man to get me pumped up.

Have you got any musical talents? Playing guitar badly. Ahh nice, ever started a band?  I started a band with my mate from school in Year 10 for about 2 weeks. 

Radio Station of choice?  Triple J 

Whats your Karaoke song?  Jessie's Girl. 

Whats your thoughts on my music taste? 'Right on', you're always listening to the new cool band before anyone's heard of them. Very diverse taste. Real hipster. 

If there was only one song you could listen to for the rest of your life it would be? Scar Tissue from Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

Putting another one to bed

   Thanks again mate, be good to finally join you out there again sunday.

                             

Warner Music new music- Portugal. The Man - Evil Friends

Portugal. The Man - Evil Friends is the latest from the guys that brought us 'So American'.



So American was one of my top tracks in 2011 but their new release 'Evil Friends' is a much more up tempo, with help from producer Danger Mouse (the tall dude on the keys from Gnarls Barkley) this is one of the albums of the year.





They are coming to Oz for Splendour in the Grass, be sure to catch one of their sideshows if you are not lucky enough to see them at Splendour. I'm spewing I'll miss these guys when they are in town.

Here is their next single 'Atomic Man.' A trippy film clip and a little hard to watch but its another cracking tune.

Enjoy!

@ The Tivoli : The Rubens

This band of brothers have become Australia's golden boys of rock very quickly. Lead singer Sam Margin oozes charisma and is a real lady pleaser. 

Highlights were the cover of The Roots song 'The Seed' and their classics My Gun, Lay It Down and The Best We Got.

Fun Fact: Lead Guitarist Zaac Margin has no fingers on his right hand, what a great effort.

Be sure to see these boys next time they are in town.  

The lads are quality and will be rocking the Aussie music scene for years to come.

@ The HiFi Bar: The Bronx

Its been a few years since I've seen a punk band. I spent my youth listening to Millencolin. NOFX, Unwritten Law & Strung Out but nothing of that ilk lately... Boy have I been missing out!

 The Bronx have been rocking for 12 years now & have not lost any of their energy. I haven't seen a mosh or crowd surfing like that since the Vans Warped Tour 99'. Its awesome that it still allowed to exist.

Frontman Matt Caughthran demands the crowds full attention and participation. Even the Energizer bunny would run dead trying to keep up with him. He is a classic frontman.

My ears were ringing for days after this concert but it was well worth it. No wonder I couldn't hear the umpires yelling at me on the weekend....