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Tarts on Tour # 1: Kylie Memory, Amanda Easton & Alexis Hart
Well the 'Tarts are back after an absolutely exhilarating few weeks in Northern NSW and sunny Queensland. We can feel that this is the start of something big with more and more tarts spreading the popsistas' gospel all around the planet! We met some fabulous people, made new fans, sold CDs, bathed in sunshine, had the obligatory car breakdown and consumed lots of 2 minute noodles and all in all had an absolute blast - watch this space for details of the next one, because there will be many more..but in the meantime check out the foto strips below and what Amanda Easton, Alexis Hart, Kylie Memory and PopStud Adrian Petlevanny got up to on Tarts on Tour # 1! (A review of one of our Brisbane gigs also follows)
(click on the little pix for bigger ones)
Here's a review of one of our tour dates in Brisbane:
POPTARTS@CLUB
ACOUSTICA, The Elephant and Wheelbarrow, 14th JAN 2003 (from www.roomusic.com)
Club
Acoustica has certainly found a niche. While it may not draw in the crowds like
the big electric shows, the audience it attracts are always appreciative and
open to hearing something different. Acoustic playing is often the great
decider, and the artists that share their music here are talented live
performers with very little ego, and love what they do. By Kristen
Veltmeyer
Tonight
is a bit of a treat for the ladies with Amanda Eastons' PopTarts tour coming
into town. She's brought along two of her Sydney cohorts, Kylie Memory and
Alexis Hart for an all girl jam session to show off some of their new material.
Meeting the girls is just like meeting a bunch of mates at the pub; they are
chatty, friendly and keen to discuss their latest projects.
Kylie
Memory takes to the stage first. She is an interesting mix of contradictions;
while in person she is feisty and loud, onstage she has almost a shy,
introverted presence before she starts playing. In fact, she has a quietly
confident glow to her, which she confirms offstage. "I just got
engaged," she smiles. "It's a long story, but he's truly
wonderful."
Her
songs have an open innocence, soul and womanliness. Her EP, Live and unplugged
has an intimacy similar to thumbing through a diary. For an independent release,
it's a very strong effort. "Pure and Free" is a playful starter, and
"Brand New Day" has been stuck in my head for the last week. Dr
Feelgood is where she really lets her guard down, and her voice richoches on the
cd as if she was singing to the bathroom mirror. She works primarily with
guitarist Adrian Petlevany, and the highlight of their collaboration is
"Siren Song". Truly gorgeous. "Live and Unplugged", 4/5
Amanda
Easton is impossible to miss. In fact, me and my friends marvelled at her
fire-engine red hair in a copy of Cosmopolitan a few months back. "It's
brunette naturally," she laughs jovially, "The upkeep is
horrendous!" She is extremely confident and a natural extrovert- which
leads to comparisons of that redhead jazz singer in the latest Bill Murray
movie, Lost In Translation. "It's actually not me, but dammit, it should
have been! I actually did sing over there, in Tokyo, so that's just bizzare. I
have a feeling I'm going to be asked about that a lot." ...and we talk
about PopTarts.
"It
was just networking with a group of like-minded women and making it an event in
Sydney. I brought these two girls on tour with me because I think at the moment
they represent the best cross-section of our little community. Plus, they're
such lovely girls." Easton takes to the stage with a bravado not even 10
rounds of dutch courage could give to a mere mortal. Even sans band tonight, her
experience shows in this acoustic set. Aptly backed by Alexis Hart, the two
trade harmonies whilst Memory accompanies them on bongos. Easton interacts well
with the audience and has her own style, a bit Suze de Marchi in the sultry way
she sings her latest single, "Skin". A cheeky, suggestive little
number, you can check out the saucy video on Australian TV in the next month or
so. She has a spectacular range, but the standout is the catchy
"Celebrity" about craving to be recognised. Clearly this woman thrives
on being onstage and as she comes off, she is beaming with positive energy. "Skin"
(single) 3.5/5
"Alexis
is next", she says. "Look closely... can you see the resemblance to
Julia Roberts?"
I look
over at the part-Greek Hart and shake my head, no, I can't see it. Hart then
turns her head side on and flashes us a grin. Bizzare. It is Julia Robert's
expression, on a different person. Except Roberts could never produce vocals so
haunting they send a shiver down your spine; and shake her groove thing so much
the guys in the front row are almost salivating into their beers.
Lyrically,
she is a little like Jewel- she says it how it is and isn't ashamed to wear her
heart on her sleeve. "I Believe" is a stunning ballad about love lost
and "Shampoo" is defiant in the face of a man who has cheated.
Onstage, she has a presence that reminds me very much of Shakira. She has a
lower vocal register and uses her face, expression and body to tell the story of
her music. It wouldn't matter which language she was singing in, you can
empathise with her smile, her solemn eyes and her passion. ..... There's that
Julia Roberts smile again. I tell her I'm sad she got cheated on but that she
wrote some great songs out of it. "Yeah! They're always good for something,
aren't they. I'm seeing a really lovely guy at the moment, so the next lot will
probably be happier. I just love what I do." Alexis Hart,
"Unplugged", 3.5/5
Project
Winterhaven, a Gold Coast band currently residing in the UK, are finishing act
tonight. They are funky, folky and bluesy, with a lot of Ben Harper/John Butler
style jamming and heaps of energy. They interact well with each other and the
crowd, and the girls watch intently. "They're great, aren't they?"
whispers Memory as they launch into a harder number called "Monkey See,
Monkey Do". Hart's favourite is the rich ballad, "Shooting Star".
Afterwards it's an early night for her and Memory, as they trudge up the stairs
to their hotel room. Easton, however, is ready to go out. We walk down the main
street in Fortitude Valley as her eyes widen. "Is it safe to walk around
here at night?" I assure her it is, as long as you're with at least one or
two other people, preferably tall and male. "I reckon." She bites her
lip, eyeing off a group of goths to our left. "So where's the Mustang
Bar?"
The
place is packed full of the standard Valley crew, assorted skanks and
backpackers that one has come to associate with Wednesday nights. Easton orders
a drink, then sits down to listen to the covers band playing. "I think you
learn a lot by watching other people perform," she muses. "'Celebrity'
was a bit about that. I was watching Australian Idol at the time. There's a
lyric in there- "I wanna be a celebrity, I want to see my face on TV.
Famous for being famous, famous for being me". ..... But I wanted to forge
my own path, which is why I've always gone as an independent artist and had
creative control. I didn't want to have to differentiate between Amanda Easton,
the woman, and Amanda Easton.." (she puts on a cheesy voice) "The
Star."
We dance about to the strains of Jet's "Are You Gonna Be My Girl". Some of the girls look at Amanda with an expression that's hard to describe, a mixture of admiration and envy. She's very comfortable with who she is. Not at all self-conscious, although with hair so red you really couldn't be. A few more songs, and it's time for me to exit stage left. I brace myself for the standard journo-artist handshake, when to my surprise I'm enveloped in a warm hug. "Thanks so much for your time," says Easton. "I really enjoyed myself". Then, with a grin and a flash of that bright red hair, she's off again, dancing with one of the guys we met at the bar. If this is as pretentious as Amanda Easton the Star is, well, I'm afraid there isn't a lot of scandal to unearth.
Tarts on Tour # 1 dates that were - JANUARY 2004: Sat 10 -Tacking Point Tavern, Port Macquarie; Sun 11 - Yamba Golf Club, Yamba; Tues 13 - New Plantation Hotel, Coffs Harbour; Wednes 14 - Elephant & Wheelbarrow, ChinaTown, Brisbane; Sat 17 - Ballina RSL, Ballina; Sun 18 - Wynnum Bay Hotel, Brisbane; Thurs 22 - Canberra Hotel, Lismore; Fri 23 - Beach Hotel, Bryon Bay; Sat 24 - Lennox Point Hotel, Lennox Head; Sun 25 - Shaws Bay Hotel, Ballina + Lennox Point Hotel ; Mon 26 (Australia Day!) - Coffs Harbour Ex-Services Club...then Home!
PopTarts is a weekly music event showcasing the best of female-fronted pop. It has been running very successfully in Sydney for more than two years. Now it's time for the girls to pick up their guitars and hairdryers and head to the sun. January 2004 will see the cream of the PopTart croptake their music on an acoustic tour of NSW and Queensland. They'll perform a show each and then join together in an explosive finale! The 'Tarts on tour are:
Alexis Hart delivers original, passionate pop music in a raunchydynamic style. She’s teamed up with Rex Goh (Air Supply) for this project and since she began her career at age 4 with Johnny Young, has worked with many of the luminaries of themusic world. Her first recording release was with Mushroom Records with two original tracks on ‘Into the Groove’ followed by a track with Central Station for the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras (1993 theme song) ‘Our Way’ from the Laverne & Shirley TV series. She’s performed at major award ceremonies around Australia including the ARIAs and Coca Cola Awards with David Dixon and Merril Bainbridge. She even appeared as a dancer in Peter Andre’s ‘Funky Junky’ film clip. This Pretty Woman often gets mistaken for Julia Roberts and caused quite a stir on her recent tour in Korea during the Soccer World Cup! She’s also sung on records for more than 5 of the world’s biggest selling dance labels and her vocals have been spun by no less than 6 of the world’s top DJs including Steve Hill, Mister Bishi and Shark Boy. Her vocals have spawned two Top 20 UK hits so far. Her recent single with Zander 'What's Up/Never Come Back Down" (Universal) was licensed to 22 territories and on rotation all
over including Nova 969 and 2Dayfm. She’s had countless other recording credits and
been played in some of the most prestigious clubs in the world including UK’s Ministry of Sound, Camden Palace and Brixton Academy; Tokyo’s Code; Sydney’s Home and Gas nightclubs and top venues in Amsterdam, New York, LA, Hong Kong Singapore and cities throughout New Zealand. A project she’s involved in now, managed by Simple Minds' management, is in the midst of a label bidding
war. With all her success so far though, it’s still all about the music and you will see a great performer on stage singing music from the heart.
Kylie Memory is a funk/soul singer who has been writing and performing all of her life. Kylie
plays the guitar, keyboards, percussion and flute – an expansive repertoire to match her changing style and mood. Her influences include Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Me'Shell Ndegeocello, Ella Fitzgerald and James Taylor, however she listens to everything from heavy metal to hip hop to
Mozart. Kylie’s style incorporates all of these influences and with her powerful lyrics, immaculate voice and soulful musicianship she captures the audience and takes them on a journey they enjoy from beginning to
end. Kylie plays all over Sydney and has even played The Basement to a standing ovation!. She's soon to perform as a VJ for 'Beat the Music' Game Show at the Hopetoun Stage at Homebake in Sydney.
Kylie is currently gigging in Sydney at venues including Club Acoustica at Candy’s Apartment, The Lounge, Empire Hotel, Sandringham Hotel, The Roxbury, The Gaelic Club, The Rose, The Excelsior and Fox Studio's Fox & Lion. She recently performed with the ARIA-nominated Charlton Hill and Secret Life of Us' Abi Tucker at the Sydney launch of Care Australia’s Fight Against World Hunger Campaign, where she stole the show and the audience's hearts! She also recently appeared in The Bulletin's profile of 'Very Now' artists. Find out more about this amazing emerging artist at her website:
www.kyliememory.com
A Jessica Rabbit look-alike, flame-haired
Amanda Easton is a powerful live performer and with her band is often described as the new Blondie. She performed with Powderfinger at the 1999 ARIA AWARDS, Candice Alley at the 2003 ARIAsand has been recently touring with multi-platinum artist Wendy Matthews. She also recently performedwith Top 10 artists Vanessa Amarosi and Shakaya as well as Marcia Hines and the UK’s Gareth Gates (Pop Idol). Amanda has released two self-penned pop-rock singles that have both charted in the top ten of the Australian independent (AIR) charts. Her singles have received airplay on major commercial radio and TV including NOVA 96.9, 2Day fm, Rove TV show, the Today Show, Channel V, MTV and regional radio stations Australia-wide. The
‘Liquid M’ remix of her single ‘Falling In’ was recently on high rotation on Sydney’s NOVA 96.9fm.“….a dynamic slice of guitar driven pop…. The power of this track lies with Amanda's impressive vocals which are backed up with a catchy as hell beat and an instantly remembered chorus..pop with substance...offers an edge to anyone fed up with manufactured pop.” MUSIC NETWORK MAGAZINE, reviewing Amanda’s single ‘Celebrity’“A star-filled night... add the very talented Amanda Easton and you would believe that one of those stars had fallen right on the deck … a cross between Natalie Imbruglia and Suze de Marchi.”…Mary Jo, Wentworth Courier.“Amanda wraps her rich tones around a song…that slinks in the room, and rubs itself up against your leg in a delightfully shiver inducing manner… a Pat Benatar of our very own,” Ross Clelland, Drum Media.Find our more about this pop princess at
www.amandaeaston.com
Back to www.amandaeaston.com
