Groovalicious Guy Sebastian Fan Thread, Fro Club Options

[Prinia]

another few interviews...

Tony Sweet from LA

iTunes itun.es/i6Jv9J9


and recently

Michael Lynch @mick_lynchy

Awesome having a chat to .@GuySebastian with @danemcguirk this morning. tinyurl.com/bvltgte Looking forward to the Newie gig in June!

you can pick the interview up to the side.

There's an amazing youtube of "Beg" - Guy Sebastian in Concert - not the full song.

and an article

JOHN Farnham has been voted Australia's best singer of all time - by a panel of over 100 Australian singers and musicians.

The result sees Farnham, 63, confirm his status as the singers' singer among his peers.

"Yes he is The Voice and that frickin' TV show full of wannabes ought to find a new name and restore his title," Ross Wilson said.
Singers singled out Farnham for his consistent and effortless range, tone and power in a career that has stretched for decades.

Farnham edged out late AC/DC frontman Bon Scott who was regularly chosen as the best rock singer in Australian history.

"Nobody has done it better since," country star Lee Kernahan noted, with Scott praised for the wit and cheek injected into his voice.

Tina Arena's lengthy reign as one of most acclaimed singers continued by placing at no.3 in the poll. "Technically, she is faultless," observed Anthony Callea.

The Top 10 also contained a few surprises. While the ARIA Awards have been slow to recognise the talents of Australian Idol winner Guy Sebastian, his peers have praised his vocals.

"The guy is a Memphis soul singer in a pop star's body," said Melbourne singer Michael Paynter.

Adelaide's Sia Furler is one of four women in the Top 10, while INXS singer Michael Hutchence joins Bon Scott as another posthumous inclusion in the Top 10.

"Michael was a sassy rock singer who just oozed sex and style," said Daryl Braithwaite.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertain...6610374225which brings Guy in as the 6th best of all time in Australia.

While I personally would disagree with a lot of the listing, I personally would definitely include Guy in the top 10. His voice is getting richer, more resonance (if that's possible) and powerful than ever before. I'm hoping that he's writing with David Ryan Harris as they tour around. I'm sure he would be

The next lot of concerts start Friday April 5th.

[Prinia]

another few interviews...

Tony Sweet from LA

iTunes itun.es/i6Jv9J9
and recently

Michael Lynch @mick_lynchy

Awesome having a chat to .@GuySebastian with @danemcguirk this morning. tinyurl.com/bvltgte Looking forward to the Newie gig in June!

you can pick the interview up to the side.

There's an amazing youtube of "Beg" - Guy Sebastian in Concert - not the full song.

and an article

JOHN Farnham has been voted Australia's best singer of all time - by a panel of over 100 Australian singers and musicians.

The result sees Farnham, 63, confirm his status as the singers' singer among his peers.

"Yes he is The Voice and that frickin' TV show full of wannabes ought to find a new name and restore his title," Ross Wilson said.
Singers singled out Farnham for his consistent and effortless range, tone and power in a career that has stretched for decades.

Farnham edged out late AC/DC frontman Bon Scott who was regularly chosen as the best rock singer in Australian history.

"Nobody has done it better since," country star Lee Kernahan noted, with Scott praised for the wit and cheek injected into his voice.

Tina Arena's lengthy reign as one of most acclaimed singers continued by placing at no.3 in the poll. "Technically, she is faultless," observed Anthony Callea.

The Top 10 also contained a few surprises. While the ARIA Awards have been slow to recognise the talents of Australian Idol winner Guy Sebastian, his peers have praised his vocals.

"The guy is a Memphis soul singer in a pop star's body," said Melbourne singer Michael Paynter.

Adelaide's Sia Furler is one of four women in the Top 10, while INXS singer Michael Hutchence joins Bon Scott as another posthumous inclusion in the Top 10.

"Michael was a sassy rock singer who just oozed sex and style," said Daryl Braithwaite.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertain...6610374225which brings Guy in as the 6th best of all time in Australia.

While I personally would disagree with a lot of the listing, I personally would definitely include Guy in the top 10. His voice is getting richer, more resonance (if that's possible) and powerful than ever before. I'm hoping that he's writing with David Ryan Harris as they tour around. I'm sure he would be

The next lot of concerts start Friday April 5th.

and adding from Melbourne's second sold out show, courtesy of Joes



hoping todays matinee is made into another DVD to be sold later. LOVE his live shows and the tracks from them

[Prinia]

Recent interview by The Writer's Block
Posted by Universal Music Publishing on 10 April 2013

This week The Writer’s Block sits down with the man that boasts more Top 20 Singles than any other artist in Australian history, Guy Sebastian. Read on to hear Guy talk about his new found success in the United States, what it is like to work with Lupe Fiasco, why he calls himself a ‘gear tart’ and even hear the man himself invent a brand new word ‘Genre-cism’.

Battle Scars is now 8xPlatinum in Australia, Gold in the USA and making further waves internationally, when you were writing the song did you ever anticipate that it would become so huge?

Ha! Definitely not. You never do as an artist/songwriter. Sometime you think you have written a smash and no one ends up liking it, so it’s just too hard to pick. I think the moment I suspected we had created something special was when I first saw the video. It just felt like everything came together from the lyrics, the music, beat, visuals etc and it had the most important thing which was a heartbeat.

How did you find the process of working with Lupe Fiasco?
Inspiring. He still inspires me. He's a true artist that isn't in it to make a buck but to leave a mark. We still work together and he is very thoughtful, humble and creative.

It must have been a humbling experience to have an artist of Lupe’s caliber release Battle Scars in the U.S. as his own tune?
Absolutely. If it were me trying to release it as some unknown Aussie, the song wouldn't have had anywhere near the legs it has now under Lupe.

You recently performed ‘Battle Scars’ live in the U.S. on ‘Late Night with David Letterman’ and the song has just hit Gold over there. Without any knowledge of your local success and history how have Americans been reacting to you and your music?
It's weird cause I'm kind of starting again. Letterman was awesome so too was going on shows like Conan, Jimmy Fallon etc. the reaction has been great and generally people are waiting for what's next so my focus is to just write/produce at the moment. I'm giving the TV gig a miss this year.

The follow-up ‘Get Along’ (now 2xPlatinum) has some challenging lyrical themes and features a tempo that isn’t often heard on commercial radio, were you afraid that it was a risky single choice?
Definitely. I released it thinking there’s no way they will play this but I was pleasantly surprised. It didn't really bother me too much cause I just knew I had to get it out. I have had amazing support from radio and it’s not something I take for granted.

Much of ‘Armageddon’ deals with fairly intense subject matter, where did you source your inspiration for the record?

I guess the inspiration was just growing up. Having a kid will do that too. I guess loving someone SO much really brings me to a place where the world can really hurt me. I find myself so protective of my family and my loved ones and so I guess I examine and scrutinize the world we live in more now. After all it’s the world Hudson is going to inherit and it makes me scared to think that there is so much pain and hatred that exists.

It’s funny though, sometimes the up-tempo light hearted song can be equally as powerful. A very sweet lady told me last week that my song "Don't Worry Be Happy" got her through some very dark days and she listened to it daily. The depth of music’s soul always surprises me.

When Guy Sebastian sits down to write a tune, what typically comes first, the music, the lyrics or the melody?

Hmmm used to be melody nearly every time then I would put chords to it then produce a little demo. More often than not now I am getting themes and lyrics then letting them speak to the melody.

What sort of recording set up do you have at home? Any new toys? Any pieces of recording equipment you can’t live without?

I don't know where to start. I am a gear tart. I started engineering when I was 17 and have collected lot of gear both vintage and new ever since. I have a studio in LA, at home in Sydney and also a bigger commercial studio in Surry Hills. The things I can't live without are my original C12 & U47 Wagner mics amongst many others and my very old Siemens Sitral Console. Oh and my Wurli. For programming I just started using Maschine and find it quite easy to make my kits etc. quickly but bouncing out is a bit boring.



A huge national tour is set to commence across Australia, each time Guy hits the road the show gets bigger, any surprises you can let us in on?

48 shows on the agenda and musically it is definitely the biggest sound I've had. I have flown in Musicians from around the world and have U2's staging/lighting designer. I have an amazing singer/songwriter/producer opening for me and also playing in the band his name is David Ryan Harris. I’ve written a lot with him in the past.

If you could write a tune with any artist or producer in the world, living or dead who would it be and why?

I would love to work with Adele... I mean who wouldn't. I love Sia too, Adelaide chick and super sweet. Her melodies are always very interesting.


Many casual music fans may be unaware that unlike some pop artists you write all of your own material, is it fair to suggest that this self-sufficiency is responsible for much of your career longevity?

Ooh don't get me started on the whole what is "pop" thing. There are some genuine "alternative" artists/writers who break molds but almost everything else falls into the category of "pop" nowadays. It’s not like genres such as folk or blues are obscure anymore. In fact they dominate most of the charts. I've never taken part in the ignorant debate of what genre/style is more "credible".

I hate hearing groups discuss how "easy" it is to make dance or dubstep, I mean you just copy and paste loops right?? bahaha! I always feel like saying, ok heres Ableton or Logic, heres some loops, go write a smash that everyone will sing in a club. Good luck. Writing a catchy hooky melody with a lyric that cuts through in a pop market as every writer around the world knows, is a VERY hard task. Every genre deserves respect and no one should bring another persons art down because of 'genre-cism'. Yes I made that up.

In regards to me writing my own material (sorry to go off topic) It definitely helps psychologically being in control musically cause if it all goes to crap then it's my bad. I haven't got it right all the time but the way I see it is just get up and keep grinding cause not everything can be a hit right? Unless you are Rihanna.

What tips do you have for emerging songwriters?

Just write super catchy melodies with heaps original lyrics that no one has ever said before over progressions that are ground breaking. Easy right?

and recent review

It’s been 10 years since Australian Idol first appeared on our television sets. Now, having traded his afro for brawny tattooed biceps, Guy Sebastian proves to be much more than a glorified singing competition winner. In the last six months alone, Sebastian’s profile has risen considerably thanks to his internationally acclaimed 2012 release Armageddon. But it’s his live performance that most accurately demonstrates his talent as an accomplished musician.

From the first note of opening number ‘Amnesia’, Sebastian is bristling with charisma and confidence, maintaining a sincere connection with the Palais Theatre audience throughout the entire set. His pitch-perfect voice is matched by an infectious liveliness; clearly loving every minute on stage Sebastian jokes and chats between songs, prompting ongoing involvement with his loving fans. This relationship with the audience reaches its highpoint as Sebastian instigates a dance competition amongst the crowd, picking out his three favourites for a dance showdown onstage with him. In the hands of a less-accomplished entertainer this could have been potentially forced and awkward, but Sebastian’s warm, approachable persona creates a comfortable party atmosphere, like a distant cousin’s wedding reception.

Of course, the talent of Sebastian’s accompanying band is far beyond the level of family functions. Every band member is a talented musician in their own right and it does Sebastian credit to have such a strong unit supporting him. Those well acquainted with Australian singing shows may notice a few familiar faces in the band including vocalists Carmen Smith from The Voiceand former X-Factor contestant Angel Tupai. Sebastian’s duet with the latter on Armageddon’s title track is a particularly impressive highlight as Angel’s voice resonates powerfully inside the theatre. Canadian rapper Swift K.I.D makes a surprise guest appearance to perform new song ‘Bed of Clouds’. Sebastian’s guitarist and long-time collaborator David Ryan Harris is also worth mentioning; before arriving on stage with the rest of the band, Harris performs a memorable opening set consisting of blues-tinged acoustic pop tunes which set the mood perfectly for the main event.

Speaking of setting the mood, the excellent stage lighting adds a whole new dimension to the performance creating a treat for the eyes as well as the ears. The concert begins with a heavy shroud of colour and shadow before erupting into brightness as Sebastian belts out the first chorus. A welcome change of pace comes mid-set as all the glamour and dynamism is replaced with a cosy campfire-like intimacy as Sebastian launches into a stripped-down acoustic segment. Fan favourite ‘Big Bad World’ is dedicated to Sebastian’s one-year-old son Hudson as adorable photographs of the infant fade in and out behind the band. Whilst introducing the song, Sebastian confesses he is unable to turn around without ‘crying embarrassingly’ for several minutes. Although it sounds cheesier than a lump of cheddar, it’s a touching moment for fans as many audience members attempt to hide their watery eyes as the song concludes.

The ARIA-nominated hit ‘Battle Scars’ makes for an excellent encore although its impact is slightly dampened by a Lupe Fiasco’s pre-recorded verses projected onto the over-arching wall. It’s a shame Sebastian didn’t utilise the rapping talents of those actually present; Swift K.I.D or Carmen Smith could have easily supplied exciting verses of their own, maintaining that strong audience connection. Thankfully, the concert comes home strong with the undeniably catchy soul/pop single ‘Like it Like That’ rounding off a strong collection of material that cements Sebastian as one of Australia’s premier performers.

http://www.au.timeou...4/guy-sebastian

Guy and his band are fitting this mega tour around his usual pre-booked major gigs.. pretty busy

and Lupe Fiasco has tweeted his fans to request Battle Scars at their radio stations

This post has been edited by Prinia: Apr 13th 2013, 12:44 PM

[Prinia]

I'm away atm, but Guy has just finished a two gig for his own tour and opener for Billy Joel and Ice House at the Stonefest.

Love this particular review..

Since his days with the fro, Guy Sebastian has carefully and cleverly adapted himself into a talent who can get away with producing the sort of music that he wants to, while throwing in the odd commercial rap-infused track to ensure he remains relevant in all markets. The music that he's embraced is that of soul music, and with a fantastic band behind him, a myriad of positive songs and an impressive stage presence, he definitely won me over with a contagiously energetic set. Highlights of the set included his duet with former X Factor contestant Angel Tupai for the track "Armageddon", which also saw both singers get onto the drums, showing that Guy truly knows how to work a crowd. I also thoroughly enjoyed Sebastian playing the role of Lupe Fiasco in their track "Battle Scars". The set closed with the popular "Like It Like That", with a brief Macklemore interlude thrown in for good measure, showing that even when he's up there putting on a soul inspired production, his finger remains on the pulse of what sells records these days; an impressive combination. I'm proudly a convert to Guy's live shows. Well done sir.

http://www.theaurevi...tadium-21-04-13

That drum session is fabulous.. Guy WAS a drummer, and it shows..

[Prinia]

so busy, apologies for not being here more often.

Some good stuff happening - as usual

http://reviews.ticketmaster.com.au/7171-en...ews/reviews.htm


and the tweet from @LupeFiasco

BattleScars #nice Yo @GuySebastian look what came in the mail... pic.twitter.com/EUCfBe4G0P

plus Battle Scars and the guys just won Hip Hop RnB International Song Competition

In fact, nice to see that Matt Corby got 2nd in the AAA class, and Wes Carr also got a 2nd in Folk. We aussies rock

Battle Scars currently at #1 in Vietnam and placing nicely on about 8 countries iTunes or more.

And for Guy's 'day off' on Monday, he played golf in the morning, indoor cricket at night and fitted in a run with his brother Jeremy, who has his first pro fight coming up - life is never dull.

[Prinia]

quick drop by. Looks like Guy was a mentor for New Zealand XFactor. Heaven KNOWS when he fitted this into his ultra busy schedule, but there y'go! Looking forward to seeing this. Could be a guy called Whenua could be worth looking into, perhaps?


Meanwhile, Rob Mills (@RobMillsyMills on twitter), who has been very regularly employed in the business since his launch in 2003 alongside Guy in the inaugural Australian Idol, has been recently interviewed, and had this to say abouit Guy

Nice comments about Guy from Millsie in a recent interview.

What’s your view on the slew of Australian talent shows now airing? Having come out of the inaugural Australian Idol, do you think the shows still have the same life-changing affect on their winners?
I think if you’re good enough and you’ve got a brand and you’ve got a good song or you’re just a phenomenal performer, you’ll stand out and your career will take over. I think that’s what it did for a lot of us in the first year. Guy [Sebastian] for me, is just the most phenomenally talented musician we have in this country, sings, writes, plays, produces, can’t dance (laughs) that makes me a little bit happy. With Shannon, Paulini and even some of the ones since then have gone on to have pretty careers, and even the ones that haven’t, if you’re good enough and you want it bad enough, it will happen. It’s like with every industry I think.

Millsy was a huge fan of Guy's from the word go, and when he was knocked out of the competition said that Guy would win it, in 2003. Millsy has performed on stage in many productions, done the TV hosting bit, besides regular gigs. The link to the whole interview is here
http://www.themusicnetwork.com/music-featu...lls-ultramatic/

Guy's sold out tour continues to move forward, with the country areas and fans over the moon that such a big production is in their area. Both he and Jules are posting some rather beautiful family photos as they find the opportunity, as Guy in particular is an avid camera buff.

[Prinia]

http://music.ninemsn.com.au/blog.aspx?blog...owcomments=true



Taylor Swift's Red Tour of Australia this December just got that bit more exciting, with Guy Sebastianannouncing today that he will be the US superstar's support act.
Guy spilled the news on FOX FM's Matt and Jo Showthis morning.
"I am part of the Red Tour on Taylor Swift's run of Australia, which is pretty awesome. I actually only found out yesterday!" he said.
"I think yesterday no, the day before. And within, no joke, 15 to 20 minutes I had a journalist who's a mate of mine ring me — Oh, you're doing the Taylor Swift thing?' — so these wheels have moved very fast!"
So did Taylor personally chose the Aussie 'Battle Scars' hit-maker?
"Oh, of course, it's all approved by her and management," Guy said.
Guy hopes the tour will bring him a wider audience.
"I actually just bumped into Ed Sheeran while I was in LA and he was having a ball and I guess for him, it really cracked him in the US — being on Taylor's tour — and I'm hoping that it's really going to crack me here in Australia," he said.
Hasn't he made it here already though? Taylor, can you please reconsider Ed Sheeran and take Guy Sebastian on your US tour instead? Pretty please?
Guy has been touring his Get Along show across Australia over the past few months, finishing up in June.
Taylor kicks off her Australian tour on December 4 in Sydney. For more details and tickets click here.
For more info on Guy's current Australian tour, click here.
Check out our behind-the-scenes vid of Guy recording with another Swift: Canadian rapper Swift K.I.D.!





ETI_Reviews

Its been a busy few weeks with inspiration after inspiration opportunity! This month’s ETI_Reviews is talking about Guy Sebastian, Richard Branson and the Shorts Festival.

So lets start with the amazing talents of Guy Sebastian. If you have never seen Guy in concert then do yourself a big favour and next time he is in town check him out. Last year I had the privilege of seeing Guy perform for the first time. Now I will admit to you that although I liked his music I wasn’t his biggest fan. However last year he introduced his new album Armageddon to an appreciative Adelaide audience. I bopped through his “Memphis Album” medleys, cried through “Big Bad World”, swooned at “Keeper” and fell in love when he performed “Battlescars”. So of course when the opportunity to go see him again this year came up I jumped! Once again he amazed with his incredible stage presence, engaged the audience and astounded with his soul enriching vocals. Wow, doesn’t come close to a description that is fitting.

His backing band is top quality and some of the best professional musician’s in Australia. Unfortunately they never get the same billing as the lead star but goodness this band is good. The camaraderie on stage is evident and shows the level of connection that they have. Never missing a beat the band played, engaged with the crowd, sang and even danced throughout the show. Pure professional entertainment.

Guy was in top form chatting with the audience and was proud to introduce the new members of his on tour family. Angel Tupai from X-Factor fame joined Carmen Smith on backups and performed a duet of “Armageddon” with Guy – that girl has some serious pipes! Ludovic Louis on trumpet (from Lenny Kravitz) and David Ryan Harris on guitar (from John Mayer) were also welcomed to the Guy family. The quality of musicians that Guy has been able to attract to his band is a testament to how good he really is. Go see him next time or come to the ETI_In Clinic next time Terepai, Adam and Sam are in town – see the pics and vids of the GS Rhythm Section Workshop on Facebook for some inspiration.





http://www.bordermai...d-of-guy/?cs=11
REVIEW: He’s a warm kind of Guy
By DAVID THORPE

May 14, 2013, midnight
HAVING hit the heights of his recent US chart topper, Battle Scars, Guy Sebastian could be forgiven for looking towards the international stage. But not so for Australia’s most successful male artist. He was in full voice at the first of two Wangaratta concerts on Sunday night at the Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre.
The sold-out concerts were just two of more than 40 performances he will give during his Get Along tour, which takes in metropolitan and regional centres.

Sunday’s show saw his energy and commitment match his vocal talents in songs from his most recent album, Armageddon, as well as favourites from his 10-year career. Angels Brought Me Here, the 2003 hit that launched his recording career following his discovery on Australian Idol, brought the house down.
The crowd was on its feet for Keeper, Like It Like That, Attention, Who’s That Girl and Beg. A sentimental favourite was Big Bad World, a song he wrote after the birth of his son. His versatility came through with a stint on the piano for Get Along and a strum on a dobro guitar for what he claimed was the first performance of Alive.

But it was the acoustic set during the middle of the show that gave Sebastian the opportunity to let the warmth of his character come through. He appeared at ease sitting down for a chat with the audience, interrupting his musical program for stories of his life, family and journey from Australian Idol days. He seemed to relish the chance to engage in a bit of banter from an audience close-at-hand. Sebastian will hit the stage at Albury Entertainment Centre tonight for a sold-out show



Looks like Jules and Hudson will be home for the next two weeks - Guy's tweeted his sorrow that he'll really miss them. Might save his voice a bit though