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On this episode of Artist to Fan, Daniel Johnson is joined by Phil Jamieson. Phil is best known as the frontman of the band Grinspoon, who were Unearthed by triple j in Lismore in 1995.  Grinspoon  have released seven studio albums — Guide to Better Living; Easy; New Detention; Thrills, Kills and Sunday Pills; Alibis and Other Lies; Six to Midnight and Black Rabbits — and singles including Just Ace, Pedestrian, Chemical Heart, Lost Control, Secrets, Hard Act to Follow, Ready One, Chemical Heart, Black Tattoo, Comeback, Passerby and Branded. Phil has just released his debut solo album Somebody Else, which features the singles Lights On, Trouble, Somebody Else and Rubberband, and you can find it on all the usual streaming services. For more info on the album, merch and tour, visit Phil’s linktree. 

On this episode of Artist to Fan, Daniel Johnson is joined by Greater Manchester-born, Brisbane-based bassist and singer-songwriter Adele Pickvance. In addition to fronting her current post-punk/indie-rock three-piece Adele and the Chandeliers, who have released a fantastic record called First Date, she also played in The Go-Betweens from 2000-2006. Adele has also performed live and on record with both Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, Dave Graney, Clare Moore, Glenn Thompson and as a member of the Far Out Corporation. You can purchase or stream Adele and the Chandeliers’ First Date on Bandcamp, and it’s also available on all the usual streaming sites.

On this episode of Artist to Fan, Daniel Johnson is joined by Kram (Mark Maher) from iconic Australian alternative rock band Spiderbait. Over the course of the band’s more than three-decade career, Spiderbait – which also includes bassist and co-vocalist Janet English and guitarist Damien “Whit” Whitty – have released seven studio albums, including Ivy and the Big Apples, The Unfinished Spanish Galleon of Finely Lake, Grand Slam, The Flight of Wally Funk, Tonight Alright and Spiderbait. Some of their best-known songs include Buy Me a Pony, which was the first Australian song to come in at  No.1 on the triple j Hottest 100 in 1996, Sam Gribbles, Monty, Calypso, Fucken Awesome, Glockenpop, Hot Water and Milk, and their cover of Black Betty, which reached No.1 on the ARIA singles chart. Spiderbait have just released a new compilation called Sounds in the Key of J, a 33-track collection of Janet’s songs, and they are about to kick off their Tour in the Key of J run of shows in Launceston, Tasmania.  This setlist for this run of shows will be composed entirely of songs by Janet, including new single My Car is a UFO, and also includes dates in Hobart, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Fremantle, Adelaide and Camden. In addition to playing in Spiderbait, Kram is also part of Australian Rock Collective, alongside Darren Middleton from Powderfinger, Davey Lane from You Am I and Mark Wilson from Jet.

On this episode of Artist to Fan, Daniel Johnson is joined by far north Queensland singer-songwriter LT.  If the name LT doesn't ring any bells there‘s probably a very good reason for that - until recently, she was known as Leanne Tennant and she’s a multi-award-winning artist whose music defies easy categorisation.  That said, her musical output includes everything from folk and blues to rock, indie-pop and dream pop.  LT released her debut album Pull Up Your Britches in 2014 and she’s since released another couple of full-length albums - 2016’s Red Wine, Late Nights and last year’s Happiness is..., which features the singles ‘Cherry Cola’, ‘Till The Sun Dies’, ‘Bring It All Back’ and ‘Record Stores’. Over the past decade, LT has garnered critical acclaim from the likes of The Guardian, Rolling Stone Australia and Clash Magazine. She’s also a three-time Queensland Music Award winner and picked up the prestigious Carol Lloyd Award in 2018.   After releasing the track ‘Hold Ya’ earlier this year, LT has just released her latest single ‘How Would It Feel’, a collaboration with producer Konstantin Kersting (Tones And I, Mallrat, The Jungle Giants).

On this episode of Artist to Fan, Daniel Johnson is joined by Brisbane-based singer-songwriter Sahara Beck. Sahara's musical output defies easy categorisation, deftly jumping from acoustic folk and indie-pop to cabaret and piano balladry. Sahara has been a fixture on the Australian music scene for more than a decade and has received numerous accolades for her work, including the prestigious Carol Lloyd Award in 2019 and several Queensland Music Awards. Sahara has just released a new single 'Crave Me', which follows her acclaimed  EP Queen of Hearts and earlier releases including Panacea (2016) and Bloom (2014). In this interview, Sahara discusses everything from some of her formative musical influences, to the writing and recording of her latest single, her recent collaboration with burlesque collective Briefs Factory and her plans for the rest of 2021 and beyond.

Brisbane singer-songwriter Tyrone Noonan is probably still best known for his time in George, the ARIA-award-winning band he fronted alongside his sister Katie.   George’s debut album Polyserena debuted at No.1 on the ARIA charts and earned george six ARIA nominations - ‘Album Of The Year’, ‘Best Group’, Best Cover Art’, ‘Producer of the Year’,  ‘Best Pop Release’ and ‘Breakthrough Artist – Album’ (the latter of which the band won).  Polyserena has since attained double-platinum status in Australia, and the band are currently playing a string of shows at Brisbane Powerhouse to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the album’s recording. Tyrone also released Utopia, his first solo studio album in almost a decade, late last year, which includes the final vocal recording of the late Grant McLennan of The Go-Betweens.You can read an interview about Utopia here:  bit.ly/3xJn0s6

On this episode of Artist to Fan, Daniel Johnson is joined by Melbourne singer-songwriter Paul Dempsey from the band Something for Kate. Conducted in late November, 2020, it was ostensibly an interview to discuss Something For Kate’s latest album The Modern Medieval but covered a lot of ground, with Dempsey discussing everything from his songwriting process, to the band’s 2004 tour with David Bowie and getting to know the man behind the myth.

On this episode of Artist to Fan, Daniel Johnson is joined by singer-songwriter Blake Scott. Blake is best known as the singer and guitarist of Melbourne band The Peep Tempel and has just released his debut solo album Niscitam on Wing Sing Records. Blake is one of Australia's most singularly talented lyricists and songwriters and in this interview, he discusses everything from how impending fatherhood helped inform the creative process of Niscitam, to the recurring dreams that inspired one of the album's central tracks - The Plainsman - and why The Peep Tempel went on hiatus. 

On this episode of Artist to Fan, Daniel Johnson is joined by John Busby, singer, songwriter and guitarist for acclaimed seven-piece Brisbane band Halfway.  Halfway - which also includes bassist Ben Johnson, drummer Elwin Hawtin, guitarist John Willsteed, keyboardist Luke Peacock, pedal steel guitarist Noel Fitzpatrick, and banjo and mandolin player Liam Fitzpatrick - have released six full-length LPs and a live album.  John Busby has also recently released a podcast series called A Band Called Halfway, which includes interviews with a variety of people who played a role in the band's two-decde career, such as Robert Forster (The Go-Betweens), Rob Younger (Radio Birdman), Mark Nevers (Lambchop/George Jones), Nick Barker (Wreckery/The Reptiles), John "JC" Collins (Powderfinger), Peter Jesperson (Twin/Tone, former Replacements manager) and Simon Homer (Plus One Records).

An interview with Custard drummer (and sometimes singer and guitarist) Glenn Thompson, who was also a member of The Go-Betweens from 2001-2006.   Former Brisbane-based band Custard initially called it a day in 2000, bowing out with the sardonically titled compilation album Goodbye Cruel World.   The band reformed nine years later for what had been intended as a one-off performance for Queensland 150th birthday celebrations at Riverstage.  Several more “one-off” reformations followed before the four-piece – singer/guitarist David McCormack, drummer/singer  Thompson, guitarist Matthew Strong and bass player Paul Medew – convened in a studio for a weekend in February 2015 and laid down the foundations for Come Back All is Forgiven, their first album since 1999’s ARIA-winning Loverama. Custard have since brought out another studio album, 2017’s The Common Touch, as well as a 2018 live album (The Band – Live in the Basement), and in May, the band released a new LP, Respect All Lifeforms.

An interview with Custard singer and guitarist David McCormack, who is also an award-winning composer for film and television series including Redfern Now, Rake, Jack Irish, Friday on My Mind and Top End Wedding.  McCormack also provides the voice for Bandit, the father of Bluey and Bingo in the animated series Bluey, which airs on ABC-TV in Australia and streams internationally on Disney+. Former Brisbane-based band Custard initially called it a day in 2000, bowing out with the sardonically titled compilation album Goodbye Cruel World.   The band reformed nine years later for what had been intended as a one-off performance for Queensland 150th birthday celebrations at Riverstage.  Several more “one-off” reformations followed before the four-piece – singer/guitarist David McCormack, drummer/singer  Thompson, guitarist Matthew Strong and bass player Paul Medew – convened in a studio for a weekend in February 2015 and laid down the foundations for Come Back All is Forgiven, their first album since 1999’s ARIA-winning Loverama. Custard have since brought out another studio album, 2017’s The Common Touch, as well as a 2018 live album (The Band – Live in the Basement), and in May, the band released a new LP, Respect All Lifeforms.    

From the Beasts of Bourbon and The Cruel Sea to Tex, John and Charlie, The Dark Horses and his long-running role as Johnny Cash in The Man in Black, Tex Perkins has had  prolific career on the Australian music scene. Tex chats to Brisbane music journalist Daniel Johnson about his latest project, The Show - a series of filmed musical performances from Perkins' decked-out shed at his property in Northern NSW.

It’s been more than 30 years since his former band played their last show, but James Reyne is aware he’s still known as “that bloke from Australian Crawl” to a large section of the population. Brisbane-based music journalist Daniel Johnson gets some insights into James's songwriting process, discussing everything from his new album Toon Town Lullaby, to the 40th anniversary of Australian Crawl's debut album The Boys Light Up. James also explains what he's been up to since social restrictions arising from COVID-19 cut his tour short in March: “We were sitting at the airport, about to get on a plane to go to Sydney to continue with this tour we were on when we got the phone call saying ‘it’s over, go home’.“So from that second, no one was going to earn any money and until we can go back and play in front of somebody in a place where people pay to go and see you - like it used to be - we’re not going to earn a cent.” But James also shares plenty of humorous anecdotes, such as this one about touring with  Mark Seymour: “It’s the only time I’ve ever gone out after the gig and signed merchandise ... I only did it because I was with Mark but I swore I’d never do it again. I used to say to the audience ‘look we’re going to be signing CDs, if I met you at 10pm, or 2am, in 1981, I’m telling you now, I don’t remember’, and without fail, there would be some guy going, ‘maaaate, 1981! Remember at that club? … ‘ And no, I have no memory of it.” 

From his first band Noise Addict and debut solo record 'Grandpaw Would' through to his recent collaborations with Josh Radnor (Radnor & Lee) and 'Quarter Century Classix' covers album, a lot has gone on in Ben Lee's more than 25-year career. Ben chats with Brisbane-based music journalist Daniel Johnson about everything from bravado and spirituality, to being an Australian in Donald Trump's America during the COVID-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests.