The buying of cds seems to be changing. The evolution of buying music has always changed. Up until I was 16 I bought albums on cassette. For the christmas that year, I got my first CD and soon after purchased my own CD player. That’s 16 years of buying compact discs.

Lately I felt a dilemma. I still love buying music in this format, but I worry that CDs are dying out. I guess I like to be able to go to a shop, especially when it’s a small independent shop where I know the staff who work there, where I can ask for recommendations, or listen to CDs on the listening racks.

But why buy music when you can download it for free off the net? Or why buy an album in hard copy when it’s going to go straight to your mp3 player? Soon there won’t be any small iindependent shops to buy your music.

It’s great being able to get music so instantly and from all over the world, and with the download speeds we can download massive of music in seconds. There’s sites such as myspace and last.fm where we can stream and listen to music without havign to download.

Mp3 players are great. You can thousands of songs with you, it’s like a jokebox in your pocket. Though I find it makes me impatient. I don’t listen to a whole album when I am listening to mp3s, especially on my iriver. Is the album dying?

Though it makes me wonder. Will the only way to purchase new music be one day through a computer usiing the internet?

1 Birds Of Tokyo – Universes
Birds of Tokyo released their first album in early 2007, and then quickly released their second in 2008. It’s a big step up from the first, darker and heavier but still accessible like the debut, it’s a great example of how to write pop/rock songs.

The birds keep growing and growing – nearly selling out Fremantle Metropolis twice in four days – thats nearly 2000 people – they’ve come a long in only 4 years since playing their first show at the Newport in 2004. With Singles Broken Bones and Sillouetic, plus other tracks like ‘Ode To Death’ and ‘Head In My Hands’ this was easily my favourite local release in 2008.

2 Mo Wilson And The Drivers – Learn To Dance
Piano based rock with a blues edge, this album was a grower on me, but it gave the good. A band to see live, they have a real old fashioned sound in a way, yet sound so fresh. There’s some great songs on the disc – though the lyrics aren’t the best – the stand out track for me being ‘Come In Feeling’

3 College Fall – Eleven Letters
An album written about two lovers (who are the two main members of the band) this is a very personal release. More cheesy than Musto’s old band Showbag and Bartlett’s band Josivac, it still however a decent pop record.

4 Clare Nina Norelli – Piano Noir
Formerly Nina X, Clare is a solo vocalist/pianist. With her virtuoso piano playing it makes for one of the more interesting solo acts around town, topped with a fantastic voice as well. This is her first EP.

5 Project Mayhem –
They won the Next Big Thing in 2008, and really stole the show with an energetic live show on the night at the final. They’ve got the whole fun rock vibe with a touch of punk, which you could see going down a treat at a summer festival.

However, in pubs that don’t normally count as original venues, there can be songwriters going through 3 hour gigs, playing 3 sets. Often part of the Champion Agency stable, who book a lof of pubs around town, acts like College Fall, Nathan Gaunt and Leena often combine orginals with covers. Covers increase towards the end of the night, when pub goers (not necessarily music punters in this case) are intoxicated. and answer the call for requests by9 shouting obvious (the afore mentioned choirboys song) and the not-so obvious for an acoustic act (Rage Against The Machine).

Sundays this month, sees College Fall do a residency at the Broken Hill Hotel In Vic Park. A pub which was one of those old cassic pubs, that were dodgy, that your trendy mates would go ‘ew’ and would never drink there, has been renovated into one of those ‘we’re going to try to be trendy like the Brisbane’ types. Only the pub went to far and forgot, while it’s near South Perth, it’s Vic Park.

The inside is a bit arificial, the beer garden is actually quite nice.

Anyway, ‘The Fall opened their first set with the two main songs off their ‘Three Letters’ album – the songs were ‘Gravity’ and ‘Built An Empty Home’. Both very autobiographical, honest songs, these were songs that the two core members of CF wrote about each other as part of a concept album about their love life.

In between originals they dipped into the covers, playing a nice version of a Cyndi Lapur 80s song ‘Time After Time’ which can be found on an early College Fall Demo.

Switching between male and Female vocals it made for a variation on pop songwriting, which can be a little vanilla flavoured, in the sense it’s not hugely original in the song structure or sound. However tunes win the day in this case, and the strong pop songwriting of the duo won over more fans tonight, evident by the selling of a few albums in the break.

Set 2 held more covers and originals – including Musto playing songs from his previous bands, The Nordeens and Showbag.

A nice way to spend Sunday Afternoon. Enjoy a sunday session at pubs like this with some quality original music. Don’t be ashamed to call for Chisel or Crowded House either. Or Rage Against The Machine. Yes, this acoustic duo, do a cover of RATM’s most famous song ‘Killing In the Name Of’. Needs to be heard by Rage fans, it’s definitely an unique version.

How did you get involved with Twin Cities?
Staight out of high school I joined 897, in the semi empty depot studio (it’s hard to believe we got by, on what we had back then). I started doing producing for Dave Cosentino and Donna Hiftle (I fluffed my trial test broadcast, also the station manager didn’t like me much so I was made their bitch). I got the call-up a fortnight and the rest is a cliché’ and a long list of shows…..

What shows are on currently on Twin Cities FM?
Western.Oz (Tuesday Nights from 6pm) Western.Oz: Friday Nights (Friday Nights from 6pm) and The WA Top 10 (Friday Nights from 7pm).

What can you tell us about Twin Cities FM move to ECU Joondalup?
It was long winded, and hard work for us at 897, we are a bare bones operation, ECU did most of the intial setting up for us (they had professionals build the studios from scratch)…but we did the wiring of the equipment and installed the desks and ran as automated radio for 3 months while set everything up. I personlly couldn’t do much until the stuff was installed, because i’m terrible at manual handling stuff.

When we got set in, I did my job. I love the new studios, they’re not stuffy, they’re MUCH bigger and the new equipment is nice and makes me sound like i’m actually a good anouncer…which is hard to do.

You host the show ‘Western Oz’. Can you tell me a bit about this show?
Western.Oz is two WA Music shows weekly on 897FM. I host the pair of them. There is also The WA Top 10 is new intiative for Western.Oz, it’s our own Top 10 countdown based on the airplay of WA Music for that week on 897FM.

Doing these shows is an honour. The 897 staff love the WA Top 10. I think bands like being number one too!

You received a Community Broadcasting Association of Australia ‘Commendation for Contribution to Local Music’. What does that mean to you?
It’s my single greatest achievement in my radio career. Myself and my department worked our arses off to get that one. We were pipped for the major award in 2007 by a show who had presented Australian Music for 20 years or something. We won’t be attempting get the award this year due to our 3 months break. Look for us to win in 2009.

You have worked in community radio and also have had a stint on commercial radio. How do the two compare?
Actually i’ve had 2 stints full time and I also did panel work for 882 6PR as well.
They’re vastly different. Community on the most part has little to no funding, we have no funding for our show, I spend a lot of time on my own cash on that show, not that i’m complaining because I can think much worse things to spend money on.

Commercial Radio is having no control as an announcer, you can be entertaining, but you do release your creative control over your work, for a paycheck. But at the same time, it’s cool to just step into the studio and do that job. I love radio broadcasting, I just hated the town of Kalgoorlie which is why I’m back in Perth. Kal is a place if I never see again it’ll be too soon.

How far away can Twin Cities be picked up?
Warwick to Two Rocks….but it’s best to tune in online @ www.twincitiesfm.com.au

Why do you support local music?
I love it, I love the people, I love the high standard of music, I get to play. We are truly blessed in Perth. This scene makes my job easy. I would still buy local releases if I wasnt doing this show. Especially the stuf i’m a big fan of.

You have judged competitions such as Next Big Thing and Campus Bands. How important do you think competitions like those are to young bands?
The best people to ask are the winners, but Ben from Project Mayhem told me the winning of NBT has changed their musical lives. It’s incredible leg-up to win NBT or NCBC, you get good gigs, video clips, studio time and more. If you think you have the chops have a go next year.

Who do you think is a Perth act to look out for?
The Transients…they’re incredible, slick and professional. It’s only a matter of time before they’re the new Presets or Midnight Jugganauts. They will be HUGE!

www.twincitiesfm.com.au