Hi There, Just to remind readers of this blog, this Necks myspace is a fan run site which gets its info from www.thenecks.com From that site you can also subscribe to a newsletter which is much faster than my updates of Necks shows. Members of the band do access this myspace site and have set the 'Top Friends' so this is a great opportunity to see what artists The Necks are interested in and occasionally work with. You can find me in the top friends also.

Thanks for supporting The Necks in the online world,
Christian McBride (not the bass player)

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SYDNEY SHOW BROADCAST/VODCAST/VIDEO

The Necks' memorable concert at The Factory in Sydney on 5th March this year was recorded by the ABC, and filmed by Moshcam.

One set will be broadcast on ABC Classic FM's Jazz Up Late (10.30pm-12.30am, ) on Friday 16th May. The other set will be broadcast on ABC Radio National's Music Deli on Friday 23rd May at 8:05pm, and again on Sunday 25th at 4:05pm.

The concert will also be able to be heard on the world wide web, at http://www.abc.net.au/rn/musicdeli/

But not only that, the gig will also be available as a vodcast on the ABC Radio National site

This will be the first time that an entire Necks performance has been available on video, which is very exciting for those fans who have not been lucky enough to ever see the band live. And they're two great pieces.

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OTHER NEWS

There's a couple of exciting events to tell you about -


ART OF MUSIC and THE NECKS' TOWNSVILLE

Art of Music is an event organised by Jenny Morris to raise funds and awareness for Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy, in which twelve acclaimed artists create works inspired by a favourite piece of music. The Necks' Townsville was the inspiration for one of the works, by Peter Sharp.

All the works can be viewed at the Flinders Street Gallery in Sydney from May 23rd to 30th.

Then on May 31st, a gala event, featuring live performances by Tim Finn, Neil Finn, Dave Mason and Old Man River, will be held at the Art Gallery of NSW, during which the artworks will be sold. Details at


NEW BOOK FEATURING CHAPTER ON THE NECKS

"Sounds of Then, Sounds of Now: Popular Music in Australia", a new book published by ACYS, edited by Tony Mitchell and Shane Homan, is to be launched at Gleebooks in Sydney on June 7th. Aimed primarily at university and secondary students but also of interest to the general music reader, it contains a chapter by noted writer John Whiteoak on the history of improvised music in Australia, using The Necks as a case study. More info at


GREAT REVIEWS FOR TOWNSVILLE

The Necks' recent live album, Townsville, has been garnering some great reviews:

"Townsville is a delightfully dreamy, drifting piece that rewards repeated listens and encourages the imagination to run riot" BBC.com

"Teetering perpetually on the edge of creation, the result is a sort of rhapsodic minimalism, as magical in its own way as a ping-pong ball pirouetting on a jet of air" (4 stars)
THE INDEPENDENT (UK)

"Luxurious" (4 stars) THE TIMES (UK)

"Lush to the point of denseness, this is also The Necks at their most lyrical...After a Necks gig people are often overheard debating which CD to buy. I'd now recommend the luxuriant beauty of Townsville" SYDNEY MORNING HERALD



"DRIVE BY" POWERS ON

The Necks' album "Drive By" received great reviews and an Australian ARIA Award on its release in 2003. Five years on, it continues to catch people's ears in any number of ways - last year it was used in a contemporary dance work by The Australian Ballet, and gained a place in The Guardian's 1000 Albums To Hear Before You Die:


Only recently, in The Independent's Cult Classics column, Drive By was described as "paradigmatic of (The Necks') sound and the most accessible of their beautifully crafted albums...beckons the listener into its somnambulant, trance-like world"

Now, a five-minute chunk of Drive By is being used in a new dance piece, To Be Straight With You, by acclaimed UK dance company, DV8. To Be Straight With You played at the Adelaide International Festival of the Arts last month, where The Australian national newspaper described it as a "powerful theatrical statement". The piece is now touring the UK and other countries extensively. Details can be found at:

Townsville, Drive By and all The Necks' albums are available from all good record stores or at www.thenecks.com