May Lane Art Project is an outdoor gallery space located in St Peters in Sydney’s inner west. The project is an initiative set in place by Tugi Balog, who runs his business behind the gallery wall.

The exhibition space consists of five panels that are hung in window spaces along the side of a building in May Lane. Each month several artists are invited to use the entire space as their canvas, or to focus on the panels which are then kept each month as part of a larger documentation project.

If you have been involved in any way with the Australian Hip-Hop scene you definitely will have come across the talent that is Mistery. Whether it was listening to him MC, watching him Break or checking out his Graf work, since the 80’s, Mistery has been someone to admire for his skill in each of the Hip-Hop Elements (and hes a top bloke to boot!).

Mistery and his crew will be the next to use May Lane. “Australia has one of the oldest histories in wall painting – with the indigenous Australians having work dating back many thousands of years and from this we learn much of their history. In fact archeologists have learned a great deal by study of a country’s Graffiti – I wonder what their conclusion would be if they discovered us (the work of Australian Graffiti Artists) thousands years down the track?” – Mistery, 2008.

What: May Lane Art Project - Mistery and his crew
When: Friday 28th August to Sunday 20th September 2009
Where: May Lane, St Peters (next to St.Peters Train Station)
Cost: Free

Last night, the Electrolux Appetite for Excellence national winners were announced at an awards ceremony in Sydney. Matthew Dempsey, from Pettavel Winery and Restaurant, Victoria, was named the Electrolux Young Chef and Alice Heath, from Montalto Vineyard and Olive Grove, Victoria, was named the Electrolux Young Waiter. Danielle Gjestland from Wasabi, Queensland, was named the inaugural Electrolux Young Restaurateur.

Now in its fifth year, Electrolux Appetite for Excellence is dedicated to educating and nurturing emerging hospitality industry professionals. The chef state finalists participated in a mystery box cook-off and state finalist waiters were tested in a series of customer skills and food and wine knowledge. Then all were carefully scrutinized in front of a panel of Australia’s leading chefs and hospitality leaders by way of an interview.

The prizes for all the winners are fantastic which includes a once in a lifetime experience to represent Australia in the prestigious S.Pellegrino Cooking Cup in Venice. Up to one month’s work experience at David Thompson’s Michelin Star Restaurant, Nahm, in London. As well as a two day trip to historic Henschke in the Eden Valley, South Australia and tasting in the cellars with Stephen and Prue Henschke. To top it off, winners also receive Electrolux Professional appliances, $5,000 cash to assist with travel and work experience expenses and a trophy.

For further details about the Electrolux Appetite for Excellence click here.

During the festival, The Smith Family will host a discussion panel Why I Read, where prominent Australian authors, Steven Carroll, Raimond Gaita and Alice Pung, will discuss with novelist and academic Antoni Jach, why they read as children and the doors that books and reading unlocked in their lives.

About 300 children from disadvantaged communities will be able to participate in the festival thanks to The Smith Family. By giving these kids the opportunity to experience Australia’s best authors first hand; they’re hoping to inspire them with the belief that getting the best out of their education can help them to make the most of their lives.

In partnering with the Melbourne Writers Festival, The Smith Family is highlighting how important it is for every Australian to have the opportunity to develop fundamental literacy skills, such as reading and writing. Research shows that supporting a child’s education is one of the most effective means of breaking the cycle of disadvantage.

The Smith Family will host ‘Why I Read’, at the Melbourne Writers Festival 2009 on Saturday, 22nd August, 1:00pm, at ACMI, Federation Square, Melbourne.

The Japan Foundation Gallery will be transformed into a temporary dwelling place for a contemporary version of the obakemono, spirit-possessed creatures, evoked from their hidden worlds with an imperative warning for us all.They are a new breed that surround and haunt our routines, intangible and ever-present.

Gemma Cuneo in her first solo exhibition cleverly adopts the prevalent quirks and issues that blight society by personifying them as modern obakemonos. Her creations serve as stark reminders of the imperfect world we live in, and physically demonstrate before us the ramifications of daily human activity on the environment and ourselves.

Meet Gemma in person on Saturday 22nd August from 11am to 4pm at the Japan Foundation Gallery.

What: Urban Ghosts Exhibition
When: 12th to 28th August 2009
Where: Shop 23, Level 1, Chifley Plaza | 2 Chifley Square, Sydney 2000
Contact: 02 8239 0058

Currently smack bang in the middle of the Purple Sneakers DJs ‘We Mix, You Dance’ national tour, PhDJ has whipped up the Purple Sneakers DJs ‘Easy Listening’ Mixtape. It features 25 tracks and samples and times in at 29 minutes and 56 seconds.

The mixtapes from the Purple Sneakers DJs so far have been indie party mashup mixes showcasing an eclectic range of tracks, ranging from rock to hip hop, punk, electro, indie, club and other styles. The ‘Easy Listening’ Mixtape on the other hand proves that the Purple Sneakers DJs have the ability to play a main room set, whilst still very much infusing it with their own distinct Purple Sneakers flavour. Check it out!

Download from here: http://www.zshare.net/audio/6257620232dad861/

The Drones have become a bit of a household name in Australia these days and it’s not too difficult to understand the appeal.  Combining great musicians, blistering live sets and a relentless tour schedule the band has well and truly established themselves as one our best musical exports.  I had the pleasure of seeing them at their last Brisbane show and must admit that despite being only a fairly recent convert I was blown away, which was why when the opportunity to interview guitarist Dan Luscombe via email on one of the bands short returns to Australia (they headed back to Europe two weeks later) I was pretty darn stoked.

Now to digress a moment here I have a confession to make – this was my first interview and I wasn’t altogether sure what I was doing.  It seems relatively straightforward, and while in actuality it really is, for those who haven’t done it before it can take way too much time.  Having dredged my mind clean for questions I decided to put it to a panel of advisors (my girlfriend’s half-drunk house mates) who represented musicians and non-musicians alike, but most importantly were considerably bigger Drone’s fans than myself.  In the end I think we came up with something resembling a good list, but there’s always that fine line between stimulating and nonsense.  You be the judge.

Back to Dan though: Dan has been well respected on the Oz music scene for years but many people don’t know much more about him besides the fact that he didn’t join the Drones until late 2006, when he left his former outfit Alpha Male to replace Rui Pereira.  Besides Alpha Male, Dan’s also played in the Black Eyed Susan’s, Four Hours Sleep, the Paul Kelly Band and Stardust Five (w/ Paul Kelly, Dan Kelly, Bill MacDonald and his brother Peter Luscombe, 17 years his senior) and teamed up with Paul Kelly again to do the soundtrack to the Ray Lawrence film ‘Jindabyne’.  Perhaps a good way to get to know Dan and the rest of the Drones though (besides this interview!) is through Dan’s tour blog from the 2007 European tour @ http://dronesdiary.blogspot.com/.  It’s a great read that makes you simultaneously smug and jealous from start to finish.  At the risk of over-prepositionalizing any more sentences though I’ll let Dan do the talking.

So you’ve been touring all over the world recently, and you’ve done all this before.  How has this most recent European Trip compared to your others, most notably the 2007 one? What’s the general ratio of work time to play time?

Well, thankfully we haven’t been at the mercy of a fairly shoddy booking agent since that tour. And I’m being pretty generous in that description. The work to play ratio is a grey area. If sitting in the van comes under the “work” banner, and it probably should I guess, then it’s about 80/20!

Favourite travel destination?

I’d say Paris. We’ve got a few buddies over there, and they provide a very homely atmosphere. Nice lookin’ joint, too.

So Just what happened to Gorka and Van Morrison? (Read Dan’s blog for details). What measures have you taken to ensure this tour doesn’t end like the last one?

We’ve taken the necessary measures, put it that way. But one can never expect things to always go smoothly. “Be prepared” is not just a Boy Scout’s motto. I’m not sure what happened to either Gorka or Van, but I sometimes lay awake at night, wondering.

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From August 9-16, Australia’s leading design studios will transform an inner-city Sydney laneway into an inspiring, outdoor exhibition with the theme of “Humanity/Equality”, as part of Sydney Design 09.

The project, EyeSaw is an annual event that invites the country’s top graphic designers to create and install a piece of visual communication in the Ultimo public space, Omnibus Lane. The exhibition’s mantra is the designer’s desire to explain to a world – where visual communication in myriad forms is omnipresent – precisely what it is they do and what its benefits are.

Highlights of EyeSaw this year will include a re-creation of a third-world back street; a global ideology typeset in a font made of the flags of the world; a poignant contribution involving the Israel/Palestine separation barrier that will see a part of the Gaza Strip brought to Sydney; and a surprising tribute to a leading graphic design figure who has achieved more in the field of human rights than almost anyone in history.

What: EyeSaw Exhibition
When: 9th to 16th August 2009
Where: Omnibus Lane, Ultimo (near the Powerhouse Museum)
Cost: Free

The teenaged three-piece from New South Wales’ Central Coast Short Stack have gone on to do what no other Australian music act has successfully achieved. They have used the combined powers of SMS, YouTube and MySpace to amass a following that’s growing by the second; racking up over four million plays on MySpace, with over one million plays for their second single Princess alone, and on top of that, being Australia’s biggest band on YouTube with over 2.5 million views of the Short Stack TV series and video clips.

In between HSC exams and gigs supporting the likes of The Veronicas, Simple Plan and Good Charlotte, work began on Stack Is The New Black with all the songs written by the band. Stack Is The New Black covers a range of styles, from epic ballads to fast and furious electro-tinged rock anthems.

Short Stack is hitting the road later this year with tickets on sale now. The bands new album Stack Is The New Black is available in stores and online from 14th August 2009. Find out why Short Stack was crowned Channel V Oz Artist of the Year.

The Byron Bay Writers Festival had its beginnings in 1997, when a small group of locals led by Chris Hanley wondered whether authors might accept an invitation to spend a winter’s weekend in Byron Bay. They did, and an audience of two hundred  locals enjoyed a gathering of fifty Australian writers. Since then, the Festival has grown from a single venue event to fill four huge marquees and venues around town and sells 45,000 individual tickets. The guest list now numbers more than one hundred and over the years the most significant and respected contemporary Australian writers have participated through lectures, lunches, panels, conversations, launches and readings.

The focus of the program is firmly on Australian writing, with recognition of our physical place in the world through the inclusion of Indonesian and Asian authors. The Byron Bay Writers Festival enjoys a close relationship with the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival and believes that through words and ideas, bridges are formed that cross cultures and schisms. Fundamentally, the Festival provides a forum for intelligent discussion and guests are invited to address the issues that matter to them as writers and which necessarily concern us all. It is a celebration of the vitality of thought and creativity with a healthy emphasis on fun.

The Byron Bay Writers Festival runs from the 7th August to 9th August 2009. See you there!