The Fuzz

There are many types of rock n roll and the Fuzz are the loud type with Marshalls and Chuck-type riffs. Having been together since 2002, the band is currently based in Perth but began playing music in their hometown of Bunbury. The 'fuzzies' have played in the South-West area as often as possible, generally bypassing the famous beaches and soaking up the great drink riders and bakeries.

Triple J Unearthed winners in 2003, the Fuzz have also played with such Australian greats as Magic Dirt and You Am I as well as American legends The Breeders. They've released three EP's and an album 100 Demons.

Front woman Abbe now plays solo with her backing band The Rockin' Pneumonia featuring other Fuzz member and brother KT Rumble.

www.myspace.com/thefuzzrock

Gyroscope

In 1997 Daniel Sanders, Brad Campbell, Zoran Trivic and Rob Nassif came together in Perth, Western Australia to form post-grunge alternative rock band Gyroscope. The band recorded their first demo cassette in 1998 and played regularly in the Perth live music circuit while still finding time for work and school commitments. After signing to Festival Mushroom Records in 2002, the boys spent the next year touring nationally and released two EPs.

In 2004 Gyroscope delivered their long-awaited debut album Sound Shattering Sound garnering praise from critics and punters alike and impressing international audiences on tour with Dashboard Confessional, Blink 182 and gracing the festival stage. In 2005 Gyroscope recorded their second LP Are You Involved? in LA and are set to release a third, Snakeskin, in October 2007.

www.gyroscope.com.au www.myspace.com/gyroscope

Halogen

Halogen, hailing from Perth, occupy an exclusive niche within the national musical landscape. There is a sadness in their songs demonstrating an emotional resonance. Musical dark horses who refuse to bend to any trends, stripping the pop formula of its generic traits and infusing it with a naive sense of wonder - Halogen have set a course to artistic fulfillment heralding the arrival of a truly great band.

With their debut album - Save the Ones you Love they boasted a string of guitar-based power pop songs, while the follow up Building on the Edge of the Sky heralded an excursion into electronica. Meanwhile, Sirens shows that the best of both worlds can be combined to produce something which is wholly rewarding and easily accessible.

Halogen is unique, in that here hasn't been another Australian outfit, which covers the musical territory they are exploring.

www.halogenworld.com www.myspace.com/halogenaustralia

Header

Emerging in 1993 while interest in Perth’s potential Next Big Thing -along with Six Mile High (Yummy Fur) and Ammonia -Header’s influences ranged from the Kinks, David Bowie and the Faces to Primal Scream. 1994 saw the release of the self-titled EP with enough promise to land the band a contract with Mushroom Label offshoot, Bark Records.

After heavy national touring in 1995 off the back of their Sugafix EP, their 1996 album release High Street created what would become the pinnacle of the Header’s short career, with knockout shows by all three all over the country. Riding on the success of their LP the band inevitably relocated to Melbourne in 1997, where Header struggled to get noticed and evenutally disbanding with an unreleased six-track EP. “Header was never meant to be more than a four-year power pop exercise and in that they succeeded where the bastards and rain yard stumbled.”

www.canvasmusic.org/header

Institut Polaire

Formed as a three-piece in 2004 by an American ex-pat, an English born doctor and a country boy moved to the big city, Perth based band Institut Polaire were destined from the start to have a dizzying array of influences. With a palette of sounds ranging from country tinged psychedelia to 60's soundtracks, bubblegum pop to kraut-rock, Institut Polaire are musically schizophrenic; taking little pieces of each genre to create a special blend of their own.

Pulling off these ambitious layered wall-of-sound aspirations does take a lot of sonic firepower. As a result, Institut Polaire has grown from humble three piece roots into a full-blown collective who currently number between seven to nine members toting everything from vintage Wurlitzer pianos to violins, banjos, trumpets, MacBooks and glockenspiels.

www.myspace.com/institutpolaire

Jebediah

Jebediah was formed in Perth in 1994 with Kevin Mitchell on vocals and rhythm guitar, Vanessa Thornton on bass, Chris Daymond on lead guitar and Almin Fulurija on drums -before being replaced by Kevin's brother Brett Mitchell. The band took their name from Jebediah Springfield, the fictional founder of Springfield on The Simpsons.

At their seventh gig the band took out the Western Australian semi-finals of the 1995 Australian National Campus Band Competition and with their thirteenth ever gig had won the national final in Lismore, New South Wales. Following four albums -which featured hit singles such as 'Animal', 'Harpoon' and 'Leaving Home' -numerous Western Australian Music Awards and international tours under their belts, Jebediah have been on hiatus while front man Kevin Mitchell focuses on his solo project, Bob Evans. However, Jebediah plan a much anticipated return to the studio in early 2008.

www.jebediah.net www.myspace.com/jebediahrock

John Butler Trio

Grand National. On a simple playful level, it might mean "excellent guitar". Nobody who's ever heard John Butler breathing life into his grandfather's vintage National dobro resophonic slide guitar would deny it.

The pigeonholes that exist have long been a bad fit for John Butler anyway. Roots band, protest band, jam band, groove band . . . These labels may or may not have applied in the past, but John Butler has come too far from his humble roots busking on the streets of Fremantle and seen too much to sit in anybody else's niche.

2003 album Sunrise Over Sea was nothing short of a phenomenon. It sold five times platinum to become that year's fifth highest selling album in Australia. Out of seven ARIA nominations, it won 'Best Independent Release' and 'Best Blues & Roots Album' and John also received the 'Best Male Artist' award, while his single 'Zebra' was named APRA's Song of the Year.

www.johnbutlertrio.com www.myspace.com/johnbutlertrio

Johnny Young

Johnny Young (born John Benjamin de Jong) is a Western Australian singer- songwriter, radio announcer, TV producer and host. Born in the Netherlands, Young grew up in the Perth hills suburb of Kalamunda. In 1966 he released an Australia-wide number-one hit 'Step Back', followed by a number of other hit recordings during his solo career.

Aside from a number of other hosting stints and musical endeavours, Young is probably best known for his 1971 children's variety show and, associated talent school, Young Talent Time. The show, which ran for eight years before it's final in 1989, became the launching pad for a number of young notables including Danii Minogue and Tina Arena. Johnny Young is currently the breakfast host on Perth AM station 6IX and was briefly host of 'The Pet Show' on ABC television.

www.johnnyyoung.iinet.net.au