Just wanted to say goodbye properly. I can't do this anymore. I tried and I failed. I couldn't finish this story. Sorry if you were waiting on me to do so. I was too. I gave podcasting a go for nearly 10 years but I'm done. Thanks if you listened.

Support David on Patreon: http://patreon.com/davidjamesyoung

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Almost 20 years ago, Luke Steele emerged as one of the great modern eccentrics of Australian music. An ebullient personality (one was a spider, one was a bird), he started the decade as a scrappy underdog and ended it as one of the biggest pop stars in the world. Who else could get to that kind of A to B, from Jebediah to Jay-Z? With a new solo album looming, Luke spoke openly about his one-of-a-kind journey that took him from blues bars in Perth to the Hollywood Bowl and back again.

Luke's debut solo album Listen to the Water is out May 13.

With thanks to Mariam Dib and EMI Music Australia.

Recorded by David James Young and Luke James Steele.
Produced and edited by Paul McWhirter.
Additional editing by David James Young.

Follow Luke on Facebook: @lukesteeleofficial
Follow Luke on Instagram: @lukesteeleofficial

This podcast was recorded on Dharawal land and edited between Wirundjeri and Dharawal land.

Support David on Patreon: http://patreon.com/davidjamesyoung

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Few could have predicted that the scrawny Jewish kid with the guitar in Sydney's eastern suburbs would go on to conquer the world. Hell, even fewer could have predicted his second-ever gig would be opening for Sonic Youth. Still, that's just how Ben Lee's career has unfolded - just when you think you have all the answers, he changes the questions. An ARIA winner, a two-time Hottest 100 runner-up and a keen collaborator with everyone from Josh Radnor to Joel Madden, Lee's life can't be summed up with a mere hour of conversation. Still, it's worth a shot.

With thanks to Ben Lee, Caitlin Harnett and Wollongong UniBar.

Produced by Paul McWhirter, edited by David James Young.

Follow Ben on Facebook: @benleemusic
Follow Ben on Twitter: @benleemusic
Follow Ben on Instagram: @benleemusic
Follow Ben on TikTok: @benleemusic

This podcast was recorded on Dharawal land and edited between Wirundjeri and Dharawal land.

Support David on Patreon: http://patreon.com/davidjamesyoung

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When then-triple j breakfast hosts Alex Dyson and Matt Okine decided to surprise Melbourne singer-songwriter Gretta Ray with news she'd won a competition through the station’s Unearthed initiative, they did not head to her place of work. Nor did they go to her place of residence. Instead, they ended up at Princes Hill Secondary College, where Ray was a student. A prodigious singer and budding songwriter, Ray could not have predicted the ensuing years of national and international touring, millions of streams and a steady ascent to the top of Australian pop's echelon. Now barely in her 20s, a debut studio album awaits - but not before a quick Bar Bands debrief on her choral background, conquering festivals, genre code switches and meeting her heroes.

Gretta Ray's debut album Begin to Look Around arrives August 27 via Ballarat/EMI Music Australia.

Special thanks to Mariam Dib.
Recorded by David James Young and Gretta Louise Ray.
Produced and edited by David James Young.

Follow Gretta on Instagram: @grettaray
Follow Gretta on Twitter: @grettaray
Follow Gretta on Facebook: @grettaraymusic

This podcast was recorded on Wirundjeri and Tharawal land, and was edited on Tharawal land.

Support David on Patreon: http://patreon.com/davidjamesyoung

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lonely and dreaming on the west coast, Jono Mata and Sam Blitvitch both aspired to be the guitar heroes they saw on their screens at an impressionable age. With Sly Withers - both men's first in-earnest band - they were able to achieve something far greater. With their open, honest every-man take on pub rock and pop-punk, the band quickly carved a niche that soon became bigger than either could have anticipated. With the release of their second studio album Gardens, the band find themselves among the top of the food chain in Australian rock - which is quite the feat for a band that was barely out of high school when it started. Reflecting on their story over a drink on the patio of a Newtown Airbnb, Mata and Blitvich connect the dots to explain how a fledgling guitar band ended up on the national airwaves and touring the country with Amy Shark.

Gardens is out now via Dew Process.

Special thanks to Amy Simmons, Deathproof PR, Nathan Wood, Dew Process and Skinny O'Leary.

Produced and edited by Paul McWhirter. Additional editing by David James Young.

Follow Sly Withers on Instagram: @slywithers
Follow Sly Withers on Twitter: @slywithers
Follow Sly Withers on Facebook: @slywithers

This podcast was recorded on Gadigal land and edited on Wirundjeri and Tharawal land.

Support David on Patreon: http://patreon.com/davidjamesyoung

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Much like the inner rings of a cut-open tree, there are a surprising degree of layers to Sydney trio STUMPS. Although they boast a confident, extroverted frontman in Kyle Fisher, he had never actually even so much as sang a note on stage prior to the band's formation in the late 2010s. Their rhythm section, meanwhile - bassist Merrick Powell & drummer Jonathan Dolan - had never played indie-rock before; instead, their bread and butter was hardcore punk matinees - making songs to literally scream at the sun in scene stalwarts Perspectives. So, how did all three end up making jaunty post-punk-revival-revival indie-disco? Gather round, and we'll tell you a tale.

Special thanks to Kyle Fisher, Pat O'Hara, Beau Somers and The Lansdowne Hotel.
Produced and edited by Paul McWhirter. Additional editing by David James Young.

Follow STUMPS on Instagram: @stumpstheband
Follow STUMPS on Twitter: @stumpstheband
Follow STUMPS on Facebook: @stumpstheband

This podcast was recorded on Gadigal land and edited on Wirundjeri and Tharawal land.

Support David on Patreon: http://patreon.com/davidjamesyoung

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Charlene Bailey has lived a life of reintroductions. A promising country upstart in the heart of Tamworth, the singer-songwriter got her start as a child prodigy in a family band. She later emerged as a prospective indie-pop darling in the big smoke of Sydney and Los Angeles, helming Tigertown for some prosperous but simultaneously tumultuous years. These days, folks know her as Charlie Collins - a big-voiced, big-hearted and utterly charming artist that sonically composes her past and present to create something well worth investing in for the future. With two new songs out in the world - one of which features her childhood hero Kasey Chambers - it felt opportune to saddle up next to Ms. Collins and her two playful cats in her Sydney abode, discussing both the story so far and what we can expect going ahead.

Charlie's new singles "Fuck It" and "Honey Can We Run Away" are out now via Island Records.

Produced and edited by Paul McWhirter.
Additional editing by David James Young.

Follow Charlie on Instagram: @charliecollins
Follow Charlie on Twitter: @xcharliecollins
Follow Charlie on Facebook: @iamcharliecollins

This podcast was recorded on Gadigal land and edited on Wirundjeri and Tharawal land.

www.allmyfriendsareinbarbands.com

Support David on Patreon: http://patreon.com/davidjamesyoung

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Growing up outside of Cologne, Anika Ostendorf had lofty but headstrong ambitions to get into the world of music. She ended up there, but not in the way her younger self may have initially expected. As Hachiku, Ostendorf has forged a career in the indie pop world that has seen her charming, kitschy indie-pop win over audiences on both a local and international scale - as well as tours alongside the likes of Courtney Barnett, The Breeders and Jose Gonzalez. Before a headlining show at Petersham Bowling Club, she discussed the ins and outs of the Ford family band, sleeping in your car on tour and why her dad still has 800 copies of her first CD.

Hachiku's debut album I'll Probably Be Asleep is out now.

Stream, download and buy it here: https://hachikumusic.bandcamp.com/album/ill-probably-be-asleep

For the curious, Anika's first release as Ani Petite is available here: https://anipetite.bandcamp.com/album/demo

Special thanks to Anika Ostendorf, Marcelle Bradbeer, Milk! Records and the Petersham Bowling Club.

Produced and edited by Paul McWhirter.
Additional editing by David James Young.

Follow Hachiku on Instagram: @hachikumusic
Follow Hachiku on Twitter: @hachikumusic
Follow Hachiku on Facebook: @hachiku

This podcast was recorded on Gadigal land and edited on Wirundjeri and Tharawal land.

www.allmyfriendsareinbarbands.com

Support David on Patreon: http://patreon.com/davidjamesyoung

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.