It was interview city last week at the Vine. After already putting our chats with Midnight Juggernauts and Soundwave attendees A.F.I out there, we spoke to The Mess Hall (after seeing them play the the RRR performance space) about their actually great new record For The Birds, Whitley about his also actually great album Go Forth, Find Mammoth and Ollie Browne, he of Art Of Fighting infamy, about his new project Parallel Lions. Expect the extended, full length interviews from them all in the coming days.

On the international front we also talked to a chatty Romy from maybe our favourite new band of the year The XX, whistler extraordinaire Andrew Bird, and some dude from some band called Blur. Yep, Doug Wallen caught up with that band's guitarist Graham Coxon to talk about his new solo record, as well as ask the inevitable: What's up with Blur?

Blur did some reunion dates earlier this year. Is there any chance of more dates or even some recording?

Not at the moment. Everyone seems to be really busy again, getting back to their usual stuff. I don’t know. We’ll see what happens next year. I think it’d be interesting to do more stuff. If everyone thinks that way, I don’t see why something else might not happen. But there’s nothing in the cards right now.

From the horses mouth. Expect all those interviews and more coming ASAP.

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Our resident designer, Wu-Tang reviewer and hip-hop aficionado proved his finger on the pulse a few weeks back when he pitched in on a jokey email circle that unearthed a Sudanese rapper living in Footscray called Bangs. He blogged about it, word spread, others jumped on the bandwagon and Bangs is now fast turning out to be an accidental internet sensation (kind've like Worst Rap Ever); so much so that Sydney's Snob Scrilla, who was in Melbourne to support Phrase at the Prince of Wales last week, tracked him down via a Footscray record store to ask him to do a spot during Scrilla's set. He did. He brought popcorn. And history is made.

 
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Were you into Melbourne hard rock band Mammal? Too bad. They've split. The reason? Judging from this statement from the band, differences between singer Ezekial Ox and everyone else.

MAMMAL CANCEL ALL TOURING AND BREAK UP

Due to long standing personal, political, musical and business differences, MAMMAL has decided it cannot continue and is no more.
 
Ezekiel Ox will be releasing the debut album for his folk/rock outfit The Ox And The Fury early 2010, as well as continuing to work with super-producer and long time friend
Forrester Savell on their new incarnation Smash Nova. He will also continue his activist work with Musicians Against Police Violence (MAPV) and Melbourne Copwatch.
 
Pete, Nick and Zane will continue to work together with a new project scheduled for 2010.
 
Mammal would like to thank all of their families and friends for all their love and support over these last 4 years. We would also like to give thanks and love to all the great bands we have had the pleasure of sharing the stage with, in particular Cog - a big thank you for giving us our start.
 
But most importantly we wish to thank the fans for their unbelievably loyal and heartfelt support which gave us the opportunity to play some amazing shows, to release our records and travel the world.
 
We will never forget these times.
 
Peace, Love and Music.
 
Mammal

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Lily Allen announced her Big Day Out sideshows last week and now here comes a few more. The Mars Volta will bring their progressive waffle to the East Coast, as will professional riot starter Girl Talk. Tickets for Mars Volta go on sale November 16th from ticketek.com.au (Brisbane and Sydney) and ticketmaster.com.au (Melbourne). No idea when Girl Talk tickets go on sale because the ticketek site isn't even listing it yet, so presumably it'll be soon.   

THE MARS VOLTA - BIG DAY OUT SIDESHOWS 2010

BRISBANE - Monday 18 January - Brisbane Tivoli
SYDNEY - Wednesday 20 January - Sydney Hordern Pavilion
MELBOURNE - Monday 25 January - Festival Hall (All Ages)

GIRL TALK - BIG DAY OUT SIDESHOWS 2010

Wednesday 20th January - The Palace, Melbourne
Monday 25th January - Enmore Theatre, Sydney

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The Sydney Festival has announced a bunch of the artists playing and performing at the 2010 event in January. The festival was once a barren wasteland for the readers of this here site, at least until name's like Sufjan Stevens, Joanna Newsom, Four Tet, The National, Bon Iver, Nick Cave and Metronomy started popping up. So it was with fingers crossed we anticipated this year's announcement. And, well it's...alright. The full announcement isn't until 6pm tonight so until then, here's who we know is coming:

Al Green
Grizzly Bear
Neko Case
John Cale
Dirty Three & Laughing Clowns -  in a special Don’t Look Back presentation.
Medeski Martin & Wood
Fink
Laura Marling
Patrick Watson
Seckou Keita Quintet
Sharon Shannon Band
The Books
The Handsome Family
Hal Willner - (Came So Far for Beauty, Sydney Festival 2005), presents his Rogue’s Gallery, featuring an exemplary line-up of local and international pop, rock and folk artists in an epic concert tribute to songs of the sea. The all-star cast, including Marianne Faithfull, David Johansen (New York Dolls), actor/musician Tim Robbins, Gavin Friday, Norma Waterson (The Watersons), David Thomas (Pere Ubu), Baby Gramps, Sarah Blasko, Katy Steele (Little Birdy), Glenn Richards (Augie March) and more, will perform contemporary re-workings of traditional pirate ballads, sea-songs and chanteys
 
There's more to come, and another glance at the Beck’s Festival Bar line up reveals a couple more:
 
January 10 - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (USA), Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears (USA)
January 13 - Grizzly Bear (USA), The Middle East
January 14 - Severed Heads, The Reels, Stephen Mallinder (Cabaret Voltaire), DJ Set
January 15 - Vieux Farka Touré (Mali), The Mess Hall, Dan Sultan
January 21 - Camera Obscura (UK), The Slow Club (UK), Popfrenzy DJs
January 22 - Trevor Jackson (UK), Yen (live), Future Classic DJs
January 27 - DJ Yoda’s National Video Vacation (UK), DJ Sampology
January 28 - FBI Night: The Very Best (UK), Radio Clit (UK), Ro Sham Bo DJs
January 29 - Breakestra (USA), J-Rocc (Beat Junkies), Space Invadas, Soulshaker DJs
 
Further dates for Beck’s Festival Bar will be announced in late-November.

Check the festival site for more (from 6pm today).

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And lastly, the wonderful Golden Plains Festival announces it's first lineup tomorrow. We know Pavement are playing, the rest will be here on TheVine at 9.10am sharp. Tune in.