With multi-platinum  selling bands such as Silverchair and The Screaming Jets born and bred in the city it makes sense that that an organisation that prides itself on “giving back to the community that supports it” does so in the most appropriate manner.

Check 1 2 3 4  and enter stage left former Screaming Jets Drummer and local music identity Craig “Rosie” Rosevear  (and bonafide member of the Twitterati: @schoolofrock) with his performance based music school Rosie’s School of Rock. “We were pretty curious when we saw the School of Rock sign go up just across the road” says  King St.

McDonald’s restaurant manager Luke Dippel “so we invited the kids from the school to perform for McHappy Day and it was fantastic !!  We could see the potential in the School and what it could do for the kids of the region and we wanted to be part of something that was so positive and uplifting in their lives, it was like Food for the Soul !!”

So come Monday 23^rd March one lucky student from Rosie’s School of Rock will be awarded the “King St. McDonalds Rock On Scholarship” and will receive a full years tuition paid for by McDonalds. “The relationship we have with King St McDonalds is  a cool thing for both parties” says School of Rock Principal Craig “Rosie” Rosevear. The King St Restaurant provides a great venue for the kids of the School to perform at throughout the year and the kids get a great feeling when they not only get to Rock Out onstage but they know that other kids will benefit when proceeds from these events go to Ronald McDonald House. I think the kids helping kids thing is way cool !!”

The kid’s of Rosie’s School of Rock will team up with the staff of King St McDonalds and provide  “more food for the soul” when they  go to Ronald McDonald House Hunter Region on Tuesday 14^th April 6.30pm.

The kids from the School of Rock will perform for the young patients and their families who live at the house and the staff of the King St store will cook dinner for all. Rosevear, an avid twitter user (@schoolofrock) will give regular Twitter and Twitpic updates from the event as well as post Twiddeo: hashtag from this event will be *food for the soul*. “I think it’s such a great opportunity for the kids from Rosie’s School of Rock to connect personally with the kid’s living at Ronald McDonald house and maybe take their minds off things with a dose of Rock and Roll we can take this connection even further by using the social networking power of Twitter, Twitpic and Twiddeo. We’re going to use the positive vibes of the twitterati and broadcast this event from Newcastle to the World”

So don’t be surprised when one day you’ order your   McDonalds and you’re asked “Would you like a Tweet with that ? “

Q. What do a Neo Fauvist artist and a Rockstar have in common ?

A. The Archibald Prize

No, this is not some attempt at highbrow humour but the latest project for Hunter Valley based artist Peter Sesselmann. The Archibald Prize is regarded as the most important portraiture prize and is  the most prominent of all arts prizes in Australia. The Archibald is unique in that the subject should be considered to be someone “distinguished in art, science or politics”. So what subject would be best to compliment an artist such as Peter who is known for his loud vivid  colourful  style ?

Well someone with a loud, vivid style of their own; enter local music identity Craig “Rosie” Rosevear. Best known as the driving beat behind the legendary Screaming Jets and now the Principal of the successful Rosie’s School of Rock the pair met when Peter and his wife Anita (talented musicians of their own right) enrolled his children Brie and Miles into Rosie’s music school. “I wanted to create a painting with volume and energy” says Peter, anyone who has met  Rosie knows that he is volume and energy on two legs”.

The painting process ,which took place in Sesselmann’s impressive Sawyers Gully studio / gallery (located in the Hunter Valley Vineyards) was also characterized by an appropriate soundtrack to such a loud and energetic painting. “Rosie brought in a CD of AC/DC Live in Paris to play while he sat and I painted, when we got through with that I put on one of my favourites “Santana” says Sesselmann.

“You can hear the “Rock” in the painting “says Rosevear. Besides capturing Rosevear’s energy on canvas, Sesselmann, who has previously placed in the prestigious Amnesty International “Freedom” Art Awards, cleverly combined Rosie’s past and present callings by combining his Rock and Roll  pastime with his passion for mentoring the next generation of Rock Musicians via Rosie’s School of Rock, in fact Peter claims that Rosie is the ultimate  “Rock and Role Model”.

Propelled by Straight Lines – the Single Of The Year – Silverchair’s fifth record Young Modern also claimed the band’s first Album Of The Year gong and three other awards including Best Group and Best Rock Album.

Their
five trophies takes their ARIA haul to a total of 19 since they burst
onto the scene as 14-year-olds, making them the most successful act in
the 21-year history of the awards.

While Johns’ wife Natalie
Imbruglia wasn’t on hand to cheer her husband on as she is on a feature
film shoot in South Australia, Nicole Kidman beamed when husband Keith
Urban again won Best Country Album.

His album Love Pain and the Whole Crazy Thing was mostly inspired by falling in love with the Hollywood leading lady.

"She is very prevalent in most of the songs," he said, before adding fans shouldn’t expect a duet from the pair any time soon.

"I promise not to act as well, so it’s a fair deal."

The
vanguard of Australian music’s new pop scene were also big winners at
the Acer Arena ceremony, led by the multi-nominated Sneaky Sound System
who won awards for Best Breakthrough and Best Dance album.

Colourful
teen act Operator Please, who have already achieved Next Big Thing
status in the UK, exploded with youthful excitement when their
poptastic hit Just

A Song About Ping Pong was named 2007′s Breakthrough single.

Bedroom
sonic architect Gotye who has struggled to gain support from mainstream
radio was a shock winner of Best Male Artist, claiming the award from
short-odds favourite John Butler.

His win will no doubt
capture more fans for his soaring atmospheric blend of soul, pop, rock
and electronica. Butler and his bandmates didn’t go home empty-handed,
picking up two awards with their much-acclaimed album Grand National, including Best Independent Release.

They also delivered one of the night’s performance highlights, teaming with Urban on the John Butler Trio hit Funky Tonight to close the show.

Missy Higgins was again crowned our Best Female Artist for her second album On A Clear Night.

Damien
Leith exemplified the Idol factor on the awards, following in the
footsteps of previous winners who have taken out the Highest Selling
Album title which is measured by sales rather than votes.

"LAST time we played here, no one liked us very much," joked Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns.

The singer had no such concerns when Silverchair made a triumphant return to their native Newcastle last night.

The Newcastle rockers rarely take second place to anyone, particularly in their home town, but they bowed to age, rather than experience as their older collaborators, Powderfinger, closed the show at the beginning of their joint tour last night.

The crowd of more than 7000 at Newcastle Entertainment Centre was more concerned with the quality of this rare double bill than its running order.

In fact, the Newcastle trio will spend the next nine weeks opening for their Brisbane colleagues on the Across the Great Divide tour, the biggest run of concerts either band has undertaken in Australia.

The two giants of Oz rock have joined forces to take their talents to places that rarely feature on the mainstream touring schedule, such as Bendigo in Victoria, Tamworth in NSW and Toowoomba in Queensland, alongside 11 other regional centres and state capitals.

The tour winds up where it began last night, in Newcastle, on October 26. Silverchair’s set included material from their latest album, Young Modern, and crowd favourites from their back catalogue, such as Freak and The Greatest View.

It was one of the best warm-ups Powderfinger fans have ever had.

The Brisbane outfit also impressed with new songs Who Really Cares? and Black Tears alongside their earlier numbers.

The two groups are also working to promote reconciliation in Australia throughout the tour, in particular the work of the Reconcilation Australia organisation.

Both bands have had long lay-offs in the lead-up to this tour.

Young Modern is Silverchair’s first album in five years, while Powderfinger’s recent Dream Days at the Hotel Existence comes four years after their previous album, Vulture Street.

The bands are expected to feature highly among the nominations for this year’s ARIAs.

The tour moves to Powderfinger’s home territory, Brisbane, tomorrow.

When Newcastle-based jazz clarinet player Andy Firth received an invitation from the Carnegie Corporation to perform at New York’s famed Carnegie Hall, he was stunned.

After all, for most musicians the idea of playing Carnegie is just a dream.

"I had to read it a couple of times to realise it wasn’t a hoax," Andy says. "It’s very exciting. I still can’t quite believe it’s happening to me, and that I’ll be performing in the same hall where people like (cellist) Yo Yo Ma performed."

Andy Firth is rapidly becoming recognised as one of the world’s best jazz clarinet players, so you might assume that packing his bags and heading overseas would be the smartest way to advance his career.

Not so says Andy, who continues to teach in the regional New South Wales city of Newcastle.

"This is a paradise, why wouldn’t you live in Newcastle?" he said. "Australia is the best place to live, so if you want to have a home and lifestyle, this is the best place. I think the lifestyle goes a long way to the music that you play and write. I can’t be creative if I’m stressed and held up in traffic, so this is my home and I love it dearly. I can just get on a plane and fly out to where I need to be – I think a lot of musicians are doing that now."

The pressure is on, though, as Andy’s repertoire for the Carnegie performance early next year revolves around the work of virtuoso clarinettist and jazz legend Benny Goodman, who performed a famous concert at Carnegie Hall.

How tough will it be performing the music of Benny Goodman in the US where, as Andy says, there is at any time 15 Benny Goodman tribute bands on tour? "

While I’m no big name in the world of jazz or the public, people know me in the world of clarinet, so this concert will help build my credibility within the international saxophone and clarinet community."

Why does such an in-demand performer still teach younger players, with an international career beckoning?

"I started learning music when I was five years old and my first instrument was clarinet. I remember sitting on my bed and listening to the radio and I heard Benny Goodman, and something in my head just switched, and I knew it was what I wanted to do all my life. People don’t believe me but it’s true. So spending time with younger players is just another terrific challenge."

World Premiere

Hunter Region bands together for storm tribute.

Craig "Rosie" Rosevear and Grant Walmsley of Screaming Jets fame plus Mark Tinson and leading home grown talent have collabarated as The Newie Allstars for the charitable release of "We Can’t Be Beaten single and video clip… a tribute to thank the heroes and volunteers who came to the region’s aid during the "storm".

The CD single is available for sale from 18 July from Companion Credit Union branches, with other venues to be announced.

A free concert and family day is to be held on 22 July from 12 noon on the Newcastle forsehore featuring The Heroes, Grant Walmsley, The Retro Rockets, Benjalu, Vince Martinelli, The Physical Funkettes, Rosie’s School of Rock, The Balance Health Kanga Kids, Hunter School of Performing Arts, Powerage, Jason Lowe, Dan Granero plus The Newie Allstars and special guests.

All monies raised form the sale of the single will be donated to the State Emergency Service (SES) or you can make a donation at the concert.

The concert, single and video have been proudly supported by Companion Credit Union and made with the assistance of NBN, ONE80 Digital Post, Newcastle TAFE, Rosie’s School of Rock, Hunters Best, Sticky Advertising and Stuart Glover.

The single will be made available in Companion Credit Union branches or you can pre-order by just emailing gordon at info@huntersbest.com.au

We are also looking for socially aware corporations to help distribute this tribute song and fundraiser.

Copies of the single will be going for $5.00…cheap as chips!

All monies raised will be going directly to the State Emergency Service (SES).