Andrew Stockdale in the Market for New Drummer

Andrew Stockdale has revealed that former Wolfmother sticksman Hamish Rosser will not be performing on his upcoming solo tour this June, giving fans a unique opportunity to perform with the band by showing off their own drumming skills and joining the remaining four members in Australia.

Tweeting earlier today (May 11th), Stockdale cut straight to the point when he revealed “I’m looking for a drummer for the AS [Andrew Stockdale] OZ tour, anyone interested follow and send a DM”. In response to the question of Rosser’s omission, the frontman explained that “He’s out, I couldn’t afford his rate. AS tour is scaling down to smaller venues, I couldn’t pay the WM [Wolfmother] rates”. Rosser originally joined Wolfmother in early 2012 after leaving The Vines, and performed on three tracks on Stockdale’s upcoming album Keep Moving.

In order to be in with a chance of performing with Stockdale, Peres, Steele and Hammond this summer, all fans have to do is send the singer a few videos of their performances of Wolfmother songs ‘Woman’ and ‘Joker & the Thief’ and solo songs ‘Long Way to Go’ and ‘Keep Moving’, and commit to touring this June in Australia. Numerous followers have already expressed their interest on Twitter and Facebook.

Wolfmother’s original drummer was Myles Heskett, who formed the band with Stockdale and Chris Ross way back in 2000. Dave Atkins replaced him in 2008, although left himself due to other commitments two years later. The Mooney Suzuki drummer Will Rockwell-Scott joined in 2010, before leaving in 2012 for Rosser to fill the gap.

Ross and Heskett to Appear at Songwriting Event

Former Wolfmother band members Chris Ross (bass, keyboards) and Myles Heskett (drums) are scheduled to appear at an event in Sydney later this week speaking to attendees about songwriting and music.

The event has been organised by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), who awarded Ross and Heskett (along with frontman Andrew Stockdale) the Songwriter of the Year award at their 2007 APRA Awards ceremony, as well as the Breakthrough Songwriter Award the previous year. Dubbed Songwriter Speaks, the session is described by APRA as focused on “songwriters that not only cross boundaries but hemispheres too”.

Ross and Heskett formed Wolfmother with recently-solo Stockdale in Sydney in 2000, and co-wrote the band’s self-titled debut album released in 2005. They left the band in 2008, citing personal and musical differences, and went on to form electronic group The Slew with Kid Koala and Dynomite D. The duo are currently performing with Sarah Kelly in Good Heavens.

Full details of the event can be found here. Thanks to APRA’s Greg Morrow for the information!

Keep Moving Tour Dates Announced

On Friday (April 26th), the same day as the release of his new EP, recently-solo Andrew Stockdale announced the first leg of his upcoming Keep Moving Tour, which coincides with the release of the album of the same name on June 7th.

The tour, which will feature former Wolfmother members Ian Peres, Vin Steele, Elliott Hammond and Hamish Rosser, all of whom performed on the upcoming album, will begin in the Australian city of Newcastle on June 6th and comprise an initial 14 shows in 10 cities over three weeks, ending in Stockdale’s hometown of Byron Bay on June 29th.

Support acts are yet to be revealed, and ticketing details will be announced in the coming week. More dates in other countries are presumed to follow shortly after this opening leg. Dates for the tour can be seen below, and also on our tour page.

Keep Moving EP Released This Week!

Before the release of his debut 14-/15-track solo album in June, Andrew Stockdale has today (April 26th) released his first EP, Keep Moving. A digital-only collection, the EP features four songs slated to appear on the upcoming album of the same name, and is available for download from iTunes and Amazon.

If you live in Australia, Austria or Germany, you can download the EP from today; if you’re in the United Kingdom or another European country, it will be available from Sunday (April 28th); and if you’re based in the United States or Canada, you can download it from Tuesday (April 30th). Issued under the Universal label group, Keep Moving features the songs ‘Long Way to Go’, ‘Keep Moving’, ‘Somebody’s Calling’, and ‘Everyday Drone’, recorded by Stockdale and former Wolfmother bandmates in Byron Bay throughout the last year.

Keep Moving the album is currently scheduled for release on June 7th, 10th or 11th depending on your region, and will be Stockdale’s first release since Wolfmother’s Cosmic Egg in 2009.

Andrew Jams with Spiderbait Drummer

Just a quick story to which to bring your attention — Andrew Stockdale has uploaded a couple of videos (with many more to come) of a jam session involving himself and Mark Maher, better known as Kram, the drummer of alternative rock band Spiderbait, who will be joining Stockdale’s band on the bill for the Aerosmith show at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium on April 28th.

Check out Andrew’s YouTube channel for the videos, more of which will be added soon!

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