myspace music

Stephen Cummings
Glam

LIKES: IRONING. DISLIKES: EVERYTHING ELSE.



Melbourne, Victoria
Australia

Profile Views:  85883




Last Login:  11/11/2009
View My: Pics | Videos | Playlists

   Contacting Stephen Cummings

 MySpace URL: 

   Stephen Cummings: General Info
Member Since12/4/2006
Band Websitehttp://www.lovetown.net
Band MembersImage and video hosting by TinyPic

GO TO THE LOVETOWN SITE http://www.lovetown.net. TO BUY STEPHEN'S BOOKS AND MUSIC USING PAY PAL. Or send a cheque or money order to PO BOX 340. Glenhuntly, Melbourne, Victoria 3165. CD'S ARE $25 & $5 FOR POSTAGE AND novels are $20 & $5 postage. MEMOIR IS $35 & postage. Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Stephen Can Draw.
Public Gig: STEPHEN performs Live In-store November 21st @ 3pm at "555 guitar shop" at 555 Burwood Road Hawthorn in dear old Melbourne. IT'S FREE PEOPLE! NEW ALBUM AND MEMOIR FOR SALE ON THE DAY. Image and video hosting by TinyPic
STEPHEN performs Live In-store December 5 @ 5pm @ PURE POP RECORDS IN ST KILDA. THEY HAVE A GREAT GARDEN BAR. IT'S FREE! NEW ALBUM AND BOOK FOR SALE ON THE DAY. NOT TO BE MISSED. GET THEIR EARLY.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Sydney Morning Herald. 2009.

Undeterred by the threat of becoming persona non grata, Stephen Cummings has produced a page-turner, writes Bernard Zuel. So this is how it ends. Stephen Cummings has been playing music for nearly 40 years, written a couple of novels, done some journalism, helped flog Medibank ("I feel better now" - he does every time the royalty cheque comes in, thank you) and, with the Sports and his solo career, has racked up enough crucial musical moments to fill a classic-hits radio station playlist. This month he publishes Will It Be Funny Tomorrow, Billy?, an often hilarious if occasionally uncomfortable memoir with sex and drugs, bad behaviour and really, really bad behaviour, unfettered opinions and brutal honesty. It's not so much "tell all" as "Oh my God, did he really say that about (insert name of famous musician/manager/TV personality/parent) in print?". "I could have been more brutal [about myself] than that," Cummings says. "But I thought, 'No, I have to go to school and face the parents of my youngest child's friends and they may think I'm really weird'." Stephen Cummings weird? Heaven forbid.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

JACK KEROUAC - FORTY YEARS SINCE HE STOPPED THE MACHINE.

NOT PASSING THROUGH! Image and video hosting by TinyPic

What the papers have said:

“Alongside Nick Cave and Tim Rogers, I would nominate Stephen Cummings. He is easily one of our great storytellers, capable of creating lives in miniature.”
-Bernard Zuel, The Sydney Morning Herald

“Apart from Paul Kelly, no other Australian solo artist has managed to sustain a recording and performing career at such a high level of artistry for as long as Stephen Cummings.”
-Shaun Carney, The Age

“Debonair, romantic and sensitive, Cummings owns a voice that allows vulnerable yearning qualities as much space as an authoritative voice of experience.”
-Lauren Zoric, Rolling Stone

“STEPHEN CUMMINGS, who just may have Australian pop's finest male vocal chords. His voice is full of echoes of early Elvis, rockabilly/honky-tonk & Chicago blues, but as expressed through a definitely post-modern, literate Melburnian state of mind.”
by Lucky Oceans ABC Radio National, 7 February 2003

“STEPHEN CUMMINGS is a master of poignant detail, the oblique image that captures a state of rapture. It was evident on his band the Sport's debut album, Reckless, in 1978. In the intervening years his language has become more direct and acute. That he hasn't been acknowledged as one of the great lyricists of the time is still a mystery. Perhaps it speaks more to that fact that his songs explore the contradictions and the subtleties of relationships rather than paint generic pictures and glib platitudes.”
by Toby Creswell - HQ, Dec-Jan 2001-2, issue 86


Some Background.

• Formed the legendary rockabilly band, The Pelaco Brothers in 1974 • Started The Sports in 1976. Recorded the Fair Game EP and received rave reviews in NME - the first Australian independent release to do so

• The Sports signed with Mushroom and Stiff in the UK

• Toured with Graham Parker, Elvis Costello, the Buzzcocks and Blondie

• Scored a Top 40 hit in the US with 'Who Listens to the Radio?'

• Signed with Arista in the US

• Disbanded The Sports and started his solo career in 1983. First solo hit, Gymnasium

• ARIA Award for Best Adult Contemporary album in 1990

• Recorded 15 solo albums

Influences />

'Out Of Our Heads' - Rolling Stones, Mott The Hoople, Peter Cook, The Move, Henry Miller, Slim Harpo, Incredible String Band, Robert Crumb, The Everly Brothers, Ricky Nelson, Aldous Huxley, Angela Carter, The Wild Cherries, Purple Hearts, Bo Diddley and David Bowie from 1970 to 1974 ONLY.

Sounds Like
Record LabelJAZZHEAD/HEAD
Type of LabelIndie


Get Flash now!

In order to listen or view this content you will have to upgrade your version of Flash.


Stephen Cummings's Latest Blog Entry  [Subscribe to this Blog]

you are growing drowsy and have an uncontrollable urge to fal  (view more)

the day the Berlin Wall came down.   (view more)

preening and posturing  (view more)

slipping into weatherman territory  (view more)

Chinese Democracy  (view more)

[View All Blog Entries]

   About Stephen Cummings


Myspace Editor
Pimp MySpace

Hey Citizens! I pray to the merciful imaginary gods above that you will want to buy the powerful and elegant and trashy MUSIC & BOOKS listed below. GO TO THE LOVETOWN SITE http://www.lovetown.net AND BUY MY BOOKS AND MUSIC USING PAY PAL or else send a cheque or money order to PO BOX 340. Glenhuntly, Melbourne, Victoria 3165. Subsequently I will fill your order - sealed with my saliva and a signature if required. Just press the buy button and I rush to the shops. THE NEW ALBUM IS AVAILABLE FROM LOVETOWN: BUY FROM ME DIRECT!!!! Image and video hosting by TinyPic Stephen Cummings is about as consistent an artist as they come. It's astonishing how he keeps up his pace of voluminous quality. Tickety Boo is an album of classic all new radio pop and understated folk-rock beauty. Influenced in equal parts by The Kinks, The Move and Shuggie Otis. Listen to this CD and then try to explain why "NOW HERE SHE COMES" isn't plastered on radios across this land. It will never slip your memory. After several fine folksy acoustic outings, Stephen Cummings comes raring' back with Tickety Boo - a collection of catchy, electric guitar based pop/rock. Cumming’s voice is in top POP form, carving up his eloquent songs. Cummings’ voice will allow you to go without food or water for long periods. Lyrically and melodically, the songs are good with their blend of fun and existential sadness. These songs are smart and hooky and bursting with ideas and ambitions. BILLY MILLER produced Tickety Boo; which flows nicely from start to finish, with nary a clunker or drag. Its sound embraces everything from old-time rock & roll, including Buddy Holly, but also displays Beatles-style harmonies and lyrical complexity. Cummings in spite of everything believes in albums. Miller’s chiming guitar instils lustre to songs like "Happy City” And "Don’t Use the Telephone”. Cummings’ ode to comedy legend BOB HOPE is extraordinary – as is his salute to French Filmmaker JEAN LUC GODARD " Girl & a Gun”. ‘I’m Your Biggest Fan’ is a history of an unnamed Melbourne ‘outsider’ group. Tickety Boo is dedicated to Stephen Cummings mother, Lorna who died mid-2009 and quite rocked his world. Stephen Cummings remarks: “My goals in doing this are to keep making records and to earn enough to keep going...which in my eyes is success.” Image and video hosting by TinyPic



AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD FROM THE USUAL PLACES! ALSO!!! NOW 100 COPIES ONLY IN A LOVELY CD PACK. ALL AVAILABLE FROM NEXT WEDNESDAY. PAY PAL DETAILS UP OVER THE WEEKEND. It was a hot warm afternoon, the sky was full of yellows and blazing reds and I had driven for three days in an RV through floods and the like to get to Byron Bay for the Easter Festival. It was magical - one 73 minute set in the big tent before Steve Earle. Shane O’Mara contrived a wall of sound from one guitar and though I was scared to death, I hung on for the ride. Everything was darker and heavier than you thought. Let me state for the record, that when we arrived at the end of the set we were both exhausted. The audience danced madly. They looked like listless pink flamingoes. Our buddy Adam Rhodes recorded it. This music is live and raw and emotional. We don’t have a problem with that. Never. Stephen

Happiest Man Alive by Michael Dwyer - The Age, 3 October 2008 3.5 stars The juxtaposition of effusive title and overcast cover provides a sardonic entree to Stephen Cummings' umpteenth album. The juxtaposition of effusive title and overcast cover provides a sardonic entree to Stephen Cummings' umpteenth album of acoustic philosophising but the keynote feels more like sanguine acceptance than sarcasm. "Like it or not, this is the world that we live in," he sings on the way to the mellow chorus mantra that Love is Space and Time. It's a world of spooky swings and bumpy roundabouts; fond notes to fallen heroes (Raymond Chandler, Edward Hopper, Henry Miller) and only the occasional grumpy outburst at the TV. Sure, Sick Comedian, a howl of indignation at declining standards of politics, media and economic integrity, is one of the album's most potent and lingering tracks - and he's only warming up for the bilious snarl of You Know It All By Heart. But Straight to Your Arms is one of the most vulnerable and contented of his career and the meditative clarity of This Song Can Save You and What A Joy It Is to Dance and Sing is without apparent irony. "Am I thinking a little too much?" he wonders on the haunting penultimate track. On balance, it's probably just the right amount.



>/a> Good sport has space for endless love Space Travel: 4.5 stars
 by Iain Shedden - The Australian, 25 August 2007 Space Travel, features Little Girl on a Sofa, a gentle, nostalgic love song with Beach Boys harmonies, alongside 10 others that plunder gospel and soul (I Remember), swampy rock'n'roll (Hey Kitty Kitty!) and acoustic folk (It's Not Me, It's You!). The strings, strum and repetitive cycle of No Stopping echo the Blue Nile, but the song is no less impressive for that. Indeed, everything here has a spring in its step, augmented by Cummings's regular collaborators McDonald and Miller, the Luscombe brothers and Shane O'Mara. Clearly he's loving it, even if, as he says on Who Wants to Buy a Broken Heart?, "falling in love, that's not for me". A bit of poetics. He deserves a round of applause.


Love-O-Meter/a> 4 stars by Shaun Carney - eg, The Age, 14 October 2005/a> More than 30 years after forming his first band, the Pelaco Brothers, and after 11 solo albums of original material, the challenge for a performer with the sort of career longevity that Stephen Cummings enjoys is to maintain the element of surprise. Beginning with the funky, urban-sounding Senso in 1983, Cummings has toured through lush pop, wide-screen soundscapes (courtesy of Steve Kilbey), raw acoustic balladry and guitar rock. His previous album of new songs was Firecracker in 2003, a boisterous collection of Ricky Nelson-style rockabilly pieces unlike anything he had done before. For Love-O-Meter, Cummings has taken another sharp turn, putting together a song suite - let's not call it a concept album - that tracks the break-up of a relationship and attempts of a heartsick man to rekindle the flame. It's dramatically different to Firecracker, resembling in places a mid-1960s beat group, in others exploring a mildly psychedelic sensibility. Cummings' vocalising is different too; it's often raspy and aggressive as he drives home the pop hooks and, along with producer Shane O'Mara, he hasn't been afraid to apply studio treatments and multi-tracking to his voice. In some respects, Love-O-Meter bundles up Cummings' stylistic tics. The jazzy, clubby element of his writing comes to the fore on the central song, the pained, dreamy Once Upon a Time We Were Mad For Each Other. It seems fitting that Cummings, whose natural shyness always precluded him from forcefully promoting his writing abilities, cites his favorite Beatle as George Harrison; there's a spot-on Harrison tribute, Punch Drunk, here. Perhaps the most important aspect of the album is that, courtesy of its narrative form, it takes Cummings out of himself. For years he struggled with the tension caused by his tendency to write autobiographical songs, something that's left him emotionally exposed and occasionally mired in a quiet-ballad cul-de-sac. Perhaps it was the experience of revisiting his older material for his Liberation Blue series album Close-Ups that's let him loosen up enough to inhabit a character for a full album as he does here. All told, it's quite adventurous and one of his strongest albums BOOKS FOR SALE.

JON CASMIR: SMH: Rock star writes novel..It's not exactly the kind of thought that makes you want to rush out to the bookstore but, like life, Wonderboy has a rather splendid habit of confounding expectations. Despite Cummings's other career - for 20 years he has been one of Australian pop's most lustrous voices - Wonderboy, his first novel, is not vanity publishing. It's not a half-hearted foray by a mind overly convinced of its own artistry. It's not the usual slim volume of awkward poetry that lyricists present us with. It's not a cocaine-snorting, groupie-shagging, rear-seat-of-the-limo rock memoir. And in a shocking divergence from recent Australian literary tradition, it's not an example of the Urban Brutalist school of writing. It's not, to paraphrase Ben Elton: "Hi, I'm at this inner-city dive watching kiddies do heroin because that's what this novel is all about...Shock!" With Wonderboy, Cummings has actually set out to conjure a novel from his imagination. You know, like writers used to. He has set out to explore words and meanings. His novel is a journey of discovery, the story of a grown man trying to grow up. And the good news is that it's not half bad.



STAY AWAY FROM LIGHTNING GIRL. review by Matt Condon - SundayLife! magazine (Sun Herald supplement) 1999 This second novel from the acclaimed singer/songwriter and former lead singer with The Sports opens with a delightfully simplistic premise and remains endearing throughout. Robert Moore is a former rock star whose band The Honeys has failed to crack the big-time in the US. As the novel opens, he is already dead, having been struck by lightning. He is suddenly having a conversation with Maigret, his official umpire in the hereafter and there is talk Robert may be relegated to the Dull Zone. This is a gentle tale of love that's hard to resist and probably superior to his first book, Wonderboy.


   Stephen Cummings's Friend Space (Top 8)
Stephen Cummings has 1400 friends.
 John Prine 


 the mercurials 


 Dave Graney 


 EELS 


 Essendon Airport 


 Rebecca Barnard 


 Four Hours Sleep 


 Barney McAll 





Stephen Cummings's Friends Comments
Displaying 25 of 553 comments  ( View All | Add Comment )
Ruby Jane

Ruby Jane



Nov 11 2009 8:00 PM

Ruby Jane and Mark O'Connor: Virtuosos of the American Fiddle: http://www.poptech.org/blog/mark_oconnor_and_ruby_jane_smith_virtuosos_of_american_fiddle

Ruby Jane Article in New York Times!!
http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/26/who-do-these-guys-think-they-are/
AND
Check out the new pictures and video! Let me know what you think!
Ruby Jane
the mercurials

the mercurials



Nov 7 2009 10:19 PM

Happy City!
Ross McLennan

Ross McLennan



Nov 2 2009 9:03 AM

hi stephen. is that a recent photo? you look more like a drawing of a cat, than i remember.
ross
David Hosking

David Hosking



Nov 1 2009 12:25 AM

If NASA, Iran and North Korea believe in "launches", you should to. They jump and shout for joy (high 5's all around in NASA) when one of their little babies makes it safely off the ground. Cheers, Stephen.
Craig Fraser

Craig Fraser



Oct 27 2009 11:56 PM

Hey, How's it going?

I have'nt jeard from you in ages :), I hope everything is going well.

Thanks heaps for all your support!

-Craig!
The Criterion Band

The Criterion Band



Oct 27 2009 4:41 AM

Hi Stephen Cummings, check out our new track "Long Legs"
David Hosking

David Hosking



Oct 26 2009 2:23 AM

David Hosking is launching his new album at the Thornbury Theatre with very special guests The Killjoys. Friday 6th November. Hope you can come.
www.thethornburytheatre.com
Angie Hart

Angie Hart



Oct 22 2009 2:15 AM

Hi all Angie Hart and Frente fans!

Angie releases her second solo album 'Eat My Shadow' in Australia tomorrow! 

We have a very special deal for you all, JB Hi-Fi are offering a SIGNED, TWO DISC edition of Angie's album.

The first disc contains the full 12 track album, the second disc contains a 5 track EP of Angie covering some of her favourite songs, including tracks by The Smiths, Australian Crawl, Laura Veirs and others.

On top of that we're offering a beautiful Angie Hart tea-towel (dishcloth to you Americans!) as part of the deal. Be quick!





 
Angie is touring Australia in November (with dates in USA and Asia in 2010)

Please visit www.myspace.com/angiehart for further details...


the mercurials

the mercurials



Oct 20 2009 11:26 AM

Stephen we appreciate how good your song are... we've just uploaded our version of 'How Come' to our page... check it out! Hope to see you at our instore at Basement Discs this Friday lunchtime.
The Mercurials xxx
Sal

Sally Taverner



Oct 14 2009 9:39 AM

So sad to hear your are only doing Private Gigs. Think you are a gem and the most beautiful lyricist. Have caught many shows in the past. Thank you for your music Stephen. Sally.
The Ern Malley Affair

The Ern Malley Affair



Oct 7 2009 8:18 AM

Hey Stephen.
Just finished reading Will it be Funny Tomorrow Billy?  I was at that gig at Cloudland with the Go-Betweens and Madness (The Swingers were also supposed to be on the bill).  I was fourteen and small.  The only thing I saw all night was you leaping around the stage.  It was a great performance.  I wrote a song about it.
Cheers
Ern
gyan

gyan



Oct 6 2009 8:50 AM

i'd love to buy a copy of your memoirs but am i blind or what ...i can't spy a pay pal button for the life of me ....H E L P .... i guess i could order thru the bookshop but they don't have your DNA on the envelope ....extra i know ....hope you're goodly love to you and yours g xxx
Drew Master Jay

Drew Master Jay



Oct 3 2009 8:51 AM

Hey there Steve.  I saw you in the Broadway Shopping Centre a few months ago while I was working.  You walked by and I said "Hi"....you smiled back and said "Hi" too......It made my day.  I have been a fan since the "Sports" days when my cover bands would try to emulate your sound.....very hard.....anyhow, if you get a chance I would love you to visit my page and leave a comment.  That would make my day too.  Regards, Drew.
Rebecca Barnard

Rebecca Barnard



Sep 30 2009 3:36 PM

Barney and I driving around Manhattan listening to Heart for Heart in car . So lovely He's got all your stuff on ipod . x
KATHEMATICS

KATHEMATICS



Sep 27 2009 4:27 AM

KATHEMATICS SINGLE LAUNCH FRIDAY OCTOBER 16 @ THE ESPY BASEMENT
....
Allison & Glenn

Glenn Inglis



Sep 20 2009 7:58 AM

Just finished reading your new book
dont care what the critics may say
I  @#$%^&  loved it
so many memories of some of all that stuff
many Sports gigs helping loading the truck
touring on the Enz / Sports run
and visiting many of the solo shows

keep on being Steven

all the best of health and happyness to you

G
Christian Lamitschka, Journalist for Country Music

Christian Lamitschka



Sep 17 2009 2:07 PM

Today I like to inform you, that you can read and watch interviews with your favorit country stars in Enlgish, German and French at http://www.CountryHome.de/Interviews .

Warm regards

Christian

Editor & Journalist for Country Music
Christian Lamitschka
An der Pfingstweide 28
61118 Bad Vilbel
Germany
Phone: ++49 6101 544613
Mobil: ++49 171 6903352
Ch.Lamitschka@t-online.de
Info@CountryMusic-Magazin.de
www.MySpace.com/ChristianLamitschka
Barbara

Barbara



Sep 17 2009 9:43 AM

thanks
great sounds
love an success
B
Dr. Mexico

Dr. Mexico



Sep 16 2009 12:55 AM

NOW HERE SHE COMES - magnificent
Monty Sparrow

Monty Sparrow
Online Now!


Sep 10 2009 11:58 AM

I once spent an hour talking about Died Pretty while in a Gijon bar......we then drove our overpriced van back to the hotel....yay
Tetanus Rig

Tetanus Rig
Online Now!


Sep 7 2009 4:15 AM






MISTER D’s MUSIC & ART

MISTER D’s MUSIC & ART



Sep 6 2009 4:32 AM

I am Craig Fraser- come over and check out my page


 



INDIANA PHOENIX

INDIANA PHOENIX



Sep 1 2009 9:09 AM

Hi Guys and Gals
We have 15 songs in the musicoz awards and could do with some help. The voting banner is on our myspace page!
cheers from Brian.
Craig Fraser

Craig Fraser



Aug 31 2009 6:26 AM

Hey I am Craig Fraser! Come by and check my page!
DeepBackwardSquareLeg

DeepBackwardSquareLeg



Aug 30 2009 12:49 AM

Hi Stephen,
Thanks for joining the bizarre world of DBSL...
Trust a bunch of Aussies to find the missing link between the game of Cricket ... and Sex ...  :P
Add Comment


©2003-2009 MySpace.com. All Rights Reserved.