With his batch of curly hair, megawatt grin and funky dress style, Alex Grigg is one of those guys who looks effortlessly cool. But he insists that he and his band, Sydney’s Red Riders, are not mere pretty faces.

Having played to sold-out audiences in Melbourne the award-winning Broadway musical Avenue Q has opened at Sydney’s Theatre Royal. Best known for her work on McLeod’s Daughter’s Michala Banas is making her theatrical debut in the show and is loving every minute of it.

Peter Carstairs is a busy man. Lawyer, filmmaker and now theatre director Carstairs is leaving a busy day in the rehearsal room when I manage to catch him for a few minutes on the phone. He says his day has been pretty hectic and he sounds tired but enthused about the theatre-making process.

Australian ex-pats The Temper Trap are fast becoming the new darlings of the UK and European music circuits, dominating airwaves with tracks like ‘Sweet Disposition’ and ‘Science of Fear’, and performing at major festivals as part of an ongoing tour schedule that shows no signs of slowing down.

The golden elevator doors of the hotel lobby slide open and he calmly walks out. Well-styled and softly spoken, he doesn’t appear at first sight to be someone who has spent the last few years of his life training to survive the wilderness, slaughter animals, and acquiring a second passport just in case the world falls apart.

Fresh off the plane from the land of the long white cloud, New Zealand act Midnight Youth are taking their first big steps in the Australian scene. They’ve already started to win over audiences with performances at festivals such as Come Together at Sydney’s Luna Park, and will soon embark on a full Australian tour supporting Dukes of Windsor and Trial Kennedy.

It’s the mid-nineties in the hills of Adelaide and Matthew Lambert is one of several friends delving into hip hop. Among them are Dan Smith & Barry Francis. It is a different era for Australian hip hop.

Upcoming Aussie singer/songwriter Bertie Blackman chats to Jason Cohn about secrets, lies, and David Copperfield.

“After these first couple of shows, then I’ll be a man,” jokes Sean Cook, bass player for Brisbane band Yves Klein Blue. His up coming 21st birthday happens to coincide with the release of their debut album ‘Ragged and Ecstatic’.

With their debut album Laser Graffiti coming out on the 3rd July, Vertigo caught up with Johnny ‘Galvatron’ [vocals/guitar], Condor [bass] and Gamma [keys] at Warner Music Australia to talk on-stage personas, being kicked out of Hyde Park by Sting and playing keyboard with your face.

Note: They have a song called ‘Robots Are Cool’. Their awesome factor just went up a few billion notches.