Last Graves
Seattle five-piece Pretty Girls Make Graves, whose songs have interesting titles like If You Hate Your Friends, You’re Not Alone (yeah right!), The Teeth Collector (who?) and Selling the Wind (how?) are splitting up after their current tour and Hong Kong is one of their stops. We spoke to vocalist Andrea Zollo about the band members’ future plans and Franz Ferdinand.

This is PGMG’s last tour. What’s next for you guys?
We will all definitely be involved in new music projects. I’ve just finished working on some songs for a friend’s project called A Gun Called Tension. I am also filling in on the drums for another friend’s project called Triumph of Lethargy Skinned Alive to Death. I am currently looking for people for my own project as well. Derek (the bassist) is currently in another more folk type band called The Cave Singers. Nick (the drummer) is in an alt-country band called Night Canopy. And Jay (guitarist) and Leona will be moving to LA after this last tour to start new music projects. Leona (on keyboards) will also be starting a new acupuncture practice.

What are you expecting from the HK gig?
Fun! Also hopefully meeting cool new people and eating delicious food.

The last gig will be back at Seattle your home city. What would your perfect last gig be like? Tears or cheers?
Honestly I have no idea what to expect. Seattle is so rich with music, but it can be fickle as well. I’ve read some emails from people flying in from other places, which is incredible. I hope that it is one giant raging party.

Let’s play ‘Which is Your Pick’ – Franz Ferdinand or Muse?
Franz Ferdinand because they took us on tour once in the States. And not only were the shows a crazy experience, but those guys were some of the most down-to-earth people we have played with. We have played with way unfriendlier bands that were only a fraction of the size.

Huge record company or indie label?
Indie of course! WE LOVE MATADOR!

Martin Scorsese or Peter Jackson?
Scorsese… but it’s like apples and oranges.

Spiderman 3 or Pirates of the Caribbean 3?
Pirates of the Caribbean 3 – but only if Disney is not involved.

Lost or Prison Break?
Lost!

Seattle or New York?
Both! I was born out east, and live out west. Keep it balanced!

Beer or liquor at gigs?
Liquor.

PGMG play on April 27 at The Vine Centre (2/F, Two Chinachem Building, 135 Des Vouex Road). The doors open at 9:45pm. TheLoveSong will support. Advance tickets cost $200 from White Noise Records (1/F, 4 Canal Road East, CWB) and $260 at door.

Dolores ‘The Cranberries woman’ O’Riordan will be in Hong Kong on April 24 and 25 to promote her debut solo album, Are you Listening? We chatted with her about what she has been listening to and what makes her happy.

Your first single is called Ordinary Day. What is your ordinary day like when you are not making music or touring?
It is amazing. After The Cranberries I took four years off. It was the first time in my whole life that I spent four years at home because I joined the band at 18 and since then had been on the road. My ordinary day is pretty amazing. I have spent a year and a half in a forest in Canada, I wake up and cook and take my kids to school or teach voluntarily at school. I really enjoy that.

The video to the song is shot in Prague, the ‘new Paris’. What do you think about the city?
It is a beautiful city and the architecture is amazing. It’s a booming city.

It has been a while since your last release with The Cranberries. Everything has changed in the music industry, hasn’t it?
It is completely changed now. My husband bought me an iPod last Christmas, and I put two CDs in it and that’s it. I’ve never used it since then ’cos I am very old-fashioned. I can’t even turn on a computer. I am disconnected from the whole computer world and all that stuff.

A lot of people love your voice because it is so unique. Did any female artists inspire you?
I don’t listen to that much music at home now actually because the kids don’t like it. They prefer cartoons. The children rule the house if you know what I mean. They dictate what I listen to and watch at home now. But when I was growing up, I looked up to artists like Annie Lennox, Tina Turner and Nina Simone.

If people want to cheer you up, what should they say?
I don’t know. Maybe say I am a good mum.

Dolores plays at Grappa’s Cellar on April 25 at 7pm. It is a media event but we have tickets to give away – check out our competition page! Mark this in your diary as well: she will have an autograph session at HMV Causeway Bay on April 24 at 6:30pm for fans who have pre-ordered her album or purchased her single.

Sugar Free
They may look as sweet as candy but watch out, their music can poison you. The all-girl experimental punk trio Hard Candy’s debut album, Deborah, Anne and Violet comes out this week. Band founder Yanyan says the album is named after the band members’ mothers. Unlike their usual raging sound, the mood of the 12-track album is a bit sad, she tells us. Well, let the sorrow remain with the CD, we look forward to a high-energy gig with the girls and supporting bands, 22 Cats and TheLoveSong!

The tune I will play on my wedding day…
Renee (classical-pianist-turned-drummer): I may go for reggae or a hip hop version of the wedding song... best to play it LIVE! May I?

If Hard Candy were a movie, it’d be…
Alex (DIY-record-label-owner-turned-bassist): Kill Bill. Uma rocks. And because everyone jokes that our songs are about hating or killing men and that makes me laugh, so it’s quite appropriate really.

My favourite lyric in the album…
Yanyan (vocalist/guitarist/feminist): “I took the train to the wrong direction and sleep with someone who I don’t know too well” in 11 Happy Tricks. It’s my favourite song and that’s what I do when I take a bus or train without any place I want to go. Sometimes I meet up with strangers who want more than just being friends with you at night.

Hard Candy play on April 20 at Fringe Club. The show starts at 9:30pm. Tickets cost $90, or you can go for the Killing You Sweetly package with a drink and CD for $130.

Around the World
Wealth Warning: only read the following if you have lots and lots of money in your pocket. And start putting aside shekels for music festivals around Asia now. First, Fuji Rock Festival is from July 27-29 this year and the performers include Mika, Damien Rice, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!, Kaiser Chiefs and Lily Allen. A three-day ticket costs ¥39,800. For a full line-up and festival details, click on www.smash-uk.com. Summer Sonic is on August 11 and 12, performing artists include Travis, Arctic Monkeys and Cyndi Lauper (oops!). A two-day ticket costs ¥27, 500. Check www.summersonic.com for information.

Wind Talker
One of the most acclaimed blues harmonica players in Europe, Paul Lamb will be performing with his band The Kingsnakes in Hong Kong this month. Born in 1955, Paul developed his roots in blues against the industrial backdrop of Newcastle. He started playing in clubs in his early teens and not long after he was representing the UK in the World Harmonica Championships. He has been hailed as the UK’s Best Harmonica Player six times in a row from 1990 until his induction into the British Blues Awards Hall of Fame (well, they had no choice, did they!), alongside the likes of Peter Green and John Mayall. The Kingsnakes’ latest album Snakes & Ladders will be released on April 30, but if you cannot wait to hear them, check out their live gigs on April 27 and 28 at Grappa’s Cellar, where Paul’s 20-year-old son Ryan will be on lead guitar. Both shows start at 9pm and tickets are $360. For details, call 2521 2322.

GIG Guide
Semiscon Vocal Band @ HKU Loke Yew Hall, April 19, 7:30pm Go for: Semiscon, one of the most versatile a cappella groups in Asia and winner of vokal.total.2004 in the International A Cappella Competition in Austria. Free entry.

Allen Youngblood Presents Jazz Series Part 12 @ Grappa’s Cellar, April 21, 8pm Go for: The legendary jazz pianist with Jazzbalaya, The Henry Chung Group and Ginger Kwan & The GK Project. Tickets are $238 including one free drink.

Don’t Panic @ The Wanch (54 Jaffe Rd, Wanchai), April 21, 10pm Go for: Rock’n’roll power from The Killers to The Foo Fighters. No cover charge.

Dave Colquhoun @ The Wanch, April 24, 9:30pm Go for: A night of acoustic rock’n’roll with Dave Colquhoun performing tunes from Eric Clapton to The Police. No cover charge.

Viva La Music @ Fringe Club, April 27, 10:30pm Go for: Performances from Bone Table, Transnoodle, Room 4J and Partyolk. Entry costs $100 including one bottle of beer.

Saturday Night Jazz Orchestra @ Fringe Club, April 28, 10:30pm Go for: Big band jazz led by Taka Hirohama, with Elaine Liu as vocalist. Entry costs $90 including one drink.

Tsang Tak Hong Group @ Fringe Club, April 21, 10:30pm
Go for: Bassist Tsang Tak Hong fusing jazz, funk and world music. Tickets cost $90 includes one drink.

Band Show @ IMNet (C-D, 4/F, Lee Ka Industrial Building, Ng Fong St, San Po Kong), April 28, 7:30pm Go for: Underground bands LesAiles, Chrome, Aquatic, Fine Tune, Sonic, Blaster. Tickets cost $40 at the door.

Tim Lee Music Carnival @ Piazza Area C, Hong Kong Cultural Centre, April 22, 2pm Go for: Local bands Smooth, The Babblings, Trend, The Ember, Black Seraphine, Marine 16 and Red Urban Taxi.

Jose Liu @ Diva Red (G/F, 21 Sharp Street East, CWB), April 25, 10pm Go for: Songbird Jose Liu singing jazz standards.

Music Gig @ YO Park, April 28, 7pm Go for: Indie bands including Die in Velvet, Embryo, Empty Tomb, Ignite The Hope, Los en Found. Ticket price tbc