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Join Cheryl Lee - That Radio Chick on STILL ROCKIN' IT for news, reviews, music and interviews with some of our favourite Australian musicians

A carrot for a mic, a song over supermarket speakers, and a stealthy dash down the confectionery aisle—Diesel opens with a grin and then gets real about what it takes to build shows that last.

We dig into why theaters are his sweet spot right now: reliable sound, warm lights, comfortable seats, and the space to let a decades-deep catalog breathe. Long sets aren’t a stunt; they’re how you honor history while making room for surprises, including a few covers that sharpen the edges of the night.

The heart of the conversation is the By Request Tour. Fans pick songs from a curated list and can share the stories behind their choices. Diesel reads those notes slowly, often more than once, and the effect is profound: proof that music isn’t background noise but a lifeline for mental health, memory, and connection. From funny requests aimed at mending a breakup to three-generation tributes, the pile of letters has reshaped how he sees his own work. We also talk about the unexpected star of the request box—Moon River—and why its melancholy glow still cuts through in 2025, alongside staples like Crying Shame and Tip of My Tongue.

There’s plenty of road talk too: desert festivals from Birdsville to Mundi Mundi, the abstract beauty of Australia from 30,000 feet, and the balance of touring with family life, early summer mornings, and a little baking on the side.

Diesel shares recent collaborations, producing credits with artists like Richard Clapton, Vika and Linda, and Imogen Clark, and hints at a new album planned for 2026.

New theater dates run January to April, with a homecoming at the Sydney Opera House—proof that careful craft and genuine connection still fill rooms.

If you love stories about how songs find people—and how people shape songs in return—press play, share it with a friend who needs a lift, and leave a review to help more listeners find the show.

What has Mark Lizotte been up to lately? Let's find out!

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Join Cheryl Lee - That Radio Chick on STILL ROCKIN' IT for news, reviews, music and interviews with some of our favourite Australian musicians

A seven-year-old writes a song to survive the schoolyard, and that melody becomes a map. We sit down with Jordan Anthony to trace the line from first piano lessons in Perth to The Voice at fourteen, to a last-minute airport call that sent him to Junior Eurovision, and finally to an American Idol audition that reshaped his future. It’s a story about momentum, but more than that, it’s about the mindset that lets momentum become mastery.

Jordan opens up about how reality TV can be a catalyst if you define your why, how standing beside world-class vocalists forced a leap in technique, and how a bout of illness before an international final turned into a lesson in grit. We unpack the call from producer Paul Clarke, the backstage talk with his dad, and what it felt like to step onto a world stage with an original song, “We Will Rise.” Then we fast-forward to LA: producer calls at 1am, an audition in Katy Perry’s hometown, collaborations with Ajii on “Cherry,” and the quiet daily work that turns attention into a career.

At the heart of the conversation is “Hurt Me Sooner,” Jordan’s new single shaped by his first breakup. He takes us inside the lyric—those intrusive thoughts after love ends, the reflex to label time as wasted, and the steadier truth that growth needs friction.

You’ll hear how influences like Adele, Sam Smith, Lewis Capaldi, and Ed Sheeran inform his tone without swallowing his identity, and why this track finally feels like him.

Between sessions and shows, he stays grounded with soccer runs, FIFA, and family FaceTimes, and shares plans to reset at home before the next surge.

If you’re chasing a creative dream, this one brings practical insight and real heart: use pain as material, treat opportunities like training, and build a support system that keeps you human.

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Join Cheryl Lee - That Radio Chick on STILL ROCKIN' IT for news, reviews, music and interviews with some of our favourite Australian musicians

A packed car, an early call time, and a map dotted with regional stages—that’s where today’s conversation begins. We catch Mick Thomas on day one of a 22-show run to explore how touring sharpens a band, why small-town rooms can outshine big-city theaters, and what it takes to nurture a local scene until it hums. From renovated halls to backroom listening spaces without a bar, Mick explains how the right people on the ground turn unlikely venues into destinations and why audiences will happily drive to hear a group stretch in a room built for songs.

We dig into legacy without getting stuck in it. Mick looks back at Weddings Parties Anything, the hits that still sing, and the temptation to lean on familiar bangers. Instead, his six-piece lineup rehearsed long-lost cuts and built a set around discovery. That same spirit powers GoComeBack, a vinyl-shaped album designed as a return journey: side one heads out, side two comes home with new eyes. It’s a simple, durable concept that restores what many of us miss—sequencing, cohesion, and an arc you can feel when you flip the record.

Numbers make an appearance, but they don’t get top billing. We talk about the illusion of charts, the mirage of streaming KPIs, and the real-world value of in-store performances where thirty people can create more energy than three thousand passive streams. Record shops, counter chats, and shared favorites remind us music is a community, not a dashboard.

Mick’s advice to younger artists is blunt and hopeful: play, enjoy the work, and choose the path that leaves memories, not just metrics. We close with the new single A Mighty Ride and the promise of a full-band tour that sounds like the record because it is the record—six players, one story, and miles ahead.

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Join Cheryl Lee - That Radio Chick on STILL ROCKIN' IT for news, reviews, music and interviews with some of our favourite Australian musicians

A van-side riff, a dust road memory, and a choice to lean back into the sound that fits—this conversation with Tom Mac moves fast and lands deep.

We open on travel as fuel for songwriting: a winter loop across the NT and WA, a four-wheel drive replacing a faithful van, and the freedom that turns hours into hooks. From there, we trace how Nomadic grew from an Instagram riff by Byron’s Pete McCready into a coastal-outback anthem with a video shot across the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. It’s a song that smells like salt and red dust, and it already has the streams to prove it.

We also unpack why Australian country music is surging. Tom lays out the secret: loyalty that spans generations, family-friendly festivals, and a genre that blends pop, Americana, and even hip hop while keeping story at the center. If you’ve wondered why country suddenly feels everywhere, the answer is that it never stopped speaking to the everyday—work, roads, love, and Saturday nights that promise something real. Tom’s journey reflects that pull: a childhood steeped in music thanks to a teacher mum, early gigs that flipped a switch, and a detour into a pop rebrand that taught hard lessons about identity and momentum.

From those lessons came two things: a return to his core as Tom Mac and a booking agency built to protect and empower artists. We talk about turning scars into support and writing with purpose.

Tom performs Play It By Beer live, then turns the spotlight to Nomadic and a full-length album on the way: Dirt Road, named for the long driveway on the family farm and the path that leads back to yourself. If you love country that feels lived-in and modern, you’ll find plenty to hold on to here.

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Join Cheryl Lee - That Radio Chick on STILL ROCKIN' IT for news, reviews, music and interviews with some of our favourite Australian musicians

A fearless voice, a late-blooming guitarist, and a family-built record that says the quiet part out loud. We welcome Deborah Conway for an unfiltered tour through four decades of songs, risks, and reinvention, from early band days to a duo and marriage with Willy Zygier that has become one of Australia’s most enduring creative partnerships.

Deborah shares how performing grabbed her long before the guitar did, why her father tried to steer her away from rock and roll, and the moment a gold record changed his mind. We dig into the big swings: Rolling Stone acclaim, recording Pete Townshend’s Iron Man, singing Michael Nyman’s Prospero’s Books, and the Patsy Cline stage show that became a vessel for collective grief the day after 9/11.

The heart of the conversation is the new album, Right Wing Propaganda, a raw, two-voices-and-two-guitars statement shaped by lockdowns, culture wars, and the fraying of civil discourse. Deborah explains why they stripped away drums and keys to let lyrics and harmony carry the weight, and how cancel culture pressures artists to self-censor. Their three daughters join with luminous harmonies, turning family into an instrument and memory into melody.

We even laugh through the AI cover art saga: the software nailed Willy at once but struggled to “find” Deborah, a fitting irony for a project about identity, perception, and truth.

You’ll also hear about the Broad concert series, which brought women singer-songwriters across rock, folk, country, and jazz onto one stage, and the recognition that followed—Member of the Order of Australia, the Victorian Music Hall of Fame, and multiple Archibald portrait finals. We close with two live cuts—Always and the title track Right Wing Propaganda—that showcase warmth, edge, and the space where listeners can step in.

Stream the album, grab the vinyl or CD, and share this conversation with someone who still believes songs can make room for disagreement without losing the tune.

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Join Cheryl Lee - That Radio Chick on STILL ROCKIN' IT for news, reviews, music and interviews with some of our favourite Australian musicians

The moment the walk-on music hits, you can feel it—the pulse of a country learning to believe in its own sound. We sat with Kate Ceberano to trace how that pulse became a life: from Melbourne’s alternative scene and a pivotal “no” to Stock Aitken Waterman, to I’m Talking, Brave, Jesus Christ Superstar, and a 60th birthday tour that plays like a living mixtape of Australian music history.

Kate brings the stories behind the headlines into sharp focus. She remembers the studio accident that turned into Models anthems, the sunburnt crush of Australian Made crowds, and the stubborn ingenuity of recording Bear Witness on early digital tech with real-time fixes from London. She talks about craft as a calling and a strategy—why songwriting keeps artists afloat, how Pash grew from one perfect memory, and what it means to watch an audience run a thousand private films to the same song. There’s reverence for lineage—Mahalia Barnes seeking her blessing, Michael Paynter’s vocal fire, and the responsibility of honoring a role like Mary Magdalene—and clear-eyed pride in firsts like the Order of Australia and induction into the Australian Songwriters Hall of Fame.

The conversation also moves into the art of surviving between spotlights. When COVID stopped the wheels, Kate launched Friday streams to raise money for Support Act, painted guitars to keep crews paid, and spent years creating a hand-stitched quilt with master quilters in the Philippines and local artisans—a psychedelic ode to Australian flora that travels as the band’s fourth member. We talk bikes, festivals, and a tiny scoop, but the heart of it is simple: authorship over shortcuts, community over ego, and music as the time capsule that binds us to who we were and who we’re becoming.

If you love Australian music, creative resilience, and stories that make your chest ache with recognition, press play and ride with us. Then share it with a friend, and drop a review with the Kate track that shaped your life.

What has Kate Ceberano been up to lately? Let's find out!

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Join Cheryl Lee - That Radio Chick on STILL ROCKIN' IT for news, reviews, music and interviews with some of our favourite Australian musicians

A dobro lick that ended up in a feature film. A blue-tinted photo above the bar at the Gov. A midnight residency that turned into decades of collaborations. Charlie Owen joins us for a warm, unscripted tour through the songs, friendships, and stages that shaped his life in Australian music.

We trade the mythology for the moments: meeting Don Walker in the small hours, saying yes to Tex Perkins for Triple J’s Unplugged, and learning how a Working Class Ringos ballad could hush an arena full of Chisel fans. Charlie opens up about his long run with the Divinyls and the bond with Chrissy Amphlett, the quiet pride of being named among Australia’s best guitarists, and the surprise of discovering that Midnight Rain with Lewis Tillett topped Rolling Stone critics’ list years after the fact. The thread is always the same—collaboration, taste, and putting the song first.

We get into the set he’s bringing to South Australia: a solo, guitar-forward celebration with dobro, electric, acoustic, and a light touch of keys—no loops, no samplers. He explains why he sings now, how certain tracks like Spencer P. Jones’s The New Day of the Dead feel eerily current, and why some songs are too heavy to carry on stage. It’s a candid look at legacy, grief, and the craft of making a room go quiet without turning up the volume. If you care about Australian rock history, storytelling through strings, and the way music keeps our people close, this conversation will stay with you.

Join us, then share the song that changed you. If you enjoy the show, follow, rate, and leave a review—then pass it to a friend who knows every line to a Tex, Don & Charlie record.

What has Charlie Owen been up to lately? Let's find out!

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Join Cheryl Lee - That Radio Chick on STILL ROCKIN' IT for news, reviews, music and interviews with some of our favourite Australian musicians

Graham "Buzz" Bidstrup doesn't just tell stories—he's lived them. As the drumming powerhouse behind iconic Australian bands The Angels, Gang Gajang, and The Party Boys, Buzz takes us on an unforgettable journey through the electrifying pub rock scene of the 70s and 80s where the air was "thick with the unmistakable scent of beer, sweat, and pot."

Born into a musical Adelaide family in 1952, Buzz's path to rock stardom began with a father who could have been a concert pianist (before WWII trauma silenced his playing) and a mother who sang with gusto in church. This foundation, combined with exposure to seminal artists through his older brother, set the stage for his remarkable career. With characteristic humility and humor, Buzz reveals how he transformed The Angels by suggesting Doc Neeson move from bass to frontman—a decision that created magic. "You couldn't take your eyes off him on stage," Buzz explains about the charismatic Neeson, whom he considers the greatest frontman he's ever worked with.

Beyond the music that defined a generation, Buzz's story takes unexpected turns. His unique upside-down guitar playing created GangGajang's distinctive sound. His work with the Jimmy Little Foundation, promoting healthy eating among indigenous children for 25 years, reveals the depth of his character. "That's what I get up in the morning for," he shares, demonstrating how music can be a vehicle for meaningful change. Still active at 73, Buzz continues mentoring young artists as an APRA ambassador while passing his musical genes to his producer son Maxwell.

Whether you're a die-hard Angels fan or simply appreciate authentic Australian stories, Buzz's memoir "No Secrets" delivers raw insights into a musical life fully lived. The book is available now at Woolworths for $24—grab your copy and discover the stories behind the soundtrack of Australian rock.

What has Buzz Bidstrup been up to lately? Let's find out!

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