NoKTuRNL and Midnight Oil together in
Alice Springs

Alice Springs band NoKTuRNL will be performing their first hometown gig this year on the 28th July at the Todd Tavern with Midnight Oil. NoKTuRNL have kicked up a storm all around the country since signing with Mushroom Records in December. It all started with the national Big Day Out tour in January. Since then the band have played countless shows all around Australia, conducted numerous media interviews and received high radio rotation for their debut single Neva Mend. Cable music channel, Channel V, will be travelling to Alice Springs to film their homecoming performance.

It all started for NoKTuRNL in November 1997. NoKTuRNL, in what was only their second gig, so impressed headline band Spiderbait at a concert at the Alice Springs Winery, that Spiderbait invited NoKTuRNL to tour with them nationally. That tour had an immediate impact and NoKTuRNL knew they had something. They then set about playing and recording as often as possible, developing the experience needed to go the next step. When they were ready, they signed with Sony/ATV publishing. With their help, NoKTuRNL then set out on the illusive hunt for a major recording deal. This was mid 1999. What followed was an intense bidding war between several of the main record labels and an offer to tour nationally on the Big Day Out. This was the first time an unsigned band had been invited to join the tour.

NoKTuRNL then set up a run of shows at the Todd Tavern, both to prepare for the Big Day Out, and also to perform for visiting record company representatives. Ironically at one of these shows, the only people who turned up were the record company representatives and the band themselves. When all the offers had been considered NoKTuRNL decided to sign with Mushroom, a decision that so far has proved very sound.

NoKTuRNL's debut single Neva Mend, featuring three songs, was released on February 28th. Since release it has stayed in the Alice Springs Top 20 and nationally is currently in the alternate charts. A mind blowing film clip of Neva Mend was Channel V clip of the week upon release. Channel V has also had the band perform live, as well as having them host their programs AO and In the House. Other media highlights include a feature article in the Weekend Australian, the cover of Sydney's street magazine Drum Media and Brisbane's equivalent Rave, and a sizzling performance on Triple J's Live At the Wireless.

Part of the reason for the bands high media profile has been the number of shows they have been performing. Following the Big Day Out the band toured nationally supporting the Rollins Band. This was followed by the Stylewars 2000 tour with label mates 28 Days and Motor Ace. During all this the band performed at the APRA awards in Sydney in May. On the same bill as Savage Garden and Richard Clapton, the band received rapturous applause from the industry audience for their cover of the APRA Song of the Year - Powderfinger's Passenger. Channel V has regularly shown their APRA performance on the cable channel.

NoKTuRNL have just completed the Push tour of regional Victoria with Bodyjar. They aim to spend most of August in Alice Springs working on recording demos for their debut album due for release in March 2001. They have another single recorded, yet to be mixed, due for release in September. This will coincide with their performance at the Hemispheres Olympic Arts Festival in Sydney that month. After that the band aim to start touring again, leading up to the Livid Festival in Brisbane in late October.

Naturally NoKTuRNL are looking forward to returning home to host a joint performance with Midnight Oil at the venue from which NoKTuRNL sealed its recording deal last December. Also on the bill are the classical chamber music group the Alexandria Quartet. Tickets are $22, available at the door from 9pm that night.