the vines
Frontman Of The Vines’ Continuing “Issues” Leads To Cancellation Of Live Shows
2:49PM Jess McGuire | If you’ve been waiting excitedly to go and see The Vines in concert during their many upcoming festival appearances, I’ve two things to say to you. Firstly – 2001 just called and said it’s time for you two to break up. Secondly – you’re plain outta luck, as Craig Nicholls’ is not in a good way and the band have been forced to cancel all the shows planned over the next few months.
Australian rock band The Vines have cancelled all their upcoming shows due to a deterioration in the mental condition of singer Craig Nicholls. Nicholls, 31, was diagnosed four years ago with Asperger’s Syndrome, a highly functioning form of autism, after his behaviour became increasingly erratic.
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Good To See The Courier Mail Are On The Pulse
9:33AM Clem Bastow | Last week we alerted you to Everett True’s Guardian-enabled whining about how much Australia’s music press sucks and blah blah Silverchair blah, and you reacted accordingly (”I’m surprised he’s still kicking” – Born D). Well, the trickle down effect has finally made it to the offices of the Courier Mail some five days later, where all sorts of outrage and indignation is being thrown about:
Queensland’s music press has hit back, with one editor of a local music newspaper dismissing the British music guru as “irrelevent”.
“It’s a really poor piece of journalism from a music writer who once had relevance and influence, but now he’s living in Australia, he doesn’t really have the knowledge or experience of the local industry to back up his opinions,” said the industry source.
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Highlights From The Age’s Interview With The Vines
9:17AM Clem Bastow | Remember when we all thought The Vines were the saviours of rock’n'roll, and that Craig Nicholls was the crazy genius reincarnation of, like, Kurt Cobain and John Lennon?
Yeah, we got over that fairly quickly, but as you will have noticed (possibly), they are back from wherever it was they got to, and it’s good to see that Nicholls hasn’t dropped his “I’m crazy, me!” routine (and before the forum trolls open a can of binary whup ass on me, I know he has Aspergers, but its symptoms don’t include “acting like a complete twonk in interviews”, last time I checked).
From Andrew Murfett’s interview with the band, in today’s Age EG:
Nicholls’ demeanour is colourful to say the least. He doesn’t hide his distrust of journalists and is reluctant to engage in interviews; if uncomfortable with a question, he puts on a flamboyant pair of sunglasses and spews a rambling answer. Nor is he averse to playing the clown – at one point during our interview he flings himself out of in his chair and begins writhing on the ground. His bandmates cringe and laugh uproariously.
Zany!
At the shoot, he takes direction without complaint, but when a break is called, he stands defiantly in the middle of the hall and lights a cigarette. “Hey, please write in your story that I’m tough and a rebel,” he says, as he proudly flouts the room’s non-smoking rules.
Quirky!
And as the crew packs up at Parramatta, Craig Nicholls has one more thing to add.
“I’m sorry that I swore, and for everything else,” he says. “But I thought it would make me sound tough.”
Oddly adorable!
But the best part of the whole interview is actually the photo, and specifically, the look on “new” bassist Brad Heald’s face:
It says, “Jeez, what did your last bassist quit for? Oh, right. Gotcha.” More » 