Vines singer Craig Nichols at the Annandale Hotel.
Photo: Janie Barrett

AFTER two criminal charges, one autism diagnosis and a fleeing bass player, the
Vines have finished their unlikely new album, Vision Valley, to be released on April Fools' Day.

It comes 18 months after their lead singer, Craig Nicholls, had a brain explosion during a gig at the Annandale Hotel.

This photograph was taken by a Sun-Herald photographer shortly before Nicholls kicked out and smashed her $12,000 camera. The band's bass player stormed off, never to return, and Nicholls was later charged with assault and malicious damage. The charges were dropped after he was diagnosed with a form of autism, but, as their publicist put it yesterday, "This, everyone assumed, marked the end of the Vines."

What's left of a band once thought the Next Big Thing in Australian rock has now finished an album of 13 songs, but fans shouldn't wait to see them in concert. Nicholls is "unable to tour or do much in the way of album promotion", EMI Music said yesterday, with "much" meaning two or three pre-release interviews.


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whoa. only two or three pre-release interviews. i guess the one coming up in the UK Guardian this sunday is interview one.

Man, so I guess all those people down in Sydney really shouldn't wait for the couple of shows they were hoping for haha. Mwuahaha, sorry but I'm just happy us in the US aren't the only ones not gettin' the chance. I'm such a horrible person haha.

luna, you bad girl!!

something in my gut still tells me they'll do a sydney show or two - there's a difference between a couple of one-off shows and touring. i really want our aussie friends to get the chance to see them even if - - a lot of us can't.

WTF that sounds so weird!

Haha, yeah maybe they're still bitter that he knocked that photographer out and smashed that fancy camera.

I would be happy if they did a little show anywhere!

Can you imagine "Heres the new album australial! Oh APRIL FOOLS!"

If you received the DTI News Alert, you would have read The Observer piece this Sunday is the first worldwide exclusive interview with the band. If you subscribe to the fan club and didn't receive this alert, please email me.

That Sydney Morning Herald article comes off very bitter. How professional.

you got that right. janie barrett was on assignment for them, so i'd imagine they would work in some digs when they can.

maybe that's why the vines are doing so few pre-release interviews. afterall, what's the press going to ask about - the music? might mention it in the last paragraph, but the bigger story would definitely be the 'brain explosion, austism diagnosis and fleeing bassist.'

by doing little press beforehand, maybe that's their way of letting the music speak for them. they can talk more after the world has given the music a chance.

It would actually be very funny if it did come out in Australia on April fools just to have people pop it into their cd players and then there would be no music on it...iiiiiiinteresting idea. In France it's um...poisson d'avril I believe...and little kids just tape fish to the backs of people...but I like April fools better.

i know some hearts that would break - *ahem* maddie and ali - so don't even joke about it!

Haha, very true. Well, then I hope they do that with everyone except anyone on this board. Lol who knows how that could be planned, but...

Hey, hey, stop that!

You just want the people in Australia to have bad luck . Yeah, there is a difference between touring and playing a show in their hometown. I'm not getting my hopes up too high, but I think they might play a show.

Yeah, this person was pretty bitter

Actually it'd be cool cuz I might be studying abroad there for a year or what have you...if they decide to do shows there I'm all for it...if they decide to do one here in CA (which they won't i'm sure haha) even better

I signed up and got the welcome message saying i joined but not any since then

I recieved that email too. I am interested in what the band says but i think they should be giving more interviews. 3 doesn't satisfy my needs

that kinda sounded dirty

I want to kick the person who wrote this's ass

Not funny. ...hey, you never know.

Yeah, but I mean...he doesn't seem too fond of the time they spent in LA from what I've heard...buuuuuuuut who knows! I hope they come...if they do I will probably pee my pants and buy tickets as soon as they go on sale

Awww...you know last time, i saw the strokes April 2nd, 2004. Then on April 7th, i saw the Vines. ...now this time it's not gonna happen.
But if craig is more comfortable not touring and all...then so be it.

But i always like to keep positive anyway.

Yeah, I had my tickets for Sacramento in 2004, but they cancelled, of course.:'( I was pretty upset, but I still enjoyed Incubus. Brandon was wearing a pretty sweet iggy pop shirt.

I hadnt gotten around to getting a ticket. Its a good thing i didnt tho..




I'm not familiar with anything by Incubus.

Yeah, I like em a lot. I used to be a snid bit obsessed with them...but I've sort of grown out of it because their sound has changed a loooot.

theyre bloody amazing. great band. definately get something by them.

I know it's sad, but I really, really can't seem to stop laughing at that. It's just... when you only got up like half an hour ago, and you read something like that, and visuals pop up in your head and... .__.

*shudders at the mention of Incubus*

^^ me too! But I didn't want to say anything about it, cause Craig was really not well at that time and kinda snapped it seems. "Brain explosion" just sounds so funny though . I feel bad now

It makes me think of Mojo Jojo.

For everyone who's seen the Powerpuff Girls.

hahaha i miss that show. fighting crime... trying to save the world and they've come just in time the powerpuff girls. bring bring "oh no evil mojo jojo is taking over the world" ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh KAPOW...the end that embarrassment just made me miss pinky and the brain sorry for gettin off ze topic. It's so great there's news coming out for The Vines I just wish they'd get better reporters to write it. ahhhh well

Yes i agree that the "Brain explosion" comment sounds humorous, which makes the writer of this article even MORE of an a$$hole!

Have you checked your spam folder? If it is not there, please email me.

i know exactly what you mean!!


i couldn't find one with his hat off.

'brain explosion' actually doesn't sound so bad - i know what they meant, but to me it sounds more like a burst of brain power!

I'm sure they didn't mean it that way. THE TWATS!

annnnnnnnnnd...that would be why they're probably doing little press.

Because they're morons...

Anyway, they said only three pre-release interviews. That doesn't mean they won't do more after the CD is out.

I guess pre-release is the keyword here...

Yep!

ok
good I wasn't the only one

....they tape...fish
on peoples' backs?

that has to be the strangest custom I've ever heard

ok probably not the strangest but its up there at the top

the Herald knows they are zero chance of being one of those interviews so they are not going to be nice are they

brain explosion.

craig took out their camera so of course they're gonna have an attitude about it, but is the Sun Herald considered to be one of the tabloid papers in oz? kind of like the Daily Mirror or Sun are in the UK?

yeah the sun hearald is a tabloid id say

it sucks.........SMH all the way!!