We Love The Gong

Carl Barron – A one ended stick

Fairlie — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 01:09:40 +0000

The Win Entertainment Centre hosts a variety of events – countless Hawks Games each season, rock bands and pop stars from Crowded House to John Farnham, Lenny Kravitz to Pink and Lady Gaga. Cirque du Soleil. RocKwiz. Southern Stars and the southern NSW Rock Eisteddfod.

Add to that list of illustrious crowd-pulling names a single man, a solo act, a man who needs no support act or backing band or team mates to sell-out the venue.

Carl Barron!

A One Ended Stick is Carl Barron’s 2012 serve-up of anecdotes, observations and impressions that saw him sell out the Win Entertainment Centre for the first show in March, and book a second performance for June.

At i98fm, we give away a lot of tickets to a lot of different shows and events. Not in recent memory have tickets to something solicited such a massive response from our listeners! Seriously, we were getting phone calls non-stop throughout the day from people wanting tickets, wanting to know how to win them, when they could next win them, if they could just have some….in fact we pretty much moved from Carl Barron fever straight onto One Direction fever (following their tour announcement), so judging from the current hysteria surrounding One Direction that should give you an indication of the unprecedented level of excitement Carl Barron’s visit created!

Thanks to Wollongong Tourism (literally couldn’t even scab any from the i98 prize cupboard…) I was able to go along for the express purpose of telling you how fabulous the show was!

Admittedly I was slightly confused at first when Carl came out on stage…in my head I was picturing Akmal Saleh who is also a bald comedian so that was the default image my brain presented to me in the lead up to the show. Considering Maje and I had interviewed Carl this was pretty poor form on my part so I’d like to do my part in making it very clear who Carl Barron is by sharing these impressive facts about the great man.

Carl is Australia’s highest selling stand-up comedian on DVD. He has sold more DVDs in this country than any other stand-up comedian.Carl grew up in Longreach, Queensland, a town known for its Stockman’s Hall of Fame moreso than it’s 3000 residents…! A true-blue upbringing before moving to Sydney, head along to one of his shows and you’re sure to hear a colourful description of some wayward childhood event often surrounding his brother Troy or long suffering parents who I’ve tried to stalk online but there’s not much info on them!!! I guess they get enough exposure in his routines….I suspect there’s always a bit of anxiety for friends and relatives of comedians when they put together a new show…!

Carl has headlined every major comedy venue and Festival worldwide. Carl would be best described as a top bloke. He’s a short man, a man who can play guitar, inoffensive and just plain funny!

‘A One Ended Stick’ is an hour and a half of non-stop hilarity. It’s a better abdominal workout than the Pro-form ab-glider. The sold-out entertainment centre was a brouhaha of guffaws and giggles, snorts, chortles and chuckles. Go along! Take a date, take your mum! Take your boss.

Carl returns to the Win Entertainment Centre on Saturday June 2 for an 8pm show. Tickets are currently on sale via Ticketek.

WORLD CUP SKATEBOARDING COMES TO WOLLONGONG

Courtney — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 05:24:11 +0000

I don’t do wheels. I am clumsy enough without any external influences to encourage me to eat gravel.

I do envy those who can skateboard though. They sail past, wind flowing through their Justin Bieber style hair, not a worry in the world. I love seeing more girls are getting into it too; if I was to skate, it would be on one of those funky little fluro boards.

And just when I thought skateboarding couldn’t get anymore ‘gnarly’, enter the Downhill Skateboarding World Cup series heading to the Gong on April 20 – 22.

Mt. Keira will be brought to life when it kicks off the 2012 World Cup Series with three days of action packed racing.

Featuring a $10,000 prize purse, this is the first time a World Cup race has been organised at Mt Keira and it promises to be a tremendous weekend of fast and exciting downhill skateboarding.

The Mt. Keira Downhill Challenge is presented by the Australian Skateboard Racing Association (ASRA) and sanctioned by the International Gravity Sports Association (IGSA) – it does say gravity, not gravel!

Mt. Keira is synonymous with steep descents and big turns promising an action packed three days of racing that will include 150 registered competitors from around the world. With its many corners, the track offers ample passing opportunities and will require strong drafting skills that will test the all-around capabilities of all the top racers.

It will quickly sort out the field that includes the top ranked rider in the world, along with local boy, Tim Day who will be out to prove his worth on the World stage.

Competitors include:

- Patrick Switzer (Vancouver, CANADA): Ranked 1st in the world, Patrick will be back in Australia and keen to podium.

- Douglas “Dalua” Silva (BRAZIL): Ranked 2nd in the world, Dalua is a powerhouse skater. His unique ‘Brazilian’ style and fearless riding will be great to watch

- Ben Hay (Central Coast, AUSTRALIA): Currently ranked 1^st in the Australian Downhill rankings, Ben will look to continue his current domination of the national downhill scene.

- Cam Kite (Sydney, AUSTRALIA): Mt Keira is Cam’s second home and there is no one more familiar with the race track. Ranked 5^th in Australia Cam’s chances of doing well are strong.

- Tim Day (Wollongong, AUSTRALIA): Tim’s laid-back approach belies a very competent racer. Currently ranked 14^th in the country, Tim will be looking to make his presence felt at this World Cup race on his local hill.

If you do one thing this April – get to Mt Keira to check this out! Event directors are encouraging spectators to park at the bottom of Mt Keira Road, where they will be picked up by a complimentary event bus and transported to the event area.

Where in the World do you Love the Gong??

Courtney — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 04:07:41 +0000

Since the ‘We Love the Gong’ campaign launched in 2010 we have seen our shirts, stickers and beach balls appear in over 17 countries. We have jumped on this band wagon that appears to be circling the globe, to turn six degrees of separation into one, and see just how many countries and continents we can appear in!

To kick it all off, we have given away a ‘We Love the Gong’ shirt to the first 30 people who contacted us with their upcoming travel plans – it didn’t matter if they were heading down the coast, up the coast or across the equator! Want to get involved? Send us your itinerary and dates of travel (must be before April 30) and we can arrange some ‘We Love the Gong’ stickers to take on your travels!

BUT WAIT….there’s more! To celebrate, we are giving away the ultimate Wollongong prize pack to one lucky winner who sends us their pic wearing their We Love the Gong tee on their vacation! It’s the easiest competition in the world to enter…you just gotta be in it, to win it!

One lucky winner and a friend will experience the Grand Pacific Drive in style with a Harley ride with Just Cruisin’ Motorcycle Tours, take a walk on the wild side with Symbio Wildlife Park, enjoy a long lunch at Levendi and the sights of Wollongong from the most iconic vantage point there is – The Illawarra Fly!

For those that have already submitted their picture, it should already appear on the map, if you can’t see it there, simply resubmit and we will ensure you in the draw!!

HOW TO ENTER: Submit your photo here or visit our Facebook page. Simply enter your details in the required fields and upload your photo (as a jpg. or png. file) – that’s all it takes!

Please leave up to 48 hours for your picture to appear on the map. Once it appears on the map, you are in the draw

Tumbleweed hits the Uni…

Fairlie — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 08:59:30 +0000

Richie Lewis, lead singer of TUMBLEWEED has lived in the Gong his whole life. He grew up in Fairy Meadow, and after years of touring and music industry success, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Metallica, Nirvana, Soundgarden, The Ramones, Courtney Love, and anyone who was anyone in Aussie music in the 90’s, he now lives in Wollongong. In fact, Steve, Paul, Jay and Lenny – the four other members of Tumbleweed, all still live in the Gong..and why wouldn’t you stay in paradise!? On the eve of their gig at the Unibar (happening Friday 30th at UOW), I caught up with Richie to talk all things Tumbleweed and why he loves the gong!

So Richie the bands back together?

Yes we are writing a new album and we’re playing some shows looking to record in about June/July.

What was your last album?

A million years ago, I don’t know, ‘99?

(for the record it was Mumbo Jumbo in 2000)

How is this album going to compare to the previous?

We are recording with our original producer who did our most famous record from 1994, Galactaphonic – Paul McKercher, ARIA winning producer in fact!

So will it sound similar to your old stuff?

Yes it will, its not hugely different, Tumbleweed has its own sound so we’re not going to mess with that too much.

Have you all been in touch over the past decade?

We had about 15 years of not talking to each other but the past few years have had more contact, people have gotten married and had kids and travelled, all those wonderful things that everyone does.

So what can we expect for the rest of the year?

Quite busy – recording, playing shows, trying to get release happening because we’re doing it independently as well as balancing our daily lives so, it’ll be busy.

Do you have plans for the festival circuit for summer?

Yeah we’d like to I mean they’re the best shows to do so we definitely want to do festivals as many as possible, see what comes up.

You’ve worked with some big names in your career - Metallica, Nirvana, Soundgarden, The Ramones…is there anyone still on the bucket list?

Not really!

Where’s your favourite place to relax in the gong on the weekends?

I like walking around the harbour

Favourite takeaway?

I’d have to say…..Bento House.

Where is the one place you would take visiting family and friends in Wollongong?

Stanwell Tops or Bald Hill..its nice up there isn’t it! The coast road.

Why do you love the gong?

I like the ocean. I like the rainforest. I like the national park. I like the escarpment.

Tumbleweed perform at the University of Wollongong UNIBAR Friday 30th March. Tickets $25, doors at 7:30.

Kookaburras bound for the Gong

Courtney — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 23:31:22 +0000

On March 24, the World #1 ranked Men’s Hockey team, the Kookaburras, will head to Wollongong for a three game test series against China. Fact: This will be one of the final games for the Kookaburras before their final team for the London Olympics is announced and all eyes are on local, Kieran Govers, who is vying for selection.

: Tristan White with a ‘We Love the Gong’ sticker when playing for the AIS will line up for Illawarra in a practice match

The Wollongong region is about as grassroots as it gets when it comes to hockey. The region has been home to some of the biggest names in the sport and the opportunity to host a tournament of such a high calibre is a real pat on the back for the local community.

The announcement of securing this event caps off a huge few months for Wollongong when it comes to hosting big name sports and sports stars!

On November 26 Wollongong hosted the NSW Cycling Grand Prix which boasted a world class field of former and current Olympians and a swag of champion riders. Fact: The Russian cyclists that had been training in Wollongong in the lead up actually extended their stay to take advantage of the tracks around Stanwell Park, through the Royal National Park and Saddleback Mountain in Jamberoo.

In January, the Australia Day Aquathon was won by Australian triathlete and Olympic hopeful Aaron Royle. Fact: Wollongong is home to the New South Wales Institute of Sport Triathlon HQ with our region providing the ideal training landscape.

On March 22, the Australian Women’s soccer team, the Matilda’s will head to Wollongong for a training camp to kick-start their campaign to qualify for the 2015 World Cup. Fact: The Matildas camp was recognition of the Illawarra Stingrays’ recent success and South Coast Football’s proactive push for a W-League licence.

Back to the hockey though! The three game test will be held at the Illawarra Credit Union Hockey Stadium on Saturday 24th March (2.00pm), and continues Sunday 25th (2.00pm) and Tuesday 27th (7.00pm).

Tickets to the games are now available via the Hockey NSW website or at the Hockey Stadium office Monday – Friday between 10am and 3pm.

March Madness!

Courtney — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 03:19:50 +0000

It’s reminiscent of a Superman movie. Walking around town today and there are so many people pointing to the sky…is it a bird, is it a plane…no, it’s the sun!

It hasn’t been the best summer, and days like today seem to be as rare as hen’s teeth, but we are hoping it sticks around for what is set to be a big weekend of activity in the Gong!

Starting tonight we have the Wollongong NRE Hawks taking on arch nemesis, the Sydney Kings at WIN Sports and Entertainment Centre.

This is the Hawks second last game at home for the season and they are encouraging all to dress in red to support the Ronald McDonald charity.

It will be an early night for the regions budding triathletes with the RMB Lawyers Trithegong kicking off tomorrow. The two day event is expecting to see over 1,500 competitors take part and if you are still ‘umming and aahhing’ the forecast is looking good and you can enter on the morning.

On Sunday, the Towradgi Beach Hotel will be transformed to make way for the annual Food and Wine Festival! There will be over 45 alcohol stalls confirmed (including the Illawarra Brewery who recently won two awards at the Sydney Fine Food Show!), gourmet & international food, local produce, selected market stalls, guest speakers, kids cooking classes and more! Gates open from 10am!

The Wollongong Botanic Garden will also be hosting the Eaton Gorge Theatre Company who will be hosting an outdoor theatre production of Shakespeare own Twelfth Night.

And finally, don’t forget the Illawarra Caravan, Camping, 4WD, Fish and Boat show is on all weekend at Kembla Grange Racecourse.

But wait there is more! If none of the above tickle your fancy, check out our website for a full list of what’s on or search for the best places to eat, relax and/or entertain the kids.

Year of the Dragon!

Fairlie — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 02:54:54 +0000

I like to call this part of the year the business end of the year. Everyone is knuckling down at work after a festive season slacking off, the end of daylight savings fast approaches, winter looms encouraging more sensible attire, and there’s not a public holiday in sight until October!! (Well, there are 4 days off at Easter, plus the June long weekend…but it’s nothing compared with the public holidays between October and February…!)

It’s also the time of year footy diehards wait all summer for…the beginning of the new NRL season!

2012 is Year of the Dragon so it’s quite obvious which NRL team you should be supporting this year.

Other reasons you should support the Dragons:

1. In battle, it’s unlikely a Dragon would be beaten by any other creature featured in the NRL comp. Certainly not a Rooster or a Bunny. A Knight would probably give it a red hot go, as may a Tiger, but rest assured in a battle to the death a Dragon would win every time. The only real threat to a Dragon is probably a Storm. A really big Storm could knock a Dragon out of the sky and that may lead to the Dragon’s downfall…but as far as Eels, Bronco’s or Sharks go…they’ve got no chance.

2. Steve Price. What a great name! What a great guy. I don’t know the guy, but I do know that the gigantic shoes left by out-going coach Wayne Bennett would have to be filled by either a) a clown, or b) a really tall guy with big feet. I’ve checked google and Steve Price out-heights Wayne Bennett by a complete inch. The guys 6’4, so no doubt the shoes are more than filled, and we’ll be chanting ‘Price! Price! Twice as Nice!’ all season long.

3. The Western Grandstand. There are many accounts from around the world of football grandstands buckling under pressure, leaving many maimed…even dead. Lucky for us, we can be sure that won’t be happening at Win Stadium!! Thanks to mother nature giving the new Grandstand a good old test run with some hardcore wind-storm action, we are well aware that the new grandstand will be able to uphold the pressure of thousands of cheering supporters! And future windstorms. Check the NRL website for season fixtures and book in your weekend supporting your team in the Gong.

These three compelling reasons alone provide reason enough for you to get along to a Dragons game in 2012! Red and white, colours that unite! Red V, get it in me! Dragons dragons fire and flagons! Whatever your chant be…sports themed or steeped in Arthurian passion, get amongst the 2012 NRL season and let’s hope that 2012 relly WILL be the Year of the Dragon!!

‘Fly Away’ with Lenny Kravitz and Southern Biplane Adventures

Courtney — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 04:12:43 +0000

To celebrate Lenny Kravitz coming to the WIN Sports & Entertainment Centre on 20 March we are teaming up with Southern Biplane Adventures to offer the ultimate prize!!

Simply head to our Facebook page, find the link to this story and tell us, in 25 words or less, where in Wollongong you would ‘Fly away’ with Lenny Kravitz and why for your chance to not only win a double pass to see Lenny Kravitz, Wolfmother AND The Cranberries live in concert, you will also win an acrobatic flight over Wollongong with Southern Biplane Adventures…Lenny, unfortunately, does not come included for this part

The winner will be chosen based not only on the most creative and captive copy – the ‘more’ likes a post receives, the more chance it has in winning!

Competition closes at 3pm on Friday 2 March with the winner to be announced at 4pm.

Get writing…..

Wollongong to host the Ultimate Iron-Off!

Courtney — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 01:53:08 +0000

Six of Wollongong’s most talented athletes are getting set for the ultimate battle.

No amount of training, taper or testing can prepare them.

No amount of supplements, science or sleep will help them.

This is a game of speed, detail and delicacy.

The Morphy Richards Iron-Off will see Kelloggs Nutri-Grain Ironman Ali Day line up against Super fish and Australian Champion David McKeon, World Champion track runner Ryan Gregson, Australian Triathletes Aaron Royle and Shane Barrie and Australian High Jump Champion Petrina Price.

For many of these athletes London beckons, they are the best of the best in their respective sports and now, to their mothers delight (or fear!) it is time to see who is the most domesticated.

When: 24 February 2012
Where: Crown St Mall Amphitheatre, Wollongong
Time: 12.30pm

This is a free event and there will be over $4,000 worth of Morphy Richards products up for grabs!

Hosted by i98fm’s drive time host, Fairlie Hamilton, the Morphy Richards Iron-Off will be an entertaining event for young and old and a chance for kids to meet their sporting idols.

Post the iron-off there will be a signing for session for anyone who wants to meet these sporting champions.

When in Wollongong, eat.

Courtney — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:50:37 +0000

With Summer continuing to escape us this year, I thought now was a good a time as any to think of a contingency of things to do when it’s wet. More to the point, of places you can go to sooth your sole, relax and spoil your self a lil’ bit!

Unlike the winter months, the temperature is still warm, getting outside shouldn’t be too much of an issue and we are seeing more than ever little eateries pop-up all over Wollongong (and surrounds) with some great option when it comes to dining out.

Enter Diggies – great little café in a perfect location overlooking North Beach. Feels like Summer…but you can soothe your senses with one of their hot beverages. My particular favourite – their Soother!

Levendi is another great property located on the harbour. In this weather you can even get wet, the water is warm and if it’s anything like today, crystal clear! Enjoy some hot chips and unwind.

If your heading north, stop into Chedo’s. A little café in Coledale that has all the character in the world – actually it has been the pit stop of many infamous characters including, Hugh Jackman!

Why not plan an impromptu gather of family and or friends and book a group into The Lagoon. If I can recommend their Seafood platter – it is AMAZING. Their Prawn saganaki is making my mouth water just thinking about it.

Forget the seven wonders of the world, Wollongong has some of the best multicultural cuisine you will get anywhere in the world and its all found within 3 blocks!

Vietnamese at Mylan on Keira Street; Indian at JJ’s on Crown, sample the flavours of the Mediterranean at Samaras on Corrimal Street. Enjoy the authentic flavours of Italy at centro cbd on Stewart St. Alternatively, check out the Wollongong Markets tomorrow to find traditional Turkey Gozleme, fresh fruit, Asian flavours and curries!