Ash Grunwald Hits The Small Screen
Legendary Australian roots troubadour and surfing enthusiast Ash Grunwald hits the small screen this April on the new Fox Sports series Latitude Zero.
Heading to the Latitude Zero resort in the Telo Islands with a group including Luke Egan, Rabbit Bartholomew and Mark Philippoussis, the two-part series explores the role that surfing plays in their lives and is produced by renowned surf filmmaker Andrew “Shorty” Buckley.
2017 has been a renaissance for Grunwald, who has topped the community radio airplay charts with his new single ‘Hammer’, nabbed an APRA Nomination for Blues and Roots Work of the Year, been announced as support for the Hunter Valley leg of Midnight Oil’s ‘Great Circle’ tour and prompted a huge interest in his upcoming tour, including a fast sell-out for his Melbourne show.
Taking cues from classic bluesmen including R.L. Burnside and John Lee Hooker and old prison work songs, Grunwald drags the genre into the 21st century, adding a twist of classic rock, neo soul and a hat-tip to roots contemporaries including Butler, Rudd and Harper. ‘Hammer’ is Grunwald’s most accomplished track to date, showing an artist emerging with a confidence and resolve of a leader rather than a follower.
“Hammer feels like a rebirth for me in some ways,” said Grunwald. “I’m not a new artist trying to find my niche or prove myself. I don’t want to be a certain kind of artist fitting into a certain kind of box. I went in to record Hammer knowing the musical boundaries I wanted to push as well as the traditions I wanted to respect and tried to create something my fans would love… a signpost to the future in some ways, with ties to the past.”
Written as part of a recording trip to the US last year, the song is the first taste of Ash’s forthcoming 10th studio album and his first since 2015s successful Now, which saw him touring the world with sold out shows and festivals across America, Canada, New Zealand and of course Australia.
ASH GRUNWALD ‘HAMMER’ TOUR 2017
Friday 31 March: Northcote Social Club, Melbourne VIC **SOLD OUT**
Saturday 1 April: Bleach Festival, Coolangatta QLD
Friday 7 April: Woolly Mammoth, Brisbane QLD
Saturday 8 April: “Revamp the Amp” Kuranda Amphitheater, Smithfield QLD
Saturday 15 April: Newtown Social Club, Sydney NSW
Sunday 16 April: Crafted Live, Wollongong NSW
Thursday 27 April: Prince of Wales, Bunbury WA
Friday 28 April: Boston Brewery, Denmark WA