I got a chance to get an inside look to the station’s soul, by speaking with Vega’s Music Director and daytime announcer, Jacqui Kassulke.

For the music listener who appreciates rich sounds and technique of the guitar, Peter Northcote’s album Poindexter and the Genius Sex Act is simply a ‘must have’ in your collection. The sitar, Rock and a Japanese flavour are prevalent themes throughout the album. Peter lends his voice to some of the songs throughout the album (such as Japanese Girlfriend) while narrative by the well-known astrologer, Dadhichi, adds further depth and ambience. The album is crafted with attention to detail in almost every aspect, from the arrangements and mixing to its physical presentation. The CD comes in a beautiful, high quality case which in itself is a work of art.

He’s a successful Australian songwriter, with great hits like Noiseworks’ Hot Chilli Woman. But there is much more to Balbi than many realise.

An inauspicious ad in a local newspaper - “WRITER WANTS WRITER TO WORK WITH” - founded a rock group that went on to become one of the most iconic bands of the late 80s in Australia.

Noiseworks had a string of hits leading up to their final album, but Hot Chilli Woman is the track that remains in the Australian psyche when we think of The Works. It can therefore come as something of a revelation that their most famous track wasn’t created by lead singer Jon Stevens, but was instead penned by founding member Steve Balbi.

A successful Australian songwriter, there is much more to Balbi than many realise, having worked with musical icons such as David Bowie, Tom Jones, Jimmy Barnes and Michael Hutchence.

Noiseworks Days

The early beginnings of Noiseworks can be traced back to Balbi responding to that simple ad. Upon arriving at the meeting, another musician who also responded to the ad was there. His name was Justin Stanley, and he would become the keyboard player of Noiseworks. Whilst this initial songwriting trio didn’t work out, there was a “synergy” between Balbi and Stanley.

The duo soon were soon joined by Jon Stevens, Stuart Fraser and Kevin Nicol, with whom Steve Balbi was already playing. “We had a play and it felt really good, and then we thought it can’t hurt to see what happens, so we wrote some songs.” Their first round of songs was written with LA-based producer, Louie Sheldon, who took the tracks to Sony, landing them a record deal.