All the news that's fit to surf!

MEGAN LAURIE graduated from the CMAA College of Australian Country Music in 1999. These days, Megan can usually be found at South Plains College in Levelland, Texas, furthering her education in country music and following in the footsteps of Kym Warner and Jedd Hughes. Megan keeps a journal on-line and through her words you can feel the camaraderie that many of our young performers enjoy with their fellow budding stars.

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Chet Raynor Te Nahu-French may not have started walking yet, but he has already started going to gigs and displaying a growing interest in music. Just as well, seeing as his proud parents, Camille Te Nahu and Stuart French are two of the busiest performers around. Read their news on-line and check out the latest Feral Swing Katz album, Round 3.

The 2004 HATS OFF TO COUNTRY Festival takes place from July 9-11. The excitement is building as more and more shows and stars are announced for this mid-year Tamworth event. As those dates draw nearer, you can view the latest version of the official program at the CMAA Web site.

ALLISON MOORER comes from deepest Alabama and in her music she reveals pretty much every emotion related to the big issues, especially on her new album, The Duel. You can find some trivia in her Web journal however, such as her views on television and literature and the question "Have you ever tried to eat 7 saltines in 60 seconds?" Her Website is unusual too in that every page has a different striking design. Look on Allison's enhanced-CD for a bonus live video of the song Believe You Me.

It would be hard to miss all the recent publicity regarding the latest computer virus scares. Two general tips for your protection and peace of mind: make sure your anti-virus software is kept up to date weekly (if not daily) ; Windows users should also make sure their computer has all the latest security patches installed. To do this, follow the instructions at windowsupdate.microsoft.com

DVD REVIEW

SARA STORER
STORIES TO TELL
ABC Music

It doesn't matter whether you've ever been on a tractor; let alone driven one around in circles. The power of SARA STORER compositions is that you can identify with the subject matter or the emotions of the characters within. Sara herself recognises this as the sign of a successful song and tells us so during one of the candid interviews that introduce the 17 songs on this DVD which has been released as a bonus with the Beautiful Circle CD, and is also available separately. Included are the video clips of Sara's hits, plus some live versions of other great songs, three of which have not previously been recorded. Much of the footage is shot in and around the Storer family farm in western New South Wales. Sara's brothers and dad join in on various instruments at an impromptu concert during a family barbecue. Sara gleefully refers to them as the Bullagreen Mountain Breakdown Band, just waiting to be discovered. The grounding that the family and home give to her is very evident during these filming sessions.

The DVD begins by retracing Sara's own discovery and the journey that brought her this far. Along that road we relive her own voyage of self discovery and she tells us, "I feel I've been given a gift, and I want to share it." Indeed, we look forward to her generosity and open-heartedness for a long time to come.

ABC Music/Universal Music 13789
(80 Mins)

Don't forget to listen out for cyberBob each month on the radio waves with Murri Country, 4AAA (98.9 FM in Brisbane) and Barbara Morison on 2SER (107.3 FM in Sydney and on the Web).