– Melbourne musician Phil Gionfriddo (Dynamo, The Bowers) is on the hunt for his prized 12-string Fender guitar after it went missing following a gig at Phoenix Public House in Melbourne on December 23. His 1966 Fender Electric XII was either left in a cab or swiped on the street on Sydney Road, Brunswick, after the show. The guitar is lime green with a tortoise shell scratch plate, a Fender Jazzmaster-style body and a “hockey stick” headstock. Its serial number is #172548. “This is a very precious guitar to me as I have done many recordings with it and I use it in all my bands for every show I play,” said Gionfriddo, who has offered a $400 reward (no questions asked) for its return. Click here for details.

– Tassie's Charles Du Cane (aka Fred Showell) has called it a day. The Hobart composer/singer, who first performed as Du Cane in 2007, will play his final show at one of Mona Foma’s club nights in Hobart on January 18. Over the past few years, Showell has released three albums under the Charles Du Cane moniker including last year’s Port and Rail, a “lowbrow” concept album about art, war and their co-existence, which was mixed by Chris Townend (silverchair, Augie March). “I will still be making music - I doubt I’ll ever stop - but I’ll be doing it sporadically, privately, and mostly for my daughter’s amusement,” said Showell in a release. Charles Du Cane’s full back catalogue, including an album of unreleased/rare recordings and a compilation covers, will be made available via his website in the coming weeks.

– Melbourne’s Grand Salvo – the musical outlet for multi-instrumentalist Paddy Mann – has announced a handful of shows over the coming months. Mann, who recently returned to Melbourne after a stint in Berlin, will perform with Seattle’s Fleet Foxes at a sold-out show at Melbourne’s Palais on January 6 and at The Tivoli in Brisbane on January 10 and 11 (also sold out). He’ll also be previewing songs from a forthcoming album – the follow-up to 2009’s Soil Creatures – in a rare Sydney appearance at Red Rattler on February 4. The show will feature US-based singer/Joanna Newsom collaborator Ryan Francesconi and The Singing Skies (aka Kell Derrig-Hall), whose album Routine & War came in at #48 in our annual Critics Poll. Tickets via Moshtix.

– Newcastle’s *Sound Summit is looking for a co-director to work alongside Brooke Olsen on the 2012-2013 event. Applications close on January 23, with a full position description available here. Sound Summit is a festival of independent and innovative music, held annually over the October long weekend alongside This Is Not Art. Last year’s event featured performances by Japan’s MONO, Wet Hair, Fabulous Diamonds and Scattered Order. Photos here. Past co-directors have included Andrew Tuttle (Anonymeye) and Chris Hearn (Alps).

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