Looking for a one-of-a-kind Christmas present for that music fan who’s got everything?

How about a custom piece of artwork from Aussie artists like Tame Impala, Cloud Control, or You Am I? Or better yet, the fanciful doodles of Iggy Pop or indie heroes Vampire Weekend?

Those artists are among a list of 40 that offered their unique doodles in the name of community radio, helping Sydney community broadcaster FBi Radio with a unique 10th birthday celebration in which you can have the chance to own your very own absent-minded piece of musical art to frame in the pool room.

Cheekily titled Brush With Fame, FBi radio volunteers have gathered the gallery of one-of-a-kind art from some of their favourite local and international acts around the world, asking those who passed through the station to decorate a plain white canvas in any which way their musical brains liked.

Among the selections there’s some characteristically cartoony work from the award-scooping Tame Impala, Moby’s sketches featuring his ‘Little Idiot’ designs, a humorous take on fast food from Midnight Juggeranuts, and a rainbow like blast from Bleeding Knees Club that wouldn’t be out of place on a skateboard.


(Artist: Bleeding Knees Club)

(Artist: Tame Impala)

(Artist: Frightened Rabbit)

Other selections in the 40-odd Brush With Fame gallery include Laneway-bound Scots Frightened Rabbit, a proud number from Falls Festival headliners Vampire Weekend, a crude self-portrait from Sarah Blakso, and a nice design from eccentric electronic act Yacht.

As well as pieces from bands and singers there’s also work from Australian visual icon Reg Mombassa, the warped mind behind Mambo, media personality and famed writer Marieke Hardy, as well as Archibald Prize finalist Abdul Abdullah, and renowned street artist Beastman.

FBi Brush With Fame is auctioning off their creative collection via eBay from Friday 22nd November at 9pm (EDST) at http://stores.ebay.com.au/fbiradio. Bids for the musical canvasses begin at AU$ 50, and each piece will come with a Certificate of Authenticity, so your friends all know that it really was Girl Talk that did that childish inking of Bart Simpson (best stick to the mash-ups, Greg).

(Artist: Girl Talk)

(Artist: Midnight Juggernauts)

The Brush With Fame auction closes on Monday 2nd December with works shipped to the highest bidders the following day, leaving plenty of time to arrive in the post before Santa comes a-knocking.

All proceeds from the sale of the doodles on eBay will go towards FBi to help “further its mission of making Sydney one of the most vibrant and culturally interesting cities in the world,” according to the broadcaster. A culturally significant job the station has been performing amicably off the back of volunteers and grassroots support since it began airing on August 29th 2003 as the first and only radio station dedicated to playing 50% Aussie music.

Last September, FBi Radio celebrated its 10th anniversary with a huge live music birthday bash at Carriageworks in Sydney featuring many of the artists whose careers the broadcaster helped foster in the last decade, including The Presets, Sarah Blasko, Kirin J Callinan, Decoder Ring, and many more.

The FBI Brush With Fame is not the first time that musos have lent their unique visual talents up for auction. Last month, the In Their Shoes campaign saw Warner, Converse, and Sharpie calling on over 80 local and international artists to design a custom pair of sneakers to be sold off to raise money for charity.

Featuring designs from some of the artists in FBi’s Brush With Fame – including Tame Impala and Moby – along with international acts like Bon Iver, Mutemath, and Ed Sheeran, In Their Shoes managed to raise $36,144.37 for the National Breast Cancer Foundation and other charities chosen by the artists involved.

A figure reached thanks to six pairs of Converse reaching over $1,000 from bids, including kicks from The Black Keys, Tegan And Sara, Paramore, Ed Sheeran, Birdy, and You Am I (with their ‘Purple Sneakers’, natch).

View more of the FBi Radio Brush With Fame selections below, along with the full list of contributing artists.


(Artist: Vampire Weekend)

(Artist: Sarah Blasko)

(Artist: Reg Mombassa)

(Artist: Yacht)

(Artist: Moby)

FBi Brush With Fame Contributing Artists

Abdul Abdullah | Animal Collective | Beastman | Ben Lee
Bleeding Knees Club | Boy & Bear | Chali 2na | Classixx
Cloud Control | Darwin Deez | Dirty Projectors | Disclosure
Divine Fits | Florence and the Machine | Flume | Foals
Frightened Rabbit | Girl Talk | Hermitude | Iggy & The Stooges
Jamie xx | Jens Lekman | Jessie Ware | Jonathan Boulet
Kings of Convenience | Local Natives | Marieke Hardy
Martha Wainwright | Mercury Rev | Midnight Juggernauts | Moby
Montero | No Age & Jay Reatard | Of Montreal | Perfume Genius
Polica | Purity Ring | Ratatat | Reg Mombassa (Dog Trumpet/Mambo)
Rennie Sparks (Handsome Family) | Rufus | Sarah Blasko
School of Seven Bells | Sleigh Bells | St Vincent | Surfer Blood
Tame Impala | The xx | Twerps | Vampire Weekend | Wavves
Willis Earl Beal | Yacht | Yeasayer | You Am I

Further info and auction details at fbiradio.com/brushwithfame
eBay Auction Store: http://stores.ebay.com.au/fbiradio

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