Liquify Magazine Spring 2016

LiQUiFY SOUTH EAST QUEENSLAND’S OWN SPRING 2016

ST R A D B RO K E TOBY MOSSOP o u t h THE OTHER SIDE

FANTASY ISLAND TURNS UP HEAT // BOARDRIDER BOOK BEACONS PHOTON TRAPPERS // FANNING ON TOUR, NO THE OTHER ONE METAL MAYHEM // SURF, MUSIC, mischief & MORE

Spring 2016

004 - Editor’s Intro

006 - TOS Fantasy Island 032 - Ear Candy / Red Hot Tracks

036 - Fanning On Tour .. The Other One

040 - Boardrider Beacons & Books 064 - Photon Trappers Imagery

086 - Metal For Your Face

Advertising enquiries - sales@liquifymag.com Cover - Toby Mossop at South Stradbroke Island // Photo by Luke Sorensen

Editor & Senior Photographer // Luke Sorensen Managing Editor // Rachel Syers Contributors // Barry Stalwart, Mark Wilba Wilson, Wilbert Starbird, Shayne Nienaber, Oliver Cooper, Joe Sullivan, Burton Diederich, Pam Dowsett, Chris Brooks Contributions, advertising and enquiries welcome editor@liquifymag.com

LiQUiFY Magazine is published 6 times per year // © Copyright 2016 Coral Sea Media Pty Ltd // LiQUiFY is a registered trademark // Whilst all attempts are made to ensure accuracy and suitability; content, opinions and submissions from contributors and/or advertisers are not necessarily that of Coral Sea Media Pty Ltd or its staff, and as such are not endorsed or supported by Coral Sea Media Pty Ltd or its employees // All content in this magazine is copyright*, please respect and use the appropriate ‘share’ buttons to distribute content // No liability accepted for misuse, reprinting, distribution, sharing or publishing of content contained within // LiQUiFY reserves the right to alter or change content at any time without notification

*Some content is reproduced under the Creative Commons licensing guidelines, and accordingly rights remain with owners of those works

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Frog explosions up against Point Danger // Photo Luke Sorensen

Editor’s Intro Get your froth on because it’s warming up, and not just the weather either but it appears everything is heated these days. Politics, relationships, our earth, economics and the surfing industry are all on the furnace right now, melting and reshaping themselves as we speak, and who’s to know where it’s all heading. As for LiQUiFY, the digital world of publishing has been an up and down affair - and to put it bluntly - if pats on the backs, media awards and high fives paid the bills and put food on our tables we’d be doing pretty good. It’s a sad fact that artforms that have been digitised (music, graphics, photography etc) have plunged in value in recent years, pushing talent to the fringes and driving many amazing producers of such media forms to destitution. So we’re putting the magazine on hold for now. We’re still going to be writing, shooting and stirring things up on our website and social media pages, and we’ll be coming together in six months to reassess our position on digital magazine publishing. We would love to thank every single person who has supported us this far in our mission to simply create and offer a platform for longform media, solid images and insights into the very things that we think both concern and spark our spirits and minds. Surf, music, our environment, politics, friendships, love and family - this is what LiQUiFY has been for the last 5 years and we hope will be for many more to come.

Thank you!

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Water photography // Luke Sorensen Island photography // Wilbert Starbird

Early Spring conditions served up at South Stradbroke ...

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he surfing world has always been filled with dreams of perfection and tropical isolation, the fantasy of leaving home to seek the bounty from a remote and desolate location drenched with glistening warm waters and perfect waves that ignite the soul.

Some will pay thousands, even tens of thousands, for a small dose of such things, but there is one place in the world where in under half an hour you can trade your white linen suit for black rubber or boardies, be out of the office and off the mainland, sliding under the cascading lip of a perfect electric blue barrel that’s metaphorically a thousand miles from anywhere.

Late winter this year delivered a couple of early previews of the warm season ahead as the winds turned west and The Other Side literally became the Gold Coast’s very own surfing Fantasy Island ...

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pen your mind to open barrels and exotic adventure, but you won’t be needing to open your wallet (unless you cheat and get the taxi - 7 bucks now geeeeezzzz!) because the Gold Coast is home to more world class surf breaks than almost any other place on earth. Whilst we may not quite be the Mentawai Islands, the South East does have its share of classic island breaks - some not so famous and some world renowned, like this gem, our own South Stradbroke.

There’s fresh air, clean sands, miles of undeveloped and uncrowded beach that fronts a dunal island boasting a plethora of wildlife. Some of it can kill you, others just want to raid your backpack to steal your lunch - those wallabies can be pretty stealthy.

Hypothetically, if it was something people would pay for, we reckon this place would fetch a pretty fortune for every surfer who wanted to score it. In reality though, it’s utterly priceless because it’s free and unspoilt.

Back in Australia to wrap up his HSC, Bali lad Reef Doig stuffed himself into a few stoinkers on one of the last days of winter // Photo Luke Sorensen

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ueensland is the first place to shed the wetsuits at winter’s end each year, and the first horse out of the gates, or rather rubber, was Sheldon Simkus who hooked himself into a couple of screaming aqua kegs.

“It’s such a unique wave, there aren’t many places like it” - Sheldon Simkus Nothing beats leaving winter behind and escaping to this place for some summery vibes and we caught Sheldon after this session for a quick chat about his relationship with this fantasy island.

Sheldon reckons, “Straddie is one of my favourite waves on the coast. It’s such a unique wave, there aren’t many places like it.

“The way the swells can get broken up out the back and make perfect split peaks - it’s a great untouched location.

“Even though it’s so close to the hustle of Surfers Paradise it’s such a cool little day adventure over to the island.”

Sheldon Simkus, fast and frothing // Photo Luke Sorensen

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Toby Mossop studying the physics that happen deep behind the curtain of an island keg // Photo Luke Sorensen

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urleigh heads’ rising talent Toby Mossop extended his lunch break to take in some cool island cylinders like this screamer, earning himself the cover as well. Toby’s been charging we hear, and showing no signs of slowing up. We got him on the phone to see what’s going down in Tobes town, he was more than happy to fill us in.

“You never know, it could block sand from other places and then that place stops breaking ... I think it will all just come back around to bite us” - Toby Mossop So, some pretty nice all-day offshores on the island the other day, saw you inside a few yeah?

“I kind of lucked into a few of the best ones out there. It was pretty crowded but you’ve just got to wait and get those nuggets.”

How’d you get over there?

“I actually paddled over to start up with because I had this big backpack full of food, and then I got a lift back on a Jetski, which I was frothing on, with Sheldon.”

How’s all the Burleigh groms going? We heard they’re the deadly crew on the comp scene at the moment?

“Yeah the Burleigh guys are smashing it. I’ve had a bit of a tough run in the comps, but I’ve kind of been focussing on really getting better and doing what I want to do

in surfing, just chasing other waves, getting big barrels you know … maybe try airs ha!”

Oceanside cruise terminals, massive rock islands, international ships off the back of Strads and The Spit ... can you believe that shit is still going on? Thoughts?

“I think it’s heavy. If you change one thing on the Gold Coast - that could stuff up multiple things. Like just doing that (the mayor’s offshore terminal idea) - you never know, it could block sand from other places and then that place stops breaking and that causes other breaks to stop working and I think it will all just come back around to bite us.”

Strads is really a sort of Fantasy Island, our own dream overseas surf junket but it’s on our doorstep and it’s free and available for us all, and it works. How does it stack up to an expensive overseas surf junket or exotic surf mission to a foreign paradise?

“I’ve had some of my best barrels ever on the Gold Coast there. It’s hard to say because you just think of it being there all the time. I suppose I never really think of it but when you say it like that, Straddie is easily sometime better than anywhere you go. It’s one of the most amazing beach breaks ever, it’s like a mini Puerto Escondido. I don’t really know really any other places that aren’t so expensive to get to, that are basically free - I don’t know anywhere that’s really got that.”

If you could put a value on it - the price you’d pay for getting a few days of it going off and it was your next surf trip destination ... what would ya reckon it’s worth?

“Like getting it perfect for a week or so? I reckon it’s probably a $3000 surf trip, but it’s on our doorstep and it’s free.”

We build it boss!

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Reef on sand// Photo Luke Sorensen

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orld traveller, tube hunter and all around frother Reef Doig is known to be partial to the odd island surf break - regardless of which country it’s in. Equally at home in a Bali bowl or a local sandpipe screamer, he hit our Gold Coast island for a few late-winter pits recently and didn’t fail to score. Reef, seen here getting spat out of a throaty blue beast, let us in on where he’s at right now.

“I was able to capture a bush turkey, lit up a small bonfire then just chucked it on top ... good protein after a long surf” - Reef Doig How’s things mate and where are you at with your surfing and shit right now?

“Things are good at the moment. I recently got my own little unit at Kirra, right on the beach, which is epic. I haven’t really done any events this year, it’s pretty hard to keep up with your work when you’re away a month at a time.”

Who’s surfing good on the Goldy right now that you reckon?

“I surfed with Toby (Mossop) the other day, he was ripping.“ Tom Tate’s new cruise ship plans for a massive breakwall island terminal off the back off The Spit - your thoughts?

“I think it’s bullshit, it will definitely effect the swell coming into South Straddie.”

What’s the best breakfast to down before you charge the island all day, given there’s no food or water there?

“Last time I went there I was able to capture a bush turkey, lit up a small bonfire then just chucked it on top.

It was my meal for the whole day - good protein after a long surf!”

What boards are you riding and why do they work for you at Strads?

“Depends how big it is, if it’s just 4 to 6 feet I’d probably just use my 5’9” swallow.”

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Yeah we know, most of you were stuck behind a desk, locked in an office or behind a steering wheel when this was going down a few weeks back.

If it’s any consolation, we’d like to share another perspective, and we think the view from our office was pretty damn nice mid-morning - a fantasy island turned reality for a select few unemployed, self-employed and the odd school wagger // Photo Luke Sorensen

Reef reckons that with a belly full of bush bird you can end up spending hours inside crystal caverns like this without getting famished or crampy. Reef Doig // Photo Luke Sorensen

Swift sands happy lefts // Photo Wilbert Starbird

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t used to be that if you wanted a half decent lefthander on the Gold Coast you either had to skip the border south or hop a rattly plane to some far off despot town in another country, but a freak combination of coastal sand management ideas, engineering and mother nature in the mid 1980s delivered some unintended yet extremely welcome outcomes.

For the first decade or so it was a little secret enclave for the locals - a place hiding in plain view - but as the photos began to circulate and the colloquialisms used by radio hosts were deciphered, the waves here drifted onto the world stage.

They were the glory years of this island experience and sadly something most people there nowadays know little about. Days with five or ten people out, four foot of clean south east swell and 18 knots of pure west-northwest stiffness.

Some things haven’t changed though. It’s still totally free, ballistically good and right in our own front yard. It belongs to everyone and nobody all at the same time, with the exception of the original north end crew, those that lived it through the ‘80s and ‘90s before the hoards came.

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Korbin Hutchins in an isolated tropical water world, no visas or passport required // Photo Luke Sorensen

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ne of the last sights we had this day was looking up and seeing Cooly fella Korbin Hutchings getting barrel number 17 or something for the session, slotted again in the perfection of a Stradbroke late-winter pit. He’s no stranger to a barrel or two and knows his way in and out of them well and truly - it’s a mystery how he hasn’t contracted some sort of tube-cosis or barrel-itus yet ... and his take on the place?

“The winds are perfect and the air is icy and you’ve got the skis on the back ready to go, it’s just incredible!”

- Korbin Hutchings Saw you get a few bud, so how good is it? I mean how good is that sensation of heading over to the island, away from the city, with no parking spaces or meters, just sand and water and A-frame pits?

Strad has got to be up there as one of the best spots I’ve surfed in the world! That feeling? It’s driving up the coast highway early in the morning when there’s no traffic and you know it’s going to be pumping, you’re with a couple of your best mates just getting hyped, the winds are perfect and the air is icy and you’ve got the skis on the back ready to go, it’s just incredible!

And what about the escapism, the isolation and the idea that we can take such an abstract surf trip and feel like we are in the middle of nowhere, but still be home in time for a few sneaky arvo beers or dinner?

I mean we always joke about Strad being ‘overseas’ as it isn’t connected to the mainland, but it is such a surreal feeling being over there and looking at the stretch of beach that just goes on and on for kilometres with little peaks the whole way. Even walking through the back of the island, trekking through the forest, it’s pretty crazy, it’s so isolated.

We heard Tate is at it again and wants to build a huge rockwall cruise harbour off the back of The Spit, or even off the back of the Seaway. It would have significant potential to impact the swell and sand banks out there, what d’ya reckon?

To ‘save our spit’ would have to be one of my main concerns.

I just don’t think people really understand how good of a beach break South Stradbroke really is, especially after travelling I can say, that place is magical! Let’s not wreck it, that would be devastating.

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Afternoon peak all to yourself, the happy hour at this watering hole is free and wicked // Photo Wilbert Starbird

Froth, foam and left pipes for days // Photo Luke Sorensen

Korbin Hutchings blasting into one // Photo Luke Sorensen

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Every now and then you catch a glimpse of the past - there’s nobody around you and the place looks empty. Quick where’s the time machine, can we go back to this already? Photo Luke Sorensen

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Luke Hynd, last-battery boost // Photo Luke Sorensen

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ot just a haven for barrel chasing and lip dodging, nowadays the island pumps out horseshoes and ramps, hammering end sections and foam for anyone inclined to take flight.

We were on 1% battery and hip deep in the froth when North End charger Luke Hynd paddled out, wasting no time hitting the end section and punting this semi-flip.

The last frames before we head back to the thick concrete and noise of metropolis and, for a fleeting moment, we were overseas, we were on some lurid desert landscape and we were far from home on our own backyard Fantasy Island.

Best part is, no money was spent, no departure taxes were paid and no bitumen or asphalt hindered our wild pathway. Oh, and no actual turkeys or wallabies were harmed, although if I catch one of these little bipeds in my backpack again they may just be taking a little swim themselves //

Ear Candy Delectable phonic delights to savour

Northeast Party House // Dare Out now - Stop Start / Inertia Getting your arse up and dancing has never felt as good as it does with the latest instalment from Melbourne outfit Northeast Party House. The young lads are blazing a path of righteous good times across Australia and Europe, with their live shows being spectacularly motion-laden whilst bordering on debauchery. See them live Friday Sep 23 at the Triffid in Brisbane. In the meantime check out www.facebook.com/ northeastpartyhouse

Pantera - Great Southern Trendkill 20th Anniversary Edition October 21 // Rhino - Warner Music Absolutely one of the best metal albums of all time, remastered and reissued for your audible thrashing pleasure. Pantera are without a doubt one of the pioneering ear-crushing metal Gods of the 1990s, and The Great Southern Trendkill is one of their stand-out achievements. From the sheer brutality of the first track (and namesake song off the album) through to the last kick of the drum, this record is a must-have album for anyone that needs to draw power and pleasure from their iPod or car stereo. You may have had this album before or Pantera may be a foreign entity to you now, but it doesn’t matter either way - this is music for any metal fan or connoisseur of loud and heavy things. Also being released is a second album as part of the set, featuring all new material. It’s called The Great Southern Outtakes and features live recordings, alternative mixes and instrumentals.

Empire Of The Sun // Two Vines October 28 - Astralwerks High and Low is the title of the lead single from their upcoming album, Two Vines. It’s an instant anthem classic with more groove than a vinyl record itself. Uplifting, ethereal and dreamy ... which is everything you’d expect from these legendary brothers. Their muchanticipated next album features contributions from Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham and Wendy Melvoin (from Prince’s band The Revolution). We’re watching closely and know that this album will be one to put on late at night and dance the night away with your significant other.

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Korn // The Serenity Of Suffering October 21 Twisted and mighty - that’s how we counted the new video clip and song called Insane, from the forthcoming new album by semi-goth bass metal band Korn. Curious and creepy, the music skirts along the edge of darkness itself, only grounded by the incredible spectrum of bass riffs and sounds that define this unique band. It’s new enough to refresh your senses but stays true to the original Korn mantra - there’s plenty of fight left in this band and The Serenity is a truly solid dose of their medicine. Yes, yes and yes, go get this!

Darkc3ll // Haunted Reality October 31 - RTD Records South East Queensland’s premier dark metal band are back with a thrill ride of an album, set to have you grabbing for your vampire-killing kit and silver bullets in no time.

The confronting lyrics and roaring mix of metal and electric sounds are equally matched with how much fun is woven into this record, and this band as well. Despite the sometimes scary looking afront, these guys are some of the coolest people you will ever meet and their passion for their fans is hard to match. Check their body of work out online, and get to a live show to take that thrill ride.

You can find their Facebook page here at www.facebook. com/DARKC3LLOFFICIAL

Nap King Cole - Come Fly WIth Me (The Wraptape) Out now over on Bandcamp Drop everything right now and get onto this flavour explosion of ultra suave and badass mixes from Nap. This is probably the best thing in our playlist right now, a smooth journey of hip hop, jazz, keys, dub and alien soundscapes infused perfectly within a cascading flow of masterful mixing and music production. This is the soundtrack for your dawn surf check or a rainy day drive. The whole thing is streaming now on Bandcamp for free, and you can buy the digital download for a small fee to lock it in to your phone or pod for good.

Hit it up here at www.napkingcole.bandcamp.com/album/ come-fly-with-me-the-wraptape

Free The Genie // Raining Dog Houses Out now - Independent Get ready for an electro ride like no other, featuring one of the Gold Coast’s best bass players, Jack Letizia, and a robotic drummer (yes, a fucken real robot drummer who is just the craziest musician you’ve ever seen) and some of the craziest keys and synth you’ve heard in ages. Influences and flavours from the 1980s right through to today, this duo are melting your mind at every turn of their tracks. Rich, varied and soothing, their music is a dose you’ll be coming back for time and again, a true popping candy to your brain. Go now, listen now, free on Soundcloud at www.soundcloud.com/free-the-genie

Suicidal Tendencies // World Gone Mad Oct 30 - Suicidal Records The masters of thrash are back and badder than ever with this wicked instalment. Joining the band for the first time in the studio on this album is ex-Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo and the Chilean bass master Ra Diaz. Bigger than itself, Suicidal are an institution and legacy metal, punk and thrash band that are still paving new ground and expanding the Suicidal Army of fans they have worldwide. Look for pure thrash, frenetic riffs and the ever-inspiring and auspicious lyrics that only Cyco Mike Muir can deliver. Drenched in Santa Monica and Venice style, this record is true to its roots and fresh as fuck - it will be a must have for any Suicyco slammer or old school fan of one of the most dynamic thrash bands the world has ever seen. Head to www.suicidaltendencies.com for official merch and deals on everything from this album, skate decks and bandanas.

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Die Antwoord // Mount Ninji & Da Nice Time Kid Out now - Zef Records / Sony To be honest, we were expecting more and this album has already divided fans with some hailing it and others hating on it. Regardless of expectation, it’s a typically batshit-weird blend of rave, hip hop and strange interludes that personify Die Antwoord and their style. Less zef and a little more mainstream, the album has a 50/50 blend of serious, dark and thoughtful assemblies cut between some child-like stoner tracks and bass heavy hip hop.

Not the best we’ve heard from the South African enigmas but we may find that this album could be a creeper and with every listen it can only grow - time will tell and we hope so.

Photo Cybele Malinowski

Still Civil and Living In Byron // Interview by Rachel Syers Bernard Fanning is that one bloke who everybody seems to know and like, regardless of his music. Plenty of us grew up with him enigmatically vocalising the songs of Powderfinger on stage for 21 years, before moving onto a solo sojourn that’s roped in a new round of fans appreciating his rock artistry. Long-time followers have watched him grow, along with his hair and his stubble, and from afar realised he’s had a few personal setbacks and heartaches not unlike many of us have to face over a life lived from your 20s through to your mid-40s.

But Bernard’s always handled the heat of being one of the most famous Australian rock identities of modern times, with an approach of honesty, authenticity and that Aussie attitude of calling it how he sees it. He’s ridden through it all and kept his passion and talent intact, always producing new offerings that have broad appeal, and is ready to share his newest album with everyone on an upcoming tour that gives our local region the best of both worlds – beginning on the Gold Coast October 18, travelling around the country and getting back to Brisbane November 10 and 11, then finishing up in Byron November 12.

It makes sense since Byron Bay is actually his new home now, where he’s also opened up a music studio called La Cueva Recording, where he created Civil Dusk – which is part 1 in a two-set project which will see the second instalment released early 2017 called Brutal Dawn. But in between then, there’s also Bernie’s appearance at Falls Festival over New Year’s at Byron Parklands coming up.

LiQUiFY’s Rachel Syers had a chat with Bernard over some giant bowls of awesome guacamole and chips at the Falls Fest line-up launch party held in Byron’s Secret Garden the other week, where he graciously let fly on everything we wanted to catch up on. So here ‘tis …

So you were living in Spain for a while and now you’ve ended up in Byron – along with the millions of other music artists who live there now …

Yeah, ha, there are quite a lot.

Obviously it’s centric to LiQUiFY’s core focus, but can I ask, why Byron?

I’ve opened a recording studio here with my friend Nick DiDia, who also produced the record. That’s where I did the record and it’s open to the public now, so I was planning to do that anyway. We’d been living between Brisbane and Kingscliff for about seven years, so Byron just ended up being the place for us to go.

Have you run into Kram from Spiderbait or Flynn from Cog lately?

Yeah Kram and I see each other … at school drop off that stuff happens. Most of those guys that were in bands around the same time as Powderfinger have got kids now so … yeah, there’s lots of musicians around here.

Are you a believer in the creative influence of Byron?

It’s lifestyle, you know. For us we didn’t want to live in the city anymore, we wanted our kids to grow up in a smaller town, so that was very much part of it for us. Aside from the obvious attractions of Byron, how beautiful it is - it’s an incredible place - it has a really great feeling about it and it’s physically just about unrivalled anywhere.

Have you taken up surfing?

I’ve never surfed actually – I was always playing cricket in summer in Brisbane, but my kids are already getting into it.

So you’ve just launched Civil Dusk - has it surprised you with how welcoming people have been with your new album so far?

It has actually, it’s been great so far! Really positive response from everyone for the record and the tour, so yeah, you can’t hope for much more than that. Generally overall, people have been very encouraging so it’s really great to kind of have that momentum going into making another record straight away as well.

Well the couple of singles we‘ve seen clips to are so good. The film clip to Belly Of The Beast really draws your attention, and is a perfect fit for your idea of asking whether our political leaders challenge, rather than confirm our prejudices.

The guy that made it, Gwyn Dixon, he’s a Brisbane guy – he did an amazing job on that, it really was incredible.

He’s a filmmaker and he really brought that whole idea to life, looking at leaders that have been great for the world, basically people who have been inspiring - I guess without putting any of the leaders of the present into the video intentionally, to kind of juxtapose that idea to get people to see these characters that have been so inspiring over the centuries.

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And then you’ve got Wasting Time which is so well retro-fitted.

Yeah, it‘s a pretty funny video. The whole thing was based on everything being obsolete, and pretty much all of the technology in there is obsolete now, like writing a letter and posting a letter etcetera.

How was it recording in your own studio with absolute freedom to do whatever you wanted?

I think the thing that made it really relaxing is that we didn’t really have a deadline, so we could just do it until we were ready, and that means you can go down a lot of little side roads that allow you to experiment more and feel less selfconscious about what you’re doing, which can only be a good thing – having that kind of freedom of creativity.

Your Civil Dusk Tour – we’re getting the best of you – the first gig on the Gold Coast at The Arts Centre and the last gig in Byron at The Great Northern!

Yeah it’s a good way to start and end really, a nice little bow on it, finishing at home. I haven’t played at the Northern since, I don’t know, the late ‘90s was the last time I played there, so it should be great fun.

Speaking of the past, now it’s been a few years since Powderfinger disbanded and you’ve had a pretty good break from those days, is it great for you to just sit back and watch what your mates are doing now, all doing their own thing?

Yeah it is great – I mean Haugy is playing guitar in The Church and touring all over the world – touring probably more than we did, certainly towards the end of Powderfinger - and he’s loving it. That was one of his favourite bands growing up and now he’s playing guitar for them, so that’s great.

Darren’s making records that are really good and Cogsy is a journalist – he went back to uni and got a degree. JT’s got his venue (The Triffid in Brisbane) where I’ve played a few times. It really is – I mean I know this is going to come from a biased place – the best venue of its size I’ve ever been to in the world. It’s incredibly well put together, for punters and bands. So yeah, it’s all really good.

How has your musical tastes changed over that time?

Well in the early days I was just really into rock and that’s broadened quite a bit. I really am a huge fan of music that’s made with timber instruments and acoustic guitars and pianos, and hearing how they resonate – how voices resonate as well - and the actual physical impact that it has on you rather than the kind of electronically made music.

Imagine if you had stuck with your first choice, which I understand was journalism at University of Queensland?

I was enrolled in uni and was doing journalism but didn’t put much effort into it to be honest – in the end I don’t think it would have suited me to be a journalist anyway, so it was probably lucky that I dropped out of uni and joined a rock band … which should tick every cliché box possible //

The Album Civil Dusk is out now via Dew Process / Universal Music Australia - Brutal Dawn will be released in early 2017 Secret Service & Village Sounds Present Bernard Fanning ‘Civil Dusk’ National Tour with Special Guests Dustin Tebbutt & Ainslie Wills - Oct/Nov 2016 Bernard Fanning’s tour is selling fast and plenty of shows have already sold out - see www.bernardfanning.com/tour for details Fanning is also playing at all locations for the 2016/17 Falls Festival

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oardrider eacons

Burleigh & North End Boardrider clubs celebrate with vibrant markers of our rich coastal history and culture

Ralph Pullinger at The Spit

Early days for the North End Boardriders at Main Beach

istory and legend, folklore and our cultural past are the stepping stones and markers, not only paving the road behind us, but these intrinsic components of our lives also shine an important light forward towards our future and the future of our children.

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classic historical books, and we were lucky enough to rub shoulders with some of the Gold Coast’s surfing elites, not just the ones you may know, but the quiet achievers and behind-the-scenes legends who have all played a part in shaping our incredible surfing culture and surf city.

In a young city like the Gold Coast, we’ve seen that our history is often fragmented or buried, our way points are cast aside to become few and far between. Despite our city’s penchant for bulldozing and blindsiding our modern history, it is the surfing community and boardrider clubs who are holding the torch and leading the way to make sure our coastal history - our markers - are set in stone for all to celebrate and relive.

We’ve gotten a fair way into the books and we can say that they weave a rich tapestry of some of the highs and lows of our surfing culture, delving into topical issues, the things you may have thought you knew and a few tales from the vault that will blow your mind. There’s hilarity, provocation, controversy and triumph at every turn of the page in each book, but most importantly, they are now cemented in time as beacons for all to see and know in generations to come.

This year two of our most prestigious boardrider clubs have their 40th and 50th years of service and establishment by not only bringing together past and current members and personalities, but collaborating and collating their stories and images into two incredible books that tell the stories of yesterday with a glimpse of the future added in for good measure.

Burleigh Boardriders hits 50 years and the infamous North End club is celebrating 40 years - milestones indeed within our young city. LiQUiFY stopped by at each of the celebratory events for the launch of these instant-

The celebratory nights for each club and book launch were each filled to the brim with incredible stories, camaraderie and rivalries, tributes to those no longer with us and dreams of those to come. We’re not going to spoil the books for you by printing up paragraphs here, go and read them, but here’s a collection of images and tellings we collected at the book launches, showcasing just how intrinsic and fundamental our boardrider clubs are as a cog in the wheel of Australian surfing and Gold Coast history. Straight from our local surfing legends and heroes, here’s what we overheard ...

It was funny you know, because when Billabong was just getting off the ground we made the shorts for the Burleigh Boardriders. It was quite significant because the Stubbies was on and when everybody came down there you had all the Burleigh guys in their boardshorts - it helped get Billabong off the ground.

- Gordon Merchant, founder of Billabong

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DICK HOOLE

ourselves … so the credit for how we now get to Nias was Thornton … without his entrepreneurial thinking, whether it was basically so he could be a Talking Thornton Fallander and Indonesia surf star or he could make me famous in the process, “As we all know, a picture is worth a thousand words I’m not sure what the outcome was but I’m indebted and moving pictures, with music, well hey, that gives to Thornton … well he’s the hero. everybody power. Back in those early days, pre GoPro cameras and iPhones, that was a different At the time it was really such a dream, such a world. Jack McCoy and myself were lucky enough wonderful life, they still had to do the hard work of all the surfing, yes it was a dream but, this is an to play with the technology of the day. interesting story. Dick Hoole? People thought ‘Dick Once we’d discovered Indonesia in 1973, on our Hole’, he’s the guy who went to Nias and stuffed first trip we saw Richard Harvey, Doris, all the goofy it up for everybody else! Of course there were a footers, Wayne Richards and all the pioneers. Bali group of hardcore surfers that had actually found was littered with lefts, G-Land and Lombok and it before I showed up with a camera and Thornton Desert Point – but we had a couple of natural footers and I went through the journey of heading to where who realised, well we want to be surf stars too, but this magical location was somewhere up there in we don’t get a look in with Gerry Lopez and Wayne the north of Indonesia, but there were half a dozen Lynch all surfing Padang and Uluwatu and … well hardcore guys there and we actually interrupted their party because we showed up with a movie they wanted a righthander. camera and that stuffed it up, they wanted to whack Thornton was clever enough, and I think me for revealing where this magical location was, entrepreneurial enough, he hit up Gordon Merchant but later on I figured out that for every one guy who to fund a junket so he could go off and explore. I don’t wanted to whack me, I’d accumulate another 100 think it was something that we could have financed friends who had seen the movie and … I suddenly Tai Graham with Dick Hoole, talking story and film with Thornton on the silver screen // Photo Luke Sorensen

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Incredible North End legends of past, present and future // Photo Luke Sorensen

had a hundred friends I didn’t know I had who all wanted to buy me a beer and back me up and tell me I was a great guy.

Thornton and Joe were our two heroes, and of course Doris, he’s not here now he’s off in the Mentawais. Alby Falzon used to sign his name and he’d write “keep surfing”, Jack McCoy signs his name on a poster and says “aloha”, Dick’s trying to be unique so he says, “live your dreams” and fortunately for Doris he followed the script and he’s up there doing it and that’s why he’s not here as part of the celebrations tonight. But we can’t forget about him, he had that within him, he had that opportunity in life, and that 60 Minutes story on him about a surf Nazi who saves a guy - it was pretty unbelievable.

That’s actually a stand out like Joe, Thornton and so many of the other good surfers that came out of this area, I just don’t want to put it down to it all just being about three guys, but there were three guys who decided to follow their dreams

to go surfing and as we all know that’s the best.

It’s not so much a fountain of youth but it’s a great way to live. As Micky Dora said, ‘Life’s a waste of time, and surfing is as good a way to waste it as anything’.”

WAYNE MCKEWEN - NEB On the rivalry between North End and Snapper “North End would never have gone to the heights that it did if it wasn’t for Snapper Boardriders, I mean, you’re looking at probably the top boardrider club in the world, and Rabbit and Bruce (Lee) and all the boys are just amazing and Jay Phillips, and how they bring all the young guys through, obviously geographically they have a better area than we have up here, but yeah surfing against those guys really pushed us.

It was always good heading down and competing at Snapper, and Joe and myself, and Guy Omerod

Classic early 1970s Burleigh with barely a sniff of highrises on the horizon // Photo Pam Dowsett

and Tony Eltherington, we used to go down there and beat them at their home break, and they didn’t like it but, and it arced us up and pretty much for three years we dominated Snapper.

the boys would throw me in the mud, if I had a new wetsuit, they’d thrown me in the mud, so in the end I used to just throw myself in the mud so they wouldn’t get the satisfaction.

If you looked at it nowadays, if you could dominate Snapper for three years the way they are now? It probably hasn’t been done since back then. They were pretty special days. At the Straddie Assault, Guy Omerod was one of our main guys, he was one of our amazing surfers, I think he won like 12 heats in a row.”

On rejecting a lucrative sponsorship to stay with Burleigh Boardriders

PAUL BRIZZO SURMAN - BB On being a grommet at Burleigh “Big Mick was the president when I first joined.

Burleigh was kind of hard for a Brizzo, especially with white hair and pink wetsuits, I did it tough, but the boys were pretty good to me as a kid. It was anything pink I used to have - anything pink and yellow - if I had a new pair of boardshorts all

Yeah my board sponsor at the time wanted me to surf for a different club, and she basically said to me if I surfed for Burleigh she would stop sponsoring me and I said, well the club means a lot more to me than that and I’m sure I’ll get another sponsor so fuck it.

The book and 50th anniversary of the club The committee and all the people involved in doing the 50th have just done an incredible job and from everyone’s thoughts, everyone’s said that JJ has done an amazing job so it’s just a credit to Ed Lindores – Ed drives everything that happens with this club and he should be congratulated every single day.

ALAN DICK On his parents’ house being used as a clubhouse “Dad was awesome to let the club have all the meeting under the old house. All the groms would turn up, ride their bikes there, and basically just use the underneath, except if you were tall or over about 5’6’’ you’d whack your head on the roof. A lot of blokes walked out with injuries from the old U-pipe that was under there, we had ping pong comps and all sorts of things (under there), it was a great time.

On everyone riding DVS boards Dick van Straalen had a shop there and everyone just loved riding his boards, they just fitted the point - they fitted the barrel. When I was young all the older crew were riding them, everyone seemed to have this fantastic barrel stance and I think a lot of it came from Dick’s shapes. He was a fantastic and still is a fantastic shaper, I still ride his boards.

On craziest or wildest times with the BB crew I’m mostly a blank from that time ha! There’s a lot

Burleigh legends line up at Burleigh Brewing // Photo Luke Sorensen

of things that went on back then that you don’t really talk about. We had a contest when we were Bluff Boardriders, we were called that as a result of the non-payment of an old Playroom debt we had because we held the presso there, and so we had to change the name, and they called it Bluff because we were taking everyone’s bluff, and it was quite clever because it was a play on words with the bluff at the point. So this contest, we got a bus from Koala Coaches and we went to Noosa, and we had all the crew in the bus and we were zooming up there. Many things happened on the bus that will remain on the bus. But when we got up there we had one of the grommets from Kirra who had decided to come with us for the weekend. I can’t think of who else it was, but we tied two of ‘em to this tree with the legropes and then everyone got so out of it that they left them tied there all night.

The history and 50-year celebration The book’s a fantastic thing for the club, it’s brought everyone together that haven’t seen each other in a long time. People are suddenly contacting each other that haven’t seen each other in years. They’re all in the book, we’ve got all the old members from the staff, we had that

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James Lewis // Photo Luke Sorensen

race day for the 50th, the committee that have put it together, and all the boys, it’s a huge credit to them and it’s fantastic to have this. Suddenly we’re out at this beautiful brewery, I just think it’s an awesome thing to have the club in print, and with some good photos, I just think it’s great.”

JAMES LEWIS - BB “I guess when I saw the 50th coming up - I came into the club 20 years ago now - but I always heard stories from before that of Burleigh Boardriders and the history, stories about Dooley and Guy Omerod - that’s what they were, they were legends - but I wanted to just put them (stories) down so these younger kids could have it, so it’s cemented in history. This is our book, this is for you guys, and we’ll have it for the future and forever.”

DWAYNE HARRIS - BB As a grommet in the club “I really enjoyed the abuse as a grommet at

Burleigh ha, you know, getting put in bins, the board up the tree and in the mud, getting locked in cupboards and stuff like that … nah, a few of the old guys taught me a lot, guys like Johnny C and all those old fellas were my apprenticeship, so you could imagine what happened there.

On Burleigh as a wave Yeah Burleigh’s still my favourite wave, I love surfing there, I just love Burleigh - we’re all so friendly and nice.

The book Thanks to JJ and Roycy, it looks like a really good book … it’s good to get all of our stories together because there’s a lot of things that went on in those days that maybe shouldn’t be told, but some of those stories are now in here so it’s pretty cool.

Stories that didn’t make the book I can remember the time that Johnny Boy (Gomes) tried to act a little bit tough with Norm, and Clarky

Liam O’Brien and Toby Mossop reckon the book is killer!

Photo Luke Sorensen

Dwayne, Yokes, John Charlton and Gordon Merchant // Photo Luke Sorensen

and Franky were driving around in the car with a baseball bat looking for him afterwards, that was probably one of the funniest ones I’ve ever seen.”

Good times at the Burleigh Boardriders book launch! Photo Luke Sorensen

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Classic times for North End at the Dunny Lid Challenge

VINCE LAWDER - NEB On Joe Engel “When the Engel family came to the beach for the first time, we all looked out the window and there was the Falcon with a whole pile of McCoy surfboards on it. Back then we always had our normal-type boards that you’d see on the Gold Coast, but no, Joe rode these round nose McCoys with round tails, all single fins back then, and we were all going ‘what are those things he’s got on the roof?’ – and Joe went for a surf that day, and we all watched him surf and we thought we’ll check this guy out and he just blew everybody away. It was just like good God, how fast does this guy surf? How’s the turns he’s doing? How’s the barrels he’s getting?

Everything he did was just unbelievable, none of us had ever seen anything of that level. You know, Joe joined, and he was part of the club with all of us. Just going out for a surf, one of the things I can remember is we were out and Joe took off on a wave and it was probably about 4 foot and it just 51

North End’s Mat McGrath in a classic Straddie barrel // Photo Shayne Nienaber

shut down the whole way, and we went ‘oh yeah, he got wiped out’ and then he just popped up at the other end and did a big reo and we were like ‘how’d he get down there so fast?’ – everybody wanted to surf like Joe. I mean everybody sort of had their own unique styles, but everybody wanted to lift their game to surf like Joe did, he was an amazing talent.”

Wayne McKewen on a Seaway bomb in the 199 0s

Main

d the shacks

Greg’s an Beach, greasy

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JAY THOMPSON - BB Returning home to the point after qualifying for the world tour “Yeah it was pretty emotional actually and pretty much everyone I had grown up with over the years had been with me on a long journey to follow my dreams and when I finally got there (on tour) we had a big celebration at the point with about a couple of hundred people. They got some T-shirts made with me on it. It was pretty emotional so we went and had a big piss up, it

The Burleigh Boardriders Single Fin is one of the most prestegious single fin competitions in the world

Burleigh on the pump, early days

was a cracker – it’s Burleigh through and through, love the place, it’s gold.”

ASH HUMPHRIES - BB On Mick Murphy “God Bless you Mick Murph - he was unreal. He was a big inspiration to the Burleigh Boardriders and he was President for about 6 years, I was Vice President at that time. He got all those guys like Edward and Jeff Pilcher and Kenny T and all those guys together to sort of put some money back into the club. He was 100% behind Burleigh Boardriders and he put his whole life into it and it was an honour to be the Vice President under him. Thanks to all the sponsors like Billabong and Burleigh Brewing, Liive Sunnies, and JJ and Roycey, and as for the book, I’ve only got through half of it, but it’s amazing so thanks to you guys.”

LIAM O’BRIEN - BB “I was about 9 years old when I joined in 2009, everyone’s looked after me since I’ve joined the club and it’s just been like a family, there’s been so much support.”

PETER HARRIS - BB On the Burleigh youth of today “Incredible! The young crew like Liam and Toby, Matty and the rest of them, I’ve been watching them grow up and now start pulling in there at Sharkies. Yeah mate, pretty impressive and they’re actually making their own history right now.”

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Tai Graham and Dick Hoole // Photo Luke Sorensen

Joe Engel in action

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TIM ANDERSON - NEB “I’m very proud, every time that the North End club gets mentioned, and I’m very proud that these guys (today) carry that tradition. It did start in the early 70s, maybe even the late 60s, it was a core group that originated from the Southport Surf Club – friends who surfed together – and that went through to ‘76. We were all surfing together and a few other boardrider clubs had already spawned. Then Joey Engel came onto the scene, Johnny got him involved into the surf club, I think that was ‘75, and we hadn’t ever seen surfing like it. All of a sudden people were paying attention to the clubbies because we had Joey Engel in our club, it was good grounding for the club, so Southport Surf Club should get a mention. When Joey came along, all of a sudden these established boardriding clubs saw his potential and all decided they wanted a piece of him.

On the birth of the club We already had a good close-knit bunch of guys in the Southport SLSC, and then came Joe, and he was the only one we approached, there was nobody else with that sort of potential – that could be invited to join – and the guys from Snapper were already snapping at his heels. Then Joe sort of approached us and said ‘well, why don’t you do something? I need to improve my surfing, I need to surf with older surfers and need to get more involved in the club scene’ – and that’s when we sort of got together and decided - well instead of losing Joe, let’s start our own boardriding club, within the Southport Surf Club. We came up with the name North End and it all started from there.

There was a handful of us at the time, it was the most northerly beach on the Gold Coast, we used to get the Jeep and go sand-dune riding up The Spit and wake up in the morning up there and go surfing, but there was no other patrolled beach north of Main Beach, at the Southport Surf Club.

So it was the most northerly beach on the Gold Coast so – North End! Early talent and rivalries in the club Like I said, as soon as Joey went out in the water

Tim Anderson // Photo Luke Sorensen

when he first came up, our level of rivalry and competition went through the roof. He just improved every surfer’s potential, every surfer wanted to be like him. Rivalries within ourselves?

No. Obviously when he joined our team to go into the interclub competitions, there was a lot of rivalry involved there, but not within the club.

Nowadays vs the old days?

Yeah well back then, I was 18 and everyone was under me, so 18 to 12-year-olds – that was different. These days the we’ve got 8 to 80, well 4 to 84-year-olds. When you look back on it in 1976 the kids, the members at the time, were just dropped off at the beach and they (parents) thought that within the Southport Surf Club so they’d be looked after by the older members but that’s as far from the truth as you can get. So they were dropped off at the beach at 6am in the morning and picked up at 5pm in the afternoon, so here we were, there’s a few of us at 18, 17, 16 or so with about 40 groms all knee-high to grasshoppers and we had the responsibility of trying to keep them all together, focussed and generally just have a good time. It was such a big responsibility looking after 40 groms at that age, but that’s the difference I can see now, there’s more families involved, there’s more responsible people involved, but you know, we survived.

Wayne McKewen // Photo Luke Sorensen

MAT MCGRATH - NEB On 40 years and the book

Mat McGrath // Photo Luke Sorensen

“Just wrapped the way it all came together, a long time putting it all together but the way it was formulated from past, present and to the future – I think we’ve nailed it in the way that we’ve gathered the information from the oldies to where we are now, to where we are going. I think it flows right through the book.

The two books and what they are for Gold Coast and surfing culture Oh for sure it’s important, making sure the original guys who started the clubs and what they’ve created is what we’re supposed to follow on, and make sure it continues.

What I want to touch on is that from Burleigh to North End - we talked about this years ago when we started the Joe Engel Junior Cup - was that all the talent stays at the northern end and that is doesn’t drift down south. We sort of draw a line in the sand from Burleigh south and from Burleigh north, and we’ve got a great friendship between Burleigh Boardriders and ourselves, and Mermaid Nobbys Miami Boardriders because they’re in between us, we want to make sure that what we produce at our end stays at our end.

Damien Healy // Photo Luke Sorensen

We’re all very good friends up this way between all three clubs.

On rivalries with Burleigh in the water and camaraderie with them on the land Yeah for sure there was, and our competitive side of things starts with our Dunny Lid comp. We’re very competitive, but that contest itself typifies how much friendship evolves in the water. We want to win the heat, but everyone comes back in and enjoys a beer on the beach, and when we compete, whether it be at the Single Fin Comp, whether we’re at Straddie or we’re there at their beach, we know there’s respect either way and we’re not going to hassle each other in the water at all.”

DAMIEN HEALY - NEB “I’ll be honest, three weeks ago I didn’t think that we’d get the book finished and all up to print for this evening, but as I was saying before to Ty Graham and Lorna, the beautiful member that put it together for us, stories die, stories have a shelf life, kids don’t always talk to old people, old people don’t talk to kids and there’s no common ground there so without putting something down on paper that’s there for generations going forward, stories are lost and there’s nothing

sadder in life than lost stories. Now we’ve got all the stories going forward for the next 40 years.

It’s tantamount to the future of culture, friendships and surfing on the Gold Coast, I mean you listen to the guys from the WSL sometimes - the Americans always talk about why the Australians are so good – because there’s a greedy competitive hotbed of boardrider clubs competing against each other here, hence why Australia has dominated, with the exception of Kelly Slater, the world tour for the last 25 years, and that’s attributable to boardriders clubs.

It’s very hard to compete against clubs like Snapper, we’re not as competitively as strong as Snapper - I acknowledge that – we may never be – but I do believe strongly in my heart that Burleigh and North End are at the forefront of boardriding on the Gold Coast – the best of friends, they represent two big ends, and we’re so proud of North End. Not just surfing but something more I would always say surfing is second to the culture that’s created within the club. Nobody remembers who was the winner from 30 years ago, from 10 years ago, from last weekend, what is important is the friendships, the relationships and the bonds that you have for life. All of my best friends are from the North End Boardriders,

Gala dinner and a night of epic friendship and story telling for North End // Photo Luke Sorensen

Crossing the desert at South Stradbroke, early days after the Seaway was built // Photo Chris Brooks

and I’m sure that’s the same for all other good boardrider clubs around the country … we’re about the surfing of course, and doing well, but we’re about the family, relationships and bonds we grow as friends.

The future for the club, clubhouses and growth We’re beginning the process of getting a permanent clubhouse now at Narrowneck, it’s the spiritual home at the northern end and our beaches, it may take 5 years, 10 years … Burleigh has their club there, they have their area and it’s something that we certainly are working on.

On council support and funding for surfing clubs versus other mainstream-sport clubs We’re on an equal level with those clubs, but the sad fact of the matter is that because we’re surfers, we don’t have a home. The ocean is our home and they don’t see us in the same way, but if they could treat us in the same manner? Well that’s what we are going to be working on with some good friends that we’ve got at the club, to promote North End getting that permanent fixture there at Narrowneck ... and may North End live for another 40 years!”

Damien Healy // Photo Luke Sorensen

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Grab a copy of Long Bongs Burleigh Barrels, the 50th anniversary hard cover book for Burleigh Boardriders.

Stocks are limited - available at Burleigh Heads News Agency/ Sean Scott Photography (in Old Burleigh Theatre Arcade) or at the Nook Coffee, Hot Stuff Surfboards or Patagonia.

www.burleighboardriders.com

Grab a copy of North End Boardriders’ 40th anniversary book and/or a T-shirt. Stocks are also limited so hurry. T-shirts $25 and 40th Book $30.

Email nebclubpresident@gmail.com to order your NEB history!

www.northendboardriders.com.au

Get behind the lens and under the lip with some of our sharp shooters!

Classic winter light penetrating a frothy Duranbah lip // Photo Kelvin Segarra

Welcome to the best fun park in the world // Photo Luke Sorensen

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Dean Morrison disappears behind a classic Gold Coast beach break funnel // Photo Wilbert Starbird

A veritable sand- bottom looking glass inside a perfect winter’s Duranbah keg // Photo Luke Sorensen

North end arvo cylinders, minus a crowd // Photo Kelvin Segarra

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Bede Durbidge is back and ready for take off // Photo Barry Stalwart

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A twisted underwater landscape of viscous energy and the dance of liquid that exists under a Froggys barrel // Photo Luke Sorensen

Dom Walsh, casual no-hands entry into a Kirra Point bomb // Photo Wilbert Starbird

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Duranbah froth a few weeks back // Photo Oliver Cooper @olliecooper_

Glorious morning light filtering through a classic Byron Bay winter wave fest // Photo Joe Sullivan @joesullivan20

Paradise on tap, or off tap depending on your view of things - Byron Bay this winter // Photo Joe Sullivan @joesullivan20

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Photography by Luke Sorensen and Burton Diederich

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here’s something enlivening and primal about thrashing your head to the brutal and visceral sounds of a good metal track - the onslaught on the kick drum in double or quadruple time and scorching riffs all wrapped around the vocals that push the peak boundaries of energy and expression.

Modern metal genres have many branches these days, exploring the technical possibilities of what a rock band can and can’t do - preaching light and dark lyricism laced with provocative soundscapes that inspire deep thought patterns and extroverted body thrashing. Hardly the kind of thing you’d expect to see in the tourism brochure for the Gold Coast right?

Nevertheless, the Gold Coast, and more broadly South East Queensland, is home to some incredible metal talent and success stories, built on an entrenched sub-cultural wavelength and underground scene that’s probably right under your nose and you don’t know it.

Despite trying to impress a partner that one time with your knowledge and passion for contemporary electro pop artists or some swooning teenage guitarist, we know that most blokes (and many ladies too) have at least a few parts metal in their core - occasionally urging them to thrash and head bang when nobody is watching. If you haven’t felt that heavy metal calling before deep down inside your guts there’s no salvation for you here and we’re sorry, but it’s time to leave this story and head off to the cafe for a dairy-free latte and bagel.

LiQUiFY recently took off up the road to a South Brisbane venue for an all-metal night, featuring among other things, a bevy of Gold Coast metal bands torturing their instruments to deliver a cracking evening of heartpounding audible carnage. The shred was mighty, the thunderous bass unstoppable and the overall outcome was a savage series of sets that were equally melodic as they were chaotically enormous.

We stopped after the show to chat to two of the mighty metal men entrenched into this paradoxical dimension of the local music scene, talking all things about their music and the state of the local industry and genre.

First up was Dios Syracruse, the mean-as-fuck bass player from the local death metal outfit called Eternal Torment.

Dios has been around the music scene for a fair while now but you wouldn’t pick it with his almost child-like and raw enthusiasm for all things local and loud, especially his love of the Gold Coast and his attuned views on this melting pot of tourism and localism. He’s keen to get it all out and rips into us with his ideas.

LiQUiFY: Hey mate we wanted to talk a little about this metal scene on the Gold Coast and in the South East for a bit, it used to be pretty massive and in your face but nowadays, even with the incredible music talent and 88

amazing bands around, it’s gone a little underground and we’re seeing less and less venues catering to it. Some reckon live music is dead because of device dependency, others say it’s genre based, so what’s your thoughts on this partial shift away from what it was like, say in the 1980s and ‘90s?

Dios Syracuse: Well that’s a good comment. I have seen one speckle you know, in the night sky, one shining star, and I think it’s happened once somewhere out Gympie way where there was this one guy and he was doing really well out of closing down pokie venues and putting in live entertainment. I think that’s happened once or twice versus the other however many places that have been bought by ALH or the other one, and turned into a shit pokie venue for the addicts. The (business) polls might say ‘get rid of live music, put in pokies’ but all I’m seeing is elevated drink prices you know, less people out, not much entertainment at all. One day maybe they might wake up to it but on the Gold Coast it’s very endemic because it’s like a big small-city town thing, it doesn’t have that resilient (live music) scene you know, so it’s never ending. The Gold Coast can be really fickle because it’s a tourism-based economy so anything can affect any of it, in the sense of the hospitality and the excitement value of the place - there’s a fluctuating availability and a limited capacity for people to pick up their arses and go out to a reliably gratifying live music scene. I guess also the recession has played some part in it, but mostly it’s because people can’t go out anymore to experience a number of different venues and wide genres, and get reasonably priced drinks and ticket prices. The venues that are left aren’t competing as much against each other any more to get into a market that’s increasingly diminished by the control exerted by the major pub and venue players. We’ve got a few but it’s a pretty unhealthy duopoly that’s crushing local live music industries.

LM: Yeah I think at the moment the Shark Bar has perked up a bit with a few small shows booked but there’s not much that hasn’t been bulldozed or bought up. If we did have a centralised and proper venue on the coast that catered for live metal and rock and punk acts, that was properly built and managed and made to be accessible and affordable, then the live band scene for heavier acts would probably be thriving. Brisbane has a few, Tivoli, Eaton’s Hill and Triffid more recently, plus a string of amazing smaller venues and historical places like The Globe Theatre and Woolly Mammoth - the live scene really is experiencing a great resurgence there right now that’s not pigeon-holed into one or two of the same low-impact soft genres but rather it is all-out catering to such diversity and depth, especially with the really heavy stuff too. Brisbane is the new hotspot in Australia for this, it’s got some great indie venues that are doing real well on their own, but on the Gold Coast? Despite the market-stage uprising here of late, places like the heavily council-affiliated Night Quarter at Helensvale do very little for the broader music culture of the city other than deliver shit sound whilst charging almost $10

“There’s a fluctuating availability and a limited capacity for people to pick up their arses and go out to a reliably gratifying live music scene” - Dios Syracuse

Dios Syracuse thumping out some of the meanest metal bass around // Photo Luke Sorensen

for a beer in a plastic cup - the venue just doesn’t (and likely won’t) offer anything to so many Gold Coast bands because of genre, sound and accessibility limitations. Last time I checked they are charging almost $90 including the booking fee to go and see the Sunnyboys - yeah 90 fucking bucks for an Australian pub rock band - and as great as the ‘Boys are, can you fucken believe it? It’s obscene. l hate to raise the age-old comment but, I guess that’s why The Playroom was so important and such a core foundation place to Gold Coast live music; it was central, on the bus route, properly built, big amazing sound and very affordable for all ... I guess it had the magic formula locked in, and our history too. Can we get to that point on the Gold Coast again where we have cultural depth and the sensibility to have a space, or hopefully even a whole buzzing hive of spaces, like this somewhere?

DS: The Playroom was one on its own and the reason places like the Cooly Hotel never could stack up was that the Playroom had tens of thousands of cars drive past it every day, past that sign. If you could get your band on there, everyone in South East Queensland then knew about your band. That’s what The Playroom was, it was an advertising medium for bands, notwithstanding that you used to get paid for every person that you (the band) brought through the door.

Things were different back then, and people really did put their effort into The Playroom because they got everything back that they had put in - the place was invaluable. The Coolangatta Hotel is an example though of where it hits a brick wall. It stands alone, on the street - it’s batting on its own and that’s the problem. If people can’t go from the Coolangatta to another venue or club, then to another and another and so on so they can see quite a few things and get some flavours of different live music experiences ... well that’s where a local music scene becomes real. In Cooly, people don’t have the opportunity of choice ... if you have a venue precinct for live acts, that’s where you would see quality street coming back, but we really don’t have that on the Gold Coast.

Gus on vocals for Eternal Torment

Do you think it’s something that everyone from council down to venue proponents and the wider music community could do a better job of exploring and developing, not just pushing a narrow view of genres and venue styles, not just being governed by the profit margins, but really developing a proper reputation as being a serious city where music culture is multifaceted, accommodating and freely available to meet a truly global cross-section of tastes and styles? I mean popular music is just that, but a healthy music culture emanating from within a city is built on all of the variety and niche areas, all the layers and the history, sadly we seem to be quite good at throwing our history away on the Gold Coast if it turns a dollar. It’s almost as if some people are out to wipe each layer clean, clip the wings of some venues and as we know in the past, bulldoze others. How do we move forward and build layers where things like metal and punk music have a proper place, a proper venue and proper support we know there are so many people who are into it here?

I think where the Gold Coast has always had lots of resources and lots of people turned on is in tourism - they understand that people need to come to the Gold Coast and have a good time, they need to have a spectrum of things that are going to make them get excited about coming back every year. Based on that, one of the

things the local live music industry needs to be careful of is not to over-genre-sise, not to play the same kind of music everywhere all the time. For example, if you were setting up a food market or centre, you wouldn’t say, ‘oh we’re gonna set up an Italian food court for this’, because all the Greeks would go ‘well fucken what about me?’ you know? The Gold Coast has never experienced the concept of being a city like San Francisco or New York or anything like that, it doesn’t have the ability to compare or compete with that - what it needs is to have the fire and the ice, the diversity and choice that offers people a chance to decide, do they go left or right when they go out, over there or back here.

In a way Surfers Paradise certainly used to be a lot like that but now it’s totally lost its way. It’s over governed by business groups, advisory committees, local government and traders speaking one language (money) with little heart and soul left in it. You used to be able to go out and maybe go to the Troccadero or Beer Garden and see amazing international bands at a working-man’s price,

then hit the Rose & Crown for some even better local acts and then take your pick of over a dozen amazing nightclubs to see DJs or simply dance until the sun came up if you wanted, but now it’s all been decentralised and diminished, restricted and shut down.

That’s exactly right, and that’s where people start having an actual scene, and the live music scene, and the colours and the mood and the choice - people don’t want to go out and watch the same thing day in and day out.

It’s like, a guy might like metal music but his girl might like jazz, and it would be good if they could all meet out somewhere and see a bit of both, and lately you only get that at festivals and maybe that’s why festivals have always been so popular in a sense, because of that cultural and genre mix, the idea that you can see more than one or two things.

Do you think it’s a shit-uphill battle or do you think we could be on the verge of our own Renaissance kind of time for live music where people put down their devices, and look beyond the farcical pop music they are being

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Eternal Torment drummer Shane setting fire to his kit with brutal licks and chops // Photo Luke Sorensen

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sold and return to real solid live music and experiences?

It’s just a matter of time before Australia finds its feet you know? The renaissance is more about, well ... just how there’s these couple of companies that have managed to swing a whole monopoly over the whole music scene across the country and turn so many venues into a bunch of pokie machine shitholes is just fucked up. When we all wake up to what’s actually going on here, things like The Playroom ... well it’s only going to take one rock solid proper venue that decides to just stay open and put live music on every night of the week, and say well ‘that’s it and I don’t give a shit’ - well they’ll become the biggest venue the Gold Coast has ever seen if they are in the right place with the right set up, and they’ll do it for a long time just like The Playroom did.

We have to agree there, pokie machines are like a biblical locust plague to live music and so often they bring far more financial and social grief to a community than they

“How there’s these couple of companies that have managed to swing a whole monopoly over the whole music scene across the country and turn so many venues into a bunch of pokie machine shitholes is just fucked up.” do provide benefits for clubs, pubs and tax revenues. So how does your band Eternal Torment fit into all this? What are you guys bringing to get people’s ears and minds going again in terms of your music and your band?

That’s a good question. I suppose anyone that’s writing music these days is going to be drawing on some sort of influence or style, one of the great perspectives for me as a bass player and us as a writing band is, Eternal Torment, quite simply, is an old school death metal band, so all those little distracting things are off the cards - no keyboards, no smoke and mirrors and all that. Our music is all about the attack and fever - all original riffs and that - but anyone that likes anything sort of heavy these days is moreover desensitised to all forms of metal really, they can hear death metal, nu metal old metal and most of the time you’ll find that they can listen to death metal, that they can get into it all and like all the different kinds of heavier music.

For sure. We’ve been to a few shows lately, caught you guys a few weeks back and yeah seeing 5 or 6 metal bands that night and it was fucking great. It was refreshingly stimulating music to take in, it was technical and it was tormenting and perplexing and entertaining and uplifting all in one.

Believe it or not, but some of Australia’s or even the world’s best metal musicians, and bands and genres, have come out of the Gold Coast and the South East Queensland

Chris on shred duties with Eternal Torment // Photo Burton Diederich

region over the years. There’s always going to be a lot of talented recording artists from the South East, a great example would be Disentomb, they’ve been touring quite successfully and doing real well.

Yeah we saw Todd Hanson, that crazy drummer from King Parrot, up at the show too, he’s been going big also yeah?

Yeah they just got back from touring over North America and Canada with Max Cavalera, and they’re back out soon all over Europe with Exodus and Prong, I mean have a look at their site - it’s all happening there for King Parrot, I mean my God, these guys are killing it.

So what’s the plan for you guys, for Eternal Torment?

We’re not really taking the luke-warm scene on the Gold Coast into account, we’ve had some pretty successful gigs in places like Sydney and Tasmania and we’re about to lock in a festival in Switzerland and get a couple of gigs over in Europe. We’re also in the process of putting down tracks for a full-length album. I guess the strategy for us, because we’re a death metal band - any of the good death metal bands out there have several solid albums

“You can’t just come along and pick up a guitar and get a whole bunch of gumption and attitude and do an album full of breakdowns you know” behind them, so we’ve got to get two or three, or at least one really good album behind us. We’ve got to just keep working on our craft. It’s not what you’d call a flash-inthe-pan approach, it’s more of a slow burn process of refinement, I mean it’s not a hardcore band you know, you can’t just come along and pick up a guitar and get a whole bunch of gumption and attitude and do an album full of breakdowns you know, we’ve got to build at least some sort of legacy and solid foundation, I guess that’s what we’re all about.

And lastly, who’s on fire right now? Which bands should anyone in this region go and see if they want their mind blown and a good dose of our metal scene?

Well definitely check out Disentomb, if you like any form of heavy rock, you’ve got Azreal and The Black Swamp, Shifting The Paradigm are worth catching, we saw Aversions Crown they’re really good - you’re really not doing yourself or anyone any favours by sitting at home watching Netflix.

www.eternaltorment.com.au

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uch like their namesake, Gold Coast metal band Azreal descends from above, landing on your music senses like a fallen angel scorned and cast aside to deliver thematic death and dismemberment to your music preconceptions - intriguing and stoic in their neardecade of delivering amazing music to all those that have come before them.

M

Luke Hosking: At the moment, it’s kinda really good in some places and it’s really quiet in places. As a band, we just make sure that we pick our battles, so when we do shows we just pick ‘em, and try to spread them out.

It’s not like you can try to play (locally) every month any more, which you could at some points in the past, like back in the Shark Bar days and times like that.

During those years this band has skated the edge of the underground and the surface, growing an organic and dedicated following of supporters and fans whilst diverging their talent into a series of stellar recordings to ignite your ears.

LM: But we see they’re (the Shark Bar) back and putting on a whole lot of shows at the moment.

LH: Yeah it’s started ramping up again.

We sought out front man Luke Hosking recently after one of their shows, and broke it all down to find out more about these mysteriously magnificent musos and their metal journey outward from here.

We went out to see you guys and a bunch of other metal bands in Brisbane recently and we were blown away with the strength and calibre of music coming out of the local acts ...

Yeah, oh there’s some great bands around at the moment aye, and they’re absolutely just killing it too.

LiQUiFY: Thanks for chatting with us mate. You guys are right in the mix of things in terms of the metal scene around here, around the Gold Coast at the moment. It’s certainly had its moments over the years and we know there’s some serious talent around, what’s your take on the whole metal scene here and where it’s at right now?

For sure, some of the sounds and styles being produced, the sort of evolution of metal music itself not just globally but locally too - it’s become so intricate and technical but it’s still got this great underpinning purpose and sensibility in the music ...

I reckon it’s killer, there’s some really awesome bands

Azreal’s Luke Hosking in full-bore guttural vocal flight // Photo Luke Sorensen

“There’s some great bands around at the moment aye, and they’re absolutely just killing it” - Luke Hosking

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“It’s just a good time. It is an intense show, it’s heavy and hard out and fast, but it’s ultimately enjoyment”

Blisteringly good riffs drive this band, and they come from the hands of this bloke, Jimmy Glinster // Photo Luke Sorensen

around. Also, some of the bands that are doing really well and have done really well locally over the last few years are starting to get international supports, and Gold Coast bands getting international supports in Brisbane, like The Black Swamp, they’ve been around a few years now and their music is just wicked. I guess it’s still pretty diverse really, you’ve still got (traditional) death metal but there’s all sorts of things now, a lot of groovy metal out there at the moment.

We spoke briefly a short while back about venues, how there’s really a massive lack of good venues on the Gold Coast especially compared to what’s going on in other countries or even cities in this country. Brisbane has seen a slight resurgence in its capacity to host a variety of capable and quality venues of late, do you think there’s an appetite for the Gold Coast to evolve into a place with a reputation for venues? I mean not just driven by the aspirations of artists but by the broader desire commercially and culturally to create something that puts us on the map for taking music diversity and live music seriously?

Yeah well, we did have the Cooly for a little bit but then again its location was a ... unless it was sort of a bigger show with heavy (crowd) pulling bands, it was hard to get a lot of people all the way down there - there was always the transport issues with getting people all the way down to Coolangatta. But, I hope there’s like a Shark Bar revival because that was kind of like the new Playroom, everyone didn’t mind going to the Sharky, it was an ace venue. There was a bit of a run at the Beer Garden and other places, but they just weren’t great sound wise really, at least not compared to some place like the Sharky. I think if we had the right venue, or really some decent venues, then definitely we could have that reputation for live music back. I guess one thing that I think we should also be careful of is having too many shows and venues, spreading it too thin - like putting too many shows on and every weekend, and spreading the people who really

want to go see live music too thin over all those shows.

There’s a little bit of that going on right now with the amount of acoustic artists and the uprising of market stages and boutique stages where it is becoming saturated with one brand of music on every day, everywhere at every pub or market space across the city. We love to see an amazing guitarist sit down and play amazing rock ballads and folk tunes but it seems like there’s 100 of them playing every weekend everywhere sometimes.

Yeah that’s it, but there is 100 bands out there too and there’s enough bands to have shows everywhere and every weekend, and that goes back to what I was saying before about us - we pick our battles. We try to play less shows these days, because it’s not like it was a few years ago when it was reasonably easy to fill a room, but now you sort of have to make sure that when you do play the Coast or Brissy, you do it kind of sparsely and you do it on a good night.

So equally as a punter or fan who might not get out that often, what should someone expect if they come to an Azreal show for the first time and what experience do you hope to give to your fans?

I guess ultimately it’s just a good time. It is an intense show, it’s heavy and hard out and fast, but it’s ultimately enjoyment - it’s just a lot of fun, grooves so you can move.

We try not to be intimidating in any way, we try to have a lot of fun so that way people come back, and it seems to work because people who come and see us, they become regulars a lot of the time.

And now where to for Azreal? Eight years in and you’ve got a good following there, are there plans to take it out there further and ramp it up or are you guys comfortable with where you are at right now?

We’ve got two albums done and we’re sort of in the process of writing a third album and we’re trying to get over to America at the moment and snag a tour over there so we’re a little quiet with shows at the moment.

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“Nothing worth doing was ever easy hey�

Turning up at 110% every single show seems to be the mantra of Azreal drummer Chris Dennis // Photo Luke Sorensen

We are playing with The Black Swamp for their debut album launch, I think it’s in November.

We saw Darkc3ll do a similar thing a while back, mostly their US tour made it look like they just had an amazing time, but they did get to play some incredible venues and shows alongside amazing international bands and it really lifted their profile and the reputation of their band - not that they weren’t already highly regarded anyway.

Yeah exactly, they’re good buddies of ours and we’ve played shows with them all the time and they’ve just done that same thing. So that’s what we’re looking at, and we’ve just been working really hard behind the scenes to make that happen. That’s what we’re working on and new music will definitely be coming along as well … hopefully some time early next year.

Now Azreal is up at eight years running, it’s not something we see on the Gold Coast too often in terms of the longevity of a band - a lot of bands start up, play for a year or two and then end up calling it quits and dissolve, I guess just because it’s the Gold Coast ha. But we have to stand up and take notice and champion any band that achieves some form of longevity and becomes established and steadfast here without losing the plot - manage to, like you said, put out a couple of great records and jump the early hurdles to go on.

Mate you have to love it you know, you have to love it. It’s not the kind of glitz and glamour that some guys maybe go into it thinking they’ll be getting, thinking they’re just going to get big shows and it’s going to all be glorious.

There’s a lot of ups and downs, and if you love it, well you’re going to stick with it. Nothing worth doing was ever easy hey.

www.azreal.com.au

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