Mint (issue 7) September 2015

# 7 • september 2015

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ASH GRUNWALD

STEVE POLTZ

THE MOODY BLUES

ROSE GPO

DAMIEN RYAN

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ASH GRUNWALD

By Cameron McCullough After returning from a massive tour of Canada including shows at the Winnipeg and Vancouver Folk Festivals alongside the likes of Wilco and Jose Gonzalez. Ash Grunwald has released Second Guess, the latest single from his forthcoming album NOW. Adding to this announcement Ash Grunwald will launch NOW, his forthcoming, 8th studio album with an impressive 28 date national tour throughout September and into November including, metro, rural and festival dates.

Second Guess encompasses the essence of what made Australia and the rest of the world originally fall in love with Ash Grunwald and his music. With an overflow of groove from the opening riff, paired with tight percussion and a unique moog synth bass line, Second Guess hits you off guard with an attack of the aural senses, It’s all Ash, it’s all-new and it is NOW! Produced by Nick Didia (Pearl Jam/ Springsteen/Rage Against the Machine) from studio 301 in Grunwald’s home town of Byron Bay, NOW is set to stand as a sonic landmark in Ash Grunwald’s career as a respected Australian roots musician. Grunwald delves into a more experimental and modern approach explaining his intention was to create a “modern psychedelic, sci-fi, swamp rock, blues album, if there is such a thing”.

Drawing inspiration from collaborators Ian Peres (Wolfmother) on synth, Pete Wilkins (formerly Blue King Brown) and of course Nick Didia, Grunwald aimed to approach the album with a traditional power trio reminiscent of seminal acts such as Hendrix and Cream.

“The effects where very much part of the music, which Nick (Didia) encouraged. Nicks approach was to basically coach the band into doing the best possible performances as he pulled the sound he was chasing in real time. The aim was for the end product to be as close as possible to e what we were

delivering live in the studio.”

With the current climate of the music industry making it difficult for independent musicians to record, release and market music to the standard of major commercial recording artists, Ash Grunwald’s forthcoming release would not have been possible if it wasn’t for the support of his fans through crowd funding phemononem Pledge Music.

The campaign will continue to run until the album release on 25 September giving fans the opportunity to pledge on unique experiences and exclusive offers including

meet & greets, music lessons, VIP packages, intimate house concerts and more! With a desire to be socially and morally responsible and conscious, Ash Grunwald will donate 5 per cent of all profits raised from his Pledge Music campaign towards 350.org, an organisation working towards building a global climate movement to eradicate the use of fossil fuels and to create a sustainable future.

Ash Gunwald will entertain local fans on Thursday 24 September at The Grand, Mornington. Tickets at ticketebo.com.au

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“I wanted to go in there with a traditional power trio like Hendrix but use a synth player instead of a bass, Ian Peres brought that and a whole lot more playing a fair bit of rock organ in there which is something that he honed whilst playing in Wolfmother. In the

studio we used a whole lot of our own effects, for example I had the same vocal effect that I use when I play live. While doing vocal takes I had a guitar delay pedal on a music stand that I would tweak to the feel of the song, if I got it wrong, we did it again.

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P19 JOHN WATERS P34 ADAMS FAMILY

P14

P30 DAMIEN RYAN

STEVE POLTZ

P28 ROSE GPO

HUNTERS&COLLECTORS P12

P6 DEF LEPPARD P25 CLASSIC CUTS

...INSIDE

A music, arts, events & entertainment magazine for the Peninsula & Bayside.

EDITOR: Cameron McCullough – editor@mintmagazine.com.au ARTS EDITOR: Andrea Louise Thomas – artseditor@mintmagazine.com.au CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Maria Mirabella – creative@mintmagazine.com.au SALES: Ricky Thompson – 0425 867 578 – sales@mintmagazine.com.au PHOTOGRAPHERS: Gary Sissons and Yanni CONTRIBUTORS Terri Lee Fatouros – terri@ mintmagazine.com.au Greg Fisher – greg@ mintmagazine.com.au Lachlan Bryan – lachlan@ mintmagazine.com.au Ray McGrotty – ray@ mintmagazine.com.au Stuart McCullough – stuart@ mintmagazine.com.au Neil Walker – neil@ mintmagazine.com.au Andrew Dixon – andrew@ mintmagazine.com.au CONTACT US: 1/2 Tyabb Rd, Mornington, 3931 – Ph: 5973 6424 FREE MONTHLY - 15,000 COPIES Available in over 1,000 outlets from Sandringham to Portsea and everywhere in between.

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DEF LEPPARD SHAKE O FF THE HATERS

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By Neil Walker

The haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate but Def Leppard are due more credit in rock and roll’s history books than critics generally give them. Taylor Swift certainly thinks so.

The biggest pop star in the world right now performed with Def Leppard in 2008 as part of a US series called Crossroads that paired modern musicians together with their idols from yesteryear.

Swift reckoned that singing the likes of the hit song Photograph with the band was “my childhood dream come true”.

“My mom was a huge fan of theirs when she was pregnant with me,” she said at the time.

“So growing up, the music that was playing in my house was Def Leppard. It was music that she liked that I could like too.”

Def Leppard sold more than 100 million albums in the 1980s and 1990s – mostly thanks to the Pyromania (1983), Hysteria (1987) and Adrenalize (1992) trio of albums and hits such as Pour Some Sugar On Me, Love Bites and Let’s Get Rocked - but there is a feeling the rockers, despite Swift’s praise, have been unfairly tarred with the same brush as certain flash-in-the-pan ‘hair metal’ bands of the era who quickly rose and fell just before grunge conquered the music world in the mid-90s.

There have been tragedies for Def Leppard among the glory days along the way – guitarist Steve Clark died of a prescription drugs and alcohol overdose in 1991 and drummer Rick Allen lost an arm after a car crash on New Year’s Eve in 1984 – but the core of the band including Elliott, bass player Rick Savage, guitarist Phil Collen, drummer Allen and ‘newcomer’ Vivian Campbell, who joined in 1992 to succeed Clark as guitarist stand strong today.

MINT spoke to Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott on the eve of the band’s latest Australian tour and asked whether he resented the band being (h)airbrushed from rock history by some sections of the music press, most notably the weekly UK mags such as NME. Elliott, on the road and calling from Indianapolis in the midst of a US tour of stadiums, sounded like he and his bandmates had the last laugh as he recalled the band’s critical reception in some quarters despite their global success.

“There’s an elitism within the media and from certain artists,” he said in a distinctive Sheffield born burr.

“We used to joke about it. We used to imagine some guy walking onto the open plan floor of Rolling Stone magazine’s office wearing a Def Leppard T-shirt and being asked ‘what the hell are you doing?’ while they’re all wearing their Loudon Wainwright, Lou Reed, REM, Springsteen T-shirts.

“We are one of those bands that certain parts of the media just love to tear to pieces because they see us as these dinosaurs. music  arts  events  entertainment

made us popular but we’re not going to play them’.”

‘It sounds like Def Leppard’ Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott isn’t sure how Def Leppard’s latest self-titled album, their first since 2008’s Songs from the Sparkle Lounge, will sit within the band’s canon spanning 35 years.

“It’s very difficult to be subjective about anything that’s new because it’s new,” he told MINT. “We don’t decide if it’s the best thing we’ve ever done. That’s for the people to decide.

“We all really believe that we’ve made a very, very good record.

“It is the only record we’ve ever made that we didn’t plan on making. It wasn’t part of a big picture or part of a record deal where you know you have to deliver a record in a certain amount of time.

“We didn’t go in to make an album. We went in to write two or three songs with the theory of maybe putting them up online or something like that but we just spewed forth with 12 ideas in one month and got together a few months later to work on those songs and wrote two more so we ended up with a 14 track record that came together pretty quickly.”

“We never got the credit for rewiring the way rock and roll was recorded in the 80s. When we put out Pyromania and Hysteria people hadn’t put out records that sounded like that before, because the material wasn’t like Morrissey or Psychedelic Furs style.”

Elliott believes some in the music press can hold a grudge if a band becomes big without its backing or permission.

“When you’re massive with the public but not big with the press it really gets up their nose.

“People in the press wouldn’t admit to liking Meat Loaf in the press or Bon Jovi or Taylor Swift ... but these are the very artists who will sell stadiums out,” he said.

“That’s not coming from a sense of bitterness.

I couldn’t give a f*** what the press think.

The fact is we’ve got an audience and that’s what important.”

The band are still playing the big venues, a testament to their longevity with old and new fans alike, and Elliott also credited this with Def Leppard’s enthusiasm for still playing their biggest hits in the live arena.

“Any band that’s been around as long as we have – bands like The Who and The Rolling

Unlike so many of their 80s and 90s peers, Def Leppard have also refused to go down the break up/reunion/repeat route to sell tickets for live gigs.

The new album took about a year to record between tour dates.

“I don’t think we’ve ever enjoyed making an album so much because we didn’t really realise we were making one,” Elliott said.

“Everybody says the album is dead. We’re realistic enough to know that we’re never going to sell records like we did in the 80s or 90s, nobody does. Not even McCartney or Bowie could do that.

“We’re not doing it for any career-building purpose ... every influence we’ve ever had is sticking out all over the place whether it be Bowie, Queen, Led Zeppelin, The Faces.

All the bands we grew up admiring feature in the songs but of course it sounds like Def Leppard hence the title.

“Yeah, there are certain bands that do that. I mean, god bless ‘em but The Scorpions have been doing a farewell tour now for about six years, The Eagles have been doing one for about 20 and I think Cher’s being doing one since the 1980s,” Elliott said.

“As unsexy as it sounds, we get on really well.

There’s no agenda, there’s no big drama in the Def Leppard camp. We have our moments where we don’t see eye to eye on certain things but we’re man enough to stand up and talk about it, nip it in the bud before it becomes a volcanic eruption, and get on with it.”

This reluctance to engage in showbiz divaesque behaviour could be traced back to the bands roots in working class Sheffield.

The singer says the band members were “very aware of the opportunity” afforded them by their hard-working parents’ encouragement in allowing them to pursue their rock and roll dreams.

“People asked us what the album sounds like and we looked at each other and said ‘it sounds like Def Leppard’ so it was about time we called the album Def Leppard, we’ve never done it.

“It is what it is. We’re a rock and roll band. We’re going to steal and thieve and magpie all sorts of stuff to make our sound. We always have.”

Stones – are going to play stuff people know.

It’s part of what we do.

“There is a core element of certain songs you know that if you don’t play you won’t get out of the building alive. They’re the songs that put you in those buildings so you can’t deny them.”

Australian fans are in for something different from the current US tour though with the band releasing their first album of new material since 2008 in the form of a self-titled Def Leppard album next month. “‘This is a track from our new album’ are the most dreaded words a singer will ever say,” Elliott joked.

“But also they’re the most important because as long as you’re saying it you’re still doing something current. You have to keep making new music whether the rest of the world think it’s important or not.

“Let’s not turn every act that goes out live into a nostalgia act.”

He assured old school Def Leppard fans that they will hear all of the band’s best-known songs though.

“I don’t buy into that ‘these are the songs that

“We didn’t fear failure but maybe not being able to do it at any kind of level. None of us wanted to go back to the regular life,” he said.

“I’d rather play the [Glasgow] Barrowlands than work on a building site.”

The working class worth ethic saw Def Leppard push on and become one of the biggest bands on the planet at the height of their career in the 80s and 90s and Elliott looks back on it with some fondness but also thankfulness for the present.

“There was times when we literally were outselling everybody on the planet,” he noted.

“Back in the day, standing toe-to-toe with everyone from Bono to Springsteen was great but we’re not exactly down in the bowling alleys now.

“No-one even bothers looking at the charts anymore but we’re still playing to 20,000 people in Dallas, for example, so it’s not like we’re not still one of the biggest bands in the world it’s just we’re one of the biggest touring bands in the world, if you like.

“In many respects, it’s been and gone and come back and that’s because of the hard work we’ve put in and we do have a legacy and we do have a massive collection of hit singles and well-known songs.

“Our standing with the audience has never really dropped and our standing within the business is rising again.”

Def Leppard play Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne on Wednesday 18 November with guests Live and Electric Mary. See premier. ticketek.com.au online or call 13 28 49 for tickets including VIP tour packages and backstage passes to meet the band.

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CHECKERBOARD UNPLUGGED AND UP CLOSE

By Terri Lee Fatouros

TIGHT, soulful riffs, jazz infused rock, impromptu jamming within structured songs are probably great words to describe polished four-piece outfit, Checkerboard.

that scene because they are possibly different or maybe threatening. He’s not sure what it is and only guessing.

Although Checkerboard has never gained a momentum within the blues scene, everyone knows who they are and literally come out in droves to see them play.

Carl Pannuzzo, drummer, singer, and spearhead of the band sits in centre stage front and impresses with his rich dulcet vocals and rhythmic drumming grooves.

The band is bloody good; they are musos’ musicians and regardless of whether you want to pigeonhole them into a genre or not, the simple fact is, these guys are world class and it’s time everyone knew it.

Good friend and co-founder, Amos Sheehan, plays bass and their close friendship shows during their playing when they transform together. Shannon Bourne plays electric guitar as does Coburg Tipping and the four of them simply morph into each other’s groove during their song set.

Pannuzzo sums it up saying: “The bottom line is as long as its fun to play then we like to play whenever we can. We are never going to turn up to do a standard gig and keep doing it if it doesn’t feel good.

Pannuzzo and Sheehan have gigged together for way over 20 years now. In fact they cranked up Checkerboard way back in 1985 during high school days when the original line up featured Ian Collard. Small world, it seems.

Checkerboard plays blues-rock, jazzy funk, soul through to psychedelic, and their sound is highly improvisational. That’s the difference with this band. They get a song like I’d Rather Go Blind by Etta James, or Drown In My Own Tears by Ray Charles or A Good Fool Is Hard to find by Albert Collins and make it their own.

They’ll either funk it up or do cool soul riffs while allowing each other the freedom to improvise and express their creativity within the songs structure.

Says Pannuzzo: “We improvise within our solo playing, and often the actual construction of the direction of the song can be taken from just three notes from one of us. The concept is listening and responding well. We don’t intentionally do it. It’s just that when we are in the flow and the musicianship is high and you

are available in that moment and can respond, then everything can work.”

“So it can be authentic and reimagined,” pipes in Pannuzzo.

Sheehan sums up: “In a nutshell, we work with world class players and the music we play is pretty much American music from the 1940 and 50’s through to present day, if we include modern interpretations of the blues. And the guys we work with are all capable as each know all the standards, similarly as a jazz player would know all the jazz standards. They know all the blues standards so we are able to call a song and get a really vibrant ‘on the spot’ result, because everyone knows the material, and we are fortunate because we can do this with different players”.

“Bourne and Tipping bring in a tasty approach to our sound making and expression, as this band is probably more about ‘expression’,” concludes Sheehan.

Checkerboard doesn’t play often but when they do it’s worth listening to.

Sheehan feels that possibly due to their improvise quality and the freedom they allow each other to play and express within the songs structure they may not be perceived as a blues band as much, (says with fingers in quotes.) He feels it has been difficult for them to break into

“Also part of it is, ‘how do you market us’? You could go with the singing drummer idea or go with the great guitar player, but the reality is we are hard to market. There are many great blues guitarist around. The idea for us is not about cutting chops or pulling out that great guitar solo, because we do have very technically proficient players. It’s about playing a song and playing the music. For me music is something that expresses on many deeper levels. I guess we are hard to shoebox and can’t be defined enough.”

Checkerboard’s long-term ambition is to gig in America, but in their words ‘we are musos, not managers’, but one day they know they’ll get there.

Checkerboard gigs at at various venues around town. For information and inquiries contact carl.pannuzzo@gmail.com facebook.com/checkerboardmusic

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BRITISH INDIA HEAD TO USA

By Cameron McCullough Riding high on the success of their fifth album Nothing Touches Me, British India will embark on a national tour to close out their year, which also includes a trip to America for shows in New York and LA. It has been an outstanding year for the local indie rockers. Their fifth studio album Nothing Touches Me debuted at number 5 on the ARIA Albums Chart and saw the band complete their most successful national tour to date, with a string of 18 sold out shows.

The four school friends emerged from Melbourne’s independent scene in 2007 with their critically acclaimed debut album Guillotine. They won the AIR Award that year and followed up the release with two Top 10 albums – Thieves in 2008 and Avalanche in 2010. The band signed to Liberation Music, releasing their fourth album Controller (their third consecutive ARIA

Top 10 debut) in 2013, which also scored them their first ever gold record for the song I Can Make You Love Me. British India were handpicked to play with both The Rolling Stones on their recent 14 On Fire Tour, and as replacement for The Black Keys at this year’s Bluesfest in Byron Bay. Nothing Touches Me yielded the singles Wrong Direction and Suddenly.

Wrong Direction awarded the band their seventh ever entry into triple j’s Hottest 100 countdown this year.

British India will embark on another huge, 20-date tour from Friday 18 September, which includes two weeks of touring in the US. Your next chance to see British India locally will be Tuesday 29 December at The Grand Hotel, Mornington.

Tickets at britishindia.oztix.com.au

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TWINS RIDE THE MILKY WAVES

By Terri Lee Fatouros

used for writing because it’s more of a loop base program and great for arranging due to the ease of moving things around. Then once everything was in place, they recorded live into Pro Tools. Although you can hear the fabulous electronic sound throughout, rather than use midi controls they used live instruments, which created depth and substance to the mix.

Says Jaymes: “It is a different way of recording with the 70s sound. The drum sound and mike technique have its own idiosyncratic textures and techniques and this is what we really like. I know it’s not what is really happening in the scene, but we thought when it comes to making the album, it should reflect what we really love, which is 70s pop and disco, so that’s the route we took.

THE debut album Milky Waves from brother and sister outfit Voltaire Twins was launched at Shebeen in Melbourne to an appreciative and much anticipated crowd last month.

TWINS Jaymes and Teagan Voltaire, both in their late 20s, have been gigging together since high school days and have amassed a huge following along the way.

THE pair decided to form a band while at university. Jaymes studied creative writing, Teagan studied filmmaking and both were in separate bands. It was during this time they realised they had something unique going on so gave it all away to concentrate on their music together and became the Voltaire Twins.

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Their genre is dance music, sonic vibe 70s disco with Fleetwood Mac being a big influence on them. Using a bunch of synthesizers, electronic drum machines, including live drums and percussion, bass guitar and lead, their sound is contagious with unique overtones of pop and synth riffs. One of their songs, Glass Tooth, incorporates the large sound of live percussion and drums with over lay of drum machine producing a sound dripping with sweat and glitter. Their signature blend of 70s disco, 80s pop and 90s beat takes you on a nostalgic journey to when synthesizes were first introduced and forging ahead with an outer worldly sound.

Milky Waves was recorded using Pro Tools software. Jayme’s stresses that Ableton was

“We do use a drum machine when we play live and send different midi signals from a laptop to the drum machine, which has separate outputs from each drum within the drum machine. Because we use a lot of loops live, an MPC sampler is used. So I basically trigger a lot of things with one hand while I’m playing the synthesizer with the other hand together with Teagan playing her synth. So you really have to pay attention within the song being played. It forces you to step up your game and make it as live and engaging as possible.”

night in the studio, which is a window less space with double locked doors, sound proof and dark. I like to sit and meditate on those thoughts and let them consciously brew up.

I like to find different ways to break a rhythm and sometimes like to break a perspective when writing.”

Both write songs and both have different approaches.

Recently they came back from New York City after attending and participating in the South

by Southwest Festival, which runs for several weeks. Nearly every record label along with film companies, marketing companies, producers, and music industry people are there and it’s a big 24-hour conference come party atmosphere going on.

Whilst over there they made heaps of friends and connections and the name of The Voltaire Twins is now known internationally, which fortunately for them, has set up a growing name within our very own Australian music scene as well.

Milky Waves is available for sale through most records shops.

For more information visit: Voltairtwins.com soundcloud.com/voltairetwins facebook.com/voltairetwins

I asked him how he gets his inspiration to write a song.

“The kernels of ideas often come to me in the shower. It’s like sensory deprivation and I enter into a kind of meditative state. Because the water is hitting me, my self-awareness takes over. I have a lot of ideas in the shower but resist the urge to do anything with them, instead I let them percolate in the back of my mind. Then I like to spend the day and

bayside & mornington peninsula

TINY LITTLE HOUSES

By Lachlan Bryan New indie bands appear almost every week in Australia’s capital cities, but few can lay claim to the kind of early success and momentum experienced

by Melbourne’s own Tiny Little Houses, who’ve already gained high rotation airplay on triple j, mass support from community radio and a prime spot at Brisbane’s Bigsound conference.

“We actually hadn’t played a gig until after we’d recorded,” says frontman and co-songwriter Caleb Karvountzis, who first put the band together as a vehicle for recording his ‘journal-like’ ideas.

“I met Sean (Mullins, co-writer) around three years ago through a mutual friend,” explains Karyountzis, “and we started sharing demos. We found we were giving each other good ideas so we decided to work together” “We bounced ideas off each other for

about a year and a half,” he continues, “and then Al (Yamin) and Clancy (Bond) joined as a rhythm section”.

The subject matter and lyrical style of Tiny Little Houses’ songs set them apart from a lot of new bands.

“I read a lot of poetry,” he explains, “and I find inspiration in the Bible cos I’m fairly religious – I enjoy the poetic nature of that stuff, the metaphor and the imagery”.

“People are surprised to hear that religion is an influence, but we certainly wouldn’t classify ourselves as a Christian band. I would say though that there are moral questions in our music – questions about where we are”.

You Tore My Heart Out, the new EP from Tiny Little Houses, is released on Friday 25 September.

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HUNTERS & COLLECTORS RELEASE THEIR FIRST EVER ANTHOLOGY

By Cameron McCullough

They are anthems for a generation, songs that define an era in Australian music.

“The real essence of rock music,” Mark Seymour pondered at the end of 1983, “It’s just passion, it’s just really pure.”

More than three decades later, that statement is a neat summation of the new Hunters & Collectors collection, which is simply titled Anthology.

These 40 songs tell the tale of a remarkable 18 years, from the band’s early alternative days at St Kilda’s Crystal Ballroom – when Rolling Stone magazine dubbed them “White punks on funk” – to their years as a touring machine, playing to the suburban masses in sweaty beer barns.

“We felt that if we couldn’t convey something to normal people who work nine-to-five then we might as well forget it,” Mark Seymour explained in 1985.

This was an Australian band unlike any

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other. Their unforgettable debut single, Talking To A Stranger, was inspired by Charles Baudelaire’s The Albatross; the timeless Throw Your Arms Around Me is the Aussie classic that was recorded three times but was never a big chart hit; The Slab is an ode to onanism; while a song about Napoleon’s chef, Holy Grail, ended up becoming a footy anthem.

Mushroom Records started a new subsidiary, the White Label, to sign Hunters & Collectors. The band demanded artistic control. Mushroom boss Michael Gudinski famously likened dealing with them to dealing with the Communist Party.

This is a story of egalitarianism. The collaborative energy of a rumbling rhythm section and the blistering Horns of Contempt, with songs that captured the brutal beauty of the Australian landscape.

“We’ve always aimed to sound Australian,” Mark Seymour noted in 1986. Drummer

Doug Falconer called it “The Great Aussie Tug”, referring to the roaring backbeat necessary in a pub environment.

For a generation of punters, these songs provided the soundtrack to their gig-going years. A Hunters & Collectors gig was a tribal experience. Paul Kelly remembers seeing the band in the 80s, when they were “gathering an army”.

“Their audience was mainly young men, hungry for devotion,” Paul observed in his memoir. “Hunnas had a big, fat industrial bass sound, an anthemic horn section, and their singlet-clad singer, as fit as a trout, held nothing back.”

At the start of the 90s, asked how he would like to be remembered, Mark Seymour responded: “I suppose if there is one thing that I’d like to be remembered for artistically, it’s getting all those people singing, ‘You don’t make me feel like I’m a woman any more.’”

Hunters & Collectors were Australia’s last great pub rock band.

“They defined new parameters for Australian music,” critic Toby Creswell wrote when he was editor of Rolling Stone.

“And Mark Seymour’s lyrics captured the Australian experience in a way no other writer has.”

Anthology – culled from the band’s nine albums – follows the Hunnas’ live reformation, which coincided with the charttopping tribute album, Crucible, and saw the band perform at the AFL Grand Final and do shows with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and The Rolling Stones.

The tour won the 2014 Helpmann Award for Best Australian Contemporary Concert, but the band is adamant there will be no new Hunters & Collectors albums.

This is it. And Anthology shows why Hunters & Collectors mattered – and why they still do. bayside & mornington peninsula

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STEVE POLTZ IS MEANT FOR US

By Lachlan Bryan Steve Poltz has flown under the radar for many years now – but never too far under. The Canadian singer-songwriter has had a long and successful career in the music business, punctuated by constant touring and the release of ten well-received solo albums.

In 1996, Poltz had a brush with mainstream fame when he collaborated with Jewel on her worldwide hit You Were Meant for Me (he even starred in the video which many of us will remember from Rage and Video Hits around the time).

But it’s solo on a dim-lit stage where Poltz feels most at home, telling stories, picking an acoustic guitar and occasionally launching into one of his now-notorious between-song rants.

Poltz is particularly fond of Australia and it seems like the feeling is mutual. He was named ‘artist of the festival’ at the 2015 Port Fairy Folk Festival and he has toured here regularly since the 1990s.

On Friday October 9th and 10th, Poltz returns to Oakleigh’s Caravan Music Club and Brunswick’s The Spotted Mallard respectively, on the back of four sold-out Melbourne shows earlier this year.

He may not have released an album since 2010, but Poltz’ sheer magnetism and compelling performances are enough to keep audiences coming back.

Visit caravanmusic.com.au or spottedmallard.com for tickets.

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de Kraan

BOBBY VALENTINE THIRTY YEARS OF A Moment in Time GETTING PAID FOR IT THE 48TH SOLO ART EXHIBITION Prelude to Love

By Lachlan Bryan There are few Australian performers who deserve the title of ‘genuine entertainer’ as much as Bobby Valentine. The largerthan-life Valentine is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, band-leader and raconteur who has been, as the title of his new show notes, ‘getting paid for it’ for thirty years.

Anyone that has witnessed Bobby’s talents first hand will tell you that he most certainly earns his money! His huge, soulful voice and charismatic stage presence hark back to the era of the ‘song and dance man’ and he has no difficulty doing justice to the works of great artists and singers from Ray Charles music  arts  events  entertainment

to Hank Williams.

For 30 Years of Getting Paid for It, Bobby has put together an all-star 5 piece combo from the colleagues that he jokes “are still talking to me”. The show itself covers music from much of the twentieth century in styles ranging from jazz and blues to country, rock, pop and soul. In typical Valentine style it will be all about the audience – and all about the music.

Bobby Valentine: 30 Years of Getting Paid for It – hits The Flying Saucer Club in Elsternwick on Friday 26 September. Tickets are available at flyingsaucerclub.com.au

BY THIS UNIQUE ARTIST

5th to 30th September Oak Hill Gallery 100 Mornington-Tyabb Rd, Mornington www.oakhillgallery.com.au visit mintmagazine.com.au  like us at facebook: mint mag

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THE RIPPLE EFFECT MAKING WAVES, HUGE WAVES

By Terri Lee Fatouros

RYAN Pate and Pete Davies are an acoustic duo known as Ripple Effect and they truly are making huge waves wherever they gig. In fact their music is so popular that people dancing on the dance floor wouldn’t let them stop playing and kept calling ‘encore’ after ‘encore’. Well this is what I encountered recently when I checked out this dynamic duo at their monthly residency at Beach 162.

They’ve got the look; modern, hip jeans and t-shirt, cool hairstyle thing going on, friendly smiles; in concert with the sun warm and bright with a hint of spring, everyone was happy, the arvo was glorious and so the guys

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were ‘nailing it’. It would be fair to say The Ripple Effect have ‘got the groove’.

The Ripple Effect story goes like this.

They got together at an open mike night late 2010, clicked and have been gigging together ever since at various local Sports Bars, Clubs, RSL’s, Onyx Bar in Cheltenham, and numerous pubs including Beezneez at the Pier Hotel in Frankston.

A recent highlight for them was performing for The Essendon Bombers football team at the MCG along with being featured in the Frankston Waterfront Festival for the past three years. They keep being asked back due to their contagious happy and hip panache. There’s something happy and

bright about these guys and it’s hard to put it into words. They have a ‘vibe’ and it’s enjoyable.

system, stomp box and delivers awesome back up vocals and harmonies to Pate’s solid tone in both upper and lower registers.

Their infectious attitude and enthusiasm sees their version of covers played with originality. Playing old classics from the Beatles, Rolling Stones through to the seventies with Creedence and alike. Smash right through the 80s with all the typical number one hits, into classic modern hard rock bands such as Foo Fighters, The Black Keys and more.

Of late the guys have used the addition of Boz on drums and Ben Clacy on bass guitar creating a charged up four-piece band with that classic rock feel. In fact some songs are changed up versions of the originals with Ripple Effects’ own flavour.

The appealing aspect of Ripple Effect is they please all with their vast repertoire.

Davies plays a Taylor GS Mini guitar, a loop

If you are looking for a cruisy, happy and dance filled arvo in the not too distant future then head off down to beach 162 and catch the guys “doin’ their joyful thing”. rippleeffectbookings@gmail.com Facebook.com/rippleeffectmusic bayside & mornington peninsula

A SCREAMING JET COMES TO TOWN

By Terri Lee Fatouros

PAUL Woseen is no stranger to the music scene, in fact he’s probably a musician who has helped forge and shape the industry over the years with his song writing and musical bent. Some of you might remember a bunch of kids formed as a hard rock group way back in January 1989 in Newcastle, NSW. They had all been in their high school band called Aspect. In fact it was three kids, Dave Gleeson- vocals, Paul Woseen- bass guitarist and Grant Walmsley-guitarist.

The band they formed was called The Screaming Jets!

The Screaming Jets were an Australian music icon for many years and through the late 1990s the band became a tad infamous due to unruly, sometimes violent live shows. The jealousy and dislike between the Sydney and Newcastle fans would often end in fights during performances with many suffering broken body parts over their beloved band.

The boys themselves were a tad on the wild side and this seeped through into their music. In April 1991, The Screaming Jets released their debut studio album All For One, which peaked at number 2 on the ARIA charts. Not to disappoint their squabbling fan base following, they guys kept to form with a controversial song titled F.R.C. or Fat Rich C***s, and surprise, surprise was a crowd favourite.

Fast track to 2015 and Woseen is still

gigging in The Screaming Jets and has toured extensively throughout Australia, USA, Europe, New Zealand and South-East Asia, as well as taking time out performing solo gigs across Australia.

He’s also penned more than 30 songs across six Jets Albums, and been performing as a member of Rose Tattoo since 2013.

In 2013 Woseen released his solo debut album entitled Bombido, which is available in digital format on iTunes and Third Verse and in physical CD format from Third Verse as well.

Talk about the guy being a dynamo!

This extraordinary talented man has now teamed up to do the occasional gig with Mornington Peninsula’s own extraordinary talented singer songwriter, Maria Cassar, known as Bluemuse. Cassar is a blues/ folk artist and sings originals and covers expressed with a unique twist.

Recently they performed their debut gig, Bluemuse and Friends at Sound Bar in Rosebud, to a packed house and were brilliant. Woseen’s distinguishing vocal range is pure, strong and melodious and combined with Cassar’s husky, resonating, yet soulful and feminine voice, I’d have to say, ‘there was a touch of magic going down’.

You kind of get pulled into their vortex of encyclopaedic descants and guitarmanship being created by the pair.

The duo will be presenting future

TIDBITS & TALES I was informed recently that an Open Mike is happening every second Friday at the Peninsula Strikers Club (Soccer Club) at 117 McClelland Drive, Frankston.

The entrance is the same as the Dog Club, which is next to Centenary Park Golf Club. They have their own p.a. and drums, etc, and all you have to do is bring your instrument. There is a fully licensed bar which stays open until 1am and apparently boasting cheaper beer

music  arts  events  entertainment

impromptu gigs at Sound Bar and most likely at various other venues too, so keep a look out for them. In fact do look out for Bluemuse and Friends because Cassar’s sharing her music love with a few other

talented musicians as well, including cool dude, Mike Erlington at Sound Bar Sunday 13 September from 2pm and entry is free.

For inquiries and gig info see facebook. com/bluemuseallive

By Terri Lee Fatouros

prices such as Coronas for $6.60.

Was told they have pool tables and it’s a real good place to perform and hang out in.

Friday 28th August was their second Open Mike so the next fortnight will be Friday 11 September. For inquiries call Tim Dewhurst on 0437 291 169.

Managed to catch Mondo Rock and their support act, new wave rock band Mi-Sex at the Palais recently, and accompanying me was the charming Mick Pacholli of Toorak Times and Ray Conway. Although I’ve never

been much of a fan of Mondo Rock, I’m glad I saw them, and they pulled in a good crowd too. However, the new lead singer of Mi-Sex caught my eye and I have to say he was awesome. He reminded me a bit like Prince in looks and statue. It only took a few songs to get everyone up dancing in the aisles including me. Must admit I didn’t mind MiSex back in the day either.

Caught up for coffee with the lovely Jim Love of BackYard Brew band recently and he informed me the band is going strong

with solid gigs in the corporate world, doing heaps of parties and gigging in a few trendy venues around town. Their new CD entitled BackYard Brew Live @ the Sound Bar is now available for purchase. The sound is gritty, dirty Blues and anyone a fan of the Blues will probably really appreciate this one.

For inquiries and to purchase contact Jim Love on 0410 754 899 or email jim_love@y7mail.com Until next time, cheer lovelies.

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THIRTY YEARS OF ENTERTAINING Munster Terrace Peninsula based rock band Munster Terrace have been performing around the traps for 30 years now, and they will be celebrating this milestone with a special show at the Rye RSL on Saturday the 12th of September.

The band first formed in 1985, and their debut gig was on the 7th of May of that year (supporting The Saints on their return to Australia after some years based in the U.K).

It took a year or so for the early version of “Munster” to find its’ feet, but by late 1986 the line-up was stable, and the band was a full-time proposition.

During the late 80s and early 90s Munster Terrace were regulars at venues all over the peninsula, with long-term residencies at locations such as The Continental Hotel – Sorrento, The Rye Hotel, The Rosebud Hotel, The Flinders Hotel, both The Westernport and Kings Creek Hotels in Hastings, The Cruz Club in Mornington,

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The Somerville Hotel, The Baxter Tavern, The Vines (Daveys) in Frankston, and Kelly’s Hotel in Cranbourne (to name but a few).

Although classic rock covers were featured in the live repertoire, the band’s focus during this time was on original material, and two of the band’s first three singles received “mainstream” attention. The first Single - Rollin’ made the MMM (EON F.M) playlist, and the third - Real Human Being received national exposure via MTV. The Late 90s and early 00s saw the band move more towards corporate functions,

though residencies continued at some of the previously mentioned venues, as well as at places like the Coolstores in Mooroduc.

of peninsula dwellers/visitors have been entertained by Munster Terrace over the years.

A second Album “The Transition” was released during this time, as well as Munster originals being featured on two compilation albums.

To survive for 30 years, and to remain a popular live act for all that time is surely a fair effort by anyone’s standards, and the band feels it’s a milestone worth celebrating.

Munster Terrace haven’t officially released any new original material since 2003’s “Storybook” Album, but they continue to write/compose, and continue to perform high energy showcases of classic rock covers.

Venues at which the band has performed regularly in more recent years include: The Retronome, Rye – (which has now become Baha), Beaches in Mornington, and (of course) their current “home base” - The Rye RSL. All up, the band has clocked up 1200 gigs since its debut, and (needless to say) these figures would indicate that a huge number

So – “The Munsters” are inviting everyone to come along and celebrate with them in a night of live classic rock music, memories, and with a few special surprises thrown in...

These include a concert–style lighting spectacular supplied by South Coast Mobile Discos, and also appearances by some special guest artists that have played a role in Munster’s journey.

There is no cover charge, and no booking requirements if you intend to turn up for the show only, but if you’d like to secure a table for a pre-show meal; reservations can be made via 59852595.

bayside & mornington peninsula

WATERS DOES LENNON AT THE CARAVAN

By Lachlan Bryan John Waters has long held a reputation as one of Australia’s classiest television performers.

Since his mid-80s turns as a leading man (in TV series such as All The Rivers Run) to his latter-day appearances in shows such as Offsrping, Waters’ presence has filled the screen with warmth and believability. It is hardly surprising to learn that his charisma translates just as well on stage.

Some years ago Waters developed Looking Through A Glass Onion – a unique theatre show that follows the life story of iconic songwriter John Lennon. It is, of course, a musical of sorts – with Waters and co-star Stewart D’Arietta taking advantage of the Lennon’s phenomenal catalogue and weaving it within a cleverly structured and at times abstract narrative. music  arts  events  entertainment

All the major events of Lennon’s life are retold, from his childhood in Liverpool through the formation, success and collapse of The Beatles to his tumultuous relationships and ultimate death in New York.

Waters’ musical ability is showcased throughout the performance and his obvious passion for Lennon’s life and work makes for compelling theatre. Whilst fans of both The Beatles and Lennon’s solo career will undoubtedly be satiated, Looking Through A Glass Onion transcends mere pop music references and provides an interesting and uplifting piece of work to satisfy the discerning theatre-goer.

The show is on at The Caravan Music Club on Friday 25 September and Saturday 26 September. Tickets from caravanmusic.com.au

1003 Point Nepean Road, Rosebud PH (03) 5982 3200 www.rosegpo.com.au visit mintmagazine.com.au  like us at facebook: mint mag

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SUNDAY 11TH OCTOBER 2015 11AM – 2PM Enjoy a glass of Champagne while tasting our exceptional cuisine View different set ups, meet our wedding co-ordinators and talk to local suppliers Live Music and give aways For more information and to register contact Cassandra at Brooklands on 5973 9200.

Ph: (03) 5973 9200 99 Tanti Ave Mornington 3931 www.brooklandsofmornington.com.au 20

MINT Magazine  September

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bayside & mornington peninsula

THEY SAY SHE’S DIFFERENT

By Cameron McCullough Have you heard of Betty Davis? No, not the actress, the singer. I have said it a hundred of times over the last decade since I got my hands on Anti Love Song, an album from 1973 that just blew my mind.

Now, the love (or anti-love) is set to be spread as They Say She’s Different is set to hit the Melbourne Fringe Festival with a wall of funk.

They Say She’s Different is part music concert, part theatre, part film, blurring the lines between a live music gig and theatrical experience. This will challenge the way you experience theatre and music.

Provocative and hard-edged, screeching like a cat on heat, prepared to be immersed in the early 70s where sex sells, music is god, women are shouting out, and funk diva Betty Davis was at the cutting edge of music.

They Say She’s Different is the unknown story of the original funk-rock diva Betty Davis, a singer-songwriter who was briefly married to jazz legend Miles Davis, friends with Jimi Hendrix, dated Eric Clapton, and recorded with the Sly Stone family. Heavily influencing Miles’ music including cult creations Bitches Brew, and Filles de Kilimanjaro (of which Betty graces the cover).

She was the connection they all wanted. The new they all dared to be. She was the lover to funk, soul, blues, and jazz.

Starring Cecilia Low (Chicago, RENT, The Lion King) as the diva herself, They Say She’s Different centres around Betty’s early music career giving us a glimpse into the heady world of music, women’s liberation and a changing society as the creators re-imagine what a Betty Davis gig might have been like.

It will be edgy. It will be gritty. It will be loud and dirty.

It will be fun and funky. Prepare yourself you’ll want to boogie!

Featuring a rock star cast and crew: the extraordinarily talented Tony Kopa (The Truth, Headspace) as musical director, Aussie legend Phil Ceberano on guitar, Thommy Man on drums, Glen Reither on Keys and Sax (Icehouse), the divine Miss Eliza Wolfgramm on vocals, and superman Cameron Zayec providing astonishing cinematic content.

This will be one hell of a good night out. But more importantly, it is a once in a lifetime chance to experience the unforgettable sound of one of musics hidden gems.

Wear your dancing shoes with your finest 70s threads for full F.U.N.K experience and prepare to get your dirty groove on!

They Say She’s Different is playing at The Melbourne Fringe Festival. VENUE: Fringe Hub, Boardwalk Republic, The Big House Gasworks, 21 Graham Street, Albert Park 22-26 September, 7.45pm, doors open 7.30pm (60 mins) To book tickets visit melbournefringe.com.au or call 03 9660 9666.

Full $35/concession $28/cheap Tuesdays: $25 theysayshesdifferent.com music  arts  events  entertainment

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THE KINGS OF COUNTRY Direct from the USA and after sell-out shows in North America, Abstract Entertainment presents this unforgettable tribute to the biggest names in country music of our time.

Marty Edwards (‘Kenny Rogers’), Marion Deaton (‘Willie Nelson’) and Philip Bauer (‘Johnny Cash’) bring to life the music and magic that these three iconic performers are remembered for. Expect to hear all the classic songs from over five decades of music – songs that are now part of the American songbook and deeply engrained in our musical psyche.

Marty Edwards as Kenny Rogers is no stranger to Australian audiences having previously toured twice, bringing the looks, sound and charisma that is Kenny Rogers. He has appeared on Oprah, Jay Leno Tonight Show and CNN News. Performances across the US, Canada, Asia, UK, Ireland, Mexico and Australia has left audiences mesmerised.

Marion Deaton as the outlaw Willie Nelson is the world’s leading Willie Nelson tribute artist. Born in Monroe County, Arkansas. His Mother, Janice Ballowe, was from Lake Providence Louisiana, the daughter of the local veterinarian. His father, Otis Marion “Bo” Deaton, self- taught honky tonk piano player, had Cherokee Indian, English and Irish lineage.

Phillip Bauer has been recreating the sound and the look of the late great Johnny Cash since 1985. His uncanny natural resemblance and stage presence leaves his audiences spellbound as he recreates all the songs that made Johnny Cash the King of Country music. Entertaining people is all Phillip Bauer ever wanted to do!

His dynamic stage presence, quality and impressive vocal range has been thrilling audiences for many years.

Kings of Country will be playing at the Frankston Arts Centre on Saturday 31 October. Tickets at thefac.com.au

a must see show Direct from the USA and after sell out shows in North America, Abstract Entertainment presents this unforgettable tribute to the biggest names in Country Music this Century.

Phillip Bauer as Johnny Cash Marion Deaton as Willie Nelson Marty Edwards as Kenny Rogers

SATURDAY 31 OCTOBER FRANKSTON ARTS CENTRE artscentre.frankston.vic.gov.au

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bayside & mornington peninsula

HIP TO BE COUNTRY

By Lachlan Bryan

As we emerge from the depths of winter, we fans of country-ish music will be pleased to find festival-season upon us.

Just like the artists themselves, we’ll have to hop in our cars and jump a few planes to take in all the action, but there’s plenty going on – particularly in late September and early October.

For over twenty years now, the northwestern Victorian town of Mildura has played host to one of the most epic festivals on the country music calendar.

Spread across ten days, with fifteen venues and around forty artists, the festival brings around 15,000 people into town. Attending The Mildura CMF is a unique experience – with some exceptions, the music is tailored towards an older demographic, and all the shows are free. There’s plenty of 1960s and 70s inspired Classic Country, and more than a little bush balladry also. For those who aren’t so into the music, the local brewery and wineries do a roaring trade.

This year, the festival runs from Friday

25 September to Sunday 4 October.

Further afield, that first weekend in October hosts two more country-inspired festivals, both of which fit the ‘hip-to-becountry aesthetic’. Dashville Skyline in the Hunter Valley takes place on the 3rd and 4th, at a property in Lower Belford.

The lineup for this inaugural year includes the likes of Shane Nicholson, Wagons, Chris Pickering, Oh Mercy, Melody Pool and yours truly, as well as a number of international acts such as Bahamas (Canada). Dashville Skyline’s theme is ‘Americana and Psychadelia’ – two rather complimentary sub-genres that seem to ensure that there’ll be pervading 1970s vibe.

Head six or seven hours further North (by car) and you’ll stumble across another great festival on the Saturday 3 October-Monday 5 October. The inaugural Murwillumbah Country and Roots Fest is curated by alt-country artist Lou Bradley and boasts the likes of Kasey Chambers, Bill Chambers, Kevin

Bennett, Katie Brianna, The Davidson Brothers and many more. I’ve left off a lot of names there simply for the sake of saving some space – but suffice to say it is one of the strongest country and roots lineups ever seen in this country and promises to be a huge first year. If you haven’t heard of Murwillumbah, you’ll be pleased to learn that it’s just twenty minutes by car from the Gold Coast Airport, making this festival also one of the most easily accessible .

Whilst festivals are great for hardcore country fans, they’re even more useful for those just casually flirting with the genre. The three mentioned above give new converts the chance to take in the wide variety of artists and styles that make up ‘country’ – highlighting the fact that it’s a wide and varied genre. If you’re really adventurous and don’t mind a bit of time on the road – why not do what I’m doing and go to all three?!

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BLUES ILLUSTRATED

By Greg Fisher

BLUE EYES CRY With the release of their second full length album Pull Me In, Blue Eyes Cry have cemented their place at the top of the Australian Blues/Funk scene. The song writing combination of Ise Hingano (pictured) and Nathan Brett (pictured) is showing no signs of slowing down having penned no less than 8 original tracks on their latest album.

This follows the seven originals on their award winning first album Sleepin Alone in 2013.

One could say that in the winter of 2011 when Nathan and Ise won that local talent quest and left their home town Woolgoolga NSW, they were indeed on a mission to make music.

The band now commands large crowds wherever they perform and they have appeared at every major festival across the country. Blues Eyes Cry is clearly a band on the move and I expect that international horizons will soon beckon this extremely talented outfit.

For more details scan QR code:

NEXT GENERATION BLUES Third Time ‘Round is a teenage blues band based in Bunbury, Western Australia. They have represented Australia in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis TN in January 2015, and they are now promoting their debut 4 track EP release Speechless.

In November 2014 Third Time ‘Round

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competed in the WA State Blues Challenge as part of the Blues at Bridgetown Festival where they were selected to represent Australia’s Youth in Blues International Showcase in Memphis. They played two shows on Beale St including opening for the semi-finals section of the IBC adult’s competition at the Blues City Cafe.

The band is comprised of siblings James (age 18) and Rory Shepherd (age 17), Regan Dale (age 17) and Leni Campbell-Clause (age 17).

All four band members work together to create a refreshing style of blues.

Check out one their exciting new originals from the new EP on YouTube.

BLUES MASTERCLASS Mornington Peninsula Blues Sessions have announced their 3rd Blues Showcase entitled Masterclass.

Saturday 9 January 2016 will need to be locked away as your date at the Peninsula Community Theatre in Mornington to join the aptly named Masterclass.

The organisers have continued to attract the top Blues talent from across the country to our Peninsula audiences and this time Phil Manning, Matt Taylor, Chris Finnen and Lloyd Spiegel will be gracing the stage with the Melbourne Blues Disciples as special guests.

Tickets have been selling fast to these unique series

of live Blues events. For more details scan QR code:

CLASSIC BLUES REINTERPRETED As part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival, vocalist Rebecca Davey will be reinterpreting and performing the some of the classic 1920s female Blues repertoire with her band Dreamboogie in two shows Friday 25 September and Saturday 26 September at the Royal Standard Hotel in West Melbourne.

The shows will feature the classic Blues of Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Ethel Waters, Victoria Spivey, Memphis Minnie and many others of this 1920’s era. For more details scan QR code:

NATIONAL BLUES & ROOTS AIRPLAY CHART This month’s Top 5 on the National Blues & Roots Airplay album chart are: •

Greg Dodd & The Hoodoo Men (Movin’ On)

•

Shane Pacey Trio (Watch out)

•

Andrea Marr Band (Live at the MBAS)

•

Lloyd Spiegel (Double Live Set)

•

The Detonators (Monster In A Box)

JOHN MCNAMARA ON STAGEIT Stageit is a live online video concert that is never recorded or archived. The show takes

place live on the internet and fans can chat with each other in real time and interact with the performer.

You can join award winning Australian Blues artist John McNamara at home for his first ever Stageit show. John will play songs from his debut album Alone With The Blues as well as some new tunes and will also take requests. John will chat with fans and give away some free CDs. For more details please scan QR code:

PENINSULA BLUES CLUB The Peninsula Blues Club presents live music on the second Sunday of each month at the Frankston Bowling Club, 64 Yuillie Steet (Cnr Yuille & William St) Frankston South. Sunday 13 September will feature the Justin Yapp Band as the feature act. Doors open at 6pm.

AUSSIE BLUES VID OF THE MONTH Sammy Owens at the Davey’s Hotel (Sunday SoulTrain) : Greg writes monthly for mint and broadcasts on Southern FM - if you know of something happening in the Blues world please drop him a line at: bluesillustrated@gmail.com or facebook.com/GregFisherBluesIllustrated bayside & mornington peninsula

CLASSIC CUTS

England’s early prog-psych-rockers The Moody Blues first formed in Birmingham in 1964.

Keyboardist Mike Pinder and percussionist Ray Thomas recruited future Wings guitarist Denny Laine along with drummer Graeme Edge and bassist Clint Warwick.

songs from then on.

Their second album Days of Future Passed released in 1967 was very well received although it took five years to reach number 3 on the US Billboard charts.

The band then recruited two new members.

John Lodge joined as bass player and at the recommendation of Eric Burdon, Justin Hayward became their new guitarist.

Haywood’s Nights in White Satin was released as a single but for some strange reason didn’t arouse much interest and only managed to reach number 19 in the UK.

Having realised that their American blues covers were not particularly going down that well they decided to perform only original

However it was their following album In Search of the Lost Chord, released in July of 1968 that managed to raise a few eyebrows.

MISSED THE MARK

Most dud albums disappear. They are quickly swallowed up by obscurity and are forgotten about. In fact, it’s almost always the case that bad albums all but vanish like magic without so much as an ‘Abracadabra’. Even those artists with an otherwise successful career will have the occasional misfire that no one ever speaks of. Case in point, when the Robbie Williams story is written, little will be said of Rudebox. There are, however, exceptions to this rule.

music  arts  events  entertainment

To me this is the first real Moody Blues album.

The best way to travel is psychedelic and mood with some trippy effects, great vocal harmonies and the very memorable line – ‘thinking is the best way to travel’.

Ride My See Saw is the album’s rocker with some nice guitar work from Hayward.

Two years later, in 1966, having been unable to attain any further chart success, Warwick decided to retire from the music business, followed by Laine a few days later.

New York’s Lou Reed has given us some absolutely wonderful music. If you don’t own a copy of the first Velvet Underground album (the one with the Warhol banana on the front cover and I’m Waiting for the Man), then you really ought to do something about

one and House of Four Doors part two.

The journey begins with Departure which is a 40-second trippy monologue luring the listener into the spiritual search for the elusive lost chord, which I suspect is actually the meaning of life.

Their first single Steal Your Heart Away was unsuccessful. However their second single Go Now which was written by Laine managed to hit the number one spot on the charts firmly launching the band’s musical career.

Some albums are not so much bad as they completely unlistenable. In fact, their entire reputation relies on their unfathomable contents. They are famous precisely because they are terrible. It’s easy to think that bad albums are only ever produced by talentless hacks, but history says otherwise. Some of the greatest artists have been responsible for producing screaming duds. Step forward, Lou Reed.

The album has since become somewhat of a classic and is the perfect example of moody prog rock if ever there was one.

It is very creative and experimental with a sort of soft transcendental psych approach laced with mellotron.

Almost immediately they played their first gig in their hometown of Birmingham and soon secured a recording contract with Decca Records.

To this day the song unfortunately remains their only number one hit.

By Ray McGrotty (Record City)

it. The David Bowie-produced Transformer was a bona fide hit and contained the single Walk on the Wild Side and there’s a lot to recommend his 1989 album New York which has plenty of wonderful songs on it and, just for good measure, Dion on background vocals.

But despite all this, it has to be said that Lou Reed could be a very difficult man when he wanted. And there is no better evidence of this than his 1975 album Metal Machine Music.

Not everyone hated Metal Machine Music.

Renowned rock critic Lester Bangs described

Dr Livingston I Presume is a novelty type pop song written by Thomas and features a tasty little guitar solo.

House of Four Doors is the album’s highlight.

A medieval and mysterious piece with powerful harmonies.

The song references Timothy Leary who was the university professor responsible for encouraging the use of LSD in the mid sixties. (“Turn on, tune in and drop out”).

A creaking door opens leading us into Legend of a Mind which is a fairly subdued sort of track with lots of variation and great soaring mellotron bridging House of Four Doors part

Voices in the Sky is a very laid back piece slightly reminiscent of Nights in White Satin.

Visions of Paradise offers a softer approach and introduces more Indian sitar which remains throughout the rest of the album.

The Actor is one of the weaker moments.

A ballad which lends little to the album’s appeal.

The Word is another spoken piece which wraps up the album before the closing track, Om. Om is a psychedelic spiritual enlightenment that the lost chord that they have discovered is Om. A fitting end to the journey although a bit of a weak way of ending the album.

The Moody Blues are not a band for everyone.

That’s what makes them somewhat more interesting than others.

There are the occasional weak moments but overall the album oozes with some of the finest moody prog around.

And what about album cover??

It’s worth getting just for that!!

By Stuart McCullough it as a work of “genius”. However, Lester also once described old Lou as a “Death Dwarf” in his famous interview, ‘Let Us Now Praise Famous Death Dwarves (or how I slugged it out with Lou Reed and stayed awake)’. But despite anything Lester had to say about it, the broader record-buying public were not so impressed.

Metal Machine Music is a double album.

That’s right, it’s four sides of vinyl awfulness.

It contains nothing that you’d recognise as a song or a melody or a beat. ou can’t dance to it, whistle to it or sing along with it. Instead, what you get over sixty-four excruciating minutes is guitar feedback and lots of it.

Lou set up a couple of guitars with different tunings and leaned them against an amplifier.

As experiments go, it proved definitely that letting the instruments do as they please does not an album make.

It was not well received. Rolling Stone magazine described it as sounding like “the tubular groaning of a galactic refrigerator”.

That, quite frankly, is a kind review. I would describe it as the sound of a 63 Holden EJ stuck in a too-small parking space at Southland shopping centre and scraping

against a concrete pylon to get out, while a pod of beached mechanical whales flap around having an argument. It works better as something to clear a blocked drain than it does as an album. If that sounds like something you need to have on an iPod playlist, then you’ll enjoy Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Music. I can only say that the original album was withdrawn three weeks after it was released.

Metal Machine Music is a lot of things.

More than just a tragic waste of vinyl it’s a mystery. What compelled Lou Reed to release it? Conspiracy theories abound. Is it a work of avant-garde genius or was he seriously cheesed off with his record company and keen to extract some measure of revenge? We’ll never really know the answer. Lou Reed was responsible for some truly inspired music, but avoid Metal Machine Music at all costs. You’ll be glad you did.

Check it our for yourself... you’ve been warned...

visit mintmagazine.com.au  like us at facebook: mint mag 25

YOUTUBE GEMS KIDS WITH TALENT...

MELTING HEARTS Britten’s got talent found “someone truly special” following 15-year-old Isaac Waddington’s jaw-dropping performance.

TALENTED BOY A young talented boy sings John Legend’s ‘All Of Me’

NAILED IT This Filipino Kid Sings Sia’s “Chandelier” And He Nails It. His name is Darren Espanto. That range... This kid is crazily talented

GUITAR SHOP BLUES White Kid Sing The Blues In Guitar Shop Like It’s Nobody’s Business!

THIS KIDS ON FIRE Alexa gave a fiery performance of Alicia Keys’ smash hit on the Voice Kids Australia.

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MINT Magazine  September

2015

Mint Magazine, PO Box 588, Hastings, 3915 Email: letters@mintmagazine.com.au

Dear Mint Magazine, I am hoping you may be able to help me.

My name is Julian Assange , and I started a little thing called Wikileaks a few years back.

Things were going along swimmingly until I was accused of the most foul and despicable crime.

No, not owning the entire Shania Twain back catalogue. Something even worse.

It was all a beat up. A false-flag attack involving blue-beam holograms no doubt, shot down from space by CIA/NSA satellites that were tracking me night and day.

The Americans were out to get me. They wanted to put a stop to my leaks by whisking me off to Guantanamo Bay and forcing me to eat a paleo diet and listen to Crosby, Stills and Nash at high volume while only allowing me back copies of NW magazine to while away the hours.

Obviously I couldn’t let this happen. The world could let this happen. There is only so much a man can TAKE. I decided to take the next best course of action and take shelter in the Ecuadorian embassy here in London.

Well, I have been here for over three years now, and I have had about as much of it as I can take.

Let me just say this... I could live a thousand lives and not be sorry if I never heard another pan-flute.

My room smells strongly of peroxide and guacamole, and no amount of Wicks air fresheners have been able to improve the smell.

Oh, and what’s for dinner tonight?

“Guinea pig, Señor”.

Surprise, surprise.

When I first arrived here, I had faith in my Ecuadorian hosts. They had a PLAN. It was FOOLPROOF. They’d dress me in a poncho and walk me to the tube station and away to freedom as soon as the HEAT died down.

Well, the HEAT didn’t die down. Walking me down the front steps “disguised” in a poncho was not going to work. Roll in “Plan B”... smuggling me out in a diplomatic satchel.

Have you seen the size of those things? You could hardly fit a six pack in there. It was just never going to work.

Now I am stuck, and without hope, until I came across an idea that I think will gain my freedom and allow liberty to be restored to the entire planet... but it all depends on Mint Magazine.

Here’s the plan.

We hold a fund-raiser at the Ecuadorian embassy to raise much needed funds to save Ecuador’s endangered long-haired spider monkey from extinction.

You guys will attend as “the band” for the night.

You will, of course, need to learn pan-flute, and have a trio of moustache guitarists too.

We must appear authentic.

At the end of the evening, you will pack me into the kick drum, and seal me into it’s case for transport back to Australia.

It will be a long and perilous sea journey for me, so I will need supplies.

Please have ready to place inside the kick drum with me the following: 36 grapefruit, a walkman, and a tape-course on learning Mandarin. This way, I can put my time to good use.

Once your instruments arrive back in Australia, please organise for their transport back to your headquarters where you can unpack them, hose me off (grapefruit can be messy) and release me into your care.

Please let me know ASAP if you can help. The long-haired spider monkey’s numbers are dwindling fast, so there is no time to waste.

Yours sincerely, Julian Assange - Wikileaks Dear Mint Magazine, Do you remember when people used to say “Chuck another shrimp on the barbie”?

I really miss that.

Regards, Gavin Shropshire Dear Mint Magazine, I refer to your letter from last edition where you appear to have teamed up with SETI Institute to search for alien life.

It is a proven fact that aliens live among us already.

Not only that, they are using the music industry to infiltrate our society getting ready for the final step when they freeze our brains and enslave us.

If you watched the MTV Video Music Awards, you would have seen a room full of alien lifeforms lulling us into a stupor.

How else can you explain the length of Miley’s tongue, the size of Nikki’s rear end?

But don’t worry... all is not lost. These aliens are not unbeatable. It has been shown that sometimes they malfunction.

What else could explain Kanye West’s rambling “I’m going to run for president in 2020” speech?

The last thing these other world creatures want is to show their hand too early. Obviously, Mr West was so unbelievable that people around the world were heard to say “he must be from another planet”.

Rise up, people, and don’t let the aliens overrun us.

Yours sincerely, The Donald Trump. bayside & mornington peninsula

PHAT BRATS AND RED HILL BREWERY TEAM UP FOR OKTOBERFEST Red Hill Brewery Make sure you reserve a souvenir Red Hill Brewery Oktoberfest 2015 stein, which you will be able to take home with you â&#x20AC;Ś but not before itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been filled with your choice of beer! Steins are limited so book now to avoid disappointment, 500ml $28 or full 1 litre for $45 Oktoberfest dress is almost mandatory and the best dressed beer lover will win a free stein (500ml) and a case of Red Hillâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s German beers (judging between 12-1pm on each day).

Beer and BBQ are available for purchase over the Oktoberfest weekend, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s free to attend the celebrations.

Make a day of it or simply stay for a brew on your way throughâ&#x20AC;Ś Prost!

Sat 10th & Sun 11th October. 11am7pm both days. No bookings required Red Hill Brewery, 88 Shoreham Rd, Red Hill South www.redhillbrewery.com.au

KJD PHOTOGRAPHY

THE BOATHOUSE

Pull out your lederhosen and start practicing your German accent because on October 10th and 11th, Red Hill Brewery are teaming up with Red Gum BBQ to celebrate Oktoberfest. You wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need to journey all the way to Munich for this one-off event, just to Red Hill, Victoriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s picturesque peninsula packed with artisan producers, vineyards, orchards and of course, beer.

In Red Hill Breweryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 4th Oktoberfest, visitors can expect Red Hill brewed German beers matched to Red Gum BBQs brats plus more. From the brewing corner, there will be Kolsch, Hefeweizen, Weizenbock and Pilsner.

Expect live oompah tunes, brewery tours, pots, pints, paddles and all-round Bavarian fun. The rustic cafĂŠ environment and vast, sheltered deck at Red Hill Brewery are sure to be a hit over the festive weekend.

oktoberfest

Sat 10th & Sun 11th oct 11am to 7pm <RX ZRQ¡W QHHG WR MRXUQH\ DOO WKH ZD\ WR 0XQLFK MXVW KHDG IRU 5HG +LOO %UHZHU\ Red Hill brewed German beers on tap can be enjoyed in full steins matched WR OLYH 2RPSDK WXQHV DQG WKH 5HG *XP %%4 *HUPDQ WKHPHG VPRNLQ EUDWV DOO ZHHNHQG 2NWREHUIHVW GUHVV LV DOPRVW PDQGDWRU\ 7KH EHVW GUHVVHG ZLOO ZLQ D IUHH VWHLQ PO DQG D FDVH RI 5HG +LOO¡V *HUPDQ EHHUV 7R ERRN VWHLQV PO

RU /LWUH DQG DOO RWKHU LQIR VHH ZHEVLWH 88 Shoreham Rd, Red Hill South. 5989 2959 info@redhillbrewery.com.au www.redhillbrewery.com.au

music ď ¸ arts ď ¸ events ď ¸ entertainment

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NEW MENU, NEW VIBE, SAME GREAT SERVICE

By Melissa Walsh It’s all happening at Rose GPO Hotel where the last six weeks has seen a huge refurbishment taking place.

relaunch of the refurbishment, a menu with lighter options, and fresh lamb and pork dishes with two great new salads.”

on the peninsula is the all style American smoke barbecue Sundays starting from midday, with music starting at 3pm.

Owner Sam Austen says it’s been seven years since they took over and it was time for a change.

Enjoy the selection from Rose GPO with tapas dishes including pulled pork sliders, salmon skewers, new season asparagus salad and roast pumpkin salad.

“The response has been fantastic, and our Blues Sundays have really taken off, as there’s not much for the 35 and over crowd down this end of the peninsula,” said James Robins, the GPO’S manager of six years.

“We have two set bands the first and third Sunday of the month and then alternative bands the other Sundays.”

“We have completely refitted the front of the venue with new floors, new furniture, bar tops and new lighting. The bar tops are made from recycled hardwood timber and the new industrial copper leaf lighting gives a warm ambience,” said Sam. “The whole place has been freshly painted and decorated, a dramatic change from the dark woods to a light and bright vibe.”

For those looking for something a little more substantial, the new Emerald valley lamb rump is a must try, or the Cone bay barramundi fillet with celeriac remoulade, surf clams and roasted kipflers is iconic.

Rose GPO is in the middle of a rebrand also and executive head chef Patrick Bowring launching a delicious Spring menu for our loyal and new clientele.

On Sundays, the only place to be is the GPO Hotel with their Smokin’ Blues and Texas Barbecue, showcasing fabulous blues talents from around the country, as well as regulars like Diddy Reyes and the Blues Maniacs, and Andy Phillips and the Cadillac Walk.

“We have a new menu to coincide with the

Right on trend and the only one doing it

Smokin’ Blues and Texas Barbecue has become a favourite Sunday destination since it started in April this year, and Sam couldn’t be happier with the response.

“There’s things to do in Mornington and Frankston but not much this end so it’s great to be able to provide a fun day for people, families included around the Rosebud area without having to drive too far,” he said.

Great food and quality entertainment have gone hand in hand at The Rose GPO. “Since we started here we have set a standard and a culture that Rosebud so desperately needed,” he said.

“The GPO is a driving force in establishing Rosebud as a reputable food destination.

Romantic dinners, family reunions, Christmas functions are all catered for here.”

“We have a great selection of beers on tap with an abundance of local and international craft beers,” said Sam. “And we pride ourselves on having the internationally renowned coffee culture of Melbourne right here in Rosebud. Our baristas are trained and addicted.”

Rose GPO is at 1003 Point Nepean Road, Rosebud. Call 5982 3200.

See rosegpo.com.au

The Chef who will take you on a culinary journey

“

The plate is my canvas and I am using it to share a story with the guest.

Intimate private dining available for up to 30 guests.

Indulge in the fabulous Chef’s choice tasting menu

3 courses - $39.00 5 courses - $55.00 7 courses - $69.00 Bookings essential

”

Introducing the new chef of Eighteen78 @ Brooklands, Eyal Cohen-Litant, also known as ‘Chef E’.

With his infectious enthusiasm and charm, Chef E is pushing the boundaries of creative FXLVLQH DV KH EULQJV DUWLVWLF ÁDLU DQG ZRUOGO\ ÁDYRXUV WR WKH WDEOH

DINNER TUESDAY TO SATURDAY 99 Tanti Avenue Mornington Phone: 5973 9200 www.brooklandsofmornington.com.au 28

MINT Magazine  September

2015

@ /brooklandsofmornington bayside & mornington peninsula

T E K S I R B S R E G R BU

TEXAS RIB EYES SUN 6TH SEPT

3PM

Diddy Reyes & The Blues Mania cs

SUN 20TH SEP

T 3PM

Robb Papp & Blues Head

SUN 4TH OCT 3

PM

Diddy Reyes & The Blues Mania cs

SUN 18TH OCT 3PM Andy Phillips and the Cadillac Walk Stevie Ray Vaughan Tribute

music  arts  events  entertainment

visit mintmagazine.com.au  like us at facebook: mint mag 29

30

MINT Magazine ď ¸ September

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bayside & mornington peninsula

DIRECTOR’S TAKE

By Andrea Louise Thomas

LITTLE in life is more inspiring than a person who has great passion. Sydneysider Damien Ryan, who directs Hamlet for Bell Shakespeare this season, is enthralled with the poetry and dramatic possibilities of Shakespeare’s works. A scholar and teacher of the Bard, his interpretations and innovation are remarkable. Last year his direction of Bell Shakespeare’s Henry V swept the Sydney theatre awards winning critical acclaim for its inventiveness and clarity. I spoke with Ryan before Hamlet arrives at Frankston Arts Centre.

MINT: Where and when did your passion for Shakespeare begin?

RYAN: It began very young. My mum was a wonderful teacher and scholar of Shakespeare. She used to tell me the story of Twelfth Night as a bedtime story. I love Shakespeare from the perspective of a writer. I trained at university to be a journalist and it was the focus of my life. I fell into acting accidentally. I bought the complete works of Shakespeare and just devoured it.

I learned 200 speeches - before I knew it I was acting and I’ve never stopped. I’ve read Shakespeare several hours a day for 20 years. I just can’t seem to extinguish my thirst for it. music  arts  events  entertainment

MINT: How did to come to work with Bell Shakespeare Company?

RYAN: When I was about 26, I auditioned for John (Bell). He was my absolute hero. It was extremely exciting, but I was absolutely appalling, I was so rattled with nerves. John was incredibly patient pushing me and asking me to simplify, be truer and not to overdo it. It was remarkable generosity. I’ve never forgotten it. It’s influenced the way I audition people. John was a great mentor and he’s given me some of my very earliest opportunities to direct.

MINT: How do you take such complex text and make it so accessible?

RYAN: I often say to people all I am really is the first audience member. I want to sit back and ask, do I understand every word that’s being said, do I understand the relationships – are they clear and convincing and do I understand the world in which this script exists? I don’t come from a theatrical family.

My dad was an engineer and my mum was a teacher. I often think, ‘Will my dad follow this bit?’ It’s a humble and unpretentious approach to telling stories.

MINT: What are the three most important aspects of good directing?

RYAN: One is to care very deeply for the

audience’s experience of a play. Next is to insure that the director is bringing out the best in the actors - to help them enlarge their imagination and capacity to believe. The third would be clarity – to tell story as clearly as possible.

MINT: How do you see Hamlet relating to today’s global political climate?

RYAN: It’s a real political thriller. In Australian terms, it’s a play in which the government is coming closer and closer to having a complete surveillance of its citizenry in a global world where we feel our borders are under threat. Under Elizabeth I, it was an absolute police state in terms of controlling its citizenry and the suppression of freedom of thought and freedom of speech. These arguments are still fundamental. Right back to the Greeks and Romans, tragedies have always tried to teach us that human beings worry about external threats when in fact we are the biggest problem in our own lives. We create most of the regrets in our lives. This play teaches us that the enemy is within. It’s a warning to us about truth, about knowing who you are – ‘to thine own self be true.’

Revenge is another reason why this play is still relevant. We think of revenge tragedy as an old form, but if you look at what is going on in today’s world - we are still addicted to the cycle of revenge. I find it resonant on so

many levels and those are just a few.

MINT: What lessons can today’s audience take from Hamlet?

RYAN: Fundamentally for me it’s that thing about telling the truth. If you cannot be true to yourself, you cannot be true to anyone.

And the second one is balance. The play is trying to teach us, as the Ancient Greeks were, that a good life needs to be lived in proportion and not in excess. This play is about excessive feeling and it’s very powerful for that.

MINT: Does stage have the power to change social consciousness? Do you think that’s what Shakespeare intended?

RYAN: When I examine the work I think there is no way he was not seeking to change the whole epoch in which he lived and to bring greater enlightenment to the human soul.

Surely the aim as a theatre maker should be holding up a mirror so that people walk out of the theatre feeling changed.

For a transformational theatre experience exploring life’s big questions that also examines the nature of our current world, see Bell Shakespeare’s Hamlet at Frankston Arts Centre on Tuesday 6 October at 8pm.

Bookings: the fac.com.au or 9784 1060.

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31

ARTISTS’ ISLE

By Andrea Louise Thomas

SINCE the dawn of tourism, the allure of the tropical island paradise has drawn writers and artists to sandier shores.

Something about swaying palm trees, balmy breezes and exotic cultures sow the seeds of artistic inspiration.

Bali is the siren song of many Australians, but particularly its artists. In that vein,

McClelland Sculpture Park and Gallery presents Australian Artists in Bali: 1930 to Now. Put together by guest curator, Rodney James, whose own travels to Bali inspired this exhibition; the collection explores what it is about Balinese culture and geography that so enchants Australian artists.

Featuring the works of some of Australia’s

finest artists who have lived and worked in Bali as well as some European artists for whom Bali was their port of call prior to coming to Australia, the exhibition highlights art of historical, cultural and contemporary significance. The exhibition contains 40 works from 25 artists.

See Australian Artists in Bali: 1930 to Now from Sunday 20 September to Sunday

29 November at McClelland Sculpture Park and Gallery, 390 McClelland Drive, Langwarrin. Entry by donation.

Open Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 4.30pm. Call 9789 1671 mcclellandgallery.com

POWER AND PASSION

By Andrea Louise Thomas

Australian musical theatre star, Maria Mercedes, performs her dream role as iconic opera diva, Maria Callas in Terence McNally’s Tony award-winning play, Masterclass.

Bringing to life the passion, drama, drive and artistic genius of Callas is for Mercedes, the greatest of honours because she has always admired not only her incredible talent, but

32

MINT Magazine  September

2015

also the honest and uncompromising way in which Callas lived her life.

Masterclass re-enacts the story of Callas’ infamous 1973 visit to New York’s Julliard School of Music where she taught, mentored and pushed students to achieve their dreams – although a bit harder than some of them would have liked.

Featuring three of Melbourne’s best young operatic talents along with Mercedes in the role of a lifetime, see Masterclass for a truly spine-tingling night at the theatre on Thursday, 24 September at 8pm or Friday 25 September at 1pm at Frankston Arts Centre.

Bookings: thefac.com.au or 9784 1060.

bayside & mornington peninsula

WINDOW ON WONDERFUL

By Andrea Louise Thomas

Artist Sarah Dingwall shapes, blows, stretches, teases, and melts glass under the glow of a small blowtorch using a mesmerizing technique called flameworking. She crafts spectacular jewellery, tiny pots, hanging decorations and little messages encased in glass.

It’s not just what she makes that distinguishes her work, but also how she shows it. Her botanical inspired displays are beautiful and unique. She often incorporates little bits of nature in her work.

Sitting amongst a rainbow of coloured glass sent from Paradise, literally (it’s in California), she creates from the comfort of her own quirky little studio decorated with all manner of eclectic curiosities.

The studio itself is set inside Commonfolk Café in Mornington. Patrons can look right into her creative process through a

window at the front of her studio.

It seems only fitting that Sarah was chosen as the first of ten artists to create an innovative window display of her work at Pomme, a shop dedicated to stocking unique handmade art. The window display series celebrates Pomme’s tenth anniversary. Coincidentally, that’s when, as a teenager, Dingwall started working there. She continued on at Pomme through her fine art studies at university and now she’s at the top of her game crafting one of a kind glass art of her own.

See Sarah’s breathtaking window display through September at Pomme, 59 Main Street, Mornington. View her work online at: www.pomme.com.au

FOOTY DRAMA

By Andrea Louise Thomas

ON and off the field AFL inspires highly charged emotions. What better place to play out the love and loathing of Aussie rules football than on stage? Reserved Seating Only is the hilarious story of a football fanatic and the woman sitting next to him who hates the game and all it stands for. But my how things can change…

Starring real-life husband and wife, the highly accomplished David Ross Patterson and Celia Specht, Reserved Seating Only is a witty, thought provoking comedy about music  arts  events  entertainment

relationships, tolerance and a change of sides. Patterson plays, Al, the footy tragic.

Specht plays Trina, the football skeptic who inherits her ex-husband’s reserved seats in their divorce.

Over four quarters of the first game of the season, see these two battle it out eventually meeting somewhere in the middle before the final horn blast. See Reserved Seating Only at Southern Peninsula Arts Centre, 245 Eastborne Road, Rosebud, Saturday 19 September at 7.30pm. Bookings at southernpeninsualartscentre.com

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ADAMS FAMILY VALUES FORCE AWAKENS

By Neil Walker “It was a good way to experiment with comedy and a bit of drama.”

A LONGISH time ago, in an apartment not so far, far away two Edithvale sisters, Alyce and Hayley Adams, decided to turn their obsession with pop culture into a series of online short films paying homage to the movies and TV shows they adore.

There is little drama between the twins while making the journey together from page to screen since they feel they can be fairly “brutal” with each other during the filmmaking process.

The result is the 23-year-old sisters’ i can’t even comedy series poking fun at fans’ passion for the likes of Star Wars, Harry Potter, The Hunger Games and Twilight.

“I write and come up with the idea but then Hayley has to actually make it happen. She’s definitely the one in charge and I’m pretty happy with that relationship,” Alyce said.

The two main characters Em, played by Louise Cox, and Lex, played by Tiana Hogben, act as proxies for the sisters’ own, at times, divergent views on pop culture icons.

“Sometimes we get annoyed at each other but because we’re sisters we can fight and ten minutes later it’s fine,” Hayley said.

The phrase “I can’t even” is often used online to indicate speechlessness at a situation or opinion.

“Maybe that’s the biggest advantage. We actually can yell at each other.” he knew someone who did special effects and so he came onboard so we were able to make it so much bigger than we originally planned.”

“We watch a lot of pop culture stuff and Alyce developed two characters because that would be the easiest thing to film,” Hayley said.

Em and Lex clash in the episode called Join the Dark Side over a difference of opinion on whether the Star Wars original trilogy or prequels are superior.

“The idea was ‘what would we want to see?’.

We like pop culture, we like female comedy and also bite-sized entertainment so it kind of happened organically.”

The talent pool at VCA meant the films project morphed into a bigger deal than original envisaged by the film-making sisters.

“We ended up having a whole list of people we could contact. That’s how we had such professional effects in the Star Wars episode,” Alyce said.

“That was originally just going to be with toy lightsabers but then the director said

Another episode sees the duo menaced by a life-size cardboard cut-out of Twilight vampire Edward Cullen.

“It’s one thing to write into a scene a life size cardboard cut-out of Edward Cullen, and another to actually get one,” Hayley said.

Thankfully the duo found a custom printer who agreed to produce a one of a kind cardboard cut-out of Cullen, also known as actor Robert Pattinson in real life.

The six episodes were all pre-planned to be filmed in one day at the sisters’ Edithvale apartment, a posters and memorabilia

packed shrine to pop culture classics.

“Everyone was super willing to help us and work but it was just trying to find time that everybody could do it at the same time. That was my main job in a way,” Hayley said.

It took “a couple of weeks” to pre-plan an episode before a ten-person crew got together on weekends to shoot a three-to-six minute short.

“A lot of it’s on the fly but the crew come in and think about how to use the room to shoot it,” Hayley said.

The top-quality production values are “a testament to the crew we had onboard”, according to Alyce.

The writer enjoyed seeing her on the page creations come to life on film.

“I wrote all the episodes and then after a first draft got feedback from Hayley and the directors would also give me their notes on what they were thinking as well,” she said.

Left Bauer Productions

Bell Shakespeare

MASTER CLASS

HAMLET

MINT Magazine  September

2015

“I want to try to write for TV. That’s my goal so this [i can’t even] is kind of a proof of concept for people who might want to hire me.

“I’ve been watching a whole lot of Neighbours. I want to get on to the writing staff.”

See facebook.com/icantevenseries or search for ‘i can’t even web series’ on YouTube to watch all six episodes.

Tuesday 6 October, 8pm Tormented by indecision and haunted by his mother’s perceived crime, Hamlet knows that dark acts result in darker consequences. There is little that’s darker than the act of revenge.

Terrence McNally’s Master Class is an insightful look into the life and art of Maria Callas, opera's most beloved and controversial diva. Starring Maria Mercedes as Callas and featuring three exciting young opera talents.

34

Hayley works for “a company in Melbourne that deals with writers, directors and actors” while Alyce says she spends most of her spare time watching a certain Australian soap opera.

By William Shakespeare Director Damien Ryan With Josh McConville and Matilda Ridgway

Thursday 24 September, 8pm Friday 25 September, 1pm

Tickets: Member $43, Full $48, Conc $45,U30 $30, Group 10+ $45 Duration: 140 minutes, incl. interval

As for the future, the sisters could be destined to follow in the Hollywood footsteps of such illustrious sibling filmmakers as the Cohen brothers (The Big Lebowski, Fargo) and the Wachowskis (The Matrix, V For Vendetta), but for now are focused on work closer to home.

WHAT’S ON

Alyce wrote the six episodes in the i can’t even series and Hayley produced the episodes by corralling talented fellow students in their Victorian College of the Arts masters classes.

Warning: Adult themes and sexual references. Recommended 15+ years.

Tickets: Member $55, Full $66, Conc $62, U30 $30, Group 10+ $57 Duration: 185 minutes, incl. interval

03 9784 1060 thefac.com.au Tickets:

Principal Theatre Partner Frankston Arts Centre is a Business Unit of Frankston City Council

bayside & mornington peninsula

MARIA MERCEDES AS...

MARIA CALLAS Frankston Arts Centre Following on from a sell out season at 45 Downstairs, Left Bauer Productions is proud to bring you Terrence McNally’s Tony award winning play, Master Class.

“Daniel Lammin’s production of Master Class will delight opera and theatre lovers alike, and audiences will long cherish the memory of Mercedes’ marvellous performance.”

Cameron Woodhead, the Age Inspired by Maria Callas’ famous 1973 visit to New York’s Juilliard School of Music, Master Class is an insightful look into the life and art of opera’s most beloved and controversial diva.

At the time, Callas’ own career singing on the world’s great stages had drawn to a close, her voice a shadow of its former glory. Four years later, Callas’ death at the age of fifty one sealed her legend as a real life tragic heroine.

Featuring three of Melbourne’s most exciting young operatic talents, Master Class sees Callas prod and provoke her students in a searing, funny and touching depiction of a woman who knows what it takes to walk the high wire and the sacrifices required to attain the dream. Forty years later, Callas’

story as a woman forced to choose between professional power and a personal life remains as relevant as ever.

Having performed leading roles in the Australian premiere productions of Nine, Sunset Boulevard and Love Never Dies, and in films such as Head on and Dreams for Life, Maria Mercedes takes on one of the greatest challenges of her career with her portrayal of Maria Callas.

“Callas is my dream role”, says Mercedes, “and I couldn’t be more thrilled to honour the life of a woman I admire not only for her incredible artistry and passion, but for the daring, honest way she lived her life.”

This production also provides a unique opportunity for a Greek performer to portray one of the most famous and iconic Greek women of all time.

PERFORMANCE DETAILS Thursday 24 September @ 8pm. Friday 25 September @ 1pm. PRICES: Member $43, Full $48, Conc $45, U30 $30, Group 10+ $45. BOOKING INFO: thefac.com.au 03 9784 1060

HAMLET Frankston Arts Centre “You would pluck out the heart of my mystery” Act 3, Scene 2

ideals of family, love, community, loyalty, faithfulness and the courage to act can be.

Off the back of directing the critically acclaimed, award winning Henry V for Bell Shakespeare in 2014, Damien Ryan will deliver a new production of Hamlet, one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies.

Damien Ryan said, “Hamlet is one of the most complete experiences theatre can provide – extraordinary poetry, intense passion, dazzling intelligence, terror, casual slaughter, friendship, humanity, great humour and great grief. Shakespeare casts his spell through the sheer scope and grandeur of this story - beginning with a dead man walking and ending with a stage littered with bodies.”

Hamlet is a detailed family portrait in the political landscape of a “rotten” Denmark, a country furiously preparing for war, not realising that the enemy lies within.

Hamlet is a young man cast in an unfamiliar role in a story he never expected to tell.

Deeply saddened by the sudden death of his father, he is further shocked to find his mother quickly remarried to his uncle, the dead kings brother.

Haunted by his mother’s perceived crime, Hamlet is a mass of contradictions and a modern anti-hero. He is at once vulgar, misogynist and cruel while being overwhelmed by insecurities and indecision.

He stands before us and speaks the truth, confronting us with just how fragile our music  arts  events  entertainment

The production offers a giant window to the inner machinations of Elsinore; a place where nothing and no one is ever safe from the prying, eavesdropping, awareness of others; an environment under insidious surveillance and secret tyranny.

PERFORMANCE DETAILS: Tuesday 6 October @ 8pm Captioned Performance. PRICES: Member $55, Full $66 Conc $62 U30 $30, Group 10+ $57.

BOOKING INFO: thefac.com.au 03 9784 1060

Life (10th September) Robert Pattinson, Joel Edgerton, Ben Kingsley

Crimson Peak (15th October) Mia Wasikowska, Charlie Hunnam, Tom Hiddleston,

Everest (17th September) Robin Wright, Keira Knightley, Jake Gyllenhaal

Alex and Eve (22nd October) Richard Brancatisano, Ryan O’Kane, Andrea Demetriades

Oddball (17th September) Alan Tudyk, Sarah Snook, Coco Jack Gillies

Bridge of Spies (22nd October) Tom Hanks, Amy Ryan, Alan Alda

Cut Snake (24th September) Sullivan Stapleton, Jessica De Gouw, Alex Russell

Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (22nd October) Nathan Brewer, Jay Hieron

Pan (24th September) Hugh Jackman, Rooney Mara, Amanda Seyfried

The Dressmaker (22nd October) Kate Winslet, Judy Davis, Liam Hemsworth

The Visit (24th September) Kathryn Hahn, Ed Oxenbould, Benjamin Kanes

The Lobster (22nd October) Lea Seydoux, Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz

Macbeth (2015) (1st October) Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Sean Harris

Masterminds (29th October) Kristen Wiig, Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis

Black Mass (8th October) Dakota Johnson, Juno Temple, Benedict Cumberbatch

Mistress America (29th October) Greta Gerwig, Lola Kirke

Miss You Already (8th October) Drew Barrymore, Dominic Cooper, Toni Collette

No Escape (29th October) Lake Bell, Pierce Brosnan, Owen Wilson

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Tickets from $35. Reserved seating available.

Enjoy a pre-show 3 course dinner in our private dining room.

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