Drum Media Perth Issue #190

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37,500 COPIES DISTRIBUTED TO ALL THE RIGHT PLACES • THURSDAY 3 JUNE 2010 • 190 • FREE

ER CIRC DEAD LETT

US

R PLEASE OPERATO

LLER TRENTEMØ

SOHN N MENDEL E B W O R FRONT

INSIDE : STEVE AOKI • THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER • STRUNG OUT • THE NATIONAL ALBANY • BUNBURY • BUSSELTON • DUNSBOROUGH • GERALDTON • MANDURAH • MARGARET RIVER • PERTH

THE DRUM MEDIA 3 JUNE 2010 • 3

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news@drumperth.com.au

FOREWORD LINE 19 20 20

IN BRIEF

THU JUN 3 8PM

GASOLINE THE NEW YEAR, THE CORNER AND HOMEBREWE

FRI JUN 4 8PM

FISHERMAN STYLE EARTHLINK’S DRUMMY & SHERIF, SABATA

ROCK

HALLELUJAH

If you’ve seen the ads on TV, you would know that the last he was here it was “the most moving and memorable performance” ever seen according to this here magazine, and now Leonard Cohen is coming back for an encore tour. The great Canadian with the deep, deep voice came to Australia early last year for the first time in decades, and now he’s coming back with his amazing nine-piece band and backing singers in tow. We said it last time and we’ll say it this time; this could be your last chance ever to see the powerful songsmith in action. See him at ME Bank Stadium on Wednesday 24 November. Tickets from Ticketmaster.

SOUND, DJ SORTED, PLATINUM GALORE & DJ DERUKI

SAT JUN 5 8PM

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SEAMS, SUGARPUSS, SONPSILO CIRCUS OH YOU PRETTY THINGS SAT JUN 6 5PM

JUSTIN WALSHE FOLK MACHINE

ALBUM LAUNCH WITH FELICITY GROOM TRIO, MISTER & SUNBIRD & SCOTT NICHOLS & GABRIELLE HARTER

MON JUN 7 8PM

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WIDE OPEN MIC

JUSTIN WALSHE 0408 755 233

BIG BOI

DANCE

AN EXTRA SCOOP

After announcing Ne-Yo and T-Pain as the headliners of the inaugural Winterbeatz last week, the line-up has just got even fatter with two of the ‘biggest’ names in hip hop added to the bill. Best known for his work as one half of legendary hip hop outfit OutKast, Big Boi will be making his debut in Perth to show off the wares of his upcoming album Sir Lucious Leftfoot: The Son Of Chico Dusty. Joining him is hypeman master Fatman Scoop, best known for his track Be Faithful from 2003. These four join Aussie urban masters DJ Nino Brown and Phinesse at Burswood Dome on Saturday 31 July. Tickets on sale now from Ticketek.

TUES JUN 8 8PM

WED JUN 9 8PM )UHR %OXHV 5RRWV &OXE

JEZ MEAD, XAVE BROWN & SIMON PERONNI WILCO TRIBUTE JUN 10 / HUSSLE HUSSLE JUN 11 / DAPPLED CITIES + JOHN STEELE SINGERS JUN 17 / THE WILDERNESS JUN 18 / 6 FT HICK JUN 19 / ABBE MAY JUN 25 / RTRFM WINTER MUSIC FEST JUN 26 / KIDS OF 88 JUN 27 / FISHY STYLE JUL 2 / KILL DEVIL HILLS JUL 3

MOJOS PIZZAS AVAILABLE 5PM EACH DAY

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8 • THE DRUM MEDIA 3 JUNE 2010

Locally-based good thangs 2fast4lovemusic are gearing up to release a full-length compilation of local punk acts, and you can find yourself on it by sending one track to 2fast4lovemusic@mail.org. Also mark in a fundraising gig at The Den on Friday 2 July with The Craw, The Creepers, Death Grenade and Lucille. Sick of songs about NYC, and not content with Pavement’s I Love Perth? New competition CityLove Music is giving unsigned songwriters the opportunity to write a new song about any city, with $10,000 offered for the top song. With no entry fee or restrictions on how many songs you can enter, you can record your own original song or head to www. citylovemusic.com and download some backing tracks (yep, anybody can be a CityLove rockstar). While they might not have been the most complimentary to streetpress when being interviewed by Nova, we’d like to compliment Tame Impala on achieving an 8.5 from perennial bitches Pitchfork for Innerspeaker. Oh, plus this edition’s CD Of The Week. Congrats to the charming Goodnight Tiger who took out Ampfest 2010 last weekend. For more details of the win, check out this week’s Live section. The weekend also saw the Next Big Thing 2010 preliminary judges filtering through a heap of entries. And, we can now assure you, 2010’s NBT is looking like being an absolutely cracking comp.

HEAT TWO HUNTING HUXLEY, THE SPITFIRES, ECHOES OF DJANGO & LITTLE BLACK BOOK

COMING SOON

With less than three weeks til FIFA World Cup fever takes over, devotees can rejoice in the news that around a dozen Perth pubs and bars have been granted special extended trading permits to show games up to 5.30am, with around another 20 waiting for approval. Considering the Liquor Licensing’s draconian behaviour in the last year or so, it’s also a surprise to see that the rules of the licenses are actually rather…sensible

ANYTHING GOES CAST

NO JOKE

ARTS

As the middle of the year approaches, WAAPA has a couple of shows in the pipeline to warm the cockles of your heart. After all, there’s nothing better than catching the next Heath Ledger and Hugh Jackmans of this world when they’re fresh as the winter winds. WAAPA’s mid-year musical is Anything Goes, and the Cole Porter-penned show features the songs I Get A Kick Out Of You, You’re The Top and Blow, Gabriel, Blow to help warm you. Check the article in Front Row. Featuring the university’s best and brightest, it takes in the Regal Theatre from Friday 11 to Saturday 19 June. Tickets from Ticketek. Performed by third year acting students, Joking Apart will see the Alan Ayckbourn play brought to life in The Geoff Gibbs Theatre at WAAPA from Friday 11 to Thursday 17 June. Tickets from the WAAPA box office.

Currently in Sydney with husband Lou Reed as co-curator of this year’s Vivid Festival (yes, jealous), Friday 25 June sees the first new studio album from Laurie Anderson in nearly a decade, Homeland. Leading up to the release, Nonesuch is releasing a short video clip featuring Anderson in her Fenway Bergamot male alter ego guise every week in the media section of the label website.

When you think of such hits as That’s When I Think Of You, If I Could and You’ll Never Know, you think of Australian pop legends 1927. For only the second time in 20 years, the band is getting back together and heading out on the road to play these classics and more from their album …Ish. See them at the Astor Theatre with special guests Wa Wa Nee on Saturday 26 June. Tickets are on sale now from Ticketmaster.

RHYME SPITTERS

Their new album’s lead single Starry-Eyed is currently on Triple J and the album’s worthiness is proven with a favourable revving in today’s Drum, so it’s a fine time for ARIA-nominated hip hoppers Spit Syndicate to tour their unique, high energy live show. No strangers to the live circuit, they’ve appeared on Obese Block Party tours and supported Horrorshow recently. Now you can catch them, along with DJ Joyride, on their biggest tour yet. They check into the Norfolk Basement on Friday 9 July and Rocket Room on Saturday 10.

LIFE IS GOOD

With We Love Sounds sadly going down the gurgler, it’s time to look to the future. Growing to include five states and renowned for bringing hot new bands to the country before anybody else (La Roux, Empire Of The Sun, Justice and heaps more), Parklife is returning to Perth in 2010. Mark Sunday 26 September in your diary as this year’s line-up promises both to surprise and excite. The line-up will be revealed next week, but we’ve heard some ‘rumours’ and we must say that we are indeed pumped.

WE LOVE STEVE

We were all a bit saddened and disappointed in the ticket buying public after the Perth leg of the We Love Sounds tour was cancelled last week. Due to take place this Sunday 6 June, you can get your refunds from your point of purchase. The only good news to come out of this is the fact that Steve Aoki will now play a headline show at Villa on the same night. Yet the bad news is that tickets apparently sold out within hours of going on sale on Tuesday. Ouch. Good luck securing one.

HEART ON

Following on from her first headline tour of North America, Sally Seltmann is launches her new album Heart That’s Pounding at the Rosemount Hotel on Saturday 17 July. Tickets to the artist formerly known as New Buffalo are available now from Heatseeker, Star Surf, Planet and Mills, and the support acts have just been added for the Drum Media-presented show in the form of Split Seconds and Felicity Groom.

AN IRISH SCHOOLING

Described as “one of the truest Irish voices of his generation”, John Spillane is a two-time winner of the Meteor Award and, as luck of the Irish would have it, he’s coming back to Australia. The folk singer has just released a new collection of songs entitled More Irish Songs We Learned At School and he’ll be showing them off along with his humourous stories at Rosie O’Grady’s in Northbridge on Sunday 27 June. Head to the venue for your tickets.

HARRY FLY PANTS

Having been dubbed as an essential link between east and west, Harry Manx turns heads wherever he goes, and fortunately the Canadian bluesman has set course to turn Australian noggins in appreciation. With a fan in Bruce Springsteen and many awards to his name over the last decade, catch him at the Fly By Night this Saturday 5 (from 8pm) and Sunday 6 June (from 7pm). Tickets are $50 plus BF from the venue or more on the door.

DERULER OF THE CHARTS

With his hit single Whatcha Say hitting platinum sales in Australia followed by an ARIA #1 smash In My Head, it’s no secret that Jason Derulo is a rapidly rising star the world over. After completing a six-week run as a special guest on Lady Gaga’s recent North American tour, the young dynamo is heading down under for his first time ever. Catch him at Challenge Stadium on Tuesday 2 November. Presales from midday today, or general admission from Ticketmaster on Tuesday 8 June.

3rd JUNE

SWAMP... Alt Country Rock and Blues featuring The Joe Kings, Simon Kelly, The Witness and Love Junkies. Doors 8pm.

4th JUNE

ON TOUR: Liz Stringer + very special guest Freya Hanley. Doors 8pm… be early.

5th JUNE

LIVE: The Revolvers, Hand Stands for Ants, World of Fuzzy’s and Jack Byron… Doors 8pm, be early.

KWUQVO [WWV" Fri 11th June > The Silents... Thursdays in June > The Joe Kings

WESTERN AUSTRALIAN ACADEMY OF PERFORMING ARTS PRESENTS Cole Porter’s much loved musical

REGAL THEATRE 11 - 19 June BOOK NOW! 1300 795 012 TICKETEK.COM.AU

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Allen Vizzutti: Trumpet Virtuoso WAAPA proudly presents renowned American trumpeter Allen Vizzutti performing with the Academy’s talented brass students. Thursday, 17th June 2010, 7.30pm Music Auditorium Music Director: David Elton Tickets: $25 Full, $20 Concession/Friends

City of Swan Winter Arts Festival The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts is proud to partner the City of Swan in presenting an exciting selection of performances showcasing the talents of its students from June to September.

The Roots of Rhythm Sat 5 June, 7.30pm Award-winning percussion ensemble Defying Gravity features the sounds of exotic percussion instruments from around the globe.

Bravissima! Sat 12 June, 7.30pm A sublime evening of favourite excerpts from famous Italian operas. Tear jerkers, potboilers and crowd pleasers.

Performances at Midland Junction Arts Centre; tickets $20, $15. Broadway Magic at Midland Town Hall (cabaret style); tickets $25, $20. Book now at WAAPA Box Office on 9370 6895 or waapa.ecu.edu.au THE DRUM MEDIA 3 JUNE 2010 • 9

FOREWORD LINE PARKWAY DRIVE

STEREOFLOWER

THE DRIVE INSIDE

They’ve been the country’s biggest hardcore band for a while now and now they’re set to tackle some of the country’s biggest venues on their Deep Blue Australian Tour. With their third album Deep Blue featuring a crisp, unprocessed and impossibly heavy sound, Parkway Drive are taking in Challenge Stadium on Sunday 3 October. With the US hardcore heroes The Devil Wears Prada and The Ghost Inside along with 50 Lions joining in on the action, this will be a massive ALL-AGES show. Tickets go on sale from Ticketmaster on June 11.

ALICE IN JAZZLAND

Australia’s best young jazz-makers come from WAYJO and their award-winning composer in residence Alice Humphries is heading up a night of cool hip jazz at The Ellington on Thursday 24 June, Now! Humphries will premiere some of her works along with Mace Francis and more. Tickets from the venue.

HEARD THE RUMOUR?

NUTS FOR YOU

Primed to bring their hardcore party anthems back to their dedicated faithful is Deez Nuts. Having just unleashed their sophomore album This One’s For You through Roadrunner Records, the lads are prepared to party like there’s no tomorrow when they hit up Perth. Catch them Friday 9 July at the Rosemount; Saturday 10 at The Railway; and for an ALL-AGES show at YMCA HQ on Sunday 11 July. Tickets from Bocs, 78s, Mills and Planet.

BASS WITH HONOURS

Combining elegant, smooth and sophisticated minimalism on one side and bad-ass, dirty-as-hell ghetto grooves on the other, the music of Harvard Bass is akin to that of 2ManyDJs. Born into a family steeped in rich Mexican culture, Victor Hugo Ramos was born with rhythm in his veins. Get your injection when his first ever Australian performance touches down at Ambar on Friday 9 July. Tickets $20 on the door from 10pm or secure your entry by hitting up the Boomtick Shop online.

HARDCORE HEAVEN

Making its debut at Rise in 2010 is Homegrown Hardcore. Bringing two of Australia’s finest hardcore dance artists to Perth, the night features Queensland’s DJ S3rl who created rave anthems Pretty Rave Girl and Dealer, plus Sydney’s Haze who is the boss of Australia’s #1 hardcore label Executive Records. The night will also see 500 copies of the Homegrown Hardcore compilation CD given, which was mixed by Perth’s own Ravix and Reactor. $15/10/5 from 9.30pm on Friday 25 June.

Melbourne indie rockers Rumourtism spent years crafting their skills through solo acoustic shows and the band has just unleashed their debut album Birds Of A Feather to show off the skills learned. With the single No Hello made into an ace music video, the band is set to drop into Perth for one show only. Catch them at The Den on Saturday 12 June.

KISS KISS BANG GANG

The best way to kill off those lessons learned in class this past semester would be to party all night, and arguably the best legal party bringers this country has to offer is the Bang Gang DJs. With Doom and Hoodrat making the trip over, they’ll be heading up the End Of Exams Basement Party at the Basement On Broadway in Nedlands. Support comes from Audageous, Prodje and Lightsteed and it kicks off at 8pm on Friday 18 June.

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE

For the third of its outstanding Master Series Concerts for 2010, the West Australian Symphony Orchestra team up with conductor Vladimir Verbitsky and pianist Maxwell Foster to perform the ever-popular Slavonic Dances by Czech composer, Antonin Dvorák. The program also includes excerpts from Wagner’s romantic opera Lohengrin and Piano Concerto No.9 by Mozart. Seriously, this is date material… Perth Concert Hall on Friday 18 and Saturday 19 June from 7.30pm. Tickets $25 from WASO and Bocs.

KEVIN ‘10

With five hit singles from the album already, Kevin Rudolf’s yet-to-be-released album To The Sky is already a smashing success, and his show at Metro City on Thursday 15 July is sure to follow. It’ll be even hotter now that US R&B Shontelle has been added to the bill, fresh off her tour with Beyonce in the States. Grab your tickets now for $69.50 from Ticketek. To The Sky is released on June 11.

AIR BREAKER

Having held down residencies at some of London’s most influential clubs, Ali B is a prominent member of the big city’s leftfield club scene. He spent his teens working at the Acid Jazz label, he made his mark at the legendary Blue Note club and now he’s touring the world. With his track Beats On A String playlisted on Triple J and all over the world, his first album Ali B Presents Air Breaks is a definitive snapshot of the breakbeat scene, and his Fabric mix is a fave of many. Catch him with Fdel, Blend, Micah and Mono Lisa at Ambar for $15 on Saturday 26 June.

EDITORIAL

DESIGN & LAYOUT

Managing Editor Andrew Mast Editor Aarom Wilson Editorial Assistant Matthew Hogan Interval Editor Daniel Crichton-Rouse

Dave Harvey, Stuart Teague, Samantha Smith

ADVERTISING Sales & Marketing Director Leigh Treweek Sales Executives Matt ‘Moose’ McMullen, Aaron ‘Moose’ Rutter

10 • THE DRUM MEDIA 3 JUNE 2010

news@drumperth.com.au

ADMINISTRATION Accounts Qing Shu

PHOTOGRAPHERS Shane Butler, Penny Lane, Cybele Malinowski, Brad Serls, Cat Sharland, Anthony Tran

CONTRIBUTORS Chris Archibald, Marisa Aveling, Paul Barbieri, Aleksia Barron, Steve Bell, Nina Bertok, Tristan

LOCAL LOVIN’

There’s some mighty fine happenings going down right now in WA, and we ain’t just talking about the fact that we have a coastline that can contain its own oil either… With Sonic Assault is now just another relic of the destroyed Hyde Park Hotel, the spirit will continue (albeit a bit quieter) right next door to one of Perth’s favourite watering holes. With three to four acts soon to be jumping on stage weekly, Velvet Lounge in Mount Lawley will now have a dedicated band night on Fridays. The first bands off the rank will be Voltaire Twins, 6s & 7s, Stereoflower and Wolves At The Door, launching on Friday 11 June for $10 entry. In coming weeks, expect a number of familiar faces to pop up in different guises, as well as bands playing sets like you’ve never seen before. For a night of fresh kicks, dope graff, crazy breaking and silky skills on the decks, look no further than Mass Appeal 2 at The Manor. Celebrating the golden era of hop hop, Nathan J, Selekt, Charlie Bucket, Benny Chill and Nick Bennett hit the decks, with a mini ring dunk tournament in the alleyway to sweeten the deal! From 9.30pm on Friday 25 June. Enter the comp by emailing charliebucket@mail.com. Fresh off a national tour in support of Tame Impala, The Silents launch their new album Sun A Buzz at the Norfolk Basement on Friday 11 June with The Scotch Of Saint James and Felicity Groom in support; and at The Bird on Saturday 12 with Felicity Groom & The Black Black Smoke. Back for its fourth edition, King Tito’s Dirty Disco has recruited local live and luscious lasses Brash & Sassy plus DJs TCee, Friend, Fkn Midas, Dan Deelstra, Paul Malone, Cooker, Perthquake DJs, Joe Mac and more to dirty up the dancefloor. East End on Friday 18 June. After picking up the Most Promising Act WAMi Award, Emperors are gearing up to launch their first official release The River. The single will be launched on Saturday 12 June at the Civic Hotel with Grim Fandango, Russian Winters and Split Seconds, before they play the Prince Of Wales with Russian Winters on Thursday 17 for a dual launch. Old school raves seem all the rave at the mo’, with those who waved glowsticks in the ‘90s proving to have just as much fun as newbies to the scene. Well, mark Friday 18 June into your diary as the great Greg Packer will headline Ambar’s Old School Jungle Party. In support is an early rave and jungle set from Dair b2b Menis, a decade old d’n’b mash-up from Hutcho, and breakbeat jungle circa ‘93/’94 from Rewind and NVS. Nice one bruva! After more than a year in the making, disco is hitting up The Manor next Friday 11 June with My Love Is Music. Starring DJs Massiv Trav, Charlie Bucket and Petro, each spinning underground ‘70s disco, ‘80s boogie funk and cosmic nu disco, it kicks off at 8.30pm.

LIME-ONADE FIZZ

A universally esteemed electro DJ and producer from New York City, Drop The Lime has gone from strength to strength including rocking a massive set at Coachella and headline slots all through Europe, the US and Australia. With his new material featuring live vocals on original compositions, the man known as Luca Venezia is getting closer and closer to creating songs as opposed to tracks, something which he’s replicating also more and more on stage. See him in action at Limelite on Friday 9 July at Metropolis Fremantle.

Broomhall, Jaymes Brown, Rick Bryant, Anthony Carew, Travis Collins, Dan Condon, Cyclone, Marcia Czerniak, Guy Davis, Sam Fell, SJ Finch, Tim Finney, Kim Fisher, Tomas Ford, Shannon Fox, Rueben Hale, Stu Harvey, Andrew Haug, Craig Hollywood, Jason Kenny, Angela King, Kim Kirkman, Jo Lettenmaier, Troy Mutton, Daniel Parkinson, Gareth Richardson, Ted Schlechte, Megan Smith, Michael Smith, Aimee Somerville, Kate Stephens, Scarlett Stevens, Kristy Symonds, Nic Toupee, Adam Trainer, Chris Wheeldon.

Lucky Dip is the name of the new open mic variety night at Double Lucky and it kicks off tonight, Thursday 3 June. Each night has a theme artist and tonight’s is The Doors, so willing performers are encouraged to put their own twist on a Doors song from 8pm. Nicko & The Mong will also play a set of original acoustic rock each week. For a midweek venture into dubstep, head down to Night Class at The Bird. Featuring some of Perth’s finest producers, including Sibalance, Ylem, ST-1 and Pickles, it takes place on Thursday 10 June. Tell us all about your upcoming launch, tour or party by emailing music@drumperth.com.au.

EDITORIAL POLICY

PUBLISHER

The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers. No part may be reproduced without the consent of the copyright holder. ©

Street Press Australia Pty Ltd. 1/205-207 Bulwer St Perth 6000 PO Box 507 Mount Lawley 6929 Phone (08) 9228 9655 General Inquiries info@drumperth.com.au (no attachments) Advertising Sales sales@drumperth.com.au Accounts/Administration accounts@drumperth.com.au Artroom artwork@drumperth.com.au General Editorial

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THE DRUM MEDIA 3 JUNE 2010 • 11

FOREWORD LINE E ASTERN BIG SOUNDS

SEPTEMBER WILL AGAIN SEE BRISBANE HOST BIG SOUND, THE LONGEST RUNNING ANNUAL MUSIC CONFERENCE IN THE COUNTRY. WITH A NUMBER OF PERTH ACTS VYING TO SHOWCASE THEIR WARES, EXECUTIVE PROGRAMMER GRAHAM ASHTON TALKS TO MICHAEL SMITH ABOUT WHAT HE HOPES THE FESTIVAL WILL ACHIEVE THIS YEAR.

“

I’ve attended the last few years in my capacity as a label guy and it’s just grown each year into something really substantial and meaningful, so I’m excited and a little daunted at the prospect of this year, my first as programmer,” Ashton admits. He has worked in a variety of roles as “label guy” with both indies and majors, from Dew Process and Footstomp to EMI and Polygram. “I’d say that if there was an overarching theme or point of difference in what I’m going for in Big Sound 2010, it’s that I want everybody who walks out of the place on the Friday at lunchtime, if there’s one thing that sticks in their head, is the fact that the most important thing they can do is to keep doing it themselves and have that real old-fashioned DIY ethic. Because you become more palatable to the industry if you’ve managed to get some runs on the board yourself and you’re also in a better position to handle the industry.” Running across three days and two nights, from Wednesday 8 through Friday 10 September, Big Sound 2010 is an initiative of not-for-profit industry body Q Music, Queensland’s music industry development association, which features conferences,

12 • THE DRUM MEDIA 3 JUNE 2010

workshops and public showcase events. The event’s first batch of speakers has been announced and include one of the world’s most read and respected music writers in New York-based Michael Azerrad; former Australian label manager and now manager of Cold Chisel, John O’Donnell; Hoodoo Gurus frontman Dave Faulkner; manager of The Living End, Gyroscope and Children Collide, Rae Harvey; senior vicepresident of A&R at US label New West Records, Peter Jesperson, who signed The Replacements among others and produced their first four albums; plus UK music lawyer Nicky Stein of Clintons Solicitors, whose list of clients includes Vampire Weekend, Hot Chip and The Temper Trap. “Having somebody like Michael Azerrad, who obviously has an incredible length of experience being involved in DIY bands and writing the book Our Band Could Be Your Life, feels like a really good backbone to what we’re trying to get across to people. Then again, if you go into Peter Jesperson’s office in Los Angeles, half the posters on his walls are Australian

news@drumperth.com.au

GIVEAWAYS giveaways@drumperth.com.au

bands. His passion for and knowledge of Australian music is incredible. Of course, if you’ve got a bunch of industry heavy hitters like this – and remember this is just the first of the speakers to be announced with plenty more to come – any band worth its salt would have to consider Big Sound 2010 the perfect vehicle to get their music before the right people. So as always, Big Sound will also see more than 40 of the country’s most promising acts showcasing their music across six Fortitude Valley venues as part of the two-night Big Sound Live event, is open to the public. “That’s the key to it,” Ashton says. “Each evening will be non-stop showcases of what we think will be the best up and coming Australian and New Zealand bands and we’re about five weeks away from our first announcement of artists, which for me is equally if not more important than the speakers. It’s basically a registration process, so we’re open for the next six weeks for any artist in Australia and New Zealand to register and there’s a committee of people who will vote on who those bands will be showcased.” The last couple of Big Sound events can claim to have had no small role in helping gain significant outcomes for The Temper Trap and The Middle East, so it’s obviously well worth logging in to register your act. As Ashton says, submissions for artists are now open, so for full details and to register for the chance to score a showcase, check out bigsound.org.au and you might just be able to sneak your application in if you act right away. For the conference side, there are heavily discounted early bird passes on sale now, so for ticketing and registration details, check into the website. “I think if you’re in a band or whatever, at the very least you should register and give yourself an opportunity to be there because not only will you have this dream list of international industry people coming along and the stars might align, but it’s also a gathering for all of the key players in the Australian music industry – they’re all going to be in the spot for three days – so it’s a great opportunity to have them see you play or meet them or sit in on a forum. It’s a relaxed environment where you can hopefully go and be reminded of the importance of music and what path you want to take.” Big Sound 2010 takes place from Wednesday 8 to Friday 10 September in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley. Get all the details from www.bigsound.org.au.

SHARON JONES & THE DAP KINGS Have you ever learned something the hard way? Perhaps something important like the need to be prompt when entering Drum’s giveaways, because you’re always too late but your friends always come up trumps? Well, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings have, and it’s all for you to hear on their latest album I Learned The Hard Way. It’s been out a while, but she’s a hard one to chase down for an autograph, dear reader. To pick up one of TWO copies of I Learned The Hard Way, signed by Ms Jones herself professing her love for you, email giveaways@drumperth.com.au with “SHARON SIGNS” in the subjectline. The praise has been flowing pretty steadily for the Gyroscope lads since they released fourth album Cohesion, and for good reason. Lead single Some Of The Places I Know has picked up its share of praise too, even from the boy’s footy team. There was a rather rockin’ show just before the release, so you now you gotta get to this one on Sunday 6 June at Metro City as the cover stars are promising even bigger things. To pick up one of FIVE double passes to the show, email to giveaways@ drumperth.com.au with “GYROTIX” in the subjectline. Oh dear readers, do we have a riddle for you! What does a Havanna Sex Dwarf, a Teenage Spaceman and a Scaramanga have in common? They’re all tracks off More!, the latest release from Booka Shade. And with a cast like that, it sounds like the German duo has been let out of the crazy house. Regardless, the results are winning. To pick up one of FIVE copies of More!, email giveaways@drumperth.com.au with “MORE PLEASE” in the subjectline.

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31/05/10 8:46 AM

THE BEST THAT’S YET TO COME SNEAKY LITTLE SUCKERS For years record labels have been sneakily putting out Greatest Hits/Best Of’s from artist either still on their label, or recently departed. Many artists privately disagree with the timing but few, like Gyroscope, make it public knowledge they had nothing to do with the album. Radiohead found themselves in the same situation after leaving longtime label EMI. In 2008 the label released Radiohead: The Best Of. Lead singer Thom Yorke publicly announced the band’s distance from the release, claiming no involvement in the process. Nirvana also fought the release of their greatest hits. Well, actually, just Courtney Love did. She took remaining members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic to court over the release of Nirvana’s final track You Know You’re Right. The court proceeding held up the release of a boxset and greatest hits, with Love claiming the song would be better suited as a single, instead of on a greatest hits. The three finally settled out of court, with Nirvana’s Greatest Hits released in 2002.

WHEN KATE STEPHENS SAT DOWN WITH DAN SANDERS AND ZORAN TRIVIC OF GYROSCOPE, SHE EXPECTED TO HEAR ABOUT THEIR LATEST ALBUM COHESION AND THE UNTIMELY AND UNEXPECTED BEST OF. WHAT SHE DIDN’T COUNT ON WAS A MENTAL IMAGE OF ALL FOUR IN COLOURFUL LONG-SLEEVED SKIVVIES.

I

t was back in 2008 when local foursome Gyroscope finally kicked down the door to commercial success. Their third album Breed Obsession debuted at number one, single Snakeskin was on every second football ad, and the ARIAs even gave them a nod with a Best Rock Album nomination. It’s hard to then imagine that, after opening up the door and finding such successes, Gyroscope were happy to slam it shut again. When Drum sat down for a beer with vocalist/guitarist Dan Sanders and guitarist Zoran Trivic, both were quick to impress Breed Obsession was a path they’d already taken, and when it came to writing material for their latest album Cohesion they tore everything up and started all over again. “We’ve never really been a band that’s made a career on number one singles or gold records,â€? explains Trivic. “We’ve never written a song for radio or television. So after Breed Obsession, if anything, we tried to do the opposite because we said‌ look, Breed Obsession was quite a sort of commercial cross over for us in a sense, and it was sort of like a schizophrenic album as well because there were so many different sounds on the record. So that’s where the title Cohesion came from. When we sat down we were like ‘look, we’re gonna make a cohesive record that tells a story from the songwriting to the album,’ and we wanted to make a rock record.â€?

good at being more like a fifth member of the band than like a producer sort of thing. That’s what we loved about Gil. We called him ‘Uncle Gil’ after a couple of days.� With a world famous producer in the team, Gyroscope, rounded out by bassist Brad Campbell and drummer Rob Nassif, endeavoured to push themselves further than

PEOPLE SORT OF SAY TO US, ‘WHAT’S WITH YOU DUDES IN WA, LIKE EVERYONE LOVES EACH OTHER, THEY ALL HANG OUT.’�

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just a 12-track standard rock album. In between puffs of his cigarette, Sanders begins explaining how Cohesion was their attempt to create a rock album, with a live edge. The four wanted to take their listeners to another level, not through the production itself but through the simple transference of live emotions. Whether it be the impulsive drum beats or the bleeding vocals, they wanted each listener to feel and almost see the album, rather than just hear it. “Some of our favourite albums,� states Sanders, “whether it be Nirvana’s In Utero or At The Drive In’s Relationship Of Command, you close your eyes and you can picture them jumping around, and it sounds like it could change at any time, like the recording itself. And that’s what we liked; the spontaneity.�

In an attempt to leave the ‘sheen’ off Cohesion, the four packed up and moved over to a studio in Rockfield, Wales. The name, Sanders admits, had nothing to do with the location choice – it was producer Gil Norton who chose it. But Norton, having worked with names like the Foo Fighters and Pixies, had more of an influence than just an aptly titled location choice. Sanders explains how he continuously attempted to remove any producer hierarchy, allowing all involved to meet at one level playing field. “This is our fourth record now and Gil is probably the first producer that we’ve really felt comfortable for him to say, ‘I think you guys should do this instead of that,’ and we kind of expected him to do that,� says Sander. “But most of the time he came in and asked us what we thought and what our thoughts on the change were, and what his idea was. So he was really

With Cohesion completed and ready to be unleashed, Gyroscope, like every band, prepared themselves for the competition from other albums released around the same time. What they didn’t expect though, was that competition to be themselves. Back in 2008, Gyroscope fulfilled their three-album contract with Warner music but, after they didn’t re-sign, Universal stepped in and scooped them up. However the story continued when

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Warner recently released a Best Of Gyroscope, with tracks taken from their previous recordings. Sanders and Trivic are quick to note their disappointment in the release, which they say they had “nil to zeroâ€? involvement in. Both guitarists insist the topic has been put to rest, but it’s something that still fires both of them up. “Basically we just want to go on the record to tell people we had nothing to do with the Best Of,â€? explains Trivic. “We’re not going to disparage the release or whatever, there’s probably not a lot we can do without getting into a lot of trouble. So we just said ‘look, I don’t think it’s very fair of them releasing it at the same time as us releasing Cohesion’, and it was a full underground, top secret mission‌ It was a bummer, but it was a small thing at the end of the day, and you just get over it and you keep going.â€? Gyroscope aren’t the first band to find themselves with a poorly timed Best Of. Yet, whilst the end result can’t be changed, it’s reminded the foursome that, no matter what is put in their way, they’ll always stand up for themselves and their rights. “We’ve never been one of those bands that are easy to tell what to do,â€? remarks Trivic. “Basically we own and run our band. I’ll go and do all the graphic design for the websites, and Dan used to build the websites‌ We just kind of do our own thing, as if we are our own band. So we are just lucky to have the backing of Universal.â€? But their label isn’t the only group of people backing them. With Sanders and Trivic claiming no one they know has purchased the Best Of, their fans too have a wide respect and admiration for the foursome. They are also open-minded, according to Sanders. When it’s feebly pointed out that Break Even, local hardcore act, who have been chosen to follow Gyroscope on the WA leg of their Cohesion Tour, may attract a different crowd, Sanders swiftly justifies the decision. He believes their fans are loyal and open-minded, and is confident that the underlying ethos of Gyroscope will win over the BE fans that choose to stick around. “Sometimes when you’re gigging with one of those [hardcore] bands you can show them your stripes, because the music doesn’t always have to be the same sort of genre, but the passion is

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always there,� explains Sanders, before Trivic adds, “I mean we’ll finish doing a festival and the guys from Parkway Drive will come over and go, ‘man, that was a really great set.’ And you just sort of think our music compared to them is like The Wiggles or something.� Enlisting a local hardcore outfit for their WA gigs isn’t just Gyroscope jumping at the chance to have their older and heavier tracks highly received by the crowd Sanders explains the real reason behind choosing local acts is to give them a chance at a little extra exposure. Having received the same treatment from Jebediah when they first hit the scene, Gyroscope have made it their mission to help nurture other WA artists, whether it be taking them on an Australian tour, as with Sugar Army in 2008, or just giving them a chance to face a different crowd at a local show. It’s something that they believe is a unique WA trend, and something the rest of Australia is jealous of. “People sort of say to us, ‘what’s with you dudes in WA, like everyone loves each other, they all hang out,’� jokes Trivic. “If you go to Sydney and Melbourne, everyone is trying to out-cool each other, particularly in Sydney.� Be it the WA scene, their loyal fans or their ability to stand up for themselves, Gyroscope are a strong foursome that have survived over 10 years. Trivic notes the mutual respect within the group allows them to grow and learn together but the underlying issue, admits Sanders, is their inability to stop. Their creative drive has pushed them through four LPs and countless gigs, and it’s something that looks far from slowing. “We don’t want to rest on our laurels, be it touring or even just conducting our everyday shit,� replies Sanders. “We always want to accomplish something. So I suppose musically we always challenge ourselves, and each other.� WHO: Gyroscope WHAT: Cohesion (Universal) WHEN & WHERE: Saturday 5 June, Prince Of Wales, Bunbury; Sunday 6 June, Metro City, Perth

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THE DRUM MEDIA 3 JUNE 2010 • 15

THE GREAT WIDE UNKNOWN TRENTEMØLLER AND CRAIG HOLLYWOOD DELVE HEAD FIRST INTO THE FINER DETAILS OF THE DANE’S LATEST CREATION WHILST TRYING TO REMAIN QUIET ENOUGH NOT TO WAKE THE DANISH INTELLI-DANCE DYNAMO’S SLEEPING NEIGHBOURS.

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ince the inauguration of the now seminal The Last Resort release in ’06, Anders Trentemøller has kept decidedly still in the album stakes. Barring his first foray into mix CD territory in ‘09 which arrived in the form of the Harbour Boat Trips project, and also the ‘07 ‘best of’ collection The Trentemøller Chronicles, the tides have remained relatively calm, until now. Into The Great Wide Yonder will be Trentemøller’s preface into the world of sophomore album territory. A step which remarkably heralds the arrival of an artist who is willing to explore the depths of a sound less commonly known, whilst remaining compliant to the habitual intricacies of days gone by. Trentemøller takes some time to fill us in a bit more. “For me it [the sound] was actually much more a part of the natural development because I wanted this time for the album to be more organic and warm, and more dusty in a way. The first album [The Last Resort] was also of course melancholic, but also very typically electronic sounding with a lot more clicks and a very defined sound. This time I wanted something that was a little bit more multi-layered and something different. So I actually recorded a lot of the tracks onto analogue tape, so I didn’t use the computer that much in the recording and in the composing process, and it was just laid out when I did the post-production. So it was quite a different approach.”

IF YOU’RE SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME ALONE IN A ROOM YOU SOMETIMES CAN BE A LITTLE BIT TOO MUCH UP IN YOUR OWN ASS.”

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The move to a less electronic structure sees the Copenhagen native dabbling with a musical format that will initially be alien to even the most zealous of fans. However, Trentemøller has never been one to conform to any set method of delivery, which will become evident shortly after you’ve put your finger on the play button. He goes on, “I was actually quite inspired by the whole ‘60s twangy guitar surf sound, and by names like Dick Dale and Link Wray which are some cooler surf names that did this really evil, kind of instrumental, dark, evil [laughs] music in the ‘60s. And you know, that sound really inspired me, and that was also why I decided to almost have a tribute to this old surf sound on the album because the surf guitar sound goes through quite a lot of tracks. One thing that is different from this compared to the first is that maybe it is a little bit more demanding, and I think it’s an album that you should maybe listen to three of four times, because when I played it to some of my friends the first time they were like ‘Wow! Okay this is very different and very dramatic.’ It was really too much for some of them, but then after a few days they were calling me back and saying that they could see other things in it. So hopefully people will give it a chance and listen to it quite a few times so they can go back and find different pieces that they didn’t discover the previous time.” Unlike a sizeable portion of Trentemøller’s material to date, widespread vocal experimentation has never been something that would be immediately tagged with his name. So it may come as a surprise that Into The Great Wide Yonder incorporates no less than four different vocalists throughout the journey. Sycamore Feeling – which is to be the first track released off the album – features Copenhagen songstress Marie Fisker, who is also apparently one of Anders’ rather good friends. Also appearing on the release is English artist Fyfe Dangerfield from UK based Guillemots and also Solveig Sandnes and Josephine Philip from debuting Danish indie duo Darkness Falls. “Most of the vocalists are all my very good friends really and they are all very talented, so for me it was quite natural to ask them. Actually, I was writing most of the songs with their voices in my mind, so I knew what they could sing in a way so it was much easier for me to write a specific track for them because we had been jamming earlier. It was extra satisfying for me to work with vocalists because that is quite new for me.” Working with vocalists is one thing, but to then go into direct collaboration with your girlfriend’s sister – whose breathy tones incidentally appear on the track ...Even Though You’re With Another Girl is definitely another. Anders explains, “Yes my girlfriend’s little sister that sings on that track. She also has her own indie girl band [Darkness Falls] here in Copenhagen and she really

writes some beautiful melodies so I was actually coming up with the instrumental and she was just recording her voice in her home studio and sending it to me. But then I realised that my production was far too much and there were too many things happening and her voice was drowning, so I started all over again and only left her voice, made new chords, new instruments, and I was putting that around her voice. So it was kind of an opposite way for me to go because it was actually her coming up with the melody and I was building everything up around it. So sometimes it’s good to have a lot of feedback, because if you’re spending too much time alone in a room you sometimes can be a little bit too much up in your own ass.” Into The Great Wide Yonder will be the first release on Trentemøller’s freshly created In My Room imprint, a label specifically set up to accommodate his new sonic venture. Added to this, the album was solely created in his own studio, which is a fact that would boggle the mind of any home producer. “For me, when I’m writing music, it’s really quite a lonely process because I really tend to float into my own dream world in a way, and then suddenly eight hours has gone and I have forgotten to eat,” he laughs. “And often I also work at night because it’s very quiet, there’s no telephone ringing, there’s no emails and it’s a different vibe going on because the whole city sleeps. I somehow like that feeling, and that is of course much easier to do in your own place. But then there can be some problems with the neighbours, so actually most of the drums and the guitars that are played were recorded in a studio, because I couldn’t bang the drums at two in the night.” Surely if he offered the neighbours a free CD or two, you’d reckon he’d be forgiven for any disregard for noise restriction? “Exactly,” he shouts, “and maybe even invite them to the release party... Although, I don’t think that would help actually.” And as for the possibility of recreating a ‘Live In Concert’ styled performance for the new album which would be similar to the one he toured with off the back of The Last Resort in ’07? “Yes definitely, although this time around there is going to be around six or seven musicians on stage, so I think it will be even more live this time because the last time there were still some things in sequence but now there is so much stuff happening on the album with extra guitars and such things. We are planning to come to Australia in February or March, but I don’t have the specific dates. We will definitely come I know that.” WHO: Trentemøller WHAT: Into The Great Wide Yonder (In My Room/ Stomp)

AN ABRIDGED HISTORY OF DANISH MUSIC Trentemøller is one of the greater success stories from the Scandanavian country of Denmark. Drum Media looks at some of the others who have put the country on the musical map, for one reason or another. NIELS GADE: Considered the most important Danish composer of his day, Gade is a significant early Romantic composer of the 1800s. KING DIAMOND: A former practising Satanist, Diamond is well known for his work fronting black metal outfits Mercyful Fate and King Diamond. LARS ULRICH: Leaving Denmark to pursue tennis in the US, Ulrich got mixed in with the wrong crowd and ended up founding Metallica. NEKROMANTIX: Copenhagen’s Kim Necroman invented the coffin shaped upright bass. What did Switzerland ever do for music? AQUA: Known for their worldwide smash hit Barbie Girl, Aqua was the first, and so far only, band to have the ability to breathe underwater. S.O.A.P.: The world couldn’t get enough of four-lettered pop groups from Denmark in the late ‘90s. Luckily we’ve all forgotten about This Is How We Party… Or at least until we just mentioned it. THE RAVEONETTES: Never ones to use more than one key on an album, Sune Rose and Sharin Foo are still riding the ‘rock revival’ wave of the early 2000s, and you have to appreciate that. JUNIOR SENIOR: Responsible for Move Your Feet in 2003, the pop Danes will forever be remembered as one hit wonders. HORRORPOPS: Double bass? Check. Quiffs? Check. Tattoos? Check. What genre do these guys play? WHOMADEWHO: Falsetto indie dance punkers have worked with Josh Homme, Hot Chip, Peaches, Digitalism and more. Convinced.

THE DRUM MEDIA 3 JUNE 2010 • 17

HEAVY WARNING BRISBANE’S DEAD LETTER CIRCUS ARE THE NEW STARS OF AUSTRALIAN PROGRESSIVE ROCK AND THEY’RE BRINGING IN SOME NEW ELEMENTS WITH THEIR DEBUT ALBUM. THEY SIT DOWN TO TALK SONIC SCOPES, OBSESSIVE FANS AND JOHN STAMOS WITH ADAM CURLEY. FEATURE AND INSET PHOTOS BY CYBELE MALINOWSKI.

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he four members of Dead Letter Circus are shoulder to shoulder on a couch in the courtyard of the Medina on Crown in Surry Hills with a camera pointed at them. They’ve been herded to the back of the hotel from various morning media commitments, vocalist Kim Benzie and guitarist Rob Maric from the foyer and rhythm team Luke Williams and Stewart Hill from their room, to film a piece for the band’s website announcing the winners of Street Press Australia’s competition to hunt down the most dedicated Dead Letter Circus followers. Entrants were asked to send in a question for the guys, with the four best from around the country picking up gig tickets and a chance to meet the band on their upcoming This Is The Warning tour to launch their debut album of the same name. Scanning the pages of entries, there’s no shortage of poster-gazers evident. One guy wants to know who Williams’ mother’s favourite band is. Another from the band’s hometown of Brisbane – who ends up one of the winners – wants to know what they’d write if they signed up to a dating service. That last question gets a big laugh but also a couple of wary side glances from the foursome. “There’s some real weird stuff on YouTube,” drummer Williams – the blokey, brooding member of the band – says after we wrap up, “like some person who edited a Heroes [clip] with Peter Petrelli and that cheerleader girl, just like a whole five minutes’ worth of moments of them, to one of our songs. There’s another one where kids shot this home video of them playing in a park and zooming in on their crotches. It’s really weird.” “I think it’s all innocent kid fun but it kind of scared the shit out of us,” adds guitarist Maric – the excitable and curious perfectionist. Like many heavy rock bands of their ilk in Australia, the fact that Dead Letter Circus are surrounded by such avid fans and are seemingly reaching the point of chart breakthrough on the lead in to the release of their first album is, largely, an industry blind spot. With minimal media support, outside dedicated genre mediums, of their 2007 EP and following pre-album singles, including last year’s The Space On The Wall, the band has built themselves up with a slog of impressive support tours and a reputation for getting festival crowds heaving with their widescreen, progressive sounds. The next bloghyped trend this is not, but make no mistake – Dead Letter Circus are stepping up as one of the country’s brightest new acts. Forming from the carcass of nu-metal outfit Ochre in 2005, they locked themselves in the rehearsal room writing and refining for months before launching live and it was that dedication to their craft that saw them quickly earn the respect of their peers as well as an expanding audience. “We’re probably part of the first wave of bands who started our band while we were listening to Cog,” singer Benzie – the charming prankster, but also the dark horse of the crew – says. “Like, I would attribute that band to the reason why I wanted to be in a band. I was the biggest Tool fan you’ve ever [met] and then Cog came along and I was like, ‘Holy fuck, this is the first Australian band that is better than the international bands doing this style’… It really made me realise that obviously those guys had honed their skills and gone for it and had the quality control and they realised you could do this from Australia on an international scale.” Producer Forrester Savell, who’d already enriched the songs of The Butterfly Effect and Karnivool in the studio, was at their first gig (“It was like, ‘Hey Rob, there’s that Forrester Savell guy,’” Benzie laughs of the star struck moment) and would go on to produce their self-titled EP. For the album, an opus that has taken since 2008 to complete, Savell stepped in again, this time in a more involved role. “People say that the producer is like another member of the band, but in our case it’s definitely true,” Benzie says. “We include him as a writer in the band.” Savell was also instrumental in desctibing what they needed to do as songwriters before they could tackle the breadth of a longplayer. “He would say to us, ‘You’re going to have to expand your scope of what you do a little bit if you’re going to do an album because it’s going to be really heartless if the 12 songs are just like bah bah bah,’” Benzie tells. “So that forced us to be a bit more diverse and we tried to think of it as you put it on and the journey ends 12 songs later… We were very good at what we did with the hundred-milesan-hour, in your face, Luke hitting every drum he could possibly hit and every rhythm point. And being intense like that is probably a bit easier than being intense in a more spacious environment.” The release of This Is The Warning, they all say will bring with it the introduction of some of that newfound scope to their live show. The band have been holding back on playing many of the new tracks live and are raring to show their fans what they’ve got up their sleeves. “Most of the songs are of a progressive nature so they’ve all got some really cool parts in them that are really different and unconventional,” Maric says. Williams gets specific: “The title track to the record, This Is The Warning, I think Kim, you get into some live drums on that, so there’s going to be some different elements creeping into the live shows, especially with percussion.” “You’ve seen that [Beach Boys’] Kokomo clip with John Stamos on the bongo drums – that kind of vibe,” Maric jokes. Benzie laughs, “Yeah, I’m going to get some hip-mounted bongos, some chest hair…” “There’s definitely stuff all over the album,” Maric brings the conversation back. “Like the first couple of songs that have come off it have been relatively safe and people could be under the perception that we’re still doing more of the same thing – not in a bad way, but there’s some stuff on there where we’re interested in seeing people’s reactions. Some raised eyebrows – that’s what we want.” WHO: Dead Letter Circus WHAT: This Is The Warning (Warner) WHEN & WHERE: Friday 11 June, Prince Of Wales, Bunbury; Saturday 12 Capitol, Perth

18 • THE DRUM MEDIA 3 JUNE 2010

NATIONAL INTEREST With an array of musicians extending The National’s touring family to incorporate sections of brass and strings, including a very talented Australian by the name of Padma Newsome, it’s an interesting logistical exercise taking so many people on the road, Devendorf muses. “We have a very organised tour manager who wrangles us all like cattle! It is sometimes difficult – imagine trying to vacation with ten people.” The cattle-wrangling has been going on for a long while, though most solidly since the success of 2007’s Boxer album kept The National touring around the world for the greater part of two years, which included their debut visit to Australia. With other creative projects and new families to now consider, the band has taken a healthier approach to touring to coincide with the release of High Violet – one that makes their schedule look full up to December, though actually works in weeks where they take a break from the stage lights.

THE NATIONAL HAVE BEEN QUIETLY CREATING CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED ALBUMS FOR OVER TEN YEARS IN RELATIVE OBSCURITY. TYLER MCLOUGHLAN GLIMPSES SOME MOMENTS OF DARK HUMOUR FROM BAND MEMBER SCOTT DEVENDORF AS HE DISCUSSES FRONTMAN THEATRICS AND NEW ALBUM RELEASES.

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rooklyn’s The National are an intriguing bunch; the more you learn about their music, which at first listen is gloomy, indie-rock to say the least, the more you desperately need to find out. Though as the fits of desperate digging for more music and more information start to wane, so too does the idea that The National are in dire need of a group therapy session. Speaking from London where they are preparing for a feature show at Royal Albert Hall that evening, bassist/ guitarist Scott Devendorf maintains a serious tone when discussing the band he shares with his drummer brother Bryan. “We’ve lived our whole life together so playing in a band is a nice extension of that.” Interestingly for the band dynamic, identical twins Aaron and Bryce Dessner are multi-instrumental guitarists, with the addition of strapping frontman Matt Berninger whose physical presence may hold the key to his

method of survival in a band weighted with siblings. Providing the vehicle for Berninger’s lyrical escapades must be an intriguing ride for the two sets of brothers, as is ever-apparent with the release of their fifth album High Violet, which lyrically swings from utterly downtrodden (“I don’t have the drugs to sort it out” – Afraid Of Everyone) to simply nonsensical (“It’s a terrible love that I’m walking with spiders” – Terrible Love). Though as Devendorf explains, the beguiling frontman’s baritone is the device through which subject matter appears larger, or in this case gloomier, than it actually is. “I don’t find the lyrics incredibly dark all the time. I think some of them can be on the sad side, but I think some of them are sort of funny in a way,” he chuckles for the first time in the conversation. “They’re not all serious, there’s a dark humour to some of them, especially the new songs. They change over time for me, what the songs mean and the idea behind them.”

With Australian dates yet to be announced, the band are looking to forward to getting back to our sunny shores in the near future. “Most likely Australia and New Zealand will be early in 2011, probably in January,” Devendorf offers. “We can’t wait to come back. We’re very excited to make time to escape winter in New York.” Another device the band has introduced to ease the pressures of a music career was to record album number five from the luxury of a home studio – a garage conversion out the back of Aaron Dessner’s home. Though for The National, luxury was not measured in terms of expensive fittings and indulgent playthings for the downtime, or even an adjoining bathroom (they had to traipse through Dessner’s house for that) – the most important luxury for them was time. “We found it quite liberating in a way. It gave us unlimited time, as far as not being on the clock, paying by the hour in the studio like we’d done in the past.” And though it seems a little crazy to claim to hear time on a record, it could never be truer than of High Violet, and of opening track Terrible Love which found the quintet stumbling on an accidental guitar sound. “The sound of that guitar...it was something we happened upon,” the bassist admits. “We were trying to create a sound that Matt was requesting from the guitar that wasn’t clean, picked out notes. It was more like a woolly sound. So that song, before it had lyrics

and before it had a name, it had a sketch name of Loose Wool, which is a visual description of the sound we were trying to get out of the guitar. It was a combination of reverb and some looping and tremolo creating this kind of churning sound. “To do things like Loose Wool (Terrible Love) we were experimenting for a few hours to try and come up with a good sound. You can do that in a proper studio, but it’s more efficient and cost effective to not do that. So it gave us a little more freedom to experiment and try new things.” A coincidental by-product of the home studio arrangement was spontaneous neighbourhood visits that often led to guest appearances, most notably by Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) and Sufjan Stevens who add howling background vocals to Afraid Of Everyone – a commentary on the societal separations of modern America from a band who don’t mind letting political assertions loose amongst their musical endeavours. 2007 touring buddy Richard Reed Parry of Arcade Fire also makes an appearance, and so a further connection between some of North America’s hottest musicians becomes apparent – they were all involved in the 2009 charity album Dark Was The Night which was curated and produced by none other than the Dessner twins. It’s taken a good ten years for the wider public to catch onto a band that critics, most notably NME, have been lauding as “one of the most important bands of their generation.” Finally for The National that elusive hype has now preceded the arrival of an album, and though the band are aware of such accolades, they’re not about to be changed by them. “It’s nice to have compliments,” says Devendorf cheerily. “I don’t know that it has any effect on how we make decisions or what we do, but we just try and do the best we can. Of course we’re happy if people are liking [the music]. I think we just try and do the best we can and do what we think is a good sound and a good song. We just try and keep doing what is interesting to us, and we’re happy if people like it.” WHO: The National WHAT: High Violet (4AD/Remote Control)

THE DRUM MEDIA 3 JUNE 2010 • 19

GLOVES ARE ON her approach to writing songs morphed in kind. “A lot of the last record there was a lot of yelling, there was heaps of talked singing and there was a lot of sporadic singing. So for this I really wanted to hone in and focus on the melodies and the way that I was singing,” she clarifies. “For a long time, with the first record, I kept my guard up. I didn’t want to show that side of emotion. I always wanted it to be a little bit guarded. It was kind of teenage angst. I think I was really scared of actually showing that I have an emotive side because I felt as though it would be weak. I know that sounds really silly, but now that I was like, ‘You know what? I have a heart, yes I do,’ and I just... I wanted to sing more.” Throughout the creation of Gloves, not only was Wilkinson turning her attention towards her musical past to discern her musical future, but she was also learning to grow as a songwriter and, perhaps more importantly, as a musical collaborator – significantly, with band drummer and close friend Tim Commandeur.

AFTER A TRIUMPHANT RETURN TO THE AUSTRALIAN TOURING CIRCUIT AT FUTURE MUSIC, GOLD COAST INDIE-POPPERS OPERATOR PLEASE ARE WINNING A WHOLE NEW SLEW OF FANS WITH THEIR GAME-CHANGING ALBUM GLOVES. MITCH KNOX CHATS WITH AMANDAH WILKINSON ABOUT TEENAGE ANGST AND SELF-AFFIRMATION.

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ife is a funny thing. It has this slightly demented way of unfolding, and sometimes our greatest successes come when we least expect them. It’s like, one day, you’re a Gold Coast high school student in a Battle Of The Bands contest and then, boom, five years later you’re a chart-topping, ARIA-winning, internationally-touring youth sensation coming to terms with your adulthood and maturing musicianship. Okay, so it’s probably fair to assume life didn’t turn out quite like that for the majority of us, with the exception of chart-topping, employee-of-the-month-winning alpha salespeople at retail outlets, who probably feel like kings on a daily basis. But that’s how events unfurled for Amandah Wilkinson and her Operator Please bandmates, who first disturbed the national radar in 2007 with their single Just a Song About Ping Pong, quickly gaining a strong following amongst the indie faithful. Now, a full-

length album, myriad of festivals, international tours, an ARIA win and several nominations later, Operator Please have released their sophomore full-length effort Gloves, and lead vocalist Wilkinson is relieved to be able to finally move on from the build-up prior to its release. “I’m actually really excited about just getting the music out there,” she says. “I think because we spent most of 2009 working on it and recording it towards the end, we’ve had it, and we’ve been sitting on it for at least six months. Maybe a little bit less, maybe about four or five months, but still quite a long time to be working on a record and not being able to distance yourself from it.” Existing fans of the band will immediately recognise an influential shift in terms of sound from the output on their debut album Yes Yes Vindictive. As her focus diverted to more vocally melodic techniques, Wilkinson started exploring the music of her youth and adolescence, and

“With the first record, it was literally songs that had been born in my bedroom, playing into a tape recorder or something,” she recalls. “But on this one I really had to learn to be a little less selfish with the songwriting to benefit songs. I think a lot of the time during the writing process, it was really difficult for me to let somebody else in to have a look at what I was going through. So with Tim and I just being really close and stuff, he would just come in and give me ideas, and it took me a while to come around actually to taking them onboard because I can be such a selfish writer but it really broke down the boundaries for me, and I really started to learn how to kind of be brave with it and bounce ideas off somebody else in the room. “I’ve learned so much more. The last thing that you want to do is make a ‘part two’ to your first album, so it was something that I needed to do, and I needed to be ambitious about it as well. It was just something I needed to take full responsibility towards.” It’s only natural that with full responsibility comes full power, and so it is unsurprising that Wilkinson – with some help from Commandeur and Justin Tresidder – was completely in control of production on this record, and as such spent more time making sure the songs were exactly as she wanted them before moving on. “We decided to produce this record, so recording this time around was way different to on the first record,”

Wilkinson says. “We had all the songs for the first record nutted out live, so when we got into the studio, it was a case of moving around the structure of things and really refining the sound. When you’re going around, you’re watching live bands, you’re listening to new music, you start to learn more about the details of how songwriting works. I’ve always been a big believer of there not being any rules or limitations to the music you make, but you kind of learn different structures, and it’s something that you can analyse, and you can really move forward from your last record.” The group’s hard work has more than paid off following a positively received streaming of the album on MySpace, and with a June/July tour that culminates in an appearance at Splendour In The Grass, Wilkinson is eager to start touring the new material, and she shows little sign of wanting to slow down – ever.

I WAS REALLY SCARED OF ACTUALLY SHOWING THAT I HAVE AN EMOTIVE SIDE.”

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“I’m looking forward to just playing around Australia again. The first kind of tour we did was Future Music, and that was amazing,” she enthuses. “We haven’t played in Australia for such a long time and to come back and have the crowds really busy was really good. It was a good reception and we played pretty much the whole record with two songs from the old album and it went down really well, I thought. After this June/July tour, it’s like go, go, go from there. I see albums as stepping stones up until you maybe get to a big picture and then you move onto something new. If you can step up to the next mini-level or whatever for this record, then that would be amazing. So that’s why I’m kind of doing this selfaffirmation thing. I’m trying to be a bit ambitious with it.” WHO: Operator Please WHAT: Gloves (Virgin/EMI) WHEN & WHERE: Friday 18 June, Astor Theatre, Mount Lawley

HAPPY UNDERGROUND yourself against something that’s never going to happen. Embrace what you do have and what you are good at. I guess the older you get the better you get at that. I have no idea why we’ve lasted so long, honestly. I don’t really particularly think we’re anything special, I don’t think I’m anything special or anybody in the band is. People keep showing up to the shows, it’s inspiring and we keep doing it. As long as we can still excite ourselves with the music that we write... when that stops then I guess we stop. “I’ve been able to make a living and do my thing and live a life where I can try other things. Strung Out takes up a lot of time but I think I’m most proud of the fact that we’ve been able to do this and travel to so many cities and meet so many people. At the same time it gives you a chance to experience other things in life that you wouldn’t normally have the time to do, because you’re bogged down with other things. Every good thing in my life has come because of Strung Out and I will always embrace and appreciate that.”

HISTORY IS LITTERED WITH ONCE SEEMINGLY UNDERGROUND BANDS WHO HAVE SIMPLIFIED THEIR APPROACH TO CHASE THE DOLLAR. STRUNG OUT FRONTMAN JASON CRUZ TELLS BRENDAN CRABB HOW SUCH A TEMPTATION HAS NEVER BEEN A CONSIDERATION.

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f ever an album title summarised a band’s outlook, it would be Agents Of The Underground, the latest disc from Californian punk (and metal/hardcore) crew Strung Out. “I just think it’s embracing the fact that we’re not a mainstream band, that we’ve done everything through hard work and very little radio and media,” singer Jason Cruz tells Drum Media, shortly before heading off for band practice. “[It’s] just a testament to a working-class band; this is what we do and here we are.”

listening or being exposed to our band in some way, is that we’re just a bunch of guys that work our ass off, just like everybody else out there. We just happen to play music and we’re here for the music.” Have there been any points during the band’s career when they’ve had pressure from the outside to steer them towards accessibility and greater sales? “No, never. We’ve always been on Fat [Wreck Chords, their long-time label]; they’ve just let us do what we want and have faith that we are going to be Strung Out. I don’t think we’ve ever consciously tried to sound [like] or do anything.”

It must be a relief in some respects that the quintet can operate just outside the mainstream radar. “Hell yeah,” Cruz says. “I think it’s better actually. Everyone has their dreams and aspirations, but the reality of the situation is that you do it because you love doing it. You’ve got to work your ass off with anything that you do, and if there’s one thing that I hope people can walk away from

Having survived so long – last year marked the band’s 20th anniversary – without having to compromise is largely due to the members’ focus and dedication, not to mention that of their fan base. “I realise that not everybody’s going to like our style of music; we don’t appeal to everybody and that’s fine. We don’t have that radio sound. You realise that early on; not to break

20 • THE DRUM MEDIA 3 JUNE 2010

They’ve also managed to successfully distance themselves from any musical trends that have come and gone (and sometimes come back again) during the past two decades. Cruz suggests this has been easier than you may believe. “I don’t think about it too much. I guess when you do it all the time and you’re surrounded by it, you kind of tend to shy away from it. I tour so much and deal with this band so much that I don’t think about it. I don’t even listen to hardcore or punk too much; I listen to the bands that I like but I think it’s good to separate yourself from that, so you don’t get too wrapped up in what everyone else is doing. Then you [can] kind of come at it from a different perspective than anyone else. I don’t read trade magazines or any of that stuff. I don’t listen to too many bands that are big right now, because you bring different stuff to the table. The stuff I’m into is so different than anything that’s going on right now; I think it makes our music more interesting.” The band’s high-energy music has flirted with a number of styles throughout their seven-album career, yet their sound has remained distinctively theirs. Despite this, the vocalist has one particular musical goal that he’s yet to make a reality. “I think we’d write a bitchin’ acoustic record. I think it’s a testament to a band’s songs to be able to play them acoustic, strip it down without all the aggression and distortion. I think Strung

Out songs have always been that strong. I would like to do a record where we just do acoustic instruments. My band shreds, they’re all good, but I think it would be kind of cool. Some [fans] would probably bitch about it, but I think most are pretty open-minded. I think a lot of bands underestimate the versatility of their fans. I like to push people’s perception of the band. That’s my job in the band, to try and defy expectation and I think a lot of fans respect that. If the songs are good and the work is

I THINK WE’D WRITE A BITCHIN’ ACOUSTIC RECORD. I THINK IT’S A TESTAMENT TO A BAND’S SONGS TO BE ABLE TO PLAY THEM ACOUSTIC, STRIP IT DOWN WITHOUT ALL THE AGGRESSION AND DISTORTION.”

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quality, you can’t argue with that. I would like to rework some old songs; play different keys, different tempos, add different things to the songs and then try some new stuff. Maybe it’ll happen one day, maybe it won’t.” Even with a hard-won reputation as road dogs, such extensive trekking is still a unique balancing act. “Definitely the best things are being out on the road, being in a strange city and working,” Cruz enthuses. “You’re picking up your world, taking it out to the big world, working and doing the best that you can. I like not sitting around and waiting for shit to happen – I like going out and making it happen. The worst part is not having any quiet time. For me it’s hard to get some peace in your head sometimes.” WHO: Strung Out WHEN & WHERE: Friday 4 June, Prince Of Wales, Bunbury; Saturday 5, Capitol, Perth

BLAH BLAH BLAU! UK DJ/PRODUCER LEE MORTIMER HAS COME A LONG WAY SINCE MAKING MUSIC ON HIS COMMODORE AMIGA AT AGE 11. ON THE EVE OF HIS SHOW AT AMBAR THIS FRIDAY, MORTIMER TALKS BASSLINE, LABELS AND BANGERS WITH TROY MUTTON.

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ee is one of the most exciting producers and DJs in the UK right now... I don’t think anyone can touch him for that sound at the moment.” High praise indeed, even higher considering it comes from none other than Switch, one of the world’s major exponents of that fidget/bassline house sound currently exploding across the globe. Having toyed around with music at a very young age, it wasn’t until 1998 that Lee Mortimer got his first decks and tried out a variety of genres before settling on the sound that fired him up the most. “I went through phases of playing trance, tech/deep house and eventually came across Chicago jackin’ house and people like Derrick Carter, which just blew me away,” says Carter in hastily arranged email interview following a mix-up with the proposed phoner. “Then along came people like Switch, Trevor Loveys and Jesse Rose and I really got into their sound which eventually led me to where I am today.” Where that finds him is at the forefront of a scene blowing up in Europe partly thanks to himself and partner in crime Laidback Luke, who together produced one of 2009’s biggest hits, Blau!, a dancefloor banger that perfectly encapsulates Mortimer’s style of production and DJ sets. When asked if the scene is really just blowing up or if it has been for a while now, Mortimer is quick to point out while he’s been in this genre for some time, it’s relatively new in terms of mass-appeal. “I think it’s pretty darn big right now. There are loads of people playing it. When I started to DJ regularly maybe three years ago my sets definitely surprised a few people. Now it’s harder to make as much of an impact as all music has gotten bigger and louder so almost everyone on the bill is banging out massive tunes!” Not that competition is a bad thing, and he is also excited as the increased popularity of this style of music means it’s constantly changing. “The genre is definitely evolving though with Afrobeat, garage and dubstep influences coming through. I try my best to keep ahead of the game!”

HARD TOURING HAS MADE THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER THE BAND THEY ARE TODAY. TREVOR STRNAD EXPLAINS TO TRISTAN BROOMHALL THAT THEY WOULDN’T HAVE IT ANY OTHER WAY.

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He’s also not complaining given his own label, Wearhouse Music, is going from strength to strength since he started it in 2007, “as a way to release my own music”. Now he has released a plethora of his own tracks much-loved by DJs like Crookers, Annie Mac and Judge Jules, along with releases from other artists such as Foamo, HiJack, Andy George, Kelevra; the list goes on. “The label is great. It keeps me very busy and I’m very proud of it.” He’s not finished there either, with a bunch of new artists in the pipeline, he also has his eye on plenty of others: “Everyone outside of the label that I like I will hopefully sign one day. I’m working on it!” You’d think all the gigs, production and label-running may stress the guy out, but no such problems for Mortimer as he’s doing something he loves. “I can’t say that it’s stressful as there’s very little I do that I don’t enjoy. It’s not really a juggling act either as my agent sorts out my gigs at the weekend and Monday to Thursday I’m making music or running the label. Everything fits into place nicely. My only stress is making sure I’m at the airport on time. Never missed a flight yet!” So what can fans expect once he steps off his flight and walks into Ambar tomorrow night? “Big tunes all the way! Heavy basslines, nasty synths, cheeky samples and a damn good time. I never really plan what I’m going to play but I always bring out my own big tracks like Blau! and [recent Foamo collaboration] Superman. Plus if you request a track and I have it then I’ll probably play it so try your luck!” WHO: Lee Mortimer WHAT: Superman with Foamo (Wearhouse Music) WHEN: Friday 4 June, Ambar, Perth

AIR AOKI

Aoki was known mainly for his DJing and remixes. As he says, “People associate me with very aggressive dance music cause my DJ sets are pretty aggressive,” but this isn’t the genre he was born into. Aoki started out in the punk/hardcore scene, a scene he’s returning to with Bloody Beetroots pal Bob Rifo. “We’re called Rifoki,” he chuckles, “I’ve been playing the lead single in my set and Bob, they play a Rifoki track in their set as well. It’s interesting how we’re able to include something in our sets that’s against the grain, really fucking fast and hardcore. Some people probably hate it but this is just part of who we are.” There are many parts to Aoki as his forthcoming album will testify. The album, yet to be titled, will feature artists from the likes of Weezer to Kid Cudi and a mysterious artist by the name of Zuper Blahq who features on the first single I’m In The House and suspiciously resembles Will.I.Am. “It’s one thing to produce an album of instrumentals, its another to

Vocalist Trevor Strnad, the one man behind those distinctive screams and growls, is relaxing at home ahead of the next round of touring for Deflorate. “We’ve been pretty busy up until recently, we’ve had a bit of break,” he says. “We’ve done all over the place, everywhere except Australia. We did the typical amount of touring that we would do in the two years between albums but we just did it so back-to-back that we’ve accumulated a little bit of vacation time. It’s been pretty much full-on touring since 2003 [the year the band signed to Metal Blade], there’s been breaks, but we’ve been on the road for eight or nine months of the year.” Touring a new album isn’t always the easiest task but the band and fans alike are getting their heads around the technical content of Deflorate. “There’s been a lot of requests for particular songs like I Will Return I think has had the biggest response and it’s a jump for us to play the songs, they’re pretty technical, they’re definitely the most challenging songs that we’ve written to date, so getting them ready for that live set scenario was a difficult task. Now we’ve been playing them for a pretty long time they’re down to a tee. I Will Return is the fan favourite, Denounced, Disgraced has been going down well live too.” Deflorate has been one of the group’s best-received albums and it’s a relief for the group following a string of line-up changes. “The newest guy is Ryan and he’s been awesome,” explains Trevor. “He’s about two years in the band now so he’s not really that new to us anymore and we’ve played a lot of shows in that time with him. He’s

brought a lot of positive energy to the game, the guitarist that left the band, John, towards the end of things he wasn’t really contributing in anyway, no interviews, wasn’t writing anything, even when we were writing new songs he wasn’t even eager to hear them. We were like, ‘Fuck this, we gotta get someone new!’ “Ryan’s first shows with the band were in Iceland and Scandinavia and that was the first time we’d ever been there so that was a really exciting thing, especially since our music has so many roots in Sweden and Norway so it was really cool to finally go there and actually play.” Their current Australian tour sees them here with Unearth. “We’ve had a lot of experience with them because of our ties, both being on Metal Blade. When we were a young band coming out they took us on a tour they headlined of the US. We got along pretty good back then and now we’re a lot better of a band than we were back when they took us. I think we’ve got a pretty damn good show between the two of us. The last time we were down there was a tour with Cephalic Carnage, that must have been 2007 now. Even as a metal fan not too many really extreme bands get to even go on tour, you don’t really get to see too many bands like that. That’s another reason we think it’s cool to take a band like Cephalic or Brain Drill, we’ve toured with them as well.” WHO: The Black Dahlia Murder WHEN & WHERE: Sunday 6 June, Amplifier, Perth

DARK AND MOODY, THE TITLE OF CABINS’ ALBUM BRIGHT VICTORY DEFIES WHAT IT ACTUALLY SOUNDS LIKE. LEROY BRESSINGTON AND BRIN HINCHCLIFFE TAKE SCOTT FITZSIMONS THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF THEIR BAND.

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“I’m lucky because I have a really devoted loyal team, loyal staff, who work really hard on all the different stuff.” Teams dedicated to the smooth sailing of the clothing label and the record label [both named Dim Mak] and then “the producing, well, I just try to spend as much time as I can in LA when I’m not touring and when I’m on the road I’ll find time to work on the road and keep producing more tracks.”

lbum number four for Michigan based The Black Dahlia Murder dropped in September last year and, whatever tag the group’s lumped with, it undoubtedly fails to encompass the entirety of their complex sound. Deflorate is the latest evidence of the melting pot of influences that mould the quintet’s unique sound and set them far apart from the cookie-cutter bands that wear the tags these guys have shunned.

THE FUTURE’S BRIGHT

WE LOVE SOUNDS ISN’T HAPPENING ANYMORE IN PERTH, BUT CELEBRITY DJ/ DIM MAK MASTERMIND STEVE AOKI MOST CERTIAINLY IS. LIZ GALINOVIC FINDS OUT WHAT’S IN STORE NEXT FOR THE PARTY STARTER. teve Aoki has a CV that needs to be condensed into a zip file if it’s to avoid clogging up email accounts. A DJ, producer, clothing designer and label boss, amongst other things, and even then he harbours yet to be achieved aspirations of which he won’t mention for fear of a jinx. In light of all this it’s no wonder he titled his 2008 debut album Pillowface & His Airplane Chronicles, it may as well have been called ‘The Only Time I Sleep Is On Flights Between Shows’.

MURDER MOST FOUL

produce an album with features. I pretty much have features on every track so I’m really mixing it up with different kinds of genres. I have Rivers Cuomo from Weezer on a track, and I have some hip hop vocalists like Zuper Blahq, Lil Jon, Kid Cudi, Black Star and then artists like Sky Ferreira. I’m trying to mix it up so there’s a place for everything. And this album is going to be very different from what people will expect from me.” So far, the set for his June Australian tour looks to be an interesting one. No doubt it will feature the “aggressive dance” he’s known for, but fans shouldn’t be surprised if they’re treated to a dose of Rifoki hardcore punk between I’m In The House and the new track featuring Lil Jon. “The track with Lil Jon, it jumps out at you. I actually did two tracks with Lil Jon, one where I produced a track with Laidback Luke and we debuted it at WMC with Lil Jon and it went over so big for us. Such a big fun track and that’s something that I definitely think will come out in June for the tour.” Ever evolving and challenge pursuing, it begs the question who hasn’t he worked with that he would like to? In light of his diversity, the answer is not so surprising. “If I could pick anyone at any given time period I would love to pick someone like Mozart or Beethoven. To sit in a room and see how they compose music, where their heads are at, what they’re doing, how they’re writing; you wouldn’t want to even bother them, I’d just be a fly on the wall watching and soaking it in.” WHO: Steve Aoki WHEN & WHERE: Sunday 6 June, Villa, Perth

iding the influx of surprisingly brilliant oneword named Sydney bands that are dominating community radio playlists over there at the moment, Cabins are at the point now where they’re demanding an opinion. No longer amongst the gaggle of support acts around the city on a Friday night, they’ve signed to the prominent Sydney label Ivy League and their debut album Bright Victory is imminent. A dark and artistic rock record that immediately calls to mind their influences of Nick Cave and Tom Waits, it’s easy to believe it came from the hands and minds of guitarist/vocalist Leroy Bressington and drummer Brin Hinchcliffe, as they’re softly spoken and with succinct answers. First and foremost a live band, it’s an environment where they’d prefer people to first experience them. “We tried to get the live [feel] as much as we could in the studio, but I mean there’s only a certain amount of live-ness you can put into a studio time, in such a short amount of time as well,” says Hinchcliffe. They’ve done a fair job of it as well – Bright Victory is a visceral listen. Perhaps there’s no better indicator of their success in capturing the sound than the fact that their songs’ live versions are similar to that on disc. “There are certain songs that are different when we play them live, like the last song, Calling You Home, is a lot different to what it is on the CD. And we also have a backing track for Oceanic Blues that we use, but mostly they sound pretty spot-on.” The band enlisted the Hunters & Collectors horn section to spice up a few tracks on the album, which is one difference. “Yeah, none of us play – I think we had a trumpet, a French horn and a trombone and none of us play any wind instruments really. Except for the recorder; we can all play recorder,” says Bressington. “We thought we wanted to have horns in it, but we never thought it would be possible, until we found out we could,” he laughs. They have the folks at Ivy League to thank for

providing the money and contacts to make it happen. “Then we realised it was what we’ve always wanted.” The record’s sonic noir themes are mirrored lyrically, for the most, but it’s all reasonably veiled. “It’s more personal events that are portrayed in our lives; portrayed metaphorically through, I guess, folk tales and fantasy, dream-like stories,” says Bressington. “It’s pretty personal, in the way that I wouldn’t want to say exactly what everything in it means.” One track in particular, Catcher In The Rye, showcases that depth. “It’s not about the book; well, I guess it is. I don’t know if you know the story, but the guy who shot John Lennon, well he read the book and thought the book was about him, or something like that. [It’s about] Someone thinking their part of something when they’re not.” With the goal to release an album every year, the future looks busy for the band, but progression is also on the mind. They’re looking to broaden their genre and “pinpoint” their focus a little bit more. “I think the song I least like in Bright Victory would probably be Foes And Thieves, because of how atmospheric it is. I mean, I’m still happy with the song, but I think we rushed that song a bit in the songwriting process… I think we will really think more about the structure of the songs and just get deeper with them and hopefully next time we record we’ll have more time to do it and work on the songs.” WHO: Cabins WHAT: Bright Victory (Ivy League/Universal) out Friday 11 June WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 10 June, Prince Of Wales, Bunbury; Friday 12, Rosemount Hotel, North Perth THE DRUM MEDIA 3 JUNE 2010 • 21

SINGLES/EPS

WITH MARCIA CZERNIAK

cd reviews

ON THE RECORD

SINGLE OF THE WEEK CORDRAZINE Sunshine Rubber Records For those that remember Cordrazine for their track Crazy back in 1997, you may be wondering where the hell have they been? Finishing up in 1998, the band decided to get back together last year and 13 years since we last heard singer Hamish Cowan’s beautiful vocals we are treated to them again with new single Sunshine. The track radiates warmth from the beginning and is a nice way to reintroduce the band ahead of the album due out soon.

WASHINGTON Rich Kids Universal Megan Washington can do no wrong. If she seems to have all the makings of Australia’s next indie pop princess, it is because she does. Rich Kids is the perfect follow-up to How To Tame Lions, and is an upbeat, catchy pop track that has substance. The other tracks on the release are quality as well, with Someone Else In Mind and the very Laura Marling-esque Belly Of The Whale proving she has the diversity to sing across multiple genres and hold her own.

ADEM K

CRYSTAL CASTLES

I EXIST

Love Is My Velocity

Fiction/Universal Motown

Common Bond Records

One of the real workhorses of Perth’s music scene, The Community Chest is Adem Kerimofski’s solo debut. Best known for his work with Turnstyle and the Burton Cool Suit, Kerimofski plays pretty much every instrument on this one, having recorded it over the last few years in his garage in-between offering tasty treats off the album through some excellent solo gigs around town.

Crystal Castles’ self-titled debut was a polarising exploration of noise-electro, 8-bit blips and bleeps and the mix of sometimes screaming, sometimes soothing voice of Alice Glass. At 16 tracks it was probably too long, but the contrast between smooth, dancey electro (Crimewave) and jarring, abrasive noise like Alice Practice provided, if nothing else, a breath of fresh air. Now they’re back with their second (again self-titled) LP, and that patented ‘don’t give a fuck’ attitude. This time however, they clearly kinda do, and you know what? They’re better for it, with their sophomore effort being an altogether much more assured effort, with a clear direction and a solid 14 tracks that don’t outstay their welcome.

Our nation’s capital is known for many things, but recently it’s been churning out an unlikely share of rage fuelled punk, hardcore and metal. I Exist have dropped their debut LP just a over a year since playing their first shows, and it’s a pessimistic and dark place they’ve found themselves at with I: A Turn For The Worse.

The Community Chest

One of those treats was opener and lead single 200 Year Old Volkswagon, which already has my vote for the year’s best song title. Fortunately there’s a quality tune to back it up as Adem K shows off his love for Beach Boys’ style melodies, combining them with distorted guitars and an epic solo in a superb pop outing that would be a revelation live with a full band. Other songs falling into this category are power pop numbers Straighten Up and closer Window Frame.

John Mayer’s ability to make you swoon is out in force with this track. As it opens with that lush voice it is all going so well and while the subject matter isn’t too upbeat, he has you where he wants you, believing that he is singing to you and only you… and then Taylor Swift kicks in. And ruins it all.

Yet Adem K is far from a one trick pony as he turns off the amps for a few ballads along the way that highlight his quality tenor vocals. Burning Questions For Sportsgirl is another great song title but its jerky structure, veering from weird verse to smooth chorus, doesn’t work quite as well as the more standard Come On and the gorgeous Slumberpop Beauty Machine, which includes some amazing cello work by Kevin Gillam. Kerimofski shows off his creativity as he re-works an old classic into a techno rocker on Daisybell 2010 that’s both sad and funny at the same time. It’s just the song only an independent artist would attempt, and a perfect example of why the world needs more Adem K’s.

GOODNIGHT TIGER

PAUL BARBIERI

JOHN MAYER Half Of My Heart Sony

Crystal Castles

Opener Fainting Spells is all moody and slow, before first single Celestica goes from a potentially bland electro beat into a steamy chorus awash with white-noise and melancholy vocals. From there it’s not without the abrasive moments, Doe Deer comes in at a tight 1:37 with angry screaming outshone by its backing melody, while closer I Am Made Of Chalk is all kinds of freaky fucked-up. There’s a touch of ‘90s rave on offer with Baptism, and Suffocation is a pleasantly euphoric number in the midst of an album Kath himself has said was intended to be very bleak. Bleak is definitely achieved, but in a way that only serves to fire the imagination as only good, original music does. Funnily enough it’s a song that borrows a vocal sample of Sigur Rós’ Jónsi on their older track Inní mér syngur vitleysingur, creepily laid over a dark, driving industrial beat that takes the cake on what will surely end up being in many top 10 album lists for 2010. TROY MUTTON

I: A Turn For The Worse

For the most part the five-piece’s sound is grounded firmly in the realm of hardcore, but it’s the crust around the edges that’s of most interest. Between those subtwo minute slabs of grinding hate there’s sludgy, stoner riffing that’s an unlikely but fitting contrast to the more traditional sounds and somewhat akin to other groups of a similar ilk like Fall Of Efrafa or The Abominable Iron Sloth. The diversity of the tracks is exemplified on track four, Hymn Of The Hemplar, and the obvious influence on that little nugget of laid-back riffage is Sleep, of course. I: A Turn For The Worse can really be separated into two parts, the first being the nine sub-two minute tracks that begin the album, and the second half consists of the eight and a half minute A-Bomb Blues which is possibly a sign of what this group has in store as they evolve further. It’s in no way a dismissal of the first half of the record, it’s just that the longer format of A-Bomb Blues really dominates the disc and overbears upon the previous 18 minutes. Keep an ear out for the unlisted track at the end, an exemplary cover of Sleep’s Dragonaut. Definitely not your general hardcore faire.

TRISTAN BROOMHALL

Goodnight Tiger Independent This five-track release captures the essence of Goodnight Tiger and why so many people love them. The interchanging vocal harmonies of Jill Chrisp and Perrin Date compliment each other perfectly and along with the blissful melodies and sweet lyrics there is no wonder why this band are so good. With the duo recently growing to include Mat Marsh and Bex Chilcott, the fuller sound only makes them better.

COLLEGE FALL The Curse Of Us/The Flood Independent It has been three years since College Fall’s last release and, after some extensive touring overseas, they are back with a new album. And, if the two tracks on this double A-side single are anything to go by, it should be a winner for the band. The Flood is by far the standout track with Glenn Musto’s vocals capturing the almost heart-wrenching aspect of addiction with the track building to a high with what is described as a “drunken bar room choir”. Good stuff.

BLAME RINGO At The In-Between Independent At The In-Between is upbeat and energetic from the get-go and if you don’t like it, you are a fool. After their solid effort last year this band has come a long way since their Gable Arch Abbey Road video clip and while At The In-Between is a step away from the floating ethereal pop songs, it continues with the Blame Ringo tradition of releasing damn good tunes.

BERTIE BLACKMAN Peek-A-Boo Forum There is always a risk an artist takes when covering an iconic track, and Siouxsie & The Banshees 1988 track Peek-A-Boo is one of those tracks you could easily make a mess of. Never one to fall through the gaps though, Bertie Blackman proves once again she has the goods, capturing the essence of funky track and making it her own. And golly jeepers it is good! 22 • THE DRUM MEDIA 3 JUNE 2010

MIDNIGHT JUGGERNAUTS PARADES

SPIT SYNDICATE

The Crystal Axis

Foreign Tapes

Siberia Records/Inertia

Dot Dash

Obese Records

For their 2007 debut LP Dystopia, Midnight Juggernauts were clearly looking to the stars for inspiration with dreamy sci-fi landscapes abounding amongst very of-the-moment electro synths and thumping beats. Three years later and they’ve turned their focus to the eerie film scores of ‘70s horror films and shifted to a more poppy sound, yet without losing any of the prog elements that originally set them apart from peers like Cut Copy.

As the jazzy piano loops open Exile you can feel the influence of Hilltop Hoods still echoing through the halls of Obese Records, a label notorious for pigeon-holed rappers and the over-use of silver-bullet producers M-Phazes and Plutonic Lab. Thankfully, Spit Syndicate have taken literacy and articulation as their trademark and given a berth to the mind-blowing Adit (of Horrowshow) for a large amount of the production crafting a product that evades preconceptions, for the most part.

So while it has been a long time between drinks, after a few listens The Crystal Axis becomes a wait totally worthwhile. I say a few listens as the album works best as one collective effort; almost all tracks blend into each other creating a great flow that verges between synthpop singles like Vital Signs and the extended outro jams of tracks such as The Great Beyond.

Sydney outfit Parades has a release that for many will be inseparable from drummer Jonathan Boulet’s solo release a few months ago. Stylistically, the crossinfluences are undeniable with tracks like opener Dead Nationale and Marigold showcasing similar signature rhythms. However, where Boulet’s release was rebelliously young and infectiously live-in-the-moment, Parades explores another side of youth, that of time slipping away and the inevitability of growing up. The result is a fantastic balancing act – a release that stays true to the talents of the band, including Boulet’s penchant for beats, without being more of the same. The artistry of the album is in its ability to find a place on the more pensive side of the rapid-fire rhythms and to tone them down with vocals that never quite come to the foreground, as they swap between male and female parts, ebbing and flowing, calling and answering.

While singles like Vital Signs and This New Technology work fine enough on their own, it’s not until they are heard amongst the swirling, cinematic epicness that is the rest of the album that they really stand out as extremely catchy pop/rock tunes. Their divergence away from the electro tendencies present on Dystopia (note an almost complete lack of 4/4 beats), is a pleasant evolution for the trio where they could have easily just dipped back into that same well (looking at you Presets). Tracks like Lara Versus The Savage Pack, with it’s stomping beat and catchy riff, along with the trippy, at times melancholy verses found in Cannibal Freeway are all pieces of an epic sophomore album that shows “the difficult follow-up” is a thing of the past for those who are actually willing to evolve musically.

After a rollicking opening on Dead Nationale, the album really takes hold with its knockout track Hunter, a masterpiece of art-rock, full of paradoxes, most notably minimalist aesthetics in the vocal and key arrangements that erupt into full, chaotic drums. Like much of the album the song feels epically longer than it actually is, both because it leads perfectly into optimistic Past Lives and the seeking Invaders (Review) and because each song packs so much into the arrangements without ever losing the clear creative direction of Sydney’s hottest musical collective. Every track is a recognisable part of an almost uncategorisable whole that is better described as a landscape than an album and traverses postpunk, art-rock, Icelandic pop. However you class it and whatever you call it, it’s a damn good listen.

TROY MUTTON

MEGAN SMITH

Exile

Exhale is almost a new benchmark in Australian hip hop. Complex extended rhyme-schemes and a tuneful flow paired with a deep impatient anger echo Atmosphere circa Seven’s Travels. Produced by ex-Perth Melbournite J-Squared, the track is a collection of simple pieces transcending themselves. Starry-Eyed takes the same formula and swings it to great success. If you’ve ever wondered based on the sonic similarity of most cookie cut hip hop whether it’s all just made by the same dude in his bedroom, listen to this song. It’s a cluttered mess of offbeat handclaps and a mixture of swung and straight beats that somehow mesh together. Unfortunately, tracks like Crooks And Crimescenes and Showtime still borrow far too much party and bullshit bravado for artists that are obviously far more musical than that. Misogyny is no longer cool and nobody wants to hear the word ‘bartender’ in another hook ever again. Despite its flaws, it still makes an impact as one of the better hip hop records to come out of this country recently. Essential for fans of Bliss N Eso, Illy and Horrorshow. Leave it alone if you’re looking for a new era in Australian hip hop. LEWIS RYAN

CD OF THE WEEK

TAME IMPALA THE BLACK KEYS

TRANS AM

YOUNG HERETICS

Shock

Thrill Jockey

Boomtown Records

Even before tearing open the packaging to drop the circle bit in the magic music machine, this album presents itself with much aplomb. “This is an album by The Black Keys. The name of this album is Brothers” it explains earnestly, and I can’t help but hope that it is a return to form for the two-piece that so easily won my heart with Rubber Factory. Recent envoys into uncharted territory have yielded surprising results for the unlikely pair of Patrick Carney and Dan Auerbach with their awesome rap-rock-blues collaboration Blakroc being… well, awesome but now I want keys, not rock. But enough of this obsequious introduction and onto the task at hand.

The musicianship in Thing is amazing. Guitars are sometimes nimble, sometimes multi-ton lumbering dinosaurs that crush through cities, effects pedals are amply used and classy enough that I want to hear the sounds over and over, and the drums/bass combination on some of these songs are so tight all I want to do is nerd dance.

Commencing with an interlude of subdued Bjork-like vocals, We Are The Lost Loves announces itself with industrial style electronic drums sitting alongside piano and haunting tremolo guitar. Similar soundscapes are present across the entirety of the release with the Melbourne pop duo infusing their dramatic pop songs with tasteful flourishes of strings and orchestration.

Thing is the eighth album from three-piece Trans Am, and in their career (spanning three decades) they’ve been to irony and back again and also in between where they weren’t sure if they were being ironic or just making shit music. But they’ve stayed strong and solid. I have a theory with superhumanly talented guitar geeks: they love and embody spectacle. They want to be taken seriously (lyrics about sci-fi and said brilliant instrument control), and they want a real circus, an enjoyable ride, a fun time (vocoders and spooky synth).

The strength of this album lies in its varied instrumentation and conveying of dynamics. Matthew Wright and Kitty Hart carrying each song along with perfect control, restraining tracks such as Noah’s Ark and I Know I’m A Wolf from climax, whilst building tension for the inevitable crescendo of Bones Of A Rabbit and the free-jazz eruption of Trapperkeeper. However, the weakness of the release comes from the same source, as the lack of resolve to some tracks creates a listening plateau.

Brothers

The album opens with Everlasting Light, a driving gospel number with a few subtle Beatlesque pop touches. Swells and additional production make it epic but it’s still the Keys. The Dangermouse produced Tighten Up provides a big groove replete with organ flourishes before taking a left turn and rocking out. Instrumental Black Mud brings more heavy grooves before The Only One gets all pop on your ass like some spooky elevator musak in a Tarantino movie. In act two, the band loses the riffage in favour of some bottom heavy grooves before returning to riffage once more, all the while wailing about lost love and love lost and losing lovers. General blues fare, really.

Thing

One of the things that strikes me about this album is that it lacks standout tracks, yet I love that. Brothers is hard grooving white hot blues-rock from the Black Keys ideal for a Sunday in.

Thing covers both impulses with an impressive onetwo punch – the music flicks out at you with a tight space-funk rhythm like in Naked Singularity, or like Black Matter opens with pure otherworldly guitar sludge; and the music slides into the background, leaving your head nodding covered in the same subdued zombie exhilaration of playing a computer game, piloting a helicopter shooting the heads of alien scum, wearing nothing but socks and underwear and a tattoo across your lower back that says ‘Trans Am’s latest album is a great soundtrack for video games’ in Japanese letters.

LEWIS RYAN

SJ FINCH

We Are The Lost Loves

Another criticism lies in the vocal idiosyncrasies of Kitty Hart, which are unfortunately hit and miss, delivering on standout track Risk/Loss, but failing on Come Together. The witch-like voice that Hart, Julia Stone and other contemporaries seem to be adopting at the minute hopefully in hindsight won’t be a blemish on a great era of Australian vocalists of the finer sex. We Are The Lost Loves is a high quality release, evoking dark but welcoming imagery best listened to out the porch on a drizzly winter’s night with a glass of red. A rare release that’s edgy and experimental enough to sound fresh, but accessible enough for the mainstream.

Innerspeaker Modular

Timing is everything in music. Sonically it’s vital, but in the greater scheme of things it has an undeniable bearing on a band’s influence and scope. Back in 2006 Kevin Parker and Dom Simper of Tame Impala were in The Dee Dee Dums doing some pretty solid stuff. Besides their name, they haven’t changed that much for their sensational debut Innerspeaker, but the musical landscape has turned, considerably. You could easily argue they had a great hand in turning it, but either way the psychedelic is in, man – so dig it. Innerspeaker is a debut to be reckoned with. Kicking off with the double whammy of It Is Not Meant To Be and the groovy Desire Be Desire Go. Both songs are guitar heavy and set the path for what is to follow. The tripped out bliss of Why Don’t You Make Up Your Mind is pure psych-rock heaven. Solitude Is Bliss, with its Brit-pop riff in combination with a Cream-like stomp and chorus, is undeniably brilliant. It’s a riff that invades your brain and you find yourself humming it during day to day activities – not in a Kelly Clarkson shoot-me way, but an enjoyable way. The instrumental Jeremy’s Storm is another highlight, and the heavy/ soft combination of Runway, Houses, City, Clouds just rounds off the record brilliantly. This is a debut that will put our local music scene back on the international radar. A beautiful technicolour rainbow has sprouted over Perth in the form of Tame Impala and the boys are chilling out under it with guitars, drums, keyboard, fuzzy riffs and undeniable groove in tow – dig it. NICK SAS

LUKE BUTCHER

THE DRUM MEDIA 3 JUNE 2010 • 23

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THE DRUM MEDIA 3 JUNE 2010 • 25

THE GOOD BOOK

ALT-COUNTRY OUTFIT THE JUSTIN WALSHE FOLK MACHINE RELEASE THEIR SECOND RECORD, WALKING TO CHINA, THIS WEEKEND. TED SCHLECHTE TALKS TO WALSHE ABOUT SWEAT, WHISKEY AND THE NEW TUNES.

AFTER TWO YEARS OF PREACHING TO THE CONVERTED, AND SCARING THE REST, SWAMP ROCKERS THE BIBLE BASHERS TELL MATTHEW HOGAN HOW THEY’VE POLISHED A TURD.

T

he Maylands Peninsula Hotel for Friday afternoon drinks may not be the venue of choice for most bands in Perth but, then again, few bands are quite like The Bible Bashers. With a pedigree of The Beverly Killbillies, a true staple of the Hyde Park Hotel’s final years under Higgins reign, and the more recent Fear Of Comedy and Cal Peck & The Tramps, the four, soon-to-be-five piece play a dirty brand of swamp rock. When they’re not preaching to drunken punters, they’re getting sweaty on the soccer field, as they were at the Crustacean Cup at Wellington Square over the recent WAMi Festival weekend. Representing the Mighty Tyranocraps, Bashers frontman Laith says drummer John was their star player in their losing effort to the more indie rock oriented Crabs FC. “I was on in ragged five minute bursts, fitness permitting,” recounts John. “I managed to bodily assault several members of the opposition, which was good fun, and without a red card as well. It reminded me of the perils of smoking 10 joints a day and x number of cigarettes. Pretty shameful really.” While they claimed the ‘moral victory’, the Bashers think the match may have been fixed. “They thought we were going to get flogged and we came a draw until the penalties, and there’s some dispute over the validity of said penalties,” Laith argues. “They hired the referee so they would have been exchanging money with the gentleman in question,” claims John. “This is the type of thing that has tainted football in general worldwide, and to see it happening on such a small scale in our local music community just disgusts me. But, such is life.” Bitterness aside, The Bible Bashers first started jamming upstairs at the now closed-down Northbridge shop Chainsaw Horror in 2008 after their previous bands called it a day. “I suppose we were both each other’s rebounds to start with,” says the drummer. “Both our bands ate shit over the course of about four or five days. We just ended up at the pub and realised that we

26 • THE DRUM MEDIA 3 JUNE 2010

MADE IN CHINA

didn’t just want to sit idle, and we got down to it and something actually came of it.” “It was actually quite easy to get the first batch of songs together,” continues Laith. “It’s not pretty what we do, but we do it! We had an original bassist, he left and we replaced him with Byron from Cal Peck & The Tramps.” Soon thereafter, the Bashers started treading their own path by launching a book of lyrics. “I’ve been playing in bands and gigging at the Hydey for the last 10 years,” explains John (ex-Beverly Killbillies, along with guitarist Lulu), “so I’ve been writing lyrics for a long time. And after a while you get a bit shat off that no one’s ever going to hear one single properly pronounced audible word in the midst of all that case, so write them down.” “That gig was probably a highlight because a lot of people only come out when it’s a launch,” continues Laith. “A lot of people thought it was our CD launch. They got had, but we had a great night. We had a bunch of back-up singers, that was pretty good, and we’re carrying that over to The Bashettes for the launch.” This time around they’re launching music in the form of a seven track EP recorded by the Reverend Max Ducker at Cellar Sessions. “We’ve had a good relationship with Max because he used to be the Hydey sound guy for many years,” says Laith. “He gets that style of dirty rock’n’roll and swamp sounds, so it was pretty easy to work with him. It’s two sessions combined and we’ve polished a turd, so we’re pretty happy with it.” WHO: The Bible Bashers WHAT: The Bible Bashers (Independent) WHEN & WHERE: Saturday 5 June, The Den, Inglewood

O

riginally from Victoria, troubadour Justin Walshe made his way over to Western Australia four years ago, defying the trend of leaving the Perth area for the bright lights of Sydney or Melbourne. Not only is the Fremantle based performer unconventional in regard to the direction he flies, his music is also a bit left of centre. An amalgamation of country and folk, it has been dubbed as ‘pubfolk,’ a designation the singersongwriter is pleased to accept. “I kinda like that term. I guess what I don’t like about folk, which you see at a lot of the big folk festivals, is this kind of quaint attitude. I don’t find it very appealing,” Walshe confesses. “When put in the context of a pub, it gets bruised or killed. To keep this folk thing alive and enjoyable, you have to either roughen it up a bit or make it a bit meatier.” Although folk music has been rejuvenated over the last few years, with a number of new groups bringing the genre back into prominence, Walshe admits that he has not really noticed this trend. “I’ve had a few people mention that to me recently,” Walshe says. “I don’t really know, to be honest, because it’s always been the kind of music I play. I don’t really have the antenna out there. As far as I’m concerned, there’s always been plenty of it. However, for so many others a big resurgence is clearly happening as we speak.” Since The Man Without A Bag – the debut from the energetic troupe – the band has been touring endlessly, yet they have miraculously found the time to put together a sophomore disc. Entitled Walking To China, listeners embark on a journey through Australia’s past through the eyes of modern musicians. “One thing that was so exciting about making it is that these stories are old stories, but new to me,” he laughs. “Largely because of that, they are thrilling; and they get the heart pumping and the brain ticking. Making it all current, as well as putting a voice, unique personality and a profound context behind it was hard, though.

“The first album was full of light-hearted, ridiculous songs like Love Machine and Libido, which are bawdy with a really prevalent sense of humour,” Walshe muses, still selfadmittedly a bit worn out from a journey down to Nannup. “This album doesn’t contain much of this at all. There is only a bit of tongue-and-cheek with Miss Whiskey, really.” As for the recording process, which took no less than 18 months, Walshe has a tale or two to share. “It all started in the middle of a tour in 2008. We had two days off in Melbourne and we made the decision to record on one of them. The rest was finished over here in a more orderly fashion [at Studio Couch]. One of the goals was to record it live and together in a good room,” he expresses. “The place that we recorded in Melbourne was supposedly built in the ‘70s for The Little River Band,” Walshe exclaims. “It was all last minute, but these guys that we got in touch with told us that they had the perfect room for us. It was a big and stinky rehearsal studio with lots of rock star sweat on the walls,” he says of Deluxe Studios, where The Living End and Hunters & Collectors have also cut material. As for the live show, “There’s a lot of ranting and raving on my behalf,” Walshe begins. “I find this hard to resist, for better or for worse,” he chuckles. “It’s basically a more fired up take on what we do in the studio. It’s everything we do, but with a bit of extra adrenalin thrown into the mix. We want to work hard and work up a sweat to show that we’re working hard for our people.” WHO: The Justin Walshe Folk Machine WHAT: Walking To China (Independent) WHEN & WHERE: Sunday 6 June, Mojo’s Bar, North Fremantle; Tuesday 8, Charles Hotel, North Perth

THE LAVETTE SONGBOOK AS SULTRY AS EVER, BETTYE LAVETTE HAS SURPRISED THE MUSIC WORLD BY RELEASING AN ALBUM FURNISHED WITH SOUL-INFUSED REPRESENTATIONS OF BRITISH ROCK. TED SCHLECHTE TAKES A PEAK INTO HER ECLECTIC WORLD.

F

or those who refuse to admit that the human voice is as powerful an instrument as anything else, Bettye LaVette would most certainly be unfamiliar. Born in Muskegon, Michigan in 1946 as Betty Haskins, this American soul singer-songwriter simply defies pure classification. Instead, LaVette claims she has always been content with doing things her own way, never one to make musical concessions. At the tender age of 16, Bettye and local record producer Johnnie Mae Matthews put out the single My Man – He’s a Lovin’ Man. This became a Top 10 R&B hit for the teen and she followed it up with the immaculate Let Me Down Easy, which shepherded her into The James Brown Revue. LaVette has a million and one other tales to tell although you would need an entire book to do her life story any justice. One thing is for sure though – this modest star has been fervidly interested in the entertainment world since donning nappies. “My mother told me that I used to sing whole songs when I was just two years old,” LaVette begins. “I think that having a jukebox in our living room from when I was born to when we moved to Detroit had a greater influence on me than anything else. My family sold corn liquor and we had these gatherings in which we’d all sing a wide range of songs, quite dissimilar to the lives of most of my friends. I had to be the only child in the first grade that knew all of the words to Chattanooga Shoe Shine Boy.” Focusing on the present, LaVette has just recently released Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook. Whilst it may not be the most likely choice of a record from a black American soul musician, it works. Her raspy alto fuses with brilliant instrumentation, ultimately turning the originals into her own. She tackles Lennon, McCartney, Zeppelin, the Stones and many more, but it was her version of The Who’s Love Reign O’er Me that

FAITH IN DANCE MAXI JAZZ REVEALS THE LATEST FAITHLESS ALBUM TOOK SHAPE AT SUCH FAR-FLUNG LOCALES AS JAMAICA AND A NORFOLK PIG FARM – BUT NINA BERTOK DISCOVERS AN URBAN NIGHTCLUB HEART STILL BEATS AT THE CENTRE OF THE DANCE.

got the ball rolling. “I did a nationwide television special here in America called the Kennedy Center Honors, in which I played Love Reign O’er Me. They picked three Americans that they thought had contributed to show business, period, and we received an overwhelming response from it,” she states. “It was my husband who put forth the idea of doing a British rock album and I said, ‘As long as you can find the tunes, I’ll look into it.’ Sure enough, he found around 1265 tunes and gave me about 300 of them,” LaVette laughs in her trademark husky voice. “He’s a record historian and knows all kinds of music, but this particular genre is his forte. I wanted to find extremely recognisable material without the listener being able to immediately recognise it.” How many of LaVette’s interpretations was she familiar with before delving into the project, one may ask. “It’s funny because I’m not a music enthusiast at all. My husband said, ‘You knew seven songs before I showed them to you.’ When I asked him why he told me that, he replied, ‘Because someone is going to ask you that when you do interviews,’” LaVette chuckles. “We knew that these tunes would generate questions.” When asked if she still has the voice of yesteryear, Bettye responds immediately. “Oh no, thank god,” she exclaims. “I’ve got a better voice now,” she guffaws. “When it was younger and stronger, I couldn’t really handle it – it just went where it wanted to go. I had that teeny energy and so I just pushed it to be bigger and louder. Now I can do pretty much whatever I want to do with it. I’ve definitely mastered how to work it.” WHO: Bettye LaVette WHAT: Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook (Anti/Shock)

I

t’s often at 3am, when the rest of the world is fast asleep, that genius strikes Faithless rapper Maxi Jazz and future classics are born. It’s precisely how hits like Insomnia and God Is A DJ came about over a decade ago, and it’s the same way Faithless’ sixth studio album The Dance has come to be in 2010. Far from people and technology, somewhere in Jamaica, Max Fraser put pen to paper and set in motion the most introspective and lyrically-contemplative album of the British collective’s career. “I do stay up all night when I am working because there is something special about the night time, when everyone else is asleep,” says Fraser. “When it’s day time, the atmosphere is thick and full of everybody else’s vibes, whereas at night when people are asleep, there is a lot more space to be creative. There is a lot more energy available to soak up. I was in Ibiza on the beach recently, by myself in a quiet area, just doing bugger-all, when all of a sudden I realised that I just had basslines frantically running through my head. It was crazy, just one after another, and really good basslines. If there had been a studio 10 minutes away from this beach, I would have quickly ran over and put them down immediately. That’s when it struck me that in order to be creative, I have to be in a situation where there is no stress. Other artists talk about working under pressure and how it’s good for them – that could never work. It’s just impossible. I have to be in a space where energy is not being depleted.” The ideal getaway, therefore, was Fraser’s mother’s private home on the island of Jamaica – a location where the rapper knew peace and scenery would both be in abundance. And so began the makings of The Dance. “It was the only place I could think of where I knew every time the phone rang, it definitely wouldn’t be for me. It really is one of those things where the

environment you’re in influences your output. I don’t see how musicians who live in the city can have that kind of clarity anymore. The hustle and bustle of meetings, people coming in and out, running errands in the meantime, being able to just pop out for a quick lunch, or this or that – how can anybody focus on creativity?” With isolation being key, Fraser claims the rest of the album was recorded and mixed outside of London too – Faithless producer Rollo’s studio in the Norfolk countryside. “It takes, like, three-and-a-half hours to drive out there!” Fraser laughs. “It’s a real pig farm. We were joking that he should sell up his farm and come back to London, at least that way maybe we won’t take as long between albums!” While still quintessentially Faithless in sound and propelling the DIY ethic of the early dance scene, album number six sees producers/remixers Rollo and Sister Bliss up the ante in the studio, getting their hands on plenty of new technology and generally modernising the group’s sound. “I know how Rollo and Bliss operate,” states Fraser. “They look for an authentic voice that has a tone and a sound of sincerity. The X factor is somebody singing from the heart, that’s what makes a great song. When we did Insomnia and God Is A DJ, they were big hits and a whole bunch of unscrupulous DJs and producers jumped onto that sound straight away. Suddenly there were all these sound-alikes all over the place using the sound that Sister Bliss created. We can’t really go back to that sound because it’s dated now anyway.” WHO: Faithless WHEN & WHERE: The Dance (Nate’s Tunes/ Liberator)

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LIVE

3 - 9 JUNE 2010 live@drumperth.com.au

GIG OF THE WEEK :

FEATURE REVIEW TAME IMPALA METROPOLIS FREMANTLE 27/05/10 This is the gig you’ll tell your kids about in 20 years. “I was there before Tame Impala took over the world,” you’ll tell little Johnny as he looks at you with a ‘yeah whatever’ expression. Perth’s own Tame Impala are on the brink of superstardom and Thursday night showed why it’s so.

HOLLY MIRANDA @ MANHATTANS

There are plenty of reasons to get excited about this show. Firstly, Holly Miranda is the only artist heading west from the Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson-curated Vivid Festival in Sydney; secondly, she’s the first international touring act to take in the newly renovated Manhattans in Victoria Park (which, by the way, is looking rather stellar); and thirdly, it’s plain awesome to go out on a Tuesday night. In addition to Reed and Anderson, Miranda’s also got a major fan in Kanye West, who pimped one of her tracks on his website a year ago. Yep, just about everyone is realising her talents. Her solo album The Magician’s Private Library achieved CD Of The Week status in this here mag when recently released, and was produced by Dave Sitek from TV On The Radio. Catch the magic on Tuesday 8 June. Felicity Groom & The Black Black Smoke and Rabbit Island support. Tickets from Moshtix $25 plus BF or $30 on the door from 8pm.

FRONTLASH

BACKLASH

ROUND BALL WINS

GABRIELLA CILMI

The extended trading permits for bars and pubs across Perth to cover the World Cup period are a win for a) sense b) culture c) social experimentation (we can’t wait to see what happens when you lock up a bunch of soccer fans with booze til 5am).

She regrets going topless, saying a British men’s magazine “removed my top.” Hmmm, obviously the young ‘woman on a mission’ is yet to learn what it is to be an empowered woman – and be able to say no.

NA-BOO

Even Sarah Ferguson knows how to say no, it being revealed in a new biography that she apparently declined a $3 million offer to have a bonk with a Saudi prince. Shame, would have been the closest to royalty Fergie will ever be likely to get to again. And good pay too…

Mike Fielding a.k.a. Naboo’s DJ sets on the weekend sadly sucked mightily bad balls. Yet, for non-believers, this proved DJing is indeed an artform, as also superbly argued by Brett Rowe’s weekend effort of playing Bloodhoud Gang’s Fire Water Burn as soon as the Rocket Room’s fire alarm went off.

EUROVISION

Sure we frontlashed it last week, but that was before we saw the added bonus of Spain’s song being invaded by the country’s own rising ‘serial pest’. Gold.

To kick proceedings off the smartly dressed Wolves At The Door played an amicable brand of atmospheric pop. They won the Path To Laneway competition and it’s pretty clear why. Tame Impala’s new next of kin, The Silents, followed. The boys have realised psychedelia is the new black and have set about re-working their sound to compensate. And for the first three tracks, including a grittier Nightcrawl, the new direction sounded amazing. Lloyd Stowe’s vocals suit the psychedelic sound and the boys were obviously enjoying themselves. But, like a bad trip, as the gig wore on the new tracks wore a little thin. To improve the intensity ,Stowe resorted to howling into the microphone but. like a juvenile wolf learning off his dad, it didn’t really sound right. Despite the band’s obvious talent, their live show with their new material is still a work in progress. Coming out on stage to probably their biggest solo gig in their fledgling career Tame Impala looked a little nervous. Opening with tame

versions of It Is Not Meant To Be and the fantastic Desire Be Desire Go probably wasn’t the fantastic bombastic start they were hoping for – the intermittent wave of severe feedback didn’t help. But, eventually, the sound issues were sorted out and an epic performance of the dreamy Why Don’t You Make Up Your Mind? got the boys back on track. It must have been pretty daunting for them, as lead singer Kevin Parker said, “We can’t be full-on rock stars tonight, our friends and family are here.” A trippy Sundown Syndrome and an instrumental-freak out in the form of Jeremy’s Storm got the mixed crowd into the game. But it wasn’t until the ‘best-of’ 15-minute melody that the lads showed why so many, including this reviewer, are predicting them to be the biggest thing to come out of Perth since Luc Longley. The instantly recognisable fuzz-riff of Solitude Is Bliss kicked the melody – and the crowd – into gear. Parker’s voice just soared through the venue and it got everyone in attendance nodding their heads in awe. An extended Half Glass Full Of Wine followed, and by gosh did that get the kids moving. By this stage the lads were in fifth gear ripping up the stage with a reserved assurance that suits their music so well. To close, like any good psychedelic lovein, The Silents joined them onstage and a group sing-along to I Don’t Really Mind ensured. The boys waved goodbye. God knows, next time they wave goodbye to us it will be with the world on the Tame Impala bandwagon. NICK SAS

FERGIE FAILURE

DE-SEXED

With the final Sexy happening this weekend, it’s a sad day for The Republic.

DRUM MEDIA PRESENTS :

LAURA MARLING

ONGOING: GIGNITION: Upcoming band showcases 5-9pm each Sunday at Swan Basement. NEXT BIG THING: WA’s biggest band competition, entries closed. ROCKET ROOM’S LATE NIGHT LIVE: Each Friday. This week catch Self Made Guru and The Generators. CUT & PASTE DVDs: Quarterly DVD street press. PERTH DANCE MUSIC AWARDS 2010 DEC

SUGAR ARMY

SHOWS:

GODSKITCHEN: MARKUS SCHULZ, GARETH EMERY, ROGER SHAH: JUN 11 Metro City DEAD LETTER CIRCUS: JUN 11 Prince Of Wales, JUN 12 Capitol SHAPESHIFTER: JUN 12 Villa OPERATOR PLEASE, TIM & JEAN, CHAINGANG: JUN 18 Astor Theatre SUGAR ARMY: JUL 1 Indi Bar, JUL 2 Prince Of Wales, JUL 3 Amplifier, JUL 4 Mojo’s REVELATION PERTH INTERNATIONAL FILM

FESTIVAL JUL 8-18 Astor Theatre

Workshops

SALLY SELTMANN: JUL 17 Rosemount

ONE MOVEMENT FOR MUSIC: OCT 6, 7, 8 & 9: Perth Esplanade, Parmelia Hilton Hotel and surrounds

KASABIAN: JUL 30 Metro City

SARAH BLASKO: NOV 5 & 6 Astor Theatre

MIDLAKE: AUG 4 Capitol

PARADISE IN BALI: NETSKY, MAKOTO, KRUST, DIE, MATRIX & FUTUREBOUND, SQUIRE, BUNGLE, UTAH JAZZ, SHOCKONE, Q-BIK, KIM DELA HAYE, DJ LOW, JAVABASS CREW, DJ AKI, RAGGA TWINS, MC WREC: NOV 14 & 15 Lotus Pond, GWK, Bali

THE SOFT PACK: JUL 10 Rosemount

LAURA MARLING, BOY & BEAR, JOHNNY FLYNN: AUG 8 Capitol MIDNIGHT JUGGERNAUTS: AUG 14 Capitol ROTTOFEST: AUG 27-29 Rottnest Island HYPERFEST: AUG 29 Midland Railway

TAME IMPALA BY ANTHONY TRAN THE DRUM MEDIA 3 JUNE 2010 • 29

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FEEDBACK KATY STEELE

Artbar, Perth Cultural Centre 27/05/10 Through the glass doors of the WA Art Gallery, it seemed less like a gig and more like a gathering of the upper bourgeoisie, with wine flowing and so much chatter that the darkly alluring sounds of Abbe May were muffled to the point of being background music. You can’t blame people for being distracted; there was a lot to take in, with the music sharing the limelight with Patricia Piccinini’s amazing Relativity exhibition. This reviewer was so enthralled by the art that I actually thought one of the silicone-crafted children was real. I’d like to think I’m not alone on this one. When Katy Steele took the stage, underneath one of Piccinini’s hanging artworks, the crowd hushed up, but not enough for Steele, who told the audience to ‘shhhh’, in her bratty but endearing style. Steele clearly has a lot of die-hard fans, who sang along with gusto for Little Birdy favourites Relapse and Beautiful To Me. However, Steele did warn fans, “Sorry if you just wanna hear Birdy songs it’s just not gonna happen.” New songs like Hide Away see Steele head in a new, more mature direction but it does sound a little forced. With such a unique voice, she would do better to go with its natural, higher pitched sound, rather than trying to go for deep and sultry. Steele is clearly in her element on stage but it seems she needs more self-assurance; she told punters to add her on MySpace and Facebook and admitted that she is so intimidated by seeing her friend Abbe May perform that she can’t watch her open for her.

FEELING LUCKY PUNK?

COOKING WITH GAS

Lucky Dip is the name of the new open mic variety night at Double Lucky and it kicks off tonight Thursday 3 June. Each night has a theme artist and tonight’s is The Doors, so performers are encouraged to put their own twist on a Doors song. Nicko & The Mong will also perform a set of our original acoustic rock each week. It kicks off at 8pm.

This Thursday 3 June, Gasoline Inc play Mojo’s. These guys play straight up rock and have the look to go with it. This year they’ve sold out the Rosemount, packed the Fly By Night and, now that they’re bringing their slick rock sound back to Freo, expect it’ll be packed. Supports on the night are The New Year, The Corner and Homebrewe. $8 from 8pm.

GURU GENERATOR This Friday 4 June, Drum Media’s Late Night Live heads back to the future when the adrenalin rush of Self Made Guru rip it up after midnight alongside The Generators cranking out New York punk with a UK clash. When he ain’t on stage, Benny Mayhem glues it all together in the dual role of DJ and MC banging out the badness until 3am. $5 from 11.30pm.

DIRTY RAT After making a name for himself in The Homicides, Donald James Rat a.k.a Donny Rat (once frontman of The Homicides) is set to make his solo debut this Saturday 5 June at The Den. In support of The Bible Basher’s EP launch, he’s expected to play a raw, wired, tense set of primeval heartache. The Trevallys, The Bashettes and DJ Rex Monsoon are also set to appear.

HYTE CRIMES Get set for a fully-charged, hard rock experience this Saturday 5 June when Hyte headline the Rocket Room. Joining the psyche-tinged power trio is the fuck yeah thrill ride of Diamond Eye and their glam rock anthems, a rock hard even flow from State Of Order and a degenerate drunk punk drenching from The Corner.

QUICKSAND On Thursday 3 June The Den in Inglewood will showcase six high-class acts on two stages. That’s six, so you’d better get there quick at 8pm to witness the stellar line-up featuring the rock of Quick, plus Ducks On A String, Furchick, Super Games, Craig McElhinney and Heroes & Heart Attacks. Entry is $5 on the door.

G-RADIENT For you blues fix this long weekend look no further than Gerard Maunick, who will be playing with his band and Tina Simone at The Stirling Club for Albany Blues Club tonight 3 June. Tomorrow Friday 4, the Maunick Trio take in the Langford Alehouse.

FRAYED AND TORN

BAD RELIGION

This Friday 4 June at the Norfolk Basement is the perfect time to catch up on lost time and see Freya Hanly, who has only made rare appearances this year. Accompanied by the beautiful Melanie Robinson on cello and vocals, Hanly has the honour of supporting Liz Stringer. All up it’s set to be a perfect way to spend a wintery June night from 8.30pm.

EUROVISION 2010 TOP SONGS

KIM FISHER

1. Satellite LENA (Germany) 2. We Could Be The Same MANGA (Turkey)

HAVE YOU HE ARD...?

3. Playing With Fire PAULA SELING & OVI (Romania) 4. In A Moment Like This CHANEE & N’EVERGREEN (Denmark)

CAL PECK & THE TRAMPS

TRAMP STAMP EAGLE AND THE WORM FROM: Melbourne Next gig: Supporting Dan Kelly – Friday 4 June @ Amplifier Bar. Your sound: Fuzz, boogie, guitars, harmonies, and 1’s, 4’s and 5’s. Band’s name comes from? Eagle And The Worm is a metaphor for “highs and lows”. Band’s greatest strength? We have nine dudes in our band – lot of stuff you can do with nine dudes. Arranging music for nine people is pretty exciting. Band’s best gig ever? Our first ever jam was pretty great – I schmoozed everyone into joining the band with potato chips and beers. Best achievement? Getting nine people together and making sweet music. Any gig in history? Woodstock.

2010 WAMI nominated Best Blues & Roots Act Cal Peck & The Tramps make their return to the Mustang Bar with a Thursday night residency for the first two weeks of June starting tonight Thursday 3 June. With support from sultry swamp act Cat Black, this show is free entry, so don’t miss out.

ONE-MAN MAYHEM PROJECT Project Mayhem frontman Ben Watson a.k.a Benny Mahem will dust off his acoustic guitar for the first time in nine years this weekend and perform at the inaugural Father Ted Night this Sunday 6 June at Friar Tucks’ Restaurant in Wannanup. Inspired by the annual Ted Fest in County Galway, Ireland, the event will raise money for the Childrens’ Ward at Peel Health Campus. Tickets are $50 per head and include a two-course meal, available from Friar Tucks by calling 9534 4788. Project Mayhem also join The Spitfires at Rocket Room on Friday 4 June.

5. Drip Drop SAFURA ALIZADEH (Azerbaijan) 6. Me And My Guitar TOM DICE (Belgium) 7. Apricot Stone EVA RIVAS (Armenia) 8. OPA GIORGOS ALKAIOS & FRIENDS (Greece) 9. Shine SOFIA NIZHARADZE (Georgia)

10. Sweet People ALYOSHA (Ukraine)

WILCO (THE TRIBUTE) Since the band’s beginnings in 1994 from the ashes of alt-country darlings Uncle Tupelo, the music of Wilco has had an immense influence on musicians all over the globe. Here in WA, a select collection of talented local performers will pay tribute to the band at Mojo’s on Thursday 10 June. The Ghost Hotel, The Jayco Brothers, The Quixotics, Kim McDonald & The Port Town Players, Mister & Sunbird, Davey Craddock and Stuart Nugent hit the stage from 8pm for $15 entry.

Fave hangover cure? Berocca.

SHORT FAST REPORT

ARKAYAN

PUNK AND HARDCORE WITH STU HARVEY In the lead up to the release of their massively anticipated new album Deep Blue, Parkway Drive have announced the Deep Blue tour. True to form the band have put together a quality line-up to join them on the trip around the country. Supporting the band on their album release run will be American acts The Devil Wears Prada and The Ghost Inside plus rounding out the massive line-up are local lads 50 Lions. Tickets go on sale June 11 for Sunday 3 October at Challenge Stadium. You talk a good game Jay Bentley. The bassist knows exactly what to say to get Bad Religion fans excited about the forthcoming album: “I’ve heard Greg and Brett both saying that if our last three records were the Suffer, No Control and Against The Grain of the 2000s, then this would be Recipe for Hate. I said, ‘You’re leaving Generator out’, and Brett said, ‘Yeah but that’s intentional’. Then, listening to the material, it sort of is Generator mixed in with Recipe for Hate. There’s gonna be a lot of stuff that’s gonna surprise people on this record.” Remember a few months ago Fat Mike’s Cokie The Clown incident from the SXSW music festival in Texas where it was reported that the NOFX frontman decided to top up a bottle of patron with his own urine before he then went and handed out shots to the waiting crowd? This week he revealed that it was all a swindle, when a video was posted showing the veteran punker switching bottles before he went on stage. A video of the switch on the Fat Wreck Chords website ends with the word “suckers” appearing on the screen. Funny stuff, Mike. Congratulations to Philly pop-punkers The Wonder Years who just inked a deal with Hopeless Records. “Hopeless was the right choice for us. We’ve never been concerned with sounding like the other bands on a label. I mean, when we signed with No Sleep there were two other bands on the label. One sounded like Botch and the other sounded like Modest Mouse. For us, it’s more important that a label gets us and what we want to do and after a ton of meetings with Hopeless, we know that it’s the right home for us.”

Fave Perth bands? Little Birdy, Felicity Groom.

NOAH’S ARK

SHORT FAST REPORT TOP 5

Fave bands from your state? Greasers, Grizzly Jim Lawrie, Downhills Home, The Hello Morning.

Melbourne’s Full Scale Revolution and Tim McMillan Band have recruited another local debutant to open with Arkayan bringing the noise. Firstly, they take in Players Bar in Mandurah on Friday 4 June; and then on Sunday 6, they play at the Newport Hotel. Entry for the Players show is $12 from 8.30pm, while the Newport show is $15 from 6pm.

Toe To Toe: Sydney hardcore kings TTT have returned with their brand new album Arturo Gatti that is out in stores now. Last night on Short Fast Loud I chatted to the band about the new album.

TIGER MOON

The Decline: Young Perth punks The Decline have recently released their debut album I’m Not Gonna Lie To You and I chatted to them on Short Fast Loud.

Biggest bands you’ve supported? Justin Townes Earle – what a genius. Our ultimate groupie would be… a dude who could take us on the road, drive the van, do sound, cook dinner and share his cigarettes! Fame for your band would mean… playing great shows five nights a week. Any members play in other bands? Jim our drummer plays in Grizzly Jim Lawrie & The Cuckoos, Michael our guitarist plays in Downhills Home, Rich our bass player plays in Fearless Vampire Killers and The Greasers, Emily our trombone player plays in Blue King Brown, Joe our keys player plays in the Hello Morning. Any releases out? Futureman/Goodtimes double A side 7’’ single (SmileyMcSlidey Records) Any releases on their way? We have another 7’’ on the cards set for release in July and an album not long after in September. More info: www.eagleandtheworm.com 30 • THE DRUM MEDIA 3 JUNE 2010

EXTORTION

DEMOLITION DERBY Perth punk band Extortion have re-issued their 2004 demo tape on vinyl. They will be playing launch shows this Friday 4 June at The Den with Battletruk, Grim Fandango, Atolah and Taco Leg and Saturday 6 June at YMCA HQ for an ALL-AGES show with Bridge The Gap, The Others, Break, Wild Sense and No Regrets to celebrate its release. A special ‘launch show’ version of the record will be available at the shows.

To some it is the fiery croon of a soul-wizard, to others the feverish tumble of dancehall rock’n’roll. Then there are those for whom the letters evoke juicy wah-clav grooves, while for many it is the crisp precision of 808s and Auto-tune. Either way this Sunday 6 June local hoods The Tigers head up The Moon’s R&B quiz night and they, along with Li’l Leonie Lionheart, Seams and Frozen Ocean, will cover R&B songs between questions from 7pm.

CONSUMER GROOVES It seems like shopping centres are getting in on the live music action as well with Enex100 in the city offering free music to spend to. This Friday 4 June, the James Sandon Trio hit the stage and it’s completely free, so get in early from 5.30pm.

Trash Talk: The new album Eyes & Nines is a step up for the Sacramento hardcore crew. I don’t think I’ve listened to any album more so far this year.

Samiam: Old blokes will be stoked to hear that Samiam are soon releasing a rarities collection. Titled Orphan Works, the 18-song set will be made up of rare tracks from the You Are Freaking Me Out and Clumsy eras. An August release is expected through No Idea Records. Off With Their Heads: One of the latest signings to the Epitaph label is one of the first punk bands they’ve signed in a number of years. If you’re a Bouncing Souls or Dillinger Four fan you should check these dudes out. Their album In Desolation is out this Friday. Don’t forget to tune into Short Fast Loud every Wednesday night at 10pm on Triple J.

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SMILE LIKE YOU MEAN IT

FEEDBACK CLOUD CONTROL

Mojo’s, North Fremantle 28/05/10

Playing their debut shows this weekend supporting Full Scale Revolution is Serial Killer Smile. This Thursday 3 June at the Prince Of Wales and at the Amplifier this Saturday 5 June. Serial Killer Smile has been a threeyear project for ex Kayjun and Diffusion, and current Tedium members, and is set to fire the night up for the might of FSR. Both shows $12 from 8pm.

CLOSURE IN MOSCOW Civic Hotel, Inglewood 29/05/10

To kick things off the impressive Split Seconds gave the sizable early crowd a taste of their Wilco/Go-Betweensinspired tracks. There’s a real buzz around this band and it’s easy to see why – succulent harmonies, broad compositions and thoughtful crescendos. They’re one of the more exciting new bands on the local scene at the moment. Next up Sydney’s Richard In Your Mind played an impressive set of obtuse pop songs. Their latest material revolves around the early sounds of Beck and Ween, although it’s pretty tough to put a label on it – their first five songs were in five different genres. They have an amiable playfulness and really got the audience up and involved. Although it probably had a lot to do with their support of Vampire Weekend a few weeks earlier, Mojo’s was heaving when Cloud Control bounced on stage. This Is What I Said was an early highlight and they were on-song from the get-go. When their dapper lead singer Al Wright broke a string he told the packed audience, “We’re too poor to bring a spare, does anyone have a spare guitar?” Someone did. Yet judging by the quality of their set and the response of the crowd, it won’t be long before Cloud Control have their own production team, let alone spare guitars. Besides the obvious quality songwriting, the aspect that sets Cloud Control apart from other pop outfits in the country at the moment is their sincerity. When Wright sings you can feel he actually means it (and his passion shines through on-stage). “Does anyone listen to Triple J,” he asked, rhetorically, before launching into the crowd-favourite Gold Canary – and it sounds just as good live as it does on record. Just as quickly as it started, a surprise encore ended their enjoyable set. For $20 on a Friday night, you can’t do much better than seeing three topquality bands. The lines of people who had to be turned away due to the show selling out demonstrated that many had indeed made the right choice.

Local hair-metallers In League had the pleasure of opening what promised to be an absolute ripper of a show. A lack of original songwriting and experience showed in an imprudent set of generic melodic metalcore, at what has to be Perth’s best new venue. The first of the two bands playing their first show tonight, The Chase impressed a warmed crowd of approximately two hundred punters (majority attending for the music not the scene points) and certainly won more than a few over with their garage pop rock. Sleepwalker followed and took the dividends of the two debutants, delivering a delicious set of loud but refined alternative rock. Arms Like Branches were the final support for the night and are just one of those bands whose instruments all sound so good you just want to crawl up to them and embrace their warmth. At their best when things were taken down a notch, the familiar faces played a more dynamic set that had the crowd well and truly aroused. Closure In Moscow triumphantly returned to Perth and again produced an amazing set that justified the huge ticket presales. Opening with Deluge, the set consisting of predominantly material off their debut album First Temple, excited the full crowd and showcased again, how ridiculously talented this band are. Like Prince fronting The Mars Volta, de Cinque and company toyed with the audience leaving as good an impression as possible in 60 minutes. The virtuosity of guitarist Michael Barrett was on display during A Night At The Spleen, Afterbirth, Vanguard, Had To Put It In The Soil and the full hour of eccentric technicality and showmanship that makes you wish every muso you know was their so they could see how good music can be. Amazing.

NICK SAS

LUKE BUTCHER

GO GOMBO GOODNIGHT TIGER (AMPFEST WINNERS)

AMPED TIGERS With prizes including $10,000 worth of recording time, mastering and a promotional package, Goodnight Tiger have been crowned the 2010 AmpFest world champions. The darling duo of Jill Chrisp and Perrin Date beat out 60 entries to claim the crown at Subiaco Church last Friday and were completely stoked to be named winners and will use the prizes to further their music career. Minute 36 came in second, Fat Jackal were third and Seams were fourth, while The Novocaines also performed.

After playing the Best of Gignition showcase a couple of weeks back, Gombo have announced their three-track EP is been finished. The launch can’t be too far off, but first, they take in the Civic supporting The Brown Study with Eye Spy and Hailmary, from 8pm Saturday 5 June.

MEAD WINERY Always welcome visitor Jez Mead returns home to WA this to headline Freo Blue & Roots Club’s night at Mojo’s on Wednesday 9 June. Joining the troubadour is Xave Brown and Simon Peronni. Come down and check out some of the finest that Freo has to offer for $15/10 from 8pm.

TONGUE TIED Local punk rock boys The Corner have recently been scouted off MySpace by 272 Records in California and appear as track one with Tongue on the Punk Kills Volume 13 compilation album. They are currently receiving radio play around the US and in Australia and have three of their tracks featuring in an upcoming film. Check them out tonight Thursday 3 June at Mojo’s and Saturday 5 at the Rocket Room.

MOJO RISING The first heat of many in the Kosmic Sound & Jack Daniels Mojo Project takes place at Mojo’s this Tuesday 8 June. Playing a kick ass show with a view to winning first prize, a recording session with Blackbird engineer Dave Parkin and a $1,500 gift voucher at Kosmic Sound are Hunting Huxley, The Spitfires, Echoes Of Django and Little Black Book. $5 from 5pm.

DAN KELLY

WORMS ARMAGEDDON Bindi Irwin Apocalypse Jam has hit the radio and, we’ve got to say it, Dan Kelly’s latest single is one of the best dream pop songs we’ve heard in quite some time. All set to perform with his Dream Band at Amplifier on Friday 4 June, the support act has been announced. Recently launching their single Futureman/Goodtimes in their Melbourne hometown, Eagle And The Worm will support Kelly across the country, as will locals Split Seconds. Tickets from Moshtix.

THE DRUM MEDIA 3 JUNE 2010 • 31

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10 OF THE GREATEST

HAVE YOU HE ARD...?

IT’S A QUESTION THAT HAS DOGGED MANKIND SINCE THE DAWN OF TIME. SEAN REGAN OF THE SPITFIRES ATTEMPTS TO NAME THE GREATEST 10 ALBUMS OF ALL-TIME… 1. The Stone Roses THE STONE ROSES

IRIS

This is the one album I never get tired of listening to from start to finish. It’s just so jam packed with hooks and great guitars that I never tire of it; culminating in I Am The Resurrection which is a truly epic song.

Next gig: Friday 4 – Sunday 6 June @ Denmark Festival of Voice. Your sound: Spine-tingling complex vocal arrangements, mostly a’capella with some percussion, guitar, keys and oboe thrown in.

2. Glasvegas GLASVEGAS

Band’s name comes from? We like its multilayered feminine meanings – a great old fashioned name that your great auntie had, a beautiful flower, as well as the window to the soul!

Another self-titled release, I really love the lyrics on this album; they’re really poignant and James Allen nails the vocals spot on. I also love the noisy guitars – they give it a really gritty feel that matches the content of the songs perfectly. 3. Highway 61 Revisited BOB DYLAN This album has two of my favourite Dylan tracks, Ballad Of A Thin Man and Like A Rolling Stone. I learnt most of what I know about rhymes and song structures by listening to the man. 4. Up The Bracket THE LIBERTINES

normally listen to too much psychedelic music but this record’s so crazy I couldn’t get enough of it. Favourite track has to be Skeleton Key – it’s like having your brain buggered by armies of pissed up asylum escapees! 9. I Get Wet ANDREW WK

Around since: 2003 – but we have had lots of breaks for travel, weddings, babies et cetera. Band’s best gig ever? Singing in the beautiful chapel at Fairbridge Village during Fairbridge Festival always brings out our best. That venue is a real treat for singers and audience members alike. Fave hangover cure? We are so angelic and wellbehaved we never get hangovers. Having said that it is never too early for a glass of wine when you are feeling a bit under the weather!

5. All Mod Cons THE JAM

Three of the songs on this record have the word party in the title. It’s a bit of a stupid record but it makes me want to get pissed and destroy brick walls using nothing but my head whenever I hear it, which is never a bad thing.

Paul Weller is a legend, enough said!

10. A Grand Don’t Come for Free THE STREETS

Best 3 bands EVER to come out of Perth? The Waifs, Eskimo Joe and John Butler.

6. Who Killed the Zutons? THE ZUTONS

Still not sure whether the album title’s grammar is correct, but probably my favourite British hip hop concept album, though it’s also the only British hip hop concept album I’ve listened to.

Day jobs of those in the band? We have mums, a speech pathologist and music manager, early childhood teacher, music teachers, occupational therapist, and a children’s fun centre manager!

Redefined indie-punk for the start of the 21st century; dirty, self destructive but still very poetic.

A great bit of Scouse power-pop that helped rehabilitate the saxophone from the hammering it took in the ‘80s. 7. Rascalize THE RASCALS Another great one from the Deltasonic label, takes a bit of time to get into but when you do there’s loads of cool stuff on there.

WHO: The Spitfires

8. The Coral THE CORAL

WHEN & WHERE: Friday 4 June, Rocket Room, Northbridge

Right these guys are completely off their box, I don’t

MANDURAH BAND COMP

PRACTISE AND AU WEDNESDAY NIGHT @ THDITIONS EVERY E SLUG JAM SESSION

12 PINJARRA ROAD MANDURAH 9535 8866 Please ring if you Entry form @ The Bar or are coming in or email Email:Slughare@s and one will be sent to outhwest.com.au you

EY$3:00 N O M E Z I R P 2nd $500 3rd tered.

n 1st: $1500 ucher for each band e o v $30 drink 32 • THE DRUM MEDIA 3 JUNE 2010

WHAT: Dead? Good! (Firestarter)

Fame for your band would mean… being able to travel around Australia and internationally with an entourage of nannies! Any releases out? Bloom ‘07; Entwined ‘10. More info: www.myspace.com/irisgirls

MILES AWAY

ROAD MILES After spending time in New York City recording the forthcoming Endless Roads album, Miles Away return to do the miles at home when they tour with Strung Out and The Loved Ones. No doubt, the fruits of the studio will somehow filter through the set list when they take in the Prince Of Wales, Bunbury on Friday 4 June and Capitol on Saturday 5. Tickets from Moshtix and Heatseeker. The band kick off their national tour with Break Even and national acts the following weekend.

WRITHE LIKE CRAZY You will know them by the droning guitars, thunderous drums and random ravings of the lunatic frontman, Writhe have been thrown into the stoner, desert and grunge categories but this doesn’t really bother them. They just play songs that sound raw and good. If you like your music loud and livid, you won’t be disappointed when they hit up Gignition at the Swan Basement this Sunday 6 June. $5 from 5pm.

MARK OF ROCK Following the trail set down by other bands named after politic figures like The Whitlams, Washington and Ladyhawke, The Lathams are set to unleash a furl of three chord tirades when they debate the issues at Gignition this Sunday 6 June. They’re currently in fine form, topping opinion polls as they get set to head into the recording studio next month. They hit the stage with Writhe and others, it’s all yours for $5 from 5pm.

SAT 5 & SUN 6 JUNE

FLY BY NIGHT

Tickets on sale from www.flybynight.org

‘BREAD AND BUDDHA’ OUT NOW ON SHOCK RECORDS WWW.SHOCK.COM.AU THE DRUM MEDIA 3 JUNE 2010 • 33

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THE YOUNG ONES

RUSSIAN DOLLS

DRAWN TO SCALE

After a blinder set at the WAMi Festival, Russian Winters continue the hotness with more live shows in June. Since the launch of their She Knows single in April, they’ve been busy little Bolsheviks writing their new album and have a string of shows lined up through June to show off their wares. On Saturday 5 June they head south to Settlers Tavern with Boys Boys Boys! before heading back to the city for gigs in the coming weeks. Watch this space!

Ex-Full Scale members Zeke Ox, Crutey, Tristan along with bassist Ben Brennan, have reloaded in 2010 as Full Scale Revolution and are heading back to WA where it all began. Re-experience this amazing live act on Thursday 3 June at Prince Of Wales; Friday 4 at Players Bar; Saturday 5 at Amplifier; and finally Sunday 6 at the Newport. Tickets from Oztix, Moshtix and Heatseeker.

ROCKET TO MAYHEM

SUPERCUTE

Two of the local proponents of high energy and sweat fuelled punk rock who have taken their sounds east over the last few months join forces to rock the very foundations of the Rocket room for Late Night Live this Friday 4 June. Yes, it’s WAM winners Project Mayhem and The Spitfires who have just told the east coast that it’s Dead? Good! Catch the adrenaline this Friday.

SANDY SAX ALL AGES AND YOUTH NEWS WITH SCARLETT STEVENS This month’s Young Ones comes all the way from sweltering New York City. The city is buzzing with the sun shining and the Memorial weekend beginning. Leggy models ride around on old pushbikes and people talk to themselves on the subway. From under our apartment window the fire engines stream out with sirens roaring and in a park nearby Star Wars fans have light sabre battles. Equally buzzing is the all age music scene here in New York, based around the cool East Village vibe where The Strokes, Moldy Peaches and CBGB’s were born. My favourite young band here would undoubtedly be Supercute! – a three piece pop delight which features Rachel Trachtenberg of the quirky, comedic family band The Trachtenberg Family Slideshow Players, June Lei, and Julia Cumming. Their witty lyrics and sense of humour can be spotted in songs like Not To Write About Boys, where a collective crush on a boy almost causes the band to break up, and an on stage argument between Rachel and Julia; “You shop at Old Navy”, “At least it’s not Salvation Army”. They recently supported the out-spoken Brit songstress Kate Nash on her Canadian and US tour and made a video-clip for Not To Write About Boys, which is now on YouTube. It seems Perth has inherited a sunny all-ages schedule for the winter months. The line-up for On The Bright Side, is especially exciting, with US retro rock pioneers The Strokes set to headline. The rest of the line-up features some of the brightest stars on the 2010 Splendour In The Grass festival including Mumford & Sons, The Ting Tings, Angus & Julia Stone, Band Of Horses, Hot Chip, Bluejuice and The Middle East. Hell yes! It’s all happening under the super top at the Perth Esplanade on Saturday 24 July. Punk/hardcore group Miles Away are touring throughout June and will be stopping by HQ Leederville as part of the I’d Rather Be Gigging Tour which also features locals Break Even, Hopeless and The Broderick. Get down to YMCA HQ on Sunday 13 June for what’s set to be a mighty fun afternoon of hardcore and punk. It will also be your last chance to see Miles Away before they embark on a Summer tour of Europe and release their latest recording Endless Roads. Extortion will be headlining a gig at YMCA HQ this Sunday 7 June. A massive punk line-up will see support from locals Bridge The Gap, The Others, Break, and Wild Sense & No Regrets. The finalists for the Triple J Unearthed High have recently been announced and how special it feels to see pumping Perth electronic three-piece Blud in the equation. A witty bio and hard-hitting dance anthem on their profile has scored them a place at #6 on the Unearthed high school charts. Sarah Is For Lovers is a great dance track that deserves a listen if you haven’t already heard it. You can also rate the tune and listen to other finalists at www.triplejunearthed. com/UnearthedHigh. If you have any all ages gigs you would like mentioned in the next The Young Ones please email scarlett.theyoungones@gmail.com

Eminent saxophonist and composer Sandy Evans will delight in the freedom of the classic saxophone trio format with bassist Brett Hirst and drummer Toby Hall this Monday 7 June at The Ellington at the early time of 6pm. With a reputation as one of the finest trios on the country, the Sandy Evans Trio will show the composer’s expansive repertoire. Tickets from the venue.

After successfully launching their latest indie rock with a slice of reggae single Shuffle to a packed crowd at the Rocket Room last month, Eye Spy are ready to unleash the accompanying video on the world. You can watch the video on YouTube, or check out a different edit of it on the recent WAMi compilation. Catch them on Saturday 5 June with HailMary and The Brown Study Band.

CAUDLE IN THE WIND Perth singer/songwriter Travis Caudle has joined a prestigious list of musicians including Jeff Buckley, John Lennon, Rufus Wainwright and Bob Dylan, with one of his songs appearing in US sci-fi TV drama Flash Forward. You can catch Caudle this Friday 4 June at the Peel Alehouse in Halls Head; Saturday 5 at Bootleg Brewery in Margaret River; Sunday 6 at Old Coast Brewery; and Monday 7 June at Colonial Brewery.

ARIA ALBUM CHART 1. Glee: The Music Volume 3 GLEE CAST 2. Raymond V Raymond USHER 3. Immersion PENDULUM 4. Innerspeaker TAME IMPALA 5. My Worlds JUSTIN BIEBER 6. Exile On Main Street ROLLING STONES 7. Iron Man 2 AC/DC 8. Recollection KD LANG 9. The Fame Monster LADY GAGA 10. Lungs FLORENCE + THE MACHINE

MOONDOG J

YOU’RE THE VOICE All set to overtake the southwest town of Denmark from Friday 4 ‘til Sunday 6 June, the Denmark Festival Of Voice has confirmed Mr Percival and Dya Singh Group to the program. A solo a cappella vocal performance artist, Percival was a voice tutor at the Australian National University and has recently received standing ovations at this year’s Wood Folk Festival. They’ll join over 70 artists, including Stephen Taberner, Colin Offord, Bernard Carney, Iris, The Great Poetry Slam, The Wise Girls, Andrew Winton, Xave Brown, Bob Lipinski & Rod Verveste, Cellokate, The Peppercorns, Moondog J, Miriam Lieberman & Kate Adams, Summerhouse, All-Star MC’s, Leon Ewing, Les Karski, Andrew Clermont, Odd Sock, The Southern Right Males and Cyclone Tracee. Add to their performances a One Voice Closing Concert, featuring everyone in attendance singing in unison, and you’ve got yourself a festival worth voicing loudly. Tickets from www.dfov.org.au or the Denmark Arts Council Offices.

HAVE YOU HE ARD...?

SELF MADE GURU Next gig: Late Night Live this Friday 4 June @ Rocket Room, Northbridge Your sound: All original hard rock/old school punk trio, that have a big live sound. Band’s name comes from? We have always seen ourselves as writing about the human condition and personal relationships in the bands songs. Our egos are big enough to think we are guru like in our lyrical advice to the world, hence the ‘Self Made Guru’. Band’s greatest strength? To keep going after more changes in the band line-ups than Spinal Tap but also the great catchy songs that keep us coming back for more. Any gig in history? The Flag & Whistle Hotel in 2004 – the band played to a packed and wild house, it is still probably the biggest stage buzz in my life. Favourite Perth bands? Birds Of Tokyo, Khariot, Sugar Army and many, many others. Best 3 bands EVER to come out of Perth? The Scientists, The Stems, Effigy. Fame for your band would mean… going pro. Any releases out? Done plenty of demos but our now in pre-production for first true EP release. Any releases on their way? We hope to do a well planned launch in the later part of this year. More info: myspace.com/selfmadeguru

34 • THE DRUM MEDIA 3 JUNE 2010

SOMETHING BEGINNING WITH E

WAY OUT WEST

WEST HEAD WEST Melbourne based jazz sextet comprising of Vietnamese, West African, Sri Lankan and Australian players Way Out West have a growing international following and have performed at the Montreal Jazz Festival, Veneto Jazz Festival in Italy, Takatsuki in Japan and the EBS Space Festival in Seoul. Catch them at Thornlie’s Don Russell Performing Arts Centre on Friday 4 June, tickets from www.gosnells.wa.gov.au. Then they head to Kulcha for Saturday 5 June.

NAKED KORA Miriam Lieberman’s voice has been described as ‘both heartbreaking and uplifting’. Recently returned from further kora study under master player, Toumani Diabate, Miriam will be joined by superb cellist, Kate Adams. With a strong West African flavour, her songs chart journeys around the world. Both her albums Naked Without My Cello and Wakeli will be available on the night. They will be joined by Spirit of Africa, featuring George Joe and Sally Quealy at Kulcha this Friday 4 June.

SILLY STRINGER Returning with her third album Tides Of Time, blues/folk impresario Liz Stringer is embarking on a national tour this autumn. The album features ten tracks that were recorded on a vintage eight tracker with a lone engineer in a converted church in Melbourne, and it’s out now. After you learn the words, you can catch her at Settlers Tavern on Thursday 3 June; Norfolk Basement on Friday 4; Quindanning Hotel on Saturday 5; and Redcliffe On The Murray on Sunday 6 June.

ROOTS DOWN

DEREK TRUCKS BAND

BLUES AND ROOTS WITH DAN CONDON One band we really, really want to see tour Australia again is the Derek Trucks Band. If you’re into blues guitar then you undoubtedly are well familiar with Trucks’ work, this guy is so good that a large number of people believe he stole the show when touring Australia as a part of Eric Clapton’s band back in 2007. Unfortunately for us the band has taken a year off the road in 2010, but thankfully there’s a new double live CD coming out to tide us over until they decide to get their arses out here. Roadsongs was recorded over two nights in Chicago last year and will be released in Australia on Friday 18 June. The masterful Leonard Cohen had not been to Australia in 24 years prior to his visit to our shores at the start of last year, but you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who would say that it wasn’t absolutely worth the wait. Cohen’s shows were absolutely truly magical events and were held in such high regard that the tour was awarded the prestigious Helpmann Award for Best International Concert in 2009. Well, Mr Cohen must have enjoyed his time here, because this November he will be back in the country for more shows. You can catch him at ME Bank Stadium on Wednesday 24 November. Tickets are available from Ticketek as of today. The man with that massive voice and the finest rollicking piano boogie around, Mr Pugsley Buzzard, has just released his brand new all-original CD entitled Wooden Kimono and he launches it in Perth in July. To celebrate the release, Buzz has booked out the Perth Blues Club and will provide what is bound to be one hell of a night for fans of his powerful but completely infectious brand of blues. If you like the grit of Tom Waits, the boogie of Dr John and the sophisticated hard bop of Thelonius Monk and you haven’t seen Pugsley Buzzard play live yet, you’ve wasted a lot of time. There’s no doubt he will be playing a swag of material from the new CD of course, but he also promises to deliver a bunch of old favourites as well. Tuesday 13 July at the Perth Blues Club from 8pm. Support comes from Lee Rosser. Dutch Tilders has been a vital part of the Australian blues scene for close to 40 years now and it was with great sadness that we heard earlier this week that Dutch has been diagnosed with cancer. But as is the way the tight blues community can be, a benefit concert featuring Chain, Kevin Borich Express, Chris Finnen, Steve Russell, Geoff Achison, Lloyd Spiegel, Stevie Page and Jeannie Lushes as well as Dutch himself has already been organised for him in order to help raise some much needed funds for the near future. Unfortunately it’s happening in Victoria, but if you’d like to make a donation to Tilders’ ongoing treatment costs, you can deposit any amount into the following account: Westpac Bank BSB: 033349, ACC: 385020. It’s pretty clear to see that Jack Johnson is the biggest roots artist on the planet right now, his cruisy brand of folk-pop crossed over to the mainstream many years ago but, to his credit, he hasn’t let that change his music. In fact some would argue that his music hasn’t changed at all since his debut album Brushfire Fairytales back in 2001. Australia has always been particularly enamoured with Johnson’s work and it’s pretty obvious that this love and respect is mutual, as he seems to spend half of his life over here. His fifth studio record To The Sea drops this Friday and no doubt it will be another massive success. He’s heading back our way at the end of the year, playing ME Bank Stadium Saturday 4 December. Tickets are on sale from Ticketmaster from Friday morning and they will set you back $93.55.

LIVE

3 - 9 JUNE 2010 live@drumperth.com.au

AN RTRFM EVENT

FEEDBACK SAT. 26 JUNE

THE CORONAS

RAILWAY HOTEL, MOJO’S BAR, SWAN HOTEL

Fly By Night, Fremantle 30/05/10 John Barrett’s solo project The Silent Minute kicked off Sunday at the Fly By Night with a blend of acoustic folk. The now-local musician played a steady-burning set of brooding melodies with eloquent guitar and reticent vocals. The Coronas have been called “indie heartthrobs”, they’re flashing brightly on the mainstream radar back in Ireland, and to be sure, frontman Danny O’Reilly’s lubricious voice warrants the retinue of female fans. They have appealing riffs and plenty of sentiment. But when they took the stage, any preconceptions of a formulaic set dissolved in the flood of their guileless avidity and musical relish. There’s nothing as compelling as artists with sheer love for what they do. The Coronas have blatant, genuine delight in playing, and they are all the more taking for O’Reilly’s dorky dancing and beautifully thrashed high notes. Vocal rhythms lit Far From Here and Listen Dear through their mosaic of pitching backbeat and swarthy strings and gave heat to their rousing Heroes And Ghosts, losing no pace on the Gaelic verses. The Dublin quartet charmed up rapturous rapport fusing animated harmonies to Irish folk elements. Their anthem San Diego Song was artlessly delivered and wildly received. Perhaps they are moored by their belief that, “Really you’re only as good as your last gig”, because they play keen and they look like they get a damn good time out of it. Their live act delivers all the distinguishing, soulful, indie rock dings needed to roughen up their polished package. KIM KIRKMAN

RICKIE LEE JONES

Octagon Theatre, Nedlands 26/05/10 Huddling inside UWA’s Octagon Theatre, barricading themselves from the building storm, a near capacity crowd filled the intimate venue to see the folk jazz stylings of Rickie Lee Jones. Not just sticking to new material, Jones showed the best parts from her threedecade long career. This approach both pleased the enthusiastic crowd with their favourites and showed the best way to appreciate Jones’ songs – as part of an ongoing catalogue where each song has its place. Accompanied by Lionel Cole on drums and piano and Jose Maramba on bass, Jones took full advantage of the intimate venue. Opening with three numbers from her breakthrough self-titled album – Weasel And The White Boys Cool, Chuck E.’s In Love and Easy Money – Jones explained that she sometimes liked doing things chronologically. And so followed the rest of the night’s set list, except for a few where Jones had to backtrack, with songs woven between stories of her life as she moved between acoustic guitar, piano and then electric guitar. The crowd prompted her when she forgot parts of her autobiography, like 1991 album Pop Pop. The show ended with newer songs from Balm In Gilead album, bringing everyone up to date with no need for an encore.

FANCY BROTHERS

FANCY BOOTS Hot damn, it’s always a grand ol’ time when The Fancy Brothers take to the stage and they’re going to do it this Friday 4 June. The fancy dancy goodness fills Clancy’s Fremantle and show you why it was foolish to encourage their kind with the WAMington for Best Country Music Act. Mitch Becker takes the support duties when the fun starts from 9pm with free entry.

LUST FOR THRUST With a penchant for hard rock and a distaste for sleeves, Thrust are sure to get you all thinking of Motley Crue, Rose Tattoo and that ilk when they rock the Gignition stage this Sunday 6 June. Catch the songs that will go into their debut EP later this year. They’re joined by Writhe, The Lathams and more from 5pm.

RTRFM’S FREMANTLE WINTER MUSIC FESTIVAL 2010

FAWNING FOR YOU Returning to Scitech on Sunday 16 June is Analog To Digital for its second jam-packed edition of experimental tunes from your hometown. Gilbert Fawn recently released Dead Rhythm on Grave New World and creates evocative folk rhythms and other amazing noises. He’ll be joined by Erasers, Diode and Decibel. It’s $10 from 7pm.

PERFECTION This Sunday 6 June at 5.30pm, Prita & The Perfect Strangers hit the stage of The Ellington. As a solo artist Prita layers vocal harmonies live with her loop pedal, accompanied by hand percussion beats and acoustic guitar. Her jazzy, bluesy voice, over simplistic acoustic guitar riffs and beats creates a sometimes folk bordering on soul, with a sound blending Tracy Chapman, Norah Jones and Amy Winehouse.

MOJO’S BAR SWAN HOTEL

RAILWAY HOTEL COURTYARD

GESTURE OF GOOD FAITH This Saturday 7 June at The Ellington at 11.30pm, the Accumulated Gestures make their debut in the venue. This eight piece funk band are hot on the heels of their recent Get Together EP launch and play original neo-soul and funk. Sounding like Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Earth, Wind & Fire, Prince and D’Angelo, these guys are the bomb.

MAIN BAR

FAVOURITE THINGS

JASON KENNY

GIGNITION

Swan Basement, North Fremantle 30/05/10

This week Drum Media asks Paver Pickins of Perth rockers The Scotch Of Saint James to tell us about some of the greatest musical things they’ve acquired.

BASEMENT

UPSTAIRS

SOMETHING OLD: My Telecaster. Recently reinstated to its former glory with a quarter pounder, so now it’s awesome. Bought it about nine years ago. SOMETHING NEW: Delay Modeller. Almost need two of them they are so good. SOMETHING BORROWED: An old MXR Phaser which was borrowed off a boss and never used and subsequently lost and now dearly missed. SOMETHING BLUE: Blue Plastic Spoon. SOMETHING YOU’D LIKE: A friend. SOMETHING LOST: Heart, mind and soul. WHO: The Scotch Of Saint James WHAT: Vigilante Neck Tie Party (Independent) WHEN & WHERE: Saturday 5 June, The Bird, Northbridge

MORE DEETS: WWW.RTRFM.COM.AU

NON-DROWSY

This has been one of my favourite regular gigs for a while now. Over the past year and a bit, a bunch of really rad bands have played at Swan Basement. Arts Martial and Modularman, who impressed plenty at RTRFM’s In The Pines, both played last year to punters at the now regular Sunday evening surprise packet of Gignition. Limpin’ Dave Foley & The Straight Legged Freaks opened up with a blues-rock explosion. Frontman Dave’s vocals are properly garage band with a hint of Mellencamp. The Freaks’ guitar driven tunes traversed some cool folk/rock genres. Their best song Kelmscott was rockin’ and hilarious. Bands that just get up and jam really shit me. Rupert Guenther & Friends have two didges, turntables, bass, violin and guitar. They play instrumental, tribal, gypsy, hippy music. Guenther’s excellent violining saves. Continuing the typically eclectic Gignition line-up were the sounds of Inmotion’s soulful and skilful original R’n’B. Drums, piano, vocals and laptop loops form the foundation for some cool-as sounds. These guys were really the first ‘solid’ outfit of the night; unfortunately there wasn’t anyone there to see them play. Hip hop funksters The S.K.A.M are all drums, guitar, decks and an MC. Flawless funk followed with groove from these scammers but, whilst they’re clearly talented, it’s a bit busy and needs to be stripped back a little. Guitar and scratches warring over rhymes is how I would describe these guys. Anyways, another blast had at Gignition on a Sunday evening – much more entertaining than watching 60 Minutes. DANIEL PARKINSON

THE DRUM MEDIA 3 JUNE 2010 • 35

3 JUNE

2010 MEMBERS ONLY HOT LOCAL EVENT FROM RIGHT TO LEFT: YARHKOB, FUSION SIX, HARVEY FRESH

MO PLAYLIST SLS

1. The Future Will Come (Canyons Remix) THE JUAN MACLEAN 2. Camino Blue Recorings & Scientific present Terra Mission VARIOUS ARTISTS PINEAPPLE LOUNGE What gave you the idea? Pineapple Lounge was founded on the premise that too many deserving artists were going unheard due to a lack of contacts in the music scene. As a result, Pineapple was established to provide all electronic artists with a place to launch themselves into the scene. What does your night offer that others don’t? Pineapple Lounge offers the best in local producers showcasing their own creations on the live stage. Unlike other nights, Pineapple Lounge encourages undiscovered artists to promote their own music in a format suitable to there own creative vision. Pineapple Lounge also spans across a myriad of genres and does not discriminate based on flavour. Pineapple Lounge features largely original music and avoids the sterility of a commercial club night. Who’s playing your event and who should punters be most excited

about seeing? Artists include Fusion Six vs. Harvey Fresh (live), Yarhkob vs. Khaos/Disorder (live), Switch Cutter & Paul-E. The two live sets should be of particular interest. What made you pick the venue? Pineapple performed its first live show at Velvet Lounge as part of a Deuce live production. From here, Pineapple secured a full residency. The venue is ideal for a multi genre night, providing ample seating for ambient and downbeat acts, while leaving room for people to move once the beats start driving. What’s next for your crew? Pineapple Lounge is currently consolidating on its newly established residency at Velvet Lounge. Plans for the near future include attracting fresh-faced artists, full EP releases for both individual artists as well as the collective, and regional touring. WHEN & WHERE: Friday 4 June, Velvet Lounge, Mount Lawley

3. Robotic Hypnotic Adventure (Runaway Remix) NEUROTIC DRUM BAND 4. Forever And Ever Amen (Saint Etienne Mix) THE DRUMS 5. Broken Man (Brennan Green Version) RUNAWAY 6. DJ-Kicks VARIOUS/KODE 9 7. Discoursive Diversions VARIOUS/BOTTIN 8. Blood Like Lemonade MORCHEEBA 9. I’m Gonna Love You (Club Mix) JESTOFUNK 10. Immer 3 VARIOUS/MICHAEL MAYER

LIMELITE – TENZIN @ METROPOLIS FREMANTLE

DEATH DISCO @ CAPITOL

DEATH DISCO DJS’

ANTON MAZ

YOUR STYLE? Just good music. Genre means nothing anymore. WHAT DID YOU HAVE FOR BREAKY TODAY? Peanut butter on toast with a very strong cup of coffee. WHAT EQUIPMENT DO YOU USE? Two CDJ MK3s (sometimes three if I’m feeling adventurous) and a DJM800 mixer. YOUR FIRST OFFICIAL DJ SET? Upstairs at Subculture in Melbourne mid-1998. BEST DJ IN PERTH: My bro Andrei Maz. He can pretty much beat mix any two tracks seamlessly on the fly and keep the room heaving. WHAT DO YOU DO IN REAL LIFE? Marketing Manager for WAAPA. WHAT SCHOOL DID YOU GO TO AND WHO’S THE MOST FAMOUS PERSON TO COME OUT IT?

Warwick SHS. Melissa George was in my year and she’s done alright. She is a sweetheart and deserves everything she’s got! IF YOU COULD PICK ANYONE IN THE WORLD TO BE YOUR BESTIE, WHO’D IT BE? My bestie… THE BEST TRACK THAT NEVER FAILS ON THE DANCEFLOOR? A classic that never fails is Song 2 by Blur and if you mash it up with Warp you have 100 per cent guaranteed wild dance floor abandon. It’s a no-brainer really. MUSICAL INSPIRATIONS? Too Many DJs, The Knife, Girl Talk, Alex Metric, Bassnectar, Leftfield, The Xx, Stone Roses, Link Wray, Sly Stone, Isaac Hayes, Fleet Foxes, Nick Cave… the list goes on. WHAT DO YOUR FOLKS THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU DO: As long as I’m not involved in any ‘alcohol

PHOTO BY BRAD SERLS

fuelled violence’, they’re cool. FAVE SET YOU’VE EVER PLAYED? Opening for MGMT at Belvoir was pretty awesome. Also playing sets before Pixies at Claremont and opening of Nick Cave exhibition. WHAT NIGHTS DO YOU PUT ON? Death Disco at Capitol on Saturday nights and the Back To Mono crew, Defectors Bar (upstairs at The Flying Scotsman), Sunday 5-10pm. GIGS YOU HAVE COMING UP? Death Disco every Saturday from 10pm at Capitol and chucking a big party this Sunday 6 June for the long-weekend at Back To Mono. A good friend of mine, DJ Wombat is making his debut. I’ll be joining him on the decks with some of the other BTM crew. Anything goes. As it’s long-weekend, we’ll probably up the bass and the bpm’s.

TWEET OF THE WEEK FLOORED

“

CAN SOMEBODY EXPLAIN THE FUSS OVER BANKSY TO ME.....SMASHING THE SYSTEM BY SELLING T-SHIRTS ON 8BALL AT 20 QUID A POP. FIGHT THE POWER!” C’MON SHADOW DANCER, DON’T YOU KNOW IT’S ALL ABOUT FIGHTING THE SYSTEM FROM THE INSIDE? JUST ASK RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE.

AUTECHRE @ CAPITOL Thursday 27 May There’s plenty of chin stroking but not much raving, as illuminated by the sickly citrus haze of his laptop, a slightly sheepish Mark Pritchard discretely tweaks some squelchy acid over chirping glitches and old school electronica. It’s early days however, and a masterly example of crowd manipulation sees the dancefloor go from empty to packed with the introduction of some optimistic tones and finely tuned bass. Slipping out of their shells, people seem wired for anything twisted and heavy. Their wishes are granted, with some brutal examples of bottom end, thick enough to visibly rattle the bar counter. Rob Hall’s set morphs smoothly on from Pritchard’s,

PAUL MASTER

FINAL SEXYTIME SEXY BYATCHES JAYMES & PETRO BY LLOYD HUGHES

AFTER MORE THAN A YEAR OF HOSTING HOT, HIP ‘N’ HAPPENING INDIE DANCE NIGHT SEXY, THE PARTY COMES TO AN END THIS SATURDAY. ORGANISER JAYMES BROWN FILLS US IN. How did the idea for Sexy come about in the first place? Sexy was intended as a once-off thing, maybe even monthly. Somewhere safe; a bit secretive and unique; where the musical policy is dictated by the DJs, not the venue. Someone once said to me, “If I go to Amplifier on a Saturday night, I could set my watch to what the DJ plays,” and I thought it was sad that there was nowhere left where people were doing something really original. I was really inspired by the kind of musical policies they had at clubs like the Hacienda in the ‘80s. The DJs played whatever the fuck they wanted and people started coming for the atmosphere and because they knew they were going to get something interesting every time. What were some of the highlights? The best nights were the themed parties. I remember the Labyrinth party – the place was packed out with people in costume.

When we dropped Dance Magic Dance the place erupted. At the Roald Dahl party Does It Offend You, Yeah? came up to me and requested the Human League. After that they were posting stuff about how much they loved the place. The Sexy Festivus party was probably one of the best because it brought together heaps of people who’d played at Sexy throughout the year – it was an awesome atmosphere. Who were some of your special guests, and who played the best ever set at Sexy? Midnight Juggernauts played a blinding set for our Halloween Party – the decks needed a good wipe down there was so much fake blood in the booth! JD Twitch from Glasgow’s Optimo played not long ago. He said Sexy reminded him of what Optimo was when it started out, which made me feel like we must have been doing something right. Snob Scrilla played when he was over for One Movement. I actually thought he wouldn’t fit in, being a hip hop artist, but I was totally wrong – he was excellent and he read the crowd perfectly. Why is Sexy ending and what will the organisers do next? Sexy was always going to be temporary. Our aspirations and those of the venue

FORWARD >>>>> do not align. At The Republic, even if the dancefloor is full, the owner will turn on the lights if the bar goes quiet and kick everyone out. That’s consumerism taking priority over music, and I don’t feel you can put a worthwhile night on with that kind of attitude. We’ll be doing something new soon, something that takes the best things about Sexy and puts them in a new setting with a new twist. I’d really like to do it in a place that isn’t a nightclub to be honest. Nightclubs just want to sell alcohol, they don’t give a shit about anything else whatsoever. Maybe I’ll just throw weekly parties at my house with my friends for a while. Is this the end of The Republic? No. The name ‘The Republic’ was created by a friend of ours who started putting gigs on at the venue at the beginning of 2009. I created the triangle logo. I guess both of those things are our intellectual property, but the owner of the venue registered the name and now owns it, so we’ve kind of lost that. It makes me a little sad to see that triangle logo being used by them, but that’s how these things go. The Republic will stay open, operated by the owner – Collar & Cuffs male strip club. We are the last of the original Republic promoters to leave, so when we go so will our music policy and our style of event. What’s in store for the final Sexy? How should punters dress? The final Sexy is the funeral. Or rather, the wake. People should dress in funeral attire – dress for death. Perth is in mourning. WHEN & WHERE: Sexy Closing Party – Saturday 5 June, The Republic, Perth

DRUM’N’BASS AND DUBSTEP FOR THE NEW DECADE WITH ANGELA KING Local twosome ShockOne and Phetsta are continuing to make waves within not only the drum’n’bass scene but dubstep as well. On the release front, ShockOne has an EP of remixes with VIP’s of Polygon and Chronic, plus Phetsta’s dubstep remix of collaboration with Metrik, True Believer. Phetsta is also working on an EP, and has three out of the four new tracks already complete and his remix of Camo & Krooked’s Vampires debuted at #2 on the d’n’b Arena charts. As for dual productions, the pair have been locked away for the last month or so working on what they hope will be the lead single from ShockOne’s forthcoming album. Stay tuned for more details as it is available. If the MySpace page of Scuba is accurate and up to date, it looks very likely he will be in Perth in July. No promoter has come forward yet to announce the event, which seems set for Sunday 18 July, but a date is enough for fans to get damned excited about – July cannot come sooner if Scuba does come to town, so fingers crossed this isn’t just a typo. There have been several additions to the already froth-worthy line-up for Paradise In Bali Festival in midNovember. UK DJs Krust, Die and Amit will now also be in attendance, with MC Wrec sharing the microphone with Perth locals Bear and Stylee. Full line-up, package deals and tickets are available now from www.paradisefestival.com.au. Dubstep poster boy Skream is

OP LIFE @ MINT

REVOLUTION @ RISE

MIKE FIELDING @ SHAPE

RHYTHMATISM @ THE BIRD

channelling some of the same bass saturated black magic. Waves of dubstep and retro drum’n’bass inspire some awkward zombie dancing, complete with uncomfortable looking hip movements. Real subway music; dark, spacious and dangerous. Ripples of bass massage the spine, as a skinny male in zip-up PVC jerk-dances like a short-circuiting robot, flicking his dreadlocked green hair extensions. Any fears that this showcase of ‘intelligent’ dance music might be an austere symposium for technical nerds, are firmly allayed. Like the Dillinger Escape Plan less than a week ago, Autechre play Capitol in near total darkness. Whereas the former used this for heightened atmosphere and menace, one gets the suspicion that for Autechre a certain degree of shyness may be the motivation. Even as a duo, all that can be seen of them in the gloom is a solitary, barely visible sliver of face, floating enigmatic and ghostly behind the machines. Their set is comprised DÂM FUNK BY BRAD SERLS

of one, more or less, seamless composition that splices various track components from their back catalogue into what can best be described as a largely improvised collision. Individual elements seem momentarily recognisable, but in this ever-shifting environment, lifelines of familiarity are quickly submerged under fresh tides of outlandish IDM. Dancing is tricky, nigh on impossible, as most of tonight’s time signatures probably read like quadratic equations. Still, there are some noble attempts, particularly toward the end as the malfunctioning, machine gun snares kick in. Few bands have staked as uncompromising a path as Autechre. After years of pursuing their own strain of machine music, they’ve built up a unique soundscape, an intricate, silicon maze, walled with ear splitting frequencies and cavernous fuzz tones that make getting lost an otherworldly experience. CHRISTOPHER H. JAMES

MIKE FIELDING A.K.A NABOO @ VILLA

MIKE FIELDING BY BRAD SERLS

Sunday 30 May Even though The Mighty Boosh hasn’t had a new season for a couple of years, it seems the phenomenon is as popular as ever with Villa packed to the rafters with people in all kinds of costumes ready to get as close as possible to the show’s trippy Shaman Naboo, who from this point will be known as Mike Fielding, not a mystical shaman. Props to the venue first though for at least putting in some effort, with a funky tropical theme littering the “Nabootique” and cool Boosh-inspired visuals to go with the beats. Props also to Clouds and Lightsteed for their fun electro/disco sets warming up all the Future Sailors, Old Greggs and Betamax Bandits ready to get down to a funky Ghostbusters remix and Vitalic’s Poison Lips. Shazam followed this up with a much heavier set that ominously opened

8000. With some with Proxy’s epic 8000 cranking re-works of staples like Daft Punk, Boys Noize and even Aphex Twin’s Windowlicker, the packed, half dressed up/half lazy-

DJ DIE

set to release his second LP on Tempa. It’s been nearly five years since debut Skream! really kicked things off for the producer who has been making music since he was 15. Outside The Box will arrive in stores late July and features 14 tracks produced in his original studio, which is located in his old bedroom at his parents’ house in Croydon, England. Guests on the album include vocals by Murs and La Roux (yay or nay – you decide) and co-production help from dBridge and Instra:mental. Night Class, a brand new weeknight event is in session for the first time on Thursday 10 June. It is yet another event to be hosted by The Bird and focuses specifically on Perth’s premier local talent. At this stage the event will be a one off however its regularity is dependent on how well patronised it is in the first instance. Selectors for the evening include Sibalance, Ylem, ST-1 and Pickles and the first lesson kicks off at 8pm with an entry fee of $5. If you somehow hadn’t heard already, tomorrow night is going to be a huge night for the drum’n’bass heads. Loaded Dice are putting

on yet another roof-raising edition of Heavyweight Soundz with London Elektricity, Bad Company, Uman and Moving Fusion in the mix, plus a long list of locals will be rocking Metro City from 8pm ‘til late this Friday 4 June. Or, if you are after something a little less intense to start the night off with, check out Dead Weight! at The Bird on William Street. Dubstep, UK funky, trip hop and the rest will be on show, with several talented Perthinians spinning from 8.30pm and entry is $10 on the door. Next Friday 11 June head over to Shape, as UK legends Cause4Concern are back. Tickets for this one are only available on the door for a cheap $20 and with Inhibit regulars Sempy, Dvise, Skoptix b2b Decept and Vitriol on support it should be a banger. However if you are heading down south there is still action to be had. Busselton’s Element Unknown crew are back with on another drum’n’bass event at the Royal Palms Resort after a month long hiatus. Roll The Dice will be headlined by a group of Loaded Dice DJs and MCs. $10 will see you through the doors from 8pm ‘til late.

bastard dancefloor were all in a tizzy by the time the main event jumped in the Villa booth. From here-in this gig will now be known as a Mighty Boosh convention, where people got to hang out in costumes together (not unlike a Star Trek convention), while a person who is sometimes on the show played music he thought people might like to hear (less like a Star Trek convention). Mike CLIVE HENRY Fielding opening with the Gossip’s Standing In The Way Of Control may not seem like an inspired choice, but the crowd went nuts accordingly (in between trying to get photos/videos of the tiny man behind the decks). This would be the theme of the night, with the packed dancefloor of excited fans ready to rock out in their costumes and have a good time regardless of whether or not there was an actual DJ involved. The chin strokers of the crowd bemoaned Fielding’s complete lack of technical skills beyond cueing up the next song

he deemed fit to play, while many other’s just bemoaned the next song that came on. MGMT, La Roux, Hot Chip, The Clash, The Smiths all got a run which kept most happy, while Lady Gaga and The Black Eyed Peas left many wondering what they paid money to come and see. To be fair, nowhere was it promised he could actually DJ, nor that he would be in costume but in this reviewer’s (and many, many others’) mind, if you are getting handsomely paid to DJ on the back of your success on a TV show, the least you can do is cater to the adoring fans who come to see you. But then again, for every person like me, there were probably three or four dancing like foxes on crack, having an awesome night with their friends dressed up in Boosh outfits. He finished 20 minutes early before Clunk took over to lay some dirty dubstep beats down for those willing to kick-on; uni/work/Monday morning be damned. TROY MUTTON THE DRUM MEDIA 3 JUNE 2010 •37

3 - 9 JUNE

2010 THURSDAY

DANCEFLOOR OF THE WEEK

BEAT LOUNGE @ THE BIRD

KAYDELLE

A new night for beatmakers to share their treats with their fellow man, Beat Lounge offers producers 10 minutes to play as many beats as they want and trade making ideas. Spectators win, with some of Perth’s finest in the mix. $5 entry from 7pm.

COTT SESSIONS @ THE COTT THE COMMUNITY @ VELVET LOUNGE

LATIN STYLES @ DEFECTORS

MEL B

HEAVYWEIGHT SOUNDZ @ METRO CITY With the We Love Sounds festival disappearing into thin air, there’s now only one multi-DJ affair that you can apply the term ‘f’n masssssive!’ to. This next edition is like having two Heavyweight Soundz happening at the same time. Firstly, there’s London Elektricity recruited to return after his mind-blowing appearance last year. He’ll be joined by MC AD. Add to this already monster show the entire postponed line-up of the last HS edition – Bad Company, Moving Fusion and Uman - and BANG! No wonder they’re opening doors early at 7.30pm for this star-studded affair… Tickets $55 plus BF from DJ Factory, Live and Moshtix.

NICK SKITZ @ RISE Having sold over a million albums, Nick Skitz is also responsible for five gold albums, 33 ARIA top 10 albums and plenty of hit singles, and now he’s set to show off his latest release, Skitz Rocks 3. Catch the hard dance bandit with Rousa, Simon Barwood and Steven Tranzor for $20/10/5 from 9.30pm.

FISHERMANS STYLE @ MOJO’S Reggae with the Earthlink Sound gurus of sound Drummy and Sheriff, plus Sabata Sound, DJ Sorted, Platinum Galore and DJ Deruki. Last round Mista Savona crammed the joint, so get down early. $10/ $5 from 8pm.

electro sounds of Jus Haus, Scott D, Yon Jovi, Time Travel Agent, Dead Money, Mickey Juice and Arrigold.

FUSE @ RED SEA Fusing electro, urban and party is Darren Briais, Nathan Francis, Sketchism & Jackness, Jack Masel and Jay Vicente from 9pm.

CLUB RETRO @ MINT Chris McPhee unleashes ‘80s/‘90s party hits and retro classics each Friday at Club Retro. Free before 10pm or $5/10 thereafter.

AURORA @ GEISHA

The good people of Pineapple Lounge Records have found themselves a regular resident spot at the Velvet Lounge. Showcasing local talent across all electronic genres, Fusion Six vs. Harvey Fresh live, Yarhkob vs. Khaos/Disorder live, Switch Cutter and Paul-E will be the first to hit the equipment from 8pm.

MONDO INFERNO @ DEVILLES

SOULAVERSE @ LEEDERVILLE

South West Soul DJs Tony T-Bone, Suzie Cue, Barry Mr Motown and DJ Denny playing Motown, Northern Soul and Modern Souyl. $10 from 8pm.

After blowing away all comers at Ambar last year with a thumping, sleaze-filled bass heavy set, filthy beat pioneer Lee Mortimer is coming back to do it all again thanks to the Destination? crew. Support comes from Signal Drivers, James Francis, Grantley Hyde, A-Jam, Tha Nightcrawlaz and Rikache from 10pm.

The Rough Housers and Barbara Blaze & Her Blazers play live, plus Little Franco Berry spinning the hot wax and Les Sataniques. $10 after 8pm.

NORTHERN SOUL @ FLY BY NIGHT

RETRO MASH @ CAPITOL Lady Penelope live plus ‘80s and ‘90s pop with DJ Matty J. Free entry 9-11pm.

SO FINE FRIDAYS @ IMPACT Your reggae and dancehall fix comes courtesy of The Empressions plus DJs Chio, Ricky Trooper, and Maclee. Free from 9pm or $10 after 10pm.

SUGA ‘N SPICE @ EVE R&B, urban and hip hop from DJs Zoom, Simba, Tutomath and The Empressions. Entry $5/10/15 from 9pm.

FRIDAY @ SWAN BASEMENT Catch hip hoppers Rukus Napalm Syndicate, Soma, Original Fortune and Hazchem for a gold coin donation from 8pm.

DEAD WEIGHT! @ THE BIRD DJ heroes Vishnu, Kit Pop & Zeke, Clunk, Naik and The Dead Weight DJs Tifa & Saxon take the stage from 7.30pm. $10 from 8pm.

DORCIA @ BAR OPEN Get on down to Dorica for the swell 38 • THE DRUM MEDIA 3 JUNE 2010

ZEKE

SATURDAY EMILY SCOTT

SOUL NIGHT OUT @ IMPACT Soul, R&B and old school. Free entry from 7pm.

TURBULENCE @ 361 NEWCASTLE STREET The very last Turbulence ALL-AGES dance party is $20 on the door from 9pm this Sunday.

LIGHTSTEED

WEDNESDAY SHOCK ONE

This exciting new club night will feature many style of tunes ranging from the dubstep of Burial to the classic pop of Beach House. Unstoppable Glue DJs include head honcho Fkn Midas plus Micky Juice, Lightsteed, Ben Edit, Boy Crazy Stacey and others. Get some Glue for free.

POP LIFE @ MINT House, dance, retro, R&B and Top 40 from DJ Darren Briais. Free before midnight for Pop Life, $5 before 2am, $10 thereafter.

PURE POP @ AMPLIFIER Eddie Electric spins indie classics and alternative sounds sounds. $10 from midnight.

FRIDAYS @ MANHATTANS

Unleash your tech house juices with Shots, Leon and Meosis.

LEE MORTIMER @ AMBAR

Since her hot spinning debut in Australia’s chic nightlife playgrounds, Emily Scott has rapidly escalated towards becoming a hot female in the industry…for her DJing skills, of course. Filling floors and widening eyes everywhere she goes, Ms Scott will be supported by Simon Barwood, Greg Packer, Xsessiv and Daze for $15/10/5 from 9.30pm.

New and retro tunes with DJ Jamie and DJ Shannon Fox $8 entry fee after 12.

PINEAPPLE LOUNGE @ VELVET LOUNGE

The next edition of Soulaverse looks like a doozy with a night called Funksploitation. With The S.K.A.M, Bat Country and Dr Preposterous all taking part, it hits upstairs at Leederville Hotel on Friday 4 June. The S.K.A.M are also recording their debut double A-side single in August.

REVOLUTION @ RISE

FRIDAYS @ AMPLIFIER

Resort open the new look Manhattans along with DJ Enrico. Free from 8pm.

Kaydelle launches her debut album Earthwormy and Thorts reveals his intimate EP called Louder Action Are Needed. Add them to Soma, Cartoon Hell, Delirious plus DJs Arms In Motion, Silence, The Community Rad Karaoke and you’ve got yourself a night out. From 9pm.

Perth’s most famous Sunday session party from 5pm.

UNSTOPPABLE GLUE @ MANHATTANS

LIMELITE @ METRO FREO After Tenzin brought the party last Friday, Limelite is loving the locals this week with Mel B, Elliot S, Zelimir and Maxwell bring the electro house goodness from 9.30pm.

The fruits of DJ Aswon’s top shelf reggae collection. Free entry from 5.30pm.

Funky DJs from 5pm with pint and pizza specials.

Cocktails and beats with DJ Shots and DJ Andy M from 7pm.

FRIDAY

REGGAE SESSION @ KULCHA

JUST GOOD MUSIC @ SCOTSMAN

SLIP @ THE COTT

DJ Moogy presents a night of mambo and salsa. Free from 8pm.

Sexy tech house for $10/5 from 10pm.

ROCKET FUEL @ ROCKET ROOM JAPAN 4 @ AMBAR Coming back harder than the Commodore 64, Challenger Ready returns with another night of DJ challenges back-to-back. Buda and Double L kick off the night, before DMC champion Zeke takes on Marty McFly, Ben Mac and Progress Inn follow suit before Prizzy and Kill Dyl close out the night. $12/8 from 8pm.

THE DEATH OF SEXY @ THE REPUBLIC After more than a year of dancing to a different beat, Sexy is having its final night. Dress for a funeral and pay your respects for $5 from midnight. Check a page back for the full story.

DEATH DISCO @ CAPITOL

DJ Brett Rowe and Kickstart rock the panel van ‘til 4am.

SATURDAYS @ EVE DJs Don Migi, Skooby and Tony Allen spinning your fave dance and urban anthems. $15/10/5 from 9pm.

SUNDAY STEVE AOKI @ VILLA DJ to the stars, Steve Aoki is the only act from the cancelled We Love Sounds festival doing his own show and you can see the man behind Dim Mak Records along with Kit Pop, Time Travel Agent and Yon Jovi for one show only at Villa. Sold out.

BEXTA @ RISE

House and electro party bangers from Travis Le Brun, Jay Vicente, Sketchism, Jackness, Thomas Hart, Nathan Francis, Benny T, Luca and Aaron Richards for $10/5 from 10pm.

For the hardest and dirtiest beats ever seen in Perth, you might want to find your way to SHFL at Rise on Sunday 6 June. Headed up by the beats of master shuffler beXta, the night will double as the launch of the online video competition So You Think You Can Shuffle. So bring your phatties and be prepared to shuffle into oblivion with Australia’s most enduring female DJ along with Rousa and Whiskey. $15/10/5 from 9pm.

FORE @ DEFECTORS

FORK @ GEISHA

Indie banging from the Death Disco DJs plus DJ Ryan spinning ‘80s indie classics upstairs. $10 entry fee.

FILTHY GORGEOUS @ BAR OPEN (UP)

Minimal, tech and house DJs start your night in style. Free entry.

JOIE @ GEISHA Deep and funky house with Lara H, Steve H and Miss Tokyo.

EASTERN PROMISE @ DEVILLES Johnny Nanbread & The Pop-ADoms plus Ming Manchu, Johara & The Layali Drum Band, Lady Velvet Geishas, Matty Blade, Zing Zang Zoe and more. Doors open 6pm, $10 after 8pm.

OPEN HOUSE @ BAR OPEN (DOWN)

Fork up your long weekend with Acebasik, Rikache, Kill Dyl, Miss Tokyo and Missprint from 9pm.

THE PROM @ MINT School’s almost out, and it’s time to let your hair down! The prom night is a great American tradition dating back to the late 1800s and now Adrian and Matt are bringing it to you from 8pm at Mint.

BACK TO MONO @ DEFECTORS Fine and funky tunes from Anton Maz and special guest DJ Wombat spinning tunes designed to soothe those hangover blues. Free entry.

BEAT MASH @ BAR OPEN (DOWN) It’s the biggest night of the year as Beat Mash turns two. They’ve recruited ShockOne to headline proceedings, along with Frantik b2b Killafoe, Jfelix b2b Lwood, Sempy b2b Stiltz, and Narkotik b2b Vitirol. Entry is free from 8pm until 10pm and then $5 thereafter.

UPCOMINGS JUNE GODSKITCHEN: MARKUS SCHULZ, GARETH EMERY, ROGER SHAH – Jun 11 @ Metro City CAUSE 4 CONCERN – Jun 11 @ Shape PAUL RITCH – Jun 11 @ Geisha TOM NEVILLE – Jun 11 @ Ambar DJ KRMAK – Jun 11 @ Villa SHAPESHIFTER – Jun 12 @ Villa KLUTE – Jun 12 @ Rise COMMON, KID CAPRI – Jun 18 @ Metro City DJ PREMIER – Jun 18 @ Shape NADASTROM, TIMMY TRUMPET – Jun 18 @ Metropolis Fremantle AGNELLI & NELSON – Jun 18 @ Rise BANG GANG DJS DOOM & HOODRAT – Jun 18 @ Basement On Broadway CHASE FEAT. LARIKEN – Jun 24 @ Mojo’s TOTAL SCIENCE – Jun 25 @ Shape SHWAYZE FEAT. CISCO ADLER, THE KNUX, DJ JASON SMITH – Jun 25 @ Villa ROBERT HOOD – Jun 25 @ Ambar PURPLE SNEAKERS – Jun 25 @ Metropolis Fremantle + S3RL, HAZE – Jun 25 @ Rise ALI B – Jun 26 @ Ambar

BIG WEDNESDAYS @ NEWPORT

JULY

DJ Tony Allen spins tunes from 8pm ‘til midnight.

+ DROP THE LIME – Jul 9 @ Metropolis Fremantle HARVARD BASS – Jul 9 @ Ambar SPIT SYNDICATE – Jul 9 @ Norfolk Basement, Jul 10 @ Rocket Room THE LIKES OF YOU: STEPHAN BODZIN, HUGO – Jul 10 @ Villa + KEVIN RUDOLF, SHONTELLE – Jul 15 @ Metro City MINISTRY OF SOUND SESSION: THE POTBELLEEZ, BORIS DLUGOSCH, STAFFORD BROTHERS, TOMMY TRASH, DENZAL PARK – Jul 16 @ Metro City MAJOR BREAK: NAPT, BLACK NOIZE, PEO DE PITTE – Jul 24 @ Villa ON THE BRIGHT SIDE: HOT CHIP plus more – Jul 24 @ Perth Esplanade + NE-YO, T-PAIN, BIG BOI, FATMAN SCOOP, PHINESSE, DJ NINO BROWN – Jul 31 @ Burswood Dome

HUMM @ THE BIRD Get down for some midweek dance fun for all with cheap bevies. Free from 8pm.

STUDENT NIGHT @ ROSEMOUNT DJ Shannon Fox brings you postpunk, indie-pop, rock and electro goodies in the courtyard. Free entry.

STUDENT NIGHT @ MANHATTANS Tasty tech selector Massiv Trav brings the party. Free entry.

UPCOMING TOURS & EVENTS GODSKITCHEN @ METRO CITY This year’s special winter edition has cooked up three of the biggest DJs in the world to prove there really must be a God up there in the strobe lights. Still fresh from closing a stage at Future Music Festivals 2008 and 2009, Markus Schulz climbed to #8 in the last DJ Mag Top 100. Schulz will be joined by the UK’s Gareth Emery and Roger Shah. Tickets from Ticketmaster, 78’s, Live, Mills and Planet. The Drum Media-presented beat heaven runs from 10pm-5am on Friday 11 June at Metro City.

OPTAMUS @ VARIOUS Downsyde’s frontman Optamus is stepping out of the shadows with his new group joined by Chris Foster on keys and Jeremy Jonjsma on guitar and vocals. See debut album Forever & A Day launched at Dunsborough Tavern on Friday 11 June; Rosemount on Saturday 12; Prince Of Wales on Thursday 24; Busselton on Friday 25; and Albany’s White Star Motel on Saturday 26 June. Also launching at the Rosemount show is local MC Smiley, whose album features some production from Dazastah and plenty of guests.

AUGUST PVT (FORMERLY PIVOT) – Aug 6 @ Rosemount MIDNIGHT JUGGERNAUTS – Aug 14 @ Capitol

SEPTEMBER + PARKLIFE: line-up TBA – Sep 26 @ venue TBA CYPRESS HILL – Sep 29 @ Metro City

NOVEMBER + JASON DERULO – Nov 2 @ Challenge Stadium

THE DRUM MEDIA 3 JUNE 2010 • 39

gigguide@drumperth.com.au

GIG GUIDE THU 03 Ben Pettit Belgian Beer Cafe Howie Morgan Bennys Karin Page Botanica Celebrations Karaoke Brooklands Jon Madd’s Rock’n Roll Karaoke Devilles Pad A Tribute To John Coltrane Featuring Jamie Oehlers Quartet Ellington Bex’s Open Mic Night Indi Bar Chris Murphy Kingsley Tavern Bill Chidgzey Legends Bar Tip Top Sound Leisure Inn, Rockingham Nathan Gaunt Lucky Shag Hayley Beth, Paulo Manhattan’s Gasoline, The New Year, The Corner, Homebrewe Mojos Nth Fremantle The Fix Moon Cafe Cal Peck & The Tramps, Cat Black Mustang Bar The Joe Kings, Simon Kelly, The Witness, The Love Junkies Norfolk Hotel Ben Merito Paddington Ale House Dr Bogus Paddy Hannan’s, Burswood Full Scale Revolution Prince Of Wales Bunbury The Atlas Mountains, Apollo National, Wolves At The Door, Sir Thomas Rosemount Htl Fenton Wilde Rosie O’Gradys Northbridge Liz Stringer Settlers Tavern Margaret River Chris Martin Sheraton Htl David Fyffe Sovereign Arms Courtney Murphy Spice Lounge Burswood Ali Bodycoat Subiaco Htl The Silent World, Apprentice Dentist, Royal Vomit, Bad Houses Swan Lounge Heroes & Heart Attacks, Super Games, Blac Blocs, Ducks On A String The Den Side FX The Foundry Pub Grill Off the Record Universal Bar

FRI 04 Midnight Rambler 7th Avenue Bar Dan Kelly, Eagle And The Worm, Split Seconds Amplifier Bar Freed Radicals Bally’s Bar James Wilson Balmoral Good Karma Belmont Tavern Faces Bennys Christian Thompson Broken Hill Lady Penelope Capitol Benjamin Glynn Captain Stirling Billy & The Broken Lines Carlisle Htl Tip Top Sound Como Htl 11:11 Craigie Tavern Rob Hyner Trio Darlington Estate The Rough Housers, Barbara Blaze & Her

Blazers Devilles Pad Redstar Dusk Lounge Bar Graham Wood Trio, Natalie Gillespie, Melissa Erpen Ellington Fever Fitzgeralds Eso Funk Floreat The Lucky Wonders Gascoyne Hotel Mike Nayar Gate In The Groove Greenwood Hotel Mia & Good Company Hale Rd Tavern Stillfire Indi Bar Shawne & Luc Indian Ocean Brewing Company Ryan Carbray Kalamunda Htl Slim Jim & The Phatts Kingsley Tavern Grand Theft Audio Leisure Inn, Rockingham Resort Manhattan’s Bauxhead Merriwa Tavern Adam Hall & The Velvet Playboys, Cheeky Monkeys Mustang Bar Felix Newport Htl Audacity Niche Liz Stringer, Freya Hanley Norfolk Basement Peace Love & All That Stuff Old Bailey Tavern Blue Gene Paddy Hannan’s, Burswood Flyte Paramount Nightclub Full Scale Revolution, Tim McMillian Band Players Bar Mandurah Better Days Priory Hotel Psychonaut, Neverborn, Mhorgl, Enforce Railway Htl Stella Donnelly Rivervale Htl Aniva, Human Extinction Project, Montage Of Jesus, Black Inc, The 3rd Q Rockingham Htl 7 Years, The Sure-Fire Midnights, Fools Rush In, Fallen Away Rosemount Htl Switchback Sail & Anchor Bluebottles Saint Sneaky Weasel Gang Settlers Tavern Margaret River Chris Martin Sheraton Htl Robbie King Karaoke South st Ale House Ben Hodgkin Trio Stewarts Upper Swan Rukus Napalm Syndicate, Soma, Original Fortune, Hazchem Swan Basement Applebite, Mudguts, Project Earthbone, FoulPLAY Swan Lounge Mod Squad The Boat Extortion, Battletruk, Grim Fandango, Atolah, Taco Leg The Den Supanova The East End Crave The Foundry Pub Grill Chris Murphy The Principle Micro Brewery Nat Ripepi The Vic Hotel Retrofit Universal Bar

40 • THE DRUM MEDIA 3 JUNE 2010

3 - 9 JUNE 2010

Tip Top Sound Victoria Park Htl Larrikins Wild Fig Cafe Tip Top Sound Woodvale Tavern Mirasol & Vaughan York Hotel

SAT 05 Full Scale Revolution, Tim McMillian Band, Serial Killer Smile, I Said The Sparrow Amplifier Bar Bill Chidgzey Bally’s Bar The Recliners Balmoral Flyte Bar 120 Chris Murphy Belgian Beer Cafe Redstar Black Bettys Howie Morgan Project Broken Hill Fit Swimmers Brooklands Brown Study Band, HailMary, Gombo, Eye Spy Civic Htl Switchback Como Htl Johnny Nanbread & The Pop-A-Doms, Ming Manchu, Johara & The Layali Drum Band Devilles Pad Timeout Elephant & Wheelbarrow Adam Hall & The Velvet Playboys, Accumulated Gesture Ellington Playthings Fitzgeralds Harry Manx Fly By Night Fremantle Hotplate Heaven Greenwood Hotel Slim Jim & The Phatts Hale Rd Tavern Zarm Indi Bar The Other Guys Indian Ocean Brewing Company Lady Penelope Metropolis Fremantle Easy Company Mighty Quinn Tavern Seams, Sugerpuss, Sonpsillo Circus, Oh You Pretty Things Mojos Nth Fremantle Blaze Moon & Sixpence Marco & The Rhythm Boys, The Damien Cripps Band Mustang Bar Masino Miller Trio Naked Fig Café Gravity Newport Htl The Revolvers, Hand Stands For Ants, World Of Fuzzy’s, Jack Byron Norfolk Hotel Airbag Player’s Bar Liz Stringer Quindanning Tavern Hellios, Red Triangle, 10 Past 6, Seer Cya Railway Htl The Corner Rocket Room Mercurial, Bat Country, Chasing The Ninth, Further Earth Rosemount Htl Blue Gene Rosie O’Gradys Northbridge Bluebottles Sail & Anchor Russian Winters, Boys Boys Boys Settlers Tavern Margaret River Off The Record Subiaco Htl Rusty & the Dragstrip Trio, Johnny Law & the Pistol Packin’ Daddies, Echoes Of Django, Noir Boudoir, Danny Deuce

Swan Basement Scotch Of Saint James, Melange, Wolves At The Door The Bird Bible Bashers, The Trevallys, Raw Nerve, The Bashettes The Den Ivan Ribic The Eastern Midland Three And A Half Men The Foundry Pub Grill Free Radicals The Principle Micro Brewery Tip Top Sound Victoria Park Htl Tod Woodward Wanneroo Tip Top Sound Woodvale Tavern

SUN 06 Good Karma 7th Avenue Bar Unearth, The Black Dahlia Murder, Make Them Suffer, Gallows For Grace Amplifier Bar Steve Hepple Bally’s Bar Cranky Balmoral Damien Cripps Belmont Htl Adrian Wilson Bentley Hotel Sweetest Taboo Botanica Nathan Gaunt Broken Hil Zydecats Clancys Chris Murphy Como Htl Prita & The Perfect Strangers, Jeremy Gregory, Cristal Phillips Ellington Harry Manx Fly By Night Fremantle The Other Guys Gate Ryan Dillon Gosnells Hotel Ben Pettit High Road Htl Riverton The Sunshine Brothers Indi Bar Retrofit Indian Ocean Brewing Company Cam Dunbar Kalamunda Htl Jamie Powers Lakers Tavern Jack Doepel Quintet Manhattan’s Clayton Bolger Merriwa Tavern Indigo Alley Mighty Quinn Tavern The Justin Walshe Folk Machine, Felicity Groom, Mister & Sunbird, Scott Nicholas, Gabrielle Harter Mojos Nth Fremantle Acoustic Inc Moon & Sixpence Sundays Notes, Nebula Mosmans Restaurant Pete Busher & The Lone Rangers, The Damien Cripps Band Mustang Bar Full Scale Revolution, Tim McMillian Band, HailMary, Copious Newport Htl Flyte Paddy Hannan’s, Burswood Kiss This Paramount Dillip & The Davs, Miche Suite, Control Control, Matt Cal, Beggars Second, Seth Lowe Railway Htl Liz Stringer Redcliffe On Murray Grim Fandango, Burning Fiction, Chilling Winston, Fun Razor, Cellar Door Rosemount Htl Gary Lee Jazz Trio Rosie O’Gradys Fremantle

The Recliners Sail & Anchor Howie Morgan Project Saint Justin James Salt On The Beach, Fremantle Jailhouse Settlers Tavern Margaret River The Kirbens South st Ale House Bill Chidgzey Stamford Arms Thrust, The Lathams, Writhe, Applebite Beggars On Acid Swan Basement Jephasuns Swan Lounge Nat Ripepi Swinging Pig Rolling Pin The Bird John Meyer & Blues Express The Eastern Midland Festivus The Principle Micro Brewery Retrofit Universal Bar Matt Milford Victoria Park Htl Damien Cripps Wanneroo Reckless Kelly Woodvale Tavern Extortion, Bridge the Gap, The Others, Break, Wild Sense, No Regrets YMCA HQ

MON 07 Christian Parkinson Bar Orient Fremantle Mr Percival Ellington Wide Open Mic, Justin Walshe Mojos Nth Fremantle Marco & The Rhythm Boys Mustang Bar

TUE 08 Gamataka Quartet Ellington Open Mic Night Impact Bar Holly Miranda, Felicity Groom & The Black Black Smoke, Rabbit Island Manhattan’s Hunter Huxley, The Spitfires, Echoes Of Django, Little Black Book Mojos Nth Fremantle The Justin Walshe Folk Machine, Mike De Velta, Electromen Perth Blues Club Open Mic Night Sail & Anchor Shant Merino The Bird

WED 09 Switchback Bentley Hotel Side FX Black Bettys BFH Ltd Ellington Gabrielle (from Stillfire) Indi Bar Trevor Jalla Trio Llama Bar Howie Morgan Lucky Shag Jez Mead, Xave Brown, Simon Perroni Mojos Nth Fremantle Mitch Becker, Dean Marto, Jordi James Moon Cafe Circus Mustang Bar Stunning In Red, The Blue Finish Paddo Adrian Wilson Sail & Anchor Thaddaeus, The Last In Line, The Ginger Ales, The Main Attraction Swan Lounge PCJ, Son Of The Father The Bird

UPCOMING TOURS

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE

SHAPESHIFTER

FULL SCALE REVOLUTION, TIM MCMILLAN BAND: JUN 3 Prince Of Wales, JUN 4 Players Bar, JUN 5 Amplifier, JUN 6 Newport

DAPPLED CITIES, THE JOHN STEEL SINGERS, FIRE! SANT ROSA, FIRE!: JUN 17 Mojo’s, JUN 18 Prince Of Wales, JUN 19 Rosemount Hotel

LIZ STRINGER: JUN 3 Settlers Tavern, JUN 4 Norfolk Basement, JUN 5 Quindanning Hotel, JUN 6 Redcliffe On The Murray

OPERATOR PLEASE, CHAINGANG: JUN 18 Astor Theatre

DAN KELLY, EAGLE & THE WORM: JUN 4 Amplifier STRUNG OUT, THE LOVED ONES: JUN 4 Prince Of Wales, JUN 5 Capitol WAY OUT WEST: JUN 4 Don Russell Performing Arts Centre Thornlie DENMARK FESTIVAL OF VOICE: MR PERCIVAL, DYA SINGH and more: JUN 4-6 Denmark GYROSCOPE: JUN 5 Prince Of Wales, JUN 6 Metro City HARRY MANX: JUN 5 & JUN 6 Fly By Night * WE LOVE SOUNDS: JUN 6 Cancelled UNEARTH, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER: JUN 6 Amplifier * MENTAL AS ANYTHING: JUN 6 Friends Restaurant, JUN 12 Charles Hotel SANDY EVANS TRIO: JUN 7 Charles Hotel HOLLY MIRANDA: JUN 8 Manhattans YUSEF ISLAM: JUN 10 Challenge Stadium BIRDS OF TOKYO, MIDNIGHT YOUTH: JUN 10 Metro City CHILDREN COLLIDE, CABINS: JUN 10 Prince Of Wales, JUN 11 Rosemount GANGA GIRI: JUN 11 Fly By Night, JUN 12 Dunsborough Hotel DEAD LETTER CIRCUS, SYDONIA: JUN 11 Prince Of Wales, JUN 12 Capitol RICHARD TOGNETTI & WASO: JUN 11 & 12 Perth Concert Hall MILES AWAY, BREAK EVEN, HOPELESS, THE BRODERICK: JUN 11 Amplifier, JUN 13 YMCA HQ * RUMOURTISM: JUN 12, Civic Hotel KATIE NOONAN & THE CAPTAINS: JUN 12 & 13 Fly By Night * TROY ROBERTS: JUN 16, JUL 27 The Ellington ALESTORM, CLAIM THE THRONE: JUN 17 Amplifier STORY OF THE YEAR, SAOSIN, BLESSTHEFALL: JUN 17 Capitol * CHAINGANG: JUN 17 The Den

ALLEN VIZZUTTI & WAYJO: JUN 18 John Inverarity Music & Drama Centre SIX FT HICK: JUN 18 Rocket Room, JUN 19 Mojo’s THE BEARDS: JUN 18 Settlers Tavern, JUN 19 Civic Hotel, JUN 20 Mojo’s THE VIBRATORS: JUN 20 Rosemount Hotel FOSTER & ALLEN: JUN 20 Mandurah Performing Arts Centre, JUN 21 Perth Concert Hall THE DRIFTERS FEAT. BILLY WASHINGTON JR: JUN 24 Friends Restaurant COTTON, KEAYS & MORRIS: JUN 25 Charles Hotel VALIANT SWART: JUN 25 Fly By Night * JEREMY GREGORY: JUN 25 & 26 The Ellington CASSETTE KIDS, KIDS OF 88: JUN 26 Amplifier 1927: JUN 26 Astor Theatre BERMUDA, SILENT SCREAMS, BURIED IN VERONA: JUN 26 YMCA HQ (early), Rosemount Hotel (late)

JUL 4 & 8 The Ellington BRUCE MATHISKE, GREG YOUNG: JUL 8 Fly By Night GRACE KNIGHT: JUL 8 Friends Restaurant LIOR: JUL 8 Artbar * DEEZ NUTS: JUL 9 Rosemount, JUL 10 Railway Hotel, JUL 11 YMCA HQ THE SOFT PACK: JUL 10 Rosemount MARK LANEGAN: JUL 11 Fly By Night * PUGSLEY BUZZARD: JUL 11 The Ellington, JUL 13 Charles Hotel DIESEL: JUL 14 Friends Restaurant, JUL 16 Fly By Night, JUL 17 Charles Hotel STRIKE ANYWHERE, PAPER ARMS: JUL 14 Amplifier * KEVIN RUDOLF, SHONTELLE: JUL 15 Metro City SNFU: JUL 16 Rosemount DIONNE WARWICK, KATE CEBERANO: JUL 16 Perth Convention Centre BECC SANDERSON: JUL 16 & 17 The Ellington SALLY SELTMANN: JUL 17 Rosemount * MATT JODRELL: JUL 20, 21 & 22 The Ellington KARNIVOOL, MM9: JUL 21 & 22 Capitol THIRSTY MERC: JUL 21 Prince Of Wales, JUL 22 Fly By Night

PAUL DI’ANNO: JUN 27 Amplifier

THE TEMPER TRAP: JUL 22 Metro City

* MARK SPILLANE: JUN 27 Rosie O’Grady’s Northbridge

MATT CORBY: JUL 22 Settlers Tavern, JUL 23 The Ellington, JUL 24 Norfolk Basement

HOPE SANDOVAL & THE WARM INVENTIONS, MICK TURNER, DIRT BLUE GENE: JUN 28 Astor Theatre JONO MCNEIL: JUN 30 & JUL 1 The Ellington THE BEAUTIFUL GIRLS, WASHINGTON: JUN 30 Prince Of Wales, JUL 1 Metropolis Fremantle, JUL 2 Settlers Tavern, JUL 3 Divers Tavern Broome SUGAR ARMY: JUL 1 Indi Bar, JUL 2 Prince Of Wales, JUL 3 Amplifier, JUL 4 Mojo’s SUMI JO & WASO: JUL 2 & 3 Perth Concert Hall BATRIDER: JUL 2 The Bird, JUL 3 Norfolk Basement LEE ROSSER: JUL 3 Settlers Tavern, JUL 4 Redcliffe On The Murray, JUL 9 Shark Bay Hotel, JUL 10 Freemasons Hotel Geraldton, JUL 13 Charles Hotel, JUL 16 Clancys Freo, JUL 17 Indi Bar * MICHAEL PIGNEGUY:

THE AMITY AFFLICTION: JUL 22 Black Bettys, JUL 23 YMCA HQ, JUL 24 Prince Of Wales, Jul 25 YMCA HQ 30 SECONDS TO MARS: JUL 24 Challenge Stadium ON THE BRIGHT SIDE: THE STROKES, MUMFORD & SONS, ANGUS & JULIA STONE, BAND OF HORSES, HOT CHIP, TING TINGS, BLUEJUICE, MIDDLE EAST: JUL 24 Perth Esplanade CHARLIE LANDSBOROUGH: JUL 29 Bunbury Entertainment Centre, JUL 30 Albany Town Hall, AUG 1 Fly By Night YOUNG HERETICS: JUL 29 Prince Of Wales, JUL 30 Norfolk Basement, JUL 31 Amplifier, AUG 1 Indi Bar KASABIAN: JUL 30 Metro City

THE DRUM MEDIA 3 JUNE 2010 • 41

EMPLOYMENT ADMINISTRATION HEADROOM SOUND AUSTRALIA Using; P Audio, B & C, JBL and E.V. Top quality drivers in all our custom built bins. Top boxes, mids, subs, wedges to spec. This online pic is our new folded horn with one 18inch challenger, putting out 137db – 140+ when coupled. Call us for a free quote. 0414355763 iFlogID: 3100

ENTERTAINMENT WANT TO WORK IN THE MUSIC BIZ?

The Directory is a sourcebook for all the contacts in the Australian music market. There are over 5,000 listed companies & individuals in 70 sections covering all business sectors from Artists cross referenced by Booking Agents, Managers & Record Labels, Promoters, Music Media, Venues, Lawyers, Publishers & much more! We have 3 versions of the Directory available in Print $55 (GST & Postage included)--6 Month Online Subscription $40--iPhone App $19.95 (from Apple iTunes Store). To purchase your print or online version go to www.immedia. com.au/amid or call the IMMEDIA! Office (02) 9557 7766

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MIXERS STUDIO GEAR FOR SALE Digidesign C24, new in box with RTS cable kit, 15K new, will sell for 10Kono. Custom studio furniture, dual “isobox” style cabinets with master kb tray, $500ono. Korg X5D kb, great sounds, $350ono. Lots of ProTools plugins also for sale cheap. Call Brent 0406501192 iFlogID: 3888

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FOR SALE AMPS FENDER 1965 TREMOLUX STACK

Pearl EXR (2005 model) drum kit with the following: - 14” snare - 8” tom - 10” tom - 12” tom - 13” tom - 16” floor tom - 22” bass - double kick pedal - single kick pedal - Pearl drum rack - numerous clamps for additional drums and/or cymbals - brand new skins for all 5 toms - Drum City cymbal bag (leather) clamp arm - 3x boom cymbal stands - 2x straight cymbal stands - stool - additional tom arms Cymbals: Zildjian A Custom - 14” hi-hats - 10” splash - 17” crash - 18” crash - 16” fast crash - Zildjian A - 21” sweet ride All in perfect condition, reluctant sale. Call Kieran on 0410691616. Pickup from Sydney. iFlogID: 5091

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BASS

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PA EQUIPMENT HEADROOM SOUND

Maton M225 Solid Sitka Spruce soundboard Queensland Maple Back, sides & neck Rosewood with dot inlays fingerboard Australian Made Original Elixir strings Natural Finish $750 *pick up in Sydney area

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Learn to play from some of Australia’s best guitar teachers. G4 GUITAR is a network of over 100 teachers across Australia using the latest learning techniques to ensure students the absolute best tuition available. Backed by the G4 GUITAR METHOD our teachers have the reputation to take you from beginner to pro. Please visit our website to find your closest teacher and grab a free download. www.g4guitar.com.au or Phone 0405-274456

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Using; P Audio, B & C, JBL and E.V. Top quality drivers in all our custom built bins. Top boxes, mids, subs, wedges to spec. This online pic is our new folded horn with one 18inch challenger, putting out 137db – 140+ when coupled. Call us for a free quote. 0414355763

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Using; P Audio, B & C, JBL and E.V. Top quality drivers in all our custom built bins. Top boxes, mids, subs, wedges to spec. This online pic is our new folded horn with one 18inch challenger, putting out 137db – 140+ when coupled. Call us for a free quote. 0414355763

USA BAND SHIRTS & HOODIES AAA+++ Licensed USA band merch and street wear! We have shirts, hoodies, belts, ladies tops, lighters, shotglasses, wallets and buckles. We have Hundreds of bands instock and ready to ship including Nirvana, Led Zeppelin, Burzum, Dark Throne, Children of Bodom, Black Flag, Pearl Jam, Him, Sublime, Tool, Black Flag, Ministry, Motley Crue, Guns N Roses, Van Halen, Wolfmother, ACDC, KMFDM, Metallica, Manson, Megadeth, The Doors and more. Check out our website today!!! www.merchnation.com.au

Using; P Audio, B & C, JBL and E.V. Top quality drivers in all our custom built bins. Top boxes, mids, subs, wedges to spec. This online pic is our new folded horn with one 18inch challenger, putting out 137db – 140+ when coupled. Call us for a free quote. 0414355763

Want to become an agent for Valleyarm? Valleyarm are a global digital music supplier and are seeking studios and producers Australia wide to be official agents, you’d be responsible for signing new bands and artists to add to our catalogue and getting paid to do so. If you ever have bands asking how they can get their songs on iTunes then this is the perfect chance to bring in extra revenue with excellent monthly bonuses available! Training and point of sale is available to get you started straight away. Email info@valleyarm.com or Call 03 9525 5589

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OTHER

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HEADROOM SOUND AUSTRALIA

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C, E-Tone etc Custom built crossovers, all at budget prices. For quotes contact Ray on tallpoppies@iprimus. com.au or 04143 55763

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song. Contact Duncan on mob: 0402 136 335 or at duncan321sunrise@ yahoo.com.au View associated website at: www.loveinakingdom. webs.com myspace.com/duncansmusicsunrise

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CD / DVD

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major international artists for over 25 years..you’ll probably find his name on CDs you own.....For a limited time song transfers through the ATR100 - the worlds finest 1/2” tape machine - is absolutely FREE!! (Worth up to $100 a song)...So for only $88 per song you can get the results you want at the price you can afford..-..-Post - Upload, or call in......For further details visit --www.gomersall.com --- Call Paul 0407 488 697 iFlogID: 2857

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Valleyarm are a global digital music supplier and are seeking sales contractors Australia wide to sign bands and artists. On target earnings of $37800 PA, flexible hours and awesome incentives! A passion and an ear for good music is essential, if you like checking out bands and have good people skills then this might be the job for you! A real chance to make huge dollars within the music industry! Training provided. Email interest and resumes to info@valleyarm.com or call 03 9525 5589 for more information.

ROCK MEMORABILIA

From the people who brought you TheMusic.com.au comes two new free news resources, The Daily News Feed and Velvet Rope; the only source of music business and industry news you will ever need! Each morning the Daily News Feed posts crucial music business news, helping you stay current with Aussie and overseas breaking stories. Velvet Rope is brought to you via Door Bitch and is a weekly news column that keeps you up to date on the happenings of the music biz. From job opps, news, events & a bit of back room gossip, Door Bitch has it covered. It’s out every Friday at noon. Check out the new news at www.TheMusic.com.au iFlogID: 5089

ULTIMATE HEAVY METAL WEBSITE..

COOL PERTH NIGHTS

Looking for a photographer for your band?Checkout theartofcapture. com to see examples and portfolio of work. Studio and location shots.All states. Contact Kane Hibberd Kane@theartofcapture.com or call 0419 570 660. iFlogID: 1256

PHOTOGRAPHY

Photography...Get the right shot the first time at an affordable cost..Contact Mike 0447572106 iFlogID: 4631

POSTERS

Play songs on guitar instantly. $49.99 postage inc. kit of 4 x interfaces + tutorial CD. Special deals for the first 100 buyers. The guitar is an easy instrument to play but it is an extremely difficult instrument to learn. Getting past the initial stumbling clanging strumming period of learning guitar can take a number of years and its made all the more difficult by the blank fret board. InteGuitar solves this problem by giving the fret board a temporary movable visual interface of rudimentary OPEN and BAR Chords in the form of a silicon strap. If you can see how the chords are played these basic functions can be over come in much shorter time and be less frustrating. Because the interfaces can be repositioned along part of the neck Bar Chords be displayed. It takes a few attempts to get used to setting up an interface eventually taking 1 to 5 minutes to complete. Silicon Interfaces stretch to fit on all steel string acoustic and electric guitars. Fatter necks like classical guitars are a little harder to fit. Call us now on 0405 044 513 iFlogID: 2716

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SHOP FOR BAND MERCH ONLINE!

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BUSINESSES

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Shop online 24/7 at www.tsp.net. au for Australia’s biggest and best range of official licensed band merchandise. Hundreds of bands, thousands of products! AC/DC, Blink 182, David Bowie, Dead Kennedys, Escape The Fate, Iron Maiden, Jimi Hendrix, Joy Division, Megadeth, Metallica, MGMT, Minor Threat, Misfits, Nirvana, Opeth, Parkway Drive, Pearl Jam, Pink Floyd, Ramones, Slayer, Sonic Youth, Tool, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and more! T-shirts, fleecy hoodies, caps, beanies, bags and loads of other cool stuff. Shop now at www.tsp.net.au.

Are you thinking of hiring quality musicians that bring an audience ? Do you have a function/event and considering live entertainment ? For a limited period, we are offering a Venue Promotions Package featuring favourite entertainers. If it is about raising your venue profile or just great entertainment you want, contact us now. Chris 0419 272 196 http://infovisionproductions.yayabings.com.au iFlogID: 5076

MASTERING

Cool Perth Nights weekly mailout features all the coolest live music, theatre, indie film screenings and art exhibition happenings in and around Perth Western Australia. Sign up via www.coolperthnights.com and receive this clean presented and very fun info each Wednesday lunchtime WST. iFlogID: 4351

LOVE IN A KINGDOM - FILM OPERA

MASTERING BY PAUL GOMERSALL

..is coming soon. A must for the heavy metal fan. This is Australias tribute to UK’s DJ Tommy Vance who was The Voice of Heavy Metal on the Radio (b:11/7/1940- d:6/3/2005). RIP THE KING OF HM \m/ RONNIE JAMES DIO \m/ WE ROCK www. tommyvance.webs.com iFlogID: 5109

PA / AUDIO / ENGINEERING SPEAKER REPAIRS - ALL MODELS

Professional illustrator available for any project. Book covers, children’s books, album art and much more. Based in Melbourne, drawing world wide! Excellent rates. www.paulikin. com -Phone: 0403 996 129 or email paul@paulikin.com iFlogID: 4701

Learn Blues Harmonica all styles from Ragtime, Country Blues , Chicago Blues styles. Private lessons in Sydney with Blue tongue & Workshops across Australia with Bluetongue, Ian Collard & Doc Span. web- http://www.bluetongueharmonica.com.au p-02 80037132 m-0412 668575 iFlogID: 3683

ABLETON CERTIFIED TRAINER

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Coming soon to a movie theatre near you, this sensatonal new and original film opera / musical. A dramatic and compelling medieval adventure set to classical music and

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Ableton certified trainer and author of Ableton video training for Groove 3 (USA) Craig McCullough is available locally in SE Qld for private Ableton and music technology training.

Video training is also availble from www.groove3.com. Mobile: 0431 556 746 email: abletontrainer@ optusnet.com.au

myspace.com/sonsofgenghis. Call Jono 0410 330 702 or Andy 0420 771 357.

BANDS WANTED FOR ITUNES ALBUMS

WEB & GRAPHIC DESIGNSYDNEY

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MUSICIANS AVAILABLE

GUITARIST GUITARISTS WANTED TO TEACH

OTHER

Experienced saxophonist based in Sydney is looking for bands and studio sessions. Jazz, funky, afro, reggae,latin, rock, folk. If interested contact me at 0410041979. Cheers. Lorenzo iFlogID: 4974

SINGER

NOEL GALLAGHER-OASIS COV BAND

genuine music man searching life time members.

OASIS cover band requires a NOEL GALLAGHER. That means good singing ability and tight rythm ability. Lead not essential. Please be a fan of the music, have your own transport and some good gear. Call Blake 0420 774 819

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MUSICIANS WANTED BASS PLAYER BASS PLAYER WANTED We are a rock covers band playing classics from the 70’s to current styles. AC/DC is a big influence along with Guns N’ Roses, Pearl Jam and Hendrix. We are easy going down to earth people looking for the same. We’re looking for someone who is committed and doesn’t take themselves too seriously. We have a view to play local gigs around Wollongong and eventually doing originals and touring. If you’re interested in rocking your way to the top then look no further. Call Dale on 0409 408 596

Valleyarm Digital are looking for bands to be included on compilation albums that will be featured on iTunes worldwide, you’ll still own 100% of your recordings & publishing plus make money from the sales!! All genres are welcome and we’ll also be offering a Worldwide Digital Deal to a band or artist that we think we can market on a global scale! This will include $5000 worth of online marketing and a worldwide release on all the major digital stores. Submit your tracks (1 per band/artist) along with bio and contact details to - info@valleyarm. com www.valleyarm.com

SINGERS/MUSICIANS WANTED!

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SONS OF GENGHIS NEED DRUMMER!

OTHER

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ROCK N ROLL SINGER WANTED

Black wings need a rock n roll drummer and singer.. We are a sydney hard rock / heavy metal band influenced by Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Judas Priest etc etc...... We have dozens of songs ready to go and we are all serious, dedicated musos. Check out our myspace page and have a listen to our demos, we are serious and need someone serious who loves rock n roll... www. myspace.com/blackwingsaustralia 0415561740 OR 0435554559

TUITION

100 COLOUR POSTERS ONLY $80 Inspire Design Studios provides meaningful, smart and economic design solutions that communicates clearly with a given market. From website design, to branding, we can take you through the entire process of creating an identity for your organization. Maybe you just need some business cards, or maybe you need a completely new look. From logo design, to website creation, to company apparel, and anything in between. To provide you with the most competitive pricing contact us to discuss your requirements without any obligation. Special prices Static website (within 5 pages) $495 CMS website (within 7 pages) $695 Online shopping site $795 No hidden charges or on-going monthly fees To find out more please visit www.lydiay.com iFlogID: 2762

100 Full Colour A4 Gloss Posters = only $40 100 Full Colour A3 Matt Posters = only $50 100 Full Colour A3 Gloss Posters = only $80 and many more options to choose from Posters • Flyers • Handouts • Business Cards We can print a sample for you while you wait and complete the job within the hour. bsd@zip. com.au www.blackstar.com.au iFlogID: 4552

BEAUTY FOR A CAUSE CAMPAIGN

PI BAND ART AND DESIGN

Trust the professionals to capture the fun and magic of your party or event! 21st parties, sports clubs, nightclubs, promoters, concerts, seminars plus corporate and social functions! We’ve been awarded “Best scene Photograph” PDMA in 2009, member of the AIPP and have extensive experience in photographing events from parties through to music events of 40,000 revellers, so you can be assured of affordable quality and professional photos for your party or event! Check us out or make a booking today at www. atomikarts.com iFlogID: 3672

ON-LINE SHOPPING & NEWS Discover tygarbright for your shopping needs http://tygarbright.com http://multimedia.tygarbright.com http://shopping.tygarbright.com http://unbeatablesales.tygarbright. com http://makemoney.tygarbright. com Enjoyable, quick, easy - links to Amazon, Yahoo Best Regards, Abra 0416013269 iFlogID: 4319

1100 FULL COLOUR POSTERS = $80

P&O/DJ BOOTCAMP CRUISE

P&O have teamed up with DJ Bootcamp to bring u Australias first 8 day/3 island professional DJ Course Cruise.Learn DJing and enjoy, food,entertainmet,accommidation and 3 islands!Early booking discounts. Go www.djbootcamp.com.au to book 95472578 info. Sails August 29, 2010 iFlogID: 4498

WITCHES WINTER SOLSTICE Join us for the Winter Solstice around the midnight fires and turn the wheel of the year together. On the darkest night of the year we welcome the warmth and light of the Solstice fires! www.witchesworkshop.com iFlogID: 4933

WANTED

SINGER NEEDED

MUSICIANS AND AUDIENCE WANTED

Talented Musicians, Singers/Songwriters Wanted for collaborative project. Im a Perth based Producer seeking friendly and talented singers and musicians in any style for serious yet fun musical projects leading to an album and gigs. Interested? feel free to contact me : recording_studio19@y7mail.com iFlogID: 4931

SINGER Details: http://hotelwilliam.yayabings.com.au This is the underground melting pot of music jam sessions, organised by the Yayabings Music Club with the JazzKatts romping the Fusion Bar. Musicians/singers, comedians and artists at all levels perform by coming in on that evening. Totally impromptu and musicians may improvise with other musicians/singers or perform their own set. Local/Backpackers/Internationals all welcome. iFlogID: 2923

GET YOUR MUSIC ON RADIO! Sydney Based “Sons Of Genghis” need versatile drummer, if you play like primus meets Chilli Peppers, Faith no more meets Pantera,this is the band for you and we want your chops!! Check the sounds at www.

Do you need an affordable Illustrator? Freelance illustrator Paul Ikin can create a range of styles for your project. No hidden cost at an affordable price. Album Covers - Film Clips - Book Sleeves - Children Books - Online Images - Fliers - Posters Editorial Artwork. Visit www.paulikin. com - T: 0403 996 129

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DRUMMER

Five world-class passionate vocalists wanted for a Gospel music CD project. Must have beautiful, passionate, powerful and devotional delivery.

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RED CROSS FOR THE BLUE ROOM Wet Weather Ensemble will tackle the great American playwright Sam Shepard’s Red Cross as their next production, part of the Blue Room Theatre’s 21st birthday season ‘Old Enough To Know Better’. Telling the story of a paranoia-filled couple and their maid, Red Cross is a darkly comical look at hypochondria. The play runs Tuesday 29 June to Saturday 17 July. Tickets and further info from blueroom.org.au.

RED CROSS

This Friday night Perth Centre For Photography is announcing the winner of its CLIP Award, which recognises excellence in contemporary landscape photography (Contemporary Landscapes In Photography = CLIP), with a $3,000 cash prize for the winner. The exhibition then continues until 27 June. Head to pcp.org.au for more details.

SYDNEY PUNK MUSO RELEASES COMIC Science and supervillains are both very important to comic books, and it’s nice to see them used to address the sorely neglected topic of girl bands and zombie rock stars. A four-issue investigation of a Frankenstein-style genius who takes his reanimation skills into record production, The Grave Shakers is the “braaains”child of Sydney punk band Nancy Vandal’s Mike Foxall. Roping some hapless attractive and/or bumbling types along the way, there’s scheming and nice gloomy-looking cartoon renderings of famous people. Issue One is available for free download or purchase of the print edition atthegraveshakers.com.

ARTS

FRIDAY 4 CLIP Award – recognising excellence in landscape photography. Perth Centre For Photography. Exhibition continues until 27 June. Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow – the big comedy beast from the east comes to the west coast, bringing with it Victorian comic Dave Williams, Queenslander Matt Okine, UK comedian Zoe Lyons, and American Christian Finnegan. Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre until 5 June. Strictly Murder – a play of doublecrossing in the French countryside pre-World War II from Brian Clemens (The Avengers), and directed by Brenda Stanley. Melville Theatre until June 19.

SATURDAY 5 Big Hoo-Haa! Eighth Birthday – for eight years now The Big Hoo-Haa! has been making sure you’ve had a place to laugh your arse off every Saturday night. Now, they’re celebrating their eighth birthday. Performers include Sam Longley, Mike Djukic, Sean Walsh, Damon Lockwood, Jimmy James Eaton, and more. Astor Theatre. Mamma Mia! – the return of the smash hit musical, now in its 10th year. For ABBA freaks and novices alike. Opening night. Burswood Theatre until 4 July. The Last Emporer – Bernado Bertolucci’s masterpiece about China’s last emperor, which won 10 Academy Awards. World Movies Channel (Foxtel) as part of their 25 Filmmakers You Must See Before You Die series.

SUNDAY 6 A Collection Of Organised Spaces – closing night of this exhibition of photographic imagery investigating consructed architectural spaces, geometric forms, light, and materiality, by Jacqueline Ball. Free Range Gallery. 44 • THE DRUM MEDIA 3 JUNE 2010

PROFILE

Tell us about the gallery.

LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARD ANNOUNCEMENT

THIS WEEK IN

G A L L E RY

Mixtape Gallery has been playing host to all things art for just over a year now. Born out of a love of street art, we are dedicated to providing established and upcoming artists with a platform to showcase their works and at the same time making art accessible to the Perth public. What are some of your past highlights? Highlights would have to be the opening show; it was really good to

7 UP

MIXTAPE GALLERY 454 William St, Northbridge mixtapegallery.com.au

see it all coming together; making it a year as a lowbrow gallery in Perth; meeting people in the arts that I really respect and admire; having some big artists adorn our walls such as Makatron from the Everfresh crew, Ape Seven, Sean Morris, Kareena Zerefos, and Lwnski. The list goes on... What’s currently exhibiting? Up next we have a solo show from Perth artist Laurie Perry titled Or Well And Good, pieces of which are based on the text of Animal Farm by George Orwell. The gallery is going

REGIONS WITH ZOMBIE PROBLEMS By Cam Grace 1. Pittsburgh – Night Of The Living Dead (1968) 2. Vermont – Zombie Town (2008)

Waiting For Godot – closing night of the blockbuster Theatre Royal Haymarket Company’s production of Waiting For Godot, starring Sir Ian McKellen, Roger Rees, and Matthew Kelly. His Majesty’s Theatre.

3. London – Shaun Of The Dead (2004)

TUESDAY 8

6. Port au Prince – White Zombie (1937)

Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow – the big comedy beast from the east comes to the west coast, bringing with it Victorian comic Dave Williams, Queenslander Matt Okine, UK comedian Zoe Lyons, and American Christian Finnegan. His Majesty’s Theatre until 13 June.

WEDNESDAY 9 The Myth Of Julian Rose – world premiere of Daniel Kershaw’s debut play The Myth Of Julian Rose. Directed by the award-winning Marisa Garreffa (Motortown, 2008) the play takes a magic realism approach to suppressed trauma. Blue Room Theatre until 26 June.

ONGOING Beauties: An Illustration Of Victorian Printing Techniques – following their Cities Are Like Oceans exhibition during the recent FotoFreo Fringe, picture show present a selection of pictures from print artists made during the Queen Victoria. Wolfe Lane until 29 June. The Clean House – Black Swan Theatre’s latest production, The Clean House, starring Brooke Satchwell, which revoles around a woman who moves to the US after her parents both die – literally – of laughter. Playhouse Theatre until 19 June. Hatched 2010: National Graduate Show – PICA until 13 June. Patricia Piccinini: Relativity massive exhibition dedicated to one of Australia’s most talented sculptors, whose work explores the blending of science and nature. Art Gallery Of WA until 22 August.

4. Macon – The Crazies (2010) 5. Utah – Carnival Of Souls (1962)

7. Pennsylvania - Wicked Little Things (2007)

to take on an English countryside/ barn feel for the opening, which is happening on Thursday 10 June and kicks off at 6.30pm. Who are some local artists you admire? There are quite a few local artists I admire. I’m not going to name names though; I have a tendency to gush so I won’t go there. I will say though that I think that there are several Perth artists who really are pushing boundaries and doing some amazing things.

Looking to the immediate future – what’s on the cards? In the immediate future we have a mural workshop, which will culminate in an exhibition at the end of it. Set to feature Perth artist Pete Long, the exhibition will include skulls, Javanese culture, metal, and karaoke. The action begins early August. Early September will see a huge group show to coincide with the renaming of the gallery. Follow us on Facebook for updates and upcoming shows.

VICTORIAN-ERA PICTURE EXHIBITION Following their FotoFreo exhibition Cities Are Like Oceans, picture show are presenting Beauties: An Illustration Of Victorian Printing Techniques, which will take you back to the days of picture reproduction long before the invention of photography – a time when Queen Victoria was alive and kicking. Beauties is being shown at Wolfe Lane until 29 June.

THE RUSKIS ARE COMING The 2010 Russian Resurrection Film Festival has an historical film in it, named after historical figures you vaguely remember the names of. An historical film called Belka & Strelka that’s in 3D animation and subtitled ‘Space Dogs’. Awesome. It also features a survey of Russian WWII films, including Andrei ‘God’ Tarkovsky’s feature debut Ivan’s Childhood, a political satire called Miracle that uses a religious retribution as a lens on social taboos lifting immediately after the death of Stalin, and a superhero film called Black Lightning where the guy has a flying car (have faith – it’s produced by Night Watch director Timur Bekmambatov). Russian Resurrection runs Wednesday 8 September to Wednesday 15 at Cinema Paradiso. Full programme online at russianresurrection.com.

ONE FOR THE ROAD AS PART OF THE MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL ROADSHOW, ZOE LYONS IS TAKING IN ALL OF WA ONE OBSERVATION AT A TIME, AS JASON KENNY DISCOVERS.

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oe Lyons and the rest of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow have ony just arrived in WA, and only done one performance, in Karratha, but Lyons thinks she’s got it pinned. “It’s great. I’ve been here a day and I’ve been to Woolworths twice. I think I’ve done the town,” Lyons says from her hotel room. “There is a Coles, and there’s also a Kmart, but I’m here for two days so I wanted to save that for today.” Like many other comics, the British comedienne was heading to the southern hemisphere tour over a few months. Now she’s in the midst, she’s enjoying it but she did have trouble getting the flights. “I came over to do the New Zealand Comedy Festival and I was delayed by three or four [days] getting there because of the volcano,” she says, refering to Eyjafjallajökull. “Fingers crossed it doesn’t blow up again when I try to get back. I’ve already had friends who have been dumped in Frankfurt and been left there a few days.”

Frankfurt have quite a few supermarkets, so no doubt she’d be fine. “In Frankfurt, I’d go crazy,” she confirms. The Roadshow not only presents a great format for the audiences, seeing a selection of comedians that this year include Queenslander Matt Okine and American Christian Finnegan, but also for the comics themselves. “Comedy can be a very lonely occupation,” Lyon describes. “I travel around the UK a lot on my own doing gigs and different places so to have company is wonderful. And to have the same people with you is really nice because you know what each of you is capable of and if I have a bad gig, the others know it’s just a one off.” It’s not the first lengthy time that Lyons has spent in our country. “I backpacked around Australia when I was younger,” Lyon reminisces. “I did the whole thing of work in Sydney, bought a van, and drove around. I never made it to WA, but I went up to Queensland and Northern Territory.

I worked on a banana farm in Queensland and that was interesting. I was working with a lot of people who worked daily with alcohol and machetes, so I’ve seen a lot of people without a full compliment of fingers. You’ve got to keep your wits about you, if not your fingers.”

along,” she says. “It’s pretty funny how you get into a rhythm and you get to know other people’s sets. You can almost mouth them at the end. We could change completely by the end of it; we could be a dance troupe in three and a half weeks time.”

With developing jokes and observations as they travel around the countryside, it also presents the comedians with a unique opportunity to see how others develop new material.

WHAT: Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 4 June and Friday 5 Bunbury Entertainment Centre; Tuesday 8 to Sunday 13 His Majesty’s Theatre Perth; Tuesday 15 Experance Civic Centre; Wednesday 16 Goldfields Arts Centre, Kalgoorlie.

“I think we’ll have different pieces of new stuff each night to keep ourselves entertained as we go

THEATRE

REVIEWS

BUGS BUNNY AT THE SYMPHONY

ONCE WERE

ANIMALS ON-SET FIGHTING, CIGARETTES, AND SUNDANCE: WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF ANIMAL KINGDOM, THE AUSTRALIAN FILM EVERYONE OVERSEAS IS TALKING ABOUT. ALICE TYNAN SPEAKS TO ACTOR BEN MENDELSOHN AND THE FILM’S WRITER/DIRECTOR DAVID MICHÔD.

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he poster for Animal Kingdom may simply declare the film as ‘A Crime Story’, when it is in fact a searing portrait of family loyalties, love and dysfunction, brutally tethered to the nihilism that comes with so virulently living outside the law. With an impressive ensemble cast including Guy Pierce, Jackie Weaver, and Joel Edgerton, the film also makes the most of its titular metaphor; one that is too meaty not to wonder if it can apply to writerdirector David Michôd’s debut feature production, particularly when it stars a lion of an actor in Ben Mendelsohn. The film’s ambition, precision as well as the win at Sundance clearly marks Michôd as the new player in town. And Meldelsohn, for one, has noticed. “Fuck, I mean can you imagine coming out of the blocks any stronger?” he declares. “David’s got a beautiful brain [and] he’s very connected in, he’s got a lot going on concerning human dynamics. He’s the kind of person who’s got a feel for uptown and downtown, [and] he’s a man that’s shown a significant mastery of the medium. I think there’s plenty for people that like films to be a bit hopeful and excited about with David.” For Michôd, Animal Kingdom has been a ten-year labour of love, and one that developed from the merits of his short film work. “You spend all those years writing something of that size, but not actually being able to imagine ever being in a position where you can make the thing,” the filmmaker says. “And what felt at the time like a relatively sudden shift in the whole landscape, where it didn’t feel just makeable, it felt inevitable.” This paradigm shift brought Michôd to his first feature film set, alongside Mendelsohn, who admits, “I was essentially raised on set, I’m probably more comfortable on a set at work than anywhere really.” And together they brought to life in Pope Cody what will surely come to be one of Australian cinema’s most malevolent and coolly nightmarish antagonists. On the page, Michôd reveals, “I had an idea of a particular kind of damage, a particular kind of man who had never been fully functional, but had managed to survive within a certain kind of network of people and within a certain kind of social framework. When that framework starts to unravel, as it does for him in the movie – we’re in

a particular era where his main field of criminal expertise is becoming ever increasingly unviable – such that when that framework in which he has just managed to be functional starts to unravel, so does he. There’s a particular kind of damaged child in there that, when lost and confused, lashes out.” Mendelsohn came to Pope during a frenetic period of working backto-back (and overlapping) films, Knowing, Beautiful Kate, and Prime Mover, as well as TV shows Tangle and Who Do You Think You Are. “It ended up being kind of perfect, because I think working that hard is actually really good for me,” he says. “It’s kind of full on, but I actually do very well [to] peddle to the metal. And I just didn’t care anymore; I didn’t care how full on it got inside. “I have no idea how the people in the world of the events are – never seen ’em, never heard ’em, can’t feel ’em. So I took one or two things from people that I’d run into, impressions that you get. The most important of which is that people who are actually dangerous don’t need to pretend they’re dangerous.” However Meldelsohn also admits, “It wasn’t a fun film to make. They don’t have to be. I had a lot of fun while I was there, but it was a difficult shoot at times.” This, it seems was in part the byproduct of Michôd’s incisive psychological characterisation. “You’re dealing with something that is particularly up close and well more than personal, it’s hyper personal,” Meldelsohn says, “and when you’re doing that you need your full range of dysfunctional kind of feeling set to be able to be on display and accessed. So in order to do that you just want to do it. And that’s just kind of an

DVD REVIEW

unspoken agreement or a pact or the film taking over, or all those sort of things, that ‘we’re doing this.’ “But it really got ugly for a while. There were fights on this set, there were punch-ups. We were able to do stuff with each other and still come back from there [because] we all kind of adore each other. We’re not like the Codys but we got a family rapport going.” For Michôd, however, the tension took its toll. “I starting smoking almost two packs a day,” he says. But then again with rave reviews across the board, perhaps the ends justified the means. In this nigh saturated market of crime-time TV, Animal Kingdom comes as a refreshingly weighty and beautifully constructed piece of cinema. “I didn’t want to make a film that was a glorification of criminal endeavours,” Michôd says, “I didn’t want to make a film in which these characters were really cool. I have a deep, strange, if not love...empathy for these characters, but I didn’t want to make a kind of cool, rock’n’roll crime film, I wanted to make something more substantial than that.” While Michôd remains quietly anxious for his film to strike a chord with Australian audiences, Meldelsohn is droll. “I think this film is such a palpable experience that it’s going to be fine,” he says. “And if we don’t catch you buggers here in Australia, don’t worry, we’ll catch a lot of the rest of the world anyway.” WHAT: Animal Kingdom Now screening.

GIVEAWAY! Thank God for the indie comedy. These days every second film that comes out stars That Guy Who Used To Do Action Films But Now Is The Face Of Men’s Perfume and Women That Was In A Really Good TV Show But Never Made It In The Film World...Really in some botched attempt at comedy. So it’s refreshing when a little less money is spent on the catering and fed into the script. The latest indie-tastic comedy to come out of the US is City Island, revolving around a dysfunctional family headed by Andy Garcia (yes!) and Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife) and also featuring the always reliable Emily Mortimer. Thanks to Anchor Bay Films we’ve got five double in-season passes to the film to giveaway, so for your chance to win one email giveaways@drumperth.com.au with “CITY ISLAND” in the subject line.

DAVID CROSS: BIGGER AND BLACKERER

Burswood Theatre, 29/05/2010 There couldn’t possibly be a better way to spend a Saturday afternoon then by heading to the casino to watch some of the finest cartoons of all time brought to life by a symphony orchestra. That’s exactly what conductor George Daugherty has been doing and last week he was in Perth to treat children of all ages to classic episodes of Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies with the added bonus of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra providing the soundtrack. Through such classics as What’s Opera, Doc, The Rabbit Of Seville, A Corny Concerto, and more, the crowd relived some classic memories of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Sylvester and more of the characters that continue to be shown on TV after decades upon decades. The choice of cartoons also reflected history with the likes of Scooby Doo, The Flintstones, and Tom & Jerry making the cut after Hanna Barbera was absorbed into Warner Brothers a decade ago. The music itself showed just how often cartoons have used classical music to tell a story instead of dialogue, and also one could never tire of hearing the classic Looney Tunes theme song, especially as it was played using Warner Brothers’ original slide guitar from the original recordings. While this was a marvellous introduction to classical music for many punters, for me, it was an untimely reminder that yes, Bugs Bunny did cross dress a lot, and yes, Garth Algar, it was attractive when he did. MATTHEW HOGAN

WAITING FOR GODOT His Majesty’s Theatre It was certainly a coup for Perth theatre to get the latest telling of Samuel Beckett’s classic play Waiting For Godot with legendary stage actor Sir Ian McKellen, and it did not disappoint on its opening night at His Majesty’s Theatre. For those unfamiliar with the work, legendary Irish scribe Beckett penned this ‘tragicomedy’ mid-last century and it follows a couple of days in the lives of two hobos, who are looking for a mysterious character called Godot, who seemingly has all the answers. Through their daily routine of bickering like a married couple, eating carrots and parsnips, urinating off stage, and considering suicide, they encounter the rotund Pozzo, who is being led by Lucky, who has a long noose around his neck. McKellen is, of course, brilliant in his part and it’s truly a pleasure to watch the man act in person. But it wouldn’t be a stretch to say Welsh actor Roger Rees, who appeared regularly on Cheers and The West Wing, stole the show playing the leader of the two. A local lad who plays ‘The Boy’ also deserves a shout out; let’s hope his career has not crested too soon. While it has been said that nothing really happens in Waiting For Godot, or nothing happens twice across the two acts, the story will stay with you long after you’ve left the theatre and leave you thinking about its hidden meanings for ages. Theatre Royal Haymarket have succeeded in keeping true to Beckett’s words and a created a show that will stay fresh in your mind long after the curtains go down. Until 6 June MATTHEW HOGAN

David Cross. It’s safe to assume you know him from his role as Tobias Fünke on Arrested Development. If that’s your only knowledge of Cross then you’re probably in for a shock with Bigger And Blackerer – the kind of shock akin to watching your first Robin Williams stand-up routine when you’ve grown up on films like Aladdin, Mrs Doubtfire, and Good Morning Vietnam. It’s a good shock, though, as one would suspect the unintentional double entendres would get thin pretty quickly in the stand-up environment. Tobias Fünke this is not. Instead, Cross delivers insights into the hypocrisy of Americans, the editorial policy of the Bible and Jesus’ inflated sense of self-worth, as well as dropping some serious race bombs on the crowd. All delivered in dad jeans. Introduced by a completely cute but foul-mouthed kid – who’s delivery suggests he’s been schooled in the Seinfeld school of comedy – and featuring an interpreter for the deaf, which makes for a couple of great interlude gags, Cross’s humour is observational, irreverent and often completely offensive. But he’s a charmer, and completely on the ball, which makes Bigger And Blackerer one of the most refreshing stand-up DVDs made available in some time. Bonus features include a swag of material from the show that, for whatever reason (timing?), didn’t make it onto the feature which is strange because there’s some serious gold there. Make sure you don’t skip the extras. Out now on DVD through Sub Pop DANIEL CRICHTON-ROUSE

MATTHEW LUTTON

LUTTON NAMED YOUTH ARTS CITIZEN OF THE YEAR Twenty-five-year-old Matthew Lutton has been awarded WA Citizenship Of The Year – Youth Arts Award for his contribution to the arts. Lutton, currently in Munich working on a new opera for the Bavarian State Opera, founded the Thinice theatre company at the age of 17, and last year directed The Mysteries: Genesis for Sydney Theatre Company with Andrew Upton and Tom Wright, as well as this year’s Love Me Tender, which premiered at the Perth International Arts Festival. Lutton’s new production, Kafka’s The Trial, will perform at Subiaco Arts Centre in October. Tickets are on sale now through BOCS Ticketing.

LOTS OF LOVE COMING TO PLAYHOUSE If New York, I Love You was a little too self-indulgent for you, LOVEBiTES may be more up your alley. Made up of vignettes revolving around seven couples and their unrequited love, forbidden love, true love, self-love, and the like, LOVEBiTES comes from the two-week run in Sydney and is off to New York for their Music Theatre Festival in October. With play-within-play titles such as The Captain’s Turned Off The Fasten Seatbelt Sign and When You See Someone’s Shit you know this is a more irreverent look at love. Produced by Neil Gooding Productions (whose Holding The Man is currently playing at London’s West End) and directed by Neil Gooding, LOVEBiTES runs at the Playhouse Theatre Thursday 24 June to Sunday 11 July. THE DRUM MEDIA 3 JUNE 2010 • 45

THE FARCE SIDE WITH ONE OF THE ICONIC FARCES OF MUSICAL THEARE, CRISPIN TAYLOR AND WAAPA MAKE SURE ANYTHING GOES. JASON KENNY PULLS ON HIS TAP SHOES.

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CRISPIN TAYLOR

“The show’s got everything in it, apart from the comedy in it – it’s got tap routines, it’s got sexy angels and sailors and it’s absolutely an action packed show.”

“Our mid-year musical is always a big spectacle,” explains director Crispin Taylor, “but this one is for our 30th anniversary so this is probably the most spectacular show ever staged at WAAPA, I should think, due to the sheer size of it.”

“The way I see a show for me is that it’s a ride. I like the audience leaning forward into the ride and hanging onto their seats. I don’t like theatre where you can sit back and relax and this show is an absolute wild ride. The performers like it because it’s the perfect vehicle for singing and dance and they’re very busy in the show.”

“Last year we did 42nd Street at the Regal and it sold out. It was very successful. It’s obviously a very splashy musical, and we thought what could top that? Anything Goes is a show that does that. There’s everything you could imagine in a musical.” As well as containing some of Cole Porter’s most iconic and well known songs, Anything Goes gives the performers to show off all sides of their talents.

FILM

The action packed nature is what appeals to Taylor as a director.

Since its 1934 premier, Anything Goes has forged a place at the top of musical theatre. “It’s sort of the model for musical theatre farce. I think young people today think that acting is all about being grim and earnest and crying and drama whereas comedy itself requires an incredible level of discipline and these guys are discovering that. The timing needs to be impeccable, particularly on a stage so big. One person has to exit the stage at this point at the same

time another person has to appear. The timing is crucial and it’s a great vehicle for their learning.” For a work that debuted almost 70 years ago, Porter’s musical still sounds fresh today. “Our take on it is a very contemporary, sexy, sassy take. It’s very raunchy in parts. When you actually look at Cole Porter’s life, he lived a very debauched life. Even one of the lines in I Get A Kick Out Of You, he quotes about cocaine use and we think we’re all very modern but there was a lot of drugs and a lot of sex going on in his time.” Taylor laughs

SEX AND THE CITY 2 If you take Sex out of the City, then what have you got? Sex And The City 2. If you take once-loved characters and transform them into whiney, entitled, out of touch jerks, then what have you got? Sex And The City 2. And if you take one minute and stretch it into two-and-a-half damn hours, then what have you got? Boom. Yes. Sex And The City 2. But this last point might be forgivable if the two-and-a-half damn hours were sustained by more than half a damn idea. There’s exactly 0.002 units of thought to sustain every minute of film and – guess what – that just isn’t enough. As a result, the sum total of what SATC2 manages to achieve is approximately “zero”; or “nothing” if you’re using the old imperial units of measurement. To emphasise this point, allow me to summarise the “plot”: Carrie is happy and married. Miranda is unhappily employed. Charlotte is a sometimes unhappy parent. Samantha never changes and that is part of her appeal. Some things happen – a gay wedding, Miranda’s boss is mean to her, Charlotte gets paint on her vintage Valentino and (horror, horror) Mr Big buys the worst thing imaginable in the entire world ever for Carrie and their apartment: a flat 46 • THE DRUM MEDIA 3 JUNE 2010

and quickly adds, “I’m not saying our students relate to that but it’s not as old fashioned as they think it is at all.’ It does, after all, have universal themes that we struggle with today. “It’s about lost lonely souls on a ship who eventually they find love. Eventually they find each other and, as with any good musical, they end up in a closing number.” WHAT: Anything Goes WHEN & WHERE: Friday 11 June to Sunday 19, Regal Theatre, Subiaco

Well, folks, it’s one of those weekends. It’s as if the entire city is taking a collective breather, preparing for when the arts scene will once again go gangbusters. Of course, since the nights are getting so chilly, there’s never been a better weekend to stay in. In honour of having a quiet one, Cultural Cringe presents the Top Five Vaguely Cultural Indoors Activities. 1. GET THEE TO A GALLERY Okay, we may not exactly be sporting a worthy adversary to the Louvre, but we do have a few well-intentioned institutions who have dedicated considerable time, money and wall space to ensuring that the visual arts are represented in our little town. For a grand total of zero dollars, you can check out Hatched (PICA), Pierre Bismuth (Fremantle Arts Centre), space-matter-colour, Brian Branchflower (Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery), and the WA State Art Collection (The Art Gallery Of Western Australia – and let’s be honest, you probably haven’t been there since your Year 8 excursion). Best bit? It’s warm in there. 2. WATCH A BRILLIANT DVD SERIES Australian broadcasters are notorious for treating terrific cult TV series in an absolutely appalling manner. However, thanks to the advent of DVD, even watching a series in weekly instalments, unfettered by breaks and repeats, has become a bit passé. The real fans assemble wine, pizza, chocolate and friends (optional) and absorb entire seasons in a

single sitting. There’s amazing stuff out there – True Blood, Mad Men, Deadwood, The Wire – but for this writer, it’s going to be the gloriously kitsch Pushing Daisies. 3. CHECK OUT REGRETSY.COM This website is win-win. If you are the creative type, it will make you feel great that you make better art than this. If you are not the creative type, then you will experience the smug satisfaction that comes with knowing that while your art may be crap, at least you didn’t make that crap. 4. GO TO THE BIG HOO-HAA Laughter is the best medicine. It is also an excellent warming agent – particularly when coupled with a glass or two of red wine from the Brisbane Hotel’s fine selection then venture upstairs to Lady Susan’s Comedy Den, where the crème de la crème of Perth’s theatrical types will dazzle you. It happens every Saturday from 8pm, with the line-up changing weekly. 5. READ SOMETHING There’s nothing quite like curling up under a rug with a cup of hot tea and a good book. Go and sigh at the art books at New Edition or Boffins, or hunt for bargain-bin gold at Elizabeth’s. And if leaving the house is too much effort, peruse the classics on Google books or download the free Wattpad iPhone app. Don’t worry – next weekend, Perth will be literally exploding with culture. But until then, rug up and enjoy a DIY cultural weekend.

MINOTAUR JR

REVIEWS

SEX AND THE CITY 2

CRINGE

WITH ALEKSIA BARRON

t’s ten weeks into rehearsal for WAAPA’s mid-year musical. Although the show, Cole Porter’s Anything Goes, will play at the Regal Theatre, they’ve been pushed into rehearsing at the Burswood Dome just to fit the three-storey set.

The size, apart from the set, includes a cast of 36 as the second-year actors play the ensemble while the third-years take the principle roles, and an orchestra of 22.

C U LT U R A L

THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES screen TV. On the verge of a total epic meltdown, they all decide to ditch town and go to Abu Dhabi, which is where most of the film unfolds. Then there’s some contrived drama. And some really superficial attempts at engaging with the sexual politics of the Middle East. At one point Samantha dry humps the air and shrieks, “I HAVE SEX!” while surrounded by a circle of conservative Muslim men. Before that, our dynamic foursome took to a karaoke stage to sing I Am Woman, because, you know, that’s what Germaine Greer would do. This is all as embarrassing as it sounds. And it only gets worse. Stay the hell away. Now screening ROWENA GRANT-FROST

THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES (EL SECRETO DE SUS OJOS) The somewhat surprise winner of this year’s Academy Award for best foreign film, The Secret In Their Eyes (El secreto de sus ojos) is an extremely worthy film. Expansive, atmospheric and sensuously shot, it lures you into the foggy world of memory, further misted over by layers of regret. Adapting the novel by Eduardo

Sacheri, Argentinean writer/director Juan José Campanella weaves a captivating web around the story of a retired criminal court investigator, Benjamín Esposito (Ricardo Darín) who decides to write a novel about a twenty-five year old case; the criminal, and the girl, who got away. From the moment a grey haired Esposito pays a visit to his former colleague, now judge Irene Menéndez Hastings (Soledad Villamil), an epic, unrequited love story is effortlessly established. The film cuts backwards and forwards between the pair reminiscing as Esposito struggles to write his novel in 1999, and 1974 when he unwillingly took the Morales case – a rape/murder of a beautiful 23-year-old teacher – the event that effectively sidelined his life. Félix Monti’s breathtakingly subjective cinematography, combined with deeply compassionate performances, pathos and humour make this film a tantalising world in which to spend 127 minutes. Though the political turmoil is largely in the background, those aware of Argentina’s checkered past will have a deeper understanding of the film as an historical parable, evoking the importance of memory and the pain of justice still unmet. Now screening ALICE TYNAN

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU SUPPRESS TRAUMA? IT CATCHES UP TO YOU IN THE FORM OF A MINOTAUR ACCORDING TO THE MYTH OF JULIAN ROSE. THE PLAY’S DIRECTOR MARISA GARREFFA CHATS TO MATTHEW HOGAN.

F

ollowing on from her role as resident director of the highly acclaimed EAT my monologue programme at bamBOO, Marisa Garreffa returns with The Myth Of Julian Rose. Presented by the director’s company Mondo Di Corpo, Garreffa says the Daniel Kershaw penned script found its way to her. “Daniel is part of an emerging writers program at Black Swan,” she informs. “They had a look at his script, which is quite macabre and quite fantastical and they said, ‘I think you should call Marisa Garreffa.’ And he gave me a call and said, ‘I’ve been told you are the person for my script’ and I had a read of his script and it just had the fantastic metaphor with this amazing Minotaur in the story that stalks the main character, and I fell in love with that image and came on board first as the drama tech. So I mentored Daniel for about the last four months on developing the script, and now I’m directing.” With the play exploring “the fallout from suppressing trauma,” Garreffa says the play addresses many difficult questions. “If you don’t deal with or refuse to even remember trauma, how does it force its way out

onto the surface? And in out case, it does that through a 10 foot tall Minotaur up on stilts and it starts to hunt Julian Rose. So it’s probably a worst case scenario story!” She also has very high hopes for the young scribe. “I think he’s going to go quite far,” Garreffa says, gushing. “The pieces that he’s done before have been quite short and more exploratory works. This is the first big piece that’s really gone through some serious development and what’s amazing is how well he responds to development. We’ll give him feedback and he goes away and he gets inspired and he comes back with five new scenes that are completely new and completely out there. He gets inspired by that process and new writing just pours out of him.” Being performed as part of The Blue Room’s 21st birthday season, The Myth Of Julian Rose also features some elements of a circus act, adding to the genre crossing of the production. “I’m working with an amazing movement practitioner called Sarah Nelson, and she does some stunning stilt work with two different heights throughout the performance,” continues Garreffa.

“We’re working with her creating this Minotaur up on two different heights of stilts, which has just been amazing. And we’ve got Tristan Parr on cello plays live along with her to create this quite amazing sound and movement that is the beast that haunts him.” It’s not all dark as well known comedian and improviser Glenn Hall also gets in on the act. “He and I just love working together,” Garreffa says. “We work really well together, he actually came to me and said, ‘What’s this piece you’ve got going on? Is there a piece in it for me?’ But it’s really nice because his character does bring a beautiful lightness to the show, which is quite dark. It’s great that we’ve got a comedian doing that. Plus, we’ve got James Helm, who is playing Julian Rose, and he is quite a well known and wonderful film actor, who I’ve worked with in the past and I’m really looking forward to this process of shaking him out of film and putting him into theatre mode.” WHAT: The Myth Of Julian Rose WHEN & WHERE: Tuesday 8 June to Sunday 26, The Blue Room Theatre

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