Time Off Issue #1477 by TheMusic.com.au

VICTORIA'S HIGHEST CIRCUL ATING STREET PRESS

INSIDE THE IN SOUND FROM WAY OUT

WHY THE BEST NEW MUSIC IS COMING OUT OF REGIONAL VICTORIA

FREE DOWNLOADS

TAME IMPALA

WAGONS

CLOSURE IN MOSCOW

JOACHIM GARRAUD

R IC H M O ND F O NTA I NE U NE A RT H DEAF WISH R IC K I E L EE J O N E S

IVILEGED PR

ESS: CC A

SPEC IA L

W E D N E S D AY 2 6 M AY 2 0 10 ~ I S S U E 112 4 ~ F R E E

ZEBRA

MELBOURNE - MORNINGTON PENINSULA - BALLARAT / BENDIGO - GEELONG / SURF COAST

33,408

Wednesday 26 May

SINGLE TWIN + D.A.CALF

8.30pm, $8 Entry (band room)

Thursday 27 May

MISS LUCY

6pm, Free in the Front Bar

EMMA WALL + SPINIFEX ROSE

8.30pm $10 Entry (band room)

Friday 28 May

JIMMY TAIT DUO 6pm Free in the Front Bar THE PRETTY STRANGERS + GRIZZLEY JIM LAWRIE + LEFT FEELS RIGHT 8.30pm, $6 Entry (band room) Saturday 29 may

THE BOYS

6pm Free in the Front Bar

Sunday 30 may

THE EDINBURGH COLLECTIVE

FEATURING TIM MCMILLAN + JAKKSEN FISH + BETH KING 4pm , $5 Entry (band room) + LISA WOOD

VIVIEN BLACK

+ JESS RIBERO + BLOOD RED BIRD + THE COOLING PIE NEARBY 8.30pm, $8 Entry (band room)

Coming Up...

Open...MON - THU...from 4pm ‘til late FRI...from 2pm ‘til late SAT - SUN...from 12pm ‘til late

Live Music Bookings wesleyannebookings@gmail.com www.wesleyanne.com.au

1/6: DEAN STEVENSON (TAS), 2/6: AKASA, 3/6: THE BOY WHO SPOKE CLOUDS + BIANCA POITEVIN + GENEVIEVE AND JEZEBEL, 4/6: LUCAS PAINE, 5/6: LYDIA PHILLIPS + ALANNA AND ALICIA EGAN BAND, 6/6: EARL GREY POLICY, 9/6: JOHN FLANAGAN AND THE BEGIN AGAINS + YELKA + HAZELMEN BROTHERS, 11/6: TOBIAS HENGEVELD + CLARE JENKINS, 18/6: SHANE WALTERS, 19/6: JESS CHALKER + COBY GRANT

Autumn Special Two for one meals on Mondays (excludes steak, fish and specials)

bookings: 9482 1333 5

WEDNESDAY 26 MAY OPEN MIC NIGHT 8PM FREE

THURSDAY 27 MAY

MICHAELA ALEXANDER + TIM ANDERS + JAMES HENRY 8PM FREE

FRIDAY 28 MAY

THE EMPTY HORSES + OCTAVIA SPACE 10PM FREE

SATURDAY 29 MAY DELIVERY BOY + GUESTS 10PM FREE

SUNDAY 30 MAY OPEN DECKS NIGHT 6PM FREE

TUESDAY 1 JUNE KARAOKE NIGHT 9PM FREE

635 HIGH ST THORNBURY VIC 3071 OPEN 5PM TILL LATE, CLOSED MONDAYS PH (03)9495-0341 WWW.MYSPACE.COM/THEBENDERBAR

No.109

What does opening a COOPERS DARK ALE sound like?

BRUNSWICK

Thursdays in May

Stephen Cummings Come for dinner and a stellar acoustic show of rockabilly, honkytonk and Chicago blues. 7.30pm

Saturdays in May

Suzannah Espie & the Last Word Soul-country heart-throb Suzannah Espie takes to the Union stage with her sensational band the Last Word for five glorious afternoon sessions. Check it out. 5pm

Sun 30 May

Jody Galvin & The Tender Hearts rockin’ all-girl band playing country, rock, swing, soul & the odd ballad

Visit coopers.com.au for all details. 8

kwp!CPR10778

THE UNION HOTEL

BRUNSWICK 109 UNION ST, BRUNSWICK UHBBOOKINGS@YAHOO.COM.AU

9388 2235

ALBUM OF THE WEEK “The venom they spit hasn’t lessened in speed or impact a great way to spend half & hour” Cameron Adams - Herald Sun

Avalanche album launch

“Music that carries punch, lyrically & musically with a hint of Sonic Youth” Graham Hammond - Sunday Herald Sun

Friday 11th & Saturday 12th June

“Avalanche is a force to be reckoned with” Matthew Heath - Canberra Times

THE CORNER HOTEL special guests BIG SCARY & CITY RIOTS

“Avalanche conﬁrms British India are one of the best bands in the modern era” Jeff Jenkins - Inpress

N I G H T WO R K T O U R

ONE SHOW ONLY FESTIVAL HALL MONDAY JULY 26 ON SALE THIS FRIDAY ticketmaster.com.au or 136 100

Presented by Michael Coppel I scissorsisters.com I coppel.com.au

New album Night Work in stores June 25 11

ISSUE 1124

WEDNESDAY 26 MAY 2010 CREDITS EDITORIAL

Group Managing Editor Andrew Mast Editor Shane O’Donohue music@inpress.com.au Interval Editor Daniel Crichton-Rouse interval@inpress.com.au National Dance Editor Kris Swales zebra@inpress.com.au Contributing Editor Adam Curley Staff Writers Bryget Chrisfield, Michael Smith

ADVERTISING sales@inpress.com.au National Sales & Marketing Director Leigh Treweek Victorian Sales Manager Katie Owen Arts & local advertising Sarah Blaby Bands & local advertising Adrian Stoyles Zebra/Clubs Fern Greig-Moore

DESIGN & LAYOUT artroom@inpress.com.au Group Art Director Stuart Teague Inpress Cover Design / Art Direction Matt Greenwood Layout Matt Davis, Matt Greenwood, Stuart Teague

ACCOUNTS & ADMINISTRATION accounts@streetpress.com.au Accounts Qing Shu

CONTRIBUTORS

RICHMOND FONTAINE INPRESS 14 18 20 22 24 25 26 28 30 30 32 32 32 32 33 33

Foreword Line – news, opinions, tours, Backlash and Frontlash, and a report from ATP in the UK Sia is ready to give up performing and get spermulated Wagons should have been touring with Those Darlins’. They ain’t It sounds like it’s all over for Cog Nile sing about all things ancient Egypt The bloke from Richmond Fontaine sings songs and writes books Closure In Moscow are ready to crack the US On The Record reviews new releases by The Modfather, Dead Letter Circus and Foals The Mourning Sons pay tribute to Dean Turner The dude from Clue To Kalo is now based in Melbourne The Scotch Of Saint James don’t sing about girls Chris Pickering spent last year in Tennessee The Coronas beat U2 for a big award Iowa like making fuzzed-out noise Deaf Wish are about to play their last gig. Kind of The Black Dahlia Murder like corrupting kids

FRONT ROW 56

This Week In Arts highlights the best events happening of the next seven days and nights; 7 Up lists films informed by art; Cultural Cringe looks at two local Cannes winners and the controversy surrounding them; Yalin Ozucelik talks working with John Bell as King Lear Sixteen-year-old British dancing sensation George Sampson talks starring in the first dance film shot in 3D, StreetDance 3D; Digital Potato looks at the month’s new release DVDs What’s coming up in News; Snapshot features a work by Tim Craker

25 59

Just in time for the FIFA World Cup, Mr Cleansheets gets reviewed; James Pender, known for his role as Jesus in The Ronnie Johns Half Hour, talks about heading out on the road Marco Amenta brings a new realism to Italian mafia films in The Sicilian Girl; Red Dead Redemption gets reviewed; this week’s film reviews include The Losers and City Island; Toby Walker runs us through his life as a freelance writer ahead of In The Pub: I Write What I Want, When I Want

BACK TO INPRESS 62 65 65 65 74 74 74 75 75 78 79 80 86 90 90

We investigate why the best new music is coming out of regional Victoria in The In Sound From Way Out Our LIVE section has everything you need to know about the world of Melbourne live music! Gig Of The Week has a look at Love Is Blindside LIVE:Reviews is blown away by Kim Salmon & The Surrealists Stu Harvey gives you a ShortFastReport on the world of punk and hardcore Andrew Haug takes us to the dark side in The Racket Kendal Coombs leads the under-18s boardroom in the Department Of Youth Adam Curley starts a ‘90s revival in The Breakdown Dan Condon blues then roots in Roots Down If you haven’t appeared in Fred Negro’s Pub, your mother probably still speaks to you Jeff Jenkins checks in with Lazy Susan in Howzat! Our Gig Guide fills your diary for the weekend Find your new band and just about anything else in our classy Classifieds Finish Line hits hard with industry fact (and conjecture) Clem pines for NYC in Greatest Hit

GIVEAWAYS Closure In Moscow

Senior Contributors Clem Bastow, Jeff Jenkins Overseas Contributors Tom Hawking (US), James McGalliard (UK), Sasha Perera (UK). Writers Nick Argyriou, The Boomeister, Paul Andrew, Atticus Bastow, Steve Bell, Tim Burke, Dan Condon, Anthony Carew, EJ Cartledge, Peter Chambers, Matthew Cheetham, Chris Chinchilla, Rebecca Cook, Kendal Coombs, Adam Curley, Cyclone, Michael Daniels, Wayne Davidson, Guy Davis, Carolyn Dempsey, Liza Dezfouli, John Eagle, Guido Farnell, Sam Fell, Bob Baker Fish, Johnny Gash, Cameron Grace, Stu Harvey, Andrew Haug, Andy Hazel, Anthony Horan, Rod Hunt, Layne Kim, Cookie Lee, Joey Lightbulb, Michael Magnusson, Baz McAlister, Keith McDougall, Sam McDougall, Tony McMahon, Adam D Mills, Count Monbulge, Luke Monks, Fred Negro, Mark Neilsen, Roger Nelson, Danielle O’Donohue, Matt O’Neill, Jordan Oliver, Adrian Potts, Paul Ransom, Symon JJ Rock, Adam Sharp, Nic Toupee, Rob Townsend, Dominique Wall, Doug Wallen, Rod Yates.

PHOTOGRAPHERS Chrissie Francis, Kate Griffin, Kane Hibberd, Lara Luz, Lou Lou Nutt, Gina Maher, James Morgan, Heidi Takla, Nathan Uren.

INTERNS Andrea Biagini, Dale Brett, Mitchell Brown, Julian Hocking, Stefanie Markidis.

EDITORIAL POLICY 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. By submitting letters to us for publication, you agree that we may edit the letter for legal, space or other reasons. ©

DEADLINES Editorial Friday 5pm Advertising Bookings Friday 5pm Advertising Artwork Monday 5pm General Inquiries info@inpress.com.au (no attachments) Accounts/Administration accounts@streetpress.com.au Gig Guide gigguide@inpress.com.au Distribution distro@inpress.com.au Office Hours 9am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday

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Email giveaways@inpress.com.au from 5pm Wednesday Willy Vlautin is in Australia to talk up his third novel, Lean On Pete, at the Sydney Writers’ Festival but is also taking the opportunity to play some stripped-back Richmond Fontaine shows to promote that band’s ninth album, We Used To Think The Freeway Sounded Like A River. If you have a fondness for narrative-driven tunes and, as Street Press Australia’s-own Steve bell puts it, “The incredible empathy that he displays for the litany of fucked-up losers and misfits that inhabit his dreamt-up worlds,” (see page 25) fear not. For those who spent all their hard-earned on booze over the weekend, we have three double passes to give away to this Sunday’s show at the East Brunswick Club. Support on the night is from Robert F Cranney.

all 44 shows – and that’s just the start of it as there are even more international shows yet to be announced. To help you catch them before they get even more famous, we are giving away two double passes so two lucky readers can take a date along to their show at the East Brunswick Club on Saturday 5 June (but make sure you and your plus one are 18+). Support on the night comes from good buddies of the band, Secrets In Scale.

It seems that fans of Melbourne’s Closure In Moscow just can’t get enough. Days after wrapping up their Supreme Turbo Facilitator tour (selling out all but one of the shows) the popular five-piece have announced their Singularity tour featuring headline dates in all capital cities. The tour marks the beginning of what intends to be a super massive travel cycle for Closure In Moscow as they head across to the US on the Warped tour playing WORD UP TO PRIZE WINNERS: Prizes must be collected from Inpress offices during business hours (9am-5.30pm, Mon-Fri). ID is required when collecting prizes. Prizes must be collected within four weeks of the giveaway being published. Please note, Inpress giveaway policy is that winners are permitted one prize per four-week period only.

FOREWORD LINE

NEWS FROM THE FRONT

THE NAME GAME

KARNIVOOL FAR FROM OVER

WEDNESDAY 26 MAY

SISSIES & SLUTS THEATRE GROUP PRESENTS:

“WHATEVER HAPPENED TO HYENA MADRID?”

With eight shows on their upcoming New Day tour sold out, Perth heavy rockers Karnivool have announced a string of new dates to appease fans who missed out. As well as two sold-out shows at the Hi-Fi on Tuesday 6 and Wednesday 7 July, the band will now also play a third and final show at the venue on Thursday 8 July. Support at all shows will come from MM9 and New Zealand band Cairo Knife Fight.

After a legal claim by a US band with the same name, Sydney’s Pivot are operating under the new moniker of PVT. The trio, the first Australian band to be signed to pioneering Brit label Warp Records (Aphex Twin, Flying Lotus, Grizzly Bear), release a new album, Church With No Magic, on Friday 16 July, preceded by the first single, Window, out in two weeks. Vocals are said to feature on the album far more prominently than on previous releases. To coincide with the album’s release, the band are also playing a handful of shows in Australia – they perform at the Corner Hotel on Thursday 12 August.

GET RICH

Former Verve singer Richard Ashcroft, touring Australia in July for Splendour In The Grass, will unveil his new band, The United Nations Of Sound, ahead of the festival at the Palace on Friday 30 July. Ashcraft and band will have a new album out around the time of their visit, produced by NoID, who worked on Jay-Z’s Run This Town and DOA. It is Ashcroft’s first tour of Australia, and his sets will feature new, solo and Verve material. Frontier members pre-sale begins today at 2pm; general public tickets go on sale 9am Monday from Ticketek.

Jacinta Parsons (left) and Maddy Mac

FOLLOWED BY A FILM SCREENING OF ‘ DAY OF THE LOCUST’ ENTRY $12, 8.30PM

THURSDAY 27 MAY

SEX ON TOAST THE CLINTONICAS FABIO UMBERTO

ENTRY $7, 9PM

FRIDAY 28 MAY

VOLTERA (ALBUM LAUNCH) WITCHGRINDER (EP LAUNCH) SIN CITY TRASH ISLAND DJ VIXEN

ENTRY $12 PRESALE, $15 DOOR, 8.30PM

SATURDAY 29 MAY

DANCE JAMMIT DANCE:

KING MARONG

WITH AFRO-MANDINKO SASKWATCH BAGATELLE

ENTRY $12 PRESALE, $15 DOOR, 8.30PM

SUNDAY 30 MAY

SOUND HEAD DJ MUEL ENTRY $5, 8PM

MONDAY 31 MAY

RESIDENCY

EL MOTH & THE TURBO RADS

DJ OSCAR

ENTRY BY DONATION, 9PM

COMING UP:

SONGWRITERS COLLECTIVE PRESENTS: (WEDNESDAYS IN JUNE) CACOPHONY SOCIETY (3 JUNE) THE RESIGNATORS (EP LAUNCH) (4 JUNE) RAINBIRD (5 JUNE) SARITAH (10 JUNE) MARSHALL & THE FRO (ALBUM LAUNCH) (11 JUNE) A STATE OF FLUX (ALBUM LAUNCH) (12 JUNE) [ME], REDCOATS (13 JUNE) RED INK (17 JUNE) SLEEP PARADE (SINGLE LAUNCH) (18 JUNE) RAVE REVIEW 1ST BIRTHDAY (19 JUNE) MUMBLETOWN (24 JUNE) VAUDEVILLE SMASH (25 JUNE) ROOT! (26 JUNE) IDA BRAIM (1 JULY) JACK’S CASTLE (2 JULY) OWN KIND (EP LAUNCH) (3 JULY) CLOUD CITY (EP LAUNCH) (9 JULY) SMALL TOWN FIASCO (EP LAUNCH) (10 JULY) STRIKE ANYWHERE (17 JULY) JUNGAL (ALBUM LAUNCH) (23 JULY)

BUTLER ON THE RISE April Uprising, The John Butler Trio’s fifth studio album, hit number one in Australia upon its release early last month. It also debuted at number 36 on the Billboard charts in the US (the first time Butler’s cracked the top 100 in the States), and scored the singer/songwriter his best ever chart results in Canada and the UK. Now, after completing a solid run of shows in Europe, the US, Canada and Japan, The John Butler Trio have announced they will return to Australia in August to begin the local leg of the April Uprising tour. With new bandmates Nicky Bomba (drums and percussion) and Byron Luiters (bass), Butler plays Festival Hall on Friday 17 and the Schweppes Centre in Bendigo on Saturday 18 September.

FRESH BLOOD

COMMUNITY CUP UPDATE

With the 2010 Community Cup only weeks away, the RRR/PBS Megahertz have made a huge number of changes to the team that took to the field in 2009. Last year’s co-captain, Jon Von Goes (JVG Radio Method – RRR), is moving to the role of chairman of selectors, while fellow skipper Mohair Slim (Blue Juice – PBS) has also stepped down and is in doubt for the big game – potentially a big loss for the Megahertz defence. For the first time the Megahertz will have female co-captains with Maddy Mac (Homebrew – PBS) and Jacinta Parsons (Dynamite – RRR) taking on the top job/s. In fact, the team have their strongest ever contingent of female players with new recruits including Kulja Coulston (The Grapevine – RRR), Ruby Koomen (Garageland – PBS) and Bron Burton (Radio Marinara – RRR). There is stability on the coaching front with Neil Rogers (The Australian Mood – RRR) retaining the coaching mantle despite consecutive defeats for the Megahertz, while Melbourne Football Club’s list manager and former Kangaroos stalwart, Tim Harrington, continues in the assistant coach role. Ruari Currin (Fang It – PBS) and DJ Manchild (Breakdown – PBS) will return to the side after missing the 2009 game. Other Megahertz debutantes for 2010 include Simon Knott (The Architects – RRR), Campbell McNolty (Bop Gun – PBS) and Ben Birchall (Breakfasters – RRR). Meanwhile, the Espy Rockdogs have announced that The Divinyls’ Chrissie Amphlett will be a first-time patron for the side. Tracee ‘The Siren’ Hutchison continues as coach, making her the only woman in the history of the Cup to have coached both teams and played on the field. Dan Sultan makes his Community Cup debut, taking on the role of captain. Adding muscle to the assistant coaches’ bench, not to mention musical pedigree, will be former Bad Seed Mick Harvey, and Puppetry Of The Penis’ David ‘Friendy’ Friend, along with Rockdogs legend The Ox (retired due to injury). A handful of veterans will also play for the Espy Rockdogs in 2010 with Monique Brumby, Tim Rogers, Kram, Wally Kempton and Ross Knight all returning to the fold. Raising funds for the event’s official charity partner, Reclink, The Community Cup takes place at Elsternwick Park on Sunday 27 June, with performances from The Living End, Nick Barker & The Reptiles, The Blackeyed Susans, Little Freddie & The Pops and more. All acts will pay tribute to the legendary punk rock of The Clash.

FREE KICK FINAL

There’s at least one more band to be added to the Community Cup bill – the winner of the Free Kick competition, aimed at giving a leg up to an emerging band or artist by giving them a chance to perform on the day. The final takes place at the Espy tomorrow night. Bands competing are The Delta Riggs, Wilfred Jackal, Boarders, Money For Rope and The Kremlin Succession.

With The Amity Affliction’s new album Youngbloods due for release mid-June, first single I Hate Hartley is now available for free download from theamityaffliction. com/ihatehartley. Featuring gang vocals from Boston band Four Year Strong, it’s the album’s opening track. Having recently completed recording the album in New York, the boys are now back in Australia and gearing up for a whirlwind national tour. They play an under-18 show at the Hi-Fi on Saturday 3 July, an 18+ gig at the same venue later that night, an all-ages show at the Karova Lounge in Ballarat on Monday 5 and an all-ages show at the Kangaroo Flat Leisure Centre in Bendigo on Tuesday 6.

BACK ON THE HORSE

Although it’s been five years now since the last Horse Stories record (the critically lauded Everyone’s A Photographer), no one could say that Toby Burke hasn’t been busy. In that time he’s offered up recordings of experimental instrumental music and two collections of short stories, done score work, produced records and had a major gallery installation. In 2007, after two years back in Melbourne and largely out of the music scene, Toby relocated to his adopted home of Los Angeles. It was there, holed up in a windowless garage under his house in the Silverlake neighbourhood, that the material for new album November, November was arduously crafted. It was recorded mostly liveto-tape with producer/multi-instrumentalist Luther Russell and engineer/bassist Jason Hiller, and with help from old friend Beth Balmer. Horse Stories launch November, November at the Toff In Town on Wednesday 2 June with guest Oliver Mann.

FULL FLORENCE

Florence & The Machine’s performance at Festival Hall on Tuesday 3 August has completely sold out. Hot New York act The Drums have also just been announced as support at the show.

$2 CARLTON POTS EVERY MONDAY FRI, 4 JUNE - FAMILIA MOJA FUNDRAISER FRI, 11 JUNE – FIRE! SANTA ROSA, FIRE! (ALBUM LAUNCH) FRI, 18 JUNE – CHRIS O’NEIL (EP LAUNCH)

WED 26 MAY

EMERGING WRITERS FESTIVAL W/ PANELLISTS: CHRIS FLYNN, CLAIRE HALLIDAY AND BEN POBJIE

FRI 28 MAY

IOWA 7”INCH LAUNCH

W/ SKULLSQUADRON + QUIET THE FEW

SAT 29 MAY

BRIGHT KNIGHTS

ALBUM LAUNCH W/ ELLE SKIES

SUN 30 MAY - LOVE IS BLINDSIDE FUNDRAISER:

FEATURING: THE MOTIFS + GEOFFREY O’CONNOR + MAGIC SILVER WHITE + BATTLESNAKE + FAR CONCERN + DJS QUA + CLUE TO KALO FRI 4 JUNE FAMILIA MOJA FUNDRAISER FT.

MISO +HOULETTE + OWL & MOTH + SHEAHAN DRIVE

SAT 5 JUNE ‘WONDERFUL & FRIGHTENING’ - A TRIBUTE TO THE FALL FT. MEMBERS OF WITCH HATS + PETS WITH PETS + PARADING W/ BREAKER MORANT + YIS!

SUN 6 JUNE - JUNE RESIDENTS

THE FROWNING CLOUDS

+ DELTA RIGGS RESIDENCY W/ HERE COMES THE SUN

FUNCTIONS@GETNOTORIOUS.COM

SUMMERFESTIVALGUIDE.COM.AU

FOREWORD LINE

NEWS FROM THE FRONT

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE?

With her band The Captains, Katie Noonan is inviting fans to dance with her on stage on her upcoming tour. For the chance to score your 15 minutes of fame, simply upload a video of yourself dancing to a song from Noonan’s new album, Emperor’s Box (solo or duo performance only), to any online platform and then either post a link of the video on the Katie Noonan Facebook fan page, Tweet a link to the video (@katienoonan with #emperordance) or email the link to the video to katienoonancomps@gmail.com. The performance just needs to fit within an eight foot square of space; the style of dance is entirely up to you. But get dancing (and filming) – entries close on Monday. Victorian winners will be invited to perform with Noonan and band at their show at the Hi-Fi on Friday 18 June.

RISE OF THE MACHINE

Machine Translations return to the stage next month with a new single, Telepathic Head, and a brand new band. Main man J Walker has been working out of the spotlight for the last couple of years on various projects, including building a studio in the shell of an old bakery in South Gippsland. He has produced albums for artists including the ARIA Award-winning CW Stoneking, Sophie Koh and The Boat People. He has also worked on surf and rock documentary soundtracks, scored the upcoming feature film Kin, and spent a large part of 2009 working as a music producer on the series East Of Everything. With a new album set for release later this year, Machine Translations play the Northcote Social Club on Wednesday 16 June.

I’LL HAVE WHAT SHIHAD

Having recently signed to Roadrunner Records, and with their as-yet-untitled eight studio album down for a September release, hard-rockin’ Kiwis Shihad will revisit two of their classic albums over two big nights at the Northcote Social Club in August. On Friday 13 the band will play their second album, 1996’s Sophomore, track by track, while the following night they will rip through their most successful album to date, 1999’s The General Electric. Tickets for both shows go on sale today. Single show tickets are $25 including booking fee from northcotesocialclub.com and the Corner Hotel box office; double show tickets are $40+BF and single-show premium tickets (ten available per show – they include the chance to meet the band and come with a signed, limited-edition poster) are $55 including booking fee from Oztix.

E ES

Tame Impala

Ellie Goulding

FREE MUSIC DOWNLOADS Last week’s Inpress cover stars, WA psychedelic rockers Tame Impala, are about as hot as it gets in Aussie music right now. They played a storming set to a sold-out Forum on Friday (how amazing were those visuals?), and are now off to the States to support MGMT on a run of shows. Debut album Innerspeaker has more than lived up to the hype, and ‘cause we’re loving it so much here we’re giving you the chance to download the Mickey Moonlight remix of the awesome Solitude Is Bliss. This week we’re also giving away a track from one of the hottest young artists in the UK right now, Ellie Goulding. She’s already won a swag of awards over there, and now we’re giving you the chance to discover why. To get your mitts on these smoking hits tracks, all you gotta do is head to universalmusic.net.au/freedownloads/streetpressaustralia. Solitude Is Bliss Mickey Moonlight Remix TAME IMPALA Tame Impala are a rainbow sandstorm of stoned riffage, mind-bending melody and blessedout adventurism from the most isolated city in the world. Their eagerly anticipated debut album, Innerspeaker, is an explosive, cosmic wonderland of ecstatic harmony and perfectly accessible journeys into inner space. Solitude Is Bliss is a joyous summertime romp through fields of honeyed harmony and crispy good times and is just the very tip of the amorphous cosmos that is InnerSpeaker. Wish I Stayed ELLIE GOULDING Ellie Goulding is definitely a name you can expect to hear bandied around in 2010. Virtually unknown 12 months ago, Goulding has caught the attention of UK tastemakers, and has already won the coveted BBC Sound Of 2010 poll, as well as the Critic’s Choice Award at this year’s Brit Awards. Very few singer/songwriters, young or old, can flip between dance-til-you-drop euphoria and wistful, journeying space-folk as Goulding does on her debut album Lights. Wish I Stayed pinpoints the love-hate relationship every leaver has about their home town.

ALLISON WONDERLAND

The Melbourne Recital Centre has assembled a stellar winter program that runs from Thursday 1 July until Thursday 30 September, with some highlights including Roger Woodward performing Chopin, Blue Grassy Knoll returning to play another two film scores, a Sondheim series of concerts and cabaret stars Barb Jungr as well as Belle du Berry. But for us the top pick is a rare, one-off performance by US songwriter Mose Allison on Monday 6 September. The jazz/ blues pianist and singer has had his songs covered by the likes of Van Morrison, The Who, Blue Cheer and Dave Graney, and Frank Black has said the Pixies song Allison was written about him. The Way Of The World, released last month, is his most recent record.

MAKING A POINT

Ahead of her album launch tour in August, Princess One Point Five plays a Thursday night residency at the Builders Arms next month. Appearing in different forms over the four shows, P1.5 is supported by Sophie Koh and Tash parker on 3 June, Flying Scribble and Patinka Cha Cha on 10 June, Georgia Fields and Ben Montero on 17 June and Cuba Is Japan and Lehmann B Smith on 24 June. Entry is $8, music starts at 8pm.

E ES

BACK FROM THE DEAD

CORD OUT THERE After 13 years, Melbourne’s beloved balladeers Cordrazine return with a brand new single, Sunshine, currently available for nix from cordrazine. com.au. The song is taken from their forthcoming new album, Always Coming Down, released on Friday 13 August. The album will only be available from the Rubber Records digital store as a limited edition numbered CD and as a download, with CD pre-orders receiving an instant download. The band will launch the album with a show at the East Brunswick Club on Saturday 28 August

Ballarat group The Dead Salesmen started in the ‘80s as a duo and finished in 2002 as a four-piece, winning plenty of fans along the way. Now, after bumping into each other at a friend’s wedding and playing a Christmas show in Ballarat, they are re-releasing some of their work on CD. To promote the re-release of their ’93 album Jealousy (a band favourite), The Dead Salesmen are reuniting to play a special, one-off show at the East Brunswick Club on Saturday 10 July. Support on the night comes from Augie March’s Glenn Richards, who has been writing for his debut solo album, scheduled for release later this year.

THE PRICE IS RIGHT

Currently in the US touring with Tommy Emmanuel, Aussie singer/songwriter Rick Price will return to Australia in July for three shows on the back of his new album, Revisited. The record sees Price re-recording some of his biggest hits – including Not A Day Goes By, Heaven Knows, Walk Away Renee and River Of Love – acoustically. Price plays Wellers at Kangaroo Ground on Thursday 22, the Thornbury Theatre on Friday 23 and the Palais in Hepburn Springs on Saturday 24 July.

MAGIC NUMBERS TAKE CONTROL Blue Mountains indie popsters Cloud Control are winning rave reviews for their newly-released debut album, Bliss Release, with some already dubbing it one of the best records released so far in ’10. After a sold-out show at the East Brunswick Club on the weekend, the band have just been announced as the support for ridiculously cheery Brit foursome The Magic Numbers when they play the Corner Hotel on Wednesday 28 July. Tickets are on sale now.

SUMMERFESTIVALGUIDE.COM.AU

FOREWORD LINE

NEWS FROM THE FRONT

RADIO WAVES

PBS FM is in the middle of crazy few weeks. Firstly, its annual Radio Festival runs until Sunday (plenty of time to subscribe and win that car, if you haven’t already). Then, the station’s monthly soul and funk night, Soul-AGo-Go, celebrates its third birthday with a huge bash at the Johnston on Saturday 5 June with 16-piece all-girl soul band The Sweethearts, and DJ sets from Pierre Baroni, Vince Peach and more (the night also serves as the unofficial Radio Festival wrap party – subscribers get free entry before 10.30pm). On top of all this, the second Rock-A-Bye Baby Session – a family-friendly daytime gig at the Fitzroy Town Hall – takes place at 11am on Thursday 3 June with jazz/swing/blues crew The Shuffle Club. Entry for adults is $5, kids are free.

REC ROOM

SISTERS DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES

Indigenous hip hop artists and a Wurundjeri dance troupe will perform at an event celebrating Reconciliation Week (running from Thursday until the following Thursday) at Melbourne Town Hall on Friday at 5.30pm. The free event, Doin’ It Again 4 Rec ‘10, will include information stalls and the opportunity to sign a special Hands Up For Reconciliation banner, alongside performances from artists from indigenous hip hop label Payback Records, the Anti-Racism Action Band DJ Sadge.

As if we didn’t have enough bloody Splendour In The Grass sideshows to spend our hard-earned on this July/August, one of the festival’s biggest drawcards, Scissor Sisters, have just announced they will play Festival Hall on Monday 26 July. By then you’ll all be familiar with the band’s third album, Night Work, home to new single Fire With Fire, which is released late next month. Pre-sale tickets are available now; general public tickets go on sale 9am Friday from Ticketmaster.

HARD FOR YOU

Legendary Sydney punks the Hard-ons release a brand new album, Alfalfa Males Once Summer Is Done Conform Or Die, this Friday. Clocking in at a 19 songs – and a little more than 40 minutes – the record is, according to the band’s press, “at once a face-peeling thrash-metal album, slash-and-burn punk album and a brilliantly catchy power-pop album”. To celebrate its release, they play the East Brunswick Club on Friday 23 July.

FREE FREE JAZZ

As well as their 2am show at Pony on Friday night/ Saturday morning and a gig at Geelong’s National Hotel on Sunday, Brian Chase and Seth Misterka, the experimental free jazz duo from New York, will now also play Bar Open tonight. Chase is best known for his work on the drums with Yeah Yeah Yeahs, while Misterka is a highly regarded, well established session saxophonist who’s most notable for his work with Anthony Braxton’s ensemble. Together they create a unique form of minimalist free jazz reminiscent of Albert Ayler, Sun Ra and Sonic Youth’s SYR series of releases. At tonight’s show the pair will perform together and with local Black Widow, the solo project of Robert MacManus, formerly of Melbourne’s Grey Daturas. Doors open at 8pm, entry is free.

BACK IN THE CAR

WELCOME MATT With the imminent release of his first new material for the year, Sydney singer/songwriter Matt Corby has announced his first ever national Australian tour. With new single My False out now, Corby will play the Toff In Town on Thursday 8, the National Hotel in Geelong on Friday 9 and the Baby Black Cafe in Bacchus Marsh on Saturday 10 July. Corby’s tour culminates with him supporting Mumford & Sons over two sold-out nights at Sydney’s Enmore Theatre in August.

This Friday Lisa Miller releases Car Tape 2, the follow-up to her highest-selling album, the 2002 covers record Car Tape. With Shane O’Mara back at the production helm, Car Tape 2 features Miller’s take on songs by artists such as Tim Hardin, Ryan Adams, Neil Young, Curtis Mayfield, Francoise Hardy and Shirley Bassey. Miller performs at Basement Discs (24 Block Place, city) at 1pm on Friday and at the Corner Hotel on Friday 2 July.

FEEL THE EARTH MOVE

Great Earthquake launches Drawings, the Sensory Projects label debut for one-man-band Noah Symons, on Saturday 12 June at the Workers Club. In musical performance and recordings, Noah utilises a beltful of instruments to create pop soundscapes, organically built up over time with a strong emphasis on rhythm and flailing limbs. Joining him on the night will be the lovely Love Connection and grape-flavoured popsters Milk Teddy, plus DJ Sloth Comet in-between and around ‘em. Doors open 8.30, entry is $10.

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JACK ON Following his cracking Bluesfest appearance at Easter, Jack Johnson will return to Australia to play the Sidney Myer Music Bowl on Wednesday 8 December. With his fifth studio album, To The Sea, set to drop next week, Johnson will perform with longtime band members Adam Topol (drums), Merlo Podlewski (bass) and Zach Gill (keys). The Hawaiianborn singer/songwriter and former professional surfer has sold more than 18 million albums worldwide. In a continuing effort to acknowledge and support environmental work, Johnson will collaborate with hand-chosen community groups in Australia as part of his All At Once Community. This year’s All At Once campaign will focus on supporting non-profit groups and engaging fans in the realms of sustainable local food systems and plastic-free initiatives. As in 2008, Johnson will donate 100% of his tour profits to charity and tour proceeds will go to these groups to support their projects. Visit allatonce.org for additional information. Tickets for the show go on sale on Friday 4 June from the Arts Centre and Ticketmaster.

FOREWORD LINE

NEWS FROM THE FRONT

YESTERDAY’S PARTIES

Intrepid editor in absentia STEVE BELL reports back from the ALL TOMORROW’S PARTIES festival curated by Matt Groening in Minehead, UK. May contain beer and Simpsons mania.

D’oh!

It’s safe to say that there’s nothing like a Butlin’s Holiday Resort in Australia. Situated in Minehead on the west coast of the UK, Butlin’s is an enormous fun park with acres of adjacent chalets – designed for hordes of pale-skinned English families on their summer vacation – but a couple of times a year it’s taken over by the All Tomorrow’s Parties crew and filled with hordes of pale-skinned English music lovers (and a smattering of foreigners). It’s like the biggest amusement park you’ve ever seen, except most of the carnival attractions are closed for the duration. This installment of ATP is being curated by The Simpsons creator Matt Groening, and his presence is everywhere. The programs, guides, wristbands and t-shirts are all designed in his inimitable cartoon style and, as well as picking all of the music, he selected the films being shown in the cinema and the programs on one of the TV channels being beamed into the chalets. The music kicks off on Friday afternoon with legendary US indie act Built To Spill getting the honour of starting

BACKLASH

proceedings. They seem bemused to be playing so far from home in what appears to be, for all intents and purposes, a massive mall, but nonetheless unveil an awesome set of swirling guitar rock which is a stunning way to open the event. Following them on the main stage are seminal rockers Iggy & The Stooges, and Mr Pop is resplendent in nothing more than skintight leather trousers as he tears his way through an incendiary set featuring favorites such as Gimme Danger, Search & Destroy and Raw Power to an adoring pan-generational crowd who manage to lose their shit. The English crowds are polite but quite restrained for the most part, with a smattering of light applause meeting the end of most songs over the weekend and precious little revelry, but we do what we can to atone for this. We head inside to the Center Stage bar – which is like a massive open-planned bistro the size of a footy field with huge bars at either end – and catch Shonen Knife playing their kitschy brand of Japanese pop-punk, before Liars get amongst the action and blow people’s heads off with a stunning display of their own raw power. Saturday begins in a dervish of noise as Japanese percussion act The Boredoms play one of the most intense and powerful sets I’ve ever seen as they recreate their Boardrum album in its entirety, using no less than nine drummers and an array of other improvised percussion. We see a bit of Danielson, which is a bit twee after the preceding noise tsunami, then check out Black Mountain offshoot Lightning Dust who deal in disarmingly lush and dreamy textures miles removed from the heavy ruckus of their day job. After that set we wander past the merch desk and spy that Matt Groening is signing, so I bolt and get the screenprint poster that he’d designed to sell at the festival and which I’d purchased earlier. After a brief wait in line I get to meet the great man himself, and he asks my name and has a brief chat before drawing Homer saying, ‘Hi Steve!’ and a Bart down the bottom offering me all the best. Straight We say neigh!

to the pool room. We catch She & Him and marvel at how Zooey Deschanel seems to have taken to the band scenario like a duck to water as she elicits dancing with her beautiful voice and retro-tinged pop, before being transported into a world of gothic horror by weird-asfuck performance artists The Residents. It’s twisted, it’s evil, it’s scary and it’s easily one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen in my life. If you thought Candyman made looking in the mirror perturbing, wait until you’re introduced to the mirror people. Awesome. We finish off an amazing day with a great set of garage rock courtesy of Americans Thee Oh Sees, and a set of bouncy and contagious pop from Baltimore’s Ponytail, whose singer yells, “Do whatever you want all the time!” as she leaves the stage. Words to live your life by. We’re pretty shabby from over-consumption by Sunday morning, so have a bit of a rest before catching the performance by Argentinean chanteuse Juana Molina, who uses loops and subtle beats to create beguiling noisescapes. Daniel Johnston plays entirely solo on the main stage, and seems in good spirits despite the morbid nature of many of the songs he chooses, and we see him wandering through the car park chatting to people following his set. Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions use hypnotic projections to abet their lush, enticing music which uses Sandoval’s sensual voice to up the allure factor to great effect, then Spiritualized use a full robed choir, a string section and a brass section to bring their Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space opus to glorious and powerful life in one of the most ambitious productions I’ve witnessed. The elfin Joanna Newsom coaxes beautiful music from her harp and sings in her totally unique style (which she herself compares to Lisa Simpson), and we finish off our ATP experience with a set of distinctive folk-punk from UK veterans The Raincoats. Head to streetpress.com.au/spa_touring for more.

FRONTLASH

MAN & BEAST

POND

We’re not buying it. It’s clearly a lube for horse fuckers…

Confetti cans and some of the best-looking people we’ve seen in one place all year = great gig.

LOST

ROLLER DERBY

Front page news? We thought it was already over.

Skaters such as Punani Tsunami, Skate Bush and Splatterpuss were no match for Kitty Decapitator. Really, we just liked saying their names (and the $4 tinnies).

SEX AND THE CITY 2 CRITICS Did you really expect it to be good?

PIRATE SETTING ON FB We be eyein’ this with pleasure. Arrr...

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11 WEDNESDAY 269 TIL MAY KIRSTEN VERWOORD & THE ALL NIGHT RIDERS TH

W' SPECIAL GUESTS

FRIDAY DJ SURPRISE

20 TH MAY 8.30 TIL CLOSE

TIL CLOSE SATURDAY 288.30 MAY JEMMA ROWLANDS TH

PLAYS RECORDS

29 MAY SUNDAY 5 TIL 7 JANE DUST W' THE BULLS TH

30 MAY MONDAY 9 TIL 11 ADAM AFIF & FERGUS MCALPIN TH

AND FRIENDS

DINNER 7 NIGHTS LUNCH: SAT 12PM/SUN 1PM

9415 9904 MON - FRI 3PM TIL L ATE S AT MIDDAY TIL 1AM SUN 1 TIL 11

THE MARQUIS OF LORNE HO TEL CNR GEORGE + KERR S TREET S FITZROY

SIA TODAY, GONE TOMORROW She’s just written with Christina Aguilera, but SIA has to be one of the least ambitious pop stars around. Her current list of priorities reads: quit performing; move to Adelaide; work for the RSPCA; have babies with girlfriend JD Samson. ““All I want to do is get spermulated,” she tells DANIELLE O’DONOHUE. And then I started writing with Zero 7 and I was influenced by them. I’m easily influenced, so I made Colour The Small One. I was pigeonholed as a down-tempo artist. “I practically tried to deliver this record to Universal five or six years ago and they dropped me so I hot-footed it over to America because Breathe Me was in Six Feet Under and I got a little deal and everybody said it would be career suicide if you put out this up-tempo record because you’re a down-tempo artist and I was like, ‘Fuck, I’ve been pigeonholed’. I did what everybody suggested – made another down-tempo record so I could probably make an up-tempo record after that. I kept accumulating these songs that I felt were really fun and poppy but that nobody else knew how to market.” Sia says that We Are Born has been getting the occasional play on her stereo, which considering she only listened to her previous albums once each to “make sure there were no mistakes”, is quite a big endorsement. But Sia generally doesn’t really listen to music. Reality television is her vice. For the bubbly, bright, conversational powerhouse on the other end of the phone, bad reality TV, Sia’s favourite kind, seems to be one of the few things that brings a moment of peace from the craziness of the world the singer lives in these days. Another is clearly girlfriend JD. Her name is littered throughout Sia’s conversation and at one stage when Sia means to say Salman Rushdie but instead says Saddam, a muffled voice in the background prompts Sia’s raucous laughter and the comment, “JD’s embarrassed because I said Saddam first. I’m clueless. She’s embarrassed for me constantly.” But she’s also obviously willing to follow Sia around the world. Toward the end of the interview talk turns back to Adelaide and the pair’s desire to end up back in Australia.

hen Adelaide singer/songwriter Sia took the stage at last year’s ARIAs to accept her award for Best Music DVD, she walked up barefooted and made one of the shortest ARIA speech in history, consisting of little more than a shocked, “I wasn’t really expecting this, so thanks and bye!” It was obvious then the artist wasn’t your average media-trained, industry-approved pop starlet. This is a woman very definitely marching to the beat of her own drum. In fact, despite success around the world, a home-base in LA and a list of big name fans, Sia’s contemplating giving it all up. “I really miss home, actually,” Sia says, after confessing she’s spent the day of our interview doing Tim Tam slams in a Starbucks in Washington DC with an old high school friend from Adelaide. “This last Christmas I went back and I was with JD [Samson from Le Tigre], my girlfriend, and we loved it. It was like magic. I thought to myself, ‘I could totally come back and live here’. So I’m trying to get out of this game right now. I want to be just a songwriter and maybe work at like the RSPCA or something and

be like a dog masseuse or if I ever get good enough to be like a dog trainer or a dog psychologist, that’s what I really like. That’s what makes me really happy. The best day of this tour so far was the day that I got a tour of the Minneapolis humane society.” Though it seems crazy to contemplate walking away from her performing career, Sia isn’t just a singer with a voice to swoon to. She’s also fast becoming a go-to songwriter and her latest credit is sure to bring her even more work. Sia has co-written tracks with Christina Aguilera for Xtina’s latest album and, rather then send the US pop tart a couple of songs through the appropriate channels, the lady herself rang Sia to invite her to the Aguilera mansion. “She got in touch. Well, her management got in touch with my management and tried to set up a phone call. She said, ‘Would you be interested in writing with me for my next record?’. I said, ‘I would love to. Do you want me to work with Linda Perry or with one of my guys that I normally work with?’ and her exact words were, ‘I really want to step into your world’.” “Then she said, ‘Why don’t you bring one of your friends?’. Now, who out of my friends do I want

to make a million dollars? It was my friend Sam Dixon who I’ve probably known for 17 years and we write songs with each other. So I chose him. He was the chosen one. And he came to Christina’s house with me and wrote four songs and all of them made the album. They even flew us back to write a song for her new movie with Cher, Burlesque.” But if this unique artist is stepping away from her own recording career, she’s certainly going out with a bang. New album We Are Born is going to surprise a lot of the fans Sia found with the success of song Breathe Me, an achingly melancholy track with barely-there vocals and swelling strings. In contrast, We Are Born is unashamedly pop, a celebration of a record that sways and swings along on funky basslines, almost out-souls Amy Winehouse on Be Good To Me, and even shows Gaga a thing or two on Bring Night. “I started writing it a long time ago. I’d written a lot of these songs over the last six years. And I’ve always written songs like this,” Sia explains. “If anyone has listened to my first record Healing Is Difficult they’d know that I tried to write pop music then.

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“All I want to do is get spermulated. We’re going to try and get spermulated this year – me and JD. And we’re down to four sperm donors. Then once we’ve done that, once the kid is about four we want to move back to Adelaide. That’s the plan. Something like that. I don’t know if we’ll do beach or hills or city. I still haven’t decided. Or all three,” Sia says, letting out a maniacal, villianconquering-the-world laugh which she retracts almost immediately. “Ew. That was gross. I’m just kidding.” She may be kidding about needing the three houses, but everything’s definitely coming up rosy for this Aussie lass. There’s even talk of a tour back home in December. Well, that’s the Sia plan. She has a wedding to attend in Australia on December 11 and is hoping she can provide her band with their plane tickets back for their friends’ special day. But even if Sia doesn’t make it back in December, one gets the feeling her presence might be required at a certain award ceremony in October. And this time, she might need a speech that’s just a little bit longer than, “Thanks and bye.” WHO: Sia WHAT: We Are Born (Inertia)

FALLING OFF THE WAGON There was going to be a different story here about two bands from opposite sides of the world heading out on tour together. HENRY WAGONS explains to DANIELLE O’DONOHUE why that’s not happening.

ast week Henry Wagons was getting ready to play tour guide to three very lovely ladies from Tennessee: Kelley, Jessi and Nikki from Those Darlins. But then last weekend, Nikki Darlin, at a music festival in Ohio, fell and broke her arm.

“On a variety of my favourite iPhone apps,” Wagons admits.

“The uncoordinated loser,” Wagons says. “Nikki slipped onstage and broke both of the bones in her forearm. Do you know what? I met them in Austin recently and that girl seemed to be the wildest of the bunch. She seemed to be the one that flailed her limbs around the most, the one that seemed to be the biggest partier.

“I just record a voice memo. I’ve even got a little four track on my iPhone as well. This is totally independent of any product placement but on the road it’s a very handy tool for noting down ideas. Even occasionally the notepad gets used for jotting down lyric ideas. I’m pretty serious when it comes to it in the dorkiest way possible. I don’t have a pen any more. Who needs a pen?”

“When my manager told me one of the Darlins has broken their arm first thing I said was, ‘Was it Nikki?’. It doesn’t surprise me. But I’m sure it’s horrific for Nikki.”

And now, when Wagons isn’t on the road, whether it be as a RocKwiz panelist or with his own band, he’s beginning to forge out a path as an arts commentator. A performance on the ABC’s Sunday Arts program a year or two ago turned into a segment here and there and now with new program Art Nation replacing Sunday Arts, Wagons is a regular contributor.

When Inpress gets excited about the possibility of an alt.country feud, the always affable Wagons giggles but quickly sets the record straight – when Those Darlins reschedule their first visit to Oz, Wagons and his band might still be playing tour guide. There’s hope that a new Wagons/Those Darlins double bill can be worked out, schedules permitting later, this year or early next, when Wagons have some new material to release.

“It sounds a bit hippy, but anyway I can pave out an existence doing creative stuff, I feel privileged for. And basically I’m asked to stand in front of a camera and ad lib bullshit which kind of isn’t that different to what I do with Wagons anyway. It’s been good fun.”

“I’ve started writing [a new record],” Wagons admits. “It’s in the works. I’m pretty excited with how it’s progressing so far actually. I’ve had a lot of time to think.”

“The RocKwiz live tour is the most lavish, I’m sure, I’ll ever be treated in the entirety of my music career. I was on the show earlier in the year and that seemed to go well so they took me on one of the legs and they’re an incredibly generous bunch. I’ve found myself in lavish hotel suites with nothing but my thoughts. Perfect songwriter fodder. So the album’s coming along really well.”

Though they are very much a country band, whether you describe them as urban country, alt. country or whatever, Goodtown drew from a larger palette of colours than the band’s previous work, expanding the band’s list of influences to include the likes of Elvis, Roy Orbison and Rod Stewart. This time around though, it might not be the band’s influences that are the big talking point. For a man making a country album, Wagons is more than happy to embrace modern technology. Asked how he gets to work writing a new record while on tour without his band with him, and Wagons’ answer is a little surprising.

Those Darlins have had to postpone their debut Australian tour but Henry Wagons and his merry band of urban country brothers are still travelling this wide brown land taking fans on a journey to Goodtown.

When not playing in Melbourne’s finest urban country outfit, Wagons has been spending his time touring parts of the country with the live RocKwiz show appearing as a panellist and also more recently providing arts stories to ABC program, Arts Nation.

And thankfully it’s producing some really good results and we’re getting a following wherever we go.”

The album Wagons is working on will be the follow-up to The Rise And Fall Of Goodtown, the band’s fourth, and an album that Wagons said upon release would be the one to get the Melbourne locals out of that city and unto the national touring circuit in a very definite way. “I really feel like the band has just begun over the last year or two,” Wagons says echoing the sentiment of a statement he made at the time of the release of Goodtown last year when he said: “I feel in many ways like this is our first album. It’s the first album that’s

really captured where I want the project to be and it’s the first album I’ve been happy with in its entirety.” And now Wagons is happy to say, that venturing out of Melbourne has been paying off. “Even though we’ve been sitting on our arses for the last… well, we’ve been playing for the last ten years together but just languishing in the bosom of the Melbourne scene. It wasn’t until we’ve had people from the outside like bookers and managers wanting to kick us in the arse that we’ve gotten on the road.

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“I find it very similar to walking out onstage actually, when the camera’s rolling. I stretch all the same sort of muscles I do playing music. And you do get to visit all sorts of new places. You don’t have to hang out in sweaty, beer soaked venues with bad urinals. Visual artists, art collectors and curators aren’t willing to put up with the same levels of hygiene that musicians do it seems.” WHO: Wagons WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 3 June, Theatre Royal (Castlemaine); Friday 4, National Hotel (Geelong); Saturday 5, Corner Hotel

GRINDING GEARS

COG drummer LUCIUS BORICH discusses the band’s possible swansong, the new live CD/DVD set The Sound Of Three. “If you have shit going on in your life, how can you help people change theirs?” he asks MOSES DILLINGER.

hroughout their career, Cog have touched the hearts and souls of many throughout Australia. Their message resonates more now than it has at any other time during the 12 years the band have pushed through with the solid and uplifting idea that there is another way of progression, a natural evolution of the mind and human spirit that is consistently being shrouded by a false capitalistic normality. With the release of their anticipated DVD/ live CD The Sound Of Three – 12 Years With You, session musician and Cog percussionist Lucius Borich, considered by most to be the founder and driving force of the band, still holds firmly to these ideals of hope even while surrounded by darkness and the now widely spread rumour that the curtains are beginning to close for the three who have given so much to a nation in doubt. “It’s important to keep evolving,” states an aggressively anxious Borich. “Despite what we are told there’s not just one system and ‘that’s how it

works and it’s just the way it is’. Well, that’s not just the way it is. There are other ways to free the human spirit and it’s really important that we keep manifesting in new ideas and debate how we can get out of this shit system which hasn’t even been moving forward at all. Instead it’s just been regurgitating over and over for years, continuously getting more and more people into depths of despair and confusion. It’s time for a change and I believe it is coming and when everybody admits it is time for change then there is the conscious evolution.” Borich clarifies, “The movement first starts with the individual. One must look at their own backyard and their own toxicity. If you have shit going on in your life, how can you help people change theirs?” That being said, it is no secret that change is also apparent within the band and much to Borich’s dismay and lack of acceptance, the end seems near. “It’s not resonating like it was with the band collectively wanting to be an entity that creates music and forward movement,” he slowly admits. “It’s a shame and yes, it leaves me a little heartbroken because it wasn’t going backwards by any means and from my perspective it seems strange to want to put the brakes on and walk away from it at that point, but there are people within the band that have differing opinions in that regard and I can only say what I can say but if nobody is going to show up then I have to move on and do other things. I actually wanted to have an album written by now and have it out by the end of this year but it was obviously not meant to be and because of this the future is not looking bright for Cog at the moment.”

“Aside from doing the occasional show during the break there is nothing on the Cog calendar after the release of this DVD. There is no talk of producing anything, there’s no dialogue going on between the members in regards to creating anything else.” Throughout their career the three Bondi boys changed the face of independent, alternative, progressive music as well as original artistry in the Australian music scene. As a result of having the support of legions of continuously supportive followers across the nation, Borich has admitted to putting a lot of himself into this (seemingly) final production as a heartfelt thank-you. “I really respect the people that have followed us along the way as well as the relationship between supporter and band. The DVD’s intention was to show our appreciation, gratitude and our thankfulness to the people who have stuck with us through the process of beginning through to end.” Achievements of all kinds have been accomplished over the band’s decade-plus lifespan, through the common interests of both music and revolution. While the DVD presents this to fans with the group’s film clips and an extensive setlist consisting of many favourites recorded at the height of Cog’s promotional tour for their most recently released album, Sharing Space, the real jewel was the decision include the 45-minute documentary of the band’s beginnings, trials and tribulations. 12 Years With You strikes a nerve considering the band’s end seems as heart-crushingly apparent as the greatness Cog have attained throughout their ascendance. “I’ve certainly expressed to want to do something, but other people have different ideas about what they want to do with their lives and what this does is it leaves us open to the interpretation for everybody to start rumours, which are very justified in my eyes because we were going at a certain pace and when it comes to a near stop, which it has… Of course people are going to be sceptical but the vibration of it speaks for itself and aside from doing the occasional show during the break there is nothing on the Cog calendar after the release of this DVD. There is no talk of producing anything, there’s no dialogue going on between the members in regards to creating anything else.” Borich still holds strong to what it was Cog were trying to accomplish throughout their time in the spotlight. “We wanted to meet people on a level where they knew that something is not right and become exceedingly confused as a result, as we question, ‘Here I am in this world and what am I supposed to do with these guidelines that seem ridiculous at times?’.” Satisfied from the dreams and goals attained yet disappointed from recent events, Borich continues, “I think we have expressed that resolution in our music as well as create an outlet and a purging of frustration and confusion in trying to reorganise and regroup and move forward in a positive way, making sure we keep the dialogue and our spirits alive and be free to do what we dream and not be infringed upon or held under.” If it is to be their end, The Sound Of Three – 12 Years With You does Cog and their army justice. Borich, somewhat accepting of current circumstances, responds to the praise given with the advice he has lived his life by: “Don’t get sidetracked by things that are out there to dilute one’s journey. A lot of people will look at the consequences and back away, falling into a life that they are not suited to, creating a void that can’t be filled. Stay true to the heart. Stay true to your dreams.”

WHO: Cog WHAT: The Sound Of Three – 12 Years With You (Difrnt Music/Universal) WHEN & WHERE: Friday 4 June, Billboard The Venue

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PBS 106.7 FM and INPRESS

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THE GEORGE PUBLIC BAR

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS A US-based technical death metal band that sings about ancient Egypt with the backing of a drummer from Greece –such are the multicultural inclinations of NILE. Beat extraordinaire GEORGE KOLLIAS talks to LOCHLAN WATT.

“I

’ve been a drum teacher since 2000, I think,” recalls the Greek native, his accent thick and wording occasionally unintentionally amusing. Now head of the Extreme Metal Department at the prestigious Modern Music School in Athens, drums and education have long been a part of the 32-year-old’s life. He obtained his first kit at age 12 and began private tuition with Yannis Stavropoulos, a renowned Greek jazz drumming master, shortly after. In the years that followed the also-quitecapable guitarist and vocalist saw his active interest in death metal unfold, and albums with Extremity Obsession, Sickening Horror, and Nightfall began to put markers on his timeline, the latter of which he left in 2004 to join his true calling in life. Formed in 1993 by founding guitarist/vocalist Karl Sanders, Nile are a band that, through the course of their eight studio releases and extensive world touring, have been instrumental in shaping the sound of the death metal genre to this day. Almost

entirely themed upon ancient Egyptian mythology with the occasional nod to fantasy/horror author HP Lovecraft, immersing oneself in albums such as 2009’s Those Whom The Gods Detest can prove to be an educational experience in itself. But if all you’re interested in is relentless riffing, bullet-hail vocal patterns and some of the most complex compositions ever recorded, Nile might still keep you satisfied. Now standing as the band’s longest-serving drummer, Kollias looks back on a time prior to his recorded debut on 2005’s Annihilation of The Wicked, where Nile where held back by a string of session drummers and fill-in members. “I think Nile, as a band, were always giving opportunities to all the fill-in drummers and bass players and everybody. The guys are pretty cool, and as far as the scene, every time they were ready to give an opportunity to anybody who wants it. But it seems all the previous members probably didn’t want it as much. When I joined the band, they gave me all the space to compose my drums, and do what I want, and let me tell them my opinions about some arrangements, and they treat me as a member. The chemistry worked really well and we’ve been together ever since.” Lamenting a lack of infrastructure and opportunities for extreme metal bands based in Greece, joining an international unit was an idea Kollias had been playing with for some time, but he wasn’t going to settle for anything less than the best. “Actually, I had many friends which were pushing me to join an international metal band or something, but I didn’t want to do it for some reason. I didn’t want to do it unless it was a band I really loved so I could be really dedicated to the music. I had some offers before Nile, from some bands in the States, but I didn’t want to do it so much,” he recalls with a slightly musing tone to his voice. Fate fell into place just in time though, for as George reveals, he may have ended up in a completely different group altogether. “There was one band, Decrepit Birth – you know this band?” he asks. “Well I was thinking about joining them maybe, because I really like the groove you know, but before I sent them anything or something, I was talking to Matt [Sotelo], the guitarist, and before I sent him anything I get the offer from Nile, so I was like, ‘Yeah, I want to do Nile’ of course. I’m one of the biggest Nile fans – I just love the band.” But even as a member of a professional, touring death metal act, Kollias’ desire to send knowledge forward to future generations of drummers stayed strong. Initially attempting to teach on the road, a concept that “wasn’t working so well”, he founded the Extreme Metal Department at the Athens music school in 2006, began uploading downloadable lessons to his website in 2007, and in 2008 released his first instructional DVD. “The last four years I have belonged to the Modern Music School team, which is the best music school in Greece,” Kollias says with a sense of modest pride. “We have a strong team there and I’m very focused on the school because it’s a part of me. I also do drum lessons from my home online, for older fans who want to learn from me but it’s quite impossible because they live in Australia or Germany, you know? Teaching is a big part of me. “At Modern Music I have the Extreme Metal Department – this is how we call it. But what every teacher is doing there basically, we teach every style, and when it comes to special styles like death metal or Latin, we have one teacher per style, so this is the excellence that our students get. They get all the books the school has, rock drumming, jazz drumming, and everything, but we do some blast beats too, which is pretty fun!” It almost sounds completely unfeasible that one man can put forth so much knowledge to others and still consistently write, record, and tour for new albums every two years for any band, let alone one based in South Carolina, the other side of the world to Athens. Yet Kollias doesn’t sound like he’s the sort of man to ever let his life fall from his control, and he barely has to spend any idle time on US soil at all. He insists that this is due the professionalism and dedication of the four members of Nile (the line-up is completed by Dallas Toler-Wade on guitar/vocals and Chris Lollis on bass), though it did take some time for the band to reach their current and seemingly consistent line-up. “Touring with Nile, usually we practice for three or four days [before a tour] – this is it. But to be honest, everyone works by themselves, too. When I’m here, I practice the songs. Karl is doing the same, Dallas is doing the same, everybody, and then when we get together it’s just fun. Everything is pretty much there, you know? When we do rehearsal for an album for example, this is when we spend two months, maybe three months sometimes.” Although he’s skilled at writing with other instruments, when it comes time for these album writing sessions, he reveals should begin again in December this year, Kollias is purely about drums. “I played guitar for 22 years. I can write music, I can write my own songs. The guys are really open, and they are like, ‘If you have something good, bring it on’. And they like my songs, but I don’t really want to do this because I think Nile’s guitar playing is very top-notch and my guitar playing is not. I don’t want to give them any riffs or anything. What I do in the band is compose my drums and talk a lot about the arrangements. So basically the guys will give me their riffs and I will put the drums and probably I’m going to change some stuff and they maybe will change my stuff. If you have something to say, say it, and it happens. We all work for the best for the songs, so it makes sense.”

WHO: Nile WHAT: Those Whom The Gods Detest (Nuclear Blast/Riot) WHEN & WHERE: Thursday, the Hi-Fi

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BEST OF BOTH WORLDS Portland resident WILLY VLAUTIN is not only the frontman/songwriter for brilliantly evocative Americana outfit RICHMOND FONTAINE but also an increasingly acclaimed novelist. He talks to STEVE BELL about hiding away in these fictional realms.

his weekend Melbourne music fans are the fortunate beneficiaries of Willy Vlautin’s dual abilities, because he’s ostensibly in Australia as a guest of the prestigious Sydney Writers’ Festival – here to talk up his excellent third novel, Lean On Pete – but while he’s in the country he’s taking the opportunity to play some stripped-back Richmond Fontaine shows to promote that band’s brilliant ninth album, We Used To Think The Freeway Sounded Like A River. Anyone familiar with Richmond Fontaine’s canon will hardly be surprised that he’s making a name for himself in the world of fiction, because the band’s songs have long ridden atop Vlautin’s powerful narratives and the incredible empathy that he displays for the litany of fucked-up losers and misfits that inhabit his dreamt-up worlds. These stories may be distinctly American in tone and content, but Vlautin gives the characters’ travails a universal edge that make them resonate with the listener irrespective of their geographic locale. “I think people are just people, you know?” the affable Vlautin muses from his Portland abode. “In general the struggles of humanity are all the same really: you might dress them up different or with a different language or accent, but most people’s problems – and this is a bad generalisation – are similar. You hope you write a song that makes sense to other people. I just write songs that I hope are honest at least to myself, and are written with heart and blood most of the time. That’s all I want – if it’s honest then your hope is that it will make sense to somebody else.”

in ‘em when I was there because it was escapism,” Vlautin reflects. “It was very comforting listening to records, maybe that’s why I like records with a sense of place and story-based ones because you can kind of disappear into those in a more concrete way than if it’s a pop song. So a lot of my characters might be me or what I’m thinking, but even as a kid I wrote stories, again just to not complain and not pick on my family or the situations I was in. So I would disappear into stories, and I lose track of whether they’re real or not sometimes. I don’t know if that’s very healthy or not, but that’s the way that I’ve always been.” WHO: Richmond Fontaine WHAT: We Used To Think The Freeway Sounded Like A River (Non Zero/Shock) WHEN & WHERE: Sunday, East Brunswick Club

The songs from We Used To Think The Freeway… are amongst his strongest yet, although Vlautin concedes that he changed his songwriting approach slightly this time around. “I was feeling pretty raw and I wanted it to have more of a raw feel to it,” he offers. “And also a lot of the songs were more personal – although they’re all kind of personal songs – but they were a rawer, less story-driven set of songs, so I wanted it to feel kind of like the northwest where I live, sort of raw and somewhat dark but simple.”

“That’s why I liked music so much and novels, because I would really believe that I was in ‘em when I was there because it was escapism.” Vlautin’s songs – and novels – have always conveyed this potent sense of the geography in which they’re located, a practice that many attempt but few really master. “When we went down to Tucson, Arizona around the time of [2007 album] Thirteen Cities – which is the home of Neko Case and Calexico and Giant Sand, all of these great bands – I was influenced by those great bands and the idea of Mexican immigration into the US, and the idea of the desert and madness and just dropping out and running away to the desert,” he recalls. “I had all of these themes in my head that I wanted to talk about, and then to talk about the geography. As a fan I really like songs that are set in heavy geography sometimes, or have a sense of place, because then I believe that they’re really happening, and I believe the story of it. “It’s like the refineries that Bruce Springsteen would sing about: I’d never been to New Jersey when I was a kid and listening to his stuff, but he painted a picture of it. The same with Paul Kelly – some of his stuff painted a picture of Australia that I had no idea about, but I believed him in the way that he would set the story up or just the little touches he would give or the way that the little details in a song sold me on it. I’ve always been a fan of that approach, so with this record I think I let the band be more raw, and I let the songs be not so directed by lyrics.” According to Vlautin his writing always strives for a balance between observations gleaned from real life and pure fiction. “I guess what I do usually [strive for] is that the heart of it is true,” he admits. “What I hope it conveys is true, but I change the names and places a lot of the times just because it’s not my intention to dissect my personal life really. If I’ve been having a really hard time sure, or if I know I’m not going to hurt anybody then I’ll write more personal lyrics. I guess with the new record, The Boyfriends is pretty much straight up true, but my mother passed away a couple of years ago and I would never have written that if she was alive, you know? I think I was just trying to figure it out after she died, and I was thinking from so many angles about her, and I was writing about it just to clear my head so I wrote that song. Which is a song I really like, but a song that I would definitely never [have] written if she was alive – she would have slaughtered me. “I really like that song because it summed up for me in a lot of ways my childhood. Like I’ve said before, I can’t remember any of my school teachers and I don’t remember any of the TV shows I watched as a kid or any of that kind of stuff, but I remember all her boyfriends. She was a good woman, she was just trying to find love, you know? But it’s that idea when some guy comes into your house and all of a sudden he’s calling the shots and you don’t know him, it was those kind of situations, so I think that song was a long time coming. I just hadn’t written it because I would have hurt her, and that’s never been my intention – to hurt people. She tried hard, she worked the same job for 30 years to support me so I can’t complain – I’m just trying to figure it out. I like to say that I tell halftruths – the heart is true but the names and places are changed.” As a listener the characters in the vividly sketched tales are so realistic and their lives dissected with so much empathy that it’s difficult to distinguish between which ones are based on fact and which ones are entirely works of fiction. “I think what I’ve always done is when I was a kid if I was having a hard time I could disappear into a movie or a record – that’s why I liked music so much and novels, because I would really believe that I was

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THE COLD WAR

Aussies CLOSURE IN MOSCOW are investing plenty of time in cracking the US. STEPH WALLIS catches up with guitarist MANNY for tales of ball-licking and mad fans.

hey may have moved to Portland in the United States, but it seems as though Closure In Moscow just can’t get enough of being back in their hometown of Melbourne. So far this year they have played at the Melbourne Laneway festival, just finished their Supreme Turbo Facilitator tour, and will be back from the US for their Singularity Tour in May. They would have also graced fans with their presence at the Soundwave Festival in February, but were “relieved” of their playing duties this year because they acted like “a bunch of rude, ungrateful cunts”. Those who paid more attention to media reports rather than the band’s statement might be of the opinion that CIM are prone to unrealistic demands and spats, which Manny, the group’s lead guitarist, insists is a stale cliché of rock bands. “The whole ‘sex, drugs and rock’n’roll’ cliché is blown out of proportion and is more a remnant of the days of old. Yes, there are still band sluts lurking around. Yes, there are still drugs, booze

and some wacky moments on the road, but most professional musicians like us are normal people living life on the road.” Anyone who has witnessed Closure In Moscow gigs or have stalked them on YouTube would instead be aware that the boys are a bunch of good-natured larrikins. The band have only played together for four years, but they have no doubt formed a healthy group relationship. If anything is indicative of this, it would be the series of webisodes that the boys released on YouTube, starting from the time they were making their first album up to the last Australian tour before they migrated to the US. If anything should dispel the rumours of bad boy behaviour, it would be the scene where Chris and Brad were licking each other’s toes. Are we to believe that this is all in the day of touring? “There are definitely a lot of fun times, but it would be a lie to say that it’s all smiles and rainbows. Being on the road for up to two months at a time is definitely the best of times and the worst of times, but it is all a part of being in a band.” It seems as though all of our good bands, sooner or later, make the move to the US to progress their career. Closure In Moscow make it clear, however, that they did not feel like it was essential to travel overseas in order to make their mark. Like many Australian bands before them, including The Presets, Closure In Moscow had already garnered a large local fanbase before heading overseas – particularly after the release of their debut album, or ‘albumette’, The Penance And The Patience, in 2008.

“The whole ‘sex, drugs and rock’n’roll’ cliché is blown out of proportion and is more a remnant of the days of old. Yes, there are still band sluts lurking around. Yes, there are still drugs, booze and some wacky moments on the road, but most professional musicians like us are normal people living life on the road.” As the most glaring difference between Australia and America is, of course, the population, one of the selling points for CIM’s move to the US was simply the opportunity to play more live gigs. As Manny explains, considering the distance between Australia’s major cities, it simply wasn’t viable for the band to continue touring in Australia alone. “The live scene in Melbourne, for example, is really amazing. But, like everything else in the US, it’s always a case of larger and to the extreme. In Australia there are four or five major cities we can play in, but in the US, you can jump in a van and play in a different city every day for 50 days. In the States fans have the opportunity to see a million shows of any genre, any given day, in every city.” What can be either a challenging or exciting thing about a band migrating overseas is rebuilding the fanbase. CIM fortunately seem to have rebuilt their fanbase with little difficulty. “We just got out on the road and slogged it out, trying to get out to as many people in as many cities as possible. By the time we had done the rounds a few times, there were people that had seen us at previous shows who had come back to check us out again, and that is always an encouraging experience.” It is always a brave move for a band to migrate overseas, but for Closure In Moscow, it is a move that has certainly paid off. In four short years, the band have gone from local Melbourne boys to burgeoning US rock stars, a label you may attribute to the band whether they possess the rock star behaviour or not. Manny considers one of the more amusing things about being a rock band and touring is that it allows the boys to encounter many ‘colourful’ fans. “I don’t know if we could compare the fans in the States to the fans in Australia, but touring more extensively in the US certainly opens up more opportunities to come across some interesting people at our gigs. There was one time in Arkansas where a guy was giving us the double bird salute and yelling out, ‘You suck!’ over and over again. Our singer [Chris DeCinque] then proceeded to get his balls out and told him to ‘lick his Aussie rocks’. Apparently there is footage of this floating around online.” Toe-sucking and ball-licking jokes aside, Closure In Moscow nonetheless have a serious outlook on the live music scene, and music industry in general is heading. “In regards to the music industry it is just like every other industry. Honestly, I think that it is doomed to keep collapsing until the impending economic implosion. Then after the fallout, there will be no more art and business in a dirty tryst. There will be no more music ‘industry’ as such, and there will be just be music.”

WHO: Closure In Moscow WHAT: First Temple (Taperjean) WHEN & WHERE: Saturday 5 June, East Brunswick Club; Sunday 6 June, Phoenix Youth Centre (under 18)

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SINGLED OUT BY CLEM BASTOW

ON THE RECORD

LATEST CD REVIEWS

SINGLE OF THE WEEK

RUFUS WAINWRIGHT SONNET 20 Universal

FOALS TOTAL LIFE FOREVER Atlantic/Warner

DEAD LETTER CIRCUS THIS IS THE WARNING Warner

YOUNG HERETICS WE ARE THE LOST LOVES Boomtown

Thank GOD for Rufus Wainwright. He’s not the first person to compose music to accompany a Shakespeare sonnet, nor will he be the last, but his delicate, sparse treatment of Sonnet 20 (one of Shakespeare’s more sexually ambiguous sonnets) is divine. Is this the scholarly equivalent of “singing the phonebook”? Perhaps, but Wainwright’s obvious love of the source text and his undeniable talent combine to make this a glorious song, equal in both wit and beauty.

Whether the title of Foals’ second record is supposed to be life-affirming or sardonic is up for debate, as the Oxford five-piece dive wholeheartedly into atmospheric instrumentals and cut ties with the twitchy pop of 2007’s Antidotes.

A great deal of expectation has been saddled upon Dead Letter Circus over the past three years. The band’s eponymous debut EP effectively established the Brisbane quartet at the forefront of their scene following its 2007 release and, since that remarkable debut, the acclaim and expectations surrounding the band has only grown larger and more unrealistic with each passing year. This Is The Warning, the outfit’s debut album, has taken three years to eventuate – during which time the hyperbole surrounding the band has reached boiling point some three times over.

Young Heretics’ debut album is spellbinding, from Kitty Hart’s mesmerising opening vocals on Animal War to the closing cataclysm of Trapperkeeper. Matthew Wright and Kitty Hart have hit the mark with this delicate dreamscape of poetic whimsy and sweet indie pop. Lullabies and horror fiction collide as the two weave stories that see innocence of animals and youth meet war, violence and vampires. Building on their four track The Dreamers EP, We Are The Lost Loves is an album brimming with the strength of emotion and the fragility of dreams.

SAVING ABEL STUPID GIRL (ONLY IN HOLLYWOOD) EMI When a band’s career highlights have included a performance at a NASCAR race and playing for the US troops in the Middle East, you can be reasonably confident that their sound will feature heavily-Veddered vocals, a slow-motion-ready chorus, and the sort of chunky riffs and guitar solos that even the Goo Goo Dolls have long since retired. And whaddyaknow! I bet Chad Kroeger reckons these guys “rock”.

TRAVIE MCCOY BILLIONAIRE Fuelled By Ramen Man, remember Gym Class Heroes? Remember when Travis McCoy was engaged to Katy Perry? No? Well, he does. Billionaire is a grim slab of aspirational pop/hip hop/ reggae (??) - “I’ll be playing basketball with the president [...] I’ll be in a whole new tax bracket” and “I wanna be on the cover of Forbes Magazine/Smilin’ next to Oprah and the Queen” - that makes Gwen Stefani’s Rich Girl look positively intellectual.

MUSE NEUTRON STAR COLLISION (LOVE IS FOREVER) Atlantic

Blue Blood contains effervescent guitars and foottapping rhythms after Yannis Philippakis’ voice rings out, “You’ve got blood on your hands/I know it’s my own.” It’s the overwhelming theme on Total Life Forever – the contradictions between a relationship postcollapse followed by hopeful songs that herald romantic notions. After Glow asks for the listener to “Get up/go find everyone you care for,” while the title song finds Philippakis in “A place where I can go when I’m low down/ to your arms…” The real climax comes five tracks into the record in the form of Spanish Sahara. Brushing perfection, the suspense generated between the sparse guitar and the whispering drum beat that grows into a cacophony of sound entices the listener before blowing them out of the water. Philippakis’ falsetto is fragile as he reverberates, “I’m the fury in your head/I’m the fury in your bed/I’m the ghost in the back of your head.” It is the finest spinetingling, goosebump-inducing six minutes to be found on the record, executed in a breathlessly stunning manner. In contrast, This Orient splices into the eardrum with jittering guitars and a sweepingly optimistic lyrical tangent that has Philippakis crying out, “It’s your heart that gives me this western feeling,” whilst the throb of bass and subtle keyboard notes build surreptitiously in the distance. Never lapsing in continuity, Total Life Forever is a record to devote your ears to. Sevana Ohandjanian

Anthemic, cathartic and expressive, This Is The Warning is everything one could have realistically expected of Dead Letter Circus at this point in their career. The band’s electrifying formula remains gloriously intact on furious blasts like Big and opener Here We Divide while, elsewhere, the band explore their sound more thoroughly with more expansive numbers like single The Space On The Wall and more pop-friendly works like Cage. Notorious perfectionists, the band were determined to provide a consistent and varied listening experience with their debut and those ambitions are fully realised with This Is The Warning. Not to say the album is necessarily perfect – producer Forrester Savell’s electronic contributions are dated and somewhat superfluous while the sheer scope of the album’s high-octane sound makes for an overwhelming first listen – but, as a debut record, one could hardly have expected a better listening experience. If anything, they’ve accomplished more than one would think possible of a fledgling band. In spite of its few flaws, This Is The Warning still takes the sound pioneered by bands such as The Butterfly Effect and Karnivool further than any record released since the style’s inception. Matt O’Neill

More than 60 musicians contributed to this record, and the result is magical. Hart’s voice is sublime. It is a wicked concoction of huskiness and clarity. The unique sound of the album is the result of musical conviction and a clear disinterest in imitation. Bones Of A Rabbit is the highlight, with its sinister imagery and crushing anger and confusion. What a song. Stormy and foreboding, The Lost Loves is a perfect introduction to the record and band, while Risk_Loss ushers in the apocalypse with a defiant warning. There is a real sense of maturity and substance in their songwriting, and this is displayed on reverse love song Dark Prince. Hart’s solo piece is calm and clever, declining the lustful advances of a disguised villain. Brooding and building Noah’s Ark questions new starts and redemption, while I Know I’m A Wolf appears to be Wright’s answer to Hart’s Dark Prince. With only piano and vocals, Wright’s haunted voice is weary and dangerous on this track as he urges the meek to trust the enemy. There is whispered tragedy on 010100110100111101010011, which can be better understood in its binary code translation: SOS. Hope and unity join the parade on Come Together, before the enchantment builds through Trapperkeeper and breaks as Hart’s final words fade to silence. Stefanie Markidis

Well, it had to happen. Given we have Muse to thank for, in part, inspiring the wet dream that birthed the Twilight franchise, here’s the inevitable – if two films too late – “official” single from Bellamy and his merry men. It is exactly as stupid as you imagine it to be; combining the Dolly poetry of Stephenie Meyer with Muse’s deeply inane stadium histrionics leaves you with something about as subtle as a brick wrapped in lurex.

JUSTIN BIEBER FEAT USHER SOMEBODY TO LOVE Universal I rather like Justin Bieber. Not his music so much (more on that in a moment) but the boy himself; he seems to have a rather satirical stance when it comes to his lunatic fans and the whole predicament he finds himself in. Hey, you’ve got to laugh; taking this shit seriously leads to a case of the John Hinckley Juniors. But I rather like Somebody To Love, too. (Are you that surprised?) As its hyperkinetic dance arrangements churn beneath Biebs’ and Mr OMG’s voices (which meld beautifully), it’s kind of resplendently teenaged. Try to remember what that felt like.

JUMP JUMP DANCE DANCE MODERN EYES etcetc When I read or hear the term “electro rock” (or any variants on that theme) these days I drift into a Homeric (Simpson, that is) trance state where I hear little other than the black and white cartoon animals playing Dixie inside my head. So it is to the irritatingly named Jump Jump Dance Dance’s credit that the moderately danceable Modern Eyes (GEDDIT!?) stopped me from sinking immediately into that torpor. Faint praise, sure, but it’s better than a coma, right?

EXAMPLE WATCH THE SUN COME UP Hussle Yes, Clem, you did read that correctly: “With a two-month national ad-sync on 7’s Sunrise […] it’s time to jump on board the Example Express!” So, if you’ll excuse me briefly . Right, Mel and Kochie aside, Watch The Sun Come Up is actually rather gorgeous, in that whole postColdplay’s-Clocks sort of dance/R&B hybrid kind of way. It’s just a shame it’s now inextricably linked with those goons of morning television.

HARLEM HIPPIES Matador Whenever I’ve played Hippies for my 20- and 30-something muso friends, we’ve all agreed that the album kind of makes us feel like teenagers. Why is that? It’s not just that the record refers both to sounds of the ‘90s (the poppy end of grunge, the garage end of rock) and to the Nuggets compilations that so many 20- and 30-somethings discovered as teenagers. It’s also that Harlem are a band that embody perfectly the two competing impulses of the typical guitar-toting teen: on the one hand, this album is all about the Austin three-piece thrashing around like they’ve eaten too much Ice Magic, sloppy and manic and noisy and throwaway. On the other hand, Hippies is a collection of deceptively tightly-written and catchy-chorused pop songs. A simultaneous drive for polished bubblegum and for distorted screech sums up this album, and seems to sum up the experience of teendom, too. Take Tila And I, a song about “going to the cemetery” and “staying up all night”. The lyrics speak of don’t-givea-fuck brattiness: “I just don’t know what I’m going to do/Oh yeah, whatever, that sounds cool.” And the vocal delivery has a raspy, rushed snarl that recalls Black Lips or even Mudhoney. Reading that, you’d assume that this is just another off-the-cuff garage punk song. But you’d be wrong. The lyrical refrain is actually built into an almost irritatingly catchy hook that will have you humming it over and again all the way to your high-school reunion. The vocal delivery repeatedly follows a riff up and down the fuzzy guitar in a way that makes it almost impossible not to sing along.

ARIEL PINK’S HAUNTED GRAFFITI BEFORE TODAY 4AD/Remote Control The odd thing about the front cover of Before Today isn’t the surreal glowing figure in the corner, nor the shoddy Photoshopping. It’s the fact that it pictures an actual band. We know they’re a band because they’re standing in front a brick wall, dressed in black. Haunted Graffiti is no longer Ariel Rosenberg’s lo-fi solo bedroom project. No longer does it sound like a lonely kid singing in the shower, dreaming of rock stardom. With three other guys helping out, Ariel’s music now sounds a little closer to that of his good-time oldies radio heroes. With big, bright harmonies and backing vocals, he now uses his brilliant pop songwriting abilities to create actual songs, with catchy choruses and some actually pretty decent production. And on Beverly Kills, the real live rhythm section (as opposed to Ariel’s primitive beatboxing) manages to play a seriously funky groove. With its falsetto chorus and goofy sound effects, it’s like the soundtrack to cocaine, cocktails, bikinis and Hawaiian shirts in some cheesy movie from the ‘80s. The question one has to ask about this new direction is: what is the point of Haunted Graffiti if it’s now just another band? Why merely pastiche professional ‘70s/’80s pop when there’s already so much of the stuff around, and when the amateurish imitation of ‘70s/’80s pop on Ariel’s older stuff sounded so unique, haunting and bizarre? Why does artistic development so often mean becoming more conventional?

Harlem are raucous and irreverent and presumably they get wasted and sweaty and scream while they break stuff at their live shows. Whatever. ‘Cause on record they sound suspiciously like a straight-up pop rock band, just with all the levels turned up a little louder.

Having asked these questions, I’ll now tell you the good news: Haunted Graffiti still sounds haunted. There’s enough trippy effects, silly voices and weird noises to prevent the album from being a compromise. It’s more polished, but still sufficiently not-quite-right. Before Today is a welcome new chapter in the story of one of music’s great eccentrics.

Roger Nelson

Keith McDougall

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CIRCLE PIT BRUISE CONSTELLATIONS Timberyard/Shock The trashy, style-conscious Sydney duo Circle Pit are an iffy proposition until the second you hear their debut album. Where their sound is overblown and somewhat stilted live, here the songs shine through the grime. Namely, the vocals of instrument-swapping Jack Mannix and Angela Bermuda – who once played in the Sydney trio Kiosk and enlist a few guest musicians on this album – are actually intelligible. Adopting a set of down-turned, bored snarls that seem inspired by Royal Trux, they sing alone, in unison, and loosely on top of each other as gurgling garage licks, thudding bass, and modest drumming plod and stumble along. That’s no insult: this album is a scrappy celebration of everything unravelled and unfulfilled. Doubters expecting empty posturing, though, will be surprised by the heartfelt nature of these songs. Mannix’s ballad Infinity is blindsiding in its honesty and beauty, as are his growling voice and lyrics on Drowning In The Dark. The guitar work on Beginning And The End is all too pretty, while the lyrically harrowing Another Trick may be the catchiest song on a very catchy album. The shambling, tousled blues of Dead Meat is great, and the opening line of the dead-eyed Shallow Grave casually slays: “I don’t want my father to give me away/But I sure as hell wanna change my name.” The lyrics are a strong facet of this band and are even reprinted in the booklet. Sound-wise, you’ll hear Velvet Underground in the guitar more than once as well as hints of St Helens overall. Some people will find Circle Pit too skuzzy, some too twee, and many more so will fall back on the styleover-substance argument. But judge them on this wellconstructed, strikingly personal album or don’t judge them at all. Doug Wallen

ON THE RECORD

LATEST CD REVIEWS

THE ETTES DO YOU WANT POWER Stem Music/Planet/ MGM The first 20 seconds throw you back to a time when the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were still cool, to when The White Stripes were still raw and euphoric. From Nashville Tennessee, The Ettes come at you with a buzzing bastard brew of country drawl and hipster fuzz, all topped off with the brash cowgirl sexiness of lead singer Coco Hames. Do You Want Power is instant gun slingin’ girl rock joy. (Walk all over me, baby.) There’s nothing particularly new in all this cool chick posturing; you’ve heard fat, fuzzing guitar and kicking 4/4 rock rhythms a zillion times before but… boy, does it work. Recorded in a five day dash and produced by garage maestro Greg Cartwright (Jay Reatard, The Oblivions), Do You Want Power is everything you want barnstorming indie-femme to be: dirty, funny, irreverent and tender. Walk Out That Door says it all in three minutes, a big electric wave of bottom end married to uber-cool Nancy Sinatra disdain. Similarly, Red In Tooth & Claw shakes up punk distortion and country siren vocals into a thrilling entrée, like Kim Gordon riding a horse into town. I Can’t Be True continues in this vein with its raw stomp and wall of sound. Then there’s the ‘60s girl group bubblegum blitz of Take It With You, with its very Karen O chorus and sun-drenched verses. However, amidst all the alterna-buzz there’s still time for undressed emotion, as evidenced by the plaintive Keep Me In Flowers, a track drizzled with keys and strings and winsome regret. This very American record is loaded with hooks. Uptempo and bristling with cockiness, it’s like a laconic C&W babe with NYC savvy. What’s more, it’s just so damn sexy. It throbs and hums with primitive dash; a dirty and delicious little… Paul Ransom

PAUL WELLER WAKE UP THE NATION Universal

THE BEAUTIFUL GIRLS SPOOKS Die! Boredom/MGM

TO ROCOCO ROT SPECULATION Domino/EMI

This year’s recipient of The Godlike Genius Award from NME, Paul Weller has been nothing if not prolific in a career stretching back more than 30 years. Eclecticism has been a constant trademark, too, and the Modfather’s new album, Wake Up The Nation, is no exception.

“The weird thing is, I don’t even much like reggae.” This is a quote from Beautiful Girls frontman Mat McHugh that appears in the press release accompanying the Sydneybased trio’s fourth studio release, Spooks. Not such a random statement on its own – I mean, I know a lot of people who don’t much like reggae. However, when you then listen to the record in question, after even a few seconds, you’re scratching your head and raising your eyebrows. For Spooks, is indeed, a reggae album – weird, no? In a recent interview with McHugh, I put this to him, asking him why, if he doesn’t much like the music, he’s made a record mired hip-deep in it. His response was that he doesn’t much like mainstream reggae, that he doesn’t listen to the likes of Marley – he’s more into “street reggae” and “punk reggae”, a lot more into dub music.

Berlin instrumentalists To Rococo Rot are the repetition kings. Although Speculation does little to strip them of this title, the TTR boys demonstrate that, after 16 years, they have really refined their production skills.

The title track is Weller at his catchy, interesting best: That’s Entertainment or Walls Come Tumbling Down plus the slow passage of musical time. Track three, No Tears To Cry, sees Weller firmly ensconced in old crooner territory, though backed by a distinctly up-tempo beat. Weller’s fondness for sampling, The Beatles and pop have all been well discussed, as has his profound influence on the Britpop scene and his place in the punk canon, but track six, In Amsterdam, is an instrumental interlude of Jacques Brel carnivalesque that perhaps hints at some of Weller’s lesser-known influences. Aim Higher, as the name possibly suggests, has Weller singing in falsetto to almost Bond film soundtrack brass. He even sounds a bit like Mick Jagger on Trees. Track 13, 7 & 3 Is The Striker’s Name, a collaboration with Kevin Shields from My Bloody Valentine, is shoegaze mixed with a percussive kind of rap, despite, or perhaps because of, Weller’s sha-na-na-ing. Is there nothing this man will not attempt to do with his music? I don’t know. The overall effect, though, is one of wonder and, more than anything else, unbridled fun.

And to tell the truth, this is fair enough, for Spooks isn’t a reggae record in the mainstream sense of the word. And while it certainly isn’t street or punk reggae, it is reggae in a subtle form, submitting to dub grooves more often than not, definitely not subscribing to the whole Australian Summer Festival Reggae Band syndrome that so many others have signed up to. As such, as a reggae album, Spooks is actually quite good. I must admit, not being enamoured with any of the band’s previous work, that this surprised me, and I think this is what makes this a decent recording – it captures the attention of people not expecting it to, and it does it well.

This is urgent, engrossing, outrageously adventurous stuff. Most of the tracks on Wake Up The Nation are less than three minutes long: perverse radio-friendliness from an artist who doesn’t need it anymore, never giving the listener more than a fleeting moment to catch their breath. When it’s over, though, the dominant emotion it leaves the listener with is something like thankfulness.

Spooks, while a Beautiful Girls record, is mainly McHugh. He did most of the work (guitars, drum samples, etc) and as such it comes across as another of his solo records, which isn’t such a bad thing. It moves from subtle to thumping in a cohesive way, and while it’s not going to set the world alight, it’s not the ‘summer roots’ dirge-fest it could have been.

Tony McMahon

Samuel J Fell

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Setting the tone for TRR’s robotic and organic fusions, the soothing opener Away trundles pleasantly along with a post-punk bass loop complimented with jazzy trembles of high-end guitar. The jazziness intensifies with Seele, characterised by loose percussion that mingles with snaking bass and reverberant piano chords. The theme continues with the light and dreamy Horses, as the looping melody bursts over the backing of some mischievously funky bass. The funky bass and drums soon become tiresome, but reprieve comes in the form of Forwardness. The warm guitars highlighted with synth effects and steel drums build an uplifting atmosphere, but by the time we are introduced to Ship towards the album’s end, the pace becomes tiresome again. Those who manage to linger until the end are rewarded with Friday, where the boys are joined by Faust keyboard player Hans Joachim Irmler. Irmler’s presence serves the boys well, as they abandon the riff-repetition to produce a soundscape of thundering bass lines, bubbling electronics, rhythmic loops and lively kosmische organ chords. This ambient track stands apart from anything that TTR have produced before, and provides a dazzling conclusion to Speculation. Until now, To Rococo Rot have produced records that centered more around the idea of experimentation and left little focus on much else. While there are still elements of this in Speculation, TTR allow the music more time to evolve. Steph Wallis

IN MOURNING

STUDIO BOUND

DAVE FAZZA from THE MOURNING SONS chats with NICK ARGYRIOU about his band’s cracking debut and the record’s producer, Dean Turner.

agic Dirt bass player and producer of so many quality records, Dean Turner, is sadly missed and will continue to be so for years to come. He has left his mark on bands such as Theredsunband, Sons Of The Sun and Violent Soho, not only because of his eagle-eye and deft ear for production, but for being mentor, friend and a champion of the Australian rock scene. He believed in bands and had an immense passion for making musicians be the best they could be. His impact on the sound of Melbourne rock outfit The Mourning Sons speaks for itself. Their record, Pipedreams, spews out a grunge-fuelled, hard rockin’ and no-bullshit aesthetic, with gruff, penetrative vocals, wailing guitars and pounding drums the order of the day. “It’s always a tricky one to answer when people ask about Dean and the legacy he left on us… I mean Dean was just the heart and soul of this album for The Mourning Sons, and to be able to get to work with Dean on a professional level and get to know him on a personal level… it’s been the greatest privilege of our lives,” affirms The Mourning Sons’ frontman, Dave Fazza. “We’ll do our very best to honour him the way he’s supposed to be honoured.” So what for Fazza was the standout piece of advice that Turner gave the band about its music, and what they needed to do in order to realise their potential? “Dean was all for the band doing the hard yards together and… um… you play your shit gigs where there’s sort of half a dozen people there, but Dean told us to never lose sight of what we’re all doing it for,” explains Fazza as he scours through his money jar counting coins so, as he tells me, he “can go out and get pissed

Now settled in Melbourne, MARK MITCHELL – the brains behind CLUE TO KALO – is thinking about a new record, he tells SAMUEL J FELL.

tonight”. Fazza admits that he’s currently up to about $81. “That’s so great!” he gleefully chuckles.

thing, particularly when you’ve just moved to a strange city – Mitchell seems to have fallen on his feet.

With the band filtering through some singles, including the short and sharp fireball Burn Motherfucker Burn, they don’t intend to release Pipedreams until October/ November 2010. It’s been a long time in the works, with Fazza playing solo acoustic since 2003 before forming The Mourning Sons proper in 2008. “Yeah, we finally scored a drummer that was good enough to handle it,” laughs Fazza. “Then after a series of block recordings, it was about April 2009, and then with the mastering and the artwork and the fact that we are self-funded, it all takes time, but we are looking to the end of the year for the official release of the album.”

For those who came in late: Mitchell began as a solo performer back toward the beginning of the decade, but it wasn’t too long before he began to incorporate other musicians into the mix. “The first person I worked with was Curtis [Leaver]. He was doing some subtle electronic stuff over the top but then he learned guitar, so we were gonna go on tour through the States,” Mitchell tells. “But then the label suggested the music might work better as a band and at that point I wasn’t listening to a lot of electronica, so I was thinking that [the band] was something I wanted to do.

Pipedreams is a bold and brash record – old-school rock muscle that hits the packs hard. It’s bloody noses and broken bones-type stuff – its strength is its ability to mix raw, brutish progressions with a melodic, clean tone. Moving through the rock history timeline from a mid-‘80s Guns N’ Roses/Poison feel to late ‘80s/early ‘90s Seattle grunge and jerky, schizophrenic late ‘90s indie rock, the band plays a ferocious hand throughout. Hungry like wolves – that’s The Mourning Sons. “It’s like anything in life, man; if the formula’s not right it just won’t work, and I mean we would all take a million bullets for each other… We’re brothers, you know, and that’s one of the things that Dean Turner admired about us. He always used to say we reminded him of a gang and that’s how the name The Mourning Sons came about,” admits Fazza. With the band launching their Burn Motherfucker Burn single this Saturday at Cherry Bar, Fazza informs that there will be blood. “If you see our guitarist Eddie’s [Ed Fraser] hand after every single gig we play, it’s literally covered in blood, man. We’re definitely playing like we mean it.” While The Mourning Sons’ record might be called Pipedreams, their ambition most certainly is not.

WHO: The Mourning Sons WHAT: Burn Motherfucker Burn (Independent) WHEN & WHERE: Saturday, Cherry

ark Mitchell, also known as the main component (and, indeed, sometimes the only component) of folktronica act Clue To Kalo, is in the studio when I call to set up an interview time later in the day. Given there’s not a lot of information floating around on this Adelaide group (or Melbourne, as it’s been for the past month and a half), I instantly assume that he’s in there recording the follow-up to last year’s Lily Perdida. Not so. “I work here full-time now, I pretty much moved from Adelaide to work in this studio,” Mitchell tells of Electric Dreams Studio in South Melbourne. “It’s owned by a friend of mine and when he offered me the job it was too good to pass up, so I moved over from Adelaide.” Since forming Clue To Kalo as a solo project around eight years ago, Mitchell has indeed been based in the city of churches, but now finds himself here in Melbourne. And the studio work, well, this is only a plus. “It’s great working here because everyone else who works here makes their own music too, so in the spaces between doing things, there’s room for us to work on our ideas and room for us to help each other out in that respect,” Mitchell concurs. Working in an environment you also play in can only be a good

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“So I enlisted a drummer, but as the band went on, it was still seen as a separate thing to the record. Like, I’d still write the record then take it to the guys and we’d figure out a way for it to work live,” he goes on regarding debut Come Here When You Sleepwalk (’03) and One Way, It’s Every Way (’05). “So it never really felt like it had a lot of bearing on the music, at least not directly. I mean I was influenced by those guys and the way they would play. But then, by the last tour, at that point we were thinking about where we were gonna go from there. People’s priorities changed and it seemed like a pretty good time to call it a day.” This wasn’t long after the release of the third Clue To Kalo record, Lily Perdida, released early last year, and so where we see Mitchell today, still as Clue To Kalo, is as a solo artist, almost coming full circle. “Yeah, to an extent I guess,” he muses. “There was always a degree with the early electronic stuff, as I don’t listen to much electronica, to find something else within those confines. Then with the band there was always the thing of trying to make it sound more like a band. So it’s not a matter of me coming full circle, really, it’s more a matter of me going, ‘This is something I know how to do and it’s something I enjoy’.” Mitchell, within his studio setting, is indeed taking what he enjoys and is thinking about the next Clue To Kalo record as well. It’s been a slow, organic process for him – that much hasn’t changed. WHO: Clue To Kalo WHEN & WHERE: Saturday, the Empress

HOLY ROLLERS

AMERICAN MUSIC

Rockin’ WA outfit SCOTCH OF SAINT JAMES have finally got an album in the shops, MICHAEL PAVER tells SAMUEL J FELL.

After a year in Tennessee, CHRIS PICKERING has returned with a swag of new songs. DANIEL JOHNSON finds out what he’s been up to. branch out and try other parts of the country after that.” Pickering was lucky enough to secure the services of legendary Stax Records producer and musician Don Nix to produce his yet-to-be-released third album, Fiction, which features backing from session musicians who have collectively worked with everyone from Paul Simon to The Amazing Rhythm Aces.

ock’n’roll isn’t dead, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. The Perth-based Scotch Of Saint James are living proof. They rock with the best of them, roll with the rest, and bang around with anyone left in between, as their debut, Vigilante Neck Tie Party, shows in spades. For the Scotch, though, it’s been a while coming – a name change, a bit of a style change and lengthy delays in releasing the aforementioned debut – but there ain’t much gonna stand in their way of getting it out there, you can bank on that. “Myself and drummer Simon Roggio met at TAFE many a moon ago and we tracked down Timmy [Hamzah], who I used to go to school with to play bass, and we initially had another guitarist, but he left, and then this other band cruised in to town and had Bobby Burgess as their lead guitarist, and we were like, ‘This guy is pretty awesome,’ so we sweet-talked him with a couple of whiskeys and Bob’s your uncle,” explains vocalist/guitarist Michael Paver of the initial origins of the band. “We were initially called the Slim Pickins, but if you have a name like that, people pigeonhole you without even listening to your tunes as a country band, when you sound nothing like a country band.” Once the band changed their name a couple of years ago after releasing an EP as the Pickins, things began to get serious. “We’re not one of those bands that’ll stay in a rehearsal room for three years trying to work out what’s gonna be the next trend and then get out there and do it,” Paver tells. “We just write songs which we think are good at the time and we know they’re gonna progress from there, so we just play what we play and it’s all just moved forward, artistically, quite a lot.” It’s all culminating at the moment in Vigilante Neck Tie Party, a record which shows (in comparison

“Don came up just kind of in conversation with a few people,” Pickering explains. “I was spending a bit of time in Memphis just meeting people and this Don Nix character kept cropping up in circles. I looked into it and read about him and he used to work for Stax Records and he produced a lot of artists, mainly blues artists like Albert King and Freddie King for Stax and Atlantic and worked with Leon Russell and he was actually on the Concert For Bangladesh with George Harrison in 1971.

to the EP released under the Slim Pickins moniker) how far the band have come in a relatively short time. “Well for starters, the company we were associated with wasn’t ready for it, so we thought, ‘Okay, we’ll put it out in November’,” Paver tells of a record the band intended to release mid-last year. “Then for some reason we weren’t ready to put it out in November so it was pushed back to December but we thought perhaps the Scotch couldn’t compete with Christina Aguilera’s Greatest Hits, so we pushed it back again and it just seemed to get further and further away, but it was finally released in late March. We definitely had a beverage for that one.” So Vigilante Neck Tie Party is out there in all its ‘motivated stoner’ glory, with nods to the likes of The Stones and The Vines and The Who and a whole host of others, too. Still, a long delay in release – are these tracks as relevant to the band now as they were when they were written, more than a year ago? “Yeah, the meaning behind them is still the same, although we don’t play everything off the record any more,” Paver muses. “But the points made in the songs, and the whole reason they were written, is as relevant now as it was back then, for sure. There isn’t a song on that record that’s about a girl.” Everything seems to be relevant then, up to date and on the money. Which is how the Scotch Of Saint James do things really – write ‘em, play ‘em, and get ‘em out there – just a few reasons why the Scotch aren’t letting rock’n’roll die. WHO: Scotch Of Saint James WHAT: Vigilante Neck Tie Party (Shock) WHEN & WHERE: Saturday, the Grace Darling

THE LIKELY LADS

hris Pickering has come a long way since his days as drummer/vocalist in The Boat People. He has released two EPs and two albums since 2005, and his timeless blend of alt.country, indie rock and acoustic folk has earned him welldeserved critical acclaim both here and abroad.

“It’s definitely a lot more indie rock and less country than the other ones I’ve done. Because it was recorded in Memphis, I wanted to try and get that Memphis sound, so there’s a lot of heavy groove, like a soul-pop influence on this one, which I really like and feel suits the songs really well.”

Pickering got a taste of the massive US music market when he played South By Southwest in 2008, and early last year he decided to return to the US and set up camp in Memphis, where he has been based until recently.

On his current Australian tour, Pickering will be teaming up with Matt Gresham, Cookie Baker and Nicole Brophy.

“I moved there in February last year and I more or less spent three quarters of last year and so far most of this year over there,” he says. “Essentially I’m just trying to get people interested in what I do. I feel like it’s a good place for me to be and it’s actually a good place in general; I quite like living there. “It’s a good place for me to be in for people to appreciate what I do as a songwriter and I can play there fairly regularly and build up a bit of a fanbase. And that’s what I’m trying to do, just play around that area to build a bit of a stronghold of people who like what I do and will come and see me play and buy my records and stuff and then I’ll

The chemistry obviously worked because that first album, Heroes Or Ghosts, released in 2007, went double platinum in Ireland and saw two singles – Grace, Don’t Wait! and San Diego Song – each spend 16 weeks in the Irish Top 40. Sell-out tours of Ireland, the UK and the US, along with two Meteor nominations, followed, then it was that first US tour that gave them the story behind the lyrically least representative track they’ve cut so far, Tony Was An Ex-Con, about their psychotic tour bus driver – a song that, in a neatly perverse move, they took as the title for the second album.

O’Reilly had been in a high school band with bass player Graham Knox and drummer Conor Egan when they were all 15, but that had fallen apart by the time they were 18. Even so the three stuck together and they still made music together. Their band cut a live EP and then a

WHO: Chris Pickering WHEN & WHERE: Friday, Palais (Hepburn Springs); Saturday, Westernport Hotel (San Remo); Sunday, Barwon Club; Tuesday, the Toff In Town

IOWA frontman DYLAN STEWART tells PAUL RANSOM that it’s okay not to be cool, as long as you love it.

studio EP as The Coronas in 2004 and 2005 respectively, though they felt something was missing. “Then we met [fellow Dubliner and lead guitarist] Dave [McPhillips] in Vancouver of all places. We just happened to go over there on holidays and Dave happened to be over there working odd jobs through the summer. Every night there’d be a house party and everyone would be playing songs and jamming and straight away we got on really, really well. Straight after we got back from Vancouver we asked him to join the band and five minutes into the first rehearsal, we were like, ‘Yeah, this is going to work’.”

“I

“I’m sharing the bill with a bunch of other songwriters – a guy from Western Australia, a girl from Sydney and a girl from Adelaide, and so we’re all sort of sharing and swapping songs and stuff like that, so I’m really looking forward to it. I haven’t played in front of Australian audiences for a long time, so it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

MY OWN PRIVATE IOWA

Dublin’s THE CORONAS beat U2 to win Album Of The Year at an Irish awards show recently. MICHAEL SMITH digs into the band’s back story.

don’t think surprise is the word,” The Coronas singer and rhythm guitarist Danny O’Reilly recalls of that night in February. He’s at home at his mum and dad’s place in Dublin when he takes Inpress’s call (and by the by, his mum happens to be legendary Irish singer Mary Black). “We went to the awards thinking we had no chance up against Snow Patrol and U2, bands that we’ve listened to growing up and admire, so it was just a total and utter shock, mainly because it was voted by the public as well. It wasn’t like some committee of industry people saying, ‘Let’s give it to the young lads’. Even the people who run the Meteor Awards told us that they had to re-check the count on the votes because they were surprised too. We met Adam Clayton afterwards and he just congratulated us and said, ‘Fair play to you and you deserve it’ – and that just meant so much to us.”

“Basically he had his finger in a lot of pies back in the day. So his name came up as a potential producer, so I looked into it and met up with him and we gelled pretty quickly, so it was kind of a formality after that. He wanted to work at Ardent Studios and it kind of all came into place then.

“That was actually one of the reasons why. Heroes Or Ghosts seemed like a meaningful, apt name for a debut, so having a think about the second album, we felt the album was different so we thought it would be good to go with a different story to tell about it. We’d barely gigged outside of Dublin, never mind Ireland, when we did the first album and we were really proud of it but we knew we could improve on it. “The second record we’d spent a lot of time on the road together and we started writing together a lot more, especially me and Dave, so I think it has a much more collaborative feel. After touring the first album, we all knew where we were musically and what we were sounding like so with the second record we knew exactly where we wanted to go. We consider ourselves songwriters more than musicians. We try and write tunes, songs that people can sing along to and enjoy and we’re not at all afraid to embrace that.” WHO: The Coronas WHEN & WHERE: Friday, Prince Bandroom

vision,” Stewart confesses. “I have friends in bands who put so much pressure on themselves by worrying about whether certain people are going to like this or not like that, so it’s good to be able to take it easy. We’re really not following any rule book about how to do it. We don’t even have a plan to make an album. We’ll just stick to vinyl, I think – in many different colours.”

“I

’ve always had a huge love of old ‘70s fuzz pedals,” declares Dylan Stewart from Iowa. “I’ve always been searching for that pedal that could make my amp sound like it was blowing up and I think I’ve finally found it.” Before we go any further, let’s be clear: Dylan Stewart is actually from Melbourne and Iowa is the threepiece band he fronts. Together with bass player Jordan Barczak and drummer Matt Rooney, he likes to makes noise. Big, warm, distorted noise. “We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel or anything, just play some loud, fuzzy psychedelic rock,” Stewart says simply. Iowa like to describe their sound as lo-fi in widescreen and you can certainly hear traces of bands like Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr and My Bloody Valentine in the mix. Iowa are also champions of the old-school indie spirit. Indeed, their debut release Green Swirl will be available only as a limited edition 7” single. “My love is for the old ‘90s bands who did all these cool, limited edition coloured vinyl releases,” Stewart says by way of explanation. Hence Green Swirl is unsurprisingly green. Its follow up in September will be red. Of the tracks Iowa have so far committed to tape, Stewart adds, “We recorded them really quickly. We were working with Jack Farley, who did Love Of Diagrams, and we just banged out seven songs in a day and decided to split them up onto two 7-inches and just stay away from the whole CD format.” If it’s all starting to sound like a return to the defiantly anti-careerist stance favoured by the indie darlings of the 1980s, Iowa make no apology. “There really is no

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Laziness? Well, not exactly. In fact Iowa have not even been together a year, the band coalescing after a round of phone calls. “We thought, ‘Well, we’re never gonna be big or anything so let’s just do it for fun’.” Indeed, Dylan Stewart is quite prepared to plead guilty to any charges of self-indulgence that may arise as a result of Iowa’s distortion drenched jams. “I saw My Bloody Valentine over in London and they sampled this jet engine and had it playing over 45 minutes of feedback towards the end of the set and it was just unbelievable,” he recalls, clearly inspired. “That was one of the reasons I thought, ‘Fuck it, let’s just start a band and make noise’.” Of the ‘noise’ thing, Stewart says, “It’s really a state of mind, isn’t it? I mean a lot of people would go and see a band like My Bloody Valentine and hear 45 minutes of fuzz and noise and just walk out. So y’know, there’s gonna be plenty of people out there who really hate our stuff but, fuck it, we really like it. “We have this real do-it-yourself attitude. We didn’t want anyone telling us that it should be done like this or that. Hence the vinyl and the really grassroots approach. I think maybe it’s getting back to the point now where people don’t need record companies as much.” Thus, when Iowa officially release Green Swirl at the Worker’s Club in Fitzroy this Friday, they will do so with a determined and doubtless fuzzy swagger. “I think music isn’t something you have to be cool about,” Stewart concludes. “Who cares what the scene is at the moment, as long as you’re taking it home and enjoying it, that’s all that matters.” WHO: Iowa WHAT: Green Swirl (Desert Mouth) WHEN & WHERE: Friday, Workers Club

THE DEVIL’S MUSIC

FINAL WISH?

THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER frontman TREVOR STRNAD remembers having the crap scared out of him by death metal as a kid, he tells BRENDAN CRABB.

With bassist NICK PRATT moving to Perth, manic Melbourne punks DEAF WISH have been forced to call it a day. Maybe. TONY MCMAHON investigates. as wide open. And it seems that his desire to go on tour overseas is as strong as it ever was. For inspiration, naturally, he looks to the singer of punk classic Sadie (The Cleaning Lady).

adopt such an approach, the frontman’s seemingly effortless flitting between inhumanly guttural growls and manic, high-pitched shrieks not only gives the band a distinctive feel but was initially mistaken for being two separate singers by many upon the release of 2003 debut Unhallowed. So who inspired Strnad’s brand of vocal insanity?

“I

t was like ’95 when I was hearing my first death metal albums. My first record was Pierced From Within by Suffocation,” Trevor Strnad tells Inpress while “living my pyjama pants fantasies out” at his Detroit home between tours. “I think it’s still the best one,” he laughs. “It still might be my favourite, or it’s really high up on the list. It basically scared the crap out of me and ‘cause at the time, getting into evil metal, I was still young and kind of impressionable about religion, so getting into metal was kind of like ultimately saying goodbye to god,” he says, laughing again. “It’s like, okay, I’m in eighth grade and I’m accepting that I’m going to go to hell, you know? Like, ‘All right guys, let’s make this worth it’,” he chuckles.

As a result of his extreme pedigree, Strnad feels a responsibility to carry over certain traditions to the next generation of death metal devotees. “[With our lyrics] there are some aspects of reality in there. But there’s a lot of horror elements, old school death metal elements. There’s a lot of blatant Satanism and it’s pretty tongue-in-cheek. But it’s kind of a reference to old Deicide and Sinister and bands that had just overly Satanic lyrics [that] I used to get the shit scared out of me by. I try to keep that kind of stuff in mind, because I realise that we’re reaching a lot of young kids and we might be the most extreme band they’ve heard so far.” While far from the first extreme metal vocalist to

“The screeching, I don’t even really know where that comes from, that’s just kind of how it is,” he says with a laugh. “It’s not really influenced by a particular singer. I guess the high and low thing, there are a lot of guys that do that and influence me. The pair of Jeff Walker and Bill Steer from Carcass doing the high and low vocal is probably the biggest one. I remember when we were tracking stuff for the first demo and we were like, ‘We’ve gotta do those Carcass vocals man, like the high one and the low at the same time’,” he laughs. “Ben Falgoust from Goatwhore and Soilent Green, he’s probably one of my favourite vocalists. He does the high and low and everything in between and just has the sickest stage presence I’ve ever seen. Glen Benton – old Deicide stuff like Legion. Tobias [Sidegård] from Necrophobic, he’s one of my favourite vocalists, just has a real awesome attitude.” Aside from their crushing music, judging from their Majesty DVD and accompanying DVD for latest album Deflorate, The Black Dahlia Murder also enjoy a party. While their Australian visit with fellow Americans Unearth promises considerable drunken debauchery, it’ll likely be relatively low-key compared to some of the band’s previous tours. “The times that we’ve toured with European bands, man… holy shit,” Strnad chuckles. “Our first Euro tour we were trying to drink with Vader and Finntroll. They had this keyboard player filling in – this chick – and she was drinking us under the table. It’s a whole other level, man. I don’t understand… they must start drinking when they’re like eight or nine, just out of their customs. They have a very brutal resistance in the liver.”

WHO: The Black Dahlia Murder WHEN & WHERE: Friday 4 (18+) and Saturday 5 June (arvo, under 18), the Hi-Fi

“We’ll have more comebacks than John Farnham. I hope it’s not the end. I still want to go overseas. Touring with a band is great. You don’t see many of the sights but you get to hang out with great people. The band will happen more sporadically; make every gig more of an event. Just have to save a few hundred bucks so I can fly back.” Given this is (sort of) an article about a band splitting, the question of best and worst things about Deaf Wish almost asks itself. Pratt nominates a gig at one of our premier festivals as the former and, well, minor brain damage for the latter.

ut-of-control local punks Deaf Wish are calling it a day. Bassist Nick Pratt is moving to Perth – something the other members of the band describe as like breaking into prison – and this seems to have been the impetus for the unfortunate split. But for fans of Deaf Wish’s uncompromisingly vicious and manic music, there is an upside: the gang will play a farewell show at Yah Yah’s which should see the tiny Smith Street venue take on the attributes of a mental asylum during a heat wave, but with a bar. Listen to the band’s recent album, Reality And Visions (preferably on vinyl) and it’s not hard to imagine this will be one of the absolute gigs of the year. Deaf Wish make hard-nosed, in your face rock’n’roll that demands to be heard live, even more so considering it may well be our last chance. Inpress spoke to Pratt about why now was the right time for the band to split. Not surprisingly, the bass man says that timing had little to do with Deaf Wish’s decision to disband and that it was more to with the fact that the schlep across the Nullarbor was always going to be a massive problem. “I don’t think timing has anything to do with it,” he says. “It’s just maybe where I’m at at the moment. I’m moving to Perth to try and make my millions. Lord knows rock’n’roll doesn’t pay, but it sure is a hell of a lot of fun. The tyranny of distance is going to make it hard to get to rehearsal though.” On the question of whether or not this is a permanent split, Pratt doesn’t so much leave the door ajar

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“The music has to be the best thing to come out of it. That and the chance to play some great gigs. The best one for me has to be Golden Plains – so amazing to be on that stage. The worse thing has to be permanent loss of brain cells and the constant ringing in my ears.” Farewell gigs can be awesome events: sadness mixed with emotions of thankfulness and love and ‘Where were you when…?’ and ‘What will we ever do without them?’ conversations, but Pratt says he just hopes to be able to partake in a bit of Pete Townshend action under the influence of psychotropic drugs. “For the launch of our first 7-inch at the Tote I swapped some dude a can of Melbourne Bitter for a handful of magic mushrooms. I totally lost it and ended up smashing my bass in the beer garden. I hope something like that happens.” In parting, Inpress drops the L word (legacy) and Pratt responds in typical Deaf Wish style, referencing outdated video recording systems and alien beings. “I like to think of people listening to our music in 7,000 years. Weird jelly fish people that will trade a small moon for a VHS copy of Strange TV.” WHO: Deaf Wish WHEN & WHERE: Saturday, Yah Yah’s

GOOD, BETTER, BEST The award-winning KATE VIGO sounds very different following a stint in India, she tells SAMUEL J FELL.

ALL HET UP After a year travelling the world, HETTY KATE is glad to be back home eating meals smaller than her head, she tells NIC TOUPEE.

honour. “That was cool, we flew up to Sydney and did the whole red carpet thing,” she smiles. “It was really great to have that support from the industry… and there were a lot of industry people there, so it was great to be a part of the whole thing and to have that support.” Things are rolling for the young Vigo. Add this to her being a finalist in the New Artist 2 Radio competition last year as well as being shortlisted in the APRA Vanda & Young Songwriter Of The Year Awards (also last year), and you’ve got someone who’s building themselves a solid base from which to branch out. Now then, Vigo will release her debut EP (but by no means her debut release), Someone Better, which definitely sees her trying to capitalise on her success to date. “We started making the EP in December last year, and finished in late January. It took a lot longer than we expected, but it was an interesting experience,” she tells.

he year so far has been a busy one for startlinglyvoiced chanteuse Kate Vigo. Since coming to the fore, most notably for selling the most records at the Melbourne Jazz Fringe Festival in 2008, Vigo has dug in and begun to make an impact, her jazz roots and ability to pluck something different from thin air standing her in good stead. Since releasing her 2007 debut, It Is Love (produced by Myles Mumford), Vigo has begun dabbling in pop and electronica, folk and jazz and whatever else can fit between. She released a remix album in 2008, and now stands to deliver an EP, Someone Better. Indeed, 2010 will be a big year for Vigo. “Port Fairy is such a wonderful festival, everyone there is completely dedicated to music,” she smiles of her experiences earlier this year at the event where she made quite the impact. “Festivals are great, I really enjoy playing festivals.” Vigo also performed at the Brunswick Music Festival this year for the first time, again making waves, but despite these two high-profile slots, they’re not the biggest thing to have happened to Vigo in 2010 – winning the award for Best Video (for The Way You Are) at the Musicoz Awards last month takes that

“I mean, recording to me is a bit of an enigma,” she goes on. “It takes such a long time, sitting there listening to all the frequencies and the bass drum over and over… I think I would go insane if I had to produce a track.” Luckily, she wasn’t involved in production this time around. “I think it’s horrible,” she continues with a laugh about the recording experience. “I just realised I just wanted to make up stuff, I want to create music, spend time doing that and performing and writing. I would choose not to do recording.” Still, Someone Better has made it through the process, and shows how Vigo has evolved as a musician in the time since she released It Is Love. “Last year I went over to India so study singing for a few months. It was pretty mega, I was singing for six hours a day,” Vigo tells. “So since that, and on this EP, I sound like a different person. My vocal style has changed so much; one of the tracks that’s on there, The Way You Are, that was recorded around a year and a half ago, and the difference on even that is huge.” WHO: Kate Vigo & The Underground Orchestra WHAT: Someone Better (Independent) WHEN & WHERE: Saturday, the Toff In Town

DINOS SOAR

was in the US for three months last year and you had to get me out of there with a crow bar,” she enthuses. “The music is really good and I love Americans’ general passion about things, even if it can be misguided. You can walk up to someone there and say you’re a singer or an accountant and either way they’ll say, ‘Yeah! Good for you!’. I also love that anywhere you can order a meal and it’s bigger than your head,” she laughs. But no meal or exotic location could make up for the pleasures of home or Melbourne’s top notch jazz scene, says Kate.

ew York. New Orleans. Santiago. Stonnington. What do they have in common? Hot jazz and Hetty Kate. Hetty Kate (her real name, by the way,) is what could happen if you fell asleep one night a normal girl and woke up the next morning inhabited by the ghost of one of the Andrews Sisters – she trades in elegant ‘40s chic and boasts dulcet melodious tones, and has toured the world singing jazz and Latin standards of the ‘20s to the ‘60s. She’s back in Melbourne after a year spent in the far east, the far west and most of the rest, to play the Stonnington Jazz Festival with her band the 2020s. Kate spent a year wowing the world with her voice (and accompanying ukelele), but is really glad to be home. “Last year I’ve been in South America, New York, London, Switzerland, Ireland, Hong Kong and Luxembourg,” she recounts, before admitting, “actually Luxembourg wasn’t very exciting. I really, really started to miss Australia in December last year. It started with gentle pangs and after being in London for two months I was really, really missing home. Because I was born in England, I used to think, ‘I’m English,’ but I’ve been in Australia 24 years and now I think of it as my home. I prefer Vegemite to Marmite now,” she laughs. Kate admits, however, that she does have a bug for music and travel and can see herself being lured back – especially to the USA, the home of jazz. “I’d go back to America again just for the jazz. It’s the birthplace of jazz, blues and roots music, even rockabilly: it’s just a glutton’s paradise there for music lovers. I

“Everyone looks into our name too much and comes up with dinosaur jokes the whole time,” he laments. “We’re not interested in dinosaur history. Sometimes we wish people would ask normal questions. Usually half the interview they’ll crack dinosaur jokes – we had to find favourite dinosaurs to make our answers less predictable. I think Brachiosaurus is my standard answer now. I have kids’ books on the T-rex and the Brachiosaurus. T-rex is standard and boring – and a band name anyway. I don’t want to go down the T-rex path.” Despite this they don’t regret the name, which reflects one of their other interests: all things Japanese. And with three of the band’s members being of Japanese descent, the attraction is hardly surprising. “When we started, we didn’t have a band name,” Koyama explains. We were looking through iTunes for inspiration, and a Japanese band we like called The Pillows had a song called Last Dinosaur. I wrote that down in a list and sent it to Sean [Caskey, guitarist and vocalist] and he picked Last Dinosaur, and we added the ‘s’. We wanted a name that was not too serious and not overly stupid – that one kind of felt right.” Caskey and Koyoma are the backbone of the band, with Caskey being the informal ‘leader’ of the line-up. The pair collaborate on most of the songwriting. “At first mostly me and Sean were the two main dudes writing the songs. I have been playing drums since I was in grade six so I gave Sean some rhythmic ideas. Now we get the other guys

“We’re all thick as thieves in the 2020s: everyone comes from slightly different places but that’s what makes it great. Stonningon Jazz Festival is a great jazz festival: they have great big name artists and smaller artists going through. I lived in Stonnington for so many years – it’s got a bit of a home town feel for me.” The show is anything but the normal jazz classics you may expect. “It’s a little weird, pretty out there, but everyone in the band is excited about that. It’s made up of Melbourne’s best blues and roots musicians, and it’s very left of centre. We’ve taken influences from Billy Idol, Devo, Peggy Lee – all sorts of places – and mashed them together,” Kate explains. “We’re covering songs and playing some originals and it goes from rocky to standing on Mulholland Drive late at night looking at Hollywood sipping an absinthe cocktail with a Billy Idol haircut. That’s my vision for it.” WHO: Hetty Kate & The 2020s WHEN & WHERE: Thursday, Red Bennies

By refusing to be pigeonholed, RICKIE LEE JONES is helping pave the way for future music stars, she tells BECK.

in to collaborate on songs and don’t rely on one person. We bounce songs around in the rehearsal room, because then songs seem to sound better and more unique. We all contribute but Sean is the leader in rehearsal; he directs the songs – but not without opposition, of course,” Koyama admits laughingly. “We all stick up for our songs.”

Kate is exceedingly fond of her current ensemble, and is excited about her show at the Stonnington Jazz Festival.

FOLLOW THE LEADER

A dodgy name isn’t stopping the rise of Brisbane’s LAST DINOSAURS, founding member DAN KOYAMA tells NIC TOUPEE.

he last thing Dan Koyama, drummer and songwriter with Brisbane’s Last Dinosaurs, wants to talk about is the band’s name. It’s a sore point, it seems, based upon numerous interviews where he is asked more about his taste in natural history than about their music.

“It was my friends and the people that I play in bands with that I missed most of all. When you’re on stage, turning around and seeing people you love is just great, and it’s great for the music. I think you develop a subconscious communication with someone you care about, so interacting with someone who is a friend, on stage, is always going to be better, for them and for you.”

Jones’ work either hits you between the eyes or doesn’t register. Ambivalence is not a word anyone could use to describe reactions to her music. “I am intensely personal and I think that talks to the part of people who like feeling feelings. Doing that kind of work for 30 years has been deathdefying leaps of extraordinary imagination.”

On tour around Australia to promote their new Back From The Dead EP, and fresh from a fistful of support slots on the recent Yves Klein Blue tour, Koyama recalls that it was only unexpected interest from fans that made himself and Caskey take Last Dinosaurs seriously. “Myself and Sean knew each other from school – we both liked The Strokes and we kind of came together in another band before making Last Dinosaurs. It was kind of a dream band for us; we thought, ‘Why not start a band we can all enjoy’. Sean got his brother [Lachlan Caskey] to play guitar. After we graduated we got Sam [Gethin-Jones, bass guitar] in. When we started it was a bit of a joke like all high school bands are. We recorded a few songs including the single Honolulu, and sent them into Triple J Unearthed and for some reason – I have no idea why – they started playing it. We got a few more fans and started taking it a bit more seriously then. We got signed to Dew Process after that, which was amazing. We didn’t think that would happen.” While they’re taking the band more seriously now, Koyama admits that they’re still rather blasé about the lyric-writing side of the creative process.“We’re pretty slack about lyrics,” he confesses. “For the EP Sean wrote the lyrics a couple of hours before recording. It kind of works like an abstract painting – we’re not a lyrics kind of band, although we might be in the future… Our lyrics are pretty easy to follow, although sometimes they don’t make any sense at all.” WHO: Last Dinosaurs WHAT: Back From The Dead (Dew Process/Universal) WHEN & WHERE: Wednesday 2 June, Karova Lounge (Ballarat); Thursday 3, Espy; Friday 4, Ding Dong Lounge, Saturday 5, Rats at the Colonial Hotel

Because of the unclassifiable nature of Jones as a whole, reviews of her albums and live performances have been staggeringly diverse. “I don’t read these things, but they come back to me nevertheless, a general thread of respect, or of disrespect. One feels that sort of thing and it matters. I mean I would be lying if I said it didn’t. It matters to be respected, it matters to be noted by your peers, it matters to be remembered and remembered correctly.

ot familiar with the work of the age-defying Rickie Lee Jones? She has been described as an “American pop/rock veteran”, as punk, pop, middle of the road, jazz, electronica, swing and as a Grammy-winning singer/songwriter (this last one being a strange way to describe anyone’s music – after all, Beyonce and Taylor Swift, Pink and Bonnie Raitt are all Grammy-winning singer/songwriters too). Yet none of these words and phrases are entirely accurate. Jones has spent the past 30 years swinging, scatting and crooning from album to album and defying categorisation with every new breath. “I have avoided classification in spite of people really trying to do so, to label me middle of the road, or to label me eccentric and weird; can one be both? If there is one thing I have done consciously, it is to disallow classification,” Jones says. “This is not only for myself – that I deserve better than being stuffed in some pre-made accidental container – but because I am, as each of us is, forging a road for others who will and are coming close behind. I owe it to them to fight the good fight and expand the path that women – that musicians – take. Courage, that one thing, can help some future genius who is going to blow us away with their honesty and music. So you never know what you are leaving behind, or what is coming up behind you.”

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“History rewrites what it was and makes it a living thing that is relevant to any future time. Like, Marilyn Monroe, a kind of whorey lower class actress, whom history has decreed is representative of the plight of women and who had a beauty that means much more than it meant. So understanding that the future will see you quite differently than your own time, you just keep hammering on. Like The Doors; who would imagine they would have become so popular? They were like, just okay, but a future time decided it liked sexy guys and made Morrison a hero. Not Dylan, not Malcolm X, not Ravi Shankar. “Janis Joplin, the most relevant, most important woman of her generation was laid into a social as well as a physical grave when she died. As if her relevance was obsolete, like flappers in the ‘20s, she was only important to her time. I personally don’t think that’s true. Sometimes someone is so big, so deep, that the future decades have to just get rid of them to move on and then when it’s safe they look back and go, ‘Wow, Joplin, how incredible was she?’. I keep waiting for that. I loved her. When I was 16 she was my hero.” WHO: Rickie Lee Jones WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 3 and Friday 4 June, Forum

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INSIDE:

WEDNESDAY 26TH MAY 2010

JOACHIM THE D'OPUS GARRAUD PROXY & ROSHAMBO KLUTE

O G F L AVA S KELIS

Featuring Paris Wells, Dolly Diamond & Luke Gallagher, LICK plus more very special guests to be conﬁrmed!

2010 RADIOTHON LAUNCH PARTY

Thursday June 10, 6pm The Glasshouse 51 Gipps Street Collingwood Tickets $10 Purchase at the JOY studio’s or call 1300 JOY 949 to book!

www.joy.org.au 2 Zebra Magazine

Zebra Magazine 3

JAMES HOLDEN

CE M EN

TOURING DATES MIAMI HORROR - May 28, Corner Hotel

NO AN

P-MONEY - May 27, Eve

MAY

MIKE FIELDING (AKA NABOO) DJ SET - May 28, The Espy

, Speccial guest A La Fu (Ninja Tune Dada) from the UK has played Big D g e such artists as Roots alongsid , Manuva, The Scratch Perverts e. mor y man and Herc l K Koo DJ DJs Lickweed, Zanda and Mr Nice will also return to play all your favourite party tunes from funk and hip hop to breaks and at drum’n’bass. Saturday 5 June y. entr Free te. m-la Loo . 10p Loop

STAGGER LEE

JACQUES RENAULT - May 28, New Guernica

lver Lee Mortimer will join the Revo Sunday residents for a public holid hol ay eve you won’t forget. The wonkiest man in house music wo ret returns to the Revolver back bar for the second time and sources at his Wearhouse imprint have reve rev aled Mortimer has been lo ed in the studio for the past lock fe few weeks working on some excl ex usives just for his Australian tour. Child (live), Steve Ward to (l ), Continuum (live), Jamie (live t S ens and U-One in the fron Stev 9pm from rs Doo . 1am from rroom on o Sunday 13 June (Queen’s b day eve) until midday or so birth the t following day. First round pre-sales $17+BF through Moshtix.com.au.

UNDERTOW - May 28, Miss Libertine MIAMI HORROR - May 29, Corner Hotel ERIC LAU, FRANK BOOKER - May 29, The Croft Institute OXIA - May 30, Revolver DJ LORD - May 31, The Espy

JUNE

A LA FU YOU

WAX!: THE REVENGE - Jun 4, Revolver ESPIONAGE: KLUTE - Jun 5, Roxanne Parlour NADASTROM - Jun 5, The Espy A LA FU - Jun 5, Loop Bar DARKBEAT: CHRIS FORTIER, DUBFUNK, ALI B, SKOOL OF THOUGHT - Jun 11, Brown Alley SHAPESHIFTER, ELECTRIC WIRE HUSTLE SOUND SYSTEM - Jun 11, The Palace SOUND PELLEGRINO THERMAL TEAM - Jun 11, The Espy

SUNNY JOINTS

JAMIE LEWIS - Jun 11, The Market COMMON, KID CAPRI - Jun 12, Prince Bandroom RAP CITY: DJ PREMIER, THE BEATNUTS, MASTA ACE & EDO G - Jun 12, The Espy HEAVY INNIT!!: STAGGA, BOOT - Jun 12, Mercat Cross CASSETTE KIDS - Jun 12, The Toff In Town WINTER SOUND SYSTEM: UNDERWORLD, CROOKERS, MARKUS SCHULZ, ZOMBIE NATION, TIGA, ROGER SHAH, THE PROXY, MANDY, STEVE AOKI & MORE - Jun 13, Melbourne Park GIFT OF GAB - Jun 13, Corner Hotel NADASTROM - Jun 13, Royal Melbourne Hotel LONDON ELEKTRICITY - Jun 13, Prince Bandroom LEE MORTIMER - Jun 13, Revolver RENAISSANCE MAN - Jun 18, The Espy

WHEN T W O N K A T T O G E ’V U YO

O HOLDEN

ish techno sorcerer e electronic sounds, the Brit breed of DJ n of adventurous, progressiv s der fan mo to very but t e, tha st nam ong old am a househ den can count himself Hol , on Sunday 25 rint out James Holden may not be imp den nity Hol mu ck Com Che . d of the Border an unparalleled musical ear h wit s ord rec is a renowned genius. Hea of ing pris ring the most sur s mix CD series. with a special knack for laye when he launches his contribution to the DJ-Kick Hotel e urn lbo Me al Roy at y Jul

It’s been two long years since dance music renegade Lee Burridge last gave Australia a work over, but this September we’ll get our fix again. The DJ has been locked in by Melbourne institution Sunny for a five-plus-hour set alongside Phil K, Gavin Keitel, Rollin Connection, Ozzie La plus more on Friday 17 September at Billboard The Venue. 10pm-7am. Tickets are $25 through Inthemix.

LONDON ELEKTRICITY

JOHN PHANTASM, ULTRAVOICE, FAREBI JALEBI - Jun 18, Brown Alley SHWAYZE & CISCO ADLER - Jun 19, The Espy INTERVIEW: ANTIX - Jun 19, Miss Libertine RENAISSANCE MAN - Jun 19, LaDiDa GIGI BAROCCO, ACT YO AGE - Jun 25, Roxanne Parlour

JULY THE LIKES OF YOU: STEPHAN BODZIN, ROBERT HOOD, HUGO - Jul 2, Brown Alley AIRPORT: SIMON PATTERSON, SIED VAN RIEL - Jul 2, Billboard ELEKTRIK TATTOO: DYNO - Jul 9, Billboard SUPER DISCO: DROP THE LIME - Jul 10, Prince Bandroom KEVIN RUDOLF - Jul 16, Palace Theatre SPIT SYNDICATE - Jul 16, The Evelyn LOWRIDER - Jul 17, Sandbar LOWRIDER - Jul 23, Westernport Hotel LOWRIDER - Jul 24, Corner Hotel THE LIKES OF YOU: JAMES HOLDEN - Jul 25, Royal Melbourne Hotel LCD SOUNDSYSTEM, HOT CHIP - Jul 29, Festival Hall

AUGUST GOLDFRAPP - Aug 3, Palace Theatre K-OS - Aug 3, Prince Bandroom

SEPTEMBER SUNNY: LEE BURRIDGE - Sep 17, Bandroom

TAKE ME TO THE HO

expertly mixed by ss lovers down under – is thhe ly for drum’n’baass lly ecia es esp d ted en they tour off the ate rea wh cre – pair e ent the in. Catchh nt Alvin ownn!! The next installm artist Ageent l art nd ital ba k in tow an and pita re fi H Hos S Safi d a, and Recordds iis bac ity Finn tric ch, Hospital R Elek Pat don hday eve) with guests Records head honcho Lon day 13 June (Queen’s birt Collectors Corner, award-winning Hospital s and hit the Prince on Sun y Tunes, Ministry Of Style, hem Alle Ant s, b ord Clu Rec ss C ’Ba DM m‘n s, ord Rec r back of Dru este Poly ugh thro Tickets $35+BF many more. Doors 10pm.

CYPRESS HILL - Sep 23, Palace Theatre

4 Zebra Magazine

SPITAL

SUMMERFESTIVALGUIDE.COM.AU

Inthemix, the Prince Public Bar (12-10pm, h seven days) or throug . princebandroom.com.au

THIS WEEK RED BULL FIGHT CLUB FEAT P-MONEY @ EVE

This Thursday, Red Bull, Big Dog Entertainment and Switch Thursdays presents Red Bull Flight Club featuring P-Money (NZ), Jesus Loyola, Jarrod Moran, Dean Paps, Heath Renata and Switch’s residents spinning their magic. This party will give you wings so make sure you pack some comfortable dancing shoes. $20/$15 guestlist. Hit up switchthursdays.com.au for birthday and function enquiries.

KIDD KAOS VS ALEX KIDD @ BILLBOARD THE VENUE

Hard Kandy and Kiddfectious present the masters of hard dance, the UK’s Alex Kidd and Kidd Kaos, doing battle in the ultimate showdown. Support from Scott Alert, Dr Willis NFX, Ben Jackson, Alex Db, Daniel Dobson, Ajax and Jamie Vlahos. Tickets: $40+BF (early bird), $45+BF (general) via billboardthevenue. com.au or Moshtix. This Friday from 10pm.

JACQUES RENAULT @ NEW GUERNICA

This Friday, Jacques Renault from New York City will jump behind the decks on New Guernica’s battered up old organ and play you some of the new impressions in modern music. Renault has released tunes through DFA Records and Radioslave’s Rekids imprint and is at the helm of production group Runaways. Support from Fromage Disco.

MIAMI HORROR @ THE CORNER

After two years of writing, recording and road testing, Miami Horror will perform songs off their debut album. Their dynamic live reputation has recently earned the band a spot at Falls Festival, where they counted in the 2010 new year. Support from Cassian. This Friday and Saturday. Doors 8.30pm. Tickets $20+BF from the Corner Box Office.

ERIC LAU & FRANK BOOKER @ THE CROFT INSTITUTE

Responsible for crafting soulful boombap backdrops for the likes of Lupe Fiasco, Guilty Simpson and Georgia Anne Muldrow, Eric Lau is a maestro behind the boards and one of the freshest party-rocking DJs. Catch him live launching his new EP on Ubiquity Recordings, accompanied by deep house don Frank Booker direct from NZ and launching his EP on Japanese jazzysport-affiliated label Wonderful Noise. Plus locals Kano, Inkswel, Prequel, Dust, Aux One, Who and Andras Fox. This Saturday. $10 at the door.

OXIA @ REVOLVER

Revolver is excited to welcome Oxia (8Bit Records, France), one of the hottest proponents of techno and house. With almost 20 years under his belt producing music, the Frenchman has earned a formidable reputation releasing tracks on renowned labels including 8Bit Records, Kompakt, Tsuba and his own label Goodlife. He plays this Sunday (night) with Boogs, Spacey Space plus special guests Mike Callander and Nick Jones. Doors open 9pm, pre-sale tickets through Moshtix.

DJ LORD @ THE ESPY

The greatest line-up of action sport stars ever assembled will be performing never before seen tricks and stunts in the most spectacular live action sports show ever produced: Nitro Circus Live. To get things started, the Espy is hosting a pre-party this Monday with the theme of hip hop Vs hardcore featuring a special DJ set from Public Enemy’s own turntablist, DJ Lord. Lord will be joined by Nitro Circus DJs, Samsara, The Omen, At War With Gods and War Brains. Expect plenty of giveaways and special appearances from Nitro Athletes Travis Pastrana, Jake Brown and more. Tickets available from espy. com.au and all Oztix outlets.

UPCOMING WAX! FEAT THE REVENGE @ REVOLVER

Possibly the brightest shining star of the disco re-edit revival Glasgow’s Graeme Clark (AKA The Revenge, one-half of 6th Borough Project and Harri & The Revenge) returns to Melbourne to launch Revolver’s new Friday back room session: WAX! Revolver also welcomes its newest back room residents on rotation: Otologic, Ooh Ee, Lewie Day, Andras Fox, Jnett, El-Sea, Mr George, Roman Bruce, Aram Chapers, Andee Frost and friends. Some things always stay the same with Sunshine taking over from 7am until midday Saturday. Friday 4 June. Tickets $20 on the door (email wax@ revolverupstairs.com.au to get your name on the list for hassle free entry).

ESPIONAGE FEAT KLUTE @ ROXANNE PARLOUR

Devoted disciples of drum’n’bass and, well, all kinds of music, will be pleased to hear Klute focusing on the kind of classic sound he does best and making an album with broad appeal, beyond the confines of just the club and kitchen. Music For Prophet is his sixth full-length album and when he’s not busy smashing the shit out of audiences worldwide with his extreme hardcore punk band The Stupids, Klute will be travelling the globe for an album tour that lands at Roxanne Parlour on Saturday 5 June. Tickets are $25+BF (early bird), $28+BF through Moshtix or more on door.

most impressive house music labels worldwide. Catch him at the Market on Friday 11 June when he launches his Flashback CD, a celebration of two decades of outstanding productions, with a three-hour set from 1-4am that is guaranteed to make you groove. DJ ORGASMIC

SOUND PELLEGRINO THERMAL TEAM @ THE ESPY

Orgasmic and Teki Latex are the two public faces of Paris-based label Sound Pellegrino and they’re getting ready to unite and form the Sound Pellegrino Thermal Team. Prepare to experience sounds flowing between tribal rhythms, pumping tech house, Baltimore and warped funky with a slice of club rap thrown in for good measure. Support comes courtesy of the Scattermusic home stable with Slap n’ Dash, Scattermish, Mu-Gen, Mat Cant and Lewis CanCut. Admission is free. CHRIS FORTIER

NADASTROM @ THE ESPY

Nadastrom comprises Dave Nada and Matt Nordstrom from Washington DC and their debut Pussy release sold out on vinyl and became a digital store annual bestseller. According to the back-to-back DJ team, “you gotta see it to believe it.” Nadastrom hit the Espy on Saturday 5 with support from the Scattermusic home stable with Slap n’ Dash, Scattermish, Mu-Gen, Mat Cant and Lewis CanCut. Nadastrom also hit Royal Melbourne Hotel on Sunday 13 June (day party) as part of their Lezgoz Australian tour. ELETRIC WIRE HUSTLE

SHAPESHIFTER @ THE PALACE

Street Press Australia presents Shapeshifter. The New Zealand facemelters are all set to launch their new album The System Is A Vampire at the Palace on Friday 11 June and will be doing so by playing the longplayer live. This is cranking drum’n’bass that will rumble through your nether regions. Support from Electric Wire Hustle Soundsystem and DJ JPS.

JAMIE LEWIS @ THE MARKET

In 1997, Swiss DJ/producer Jamie Lewis created his own record label Purple Music Inc, recognised today as one of the

HEAVY INNIT!! FEAT STAGGA @ MERCAT CROSS

A big winter party will team special guests Stagga (Chrome Kids, UK) and Boot together with residents Affiks & A13 plus a quality local line-up including Riz-One and Heavy Innit!! virgin, Stack. Seven hours of devastating bass weight with a beefed-up Funktion-1 rig and killer outdoor balcony. Another wicked dubstep party coming right up upstairs at Mercat Cross and a long weekend to make it unmissable. $20 on the door, $15 VIPs before midnight. Saturday 12 June. 10pm-5am. American MC/hip hop mastermind Gift Of Gab is heading our way in support of his new album Escape 2 Mars. The Oakland rapper is the skilful MC from Blackalicious (check out Alphabet Aerobics, people) and part of the group of hip hop eccentrics known as Quannum (which includes DJ Shadow and Lyrics Born). Gab was also a member of The Mighty Underdogs, a collaborative project including Lateef (Latyrx) and Headnodic (Crown City Rockers). Sunday 13 June.

NOCTURNAL DELUSIONS LAUNCH FEAT JOHN PHANTASM @ BROWN ALLEY

SHWAYZE & CISCO ADLER @ THE ESPY DARKBEAT PRES CHRIS FORTIER FORTIER, DUBFUNK, ALI B, & SKOOL OF THOUGHT @ BROWN ALLEY

Darkbeat presents Chris Fortier (USA), Dubfunk (SWZ), Ali B (UK) and Skool Of Thought (UK). Friday 11 June.

MUPH & PLUTONIC @ HI-FI BIRTHDAY BASH

Iconic live music venue Hi-Fi Bar are celebrating their birthday in June and have lined up Muph & Plutonic to headline shows at both their Melbourne and Brisbane locations. Labelmates Chasm and Vida-Sunshyne will also feature with Jess Harlen supporting. More acts to be announced shortly. Tickets $18+BF on sale now. Friday 11 June.

RAP CITY @ THE ESPY

A must see event for any hip hop fan, Rap City will feature over five hours of international and local artist performances, purpose built stage design, audiovisual displays, merchandise stall all backed by high impact graphic design and an interactive website. Featuring DJ Premier, The Beatnuts, Masta Ace & Edo G with local supports to be announced soon. Rap City takes over the Espy on Saturday 12 June. Tickets through theespy. oztix.com.au.

COMMON & KID CAPRI @ THE PRINCE

Common and Kid Capri are heading to Australia and New Zealand this June for a five-city tour. This will be Common’s first appearance in Australia since 2006. Common rose to prominence as one of hip hop’s most poetic and respected lyricists and has even written two hip hop children’s books called The Mirror And Me and I Like You, But I Love Me. As for Kid Capri, hip hp heads will have noted that his name has appeared on the tour posters of heavyweight artists such as P Diddy, LL Cool J, Nas, Lil Kim, Jay-Z, Usher, R. Kelly, Mary J Blige, and Trey Songz. Catch them

Barocco (Italy) to bring you their very own house/electro music. As resident to the Sweat It Out crew, be prepared for an impressive show. Eli B, Distrakt, Kris Baha, Mu-Gen, Kraymer, Trumpdisco, Swick, Airwolf, MYM, Pop A Cap, Zayler, daftwho?, J Heasy, Death By Disco, Swerve, Marco Polo, Luke Wellsteed, Dom Dolla and Paul Coverdale are also on the agenda. Friday 25 June, 10pm-5am. Tickets are $25+BF (early bird) through Moshtix or more on door. CROOKERS

GIFT OF GAB @ THE CORNER

Soundkraft Records second CD (Nocturnal Delusions) launch party with John Phantasm (UK), Ultravoice (ISR), Farebi Jalebi (Ind) and Rubal (Au) will be held on Friday 18 June at Brown Alley from 10pm. Tickets through greentix.com.au.

THE KOJO EP LAUNCH

Featuring West Africa’s critically acclaimed Asanti Dance Theatre, Haiti’s MC/Producer/DJ Voodoo Dred, Australia’s premier Afro-DJ Mr Fish and Culture Connect’s Kojo solo EP launch. Expect dope percussion workouts with driving Afro rhythms, heavy world beats and future Aus hip hop. Saturday 5 June.

both on Saturday 12 June. Tickets on sale though Moshtix.

LA trendsetters and rulers of indie hip-hop, Shwayze (AKA Aaron Smith) and Cisco Adler, are returning to Australia after their brief, sold out east coast tour in February. And this time New Orleans hip hop duo The Knux and DJ Jason Smith will be coming along. Support from Red Ink, Mafia, Dublin Aunts, 360, Deadly Booty and Streetparty Vs Swick. Saturday 19 June at the Espy. Tickets through espy.com.au and all Oztix outlets.

RENAISSANCE MAN @ THE ESPY & LA DI DA

Renaissance Man hail from Finland and both halves of the outfit met while working in an architecture office in Helsinki. Taking their inspiration from 3,000 years of art and science, Renaissance Man prove that you can think out of the box, but that it’s even better to think outside the walls. Or make that borders. Catch Renaissance on Friday 18 June joined by Mu-Gen, Scattermish, Lewis CanCut and Mat Cant. Tickets available now through espy.com.au and Oztix. A second show has been announced for Saturday 19 June at La Di Da.

INTERVIEW FEAT ANTIX @ MISS LIBERTINE

The Interview crew are back with New Zealand’s Antix launching their brand new fourth studio album Cavalier. Antix, two fresh faced brothers with a love of electronic music, formed in the late ‘90s and were quickly snapped up by Iboga Records in Denmark. Support from Ben Evans, Blinky, Tony Loucas Vs Andy Simpson (B:R:B), Punkz On Junk, Motek (live), Deutronium, Loki, Simon Murphy and Nathan Canis. Saturday 19 June at Miss Libertine.

SOUND JUNKIES PRES GIGI BAROCCO & ACT YO AGE @ ROXANNE PARLOUR

If you ain’t acting your age then you ain’t made for this gig. Act Yo Age are ready as anything to send decibels through our heads. AYA will headline alongside Gigi

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WINTER SOUNSYSTEM @ ROD LAVER & SURROUNDS

Winter Sound System is fast approaching and the local line-up is in and will be sharing decks with ridiculously exciting headliners such as Underworld, Crookers, Steve Aoki, Markus Schulz, Gareth Emery, Laidback Luke Tiga and Thomas Von Party. Nick Foley, Papa Smurf, Steve Strangis, Kris Baha, Ando, 1928 & Sleeves, Gavin Keitel, Aram Chapers, Andy Murphy, Chardy and many more have scored the honour and give you more reasons to part with your hard-earned and dance your cares away. Just added to the Dim Mak Main Arena line-up, Autoerotique (Keith Robertson & David Henderson). The action takes place on Sunday 13 June at Melbourne Park – Rod Laver and Hisense arenas and surrounds – from 10pm-7am. First release tickets have sold out and second release tickets are now on sale for $99+BF and service charges through Ticketek.

DIAFRIX & THE PUBLIC OPINION AFRO ORCHESTRA @ THE CORNER

Diafrix team up with The Public Opinion Afro Orchestra for a huge double bill. Diafrix debut album Concrete Jungle has taken their iconic concoction of hip hop, funk and African roots and developed it into a truly world-class sound. Saturday 26 June. Tickets through the Corner Box Office (12-8pm, Monday-Saturday) or online (cornerhotel.com).

AIRPORT FEAT SIMON PATTERSON & SIED VAN RIEL @ BILLBOARD THE VENUE

Back for another wild air race, the Airport artisans invite you to join their mile high club. Strap yourselves in for the ride of your life with trance heavyweights Simon Patterson and the flying Dutchman – Sied van Riel. Also featuring an impressive support line-up from around Australia including Nathan Cryptic (NSW), DJ Frost (SA) and local star Trent McDermott. First release costs $29+BF (strictly limited to 50), earlybirds are $39+BF (limited to 50), pre-sales will set you back $49+BF or first class flights cost $69 (available only through promoters). Friday 2 July. 9pm-5am.

THE LIKES OF YOU FEAT STEPHAN BODZIN, ROBERT HOOD & HUGO @ BROWN ALLEY

The Likes Of You brings you a dose of techno with Stephan Bodzin (live), Robert Hood and Hugo. Bodzin is the son of an experimental musician who cut his teeth composing music for European theatres before his talent was discovered and he went on to worldwide domination as a DJ and live artist. Hood is a founding member of Underground Resistance and makes minimal Detroit techno with an emphasis on soul. Rounding out the international delicacies is Hugo from Turin, Italy. A classically

trained jazz musician, Hugo fell in love with electronic music in the ‘90s. Friday 2 July at Brown Alley.

ELEKTRIK TATTOO @ BILLBOARD THE VENUE

Elektrik Tattoo debuts with Italy’s techno wizard Dyno plus support performances from other artists featured on Bush Music’s latest EP (also called Elektrik Tattoo): Heath Renata, Steve Ward, Joel Fletcher, Mike Metro, Momo & Trav, Yoshi, Lucca Tan, Viking, Eric Powell, Chardy and many more on the night. Some of Australia’s best tattooists – Devils Ink’s Justin Acca, Steve Aidone and Dan Powe – will rotate their artistry across three canvasses while tattooed models roam the venue featuring their designs. Friday 9 July at Billboard The Venue. 10pm-late. Early bird tickets are $25 through Billboard online, Moshtix and Ticketek.

SUPER DISCO FEAT DROP THE LIME @ THE PRINCE

After setting the stage ablaze at the Stereosonic Festival 2009, Drop The Lime (DTL) is heading back to tour Australia in July. Drop The Lime (Luca Venezia) is an electro DJ/ producer hailing from New York who has remixed Moby, Blaqstarr, Rex The Dog, Armand Van Helden and Midnight Juggernauts as well as co-writing songs with Diplo and Herve. Catch DTL at the Prince on Saturday 10 July.

YEASAYER @ THE PRINCE

Yeasayer with special guests. Thursday 29 July. Doors 8pm. Tickets $45+BF through handsometours.com, Polyester Records, Greville Records, the Prince Public Bar or through princebandroom.com.au.

PURPLE SNEAKERS @ MISS LIBERTINE

Sydney’s Purple Sneakers DJs have unveiled the all-star tracklist for their forthcoming debut compilation, We Mix You Dance, and have also announced national tour dates to promote the 29-track, two-disc release. Born from the womb of Sydney’s most popular indie club night, Purple Sneakers, this compilation is expertly mixed by PhDJ (founder Martin Novosel), MIT and Ben Lucid. Friday 30 July.

K-OS @ THE PRINCE

Trinidad-born, Toronto-raised musician/MC/producer k-os (also known as Kheaven Brereton) has enjoyed much acclaim from his fourth studio album Yes!, featuring guest appearances from Emily Haines of Metric and Murray Lightburn of The Dears. If you missed out on Splendour tickets, you can catch the k-os sideshow at the Prince on Tuesday 3 August. Tickets through Ticketek or through princebandroom.com.au.

PASSION PIT @ THE PRINCE

Passion Pit with The Joy Formidable (UK) and Rat Vs Possum. Wednesday 4 August. Doors 8pm. Tickets $66+BF from Ticketmaster, the Prince Public Bar (12-10pm, seven days) or through princebandroom.com.au.

PARADISE @ GWK, BALI

Brought to you by Jungle Box, Paradise In Bali is a two-day drum’n’bass festival designed to give junglists a chance to come together and see some of the world’s finest artists under the sun. Sunday 14 and Monday 15 November sees the first inaugural Paradise launch its way into festival history with artists such as Makoto, Matrix & Futurebound, Utah Jazz, Ragga Twins, Squire and Bungle (live). Australasian heavyweight support comes from WA boys ShockOne & Q-Bik, Kim de la Haye (QLD) and DJ Low is representing Malaysia. Also featured will be Ragga Twins’ 20th Anniversary special, Utah Jazz’s new album tour and Bungle’s instrumental live show never before seen out of Brazil. Paradise will be held in the idyllic surroundings of Bali, enclosed by enormous limestone pillars with the Garuda figure as a backdrop and the dramatic lotus pond area has a capacity of 7,500. Tickets go on sale through Moshtix or directly through paradisefestival.com.au from 7 June with pre-release industry tickets now available. Holiday packages also available. Zebra Magazine 5

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DUMMIES’ GUIDE TO

THE MAN WHO SOULED THE WORLD

DONE WITH CEMENTING HIS STATUS AS ONE OF AUSTRALIA’S FINEST MCS WITH HIS DEBUT SOLO RECORD AS MANTRA, ROBERT TREMLETT IS NOW USING A SOUL GREAT AS A SINGING COACH IN HIS EXTENDED DOWNTIME FROM ILLZILLA. MANTRA PLAYS EAST BRUNSWICK CLUB THIS FRIDAY. POWER OF THE SPOKEN IS OUT NOW THROUGH OBESE.

elbourne’s MC Mantra, AKA Robert Tremlett, is taking a step back from Illzilla with his solo debut, Power Of The Spoken. While Power… is Tremlett’s most personal endeavour yet, it’s a reminder, too, of hip hop’s influence as he considers the potency of the spoken word. “It’s kind of an illustration of where I’m at right now, both musically and personally, and where I’ve come from to get to that point,” Tremlett says of the soul-baring Power…. “But I’m also saying that this is how I’m dealing with these things – and where I plan to go from here.” It’s not necessarily all intellectual. Fall Guy is one of Tremlett’s rawest – and most affecting – songs. The album concept is apt. Tremlett loves to talk, jokingly calling himself a “verbose bastard”. He’s self-analytical, but not self-absorbed. And Tremlett is assiduously diplomatic. Following this interview, the MC phones again, desperately worried that he dissed a colleague (he didn’t). Tremlett is loath to hurt anyone’s feelings. He’s a soulful – and sensitive – dude. Tremlett has worked hard to promote Power… He’s embarked on an extensive national tour supporting Urthboy. On Friday he’ll return to Melbourne for an album launch (the MC performs with DJ Wasabi). For the first time Tremlett has been involved in the marketing side. (“I’ll be posing with Beyonce naked on top of a tram,” he quips.) He’s doing something right: Triple J selected Power… as a weekly feature album. Though he emerged as a member of Equills, Tremlett is most recognised as the main MC in Illzilla, formed six years ago. Integrating real instruments into hip hop, the band were regulars on the live circuit prior to 2008’s Wasteland. Tremlett, now signed to Obese, assures that his unveiling Power… doesn’t signal Illzilla’s demise. “Doing the solo thing was something I always wanted to do – and was definitely gonna do at some point or other. This was basically just a time where I was particularly motivated to do it and had the time last year – Illzilla wasn’t so busy. I also had to just come to a point where it was only gonna happen if I made the time to do it. So it has become my number one priority over the last year to get this album out and to really push it and establish myself as a solo artist. But it was never a case of me going, ‘I’m over doing Illzilla, so I’m gonna go solo’. It’s just more like this is something I needed to do for myself. “Illzilla’s gonna be quiet over the next year or so, we’re not doing all that many

6 Zebra Magazine

MANTRA

“

I DON’T THINK THOSE BASIC SKILLS – AMAZING SONGWRITING OR THE ABILITY TO FREESTYLE OR WHATEVER – ARE EVER GONNA DIE OR BE COMPLETELY OUT OF PEOPLE’S CONSCIOUSNESS… BUT I DO THINK THAT THERE’S A YOUNGER GENERATION WHO ARE BEING EXPOSED TO A BRAND OF HIP HOP THAT, FOR THE MOST PART, ISN’T TECHNICALLY PROFICIENT.” gigs, but we’re gonna get back in the studio at some point soon and work on some stuff. We’re probably gonna try to put out some vinyl this year, so we might be a bit more of a studio band over the next year or so and just see how it goes from there. A few people have asked me [about the group] – and I by no means want the Illzilla heads to think that that’s it for Illzilla, ‘cause that’s not my motivation. We’ll reconvene when the time’s good for all of us and get back into it. I mean, a lot of the boys have got other projects that are doing quite well, so it’s all a balancing act.” Plus various Illzilla members have day jobs and families. “Some of them are ‘real’ people,” Tremlett rues. “Not me, but some of them are living in the ‘real’ world.” Power… is musically literate, with production from fellow Illzilla stalwart Mista Savona (the ethnicflavoured title-track) as well as TZU’s Count Bounce. The rockin’

first single, I Hereby Stand, is M-Phazes’ work, the Queenslander also cutting beats for Tremlett’s hero Pharoahe Monch. Tremlett himself has dabbled in production but, with Power…, he concentrated on MCing. “I had quite a large amount of input into musical decisions and production choices and stuff like that but, to a certain extent, I was happy to sit back and let the producers do their thing – and, if that was a thing that I was kinda vibing on, then we’d just go with it.” An adept freestyler, Tremlett might despair at the state of contemporary hip hop, with its myriad mainstream rappers deploying auto-tune to disguise their deficiencies. Yet the MC, who relishes workshopping with kids, isn’t perturbed that hip hop skills are in decline. “They are being passed on. I don’t think those basic skills – amazing songwriting or the ability to freestyle or

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REAL NAME: Robert Tremlett SINCE: 2004 (with Illzilla) FROM: Melbourne, Victoria LABEL: Obese PART OF GROUPS: Illzilla (with Mista Savona, J-Zilla, Bobzilla and Tommy Gunn), Equills (with DJ Wax Vandal and Whisper) ACCOMPLICES: DJ Wasabi, Mista Savona, Count Bounce, M-Phazes. MYSPACED INFLUENCES: Pharoahe Monch, Jehst, Inspectah Deck, Canibus, Talib Kweli, Jay-Z, Common, Busta, The Roots, Kool G Rap, Rakim, Brother Ali, Atmosphere, Mos Def, Public Enemy, Notorious B.I.G, Big L, Big Pun, Al Green, Otis Redding, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zep, Portishead, Massive Attack, early Shadow, early RJ, Bach. FUN FACTS: * Voted Best Freestyle Artist Of 2008 by OzHipHop.com. * Has dropped guest verses for Chasm, Urthboy and Diafrix. * His big band hip hop troupe Illzilla were a Victorian winner of Triple J’s Unearthed competition and were nominated for the Unearthed J Award QUOTABLE QUOTE: “I used to write much more abstract kinda stuff. It sounded cool, but most of it went over people’s heads. The lyrics I write now are heaps more concise and topical. I still like to do that train of thought, abstract, stylised stuff but there’s generally a strong concept behind each jam these days.” Tremlett to the Certified Scribe blog MEDIA HYPE: “Expect mystical Eastern influences, bilingual verses, hard-hitting beats, rhyming syllables and not just words, and a liquid lyrical flow – there’s plenty to love.” Agoria’s Power Of The Spoken reviewed in The Mercury SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY SOLO Power Of The Spoken (Obese, 2010) WITH ILLZILLA Illzilla EP (Obese, 2005) Wasteland (Method Recordings/ Shock, 2008) WITH EQUILLS The New Threat (Independent, 2005)

whatever – are ever gonna die or be completely out of people’s consciousness. There’s gonna be people interested in those things. But I do think that there’s a younger generation who are being exposed to a brand of hip hop that, for the most part, isn’t technically proficient.” A fertile underground can coexist with the commercial sphere. “It’s up to the people in the underground who are doing the interesting and intelligent music to just keep doing it and not let these pop artists dictate what hip hop sounds like.” Since submitting Power…, Tremlett has again had the opportunity to listen to music. He’s excited to hear Nas’s collab with Damian Marley, Distant Relatives. Then Tremlett is digging the reunited Reflection Eternal (he opened for Talib Kweli at the Espy in April), Immortal Technique, and his homeboy Savona’s latest material. “It’s been awesome because last year I really didn’t get exposed to a whole lot of new music. I did find a few gems that kept me going, but I was so preoccupied with finishing my album that a good amount of the shit that I listened to was just me – which did my head in. I definitely got sick of my own voice! But I couldn’t break the spell. I was just constantly meditating on my album. This year, since I’ve finished [Power…], I’ve just been pigging out on new tunes. I’ve been getting heaps of new stuff.” However, Tremlett likewise has a fondness for old soul cats such as Otis Redding. “That old soul sound is always one that’s resonated with me, which may have come as a result of hearing a lot of that type of music sampled by hip hop artists. I appreciate the simplicity of it, like the laidback, simple arrangements that are really effective, and beautiful minor chord structures that might be just bass, guitar and keys, with the most appropriate and well-phrased vocals over the top. People like Otis and Al Green have just got that kind of honey voice that can make you cry or make you smile, depending on what note they hit. Otis is my favourite ‘cause I think the texture of his voice is phenomenal.” In fact, the MC spontaneously bursts into an inspired rendition of Redding’s Cigarettes And Coffee, an obscure number compared to (Sitting’ On) The Dock Of The Bay, revealing a surprisingly elastic and soulful voice. “I used to jam with Daniel [Merriweather] a lot, so maybe a bit of it rubbed off,” Tremlett laughs bashfully. “Actually, Otis Redding has been teaching me to sing lately. I don’t ever sing in public, I don’t ever do it on stage or in my songs or anything, but I really enjoy doing it. I just do it on my own. I totally sing in the shower. I sing a lot at home to warm my voice up if I’m rehearsing or something like that. But, yeah, singing along with Otis over the last few months has vastly improved my singing voice, I think – he’s a good teacher!”

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THE EVE OF THE WAR LONGTIME GUN FOR HIRE JOACHIM GARRAUD ADMITS HE’S MORE IN LOVE WITH MACHINES THAN SONGS AS HE PREPARES TO DEBUT A NEW LIVE SHOW FOR AUSTRALIAN AUDIENCES. JOACHIM GARRAUD PLAYS WINTER SOUND SYSTEM SUNDAY 13 JUNE.

lectronic types the world over idolise Jean Michel Jarre, but Joachim Garraud has actually worked and even hung out with him. As sound designer, Garraud participated in Jarre’s new millennium concert before the pyramids in Egypt – The Twelve Dreams Of The Sun – which was broadcast globally on TV. The Frenchman also co-produced Jarre’s first vocal album, Metamorphoses, with Laurie Anderson among its guests. “By luck, I’m very close to Jean Michel Jarre – he’s a very good friend of mine,” Garraud says in broken English. “I was very excited to work with this icon because this is maybe the number one guy who did some electronic stuff in the ‘60s and the ‘70s.” The formally-trained Garraud is returning to Australia with a live spectacular of his own – he’ll play keytar and be accompanied by two vocalists. The very sci-fi Invasion show takes its title from Garraud’s 2008 ‘artist’ album. “The name of the show is Invasion

because this is the story of aliens, space invaders, who come to earth – not for war, but to just have fun and to share music.” And, the eccentric Garraud reveals, Invasion is inspired by his exchanges with Jarre. “This guy knows exactly how to do a show – how to organise lights, video, audio, live performance on stage… He’s the master for that.” The native of Nantes was raised in a musical family. He studied piano as well as drums in childhood. Garraud eventually defected from the classical world to electronica. He’s been active as a DJ since the second summer of love, first spinning at the Paris club Boy in the late ‘80s. Garraud subsequently set up a studio in Paris, becoming a producer for hire. The veteran has collaborated extensively with David Guetta – and is credited on several albums, including 2007’s Pop Life – but he didn’t contribute to OneLove. Garraud admits to feeling ambivalent about Guetta’s foray into “the pop universe”. “I’m not a

big fan of the brand new album,” he says candidly. Garraud is something of a maverick within the French electronic community, not tied to any one camp, but he doesn’t cast himself as an outsider. “In France we’re very lucky at the moment because a lot of producers have good stuff. When you are going everywhere in the world and you are talking about Daft Punk, everybody knows that Daft Punk come from France and they are very famous – like Bob Sinclar or David Guetta now. Regarding electronic music, I’m more a techno guy. I’m more in love with the machine [music] than the house or vocal [side]. I’m more in the techno area than the pop – especially when I’m doing this new show Invasion on stage. This is more electro and techno than house and vocal stuff.” Ironically, at home Garraud listens to classical with his kids, who’re also now being immersed in music, as per the family tradition. Garraud hasn’t abandoned DJing. In 2009 he placed at an impressive # 36 in the DJ Mag poll. Then he mixed a Toolroom Knights compilation for Mark Knight’s British house label. It may seem an improbable alliance, given Garraud’s predilection for techno over house, but he says not. “Toolroom [Records] is one of my favourite labels because they are very professional – and the sounds that come from this label are always good. Mark Knight did a very good job. I was very excited – and very proud – to be the first French DJ to do a mix for Toolroom. The kind of production I’m doing fits very well with this label – this is electro without any vocals, a lot of groovy things, electronic stuff… That’s why Mark Knight asked me to do the compilation.” It was a smart move by Toolroom, too: Garraud’s comp was a top seller in France. “The people from Toolroom were surprised, because they never expected to sell so many copies in Europe.”

BY BE CA AT RL TI IN E

FROM RUSSIA WITH RAVE DESPITE A SLEW OF UNDERGOUND HITS, DETAILS SURROUNDING RUSSIA’S THE PROXY REMAIN FEW AND FAR BETWEEN – AND A CASUAL CHAT WITH THE MUSICIAN SUGGESTS HE LIKES IT THAT WAY. THE PROXY PLAYS WINTER SOUND SYSTEM SUNDAY 13 JUNE.

edded in the lowest floor of a Moscow building, The Proxy’s black-walled studio might resemble a KGB bunker more than the home of a recording musician. His latest single, Who Are You (2009, recently remixed by The Bloody Beetroots) bears artwork that could transfer directly onto the tail, wings and belly of a Soviet aircraft, while his rise from the Russian club scene tells a story of flames and ashes. In spite of his cagey and unforthcoming presence, the artist (full name Yevgeny Alexandrovitch Pozharnov) is a largely amicable fellow. Aged 26 this year, Pozharnov is gearing up to release his debut album, a moment he’s clearly anticipating with his every breath. “[The album] is a big point for me, a really fat point. It must be done soon. The music is finished. Everything left now is about how to do it right. I really want to say, ‘This is it!’. It must be a really cool, powerful album, with lots of things happening… interesting stuff.” The years since 2006 have seen Pozharnov ascend from local club DJ, to international release artist, and currently one of the 25 handpicked to adorn Canadian musician Tiga’s very own Turbo Recordings label. As Pozharnov suggests, his path to success has been that of headstrong business basics and circumstance. “It was simple,” he says unceremoniously. “I saw Tiga on Boys Noize’s MySpace top friends list. I sent Tiga and his people a message saying, ‘Here’s my demo, blah, blah, blah’. The next morning I got an offer. That was really exciting shit.” Certainly his biggest release to date, Raven (2008) is one easily heard across DJ sets in the early hours of a Saturday morning. As chance would have it, the tune was born from similarly rudimentary origins.

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“It’s a simple, stupid track,” Pozharnov states. “It was four hours in the studio. I took it to Turbo and they said it was okay, so I sat down, switched on my machine and just got that sound; that stupid feeling sound that’s in your head and stomach. It was so easy.” The insights Pozharnov reveals may surface to some as those of a smug, apathetic musician. He is, in fact, anything but. It’s obvious that any utterance from the artist is one coming from a pure enjoyment and appreciation of his present popularity, cautiously awaiting any further success that may (or may not) materialise. “I really just love discovering music,” he continues. “Mostly things in my own music. That’s the best part of producing sounds. I’m just wanting to make really, really cool songs… powerful songs. Not a stupid club song. It’s not a Proxy goal, but a personal goal. If you want to make a good track, there’s only one way. You’ve got to do it yourself.” So with a style that’s matured as the imprint of the moment’s dominant electro and house sound, from where does The Proxy draw inspiration? “I don’t know,” Pozharnov responds. “I don’t have many influences. I don’t listen to much house music. I couldn’t explain it. I used to listen to a lot of hip hop and music for breakdance… Cypress Hill. Flying Lotus is amazing, the sounds he makes. I love most of the bands that come from Warp Records. I’m changing all the time. I mostly try to make music for myself. The sounds must be independent for me. Basically it’s Proxy, you know? It’s based on house music, but it’s Proxy.” And what’s next for the ambiguous musician? “This is a funny question,” he replies quickly. “I can’t choose. Let it be a secret, okay? This is just the beginning.”

Zebra Magazine 7

GA BY LIN LI OV Z IC

NO TIME WASTERS DRUM’N’BASS OR HIP HOP? BEST KNOWN FOR THE FORMER, SCOTT MIDDLETON IS REPPING THE LATTER WITH HIS DEBUT ALBUM DROP AS UNDERTOW. XXX UNDERTOW PLAYS MISS LIBERTINE THIS FRIDAY. MINDS BELIEVING IS OUT THROUGH FOREIGNDUB/VITAMIN.

cott Middleton is no stranger to live performance. For years now he has been called upon by big name drum’n’bass artists to front their sets with live MCing, a feat he has been conducting under the moniker DTech MC, under which he’s also frontman for Triple J Unearthed winners and the d’n’b/grime/electronic band Kobra Kai. Now, in 2010, Middleton reintroduces himself as Undertow, releasing his debut album Minds Believing to become the latest ambassador for our burgeoning local hip hop scene. But what came first, the d’n’b or the hip hop? “Like the chicken or the egg?” Middleton counters. “I reckon they both came together if that’s possible. I’ve always been involved with both. I’ve probably had a lot more success in

drum’n’bass, but at the same time I probably haven’t pushed hip hop in some ways.” For Middleton, MCing for a drum’n’bass or breaks act is somewhat easier than MCing as a hip hop artist. As he puts it, “with drum’n’bass you can get up there and say what you want to say and shout around and people will sort of like it – it’s the same with breaks and shit like that, but hip hop is an art form. It’s a way to express and you need to be on point.” Middleton’s point with Minds Believing is to be inspiring. “It’s all about positive energy and a positive approach to life.” The album deals with topics from mental illness to love songs to youth culture, “and a whole lot of different things. There’s everything from tunes where I’m at my lowest points and then there’s tunes

where I’m at my highest points and then there’s tunes saying even if you’re at your lowest points, it can always be better.” Most of the production lies at the hands of Melbourne MC/producer Dazed from Dazed & Flawlezz, who exhibits a varied taste in music so that the sound of the album shifts from “a tune that sounds like Lyrical Commission stuff to a love song, and then there might be an upbeat dancey sort of number with a female on the hook followed by straight-up East Coast boom bap sort of shit.” Rather than pandering to current trends, Middleton and Dazed have tried to create an album that could be accessible to a wider audience. Given his d’n’b background and the fact that the album is released through Foreigndub, this makes sense. “What I’m trying to do with this debut is actually make an album for all listeners. And all listeners of hip hop could possibly like this. A lot of people who don’t even like hip hop could possibly like this. I’m not here to follows trends in any way. I don’t really care if gangsters don’t like what I do and I don’t really care if the core of Australian hip hop don’t really get what I’m going on about because I’m just trying to do an album the way I want to do an album. Primarily it’s a record for listeners but at the same time it means a lot to me.” Minds Believing features vocals from talented local MCs such as Fame, Swarmy and Rinse from Bingethinkers as well as vocals from fellow Kobra Kai member Spex, who features on the first single Use Your Time. Although the album could also be seen as Dazed’s little baby, he shares the production arena with Flawlezz and Rob Hectic. In the spirit of Use Your Time, Middleton is certainly using his. He’s already finished all the lyrics for his next album and accumulated half of the beats, because, as he says, “Yeah, we don’t muck around mate.”

CY CL ON

SLEEPER HITS D’OPUS & ROSHAMBO FIND THEMSELVES FACED WITH A DILEMMA AS THEY PREP A NEW ALBUM DROP – REMAIN BIG FISH IN CANBERRA OR MOVE ON TO GET WIDER EXPOSURE FOR THEIR SLEPT-ON SOUND. xxx

D’OPUS & ROSHAMBO PLAY REVOLVER THIS FRIDAY.

C Roshambo (AKA Rowan Thomson) and DJ/producer D’Opus (Ross Garrett) joined forces back in 2003. They disseminated the promo single The Question, followed by an EP with the same title that was distributed through Obese. Though it generated an underground buzz, 2008 album The Switch didn’t propel D’O & Ro into the mainstream as they might have hoped. The upcoming Past Time should change that. The fab lead single is the very ol’ school party tune Come Find Out with the soulful Chanel Cole. “We’ve been bubbling for a minute now,” Garrett says. “[But] we still feel that we are pretty slept-on, despite some great national love and exposure for our last LP. That probably comes with [us] being a bit isolated in Canberra. We’ve been in the studio for the past 18 months, grinding away on this new LP. We are working with live instruments a lot more now – our sound is now a fuller, bigger, more ‘live’ sound. We intend to tour with a full band later in the year and work more live elements into our show.” The Switch saw D’O & Ro dip into electronica – for B-boys, they share wide-ranging tastes – but this time they’ve opted for a classic hip hop. Thomson describes his lyrics as “more positive” than before. D’O & Ro have encountered “a few setbacks,” delaying the LP. “As always, life gets in the way,” Garrett reveals. “We have had some big changes in our lives and we had to get back into the groove of working consistently. We have been reworking a lot of songs – [the] structure, music and the mix. It has been a case of not settling for the easy way out.” The two have both considered leaving Canberra. “We always want to relocate,” says Garrett, “but it’s more of a lifestyle thing. We still have some

BY EV STU AN AR S T

PROPHET & LOSS

HE’S COME FROM PUNK ROOTS TO BE CONSIDERED A DRUM’N’BASS FIGUREHEAD, BUT THERE’S MUCH MORE THAN SLAMMING BREAKBEATS TO THE MUSIC TOM WITHERS CREATES AS KLUTE. KLUTE PLAYS ESPIONAGE AT ROXANNE PARLOUR SATURDAY 5 JUNE.

om Withers was once the drummer, vocalist and songwriter in punk band The Stupids, but he now churns out dru’n’bass, breakbeat and techno tracks under the Klute production alias – an approach a long way from his punk heyday. “We were fairly successful in our day,” Withers recalls of his time behind the drum kit. “The band fell apart because I lost interest. When you’re young and you lose interest things generally fall apart quickly. After finishing the band I went on a big journey of music discovery.” He turned to electronic music in the early 1990s and released two 12”s under the Override guise. In 1998, Withers released his debut Casual Bodies LP followed by Fear Of People in 2000. It was in 2001 that Withers established Commercial Suicide, a record label that provided him with the perfect medium to release his own material, including albums Lie Cheat And

8 Zebra Magazine

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Steal (2003), No One’s Listening (’05) and The Emperor’s New Clothes (’07). He created the label to retain more control over his own releases. “I had been under contract with another label,” he explains. “I had a good relationship with [them] but when the contract was done I went to them with an idea of running my label through theirs. They weren’t interested, so I felt I’d have more control doing things on my own. At the time there were not many other labels that I could have worked with.” He also created the label as a support tool for the new generation of producers. “Like a lot of today’s music, there’s a lot of good stuff out there but you generally have to search for it. Commercial Suicide is a way for me to release good, quality music.” Apart from his own releases, the label’s churned out material from Calibre, Total Science, Digital and D.Kay. And rumour has it that signature track Time 4 Change was

great shows and crowds here, so it’s hard to leave. If we did [move], though, we’d be looking at Melbourne town, for sure – there’s lots of people we know and want to link up with there.” Another dilemma, Thomson says, is that they have commitments in Canberra. “I think if we’d just been doing music here, we would have moved ages ago. But, because we’re doing a whole bunch of other bits and pieces here as well, we’ve sort of got trapped.” They have day jobs. Then the pair are involved in promotion locally. Thomson has a long-running radio show – and both now DJ. In fact, Thomson kids, they have “a monopoly” in Canberra. “But,” he concludes, “we’re eventually gonna have to break that mould if we’re gonna take the music anywhere.” There are advantages to making music in Canberra. D’O & Ro have less external influences – or pressures. “It’s probably easier for us to do our own thing without worrying about what other people are doing,” says Thomson. D’O & Ro haven’t been totally inactive since their last single, The Basement. Earlier in the year they aired the affirming Express Yourself to coincide with Harmony Day – part of an initiative sponsored by the Department of Immigration & Citizenship. D’O & Ro also supported Lupe Fiasco in their hometown. Garrett, who met the Chicago MC, was unimpressed. “He was a bit of a superstar – fair enough when you get to that level, but Kanye [West] is notorious for his ego. Why can’t MCs just keep it on the real?” Thomson is more forgiving, appreciating that Fiasco must be constantly besieged. “He’s a pretty private dude.” Still, the MC is undecided about Fiasco’s latest music. “He’s doing some new and interesting stuff – I don’t know if I’m feeling the direction he’s going in – but he’s definitely one of a kind.” the last track played by the late John Peel on England’s Radio 1. “Apparently that’s true. I think [Peel’s] wife thinks it’s symbolic as the record is called Time 4 Change that’s taken from my album No One’s Listening. It actually meant a lot as I know John supported my work in my early years.” Withers has also released music via Hospital Records and Metalheadz. Yet his style is a hybrid, influenced by techno. It also has progressive elements that touch on house and trance, and is, for the most part, vocal happy. He says he’s known as one of the most melodic drum’n’bass producers in the game. “That’s what sets me apart from other people within drum’n’bass. It’s melodies and harmonies that stick with you, much more than production. A lot of electronic music has got stuck on production and structures, which is immediately gratifying but after a while it fades away. Melody tends to stick with you for onger.” Withers views vocals as an instrument; something that adds another layer to a melody. “I never remember words from songs as I’m relating the vocal as a melodic instrument. The human voice is a great instrument.” Withers is championing his new album, Music For Prophet. He says he achieves maximum production output when he works alone. “Generally I always produce music alone. I get myself into the zone and just focus on making music. It’s always great to bounce ideas of another person though.” He’s honest when explaining how this album differs from previous efforts. “I don’t know,” he laughs. “The album’s so close to me I can’t gain any perspective. It’s me and it’s me growing as an artist.” For now his music’s escaped the clutches of the commercial players. “To be honest I’ll be surprised the music will ever become over-commercialised.”

Zebra Magazine 9

ALBUM OF THE WEEK SINGLES THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS Escape Velocity

(EMI) I suppose what is nice about still having The Chemical Brothers around is that they remind of a time when dance acts could be all about brash, “big statement” maximalism and still have a chance of commercial success. There’re few acts today who feel as unconcerned with style as the The Chemical Brothers (perhaps ironically) were. The issue is that most of their more recent material works on a nostalgic level too well to do anything else. Escape Velocity is a self-consciously psychedelic analogue synth workout riding a surprisingly brisk house beat, like the DFA’s remix of Tiga’s Far From Home on amphetamines. As you’d expect the central keyboard vamp gets passed through what sounds like a number of loved-up processing machines. Rather charming, really, but – even though it’s not obviously recreating any prior Chemical Brothers classic – the tune seems to be better at suggesting the effortless soar of tunes like The Private Psychedelic Reel and Star Guitar than it is at recreating it.

ROGUE TRADERS

Would You Raise Your Hands

(Peppermint Blue/Sony) It’s a sign of the times that I thought this new Rogue Traders single was actually some new pop starlet trying to get on some kind of post-Ke$ha wave of electro pop “rebellion” – which in this case just means liberally quoting from Adam Ant’s Ant Music, via both the housed-up stadium-stomp groove and the vocals (is the new girl’s British accent also affected?). Look, I really wanted to hate this, but to be honest I think I prefer it to the pouty rock-angst of the group’s Natalie Bassingthwaite-assisted efforts, maybe because it mostly just focuses on deploying its borrowed hooks in as efficient a manner as possible. That just makes it “okay” though. The Chew Fu remix is standard dying-computerbleepy electro house but is odd enough in its construction to be diverting. The more rigorous synth-riffin’ of the Chris Fraser remix might work if I was drunk and catching a taxi home at 3am in the morning, but otherwise not so much. - TIM FINNEY

10 Zebra Magazine

SPIT SYNDICATE

FUN LOVIN’ CRIMINALS

(Obese)

(Kilohertz/Stomp)

Exile

Classic Fantastic

MATT UNICOMB

Spit Syndicate’s Nick Lupi and Jimmy Nice – AKA James Boserio – have spent the past three years dividing opinions with their own blend of accessible, lively and intelligent hip hop. From Nick’s time on Sydney battle circuit in the mid-’00s and Boserio’s fat cap gusto around Sydney’s Inner West, Spit Syndicate have long been faces familiar to Sydney’s hip hop collective. It was June 2008, however, that saw the duo truly come into being, kick-starting a long line of locally produced hip hop with Towards The Light. Getting things underway on Exile, Delta, Jehst and J Cole combine courtesy of Adit’s 1200s on the title track, with the wit, cynicism and angst of Lupi and Boserio to follow. Lyrically, Exile sees the dudes on point. From the grassis-greener introspect of the travel-inspiring Exhale, to the cryptic and brooding narrative of The Creditors, one thing becomes apparent: Spit Syndicate’s poetic strength does come from reliance on bar-by-bar composition, but in the painting of a thematic landscape. This kind of genuine lucidity is a hard thing to come by in hip hop and, as a result, each jam has a personality few MCs can achieve. Production comes courtesy of fellow Inner West native Adit, while Melbourne’s M-Phazes and JSquared, and Brisbane’s Cam Bluff add to the fold. Adit’s StarryEyed may just be 2010’s beat of the year. A thick piano line and downtempo percussion takes the track into Chicago soul territory, while the beatless build-up of the track’s opening 70 seconds stand as one of Exile’s most memorable moments. Overall, whether you admit it or not, Spit Syndicate have swagger that very few can match.

DARREN COLLINS

Considering their trademark sound, a lightweight, goodtime blend of indie rock, hip hop, funk and disco, and their constant referencing to their hometown of New York City, it’s surprising to learn that Fun Lovin’ Criminals have never had any success at home. The bulk of their record sales have come in the UK and, as such, before the release of their fifth and latest album Classic Fantastic, the trio relocated to London where lead singer Huey Morgan is something of a media personality. It seems the move has only had a minimal impact on the group though – they retain the same dapper look and their sound, bar the odd flourish, remains firmly rooted in the million selling albums of the second half of the ‘90s. Opening track Mars, with its subtle electro buzz, shows some English influences creeping in and adds a pommy accent with appearance of Roots Manuva on Keep On Yellin’, yet that’s where any experimentation ends as more familiar moments such as The Originals pair screaming rock guitars to golden age hip hop references. It must be said though that despite dealing in rock-rap hybrids, one of the dodgiest fusions to emerge in the past twenty years, FLC pull it off by never taking themselves too seriously and adding a healthy dose of THE FUNK. The kitschy, cocktail-disco-flecked title track and soulful Mister Sun ooze summertime pool parties with the help of giant horn lines while the superfunky We, The Three rocks to a devastating Kool And The Gang-style bassline. Sure there were always going to be missteps and moments of cheesy predictably, and, sure FLC’s time may have passed, but Classic Fantastic, against the odds, is thoroughly enjoyable.

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VARIOUS/STEVE AOKI, STAFFORD BROTHERS & TOMMY TRASH Sessions Seven

(Ministry Of Sound/Universal) STUART EVANS

We’re told by the music communists that dance music is dying and Ministry Of Sound is somehow responsible for the implosion. And because Ministry churns out albums quicker than the speed of light, everyone gets their pants in a pile and causes a ruckus. Puh-lease. Ministry aren’t responsible – they simply compile and market the music that’s already appealing. Take Sessions Seven. Scattered throughout are a host of records that, no doubt, will have commercial appeal – Roger Sanchez’s 2Gether, Meck featuring Dino’s Feels Like A Prayer and Vandalism’s Throw Your Hands Up are all prime examples. The Brothers Stafford’s mix is commercially geared, while Trash’s selection is harder and more aggressive and Aoki’s mix is something different altogether. Here Ministry delivers a very good compilation that’s high on energy and entertainment. Dance music is forever changing, and Sessions Seven is reflection of that truism. Despite rapidly turning today’s modern club anthems into a Now That’s What I Call Music style collection, it’s hard to fault anything that contains mixes of Groove Armanda, Goldfrapp, The Bloody Beetroots, Kissy Sell Out, Tiga, MYNC, Hook N Sling and Passion Pit. Because most will probably whinge and gripe about Sessions, it gives everyone else a chance to run up to the doubters and chuck eggs on their noggin as, come Saturday night, they’ll probably be dancing to everything on the album regardless.

Zebra Magazine 11

Thet Down Ge Y FRESH & FUNK WIITH OBLIVEUS

WHERE AND WHEN WAS YOUR FIRST SET? latee h late the in th burrbbss in bur burbs ssuburbs r su thhern orrth nnorthern es iinn thee no rrtitiies rt aarti parties se ppa houuse ho ew house ew nngg a few ddooing eer doing ter te After “After “Af “A “Af rred fred Alfre Al c Alfred Pririnnce Pr at Prince Brranndd at Bra B DJ Brand wiithh DJ w gigg with gi barr gig rrsst bar myy first okm w wo work on too wor nt on w nt we 90s I went 90s ‘90s ‘90 ’9988 ” in Carlton circa ’98.” WHAT’S YOUR ALL TIME FAVOURITE 12”? “Erick Sermon feat Marvin Gaye Music. When that came out I loved it so much I used to drop it two, three times in a two-hour set.” WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF WHAT YOU DO? “I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if I actually made some money from it.” WHAT DOES THE MELBOURNE CLUB SCENE NEED MOST? “The lladies?” “The “Th adi ad ddies es?” es? ?” FAVOURITE CLUB TO PLAY? “First “F “Fi rsst FFl rst Floor. ooooor. A oor oor. After Afte ftter fte ter pplaying lay laying a ing ay inng th t ere there ree fo ffor or ssix, or ixx se ix, sseven seve ven years ve ven yyears ars feelss lik feels fee lilikee hhome… ome w ome with ith th a bar bbar.” a ” ar WHAT’S YOUR BEST ALL TIME GIG? “Madizms 2000-2002. Unlikely you’ll see something like that again.” WHAT GIGS HAVE YOU GOT COMING UP? “Saturday 19 June @ Order Of Melbourne for the Wax Museum show.” PIC BY KANE HIBBERD.

“

I THINK MY PENIS GREW 3 INCHES SINCE I ATE THESE PRENATALS.... WILL IT GO BACK TO NORMAL LATER?” 1. The 1. Thhe M Ma Master aste s rss Ser ste SSeries: Se eriees es: LLife iff ife V VAR VARIO AR RIOU OUS/JA S// AME S/J AMES AM S ZZABIEL A ELA ABI LA LA 2. No Noite Noi N oite oite te ((Pr (Prins Prins inn Th Thoma Thom oom mas R ma Remix) Rem em eemi m x)) SLY LLY M MONG MO ON NGO GO G OOSE O OSE OS OSE S 3. Fab 3. Fabirc Fa irc rcc 53 53 VARIO VA VAR IO IOU OU US/SU S/SURG S/S RGEON RG GEO ON 44. Ins Instead Instea tee d YYou tea ou Go ou Go (Sleazy McQueen Dub) ub) b) TRES GUEROS 5. Fabricive 52 VARIOUS/ZERO T 6. Ride This Train RALPH & BEEDLE 7. All About The Money AGENT 86 8. 100 Snakes JELLPHONIC & ZACKY FORCE FUNK 9. Crave You FLIGHT FACILITIES FEAT GISELLE 10. Drunk Girls (Holy Ghost Remix) LCD SOUNDSYSTEM

MALES THE WORLD OVER ARE NOW CALLING THEIR WAITER OVER, POINTING AT DIPLO AND SAYING, “I’LL HAVE WHAT HE’S HAVING…”

Eric Lau 777-9311 THE TIME

(Warner Bros),1982. “I love the approach that Prince had in terms of the drums and the phrasing of the synths and guitars. Once the big clap comes in it’s just one of the funkiest things I’ve ever heard!”

YOU KNOW MY STEEZ GANGSTARR

(EMI),1997. “My friend used to teach me how to DJ with this record. He had doubles of it and he would teach me how to juggle with it. Also the way Premier used Joe Simon’s Drowning In The Sea Of Love is crazy!”

LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE COMMON

(MCA), 2000 “I love this record because of the amount of incredible people who were involved which in turn took the

music m ussicc to t another anoothe therr llevel. evel.l.l Great eve Gre reat mus musici musicianship i ans ic ici nship shipp + Dilla D Di iililla laa + ggreat r t vvoca rea vocalists ocalis oc oca i ts + Bob Bobb Pow PPower ow wer e = TTimeless ime meeles esss ess M Mus us u ic! c!”” Music!”

DON DO N BLACKMAN BLLAC B ACKM KM K MAN N BLACKMAN DON DO N BL BLAC AC CKM K A AN N (Arista), (Arist (Ar ist stta) 19 11982 9822 “This record can be played in the club or at home and it just makes you feel good. Plus it’s funky as hell.”

FANTASTIC VOL 2 SLUM VILLAGE

(Goodvibe), 2000 “What can I say? It just took hip hop to a different place musically, flow wise and it hits you on so many levels that is hard to explain. I have this album in every format. My vinyl is still sealed!” Eric Lau plays the Croft Institute this Saturday.

As always, l there’s been plenty to hearr lately on the bottom-end tip tip round this town, tow wn, so let’s get right rigght to it. Up first and a staying true to to their roots, the thhee lads l d att Lightspeed Lights Li ht peeeed edd Recordings have haavve ve come coome m with witith w itth the tthhe he goods goo ds goo ds yet yet again. ye aagain ag gaain aiin i .A Ass m much uuchh as I lik likee th tthe he he acidic production producctiooonn values vaal alues u of the ue thhe recent rece eccent nt Late La e Night Lat Nigh g t TTuff uff G Guy Tuff Edits Volume 2 for that tha haat ‘II should’ve hat s ould’v sh d ve gone gone ne home ne h me ho m att 5am a be because eca now my ride has a parkingg fifine ne’ ne’ vibe, vib it’s the llatestt from f m head-honcho headd hhoonncc Agent 86, head whose All About Abbout The T Money M Mon hits hit the th hip hi hop h to t discofunk di f k mash-up, h that th t I cannot get enough eenouugh of. ItI will have you literally going spastic before the lasers zap ya. ya. In fact, fa how am I even operating electrical equipment at the the moment when whe I should be curled in a ball with a roll of duct tape wrapped wrapped around around my fingers? Whoah, there’s a tangent. Speaking Speaking of duct d tape, let’s rip up (off) this discussion in a timely manner. I’ve since sinc decided that local hip hop impresarios, The Psyde Projects, should up their talent and sell it by the gram to 99% shoould bottle b of this country’s, country’s, no, this planet’s, party beat jugglers. The latest from the Freakshow Freaaksh Disco label, Harmon’s Sip Sip, comes correct with a joint collaboration with The Double P and it’s a pure, beefy, collab c ‘throw something something or someone through the window’ boogie down production… … all puns intended! Brainchild behind The Psyde Projects, Mr Moonshine, Moonshine, has h been consistently Melbourne’s hardest working DJ/producerr over the past few years and his bi-weekly Thursday slot down at Bimbo’s with a certain Seppo is one nobody should be Bim missing. On the ‘nobody should miss’ tip, nobody should have missed The s Bamboos album launch earlier this month without a very good reason – for example exam loss of limb, mind, virginity and/or all of the above. That’s all I’m saying on that. On a less-publicised level, the Black Caesar crew have officially become the owners of northside groove. Not only did they set a record for continuous hours of funk/soul records played at the Sydney Road Festival in The Penny Black beer garden, but they were back two weeks later for ANZAC Day Eve with Kylie Auldist and crew belting out the jams before she left for a tour overseas. They’re at it again on Queen’s Birthday Eve at The Penny Black for another anothe night of debauchery, so head down to get messy. Sticking with thee northside, the new Putbacks 7” on Hope Street Recordings is THA TH HA SHIZNIT!!! SHIZNIT Pull your pants up, wipe (not in that order) store right now and buy eight order) and get down doown to Afroman’s Afro copies. copies. This slice of wax should sho be played in every conceivable way, ayy, y, because, because, let’s face it, it’s that th good. A-Side Busted is what Bookerr T & The The MGs would sound like today (I mean this in the best possible way) and and I love how two-thirds of o the way in a short bout of vocal shouts sneak B-Side Set Me Free cruises down sneak in. GOLD! Not to be outdone, o the before surfin’ off into the BBQ the path laid by Wes Montgomery Mont sunset. sunset. This is a classic release rele for this Melbourne four-piece that no funk be without. funk lovin’ freak of nature should s As As always, send me your biz b to obliveus@gmail.com for a mention and and I’ll see ya on the dancefl dance oor.

THE SHOCK OF THE NEW @ THE ORDER OF O MELBOURNE

WHERE IS IT? Second floor, 401 Swa nston Street, City (across from RMIT ). WHEN IS IT? Saturday 5 June, 9pm ‘til 3am. WHAT CAN YOU HEAR? It’s kinda like a radio show on the lineage of dark futurist synthesised pop and indie – with a salute to neue Deutsche welle and kosmische. The DJs play suites of new releases that reference seminal classics – relat onships between Neu! and The Horrors and Trans Am, The Cure and A Place To Bury Strangers and Jesus & Mary Chain, Suicide/A lan Vega and DAF, HTRK and Malaria. Expect some local stuff, from French Rockets, Juggernauts to PVT, maybe even Ollie Olsen, Mod els and Underground Lovers. WHO PLAYS? Kapitolina and Kiti. WHO’S GOING? Lovers of dark synth music. The last Shock was a mix of fashionista lesbians, skinny jeaned poofs, some discerning dominas, cold black architects, veteran techno/ele ctro types and some disenchanted ex-goths; all of who have been gagg ing to hear this stuff outside their iPods . So dress up and pretend you’re in Kreu zberg, Berlin – it’s cold enough. WHAT ELSE DO I NEED TO KNOW? Trip out on projected collages of relevant music-related clips and asso ciated cinematic gems, interupted by brutalist architecture.

Zebra Magazine 13

DYSFUNKTIONAL @ DYSFUNKTIONAL @

LOFT

DYSFUNKTIONAL @ LOFT

LOFT

RHYTHMALISM @ FUSION

KOLAT

DYSFUNKTIONAL @ LOFT

DYSFUNK KTIONAL @ THE LOFT

KHOKOLAT KOATED @ KHOKOLAT KHOKOLAT KOATED @ KHO

DYSFUNKTIONAL @ LOFT

RHYTHMALISM @ FUSION

KHOKOLAT KOATED @ KHOKOLAT

EUROTRASH

PLAYGROUND

EUROTRASH

AID @ CIRCUS MAMA SAID

MA AM MA A SAID @ CIRCUS

MAMA SAID @ CIRCUS

SCRIBBLE QBAR

QBAR

SCRIBBLE

Varsity Club Specials Join Varsity Club in store or at bimbodeluxe.com.au

$2.50 Pots $5.00 Vino

$4.00 Pizza $6.00 Vodka cocktails

Thursdays Obliveus Manchild Moonshine Matt Radovich

Tahl Rowie Flagrant Lindsay Marchment

$4 Pizzas 7-9pm Kitchen closes at 2am Corner Brunswick Street & Rose Street Fitzroy VIC

SATURDAYS AT LUCKY COQ TAHL

GREYSKULL

MOONSHINE JEAN PAUL ASH-LEE

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CRN CHAPEL & HIGH ST WINDSOR WWW.LUCKYCOQ.COM.AU

Zebra Magazine 15

WITH CYCLONE

OG Flavas Kelis

Rebels R eb bells On Pause

Tim has namedd LLady Time adyy Gaga g as one off ititss most most in inflfluential uent ential ia figures. g es. gur s. The The ‘80s ‘ iicon ico con C yndi ynd di LLauper Laaup a per er ppenned ennedd th tthe he aaccompanying cco ccompa mpanyi mp pany nyi nyi y ngg te text, tex ext,t, pra ppraising praisi raisi ising is ssiing ng Gag G ag aga a a – wh w h Cyndi Gaga who, let’s let ’ss not ot fo forge rge g t, iss oonn Ako Akon’s n’ss label label be – for her her ““incredible incred inc redibl red iblee pop ibl pop op sen sensib sibbili ility” t ty” forget, sensibility”. C Cer ertaiinly l ,G Gaga aga ha hhas as uushered she h redd iinn a new th ttheatricality, heattric i ali alit lility ty, ye ty, yett hher er urb urban ban pop is Certainly, hardly har dl bo dly bold ldd St Strip rip aaw way the he costumes coostu tumes umes m and and make-up m make ake ke uupp aan nd David Davidd Bowi Davi B owi w e’s bold. away and Bowie’s seminal music is still riveting – but Gaga’s? Not really, no. Interestingly, Gaga’s ex-factor, Paparazzi producer Rob Fusari, is suing her, claiming that he came up with that alias. (Previously Fusari produced the Stevie Nicks-sampling Bootylicious for Destiny’s Child.) MIA is among Gaga’s critics, the Born Free renegade arguing that she’s been co-opted by the corporates. “People say we’re similar, that we both mix all these things in the pot and spit them out differently, but she spits it out exactly the same,” MIA told NME lately. “None of her music’s reflective of how weird she wants to be or thinks she is. She models herself on Grace Jones and Madonna, but the music sounds like 20-yearold Ibiza disco. She’s not progressive, but she’s a good mimic.” At any rate, urban music is a fickle environment for ‘It’ girls (and, in the case of Pharrell Williams, ‘It’ boys). After 2009’s Jigsaw failed to ignite, Lady Sovereign went on Celebrity Big Brother – with Sisqo, Dane Bowers (formerly of the Brit swingbeat group Another Level) and, bizarrely, ‘Hollywood Madam’ Heidi Fleiss. It’s a sorry comedown for the Jay-Z protege. Let’s hope that Sov doesn’t disappear, as did Roc-A-Fella’s Amil. The femcee has just ‘come out’ in the lesbian mag Diva, so perhaps she feels emancipated from the image-obsessed pop machine. One ‘It’ girl determined not to be sidelined is Kelis. The Harlem, New York starlet – originally signed to The Neptunes’ Star Trak – has always been too eccentric for mainstream R&B. Kelis debuted with 1999’s Kaleidoscope – home to the ‘alternative’ Caught Out There – but it was mainly fans of countercultural pop who appreciated her. Kelis’ biggest m ma

would Milkshake Tasty. ccrossover cro ssover sso verr hi hitt woul w o d be oul be Mil Milksh kshake ake of offf Tas Tasty y. ventured overlooked Shh la She last last st ven ntur tured tu edd out ut wi with thh 2006’s 2 066’s 200 ’’ss oov verl erloook erl okkedd Kelis Was Here. Along the way, Kelis has collaborated with credible dance artists. She sang on Richard X’s mash-up Finest Dreams, teamed up twice with German house DJ Timo Maas’, and bolstered Diddy’s techno Let’s Get Ill (so ahead of its time!). With hip hop fully embracing electro, it should be Kelis’ time – that is, if she’s recognised for seeking out house DJs prior to anyone else. Indeed, Kelis is on the comeback, joining Will.i.am’s stable. Married to Nas, she took time out to have their child – the couple then separating very publicly. Kelis’ single Acapella, produced by David Guetta, is a tastemaker’s smash, the divette channelling Donna Summer – and her fifth album, Flesh Tone, is full-on dance. But it’s absurd that some media types are now accusing Kelis of copying Gaga. The outlandish Kelis was a fashion muse to the late Alexander McQueen long before her. If anything, Kelis is a successor to that ‘70s soul rebel Nona Hendryx. Nevertheless, Kelis’ new rival could be, not Gaga, but the arty Janelle Monáe, who’s also paid her dues. Monae is affiliated with Atlanta’s OutKast (Big Boi cameos on the fab Tightrope) in addition to Diddy’s Bad Boy, but she exists in her own dimension. Imagine if Dali were reborn as an R&B producer and you’d have her surreal cabaret The ArchAndroid.

Stephen Webber You’ve You ve often referred to to Q Qbert bert and Mix Master Mike as sources of inspiration. Were they the main reason you got int to into turntablism or is there more to the story? “I was teaching a remix class at Berklee College of Music and more and more of my students were DJs and would come in and demonstrate how they did their remixes – I guess this was back in the mid-’90s. At the time I was really searching for something new and I couldn’t believe that there hadn’t been a revolution in music as big as the one that I experienced with The Beatles when I was as a kid. kid When I sa saw m my first first DMC video ideo of DJs competing head to head and using the turntables in ways that I had never seen before, it was like somebody had flipped a switch and I knew that was something that I wanted to do and be involved with. It seemed radical and irreverent as growing up I was always told you didn’t touch the records. The controversial concept of using recorded music to make new music was something that appealed to my sense of pushing boundaries and getting people to think about things in new ways.” The Stylus Symphony bears little resemblance to any other – what was the impetus for bringing it to life and did anything of the concept change upon inception? “I was commissioned to compose a work for the premier concert of the Berklee Contemporary Symphony Orchestra which would break new ground and decided to tackle the concept of the turntable as a musical instrument head on. I wanted to make it a piece that was musical in its own right and stay away from any sense of it being a novelty or any sort of trick – it’s a piece for orchestra that happens to include the dance music of the day which is something the symphonic music has done for hundreds of years, although that concept has been somewhat dormant recently. In a way we were bringing back a concept that had been missing from the scene.” How have your turntablist classes at Berklee changed since inception and what was the main barrier to its inclusion in the curriculum? “We spend more time on mixing than we did at the beginning, because that seems to be more foreign to the average Berklee student who is already a musician. They pick up the idea of the turntable as an instrument fairly easily, but mixing records, beat matching, programming a set, and doing mash-ups is something that is rather new to them. There were many barriers into introducing it into the curriculum, partly to do with some musicians seeing DJs as competitors for gigs that they would like to get, and there was a general prejudice against viewing the DJ as a musician. It continues to be something that is controversial and probably will for a long time.”

Stephen St Ste phen phe nW n Webber W Webb ebb b err bb

What kind What Wh kkiindd off di diff difference fferen rence ce hhave ave av a e your your in instr instructional struct uction ionall turntablist publications m made ade to how the instrument is played, or indeed, how well w it’s played? “I think education is alwayss a good idea. In my books, classes and the ‘Turntable TTechnique: The Art Of The DJ’ seminar, I help people gget their head around the instrument in the first place. culture that spawned the in During D i the h seminars i I’ll bbe supplying a tool kit, which people can apply in their own ways and find their own voice. While it’s good to understand what came before and how we arrived at where we are now, what’s really exciting is what the next generation of DJs and turntablists are going to do with these tools. I’m always excited to hear things that I never heard before and that’s often the case when I’m listening to young DJs and I’m really jazzed about being in Australia and working with JMC 1. I Can Change Academy. I’m LCD SOUNDSYSTEM looking forward 2. Hypocrisy to meeting people (John Digweed who are interest & Nick Muir Remix) in DJing and ABE DUQUE turntablism and the 3. Down By The River culture of hip hop.” BLISS N ESO Stephen Webber 4. Fire presents SHAPESHIFTER Your Songs: 5. Glow A Producer’s CIREZ D Perspective at 6. Exhale JMC Academy Saturday and SPIT SYNDICATE Sunday. 7. A Place They Call The Heart FUNKERMAN 8. What Do We Do BACK BACK FORWARD PUNCH 9. On The Sly THE BAMBOOS 10. The Ride LOVEBIRDS

Kiss FM Chart

If for some reason you found yourself umming and ahhing about taking Melbourne MC Fatty Phew’s offer of a free download of his new EP from www. fattyphew.com, perhaps the clip for Yes Or No will push you over the edge – it’s a grassroots production but the cautionary tale of the lyrics are great, as are the laidback production of Alter Ego and quality cuts from DJ Bogues.

No N oN Nonsense: No onsense: o nsense: nsense Jame J es Zabiela James

“

XXX

WILL SOMEONE PUT REV FRED NILE IN F**KN NURSING HOME ALREADY? IT’S A DUTY OF CARE ISSUE (FOR THE REST OF US)”

Brown Bro B w All wn Alley: ey 221 ey: 21.05.10 1.05 .05.10 .1 .10 Brown reputation hosting Bro B rown wn All Alley ey ha hhas as a a rep reputa utatio uta tionn for tio for hos hostin tinng quality name intimate qualit qqua lii y big lit big nam me DJs DJs in an int intima ima mate te clu clubb environment eenv ironme iro nment nme ntt – a real bonus if you don’t want to deal with outdoor festivals. As the night’s name dea eal w ith thh outdo ou utdo t td Nonsense is all about the music. ssuggests, sug uuggges gests ge tts, ts ss, No N There’s Th TThe h re’ he here’ re’ss just justt on oonee packed dancefloor and multiple screens with robot visuals. Tonight the crowd is sc scr eenss w een ith th rro here her e e for ere for UK U DJ D James Zabiela, touring his Life CD, Renaissance’s The Master Series. the he la llatest testt in tes in R e James Jam ames mes blo blogs g th gs tthat he “wanted to get it into the everyone hands han ds of o eve v ryo ry that comes to support me at one n of o my gigs” gigs” gs and you can hear people talking about anticipation. abo bout ut him i in an with smile, Onn at a 2am 2am,, wit w itt his trademark long blonde hair and che cheeky ch eky k smile sm ile lee, Zabiela sounds Zab a iel ielaa bbegins ie e ns his set with an intro sample, similar ttoo tthe eg egi hee sou so nds dss collected He’s working h col he collec lec e ted fo ffor his previous Master Series release. H e s wo e’s w rkking rki ngg whole time, with the he wh w o titime ole me feeling the music, enjoying each track ack wi w th the Zabiela’s crowd, cro wd aat one wd, one ppoint jumping up and down with them. m. Zab m. Zabiel iella’s a typical sett is ty typic pical pic al of the Renaissance sound – progressive vee wit withh eechoes wi c es cho Digweed. He propels the mix into familiar of Sas SSasha ha and D ililiar liiar ar 4/ 4/4 /4 territory, mashes it up with fractured beats, drum te ter riti ory ry,, tthen hen m um rrolls ollss and oll and staccato rhythms. st sta ccato rhy ccato cca rhythm thm Zabiela has made a name for himself with technical h te his techn chn hnica ica cal al ab aability b behind the CDJs, layering sounds, creating loops, ffeedback fee dba back ck loo loops p using pitch echoes and editing live with an EFX ps unitt and uni andd a Korg Korg or Kaossilator plugged in. While tracing W Whi lee tra acin i g th tthe h edge of darkness, overall Zabiela’s sound is upbeat. Hee rear gems such as his brilliant No Other Way upbeat upb e .H eat rrearranges e ear But Do Down wnn an aand, d, like labelmate and fellow Depeche Mode fan d, Davee Seaman, Dav Seam man, an ddrops a beautiful vocal mix of Enjoy The Silence. Otherwise Otherw Oth erw erwise wise se w we oonly get a few fractured vocals, as heard in Ladytron’s Runaway, a random breakbeat track and a hint of what’s La Lad ytron’ ytr on’ss Runa on’ R una follow onn Lif Lifee – a fol fo loo up to Spooky’s Candy, another tech classic from school oldd ssc hooll lege hoo llegends egenn Hardfloor and Zabiela’s new track Blame. ege James nishes Jam am mes fin fifinish nishes ish shes es just after 5am with a “thank you” sample, and then tthe hen hhe’s e on e’s oonline lin later to tweet “great fun in Melbourne ttonight”. ton ight”. igh t” t”. CHRIS TOUSSAINT

MANTRA LAUNCH PARTY

Let’s get it started this time around with the most important gig of the week: Mantra’s official album launch party for his debut solo release Power Of The Spoken. In addition to being one of Melbourne’s great lyricists, Mantra has also been performing live for as long as I can remember and has earned his reputation as a dope performer. Get down to the show this Friday at East Brunswick Club (280 Lygon Street). Mantra will be joined on stage by DJ Wasabi, right after support acts Class A and Mata & Must. Entry $15. The album dropped a few weeks back now, but if you don’t have it already, cop Power Of The Spoken, released through Obese, at all good music stores now.

WITH STEVE DUCK

BURNING UNDERGROUND

The Burning Underground video magazine is back in effect. The latest installment features interviews with Maundz, VCG and Anon Speak. Beyond just the interviews though, you’ll notice The Burning Underground is looking and sounding a lot better in 2010, and is now even in HD. You can check the latest episode at vimeo.com/channels/ theburningunderground, or even through Facebook at facebook.com/theburningunderground. Check it.

SURREAL SAMPLER LAUNCH

First there was EPs and LPs. Then came the mixtapes. This year we’ve already had Justice & Kaos drop a ‘pre-album’ on us, and now Surreal is preparing a ‘sampler’. I’m too old to keep up with what the kids are calling their releases these days, but I’m pretty sure whatever it is that Surreal is getting ready to drop, it should be dope. This is an early heads up, but mark down Friday 25 June in your diary for Surreal’s 2010 Sampler Launch. Surreal won’t be the only one in sampler mode though, as Nymphlow will also be dropping his Sickadenmost Sampler on the same night. Plus you’ll also see Kast & D-Inph, DJ Cargo, Kay-Z, Crusader and DJ Sim. Surreal will take the stage with a live band, plus assistance from Candice Monique and Lee Sissing. It all happens Friday 25 June at First Floor, entry $10.

CYPRESS HILL

XXX

Real quick before I get outta here, Cypress Hill are set to return to Australia in September! Touring their latest album Rise Up, Cypress will hit Melbourne on Thursday 23 September, when they play The Palace. Tickets go on sale 3 June through ticketmaster.com. Boom.

THANKS URTHBOY, WE’RE NOT MUCH FOR THIS “BAN THE BURQA” NONSENSE EITHER.

WEDNESDAY

SPEAKER CHIC @ FIRST FLOOR

A tribute to the sophisticated musical tastes of Melbourne’s north side. Combining indie grooves and electro with the occasional vintage reference or post-disco classic. Launches with an epic live performance from Tiger Funk with support from Mat Cant, Smile On Impact and Youthful Implants. Free entry.

CANDY STORE @ LOUNGE

Playing fine flavours of sweet house music for your late night dancing pleasure. Join resident DJ PCP plus special guests and dance yourself silly. Just do your boss a favour and take Thursday off. $5 entry.

COQ ROQ @ LUCKY COQ

DJs Lady Noir, Agent 86, Kiti, Mr Thom and Joybot give you nothing but the best new wave, punk, Brit pop, bong rap and hair metal this side of Seattle from 9pm.

COSMIC PIZZA @ BIMBO DELUXE

For those of you not content on mere earthly pleasures, join NHJ and friends for a taste of space. Playing freaked-out bass jams, depressed disco, tropi-jazz, soundtracks to the female body and shit you won’t hear on the other nights.

FIVE ELEMENTS & JESTER CREW @ MISS LIBERTINE

Representing the true old school mindset, weekly selectors MzRizk, DJ Sizzle, Takaco, Ayna, Duchesz and special guests walk you through all eras of hip hop. On top of that, hip hop outfit Jester Crew are hosting Wednesdays in May. Throughout the month Jester crew will be teaming up with some of Melbourne’s finest live hip hop acts. Free entry.

REVOLVER ROCK @ REVOLVER

Revolver Rock is Melbourne’s longest running rock/retro/electro/ cheese night. For the last three years Revolver Rock has been the place to go for a dose of your fave rock and old school tracks. Join our DJs Spidey, Mary M, Adalita (Magic Dirt) and Whitt (Spiderbait) for a night you won’t forget... Or remember.

THURSDAY

HOW LOVE & TRONIKELESCH SINGLE LAUNCH @ THE TOFF

How Love is the collaborative work of Melbourne producers/writers Finn Robertson, Andrew Worotniuk and Jamieson Moore and their first single, complete with Tronikelesch remix, is being released through Sydney-based blog Kluster. To celebrate, they will be performing live with Tronikelesch along with Children, Angel Eyes, Rat Vs Possum Vs Fail DJs. Visuals on the night come from local VJ Zeal. $10 on the door. From 7.30-11pm.

DYSFUNKTIONAL @ THE LOFT

The funkin’ five in audio control: Damion De Silva, Ken Walker, K-Dee, $uga & Durmy playing R&B cutz, fabulous grooves and whatever the funk keeps you movin’. Doors 9pm-late. $15/$12 guestlist. (guestlist@restless.com. au).

LOVE STORY @ THE TOFF

The Love Story continues after an epic night with Bag Raiders last Thursday – one of the most out of control nights Melbourne has seen this year. Featuring 1928 supported by rotating guests Tranter, Rad Pitt, Megawuoti, and Sleeves (Strobe) playing everything you love in electro, techno, indie and disco. From 11.30pm-5am. Free entry every week. International and interstate guests monthly.

BASS CAMP @ LOUNGE

Not just a breaks night. From hip hop, electro, house and techno – Bass Camp will play anything with a bassline. This week DJ Ego will be playing a fine selection of all things funky and party. Then it’s into D-Stract for his blend of beats, breaks and bobs. Immediately following will be regular resident 18 Zebra Magazine

JD, finished off with a set by Citizen.com. So join us for a night of straight up party tunes from 10pmlate. $5 entry.

TROPPO LOCO & MISK @ MISS LIBERTINE

A mix of global street sounds and tropical sub-sonic kookiness. Featuring Paz, Mr Fish, BP555, Wankel Rotary Engine, Yoink! and more. From 9pm-3am in the back room. Also on is Misk, where the music floats between deep melodic tech house, groovy jazz-spaced stabs, crunchy minimal techno and smooth cocktail house. Featuring resident DJs U-One and Dave Pham plus this week’s guest Steve Bingle. Free entry for both.

HANGTIME @ EUROTRASH

Hangtime continue to rock the shit out of Eurotrash. Featuring a rad line-up of rotating DJs to keep you boozed and buried on the dancefloor.

FREE RANGE FUNK @ LUCKY COQ

Free Range Funk DJs Who, Agent 86, Lewis CanCut and special guests tempt you into the night with their eclectic bag of treats. Expect to be charmed with delightful jazz, deep soul and funk early. Stick around after dessert and it’s fruity disco, choice house and hipster dance drops. Free entry.

VARSITY @ BIMBO DELUXE

School’s out for the week and we’ve cleared out the lounge room. Teaching you a lesson in hip hop, soul and funk after school are Matt Radovich, Mr Moonshine, Just Lindsay, Tahl and Rowie.

RHYTHM-AL-ISM @ FUSION

The Rhythm-al-ism team bring you the best urban jams and house grooves every week. Featuring special guest DJ Rob Swift along with Damion Da Silva, FMR, A-Style, K Dee and Simon Sez. From 9.30pm-4am. $15/$12 guestlist (guestlist@restless.com.au).

THURSDAYS @ NEW GUERNICA

Turns out those dudes in high school who were into music like The Smiths, The Cure and Manson learnt how to mix, typed the name Derrick Carter into Wikipedia, and got themselves a residency at New Guernica. Conductors from 9pm include Negativ Magick, Post-Percy, Leslie Salvador and Bromance. Free entry.

3181 THURSDAYS & SCATTERBLOG @ REVOLVER

Revolver keeps it laidback and local from 6pm. There are tunes from Hans DC and guests. Plus vintage video games, foosball, free wi-fi internet and half price meals every week from Colonel Tan’s all-new kitchen for local residents and traders. Up-tempo tunes later in the night. Then Scatterblog is on from 10pm featuring the best in modern dance music culture from across the globe. The team includes Mu-Gen, Scattermish, Lewis CanCut, Mat Cant and Swick with guests Tranter, 1997 Rad Dad Convention, Congo Tardis, Sleeves and more. Free entry.

FRIDAY

MC MANTRA @ EAST BRUNSWICK CLUB

As Melbourne MC Mantra prepares for his nationwide tour support for Urthboy, his debut longplayer, Power Of The Spoken, has received Triple J Feature Album status. Check out Mantra’s local album launch.

THE JAM @ FIRST FLOOR

Special guest Mz Rizk will make an appearance to play the kind of old school hip hop that makes you want to bounce, while DJs Duchesz and Ayna dig out ‘90s R&B classics. Add in a little gangster rap from DJ Wax Vandal and this night will be just the extra spice that you’ve been looking for. $10 entry.

UNDERTOW @ MISS LIBERTINE

Undertow is no stranger to the stage. He’s rocked the mic at drum’n’bass and breaks events under the DTech alias for years. There is something about hip hop, though, that makes Undertow

keep coming back to it. The Minds Believing LP has been brewing in Undertow for a long time. With the album release and an east coast album tour this month, he aims to imprint his name on the ever-growing Australian hip hop scene. Support from Rezadent, Dazed and Flawlezz, Rukis Crew, JP and Bogues. Tickets are $10 on the door.

Phil Smith playing no-brainers and guilty pleasures from the ‘60s/’70s/’80s/’90s/today and tomorrow. The sounds of pop, disco, rock, R&B, funk, soul and oddball covers. The party starts at 9pm and entry is always free.

Luxxe Party presents Volta and Danni B – two of Melbourne’s finest tech house purveyors of the female variety. These two will be gracing the decks from midnight. Samari and Rips will be kicking off the party at 10pm with Jem The Misfit providing visuals on the night. Free entry.

It’s time for another Unstable progressive, techno and psy trance event. The deepest, driving tunes brought to you by Ben Evans, Freya, Mish’chief, Denham Jay, Loki, Henk D and James Brooke alongside a visual explosion brought to you by VJ Kyogen and special guest Ninja. From 10pm-late. Free entry.

LUXXE @ LOOP

D’OPUS, ROSHAMBO & POISON APPLE @ REVOLVER

D’Opus and Roshambo are set to unleash some new material and are spearheading it with their new single Come Find Out. $10 on the door. Also, the Poison Apple crew return to the Revolver front room this week with a massive line-up including Chango Phat, Ross Horkings, Bianca White, Clint Morgan, Eli B, Bart Bara, Jamie Coyle, Torren Foote, Death by Disco and Nick Kennedy.

PLONK @ GERTRUDES BROWN COUCH

If you dig music by Radiohead, Beck, The Thin White Duke, Goldfrapp, Animal Collective, Eddy Current, Stephan Bodzin, Florence & The Machine, Nine Inch Nails, The Beatles, The Flaming Lips, Ratatat, Cloud Control and want to dance, dance, dance like Lykke Li then join the Plonk crew for some fun. The DJ talent of Joey Lightbulb, Senator Andre Hine, Clink, Malteser and Alec M will rock the intimate downstairs level. Furthermore, this party will have a construction site theme and there will be free cake at midnight. From 7pm-1am. Free entry.

BAMBAATAA @ LOUNGE

This week Timmus (Smashbang Records), one of Melbourne’s freshest talents, will drop by for an exclusive DJ set. He will be joining residents Nick Verwey, Tom Ellis, Popeye, Hey Sam, Mitch Juster and Benny Semmens. From 10pm-sunrise. For guestlist, email badrunnerproductions@ hotmail. com.

LIKE DISCO @ LA DI DA

What is Like Disco? Motown and funk led us to disco and now original disco classics have been re-edited, remixed and reinvented. Disco continues to be a constant source of basslines, riffs and vocals for house and techno. So put your hands up and let your hair down as you dance to everything that’s like disco. From 7pm-dawn. $15/$10 guestlist.

SCRIBBLE @ Q

Start your weekend with Scribble. Featuring a line-up of super-producer M-Phazes, Jase (Beathedz), Flagrant, MAFIA and Derek {K}. You can expect to hear party jams, hip hop, R&B classics, soul anthems and pickings of the freshest new releases.

FRIDAYS @ EUROTRASH

Mu-gen and NXR playing party through to electro. Free entry. Open until 3am.

FRIDAYS @ NEW GUERNICA

You know it’s going to be a good night when you’re at a club and the DJs work the same part-time jobs during the week as you; it means they’re probably up for getting loose just the same. At New Guernica we’ve got more Nudie Jeans folding clerks and fixie part importers than you can poke a stick at. Oh, and the kitchen may burn down as Herbie and Post-Percy are the evening’s master chefs.

FRIDAYS @ NEVERLAND

Melbourne’s newest superclub has arrived. Neverland has been laced with state of the art sound, lighting and visual equipment to take your nightclub experience to a whole new dimension. $15/$10 guestlist until 11pm.

POPROCKS @ THE TOFF

Join the crew at the Toff with Dr

SATURDAY

UNSTABLE SOUNDS @ LOOP

STINKIN’ RICH @ THE JOHNSTON

If you’re dripping in bling or your richness comes from within, then Stinkin’ Rich is the party for you. A journey through garage, drum’n’bass, dubstep and dancehall. Featuring Spikey Tee, Lady Erica. Mr Fish, DJ Bonnita and MC Dizzy Dee. You may arrive poor, but you will definitely leave feeling stinkin’ rich. $10 entry. From 9pm-3am.

LOCAL PRODUCE @ MISS LIBERTINE

Twisted Audio presents Local Produce – a night dedicated to local producers. Featuring Phetst, Nasty Genius, Dysphemic, Barron Von Rotten, Deall, Meltdown, Skirmish Vs Stryfe, Deep Element and Lickweed Vs Monkee. Hosted by MCs Harzee and Dzylexic with visuals by Dougstep. From 10pm-5am. $15/free entry before midnight.

CODE RED @ THE PRINCE

Featuring Bang Gang, Chris Pappas, Boogs, PTFFP and many more. Doors 9pm. Tickets $20+BF through princebandroom.com.au.

SINTHETIC @ ABODE

Melbourne’s fetish discotheque brings you another night of sonic stimulation and dancefloor deviance. This month Melbourne’s funkiest fetish party is styled for pets and playthings, ponies and puppies, bears and otters, cats and cubs, plushies and vixens and anyone who loves to brush, pet, pat or growl. Tech house and deep tech sounds by SmuDJ, Lady J, Nero and Syme Tollens. Visual stimulation by Tracy G. From midnight-late.

MAMA SAID @ CIRCUS

Nestle in as the Mama Said crew bring the very best of deep, tech and house that Melbourne has to offer over two levels. Doors open at 10pm each and every Saturday so come and check out what all the fuss is about.

THE LATE SHOW @ REVOLVER

Featuring breaks, dubstep, grime and funky in the front room while the back room samples disco, boogie, cut-ups, house and the rest. With residents Ransom and Raph Boogie, plus this week’s guests Mat Cant, Julien Love, NHJ, Peter Baker and Who. Plus Boogs and Spacey in the morning and primo rotating guests to boot. Reduced door price of just $5 from 8pm so get down early.

IT’S OUR HOUSE @ LOUNGE

that breaks down the walls of industry trends and ignites a party experience like no other.

THE TECH REPUBLIC @ LA DI DA

In the main room Boogs, T-Rek, Jen Tutty, Phil K, Ross Horkings, Tyrone and Bianca White supply the soundtrack to your evening while in the basement Gavin Keitel, Mike Callander, Lister Cooray, Bart Bara, Clint Morgan and Jamie Coyle bring you some of the finest house and techno to get your ass groovin’. $15 guestlist (inpresslist@live.com).

DISCO SOCIALE @ FIRST FLOOR

Enter Studio 393 as the disco bandits, Kano and Mr Moonshine, play all that is disco, boogie and funk.

REPLAY @ FUSION

Featuring Bass Kleph (NSW). Support from Tate Strauss, Dean T and Johnny M. From 9.30pm-4am. $22/$18 guestlist.

SATURDAYS @ LUCKY COQ Spread over two levels with DJs downstairs including Tahl, Jean Paul, Sam McEwin and Greyskull playing tech house and electro. Upstairs you’ll find Kodiak Kid, Moonshine, Ash-Lee and guests playing funk. From 9pm-late. Free entry.

SUNDAY

DANI MARIE @ MISS LIBERTINE

Dani Marie is getting ready to take Australian pop music to a new level. With influences ranging from ‘60s girl groups to ‘80s electro and beyond, this pint-sized songstress takes bubblegum pop to a higher place. Support from The White Electric and Belle Bete. $5 on the door.

SUNDAYS @ REVOLVER

Revolver’s all-day electric disco party is one of the world’s most unique clubbing experiences – tight like family and welcoming like long lost friends. Featuring Melbourne’s best DJs: Boogs, Spacey Space, Matt Kovic, Yoshie, Steve Mink, Kizzam and Hez. $15 in the morning, free most nights except for Summer Series events.

SUNDAYS @ NEW GUERNICA

A mix of Little Richard slamming a piano with a pair of blue suede shoes to John Lydon pissing off his Sex Pistol fans with his new band that was just as important, along with all the good new wave, death disco, punk funk, post punk and Liverpool pop you can hear in a good night out. Free entry.

SOUTH SIDE HUSTLE @ LUCKY COQ

Pilgram Light Circus kick the night off from 5-7pm playing live jazz and funk. Following them is Askew, Booshank, Paz, Miss Butt, Jumbo, Junji & Harry, Pete Baker and guests laying down slick tunes until 3am.

SUNDAE SHAKE @ BIMBO DELUXE

Slide into your favourite comfy couch or across the dancefloor as masters of entertainment Phato-AMano, Agent 86 and Tigerfunk hit you between the ears.

MONDAY

Join Darren Coburn and Moose for a sensual start to your Saturday night. Then, from the Smashbang label, it’s Luke McD smashing out original left-of-centre techno/ electro tracks. Finally, connecting all the dots, Nick Coleman makes his way down to keep you up until the early morn’. From 10pm-dawn.

STREET POETICS @ FIRST FLOOR

Party on two floors with 1928, Sleeves, Megawuoti, Tranter, Mu-gen and D Ceed. $10/$5 before 10pm. Email adam@eurotrashbar. com.au for birthdays – you’ll get free entry and a cheap guestlist for your friends.

DIAMOND DOGS @ BIMBO DELUXE

HOUSE PARTY @ EUROTRASH

UNDER SUSPICION @ BROWN ALLEY

Under Suspicion is Brown Alley’s new resident Saturday night. It’s a party that represents the best of underground culture and music. Under Suspicion aims to create a new underground culture

SUMMERFESTIVALGUIDE.COM.AU

Street Poetics is the heart of Melbourne’s underground hip hop scene. A meeting place for beat boxers, DJs, MCs, b-boys and b-girls alike. MC Mantra hosts the night with the Street Poetics band and DJ Wasabi on the decks. If you love hip hop this is the way to start your week. Free entry. Inspired by David Bowie, Lady Noir and Kiti span the ages of rock, glam and indie. If you’re after something a little different, then look no further.

DEEP @ NEW GUERNICA

An mp3 player on shuffle isn’t as entertaining as listening to someone who actually loves playing good music getting loose with you from behind the decks. Hence New Guernica’s new take on Monday evenings. Music lovers grace the

organ decks on rotation form 9pm and play sounds from the deep to keep the weekend wrongness flowing.

THE OMGS @ LUCKY COQ

Self-proclaimed hipsters The OMGs play live. The six-piece band bash out original tracks over two sets from 9.30pm. Free entry.

TUESDAY

PERCY’S PLAYHOUSE @ NEW GUERNICA

Hosted by the delightful young chap who thinks high tea means margaritas on a Monday morning. Special appearances by Percy’s colourful friends and a rabidly fun, five-hour-odd set of party dance with one of Melbourne’s most eloquently wasted madmen.

COSMIC PIZZA @ LUCKY COQ

Uneasy listening, freaked-out bass jams, romantic comedy disco, tropijazz and shit you won’t hear on the other nights courtesy of NHJ and friends. From 8.30pm-3am.

CURIOUS TALES OF A VIVID LUSCIOUS @ BIMBO DELUXE

DJ Who delivers surreal sass and cunning in the forms of sly, charming music and sumptuous live art. Be entertained and amazed in a world existing between couches and canvas.

UPCOMING

MS FUNDRAISER @ ST KILDA PIER

On Thursday 3 June from 7-10pm, join funk and soul fans to help raise $2,000 to donate to the MS Foundation. There will be a fantastic night of funk and soul from Andrew De Silva, Mark John featuring Sean Declase and Samira along with Emerson Grubb and Grand Bizarre. There will also be a raffle for a $400 L’oreal package and a $250 salon voucher for Ibiza hair. $10 donation at the door and all proceeds go to the MS Foundation.

GIRL BAR @ THE PRINCE

Featuring Rebecca Lockhart, DJs Bobby Vena and Little Shan in the main room. Tunes by R&B bad girl MAFIA in the Tunnel Of Love (rooftop, level three). Friday 4 June. From 10pm-5am. $20/$15 for members (members enter free before 11pm but medallions must be shown).

CHEEKY BEATS @ MISS LIBERTINE

Headlined by Opiuo, catch the man’s diverse, glitchy beats before he heads overseas for his North American tour. The night blends multiple styles, from fresh live techno (Continuum) to deep funky progressive (Shadow Fx). Also expect fresh local street art and other cheeky goodness on the night. $15 on the door. Friday 4 June.

KOJO EP LAUNCH @ MISS LIBERTINE

Expect dope percussion with driving rhythms and heavy world beats from Culture Connect’s Kojo. Support from West Africa’s critically acclaimed Asanti Dance Theatre, the sounds of Future Roots Percussion, Haiti’s MC/producer/ DJ extraordinaire Voodoo Dred and Australia’s premier afro DJ Mr Fish. This is an afro hip hop affair not to be missed. Saturday 5 June.

YGAP CELEBRATION @ THE PRINCE

To celebrate the return of the cyclists who by this stage would have completed the 4,100km ride down the east coast of Australia over 25 days in support of YGAP’s initiative in Ghana, a number of DJs have taken time out of their busy schedules to play some tunes for the occasion. Featuring Nick Foley, China, Mic Newman, Jasper & Nat, Joel Alpha, Quinn Masters, Arlen De Silva, Ooh-ee and Chris Buchanan. All proceeds go to the YGAP Ghana project. Saturday 5 June.

SPIT SYNDICATE @ THE EVELYN

Spit Syndicate bring the Starry-Eyed national tour through Melbourne on Friday 16 July. Support acts TBA.

FIRST FLOOR 393 Brunswick St, Fitzroy 9419 6380 THE FOX 351 Wellington St, Collingwood 9416 4917 FUSION Level 3, Crown Entertainment Complex, 8 Whiteman St, ABODE Southbank 9292 5750 374 St Kilda Rd, St Kilda GEORGE LANE BAR 9525 5552 1 George lane (off Grey St,), ALIA St Kilda 9593 8884 Level 1, 83-87 Smith St, (corner of THE GERTRUDE HOTEL Smith St, and Gertrude St), Fitzroy 148 Gertrude St, Fitzroy 9486 0999 9419 2823 ALUMBRA GERTRUDES BROWN COUCH Shed 9, Central Pier, Docklands 30-32 Gertrude St, Fitzroy 9690 0883 9417 6420 THE APARTMENT GOLDEN MONKEY 401-405 Little Bourke St, Melbourne 389 Lonsdale St, (enter via 9670 4020 Hardware Lane), Melbourne ATTICUS FINCH 9602 2055 129 Lygon St, East, Brunswick THE GOOSE & VINYL 9387 0188 91-93 Flinders Lane (entrance via THE BALCONY Duckboard Pl), Melbourne 422 Little Collins St, Melbourne 1300 843 466 9642 8917 GRACE DARLING HOTEL BARAKI UPO MEZETHES 114 Smith St, Collingwood 168 Lonsdale St, Melbourne 9416 0055 9663 1002 THE GREAT BRITAIN HOTEL BARBARA 447 Church St, Richmond Level 1, 203 Swan St, Richmond 9429 5066 9429 3146 THE HAIRY CANARY BAR OPEN 226 Little Collins St, Melbourne 317 Brunswick St, Fitzroy 9654 2471 9415 9601 HORSE BAZAAR BERTHA BROWN 397 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne 562 Flinders St, Melbourne 9670 2329 9629 1207 HOTEL BARKLY BIGMOUTH 109 Barkly St, St Kilda 9525 3332 168 Acland St, St Kilda INFLATION 9534 4611 60 King St, Melbourne BILLBOARD 9614 6122 162 Little Bourke St, Melbourne KATUK 9639 4000 517a Chapel St, South Yarra BIMBO DELUXE 9827 9004 376 Brunswick St, Fitzroy KHOKOLAT BAR 9419 8600 43 Hardware Lane, Melbourne BLUE BAR 9642 1442 330 Chapel St, Prahran LA DI DA 9529 6499 577 Little Bourke St, Melbourne BLUE TILE LOUNGE 9670 7680 95 Smith St, Fitzroy LA LA LAND 9417 7186 134 Chapel St, Windsor BOUTIQUE 9533 8972 134 Greville St, Prahran LAIKA 9525 2322 9 Fitzroy St, St Kilda 9534 0002 BROWN ALLEY THE LOFT Corner of King St, and Lonsdale St, Level 2, 117 Lonsdale St, Melbourne Melbourne 9650 3388 9670 8599 LONG BAR CABINET BAR & BALCONY 60 Lygon St, Carlton 9380 4004 11 Rainbow Alley, Melbourne LOOP 9654 0915 19-23 Meyers Pl, Melbourne CANARY CLUB 9654 0500 6 Melbourne Pl, Melbourne LOUNGE 9663 1983 243 Swanston St, Melbourne CANVAS 9663 2916 Level 1, 302-320 Burwood Rd, LOVE MACHINE Hawthorn 9819 2200 Little Chapel St (Corner Malvern CHAISE LOUNGE Rd), Sth Yarra 9533 8837 Basement, 105 Queen St, Melbourne LUCKY COQ 9670 6120 179 Chapel St, Prahran CHASERS 9525 1288 386 Chapel St, South Yarra MADAME BRUSSELS 9827 7379 63 Bourke St, Melbourne CIRCUS 9662 2775 199 Commercial Rd, South Yarra MAEVE FOX 9804 8605 472 Church St, Richmond CO NIGHTCLUB 9427 1233 Level 3, Crown Entertainment Complex, THE MARKET 8 Whiteman St, Southbank 143 Commercial Rd, South Yarra 9682 1888 9826 0933 THE CONTINENTAL HOTEL MATCH BAR & GRILL 1-21 Ocean Rd, Sorrento 249 Lonsdale St, Melbourne 5984 2201 9654 6522 COOKIE MANCHURIA Level 1, Curtin House, 252 Swanston 7 Waratah Pl, Melbourne St, Melbourne 9663 7660 9663 1997 THE CORNISH ARMS MERCAT CROSS HOTEL 163A Sydney Rd, Brunswick 456 Queen St, Melbourne 9380 8383 9348 9998 CROFT INSTITUTE METROPOL 21 Croft Alley (off Little Bourke St), 60 Fitzroy St, St Kilda Melbourne 9671 4399 9534 5999 CUSHION LOUNGE MISS LIBERTINE 99 Fitzroy St, St Kilda 9534 7575 34 Franklin St, Melbourne DECCA BAR 9663 6855 95 Queen St, Melbourne 9600 0900 MISTY PLACE DING DONG LOUNGE 3-5 Hosier lane, Melbourne Level 1, 18 Market lane, Melbourne 9663 9202 9662 1020 MOTHER’S MILK (BRIGHTON) THE DROWNING OLIVE 287 Bay St, Brighton 9596 9470 407-409 Swanston St, Melbourne MOTHER’S MILK (WINDSOR) 9650 5486 17 Chapel St, Windsor ELECTRIC LADYLAND 9521 4119 Level 1, 265 Chapel St, Prahran NASH HOTEL 9521 5757 344 Victoria St, Richmond EMPRESS 9428 3418 714 Nicholson St, North Fitzroy NEVERMIND 9489 8605 336 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn ESCOBAR NEVERWHERE BAR 189 Lonsdale St, Melbourne 185 Smith St, Fitzroy 0422 560 890 0407 845 278 NEW GUERNICA ESPLANADE HOTEL Level 2, Hub Arcade, 318 Little 11 The Esplanade, St Kilda Collins St, Melbourne 9534 0211 9650 4464 EUROTRASH THE NIGHT CAT 18 Corrs Lane, Melbourne 141 JohnSt,on St, Fitzroy 9564 4411 9417 0900 EVE BAR/LOUNGE THE NIGHT OWL 334 City Rd, Southbank Basement, 33 Elizabeth St, 9696 7388 Melbourne 9614 2777 E-55 NORTHCOTE SOCIAL CLUB 55 Elizabeth St, Melbourne 301 High St, Northcote 9620 3899 9489 3917

ONESIXONE 161 High St, Prahran 9533 8433 THE ORDER OF MELBOURNE Level 2, 401 Swanston St, Melbourne 9663 6707 PALACE THEATRE 20 Bourke St, Melbourne 9663 4288 PLATFORM ONE Vault 7/8 Banana Alley, Melbourne 9620 7080 THE POST OFFICE HOTEL 90 Swan St, Richmond 9428 6674 PRINCE OF WALES 29 Fitzroy St, St Kilda 9536 1166 PUBLIC BAR 238 Victoria St, North Melbourne 9329 6522 THE PURPLE EMERALD 191 Flinders Lane, Melbourne 9650 7753 Q BAR 257 Toorak Rd, South Yarra 9804 7800 RANDY DRAGON Basement, 313a Flinders Lane, Melbourne 9629 9141 RED HUMMINGBIRD 246 Russell St, Melbourne 9654 2192 RED BENNIES Level 1, 371-373 Chapel St, South Yarra RED LOVE MUSICROOM Level 1, 401 Swanston St, Melbourne 9639 3722 RED VIOLIN 1/231 Bourke St, Melbourne 0411 423 245 REVOLVER 229 Chapel St, Prahran 9521 5985 ROBARTA 109 Fitzroy St, St Kilda 9534 9041 ROBOT 12 Bligh Pl, Melbourne 9620 3646 ROOFTOP BAR Level 7, Curtin House, 252 Swanston St, Melbourne 9663 3596 ROOM 680 Level 1, 680 Glenferrie Rd, Hawthorn 9818 0680 ROXANNE PARLOUR 2/3 Coverlid Pl, Melbourne 9663 1018 RUBY’S LOUNGE 1648 Burwood Highway, Belgrave 9754 7445 SAGI BAR 57 High St, Northcote 9489 9983 THE SAINT 54 Fitzroy St, St Kilda 9593 8333 SECTION 8 27-29 Tattersalls Lane, Melbourne 0422 972 656 SEVEN 52 Albert Rd, South Melbourne 9690 7877 SOFTBELLY BAR 367 Little Bourke St, Melbourne 0410 329 129 SORRY GRANDMA! 590 Little Bourke St, Melbourne 9670 7493 STAR BAR 160 Clarendon St, South Melbourne 9810 9954 SYN BAR Level 1, 163 Russell St, Melbourne 9663 8990 TERMINUS HOTEL 605 Victoria St, Abbotsford 9427 0615 TOFF IN TOWN Level 2, Curtin House, 252 Swanston St, Melbourne 9639 8770 TRAMP 14 King St, Melbourne TRANSIT Federation Square, Princes Bridge (corner Northbank), Melbourne 9654 8808 TRANSPORT PUBLIC BAR Federation Square, corner Flinders St and Swanston St, Melbourne 9654 8808 TRYST 3 Wilson St, South Yarra 9827 5533 TYRANNY OF DISTANCE 147 Union St, Windsor 9525 1005 VELOUR 121 Flinders lane, Melbourne 9663 5589 VIOLET TEARS 192 Barkly St, St Kilda 9534 4445 WAH WAH LOUNGE 185 Lonsdale St, Melbourne 9654 5793 WHITE BAR 129 Fitzroy St, St Kilda 9593 9077 WINDSOR CASTLE 89 Albert St, Windsor 9525 0239 WORKSHOP Level 1, 413 Elizabeth St, Melbourne 9326 4365 YAK 150 Flinders Lane, Melbourne 9654 6699

THE ARSE END HEADS UP THE OG FERG FERGIE

LCD Soundsystem

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LCD Soun ounddsyst systeem m cross over big time in Australia as thee wonky American clubbers debut their This Is Happening album at 11 here – thrashing Craig David who made a PR visit too see his covers album lb enter at 444.

We love Sarah Ferguson for trying Ferguso to make $$$ out of her inbre inbred ex. The royal family fam have been lee leeching off tthe he Briti British public for centurie centuries and just ttried ried to gget payback – in one hit!

D-Bridge Alison Goldfrapp

DEATH METAL AEROBICS As we expect expected ted all along, the new vid for Goldfrapp’s Alive reveals singer Alison to be a queen of vampires who lures unsuspecting death metalheads to their deaths via shapely pole dancer goths and de types… JJust another day in Goldfrappland.

ARSE LICKS

Zebra Venue Guide

Facebook

OFF YA FAC ACEB EBO OO OK

So how many of us really will quit Faceb ook on 31 May? The irony is, Facebookk still have all your perso nal details even after you quit…

MAMMA MIA!

Pie) Klein’s failed So last week the hottest viral clip was Chris (American key. This week Mamma Mia audition as he sang an Abba oldie way off tic. authen was it know we now Well, pulled. it’s been

SUMMERFESTIVALGUIDE.COM.AU UM MMER MMERFESTIVAL RFEST FESTIVAL VALLGUIDE.COM.AU GUIDE COM AU

Censored Chris Klein

RS WHAT’S MINE IS NOT OUcough ing about The mining millionaires are still whining things mined. all tting boyco we’re it up taxes… That’s Umm, except maybe…

RNB SUPERCLUB VOL 10 CDS

RNB Superclu Superclub Vol 10 is a double CD compilation packed with the hottest and latest tracks by many of th the world’s leading international stars, with a unique salute to Australia’s finest artists as well. Thanks to Sony Music we have five copies up for grabs! Please email giveaways@ giveaways@inpress.com.au with Subject Line: RNB SUPERCLUB, and include name, address and daytime telephone number in the body of your email.

BUDDHA BAR XII CDS BUD

Thanks to On One World Music we have two copies to give away of Buddha Bar XII mixed by 12th CD in the series takes it back to where it all started: Paris! Please email Ravin. The 12 giveaways@inpress.com.au with Subject Line: BUDDHA BAR, and include name, address giveaways@ and daytime telephone number in the body of your email.

Zebra Magazine 19

POLICE ACADEMY CADET COMES TO THE GOLD COAST Anyone of a certain age (probably the majority of Inpress readers) will be familiar with the Police Academy movies. Seven films were made between 1984 and 1994, and while there are talks of a revival (what has Steve Guttenberg done since?) it may not happen for a while. Now, we have the chance to get up close and personal with Michael Winslow, who played Cadet Larvell Jones in the series, and is most famous for the sound effects he makes with his voice. A stand-up comedian as well as screen star, Winslow will perform at the Comics Lounge Wednesday 30 June. Tickets through thecomicslounge.com.au.

THIS WEEK IN WEDNESDAY 26

ARTS 7 UP

In The Pub: I Write What I Want, When I Want - journey into the world of freelance journalism with panelists Chris Flynn, Claire Halliday, Ben Pobjie, and host Joanne Brookfield. The Workers Club. Showcase - exhibition of work by Melbourne based painter/sculptor/ installation artist Tim Craker. Jackman Gallery until 13 June. Wakaid Girl Lyndhurst Kid - opening night performance of Diat Alferink and Maude Davey’s Wakaid Girl Lyndhurst Kid, the story of family, love of country and growing up in a black and white world. Playing as part of Reconciliation Week. La Mama until 30 May. Write What You Know: Opinion panelists discuss how they got into their field, offers tips, tell stories. Tonight features Ben Eltham, Marcus Westbury, Sophie Black, and host Melissa Cranenburgh. The Wheeler Centre.

THURSDAY 27 Lunchbox/Soapbox: Chris Flynn lunchtime discussion on the topic of heroic dogs in literature and film. The Wheeler Centre (12:45pm). Wordstock - a tribute to the immortal songs of AC/DC through new songs, poems, stand-up, and performance, from the likes of Emilie Zoey Baker, Kate Boston-Smith, Susan Carland, The V Dentatas, Luke Devine, Ash Flanders, Karen Pickering, Ben Pobje, Sean M. Whelan, and host Clem Bastow. BMW Edge. Write What You Know: Food Writing - panelists discuss how they got into their field, offers tips, tell stories. Tonight features Ed Charles, Charmaine O’Brien, and Dani Valent. The Wheeler Centre.

FRIDAY 28 The Threepenny Orchestra director Michael Kantor tackles Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill’s cabaret masterpiece The Threepenny Orchestra for Malthouse with a stellar cast headed by Paul Capsis and Casey Bennetto. Malthouse Theatre. Opening night, runs until 19 June.

SATURDAY 29 Deep In Vogue - double feature including Paris Is Burning (which

looks at the community of men who invented the dance style vogueing) and In Bed With Madonna, the documentary of the popstar’s 1990 Blond Ambition tour. Part of the Reeldance festival. ACMI.

Emerging Writers’ Festival: Town Hall Program - two full-days of panels, interviews, and conversations from leading thinkers and writers covering all styles of writing from poetry to copywriting. Melbourne Town Hall (9am to 5:30pm). Until 30 May. Life Is A Miracle - feature debut from Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica from 1981 telling the story of a man affected by the outbreak of war. World Movies Channel (Foxtel) as part of their 25 Filmmakers You Must See Before You Die series.

SUNDAY 30 2 Sides Of The Coin: Style vs Substance - writers debate the topic of style and substance. Hosted by Benjamin Law and featuring Kirsten Law, Patrick O’Neil, Craig Schuftan, and Lorelei Vashti. Melbourne Town Hall. Half A Person: My Life As Told By The Smiths - final performance of this story of a young man obsessed with black coffee and The Smiths. Chapel Off Chapel. Next Wave - final day of this year’s festival, with over 15 elements of it, such as Daschund U.N., Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Film That Will End In Death, and The Lost Living, finishing up today. Various locations, see nextwave.org.au. Atrocity.

MONDAY 31 La Mama Poetica - poetry of respect, reconciliation, rhythm, and rap, featuring Richard Frankland, Tony Birch, Jen Jewel Brown, and Luka Haralampou. La Mama.

TUESDAY 1 15 Minutes Of Fame - an evening of Indigenous stand-up comedy, from Aidan Pyne, Toby Sullivan, Albert Pasquale, and Blake Boles. La Mama. Catherine Deveny: In Conversation - for the first of four In Conversation events Cinema Nova aren’t holding back with who they choose, controversial ex-Age columnist Catherine Deveny. Cinema Nova.

GIVEAWAYS! When his best mate is killed by a local gang, almost immediately following the death of his wife, Harry Brown seeks vengence. Billed as the British response to Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino, Harry Brown stars Michael Caine (who else?) at his best. Thanks to Icon Film Distribution we’ve got a double in-season pass to the film with a copy of Plan B’s Strickland Banks album to giveaway (Plan B - AKA Ben Drew - stars in the film). For your chance to win, email giveaways@inpress.com.au with ‘HARRY BROWN’ in the subject line.

The Ronnie Johns Half Hour (starring Felicity War, Heath ‘Chopper’ Franklin, James Pender, and Axis Of Awesome’s Jordan Raskopoulos) is one of the mostloved and funniest TV series out of Australia in the past decade, and much to fans’ delight, the squad have decided to take the show on the road. Thanks to Laughing Stock we’ve got five double passes to their Forum show this Saturday 29 May. For your chance to win email giveaways@inpress.com.au with ‘RONNIE JOHNS’ in the subject line.

MOVING PICTURES: FILMS INFORMED BY FINE WORKS OF ART By John Eagle 1. Nightwatching (2007) - Rembrandt van Rijn’s The Nightwatch 2. Girl With A Pearl Earring (2003) Johannes Vermeer’s painting of the same name. 3. Red Dragon (2004) - William Blake’s The Great Red Dragon And The Woman Clothed With The Sun 4. Days Of Heaven (1978) - Andrew Wyeth’s Christina’s World 5. The Gospel According To St. Matthew (1964) - the oeuvre of Peter Breugel. 6. The Insider (1999) - Grant Wood’s The Midnight Ride Of Paul Revere 7. Heat (1995) - Alex Colville’s Pacific

CRINGE

WITH REBECCA COOK It’s the stuff of many an artist’s fantasies – finding success and then being able to give your detractors the finger. It’s JK Rowling sending all the publishers who knocked her back a little photocopy of her backside after Harry Potter went beyond the Milky Way. OK, it’s not exactly the same, but it must have felt good for VCA producer Anna Kojevnikov to fire off a missive to the University Of Melbourne after her short film Deeper Than Yesterday won two awards at Cannes late last week. The film, made in Russian and shot in an old submarine out in the Melbourne bay, took out the Kodak Discovery Award and the Petit Rail d’Or (judged by French railway workers). A second VCA film, Muscles by Edward Housden, also did well being nominated for the most prestigious short flick prize in the world. Ariel Kleiman, who directed Deeper Than Yesterday, was also director of photography on Muscles so no doubt he had double the reason to celebrate. According to The Sunday Age Kojevnikov was upset that the University Of Melbourne had gloated about the success of the two films on its website, despite refusing to assist the students with travel to the mega celluloid festival. It’s a response indicative of the ongoing tension between the uni and the VCA especially with the completion last week of the review on the future of the VCA or VCAM (and Music – that’s the M) as it is currently known, but don’t go forging the letterhead just yet as it may be changing. The name of the institution is one of the recommendations from the five-month review,

chaired by former Telstra CEO Ziggy Switkowski, brought about after the merger of the school with Melbourne Uni’s music faculty. Given Switkowski’s background it’s surprising that offshoring the VCA to Bangalore wasn’t in the mix. Other recommendations included: re-evaluating the opportunities for Music Theatre and Puppetry; the continued rollout of the Melbourne Model for the Conservatorium but the postponement of the introduction of the Model for the VCA pending further consultation with the professions involved. The review also noted that VCAM operates under a budget deficit of more than $6million a year, which is being funded by the uni until next year. It states that there are good arguments for further funding from the Commonwealth and state governments in (here it comes) in parallel with “productivity improvements”. While the Uni has yet to respond to the review, VCA students and alumni continue their fight against changes put in place since the merger. Last week’s graduation ceremony provided an excellent platform for them to voice their concerns and that’s what Greg Erdstein did according to the Save VCA website. Erdstein interrupted the ceremony by showing the audience his Save VCA T-shirt, which was met with a standing ovation and lengthy applause. Vice Chancellor Glyn Davis was not so keen on accepting the T-shirt as a gift however. “I was offended the Chancellor refused to accept my gift,” Greg sais. “I just wanted to give him a T-shirt he could wear to bed; something that would help him sleep at night. He pushed me away!”

LIFE DRAWING SHAKEN, NOT STIRRED For an art class with a difference Life Drawing at the Old Bar (Fitzroy) offers the chance to practice your drawing skills outside of the artist’s studio and in an arena you’re all familiar with: a bar. As you might have guessed from the location, it’s a more casual approach to the art class, so if you’ve ever had an interest in life drawing this is a pretty good place to start. More info can be found by doing a Facebook search for ‘Life Drawing at the Old Bar’. Next session is Tuesday 8 June.

EL SUAVO PRESENTS BEAT-TASTIC NIGHT Tonight, folks, for something completely different – unless you’re a jazzhead bohem in which case this is right up your alley – Dr El Suavo, in conjunction with punk publishing house Paroxysm Press, presents An Evening Of Counter Culture With Words at the Lyrebird Lounge. El Suavo will be screening unearthed footage of the likes of Burroughs, Bukowski, and Kerouac, and spinning beat generation tunes to complete the vibe. In-between all this will be readings by writers who’ve had their words printed by Paroxysm Press.

HAIL TO THE KING SHAKESPEARE’S KING LEAR IS ALL ABOUT FAMILY, AND PARTICULARLY WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A PARENT DOESN’T TREAT THEIR CHILDREN EQUALLY. LIZ GIUFFRE SPEAKS TO YALIN OZUCELIK, STARRING IN BELL SHAKESPEARE’S CURRENT PRODUCTION.

“J

ohn Bell is really fantastic, and there’s a wonderful ease in which he speaks the text,” begins thespian Yalin Ozucelik. “It’s just so clear; it trips off the tongue and it’s very inspiring. It’s great to be able to watch him.” Ozucelik is a new performer for Bell Shakespeare, poised to inhabit the role of Oswald in the Bard’s play. When your boss is playing the lead in your play, as John Bell is playing the eponymous King in King Lear, you might think you have to say nice things about him, but Ozucelik’s praise is part of the genuine love the whole company has for the production. In a staged rehearsal for the press the actors appear effortless and happy, replaying scenes for the monkeys in the media and saying ‘g’day’ in between set ups. No big egos or actor carry on, just real love. Performing alongside Ozucelik and Bell (this is Bell’s third time in King Lear, by the way) is Leah Purcell, Jane Montgomery Griffiths, Susan Prior, and Peter Carroll, with director Marion Potts the icing on the Shakespeare cake (amongst other things, she brought to life Brendon Cowell’s Hamlet and last year’s all female production of Taming Of The Shrew). “It’s also such a great experience

C U LT U R A L

to be working with a cast who have a combined years of experience of 400-odd years; there’s quite a lot of wonderfully experienced people in this cast, who’ve been working in this industry for a long time,” Ozucelik says, laughing. “It’s great to be a part of it and such a privilege to be a part of this particular play for Bell Shakespeare. It’s my first for Bell Shakespeare but this is also the 20th anniversary of Bell this year and this is their main production in honour of that.” Like in many of Shakespeare’s plays it’s often the seemingly small characters that provide the glue for the big names and parts. Think where Macbeth would be without his witches, or Romeo and Juliet with the nurse who kept their secret. For King Lear Ozucelik plays Oswald, a character who may appear on the fringe but who appears at some pretty important plot points. “Oswald is Goneril’s steward, Goneril is King Lear’s oldest daughter, and basically he runs the domestic affairs of her house, but in the play he’s very much a confident or high ranking servant, and very much someone she trusts. He sends messages between her and her sister or her and Edmund [the illegitimate son of the Earl of Gloucester who courts both of Lear’s daughters], and he’s a really

interesting character actually,” explains Ozucelik. “There’s an economy to how Oswald’s written in the play but I’m really enjoying playing him.” Economy in a play can often mean that an actor simply doesn’t get to bash out many juicy lines, but in the case of Shakespeare, and King Lear’s Oswald, it seems that there’s plenty for Ozucelik to get his teeth into. “I guess coming to any Shakespeare play, it’s been done many, many times before, and often people who come to see it have seen many, many different versions, so you want to find something new or fresh or different,” he says. “In whatever characterisation you chose I think it’s

important to honour the playwright’s intentions, while also seeing if it’s not possible to make the audience go ‘oh right, I never considered it in that way before’. I was chatting to another actor who has played Oswald before a few months ago and he was telling me that there would be no King Lear without Oswald, because the messages he sends are really important for the plot, so if it wasn’t for him nothing would happen…” WHAT: King Lear WHERE & WHEN: Playhouse, the Arts Centre this Thursday to Saturday 12 June

ance may have been part of cinema since its very inception, but now it’s in 3D. What’s more, the Brits have beaten Hollywood to the punch, pitting ballerinas against street dancers on the cobbled lanes of London. Well, not quite. Co-star George Sampson elucidates the finer points of street dance and the irony that the whole film revolves around finding a proper rehearsal space. “There was no street part to it!” he exclaims. “I mean, there was for me, I started in the street when I used to busk, and I was the only one doing it. “You can do it anywhere but it is important to get rehearsal down because everyone wants to be the best crew, [and] to be that you need a rehearsal space with mirrors and you all need to be in synch, make sure it’s looking the best it can, or flawless. And the best place to practice is a big rehearsal space similar to the one in the film.” Sampson would know, the 16-yearold has been dancing since he was six, busked for two years (“When I was a kid.”) and won Britain’s Got Talent at the tender age of 14. “My Mum worked a lot and so a lot of days she put us into singing camps and different performing arts camps,” he says, “and I got used to that being a natural hobby: singing, dancing, and acting. I think my dancing was always a bit further ahead of everything and people spotted me and said, ‘you were born to dance.’” After his reality show win, Sampson brought out a DVD, Get Up On The Dance Floor/Headz Up (“It was a biographical music album, it had about four or five songs on it and an interview and a day in the life.”) directed by Max Giwa and Dania Pasquini, who then created a character for him in StreetDance 3D. As Eddie, the cheeky coworker desperate to join Carly’s (Nichola Burley) crew, Sampson ends up sharing a few scenes with the trailblazing head of the ballet school, played by the divine Charlotte Rampling. “She was amazing,” he says. “She was just a nice person to get along with; she’s just one of them people, she knows she can act, she’s there to just do her thing and make new friends. She was a very inspiring person to work with.” Having such a consummate actor grounding the film, Sampson and his costars are freed up to do what they do best, dance. And Eddie even gets a solo in the film’s climactic event. “That was the best bit! Because that’s what I’m used to, a big strong audience. Going from just being a busker on the street with a big crowd, then going to live shows then Britain’s Got Talent was kind of my first camera event, but even then they had a live audience so I’d never not danced in front of a live crowd before. So that for me was the best bit because I knew that’s what I bounce off, that’s what makes me best.” On set, the film’s dancers made for an energetic shoot, “It flew by, absolutely flew by!” he says. “I guess it’s hard because you have to keep doing things over and over again, but I think with other dancers there, the adrenaline of the day, [and] they had a live crowd to help out, it was very good.”

GROOVE IS IN THE

HEART THE BUZZ OF 3D CINEMA IS IN FULL FORCE. THE LATEST FILM TO ADD THAT EXTRA DIMENSION IS STREETDANCE 3D, THE FIRST DEDICATED DANCE FILM TO DO SO. ALICE TYNAN TALKS TO ITS TEENAGE STAR, GEORGE SAMPSON.

GEORGE SAMPSON IN STREETDANCE 3D One of the most striking elements of street dance is its theatricality and iconography, with crews all kitted out in identical label clothing and dancing under specially designed logos. “It’s a showcase,” Sampson says. “If you’re going to do it, you’ve got to do it properly. Your clothing, you all have to match what you’re doing. If people came on in their everyday clothes and started dancing you’d just think, ‘well, do they even know each other?’ Whereas if five guys walk on and they’ve all got the same hats on, they’ve all got the same thing, you can tell they’ve rehearsed this and they’ve gone to extra lengths to make this real for everyone. So I think you get more street cred for what you wear.” Sampson now has his own crew, “Access 2 All Areas, there are four or five of us and I love it.” And he takes his training very seriously: “It’s deadly important. You always need to be improving; once people have seen you, they’ve seen every move you can do and the only way to show them something a bit better than you were last time is to do something new. And to do something new you’re going to have to train a hell of a lot.” He describes street dance is an amalgam, “You could easily fit about 30 styles around street dance. I guess I’ve got seven or eight mastered, and I do more, but I’ve got seven or eight locked down.

“I’m proficient in street dance as a typical routine: quick, get in there, get your message across kind of dance form. Then break dance, which is all your head spinning, your flips, the gymnastics, which is obviously more flips, popping, locking, which is kind of waving, but there are so many!” Indeed StreetDance 3D pivots around this eclectic mix of styles compared with the more straight laced classical ballerinas. “There’s a competitive little thing to it because ballet dancers think their dance should be the more stereotypical kind of dance to learn, and street dancers are very [motivated by] street cred and are very rebellious to that. But people will see that they can do it together.” As a rising star on the UK dance scene, Sampson is abundently enthusiastic about being part of the first ever 3D dance film. “I think it’s going to add life,” he concludes. “You can watch a film and you know it’s a film [but] I think dance is such an interactive kind of sport, where people want to see it live, they want to see a backflip in their face and I think the best way to get that across is obviously in 3D. I think it can only add to the tension of the dance.” WHAT: StreetDance 3D WHERE & WHEN: Screening in cinemas from 27 May

D I G I TA L

POTATO

WITH MICHAEL DANIELS Are we that dissatisfied with the world that post-apocalyptic stories are a constant favourite? Well, yes, actually… and this Friday, out thru Icon, The Road is one of the better choices on offer. Based on the book by Cormac McCarthy (No Country For Old Men), the film stars Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee as a father and son making their way across a scorched land that was once America; the pair have no idea what lays before them. As if coping with the harsh and unforgiving environment wasn’t enough, it seems as if the only other survivors are cannibalistic hoards hell bent on blood. Also starring veteran actor Robert Duvall and Charlize Theron – as for their cannibal status, you’ll have to wait and see. It’s kinda Omega Man, Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, and A Boy And His Dog cranked up a notch. Also available on Blu-ray, DVD extras include a number of documentaries and a gallery. There was such hopes pinned on the success of Daybreakers (Sony), with True Blood and the Twilight saga making vampires very much the flavour of the moment – but

unfortunately, these fangs didn’t have very much bite in its local cinematic release (although it struck a vein in the US). Available on DVD and Blu-ray on 16 June, maybe Daybreakers will be a late starter for hitting it big. Directed by Queensland’s Spierig brothers, the film is set in 2019 after the world has been infected by a virus that’s turned the majority of the population into vampires. With the blood supply dwindling, those who haven’t been infected are in a battling extinction. Stars Ethan Hawke and, the always scary, Willem Dafoe (fresh from his c’n’b torture in Antichrist) with antipodean actors Claudia Karvan, Vince Colosimo, and Sam Neill also in the cast. Roald Dahl was nothing short of a genius when it came to creating stories for children (e.g. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, James And The Giant Peach, The Witches), many of which have successfully been made into movies. Dahl’s stories also have as much appeal to the adults that were reading them to the kids and this is why his fantastical fables have survived where many others have not. The most recent and one of the most impressive workings is the stop-animation brilliance of The

Fantastic Mr Fox (coincidentally released through Fox). Telling the tale of the single most cunning fox on the face of the earth, voiced with a spot on smooth and sassy George Clooney, Mr Fox must put all his experience into use when the farmers band together to finally put an end to his reign of hijinks. Also lending their voices are Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman (Rushmore, Bored To Death), Bill Murray, and Owen Wilson. [Useless trivia: Roald Dahl wrote the screenplay for the James Bond film You Only Live Twice, based on the Ian Fleming novel.] Other releases worth keeping an eye out for include the third season of excellent series Mad Men (Sony) – stepping up a notch as political issues seep into their 1963 hallowed world of smoke haze, available 2 June. Season six of crime series NCIS (Paramount) starring Mark Harmon and veteran Man From UNCLE (soon to be remade) star David McCallum – available 3 June. And the almost indecipherable nonsense that is Aqua Teen Hunger Force (Madman/adult swim) has its seventh volume also available 16 June.

ANIMATION FEST GEARS UP The Melbourne International Animation Festival is fast approaching, taking over ACMI Cinemas Saturday 19 June to Sunday 27, showcasing the finest animation for Australia and around the world. Featuring a plethora of strands, such as the Autour de Minuit Showcase, featuring the Academy Award winning Logorama, international programmes, local programmes, Late Night Bizarre’, and the 10 Years Of MIAF sub-strands of 10 Years Of Bizarre, 10 Years Of International, 10 Years Of Australian, and 10 Years Of Student Films. For the full list of films and programmes head to miaf.net.

RED STITCH PREMIER CATALAN PLAY Catalonian writer Jordi Galcerán Ferrer’s The Grönholm Method will make its Australian debut at Red Stitch Actors Theatre Wednesday 9 June – also marking its English language debut. It poses the questions: How far would you go to get what you want; how much humiliation could you stand and to what lengths

would you go to destroy the competition? Under the direction of multiple AFI Award winner Nadia Tass (The Big Steal, Malcolm), the play will feature David Whitely, Karen Sibbing, Shane Nagle, and Jay Bowen. Tickets and further info at redstich.net.

PLAY GOES FOR THE HIGH 5 Do we expect too much from others instead of ourselves? This is the question poised by A Is For Atlas in Heracles High 5, which takes Heiner Müller’s play fragment Heracles 5 and disrupts the Greek myth of Heracles in cabaret fashion. Can you separate the myth from reality of heroes? Head to Meat Market Wednesday 23 June to Saturday 26 for the answers. More info and tickets through artshouse.com.au.

CALL OUT FOR ENTRANTS Registrations are now open for artists to be considered for the 2010 Melbourne Fringe, which will take over the city from 22 September to 10 October. Entrants will be considered on their boldness, curiousness, risk, and ambition. Entries close Friday 4 June – register through melbournefringe.com.au. The Fringe is also holding a producers forum at the Evelyn Hotel Monday 7 June, so if you want to know more about the Fringe this is a good chance.

THE TWO KINGS GUY DAVIS TALKS TO NICK GIANNOPOULOS ABOUT REVISITING THE WOG BOY IN THE KINGS OF MYKONOS, IN CINEMAS NOW.

e’s quite the multi-tasker, that Nick Giannopoulos. In a career that has spanned more than two decades, he has written, produced, directed and starred in a variety of popular films, TV shows and stage productions. And his latest project, The Kings Of Mykonos, the sequel to his successful 2000 movie The Wog Boy, sees him doing triple duty as co-producer, co-screenwriter, and leading man. Quite frankly, though, he’d appreciate it if someone else would do some of the heavy lifting for a change. “If someone would give me a job, that’d be great,” he says with a laugh. “I’ve been joking that I was the only wog who wasn’t cast in Underbelly!” Actually, in all honesty, the creator of Wogs Out of Work, Acropolis Now, and The Wog Boy comes across as someone willing, able, and more than happy to oversee almost every aspect of his productions, speaking knowledgably and decisively about both the creative and commercial aspects of his line of work. “I think people assume I’m always doing my own stuff, which is why I don’t get calls for other jobs,” he says. “That, or I’m a shit actor – it’s one of the two.” In the 10 years since the release of The Wog Boy, which took more than $10 million at the Australian box office, Giannopoulos hasn’t exactly been sitting idle. He co-wrote, co-produced and directed The Wannabes, a big-screen comedy that didn’t quite capture the public’s attention the way The Wog Boy did, as well as working on a number of television projects. But much of that time was spent working on The Kings Of Mykonos, which takes Wog Boy mates Steve (Giannopoulos) and Frank (Vince

Colosimo) to the beautiful Greek island of the title, where they find romance and intrigue while dealing with a major clash of cultures. “I’ve been working on this for six years,” says Giannopoulos. “It’s very intensive, writing a script. It’s a very lonely process, it takes a lot of drafts, and then getting the financing and getting the cast together takes a lot of time as well. “So I’ve actually been hard at work on this film since I finished the last film. But it’s the way I’ve chosen to work – I really enjoy doing my own work, I love doing comedy, and I love doing Australian comedy.” And while the movie has “seven minutes in Yarraville, 90 minutes in Mykonos”, Giannopoulos stresses that The Kings Of Mykonos is a comedy with an all-Australian feel. “This is a much more international type of film with a much more international storyline than the first one but at the same time it remains uniquely Australian. It’s based on this phenomenon of people my age – first, second, and third generation Australians – [that] go to their parents’ country of birth for the first time. Having been through that myself, as Vince has, I just knew what a terrific topic it was for a comedy, that culture clash.” WHAT: The Kings Of Mykonos WHERE & WHEN: Screening in cinemas now

SHOT SNAP-

NET II, 2010 (ACRYLIC ON CANVAS) TIM CRAKER Displaying as part of Tim Craker’s Showcase exhibition at Jackman Gallery. St Kilda until 13 June.

BOOK

HANGING WITH THE JOHNS

REVIEW

MR CLEANSHEETS

THE RONNIE JOHNS HALF HOUR WAS ONE OF THOSE TV SHOWS THAT ENDED TOO SOON. THANKFULLY IT’S NOW COMING TO A STAGE NEAR YOU. LIZ GIUFFRE TALKS TO JAMES ‘JESUS’ PENDER.

Adrian Deans A book like Mr Cleansheets can only work once every four years. That is, when the FIFA World Cup is imminent, and football, or soccer in the Australian vocabulary, is at the forefront of everyone’s minds. Obviously a football tragic, Deans has justified a novel based on an English non-league club’s assault on the sought after FA Cup by spicing it up with turf wars, international terrorism, and neo-nazis. The book creates no illusions that it’s telling an unrealistic tale. The narrator Eric Judd, a goalkeeper known affectionately by the nickname Mr Cheansheets, is a 40-year-old Sydney-sider who heads to England in search of the big time, inevitably and inadvertently finding himself mixed up a terrorism plot and in the company of a small club of highly talented but unmotivated individuals. It’s a standard narrative structure the whole way through, and you can tell fairly accurately exactly when a lull’s going to pick up and excitement’s on the next page. But it benefits from such a formula, because it’s not portraying an important message, Cleansheets is just a feel good tale looking to enjoy its own infectious nature. Perhaps the best signifier of Deans’ skill in creating the on field atmosphere is

s one of the players in the Ronnie Johns comedy spectacular, James Pender has become a bit of a legend. His time with Johns was spent impersonating Jesus (as you do), but since the show he’s been off in Paris to be a lawyer (again, as you do). What brought him back was the bright lights of the Australian stage and the promise of more funny business. “I went overseas for four years working as a lawyer, but about a year ago our producer said let’s get it all back together, which suited me really well,” he says. “I’d had just enough time in that world to realise that stuff wasn’t for me.” Along with Pender, the Ronnie Johns show was also the first home of Health Franklin’s Chopper, a nursery for the Axis Of Awesome (Jordan Raskopoulos), and starter for rising stand up Felicity Ward (who played the curious and slightly unhinged little girl, Poppy). “We’re getting the band back together, and it wasn’t too hard to convince us,” Pender explains. While it might be a gear change from an office job and steady income, it’s one he’s looking forward to.

that you’re usually looking for the crime fighting to subside and for more football to come to the fore. Climaxing just the way you’d expect – in a blaze of glory and with three storylines coming together – it’ll be difficult to anyone without a football penchant. But in this climate, thoroughly enjoyable. WHEN: Available now through Vulgar Press SCOTT FITZSIMONS

“I was talking to Health Franklin and he was saying he was working with a Canadian comedian about going into a show and asked ‘should I wear my suit’?, which was funny because, well, as a comedian we’ve mostly only got the one. So I guess it’s not a normal thing to go from a proper job to comedy, but then again there’s lots of lawyers who’ve gone into comedy, maybe just about of boredom!” Getting the Ronnie Johns stage show happening was a nice chance for the cast to regroup, relive some old moments and characters as well as develop some new material. “I think we’ll have a lot of the old characters in new situations,” Pender explains. “So Felicity’s Poppy will have a bit about footballer’s behaviour, while Jordon [Raskopoulos] will be back as the gnocchi guy, you know, ‘it’s potatoes not pastas’, he’ll be singing about that, Jesus is in a new scenario and Chopper’s got some new stuff. So it’s the characters that people really liked to see but not doing the stuff that they hated watching on TV. “There’ll also be some new characters, some that we had in the TV that were on the bench, they just

didn’t quite make it to the screen but they have stuff that we all loved. It’s probably a bit naughtier, if that’s possible, but that stuff’s now making it onto the stage, and it’s a good opportunity to get that stuff out there.” In putting the show together Pender and the group had a writing workshop (“well, it was really a holiday at the beach to come up with some new ideas”), but he’s confident with what they’ve got

to show existing and soon-to-be Ronnie Johns fans. “A lot of the show is new but then there’s a couple of the sketches that worked really well in the show will get a go, so there is the odd old favourite in there as well.” WHAT: The Ronnie Johns Half Hour Live On Stage WHERE & WHEN: The Forum this Saturday

GAME

THE REAL THING

REVIEW understood once you’ve played it. Does it sound weird to feel a kinship with a fictional horse? Does it feel kinda creepy to shape a character to your personality to the point where you yourself become the protagonist? If it does, then you simply haven’t yet played RDR.

MATTEO GARRONE’S GOMORRAH WASN’T THE ONLY ITALIAN MAFIA FILM OF LAST YEAR THAT DEALT A HEAVY PUNCH OF REALISM. THERE WAS ALSO THE SICILIAN GIRL, WHICH SCREENED LOCALLY AT THE ITALIAN FILM FESTIVAL. OUT ON DVD THIS WEEK, ALICE TYNAN TALKS TO ITS DIRECTOR, MARCO AMENTA.

icilian-born director Marco Amenta is giving the mafia a new face in The Sicilian Girl. Based on the true story of Rita Atria, a 17-year-old girl who spoke out against the mafia after they killed her father and brother, Amenta has actually created a feature film adaptation of his own 1997 documentary, One Girl Against The Mafia: Diary Of A Sicilian Girl (Diario di una siciliana ribelle). “The documentary had a lot of success around the world, it got a lot of prizes,” Amenta says. “Because of this, I knew that the story was so powerful, and a feature film could reach more people… and I needed something more than documentary because I wanted to express the psychological journey of this girl. “For me it was important to have this other [avenue] of expression; [a] feature film can allow you to tell the story with the images, with silence, with the faces of the characters.” For Australian audiences The Sicilian Girl may well seem reminiscent of the gritty portrayal of the Neapolitan mafia in Matteo Garrone’s Gomorrah. In fact the two films were produced around the same time. “It means that probably there is a consciousness in [Italian] cinema to go towards realism, because we have seen so much fake[ness]. I mean,

FILM

there were great films like Godfather, and all the American films, with great cinematography and great actors, but [they are] a little bit fake because it’s too romanticised. [The mafia] became like heroes. “I grew up in Sicily and I was a photographer, so I know these people. [Garrone and I took] almost a journalistic approach, and we tried to portray real people and not copy the stereotype of the mafia world. Because a lot of films now take from [other] films, and copy from the archetype of the image that movies have created. So if you portray the mafia boss you have to look at Al Pacino.” Amenta’s commitment to realism has seen him sued by members of the Sicilian Mafia. After his 2006 documentary about Cosa Nostra boss Bernardo Provenzano, The Ghost Of Corleone (Il fantasma di Corleone), Amenta was taken to court. “They sued me because now the Sicilian mafia is more clever. They prefer not to threaten or to kill a journalist or director because they understand [it] is better for them to stay silent. The Camorra [the Neapolitan mafia that threatened Gomorrah writer Roberto Saviano], that mafia is more aggressive, more primitive, let’s say. The Sicilian mafia is more organised, [and] more wise because they saw as soon as they threaten or they kill, the public

RED DEAD REDEMPTION

opinion is against them and the journalist has something to write about the mafia.” This uneasy truce is at the heart of Amenta’s ‘love/hate’ relationship with his home country and the reason he sees Rita Atria’s remarkable story as “metaphoric of a possible change”. “The hero is not a big mafia boss, actually the bosses are seen for what they are really; cowards, not big,

courageous and charming men. The only courageous [person] is this little girl, who has the courage to fight against them. [Rita] changes values completely from starting [out as] the mafia girl, she [becomes] a normal girl who believes in justice.” WHAT: The Sicilian Girl WHERE & WHEN: Out now on DVD

THE WRITE

REVIEW

PS3/Xbox 360 Few video games make you wish you lived in the world they’ve created. Like, very few. Like, couldn’t name a single one before last weekend few. However, that’s all changed. Coming out of an all-night Read Dead Redemption bender on Sunday morning the real world suddenly seemed empty and lifeless. Boring. Such is the nature of Rockstar Games’ latest beast. What we have in Red Dead Redemption is a video game so well constructed, so loving crafted, so stunning to look at and enjoyable/addictive to explore that you cannot deny calling it one of the defining cultural texts of this generation. This is a video game that has immediately become the benchmark; like Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto III before it soon you won’t be able to remember the days before Read Dead Redemption. Howewer, to describe RDR as a ‘game’ seems shallow. Never before has such a vast world been realised nor such an authentic period of time recreated. It’s more of an experience, a description that can only be

To the basics: The missions are more thought out than in GTA IV. They rely more on your own intelligence than skill with the button (although in the massive shootouts you’re going to need to be very flexible with your thumbs and fingers), and they are less repetitive. Want to steal a train? There’s a mission for that. Want to blow up carts with ye olde dynamite? There’s a mission for that. Want to save a woman from hanging? You guessed it. In fact, there’s a mission for pretty much anything you could possibly want to do in the Wild West, and if there’s not, it’s simply there in the game. Duel? Check. Texas Hold ’Em? Check. Drink yourself into a disgraceful state of drunken bliss? Check. Skin your own horse? Um. Check. How you interact with the world around you changes every time, whether you actively engage in it or not. This is, whilst hard to fathom, a living entity, which is what makes it so incredible to play and explore. The game is full of Rockstar’s usual humour (and the game is often unintentionally hilarious, like when you whistle for your horse and it gallops straight past you and over a cliff) and the cut-scenes are cinematic to say the least. RDR’s realism, over the cartoonish nature of GTA, makes for a richer experience – and you certainly choose your actions a lot more carefully. Morals were never questioned in GTA - here, every time. A must-buy. DANIEL CRICHTON-ROUSE

STUFF

AS PART OF THE EMERGING WRITERS’ FESTIVAL, IN THE PUB: I WRITE WHAT I WANT, WHEN I WANT WILL FIND A HOST OF WRITERS TALKING ABOUT THE WORLD OF FREELANCE JOURNALISM. IN ANTICIPATION, WE ASKED FRONT ROW WRITER TOBY WALKER TO FILL US IN ON HIS DAILY ROUTINE. THE LOSERS

THE LOSERS Don’t let the title fool you; The Losers wouldn’t have any trouble getting dates. This crack team of commandoes is the latest in what is becoming an interminably long list of comic-book adaptations, albeit it one that is sharp, snappy and mercifully short enough to sit though. Led by the gruffly affable Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Watchmen), The Losers consist of Idris Elba (AKA Stringer Bell from The Wire), Columbus Short, Óscar Jaenada, and comic adaptation addict Chris Evans. The team is a deadly mix of talents and temperaments, with Evans drawing the short straw for comic relief. After a botched job in Bolivia, the Losers are worse than persona non grata, they’re declared dead. In an effort to return Stateside and dish out vengeance on the mysterious Max (Jason Patric), the man behind their attempted murder, the crew reluctantly align with the alluring Aisha (Zoe Saldana). Action scene after loud, jump cut happy action scene ensue, in what is a Scooby Doo-like formula that all too presumptuously sets up a sequel. This is the type of film where shakycam and sexy, slo-mo sequences are

CITY ISLAND supposed to make up for a weak script where every plot point is signposted in neon. But, surprisingly, it works! Like a greasy fast food meal, The Losers is the perfect blend of sugary substance and managed expectations. Fun performances (excluding Patric’s bizarre attempt at a psychopath), a great soundtrack, and gratuitous shots of Saldana’s lithe body mean The Losers turns out to be a lot of fun indeed. WHEN: Screening in cinemas from 27 May ALICE TYNAN

CITY ISLAND City Island is a thoroughly enjoyable movie despite its soap opera-esque plot which relies on people hiding the truth. You sometimes feel like yelling, “Just tell them what you’re doing!”, but then there wouldn’t be a story. It’s a fairly broad comedy-drama, but the very watchable actors and big heart make you forgive its shortcomings. The audience at the Tribeca Film Festival was obviously not bothered, giving it the Audience Award. Vince Rizzo, played with authentic gusto

by Andy Garcia, lives in a quaint area of the Bronx – the eponymous City Island. He’s a corrections officer and takes acting lessons on the sly, because he’s ashamed to tell his straight talking wife (Julianna Margulies). When Vince and fellow actor Molly (the always compelling Emily Mortimer) do an acting exercise where they reveal their deepest secret, Vince admits he’s just met his secret illegitimate son (Steven Strait), who’s a prisoner about to be released. Vince takes him home – not revealing his identity but saying that he’s doing the guy a favour as he doesn’t have other family. You can see how Vince’s secrets will catch up with him, and when you add his daughter’s secretive pole dancing to pay for college and his son’s obsession with feeding obese women, the deceptions threaten to boil over with comic consequences. This is a small, independent American movie which we don’t often get to see, so take the opportunity to enjoy what they can do without the big budgets and test audiences. WHEN: Screening in cinemas from 27 May VICKI ENGLUND

I’ve stopped referring to myself as a freelance writer when people at parties ask me what I do. It’s just easier to say you’re unemployed, really. Sure, I could play up to some bullshit idea of the mysterious thinker in the corner for the benefit of unimaginative strangers, but the truth is they probably articulate themselves better than me, and they’re fucking food scientists and personal trainers. Easier just to explain how I got here: worked for daily newspapers for six years. Moved interstate. Went looking for a newspaper job in Melbourne. Oh sorry, that’s right, the internet just completely ripped the guts out of the print media’s traditional revenue model. “No new jobs going here mate, we’re lucky to still have ours.” Thank Christ I didn’t waste three years on a journalism degree. A small consolation there I suppose. So here I am, a keyboard mercenary wandering the world of words, apparently with something to say on any subject I can get my grubby little mind around. Morning motivation has always eluded me, even when waking up in a stranger’s bed. I like to start the day with an ego-boost by reading the puerile comments posted beneath so-called news articles by readers of News

Ltd websites. The feeling of mental superiority this routine gives me, matched with groggy chuckles courtesy of hotchickswithdouchbags. com, makes me feel sorry for people who work in offices that block social networking sites. I’ve decided to ban myself from using Facebook during the day because of its distracting qualities, but somehow I still manage to waste an hour reading Wiki links about William Bligh’s role in the Rum Rebellion or some shit like that. Outlook calendar pops up with that awful reminder alarm telling me I’ve got an 11am interview with the director of an arts festival. Have already scanned the program for the out-there stuff getting top billing, now to ponder some more abstract questions so we can get all esoteric about life, death and government grants. This is where this freelance racket gets good, at least when writing about the arts. A benefit of casting one’s net of faux expertise so widely is that it catches bits of fascinating information offered by genuinely fascinating people. You ask a politician a question with the aim of eliciting even one micron of truth and personality and you get

a lifeless cascade of words vomited on you for disrespecting the proper protocols of communication. You ask an artist about their motivation for, say, staging an interpretive dance piece about suicide under a bridge and the answer to that is (usually) just the beginning of a mentally stimulating and free-flowing conversation. Then it’s off home to transcribe the interview and write it up if time permits. In fact, time permits a lot of things when you’re a freelance writer so when there are no pressing deadlines then it’s advisable to fill in the time meaningfully. My writing-free afternoons or mornings might be spent volunteering for community radio, helping friends with their own creative projects, or simply just getting out of the house. Oh yeah, then there’s all the free shows for reviews too. Hell, people like me can’t afford to actually pay for the tickets so it makes sense really. WHAT: In The Pub: I Write What I Want, When I Want WHERE & WHEN: The Workers Club Wednesday 26 May

FULL TILT at the Arts Centre and ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF ANIMALS present

CLOSES THIS WEEKEND!

URCHIN WHAT IF THERE WAS A WAY TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM FEAR?

19 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 29 May, 7.30pm THE ARTS CENTRE, FAIRFAX STUDIO

TICKETS

$30 | $25 Preview 19 May â&#x20AC;&#x201C; all tickets $22

TO BOOK

theartscentre.com.au*, 1300 182 183*, the Arts Centre Box OfďŹ ce This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body.

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OUTTA CITY SOUNDS Unable to ignore the strength of our current crop of regional bands, BRYGET CHRISFIELD talks to two of the scene’s brightest stars – MICHAEL BELSAR (HOWL/NEON LOVE) and ZAK OLSEN (THE FROWNING CLOUDS/THE BONNIWELLS) to find out what’s in the water. Neon Love definitely got formed by a teacher who did a music program and she just asked if these two guys wanted to play a cover at assembly. And then after that those guys formed Neon Love and then they got me to join and, yeah. We owe a lot to our high school.”

The Frowning Clouds

It looks as if Ballarat High may have another success story on their hands if Belsar’s praise is anything to go by. “Dark Arts are really good; that’s Galen [Strachan] from Howl, our keyboard player, his brother [Gabriel]’s in it and I’ve been recording them and just helping them as they start out, but they’re gonna be really quite big. I think the best thing about them is that they’re a really great live band. I mean, they haven’t been around and playing for very long but they’re just sounding miles ahead of what we used to sound like when we were that age. And one of the kids in the band is in Year Nine, he’s like 14 or something!” All the members of Dark Arts attend Ballarat High. Another local band Belsar singles out as “starting to get all the supports that [his bands] used to get”, is Apollo.

ately it seems like every time your ears prick up when listening to the radio – enough to make you sit in your vehicle long after you’ve arrived at your destination to wait for the back announce – a hot new band from regional Victoria is unveiled. Not since the vibrant Geelong scene of the ‘80s and ‘90s spewed forth bands such as Bored!, Magic Dirt and Warped have we enjoyed such rich spoils from our rural cousins. And they’re getting noticed while average band member ages still necessitate fake IDs. This may be no accident considering the parents of these emerging groups would have had front row seats or even shared stages with aforementioned Geelong success stories while they were cutting their teeth. The Frowning Clouds – our coverstars on the issue of 14 April – are fresh out of high school, securing gigs up and down the East Coast and racking up lots of mileage in the tour van. Both of the group’s two alternating frontmen are the sons of band dads. “They’ve been pretty supportive about the whole thing,” one of said frontmen, Zack Olsen, explains of his parents’ reaction to his career choice. “My dad used to play in a band when he was younger. He doesn’t really like much of the stuff I like but he plays guitar.” Olsen’s bandmate, Nick vanBakel, was given his first guitar aged 13 by his father who “used to play in punk bands”. The Frowning Clouds play pretty much as close as you can get to authentic ‘60s garage and Olsen tells, “One of the reasons we started a band [was] just to make music that

we liked and then I guess it caught on and then people started making some [more] bands that weren’t punk or metal… Geelong has a reputation for having lots garage bands coming out of it for some reason. I know there’s a few at the moment.” The Living Eyes are another young Geelong band pursuing a similar sound, which Olsen is all for: “As long as there are people playing music that I like, I don’t have a problem with that – it’s better.”

What is Oscar’s doing to help the local music scene? Oscars is always free to get in, meaning patrons have access to a variety of music. We also favour local musicians for our venue and, because we are small and book solo or acoustic-type acts rather than full bands, we create a more intimate space for music performance. It’s a place where patrons can see a local songwriter or group just getting their sound together one night and a world-class professional performer the next without having to pay to get in. What’s been the most memorable moment at Oscar’s? When we opened we were not sure how much of a part live music would play in our business – we are primarily an alehouse serving the best available microbrew and imported beers – but because we are local to the area and

Queenscliff Music Festival’s Foot-In-The-Door program has provided many regional bands with a leg-up. Belsar recalls that even though his band didn’t win the competition in 2008 (it went to Torquay outfit Revolver & Sun), they got to return to the festival following year “and actually just played as a band”. Apollo Bay trio The Vasco Era are previous Foot-In-The-Door victors and the band’s frontman Sid O’Neil offers up his theory on why country bands seem to have the edge right now. “I guess because there’s no ‘cool’ or ‘not cool’, you just do whatever you do and try and get good at it,” he opines. “I had no idea about the concept of [playing] a cool style of music to be in fashion when I was in Apollo Bay… We weren’t doing the fashionable thing to be doing at the time, which probably makes you stand out a little bit when you move to a city.” “In Ballarat, when Howl and Neon Love started there was also that other band called Blinded By The Colours,” Belsar recalls. “And because there was only really three bands [whose members] were similar ages, no one really wanted to copy off each other. So everyone was trying to steer as far away from each other as they could, but we were also generating ideas off each other. It’s definitely pretty easy to fall into a scene if there are so many bands doing one thing. I think a lot of the city bands seem to fall into a scene.” Belsar and Olsen agree that the limited activities offered to teenagers in rural communities makes it easier to knuckle down and rehearse. “In Melbourne or any other city there’s a lot more distractions,” Belsar contributes, “whereas in a country town there’s not much to do so people pick something to do – whether it be sport or music – and they tend to get pretty good at it.” “If you live in the country, you just sort of stay in and play the guitar with a small group of friends,” Olsen agrees, “whereas if you’re in the city it’s always go, go, go and the tram’s outside. Something seems more intimate in the country.”

Howl

Geelong isn’t the only regional area that seems to be kicking goals with quality musical output at the moment. “Ballarat’s had a really strong music scene for ages,” Michael Belsar of Howl, 2009’s Triple J Unearthed High competition winners, tells. “I remember going to these underage shows and seeing bands like I Am Spartacus, who aren’t together any more. I used to look up to them and a couple of years down the track I was good friends with them. And there’s a lot of bands that kind of set the bar when Neon Love [Belsar’s other band] and Howl were starting out, because we didn’t really know shit all about music – bands like Paperhouse, which was another band that broke up, and even bands our age like Blinded By The Colours, who have also broken up. But we all looked up to them and generated ideas off them.” Belsar juggles his time between Howl and Neon Love, who recently took out an Unearthed competition that won them a slot at Groovin’ The Moo in Bendigo (Howl were already on the bill). “Ballarat High has such a good music program and really good teachers,” Belsar commends. “We even kind of got formed by our teachers.

OSCAR’S ALEHOUSE 7 Bayview Rd, Belgrave 9754 8002 Band booker: Brad or Gypsy Merritt

The tyranny of distance must pose a problem, particularly before band members have passed their driving tests. “We have a friend who drove us up in the very early days,” Olsen recalls. “We just used to pile all our stuff in [the vehicle] and hardly anyone had cases or anything like that so the guitars would get bashed around a fair bit. And I do recall one occasion where one of us had to drive home without a licence – and underage – because our designated driver drank too much.” Nowadays Olsen has “a second home” in Melbourne where he crashes with friends. Olsen also juggles his time between two bands, drumming for a Melbourne outfit called The Bonniwells as well as fronting The Frowning Clouds. “I have to catch a train up [to Melbourne] every Tuesday and go to rehearsal,” he shares. You will often find both his bands on the same bill (“I think most of The Bonniwells gigs have been with The Frowning Clouds”) and Olsen says he enjoys gracing the same stage twice in one night and hence “keeping the genre similar on the night”.

Belsar doesn’t find the mileage a bother these days. “I used to find it annoying but I don’t any more. I guess it comes with touring so much,” he offers. “You just get used to it. Considering we hire a van and we drive to Sydney and to Brisbane and to Adelaide, I think Melbourne seems like absolutely nothing. If we book a show anywhere in Melbourne, it’s pretty easy. A lot of our friends live up there so we can stay at their houses. After staying there so much you leave stuff there or bring mattresses, so you’ve always got somewhere to sleep.”

THEATRE ROYAL understand what people in this area respond to we knew music would be a part of it. After being open about three months we decided to start live music on Friday nights, and thought we would start with the best local talent we knew: Matt Walker… We now have music live music every Friday and Saturday and many Thursdays also. What is it that makes the local scene so great to be a part of and who are some bands that we can expect to see more of in the future? You meet some wonderfully talented people in this area – it seams to attract musicians, artists and people who just want to contribute. The beauty of a smaller community and venue is there is a sense of supporting each other; people meet at Oscar’s, or see each other play, and more musical collaboration comes from this. What are some upcoming events to keep in our diaries? Matt Walker and Broderick Smith on Saturday, Shaun Kirk on Friday, Ian Collard on Friday 25 June, Jed Rowe on Friday 4 June, Josh Owen every Saturday in June, Dave Graney on Saturday 3, 10 and 17 July and Lily & King on Saturday 24 and 31 July.

30 Hargraves St, Castlemaine 5472 1196 theatreroyal.info twitter.com/royalcastlemain Band booker: David Stretch

2009 was the best we’ve seen… but I can’t go past Bill Callahan’s solo set, supporting Joanna Newsom in 2005. They tell me the Lola Montez Spider Dance performance in 1855 was so good they threw gold nuggets on stage… I preferred her earlier work.

What is the Theatre Royal doing to help the local music scene? We have a policy of using local performers for support slots whenever possible. We have presented many shows featuring local musicians, we’ve done songwriting comps, organised workshops with touring artists and made sure the beer in the cafe is always served at the appropriate temperature.

What is it that makes the local scene so great to be a part of and who are some bands that we can expect to see more of in the future? Castlemaine is an artistic community and musically I’ve seen some really interesting things come through in the short time I’ve been here. Several bands the Theatre Royal has hosted are now working regularly in Melbourne, which is great to see. There’s a guy called Archer who’s a tree-lopper living in Guildford who heads into town every now and then plays a unique rootsy, blues, alt.country 1930s Americana-type thing. He’s an incredible talent – can drink me under the table.

What’s been the most memorable moment at the Theatre Royal? Cat Power’s show a few years back was an absolute ripper; more recently Justin Townes Earle was brilliant. My partner Sarah reckons Sarah Blasko’s show in

What are some upcoming events to keep in our diaries? Wagons on Thursday 3 June, The Junes on Sunday 20 June, Shane Howard on Saturday 17 July and Sarah Blasko on Thursday 7 October.

SUMMERFESTIVALGUIDE.COM.AU

GRIND N’ GROOVE

THE BENDED ELBOW What is the Bended Elbow doing to help the local music scene? We have a ‘home grown’ night every month on Level One at the Bended Elbow featuring local and interstate acts. What’s been the most memorable moment at the Bended Elbow? Full houses for the Tim Rogers gig last year and the Lisa Mitchell gig last month – great crowds, smooth shows, flawless production and fantastic vibes.

What is Grind n’ Groove doing to help the local music scene? We encourage talented, original and unsigned artists to play gigs within our venue and help them to build up confidence and a fanbase within the local area so they can prepare for the big world outside of the Yarra Valley. We also love to book fairly established Melbournebased and interstate artists to introduce our regulars and locals to new music that they may never have had the chance to hear! It works both ways and everyone gets to support the local Australian music industry.

69 Yarra St, Geelong 5229 4477 bendedelbow.com.au myspace.com/thebendedelbow Band booker: Kristin Lemura 5229 4477/Steven Nichols (Spinning Half Studios) 0412 782 876

274 Maroondah Hwy, Healesville grindngroove.com.au myspace.com/grindngroovehealesville Band booker: Gemma Pitcher 0400 059 198

What are some upcoming events to keep in our diaries? Our annual music festival, Encore 2011, will be next March, while our famous open mic nights are held every Wednesday from 8pm with various hosts.

What are some upcoming events to keep in our diaries? 28 Days and Behind Crimson Eyes on Friday 4 June and The Butterfly Effect on Thursday 1 July.

WESTERNPORT HOTEL What’s been the most memorable moment at the Westernport Hotel? As with any live entertainment venue, the memorable moments flow freely! Billy Thorpe played his last show here, the Skyhooks were born here and more recently The Beautiful Girls dropped in for an impromptu gig on new year’s eve after their Pyramid Rock spot.

What’s been the most memorable moment at Grind n’ Groove? Being named Melbourne’s Overall Favourite Bar/ Nightclub in the 2009 Leader Awards. What is it that makes the local scene so great to be a part of and who are some bands that we can expect to see more of in the future? We look forward to seeing more of Lloyd Spiegel, Melburn Reggae, Fats Wah Wah, Tinpan Orange, Geoff Achison, April Maze, The Jed Rowe Band and 2swai.

What is it that makes the local scene so great to be a part of and who are some bands that we can expect to see more of in the future? It gives us a chance to showcase new and upcoming bands and bring Australian talent back to Geelong, which has been something that has been lacking in this region. Expect to see more of bands such as British India, She Fuzz and Cast Iron Pinata, to name just a few…

161 Marine Pde, San Remo 5678 5205 thewesternport.com.au Band booker: Nick Say What is the Westernport Hotel doing to help the local music scene? The Westernport Hotel proudly supports local artists by offering support opportunities for major touring acts, battle of the band competitions and, until recently, an open mic night. Not to mention a wide selection of music genres on offer, making sure everyone is catered for.

SUMMERFESTIVALGUIDE.COM.AU

What is it that makes the local scene so great to be a part of and who are some bands that we can expect to see more of in the future? Being the sole venue for original music in the area, we see a lot of great local talent. There’s nothing better than giving an unknown act a go in the front bar only to get them back 12 months later for a sold out show in the band room! What are some upcoming events to keep in our diaries? 28 Days are making a return on Saturday 5 June, and our regular Sunday session keeps rolling on – catch Melbourne’s best blues, roots and alt. country acts every Sunday at 5.30pm. Also, keep an eye on our website – thewesternport.com.au.

ISSUE 1124 - WEDNESDAY MAY, 2010

TOURS

The Motifs

PRESENTS

Mondo Generator Thursday Northcote Social Club

THIS WEEK INTERNATIONAL

BRIAN CHASE & SETH MISTERKA: Tonight Bar Open; Friday Pony MONDO GENERATOR: Thursday Northcote Social Club NILE: Thursday the Hi-Fi THE CORONAS: Friday Prince Bandroom PATRIZIO BUANNE: Sunday, Monday Hamer Hall RICHMOND FONTAINE: Sunday East Brunswick Club

NATIONAL

LISA MITCHELL: Tonight Bluestone (Ballarat); Thursday Corner Hotel; Friday Forum GRAND ATLANTIC: Tonight Workers Club JIMMY HAWK: Thursday Grace Darling ZULYA: Friday Wangaratta’s Performing Arts Centre; Saturday Warburton Upper Arts Centre DEAD LETTER CIRCUS: Friday Hi-Fi Bar MIAMI HORROR: Saturday, Sunday Corner Hotel AINSLIE WILLS: Friday Trades Hall; Saturday Helen Macpherson Theatre (Ballarat); EPICURE: Saturday Karova Lounge (Ballarat) THE SCOTCH OF SAINT JAMES: Saturday Grace Darling OH MERCY: Saturday Pure Pop Records BAILEY & KUEPPER: Sunday Bennetts Lane ROSS MCLENNAN: Sunday Northcote Social Club

GIG OF THE WEEK LOVE IS BLINDSIDE SUNDAY, WORKERS CLUB

rtist-run spaces in inner Melbourne haven’t had the greatest luck of late. Between Liquor Licensing coming down hard on any vulnerable arts venture and the general difficulty in finding available and appropriate spaces in an increasingly gentrified area, there’s also the problem of coming up with the kind of rent The Man is demanding these days. So it is with Blindside, the highly supportive and interesting (because let’s face it, galleries aren’t always) arts space up in the maze of the Nicholas Building on Swanston Street, which is facing a potentially threatening rent hike. If you want to help keep the space running and thus defend your right to quaff cheap red wine at openings while pretending to look at ‘art’, make sure you get to the Workers Club this Sunday from 6pm, where a host of excellent local acts will be playing and your cover will go towards Blindside’s rent. See thick, simmering popsters The Motifs, tender-voiced Crayon Fields frontman Geoffrey O’Connor in solo mode, pop-meets-kosmische group Magic Silver White, trippy lounge lizards Battlesnake, joyous acoustic pop man-dude Far Concern and DJ duties by Qua with Clue To Kalo (in tag-team mode) and Rainbow Connection. Entry is just $12 and you get to end your Sunday feeling like you’ve paid your penance for all the money you gave to far less deserving causes (like a numb head) over the weekend.

Kim Salmon pic by Carbie Warbie

t’s unlikely that Cherry Bar – traditionally the home of flat-knackers rock’n’roll – has ever seen the likes of it. Kim Salmon & The Surrealists, for the launch of their new album, Grand Unifying Theory, surely play some of the trippiest, most far-out and grooviest, if you will, music this place has ever seen. Salmon is on record as saying that Grand Unifying Theory is the record he’s always wanted to make. Judging by his onstage demeanour, this is also the record he’s always wanted to play live. Warhol-esque, he takes the stage with a tape recorder and what may or may not be a mini-disc recorder hanging around his neck, looking like a mad tourist. He then takes the opportunity of playing them and feeding them back into the microphone at several points throughout the set. Some songs seem the length of a feature film, and Salmon barely raises his eyes from his guitar the entire time, introspectively strumming away as his bandmates build the epic music around him. This is something like a grunged-up version of free jazz, the most anarchic form of music there is: no boundaries, no edges, no rules, save for those the musicians make up as they go along.

UPCOMING INTERNATIONAL

KING KHAN & BBQ SHOW: June 2 Corner Hotel RICKI LEE JONES: June 3, 4 Forum UNEARTH, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER: June 4, 5 (under-18) Hi-Fi Bar BOBBY RYDELL: June 5 Palms At Crown HOLLY MIRANDA: June 5 Toff In Town STRUNG OUT, THE LOVED ONES: June 9 Barwon Club (Geelong), June 10, Hi-Fi Bar STORY OF THE YEAR: June 11 Billboard The Venue THE VIBRATORS: June 13 Arthouse YUSUF: June 16, 18 Rod Laver WANDA JACKSON: June 18 Corner Hotel HERE WE GO MAGIC: June 18 East Brunswick Club ALESTORM: June 19 Corner Hotel MILES AWAY, BREAK EVEN: June 19 Arthouse, 20 Phoenix Youth Centre (all ages) PAUL DI’ANNO: June 24 Espy TRAIN: June 25 Forum MARK LANEGAN: July 7 Corner Hotel THE SOFT PACK: July 8 East Brunswick Club BOYS LIKE GIRLS: July 14 (U18), 15

LISA MITCHELL: Tonight Bluestone (Ballarat); Thursday Corner Hotel Friday Forum DEAD LETTER CIRCUS: Friday Hi-Fi Bar MIAMI HORROR: Friday, Saturday Corner Hotel KING KHAN & BBQ SHOW: June 2 Corner Hotel WAGONS, THOSE DARLINS: June 2 Ruby’s; 3 Theatre Royal (Castlemaine); 4 National Hotel (Geelong); 5 and 6 Corner Hotel MUPH & PLUTONIC: June 11 Hi-Fi Bar PURPLE SNEAKERS: June 11 Miss Libertine CHILDREN COLLIDE: June 13 Hi-Fi Bar KATIE NOONAN & THE CAPTAINS: June 18 Hi-Fi Bar THE MEANIES: June 19 Hi-Fi Bar TUMBLEWEED: June 25 Hi-Fi Bar OPERATOR PLEASE: June 25 Corner Hotel DEEZ NUTS: June 26, 27 (under 18) Hi-Fi Bar KARNIVOOL: July 6 Hi-Fi Bar THE SOFT PACK: July 8 East Brunswick Club KASABIAN: July 23 Festival Hall GRIZZLY BEAR: July 27 Palais ALBERTA CROSS: July 27 Corner Hotel; 28, 29 Palace THE MAGIC NUMBERS: July 28 Corner Hotel YEASAYER: July 29 Prince Bandroom SURFER BLOOD: July 30 Corner Hotel MIDLAKE: August 1, 2 Prince Bandroom ASH, WE ARE SCIENTISTS, LAST DINOSAURS: August 4 Billboard The Venue LAURA MARLING: August 4 Hi-Fi Bar SLASH: August 11 Festival Hall CORDRAZINE: August 28 East Brunswick Hotel SARAH BLASKO: October 7 Theatre Royal (Castlemaine); 8 Palais; 9 Meeniyan Town Hall

But Salmon is too much of an old showman not to pepper the set with three-minute gems from the Surrealists’ back catalogue, and the show as a whole is almost the perfect balance of pure innovation and crowd-pleasers. Somehow, though, like a – dare I say it? – surrealist painting that mysteriously moves you, it’s the more avant-garde music that stays with me on the tram ride home and reflects itself in my dreams.

LIVE: REVIEWS

KIM SALMON & THE SURREALISTS CHERRY BAR SUMMERFESTIVALGUIDE.COM.AU

Last song of the encore is I’m Keeping You Alive from the 1991 album Essence, where Salmon wails the memorable line, “I declare myself a god.” Lacking any concept of irony, many people find this utterance cringe-worthy. Considering the man invented grunge, I see it as a simple statement of fact. Tony McMahon

live@inpress.com.au

Lisa Mitchell Tonight Bluestone (Ballarat); Thursday Corner Hotel; Friday Forum (sold out)

(18+) Hi-Fi Bar SNFU: July 15 Arthouse KEVIN RUDOLF: July 16 Palace STRIKE ANYWHERE: July 16, 17 Evelyn KASABIAN: July 23 Festival Hall SCISSOR SISTERS: July 26 Festival Hall GRIZZLY BEAR: July 27 Palais ALBERTA CROSS: July 27 Corner Hotel FOALS: July 27 Hi-Fi Bar BAND OF HORSES: July 27 Palace MUMFORD & SONS: July 28 Palace Theatre 30 SECONDS TO MARS: July 28 Festival Hall BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB: July 28 Billboard THE MAGIC NUMBERS: July 28 Corner Hotel LCD SOUNDSYSTEM, HOT CHIP: July 29 Festival Hall YEASAYER: July 29 Prince Bandroom THE STROKES: July 30 Festival Hall RICHARD ASHCROFT & THE UNITED NATIONS OF SOUND: July 30 Palace MIDLAKE: August 1, 2 Prince Bandroom FRIGHTENED RABBITS: August 2 Hi-Fi Bar FLORENCE & THE MACHINE: August 3 Festival Hall GOLDFRAPP: August 3 Palace Theatre BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE: August 3 Corner Hotel TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB: August 3 East Brunswick Club ASH, WE ARE SCIENTISTS: August 4 Billboard The Venue KATE NASH: August 4 Corner Hotel LAURA MARLING: August 4 Hi-Fi Bar BAND OF SKULLS: August 4 East Brunswick Club JONSI: August 4 Palace PASSION PIT: August 5 Prince Bandroom SLASH: August 11 Festival Hall EELS: August 15 Palace SENSES FAIL: August 21 day (under-18), evening (18+) Hi-Fi Bar NAPALM DEATH: September 5 Hi-Fi Bar MAYHEM: September 23 Hi-Fi Bar CYPRESS HILL: September 23 Palace ASLAN: September 30, October 1 Clifton Hill Hotel PAUL WELLER: October 26, 27 Forum CELTIC WOMAN: October 30, 31 Palais Theatre ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK: November 5 State Theatre METALLICA: November 18, 20 Rod Laver Arena JACK JOHNSON: December 8 Sidney Myer Music Bowl MICHAEL BUBLÉ: Feb 22, 23 Rod Laver Arena

NATIONAL

HORSE STORIES: June 2 the Toff In Town WAGONS: June 2 Ruby’s; 3 Theatre Royal (Castlemaine); 4 National Hotel (Geelong); 5 Corner Hotel LAST DINOSAURS: June 3 Espy; 4 Ding Dong; 5 Colonial Hotel COG: June 4 Billboard ZULYA: June 4 Corner Hotel AINSLIE WILLS: June 4 Newmarket Hotel (Bendigo); June 25 Palais (Hepburn Springs) BIRDS OF TOKYO, MIDNIGHT YOUTH (NZ): June 4 Palace Theatre KATY STEELE: June 4 Northcote Social Club PARADES: June 4 East Brunswick Club REBECCA BARNARD: June 5 Pure Pop Records; 25 Thornbury Theatre; 29 Palais; July 3 Bennetts Lane MEET ME IN THE MIDDLE OF THE AIR with PAUL KELLY and PAUL GRABOWSKY: June 5 Hamer Hall BARB WATERS & THE MOTHERS OF PEARL: June 5 Thornbury Theatre CLOSURE IN MOSCOW: June 5 East

Brunswick Club BOY & BEAR: June 5 Northcote Social Club TOE TO TOE: June 5 Arthouse PAUL GREENE: June 11 Sand Bar (Mildura) MUPH & PLUTONIC: June 11 Hi-Fi Bar GYROSCOPE: June 11 Forum DAPPLED CITIES: June 11 Prince Bandroom FIRE! SANTA ROSA, FIRE!: June 11 Worker’s Club THE PARADISE MOTEL: June 11 Thornbury Theatre IAN MOSS: June 11 Bennett’s Lane;12 Brighton Beach Hotel; Hepburn Springs Palais THE BREAK: June 11 The Studio (Geelong); 12 East Brunswick Club; 13 Espy DEAD LETTER CHORUS: June 12 Northcote Social Club CASSETTE KIDS: June 12 Toff In Town GOSTELERADIO: June 13 Toff In Town CHILDREN COLLIDE: June 13 Hi-Fi Bar ROCKWIZ TOUR: June 15 Palais MACHINE TRANSLATIONS: June 16 Northcote Social Club KATIE NOONAN & THE CAPTAINS: June 18 Hi-Fi Bar DAN SULTAN: June 18 Forum COLA WARS: June 18 Northcote Social Club GUY SEBASTIAN: June 18 Palms At Crown 1927: June 19 Forum THE MEANIES: June 19 Hi-Fi Bar THE BEAUTIFUL GIRLS: June 25 Palace TUMBLEWEED: June 25 Hi-Fi Bar JONESEZ: June 25 Birmingham OPERATOR PLEASE: June 25 Corner Hotel 50 LIONS: June 25 Arthouse DEEZ NUTS: June 26, 27 (under 18) Hi-Fi Bar Inferno (Traralgon); 25 Palace Theatre COMMUNITY CUP with THE LIVING END, NICK BARKER & THE REPTILES, THE BLACKEYED SUSANS and LITTLE FREDDY & THE POPS: June 27 Elsternwick Park THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT: June 30 Ferntree Gully Hotel, July 1 Bended Elbow (Geelong), 2 Inferno (Traralgon), 3 Pier Live, 4 Commercial Hotel (South Morang) ASH GRUNWALD: July 3 Corner Hotel; 4 Ruby’s Lounge; 18 The Loft (Warrnambool) THE AMITY AFFLICTION: July 3 Hi-Fi Bar (under-18s arvo, over-18s evening); 5 Karova Lounge (Ballarat - all-ages); 6 Kangaroo Flats Leisure Centre (Bendigo all-ages) GANGA GIRI: July 3 East Brunswick Club REGURGITATOR: July 4 East Brunswick Club KARNIVOOL: July 6 Hi-Fi Bar THE DEAD SALESMEN: July 10 East Brunswick Club SALLY SELTMANN: July 10 Corner Hotel MY FRIEND THE CHOCOLATE CAKE: July 10, 17, 23 Spenserlive THE NATION BLUE, A DEATH IN THE FAMILY: July 17 East Brunswick Club VIOLENT SOHO: July 22 Northcote Social Club RICK PRICE: July 22 Wellers (Kangaroo Ground), 23 Thornbury Theatre, 24 Palais (Hepburn Springs) HARD-ONS: July 23 East Brunswick Club THE TEMPER TRAP: July 24 Festival Hall YOUNG HERETICS: July 24 Northcote Social Club PVT: August 12 Corner Hotel SHIHAD: August 13, 14 Northcote Social Club CORDRAZINE: August 28 East Brunswick Hotel POWDERFINGER: September 10, 11 Rod Laver Arena, October 29 Sidney Myer Music Bowl SARAH BLASKO: October 7 Theatre Royal (Castlemaine); 8 Palais; 9 Meeniyan Town Hall

FESTIVALS

SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS: July 30August 1, Woodford

Even pic by Carbie Warbie

to being regularly bowled over by middle-aged beer bellies and flailing fists clenched in appreciation for Hoodoo Gurus’ sick riffs, it was kind of crap that the fans were so much more vigorous in their enthusiasm than I hardly ever get, despite my youthful knees. Apart from the company I got stuck with, Hoodoo Gurus really put on a fine, fine show. They are so awesome. They played some new songs, and some lesser-known ones from their past albums. But I’ll be honest, I was scouting for what Dave Faulkner called the “chocolate assortment”, including Tojo, A Thousand Miles Away, Like Wow – Wipeout!, Out That Door and especially… let it be said… What’s My Scene?. I do so love that song! It’s what we sang as we rode home. Every song the Gurus played was infused with their formidable stage presence and their supremely cohesive playing prowess. In the encore, they let loose in a way that showcased the life force behind the band, the musical camaraderie that exists between its members. It glowed on the horizon of airpunching, reeling and rolling, die-hard Gurus fans. For me, it was a warm light at the end of a tunnel. Alice Body

THE CHILLS EVEN, THE STEVENS

EAST BRUNSWICK CLUB

HI-FI BAR

With the local indie pop scene hitting a wee purple patch, the definitive Dunedin sound is making one hell of a splash at the moment. What’s becoming apparent as a result of all of this revisiting of these 1980s records is that this stuff is timeless, the tunes stack up and the reformation tours are spewing out some of the best shows on the calendar.

This was always going to be a special night. Melbourne’s favourite sons celebrating their “sweet 16th” birthday at the Hi-Fi was sure to be something huge, but throw The Stevens (members of The Stems and Even playing Stems songs) into the mix, and hey ho, the night was magical. Ash Naylor and Matt Cotter joined The Stems on stage for The Stevens’ set to welcome applause. Their idyllic garage attitude and ‘60s fashionista-style pop tunes were the perfect set-up for the main event. Set highlights included At First Sight and a cover of a track by “a little-known band from Liverpool,” Daytripper. Naylor, Kempton and Cotter have been making blissful power pop tunes for 16 years now, and the camaraderie between the three is still as strong as ever. Their set opened with a roaring version of No Surprises followed by I Am The Light, Stupid Dream and new single Back To Life. The crowd were warmed up and loving every minute. “It’s going to be a long night,” said Naylor. “You’d better call the babysitter.” Radio favourite Black Umbrella was next, followed by Which Way To Run, and we were reminded why Even are the kings of retro-fused power pop. There aren’t many who can match Naylor when he throws on his mustard Rickenbacker. “This kind of song was written for a night like tonight,” said Naylor before launching into I Walk On. And he was right. The last 16 years have seen the band produce amazing tunes, perform stellar gigs, yet they still never achieved the success they deserved. But from the atmosphere and excitement in the crowd at the Hi-Fi, you’d never know it. The Stems’ Dom Mariani joined Even on stage again and we were treated to a cover of Badfinger’s No Matter What. Don’t Wait closed the set to rollicking applause. “Thanks a lot,” said Naylor. “See you at the album launch.” Their much-anticipated sixth studio album, In Another Time, will be released soon. In Back To Life, Naylor sang “thank god for rock’n’roll. It breaks your heart, but it brings you back to life...” So yes, thank god for rock’n’roll, but thanks too for Even. The last 16 years have been an awesome rollercoaster ride of amazing gigs and fantastic power pop. Here’s to the new album, and another 16 years of the best damn band in Melbourne. Belinda Roche

HOODOO GURUS HI-FI BAR I shoved a kid at this concert. He was drunk and underage and he stumbled into me as everyone was leaving. Then I shoved him. He wheeled around, going, “I said I was sorry! It was an accident!” To which I retorted, unapologetically, “Yeah, well, I’m sorry.” And then he said, good-humouredly, “Yeah, you’d better be… nah, just joking!” And then I fi xed him with a stare that made his grin fall and I just nodded – small, slow, psychotic nods. That’s when he disappeared into the crowd. I am not at all proud of my behaviour, but this incident serves well as an indication of what kind of crowd could have caused my degeneration from happy-golucky childhood-nostalgia-exerciser into semi-violent killjoy. Seriously, one guy took out everyone within a two-metre radius doing the one-armed windmill, though even more muntedly. Then there was the guy in the hat who kept leaning back with his fingers grappling at his crotch – air guitar, I told myself. Just some crazy air guitar – then losing his balance so he’d plough into whoever (me) was behind him. These were guys at least 15 years older than me. In addition

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In line with recent Bats, 3Ds, Dimmer and Chris Knox performances, The Chills absolutely kill this show. Martin Phillipps’ vocals and guitar brilliance lack nothing, Erica Stitchbury’s violin wails from the outset, James Dickson’s bass is smooth and the drumming suitably loose. An amp issue of some sort drives the almost Black Francis-esque Phillipps to distraction in the early stages of the show, though Liberty Or Love from 2004’s Stand By EP is a cracker. A break to solve the tech problems leads into a stonker of a rendition of crowd-pleaser Pink Frost – there is no way back from here. What’s surprising seeing The Chills live is the intensity of the music. Phillipps’ guitar solos cut like shrapnel, while Stitchbury’s violin parts glue the whole thing together – any dislocation or sloppiness (intentional I’m sure) is wrangled in by the force of the fiddle. Through Submarine Bells, House With 100 Rooms and Heavenly Pop Hit, we’re treated to a banquet of tunes fresh enough to have been whipped up yesterday. The live show bears little resemblance to the records at all – Phillipps’ eyes are crazed, he’s unpredictable, erratic. Written for late drummer Martyn Bull, who reputedly left Phillipps his leather jacket in his will, I Love My Leather Jacket is the show stealer. The song needs an extra verse, though. It’s a masterpiece, but a brief and delectable tease of a number – I could listen to it for about three-and-a-half hours on repeat. For a band cursed with more line-ups than a festival dunny block, The Chills are to be thanked for their contribution to guitar music over the years. It’s such a treat to have had another, hopefully not last, chance to see them live. Samson McDougall

SOMEDAY WE’LL FIND IT THORNBURY THEATRE Jim Henson, as all of you must know, was the man behind the infamous Muppet Show. Two Sundays ago marked the 20-year anniversary of his passing and a handful of people took it upon themselves to honour his memory with this tribute show. I wish I could recite every detail but that would be harder than buttering toast with a piece of balsa wood so here goes… (Deep breathe). Kermit is the MC and has a potty mouth. Statler and Warldof are here in person up on the balcony! Fozzie is to the left of stage with his classic bear humour. Miss Piggy... oh lordy, Miss Piggy. A character hasn’t been portrayed this well since Mickey Rourke played that wrestler. At one point she even does a burlesque dance for Kermit with whipped cream and cleavage. Jessica Says and Geoff O’Connor as a carrot and green bean singing a delightful cover of Yes We Have No Bananas are wonderful. Kamahl! That’s right, special guest Kamahl comes out for a quick joke and a promise he’ll be back for a song. He is raffling one of his gold records for donations to Thornbury Primary School. Muppet News ends with kids beating the reporter with pillows. The Swedish chef pops out of the wall and beats dough in a manic cloud of flour. Kamahl! Back onstage for a song, which literally leaves the audience with either no shirt or many tears. Super Wild Horses cover Wild Thing with Animal on drums tearing apart the stage. Gonzo plays trombone. Bum Creek follow

live@inpress.com.au with the yip yip monsters. Ooga Boogas cover Ooga Booga, fittingly. Extreme Wheeze and Evelyn Morris bring it down a notch with a perfect cover of It Ain’t Easy Being Green, which is followed by Joe Foley picking up the banjo and being joined by all performers from the night singing Someday We’ll Find It, led by Kamahl. A performance worthy of a standing ovation. Remember watching The Muppets when you were eight years old? Imagine that – now pretend you were inside the television and it was all happening around you. A true testament to the man that created the characters that brought so much joy. I honestly believe anyone who attended this will be in a good mood until mid 2019. Tom Norton Tame Impala pic by Heidi Takla

The ‘new Love Outside Andromeda’ reach the stage with visually two differences: the drummer and the keyboardist. Melodically, there aren’t many differences, which is a real shame considering a lot has changed with the outside world in six years and fans have moved on. Lee’s solo work has laid a lot more on the line – financially and emotionally – than she has done in the past and she puts her all in but unfortunately doesn’t bring many new sounds to the plate. At times sounding like a Placebo/Superjesus mix with an amazing voice, I’m waiting for that little spark but I think her nerves have defeated it. Brother Jesse on the bass stands on the sidelines a lot, picking at his water bottle’s label while Sianna pours out her heart on the guitar. Suave Jamie Slocombe is slick and brilliant on the guitar but doesn’t quite have the same vivacity. I love Sianna Lee and it pains me to say this, but she needs to move away from the ‘90s – THEN I’ll be back with my groupie-dom and intervention order. Leonie Richman

SAL KIMBER & THE ROLLIN’ WHEEL

Her songs are finely crafted, telling tales of life and love, all real enough to relate instantly to.

NORTHCOTE SOCIAL CLUB

Tonight is a short set, probably only an hour or so long, and to tell the truth, it isn’t as fantastic as it was when we first saw them. Kimber, on acoustic and electric guitars as well as banjo, takes the lead, her band trailing behind picking up the slack, although there’s not much of that. They throw in a couple of covers, which while finely executed, disappoint me somewhat – there were a few original songs I’d been waiting to hear, and so to get covers instead left me a bit bereft. As well, it didn’t seem to have that spark to it, the spark which grabbed me so heartily down in Port Fairy. I don’t know what it was, I couldn’t put my finger on it, but it just wasn’t quite the same. Don’t get me wrong, Kimber & The Rollin’ Wheel are great, and tonight they were great, a great band playing great music.

I came across Sal Kimber and her band The Rollin’ Wheel by accident at Port Fairy Folk Festival. We wandered into the Folk Circus looking for something different amongst the myriad sounds the fest is famous for. What we found was alt.country rockin’ with a healthy dose of blues and some fine songwriting to boot. We were entranced, and caught Kimber & The Rollin’ Wheel a couple more times over the course of the weekend, and great shows they all were to a tee. There was some anticipation then for their Northcote show, the magic we found that rainy weekend still with us as we became part of what was a pretty full band room up in Northcote. Kimber is already making waves with her songwriting, recently winning Victorian Female Songwriter Of The Year at the Victoria/National Country Music Awards, and it’s easy to tell why.

Samuel J Fell

TAME IMPALA THE FORUM According to my plus-one this evening, all Tame Impala songs sound ‘dirty and messy’ and they will therefore be ‘a hard band to review’. Harsh words, perhaps, but tonight Tame Impala felt like they weren’t quite dirty and messy enough. They’re at their best when they get a chance to jam, stretch out the tunes and play around, but an hour-long set doesn’t allow much time for that. The band floats onstage into a putrid green light that nonetheless sets off their collectively high cheekbones beautifully. They kick straight into a fuzzy guitar wig-out that segues into the awesome Desire Be Desire Go. At this point, the prospect of an epic musical night is looking good, but Tame Impala don’t quite hit the stride they seem to promise. It’s all visuals au-go-go onstage, because that’s what you do when you’re a psychedelic band, right? Big props to Joe the projectionist who delivers the vivid visuals that create a good counterpoint to the relaxed energy of the band. They’re all a bit shoegazey, which is fair enough because this is mind music, man. Tonight’s spaced out, mega-extended version of Why Won’t You Make Up Your Mind is matched with meandering images of green moors and mountains, an appropriate visual representation of the song: pleasant enough but a bit monotonous. Which perhaps explains the weird feeling of distance in the crowd, as if the band aren’t quite connecting. Maybe everyone’s just blissed-out on the Sundown Syndrome effect. Lucidity is a gorgeous, triple-echoed cosmic jam that they really seem to enjoy playing. Then they deliver the epic instrumental Jeremy’s Storm, and the storm visuals on the screen match the massive musical storm on stage. Nice work Joe. It’s all hands in the air and zebras for Half Full Glass Of Wine, clearly a crowd favourite. It’s an awesome slice of psych-lite, which they extend into a fuzzy guitar jam out and finally get a bit grubby. The skittish I Don’t Really Mind ends the gig in a giant hippy clap-along, and the Forum feels like a party popper going off. Given their sound, a Tame Impala gig should swirl around and fuzz on for hours, giving you a chance to really get into it. An hour at the Forum just scrapes the surface of the psychedelic depths Tame Impala could possibly go to. Kate Kingsmill

SIANNA LEE, TEETH & TONGUE THE TOFF IN TOWN It probably says something for the level of an addiction in groupiedom when your shirt is signed by the drummer with an arrow pointing to the head hole and the words saying ‘this person knows all the lyrics’. I almost hit intervention order groupie status when one of Love Outside Andromeda’s band members claimed that, if they ever lost their way in a song, they simply had to look a nose hair-length away and there I was, breathing in their breath, singing possibly louder than Lee. Not hard – her voice may be gorgeous but it’s only very quaint – but ridiculous nonetheless.

3HUPLW 1R ²

Six years pass and my reminiscing is on hold while my new Melbourne addiction, Teeth & Tongue, takes the stage. Having shed everything from her band to her ginger locks (the former being a happy point and the latter being a teary point), Jess Cornelius has the voice of a woman surpassing her age. Its strength contradicts her sloping shoulders and its confidence blows away her fumbling with the band-in-a-box. Playing predominantly new songs because, according to Cornelius, “I like my new stuff better than my old stuff,” it really is a feast for the ears. I can’t wait until she’s able to capture that live feast on recordings.

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live@inpress.com.au

OH MY FUNKING GOD From the depths of the cultural wonderland that is Melbourne, six powers combined to create the world’s next fully functioning funk machine! Equipped with overt good looks and great vibes, The OMG’s were born to supply Melbourne with original massive grooves and a stripped back soulful sound the likes of which this fair city has never seen. They play Transport this Sunday from 3pm to 6pm along with Austin Busch.

BACK TO BASICS Local singer/songwriter AINSLIE WILLS is looking for a bit more spontaneity with her next release, she tells SAMUEL J FELL.

PRINCIPAL SKINNER

BAD BOY, YAMA Bad Habits brings you an incredible bunch of innovative, creative and inspiring acts that will have you shaking at the knees! When winter comes around, it’s always a great idea to rug up and talk about summer but there’s no need when you can see five up-and-coming acts at the Empress on Saturday 5 June. Witness the electronic genius of Yama Boy, the hypnotic stylings of Space Cactus, the brilliant voice of Owl + Moth, the driving rythms and shimmering synths of Silver Magic White and the joyful and profundity that is Psuche. Entry is only $7 and early arivals will recieve a free mixed CD of the artists’ favourite music!

RAD-ASS FEVER Cabin Fever play their rad-ass hardcore punk at the Espy this Thursday night with a line-up worth getting your own rad ass down to the venue for. The night begins with Liquor Snatch at 9pm, followed by Valentiine, Cabin Fever at 10.30pm and headlining are the always awesome Australian Kingswood Factory. Yeah!

FINE FALLOE Falloe is an electric folk roots band that began as a humble duo in 2006. Over the years the now five-piece band have been kept busy honing their craft in the alternative clubs and bars of Melbourne. The group’s sound is unique in that is has the taste of being faintly familiar yet far from the confines of any one dish; a seemingly seamless blend of styles, thrown together in broad brushstrokes to produce a beautiful mess of melody and harmony, sometimes raucous, at other times gently captivating. They play he Fox Hotel in Collingwood this Sunday from 5pm to 7pm. Entry is free.

HAVE YOU HEARD?

SEX WITH EVELYN The illustrious gents of Sex On Toast cordially invite you to an evening of pleasure and finery this Thursday at the Evelyn. Joining them is Fabio Umberto, all the way from Rimini, Italy. This 1980s Italo disco legend will put pep in your step and the bump in your rump. After a considerable hiatus, California legends The Clintonicas (ex-Bearhugs, USA) bring their signature brand of windswept dude-rock to Melbourne for one show only. Entry is $7 from 9pm.

The experience of writing, rehearsing, recording, re-rehearsing and touring the songs already developed has given Wills’ striving and meticulous personality much food for thought regarding the next release: she’s going to go back to basics.

“A lot happened, both personally – and that affected my music – and with the band. I recorded most of the EP I released in 2007 in the comfort of my bedroom, deliberately. I wanted everything to be made by my own hands and ears rather than influenced by other musicians or sound engineers. After releasing that, I wanted to hone in on my sound a bit more, and was playing live with a three-piece band with a drummer and a guitarist/bassist. Over the three years I had been writing new material, recording in my bedroom again, rehearsing with the band. We were doing shows and, basically, getting used to the live thing.”

‘I think I want to take a different approach to songwriting,” she ponders. “Given that the last thing I released came out in 2007 and this one has taken another two years and is only six tracks, I want to get less precious about what I’m putting out. I’m proud of the EP I made but you lose a lot of the energy in what I’ve written because they’ve been arranged, and then changed and then arranged again and then in the studio and then rehearsing the same songs again. What I want to focus on next is just creating songs, recording them and not being so critical of how they sound. By stressing over and critiquing them they lose the essence of why they have come out in first place. I hope to make music I love: I thrive on melodies. I would love to say I’m a poet, but my love is more in the sounds you can make emotions through textures rather than words. I’m inspired to do things more spontaneously and not wait three more years to have finished product. Don’t ‘rehearse, rehearse, rehearse’. Unlearn.”

n 2007, Melbourne singer/songwriter Ainslie Wills released Green-Coloured Glass to serious and widespread acclaim after being ‘discovered’ by Missy Higgins, and then disappeared out of view for three years before re-emerging this year with her new EP, Somebody for Everyone. The burning question is – what happened to you, Ainslie Wills? She explains to Inpress the hazards of line-up changes and having a personal life.

Wills spent years developing her live show, only to find she needed to start again at the beginning of 2010.

VOLTERA GIVE BIRTH After extensive touring over the past four years, Voltera are ready to release their long-awaited debut concept album, The Birth Of The End Of The World, which is due to hit iTunes in June supported by a national tour. This 13-track pilgrimage from birth to death examines both civil mortality (or lack there of) and environmental mortality, and the relationship between the two. With the support of special guests Witchgrinder, who also launch their debut EP, Sin City and Trash Island, they launch it at the Evelyn Hotel this Friday. Tickets on sale from Moshtix and on the door.

“Even though our drummer had left, Lawrence and I thought we’d launch the EP and tour. We found a bass player, a drummer and a keyboard player: five of us were needed to recreate what we recorded. After playing a few shows together it’s sounding great: it’s based on what’s recorded but, and it’s bound to happen, people influence music with their feel. We’re playing the music as I intended it to be but there’s definitely a different energy and a thicker sound now. At the start of the new band it took a while to settle, but now we’re feeling much more comfortable, taking risks and extending the songs, making the music more elastic and not sticking to the recorded arrangements.”

Gareth Skinner’s second studio album Looking for Vertical was acclaimed as one of last year’s most intriguing Australian releases, and now fans have a chance to experience Skinner performing a rare afternoon cello concert at the Northcote Social Club on the Sunday 6 June. Committed to performing “a maximum of three or four solo gigs a decade”, Skinner will play songs and instrumentals that interdict dangerous human elements through beauty and malevolence. This is one not to miss, so grab tickets from the venue now.

These Patterns play Revolver on Saturday and the Empress on Thursday 3 June. HOW DID YOU GET TOGETHER? Jess Njoo, keyboards: “Sam and I went to the same high school and played in various awkward school bands together. We met Paul at a local grungy hangout, held an audition and let him be in a band with us.” HAVE YOU RECORDED ANYTHING OR DO YOU PREFER TO TOOL AROUND IN YOUR BEDROOM? Sam Arthur, drums/vocals: “We’ve recorded a few demos with both student and professional engineers and have also recorded a few songs live during rehearsals. But we’ll be heading back into the studio in July to record our debut EP.”

“After playing as three-piece for a while our drummer decided to nick off to Berlin,” she recalls ruefully, “so the guitarist (Lawrence Folvig) and I were on the hunt for extra band members: there was only the two of us and I wanted a full sound. But before the drummer went to Berlin we recorded the Someone For Everyone EP that is about to be released. So we documented playing together as three-piece which is good.” The show must go on, as they say in show business cliches, so Wills decided she would get the (new) band together.

HEY DUMBSHIT

THEN THERE WAS JUAN

Head to the Lyrebird Lounge this Friday for a night of muzical chaos with Dumbshit, The Paul Kidney Experience, Dead Ants Rainbow and The Cult Of Placenta Head. Join some freaks have fun listen to some exciting experimental bands in Ripponlea.

Epicure play their very last shows this coming Friday and Saturday at the Karova Lounge in their hometown of Ballarat. Singer/songwriter Juan Alban has wasted no time in continuing his career– following the farewell shows for the band, you can catch Albarn’s new material when he plays a solo show on Saturday 5 June at 303 in Northcote.

CAN YOU SUM UP YOUR BAND’S SOUND IN FOUR WORDS? “Angular, abstract, aggressive and asthmatic.”

TAKIN’ A PISTOLERO Following the successful release of there first album, Melbourne’s Manic Pistoleros are hitting the stages all over the country dealing out there hard hitting brand of old school psychobilly! The guys are writing new songs for there next release and plan to go back into the studio later this year. Be sure to catch them this Saturday at the Arthouse with Adrian Whyte (The Vaudevillains), Catgut Mary and The Working Horse Irons. Entry is $7 from 8pm.

IF YOU COULD SUPPORT ANY BAND IN THE WORLD, WHO WOULD IT BE AND WHY? Sam: “PVT (formerly Pivot). We saw their album preview show at the East Brunswick Club and our faces melted. Amazing.” IF A HIGHER POWER SMITES YOUR HOUSE AND YOU CAN ONLY SAVE ONE RECORD FROM THE FIRE, WHAT WOULD IT BE? Sam: “My Gregorian Chants Volume IV vinyl.” Jess: “It’s a toss-up between Joy Division’s Closer or So Fresh Hits Of 2000.”

STILL THE ONE Formed in 2006, The Stillsons are fronted by the dual vocals of English expat Justin Bernasconi (guitar) and Melbourne grown Cat Canteri (drums). Their sound is a blend of country folk rock combined with a cocktail of traditional and contemporary influences, with echoes of Gillian Welch, Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris. The Stillsons head up a gig sponsored by RMIT at the John Curtin Hotel this Sunday from 6pm, joined by Aluka and Sam Lawrence. Entry is $8, which also gets you access to a photography exhibition and sale also taking place on the night.

DO YOU HAVE A LUCKY ITEM OF CLOTHING YOU WEAR FOR GIGS AND WHAT IS IT? Sam: “My most supportive bra.” Jess: “My ridiculously expensive custom made earplugs and, on behalf of Paul, he wears his shoestring belt.” IF YOU INVITED SOMEONE AWESOME ROUND FOR DINNER WHAT WOULD YOU COOK? Sam: “Pasta, I’m Italian.” WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE PLACE TO DRINK IN MELBOURNE? Jess: “Hell’s Kitchen.” Sam: “The Grace Darling.”

WHO: Ainslie Wills WHAT: Somebody For Everyone EP (Independent) WHEN & WHERE: Friday, Bella Union at Trades Hall; Saturday, Helen Macpherson Smith Theatre (Ballarat); Friday 4 June, Newmarket Hotel (Bendigo); Friday 25 June, Palais (Hepburn Springs)

LILITH ON THE BILLY

MERCURIALS ON TRACK If you haven’t caught a show at the new Caravan Music Club (located at the Oakleigh/Carnegie RSL in Oakleigh) they have a blinding array of musical delights coming up to tempt you. Come and check out the beautiful old stage and candlelit seated theatre style setting and hear some amazing music while you’re at it. This Sunday, Music Club favourites The Mercurials featuring Mark Ferrie (RocKwiz band), Andrew Pendlebury (The Sports) and Adi Sappir grace the stage. Friday 18 June sees Suzie Dickinson launch her new album 19 Steps and Friday 16 July, Shane Howard launches his brand new album. See caravanmusic.com.au for show and ticket details.

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Catch the last of Lilith Lane’s solo residency at the Sporting Club Hotel in Brunswick this Saturday from 8pm whilst chowing down on some delicious Spanish cuisine and warming by the open fire. In these intimate front bar environs you can hear songs from her upcoming album Gold Diamond to be released in late June. The mini EP Billy Wot?, which includes three radio singles from Gold Diamond, is available now from all good digital stores for less than the cost of a pint or glass of vino.

LEAKED MEMO Lee Memorial return to the Old Bar this Friday for their first headline show with the new line-up. Along with the recent arrival of ex-Sodastream cohort Pete Cohen on bass, they have been busily writing and will be showcasing an armload of new tunes on the night. Joining them will be Cuba Is Japan and Andrea Mccubbin & The Hope Addicts.

triple j & The Atlas Agency presents

THURSDAY 24 JUNE INFERNO NIGHTCLUB, TRARALGON 21 KAY ST, TRARALGON / (* WITH WASHINGTON ONLY) TICKETS FROM THE VENUE (03) 5176 0464 & WWW.OZTIX.COM

FRIDAY 25 JUNE THE PALACE, MELBOURNE WWW.PALACE.COM.AU 20-30 BOURKE STREET, MELBOURNE TICKETS FROM WWW.TICKETMASTER.COM.AU & WWW.OZTIX.COM.AUDOORS OPEN 8PM

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SAND IN YER PANTS The Sand Pebbles have released four albums in Australia, including 2008’s Ceduna, plus last year’s international release, A Thousand Wild Flowers. They have played with the likes of Midlake, Models, The Drones, Tame Impala and The Church, yet despite keeping such illustrious company, have only played outside of Victoria thrice over their career. They were reputedly banned from the Meredith Music Festival for allegedly invading the stage during Rose Tattoo’s set in 2006. They’ll be invading another stage this weekend, that of the Old Bar, for a special one-off show with young upstarts Baptism Of Uzi and Ancient Slate. Doors at 8pm, with entry a measly $6.

RUMBLE WITH INTOXICA Rumble kicks on strong for another round of ballsto-the-floor, octane-burning rock’n’roll at the Bendigo Hotel in Collingwood this Friday, with local live favourites Intoxica making their Rumble debut. Alongside Intoxica are The Speed Demons – fronted by tattoo artist and rock’n’roll raconteur Smeer – as well as The Murderballs and The Workinghorse Irons. Throw a bit of Miss Nic Burlesque in the mix and you’ve got yourself a nice touch of sauce in yer night. Doors open at 8.30pm and entry is $10.

DREAD HEADS Sunshine Coast act Kindread have been working hard on their upcoming funk dub reggae album, Free World. World-class engineer Leon Zervos (Muse, INXS, Crowded House) added a touch of magic when he was brought in to master the sixpiece’s debut release at Studio 301 in Sydney. The band have hit the road to launch the album, playing Veludo this Thursday and Bar Open this Friday.

PATINKA BITS

DUST ON HER GUITAR

Having recently expanded into a seven-piece experimental pop machine Patinka Cha Cha are once again getting familiar with the floor at Bar Open continuing on their quest bending pop jazz and lots of singing into one song. It’s hard to imagine what could happen but it will definitely be something different. In even more exciting news electronic duo Speed Painters (featuring Nick Huggins) will play one of their ultra rare but thrilling live shows. Jaw to the floor! The first to play but last to leave will be Tailor Made For A Small Room, having recently moved from Japan they bestow their loyalty upon Melbourne, so do the favour back.

At the Marquis Of Lorne this Sunday at 5pm, Jane Dust will play a special solo show of stripped back songs on her Maton guitar from her upcoming self-titled album to be released in August of this year. Original songwriting, crooning vocals and pop country ditties are on the menu along with support from the Dacios alter ego, The Bulls.

NOMADIC HEAD Fresh Audio will host a very special night with some of Melbourne’s top dub outfits at Bar Open this Saturday. From here to there and everywhere in between, The Nomad has plied his trade across the globe: always on the move, always on the good groove. The internationally-renowned producer has helped spearhead a resurgence of down-under electronica, both from his home country of New Zealand and now forging a career of note (both significantly and musically) in Australia. With support from Deep Fried Dub and Papa Stylee, this is a free gig and will cover many dub influenced genres from dubstep, reggae through to jungle. Entry is free from 10pm.

KIRK’S ALE On the back of a very successfull three-month national tour to release his new CD Cruisin, gifted blues and roots one-man band Shaun Kirk is back home and keeping busy, working on new grooves and playing plenty of shows before some more touring in the coming months. Despite his busy gigging schedule, plenty of ink still continues to flow from pen onto paper and there is now talk of a full-length album and 12-month tour to come in 2011! Kirk plays Oscars Alehouse in Belgrave this Friday from 9pm and the Elwood Lounge on Saturday from 9pm.

A celebration of all things thrash metal, The Thrashening sees a first time coming together of Melbourne’s most devastating bands – In Malice’s Wake, Demolition, Elm St and Inebriator. This unmissable event features each band’s own brand of whiplashing metal plus classic heavy metal covers, with a DJ playing thrash metal favourites all night long. This Friday night at the Arthouse!

Sydney’s lords of psychedelic drone, The Black Ryder, make their long-awaited return to Melbourne for their first headline show of 2010, and it’s a one-off show exclusive to Tone Deaf at Ding Dong this Saturday. Joining them on the night will be the driving shoegaze candy wheels of the much blogged new buzz band Three Month Sunset, and the Black Angels meets 13th Floor Elevators primitive psychedelic jams of Dreaming Of Ghosts?, who will be launching their debut release. RSVP at RSVP at tonedeaf. com.au/RSVP for cheaper guaranteed entry.

INDIE LEMONS An electrified glow will illuminate out of Revolver’s windows this Saturday with an electronic/experimental dreamscape of bands. White Birds & Lemons headline, with their indie, electronic passiveness. The quartet grace the stage with their alternative complicated composures and body moving beats. Supporting them are These Patterns, the two girls and a guy trio forming waves of electronic chaos and also Duck Duck Chop, with their noise attacking intensity. Entry is $10 from 9pm.

DESTRUKTOR NAIL YA Geelong’s own Destruktor assault home shores after over a year of successful gigs with the likes of country mates Nocturnal Graves, Cemetery Urn and The band have recently released their debut full-length, Nailed, through American label Hell’s Headbangers. They play the Barwon Club on Friday 2 June with death thrashers Dawn Of Retribution, Shepparton’s Wreak and Melbourne’s Desecrator. The chaos commences at 9pm sharp.

the new songs have been written at all. “We’re basically just in the studio, then doing publicity and touring and it just keeps going around in circles. Whenever we can write songs in-between then that’s what we’re doing.” And it seems there was never any worries amongst the band about falling prey to the dreaded Second Album Syndrome. Hynes says this was due mainly to personnel changes.

fter the success of their debut album, 2009’s Bleeding To The Circle, local alt.rock four-piece up-and-comers Star Assassin are at it again, albeit with some serious line-up changes. Their new album, Revelations, is slated for a November release, and the band have released a sneak peak by way of first single Sickness and a supporting tour. The upcoming show at the East Brunswick Club is the last of the tour as well as a welcome homecoming for the band. Inpress tracks down vocalist Simon Hynes and the first thing we want to know is whether or not the single is representative of the forthcoming album as a whole. “It’s nice and heavy,” he says, “which was what we were going for. I’d say it’s partly representative. You’d probably need to hear a few singles before you knew what the album was going to be like, but there’ll definitely be a few heavier tracks on there like Sickness.”

WIN ON A RYDER

While the final touches of magical mix-tery are being sprinkled upon the new EP from local band Chinook they are braving the winter wind this Saturday night to play at the very cosy IDGAFF bar in Collingwood. They band will be sandwiched between other local favourites Lazy Birds and pop guru Danny McDonald & The Right Wing Conservatives. Huddle up and keep warm!

After a number of line-up changes, alt.rockers STAR ASSASSIN feel like they’re starting over again, singer SIMON HYNES tells TONY MCMAHON.

In the lead up to the release of his much anticipated new live album, Gabriel Lynch is performing a series of free Sunday evening shows at Edinburgh Castle. With his propensity for sensitive and lyrical songwriting, the shows include an array of new material, as well as several of the songs that have helped Lynch make his mark on the Melbourne folk pop circuit. This week he’s joined by Charles Lim from 5pm. Entry is free.

THRASH, NOT THRUSH

CHIN SANDWICH

RISING STARS

GABRIEL’S SUNDAY ROAST

Talking of more singles, Star Assassin have another, Slave, already scheduled for release in August, to be mastered in New York by no less a personage than the legendary Ted Jensen, who has worked with Three Days Grace, Green Day and Alice In Chains. Hynes says this was a deliberate ploy. “Yeah, definitely. Ted’s done a lot of bands that have really influenced us. We just wanted to get that kind of sound and dip our toes over there, you know? Everything from Three Days Grace to Alice In Chains, old school and new school, he’s done them, so why not give someone like that your record? Hopefully it’ll sound amazing. I’m pretty exited about it.” Star Assassin have a growing reputation as a hard working, hard touring band, and it’s something of a wonder, according to Hynes, that

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“Our first album had a lot of people that really liked it, but we’re a different band because the line-up’s changed. In a lot of ways I feel comfortable with the new line-up: with the direction and writing and all that. It almost feels like a first record again to be honest.” Support on the first show of the Sickness tour came from Clint Boge’s new band Thousand Needles In Red. “We kicked the tour off with Thousand Needles In Red and we’ve played with The Butterfly Effect a few times as well. Their stuff’s really good. I don’t think it’s as good as Butterfly Effect, but it’s still good and they put on a really good show. It was also great just to catch up with them.” When it comes to other bands that Star Assassin have shared the stage with – including Grinspoon, Cog and Pennywise – Hynes is reluctant to reveal any dirt, unfortunately, but he does share a rather wonderful story. “I don’t know about any dirt,” he says, but in a way that makes Inpress think he actually does. “But I remember we did a show in front of about three or four thousand people. We were playing the set, just going off, and then I looked over to the side of the stage and there was Phil from Grinspoon having a beer and watching the set. I just thought ‘this is such a rock’n’roll moment’. I had a chat with him afterwards and he said he enjoyed the set, which was really cool.” WHO: Star Assassin WHAT: Sickness single (Independent) WHEN & WHERE: Saturday, East Brunswick Club

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Battlecat launch their new EP at the Espy on Saturday. HOW DID YOU GET TOGETHER? Christian Parkinson, vocals/guitar: “We all played in various other bands around the Perth scene and such, but in about ’07 we decided to put our own machine together, and never looked back.” HAVE YOU RECORDED ANYTHING OR DO YOU PREFER TO TOOL AROUND IN YOUR BEDROOM? “We are launching our second, six-track EP, State Of Mind, on Saturday at the Espy. It’s out nationally through Firestarter Distribution, and on iTunes.” CAN YOU SUM UP YOUR BAND’S SOUND IN FOUR WORDS? “Loud, heavy, infectious raawwk.” IF YOU COULD SUPPORT ANY BAND IN THE WORLD, WHO WOULD IT BE AND WHY? “Well, if we could support ourselves by playing our music then we’d be happy!” IF A HIGHER POWER SMITES YOUR HOUSE AND YOU CAN ONLY SAVE ONE RECORD FROM THE FIRE, WHAT WOULD IT BE? “Off the top of my head… Songs For The Deaf – Queens Of The Stone Age.” DO YOU HAVE A LUCKY ITEM OF CLOTHING YOU WEAR FOR GIGS AND WHAT IS IT? “Our bass player always has his lucky facial hair… I think he may have even trained his moustache to fight crime.” IF YOU INVITED SOMEONE AWESOME ROUND FOR DINNER WHAT WOULD YOU COOK? “BBQ, mate.” WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE PLACE TO DRINK IN MELBOURNE? “Probably the Espy or the Northcote Social Club.”

PRETTY AS PENO Ron S Peno requests your attendance at the debut of his new band RSVP (his initials) at the third and last of his intimate sneak preview gigs around Melbourne. Peno, former lead singer with much loved band Died Pretty, is giving you the slow tease – a wink and the promise of glorious new ditties from his first ever solo project. Cam Butler (guitars), Brett Poliness (drums), Andy Papp (bass) and Tim Deane (keyboards/guitars) expertly accompany him on this musical sojourn as The Return To Senders. Peno and Butler have been furiously busy during the past year writing those bittersweet left-of-centre songs that sparkle when they need to and break your heart when you don’t expect them to. Now it’s time to publicly unveil the fruits of their musical labours. They play Yah Yah’s on Sunday 6 June with Andrew McCubbin & The Hope Addicts. Entry is free!

THE GOOD TEA PARTY Melbourne new wave indie folk outfit The Tealeaves have been receiving rave reviews for their recently released self-titled debut album (out now on Vitamin Records) and are excitedly hitting the road to showcase their musical wares during their national tour. Traversing a wide range of musical styles, their songs range from harmony filled wall-ofsound band tracks to intimate, melancholy indie pop. Don’t miss them during their album launch tour when they play Reveller’s North (formerly the Laundry) on Friday 4 June with Eleanor Angel.

MAMMOTH HOLE After tearing ragged holes in stages from one bloody end of Melbourne to the other, Mammoth Mammoth finally take a can of petrol, a box of matches and a hard-on for trouble to Pony this Friday. With Adelaide’s bastards of booze Bad Blood & Broken Bones and lords of psychedelic fuzz My Left Boot, this is gonna be one hot mess of drunken trouble, so call your lawyer and get ready to riot, because Altamont was never this much fun. Doors at 9.30pm.

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DEATH TO SOBRIETY Death Valley Band let loose with a barrage of clean but tough rock guitar action that will melt your senses! Watch all three of the lads throw themselves about the stage at Pony this Thursday and see if you can count the injuries. Special guests include Clavians, the dark, scuzzy blues two-piece that will make you think, Ferrytails, who will provide your ears with a grungey blues explosion and The No Real Need opening up with their melodic rock! Doors are at 9pm.

THE DOCTOR

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Dr El Suavo, along with Australia’s ‘punk’ publishing house Paroxysm Press, is proud to present an “evening of counter culture with words” at Melbourne best kept secret, the Lyrebird Lounge in Ripponl tonight, Wednesday 26 May, from 8pm. Your host Dr El Suavo has been searching his vast collection (not downloading off the net!) and will be screening rare footage of such great writers as William S Burroughs, Charles Bukowski, Jack Kerouac and more as well as spinning tunes from the ‘beat generation’ to take you back in time to the real hip! This will be mixed with featured writers reading from authors who have had works published by Paroxysm Press, including Indigo and Shane Jesse Christmass. Entry is free!

BRILLIANT BOOM The Pop Boom is here again! Following on from a huge first event, Popboomerang Records have announced the line-up for The Pop Boom #2. The night will be held on Saturday 19 June at the Birmingham Hotel and will feature co-headliners The Solomons and Brilliant Fanzine (EP launch) showcasing their indie pop rock anthems. The night will also feature new melodic Melbourne outfit The Futurists playing their farewell show before relocating to the UK for six months and a rare performance from folk pop enigma Tim Reid. To top things off, PBS’s Lukey D (Everybody Moves) will be spinning Aussie classic tunes.

GEOFFREY GETS BLIND Jack On Fire play the Hooked Up Records launch at 303 on Thursday. HOW DID YOU GET TOGETHER? Ben Blakeney, guitar/vocals: “A few of us met through playing in Institut Polaire, a group from Perth. I’d had some demos kicking around for some time and decided to get a band together. So I persuaded a couple members of IP to join and then we drafted a couple of good friends who are fine musicians. Throw in a mutual love of Hank Williams and there you have it.”

KIRSTEN ALL NIGHT Have you ever heard the sound of a siren drowning in her own song, the call of a broken bird or the crack of a heavy heart break? That’s the sound of Kirsten Verwoord & The All Night Riders. A mixture of love songs and murder ballads to heal and break the heart all at once. Enjoy one of their stripped back sets tonight, Wednesday 26 May, at the Marquis Of Lorne from 9pm, featuring members of the All Night Riders, Silvercity Highway, and the Night Terrors with Simon Edwards, Seamus O’Sullivan, Miles Brown and very special guest Lyndsay Phillips on lead guitar.

LEHMANN B RAD Having released a debut album of scary lo-fi acoustic songs last year, Lehmann B Smith has changed his mind, put together a choir and begun playing sixties style pop numbers. He and his choir will sing these new songs this Thursday at the Builders Arms, supported by Pageants and Mononoke. Entry is $5 in the band room from 8.30pm.

HANG LIKE KNIGHTS Melbourne based five-piece Bright Knights will launch their debut album, The Ocean And The Night, at the Workers Club this Saturday. The album was recorded last winter at BJB Studios in Sydney and was produced and mixed by Scott Horscroft. Supporting the boys on the night will be Elle Skies, who also appears as a guest backing vocalist on a couple tracks from the album. Entry is $15 from 8.45pm, or you can grab pre-sale tickets (or a ticket and album pack) from brightknights.bigcartel.com.

HAVE YOU RECORDED ANYTHING OR DO YOU PREFER TO TOOL AROUND IN YOUR BEDROOM? “We are always messing around with home recordings for ideas and demos. The band has recorded an album, Stranger Cain, that was released late last year. It was recorded live at Sing Sing studios over four days. Fun times.” CAN YOU SUM UP YOUR BAND’S SOUND IN FOUR WORDS? “Preaching hillbilly gospel blues.” IF YOU COULD SUPPORT ANY BAND IN THE WORLD, WHO WOULD IT BE AND WHY? “Woven Hand. Their records are just incredible. There’s actually not a lot David Eugene Edwards has done that I haven’t loved.” IF A HIGHER POWER SMITES YOUR HOUSE AND YOU CAN ONLY SAVE ONE RECORD FROM THE FIRE, WHAT WOULD IT BE? “I can’t choose just one. So I’d take my iPod. But the Lord can be a petty fellow at the best of times so if I had to, I’d choose Liege And Lief by Fairport Convention.” DO YOU HAVE A LUCKY ITEM OF CLOTHING YOU WEAR FOR GIGS AND WHAT IS IT? “Ha ha, no. No lucky items of clothing here. I do have certain routines that I have to go through in the last half hour before I prance up on stage though.” IF YOU INVITED SOMEONE AWESOME ROUND FOR DINNER WHAT WOULD YOU COOK? “I would cook Indian take away.” WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE PLACE TO DRINK IN MELBOURNE? “Well my partner Sam and George, who both play in the band, work at the Retreat Hotel so I get, shall we say, reasonable priced drinks there. The bar staff there are a beautiful bunch too. So I’ll say the Retreat Hotel. It has to be the front bar though with the regular barflys, which, I just realised, are mostly all my close friends. God I need to get a life.”

This Sunday the Workers Club plays host to ‘Love Is Blindside’, a benefit gig and rent party for Melbourne CBD artist-run space Blindside. Acts include Geoffrey O’Connor (Crayon Fields), future-retro popsters Magic Silver White (featuring both Cornel ‘Qua’ Wilczek and everyone from Mountains In The Sky), free-rock trio Battlesnake, and Jared Davis’s pop project Far Concern, with more to be confirmed! DJ sets from Rainbow Connection and a tag-team of Qua and Clue To Kalo. Entry is $12 from 6pm.

CRASH IMPALA After selling out the Forum last week and sending the crowd back to the halcyon days of the psychedelic ‘60s, Black Night Crash will be celebrating the release of Tame Imapala’s debut longplayer InnerSpeaker on Saturday night. Intended for moving one’s body to, Tame Impala make psychedelic hypno-groove melodic rock music which is perfect for shaking and baking across the BNC dancefloor. The DJs will also be spinning the usual onslaught of past, present and future indie zingers. Entry is free all night long from 8pm. Be sure to get in early to cure that insatiable thirst and set yourself up for a party – doors open at 9pm. How Love is the collaborative work of Melbourne producerswriters Finn Robertson, Andrew Worotniuk and Jamieson Moore. With their first single Time Song being released through Sydney-based blog Kluster, along with a Tronikelesch remix, How Love celebrate by launching Time Song at the Toff In Town this Thursday. Performing live with Tronikelesch and with support from Children as well as Angel Eyes, this will be the last How Love show before they head to Europe. Visuals on the night come from local VJ Zeal, while Rat Vs Possum and Fail DJs will spin tracks. Entry is $10 from 7.30pm.

MARY LIKES DONG Melbourne’s battle hardened warriors of dirty sleazy rock, Electric Mary, want some “fresh virgins to plunder” before they hit the road to play at a World Cup Party in South Africa with Fatboy Slim and Powderfinger. This Friday at the Ding Dong Lounge they’re going to be joined by legendary Melbourne rock’n’roll gunslinger Spencer P Jones, doing a solo deal with the devil at the crossroads, the all-girl line-up of Bunny Monroe, who wowed the crowds at the Cherry Rock festival earlier this month, while kicking things off on the night will be the dirty scuzzy two piece bone rattling of Council. Tickets are only $12+BF or $15 on the door.

MISS

SARAH FROM 9PM TILL CLOSE SAT 29TH:

80’S RETRO TUNES SAM MCEWIN

SUNDAY SESSIONS

FROM 9:00PM TILL 11:30PM

TRANSPORT HOTEL @ FEDERATION SQUARE 9654 8808 / WWW.TRANSPORTHOTEL.COM.AU

Rockabilly honky tonk harmonisers The Rechords are out and about right now, playing to our cousins up north as they launch their new Ten Fours release. Luckily for local fans, though, they’re making sure they’re back home this weekend to continue their Sunday residency at the Gem Hotel in Collingwood. They take the stage from 7.30pm. In just a few weeks, the band will also be releasing a compilation CD out in time for Wintersun featuring seven tracks from The Rechords and nine unreleased tracks from Perth band The Salt Flat Trio, so keep an eye out for a launch for that one.

HOT ON HEALS Hot on the heels of their packed out single launch, Melbourne five-piece Dancing Heals have put together a winning line-up of your favourite emerging bands at the Grace Darling bandroom this Friday. Renowned for their template of chiming guitars overlaid with soaring synths and heartfelt vocals which have seen them described as “Teenage Fan Club meets Doves”, Dancing Heals definitely have their own thing going on and are gathering a solid following. Rounding off the night will be Young Raptors, who have received props on Triple J’s Unearthed, and The Jeraboms, with Dancing Heals drawing the middle slot. Entry is $5.

DEALING BIG LOVE

SUN 30TH:

FRI 28TH:

RECHORDS SPIN IN

MATT WILCO FROM 11:30PM TILL CLOSE

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UZI’S CHERRY BOMB After seeing the gobsmacking launch of the Dictaphonium series at Pony last week, Cherry Bar has asked Baptism Of Uzi to take to the stage and put on a special show for the assorted rock dogs and pigs of ACDC Lane tonight, Wednesday 26 May. Baptism promptly held Cherry Bar management to ransom and demanded they make entry free. Along for the ride are Baptism’s bosom buddies Silence Dead Silence who feature members of Matt Sonic & The High Times and Useless Children. Make sure you get down early – doors at 8pm with SDS on at 9pm sharp and Baptism at 10pm.

WHATS ON:

MONDAY MADNESS

$5 PINTS CARLTON DRAUGHT

THURSDAY IS

LADIES NIGHT $5 BUBBLE & $10 COCKTAILS

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SIX BRIGHT SPARKS After two years of toiling in the studio and relentlessly obliging to rock each and every stomping ground that has crossed their path, local rockers Spark-Iris are finally launching their epic, six-track EP, Break The Chain, this Friday at Melbourneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s heart of rocâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;nâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;roll, the Espy. Thus far, with a blazing fist of glory, the four piece maniacal beast has already won over countless audiences with their diverse mix of aggressive, dramatic, and upbeat balls to the walls heavy rock, and are now preparing to unleash an all out onslaught of Australian shows.

BLUE ATLANTIC Skarlet Blue and Grand Atlantic join forces for a show at the Toff In Town tonight, Wednesday 26 May. Grand Atlantic are fresh from a Wednesday residency at the Workers Club and tonightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gig sees both acts making their Toff debut. Skarlet Blue have played a host of sold out headline shows around Melbourne as well as an impressive number of supports for national and international acts

from Thirsty Merc though to Sweet. Meanwhile, Grand Atlantic this year embarked on a 15-date tour of the US and Canada, including SXSW and Canadian Music Week. Entry is $10 from 7.30pm.

WINSOME CHURCHILL For many who made the trip to Byron Bay Bluesfest at Easter time, it was all about seeing the older musical legends on the bill. As it turns out, one of the runaway hits of the festival was 19-year-old Kim Churchill, who blew away thousands of punters at the Mojo Stage. Following his last packed out show in Melbourne in March, Churchill returns on Thursday 17 June to the Northcote Social Club. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s too young to be a music legend, but thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no doubt a huge international career lays ahead for Kim Churchill.

SUBTERRANEAN BLUES From the restless streets of Shoreditch, London, Beale Street, Memphis, to Church Street, Melbourne, Mr Black & Blues â&#x20AC;&#x201C; AKA Michael Pollitt â&#x20AC;&#x201C; travels

the world shining a light into its darkest corners with his soul folk blues. While experiencing a little enforced downtime due to a surfing-related broken neck, Mr Black & Blues thought it best to write himself the makings of an album. And now we hear the results of said album, The Morning Light, this Thursday from 9pm at the Drunken Poet.

OLD MOTHERS Melbourneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Mother And Father will be heading over to America in June taking their super-fuzzed pop sounds to audiences playing a string of dates along the West Coast. Whist in the States, the band will also be recording with Jack Endino (Mudhoney, Nirvana, Flipper) in Seattle, as well as Mike McHugh (Black Lips) in Costa Mesa. Catch them playing their last show in their hometown before they head off at the Old Bar this Thursday. Joining them on the night will be Poor People, Killing Birds (Canberra) and The Bonniwells (featuring members of Bleach and The Frowning Clouds).

DING DONG DOLLS To show you why you need to listen to rockâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;nâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;roll live instead of through the tinny speakers of your computer, Ding Dong has two of Melbourneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hottest bands lined up for a May residency. Every Thursday the apocalyptic squall of The Priory Dolls will be shaping up to the post-Bad Seeds dramalogue of The Process. With special guests every week, this is rockâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;nâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;roll at its most visceral and thrilling; and with these bands about to step up in to the big league thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s never been a better chance to see them so you can pull out the old â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I saw them back when they played in small venuesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; line. Entry is just $5.

SAWYER BEEN Rob Sawyer and his band will be playing the last of their Australian shows this week before heading off on quite an extensive European tour. You can catch the band cranking out some new and old tunes tonight, Wednesday 26 May, at the Espy front bar with Al Parkinson; this Thursday at Baha Tacos in Rye, again with Parkinson; and then for their final show the guys will be joining The Red Eyes at the Barwon Heads Hotel this Friday. Sawyer and the lads have been hard at work on a new studio album, Lose Discover, to be released upon returning from Europe.

DUNS OF THE CLASS Most recently described as sounding like â&#x20AC;&#x153;a family of rats and a bag of nails in a clothes dryerâ&#x20AC;?, Duns have recorded a new EP called Gulping Marsupial. Duns is very sequenced ramshackle, inspired by Footscray $2 shops and broken accordions. The Duns live band will be launching this EP at the Builders Arms this Friday, and it should be same dreadful shambles as previous â&#x20AC;&#x153;showsâ&#x20AC;?, but with some new songs. Duns will be put to shame on the night by The Townhouses, Blood Ones and Ornithologist. Entry is $5 in the band room from 8.30pm.

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Kindread play at Veludo on Thursday and at Bar Open on Friday. HOW DID YOU GET TOGETHER? Brett Gadenne, guitar/synth/percussion: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We formed through various other bands we all were in. A little jamming turned into some big songwriting and some great shows and festivals, which then led into recording a mega-debut album, Free World. So now here we are, ready to introduce our music to the big bad world.â&#x20AC;? HAVE YOU RECORDED ANYTHING OR DO YOU PREFER TO TOOL AROUND IN YOUR BEDROOM? â&#x20AC;&#x153;We just finished recording our debut album, Free World. We have all been a part of various other bands who have had national releases and toured extensively. This was an album we all wanted to be proud of and we are very happy with what has come of it.â&#x20AC;? CAN YOU SUM UP YOUR BANDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S SOUND IN FOUR WORDS? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Roots/funk/dub/reggae.â&#x20AC;?

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IF YOU COULD SUPPORT ANY BAND IN THE WORLD, WHO WOULD IT BE AND WHY? â&#x20AC;&#x153;There are two bands that we would absolutely lick a mutantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s foot to supportâ&#x20AC;Ś They would be Michael Franti & Spearhead and The Black Seeds. IF A HIGHER POWER SMITES YOUR HOUSE AND YOU CAN ONLY SAVE ONE RECORD FROM THE FIRE, WHAT WOULD IT BE? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bob Marley, because his music is still timeless to this day... Plus itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all I heard when I was in Bali recently and his music would be the only positive thing that would get me through such an ordeal... ha ha.â&#x20AC;?

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DO YOU HAVE A LUCKY ITEM OF CLOTHING YOU WEAR FOR GIGS AND WHAT IS IT? â&#x20AC;&#x153;I can wear anything to our shows that looks half decent. We have two females in the band and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a whole other question for them... They can never wear anything lucky enough â&#x20AC;&#x201C; change after change after change. Why is that?â&#x20AC;? IF YOU INVITED SOMEONE AWESOME ROUND FOR DINNER WHAT WOULD YOU COOK? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Tacos, because theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re always tasty and easy to prepare. Plus, the beans in the mince always make for great farting competitions later in the night.â&#x20AC;? WHATâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S YOUR FAVOURITE PLACE TO DRINK IN MELBOURNE? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Anywhere Kindread are performing. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m usually a fan of the Espy too. We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get down here much so we are still finding that one special place. If you can enlighten us please do as we plan to be here more often this year â&#x20AC;&#x201C; drop us a line at myspace. com/kindreadgrooves.â&#x20AC;?

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LUCY LAWLESS

DAVID IS DIRTY

Pandora’s Box is bringing you more delicious tranny delights to melt your face at Roxanne Parlour this Saturday night. Riotous drag team Godzilla & Mummy Complex head up some fierce gender terrorism whilst drinking, dancing and being filthy. But the most delicious part of the evening will be all you little piggies in your fancy coats, evening gowns and grown-up nappies – the dress code is ‘drag’ and you’re free to interpret that as wildly as you like. The night will feature MC Gaff E of the Hot Mess collective, DJ Bitch Prease, a new duo show by Godzilla & Mummy Complex (think Pauline Hanson and bleach) and more. Entry is $6 for the inspired and delightfully attired and $12 for the lazy. Doors st 9pm. RESIDENTS

SWIZZLE WITH RICHIE Swizzle Au Go Go is proud to present the official Australian launch party for the incredible blaxploitation film Black Dynamite at Yah Yah’s this Friday. Selling out sessions at the Melbourne International Film Festival last year, Black Dynamite is the story of the African-American legend who goes after ‘The Man’ for killing his brother Jimmy, for pumping heroin into local orphanages and for flooding the ghetto with hopped-up malt liquor. To celebrate the Australian launch of the film, Richie 1250 & The Brides Of Christ and The Charlies will take the stage and Melbourne’s finest DJs will keep you dancing to ‘60s and ‘70s exotica; greasy soul, sleaze funk, psychedelic cumbia, fuzzy jazz, porno soundtracks, northern soul and a few tragic early 70s Euro-disco numbers. Doors at 8.30pm.

Lucy’s Crown kick off their tour on Thursday 3 June at the Northcote Social Club launching Hit The Bottom, the first single from their long awaited forthcoming debut album release. The extraordinary, energetic senior female troupe The Golden Tappers will perform alongside Lucy in a death-defying tap extravaganza! Supporting Lucy and her men in black, as well as her 18th century harpsichord, will be Little Freddie & The Pops and the blues-laden melodic tunes of Twelve Inch Clocks. Entry is $10.

LABOUR IS COLD Cold Harbour take their blend of swampy rock, blues, psychedelia and sonic landscapes to the Labour In Vain in Fitzroy this Sunday. The band will be presenting material from their recently released Dust Storm album, select covers, and a few new numbers in a semi-acoustic setting. Cold Harbour will be playing a three sets from 5pm and entry is free.

DANNY WINGS IT Melbourne indie pop singer/songwriter Danny McDonald returns to IDGAFF this Saturday with his new band the Right Wing Conservatives. With an impressive pedigree including former members of Knievel, P76, Jericho, Oscarlima, Prettymess and Sophie Koh band, the Right Wing Conservatives will be playing a handful of new tunes from a yet to be recorded release expected for late 2010 along with a collection of songs from McDonald’s extensive back catalogue spanning the last 15 years. Supports will be Chinook and Lazybirds.

FLAP! ON THE FLOOR

PUNKING TASSIE

Much-loved Melbourne band Flap! finally return to for their first major gig of 2010 at the East Brunswick Club on Thursday 3 June. Combining fiery youthful charm and cheeky character with influences from 1920s jazz, gypsy brass, English folk and Trinidadian calypso, Flap! create a sound that makes every song a surefire floor filler. Led by the dynamic vocals of Jess Guille with her ukulele, and co-vocal trumpet maestro Eamon McNelis, this is a band that can’t help but make you smile with their infectious on-stage energy and sweet sweet tunes. Support comes from he Band Who Knew Too Much.

Punk rock folk band The Gallant Trees and acoustic duo Prairie will be playing Thursday 3 June at Bender Bar in a first of a series of gigs together from upcoming Taswegian songwriters Joel Stibbard, Prairie Nischler and Lance Devlin featuring quirky songs about pigeons and polar bears. The gig starts at 9pm and it’s free so get along and support some Taswegians in Melbourne.

POLICY RAID Tell us why you don’t like Mondays! Earl Grey Policy love ‘em, and to prove it they’re putting on a rockin’ performance at the Empress Hotel this coming Monday 31 May. The fidgety four will be road-testing songs for their upcoming album, taking votes and playing crowd favourites. Creamy!

WALKER TO THE RETREAT Broderick Smith, former frontman of legendary country rock band The Dingoes, is treating us to some stripped back acoustic shows with help from guitar virtuoso and all-round lovely bloke Matt Walker. Smith and Walker have been playing Sundays at the Retreat with a special guest each week and this week is the last one with very special guests Van & Cal Walker, on stage at 7.30pm. On Thursday night at the Retreat is Kitchen Knife Wife with help from Royston Vasie, and on Friday night Spoonful are back to rock your socks off. Saturday at the Retreat sees Louis King and The Liars Klub warm up the front bar, while out the back groovers Deep Street Soul will keep your toes tappin’ ‘til 3am. And it’s all free people. See you there!

RELAXING ROOT! Root! are playing their first ever show at Spenserslive in West Melbourne this Saturday and, in celebration, are giving ticket holders the chance to win a win a hamper bursting with goodies and valued at over $300! Spenserslive is located up the quiet end of Spencer Street, near Festival Hall. With its retro-stylish booths, cosy atmosphere, and excellent lighting and sound, Spenserslive exudes relaxed cool – the perfect venue for a Root!. Plus you’ll be entertained by special guests The Rebelles, a the classic girl group with 15 singers. Grab tickets from Moshtix and spenserslive.com.

What does opening a COOPERS DARK ALE sound like?

Visit coopers.com.au for all details.

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kwp!CPR10778

MUMMY’S BOX

Dirtbird is the ethereal, mysterious musical project of singer-songwriter David M Lewis. Beautiful, close harmonies, soaring cello, sparsely pulsing acoustic guitar, and slow, sad songs about mythical journeys and the end of the world are some elements that Lewis and fellow Dirtbirders weave in and out of the organic quietness which has become the Dirtbird sound. Dirtbird will be launching their new CD this Friday at the Blue Tile Lounge in Collingwood with The Two Shots; on Friday 4 June at the Builder’s Arms with Ducks In The Mud; and Friday 11 June at the City Library, 253 Flinders Lane Melbourne, from 12.30pm.

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SHORT FAST

REPORT

Fall Out Boy

Back in January we told you about The Damned Things, something of a supergroup featuring Joe Trohman and Andy Hurley from Fall Out Boy, Scott Ian and Rob Caggiano from Anthrax and fronted by Every Time I Die’s Keith Buckley. It has now been announced that the band have signed to Island/Def Jam and are preparing a debut album. Trohman is quoted in the press release saying that the group “combines their love of classic rock anthems and powerful melodies with a heavy metal intensity; [it] turns out to be much more than the sum of the separate parts. This is an amalgam of three very different bands. It seemed unlikely, but it turned out we were on the same page musically. We were interested in putting together a heavy/classicrock, blues-oriented, riff-based band while trying to stay away from what makes that sound generic and overplayed. We started out with no expectations,” says Trohman. “We never intended for this to be a side project. It just happened.” Former hardcore band Avenged Sevenfold have announced Nightmare as the title of their fifth studio album, which will hit stores on 30 July. It’s interesting that the album was produced by Mike Elizondo, whose production credits don’t feature much heavy music – he’s more used to working with the likes of Dr Dre, Eminem, Jay-Z and Busta Rhymes. Perhaps Elizondo got confused and assumed Synyster Gates and Zacky V sounded more like rappers than members of a rock band. Against Me! have welcomed former The Hold Steady member Franz Nicolay to the band as a touring member! Anyone who’s seen The Hold Steady over the years will know what an amazing musician Nicolay is, so this is awesome news. The band issued a statement: “We’re very happy to welcome Franz Nicolay out on the road with us! Starting with this next run of Europe dates Franz will be joining us onstage every night and lending his immense talents and presence to the band.” You gotta love Frank Turner for giving back and supporting young talent. Second single Try This At Home from his current album Poetry Of The Deed is being released soon to coincide with Turner opening for Green Day at Wembley Stadium (in front of a lazy 90,000 people!). Those

THE

RACKET Metal, heavy rock and dark alternative with ANDREW HAUG theracket@inpress.com.au This week’s column is dedicated to the loss of a true rock icon, Ronnie James Dio! His amazing legacy will live on – RIP RJD \m/. Here are some fitting words from another legend and Dio’s best friend, Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi: “I’ve been in total shock; I just can’t believe he’s gone. Ronnie was one of the nicest people you could ever meet. We had some fantastic times together. Ronnie loved what he did, making music and performing on stage. He loved his fans so much. He was a kind man and would put himself out to help others. I can honestly say it’s truly been an honour to play at his side for all these years. His music will live on forever. Our thoughts are with Wendy Dio [Ronnie’s wife/manager] who stood by Ronnie until the end. He loved her very much. The man with the magic voice is a star amongst stars, a true professional. I’ll miss you so much, my dear friend.” Technical death/grind metallers Cephalic Carnage have begun work on the follow-up to 2007’s Xenosapien for a release via Relapse Records later this year. The as-yet-untitled CD is being recorded at the band’s own studio with longtime engineer/producer Dave Otero. Closer to home, Melbourne’s Contrive (featuring this columnist) have finally set a release date for long overdue album The Internal Dialogue. It will be released on 2 July via MGM Distribution; the first pressing will be a special hand-numbered embossed digipack limited to 500 copies. The CD

OF YOUTH All things under 18 with KENDAL COOMBS accessallages@inpress.com.au

Hardcore and punk with STU HARVEY shortfast@inpress.com.au Woo-hoo! Five years after their last (somewhat disappointing) album Haunted Cities, it looks like Tim Armstrong, Travis Barker and ‘Skinhead’ Rob are putting the finishing touches on a new Transplants album. Drummer Barker has been talking up the album’s progress on Twitter, letting his followers know they’re “recording some drums for a new song. Transplant$ album is coming out DOPE!”

DEPARTMENT

familiar with the song will know that the lyrics are all about the DIY ethos that drives the punk scene and encourages anyone and everyone to pick up a guitar, jot down some words and just give it go. And it is with this spirit that Turner is offering the chance for a new, unsigned act to be on the B-side of the single. Turner, in cooperation with his labels Xtra Mile Recordings (UK) and Epitaph Records (rest of the world), are asking for new and original music to be sent to him for consideration for the B-side. There will be two winners chosen by Turner together with Kerrang! in the UK and Alternative Press in the USA, with both winning tracks included as the B-sides of a limited edition coloured vinyl – 1,000 copies each for the UK and the rest of the world. For more information and details of how to enter the competition go to: xtramilerecordings. com and epitaph.com/demolition.

SHORT FAST REPORT TOP 5

Parkway Drive. Woah! The new Parkway Drive song, Sleepwalker, went up on their MySpace last Wednesday… in the first 24 hours it had already been streamed 55,000 times! The song is available now on iTunes and will be on the new album Deep Blue when it hits stores on 25 June. I had Winston McCall from the band on Short.Fast. Loud last week and he said of the forthcoming album: “no two songs sound the same”. Rolo Tomassi. They made plenty of mates when they were here for Soundwave, putting on some very impressive shows. Their new album was produced by Diplo who is more of a DJ/electronic producer than twiddler of knobs for English mathcore bands, but the partnership has worked well and Cosmology is a cracking album which is out this week. Tonight on Short.Fast.Loud I’ll be speaking to Eva Spence from the band all about it! Free Bad Religion. Don’t forget to head to badreligion.com for your free live album. Good stuff. Thanks old blokes, and happy birthday to Mr Brett who turned 48 last week! Deez Nuts. This One’s For You is the new album and tonight JJ will join me on Short.Fast.Loud to chat about it. Breaking Bad. Best show on TV. I know this is a punk/hardcore column, but that really just needed to be said. Catch Stu every Wednesday at 10pm hosting Short. Fast.Loud. on Triple J. The latest show can be streamed anytime at triplej.net.au/shortfastloud.

will be made available in stores Australia-wide or can be ordered through the band’s MySpace page as well as iTunes. Devin Townsend handled the mixing duties on record; commented Townsend: “I’ve known the Haug brothers for some time, and I have to say that this record is leagues ahead of their previous material, which was already great. They’ve got a cool message and a sense of dynamics on this album which I think will give people the cause to take notice. Organic and honest. I’m happy to have been involved with some really great music.” German power act Helloween recently entered singer Andi Deris’ Mi Sueno Studios in Tenerife, Spain to begin working on their as-yet-untitled 13th full-length album. The band have written more than 20 songs. Commented bass player Markus Grosskopf: “For all those out there who found our special best-of CD Unarmed to be too smooth and calm, I have great news: the new album will hit you right in the face! It’s gonna be very heavy and contain all Helloween trademarks! Some songs are very powerful and hymnic, others contain the fastest bass-drum patterns our drummer Dani [Löble] ever played, and this means a lot! I am really excited about the material we brought together and can’t wait to put my bass tracks on those kick-ass metal songs!” The album is scheduled for release on 31 October (yes, Halloween –how spooky!). Isis have split! The band have released the following statement: “Isis has reached an end. It’s hard to try to say it in any delicate way, and it is a truth that is best spoken plainly. This end isn’t something that occurred overnight and it hasn’t been brought about by a single cataclysmic fracture in the band. Simply put, Isis have done everything we wanted to do, said everything we wanted to say. The last, and perhaps most important, thing we might say in relation to all this is how grateful we are for the people that have supported us over the years. It is a lengthy list that would include those who put out our records, those that played on them and put

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PBS FM’s Vote 1 For Music Radio Festival runs until this Sunday. It’s a great opportunity for young bands to get their name out there in the community through sponsorship of one of Melbourne’s longest-running community radio stations, a station that is home to little-known music and a huge supporter of local talent. You can become a performer sponsor of PBS for $110, and as thanks for supporting the station you will receive a pack full of PBS goodies; a weekly “thank-you” on the show of your choice; a page on the PBS website (pbs.org.au) with a logo, link and a description; invites to special events; and a new radio. Performer members also get put onto rotation in the PBS gig guide, so if you have a show coming up, PBS will let all listeners know in a broadcast. So what are you waiting for? The time has come for you to step up and support one of Melbourne’s greatest radio stations and to get your name heard. There are also plenty of incentives for individuals to become sponsors of PBS as well. Aside from the satisfaction you will receive from having supported a good cause (PBS receives no funding from the government, has no on-air advertisements and all presenters are volunteers), concession card holders, for as little as $35, will receive a PBS pack and go into the draw for any one of the major prizes on offer during the Radio Festival, but you must become a member before Sunday. In other news: although they have started already, the Push It Hip Hop workshops are still accepting applications. So if you are aged between 12 and 25 and want to learn how to lay down some killer grooves or bust out some killer moves, then head to thepush.asn.au and sign up for the free weekly hip hop workshops, running every Thursday from 3.30pm at St Ambrose’s Hall, Brunswick until Thursday 17 June. Tonight – Under The Radar, a series of short films made by young people and in competition on the night, is happening at the George Cinema in St Kilda from 6pm. This event is free but if you want to ensure a seat then head down early, or book a place ahead of time. Friday – the Regenerate! dance party with DJ Ceff is on at the Yinnar Memorial Hall, Yinnar from 7pm. Entry is $10 on the door. Friday 4 June – the second heat of the FReeZA Push Start Battle Of The Bands Frankston Heats, featuring Wild Nite, Krematorium Defi led, Vendetta Fields plus more battling it out for a place in the regionals, is on at the Grand Hotel, Frankston from 6pm. Tickets are $10 on the door.

them to tape, the many bands with whom we shared the stage, all of our family, friends and companions who supported us in our individual lives and thus made it possible for us to continue on in the band, and most importantly those who truly listened to our music whether in recorded form or by coming to out to our shows or both. Our words can never fully express what we feel, but we hope that our music and the efforts made to bring it into being can serve as a more proper expression of gratitude for this life and for everyone in it. Thank you.”

LOCAL GIG GUIDE Black Majesty, Eyefear, Orpheus – Saturday 5 June, the Hi-Fi Bar

TOURS, TOURS, TOURS Unearth, The Black Dahlia Murder – Friday 4 June, the Hi-Fi Bar (18+) Alestorm – Friday 18 June, Corner Hotel Paul Di’Anno – Thursday 24 June, the Espy Om – Friday 16 July, Hi-Fi Bar Slash – Wednesday 11 August – Palace Napalm Death – Sunday 5 September – Hi-Fi Bar Mayhem – Thursday 23 September – Hi-Fi Bar Overkill – Friday 24 September, Hi-Fi Bar Metallica – Thursday 18, 20 and 21 November, Rod Laver Arena Andrew Haug hosts Triple J’s The Racket every Tuesday from 10pm – triplej.abc.net.au/ racket. Email theracket@inpress.com.au

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THE

Billy Corgan: comin’ back at ya!

BREAKDOWN Pop culture therapy with ADAM CURLEY It has taken its own sweet time, as these things have a tendency to do, but it’s happened. Sometime between Billy Corgan ducking the backlash over his studio collaborations with Jessica Simpson and convincing a Veronica to reach her skinny arms around his girth, the ‘90s revival we’ve been pledged for years now, the one false-started numerous times over by companies eager to be on the tip of the wave, has happened, and seemingly organically. As with the ‘70s and ‘80s revivals of the past 15 years, it just took for people to dig deeper into the cultural nuances than were immediately presented us, to uncover the – for a time – buried or forgotten gems. To go beyond flannel and Doc Martens and guitar rock or any of the signifiers long taken over and made naff by commerce and seek out the sincerity in, at this point, the wide middle of the decade. It has happened: the appropriation and subversion of commercial dance sounds by the likes of Bloc Party’s Kele Okereke on his solo single Tenderoni, echoing, perhaps, the likes of Faithless. The slide into less flagrantly theatrical sounds by some of the bigger names in rock, the rekindling of good garage sounds and the hint that we’re about to enter a new stage of decent band-pop given by the likes of Cloud Control and Parades. The sense of the imminence of gothic-leaning bubblegum pop singers as the sound moves up from under. There have been more apparent and backwardlooking signs, of course: girls walking around with pale faces and the ‘wet hair’ look; skateboards back under arms, if not on the roads, and the revisitation, perhaps led by magazine editors and DJs who are at the age of having grown up in the ‘90s, of the decade’s acts. At an inner-city club recently, wall to wall with ‘trendy’ types under 20 – meaning they were born after 1990 – one of the biggest dancefloor responses was to White Town’s 1997 hit Your Woman, another to Smashing Pumpkins’ Bullet With Butterfly Wings. (Sure, I was the one inflicting at least one of those songs, but the point remains.) While last week The New York Times was reporting of the worst week of US album sales since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking in 1991 (the top new album was The National’s High Violet, further suggesting that non-pop acts have big

ROOTS DOWN

Blues ’n’ roots with DAN CONDON rootsdown@inpress.com.au I was lucky enough to catch Canadian Blues Artist Of The Year Harry Manx live in concert last night in an intimate theatre setting. Now I must have seen Manx play ten times over the past ten years, but last night was different in that it was the first time I had seen him outside of a festival environment. A humble stool, small mixing desk and rack of four stringed instruments sat in the middle of the enormous stage and when Manx strolled up casually and launched into Bring That Thing from his 2001 debut Dog My Cat, it became very obvious that he would have us in the palm of his hand all night and wouldn’t let go. A common criticism of blues music in general is that it is uninventive, repetitive, clichéd and insincere and there’s no doubt that this can sadly be the case when looking at the work of a number of blues artists around today, but Manx could never be accused of being any of the above. Firstly, his 21-string Mohan Veena (he just added a new bass string to it recently) is the most obvious point of difference that separates his work from that of other bluesmen kicking around. For five years Manx studied in India under the tutelage of Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, learning about the music of eastern cultures, and when he marries that deep knowledge of Hindustani-style music with his love and adept skill of playing the blues, an incredibly unique sound is born. This style of playing translates just as smoothly to Manx’s banjo, lap steel and resonator work as well; particularly important in his playing across the board is his wonderful use of the drone – a vital part of both the styles of music he melds together. He’s not shy of performing the odd cover and his show this time around saw him tackle a couple of Willie Dixon tunes and some Hendrix as per usual, but it was his rendition of JJ Cale’s Tijuana (which Manx titled San Diego-Tijuana on his Mantras For Madmen record) that really had the hairs standing

sales potential in poor sales climates due to the dedication of their audiences to buying music – though the top seller was still the Bieber) and Jake Gyllenhaal put himself forward to play Kurt Cobain in an inevitable biopic (hmmm), the NME online was tallying reader votes on the best albums of the ‘90s. The shortlist contained a pretty decent wack of acts, from Ride to Air to REM and The Lemondheads. Lots were missing, passed over in favour of more ‘known’ bands – Arab Strap and Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci and Throwing Muses and Placebo (YES, Placebo); the first probably due to some kind of ‘popularity’ criteria, the last because, due to recent crimes against aging, it’s not yet okay to applaud their early work. Sitting at the top was a fairly obvious but not undeserving bunch: Blur, Oasis, Nirvana and, at #1, Radiohead’s OK Computer, an album that sums up the widely publicised but not altogether incorrect sentiment of the decade’s teenaged generation; the revisited dystopian view, which is better than the cynicism of that view that came after and is still held, even though, arguably, Muse will serve the same function to many of the past decade’s teen set. Unsurprisingly not on the shortlist for obscurity (in the UK at least) reasons were The Paradise Motel, a band who breathed life into the quietloud rural-gazing by Australian bands in the ‘90s and are having a rejuvenation of their own with a new line-up and their first album since disbanding in 2000. The album, Australian Ghost Story (out through Left Over Life To Kill Records on 11 June) is a sepia-toned and engaging telling of the Azaria Chamberlain story, a tale perfectly suited to their dusty, imperfect rock. They also cleverly get away with not being a part of any ‘90s rehash while landing in the middle of it – a record released in 2010 about something that happened in 1980 from a band who weren’t active in the decades following or preceding those dates. Talk about taking their sweet time.

to attention. An incredible song initially released on Cale’s very worldly 1990 album Travel-log, it leapt out like never before in this setting. If you get the chance to catch Manx in this stark but incredibly engaging manner on his current tour, I strongly recommend you take it. He plays the Thornbury Theatre Thursday 10, the Sandbelt Club Hotel (Moorabbin) on Friday 11 and the Palais (Hepburn Springs) on Saturday 12 June. On the local front, country songstress Barb Waters has a new record out. Entitled Buffalo Mountain Girl, Waters recorded it with her band The Mothers Of Pearl and she launches it at the Thornbury Theatre next Saturday 5 June. The record was made with Craig Pilkington in the producer’s chair (you might have heard his work with Gurrumul and Mick Thomas) and subjectwise it is strongly inspired by Waters’ experience growing up in rural Victoria; undoubtedly subject matter many of you will relate to. When the record is launched next weekend, it will be done so in fine style with Tiddas member Sally Dastey and her band The Sweet Skeptics providing main support while local old-time folksters The Pecking Order will get things started. Tickets are available from the venue now from $14+BF; reserved seating and dinner and show ticketing options are also available. Well it might be almost a year away, but artist applications for the 2011 Apollo Bay Music Festival are now open. This not-for-profit community event is one of the most musically enriching events on the national calendar, so if you’re a muso then scoring a gig here is most definitely something you want to do. Hit up apollobaymusicfestival.com and you’ll find all the details there. The festival runs from Friday 8 until Sunday 10 April, 2011.

ROOTS MANOEUVRES THURSDAY

Geoff Achison & Jimi Hocking, Dan Dinnen – East Brunswick Club Blues Jam Night – Nighthawk Cafe

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SONG BOOK ZULYA KAMALOVA found some dark inspiration for her latest album while reading fairytales to her young daughter, she tells MITCH KNOX. Kamalova also found the imagery contained within many traditional stories to be particularly striking, and as a result some pretty macabre stuff is referenced on the album.

TEAYPE TOGGLE OFF Melbourne ten-piece hip hop funk band TeAyPe joins forces with the city’s best tap dancers for a very special night at the Bendigo Hotel in Collingwood on Saturday. Created by Melbourne International Tap Festival Artistic Director Grant Swift and classically trained pianist Winston Morrison, TeAyPe presents a diverse music and dance show that is ready to hit the world music stage. Starting off the night are roots folk duo Applejack, bringing in their mix of acoustic soul sounds infused with bluesy stomp box beats, followed by five-piece groovers Funky Brews.

JESS GOES OFF Jess McAvoy will be performing at what will be one of her last outings in Australia this year, as part of her going away party at the Brunswick Hotel this Friday from 7pm! Heading off throughout June to perform at the North By North East music conference in Toronto, some shows in LA, San Francisco, Detroit, and two shows in New York City, this is a going away bash that’s bound to get a little rowdy. Joining McAvoy on the night will be Jordie Lane, Zenith ASP, Leena, Jayne Lilford, Aluka and more. Entry is $10.

HAVE YOU HEARD?

Duns launch their new EP at the Builders Arms on Friday. HOW DID YOU GET TOGETHER? Paul, computer/guitar/rubber bands: “I made an album but couldn’t play any of it, so had to get some friends with musical ability to make it go, live.” HAVE YOU RECORDED ANYTHING OR DO YOU PREFER TO TOOL AROUND IN YOUR BEDROOM? “I tool around in a shed recording things. They get self-released when they’re close enough to music to not irritate people.” CAN YOU SUM UP YOUR BAND’S SOUND IN FOUR WORDS? “Very sequenced ramshackle acoustic.” IF YOU COULD SUPPORT ANY BAND IN THE WORLD, WHO WOULD IT BE AND WHY? “Devo.” IF A HIGHER POWER SMITES YOUR HOUSE AND YOU CAN ONLY SAVE ONE RECORD FROM THE FIRE, WHAT WOULD IT BE? “Touch The Power by The Family Hour. It’s got a hand drawn picture of a girl with dicks for boobs on the front, and an excellent song about bacon.” DO YOU HAVE A LUCKY ITEM OF CLOTHING YOU WEAR FOR GIGS AND WHAT IS IT? “No lucky item, but it’s important that socks and underpants are the same colour. There’s a recording of our second show where it’s hard to hear the music over the sound of people making fun of my shorts. So I don’t wear shorts any more.” IF YOU INVITED SOMEONE AWESOME ROUND FOR DINNER WHAT WOULD YOU COOK? “It would be cruel of me to cook for anyone awesome. But I’d cook an alright rabbit stew for someone mediocre.” WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE PLACE TO DRINK IN MELBOURNE? “It used to be the Tote, and hopefully will be again.”

“The Grimm Brothers are great. I’ve got a song that’s inspired by a Grimm Brothers quote, which is called The Ropemaker’s Daughter,” she says. “It really struck me, this comparison: the ropemaker’s daughter is the rope on which a person gets hung. I thought that was quite a strong image. So if somebody has to be hung – hanged, rather – they actually want to marry a ropemaker’s daughter.” Despite spending so much time singing about fables, Kamalova isn’t suffering from a Cinderella Complex (it’s real, look it up!) or any other fairytale-related misperceptions about her career.

here is something undeniably timeless about fairytales. Maybe it’s their subtle wisdoms, or their relatable characters, or their promise of a happy ending. Or maybe it’s that they all ambiguously begin “Once upon a time…” so it’s impossible to put a timeframe on them. Whatever the reason, fables and fairytales have endured in cultures around the world for centuries. Russian-Australian songstress Zulya Kamalova became fascinated with the symbolism she found in fairytales as she read them to her young daughter. That fascination served as the basis for the inspiration which would create the songs found on her sixth full-length album, Tales Of Subliming. “I’d become interested in Jungian symbolism for a number of years now and because I have a small child I read fairytales to her,” she explains. “I read that fairytales actually have a lot more to them than it actually appears, because originally they were written for adults and then later it was decided that they were better for children. They changed the endings to make them happy endings often, whereas in the real fairytales there were not necessarily happy endings. “But basically, in fairytales, there’s some kind of channelled wisdom on a symbolic level, and that just interested me very much and fascinated me so I thought I would see what I could find as an inspiration for the songs. What ended up happening is, not every song is about a fairytale character but some of them are about a character who goes through a particular ‘something’ or journey in their life. It’s not obvious; I don’t say, ‘Oh, this is such-and-such a person,’ but it’s inspired by, say, a girl from The Snow Queen and her relationship with a boy there.”

“I wouldn’t call it a fairytale, no way,” she adamantly says. “We’re all going through our journeys. Everyone’s going through their own and I feel like this one definitely is a journey: a weird, unusual journey with performing in front of people and baring your soul. But obviously I feel that’s a sort of karmic thing.”

The Pang pop up again this weekend as one of the swathe of young acts playing the Sunday Session 2010 at the Espy Gershwin Room this Sunday. We say ‘young’ though two members of the band were a part of Melbourne’s early ‘80s post-punk scene. Speaking of which, the band just wowed 200 plus at the Ding Dong for the inaugural Crystal Ballroom reunion. Also playing Sunday in the Gershwin are Red Hot Chilli Willies, Rick Steward, Low Speed Bus Chase, Fleeting Poetry, Overreactor and High Life Wedding. Entry is $12 from 2pm.

HAUNTING BURLESQUE A sadistic soap opera of sex, violence, insanity and tragic beauty designed to confront and captivate – theatrical cabaret and burlesque show Atrocity Unleashed combines shock performance with music, song, dance and the art of wicked tease. It’s a theatrical experience unlike any other, which haunts the viewer long after the final curtain. See it at Burlesque Bar on Johnston Street in Fitzroy on Sunday until 6 June from 9pm. Check atrocityburleque.com for details.

MEEKING AN ENTRANCE Melbourne’s Ryan Meeking & The Few are currently in Atlanta, Georgia, putting the finishing touches on what is one of the most anticipated releases of 2010. Produced by Nick DiDia (Pearl Jam, Rage Against The Machine, Bruce Springsteen) the album is the culmination of two years of relentless touring and countless broken down cars. They play a homecoming show at the Northcote Social Club on Friday 2 July pecial guests Tom Kline and Matheson. Tickets are $12+BF from the venue now.

For this tour, Zulya & The Children Of The Underground are taking their brand of eclectic, beautiful yet raucous, multi-ethnic merriment to as many of this country’s far-reaching nooks and crannies as they can, to ensure no one is snubbed as they spread the magic around Australia on a mission to help people “be transported and entertained and uplifted and have an enjoyable time”. “[I’m] really looking forward to going to the Northern Territory, which will be fantastic,” Kamalova enthuses. “We’ve never performed there. We’re going to perform in Tennant Creek and Katherine Gorge. That will be an interesting experience. I often feel that we live in this vast country with this Aboriginal heritage and we don’t know much about it and don’t see very much of it, so it will be good to connect with that.” WHO: Zulya & The Children Of The Underground WHAT: Tales Of Subliming (UAR/Remote Control) WHEN & WHERE: Saturday, Upper Yarra Arts Centre (Warburton); Friday 4 June, Corner Hotel

MORE BASICS

HOUL FOR HELP

Due to popular demand, The Basics’ Tuesday night residency at the East Brunswick Club has been extended through to the end of June. Wally, Kris and Tim have just launched their brand new Wait For You EP (available online and in all good record stores), and with the inclusion of With This Ship on the Year 12 VCE Music Performance syllabus, the boys are keen to give you a masterclass on how rock’n’roll is meant to be. Don’t miss The Basics during this unique weekly extravaganza – entry is $10 from 8pm.

Enjoy a night of trip hop, French pop and folk while raising funds for Familia Moja Children’s Centre, a charity run orphanage that is helping to shape the future of Kenya. Miso, Houlette, Owl + Moth and Sheahan Drive will take to the stage at the Workers Club on Friday 4 June. Tickets are just $15 from Moshtix and on the door, and all proceeds go directly to Familia Moja Children’s Centre. Check out familiamoja.org for details.

UPSSTAIRS BEATS DOWN Revolver Rock is Melbourne’s longest running rock retro electro cheese nights. For the last three years Revolver Rock has been the place to go for a dose of your fave rock and ol’ school tracks. Located at the iconic Revolver Upstairs, Revolver Rock is the place to beat the Wednesday night blues with your mates, great Thai food and great tunes! Join DJs Spidey, Mary M, Adalita (Magic Dirt) and Whitt (Spiderbait) every Wednesday night for a night you wont forget, or remember… something like that!

WATERS’ BREAK Country songstress Barb Waters is about to release her new album, Buffalo Mountain Girl, a collection of heartfelt songs written about and inspired by life growing up in country Victoria, and recorded with her band Barb Waters & The Mothers Of Pearl. Produced by Craig Pilkington (Gurrumul, Mick Thomas), Buffalo Mountain Girl boasts delicious string arrangements blended with alt. country instrumentation. Before embarking on a national tour, they launch the album on Saturday 5 June at the Thornbury Theatre with special guests Sally Dastey & The Sweet Sceptics and The Pecking Order. Doors open at 8pm and tickets are $14+BF from the venue.

NO NUDE SHIVERS The Shivering Timbers are back in the saddle for a Sunday afternoon gig this weekend at the Empress Hotel. Support act Applejack play from 4pm and The Shivering Timbers go on at 5pm. Take the kids, take the budgie – it’s a family friendly event with no cussin or lewd behaviour (planned at this stage). Entry is $10 and proceeds go to mastering the Timbers’ now complete debut album, Natural Remedies.

WHAT A DOG

HOT PARENTS Stroll down the cold, dark, cobbled laneway conecting Albion and Tinning Street, Brunswick on the evening of Saturday 12 June and you will be greeted by the warm glow of Tinning Street Gallery, where your insides will rumble to the reverberations of four of the most exciting bands to come out of Melbourne’s musical woodwork in the last 12 months. Not content to play conventional venues dictated by liquor licensing laws, dance punks Parents have decided to curate their own line-up and present a show to remember and have hand-picked a line-up of post-goths Gold Tango, synth’n’drone band New War and mathpop trio Absolute Boys. Stick it in your diary!

SUNDAY PANGS

SMOKE THAT, FREDDIE It’s going to be a clash of the rock titans when Gaylord Lovelace and Little Freddie (Negroni) go head to head with the help of their bands in a bare knuckle, no holds barred grudge match at Bar 362 in St Kilda this Saturday night from 9pm. Yes, Smoke Machine and Little Freddie & The Pops will be taking the stage and taking each other on. This time it’s personal.

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Dog With Wheels are a Melbourne five-piece dedicated to bringing you the finest in original rock’n’soulful Americana. They strike next at the Empress Hotel this Friday for a night of unbridled musicjoy. Supported by the newly formed Blood Red Bird (featuring Tim Heath from The Basics) it will be a night not to be missed. Entry is $7 and the night kicks off at 9pm.

HOUSE VS ANTI Anti is back for another massive night at the Ferntree Gully Hotel this Friday. Playing live this month are Melbourne keyboard metal dynamos House VS Hurricane, alongside Feed Her To The Sharks, Sounds Of Sirus and Emerson. There are also three massive rooms of DJs playing all the best in punk, hardcore, emo, metal, alternative, party, indie and retro until the break of dawn. Entry is $15 from 8pm. For more info and club pics head to destroyalllines.com or myspace/antinightclub.

live@inpress.com.au

HOWZAT! Local music news by JEFF JENKINS Lazy Susan

we always head back on the Hume with our tails between our legs – ‘Damn you, Melbourne, you’ve ruined us again!’.” But just like childbirth, the pain wears off, and Paul and Lazy Susan keyboards player Tim Byron return to Melbourne for some album preview shows this week, including Friday at Revellers Bar and Saturday at 5pm at Pure Pop. More details at myspace.com.lazysusantheband.

Mr Mysterious VANESSA AMOROSI (number 12)

Golden Rule POWDERFINGER (19)

We Speak No Americano YOLANDA BE COOL (17)

Hazardous VANESSA AMOROSI (21)

MCGAFF

Dinosaur KISSCHASY (39)

Danny McDonald – who ranks alongside Jack Jones, Kelvin Templeton and Bernie Quinlan as the best player to come out of Traralgon – has a new band, Danny McDonald & The Right Wing Conservatives. They’re playing on Saturday at IDGAFF.

Unbroken STAN WALKER (24) Lying AMY MEREDITH (27) Love Lost THE TEMPER TRAP (37) Seventeen JET (38) Fourteen Aussie albums in the national Top 40. Iron Man 2 AC/DC (number four) On Broadway DAVID CAMPBELL (seven) Compass MARK VINCENT (eight)

CHART WATCH Dumb band name #276: Sydney’s Amy Meredith is not a woman; it’s a band. They score their first Top 40 hit this week with their second single, Lying.

Down The Way ANGUS & JULIA STONE (11) April Uprising THE JOHN BUTLER TRIO (17) Enchanted Way DAVID HOBSON (18)

Live: The Onstage Collection TINA ARENA (22, debut) Calling Me Home SARA STORER (29) Conditions THE TEMPER TRAP (30) Koonyum Sun XAVIER RUDD (31) Avalanche BRITISH INDIA (33) Wonder LISA MITCHELL (37)

HOWZAT! PLAYLIST Responsibility Of Love LAZY SUSAN Closer To You REBECCA BARNARD Vanilla BRITISH INDIA First Frost LIZ STRINGER Ashes JASON WALKER

LAZY SUSAN FIND THEIR WAY BACK TO MELBOURNE

What happens when a hopeless romantic finds domestic harmony? Lazy Susan singer Paul Andrews had a song on the band’s debut album, Long Lost, called Phone In Sick. “I know you’ve got an in-tray that would drive strong men to tears,” Paul sang, “and I know that you’ve got deadlines coming out of both your ears, but I think you should phone in sick.” Fast-forward a decade, and Paul has a partner and two kids under the age of two. Lazy Susan’s new album, Places That Made Us, features a song called Responsibility Of Love. “I’ve got to live up to what I’m not,” Paul sings. “Some days I can feel like Jesus, other days it’s concrete sneakers.” “I ran away from it [responsibility] for many years,” Paul confesses. “This song is about living up to the cheap words that fall from your lips. If you start something, you have to see it through.” Paul is having a “concrete sneakers” day when Howzat! catches up with him. “Every day is,” he laughs. “No one talks about how hard it is because everyone wants to be seen as the perfect parent. But it’s fucking hard!” He’s counting down the days ‘til this week’s Melbourne shows. Paul’s partner said to him, “You must be looking forward to going to Melbourne.” “No,” Paul lied, “it’s work.”

MEMORY LANE IS A TRAP

Lazy Susan are releasing their fourth album, Places That Made Us, on 2 July. “As with every album, the approach was, ‘This is our last album’,” Paul says. “It’s such a slog. But, like childbirth, you forget the pain and throw yourself in there again.” After recording 20 songs with pop guru Michael Carpenter, Paul read about an art exhibition called Returning To Places That Made Us. “I thought it sat nicely with the songs because some of them went back a long way.” Then Paul saw the album’s artwork – an illustration of a house in Church Street, Newtown. “It was a complete coincidence, but Pete [guitarist Pete Wilson] and I lived in a house on Church Street when we formed the band.” The guys went through a few names before settling on Lazy Susan. They were Dig A Pony, taking the name from The Beatles’ song. “But we’d always see the name written as Digger Pony, as if we were a tribute to the Anzacs.” They evolved into The Holy Woods, but ditched that when it was always written as The Hollywoods. They were Ironside when they recorded their debut EP, 1999’s Right On. The name was a reference to Raymond Burr’s wheelchair-bound detective, and the band adopted a wheelchair logo. But they had to drop the name when a punter – who thought they were taking the piss out of handicapped people – threatened to firebomb Newtown’s Sandringham Hotel when they played there. “We thought Lazy Susan was perfect because it was easy to understand,” Paul explains. But they are regularly referred to as “The Lazy Susans” and for one memorable night at Brisbane’s Milton Bowl, they were billed as “The Lazy Suzannes”.

EVERY DAY IS A GIFT, LIKE A NEW PAIR OF SOCKS

Lazy Susan are Howzat!’s favourite Sydney band. They’re like the Sydney version of the Icecream Hands, capable of turning the mundane into melodic masterpieces. And they vie with the Icecream Hands for the unenviable title: Best Pop Band To Never Have A Top 40 Hit. The new album includes a song called Sore Losers. Written by Pete, it includes the lines: “We were never in the race, not even a place… don’t tell me that we’re underrated, misunderstood and so frustrated, when the going got tough, just weren’t good enough.” But Paul is proud that Lazy Susan have survived for more than a decade. “It can be hard getting attention when you’ve been around a while, so we flirted with coming up with a new name. But I’m proud of Lazy Susan. Even though we have no real profile, we’ve managed to do an album every few years and our fans feel strongly about the band. We’re really grateful for that.” But Paul does have one regret: “We’ve never really cut it in Melbourne. For whatever reasons, we’ve never done great gigs in Melbourne, and

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gigguide@inpress.com.au

With a treasure chest of instruments and lyrics Dali would be proud of, Rapskallion weave tales of the open road into vaudeville dance tunes reminiscent of ‘20s Paris bohemia. The Tiger & Me create indie pop music as seen through the looking glass of European folk songs and gentle folk melodies through to riotous frenzied waltzes. Now, The Tiger & Me must take on Rapskallion at their own game, crossing swords and violins in what will surely prove to be an old-fashioned gypsy battle to the death. All of this will be happening before your eyes at the Grace Darling on Friday 4 June. Who will survive?

WED 26

Baptism of Uzi, Silence Dead Silence Cherry Bar Blue Star Tattoo, Rob Sawyer Band, Farella Esplanade Lounge Brian Chase, Seth Misterka, Black Widow Bar Open Daryl Roberts The Spanish Club Defend The Melody, The Spheres, Matt Kelly, DJ Pasobionic Northcote Social Club Dr El Suavo and the Paroxysm Press Crew Lyrebird Lounge Emerging Writers Festival Workers Club Kimberley Aviso, Gen Finnane & Flora Smith The Drunken Poet Kirsten Verwoord & the All Night Riders Marquis Of Lorne Hotel Milk Teddy, Scott & Charlene’s Wedding, Yama Boy, Full Ugly Birmingham Hotel Open Mic Bender Bar Open Mic with Matt McFarlane Brunswick Hotel Revolver Rock in the Backroom, Spidey, Adalita, Whitt, Mary M Revolver Sharpie Crows, Duns, Heavy Turkey The Old Bar Single Twin, D.A. Calf Wesley Anne

Skarlet Blue, Grand Atlantic, Skye Harbour The Toff In Town The Boy Who Spoke Clouds, Adam Cole Edinburgh Castle Hotel The Tropea Project, The Brae Grimes Band 303 Time to Die Samurai, The Solenikos, Shooting the Sun The Arthouse Tracey McNeil, Matt Green The Standard Hotel ‘Whatever Happened to Hyena Madrid?’ Evelyn Hotel White Woods, The Twerps, Amaya Laucirica Builders Arms Hotel

THU 27

Andy White, Mr Black & Blues The Drunken Poet Australian Kingswood Factory, Valentine, Liquor Snatch, Cabin Fever Esplanade Basement Carnation, Jimmy Hawk Grace Darling Hotel College Fall, Jack On Fire, Tom Woodward, Two Jacks & a Jill 303 Death Valley Band, Clavians, Ferry Tails, The No Real Need, Slow Dance Pony Ella Thompson Cherry Bar

Rumourtism, My Private Dinosaur, Tom Kline, 3181 Thursdays, Scatterblog, Lewis Can Cut, Matt Cant, Swick, Mu Gen Revolver Sex On Toast, The Clintonicas, Fabio Umberto Evelyn Hotel The Mission In Motion, The Dream The Chase, Raise The Stakes, Redcoats, A Brokers Night Sleep Next The Ox & The Fury, Bellusira Esplanade Lounge The Process Vs The Priory Dolls Ding Dong Lounge Three Fat Pirates, Underlander Great Britain Hotel Vultures, Our Solace, Distant Wreck, Face Tomorrow The Arthouse

FRI 28

Agency Dub Collective, Kindread Bar Open Ainslee Willis, Video Day, Yelka Bella Union Trades Hall Alpha Remedy, Mercury White, My Place or Yours, Cross Section Esplanade Basement Big Scary, Cameras, Bean Northcote Social Club Black Dynamite Launch Party, Richie 1250 & The Brides Of Christ, The Charlies, DJ Chris Gill, Vince Peach, Mr Lob, Dirty Harry Yah Yah’s

BURLY-FRIDAY! LIVE BURLESQUE, DJ Manuel Burlesque Bar Changing Falls, Owl Eyes Reveller’s Bar Dancing Heals, The Broadside Push, Power & Grieg Grace Darling Hotel Dead Letter Circus HiFi Bar DJ Surprise Marquis Of Lorne Hotel D’Opus & Roshambo, Revolver Fridays with Poison Apple, Chango Phat, Ross Horkings, Bianca White, WHO, Jumbo, Paz Revolver Duns, Blood ones, The Townhouses, Ornithologist Builders Arms Hotel Electric Mary, Spencer P Jones, Bunny Monroe Ding Dong Lounge Felicity Urquhart, Sal Kimber Spenserlive House Vs Hurricane, Feed Her To The Sharks, Sounds of Sirus, Emerson Anti In Malices Wake, Demolition, Elm Street, Inebriator The Arthouse Iowa, Skull Squadron, Quiet The Few Workers Club Jackie Marshall, The Dufranes, Samantha Wass Edinburgh Castle Hotel Jess McAvoy’s Going Away Party, Jess McAvoy, Leena, Zenith ASP, Jordie Lane, Joelie, Aluka Brunswick Hotel Jimmy Tait Duo, The Pretty Strangers, Grizzley Jim Lawrie, Left Feels Right Wesley Anne

NEXT IN MOTION This Thursday at Next the gang are giving away movie tickets to see Legion in cinemas, as well as copies of the new Stigma album. It’s also the official Nile after-party. Playing live are The Mission In Motion, The Dream The Chase, Raise The Stakes, Redcoats and A Brokers Night Sleep – that’s a massive line-up! There are also DJs playing your favourite punk, hardcore, emo, metal, alternative, party, indie and retro across three huge rooms and three levels! Make sure you don’t miss it! Entry is $12 from 9pm.

Kids In Cults, Southern Soho, Napolean In Rags 303 Kimbo, Poppin Mommas, The Living Eyes Barwon Club Lee Memorial, Cuba is Japan, Andrew McCubbin & The Hope Addicts, DJ Mantooth The Old Bar Level One, Jon Montes Abode Mammoth Mammoth, My Left Boot, Bad Blood & The Broken Bones, Brian Chase, Seth Misterka, Rob MacManus Pony Miami Horror, Cassian, Red Ink, Gloves Corner Hotel Miss Sarah Transport Hotel (Fed Sq) Naboo, Ebony & Ivory Esplanade Lounge Orange Room Rockstar Bowling Poprocks at the Toff, Dr Phil Smith The Toff In Town Red Eyes, Rob Sawyer Band, Andy Ellis Barwon Heads Hotel Rosie Burgess Trio, Aurora Jane, Mal Webb Rubys Lounge Rumble!, Intoxica, The Speed Demons, The Murderballs, The Working Horse Irons, Burlesque Bendigo Hotel Shaun Kirk Oscars Alehouse Skye Harbour, Under Colours, Tessa & The Typecast Cherry Bar Spark Iris, Fastrack, Lust, Dead Star Renegade, Exile Esplanade Gershwin Room Spoonful, DJ Johnny Two Decks Retreat Hotel The Coronas, Tommy McNulty, Ireland Prince Bandroom The Darrens, Cloudmouth, Kill Two Birds The Public Bar The Empty Horses, Octavia Space Bender Bar The Omen, Mindset, Trophy Knife, Keep It Together Birmingham Hotel The Tiger And Me Builders Arms, early show Traditional Irish Music Session, Dan Bourke & Friends The Drunken Poet

What are you doing AFTER DARK on July 17? Visit coopers.com.au for all details. 80

SUMMERFESTIVALGUIDE.COM.AU

Voltera, Witchgrinder, Sin City, Trash Island Evelyn Hotel Waylon Jones BARZOOKA

SAT 29

Ainslee Willis, Joe Kosky, Sophia X Helen Macpherson Theatre Alex Legg, Geoff Achison & The Souldiggers St Andrews Hotel Autechre, & Special Guests HiFi Bar Backyard Funk, Twenty Two Hundred, Bonbeach Bay Rats Chandelier Room Battle Cat, Dialysis, Circles, Fisker Esplanade Gershwin Room Bitter Sweet Kicks, Spencer P Jones Lyrebird Lounge Blake Scott The Drunken Poet Bright Knights, Elle Skies Workers Club Castle Lane Bazaar, The Stillsons, Jules Sheldon & Band Edinburgh Castle Hotel, Arvo Show Clip Clop Club George Public Bar Clue To Kalo, Darren Sylvester, Mononoke Empress Hotel Code Red, Bang Gang, Chris Papas, PTFFP, Boogs, Assisted Riot, Kronic, Danger Mazz Prince Bandroom DANCE-JAMMITDANCE, King Marong & Afro Mandinko, Saskwatch, Bagatelle Evelyn Hotel Deaf Wish, The Stabs, Teen Archer, Mikey Young Yah Yah’s Deep Street Soul, Louis King & The Liars Klub, DJ Xander Retreat Hotel Delivery Boy Bender Bar Full Scale Revolution, Twelve Foot Ninja, Fading Hour, Nine Of Swords Northcote Social Club Healesville Music Festival, Richie Langford, TK & Rose, Jeary, The Hannafords, Mick Thomas, Tinpan Orange Queens Park Sound Shell Healsville Henry F Skerritt, Catherine Tracios Builders Arms, early show

I Dream In Transit, The Winter Migration, Autumn Gray Edinburgh Castle Hotel In Volume, Own Kind, While The City Sleeps, Drop Bunny Bang Jantina Gardner, Little Sisters Of The Poor, Maeve Blessing The Public Bar Jemma Rowlands Plays Records Marquis Of Lorne Hotel Kate Vigo, Jolene Moran Band, Mikki Ross, The House deFROST, Andee Frost The Toff In Town Last Chance Tuesday, Orange Room, Next Dimension, Two Street Corners, Luca Della Night Owls, Divide and Dissolve Brunswick Hotel Lillith Lane Sporting Club Hotel Manic Pistoleros, Working Horse Irons, Catgut Mary, Adrain Vaudevillain The Arthouse Mexico City, Film, The Rostovs, Roz Pappalardo & the Wayward Gentlemen Birmingham Hotel Miami Horror, Cassian, Worlds End Press, Gloves Corner Hotel Money For Rope, Royston Vasie Great Britain Hotel Mother, WHO Au Esplanade Basement Palomino IdGAFF Peter Ewing & Band, Nick Styles, Little John Builders Arms Hotel Rapskallion, Cirque De Femmes, DJ Manuel Burlesque Bar Red Paw, The Manholes Empress Hotel, Arvo Show ROOT, The Rebelles Spenserlive Sam McEwin, Matt Wilco Transport Hotel (Fed Sq) Shaun Kirk The Elwood Lounge Sheldon King, Michelle Van Der Ross, Streams of Whiskey 303 SINthetic, SmuDJ, Lady J, Nero, Syme Tollens Abode Sol Nation The Palais, Hepburn Springs Soul Deep The Spanish Club

kwp!CPR10778

STUTTER RAPSKALLION

Free Kick Comp Esplanade Gershwin Room Geoff Achison, Jimi Hocking, Dan Dinnen East Brunswick Club Grace Note, Vita Adam Spenserlive How Love, Tronikelesch, Children & Angels, Rat Vs Possum, Fail DJs, VJ Zeal, Love Story with 1928 The Toff In Town Isle Of Man, Plague Doctor, Le Patriarche Empress Hotel JJ Symon & The Monochromes Edinburgh Castle Hotel John Montesante Quintet, Gil Askey The Commune Kindread Veludo Kitchen Knife Wife, Royston Vasie Retreat Hotel La Policia Victoria Hotel Last Night On Jupiter Brunswick Hotel Lehmann B Smith Choir, Pageants, Mononoke Builders Arms Hotel Lisa Mitchell, Boy & Bear, Georgia Fair Corner Hotel Master Cardinal, Who Needs Enemies John Curtin Hotel Michaela Alexander, Tim Anders, James Henry Bender Bar Miss Lucy, Emma Wall, Spinifex Rose Wesley Anne Mondo Generator, Immolate Northcote Social Club Mother & Father, The Bonnevilles, Killing Birds, Poor People, DJ Mark Stabs The Old Bar Nile, Hate Eternal, Abigail Williams HiFi Bar Patinka Cha Cha, Speed Painters, Tailor Made For A Small Room Bar Open Rapid Transit, The Swiftones, Chaos Kids, Socially Handicapped Birmingham Hotel Rapskallion Bertha Brown Riverside Travellers The Spanish Club Rob Sawyer Band, Al Parkinson Baha Tacos Rock Aerobics, Kids Without Bikes, 4tress, Dan Cash, Pauli Douglas Yah Yah’s

Wed. 26th (Wine, Whiskey, Women) 8pm: Kimberly Aviso 9pm: Gen Finnane & Flora Smith Thurs. 27th 8pm: Andy White 9pm: Mr Black & Blues Fri. 28th 6pm: Traditional Irish Music session with Dan Bourke & friends Sat. 29th 9pm: Blake Scott Sun. 30th 4pm: Fingerbone Bill 6.30pm: Little John Duo

All Shows Always Free! The Drunken Poet, 65 Peel Street (Directly opposite Queen Vic Market). Phone: 03 9348 9797 www.myspace.com/drunkenpoets 81

gigguide@inpress.com.au Star Assassin, Brothers Crossing, The Circle, Chaos Radio East Brunswick Club Taylor & Silk Lost For Words Café & Bar TeAyPe, Applejack, Funky Brew Bendigo Hotel The Bakelite Age, Union Radio, Paper Planes, Lennin Mkarthey, An Undying Day In Orbit, Pink Fitt Pony The Black Ryder, Three Month Sunset, Dreaming Of Ghosts Ding Dong Lounge The Boys Wesley Anne The Deep End, The Moon Kids, ODD, Ken Eavel, Vinyl Vendetta Barwon Club The Fauves, The Ronson Hangup, Phil Para Esplanade Lounge The Mourning Sons, Matt Sonic & The High Times Cherry Bar The Nomad, Jake Savona, Deep Fried Dub, Papa Stylee Bar Open The Sand Pebbles, Baptism of Uzi, Ancient Slate, DJ Dan Lewis The Old Bar

The Scotch Of Saint James, Dirty York, Lights On at Heathrow Grace Darling Hotel White Birds & Lemons, These Patterns, Duck Duck Chop, The Late Show, Ransom, Raph Boogie, Matt Cant, WHO, Boogs Revolver

SUN 30

Austin Busch, O.M.Gee’s Transport Hotel (Fed Sq) Black & Blue, Rusty Nails, Chotto Matte, Stella for Star Brunswick Hotel Broderick Smith, Matt Walker, Van & Cal Walker Retreat Hotel Chevrolet Rise Lord Newry Hotel Chris Altman & Que Paso The Standard Hotel Cold Harbour Labour In Vain Falloe The Fox Hotel Collingwood Fingerbone Bill, Little John Duo The Drunken Poet

HOP ON SCALE The lads from Full Scale are well and truly back! Re-launching themselves back onto the Aussie rock circuit as Full Scale Revolution in January, the band are exciting fans across the country having already toured QLD, SA, NSW with a WA run on the way. Catch Full Scale Revolution’s thrilling live show as they tear up the Northcote Social Club this Saturday with with Twelve Foot Ninja, Fading Hour and Nine of Swords. Entry is $20 from 8.30pm. Fred Negro’s Kooky Karaoke Lyrebird Lounge Gabriel Lynch, Charles Lim Edinburgh Castle Hotel, Arvo Show Gabriel Lynch, Charles Lim Edinburgh Castle, early show Gerry Hale’s Uncle Bill, Atrocity Burlesque Burlesque Bar

Gold Gull, Lucy Lehmann Edinburgh Castle Hotel Headspace, Dale Ryder Band, Bad Boys Batucada Esplanade Lounge High Life Wedding, Overreactor, The Pang, Fleeting Poetry, Low Speed Bus Chase, Rick Steward, Red Hot Chilli Willies Esplanade Gershwin Room Jane Dust, The Bulls Marquis Of Lorne Hotel

Joe Mandica The Spanish Club Love Is Blindside: Fundraiser, Magic Silver White, Geoffrey O’Connor, Qua, Battlesnake, Far Concern Workers Club Luxxe Presents DJ Daito Loop Mal Webb, Opa! 303 Matthew Fagen Voyages and Journeys guitar concert Hickinbotham Winery Mayday Suffle feat. Zany, Dr Willis, Master Kaos, Pila, St Luke, Scott Alert, Wr3ckless HiFi Bar Nick Larkins & The Bones, Elliots Llama, Wicked Anabelle The Arthouse Open Decks Bender Bar Plague Doctor, Galvobones, Kirsten Verwoord & the All Night Riders Yah Yah’s Revolver Sundays, Boogs, Spacey Space, Matt Kovic, Oxia Revolver Richmond Fontaine, Robert F Cranny East Brunswick Club

SUMMERFESTIVALGUIDE.COM.AU

Ross Mclennan & The New World Sympathique, Cam Butler & The Shadow of Love Orcestra Northcote Social Club Ruckus St Andrews Hotel Sarah Carnegie Great Britain Hotel Saxbrowl Sunday, Caught Ship, The Lonely Masturbator, Trjaeu, Franco Cozzo, Crouching Tiger DJs Bar Open Sunday Sets, Jungal, You ‘N UR Music Bendigo Hotel Susan Lily, Justin McLaren, Patterns For Paper Chandelier Room The Denotators Manhattan Hotel The Edinburgh Collective feat., Tim Mc Millan, Jakksen Fish, Beth King, Lisa Wood, Blood Red Bird, Jess Ribiero, Vivien Black, The Pie Cooling Nearby Wesley Anne The Hired Guns, Bakersfield Glee Club, Fergus AcAlpin & Friends The Old Bar The Shivering Timbers, Applejack Empress Hotel, Arvo Show The Silent Engine, The Rainlovers Empress Hotel

The Sunday Set, DJ Andy Black, Haggis The Toff In Town United: Five States, Four Artists, United Barwon Heads Hotel Val & Cal Walker The Carringbush Hotel

MON 31

Adam Afif & Fergus McAlpin and friends Marquis Of Lorne Hotel Bogan Bingo Retreat Hotel ‘Crotchety Knitwits’ The Old Bar Earl Grey Policy, Jo Stephenson Empress Hotel Karaoke The Spanish Club Monday Madness, Michael Plater, Saint Vitus Stance Brunswick Hotel Nichaud Fitzgibbon, Daryl MacKenzie Jazz Orchestra The Apartment Swing Classes The Toff In Town The Little Stevies Esplanade Lounge The Tim Pledger Quartet Builders Arms, early show Timothy Pledger Quintet 303

Tom Ridgewell, Isle Adore, Dusky El Dorado Builders Arms Hotel

TUE 01

Adalita Retreat Hotel Anna’s Go Go Dance Classes Bendigo Hotel Dean Stevenson Wesley Anne Karaoke Bender Bar Klub M.U.K 303 Lionel Lee’s Curse, Nathan Porter, Life Drawing The Old Bar ‘Melbourne Fresh Industry Showcases’, Trivia Revolver The Basics, The Owls Northcote Social Club The Brunswick Discovery, The Eyeball Kicks Brunswick Hotel The Word, The Hosies, Matt Kelly, Jenny B Esplanade Lounge United Tour 2010, Chris Pickering, Cookie Baker, Matt Gresham, Nicole Brophy The Toff In Town

REVELLERS NORTH 50 JOHNSTON ST, FITZROY

~ FRIDAY ~

........................................downstairs.........................................

TOM TUENA From 9.30pm, Free Entry, DJ til late

..........................................upstairs...........................................

W/ BROOKE ADDAMO AND SUPPORT From 8.30pm, Tickets $10

~ SATURDAY ~

........................................downstairs.........................................

GLEN LIVE AND ACOUSTIC IN THE FRONTBAR From 9.30pm, Free Entry, DJ til late ..........................................upstairs...........................................

THE MISFIRES EP LAUNCH W/ SUPPORTS

Doors 8.30pm, Tickets $10

COMING UP THE TEALEAVES, BRITTLE, LOUIS ROWE, JACK'S CASTLE JUNE RESIDENCY For band booking enquiries please email johnnyobrien@hotmail.com

www.revellersbar.com.au

THURSDAY 27TH

FREE ENTRY

RIVERSIDE TRAVELLERS 8PM

SATURDAY 29TH

FREE ENTRY

SOUL DEEP 8PM

SUNDAY 30TH

JOE MANDICA DUO 4PM

MONDAY 31ST

$10 PARMA

KARAOKE SAT 12TH JUNE

UMULAT + DR EL SUAVO SCREENING FACILITIES AVAILABLE FOR FILM CLIP & DVD LAUNCHES PRESENTING LOCAL & TOURING BANDS

WANNA GIG? BAND BOOKINGS:

spanishclubbookings@gmail.com

FUNCTION BOOKINGS WELCOME

The Hangover’s worth it!

140 Sydney Rd

BRUNSWICKHOTEL.NET

www.myspace/thespanishclubvenue

59-61 Johnston St, Fitzroy P: 03 9417 2505

9387 6637

NO COVER CHARGE

WED MAY 26 - 8:30 PM

THE BRUNSWICK OPEN MIC

WITH HOST MATT MCFARLANE. $10 JUGS! REGISTER AT 8PM ON THE NIGHT! (FREE BEER PER PERFORMER!)

THURS MAY 27

THE LAST NIGHT ON JUPITER! FRI MAY 28

JESS MCAVOY’S GOING AWAY PARTY

FEATURING PERFORMANCES BY: JESS MCAVOY LEENA ZENITH ASP JORDIE LANE JOELIE (SA) ALUKA

SAT MAY 29 - 9PM

LAST CHANCE TUESDAY ORANGE ROOM NEXT DIMENSION TWO STREET CORNERS 6PM - LUCA DELLA NIGHT OWLS

DIVIDE AND DISSOLVE

SUN MAY 30 - 4PM

BLACK AND BLUE RUSTY NAILS 9PM CHOTTO MATTE STELLA FOR STAR

MON MAY 31

MONDAY NIGHT MADNESS!

$10 JUGS AND FREE JUKEBOX PERFORMANCES AT 8.30PM BY: MICHAEL PLATER SAINT VITUS STANCE

TUES JUNE 1

THE BRUNSWICK DISCOVERY

GIVING CHANCES TO NEW UP AND COMING ARTISTS (ENQUIRIES TO BRUNNYGIGS@GMAIL.COM) THIS WEEK:

THE EYEBALL KICKS

gigguide@inpress.com.au

303 Wednesday The Tropea Project, The Brae Grimes Band Thursday College Fall, Jack On Fire, Tom Woodward, Two Jacks & a Jill Friday Kids In Cults, Southern Soho, Napolean In Rags Saturday Sheldon King, Michelle Van Der Ross, Streams of Whiskey Sunday Mal Webb, Opa! Monday Timothy Pledger Quintet Tuesday Klub M.U.K

BANG Saturday In Volume, Own Kind, While The City Sleeps, Drop Bunny

BAR OPEN Wednesday Brian Chase, Seth Misterka, Black Widow Thursday Patinka Cha Cha, Speed Painters, Tailor Made For A Small Room Friday Agency Dub Collective, Kindread Saturday The Nomad, Jake Savona, Deep Fried Dub, Papa Stylee Sunday Saxbrowl Sunday, Caught Ship, The Lonely Masturbator, Trjaeu, Franco Cozzo, Crouching Tiger DJs

BENDER BAR Wednesday Open Mic Thursday Michaela Alexander, Tim Anders, James Henry Friday The Empty Horses, Octavia Space Saturday Delivery Boy Sunday Open Decks Tuesday Karaoke

BENDIGO HOTEL Friday Rumble!, Intoxica, The Speed Demons, The Murderballs, The Working Horse Irons, Burlesque Saturday TeAyPe, Applejack, Funky Brew Sunday Sunday Sets, Jungal, You ‘N UR Music Tuesday Anna’s Go Go Dance Classes

BIRMINGHAM HOTEL Wednesday Milk Teddy, Scott & Charlene’s Wedding, Yama Boy, Full Ugly

Thursday Rapid Transit, The Swiftones, Chaos Kids, Socially Handicapped Friday The Omen, Mindset, Trophy Knife, Keep It Together Saturday Mexico City, Film, The Rostovs, Roz Pappalardo & the Wayward Gentlemen

Thursday Lisa Mitchell, Boy & Bear, Georgia Fair Friday Miami Horror, Cassian, Red Ink, Gloves Saturday Miami Horror, Cassian, Worlds End Press, Gloves

BRUNSWICK HOTEL

DING DONG LOUNGE

Wednesday Open Mic with Matt McFarlane Thursday Last Night On Jupiter Friday Jess McAvoy’s Going Away Party, Jess McAvoy, Leena, Zenith ASP, Jordie Lane, Joelie, Aluka Saturday Last Chance Tuesday, Orange Room, Next Dimension, Two Street Corners, Luca Della Night Owls, Divide and Dissolve Sunday Black & Blue, Rusty Nails, Chotto Matte, Stella for Star Monday Monday Madness, Michael Plater, Saint Vitus Stance Tuesday The Brunswick Discovery, The Eyeball Kicks

BUILDERS ARMS HOTEL Wednesday White Woods, The Twerps, Amaya Laucirica Thursday Lehmann B Smith Choir, Pageants, Mononoke Friday Duns, Blood ones, The Townhouses, Ornithologist Saturday Peter Ewing & Band, Nick Styles, Little John Monday Tom Ridgewell, Isle Adore, Dusky El Dorado

BURLESQUE BAR Friday BURLY-FRIDAY! LIVE BURLESQUE, DJ Manuel Saturday Rapskallion, Cirque De Femmes, DJ Manuel Sunday Gerry Hale’s Uncle Bill, Atrocity Burlesque

CHERRY BAR Wednesday Baptism of Uzi, Silence Dead Silence Thursday Ella Thompson Friday Skye Harbour, Under Colours, Tessa & The Typecast Saturday The Mourning Sons, Matt Sonic & The High Times

Thursday The Process Vs The Priory Dolls Friday Electric Mary, Spencer P Jones, Bunny Monroe Saturday The Black Ryder, Three Month Sunset, Dreaming Of Ghosts

EAST BRUNSWICK CLUB Thursday Geoff Achison, Jimi Hocking, Dan Dinnen Saturday Star Assassin, Brothers Crossing, The Circle, Chaos Radio Sunday Richmond Fontaine, Robert F Cranny

EDINBURGH CASTLE HOTEL Wednesday The Boy Who Spoke Clouds, Adam Cole Thursday JJ Symon & The Monochromes Friday Jackie Marshall, The Dufranes, Samantha Wass Saturday I Dream In Transit, The Winter Migration, Autumn Gray Sunday Gold Gull, Lucy Lehmann

EDINBURGH CASTLE HOTEL, ARVO SHOW Saturday Castle Lane Bazaar, The Stillsons, Jules Sheldon & Band Sunday Gabriel Lynch, Charles Lim

EMPRESS HOTEL Thursday Isle Of Man, Plague Doctor, Le Patriarche Saturday Clue To Kalo, Darren Sylvester, Mononoke Sunday The Silent Engine, The Rainlovers Monday Earl Grey Policy, Jo Stephenson

EMPRESS HOTEL, ARVO SHOW Saturday Red Paw, The Manholes Sunday The Shivering Timbers, Applejack

ESPLANADE BASEMENT Thursday Australian Kingswood Factory, Valentine, Liquor Snatch, Cabin Fever Friday Alpha Remedy, Mercury White, My Place or Yours, Cross Section

Sunday Ross Mclennan & The New World Sympathique, Cam Butler & The Shadow of Love Orcestra Tuesday The Basics, The Owls

CORNER HOTEL

PONY

LET’S GET MONO Local rhythm’n’blues specialists JJ Symon & The Monochromes return to the Edinburgh Castle this Thursday as part of their three-week residency. The ramshackle orchestra will play two sets each Thursday evening, beginning at 8.30pm featuring tunes off their first two albums; 2008’s New River and last year’s acclaimed Black, White & Grey. And with work already in full swing on their third album, there may be some new surprises instore for audiences. Entry is free. Saturday Mother, WHO Au

ESPLANADE GERSHWIN ROOM Thursday Free Kick Comp Friday Spark Iris, Fastrack, Lust, Dead Star Renegade, Exile Saturday Battle Cat, Dialysis, Circles, Fisker Sunday High Life Wedding, Overreactor, The Pang, Fleeting Poetry, Low Speed Bus Chase, Rick Steward, Red Hot Chilli Willies

ESPLANADE LOUNGE Wednesday Blue Star Tattoo, Rob Sawyer Band, Farella Thursday The Ox & The Fury, Bellusira Friday Naboo, Ebony & Ivory Saturday The Fauves, The Ronson Hangup, Phil Para Sunday Headspace, Dale Ryder Band, Bad Boys Batucada Monday The Little Stevies Tuesday The Word, The Hosies, Matt Kelly, Jenny B

EVELYN HOTEL Wednesday ’Whatever Happened to Hyena Madrid?’ Thursday Sex On Toast, The Clintonicas, Fabio Umberto Friday Voltera, Witchgrinder, Sin City, Trash Island Saturday DANCE-JAMMITDANCE, King Marong & Afro Mandinko, Saskwatch, Bagatelle

GRACE DARLING HOTEL Thursday Carnation, Jimmy Hawk Friday Dancing Heals, The Broadside Push, Power & Grieg Saturday The Scotch Of Saint James, Dirty York, Lights On at Heathrow

HIFI BAR Thursday Nile, Hate Eternal, Abigail Williams Friday Dead Letter Circus Saturday Autechre, & Special Guests Sunday Mayday Suffle feat. Zany, Dr Willis, Master Kaos, Pila, St Luke, Scott Alert, Wr3ckless

JOHN CURTIN HOTEL Thursday Master Cardinal, Who Needs Enemies

LABOUR IN VAIN Sunday Cold Harbour

LYREBIRD LOUNGE Wednesday Dr El Suavo and the Paroxysm Press Crew Saturday Bitter Sweet Kicks, Spencer P Jones Sunday Fred Negro’s Kooky Karaoke

MARQUIS OF LORNE HOTEL Wednesday Kirsten Verwoord & the All Night Riders Friday DJ Surprise Saturday Jemma Rowlands Plays Records Sunday Jane Dust, The Bulls Monday Adam Afif & Fergus McAlpin and friends

NEXT Thursday The Mission In Motion, The Dream The Chase, Raise The Stakes, Redcoats, A Brokers Night Sleep

NORTHCOTE SOCIAL CLUB Wednesday Defend The Melody, The Spheres, Matt Kelly, DJ Pasobionic Thursday Mondo Generator, Immolate Friday Big Scary, Cameras, Bean Saturday Full Scale Revolution, Twelve Foot Ninja, Fading Hour, Nine Of Swords

SUMMERFESTIVALGUIDE.COM.AU

Saturday Manic Pistoleros, Working Horse Irons, Catgut Mary, Adrain Vaudevillain Sunday Nick Larkins & The Bones, Elliots Llama, Wicked Anabelle

THE DRUNKEN POET

Thursday Death Valley Band, Clavians, Ferry Tails, The No Real Need, Slow Dance Friday Mammoth Mammoth, My Left Boot, Bad Blood & The Broken Bones, Brian Chase, Seth Misterka, Rob MacManus Saturday The Bakelite Age, Union Radio, Paper Planes, Lennin Mkarthey, An Undying Day In Orbit, Pink Fitt

Wednesday Kimberley Aviso, Gen Finnane & Flora Smith Thursday Andy White, Mr Black & Blues Friday Traditional Irish Music Session, Dan Bourke & Friends Saturday Blake Scott Sunday Fingerbone Bill, Little John Duo

PRINCE BANDROOM

THE FOX HOTEL

Friday The Coronas, Tommy McNulty, Ireland Saturday Code Red, Bang Gang, Chris Papas, PTFFP, Boogs, Assisted Riot, Kronic, Danger Mazz

RETREAT HOTEL Thursday Kitchen Knife Wife, Royston Vasie Friday Spoonful, DJ Johnny Two Decks Saturday Deep Street Soul, Louis King & The Liars Klub, DJ Xander Sunday Broderick Smith, Matt Walker, Van & Cal Walker Monday Bogan Bingo Tuesday Adalita

REVOLVER Wednesday Revolver Rock in the Backroom, Spidey, Adalita, Whitt, Mary M Thursday Rumourtism, My Private Dinosaur, Tom Kline, 3181 Thursdays, Scatterblog, Lewis Can Cut, Matt Cant, Swick, Mu Gen Friday D’Opus & Roshambo, Revolver Fridays with Poison Apple, Chango Phat, Ross Horkings, Bianca White, WHO, Jumbo, Paz Saturday White Birds & Lemons, These Patterns, Duck Duck Chop, The Late Show, Ransom, Raph Boogie, Matt Cant, WHO, Boogs Sunday Revolver Sundays, Boogs, Spacey Space, Matt Kovic, Oxia Tuesday ’Melbourne Fresh Industry Showcases’, Trivia

THE ARTHOUSE Wednesday Time to Die Samurai, The Solenikos, Shooting the Sun Thursday Vultures, Our Solace, Distant Wreck, Face Tomorrow Friday In Malices Wake, Demolition, Elm Street, Inebriator

COLLINGWOOD Sunday Falloe

THE OLD BAR Wednesday Sharpie Crows, Duns, Heavy Turkey Thursday Mother & Father, The Bonnevilles, Killing Birds, Poor People, DJ Mark Stabs Friday Lee Memorial, Cuba is Japan, Andrew McCubbin & The Hope Addicts, DJ Mantooth Saturday The Sand Pebbles, Baptism of Uzi, Ancient Slate, DJ Dan Lewis Sunday The Hired Guns, Bakersfield Glee Club, Fergus AcAlpin & Friends Monday ’Crotchety Knitwits’ Tuesday Lionel Lee’s Curse, Nathan Porter, Life Drawing

THE PUBLIC BAR Friday The Darrens, Cloudmouth, Kill Two Birds Saturday Jantina Gardner, Little Sisters Of The Poor, Maeve Blessing

THE SPANISH CLUB Wednesday Daryl Roberts Thursday Riverside Travellers Saturday Soul Deep Sunday Joe Mandica Monday Karaoke

THE STANDARD HOTEL Wednesday Tracey McNeil, Matt Green Sunday Chris Altman & Que Paso

THE TOFF IN TOWN Wednesday Skarlet Blue, Grand Atlantic, Skye Harbour

Thursday How Love, Tronikelesch, Children & Angels, Rat Vs Possum, Fail DJs, VJ Zeal, Love Story with 1928 Friday Poprocks at the Toff, Dr Phil Smith Saturday Kate Vigo, Jolene Moran Band, Mikki Ross, The House deFROST, Andee Frost Sunday The Sunday Set, DJ Andy Black, Haggis Monday Swing Classes Tuesday United Tour 2010, Chris Pickering, Cookie Baker, Matt Gresham, Nicole Brophy

TRANSPORT HOTEL (FED SQ) Friday Miss Sarah Saturday Sam McEwin, Matt Wilco Sunday Austin Busch, O.M.Gee’s

WESLEY ANNE Wednesday Single Twin, D.A. Calf Thursday Miss Lucy, Emma Wall, Spinifex Rose Friday Jimmy Tait Duo, The Pretty Strangers, Grizzley Jim Lawrie, Left Feels Right Saturday The Boys Sunday The Edinburgh Collective feat., Tim Mc Millan, Jakksen Fish, Beth King, Lisa Wood, Blood Red Bird, Jess Ribiero, Vivien Black, The Pie Cooling Nearby Tuesday Dean Stevenson

WORKERS CLUB Wednesday Emerging Writers Festival Friday Iowa, Skull Squadron, Quiet The Few Saturday Bright Knights, Elle Skies Sunday Love Is Blindside: Fundraiser, Magic Silver White, Geoffrey O’Connor, Qua, Battlesnake, Far Concern

YAH YAH’S Thursday Rock Aerobics, Kids Without Bikes, 4tress, Dan Cash, Pauli Douglas Friday Black Dynamite Launch Party, Richie 1250 & The Brides Of Christ, The Charlies, DJ Chris Gill, Vince Peach, Mr Lob, Dirty Harry Saturday Deaf Wish, The Stabs, Teen Archer, Mikey Young Sunday Plague Doctor, Galvobones, Kirsten Verwoord & the All Night Riders

EMPLOYMENT

HEAD

MUSICMAN SUB ACTIVE 5 STRING

ADMINISTRATION

BOSS DISTORTION PEDAL

HEADROOM SOUND AUSTRALIA

iFlogID: 4473

ADVENTURES OF JACK BARTHOLEMEW

iFlogID: 4290

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COMMUNITY & SPORT

YAMAHA NP30 DIGITIAL PIANO

Ibanez Thermion TN120 All Tube Guitar Head. Good Condition, great amp. $600 iFlogID: 4027

LANEY AMP MAY MADNESS SALE

SERVICE FOR VICTIMS OF SUICIDE National White Wreath Day - In Remembrance of All victims of Suicide

Engadine Music is offering great deals on Laney Amps for May. Call now on 02 9520 3044

EDUCATION & TRAINING

PEAVEY CLASSIC50 2 X 12” NEW

MUSICMAN S.U.B. X04 ACTIVE 5 STRING, BRIDGE HUMBUCKER, POPLAR BODY, ROSEWOOD FINGERBOARD, TEXTURED WHITE COLOUR, MADE IN USA, BRAND NEW, RRP $1795, ASKING $1295 ONO, CALL (07) 3812 1880

Boss MT-2 Metal Zone. Good condition, brutal distortion. These things never break- $90

iFlogID: 4029

GIBSON 1960 RI GOLDTOP

iFlogID: 4610

May Madness sale only $349 Power adapter an extra $29 Call 02 9520 3044 or email shop@engadinemusic. com iFlogID: 4414

YAMAHA PSRE413 USB KEYBOARD At the special price of $399 Power adapter to suit this keyboard $29 iFlogID: 4416

MESA BOOGIE 4X10 W/ CUSTOM CASE

CASIO WORKSTATION WK200 Special price of $399 Power adapter $29

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MIXERS ROSS PC110 POWERED MIXER

VIOLIN TEACHER NEEDED! Position available in Busy music school in Beverly Hills, Kogarah and at various government schools. Teaching mainly beginners to intermediate level. Enthusiasm, patience and ability to inspire will be looked at more than your qualifications and experience. Email resume jobs@jumbonote.com.au

VOCAL TEACHER NEEDED!

PEAVEY CLASSIC 50, 2 x 12”, BRAND NEW, 5 YEAR WARRANTY, WAS $1999 NOW $1400, CALL (07) 3812 1880

Mesa boogie 4x10 bass cabinet. Custom touring case with removable wheels and front grill protection. Perfect for the touring bass player or someone who wants a very durable and loud cab. $700 Brisbane 0449 166 129

FENDER 1965 TREMOLUX STACK

Prefer female: Position available in Busy music school in Beverly Hills, Kogarah and at various government schools. Teaching mainly beginners to intermediate level. Enthusiasm, patience and ability to inspire will be looked at more than your qualifications and experience. Email resume jobs@jumbonote.com.au iFlogID: 3617

PIANO TEACHER NEEDED! Position available in Busy music school in Beverly Hills, Kogarah and at various government schools. Teaching mainly beginners to intermediate level. Enthusiasm, patience and ability to inspire will be looked at more than your qualifications and experience. Email resume jobs@jumbonote.com.au

FENDER TREMOLUX HEAD AND 2X12 CAB.made in 1965 IN EXCELLENT CONDITION. ONLY $3499 CALL US - 07 54743033 - MUSIC@NOOSA

iFlogID: 4556

VIPER GUITAR AMP.ALL VALVE

CD / DVD METAL CD’S FOR SALE

ROCK BAND SEEKS MANAGER Gigging rock band with EP seeks manager. Solid originals act, lots of potential. Call Michael on 0402 112 557. iFlogID: 3283

WANT TO WORK IN THE MUSIC BIZ?

100 watt head and matching 4/12 angled quadbox.2 fully seperate channels with reverb/crunch/mean/ filth.effects send/return.all footswithable.very versatile.Australian designed quality.MINT CONDITION.$850 ono. iFlogID: 4664

Over 500 Hard Rock/Heavy Metal CD’s for sale.Dozens of different bands.70’s to current.All in excellent condition. Many hard to find.Expand your collection overnight. $3400 the Lot or will sep.at $8 each.

iFlogID: 4839

12-24 MONTHS INTEREST FREE, NO INTEREST EVER, TAKE HOME YOUR GUITAR,AMP,P.A,KEYBOARD,ETC TODAY... CALL US FOR MORE DETAILS 07 54743033 MUSIC @ NOOSA

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IBANEZ LIMITED ED H.R.GIGER RG

iFlogID: 3147

BRAND NEW LIMITED EDITION H.R.GIGER RG + CASE. RRP $2995, SELLING FOR $2295, ONE ONLY, CALL (07) 3812 1880

Authentic Rock Memorabilia and reprints from around the globe. www. rockgodsandlegends.com

ACOUSTIC GUITAR MATON M225

LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY Would you like to be able to offer everyone you know and everyone they know and so on, the BEST PRICES GUARANTEED in the world for all their new brand name shopping? Well take a look at this. This is most certainly a lifetime opportunity to launch ongoing income well into the future. www.hotglobalbusiness.com/fortunate

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BASS MIJ SQUIRE JAZZ BASS

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

FOR SALE Japanese made Squier Jazz Bass L Series 91-92 Very good condition, great sound, all original iFlogID: 4269

SECONDHAND RR24 RANDY RHOADS - WHITE EMG PICKUP AND FLOYD ROSE BRIDGE IN EXCELLENT CONDITION - NEW $2899 AS NEW $1549 CALL US 07 54743033 iFlogID: 3805

Yamaha Woodwind May Madness. Woodwind instruments at great prices, call 02 9520 3044.

8TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY SALE. 20-50% OFF - MAY 27TH FROM 5-8PM Call us 07 54743033 iFlogID: 4808

KEYBOARDS KORG TRITON EXTREME88

A rarely used example of this classic and much sought-after synthesizer in excellent condition. Price includes delivery to any destination on mainland Australia.

HIRE SERVICES PA/OPERATOR FOR HIRE

PA AND INSTRUMENT HIRE

Custom bass drum heads ensure your bands name gets remembered after the gig. The sickest, best quality custom bass drum heads, banners, backdrops, stickers, and full drum wraps! www.kustombassdrumgraphics.com.au sales@kustombassdrumgraphics.com.au

WANT TO PERFORM OR TOUR? Do you want to perform or tour? Need help sourcing $ for? There are government grants closing soon. For help contact: speakeasywordsandmusic@ gmail.com or 0439 620 526. Professional, down to earth, affordable grant writing and music/tour booking

Melbourne Pa and Instrument Hire Specialists. We have a large range of Pa equipment, large and small to suit any occasion. Dynacord,yamaha,mackie,cordless mics,etc etc. Instrument hire also available such as drumkits,keyboards,amps and much more. Call for 9689 4622 Just 10 min from cbd iFlogID: 4624

SHOP FOR BAND MERCH ONLINE!

LOVE IN A KINGDOM - FILM OPERA

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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: 3102

Trust your next mastering project with Paul who’s been working with 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

MATTHEW GRAY MASTERING - $99

PORTABLE RECORDING SERVICE

COOL PERTH NIGHTS

Thousands of titles, call Engadine Music now on 02 9520 3044

Authentic Signed Rock Memorabilia and reprints from around the globe. www.rockgodsandlegends.com

iFlogID: 3094

iFlogID: 2883

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: 4737

Headroom Sound Australia. Re-cones to all models e.g. JBL, P Audio, B & 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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MASTERING

Great deals on Yamaha keyboards at Engadine Music. Phone 02 9520 3044. iFlogID: 4284

SPEAKER REPAIRS - ALL MODELS

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MASTERING BY PAUL GOMERSALL

ROCK MEMORABILIA

PA / AUDIO / ENGINEERING

www.myspace.com/themhumm

May Madness sale on now at Engadine Music. Call 02-9520 3044

YAMAHA KEYBOARD MAY MADNESS

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CUSTOM BASS DRUM HEADS

WWW.MYSPACE.COM/ THEMHUMM

JUPITER BRASS AND WOODWIND

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.

Music for Film, TV, Radio, Media & Other. Composition of songs, jingles, commercials, themes, scores and classical pieces. Most genres undertaken: classic pop-rock, easy listening, acoustic, country, folk, comedy, lyrical and classical. Accomplished and experienced composer/ writer/ vocalist/ musician. Contact Duncan on 0402 136 335 or duncan321sunrise@ yahoo.com.au www.myspace.com/ filmtvradio www.filmtvradio.webs. com www.loveinakingdom.webs.com myspace.com/duncansunrise www. adventuresofjack.webs.com myspace. com/duncansmusicsunrise

EP RELEASE

HUGE SELECTION OF PRINT MUSIC

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YAMAHA WOODWIND MAY MADNESS

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JACKSON RR24 RHOADS WITH CASE

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Yamaha Brass instruments at great prices for the month of May. 02-9520 3044.

Viking Lounge mastering provide the best in personalised service and attention to fine detail. Paul Stefanidis will take your project to the next level! Credits include a national number one by Shortstack and top producers Craig Porteils, Lee Groves and Trevor Steel! For more details see www.studioprojects.com.au and www.vikingloungemastering.com or call Andy om 0424 656 973

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GUITARS FENDER GIBSON MARTIN

SELF-EMPLOYMENT

Australia’s first online booking agency with a difference!!!! For Artists & Promoters

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Vintage and USA guitars. Buy, Sell and Trade. mattsvintageguitars.com 02-9518-0150

iFlogID: 4091

OTHER

For as low as $100, you get a PA system with a sound mixer, complete with a human operator as well to set it up for you for the evening. You can play your own music through it, sing, talk, do a disco, small function, etc, etc, etc. Contact Chris 0419 272 196.

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MUSIC@NOOSA’S HUGE SALE

iFlogID: 4490

MUSIC COMPOSITION: FILMTVRADIO

THE BEST IN MASTERING

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YAMAHA BRASS MAY MADNESS SALE

MARSHALL TSL 602

perfect condition, custom grill cloth, amp cover, great amp. reluctant sale. 0408 385 476 Richmond

ROCK MEMORABILIA

FENDER PINK PAISLEY STRAT.

DRUMS

GUITARS

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$500 RESORT VOUCHER

iFlogID: 4711

Original hard rock/metal band Silent Rose based in Melbourne, is currently seeking a dedicated manager. Visit www.myspace.com/silentrosemusic or email silentrosemusic@hotmail. com for more details.

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

READ THIS BEFORE YOU BOOK YOUR HOLIDAY! Receive a FREE $500 Resort Voucher to more than 500 Australian resorts and 7500 International resorts when you register for FREE as a customer and make an $8.00 purchase. www.grabonlinebargains.com/fortunate to register. Ph 0423831660 for more details

MEINL DJEMBE NEAR NEW!

Quality MEINL Djembe stands 60cm tall w/ 30cm head diameter. Deep sounds - quality drum - moving overseas so regretful sale $200 Brisbane 0449 166129

ROCK/METAL BAND SEEK MANAGER

ON LINE BOOKING AGENCY

OTHER

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English made reliability. 100watts in 2 fully seperate channels with reverb/ chorus/lead boost. all footswitchable. very grunty. great fat sound! PERFECT CONDITION! $400.00 Ph Jimbo on 0428744963

PROMOTER

BAND MERCHANDISE

HEADROOM SOUND

Genuine 1980’s Pete Townshend jap model. all original. in case. plays great. nice patina. very rare. suit collector. EXCELLENT CONDITION! $2500.00 Ph Jimbo on 0428744963.

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Professional high end analog and digital mastering. Online service available with highly competitive rates. www. forensicaudio.com.au mobile 0401 499 667

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MARSHALL VS100 VALVESTATE AMP. 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.

FORENSIC AUDIO MASTERING

MUSIC SERVICES

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ENTERTAINMENT

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100watt rms. 4 channell with EQ/ REVERB. stereo CD input. CUBE STYLE. Very good condition. $300.00 Ph Jimbo on 0428744963.

BUSINESSES

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PA EQUIPMENT HEADROOM SOUND

Coming soon to a movie theatre near you, this dramatic fantasy musical adventure. From the trenches of the first world war to a new world beyond the mysterious Timeless Forest. All enquiries to Duncan on mobile: 0402 136 335 duncan321sunrise@yahoo. com.au View associated website at www.adventuresofjack.webs.com

Rode Microphone May Madness sale, call Engadine Music now on 02- 9520 3044

MUSIC@NOOSA - INTEREST FREE

7 GLOBAL FRANCHISES AVAILABLE This is a business opportunity you simply MUST take a look at if you are computer and internet literate and have get up and go! The fact is that this has never been offered before and very unlikely to be offered again other than this current small window of time. Business minded people always ask themselves this question. “How can I generate more income, without investing more time into my business?” This business answers that question. The business kicks off in June 2010 here in Australia. For a maximum set up cost of only $3,750 you can literally have the world purchase from YOU without having to go on a single business trip. Ph Dan on 0423 831 660 for more details. You have until end of business hours on May 28th to call.

iFlogID: 4956

$99 per song +gst for online mastering via our secure servers. Analog chain, digital chain, mix evaluations, online mastering and attended sessions - we ensure your mastered product sounds amazing. www.matthewgraymastering.com.

RODE MICROPHONE MAY MADNESS

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Authentic Signed & Reprint Rock Memorabilia from across the globe www.rockgodsandlegends.com

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SECONDHAND 1960 RI LES PAUL GOLDTOP IN EXCELLENT CONDITION W/CASE ONLY $3395 CALL US 07 54743033 - MUSIC@NOOSA

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IBANEZ THERMION GUITAR

ROCK MEMORABILIA

Great deals on Kawai Pianos for the month of May at Engadine Music Call 02 9520 3044.

AMPS

KAWAI PIANO MAY MADNESS SALE

Assisting with CD releases, Live DVDs, Offering you professional audio which you can also upload to Myspace, YouTube, E.P.Ks etc. ANY GENRE 18 channels of Pro Tools, 16 channels of professional isolated stage splitters (Radial, JensenTransformers), Quality pre amps, Great microphones, Internationally experienced engineer Jeremy Conlon MOB: 0421 836 876 EMAIL: jeremy@cooperblack.net www.myspace.com/jeremythesoundengineer B. Music (Composition) , Cert IV Music Tech, Cert IV Work Place Skills and Assessment iFlogID: 3956

PA HIRE PA Hire & Experienced operator, Pubs, Clubs, Corporate & Private Events plus more. Contact Matt 0412474551 iFlogID: 4089

ROCK MIXER WANTED FOR EP We have 5 days recording in late June. We need a great Rock producer/engineer to mix our 5 tracks. Must have plenty of experience in Rock/Metal/ Punk www.mypace.com/droptankband droptankband@gmail.com iFlogID: 4470

TOP US MIX ENGINEER PAUL LANI 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 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

For a limited time. Free online and print classifieds Book now, visit iflog.com.au 86

Get one of the best mix engineers in the US to mix your single or album! It costs less than you may think! Credits include Beyonce, Robbie Williams, U2, Snoop Dogg and a cast of thousands! See www.studioprojects.com.au for details or ring Andy 0424 656 973.

$5.50 PER HOUR. EXTRA EQUIPMENT CAN BE HIRED WITH THE ROOMS. PLEASE TELL US WHAT YOU WILL BE NEEDING WHEN YOU BOOK SO THAT WE CAN HAVE IT READY FOR YOU.

LIVE AUDIO ENGINEER

GUITAR TUITION 100+ LOCATIONS

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TUITION

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A1 HOME CALL GUITAR TUITION A1 very experienced guitar teacher available for home call tuition.we come to you! become a better musician soon!based in sydney’s inner west.I had the best teachers,now you can too.learn the fundamentals that make a great guitar player!many styles taught in a relaxed,fun manner that will get you happening fast.ph 0421727864. iFlogID: 4240

CAULFIELD MUSIC CENTRE

Take your band to the next level with old school high end engineering form a veteran with 28 years experience! Credits include The Next, The Vandolls, The Art, Eskimo Joe, KIlling Heidi and many, many more! For more details see www.studioprojects.com.au or ring Andy on 0424 656 973. iFlogID: 4866

PHOTOGRAPHY BAND PHOTOS 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.

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 iFlogID: 2633

SINGING LESSONS THAT ROCK

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BAND PROMO PHOTOS

Caulfield Music Centre MUSIC SCHOOL * where students become musicians * www.caulfieldmusic.com.au QUALIFIED TEACHERS AVAILABLE Monday - Friday: 4pm-9pm * Saturday: 10am4pm * Sunday: 11am-4pm * *Please call for lesson availability times. PRIVATE LESSONS - $28 PER HALF HOUR GUITAR BASS PIANO SINGING & VOICE PRODUCTION DRUMS PERCUSSION SAXOPHONE FLUTE RECORDER HARMONICA VIOLIN At Caulfield Music Centre - Music School, we offer private, one-on-one lessons. We believe this is the best way for students to learn their chosen instrument. All students receive special student DISCOUNTS on musical instruments and equipment. All lessons are payable weekly, one lesson in advance. A DISCOUNT applies when paying for 10 lessons in advance. Missed lessons incur the full fee unless a minimum of 24 hours notice is given. Exceptional circumstances will be considered. ALL ENQUIRIES AND BOOKINGS PHONE 9528 1162 OR EMAIL music@ caulfieldmusic.com.au iFlogID: 4356

SINGING TEACHER NYC TRAINED

Studio, Location and live set band portraits. Visit www.griffinrocks.com.au for current work. Email kate@griffinrocks.com.au or phone 0405 148 709 for more information. iFlogID: 3779

PHOTOGRAPHY

Your voice has the ability to sing at the Audioslave/ Radiohead/ Aretha/ P.J.Harvey level because of Design. Extend your vocal range learn to sing the right technique the first time, career counseling how to start a band. For advanced students: • Microphone Techniques • Recording Techniques • Songwriting • Harmonising. Free performance nights for current and previous students. 10 + years teaching experience. Beginners to Advanced also guitar lessons 0405-044-513 iFlogID: 2671

INTEGUITAR.COM

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

POSTERS ILLUSTRATOR AVAILABLE NOW! 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

RECORDING STUDIOS

The Guitar is an easy instrument to play BUT it is an extremely difficult instrument to learn. Taking from 4 to 7 years to reach the competency level. The problem is the blank Fretboard. InteGuitar solves this problem by giving the Fretboard a temporary VISUAL INTERFACE to play the rudimentary OPEN and BAR chords of guitar in Weeks/Months not years. Play songs on guitar INSTANTLY For the price of $49.99 kit of 4 X Interfaces and Tutorial CD. The Interfaces DO NOT interfere with the playing of the guitar. Call us now on 0405 044 513 iFlogID: 2716

$$ ATTENTION ALL STUDIOS $$

BLUES HARP LESSONS

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 iFlogID: 4841

REHEARSAL ROOMS

iFlogID: 4452

NY TRAINED SONGWRITING TUITION PROFFESSIONAL ROYALTIES EARNING POP ROCK SONGWRITER AVAILABLE FOR TUITION AND GUIDANCE. TRAINED WITH LEADING NYC VOCAL TEACHER WHO HAS WORKED WITH ARTISTS IE. AVRIL LAVIGNE, KELLY CLARKESON AND BEYONCE. COMMERCIAL RADIO PLAY FOR ORIGINALS. LOCATED EASTERN SUBURBS. AVAILABLE TO TRAVEL. ORIGINALS WELCOME OR BEGINNING FROM AFRESH. K.I.S.S. = $$$$$. 0435 426 012 iFlogID: 4454

PRODUCTION/MIXING TUITIONS I’m a professional Music Producer and Sound Mixer who has worked with internationally renowned artist such as Seal and De La Soul, and I’m offering private tuition in Mixing and Production. Bring your own session (Logic or Protools) or use one of mine, and I will show the tricks that they do not teach you at school, I work from my home setup (Surry Hills) only, $65 per hour. http://www.steevebody.com iFlogID: 4776

VIDEO / PRODUCTION 360 DEGREE INTERACTIVE VIDEO

MUSICIANS AVAILABLE

determined and eager to play. Influences are Sonic Youth, The Cure, My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, etc. Contact 0403929446.

DRUMMER

BASS PLAYER WANTED

iFlogID: 2774

EXPERIENCED DRUMMER Experienced drummer available with pro-gear for working band or form a band.Have own transport in Melb. Dedicated and reliable.I am a all rounder drummer wanting to get back into giging. call Bing 0404576365 iFlogID: 4618

GUITARIST EXPERIENCED GUITARIST

Experienced lead and rhythm guitarist available for working band. Good gear. Transport. Dedicated and reliable. Styles: hard rock/rock, covers, 80s. Very good at learning material at short notice. Call Ace on 0438199219 iFlogID: 2772

LEAD GUITARIST AVAILABLE Lead guitarist looking to jam/form a heavy metal band, preferably on the central coast but willing to travel. Influences: Mercyful Fate, Judas Priest, Metallica, Iron maiden - Blake 0403138542 iFlogID: 4774

GUITARIST TO FORM/JOIN BAND i am looking to form a serious band, influences include Stone Roses, The Smiths, Beatles, Kinks, Suede. Preferably looking for vocalist to collaborate with, then add bass and drums later. songs ready, looking to be gigging asap. own transport preferable. email - thevilliers@hotmail.com iFlogID: 4990

OTHER SAXOPHONIS AVAILABLE

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

iFlogID: 4600

BASS PLAYER WANTED Female fronted originals band seeks musically open minded bass player. Rehearsing in inner west. We like PJ Harvey, Patti Smith, The Bellrays, MC5, Nick Cave, Thin Lizzy, The Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath. Call 0410 865 035 or email newtons4@aapt.net.au iFlogID: 4699

BASS PLAYER WANTED Influences Mark Lanegan, Nick Cave, Townes Van Zandt, Bright Eyes, Suicide, Soundgarden, Bruce Springsteen, Cat Power, Radiohead, Pixies, PJ, Rowland Howard etc. For more details email bass7000@gmail.com iFlogID: 4987

DRUMMER BASS PLAYER + DRUMMER WANTED I’m a Sydney based artist looking for a bass player and a drummer. I’d love to give everyone a go but we can only consider accomplished players. We are and will continue to be gigging regularly around Sydney. With the music getting regular airplay on FBI and attention from all the right people, we need musos that LOVE the music I do and believe 100% in it. Let Management know if you’re interested by emailing: management@taylorkingmusic.com or calling on 0404 370 768 Check out the music at my Myspace: www.myspace.com/taylorjking

EXPERIENCED DRUMMER NEEDED!!! Experienced saxophonist is looking for bands and studio sessions. Jazz, funky, afro, reggae, latin, rock, folk. If interested contact me at 0410041979. Cheers. Lorenzo iFlogID: 2848

PRO TROMBONIST AVAILABLE

Experienced drummer needed for post hardcore/ alternative rock band. Must be able to play to a click, have good gear, be dedicated. No time wasters please! iFlogID: 4031

FUNKY RYTHYM SECTION WANTED! funky rythym section wanted for dynamic sexy funk/rock/blues hip hop band.influences-the meters,early rhcp,sly stone,james brown,jimi hendrix,parliament/funkadelic.phone 0421727864.

iFlogID: 4485

GUITARIST

iFlogID: 4101

MUSICIANS WANTED BASS PLAYER BASS PLAYER WANTED Original rock. Sound like muse, birds of tokyo, silversun pickups. We have started recording debut album due out later this year. We need someone who knows their craft and our style of music to be a valuable part of what we are doing. Visit www.myspace.com/ escaperadiomusic for more info. Email escaperadio@rocketmail.com

iFlogID: 4394

DRUMMER WANTED Drummer wanted for originals band in Melbourne. Have the basics of songs completed, just need to learn the songs to add the drums and get them gig ready. Looking for someone determined and eager to play. Influences are Sonic Youth, The Cure, My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, etc. COntact 0403929446. iFlogID: 4431

SONS OF GENGHIS NEED DRUMMER!

G4 Guitar is an Australia wide network of Guitar Teachers who teach from their own homes and studios. With over 100 teachers we are the No.1 name in guitar tuition. We welcome both inexperienced and experienced teachers and we provide online training and support. To apply to become a teacher please visit our website at www.g4guitar.com.au or phone 0430426137 iFlogID: 2631

NOEL GALLAGHER-OASIS COV BAND 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

METALLICA SHOW THE UNFORGIVEN METALLICA TRIBUTE SHOW & BIGWAYOUT rock cover band requires a professional bass player for immediate start!! Agency backed, 8-12 shows per month. Your own form of transport and good gear a must.. Call John on 0416144111 iFlogID: 4083

BASS PLAYER WANTED Bass playwer wanted for originals band in Melbourne. Have the basics of songs completed, just need to learn the songs to add the bass and get them gig ready. Looking for someone

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

iFlogID: 4593

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS SHOW Established and agent backed Oz Red Hot Chili Peppers Show are looking for a experienced singer. Must be based in Sydney, with own transport. info@ ozredhotchilipeppersshow.com.au

iFlogID: 4392

KEYBOARD SKILLED KEYBOARDIST WANTED to complete lineup of new show. Ability to cover orchestrations and excellent sounds to match a must. High quality show with good pay. Contact: onemoreguitar@yahoo.com.au iFlogID: 4323

KEYBOARD PLAYER / SYNTH WIZ Keyboard Player / Synth Wiz needed urgently for exciting new band (trip hop / electronic / rock / indie inspired). We are ready to record our debut album and support it playing gigs, but still looking for the right person to complete the line-up. Chops are less important than enthusiasm, commitment and appreciation of mood and space! Contact: Rokk Latanzio - 0407 518 526 iFlogID: 4729

OTHER MUSO’S WANTED TO JAM/ FORM BAND muso’s wanted to jam form rock/metal band, steve,0424487379

iFlogID: 2814

MUSICIANS AND AUDIENCE WANTED

BEAUTY SERVICES WEB & GRAPHIC DESIGNSYDNEY

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SINGER NOEL GALLAGHER-OASIS COV BAND OASIS cover band needs a Noel Gallagher. That means a good singer with tight rythm guitar ability. Lead not essential. Good gear and transport required. Call Blake 0420 774 819 iFlogID: 3159

GOSPEL SINGERS WANTED

iFlogID: 3161

Who wants to be in a all girls original pop rock band hav some fun and make some $$$?! Guitar/bass/ drummer needed. Must be able to sing passable back up vox and luv performing!Practice 1-2 times per week. Gig asap. All ages welcome. www.myspace.com/nicolesero 0435 426 012

SERVICES

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

WANNA BE IN MY BAND??!!!

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

Five world-class passionate vocalists wanted for a Gospel music CD project. Must have beautiful, passionate, powerful and devotional delivery. iFlogID: 3585

SINGER FOR GRUNGE/ROCK BAND Sydney Grunge/Rock band Samsara looking for a talented singer and front man to join a complete band looking to gig and record. An albums worth of music is already written but need vocal melodies and lyrics. Influences include Silverchair, Nirvana, Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam, Led Zeppelin, Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, Black Sabbath etc etc. Contact Daniel: 0403 885 433, for more information and demos.

GRAPHIC DESIGN REAPERS IMAGE DESIGN CD Art/Layout design,posters, stickers etc, video editing/filming,DVD, multimedia. Cheapest rates in Melbourne. reapersimagedesign.com.au 0403 416 424 iFlogID: N/A

WANT A LOGO FOR YOUR BAND?

iFlogID: 4187

FEMALE SINGER WANTED We are looking for an open-minded and charismatic artist. Experience not necessary. Keyboardist optional. Preferred age: 16-26. We are a new band looking to jump into the live music scene. Located in Bondi, our influences include blues, punk, rock and funk. Jam and practice sessions twice a week. Call Bo on 0401365924 or Email on andrewakman2001@ gmail.com. iFlogID: 4442

SINGER WANTED

Want a logo to differentiate yourself from other bands? We can make you stand out from the rest! Boggleworks are currently offering a special price of $250 (RRP $349) for your very own custom designed logo. Visit www.boggleworks.com for more info. Be sure to enter the promotional code “IFLOG” for the special discount! iFlogID: 2808

Alternative heavy rock band seeks professional singer. Album worth of material ready to but also willing to jam and write together. Samples available, SMS Tek 0425 729 690 for further details.

GRAPHIC DESIGN SERVICES

iFlogID: 4565

SKA SINGER WANTED

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! Want to get your music heard on radio? Australian Broadcasting Media(ABM) has over 30 radio stations so getting your music out there is no problem! Interested? email andy@zfmcountrywide.com iFlogID: 3458

BANDS WANTED FOR ITUNES ALBUMS

iFlogID: 3787

help see it grow.

iFlogID: 4679

WANNA BE IN MY BAND??!!! Who wants to be in a all girls original pop rock band hav some fun and make some $$$?! Guitar/bass/ drummer needed. Must be able to sing passable back up vox and luv performing!Practice 1-2 times per week. Gig asap. All ages welcome. www.myspace.com/nicolesero 0435 426 012

SINGERS/MUSICIANS WANTED!

GUITARISTS WANTED TO TEACH

iFlogID: 4238

Professional Trombone player available for gigs, session and tours. Jazz, Funk, Latin, Pop, Rock and Classical. Can sight read, improvise and write parts. Contact Brendan 0409833827.

iFlogID: 2424

ABLETON CERTIFIED TRAINER

Do you love to see people groove to your sound? Is it a thrill to move people with your music? are you able to receive simple instruction and run with it? If so, give us a call. We are a local church in Cronulla looking for a bass player to add to our creative team - call us today on 9544 1144.

iFlogID: 3484

genuine music man searching life time members.

Panoramic Video create interactive 360 degree online videos that are a unique addition to any website, putting your fans and web viewers virtually there with you. We can add in hotspots into the videos too so that you can direct users to other web sites for ticket or music purchasing, and with the ability to be embedded into other pages such as blogs etc, a Panoramic Video is a perfect choice for viral marketing.. Our videos keep the interest and by their nature keep users and fans on your website for longer than a standard video. It’s cool, and it’s unique, and a great option if you are looking for something different and innovative.. Costs will vary depending on where you are and what we do for you, but our rates are very reasonable.... We are a new innovative business in Melbourne and looking to help promote local bands and artists with our interactive videos.. so give us a call for a great deal. Check out some of our samples at www.panoramicvideo.com.au then give us a call on 03 9457 7600 today.. We would love

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 iFlogID: 4573

LOOKING FOR LIFE TIME BAND

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: 4224

BASS PLAYER

SINGER

iFlogID: 3683

CAULFIELD MUSIC CENTRE **MENTION THIS ADVERTISEMENT TO RECEIVE A FULL 5 HOUR REHEARSAL STUDIO BOOKING ON SATURDAY OR SUNDAY FOR $45** WELCOME TO CAULFIELD MUSIC REHEARSAL STUDIOS. WE HAVE FIVE LARGE, SOUNDPROOF ROOMS AVAILIBLE FOR HIRE. ALL OF THE ROOMS ARE THE SAME SIZE (APPROXIMATELY 7 X 6 METRES). EACH ROOM IS EQUIPPED WITH A 12 CHANNEL P.A. SYSTEM, 4 MICROPHONES, 4 MICROPHONE LEADS AND 4 MICROPHONE STANDS. OUR REHEARSAL ROOMS ARE ALL AIR CONDITIONED. THEY ARE ALWAYS KEPT CLEAN AND WELL MAINTAINED. WE HAVE TWO ROOMS WITH PIANOS AVAILABLE FOR SOLO, PRIVATE USE. THESE ROOMS ARE AVAILABLE FOR HIRE WHEN THEY ARE NOT BEING USED FOR TEACHING. PLEASE CALL FOR AVAILABILITY. THEY ARE HIRED AT

CONTEMPORARY AND MUSIC THEATRE SINGING TUITION. TRAINED WITH LEADING NYC VOCAL TEACHER WORKED WITH ARTISTS IE. AVRIL LAVIGNE, KELLY CLARKESON AND BEYONCE. WORLD RENOWNED VOCAL EXCERSISES TO VASTLY IMPROVE VOCAL TECHIQUE BASED ON EXCSERCISES FROM MANHATTAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC. LOCATED EASTERN SUBURBS. AVAILABLE TO TRAVEL. ORIGINALS WELCOME. AUDITION COACHING. 0435 426 012

to hear from you!

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 iFlogID: 4843

We are a new band called Low Gear. Have had about 16 practices together at home, and now about 10 in a studio. We’re not looking for anyone interested in making money as soon as they join a band as we are not gigging yet, but will be looking to just for fun to start, then who knows. Whilst we dont like to admit to being influenced directly by any particular bands, we all like a mix of, The Specials, Toots and the Maytals, Madniess, Reel Big Fish, Prince Buster, Sublime as far as ska goes, we also individually have many opposing influences such as, The Clash, The Ramones, Stiff Little Fingers and thats just me! We have had a great time in the rehearsal rooms in Marrickville, Sydney for the past couple of months, doing 2 hours every fortnight until we get storage then looking to make it more regular. We are now finding that we are hitting a wall without a singer and are looking for someone to come along and give us some input and help us over this hurdle. We are looking for a singer who is decent, but doesnt feel the need to bash it out at 100% all the time, someone who can relax into a voice and also belt out some cheeky stuff every now and then too. If you feel you would have a good time practising with us, give us an email and see how you go. If you enjoy our company then I am sure you would be a welcome friend. iFlogID: 4579

VOICE OF AN ANGEL Have you been told you have the voice of an angel? Do you want to put it to good use? Come along and sing for a local Church and see your gift grow. Share what you know, let us share what we know. Call 95441144 for a chat about your gift and how we can

MYSPACE - WEBSITES - ALBUM ART POSTERS - LOGOS - PROMO - TSHIRT DESIGN - Graphic Design services for everything in the music industry. Website packages start at $449 Custom Myspace $899 WE KNOW YOUR BUSINESS Email for a free quote/consultation paul@cattanachdesign.com.au or vist the website www.cattanachdesign.com.au iFlogID: 3643

100 COLOUR POSTERS ONLY $80

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PI BAND ART AND DESIGN

100% devotion to music and the packaging it comes in. Pi (Paul Ikin) has a Complete Design Studio aimed at album cover design, packaging and Band Websites. Based in Melbourne Central Complex its easy to get to. Some of the services include * Art Layout design for CD’s/Digipack/Gatefolds, * Vinyl Sleeves 12” & 7”, and professional Band Websites. Feel free to visit our site to find out more about our services www.paulikin.com iFlogID: 4626

ILLUSTRATOR AVAILABLE Qualified and trained. Freelance illustrator for childrens books, album cover, book covers, you name it! Based in Melbourne Central Complex but can do work for anyone anywhere. www. paulikin.com ---Paul:0403 996 129 iFlogID: 4639

SUPER CHEAP COLOUR PRINTING

1000 A5 Flyers printed in full colour onto 150gsm gloss = $210 1000 A4 Letterheads printed in full colour onto 100gsm bond = $230 1000 A4 Flyers printed in full colour onto 150gsm gloss = $300 500 A2 Posters printed in full colour onto 150gsm gloss = $490 1000 A5 Booklets 8pp printed in full colour onto gloss = $735 500 Presentation Folders printed in full colour on white board = $795 iFlogID: 4914

OTHER NAIL DOWN YOUR NAME You got a great band. Your band is tight. you look great, your getting gigs your getting known but you haven’t protected your name. If you don’t lock it down some one can come along and steal it. That’s what we do. We can register your name and trade mark it so it will be yours, protecting your future money making ability and your creative talent. Call me today 31142123 or email ej@engelbertjones.com.au iFlogID: 3496

PARTY & FUNCTION PHOTOGRAPHY

ILLUSTRATOR AVAILABLE!

1100 FULL COLOUR POSTERS = $80 Visit our website for an extensive price list and other services!

PRO TOOLS/LOGIC TRAINING

Do you need an affordable Illustrator? Freelance illustrator Paul Ikin has a 3 year Advance Diploma in Illustration and can create a range of styles for your project. No hidden cost at an affordable price. Album Covers - Book Sleeves - Children Books - Online Images - Fliers - Posters - Editorial Artwork. Visit www.paulikin.com - T: 0403 996 129 World Wide based in Melbourne iFlogID: 4160

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UTS:Pro School offers high quality, professional short courses in Digidesign Pro Tools 8 designed to improve your music and audio postproduction skills. PT 101 12-13 July PT 110 14-16 July PT 201 19-20 July PT 210M 21-23 July Logic Pro 101 7- 9 July Ring 9514 9931 or go to http:// www.utsproschool.uts.edu.au to book your place iFlogID: 4586

CLOTHING ALTERATIONS Clothing Alterations, Mending & Embroidery Servicing Mont Albert, Box Hill, Balwyn & surrounding areas Call Laura for a quote & appointment 0435005309 iFlogID: 4978

TUITION CASTING THE WITCH’S CIRCLE Next time ‘they’ call you a Witch you will be! Begin your journey to experience the ways of the Witch & psychic development. 4 weeks, (3hr x 4). Classes provide detailed theory & practice. It’s the best way to make a serious start in Coven-based Witchcraft. 13 places. See www.WitchesWorkshop.com iFlogID: 4308

SINGING & VOCAL PRODUCTION

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

Global Sanctuary Photography are currently running their yearly May, June and July specials. To name a few people we have shot: John Mayer, Jimmy Barnes, Iva Davies, Cruel Sea, Panic at the Disco, Human Nature, Killing Heidi and Delta Goodrem. We come to you on location or at your gig or come to our awesome warehouse studio at Botany. Studio style or grungy warehouse, the choice is yours. We are creative and easy going producing quality work using canon pro gear. Call us on 0416 144 277 or email us at globalsanctuary@mac.com. Visit www.globalsanctuary.biz iFlogID: 4518

Whether you just want to sing for your own pleasure or dream of being a singer on stage, all aspects covered from diction, breathing, microphone technique, pitch, harmony,working with live bands and performing. Utilising the latest techniques from the US, sing without stress or fear. All lessons can be recorded and take place in a relaxed and fully equipped studio in Botany. All ages welcome - female teacher- children welcome. INTRODUCTORY OFFER: $30 per lesson for the first 3 months. Conditions apply. iFlogID: 4437

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

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PHOTOGRAPHY

With over 20 years experience, ACE Design & Print has gained an unequaled reputation as a reliable supplier of quality printing with exceptional service and competitive prices. Our print services are designed for fast production and fast delivery within your budget. Here are some prices for your consideration, let us know your specific requirements and we can quote & deliver! 100 A4 Posters printed in full colour onto 150gsm gloss = $40 250 A6 Leaflets printed in full colour onto 150gsm gloss = $50 250 Full Colour Digital Business cards onto 300gsm gloss = $50 100 A3 Posters printed in full colour onto 150gsm gloss = $80 1000 Business Cards in full colour 2 sides with plastic coating = $160

TROY MUSIC SCHOOL FOOTSCRAY

Troy Music School where Students become musicians. Tuition in Guitar,V ocals,Drums,Piano,Sax,Violin,Clarinet, Trumpet,Bass Guitar,Ukulele and now offering Lessons In Recording,Protools, Cubase,Ableton live. Record your songs now. Ph. 9689 4622 184 Barkly st Footscray 10 min from city. iFlogID: 4622

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

Very Creative? Are you very creative? Love God or interested in the things of God? We are a church who is looking for likeminded individuals who want to be part of creating a dynamic community of love, friendship and creativity. Ph 9544 1144 for a chat. iFlogID: 4597

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FINISH LINE

INDUSTRY NEWS BY BRYGET CHRISFIELD

Karnivool’s Mark Hosking and Drew Goddard take a break from accepting awards at the WAMi’s. Pic by Anthony Tran

JACK’S BACK

The JD Set returns for 2010 and will kick off with a gig in Melbourne headlined by a yet-to-be-revealed, revered Australian band. Bands and artists wishing to be considered to perform on the night must be over the age of 18 and able to perform a 30-minute live set. The JD Set will pick up travel, accommodation and reasonable backline costs so make sure you’re in it ‘cause you might win it. Bands/artists need to be able to supply an up-todate bio, MySpace URL, up to four band photos, four mp3 tracks, a video (if obtainable – not essential) and a logo (if available) to be sent to thejdset@thesoundcampaign.com. Stay tuned to this page for further info over the coming weeks.

THE GOOD BOOK

The 45th AustralAsian Music Industry Directory (AMID) is open for business listings for the September 2010 edition. Forms have been emailed out to all listings in the 44th edition or go to immedia.com.au/amid/list.php to download a listing form and then return to: #45 AMID Listings, 20 Hordern Street, Newtown NSW 2042 before Tuesday 1 June. Queries can be directed to admin@ immedia.com.au.

PIVOT FORCED TO CHANGE NAME After they were issued with a cease and desist letter from a US prog metal band of the same name, the band formerly known as Pivot will now drop a few vowels and become PVT. “All things considered, the potential legal expense of fighting this was far too great and really not worth the risk for us,” read a statement on the Sydney trio’s MySpace page. “So we had to lose a few vowels to keep doing what we do, and chose to do it worldwide for the sake of keeping things concise. At the end of the day it’s small change, and we hope you’ll adjust to it as quickly as we have.” PVT’s third album Church With No Magic is scheduled to drop on Warp Records, Monday 19 July.

QUEENSCLIFF CHANGES DIRECTION

Michael Carrucan has been appointed as The Queenscliff Music Festival Director. Carrucan has spent ten years working at The Telluride Blues & Brews Festival in Colorado.

STATION ALERT

Melton’s Community Radio station 979FM (formerly 3RIM Melton FM) is celebrating it’s 30th anniversary this year and will be having an open day/birthday party on Sunday 11 July. The station is looking for former announcers, members and committee members to join in the festivities. If you’re interested in attending, email info@979fm.net.

Got news? Announcements? Gossip? Unsubstantiated but hilarious rumours? Send them all to finishline@streetpress.com.au.

DESERT ISLAND SONGS WITH CLEM BASTOW

JAY-Z FEAT ALICIA KEYS EMPIRE STATE OF MIND Back when the first trailer for Sex & The City 2 was released, a favourite blogger of mine sent out a harried tweet: “THEY ARE USING EMPIRE STATE OF MIND IN THE SATC TRAILER. THE TERRORISTS HAVE WON.” I knew exactly how she felt: when Empire State Of Mind was first released, it snuck its way into the hearts of those who either know or love (or both) New York City. Everyone had an intensely personal reaction to the song, whether it was disgust or affection. But the fact that the SATC movie – itself a selling out of something deeply “New York” that we’d all once loved – had used the song’s powers for evil instead of good felt like a final insult.

GET HEARD

Showcase submissions for Big Sound 2010 close next Monday (31 May). The event takes over Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley from 8-10 September and more than 50 of the country’s most exciting acts will grace the stages across two nights. Many influential industry figures attend this three-day conference so don’t miss an opportunity to score anything from record and management deals to overseas radio airplay and touring opportunities. More speakers have already been added to the already impressive roster that includes US music writer Michael Azzerad, John O’Donnell and Dave Faulkner. Just announced are Morgan Lebus (A&R Manager for the US office of Domino Recordings & Publishing), Tom Windish of US bookers The Windish Agency, Johnny Beach (Bowery Presents), Andy McGrath (A&R rep with US label ATO), Chloe Walsh (New York publicist) and Australia’s own Urthboy. Full details available at bigsound.org.au.

GREATEST HIT

THOSE BASTARDS AWARDED KENNY

The stars of the 2010 WAMi Awards (WA’s annual music awards) were Karnivool, who double-dipped and took home Most Popular Album (Sound Awake) and Most Popular Live Act. The other band Karnivool singer Ian Kenny fronts, Birds Of Tokyo, were declared Most Popular Act for the second year in a row and Kenny was pronounced Best Male Vocalist for the third time. Abbe May was awarded Best Female Vocalist. The public voted Fremantle’s The Joe Kings Favourite Newcomer while The French Rockets/Injured Ninja split 12”/DVD was voted Most Popular Single/EP. Most Popular Music Video went to Blac Blocs for their NVDA single and Soundwave won the WAMington for Most Popular Music Event for the first time. The industry-voted categories saw Most Promising New Act going to The Emperors, Yabu Band picked up Indigenous Act Of The Year, Best Commercial Pop Act went to Eskimo Joe, Best Urban/Hip Hop Act was awarded to The Typhoons and one of the night’s guest performers The Brow Horn Orchestra collected the WAMington for Best Funk Act. The Golden WAMi Award was reclaimed by RTRFM’s Breakfast announcer and Morning Magazine producer, Peter Barr, who took out the award for the third time. Sugar Army went home empty handed despite being nominated for a remarkable eight WAMingtons.

ADAM ANT COMEBACK DERAILED

SLIPKNOT BASSIST FOUND DEAD

According to The Music Fix, Adam Ant (real name: Stuart Goddard) has been sectioned under the Mental Health Act and is receiving treatment at the Chelsea & Westminster Hospital. Goddard suffers from bipolar disorder and this latest news follows the former Adam & The Ants frontman’s rant at a charity concert in Portsmouth earlier in the month. The Daily Mail reported that fans grew impatient when Goddard neglected to play hits such as Stand And Deliver and Antmusic, instead opting to invite a four-year-old to the stage and then attempting to teach him the words to My Generation by The Who. As he performed a rendition of Sympathy For The Devil by The Stones, Goddard noticed some of his audience making a break for it and began screaming obscenities at them. “I’m a punk rocker. I don’t do Christian,” the 55-year-old singer reportedly quipped. “You can fuck off to the church.” Goddard was then booed offstage. Afterwards, he made inflammatory comments to Portsmouth news: “I came here to see [British warships] Victory and Warrior because I’m proud to be English. I didn’t come here for this. I won’t talk to any locals any more because they are all gangsters.” In a recent statement, Goddard has encouraged fans to send him “postcards” at the hospital and shared, “I am having a well earned rest at Her Majesty’s Pleasure and am painting and continuing being an art student. I have a great view and am considering gigs later in the year.”

Paul Gray, bassist with the metal band Slipknot, was found dead Monday in a hotel room in Urbandale, Iowa (a suburb of Des Moines where Gray was raised). Aged 38, Gray’s body was discovered in a room at the Town Plaza Hotel by a hotel employee. According to the Gaurdian, prior to his death, Gray had been working on an album with Hail!, a metal supergroup featuring past or present members of Judas Priest and Sepultura. In 2003, Gray was arrested on drugs and drink-driving charges after the car he was driving crashed into another vehicle when he went through a red light. The incident led to Gray’s mugshot being leaked to a website, at the time, most of the group had avoided being photographed without their trademark masks. Gray’s death is not being treated as suspicious.

NEW NEWS TheMusic.com.au has relaunched and now takes the form of The Daily News Feed and Velvet Rope. Music business and music technology stories are uploaded daily to help you stay current with Australian and overseas breaking news stories and industry issues on themusic.com.au/dailynews. Themusic. com.au/velvetrope is a weekly news column that comes out every Friday at noon and covers music industry news, events, music technology innovations, job opportunities, music business issues, controversy plus a bit of gossip.

CHART HEEDS CIRCUS WARNING Brisbane rock quartet Dead Letter Circus have catapulted into the week’s ARIA Albums Chart. They provide the week’s highest new entry by landing their This Is A Warning at number two. Having signed to Warner last year, Warning is the act’s debut album and garnered a large majority of its release week sales online having built a rabid fanbase through the live circuit. Blue Mountains indie kids Cloud Control also did well with their debut Bliss Release landing at 20. The bands beat off a week of big non-mainstream international releases which saw debuts by The Black Keys (eight), LCD Soundsystem (11), Band Of Horses (19) and Crystal Castles (25).

PLAY THE BAY Apollo Bay Music Festival 2011 artist applications are now open. The festival seeks bands and solo artists from all over the country to play at the event, which will take place from Friday 8 to Sunday 10 April 2011. Application details are online now at apollobaymusicfestival.com.

SUMMERFESTIVALGUIDE.COM.AU

When I was about nine years old, I discovered musical theatre, and thus, Broadway became a legendary feature in my mind. I remember writing what effectively was tantamount to fanfic essays in Grade Six about a parallel universe in which I grew up backstage at the Great White Way’s various theatres, hanging out with stars of musical comedy like Bernadette Peters and Jonathan Pryce. It’s true, I had a rich and varied social life during my school days. Anyway, in mid-2009 I found myself with a bit of extra money (not a regular occurrence for a freelance music critic, mind) and asked a friend who also happened to be a travel agent what I might be able to get for my sweaty wad of $50s. As it turned out, I returned home with a ticket to the USA. Here was something I had previously decided would have to stay firmly planted in my personal mythology, suddenly made real. After 20 years of dreaming about visiting New York, it was finally happening. When I actually got there, however, it was a different situation completely. I felt overwhelmed by the Big Apple, regularly dashing back to my bolthole hotel room to cry into a jumbo bag of White Cheddar Popcorn. It was too much: two decades of fantasising about this place and here it was, real and a bit annoying and rainy sometimes and hot the next day and full of actual people and squawking, honking fire engines. After a few days’ decompression I settled in and remembered all the things I loved about the city (and discovered a few new ones). And then, when I returned home, within a few weeks Jay-Z’s love letter to his hometown was released. The song itself – Jay’s contribution, at least – isn’t particularly remarkable; it’s the lyrical equivalent of the “hop on, hop off” sightseeing buses that take people to all the required Manhattan highlights. But it’s Alicia Keys’ ebullient melody and chorus that speaks directly to the city’s mythology. That swooning chorus – especially when combined with the sweeping aerial shots of Broadway in the video – became my personal clarion call. I felt no anxiety at having only “done” a handful of the things on my NYC “to-do list” before flying back to Australia; as I listened to the song, I knew I’d be back there soon enough. Perhaps it’s just years and years of pop culture and ‘I <3 NY’ t-shirts that have ingrained it, but there is a definite sense that you can make it in that infuriating city; it’s the siren’s call that draws in people from all over the world to come and try their dreams on for size (the reality is enough fodder for ten further columns). The song took that sensation and turned it into a melody. But now, whenever I hear those thunking piano chords, I think of the goddamned Sex & The City 2 trailer, and it’s doubly hurtful. Carrie and co have already denigrated the six years of remarkable television by making that vile first film (all women can forgive being jilted at the altar if they get a walk-in wardrobe! I cheated on you because you work hard! Adopted babies can take a back seat to real ones!), so in some way I’m not surprised they’re taking one of my favourite songs down with them. So, when I’m back on St Marks and 3rd in August, I’m going to jam in my headphones, turn up Empire State Of Mind, and set fire to a Sex & The City 2 poster. That way I’m the terrorist, and I win.