ISSUE 0032 / May 21st - May 27th 2015
IT’S FREE - www.bsidemagazine.com.au
The Heartache State ALSO INSIDE: Ash Grunwald, Koral, Iris DeMent Official Blues Brothers Revue, Fergus Maximus, The Jazz Hands Plus BOB’s BITS, TOUR GUIDE & LOCAL MUSIC NEWS
Hotel, 39 George St, Thebarton, from 9pm on Friday 19 June with special guests being Melbourne friends Amistat. Tickets via Moshtix or at the door for $15. Adelaide’s The Clangers, who recently topped Three D Radio’s Top 20 + I Chart with their handcrafted, Matt Hills-produced debut EP, have shows coming up at The Bluebee Room, Pirie St, on Saturday 23 May and then Crown & Anchor, 196 Grenfell St, on Friday 6 June. And The Clangers will be handing out free copies of their debut CD at each show.
Dusty Lee & The Wasted Wanderers have announced that their CD launch will take place at Jive, 181 Hindley St, on Friday 19 June with special guests Cosmo Thundercat and Banjo Jackson. Tickets via Moshtix. The Fyoogs will launch their new CD at Hotel Metro, 46 Grote St, from 9pm on Saturday 23 May with help from Syndicat and Hunky Punks. Vinyl, 20 Gilbert Plc, will host their closing night party on Saturday 23 May and it will feature Local Revolution, Jupiter, Stevie Twonder and many more with tickets on the door from 8pm at $10 and free entry prior to that from 6pm. Quirky singer songwriter Fergus Maximus will be in solo mode when he launches his new CD (recorded live at The Austral and which comes in two editions of an EP and an LP) with help from special guest Kelly Menhennett at The Jade Monkey, 160 Flinders St, from 8pm on Friday 29 May. Tickets will be at the door for $15 or $10 concession. Gaslight Tavern, 36 Chief St, Brompton, will be playing host to a night of punk ro(c)k with The Violet Crams, A Loose Trust and Electric Badger on the evening of Saturday 23 May from 8pm until late. John Swan (AKA Swanee) is set to play Published Arthouse, 11 Cannon St, Adelaide, from 7pm on Saturday 20 June at which Fleetwood Mac tribute band Rumours will also be on the bill. Online tickets via the venue’s website are just $22 (plus booking fee) or will be $27 at the door on the night. The British Hotel, 13 North Pde, Port Adelaide, is now hosting a monthly Sunset Sessions. Held on the last Saturday of the month from 5-8pm, it will feature Koral Chandler on Saturday 30 May, Matt Ward and Max Savage on Saturday 27 June and Brenton Manser on Saturday 27 July. Free entry and the hotel is also a great dining experience and the pub also hosts live music every Friday evenings. Boutique bar Nook Nosh, 111 Unley Rd, Unley, will feature the acoustic sounds of Short & Sweet from 5pm on Sunday 24 May, David Robinson on Sunday 31 May and AP D’Antonio on Sunday 7 June. The bar now also has a rotating set of DJs spinning eclectic vinyl from 7pm on Saturday evenings as part of Off The Record with DJ Jason on Saturday 23 May. Pop in for sips ‘n’ nibbles. Focus Promotions presents a weekly, allages rock event under the name Northern Exposure every Thursday evening at The Bridgeway Hotel, 18-20 Bridge Rd, Pooraka. The legendary live music venue also hosts numerous other major rock events on weekends.
Saturday 30 May from 9pm until quite late at which they will be playing originals and some classic cover songs. The next Banter, a music industry night of drinks and networking to which all are welcome, will take place at St Pauls Creative Centre, Pulteney St, from 5.30pm on Wednesday 27 May. Dirt Playground, Imogen Brave and Squeaker, three local rock bands with female singers, will be all set to rock out at Crown & Anchor, 196 Grenfell St, on Friday 29 May from 9pm. There’s to be an eight-hour fundraiser for Fleurieu Folk Festival to be held from high non at Pt Noarlunga Bowling Club on Sunday 31 May and musical guests include The Timbers, The BordererS, Cat Dog Bird, Andy & Marta, The Heggarties, Kelly Menhennett, Saltwater Taffy, Poppi and Sarah McGuire! There will also be games and much more with cheap drinks and yummy food available throughout proceedings. The next free entry Club5082 all-ages event will take place from 6.30pm on Friday 29 May at Prospect Town Hall, Prospect Rd, Prospect, and will feature the bands Rahnie, Lucid Dream, Dirty Boulevard and Tapir Kingdom. There’s to be a two-day second-hand music sale of CDs, vinyl, DVDs and books etc, from 9am on Saturday 30 May and Sunday 31 May at The Arkaba Hotel, 150 Fullarton Rd, Glen Osmond. It’s free entry with free parking available at the venue and Arkaba Village shopping centre. Punk rockers Young Offenders are about to take some time off to write and record another album but will be playing a show with Jungle City, Slick Arnold and Epiphany at The Edinburgh Castle, 233 Currie St, on Saturday 30 May. Having just supported Jerrico, hard drivin’ melodic Adelaide rock band Red Light Sound will now play Jive, 181 Hindley St, on Saturday 20 June with tickets via Moshtix and special guests to be announced soon. Gail Page, of The Voice and recently voted Australian Female Blues Artist Of The Year, will rejuvenate your soul when she performs at The Arakaba Hotel, 150 Fullarton Rd, Glen Osmond, from 7.30pm on Sunday 24 May. Book via <voguemusic. net>.
Adelaide-based hip hop act Allday should really be recording his next album but instead has announced a huge national tour that in his hometown will have him performing at HQ on Friday 29 May. As his shows usually sell out quick smart, grab a ticket as soon as you can from OzTix. Local R&B combo Lady Voodoo & The Rituals will be playing a free entry show every Thursday evening during the merry month of May at The Publisher’s Hotel, 110 Franklin St, from 9pm. Adelaide R&B legends Gumbo Ya Ya will be premiering some new songs when they play The Magill Club, 6 Uren St, Magill, on Saturday 23 May at which they will be joined by swingin’ local swing band Lucky Seven. Take your dancin’ shoes! Tickets will be available at the door and there will also be food as well. Seasoned cover band Platinum Plus will play The Monkey House (Lord Exmouth Hotel), 37 Exmouth Rd, Exeter, from 4-8pm on Sunday 24 May. Free entry too. Kitchen Witch and Love Cream will undertake a free entry affair from 9pm at Jetty Bar, Jetty Rd, Glenelg, on Saturday 23 May. The next AMC Session will be a jazzy affair as it is to be hosted by Keith Conlon and will feature performances from The Mike Stewart Big Band (featuring Bob Jeffrey), Marmalade Trio, Bill Polain and The New Cabal with a host of jazz luminaries to be inducted into the SA Music Hall Of Fame. It will take place from 7.30pm on Friday 29 May at The Goodwood Institute, 166A Goodood Rd, Goodwood, with tickets already selling fast via <trybooking. com/129864>. The Sons Of MOD are set to play Jive, 181 Hindley St, from 9pm on Saturday 6 June to coincide with DJ Craig’s Dig! at which he spins tunes from the ’60s from 11.30pm. Shambolic Adelaide band The Shambolics have kicked off a month-long Friday evening residency from 5.30pm at Producers Bar, 235 Grenfell St. Free entry too. Pop along after you think you may have finished your week’s work. Tickets will be limited to 500 when The Mark Of Cain, The Iron Sheiks (featuring some special guests), The Plauge (who will reform for this one show only) and Crackling Static Fuzz play Fowler’s Live, 58-70 North Tce, from 7pm on Sunday 7 June. Tickets will be at the door for $25 with all proceeds going to Rod Archer who is undergoing chemotherapy.
OUR PHILOSOPHY Created by veteran Adelaide music guru Rob Dunstan, BSide Magazine is a weekly magazine totally focussed on what’s going on in the Adelaide Music Community. Every week we will be bringing you the latest news and up-to-date information. Our goal with BSide Magazine is to help rebuild the Adelaide Music Community, to refocus the emphasis on local music and uniting the different tribes encouraging and further enhancing a prosperous live music industry for all. We want BSide Magazine to be like Gaffa Tape. The thing that will hold everything together.
IN THIS ISSUE Page 2 Around The Traps Our Philosophy Page 4 Heading To Town Page 5 BSide Tour Guide Page 6 Feature Article: The Heartache State Page 7 Koral Iris DeMent Page 8 The Clothesline Page 9 The Official Blues Brothers Revue Fergus Maximus Page 10 Music SA CD Reviews Page 11 Bob’s Bits Ash Grunwald Page 13 ThreeD 20+1 Chart The Jazz Hands Page 14 BSide Gig Guide Page 15 The Bizzo
Advertising Enquiries Ph: (08) 8346 9899 sales@bsidemagazine.com.au
The Barossa Valley’s Sam Brittain will say farewell to his Australian audiences for a while by staging a show at The Wheatsheaf
The incomparable, 14-piece ensemble Crump Cake Orchestra will be recording their second live EP at The Promethean, 116 Grote St, on Friday 22 May with Adam Page as opening act. Tickets will be at the door from 7pm. Opening night for The Rock Vault, which is to be hosted by John Pemberton and set to feature Chris Finnen and his electric band, Gail Page, Sweet Bad Lizzy and The Crew along with special guests Macca Johnson and John Swan, is Friday 29 May at Caos Café, 188 Hindley St with the Register St laneway also being open. VIP tickets that offer a pre-show, two free drinks and food before the doors open are now on sale through GSM Promotions at <facebook. com/gsmpromo>. The Raging Monkeys will be taking over Worldsend Hotel, 208 Hindley St, on
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ISSUE #0032 May 21st May 27th, 2015
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artist Seth Sentry has announced a massive 45-date Australian tour that will have him play HQ Complex on Friday 31 July. Tickets via Seth’s website. Highly regarded US indie rock band Death Cab For Cutie have announced some Splendour In The Grass sideshows and have kindly included Adelaide. See them at HQ Complex on Tuesday 4 August with tickets on sale via OzTix.
Perth progressive metal band Voyager are making a voyage around the country with French heavyweights Klone as special guests along with local metal exponents Dyssidia and Molloy. Catch ’em all at Jive, 181 Hindley St, on Thursday 21 May with tickets via Moshtix. Melbourne’s King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard will be launching their brand new album at Fowler’s Live, 68-70 North Tce, from 7.30pm on Friday 22 May with help from Dr Piffle & The Burlap Band, West Thebarton Brothel Party and Glass Skies. Tickets via Moshtix. Melbourne’s The Broads (Kelly Day and Jane Hendry of vocal gals The Nymphs) are coming to town to play The Wheatsheaf Hotel, 39 George St, Thebarton, from 9pm on Friday 22 May and will be joined by special guests Koral and Melbourne’s Ben Mason. The Getaway Plan will spend time finishing off a new album, Dark Horses, at Melbourne’s Sing Sing Studios before embarking on a huge national tour that will bring them to Fowler’s Live, 68-70 North Tce, on Friday 29 May for an all-ages show with Gatherer and Freeds. Tickets via OzTix. Armed with just his guitar and voice, Neil Murray, writer of the award wining song My Island Home, is embarking on a national tour that will have him playing The Courthouse up in Auburn with Glenn Skuthorpe on Friday 29 May, McLaren Vale’s The Singing Gallery with Kylie Kain on Saturday 30 May and The Wheatsheaf Hotel, 39 George St, Thebarton, from 4pm on Sunday 31 May with The Yearlings. Fresh from touring the UK with Courtney Barnett and also playing SXSW, Melbourne’s Fraser A Gorman will now grace the Grace Emily, 232 Waymouth St, from 8pm on Thursday 16 July to highlight songs from a soon to be released debut album, Slow Gum. Queensland’s Brad Butcher, a singer songwriter who has made guest appearances alongside such acts as Busby Marou, Bill Chambers, Mark Seymour and Pete Murray, is coming to town to play the Grace Emily Hotel, 232 Waymouth St, on Thursday 21 May to highlight songs from his Jamestown album. Brad will also play McLaren Vale’s The Singing Gallery on Friday 22 May. Diesel has scheduled a tour with his amplified electric band that will bring them to the Governor Hindmarsh Hotel, 59 Port Rd, Hindmarsh, on Saturday 23 May. Book quickly via OzTix or the venue. Melbourne’s Society Of Beggars will be launching their debut single, Hyena, at Jive, 181 Hindley St, on Saturday 4 July with tickets via Moshtix. The Heartache State, a raggedy arsed rock’n’roll band from Melbourne featuring Nick Barker on guitar and vocals, Justin Garner on guitar, Venom on drums and Michael Hubbard, are heading over the border to launch their self-titled debut CD at the Grace Emily, 232 Waymouth St, Adelaide, on Saturday 23 May. It will be a free entry show too with special guest Andrew Matters of William Street Strikers in solo mode! Melbourne’s Palace Of The King will be launching their new album, White Bird/Burn The Sky, at Crown & Anchor, 196 Grenfell St, alongside Surviving Sharks and Emergency Rule on Friday 19 June. Steve Lucas, of Melbourne punk legends X, is coming to town with his new band, The Strawberry Teardrop, and will play Hotel Metro, 46 Grote St, from 9pm on
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Friday 5 June alongside The Pro Tools, Systemaddicts and Ben Gel & The Boneyard Saints. Tickets at the door for $12. She who rocks! The Baby Animals and The Superjesus, who will be playing a Sold Out show at The Governor Hindmarsh, 59 Port Rd, Hindmarsh, SA, on Friday 19 June with Squeaker, also have a second show on Saturday 20 June with Mere Machine and tickets on sale now via OzTix or at the venue. Much acclaimed American alternative country and folk singer Iris DeMent is coming to our town and set to play the Governor Hindmarsh, 50 Port Rd, Hindmarsh, on Friday 22 May with special guest Pieta Brown. Book via OzTix or at the venue. Legendary rock band Mötley Crüe have confirmed dates for their highly anticipated Australian leg of their final tour and are bringing along shock rocker Alice Cooper as a very special guest. In Adelaide, they play Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Thursday 21 May with Love Cream. Book quickly via the Live Nation website. Shaggy, the ragga king of dancehall, has just dropped a new album, Out Of Many One Music, and will be hitting HQ Complex on Friday 22 May. Tickets are available now via Metropolis Touring at <metropolistouring.com>. Drumscene Live will feature Jojo Mayer, Todd Sucherman and Jason Heerah at the Governor Hindmarsh, 59 Port Rd, Hindmarsh, on Wednesday 27 May. Rob Snarksi, of The Blackeyed Susans and accompanied on this occasion by Shane O’Mara, is quickly coming back to town to launch his By Request Volume One album at The Wheatsheaf Hotel, 39 George St, Thebarton on Sunday 26 July from 4pm. Book quickly via OzTix as Rob’s last show at this venue sold out. You know the year is racing away when you see that Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish have announced a tour for next year that will have them playing HQ Complex on Wednesday 13 January. Xavier Rudd & The United Nations have announced a nation-wide tour that will have them playing the Governor Hindmarsh Hotel, 59 Port Rd, Hindmarsh, on Sunday 20 September. Tickets via the venue or OzTix but be quick. Hailing from Seaford, Victoria, heavy but melodic rock band As Crows Fly will be heading to town to make their Adelaide debut at Producers Bar, 235 Grenfell St, on Friday 22 May and will be performing alongside like-minded local bands SoundGasm, Wicked Empire and Hi Speed Life. There’s to be a celebration of the music of AC/DC and Rose Tattoo featuring the allstar line-up of Angry Anderson, former AC/ DC bass player Mark Evans, guitarist Bob Spencer of Skyhooks and James Morley, formerly of The Angels. And it will all take place at The Bridgeway Hotel, 18 Bridge Rd, Pooraka, on Friday 3 July with tickets via <trybooking.com>. The third edition of Blues On The Parade will feature Sydney-based guitarist Ray Beadle alongside Black Aspirin, Stefan Hauk Band, Sweet Baby James and The Blooze Bus and it all takes place at Norwood Live, The Parade, Norwood, on Saturday 18 July. Book tickets via Moshtix. Following the announcement of a forthcoming album, Strange New Past, and a new single release Hell Boy, popular hip hop
Here’s the story so far. American pop punks The Story So Far are set to return to our shores with special guests Man Overboard and Apart From This and in our fair city will play Adelaide Uni Bar on Saturday 12 September as a licensed all-ages affair. Tickets via <destroyalllines.com>. Reginald Dwight, better known as Sir Elton John, will be in touring mode just before Santa hits town and will be at Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Port Rd, Hindmarsh, on Saturday 19 December to play all his hits alongside his illustrious band. Much-loved Melbourne ensemble My Friend The Chocolate Cake are comin’ to town to present their first two albums, their self-titled debut, which was recorded over the course of a day, and their ARIA award winning second album, Brood. Catch them at the Governor Hindmarsh, 59 Port Rd, Hindmarsh, on Friday 17 July with tickets now on sale via OzTix. Salt Lake City’s extreme metal titans Chelsea Grin will be touring with Boris The Blade in August and will be hitting Fowler’s Live, 68-70 North Tce, from 6pm on Sunday 16 August with tickets via Moshtix. Brian Kennedy, one of Ireland’s finest singers and one who has worked with Van Morrison and Bob Dylan, is bringing his acclaimed Joni Mitchell tribute show to Trinity Sessions, Church Of The Trinity, 318 Goodwood Rd, Clarence Pk, on Wednesday 3 June. Book via <dramatix. com.au>. Perth metal band Make Them Suffer are heading over to play Fowler’s Live, 68-70 North Tce, on Friday 12 June to launch new album, Old Souls, with help from Black Tongue and Valance. Tickets via Moshtix for this licensed all-ages event. As well as being announced on the Splendour In The Grass bill, Brisbane’s Last Dinosaurs have also scheduled a national tour that will have the indie pop quartet hit Jive, 181 Hindley St, on Friday 3 July with tickets on sale via Moshtix. Chicago’s Real Friends are set to play Fowler’s Live, 68-70 North Tce, from 5pm on Sunday 21 June. Book tickets quickly via Moshtix to catch the pop punks in action. When it all rather looked like Fremantle’s San Cisco would be bypassing Adelaide on their current tour apart from groovin’ away at Groovin’ The Moo, we can announce they will now play a SOLD OUT show at the Governor Hindmarsh, 59 Port, Hindmarsh, on Thursday 28 May. Songwriters Andrew Butler, Dylan Clark, Oliver Kirby and Leighton Cauchi are Sydney’s Little Sea and they will be droppin’ their new EP at Fowler’s Live, 68-70 North Tce, at an all-ages show from 7pm on Friday 17 July. Tickets via Moshtix. Fresh from playin’ Coachella in the US and then getting muddy at Groovin’ The Moo, Hot Dub Time Machine are heading back to present Hot Dub Classic at Thebarton Theatre on Friday 12 June and Hot Dub Rave on Saturday 13 June. Grab a ticket quickly via Ticketmaster as they are sure to sell out. Melbourne’s Ceres and The Pretty Littles have announced a national tour with Adelaide’s Sincerely, Grizzly as special guests. Catch ’em at Crown & Anchor, 196 Grenfell St, on Friday 17 July. Melbourne’s Citrus Jam are coming back to town to launch a CD and have invited locals Gorilla Jones to join them at the Grace Emily Hotel, 232 Waymouth St, on Saturday 18 July. American metal band Bane have scheduled their final tour of Australia although the good news is that it will be with fellow US metal act Defeater. See them at Fowler’s Live, 68-70 North Tce, on Saturday 30 May.
While you wait, Dead Letter Circus have just released a new single, While You Wait, and have a national tour that see the Brisbane band heading to Adelaide Uni Bar on Saturday 18 July. Tickets are on sale now via OzTix or Ticketek. Swedish rockabilly band The Go Getters will be heading back to town to play The Dirty Devil’s Bar, Whiteline Transport, Greenfields, on Friday 7 August alongside The Satellites and The Saucermen. Absolutely Live: The Doors Show, once endorsed by the late Ray Manzarek and who tour the world to much acclaim, have rescheduled their show and will now be heading to the Governor Hindmarsh, 59 Port Rd, Hindmarsh, on Friday 26 June. Book at OzTix or via the venue. It’s all a bit of a blur, but British rock band The Wombats will play a SOLD OUT show at Thebarton Theatre, Henley Beach Rd, Torrensville, on Thursday 30 July. Lucie Thorne has announced a run of winter shows which will see her playing in Adelaide with drummer Hamish Stuart at McLaren Vale’s The Singing Gallery (with The Yearlings) on Friday 19 June, Woodlands Run at Finniss from 4.30pm on Saturday 20 June and at Wheatsheaf Hotel, 39 George St, Thebarton, from 4pm on Sunday 21 June. With over 400,000 subscribers and amassing over 20 million views on YouTube, Irish singer songwriter BriBry will return to Australian shores as part of a world tour to play Fowler’s Live, 68-70 North Tce, from 6pm on Friday 26 June. Tickets via Moshtix. Fresh from playing around the place with Mariachi El Bronx, Melbourne’s The Peep Tempel are on their Getting On By tour which will have them playing Crown & Anchor, 246 Grenfell St, on Friday 5 June.
SATURDAY 27 JUNE 5 Seconds Of Summer (Sydney) at Adelaide Entertainment Centre SUNDAY 28 JUNE Machine Head (US) at Governor Hindmarsh (SOLD OUT) TUESDAY 30 JUNE Title Fight (US) at Adelaide Uni Bar WEDNESDAY 1 JULY Seether (South Africa) at Governor Hindmarsh
THURSDAY 21 MAY Mötley Crüe (US), Alice Cooper (US) and Love Cream at Adelaide Entertainment Centre Brad Butcher (Mackay) at Grace Emily Voyager (Perth), Klone (France), Dyssidia and Molloy at Jive FRIDAY 22 MAY Shaggy (UK) at HQ Irish DeMent (US) and Pieta Brown (US) at Governor Hindmarsh Brad Butcher (Mackay) at The Singing Gallery (McLaren Vale) As Crows Fly (Melbourne), SoundGasm, Wicked Empire and Hi Speed Life at Producers Bar The Broads (Melbourne), Koral and Ben Mason at Wheatsheaf Hotel King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard (Melbourne), Dr Piffle & The Burlap Band, West Thebarton Brothel Party and Glass Skies at Fowler’s Live SATURDAY 23 MAY Diesel (Sydney) at Governor Hindmarsh Nick Barker & The Heartache State (Melbourne) at Grace Emily Slow Galo (Melbourne) at Naomi Keyte at Wheatsheaf Hotel SUNDAY 24 MAY Gang Of Youths (Melbourne) at Exeter Hotel (from 5pm) Malachy (WA) and Grace Goodfellow at Grace Emily (from 4pm) THURSDAY 28 MAY San Cisco (Fremantle) at The Governor Hindmarsh (SOLD OUT) FRIDAY 29 MAY The Getaway Plan (Melbourne) at Fowler’s Live sleepmakeswaves (Sydney) and Gay Paris (Sydney) at Adelaide Uni Bar The Stoneage Hearts (Melbourne), Green Circles and Wild Rocket at Gaslight Tavern Allday at HQ Complex Ash Grunwald (Anglesea) at Governor Hindmarsh Neil Murray (Lake Bolac) and Glenn Skuthorpe at The Courthouse (Auburn) SATURDAY 30 MAY The Stoneage Hearts (Melbourne), Molting Vultures and Systemaddicts at Grace Emily We All Want To (Brisbane) at Hotel Metro Neil Murray (Lake Bolac) and Kylie Kain at The Singing Gallery (McLaren Vale) Defeater (US) and Bane (US) at Fowler’s Live Decimatus (Melbourne) and Envenomed (Melbourne) at Enigma Bar Kit Convict & Thee Terrible Two (Melbourne), The Villenettes, Wild Rocket and Kasavette at Crown & Anchor The Jungle Giants (Brisbane) at Adelaide Uni Bar SUNDAY 31 MAY Boris (Japan) at Fowler’s Live Neil Murray (Lake Bolac) and The Yearlings at Wheatsheaf Hotel MONDAY 1 JUNE Bad Manners (UK) at Governor Hindmarsh WEDNESDAY 3 JUNE Brian Kennedy (Ireland) at Trinity Sessions THURSDAY 4 JUNE In Hearts Wake (Byron Bay), We Came As Romans (US) Beartooth (US) and We Storm The Sky at HQ Complex Birds Of Tokyo (Perth) and Ecca Vandal at Governor Hindmarsh FRIDAY 5 JUNE Steve Lucas & The Strawberry Teardrop (Melbourne), The Pro Tolls, Systemaddicts and Ben Gel & The Boneyard Saints at Hotel Metro Against Me! (US) and Joyce Manor (US) at Adelaide Uni Bar The Peep Tempel (Melbourne) at Crown &
Anchor Dallas Frasca (Melbourne) and Filthy Lucre at Pirie & Co Social Club Harts (Melbourne) at Rocket Bar SATURDAY 6 JUNE Ry Kemp, Shelby Clements (NSW), Heath Anthony and Bec Stevens at Exeter Hotel SUNDAY 7 JUNE Karise Eden (Sydney) at Governor Hindmarsh MONDAY 8 JUNE R.A. The Rugged Man (US) at Governor Hindmarsh This Will Destroy You (US) at Jive THURSDAY 11 JUNE Deez Nuts (Melbourne/New York), Antagonist AD (New Zealand), Relentless and Earth Caller at Fowler’s Live Mike Waters (Melbourne) at Wheatsheaf Hotel FRIDAY 12 JUNE Yngwie Malmsteem (Sweden) at HQ The Funkoars, DJ Total Eclipse (US), Mathas (Perth) and Eloji (Melbourne) at Governor Hindmarsh Hot Dub Time Machine (Melbourne) at Thebarton Theatre The Cherry Dolls (Melbourne) at Crown & Anchor Make Them Suffer (Perth), Black Tongue and Valance at Fowler’s Live SATURDAY 13 JUNE Art Of Sleeping (Brisbane), Jesse Davidson and Sunbeam Sound Machine at Jive Hot Dub Time Machine (Melbourne) at Thebarton Theatre SUNDAY 14 JUNE Jeff Lang (Melbourne) at Trinity Sessions THURSDAY 18 JUNE Hermitude (Blue Mountains), Basenji (Sydney) and Jayteehazard (Newcastle) at HQ Complex FRIDAY 19 JUNE Baby Animals (Perth) and Superjesus at Governor Hindmarsh (SOLD OUT) The Black Dahlia Murder (US), Pyscroptic, Colossvs and Truth Corroded at Fowler’s Live Lucie Thorne (NSW) and The Yearlings at The Singing Gallery (McLaren Vale) Crooked Colours (Perth) at Pirie & Co Social Club Palace Of The King (Melbourne), Surviving Sharks and Emergency Rule at Crown & Anchor Amistat (Melbourne) and Sam Brittain at Wheastsheaf Hotel SATURDAY 20 JUNE Oscar Key Sung (Sydney) at Rocket Bar Baby Animals (Perth) and Superjesus at Governor Hindmarsh Lucie Thorne (NSW) at Woodlands Run (Finniss) SUNDAY 21 JUNE Cheech & Chong (US) at Thebarton Theatre Sal Kimber & The Rolling Wheel (Melbourne) at Tara Carragher at Grace Emily Lucie Thorne (NSW) at Wheatsheaf Hotel Real Friends (Chicago) at Fowler’s Live (doors open at 5pm) WENESDAY 24 JUNE Alpine (Melbourne), Pearls, Darts and Olympia at Governor Hindmarsh THURSDAY 25 JUNE Jebediah (WA) and Red Jezebel at HQ FRIDAY 26 JUNE Absolutely Live: The Doors Show (Sydney) at Governor Hindmarsh BriBry (Ireland) at Fowler’s Live
THURSDAY 2 JULY Marlon Williams & The Yarra Benders (Melbourne) and Norma Jean (Melbourne) at Jive FRIDAY 3 JULY Tim Rogers & The Bamboos (Melbourne) at Governor Hindmarsh AC/DC & Rose Tattoo Tribute (featuring Angry Anderson and more) at Bridgeway Hotel Last Dinosaurs (Brisbane) at Jive SATURDAY 4 JULY Society Of Beggars (Melbourne) at Jive MONDAY 6 JULY Yellowcard (US), Mayday Parade and Born Lion at Thebarton Theatre SATURDAY 11 JULY The Church (Sydney) at Governor Hindmarsh Jimmy Barnes at Adelaide Entertainment Centre Theatre SUNDAY 12 JULY Saoirse (Ireland) at Trinity Sessions THURSDAY 16 JULY Fraser A Gorman (Melbourne) at Grace Emily FRIDAY 17 JULY Ceres (Melbourne), The Pretty Littles (Melbourne) and Sincerely, Grizzly at Crown & Anchor My Friend The Chocolate Cake (Melbourne) at Governor Hindmarsh Little Sea (Sydney) at Fowler’s Live SATURDAY 18 JULY Harry Howard & The NDE (Melbourne) at Wheatsheaf Hotel Dead Letter Circus (Brisbane) at Adelaide Uni Bar Citrus Jam (Melbourne) and Gorilla Jones at Grace Emily Blues On The Parade: Ray Beadle (Sydney), Black Aspirin, Stefan Hauk Band, Sweet Baby James and The Blooze Bus at Norwod Live SUNDAY 19 JULY Black Cobra (US) and Jucifer (US) at Crown & Anchor TUESDAY 21 JULY Johnny Marr (UK) and Flyying Colours (Melbourne) at Governor Hindmarsh SATURDAY 25 JULY The Sin & Tonics (Hobart), Yesterday’s Gentlemen (Hobart) and Lucky Seven SUNDAY 26 JULY Rob Snarski & Shane O’Mara (Melbourne) at Wheatsheaf Hotel THURSDAY 30 JULY The Wombats (UK) at Thebarton Theatre (Sold Out) FRIDAY 31 JULY Seth Sentry (Melbourne) at HQ Complex TUESDAY 4 AUGUST Kitty, Daisy & Lewis (UK) at Governor Hindmarsh Death Cab For Cutie (US) at HQ Complex THURSDAY 6 AUGUST Stylus (Sydney) at Governor Hindmarsh FRIDAY 7 AUGUST The Go Getters (Sweden), The Saucermen and The Satellites at Whiteline Transport (Greenfields) Kavisha Mazzella (Melbourne) at Trinity Sessions SUNDAY 16 AUGUST Chelsea Grin (Salt Lake City) and Boris The Blade at Fowler’s Live
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THE HEARTACHE STATE By Robert Dunstan
(daughter of Frank Sinatra’s arranger Don Costa), came about when Nick produced the debut album for Adelaide band Southpaw which boasted Justin alongside Billy Bob Rankine on guitar, Stuart Rudd (of Superjesus fame] on bass and Jad Green on drums.
venues everywhere and then I had my own band called Reptile Smile for a while.
Nick then formed The Reptiles, essentially to play guitar-based rock’n’roll, and they were quickly picked up by Mushroom Records.
The quartet has just issued a Shane O’Maraproduced album which they recently launched in their hometown at infamous rock venue The Cherry Bar.
“Yeah, so that’s why we’ve reworked Southpaw’s Minimum Wage on The Heartache State album and given it a Motels kind of feel,” Nick says with a laugh. “And Justin and I wrote Bones Of My Heart and Rainmaker together. But Bones Of My Heart was basically all Justin because I just chiselled a verse onto it.
“That went well but was pretty stressful,” Nick Barker says over the phone from Melbourne. “I dunno, doing a ticketed CD launch is a lot of stress – there’s much going on over here it’s hard to stick your head out over the pack – so we can’t wait to get over to Adelaide, play a free entry show at the Grace and have a few beers.
“So we’ve worked up a great working relationship which is coming out in the live shows,” he enthuses. “We’ve already started extending the guitar intros for some of the songs. We gel really well as guitarists because Justin tends to underplay which goes really well with my kind of Neil Young take on things.
“And it’s been a while between drinks for me at the Grace so it’ll be good to head over with some new songs and not have to worry too much about my back catalogue,” he continues.
“It’s a real push and pull kind of thing,” Nick adds, ‘but the more we play, the better it becomes. And we all love to play and would gig every night if we could.”
The Heartache State is a raggedy rock’n’roll band from Melbourne featuring singer songwriter Nick Barker alongside guitarist and singer Justin Garner (formerly of Adelaide band Southpaw), Michael Hubbard and drummer Venom.
“So we’ll virtually just play the new album from start to finish – that’s how we did it at the launch and it worked really well – because it’s that kind of record,” Nick says. “And then, if anyone wants to buy us a pint of Coopers, we’ll have some fun and play some of my old stuff that we’ve reworked as well as a couple of covers.” Nick then goes on to say he’s really happy with how the new album has turned out.
Some of the songs feature that loose, ’70s guitar swagger perfected by bands such as The Rolling Stones and Faces. “That comes from pushing the guitars right up front and having a drummer such as Venom who can just swing along with it,” Nick suggests. “Venom is really good drummer in terms of that kind of thing. He plays a lot off the guitars and that’s how you get that classic sound.
“Yeah, because it’s kind of the nuts and bolts of what I am as a songwriter plus it’s got a lot of the other boys’ input as well,” he reasons. “Justin, obviously, has really put his mark on it and so too has Venom on drums.
“And when we recorded the album, we tracked the guitar and drums first and then added the bass later,” he says. “That’s how Keith Richards did his Talk Is Cheap album and you get this really good sound with everything swinging back and forth.”
“My last solo record [2009’s Black Water Blues] was more of a country rock kind of album – that’s how I saw myself back then – and I’ve done a lot of playing over the last five years but I just got sick of only having the acoustic guitar as the medium.
Nick began his musical career as a bass player and ended up playing that instrument in highly respected Melbourne indie rock band The Wreckery which featured Hugo Race on vocals.
“So that’s how The Heartache State came about,” Nick adds. “I had some songs but it all started when Justin moved over here [from Adelaide] and we started working together. “And Justin injected that ’70s rock thing he’s got happening into my new songs and it just felt right,” he says. “So it’s been good to get out there playing with a band again.” The association with Justin, who has written with and also toured with Nikka Costa
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“I’d moved from the south east suburbs of Melbourne to St Kilda when I’d just turned 17,” Nick reveals, “and just got immersed into that whole indie punk scene. St Kilda was punk rock central back then and I lived in a squat and must have played in maybe half a dozen or so bands before I ended up playing bass with The Wreckery. “Hey, I remember playing in a band called A Singing Dog before they became Lubricated Goat when Stu Spasm moved over from Adelaide,” he recalls with a chuckle. “So I was having a ball because there were bands and
“St Kilda was real melting pot for music back then,” Nick says of the suburb’s indie rock scene of the ’80s. “It used to be known as, ‘the little band scene’.”
“That was all a real head-spin,” he now recalls with a sigh. “I’d started up this thing that I thought of as a dumb bar band just to have some fun. Christ, we even had a harmonica player [Chris Harris]. We were just doin’ our thing. “And when I say we were a dumb bar band I mean that nothing was ever over-thought,” Nick explains. “It was raw rock’n’roll delivered in an un-pasteurised fashion in a front bar. “But Mushroom snapped us up because they were convinced they could turn us into the next Guns N’ Roses,” he laughs. “And that was never going to happen because The Reptiles were the sum of its parts. “Apart from Chris, who is a great harmonica player, we weren’t that good as musicians but it worked okay when we played together,” he continues. “And Mushroom then wanted us to work with big deal American producers so it all got a bit bizarre. “Y’know I’ve never really understood the music industry,” Nick then muses. “I’m still trying to figure it out. I mean, I like playin’ but the rest of it you can have.” The Reptiles were a hard working band who toured relentlessly around the country as well as opening for such acts as The Angels. “And, as you’d remember, we were a pretty hard drinking bunch too,” Nick laughs. “We’d sometimes play five nights a week and treat every night like it was a Saturday.” Following the demise of The Reptiles after two relatively successful albums, Nick formed a band simply named Barker which made its way to the number 20 spot on triple j’s Hottest 100 of 1994 with the song Time Bomb from their debut album Happy Man. Around this time Nick also delved into acting with minor roles on television shows such as Blue Heelers and Pizza as well as landing a substantial role in the feature film Amy alongside Rachel Griffiths and Ben Mendelsohn and which won several highprofile awards and was a hit in the US and France where it now forms part of the senior high school curriculum.
Nick’s solo career effectively began with the release of Damn Mermaids in 1996 and since then he has released a further four albums as well as several compilations. The Heartache State album was produced, recorded and mixed at Yikesville by musician and producer Shane O’Mara who has worked on award winning albums for Adelaide’s The Audreys and who has just tweaked a series of iPhone recordings for Rob Snarski’s next release, Songs By Request Volume One. “I hate recording – the best part of doin’ music is getting out there and just playin’ it – so we went to Shane because we knew we could get it done pretty quickly without any fuss,” Nick says. “And Shane is a really good mate who I trust. “And, as a producer, he’s also at the very top of his game,” he states. “So that took away any anxieties and we could just relax and get stuck into just doin’ the album. “And you can hear that on the record,” Nick adds, “because it was all done pretty much live in the studio. And that’s the way I like to work. I’m not one to sit around in a studio and let all the possibilities get the better of me.” Nick concludes by responding to my question asking if, given his relatively high profile, there had been any thought to calling the new band Nick Barker & The Heartache State. “Nah,” he sniffs. “I didn’t think using my name was fair on the other guys because they had just as much input into it as I did. And I’m not even sure my name carries much weight these days. “I’ve had my name on around 10 albums now, so it was time to give it a rest,” Nick reasons. “Besides, I can now wear the T-Shirt without having my name plastered all over it.” The Heartache State will launch their self-titled debut album at the Grace Emily Hotel, 232 Waymouth St, as a free entry affair from 9pm on Saturday 23 May with Andrew Matters (of William Street Strikers) as special guest.
KORAL By Robert Dunstan Adelaide singer and guitarist Koral has a busy time ahead of her as she is set to play in solo mode with Melbourne’s The Broads and Ben Mason at The Wheatsheaf Hotel on Friday 22 May and then perform at The British Hotel’s Sunset Sessions on Saturday 30 May. She will then undertake a Friday evening June residency at the Grace Emily with her band, The Goodbye Horses, which will culminate with the official launch of their EP. “Hey, you know more about my gigs than I do at the moment,” Koral laughs when we chat over the phone. “But, hey, that’s why I have a diary.” The singer then goes on to say that the gig with Broads, the dark, acoustic folk duo of Jane Hendry and Kelly Day of The Nymphs, came about due to her performing in Sydney. “I’d taken off to Sydney straight after Adelaide Fringe to do three shows,” she explains. “So I did a little solo show at a sweet little bar called Midnight Special and on the second night I did a show in a private house in Surry Hills with Broads for a membership-only event called High Tea. “So Broads said, ‘Come along and play three songs between our set and then the three of us will do a song together’,” Koral continues. “So, on the day, we learnt an arrangement of Love Hurts and then did it together – amazingly well, actually – that night. “So from that we formed quite a friendship and I now can’t wait to play with them again at The Wheaty,” she enthuses. Koral will also be appearing at Sunset Sessions, a monthly event which features local singer songwriters who took part in The Semaphore Songs Project as part of last year’s Semaphore Music Festival, at Port Adelaide’s British Hotel from 5pm on Saturday 30 May. “Semaphore Songs was a great project to be involved with,” Koral enthuses, “and some great songs came out of it. I loved it because I got to work with Charles Jenkins as my mentor. “And getting to write with someone like Charles on a specific subject was quite a huge learning curve for me, as it was for many of the others involved,” she then says of working alongside the now Melbournebased solo artist who is formerly of Adelaide band The Mad Turks and also Icecream Hands. “But I’d injured my voice and couldn’t speak for a month, so Charles and I did it all via email and it wasn’t until the day of the actual festival that I could use my voice again,” Koral reveals. “But for my show at Sunset Sessions, I’m looking to do it with another Adelaide artist and do the songs from a classic record,” she then says. “The idea is definitely there but I don’t know who I’m going to do it with yet or what the album will be.” Following those escapades, Koral and her band, The Goodbye Horses, will then kick off a month-long Friday evening residency at the Grace Emily Hotel which will involve the official launch of their debut EP.
“That’ll be right at the end of the residency on 26 June,” Koral clarifies. “So on that night the EP will go out into the world and we’ll also be filming a little video clip. “So that’ll be a good one because we’ll also have The Sloe Ruin and Max Savage & The False Idols as our special guests,” she enthuses. “And the three Fridays before that we’ll try and do some interesting kinda stuff because we’ll have some guests [as well as guest bands such as Cosmo Thundercat and St Morris Sinners] and we’ll also throw in some interesting cover songs,” Koral indicates. “So it’ll be a totally different show every night for our residency.” The debut EP was recorded up at Mick Wordley’s Mixmasters studio in the Adelaide Hills. “We first went into the studio in July of last year and recorded the instrumental tracks and then I was meant to do my vocals,” Koral sighs. “But because of the damage to my vocal cords and having to have an operation that didn’t happen until recently. “And the EP runs together in a cohesive way because the idea of just slotting four separate songs on a CD just didn’t appeal to me,” she continues. “That kind of thing makes me shiver a bit because there needs to be some kind of sonic narrative that fits all the songs together.”
IRIS DEMENT By Robert Dunstan American singer Iris DeMent toured Australia for the first time in a long while back in 2013 to promote the release of her latest album, Sing The Delta. She is now returning to our shores and on this occasion will also be performing in Adelaide with special guest Pieta Brow, who is Iris’ daughter-in-law due to her marriage some 10 years ago to like-minded musician Greg Brown. Raised in Arkansas in a Pentecostal household, Iris DeMent wrote her first song, the introspective Our Town, when she was 25 in 1992. The song, which has since been covered by numerous artists and was used during the closing scene and credits for the final episode of TV series Northern Exposure, and its parent album, Infamous Angel, quickly established her as a new artist of note. Iris’ second album, My Life, picked up a Grammy nomination in 1994 for Best Contemporary Folk Album and she was soon counting fellow artists such as Steve Earle, Merle Haggard and Emmylou Harris as fans and has since gone on to work with them. The singer, who played Rose Gentry in the 2000 film Songcatcher and also contributed to its soundtrack, says that Sing The Delta is her first album for some years.
Korals says that, apart from the CD launch, there are some other plans in the works.
“I simply didn’t have enough good songs,” Iris responds when asked why it’s been so long between drinks.
“Sam [Knight], the drummer and coproducer, have been spending a lot of time writing together,” she reveals. “So we are starting to work on the next project but not sure yet if it will be a Goodbye Horses thing or not.
“Some people can manage to write enough good songs for an album every couple of years or so but I don’t. I sure wouldn’t complain about being a prolific writer but I’m not.
“It may be something else again,” Koral suggests, “because Koral & The Goodbye Horses is a band with a specific sound and an alleyway for that style of writing and recording.
“So I just waited until I had what I believed to be some really good songs, which I think they all are, and that they all had something to say. They are also songs I think I could sing forever if need be.
“But, with Sam and I, I think there will be other musical avenues we’ll travel down that may well end up being completely different.
Iris roped in such hot players as Al Perkins, who had played dobro 20 years earlier on her debut, and Double Trouble’s keyboard player Reese Wynans to work on the album.
“So things are up in the air at the moment but I’ve also been researching into heading over to the US on some kind of songwriting journey,” Koral concludes. “I’d like to meet up with as many musicians as I can and write as many songs with them as I can.” Koral will play with Melbourne’s Broads and Ben Mason at the Wheatsheaf Hotel, 39 George St, Thebarton, on Friday 22 May and then play Sunset Sessions at The British Hotel, 11 North Parade, Port Adelaide, from 5pm on Saturday 30 May. Koral & The Goodbye Horses will then enjoy a month-long, free entry Friday evening residency from Friday 5 June until Friday 26 June (EP launch night) at the Grace Emily Hotel, 232 Waymouth St, with special guests each night.
“I sure did and it was great to have a roomful of such really great players and I had a couple of great producers in Bo Ramsey and Richard Bennett who are both wonderful players themselves. People may know of Richard through his work with Mark Knopfler’s band, although he has also played with everyone from Liberace through to Emmylou and everyone in between.” The singer famously worked with John Prine on his 1999 album In Spite Of Ourselves which featured female guests such as Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams and Pattie Lovless. Iris sang on the title track as well as Let’s Invite Them Over, We Could and We’re Not The Jet Set.
to be honest, I’m not trying to sell a million records or anything. “I figured out a while ago I was never going to become a household name so I didn’t really see the need to be on a big record label. And maybe I’m wrong but it seems to be working out at the moment as I’ve had a distribution company, Red Eye, working with me who have helped fill in some of the gaps. “I also like the complete freedom that having your own record label brings,” she decides. “There’s not a bunch of people standing over in the corner wishing or hoping I would take my music in a particular direction. Whether they were doing that or not I don’t know, but I always felt that when I was with a record label. Prior to Sing The Delta, DeMent released Lifeline, an album of mostly traditional gospel songs that harked back to her early childhood. “Oh, it was always a given I’d do that,” she says. “I’d been singing most of those songs as far back as I could remember and at that particular time of my life, when I decided to record that album, I was going through some tough times and they were the only songs that made me feel better.” Even those not particularly religious often find gospel music to be very uplifting. “And I sing those songs from a similar place because I am no longer particularly religious either,” Iris responds. “It actually mystified me why I would be sittin’ around the house singing those old gospel songs. But I now think it was some kind of emotional, psychic connection to my family and my very, very early upbringing. “So I was taking a lot of comfort in that but the particular songs I chose for the album had a real, honest quality about them. “I don’t know, but you can hear a certain desperation in a lot of those songs – it seems like the sending out of an SOS – and that was pretty much how I was feeling at the time,” she adds. In 2001, DeMent married fellow singer songwriter Greg Brown, whose daughter, Pieta, took the front cover photograph for Sing The Delta. Pieta, who is currently touring with Iris, also works with Australia’s Lucie Thorne as a duo called Love Over Gold. Iris DeMent and Pieta Brown play the Governor Hindmarsh, 59 Port Rd, Hindmarsh, on Friday 22 May with tickets via the venue or OzTix. Sing The Delta is available through Flariella.
“And I still work with John a lot,” Iris says. “We still go out on the road together a couple of times a year and I’ll open for him or we’ll do a show of duets.” The singer has also set up her own record label, Flariella, after working with Rounder and Warner Bros. “Well, as you’d know, there just aren’t a lot of record labels left,” Iris laughs. “When I first started out I was in a different place and,
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LOOKING FOR LAWSON By Lynette Washington Looking for Lawson is an exciting contemporary take on the classic Australian poet Henry Lawson’s work. Composer and musical director John Thorn has taken Lawson’s much-loved poems and set them to music. He is joined on stage by highly respected vocalist and musician Lindsay Field [John Farnham band] and enchanting vocalist and comedic actor Emily Taheny [Mad As Hell, ABCTV], who will bring the work to life at this year’s Adelaide Cabaret Festival. The Clothesline speaks with John Thorn, via email and asks him to tell us about the Adelaide premiere of Looking For Lawson. “Audiences can expect to hear 18 of Henry Lawson’s finest poems presented musically by two beautiful performers with myself on piano. There are some moments of chat to place the songs in a historical context but the show is definitely about his words, and how they still speak to Australians today.” It’s such a wonderful idea to set some of Lawson’s most beautiful poems to music. Where did the idea for Looking For Lawson come from? “The show came about after I began setting a few poems for a trip retracing Lawson’s childhood and his journey to Bourke in 1892. The response from the first efforts encouraged me to complete a set and, with my background in cabaret, it seemed appropriate to present them in a cabaret structure.” In retracing Lawson’s steps, did you get a sense of what it was like for Lawson in those years? “That experience was the genesis of the project. A small group of us got to visit locations associated with Lawson, such as his local pub and the offices of the Western Herald, a town paper still operating from the same dwelling that Lawson visited. “Bourke is a magical place with such great history. It is the birthplace of the Labour movement and was also the centre of Bush poetry, with other poets such as Will Ogilve and Breaker Morant located there in the 1890s. “I was lucky to revisit Bourke in September 2014 and present the songs for the first time at the ‘Festival of a Thousand Stories’. That trip included a Poets Trek where a small group travelled to Hungerford in QLD, over 200km away, where Lawson walked in the middle of summer. It was bewildering
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to think how someone could do that walk when there seems nothing out there. The trip stopped at locations where Lawson wrote and we recited poems and stories on the sites there.” The music you have set Lawson’s poems to has a wide range of influences, from tango to European folk tunes to hymns and Joni Mitchell. Was it important to find an Australian sound in among all these influences as well? “Lawson has been set to music many times before with the majority of the settings in the Australian Bush music genre. My background is more in the jazz, cabaret, musical theatre and French chanson. There are a few ‘Australian’ style treatments but I was also very aware to take Lawson away from this cliché and show that the words flourish in other genres. “I also use the odd influence from the Anglican Hymn Book and especially Jacques Brel. Friends I’ve played them to say the collection doesn’t sound ‘Australian’ and with any luck this show might have a life outside Australia.” Lawson is, obviously, a well-known and much loved Australian literary figure. Did you worry about somehow misrepresenting him, or upsetting his many fans? Was it important to stay true to his memory, or were you more interested in reinterpreting his work for a new audience? “I had no worry about upsetting Lawson fans and I haven’t had any complaints yet. It is my hope to present Lawson to a new audience but so far all the old fans seem pretty happy with the treatments. Above all I wanted the words to shine as brightly and as affecting as possible.” This Cabaret Festival performance is the Adelaide premiere of Looking for Lawson, but you recently presented it at the Brunswick Music Festival. How did audiences there respond to the show? “The response was fantastic and I always like seeing the material getting an emotional reaction with tears and, ‘Ahhs’ from the people in the audience. There are songs in the show that even I can’t get through without a tear or two.” John Thorn performs in Looking For Lawson at Space Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre, from 7pm on Fri 12 June and Sat 13 June. Book at BASS.
BRINGING HIM HOME WITH HIS WEST END STORY By Bobby Goudie Daniel Koek has had huge success on the West End since moving from Adelaide to London 10 years ago. He was meant to perform at Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2013 following an invitation from former artistic director and good friend Kate Ceberano, but had to pull out due to landing the epic role of Jean Valjean in the West End production of Les Misérables, which he went onto play fulltime for more than a year. Daniel Koek will fly home to Adelaide following the official launch of his second studio album HiGH at the Australian High Commission in London. The Clothesline speaks to Daniel via Skype about his Adelaide Cabaret Festival show Bringing Him Home With His West End Story. “I am excited to be able to finally perform at Adelaide Cabaret Festival,” Daniel begins. “My story and journey has changed in the past two years, but I am still trying to make it quite personal as this show is about me coming home. It’s where all my music achievements stem from. “I went to Faith Lutheran College in Tanunda, which has a fantastic music program and I did my bachelor degree at The Conservatorium Of Music at the University Of Adelaide. My talents were nurtured from a very early age, so the show is quintessentially songs and experiences from the last ten years; my timeline through music.” Although he will be performing highlights from many of his leading roles in musical theatre, Daniel is tight-lipped when asking about which songs that will feature in his show, but explains his career highlights like West Side Story, South Pacific, Chess, My Fair Lady, The Mikado and Saturday Night Fever are the best clues. “I can tell you that I will be singing Bring Him Home from Les Misérables. People won’t let me leave the stage without singing it these days, so that will definitely be there,” he says reassuringly. “Playing Jean Valjean is the pinnacle of leading man roles. Playing it so young as well was quite an achievement. “I had about nine auditions and was then on trial for three months as they wanted to make sure I was really capable of doing it because I was so young compared to others who had previously played the role. When I got offered the part full time, it was such a relief.”
Have you worked with musical director Greg Arrowsmith before? “I first met Greg when I was doing my post graduate studies in musical theatre,” he replies. “A few years later he was the musical director of the production of Chess that I was in. We spent a lot of time on tour together and did some writing and clicked. Greg is a brilliant pianist and arranger and I feel really safe in his hands. “He has played all my shows to date. Coming down to a festival like this when rehearsal time can be tight, it is great to be in safe hands. He is only coming over for a week as he is also the MD for a new West End musical, Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown. So he will be weary, but he is phenomenal.” Are you going to be spending a lot of time down here in Adelaide? “I am leaving much earlier than I need to,” Daniel says. “My mum and dad both turn 60 this year within a couple of months of each other. My sister has just turned 30 so we are going on a family holiday in Bali after arriving back in Adelaide. I am very lucky to be an Arts Ambassador for Qantas this year so they have sponsored my flights. Following Bali I will spend a whole month in Adelaide prior to my performances. “I am really looking forward to coming back home to Adelaide,” he remarks with a smile. “I believe the show is selling quite well, which is always encouraging. I want to see as much stuff at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival as I can. “I am looking forward to seeing Peter & Jack with Teddy Tahu Rhodes in the first week and then I just want to experience as much as possible, including the more quirky shows.” Daniel Koek performs Bringing Him Home With His West End Story on Festival Theatre’s stage, Adelaide Festival Centre, at various time on Saturday 13 June until Sunday 14 June. Book at BASS.
THE OFFICIAL BLUES BROTHERS REVUE by David Robinson With a full tank of gas and half a pack of cigarettes, The Official Blues Brothers Revue is coming to Adelaide. Officially sanctioned by Dan Aykroyd and Judith Belushi Pisano (wife of the late John Belushi), this much-loved ‘show band and revue’ is touring Australia throughout April and May, hitting the Governor Hindmarsh stage on 24 May. We talk with Kieron Lafferty (aka Elwood Blues) and ask him how the first couple of shows have gone down. “So far, so good,” Kieron begins. “We’ve actually been here less than a week, so we are still acclimatising. We did a show in Wollongong and another in Ettalong. They’ve been very well attended; great audiences with a great attitude. People really enjoy the music and the mayhem.” How did this ‘Official Revue’ show come about? Was it designed to be a big production? “It was, actually. We’d done several shows, with Dan and Judy producing, and one of them, sort of, warped into the other. The current version of the show has been around for about four years. It’s a homage, not only to the great music from Chicago and the great R&B music from the ‘60s and ‘70s, but also to Jake and Elwood’s live performances as they were seen on SNL (Saturday Night Live), or at the Universal Amphitheatre opening up for Steve Martin.” The Blues Brothers’ appeal is ongoing, and appears to be one big happy family, featuring numerous acts. “Very much so,” Kieron agrees. “And, yes, there are different tributaries. Dan Aykroyd and Jim Belushi go out as Elwood and Zee Blues; they probably do a dozen shows a year. A lot of them are fundraiser/charity type things but they also do larger casino venues. And the Original Blues Brothers Band goes out, with Steve Cropper, ‘Blue’ Lou Marini, and some of the original guys from the film; they play a lot in Europe. Everybody is very respectful of everybody else’s incarnation.” You’ve been doing this (being Elwood) for a while now; are you still enjoying the ride? “Oh sure! I think it’s always evolving. There’s always something new that you can do; improvements to be made, nuances to pick up. I don’t think I ever really rest in that regard. If you’re just sort of levelled-out, you’re probably bored and need to take a break. Have you always played harmonica? Or is it an Elwood thing? “I’ve played since I was a kid”, Kieron explains. “I was a musician first, before being an actor, so I come from that. That’s why I can relate to these characters; certainly to Elwood. He’s a fusion of a couple of different characters; some from Toronto, some from Chicago. Guys that I knew, that I listened to growing up. The challenge with the harmonica is to keep it fresh. You don’t want to play the same solo, the same way, every night. That’ll drive you crazy.” When did you first come across the Blues Brothers? “I saw them on SNL and though it was novel, these comedians venturing in to musical
territories. They wore the Blues Brothers suits and they did it straight-faced. It was very funny. They actually pulled it off. These guys are huge music fans. They got into character to do something which was innately natural to them anyway. I’ve talked to Dan, who is a huge music fan and has an encyclopaedic knowledge of blues and R&B history. You can tell, first and foremost, he’s a fan of that great music.” What can audiences expect from the show? Is this strictly a music performance, or are other facets like narrative or video used? “There is a lot of multi-media involved,” Kieron says. “It’s really to shine a light on these two great musicians, and also to showcase the great artists the Blues Brothers draw from. There’s definitely a Blues Brothers tradition of respecting the music and the grooves; performing with dedication and authenticity. We’ve had Paul Shaffer work with us, as musical director, and he’s been a really great help.” Will fans see and hear all the tunes they know from the movie and the records? “Well, we’re definitely going to hit all of the classics,” Kieron says, “as well as a couple of rare b-sides which we like to throw in there to keep things fresh. There’s Soul Man and Gimme Some Lovin’, and all the other great songs from the movie and the soundtrack album. But the Blues Brothers also ventured into some very interesting musical territory, not just R&B, and we try to cover that. They touched on some of that wacky ‘50s stuff like Rubber Biscuit. They did reggae with Groove Me, so they weren’t strictly blues. Minnie The Moocher; that’s ‘30s R&B. They’re like an encyclopaedia of American music over the decades, from the ‘30s to the ‘80s. That’s the way I see it. “So, yeah, we love to refry it whenever we can. But we stay true to the arrangements that Steve Cropper and Paul Shaffer put in place; you have to play to the script. We can’t go and punk anything up too much!” Any plans to record any music with the band? “We’ve just finished working on a project. It’s a live disc that we did with Paul Shaffer, ‘Blue’ Lou Marini, Tom ‘Bones’ Malone, Matt ‘Guitar’ Murphy, and Otis Day from Animal House – which is a music movie as well. It was an evening in honour of John; his comic, and musical, legacy. It was hosted by Judy and Dan, and featured a line-up of some of the original guys, and some of the other people that John had worked with.” The Official Blues Brothers Revue performs at Governor Hindmarsh from 7.30pm on Sunday 24 May.
FERGUS MAXIMUS By Robert Dunstan It’s easy to tell that local singer songwriter Fergus Maximus doesn’t take himself too seriously when chatting to him ahead of his upcoming launch at The Jade Monkey. Fergus is releasing his album, which was recorded live at The Austral as part of SCALA one Thursday evening last year, in two forms – and EP and a full album – as he reasons that the longer offering boasts twice as many mistakes. “When I listened back to the recording, I initially thought I’d pick the best five or six songs and put them out,” he says. “But then I came up with the crazy idea of also putting out the whole hour-long recording as a kind of special edition.
“But she was amazing and I was really, really taken with her,” he says. “So I got chatting and bought her album and listened to it pretty hard. So I am just stoked that, when I asked her, Kelly agreed to play at my launch.” Fergus, a saxophonist by trade, has also played around the traps in assorted bands over the last 20 or so years. “Yeah, I started off in bands playing sax,” he says. “It was party bands mostly but around about 1995 I kind of became a frontman who was singing and playing sax. “But I’d been writing songs since the early ’80s really and also around that time I felt like I was starting to get the hang of it.” Fergus then had success with a song called Henley Square in the late ’90s.
“I thought that some people out there might like to also hear all the mistakes as well,” Fergus reasons.
“SCALA were asking for people to write songs about local places for a competition they were running,” he says. “So, along with Grant Shillabeer, I wrote Henley Square and it ended up tying for first place.
“I’m not anywhere near clever enough to edit any of those out, so the special edition is a warts ‘n’ all kind of thing,” he says of the deluxe album which features Fergus spending time tuning his guitar between songs.
“And the prize was to record it up at Mixmasters but Grant was away on the day – he was on his honeymoon down in Tassie – so I got what was then the rhythm section of Spank You Very Much to record it with me.
“So the recording is from a solo gig I did in November last year and it was actually the first time I’d ever played solo,” he then explains. “In the past I’ve had others do all the work with me standing out front as the performing monkey.
“So I’ve got bass player Damien Steele Scott and drummer Andrew Bignell [who both now play with Zkye Blue] playing with me on that recording,” Fergus laughs. “So that’s pretty funny when I think about it.”
“So I did this SCALA gig which was originally going to be with a band but they weren’t available,” Fergus continues. “So I decided to take the plunge and do it on my own. “And I was terrified,” he now admits with a laugh, “but was amazed at just how well it went. And Noni Espinosa had recorded it from the mixing desk straight to Pro-Tools and, when I listened back to it, I thought to myself, ‘Hey, I’ve just accidently recorded my first album’. “I had thought I could just use one or two songs as demos but Noni’s mix was so clean that I decided to get it mastered over in London and then put it out,” he adds. “And I’m really pleased with the result.” Fergus’ live recording was mastered by Pete Maher. “Steve Pederson [who plays with Junior and Max Savage] put me onto him and Pete is just fantastic,” Fergus enthuses. “He’s got an incredible resume – he’s worked with U2 and The Rolling Stones – and a great set of ears but he does inexpensive work for struggling, independent musicians. He’s just a great human being.” Fergus says he will have some special guests joining him on stage at his upcoming launch but has also engaged Kelly Menhennett to kick off proceedings.
Fergus also works in duo mode but gigs mostly in the southern region of the state. “Yeah, it’s usually wineries or restaurants and places like that,” he says. “So we often play in McLaren Vale at The Artel Lounge Bar. And that’s a lot of fun because we do that once or twice a month depending on the season. “And we did have a residency at Woodstock Wines,” Fergus then laughs. “So that was good. It’s always good being able to put on your CV that you’ve played at Woodstock. “I would like to play more city gigs though,” he then decides. “And that’s why my CD is going to come in handy. I can give it to venues and say, ‘Listen to this and imagine how much better it would sound with a band’.” Fergus Maximus will be in solo mode with occasional special guests when he launches his new CD (recorded live at The Austral and which comes in two editions of an EP and an LP) with help from very special guest Kelly Menhennett at The Jade Monkey, 160 Flinders St, from 8pm on Friday 29 May. Tickets will be at the door for $15 or $10 concession.
“I’d seen Kelly play at a festival a couple of years ago when Steve Pederson was playing with her and I’ve been mates with Steve for many, many years because he was in my wedding party 24 years ago,” Fergus recalls. “But I hadn’t heard of Kelly before that.
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CD REVIEWS
Music SA and BSide Magazine proudly bring you reviews of new releases by South Australian artists. If you’re a local act and have a new single, EP or LP, visit musicsa.com.au for details on how to submit it.
CAMRYN JORDANS The Stars In Your Eyes Reviewer: Craig Atkins 4/5
FERGUS MAXIMUS Songs And Stories Reviewer: Matthew Jolly 3/5
RELYING ON LUCK Jawbreaker Reviewer: Kyle Opie 3/5
THE READYMADES All F’d Up Reviewer: Matt Saunders 3.5/5
Camryn Jordans is a young songwriter, and with a list of influences such as Pink, Sia, Bruno Mars, Gabrielle Aplin, Rhianna and Ed Sheeran, there is a current familiarity in the arrangement of song.
On the 6 song EP ‘Songs And Stories’ Fergus has delivered a set that can probably best be described as charming. Recorded live at the Austral it is a raw and honest account of his song-writing. It also includes betweensong banter which provides context for each song – hence the title ‘Songs And Stories’.
Relying On Luck are a young Punk Rock trio who have have supported the likes of British India and Bad//Dreems in their recent history around the traps.
The ReadyMades have returned with a three-song E.P. of fun, danceable indiepunk-pop that’ll put a spring in your step and provide a ten-minute respite from your worldly cares.
‘The Stars In Your Eyes’ is a well-crafted story of a returning soldier reconnecting with his daughter that leads into dealing with PTSD affecting military personnel and their families, with 100% of iTunes proceeds going to the Soldier On charity. The track starts with gentle fingerpicking and volume swells with Camryn’s vocals very strong with an honesty and sense of vulnerability. The phrasing of her lyrics with building drama through the mix of strings and distorted guitar chords really work well and I can easily imagine hearing this in a movie soundtrack. Probably though the most amazing thing about this song is at only 15 years, Camryn has an ability to capture a highly emotive and passionate approach with her songwriting. Definitely one local songwriter to keep an eye on.
In both song and spoken word Fergus comes across as a nice guy, a little intense and maybe a little too prone to the odd “dad joke”. He sings with an earnest clarity, most evident in the last track ‘Fish’. He reminds me of Things Of Stone And Wood or The Whitlams. One voice and one guitar, Fergus accurately describes the playing as “adequate”, this record relies on the song writing to carry the listener. The songs are fairly uncomplicated observational narratives, full of selfdeprecation – he muses on the mundane; life in the rat-race, always running late, going back to the scenes of past heartbreak, a missing housemate and busking. Fergus knows how to structure a song. The strummed rhythms and chord patterns are interesting enough to make me wonder what they would sound like with more instrumentation. He even sings a few instrumental hook-lines that would translate well to guitar, keys or horns. It is evident from some of his anecdotes that Fergus has been writing for a long time and has taken part in a number of workshops to improve his craft. It seems to me that the biggest issue for Fergus is not the song writing but the intended audience. If he was funnier his playing and delivery would really suit stand-up comedy; if he was a bit less self effacing and earnest he could be a compelling folky. I enjoyed listening to this record, it really felt like attending a gig. The stories are an important and essential part of the experience. There is a twelve track LP version which I would suggest is a bit too long (it includes 30 seconds of him tuning his guitar!) It says in the bio that this recording was made at his first solo gig (thumbs up to Noni Espinosa’s work a sound engineer on this) – I would suggest next time maybe waiting until the songs and stories in this show are a little more road tested before pressing record.
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The two and a half minutes of madness known as ‘Jawbreaker’ bursts through as the second single from their upcoming EP. Building up to what is by punk standards a somewhat varied dynamic, the intro features a relentless bass line, complete with maximum fuzz. This is soon followed by screaming vocals and a DIY aesthetic that gives it a suitably raw flavour. You can almost see the waves of anarchist behaviour within the crowd that would accompany the ebbs and flows of the tune at a show. This track is by no means for the lighthearted, its both lyrically and musically brutal. There’s nothing overly unusual to be found here, but there’s no mistaking their pure energy.
Guitarist/vocalist Kate delivers solid howls that do her punk rock forebears proud, while Sam and Tina provide the backbone on bass and drums respectively. First up is ‘Shoop Doop Daddy’, an ode to an irresistable lover with a bouncy, rollerrink-ready sound that starts off with an up-tempo tom beat before launching into a rollicking clean guitar groove. Watch out for the bridge’s vibrato guitar/organ build-up with layered harmonies that inject a brief dose of drama to the candy-coated jam. Next up is ‘Frankie and a Half’, which opens with storytime recollections of life at Kate’s share house in Richmond over a rimshot shuffle. The ReadyMades are self-taught and this may explain how they were able to write the verse and the chorus in different keys (A# and D) with relatively uncommon I-VI progressions, which combine to give ‘Frankie and a Half’ a nice off-kilter vibe. It works on its own terms and does an impressive WTF on the ears for the first few listens, which isn’t a bad thing. If you pay attention you’ll hear Kate’s violin make a cameo in the breakdown. The last track is ‘Effed Off’. It’s a straightforward rock’n’roll song with a beat you can skip to, wherein Kate declares that she is, well, “effed off” with today and all of the bitches and assholes in her way, and demands that her baby take her out tonight. We’ve all been there. It’s a fun uptempo rocker that, like the rest of All F’ed Up, has sincere attitude and is a likely soundtrack for good times.
RIP Howard and BB.
ASH GRUNWALD By Khiara Elliott
what goes on there. The more I’ve learnt about that the more I feel that we’re going in a really terrible direction,” he says.
Australia’s own blues master Ash Grunwald has recently returned to home soil after an international tour that saw him take America and Canada by storm. Not one to be afraid of hard work and a challenge, Ash is now set to begin his national tour promoting his brand new album Now that is set to his stores later this year.
“If you talk about that to anyone, or to people who aren’t already the converted, people tend to roll their eyes or think you’re a conspiracy theorist, and it couldn’t be further from the truth. That’s sort of what it’s about. There’s a lyric that I say, ‘And they call you an activist, and they call you a terrorist, and your friends want no part of it because you want your drinking water clean’.
BSide Magazine had a chat with Ash about touring and his involvement in Canadian Music Week, the upcoming album, and its first release River.
“It’s just like, people are poisoning your drinking water and your air. You can light your drinking water. When did you or how did you become an activist for saying, ‘We shouldn’t be doing this’?
“Canadian Music Week was really cool,” Ash starts. “Things in Canada have been going pretty well over the last couple of years. That’s where I’ve done most of my touring. I did a few festivals and a few directors came and checked it out and it looks like I’ll be doing a few more festivals next year. This year is going to be my best year for festivals so hopefully next year is better again.” Being that his last show in Australia before the international tour was Bluesfest and a set at Blues On Broadbeach kicking off his national tour, Ash is a seasoned festival professional. “Bluesfest was great. We had a really big band for that one, it was an eight-piece band. But for this tour we’re stripping it back to a three-piece. It’s been a while since I’ve been to Adelaide and the Gov so that’s going to be cool too.” This impressive three-piece includes Ian Peres of Wolfmother fame playing synth bass and organ. “It was really, really cool collaborating with them. Recording this album was a bit of a concept. I wanted to go into the studio and do this whole blues rock psychedelic threepiece thing, but I didn’t want to just be like guitarist, bass, drums, like it often is,” says Ash. “I decided I wanted this synth bass on it, and we basically found Ian through that quest to find a guy who’s a really good synth player, and he’s just amazing. As I got to know him better I found out that he’s an amazing organ player, and a classical player… Just the whole lot. “Plus he plays normal bass guitar, which he always tried to show me, but I never let him, the poor guy. I was just like, ‘That’s totally not the mission, we need synth bass!’ He’s probably the best bass player you’ve ever heard in your life and I never gave him the chance,” he laughs.
“That’s what the song’s about. We’re in this together. It’s the one percent, it’s all those financial institutions and multinational corporations that the money feeds to. So it’s those few people against the rest of us who are drawing all of that out. We’re all on this planet together but I don’t really think our planet will last if we keep things going the way that they are. “The song is basically trying to point out those things without being too literal about it all. “I think people everywhere but especially in Australia don’t like being preached to, or being told what to think. I had to work backwards when I first wrote that song. I was writing all these lyrics about the people that I interviewed and saying literal things that I did and it just didn’t work as well. It was just too literal,” Ash explains. “You can’t be laying down this thing for people to dance to and be so literal about every little experience that you had. Also I realised, you know, the gas mining thing is just one symptom of the overall problem, which is the system that we’re in. You can go to healthcare or you can go to the whole fossil fuel and energy debate, or any area of basically what’s going wrong with the world and they’re all just different symptoms of the same problem. So I tried to be more general about it. “I thought it was better to make it more generic,” he says. You can catch Ash Grunwald and his band playing their artful protest pieces on Friday 29 May at The Governor Hindmarsh Hotel, 59 Port Rd, Hindmarsh. Tickets available from www.thegov.com. au and doors at 7.30pm.
I awoke on Sunday morning to the sad, sad news, via the early morning wonders of Facebook, that Adelaide musician Howard Kehl had very suddenly passed away. At first I thought someone had got their wires very, very crossed and it was all a big mistake but no, a quick check of his usually very active Facebook page was very active for another reason – hundred of tributes were pouring in from the many people who had known him over the last 30 years or so. I first crossed paths with Howard back in the early ’90s when he was playing drums with Unwired, an unplugged band that did remarkable, stripped-back covers of songs by Led Zeppelin and Guns N’ Roses (probably due to the fact that singer Darren Constable used to front a tribute band known as Appetite For Destruction). Howard, who played drums with many local bands over the years including Almost Human, had lately been working alongside local singer Kev Keelor on his Five O’ One Nine album which enjoyed such a successful launch late last again, it was launched again over the January long weekend of this year. Kev, who had played with the late drummer in such bands as No Time Wasters, Poundcake and The Mutant Love Yabbies, had engaged Howard to help pen a few songs for a debut album that would feature Detroit-born brothers Matt and Gregg Bissonette with bass player Matt currently serving time in Elton John’s touring group, while drummer Gregg is known for his extensive session work as well as once being a member of David Lee Roth’s band and a current member of Ringo Starr’s band. “So I’m workin’ away on this album,” Kev told me for an interview published earlier this year in BSide Magazine, “and then Howie says, ‘Hey, I’ve got some ideas for about four songs’, so he came around and we ended up writing Rockin’ Rollin’ Man and It’s The Singer Not The Song,” “Essentially, both songs were already written and arranged by Howie and I just worked on the melodies and lyrics a bit and changed a verse here and there,” he’d added.
involved in the Adelaide music community. So, as I write this and as you read it, a memorial gig is being planned in his honour. Details are sketchy at present as it’s all way too soon and many are still in shock, but it will most likely take place at the Governor Hindmarsh Hotel. Keep an eye out on Facebook and BSide Magazine for details as they come to hand, but an ‘event page’ has already been set in motion. Also passing away this last week just gone was American blues legend BB King at the ripe old age of 89. He, too, gained an outpouring of tributes with many high profile musicians taking to Facebook to post videos and tributes to one of the last of the pioneering blues musicians. BB would have come into my orbit around 1970 with the release of his Indianola Mississippi Seeds which had featured Carole King (not BB’s sister) on piano and vocals and also featured a watermelon-shaped guitar on the front cover. I now wonder whose idea that may have been as these days it could easily be seen as being not quite politically correct due to the damage done to the innocent, flowering plant originally from southern Africa which also boasts an incredibly edible fruit. I can also count the number of times on one hand the number of times I got to see BB in live action. The first time was at Apollo Stadium back in the ’70s (I still have the ticket stub somewhere) and then I saw him play twice at Adelaide Entertainment Centre before he returned for a final time at that venue as special guest of Bob Dylan in 2011. Many were going to that shindig as they were thinking, ‘Better get along as this could be the last time we get to see BB’, while some were saying the very same about Bob. I also interviewed BB over the telephone once and recall it due to being a tad nervous about the undertaking along with the fact that I was told to call a certain hotel in the US and ask to be punched through to the room of a Mr Riley.
And, when Kev recently filmed his film clip for the song Conspiracy for the album, Howie kindly stepped in to play Elvis. Howard, who appears to have passed away in his sleep, is now going to be very sadly missed by those who knew him and those
River, the first single off of Now is a catchy and purposeful blues classic, with a stirring drumbeat brought to you by Pete Wilkins, formerly of Blue King Brown. Both the single and the album have been created around an ethos of “one people, one planet, one circumstance”, a concept that Ash feels very passionate about. “To cut a long story short, I’ve had a lot to do with trying to stop gas mining and fracking. The last time I came to Adelaide I actually showed a film of me interviewing people where they frack and mine and just showing
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DIESEL amplified
electric band tour â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;15
THE GOV HINDMARSH SATURDAY MAY 23 WITH SPECIAL GUEST THE TIMBERS
OZTIX.COM.AU DIESELMUSIC.COM.AU
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THE JAZZ HANDS By Robert Dunstan Brompton’s Gaslight Tavern, which is currently under renovation and now boasts yummy food from its Cracklin’ Rosie Diner, has a series of well-attended, free entry weekly jam nights with the latest being a Sunday evening jam featuring some of Adelaide’s best jazz musicians. The long-running Tuesday evening blues jam, hosted by Peter Harris and Ronny Davidson of The Blues Lounge, and the Thursday evening jam night, The Groove Factory featuring a rotating array of host bands, already attract big numbers to the western suburbs hotel but, as word gets around, the jazz jam on Sunday evenings is quickly gaining momentum as a great way to end the weekend. “We kicked it off in early January to create an opportunity for jazz players to get up and jam at a live music venue,” says pianist Ben Martin-Peddey of Sunday evening house band The Jazz Hands which also often features the legendary Schmoe on saxophone (photographed above by Brandenburg Tipper), Craig Lauritsen on drums, Tom Leach on bass, Alex McLeod on saxophone and Phil Banytis on guitar. “And we have others who pop in from time to time,” Ben then notes. “Tim Bennett sometimes plays bass and Wade Nixon drops in regularly to play drums.” “We also wanted to create an entertaining night for audiences who are into jazz,” he quickly continues. “And, along with the Gaslight’s new dining room and menu, it’s quickly becoming a really good night.
are no egos in the room because it’s just a bunch of people having a good time. “And it’s also a good opportunity for any music students to come along and have a play,” Ben reasons. “We really encourage that because it’s a good way of performing in a live environment. “As much as it’s a good opportunity for students to have a place to meet each other and have a bit of a play, it’s also a great night for experienced musicians as well,” he adds. Ever-busy multi-instrumentalist Adam Page, who has recently taken over the reigns of Jazz SA, has been threatening to head down with his sax one evening, other gigs permitting. “Yeah, it’d be great to have someone like Adam come along one night,” Ben enthuses. “That’s the whole idea of it and it’s great that Adam already knows about it.” Sam Davies, whom many would recognise due to his role as bar manager of a nearby pub, often pops in to give his uilleann pipes a Sunday evening outing. “So we do some kind of crazy Irish jazz fusion behind Sam,” Ben laughs. “So that’s tremendous fun and sounds really huge. “And occasionally we’ll have other guests such as Fabien Clark who will come along and do some stand-up comedy,” the pianist then says. “And that’s quite amusing because we play avant garde jazz behind him. Everyone gets a big laugh out of that.” Ben, who also hosts a night of funk music on the first Thursday of each month at the Gaslight’s The Groove Factory, has long enjoyed playing music.
“And the word is spreading because we are now getting regulars and even have a couple who drive down from the Clare Valley just to be there for the night,” Ben enthuses. “So that’s been very encouraging.
“Yeah, I’ve been playing piano since I was about seven-years-old,” he notes. “And I’ve played every kind of music in different bands over the years.
“And having it start at six o’clock and finish up around 10pm means it’s not too late and gives everyone time to recover for Monday,” he adds.
“And most recently I was involved in a burlesque show at Brew Boys as part of Adelaide Fringe,” Ben continues. “That was playing piano to accompany the burlesque dancers.
Local vocalist Frankie Starling, who sings around the place with Chica Chica Electrica, discovered the night through an invite via Facebook.
“And last year I was involved in Andrew Cooper’s play, The Square Peg, and I’ve done cabaret shows with various friends as well,” he adds.
“I wasn’t a big jazz fan but these group of enthusiastic musos offer a night of experimental excellence and they encourage and welcome others to come and jam with them,” Frankie says. “So I just take any song and give them a key and a groove and away we go.
Ben concludes by saying that there are always plenty of instruments at hand at the Gaslight Tavern.
“It’s fun and never the same,” the singer continues. “Ben is so fast on the keyboards that you can hardly see his hands move and one night there was a guy playing some great trumpet from the bar. “We even jazzed up one of my original Mexican-style surf cowboy rock songs one night because the guys are up for anything,” Frankie adds. “And we’ve had other singers join us too,” Ben says. “The whole idea is that it’s a really relaxed environment and we want to have anyone come out and join us whether they are just learning an instrument or are already quite accomplished.
“All the backline is already there,” he says. “And, yeah, there are plenty of instruments people can use. There are various keyboards including a Hammond, congas, a bass and even a double bass. “And there are microphones especially for the sax players, so the place is fully equipped for whatever jam night might be happening. “So there’s no need to lug a big guitar amp around or a piano,” Ben adds. “There’s no need to be lugging any gear around because it’s all there.” The Jazz Hands free entry jazz jam evening takes place every Sunday evening from 6pm until 10pm at The Gaslight Tavern, 36 Chief St, Brompton.
“And it can be any kind of instrument,” he states. “It really doesn’t matter as there
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The Lion Hotel – Zkye & Damo (free entry from 8.30pm) Tonsley Hotel – Party Club Band Torrens Arms - Ryley
MAY 21ST - MAY 27TH THURSDAY 21 MAY Adelaide Entertainment Centre –Mötley Crüe (US), Alice Cooper (US) and Love Cream Austral – SCALA (free entry from 8pm) Brecknock Hotel – Breakaway Singalong Bridgeway Hotel – Northern Exposure (allages rock event) Crown & Sceptre – Bongo International Appreciation Party: SambaOz and Funk Throne (free entry from 9pm) Gaslight Tavern – The Groove Factory Jam Gilbert St Hotel – live acoustic blues from 7pm with free entry Governor Hindmarsh – Front Bar: Gumbo Room Blues Jam with host Billy Bob Grace Emily – Brad Butcher (Mackay) Hotel Metro – Semi Normal, Max Madman & The Heck Yeahs and Misfits Of Sythia Jive – Voyager (Perth), Klone (Germany), Dyssidia and Molloy (from 8pm) La Boheme – Mike Bevan Brazilian Trio (free entry from 9pm) Lion Hotel – Bloky’s Boys (free entry from 8pm) THE PUBLISHERS 110 FRANKLIN STREET LADY VOODOO & THE RITUALS (8pm) RETRO R&B FRIDAY 22 MAY Arkaba Hotel – Dino Jag & Friends (8pm) British Hotel (Pt Adelaide) – Cherry Soda (free entry from 5pm) Crown & Sceptre – Duncan Tuner, The Skeleton Club and Jimmy Mountain (free entry from 9pm) Fowler’s Live – King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard (Melbourne), Dr Piffle & The Burlap Band, West Thebarton Brothel Party and Glass Skies Gaslight Tavern – Jest and Kyri Governor Hindmarsh – Main Room: Iris DeMent (US) and Pieta Brown (US) and Saloon Bar: Irish Sessions and Front Bar: Appalachian Sessions Grace Emily Hotel – The Aves, Big Daddy’s Discotheque Hotel Metro – Old Mate, T Spall & The High Beamers, Men With Chips and DJ Vagaries (from 9pm) HQ – Shaggy (UK) Little Pub On Hindley Street – Jamie K Acoustic Marion Hotel – Graham Lawrence Producers Bar – The Shambolics (free entry from 5.30pm) and As Crows Fly (Melbourne), SoundGasm, Wicked Empire and Hi Speed Life Railway Hotel (Pt Adelaide) – live music from 5pm Semaphore Workers Club – The Steve Brown Band (live blues from 8pm with $8 entry) Sussex Hotel – Lucifer’s Lounge (free entry from 7.30pm) The Promethean – Crump Cake Orchestra and Adam Page Tonsley Hotel – Flaming Sambuccas Duo (Tavern Bar), Georgia Carey (5pm), Clearway (9.30pm) (Chrysler Bar) Wheatsheaf – Broads (Melbourne), Koral and Ben Mason (Melbourne) Woodville Hotel – Jordan D’Sena (free entry from 6pm) SATURDAY 23 MAY Arkaba Hotel – Joel Creasy: The Hurricane ($32 Top Of The Ark @ 8pm), Amplitude (Sportys Bar) 10pm Bridgeport Hotel – Jamie K Acoustic Brompton Organic Markets – Trio Montagne from 9am Crown & Sceptre – Dave Adams Tribute Show featuring Wild Card, Doctor Stonefellow, Transgendamermaid, Everyday People and FingerPrince Gaslight Tavern – A Loose Trust, Electric Badger and The Violet Crams
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Governor Hindmarsh – Main Room: Diesel (Sydney) and Front Bar: Genghis Cardigan (free entry from 9pm) Grace Emily – The Heartache State (Melbourne – CD launch) and Andrew Matters (free entry from 9pm) Hotel Metro – The Fyoogs (CD launch), Syndicat and Hunky Punks (from 9pm) Jetty Bar (Glenelg) – Love Cream and Kitchen Witch Jive – Gosh! with DJ Craig from 11.30pm Marion Hotel – Franky F (5.30), Two Hard Basket (8.30pm) Nook Nosh (Unley) – Off The Record: DJ Jason spinning eclectic vinyl from 7pm Prince Albert Hotel (Gawler) – Jazz n Cheek (free entry from 8pm) Pretoria Hotel (Mannum) – Everybody Talks The Arts Centre (Pt Noarlunga) – Southern Sounds 2015: Tracer, Aden Quinn, Alex Kropf, August 23rd, Jacob Orritt, Jenna Hudson and Patryk Korewo (licensed, allages from 5.45pm) The Bluebee Room – The Clangers The Magill Club – Gumbo Ya-Ya and Lucky Seven Tonsley Hotel - Firebird Vinyl – Closing Night Party: Local Revolution, Jupiter, Stevie Twonder and more from 6pm ($10 entry after 8pm) Wheatsheaf Hotel – Cal Williams Jr Ukulele Workshop (ticketed workshop from 1pm) and Conchillia (free entry from 9pm) Worldsend – Stoved, Soul Harvest, Star Dropper and Iron Feather (from 9pm) SUNDAY 24 MAY Arkaba Hotel Top Room – Gail Page (from 7.30pm), Vogue Duo (Lounge Bar) Crown & Anchor – Sunday Rubdown Crown & Sceptre – DJ Samnation from 3pm Exeter Hotel – Gang Of Youths (Melbourne – from 5pm and Sold Out) Gaslight Tavern – The Jazz Hands (free entry jazz jam evening from 6pm) Gilbert St Hotel – live acoustic music from 2pm Governor Hindmarsh – Main Room: The Official Blues Brothers Revue (US) Grace Emily – Malachy (WA) and Grace Goodfellow (from 4pm) Hotel Metro – DJ Kiss Hayward from 4pm Market Shed On Holland – Q & Bon (from 1pm) Nook Nosh (Unley) – Short & Sweet (acoustic music from 5pm) Pretoria Hotel (Mannum) – Shannon Lloyd (1.30pm) Railway Hotel (Pt Adelaide) – live music from 4pm Semaphore Workers Club – live blues from 4pm The Monkey House (Glandore) – Platinum Plus (free entry from 4-8pm) Wheatsheaf – Slow Galo (Melbourne) at Naomi Keyte (from 4pm) Woodville Hotel – Sophie Orchard (free entry from 2pm) MONDAY 25 MAY Exeter Hotel – Stan Bastiras and Jamaica (free entry from 9pm) Crown & Sceptre – Monday Night For The Lonely Soul (free entry variety night) Governor Hindmarsh – Balcony Bar: Lord Stompy Grace Emily Hotel – Billy Bob’s BBQ Jam (free entry from around 8.30pm) The Lion Hotel – Brian Ruiz and friends (free entry from 8.30pm) TUESDAY 26 MAY Exeter – Bitches Of Zeus DJs Gaslight Tavern – Blues Lounge Blues Jam with special guests Gilbert St Hotel – The Airbenders (free entry from 7pm) Governor Hindmarsh – Front Bar: Adelaide Ukulele Appreciation Society Hotel Metro – Acoustic Club Tuesday
WEDNESDAY 27 MAY Brecknock Hotel – Open Mic Night Crown & Anchor – DJ Tr!p Dan O’Connell Hotel – Open Mic @ The Dan Exeter – DJ Oisima Gaslight Tavern – SCALA’s Midweek Melt Governor Hindmarsh Hotel – Main Room: Drumscene Live with Jojo Mayer, Todd Sucherman and Jason Heerah and Front Bar: Open Mic Night Kensington Hotel – Uke & Play @ The Kensi La Boheme – The New Cabal (free entry from 9.15pm) The Lion Hotel – Proton Pill (free entry from 9.30pm) Wheatsheaf Hotel – The Wheaty Turns 12: From 6pm with Wheatsheaf Ukulele Collective at 8pm
THE BIZZO
HOW TO BUILD YOUR EMAILING LIST FROM SCRATCH By Corey Stewart No matter what anyone says to you, the importance of creating, building and maintaining an email list is paramount in today’s music industry. With most bands seemingly making the mistake of just utilizing social media (namely Facebook) as their sole marketing tool, keeping an email list will give you a more direct link with your fans as a subscriber to an email list is much more involved that a Facebook “liker.” Here are some ways that you can start building your email list from scratch (even before you play your first gig). 1. Go Through Your (And Your Bandmates) Contacts FIRST When starting from scratch it’s always good to let your friends, family and workmates and acquaintances know what you’re doing and where you’ll be playing and what better way than to start an email list with all of them on it. If you play in a band make sure you get all of your band members to give up their friends list for the cause as well. Doing this is a great way to get the email list ball rolling. 2. Offer An Incentive For Referrals You might start up a competition for a limited amount of time giving out prizes to anyone of your friends, family, workmates and acquaintances who give you the most referrals (friends of friends) to your email list. The prize can be up to you but it’s a different way in getting names onto your list and it gets your friends directly involved with what you’re doing. 3. Have A “Subscribe Here” Button On Your Website What you don’t have a website as yet… Well you need to get one first for this to make any sense however, if you already have a website working for you then consider putting a “subscribe here” button or a simple subscribe form on it. For this to happen you need to join up one of the many email subscription websites
around but my suggestion is that you check out MailChimp as your email list provider of choice.
YUNG GEMMY By Libby Parker
MailChimp have a really generous free account to start off with and they provide you with all of the tools to put up subscribe buttons and forms on your site.
This week’s BPlus feature artist is Yung Gemmy (AKA Gemel Bushnell), a rapper writing her own music for the underground hip hop scene.
4. Use Facebook To Get Subscribers
Hailing from Adelaide’s west, the 16-year-old is currently studying year 11 at Woodville High School.
Surely you’ve got a Facebook page that you and your band is using right? Good, you can use this valuable social media tool to gain subscribers in a couple of ways. First of all you can put a subscribe button straight onto your Facebook page. If you’re using MailChimp as I’ve suggested earlier you can connect your list to your Facebook page and get subscribers directly. Secondly you can put up periodical posts onto your Facebook page letting people know about your mailing list and the benefits of joining up. Make sure there’s a link to the signup page on your website or on your third party emailing system (like MailChimp). Don’t post about your list too much or it will look like spam to your “likers” but you do want to plant the seed so your “likers” can also be your “subscribers.” Oh, by the way, if you have a blog on your website make sure you let people know about your emailing list through that as well. 5. Use Your First Newsletter To Spread The Word When you do eventually send your first newsletter out into the world make sure you create something that is engaging, interesting and gives your readers a reason to refer people they know to your website, Facebook page and/or subscribe themselves to your mailing list. If you do that you’ll keep your readers coming back for more and introducing people they know to you along the way. Well there you go, five ways in which you can start building your email list from scratch even if you haven’t played your first gig yet. If you’re looking for more help in getting your music business (yes, it is a business) off the ground feel free to give us a call on 8346 9899 or email us and we’ll do all we can to help you succeed.
This unique young woman not only writes and performs her own music, but she also collaborates with, and writes for, other artists. Having been a musician for many years, Yung Gemmy says she only recently started to share her work. “I’ve always made music. In primary school, I used to go on Garage Band and make stuff. But just last year in December, I made the first song I actually uploaded, which was John Cena,” she says. Having initially started her music career making beats, Yung Gemmy made a smooth transition into rapping, based on feedback from friends. “I have a lot of internet friends who all rap. I originally just made beats for them, but one day I uploaded a freestyle video and everyone said, ‘Oh Gemmy, you should start rapping!’ So I got a mic and I made my first song and it got more plays than I expected on Soundcloud,” she laughs. Since then, she has uploaded more of her own songs on Soundcloud and started collaborating with some of her Internet idols. “I work by myself but I also work with friends on the Internet from America. I’m currently working on a collaboration with a girl online and I’m making the beat. I used to listen to her a lot before I started making music and now she wants to collaborate with me! It’s just so cool,” she says.
“I did one gig. It was really small. There were about 100 people there but it felt like a lot less. It was fun and I’m trying to find more gigs but it’s kind of hard for my age, in this genre, in the city.” Being a female in hip hop is a rarity and could be seen as a challenge, but it doesn’t faze Yung Gemmy who sees the positive in it. “There aren’t many females in rap but the ones who are get a lot of attention,” she muses. “Look at Nicki Minaj and Iggy Azalea – they get a lot of attention in comparison to males in hip hop. I feel like we get it easier.” Citing an eclectic range of influences from Lil B “The Based God” through to Kreayshawn and Kyary Pamyu, Yung Gemmy is inspired to write about life, her troubles and her thoughts. “I write about anything that comes to mind. I’ve written a lot of things just to let off steam; I don’t plan on releasing it but it might become something in the future,” she says. Yung Gemmy’s work is available on Soundcloud but she is thinking about recording an EP some time in the near future. “I was originally going to drop an EP called URL To IRL but there were too many tracks, so I decided I’d make a mixed tape. Recently I wrote something and I said ‘internet princess’ in it and everyone said that should be my mixed tape name. So I thought I’d call this one Internet Princess and the next one Internet Queen and keep getting greater and greater!” she laughs. Let’s hope Yung Gemmy makes Internet Princess soon and long may she reign; hip hop could use a creative, original, gutsy young women like this one.
Yung Gemmy is as cool as she is enthusiastic about her music and is committed to making some noise in the underground scene. “I don’t want to be heaps well known or famous; I just want to be underground. I have so many goals, but mainly I just want to be happy with my music. I want to be able to make music that I like,” she says.
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STEAMPUNK FESTIVAL National Railway Museum
Saturday 30 & Sunday 31 May 2015
Join us for a weekend of fun and unique experiences: The romance of rail and steam collide with the imaginative and inventive world of the • Ride aboard steam trains Peronne and Bub Steampunk movement at the (until 4.30pm both days) National Railway Museum Steampunk Festival. • Art exhibitions, including ‘Archers Arcadia, Amazing Mechanical Performers’ Special prices: • Unique food vans and drinks • Adults $15 • Steampunk stalls • Concession $10 Dress up in Steampunk costume - remember your camera! • Members and children (under 15yrs) FREE • Adelaide Empire Band - Saturday night • Steam train Bub ride FREE • Steam train Peronne ride, adults $3 • Hot for Joe Morris dancers - Saturday night • Ukulele Circus band- Sunday afternoon Saturday 30 (10am - 9pm*) and * Note: Aussie Cider Bar- only 12noon to 9.00pm Saturday Sunday 31 May (10am - 4.30pm)
76 Lipson St, Port Adelaide SA T 08 8341 1690 www.natrailmuseum.org.au