Sauce - Issue 49, 22-8-07 by David K Q Williams

On the street every second Wednesday

Issue #49 22/08/07 - 4/09/07 Made in Tasmania

Tix Available From Mojo Music Or The Venue www.myspace.com/jameshotel www.jameshotel.com.au 122 York Street Launceston 6334 7231

SATURDAY 25TH AUGUST

SATURDAY 1ST SEPTEMBER

SATURDAY 8TH SEPTEMBER

SATURDAY 15TH SEPTEMBER

Miss Savage

+ The Voyeurs

+ ENOLA FALL

CD LLAUNCH AUNCH + NOVELLA

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THE SCI ENT I S T S O F M O D ER N M US I C

By Tom Wilson

ROCK SALT

Basking In The Rays Of The Electronic Sunset

An Angelina Jolieshaped vocoder? … A vocoder doesn’t have breasts – only knobs – and I can’t exactly plug a mic into Jolie either. Cover shot + pic (above) by Kim Eijdenberg

On September 7th, a glow will be cast over the Tasmanian music scene. It will be an Electronic Sunset. It will be a deep orange, and it will make noise. Lots of noise. That day will be the dawn of the second EP from acclaimed electro-rock duo The Scientists Of Modern Music. Cal Young spoke to me about pre-gig rituals, and his desire for a vocoder shaped like Angelina Jolie. A little birdie just whispered in our ear – a fairly reputable little birdie – who said that you guys were getting a lot of interest from labels in the UK, Europe and the US. Fess up, boys – what’s going on here? We’re signed to Rubber Records in Australia, but we can’t say anything more than that for the moment … Do any of them have a name as cool as Rubber Records? I think Rubber tops it in the spectrum of the bizarre and unique. You guys recently finished work on your Electronic Sunset EP – when are you going to be launching it? Well the EP comes out on the first of September but we’ll be launching it on the seventh at Moorilla. It’s gonna be one hell of a party! We’ve been planning this for ages now, and I think it’s about time we did something about it. We have some rad bands booked, and some tricks up our sleeves that we’ll be pulling out on the night. What colour is an electronic sunset, and why? I’ve always pictured it as the same colour as one of those heat bars in those old Vulcan floor heaters you see lying around the place; a nice,deep orange glow. It’s less harsh than something that could potentially blind you. I was watching some live footage from your helltough set at Falls, and it got me to thinking. Purely from a design and layout perspective, what’s the best stage you’ve ever played on, and why? We’ve played on many stages, and my memory fails me with all the specs, but usually we love to perform

on a large stage with plenty of space behind us. Small cramped stages are interesting, because we have to use our imagination, but if we have a lot of room, we get a load of spasm space. What deeper meaning is there behind the use of black and white in your outfits? In what ways is your musical partnership a bit of a yin/yang kind of thing? It’s a secret. So what’s a secret you can tell me? Se-cret (pronounced see-krit) -noun 1. Something that is kept secret, hidden or concealed. You just supported the Midnight Juggernauts, and I understand you were dropping a big chunk of the new EP during your set. How were the crowd reactions to it? Which ones were the most popular? Yeah, a large chunk of our set is from the EP, and those are the songs we usually play live anyway. Most of the time we get a great reaction towards the tracks; we put a lot of energy into performing them and it makes the experience of listening and watching a whole lot different. What kind of pre-gig ritual do you have? What are both of you doing five minutes before the gig? What about one minute before? Depends on the situation really, but most of the time we’re out the back somewhere about to shit ourselves or vomit. It’s great! We prefer it that way, because it means we’re either excited or nervous,

and those feelings add to the adrenalin when we get out onto the stage. And what’s your favourite method of chilling out when you first step back in the green room? If there’s a couch or some kind of comfy seat waiting for us after a performance, with an ice-cold bottle of water, then that makes us happy … happy as Larry, or Jason, or Steven, or whoever is happy at the time … If you could combine any two instruments or styles of music in a really original way, what would they be, and what do you think it would sound like? I've always had a bit of a thing for the Sitar – I've loved the unique sound ever since I heard it in the song Tomorrow Never Knows by The Beatles. I think it would be kind of eerie and amazing to combine it with a vocoder, just to see what happens. That's the cool thing about vocoders – you can combine any instrument with it to create something so alien within a composition. You guys have always played around with your identities in the press. Is this something you’ll continue to do later in your career, when TSOMM gets more and more exposure [which you will]? Personally, I’ve always been a fan of the Daft Punk bike helmets … Yeah, most definitely. We'll continue to annoy media folk with our identities for as long as possible. It's always funny to hear what people have to say when we submit photos. “Oh … you aren't showing your faces?” It's amusing because we're all so used to

the norm, and everyone usually expects to see a posing shot of a musician or a group. Honestly, though, we aren't very skilled at posing – we've tried it many a time and failed, probably because we can't keep a straight face. That's just how we are. From memory, the first time I interviewed you, you had an alarming fixation on your ass. It was “assthis” and “ass-that” ... my god, man – it was like an ass ho-down! How have your feelings towards your rump changed over time? Oh yeah! I remember reading the article after it was published – Simon and I laughed so hard that we peed a little … I think after that he didn't really trust me anymore as the media slut. But hey, look at me now! What do you think is sexier – Angelina Jolie naked, or a brand new vocoder? How would you compare them? And what are the pros and cons of each? Why can't I have the best of both worlds? An Angelina Jolie-shaped vocoder? Now there's a kind of creepybut-sexy combination. I guess to compare the two, a vocoder doesn’t have breasts – only knobs – and I can't exactly plug a mic into Jolie either. If you can, that would be amazing. But where would you plug it into? He-he … The Scientists launch their EP at Moorilla in Hobart on the 7th of September, get smashed at the Curly’s Bar afterparty later that night, and play Launceston’s Saloon on the 15th.

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THE SUNPILOTS

ROCK SALT

Argh! Aliens! Run! Run For Your Lives!

By Tom Wilson

With what seems like a slightly odd fixation on the sun and planets, and an affinity for seminal time-travel flick Donnie Darko so great they actually referenced it directly on their forthcoming album, am I the only one wondering if The Sunpilots are space aliens? Well … probably. But I’m sure they are, and I thought I’d let you know, because they’re about to park their mothership in our state. I spoke to little green man (and Sunpilots vocalist) Raj Siva-Rajah …

A band called “Sun Pilots” and a single called Spotlight In The Sun – first of all, what is it with you guys and the sun? Yeah, there’s a bit of a celestial thing going on there, isn’t there? I don’t know – it’s just a coincidence I think, although there is another song on the album called The Shooting Star. So … I don’t know. Maybe there is something subliminal going on! [Laughs]

… There’d be these outright yelling arguments at rehearsals … But it’s the kind of thing that doesn’t faze us

You always need a bit of a break after being on the road for a while. The title of your forthcoming debut LP is a reference to a movie, and you’ve actually said that you’ll send a signed copy of the album to whoever can figure out which movie it is. Is that offer still going? We had a whole heap of people who figured out what the movie was ...

I’ve done over a hundred and sixty of them! A man of taste, then, like myself? Oh, absolutely. So why did you choose to make this reference? It was just kind of random. It’s a movie that I’ve seen quite a few times, and we were just tossing up different album ideas. It was one of those times when I decided to break it out and watch it again.

… Donnie Darko. Yeah, Donnie Darko, absolutely – one of the best movies ever to be made, I reckon.

The album name was kind of floating around in the back of my mind – you know, “what are we going to do?” The word, as you probably know, doesn’t get mentioned, but it’s on one of the little scenes where it comes in close to the book [The Philosophy Of Time Travel]. One of the chapter titles of the book that he gets from the

That is actually the first time I have ever agreed with the movie taste of someone I’ve interviewed, and

Do you call each other many names? Yeah, pretty frequently. It’s kind of a bit of a competition as to who comes up with the most creative insulting names. Oh, please, hit me with some of them! Well, one of the more latter ones … just stupid things like “fucktard” … You run out of normal words, and your normal words don’t have impact anymore. The Sunpilots play Hobart’s Republic Bar on the 31st of August, Aroma Records on the 1st of September, and Launceston’s James Hotel later that day.

MAMMAL

Going Off At You

CONTENTS

Phone: 03 6331 0701 Advertising: advertising@sauce.net.au Editorial: editorial@sauce.net.au

Editor David Williams

david@sauce.net.au

Sub Editor Tom Wilson

twilson@sauce.net.au

Journalist Chris Rattray crattray@sauce.net.au

Graphic Design Chris Titmus ctitmus@sauce.net.au

Contributors: Shannon Stevens, Emma Dilemma, Nicky Wilson, Chris Rattray, Ryan Farrington, Ian Murtagh, Felix Blackler, Patrick Duke, Nicole Calabria, Steve Tausche, Dave Hernyk, Clara Murray, Carole Whitehead, Ryan Farrington, Patrick Duke, Ange Duke, David Walker, Cassy Hinds, Mathew Labedzki, Zackery Blackstone, Laen Deakin, Andrez Bergen

Deadlines Sauce #50, 5th Sept - 18th Sept DEADLINE: 31st August

Opinions expressed in Sauce are not necessarily those of the editor, publisher or staff. PAGE 4

It was said when Rob Ewan joined the band, that “The Sun Pilots had finally found a bass player that could put up with your quirks.” What are some of those quirks? I think we’ve all got a very strong musical idea. A lot of bands, they have one person driving it pretty strongly, and the other guys put their input in, but kind of go along with the driver. With us, I guess we have three or four really strong personalities, who all have a very clear idea of where they want things to go …

But it’s the kind of thing that doesn’t faze us; we just do it, and a few seconds later we’re over it. It helps the creative process for us – it’s positive conflict. But I think you need to get to know us to figure that out. So Rob’s good – he figured that out pretty quickly.

So how long do you reckon it will be before the mood wears off, and you all want to kill each other? Oh, I’d say when we hit the road – by the end of it, we’ll probably be ready to kill each other … in a good way. We’ve actually decided that once we finish the road trip, we’re going to stop for about a week or two and start work on the album again after that.

By Chris Rattray

Mammal’s leading man, Zeke, is driven, passionate, and enthusiastic about where he and his band is headed – and they’re headed to Tassie! If you’re lucky, you just might be able to get up close and personal with them, because if you won’t, they will…

ROCK SALT

Rock Salt CD Reviews Gig Guide Gig Reviews Xtreme Sport Rock Challenge Bangers & Mash Hip-Hop Comedy Film Street Fashion / Eyeball Kicks

If you could travel through time and do something, where would you go, and what would you do? Shit, I don’t know. Um … what would I do? I’d probably go back to some sort of archaic, iron age, gory battle, and just experience it first hand, I guess. That’s always fascinated me – the medieval stuff. So yeah, probably something like that.

We lost our original bass player a while back, and the guy we had filling in for us came into this situation where there’d be these outright yelling arguments at rehearsals, and he didn’t know how to take it.

This tour is called the “Cold Hands Warm Hearts” tour. What was the last thing to warm your heart? Oh, it’d have to be music; I guess the album process we’re going through at the moment. We haven’t quite gotten to the point where we’re ready to just kill each other and throw each other out the windows yet. So we’re still in the inspired, late-night, beer-drinking kind of songwriting stage. It’s always good being in that zone, and coming up with inspired lines and stuff like that. So I guess that [warmed my heart]. It would be great to say that there’s some sort of significant other that was warming my heart at the moment, but nah! [Laughs] Not right now!

3-14 15 16-17 18 19 20-21 22-23 26-27 28 29 30

creepy old woman … we just kind of thought, “oh yeah, that’s a good name – we should stick to it.”

What’s going on right now for you? We’re about to release our debut fulllength album, which is Volume 1: The Aural Underground. That’s a live record. Yeah, we’re just really proud of it. We recorded it in one night at the Evelyn in February, so there’s absolutely no overdubs or anything – it’s all what happened on the night. It’s come up really well.

It seems a bit early in your career to be releasing a live album. Why go down that route? Um … I think one of the reasons we decided [to do it] was for the very reason to debunk that model that some bands set up, and that there’s this way of going about things to become successful. We hit the road long before we recorded our first EP, and then we were having breakfast when we were on the road … We were talking about the next release, and we were talking about going back into the studio, and none of us were really that excited about it. I mean, we’re all very studio-experienced, and we know we can do it – it’s just a matter of actually saying, “Hey, we don’t want to go into the studio right now!” So the idea came up to record a live album, and we all agreed that would be fantastic, because, I mean, we’re peerless in Australia as far as the live show goes. There’s no one that does it the way that we do it … There’s people that do their thing just as well, but we have something very unique.

… We do things because they’re kind of pathological; they’re in our blood … We noticed that at MS Fest earlier this year, you like to run around in the crowd with your mic … When necessary, I do. Yeah … When do you find it necessary to do that? Well, when it’s earlier in the day, and people are thinking they can maybe warm their day up, and not taking full responsibility for their role in the crowd. I think that it’s good to get out there and let them know that I’m with them, and there’s no barrier; there’s no stage barrier. It’s actually about all of us being in it together. I feel, personally, a real affinity with my audience! [Laughs] The audience really are my peers, so I like to let them know that I’m down there with them … and if I wasn’t in this band, I’d be very excited, and going off to them! Have you got any stories you can tell of [people] invading the personal space of the band like that?

Yeah – a guy got onstage in Geelong and broke my nose, broke [another member’s] jaw and teeth for no reason; just beat the shit out of us. Four guys sort of jumped us. So that was a pretty negative one! I can guarantee anyone who comes to my shows that, when I come and meet you, I will not be doing such things! I’ll be asking you to dance, not fight! But I think … look … Mammal don’t really try to play to trends. We don’t really try to do things because we think they’ll work. We do things because they’re kind of pathological; they’re in our blood, and we need to express ourselves in a certain way. In what other ways does Mammal break the mould, or look to break the mould? Well I think, in between the mirror-ball helmets and the headdresses we wear, and the pure physicality of our live show, which is very original, we’re really interested in trying to build our own network of committed people that come to Mammal for the right reasons, and want to discuss politics, which is something we do which not a lot of people do at the moment. And when I say “politics”, I don’t mean “wearing a wristband”; I mean discussing

the struggles of people who are in minorities, and the people that are actually fighting for their rights. We consider their struggles our struggles, and we’re happy to support them in those. So I think that’s different to a lot of bands out there at the moment whose real goal is to sell records and get people to their gigs. Our goal is to sell records and get people to our gigs so that we can actually draw attention to the struggles of minorities around the world. Do you see that as your responsibility as an artist? I do personally. But I certainly don’t put that on anyone else … I’ve just always felt the need to be involved on that level … it’s not really something that I think about. It’s just something that “is”. Mammal play Launceston’s Bar 39 on the 6th of September, Hobart’s Uni Bar on the 7th, Sirocco’s in Burnie on the 8th, and an all ages show at the Bar 39 on the 9th. To listen to an MP3 of the full interview, go to www.sauce.net.au

PAGE 5

CI RCUS DIA BLO

R – Under 17 Requires Accompanying Parent Or Adult Guardian ROCK SALT

By Tom Wilson

Featuring members past-and-present of The Cult and Fuel, Circus Diablo want you to take their rock straight, with no side-dish of bullshit. And with that kind of pedigree behind them, who are we to argue? Tom Wilson drank deep of the well of frontman Billy Morrison and lived to tell the tale … So how long do you get to indulge in the R&R before you head back into things? Ah, it's only a couple of days. It's all I need. I've got a movie to shoot in September before the band goes back out on the road, so I'm sure that'll start hustling along very soon.

What's the movie? I've actually been acting for a couple of years now – it's kind of fun. The movie, it's like a thriller. It's called Basement Jack, and I play a detective who I believe gets his head cut off at one point, which should be quite fun! I just got your album yesterday, and the cover depicts a topless woman with the band name written across her stomach. Oh, and she's undoing her pants. What do you think this says about the attitude of the band? [Laughs] Play loud music and get laid!

… I play a detective who… gets his head cut off at one point, which should be quite fun! Oh, superb! Do you remember what rock 'n' roll used to be like? Rock 'n' roll is below the waist, and it was all about chicks and getting laid and turning it up. Remember that, before it all got “whinged shit”? When do you reckon it made that turning point? I should tell you I'm only twenty-one... You are? Really? Then you don't remember it, and that's why you need bands like us! [Laughs] Here's what I believe. I believe that a few years ago, bands

started whining, and singing about how bad life was, and how they needed to complain about everything, and whine about shit. Now, to me, every day that you pay your bills by playing guitar is a day that you're blessed. If you don't have to go work at a supermarket; if you are actually getting your picture taken, and you're in a magazine, and you're on a tour bus, and you're making music, you ain't got nothing to complain about? So I think the statement the cover's making is, “Welcome to where rock 'n' roll used to be at” - which is good times... which is not about “the world is about to collapse, and oh god, my life is shit!” It's about “turn it up, get laid, and have a good time.” If you were a woman, I'd propose to you right now. [Laughs] That is the best philosophy I've ever heard. Like a lot of rock singers, you're considerably inked-up. What are your favourite tattoos, and what do they mean to you? Well, my favourite is always my most recent – whatever that is, you know? The one on my stomach that says “core” is my favourite right now, because that was the most recent. I've got to tell you – I don't really get tattoos with big, meaningful designs. Tattoos, to me ... just the fact of having a tattoo is a statement, and I find that tattooists much prefer you to give a little description, and maximum amount of skin. So most of my tattoos – my back, and most of my forearms – were literally “I don't care.” “I don't care what you do – just do something bold and good, and enjoy yourself.” And you actually get way better tattoos ... To listen to an MP3 of the full interview, go to www. sauce.net.au Circus Diablo is out now.

DI RTY HA R RY A N D T H E R O CKE T S

ROCK SALT

Making Dirty Love In Your Ear Holes When a band with as big a noise as Dirty Harry and the Rockets rehearse out of their band room in their adopted hometown of Port Sorrell, they get letters of complaint from three blocks away! Find out why Grannie’s teeth fell into her cup when Dirty Harry made some Dirty Love…

Is there a box that says all of the above? I like playing table tennis when I’m drinking. That’s something else. Which band member(s) are likely to die a classic pub rock death, such as Bon Scott, and how will they go out? I’m glad you’re askin’ me, ‘cause they’d probably dob me in for this one. I reckon Trent will die in a gardening accident or we will all die in a car crash if I let any of them drive home after a show!

Dirty Harry and the Rockets is an awesome band name – what’s the story behind its creation? There’s no real story. Every time I get asked that question I just say that I was watching heaps of Clint Eastwood films at the time, which I was. I guess it inspired our band name to a degree. Trent is Dirty Harry! I wanted to call [the band] Shit Piece ‘cause that’s what we call Trent, but I guess we wouldn’t get away with that…

Your MySpace page mentions your hometown is Port Sorrell/Shearwater – that’s a pretty quiet place for such a noisy band… how do you keep the neighbours happy when rehearsing? Yes it’s a nice little place. Slowly getting bigger, too. We have sound-proofed our band room now. We used to have complaints. I actually still have a letter from a neighbour. I framed it - it was a few years back. It says, “Could you please tell the boys to turn their music down because I am having trouble hearing my TV.” She lived like, three blocks away. I swear we practice louder than Motorhead some nights. You come outta the room and your head’s a fucking mess...

What were some of your proudest moments in recording the new album, Dirty Love? For me it was when we started getting the vocals down and could listen back to the songs. Then you start going, “Holy fuck, is that really us?” Going up to Sydney was a fun experience as well. I think Greg made the guys go get him a sandwich and requested all this silly shit he wanted in it. They ended up in Subway and put the dude behind the counter on the phone to him. That was a proud moment.

You’ve worked with noted Sydney producer, Greg Stace – what did you learn from working with him? We learned how to write songs, I guess. I mean we knew how to write a song, but Greg definitely helped us refine our stuff and showed us what a producer/engineer can do for our band. We also learnt from day one, when he missed the plane to come over here, not to make plans and deadlines. Ha-ha! Nah, Greg was great, heaps of fun, just a great dude to record with and very talented.

Who’s the dirtiest lover in the band and why? You know I don’t really know... I think Matthew would be a fair tip! Tell us a bit about the creation of the EP, Dirty Love What were some of the influences? Basically we jam every week in the studio and come up with some ideas and riffs, put drums and bass to it and then we come up with the vocals. That’s the creative process. And some of the songs on the EP we have had written for ages now. Then we go into the studio with Greg and start tracking the songs. I think we recorded about ten tracks, then outta that ten we picked five tracks to keep, and one of the tracks was recorded at a studio in Launceston with a lovely guy named Dave Venter. Influences for us are definitely bands like Buck Cherry, The Screaming Jets, Exploders, Casanovas, The Angels, Rose Tattoo, Motorhead… Be honest, why’d you get into rock n’ roll in the first place – was it the women, drugs, or because you can’t do anything else? PAGE 6

By Chris Rattray

… I wanted to call [the band] Sh*t Piece…

What kind of crazy rock antics can we expect from a Dirty Harry and the Rockets live show? Well there’s been the old “standing on the speakers” [moves] a few times; throw the Fender off the stage is another one, um... Get the singer smashed on red wine so he falls off the stage has been a good one at times... punch the bass player... Dirty Harry and the Rockets tour Wynyard at The Wharf Hotel (August 24), the Deloraine Town Hall (August 25), Launceston at The James Hotel (September 8) and Hobart’s The Brisbane Hotel (September 15). Dirty Love is in stores in September. http://www.harryandtherockets.com/

T H E CI TYSCA P E R I OT

ROCK SALT

This Is What A Riot Sounds Like!

By Tom Wilson

Given that they are yet to put out any recordings, Hobart’s Joseph Connolly would tell you that The Cityscape Riot – an electro-rock project with Jay Braslin – is still finding its feet in many ways. Clearly, there are those who don’t agree, because they’re about to take to the stage at Moorilla alongside electro heavyweight The Scientists Of Modern Music and E.L.F. (AKA Darren, of the seminal Gerling). No pressure, boys, no pressure …

I understand you’re aiming to put out your debut EP in October. What can you tell me about the tracks that will be featured on this release? November is looking more likely as a release date at the moment. We’ve made a conscious decision not to rush things in an attempt to produce an end product we’ll both be happy with. We’re aiming for something quite themed – something that flows from start to finish. The EP will come with a free pair of dancing boots attached, though, so it will be worth the wait. How long have the two of you been making music together? How did you first start? Jay and I have both been in bands together since we became friends in high school in year seven or eight. We started out playing Nirvana in bedrooms and garages like any bunch of angst-ridden teenage kids. The Cityscape Riot, as our first venture into electronic music, started jamming in February this year, so we’re still finding our feet in many respects. Since, at the time of writing, you don’t have any tracks online, the only people who know what you sound like are those who’ve seen you live. For the rest of us, how would you describe The Cityscape Riot, in both technical and layman’s terms? Well, we are a two-piece in which Jay plays live drums and I do the rest. This includes drum loops, programmed sounds, synthesiser, vocals, vocoder, and guitar. Our music has been described like being “Inside a computer game with fluoro suits and fast cars where you’re fighting for your life”, which isn’t a bad description. We’re basically a band that wants to make audiences – and enjoys seeing audiences – dance.

though, so I guess I must have been procrastinating at the time. What would you say is the single most important thing in music? An artist must believe in what they’re playing and in what their saying before he/she can expect others to do so. I guess I’d say “honesty”. Lastly, I want to do something a little different. I want you to think of what a “cityscape riot” would look like. Write down all the details of what you see in your head. [I promise, no one will think you’re crazy]. A huge party where water turns into wine and where the good times never stop a-rocking … that’s basically what happens at our gigs. The Cityscape Riot play Moorilla in Hobart on the 7th of September with The Scientists Of Modern Music and E.L.F, and Launceston’s Saloon on the 15th with TSOMM, Red Rival and Enola Fall.

I understand you were formerly known as Pleasure Pattern Museum. What sets Cityscape Riot apart from this project? And why the change? Well, that’s simple – The Cityscape Riot play gigs. PPM was a bedroom band that started out playing and recording dirty punk rock that was heavily influenced by groups like Stickmen and Sonic Youth. Things started to change direction once we heard Cut Copy’s 2004 release Bright Like Neon Love. After seeing them at Splendor in the Grass we made a conscious effort to move towards electronic music, and therefore needed a new name to suit. We really enjoyed the idea of electro dance music with live drums, and so that basically became our point of departure.

The EP will come with a free pair of dancing boots attached … so it will be worth the wait. Every musician I’ve spoken to will admit to having spent much of their teenage years air-guitaring in their bedrooms. Was this the case with you? And what kind of super-mega-stadium-rock spectacular were you envisaging? I’m sure I did, but to what? God only knows. Probably to Mark Knopfler’s guitar on Money For Nothing … actually, I think I still do that. My favorite childhood memory related to music, though, is pretending to be sick to get the day off school when I was about eleven. As soon as Mum left, I put Sgt. Peppers on the record player, and just danced around the lounge room all day, only stopping to memorise the words and sing along to A Day In The Life. Who knows what outlandish things I was envisaging that day? Most likely how I would look wearing the sergeant stripes and moustache cutouts you got in the record sleeve. What were the last three albums you listened to, and why? Baby 81 by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – it’s been on high rotation since I bought it a couple months back. Fablic Live – this was recommended to me by a friend who knows I’m into Cut Copy, and said I should check out their set. And Melodie Citronique by Blonde Redhead – this EP, which was made in 2000, is sung in three different languages, which I find pretty interesting to listen to. I always end up listening to it when I should be doing something else

You wait, you miss out. If you’re not enrolled to vote, do it today. The deadlines for enrolling to vote at federal elections have changed. So if you’re 18 or over, fill in an enrolment form today. You can also enrol if you’re 17, to be ready to vote when you are 18. Remember, all Australian citizens over 18 are required by law to enrol and vote. For more information on how the new deadlines might affect you, or to check if you’re enrolled, visit the AEC website or call 13 23 26. For an enrolment form visit www.aec.gov.au, any post office, AEC office or call 13 23 26.

Authorised by Gail Urbanski, West Block, Queen Victoria Terrace, Parkes, ACT. PAGE 7

GUNNERS

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299 Elizabeth St North Hobart Ph. 6234 6954 www.republicbar.com FRIDAY 31ST AUGUST

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31st

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1st

Sun

2nd

Mon

3rd

Tue

4th

Album CD/Digital September 22

U ONLY HURRY - YOGUST 26 U HAVE TIL A

able on ion.) Not Avail yers permiss w.emi.com.au/tce Seek Bill Pa ly. ww on at ns 6+ (1 nditio $5/MSG. Terms and co all carriers.

PAGE 8

SON DEL SUR (cuban salsa) $3 9:00pm AUGUST DUKES OF WINDSOR +The Voyeurs $10pre/$12d 10:00pm SUGARTRAIN $3 10:00pm HOT AUGUST JAZZ FESTIVAL (finish @ midnight) 12:00noon QUIZ NIGHT 8:15pm GRUMPY NEIGHBOUR 9:00pm WALK AGAINST WARMING BENEFIT $8/$5 Bands TBA 9:00pm EDWARD GUGLIELMINO Lucy & Simon and Cary Nation (QLD) 9:00pm THE SUNPILOTS + Enola Fall $10 10:00pm 67 SPECIAL $12pre/$15door 10:00pm SEPTEMBER WOMEN IN DOCS $10/$8conc. 9:00pm JOE PIRERE 8:30pm GB BALDING 9:00pm

www.thecatempire.com

Horrorscopes THE PSYCHO PSYCHIC SCREWS WITH YOUR LIFE

1 9 1 C H A R L E S S T R E E T L AU N C E S TO N

WEB: www.saloon.com.au PH:

03 6331 7355 FAX: 03 6331 2414 EMAIL: hotel@saloon.com.au

SATURDAY 1 SEP

Aries At some point during this fortnight, you will find yourself looking for astrological advice next to a sheep wearing a Rammstein t-shirt.

THIRSTY MERC

BYO and now

Taurus Your iPod will fall out of your handbag this month and break. You will be distressed, because you’re so trendy you can’t remember what music you like without it.

LICENSED!

254 Mount St Upper Burnie 7320 Give us $5 for live music unless otherwise stated

Gemini You know that girl you kissed in primary school? Well, she had a sex change, bought a rifle, and is currently asking your friends where you are. Thought you should know.

THURSDAY AUGUST 23

The Jazz-Free Zone 22 August

BIG SWIFTY Cancer Is it passe to bag emo kids yet? No? Too bad for you! Prepare for another two weeks of angst, mopey. Knives are in the kitchen.

29 August

DETOUR 5 September

MR MEANER 12 September

Leo God just decided he doesn’t like you. Duck.

DETOUR FREE ENTRY

Virgo

THURSDAYS

Dear Virgo, I don’t know how to tell you this, but I just got back from the doctor and ... I think you should get yourself tested.

Libra Like always, you’ll find a way to drive your partner crazy with your appalling taste in music. But be warned – they’re not going to take it much longer. Annmaree, it’s either Celine Dion or me. Decide now.

Scorpio Remember – it’s always important to splelchekc.

SATURDAY 15 SEP

HYDRA HEADS THE BEASTS OF HOBART ROCK THE SCIENTISTS OF

MODERN MUSIC ENOLA FALL RED FALL

Katelyn Hanson solo acoustic 7:30PM

SATURDAY AUGUST 25

Short Daze local originals and covers band 7:30PM

SATURDAY 22 SEP

THURSDAY AUGUST 30

EVERMORE

Jazz Club '07

GET INDUSTRIALISED

The Andy Farrell Trio 7.30PM

FRIDAY AUGUST 31

WITH

SCOTT WOODHOUSE DAVE WEBBER, SAMEX D2M + JIMK

Women In Docs

Fridays

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 1

from Brisbane 8:00PM $10

George Begbie

The stars say nothing for you at this time. To keep up appearances, just pretend I made a joke about tampons.

Something to Talk About, from Hobart 7.30PM

SATURDAY 6 OCT

NEX HORIZON

Capricorn You have a tendency to stay up drinking boxie and chain-smoking rollies while watching Family Guy at 4AM. Now is the time – give me your number. We’ve got a lot in common.

It’s getting cold now, so remember to rug up as you stand in a mall with a guitar sounding like a strangled cat. Sweet Home Alabama – that one never gets old!

FRIDAY AUGUST 24

THE CITYSCAPE RIOT

Sagittarius

Aquarius

Chris Lynch, Brendan Munro @ the grand piano, Dave Kirkwood on drums. 7.30PM

FREE BEFORE 10PM, $5 AFTER

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 2

Edward Guglielmino from Brisbane, with Carry Nation, from Brisbane, Lucien Simon, from Hobart, and The Front. 5:00PM $10

Pisces Semen is not a dietary supplement. I’ll bet you wish it was. Especially now. Fatty.

stagedoor@keypoint.com.au PAGE 9

KARNI V O O L

You’d Be A Fool To Pigeonhole The ‘Vool ROCK SALT

By Tom Wilson

Oh, the contrast … after witnessing the energy of Karnivool’s volcanic set at MS Fest earlier this year, to end up speaking to guitarist Andrew Goddard while he played a round of golf seemed … well … not very “rock”. Or is that nu metal? Or post-progressive-alternative-melodic-even-more-progressive-and-did-I-mention-progressive-and-alternative metal? As he took a break from playing a few holes (heh-heh), I thought I’d get some clarification …

To my ears, along with The Butterfly Effect, you guys seem to be maintaining and magnifying the best elements of a genre which seemed to “die” some time ago – nu metal. To what extent would you agree with that? Well, “nu metal” … that’s a term that’s sort of flying around, and I don’t know if anyone really knows what that means anymore. The bands that I think are nu metal are bands like Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit and Korn, I guess … back in the early days, when they started that thing. And if that’s the definition of nu metal – and I absolutely loathe the genre – then I don’t … I think that’s just a redundant term now which is just

thrown around. It’s thrown around with Karnivool, and I can’t … Maybe I can understand the term for some of the earlier stuff in the late nineties/early 2000 when we started. But to have that thrown around the stuff we have now … I don’t really get that … We’ve been thrown in all sorts of genres. We get called a rock band, a metal band, a progressive band … It’s gotten to the point now where people in my profession will whack a genre on everything. If you guys were in a recording studio and held a stapler up to the microphone and just record half-an-hour of clicking, they’re going to name a new genre for that “post-art-core” or some crap

I know. It’s gotten ridiculous; the genre-naming. It just seems like a bunch of industry schmucks saying, “Who are the ‘now’ bands?” They’re coming up with these new genres and trying to fit everyone into them … It’s just like, “Fucking who cares?” Music is music, and if it’s good, it’s good, and if it’s shit, it’s shit as far as I’m concerned … But I’m happy – if people want to chuck us in a genre, but that’s cool. They can put us into whatever genre they like; nu metal, metal, rock, heavy rock, alternative rock, progressive rock … shit rock! [Laughs] It’s been said that Karnivool’s writing sessions “are as epic as the tracks”. Have you guys had a lot of

difficulty or things going wrong? There’s been a lot of … not so much “difficulty” … But the Karnivool writing process is a pretty dysfunctional one as far as I’m concerned. I think, as other band’s writing processes go, I’m sure it’s a lot easier than what we go through, because it’s a lengthy, finicky, painstaking process. When it does work, it’s the most enjoyable thing in the world … We just … especially this time around, we set the bar so high for ourselves … We do get days where we’ll be absolutely stoked; we’re just up-up-up. It’s kind of fucking ridiculous for the timeframe. But we are getting into the groove more at the moment … I think that press release said it right when they said “epic songwriting” … It is an epic process of songwriting; that’s kind of true. And the songs are turning out like that … from the amount of time we’ve been putting into [them], they’re epic and big in vision. I think it’s going to be a very “big” album. [Laughs] Not to talk it up or anything, but it’s going to be a good one! We busted our balls with these songs … we’ve had a rough trot trying to get the songs going, but it hasn’t been a pain in the arse – there’s nothing else we’d rather do but write music.

“Nu metal” … that’s a term that’s sort of flying around, and I don’t know if anyone really knows what that means anymore. Karnivool play Bar 39 in Launceston on the 6th of September, the Hobart Uni on the 7th, Sirocco’s in Burnie on the 8th, and an all-ages show at Bar 39 on the 9th.

TH E SH I TKI CKS

Cheap Wine And Some Eggs On Toast By Tom Wilson

ROCK SALT

Hobart’s The Shitkicks is a band with nothing to prove, and with the release of their second EP, Boxed Wine Blues, they’re doubly proving that having nothing to prove is exactly what they’re about. Tom Wilson kicked the shit with the band before settling down to some hash browns and cold pizza. You’re releasing your second EP in September. How long have you been working on this puppy? Well we actually recorded all the tracks with Anthony at The Winter Palace earlier on in the year – around May. Originally we had planned to have it released as early as possible, but we had a few setbacks – the major one being that our friend Josh, who had done the artwork for our previous EP, relocated to the mainland. We didn’t really know anyone else who was graphic-design-savvy, and had no budget to hire someone else to do it, so we procrastinated on it a while. Eventually we got off our arses, and I decided to do it myself – which probably shows. But the fact that it has been eleven months since our first release isn’t really reflected in the recording at all. Don’t be misled that we have been working on this for the past eleven months, and fall under the assumption that it might be good... When fans of the band listen to the new stuff, what would you hope would be the first thing they say about it? I think that “The Shitkicks fans” might be a bit of an oxymoron. But I hope that anyone that buys the EP might say, “This is OK. I might listen to it every now and then, and maybe come and see you guys play more often because I think it is OK.” They might also say, “Wow, the bass on the last song is megacool” because our great friend Jon Parrot, formerly of Kickfish, donated his services to us on one song, and I think the bass solo is probably the best part of the entire thing. And just for fun, what do you reckon they will actually say? They will probably say, semi-enthusiastically, “Wow, great CD guys” but really be thinking “I paid $4 for this. What a rip off! I’ve already heard two of these songs; one is practically the same. They have put piano and bass in the other one and made it sound worse. One is a cover that they have destroyed, and the only other new one has no singing!” Actually, they might think that the no-singing bit is a bonus. You’re calling it Boxed Wine Blues. How would you describe that feeling, and what brings it about? Well, clearly, it is brought about by the consumption of boxed wine. The lyrics to the song are an adequate description of it. It’s basically just a common hangover, but with the symptoms increased a little – cheap wine has the tendency to do this to people. PAGE 10

What do you do when you’ve got a bad case of the Boxed Wine Blues? Well unfortunately, one sometimes has to tough it out, and spend the day at work or writing essays. If this is not the case; eggs on toast, hash browns, a few coffees, painkillers, lemonade and a slice of pizza is a good start. Then sit around in the sun or front of the television for the day. Watermelon is good also. The name of the band is absolutely lovely. How did you come up with it? I would like to be able to say that there is an interesting story behind this, but, unfortunately, there is not, so my answer to this question will be less than riveting. Like all bands without a name, we were looking for one. Our aforementioned friend Josh had a bunch of potential band names written down for a rainy day. He offered us the list and we chose “Shit Kicks” and altered it a little. Actually, that really is quite interesting, isn’t it?

Don’t be misled that we have been working on this for the past eleven months, and fall under the assumption that it might be good… I would think that, in choosing to call yourselves a name like that, commercial success for the band isn’t really a priority at all. To what extent do you think this is accurate? Well I think that for any Tasmanian band, even if commercial success is a priority, achieving it for the most part isn’t a reality. I think most of us

acknowledge and embrace that, and those that don’t are probably setting themselves up for a little disappointment. I consider myself lucky when people show up to our gigs, or buy our CDs and want to listen to our music. We certainly don’t have any expectations to become any bigger than we are now. So, no – commercial success is not a priority at all. But to elaborate, I really think that people are smart enough to realise that there are more offensive things out there than the word “shit”. And we aren’t using the word in an offensive way anyhow. In my opinion, something that can be said on commercial television prior to 8:30 or on commercial radio without censorship is not something that needs to be censored anywhere – with the exception of kindergartens. We have encountered no problems with our name thus far, and, as far as I’m concerned, it really is a non-issue. What plans do you have to flog the new release? Where will you be touring? The release date of the EP is September 8th, and to coincide with this, we are doing an EP Launch at The Loft in Liverpool St. Playing with us are some great bands and friends of ours – Helen, Polly & The Funky Buns, The Craves and The Trolls… and is, importantly, an all-ages gig. Beyond this, we haven’t made any bookings ourselves as yet, but have been talking with a few other bands, and we are likely to have more gigs coming up in the next couple of months – possibly even venturing up to the northern end of the state for the first time. We will certainly play a few more gigs before November, when Pickle treks off to explore Europe, and the future of The Shitkicks is left unknown. Lastly, how would you describe yourselves as musicians? Well, I can’t really speak for Pickle – I think he is a talented guy, but I wouldn’t say that I myself am a musician. To describe myself as that would be to imply that I have some kind of above-average talent or skill. Plus I think the label kinda carries some negative connotations. I would just say that I like to play guitar. The Shitkicks launch their EP at The Loft in Hobart on September 8th.

GRI NS POO N

ROCK SALT

Tales Of Rock Excess And Other Lies By Tom Wilson Grinspoon are back with their new album Alibis and Other Lies. We can verify that Tom Wilson was interviewing the Grinners a few days ago, but as of last night his whereabouts are in doubt, officer…

This morning I just got my first taste of the new album; I saw the video for Black Tattoo. In my ears, it sounds almost like a “return to form” for the band, if I could say that, after getting maybe a little poppy on Thrills, Kills … To what extent would you agree? Yeah, I think … that song in particular is a return to the heavier side of Grinspoon, which I think is a good thing. I like it … Songs like that are good to play live, and they’re fun to play live, and that’s the kind of stuff that I’m into personally. So I’m pretty happy with that sort of stuff, and there’s a bit more of that on the record. In general, this record is definitely more uptempo and rocking than the last one. I think the last one maybe got a little bogged-down in places for my tastes. So yeah – I’m pretty happy with it, and happy with that song, especially to be a first single. It’s sort of like a statement that we’re back, and we’re not fucking around. Regarding your tastes, what influences do you reckon you took into the studio when you were recording this album? What influences? I don’t know. I think … our main vision wasn’t really any particular bands that we were trying to emulate or anything like that. It’s more the feeling that we wanted it to be more of an up-tempo record; one that would go really well live, and one that has a lot of energy. So that’s what we were trying to go for. I don’t know – I don’t think we’re really that influenced directly by other bands …

in October or so. Before this interview, I was actually on a website you might know called The Smoking Gun, and they have a segment about all the band riders – you know, the Stooges demanding a dwarf, and all sorts of things. I was just wondering – what is the most outrageously “rock” demand that you’ve managed to put out there and get away with in the history of Grinspoon? “Outrageous”? Oh jeez … We haven’t really gone to the extent of having little dancing midgets or anything on our rider. It’s pretty stock-standard, really. As long as there’s lot of alcohol on there, we’re pretty happy. We’ve been trying to get socks and boxer shorts …

Aside from this one, what album do you think best encapsulates Grinspoon, and why? Um … I think probably New Detention. I just think it’s got a real good balance of the full-tilt sort of rock stuff, and then it’s got a couple of slower songs – it’s got Chemical Heart on it, that sort of thing – and then it’s got a couple more poppy ones … but it doesn’t get bogged-down in too much mid-tempo stuff …

were we thinking?” It’s just fast-song-after-fast-songafter-fast-song, so that’s pretty cool. But I think my favourite one’s New Detention … obviously this next one is my favourite – it’s the best thing we’ve ever done [laughs] … But New Detention, I think, is a good, well-balanced record.

I think it’s just got quality songs all over it. I’ve got a lot of affection for our first record as well. You listen back to it now, and [it’s like] “Fuck – what

To listen to an MP3 of the full interview, go to www.sauce.net.au

Alibis & Other Lies is out now.

… we’re back, and we’re not f*cking around… [Laughs] Moby! … And also a local stubby cooler from each town we play in. But generally people don’t come through with that … The other boys in the band smoke, so they’ve got a carton of cigarettes on the rider, which I think is a bit above-and-beyond necessary, but … It’s not really in the zone where we’re asking for dancing monkeys in leotards or anything like that … although that wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Now, how long have you been working on this? And who did you work on it with? We started demoing in February 2006, for about six months. In bits and pieces, we did about three demo sessions … We had thirty songs to work with from that, and then the guy we were doing the demos with – he’s an old mate of ours, Ramesh – basically we were like, “Well, why don’t we do the album with him?” Because he’s a really great engineer, and has a lot of good musical ideas and stuff … He recorded our first EP in 1996, so we’ve known him a long time, but in between now and then, he’s sharpened his skills a lot. [Laughs] So we ended up co-producing with him – I think we started recording

It wouldn’t be at all! I’m thinking monkeys dancing with midgets! With midgets, in leotards, and they can service our drinks on stage. That is the definition of “rock”. OK, I’ll put that to our manager … I’ll see what happens! What plans do you have to come down to Tassie? Oh, big plans! I think in November … It hasn’t been officially announced, so I can’t say anything!

TH E UNS EE N

A Warped Perspective On The Music Biz PUNK

By Dave Williams

The glamour of life on the road can be in stark contrast to the reality – waking up in a new city, setting up, going off, and tearing it down again: repeat as above. Dave Williams spoke with punk band The Unseen about life on the road and the schism between the ideals of the genre and the commercial realities. the next big thing. It is a lot of promotion – that’s what this whole tour is about; everyone trying to give you some free sampler or sell you something.

I’d like to ask you first of all how you’re feeling. Instead of just telling me “good, thanks,” and then we’ll rock into the interview, I’d really like an honest response about how you are feeling today; in terms of this interview, in terms of the world. How are you feeling? Well, I like to be an honest person. We’re in Indianapolis, Indiana, on the Vans Warped Tour, and it’s not the greatest market for many live bands to play in. It’s just a weird, small farming area. So it was a really, really hot day, and the show wasn’t that great. I mean, the people that were here were super-excited, and we did have some dedicated fans. But it was kind of a drag because it was so fucking hot outside. So right now I’m a little tired; I got up super-early…

Thank you so much for your honesty on that. That’s fantastic. No problem at all… [Laughs] I mean, this is my fourth time doing the Warped tour, and I do enjoy it, but I mean, if you go to Warped and you don’t realise that, then you’re an idiot! Every time you turn around, someone’s trying to give you something or sell you something.

So as far as the current state of the world, I haven’t been watching or paying attention to too much, because being on the Warped tour, you’re kind of trapped in your own world, away from TV and civilisation. It’s kind of like a traveling carnival – you wake up and you’re in a field somewhere, and then you set up your stuff and you play, and then you wake up the next morning and do it all over again. It immediately reminds me of that crazy TV show – Carnivàle, I think it was called. Did you see that?

It’s just one big promotion vehicle … there’s definitely some crazy stuff that goes on at night …

Yeah, that was a great show. It’s actually very, very similar to that! [Laughs] I own both seasons of that show on DVD! So I guess there are people sleeping with each other’s wives and killing each other? Sure, there’s definitely some weird stuff that goes on in this tour! [Laughs] I mean … I want to say there’s probably fifty-five bands on this tour, you know? So aside from fifty bands, you have probably another fifty or sixty sponsors. This tour’s a really good thing for bands, but it’s also like one big traveling mall. Everyone’s trying to sell something – whether you’re a band, or a vendor, you’re trying to promote your product, you know what I mean? There’s deodorant companies here giving out free deodorant. There’s people selling pizza. Bands are selling all their CDs. Then you have record labels, like Victory Records

and Epitaph Records and BYO Records – you have all these labels giving you free samplers… It’s just one big promotion vehicle, and there’s so many people involved in this tour that there’s definitely some crazy stuff that goes on at night… behind closed doors in tour buses! To me, that just sounds like the antithesis of punk. That just sounds like punk in reverse… Yeah… I mean, there are definitely aspects of the tour that are punk rock – there’s a lot of really great bands that are punk bands, and have a strong work ethic, that do this tour. But at the same time, this tour really is about promoting yourself; whether you’re a small punk band just trying to get new fans in a small market where you don’t do well, or you’re a fucking multi-million dollar record company trying to push

I’ve read a quote from you guys in reference to Internal Salvation that “lyrically, the album is mainly about not knowing what’s going on, and feeling like you’re at a point when you don’t know what to do to get ahead.” Do you still feel this frustration? Um… a little bit. Things are definitely getting better. When we were writing some of the lyrics for the record, we were just… a lot of us were at a weird point. We’ve been touring non-stop for the past four or five years, and when we tour… we’re at a point now where we’re really lucky to be on Hellcat/Epitaph Records – they help us financially, by loaning us money sometimes when we need it, which kind of enables us to keep being a band by flying us to Europe and stuff like that. But at the same time… when we’re not on tour, we don’t make any money… We do make some money, but, because we travel so much, when we are home, it’s really hard to find a job. Like, who wants to hire somebody that’s leaving in a month, you know what I mean? So the older you get, the more responsibilities you get; the tougher it is to continue to do this for a living. Around, I’d say, November/December of last year, when we were getting ready to record, everybody was just completely broke. We had no money. Three of the guys just broke up with girlfriends that they had been with for years… some of them had lost their places to live. It was just a dark time for the band, and I think it kind of shows on the record. To listen to an MP3 of the full interview, go to www. sauce.net.au

PAGE 11

PAGE 12

A RT BRUT

Nude And Complicated

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ROCK SALT

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On a world tour supporting their new album, It’s a Bit Complicated, London lads Art Brut should feel chipper. And quite simply, they’re not letting the fame or gruelling schedule get them down, as Tom Wilson found out… Where are you at the moment? In New York; in my hotel room in New York. New York? What are you doing there? Promotion? We played a show last night here, and we’re doing some TV show tomorrow – Conan O’Brien. You’re doing Conan O’Brien? Yep, tomorrow. That’s quite exciting, isn’t it? Yeah! I wonder if he’s as short as he looks on TV … I don’t know – I’m going to find out! [Laughs] Firstly, one thing which was brought to my attention, which I am never, ever going to be able to get the image out of my head, is your singer on the cover of NME … The sexy one? The sexy one! Good lord – why the hell did he decide to go nude on the cover of NME? What was the story behind that? Have you seen, like, two months ago, on the cover – the girl from The Gossip. She was naked as well. Someone had the same idea to do the same thing with Eddie, and Eddie really liked the idea, so he did it as well. Yeah, it was quite funny! [Laughs] I’ve got to ask this question for a certain member of our staff – is he a well-endowed man? [Laughs] [Pause] Probably, yeah! [Laughs] The awkwardness was palpable! Reading up on you guys, you guys have supported both Oasis and Ghostface Killah. How did you end up supporting a rapper? That was quite funny. It was in New York – I think it was for Spin Magazine. They had some sort of, like, “Twenty-Five Years Of Spin Magazine”, and they invited us to play … Ghostface Killah played there as well.

And the funny thing is, we even shared a dressing room with him. So it was funny when he turned up; obviously, he turns up with loads of friends … like, thirty of them. It was a tiny dressing room, and they all came in, and they’re all very huge people … we got introduced to him. So it was quite surreal – it was bizarre, but nice! The new album, It’s A Bit Complicated, came out last month. How have people reacted to it so far? It’s good so far, yeah. We’re touring all the countries at the moment and stuff, and had a good reception so far with it. So yeah, it’s all going good with it, I think. We’re happy with it. How long was this in production for? The album? I don’t know … how long did it take? It was like on-and-off … I would say that it was done in a month-and-a-half or so. Not too long. Before we went into the studio, we had most of the songs done already, so it was just getting into the

studio to record them, really … So what stands out most about this album for you? What are your favourite tracks off it? My favourite tracks off it? Probably Pump Up The Volume, the first one … I like all of them, I have to say! [Laughs] You’re not allowed to say, “Well, I think half the album’s pretty shit!” [Laughs] Yeah. I think it’s quite different from the first album, as you might have noticed. It’s just different. We’re really happy with it, because the first album happened so quick, you know? We were just playing gigs and stuff, and then it all happened, you know? Releasing the single, and then, soon after, it was like, “Oh yeah, we should record an album!” And we were like, “Wow, that’s amazing! Let’s do it!” It all happened really quickly, you know? And we’d only played together for a year. And after that first one came out, we were on tour for, like, two years … and now we can play a lot better.

… it was quite nice to … do it different this time … We actually can play now! So it was quite nice to … do it different this time … We actually can play now! [Laughs] What are your plans for the next month or so? We’re flying to Italy after New York, in a few days. Then we go to Russia again – St. Petersberg. And then back to Europe … It’s mainly summer, so it’s mainly the festivals all over Europe and stuff … Yeah, we’re just busy doing all the festivals on the weekends, which is brilliant. Out of interest, what are the crowds like in Russia? I haven’t seen footage of any bands playing there since, believe it or not, Pantera playing there in 1993 for the Monsters Of Rock festival … That’s brilliant! Pantera in Russia? [Laughs] You remember the footage? Nah, nah – I’ve never seen it. But it sounds brilliant. Over a million people. It was horizon to horizon … the security was, well, the army. [Laughs] So what are the punters like over there? What are they into? Well obviously the gigs are a bit smaller! We don’t have a billion people there yet! Um, I don’t know … we played Moscow, and they were actually really nice. We were expecting it to be people going completely wild and stuff. But then, they had so many security people in the venue … the kids, they were really scared of them, I think. To listen to an MP3 of the full interview, go to www.

PAGE 13

F UNERA L F O R A F R I E N D

Pulling Some Strings

By Steve Tauschke

When last we heard from Funeral For A Friend, the Welsh rockers were at the peak of their powers, assaulting American audiences with their Terry Date-produced 2005 album Hours and sharing arena stages with their metal heroes Iron Maiden. great ear for melody and a great ear for sonics and he’s just a good all-rounder to be honest.”

“We didn’t write in the back of a bus which is an absolute first for us,” says bassist Gareth Davies of the summer sessions. “You can never expand on any ideas as much as you want to be able to because, obviously, the tour bus isn’t exactly the biggest place in the world and you can’t jam out ideas.

“Gil wanted to put strings in more outlandish places and see how they go,” says Davies. “I don’t think many bands have used them on their records

ROCK SALT

Fast forward two years and the post-hardcore quintet recently ended a self-imposed twelvemonth touring embargo. After a performance at the UK’s Download Festival in June last year, the band parked the van and headed for their rehearsal room in Cardiff to write new material, emerging five months later with a promising blueprint for their third album Tales Don’t Tell Themselves.

“So we got to go home and see our families everyday and it was a very relaxed and very comfortable band at that point. We kind of fell into a little bit of a routine there for a while because all we’d do was tour-recordtour-record so I think we kind of lost a little bit of faith in ourselves.” Determined to deliver something special on the new album, the band was disappointed when the initial two-month sessions failed to capture the progressive sound they were chasing. Davies, a former film school student, says he then reverted to writing lyrics in a narrative script style, sparking a creative surge that found the group suddenly exploring new ground, a first in their six year career. “We’d written nine songs but we weren’t pushing ourselves so we scrapped them and started to rewrite,” the bassist explains. “Then all of a sudden everything came quite naturally and we were relaxed and we really enjoyed it at the same time. We had the same excitement as when we were recording our second EP and were about to sign to a major label and had all this touring ahead of us. Somehow we got that excitement back.” Helping them find their mojo was veteran British producer Gil Norton, noted for his successful work with The Pixies, Maximo Park and as rumoured, the forthcoming AC/DC album. “I thought ‘now we’ve got someone who can turn us into fucking superstars!’,” jokes Davies. “He’s got a

PAGE 14

Under Norton’s guidance, FFAF momentarily disavowed their hardcore roots, opting instead for the cinematic layered approach of a 26-piece orchestra whose composer melded the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s string section into Smashing Pumpkins’ dreamy 1996 single Tonight Tonight.

the way we have. People are saying there are no really heavy riffs on the record and yet they are, there’s plenty - they’re just smothered in strings. You have to really listen to the music to pick them out which is great.” After more than a year off the road, the band recently completely Warped dates in the US and are now gearing up for their third Asian tour next month taking in Australia, Japan, Singapore and for the first time, New Zealand. “We’re kind of starting off where we finished 14

months ago which isn’t a bad place to be starting,” says Davies. “We’re just playing clubs right now and building up having just come back on the road after so long. We did the UK tour and it’s hard to tell in a 3000 capacity venue whereas in a 500 capacity club you can see everyone’s faces and smell everyone’s breath and you can tell what people are thinking. So we’re in the middle of a crossover period right now with this record.” Funeral For A Friend tour Australia next month. Tales Don’t Tell Themselves is out through Warners.

“I thought ‘now we’ve got someone who can turn us into f**king superstars!’”

INTERPOL Our Love To Admire I have a friend who thinks every bit of music he hears sounds like Interpol, which might be because so many bands have begun emulating their sound.

… For me, this album definitely represents every minute of those six or so years we've lost. Whether or not you are a fan, you can’t deny the fact that these indie rockers are consistent. Ever since their debut LP, Turn On The Bright Lights, the band has gone from strength to strength. It would seem things can only continue to grow with the release of the superb Our Love To Admire. The album opens with the moody, thriving and sombre, Pioneer To The Falls. The following track, No I In Threesome, is somewhat more upbeat, in the sense

that it has more major chord changes. But beneath the surface is a sadness that is both infectious and beautiful. The Heinrich Maneuver (sic) takes a rocking approach. Relying less on textures and atmospheric sounds, it is classic guitar-driven Interpol. The guitar tones themselves are brooding and thick with reverb. Never one to complicate things, vocalist Paul Banks keeps the chorus simple, repeating, “Today my heart swings” for most of the song’s duration.

The new album from Melbourne band, Architecture in Helsinki, is anything but dull. As they say, never judge a book by its cover, but with this album a lot is said by the front illustration. With bright colours that match the happy feel of the lyrics and tunes, the whole recording has a bright and cheery sound about it.

The closing track, The Lighthouse reminds me of fellow New Yorkers, The Walkmen, with its surf guitars and lo-fi vocals. It turns the light out on the album with a slow fade, despite the late introduction of drums and bass. While the song provides a mellower counterpoint to the rest of the album it seems a little long-winded at five minutes.

A mixture of female and male vocals gives this band an extra something other artists sometimes lack, and that is the ability to make each track completely different from the next. It is definitely an album that grabs your attention and keeps it.

All in all, Our Love To Admire is a brilliant record. The arrangements are thoughtful, the production rich, and the melodies are beautiful. Sadly, despite Europe and America being treated to shows, any Australian tour dates are unlikely to be announced this year. On the upside, that leaves plenty of time to get intimate with this album. Check it out. TOM WHITTY

THE GUGGENHEIM GROTTO ...Waltzing Alone

TOBIAS FROBURG Somewhere in the City Swedish singer-songwriter Tobias Froburg has just released a new full-length album Somewhere in the City. The album is a mixture of folk and alternative with a hint of pop just to mix it up a bit. You know when you are that tired you just can’t sleep, well put Love and Misery (A Duet With Ane Brun) to make you fall asleep. It is painfully slow and drags on for way too long. It would put even the worst insomniac to sleep. Picking the pace up a bit is Forever is Just a Word in a Love Song. It manages to slightly redeem the album but the only problem is it is not until the end of the album that you get to the song. The only problem is the word “forever” is repeated about thirty times before the end of the song. It takes repetition to a new level. Oh My Love (Here She Comes Again) is another one of those tracks that is quite slow. The difference with this one is that his vocal work is much more suited to the slow tempo of the song. The guitar work also is a major highlight of this song. It shows potential but a weak track list makes this album less than it could be.

For every brilliant idea, there are many more unanswered questions. Thus was the inspiration for Philosophia, the first track of The Guggenheim Grotto’s first full length album ...Waltzing Alone. It sails smoothly into a soft sea of clear-cut acoustic instruments played loosely in a very, what seemed to be, personal motion. Firstly a big thumbs up to the almost book-like packaging! It has this instant “grab me” effect, and draws you into a journey through pages of actual comments and thanks, which is a nice gesture toward their supporting fans. Plus the addition of the occasional abstract picture really sets off the whole concept of the easy-listening ride ahead. This album puts forward some very common, real-life types of lyrics and can sometimes get a bit messy and lost. ...Waltzing Alone is wistful, earnest; heart on your sleeve. It speaks to the collective human soul through themes of love and tragedy to which we can all relate, and treasures the most unassuming moments painting them as some of the most beautiful in life. It sometimes can get a little hard to know which song is which. The tracks all kind of blend a little and sound like one continuous song, swallowing your brain! if you love your turtle-paced, outta-spaced music ride then this one is definitely for you! Overall this album boasts a tangled love affair with words and silky smooth instrumental work. Nice job all round. MATTHEW LABEDZKI

SHANNON STEVENS

MAN BITES GOD Peppermint Superfrog Big bright coloured cover art springs into your vision and gets you thinking... what the... yeah, OK, I can dig this, you read the booklet and you’re still thinking... Ok, let’s just cut to the chase: this album is a big Aussie piss-take of just about everything weird and obstructive that exists in this universe. The vocals are very typical Aussie and throw pounds of sh*tfacing humour at you! But before I go on, I’m asking myself, has this whole punk rock style of music mixed with the bloke down the roads vocal skills been done before? I think, yes. I’m pretty sure bent-as-hell humour with the vocals is the main base ingredient to this simple music. There are hints of TISM and even Bloodhound Gang. Track eight Europop 3000 is an exceptionally good lesson if you want to learn to speak French. Hey, there’s even a song about a guy who had a girlfriend made from wood and hay! I’m now up to track ten and I can’t stop laughing. The lyrics are hilarious, with songs that range from doing weird things to girls, to killing your mum! You may enjoy listening to this if you like TISM, Cake, The Wiggles, Rod Stewart or any of the songs that have ever been on Play School.

ARCHITECTURE IN HELSINKI Places Like This

RICKI-LEE Brand New Day Ricki-Lee made her big break in 2004 in the second series of Australian Idol, and since has released her debut solo album with phenomenal success. Two gold ARIA awards and three chart-topping singles under her belt, it’s no surprise that Ricki-Lee also became a part of the Young Divas – their first single hitting the top of the charts, going double platinum within a few months of release, and still currently remaining in the charts. Her second album Brand New Day, Ricki-Lee worked closely with producers from around the world, with each song representing her journey in life, relationships, and the music industry over the past three years. Her first single Can’t Touch It sets off the album, successfully incorporating a fun, positive, and empowering feminine vibe. With a very catchy beat and great flowing lyrics, this is a fun and flirty song to get you up off the seat! It was a great song to start the album! But why is it that listening to the remainder of the album leads to a huge sense of monotony? It may be that this album isn’t an expansion of her potential as an artist, or is staying within the safe boundaries of previous achievements. She may have aimed to turn the pages in her career, but I fail to hear the comparative differences in her new work.

The bouncy track Feather in a Baseball Cap has a bit of an electronic streak through it, and the lyrics are a little cheekier which will put a smile on the listener’s face. Also, Same Old Innocence which is more of a “normal” sounding song; one for those out there who are not an avid fan of Architecture’s sound, but want to introduce themselves slowly to their quirky brand of music. But my personal favourite is track six, Like it or Not, which starts off with a slow choir and quickly picks up and goes into a fast-paced, upbeat and all together fun song; one for those rainy days when you need a little sunlight to brighten your life. Try this album out. Though I must admit they are a little strange to start with, AIH grow on you very quickly, and soon enough you will find yourself humming their tunes while buying yourself a colourful new t-shirt or dress.

CAROLE WHITEHEAD

Patrick Apps or, as he is better known, Patrick Wolf, has released a new album under a new label (Loog Records), The Magic Position. It’s a unique mix of pop, folk and electronica bought together in a rather comical, quirky way. Sounding like you’re at one of those American fair/fete things, The Magic Position begins. From the child yelling when the song starts to the loud, and rather unusual banging noises that follow the screams, the best word to describe the track is, well, odd… Get Lost starts off with the beeping from a heart monitor and sounds a little bit creepy. Once the vocals begin, the song does start to pick up slightly. Patrick’s English accent is quite obvious in this track and is easy to pick up on, which is not the case with most artists. Harp, clarinet, harpsichord, guitar, piano, autoharp, organ, harmonica, accordion and violin are just a small portion of the instruments which Patrick can play fluently. Music has played a very large part in his life and he has been playing since a very young age. Enchanted is just that. The slow style of the song sounds like something off a Disney movie and is a rather mediocre song. The tempo of the song makes it come across as being a lot longer than it is. It seems to drag on for too long and is the album’s major downfall. SHANNON STEVENS

PAUL KELLY Stolen Apples Kelly appears to be refining his art quite well with age (and gosh is he ageing), and I found this album to be quite engaging in parts. It’s hard to describe, but I love listening to those rare intense songs where you have the experience of physically consuming them. You witness the music and lyrics meld together, delicately and beautifully constructed, giving you a sense of fullness, and leaving you contemplating what you’ve ingested. Yeah, sounds wanky, but it’s the only way I can describe it! There are a number of songs on this album that really connected with me in this way, such as Feelings of Grief, as well as a diverse range of other tracks peppering the list to disconcert me and jolt me out of my reverie. Right Outta My Head is a particularly disturbing track the end of which had me asking WTF?! Thankfully these days we have the technical ability to arrange our own set-list, which is what I really felt was imperative here. It’s a bit folk, a bit country, a bit religious, a little rock, and very eclectic. Perhaps its because I’m not a massive Paul Kelly fan, or perhaps it’s because of the diversity of his talents, but the album kind of feels a little like he put a bunch of songs in a bag, shook it and spilled them out into this order. Some tracks I loved, some I tolerated (and they grew on me), some I down right loathed. A few particular faves on this album were: Feelings of Grief, a hauntingly beautiful track to start the album with, although I did get a strange look from my cat at the opening notes…

FEAR OF COMEDY Murder Made Sexy Australia’s own Fear of Comedy has (finally) released their debut album Murder Made Sexy. This nine-track album sounds similar to some of The Kinks and also has a few similarities to Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. This is Survival Horror is one extremely short track (twenty seconds, to be precise) not to play with little kiddies around. Basically, all it is, is what sounds like a plane taking off followed by silence and then some strange and quite sadistic screaming. Must admit it even managed to partially scare me… Sounding as though it is somewhat ‘country’ at the beginning, Good Luck, Johnny is a slower track on the album. It does manage to redeem itself once the vocals start but is still quite a mediocre song. The tempo simply seems too slow for the style of the lyrics. Leith Tierney’s intense vocals help to make March of the Blood one of the most intriguing songs on the album. It is the unique mix of Leith’s vocals, the pounding drum and the quirky guitar riffs that make this song stand out substantially. The band is still currently unsigned to a major record label but once this album has been circulated, that could change. Overall the album is a very good example of the home-grown talent that is being produced. SHANNON STEVENS

God Told Me To is very familiar to me from radio and TV, and has a real easy-going Aussie-rock kind of feel to it.

KELLY ROWLAND Ms Rowland

Stolen Apples Taste the Sweetest has a melancholy but quirky feel to it, and bizarrely, dare I say it, actually reminds me in places of the Smashing Pumpkins.

Kelly is definitely making her mark as a solo artist, with another awesome album to her credit. She continues to develop herself and confirm to us that she is here to stay.

ELOISE GURR

SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR Trip the Light Fantastic Can you remember that annoying dance track that was played nearly every day on the radio stations? That song that was good the first fifty times you heard it, then it simply began to get annoying (Murder on the Dance Floor for all you people who were either socially isolated or mildly deaf)! Well she is back again, ready to annoy or excite a few more listeners. Trip the Light Fantastic is the new album from the English pop-dance artist Sophie Ellis-Bextor. Catch You is a catchy song due to the very synth-styled dance music. It does however manage to drown out her vocals which are a real downside of the track.

Unfortunately, no matter how passionate and serious these band members are about music, you just can’t see it through the music and it is hard not to laugh every thirty seconds.

It is fortunate that the songs have a happy, mellow feel to them, and are great to listen to, because, quite frankly, it was a huge let down which nearly put me to sleep with the rest of the boring diva crap ... it’s getting old!

The Distance Between Us is also another one of her slower songs. The background music sounds a little bit too fake. It would be more beneficial for Sophie’s music to use actual instruments rather than relying purely on the synthetic computer-generated music she uses in her current album. Overall the album is good if you like a mix of dance tracks and slow pop songs.

MATTHEW LABEDZKI

LISA HOWELL

SHANNON STEVENS

Definitely would be a ripper of a CD to rip out at a party for a laugh.

PATRICK WOLF The Magic Position

After gaining a wide range of experiences through her part in Destiny’s Child, and teaming up with other successful artists on her debut album, Kelly has once again demonstrated her natural abilities as a great singer-songwriter, by delivering us another hip-hop/ soul-filled album; it is sure to get your head bopping and your body moving! Like This, the first single on Ms Rowland, is a great song that creates the energy, and sets the standard for the entire CD. Alongside Eve, Snoop Dogg, Tank, and Da Brat, Kelly once more demonstrates her unique ability to work amid others, and adapt her style to create a captivating variety of mixes. The music in each song connects with the lyrics, and each are amplified by her luminous talent and radiant ability to deliver an inspiring and passionate message. Kelly continues to advocate for females by maintaining her title as a great, female solo artist through upbeat songs such as Comeback, Work and Gotsta Go (Part 1), but also her deep, soulful vibes in Flashback, Every Thought Is You, and Still In Love With My Ex.

LISA HOWELL PAGE 15

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Syrup La Casa – Matt B + Gillie + Timo + DSKO + Discotouch

COLLECTOR’S CORNER

Republic Bar & Café Sugartrain @ 10PM

Syrup M e s h – A d a m Tu r n e r + S c o t t Wo o d h o u s e + D a v e We b b e r + C h i l l i

Syrup Naughts + Rolly + Billy Bob D F D – C o r n e y + A d a m Tu r n e r + G i l l i e

L A U N C E S TO N James Hotel Sunpilots + Enola Fall @ Reality Ta s h & C a s @ F ro n t B a r

CHEAP GUITAR

QUALITY ISN’T EXPENSIVE STRINGS IN STOCK AT

BARRATTS

BEWARE! There are some dreadful instruments available over the Internet & from some local stores. Always deal with a reputable music-specialist store!

Dean Markley Acoustic $14.95 Dean Markley Electric $10.95 D’Addario Acoustic $12.99 D’Addario Electric $9.99

104 George St, Launceston 6331 9355 or help@barrattsmusic.com.au

Royal Oak Wo m e n I n D o c s The Hub E d w a rd G u g l i e l m i n o + C a r r y N a t i o n + T h e F ro n t + N i c k Wa r re n @ 8 P M

S U N DAY 2 N D BURNIE Stage Door the Café E d w a rd G u g l i e l m i n o + C a r r y N a t i o n + L u c i e n S i m o n + T h e F ro n t @ 5 P M

H O BA RT

BURNIE Stage Door The Cafe 254 Mount St Upper Burnie 64322600

HOBART Curly’s Bar 112 Murray St 6234 5112 www.curlysbar.com.au Hotel SOHO

124 Davey St 6224 9494

Raincheck Lounge Live Music

Raincheck Lounge 392-394 Elizabeth Street 6234 5975

Republic Bar & Café Wo m e n I n D o c s @ 9 P M

Republic Bar 299 Elizabeth Street 6234 6954 www.republicbar.com

L A U N C E S TO N Star Hotel Sexy Lounge With Carl Fidler @ 5PM

M O N DAY 3 R D H O BA RT Hotel SOHO The Smashers @ 10PM Republic Bar & Café J o e P i re re @ 8 : 3 0 P M

T U E S DAY 4 T H H O BA RT Republic Bar & Café GB Balding @ 9PM

W E D N E S DAY 5 T H H O BA RT C u r l y ’s B a r Mr Meaner Syrup Rewind @ 9PM

The Brisbane 3 Brisbane St 6234 4920 thebrisbanehotel@gmail.com Syrup 1st Floor 39 Salamanca Place 6224 8249

LAUNCESTON Lonnies Niteclub 107 Brisbane St Launceston 6334 7889 www.lonniesniteclub.com Gunners Arms Bar & Bistro 23 Lawrence St Launceston 6331 3891 James Hotel Reality Niteclub / James Bar 122 York St Launceston 6334 7231 www.jameshotel.com.au River view Hotel 43 Charles Street 6331 4857 The Royal Oak 14 Brisbane St Launceston 6331 5346 Saloon 191 Charles Street Launceston www.saloon.com.au 6331 7355 The Hub 1Tamar Street Launceston 6334 9288

GIG REVIEWS A Syrup Soufflé

The Embers EP Launch

Macromantics

Trio

Syrup – 18/8/07

Republic Bar and Café - 17/08/07

Brisbane Hotel – 10/8/07

The Loft – 18/8/07

This dish is best served amongst friends, and washed down with a cool white wine. Start with a large bowl and add a few local DJs, rinse off several groupies and place them on the side for moral support.

I’ve been waiting a while to get my greedy little hands all over the Embers self-titled first EP, and judging by the massive show of whoop-ing locals who turned up to support this amazing Launceston band – who have been steadily clawing their way hand-over-fist up the Tasmanian band ladder since their unforgettable appearance at Falls – they’ve been waiting a while too.

The afternoon kicked off down at the Brisbane hotel with some of Tassie’s freshest hip-hop. Whoever thinks that we don’t have a scene down here on our little island should have come along. With Macromantics cleverly tucked away in the corner, she witnessed all the three support acts, and was nodding her head with every beat.

The guys on stage had their hands on some pretty mad gear with a lot more Apple logos than I have, which made me bristle with envy – using traditional instruments like guitars and drums with electronica and an army of a billion little knobs, sliders and switches at their command. Their sound is very tense and edgy with rare moments of timid, ambient sounds of the forest and nature, and a filthy, dirty distortion polluting and crackling beneath it, invading harmony with dissonance. It made me think of oily, metallic fingers clawing and digging at earth, chewing and spitting soil and ash into the air. Which brings us to why I usually don’t get into this particular form of artistic expression; it makes me think too much.

Grate in two cups of house with a garnish of breaks and stir vigorously, ensuring your hips move with each stir to enhance the flavor. Place them in the oven then proceed to get baked for the following several hours. During this time, the chef is encouraged to mingle with customers and probe for their choice of garnish and phone numbers where appropriate. It is not uncommon to lose sense of time and place during the cooking process, but the chef will know when the time is to pul lout and move on to the next stage. Of course, for that finishing touch, coat the entire dish in Syrup, one of the finest of Saturday night sauces. The Syrup should be warm, colourful and always enticing to the five senses. When applied, the Syrup will infuse the shiznit with the hizzle, which is a gourmet term only used among the finest of chefs when cooking a dish of such caliber. Be sure to supply enough for everyone as over time, people will always come for second or third helpings, such is its appeal. And there you have it; another Saturday night special, the Dirty Fucking Dancing Soufflé with Syrup. Oh, that is tasty.

FELIX BLACKLER

The John Butler Trio + Josh Pyke Albert Hall – 14/08/07

Launceston was well and truly ready for this great show at the Albert Hall, even though it did fall on a Tuesday night. Turning out in the hundreds, and arriving early, it seemed every local was ready to see Josh Pyke and The John Butler Trio in concert. When Josh Pyke arrived onstage on the cold night, the crowd cheered loudly, and the old hall quickly warmed up. With the enthusiastic crowd, Josh was quickly welcomed, and started his set with Mannequins. When he reached the next song Memories and Dust (which features cute, newlyhatched chicks in the film-clip) the crowd went wild, as they did for the other singles Lines on Palms and Fed and Watered. But they never went so wild as when the last song started – Josh Pyke’s very first, and possibly most liked single, Middle of the Hill. Sadly, Josh left the stage, and once again the lights were dimmed. After a fairly long wait, The John Butler Trio came onstage, and a very loud roar from the crowd got things underway. It seemed everyone knew the words, which seemed to give the band a great boost, with all three of them smiling widely throughout the entire show. They played the majority of the songs off the newest album, Grand National, without leaving out the huge favourites off the older LP, Sunrise Over Sea. The second last song was probably the crowd fave – Zebra.

Watching The Embers, you know that there is history with them. They’re a close-knit, tight group that enjoy each other’s company on stage. I set them apart from other Tassie acts that are doing well for themselves at the moment and put them right up there with the Scientists and the like; they’ve found their groove, and not just that, they’ve found an audience to lap it up. They’ve got character and hell of a lot of class. The band was absolutely blown away to be received in Hobart with such jubilation. The crowd stomped and begged them for more, with even a few cries of tribute to Leo when they played Mexico for our favourite Mexican, who was away in, well, Mexico. I love that they still play the first song they wrote together; it’s so haunting while you dance to it in your own lost space, and though I missed its flute, Katy covered splendidly on electric violin. And speaking of Katy, she was cutting thoroughly sick on that violin, and added some lush sax to a nice horn section that I hope wasn’t a one-night stand. I really dug having a jive to Rubby Dubby – it’s going to get a lot of play on my stereo.

If I were directing a thriller, these are the guys I’d get to do the soundtrack for me. There’s horror to be found lurking in this pool of ambience that wobbles on the brink of collapse and terror. See? There I go again! You just can’t listen to this stuff without getting lost in your own head. The small gathering was fully getting into the grungy, thick soundscape they were traveling through – eyes closed and heads nodding. There were some very controlled and innovative electric guitar stuff going on in there that turned my head – at some points sounding like an almost broken cello, or furniture being pushed across the floor. One of them carried a cymbal around the room, tapping it in rhythm above the heads of all that were seated on the lounges, which actually had quite a powerful impact on me, as well as achieving a surreal kind of 3D surround sound.

You can see so much in front-man Michael Attard – layers of stuff beneath his unshaven face that I can’t wait to see. A show of hands from the audience would prove that they want them back, so it probably won’t be too long before we get to swap stories with them again. Tally-ho! IAN MURTAGH

The act people were all there to see was Miss Macromantics. With DJ Amy, she had everybody jumping and bouncing, her included. This girl is so passionate that the way she lays down her vocal and her energy levels has to be seen to be believed. In fact, as she was performing her new single, Physical, she accidentally knocked out DJ Amy’s decks and lost the beats, but that didn’t stop her – finishing the entire song alone with just her flow in tow. I saw Macromantics at the BDO last year, and whether she is playing in front of 10,000 people or at a pub venue, one thing remains the same – Macromantics rips it up, every time. BEN PETER

Midnight Juggernauts

Northern Assault

James Hotel – 11/08/07

Deloraine Little Theatre – 10/8/07

The Saloon - 17/8/07

As the first support, our very own Scientists of Modern Music, burst onto the stage in their signature all-black/all-white outfits, Launceston came to life. With strong bass, robotic voices and the most energy I have seen produced from a Tassie band, they showed they were the perfect band to support the Midnight Juggernauts.

What can I say, except … what an awesome night!

As the lights started to spin in The Saloon, the first support, Tassie’s own Cruel Like That jumped onto stage and produced their very own style of rock for the ears of the crowd. Next was Hobart band Hannah – a great three-piece, which at times transformed into a five-piece with the addition of two saxophone players.

In front of the most incredible backdrop I have ever seen came the Juggernauts. With their own custom lights and scenery, it all added to the amazing show that was to come. A strong crowd was out to support this Melbourne band, and I understand why. Starting the set with the short song Scorpius and quickly continuing onto the well known Road To Recovery, they quickly got the crowd pumping. Vincent (vocals, keys) also changed over to bass a couple of times through the evening, letting Andy (bass) play on the keys and synths. This showed beyond all doubt that these were not any ordinary band, but extremely talented musicians. With Daniel (drums) originally from The Valentinos, his skills add to, and enhance, the whole experience, creating a band that runs smoothly and without flaw. All too soon it was the last song – their first single Shadows – and they exited the stage, only to be called back on by the very enthusiastic crowd. They played two more great songs, and were gone. The crowd still begged for more, but the night was over.

Altogether it was a fairly good show, my personal opinion is that the solos went on just a little too long, and none of the Trio really moved about the stage at all. But a lot of people seemed to enjoy themselves, and that’s the main thing, really!

All in all it was a night that, if you missed, there is nothing that could come close to even describing how these amazing guys brought together sound and vision to produce not only a concert, but a work of art. Just hope for another chance to see them in the future.

CAROLE WHITEHEAD

PAGE 18

First to step up to the plate were Oratoric & Paddles. This young crew had me laughing and reminiscing with their lyrics about getting smashed and running amok. They were good value, and were very tight and well-rehearsed. Next up was Crytearia and Tempest. To start off with, they had a few technical troubles with a keyboard that didn’t want to play ball, but in the end showed their skills once it was all sorted. In between the third support, two young ladies by the name of Mystic and Lucy popped up on stage to put down one tune that did them proud. The third support act for the afternoon was Mdusu and Dameza, with the addition of a new MC – Johnny Hack. DJ Dameza must have been stuffed because he’d been DJing for all the previous acts. These guys didn’t disappoint either, and were blowing up the stage with their rhymes and one-liners.

Despite having possibly the worst weather we have seen this year – howling wind, driving rain and flooding roads – approximately two-hundred people found their way to the Deloraine Little Theatre for a great night of head-banging metal. The doors opened at 6:40pm to a foyer already full of eager young metal heads, ready for a pounding night of high energy noise. Abyss kicked off the proceedings with a good cover of Breaking The Law. The guys worked the stage well throughout their set, getting a good response from the audience. The night was off to a good start. Hallowed Demise came on and immediately went into top gear. They pumped out some great high-energy numbers, utilising two singers for their set. Jamie Taylor did a great job on vocals for the first half of the set, with Warwick Bruce finishing off. Vulgar came out for their set, and went ballistic from the first note. They had a great mix of classic thrash covers and originals that really got the crowd jumping and calling for more. They maintained the momentum right to the finish, ripping one song after another with hardly time to breathe in between … an awesome set. Projection Of Aggression came on stage to finish the night, and played a fantastic set, with some killer guitar work from Josh (“Maggot”) Leslie and great vocals from Kyle Crimson. The last song of their set saw several people climb on stage to help sing the chorus – a great way to finish off the night. With the night being so successful as a fund raiser, organisers are now looking at repeating the event next year, so look out for the next one. PAUL FLOOD

I could best sum it up as being constantly on edge. Did I dig it? Aw, look – it’s not really even in the realm of my cup of tea really, but I found it mysteriously compelling; admiring it more from a movie director’s perspective than any other. They were like the Que Experience if all the members were DJs – understanding so much more about the sounds they are manipulating than the casual listener could ever comprehend. Oh … interpretive music does my head in. IAN MURTAGH

The Lazys

Finally it was time for the greatest pub rock band I have ever seen to grace the stage. Five guys from just out of Sydney, they definitely brought their energy to our little island for the show. Having just released a brand new EP, The Lazys played all the songs off Nicotine Soul, but also mixed in songs from their older, selftitled EP, and even some unreleased songs. Halfway through the show, they burst into the song everyone seems to love – Union of the Underdogs. All the players were bouncing around during the show – they all had so much energy and excitement onstage, and it added to the show to make it awesome entertainment, rather than just a concert like any other. When it came to the end of the show, everyone – including the concert-goers, as well as the support bands – were all invited up onstage for the last song. Everyone jumped about for a few more minutes, including a streaker across the stage, and The Lazys were finished for the night. All I can say for the evening is that it was a totally incredible show – great entertainment, and all three bands are full of really great guys. To those who missed this show, too bad. It really was an awesome night. But you’re in luck – The Lazys said they’d be back here as soon as they can. CAROLE WHITEHEAD

I VA N VA RG A S

Renowned Skater To Be Filmed In Tassie

X-TRTEME SPORT

By Tom Wilson

Spurred on by positive reactions to a recent promotional video release, clothing label Coping has decided to hit our streets in September – filming, photographing and documenting gifted skater Ivan Vargas in an eight-day journey from Hobart to Launceston. Ivan told me more. I understand you’re coming down to Tasmania in September to shoot a video. Is that correct? Yeah. Me and Donnie are coming down to shoot a video for Coping [Threads]. We’re going to go around street spots, skating … go to a couple of parks … hopefully hand out some products to little kids. So, yeah -Looking forward to it

I understand you’ve been sponsored by this brand for over a year now. How did they first approach you? And how did you get their attention? Well, I was just skating at some skate parks, and Donnie must have seen me skating, and came up to me one day, and asked me if I wanted to skate for him. And I happily agreed. It’s a really good team too, because they just look after you and stuff – give you heaps of product. It’s good.

Other people who skate have [had] broken legs and broken arms and stuff. I guess a broken wrist isn’t too bad, I guess. So what kind of stuff do they provide you with? Clothing … boards every now and then, and I get some hoodies and some beanies. As a skater, what kind of doors were opened to you by getting this sponsorship? What opportunities do you have now that you didn’t have beforehand? To travel – that would be the best bit … Meet new people … just go to different places; places that I never thought of going before … and skating with different people.

Where are some of the places you’ve been skating? Well I went overseas last year, but that wasn’t for Coping or anything. I went to South America; I went to Chile, and skated there. It was so much fun. Is the skate scene pretty big over there? Yeah, kind of. But I mean, they don’t really have a council there, so they just skate off streets and stuff – they don’t really have any skate parks. How old were you when you first started skating? What inspired you to take it up? Just all my friends in high school; they started skating, so I went, “Hey, that looks pretty cool.” I kind of just grabbed a board one day. I never thought I’d be skating for this long, but, yeah, about four years ago. Do you have a regular haunt, as far as skating in your local area? Have you got a favourite place? Yeah, I’ve got this local skate park I always go [to] – it’s one tram station away from me; just use public transport. I skate there every time I can. It’s got everything there – rail, banks, quarter-pipes, everything. What have been some of the physical rigours you’ve endured in the time you’ve been skating? What kind of injuries have you managed to chalk up? I’ve only had one pretty bad injury, so I guess I’m pretty lucky. I’ve broken my wrist … just rolling down from a skate park, a little rock ran under my wheel … I kind of just fell back and landed on my wrist pretty bad. Ouch … [Laughs] Yeah. Apart from that, it wasn’t too bad. Other people who skate have [had] broken legs and broken arms and stuff. I guess a broken wrist isn’t too bad, I guess. Ivan will be in Tasmania in September. www.copingthreads.com

P l an et X

Winter Games 2007 PLANET X WINTER GAMES - EVENT WRAP

won the silver with renowned Canadian snowboarder Mike Osachuck taking home the bronze.

AUGUST 2007 – The Planet X Winter Games have successfully pulled off a number of world first’s at their recent event at Perisher Blue (NSW).

Straight after the _ pipe tow-in, the event team moved up the mountain to set up for the “Huck” and “Chuck” where competitors ‘Huck’ or hike up to the top of the run and then ‘Chuck’ or jump off the feature performing a number of aerial manoeuvres before landing. This is a test of courage & endurance as well as freestyle skill.

Three brand new contest formats where introduced this year including the Braun CruZer3 Rail Jam. For the first time, the winner of this event will actually be judged by the general public, it’s Ski V’s Board with four videos of each competitor, Chris Benchetler (ski), Christian Sirianni (Ski), Max Cookes (Snowboard) & Ryan Tiene (Snowboard) viewable online at www. planetx.com.au.

Blue skies finally appeared for this event with riders pumped to get out there and prove their skills, an expert panel of judges scored the competitors based on the difficulty of the tricks performed, amplitude, execution and variety of manoeuvres.

Punters have until 30th September 2007 to vote for their favourite rider and have their say about who deserves the prize money and the gold medal for the Braun CruZer3 Rail Jam.

Perisher Blue team snowboarder and the youngest competitor in the field, Jake McCarthy, impressed judges with a well executed ‘switch backside five’ on his second hit, enough to grab the Gold.

Battling it out for their share in the $25,000 prize pool and the Planet X Gold Medal were pro skiers Russ Henshaw, Christian Sirianni, Chris Benchetler (USA), Jono Lipsker, Oddy Graham, and Charlie Timmins, alongside Pro Snowboarders Max Cookes, Ryan Tiene, Mike Osachuck (CAN), Nate Perry, Jake McCarthy and Australia’s number one ranked snowboarder, Andrew Burton.

Melbourne rider, Max Cookes, pulled off the same trick but according to judges didn’t quite have the same style. 2nd place ended up a tie between Max Cookes and Ryan Tiene who landed a massive ‘frontside 3 caveman’.

The Planet X Winter Games contest at Blue Cow saw both the ‘_ pipe tow-in’ and the ‘Huck and Chuck’ events run back-to-back. A high-powered Urban Rider winch system was used for the first time in the world on snow for the _ pipe tow-in and certainly proved its ability to boost the acceleration of riders into the hit. 17 year-old, Russ Henshaw, from Jindabyne proved once again why he’s one of the most talked about upand-coming skiers in the country taking out the gold medal for the _ pipe tow-in with a double back flip out of the pipe. USA import Chris Benchetler scored silver with an impressive ‘720 caveman’ and 18 year-old Charlie Timmins, also from Jindabyne, was awarded the bronze. Ryan Tiene from Port Macquarie showed impressive style and technical skill on the _ Pipe Tow-in taking out first place honours, ex-winter Olympian Andrew Burton

Snowboard judge and editor of Australian and NZ Snowboarding magazine, Russell Holt, says Jake McCarthy didn’t necessarily go as big as the other riders in the contest but showed greater technical skills, landing his tricks much smoother than the rest of the field. “Ryan Tiene and Nate Perry actually came close to taking it out on their second jumps, both landing smooth ‘frontside 7’s’ but both actually reverted the landing making it a little unclean” continued Holt. In the Huck and Chuck Ski event it was the local young guns who once again stole the show, 17 year-old Jono Lipzker was awarded 1st place after pulling off a huge ‘Switch 7’, Russ Henshaw placed 2nd scoring his second medal for the event and Melbourne skier, Christian Sirianni, placed 3rd. For sneak previews of all the action head to www. planetx.com.au, or download cool segments direct to your mobile phone via Bigpond TV. PAGE 19

200 7 TASMUSIC ROCK CHALLENGE With the TasMusic 2007 Rock Challenge looming, we thought we’d bring you a sampling of the bands competing this year. So here they are, in their own words … A BLOOD-WRITTEN ROMANCE

CHAOTIC DILEMMA

END OF SILENCE

Who: Cameron Foster (vocals), Alex Little (guitar), Andrew Boltong (guitar), Tom Elson (bass), Joe Hoyle (drums) Influences: Parkway Drive, I Killed The Prom Queen, Trivium, From Autumn To Ashes, Atreyu, Alexisonfire, Norma Jean

Together for three years, Chaotic Dilemma are an original five-piece featuring Sophie Fisher (vox), Sean Zolnierczak (vox/lead guitar), Cameron Jones (drums), Beau Polley (bass) and newcomer Liam Burnie (rhythm guitar). Representing Prospect High School in the 2007 Tasmusic Rock Challenge, Chaotic Dilemma bring their original songs to the table and look forward to unleashing their latest alternative indie rock on fans. The release of their debut EP is scheduled for late this year, having already spent many hours in the studio.

End of Silence are a band with a lot of different influences, featuring dueling guitar riffs, punk-inspired lyrics, fast and heavy drum beats and an emo bassist with rather a lot of insecurities. End of Silence play for the fun of getting the crowd moving – loving nothing better than seeing the audience on their feet, jumping around, kicking, screaming and having a good time.

AS I FALL THROUGH The group formed in 2006, playing covers and doing small concerts in local areas. They are working on a demo CD at the present time, with three new tracks that are each different in ways that suit this band. They all have their own different musical backgrounds, listening to all different types of music – they have found influences in bands such as Killswitch Engage, Bring Me The Horizon, The Devil Wears Prada etc. This particular band mixes easy-listening with screamo and speed metal. Over the last year, As I Fall Through have performed various concerts. After a few setbacks, they have strived to come as far as they have, swapping band members and doing some intense beard-growing. Through the years, many high school bands have come through Exeter High School, and never has this school witnessed the great potential As I Fall Through has started to show.

Originating from a soft rock band known as Hot Tuesday, they have only been on the scene for around half a year – in that time progressing a lot. Starting off as a bunch of mates with a dream of starting a metal band, they recruited Sheepy as a singer (being a bass guitarist up until this point with no real trace of singing talent). After several practices showing some form of musical sound, they snuck their way into Locally Famous under the name of Hot Tuesday. The one song played there gained enough of a response from the crowd for the band to continue in the direction they were heading. End of Silence now have their own original sound, playing for fun and not taking life too seriously. They are looking forward to having a great time at the Rock Challenge and not worrying too much about placings.

from acoustic to heavy rock. They have been together since the beginning of 2006, with Chas and Kirby new additions to the band this year. They are currently in the recording phase, and are hoping to get some recordings completed in the very near future.

FRACTURED CORNFLAKE Fractured Cornflake formed to challenge rock at the Uni Bar in August. The fractured cornflake line-up is: Jimmy J – vocals and guitar; Callum – guitar; Rossco – bass and Willow – drums. We will open and tour with any heavy rock or metal band. Our career options are varied, such as the SAS, abalone diver, janitor and house maid, but most likely we’ll be world leaders in three weeks in domination of Rock 2007.

BIG SAUSAGE PIZZA They are formed from the ashes of Filthy Degrading Chunk and the uprising of Exsanguinate. After surfing the internet for many sleepless nights, they soon stumbled upon Daryl. With his chiseled facial features and washboard abs, they all soon agreed that he was the central image of the band that they were after. The unique standard of songwriting is inspired by their lead vocalist’s soon-to-be wife. A band that, with rhythmically explosive technicalities and pop-esque melodies, are sure to get Texas-stomp pit madness throughout their set, prepare to be blown away by Big Sausage Pizza.

DIRECT EFFEKT Direckt Effekt are a five-piece band and consist of Rob Mallett (guitar/vocals) James (Bogga) Dale (guitar) Yianni P (guitar) Jack Pitt (bass) and Christan Pearcey (drums). They all go to The Hutchins School in Hobart, and are in year 10. To choose one genre for these guys would be almost impossible, seeing as though they can play anything from rap to rock to metal to punk to … OK, maybe not rap, but they are a very versatile bunch of fellas when it comes to rocking out. At the moment they have a few covers down and many more planned but are working on getting a solid set of originals down. Get on board as these guys show Tassie – and, one day, the rest of Australia – how to melt faces!

GET FUNK’D Hey, what’s up? This is Joe, Zeb and Dion ... We started jamming in music classes together in 2006. This eventually led to forming a band together named “Get Funk’d”. After playing our way into 2nd position in the 2006 Rock Challenge, we decided to tackle it one more time in the hope of being victorious in 2007. Our style is different, you dig? It’s like acoustic hiphop with sweet, sweet melodies. Our live set could be described as something out of the ordinary … Peace brothers! HENRY HORSEFALL AND THE SPORTO ELITE FINEST HOUR Finest Hour are a six-piece garage band from Scotch Oakburn College. Finest Hour consists of Tom Byard on lead vocals, Chas Rose on lead guitar, Nick Croft on rhythm guitar, Max Yoo on second rhythm guitar, Kirby Clark on bass guitar and Andrew Schindler on drums, with all contributing with back-up vocals. Finest Hour cover a large variety of genres, ranging

GUI TAR EXP O

…And If This Is Your First Night At Guitar Fight Club – You Have To Play! By Chris Rattray

ROCK SALT

Devonport’s upcoming Guitar Expo is set to launch a new form of extreme sport – Guitar Fight Club! Foregoing the bare-knuckle blood and violence of its celluloid namesake for distortion and style, I learned what it takes for a GFC participant to make it to the top… Tell us a bit about how the Guitar Fight Club bouts will run? Fight Club Battle is a sixty sec per player time-slot for you to play your best licks. The competition is in a tournament structure, with the winners advancing through the rounds on their way to the final on the big stage. A major prize is on offer for the overall winner. Scoring is on a points system by our judges and by audience vote.

Who will be judging the events? The judges are an independent panel made up of our special guest artists who will be performing on the day. We also have Jon 666, a Melbourne hot-gun that has played in bands that have supported Slipknot and various rock bands. How will the event be judged? In an effort to judge the contest objectively and equally, the following criteria will be considered by the judges (independent panel) and assigned points value in each area. 1.40 points ARRANGEMENT – The contestant's musical selection, originality and the degree of difficulty will be considered. Lead and Rhythm can be included together. 2.40 points EXECUTION - Dynamics will be considered. Is the instrument in tune? 3.10 points SHOW VALUE – The natural entertainment value of the performance and audience appreciation. 4.10 points OVERALL IMPRESSION – including audience applause. Crowd participation is a must and will help in overall score. So bring your friends and family along and get them to support you on the day. What’s the age range for entrants? No age limit whatsoever! Young guns to road warriors are welcome, all styles. Just think back to the movie Crossroads: blues player vs shred king! To what extent are we violating the rules of Guitar Fight Club by talking about Guitar Fight Club? No violation, just awareness. What are the rules anyway? Specific rules for each contest follow. Contestants must register for the contest by emailing their details to julian@guitarexpo.com.au or by calling 03 64 249816 between 9am-5pm 7 days. PAGE 20

Selection committee reserves the right to eliminate contestants whose style of playing and selection of material is not in the best interests of the expo. Only thirty-two contestants will compete in the Fight Club Battle contest. Contestants MUST HAVE A TICKET for the day of contest which is to be collected at the expo admission desk and with the entry fee paid. (Entry fee is $5.00 and includes a day pass for the expo). Contestants must bring their own guitars. Amps will be provided on the day, no exceptions. (Line 6 amps will be provided with set-up help). Scorecards will NOT be given out. PLEASE NOTE: The Judges’ decision is final. What’s more important; a passion for playing or technical excellence? A combo of both for Fight Club. Being passionate is a must when playing guitar and technical skills come with years of practice. The best guitar players in the world are strong in both areas like Eric Clapton with feeling and Steve Vai with technical madness. What advice would you give to entrants to help them brush up on their technique? There are so many factors to consider. The most obvious

Currently their goal is to get enough of there own songs at a kick-ass level so they can support some of

JOEL TURNER ATTACKED IN HIS “CITY OF DREAMS” Is it any wonder we live in a world where people are fearful to be good Samaritans? On Saturday night, one of Australia’s most talented young singer/songwriters and also the current World Beatboxing champion – Joel Turner – was violently assaulted while trying to break up a fight at a house party in suburban Brisbane. He was admitted to hospital later that evening having suffered a badly broken jaw which doctors operated on and wired back together.

… Just think back to the movie Crossroads: blues player vs shred king!… All registered contestants must confirm their registration at the contest area prior to the battle getting underway. Order of appearance will be determined by a number draw at 10am, before the competition commences. First play-off starts 10.30am sharp. It’s a knock out tournament with only winners advancing to the finals.

At this current stage, the band’s sound can be described as energetic rock with pop melodies and everything in-between, with their songwriting influences a mix of Kisschasy, Queen, Grinspoon, My Chemical Romance, The Living End, Metallica, End of Fashion, Bon Jovi, and Gyroscope.

Turner was preparing to promote his new single City Of Dreams and, ironically, is about to embark on a national schools tour to highlight values and respect to young teenagers. The incident has put him out of action for a number of weeks, forcing his management to cancel scheduled shows and appearances.

should be to make sure your guitar is in tune. It all comes down to hard work and practice, depending on what the player is aiming for, whether it be melodic content or pure shredding speed - it’s all about practice. Other things to consider are timing and phrasing. The best thing for this is [to] practice with a metronome or drum machine. Also, have a plan and know what key you’re playing in. How important will stage presence be to the judges? Stage presence will only play a minor degree of importance. Obviously just standing there playing won’t score the same points as someone pulling out all the rock moves. We would love to see some players pull out the big rock moves... It may just win over the judges on the day. What will the winners receive for being the last person standing? We’ve lined up some really cool prizes for the entrants. The last man standing will not only have the honour and glory of winning, but will also score themselves a sweet new Ibanez guitar and Laney Amp pack valued over $1800. Runner-up gets an awesome Digitech effects unit, with D’Addario/Planet Waves packs for minor prizes. Our in-house shred king, Pete “The Cougar” Walker, (pictured) is playing the wicked Ibanez guitar that is up for grabs. So you know how the saying goes, “You’ve got to be in it to win it!” For more details, or to register for the comp, head on over to http://www.guitarexpo.com.au.

“This is a big set back to my career at this point in time,” says Joel, “but as soon as my jaw has healed, I’ll be back beatboxing hard out!”. Police are currently investigating the matter. The multi-talented singer, rapper, beat-boxer and producer rose to prominence with a star turn on Australian Idol and the double platinum-selling single These Kids was the highest-selling Australian single in 2004. The new single City Of Dreams, out August 25th, is a catchy urban homage to his hometown of Brisbane, and paves the way for his new album Out Of The Box.

200 7 TASMUSIC ROCK CHALLENGE their “sister bands”, Cruel Like That, Novella and Dirty Harry and the Rockets across the state, at venues they haven’t even heard of yet. “Until that day, we’ll just be chillin’ in Dougan’s shed, playin’ some tunes.”

PENGUINS AND POLAR BEARS

THE TROLLS

Jamie Curtis – lead guitar/vocals Peter Sheppard – lead guitar/vocals Kiel Cormack – bass/vocals Luke Connor – drums

Forming in April 2006, The Trolls consists of brothers Corey and Jason Graham and Trenton Smith. Highly influenced by alternative rock and funk, the band has created a sound which fuses alternative rock, funk, ska and reggae. Major influences include the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Faith No More, Silverchair and Sublime. The band has been gigging regularly around Hobart, often incorporating keys or horn sections. Joel Bowerman will be joining the band on keys at the Tasmusic Rock Challenge this year. The band is currently recording an album at The Winter Palace in Hobart, which they hope to release later this year.

as Exodus, Death Angel, Anthrax, early Metallica, Testament, Nuclear Assault, Megadeth, Pantera etc … As a result of writing our own material, we’ve become tighter and developed a full, aggressive sound. YOUR DAMN NEIGHBOURS Your Damn Neighbours (or YDN) are a vintage-style metal band that formed in the summer of 2004. They consist of four members; Toby Dadson on lead vocals and guitar, Billy Bennett on lead guitar, Alex Barnes on bass guitar and Aled Templeton on drums. They currently are all in grade 10 at Kings Meadows High School. Their main influences are bands like Black Label Society, Skid Row, Motley Crue, AC/DC, Pantera, KISS, and many more rock/metal outfits.

VENDETTA

ICE BREAKER

SAY GOODNIGHT!

Ice Breaker has been together since the start of the year, though we have been playing together for a couple of years. We play mainly blues with some rockier songs every now and then. We’re all in year ten at the Friends School. On average, we have been playing for 3-to-4 years. We have previously played in the recent Amnesty Battle of the Bands, and came second only to one of the college bands.

As Say Goodnight!, we are aiming to produce music that kids out in the public will take hold of. We are trying to provide them with something that maybe they can relate to. With music having such a strong stranglehold over today’s culture, many bands around these days are in a band, or play music, just for the glory of it. It can be really sickening to see this going around. Also, many of the bands we have come across along our journey have been so concerned about being better than every other band they see. It’s just so egregious. We don’t care about the competition; we just hope that our music can touch someone’s life, and relate to it. Our style of music is interesting – it could maybe be described as melodic hardcore brushed in love. It is a style that is our own, and we like it. If you ever happen to see us around, we will always be happy to have a chat about absolutely anything.

MARGARET SPREAD October 2005 saw the birth of Margaret Spread, a five-piece Pearl Jam tribute band. The band’s sound is influenced heavily by Pearl Jam and Soundgarden; it originally began as a three-piece when eager drummer and Pearl Jam fanatic Adam Davison teamed up with talented guitarist Brendan Fisher and vocalist James Woodberry.

Vendetta is the premier rock band from Rosetta High School. The members of Vendetta are all multiinstrumentalists, and are some of Rosetta High School’s top musicians. They are involved in all aspects of the music program, including general music, guitar ensemble, stage band, and concert band. The members were brought together to complement each other’s strengths, and have been performing at every opportunity since they formed two months ago. Vendetta has developed a strong support base, as they have proven to be very popular within the school community, and have been touted as one of the best band to come out of Rosetta. The members are Stephanie Arnold on keys and vocals, Jordan Griffiths on drums, Michael Smith on bass, Ashton Shearing on vocals, Thomas Booth on lead guitar and vocals and Brad Herbert on rhythm guitar.

YDN's larger gigs have been the Rock Challenge 2006 (where they were finalists), the Tasmusic Showcase at the James Hotel in 2006, a support slot for local band GRRR at their DVD launch, Locally Famous in both 2006 and 2007, and also playing off against major Launceston bands in the MS Fest 2007 Playoffs at Lonnies Nightclub. YDN are currently producing their debut EP with the expertise of Dave Venter (Who has previously recorded and mixed bands such as GRRR and This Future ... Chaos), which should be in stores in the near future, with a statewide tour planned to promote the release.

STROKE OF ACE The boys, all from Clarence High School, were approached to perform at last year’s Amnesty International Battle Of The Bands. The boys recruited bass guitarist Joe Berry to help fill out their live sound. Margaret Spread was a huge success with the keen crowd. Since then, the band has performed at gigs including The Lark Distillery in Hobart, The Loft, and Sorellapalooza. The band recently recruited rhythm guitarist Sean Hardstaff – a member of bassist Joe Berry’s side project, Gunk. Margaret Spread has composed seven originals. For the Rock Challenge they will be covering Neil Young’s Rocking In The Free World, as well as debuting their two originals, Post-Script written by guitarist/vocalist Brendan Fisher, and Pilatus, which was a shared effort by all members of the group. The members of Margaret Spread are practicing hard and looking forward to “letting rip” in front of the huge crowd.

Stroke of Ace is currenty in pre-production stages for the recording of their debut CD, to be titled Trading Guns. Since forming in 2005, the band has created a local following of fans, and is preparing for a run of dates along the east coast later this year. Receiving rave reviews, the band constantly receives invitations to perform, and their energetic live show keeps their fans always wanting more. Stroke of Ace are setting their sights on securing tour support slots for international and Australian rock bands, and, with a youthful approach to the music industry and life in general, are set to explode into the eyes and ears of the public with a unique and rocking debut release.

ZDENEK THE MILKMAN OF HUMAN KINDNESS The Milkman of Human Kindness has roped together some friends to form a band, and is set to blow minds and ears. Joining David Bakker is Nick Rose on bass guitar, Andrew Poynter on electric guitar and, as a last minute addition, Edward Rose on the kit. His debut double album, The Office of My Life has recently been causing a stir. The twenty-five-track effort was released late 2006, and has been spreading far and wide. Copies are being played by radio stations around the state. He has also recently been accepted to represent Tasmania on the Australian blues scene by playing in the National Youth In Blues festival in Perth, Western Australia. Stone-cold blues aside, The Milkman of Human Kindness draws inspiration from many genres and artists. Main influences include Neil Young, Radiohead, Tom Waits, Johnny Winter and Jeff Lang. His music has the gritty bite of blues with the subtle, quirky, provocative spin of indie pop/folk. This is reflected in the thoroughly arranged instrumentation, the thoughtful, stimulating lyrics and, of course, his name, which is taken from the title of a Billy Bragg song.

LADY INSANE Lady Insane is an “all-girl band” which consists of three members: Effie Burns – bass and vocals, Laura Wilson – guitar and vocals, and Alexandra Robinson – drums, keyboard and vocals. Playing all types of music genres ranging from punk, alternative rock and heavy rock, Lady Insane have a unique and interesting sound. They have incorporated the use of a synthesiser into some of their songs, which gives their music a distinctive sound. Lady Insane’s influences include the Horror Pops, Distillers, Tool, A Perfect Circle and Nine Inch Nails.

ZWEI The Scotch Oakburn College band Zwei (pronounced “Zvai”, meaning “two” in German – consists of David Butler on piano and lead vocals and Hannah Morrell on violin and backing vocals. Zwei has been together for a mere two months, and has gelled to produce a unique style of performance. Despite the aspects of performance, the last ingredient into the Zwei mixture was in fact the name itself. Zwei takes its influences from recording artists and bands such as piano vocalist Sarah McLachlan, unique guitar vocal group Stephen Speaks, pop-tenor Josh Groban and English rock sensations Queen.

SYREVILO The band formed when bassist Oscar Neyland and drummer Tim Fielder joined the duo Syrevilo – Oliver Lovell (vocals) and Rhys Thomas (lead guitar, backing vocals) – to play the duo’s originals. Syrevilo the duo formed in 2004 when the two friends felt compelled to write a song for one of their friends who was very sick. Since then, they have written a multitude of songs on topics ranging from love to cardboard boxes. The group’s sound is a mixture of folk, pop, rock, and jazz, with main influences being Tenacious D, Frank Zappa, and Eva Cassidy. VULGAR THE CHARIOT Some would argue that The Chariot is the best band ever to come out of Tasmania. MOTHER TRUMPET Others would be wrong. Riverside High School’s Mother Trumpet is one of the many talented bands that are competing in the High School section of this year’s northern heats of the annual Tasmanian Rock Challenge. Mother Trumpet won the opportunity to represent Riverside High at their school Battle of the Bands, where they competed against twelve other musical groups for the privilege. The band is comprised of Tom Richards on vox, Liam Briginshaw and Brad McDermott on guitars, Elliot Gee on bass and Callum Seadon behind the drums. The Grade 10 band formed mid-2006 with the aspiration to create “funky pirate rock”, but when that failed they settled for “groovy pop rock, a pack of sugar and a crappy gorilla amp named ‘The Tube Cruncher’.” With influences such as Cream, The Clash and Devo providing them with inspiration for their original songs, Mother Trumpet is already proving to be a hit among those who have been able to witness them performing.

In the beginning, God created The Heavens and the Earth before deciding that they didn’t satisfy his creative needs. He then poured all his creativity into his greatest creation to date: “Zdenek”. When he was finished he tried to rest, but all attempts were futile, as “rest” is not a word known by Zdenek and their “Shred”. Zdenek wrote and played constantly for over 100 years without rest. This resulted in the imminent death of the original drummer. All of a sudden, Zdenek disappeared for over two million years, and their music passed out of all knowledge. It was written in the Stone that one day descendants of the band would reunite, covering all the lands of middle earth in a second age of “Shred”.

The Chariot formed in 1986 as a cover band, playing mostly small digs around town and earned a name for themselves covering classic techno ballads such as Your Heart Is Like My Prostate (Swollen And Full Of Love). In 2007, a chance reunion reunited these wayward souls. The two founding members, James Hunn and William Hewer, bonded over shared musical interests and cheap pornography. Many a night they spent together with their baskets full of vinyl classics and their tattered old copy of Asian Beavers 5. In between viewings of poor quality Swedish porn, they wrote together amazing classics, such as Tree Lovin' (But I'm Not Weird). However, in an alternate reality, The Chariot would have formed following a spontaneous songwriting session one afternoon in 2007. From that point on they would stun and amaze friends, acquaintances and anyone else who would listen with their works of creative genius. Their music would earn them a reputation as gods amongst men.

Vulgar was founded in mid 2006 as part of the Rock Skills programme. The lineup consisted of Mitchell Clark (drums) and Josh Hamill (guitar, vocals), who are cousins and brothers, Myles (guitar, vocals) and Josh Flood (bass). We first started doing cover material from Metallica and Black Sabbath. Then we progressed to writing original work. We are strongly focused on producing an EP, currently obtaining funding for the costs. We should have our demo released by late November. Our influences are mainly 80s thrash such

87.6Mhz WWW. The new and improved Sauce web site! Search for gigs, submit gigs, receive gig alerts by email or sms, read or listen to interviews, as MP3’s or podcasts, listen to Tasmanian artists’ songs and watch their video clips or live performances. And, of

After performing at the Scotch Oakburn Battle of the Bands, Zwei were invited to perform at the SOC Gala Ball for 2007; Zwei proved a great success on this evening. One of the things that make Zwei’s sound so unique is in the instrumentation of piano, violin and vocals, creating an intimate sound between music and audience – almost creating the dying performance style of recital. Zwei have no recordings as yet, but the future may hold opportunities in this area.

Sauce hits the airwaves! Tune in to our live broadcast of the Tasmusic 2007 Rock Challenge Grand Final on the 30th of August from 5pm to 11pm. Then, 100% Tasmanian original music broadcast afterwards – 24/7

.NET.AU course, you can download any edition of Sauce magazine, ever! The new site goes online on 30th of August. The first 100 people to sign up as members receive a prize-pack, including a Sauce t-shirt, a collectable Sauce sticker, and a CD! PAGE 21

L EE BURRI D GE

Balancing The Burning Passion

BANGERS & MASH

By Dave Williams

Exploding Romanians? Burning Men? It could be another entry into the Hostel series of films, but it’s actually more a day in the life of. Dave Williams spoke to a very balanced Lee Burridge… So what’s foremost in the life of Lee Burridge at the moment? I’ll tell you what’s next on the horizon… it’s breakfast. I’m starving! But the Balance CD, thank you for asking! I’m about to embark on a punishing and grueling tour of the world, where groupies will carry me to my room, and I’ll play lots of bad records in nightclubs. So, more of the same? Yeah, exactly. More of the same. [Laughs] Maybe I’m going to get off my arse and start studying… before I go deaf.

Balance compilation versus a Fabric compilation, versus a Ministry Of Sound compilation – is there any difference, really? Or is it just, like, a different label, and what you’re doing now? Um… I don’t know. It depends what comes along with the brand name, I suppose. I mean, a Renaissance compilation conjures up a certain image of musical taste, and I think Balance does as well. And Fabric… They’ve all got their ideals, haven’t they? There’s definitely some difference within what the companies are trying to say. But at the end of the day, it’s down to the taste in music of the specific DJ they choose.

… I play the gaps in between the words, for sure … Are you comfortable with a tag – “Oh, Lee Burridge, he’s a so-and-so DJ”? Are you comfortable with that? And what tag would you like to “stick in” or “insert here”? Ooh, that’s sounds painful! I have never really been down with pigeonholing me, because I don’t even really know what I play myself. I was thinking about it recently, and I think I play the gap in between techhouse; I play the gap in between tech and house… And minimal techno? I’m there in that gap again… It comes in useful for certain people who go out. If you’re into techno, you go and see a techno DJ, and you’re not going to end up seeing Boris-The-FunkyHouse-DJ. I don’t know… I’ve asked various people in different countries what I play, and I get varying replies. It’s only ever somebody else’s opinion… But yeah – I play the gaps in between the words, for sure.

And where have you been playing recently? Where strikes your memory as “wow, that was really fun”, or “wow, that was really, really hard”? You know what? I’m really lucky – I haven’t had a gig where I’ve been standing there going, “woah, this is really, really hard”. Actually Dublin last weekend, when the sound system and CDJs and record players shut down three minutes into my first record, that was pretty hard. But the good stuff? Definitely Romania, which is, for me, the most amazing country in the world to play in right now … Beautiful girls, amazing clubs, fantastic sound systems, no real sort of “end” to the party – you’re not having to turn off at five in the morning. And the Burning Man Festival, which I’m going to in a couple of weeks in the U.S., was really something else last year. I’ve never seen anything like it. Best outdoor event ever. In terms of organisation? The vibe? The numbers of people? What was it that made it so good? Just the attitude, and the fact that it’s not a music festival; it’s a festival with music at it. It has so much to offer, you can just lose yourself wandering around, seeing the fantastic and awful art that’s been created. People spend a whole year making stuff for the next year. And everybody’s friendly, and it’s really a collection of people in the U.S. that get a bad rap by the rest of the U.S. …You conjure up all the bad images of what’s happening with the U.S. right now, and hear people complaining about Americans, but these other people are just wonderful human beings… they have the right attitude, and they’re aware of everything that goes on in the rest of the world. And it’s just in an amazing place – forty thousand people are dwarfed by this prehistoric dried-out lakebed and mountain. It’s wicked. You should hook up with the tourism people, because you’ve sold me! [Laughs] Exactly! I’ll come up with a slogan or something! Yep – “Dry lakebed – be there!” Yeah, exactly. It’s just like the beach without the sea… it’s amazing. ONLINE: Lee talks about the explosion of the Romanian scene. To listen to an MP3 of the full interview, go to www.sauce.net.au

DJ S H A MM I E

Psy Warrior At 3 A.M.

BANGERS & MASH

By Chris Rattray

PAGE 22

DJ Shammie, a.k.a. Shayne Rogers, is a fixture of the Psy Sessions set. With only the future ahead looking bright, Shammie shared with me some of his thoughts on life as a rising star in the psy trance world…

… I really enjoy it the most when everybody is absolutely cranking on the floor …

Hey Shayne, tell us a bit about what you’re all about? Well the direction I’ve taken the last two years has kind of taken me by surprise. All I wanted to be while growing up was a rock star or the best drummer in the world. These days I am listening to a lot of electronic music and really enjoying styles like minimal, electro and progressive and full-on psy trance. Making money from music and becoming famous no longer means as much to me as it used to. I have been involved with a lot of different bands in the past but at the moment I’m giving that a break and concentrating on producing my own electronic sounds and having fun being a DJ! In regards to the music you play, how would you describe your style and what sets you apart from other DJs? As for the style I play, I guess it depends on the night. I’ll play a different style early in the night to what I would early in the morning. Also I’ll play a different style outdoors than indoors. I would usually go for either full on melodic psy trance or progressive psy. I’m not so sure what sets me apart from other DJs maybe the fact that I haven’t strictly limited myself to playing a certain style.

What’s the most exciting thing about DJing for the crowd at Psy Sessions? I really enjoy it the most when everybody is absolutely cranking on the floor and responding to the music the same way I do. Also, seeing smiles on all the familiar faces! What makes a great set for you as a listener at a Psy Sessions? A set with a gradual increase in intensity and slightly unpredictable tunes really keeps me on the dance floor; mostly fat and low pitch bass lines. To what extent have you experienced or wielded the mystique of being a DJ/performer? Not a lot really. I don’t think there is much of a mystery to what I do. The people who don’t understand it at all probably don’t really care about how it’s being done. Are you an artist who plays with music or a musician who makes art with sound? Hmm, both I guess.

When and how did you come to be involved in Psy Sessions? Going on two-and-a-half years ago, I discovered psy trance and fell in love with it overnight. I think it was only a matter of time before I was inspired to start mixing the tunes I loved and playing sets.

Where do you hope your DJing will take you and where have you been already? I haven’t done much other than Psy Sessions, to be honest, except for a handful of free outdoor parties and a few gigs for “Electrodelic” at various venues. In the future I hope to be invited to play at other festivals and clubs around Australia and the world and start sneaking in more of my own tracks and develop ways of playing live. It would be nice to be a DJ that promotes a label too.

In college I was right into scratching vinyl and playing samples as part of a band but chucked it in once I got fed up with the needle jumping every time the rest of the band would start moshing. But during that time I started to get my head around beat matching.

When DJing, what do you hope the audience is getting from you as a performer? I would like to think that the vibe created on the dance floor would have everything to do with my choice of tracks. Hopefully they notice the creative mixing and enjoy it as much as I do.

Anyway, the idea came up to do an Infected Mushroom tribute night at the next Psy Sessions event and it was the perfect opportunity for me to push myself to be ready for a gig and, at the time, Infected Mushroom tracks were all I was familiar enough with to play.

If you weren’t a DJ, what else would be keeping you up to all hours of the night? Writing and producing, listening to other DJs and artists. DJ Shammie can be heard at Psy Sessions at Halo

BEXTA

Bexta Is Back, Babe!

BANGERS & MASH

By Tom Wilson

As one of Australia’s most respected DJs, Bexta doesn’t have to prove herself. At all. With an on-stage glamour that belies her unassuming demeanour, Bexta’s stratospheric success starts with her feet planted firmly on the ground … even if those feet of hers are stepping away from the genre she first made her mark in …

The last blog on your Myspace page was Halloween last year. Why don't we break the blogging drought right now? Bexta, exactly what's been on your mind recently? [Laughs] Um ... I've basically just been in the studio and on the road. Yeah ... I let my page slide a little bit! But yeah, I've been doing some interesting writing and stuff in the studio, working with some vocalists, and actually preparing for the Mixology 10 release, which is out in October. Because it's number ten, we're making it a bit of a special deal ... We're doing a triple-CD, and I'm doing anthems, and it's like my favourite tracks from when I first started DJing to now. It's kind of nostalgic, but it's a lot of fun ... and I'm pretty excited about getting it on the shelves! [Pause] So nothing, really! [Laughs] Outside of music, what other art forms – like literature and visual arts – kind of affect or influence your own craft, and your stage show? One thing I'm big on is films, and film music actually takes my interest a lot. It's something I want to [do] ... I'm really into films and film music, and I'm hoping to maybe one day stretch the repertoir to doing a few soundtrack pieces at one point, yeah. What are some of your favourite film scores? Gosh ... um ...! [Laughs] I know. Sooner or later we might actually talk about what people might expect us to talk about – DJing and stuff – but nah, bugger it! [Laughs] One of the soundtracks I bought in the

last few years was the soundtrack to Gangs Of New York. It was quite [a] big, traditional, symphonic kind of thing ... Yeah, it's pretty good. One of the first film soundtracks that took my interest was the soundtrack to Platoon. And it's funny, because the theme song to that is Adagio For Strings, of course, as we know, turns into one of the biggest dance tracks of all time!

…Sometimes it’s worth changing your scenery or balance … I was amazed at how well that did, actually. Yeah. They keep putting out a new version, and it keeps doing well, but it's a beautiful track to start with, anyway. Do you do any work at home, or do you base yourself primarily in a studio? I actually run my studio out of my house. I've always preferred to have my studio at home, because it means, basically, I can get up at any time and wander into the studio if I have ideas or if I'm in the mood, and just get something out; whatever I'm thinking ... get it out onto the computer!

Yeah, I run everything from the studio – the label and that sort of thing as well. What kind of vibe do you have in your studio area? Are you one of those incredibly neat people? Or is it covered in nick-nacks and bobble-head dolls? [Laughs] It's probably somewhere in the middle! It's pretty neat – it's not too bad, you know? I've got a lot of visual stimuli as well – photos of family and friends, and pictures that mean something to me around as well, so I can sort of drift off and be inspired for a bit. Here's one for you – as a professional mixologist, what are some things other than music that can benefit from a good mix? [Laughs] I find that ... being with people that you enjoy spending time with. I've found more and more that sometimes it's worth changing your scenery or balance. When I first started DJing, I was just one-hundred-percent music. I'd wake up to music; I was all-consumed by it ... which is not a bad thing either. But now I find I can get inspiration from just going and driving somewhere for two hours for no reason, and taking in scenery, or spending time with people that you don't necessarily see very often, or whatever, you know? A variety of things, I guess. When you’re on tour, do you find you have trouble maintaining energy and vibe, given the stresses of touring? What kind of tricks do you have to keep yourself perky and enthusiastic?

I find that I have to be fairly well-behaved during the week, so that I don’t go into overkill! [Laughs] Sort of a balance between my weekends and my weekdays, because my weekends are pretty much sleep-deprived; doing a lot of traveling and that sort of thing. I don’t know – my body seems to shift into “touring mode”, so it doesn’t need sleep. It’s kind of used to it now after ten years of training, I guess! [Laughs] What kind of material can we expect to hear at your set down here? Well, I’ve been kind of shifting my style a little bit over twelve months, and last time I was at Syrup, people probably noticed a slight shift. I don’t really play the hardstyle anymore. My passion lies in trance – the lighter stuff at the moment; tech-trance, so it’s still got the driving beats. The rhythm makes up the strength of it, and I’m really into that versus beautiful melodies. That’s really grabbing me at the moment. Also, I’ve been doing a lot of writing, so I’m going to be sneaking some of my own productions in here and there. I do that occasionally to test the water, to see how they go on the dancefloor, that sort of thing. Bexta plays Syrup in Hobart on Friday the 31st of August. To listen to an MP3 of the full interview, go to www.sauce.net.au

PAGE 23

THE SCIENTISTS OF MODERN MUSIC ELECTRONIC SUNSET EP LAUNCH

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I L L TECH NIQ U E

A Nice Spot To Get Wasted HIP-HOP

By Tom Wilson

The day Ill Technique stop going on picnics is the day they start going to Church. Actually, as Tom Wilson discovered, this is exactly what this southern b-boy posse will not be doing anytime soon…

So what’s been happening in the world of Ill Technique recently? Ill Technique have been working! We all have jobs now. It’s a bit scary. In between that we’ve been writing songs, recording, jamming, and playing every Sunday at the Raincheck Lounge. Hobart’s hip-hop scene seems remarkably strong at the moment. Why do you think this is? Hobart’s hip-hop scene is strong, ‘coz we keep pushing each other to rock out fresher rhymes or bad bass ghetto beats. It’s all about fun, getting pissed and keeping that Tassie hip-hop vibe alive. I have seen all elements progress and it’s gigs like Home Brew that showcase this! Who do you see as the key movers and shakers in this scene, and why? The movers and shakers in Tassie hip-hop are Lord Rumn, King Mdusu (Heads Of State), Crytearia, EPC… I could go on forever, ‘coz we all have something to bring to the table. But like anything in hip-hop, do your research, [and] respect the old as well [as] the new! What gigs have you guys got coming up? Ill Technique have been getting ready for their second performance at the Republic, headlining a free fundraiser event on Wednesday the 29th. We have been writing heaps of new songs of all styles. Reggae seems to be [a] groove we’re down with, and also heaps of b-boy funk. Who in the global hip-hop scene would give you the most goosebumps if you met them? And what do you think you’d say to them? The main man in hip-hop? Shit, Grand Master Flash was meant to be coming down, but I think it’s been postponed… so he would have to be number one. I would probably say, “I’m not worthy! I’m not worthy!” I’d also like to meet B-Boy Darkness – the most def, wildest b-boy out there!

Tom had to shove a joint down his pants… I’ve heard that you guys can be pranksters of sorts. What was the last good one you pulled? Us, pranksters? No… the last time we ran amok… without getting ourselves in too much trouble… we were on a little picnic “so to speak”, and we were getting wasted at this nice spot, and the cops rocked up. With lightning fast reflexes, we managed to stash everything away i.e. Tom had to shove a joint down his pants. And we convinced them we were just enjoying the view, and they believed us! [Laughs] Yeah – good times! You guys also seem to have a bit of an affinity for graffiti. What are some examples of street art in Hobart that have impressed you, and why? I have seen a lot of good painters’ progress in Hobart, especially the newer generation! A lot us painters had to use crap paint ‘coz no one stocked good paint. But that’s all changed now… My favourite painters are D2R, Skurge, High 5, Ruinz and Jiles! P.S. We need more legal walls! Finally, for something a little different, what are some things that Ill Technique will most definitely not be doing in the next month or so? Ill Technique will not be going to church. But they will be going to Hobart’s Republic Bar on the 29th of August.

PAGE 26

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MYNS E

HIP-HOP

Tassie Hip-Hop Site Turns 1!

By Tom Wilson Happy birthday, Tasflow! The Tasmanian hip-hop community website has turned one year old, and a party is in order – which is exactly what MC, producer and SAUCE writer Ryan Farrington, otherwise known as Mynse, is about to help stage at Hobart’s Brisbane Hotel at the end of this month. I slung him the questions, and he slung me the answers. Read on …

I spoke to Tom Ray a few issues ago regarding Homebrew, which was being held at the Trout. How has that changed now? Where is it being held? Homebrew has had a few different homes, from Mint, to the Trout and most recently at the Loft; it doesn’t seem to have any sort of home venue (excuse the pun). Just to straighten it out, this event is separate to Homebrew (which has been a monthly hip-hop night showcasing mainly local acts, as well as being host to a series of open MC battles). Tom and I are joining forces, along with Tasflow and SAUCE, to put together this coming event, which will be similar to the format of Homebrew, but on a slightly larger scale, being that we have two mainland acts on the bill (Dan the Underdog and McDee), an invitational battle, and we’re also celebrating the first birthday of www.tasflow.com – an online Tasmanian hip-hop community/forum. What gave you the idea to team up with Full Strength productions for this event? Tom and myself have been shooting ideas back and forth for a while. I’ve performed at a few Homebrews, and we’ve both been interested in starting some regular all-ages events (which we are still working on for future events, but won’t be the case for this event, unfortunately) aside from Homebrew, since there’s been a huge amount of interest from kids under eighteen, demanding more underage shows. But recently I had a call from Dan the Underdog, from the Northern Territory, who was interested in doing a show in Hobart, which gave us the idea to start focusing also on giving support to the underground acts that want some exposure in Tasmania, but who might be too much of a financial liability for other promoters to bother with. This way we get some prime, underground national acts involved, as well as showcase a collection of Tassie’s best hip-hop acts. Who have you got to perform at this gig? How and why did you select them?

Aside from Dan & Dee, we also have local acts EPC, mdusu&dameza, and Oratoric & Paddles. Apart from the fact that these acts have proven themselves to be solid performers in the past, they also seem to be the ones coming out with fresh new material constantly, and pushing harder to get their stuff out there than anyone else. Will you be performing? Tom and I will mainly just be hosting the evening, but who knows? We might warm the crowd up with something special – you’ll have to wait and see!

… Gauging by the acts and the crowds Homebrew has had, it’s set to be pretty damn hyped. What kind of vibe are you expecting? A similar atmosphere to Homebrew? This event is to be held at the Brisbane Hotel on Brisbane Street, Hobart, which used to be “Ye Olde Commadore”. The venue is being run by some cool people and has been revamped with a new stage and new sound system. It’s tough to tell what kind of vibe we’ll get, but gauging by the acts and the crowds Homebrew has had, it’s set to be pretty damn hyped. How do potential performers get in touch with you? Feel free to email us at info@altrueistic.com – don’t forget to include some tracks and your details. A Myspace address always helps. Out of curiousity, whatever happened to Altrueism? I can’t remember the last time you three played together. Azrael and Ethics had other commitments which, unfortunately for the group, lead them to move to Melbourne, but we still catch up for a beer and a

yak whenever we can, and we all hold out hope that Altrueism will reform in the future, however near or distant that may be. With event titles like “Homebrew” and considering so many MCs have called certain tracks “beer songs” in interviews, I’ve got to ask – do Tassie MCs drink anything else? [Laughs] I can safely say that at least 90% of hip-hop heads in Tassie either drink Cascade Lager or Boags Draught, and as I’ve heard from many-a-venue-owner, “those rap kids drink more than any other bloody crowd I’ve seen”. Honestly, whenever an MC asks to “put your beer in the air” at a Tassie hip-hop show, all you see is a sea of brown and green.

Lastly, I’m not putting them down, but why does almost every Australian MC seem to have a shavedor-very-near-to-it head? To what extent would you say that it’s the Oz hip-hop uniform? Perhaps simply because it’s comfortable or fashionable, but most likely because the type of MC that has made a name for himself (hence being noticed by yourself) has been around for a while – and is almost, if not over, thirty. Do the math! [Laughs] Tasflow’s 1st Birthday Bash will be held at the Brisbane Hotel, Hobart on the 31st of August www.tasflow.com

K EN H EL L

HIP-HOP

The Extreme Poet’s Lament

By Chris Rattray When Ken Hell parties, he parties hard – but at the age of 27 the parties are getting harder. I talked to Ken about his coming to terms with ageing in a medium that favours the latest, youngest thing… and porn (but you’ll have to listen to the mp3 for that…)!

What’s ‘scarn on, exactly, for you today? Not a great deal really, still recovering from the Urban Music Awards a few nights ago. I know it’s been a while, but I really pushed it beyond normal pushing it. We all got up to Sydney a night early and… yeah. I think I ended up [with] alcohol poisoning by the end. I was at he after party tripping out. It was a bit much.

… they take that to the next level talking about artists having credibility; it’s like, dude – you do extreme poetry! So what does after-party recovery involve for you – curling up with a nice book and just sleeping in? Nah, I couldn’t do anything like that. The first night I actually left the after-party a little bit early because I was so hurt. I ended up just lying in the hotel room in Sydney shivering and then burning, shivering and burning, shivering and burning! And this sort of… yeah. It wasn’t great! I just really wanted to sleep but I couldn’t sleep at all. So that was the first night. The next day, obviously, I had to fly back to Melbourne and then, what I did, I opened the door to my house. I walked in to the couch, and then sat down. And then I moved my arm a bit to the remote control. And then I watched Foxtel. [Laughs] I thought you were gonna say you woke up forty-eight hours later wearing a tutu… but obviously not! I couldn’t function enough to make it to the shower! I was just lying on the couch flicking between History Channel and Discovery Channel. The good thing was

that they’re right next to each other so it didn’t take much actual effort… So that was Tuesday night and by this morning… yeah. I was back to human. Well that’s nice. I’m glad. It seems that “effortless” goes hand-in-hand with Ken Hell. I’m sure you’ve put a lot of hard work into where you are at the moment, but with the Urban Hip-Hop scene being so ripe here in Australia, how have you found it carving yourself a niche in our cultural identity, so to speak? I guess it’s one of those things where, for a while, I had a niche where it was more mine than anyone else’s, I guess. But then… there are a lot of people listening out there… and some of them pick up on what works and what doesn’t work and eventually they have bits of it. It’s not like they’re taking my soul kind of thing,

it’s just that everyone develops together. For years I was the funny guy, and now you’ve got younger dudes like 360 and Pez who are just… man. I listen to their stuff and I’m like, this is outta control – they’re so hilarious… they’re taking it to the next level, for sure. They can say everything I can’t! So they would kind of be like the Family Guy to your Simpsons for example? I’m certainly beyond Family Guy. I don’t think there’s a cartoon for them! I think they… where they even start is at the peak of Family Guy… Now I’m 27, it’s not that I’m old, but as you get older there’s less and less you can get away with. You start feeling more and more ridiculous as you get older. They’ve got that many years of use, and they still really don’t really care about the repercussions of what

they say… less than I do! It’s the whole “not taking it too seriously” [thing]. Hip-hop has had a tendency to take itself way too seriously, which is strange when its visual image is sort of based around tracksuits that are five times too large. Where do you see yourself fitting in to it now? I used to love the tracksuit pants …all of that, when I was an early teenager! To be honest when I first got into it… I liked the style, I liked everything. It wasn’t just about rap, or just about anything like that, it was the whole thing; it was just really cool. It still is that way for lots of younger kids. It’s just [there’s] less you can get away with before you start looking like an idiot beyond a certain age, I guess. There’s a whole thing about people “keeping it real”. To be honest, they take that to the next level talking about artists having credibility; it’s like, dude – you do extreme poetry! If you were a doctor or a surgeon, I’d want a surgeon with credibility. If you were a politician… yeah. But dude, you rap! There are really important things in the world. I like rap a lot, right, but [some people] just take it too far. Ken Hell takes it further with thoughts on multiple identities and porn in the full mp3 interview available from www.sauce.net.au. Ken Hell’s new single, TRUCK is available from the iTunes music store. http://www.myspace.com/kenhell

Contributors? Would you like to contribute to Sauce? either doing CD or gig reviews, photograhy ... or make a suggestion as to what you could contribute?

JUSTI N H EA ZLE WO O D

When You’re Sick Of The Brown, Get Into The Hypercolour COMEDY

By Chris Rattray

When Justin Heazlewood’s Drama Teacher invited him to imagine “waking up in the middle of winter, in Burnie, and going to work at the Advocate,”it scared him so much he moved to Canberra. Life since then has been one large theatre role of gay leading men and folking successes, but on the eve of his girlfriend leaving for a holiday, Justin and I jumped right in to a steamy sauna of self-reflection and introspective excess…

So how are you going today, anyway? Yeah, good. My girlfriend’s about to go away for five weeks… I’m devastated, actually. [Laughs] I hope I’m not interrupting anything … No, no… my career always comes first! Is that why she’s leaving? Yeah – she needs a break from it. She’s actually the brains behind the whole Bedroom Philosopher thing. And what do you bring to it? Ah… a Jarvis Cocker impersonation. Yeah, I’m just the frontman – she writes all the songs… It’s her creation. So what will happen when she’s gone? Your muse will have left you? I know… [when I wrote most of my songs] I was kind of going through a massively long single patch, and now that I’ve actually been quite happy for ages, I’ve written diddly-squat. So we think it’s best! [Laughs] If she goes away, I’ll get unhappy, and probably write something.

… I’m wearing an outfit made up entirely of photos of myself wearing every combination of clothes that I have … How important is your angst to you, to fuel that creative process? I think it’s very important. I think, probably, every artist who’s ever created anything would say that there has to be some sort of certain… I think it all comes out of necessity. There has to be some sort of mood that equates meaning to make some sort of comment. I mean, every piece of art is really some kind of strange ethereal conversation with yourself, [that] you can only have when you’re out-of-sorts enough. Having said that, I think that, I don’t know, maybe someone like Thirsty Merc… [laughs]… They seem to write songs from a very happy place. Well, speaking of moods… how post-modern are you

today? How post-modern am I today? Yeah, yeah, extremely post-modern. I’m wearing an outfit made up entirely of photos of myself wearing every combination of clothes that I have… which is not very comfortable, but it looks kind of cool. Dare I ask what your undergarments are composed of? [Laughs] Oh, a hypercolour wedding dress! It was bad luck when I saw myself… What was with hypercolour? It just never really worked… Maybe the Tasmanian climate wasn’t suited to hypercolour… I heard a rumour that it’s actually coming back; that scientists have spent the last ten years working on hypercolour technology. To what ends? Well, to make it work more than once, hopefully! All these disappointed kids’ faces in high school, when they put their hypercolour t-shirt through the wash, and it had just gone back to white… To what extent does the [new] album name, Brown & Orange, represent a fascination with hypercolour or the football team Hawthorn? Hey, you’ve done your research! This is good! Well… orange doesn’t actually feature very much in the AFL, I find. It’s my second favourite colour – brown’s my favourite colour. It all flows back to… I guess brown and orange is the flag for the mythical country called the 70s which I live in, and like to think I’m the ruler of… I was never there, but I want to go back, because I’ve sort of pieced together that there was something a lot cooler going on then than anything in the 80s and 90s and today, which I kind of existed in… So I guess, artwork-wise, I thought it was an opportunity to pay homage to the vast amount of 70s ties and clothing that I’ve collected from all my trawling through op-shops for the last ten years… In some ways, certain aspects of the album are about that… sense of nostalgia – that you would like to go back. You look through your family’s photo album, and they’ve got that great sunset sort of tinge to it. You just want to be able to crawl into them, and just know what it’s like. But it’s an impossible dream, and it would never work… So it’s nothing to do with poo and wee, then? Oh, wow! Yeah! [Laughs] No … Or [have anything to do

with] Hawthorn, because I go for Carlton. But I think I might change teams, because they’re a bit ridiculous. So we can say here that we got the world exclusive – “Justin Heazlewood Has Switched Teams”? I know what that means – you know, the ethics and the morals behind football codes. There is no option – there is no switching teams option … I don’t know – maybe have some operation where I forget everything that happened in the last fifteen years and go back to 1995, when we beat Geelong.

Justin Heazlewood, a.ka. The Bedroom Philosopher, will be performing at Launceston’s Royal Oak Bar on September 13 and Burnie’s Stagedoor Café on September 15. Listen to the mp3 of this interview at www.sauce.net. au to hear Justin philosophise about his old Drama teacher, being a jock, and his shame at the sham of his alter-ego. http://www.bedroomphilosopher.com

A RJ BARK ER

An Animated Comic COMEDY

By Tom Wilson

When you’ve got a blurry-eyed San Franciscan in London and a Launcestonian on the other side of the world, several beers into his Friday night, you’d think it was the perfect recipe for comedy to happen. You be the judge as Tom Wilson attempts to talk lesbian chat-room technique and beer with off-the-clock comedian, Arj Barker…

What’s the strangest thing about British people? Is it true they all drink warm beer? No, no, I haven’t noticed that. The beer’s pretty cold, but they like to drink. But I find every nation thinks they drink a lot and that they’re special in that way. You know, and you’ve got Australians who think, “Ahh, fuck we love to drink beer!” …it’s like, we’re British and we love to drink our beer, you know? You’ve got Ireland, Scotland, America… I mean, everyone claims that they love beer, but apparently… it’s pretty common I think. [Laughs] It’s a strange pride, like, “Yeah, we’re a nation of alcoholics, go us!” Yeah, it’s pretty tasty wherever you go. It’s pretty good shit… I kinda drink too much. It’s not good for you. It’s kind of fun, I guess… Yeah, well, in the state I’m in now I’d agree with you. Before this interview, literally five minutes ago, I went to your website for the first time… mate, the nude shots – why did you think that was a good idea? It says right on there [I’m not sure] but I’m assuming you’re not a lady, but it says “Ladies Only” right there on the link… Come on, if you put up a sign saying “do not click here…” That’s true… Who hasn’t gone into a lesbian chat room just for the novelty value? Maybe that is just me… I don’t know, I posted those up a long time ago. That’s probably the most frequently clicked on link on my whole website, so you know what they say, sex sells, and… You’re a sexy guy! You should flaunt it! My god! I was pretty ripped back then, that’s for sure. There’s one thing out of all the questions I’ll ask you this is probably one of the only serious ones – one perception people have of comedians is that they’re funny all the time, like they’re really sharp or they’re PAGE 28

really witty, like… they’re always on. What do you think? Are you “on” right now? No… if they think that, that’s a misconception. Comedians are pretty normal when they’re not on-stage – most comedians, I mean there are always exceptions. They range from being perfectly well-adjusted to being morose to being downright depressed. I mean, just like anyone; a typical person’s range. One thing they’re not is funny all the time, I guarantee that… anyone that’s “on” all the time is really irritating, you know, so noone can really be that because they wouldn’t have any friends… maybe when you first start you think you have to be a comedian all the time, but you learn pretty quick you can just relax. You’ve nothing to prove once you’re on-stage. Nobody really guesses I’m a comedian if they meet me outside of comedy. They think I’m like a… I don’t know… but that’s not their first guess, I can tell you that. I’m kind of like, undercover… “Save it for the stage!” - that’s my motto.

I’m assuming you’re not a lady, but it says “Ladies Only” right there… So what is their first guess – what do people normally think that you do? I think they might think I’m a… I’m not on stage, I can’t think of anything funny… they think I’m a… I’ll have to pass on that question! That was the serious question. Bugger it, I’m interviewing a comedian here – tell me about your first love. Who was your first love? I had a lot of unrequited first loves. I had a lot of crushes on various people. I didn’t get any love back. My first girlfriend was about eighteen or so. She was a year older – a year-and-a-half older. She was one of my older sister’s best friends growing up. A lovely girl. That was pretty cool. Sarah Creighton was my first love.

She’s married now, has a couple of kids, doing well. Do you have a girl in your life at the moment? Or a boy? I mean, come on, you come from San Francisco – it’s a fair assessment. Do I have a girlfriend right now?

Yeah Come on man, I’m about to tour Australia for three months [Laughs]. You wouldn’t wanna be tied down, would you! That’s a terrible idea! The worst I’ve heard! Fair enough, I take that back completely, I see your point! [So] no I don’t actually… So, Something I saw on YouTube – what can you tell me about “Arj and Poopy?” It’s this cartoon series that my partner, my business partner – he’s an animator [who] lives in Sydney, a world-class animator, and we just made this series together. And he’s just emailed me today [Laughs] He’s like, “Did you by any chance get any letters or maybe ten reminders that our… comic was about to expire?” I guess it had expired, but he like, caught it in time and bought it for another ten years. I was the one who originally bought it, so it was… kind of… not my fault… I always think it’s spam when I see that thing [to do] with domain names. So I kind of fucked up. What motivated you to do the cartoon thing? He did it – he animated some of my jokes and sent it to me. Then I said, “Wow, that’s really good,” and we started working together. So it’s almost more his idea, and then we created Poopy so I’d have someone to hang out with because I didn’t have any friends… we don’t put them out too regularly, but we are planning on putting out new ones – people like them! I didn’t set out to say, “Oh, I need to have a cartoon” – it just kind of fell into my lap, I was lucky. Because, at the time, he was working for Disney in Sydney, you know? It’s

pretty lucky because he’s one of the best animators out there. He’s at the top of his field. Now we’re good friends, but it was quite lucky really… Listen to the full interview in mp3 format at www.sauce.net.au. Arj Barker appears at The Princess Theatre on August 24.

IS THERE AN ART TO RUNNING A BUSINESS THAT MAKES ART? In an industry that is often difficult to navigate and one that has many pathways to success and failure, is it possible to be a filmmaker in Australia and make money?

INFOCUS

The Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) is the national centre of excellence for professional education and advanced training in film, television, radio, screen composition, animation, digital media, sound and design. The School offers full-time award courses and industry short courses around the country. AFTRS short courses are taught by experienced tutors working in the industry and are the perfect opportunity to expand your knowledge, strengthen your skill base and make new connections. The AFTRS office in Tasmania has the following courses coming up that may make a difference to your life and your career: Toolbox: Building a Business Plan is a one day seminar to help TV, film, and video producers, and those considering a start up in screen business, understand and practically apply business processes to their creative endeavours. Screen industry experts in finance, strategy and management will provide practical insights through case studies on how to develop a blueprint for your business. This is a unique opportunity to learn these business planning and strategy skills as they relate to the screen industry in Hobart on August 25. For more details go to www.aftrs.edu.au/shortcourses. AFTRS TRAINING COURSES Toolbox: Building a Business Plan Course Date: 25 August 2007 In an industry that is often difficult to navigate and one that has many pathways to success and failure, is it possible to be a filmmaker in Australia and make money? To read more, go to http://www.screen.tas.gov.au/news/ spotlight.php ART OF CREATIVE EDITING - A SEMINAR WITH BILL RUSSO Course Date: 8 September 2007 Training Centre, RTBG, Hobart Editing has been described as “directing and writing the film again”. An editor is a storyteller, a technician and a diplomat, but essentially an editor is a creative person. Editing is one of the most mysterious arts in the film making process. It is also the only art that is unique to film making. To read more, go to: http://www.screen.tas.gov.au/news/spotlight2.php LATEST NEWS A Call for 7 BIG ideas at SPAA conference 10 August 2007 As part of SPAA 07, the Seven Network has announced an exciting new initiative to hear new television concepts during the annual Conference being held 13 to 16 November at the Sheraton Mirage Resort on Queensland’s

LEARN THE ART OF CREATIVE EDITING Editing is one of the most mysterious arts in the film making process. It is also the only art that is unique to film making. Editing has been described as “directing and writing the film again”. An editor is a storyteller, a technician and a diplomat, but essentially an editor is a creative person. Most editors will tell you that they work intuitively. The Art of Creative Editing is a seminar that will attempt to go beyond the intuition to reveal what an editor does. It will look at how editing can dramatically influence an audience’s emotional response and change meaning in a story. It will touch on the technical but concentrate on the creative contribution of editing. It will discuss the development of editing styles and will examine good, bad and mediocre editing by analysing film clips. It will also look at the role of sound editing and its contribution to the storytelling process in filmmaking. This not to be missed seminar is on September 2 in Hobart. For more details go to: www.aftrs.edu.au/shortcourses For Media Enquiries; contact Edwina Morris, Manager, AFTRS Tasmania on 0407 222 175.

Gold Coast. To read more, go to: http://www.screen.tas.gov.au/news/latest/10aug-spaa.php KIDS DAY AT SPAA CONFERENCE 7 August 2007 SPAA has announced a major focus on Kids TV at this year’s Conference. To read more, go to: http://www.screen.tas.gov.au/news/latest/7augkids.php SPAA FRINGE: HOODLUM ACTIVE, RACHAEL LUCAS AND BRENDAN COOK SIGN UP FOR SPAA FRINGE 6 August 2007 SPAA Fringe, now in Sydney, welcomes Hoodlum Active, Rachael Lucas and Brendan Cook to the line up of keynote speakers. To read more, go to: http://www.screen.tas.gov.au/news/latest/6aug-spaa.php IMPORTANT UPDATE: FURTHER ENHANCEMENTS TO NEW AUSTRALIAN FILM INDUSTRY INCENTIVES 3 August 2007 The Minister for Arts and Sport, Senator George Brandis, today released further details of some important enhancements to the Governmentís new $282.9 million Australian Screen Production Incentive package. To read more, go to http://www.screen.tas.gov.au/news/latest/3aug-film.php

DVD REVIEWS THE CONTRACTOR It’s a sad state of affairs when the most remarkable thing I can say about The Contractor is that its one defining point is its complete lack of anything remotely original. Wesley Snipes is a retired governmenttrained sniper hired for “one last hit” on the man who cut his leg many years ago. Things go wrong, and he is forced to hole up in a safe house where, in a plot-turn lifted entirely from the vastly superior The Professional, he meets a young street-wise schoolgirl who takes care of him and helps him to evade capture. His employer turns on him (shock horror!) and he is then hunted by the British police GRRR Rocking The High Seas Amid the endless sea of local bands I come across in my work, I would like to think it says something that these guys got my attention in ten seconds when I first saw them live. In the northern scene, they’ve stood out from their peers, and they’ve continued to do that with this release, which is why I’m thankful we can finally to bring you a review of it. Clearly, they’ve received a fair bit of support from Newstead College on this project (it would certainly explain that very strategically placed NC coffee cup in one of their interviews), but there’s nothing wrong with utilising advantages. The DVD menu, for example, looks terrific. On the whole, Rocking

as well as his own government. Whoop de doo. Snipes sleepwalks through the film, while some inspired lunatic casting talks quality British actor Ralph Brown into trying to pull off a believable American accent. Lena Heady remains painfully clothed throughout, and Eliza Bennet does her best to channel Natalie Portman’s character from The Professional. Perennial creepy British guy, Charles Dance, is serviceable but by the time he’s made his presence felt, you just don’t care. As a direct-to-video film this is not that bad. But it commits sin after sin of unoriginality in every set-up. There is so little tension, so little character build-up that when we finally get a little action we may need to nudge ourselves awake. In the past, Wesley Snipes has been a true action star, his first two Blade films firmly placing him on the cool list of most action film buffs. If this film is an indication of the quality of what is to come then I would suggest he bow out gracefully now. DAVID QUINN The High Seas demonstrates what’s possible when you use the best people for a job (despite a few embarrassing typos on the cover). As several skits (and resulting outtakes) show, the guys clearly had a lot of fun making this. Shot in a pseudo-1920s vaudeville style, the comic asides that pepper an interview with the band – including a “GRRR Guide To Heckling” - definitely raise a smile. A step-by-step guide to the band’s rock moves is also nicely done, and I’m pleased that the interview segments explain exactly why they chose to call themselves “GRRR”. I’ll admit that I had approached Rocking The High Seas with a fair amount of trepidation, due to my grudge against bands and artists who deliberately make a point of their religious beliefs (I have no real explanation for this other than being an atheist). But you know what? It’s not about that – it’s about music. Was this stupid bias of mine put at ease? Thankfully, I can say yes.

TOM WILSON

JAPANESE CULTURE SCHLOCK SANRIO PUROLAND Sanrio – the architects of Hello Kitty – have a hallowed hall here in Tokyo. Called Sanrio Puroland, it’s a Disneylandstyle shrine dedicated to the über-kawaii cat created back in 1974 as Japan’s answer to the Dutch character, Miffy, that subsequently left Dick Bruna’s original creation in the dust. Thirty-three years on, Hello Kitty is a multi-million dollar franchise, and Sanrio Puroland is the must-see mecha for the faux feline’s aficionados from around the globe. But there are some serious troubles in paradise for the unwary. The disturbing apparitions of not just one single Hello Kitty character, but several different ones – some apparently various family members; others Kitty in multiple stages of dress and undress, depending on which show and the time of day – is too much, and all of ‘em look out of proportion and plain odd. I mean, Kitty’s globular skull is supposed to be suspended above an equally bulbous, short-ass body with stumpy legs, isn’t it? Not human proportion. I write this in uppercase because I was truly disturbed by Sanrio’s apparent disregard for scale, except when it came to that iconic cranium. Don’t they realize the whole package should be in ratio? And since when did Kitty bear such a resemblance to Mickey Mouse, anyway? Ditch the sequined tuxedo, girl!

CELLULOID TREATS SAKURAN Perhaps the most visually-striking homegrown Japanese flick for 2007, Sakuran first popped up in theaters here in February, and was accompanied by garish posters and imagery that was liberally splashed across Tokyo train station billboards in the ensuing months, then was released on DVD in August – with similar iconic propaganda bombs. It’s the debut directorial outing for photographer, Mika Ninagawa (see ninamika.com), a 35-year-old affiliate of the self-styled “new breed” of young(ish), happy-snapping, Japanese femme fatales. Her movie relates the unlikely success story of spirited waif, Kiyoya (played by Anna Tsuchiya, a relatively renowned half-Japanese, half-Russian/American rock singer, actress, and former model), who clambers and claws over the rank-and-file of the Yoshiwara red-light district of old Tokyo, then known as Edo, to eventually anoint herself as an oiran – or highest-level courtesan. Sounds familiar? Based on the stylish-if-overtly-provocative manga series of the same name by Moyoco Anno (the wife of Hideaki Anno, of Neon Genesis Evangelion anime fame), Sakuran’s plot does indeed resemble that of Arthur Golden’s Memoirs of a Geisha – except that Kiyoya’s Edo-based aspirations toward what was basically high-level career prostitution are a far fling from Chiyo’s ascent to geiko (geisha) in Kyoto in the latter tome.

OK, OK. I’m willing to admit it. I’m more disturbed, you see, ‘cos I dug the song-and-dance shows anyway – and that’s just downright weird.

There’re some stunning visual surprises here: along with a striking over-saturation of the color palette, it occasionally drifts into the realm of Wong Kar-wai’s regular Aussie cinematographer, Christopher Doyle, as well as the ‘60s cinematic experiments of veteran moviemaker Seijun Suzuki. However, the reliance on the opulence of bygone times, tweaked with Ninagawa’s contemporary eye, along with a soundtrack score that relies far more on modern techno and rock than on traditional samisen or koto sounds, makes for an experience that has more in common with Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, or last year’s fellow Japanese rear-visionist outing, Memories of Matsuko – which was in fact the better movie. PAGE 29

Street Fashion

NATHAN 20

ALICE 18

SAMANTHA 15

FRASER 19

Favourite band/artist? Alkaline Trio

Favourite band/artist? John Mayer

Favourite Favourrite band/artist? Hilltop Hoods

Favourite Favou urite band/artist? H.I.M

What’s the best thing that’s happened to you lately?

What’s s the best thing that’s happened to you lately?

What’s What t’s the best thing that’s happened to you lately?

Broke up with Mitch

Bought sunnies that fit my head

Everything!

Found out i can initiate legal procedings with my former

What’s the one item of clothing you use to dress to

impress?

What’s the one item of clothing you use to dress to

My shoes

My newly bought sunglasses

Tight jeans

impress?

What two words do you want people to think of when

they see you?

What two words do you want people to think of when

Brick shithouse!

Nice guy!

Attractive, fun

they see you?

Which Australian politician would you take to a strip

club?

Which Australian politician would you take to a strip

Amanda Vanstone

Kevin Rudd

Johnny!

club?

real estate agency

My beanie

Please shave

Michael Ferguson

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