Sydney Road 2016

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WELCOME Forget about washing the windows and reorganising the living room.

Forget about lunch with the inlaws in Glen Waverley. Forget about alphabetising your sorely neglected CD collection. Forget about re-wording your OkCupid profile. Forget about going on a YouTube binge of Bernie Sanders speeches. On Sunday March 6 there’s only activity worth your time: the Sydney Road Street Party.

This year’s party is set to equal the amount of happy mayhem you’ve experienced in previous years. Ten official Street Party stages will appear within Sydney Road and on adjacent streets. The 800-metre strip between Union and Victoria Streets will be closed off to traffic, making for a stress-free walk through a parade of ridiculousness.

Specifically, the Sydney Road Street Party is a chance to celebrate local musicians and dancers, stuff your face on locally-sourced and produced food, and be inspired by the market crafts on display. It revolves around the magic of Moreland, but of course everyone is welcome.

In fact, that’s the mentality that has allowed the City of Moreland (and Melbourne more generally) to prosper – its embrace of people of all shapes, sizes, colours and creeds, no matter the extent of their oddball interests or the volume of their voice.

This guide will give you a rundown of the performers and retailers involved in this year’s Street Party.

Additionally, a number of the fine bars and restaurants in and around Sydney Road will be rolling out their own mini-parties, and we’ve got the lowdown to point you in the right direction.

The Sydney Road Street Party is free to enter and it runs from midday until sundown. Oh, and anyone looking to kick on will have no trouble attaching themselves to a pop-up party.

BRUNSWICK MUSIC FESTIVAL BEHIND THE MUSIC

By Liza Dezfouli

Brunswick Music Festival producer Natalie Lidgerwood is “really proud” of this year’s event – the 27th incarnation of Melbourne’s unique inner city acoustic folk and roots festival. “It’s a great reflection of the diversity of the area,” Lidgerwood says. “And of the diversity of Melbourne overall. It’s so interesting trying to find all the audiences in the pockets of Brunswick. The festival has something for everyone.

Each year it’s a slightly different festival as the neighbourhood changes; it moves and shakes. It’s always relevant at the time. For example, this year we’re doing more family friendly outdoor concerts using different spaces.”

Lidgerwood works for the production company Strut and Fret, who took over the Brunswick Music Festival in 2013 when director and founder John McAuslan retired after more than 20 years at the helm. Intense engagement with the community is the most important thing to the Strut and Fret team, says Lidgerwood.

“With this festival you have to take the time to get to know the artists, to sit down with them, especially the more emerging artists. We talk with artists, with creatives and producers; it makes it exciting. People want your time and your opinions. You can end up working at a very fast pace, but you get more joy if you reserve some time to reflect and talk to people, hear about their work, their collaborations. They become our friends. Last year we had Buffy St Marie and she took a liking to us. She’s a special woman; all I wanted to do was hang out with her. And there’s a lot of great skill-sharing between local and international bands.

Local artists get to meet international artists. I see the results of that on social media; they become friends and work together.”

Putting such a significant festival together is a big job.

“It’s keeping me out of trouble,” says Lidgerwood.

“We spend a lot of time going to shows, artist markets, music expos, industry events. As a festival producer I wear so many hats – I’ve got to make sure the trams don’t come down Sydney Road, manage the creative program, the marketing, the box office – with a small team, on the smell of an oily rag.”

Events pairing food and music feature strongly in this year’s festival, and very much at a community level.

To illustrate, Brunswick Uniting Church are hosting an Asylum Seeker Welcome Centre dinner featuring

performances by Ajak Kwai, Bashra and Jawa Pitu Band; there is traditional live music and belly dance at the Rumi Lebanese Dinner & Show featuring Zourouna and Lala Shouha; and a Gospel Brunch hosted by PBS FM presenter Peter Miles at the Brunswick Uniting Church featuring music by the Sweet Monas Choir, with catering provided by local eatery Pope Joan.

Lidgerwood is especially excited about this year’s outdoor indigenous concert at CERES. “We definitely want to do more First Nation shows outside,” she says.

“This is the second year and we’ve got the phenomenal Yirrmal. He’s astounding, his song-writing is gorgeous.”

Another highlight is New York artist Blind Boy Paxton performing as part of the Live at The Wick Studio sessions. At only 26, Paxton transports audiences back to the 1920s with pre-World War II blues numbers, moving between banjo, guitar, piano, fiddle, harmonica, Cajun accordion and the bones (percussion). “It’s nearly sold out,” says Lidgerwood.

It’s a diverse program and all part of realising the team’s overall vision for the Brunswick Music Festival. “I would love to do more at CERES. I love putting stuff on at the Town Hall – we’re pushing the boundaries of what we can do there. We’ve got Arnhem Land dance troupe Djuki Mala for five nights. Two years ago they played the Victorian Arts Centre and now we’re bringing them to Brunswick. We team up with Port Fairy, with Golden Plains, with East Coast Blues and the National Folk festivals. Brunswick is the front door to Melbourne for those festivals.

“We’re always dreaming even bigger. We have huge plans which come up against the reality of the budget,

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and who’s touring. We’re competing with the Recital Centre and the Corner. We’re not subsidised by any means; we have to sell tickets. We aim high and find the balance of what we want and what audiences want to see. We are investing in the profile of the festival at an international level, letting artists know that this is a festival they want to be a part of, making sure we attract new audiences and new artists.”

The Sydney Road Street Party is a beloved annual event and one of the very few such events left in the inner city. “It’s the only one where we close such a vast stretch of road,” says Lidgerwood. ”It starts the festival off with such momentum. The street party hasn’t changed dramatically over the years. We have a few more stages, a few new collaborations with venues, a few different

partners and a few more side streets involved. We ask one question when programming music for the street party: will people dance to it? Yes? Good. That’s the energy we want.”

BRUNSWICK MUSIC FESTIVAL 2016 happens from Tuesday March 15 – Sunday March 20 in various venues around Brunswick. It’s preceded by the Sydney Road Street Party on Sunday March 6.

Check out brunswickmusicfestival.com.au for full details.

The Spotted Mallard 314 Sydney Rd, Brunswick

PHOTO BY COURTNEY KING

The Spotted Mallard isn’t just a lovely old ballroom with parquet flooring, lavish furnishings and a second storey, people-watching balcony. No. The Mallard isn’t just home to perhaps the most diverse pub beer list in Melbourne, compiled by way of direct contact with several unsung craft brewers from around the state. Uh-uh. The Spotted Mallard isn’t just the place responsible for the iconic, mythologised wagyu beef and bacon burger, served with their unfailingly generous potato chips, as well as the equally sumptuous butternut squash and halloumi burger and tempura cauliflower. Oh no. It’s not even just the place that always smells like agave syrup and circulates an aroma of home sweet home.

Perhaps most significantly, The Spotted Mallard is where you’ll find one of the city’s finest live music stages and a booking team who know exactly what you want to hear. For Sydney Road Street Festival they’ve gathered a lineup of country, swing, honkytonk, Dixieland and deep funk. The noises will come from bluegrass adherents The Bakersfield Glee Club, seven-piece New Orleans revivalists The Grubs, and wired-eyed funk and afrobeat faithfuls The Seven Ups. Tying it all together are the Heels On Decks DJs who’re known for dishing out classic rock and rockabilly, alternative hits and indie anthems – or whatever the occasion calls for, really. The folks at the Mallard are a kind bunch, and it’s all coming at you for free. Get your kicks from midday onwards, with music from 2.30pm.

The Retreat Hotel 280 Sydney Rd, Brunswick

For yet another year, The Retreat Hotel will be delivering the goods during the 2016 Sydney Road Street Festival, offering you a multi-genre serving of some of Melbourne’s finest live acts. Located right in the heart of Sydney Road, The Retreat is renowned for having one of the best beer gardens in town, some of the chillest bar staff goin’ round, and a laidback vibe to boot. Well, until the music starts, that is. The Retreat’s Sydney Road Street Festival celebrations will kick off at 2pm with Andrew Swift taking to the stage, and the good times will keep rolling on through till 8pm. Phoebe Daicos, Tom Dockray and the Dockledoodledoos, Small Town Romance, The Vaudeville Smash and The Heartbrokers will be providing the tunes all day long, keeping crowds swinging all the way through the arvo.

Get down early to secure a prime location – entry is free and good times are guaranteed.

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BRUNSWICK MUSIC FESTIVAL - THE STORY SO FAR

BY PATRICK EMERY

While John McAuslan can remember the first Brunswick Music Festival in 1989 held in Dawson Street, opposite the Brunswick City Baths, it’s the festival’s subsequent move to the congested arterial route of Sydney Road that causes him to chuckle. “We just had one stage and we closed Dawson Street off from the railway line to Sydney Road. Later on we convinced the council to move it to Sydney Road, and the first two or three we ran with the trams running through the middle of it, which was hilarious and very dangerous, until the tram drivers’ union finally said ‘we’re not doing this anymore’, so we got the trams off the street,” McAuslan laughs.

The Scottish-born McAuslan was one of the first local performers featured on the festival program, which had been created out of the Arts and Culture Unit in the Brunswick City Council. Within a couple of years of his appearance on the inaugural festival program, McAuslan had become involved in the administration and operation of the event; by 1994 McAuslan had become the festival’s director, a position he maintained until 2013 was he was forced to undergo openheart surgery. “That was the end of me, so to speak,” McAuslan laughs.

While Brunswick has undergone significant demographic changes over the past 27 years – and Brunswick City Council itself was dissolved as part of the Kennett government’s radical overhaul of local government arrangements in the early 1990s – the Brunswick Music Festival has lived on. “I think the festival’s resilience has come from the artists,” McAuslan says. “They bring the interest with them.

When we started out we had to be aware of the artists that were coming through. And now there’s a lot more younger artists – not old farts like me!”

Finding the right blend between showcasing Brunswick’s local musical talents and bringing outside musicians onto the bill has always provided a challenge.

“We tried to do both,” McAuslan says. “There was an ever increasing stream of great international blues, roots and folk musicians coming through, and there was never really anywhere for them to perform in Melbourne at that time. So you had that on one hand, and the idea was also that we would support the local music community – there was a lot of Greek, Turkish and Polynesian shows – and as the street part became ever more popular, that became just the local acts. So the combination worked very well.”

In its infancy McAuslan says the program was influenced by what he describes as “unwritten guidelines” – that is, the inclusion of diverse musical styles that might not necessarily find a spot in Melbourne’s indie and rock’n’roll venues. “We wanted to have blues and roots, and indigenous, women’s folk, and what became known as world music – acts that didn’t have the opportunity to play around Melbourne,” McAuslan says. “So we were quite specific where we wanted to go.”

McAuslan contrasts the evolution of Brunswick’s demographic profile with the consistency of Sydney Road’s character. “Sydney Road has never actually changed that much, and it’s never been gentrified like High Street in Northcote, or all sorts of other main streets in other suburbs,” McAuslan says. “But demographically there’s a lot more young people around, students and artists. The music scene back in those early days wasn’t as vibrant, though you did have the Union Hotel, which was the home of Greek music in Melbourne. I suppose it was a more local scene in a lot of ways.”

Leanne Connell, the Chairperson of Performing Arts Moreland, the body that sets the “strategic direction” for the festival says these days the development and finalisation of the program is guided by particular objectives. “The festival has to reflect the cultural diversity of the different communities that live in Moreland, as well as fostering the local music scene and acknowledging the important contribution of the musicians and songwriters in the municipality,” Connell says. “And we also want to create opportunities for live music performance through the festival, and also exposing the community to high quality acts,

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both national and international, as well as our local performers.”

Moreland Mayor Samantha Ratnam says the festival has to find the right balance between providing a celebration for the local musical community, and attracting visitors to the Brunswick area. “It started very much for the local community, celebrating the diversity, and we’ve had a change over the years in terms of emphasising the local communities and music.

The population’s changing so much, so I think we’re getting better at getting those settings right in terms of the cultural groups who’re represented, and the types of music people want to see.”

Connell admits one of the biggest challenges is not being able to include more artists on the program, such is the quality of the applications received by the festival administration. “It’s a real challenge given that we can only put on a certain number of acts in a limited period,” Connell says. “The choice and range of performers that are available is huge, and really exciting. Our biggest problem is not finding people who represent the diversity, but we just can’t put on as many acts as we’d like to!”

Ratnam agrees the significance of the festival multicultural character is especially important, given the resurgence of xenophobia in contemporary political debate. “We often hear these days of people wanting to portray multiculturalism as a negative, or wanting to use bad examples to prosecute their argument, but events like this show just how rich a community can be with different cultures coming into it, and showcasing and sharing their culture. And I think people’s lives are really enriched by it,” Ratnam says.

The role of music in cultural expression is well understood: every culture and community has its distinctive musical style; the blending and crossfertilisation of cultures has created new musical styles (think rock’n’roll with its cultural antecedents in blues, celtic folk and country). “I think music plays an absolutely massive role in promoting cultural awareness,” Connell says. “The festival actually started out after a very successful program called the Music of Migration, which was very much about celebrating the diversity of the area. Music really does bring people together.”

Since 1994 a key plank of the Brunswick Music Festival has been the Sydney Road street party, an expansion

of the event that McAuslan concedes wasn’t embraced by all of the street’s retail traders. “A lot of people couldn’t see the benefits initially but the people who did see it from a business perspective did very well,” McAuslan says. “They certainly did get to embrace it, and it became a highlight of their year. But it always was an interesting proposition dealing with the local businesses,” he laughs.

Ratnam says the local retailers now support the street party, both in terms of its role in celebrating local culture, and its commercial benefits. “I think it’s definitely changing, partly because the types of businesses operating in Brunswick, and Moreland more broadly, are changing, and with that comes a change in outlook and attitude towards these types of festivals,” Ratnam says. “What we’re getting now is the retailers participating actively in the street party. Whereas in the past they might have been involved indirectly because they had a shop near the festival, they’re now putting up a stall in the street festival. So I think we’ve got a new breed of business that can see the incredible benefits of the event,” Ratnam says.

This year’s program is yet another eclectic program, with local artists including indigenous performers Emma Donovan and the Putbacks and Yirrmal, local songwriters Jess Ribeiro, Kylie Auldist, Liz Stringer and Suzannah Espie, the Victorian Trade Union Choir and a host of international performers including Japanese ‘Godzilla funk’ band Mount Mocha Kilimanjaro, Blind Boy Paxton from the United States, the Italian Greek Orchestra Magna Grecia and Ajak Kwai from South Sudan.

John McAuslan says the Brunswick Music Festival has survived by “being around, being aware, and finding the new stuff that’s happening, and making sure that you’re able to present that”. While he’s content to leave the running of the festival to others, McAuslan will still be making his annual trek to the festival and imbibing the sounds, sights and smells of the event. “It’s actually my 70th birthday the night before the street party. I’ve got some friends come out from Scotland, so I’m not sure when I’ll get down there, because it’ll be a bit of a bash!” McAuslan laughs.

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ROAD CLOSED

Barkly Square Laneway

Edward St Stage

12:30 1:30 2:30 3:45 5:00 5:45 6:15

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» Chaos Magnet » Drums Of War » Madeline Leman And The Desert Swells » Tin Lion » Rambutan Band

Stay hydrated with free tap water

» Brunswick Secondary College Band » Jemma And The Clifton Hillbillies » Hot Wings » Lem Lem Band » The Shabab » Katumba Latin Dancers » Totally Mild

Presented by 808-818 Sydney Road Brunswick apartments

2

12:10 1:00 2:00 3:00 4:00

Presented by Barkly Square 90-106 Sydney Rd, Brunswick

1

1

UNION ST.

Just down the road The Laneway Live Stage Barkly Square

STOP 19 Take the #19 Tram from the City

MICHAEL ST.

t

TOWN HALL

4

» Westside Circus Aerial Show » Westside Circus Free Aerial Workshop » Hoop Dog » Chaos Magnet » Cabaret Circus Hosted By Captain Ruin » Westside Circus Aerial Show » Westside Circus Free Aerial Workshop » Red Brigade » Cabaret Circus Hosted By Captain Ruin » DJ Richie 1250

Roll up with your bike to the Festival and access valet parking

» Welcome To Country Ceremony » Sounds Of Polynesia » Pans On Fire » Arthur Penn And The Funky Ten » Lalibelas Feat. Nhatty Man » Johnnie And The Johnnie Johnnies » Miss Colombia

Iramoo Stage

12:00 12:45 1:30 2:30 3:45 5:00 6:15

4

MERRI ST.

Skyscraper Stage

12:30 1:00 1:45 2:00 2:30 3:15 3:45 4:30 5:30 ALL DAY

3

3

GLENLYON RD.

750m

by Foot to Jewell Station

DAWSON ST.

EDWARD ST.

Oxygen Stage

» Forever Son » Domini Forster » Astro And The Ages

Presents the Victoria Street Stage

Jeff Rosenstock (USA), Wil Wagner, Antarctigo Vespucci (USA), Camp Cope, Indigenous Hip Hop Projects, Artful Dodgers Soundsystem ft. Da Hypnotist, Ronikka and more, Reel Tapes, The Desolettes, Lawrence Austin, In House, Sydney Rd Community School bands & DJ Ladyfingers.

Presented by Moreland Youth Services And FReeZA

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7

» Coburg North Primary School “Sing Sing Sing” » Azura’s Oasis “Tales Of The Arabian Nights” » Brunswick Shape Note Singers Workshop » Sugar Basin Salon make-overs under the tree

Saxon St Gardens

12:30 2:00 3:30

6

t

PHOENIX ST.

Mechanics Institute

5

• Drinking Water

12:30 2:00 3:00 ALL DAY

5

6 SAXON ST.

UPFIELD BIKE PATH

THE BOITE WORLD MUSIC CAFé

VICTORIA ST Stage

1:15 2:00 3:15 4:30 5:45

» Mercy College Vocal Group » La Voce Della Luna » Melbourne Accordion Orchestra » Chicks With Picks » Moreland City Band

Town Hall Awning

12:15 » Danika Smith 1:00 » Alleycatz Rock ‘n’ Roll 2:15 » Darcy Fox 3:00 » Bey Dance – Routine And Workshop 4:15 » Alexander Biggs 5:00 » African Dance And Drummer Show

Presented by Sydney Road Brunswick Association

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STOP 27 Take the #19 Tram from the Festival to North Cobburg

350m

by Foot to Brunswick Station

Presents World Music Café

Festival Bars presented

by Brunswick Bitter & Harcourt Cider

Alcohol consumption or possession is NOT permitted by Law on Sydney Road.

Consumption is restricted to licensed areas only.

Drop into The Boite’s World Music Café on Albert street and sample some of the best local talent in an open mic format.

The café invites the diverse cultures who live in this community to share a song or two from their distant homelands. Hosted by local Flamenco Trio Huanchaco.

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» Belove » Phia » Los Pat Moritas » Real Hot Bitches » The Person » Yaw Faso » Jawa Pitu Band

Albert St Arena

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10

BRUNSWICK STATION

SYDNEY RD.

12:30 1:20 2:20 2:55 3:20 4:20 5:30

8

8

ALBERT ST.

UPFIELD TRAIN LINE

ALBERT ST.

SYDNEY ROAD STREET PARTY • 6 MARCH. 12 - 7pm • EVENT MAP & PROGRAM

VICTORIA ST. VICTORIA ST.

JEWELL STATION

ROAD CLOSED

Goin’ Back

GIVING VOICE TO THE IMAGES OF THE PAST

By Patrick Emery

According the latest survey of postcode rankings undertaken by APRA AMCOS released in late 2014, Brunswick has the highest concentration of songwriters of any Australian suburb. With its eclectic cultural make-up, relatively affordable housing and supportive arts community, Brunswick’s a breeding ground for diverse country, folk and alternative music.

But it wasn’t always that way. Just before the turn of the century, Brunswick was symbolic of the social and economic strictures of the time. A photo taken in the mid 19th century shows a group of stonemasons in Brunswick holding a banner supporting the eighthour working day. Stonemason James Stephens led the campaign, and it culminated in 1856 when the government agreed to the stonemasons’ demands.

While local musicians might bemoan the lack of financial security available in their tightknit community, the prospect of having to work 16 hours straight in a gruelling manual trade seems almost incomprehensible.

“We’re always crapping on about our nine-to-five day jobs these days, so even eight hours seems too long these days,” laughs songwriter and musician Tracey McNeil.

The image of the protesting stonemasons proved sufficiently evocative for McNeil and Luke Sinclair (Idle Hoes, Raised by Eagles) to choose it as the creative inspiration for their contribution to the Goin’ Back songwriting event, which is happening during this year’s Brunswick Music Festival. The event follows the successful Goin’ Back event held during last year’s Darebin Music Feast, in which local songwriters chose a photo from the Darebin Council’s archives and wrote a song based on the chosen image. For the Brunswick show, songwriters from the Moreland area have trawled through to the Moreland Council archives for creative inspiration.

Like the Darebin Music Feast show, songwriters at the

Brunswick Music Festival will be backed by Jemma Rowland’s backing band, the Clifton Hillbillies. The show will also feature musicians who performed in the Darebin event, including Mick Thomas, Charles Jenkins and Cat Canteri. Each song will be performed against a visual backdrop showing the photo, with an introduction explaining the background to the song.

While it’d be hard to find any musician familiar with the stonemasonry craft, Sinclair says the scenario of having to work a job you’re not enthusiastic about, but which is necessary to pay the bills, is all too familiar to musicians. For that reason alone, Sinclair says writing a song based on the photo he and McNeil chose was “surprisingly easy”.

“It was really fun to write from a visual cue,” Sinclair says. “Usually you have to pull it from inside of you, which can take longer and require more searching.”

For McNeil, it was the evocative nature of the photo that was significant. “The photo just jumped out at us,” she says. “We found ourselves writing from the perspective of this guy who’s got no time for life, no time for his family, just waiting for the clock to tick over. While Australia was said to be the working man’s paradise, this was definitely not a paradise.”

The idea of McNeil and Sinclair’s song isn’t to preach the virtues of unionised labour, or to offer a moral commentary on economic conditions. Rather, it’s about capturing a moment in time – going back in time, as it were.

“When you’re writing something like this it can be

The Penny Black

420 Sydney Rd, Brunswick

The Penny Black is up there with the more impressive looking establishments on Sydney Road. In a former life the double storey red brick building was a post office, but these days we know it as one of the neighbourhood’s most accommodating vendors of food, drink and live entertainment. Their Sydney Road Street Party gigs have tended to become messy parties and extroverted celebrations of the lucky life, and that’s fated to be the case this year too with a bumper lineup spread across two stages. The fact the Penny Black isn’t known as the home of Melbourne’s foremost pub bandroom is an indication of the blessed extent of quality live music houses in this city. If this bandroom existed in Sydney, NSW it’d indubitably be the centre of activity – there’s a big stage with a more than qualified PA and an audience area that leans back onto the bar; just how we like it. On the big stage this Sunday you’ll find hip hop soul crew Mose + The FMLY giving you plenty to think about without letting the thematic substance water down the fun. There’s also local power rock quartet Reika and the self-styled practitioners of “dope music” rock/soul/ hip hop foursome Neon Queen. The Penny Black beer garden is a must visit for anyone that enters the 3056 post code, and the beer garden stage hosts music all afternoon, including rising nu-folk songwriter Heloise and Kiwi loop station extraordinaire Reuben Stone.

Free entry, and the party runs from midday till late.

BEER GARDEN STAGE 1.00 - Brie Wallace 2.00 - Amy Pollock 3.00 - Ben Whiting 4.00 - Héloise 5.00 - Reuben Stone FRONT BAR STAGE 1.30 - Fulton Street 2.30 - Tali Sing 3.30 - REIKA 4.30 - Netti 6.15 - Neon Queen 7.30 - Mosé + The FMLY DJs Jens Beamin, Naz and Larrie throughout the day till 10pm

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pretty easy to go down a didactic path,” Sinclair says.

McNeil says the fact that the subjects in the photo were largely anonymous allowed them to write a song that wasn’t weighed down by too much emotion. “We wanted to tell a story, but we also wanted to write a song that we actually wanted to play,” McNeil says. “So we got a groove and a vibe going, like it was any song that we were writing together, and that we could find ourselves within it and enjoy it, so it doesn’t become a writing task.”

While the Goin’ Back is very much about giving voice to the images of the past, Sinclair concedes there’s a contemporary element as well. “Because you’ve got people who live there now, who’re writing about the past, you’ll get that current perspective coming across.

I think that’s happened with our song, because you naturally want to relate it to your own life. That’s why we choose that image, because we could relate to it,” Sinclair says.

Transposing the past into the current era raises other interesting issues, such as the contrast between the social attitudes of multicultural 21st century Brunswick

and its predominantly white, mono-cultural 19th century ancestor. While complaints about working conditions can be found in any generation, it’s difficult to imagine what the Brunswick stonemasons of the 1850s would think of the suburb’s diverse ethnic community.

“You do think about that, but there’s no end of things you could decide to write about,” Sinclair says. For McNeil, the fact that the eight-hour work day was based around the interests of the male working population is interesting. “They were saying it was an eight-hour work day for men, but you still had women working 14 to 16 hours – so there’s a song in that as well,” McNeill says. “So there’s gender inequality, there’s racism – hard times in Brunswick. So you could find other songs in there if you wanted.”

GOIN’ BACK, featuring Jeff Lang, Alison Ferrier, Tracy McNeil, Luke Sinclair and more, happens at the Mechanics Institute on Friday March 18 and Saturday March 19.

BEAT MAGAZINE’S 2016 SYDNEY ROAD STREET PARTY GUIDE - PAGE 11

Barkly Square Laneway Festival Barkly Square is where you’ll find the Laneway Stage during the Sydney Road Street Party. One of the event’s ten official stages, the Laneway will host a five band lineup of Chaos Magnet, Drums of War, Madeline Leman and The Desert Swells, Tin Lion, and Rambutan Band, plus a range of activities and amenities to please music lovers of all ages.

Chaos Magnet are kicking off proceedings just after midday. The boot-stomping trio have a real sense of occasion: they’ve only ever been sighted in public wearing matching outfits (usually silver two-piece dresses and elaborate, slightly militaristic headgear) and they combine trumpet, saxophone and drums with juggling, dancing and fantasy adventure stories.

Next up are Drums of War, who’re in the midst of a rampant run of live appearances all over the state. For those that feel Sale or Kyambram or even Prahran is too far away, then the Barkly Square gig is the one to see. Drums of War are a six-piece – four blokes, two women – a cappella cover band. Encompassing soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass and vocal percussion, they stick their claws into tunes from hip hop and R&B artists Outkast, Black Eyed Peas and the one, the only Justin Timberlake.

Come 2pm Madeline Leman and The Desert Swells take over the Barkly Square Laneway. Leman is an established songwriter whose object of attention is Americana soul with freewheelin’ surf rock groove.

The Desert Swells are no mere backing band; featuring vocalist Leah Senior and guitarist Fabian Hunter, they help lift Leman’s songs to the point of conviviality. The prospect of going to see country music often sounds as promising as taking a job in door-to-door sales. But Leman and the Swells can remind us of the form’s empathetic propensity.

After Leman has lifted the pulse, Tin Lion will be on

hand to make sure your energised blood flow doesn’t go to waste. There’s only one condition when it comes to what makes these guys tick: a damn good beat. If it’s specific reference points you’re after, think The Rapture, LCD Soundsystem or Datarock. Tin Lion pile on sustained synth, jabby guitar, overdriven bass, constant kick drums and hypnotising deadpan vocal refrains.

The Laneway festivities will come to a close with a feel good merging of psych rock, reggae, hip hop and boogie blues. Rambutan Jam Band are the culprits, who’ll do their best to encourage you to skip your afternoon nap.

Though, dancing all over the walls of the laneway will set you up for a good night’s sleep.

Oh and what about those other attractions? Well, there’s food available courtesy of Jerry’s Burgers and Fried Chicken, Zambrero and Schnitz. It’s Sunday, so you’ll probably want to get yourself a drink from the licensed bar specialising in locally made beverages.

There’s also going to be a stall loaded with vinyl records and vintage tour posters, all of which is up for purchase.

The folks from Brunswick’s Bitter Orca Guitar Works will be doing free guitar restringing and cleaning, plus handing out maintenance advice. Knowing the mindset of the average guitarist– that is, way more interested in playing the thing than servicing it – it’s an opportunity you’ll want to take full advantage of. And for any kids that get kick a flutter of inspiration from seeing the wealth of live musicians populating Sydney Road, High Voltage Rock School are offering free workshops.

The Brunswick Hotel

140 Sydney Rd, Brunswick

Ask any musician in Melbourne, no matter their stature, chances are they’ve played a gig at the Brunny.

Yes, the Brunswick Hotel are huge supporters of local music and have strong relationships with plenty of acts who are on-the-charge. The dividends of this relationship are made blatant by their Sydney Road Street Party lineup. A whopping 19 bands will be involved, hitting one of two stages – the classic inside stage and another in the Brunny’s enormous beer garden. It kicks of just after midday, and anyone craving a hair of the dog tipple will be pleased to have their noon-time beer accompanied by the funk/soul romp of ten-piece collective Papa G and The Starcats.

As the day moves forward, you’ll find the dark alt-rock of Fierce Mild, the groove-heavy spoken word hip hop of Danny Kransky, and the capital-R rawk of The Pass Outs. Bringing it all home are Masco Sound System; disciples of Canned Heat’s take on boogie music and wielders of woe-defeating blues harmonica. The Brunny are determined to make this a buoyant event, so to help the party along, schooners of Coopers Pale Ale will be going for $8 (schooners? Like what they drink in Sydney? Yep, sticking to theme here.) Past instalments of the Brunny’s Street Party event have been loaded full of eager punters, so get in early. It’s free entry.

Inside 12:30 – 1:10 – Udder Ubductees 1:30 – 2:10 – Keggin 2:30 – 3:10 – Dogsday 3:30 – 4:10 – UNICORN ON THE COB 4:30 – 5:10 – Sierra Leone (AU) 5:30 – 6:10 – The Pass Outs 6:30 – 7:10 – Long Holiday 7:30 – 8:10 – The Balls 8:30 – 9:10 – Lazarus Mode 9:30 – 10:30 – Third Eye 10:30 – 1:00 – DJ Obilveus Outside 12:00 – 12:40 – Papa G and The Starcats 1:00 – 1:40 – Avenues 2:00 – 2:40 – Vision Street 3:00 – 3:40 – Fierce Mild 4:00 – 4:40 – Lieutenant Jam 5:00 – 5:40 – SFZ (Sforzando) 6:00 – 6:40 – Scurvylicious 7:00 – 7:40 – Danny Kransky 8:00 – 9:00 – Masco Sound System 9:00 – 12:00 – DJ Dan Attard PAGE 12 - BEAT MAGAZINE’S 2016 SYDNEY ROAD STREET PARTY GUIDE

It’s not just for the real little ones; anyone between the ages of 5 and 18 can get involved. And it’s free. Yes, because on such a blessed day as this the focus is on cultural investment, not money grabbing.

This is just Barkly Square’s first Laneway event, and they’ll continue to occur on the first Sunday of every month until June. It all happens from 11am-6pm.

BLIND BOY PAXTON EVERYTHING’S GETTING BETTER by shaun cowe

Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton is an American songwriter and multiinstrumentalist who is bringing back the classic sound of pre-war blues and jazz, both in his solo work and in acts like Jessy Carolina and the Hot Mess. He’ll be coming to Melbourne to play the Brunswick Music Festival on Thursday March 17. He speaks to Beat about his distinctive blues style. “I play traditional music. I do my best to do it right,” he says.

“It has a little bit of me, as it’s supposed to be, but you know, it’s not forced.

With a name like Blind Boy Paxton and a musical style to match, you can be forgiven for picturing a gnarled, pre-war blues musician chugging away on a derelict acoustic guitar in Chicago’s Black Patti recording studios. But in fact Paxton is a 27-year-old from Los Angeles who’s politely laconic and quick to laugh, despite his imposing build.

A revivalist of traditional blues, Paxton has an earthy approach to his music. His live shows revolve around friendly banter with the crowd and songs that he personally relates to, whether they’re originals and covers. Blues is his life story, an avenue for selfexpression.

“I don’t try to change [blues]. I don’t make fusion music,” he says. “I let myself come through organically, you understand. You’ve got to go with the feeling at the current time. You don’t feel the same way twice.”

Last year Paxton released the grainy album Recorded Music For Your Entertainment, which takes a more traditional and live approach than the 2012 Dirtiest Little Darling / Railroad Bill single. In recent years, Paxton’s preference for playing live has swayed his approach to recording.

“I don’t like writing at all. I much prefer playing live in front of people,” he says. “You get to see the affect of music as it happens. When you record it you don’t

get to see the affect of music at all. You can see it on people’s faces, the way different kinds of music affects them. Sometimes it’s instant and sometimes it’s gradual but it changes people in profound ways.”

Paxton’s been performing in music venues since his teenage years. By the age of 17, only three years after trading in his fiddle for a banjo, critics and magazines were hailing him as the future of blues music. The early success meant he outstripped his peers for many years, though it never bothered him.

“It’s the only way I know how to do, so I don’t know what it was like because it seemed normal to me. I didn’t know nobody my own age [playing gigs] until I was up in years; until I was almost 20.”

Paxton’s blues education came from his family, especially from hearing his grandmother sing old blues and religious tunes. He was quickly attracted to blues for its focus on intuition and unintellectualised expression.

“Chord progressions and pentatonic scales, they’re not of my culture. They’re things my culture uses but they’re not how we relate music to each other. That’s really more of a conservatory technique, or Western European classical technique. That really has no place in indigenous music of any kind. Unless it’s Western European indigenous music.”

As for passing on blues to the next generation, Paxton is stumped. In the end he settles on an education plan based on the way he learned himself. “I guess you show ‘em what it’s supposed to sound like and tell ‘em to do their best.”

Paxton is playing at the Brunswick Music Festival next month. With more than a decade of performing experience and an innate desire to interact with the crowd, he finds festivals a prime opportunity for new experiences. Not just with fans, but with fellow musicians too.

“They’re fine little festivals. It’s good to meet other people who play similar kinds of music to you. You meet friends and people who make the same kind of music as you. You collaborate as much as you can.”

However, one of the things Paxton has noticed about blues festivals is the increasing move towards alternative blues and blues fusion. He’s not too fussed about the change (a surprising statement from a man who once claimed on Down Home Radio that jazz stopped being jazz after 1941), but he can’t help but

notice how he stands out.

“I rarely ever find somebody who does what I do. Which is a bit shocking because I do just plain old blues. But there’s a lot of different kinds; a lot of influenced blues and stuff like that. My influence comes primarily from my culture.”

As for the future, Paxton feels his songwriting and performing is always improving. Recorded Music For Your Entertainment shows Paxton’s sound is more focused than it’s ever been – a little cheeky, always with a story – but it’s still just a stepping stone for him.

“I’m getting better at it; I’m starting to learn it a little better. Everything’s getting better. You know it’s a growing process and you’ve got to be better at all sorts of things. You grow as an artist. It’s a little bit of growing older and a little bit of just playing more.”

BLIND BOY PAXTON is playing at Wick Studios for the Brunswick Music Festival on Thursday March 17.

MISOYA SAKE BAR

THE EDINBURGH CASTLE

If you’re looking to add a Japanese twist to your typical Sydney Road experience, you’re in luck. Ramen Misoya Sake Bar have opened their doors and menu to revellers, sharing both history and delicious miso with anyone that wants a quick bite during the Sydney Road Street Party. To understand the history behind Ramen Misoya Sake Bar, it’s important to know that the the owner and chef are from Hokkaido and Osaka Japan. In the comfy confines of Brunswick, they’ve created a restaurant offering miso ramen, composed of a thick miso soup made from free range chicken and fresh vegetable stock. There’s also a gluten free ramen option available. Plus, Ramen Misoya proudly use no additives such as MSG or sugar, opting instead to implement their own condiments to create naturally delicious flavours in the soup. The inclusion of egg noodles and fresh seasonal vegetables results in a ramen that is bound to please, and make you want to come back for more. You can also find crispy deep fried river prawns, gyoza, the dashi-maki (a traditional Japanese rolled omelette), plus delicious desert offerings such as Yuzu cheesecake, green tea pudding or tomato jelly. Order your noodles how you please, be it fried, paired with a dipping sauce or in a delicious broth. Misoya Sake Bar is conveniently located at 165A Sydney Road, making it the perfect spot for an enlivening meal in the midst of the Street Party festivities.

The Edinburgh Castle has earned a solid reputation throughout Brunswick. The area’s longest standing pub is well known as a great place to relax, unwind and knock down a cheeky brew or two. Serving a range of great food to locals along with delicious boutique beers and wine ,plus entertainment all through the week. The venue is also fitted with charming décor as well: the comfy beer garden is loved by locals, the ping pong table makes for a nice alternative to a pub pool table, and the open feel of the bar gives it a bright, welcoming atmosphere. What’s more, if you’re looking for a child and adult-friendly place to hang out during the Sydney Road Street party, the Edinburgh Castle is the place to be. They’re whipping out a Shrek themed jumping castle amongst other fun activities to keep the kids entertained and letting parents off the hook. As well as the bouncing castle, they’re also hosting face painting from Face Creations between 2pm-4pm, a recycled art workshop from Ben Taranto between 3pm-5pm, and live music from Entropy Quartet from 5pm onwards. They’re also chucking out cheap eats all day, and $15 jugs of Thunder Road for mum, dad, uncles and aunts or older brothers/sisters. If that doesn’t sound like a Shrektacular day for all, then you’ve clearly got the heart of an ogre. Get on down to the Edinburgh Castle at 681 Sydney Road from 2pm onwards during the Sydney Road Street Party.

165a Sydney Rd, Brunswick

PAGE 14 - BEAT MAGAZINE’S 2016 SYDNEY ROAD STREET PARTY GUIDE

681 Sydney Rd, Brunswick

9383-5694 i n f o @ e a s t b r u n s w i c k tat t o o s . c o m . au w w w. e a s t b r u n s w i c k tat t o o s . c o m . au BEAT MAGAZINE’S 2016 SYDNEY ROAD STREET PARTY GUIDE - PAGE 15

The B.East 80 Lygon St, Brunswick East

If you’re keen to escape to the sensory inundation, commotion and baby strollers of Sydney Road, then skip over to Lygon Street where the B.East are more than equipped to keep you entertained, boozed-up and well fed. These guys understand the principles of a good Sunday sesh: it’s arguably the finest day of the week to get boozey, but the tone of the revelry vastly differs from what you’d engage in on a Friday or Saturday. This Sunday (and in fact the first Sunday of every month until, well, forever) The B.East have enlisted The Horns of Leroy to turn to venue into a New Orleans Funk Factory. Chances are that any local lovers of Dixieland will already be well acquainted with The Horns of Leroy. The party-oriented brass band formed to enliven and add a touch of authenticity to a series of New Orleans street parties. Their purpose has subsequently expanded, but they’ve stayed faithful to the funk, soul and trad jazz that sparked their existence.

Even without the music, the B.East is worth a visit for its food and drink offerings. Many of us have gotten to know their classic Filthy burger – a beef patty joined by homemade chilli paste and smoked jalapeno aioli.

To fit the New Orleans theme, however, this Sunday you’d be best off grabbing a fried chicken po boy, and washing it down with a Havana Club Hurricane cocktail. After all, Sunday just isn’t Sunday without a mouthful of poultry and rum. It all begins at 1.30pm.

PHOTOS BY COURTNEY KING

RECORD PARADISE

WICK STUDIOS

15 union st, brunswick

23-25 leslie st, brunswick

Record Paradise are once again celebrating the Sydney Road Street Party by rolling out a corker of a lineup. Just slightly away from the hustle and bustle of the main strip you’ll find local champions of dole-core/punk, The Mighty Boys, who’ll unleash a performance as fiery as the end of your ciggies. They’ll be backed by King Choonga and Flow, along with local DJs keeping the vibe up all day long. Beyond this, Record Paradise are paying attention to all you crate digging record junkies by setting up a pop-up shop at the Barkly Square Laneway Party. Outside of chucking ripper parties each year for the Sydney Road Street Party, Record Paradise has been a staple of Melbourne’s independent music community since 1955. Operated by music lovers Paul Allen and Renae Maxwell, they’re proud to stock a huge selection of new release and reissued vinyl including local independent releases from amazing labels such as Homeless, Chapter, Mistletone, Poison City Records, Milk!, Aarght, Caroline, Inertia, Remote Control and many more. They also boast a strong range of CDs, DVDs and books as well as stylus and vinyl cleaning accessories. Local bands are always encouraged to drop Record Paradise a line, as they love to help out with either selling their releases or possibly launching it in their beautiful store. Check out Record Paradise’s party during the Sydney Road Street Party from 3pm-7pm at 15 Union Street.

After redeveloping itself as a cutting edge music hub, Wick Studios is chipping into the Brunswick Music Festival by hosting Blind Boy Paxton on Thursday March 17. A New York based artist who’s only in his 20s, Blind Boy Paxton has developed a reputation for transporting audiences back to the 1920s and making them wish they could stay there for good. Paxton croons out pre-war blues like a Fats Waller or “Blind” Lemon Jefferson reincarnate, all the while moving between banjo, guitar, piano, fiddle, harmonica, Cajun accordion and the bones (percussion).

He’s got an eerie ability to transform traditional jazz, blues, folk and country into the here and now, mesmerising audiences with his humour and storytelling. You can catch Paxton’s first Australian show live at the same time as Wick Studios premieres their performance space, cementing its status as one of Brunswick’s must-visit locations for musicians. With added office space, two recording studios, two live music venues, a full-size photographic and video studio along with 15 pristine and completely soundproofed rehearsal rooms equipped with top-ofthe-line technology, the owners deliver these facilities along with a single, important goal – to undermine the homogenisation of the music industry and give the power back to the bands that dare to challenge the norm. Catch both Blind Boy Paxton and Wick Studios’ performance space re-launch on Thursday March 17. Doors open at 8pm, tickets available from the Brunswick Music Festival website.

PAGE 16 - BEAT MAGAZINE’S 2016 SYDNEY ROAD STREET PARTY GUIDE

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