Reverb Magazine - Issue 70

music, arts & culture monthly

central coast | hunter | north coast

FREE #070 June ’12

The Black Seeds Feet in the dirt

Hugo Race Hand on his heart

The Audreys Arms around each other

missy higgins we’ve missed you

plus: Nick Saxon + Sampology + Sam Sparro + Jackson Firebird + Kingfisha

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WEDNESDAY 11 JULY THE ENTRANCE LEAGUES CLUB BATEAU BAY

THURSDAY 19 JULY THE NORTHERN BYRON BAY

SATURDAY 14 JULY PANTHERS NEWCASTLE

SATURDAY 21 JULY COOLANGATTA HOTEL GOLD COAST

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THE

Newcastle Panthers BBeaumont eaumont sstt

iislington slington

SATURDAY JUNE 2

TIX

Friday 1st June

Mr Kite + Guests

Saturday 2nd June

Run Squirrel, Adeline Pines, Micheal Ferfoglia, Landon Eliot River Sunday 3rd June

Realigning Alice + Guests

S CLUB, BIG BROVAZ & MR 95

Wednesday 6th June

PRE-SALE $55 + BF, DOORS 8PM, OVER 18’S

Caverns, Tired Minds, Safe Hands Thursday 7th June

SUNDAY JUNE 3

Deep Water Blues

TIX

Friday 8th June

We Rob Banks + Guests 10th Prophetics (Hip Hop Night) Wednesday 13th June

Lycanthrope, Nothing is scared, Under Grey Skies Thursday 14th June

Rubber Bullet

Sunday 17th June

SIMPLE PLAN

Funk Sway + Guests

PRE-SALE $56.10 + BF, DOORS 6PM, ALL AGES

Wednesday 20th June

Allay the sea, Empires Fall, Hunt The Hunted

SATURDAY JULY 14

TIX

Thursday 21st June

Marriah

Friday 22nd June

Mr Kite + Guests

Saturday 23rd June

NO ART (Syd), Pink Ribbons, Run Squirrel, The Loved And Lost Sunday 24th June

KARNIVOOL

Soul Station

Wednesday 27th June

PRE-SALE $40 + BF, DOORS 8PM, OVER 18’S

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photo by kevin bull

No. 70

Reverb Magazine is locally owned & published by The Lockup Garage.

Printed by Spotpress, Marrickville: sales@spotpress.com.au

index

contents

News Busby Marou The Audreys The Black Seeds Liberation Front Sam Sparro Kingfisha Jackson Firebird Sampology Hugo Race Nick Saxon Missy Higgins Martin Van Veluwen Caravan of Courage Fashion Circle of One Cartoon Horoscopes Talking Shop Album reviews Motoring — Hyundai Velostar Groovin’ The Moo review Gum Ball review Bootcamp review Live reviews Film reviews DVD reviews Gig guide

8-13 14 15 17 18 18 19 20 21 22 23 24-25 26 27 28-29 30 31 31 31 32-34 35 36-37 38 38 39 40 41 42-44

The Getaway Plan

editor’s letter

Credits

What is it about the girls that attend GTM in Maitland and Coaster (RIP) in Gosford — predominately mid-to-late teenager, with a dress sense of ‘less is more’. They are like no other festival goer, even at FAB there is a level of decency. Is there some sort of competition going on to see who can wear the shortest pair of shorts? Now, don’t get me wrong, I kind of understand it, but the fine line between sexy and slutty was stepped over way before you walked out the front door. Sure, the young guys love them (is this the point?), but do you really need to present the goods in such an obvious and unflattering fashion? Think about it for a moment, how will you feel in 20 years time when your daughter heads out looking the way you did at GTM? Much love guys, Kevin

Editor

HOROSCOPES

Stephanie De Vries

Melissa Roach

Editorial

Kevin Bull

Steve Burrito

Courtney Fitzsimmons

Geoff Ruddick

kevin@reverbstreetpress.com or 0410 295 360

Sean Frazer

Luke Saunders

6 reverb

magazine issue #070 — June 2012

Contacts

Assistant Editor

Senior Writers

James Gallagher

Martin Slade

Sales, Newcastle & Central Coast

Charli Hutchison

Birdy

Mark Henderson

Chloe Webb

kevin@reverbstreetpress.com or 0410 295 360

Peter Douglas

Shelby Houghton

Kristyne Weiss

Sub-Editor

Nick Milligan

Charli Hutchison

Kate Hamilton

Matt Petherbridge

Chrissy Kavalieros

Photographers

Sallie Maree Pritchard

Jessica Kellar

Joe Anderson

Mark Snelson

Julie Lowe

Kirana Anderton

Gig guide

Jonathan McCallum

Kevin Bull

gigguide@reverbstreetpress.com.au

Writers

Stephanie McDonald

David Jackson

North Coast Mgr

Stephen Bocking

Jamie Nelson

Chrissy Kavalieros

Production

Stephen Bocking

Kevin Bull

Cormack O’Connor

Ashlee Kellehear

cam@reverbstreetpress.com

Louisa Bulley

Amelia Parrott

Julie Lowe

Cartoonist

Katherine Burgess

Thomas Peasley

Sam Paquette

Postal address

Tony Jenkins

Mick Daley

Max Quinn

Terry Paull

PO Box 843, Woy Woy NSW 2256

Sean Degan

Chelsea Reed

Linda Wales

art director Cam Bennett

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SbS, RENEGADE, NEW WoRLD ARTISTS & mAX pRESENT

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Give aways just email your postal address to editorial@reverbstreetpress.com.au First come, first served

passion flower

Herb of the Month — PASSION FLOWER

5 copies

Five copies of The Artist on DVD

JUNE

Grand Junction Hotel

5 copies

Five copies of My Week With Marilyn on DVD

88 Church Street, Maitland 02 4933 5242 / MySpace / Facebook

THE FLOORS MICK DALEY

& THE CORPORATE RAIDERS

FRI

JUNE

1

SUN MAY

3

FRI

Floyd Vincent & The Child Brides 15 JUNE

SUN

Lachy Doley JUNE 17

SUN 3 MICK DALEY & THE CORPOR ATE R AIDERS + THE T I M C R O S S E Y B A N D T H U 7 DA N E F I T S I M M O N S F R I 8 ZO E K & TH E S H A D OW K AT Z S U N 10 G LEN Y R A E VIRUS AND HER TAMWORTH COUNTRY PL AYBOYS THU 14 JA M ES T H O M P S O N & D E ’ M AY T H U 21 M EL O DY P O O L F R I 2 2 T H E L A I R S S U N 2 4 E U C A LY P S O F R I 2 9 F I S H F R Y & P O W W O W 8 reverb

magazine issue #070 — June 2012

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4 copies

Four copies of Sam Sparro’s Return To Paradise on CD

4 copies

Four copies of Alison Wonderland’s Welcome To Wonderland on CD

4 copies

Four copies of Keith Urban’s The Story So Far on CD

5 copies

Five copies of Queeny Rocks The Party on CD

5 copies

Five copies of Rage Silver Jubilee on CD

Well the moment I mentioned that this month I’d be test driving Happy High Herbs’ Passion Flower, a palpable ripple of panic spread through the Reverb office. Strangely, after the half naked frog-in-a-sock lunch hours, my colleagues seem to get a little nervous around me at product testing time.

Some people don’t know sexy when it sneaks up behind them wearing its jocks on its head. Anyway, there was no need for the poor innocent staff to panic this time around. Passion flower isn’t an aphrodisiac as its name might suggest. It’s another smooth and relaxing herbal type thingie that I’m going to try for the first time today and get back to you. See you in half an hour...

Well, isn’t this stuff nice. I made a nice cup of tea out of it and it’s got me kicked back, relaxed, and near useless.

I’m sure I could do some work if I felt like it. It’s not like I’m confused, or feel flat or anything. I just couldn’t be arsed doing very much. Apparently this stuff is commonly used to relieve stress, anxiety and insomnia, as well as tobacco and alcohol addiction. But, seeing as I’m a sleepy, relaxed, non-stinker kind of guy, I’m just cruising. It’s another winner for me. I’m one day out from deadline, I’ve got heaps of work to do, but who cares? I might just go have a nap in the sun instead. Cheers, big ears. ~Steve Burrito

Beer of the Month — MONTEITH’S BLACK BEER

To be honest from the start, I cracked the cap off Monteith’s Black with a hint of trepidation - I am not an Old or Guinness drinker. The beer pours a near solid black, but if you hold it up to the light there is a reddish hue to it.

Add to this the smallish tan blanket on top, and the biscuit and coffee aromas and I am intrigued. I take a good mouthful and let it linger for a moment - definitely roasted coffee, chocolate and caramel, with crisp malt and a slight bitterness but overall, smooth. I dove in for a second go and am now cracking bottle number two.

As we head into winter, I can see this as being perfect company rugged up near the open fire. Think about it - the crackling of a wood fire, smoke tingling your nose, and in your hand a crisp combination of beer, coffee, caramel, chocolate and malts. I would suggest this to anyone who likes a summer beer with a lemon citrus bite... this is your winter beer folks. But be careful, at a hearty 5.2 per cent, it will warm you up then send you off for an early night. Bottle number three has just been tapped, the electric blanket is on, and the wife has been forewarned that in a few hours… I’ll be useless. ~Kevin Bull

whilst all care is taken, some giveaways may change due to circumstances beyond our control

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COASTER festival BAILS, fat as butter MOVES TO SEPTEMBER

charge group

CHARGE GROUP to PERFORM FREE AT THE LASS

Recorded in a Newcastle church, mixed by Wayne Connolly at Alberts in Sydney and mastered by Greg Calbi (Grizzly Bear, The National) at Sterling Sound, NYC, Sydney’s cinematic art-rock antiheroes have released their long-awaited self-titled second album.

The band have spawned a sonic feast of epic proportions, hinted at in their acclaimed 2008 debut, Escaping Mankind, and have proven it’s entirely possible to evoke the chaotic beauty of early Velvets, the kinetic power of Battles and the heady symphonic majesty of Sigur Rós all at once. Framed by towering walls of sound, vast brooding landscapes and a mesmerising tapestry of genre-defiance, the new album is a kaleidescopic opus of existential desperation, hopeful wide-eyed dreams and post-apocalyptic warning. Black Blackman’s surreal lyrical dystopia floats alongside Charge Group’s ambitious soundtrack – traversing the bleak absurdities of the human condition and stirring the pot as the ship goes down. Equal parts darkness and light, masterfully arranged to an often transcendental effect. Charge Group perform at the Lass O’Gowrie Hotel, Wickham, on Saturday June 16.

After four years, and performances from The Bronx, Silversun Pickups and Cypress Hill, Central Coast’s Coaster Festival has pulled up stumps, for 2012 at least. In a simple but pointed post on Facebook, the organisers have left the door open with “we are looking to return sometime in the future”. This has enabled Newcastle’s Fat As Butter festival to move forward to Saturday September 22. There will be a full announcement on Saturday July 14, with tickets going on sale Saturday July 21.

THE TERRACE BAR OPENS

The pleasure of a new venue is especially potent when it positions itself to fill a need, and breathes new life into a building that has been vacant for over a decade. The Terrace Bar, Newcastle, will open its doors on Friday June 22 (already sold out), will have a capacity of 120, and is located at 529 Hunter St. The premises have long been identified as ‘The Poet’s Page’, but it has operated as a bar in its past lives (The Gunfighter’s Rest and JC’s Bar). The two levels will operate as a small bar serving boutique wine and beer products on the ground floor, and as an underground arts and music venue on the top floor. Proprietor Chris Hearn, a 27-yearold Newcastle local, and former director of the Croatian Club and the This is Not Art festival, sees the new venue as aligned with the work of these organisations, addressing the needs of Newcastle’s large creative community as both a venue for their work and a gathering place.

hugo race

HUGO RACE DELIVERS THE LOVE

Hugo Race returns to Australia with an east coast tour in support of his new solo album, No But It’s True, due for release June 10. The album explores the theme of love, interpreting covers from a maelstrom of music eras, going back as far as the 50s, and including greats such as Bruce Springsteen’s ‘I’m On Fire’, and is reflective of Hugo’s love of primitive folk and blues songs from decades past. A founding member of Nick Cave’s Bad Seeds and the seminal Australian 80s cult band The Wreckery, Race has released 20 albums and collaborated with artists from Sao Paolo to Rome, Berlin, London, Tucson, Brussels, Warsaw, Mali, Africa and beyond.

Born in Melbourne, Race has spent most of the last 25 years living in Italy, France, Germany, UK and the US. Hugo Race, with support from Leek & the War Wick Tragedy perform at the Great Northern Hotel, Newcastle, on Wednesday June 20; Port Macquarie Hotel on Thursday June 21; Bangalow Bowling Club on Saturday June 23.

NICKY BOMBA’S BUSTAMENTO

Nicky Bomba, one of Australia’s busiest and most highly respected musicians, has jumped on his musical boat again to deliver a party-filled island adventure with his new band Bustamento. The first single ‘Manana’, is a jitterbuggin’, upbeat skainfused expedition that ticks all the right tropical boxes. Originally recorded by Peggy Lee in 1948, the Bustamento boys have turned this classic into a mento/ calypso/ska/reggae hybrid that delivers a smiling punch and a ticket to dance. The recently released album, Intrepid Adventures to the Lost Riddim Islands, sees Bomba sourcing classic and rare tunes while writing a whole swag of new songs in keeping with the form, covering the calypso, mento, early reggae and ska styles. Bustamento performs at the Plantation Hotel, Coffs Harbour on Wednesday June 27, and the Beach Hotel, Byron Bay on Friday June 29.

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northcoast.tafensw.edu.au reverb magazine issue #070 — June 2012 9

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INTERNATIONAL SONGWRITING COMPETITION 2012

the new tattersalls hotel

2 Acid Bleed 7 Scott Day_V 8 Keegan Sparke 9 Cole Cox Lovejoy 14 15 Greg Nolan 16 21Acid Bleed 22 Loren 28 Cole Cox Lovejoy Chris Fisher 29 Faulty Towers Rich Latimer

from 7.30pm | FREE

9 sons of dan

from 6pm | FREE

from 7.30pm | FREE from 7.30pm | FREE from 6pm | FREE

from 7.30pm | FREE

Norman & Louise Band from 7.30pm | FREE from 6pm | FREE

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Dinner & Interactive Show Tickets $80

30 5 6 Ryan & Kirsten 7 Matt & Brie Mick McHugh

from 7.30pm | FREE

Kyle Watson & Friends from 6.00pm | FREE from 7.30pm | FREE from 7.30pm | FREE

Shiny Shiny

doors 8.30pm | $7

trivia night

tuesdays from 6.30pm | FREE

open mic comedy 1st wednesday of the month from 8pm | $5 entry

live poets 2nd wednesday of the month from 8pm | $7 entry

singer songwriter night 3rd wednesday of the month from 8pm | FREE

jazz night

thursdays from 6pm | FREE

texas hold em poker

fridays from 6pm | $5 entry 6621 4729 108 keen street lismore 2480

WALLAPALOOZA 2012

Wallapalooza event founder Andy Clark is forever striving to take the event to greater heights. This year, the line-up includes 13 bands, a freestyle stunt show from the amazing Jack Field and the Flair Action Sport team, a live painting exhibition by Kaitlin Hawkins, tattoo show and busker comp, making for a full day of exciting entertainment for all who attend, and entry is free.

The festival will be broken up into three main areas — the Outdoor Arena where the freestyle stunt show and live painting will occur; the Red Stage, featuring the best metal acts including Armada In the Dusk,The Molotov, As Paradise Falls, Slow Riots, Unpaid Hostility and Death By Dance; the Green Stage with Nine Sons Of Dan, Madison Kat, Code Blue, Bats vs Snakes, Shivai, Verusive and Green Whistle. Hosted

by Alicia Hennessy, Wallapalooza will be held at the Wallaby Hotel, Mudgeeraba, on the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, Sunday June 10. Entry is free. This is an 18-plus event.

LET THE NUMBER BE X wins MUSIC OZ AWARD

The Music Oz Awards for 2012 have been run and won, and a band out of Maitland who are yet to perform live have taken out the Heavy Rock/Metal category. Let The Number Be X, which features former members from local bands Enemy of Average and ABC award-winning Memorial Drive, were finalists in three Music Oz categories. The winning track, ‘Run’ is available as a free download along with their entire debut release, Conception Vol 1: A New Life, from www.ltnbx.com. It is expected that live performances will begin in August.

SHOOTING TUNES MUSIC VIDEO COMP

T h e L o f t M u s i c E v e n t s Te a m i s co-ordinating Newcastle’s first music video competition from May-July 2012. It is a chance for young video makers and bands to compete for great prizes, including video production equipment and recording and rehearsal packages, while promoting their creative talents. The project will include online polling and an awards night at The Loft, on Wednesday, July 27, with a screening of finalist entries, live bands and announcement of all prize winners. Shooting Tunes is open to young video makers aged 13-25 years. Contestants will be required to produce an original music video between two and five minutes in duration, featuring the original music of a band based in the Hunter Region. Submissions are now open with the deadline being Monday June 25.

For entry form and conditions of entry, head to www.theloft.org.au, or contact Dale Garbett (4974 2094 or dgarbutt@ncc.nsw. gov.au).

empra

EMPRA TOUR THEIR DEBUT RELEASE

Driven by the rock ‘n’ roll spirit, Melbourne band Empra are set to kick off a national album launch tour with a run of 23 dates across all major cities. The band’s self-titled album was inspired by a chain of events, including broken hearts, broken bones, friends loved and lost, and a musical chairs of line-up changes. Empra have an unapologetically high-energy rock sound and a louder is better attitude. Meld this with raw, honest lyrics that manage to electrocute hearts and supercharge spirits into euphoric sing-alongs, and you have Empra’s unmistakable rock sound and impressive live show. “Our music is overflowing with positive vibes and uplifting energy,” says vocalist and guitarist Sanny Veloo. “We are on a relentless journey to kick your arse and lift your spirits!” Empra perform at the Great Northern Hotel, Newcastle, on Friday June 8, and Gee Wizz Nightclub, Gosford, on Thursday June 28.

OKA AT BRUNSWICK HEADS

With a signature sound and unforgettable live reputation, Oka is still serving up their progressive roots music. Electrified digeridoo, heavy slide guitar, soaring flutes and juju rhythms are some of the many ingredients in this Australian sound that’s matured over a decade. Humble beginnings busking on street corners have led to global tripping and independent CD sales in excess of 100,000 albums. Relying on instinct, they have let their music and love for performing dictate direction. No two gigs are the same with a large element of jamming amongst reciting album favourites. Oka perform at the Brunswick Heads Hotel on Sunday June 10.

AFRICA TODAY FESTIVAL

The first annual Africa Today Festival brings together a host of African rhythms and beats for a gala night unlike anything seen in Newcastle before. The brainchild of Newcastle’s own Afro Moses, the night will present some of the best in African music, combined with dancers and a showcase of special African fashions. Headlining the night will be Keyim Ba, a nine-piece collective who will be joined onstage by a troupe of African dancers. Also on the bill will be Afro himself with the Afro Moses O’Jah Band. Londonbased DJ Africa will wow the crowd, and a special performance by the all-girl drum group, affectionately coined the Djembellas, will no doubt be a highlight. Also dropping some special world beats will be Benjie & the Earthen Rhythms Drum Group. Fashion shows from Afrosell & Flicca will round out a fantastic night. The Africa Today Festival happens at Level One, Newcastle Leagues Club on Saturday June 16.

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magazine issue #070 — June 2012

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Australia has long been synonymous with an incredible rock music scene and, as a swag of Aussie rock bands make a clean sweep of the 2011 International Songwriting Competition (ISC) this month, it’s evident that Australia’s rock heart is being recognised.

Jebediah, Eskimo Joe and The Living End shut out the international competition as they took out the first, second and third place accolades in the rock category of the competition.

ISC founder and director Candace Avery says it wasn’t surprising that Aussie artists won the rock accolades.

“The entries we received this past year from the winning Aussie songwriters were, as always, exceptional,” she said.

“Their songs have relatable lyrics and memorable hooks, but what I find special about many Aussie rock songs is the element of surprise – they are rarely formulaic. While they are still in the pocket, the arrangements and melodies are often more interesting and unpredictable than many of the other entries we receive. The artists take more risk and fluidly delve into creative territory, while retaining their commerciality.”

In fact, in the 2011 competition, Australians took home five first place wins, five second place, four third place and an astounding 42 honourable mentions for their entries in the competition’s 22 categories.

An example of this is Melbournebased Michael Paynter, who took out first place in the Unsigned Only category (with fellow writers Gary Clark and David Mead) for the track ‘Are You Alive’. “It has always been about songs,” says Paynter. “An artist is only ever as good as their songs. The ISC not only recognises this, but celebrates it and seeks to redirect the priorities of artists all over the world back to the important things. I’ve entered the ISC for many years and have always found them personal, organised, and passionate. I’d encourage every songwriter out there to submit their songs to the ISC - recognition for writing great songs is, after all, really the only recognition that matters.”

Paynter sits alongside the likes of Shane Nicholson, who took home the first place accolade in the Americana section. To Nicholson, winning the Americana section of the ISC was a big deal. “ISC is a serious comp with serious competition, and judged by some of the best around,” he says. “Also, [winning song] ‘The Broken Things’ is a special song for me, and for it to be recognised on this level feels hugely rewarding. I’m lucky my wife didn’t enter this year.”

Other Australians sharing the spotlight include the likes of Dallas Frasca, Catherine Britt, Missy Higgins and Emma Louise, to name a few. Even songwriters from across the waters in New Zealand made an incredible impact this year, with the now Australian-based Kimbra being named Grand Prize Winner for the 2011 competition.

Entries for the 2012 International Songwriting Competition are open now.

For more information or to enter, please visit www.songwritingcompetition.com.

Also, ISC has launched a new music competition as of 2011. You can get more information by going to www. unsignedonly.com.

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festivals and music venues around the country. Enjoy the Cigars’ timeless and instantly identifiable blend of soul, funk, rhythm and blues at Yamba Shores Tavern on Friday June 8; Wauchope RSL on Saturday June 9; Hoey Moey Hotel, Coffs Harbour, on Sunday June 10; Lizotte’s Lambton, on Friday August 3; Lizotte’s Kincumber, on Saturday August 4. silverstein

joe bonamassa

JOE BONAMASSA RETURNS TO NEWCASTLE

Award-winning blues rock guitarist and singer-songwriter, Joe Bonamassa, and his world-class touring band are returning to Australia and to Newcastle. The tour is in support of Bonamassa’s brand new solo album Driving Towards The Daylight, as well as the recently released DVD/Blu-ray Joe Bonamassa: Beacon Theatre – Live From New York. Driving Towards The Daylight, Bonamassa’s “lucky thirteenth” album, is a back-to-basics release that highlights his signature style of roots/blues with rock ‘n’ roll guts, while honouring the traditions of the original blues musicians. To challenge Bonamassa, a unique group of special guests including Australia’s Jimmy Barnes and Aerosmith’s Brad Whitford were gathered. The album features four Bonamassapenned originals including the bruising opener ‘Dislocated Boy’, the road warrior title track and first single ‘Driving Towards The Daylight’, ‘Heavenly Soul’, and ‘Somewhere Trouble Don’t Go’. Joe Bonamassa performs at the Civic Theatre, Newcastle, on Sunday October 7.

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magazine issue #070 — June 2012

SILVERSTEIN PLAY ENTRANCE LEAGUES

Silverstein return to our shores this June to debut tracks off 2011’s critically acclaimed long-player Rescue, and the aptly titled Short Songs, to their Australian fans. Australian audiences were given their first taste of Silverstein in 2005 with a whirlwind tour of five cities in as many days. Silverstein maintained the demanding pace, returning several times to continue building on their loyal Aussie fan base, with unwavering live performances in between American and European tour and festival dates. Witness exactly what’s inspired the rave reviews and converted fans by the dozens across Australia, this June, when they perform at the Entrance Leagues Club, Bateau Bay, on Friday June 15.

SMOKIN’ BONDI CIGARS

Currently in pre-production for a new album, their tenth in a career that has spanned more than 20 years, R&B legends The Bondi Cigars are performing shows around NSW from June through August.

More than 20 years after their inception, the Bondi Cigars are very much at the top of their game, consistently in demand at major

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NEXTDOOR RAW FOCUSES ON THE LOCALS

Recorded live over two nights at Jack’s Bar and Grill in Erina, Nextdoor Raw brings together local Central Coast singer/songwriters for a sole purpose — to provide a positive, fun experience with an opportunity for exposure for young, up and coming local, original artists, with all proceeds going to Don Spencer’s Australian Children’s Music Foundation. “I found the whole project very satisfying and inspiring,” said the album’s producer Brent Murphy. “There seems to be so much focus on fame, having hits and getting on TV shows today, that art in music has been left in the dust. I feel the focus needs, more than ever, to be on creative and technical skills and especially the raw essence of the song and performance itself.” The artists included on the release are aged from 12 to 19, and include Jesse O’Neill-Hutchin, James Watt, Jessica Lord and Lachlan Roberts, Ebony Bender, Tess Green, Valley of Kings, Clairejean, Amelia Amber and J.J. Emerson.

Nextdoor Raw will be launched at Lizotte’s Kincumber on Tuesday June 26.

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NEWCASTLE FUNDRAISER FOR HARD-ONS singer, BLACKIE

Peter ‘Blackie’ Black , vocalist and guitarist with the Hard-Ons, will be out of action for at least six weeks after being physically assaulted and suffering a fractured skull and bruising on the brain. All but two of the band’s planned tour dates have been cancelled, with their Newcastle date going ahead as a fundraiser at the Great Northern Hotel, Newcastle on Saturday June 2. The line-up will be Murray Ruse (drums), Pete Kostic (drums), Ray Ahn (bass), Keish de Silva (lead guitar, vocals). It will be a one-off Hard-Ons line-up that will donate all doortakings to Blackie to get him through his convalescence.

SAE INSTITUTE BYRON PUTS YOU FRONT OF HOUSE

SAE Institute, Byron Bay, has announced the next intake of its Live Sound Production course — August 6, 2012. The 14-week parttime, VET accredited Certificate III in Technical Production course provides a practical introduction to the fundamentals of sound engineering, live sound production and mixing, designed to provide essential technical production skills for anyone aspiring to an introductory role in music, theatre and corporate sound production, including live sound assistant and assistant sound mixer — regardless of their previous audio experience. Enrolments are now open for a start date of Monday August 6. To find out more, visit www.byronbay.sae.edu or call 1800 729 338.

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KINGFISHA RELEASE AND TOUR DEBUT ALBUM

mark wells

MARK WELLS TAKES THE LONG WALK

With a long history in the local music scene, award-winning Newcastle bred singersongwriter, Mark Wells, is about to release his first full-length CD, The Long Walk Home. The first single from the album, ‘Give it Up’, was written with Golden Guitar winner and ARIA nominee Catherine Britt, and good mate and Golden Guitar nominee, Morgan Evans. “It’s a great feeling to have this album finished,” said Wells. “I love the way it sounds. It’s been a long time in the making and I can’t wait for everyone to hear it.” The release is an eclectic and sprawling country/rock journey. Dabbling in everything from pop country, to toe-tapping honky tonk, to dark swampy bluegrass, right through to sweaty Stones-esque rock ramblings. And where did it all lead him? “Right now I feel like I’ve come to the end of a journey, and arrived at a place I’m really happy with.” The official release of The Long Walk Home will be at Lizotte’s, Lambton, on Friday June 1.

ROSIE’S PRESENTS U-18 SCHOOLS OUT FESTIVAL

With few events and even fewer venues catering to the under-18s crowd in Newcastle, Schools Out will fill a gaping hole in the underage entertainment scene — an all-ages mini festival in the heart of Newcastle. Featuring under-age supports from Rosie’s School Of Rock Total Rockstar Certificate Program, this gig is by the kids, for the kids.

Production manager and guitar teacher at Rosie’s, Rockin Robb Ryan will be headlining the show with his new experimental metal band Repeater, and free trial lessons at Rosie’s School Of Rock, on the instrument of your choice, will be given away, as well as a raffle featuring products donated by local businesses. If you’re looking for something to start your school holidays with a bang, Schools Out is for you. Tickets are $5 on the door, drug and alcohol free, no pass-outs.

Doors open 1pm at the Great Northern Hotel, Newcastle, on Sunday July 1.

Extensive touring of the country and slots on some of Australia and New Zealand’s leading festivals has seen Brisbane six-piece Kingfisha earn their badge as one of the finest acts in the reggae/dub scene. Kingfisha have taken Jamaican rhythms and infused them with honest songwriting and strong melodies to create their own sound… genuine, Australian reggae. Now their long awaited self-titled debut long player has been released. Kingfisha will be hitting the road on an album tour performing at the Brewery, Byron Bay, on Saturday June 16.

FLYING MR KITE

Having been together only a few months, Newcastle’s Mr Kite are relatively new to the scene, but members hail from other Newcastle veteran acts such as The Good, Vaudeville, Lasue and prog-rockers the China Bulls. With their feet firmly planted in the grunge rock genre, the band have already knocked out their debut EP which they were happy to hand out at a recent Cambridge Hotel Side Bar gig. “We just want people to listen at this stage,” said vocalist Aaron Sinclair. “We think we’ve got something pretty special and we want as many people on board as possible.” Mr Kite perform at the Hamilton Station Hotel, Islington, on Friday June 1; Port Macquarie Hotel on Thursday June 7; Hamilton Station Hotel, Islington, on Friday June 22.

IT’S THE OTHER FILM SOCIETY

Butter the popcorn, The Other Film Society is up and running with their first season having begun early May and continuing through to October, providing a much needed addition to Newcastle’s growing film scene. “I have always loved interesting films and was disappointed to find Newcastle didn’t have a place to view t he m ,” sa i d fou nd e r Dav i d Jo rda n .

“Through talking to others, I discovered many people felt the same, so we decided to create a society open to the public for a bit of fun and to bring people together for the love of film.” Being held at the The Royal Exchange Theatre in Bolton Street, Newcastle every Wednesday night, the June program is The Apartment (June 6), Les Invasions Barbares (June 13), As it is in Heaven (June 20), Shame (June 27).

One night membership to the society is a low $10, available at the door. Ten-night packages will also be available at the fantastic value rate of $75.

CREATE YOUR OWN FUTURE

katie noonan

KATIE NOONAN AT THE DEPOT

Katie Noonan’s technical mastery and pure voice make her one of Australia’s most versatile and beloved vocalists. A mother, singer, producer, songwriter, pianist and business woman, this four times ARIA-award winning and six times platinum selling songstress first received widespread praise as the angel-voiced songstress of indie-pop band George, and has since taken audiences on sublime excursions through jazz, pop and classical music. On Thursday June 21 she will fill Hamilton’s old Masonic Hall, now The Depot on Beaumont Street, Hamilton, for a unique evening of fantastic food and sublime music. Supported by the local soulful talent of James Chatburn, Katie will be performing on a Kawai grand piano specially sourced for the event.

OVER-REACTOR to PLAY NEWCASTLE

Melbourne’s death-hop masters, OverReactor, are hitting the road to celebrate the release of their latest single ‘Mouth Of The Ghetto’. Mouth Of The Ghetto is also the title of their forthcoming album, due in the second half of 2012. Since recently releasing their first single and video, the band have received over 4000 views on Youtube and had three songs in the top ten on the Triple J Unearthed metal charts. Its two members, Ezekiel Ox (ex Mammal, Full Scale) and Cory Blight (ex Dukes Of Windsor), launched Over-Reactor eighteen months ago, and have already toured nationally with Karnivool, Front End Loader, Floating Me, and Cog. Over-Reactor perform at the Great Northern Hotel, Newcastle, on Friday June 15.

MAXSTOCK MOVES THE SCU UNIBAR

Returning in 2012 for its fourth year, Mazstock is the coolest little rock festival in the country.

With a new venue and 18 bands on three stages over 10 hours for just 20 bucks, it has the be the biggest bang for your rock hard buck. The bands playing though out the afternoon are X, Hits, Gravel Samwidge, The Devil’s Johnsons, Thundergod of the Multiverse, PISS, Antibodies, Cletus, Jamhog, Blood Guts and Firetrucks, Substation, Main St Brats, The Argonauts, Smash Mystery, The Bridge, Lucious Deed, Sista Ray, and Shiny Shiny.

Mazstock 2012 roars into life at SCU Unibar, Lismore, from 2pm on Saturday June 2.

LIVE & LOCAL AT LIZOTTE’S

Lambton Lizotte’s: Friday June 1, Mark Wells album launch, Melody Pool; Wednesday June 27, Dan March, Ben and the Sea.

Certificate III in Music Write ›› Record ›› Perform ›› Market Online Mid year entry, 1 semester full time course.

APPLY NOW. COURSE COMMENCING 30 JULY 2012.

NORTHERN RIVERS CONSERVATORIUM, KEEN STREET, LISMORE web: www.nrcac.edu.au email: admin@nrcac.edu.au ph: 02 6621 2266

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reverb magazine issue #070 — June 2012 13

busby marou

You’ve exploded on to the Australian and international music market — how does it feel?

We’re finally doing something that we love — we’ve been doing it forever but now it’s a full-timer. I shouldn’t say this but, at times, it’s really tiring, and it can be stressful being on the road and touring. We were getting flogged about six months in, doing three tours at once, you know — doing our own tour [and] supporting Pete Murray and KD Lang at the same time. We’ve learnt a lot, both on stage and off — maybe not to drink so much (laughs). It’s been an incredible experience.

What did you do to get your music out there and noticed, besides playing your arse off at shows.

made through the He Will Have His Way album. One of the producers was Craig Hawker, and he pushed us, or urged us, on to Graham ‘Asho’ Ashton at Footstomp.

They hadn’t heard of us but they said Craig’s got a great track record. So we all just said we’d have a go — see how it went, and within a few weeks we were on rotation on Triple j.

Footstomp was first a mentoring and management company, then became our label.

It’s been great. We’re all very close friends now and, no matter what happens, we always will be.

people.

You’ve recently been overseas to the US and Canada. Do you have any juicy stories?

On the last night of SXSW, Jeremy went home and my manager and I were like, ‘you know what, I’m not ready for bed’. So we went back out and everything was closed.

We met some locals, and this one guy was like ‘come to a party’, [and] 25 minutes later, we were jumping through waterfalls and down ledges… running over train tracks.

It was pitch black — three in the morning.

Then we stumbled across this forest and, man, I felt like I was on the set of Avatar. It opened up to a huge field with maybe a thousand people there with headphones — It was a silent disco! It was amazing! My

Do you still enjoy a low key gathering to kick about or has it come to be all about the business?

Yeah, there’s something about a smaller crowd.

We were touring and hit this town called Merimbula. It was in an RSL club I think — it could have fitted about 1,000 people in it but we had about 90. We called everyone up and sat around in a circle and just jammed — it was unbelievable. Everyone was joining in.

It was just so much more personal, you know, it was great.

Belief in the Busby From Rockhampton to touring Australia, the US and Canada, you can’t wipe the smiles off the BUSBY MAROU boys’ dials. Over the past couple of years, the pace has certainly quickened, and with the announcement of their ‘I Still Don’t Believe’ national tour, there’s no sign of slowing down. MEL ROACH spoke with vocalist and guitarist, TOM BUSBY about quitting his day job, getting signed, and travelling to SXSW to end up at a forest silent disco at 3am.

Being from Rockhampton, it’s been hard. In a lot of the regional towns we went pretty much unnoticed. [But] we just kept playing and playing, improving and improving. We did an EP with Pete Murray. He helped us.

He’s been a bit of a mentor, putting us on the right track. In 2010 we were fortunate enough to be successful in with a Breakthrough grant. Not only were we rewarded with $25,000 for the album and our music but… the panel put us in front of some good

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manager didn’t tell his wife for a while — he was supposed to be working real hard over there, but it was the best time of his life.

How did it feel having to leave your day jobs to pursue this dream?

It’s a hard thing to do, no matter when you do it — the timing’s never right, or never wrong. So you’ve always got in your mind that you’ve done the wrong thing. We finally did it. It was a scary feeling leading up to it

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[but], personally, I’m feeling so much better about myself. I had music on my mind 24/7, so it’s been really rewarding. Financially, it’s a struggle, but hey — it’s good times and the rewards are on the way. We’re working towards a long term goal not a short term goal.

You have 17 dates on the ‘Still Don’t Believe’ tour — what then?

We’ve got a few big festivals that are getting locked in and a few big gigs.

There’s a thing going down in October that hasn’t been confirmed yet, but it will take us overseas again. We then want to do some more writing. We can’t wait to hit Newcastle — Jeremy loved our last gig there, too.

Your management, Footstomp Music, did you find them or did they find you..?

A bit of both actually — we found each other.

Again, this came through the contacts we

Busby Marou perform at Lizotte’s Kincumber on Thursday June 14; Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle, on Friday June 15; Great Northern Hotel, Byron Bay, on Sunday July 15.

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t h e a u d re y s

Cool, Calm & Collected Adelaide country-folk outfit The Audreys are ready to hit the road once again, following the re-release of all three of their ARIA-winning albums in a Collected box set. Usually a five-piece, this time the Audreys will be touring as a stripped-down duo, consisting of front members Taasha Coates and Tristan Goodall. BAZ RUDDICK caught up with the beautiful songstress and the youngest member of the Audreys entourage — Coates’s 10-month-old son, Finlay.

I

n February 2006, The Audreys released their debut album, Between Last Night And Us, to instant acclaim — the type of success that has typified their career and seen them win three consecutive ARIA awards. “The first one was a total shock,” says Coates. “Everyone told us we had no chance of winning and we hadn’t even prepared a speech. The second one, everyone said there is no way you will win a second time but we did prepare a speech. The third one was sort of weird. I had this feeling about half an hour before it was going to happen... historically no one has won it three times in a row. But then I found myself fixing my hair and putting my lippy on and thinking ‘what am I going to say’, again. Maybe that’s because I have actually never been and not won… Until then the only thing I had ever won was a chook in a chook raffle!”

This unbelievable achievement inspired the release of their Collected box set, which contains all three records and a “bunch of bonus stuff”, never previously released. “It was stuff that was worthy of it,” says Coates, who, with Goodall, dug through the vaults of old recording sessions to bring these songs

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to their listeners. “A lot of the recordings actually sounded really crap! There was some stuff that we had honestly no memory of recording and when we were listening we would be, like, ‘oh this is really good’ or ‘no wonder this didn’t make it on to the record’.”

Despite their 18-month break from touring and Coates’s introduction to motherhood with the birth of Finlay, The Audreys are in no way slowing down. “Tristan and I are getting together a couple of weeks before our tour to pool ideas and see if anything comes out. We have both been working on stuff individually. It could all just come pouring out and we will have a record in another couple of months or it could take another year. I really don’t know. I don’t know what motherhood has done to my brain.”

Whilst normally touring a five-piece band, Goodall and Coates have decided to keep it simple on this tour. “We did a duo tour a couple of years ago as a bit of an experiment and we loved it so much that we decided we would do it again. There was this really interesting dynamic, between Tristan and I, on stage, partly because the arrangements were really stripped down. When you play with the band it has to be quite

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well-rehearsed. Tristan and I have known each other for a long time so there is a nice chemistry between us and we just get along really well.”

While, for most bands, having the opportunity to tour and play the songs you have written and love is a privilege in itself, the Audreys are performing in support of a cause greater than their own. Having recently been the face of a campaign against live animal export, Goodall and Coates have extended their support for PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) by using them as a touring sponsor. “It’s our way of doing something for charity as we can’t afford to donate. Animal rights are something we both believe very strongly in.

It was a campaign that really needed attention.”

Touring with a baby? “Wish me luck! My partner will come to hold him while we are on stage. He is going to get pretty sick of his mummy’s tunes, I think”.

The Audreys will be performing at Lizotte’s Lambton on Thursday June 28, and Lizotte’s Kincumber on Saturday June 30.

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reverb magazine issue #070 — June 2012 15

with Phil Levy

BOY AND BEAR

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magazine issue #070 — June 2012

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photo by david james

t h e b l a c k s ee d s

Where did your love of reggae come from?

I think I was just fucking sick of rock music about 10 years ago and I liked dancing. I didn’t get into dance music though because I liked the sound of older music.

There’s a reggae band in Wellington called Roots Foundation and they used to play regularly and I used to go along and dance.

That’s basically how it happened.

Dust And Dirt is quite an eclectic album.

Do you find each member of the band brings their own sound?

I think each person adds a different spice to the mix. We all like reggae but some people listen to more rock music than others, for example.

How do you go about writing music?

We have no rules as far as songwriting goes.

This album is a mixture of stuff the band has come up with together, songs that individuals have brought to the band and then other songs written by groups within the band. That was something I was very keen to encourage this time around — you come up with stuff the whole band never would.

Tell me about self-recording and producing

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It ’s not ever y day you see a bunch of white guys from New Zealand playing reggae music, but that ’s what THE BL ACK SEEDS do so well.

COR M ACK O’CONNOR sat down with guitarist MIKE FA BULOUS to talk about their new release, Dust and Dirt.

Dust And Dirt.

It was a lot of fun. The lack of deadlines and people not being rushed was great. We could spend time getting those ultimate keyboard sounds and we had a lot more freedom.

It’s resulted in a better album that we’re all happy with.

Who have been your big idols throughout your musical career?

Over the last 10 years, people of African descent — they just make amazing music of all different types. Most popular music can trace its roots to music created by people of African descent. They need more credit!

Being a large band, what are the dynamics like?

I guess it’s good in some ways. When you get sick of someone you don’t have to be in that person’s face. When we’re on the road someone gets their own room each night and it rotates. Generally, we just get on though.

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Brett McKenzie (Flight of the Conchords) used to be part of the band. What was behind his departure?

Basically he got too famous. Flight of the Conchords took off and he didn’t have time to be in two successful bands. I think it was a pretty good move for him, though! We’re still friendly, which is nice.

The Black Seeds has been together for a long time. How do you keep things fresh?

We just always listen to new music and become inspired. For me, personally, I guess I just experiment with trying to record different sounds. It’s one of those things where you never stop learning. There is always a new challenge. I haven’t felt stuck in a rut yet!

How did you get into music?

I had quite a musical family and it was the first thing that I found I was any good at. I tried most sports and I got quite a few ‘most improved’ trophies. Music just took off —

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I was in the right place at the right time.

It’s not hard to be motivated when you’re doing something you love.

How did the Black Seeds form?

Just in bits and pieces. The band was started by two guys that aren’t even in the band anymore, which is quite hilarious.

They had an audition in a car park when they were looking for the singer. Barnaby (Weir, vocals) turned up with one other guy that was a heavy metal guitarist.

Obviously they chose Barnaby. The current band has just joined at other points after that.

I’ve heard your live shows are quite special.

What can we expect?

It’s music for people to dance to. People like dancing because it feels fucking good. It’s like exercise combined with euphoric sounds. The band is really tight at the moment as well. We’ve got our shit down, and there’s a heap of new songs. We do a good mix.

The Black Seeds perform at the Great Northern Hotel, Byron Bay, on Thursday June 7, and the Great Northern Hotel, Newcastle, on Sunday June 17.

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l i ber a t i o n fr o n t — s a m s p a rr o

Sweet Liberation Some things in society, especially those too troubling to face, are swept under the carpet. But TIM ROWLAND of Sydney-based punk band, LIBERATION FRONT, is in the business of unearthing secrets. Rowland chats to SEAN FRAZER. You guys are quite open about your political beliefs. What is the band’s message?

I’m trying to be less vague with our songs and more to the point. Most of the current EP that we’re recording is about the second coming of the Great Depression. About the fact that we are headed for another great depression, financially, another melt down, like we saw in the 1930s. One of the first songs that will appear on the record is about how the banking sector [and] corporations have a lot of say in what happens in our government. It’s very much about where our country and the world is heading.

Separating governments and corporations is very much on the agenda in our band.

Another song that will be on the EP is about the Seattle riots against the World Trade Organisation. I don’t know if many people know about that, but it was a successful protest. Pretty much everyone there got arrested but it caused [the talks] to shut down. Protests work. Protest is patriotism — once everyone comes together, they can’t be defeated. If you’re on your own yelling in a street no one will listen to you, but if 100 others join you, your message will become louder and clearer.

We’re trying to connect with people all over the country, so they can hear our music, understand what we’re trying to say in our songs, and hopefully identify with it in some way.

What are the effects of playing in a political punk band?

Being in a political band can sometimes hurt you. Especially when you talk in between songs — people can shout things like “get on with it!”. But they don’t realise that the reason I’m standing on stage isn’t just to strum out some songs, it’s to play songs that have great meaning to society. If we were one of those bands that just wrote songs about love and getting drunk, I don’t think we would still be a band.

You have recently relocated to Sydney.

What was the reason behind the move and how do the different music scenes compare?

There doesn’t seem to be much of a scene left in Newcastle [for] punk rock. I mean, there are bands that do well but no one seems to collaborate like they used to. We’re well established and we’re well recognised by promoters as a Newcastle band, but we’re trying to shake that and get them to see us

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magazine issue #070 — June 2012

as a viable Sydney option for support slots with touring bands from overseas, which has been a challenge. For instance, we supported Guttermouth recently when they came out on tour and we got to play at their Newcastle show, but we didn’t get to play with them in Sydney.

I understand that you do most of the work behind-the-scenes for the band?

Yeah, I’m managing the band at the moment and it’s almost a full-time job! We’ve got something like 20 dates coming up on this tour and it spans throughout June, July and August.

How will this new EP compare to your first record?

With our first record, we were young and our tracks contained a bit more of an overview of what we were trying to say. On the new record, each song is about a particular topic.

How far along is the recording process?

The EP was supposed to be done by June for the first show of the tour, but it had to be pushed back a little bit. We’re still hoping for June though. We’ve been writing the EP for a few months now. We’re just trying to get the message clear and the songs right.

We started tracking the first half of the EP with Heath from Waitama, a local band that we’ve loved for a while now, and then we went with Greg Stace who has done some big local recordings with bands like One Dollar Short and Something with Numbers. He knows punk rock, that’s why we’re doing it with him. He has his mysterious ways, but you end up with a professional recording.

Liberation Front are currently unsigned, will you be actively looking for a contract once the EP is finished?

We’ve always been looking. We’re looking for the right people that will help us with what we [want] to accomplish. Last year, we had a smaller label contact us, willing to sign us. We had a look at the other artists on the label and we didn’t agree with what they were singing about. It just wasn’t us, so we turned it down.

Liberation Front performs at the Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle, on Sunday June 3 supporting The Flatliners; Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle, on Wednesday June 27; Gee Wizz Nightclub, Gosford, on Thursday August 30.

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Sparro Returns It’s been a long time since Grammy-nominated songwriter SAM SPARRO was in the public eye. Now he’s returning with a second album, Return To Paradise, due for release this month. Sparro’s debut single ‘Black and Gold’ was a smash hit, but what has he been up to since then? MAX QUINN attempts to find out.

It’s been four years since we last heard from Sam Sparro. Where have you been?

I don’t understand the question.

times. I waited until I really felt like they were right. I just really wasn’t in a rush. I don’t see the point.

Well, your last record came out in 2008, and your new one is set for release very soon. Tell me what you have been doing in between those times.

Can you be more specific?

Did you know what you wanted to say with the album right away?

It wasn’t that I had a mission statement. I wrote the album about what I was going through at the time, which was a break-up and a lot of life changes. I didn’t really have much that I wanted to say as much as I wrote about what was happening to me.

Tell me about what has been happening leading up to this album being released.

I’ve been doing a lot of writing for this new album. I’ve also been writing for some other people, but recently I’ve mostly been concentrating on my own material.

The first record was such a success — did you have any reticence or apprehension going into album number two, four years later?

No. I think I actually like this record a lot more.

I really love the record. I’m okay with however it will be received because I’m proud of it.

Do you have any expectations about how you think it will be received?

Expectations are the root of all suffering. I try not to have any.

It’s a ‘no expectations, no disappointment’ mantra?

It’s a Buddhist mantra. The Dalai Lama said that. I’m not very competitive. My goal isn’t to make music that will be competitive in a Top 40 market. I just want to create art.

It’s irrelevant how it’s received.

But you are still going to be put in that Top 40 bracket, regardless of whether it’s your goal or not. How do you feel about that?

I feel fine about it. It’s a weird business and I know how it works, but it doesn’t fixate what I do.

Was it important for you, then, to take your time with this record?

Definitely. I think it’s good because a lot of the songs I recorded four or five different

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Thematically it does feel to me like this is an album about trying really hard to be happy. Do you agree?

It’s not about trying really hard. It’s about learning to be happy. Yeah.

Was that reflective of how things were unfolding in your life at the time?

Yes. A song like ‘Happiness’ is a good example of what I’m getting at. It’s a jubilant song, musically, but lyrically, it seems to suggest ‘I think I can be happy’ rather than ‘I am happy’. Do you agree?

Yeah.

Tell me about that.

It’s about a mindset — that’s something that I’m still learning about. The album is definitely celebratory as well as going through challenges, and having a broken heart, and being human. There were a lot of things going on in my personal life. I won’t really talk about that. But it is all in the songs.

How do you feel about putting all of that personal information out there for the world to hear?

Well, that’s what an artist does.

Yeah?

That’s called being an artist.

Return To Paradise is out now through EMI Music

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kingfisha

Your debut self-titled album has just been released. Did the recording process go as planned or were you thrown a few roadblocks along the way?

We had a couple of false starts, actually.

One recording session was interrupted by the 2011 floods, as the studio was in West End, and we had a power outage. Initially we were going to produce the album ourselves, but in the end we thought it best to get some outside help and perspective and that’s when the ball really started rolling.

The album was record in Brisbane with Pauli B (Beautiful Girls, George). Can you tell me about the space you recorded in, and why you chose it?

The Tanuki Lounge is a small studio on Boundary St, West End. We had recorded there with other bands, so knew the space well. It was nice and central for all band members and we felt very comfortable there, so it was an obvious choice for us, really.

Deep in the Dub Over the past five years, Brisbane-based KINGFISHA have performed constantly, taking out the Triple J Unearthed Roots competition in 2010, and firmly establishing themselves in the reggae/dub scene. KEVIN BULL spoke with bassist SHANNON GREEN about their debut release.

What was Pauli B like to work with?

It went really well. He was usually pretty open to our ideas and trying them out, even if [they] didn’t necessarily work in the end.

He is a bass player, so he knows the bottom end, which is important to us, but he also has a great sense of song craft, so that helped when arranging songs, for instance.

opportunity to start something fresh, and that also coincided with us getting deeper into reggae and dub. It wasn’t really the driving force, the two just happened to coincide.

With Kingfisha born out of the folding of Promiscuous, your sound moved further into reggae and dub. Was this change of direction and sound the reason for forming Kingfisha?

When Promiscuous ended we had decided it was time for a name change, as an

What is Australian reggae?

Taking it literally, I would say, reggae made in Australia. I’m not sure Australia has necessarily developed a unique sound as such, but we feel our approach to be true to ourselves and our outlook on life. I guess we avoid certain reggae clichés as they don’t

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really represent who we are.

What does the sound on your debut fulllength have over your 2008 EP? The sound is a lot more produced. The EP was essentially a live recording. This time we used samples and loops to form the beds and slowly built up from there.

As a punter at a live reggae gig, you are easily caught up in the rhythms. As a musician playing reggae, what is it about

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the music that catches you?

Definitely the rhythm, also. There is something about the skank, and a melodic, rolling bass line, that gets us every time. But songs and melody are an important part of reggae, too, and that is something we strive to do well, and something we love about Jamaican reggae tradition.

What’s your experience on the support that the reggae scene receives from punters, venues and the industry?

It can be a little on the outer. Reggae music is very much mainstream in places like New Zealand, France and Germany. Having said that, we never have any trouble having gigs to play and many festivals love to have a reggae band on their line-up.

Kingfisha perform at the Brewery, Byron Bay, on Saturday June 16.

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j a c k s o n f i reb i r d

Fistful of Cock Rock Hailing from rural Mildura, the raw aural assault of JACKSON FIREBIRD has been stripping paint from the walls of venues throughout Australia and England, and will soon be blasting through your speakers and headphones.

KEVIN BULL spoke with percussionist DALE HUDEK about the bottle bin, chocolate éclairs and Cock Rockin’.

If you picked up an album and it was called Cock Rockin’, you would expect it to be totally in your face. I’m please to say it’s exactly that. Has Jackson Firebird always been direct?

I think so. Like our live set, we try and keep full throttle from start to finish. When we first started jamming and writing together it was pretty normal to be drenched in sweat and a bit bloodied and battered by the end of a session. We would both be quite rooted. And then Harvs (Brendon Harvey, vocals, guitar) would say “want to try and work out ‘Great Southern Trendkill’?” for shits and giggles.

Ballads never really came up. The title Cock Rockin’ kind of sprang up from just wanting to get out there and put on a rock show with nothing to hide — bare-all, in-your-face rock ‘n’ roll.

It has been said that the Jackson Firebird sound evolved from the isolation of living in Mildura. Did that same isolation present its own difficulties once you were ready to perform in front of an audience?

By the time we decided to start playing to audiences outside of Mildura, the main obstacle was the distance we needed to travel to get anywhere — we would have to book at least two shows to make a weekend worthwhile. It makes life easier only having two people in the band. And now we mostly throw a couple of geets, cymbals, a bottle bin and a megaphone on a plane and travel that way.

Have you ever found yourself playing in a Mildura cover band?

Before JF we found a mutual love of The Black Keys – The Big Come Up and Thickfreakness, so we worked out those two albums and played around Mildura under the name, The White Keys. Yeah I know, not much thought went into that!

In the early days, you would jam out the back of a family-owned bakery. That must have been special times – jam doughnuts, beer, and the freedom to rock out.

Every Tuesday night we would get together and mix a pretty potent cocktail of beer, chocolate éclairs and rock ‘n’ roll. The bakery was also very close to our local pub so Wednesday mornings were always a bit sluggish. The best times!

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magazine issue #070 — June 2012

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Cock Rockin’ was recorded on tape rather than digital. Why tape, and what has this added to the sound?

We just like the idea of making music the way it used to be done. Setting us both up in a room and just going for it. The album has that live old-style room sound that we were hoping for. I think choosing tape over digital had a bit to do with that.

Guitar, drums and the bottle bin. Can you explain the bottle bin — where the idea came from and what dynamics it adds to your sound?

[We were] drunk. It was a brief moment of clarity on a bucks’ camping trip. Initially it just started out as finding something to hit by hand which would sound like a bass and snare drum. Firstly a bit of corrugated iron and buckets, later a recycle bin and custom built tray. Stripping the drum sound back to just a bass and snare and bashing it with my hands gives the sound an almost primal energy. There’s only room for no-fuss, straight-down-the-line, dirty riffage.

You’ve just returned from the UK where, among other gigs, you played at The Great Escape and Liverpool Sound City. How did the English take to the Firebird?

There was much love. The feeling is mutual — we want to get back there really soon. We had some good gigs and played with some sweet artists and bands.

Ahead of you are 12 gigs over three weeks during June. How’s life as a hardworking, long-distance-travelling musician, and what can we expect from Jackson Firebird when you hit the Great Northern in Newcastle?

We can’t wait to get on the road in Australia.

We are playing some of the more rural areas this time around, which should be great.

Look out, Great Northern, this time we come possessed! We were told that place was haunted last time we stayed there and got no sleep at all. We heard doors slamming in the middle of the night and freaked!

Jackson Firebird perform at the Great Northern Hotel, Newcastle, on Sunday June 10. Cock Rockin’ is to be released June 8 though Warner Music.

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sampology

Out with a Bang SAM POGGIOLI, aka SAMPOLOGY, has arrived with a debut album and a new audiovisual DJ extravaganza to make you party like there’s no tomorrow.

CORMACK O’CONNOR talked apocalypses, stargazing, cats and cousins with the world-renowned, Splendour-bound DJ. You’re about to release your debut album Doomsday Deluxe, can you tell me about it?

In terms of my previous production this really ties into the live show in a big way.

My live performances are probably what I’m better known for, with the AV/DJing and that type of thing. Essentially it’s a soundtrack and the live shows I’ve been doing have become a lot more themed - it’s the end of the world in an uplifting way.

‘Stars’ is about making the most of the world if it was ending.

What type of process did you go through when writing the album?

I wrote one of the first songs on the album (‘Eagle Theme’) about two years ago. It just didn’t feel right for what I was doing at the time but I knew that I really liked it. The sound of it is very futuristic and it kind of shaped the sound of the whole album.

Songs have been more to do with specific synth sounds and uplifting chords.

Why did you choose ‘Stars’ as the lead single?

It represents, lyrically, what the album and the audiovisual show is about. It sums things up nicely. Hannah Macklin sings on it; she’s really great. I was blown away when she came up with the concept of looking at the stars instead of the normal apocalyptic doom and gloom. I’d say we will work together again.

What’s with ‘Attack of the Cats’?

I don’t even know what genre that track is.

Freaky house? It’s kind of just a stupid idea about cats taking over the world… I had the crazy video in mind the whole time I was making it. It’s a bit of fun.

What’s the obsession with the apocalypse?

It’s not really my obsession - it’s everyone’s!

When people say apocalypse I think of the general fear that people have. I’ve never been a fan of shows like Today Tonight or ACA because it just makes people worry about shit that isn’t necessary. I thought it would be good to take a relevant theme and look at it in a different way.

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Who originally got you into electronic music?

It was my cousins. I used to warm up for them, when I was about 17, in pubs and clubs. The records that I was listening to were more hip-hop but it introduced me to a lot of electronic music as well.

Do you ever get lonely touring as a oneman band?

It’s more boring than lonely. But… pretty much everywhere I go I have little crews of people I’ve connected with. Travelling is great to connect with other musicians.

What would you say to people who claim electronic artists aren’t as skilled as regular musicians?

I don’t think it’s as much [about] skill as performance. I come from a turntable background but I would never just scratch for two hours - that’s not entertaining. On the other hand, if someone is putting heaps of effort into jumping around and performing while they’re behind a laptop, I think that’s great. There’s the same opportunity to be interesting or boring with both types of performance.

What does a visual apocalypse look like?

It’s very ridiculous, funny, recognisable and very danceable. It’s like the party at the end of the world.

I saw that you’re on the Splendour line-up.

Who are you keen to catch?

I’m very keen to see what Azealia Banks will be like. It’s a big honour to play at Splendour. The crowds are very open to all types of music. DZ Deathrays, The Gossip and Bloc Party should be good as well.

Peaches has been quoted as saying you make her want to breakdance. What are your thoughts on that?

I think that’s a great thing and I’m sure she’d pull some very original moves as a breakdancer. (laughs) Sampology performs at the King Street Hotel, Newcastle, on Friday June 22 and SCU Unibar, Lismore, on Thursday June 28.

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reverb magazine issue #070 — June 2012 21

hugo race

Presenting an album of love songs, solo, with only an acoustic guitar, begs the question, are these the songs of a lonely man looking for love?

Not at all. My previous album, Fatalists, was in many ways a collection of original songs about death, recorded during a near-death experience with pneumonia. Following that excursion into the dark side, I wanted to record an album that was, in almost every way, the complete opposite. It seems to me that the greatest songs are written on the subject of love. I’ve written love songs myself, but in this case I wanted to explore the world of love songs written through other people’s eyes.

Some of these songs are very well known, and some are considered almost kitsch. So I stripped them back to reveal the core structure, the rawness, inside them. Musically, all my recent albums have been about stripping back sound; getting to the roots of things; keeping it rough, with sharp edges.

It was really interesting choosing these songs.

I started with a list of maybe 40 titles, and talked about them with Alannah Hill, who also designed the cover. Then Cesare Basile, one of Italy’s most original and invective songwriters, produced the sessions, and Cesare, like me, has produced a stream of records over the years you might classify as pretty dark. So the three of us conspired the whole project. And it evolved in an unexpected way, because originally I was going to Catania, Sicily, to record another album altogether.

But plans changed and what actually happened was this. Strangely enough, most of my albums come together like this, using chance and synchronicity.

Many of the songs on No But It’s True will be well-known. But it was a revelation to hear Romeo Void’s ‘Never Say Never’ performed in such a way. What was the perfect love song for No But It’s True?

The original of ‘Never Say Never’ is amazing.

And, like nearly all these songs, I first heard it a long time ago, back in ’82. Such songs have become part of some kind of history for me, [like the] classic, ‘Cry Me A River’.

Not all the songs worked with the treatment I gave them — there are several out-takes and ‘I’m On Fire’ was recorded twice… trying to find the way to alter it dramatically from the original without losing its power.

Why was this the right time in your career to focus on love?

I guess because in the 2000s, my lyric writing with the True Spirit was more politically motivated, in albums like 53rd State and Taoist Priests. Political hypocrisy has become so entrenched in the culture that it barely registers anymore — time to move on to more uplifting subjects, like love. To me, writing or singing about love and our secret internal lives has become the most challenging, inspiring path to take. And I’ve been through some pretty rough times emotionally, so I draw on that in my interpretations of the songs on No But It’s True. You know love is a complex matter — there’s a lot of joy and so on. But there’s also a lot of pain and ambiguity. Love and death are intertwined in the deepest experience of being alive.

Do you have fond memories of Melbourne’s post-punk scene of the 80s?

Wild times, innocent, too. There was a sense of breaking out of a boring, conformist culture, and we really went for it. My first band Plays With Marionettes broke all the rules — we didn’t even play rock ‘n’ roll — more a hybrid of jazz and avant-garde full of provocation and backwards tape

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magazine issue #070 — June 2012

well. I never thought of it as a documentary though, more as a document — a kind of romanticised version of the band culture in Melbourne from that time.

Having lived overseas since the late 80s, what did you find that was not available in Australia, in relation to your songwriting and music?

Pre-internet Australia was a different place.

Information arrived by mail, phone, maybe a fax machine. There was a sense of being several steps behind the USA or Europe.

This had the positive effect of allowing us to incubate in a vacuum, but ironically there was not that much room for us to move, here in this giant country, in the inner city ghettos. I’d lived overseas before and I knew there was endlessness to explore out there.

Moving to Berlin before the fall of the Wall had a huge impact on me, and even more so the experience of eastern Europe after the iron curtain. I was influenced by things I saw and lived and heard in some pretty extreme locations. And Berlin itself was a crossroads for all kinds of interactions. There was a sense of immediacy in the air — history happening around us from the Cold War to the Gulf War. The True Spirit toured Europe from Spain to Scandinavia, Romania and Greece, with musician members from Germany, the US, Belgium. On the road I met musicians like Chris Eckman and Chris Brokaw, and we started our band Dirtmusic.

We met a Tuareg rock band in the Sahara and recorded an album called BKO in Mali, Africa. All of these kinds of connections and inspirations were a direct result of physically moving from place to place, making it all up as we went along.

True Love Founding member of the Bad Seeds and the driving force behind Plays With Marionettes, The Wreckey and more recently The True Spirit, HUGO RACE was at the eye of the storm that was Melbourne’s volatile post-punk/New Wave music scene. Returning to Australia to tour his latest release, No But It’s True, after two decades abroad, Race turns his eclectic, prolific and, at times, extremely dark gaze on the ultimate emotion. KEVIN BULL speaks to Race about love. loops — music to mess with your head, not for dancing. That changed in time. We eventually brought the beat back, and that was when The Wreckery came together. The audiences were small but there was that feeling of being part of a wave – a New Wave! And gradually the audiences got bigger as our little ghetto contaminated the mainstream. In the 80s, there developed a whole scene of Australian music, bands that have influenced music worldwide. And of course there was the connection with the Birthday Party, who inspired us to take our music overseas, which eventually I did, but I had to do it alone.

What was behind your decision to leave the Bad Seeds following From Her To Eternity?

Initially, the Bad Seeds was more Nick’s solo project than a band. It all just happened unexpectedly, as these things do. I never intended to become a full-time guitarist in the band because I was taken up with my own

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songwriting and my own bands. It was a fantastic experience, but after that first world tour I knew I had to pursue my own vision, find my own voice. I enjoyed playing on several of Nick’s subsequent albums as a guest musician, but my real work was my own music with The Wreckery, and later with True Spirit. I’ve always been an independent, wanting to do my own thing in my own way.

In 1986, you found yourself playing the role of Pierre in Richard Lowenstein’s Dogs In Space, alongside Michael Hutchence. How close was this film to being a documentary on the musician’s life in Melbourne during the late 70s and early 80s?

The film is directly based on The Ears, and a lot of the live music scenes were shot in the Crystal Ballroom, where four or five years before things were really peaking on all kinds of levels. So it does directly capture the look and feel of the scene, in all its chaotic naivety. And it’s a true story, of course, as

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I tried to work out just how many albums you have been involved with — I reached 20 and gave up. Do you find time to do anything other than create music?

I produce or write for, or with, other artists — recently with Catherine Graindorge, Pantaleimon, Black-Eyed Dog, the Hellhounds, Don Rogall. And I get involved in film and theatre — like in a few weeks I’m performing in David Chesworth’s Richter-Meinhof Opera in the National Gallery of NSW. But beyond music and performance, I write.

Several pieces have been published in the Overland journal. Non-fiction accounts of places I’ve been, tours, strange events from the real world.

You are back in Australia to tour No But It’s True. Will your live performances be as stripped back as the album?

Luke and the War Wick Tragedy are supporting me on the tour, and some of them will guest on several songs in the set. And I use a sampler and some other devices in this show, creating background atmospheres and pulses. But most of it is very stripped back and raw.

Will you be including material from your whole career during the tour and, if so, are you enjoying performing these songs simply on an acoustic? Do they translate easily into this format?

I’ll be playing songs from Fatalists, No But It’s True, and some new material as well, from the second Fatalists album that will come out later this year. The set is very dynamic with a lot of sonic scene changes that I worked up during the recent Italian tour.

Hugo Race performs at the Great Northern Hotel, Newcastle, on Wednesday June 20; Port Macquarie Hotel on Thursday June 21; Bangalow Bowling Club on Saturday June 23.

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nick saxon

Nomadic Sounds National Geographic — you have been with them for a while now.

I’ve been working for National Geographic for over 12 months now and absolutely love it!

It’s an honour and privilege to work for such an internationally respected brand. After a solo show in Sydney, I was introduced to a Nat Geo representative. They were looking for a male presenter and apparently had been following my music on Youtube. It was my music that got me here. It was through hard work gigging and stepping out into the unknown.

After I quit my job as a dogman in 2009 to chase my music dream, it has been far from easy. But the rewards are showing. I had no previous experience in TV or presenting, so there was a lot of pressure on me to perform.

When we were shooting in PNG, it was my debut as a presenter. There was a producer, sound man... the works. We were in Milne Bay for the Annual Canoe Festival. I was standing-by taking some still shots on my camera when the producer ran towards me shouting, “Nick, come on, we want you in this shot!”. There was a tribe of warriors dancing a traditional dance in front of the whole village and I was meant to be in the middle. I swallowed my fear and thought, “this is it, Nick, just get in there and do it!”. It was an amazing experience, something I will never forget.

What do you think is the most valuable lesson you have learnt during your travels

into my mind like a scar. Something as simple as saying hello, or donating some extra cash when you buy an apple helps. There are also stacks of charity organisations shown in front of us every day on TV. Child sponsorships, fundraisers — every little bit helps. Awareness is the first step.

Do you do a lot of reflection and writing on your flights?

Yes I do. Airports and planes are a great chance to polish some lyrics, or work on that riff that’s been bugging you for weeks.

It’s funny, the amount of musos you meet in airports when you pull out the guitar and start singing. It’s a great way to break the tension.

In what could be called a musician’s dream job, NICK SAXON hooked up with National Geographic and has been travelling the globe and documenting what he sees, with his music as the soundtrack. Having flown back into town just prior to Reverb going to print, MEL ROACH caught up with Saxon to find out how his life has changed. and how has this influenced your music?

Every place I visit has an entirely new feeling to it. You never know what to expect. The architecture, the landscape, the culture... always different and always changing. That’s the beauty of travelling, you evolve as a person as you continue to travel. And for a musician, your music and songwriting evolves as well. The thing that affects me most, though, is the people. I have met the most incredible people with unbelievable stories of hardship and suffering as well as success and glory. It’s the people that influence me.

You have travelled through quite a few

developing nations.

I’ve seen some very poor areas of the world — places that make you want to break down. There was a time in Nepal where we were in transit between locations, along a back road through some farming villages on our way to Chittawan National Park. I was watching the colours of the fields flash past my window when I looked to the left and saw a man on all fours, naked and covered in what looked like human faeces, crawling across a patch of grass. Attached around his neck was a rope, like a leash, that a woman was holding. She was taking him for a walk. There was something seriously wrong with this image — it burnt

You’re literally making your own soundtrack to your travels, to your life.

Do you think you’ll ever run out of words and expressions?

I hope not! I hope when, or if, the travelling slows down, the songs won’t. I guess I’ll have to see. If that’s the case, it looks like it’s back overseas for some waves and jams.

Any news on your next album?

Yes, I have exciting news on the new album. I wanted to write a nautical soundtrack, creating stories from my life and putting them into a nautical theme. So I drove out to Fennel Bay with all my gear and recorded a demo on my folks’ little timber boat, so I could capture the elements of the surroundings — water, birds, mooring lines…

Nick Saxon performs at the Brewery, Byron Bay, on Friday June 29; Hoey Moey Hotel, Coffs Harbour, on Sunday July 1; The Aztec, Forster, on Friday July 13.

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reverb magazine issue #070 — June 2012 23

missy higgins

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In the age of Facebook ‘friending’, intimacy is an illusion. The feeling that you ‘know ’ an ar tist has never been so strong. But despite being deeply touched by an ar tist ’s creation, an audience is, for the most par t, a faceless, at times voracious, crowd .

Even before Twitter and Facebook brought our favourite musicians, actors and artists into our bedrooms, MISSY HIGGINS appeared to be the quintessential girl-next-door.

She spoke to KR ISSI W EISS about the pressures of celebrity on her ar t.

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uccess arrived suddenly in Missy Higgins’s world, with those songs and that signature vocal timbre. In the early days her fans appropriated both her songs (often as a soundtrack to their own heartache and isolation), and to a degree, her life, convincing themselves that they knew Melissa Morrison Higgins.

“It’s really strange to talk about yourself,” Higgins says sleepily when I ask her how the onslaught of interviews for her new album, The Ol’ Razzle Dazzle is going. “I have never been someone who has naturally spoken about themselves. I have always been a natural listener or observer. I guess that’s how I write songs about other people — I am just fascinated by them. Sometimes I pinch myself and ask ‘how the hell did I end up in a job where I talk about myself all of the time?’.” So has there been a theme to the questions this time around? “Not really,” she says. “It’s mostly just people wanting to know the story about why I took the last few years off and that’s perfectly fine and reasonable.”

A few weeks before we spoke, Higgins was on Adam Hills In Gordon Street Tonight, sharing the chair with none other than Yusuf Islam (formerly known as Cat Stevens).

Islam, after reaching meteoric heights with his spectacular songwriting, tunnelled away from the spotlight via his own existential and spiritual crisis, only to return, many years later, to his craft. When Higgins had the opportunity to ask him some questions of her own, she appeared to be seeking reassurance from her own place of existential angst, rather than reading from a script.

“I was definitely really interested in his personal point of view,” she admits. “I feel like there are some similarities in what he and I went through. His is a much more extreme case than mine, obviously, but there were some similarities in the thought process. I think he thought that what he was doing was a little pointless and selfish and I think I definitely started to feel the same way after a while. The conversation… went on for a lot longer than they showed. I wish they had shown the whole [thing] because it was really interesting.”

Many artists cry foul at the suggestion that they should have a greater purpose than the act of creation itself and some, like Higgins, are burdened by the implication that they should be somehow saving the world.

“Because music is so easy for me and there is so much mindless stuff involved, like travel and talking about yourself, I really didn’t feel like I was being of much benefit to the world,” she says. “My dad is a doctor and I look at him and think, ‘you save lives every day — what you do is so tangible’. But I think what I’d forgotten is how much my music can affect strangers that I have never met and will never meet. Sometimes I get a glimpse of that when someone writes me a letter or Tweets me and that is so nice to hear. I think that makes you realise why you’re doing it and it gives you a bit more of a sense of purpose and it makes you feel like you are making a difference.

Even if it is through a whole lot of faceless people, at least you’re contributing something worthwhile.”

Music can, has and will continue to save lives in its own way. So many people, especially young people, feel that their emotions are invalid and they yearn for someone or something to relate to. They want to know they’re not crazy and not alone; that their emotions or experiences have been felt before and those people have

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survived. When an artist as eloquent and easy to relate to as Higgins sums that up in one perfect chorus, someone, somewhere is reassured that they too, can get through.

“I remember that really clearly,” says Higgins. “Going through those hard times as a teenager and feeling completely alone and completely different from everyone else. Everything you are feeling, you are feeling for the first time and to such a degree. I wish I could remember what songs helped me through but there were so many albums that were a soundtrack — that almost held my hand through those difficult times [and] made me feel there were people out there going through the same things.”

Her new album, as indicated by the lead single ‘Unashamed Desire’, reveals a completely new side of Higgins. There is that unmistakable timbre and stunning musicianship (as well as those middle eights that are always a highlight in a Higgins song) but the tone is different. Moving from 70s disco to Robert Johnson 20s blues, it is strikingly fresh and, while not as much of a shock as Dylan going electric, it threatens to scare off the Higgins fans that simply want a soundtrack to cry about their exes to. It’s a truly great album. But people are often jarred by change.

“Part of the process was trying to write songs just for myself,” says Higgins. “And to really try and get that anxiety of expectation out of my head because it just wasn’t doing me any good. I needed to get back to a place where I was having fun doing it, like I did when I was a kid.

When it came time to make the album, I wasn’t consciously trying to piss anyone off. I want for it to do well. I think my old fans will definitely find things in this album that come from the same place as my other two albums and there are songs on the album that come from a completely different place.

“I didn’t want to put any restrictions on myself about the kind of songs I wrote and how they were produced.

I just knew that I wanted… something that sounded different. You’re always going to piss people off when you do something different but the truth is you’re going to piss off just as many people if you don’t. I’d rather people be surprised and disgusted than bored. I’d much rather they say ‘I never saw that coming; I don’t know how I feel about it; I think I hate it’. I’d much rather extreme reactions than ‘I’ve heard that before, it doesn’t offend me but it doesn’t really make me feel anything that I haven’t felt before’.

“I really try hard to not think about what other people will think because that’s what undoes me and that is what ultimately stops me from being able to create truthfully,” she says. “You really have no idea what people are going to think. In the beginning I wrote songs for myself and that is what connected with people. I wasn’t trying to cater to anyone and there’s no reason to think that if I started to do that now, it would suddenly work for me.”

Artists need space and freedom to create. Invading their personal life — who they are sleeping with; what their favourite colour is (blue, for the record), can be stifling, as can the weight of expectations, in Higgins’s case.

Musicians give their souls in their music and that should be enough.

Missy Higgins performs at Newcastle City Hall on Wednesday June 13. The Ol’ Razzle Dazzle is out now through EMI.

reverb magazine issue #070 — June 2012 25

m a rt i n v a n v e l u w e n

The conservatorium is no longer the sole domain of the classically trained musician, offering courses in a multitude of modern, technically-based fields.

KEVIN BULL spoke with Martin Van Veluwen, of the Coffs Harbour Regional Conservatorium, about his Recording and Sound Design course, including what experience you need, and what you will have gained after 10 weeks.

Can you outline your own experience in the music industry?

I started playing music as a drummer in garage bands in the late 70s. With a love for melodic music, I also started strumming a guitar and busking at The Rocks, in Sydney, for loose change and the experience. My frustrating experiences with expensive studio recording sessions led me to learn more about audio engineering and by the mid 80s, after 11 years in a factory job, I took the plunge and joined forces with musician and producer, Jonathan Green, and formed

created and captured, through to learning the way to obtain professional results, producing and mastering sound so you gain a leading edge for your future projects. I know people possess different equipment and I urge students to bring gear in so we all can see and hear what it is capable of doing. I tend to tailor the course to what students really want to know about. We have extensive chat sessions and share stories relating to gigs, venues, equipment and situations, making the course interactive, educational and, above all, fun.

marathon recording session for a Layne Beachley DVD. The Con had acquired studio equipment but needed someone to run the gear. It was a privilege to become part of the Conservatorium team.

How long have you been running the Recording and Sound Design course?

The RSD course is currently in its seventh year. The Songwriters Course, about five.

There is the option to go straight into the extension course. What is on offer?

I have a tendency to have students complete the RSD course first, since it forms the basis of what is added to the extension course.

The extension course is far more hands-on and students are expected to play and perform.

Who is the course aimed at, and how much experience is needed?

Con Artists Apple 24Track studio, where I spent over two years, hands-on. All this time I still played live on weekends in and around Sydney. My wife and I moved to Coffs Harbour in 1988 and I became the resident musician at Opal Cove Resort for 17 years. I played a lot of gigs using MIDI gear which kept me very busy.

How did you find yourself teaching at Coffs Harbour Regional Conservatorium?

I was fortunate to get the position at the Coffs Con through one of the guitar teachers, Michael Bollen, a rock god from Broken Hill, who I worked with on a

The RSD course was initially aimed at high school students interested in capturing sound and music with a computer, and finalising a recording project from microphone set-up through to the mastering of the CD. Having said that, many adults who have heard of the course have enrolled and many students have enjoyed it so much that they have also completed the RSD extension course.

What equipment do you have at your disposal at the Conservatorium?

Currently we have both cutting-edge equipment and also a variety of classic analogue gear. Since most young students

are PC-based (usually because budding engineers like to tinker and customise their computer), I have opted to stay with PC, running the latest version of Cubase (6.5).

We also use Logic Audio, Wavelab, Cool Edit Pro and T-Racks. It’s essential to be conversant with several programs to help you get the job done. We have a Yamaha 02R, Yamaha N12, Yamaha Promix and Behringer 32-channel desk for live engagements.

At the completion of the course, what skills would you expect the participants to have picked up?

The RSD course takes you from how sound is

ADDRESS

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The 10-week, 20-hour Recording and Sound Design course is run at Coffs Harbour Regional Conservatorium. Course fee is $300 and is limited to five participants.

Term 3 begins Tuesday July 17. Visit www. coffscon.org.au for more.

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You are in the middle of Term 2. Can you describe what was taught during the most recent lesson?

The class is halfway through the recording of a joint composition. Every student gets to play a part and, in some cases, multiple parts in the piece. We tend to over-record, keeping all the good takes, and later streamline the project down to what is really required.

The basic guide track, guitars, bass and percussion is down. We mic up a drum kit next and then the students have a stab at the lyrics and melody of the song.

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magazine issue #070 — June 2012

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Ne w Ge n er a t i o n H u n ter V a l l e y W i n e m a k er s

rustica

W i n e s o n s h ow Margan Sparkling C h a r d o n n ay P i n o t N o i r 2 0 1 0 Thomas Braemore Semillon 2011 D e L u l i i s V i n ey a r d Semillon 2011 M e e r e a P a r k Te r r a co t t a Semillon 2006 D av i d H o o k P i n o t G r i g i o 2012 Margan White Label C h a r d o n n ay 2 0 1 1 M i s t l e t o e C h a r d o n n ay 2 0 1 1 T h o m a s Swe e t w a t e r Shiraz 2010 Meerae Park ‘The Aunts’ Shiraz 2010 Mistletoe Home V i n ey a r d S h i r a z 2 0 1 0 D av i d H o o k D i N ovo Rosso 2010 Margan White Label Barbera 2010 D e L u l i i s S a n g i ove s e 2 0 1 1

All Aboard the Big Green Bus The Wiggles may have a big red car and coloured skivvies, but the New Generation of Hunter Valley Winemakers have a big green bus full of booze. Dubbed the Caravan of Courage, I know which one I’m catching a lift with. Throughout the month of May, six first-generation winemakers from the country’s oldest wine growing region travelled the east coast for an adventure full of pop-up wine bars and dinners.

Rustica at Newcastle Beach 2/1 King Street, Newcastle Ph. 4929 3333 Thursday, May 10 It’s hard not to feel special. The Caravan of Courage has parked itself overlooking Newcastle Beach and my partner and I are outside the beautiful Rustica Restaurant sipping Margan Sparkling Chardonnay Pinot Noir 2010, trying to catch the eye of the canapé wait staff. The mood is upbeat amongst those dressed in their finery and the night has only just begun.

The setting for the four-course degustation menu is spectacular in itself. Century-old Mediterranean lushness abounds through the use of wrought iron, frescoes, mosaics, timber and sandstone, and the 500 lanterns suspended from the ceiling create an otherworldly vibe. Rustica has certainly created a setting that is second-to-none.

Seated at the winemakers’ table, we were presented with the first three wines, a selection of semillons. Not being a wine drinker, I went into the tasting as

Byron Beach Café

On board were David Hook (David Hook Wines), Andrew Thomas (Thomas Wines), Rhys Eather (Meerea Park), Nick Paterson (Mistletoe Wines), Mike De Iuliis (De Iuliis Wines) and Andrew Margan (Margan Wines), all totally dedicated to the Hunter, and at the cutting edge of the Hunter Valley’s winemaking future.

One can only imagine what occurred

onboard the bus as it travelled between Sydney and the Noosa International Food and Wine Festival — it just might be a case of what happens on the road, stays on the road. What we can report on are the dinners at Newcastle’s Rustica and Byron Beach Café. Reverb editor KEVIN BULL, and the champion of the common man STEVE BURRITO stepped forward to take the challenge.

Byron Beach Café Clarkes Beach, Lawson Street, Byron Bay Ph. 6685 8445 Wednesday, May 16 a blank canvas, so to speak, and with the guiding hand of the winemakers, was able to find my preferred match to the entree of chicken and tarragon boudin with seared scallops. As the night progressed, we moved though a selection of whites and reds, matched perfectly to the slowbraised Cape Grim short rib and sirloin main, and the quince, fig and almond tart dessert.

The wines were all superb drops, and the menu to die for, but the highlight of the evening was the winemakers themselves.

Each spoke passionately about their life’s work and were down to earth and approachable. Their love of the craft of winemaking, and the Hunter Valley region, could be tasted in every drop.

Credit must also go to Rustica owners Will Creedon and Mark Hosie for providing the perfect environment for the wines, and to chef Mark Hosie for his amazing culinary skills. ~Kevin Bull

It’s not often that our intrepid editor sends me out into polite company, so I was a little surprised when I got the call to attend the New Generation Hunter Valley wineries dinner at the very swish Byron Bay Café. As always, I’m keen to attend any function where free food and alcohol is on the agenda. So I dusted off my best defendants’ jacket, and informed the longsuffering Mrs Burrito that we were going out, no expense spared.

Now, at this point, I have to tell you that I’m no expert on fine wines or fancy foods. I can tell you we had five little meals on five big white plates that were delicious and surprisingly filling, and some very lovely wines to go with them. But I’m just your average (slightly mystical) horoscope and music industry writer, so I’m not going to pretend I know one end of a parsnip skordalia from another. But I am

good at consuming wine.

After a while, I started chatting with a nice guy who turned out to be Andrew Thomas from Thomas wines. The guy was so friendly and open I thought I should confess my lack of credentials as a wine drinker. Andrew’s reply was “no shit”. I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised that I don’t quite fit the profile of your average wine drinker, but I was surprised that the winemaker himself would say it. People usually lie at these PR things.

It was at that moment that Andrew dropped me a gem of wisdom that will forever see me hold the winemakers of the Hunter Valley in the highest regard. Andrew explained that the average wine drinker in Australia was a woman aged between 20 and 40, and that it was his job to get her pissed.

Andrew, from the bottom of my heart, and on behalf of every ugly bastard out there like me, I say

thank you. Because of your fine work, women that normally wouldn’t give me a second glance find me witty, charming, intelligent and slightly blurry.

So to repay the fine work of these good gentlemen, I’m going to give you the names of six great Hunter Valley wineries and I need you to buy their products today. These wineries are: David Hook wines, Thomas wines, Meerea Park, Mistletoe wines, De Luliis and Margan wines. When you go to a bottle shop, ask them where their Hunter Valley wines are. When you go to a restaurant, ask them for a Hunter Valley wine. And if they say they don’t have a Hunter Valley wine, ask them why not? We need to be supporting these guys. For without their fine work, ugly men like me would be destined to a life of loneliness.

~Steve Burrito

Disclosure: Kevin Bull and Steve Burrito were both guests of Caravan of Courage.

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f a s h i o n — p h o t o g r a p h y b y K i r a n a A n d ert o n

This page: Sun Ra necklace, $69.

Bear claw, $59.

Shaman ring [golden], $49. Seer ring [quartz], $49

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magazine issue #070 — June 2012

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f a s h i o n — p h o t o g r a p h y b y K i r a n a A n d ert o n

This page: Bedouin neckpiece, $69 Althena ear-rings, $49

Photography by Kirana Anderton Modelling by Nisah Razad Style by Erin Lee

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Jewellery by Lady Alchemy Jewellery www.ladyalchemy.com.au Ph. 0418 974 524

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circle of one

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magazine issue #070 — June 2012

It has been said that major change occurs when a large number of people all make small contributions to a common goal. Circle of One may only be small in number, but their contribution to raising awareness on social issues is quite impressive. KEVIN BULL spoke to director and photographer, JULIE LOWE about the organisation’s beginning, and their current project, a painted guitar signed by many of this year’s Bluesfest artists.

How many people are involved in Circle of One, and how long have you been up and running?

Circle of One Foundation was founded in 2010. We currently have six members but are getting more volunteers helping out as we expand worldwide.

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“ Hopefully this guitar goes to a happy player and the money made will help the cause to preserve one of the most special

Why is there a need for an organisation such as Circle of One? Circle of One Foundation is a non profit organisation helping to raise funds and awareness for different issues in the world we live in. By helping other organisations we become a circle and connect as one.

places on earth, the Kimberley”

How does someone become involved in Circle of One? Send us a message on Facebook or via our website www.circleofonefoundation.org.au.

We are often looking for volunteers to assist with raffles and raising awareness for different causes.

from John Fogerty’s band, Blue King Brown, Brian Setzer, Candi Staton, Canned Heat, Carus Thompson, Claude Hay, Crosby Stills & Nash, Dallas Frasca, Donovan, G3, Eagle and the Worm, Eugene Hideaway Bridges, Harry Manx, Jimmy Barnes, John Butler Trio, John Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin, Josh Pyke, Kim Churchill, Mama Kin, Maceo Parker, Marshall O’ Kell, Nicky Bomba, Mojo Blues Men, Oli Brown, Richard Clapton, Sea Sick Steve, Steve Earle, Sublime, Tribali, Trombone Shorty, Tijuana Cartel, Vusi Mahlaselia, Watussi, Weddings Parties Anything, Andrew Stockdale from Wolfmother, Yes, Yann Tiersen, Dweezil Zappa, Ziggy Marley.

Where did the idea of the hand-painted, signed guitars initially come from, and has it been successful?

The hand-painted signed guitars idea was initially created by our great friend Wazza Jones in 2007 when the Byron Bay Blues Festival were kind enough to support Wazza’s cause for the Reception Centre for Tibetan Refugees in Dharamsala, Northern India.

WE ARE PROUD TO ANNOUNCE AT THE

HAPPY HOUR 4- 6pm EVERY DAY

Circling the Kimberley

Can you fill me in on some of the guitars that have been auctioned?

We have worked closely with John Butler Trio, Jimmy Barnes, Xavier Rudd, Missy Higgins, and Blue King Brown for Save the Kimberley guitars. We have also received support from Big Day Out, Bellingen Global Carnival, Festival of the Sun, Peats Ridge Festival and Gum Ball Festival to raise awareness and funds for Save the Kimberley, Black Dog Institute and Our Generation.

Your current guitar is a very special piece that was signed at Bluesfest this year. Can you fill us in on whose signatures you managed to get onto the instrument?

Alabama 3, Ashleigh Mannix, Backsliders, Bobby Alu, Ben Mayne and Bob Malone

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John Butler

The proceeds from this auction are going to Save the Kimberley. Can you give us a background of the work that this organisation does?

Save The Kimberley (STK) represents a cross section of the community. STK’s vision is to see the Kimberley, one of the last great wildernesses, protected from short-sighted industrialisation.

How do people buy tickets, what is the cost, and how long is it running?

Raffle tickets are $5 each, are on sale now and it will run for approximately three months. For payment options, head to www.guitarprojectraffle.org.

Feeling lucky? Links for Circle of One include: www.guitarprojectraffle.org www.circleofonefoundation.org.au www.savethekimberley.com

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t o e n a i l c l i p p i n g s — c r u n c h y f o rt u n e s

Profiling music industry professionals

Name? Elise ‘Elsie’ Reader For whom do you work? Fotomedia – a video production company on the Gold Coast Current position title? Video editor How long have you been in this position? I started with Fotomedia just recently but I was a video editor for NBN Television for the past four years.

What are the main responsibilities of your position? To me, video editing is all about seamlessly telling a story and engaging the viewer!

How did you get involved in the video production industry? I started by doing my Certificate IV in Multimedia at North Coast TAFE and was lucky enough to be offered a traineeship at NBN Television in Port Macquarie… the rest went from there.

fortunes

Steve Burrito’s crunchy fortunes

Gemini: Every town has a lovers’ lane but there’s always more action on I Just Want To Get My Rocks Off Road.

Your new favourite colour will be clear.

Note to self — if you’re invited to a baby shower, don’t show up naked.

Libra: Who would have thought that KFC gravy would make such an impressive lubricant? You would have, that’s who. You will soon pioneer the pubic part. It’s not a new move, but you’re bringing it back.

Aquarius: This month you will be the first person to experience a forehead orgasm. That explains why you’re cock eyed. This is a great month to start building bridges. Not metaphorical relationship bridges. Real ones.

Cancer: Very soon your partner will accuse you of being passive impressive.

Kiama has a blow hole, Brisbane Entertainment Centre is one. This month you will meet the King of Tonga.

Your lucky ambiguity is something else.

Scorpio: Put your seat belt on, I want to try something. Your lucky sensation this month is flying. Your unlucky sensation will be stopping. This is a great month to try something new. Try rubbing wasabi in your eye.

Pisces: There will be an uncomfortable moment for you this month as Mercury the planetary messenger enters Uranus. Did you know that 50 per cent of giraffes are bi-sexual, but 90 per cent of emus find you drop dead sexy?

Your lucky thing is itchy.

Leo: Very soon you will be offered a practically risk free, virtually half-priced thing, that will make you taller, thinner, faster, sexier and smarter. Seems like a good deal to me. Send to Steve Burrito c/o Reverb magazine.

Sagittarius: There’s a big prawn and a big banana, but your efforts to build the big turd will be thwarted as Queensland already exists. The saying ‘get in the hole’ is only appropriate in golf, not ultimate fighting.

Aries: Sitting down will soon be quite uncomfortable after you demand to know where the remote control is. Very soon you will start playing Pick that Bit on your phone with a sexy random stranger.

Your lucky feeling is distended.

Virgo: You have been tested on animals, and you don’t fit.

Have you noticed that you have hair growing in places that you’ve never had hair before. I think you’re eating too much chicken. Avoid calling me — you’re annoying.

Capricorn: This month you will feel pulled between two loves. Lucky you. Soon you will wake up naked in a public park covered in walnut burger meat with a vague memory of a fibreglass horse. You’re getting stranger.

Taurus: You will soon act upon your secret desire to become a pole dancer.

Unfortunately the passengers on the 4:15 bus will be your first audience.

Women wear two tassels, guys wear one.

Your lucky celebrity is Humphrey B Bear.

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Proudest moment? I’d have to say seeing my names in the credits of a live NRL broadcast... even if my name was spelt wrong!

Best live show you’ve been to? Bullet For My Valentine, I’ve seen them six or seven times and they’re just incredible!

Favourite venue? The Roundhouse in Sydney. So many great memories.

Favourite musical instrument? Guitar To whom should we be listening? A band called DRUGS. What would be on your ultimate rider?

My own little sushi train!

Anyone you’d really like to meet (dead or alive)? Definitely Dave Grohl or James Hetfield.

Best way to spend a Sunday morning?

Im a big Sunday sleep-in fan, followed by breakfast out in the sun.

Any advice for people trying to break into the industry? Email as many people as you can asking for work experience; do as much as you can for free and do whatever they ask you. If you persist and show enthusiasm, you’ll make it. Good luck!

reverb magazine issue #070 — June 2012 31

album Reviews Feature albums

Best Coast

The Tallest Man On Earth

Ladyhawke

There’s No Leaving Now

Modular

Between the Times and the Tides

4/5

Dead Oceans

3.5/5

matador/Remote Control

If it sounds good, do it (and do it again). Formula works like a bloody charm for Best Coast singer/songwriter Beth Cosentino on sophomore LP The Only Place. The record essentially has two types of songs – punchy, Californian singalongs and overcast, sad-sack ballads – written and rewritten six times each. But that doesn’t stop every one of them from being insatiably catchy and undeniably fun.

Cosentino’s songwriting hasn’t gotten any better (or any worse) since the band’s debut but she and multi-instrumentalist Bobb Bruno have made a great call in ditching the lo-fi production that marred that outing. The Only Place is all spit and polish and it sparkles and pops from go to whoa. A winner. ~Max Quinn

Catcall

The Warmest Place Ivy League

4/5

While one might question the relevance of a record recalling the sounds of girly 80s pop, Catherine Kelleher (aka Catcall) has created an undeniably world class album, unafraid of hooks and catchy melodies. The lead singles ‘Satellites’ and ‘Swimming Pool’ are highlights on an album chock-full of potential radio singles.

It’s catchy, bold, sassy and doesn’t hold back emotionally - a rarity these days. Kelleher’s influences are obvious (‘The World is Ours’ sounds as though it was pulled straight from a Go-Gos album) and while her vocals may not appeal to everyone, they ooze personality. There are plenty of solid grooves and the production, apart from a few tacky, Casio beats, is pretty classy. ~Chelsea Reed

Xavier Rudd Spirit Bird Salt

4/5

One of the most unique Australian artists performing today, Xavier Rudd’s latest album features the musical and lyrical elements that have brought him to the attention of the world. Of course there are the joyful melodies scattered throughout, in combination with Rudd’s socially conscious, straight-to-the-point lyrics. On this album, he has achieved the feat of writing a 10-minute song that maintains the listener’s interest through to the end - ‘Full Circle’ features great riffs with spots of ambience and, of course, Rudd’s signature instrumentation of dirty slide guitar with didgeridoos and a stomp box. Spirit Bird is all quality, honesty and passion. On the rare occasion I skipped a track, I felt almost blasphemous. ~Thomas Peasley

32 reverb

magazine issue #070 — June 2012

3.5/5

There is something about simplicity in music that speaks to me and The Tallest Man on Earth (aka Swedish singer/ songwriter Kristian Matsson) shouts without raising his voice. There’s No Leaving Now is calm acoustica with a tinge of country. Simple but effective vocal melodies that will melt your heart are best displayed in ‘1904’. While the album is consistent, Matsson maintains the listener’s interest through the album’s 10 tracks with subtle additions, like the lap steel in ‘Bright Lanterns’, simple but clever guitar playing and honestly sung lyrics. ~Sean Degan

Day On Fire

Apologies & Ghosts Independent

4/5

This unique debut album by Adelaide four-piece Day on Fire is difficult to pigeonhole, with elements of rock, punk, metal and even screamo, making sporadic appearances. The vibe is wide-ranging, from ‘Machine Hearts’, which features a speech from Charlie Chaplin over a dramatically building string section, to the frenzied chords of standout track ‘Sleeping Dogs’. Kudos for the world’s greatest song title - ‘If Yoda Doesn’t Like You, No One Does’. This band could, however, use a second vocalist - by the end of the album, I was sick of hearing the same voice. ~Thomas Peasley

the Walkmen Heaven

Fat Possum Records/Pod/Inertia

1.5/5

Some albums go straight to your top five. This won’t be one of them. The seventh album by American indie band The Walkmen is a let-down. It opens with ‘We Can’t Be Beat’, featuring a whiny and desperate-sounding Hamilton Leithauser with an annoying choir in the background. ‘Love is Luck’ is one of the better songs, taking you amongst the swaying couples of a 60s dance hall.

‘Heartbreaker’ and ‘Song for Leigh’ showcase that era’s jangling, poppy guitars.

But ‘Southern Heart’ is just painful. Heaven does get better with repeated listens, but it’s almost unbearable getting through the first few. Maybe it’s time for The Walkmen to do a Madonna and reinvent themselves. ~Stephanie McDonald

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Anxiety

Lee Renaldo

Popfrenzy

The Only Place

After a four-year hiatus, New Zealand songstress Pip Brown, better known as Ladyhawke, returns with the anticipated follow-up to her highly successful debut. Anxiety is a louder, darker sequel with a crunchy sonic buzz, courtesy of co-writer and producer Pascal Gabriel. A colder atmosphere and greater rock emphasis replaces much of the 80s synth-pop that dominated her debut.

‘Black, White & Blue’ is a fitting choice for a single - a straightforward dance-pop tune with one of Ladyhawke’s trademark hooky choruses. The thumping electro-rock and killer choruses on ‘Vaccine’ and ‘Girl Like Me’ showcase Ladyhawke’s developing maturity as a songwriter and her desire to move her sound beyond conventional dance-pop.

‘Blue Eyes’ has promise but stumbles, with its repetitive and annoying ‘nah, nah, nahs’ during the chorus - a recurring issue that diminishes the impact of several songs. Regardless, Ladyhawke’s pop smarts and addictive songwriting remain the key to her success and the majority of songs deliver the goods, despite some inadequacies. Anxiety is a more mature and edgy follow-up and an enjoyable listen, sure to generate excitement from her fans. ~Luke Saunders

Paul Greene

Behind The Stars ABC Music/Universal

3.5/5

To be honest, at first listen I wasn’t all that impressed with Behind The Stars. Old hat, I thought. But then I allowed its calm and beautifully-crafted songs to wash over me, beginning with ‘Behind The Stars’, with its sighing guitar slides, soft shakers and Greene’s voice. The album then develops, showcasing Greene’s impressive vocal range, from the singalong rock tune ‘Crossfire’ to the almost spokenword ‘Bad Luck Lately’. The whole album plays like some kind of Dallas Green / Paul Dempsey mash-up. If you’re over 35 and/or have any appreciation for music, this is for you. ~Cormack O’Connor

Marilyn manson Born Villain Shock

2.5/5

There is a fine line between consistency and repetition and with Born Villain, Marilyn Manson blurs it.

With one track hard to differentiate from the next, I found myself checking to make sure I wasn’t on repeat. Although the album features some of Manson’s heaviest tracks, producer Chris Vrenna’s smooth and subtle production makes it an easy listen. The highlight of the album, ‘Slo-motion’ is pure pop, albeit with Manson’s messy and controversial bent, featuring lines such as “… teenage rape candidates; I think we’ve got ourselves a hit”. Not atrocious but certainly ‘same old…’. ~Sam Degan

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4/5

What he lacks in lyrical subtlety, he more than makes up for with whimsical, cosmic rock odysseys whose slightly wonky phrasing and oblique musicality are the obvious legacy of Sonic Youth. And Lee Renaldo’s obsession with crazy tunings on pre-loved guitars has created a canon of modern rock that spawned a legion of admiring appropriators – Magic Dirt and You Am I among them. Despite the undeniable fire of Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore in the band’s chemistry, the influence of Renaldo’s guitar and songwriting is transparent in these 10 solo tracks, which veer between benign acoustic warbles (‘Hammer Blows’) and extravagantly psychedelic art-rock epics (‘X-Tina As I Knew Her’). Irretrievably avant-garde, their intrinsic grace and melodic power nonetheless distinguish an elegant and unabashedly obscure album. ~Mick Daley

The Medics Foundations

Footstomp/Warner Music

4/5

They’ve been hailed as one of Queensland’s best live acts, leaving many wondering whether this first album from The Medics could really capture the energy of their live performances. And in short… they’ve pretty much nailed it.

Foundations is quintessentially what a first album should be - a mixture of wellreceived singles that reel in the fans, such as the triple j-preferred ‘Beggars’, followed by more alternative pieces that showcase their musicianship. The breathy, airy voice of lead singer Kahl Wallace is matched with powerful guitar hooks, while tracks like ‘Deadman’ show the slower, more emotional side of The Medics. ‘Joseph’ is the one to watch on this album - its anthemic ending will make you want to get amongst the fleshy warmth of a mosh pit and shout the chorus aloud. ~Shelby Houghton

Daniel Champagne Real Live Independent

3.5/5

Daniel Champagne’s Real Live is just as it says - six live tracks that are open, honest and real. An accomplished classical guitarist, with a unique, percussive style and a deep and animated sound to his music, Champagne pays homage to blues masters such as Willie Dixon (‘Spoonful’) and songwriting greats like Don Maclean (‘Vincent’). Real Live captures the atmosphere and intensity of Champagne’s live performances, giving the listener a small taste of his showstopping capabilities. I can’t wait to see him at a live show soon. ~Courtney Fitzsimmons

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album Reviews album of the month

Dallas Frasca

Killing Joke

Jack White

RÜFÜS

Spank Betty Records/MGM

Universal Music

Sony

Inertia

4/5

4/5

4.5/5

4/5

Sound Painter

Every now and then a gem pops to the surface of the Australian music industry, and Dallas Frasca’s Sound Painter is one such jewel. In a world full of over-produced pop sausage, it’s a breath of fresh air to hear the raw, independent intensity of an honest, hardworking Australian band in full flight.

Sound Painter is full to the brim with savage riffs; the backbone of an elephant; and of course the soaring and guttural vocals of Dallas Frasca herself. But it brings something else to the party - there’s an honesty and vulnerability sown deep into this recording that can only come from hard earned experience and performancehoned craft. You can’t fake this stuff. It’s been two-and-a-half years since Frasca’s debut album and well worth the wait. ~Steve Bocking

Electric Guest

Blunderbuss

MMXII

Mystery Jets Radlands

Mondo

Rough Trade/Remote Control

Dew Process/Universal

3.5/5

Electric Guest play musical charades with their debut, part produced by Dangermouse. The wistful vocals of Asa Taccone, the brother of half of The Lonely Island, prove significantly different in style to his sibling. ‘This Head I Hold’ could pass as a Gnarls Barkley B-side, with its steady tempo and futuristic vibe - a well chosen single to attract a broader audience. But the album swings wildly from R ‘n’ B to electro, and roots to surf-pop, with little common thread.

‘Amber’ sways and sticks in your head; ‘The Bait’ sounds like something from experimental Sam Sparro, showcasing the versatility of Taccone’s voice; and ‘Waves’ is a quick hand-clapper. But despite its broad electronic and soul landscape, Mondo feels more like a clever covers album, lacking memorable moments.

Perhaps this Guest will not stick around too long. ~Jamie Nelson

Londonites Mystery Jets made the quirky decision to record their fourth album, Radlands, in Texas and the result is a great deal less synthy than previous album, Serotonin, perhaps due the change of scenery. Regardless, the album retains the Jets’ whimsical and playful sound, featuring plenty of songs about ladies. It follows the wandering Emerson Lonestar, who meets a series of girls on his musical way - from the call girl in ‘You Had Me At Hello’, to ‘Someone Purer’, before finding his saviour in shimmy disco number ‘The Hale Bop’ and sharing “bible class and cigarettes” with ‘Sister Everett’.

The story finishes with the slower acoustic ‘Luminescence’, which feels more like retirement than the end of a wander though Austin. But by keeping a firm grip on their trademark eclectic beats and rollicking melodies, Mystery Jets have developed their sound without losing their original charm ~Jamie Nelson

IOWA

Pennywise

Aerial Mines Recording

Epitaph

2/5

3.5/5

3.5/5

Never Saw It Coming

The question here is was the production and sound quality on this album (or lack of) intended to make it sound grungier or simply the end result of a lack of money and time? Who knows?

What I can tell you is that Iowa’s Never Saw It Coming falls short. One medium- to slow-paced song after another left me bored and reaching for the skip button, especially ‘Sunday’, with its hypnotic, whirling guitars and monotone vocals.

Lacklustre at best, this album’s sound was done to death in the 90s. Do we need to hear it again? ~Sean Degan

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Reluctant to reveal much of himself under his previous guises, The White Stripes, The Saboteurs and The Dead Weather, Blunderbuss offers listeners a rare glimpse into the inner workings of Jack White. A break-up album, replete with violent imagery of nosebleeds, bruises, stabbing and murder, Blunderbuss sees the recently divorced White playing the part of jilted lover.

In the bluesy opener, ‘Missing Pieces’, accompanied by Rhodes piano and deep double bass, White confesses, “Sometimes someone controls everything about you / And when they tell you that they just can’t live without you / They ain’t lyin’, they’ll take pieces of you”.

‘Sixteen Saltines’ and ‘Freedom at 21’ are just as dark, lyrically, and feature some of the better guitar on the record, sounding closer to The White Stripes. Lead single ‘Love Interruption’ is a standout, as is White’s cover of ‘I’m Shakin’’ by early 1960s R’n’B artist Little Willie John. ‘Hip (Eponymous) Poor Boy’ is almost certainly a swipe at his sometimes wife, sometimes sister, ex-bandmate Meg White.

Although Blunderbuss gives the impression that White was walked all over by his fashion model ex-wife Karen Elson, she contributes backing vocals to a few of the songs.

Gimmick or no, this is one hell of a debut solo release from a man who may be the Midas of the music world. ~Amelia Parrott

Post-punk veterans Killing Joke offer an astral, post-2012 apocalyptic journey of biblical proportions with MMXII. This is a solid album that never weakens on speed or quality, beginning with its epic nine-minute introduction, ‘Pole Shift’ – amping up the drama that endures throughout. MMXII boasts intelligent themes, yet it’s so brash and volatile it will elicit images of marching armies, wreaking death and destruction, with its eerie synthesisers, strong, bold instrumentation and powerful vocal deliveries. Only the clean and sweet ‘In Cythera’ stands out from the doom and gloom that surrounds it. An album so intense and bone chilling, listening to it is almost a religious experience. ~Charlie Hutchison

All or Nothing

Pennywise are back with a new singer in tow and a new energy.

And not just in vocalist ZoltánTéglás’ voice. Every song is fast and to the point, imbued with fuck-the-world punk attitude, abrasive music and lyrics like “We want a revolution, now’s the time for retribution” (‘Revolution’). Unlike most pop/punk bands these days, Pennywise keep it sincere and straight to the point. Album highlight ‘Seeing Red’ is true to the band’s sense of urgency and a great example of the renewed energy produced by their fresh start. ~Sean Degan

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Gossip

A Joyful Noise Sony

2.5/5

Spending a year listening to ABBA is bound to have an influence on anyone’s behaviour and that is exactly what Beth Ditto did in the lead up to recording Gossip’s fifth album, A Joyful Noise. The result is a much more straightforward pop release for the normally edgy Portland three-piece.

Produced by Brain Higgins, known for working with acts like Kylie Minogue, Bananarama and the Pet Shop Boys, there is a distinct new wave, 80s pop vibe throughout the record. ‘Get a Job’ is a standout, mostly because of its (hopefully) tongue-in-cheek pop lyrics, as is the incredibly danceable ‘Move in the Right Direction’. However, apart from these two there isn’t one track on the record that really captured me. Most of the songs seem to start and finish without much fluctuation in energy and the production on Ditto’s vocals has left her sounding flat. Despite the lack of innovation, if you’re looking for upbeat pop tracks to get you dancing, you’ll find them here. ~Amelia Parrott

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RÜFÜS EP (Blue)

Word on the street after the opening set that RÜFÜS pulled at Sydney’s Big Day Out was - get your hands on their self-titled EP. Their downright cool collection of party anthems made me want to cover myself in fluoro body paint and jump around with a strobe light. If you’re not a fan of indie/synth/pop/dance, you’re probably not going to dig RÜFÜS that much. A lot of their songs might sound ‘same-ish’ to the uninitiated. But for those in the know - this is an exciting release full of hazed-out synthesisers and tasty beats.

Highlights include ‘Droplets’ and ‘This Summer’, and, trust me, these guys know how to plant a song in your head. ~Cormack O’Connor

Santigold

Master of My Make-Believe

Atlantic/Warner Music

3/5

After building up a solid following with her debut record, Santigold has rounded up a bunch of DJs, producers and songwriters to help out on her follow-up album, Master of My Make-Believe. Collaborating with the likes of Nick Zinner and Karen-O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs; Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio; and DJs and producers Diplo and Boys Noize, Master of My Make-Believe manages to be both eclectic and true to Santi’s style. The opener ‘GO!’ features energised drum and bass lines and her unique rhythmic delivery, with plenty of vocal slides, and Karen-O pitching in vocals as well. High energy tracks like ‘GO!’, ‘Disparate Youth’, and ‘Fame’ are highlights and blend seamlessly with electronic ballads, ‘This Isn’t Our Parade’ and ‘The Riot’s Gone’, and dub-influenced tracks, ‘Pirate in the Water’ and ‘Look at These Hoes’. Santi’s ability to craft a record that harbours such wide-ranging influences, clearly stamped with her unique blend of tribal beats, electronica and rap is priceless. ~Amelia Parrott

Simone Felice Simone Felice

Indocine/Warner Music

1/5

Simone Felice, the poor relation of the outstanding Felice Brothers, would make a fine chorister in a clan of born-again folk minstrels. He has a lovely, lilting whisper, but his overwrought, insubstantial ballads are the weak link.

Some of his tales are ludicrously funny. But calling Courtney Love ‘child’ is a bit rich, even when you’re trying to pick her up through the dubious agency of folk music.

He gives poor old Sharon Tate a run too, reprising her dispatch at the hands of Charlie Manson in a drizzle of platitudinous strings and fairy voices. His ‘Splendour in the Grass’, which may be an ill-fated attempt to book in to the festival of the same name, sounds so uncannily like the other tunes that it’s actually a fitting closer to a dull album and hopefully, a solo career. ~Mick Daley

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album Reviews Feature albums

Dr John

Six60

tenacious D

Zulu WinTer

Nonesuch/Warner Music

Massive Entertainment

Sony

Due Process/Universal

4/5

4/5

4/5

4/5

Locked Down

The superb new album by legendary New Orleans bluesman Mac Rebennak, aka Dr John, is a colourful concoction of smoky rhythm and blues, soulful funk and Southernfried boogie. This time around he collaborates with guitarist Dan Auerbach from The Black Keys, adding a contemporary twist to the otherwise old-school vibe.

Auerbach helped assemble the backing band and shared songwriting and production credits.

But it’s the gritty, soulful vocals of Dr John, his skilful keyboard playing and poetic lyrics, that shine like a diamond in a perfectly balanced mix.

The woozy atmosphere is complimented by textured production, allowing the wonderful musicianship and chemistry to shine through. The band pulls double duty as background vocalists, adding a nice counterpoint to Dr John’s rough growl - the McCrary Sisters offering an especially potent contrast.

The musicianship is uniformly outstanding, from the restlessly creative drumming, blazing guitar work and funky upright bass, to the doctor’s dazzling keyboards and organ riffs. Busy drumming works well with the otherwise downbeat vibe of ‘Getaway’ - a standout tune that culminates in a lively jam and scorching guitar solo. Locked Down is an addictive, mystical journey into the psyche of a veteran pro - an authentic dose of funky blues delivered by a master of the craft. ~Amelia Parrott

Father John Misty Fear Fun Sub Pop

4/5

I’ll admit, it was with slight trepidation that I committed myself to reviewing Fear Fun. I had already made assumptions - former drummer of Fleet Foxes goes solo under a new moniker and produces an album of dreary, acoustic ballads. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised. Full of wellcrafted melodies, great lyrics and a fantastic voice, with none of the reverb-laden, ambient dullness of Fleet Foxes, Joshua Tillman’s eighth studio album (his first under this moniker) sees him hit his stride.

There are echoes of Gram Parsons, John Denver and Crosby Stills and Nash, but it manages to steer away from pastiche, mainly due to the bold originality of the lyrics. Highlights include the bitingly funny ‘I’m Writing a Novel’ and ‘Tee-Pees 1-12’.

Tillman writes best when he is being cynical, faring less well on the more earnest numbers. There’s nothing here that will knock your socks off but this is one of the better folk-pop albums in recent years. ~Chelsea Reed

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magazine issue #070 — June 2012

Six60

Rize of the Fenix

Six60’s debut selftitled record sees the coming together of several diverse musical elements, including funk, pop, rock, electronic and soul. Imagine the mellow troubadour sound of James Morrison with dash of Fink and Ben Harper, then throw in some spectacular guitar solos, dubstep beats and just a pinch of soul music, and you get the gist. These six Kiwi lads are responsible for knocking Adele’s 21 off the top spot with this album.

Stand-out track has to be the simple blues of ‘Don’t Forget Your Roots’, in which vocalist Matiu Walters takes the listener on a soulful journey. Pop rock song ‘Forever’ highlights the unique sound of Six60, with its stripped-back acoustic beginning that morphs into a mellow electronic rock song.

Every track seems to be better than the last, even if you listen to it back to front from perfect opener, ‘Only To Be’, and the upbeat ‘Windy Days’, through to the lyrical depth of tracks like ‘Hard For Me’ and ‘Run For It’. It even takes us to church with the beautiful soul music sound of ‘Lost’, before the boys show how much they rock on ‘Rise up 2.0’ and ‘In the Clear’. Six60 have set the benchmark high with this release. If you haven’t listened to it yet, make sure you do.

Here’s hoping it’s a taste of things to come. ~Mark Henderson

Say Anything Anarchy, My Dear

Equal Rights Records/Warner

3/5

Anarchy, My Dear has been billed by Say Anything frontman Max Bemis as the companion record to the band’s 2004 cult masterpiece …Is A Real Boy. Given that the band’s output since Real Boy has been sporadic at best, a comparison such as this is sure to whet the appetite of anybody who knows just how good an album Real Boy was. Bemis recruited the same producer, Tim O’Heir, and, once again, recorded nearly everything himself. The record begins well - the opening four tracks are consistently good – Real Boy good – boasting crunchy guitars, gruesomely sharp lyrics and big, catchy choruses. Then, for some reason, Bemis takes what is brilliant about his band and dismantles it. The rest of record is completely clean-cut, save for the final track. Not a distorted, punchy chorus in sight; barely a snarl of self-deprecating, manic-depressive lyrics. You can’t pump your first to the jaunty piano of ‘Overbiter’ and songs like ‘So Good’ and ‘Peace Out’ come off as contrived. By the time Bemis regains his focus, ranting about Elvis and Jesus over the big distorted fuzz of closer, ‘The Steven Hawking’, the damage is done.

He seems to have gone out of his way to alienate his listeners. ~Max Quinn

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Kage and Jables embark on an adventure of redemption after the infamous commercial bomb that was The Pick Of Destiny, hence the title Rize Of The Fenix. Full of energy, charisma and f-bombs, Tenacious D’s third album is as comically awesome as it is a rock opera spectacular. The storyline begins when a predictable conflict between Kage and Jables ensues and the fuelled-up rock/metal aggression sets in: Jack Black’s comical vocal roars are phenomenal and Kyle Gass’s guitar, orgasmic. With help from Dave Grohl, title track ‘Rize Of The Fenix’ is as heavy metal as the devil himself. With reconciliation cometh a slow ditty, ‘The Ballad of Hollywood Jack and Rage Kage’ being a superb attempt at emotional musical euphoria. Rize Of The Fenix is cheesy no doubt, but ticks all the boxes - a ridiculous, rock solid album that gives you a giggle while admiring the sheer musical wizardry that is Tenacious D at their finest. ~Charli Hutchison

John Mayer Born & Raised Sony

3.5/5

Stripping back and baring his soul, Mayer picks his way through his fifth studio album. Born & Raised strives for intimacy - slower, mellower and more acoustic than any of his earlier work. The album carries subtle undertones of the 70s West Coast which are particularly apparent on the opening and, in my opinion, standout track ‘Queen of California’.

‘Whiskey, Whiskey, Whiskey’ is another high point, built, as the title suggests, on regret over a failed relationship. The album is filled with lyrics and chords that reveal the personal - Mayer sings from the heart.

If you like John Mayer you will love this album. ~Martin Slade

The Dandy Warhols This Machine

Language

Echoing voices and synths set the stage for a truly epic debut record from Zulu Winter. Language is a strong first effort from a band that have only been together since 2011. Keys and drums take centre stage, with guitar and bass filling out the sound only to be drowned out in the end by the pulsing rhythms that the band bring to tracks such as ‘Bitter Moon’. ‘Let’s Move Back To Front’ pushes these elements to the front, but they could still be utilised more. Will Daunt’s superb vocal abilities make what could have been a rushed out hype debut truly great. Nothing feels amiss about this album - all parts are working together to create a fantastic synth pop record. ~Jonathan McCullum

the Exploders

Orche.Stratos.Pheric Rubber Records

3/5

Victorian band The Exploders’ fourth studio album is a blast of 70s-styled garage rock, psychedelic pop and alt-country twang, full of fun, raucous and catchy tunes. Most of the songs are short, energetic bursts that flit between styles but gel together cohesively and are cleverly sequenced. Orche.Stratos.Pheric swings between the light hearted twang of ‘Have a Smile’, the tongue-in-cheek pop of ‘How Am I?’ and the buzzing energy and groove of ‘Hey Fucker’. The curiously titled ‘Royal Neil the Horse’ channels Robert Plant amidst blues-rock swagger and headbobbing riffs. ‘The Funeral March’ has an eerie, darker tone and passionate, wailing lead vocal to conclude the album. Orche.

Stratos.Pheric has a joyous energy and fun sense of humour. Despite some throwaway tracks, the tight musicianship, soulful vocals and addictive songwriting lift the album well above disposable novelty value. ~Luke Saunders

Sinead O’Connor

Independent

How About I Be Me (and you be you)?

1/5

One Little Indian

The cover of The Dandy Warhols’ This Machine is not bad - it’s truly terrible. A paint-by-numbers watercolour depicting an acoustic guitar resting on a tree stump, deer antlers, an eagle taking flight and what appears to be a coffee tin, on which appears the half-peeled banana artwork from the band’s 2003 release Welcome to the Money House. Could this be a subliminal message from The Dandys reminding us of a time when they put out great songs and were actually considered relevant? No longer - in the case of the lazy, lumbering, almost unlistenable This Machine. The music is almost as bad as the cover art. ~Nick Mackay

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2/5

‘’It’s been seven hours and 15 days...’’ - well not really, it’s been about 25 years since Sinead O’Connor’s hit single (written originally by Prince), ‘Nothing Compares to You’, hit the streets. Her ninth studio album, in true Sinead style, expresses her opinions on the Catholic Church, being a mother and being lost, combining childlike fragility with feminist warrior aggression.

But as much as I would have liked to love this album, it just didn’t capture me. Her song ‘Queen of Denmark’ tells a nice story but the lyrics just don’t seem to gel with the music. I’m sorry Sinead but nothing compares - to your earlier works. ~Mel Roach

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g e n er a l m o t o r i n g

VELOSTER RAPTURES This is not a performance car in the same sense as last month’s featured Nissan GTR. But the new Hyundai Veloster will sell its socks off and offers a sporty driving flavour that’s accessible to most people. It also looks incredible, squatting on the road like some nasty bug ready to bite you on the bum.

Engine performance is best described as adequate but many buyers will turn up the wick on their Veloster with after-market exhaust systems, engine mods and of course the obligatory chip — that will sharpen it up a tad and also make it sound like it should.

Or they can wait for the 150kW turbo model due in a few months.

Veloster is really kicking a goal out there in buyer-land as people move away from the fairly bland and boring hatchback offerings served up by other makers and go for this little beauty. You have to hand it to Hyundai for having a good old go with the Veloster — it’s an out-there looking car with a twist — two side doors on the kerbside to facilitate rear seat access. The smaller rear door is hinged at the rear, opening a large aperture for passengers.

WHERE’S THE COMPETITION?

There’s virtually no competition for Veloster apart from the 2.0-litre Kia Cerato Coupé at the same starting price of $23,990. Honda’s useless CR-Z is only really a two-seater and costs over 10 grand more. Wouldn’t pull a drunken sailor off a whore, either.

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Hyundai is likely to forge a whole new niche with Veloster and Veloster Plus which we drove. It sells for $27,990 - add two $2,000 if you want the DSG dual-clutch manumatic transmission also available on the base model. The standard tranny is a sweet shifting six- speed manual. Oh, and that DSG is an in-house Hyundai effort.

TWO CHOICES

The two models look pretty much the same — same bright colours, same 18-inch alloys with chrome highlights, same LED DRLs (daytime running lights). The Plus scores leather, a glass sunroof, a starter button and a few other goodies. But they both get a generous array of equipment, like a rear view camera, premium audio, aircon, cruise, 18-inch alloys, rear park assist, seven-inch touch screen, Bluetooth audio and phone, auto headlights, tyre pressure monitoring and LED daytime running lights, to name a few goodies. Not bad for the ask, eh?

EXTRA DOOR

The three- (or more accurately four-) door arrangement is similar to that used in Mini Clubman except it’s not a suicide door opening out into the traffic lane. It makes rear seat access easier and looks quite funky.

INSIDE

The interior is a variation on the current crop of Hyundais and features a dramatic

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r e vi e wed

Hyundai Velostar r e vi e wed by

Peter Douglas

V-shaped centre stack with stylish vents to each side and a well proportioned dash with angles and curves to generate eye appeal. It looks the business and is easy to use and sensibly laid out. Pity you can’t lose the sunroof in the Plus model for something more useful.

Front seating is comfortable while the two rears are OK for short hops or for kids.

The low roofline becomes an issue for taller adults. A decent luggage space is provided under the rear hatch which also houses a temporary spare. But Hyundai fits both models with a tyre pressure monitoring system to help you deal with a flat when it happens.

UNDER THE BONNET

The new Gamma 1.6-litre petrol four-pot engine is good for a handy 103kW/166Nm output — not earth shattering but sufficient to move Veloster with some purpose when you treat it bad. It happily revs out to around 6500rpm and, when coupled with the sweet six-speed manual, offers up an engaging drive.

The engine is not perceptible at idle and runs like a sewing machine all the time. It has a chain drive to the overhead camshafts — much better than a belt that would need regular replacement. We didn’t get a chance to try the DSG but would suggest it’s a better proposition than the manual, simply because of the speed of gear changes.

ON THE ROAD

It has impressive dynamics and charges

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“ It has impressive dynamics and charges around tight corners in racing kart fashion.” around tight corners in racing kart fashion.

The wide track and short wheelbase combine to give a decidedly sporty feel even though the suspension is quite supple for a sports coupé. The front rides on struts while the rear uses a simple torsion beam.

It has strong brakes and sharp steering responses — thanks in part to local input for ride and handling. Veloster wouldn’t need much (if any) tweaking to handle the turbo engine. We saw 6.2-litres/100km on the freeway and reckon it wouldn’t fluctuate much from that mark, overall. Veloster is a light drinker, even when you dial it up.

VERDICT

Watch people check it out — it’s that sort of car. Impressive dynamics, generous equipment, striking looks, unbeatable warranty, affordable price — ticks (nearly) all the boxes.

reverb magazine issue #070 — June 2012 35

Images ©kevin bull

groovin the moo Review

city and colour

360

public enemy

GROOVIN’ THE MOO Maitland Showgrounds Saturday, May 12

From the the hyped-up vibe coming off the array of people pouring into Maitland Showground for Groovin’ the Moo 2012, I knew we were in for an interesting day. If you went to see just one artist, you probably wouldn’t have enjoyed yourself; to see three or four you’d be content; six and you would have had a blast. And if you were half as intoxicated as most of the punters at the Maitland

Moo, you’d probably claim it was the best day of your life, despite the fact that it may now be little more than a blurry memory.

Kicking off the day for me was a good solid giggle at all the underage girls who, lacking in clothing and dignity, forked out a 100-odd dollars to stumble around a paddock without paying the slightest attention to the impressive array of music.

ball park music

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magazine issue #070 — June 2012

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hermitude

1929Indian

we built atlantis mutemath

On to San Cisco, Big Scary and Matt Corby, all pulling impressive masses of both excitable and embarrassing punters.

Embarrassing being the ones who ‘oowahooed’ Corby’s ‘Brother’ through the other bands’ sets. When Corby finally made the stage to sing ‘Souls Afire’ and ‘My False’, he was stalled by frequent interruptions,

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before hitting that song, after which the ‘I know one song’ douchebags all left. Despite the crowd-induced hiccups, all three artists pulled off spine tingling, mesmerising sets.

In terms of highlights, it’s hard to go past Kimbra with ‘Settle Down’, Mutemath’s ridiculously epic set and City & Colour’s audacious yet disappointingly short

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visitation. But admittedly, honourable favouritism goes to Ball Park Music. By this stage, the lusciously glowing autumn sun had folded into a bitterly chilly night, but why suffer the cold when there’s alcohol and warm bodies at hand. So, as we said our salutations to the sun and vertically spooned strangers, while preparing our

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most abysmal dance moves, Ball Park took to the stage under a Rainbow Paddle Pop sunset, blasting out appropriate tunes like ‘Literally Baby’ and ‘It’s Nice to be Alive’.

If my calculations are correct I had a blast.

All occurring lowlights can be expected at any festival and all in all it was a damn near perfect day. ~Chloe Webb

reverb magazine issue #070 — June 2012 37

photos by David Jackson

bootcamp Review photos by Terry Paull

gum ball Review

Crowned Kings Delta Riggs

Hold Your Own

Clairy Browne

Civil War

Ash Grunwald

Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire!

Relentless

Gum Ball Festival

Bootcamp

Belford, Hunter Valley April 27-29

Oasis Youth Centre, Wyong Sunday, April 29

Barely making a blip on the festival radar, the nine-year-old Gum Ball remains something of a secret. Tucked away among the gum trees in Belford in the Hunter Valley, The Gum Ball attracts a variety of laid back punters that come to enjoy great music on their picnic blankets under the stars with their BYO beverages in hand.

The line-up featured a slew of Australian acts with a few international bands in the mix.

On Friday night after setting up our tent in our headlights, we grabbed our blankets and beers and headed into the main festival area to catch the funky Two Rivers Blue and an impressive psychedelic rock set from the Joe Kings. We also caught Seattle band Massey Ferguson and Sydney MC The Tongue before hitting the silent disco until the early hours of Saturday morning.

With cloudy heads and overcast skies to match, we dragged ourselves out of bed early Saturday morning to get down to the

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hillbilly vibes of the Perch Creek Family Jug Band. After a cup of coffee and a brekky roll we caught a couple more hours sleep before warming up for the afternoon with Gum Ball regulars, the Dashville Progress Society and Newcastle boys, Benjalu. As the sun was setting we got our funk on with Perth band Delta Riggs, followed by a loud set from Ash Grunwald, before Australian legends Custard got the crowd rowdy to their favourites. We finished our night on a high getting our dance on to the progressive sounds of Jinja Safari, before giving the silent disco one more run.

The Gum Ball has it all for those that love nature, wonderful music and each other. With a no biff-head policy and the freedom to bring your own drinks, it is one of the most chilledout small festivals around where you can be whoever you want to be and truly enjoy music the way nature intended. ~Stephanie De Vries

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Newcastle and Sydney already know about it and with the help of The Audio Army, the central coast will too. I am talking about Australian hardcore metal which, with its resemblance to early punk and grunge, is part of a youth culture that allows kids to express their feelings of being misunderstood, tortured and angry. The Bootcamp all-ages mini-fest at the Oasis Youth Centre featured 12 acts, eight of which were local, and the crowd came out in numbers to support them as the day progressed. They were treated to set upon set from bands such as The Shire, I The Hunter, Taken By Force, Hold Your Own, Civil War, Crowned Kings, Relentless, Mark My Words. But the main course was yet to come.

Newcastle boys Dropsaw whipped the crowd into a frenzy, inviting everyone into the mosh

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I The Hunter

pit to sing along to ‘Wasted Youth’, ‘Defeated’ and ‘This is Hell’. Then Shinto Katana burst on to the stage. With the crowd feeding off the lads from Sydney, the energy levels went through the roof as they moshed along to ‘Sheltered’, ‘So Long Stranger’ and ‘Homicide Note’. A large circle was formed and a heightened sense of anticipation came over the crowd while Northlane set up. Then a gentle nod to each and they were into it.

While the crowd punched and kicked along, the band ripped the place up. Drums, bass, vocals and guitars were unbelievably tight and each song started and ended with the same ferocity. If you like your music raw, loud, brash and energetic, look no further than Australian hardcore. At $25 dollars for 12 acts, Bootcamp was a bargain by anyone’s standards. ~Martin Slade

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live Reviews

gig of the month

The Buterfly Effect

Sick Of It All

The Darkness

Great Northern Hotel, Byron Bay Wednesday, May 2

Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle Friday, May 4

Newcastle Panthers Saturday May 5

A large mass of moshers engulfed the floors of Newcastle Panthers for notorious cock-rockers The Darkness, on their whirlwind reunion tour after a sixyear hiatus. Kicking off with the erratic ‘Black Shuck’, newly moustachioed frontman Justin Hawkins showed the crowd he still had his notoriously energetic charisma with an array of leaps, jumps and scissor kicks. Traipsing through every track from debut album and worldwide smash Permission To Land, the crowd were overwhelmed with excitement. New single ‘Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us’ impressed, and the band introduced five new songs, as well as singles from their sophomore effort, One Way Ticket To Hell. Electrifying theatrics ensued, with guitarist Dan Hawkins ripping out some killer solos from under the rug, while Hawkins had the crowd in the palm of his hand. Returning to the stage in his infamous catsuit, complete with leather train, for a 20-minute encore of ‘Love On The Rocks With No Ice’, in which he shared falsetto duties with the crowd, Hawkins was the epitome of a

©Sam paquette

This tour marks the last chance for fans to see Aussie heavy rockers The Butterfly Effect intact. My worries about the band’s performance, in light of the impending departure of singer Clint Boge, were quickly squashed after being drawn into the opener ‘Beautiful Mine’, which began with Boge solo on stage, before erupting into the brilliant, head-bangingly huge riffs that the band is known for. Musically outstanding and tight from start to finish, there was a constant energy, from the heavy drop-tuned riffs to the acoustic encore of ‘Gone’, that you simply don’t get from listening to the band’s releases. The stage of the Great Northern is by no measure a large one, but it seemed enormous through the use of some great lighting, matching the music and performance dynamics perfectly. Let’s hope this group takes a lesson from John Farnham and does this ‘last time’ tour countless more times. ~Thomas Peasley

Dallas Frasca Northern Star Hotel, Hamilton Friday, May 4

©Julie Lowe

Dallas Frasca, along with band members Jeff Curran (guitar) and Pete McDonald (drums), returned to The Great Northern Hotel in Hamilton for their Sound Painter Tour and the launch of their new album, supported by rock band Yellow Feather Dogs and one man band Rick Steward.

Frasca took to the stage with a few old time favourites like ‘I Like It Better When You’re Straight’ and ‘Burnt Toast’, before giving the crowd a taste of the new album. The first song to be released off the album ‘All My Love’ was a real crowd pleaser and the entire venue was up on its feet, stomping to the beats and singing along. Once again, Frasca joined the crowd on the dance floor for a bit of a meet and greet. With her electric energy, stomp boxing, powerful voice and huge heart, this lady certainly knows how to rock the crowd. ~Julie Lowe

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©Joe Anderson

Due to the band kicking off a bit earlier than advertised, I only caught the tail end of the Toe to Toe set. The last time I saw these guys would have been at the Vic on the Park in Sydney, in the early 90s, when they were kings of the local hardcore scene.

Twenty years on, they have not lost any of their intensity and the new material is sounding great.

Next up was Agnostic Front, pioneers of the New York hardcore scene. They’ve been at it for over 30 years and still belt it out with the enthusiasm of bands a quarter of their age. Their performance was marred by a somewhat muddy mix that improved partway through their set. But the sound issues did not deter punters from digging it, especially when they unleashed a bunch of classics like ‘Victim in Pain’, ‘Crucified’ and ‘Gotta Go’. They also played a number of songs from their recent albums as well as a worthy selection of tunes from their crossover period such as ‘For My Family’ and ‘The Eliminator’.

Sick of it All came on with a brutal intensity that did not let up. They were tight and energetic and, thankfully, had the best mix of the night, given the precision of the riffing that goes along with most of their tunes - crisp and clear. Singer Lou Koller has among the best hardcore tonsils in the business and he was brimming with energy, engaging the crowd with betweensong banter. The whole band looked to be genuinely enjoying themselves as they blasted into classics like ‘Us Vs Them’, ‘Built To Last’ and ‘Just Look Around’, as well as newer material, such as ‘Machete’, ‘Die Alone’ and ‘Death or Jail’. Tonight the Cambridge was treated to a serious dose of real hardcore punk and Sick of It All proved that even after 25 years in the business they are still a force to be reckoned with. Mark Snelson

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©Ashlee kellehear

dying breed – the enigmatic frontman.

Thanks to his quality performance and elegant showmanship, it felt as though The Darkness had never left. ~Charli Hutchison

Florence and the Machine

Tijuana Cartel

Sydney Entertainment Centre Thursday, May 24

Great Northern Hotel, Newcastle Saturday, May 26

©Chrissy Kavalieros

It has been two years since the last time I saw Florence And The Machine play live and as much as I thought it couldn’t be possible; Florence has upped the ante and blown me away once again. As the lights went down and the band emerged, all eyes were on the lone figure illuminated behind the set. The opening bars of ‘Only If For A Night’ were played, Florence stepped out from behind the set and from that moment onward had the entire 13,000 strong audience in the palm of her hand. Florence is so captivating, in every sense of the word. The way she looks, the way she dances and of course that voice. Songs such as ‘Spectrum’, ‘Heartlines’, and ‘Leave My Body’ were effortlessly perfect and her rendition of ‘Seven Devils’ was breathtaking. ‘Shake It Out’, ‘Rabbit Heart (Raise it up)’ and ‘Dog Days Are Over’ were definite crowd favourites, with everyone on their feet and singing along, much to Florence’s delight. Her interaction with the Australian crowd is sweet and endearing, showing that she definitely has a genuine affinity with her Australian fans, with the many thanks she gives her audience proving she is humble in her success, making her all the more likeable. The show culminated with the chart-topping ‘Never Let Me Go’ and the spectacular ‘No Light, No Light’, leaving the full house on their feet and begging for more. ~Chrissy Kavalieros

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©Terry paull

After the longest soundcheck known to man, Tijuana Cartel came out with an apology “maybe we should’ve smoked a few less bongs before setting up”. But the wait was worth it, and they jumped right in with their original mix of funky electronic beats and Spanish guitar. The capacity crowd at the Great Northern was a real mixed bag, but they, like the band, didn’t seem to need a warm-up. Frontman Paul George had an instant rapport with the audience, even dedicating their third song, ‘Rise Up’ to the girl in the crazy hat who was already dancing on a chair so early in the night. By this stage the crowd couldn’t help but dance to the Afro Cuban percussion of Daniel Gonzalez, convincing even the most stubborn reviewer that she could shake it like the best of them. With hits like ‘Runaway’ and ‘Persian’ the band had the floor bouncing, either from the sheer weight of the beats, or as a side-effect of all the over-enthusiastic dancing. The rest of the night offered trumpet and harmonium solos, beats that verged on dubstep, and a momentum maintained by the band’s willingness to groove to their own music.

Tijuana Cartel did not disappoint and they left the crowd begging for more. ~Louisa Bulley

reverb reverb magazine magazine issue issue #070 — June #059 — June 2012 2011 39

Film Reviews

wild Weekender On the face of it, one would expect Cabin in the Woods to be a typical slasher flick with five young, good looking friends heading off to a remote cabin for a weekend. But director Drew Goddard (Cloverfield) and co-writer Josh Whedon (Buffy, Firefly) take the familiar scenario and completely turn the horror genre on its head. This is one of those movies where if you reveal too much of the plot beforehand it would ruin the impact of its secrets and the overall enjoyment of the film. So I will not give away too much here. Basically it is a movie with two separate storylines that run parallel and eventually converge.

First there are five friends heading off to aforementioned cabin. Keeping with the familiarity, even the characters are clichéd

– there’s Curt (Chris Hemsworth) the jock, his sexy blonde girlfriend Jules (Anna Hutchison), the all-round nice guy Holden (Jesse Williams), the slightly shy Dana (Kristen Connolly) and the stoner conspiracy theorist Marty (Fran Kranz).

They start partying on their first night and a game of truth or dare leads them to the basement where all manner of nasty things are discovered, including a journal of horrific and violent events that occurred within the cabin’s walls. From here on in, things go south for the holiday makers.

The parallel story occurs in a mysterious government facility where Hadley (Bradley Whitford) and Sitterson (Richard Jenkins) are preparing for their day at work. Their office is a huge control room filled with all

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sorts of computerised devices and large monitors. It turns out that the aforementioned cabin is wired up and Hadley and Sitterson are able to view everything that is going on there, they can also control outcomes to some extent.

Goddard and Whedon make a magic team. They know how to develop characters you care about, are able to

effectively build suspense, deliver on the action front and do not forget to have a few laughs along the way. It is an extremely clever script that turns in directions you would not expect. There are some nice beasties throughout with great special effects and the gore factor is turned up all the way, which will please the horror fans but may be a little over the top for the masses.

Cabin in the Woods is definitely one of the most clever, original and entertaining horror flicks in a long time. It has ample servings of gore, a touch of satire and a plot that keeps you guessing. Fans of horror and sci-fi will be well rewarded here.

But be warned, it is not for the faint of heart.

Back in Black Men in Black 3 comes 15 years after the original and is a huge improvement on the second movie, which came out in 2002. The production behind this one was marred by false starts and many a script rewrite, which normally spells disaster for any sequel. But surprisingly Barry Sonnenfeld and his team have pulled together a worthy blockbuster that delivers most of what you would expect from a MIB movie, and adds a little more on the plot front, as well as some great central performances.

Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones return in their roles as Agent J and Agent K. They are still going about their business monitoring the alien life forms who live among

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magazine issue #070 — June 2012

us and making sure the general population are none the wiser. Meanwhile, in a heavily fortified prison located on the moon, an old enemy of Agent K, Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement) makes an escape, and vows to seek revenge on K who was responsible for shooting off his arm and putting him away for 40 years. Boris’s plan involves going back in time to take out K and, in turn, opening the door to a devastating invasion of Earth in the present day. In order to stop Boris’s evil plan, Agent J must travel back in time where he teams up with a young Agent K (Josh Brolin) to save the future world from annihilation.

One of the main reasons to watch Men in

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Men In Black 3 r e vi e wed by

Mark Snelson r ated

3/5

Black 3 is for the outstanding performance from Josh Brolin. He is utterly convincing as a young Agent K and nails the phrasing, mannerisms and deadpan delivery that Tommy Lee Jones gave us in the previous films. Another piece of casting brilliance is that of Jemaine Clement (Flight of the

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Conchords) who would not immediately come to mind when you think of a nasty alien villain but is perfect in this role. While not Will Smith’s finest hour, he still gets the job done and is good for a number of genuine laughs. The special effects are great throughout and director Barry Sonnenfeld mixes up the action and comedy with nice pacing and even allows an unexpected moment of tenderness toward the end.

For the most part, Men In Black 3 does feel like an unnecessary cash-in on the franchise. But it is still worthy of a trip to the cinema if you are a fan of the series. It delivers a good amount of laughs, has plenty of action and Brolin’s performance is a must see.

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DVD Reviews

DVD Marathon In Select Cinemas Only

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30 Minutes or Less r e vi e wed by

Sallie Pritchard r ated

3/5

Last Resort With the wealth of information available at our fingertips nowadays, amateurs often mistakenly believe they can accomplish complex, even dangerous, tasks with no more knowledge or training than a few Youtube tutorials. The idiots in 30 Minutes or Less are a case in question. When one such deadbeat (Danny McBride) needs money to hire a hit man to kill his rich father, he and his friend (Nick Swardson) devise a plan to kidnap a pizza delivery driver (Jesse Eisenberg) and force him to rob a bank, with the help of his best friend (Aziz Ansari).

Directed by Ruben Fleischer, 30

Minutes or Less is a throwback to those action adventure comedy films from the 80s and 90s — films which feature ordinary guys mixed up in criminal activity, in which romance and comedy sit side-by-side with shocking violence. It’s in much the same vein as 2008’s Pineapple Express but tighter and more neatly executed. The chemistry between Swardson and McBride is wellmatched by the duo of Eisenberg and Ansari.

Like Zombieland, Fleischer’s thorough knowledge of the genre allows him to handle both the violence and comedy equally well.

That said, he’s no Edgar Wright.

While it may be a better film than

Pineapple Express at the technical or plot level, 30 Minutes or Less is not as enjoyable.

Perhaps it’s the sheer delight that permeates Pineapple Express — everyone on board appreciating the film’s blatant stupidity, making it all the more endearing.

The genre/sub-genre itself has never been a raging success — audiences have probably forgotten more of these films than they’ve remembered. What they may recall are the questionable moments of racial and gender insensitivity, which Fleischer fails to transcend. 30 Minutes or Less isn’t complete rubbish, but it is a last resort – in which case it might be surprisingly enjoyable.

fact of his being happily married with a baby daughter get in the way of her destiny.

Anyone questioning writer Diablo Cody’s talents after the misguided Jennifer’s Body need not worry — she’s back in top form with Juno director Jason Reitman.

Young Adult is not just the literary genre Mavis works in — in her mind she is the hero of her books and her life. Anyone with a penchant for Facebook knows people from high school who haven’t changed and don’t think they need to. Mavis is the epitome of that person everyone remembers. And hates.

Like Bad Teacher, Young Adult is a film in which the politics of high school are enacted in the adult world, and deeply

unlikeable characters make no emotional or mental progress. But where Bad Teacher gives us a more upbeat ending in which the protagonist finds a more appropriate outlet for her behaviour, Young Adult doesn’t flinch. It’s ultimately more realistic for it, making for a depressing but fascinating viewing experience.

That the film is also, at times, hysterically funny is a credit to Cody, Reitman and Theron. But it’s the most extreme form of awkward comedy, going beyond cringe to the point where the laughter dies in your throat. But that’s also the moment you’ll truly appreciate Young Adult for the accomplished film that it is.

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4.5/5

Light Fiction It is a truth universally acknowledged (in Hollywood) that a film must contain a protagonist driven by a desire for something or someone who, despite obstacles and setbacks, achieves their goal and thus becomes a hero. But what if the protagonist’s goal is so horrible, and their attempts to remove obstacles so deplorable, that no audience wants them to achieve it?

Charlize Theron stars as Mavis Gary, a 37 year-old woman who survives on a diet of anonymous men, booze and Diet Coke.

While writing a young adult book series, now in decline, she receives a birth announcement from her high school sweetheart and decides it is the perfect time to win him back, vowing not to let the small Find us on Facebook

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Despite the critical acclaim Young Adult received overseas, in Australia it earned a limited release in the cinemas, in capital cities only. 30 Minutes or Less, 50/50, Beginners, Martha Marcy Mae Marlene, Melancholia, and My Week With Marilyn were all given similar treatment.

When it was announced that the Joss Whedon-produced horror experiment Cabin In The Woods would not be screened in Australian cinemas, pressure from fans forced distributor Village Roadshow to reconsider, in the end agreeing to a single theatre in each state. Why is Australia, particularly rural and regional Australia, missing out on these critically acclaimed international films?

The distribution of a film is based on the forecast profits of the distribution company and the cinema owners. A DVD release will often account for both losses at the cinema and associated costs like printing and advertising. If a film is considered a commercial failure in one country, it is unlikely to get a cinema release in another, even if it’s a critical success.

A recent article on the Stale Popcorn film blog suggested that the disinterest of Australian audiences in the horror genre was to blame for Cabin In The Woods’ inability to land a more extensive cinema release. But if Australian audiences were willing to watch horror films like Paranormal Activity, Saw and Final Destination in cinemas, why wouldn’t we want to watch a film like Cabin In The Woods which, as well as being produced by Whedon, stars Australian actor Chris Hemsworth of Thor and The Avengers fame?

So why do we care if we don’t see certain films at the cinema? Firstly, we don’t want to wait. We’re so far away, geographically, from the US and the UK - two of the biggest sources of our pop culture knowledge. If globalisation is closing the gaps between us in other ways, waiting to see a film seems ridiculous and is why some turn to illegal downloading. Secondly, the experience of watching a film in the cinema is completely different to watching it at home.

Censorship robs audiences of their right to choose which films they watch and how, and it seems that distribution companies are doing the same thing.

Strategies need to be developed for ensuring critically acclaimed films get a bigger cinema audience. The internet allows people to complain across multiple platforms and is one way Australian audiences can make distribution companies aware there’s a much wider cinema-going audience than they may be aware of, allowing for a dialogue in which these situations can be avoided in future.

reverb magazine issue #070 — June 2012 41

NEWCASTLE

gig Guide Newcastle Fri, June 1

Lizotte’s, Lambton

Beachcomber Hotel, Toukley

Newcastle Panthers

David Myles, Camille & Stuie

Don’t forget — Live & Local every Wednesday night

Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle

2 June

Mike McClellan

Grand Junction Hotel, MaitlAND

7 June

Abby Dobson

Great Northern Hotel, Newc

No Pressure Deep Sea Arcade, The Cairos,

Jack’s Bar & Grill, Erina

Dragon

13 June

Celtic Divas

15 June

James Blundell

16 June

Abba’s Back

22 June 24 June 28 June

Mental As Anything

Breakout, Chris & Cha

Kincumber Hotel Kincumber Mountain Brackets and Jam w/ Stormcellar, Johnny Devilseed and the Birdman, Drumbala

King Street Hotel, Newcastle Ember, Glovecats, Ben Morris, Oakes, Lennox

Lizotte’s, Kincumber Mike McClellan

Menopause – The Musical

Maitland City Bowling Club

The Audreys

Rhythm Hut, Gosford

Tim Freedman

30 June

Diesel

6 July

The Beatnix

Mark Wells, Melody Pool Puppetry of the Penis Ganga Girl

12 July

Sarah McLeod

13 July

Beccy Cole

15 July

Doc Neeson – rock legend

19 July

Tubular Bells For Two

20 July

Dave Graney and The Mistly

21 July

Afro Moses Spirit of Bob Marley

Stag & Hunter Hotel, Mayfield 24 Hours

Sydney Opera House

Puppetry of the Penis

Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle Kim Churchill, Benjalu,

John Waters - Looking Through A Glass Onion

East Maitland Bowling Club War Faction, A Villain’s Embrace,

The Hard Ons Fundraiser

Hamilton Station Hotel, Isling Run Squirrel, Adeline Pines, Michael Ferfoglia, Landon Eliot River

Jack’s Bar & Grill, Erina Lass O’Gowrie Hotel, Wickham Pornskas, Leather Feather, Pucko & Wal David Myles, Camille & Stuie

Matt Nukewood

Lass O’Gowrie Hotel, Wickham Easy Tiger, Delta Lions, Clinton Hoy

Lizotte’s, Lambton Amber Lawrence, Axle Whitehead

Seven Seas Hotel, Carrington

Jack’s Bar & Grill, Erina

Stag & Hunter Hotel, Mayfield

Nick Raschke

Big Band Theory

Loose Bazooka

Wed, June 6

Sun, June 10

Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle

Civic Theatre, Newcastle

Alice vs Everything

Melbourne International Comedy

Great Northern Hotel, Newc

Festival Roadshow

Grand Junction Hotel, MaitlAND

Hamilton Station Hotel, Isling Lass O’Gowrie Hotel, Wickham Robbie MacAulay

Gleny Rae Virus & her Tamworth Country Playboys

Great Northern Hotel, Newc Jackson Firebird, River of Snakes

Jack’s Bar & Grill, Erina Fameless

Kincumber Hotel Kuta Groove

Thur, June 7

Lizotte’s, Kincumber

Cessnock Performing Arts Cent

Lizotte’s, Lambton

Amber Lawrence, Axle Whitehead

Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow Dane Fitsimmons

Dragon, Broadway Mile

Queens Wharf Brewery, Newc Tigertown

Wests Leagues Club, Lambton

Hamilton Station Hotel, Isling Lizotte’s, Kincumber Think Rock and Food Trivia

Christine Anu

Wed, June 13 Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle

Abbie Dobson

Northern Star Hotel, Hamilton

Elliot the Bull

Hamilton Station Hotel, Isling

Nick Raschke

Lycanthrope, Nothing is Sacred,

Fri, June 8

Under Grey Skies

Lass O’Gowrie Hotel, Wickham Psycho Pucko, The Adam Miller Trio,

One Mike, L-Fresh the Lion, Hyjak,

Ian Curtis Alive!

Lizotte’s, Lambton

Riley & Donna

Civic Theatre, Newcastle

Celtic Divas

Newcastle City Hall

Melbourne International Comedy

Zoe K and the Shadow Kats The Cavalcade, Empra, The Virtue, Broadway Mile

The Smarts

Missy Higgins, Butterfly Boucher

Wests Leagues Club, Lambton James Morrison

Thur, June 14 Grand Junction Hotel, MaitlAND

Hamilton Station Hotel, Isling

Sun, June 3

We Rob Banks, 10th Prophetics

James Thompson, De’ May

Great Northern Hotel, Newc

Jack’s Bar & Grill, Erina

Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle Flatliners, Liberation Front, Distance, Gun Runners, Prevailing Disorder

Grand Junction Hotel, MaitlAND Mick Daley & the Corporate Raiders

Hamilton Station Hotel, Isling Realigning Alice

Crunch Time, Chris & Cha

Graveyard Train

Hamilton Station Hotel, Isling

Kincumber Hotel Dutch Courage

Rubber Bullet

Lizotte’s, Kincumber

King Street Hotel, Newcastle

Busby Marou, Leeder Cheetah, The Hello Mornings

Nik Fish

Lass O’Gowrie Hotel, Wickham

Lizotte’s, Lambton

Ergo, Hey Lady

Jack’s Bar & Grill, Erina Penny Black

Lizotte’s, Kincumber

Think Rock and Food Trivia

Side Bar, Cambridge Hotel, Newc

Dragon

Kincumber Hotel

Dan Potthast, Michael Fergolia,

Loft Youth Centre, Newcastle

Tim Pringle

DJ Calcio, DJ Dizz

Lizotte’s, Kincumber

magazine issue #070 — June 2012

King Street Hotel, Newcastle

Tues, June 5

Great Northern Hotel, Newc

Stag & Hunter Hotel, Mayfield

42 reverb

Lisa Mitchell, Georgia Fair

Festival Roadshow

Newcastle Panthers

Bandaluzia

Mon, June 4

OMG

Grand Junction Hotel, MaitlAND

Mike McClellan S Club, Big Brovaz

or visit lizottes.com.au

Jack’s Bar & Grill, Erina

Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle

Superjam

Lizotte’s, Lambton

phone (02) 4956 2066

Briscoe, Yae!Tiger, Hopes

Lanuda Shadow, The 5 Lands Band,

Lizotte’s, Lambton

Balescream

Great Northern Hotel, Newc

Festival - Immersion

information,

Iniciate Rockpage, Realigning Alice,

Deep Water Blues

Lizotte’s, Kincumber

For bookings and

Jellyfish

Great Northern Hotel, Newc

Grand Junction Hotel, MaitlAND

Microwave Jenny

Cessnock Performing Arts Cent

Australian Surf Movie

Renée Geyer

Novakayn Unplugged, Jake Cassar,

Jacob Emerson

26 July

29 July

Festival Roadshow

Coast Hotel, Budgewoi

Lizotte’s, Kincumber

Temper Trap

Wendy Matthews

Jeff Lang

Kristi Bennett, The Rhythm Hunters,

Hudson Arc, Riley & Donna,

22 July

27 July

Melbourne International Comedy

Caverns, Tired Minds, Safe Hands

Belmont 16 Foot Sailing Club

Tim Finn

Rhythm Hut, Gosford

Merewether Fats

Sat, June 2 8 July

Civic Theatre, Newcastle

Christ Church Cathedral, Newc

Little Friday

Lizotte’s, Lambton

29 June

The Never Ever

Enemies With Benefits

Mr Kite, The Hedonist

10 June

Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle

Yung Warriors

The Rubix, Bec Pap, Kiam Robertson,

The Floors Flap!

Axle Whitehead

Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle

Bambara 4 National Park Concert w/

Hamilton Station Hotel, Isling

Amber Lawrence &

Fri, June 15

Simple Plan, We The Kings,

Woe & Flutter

9 June

Sat, June 9

Stag & Hunter Hotel, Mayfield Moonlight Drive

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Thomas Gill, Landon Elliot River

Busby Marou, Leeder Cheetah, The Hello Mornings

Entrance Leagues Club Silverstein, Skyway

Grand Junction Hotel, MaitlAND Floyd Vincent and the Child Brides

Great Northern Hotel, Newc Over-Reactor, Sidetracked Fiasco, Shinobi

Jack’s Bar & Grill, Erina Super Nova, Chris & Cha

Kincumber Hotel Cookin’ with Al

King Street Hotel, Newcastle Stafford Brothers

Lass O’Gowrie Hotel, Wickham Organik, Ben & the Sea, De’May

Lizotte’s, Kincumber Mental As Anything

Lizotte’s, Lambton James Blundell

Stag & Hunter Hotel, Mayfield Overload

Sat, June 16 Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle Trial Kennedy

Great Northern Hotel, Newc Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire!, Founds

Jack’s Bar & Grill, Erina Jellyfish

Lass O’Gowrie Hotel, Wickham Charge Group, Joe McKee, Indian Gun

Level One, Newc Leagues Club Africa Today Festival w/ Keyim Ba, Afro Moses O Jah Band, DJ Africa, Benjie & Earthen Rhythms Drum Group, The Djembellas

Lizotte’s, Kincumber James Blundell

Lizotte’s, Lambton Abbasback

Stag & Hunter Hotel, Mayfield The Jungle Kings

Sun, June 17 Entrance Leagues Club Boy & Bear, The Jungle Giants, Tin Sparrow

Grand Junction Hotel, MaitlAND Lachy Doley

Great Northern Hotel, Newc The Black Seeds

Hamilton Station Hotel, Isling Funk Sway

Jack’s Bar & Grill, Erina Ashley Moon

Tues, June 19 Jack’s Bar & Grill, Erina The Jitter Buggers

Oasis Youth Centre, Wyong Buried in Verona, The Plot In You, In Hearts Wake, Silent Screams

Wed, June 20 Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle Pledge This

Great Northern Hotel, Newc Hugo Race, Leek & the War Wick Tragedy

Hamilton Station Hotel, Isling Allay the Sea, Empires Fall, Hunt the Hunted

Lass O’Gowrie Hotel, Wickham Planet Love Sound, Tehachapi

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gig Guide North Loft Youth Centre, Newcastle Thick as Blood, Taken By Force, Allay The Sea, Hurt Unit, Aftermath

Wests Leagues Club, Lambton Jon Stevens, Morgan Evans

Thur, June 21 Depot on Beaumont, Hamilton Katie Noonan, James Chatburn

Grand Junction Hotel, MaitlAND Melody Pool

Hamilton Station Hotel, Isling Marriah

Lizotte’s, Kincumber Rose Carleo, Mark Travers

Fri, June 22 Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle 1929Indian

CBD Hotel, Newcastle Nhostic, Urban Freeflow, Tycotic, Prem Beglam & DJ N’Taprize, Poetic Transition, Lomas, DJ RileyJM

Grand Junction Hotel, MaitlAND The Lairs

Great Northern Hotel, Newc Grey Ghost

Hamilton Station Hotel, Isling Mr Kite

Jack’s Bar & Grill, Erina Midnight Mojo, Chris & Cha

King Street Hotel, Newcastle Sampology

Level One, Newc Leagues Club Ash Grunwald

Lizotte’s, Kincumber Juzzie Smith

Lizotte’s, Lambton Mental As Anything, Crown Point

Maitland City Bowling Club Jon Stevens, Morgan Evans

Stag & Hunter Hotel, Mayfield Phonic

Sat, June 23 Belmont 16 Foot Sailing Club Jon Stevens, Morgan Evans

Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle Ollie Brown

Cessnock Rugby League Club Puppetry of the Penis

Great Northern Hotel, Newc The Walking Who

Hamilton Station Hotel, Isling No Art, Pink Ribbons, Run Squirrel, The Loved and Lost

Jack’s Bar & Grill, Erina Sideways

King Street Hotel, Newcastle Bombs Away, Kid Kenobi

Lizotte’s, Kincumber Carus Thompson

Lizotte’s, Lambton Juzzie Smith

Ocean Beach Hotel, Umina No Pressure

Stag & Hunter Hotel, Mayfield OMG!

Sun, June 24 Grand Junction Hotel, MaitlAND Eucalypso

Hamilton Station Hotel, Isling Soul Station

Jack’s Bar & Grill, Erina

By The Fire

Kincumber Hotel Paul Watters

Lizotte’s, Lambton Menopause - The Musical

Find us on Facebook

Tues, June 26

Fri, June 1

Sun, June 3

Jack’s Bar & Grill, Erina

Australian Hotel, Ballina

Beach Hotel, Byron Bay

Guy Katchel

Joe Kalo Nextdoor RAW launch w/ Tess Green, Lachlan Roberts, Valley of Kings,

Great Northern Hotel, Byron Funkoars, K21, Mr Hill, Rahjonkas

Henry Rous Hotel, Ballina

Hamilton Station Hotel, Isling

Hoey Moey Hotel, Coffs Harbour Josh Matheson

Daniel March, Ben & the Sea

Lalaland, Byron Bay

Thur, June 28

Bombs Away, Spacie, And Oh!

Lennox Point Hotel

Gee Wizz, Blush Nightclub, Gosf Great Northern Hotel, Newc

Sabotage

Barry Humphries

Doyalson RSL CLub Glee Coffee Roasters, Tuggerah Grand Junction Hotel, Maitland

Great Northern Hotel, Byron

Australian Hotel, Ballina

Hoey Moey Hotel, Coffs Harbour

The Black Seeds

Ballina RSL

Bill Jacobi

Brunswick Heads Hotel

Ballina RSL

Cherry St Sports Club, Ballina

Lizotte’s, Lambton Northern Star Hotel, Hamilton

Hoey Moey Hotel, Coffs Harbour Too Easy

Nick Raschke

Cherry St Sports Club, Ballina

Blind Willie Wagtail

Alderman Brothers

Pacific Hotel, Yamba

Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle DJ’s Vame, Mathmatics, Jaytee, NTSC

14 July

Doc Neeson – rock legend

15 July

Lazy Sunday Lunch w/ Beccy Cole

19 July

Dave Graney and The MistLY

21 July

Wendy Matthews

26 July

Jeff Lang

28 July

Renée Geyer

Clay Blyth

Plantation Hotel, Coffs

Glee Coffee Roasters, Tuggerah

Sarah McLeod

Federal Hotel, Alstonville

Richie Williams

Def Wish Cast, Celsius, Killawattz,

7 July

Beach Hotel, Byron Bay

Arj Barker

Lennox Point Hotel

Sat, June 30

Tim Finn

John Waters - Looking Through A

Byron Bay Community Centre

Rhys Bynon

Greg Bryce & Hot Yogis

3 July

Madison Kat

Lalaland, Byron Bay

Stag & Hunter Hotel, Mayfield

Fireside Chat Tour

Glass Onion

Legend

Tim Freedman, Amy Vee

Fri, June 8 Isaac Frankham

Farhom

Diesel, Jacob Pearson

Tim Freedman Solo

Australian Hotel, Ballina

DJ Yogurt, Nick Taylor, Jade

Soul Station

1 July

Acid Bleed

Brewery, Byron Bay

Lizotte’s, Kincumber

The Audreys

Slipway Hotel, Ballina Tattersalls Hotel, Lismore

Flap!, The Good Ship, Kindling

Spitfire, Chris & Cha

30 June

The Havelocks, Mr Kite

Ballina RSL Bowling Club

Bellingen Memorial Hall

Kincumber Hotel

Into The Light tour

Port Macquarie Hotel

DJ Longtime, DJ Nowak

Jack’s Bar & Grill, Erina

28-29 June Diesel –

Josh Matheson

Beach Hotel, Byron Bay

Howlin’ Steam Train

Formula

Sat, June 2

Glenn Massey

Fish Fry and Pow Wow

Great Northern Hotel, Newc

Stag & Hunter Hotel, Mayfield

Arj Barker

Phil & Gaz

New Empire

Chilli Crab Lunch

Tin Sparrow

Keogh

Puppetry of the Penis

Brian’s Famous Jazz and

Beach Hotel, Byron Bay

Byron Bay Community Centre

Out of the Square

Civic Theatre, Newcastle

17 June

Boy & Bear, The Jungle Giants,

Slipway Hotel, Ballina

We Built Atlantis

Diesel, Daniel March

Thur, June 7

Seaview Tavern, Woolgoolga

Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle

James Blundell

Vanessa Lee, Roadtrain

1st Avenue

Fri, June 29

16 June

Wed, June 6

Hoey Moey Hotel, Coffs Harbour

Sawtell Hotel

The Audreys

Mental As Anything

Louis Van Senden

Richie Williams

Eye Contact

Lizotte’s, Lambton

15 June

Ready to Rock

Henry Rous Hotel, Ballina

Port Macquarie Hotel

Diesel, Jacob Pearson

Amber Lawrence

Ballina RSL

Tin Sparrow

DJ Brown Sugar, DJ Breno

Lizotte’s, Kincumber

Lazy Sunday lunch with

Boy & Bear, The Jungle Giants,

Uncle Jr

Transvaal Diamond Syndicate

Lizotte’s, Lambton

Tim Stokes

Plantation Hotel, Coffs

Alex Bowen,

Tues, June 5

Coolangatta Hotel

Pacific Hotel, Yamba

Empra

10 June

Hoey Moey Hotel, Coffs Harbour

DJ Buzz, Penny Drops

Iildys

Lizotte’s, Lambton

The Audreys

Surf Report

Coastal Soul

The Popes

Dragon

The Fire Tree

Federal Hotel, Alstonville

Great Northern Hotel, Newc

8 June

Hoey Moey Hotel, Coffs Harbour Pacific Hotel, Yamba

Tonight Alive

Distance

Lizotte’s, Kincumber

Daniel Champagne

Doctor Bob

Liberation Front, Prevailing Disorder,

Nothing Sacred

Archie Rye

Coolangatta Hotel

Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle

Kid Mac

Ballina Country Music Club

Harvest Cafe, Newrybar

Cherry ST Sports Club, Ballina

Wed, June 27

Jack’s Bar & Grill, Erina

Fyah Walk

Cherry St Sports Club, Ballina

A French Butler Called Smith

Claire Jean, Jessica Lord, JJ Emerson

New Empire

Round Mountain Girls

Brunswick Heads Hotel

Ebony Bender, Amelia Amber,

Don’t forget — Live & Local every Wednesday night

Brunswick Heads Hotel

Beach Hotel, Byron Bay

Jesse O’Neill-Hutchin, James Watt,

Great Northern Hotel, Newc

Andrea Soler

Ballina RSL

Lizotte’s, Kincumber

CENTRAL COAST

Henry Rous Hotel, Ballina

Wisemole DJs

DJ Buzz

Sawtell Hotel

Hoey Moey Hotel, Coffs Harbour

Minnie Marks

Quick Fix

SCU Unibar, Lismore

Lennox Point Hotel

Mazstock w/ X, Hits, Antibodies, Gravel Samwidge, P.I.S.S., Cletus, The Devil’s Johnsons, Jamhog,

Garrett Kato

Port Macquarie Hotel Timmy Trumpet

Thundergods of the Multiuniverse, Blood Guts & Firetrucks, Sunstation, Main Street Brats, The Argonauts, Smash Mystery, Lucious Deed, Sister Ray, Shiny Shiny, The Bridge

Seaview Tavern, Woolgoolga

Sawtell Hotel Secret Squirrel

Seaview Tavern, Woolgoolga The Weekenders

For bookings and information, phone (02) 4368 2017 or visit lizottes.com.au

Slipway Hotel, Ballina El Pirata

Tattersalls Hotel, Lismore

Paul Greene

Slipway Hotel, Ballina

Scott Day-V

Yamba Shores Tavern

Stu & Dave

Tattersalls Hotel, Lismore

Bondi Cigars

Rich Latimer

Download Page

Download Issue

reverb magazine issue #070 — June 2012 43

JUNE AT THE AUSSIE FRI 1 GUY KACHEL 8PM SAT 2 KEOGH 7:30PM WED 5 DEAN’S TRIVIA WITH EXTRA CHEESE 7PM FRI 8 ISAAC FRANKHAM BAND 8PM SAT 9 OWEN HOGAN BAND 7:30PM WED 13 DEAN’S TRIVIA – HAT & TIE THEME (PANTS COMPULSORY) THURS 14 POP STANDEN 7PM FRI 15 47 NAKED MIDGETS SAT 16 CLAY BLYTHE WED 20 DEAN’S DEATH DEFYING TRIVIA & SAUSAGE 7PM FRI 22 SABOTAGE 8PM SAT 23 SCOTT DAY – V DUO 7:30PM WED 27 DEAN’S TINGLY TRIVIA – UNDIES ON THE OUTSIDE THEME 7PM FRI 29 SHYBABY 8PM SAT 30 ANGRY PENGUINS 7:30PM

gig Guide North (cont.)

Sat, June 9

Fri, June 15

Thur, June 21

Wed, June 27

Australian Hotel, Ballina

Australian Hotel, Ballina

Club Forster

Hoey Moey Hotel, Coffs Harbour

Owen Hogan

47 Naked Midgets

Ballina RSL

Ballina RSL

Nathan Williams DJ Rene Pogel Kelly Knight and the Daze

Byron Bay Community Centre Cherry St Sports Club, Ballina

Hugo Race, Leek & the War Wick

Boy & Bear, The Jungle Giants,

Slipway Hotel, Ballina Scott Davey

Tattersalls Hotel, Lismore

Vanessa Lee, Roadtrain Goodrich

Manning Ent Centre, Taree

Ben Francis

Lennox Point Hotel

Tragedy

Tin Sparrow

Lennox Point Hotel

Occa Rock

Hoey Moey Hotel, Coffs Harbour

Melbourne International Comedy

Acid Bleed

Pacific Hotel, Yamba

Bandaluzia Flamenco Lionheir, Band of Frequencies

Pacific Hotel, Yamba Dan Hannaford

Sabotage

Ballina RSL Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow

Beach Hotel, Byron Bay

Slipway Hotel, Ballina

Kid Kenobi

Tattersalls Hotel, Lismore

Deep Sea Arcade, The Cairos, Woe & Flutter

Cex Club, Coffs Harbour

Greg Nolan

Rails, Byron Bay

INXS

Sat, June 16

Charlie Mayfair

Sawtell Hotel

Cherry St Sports Club, Ballina Tony Fallon

Lennox Point Hotel

Australian Hotel, Ballina

Matty Devitt

Slipway Hotel, Ballina

Stu Black, Dan Clarke

Pacific Hotel, Yamba

Clay Blyth

Ballina RSL

Coast Road

Tattersalls Hotel, Lismore

Dylan James

Elizabeth Lord, Leigh James

Plantation Hotel, Coffs

Ballina RSL Bowling Club

Keegan Sparke

Wauchope RSL Club

KAHA, DJ Brown Sugar

Port Macquarie Hotel

Bob Walton

Brewery, Byron Bay

Bondi Cigars

Kingfisha, Kooii, DJ Major Krazey

Sun, June 10

Byron Bay Community Centre

Beach Hotel, Byron Bay

Cherry St Sports Club, Ballina

Mista Savona

Roketok

Brunswick Heads Hotel OKA

Glasshouse, Port Macquarie Melbourne International Comedy

Byron Bay Community Centre

The Lyrical, Sleep Makes Waves

Slipway Hotel, Ballina Cobblestone Road

Tattersalls Hotel, Lismore

Mzaza

Festival Roadshow

Loren

Cleveland Blues, Red Eye Junction

Scott Day-V Clay Blyth

Ballina RSL Bowling Club

Wallapalooza w/ Armada In the Dusk, The Molotov, As Paradise Falls, Unpaid Hostlity, Death By Dance, Nine Sons Of Dan, Madison Kat, Code Blue, Bats VS Snakes, Shivai, Verusive, Green Whistle, Slow Riots

Wed, June 13 Yamba Bowling Club Boy & Bear, The Jungle Giants, Tin Sparrow

Thur, June 14 Australian Hotel, Ballina

Plantation Hotel, Coffs

Beach Hotel, Byron Bay Shybaby

Port Macquarie Panthers

Heaven

Hoey Moey Hotel, Coffs Harbour

Tragedy

Beach Hotel, Byron Bay

Boy & Bear, The Jungle Giants,

Pandamonium DJ’s

Brewery, Byron Bay

Tin Sparrow

Slipway Hotel, Ballina Jon Bradley, Bel

The Lyrical

Cherry St Sports Club, Ballina

Tattersalls Hotel, Lismore Norman & Louise

Mossy Rocks

Hoey Moey Hotel, Coffs Harbour Matty Devitt

Sun, June 17

Lennox Point Hotel

Beach Hotel, Byron Bay

Lismore Workers Club

Shybaby

Lisa Hunt

INXS

Glasshouse, Port Macquarie

Pacific Hotel, Yamba

Melbourne International Comedy

Glen Mead

Plantation Hotel, Coffs

Hoey Moey Hotel, Coffs Harbour Holland, Matty Devitt

Brewery, Byron Bay

Hugo Race, Leek & the War Wick

DJ Stevo, DJ Breno

Festival Roadshow

Pop Standen

Neil Anderson

Bangalow Bowling Club

Cupid’s Bullet

Tues, June 19 Hoey Moey Hotel, Coffs Harbour

DJ Stevo, DJ Breno

Slipway Hotel, Ballina Yolan

Sun, June 24 Beach Hotel, Byron Bay

David Strauss

Jetty Memorial Theatre, Coffs

Plantation Hotel, Coffs Boy & Bear, The Jungle Giants, Tin Sparrow

Port Macquarie Hotel Cleveland Blues, Elliot the Bull

Slipway Hotel, Ballina Matt Buggy

Melbourne International Comedy

Thomas Stowers

Hoey Moey Hotel, Coffs Harbour

Festival Roadshow

Coastal Soul

Wed, June 20

Tues, June 26

Hoey Moey Hotel, Coffs Harbour

Hoey Moey Hotel, Coffs Harbour

Damo

Tattersalls Hotel, Lismore

Solomon Chowdhury

Jetty Memorial Theatre, Coffs

The Bamboos Owen Shannon

Plantation Hotel, Coffs Hilltop Hoods

Port Macquarie Hotel Bart Thrupp, The Watt Riot

SCU Unibar, Lismore Sampology

Slipway Hotel, Ballina Bo Jenkins

Tattersalls Hotel, Lismore Cole, Cox, Lovejoy

Fri, June 29 Australian Hotel, Ballina Shybaby

Ballina RSL Rokotok

Beach Hotel, Byron Bay Bustamento

Brewery, Byron Bay Nick Saxon

Cherry St Sports Club, Ballina Midlife Crisis

Hoey Moey Hotel, Coffs Harbour

Pacific Hotel, Yamba

Mick Daley

Wallaby Hotel, Mudgeeraba

Jarrah Thompson

Australian Hotel, Ballina

Lennox Point Hotel

Bondi Cigars

Pacific Hotel, Yamba

Greg Sullivan, Mandy Nolan

Beach Hotel, Byron Bay

Henry Rous Hotel, Ballina

Ballina RSL

Quick Fix

The Big Gig w/ Des Dowling,

Sat, June 23

Hoey Moey Hotel, Coffs Harbour

Arj Barker

Hoey Moey Hotel, Coffs Harbour

Ballina RSL

Hoey Moey Hotel, Coffs Harbour

Clockwork Orange

Plantation Hotel, Coffs

Thur, June 28

Australian Hotel, Ballina

Plantation Hotel, Coffs DJ Brown Sugar

Bustamento, Driftwood Allies

Great Northern Hotel, Byron

Garrett Kato

Mullumbimby Civic Hall

Kane Cahill

Plantation Hotel, Coffs

Fri, June 22

Festival Roadshow

Fat Albert

Mullum Drill Hall

Cole, Cox, Lovejoy

Port Macquarie Hotel

Forster Ex Services Club

Hoey Moey Hotel, Coffs Harbour

Arj Barker

Dave Irving

magazine issue #070 — June 2012

The Strides

Cherry St Sports Club, Ballina Glenn Massey

Brewery, Byron Bay

Pacific Hotel, Yamba

44 reverb

Hoey Moey Hotel, Coffs Harbour

Lisa Hunt

Beach Hotel, Byron Bay

Owen Shannon

103 River Street, Ballina Ph 02 6686 2015 www.theaussiehotel.com

INXS

Twin Towns Services Club

Melbourne International Comedy

INXS

DJ Buzz Mick Bateman

Lennox Point Hotel Due Wave

Pacific Hotel, Yamba Jarrah Thompson

Plantation Hotel, Coffs DJ Brown Sugar

Slipway Hotel, Ballina Sole Shakers

Tattersalls Hotel, Lismore Chris Fisher

Sat, June 30 Australian Hotel, Ballina Angry Penguins

Beach Hotel, Byron Bay Rhythm n Cutloose

Brewery, Byron Bay Sacred, Darpan

Brunswick Heads Hotel Guy and Thierry

Cherry St Sports Club, Ballina Push

Henry Rous Hotel, Ballina Liquid Search

Hoey Moey Hotel, Coffs Harbour Secret Squirrel

Lennox Point Hotel Clay Blyth

Open Studio, Coffs Harbour The Bride, Wish for Wings, Trainwreck, In Shadows, Last In Line

Plantation Hotel, Coffs Matty Effin Morrison, Hotels on Mayfair, The Outcome

Slipway Hotel, Ballina Leigh James

Tattersalls Hotel, Lismore Mick McHugh

Festival Roadshow

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