Megascene issue 11_2

. . . featuring music, lifestyle and fashion in Adelaide

Issue 11

Beeb Birtles gets inducted into the AMC SA Music Hall of Fame

2018

Gig photos of The New Dead Metalfest VIII

Gwyn Ashton

Davinyls

Gig photos of Painters And Dockers

MEGAscene • Issue 11 - 2018

Rising Star Media Photography - Video - Design

Photography

by Sue Hedley

Specialising in music industry photography, portraits and events

www.risingstar.com.au 2

rsm@risingstar.com.au

MEGAscene • Issue 11 - 2018

IN THIS ISSUE

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Feature Articles

Beeb Birtles Gwyn Ashton Davinyls The GC @ The German Club Ross Wilson “Tales of A Drunk Piano” Stewart D’Arrietta Midnight Oil Review MEGA Travel MEGA Health

8 32 36 40 44

23 50 54 56 58

Gig Photos

AMC SA Hall Of Fame Inductions Brothers In Arms Painter And Dockers Night Of The Nearly Dead 8 Howie’s Kick Off

Regular Columns MEGAlocal CD Reviews Live Sound Advice SA Paranormal Markets in Adelaide

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MEGAscene • Issue 11 - 2018

MEGAscene

EDITOR’S NOTE

Editor: Sue Hedley

March already! How the year is rushing by. I hope everyone is enjoying the Adelaide Fringe. This issue is jam-packed with photographs and articles. I hope you enjoy reading it.

Deputy Editor: David Powell Contributors this issue: Allen Tiller Frank Lang Michelle McGoldrick Carina Bonney Lisa Vincent Photographer: Sue Hedley Additional Photography: Lisa Vincent

Regards, The Editor

Sue

Front Cover Photo: Beeb Birtles Photo: Sue Hedley Insert Photos of

Davinyls and Night Of The Nearly Dead 8 Show: Lisa Vincent Back Cover: Virgil Reality Photo: Sue Hedley

Layout: Sue Hedley Published by: Rising Star Media www.risingstar.com.au MEGAscene web address: www.facebook.com/megasceneoz Editorial and Advertising enquiries: rsm@risingstar.com.au Telephone: Sue - 0414 984 739 Postal address: PO Box 333 Greenacres SA 5086 © Rising Star Media 2015-2018 All rights reserved

Gwyn Ashton

Photo: Sue Hedley

All materials published in MEGAscene are subject to copyright. No part may be reproduced without prior written permission from the publisher. The opinions expressed in MEGAscene are not necesarily those of the editors or publisher.

No responsibility is taken for the contents or illustrations of advertisements. This linking to other sites within MEGAscene is provided strictly as a courtesy by Rising Star Media for the convenience of its’ users and Rising Star Media is not responsible for the content of any site linked, or linked within a site, nor does it constitute the endorsement of the web sites or of their policies, products, services or delivery of goods. Rising Star Media will not be held accountable for the content of any postings contained in any site linked or linked within a site, nor does it deem reliable any offers, expert advice, financial opportunities or otherwise that any such postings should imply.

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MEGAscene • Issue 11 - 2018

Beeb Birtles Photos by Sue Hedley Beeb Birtles was in Adelaide in October last year to promote his book ‘Every Day Of His Life’ and to be inducted into the AMC SA Music Hall Of Fame at the German Club.

Says Beeb about being inducted, “I feel very honoured and I thought it was an amazing show. I just want to thank all the people who put in the effort to make it the night that it Darryl Cotton and Rick Springfield. He played was. I’m really thrilled.” his right handed bass guitar upside down because he was left handed.

Barry Smith was also inducted on the same night.

After Zoot, Beeb was part of Mississippi and Born in Holland, Gerard Bertlekamp arrived in Australia in the 1970s with his family. He fell in love with music and adopted the stage name of Beeb Birtles and became part of the pop sensation of the ‘70s, Zoot, along with

then Little River Band. LRB was the first Australian band to break into the elusive American market and have a gold album in the United States. Beeb wrote their first number one hit ‘Curiosity Killed The Cat’. Their other hits include: ‘Reminiscing’, ‘Help is On its Way’, ‘Lonesome Loser’, ‘Happy Anniversary’, ‘Lady,’ ‘It’s a Long Way There’ and ‘Every Day of My Life’.

Along with Glenn Shorrock and Graeham Gobles, Beeb is a founding member of LRB but none of these musicians can perform under the LRB name anymore, as Beeb reveals in ‘Every Day of My Life’; the story of a man and his music. Distributed by Brolga Publishing and Dennis Jones & Associates Australia. His book can be ordered online or through bookshops.

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Beeb Birtles performing with Barry Smith and David Moyse (ex-Air Supply) at his induction into the AMC SA Music Hall Of Fame.

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Beeb Birtles & Barry Smith Inductions into the AMC SA Music Hall of Fame @ The German Club Photos by Sue Hedley - 28/10/2017

Barry Smith being inducted

Beeb Birtles and Barry Smith performing

Beeb Birtles being inducted

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Gwyn Ashton MEGAscene talks to Gwyn Ashton about his latest CD album release Solo Elektro.

After releasing seven band albums what made you go solo?

I always try to do something a bit different to what everyone else is doing. Since the ‘70s I always had a trio but after doing that for over 25 years I wanted to try something different so I put a dirty blues guitar and drums duo together, trying to do something a bit offthe-wall. One night Robert Plant was in the audience really dug us and gave me a serious amount of encouragement. The whole White Stripes/Black Keys thing was around and just starting to take off but then all these duos sprung up so I thought ‘OK, what’s next?’ I need to stay one step ahead and was trying to work out what I could do that would give me my own identity so I could stand out through all of the noise.

I’d already been playing acoustic-based solo shows with a stomp board as foot percussion and one night I had a duo show booked in a club and the guy was adamant he didn’t want a solo act. Unfortunately my drummer had let me down at the last-minute so I took a punt and got to the gig, dragged my gear in and thought ‘I’ve got a bass drum in the van, maybe I should use that’. A few weeks prior I’d just bought Bill Ward’s Ludwig drum kit that he recorded the first Black Sabbath album with and had it in the van, so it kinda hit me to use the kick drum instead of the stomp board. It looked better, too. Coincidentally that week I’d been on eBay and bought a kick drum pedal for emergencies that was also in the van and I figured ‘here’s my emergency’, but I’d never set up a bass drum before. It was the last thing I lugged in as I was really nervous to use it and had the ‘should I, shouldn’t I?’ thing going around my head through the load in, but I thought ‘What the hell. Just DO it’ so I dragged in all the amps and kick drum and set the whole thing up. I kicked the drum to make sure it was set up correctly and suddenly I had one of those moments when the heavens 10

open up and I thought this sounded so much better than the stomp board and LOUDER. I just stood up and played guitar with the kick drum all night. It went down really well, I got two encores and I thought to myself, ‘Here’s the new band’.

The guy came up to pay me and asked me ‘How long have you been doing this show?’ I thought he was going to be a bit upset, halve my money and tell me never to come back for double-crossing him. I replied ‘Oh, a few months now’. He then asked me to do this again next time, preferring it to the duo and gave me the whole fee.

I suddenly felt liberated, free of musicians not being able to do gigs for various reasons and having to get guys in who didn’t know the songs, how to play certain grooves etc and it was like an epiphany. I knew that after all these years, this was what I was meant to do so I spent the next couple of years honing it, experimenting, driving thousands of miles on my own, playing all across Europe and Australia, knocking the show into shape, making mistakes, getting it right, before I was ready to record this album.

Then I decided that it was time to stop doing solo versions of my older album tracks and get some new material together. I flew to Australia and got together with my old songwriting partner Garry Allen in Melbourne. Not working together for 25 years, we immediately penned a bunch of songs straight away and knew something was right. I threw riffs at him and he threw in lyrics on the spot. We churned out at least ten songs in a few days, even played one on a radio show an hour after we wrote it. We got back to his house, listened back to the radio interview and heard the next guest being interviewed after us say something and Garry picked up on it and we wrote another one there and then and went back to the station and played THAT song the following week. ‘Late Night’ made it onto Solo Elektro and we have a backlog of material for all kinds of future projects.

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“There’s a new evolving one-man band scene slowly happening and I’m happy to be a part of it. I really hope that I have something to add to it. It’s tough breaking the shackles of the Blackpool ‘cymbals-between-hislegs and kick drum on-hisback’ guy playing ‘Knees Up Mother Brown’ but I’m getting there.”

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MEGAscene • Issue 11 - 2018

Tell us about the recording process of your latest album Solo Elektro.

I was on tour in the Czech Republic and had a week off. I figured after all of this it was time to make a record and had my mobile studio equipment with me. I found a room and set my gear up. It was a primitive setup, with mattresses against walls and I recorded it all on four tracks, standing by the computer, engineering it myself. I was pretty loud but did my best to baffle off the guitar from the vocals. The worst part was the spill from the bass drum into the vocal mic as I have to stand behind the drum while I sing. I could have overdubbed vocals etc but I wanted this album to be 100% live and be the same as you get when someone comes to a concert.

Anyway, as a singer/guitarist, you sing and play differently when get separated from your instrument. I set myself a task. As I wanted it to be an honest record, my rules were ‘no punch-ins, no overdubbing, make a mistake start all over’ so I spent at least a day on each song, crafting them into shape. I usually stand up to play but on the track, ‘Kind To Be Cruel’, there are a few instances where the main verse is tremolo guitar. When the bass drum comes in on the chorus I have to kick the tremolo off with my left foot on the same beat as the first kick drum with my right foot which is physically impossible to do standing.

I had to sit down to play it so I could use both feet simultaneously and had to practice that part for 30 minutes to get the co-ordination.

That’s going to be a fun one to play live!

I had to change locations twice and ended up in England finishing the album off in a vacant hotel room at a venue/music shop Worley’s The Swan in Stourport. Funnily enough that’s where I purchased the drum kit.

It’s much easier when we’re in the same room.

I’d take these ideas and spend all day arranging them into actual songs and record them over and over until the timing was good, the vocals were good, the guitar solo made sense and the most important part – the VIBE of the song was intact.

Why did you record it yourself and not go to a studio? Did you also mix it or send it out for mixing/mastering?

I know the sounds I want to lay down and I can do that in my own time without the pressures of going over-budget in a studio. I’ve got good gear to do it and I think I’ve got pretty good ears to be able to capture the sounds. I also wanted to experiment and take the time to create something new that I could hear inside my head but it would cost a fortune to do it in a studio and I’d drive the engineer crazy with all the messing about, stopping, starting, trying different things out.

As I’m playing everything live and stand behind the bass drum, kicking it whilst playing guitar and singing, there was a lot of bass drum bleed into the vocal mic. I managed to isolate the guitar amp in a different room but we had to contend with the vocal with kick drum. We magically curtailed it in the final mix and what ended up on this record is a genuine, raw live album.

I’m too close to this project and really needed another set of ears to help me. After all of the processes I was burnt out so I took the tracks over to South Australia and mixed it with Mick Wordley at Mixmasters Studio. He put it through a whole bunch of analogue outboard gear and we mixed it on the first SSL mixing desk that came into Australia, which was imported by INXS. I’d pre-mixed the vocals and guitar tracks myself with the effects I wanted, primarily the SoundToys Decapitator and Waves ADT plugins (artificial double-tracking device developed by EMI for the Revolver album in 1966) and let Mick do his magic on the whole thing. I also had a few special vocal delays that I wanted to keep.

My co-writer Garry Allen and I were writing a lot of the songs together. The hard thing about this was he’s in Melbourne, I’m in Europe so I’d send him a riff on Skype or WhatsApp, he’d write the lyrics whist I was asleep, I’d wake up, the song was finished and I had to learn the lyric phrasing and turn them into songs.

We had a window of a couple of hours each day, morning my time, evening his, when we’d both be awake at the same time so we’d I then took those mixes back to England and hook up online and talk about it in real time. had it mastered by ex Sony Los Angeles 12

www.gwynashton.com

NEWOUTALBUM NOW

MEGAscene • Issue 11 - 2018

‘Ambitiously written, with tracks running the gamut between alt.blues, stoner rock and Eastern-tinged, Lennon-voiced psychedelia.

These new clothes suit him'.

- Classic Rock Magazine

'Dripping attitude and explosive raw energies Solo Elektro is a hearty slice of music from one of Australia's most cherished independent blues-rock artists' - Rhythms Magazine Dec 2017 13

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engineer David Mitson. David worked there for 30 years and mastered so much stuff, including the Robert Johnson Collection, for Sony.

album opens with the bluesy version and closes with the more psychedelic version. I thought that that was a kinda cool mistake.

Live, I’m going to get in between the two.

As this is your first album that features collaboration with another writer, can you and your co-writer Garry Allen tell us about each track?

Garry Allen: No denying it, we are all on a Metaphysical Journey. Where we come from no one knows, but where were going – everybody goes! You can attain knowledge and spiritual wisdom, but the journey is inevitable.

Gwyn Ashton: ‘Metaphysical Journey’ comes The song is a cry for all to be kind to each in two parts. It opens and closes the album, other while we are living on this planet and we kind of sealing it, almost making it a concept should be aware that we are all on the same album, which was totally an accident. That’s track to our unknown destination.

Garry’s song that he sent to me towards the end of the recording. I originally did it in ‘F#’ Gwyn Ashton: ‘Freedom’ was a song that tuning on slide, sent it to him and went to bed. I’ve had hanging around for years. I originally I called him when I woke up and he said ‘It’s recorded it in LA with a band over there and too bluesy, you need to make it sound more never released it. I started jamming it on psychedelic so all day I messed with it, re- an acoustic guitar and figured it would fit recorded the second version a full tone up in perfectly on this album, so I worked out how I ‘Ab’, played it his way and emailed him a mp3 could adapt it for a solo arrangement. then went to bed. I got up the next morning and he said ‘Listening to the two I’ve changed ‘She Won’t Tell Me’ came out of a jam session. my mind, I prefer the first version’. So now One night I had a jam with a drummer in I had two versions of the same song so the England and he asked me what we were going to play. I just started playing the riff on the spot and made up the verse and choruses as we played it, without any lyrics. The whole thing came out in one go. I wrote it in literally two minutes. It wrote itself from instinct. I still don’t know where that came from. I had the melody going round my head and started writing the lyrics without a guitar walking around Moscow and finished them in the streets of Rijeka whilst I was looking around.

It’s based on a big guitar riff that you think you might have heard before. The song itself is just about someone who messes with your head, here one minute and gone the next, with no indication of intent.

‘Dawn Of Tomorrow’ is the first song Garry and I wrote together since the early days. I had the riff and he penned the lyrics almost on the spot. I wanted a dreamy song and somehow it morphed with the Celtic section in the middle that was inspired by something I saw Chris Finnen play years ago in Adelaide. It was like John Lee Hooker meets Rory Gallagher when he was in Taste.

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Garry Allen: Dawn of Tomorrow is about dreams you can’t remember that still echo through your soul. The unattainable perfection of the astral plain melting away as you experience the cold hard jolt of reality as we arise from our slumber. We’ve all had a dream when we’ve met our perfect lover, our soul mate, only to awaken with a vague memory and a glimpse of a union of souls.

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Gwyn Ashton: Kind To Be Cruel started out as a guitar line for the verse. I wanted something a bit swampy. Garry and I were sitting around his living room and I pulled this out. I didn’t have a chorus, though, so I just started pumping those chords out and he started singing ‘I’m looking for a woman with a thousand faces’ and I thought ‘Wow, I’d never come up with that line’ so I let him go with it. I thought it sounded a bit Green Manalishi Gwyn Ashton: In Your Blood is a song that and Black Sabbath so the song turned into Garry wrote for me to record. I gutsed it something completely different to its original up a bit and gave it a harder edge than he form. When I started to record it I wanted to originally intended it to have. That kicks along get clever with the solo section and inject nicely. It’s a slide guitar rocker, reminds me of something that was a bit of a worked out jam.

George Thorogood or Rose Tattoo.

It’s a bit Budgie. I love a lot of that 70s stuff.

Garry Allen: “What have you got in your blood?” This angry bluesy number asks that question and demands answers. Honesty is what this tune is about and seeks to get to the core of your lovers soul.

Gwyn Ashton: Please Allow Me was a song Garry wrote for me to record a few years prior. I had the riff and wasn’t doing anything with it so it became the riff of the song. He wanted to write a Willie Dixon song.

Garry Allen: It’s a homage to Willie Dixon – the great songwriter and bassist. Muddy Waters took his songs to the world. It’s unimaginable to think of any blues repertoire without Dixon’s tunes. Please Allow Me is a plea to your object of desire to let you in only to please her.

Garry Allen: So your girl thinks you’re Mr Predictable ... The tune is about breaking the mould and getting out of that dead relationship.

Gwyn Ashton: I’d originally recorded I Guess That’s What They Call Love at a recording session a couple of years ago – Dave Blight, harmonica player from Cold Chisel and John Swan on vocals. Again, I hadn’t done anything with it so I put that into the stew. The riff was inspired by Billy Gibbons.

Shine Lover Shine is another one of Garry’s that I got wrong. I kind of bastardised his original idea but it worked out pretty good.

It’s got a bit of a punk element with a Celtic middle eight section.

Gwyn Ashton: Late Night was a riff I brought to the table, a nod to Albert King and Stax. I played it to Garry and he just started singing ‘Late Night’. He said it sounded like a late night, so he went outside and got most of it down in about 10 minutes. We refined it over the course of the evening. We’d both grown up in Adelaide, playing the midnight-to-dawn graveyard shifts of the sleazy bars and clubs and that took us back 25 years.

Garry Allen: A no holds barred rock out. Who doesn’t want to bask the warm summer rays of a new love? Shine Lover Shine is that longing for the one to shine on you. Your days are shades of grey until you see her light shining down on you.

Garry Allen: Take a stroll through the wicked city in the wee hours. The streets are strewn with sex, drugs and rock and roll and most importantly excitement mixed with danger!

This song is a sonic snapshot in black and white conjuring images of a night on the town.

Firstly I tune really low and use pretty thick strings. Since I started playing in the ‘70s, I’ve tuned down to Eb (a half step down) but I’ve just lately dropped down a whole step to ‘D’ which gives me a fatter sound. I did some gigs with Tony Joe White, Robin Trower, Chris Duarte and Ian Moss and got that from them.

Can you describe the techniques that you use to obtain the big sound that you project onstage?

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My main concern is to keep it all sounding full and not break the rhythm up, which is the most important thing but I still want to be able to solo and cross rhythm and lead at the same time as keeping a solid groove and not losing the low end.

A lot of my soloing is based around a drone on a single chord and I pulse the root note with my thumb in order to keep the groove. I mainly play fours on the kick but sometimes I like to get in between a bass drum and snare drum with the one instrument. I’ve been experimenting looping a snare drum sound that I create by dragging my lowest string over the top of the next string and hitting it with a drumstick. This simulates the snare springs on the lower head of the drum but you have to be really accurate. When I add the kick in it sounds really fat.

What equipment did you use on the new album?

On Solo Elektro I only brought in two guitars.

For all of the regular-tuned material I played my homemade thinline Telecaster with a TV Jones Power’tron Plus pickup in it. It has a push-pull pot for splitting the coil and I wired up a Greasebucket tone circuit. It has Dunlop 11-50 strings and tuned down to Eb. I also tuned it for slide in open F# for Freedom and Dawn Of Tomorrow as those songs require a bit more bending of the G string.

For the rest of the slide songs I used my Liutart Gwyn Ashton signature model that I designed for them a few years ago. It has a Broadcaster bridge pickup in a Bigsby B9 bridge, a lipstick tube in the middle and a P90 in the neck position. The neck is the fattest neck I could get them to build - 1” radius, strung with Dunlop 12-54s. I wanted the sounds of a Telecaster, Silvertone/Danelectro and a Firebird in one guitar. As I play thumb bass and finger guitar simultaneously on the one instrument I’ve designed quite an elaborate pedalboard to get the soundscape noise happening. I don’t use backing tracks and the loops are created on the fly. First pedal in line is a new EH Russian Big Muff and affects both the bass guitar and regular guitar signal.

I LOVE fuzz bass. That goes into a Boss OC3 octave pedal, which splits the signal in two.

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I run it in polyphonic mode, the range set to only affect the low open string and one octave above it, the effected output goes into a DI box, so I can lift the earth, into a Fender Rumble 500 bass amp. This is my bass guitar sound. The other output of the OC3 is the regular guitar sound, unaffected by the octave pedal and goes to the rest of the signal chain. Next up is a EH B9 organ pedal, ZVEX SHO with a stereo-out to split the signal again.

I use the SHO mainly for my acoustic guitars – a Weissenborn for lap slide and a 12-string, both guitars with Fishman Black Stack pickups that need a high-impedance preamp and the SHO is perfect for the job and supplies a neat dual output. One out goes to a Fishman Aura Spectrum DI, for the acoustic sound, then into the sound desk. The other output goes to all the other pedals that I blend in with a Dunlop mini Volume pedal, so I can go from acoustic to overdriven amp sounds, blending the electric in increments. From the ‘electric’ output of the SHO is a Drybell Vibe Machine, Foxrox Octron (choice of three octaves – fuzz up, unprocessed and clean down), Mooer Trelicopter, Origin Effects Slide Rig Compact, Fulltone Octafuzz, Catalinbread pedals: Belle Epoch, Topanga, Formula #5, Formula #5F6, lastly TC Electronic’s Ditto looper and tuner.

This gets routed to my stage amps, two Fender Excelsior Pros, via a Radial Shotgun splitter. I can lift the grounds safely off everything and it’s virtually noise-free. My power supply is an MXR ISO Brick and it has no problem keeping it all quiet. The kick drum is a 1965 Ludwig blue oyster swirl 22” that was on Black Sabbath’s first album.

Saying that, I don’t always rely on all the pedals and quite often play a solo gig with a couple of guitars plugged direct into a tweed Champ, without any pedals. I like it all. They are all tools to use and only use some of them once or twice a night. I’m not a purist in that way. I can still play trad blues if I want to, but sometimes I like to get a little freaky with it and have some fun. I use up to eight guitars onstage. I always have a Fender Stratocaster in the rack in standard tuning, but now dropped down from ‘Eb’ to ‘D’, so it’s DGCFAD, low to high. Same tuning on any other guitar not set up for slide. That’s usually an Epiphone Casino, Gibson LP 61 VOS, Italia Speedster or Firebird, whatever I feel like bringing on the road. I use Dunlop Heavy Core 11-50s on these. For slide, my main open ‘F’ - tuned guitar I use is the Liutart or I sometimes use

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my 1968 Gibson Firebird, Teisco SS4L, with four goldfoil pickups, Silvertone or Jolana Alfa in the same tuning. My main open ‘C’ guitar is a 1960s Hsi Min, a bit like a Teisco Spektrum. I bought it when I was on tour in Vienna last year, can’t find much out about it but it sounds really open and has a honky, low-wound pickup sound to it. Other open ‘C’ guitars can be a reverse Firebird or Gibson 59 VOS LP Junior, Airline or anything else that I feel like dragging out on the night. My main resonator is a 1933 National Triliolian, tuned to open ‘C’ with a Barcus Berry magnetic pickup on it. I have a Taylor 12-string in open ‘Bb7’, a Weissenborn tuned ‘CGCCGC’, both with Fishman Black Stack soundhole pickups and either a 1968 Martin D35 or Gibson Advanced Jumbo tuned standard down to ‘D’.

The Martin has a Fishman Matrix pickup and the Gibson has an LR Baggs Anthem SE. There’s a new evolving one-man band scene slowly happening and I’m happy to be a part of it. I really hope that I have something to add to it. It’s tough breaking the shackles of the Blackpool ‘cymbals-between-his-legs and kick drum on-his-back’ guy playing ‘Knees Up Mother Brown’ but I’m getting there.

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Davinyls

MEGAscene • Issue 11 - 2018

Words by Michelle McGoldrick Photos by Lisa Vincent Kenny Lyon is an Adelaide-based musician who has played in rock bands all over Australia for 40 years. Kenny, a drummer, has lived and breathed rock and roll across the Australian music scene in Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne and Darwin and he has a lot of bands to his credit: Hard Rain, Amnesia, Big Push, Rock Express and The Weight - and more.

unique style into my portrayal of her on stage.

My stage style is a bit feral! The smokey eye makeup and teased hair that I use to try and mirror Chrissy’s image says; “Stay back but don’t look away”.

A little known fact about Chrissy Amphlett is she had a strong interest in dance. For Xen, emulating Chrissy’s moves is about Four years ago Kenny and fellow musician adopting Chrissy’s habit of turning her fear Mike Purnell created a concept for a cover and nerves towards the crowd: “I loved the band to both honour The Divinyl’s music - bratty schoolgirl persona because it was and the talent of one of the world’s most contradictory - so innocent and sweet and yet, uncompromising performers Chrissy scary! Chrissy Amphlett never let anything Amphlett. Kenny explained: “Mike Purnell and get in her way, she was one of a kind and I created the original concept of Davinyls. dared to be different at a time when women Sadly, Mike passed away but I’ve kept the weren’t so bold. Like Chrissy, I feed on the concept going and the current lineup in crowd’s reactions”.

Davinyls is the best yet with Brad Dylan on rhythm guitar, Andrew Fisher on lead guitar, Bruce Greenshields on keys and vocals, Nigel Walters on bass, and Xen Amaterasu on lead vocals.”

Whilst some musicians and singers might shirk at taking on a band as legendary and infamous as The Divinyls, Kenny acknowledged one of the biggest challenges for Davinyls has been to deliver a gutsy stage experience that showcases the individual but crafted talents of Chrissy Amplett: “the challenge is for the vocals to take the audience back to a Divinyls concert or recording. The band must play the music pitch perfect and then Xen, our lead vocalist, has the job of selling the show to the audience whilst injecting her own style into the performance. Though classic songs like “I Touch Myself”, “Science Fiction”, “Boys In Town” and “I’m Jealous” nearly always get the crowd jumping.”

For lead vocalist, Xen, an audition to sing and perform in Davinyls came after studying at ARMI (Australian Rock and Metal Institute) “I’ve always been a bit of a rebel. Chrissy was unpredictable and I try to incorporate her unique style into my portrayal of her on stage.

The Davinyls

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The Davinyls

Whilst Chrissy Amplett was undisputedly the main focus in The Divinyls, Mark Entee on lead guitar had the unenviable job of holding his own which he managed to do by channelling a mod haircut, funky moves, and some real wiz guitar licks. Kenny has nothing but admiration for Entee “Mark had his own style and he could use up to five different guitars during a show.

The Divinyls were a powerful band clearly led

by Chrissy, but their music was tricky when Nigel Walters - bass standard music counts are 4,16,18,32 when Joel Cronk - guitar (fill-in) some Divinyls songs could go in 7,8,3,12.

Our band used to rehearse twice weekly but Divinyls play in Sydney at the Australian Made we’ve been together four years and we come Concert.” to know the songs really well so we rehearse It’s a sign of the time however for music only once a week now.” venues with the dreaded gambling machine After nearly a lifetime playing different music culture edging live music out in favour of scenes and gigs, Kenny has seen the best and the quick buck from pokies. Kenny agrees: worst live venues around the country: “Some “the Adelaide music scene has slowly fallen of the best gigs Davinyls have played have backwards thanks to pokie machines but we been in Melbourne at Fast Eddies, Ariettes only play big venues in Adelaide - we aren’t Concert Lounge, or at the Lucky 13. Adelaide into the front bar scene. Perth has some of the has the Bridgeway, Pepper Tree and The Jade. best live music venues mainly because there The Mount Gambier Hotel rocks too. But one are no pokies, but Melbourne then Sydney still of my best memories was when I saw The have some good venues for live gigs.”

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Andrew Fisher - guitarist

But Davinyls, like the original Divinyls band, are here to stay and with almost 10,000 combined social media hits, and ongoing exposure through social and print media, Davinyls have proved the timeless phrase that rock and roll will never die. Divinyls management, Blaze Pilgrim, collaborates with the band to organise yearly interstate tours, particularly to Melbourne and Sydney. Xen embraces time on the road: “there’s nothing like touring. It’s all great fun, and we’ve played some amazing venues. If the audience is on fire I find my energy goes right up too.”

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Xen Amaterasu - lead vocalist

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But for Kenny, unashamed Chrissy Amplett fan, devotion to The Divinyl’s music and to Chrissy’s memory is his main motivation for playing in Davinyls: “If I’d ever got the chance to meet Chrissy I’d have told her how much I love her and her stage craft. And then she’d probably have told me to get lost …”.

Find Davinyls at: www.facebook.com/ celebratingchrissyamplett The Davinyls are playing at The Pepper Tree Cafe on Saturday 14th April.

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MEGAlocal Send your local music news to: rsm@risingstar.com.au Childhood Cancer Benefit Concert Don’t miss the Childhood Cancer Benefit Concert # 3 with The Lachy Doley Group and special guests Chris Finnen and Phil Manning, and Mojo Dingo at The German Club, 223 Flinders Street, Adelaide on April 14th. Doors open at 6pm for a 7.30 show.

The Lachy Doley Group is a unique and refreshing sound in Blues today. A power trio consisting of Bass, Drums, Doley on the Hammond and also the incredibly rare 70 stringed Hohner D6 Whammy Clavinet.

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Adelaide Roots and Blues Association presents Blues at the Fringe at Global Music Revolution 47 O.G. Road Klemzig.

Friday Mar 16th is Kings and Associates with support Nikko and Snooks. Kings & Associates have truly developed into one of Australia’s most uniquely new and exciting neo blues acts. Within 2 short years The Kings have quickly become a regular at Australian festivals and their album “Tales of a Rich Girl” debuted at number 1 on the Australian Blues and Roots airplay chart.

Fully licensed. Pistol Pete’s Memphis BBQ cooking up gourmet burgers from 7.00pm.

Tickets from https://adelaidefringe.com. au/fringetix/blues-at-the-fringe-af2018

Mojo Dingo is a 4 piece up-tempo modern blues band covering various modern blues in the style of BB King, Allman Brothers, Bondi Cigars, and Eric Steckel.

John Humphries lost his first wife Lisa, to cancer at only 32, and says it “rocked my world”, teaching him to understand the fight many go through with this disease.

John began the concerts to assist the Childhood Cancer Foundation, and raises funds for the concerts, by selling wooden pallets and chocolates, along with the great help of the German Club who kindly sponsor the concerts.

All funds raise go to the Childhood Cancer Association. Tickets at https://premier. ticketek.com.au or at the door on the night.

The Childhood Cancer Association provides ongoing and practical hands on support for children with cancer, and their families. It is one of Australia’s key childhood cancer support organisations, dedicated to supporting children with cancer, and their families.

Woodstock Generation is at The Arkaba on Sunday March 4th from 2pm to 4pm. Doors open 1pm. Fronted by Melissa Jubb, it also features vocalist Damien Weymouth. They will be performing the classic hits from the legendary artists of the Woodstock era ‘60s & ‘70s, including, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Janis Joplin, The Doors, Tina Turner, Jimi Hendrix, Joe Cocker, Jefferson Airplane, Aretha Franklin, The Who and more.

Book now at Fringe Tix: https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/ remembering-the-woodstock-generationaf2018 23

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Fringe @ The GC @ The German Club Photos by Sue Hedley Rob Pippan Productions in conjunction with The GC promoted The In Concert 3 Series at the GC for Fringe 2018 from Friday 16th February – Sat 3rd March. Rob Pippan, as well as being Event promoter played in Rumours and the Miles Davis Show.

A special performance by Australian Music legend Ross Wilson & The Peaceniks Play Daddy Cool and Mondo Rock, will be appearing this Saturday 3rd March.

Performing was Australian music icon Glenn Shorrock. He performed his show ‘Glenn Shorrock in Music, Pictures and Conversation’ to a packed house. Acts performed Included Melbourne music legend super group Field, See and Mason featuring Lindsay Field (John Farnham) Sam See (ex Fraternity/Flying Circus) and Glyn Mason (ex Ariel/Richard Clapton Band) presenting Down Under The Covers, The Brewster Brothers (from The Angels) Play Bob Dylan, 2012 X-Factor winner Nathaniel presented Let’s Get It On – the Songs of Marvin Gaye. The Clubroom featured Mike Rudd (Spectrum) with 1st Base in Life After Life. ’70’s legends Rum Jungle, with Australian music legends James Black (Mondo Rock) and lead singer Phil Coulson (father to Sia) reformed after selling out 2015 Fringe at the Spiegeltent.

Adrian and David Von Richter from The German Club with Rob Pippan

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Rob Pippan

Colin Koch Photo: Lisa Vincent

SOME OF THE PERFORMERS . . .

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Andy Seymour

Glenn Shorrock

Sam See

Ross Wilson

Terry Nicholas

James Bllack

Mike Rudd

Stewart D’Arrietta

Craig Holden

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Event producer Rob Pippan: “This series is my most ambitious undertaking yet. I’m thrilled to continue my on-going partnership with The GC’s Alan Rosewarne and Colin Koch and together creating a formidable series. I Words and photos by Sue Hedley have gathered some of my favourite all time Australian and local acts under one umbrella, into a package that I believe will attract a lot “ ...That’s my job, to get people moving. of interest. It’s also exciting to promote a I don’t like it when they just sit there.” wealth of significant SA-based artists. I hope Adelaide Fringe audiences come and enjoy our blend of classic, legendary artists plus local Ross Wilson has had a successful career in the acts at The GC”. music industry spanning more than 50 years and is he is still going strong. He fronted Rob Pippan Productions also promoted a Daddy Cool in the ‘70s and their big hit was reprise of Mark and Craig Holden’s 2017 sell Eagle Rock, then formed Mondo Rock who out Fringe show Brother 2 Brother that was from the mid ‘70s to the late ‘80s had chart presented by the Marion Cultural Centre. topping albums and singles such as Cool World and Come Said The Boy. As a solo performer The GC directors Alan Rosewarne and Colin and major songwriter he continued to achieve Koch add “we are delighted to be partnering success and make his mark during the ‘90s with RPP to again present one of the strongest and beyond with his songs being recorded music programs in the entire 2018 Fringe”. by artists as diverse as Jimmy Barnes, John Farnham, DEF-FX, Custard, Jennifer Rush MEGAscene, along with other media, were (EU), Troy Cassar-Daley, Leslie Avril, Hey invited to a special media day to interview Gringo, You Am I, Uncle Bill, Keke (Spain), some of the artists performing at The GC. In Renee Geyer, Christine Anu, Duane Jarvis attendance were Ross Wilson, Glenn Shorrock, (US), Elkie Brooks (UK), Ann Kirkpatrick & Lee Mike Rudd, Sam See (Field See and Mason/ Kernaghan, Sovereign, Pleasantville, Beccy Melbourne session icon), James Black (Rum Cole, Sonic Jihad, and The Wiggles! He is also a Jungle/Mondo Rock) Craig Holden (Craig and producer, producing the legendary Skyhooks, Mark Holden’s Brother to Brother Show), Andy Jo Jo Zep, The Johnnys, and more recently Seymour (from his new Buddy Diamond Live The Screaming Jets, Ross’s involvement with at The Stardust show) and Terry Nicholas success has continued unabated. He was (ABBA Gold Show / Elton John Show). twice inducted in to the ARIA Hall of Fame, in 1989 solo and 2006 with Daddy Cool.

As most of the shows were on before MEGAscene was published, those interviews Ross Wilson now performs with his band The did not get printed. Ross Wilson, The Bald Peaceniks and will be in Adelaide for The Eagles and Belly Of A Drunken Piano still have Fringe. shows on at The German Club.

MEGAscene caught up with Ross at the The Bald Eagles are performing their second German Club to discuss his upcoming Fringe show “Hell Freezes Over” on 11th March at show in Adelaide.

8pm. Says Colin Koch, “The Bald Eagles are in no case a cover band. We are not die-hard Eagles fans. We don’t come out in the wigs How does it feel being in the industry for 50 and the accents and troll through The Eagles years? history.”

“I actually feel grateful. I do sincerely think For remaining show details see of this from time to time. How did it happen www.thegcadelaide.com.au that I was able to make such an interesting Book now at FringeTIX. and good living and be able to raise kids with https://www.adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix a nice house when I am known in Australia

Ross Wilson

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and not had international success. So I always say it is amazing that’ s happened and that I am still performing at a pretty high level. It’s funny, in the last 18 months I have found that my voice is kind of getting this new thing happening. I am actually singing better than I was 3 years ago. I thought it was shrinking but now it is expanding again.”

would never play a gig without singing Come Said The Boy, as I feel it is as much my song even though Eric wrote it, but that’s the song that identifies with me, and Cool World, which I did write. I’m probably going to slip in a few Ross Wilson/Mondo Rock songs that haven’t been heard for awhile. Then there is lots of solo stuff.”

“We played at the Speigeltent last Fringe Festival but this is not quite the same. The German Club is a great room. It’s got that old vibe, it’s got an old style stage, and it’s not too big. I like it when it’s funky and everyone is in my face. Hopefully we get people up I see you have written songs for lots of artists. dancing around the room. That’s my job, to get people moving. I don’t like it when they “I have. Usually I write them for me and then just sit there.” other people find them and do them. Like ‘Touch Of Paradise’; that was a Mondo Rock Is there anything else that you would like to song we recorded and then Farnham found it add? and put it on his album. That was the first song I wrote for Mondo Rock, A Touch Of Paradise. “Adelaide has been really nice to me and was He didn’t do it till about 10 years after it was very instrumental in the early days of Daddy written. It’s really good when other people Cool, therefore in my foundation of what I do. discover your songs, like Joe Cocker recorded Daddy Cool did their first ever gig at Glenelg a song of mine. So let’s put it this way, no Town Hall. That was the first time we ever played as Daddy Cool at a blues festival there. complaints!”

Then Myponga was a milestone. I think that is why Daddy Cool got a star on the Walk of Who are in The Peaceniks?

Fame. Thank you Adelaide.”

“The band I am bringing over for the German Club show is a slightly different lineup than I usually have. I’m freshening it up a bit because Ross Wilson and the Peaceniks are playing some of the other guys have gone off to at The GC @ The German Club on Saturday do things elsewhere. I have Brett Kingman March 3rd at 9.30pm. on guitar, he plays with James Reyne and is the most amazing guitarist; Davey Porter on For info on the show see: drums, whom I have played with many times; www.thegcadelaide.com.au and Travis Clarke on bass. That’s interesting Book now at FringeTIX: because he’s the son of one of the very first https://www.adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix Mondo Rock bass players in the early days of Mondo Rock, Mikey Clarke, who was sadly killed in a car crash not long after that, but his son has become a fantastic bass player too.

And on keyboards is Stuart Wilkinson, who I have worked with before.”

“I’m still going, having a good time, singing great and starting to write songs. Songwriting comes and goes. Sometimes you can write and sometimes you can’t. I’m on a roll at the moment so all good.”

What can people expect at your show on Saturday?

“They will have the essential Daddy Cool songs that I wrote like Eagle Rock and Come Back Again, and some Mondo Rock songs. I 28

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Glenn Shorrock

Photo by Sue Hedley

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“Belly of A Drunken Piano” - Stewart D’Arrietta Words and photo by Sue Hedley After sold-out shows with My Leonard Cohen here and for two years on the Edinburgh Fringe - and decades of international success with Lennon Through A Glass Onion - Stewart D’Arrietta and his band bring a brand new show and gutsy interpretations of some of music’s greatest songwriters.

for that period.”

In Belly of a Drunken Piano he turns his hand to some ‘down and dirty’ material, while also touching on beautiful ballads from some of the most enigmatic, intelligent and influential songwriters of our time. Tim Buckley’s Move With Me, Randy Newman’s Leave Your Hat On and Tom Waits’ Get Down In The Hole are all part of the mix. Fall into the underbelly of Charles Bukowski’s poetry, backed by original music from Stewart himself. Plus much more!

For remaining show details see: www.thegcadelaide.com.au Book now at FringeTIX: https://www.adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix

“When this came up this year I wanted to do the Tom Waits stuff so to overcome this problem of being seen to impersonate Tom Waits I am marrying it up with some Randy Newman and Ian Drury. I do some of my own music in this show too. So it’s a mix-mash of Stewart D’Arrietta’s stage-shows and that.” acclaimed interpretations are stamped indelibly with a strong creative vision, wry Catch Belly Of A Drunken Piano until 18th humour and unique grit, all honed to a razor’s March at the German Club. edge by a lifetime of performance and writing.

Stewart says, “Years ago in 2005 to 2010 I was living in New York. I was doing a project called ‘America’s Least Wanted’ which was the band I put together over there. I was performing the title of the show but I was just doing Tom Waites’ songs. In 2010 I came back from Texas and I was going to start the show on the Friday for a six week season at the theatre. I arrived on the Wednesday and that afternoon I got a ‘cease and desist’ from Tom Waite’s lawyer saying I was impersonating him. I had a chat to his lawyer and he said, “You sound exactly like him”. I said, “I don’t sound like him. I’ve just got a gravely voice”.

“You even dress like him.” “We both share the same tailor”. Then he said, “You even look like him.” I said “I don’t look like him. I have to draw the line there. We don’t look like each other.” The theatre manager wanted to go to court on it but I didn’t want to do that. So I had to write a whole new show all original and 30

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Brothers In Arms - Mark & Craig Holden@ Norwood Live Photos by Sue Hedley - 10/11/2017

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Live Reviews Midnight Oil @ Hanging Rock 04/11/2017

by Michelle McGoldrick

Oil is a beacon of common sense for an audience of predominately baby boomers who are battling the reality of millennium When the General [Garrett] talks you corporatism: impossible mortgages, better listen to him….. (Red Sails in the environmental catastrophe in their lifetime, Sunset. 1984) screen junkie kids, nuclear obliteration, totalitarian governments under the banner of Midnight Oil in 2017 is the consummate Trumpism, etc. modern rock band. Driven by ageless songs and re-launched from an increasingly obvious But let’s put this in perspective. Midnight Oil platform of political vision, Midnight Oil has doesn’t just deliver messages and grunt in returned to the world stage and reconfirmed their music, they give the audience one thing our wildest dreams that the band is still a no other band today can do so convincingly: feisty and organic artistic beast. they give the audience hope. At a Midnight Oil concert the voice of reason is not dissimilar Embedded in American protest song roots, to an evangelist’s gathering only this time the English punk movement of the 1970s, we have the privilege of seeing and hearing and conceptualised within Australian anti- extraordinary musical talent within songs that establishment surf culture; Midnight Oil are so quintessentially Australian there’s no continue to embody resistance music with words to describe it: it’s a spiritual and cultural fresh conviction and sound. Midnight Oil is a recognition that needs no explanation, and band that has been around for 40 years and, you either get it or you don’t. realistically, the band can probably see its’ twilight years approaching. But it isn’t hard to Consider the T-shirts Garrett has worn on appreciate the band’s renewed commitment stage throughout the tour surely earning to performing and reaffirmation of their fan him a new title: ‘slogan king of the stage’. base around the world with the band playing Highlighting Issues like violence against over 70 shows around the globe on their women, aboriginal land rights, the right to recent Great Circle Tour 2017. protest: no T-shirt is off limits when, as Garrett himself said, “There’s no way we won’t say When the world tour was announced earlier what we think”. Arguably, Garrett makes a far last year the news immediately set off a better musician than politician because the chain reaction debunking popular mythology: medium of music is far less fraught in political ageism, conformity, corporatism, human influence than the moral right battleground of rights, land rights - even ticket scalping - Australian politics. Clearly the man’s time as a all shattered and reinforced by the band’s government minister has taught him valuable philosophy of equalitarianism which was insight and lessons, the most obvious being unequivocally on display above their stage the benefits of populism. Better to die on every night stating: “all human beings are your feet on a rock stage every night than born free and equal in dignity and rights. They disappear into the back rooms of Canberra are endowed with reason and conscience and indefinitely. should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood”.

But messages aside, Midnight Oil’s live delivery is full of guts and punch. Midnight Oil’s live But the band’s uncompromising left wing sound is big, clean and modernised without political stance is more than narrative fodder compromise due to clever technological for musical creativity. The politics of Midnight tweaking combined with the same musical 34

open mindedness the band cut their teeth on over 40 years ago. Rob Hurst still incorporates classic 80s drum machine beats on Power and the Passion, and it is with comfort and surprise that the band’s sound is as hypnotic as it was 30 years ago. Guitar work has expanded and toyed with, and the live shows have been interjected with an acoustic set that also features the band’s beloved drummer who has never been shy with his vocals either. The introduction of young aboriginal performer, Yirrimal, for a funk-inspired version of Yothu Yindi’s “Treaty” was nothing short of low down and other-worldly and it further reinforced the band’s unwavering support and appreciation of aboriginal rights in Australia and the imperativeness of the story of the original custodians of our land.

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(Species Deceases), Profiteers (Head Injuries), and If Ned Kelly Was King (Place Without a Postcard.)

Surprisingly, Garrett lamented - via impromptu and rehearsed interludes at various shows the world has lost many critical players who shaped rock and roll as we know it today.

Bowie, Prince, Cohen, Petty ... aghast, how do we replace them? We don’t, is the simple answer. But rock is not dead as many music soothsayers tell you. Midnight Oil are now serious contenders in a subjective race to position rock bands as icons of hope and glory in these desperate times. Gender, race, economics, weapons, the environment, business, misogyny, racism – the key message Midnight Oil deliver is that politics and music have never been better buddies. And never, Garrett, a man now on the far side of 64 years ever, has the imperativeness of collective of age, still jigs around the stage with those social consciousness sounded this hot. The familiar dance moves no one dare replicate. planet may be heating up - but The Oil’s are And like many of us, he has suffered hearing on fire. damage (Tinititis) the result of one night too many in a crowded pub where a shoddy PA left the soundie with little choice but to crank up the volume and hold on tight. But Midnight Oil’s subtle use of new sound and stage technology has contributed to a tight and seamless live sound that delivers on gain not volume, and avoids the dreaded auditory hangover of gigs long past: ringing in the ears.

The Oil’s concert at Hanging Rock was loud, but not so loud you couldn’t enjoy the music or talk over the sound if you needed to, or hear yourself sing.

Sing ... did I hear you say? Audience participation is at a premium at a Midnight Oil’s concert and we all sang like lousy troupers at Hanging Rock but it didn’t matter because solidarity is the lube of the lungs and at an Oil’s concert everyone feels safe.

It’s hard to find anyone under 45 at an Oil’s concert and by the end of the night everyone is too well oiled themselves or just too tired to start any raucous other than singing and dancing famously to all the favourites: Beds are Burning and The Dead Heart (Diesel and Dust), Blue Sky Mine (Blue Sky Mining), Power and the Passion (10-1). Commercial hits are on high rotation in The Oils set list, but to keep the Midnight Oil purists happy a few strategic exceptions included Hercules

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Painters And Dockers @ The Gov Photos by Sue Hedley - 19/01/2018

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Painters And Dockers 38

Photo by Sue Hedley

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Melissa Jubb Pearly Gates

Photo by Sue Hedley 39

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The New Dead Metalfest Vlll @ The Fowlers Live Photos by Lisa Vincent - 07/10/2017 Highbrid Nightmares

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Voros

Blunt Shovel

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Black Rheno

Miazma

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The New Dead Metalfest VIII @ Fowlers Live Photos by Lisa Vincent - 07/10/2017 Miazma

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Napalm Death

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Howie’s Kick Off @ The Gov Photos by Sue Hedley - 29/10/2017

Local music legend Howard “Howie” Kehl passed away unexpectedly in 2015. Howie’s Kick Off is an annual event proudly presented by ‘Shiny Heads Productions’, a group comprising of six of Howie’s close friends and musicians, formed to celebrate Howard’s legacy.

Human, BB Steel, Amberlist, Deep Throat)

Howie’s Kick Off ~ The Second Annual Howard Kehl Rock Music Development Award Benefit was at The Gov on Sunday 29th October last year. Bands that played were Imogen Brave, Poundcake, FastMotor, Amberlist, Catherine Blanch and Peter Jenkins [2016 Award Howie is best known for his work with a Recipient]. Vince Contarino was special guest. large number or musical outfits including Hosted by Catherine Blanch. All of the artists Portrait [with Dino Jag and Vince Contarino], volunteered their time and talents.

Poundcake, Almost Human, Glory Boys, Amberlist and most recently FastMotor.

Stay tuned for this years event in October.

The Shiny Heads are: Vince Contarino (Zep Boys), Dino Jag, Catherine Blanch (Third Drawer/Catherine Blanch [Boy] Band), Grant ‘Kanga’ Thiele (Titan, Teaze, Aust Sweet Show, Poundcake), Kevan Keeler (No Time Wasters, Hollywood Gun Club, Poundcake, Deep Throat), Luis Saez-Sanchez (Almost

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Peter Jenkins - 2016 SALA award winner

Amberlist

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Catherine Blanch

Bián Hickman (2017 Award Recipient)

FastMotor

Poundcake

Vince Contarino

Peter Kehl (Howard’s father)

Imogen Brave

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MEGA TRAVEL

The Ramones Museum, Berlin Words and photos by Michelle McGoldrick

It was a Berlin kind of day in Lichtenberg.

I’d travelled to Germany seeking a cultural education, and it didn’t take long to realise that staying smack bang in the far flung, political alter ego of modern Berlin was a good place to start.

Staying in Lichtenberg Berlin was like stepping into a Cold War time warp: the interior of our apartment felt like a monument to Cold War secrets and capitalist neglect with dark wooden fittings, gaudy orange furnishings and a real sense of silence. How I wished the walls could talk. And the streets of Lichtenberg … so much potential but unfortunately dominated by empty apartments, boarded up factories, long closed shops, a sparse population – and a general disinterest in the Australian accent so I discovered.

Part of the Berlin Wall However, in true rebel-on-the-road style, I was quick to forgive my favourite city for its’ apparent eschew of its’ eastern cousin because leather, bob haircuts, and amplifiers cranked I was on a rock reconnaissance mission and to ten? Without a lot of pre-planning (ok, needed to get across town by subway.

I was lost) I found myself on a train that slid through long abandoned industrial areas The Berlin U-Bahn [Untergrundbahn- which I knew were forgotten because of the underground railway] is like many monuments rundown factory lots, disused building blocks, in the city - a master design. German and long ignored pieces of the Berlin wall railways have inspired the music of great which stood alone but defiant: original, graffiti artists: Kraftwerk’s ‘Trans Europe Express’ free, and with the barbed wire still attached obviously comes to mind. Travelling around at the top. It was not unlike a concrete wild on Berlin trains it was easy to see where the west landscape … did I imagine metal spinifex fascination began and ended: much of the rolling across the industrial landscape? I would Berlin U-Bahn was rebuilt around art deco- later come to realise this was contrast to the inspired green tiles: clunky, chunky, bold and commercialisation of the Berlin Wall in the blunt. Seemingly indestructible. Combined tourist western areas of the city where the with razor sharp train departures and arrivals, wall is increasingly defined by populist graffiti the Berlin U-Bahn is an unforgettable lesson in art and merchandise. Berlin is still being rebuilt reliability aka German precision. and this time by the global dollar. Berlin is a city with a distinct artistic history and the But by now I was starting to wonder: how did avant-garde and post cold war mystique has this environment help create a platform for a become big business. legendary band with a fixation for denim, Meanwhile, Berlin has been the prodigy of 46

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Entrance to The Ramones Museum

Entrance to The Ramones Museum

Thanks to The Ramones Museum founder, Flo Hayler, the legacy and memory of The Ramones is now a permanent fixture in Kreuzberg Lamp in hotel room borough of Berlin. The perfect antidote to any rock café franchise; the Ramones Museum is many famous sons and daughters: Bowie, a crowded, unashamed, loud, and albeit rabbit Iggy Pop, Nina Hagen - and arguable one of warren cafe bar-come-shrine to a band that the most famous punk rockers of all - Dee may never have come to fruition were it not Dee Ramone, bass player with east coast USA for the thick skin of Berlin boy aka Dee Dee band The Ramones - and Berlin resident until Ramone. Dee was the band’s most prolific 15 years of age. lyricist and songwriter, writing many of the band’s songs.

The Ramones sang ‘I wanna be sedated’, and sedated I was too after an intense visit to the cave that is the Ramones Museum - only I was substance effected on leather jackets, long bob haircuts, jeans with holes and ragged knees, and grubby white runners. There were letters, guitars, song sets, live footage, videos, fliers and posters, food, grog, coffee, souvenirs, patches, badges, t-shirts, sign visitor book but don’t sign the café wall if you haven’t played a gig at the museum, live concert recordings, interviews, posters and photo montages - very ‘Mondo Bizzaro’ stuff and, yup, dare I say it - straight out of ‘rock and roll high school’.

Lamp in hotel room

After leaving the museum I pondered the end of the cold war when peace was given a chance and gradually a more positive German 47

MEGAscene • Issue 11 - 2018

Michelle outside The Ramones Museum

image evolved. I thought about the journey Dee Dee Ramone took as a 15 year old kid escaping a violent father in old west Berlin to the relative solace of New York USA in 1966 where he’d go onto global fame in one of the more user friendly punk bands of the ‘70s and ‘80s.

When Berlin major Klaus Wowereit stated: “[Berliners] we’re poor - but sexy”; surely Klaus was referring to The Ramones image which made dropkick fashion look ever so accidental and cool. I wondered how much the Cold War influenced Dee Dees’ writing, playing and fashion but I’ll guess we’ll never really know now as all four members of The Ramones have moved onto louder pastures in rock and heaven where there’s surely one hell of a band sending angels deaf.

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The Ramones Museum is a great reminder that simplicity is the greatest art but, you know, if you don’t care about history and just want to have something to do in Berlin then remember the ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’, and head to the Ramones museum. It’s a crash course in the roots of German-inspired American punk rock. Much fun, fun (oh baby).

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Basket Case

Photo by Sue Hedley

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CD Reviews “Black And Blue” by Nigel Kennett Blues

by Lisa Vincent

Nigel Kennett’s debut album “Black And Blue” looks like it has a passionate feel and a deep soulful blues sound to it. Though he has his own style, his vocals to me sound like a combination of Nick Cave, Morrissey and The Smiths.

There are wise words of wisdom within Nigel Kennett’s music. Like the old saying “once bitten twice shy” this album is about the ups and downs of his life.

The whole album has a darkness about it.

The instrumental intro sounds like a dark meaningful blues rhythm acoustic approach.

As well as vocals and rhythm guitar Nigel has played lead guitar and bass on some tracks. A very talented musician.

“That Girl” is a blues rhythm ballad. If you like mellow guitar blues you will like “Desire”. This is about a dark time in his life and coming out of it.

“Round and Round” is obviously about having a bad day. “Bare Bones” is a compelling soulful song with meaningful lyrics. This particular song has a ghostly sound to it. It is about a heart that has been hurt and emotionally broken. A sound of sadness and silence, the artist’s experience is he obviously has been left alone in the darkness of misery.

Though initially recorded and released in 2014 it is still available through Bandcamp and CD Baby or at Kennett gigs.

Stay tuned for Nigel’s new band Kennett’s EP release this year.

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MEGA HEALTH CHAKRAS Clear your chakras and activate your creativity

By Michelle McGoldrick All humans have energy running through every cell in their body. This energy, or life force as it is commonly referred to, has been studied for thousands of years across diverse cultures in the form of Chinese medicine, Ayurvedic and yogic traditions under names such as meridians, Chi, and Qi .

to communicate your feelings then one other simple way to activate your throat chakra is to sing. Yes, turn up the radio and sing along.

Heart chakra - Love and Purity, Love, Compassion, Sharing, Forgiveness, Breath

Solar plexus - Confidence and Personal Power.

Chakras are the routes through which these Personality, Self-respect, Self-confidence, energy fields flow. To be accurate, there are Digestion, Relationship to food.

360 different chakras in the body, but these chakras flow through just seven major routes Sacral chakra - Creativity and Emotions. throughout the body. Each of these seven Feelings, Self-awareness, Self-love, Creativity, chakras is connected to key areas of the body Sex, Sexuality and affects different emotions.

Root chakra - Grounding and Support. Survival, Chakras charge the body with energy, and Security, Energy, Trust, Power to achieve, chakras can also be affected by trauma Money resulting from physical, emotional or energetic stress. Stress will affect the energetic fabric However, it is the second chakra or Sacral of the chakra and if it is not healed the body chakra which is most strongly linked to may be left with energetic scar tissue that will creativity. Humans have an innate need to affect the function of a chakra. create. But the problem with creativity is that it is easy to become discouraged with Furthermore, if energy flow in the body creative efforts, particularly when our lives becomes disrupted, blockages of energy may contain forces that compel us conform, follow appear and these energy blocks will need to the rules and fit in - this is when we may lose be cleared and balance restored so the body our creative energy and our unique ideas in and mind can move through physiological and the process. Playing and experimentation psychological issues/resistance and open are fundamental to creativity, think of the paths to creativity. way children play and use the image to help awaken creative energy.

The seven major chakras are: You can begin to work to resolve Sacral chakra Crown chakra - Connection to Spirit. Knowing, stress by accessing your creativity. Each of us Wholeness, Perfection, Enlightenment, Unity, is creative but how we express our creativity Spirit is indicative of how active our Sacral chakra is. To release stress in the Sacral chakra you Third eye chakra - Intuitive insights. Intuition, need to connect to your passions and pursue Understanding, Insight, Realisation them. Whether it be through photography, writing, travel, visual art, dance, drama or Throat chakra - Creative Self-expression, music. The more you engage in these creative Communication, Inspiration. If you find it hard activities the more energy will allow to flow 52

through your Sacral chakra.

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Risk taking is also part of the creative process.

A common reason why artists stop being creative or stopped taking risks creatively, is because along the way someone told them they weren’t good enough or that they couldn’t do it. In opening your second chakra energy, we learn to accept that taking risks means there is no such thing as failure. Failure does not mean the creative process is over.

Like the child at play, start again. Each one of us has an infinite amount of creative energy within us to use and enjoy.

How to activate your Chakras: Close your eyes, bring your hands together. Take a moment to set your intention i.e. activate your solar plexus chakra whilst song writing.

Rub your hands together, feel your palms getting warmer and the energy building in your hands. Place your hands on the chakra that you want to activate and feel the energy you have created in your hands transferring to this chakra. Visualise your chakra clearing and expanding, sense your chakra activating and its power amplified. You can do this on all of your chakras but try starting with the crown chakra and work down to your root chakra.

The internet and social media provides a wealth of both free and subscription opportunities to explore chakra awareness for creativity.

For more info search: Bronte Spicer Soulworker Academy Gaia – Stay Curious Solvana – Chakra meditation

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MEGAscene • Issue 11 - 2018

LIVE SOUND ADVICE

By Frank Lang IT’S ALL ABOUT SCALE Big room, big PA, small room, vocal only PA.

but complied, and must admit, it worked.

A modern trend I have been hearing about is in ear monitoring? It has it’s fans. But you should realise for smaller gigs if too many in the band require them and throw an array of transmitter racks and mics at the engineer without notice, well, they take up space and Plenty of watts of fold back per player sure time, and make a lot of work for the engineer. helps, along with a fold back engineer, but these luxuries are mostly out of reach of the This perhaps makes a good case for finding a dedicated sound person who knows the band Adelaide band on average. requirements and can work this way. An extra These bands use gear designed for large member? stages, i.e. 800 watt bass amps, 100 plus watt Marshalls, all desirable gear but hardly A Medium room finds bands maybe using four usable in smaller rooms, often choked down wedges and drum fill. The poor old front of by pedals galore till the guitar starts to sound house mixer has to juggle these elements, and if the singer demands more and more fold like a giant mozzie. back, then the guitarists turn up and away Playing in large areas is an art form and years we go with the bass player next wanting to of experience can help here. As both a player produce all his 800 watts, and what can a poor sound guy do. and an engineer I have some hints.

Some bands these days set up as though they’re on a giant stage (if they find themselves playing at one or two venues in Adelaide that afford this luxury) and wonder why they can’t hear each other.

Successful bands still listen to each other and try to play balanced. They have a sense of scale and modify the playing to suit. Often realising the characteristics of the space they are playing in.

A small room half full, and the stage sound can quickly overtake the PA, but the same room with 150 people in it and the stage sound gets slightly muted by the bodies, and there ain’t much fear of nice high stages in Adelaide now is there.

So I guess I’m saying that we have a balancing act here. Ask the players at fault to turn down? Take them out of the mix?

Don’t forget all things must be taken into account.

I’ve mixed Rockin’ Rob Riley in my time, during his two Marshalls, two quad box era, and I never felt I had to ask him turn him down, he’s a great player with a wealth of experience, and he’s got the valves burning and the speakers polling, and just had his rig cooking, yet the In smaller bars, bands can get away with only same rig in the hands of a less experienced vocal mics and listen to each other, with the guy? crowd enjoying the instruments direct, and Often locals fail to understand that the gear perhaps without realising it, in true stereo. they were sold was meant for giant stages/ One band leader I worked for actually insisted auditoriums. that I take the guitar mics away so that I had Now I myself have been doing sound since my to mix to the onstage level. I was reluctant 54

20’s, and played for just as long, and I can be a loudish player, so I can see things from both sides and still try to cooperate with the PA operator.

MEGAscene • Issue 11 - 2018

As for set up and back line, don’t let the back line get too far from the front line microphones.

I have mixed bands, or tried to, where the back line was five plus meters from the vocal mics in a beer garden. I played on this gig as support act and found that having the back line that far back was unbearable, and later that night mixing the main act found the guitars had no impact on the audience.

I really like to have the backline no more than three metres from the mic line and then the amps can be heard by the first 10 rows of the crowd leaving the PA to throw to the back of the room. Put another way, in a pub this means some of the stage sound actually makes it into the room.

Here’s some good advice if you are lucky enough to support an international act on a really big stage. Ian Groome from the old Concert Sound gave me this great advice.

He was mixing Stevie Ray Vaughan in the Festival Theatre and I was in the support act “The Flyers”.

His advice: “Set up tight, near the front of the stage, like you’re in a pub.” “You’re not getting any special fold back mix because this is saved for the main act, and setting up tight will help.” Well his advice holds true, set up tight. We had a great gig.

Some bands, bless ‘em, love to dream, but set up all wrong in Adelaide’s small venues, and let’s face it, in reality you often don’t have much choice.

I suggest leave just enough room for the guitarist’s windmills and the singer’s favourite groovy moves. And then enjoy the gig and mix away Amigo.

Cheers, Frank 55

MEGAscene • Issue 11 - 2018

SA PARANORMAL

By Allen Tiller Royal Arms Hotel The Royal Arms Hotel, on the corner of St Vincent Street, Todd Street and Timpson Place was established in 1878.

In his book “Hotels and Publicans in South Australia”, author Bob Hoad writes: ‘These modern premises are built on top of an earlier inn which was at the original street level. This earlier inn (of ten rooms) was connected by tunnel to the wharves.’

The Royal Arms Hotel is built upon the remains of a much smaller hotel, thought to have been built around 1851. Much of that former hotel still sits below the Royal Arms today and is used as cellars. The “cellars” would have once been at street level until the raising of the Port to stop flooding.

There have long been rumours that this hotel was part of the “crimping” practices that saw drunk men knocked out with a “Mickey Finn” and forced through a tunnel which is rumoured to go through to the Dockside Tavern basement, then out to the Port River.

Royal Arms Hotel To back up these claims, during a refurbishment of the hotel, a room was found that contained a steal barred room, much like a prison cell. This “cell” in the basement, hidden behind an old fireplace and uncovered during a renovation was believed to be a holding cell for drugged men, and once enough were collected, they were run through the tunnels out to the river.

On Friday the 23rd of September 1898 the Commodore of the Adelaide Steamship company, Captain T.W. Lockyer passed away, at the age of 62, in one of the upstairs boarding rooms of the hotel. Captain Lockyer was known as a kind and generous man, A “Mickey Finn” (or, ‘slip them mickey’ as we and some say, it could be his spirit haunting know it today,) is the act of dropping a drug upstairs in the hotel. into a beer or other drink, and giving it to a victim. Most often the barman, or publican The spirit is described as a plump gentlemanly would receive a cut of the Captains payment figure, often in what appears to be white or be in on the crimping from the start. clothes with a coloured stripe on the legs.

A mutton chop beard, and a fat red face.

The drugged man would be ushered to a Captain Thomas William Lockyer is buried at “quieter” place, and then, either knocked out the Cheltenham Cemetery. or fall into a drug induced coma. The crimping gang would take the sleeping man out through There are also unsubstantiated claims that a secret passage down to the water and use a Cypriot Sailor, named Marcus Tzimopoulos a longboat to take the future sailor to the haunts the cellar of the Royal Arms hotel waiting ship at Outer Harbour. awaiting his revenge on assailants that cut his throat. It is claimed by a local psychic that this These poor souls would be forced to work at throat cutting murder happened sometime sea on a ship, or swim back to land, and as around 1879, but I can find no record of such most men in the late 1800’s could not swim, an event happening. the choice was obvious.

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The Royal Arms Hotel may not be known as the most haunted location in Port Adelaide, but it has not, as of yet, given up its’ ghosts. As far as I am aware, no professional paranormal investigation has been conducted inside this prominent historical location, nor have any former staff come forward with their own paranormal stories.

I would love to hear from former staff, patrons and the people who live upstairs, of their personal ghostly goings on in the hotel.

Also, if you are interested in learning more about haunted locations in the Port, please go to the Port Adelaide Visitor Information Centre and pick a free copy of my book “Ghosts of the Port – Self Guided Walking Tour”.

MEGAscene • Issue 11 - 2018

Thanks for reading!

Allen Tiller Allen Tiller is Australia’s most recognised paranormal investigator, eminent paranormal historian, and star of the international smash hit television show “Haunting: Australia”.

Allen is also the founder of Eidolon Paranormal, South Australian Paranormal and the author of book and blog, “The Haunts of Adelaide: History, Mystery and the Paranormal”.

Allen is the winner of the 2017 “Emerging South Australian Historian of The Year Award” as presented by The History Council of South Australia.

Allen has also been employed as “Historian in Residence” in 2016/2017 with the Adelaide City Council Libraries and employed by the City of Port Adelaide Enfield Council to write the popular, “Ghosts of the Port Self-Guided Walking Tour” You can find Allen online at: www.twitter.com/Allen_Tiller www.facebook.com/AllenHauntingAustralia https://www.facebook.com/ TheHauntsOfAdelaide

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MEGAscene • Issue 11 - 2018

MARKETS

by Carina Bonney Here are some of the markets on in Adelaide.

Adelaide Central Market

Bowerbird Design Market

When: Twice a year Location: Adelaide Showgrounds When: Tuesday 7am - 5.30pm, Wednesday & Entry: $5 (Children free entry) Thursday 9am to 5.30pm, Friday 7am - 9pm, Time: Fri 4pm – 9pm, Sat & Sun 10am – 5pm About: Adelaide design market. Talented and Saturday 9am - 3pm designer makers from SA and around Australia Location: Grote Street, Adelaide Shop at the Market with First hour free parking htto://bowerbird.net.au Tuesday - Saturday About: A huge range of fresh food, all under Fisherman’s Wharf Market one roof - fruit and vegetables, meat and poultry, seafood, gourmet cheeses, bakery When: Every Sunday from 9am - 5pm products, sweets, nuts and health foods. and Monday Public Holidays www.adelaidecentralmarket.com.au/ Location: Black Diamond Square, Port Adelaide www.fishermenswharfmarkets.com.au

Adelaide Market

Showground

Farmers

When: Every Sunday 9am -1pm Location: Adelaide Showground, Leader St Farmers markets are the best place to find healthy food direct from the source. You will be supporting local industry, growers and farmers as well as getting the freshest produce.

Blackwood Craft Market When: 1st Sunday of the month 10am - 4pm Location: Blackwood Memorial Hall Cormandel Parade, Blackwood Entry: Free About: handmade craft items Contact: Kerrie Gould kgould6@bigpond.com

City East Market

Location: 230 Flinders Street, Adelaide About: The market features a broad range of sellers and products from around Adelaide.

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Gawler Lions Station Market When: Every Sunday 8am - 12pm Location: Gawler Railway Station About: Arts and crafts, fresh local produce, bric-a-brac, tools and more.

Gepps Cross Treasure Market When: Sundays 7am - 1pm Sellers admitted from 5am Buyers admitted from 7am Location: Mainline Drive In @ 588 Main North Road, Gepps Cross Entry: $1.50 per buyer (under 14 years free)

Lollypop Markets Time: 10am - 3pm Location: Morphettville Racecourse About: It showcases unique, boutique and handmade, or of limited supply items for expecting parents, babies and children. http://lollipopmarkets.com.au

Gilles Street Market When: October to May the market is open on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month.

From June to September over autumn/winter the market is held on the 3rd Sunday of the month.

Location: Gilles Street Primary School 91 Gilles Street, Adelaide 10am – 4pm About: a focused Fashion & Accessories market only www.gillesstreetmarket.com.au

Labels Style Market Time: 10am - 4pm Location: Plant 4 Bowden Third Street, Bowden Entry: Free Contact: labelsbuyswapsell@outlook.com Organiser: Katelyn Gabriel http://www.labelsstylemarkets.com

Market Shed on Holland

MEGAscene • Issue 11 - 2018

Adelaide Night Market

Semaphore Community Market When: 1st Sunday of the month Time: 10am - 2.30pm Location: St Bedes Anglican Church 200 Military Rd, Semaphore Location: Druid Ave, Stirling Entry: Free

Semaphore Twilight Market

When: Sunday, 9am - 3pm every week Friday nights during December and January Where: 1 Holland Street, Adelaide each year from 6-9pm (behind the Gilbert St IGA) Contact: marilyn@themarketshed.com.au About: One big bustling shed is filled to the Wild At Hart Fresh Food Market, brim with local food producers selling their Port Adelaide wares. The market focuses strongly on organically and locally produced food.

When: Open Sundays 9am - 2pm Location: The Harts Mill precinct About: A famers market with fresh food and Makers and Shakers produce http://www.wildathart.com.au 10am - 3pm Location: Woodville Town Hall 74 Woodville Road, Woodville Round She Goes Market Adelaide Entry: $2 (Kids under 12 free) About: Homewares, furniture, food, flowers Held in Adelaide 3 times a year stationery and photography. Also in Melbourne check dates on website and Sydney. http://roundshegoes.com.au/whenwhere/ www.themakersandshakers.com adelaide-dates/ Location: Woodville Town Hall 74 Woodville Road, Woodville Entry: $2, 10am-3pm About: Pre-loved Designer & vintage clothing, and handmade jewellery. Also in Melbourne and Sydney. http://roundshegoes.com.au 59

MEGAscene • Issue 11 - 2018

Shake

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Photo by Sue Hedley

MEGAscene • Issue 11 - 2018

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