4 : % / & : 4 - " 3 ( & 4 5 $ * 3 $ 6 - "5 * / ( ' 3 & & . 6 4 * $ 1 6 # - * $ "5 * 0 / t . ": t t ' 3 & &
MUSIC FOR DARK TIMES YOUNG GUNS
BOY & BEAR
” OWENS
TIM “RIPPER
INSIDE: t %&"% -&55&3 $*3$64 t .&% t &'5&3,-"/( t .: #3*()5&45 DIAMOND
www.themusic.com.au c com au
CHANNEL CHANNEEL [V], [V], NEW NEW WORLD WORLD ARTISTS ARTISTS && CRUCIAL CRUUCIAL MUSIC MUSIC PRESENT... PRESENT...
THE FLYING TOUR
FFEEAATTUURIN RINGG
GOSSLING AATTAALLL SH L SHOOWWSS! !
SAT SATJUNE JUNE09 09––COME COMETOGETHER TOGETHERFESTIVAL, FESTIVAL,SYDNEY SYDNEYNSW NSW SOLD SOLD OUT OUT FRI FRIJUNE JUNE29 29––THE THEMETRO, METRO,SYDNEY SYDNEYNSW NSW SOLD SOLD OUT OUT
UNPRECEDENTED DEMAND FOR TICKETS HAS FORCED THE UPGRADE OF THE WOLLONGONG WAVES VENUE!
FRI JUNE 08
WAVES NIGHTCLUB(18+)
TOWRADGI BEACH HOTEL, WOLLONGONG NSW. PRESENTED BY i98 FM
WITH WITHSPECIAL SPECIALGUESTS GUESTS
HERMITUDE&&BAM BAMBAM BAM NEW TICKETS ON SALE
THURSDAY MAY 24
TICKETS TICKETSVIA VIAOZTIX: OZTIX:WWW.360.OZTIX.COM.AU WWW.360.OZTIX.COM.AU//PH. PH.1300 1300762 762545 545//OZTIX OZTIXOUTLETS OUTLETS MOSHTIX: WWW.MOSHTIX.COM.AU / PH. 1300 GET TIX / MOSHTIX OUTLETS MOSHTIX: WWW.MOSHTIX.COM.AU / PH. 1300 GET TIX / MOSHTIX OUTLETS ‘FALLING & FLYING’ ALBUM OUT NOW! FEATURING HIT SINGLES: Child, Boys Like You (feat. Gossling), Killer, Throw It Away (feat. Josh Pyke), Just Got Started (feat. Pez)
THE DRUM MEDIA • 3
VIVID LIVE OPENS FRIDAY!
‘HEAVENLY’ THE GUARDIAN
SUFJAN STEVENS (VOCALS) SUF BRYCE DESSNER (GUITAR) BR NICO MUHLY (PIANO & KEYS) NIC PLANETARIUM - EXCEPTIONAL NEW SONGS FROM THREE OF NEW YORK’S DEFINING CREATIVE MINDS.
FROM THE FRONT WOMAN OF THE YEAH YEAH YEAHS
KAREN O
IN
STOP THE VIRGENS
AN EPIC STAR-STUDDED SPECTACLE DIRECT FROM NEW YORK.
28 MAY S OLD OUT!
29 & 3 0 MAY SELLING FAST
3 0 MAY – 3 JUNE. OPERA THEATRE
IN ASSO CIATION WITH SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL
SHUT UP
AND PLAY THE HITS STRATEGIC PARTNERS
FAREWELL TO LCD S OUNDSYSTEM THE FILM THAT CAPTURES THE DAY BEFORE, THE WEEK AFTER, AND THE OCCASION OF THEIR FAREWELL CONCERT.
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE 3 JUNE CONCERT HALL
‘PACKED FULL OF IMMEDIATE MELODIES AND S OUL’ NME
EFTERKLANG & SYDNEY SYMPHONY THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED DANISH BAND PREMIERE THEIR NEW ALBUM PIRAMIDA WITH SYDNEY SYMPHONY
26 MAY. OPERA THEATRE.
B O O K N OW S Y D N E YO P E RA H OU S E . C OM / V I V I D L I V E
PARTNER
4 • THE DRUM MEDIA
MEDIA PARTNERS
INDUSTRY PARTNER
RESENTS SECRET SOUNDS P
OFFICIAL SPLENDOUR SIDESHOWS ON SALE NOW
THE SMASHING PUMPKINS
WITH SPECIAL GUESTS
WOLFMOTHER
TUESDAY 31 JULY ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE
WITH SPECIAL GUESTS
Friday 27th July The Factory
WITH SPECIAL GUESTS
OUT D L O ENMORETHEATRE FRI 27 SJUL-
THURSDAY 26 JULY THE FACTORY
THE CAST OF CHEERS WED 1 AUG OXFORD ART FACTORY
TUE 24TH JULY THE FACTORY
WEDNESDAY 25 JULY METRO THEATRE
1ST SH OWS SO LD O UT!
(ALL AGES)
WITH
ZULU WINTER
WEDNESDAY 25 JULY OXFORD ART FACTORY
WITH SPECIAL GUESTS
2N D AN D FI NAL SH OWS AD D ED!
WITH
WITH SPECIAL GUESTS
SAT 28 JULY / THE FACTORY
TUE 31 JUL
THURSDAY 26 JULY THE STANDARD
with special guests
OXFORD ART FACTORY
LISTEN NOW ON
WITH SPECIAL GUESTS
/ RDIO.COM
FOR TICKETING INFO VISIT SECRET-SOUNDS.COM.AU THE DRUM MEDIA • 5
“ROUGH AND YET...A MASTERPIECE” Jack Black & Kyle Gass
THE D
ARE BACK! GO AND GET YOURS from
‘RIZE OF THE FENIX’, ‘ROADIE’, ‘TO BE THE BEST’ & ‘LOW HANGIN’ FRUIT’ STANDARD CD & DELUXE CD/DVD AVAILABLE
tenaciousd.com
facebook.com/tenacious THE DRUM MEDIA • 7
ADRIAN BOHM PRESENTS
“...The most popular standup comedian in the US...” TIME MAGAZINE BBA J, Featuring: ACHMED, PEANUT, BU O NEW GUYS JOSÉ JALAPEÑO, WALTER & TW
FRI 17 AUGUST SYDNEY ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE BOOK AT TICKETMASTER 136 100 TICKETMASTER.COM.AU
ABPRESENTS.COM.AU JEFFDUNHAM.COM 8 • THE DRUM MEDIA
THE DRUM MEDIA • 9
10 • THE DRUM MEDIA
THE DRUM MEDIA • 11
12 • THE DRUM MEDIA
THE DRUM MEDIA • 13
th f e or ha m rperl hoy te
l
900 PRINCES HIGHWAY, TEMPE PH: 9559 6300 www.valvebar.com.au WED 23RD 7PM THURS 24TH 7PM
“KINGSTONE FLAVA’S” REGGAE/SKA/DUB NIGHT
“CURIOUS TEMPLE” ROCK SHOW WITH SUPPORT FROM “SLAMDANCE” , “LIMITED HEADSPACE” AND MANY MORE
FRI 25TH 7PM
ROCK VS METAL WITH “DIRTY DEZIRE”
SAT 26TH 1PM
“ELEVEN ELEVEN”
SAT 26TH 6PM
ROCK/METAL SHOW WITH SUPPORT FROM: “VIRGINIA KILLSTYXX” , “ROADKILL” , “THRASHED”
FLAMENCO - BLUES SHOW WITH SUPPORT FORM “THE BLAND” AND “SAHARA SOUND”
“COREDEA” METAL/HARD ROCK SHOW WITH SUPPORT FROM “FOUNDRY ROAD” , “XEMPER PHI” , “NOT ANOTHER SEQUEL JUST ANOTHER PREQUEL” , “RED BEE”
BIG BENNY ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS: SUN 27TH 4PM
“RELEASE THE HOUNDS” ROCK’N’ROLL SHOW WITH SUPPORT FROM “DUBIOUS COMPANY” , “SECOND SUN” , “BELL & THE GHETTO ROCKERS”
COMING UP: Wed 30 May: Hip Hop Show with “2Five” , “QBall” , “DJ Herbs” ; Thu 31 May: Hard Rock Show with “Rock Circus” and guests; Fri 1 June: Rock’n’Roll Show with: “Jak” , “Rattlesnake” , “Vanity Riots” , “Smoking Mirrors” ; Sat 2 June: 8pm: Glitch/Crunk with Freddy Todd, Mr Bill, Electrocado, Gruff and many more ; Sun 3 June: 3pm: Red Letter Day management presents Sunday Stampede with “Price Of Fame” , “Mirrors In Iceland” , “Parenthia” , “This Flight Tonight” , “The Dark Gift”
For band bookings please email valvebar@gmail.com
Bistro open Lunch and Dinner !!
FRIDAY 25 MAY
Tues Wed
Thurs 24 May
TRIVIA WITH KEVIN $500 PRIZE POOL
Weekly Jackpot 7.30pm
Jess Harlan + LISSA + Anthony Ousback + Kerryn Fields
Open Mic Night 7.30pm
BYO Instruments (PA Provided) Rock up to play
OPEN MIC NIGHT
SATURDAY 26 MAY
Petulant Frenzy Play Zappa
7pm FREE FRIDAY 1 JUNE
Fri 25 May
LIVE MUSIC
Little Wolf 7.30pm FREE
+ guests
SATURDAY 2 JUNE
Sat 26 May For Bookings
ATE HIS ROCK
7.30pm FREE
james@thelaunchsquad.com.au | www.thelaunchsquad.com.au
Zoe Keating (US) + Lucinda Peters !Selling Fast!
MONDAY 4 JUNE
Band For Bears Feat: Peter Northcote & Friends
14 • THE DRUM MEDIA
Coming Soon: Fri 8/06 The Secret City CD launch Sat 9/06 Tangled Up In Bob Sun 10/06 Matt Morrison CD Launch Tues 12/06 Harry Manx (US) Fri 15/06 Hugo Race & The True Spirit + Leek & The War Wick Tragedy Sat 16/06 Steve Edmonds Hendrix & Heroes Sat 23/06 Sydney French Choir & C’est Si Bon Sat 30/06 Sunset Riot Fri 6/07 Simone Felice + Josh Ritter Fri 13/7 The Fumes
Wednesday 23rd May
TIGER TOWN + THE FORMER LOVE + TOM GREY Thursday 24th May
CLAIRY BROWNE
& THE BANGIN RACKETTES + ILUKA
Friday 25th May
TIM FREEDMAN + TIM CHAISSON (CANADA) Saturday 26th May
TIM FREEDMAN + TIM CHAISSON (CANADA) Sunday 27th May
MATT ANDERSEN Wednesday 30th May
TIGER TOWN + LYDIA COLE (NZ) + SKELETON JACK Thursday 31 May Lionheir (Paul Appelkamp) Friday 1 June Camille and Stuie Saturday 2 June Sally King Sunday 3 June Holland Friday 8 June Diesel Saturday 9 June Diesel Sunday 10 June King Tide Monday 11 June Jackson Firebird Wednesday 13 June Harry Manx Friday 15 June The Strides
Wednesday 20 June Gimme Shelter Friday 22 June Carus Saturday 23 June Ray Beadle Sunday 24 June Bon Chat, Bon Rat Tuesday 26 June The Audreys Duo Wednesday 27 June Valley Floor Saturday 30 June A Tribute to Dylan Sunday 1 July New Empire Saturday 7 July Hotel California Sunday 8 July Holland
WITH SPECIAL GUESTS
FRIDAY 1 JUNE • HORDERN PAVILION TICKETEK.COM.AU
SUNDAY 3 JUNE • NEWCASTLE, PANTHERS MOSHTIX.COM.AU
WEDNESDAY 6 JUNE • WOLLONGONG, UNIHALL BIGTIX.COM.AU OZTIX.COM.AU
! T U O S IS M ’T N O D , K E E NEXT W frontiertouring.com simpleplan.com
THE ALBUM ‘GET YOUR HEART ON!’ OUT NOW THE DRUM MEDIA • 15
mondays
thursdays
fridays
ope open pen m mic icc night nig gh ht register r egister early early to o play play g gs@ @h ha ardro ockca afe.co om m.au gigs@hardrockcafe.com.au
live li ive o orig original riiginal ginal music m mus ussic ic
from 8pm from 8pm m | free free entry entryy
fro from om m 8.30pm 8.30pm 8.3 0pm m
llate ate at te night niigh n htt llounge oung ge e dj’s d j’ss & mc’s mc’ss
saturdays
sundays
late night lounge dj’s & mc’s
salsa party & class
subscribe to receive the latest hrc sydney news & events
from 8.30pm | free entry
monday–friday
E R R A Z I B L E N O L KO
happy hour
FRI 25 MAY
2 for 1 cocktails, wine & beer 5-7pm
harbourside, darling harbour • +61-2-9280-0077 hardrock.com/sydney • find us on • follow us on
LIVE AT THE LANDSDOWNE HOTEL may2012
from 9pm
fr from rom om 9pm 9ppm m
DEF FX
16 • THE DRUM MEDIA
VIVID LIVE OPENS FRIDAY! LIGHTS ON FROM 6PM
O UNTI PEN FRID L 3AM SATU AYS & RDAY S
FRIDAY 25TH MAY
GANG OF BROTHERS WITH SPECIAL GUESTS
PETER NORTHCOTE & REX GOH
LATE-NITE FUNKY SOUL AND R&B
2 5 M AY - 2 J U N E . S T U D I O.
VIVID LIVE
STUDIO PARTIES A HANDPICKED SELECTION OF MUSIC TASTEMAKERS T RA N S F O R M T H E S T U D I O A N D W E S T E R N F OY E R S OV E R F I V E N I G H T S . 25 MAY: NIGHTS LIKE THIS Danny Brown & MED with Ellesquire, Halfway Crooks DJs Dann 26 MAY: MODULAR NIGHT Tom Vek, Jonathan Boulet, Kindness 31 MAY: FBI RADIO / PENNY DROP PARTY 3 Zola Jesus, Light Asylum, Forces MAJOR PARTNER PART RTNER
STRA STRATEGIC RAT ATEGIC
1 JUNE: FUTURE CLASSIC PARTY Is Isolée, Jacques Renault, Flume, Future Classic DJs 2 JUNE: GOODGOD DANCETERIA! Nicky Da B, Prince Zimboo, No Zu, Donny Benét, Egyptian Lover, L O’Connor, Straight Arrows, GoodGod Sound Unlimited Geoffrey O 2 5 MAY - 3 JUNE: VIVID LIVE FESTIVAL BAR Presented by Mastercard. You’ll never see the Western Foyers Present like this again! Killer cocktails, food & DJs nightly. Free entry.
COMING SOON - GAIL PAGE - THUR 7, BARRY LEEF - FRI 8, SAMUEL YIRGA - SAT 9 (EARLY), THE STRIDES - SAT 9, JAMES MORRISON - FRI 15, CLAYTON DOLEY - SAT 16 KITCHEN OPEN LATE FRIS AND SATS - DELICIOUS LATE NIGHT TAPAS
16 CROSS ST, DOUBLE BAY BOOKINGS - 9328 4411 - WWW.BLUEBEAT.COM.AU
B O O K N OW S Y D N E YO P E RA H OU S E . C OM / V I V I D L I V E THE DRUM MEDIA • 17
WEDNESDAY 23 7.00PM FREE
STATE OF ORIGIN:
THURSDAY 24 7.00PM $10.00(DOOR)
CHATEAU GENERALS
FRIDAY 25 8.00PM $35.00(PRE) $40.00(DOOR) SATURDAY 26 8.00PM $15.00(PRE) $15.00(DOOR)
SUNDAY 27 5PM FREE (FRONT BAR)
HUGE SCREEN + FREE HOTDOGS! + THE VENUSIANS + EDEMA RUH
SPIRAL DANCE + DAMH THE BARD
CASCADE
+ MONKS OF MELLONWAH + THE LAST CAVALRY + SICARIA
LUCY DESOTO & THE HANDSOME DEVILS COMING SOON: EVIL INVADERS IV OVER REACTOR NE OBLIVISCARIS
‘GOBOOKEM.COM’
CNR OF GEORGE + SWANSON ST
ERSKINEVILLE 3 DOORS FROM THE RAILWAY STATION
P 9565 1441 ROSEOFAUST@BIGPOND.COM
FRI 25TH MAY
NOW TUESDAY TO SATURDAY
$10 - $15
9PM
BERNIE HAYES WITH SPECIAL GUEST
Bernie is a Sydney institution, having played in and around Sydney venues for a lifetime as part of The Shout Brothers, The Gruesome Twosome, Club Hoy and solo. His is the voice of a whiskey soaked angel, his debut album "Every Tuesday, Sometimes Sunday" earned a rare 5 star review from the Sydney Morning Herald and his song-writing is some of the best (and most underutilised) in Australia. Bringing with him a surprise guest from another legendary Sydney band who confirmed his status as one of Australia's finest singer-songwriters as well. 18 • THE DRUM MEDIA
STEAK &FROM RIBS 6PM
LEVEL 1 RESTAURANT ONLY
STATE OF
ORIGIN
MATCHES
SCHOONERS AT MIDDY PRICES UNTIL FIRST TRY FREE PIZZA AT HALF TIME
THE DRUM MEDIA • 19
COOGE E FRI MAY 25
CASH
SAVAGE
& THE LAST DRINKS
+ KIRA PIRU & THE BRUISE
TRIPLE SHOT OF ORIGINAL ROCK SAT MAY 26
The Tonie Christian Band (CD LAUNCH) + CROWSFEAT SAT JUNE 16
Crowsfeat + The Sahara Sound + The Adaptors Band Bookings
info@codeone.net.au - www.codeone.net.au
Tickets & info from www.coogeediggers.com.au
COOGEE DIGGERS 9665 4466 CORNER BYRON & CARR STREETS
20 • THE DRUM MEDIA
USE ME.
PREMIER ARTISTS presents
with special guests
RIVER OF SNAKES
PAPER, SCISSORS,
ROCK TOUR
JUNE 2012 - ALBUM LAUNCH Fri 8th The Patch, Wollongong www.oztix.com.au
Sat 9th The Vanguard, Newtown www.thevanguard.com.au
Sun 10th Gt Nthn, Newcastle www.thegreatnorthern.com.au
Mon 11th Brass Monkey, Cronulla www.brassmonkey.com.au
TICKETS AVAILABLE THROUGH VENUES & AT THE DOOR WANT A FREE TRACK?... WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/JACKSONFIREBIRD
DEBUT ALBUM COCK ROCKIN’ OUT JUNE 8
THE DRUM MEDIA • 21
GIVEAWAYS
30
THE SANDRINGHAM HOTEL 387 KING STREET NEWTOWN / 9557 1254 S YEAR WWW.SANDO.COM.AU BOOKINGSCONTACT SANDO@ATOMICDROP.COM.AU WWW.MYSPACE.COM/THESANDRINGHAMHOTEL
WED 23 MAY
$10 + SIMON DAY (RAT CAT) + BLACKIE (HARD-ONS!) + MARCUS DE PASQUALE FREE ENTRY THU 24 MAY "TAFE MUSIC
MICHELE MADDEN
A&R SHOWCASE SEMI FINAL" + DJS TILL LATE
YOUNG DOCTEURS
FRI 25 MAY
$10
EMPIRE RISING OVER ANNANDALE
Sydney hip hop crew Empire Rising have been buried in the studio cutting their next release but Friday 25 May, they’re getting back to what they love best, prowling the Annandale stage spittin’ rhymes. Launching their new single, The Obsession, they’ll be joined on the night by Blue Candy, Five Coffees and High Noon. We have three double passes to give away.
PLUS ONE FREE SCHOONER OF SANDO LAGER ON ENTRY AND $3 SCHOONERS ALL NIGHT (UPSTAIRS BAR ONLY – UNTIL SOLD OUT
"ASTRAL PEOPLE PRESENTS"
DRUM MEDIA
(BRAINFEEDER/UK)
+ OOOOO (TRI ANGLE/USA)
+ ALBATROSS + GARDLAND $25 PRE-SALE / $30 DOOR SALE *** WWW.MOSHTIX.COM.AU ***
"I-94 BAR PRESENTS"
$10
FRANK MACIAS & LOS AMIGOS + TIGER & THE ROGUES
EVERY MON
SANDO SKETCH CLUB ***FREE ENTRY***
EVERY TUES
“THE SONGWRITER SESSIONS” ***FREE ENTRY***
COMING SOON FRI 1 JUN ---
STAND ALONE (EX-ROSE TATTOO, JUDGE MERCY) + UGLY LITTLE SECRETS (EX-CANDY HARLOTS) + THE TURPS + VITRIOL THE MUSICAL (EX-BLITZ BABIEZ)
SAT 2 JUN ---
"ELLE'S 40TH" TERRA AUSTRALIS + INFINITE BLACK + AETURNUS DOMINION + HAZMAT + CHUD + PINK INDUSTRIAL WHORES + BIONYSUS
FRI 22 JUN ---
KRISS HADES
+ TRIBUTE TO BLACK SABBATH + ART SHOW *** WWW.MOSHTIX.COM.AU ***
FRI 29 JUN ---
EDDIE SPAGHETTI
(THE SUPERSUCKERS) (USA)
*** WWW.MOSHTIX.COM.AU & WWW.OZTIX.COM.AU ***
SAT 30 JUN --FRI 6 JUL --SAT 4 AUG ---
DESERT SESSIONS 2012
*** WWW.ZOMBIEDOGENTERTAINMENT.COM ***
GOATWHORE (USA) *** WWW.MOSHTIX.COM.AU *** TIM BARRY (AVAIL) (USA) *** WWW.MOSHTIX.COM.AU ***
STREET LEVEL BAR WED 23 MAY --THU 24 MAY --FRI 25 MAY --SAT 26 MAY ---
SUN 27 MAY --MON 28 MAY --TUE 29 MAY ---
UNGUS UNGUS UNGUS + $3 SCHOONERS OF SANDO LAGER
JOHNATHAN DEVOY + SPECIAL GUESTS VIDEO JUKE BOX DAVE TICE AND MARK EVANS 4PM-7PM DJ KAKI 8PM-LATE THE SLOWDOWNS UNHERD OPEN MIC ADAM PRINGLE AND FRIENDS – FUNKY AS F#CK + TOOHEYS $6 NEW JUGS (7-8PM)
----------------DJ’S BISTRO----------------OPEN 7 DAYS SERVING GREAT PUB FOOD ALL NIGHT
22 • THE DRUM MEDIA
NORAH’S LITTLE BROKEN HEART
Produced by Danger Mouse, who, in his alter ego as Brian Burton co-wrote the dozen songs on it, Little Broken Hearts is the new album from Norah Jones, each an exploration of wounded emotions yet surprisingly uplifting and beautiful. We have five copies of the album to give away, collectable from the Drum office.
T H E D R U M M E D I A I S S U E 1 1 1 1 T U E S D AY 2 2 M AY 2 0 1 2
LAPALUX
SUN 27 MAY
Canadian singer/songwriter David Myles has obviously fallen in love with Australia as he’s back here a mere four months after his last visit to showcase his latest album, Into The Sun, at the Clarendon Guesthouse in Katoomba Friday 25 May, The Basement Circular Quay Saturday 26 and Brass Monkey Friday 1 June. We have three double passes to The Basement show to give away.
FOR MORE GIVEAWAYS THIS WEEK HEAD TO FACEBOOK.COM/DRUMMEDIA AND CLICK ON THE GIVEAWAYS TAB
+ 77 SUNSET STRIPPERS + CALL TO COLOUR SAT 26 MAY
MYLES TO THE BASEMENT
EMPIRE RISING
Giveaways – Check it out for free stuff and head to Facebook for more! 22 The Front Line hits hard with industry fact and conjecture, plus Backlash and Frontlash. 24 Foreword Line – the latest news on tours, releases and more. 26 Light Asylum are happy to see a dark wave going through mainstream music at the moment. 32 “It’s just the sound of a band that is trying to spread their wings,” explains Young Guns. 34 Tim “Ripper” Owens has got a really good set list for Australia. “Probably the best set list I’ve had.” 34 Jumping from tour to tour, the busy and (sleepy) five, Boy & Bear, discuss their rollercoaster of a journey. 35 “Any woman that makes music is instantly critiqued on what she looks like, and how fat or thin she is.” Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast speaks her mind. 36 They’ve partied on Hellyeah’s tour bus, trashed stages across the US but Dead Letter Circus head home. 36 No rock’n’roll antics when Bryce Desner hangs out with close friend Sufjan Stevens. 37 “I want to hug a koala bear – are you allowed to?” asks Rasmus Stolberg of Efterklang. 38 My Brightest Diamond enjoys dressing up and putting on a character. 38 Tijuana Cartel are shifting things around: touring members, destinations, songs and producers. 38 MC Sereck convinces Drum the new Def Wish Cast is the start of a whole new chapter. 38 MED tells Drum what he’s been working on ahead of his hip hop extravaganza at the Opera House. 39 The last rhythm section of The Go-Betweens, Adele & Glenn, discuss their new chapter and new album. 39 “Dan Castleman nailed everyone immensely,” Rhys Giles of Resist The Thought tells Drum. 39 “Melody is key”, say Naturally 7. 39 On The Record reviews new release albums and singles from Sigur Ros, Regina Spektor, Ladyhawke and more. 40 PUBLISHER Street Press Australia Pty Ltd GROUP MANAGING EDITOR Andrew Mast EDITOR Mark Neilsen ASSOCIATE EDITORS Michael G Smith, Scott Fitzsimons FRONT ROW EDITOR Cassandra Fumi frontrow@drummedia.com.au CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Adam Curley EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Celline Narinli CONTRIBUTORS Aarom Wilson, Adam Wilding, Alex Hardy, Amber McCormick, Anita Connors, Anthony Carew, Bethany Small, Brendan Crabb, Brent Balinski, Bryget Chrisfield, Celline Narinli, Chris Familton, Chris Maric, Craig Pearce, Cyclone, Dan Condon, Danielle O’Donohue, Dave Drayton, Fiona Cameron, Gloria Lewis, Guy Davis, Helen Lear, Huwston, Ian Barr, Jake Millar, Jamelle Wells, James d’Apice, James Dawson, James McGalliard, Jessie Hunt, Katie Benson, Kris Swales, Liz Galinovic, Liz Giuffre, Lucia Osborne-Crowley, Mark Hebblewhite, Paul Smith, Paz, Pedro Manoy, Rip Nicholson, Rob Townsend, Robbie Lowe, Ross Clelland, Sarah Petchell, Sebastian Skeet, Sevana Ohandjanian, Shane O’Donohue, Steve Bell, Stuart Evans, Tim Finney, Tom Hawking, Troy Mutton PHOTOGRAPHERS Angela Padovan, Carine Thevenau, Chaz Webb, Cybele Malinowski, Josh Groom, Justin Malinowski, Kane Hibberd, Linda Heller-Salvador, Luke Eaton, Tony Mott
themusic.com.au
Chris Maric gets local with hard rock and metal in The Heavy Shit. And Sarah Petchell brings us local and international punk news in Wake The Dead. 42 It’s business time in club world as Paz gives us Business Music. And the latest updates from our local industry and beyond from the good folks at MusicNSW. 44 Viktor Krum asks you to Get It Together with the latest in hip hop. Dave Drayton gets Young & Restless with all ages goings on. Adam Curley muses on all things pop culture The Breakdown. And Cyclone gives you urban and r’n’b news in OG Flavas. 46 Michael Smith delivers some Blow with jazz and world music news. Go south as you enter Pedro Manoy’s Swamp Shack. And Dan Condon features the world of blues and roots with Roots Down. 47
FRONT ROW
Check out what’s happening This Week in Arts: Baz McAlister chats to Men in Black 3 director, Barry Sonnenfeld. 48 Columns Cultural Cringe and Made You Look. Blood Policy’s Sam Routledge and Willoh Weiland talk to Dave Drayton about Carriageworks show Computer Boy. 49 Dave Drayton chats to Drew Forsythe about STC’s Under Milk Wood and actor James Beach about Reason To Be Pretty. Ahead of the Vivid Ideas Festival, Jake Millar chats with Henry Holland. 50
LIVE
It’s all here: gig reviews, tour guide, what’s happening this week, gig guide, random shit and more. 51 Australian Musician Supplement, right here! 61 The Classies – need a singer/bassist/drummer/ any other service/product you can think of? Your answer is here. And on iflog.com.au. 69 ADVERTISING DEPT sales@drummedia.com.au Brett Dayman, James Seeney, Andrew Lilley iflog.com.au
CLASSIFIEDS
ART DEPT artwork@drummedia.com.au Dave Harvey, Matt Davis COVER DESIGN Dave Harvey ACCOUNTS DEPT accounts@streetpress.com.au GIVEAWAYS/GIG GUIDE Justine Lynch THE DRIVERS Grant, David, Julian, Ray, Paul, Al, Mark PRINTING Rural Press (02) 4570 4444 DISTRIBUTION distro@drummedia.com.au SUBSCRIPTIONS Subscriptions are $2.20 per week (Minimum of 12 weeks) – Send your details with payment to Subscriptions Dept, The Drum Media, PO Box 2440 Strawberry Hills NSW 2012 (cheques/money orders to be made payable to Dharma Media Pty Ltd) ADDRESS Postal: PO Box 2440 Strawberry Hills NSW 2012 Street: Level 1/142 Chalmers St Surry Hills NSW 2010 Phone (02) 9331 7077 Fax (02) 9331 2633 Email info@drummedia.com.au www.themusic.com.au The Drum Media is also available on iPad via the iTunes App Store
LEVEL 1, 354 BOURKE ST. SURRY HILLS
BUY NOW AT RICKI-LEE
WED 30 MAY
RICKI-LEE
'DO IT LIKE THAT' LIVE
GUEST DJ - VOGUE WILLIAMS
THUR 21 JUNE
SELECT 7TH B'DAY
FEATURING SELECT MUSIC ARTISTS CHARITY FUNDRAISER FOR BEYONDBLUE DOORS OPEN 6PM. FREE ENTRY ALL NIGHT. SPLIT SECONDS
JAM PRESENTS FRI 25 MAY
SPLIT SECONDS
UNDERLIGHTS, CROOKED SAINT DJ: PHDJ
SAT 26 MAY
THE LEISURE BANDITS
THE WALKING WHO, PEAR SHAPE DJ: F.R.I.EN.D/S
THE VAUDEVILLE SMASH
FRI 1 JUNE
THE VAUDEVILLE SMASH
GOLDSMITH, THE FIRETREE DJ: KRISTY LEE
KING TIDE
SAT 2 JUNE
KING TIDE
PENELOPE AUSTIN, HOLLAND
DJ: F.R.I.EN.D/S
COMING UP FANTINE, LIME CORDIALE, PANAMA, DEMONS TO DIAMONDS, ART OF SLEEPING, ALL THE COLOURS, RAPIDS, I KNOW LEOPARD
UPSTAIRSBERESFORD.COM.AU OR 8313 5050 FOR GIG INFO HAPPY HOUR BEFORE 8PM FRI & SAT. DINNER & SNACKS AVAILABLE
PRIVATE BOOTH & VENUE BOOKINGS 8313 5000 THE DRUM MEDIA • 23
THE
FRONT LINE
HARD-ONS CIRCA 2009, PETER BLACK AT THE FRONT
AUSSIE PUNK LEGEND BASHED BY TEENS
Peter “Blackie” Black, guitarist for legendary Sydney punk rock powerhouse the Hard-Ons, remained in hospital earlier this week following an assault suffered on Thursday night. Blackie was driving his cab when the assault took place, police finding him on the ground outside his cab on the Pacific Highway near Rocklands Road in Crows Nest. He was taken to Royal North Shore hospital having suffered injuries to the head and face. Police arrested a 16 year old boy and 14 year old girl at the scene, the boy charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and released on bail, to appear in Hornsby Children’s Court on Thursday 21 June. Bassist Ray Ahn has kept the band’s fans in the loop through their Facebook page over the weekend.
VALE ROBIN GIBB
Robin Gibb, a founding member of the Bee Gees alongside his twin, Maurice, and older brother Barry, has died at age 62. Family spokesperson Doug Wright confirmed the news on Monday 21 May, saying, “The family of Robin Gibb, of the Bee Gees, announce with great sadness that Robin passed away today following his long battle with cancer and intestinal surgery. The family have asked that their privacy is respected at this very difficult time.” Barry is now the only remaining founding brother alive, following Maurice’s death in 2003. Originally from the Isle Of Man in the UK, the Gibb family moved to Brisbane in 1958 where the brothers started a singing career. Settling on the name the Bee Gees, which came from the BGs, a shortened version of their original name the Brothers Gibb, they enjoyed a stellar career with success in every decade from the ‘60s. Originally lauded for their Beatles-like and stunning harmonies, particularly present on their 1967 album, Bee Gees’ 1st, the band are best remembered for their reinvention during the disco period as, essentially, a white soul act. It’s from that period that songs like Stayin’ Alive and You Should Be Dancing arose. Robin also enjoyed a successful solo career, which kicked off during a split in the late ‘60s. Saved By The Bell was one of his first solo hits. Last year Gibb cancelled a number of shows and appearances around the world due to health issues. In 2010 he underwent intestinal surgery to treat a twisted bowel, the same condition from which Maurice died, suffering a heart attack during surgery. Earlier this year he told the BBC that he was making a “spectacular” recovery.
VALE DONNA SUMMER
Donna Summer, one of the most renowned names in the world of disco music, has passed away at her home in Key West, Florida at the age of 63 after a long battle with lung cancer. The singer, who first burst onto the world stage with her smash hit, Love To Love You Baby, back in 1975, was one of the most prominent artists of the mid-’70s disco era, though her career managed to continue strongly after disco went out of fashion, remaining a fixture on the charts through the 1980s. She was reported recently to be working on a new album, a follow-up to her last record, 2008’s Colors. Summer is survived by her husband Bruce Sudano and her daughters Brooklyn, Amanda and Mimi. In a statement they say they “are at peace celebrating her extraordinary life and her continued legacy... Words truly can’t express how much we appreciate your prayers and love for our family at this sensitive time.”
CROWDED HOUSE DRUMMER PETER JONES DIES
Crowded House notified fans via a posting on their website that drummer Peter Jones has passed away. UK-born Jones replaced original Crowded House drummer
INDUSTRY NEWS WITH SCOTT FITZSIMONS frontline@streetpress.com.au
“None of it was his fault,” he said. “The two assailants were arrested by police. Blackie has been in hospital since Thursday night with a skull fracture and 16 stitches, swelling on the brain. We will be there for a few days still, while the docs make sure all tests are done. Thankfully he has been moved from the critical room to where they keep stable patients. He does not remember all details but he is getting better every day. Not sure when he can play music again. We will know more in the coming days. He has already been told he cannot drive for six weeks due to his head trauma. Please send him a get-well message through Facebook, he’ll read it all when he gets out in a few days. I’m sure he’ll get better soon. He is a pretty tough cookie. I’ve known him for many years and I know he wants to get back playing music again as soon as possible, but he will go with medical advice, it’s gonna be best to give up playing live for a while, so that he can fully recover and come back fitter than ever. Will keep everyone posted. By the way thanks for all those messages. I’ll pass ‘em on to Blackie and I’m sure he’ll really appreciate them.” Ahn has also stated that the Hard-Ons will not be cancelling their forthcoming NSW shows. “Hard-ons WILL NOT CANCEL our ANNANDALE HOTEL or GREAT NORTHERN HOTEL NEWCASTLE gigs on Friday JUNE 1 and SAT JUNE 2 respectively!!!” he said. “We will perform a set with a new lineup. Ray (bass), Peter Kostic (drums), Murray Ruse (drums) and Keish (lead guitar/vocals) will hit the stage doing what songs we know between us. Whatever we make those nights, we’ll toss it Blackie’s way. Come along if you can.”
Paul Hester when the latter left the band in 1994. News Ltd reports that Jones “succumbed to a battle with brain cancer on Friday [18 May]”. The message on the Crowded House site states: “We are in mourning today for the death of Peter Jones. We remember him as a warm-hearted, funny and talented man, who was a valuable member of Crowded House. He played with style and spirit. We salute him and send our love and best thoughts to his family and friends.” Outside of Crowded House, Jones had played with two legendary bands of Melbourne’s inner city music scene, Deadstar and Harem Scarem. A noted session drummer, Jones also played with Rowland S Howard, Stephen Cummings, Mark Seymour, The Wreckery, Lisa Miller and Kate Ceberano. Crowded House’s original drummer Paul Hester committed suicide in 2005.
HUNGRY KIDS FINISH RECORDING, SING INTL. BOOKING DEAL
Brisbane indie-pop band Hungry Kids Of Hungary have finished up in Albert’s Studios in Sydney with producer Wayne Connolly, where they’ve been working on their second album. The band’s manager Ben Preece told theMusic.com.au, “The last 12 months has been incredibly prolific – we had 30-odd demos to work with here and the lads whittled it down and recorded 15, now to cull it further to album length. It’s beyond exciting to be playing these 15 songs together and they’re going to have to make tough decisions with this cull. Without being overly biased, the recordings are sounding amazing even in this pre-mix state.” With recording finished, the band are now off to Europe where they will mix the record with Simon “Berkfinger” Berckelman in his new Berlin studio and play a few mammoth dates to capitalise on the success they have achieved in European territories. They’ve also signed with Steve Zapp of International Talent Booking (ITB), Zapp also looks after Cold War Kids, Biffy Clyro, Editors and Delta Spirit to name a few. While on this, their first proper UK/European tour, the band play The Netherlands’ Pinkpop Festival alongside Bruce Springsteen, The Cure, Soundgarden and many more as well as a heap of club dates.
GYROSCOPE MEMBER BREAKS LEGS IN ROAD ACCIDENT
Gyroscope guitarist Zoran Trivic has broken both legs after the motorcycle he was driving was hit by a vehicle in Perth. Expected to make a full recovery, he will nonetheless undergo operations and rehabilitation for the next three to four months. As a result, the popular Perth rock outfit have had to postpone their Benefit For Dana show in Perth until September, anticipated to be something of a comeback gig. The show will raise funds for Perth local Dana Vulin, who was attacked and set alight by an intruder
two months ago. With burns on 60 per cent of her body, she and her family are facing substantial costs for medical expenses and rehabilitation.
BYRON BAY FESTIVALS AT ‘CRISIS POINT’
Bluesfest director Peter Noble has made an impassioned plea to theMusic.com.au for people to sign a petition and get behind his campaign against the Byron Events Policy being touted by the Byron Shire Council at the moment. The move comes after Splendour In The Grass received approval for their North Byron Parklands site from the State Government, while Noble’s Tyagaragh Tea Tree Farm is subject to the more restrictive local policy. He said, “In essence that means we now have a two-tiered events system functioning in Byron shire, where essentially one site, which withdrew its application to Local Government, has been rewarded with a multiple event approval by going to the State Government, whilst the other, which has attempted to work within Local Government, is looking like being placed at a serious disadvantage through the greatly differing perspectives that the State and Local governments seem to take towards music events.” Head to bluesfest.com.au to see the petition.
REUNITED EMPIRE OF THE SUN SINGLE BY YEAR’S END
Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore are working together again in New York on a new Empire Of The Sun record and they have submitted initial demos to their label, EMI. The label hopes to release a single by the end of the year and what will be the band’s second album next year, but they admit it’s dangerously close to being too long between drinks. After creating their debut album, Walking On A Dream, released late 2008, together, Littlemore (from Pnau) was notably absent in the touring and live performances by the group, which Steele (The Sleepy Jackson) undertook on his own. It prompted rumours of a split between the two and doubts over whether they had the desire to follow up the album with a second, or whether Steele would look to involve other collaborators in Littlemore’s stead. Speaking to theMusic.com.au in Sydney, Bart Cools, EMI Music’s Executive Vice President for marketing in Europe and the Rest of the World, said that the release is one of particular interest for the label on a global level, given that they expect it to have traction around the world, especially in Europe. Cools, who lives in Amsterdam and works in London, admitted it was ‘promising’ to have them in the same room together and working on new material. “Yeah. I mean, I’ve never even met Nick,” he admitted. “That’s okay. I’ve seen Luke live a few times and obviously he’s more connected to what’s happening here at EMI and it’s easier. I just hope that out of that combination with the two of them comes another amazing piece of work.” He said that having the first single done by the end of the year is “the plan... But then again it’s up to them – it needs to be right. It’s not a race. But at the same time, it’s been four years since the last album – that’s dangerous. When you let that go to five years, regardless of how good or exciting the album is, it’s going to be a hard slog to get it back to people. Music moves on a bit, so before you know it you’ve missed your momentum.” He added, “I can get that when you’re in the studio working on your art, it [timing] is not something you’ve got in your head all the time. It’s my job, and the job here of the guys, to keep that in mind. There’s no point in coming up with a masterpiece that nobody’s interested in.”
Investment company Elevation Partners, perhaps most famous for their association with U2’s Bono, were labelled as the dumbest investor in America after a series of dud decisions as to where they spent their money, namely injecting a great amount of cash into the Palm Inc. and Forbes Media brands. But they are sitting pretty after the US$38 initial public offering (IPO) of Facebook last week, after the company quietly opted to accept the offer of a 2.3 per cent stake in the company for USD$90 million back in 2009. Elevation Partners’ share of the social network’s spoils will be in the vicinity of US$1.5 billion, which will make up for the company’s poor decisions in the past. It’s important to note Bono does not own Elevation Partners and, as such, does not own 2.3 per cent of Facebook. He is managing director and co-founder of the company, but not the sole stakeholder. He does, of course, own a stake in the company (as does U2 guitarist The Edge) and will certainly stand to profit handsomely from the sale. There are a number of very interesting stories coming out of the recent Facebook IPO, like graffiti artist David Choe who, instead of accepting cash for painting Facebook’s Silicon Valley offices back in 2005, took shares that entitled him to 0.2 per cent of the company. At the time he called the shares “ridiculous and pointless”, but they’re now worth US$170 million.
BRITISH INDIA SIGN NEW ‘LONG TERM’ DEALS
Melbourne band British India have signed recording and publishing deals with Liberation and Mushroom, signing off on the contract with Mushroom Group Chairman Michael Gudinski. The deal, which comes as the indie rock band look to their fourth album, details of which will be rvealed next week has been described as “long term”. “We’ve never been opposed to signing with the right label, but in the past we did what we did out of necessity,” manager Glenn Goldsmith said today. “British India have been in discussions with Liberation and Mushroom for some time refining a deal that works for all parties and now we have one that we believe will create a very strong platform for us.” Gudinski added, “I’m very proud of our track record of finding and developing new bands, but British India are in the unique position of having released three very successful albums but they are still young enough and hungry enough to take it to the next level. This deal took some time to come together, but I am very happy with this signing. We all are because good things are worth waiting for.” TheMusic.com.au reported earlier this year that a number of labels had expressed interest in signing the band.
KID MAC WINS MUSICOZ AWARD
Kid Mac took out Artist Of The Year at the MusicOz Awards last week, which also saw him grab the Best Video award. Host Sarah McLeod won Best Dance Release for her track, The Real Thing, with DJ I Am Sam.
FILM SCHOOL OPEN DAY
The International Film School Sydney will hold its free Open Day Saturday 26 May providing an insight for those wanting to study film in Sydney. The day kicks off at 9.30am with a guided tour of the school followed by a presentation from the Head of School and a current student. For more information and to RSVP visit http://ifss. edu.au/whats-happening/open-days-events.
FRONTLASH
BACKLASH
We claimed him as one of our own and as such we lose one of our – and the world’s – bona fide pop stars.
We know that, unfortunately, this kind of stuff happens quite often, but on hearing that a victim of a recent bashing was Blackie from the Hard-Ons, well, that’s just fucked. The guy is a legend in punk circles, probably known better overseas than here, and he still had to drive a taxi to make ends meet – and then this happens.
ROBIN GIBB
VIVID We’ve been talking about it for ages, but now it’s finally here this week. Yay!
music 24 • THE DRUM MEDIA
HOW FACEBOOK SAVED BONO’S ARSE
themusic.com.au
THUGS
THE REAPER A fucked week for big names in music passing away, Robin Gibb, Donna Summer and former Crowded House drummer Peter Jones among the notables. Vale.
THE DRUM MEDIA • 25
FOREWORD LINE
NEWS FROM THE FRONT
TOUR NEWS JACKSON FIREBIRD THE BOMBAY ROYALE XAVIER RUDD
BOLLYWOOD CRIME KILLAH PRIEST Killah Priest will be joining his Wu Tang affiliate, Ghostface Killah, on his forthcoming tour as part of “the complete hip hop show experience”, Rap City, which also features Doom, Chino XL and local heroine Sky’High, taking over the Enmore Theatre Saturday 2 June.
The Bombay Royale will be launching their album, You Me Bullets Love, at The Basement in Sydney on Sunday 10 June. Their record is full of high-energy and vintage Bollywood tracks that have a very Kill Bill feel to them! Immerse yourself in a different world and head along to The Basement in Circular Quay.
Matt Nathanson will be the special guest supporting artist when fellow Americans Train take to the Sydney Opera House Thursday 7 June. The London Town Fire will open for Canada’s Silverstein when they play Bar 32 in Canberra Wednesday 13 June, while it’ll be Divide And Conquer doing the business at Hot Damn in Sydney Thursday 14 and Lycanthrope, We Built Atlantis and None But The Brave at the Entrance Leagues Club Friday 15, with Skyway doing all three shows. Direct from New York City, Afro-Cuban soul punk musician Ray Lugo comes to Blue Beat in Double Bay Saturday 26 May, showcasing his new EP, Bahia Love, supported by hip hop reggaeton Sydneysider D Minus. Demand has prompted the upgrading of the 360 Wollongong gig Friday 9 June to the largest venue within the Waves Nightclub complex at the Towradgi Beach Hotel, where, again, he’ll be joined by Hermitude, Bam Bam and special guest Gossling.
Hayden Calnin and Georgi Kay have been invited to be the special guests of Mat McHugh when he brings his new solo album, Love Come Save Me, to life at The Standard Friday 1 June and the Newport Arms Saturday 2. The Jezabels are hitting the road to promote the fourth single, City Girl, off their AMP Award-winning debut album, Prisoner, and with special guests LIGHTS and Snakadaktal, play the Hordern Pavilion Saturday 9 June. Melbourne three-piece The Dotcoms tapped into the zeitgeist for their self-titled debut EP, the first single from which, Janie Got Super Cute, brings them to Spectrum Saturday 15 June. Hilltop Hoods have added the University of Canberra Refectory to their forthcoming national tour promoting their latest album, Drinking From The Sun, checking in Thursday 16 August.
FOLLOWING BRIGHT LIGHTS
King Cannons – whose manifesto has always been to be a band for the people – will be dropping their debut album, The Brightest Light, on Friday 22 June and have announced East Coast tour dates for its launch. The Melbourne-based band recently wrapped up one of the largest tours of their career, a month-long spin around Europe, and are ready to jump back on the Australian touring circuit. The six-piece will be joined by Shihad’s Tom Larkin, who will be taking on board drumming duties. Also joining King Cannons on the upcoming tour are Major Tom & The Atoms, featuring ex-Little Red crooner Tom Hartney, as the main support. Catch ‘em live at the Oxford Art Factory on Thursday 28 June.
26 • THE DRUM MEDIA
Rock Circus will be continuing their Take One tour with a new show announced. Their energised performance of original and classic rock covers from the ‘70s to present day – including Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, AC/DC, Cream and a whole lot more – will suit any rock’n’roll lover. The Sydney-based band are made up of musicians who all have the big classic rock artists of the ‘70s deeply ingrained in their musical upbringing. Join the circus and head along to Sydney Live House at the Lewisham Hotel on Saturday 16 June.
GATHER THE CROP
Following their successful launch in Melbourne, Dirt Farmer will be heading to Sydney for two special EP launch dates. They’ve honed their craft over the past nine months supporting some well respected Aussie bands including Husky, Alpine, The Rubens and many more. The five-piece will unleash their Summery selftitled EP along with their third single, Kick It. Catch them at Mum at World Bar on Friday 25 May (with Running Gun Sound) and Oxford Art Factory on Saturday 26 for a free show (with Sister Jane).
SISTER BLUES
TOM TRAGO
SPICY BEATS
Tom Trago has been operating at the forefront of the electronic music scene for the past ten years. He started playing records as a local Amsterdam DJ, and his popularity has quickly spread across the globe. He’ll be playing at The Spice Cellar on Sunday 10 June – and hey, it’s the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, so there’s no excuse to miss it.
Hailing from the Blue Mountains, Sister Jane will be launching Mercy on vinyl at Sydney’s Oxford Art Factory next weekend. This limited edition 12-inch vinyl will feature songs from their signature style of blues and rock’n’roll. Join them for a free show on Saturday 26 May. Melbourne’s Dirt Farmer will be supporting.
PATRICK WOLF
STRIPPED BACK & INTIMATE
Patrick Wolf has announced an acoustic tour, which will visit Australia this September. On the back of his latest album, Lupercalia, which is almost a year old now, and to celebrate ten years in the industry, the tour will feature songs from throughout his career, with a different set list to be compiled for every night. Throughout the shows he’ll be playing grand piano, Celtic harp, dulcimer and more, with only one other musician on stage with him. Stripped back and most certainly intimate, be part of the experience and head along to The Studio in the Sydney Opera House (all ages) on Saturday 8 September.
SLASH ELI WOLFE
PLAYING CARDS
OH, BUT IT’S TRUE!
Hugo Race will return to Australia with an East Coast tour, in support of his first solo album, No But It’s True, which is set to drop on Sunday 10 June. The tour kicks off in Sydney on Friday 15 June at Notes. He will then be heading to Yours & Owls in Wollongong on Saturday 16, Mars Hill Café in Parramatta on Sunday 17 and The Great Northern Hotel in Newcastle on Wednesday 20.
TOURING THE CLASSICS
FAIR TO MIDLAND
Multi-instrumentalist Xavier Rudd is preparing for the release of his seventh studio album, Spirit Bird, a record that’s already delivered the Victorian his highest-selling single to date, Follow The Sun. Once released, he’ll be embarking on a tour to bring his news songs to fans across Australia. The tour will be Rudd’s most extensive yet, taking in 28 locations from Airlie Beach to Albany to Adelaide. Catch him in NSW at YAC Ampitheatre in Byron Bay on Sunday 2 September, Tamworth Town Hall on Tuesday 4, Dubbo RSL on Wednesday 5, Civic Theatre in Newcastle on Thursday 6, Waves Hotel in Wollongong on Friday 7 and Enmore Theatre on Saturday 8.
Mildura garage rockers Jackson Firebird are set to release their debut album Cock Rockin’ on Friday 8 June, and will be touring throughout New South Wales on the Paper Scissors Rock tour in support of the album. The rock duo, Dale Hudak and Brendan Harvey are notorious for their brutally energetic live sets consisting of fat guitar, distorted vocals and hard-hitting drums. The debut album Cock Rockin’ includes ten tracks which perfectly capture the band’s volatile live power shows. Jackson Firebird will be headlining these shows with special guests River Of Snakes also joining in on the action for most of the dates. They’ll be playing at The Patch in Wollongong on Friday 8 June, The Vanguard in Newtown on Saturday 9, The Great Northern in Newcastle on Sunday 10 and The Brass Monkey in Cronulla on Monday 11.
JOURNEY INTO CLASSIC ROCK
KING CANNONS
Despite vocalist Darroh Sudderth from America’s Fair To Midland stage-diving, dislocating his finger but still managing to climb back on stage at an earlier show on the tour, they will still arrive at The Patch in Wollongong Wednesday night as the guests of Dead Letter Circus, heading down to Zierholz at Canberra Uni Thursday, The Hi-Fi Friday, The Entrance Leagues Saturday and The Cambridge in Newcastle Sunday, with Twelve Foot Ninja accompanying throughout. Hazmat will be going direct from opening for visiting metal legend Tim “Ripper” Owens the Thursday at the Cambridge in Newcastle, Friday at the Basement in Canberra, Saturday at The Hi-Fi and Sunday at The Patch, to joining reunited ‘80s Australian hard rockers Heaven at Waves in Wollongong Sunday 1 July. Heaven, meanwhile, with American Mitch Perry (Michael Schenker Band, Edgar Winter) on lead guitar replacing the late Bradford Kelly, will also play two nights at the Annandale, Friday 29 and Saturday 30 June.
SPREADING HIS WINGS
BOYS ON FIRE
British singer/songwriter Howard Jones will be touring Australia in September, performing his first two albums, Human’s Lib and Dream Into Action. These two classic albums defined a generation, and he will perform them live and in full, for the first time. He’ll be playing at Castle Hill RSL on Thursday 13 September, The Factory on Friday 14, Bankstown Sports Club on Saturday 15 and Fairfield RSL Club on Sunday 16.
Along with his performance at Song Summit 2012, Eli Wolfe will be performing a string of shows to tour the second single, She’s Like A Fable, from his new EP, Cards Are On The Table. He will also be performing at the 2012 campaign for The Line – an Australian Government youth initiative promoting respectful relationships. Catch him at one of the intimate shows at The Brass Monkey in Cronulla on Wednesday 6 June, The Vault in Windsor on Saturday 9 and Bottlerocket Bar in Nowra on Sunday 24.
BURNING AND ROTTING
Hailing from Toronto, Canada, Burning Love are full of rock’n’roll fury and hardcore punk. After the sudden demise of the now legendary Cursed, enigmatic frontman Chris Colohan picked right back up where the band last left us, this time collaborating with the members of Our Father. They’ll be hitting our shores in support of their anticipated second LP, Rotten Thing To Say, which was recorded by Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou at Godcity Studio and mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side. Feel their fury and head along to one of their shows at The Sandringham Hotel in Sydney on Friday 17 August, Bar 32 in Canberra on Saturday 18 or Blackwire in Sydney (all ages) on Sunday 19.
themusic.com.au
SLASH IS BACK
There are few guitar gods that can lay claim to having such a hold on the rock music world and its devotees as the one and only Slash, and the man himself is back in Australia this August for massive dates all around the country. He has a new record out by the name of Apocalyptic Love, so the timing for his return to Australia is just perfect. Keep in mind the fact that his last Australian tour sold out in a mere ten minutes and make sure you have some cash put aside so you don’t miss out on seeing one of the true guitar gods in the flesh, with the insanely gifted Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators helping him bring the songs, both old and new, to life. Slash will smash his way through the Sydney Entertainment Centre for an all-ages show on Saturday 25 August.
PUB MARKETS
The Inner West’s infamous pub markets return, this time with a little difference. It seems fitting that the markets be held at The Annandale – who have supported live music for 30 years – to hold the exclusively music-related markets in town. There will be loads on sale including vinyl, CDs, tshirts, instruments, equipment, memorabilia, photos and more, as well as artist signings, live music, DJs, art battles, $4.50 schooners and pubcha! It’s on from 11am to 5pm on the last Sunday of every month and the pub markets will launch this Sunday 27 May.
THE DRUM MEDIA • 27
FOREWORD LINE
NEWS FROM THE FRONT
2 MANY DJS
PENNYWISE
GIVE IT YOUR ALL
Ground-breaking SoCal punkers Pennywise have announced an Australian tour, with national dates locked in for August. Having just released the All Or Nothing album to positive reviews, it’s been hailed as their most ferocious to date, Pennywise are taking it out on the road. Touring with Pennywise will be Philadelphia punks The Menzingers and British rockers Sharks. Give it your all and head along to one of their shows at UNSW Roundhouse in Sydney (all ages) on Saturday 25 August. Tickets go on sale on Friday at 9am.
Faciendo is an international music community, which presently unites over 20 DJs into, well, one DJ. For the first time, Desyn Masiello and Tom Morgan will be touring Australia under the banner of the newly formed collective, Faciendo – with a combined playlist that features house/tech, downbeat and Balearic, retro electronic and melodic/liquid drum’n’bass. Lose yourself in their beats and head along to Deeper Sounds at One22 on Saturday 2 June.
TEARING IT APART US thrash-metallers, Warbringer, will be heading to Australia for a headlining tour. Inspired by metal legends Slayer, Exodus, Testament, Anthrax and Metallica, they have over the course of their previous two albums, managed to construct songs that are equal parts ferocity and finesse, and have thus created a sound that is distinctly their own. They’ll be touring in support of their release Worlds Torn Asunder. Catch the madness at The Bald Faced Stag on Friday 5 October, The Basement in Canberra on Wednesday 10 and The Patch in Wollongong on Sunday 14.
BASTARDFEST
The first bunch of acts have been announced for Bastardfest 2012. The festival lands at The Basement in Canberra on Friday 9 and Saturday 10 November and so far will feature Blood Duster, Fuck…I’m Dead, Aversions Crown, Voyager, Disentomb and Aeon Of Horus. Landing in Sydney on Saturday 17 November at The Sandringham Hotel, Astriaal, Fuck…I’m Dead, Aversions Crown, Disentomb, Hellbringer and Festering Drippage have been the first acts announced. Tickets are on sale on Monday 4 June.
28 • THE DRUM MEDIA
With collaborations on his current album, Planet Pit, from the likes of Marc Anthony, Jamie Foxx, Ne-Yo, and David Guetta, and mega hits in Give Me Everything and Rain Over Me, it’s easy to see why it’s a bestseller. Now The RNB is embarking on an arena tour of Australia, and is bringing Taio Cruz (Break Your Heart, Dynamite) with him. The duo will be supported by locals Timomatic and Havana Brown. They’ll be performing at Allphones Arena on Saturday 1 September. Tickets go on sale Monday 28 May through Ticketek.
GETTING THEIR SHIT TOGETHER
Yung Warriors are heading on a massive East Coast tour! The Indigenous hip hop outfit have already garnered much attention with radio plays across the nation, and will be touring in support of their new album, Standing Strong. Catch them at FBi Social on Thursday 7 June, Cambridge Hotel in Newcastle on Saturday 9, The Front in Canberra on Thursday 12 July and The Patch in Wollongong on Friday 27.
Wolf & Cub have been quiet of late. But not for much longer. The Adelaide group, who launched themselves onto the Australian music scene back in 2004 with their awesome self-titled EP, which featured Thousand Cuts, they were recently announced on the Splendour In The Grass bill, and we got excited. And then we got an amusing mailout from the band themselves, which featured the following from Joel Byrne: “I’ll be the first to admit that we aren’t the most prolific band going around. I mean, we’re looking at nine or so years together with only two albums and a couple of EPs to show for it. What can I say? Making albums is tough. This year though, it seems like we’re getting our shit together.” By getting their shit together he means that they’ve announced a double A-side, Shut Me Out/Got Nothin Comin. Not only that but they’ve announced headline shows in the lead-up to their Splendour set. They’ll be playing at The Beach Road Hotel on Wednesday 6 June and The Standard on Saturday 9.
AIM TO SAVE ANNANDALE
LOOKIN’ EXPENSIVE
YUNG AND STRONG
ASTRIAAL
PITBULL TAKES A BITE
Students from the Australian Institute of Music will be organising a fundraiser at The Annandale Hotel, to raise funds to keep the well-loved live music venue open. The evening will be headlined by Castlecorner and Rob Farnham, amongst other bands made up of AIM students including Teal, I’m No Thief, Belle & The Bone, Dharma Sutra and Daniel Chigwidden. The fundraiser takes place on Thursday 7 June. Tickets are available at aimtosavetheannandale.eventbrite.com.au.
New York’s Expensive Looks is in Australia! Expensive Looks is an obsessive bedroom-pop project that blossomed into a full-time career for Brooklyn producer Alec Feld. He’ll be popping in to Flinders Bar tonight (Tuesday 22 May) for a free show, the Serial Space in Chippendale on Thursday 31, Phoenix Bar in Darlinghurst on Friday 1 June (DJ set only), FBi Social on Saturday 2 (DJ set only), and GoodGod Small Club on Wednesday 13 June (with Mux Mool).
themusic.com.au
IN BRIEF Since this is the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee year, Universal Records, who now own the rights to the album, originally released by Virgin back in October 1977, the Queen’s Silver Jubilee year, will be releasing yet another anniversary expanded and repackaged edition of The Sex Pistols’ Never Mind The Bollocks, with an attendant 3500 copies in vinyl, later this year. King Tuff release of their self-titled new album Friday 25 May, and on the same day, local hip hop act Sky’High releases his debut album, Forever Sky’High, Celebrating the Queen’s diamond jubilee year and the 2012 London Olympics, the UK’s best-selling classical artist Russell Watson is releasing, Anthems – Music To Inspire A Nation, Friday 1 June, no which day the next Fabriclive compilation, Fabriclive 63: Digital Soundboy Soundsystem, courtesy one of the UK’s leading bass music labels, Digital Soundboy, is released, as is the new album, Thirty Miles West, from US country star Alan Jackson, and the latest, Rob Me Blind, from Jay Brennan. Sampology releases his debut album, Doomsday Deluxe, Monday 4 June. Friday 8 June, Rage celebrates 25 years on air with a two-CD/one DVD retrospective collection, Rage Silver Jubilee: 25 Years, on which day Mildura garage rock two-piece Jackson Firebird release their debut album, Cock Rockin’, and UK electro-pop five-piece Hot Chip deliver their new one, In Our Hands, while Sunday 10 one time Bad Seed Hugo Race finally releases his debut solo album, No But It’s True. New York City-based duo The Hundred In The Hands release their second album, Red Night, Friday 15 June, the same day Animal Collective discover, Mississippi-based artist Dent May releases his second album, Do Things, Linkin Park release their new album, Living Things, Friday 22 June.
THE DRUM MEDIA • 29
FOREWORD LINE
NEWS FROM THE FRONT
EVERYWHERE BUT NORTH
band’s formation. This is a tour that just about every grindcore fan in the country always hoped for but never thought they’d see. This is literally your first and last time to ever see them – they will not be back – so be quick to grab your tickets when they are on sale now and catch them at The Hi-Fi on Saturday 18 August.
Kellie Lloyd, best known as the bass player in Brisbane’s Screamfeeder, is touring on the back of her new record, Magnetic North. The album is full of beautiful, haunting songs, pure sweet pop and dark heavy rock. Get wooed by Lloyd as she visits The Green Room in Enmore on Thursday 14 June.
‘90S SENSATIONS
THE DARKENED SEAS SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS
DEEPER IN THE SEA
SVIIB
When School Of Seven Bells released their debut record Alpinisms back in 2008, they very quickly made the kind of impression that so few artists can do when coming seemingly from nowhere; the record was a stunning collection of songs that showed their penchant for penny eclectic material ranging from moody, introspective rock to fuzzy, poppy, weird electronic tunes. The band then followed up with the equally excellent Disconnect From Desire in 2010 and this year, following the departure of vocalist Claudia Deheza, dropped their third release Ghostory, which was something of a definitive statement that the band were able to continue operation after losing one third of their core line up and has largely been met with similar acclaim to their previous two albums. After a couple of successful Australian tours in years past, the band are ready to get back to Australia in their new formation and will be playing at The Hi-Fi in Sydney on Friday 22 June.
UPTOWNERS
World’s End Press have just announced a national tour in conjunction with the release of their latest single, Second Day Uptown. The Melbourne avant-pop dance foursome, renowned for their electrifying live shows, are hitting GoodGod Small Club in Sydney. They have performed at Splendour In The Grass, Falls, Laneway, Golden Plains, Southbound, the St Kilda Festival and supported the likes of Primal Scream, Cut Copy, !!!, Little Red and Metronomy over the past two years. Fans can expect to hear live favourites, along with latest single Second Day Uptown and other material from their forthcoming album, due for release later this year. Catch the foursome at GoodGod on Friday 6 July.
GET HOOKED
Sydney rock’n’rollers, The Darkened Seas, are set to release their debut EP in early June. The four-piece will be launching their self-titled EP at The Annandale Hotel on Saturday 9 June. Supporting acts include Driffs, The Khanz, Call To Colour and Warchief.
SWEDISH CHARM Brotherly dream-pop duo, Mrs Bishop, have released their self-titled debut EP and will be launching it at GoodGod Small Club on Saturday 9 June. Born in England, raised in Sweden, the now Sydney-based duo are renowned for their blissful and angelic compositions. Their self titled EP that features the lead single, Broken Wing, is out now.
MEETING THE WORLD Live and direct from California, critically acclaimed MC Fashawn and super producer Exile will be touring Australia together for the first time. After initially working on Fashawn’s classic debut, Boy Meets World, in 2009, they have been a force not to be reckoned with. The evening will be supported by Dialectrix & Tuka, DJs Morgs, Ology and Frenzie, and hosted by Shantan Wantan Ichiban. It’s all happening at Civic Underground on Thursday 21 June.
IN YOUR PANTZ Dave Graney & The Mistly have released a brand new single, Flash In The Pantz, which they describe as a song about being a man, and is from the album, You’ve Been In My Mind, to be released via Cockaigne in June this year. He’ll be playing at Lizotte’s Kincumber on Thursday 19 July, Lizotte’s Newcastle on Friday 20, Notes on Saturday 21 and Lizotte’s Dee Why on Sunday 22.
Perth rockers, Sugar Army, are jumping back on the road in June to celebrate the release of Hooks For Hands, the first single from their forthcoming album, Summertime Heavy. The single showcases the strengths of the trio with the catchy, under-your-skin chorus and unpredictable arrangement. Get hooked and catch them live at FBi Social on Friday 29 June.
R&B collective, Shai, will be jumping on board an East Coast tour of Australia this year. They’ll be playing a series of intimate club shows, showcasing songs from the golden era of R&B. Prepare to get smooth with Shai at Hotel Chambers on Sunday 10 June.
BURNING BRIGHT
BREAKING BONES
Mosman Alder are about to embark on their first headline East Coast tour, on the back of their latest EP Burn Bright. The six-piece have already unveiled their rousing single, Raisin Heart, which has garnered them much attention. They’ll be playing at FBi Social on Saturday 23 June.
Melbourne band EMPRA will be embarking on a massive 23-date national tour to launch their debut self-titled record. The tour will see the four-piece visiting all major cities and towns across the nation. Their high-energy rock debut was inspired by a series of life events; broken hearts, broken bones, friends loved and lost. It was produced and engineered by Ricki Rae (Electric Mary). Catch them at the Great Northern Hotel in Newcastle on Friday 8 June, The Lansdowne in Sydney on Saturday 9, Gee Wizz Nightclub in Gosford on Thursday 28, Lucky Aussie Tavern in St Mary’s on Sunday 1 July, Dicey Riley’s in Wollongong on Friday 13 and The Basement in Canberra on Saturday 14.
PAST HITS AND PREVIEWS Richard Clapton returns to the scene for his fifth annual State Theatre concert. Playing past hits and previews of some new material from his upcoming album scheduled for release in mid-July, Clapton – one of Australia’s most prolific and iconic singer/songwriters – is gearing up for a big show. It won’t happen again for another year, so head along to the State Theatre on Saturday 18 August. Tickets go on sale on Monday 4 June at 9am.
SATISFACTION
GRINDCORE MASTERS Absent from Australian shores since their formation back in 1992, grindcore masters Nasum, will be landing on Australian soil in 2012. The band enjoyed a great deal of success and notoriety up until 2004 when the Indian Ocean tsunami killed the band’s frontman Mieszko Talarczyk. Understandably the band decided they couldn’t go on after such a huge loss and disbanded, but this year have decided it is time to pick up the pieces, enlist Keijo Niinimaa on guest vocals and get out on the road in celebration of 20 years since the
Sydney outfit, Nantes, will be touring in celebration of their latest single, Unsatisfy, in June. They’ll be playing at Select’s 7th Birthday in Sydney on Thursday 21 June and GoodGod Small Club on Saturday 30.
PICASSO OF HIS REALM Singer, composer and guitar virtuoso, Jose Feliciano, will be touring Australia later this year in September. The Latin artist has earned five Grammy nominations and has won two Grammy Awards for his album Feliciano!, and has a number of accolades to his name. He will be playing a series of concerts and you can see him perform at the Capitol Theatre on Saturday 1 September.
Wednesday May 23
Saturday May 26
LUNCH BREAK
LIVESCHOOL Presents:
presented by Alberts:
BEAT THE CLOCK
MEGASTICK FANFARE
SOUNDCLOUD & ABLETON SESSION
1pm // FREE
12-4pm // FREE
FIRE UP! LIVE: STATE OF ORIGIN 6.30pm // $12.50 + BF from Oztix $15 at the door (if available)
Thursday May 24 TIGER CHOIR ALBUM LAUNCH
Friday May 25
BLOOD ORANGE + WAX WITCHES 8pm // $43 + BF through Oztix $48 at the door
EMPERORS + SKULL SQUADRON + SUPER BEST FRIENDS + MATT BANHAM (THE DREAMBOATS) 8pm // $10 at the door
THE PAPER SCISSORS EP LAUNCH
RELOAD Presents: GARAGE SESSIONS
+ TELAFONICA + MEGASTICK FANFARE DJ’S
JUZLO + GARAGE PRESSURE
8pm // $10 at the door
Midnight // $5 at the door
L2 Kings Cross Hotel 30 • THE DRUM MEDIA
www.fbisocial.com
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LATE NIGHT SOCIAL: CHARLIE CHUX + R+R + FRAMES Midnight - late // FREE Broadcast live on FBi
www.thebasement.com.au
The Home of Live Music Since 1973 SATURDAY MAY 25
FOURPLAY + CIRCLE OF RHYTHM
o
et Chanc
Rocking string quartet meets world rhythms
THE WORLD IN THE BASEMENT
TUE 22 MAY
OLIVER GOSS
WED 23 MAY
Soul, pop and jazz inuences from 3 local talents
+ THE YELLOW CANVAS + JONNO READ
A songwriters special, with three upbeat acoustic acts
OSCAR JIMENEZ + ABUKA TRIO
Watussi’s frontman launches his new single
DAVID MYLES (CAN) STORYLINES
TUE 29 MAY
WITH JENNY MORRIS, JEFF DUFF, STEVE BALBI, SIMON MELI
Special fundraising edition for A21 charity
GLENN CARDIER (ALBUM LAUNCH)
Contemporary jazz at its ďŹ nest
CHRISTINE ANU
STAR.COM.AU/ROCKLILY 80 PYRMONT STREET | 1800 700 700 ;LYTZ HUK *VUKP[PVUZ HWWS` ZLL Z[HY JVT H\ MVY KL[HPSZ (\[OVYPZLK \UKLY 5:> 7LYTP[ 5V 3;7: ;OPUR (IV\[ `V\Y JOVPJLZ *HSS .HTISPUN /LSW ^^^ NHTISPUNOLSW UZ^ NV] H\ ;OL :[HY WYHJ[PZLZ [OL YLZWVUZPISL ZLY]PJL VM HSJVOVS .\LZ[Z T\Z[ IL HNLK `LHYZ VY V]LY [V LU[LY [OL JHZPUV HUK 9VJR SPS`
THU 24 MAY SAT 26 MAY
+ CAMILLE & STUIE + JODI MARTIN The cream of Canadian & Australian songwriting
PRIZE DRAW 10PM, 28 JUNE @ ROCK LILY
TAKE A LOOK
SINGS ARETHA FRANKLIN One of Australia’s ďŹ nest divas takes on THE great diva
WED 30 MAY THU 31 MAY
COMING SOON @ THE BASEMENT IN APRIL: JUNE 1: BACK ON THE BLOCK – QUINCY JONES JUNE 2: HALFWAY HOMEBUOY JUNE 5: TARBABY (US) JUNE 6: ENTROPIC (SAMPLER LAUNCH)
FOLLOW US: ON FACEBOOK @ THE BASEMENT SYDNEY ON TWITTER @ #DOOR_DIVA NEW BISTRO & SHOW PACKAGE AVAILABLE SELECTED DATES IN MAY
THE DRUM MEDIA • 31
DANCING IN THE DARK
WHY SO GLUM?
In both popular and fringe culture the dark has been rising steadily over the last decade and it is showing no signs of retreating back into the shadows. A fascination with death, ghosts, the dark arts and melancholy have always been important signifiers of all art forms, yet this current trend in novels, Hollywood movies and in many musical genres is tantamount to a gothic renaissance.
Light Asylum duo Shannon Funchess and Bruno Coviello tell Chris Familton about their formation and the philosophy behind their industrial and primitive synth-based music and how it resonates with people with weird energy and darkness in the world.
I
f you’ve heard Light Asylum’s first single, Dark Allies, and thought you were hearing a new song from The Sisters Of Mercy, you wouldn’t be alone. The deep foreboding intonations strongly resemble those of The Sisters Of Mercy’s Andrew Eldritch and, combined with the similarly shadowy electronic music, it feels like a gothic redux from the ‘80s. The fascinating thing is that the singer is in fact Shannon Funchess, who has played with a multitude of bands since the mid ‘90s and more recently collaborated with TV On The Radio, Telepathe and !!! before meeting Bruno Coviello and finding the perfect avenue for her dark and intense songs. Dark Allies was the centrepiece for the In Tension EP that came out in 2010 and introduced the duo as a refreshingly bold and aggressive take on what can often be cold and introverted music. Though the EP was critically well received, it was still early in the development of the band and now two years later, with numerous shows and new songs, they are feeling much more confident about taking their self-titled album to a wider international audience.
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“We signed the EP deal with Mexican Summer to license one full-length LP and part of the deal was that they had to put out the EP and in those first few months, they did pretty much that but there wasn’t a lot of press behind it, as apparently no one really cares about reviewing EPs. We’re doing all the press work now with this record, introducing the sound of Light Asylum to the world and hopefully they’ll go back and discover the EP,” says Funchess. In this day and age of so many bands forming and then releasing albums in a short space of time, Funchess was determined they would take their time, enjoy the process and follow their instincts when it came to recording and releasing the album. “It feels like the natural time for it to come out because that is the way it happened. With the mood the music industry is in, it is a good time for artists to be making music that they want to make rather than conforming to anything. Everything is so fluid and open right now with the internet and everything. There is a lot of weird energy and darkness happening in the world right now and I think our music speaks to people somehow. It resonates with them in these times and so there is no rushing it; we treated it really organically. We weren’t hunting down label deals or anything. Mexican Summer came and offered us a deal and it seemed like the right thing for us.” The formation of bands is always a fascinating process. Is it luck, fate or a strong sense of knowing when the mix of personalities is just right? For Light Asylum the connection was forged from an intense road trip that resulted in both a friendship and a shared understanding of what each of them would bring to a musical collaboration. “There was a friendship formed just before the music. We met while on tour with a band called Bunny Rabbit and Bruno was playing in that band on guitar and also touring in a mini van across the US as his solo project. I just got 32 • THE DRUM MEDIA
invited along for the ride as I was in between tours with !!! so I thought, ‘I’ve had a month to kill, why not go on tour with these kids?’ Over those thirty days Bruno and I had a lot of time to get to know each other on long drives through the Midwest to the next show and we realised we had very similar tastes and an interest in making music. Two years prior I had formed Light Asylum as a solo project, but it took a few years to get together with Bruno in this incarnation. I had a show booked and didn’t want to play the older material, so I asked Bruno to play and we decided to write new songs from scratch. We only had a week to prepare for the show. In that time we basically wrote Dark Allies and Shallow Tears plus some others we don’t play anymore. We ended up with a twenty-minute set, but from that first day in the practice space we were sharing high fives over the stuff we were writing together. We wanted to write music that would make people move and make them feel part of it. We were getting into the music in the rehearsal space and hoped that others would as a result.” Despite most of their music being created by two people on machines, there is a primal emotional quality to Light Asylum’s music that feels much larger than the sum of its parts. Funchess views these perceived limitations as offering the duo more options in terms of how the band operates and the strength of the personal interaction between herself and Coviello. “We don’t see it as a restriction. The more people you have in a band, the more you have to worry about and organise. As much as I love power trios like Nirvana and The Wipers, I love the economy and both the space and the
“
world that is saturated by glossy pop music. The music industry is so fashion now, it is almost like a fashion or a trend is being created with a little bit of music sprinkled around it. There is a lot of friction and pushing and pulling in the world and what you get is new music emerging, even though at times it can be a bit nostalgic.” Funchess spent her formative years in Seattle growing up on a diet of new wave pop and post punk music before moving to New York in 2001 to further her own musical aspirations. That geographic and cultural shift was an important one as the environment of the Big Apple played a strong role in refining her vision for Light Asylum and her determination to achieve it. “I’ve always been a fan of bands like Sisters Of Mercy, Front 242, The Smiths, The Cure, Depeche Mode and even Nirvana and others, so if I was still living in Seattle I would be playing the same music as we are now, but not on the same level and with the same consciousness. I was trying to do that there but that was why I moved, to take on the challenges to make it in New York. Trying to make it here is so hard so you try a lot harder and have to be more confident. So yes the music is definitely the by-product of the artist’s environment.” Light Asylum will soon be appearing at Vivid LIVE at the Sydney Opera House and Coviello is a firm believer in the importance of the band as a live entity. The duo are looking forward to heading to Australia and are confident that, as they’ve found in other countries, if the venue suits the band and the audience are up for it then everyone will have a great time.
I’M HAPPY THERE IS THIS DARK WAVE GOING THROUGH THE MAINSTREAM MUSIC AT THE MOMENT AND I THINK IT WAS FORESHADOWED BY VAMPIRES, HORROR MOVIES AND FOR SURE MEDIA WERE PUSHING IT ALONG, BUT NOW DARKER MUSIC IS FINALLY REACHING THE LIGHT OF DAY IN A WORLD THAT IS SATURATED BY GLOSSY POP MUSIC.”
intimacy of just playing with one other person. In saying that, we will definitely need some evolution in this band. We might end up with guitars on stage or a bass player or live drummer. It is something we are open to for sure.” The dark mood and emotional richness that stems from the band’s industrial, primitive synth and new wave influences shares similarities with other contemporary artists like Austra and Zola Jesus. Funchess sees their style as part of an identifiable movement in popular culture over the last decade. “There is a wider global camaraderie, but everyone is just trying to do their own thing and create their music; something they love to do. I’m happy there is this dark wave going through the mainstream music at the moment and I think it was foreshadowed by vampires, horror movies and for sure media were pushing it along, but now darker music is finally reaching the light of day in a
“There are similarities depending on how well the audience know our music. In London people are starting to get the music and sing the lyrics back to us, which has been happening here in New York for a while now. We feel there is a similar vibe in all of our audiences though if everyone likes our music and is into it live. We hope you have a great sound system there in Sydney. This incarnation of Light Asylum formed as a result of having shows booked and wanting to do the best possible show so our live performances are really important. People can expect to definitely feel us in the room.” WHO: Light Asylum WHAT: Light Asylum (Mexican Summer/Cooperative) WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 31 May, The Studio, Sydney Opera House
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At the mass consumption end of the scale, much credit must go to films like the Harry Potter and Twilight series for kicking off the current trend. They set the scene for the current popularity of TV shows like True Blood, The Walking Dead and American Horror Story with networks embracing death, blood, evil spirits and serial killers. If the theory of art reflecting society is anything to go by, then the financial turbulence of recent years is surely a factor in the current popularity of these shows. Musically the heyday, if not the origins of goth, can be traced to the early ‘80s and bands like The Cure, Bauhaus, The Sisters Of Mercy and Joy Division. Many of the groups dismissed the goth tag, much preferring to be called post punk as most emerged from the late ‘70s UK punk scene, yet their music shared tendencies of claustrophobia, rumination on the dark and morbid side of the human psyche and with visual images that embraced very little colour; there was generally a look to go with it. The sound those bands created has filtered through to acts of today, some 30 years later, whether it be the darkwave electronica of Light Asylum, Zola Jesus and Austra or guitar bands like Ceremony, The Horrors and Interpol. Most interestingly the cross-pollination with synth pop, shoegaze and dream pop has allowed new versions of the goth/ post punk to emerge. Every music scene is based on action and reaction, so in this age of pop where everything is increasingly saturated in synthetic gloss it is only natural that those with a disdain for manufactured happiness and are more inclined to embrace melancholy will find music like this to suit their tastes. Of course, how we label any type of music and group its fans is just a symptom of our propensity to categorise things, but the fascinating thing about the current taste for the dark side is the extent to which it has permeated the mainstream and doesn’t look, if you’ll pardon the pun, like giving up the ghost anytime soon.
THE DRUM MEDIA • 33
BIG SHOTS Sportspeople talk about the sophomore slump, while university students call it the second year blues. British rockers Young Guns were determined to avoid such dramas following up their hit debut. Brendan Crabb plays Doc Scurlock to vocalist Gustav Wood’s Billy The Kid.
F
ollowing the success of debut EP Mirrors in 2009 and first album All Our Kings Are Dead the following year, UK rockers Young Guns rapidly became critical darlings in their homeland, being featured on the cover of numerous high-profile publications. Significant festival appearances (Download, Reading, Leeds) and major supports (Bon Jovi, Lostprophets, Yellowcard) quickly fell their way. Then it came time for the contentious second album. We will spare you the usual clichés about second records, because good-natured frontman Gustav Wood is well aware of and openly discusses them. Also, as it turns out, the greatest expectation placed on them to deliver the goods via new record Bones was self-inflicted, rather than stemming from antsy record execs calling for a radio single or dedicated fans analysing every minute detail online. “The cliché of the second album is definitely true,” Wood ponders. “I would say we had, like, all our lives to write our first record and about two months to write the second one,” he laughs. “So there was an awful lot of late nights, a lot of pressure and all that kind of stuff, but we are very hard on ourselves, very critical and rarely happy with what we’re doing. So we’re so used to kicking our own arse that we kind of always operate under an almost constant state of pressure. We’re always trying to be better and I think that’s a good thing. But it did mean that the second album was quite painful in a lot of ways. I think we knew that we wanted it to be better, but that was kind of all we knew. It took us a little while to focus in and lock down exactly how we wanted the record to sound, what we wanted to do with it and all that kind of stuff. So the cliché is definitely true, and it did hurt, but the record that we’ve come out with is something that I’m really happy with and I think that a little bit of pain in the recording process is natural, necessary even. I would be worried if the recording process was pain-free and easy,” he laughs. “I would almost feel like it was a little bit slack in some ways. It should be a struggle, because it’s something important.”
Bones was recorded at Karma Sound Studios in Thailand with producer and SikTh guitarist Dan Weller, who offered a key connection to their recorded past.
“We had a good relationship with him already and we’ve done pretty much all of our recorded output to date with him,” Wood explains. “So there was an easy dynamic; he understands us, he knows how to get the best out of us, he knows when to babysit and when to crack the whip. With an album as important as this we really wanted that level of honesty and that existing relationship to be there, so we were happy to go with him really. One of the reasons we wanted go to Thailand was so we could remove ourselves from everything else that we were familiar with; from family, relationships, friends and just the environment. We wanted to go somewhere new so we could, I suppose, push ourselves to be a better, newer band. Having that one bit of history, having Dan aboard, was essential to that.
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“I think the first record is a good album, we were happy with it, [but] it’s definitely a first album. It’s the sound of us just chucking everything in and seeing what comes out. I think this new record, we were a little more focused with what we wanted to achieve. We didn’t want to write an album that sounded like perhaps a band that had the stature that we do, we wanted an album that sounded kind of big. We wanted songs that wouldn’t sound out of place on the main stage at a big festival and I think that was our goal. We just wanted to write big anthems, and that helped, and I think that we’ve done that. It’s just the sound of a band that is trying to spread their wings and write music that can appeal to everyone.” Whether it’s a case of mission accomplished is not yet determined. Young Guns have played their share of prominent festival slots though, and fittingly now have a new slew of songs they believe are tailormade for that environment. What they have learned from previous festival experiences? “We were very lucky to play some high-profile shows pretty early in the day, and to an awful lot of people. Looking back
on it now it made sense that we were able to do it, because we were so terrified when we started doing those large shows, that after a few of them we were kind of numb to any other fear of playing, you know? “We kind of feel that we’ve played some of the biggest shows we will ever play already. It made us a lot more comfortable on-stage. Reading and Leeds are like twin sister festivals and we did the first day at Reading. We walked out in front of so many thousands of people and we were a bit like a deer in the headlights, like, ‘What the hell do we do here?’ So by the second show two days later we felt kind of comfortable already because we’d already been through it. I think more than anything else we’ve just learnt how to deal with crowds now, to connect with the audience and you can apply those things you’ve learnt on the big stage to the small stage, and that makes for a more potent live show.” The aforementioned ethos of harsh self-reflection also translates to their live performances, which Australian fans will discover first-hand during their upcoming jaunt with Closure In Moscow. It will be their second visit to our shores after last year’s Counter Revolution. “I don’t want it to sound bad, but in terms of all five of us being
happy with a show, that is so rare, man,” Wood explains. “We’ve done that maybe five times in our whole career, where we’ve all come off-stage and gone, ‘Yeah, nothing to say about that, we nailed it’. We’re always like, ‘Dude, you could have done that better’, or ‘I can’t believe I fucked that up’. It’s not necessarily things that the crowd are going to notice, but we’re always pushing ourselves to be a better band, both in the studio and on the stage. I think fundamentally, when you are very passionate about something you just want it to be perfect. You want to be as good as you can be and you want everyone else to be that way. I think it’s not necessarily always playing a musically perfect set [though]; it’s about creating an atmosphere and hopefully giving everyone something to remember. Wherever we are in the world, that’s what we try and do.” WHO: Young Guns WHAT: Bones (Liberator) WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 24 May, The Patch, Wollongong; Friday 25, Manning Bar; Saturday 26, Factory Theatre; Thursday 31, Level One, Newcastle
METAL MARAUDER Despite being ousted from two of metal’s biggest bands, self-proclaimed music industry nice guy Tim “Ripper” Owens is no hired gun and justifiably proud of his legacy. Brendan Crabb talks to the machine man ahead of his Australian solo tour.
I
f you think the life story of American heavy metal vocalist Tim “Ripper” Owens sounds like the script of a Hollywood film, you’d be right. The screamer, who at the time was moonlighting in several bands including Judas Priest/Pink Floyd covers act British Steel, was famously enlisted by metal gods Priest themselves to front them in 1996 after the legendary Rob Halford’s departure. Upon Halford’s return in 2003 Owens was shown the door, before being quickly snapped up by American traditional metal mainstays Iced Earth. In a cruel irony in 2007 he was unceremoniously booted by mainman Jon Schaffer in favour of bringing Matt Barlow, who Owens replaced, back into the fold. Owens has maintained a busy schedule since, participating in a litany of projects including Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force, Beyond Fear, Dio Disciples, supergroup Charred Walls Of The Damned and a solo record, 2009’s Play My Game. While obviously recent activities weren’t incorporated, his tenure within the Priest ranks loosely inspired the 2001 film Rock Star, starring Mark Wahlberg, Jennifer Aniston and a host of musicians, including Zakk Wylde and Myles Kennedy. The film depicts a tribute band wannabe who joins his favourite act, fictional metallers Steel Dragon. While Priest initially embraced the concept, they quickly distanced themselves from the project. However, Owens is pleased his story was projected on to the silver screen in some form. “I’m honoured that they bought the rights to my story,” the affable vocalist offers from his native Ohio. “It was really a movie about me rather than the band. They bought the rights to a New York Times article about me; they just weren’t doing it in a way the band liked. We wanted some creative control and they didn’t seem to want that. It just wasn’t as true as the band wanted and they changed it more after we moved away from it. It’s cool; somebody wanted to make a movie about me, it’s pretty awesome. Even if it wasn’t quite what I envisioned, it’s connected to my legacy. They tried to make it too Spinal Tap; a lot of the things that happened in my life, like getting married and my mum 34 • THE DRUM MEDIA
getting diagnosed with MS [were left out]. There were many other things that could have been used there.” He also says the decision to set the film in the decadent ‘80s, rather than the period during which Owens was a member was also misleading. During his time in Priest, Owens says after the show he’d “go back to the hotel and watch SportsCenter,” he laughs. “It was much different to what they portrayed. It’s not quite the sex, drugs and rock‘n’roll. Everyone’s getting older, it’s a job. Even me, with my vocal style, I have to take care of my voice. You do the show, have a couple of beers after the show and the majority of people I know [do the same]. Except for Lemmy – he’s the god of all that, so we just sit back and watch that. It’s a different time; I now have kids, grandkids, married. I’m 44, not 24, that’s the difference. I’m an old rocker on-stage; it’s kind of a different animal.” When asked about his current relationships with former Priest and Iced Earth bandmates, he emphasises a preference to take the high road. “I do keep in contact,” he says of the former. “We’re friends and we talk and email each other. Ken [guitarist K.K. Downing], he’s left the band now, but we had dinner last year. It’s just a great situation for me, we’re still great friends. I don’t like to burn bridges; I’m known as a nice guy in the industry and I’m proud of what I did while in that band. Everything happens for a reason; the Priest guys are probably as good friends now as when I was in the band. We don’t see each other as much anymore but the friendships are still there. I miss the times with Priest. What I miss most is the hanging out with the guys; we did a lot together.”
him, said hello and we spoke for a bit. It was civil, but we didn’t have a whole lot to say. The funny thing is I talk to Matt [Barlow] more than anybody [currently in the band]. We talk quite a bit, share emails and we’re talking about doing something down the road, maybe do a few songs together. I like the new singer [Stu Block) as well. I just think there’s no need to be a jerk and instead just move on.” While there will be devotees of both of the aforementioned bands coming to the Australian shows, Owens says that over time he’s established his own fanbase.
What about his connection with Iced Earth since his departure? Schaffer has a reputation for ruling with the proverbial iron first and reportedly the dismissal was less than amicable.
“I tour all the time now and I’m busier than when I was in Priest or Iced Earth,” he reflects. “Most of the fans that do associate me with Priest especially are familiar with my solo album and Beyond Fear. Most of the fans that come out started as fans of Priest. It’s transcended to having my own fans now. I’ve made my niche in the music industry. I have my fans who like what I do, so I’m pretty lucky.”
“That ended not in the most professional manner,” Owens reflects. “But I’ve seen Jon since and things have gone really positively for me since. I saw him last year at a festival I did with Dio Disciples. I saw
As for his upcoming Australian tour, Owens suggests Charred Walls Of The Damned is one of the few projects likely off the table for the shows and he also plans to include a few classic metal covers from Iron
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Maiden and Black Sabbath. It’s his first visit to our shores since Priest’s 2001 tour and he’ll be flanked by players from local metal acts Killrazer and Darker Half. “It’s a really good setlist,” he enthuses. “It’s probably the best setlist I’ve had, variety-wise, on any of my solo tours. It covers my era of Priest, classic Priest, Dio, Sabbath, Beyond Fear – a little bit of everything. I want to do some classic songs and stuff I’m known for singing, like The Ripper. I’m probably going to do an Iced Earth song, When The Eagle Cries. I’d like to do more of them, but I don’t want to ruffle anyone’s feathers in that camp, it’s a different situation. What’s cool about getting to play the Priest songs from my era is that they don’t play those songs anymore, which is a shame. I think it’s special that we do them. It’s always hard to make everybody happy, but I want to do songs that the crowd is going to have fun with.” WHO: Tim “Ripper” Owens WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 24 May, Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle; Friday 25, The Basement, Canberra; Saturday 26, The Hi-Fi; Sunday 27, The Patch
BEARING DOWN It’s no rest for these wicked five. No sooner have Boy & Bear finished one tour than they’re onto the next. Zoe Barron chats to a (slightly sleepy) Dave Hosking about keeping the pace.
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t’s a cold morning in Brussels and Dave Hosking is still in bed. “A little bit lazy,” he admits. He and the other four members of Boy & Bear have just wrapped up their European tour and are about to head for home, where they’ll immediately start the whole thing again. It would be enough to keep anyone in bed. “This tour wasn’t huge – the whole thing was I think twelve or thirteen shows over the UK and Europe – but the last seven were done seven in a row in seven days in four different countries.” Hosking, however, remains modest – and happy. “Feeling a little bit exhausted,” he continues. “But we’ll get a couple of days off when we get home to kind of gather ourselves before we start rehearsals into the Australian tour. That’s our job – our life is touring and exhaustion, but it’s all for some reason mildly addictive and loveable.” Surely, at some point – after seven shows in seven days in four countries, for example – playing music would begin to feel less like playing music and more like work.
They have other ideas for making music, other ideas of what constitutes success. “The greatest bands in the world don’t write songs for awards or songs for radio,” Hosking says. “They write songs to pursue their endeavour of art; make sense of it.” WHO: Boy & Bear WHAT: Moonfire (Universal) WHEN & WHERE: Tuesday 29 and Wednesday 30 May, State Theatre; Thursday 31, Newcastle University; Friday 1 June, ANU Bar, Canberra; Saturday 2, Waves, Wollongong; Sunday 17 June, Entrance Leagues Club, Gosford
“Yeah, absolutely. I mean, any job has more stressful moments,” Hosking agrees. “The shows are the easiest bit. The shows are really fun and enjoyable. It’s the sitting in the van for eight hours from the UK to Berlin and then getting there and having to get your gear and loading up steps to set up in a venue. I think that’s the testing point and after that it’s okay. There are still a lot more positives to the job. It’s all worth it.” Plus, Hosking explains, playing overseas is fun. With the anonymity that comes from travel and the lack of expectations you might find in a home crowd, there’s more opportunity to experiment. “I think getting out of Australia and playing shows in different countries around the world is a really beneficial thing,” he says. “It’s great. I think you can come out and sort of be whoever you want. It’s a fresh crowd and there’s a real sort of fresh excitement, which is great and, I dunno, I feel like every time we go overseas and come back I’ve learnt so much. I’ve learnt so much about the band and myself as a performer and I think that it’s really good like that. “There’s no expectations [in Europe]. So, if I walk out on stage and am like, ‘You know what, I’m just going to Bruce Springsteen the shit out of this,’ it’s not a complete shock to people who haven’t come to see you before... It’s completely fresh, so you’re probably allowed to experiment a bit more. The pressure’s off a bit more.” With their European tour wrapped up, now it’s our turn. Their Australian tour continues right up until mid-June, with nearly 30 shows listed so far, including a number of small venues in regional areas. With capacities kept intentionally low, some have already sold out and new shows added. Of the sold out shows, one is not surprisingly in the band’s hometown of Sydney, where Boy & Bear began life as Hosking’s solo project. That didn’t last long. Soon he was collaborating with other musicians to make his solo EP. “These guys all had projects on the side and were also helping me out,” Hosking says of his collaborating band members. And by the time current drummer Tim Hart came onboard, it didn’t feel like a solo project anymore. It felt like a band. In the end, there were five: Hosking, Tim Hart, Jon Hart, Jake Tarasenko and Killian Gavin – all experienced musicians with welldeveloped other projects and plenty of skills to bring to the table. “They’re actually much better musicians than I am,” Hosking admits, laughing. In addition, most are also singer/songwriters in their own right – a situation that could very easily become one of way too many cooks. Not so, according to Hosking. “It just sort of fit into place,” he insists. “It feels like it’s in a better spot now more than ever. I think we’ve got a really good rhythm and understand the way it works. I dunno, I bring these songs in and as a group we flesh them out and I guess, for some reason, there’s no sort of fighting for space there. Everyone knows what their role is and, sometimes through Tim or Killian, the song will get flipped on its head and it sounds much better than it ever would without those guys.” The diverging backgrounds of the players has assisted too – in causing tension, in challenging creative habits and in allowing the band to create something unique. “I think to some extent there’s an overlap in our listening,” Hosking goes on. “When Tim first came in he was much more pop-driven, Killian very rock and Jake very leftfield; kind of Sigur Ros. But that’s a good thing. I think tension is a great thing for creativity. I think that you want that breadth of genres involved because I think it allows you to create something really unique. At the same time, too, you end up having to sometimes wade through these slow conversations and trying to make things do certain things and, I dunno, even in those early days we managed to get through it. I think Jake would have always loved everything to be weirder, but at the same time too he sort of understands where the band’s at.” Boy & Bear are almost certainly a band you’ve heard of. They’re triple j darlings, winning Unearthed in 2009 and three of their songs earned places in 2011’s Hottest 100; Feeding Line even made it number four. Last year, they cleaned up at the ARIAs, with debut album Moonfire bagging them five, including Album Of The Year. So when are accolades useful and when do they start to interfere? Hosking appreciates the honour, but tries not to get distracted. “I think they’re great and I think that it’s a real honour to be a part of that – with those ARIAs – and I think it’s a really great experience. But, as horrible as it sounds, it is sort of irrelevant to the bigger picture to us. None of that is sort of why we do this. I think the key is making sure it doesn’t distract people from what we’re trying to do. Hopefully it doesn’t affect our process at all. In fact, it almost helps us to focus on, ‘Okay, this is great but let’s get on with the job’.”
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THE DRUM MEDIA • 35
SCREW THE REST Bethany Cosentino is sick of the shit she’s been copping online. She tells Anthony Carew that she’s given up on caring what people say and wants her project Best Coast’s music to speak for itself.
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ear anonymous internet commentor, so justified in your opinion, so ample in your derision, so smugly callous in your bro-ish ratings of who’s hot or not: Bethany Cosentino has read your work, has felt the sting of its cruelty, its judgement, its undeniable undercurrent of misogyny. Though a globe-trottin’, chart-botherin’, fashion-line-designin’, Twitter-ownin’ indie queen should pretend to be above the slander of the masses, Cosentino is candid enough to admit that, during her super-swift buzzed-out breakout – during which her 2010 debut, Crazy For You, was met with all manner of hype – the hardest part of the whole thing was dealing with criticism. Little of it constructive. And much of it about how she looks. “I’ve changed a lot in the last several years,” says Cosentino, contemplatively. “This band started when I was 22, and I’m 25 now. I’ve definitely grown up. Physically, I look different; I’ve started dressing differently, I’ve grown my hair out, I’ve stopped getting tattoos. I’ve definitely changed in more ways than one. It’s interesting to go through
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specific changes, different growth spurts, and having people noticing them and commenting on them.” Interesting, or horrifyingly dehumanising? “Any woman that makes music is instantly critiqued on what she looks like, and how fat or thin she is,” Cosentino answers. “And it’s obviously not only in indie music; this phenomenon totally exists in all of music, for all actors. As a woman, you become this unwitting contestant in some beauty pageant. Like: ‘Who’s the hottest?’ ‘That girl’s ugly, so I don’t like her music!’ “In the beginning, seeing dumb comments written online about my weight, or things about me physically that these anonymous people didn’t like, that was definitely like the breaking point for me. I felt like: ‘I can’t deal with this! Why does it matter what I look like? Can’t people
just like or not like my music without caring what I look like?’ But wishing for that is a fairytale; that’s not how the world works. People critique other people all the time every day; people are just mean. You have to just grow a thick skin. Because it doesn’t matter. None of that shit matters. It shouldn’t matter if I’m 1000 pounds if I’m making cool music. If other people think differently, fuck them. I just have to care about making good music.” Cosentino may be punk rock girl-made-good – a former member of drone act Pocahaunted who reinvented herself making fuzzed-out, lo-fi, California-pop in her bedroom – but her childhood has signifiers of celebrity. Born and raised in Los Angeles, she was the daughter of a professional drummer, an ItalianAmerican obsessed with Phil Spector, Brian Wilson and legendary Sunset Strip session musicians The Wrecking Crew. Under his influence, little Bethany sang in school musicals and talent shows, ending up appearing in a host of television commercials whilst still a tyke. As an adolescent, she chased after a professional musical career, writing singer/songwritery, coffeehouse pop under the name Bethany Sharaya. When Cosentino was 19, she was befriended by Amanda Brown, half of LA’s awesome Not Not Fun Records, and the two became Pocahaunted, turning out a steady string of voice-looping, guitar-droning incantations steeped in the sounds of Charalambides and the New Weird America. But, eventually, Pocahaunted “just wasn’t melodic enough” for its younger half; Cosentino missed working with structured pop songs. After a semester spent in wintry New York studying creative writing, Cosentino dropped out and moved back West. With nothing to do outside of working retail and getting stoned, she had ample time to start a new project and Best Coast was born out of a desire to create classic California pop à la the Everly Brothers and Beach Boys, “something in the vein of straightforward pop music from the ’50s and ’60s.” After early, ultra-lo-fi singles like Sun Was High (So Was I) and When I’m With You caught the ears of the blogosphere, Best Coast buzz grew into a wave of praise and Crazy For You – an album recorded by
Lewis Pesacov of Afro-indie-pop types Fool’s Gold and Foreign Born – dented the US top 30. Yet, for all the critical adulation – including the career-making Best New Music nod from Pitchfork – there was as much of a backlash going back the other way. Cosentino was criticised for the way she looked, for what was seen as unmerited praise, and for the simplicity of her simple pop songs, which lyrics revolved around an on-again/off-again relationship with Nathan Williams, leader of grunge revivalists Wavves. Critiques latched onto the fact that she rhymed “lazy” with “crazy” two separate times and in one throwaway moment had sung “I wish my cat could talk”, discrediting the music for the simplicity that was, in many ways, its virtue. “That’s what was frustrating. That was the point. I was very consciously writing very simple songs with very simple lyrics. That’s the point of Best Coast: it’s very simple, straightforward, relatable music. Yet everyone was like, ‘She can only [sing] about two things, cats and weed!’ That really pissed me off, because I feel like I only mentioned my cat and weed, like, once or twice on the first record. It was really frustrating to deal with people criticising my lyrics and how simple and repetitive they are. It made me get down on myself as a songwriter, like, ‘Am I even good at this? Should I keep doing this?’” Difficult Second Albums are often the forums for sentiments such as these and so it leads us to The Only Place, the “bigger, cleaner-sounding successor” to
Crazy For You. Recorded with Fiona Apple/Paul Thomas Anderson offsider Jon Brion, it’s a grown-up work that, beyond the obvious pro-California sentiments of its titletrack/artwork, finds Cosentino singing about “existential problems” from criticisms to the emptiness of success, the persistence of self-doubts and the homelessness of touring. There’s a host more relationship songs and, though she mightn’t carol “Go Wavves!” during any of them, this time, listeners will know Williams is the eternal He to Cosentino’s She. As much as things may change – hair grown out, Urban Outfitters clothing line released, Hollywood insider as producer, existential angst in the lyrics – the core of Best Coast remains the same. “My personal life is really out there for people to experience, because it’s there in my songs,” Cosentino admits of having a relationship – and a coming of age – played out in public. “I don’t regret doing that at all, because people can connect on a more personal level with my music... It’s unlikely that I’ll ever be truly guarded, because my lyrics are so personal, and they’ll always be that way. Even if I say, ‘Hey, I’m going to take a step back on Twitter,’ my personal life will still be all there in the songs.” WHO: Best Coast WHAT: The Only Place (Popfrenzy)
SMALL FISH, BIG POND Fresh from a US tour that saw them party on Hellyeah’s tour bus and trash a stage or two, Dead Letter Circus drummer Luke Williams chats with Daniel Cribb ahead of their Australian tour.
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hether it was whiskey that fuelled their recent party antics in the US or the excitement of being in another country, Dead Letter Circus only had two days to recover once touching down in Queensland before preparing for an intensive national tour of Australia. “We got home and I slept like a bear hibernating, just to try and beat the jetlag,” drummer Luke Williams says. “Then after our two days off we got straight into rehearsing our Australian set. We were only doing like 40 minute [sets] in the US, so we’ve still got another 25 minutes worth of material to rehearse up,” Williams begins. “We’re just blowing the cobwebs off older tracks and getting tip-top for the Australian shows, because we want to blow people away,” he explains. “Our support band, Fair To Midland, just flew in from Texas this morning. We picked them up from the airport and took them to our guitar player’s house and had some whiskey. Those boys, they love to drink whiskey,” he laughs. With a surplus of quirky and exciting tales from their fourth trip to the US in April, supporting Fair To Midland, it’s surprising that they haven’t traded in their Australian roots for US citizenship. “Playing in New York City was exciting enough, but then we got to the Holiday Inn, about 20 minutes out of Manhattan, and we pulled up and there was fucking Prevo buses everywhere – those American big touring rigs. Hellyeah’s bus was there. We didn’t know it was them until the crew stepped off the bus and saw us. We were looking pretty rock‘n’roll, and we said ‘G’day’ and they realised we were from Australia. They’d just been down in [Australia] for the Soundwave festival, so we got talking and they invited us back on Vinnie Paul’s [Pantera/Hellyeah drummer] bus – he actually owns the bus that they tour on and they said, ‘Come back for some drinks’. So we hopped on, like little school girls, hoping we’d see Vinnie Paul, but the band had checked in to the Holiday Inn for the night. So we just partied with the guitar tech and the bus driver,” he recalls. “We trashed a drum kit after the show in Memphis, Tennessee – that was pretty rock‘n’roll. We don’t do that very often. The drum riser was like two feet high 36 • THE DRUM MEDIA
and we ended up kicking the drums off the riser at the end of the show. It was a hire kit,” he admits. “I would have still done it if it was my own kit. There were a couple of things pissing me off at that night and I just exploded at the end of the show in a flurry of cymbal stands and bass drums and toms… There was just some things going wrong at the show and my temper has the tendency to explode sometimes – it’s well known in the band. But Kim [vocals] did help me rip some of the drums off the riser,” he laughs. It’s not the first time that alcohol and rock‘n’roll have been the catalysts for a big night or over-the-top venture. Singer Kim Benzie has suffered a few broken bones and bruises during his time on the road. During the band’s last show of their US tour, in Texas, Benzie climbed on a set of speakers, raised seven feet off the stage, and jumped back down to end the set – not anticipating a lack of footwear would result in his ankle rolling and some extreme swelling. Dutch courage also resulted in a broken rib from a stage dive during an Australian tour a couple of years ago. Wherever Dead Letter Circus is, the party’s not too far behind. Their latest single Wake Up, which has been on high rotation on triple j and available for free download on the band’s website, was road tested in the States with positive results. Now with Australian fans in their crosshairs, they’ve been busy in the studio working on the rest of the album, which may find its way into the world in a drip-feed-like release. “We’re going to approach it the same way that we did the first record. The first record was dropping singles like a year-and-a-half before it was released – giving people a taste of what was coming. It’ll just keep us on the radar and give our fans something new. It’s been nearly two years since the last record dropped, so we’re kind of due to give fans some new music.” While their US touring is like a dream come true and their success across the ocean is catching up with their victories at home, Australian fans needn’t worry about losing them just yet. “There’s still work that needs to be done in Australia. This is really our home.
We could definitely live there, but I like Australia better for the lifestyle and the weather,” he explains. “It’s just phenomenal to see the growth of the band from the first time we went over there, when no one knew us, to now. There has been a massive spike in numbers from tour to tour. The amount of people coming out to see the band, you can really see it spiking every tour. All the Americans are super friendly, they love the music. I think they like that there’s something fresh coming out. There’s a real sense of yearning in the American music community. They’re kind of sick of hearing radio and record labels pump out bland, boring shit and they like the fact that we sound a little different and that we’re doing something original… “The band had a nice gradual rise to success in Australia, rather than a really quick one. I’d like to
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do that in the States and Europe as well – see the band gradually continually rise and get bigger so we can have a national career as well as an international career. I think bands receive a lot more respect when they do it the old-fashioned way and hit the road for months on end and do it that way. Your longevity as a band increases. If you rise quickly, you often fall quickly.” WHO: Dead Letter Circus WHAT: Wake Up single (Independent) WHEN & WHERE: Wednesday 23 May, The Patch, Wollongong; Thursday 24, Zierholz, Canberra; Friday 25, Hi-Fi; Saturday 26, Entrance Leagues Club; Sunday 27, The Cambridge, Newcastle
CLASSIC POP The National’s guitarist (among many, many other things) Bryce Dessner tells Katie Benson how being a modern music man is all about the giving and loving.
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rowing in scale every year, Vivid LIVE is an artist-driven festival that brings the most brilliant, avant-garde and innovative minds to Sydney. Perhaps the greatest example of these ideals this year is the musical collaboration of American artists Bryce Dessner, Sufjan Stevens and Nico Mulhy. In a Sydney exclusive, this intelligent trio will be presenting Planetarium a pop-classical fusion that celebrates the wonder of the universe around us. Born from a three-way commission between the Sydney Opera House, Muziekgebouw, Eindhoven and the Barbican, London, Planetarium sees all three artists stretch their musical legs, composing scores, lyrics and melodies that are intended to transport the listener to each planet, sun and moon. During the performance, the stage will be filled with some of Australia’s finest classical musicians on trombones and strings, but it is the men at the centre of stage who are the masters of the event. The most recognisable name of the trio, Sufjan Stevens, is no stranger to filling the grand halls of the Opera House; his Age Of Adz performance was labelled by many as one of the best concerts of 2011. As the sole vocalist and lyricist, it was Stevens’ position to make the ethereal more personal in Planetarium. Nico Mulhy, a New York based composer brings the classical chops to the piece. A former boy chorister, Mulhy’s arrangement and composition skills have been extended to such varied names as the American Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Bjork, Antony & The Johnsons and Grizzly Bear. Last but not least, the classically trained indie-rock star from Ohio, Bryce Dessner. Guitarist for The National, founder of the Music Now Festival, composer and guitarist for Clogs and most recently, film score composer, Dessner is the ‘everyman’ of the modern music age. Despite being labelled as the highlight of the performance by British reviewers, in conversation Dessner is humble, focusing rather on the collaborative nature of not only this event, but also the current American music scene. For this concert, Dessner says it was a matter of three good friends, and a one-off opportunity that presented itself. “We’ve
all been friends for years, I’ve worked with both of them and they’ve worked with each other, but we’ve never worked all together. New York is a very open community in that way, there’s a lot of people working together all the time,� says Dessner. “Nico’s had a composing residence at Muziekgebouw, Eindhoven for about four years and the head presenter there suggested doing something with the two of us. We liked the idea so we went for it, partly because we were so attracted to the thought of working with seven trombones on stage.� Enlisting Stevens, the trio set about writing individually at first, sending demos via email to one another. They came together for two week-long residencies, working on chord progressions and melodies before separating again, with Stevens ‘leading the charge’ of shaping these ideas into songs through lyrics. From there, the boys workshopped the piece at Dessner’s own festival in Ohio, ironing out the kinks for their London performance in April, and since then it has been revised it again, meaning Sydney audiences will be hearing a further evolved work. Opening with solo pieces from each artist, it is not until the second act that we’re launched into the trio’s space odyssey. Under an inflated orb that is plastered with video projections throughout, the musicians explore a rather grandiose theme. “I think with a collaboration like this, it’s important to have a subject matter rather than just have some random songs. We needed some sort of vehicle to organise ourselves around, and we chose the planets because it was on a list of things we were thinking about, which is a very long list.
by Australian musicians and technicians. This idea is just further example of Dessner’s inclusive approach to his music. The 35-year-old not only stretches himself across several musical projects and genres, but also takes the time to nurture and encourage upcoming artists, and collaborate with those already established. “There are several artists that I’ve worked with and helped in various ways‌it’s a really rewarding, different kind of energy. Different to just playing in my own band. Some journalists ask how I have time for all of this, and I answer that most people in the world have real jobs, get up and go to an office and work all day. We’re spoiled, a lot of the time we’re just waiting around in the back stage and this (collaborating, developing) is a really great use of time and keeps me motivated and inspired.
“It’s not just about the planets, it’s also about the gods. There’s plenty of mythology and astrology in the songs, it’s not just about the solar system. I think also with this idea of a big brassy sound, and using a lot of effects on stage, like vocal effects, it has a bit of a sci-fi aspect to it.�
“I’ve always taken an interest in how music is presented and how it’s released, and I don’t think it’s just me, I think it’s symptomatic of my generation. Partly in response to the lifestyle we lead as musicians, always travelling from one place to the next, it’s nice to keep going back to the one place and growing relationships with artists. So for me, it’s been a really great chance to get involved with [festivals], and start fostering relationships with the artistic community that can develop over the years.�
When the trio come out to Australia, they will be bringing drummer James McAlister, and a core crew of four leading the sound and lights teams. For the rest of the production, all the positions will be filled
Currently, Dessner is devoting the bulk of his creative focus to the Planetarium project, however he has also been working on a film score for a Jack Kerouac biopic, and scoring new classical material for a string quartet.
Dabbling on both sides of the modern music scene, Dessner feels the classical world is the less restrictive of the two. “There’s an interesting relationship that exists between creative indie music and the culture that surrounds it, though I enjoy the more avant garde side of contemporary music. It’s a place where taking risks is really rewarded and you can experiment in long form, and much more experimental use of sounds. “I really love working with trained musicians, people who have devoted their lives to the violin or the trombone, or whatever and they need someone to write the music. There are sides to the [classical] culture that are less exciting, it can be more academic or even elitist, but for the most part there’s such a strong tradition of music that I really love.� So when a pop-classical tour hits the road, do we see the trashed hotel rooms and leggy blondes of a rock tour, or are the boys all just backstage playing chess? “Sufjan is my neighbour and one of my closest friends, and so is Nico. We hang out socially a lot, so it’s really fun. There’s no rock’n’roll antics but we have a good time. Whenever Nico Mulhy is involved, there’s a fair amount of shenanigans.� WHO: Bryce Dessner WHEN & WHERE: Monday 28-Wednesday 30 May, Vivid Festival, Sydney Opera House Concert Hall
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THE DRUM MEDIA • 37
SHINING ONSTAGE
STRINGS ATTACHED Rasmus Stolberg, bassist of Danish band Efterklang, chats to Celline Narinli about the beauty of imperfections in music and reveals details of their next album and its world premiere in Sydney. Oh, and hugging a koala.
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repping up to tour their latest offering, Piramida, Danish band Efterklang – now based in Berlin – will be making their first trip down under. The Sydney Opera House will be the first stop and destination for the world premiere of their fourth release as part of Vivid LIVE, to be performed with the Sydney Symphony. “I have a feeling that I am going to like Australia,” says bassist Rasmus Stolberg. “And I hope and think I will feel comfortable in the city and get out and do some hiking and enjoy the amazing nature. And I want to hug a koala bear – are you allowed to? Or is it bad karma if you do that? How do you say it? Koala?” But what exactly made them choose Sydney as the city to launch their highly-anticipated fourth album? “I think Sydney chose us! We started making this album in August, and it was our plan to work without a deadline, because we wanted to get really deep into this project and experiment a lot and make a lot of songs. “At first we wanted to say no [to the Vivid LIVE invitation] because we were like, ‘Ah, that’s so bad timing, because we’re going to be so busy and you know, so into making a new album. We can’t go out and play live,’ but… we just couldn’t say no. Because for us, it’s such an amazing opportunity.” Stolberg reveals details about their “more electronic” and “darker” forthcoming release: “[Piramida is] again an entirely different approach and a new Efterklang sound. We always try to come up with a new approach on every album… It’s sort of looking at the concert and the album as two different things. The album will be more sparse and more electronic itself; it leaves a lot of room for the orchestra to go in and do stuff around our songs. “Hopefully you will be able to experience something new coming out of a band and an orchestra working together. So we’re trying very hard to make sure that
Ahead of her appearance at this year’s Vivid LIVE, My Brightest Diamond tells Liz Giuffre about her heightened onstage reality and getting into character.
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it’s not just going to be a band with an orchestra behind them; we’re trying very hard to make the music and the scores an integrated piece.” Back in 2004, Efterklang’s sound hatched out as spacious chamber music on their debut, Tripper. Parades saw the band progress into a more complex art-rock genre influenced by the likes of Arcade Fire and Sufjan Stevens. Efterklang later recorded a live version with the Danish National Chamber Orchestra, titled Performing Parades. Most recent album, Magic Chairs, saw a move back into electronics and soothing strings. Over the years, the now three-piece (who will be touring as a six-piece) have established themselves as Denmark’s greatest indie music export. Working with world-renowned filmmaker Vincent Moon on various collaborations, such as their short film, An Island, and the Take Away Series (random gigs filmed in random places), Efterklang were heavily inspired by the organic nature of experimentation so well documented by those projects. “These new songs are heavily inspired by some of the stuff we did with Vincent Moon in An Island. [The album is] experimental, but it’s also a bit more laid back – it doesn’t want to be all over the place all the time. “[Moon] helps us realise that what we can do as artists isn’t depending on having the exact perfect gear and the perfect space. You sort of get caught up in that sometimes – where you can only perform when you have your special microphone, or you can only perform if you have the hour-long sound check before… and it’s really, really good for you sometimes to realise, ‘Wow, our songs can actually also be played like this and still work!’ It’s eye-opening.” WHO: Efterklang WHEN & WHERE: Saturday 26 May, Opera Theatre, Sydney Opera House
peaking from at home in Detroit, Shara Worden, aka My Brightest Diamond, is sweet and generous with her time. The prolific collaborator, writer, performer and singer won’t be sat in one place for long, about to pack her bags again to head over here for Vivid LIVE. She was here last for Vivid 2010 as part of the Lou Reed/Laurie Anderson extravaganza, but in 2012 it will be My Brightest Diamond under her own steam. “It’s such an amazing space and I’ve always really, really enjoyed coming,” she explains. “The plan is to play the new record, All Things Will Unwind, basically as it is on the album. We’re hiring some of Australia’s best chamber musicians and we’ll be rehearsing with them and then just playing through the record.” While there’s a bit of long distance prep including scores across email and virtual hook-ups, it seems such is the way of modern collaborative life. “Yeah but that’s the way things go, you know? You get it together and work hard during the time you do have, and then you work generously with each other.” My Brightest Diamond has also hinted at a little feast for the eyes to accompany the live performance of her gorgeous new record. More acoustic than before with an earthy delivery of songs that sound almost folkie at points, All Things Will Unwind is about putting new and old ideas together. “Two things about that: Firstly my music is most often inspired by my relationship with other musicians - it was definitely a result of that. But it was also my reaction against modern recording, which is to make everything sound perfect. And so I wanted to, we really tried to have as many full takes as possible without much editing. We certainly did some editing, but I think for me it was really about exploring the acoustic/electric mediums. “I think the past record was really pushing the recording side of things, but this time I really just thought ‘What the hell’ - I surrendered and explored the acoustic side of things, and the next record might be the opposite again. You know, using all instruments that are plugged in, just to see what happens. I think the first two albums were trying to be in the middle, and now I think we’ll go the extremes of acoustic, then electric.”
Worldly beats group Tijuana Cartel have recently made some new additions to the group including touring members and destinations, songs and producers, Paul George tells Troy Mutton.
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And the pluses are on the up-and-up, the group whose popularity seems to coming ahead in leaps and bounds over the past 12 months – their hard working tour ethic playing a big role – especially due to their willingness to get outside of the capital cities. “Yeah every [regional] town has its own quirk I think. Regional towns definitely drink a little bit more,” he laughs, one sensing George has been on the receiving end of a few hard nights out in the country. “And it’s cool, they really get into it, Maybe they appreciate it a bit more and get less bands through there. So it might be easier for us in a sense… And we find we can pull good crowds in regional areas so it’s fine.” Given the last tour may still be pretty fresh in many fans’ minds (depending perhaps on how hard they boogied/ partied), George understands that with the new single has to come some new ideas for the show, and in that spirit they’ve added a couple of new members. “We’ve just added a Middle-Eastern percussionist and a new trumpet player and that seems to be going really well. It feels really natural on stage now for the band – kinda just playing together and enjoying it… “A lot of our new stuff is coming out with a bit more of a Middle-Eastern tint. And we wanted to make 38 • THE DRUM MEDIA
With a name like My Brightest Diamond, she did perhaps dig her own hole in terms of wanting to attract attention. “I do think there is something about making music that’s theatrical. If you wanted to just say something that you thought then you would just say it, but when you use music then I think there’s something else at work, something different conveyed with song,” she continues. The live performance adds a different dimension again, and is one that will never be killed by downloads or crappy online streams. “I went through a stage where I wanted the performance of music to feel like normal life - you know, kind of the grunge or punk movement where it’s not out of the ordinary, you don’t have to dress up for it. But now I’m really enjoying dressing up and almost putting on a character, making this character to engage with on stage. So I guess right now I’ve got a heightened reality onstage.” WHO: My Brightest Diamond WHEN & WHERE: Sunday 27 May, Sydney Opera House Opera Theatre
DEF MAN WALKING
SOUTH OF THE BORDER
hile Tijuana Cartel are on the tail end of touring their third – and arguably best-received – studio album, M1, they’ve a new single out called Offer Yourself and singer/guitarist Paul George, along with his bandmates, is warming to the idea of hitting the road again on one of their patented national tours. “I’ve just been talking to the guys this week actually [about the tour],” he says. “It’s kind of like a love/hate relationship I think. We really love what we do, and even if things go wrong like we’re stuck in an airport or something we generally like the whole ride of it. Certain things do get to you like sharing rooms with four guys constantly and not really having any of your own space… but it’s definitely overridden by how much we love what we do. The pluses outweigh most things.”
While My Brightest Diamond has been variously compared (in particular the idea of being a lady Bon Iver has been floated), rest assured that the performance will remain distinct. “Well I actually just made a new outfit just this week, though I’m not sure it will look really fun and playful or if I will look like a school teacher who took a cannon ball to her craft closet; I’m not sure what it will look like, but I do have a new outfit,” she laughs. “I’m taking some chances here.”
MC Sereck convinces Chris Yates that the new Def Wish Cast record, Evolution Machine, is more than just another sporadic reunion record for the group – it’s the start of a whole new chapter in the ongoing saga of Australia’s hip hop originators.
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sure we gave people something new because it wasn’t that long since we toured, so we wanted to give something for people to come back to.” Offer Yourself is itself a somewhat new direction from the band, an uplifting and groovy psychedelic number that’s fast becoming a live favourite. Part of the new flavour can be attributed to new producer Scott Horscroft. “We recorded it with Scott Horscroft who worked with The Presets, Empire Of The Sun, 360… So that was pretty cool,” George tells, before going into their new recording process, which will now involve Horscroft as full-time producer, and recording a heap of songs and then picking out the best. “We’ve always aimed for it, but we kinda tend to procrastinate a little bit and then freak out when we have a deadline or something. The theory is if you have 40 songs, there’s gotta be some good ones in there,” he laughs. “And we’ve got a producer now that we really like working with, and we’re really looking forward to bringing them to him and adding new sounds to them as well. We feel like we’re on a pretty good wicket at the moment.” This will also be the last chance to catch the guys for a while before exploring the European and American touring circuit, with one particular festival being right up their alley. “[After Europe] we head to America for Burning Man festival and a couple others. Doing that festival is one that’s been on our bucket list for years so we’re all really stoked to do it. It’s a seven-day festival in the desert, I think we’re just gonna be naked hippies in the desert for seven days, it’ll be great.” WHO: Tijuana Cartel WHEN & WHERE: Friday 25 May, Oxford Art Factory; Saturday 26, Great Northern Hotel, Newcastle
t’s been over six years since Def Wish Cast gave the Australian hip hop community a dose of the real shit with their Hydrofunk-released album, The Legacy Continues... Audiences across the country were treated to a double whammy of legendary hip hop recently and for most it was their first glimpse of material from the new album. “A few heads showed out,” MC Sereck, aka Paul Westgate, says modestly, playing down the overwhelming support that DWC received on their recent tour supporting one of the true icons of hip hop, KRS-One. There was as much love for the Australian group from a lifetime fanbase as there was for The Teacha himself. “We really enjoyed ourselves, we enjoyed the whole tour – I mean it was incredible. It was really uplifting. We needed it, the nice big crowds. We got to meet him a couple of times; at the publicity launch we did, we kinda hung out and had a few words. At the end he got to see the show and we met his wife and his son. KRS-One’s little thirteen year old daughter is a full Def Wish Cast fan. His wife was telling us, ‘My daughter just loves you guys.’ How’s that, hey?”
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He laughs retelling this story, but it was obvious from the shows that it’s not just the kids of hip hop royalty that are still excited by the group. It has inspired DWC to really head into this next part of their story with gusto. “The last record was 2006 and it’s just a different time for music now than it was then. It was long enough, and we knew that we needed to get our shit together now or we’d never get it together. It’s not like we disappeared. We were still hanging out with everyone
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and still gigging and whatever, but for the music side of things, it’s such a promotional thing, with making a record and touring, there’s a lot of effort behind it. If you want to take this stuff seriously and push this internationally, it takes a whole team. It takes our manager Randy (Glazer) and our record label Creative Vibes and everyone to be on the same page. Luckily enough, there’s a friendship in all those areas as well, and those people have really put themselves out there for us. So that’s what makes it in the end.” Westgate says that the title of the album, Evolution Machine, represents the evolution of the band, and the evolution of hip hop itself, which he says go hand in hand. The new single, Forever, produced by Katalyst, is just one taste of a massive record that also features production from Brisbane veterans Resin Dogs, M-Phazes, original DWC beat-maker DJ Vame, New York City’s DJ JS1 from Rocksteady Crew and Westgate himself – and that’s just a shortlist of some of the names onboard. “We’re not having a long hiatus again like it’s been since 2006,” he says with steadfast seriousness. “We’re going full-on now, this is it. Every year from now there will be albums, there will be remixes dropping all the time. It’s involving the whole culture as well, the art and dancing, trying to bring everyone back around. This is just the start of us getting back into it and getting us back out there. It’s like where Rocky used to train in his old neighbourhood. We’re getting the eye of the tiger man,” he laughs. “The machine has relaunched and it’s starting now, and it’s going until the day we drop.” WHO: Def Wish Cast WHAT: Evolution Machine (Creative Vibes/MGM) WHEN & WHERE: Friday 25 May, The Standard; Saturday 30 June, Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle; Saturday 7 July, Transit Bar, Canberra
TWO ON A MONDAY
TAKE YOUR MEDS Rapper MED (aka Medaphor, aka Nick Rodriguez, aka The Blaxican) enjoys the warm Californian sun while chatting to Chris Yates about what he’s been working on ahead of bringing another dose of muchneeded hip hop to the Sydney Opera House for Vivid LIVE.
Best known these days as the last rhythm section of The Go-Betweens, bass guitarist Adele Pickvance and drummer Glenn Thompson, as Adele & Glenn, have finally released their own album. Michael Smith investigates.
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’ve actually been living in LA for six years now,” MED, real name Nick Rodriguez, drawls in his thick West Coast hip hop voice. “Where I grew up had its good sides and its bad sides. It’s a kinda small town, really chill. We were on the southern California side of the northern California border. We had a lot of music from LA but a lot of people also liked to listen to a lot of the music from the Bay Area as well ya’ know, so it was real good for that.” MED’s style is far from the sound of a typical West Coast rapper and it’s obvious that he has taken in a lot more influences than those from his immediate area. “It definitely wasn’t just Snoop and Dre. Like when I was a kid and at all the house parties they’d be banging the Snoop D Funk sound you know. But when I was a teenager I started listening to lots of different things like jazz, and a lot of Southern hip hop and I really liked Geto Boys. I was just a hip hop fan and so I didn’t just listen to Californian hip hop, and I think you can hear that in my music. You don’t know what to expect from me in a sense; I would hope anyway. I think it was just a natural approach for me. It’s easy to be yourself, but if you want to sell records maybe it’s not that easy, but for me I have to just do what comes from the heart.” His sincerity and love for hip hop started when he was very young; he can’t even really pinpoint what made the penny drop that he wanted to be a rapper – it was just something he always knew. “Man I’ve been putting raps on tape since I was like nine years old,” he laughs, “recording at home as a little kid. I had a dream of putting an album out ever since I was like 11 years old. I’ve been doing it for the love ever since, and people just seem to pick up on that you know? I’ve been just putting my music out there and obviously sometimes people
just connect with that and they want to help you out. That’s how I met Peanut Butter Wolf.” You can’t really talk about MED without bringing up PBW, the owner and brains behind what’s arguably the world’s most well-known indie hip hop label, Stones Throw. MED’s two albums have been released by the label, as have his countless guest spots for other artists on the label over the years. One particular record, regarded as one of the true classic albums of the genre, needs a special mention. “I worked with Doom and Madlib on the first Madvillain album. When we were looking for producers for my record we wanted to get Just Blaze to produce a track and he was like ‘Oh yeah, I know him from the Madvillain album, so that was great.” Hang on – sounds like the man knows more about the highly anticipated second Madvillain album than we do. Let’s pry into that nugget a little further... “Yeah man, for Madvillain Two, me and Doom went into a studio and he played me a whole bunch of tracks from it and I put something down. I don’t know if they’ll end up using it on the album – I don’t know what’s gonna happen with it but I sure do hope they use it! It’s still in the chambers though. If they don’t use it I’m gonna try and use it ‘cause man it’s hot!” WHO: MED WHEN & WHERE: Friday 25 May, The Studio, Sydney Opera House
Giles, the literal firebrand for metal destroyers Resist The Thought is reflecting on a challenging 12 months, which has seen the band emerge stronger and more assured than ever before. Decamping to California in March to lay down their debut, the four-piece returned with an unrelenting metal behemoth. Although he’s in traffic on the hands-free, the frontman is in good spirits and happy to open up further about the recording of Sovereignty. “Going with Dan Castleman, he’s done records with Impending Doom and As I Lay Dying, albums that we’ve all really looked up to,” he enthuses, “just to have that quality sets us apart from other Australian bands. We don’t have access to the crazy technology that other American bands have; they have all the glorious equipment, and just having the studios available cheaply, with the dollar so good it just seemed like an easy option to go over there.” Making the journey Stateside created impassioned intent for the band, not so much encouraging as forcing them to step up. Giles explains that strict sonic rules were constantly adhered to during recording. “In the studio we had five key points written on a white board, like, ‘What do we want from the record? What’s going to set us apart?’ Everybody is doing generic metal – there are millions of bands in the world doing the same thing. We just wanted to make sure that we pulled every element, all the blood sweat and tears into this album. We wrote things like: ‘heavy’, ‘fast’, ‘melodic’, ‘brutal’, and we just went from there every day. We’d write something and then look at that part of the song and go, ‘Does it fit into those categories?’ and if it didn’t we’d scratch it.”
Pickvance meanwhile had been part of McLennan 1998 side project Far Out Corporation, as well as The Dave Graney Show for five years and four albums. With McLennan’s death and the end of The Go-Betweens, Thompson formed a band called Beachfield, which cut one album and toured Europe in 2007, the same year he and Pickvance rejoined Forster once more to record his fifth solo album, The Evangelist. So it seemed inevitable that sooner or later the pair would record together. It became a real possibility when Pickvance moved down to Sydney from Brisbane a couple of years ago.
When Thompson suggests the songs are “real”, he means it.
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“We’d kind of done a few things together before,” Thompson explains, “but as soon as she moved down I thought, ‘Great’. I put a hold on my other band and started doing this.” “This” is the debut album from Adele & Glenn, Carrington Street. Both are multi-instrumentalists and songwriters and the album was recorded entirely in Thompson’s Marrickville home studio. All up, it’s a diverse collection of edgy pop.
“A lot of the songs are a bit kind of dark lyrically… Well not dark, but a bit real. But we enjoy playing music so I suppose that comes across. I just enjoy writing songs. It’s just a great feeling when you think, ‘Ah, I think I’ve written another song.’ Quite often you’re doing it and you go, ‘Ah, I think I’ve written a good bit,’ but it doesn’t really do anything.” “It seems to work best when you throw away the clichés that just kind of spill out of your mouth when you start trying to think of lyrics and just start with what actually happened. And then it opens up a line of thought that you can get ideas from and in the end, when you come back to it, it seems like something more listenable, something more interesting. At that stage I’d been living in Sydney for quite a while, but I think I was kind of sinking into a nine-to-five getting to work on a train like a worker ant [check out the track Tunnels]. It took me a long while to get used to living in Sydney – and Adele still isn’t,” he laughs. “And I love it here.” While Carrington Street is released independently, the Go-Betweens connection has guaranteed international interest. “We had a contact in Europe from the Go-Betweens days,” Thompson explains. “We just sent it over to him and he happened to be with a new label and they said, ‘Yeah, we’d love to release it.’ And we’re going to tour over there too, in early October, because they put together tours as well – sixteen dates in eighteen days.” WHO: Adele & Glenn WHAT: Carrington Street (Independent) WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 24 May, The Vanguard
ALL IN THE VOICE
Pushing through Resist The Thought’s most testing time has resulted in a world-class debut record. “Dan Castleman nailed everyone immensely; we all got pretty raped in the studio,” Rhys Giles tells Benny Doyle of their American recording experience.
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go down there and record and mix and do everything that we needed to do. It took quite a while because we couldn’t allot a few week period of working on it all at once.
“We just put together what songs we had as it turns out mostly on a Monday, because we both had Mondays off. There were other times when we did things, night times and on weekends, but Monday was a solid day when we’d
TAMING TEMPTATION
fter all the shit we’ve been through, spending eight months writing the record in our studio back home – missing out on having a normal life, going out – you sacrifice a lot, so I’m pretty excited to see what people actually think of the record and hopefully this album can make a name for us.”
ormer Brisbanites Adele Pickvance and Glenn Thompson already had impressive CVs before being invited by Robert Forster and Grant McLennan to join The Go-Betweens reformation in 2000. Thompson had previously played with Forster on his second solo album, 1993’s Calling From A Country Phone, then as part of Forster’s 1996 world tour, with Pickvance. He joined Custard the following year for their last two albums, before following the latter band’s frontman David McCormack into the short-lived Titanics.
A love of vocal music led seven young men from The Bronx to create their own unique kind of a cappella music. Naturally 7 leader Roger Thomas explains their new album to Michael Smith.
Waxing lyrically, talkback radio and a heavy dose of scepticism about society’s expected norms have helped shaped the content. That and extraterrestrials... “The way I write the lyrics, I don’t necessarily write by myself. Me and the drummer Conor [Ward] get together and we think about what the song portrays in our heads, and so when we think about lyrics we think about what we get out of the song. For instance, Impending Infiltration, without knowing the song you hear the music and the thought in all our heads was aliens – the song sounds like an invasion,” he chuckles. “But overall, the lyrical content on this album is really antigovernment, really how we see the world in our eyes.” Until recently a quintet, a lineup shift prior to the recording of Sovereignty saw Resist The Thought lose a guitarist. However, the shift has barely been felt or heard, Giles admitting that the band are completely comfortable in their current skin and have no intention of expanding anytime soon. “Tim [Aaron]’s a very solid guitarist; he’s switched on and he knows what’s going on. But we had to step it up, especially coming into the recording process. Dan Castleman nailed everyone immensely; we all got pretty raped in the studio, so when we came back from recording we were all a lot better at what we do. I can personally tell when we play live [now] that every member has stepped it up.” WHO: Resist The Thought WHAT: Sovereignty (Skull and Bones/Shock) WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 24 May, Gee Whizz, Gosford; Friday 25, The Fitz, St Ives (all ages); Saturday 26, Venom; Sunday 27, Unanderra Community Hall, Wollongong (all ages)
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ast in Australia last year supporting Michael Bublé, their second visit here with the Canadian jazz singer, seven-piece a cappella group Naturally 7 are returning for their second headlining tour to showcase their latest album, VocalPlay. Famous for their remarkable ability not only to harmonise across everything from gospel to doo-wop to hip hop, but more impressively to recreate the sounds of drums, guitars, synthesisers, brass and string instruments with their voices – hence their description of their music as Voice Play – with this latest album, they’ve moved away from popular covers to predominantly original material. “We love doin’ covers, sing people’s favourite tunes – that way people can see exactly what we’re doin’ to them,” founder, musical director, arranger and first baritone Roger Thomas explains from on tour in South Korea. “But of course with the original tunes, we really get to pretty much start the process out yourself of how the story’s goin’ to be told musically and lyrically, and that’s what our audiences react to is a lot of our original material, which is kind of exciting.
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“I come from an inspirational point of view. There’s always a message in the music – there’s always a political point to make, there’s always a religious point to make – and at the same time it doesn’t have to be something battering your head; it’s just kind of subtly there. Most of the music comes from just something that I’ve experienced in life and I want to tell it in a way where some people are gonna get it directly and some people indirectly and some people not at all.” While there are the odd hip hop elements here and there, the music of Naturally 7, which includes Thomas’ younger brother Warren, who provides the “drums”, along with Garfield Buckley, Rod Eldridge, Napoleon Cummings, Dwight Stewart and Armand Hutton, most of whom
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have been singing together since they were kids, is very definitely melody – and of course harmony – driven. “You know, we learned that from the time we were children that melody is key,” Thomas tells. “That’s the first thing that I believe people hear, so as much as I love harmony, melody comes first, and as much as I love lyrics, melody comes first. So the beat is important, the bass is important, all that stuff is important, but melody first.” The Thomas brothers grew up singing in church, so the idea of singing gospel harmonies came pretty naturally as they got older, but when Roger Thomas started entering the group of friends they’d started singing with in a cappella competitions and they were winning them, there came a point where he had to decide whether to add musicians or stay a cappella. As it turns out, Warren Thomas had figured out how to make up for his parents not buying him a drum kit by recreating the sounds of a kit with remarkable accuracy. That got Roger to thinking perhaps the other members could recreate other instruments, and Vocal Play was born. “Five of us out of the seven have been together for a long time and didn’t know that we had these talents,” Thomas admits. “So this was something that once we decided this direction, I was very interested. Could we become a band using only our voices? Once that idea came to me, I kind of just went to each guy to see what they might be able to bring to the table and they were able to bring all sorts of things, it was really a blessing. So there wasn’t the auditioning for parts; these guys that were my friends were there – it’s happenstance.” WHO: Naturally 7 WHEN & WHERE: Friday 25 May, State Theatre THE DRUM MEDIA • 39
SINGLES/EPS WITH ROSS CLELLAND
ON THE RECORD
While many can go double mad with cheese for that big guitar solo or be carried along by a drum or bass rhythm, that currently all-conquering reality/ talent show again proves the voice is still the main currency in the music we’ll broadly call ‘pop’.
It’s an even longer time between tunes for Penny Hewson. A decade in America gave her the distance from her Sea Stories past and new views and experiences to make songs from. But both sides of her first release since returning to her Melbourne natural habitat, This One’s For You and My Lover’s Touch (Popboomerang), show she still has that ring and catch of feeling in her vocals. There’s also still a human tentativeness in her journeys up and down the fretboard, which only underlines the honesty of it. However, in the last 50 years of this rock and/or roll thing, arguably the most identifiable melding of voices was the Wilson brothers, along with various relatives and friends to make something called The Beach Boys. Thirty years of messy legalities, the fragile genius of Brian Wilson, and cousin Mike Love being a rat-bastard mostly interested in nothing but cash – often to the detriment of the band’s legacy – had the brand name in a sorry cabaret state. The lawyers, therapists, managers and pharmacists have eventually agreed to let the survivors work together. And when you hear those intricate, seemingly effortless but no doubt hard-won harmonies fall in together as perfectly as ever on That’s Why God Made The Radio (Capitol), you can almost forget most of the soap opera. Although Love still looks like he should be a used car salesman on the Gold Coast. At an almost opposite corner of sibling interaction, Stonefield’s Findlay sisters channel a generation of music you’d think utterly removed from their own. If we can now get past the novelty value of a pack of adolescent Janis Joplins harmonising in front of Led Zeppelin, they’re beginning to grow into a music of their own. The Bad Reality EP (Wunderkind) still has the influences worn openly, but with moments where they might be listening to what’s on their own iPods rather than their parents’ vinyl collection. Another voice not heard, as he played sideman in quality bands like Big Heavy Stuff and The Apartments, Eliot Fish gets around to a debut EP titled Trick Of Light (Nonlinear). His words come at you directly, even if their message can be obtuse. The music beneath has some of the melodic tidal ebb and flow that BHS could conjure so easily, with Fish’s own bass often providing the main counterpoint to his phrasing. He’s pretty much a one-man-band on this, and makes you wonder why it took him so long to put out his own shingle. And there’s always a place for slightly shouty voices to play off against the beeps and farts of old-school synths. Readable Graffiti are from Canberra and set their slightly jaundiced eyes (those two facts may be related) towards those lonely souls on the dancefloor who think they’re having a good time on Feathers, lead tune of the Male Mood Swings EP (Independent). Matter of fact, I’ve got one now. But this may be due to the combo also having a work titled Street Press. But their CD came with a nice texta’ed note, and it all bubbles along rather well. There is much to like, though you wonder if they like themselves at times. 40 • THE DRUM MEDIA
LADYHAWKE
EMI
Dot Dash/Remote Control
Modular
Listening to Sigur Rós is akin to surrounding yourself in a fluffy cloud and floating through the sky on a wave of beautiful music and angelic vocals. The joy of this band is that it doesn’t even matter that the lyrics aren’t in English, or that sometimes they aren’t even words at all, because the emotion behind each song comes through so clearly that it’s irrelevant.
The story of the rise and subsequent fall of West Australian band Snowman had the band come out of the Perth music scene in the mid-2000s and following hype and interest locally and from overseas saw the band release three critically-lauded albums, their last being released posthumously in 2011. The additional fallout from that breakup has seen Joe McKee eventually relocate to his home in the Darling Ranges south of Perth, to create this album’s surrealist, melancholic and isolated sound. Burning Boy is a dream-esque exploration of what is the perfect outro summing up the Snowman story and McKee really pours himself into every song. A reflective endeavour, there’s also a weariness that hangs over it all, a reminder of where McKee has been and perhaps a reflection on his assumingly broken ties to his former bandmates, who are now living in separate continents.
Burning Boy
Their sixth studio album is a beautiful collection of eight tracks that are more like moments than songs and have been described by the band themselves as “like an avalanche in slow-motion.” Valtari (steamroller in English) is just what you’d expect from Sigur Rós – classic instrumentals, great intros and epic crescendos throughout. Ég Anda opens the album with the calming sounds of waves crashing and whale cry as singer Jónsi Birgisson’s falsetto vocals and haunting lyrics float in, building to an abrupt finish. First single, Ekki Múkk, is another success with softly-played violins, tinkling piano and a warm crackling sound like an old record playing in the background. Rembihnútur is one of the more uplifting tracks with great harmonies and is followed by a number of instrumentals that are more like backing music than distinct, individual songs. Closing track, Fjögur Piano, is a great way to wrap up with a melancholic piano introduction that blends beautifully into soft strings, finishing with a solo violin that leaves you feeling calm and relaxed. Another clever and beautiful triumph from one of the most unusual bands around. Helen Lear
Anxiety
When New Zealand’s Pip Brown, aka Ladyhawke, burst onto the scene in 2008 with her multi-award winning LIVE self-titled album, it was a spectacular triumph with classic pop tracks Delirium and Paris Is Burning quickly becoming radio hits. Fast forward to 2012 and the release of her second album and unfortunately it isn’t quite going to meet the mark. It’s ‘second album syndrome’ hitting hard. The title, Anxiety, says it all really. A collection of ten dark and heavily-themed tracks, this album is a far cry from the light and catchy tunes we’ve come to and love. Recorded in New Zealand and France D Vknow earlier this year with producer and long-time collaborator, Pascal Gabriel, Ladyhawke has already started spruiking this latest offering with a series of small gigs in London, Sydney and Melbourne and is due to start touring more widely again soon. The whole sound of the album is, however, overproduced and jarring with so many effects and buzzes that you can’t really hear the original music. There’s a tinny-sounding overlay that makes it sound like you’re listening to the album on really bad speakers and it’s hard to hear the quality of Brown’s voice.
An almost nonexistent tempo is the basis for this great album, which is a landscape of visceral, heady music occasionally foraying into a silent, drunk and dark place. Always ill at ease, the mood occasionally shifts, as it does on Darling Hills, which doesn’t completely embrace its concluding Latin jazz sound but still combines it well with a neverending sack of despair. Funnily enough, the album is quietly brilliant and part of this is due to its coming from a very personal place. McKee shows that he‘s an accomplished multiinstrumentalist and composer, and any Australian indie film-maker toying with a foray into The Hunter or Noise territory need look no further for the score to their next project. The highlight of Burning Boy is McKee demonstrating that he still has plenty left in the tank to give. Adam Wilding
D
Holiday Sidewinder’s breathy tones seem to have grown up a bit too in the two years Bridezilla have been in recording hibernation. Various members of the band have busied themselves elsewhere, to the point many weren’t sure if the band even existed anymore. But Snakes And Ladders (Ivy League) appears out of the ether seemingly with more control and awareness than previously. All the elements which make them distinctive are still present, but they seem to have learnt they don’t have to screech it all to you at once, as was once the sometimes formulaic way of them.
JOE MCKEE
Valtari
D
Meantime, Richard Hawley, whose slightly retro style has not entered the consciousness here as much as in his English homeland, does appear to have been listening to music with an Australian connection. What actually came as the B-side to his Record Store Day limited edition vinyl, the rather stately You Haunt Me (Mute/EMI), has been getting Nick Cave comparisons – ask Jack Ladder how fast that gets tedious – but in its restraint rather than melodrama, maybe Mick Harvey’s craft could be a more apt reference point.
SIGUR RÓS
VD
The voices that affect come from sometimes unlikely places. Joe McKee was far more instrumentalist than vocalist in the perhaps prematurely cancelled Snowman, but don’t look for the jagged violence of that band on his Darling Hills (Remote Control). This is a sparse, obscured, troubled conversation overheard. Soft strings and radio broadcasts distract occasionally, but McKee’s half-spoken words are pained in a different way than the band’s were. It makes for thoughtful, engrossing music.
Nothing really stands out immediately as a hit track, but first single, Black, White & Blue, is the closest thing to typical Ladyhawke territory and one of the stronger numbers. Anxiety has a strong, upbeat pop melody but the lyrics remain dark and depressing – “Take me on a ride/Show me how to hide the voice in my head.” The only slower track on the album, Cellophane, is a refreshing change and give’s Brown’s voice a chance to shine with some nice vocal harmonies. The story of love lost is a clever, modern take on the old rosetinted spectacles analogy: “We are looking through pink cellophane.” It’s a disappointing second outing for Ladyhawke, especially after such a long-anticipated wait. Helen Lear
SCISSOR SISTERS
REGINA SPEKTOR
Magic Hour
What We Saw From The Cheap Seats
Universal For long-time fans Scissor Sisters’ fourth studio album may be a surprise. Collaborating with a range of producers and performers - including Calvin Harris, Pharrell Williams, Alex Rihda and Azealia Banks - has pushed the band towards the type of heavy electro arrangements that currently drench the Top 40 charts. Only The Horses falls hardest towards this direction due to Harris’ hand in producing, making it a solid, floor-filling club track. Thankfully, Jake Shears’ vocals manage to keep the sound buoyant and away from becoming the boring, auto-tuned filler it was in danger of becoming. Keep Your Shoes On follows the same path, drawn on throbbing, militaristic beats and early ‘90s r’n’b to present a cheeky dance track, while Shady Love, featuring Azealia Banks, is heavily centred around hip hop stylistics and fused with industrial electro. While it delivers a punch and is full of attitude, Shears’ vocals seem quite forced, particularly in rap verses. Fortunately he’s perfect during choruses, vocals soaring to become a peak of the song. In contrast, Baby Come Home is the band’s signature sound, featuring retro-inspired rhythms and expansive multi-layered chorus arrangements that bring out the band’s chemistry. Inevitable and San Luis Obispo follow suit, combining ‘70s-inspired pop with simple, catchy guitar riffs that texture the album. Matronic’s Let’s Have A Kiki combines some interesting Afro drums and voicemail vocals, before switching up again and slowing down for The Secret Life Of Letters and the sweet, mid-tempo Best In Me. Overall, Magic Hours remains steeped with their iconic riffs and dancefloor anthems, but they’ve successfully moved directions, using seemingly incongruous influences that meld together to create a euphoric dance album that keeps true to their hedonistic, playful sound.
Sire/Warner Everyone’s favourite Russian-born New Yorker is back with her sixth long-player, and on this new offering she continues to be quite the dichotomy; part beautiful piano-playing balladeer, part oddball who litters her songs with bizarre vocal ticks. What We Saw... gets seriously impish as early as the second song, Oh Marcello, as Spektor sings in an Italian accent, “The Madonna/When she speak/She tell the truth, no?” and creates mock drum beats using her voice. Next, the bouncy Don’t Lean On Me (Ne Me Quitte Pas) is, as you might expect, sung half in English and half in French. Elsewhere, things aren’t so barmy, and there are clear examples of how Spektor has gradually edged a little towards the mainstream. But for a few selectively placed trademark “oohs”, How is the kind of sweeping, weepy ballad that would be as much at home on an Adele album as it is here. “How can I try to love someone new? Someone who isn’t you?” she yearns. To be honest, it’s unrepresentatively and unnecessarily melodramatic in its emotion and lacks the solemn genius of something like Samson. The record though is immediately set back on track by the next song, current single All The Rowboats, a dark, dizzying and exciting monster which, once again, features Spektor’s mouth drumming – doof, doof, doof. Ending with Jessica, a gentle ditty over acoustic guitar, What We Saw... won’t be to everyone’s taste. It’s perhaps too odd for the uninitiated and not odd enough for old school fans, but it once again proves Regina Spektor to be a unique, bold and quite brilliant musician. Robert Townsend
Fiona Dunne
MAKE THEM SUFFER Neverbloom Roadrunner Although winning rave reviews, Perth symphonic deathcore mob Make Them Suffer’s debut EP, Lord Of Woe, was hardly revolutionary. Roadrunner’s local office has obviously detected something promising though. Perhaps it was the chance to sign a local equivalent to the marketable likes of Winds Of Plague, Suicide Silence and Emmure. Irrespective, just four years since forming they’ve been snapped up for their impeccably-produced inaugural full-length. Neverbloom represents a band filled with youthful exuberance, minus the songwriting smarts that obviously come with experience. There are intriguing parts, just not many memorable songs. It’s akin to recent Bleeding Through or Winds Of Plague – including telegraphed breakdowns and seemingly tokenistic female keyboardist. The title track underlines their brutality and ambition, but crams too many ideas and nuances into six frantic, black metal-inflected minutes. Weeping Wastelands and Morrow’s riffing and polyrhythms perhaps borrow a little too obviously from the Meshuggah-inspired djent trend. The sextet are at their most interesting when expanding upon the standard ‘core template - otherwise they’re listenable, but rather nondescript. The Well adds almost drone and sludge-like influences; Elegies offers Deftones-like melodic sensibilities and ambience amidst orchestrations. Make Them Suffer would likely be considered just another band in a desperately bloated scene if they were American or European. Their locality gives them an advantage here, but there can be a tendency within the Australian scene to over-hype our own product purely for the sake of it, even when it’s not quite up to snuff. They’re a competent, if unremarkable band at this point. They should be encouraged though, because they can better this in time. Brendan Crabb
themusic.com.au
JULIA STONE
SKY’HIGH
THE MEN
Picture Show/EMI
Elefant Traks
Spunk/Cooperative
Julia Stone’s second solo record, By The Horns, is somehow at once haunting and hopeful, opening with the slow, understated piano line and soft yet powerfully emotive lyricism of Let’s Forget All The Things We Say. The following track, a cover of The National’s Bloodbuzz Ohio, is faster and more rhythmic, with smoother and more refined vocals that create a powerful introduction to the album. The record intensifies lyrically and becomes ever more intriguing with It’s All Okay, which is faster and more upbeat than the preceding tracks. Its vocal lines are at times soft and weak and at others powerful, even aggressive, creating a fascinating contrast that draws the listener in ever further. After such a potent introduction, the following songs feel less complex and somewhat feeble. I’m Here, I’m Not Here and Justine are fairly simple in their instrumental and lyrical content, and don’t have the same powerful impact as the preceding songs. The energy and potency of the record is reclaimed, however, with Break Apart – its soothing guitar lines and emotive, rich vocal content are incredibly commanding. The record’s closing moments are by far its most impressive. The title track is deeply distressing in the most emotionally loaded of ways. Its poignant lyricism and varied, almost temperamental, vocal melody give it a complexity and sophistication that truly sets it apart from the rest. Following this, the hopelessness the songstress conveys in closing song, The Line That Ties Me, is made all the more effective. The track’s vocals are raw and unforgiving and its sombre piano line complements them perfectly. The album closes triumphantly, a truly accomplished work both for its musical sophistication and its lyrical dexterity.
Sky’High has been next cab off the rank for a while now. Near genre-less, she’s simultaneously available to all yet totally alone. She has an accent and a background that could’ve easily seen her slide into obscurity as The Female Version Of Some Fair-To-Middling Aussie Rapper. Thankfully, it wasn’t to be. You see, Sky is not one to settle. She rejected being the female version of whoever – instead her journey has been a clear, deliberate pursuit of excellence. Reaching sky high and all that.
The Men are a quartet out of Brooklyn that have quickly caught the attention of many with their no-frills take on post-punk and the fuzzed-out end of indie rock. Open Your Heart is their second album in as many years and sees them both refining and expanding their sound with excellent results.
By The Horns
Lucia Osborne-Crowley
Forever Sky’High
Open Your Heart
Okay, so why does she open her debut album with a song as pedestrian as Let’s Just? As the buzzy guitars and monotonous flow wash over you, fear sets in. Has Sky settled? Is just doing enough all she’s aiming for now? What happened to the young woman who could chew glass and breathe fire? Thankfully, we find she’s still alive and kicking by the time Death Row rolls around. And, after building up to it for nearly 20 minutes, massive banger Don Dada is a welcome peak. Plus Sky’s sing-song hook for Go Hard Or Go Home is perfection and Nuclear Love is hypnotic. There are stumbles. Suggesting Robert De Niro’s character in Casino was somehow tough, scary or admirable leads one to believe Sky may have been sky high herself when watching the film. And in an age where every music fan is a copyright expert, that Where Ya Head At even left the studio is mind-boggling. Through most of this album, though, there’s a supremely talented young woman hinting at and partially realising her vast potential. So, on the one hand, this is good stuff. On the flipside, it could have been so much more. James d’Apice
GAZ COOMBES PRESENTS
Here Come The Bombs Hot Fruit/Inertia
The Men also show on Open Your Heart that they have the ability to stretch a good idea into a slowburning, droning mantra on Presence, a song that could come straight off a Wooden Shjips record. At 45 minutes, the album feels well-paced and balanced with both fury and meditation and it is that dynamic range that makes The Men such a fascinating and rewarding band. Open your heart and treat your ears.
You’ll know Gaz Coombes as the lamb-chopped frontman of legendary indie-rockers Supergrass. Well, after six acclaimed albums with the loveable English band, he is setting out on his own. The whirling Sub Divider and Hot Fruit are paeans to early ‘90s melodic rock music with catchy hooks and tightly-strummed chords. If that sounds kinda familiar, it probably should. There are a fair few moments on Here Come The Bombs that are reminiscent of his former band. For instance, the driving guitars and powerful chorus of Whore “Everybody is a whore/Every fucker’s getting sold out” - could have been lifted straight out of their back catalogue. Well, with that distinct and familiar vocal it was always going to be hard to completely reinvent this particular wheel, so, rather, the Brit doesn’t attempt it, but rather takes what made Supergrass great and gives it a personal, more experimental, electro-tinged edge. Opener, Bombs, is an example of this, with plinky plonky electronica sitting beneath a sweeping melody, while Break The Silence’s throbbing beat has both eyes on the dancefloor. Universal Cinema shows serious ambition, clocking in at over six minutes and with an interesting structure that builds slowly from an acoustic opening into a woozy rock-out via a heavenly choir. There’s enough that is new and intriguing about this album to make it a very worthwhile project, while fans of Coombes’ previous band will be more than happy with what they hear too. So, all in all, everyone wins – and you can’t ask for more from a debut.
Chris Familton
Rob Townsend
From the outset The Men hit like a sledgehammer with an MC5-on-amphetamines explosion of chords and tumbling drums. It feels like a sonic breath of fresh air against all the overthought metal, faux punk and fey indie rock bands currently doing the rounds. The guitars peel off screeching notes, bending and colliding with each other, barely pausing for breath before they crash into the Fugazi sound of Animal. The combination of American postpunk (Fugazi, Sonic Youth), Buzzcocks-styled power pop, country rock and the psychedelic grunge of the Dinosaur Jr kind makes for a furious mix of styles that, though it sounds derivative, is imbued with so much energy and knife-edge attitude that it sounds exhilaratingly fresh. The title track buzzes with an aching chorus melody that you want to scream along to, while Candy encourages humming and whistling with its country strumming.
themusic.com.au
THE DRUM MEDIA • 41
ROSETTA
STEEL METAL
This year will see the first annual Steel Assassins festival, a two-day event that will smash its way through Sydney’s Sandringham Hotel. Presented by Metal Evilution, the festival is inspired by European events such as Keep It True and Headbangers Open Air, and provides metalheads with a festival line-up that embraces both melodic and traditional elements of the scene with a diverse range of bands stemming out of thrash/speed/power heavy metal. The weekend will be headlined by Perth prog/power metal beasts, Voyager, along with international guest Megahera – who will be travelling all the way from Italy for their first Australian visit ever. The line-up also includes: Soulforge, Overdrive, Metal, Rampage, Dark Order, Silent Knight, The Loving Tongue, Avarin, Fenrir, Temtris with more acts yet to be announced. The festival will run from Friday 2 to Saturday 3 November.
MONSTER TOUR
Philadelphian post-metal outfit, Rosetta, will be returning to Australia this year for a huge 17-date tour. Last in the country back in 2008, the fourpiece wowed audiences with their powerful live shows. The tour is set to be professionally filmed and included in the band’s forthcoming documentary release. US band City Of Ships and Brisbane’s Nuclear Summer will round out the tour. Head along to one of their shows at The Sandringham Hotel in Sydney on Saturday 28 July, Yours & Owls in Wollongong on Sunday 29, Black Wire Records in Sydney on Monday 30, Bar 32 in Canberra on Wednesday 1 August and The Great Northern in Newcastle on Wednesday 8.
THE EYE OF THE STORM Melbourne post-hardcore group House vs Hurricane have finished recording their second album, Crooked Teeth. The follow-up to 2010’s Perspectives, Crooked Teeth’s first single Blood Knuckles has already been given some music video action (shot in New York City with an ode to Bob Dylan). The album will be released Friday 13 July through UNFD, and they’re embarking on a national tour, with friends While She Sleeps (UK), Northlane and Heights coming along for the ride. They’ll be causing a storm at The Hi-Fi on Saturday 28 July and the Oasis Youth Centre in Central Coast on Sunday 29.
SEASONAL CHANGE Having supported the likes of Closure In Moscow, Tonight Alive, These Kids Wear Crowns, and toured with Sienna Skies and Built On Secrets, Sound Of Seasons are embarking on a headlining national tour, and bringing friends with them. Dubbed the Winter Horizon Tour, Sound Of Seasons will be joined by Summerset Avenue – who’ve honed their craft supporting for the likes of The Getaway Plan and Break Even - and Check Your Smile. They will be playing at Expressive Grounds in Palm Beach on Friday 29 June (Check Your Smile only; all ages), Gearin Hotel in Katoomba on Sunday 1 July, Mars Hill Café in Parramatta on Tuesday 3 (all ages), Hamilton St Station in Newcastle on Wednesday 4 (Sounds Of Seasons only), Liverpool PCYC on Friday 6 (all ages), SFX in Sydney on Saturday 7 (Check Your Smile only) and Woden Youth Centre in Canberra on Wednesday 11 (all ages).
LIFE AND DEATH Psych/punk rock outfit Alithia will be touring nationally in support of their new video, Fallen Times. The band’s music is a celebration of life and death, darkness and light, confusion and clarity. To celebrate the release of their brand new video, they’ll be playing at The Sando in Sydney on Friday 15 June and The Maram in Canberra on Saturday 16. 42 • THE DRUM MEDIA
THE HEAVY SHIT This is a last minute inclusion to The Heavy Shit and it’s a call to action for all of you. Last Thursday a couple of gutless teenagers hospitalised Blackie from The Hard Ons/Nunchukka Superfly. These cowardly pricks left him with a fractured skull and bruising on the brain. Needless to say Blackie will be out of action for a while as he walks the long road to recovery. He was to play at Michele Madden’s final Sando show of the season this Wednesday and Mo Fkn Mayhem has stepped up to take his place. The show will go ahead but with a change of focus: please come and show your support with an open heart and an open wallet. Every cent raised will be given to Blackie to support him while he is not working. As for the fuckers that did it, please show up so we can have a nice little chat with you… Wow it’s a big week for tour announcements, I had to go back and take some of my usual drivel out to mention everything and add a few last minute announcements. In a kind of weird coincidence, I just finished reading one of the best rock autobiographies ever, there have been so many but the one from Slash has to be the most honest, to the point, matter of fact, names are not changed to protect the guilty bio of them all. That Guns N’ Roses part of rock history is getting pretty close to ancient now and the man has moved way beyond it into his own legendary post GN’R career. The latest instalment of it being his new rock-as-all-fuck record, Apocalyptic Love, which features the brilliant vocal dynamics of Myles Kennedy of AlterBridge fame. The man with the hat was recently inducted into the Rock’n’Roll Hall Of Fame and this country loves him dearly. So much so that the last tour sold out in ten minutes and the only place left to hold him and his Band Of Conspirators is the Entertainment Centre. They will be rocking out like it’s 1989 on Saturday 25 August. Tix are on sale Friday 1 June. If you’re feeling the need to continue your ‘80s fetish and have a need to rock out with your cock out once more, never fear as those naughty boys in Steel Panther are bringing their scarves, eyeliner and foil-coated cucumbers back to Oz for their first ever headline tour this October. Like Slash, they are no strangers to the Sunset Strip and seeing them live is like having your own little piece of what the Strip was like back in the day, man! Spend all of the afternoon of
METAL AND HARD ROCK WITH CHRIS MARIC STEEL PANTHER Meanwhile up the road and to the right a bit at The Sando, it is your last chance to catch the wonderful, amazing soulful voice of Michele Madden before she disappears for a month to record the debut album with her new band St Cecilia. Head upstairs and check out her brothers in acoustic arms, Mr Ratcat, Simon Day, and Marcus De Pasquale. Then grab a drink, pull up a chair near a candle and get lost for an hour or so.
THURSDAY Friday 5 October getting primed, teased and glammed and then be at Luna Park’s Big Top ready to rock. It’s an all-ages gig too so the kids can reinvent the scene that was. For something completely different, Chicago murder metal maniacs, Macabre will be back in town playing The Stag on Friday 29 June. Rounding off a rather large week of tour announcements, the Swedish grindcore legends Nasum are heading our way for their first and only time ever this August as part of their 20th anniversary and final farewell tour. Joining the chaos are the UK’s Dyscarnate and the one and only Psycroptic who will be playing their first local shows since the release of their critically acclaimed newie, The Inherited Repression. Shit gets fucked up at The Hi-Fi on Saturday 18 August “A committed person who actually loves metal”. That’s what the boys from ATTWG are seeking as they continue their search for a new vocalist. Think that’s you? Give the band a shout at alicethroughthewindshieldglass@hotmail.com. It’s a very busy week around the traps too so grab your beer money and head out the door.
TUESDAY German prog/cool dudes, The Ocean kick off their NSW stint of their tour with a show at the ANU with Lo!. OK don’t get technical about that being in the ACT – you know what I meant!
WEDNESDAY The Ocean roll up to Sydney to boil off the new paint job at The Annandale along with Lo!, Nuclear Summer and At Dark who kick things off at 8pm.
WAKE THE DEAD
Tim “Ripper” Owens, um, rips into town this week and first up it’s Newcastle that gets to experience his mighty larynx. Check him out at The Cambridge and while you’re at it check out the very in your face stylings of Hazmat who are along for the ride on the entire tour.
FRIDAY The “Ripper” Owens show moves into Canberra to demolish The Basement with TheDevilzWork and Hazmat. Hermann’s Bar gets treated to The Ocean’s side projects while at The Hi-Fi you can get bent out of shape with Meniscus, Dead Letter Circus, Fair To Midland and Twelve Foot Ninja. Frankenbok have come up from Melbourne to wreck The Junkyard at Maitland.
SATURDAY Frankenbok move down to The Basement for Metal Fiesta 2. The Fiesta also stars Our Last Enemy, House Of Thumbs, King Parrot, Na Maza, Psynonemous, Tortured, Amodus, Dark Nemesis, Inside The Exterior and Wretch all playing over two stages for the ridiculously low price of 20 bucks. Ripper and his voice that has been heard in various outfits like Judas Priest, Iced Earth, Mr Yngwie Donuts Malmsteen and the amazing Beyond Fear, plays for his Sydney fans tonight and yep, Hazmat open. Up at Venom you can check out Resist The Thought and Hallower playing live.
SUNDAY The week ends (or starts) with the Ripper/Hazmat machine rolling through The Patch at Fairy Meadow. heavy@drummedia.com.au
PUNK AND HARDCORE WITH SARAH PETCHELL
It’s here! It’s here! The announcement for the annual Poison City Weekender was released last night, and the guys at Poison City and Resist Records have outdone themselves yet again with a line-up that is definitely worthy of making the trip down to Melbourne for. The event is now in its fourth year and the threeday punk rock cavalcade will hit Melbourne on the weekend of Friday 14 September at the Tote, Saturday 15 September at the Corner Hotel and Sunday 16 September at new venue, The Liberty Hotel. Full line-ups for each venue will be announced over the next week or so, with tickets going on sale Monday 28 May. Headlining the festivities are none other than New York supergroup Rival Schools, who are returning to Australia for the first time since releasing their comeback album, Pedals in 2011. Rounding out the internationals will be Restorations, whose self-titled debut continues to win over fans of music for “older punks” everywhere. They will be joined by the crème de la crème of Australian punk rock, namely The Smith Street Band, A Death In The Family (who will be playing their final ever show), Extortion, Luca Brasi, I Exist, Hoodlum Shouts, Paper Arms, Jamie Hay, Grim Fandango, Milhouse, Jen Buxton, Between The Devil & The Deep, The Outsiders (NZ), Let Me Down Jungleman, Chinese Burns Unit (which features members of Frenzal Rhomb and The Optionals), Toy Boats, Lincoln Le Fevre, Run Squirrel and White Walls. And there are still more acts to be announced so stay tuned! As per usual, hit up the Poison City website for more details. Tying in nicely with the Weekender announcement is the news that two of the bands featured on the line-up will be embarking on a national tour as a warm up to their appearances on the fest. Adelaide’s Paper Arms and New Zealand’s The Outsiders will be tag-teaming the national jaunt set for this June. If you’re not familiar with either band, I strongly suggest checking them out, especially Paper Arms’ 2010 album Days Above Ground. The dates for this tour see the dual line-up hit Transit Bar in Canberra on Thursday 28 June for an 18+ show and then Blackwire Records on Friday 29 for an all-ages show. All other bands on these line-ups are yet to be confirmed so stay tuned. Canada’s Burning Love have announced a run of Australian tour dates set for this August. You probably
THE OUTSIDERS don’t know much about this band, but let me give you the skinny (because they’re one of my favourite bands of the last 12 months). After the demise of Cursed, vocalist Chris Colohan picked right back up where the band left off forming Burning Love, but adding delicious hooks and a generous dose of the blues to the formula that rips faces off. The tour is in support of their second album, Rotten Thing To Say, which is set for release through Resist Records on 22 June. You can catch the band when they hit the Sandringham Hotel in Newtown on Friday 17 August, Bar 32 in Canberra on Saturday 18 and an all-ages show at Blackwire Records on Sunday 19. Tickets for all shows will be available on the door. New Jersey punk rockers The Gaslight Anthem have revealed the cover art and track listing for their forthcoming album, Handwritten. Due for release 27 July through Mercury Records, the first single to be released for the album, titled 45, is streaming now through the band’s website. In addition, the band have jam packed their schedule with loads of promotional appearances, including an appearance on Late Night with David Letterman (28 June) and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (27 July). Stay tuned for pre-order information as it arises. I mentioned a couple of weeks ago about Hobbeldehoy signing Perth powerhouse group Eleventh He Reaches London to their label with the aim of re-releasing some of their earlier material and their highly anticipated second full-length in early 2013. Mid last week, Hobbeldehoy put up pre-orders for the first of the releases, a re-issue of the band’s debut release The Good Fight For Harmony, which has been remastered
themusic.com.au
for release on vinyl. The album was originally selfreleased back in 2005, and consistently sold out multiple pressings. The album will be released on 8 June, with strictly limited copies: 135 on clear vinyl and 133 on black, all hand-numbered. Pre-orders are available now through the Hobbeldehoy webstore with a shipping date of 31 May. In a recent interview, regarding the band’s appearance on this year’s Bamboozle Festival, Jesse Lacey briefly touched on the future of the band, including a mention of how their scheduled recording time for April just gone was not used to record a new album. In the article, Lacey was quoted as saying, “You start to lose that whole idea that it’s important for our band to be known as this entity. And we put a lot more importance on our individual fulfilment, really. In some ways a band can be limiting, especially after being in it for ten to 12 years. It really has become a lot more about the friendship and the families we have with each other – and the idea that we can’t do this much longer.” For all you guys heading over to the US for prime hardcore festival season, the This Is Hardcore Fest in Philadelphia made its line-up announcement over the last week or so. If you’re heading over, this is what you can look forward to: Gorilla Biscuits, Lifetime, Bane, Terror, Cro-Mags, Earth Crisis, H2O, Ringworm, Title Fight, Blacklisted (when are they coming back out to Australia already?) and a mystery TBA headliner for the Friday show. Have fun and stay safe kids! wakethedead@drummedia.com.au
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THE HOME OF METAL THE DRUM MEDIA • 43
BUSINESS MUSIC
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WORDS FROM THE PEAK BODY OF CONTEMPORARY MUSIC IN NSW OLIVER TANK
DOING THE MOTHERLAND PROUD – MUSICNSW AT THE GREAT ESCAPE
South Rakkas Crew this month released the acappella for Bounce as part of a remix comp. The vocals are performed by Jamaican MC Rage, with near 30 remixes uploaded onto Soundcloud. The standouts include the Chong X Moombahton version, the electro/dancehall of Frandomeda and the electro/bounce version created by Adelaide’s Rozee. The Rozee remix prompted a little Q&A: Adelaide’s most underrated DJs/producers? To be honest the first question stumps me a bit because I have only lived in Adelaide a year but Adam Daze, who runs the online radio station (www.soundpound.net), definitely deserves more credit than he gets. So much effort has gone into building the studio from two turntables in a bedroom to what it is today. Your most influential Australian producer? There have been many Australian influences but one person that stands out the most for me would be Melbourne boy Swick. I really enjoy the tropical bass sound he produces. It gets me dancing every time I hear his track Broccoli. Music influences outside of club/dance music? Tough question. I have so many influences outside of dance music. When I was growing up I listened to a lot of punk rock. So bands like Millencolin and The Ramones inspired me to start playing the guitar. It’s just grown from there. Favourite piece of production software? My favourite piece of production software would have to be Ableton live. I like it because of its basic and simple layout, but what I like most is that it’s very plug-in friendly because I use a lot of other internal and external equipment like Maschine, which is a favourite of mine. Next piece of production from you? I wish I knew myself. I have some original tracks I’m messing around with but nothing set in stone. I have a very busy day job so I’m lacking in free time to sit down and work. Any “hater” culture in Adelaide? HATERS!!! I hate that word, so I guess I’m one (haha). But a ‘hater’ is someone who is jealous, so when there is someone popular there are gonna be haters. Haven’t noticed it too much in Adelaide, but I try not to look at the negatives. If someone makes it big it’s because of a lot of hard work and they deserve it. You can find out more about Rozee at: soundcloud.com/ rockhoppingfng.
This week’s edition comes all the way from Brighton at the 2012 Great Escape. The Great Escape is a showcase conference and is known for launching new music into the UK and European markets. Dubbed the UK’s answer to SXSW, this humble (only in comparison) but impressive conference kick-starts the Summer festival season, attracts nearly 15,000 music lovers and industry representatives, and houses 300-plus bands in nearly 30 venues across three days. This is the core programming and the addition of club nights, the ‘alternative’ escape, pop up gigs, label parties and collaborations mark an exhaustingly amazing couple of days on a cold pebble beach.
RYE RYE
JUKE INFLUENCES
Chicago Juke and its infamous 160bpm clap is now making its presence felt in some new hip hop. Lead examples include the new Rick Ross feat. Usher’s Touchn You, Rihanna feat. Busta Rhymes & Reek Da Villian’s Birthday Cake (Remix) and the new one from stripper extraordinaire Rabbit feat. Wale‘s #SOFUCKINFINE.
MOOMBAH FEEL
UK label Scold Recordings just released SCR002 - Audio Heretics on their Soundcloud page. While you are there it’s worth looking at SCR001 - Songs From A Small Island. Tracks from Disgraceland and Geekboy are bossing up the Scold Label, making a deeper 5am feel of “ton”. The 110BPM site is the source for less established partytime tracks. They currently offer the second instalment of their Moombahton series that heads in the tear-out direction and feels a little less “ton” and more “bro”. Over at Generation Bass, founder DJ UMB has released a “ton” EP under the alias Drvg Cvltvre. The EP is awesomely titled Drvgathon.
BLASTLY
Has anyone confirmed if Mykki Blanco is a Chris Lilley character? Rye Rye has a new album, hot merch and recently “performed” at the 2012 Dinah Festival. Look out for the Wet Up, Tekk On and Gully Swag dancehall riddems. Looking forward to Riff Raff/Mad Decent collab. Bring the rice out.
The concentration of the Great Escape is conducive to new partnerships; Brighton is known for its number of small venues, which is great if you can get in. At no other conference I’ve attended were there more opportunities to simply meet people. However the concentration is also a weak point – I missed out on a number of bands in my stubbornness to see them all. It’s just too hard to jump between venues to see different bands – the lines are too long. For a showcasing artist, getting as many people as possible to see you is the key – don’t count on one big showcase but a number of smaller ones will work. Oliver Tank played each day for example; two to three times is pretty standard. The Great Escape also programs bands during the day, which is sometimes an easier way to see bands. Each year TGE has a feature country – this year the Catalan and Balearic Islands – and despite Australia not being an official focus, we definitely took over the town. A whopping 17 bands took flight to showcase and an impressive bunch of Aussie delegates including labels, publishers, agents, managers, bookers and festival promoters were all present – if it weren’t for the quaint townhouses, vegan hotdogs, antique shops and pebble beach, I swear I could have been in Fortitude Valley for Big Sound. This is an important comparison, as for any band looking to showcase abroad, Big Sound is a great place to start, and actually a starting point for a number of conversations I had at TGE. The number of European and UK representatives I spoke to who mentioned or wanted to know more about Big Sound was impressive and definitely helped Queensland band Inland Sea have such a successful trip.
ILLNESSGuitarist Violinist Songwriter ACCIDENT Sound Engineer Composer Guitari Drummer TRAGEDYSinger EMERGENCY Road Crew Songwriter ACCIDENTViolinistTRAGEDY Singer Sound EngineerRoad Crew Drummer GuitaristILLNESS EMERGENCY Manager Engineer Violinist ACCIDENTRoadEMERGENCY Crew Drumm Sound Engineer ILLNESS TRAGEDY Guitarist Composer ILLNESS Road Crew Guitar Songwriter EMERGENCY d CrewAgent Drummer ACCIDENT ILLNESS AGEDY Guitarist Violinist SongwriterTRAGEDY Sound EngineerComposer Guitar MERGENCY Drummer
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44 • THE DRUM MEDIA
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They scored a review of their 2011 Big Sound Showcase on the BBC, which led to a London-based booking agent who was able to assist them to set up a mini tour around London, TGE and Liverpool Sound City this year. There is a welcoming attitude from the UK towards Australian bands. This was evident at the ‘Meet the Aussies’ luncheon organised by Sounds Australia. The delicacy behind this event may not be clear – it’s just a lunch, but much like a seating plan at a wedding, this was intricate and carefully thought out. Positioned as if we were all on the singles table and implied to be set up, international delegates were placed next to their most appropriate Australian manager/label/publisher/booker. I’m sure this lunch alone started a lot of successful partnerships for those attended. This is the detail that Sounds Australia put into their projects and were recognised for it when they were inducted into the Hall of Fame at the yearly Music Conference Awards. Then the bands; Sounds Australia staged two showcases for some of those who travelled over. They took over the Festival Hub – an outdoor mini stage at the centre of it all and the infamous Aussie BBQ on the beach. Showcasing bands included Jinja Safari, Oliver Tank, Emma Louise, Inland Sea, Husky and Ben Salter. Back in London the hype for Australian bands continues with an expectation that the next Temper Trap or Cloud Control will pop up at any minute. As an export-focused event, the variety of bands reflected the sheer mass of a music market and showed it couldn’t be a better time for Australians looking to export there. A gateway to Europe and a launching pad for new music, The Great Escape would be an ideal jump into the international conference circuit and any young band looking to export. Just be aware - three days at the conference will take up eight months’ planning. Meg Williams
THE BANDS THE INDUSTRY THE LOCALS THE ENCORES THE DJS THE GIGS THE PRODUCERS THE CLUBS THE REMIXES THE ARTISTS THE FESTIVALS THE GROUPIES THE ALBUMS THE TOURS THE FANS
LIVE NOW!
GET IT TOGETHER
HIP HOP WITH VIKTOR KRUM
YOUNG & RESTLESS
ALL AGES WITH DAVE DRAYTON TOTALLY UNICORN
We are in favour of gay marriage. Maybe you’re not? Fine. (Not really fine, no. Our real point is that if you’re not convinced of something so self-evident then we’re not going to spend valuable column inches trying to convince you. You’ll probably need to get your sleeve tattoo finished off halfway through our explanation anyway.) Obama likes gay marriage now. His opinion evolved from not necessarily being in favour of it to now being in favour. Fine. The president learned more and it changed his mind. As people learn more, their opinions change. Fine. We think it was John Maynard Keynes who first tweeted, “I was firstly opposed to gay marriage because I don’t like to think about bum sex. Now that I’ve realised other people’s sex lives are none of my business, I don’t see the need to discriminate against anybody. Who am I to judge? #occupy #kony2012” Anyway Jay Z, the guy who released Black Republican less than two years before vigorously supporting Obama’s rise to power (Obama’s a Democrat, if you didn’t know), has weighed in. “I’ve always thought (of) it as something that was holding the country back,” said Hov of gay marriage in a CNN interview. Interesting. It’s also great that you kept that opinion to yourself for so long, Jay. Helpful. The gay icon continued, “You choose to love whoever you love.” Oh, OK. Hang on. What?! Choose? “You choose to love whoever you love.”? Sigh, after such promising signs of being totally on top of an incredibly simple issue, Hov put his foot in it. Gay marriage is not about letting men and women who choose to be monogamous with members of the same sex get a tax break or whatever. It’s about people who are born gay (or who have the “gay” genes they were born with activated during their life by some external stimulus; still a live argument among scientists) having their human rights recognised. It’s a human rights issue, not a “some people like cricket, I like basketball” issue. Remember when we said people who make the best music are generally fairly dim? Yeah. Ya boy Hov. David Dallas is on his way back to Sydney with his live band Daylight Robbery in tow. He’s playing the Civic Underground on Saturday 9 June. Dallas is a tough guy to pin down. He was on that Scribe song that came out a decade ago rocking the (terrible) moniker Con Psy. Since then he’s popped up every so often, notably last year releasing The Rose Tint free first, and then selling
Stop everything! Now Mmm Bop. That’s right, not only are Hanson still a band, they’re still a band that’s touring to Australia. And what’s more, they’ve sold out shows! Don’t stress, just pretend you went to primary school in the mid-’90s and party down at the newlyadded all-ages show on Sunday 16 September at the Enmore. You can grab tickets from the venue. I’m as baffled and intrigued as the lot of ya. Local metal dudes Resist The Thought have been hitting the road of late with internationals like Suicide Silence, The Acacia Strain and All Shall Perish, so it made plenty of sense for them to hit up California to record their latest studio effort, Sovereignty. To celebrate its release they’re hitting the road again and playing an all ages show at a venue very dear to my own heart, The Fitz in St Ives on Friday night, and then playing another AA gig, Unanderra Community Hall, on Sunday arvo.
EL-P a deluxe version after it turned out to be super popular. Despite this success, Dallas has always had an air of having friends in high places trying to push him further. His shows have the feeling of an industry invite-only gig and, as such, it’s been easy to imagine him as some sort of Next Big Thing. From our perspective it’s yet to happen. If it does, you might be the one wearing the cheeky grin and reminiscing about the magical night you had with your favourite New Zealander at the Civic Underground in 2012. If that’s a feeling you’re after, go chase it. Because we’re music industry types (wadup) we get sent stuff before you. It used to make us feel special. Now, of course, bittorrent has levelled the playing field and you hear music at the same time as us. Of course, that’s only true for those who access their music unlawfully. For anyone who accesses their music lawfully, go and get El-P’s Cancer 4 Cure as a matter of urgency when it’s out. For those who laugh in the face of lawsuit, how good is this album? Pretty good, right? Pretty bloody good. Even people like you will be able to enjoy it, we reckon. New Rainman album Bigger Pictures out now. Go get it, team. getittogether@drummedia.com.au
BREAKDOWN
POP CULTURE THERAPY WITH ADAM CURLEY
Also on Friday night, at yet another venue that occupied so many of my formative years, is the Young Guns All Ages Band Night at YOYO’s Youth Centre next to Forestway Shopping Centre. The gig runs from 7 to 11pm, costs you 10 bones and features local Northern Beaches acts Lost Trolleys, Owl House, Hailstone, North Of The Bends and Swingsets. Also on Friday night (I know, it’s busy and you’re spoiled for choice!) I’m putting on an all ages acoustic evening at Blackwire Records in Annandale, kicking off 7pm, also costing 10 bones and featuring Nick Van Breda, Alex Sepansky, Damien Radford and Lincoln le Fevre, all the way from Tassie. And before I give you a little info about a cracking gig on Sunday, a quick notice to inform you that Penshurst RSL’s All Age Band Comp is now underway. Prizes this year include $1000 cash for first place, an advertising kit and band photography session for second place and a Takamine acoustic guitar for third place. There are still a few spots left in heat five Friday 8 June, and heat six Friday 22, so get in touch with Nycole via email at nycole@penshurstrsl.com.au for a shot at the top spot. And lastly, we’ve had the, erm, pleasure of a taciturn chat with Drew Gardner, frontman for mystical animal hardcore act Totally Unicorn, ahead of their all ages show with the ever impressive Tonight Alive (playing their last shows before heading out on the Warped tour
OG FLAVAS
in the States) and the newly-added Young Guns from the UK, at the Factory Theatre, Marrickville, on Sunday. For the uninitiated, what can you tell us about Totally Unicorn? Totally Unicorn is four fat hairy dudes playing music in their underpants that piss off venues while doing so... Why do you think it’s important to play all ages shows? We love playing all ages shows even though we don’t get many chances to do so. It’s important to play them because it gives kids a chance to see new and different styles of music and so Tim can get ladies… Favourite all ages venue in Australia? It would have to be Yours & Owls in Wollongong. We love playing in our hometown and the crowd is always fun and up for a good time. The floor is yours, sell us Sunday’s gig at The Factory... Picture a crowd of pop punk kids scared for their lives as a 100 kilogram man leaps at them from the stage in his underwear. Any advice for young up-and-coming musicians? Fuck playing music other people want to hear and to look cool... As long as you’re having fun doing it, that’s all that matters. allages@drummedia.com.au
URBAN AND R&B NEWS BY CYCLONE BOB
It’s coming on summer in the northern hemisphere, which means much ruminating on which pop acts will take best advantage of higher serotonin levels (or strengthened neuron signals or whatever the science is on happiness these days). Pitchfork has thrown one of its hats in the ring and proclaimed Swedish duo Icona Pop a “righteous contender” for the summer anthem crown with their single I Love It. It’s a cheer-dance track in line with The Ting Tings’ chart botherers that celebrates bratty destruction and emotional combat before deciding, “I don’t care/I love it.” In other parts, Santigold’s new single Look At These Hoes is getting an airing. As is Passion Pit’s Take A Walk, a confused portrait of the traps of the American dream crossed with a droll ‘update’ on last year’s “let’s go surfing” summer-activity chorus as described in the song’s title. Are parks really this year’s beaches? It’s a sorry state of affairs we’re in. And so this week I give you a mixtape of new pop songs to make liberals dance, because the way things are going, we bleeding hearts are going to need a reason over the coming months/years: JJ – Beautiful Life: The thickly produced first cut from the Swedish duo’s new two-track release, jj n° 4 (Secretly Canadian), begins as a whisper of a nursery rhyme set to billowing harp before opening up to hand percussion and woodwind. Elin Kaslander is the elf queen in this forest-fantasy moment, telling us, “It’s a beautiful night to live this beautiful life,” and essentially telling Sweden it shouldn’t work its songwriting fingers to the bone so that Ke$ha can get drunk and flash her bits at everyone. POP ETC – Live It Up: The band formerly known as The Morning Benders are back as POP ETC with this single from their upcoming self-titled album, out 8 June through Rough Trade/Remote Control. (It follows a mixtape of studio cuts that can still be downloaded free from popetcetera.com.) The band changed its name due to homophobic connotations of “bender” in the UK and includes the lyric, “I’ve never disrespect no woman, never called her a hoe/That’s the way it oughtta be,” in this minimal-but-punchy R&B number. Sensitivity FTW. Beach House – New Year: While Victoria Legrand might be singing about a “young girl waiting for a new year” in this track on the Baltimore duo’s beat-infused fourth album, Bloom (Mistletone), we can take it as an optimistic political anthem when she sings over shoulder-shimmying guitars, “We keep these promises”. Even if that requires us to pretend any decent promises have ever been made. 46 • THE DRUM MEDIA
POP ETC Kindness – Swingin Party: Vice called this “superprecious bleating”, which is kind of another way of saying that the music of Adam Bainbridge is for people who like other people. His album is even called World, You Need A Change Of Mind (Universal). The most liberal-popmixtape-worthy track here, though, is his low disco cover of The Replacements’ Swingin’ Party, which is basically about wimps getting together. Catcall – On My Own: We can fight about same-sex marriage, but every good leftie knows the truly humanistic endpoint will be equality for those who don’t choose to partner off. Where are our tax benefits, huh? For now we can get in on (without committing) to the new-wave synth sparkle from Catcall’s The Warmest Place (Ivy League). Lemonade – Neptune: Brooklyn-based trio Lemonade aren’t afraid of trading on the zeitgeist. Their debut album on Matador subsidiary True Panther was a bright, clubby post-punk thing perfect for2008. This single from their forthcoming follow-up Diver (True Panther/Remote Control) channels the best of the current synth-led R&B fad while singer Callan Clendenin lays it on the line with, “All I want is to sort this out”. No self-aggrandising, just beautiful diplomacy. Romy – Home: Melbourne’s Romy Hoffman subverts ‘90s slogan-house with this unsubtle first taste of her debut album under her own name. The keys are bright and upfront, the beats are sharp and Hoffman’s vocal is breathy as she repeats the only line of the track: “You make me feel like I’m always home/’Cause home is where the heart is.” (Word is she throws a few “homos” in too.) It’s a club banger for those who don’t like club bangers, and enough to suggest that leftie homo house has a very near future. breakdown@drummedia.com.au
BoB, the Atlantan rapper, singer, instrumentalist and producer, is back with his second album, Strange Clouds. So where’s the fanfare? After all, it did debut at #5 in the US. Bobby Ray Simmons Jr, as he was born in North Carolina, is just as ambitious – and nearly as flamboyant – as Kanye West. He’s possibly the most versatile of the many ‘new ‘Ye’ acts’ – KiD CuDi, Drake, Theophilus London... However, Simmons perceives himself more as the successor to Hotlanta’s genre-hopping André 3000. In fact, last year he aired the Bo Diddley-sampling Play The Guitar with the OutKast MC – and, behind the boards, Salaam Remi (Amy Winehouse). Alas, that single faltered and so it’s been left off Strange Clouds. A shame. Simmons broke through in 2010 with Nothin’ On You (featuring Bruno Mars), which topped the charts in both the US and UK. He followed with the album, BoB Presents: The Adventures Of Bobby Ray, encompassing another hit in Airplanes, co-piloted by Paramore’s Hayley Williams. Simmons had circulated mixtapes since 2007. He was initially signed by Jim Jonsin’s fledgling Rebel Rock Entertainment, which then partnered with TI’s Grand Hustle Records to release BoB Presents... through Atlantic. But, while Simmons has enjoyed huge hits and commands a significant following in social media, he attracts little mainstream media attention. Hipster rock journos salivate over Drake, not BoB. Simmons has lain down strategic cameos – but, with the exception of Jessie J’s Price Tag, none memorable. Tyler, The Creator dissed him (and Mars) on Yonkers, quite unnecessarily dropping the nastier ‘F’ word, yet undermining his street cred. Maybe the pastor’s son should snag himself a Kardashian girlfriend. It’s paid off for West, now suddenly on Grazia’s radar. Still, for all his musicality, Simmons lacks personality. And the muso isn’t as innovative as he imagines, his blend of Southern hip hop, R’n’B, alt.rock and electronica more commercially astute than avant. He even moans about fame on Strange Clouds’ So Hard To Breathe. Yawn. Any eccentricity seems contrived. Simmons really is the rap Bruno Mars. It doesn’t help that he’s working extensively with Dr Luke, AKA Mr Generic, who helmed his third smash, Magic. That said, Strange Clouds is worth a listen. The sci-fi-themed album (note the surrealist cover art) has an especially grandiose intro, even for an MC, in Bombs Away, complete with operatic vocals. Morgan Freeman, who scored an Oscar for his role in Clint
themusic.com.au
Eastwood’s boxing flick, Million Dollar Baby, utters some lofty words. It’s hilarious. Indeed, the guests on Strange Clouds surprise. Country starlet Taylor Swift apparently turned down the offer of recording a song with a contrite West after the VMA incident, but she sings on Simmons’ current single, Both Of Us. It’s in the same alternative vein as Airplanes. Simmons is into the Skrillex-y dubstep blowing up in America and superseding David Guetta’s electro-hop. Luke recreates the sound on Strange Clouds’ Lil Wayne-charged title-track – actually the lead single, released last year. (Curiously, Simmons has said that he’d love to collaborate with not only Skrillex, but also Britain’s edgier James Blake – preferably with Skrillex.) Then there’s the acidic Out Of My Mind, Simmons joined by a suitably outlandish Nicki Minaj. The divisive Chris Brown appears alongside TI on Arena, a piano-sprinkled anthem that might be Simmons’ take on Coldplay. Needless to say, it’s blah. More refreshing is the ethnic-flavoured Never Let You Go. It has a... banjo! Ryan Tedder, the OneRepublic frontman beloved in urban circles, provides the hook. (He likewise produced the LP’s second single, So Good.) Simmons has hired lesser-known producers, among them Frequency, who oversees Chandelier with one Lauriana Mae, a twangier Billie Holiday. Nevertheless, it’s a mere companion piece to Both Of Us. Incidentally, Frequency lately guided femcee Charli Baltimore’s comeback, All Lies. Strange Clouds finishes with the beguiling jazzy doo-wop of Where Are You (BoB Vs Bobby Ray) – like Bombs Away, masterminded by Simmons himself. Again, the alter-ego ‘concept’ is a cliché in hip hop, but Simmons really should produce more of his own stuff – he’s good enough. Besides, West certainly does. ogflavas@drummedia.com.au
SUNSHINE & HAPPINESS
ROOTS DOWN The joy of a print deadline meant that last week I was unable to speak about the tragic loss of the man that many quite right consider to be the greatest bassist of all time, Donald “Duck” Dunn. I spent early last week, after I heard of his passing, sitting around cobbling together some of my favourite pieces that Duck had played on and it was until that point where they were all sitting there in a playlist in front of me that it really hit home what a musical master and enormously vital piece of music history we had lost. This guy anchored down so many classic soul songs from back in the day, he played with everyone; Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Eddie Floyd, Albert King, Johnny Taylor, Isaac Hayes… basically, Stax Records owe a whole lot to the bass playing of Donald ”Duck” Dunn. But it goes further than that; John Prince, Stevie Nicks, Tom Petty, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, hell, even Elvis fucking Presley wanted Duck on board. I have heard it said that it was playing with Booker T & The M.G.’s that made Duck the most proud, however, and I can understand why. That band represented so much in their time and the music that they played was simply unbelievable. If the legacy of Duck Dunn can live on then the music world will be a better place. I don’t mean to gloat (who am I kidding, that’s exactly what I mean to do) but I got a copy of the new Lil’ Band O’ Gold record Lil Band O Gold Play Fats last week and it is honestly far better than I was expecting it to be. That’s really saying something too, because I
BLUES AND ROOTS WITH DAN CONDON
Warren Storm opens it up with a faithful Blue Monday before CC Adcock lends a brilliant stoned drawl to Let’s Talk It Over (Don’t Lie to Me), which is such a heartfelt slow burner. The more traditional horns you’d expect come out in Going Home, while the piano driven Four Winds Blow can’t help but put a smile on your face. Lucinda Williams just sounds like Lucinda Williams, which isn’t a bad thing but you’ve forgotten about her by the time David Egan launches into the awesome I’m In Love Again. Don’t just get excited about this album’s release, walk up to your calendar or pull out your phone and put a big, fat mark on Friday 8 June when it’s out through EMI. LIL’ BAND O’ GOLD had envisioned the legendary swamp pop band’s take on Fats Domino songs to be pretty fantastic. It’s not really as traditional an undertaking as you may expect, the band haven’t been scared to take a few risks and they have paid off, which shouldn’t be a surprise given the calibre of the musicians. It’s cool to hear Jimmy Barnes and Tim Rogers lending their vocals to Ain’t That A Shame and I’m Walkin’ respectively, though I have no idea how that came about. I even got to speak with legendary saxophonist Dickie Landry from the band last week and he admitted that he had no idea who they were and couldn’t go into how they came to be involved.
One of the most awesome collaborative records in recent memory is the amazing Mermaid Avenue which saw Wilco and Billy Bragg team up to write music for a bunch of unearthed Woody Guthrie lyrics. Well both volumes one and two have been reissued alongside a third disc packed full of even more songs (17 of them, in fact) from the sessions as well as a DVD of the Kim Hopkins directed Man In The Sand documentary that was made about the album. I’m not going to give away any spoilers, but if you love these records and haven’t seen it, then you’re probably going to find it quite shocking. This four disc (three CDs and a DVD) package is out through Warner right now. roots@drummedia.com.au
BLOW Direct from Italy, the Luca Ciarla Quartet, led by one of the world’s most talented violinists and blending contemporary jazz and ethnic music, comes to Dungeon Jazz in Newcastle on Thursday, the Sound Lounge in the Seymour Centre Friday and the Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre in Penrith Saturday. Saxophonist, flautist and composer Gary Honor, back home from London, launches his debut album with US-based Trippin ‘n’ Rhythm Records, Heads & Tales, in the Camelot Lounge Thursday night. American bassist and composer Robert Hurst, whose CV includes touring and recording with both Branford and Wynton Marsalis, Dave Brubeck, Harry Connick Jr and Chris Botti, is joined by our own Jamie Oehlers on sax, Matt McMahon on piano and Tim Firth on drums to present his own and the compositions of these colleagues over two nights, Friday and Saturday, at 505. Saxophonist and composer Elliott Dalgleish, accompanied by pianist Mike Nock, guitarist Carl Dewhurst, bassist Brett Hirst and drummer James Waples, explores the profound contribution to the evolution of jazz and improvisation made by Lenny Tristano, Warne Marsh and Lee Konitz in The TristanoMarsh-Konitz Project, Saturday in the Sound Lounge. Accompanied by cellist Kate Adams and percussionist Blair Greenberg, actor, singer, pianist and composer Joanna Weinberg reprisess her latest show, The Piano Diaries, in the Camelot Lounge Sunday evening by popular demand.
JAZZ/WORLD WITH MICHAEL SMITH Michael Griffin Quintet – Norton’s On Norton FourPlay + Circle Of Rhythm – The Basement Mucho Mambo – Camelot Lounge John & Yuki – Well Connected Café Glebe Susan Gai Dowling – Jazushi
LUCA CIARLA Multi-instrumentalist Kim Sanders and tabla master Bobby Singh play two intimate concerts with visiting Turkish mey virtuoso Songul Karahasanoglu, at St Luke’s Church in Enmore Saturday evening and a house party in Leura from 5pm Sunday, details on booking via meg.musichunter@gmail.com.
TUESDAY
Abstract Brotherhood + Midnight Tea Party – 505 James Valentine Quartet + Robert Susz – Golden Sheaf Gadjo Guitars – Camelot Lounge John & Yuki – Madison’s Darlinghurst
WEDNESDAY
Dan Barnett’s The Australians – 505 Bob Malone Band (US) – Beaches, Thirroul
Adam Pringle and friends jam the blues at the Sandringham Hotel.
Yuki Kumagai/John Mackie Jazz Band – 10am Blacktown City Festival Katie Noonan + Brian Campeau – Camelot Lounge John & Yuki – Well Connected Café Leichhardt
SUNDAY
The Swinging Blades – Marrickville Golf Club Sydney Fusion Jazz Jam – 3pm Beauchamp Hotel Darlinghurst Pia Anderson, Simon Bartlett, Sarah J Hyland and more present A Tribute To Louis Prima – The Vanguard Christa Hughes & The Honky Tonk Shonks – The Standard, Surry Hills SamBossa – Woollahra Hotel Unity Hall Jazz Band – Unity Hall Hotel Sonic Mayhem Orchestra – Blue Beat Brian Campeau – 505
Dan Barnett/Darren Heinrich/Sam Rollings – Dome Bar Surry Hills John Harkins Trio – 505 Gerard Masters Band + Miss Little – Blue Beat Bossa Baby – The Supper Club Darlinghurst Feel The Manouche – Colbourne Ave Glebe
TUESDAY
Greening From Ear To Ear + Natalie Dietz – 505 James Valentine Quartet + Elana Stone – Golden Sheaf
FRIDAY
blow@drummedia.com.au
ROCKABILLY/PSYCOBILLY/ALT.COUNTRY WITH PEDRO MANOY
Gail Page is widely acknowledged as having one of the biggest and most soulful voices on the local roots music scene and her earth-shattering vocals and engaging personality always leave audiences justifiably with the feeling they’ve witnessed something special. Gail draws her inspiration from her Aboriginal/Irish heritage, coupled with a lifetime of experience and sees her music as a “sacred place”. You can catch Gail and her band this Sunday at the Bomaderry Hotel from 4pm.
TUESDAY
SATURDAY
MONDAY
THURSDAY
THE SWAMP SHACK
The popular Sydney Rock‘n’Roll & Alternative Market is moving to a new and more centralised home in Manning House at Sydney University with its grand opening on Sunday 3 June from 10.30am. The market will take over all three floors of Manning House, providing lots of space for its numerous stores selling alternative and vintage fashion, jewellery, accessories, records, CDs and DVDs, books, art and collectables. It’s billed as the ultimate subculture market and draws its inspiration from a variety of musical genres – rock’n’roll, rockabilly, goth, ska, metal, punk, alt.country, swing and burlesque. As usual there’ll be a massive lineup of live entertainment with Gay Paris, Captain Reckless & the Lost Souls, Danny & The Cosmic Tremors and the Swingtanic Sextet along with a host of DJs. As a special attraction, renowned rock photographer and long-time Drum Media snapper Tony Mott will present a slideshow of some of his most famous images and discuss his remarkable career from 11am.
David Myles returns to our shores in May to further showcase his album, Into The Sun, hitting the road with local duo Camille & Stuie. They play The Vault in Windsor on Thursday 24 May, Clarendon Guesthouse in Katoomba on Friday 25, The Basement in Sydney on Saturday 26, The Brass Monkey in Cronulla on Friday 1 June, Central Coast Lizotte’s on Saturday 2 and Newcastle Lizotte’s on Sunday 3. We grabbed Myles for a few quick questions. What are your favourite moments on your new album, Into The Sun? A big part of the record was trying things I hadn’t tried before. If there’s a style of music I wanted to explore I’d go for it. So I got to explore Brazilian bossa stuff (Ooh La La), ‘70s era African style horn stuff (The Bottom) and even an a capella tune (Run). What was it you were trying to capture in the making of the album? I was trying to go outside the influences I had drawn on in the past. I have been into Brazilian and Western African music for a long time and I really wanted to see if I could incorporate some of the sounds and spirit of that music in my own songs. Did you meet Camille & Stuie prior to this tour? If so, how? I opened for Camille & Stuie on the last [Australian] tour in January and get along with them great. I love country music, particularly the more traditional stuff and they draw on that stuff beautifully. Plus Stuie’s one of the most wicked guitar players I’ve ever seen. What are some of your favourite things about the land Down Under? Two are swimming and coffee. Both are incredible here. Everyone we’ve met has been truly great too, that’s a huge bonus.
SATURDAY
RAY BEADLE
WEDNESDAY
LA-based boogie pianist and singer Bob Malone plays Beaches in Thirroul from 7pm while the long-running Musos Club Jam Night approaches heritage status at the Bald Faced Stag in Leichhardt.
THURSDAY
Shane Pacey’s Blues Trio play the National Press Club in Canberra from 7pm.
FRIDAY
Bridie King and her Trio play songs from her great new album, Blue Ivories, along with special guest Shane Pacey at the Empire Hotel from 8pm. The Dorothy-Jane Gosper Band take over the Harmonie German Club in the ACT.
Don Hopkins plays a special showcase gig at the Marrickville Bowlo presented by the Stormy Monday crew on 2MBS-FM along with rare blues movies on the big screen. Blue Venom rock the Carousel Inn Hotel in Rooty Hill and the Blues Pirates do some musical planking at the Bald Rock Hotel. There‘s a huge night at the Empire Hotel with Blues Kitchen, One Foot In The Groove and the Brooks Point Blues Band First Blues Platoon shape up at the Merton Hotel in Rozelle and the PJ O’Brien Band launch their new CD at Beaches in Thirroul. The Bellhops swing the Collingwood Hotel in Liverpool and Finn let loose at the Teagarden Hotel.
SUNDAY
The Continental Blues Party have a busy Sunday with a 1pm show at the Crossroads Hotel at Casula from 1pm, doubling to the Bald Rock Hotel from 6pm. The Little Blues Festival featuring the Roller Coaster Blues Band and guests has a new home at the Mangrove Mountain Memorial Club while The Loungephonics take their funk’n’soul revue to the North Manly Bowling Club from 3pm. There’s some great downhome sounds from the Chickenshack Trio at the Oaks Hotel/Motel in Albion Park, also from 3pm the Sydney Blues Society Jam featuring Mississippi Shakedown should not be missed at the Botany View Hotel from 6pm. The very talented Illya Szwec and his Groove Depot deliver some great bluesy soul at the Pyrmont Bridge Hotel from 8pm swampshack@drummedia.com.au
themusic.com.au
JOSH KYLE
JAZZ PRODIGY
Young Australian musician, Josh Kyle, is about to release his debut album, a collaboration with Geoff Gasgoyne, producer and bassist previously associated with Jamie Callum. The album, titled Possibilities, comprises 11 brand new tracks, including two critically acclaimed jazz ballads, which, as one writer put it, “prove Josh can connect emotionally with the standard jazz repertoire, whilst still making them his own.” The album’s influences include genres as far apart as R’n’B and European electronica, and includes groove-based compositions as well as jazz ballads. Kyle has returned to Australia from some pretty impressive and critically acclaimed shows in London and will tour in support of the album next month, at Venue 505 in Surry Hills on Friday 8 June, and free at the Darling Harbour Jazz Festival on Monday 11 June.
PLAY THE MUSICA
Next month, seven-piece jazz band Musica Linda will be taking over the Camelot Lounge once again. The band combines a huge jazz sound with world themes, putting Greek and Arabic lyrics against Latin beats. The band features the vocal harmonies and the Cuban rhythms of Son, Bolero and Cha Cha Cha, as played by some of Sydney’s most respected musicians – from the vocals of Linda Marr of Blindman’s Holiday and Nakisa, to the bass guitar of Juan Carlos Rios (of Armandito & Trovason). Drop into the Camelot Lounge on Friday 8 June, but be ready to party!
JOHNNY CASH: THE TRIBUTE
From October through to December this year, a tribute show to the country music icon, the outlaw, John R. Cash will be running. With a career that spanned over 40 years and included renowned originals, from Folsom Prison Blues and Ring of Fire, to covers of diverse bands, from Soundgarden to Nine Inch Nails, it’s difficult to think of an artist more deserving of a tribute. Johnny Cash: The Concert will attempt to recreate Cash’s early years, a time in which Cash was “the bad boy” of music and his tracks topped the charts. The concert will feature renowned Australian musician and producer Stuie French, as well as international singer/songwriter Alanna Cherote as Cash’s singing partner and wife, June Carter. The event will tour nationally, playing over 25 dates. Saturday 6 October will see them stop at Wollongong’s Illawarra Performing Arts Centre and Saturday 15 December will find the band at Theatre Royal, Sydney. Tickets will be available from the individual venues, as well as via Ticketek.
ENDLESS STORY
Keith Urban has just released a new collection of his hits, called The Story So Far. Urban is an Australian country music icon: his music has been included in the box-office hit film, Act Of Valour, and Urban has recently been inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry. Urban’s last album, a Greatest Hits compilation, reached #18 on the ARIA Album Chart; but this one, obviously with a little help from his presence on TV ratings success The Voice, has just debuted at #1. Tracks on the album include You’re My Better Half and You Look Good In My Shirt. THE DRUM MEDIA • 47
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ARTS RONNY CHIENG
THIS WEEK IN
TUESDAY 22 Art is Fun – Cera James’s first solo exhibition of paintings and sculpture. A postmodern take on the portrait, a traditional subject put in a new composition and context, James deliberately challenges the contemporary art world head on. Opening today, Tap Gallery (Upstairs) , until 3 June.
WEDNESDAY 23 Bob Downe – the Prince of Polyester, who has been entertaining Australia for more that 25 years, has a new solo show. Downe will sing and swing his way through 20 golden greats. Opening night, Sydney Theatre, 8pm until 26 May. Computer Boy – using contemporary performance, puppetry and machinima animation, a 3D virtual environment of Grand Theft Autostyle games, this event explores our culture’s anxiety about a younger generation’s increasing immersion in and dependence on virtual worlds. Opening night, Carriageworks, 8pm until 26 May. Bingo, bridesmaids and braces – the third instalment in an ongoing series of documentaries by director Gillian Armstrong. It follows the lives of three women, Diana, Josie and Kerry, from puberty to adulthood. Part of Outsiders in Australian Film Series, AGNSW, 12pm repeated Sunday 27 May 12pm.
THURSDAY 24 Art Live: Opera Bar – three Sydney street artists, Jumbo, Sprinkles and Teem, will paint live at Opera Bar. The event will also feature hiphopping graffers Sketch the Rhyme. Described as Pictionary meets Public Enemy. Part of Vivid Live Festival, Opera Bar, 8pm.
FRIDAY 25 Closing night: Exposed – photographer Chris Peken stripped spoken-word poets back to their raw words. They removed their clothes to reveal their poetry scrawled across their bodies. To end this three-week long festival there will be special performances by Tug Dumbly, Edwina Blush and Ember Flame. In a 170 year old warehouse space at The Rocks Pop-Up. Closing Night, Level 1, 47 George St, The Rocks, 6-8pm. Rock’n’Roll Outlaw – a screening that charts Rose Tattoo’s transformation from defiant youth touring Europe and the US in the 1980s to dissident maturity in the 21st century. Follow this remarkable
FILM
At first glance, The Dictator may seem like the same old same old from Sacha Baron Cohen. Like his previous Borat and Bruno movies, it too has a heavily-accented foreigner with a knack for inappropriate behaviour and shocking statements running amok in America. But while this story of arrogant North African despot Admiral General Aladeen, stripped of his identity (and magnificent beard!) and forced to fend for himself in New York City, may cover somewhat familiar territory, it also shows that nobody 48 • THE DRUM MEDIA
journey and have a beer. Tap Gallery Film Night, 7.30pm.
SATURDAY 26 Ronny Chieng – a comedian who has a Degree in Commerce /Law from Melbourne Uni, Chieng has performed in Melbourne and Sydney Comedy festivals. Check out the Ron Effect Podcast online for a mid-week laugh before Chieng’s live show hits the road with Melbourne Comedy Festival Roadshow. The Comedy Store, 7pm. The International Film School Sydney Open Day – 9.30am – 12.30pm, just in time for the Sydney Film Festival, the IFSS has two intakes, in February and July, and offers courses such as The Advanced Diploma of Screen and Media. With the option to focus on Screenwriting, Directing & Producing. to book go to www. ifss.edu.au/whats-happening/opendays-events TEDxSydney – a forum that strives to nurture: contemporary ideas, critical thinking and, most importantly, the sharing of knowledge. Part of Vivid Ideas, Carriageworks.
ONGOING Angela’s Kitchen – written by Paul Capsis and Julian Meyrick, a piece of biographical theatre about Capsis’ grandmother Angela who left Malta in 1948 with her five children, sailing out on the Strathnavar, leaving poverty and the war behind. Her destination, Australia. In Surry Hills, she could build a bright new life. Griffin Theatre, 7pm until 9 June. Strange Interlude – written and directed by Simon Stone after Eugene O’Neill, a play about Nina Leeds who has lost the love of her life in the war. Overcome with grief, she quits university, falls out with her father and moves away from home to console herself in a series of sexual flings. Eventually she settles down in a comfortable but unexciting marriage with Sam Evans, and then begins a 15-year affair with his best friend Ned Darrell. This play interweaves soliloquy and dialogue. Belvoir Upstairs, 8pm until 17 June. The Shape of Music – an exhibition from photographer Neil Cash who has just won the AIPP professional Photography Award for fine art photographer and photographer of 2012. Part of the Head on Festival, The ArtHouse Hotel until 16 June.
REVIEW
THE DICTATOR
BLACK IN TIME
does it better than Baron Cohen, who has an uncanny ability to navigate the boundaries of bad taste – and occasionally cross them – without alienating the audience. That said, a few folks may take offence at The Dictator’s more outrageous moments, but any worthwhile comedy is always gonna ruffle a few feathers. For the most part, this is a wildly funny culture-clash comedy with an adorably anarchic and irreverent streak. Guy Davis WHEN & WHERE: Now in cinemas nationally
It’s been ten years since we first saw sharp-suited agents J and K in action, but now Barry Sonnenfeld has helmed threequel, Men In Black 3. He tells Baz McAlister why the time is right to get the neuralyzer and noisy cricket out of deep storage. As Will Smith might say, nod ya head, because the black suit’s comin’... for the third time. The seeds for Men In Black 3 were sown ten years ago – actually on the set of Men In Black II, with Smith as the instigator. “Will came up to me one night and said if we ever did a third one, Will’s character J should go back into the past to save a younger version of Tommy Lee Jones’s character K,” franchise director Barry Sonnenfeld recalls. “And I remember saying to him at the time, can we just finish this movie?” It might have taken ten years, but the director has made a follow-up he can be proud of. Sonnenfeld has had a long and distinguished film career, starting out as talented director of photography for the Coen Brothers on films such as Blood Simple and Raising Arizona, before helming The Addams Family and Get Shorty. He’s perhaps best known however for this blockbuster franchise about a pair of sharp-suited agents who protect the Earth from ‘the scum of the universe’, with first Men In Black film in 1997 and the sequel in 2002. For a long time, he says, Sony Pictures didn’t want to do a third Men In Black unless Sonnenfeld and his team could come up with a new idea to re-energise the franchise. Time travel was just the fresh idea he was looking for – but much of the ten-year development, he suggests, was taken up trying to get his head around the mind-bending chronology involved with a time travel script. “Will Smith and I must have watched Back To The Future eight times together,” he laughs. “That was the film where they really sought to make sure the rules all worked, and you didn’t find yourself leaving the theatre and saying to your wife ‘Wait, how could he have known...’ You know what I mean? It’s really hard to pull off a time travel movie script – but I reckon we managed.” Hurling Agent J back to 1969 meant that Sonnenfeld was going to have to look for a younger actor to play the younger Agent K. When the director saw Josh Brolin in W, he
identified a physical characteristic Brolin shared with Tommy Lee Jones that made him suspect he’d found his man. “This is something only a few people know,” Sonnenfeld admits conspiratorially, “but the actors with the physically largest heads I’ve ever met are Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin. And I’m not talking about ego, I’m talking about physical size. They both have these huge heads. The very first time I met Josh Brolin after he agreed to do the movie, I met him at a party and I said ‘I can’t wait to see what your head looks like in 3D.’ It’s pretty darn huge.” Sonnenfeld says that Brolin’s performance is an interpretation of Jones as K, not an imitation. “He’s not playing as closed-in and grouchy a character as K is in the present day.” It was a tightrope walk for Brolin to get the character right – he had to be enough like Jones so an audience wouldn’t feel cheated, but pliable enough to put a fresh spin on the character. Not only that, but he had to fit in with an established team. “Josh and Tommy are very different people, but the chemistry Will had with both of them was identical. Will, Tommy and I love working together – one of the few times you’ll see Tommy laughing on set is when he’s working with Will and I. So Josh is coming into an established franchise and all he can do is screw it up!” he laughs. “But he didn’t – the chemistry worked very well. I think Josh was amused by the wacky relationship Will and I have – this is our fourth movie together and we have a sort of shorthand.” The third entry in the MIB franchise is also its first foray into 3D, and Sonnenfeld says his background as a cinematographer has helped him immeasurably to deal with the process. “I’ve always seen as if I was shooting in 3D, always moved the camera in ways that would lend themselves to 3D. Before we started to shoot this film, we shot a series of test scenes with two of the top
Native 3D [digital] rigs, and shot exactly the same shots in 2D [on film] and then converted to 3D. There was no comparison – I way preferred the look of converting and what I could do with it. When people see Men In Black 3 in 3D, and Titanic 3D, the question of converting or not converting will be the same as whether you shot on Kodak stock or Fuji stock, or whether you shot with an Arriflex or Panaflex [camera].” Sonnenfeld describes his brand of 3D as “present” – you feel the actors just in front of the screen, he says, whereas most 3D puts actors deep into the screen. The director was always going to go with shooting on film stock – he is one
of the last holdouts against digital technology. He says he doesn’t entirely trust it yet, saying that its sharpness and lack of motion blur ruins all his majestic Rick Baker alien make-up effects. “Digital – although it’s getting better – combined with Native 3D started to make everything feel too realistic. It looked like you were watching the six o’clock news in 3D. So, there’s something about film that changes the reality and makes you feel like you’re watching a story. WHAT: Men In Black 3 in 3D WHEN & WHERE: In cinemas Thursday
GIVEAWAYS
We have a double pass to give away to All Hell Breaks Loose III this Saturday 26 May in the Sir John Clancy Auditorium. Members of cult Sci-Fi drama series, Supernatural, will be there to meet and greet fans. Cast members include infamous angel Misha Collins (Castiel), trickster Richard Speight Jr. (Gabriel) and psychic Traci Dinwiddie (Pamela Barnes). For your chance to win go to www.facebook.com/drummedia.com
HARVEST ARTIST APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN Over 400 artists participated in the 2011 Harvest arts programme across the three cities, and this year’s Harvest Arts Festival will be taking place from 10-18 November in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Submissions are now open with the team seeking live art happenings, site installations, roaming performances, spoken word, comedy, circus, digital and ecological arts projects. Artists can apply via the online application form at http:// harvestfestival.com.au/content/harvest-arts-application-2012.
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CRINGE
WITH JAMELLE WELLS In what is probably a huge publicity stunt, Channel Ten has sacked two cast members from reality show The Shire, but won’t confirm why. Ten says the sacking won’t have a major effect on the filming schedule or delay a mid-year launch. A spokeswoman says they’ve come across some “unsavoury information” that they don’t want associated with the program, because they want the show to be positive. Carriageworks is calling for donations of any old working televisions to use as part of Vivid Sydney 2012. A large-scale installation of televisions will fill the venue to celebrate 25 years of Rage on ABC TV. At the end of the exhibition they’ll all be donated to charities or e-wasted. For details phone (02) 8571 9099. As fringe and amateur theatre companies struggle to find affordable venues in Sydney, full marks to Rockdale Musical Society and Canterbury Theatre Guild who have joined forces to bring the musical Hairspray to Canterbury Hurlstone Park RSL Club. They’re not sure how the club’s regular patrons will react to the show, set in the 1960s and originally a cult classic John Waters film. The production opens this week. David Robertson will take on the role of chief conductor for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra from 2014. Robertson has been music director of the St Louis orchestra in the US since 2004. He’ll replace Vladimir Ashkenazy, who will continue performing with the orchestra until 2014.
MADE YOU
City Of Sydney Council has voted to develop a major new Cultural Policy for Sydney. Lord Mayor Clover Moore asked staff to start developing a new policy to guide arts and culture, from major events and festivals to literature, film, food, wine and community initiatives. Over coming months, the council will meet with artists, producers, performers, theatres, galleries and residents to hear their ideas about how to support and encourage a thriving cultural life. It is expected that a final Cultural Policy will be adopted in mid-2013. Screen Australia has announced almost $400,000 in development support for 16 feature projects, enabling filmmakers to take their scripts to the next stage towards production readiness. The new projects to receive support include Synchronicity, a new musical extravaganza set to the music of Kylie Minogue and directed by Kriv Stenders (Red Dog). Another project to get funding is Backtrack, a supernatural thriller in development from writer/director Michael Petroni and producer Jamie Hilton about a psychologist who discovers his patients are ghosts who died on the same day. If you’re heading over to London for the Olympics check out the $35 million public art work in Olympic Park. The 115-metretall tower, which is higher than New York’s Statue of Liberty, has already divided opinion. Some have described it as being like a carnival slide, but artist Anish Kapoor is confident his creation will win over the public. It’s Britain’s biggest piece of public art and some say a waste of money at a time when the country has returned to recession.
LOOK
WITH BETHANY SMALL Despite getting through and actually doing pretty excellently at Ancient History in high school, I still am not 100 per cent sure what the whole Peloponnesian War ‘thing’ was. This is because I nearly always did the ‘the one where I can make it so I get to talk about art or literature’ question and, when that wasn’t flying, I did the ‘women and society’ one. That, aside from the obnoxious early teen ‘I Just Found Out What Feminism Is’ rants phase you’d expect of an tween girl who did debating, was about the extent of my engagement with gender. Sure, you can’t get through theory-heavy majors in an arts degree without picking up a decent amount of Gender and Cultural Studies (the grownup way of saying ‘women and society’?) content and I was always keen on using inclusive language, but it’s never really been a priority. I’ve spent pretty much since adolescence as an ‘I guess so?’ kind of a feminist and tended to pretty much mess around with my performance of gender as if it were something I could be sarcastic to myself about and leave the debate to other people.
I am curious as to why now, or why I am noticing them so much now. Of the first kind, I went to one recently wherein I begrudge them the cumulative 18 minutes of travel time I invested in getting to it; there is another that I have signed up for 16hrs by train each way to get to (yeah okay it is a bit of a dumb stunt, but I am super-broke and like my own company, so hey Brisbane, QAGOMA here I come!). These kinds of shows I tend to support in theory and then kind of space out on them when I go, in line with the whole ‘this discourse is somebody else’s issue’ thing. The latter kind of thing, where a show is overtly and specifically about the depiction of women, like a different one that is also on at QAGOMA, is a more confusing one for me and I have sneaking suspicions that in some instances there is some pretty hard-edged subversion of I am going to just chuck ‘scopophilia’, ‘normativity’, ‘hegemony’, ‘the male gaze’ and ‘presumption’ at you and you get what I mean, right? I need to think about that for a while, but first I have had to think about why I am even thinking about it in the first place.
So I have been resisting commenting on a thing that I am seeing happening as a thing in art around me at the moment, viz. Exhibitions That Are Entirely By Or About Ladies. Like, of course that has always been a thing that happens, it just really seems to be happening a lot right now and
Like, not ‘is this worthwhile to think about?’ because it totally is, but again, why now? And I realise that it is because I was recently forced to the realisation that I have been living in a bubble that gives me Gender Politics Privilege. Once again thinking about art is making with the life lessons.
THE BOY WITH A SCREEN ON HIS FACE Blood Policy’s Sam Routledge And Willoh Weiland Talk To Dave Drayton About The Beauty Of Virtual Worlds. Blood Policy’s debut performance, Operation, was a politically-charged and puppeteered look at the interrogation of Mamdu Habib and David Hicks in Guantanamo Bay. It lay the groundwork for what was to follow; an examination of topical and socio-culturally important issues in performance that utilised the intersection between media and puppetry. Their second show, Computer Boy, which will play at Carriageworks’ Track 8, is no different in that respect. Inspired by the story of Canadian teenager Brandon Crisp, who in November 2008 ran away from home after his father confiscated his x-box live, concerned by his son’s addiction to Call Of Duty 4. Brendan was later found dead with injuries consistent with a fall from a tree. “The work started from the image of the boy with the screen for a face; that was really the centre of the idea. This work is really about that image and the resonance of it as a conversation about children and screen culture and the world’s obsession with it,” explains Willoh Weiland. That image was brought to life by puppet maker Bryony Lavery (whose work has been seen previously in
My Darling Patricia productions), who constructed the boy with a fully-functional 12” LCD screen for a face. Coupled with a unique sound design constructed by DJ TR!P from existing 8-bit game soundtracks and the use of machinima animation (similar to that seen in sand-box style games like Grand Theft Auto) on a large screen, it’s plain to see that Blood Policy are eager to use aspects of the same virtual worlds they are examining to create their performance. “Following in the tradition of mash-up and open source philosophy we want to use the media as the materials that we compose the show with, to see them as compositional elements,” confirms Weiland. “It’s important for us that a lot of the elements are stolen and taken from other places and recontextualised and that all the media is put in a different perspective.” Sam Routledge, also a member of My Darling Patricia, the puppeteer controlling Computer Boy in the show, elaborates.
VOCALISING IT Drew Forsythe discusses the importance of voice in a play with voices, with Dave Drayton. Having barely commenced our interview Drew Forsythe launches into an Under Milk Wood parody jesting Julia Gillard he wrote for Sydney Theatre Company’s Wharf Revue: “Have you read the news? Heard what news? The Gillard girl! The Gillard girl? The second born of Moira and John? Yes! She’s become Queen of Australia! Oooooh!” The old hens’ dialogue is all elongated vowels and falsetto and falls off Forsythe’s tongue like it’s second nature. And that, Forsythe will soon inform me, is one of the most important things for an actor performing the Dylan Thomas script – which originated in 1954 as a radio play, about a fictional Welsh town, Llareggub, built around snippets of the lives of its inhabitants, more than 60 characters – being staged under the direction of Kip Williams by Sydney Theatre Company. Performing across multiple roles – as Mr Waldo (“This old fellow who was once a chimney sweep who was taken by some young woman: now he sweeps her chimneys!”), Mr Pritchard (“Deceased”), Reverend Eli Jenkins (“A very sensitive and sincere character”), Butcher Beynon, Dai Bread… – Forsythe’s intimate association with Thomas’
script is perfect for this production, billed by STC as ‘a play for voices’, and immediately apparent. “It’s such a lyrical piece; it’s such a beautiful, beautiful hour and forty-five minutes of… Well, poetry really. Even though we are moving and acting out a lot of the bits it’s, rather than demonstrating our characters – which you should never do anyway, you should simply present them – this is
DREW FORSYTHE
C U LT U R A L
“With Computer Boy and with Operation it’s about the integration of the media into the puppet, so the screen on the face, and also the machinima – the animation of the computer games – is digital puppetry, so you are using the
FILM
avatar that you animate in the game as a puppet as opposed to something to complete missions.” While gaming culture is always at the centre of the media, it’s often for the wrong reasons; arguments of violence, addiction and antisocial behaviour abound, and this, say Blood Policy, is where Computer Boy comes in; as a way to counter the negative hysteria in the media. “It’s very A Current Affair the way games are reported on in the media, so I guess for us that is the important part, what we’re telling is not about the effect of gaming on children but about the problematic way these games are discussed only as something that is controversial or bad,” Weiland explains. “I hope people get an understanding of the beauty that is in these games alongside the violence, or the controversy,” Routledge agrees, “and see actually, that within these virtual worlds, there is incredible beauty which is written into them which people are to enjoy. In a way it’s a free world for you to explore.” WHAT: Computer Boy WHERE & WHEN: Performance Space, Carriageworks, Wednesday until Saturday
REVIEW
DARK SHADOWS Dark Shadows is Tim Burton’s latest collaboration with Johnny Depp, and it’s tempting to end this review right here considering how little it sees Burton venturing outside what one expects to find in a latter-day Burton/ Depp joint. Based on the gothic soap opera of the same name that ran from 1966-71, Depp plays 200 year old vampire Barnabus Collins, formerly cursed by jealousy-spurned witch Angelique (Eva Green) and back from the grave after being accidentally unearthed in 1972 by construction workers, and in his old mansion populated by his succeeding family members. From there on, the film plays as a fish-out-of-water comedy, albeit one that feebly pits the very Victorian Barnabus against the era of women’s lib and hippies and whatnot. Credit to Burton for not unearthing Barnabus in 2012 suggesting them. Basically, what we’re trying to do is just sketch those characters and then let the poetry fill them.” An accomplished actor on stage and screen, voice actor and poetry buff, Forsythe is the perfect fit for Under Milk Wood, and more than qualified to give a little insight into the importance of voice in performance. “I’ve done a lot of voice work, a lot of children’s stuff – Blinky Bill – and a lot of radio back in the day. And I love poetry. I still read
for a litany of iPad/Lady Gaga jokes, but pitting one bygone era against another isn’t much better. Despite a vaguely promising Beetlejuice-y start and a few good gags that the film’s trailer has already spoiled (unfairly or mercifully, depending on your point of view), Dark Shadows eventually collapses into a loud, incoherent mess of warmed-over Burton-isms. It’s alarming how much feels missing from a film already overstuffed with superfluous characters and subplots, most notably Barnabus’ romance with a visitor to the mansion (Bella Heathcote) who he believes to be his reincarnated love. When Alice Cooper circa 2012 shows up in a party scene playing Alice Cooper circa 1972, you’d be hard pressed to find a better metaphor for Burton’s waning shtick. Ian Barr WHEN & WHERE: Screening in cinemas nationally poetry on Ian McNamara’s radio show, Australia All Over, on Sunday mornings. And I sing his theme song for him. “Voice is really important. Whether it’s just a vocal piece that you are doing or whether it’s a play, it’s very important to allow the vocal qualities to sit comfortably in your body and around the words that you are speaking – to get the balance right. It’s very easy to try and push the text with your voice rather than allow the text to draw the voice out of you and this is a piece that is particularly relevant to that because the language is so beautiful that if you simply know the speech well enough and allow it to inhabit and then allow it to flow out of you; the tone and the quality of the voice will naturally flow from the text. “There’s always a danger of trying to push too hard with the text,” Forsythe elaborates, pompously delivering to enhance his point: “The text itself really does just tell the story; the alliteration and the onomatopoeia and those sorts of qualities, they live in the text and the actor’s job I think is to realise that and not try and force it, not try and hammer it. The language is very visual; you can’t help but see it in your mind’s eye.” WHAT: Under Milk Wood WHEN & WHERE: Tuesday 22 May until Saturday July 7, Sydney Opera House, Drama Theatre THE DRUM MEDIA • 49
VOICE WORKS
STREETS AHEAD
A slip of the tongue leads James Beach to discuss the appeal of Neil Labute with Dave Drayton. Detroit, Michigan-based playwright Neil LaBute has held quite a bit of appeal in Sydney over the last decade. Sydney Theatre Company ran a production of his play, The Shape Of Things, in 2003 and LaBute’s follow up – the second in a trilogy thematically linked through each work’s appraisal of society’s obsession with appearance – titled Fat Pig was again presented to Sydney audiences by Sydney Theatre Company in 2006. The final piece in the trilogy, Reasons To Be Pretty, had its world premiere in 2008 but, until recently, had yet to make its way to Australian shores. Now it has, though unlike the rest of the trilogy it is not STC bringing it to the stage, but upstart theatre company A Slip Of The Tongue, that will bring the four-hander to Darlinghurst Theatre’s stage. “We’re a brand new venture that have come together on this project, it’s between myself and Andrew Henry, who’s the lead actor in the show,” explains director, both of company and production, James Beach. “We’ve known each other for a few years and enjoyed each other’s work and Andrew found this particular script which we wanted to do and we have formed for the project but with a few of us going forward looking for new exciting
JAMES BEACH plays to do as well.” Henry had spent time in Chicago recently with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, which was where he came across Reasons To Be Pretty. “We were looking for a project to work on,” Beach continues, “and though the script’s been around for a couple of years this one struck both of us as the thing to do, especially when we were able to secure the rights for a very exciting Australian premiere. That obviously is good news for us; that other companies haven’t decided to do it and we’re excited to have the opportunity. What we’re expecting of the company, and it’s something that I think a lot of people come to the theatre for, is it’s about the power of language. Neil LaBute’s writing is strident and sharp and very much to the point, his use of language also is terrific in that it has that power, it speaks from a contemporary vernacular that a lot of young people especially can get on board with. “I think he grabs hold of phrases, you know. Actors love his material and audiences do to, because he
throws phrases from one character to another that have devastating impact. Our production is set up to really welcome and indulge that – well, indulge might be the wrong word, because you want it to be meaningful, not self-satisfying – but our production is all about what these people are saying to each other and the impact that that has. Or not saying to each other as the case may be. “Though being familiar with LaBute’s work and having seen prior productions in Sydney of his plays, I also think this play does something different and interesting in his writing; instead of going for a plot twist, a sort of story-driven script – not to say nothing happens in this, plenty does! – the focus of this play is about, I think, when things happen between people what it means for them and how, especially young people, mature in moments of personal crisis.” WHAT: Reasons To Be Pretty WHEN & WHERE: Today until Sunday 3 June, Darlinghurst Theatre
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50 • THE DRUM MEDIA
FOR YOU
HENRY HOLLAND
FRONTROW@DRUMMEDIA.COM.AU
Ahead of the Vivid Ideas Festival, Jake Millar chats with fashionista Henry Holland about creating a global brand. Henry Holland’s T-shirts first hit the streets some six years ago. Emblazoned with slogans like “I’ll Tell You Who’s Boss, Kate Moss”, they were cheeky and funny and didn’t take themselves too seriously. Then, suddenly, they were popping up everywhere. Since then, Holland has proved his early success was no fluke and in just a handful of years his company has grown into a global fashion brand. It’s impressive stuff. And as luck would have it, now he’s coming to Sydney to tell us how he did it. Holland is one of five keynote speakers who’ll be participating in the Vivid Ideas program, an 18-day, 100-event strong festival that will cover all things creative. Holland’s fellow participants include Vice co-founder Shane Smith and Etsy CEO Chad Dickerson. “These are all people who’ve done interesting things as individuals and who have created businesses that have
changed the way we communicate with each other,” explains Vivid Ideas festival director Jess Scully. “In just a few years Henry Holland has managed to create a really strong international fashion brand that’s had a real impact.” Holland initially saw fashion as more of a hobby, making T-shirts and giving them away to friends. It just so happened one of those friends was fashion designer Gareth Pugh, who sported one of Holland’s creations – bearing the slogan “Get Your Freak On Giles Deacon” no less – during one of his fashion shows. Suddenly, everything changed. “The day after that I was being interviewed for Style.com from my desk at my day job,” Holland recalls. “Looking back it was basically the best PR stunt you could have imagined, but it was just so natural and I think that’s why it worked, because it wasn’t at all contrived.”
From there he was invited to put together a full fashion show, and his label House Of Holland now produces everything from those trademark T-shirts through to sunglasses, underwear and shoes. “I’ve got quite a frenetic way of working and I always like to be doing a few things at once to keep myself interested and excited. I have a real dream for the company to expand into all sorts of product areas and become a fully-fledged lifestyle brand.” So in just six years, Holland’s brand has gone from a side-project to a major fashion label that’s soon to present its tenth collection. But Holland’s creative drive has not only built a successful company, it’s also given him the opportunity to pursue his passion. “I love that I’m able to be creative every single day. I also get to work with some of my best friends, travel the world and meet all sorts of interesting people. There’s also a real satisfaction in seeing my work out there in the world. Sitting in my office and creating something and then seeing people wearing and enjoying it on the street.” In terms of advice for budding creatives, Holland says a little selfbelief goes a long way. “Being true to yourself and just having a real confidence in what it is you want to achieve is really important. It’s also important to remember if you work in any creative industry, everything is subjective and you can’t please everyone. But if you really believe in what you want to achieve, you can do it – it’s very much about hard work and drive and passion.” WHAT: Vivid Ideas Festival WHERE & WHEN: From 25 May to 11 June, Sydney Opera House
TOUR GUIDE FEATURE TOUR
TIM “RIPPER” OWENS
For his first solo performance in Australia, Tim “Ripper” Owens will be performing Judas Priest classics along with tracks from Dio, Iced Earth, Yngwie Malmsteen and his own solo projects. Owens is without a doubt one of the most important metal vocalists of the past 15 years and you can hear him rip it at the Cambridge Hotel in Newcastle on Thursday 24 May, The Basement in Canberra on Friday 25, The Hi-Fi on Saturday 26 and The Patch in Wollongong on Sunday 27.
DRUM PRESENTS
TIGER CHOIR: May 24 Kings Cross Hotel
DEVIN: May 23 Oxford Art Factory
TIM FREEDMAN: May 24 Burning Log, May 25 & 26 Brass Monkey, Jun 8 Centro CBD, Jun 29 Lizotte’s Newcastle, Jun 30 Lizotte’s Dee Why, Jul 1 Lizotte’s Kincumber, Jul 6 & 7 The Basement Circular Quay, Jul 27 Street Theatre, Aug 2 & 3 Clarendon Guesthouse, Aug 4 The Vault
BOY & BEAR: May 29 & 30 State Theatre, May 31 Newcastle Uni, Jun 1 ANU Bar, Jun 2 Waves, Jun 17 Entrance Leagues Club MISSY HIGGINS: Jun 8 & 9 Seymour Centre, Jun 11 Illawarra Performing Arts Centre, Jun 13 Newcastle City Hall, Jun 14 Canberra Theatre COME TOGETHER: Jun 9 Big Top Luna Park THE BOMBAY ROYALE: Jun 10 The Basement Circular Quay TRIAL KENNEDY: Jun 15 Oxford Art Factory, Jun 16 Cambridge Hotel THE AUDREYS: Jun 24 Heritage Hotel, Jun 26 The Brass Monkey, Jun 27 Clarendon Guesthouse, Jun 28 Lizotte’s Newcastle, Jun 29 The Vanguard, Jun 30 Lizotte’s Kincumber, Jul 1 The Vanguard FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS: Jul 5 Sydney Opera House, Jul 6 Sydney Entertainment Centre, Jul 10 Newcastle Entertainment Centre, Jul 11 WIN Entertainment Centre
Soulful singer/songwriter Sam Lawrence opened the evening with his mellow, pensive music. While Lawrence may have been relatively unknown, he certainly impressed the audience with his haunting vocals. With the venue starting to fill out, Melbourne singer Daniel Merriweather took to the stage, energising the room with an upbeat, spirited set. Merriweather’s natural charm and charisma are most endearing, with his catchy tunes, including Red and Change, proving to be huge crowd pleasers. Following a short intermission, the beautiful Kimbra appeared on stage dressed in a flower-adorned shawl and metallic silver dress, cutting a stunning figure as she flounced around the stage like an excited butterfly. Opening with the upbeat Limbo, it was apparent that Kimbra adores being on stage and while her onstage banter is awkward and frequently punctuated with a self-conscious giggle, it’s these child-like qualities that make her so mesmerising. Continuing on with
Sam Lawrence then joined her on stage for an intimate looping version of Wandering Limbs before the set drew to an exciting end with a flurry of colourful confetti falling from the ceiling as the final song, Cameo Lover, was performed by this incredible raven-haired lady. Kimbra definitely surpassed all expectations with this show and if this is just the beginning, her future is very bright. Amber McCormick
EMPERORS: May 25 Cambridge Hotel, May 26 Kings Cross Hotel FRANKENBOK: May 25 The Junkyard, May 26 The Basement Canberra GANGA GIRI: May 25 Builders Club Wollongong, May 26 Transit Bar, May 31 Great Northern Newcastle, Jun 1 The Rhythm Hut, Jun 2 Petersham Town Hall, Jun 7 Manly Boat Shed, Jun 8 Clarendon Guesthouse PVT: May 25 Opera Theatre Sydney Opera House TIJUANA CARTEL: May 25 Oxford Art Factory, May 26 Northern Hotel Newcastle CHRIS FRASER: May 25 Academy Canberra, Jun 1 Mean Fiddler, Jun 8 New Brighton Hotel, Jun 16 Woodport Inn, June 23, Altitude, The Rocks OUR LAST ENEMY: May 26 The Basement Canberra
ZULU WINTER, HOWLER: Jul 25 Oxford Art Factory
SEEKAE: May 27 Opera Theatre Sydney Opera House
DJANGO DJANGO: Aug 1 Oxford Art Factory PENNYWISE: Aug 25 UNSW Roundhouse XAVIER RUDD: Sep 6 Newcastle Civic Theatre, Sep 7 Waves Hotel, Sep 8 Enmore Theatre
NATIONAL
the catchy Settle Down, Old Flame and Plain Gold Ring, Kimbra worked through the songs of her debut album, Vows, with unwavering energy and this proved to be totally infectious as the audience danced along with glee. Exiting the stage for a quick outfit change, Kimbra reappeared in a dazzling short red dress that made her look like she was covered in roses. As she sang the emotional ballad, Withdraw, Kimbra’s talent as a songwriter and vocal range were on full display.
DEF WISH CAST: May 25 The Standard
PJ O’BRIEN: May 26 Beaches Hotel Thirroul
THE SMASHING PUMPKINS: Jul 31 Sydney Entertainment Centre
ENMORE THEATRE: 17/05/12
THE MISSION IN MOTION: May 24 Great Northern, May 25 The Patch, May 26 Annandale Hotel
THE SHINS: Jul 25 Hordern Pavilion
ELECTRIC GUEST: Jul 31 Oxford Art Factory
KIMBRA DANIEL MERRIWEATHER, SAM LAWRENCE
SPLIT SECONDS: May 24 GoodGod
DEAD LETTER CIRCUS: May 23 The Patch, May 24 Zierholtz @ UC, May 25 The Hi-Fi, May 26 Entrance Leagues Club, May 27 Cambridge Hotel TIM RIPPER OWENS: May 24 Cambridge Hotel, May 25 The Basement Canberra, May 26 The Hi-Fi, May 27 The Patch
KIMBRA @ ENMORE THEATRE PIC: ANGELA PADOVAN
SHAUN KIRK: May 24 Wickham Park Hotel
DEAD LETTER CIRCUS: May 23 The Patch, May 24 Zierholtz @ UC, May 25 The Hi-Fi, May 26 Entrance Leagues Club, May 27 Cambridge Hotel EXPATRIATE: May 23 & 30 Spectrum OSCAR JIMENEZ: May 23 Lizotte’s Kincumber, May 24 The Basement Sydney, May 25 Lizotte’s Newcastle, May 26 Clarendon Guesthouse JOHN WILLIAMSON: May 23 99 On York ADELE & GLENN: May 24 The Vanguard RUBY BOOTS: May 24 Transit Bar RESIST THE THOUGHT: May 24 Geewhizz, May 25 The Fitz, May 26 Venom, May 27 Unanderra Community Hall CLAIRY BROWNE & THE BANGIN’ RACKETTES: May 24 Brass Monkey, May 25 GoodGod OWL EYES: May 24 Oxford Art Factory MATT BAILEY: May 24 Red Rattler
themusic.com.au
BOY & BEAR: May 29 & 30 State Theatre, May 31 Newcastle Uni, Jun 1 ANU Bar, Jun 2 Waves, Jun 17 Entrance Leagues Club FLAP!: May 30 Front Gallery Canberra, May 31 Camelot Lounge, Jun 1 Great Northern Hotel Newcastle DAPPLED CITIES: May 31 Oxford Art Factory THE FLOORS: May 31 The Vanguard, Jun 1 Grand Junction Hotel LIZ MARTIN: May 31 Yours & Owls, Jun 1 Front Gallery THE TEMPER TRAP: May 31 & Jun 1 Concert Hall Sydney Opera House BLACKCHORDS: Jun 1 Spectrum MAT MCHUGH: Jun 1 The Standard, Jun 2 Newport Arms DEEP SEA ARCADE: Jun 1 Cambridge Hotel, Jun 2 The Standard, Jun 7 Transit Bar LANIE LANE: Jun 1 & 2 The Metro DEF FX: Jun 1 The Factory SUI ZHEN: Jun 1 Lass O’Gowrie, Jun 3 Kings Cross Hotel, Jun 13 Yours & Owls, Jun 14 Front Gallery THE HARD-ONS: Jun 1 Annandale Hotel, Jun 2 Great Northern Newcastle BUCKLEY WARD: Jun 2 Kings Cross Hotel LISA MITCHELL: Jun 4 Christ Church Cathedral Newcastle, Jun 7 St Stephen’s Uniting Church ELI WOLFE*: Jun 6 Brass Monkey, Jun 9 The Vault, Jun 24 Bottlerocket Bar THE DRUM MEDIA • 51
CITY & COLOUR, BAHAMAS
TOUR GUIDE JACK COLWELL & THE OWLS: Jun 6 GoodGod NEW EMPIRE: Jun 6 The Vanguard, Jun 8 & 9 Front Gallery Bar Canberra, Jun 28 Yours & Owls, Jun 29 & 30 Glee Coffee Roasters, Jul 1 Brass Monkey WOLF & CUB*: Jun 6 Bondi Beach Road Hotel, Jun 9 The Standard
TIM RIPPER OWENS: May 24 Cambridge Hotel, May 25 The Basement Canberra, May 26 The Hi-Fi, May 27 The Patch BLOOD ORANGE: May 25 Kings Cross Hotel BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE: May 25 Level One, May 26 Oxford Art Factory
YUNG WARRIORS*: Jun 7 FBi Social, Jun 9 Cambridge Hotel, Jul 12 Front Gallery, Jul 27 The Patch
NATURALLY 7: May 25 State Theatre
360: Jun 8 Waves. Jun 29 The Metro
SHOWTEK: May 26 Tennis Centre
EMPRA*: Jun 8 Great Northern Hotel Newcastle, Jun 9 Lansdowne Hotel, Jun 28 Gee Wizz Nightclub, Jul 1 Lucky Aussie Tavern, Jul 6 Victoria Hotel, Jul 13 Dicey Riley’s, Jul 14 The Basement Canberra JACKSON FIREBIRD*: Jun 8 The Patch, Jun 9 The Vanguard, Jun 10 Great Northern Newcastle, Jun 11 Brass Monkey KINGFISHA: Jun 8 Heritage Hotel, Jun 9 Blue Beat MISSY HIGGINS: Jun 8 & 9 Seymour Centre, Jun 11 Illawarra Performing Arts Centre, Jun 13 Newcastle City Hall, Jun 14 Canberra Theatre SAMPOLOGY: Jun 8 Oxford Art Factory, Jun 21 Wollongong University, Jun 22 King Street Hotel Newcastle, Jun 23 Trinity Bar Canberra CHARGE GROUP: Jun 9 Street Theatre Canberra, Jun 10 Yours & Owls, Jun 15 Red Rattler, Jun 16 Lass O’Gowrie THE JEZABELS: Jun 9 Hordern Pavilion ALBARE: Jun 9 Seymour Centre THE BOMBAY ROYALE*: Jun 10 The Basement MATT CORBY: Jun 12, 13, 14 The Metro INXS: Jun 13 Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre, Jul 13 Campbelltown RSL, Jul 15 Penrith Panthers JULIA STONE: Jun 13 Cell Block Theatre GRAVEYARD TRAIN: Jun 14 Great Northern Hotel Newcastle, Jun 15 The Metro, Jun 17 Clarendon Guesthouse BUSBY MAROU: Jun 14 Lizotte’s Kincumber, Jun 15 Cambridge Hotel, Jun 20 Heritage Hotel, Jun 22 Oxford Art Factory, Jun 23 Zierholz KELLY LLOYD*: Jun 14 The Green Room OVER-REACTOR: Jun 14 Bald Faced Stag, Jun 15 Great Northern Hotel Newcastle, Jul 13 Spotted Cow ALITHIA: Jun 15 Sandringham Hotel, Jun 16 The Maram NED COLLETTE & WIREWALKER: Jun 15 Kings Cross Hotel, Jun 21 Front Gallery and Café Canberra TRIAL KENNEDY: Jun 15 Oxford Art Factory, Jun 16 Cambridge Hotel HUGO RACE*: Jun 15 Notes, Jun 16 Yours & Owls, Jun 17 Mars Hills Café, Jun 20 Great Northern Hotel Newcastle
NIGHT LIKE THIS feat. DANNY BROWN and M.E.D.: May 25 Opera Studio
EFTERKLANG: May 26 Opera Theatre Sydney Opera House JANELLE MONAE & THE ANDROID ORCHESTRA: May 26 & 27 Concert Hall Sydney Opera House MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND: May 27 Opera Theatre Sydney Opera House BRYCE DESSNER, NICO MUHLEY, SUFJAN STEVENS: May 28, 29 & 30 Concert Hall Sydney Opera House
S CLUB: May 31 Wollongong Uni, Jun 1 UNSW Roundhouse, Jun 2 Newcastle Panthers THE THOMAS OLIVER BAND: May 31 Annandale Hotel SIMPLE PLAN: Jun 1 Hordern Pavilion, Jun 3 Panthers Newcastle, Jun 6 Wollongong Uni ANTI-FLAG: Jun 1 Manning Bar, Jun 2 Wollongong UniBar AMON TOBIN: Jun 2 Concert Hall Sydney Opera House GHOSTFACE KILLAH, DOOM, CHINO XL: Jun 2 Enmore Theatre TRAIN: Jun 7 Concert Hall Sydney Opera House SISTER SLEDGE: Jun 8 The Hi-Fi
FRANCOIS K: Jun 9 Goldfish REEF: Jun 9 The Metro EAST 17: Jun 10 The Hi-Fi SHAI*: Jun 10 Hotel Chambers TREVOR ROCKCLIFFE: Jun 10 The Metro
KIDSOF88: Jun 13 Beach Road Hotel SILVERSTEIN: Jun 13 Bar 32, Jun 14 Spectrum, Jun 15 Entrance Leagues
LADY GAGA: Jun 20, 21, 23, 24 Allphones Arena THE SHINS: Jul 25 Hordern Pavilion ZULU WINTER, HOWLER: Jul 25 Oxford Art Factory FRIENDS: Jul 26 The Standard THE SMASHING PUMPKINS: Jul 31 Sydney Entertainment Centre DJANGO DJANGO: Aug 1 Oxford Art Factory
DAVID MYLES: May 24 The Vault, May 25 Clarendon Guesthouse, May 26 The Basement, Jun 1 Brass Monkey, Jun 2 Lizotte’s Kincumber, Jun 3 Lizotte’s Newcastle FLORENCE + THE MACHINE: May 24 52 • THE DRUM MEDIA
PENNYWISE*: Aug 25 UNSW Roundhouse
FESTIVALS
VIVID LIVE: May 25 - Jun 3 Sydney Opera House LOUD FEST: Jun 2 The Annandale SNOWY MOUNTAINS OF MUSIC: Jun 8 - 11 Perisher Snowy Mountains DARLING HARBOUR JAZZ & BLUES: Jun 9 - 11 Darling Harbour COME TOGETHER: Jun 9 Big Top Luna Park HARDCORE 2012: Jul 7 & 8 The Hi-Fi SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS: Jul 27 - 29 Belongil Fields, Byron Bay * indicates new or amended listing this week
Before being rejoined by his band, Green threw in a cover, of Kimbra’s Settle Down, and split the crowd down the middle in order to provide the backing vocals for What Makes A Man? With the band back on stage City & Colour played a heartfelt version of The Girl, which was given a little extra twang thanks to Jurvanen. Little Hell, Waiting… and Fragile Bird all came in succession, followed shortly after by a two-song encore that included Comin’ Home after Green expressed appreciation for the Australian culture that has always made him feel at home. Overall City & Colour put on a powerful show with the audience fully engaged throughout the entire set. Dallas Green is a subtle performer with a dry sense of humour that only adds to the endearing quality of his music. Marc Zanotti
And then there was Nicki Minaj. A sea of young women in pink wigs plunged into delirium as Minaj belted out Roman Holiday, the opener and best track from the stunningly successful Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. But as the track morphed into a strange cover of O Come All Ye Faithful the impatience was tangible. Did It On Em went some way to satisfying appetites as Minaj whipped off her Sith-Lord-meetsthe-Wicked-Witch-of-the-West black cloak for her first – and quickest – costume change of the night. I Am Your Leader and Come On A Cone also got huge responses. Moment 4 Life. Champion. These are all rap songs, of course. Minaj began the night as a rapper – excellent delivery, incredibly (impossibly) faithful to the sound she achieves in the booth.
DAN POTTHAST: Jun 11 Yours & Owls, Jun 14 Cambridge Hotel
ELECTRIC GUEST: Jul 31 Oxford Art Factory
DEVIN: May 23 Oxford Art Factory
Timomatic began by making a virtue of his predictability. We know he’s a competent dancer. He did some competent dancing. We know he’s a competent singer. He did some competent singing. We know Set It Off is a calculated crowd-pleaser. It pleased the crowd. Boxes were ticked. Screams were screamed.
DAVID DALLAS: Jun 9 Civic Underground
XAVIER RUDD*: Sep 6 Newcastle Civic Theatre, Sep 7 Waves, Sep 8 Enmore Theatre
THE OCEAN: May 22 ANU Bar, May 23 Annandale Hotel
HORDEN PAVILLION: 16/05/12
CHRIS LIEBING: Jun 9 Chinese Laundry
KATE MILLER-HEIDKE: Aug 23 The Metro
TIM CHAISSON: May 22 & 23 Lizotte’s Newcastle, May 25 & 26 Brass Monkey
NICKI MINAJ, TIMOMATIC
MARK KOZELEK: Jun 8 The Factory
THICK AS BLOOD: Jun 19 Axis Youth Centre Canberra, Jun 20 The Loft Newcastle, Jun 21 Spectrum, Jun 22 Alpha Park
EXPENSIVE LOOKS*: May 22 Flinders, May 31 Serial Space, Jun 1 Phoenix Bar, Jun 2 FBi Social, Jun 13 GoodGod
NICKI MINAJ @ THE HORDERN. PIC: JOSH GROOM
CHRISTINA PERRI: Jun 3 Enmore Theatre
BURIED IN VERONA: Jun 17 The Hi-Fi, Jun 19 Oasis Youth Centre, Jun 20 Lanyon Youth Centre, Jul 6 Manly Youth Centre, Jul 7 Unanderra Community Centre
PRINCE: May 22 Allphones Arena
This reserved manner turned out to be a considered ploy however, as after a few more songs the band left Green alone on the stage and the conversation began to flow. Green asked that anybody recording please hold their phone or camera in the air, then promptly requested people put their devices in their pockets for just one song with an explanation that sometimes when you try to remember something too hard you forget to experience it. What followed was an undeniably moving rendition of Body In A Box.
IMOGEN HEAP: May 29 Concert Hall Sydney Opera House
THE BLACK SEEDS: Jun 16 The Metro, Jun 17 Great Northern Newcastle
INTERNATIONAL
Jurvanen left the stage but returned shortly afterwards as part of fellow Canadian Dallas Green’s band City & Colour. There’s little interaction between Green and the sold-out Enmore Theatre audience to begin with, save the dedication of The Grand Optimist to Green’s mother for Mother’s Day. Only sparingly did the understated frontman acknowledge the many enthusiastic screams as City & Colour opened with songs mostly from 2011’s Little Hell.
TOM VEK: May 26 The Studio Sydney Opera House
MAJOR TOM & THE ATOMS: Jun 16 The Mac
THE AUDREYS: Jun 24 Heritage Hotel, Jun 26 The Brass Monkey, Jun 27 Clarendon Guesthouse, Jun 28 Lizotte’s Newcastle, Jun 29 The Vanguard, Jun 30 Lizotte’s Kincumber, Jul 1 The Vanguard
Opening act Afie Jurvanen aka Bahamas may be from the Great White North, but there’s a certain Southern charm to his drawl and musical style. This geographical quandary was further emphasised by the fact that Jurvanen was playing without a band, allowing Bahamas’ guitar-driven music to take on a greater rockabilly feel. Behind some blistering guitar solos and Jurvanen’s vocal delivery, Bahamas’ music gives the impression of a hard man with a sensitive heart. However, between songs Jurvanen was quite jovial and self-effacing, evoking laughter with light-hearted quips and displaying a genuine appreciation for a crowd that vigorously applauded his set.
Sydney Entertainment Centre, May 25 Concert Hall Sydney Opera House
DANIEL CHAMPAGNE: Jun 7 Yours & Owls, Jun 14 & 15 The Front Canberra
SUGAR ARMY*: Jun 29 FBi Social
ENMORE THEATRE: 14/05/12
Then a costume change to what can probably be best described as Barbie’s wedding dress. Big, cumbersome, puffy. This was not the rapper from Jamaica. This was the singer with the sweet dreams. The first track in her new persona was Starships. So pedestrian on record, it bears comparison to a less enthusiastic, less charismatic Taio Cruz track. Live, though, it was a revelation. A large hall, full of excited young people yelled the lyrics and we were drawn into the excitement. The redemption of a bad song was, in some ways, more exciting than the performance of a good one. Pound The Alarm followed soon after and the rap show had become a party. There was banter (“Is there anything you wanted me to perform that I didn’t perform?”). There was an ill-conceived invitation to young fans to rap her verse from Bottoms Up. And there was costume change after costume change. But there was no cynicism. Each move had been calculated to be fun; to be visually or aurally exciting, or to offer us a chance to connect with our hostess. Somehow despite the insane hair, the blatant lip-syncing and the numerous, drawn-out costume changes there was something real here. An education, perhaps, in how much fun it can be to leave your doubts at the door. James d’Apice
themusic.com.au
CITY & COLOUR @ ENMORE THEATRE. PIC: MACLAY HERIOT
Wavves’ lack of consistency and timing is offensive to the ‘lo-fi’ genre they continuously claim. Nevertheless it’s official – supposedly smoking lots of bongs, having a fringe and incorporating jaded pop/punk lyricism into your poor quality music makes you “cool” and “alternative”. Ava Nirui
JOSH PYKE, GOSSLING, JACKSON MCLAREN YORK THEATRE: 19/05/12
There’s a definite nostalgic quality to the music of each of the performers in Josh Pyke’s Love Lies tour. Each of their songs – which are sometimes full of power and conviction; sometimes full of quiet, meditative remorse – seem to be a frame for an idea, a memory. Jackson McLaren is a gifted musician. He has managed to create a cacophony of sound – drums, tambourines, guitars, violins – that swell around his poetic verses. Like Pyke and Gossling, his lyrics seem full of memories and nostalgia: “Remember sunny Christmas?/The kids are all grown up now, they can drive.” His lyrics mightn’t have the full narrative quality of the musicians that followed him (they seemed to lack direction a bit), but they showed much promise.
CATCALL @ OXFORD ART FACTORY. PIC: JOSH GROOM
CATCALL, PALMS, THE FABERGETTES
OXFORD ART FACTORY: 18/05/12 Sydney four-piece The Fabergettes offered up some fun retro pop to start off proceedings. Rattling through a kooky collection of originals and one cover, singer Nat Martin was a pleasure to watch with a big grin plastered across her face throughout the whole set. Whilst waiting from Palms to take the stage, a sneaky peak into the Gallery Bar revealed an incredibly talented seven-piece, The Messengers, squeezed onto a tiny stage playing some great blues rock’n’roll to a jiggling crowd. Back to the main gig and a hipster looking Palms took to the stage and their melodic, slightly bumpy indie pop and vocalist Al Grigg’s big mop of hair drew comparisons with The Cure. The Vampire Weekend-sounding The Summer Is Done With Us prompted a big round of headbanging on stage and jumping around on the dancefloor. A packed-out room welcomed Catcall to the stage for the finale of the night. Flanked by Al Grigg on guitar, Bec Allen from The Fabergettes on bass, Simon Parker from Lost Valentinos on drums and Andrew Elston (aka Toni Toni Lee) producing the sound, it was an all-star lineup. Catcall looked very comfortable on stage as she belted out evocative dance pop like a smaller but equally powerful version of Beth Ditto. A range of tracks from her new album, The Warmest Place, made up most of the set including opener, Shoulda Been, the ‘80s-sounding Swimming Pool and the funky Art Star. Big hitters of the night were the dreamily good pop number, Satellites, and new track, The World Is Ours, which got everyone jumping around and singing their hearts out. Disappointingly no encore followed the set, but those looking for a bit more music moved next door to hear Thieves finishing off and smash a $5 hotdog. Helen Lear
MICKEY AVALON, KID MAC THE HI-FI: 18/05/12
Back in the days of MySpace, a musician’s status was not measured by their actual abilities or talent, but by how many virtual ‘friends’ they had via social networking media and whose ‘top 8’ they had the honour of being in. Trashy Hollywood scenester Mickey Avalon was amid this MySpace revolution in 2006 and gained thousands of MySpace fans based on his friendship with Paris Hilton and a ‘badass’ drug-addict demise. Supporting Avalon was local indie-rapper Kid Mac, who brought his bizarre, painful mixture of dubstep, hip hop and pop/punk to the stage. Rapping sloppily over a mash-up of The Black Eyed Peas and Skrillex, the performance was further cheapened by chants of ‘Mickey Fuckin’ Avalon!’ over Mac’s sub-par live act.
As Mickey Avalon hit the stage, bringing with him two sultry female dancers, he lazed around wearing a sailor hat, slurring the lyrics to old-school crowd pleaser, Waiting To Die. It became clear that Avalon was not in the mental state to be performing for fans as he exercised his signature second-rate drug-induced raps. As Mr. Right was presented to the crowd, Avalon indistinguishably muttered some random incorrect lyrics and danced sleazily in front of the bored-looking backing DJ. Although old fans in the crowd may have forgivingly reminisced over such tracks, it was when Avalon performed new material that it all went awry. Chaotically punching out Drugs and Dance, two twisted tracks that sound like they were created by an inebriated guy on GarageBand, Avalon stumbled into the audience, bathing his fans in his own sweat. Six years on from his MySpace-led rise, Avalon is still kicking it. However his poor live performance reminded us why he should have stayed in the realm of cyberspace.
Gossling is a performer who is extremely difficult not to like. Unlike so many of her contemporaries, she performs without pretension, seemingly without any idea of just how ‘big’ she is. Her opening number seems to contain an echo of Leonard Cohen – something in the power of her strong, clear piano lines, in the neatness of the restricted, careful presence of her rhythm section. She has a vibrant, enviable gift for putting narratives to music, as well as the uncommon habit of explaining the story behind songs. This is Josh Pyke’s first tour in a considerable amount of time, yet he is as gifted a musician as ever and even seems more vivacious and funny and positively at home on stage as ever. His totally fluid, flowing melodies take over from the moment the set opens, highlighted by Pyke’s extraordinarily talented violinist, whose soaring notes help the songs flow from verse to verse like water. He chats candidly about The Hunger Games, gives a Bob Katter impersonation and tries to bring out a slight hum he’s hearing in his microphone; his on-stage banter is quirky and a touch crazy, without being self-absorbed. The set is dominated by songs from Pyke’s previous release, Chimney’s Afire, as numbers like Parking Lots, Our House Breathing and The Summer are all trotted out. This is a show in which the instrumentals are intricate, the vocals well-honed and the artists humble and funny. But even more remarkable is the lyricism;
three gifted artists give us a guided tour of their memories, which give each of us the opportunity to reminisce. There’s something special about shows with such a nostalgic feel… Like coming home. Jessie Hunt
MUTEMATH, THE CAIROS THE HI-FI: 16/05/12
The Cairos welcomed the punters that had turned out early with some light banter and killer haircuts. They’re one of those bands you know more of their songs than you think. They have a uniquely Australian guitar twang that for those of a certain vintage echoes The Triffids. Meanwhile the bass-led melody and Alistar Richardson’s vocals create a sonic doppelganger for Dave Faulkner and the Hoodoo Gurus. For the younger readers, think Eddy Current Suppression Ring rock abandon with The Shins’ pop sensibilities. Basically, they’re awesome. Shame and We All Buy Stars owned the room, while new track, Minute Second, hinted at more indie rock goodness to come from the Brissie lads. Mutemath have exploded in the last six months. Their most recent album, Odd Soul, is receiving rave reviews and their reputation for live shows meant the packed Hi-Fi was heaving with anticipation. By entering from the rear of the room in a procession under fairy lights, they set the scene for what was a crowd-inclusive gig. There almost seemed to be a supergroup on stage with J Mascis, Freddie Mercury, Jeff Beck and Keith Moon accurate alter egos for each of the Mutemathians. They played a mix of old and new tracks, but there was a chasm between them. The newer stuff is definitely stronger, less wanky and just more damn fun. Blood Pressure, Odd Soul and Cavalries were all killer. With a stage full of keys, keys and more keys, plus three of the four band members playing them at different times, there are some inevitable comparisons. Frontman Paul Meany does sound like Freddie Mercury, Sting and Thom Yorke all rolled into one and with the cave of keys you have to think Coldplay at some stage. He had undeniable charisma and a way of welcoming the crowd into his private world of performance. The funk of the bass was sublime while band newbie Todd Gummerman showcased mad guitar and tambourine skills. By far the standout of the night was drummer Darren King. The Keith Moon comparison was not just conjured by the gaffer-taped headphones, but the intensity and melody that he managed to produce from a percussion instrument. Although others would probably point to the crowd involvement of Meany and the amazing crowd-surfing super lilo, their live antics are good fun, but their new music is even better. Kristy Wandmaker
Ava Nirui
WAVVES, SURES
OXFORD ART FACTORY: 15/05/12 Although the line between hype and real talent is often obscured, there is undeniably a difference between the two concepts. Likewise, hype cannot compensate for lack of talent, nor can it solidify your reputation as a musician. Although San Diego quartet Wavves are the ultimate new-wave-fad-hipster-dude band, their inability to tune a guitar does not grant them the title of ‘Inventors of modern lo-fi’, but rather makes them a bunch of lazy, forgettable artists. Introducing Wavves to the stage was Sydney fourpiece Sures who brought their summer-infused sugary indie to the stage, layering their tracks with melodic pop vocals and shimmery guitar work. Although young and obviously somewhat amateur, Sures showed a sense of impenetrable enthusiasm and inspired the crowd to follow suit. As Wavves hit the stage, decked out in “totally rad” street-wear, snapbacks, tattoos, long hair and generally nonchalant expressions, they began with the cringeworthy distortions of King Of The Beach, where frontman Nathan Williams’ indistinguishable vocals were only worsened by an overwhelmingly dense wall of sound, comprised predominantly of fuzz. With the crowd stimulated by Wavves’ disposition, dozens of fun-seekers crowd-surfed excitedly to the sub-par pop/ punk tunes, like a modern Green Day re-imagination show. With a repetitive rendition of I Wanna Meet Dave Grohl, it is evident that the Wavves hopscotch stylistically, channelling a weird fusion of pop/punk, surf punk and attempted lo-fi. The incessant ‘Oohs’ in Take On The World reaffirm Wavves’ nature as a “pop” group however, as an evolution from the unique noise-rock that was prominently featured in their selftitled album back in 2008. The frustratingly childish, mediocre lyricism shines through in their performance of two-and-a-half minute scuzzy jam Super Soaker, which features recurrent yells of the words “Bill Clinton” and “Stupid” against noisy instrumentalism.
themusic.com.au
MUTEMATH @ THE HI-FI. PIC: JOSH GROOM THE DRUM MEDIA • 53
JOIN THE CLUB
SINGLE FOCUS
The weekly Musos’ Club Jam Night is on again this week – Wednesday night at the Bald Faced Stag Hotel in Leichhardt, and Thursday night at the Carousel Hotel in Rooty Hill. Dust off your old guitar, or just sit back and enjoy the sounds.
SINGLE FOCUS
IT’S BATH TIME
This Wednesday at The Sando, ragtag Sydney group Ungus Ungus Ungus will be taking over, kicking up a fuss to promote their album Time For Your Bath. They’ll be supported by genre-fusion masters Ministerium.
THE MASTER
Kiwi Gerard Masters will be taking over Blue Beat this Thursday night, with a band full of some of the country’s most in-demand session musicians, who have worked with the likes of Lior, Katie Noonan and Lisa Mitchell. He will be supported by Miss Little.
HELD FOR RANSOM
The Star recently launched Rock Lily’s Check Your Head hip hop nights. Daniel Merriweather, Tim O Matic and Jessica Mauboy have headlined these nights in the past, and this week Jade McRae and Phrase, husband and wife, rapper and songstress will grace their stages. The evening will feature a collection of the duo’s tracks, taken from all three of their studio album. Also performing on the night will be DJ Kitsch and Suite Az. It all takes place Friday.
WISH COME TRUE
Veteran hip hop act, Def Wish Cast, will launch their newest album, Evolution Machine, on their 20th anniversary this Friday night at The Standard. Two singles from the album have already been dropped, with both Dun Proppa and Forever quickly becoming radio favourites. To hear the rest of the album, and to party with the most experienced hip hop crew in the country, head along to The Standard this Friday night.
MARCH TO IT
This Saturday night, hit up the Standard for a night of fuzzy, feel-good party tunes—from local boys March Of The Real Flies, Hey Geronimo and Brisbane kids The Griswolds. Headliners March Of The Real Flies have been put into a lot of boxes, from pop to folk to punk to indie, but the band pride themselves on creating a sound “entirely their own.”
Is this track from a forthcoming/existing release? It is from our second album which will be released this coming September.
LIGHT UP
Triple j Unearthed graduates, Underlights, and ex-tour buddies of Owl Eyes’, Split Seconds, will be teaming up to launch some new singles and play a string of East Coast dates. Catch the much-admired indie-pop duo at GoodGod Small Bar this Thursday night.
JIMENEZ CRICKET
Frontman of ARIA-nominated roots/world outfit Watussi, Oscar Jimenez, is heading out on his own to launch the first single from his upcoming debut release, Distancia. He’ll be playing a number of NSW dates, including this Wednesday at The Basement in Sydney, this Friday at Lizotte’s in Newcastle, and Saturday at Clarendon Guesthouse in Katoomba.
AWESOME SHOW
This Friday night, The Axis Of Awesome, one of Australia’s best-known comedy bands, will gift those down in Wollongong with a performance. After playing comedy festivals and breaking venue box offices, The Axis of Awesome plan to drop in to UOW’s UniBar this Friday night.
This Saturday night will be the last night of psychedelic rock band The Walking Who’s monthlong residency at the Upstairs Beresford. The set has been incredibly well received in the past few weeks – so much so, the Beresford have extended the boys’ set to 45 minutes. Free entry.
TAKE IT EASY
Big bands, big rhythms and big horns – three big things that Speakeasy Sunday prides itself on. The big band event had a sell-out premiere at the Opera House, but has since moved across town – apparently in favour of a venue with a better dance floor. This Sunday evening from 6pm, The Standard will be filled with the big sounds of Christa Hughes & The Honky-Tonk Shonks, Kira Hulala, Gramophone Man and a whole heap more. 54 • THE DRUM MEDIA
Melbourne’s Clairy Browne & The Bangin’ Rackettes, all-girls soul act with enough harmonies, hair-flicks and tambourines to sink a ship, are embarking on a tour to release their brand new single, Love Letter. The tour will be filled with a series of wild parties in little clubs, so head on down to The Brass Monkey on Thursday, or Good God Small Club on Friday, to join in on the raucous good times.
WITH YOUR OWN EYES
Australia’s own golden indie/pop princess Owl Eyes will be heading off on a quick five-date tour to launch her brand-new single, Crystallised. Given the burgeoning international interest in the young performer, this could be your last chance to catch the act in small, intimate settings. Catch her this Thursday at Oxford Art Factory.
What’s your favourite part of the song? The chorus, it just has a real drive to it and when it kicks in on stage it just always sounds huge. Do you play it differently live? A few little accents here and there are different ‘cause we always change things a little bit live to keep it interesting for ourselves but for the most part it’s the same.
FROM THE HEART
The former Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra has changed its name to reflect its growing numbers and expanded interest. Under the new name The Metropolitan Orchestra (TMO), and with a mission to produce orchestral music at an affordable price, the orchestra would like to invite you to their Series Three concert this Saturday night at the Independent Theatre, then at the Balmain Town Hall on Sunday afternoon. The program includes Valse Triste, Violin Concerto In E minor and Symphony No. 6 Pastoral.
WHAT? WHO?
Was anything in particular inspiring you during the making? I think the inspiration behind the song comes from wanting to ensure that we are all motivated enough to achieve everything we want from this band.
For more info see: facebook.com/themissioninmotion
Renowned Australian metal vocalist Tim “Ripper” Owens has certainly done his time with a whole collection of acts, including Judas Priest, Iced Earth, Beyond Fear and Iced Earth. Now, Owens is going solo, performing some of the best remembered Judas Priest classics, as well as tracks from Dio, Iced Earth, Ygnwie Malmsteen and some of his solo work. Catch the show this Saturday at Sydney’s The Hi-Fi, and this Sunday in Wollongong at Fairy Meadow’s The Patch.
WRITE THEM A LETTER
How long did it take to write/record? Our guitarist wrote the song relatively quickly and we recorded it over the next few weeks, it was probably one of the quickest songs we have put together.
Will you be launching it? You can hear it on our All Work No Pay Tour which hits The Great Northern in Newcastle on Thursday 24 May, The Patch in Wollongong on Friday 25 and The Annandale in Sydney on Saturday 26.
YOU RIPPER
METRO ORCHESTRAL TUNES
CONTROL What’s the song about? The song was written about having your mind in the right place to achieve the things you want from life, essentially a song written as motivation to us and achieving our goals as five people.
Ransom is the moniker of a local country act that is receiving some attention from people in the know. He’s had his debut single at number two in the Hot Country Top 50 Chart, and was a finalist in the Top 20 for the coveted 2012 Toyota Star Maker competition. He’ll be headlining a solid line-up, including Kaylee Bell and Bob Corbett.
IN YOUR HEAD
THE MISSION IN MOTION
Canada’s Tim Chaisson will be in Australia this month, playing a string of dates. Recently taking out two nominations in Canada’s East Coast Music Awards, the young performer has taken a liking to Australia – and Australian to him, judging by the fact that he’ll be performing with the likes of Tim Freedman, Diesel and Matt Anderson. Catch him this Friday and Saturday at The Brass Monkey as he launches his new single, Broken Hearted Beat.
IN THE GALLERY
Free tunes in the Gallery Bar at Oxford Art Factory, every night. Seems like a pretty perfect deal to us. Catch Permanent, Corpus and, for afters, DJ Scoops this Thursday night.
SHOUT GOODBYES
After establishing an identity as everyone’s favourite sixties dance party, Twist And Shout is being evicted from the Spectrum in favour of a twonight-per-week devotional to punk music. So, this Friday night will be the last Twist And Shout at Spectrum. Best grow your hair, hippie, and head down to Spectrum to remember a simpler decade
LOUNGE AROUND
This Sunday from 3pm catch some deep funk and soul tunes at North Manly Bowling & Recreation Club, courtesy of The Loungephonics Funk ‘n’ Soul Revue.
JOINT EFFORT
This Saturday night, GoodGod Small Club’s Danceteria will be throwing a party to make noise about. Staffed by some of the city’s best-loved DJs, including World Bar haunter Jack Shit as well as Sydney Festival’s Meem and DJ Soup. Rhythm and blues is on the line-up, with deep, danceable, balmy gems in order.
themusic.com.au
VANESSA RASPA MOVIN’ What’s the song about? The song is all about moving forward in your life, and how sometimes in order to move forward you need people to be supportive by telling you the truth, telling you exactly what they think as opposed to telling you what you want to hear. How many releases do you have now? The single Movin’ will officially be released on CD on Wednesday 23 May at the single launch, and then later on iTunes and Bandcamp. How long did it take to write/record? I took a different angle with the writing process for this song. I sort of let it evolve over time rather than having a vision of exactly how I wanted it to be and then trying to transform exactly what was in my head (which is often the case). I was very open to ideas from the band for this track. It all started with a fat bass line that I thought of one night. I sang the bass line to my bass player Elsen Price, and asked the band to just jam over it. I then recorded the jam and began writing the lyrics, and behold, the song was born. The recording process was also unusual, as parts of the song were recorded at Jimmy Barnes’ home studio (Frieght Train), and then other parts recorded at SAE. Fortunately I had a great engineer onboard – Jean-Paul Fung (whose production credits include Bluejuice, Little Red, Mahalia Barnes and Last Dinosaurs) to take care of the mixing. PHEW! Was anything in particular inspiring you during the making? First and foremost, it was a very good friend of mine who inspired the lyrics of the track. I was so grateful for her honesty and friendship, I wanted to return the favour by writing a song about it. I must admit the song didn’t end up being ‘about’ her, but she was the original inspiration and the opening lines are dedicated to her. I also wrote it at a time when I was listening to a lot of Motown and was really wanting to include more upbeat songs in my set, and bring back that ‘60s vibe to the dance floor. What’s your favourite part of the song? I don’t think I really have a favourite part of the song, but I do like that it has a good vibe and a positive message. Hope that doesn’t sound too cheesy, haha. Do you play it differently live? We do two different versions of the song depending on the line-up. When it’s the full six-piece band we do the upbeat version the same as the single, but when it’s just two or three of us playing a more acoustic gig, we do a stripped-back, slower version with a fat groove. It really works… reminds me a little of Proud Mary in the way that it works really fast, but then it also sounds just as good slow and soulful. Will you be launching it? Yes, we will be launching it at the Vanguard on Wednesday 23 May. Tickets are selling fast so make sure you book in advance. For more info see: facebook.com/pages/ Vanessa-Raspa-The-Zombie-Cats
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Everything is for SALE, including shop fittings and racks etc. We don’t just sell CD, DVD’s & Vinyl. There’s heaps of rubbish lying around, please help us clean them up. SALE starts MONDAY 21st until SUNDAY 27th of MAY. 9am to 9PM. 9 CORONATION STREET, HORNSBY, NSW 2077 Phone/Fax: (02) 9482-1107 // 04-2727-1107 E-mail: mixupmusic@hotmail.com THE DRUM MEDIA • 55
SINGLE FOCUS
BE COOL
SINGLE FOCUS
The brains trust behind Emperors, Greg Sanders and Adam Livingston, sit down with Daniel Cribb to discuss their new album, trendy bogans and being on a good thing.
SPLIT SECONDS TOP FLOOR
SHAUN KIRK DRUG GOT A HOLD ONTO YOU What’s the song about? Addiction, denial, hope. Is this track from a forthcoming/existing release? Yes! The track is from my latest album Thank You For Giving Me The Blues which was released in December 2011. How long did it take to write/record? My songs generally take months on end to write these days as I’m so busy touring full time that it can be so hard to find the time. So I generally just add a line at a time. I think I’m a little harder on myself lyrically these days too, so I’m happy to wait and wait until the right words come along. Was anything in particular inspiring you during the making? I think just the process of recording songs is inspiring. The studio is such a creative space and you never really know what’s going to happen. You may go in with ideas in mind and those ideas can totally flip once you’re in the studio. What’s your favourite part of the song? The bass line. I’m no bass player, but I played it on the album and for this song in particular we came up with a line that goes against the melody of the song but it still works really well. Do you play it differently live? I never play a song exactly the same way as its recording when I play it live. I like to be in the moment and go with what I’m feeling at the time. Will you be launching it? Thursday 24 May at the Wickham Park Hotel, Newcastle; Monday 28 at the Rails, Byron Bay; Wednesday 30 at the Vanguard; Thursday 31 at the Grand Junction Hotel, Maitland; and Friday 1 July at the Heritage Hotel, Wollongong. For more info see: shaunkirk.com
THE MACHINE
Chris and Rob, the boys of Florence And The Machine, will be hitting up The World Bar this Thursday night. They will be hosting a Propaganda party like no other, playing some tunes from the Cub Room after midnight. Pretty badass.
YOUR MUM
Eight hours of indie rock, this Friday night at The World Bar? Well, where else would you be? With a line-up that dwarfs its competitors by comparison, Friday night’s Mum at the World Bar is hard to miss. This week will feature Running Gun Sound, Dirt Farmer, Deathsquare, Drifts, The Heavy Heads, Broke Down Engines and The Fires, as well as a choice collection of DJs.
HAVE YOUR CAKE
Presenting a plethora of Sydney’s finest DJs, laying out their tunes for your aural pleasure. With Grits ‘n’ Gravy, Micah, Kato and Nicc Johnson, just to name a few, this evening packs a whole lot of sound into a short space of time. You’ll see.
BROTHERS IN ARMS
This Friday night at Bluebeat, Dauno Martinez will unleash his funk R’n’B project. It features the Martinez brothers, as well as special guests – which change with each show. This time around, we’ll have the Martinezes joined by Peter Northcote and Rex Goh. Free DJs will take over from the band at around 3 AM. 56 • THE DRUM MEDIA
What’s the song about? I lived in London for a while, and one day on the way home I got stuck on the top deck of one of the double deckers with a European couple, clearly tourists, getting unreasonably physical as the bus drove through Piccadilly Circus. They had their backpacks and everything. I just thought it was a shame that they’d rather get their sex on at 11am than have a look outside at that amazing street. Seemed like a waste. So that’s what Top Floor is about. Is this track from a forthcoming/existing release? It’s from our debut album, which will be out in July. How long did it take to write/record? The hardest part was figuring out how to make an 808 sound like an 808 – that took ages. Apart from that it didn’t take very long. Maybe three days? Was anything in particular inspiring you during the making? Our engineer had the dirtiest beard you’ve ever seen. So we were very inspired to finish the record and get as far away from that hate crime of a beard as we could. What’s your favourite part of the song? I like Rhys’ (guitar) Coxon-esque solo at the end. He did it after eating a whole bag of M&Ms, didn’t actually know we were recording him. Do you play it differently live? It’s pretty faithful. Will you be launching it? Thursday 24 May at GoodGod Small Bar and Friday 25 at the Beresford.
If you’re friends with either Greg Sanders or Adam Livingston, chances are you’ve made your way on to Emperors’ new album Stay Frosty. If you’re not friends with either of the two Perth musicians, but an attractive female hipster that noticed a longhaired mid-20s male staring at you on the bus, you probably received an honourable mention. Vocalist/guitarist Adam Livingston and guitarist Greg Sanders have mastered the art of storytelling; they can turn somewhat mundane situations, such as Livingston staring at women on buses, into catchy melodies backed by fine instrumentation. “You know how there’s new-age bogans now?” Sanders asks. “Bogans used to drink VB and wear flannel shirts and listen to AC/DC and, generally, there’s nothing wrong with that. But now bogans are those dudes who drink energy drinks, go to Future Music Festival and wear the V-neck shirts with bird shit all over them. They’ve all got really massive arms, but they don’t work out any other part of their body,” he describes, while Livingston laughs. “So they’re really skinny, but their arms are gigantic – so [Hey Dolly] is about that. Most songs are just about things that we find weird or kind of piss us off,” he continues.
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on the iPad
For more info see: facebook.com/splitseconds.
CAUSING A COMMOTION This Saturday night, Candence Commotions presents a night full of roots, blues and rockabilly at Newtown’s Town Hall Hotel. The night will showcase the talents of Esme & The Watsons, Terry Serio’s Ministry of Truth as well as The All Ordinaries, joined by Home and Away’s Shane Withington.
FAIR COP This week, Texan heavy rock group Fair To Midland will take to the stage as part of their Australian tour. After a member of the band recently dislocated his finger after a particularly violent stage dive, then clambered back on stage, popped back in the finger, then continued on with his show. Installments of the band’s tour continue this week, stopping in at The Hi-Fi this Friday night.
After building up a solid reputation for themselves within the WA music community, playing the Big Day Out, releasing a solid EP and touring the country four times, they’ve delivered on the expectations set up when winning the West Australian Music Industry (WAMi) award for Most Promising Act in 2010. Stay Frosty was recorded in only two weeks, but intense preparation before entering the studio meant that was all they needed to get the desired results. “I’ve got a little home studio and the two of us will get together. One of us will have an idea and we’ll just flesh it out behind a computer, put down some artificial drums and things and then once it’s all sort of been thrown together and we’ve got a loose structure, we’ll take it into the band room with the other two members and tighten it up a little bit,” Sanders explains.
FARMING
LIKE A TIGER
After supporting raging Australian indie acts like Husky, Alpine and Last Dinosaurs, Dirt Farmer is preparing to launch their self-titled EP in Sydney. Full of summer sounds and synth-pop warmth to ward off the winter chill, Dirt Farmer’s tracks are already generating buzz. The band will hit up The World Bar this Friday night, then Oxford Art Factory’s Gallery Bar on Saturday night.
TOUCH OF FUNK
Though Tiger Choir come from a tiny little state called Tasmania, they’ve played with huge acts – from Songs to The Drums. They’ll be hitting up FBi Social this Thursday night, alongside The Paper Scissors and Telafonica. This show will be their Sydney launch party for their vinyl, Unicycles.
GIVE ME A BREAK This Wednesday, as usual, FBi puts on Lunch Break – a midweek lunchtime concert in the centre of the city, perfect for breaking up the workday. This week, the guests of honour will be Megastick Fanfare, wild party animals and creators of mad indie rock. After touring with everyone of note, from O Ye Denver Birds to Bombay Bicycle Club, they are preparing a second EP. Head down and give them a piece of your mind.
This Saturday night at Katoomba RSL, an invasion of funk is taking place. Mountains-based Soul Train, a ten-piece local band who work hard to present a professional, high-energy show, with a potent combination of covers and originals, will take to the stage first up. Then will come Wollongong’s Tommy M And The Mastersounds – a funk, reggae and roots outfit from Wollongong. Finally, Brotherfunk, a seven-piece roots fusion outfit will wrap up the show, presenting an explosively original set which attempts to “seduce you with our infections grooves”.
themusic.com.au
“With the two weeks thing, what we did was go out of our way to make sure there was really as little thrills as possible. Every song, it’s just us; two guitars, bass, drums, vocals. There are no extra instruments, there are no guest vocals. We just went in and we played pretty much exactly what we do live, because we wanted to make a record that we could play live and would sound good live. It’s quite easy, when you’re in a room with 20 different amps and guitars, to want to use as many toys as possible,” he justifies. The pair admit they’re a band stuck in their own bubble of musical influences. Nothing is completely original these days and Emperors have been able to build off predecessors and take Australian rock to the next level. If you’ve heard their latest single Be Ready When I Say Go blaring on the radio, there’s an unmistakable hint of Perth legends Jebediah in the mix, which partly comes from the unmiastakeable presence of producer Dave Parkin. “He gets results. Every single we’ve recorded with him has been played on radio. A lot of bands get restless and kind of just want to go to different producers with every album they do, but I don’t really see why. We’re onto a good thing here. You hear of bands spending stupid amounts of money going overseas, going over east quite often just for a name… This doesn’t happen anymore, but if a record label said, ‘Here’s $50,000 to record an album’ I think we’d still do it here,” Sanders emphasises. “And just spend the rest of the money,” Livingston laughs. “He’s got this way, when you’re tracking, of making you feel like you’re the best guitarist in the world. As soon as you put the guitar down he makes you feel like a piece of shit again, but while you’re playing he gives you the impression that you’re really talented,” Sanders adds. WHO: Emperors WHAT: Stay Frosty (Gun Fever/MGM) WHEN & WHERE: Friday 25 May, Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle; Saturday 26, FBi Social, Sydney
BLOODY This Friday night, Essex-born and Brooklyn-raised Blood Orange takes to the stage at FBi Social. After turning sedate mid-week events in Melbourne into wild, sweaty, thriving dance parties, Devonte Hynes – the man behind Blood Orange – brings the 1980s funk-infused party to Sydney. His show has been honed to near-perfection in the dive bars of New York City. Check it out.
EMPERORS, FRIENDS, SKULLS AND MATT Saturday night brings a whole cast of burgeoning talent to FBi Social. Emperors are just about ready to release their much-awaited album, Stay Frosty – their singles Be Ready When I Say Go and Plastic Guns are thriving on all kinds of radio and online. Emperors will kick off their whirlwind seven-date tour this Saturday night at FBi Social, supported by Skullsquadron, Super Best Friends and Matt Banham of Dreamboats.
BYE FOR NOW
CLAIRY BROWNE & THE BANGIN’ RACKETTES
DOUBLE THE FUN
Having released their last album with a blistering set in Sydney’s West, machinemachine are playing a string of dates to get the sound out there. This Friday night will find them at The Lansdowne.
DOWN THE BEACH The Beach Road Hotel in Bondi is offering up two free gigs next week. Wednesday night will kick off the party, with a face-off between Goons Of Doom and Fait Accompli and support from The Ruminaters. Then, Sydney duo Oscar And Martin will be hitting up the Movement Stage this Friday night.
KING OF NEW ORLEANS Bridie King, just after releasing her new album, Blue Ivories, will be performing a sample of her New Orleans
VIDEO CLIP FOCUS
LOVE LETTER
piano music, a product of her love affair with the piano, as well as with American musical traditions like soul, gospel and jazz. She will play with her trio, and special guest Shane Pacey (of the Bondi Cigars).
CROSSING THE WORLD Ray Lugo, American soul/punk/afro/grooves maestro has spent the last decade travelling all over to present his soulful sounds. This Saturday night finds him at Blue Beat, debuting his first solo album, We Walk Around Like This. Catch the acoustic performance this Friday, followed by a late-night DJ set.
Who directed the video clip? Directed by Lester Francois, conceptualized and co-produced by Hannah Fox.
OWL EYES These will be your last shows before recording the new album – how are you feeling leading up to them? I am feeling excited, I can’t wait to try out some new songs and I have just bought some new gear that I think will add a lot to my live show so I can’t wait to see what kind of reaction I get.
Sydney electro band Pigeon have signed up to support Tijuana Cartel this Friday night at Oxford Art Factory. After releasing their debut EP and hitting up festivals like Fat As Butter, Peats Ridge and Splendour, Pigeon are heading for big things, and this will be their last run of shows before they head back into the studio to record a second EP. Tijuana Cartel are also on their last few shows – after releasing their third album, M1, the band are planning on an international move. This could be your last chance to see two upstanding local electronic acts, so head along and see what all the fuss is about.
How long did it take to make? We did it in a one-day filming session, from 6am to 1am. It was then edited and graded within the month.
How long do you expect to be recording for and when will you be back? A few months. I’m not completely finished writing yet so I suppose how ever long that takes me. I am hoping to be done by September.
Where did you film it? We filmed it in the old Geelong jail. There is an amazingly creepy vibe in those old bluestone walls. And some very cheesy prisoner cardboard cut-outs hanging about the place. It suited what we needed through colour and vibe and the fact that it’s an institution confines it all.
Do you have more than enough to keep you busy during that time? I really do have too much to keep me busy! So much more writing and producing to be done. I think I will turn into a bear and hibernate into the studio.
Who filmed it and how’d they film it? Our friend Lester filmed it with a small crew. It was a very simple and stripped back production, but we managed to squeeze the whole band and crew into a dark, tiny cell, as well as film large dance sequences in the main part of the jail.
What will you be missing most with time away from touring? Spending so much time with my band who are like a second family to me and also that amazing feeling you get coming off stage from a great show!
What’s your favourite part of the clip? The smoke machines.
How are you saying farewell to the fans? By putting on this single tour I want to include them in the process of my album by showing new and even unfinished material. I want to get a reaction from them so I have something to consider when I record it.
CARTEL OF PIGEONS
What’s the concept behind the clip? We went with ‘Prince goes to prison’. It’s about delivering a love letter to someone, all the frustrationand yearning involved, and it needed to have massive hair and massive dance vibes.
Was anything in particular inspiring you during the making? All the people involved. People put their hearts and time into a project for us, from costume to food to high kicks. The tacky Golden Palms hotel we stayed at was pretty inspiring… brown carpets, pokies, toasted sandwiches and red wine can do a lot for your imagination.
Farewell show: Thursday 24 May at the Oxford Art Factory.
Will you be launching it We’ll be hitting up The Brass Monkey in Cronulla on Thursday 24 and GoodGod Small Club in Sydney on Friday 25.
For more information see: facebook.com/thisisowleyes.
For more info see: clairybrowne.com.
Experience Film International Film School Sydney Open Day Sat 26 May 9:30am – 12:30pm 27 Rosebery Ave Rosebery
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Want to experience film like never before? Then you need to experience IFSS. Come along to our Open Day this Saturday the 26th of May where you will be guided through the realm of filmmaking by students and teachers that are practicing in the industry. Every school says “we’re different”. The difference at IFSS is that we live up to that promise. In two years with us, you make up to eight films and work on up to 24 other films being made by your peers. You won’t get to do that at any other film school in Sydney! So come along this Saturday and experience IFSS.
RSVP online at ifss.edu.au/whats-happening/open-days-events T: 02 9663 3789 E: info@ifss.edu.au W: www.ifss.edu.au L: 27 Rosebery Ave, Rosebery NSW 2018
IFSS THE DRUM MEDIA • 57
TUE 22 ABSTRACT BROTHERHOOD, MIDNIGHT TEA PARTY: 505 Surry Hills ADAM PRINGLE: Sandringham Hotel, street level CARL FIDLER: Observer Hotel - The Rocks CARRIE LAKIN: Opera Bar - Circular Quay DIESEL, MATT ANDERSEN: Lizottes, Newcastle - Lambton GREG BYRNE DUO: Maloneys Hotel - City IAN BLAKENEY: Dee Why RSL MIKO FOUCAULTLARCHE, RODRIC WHITE: Lizottes, Central Coast Kincumber OMG: Scruffy Murphy’s - City PETER HEAD: The Harbour View Hotel - The Rocks PRINCE: Allphones Arena - Homebush YUKI KUMAGAI & JOHN MACKIE: Madison Hotel Darlinghurst
WED 23 ANDY MAMMERS DUO: Maloneys Hotel - City AUTOCLAWS, SUBASKE, BOBO, ATONEZ, REHU, PABLO CALAMARI, ROM REM WOLF: The World Bar Kings Cross BOB MALONE: Beaches Hotel - Thirroul CHOSANI AFRIQUE: Macquarie Hotel - City DAN BARNETT, THE AUSTRALIANS: 505 - Surry Hills DAN SPILLANE: Coogee Bay Hotel - Beach Bar DEVIN: Oxford Art Factory - Darlinghurst EXPATRIATE: Spectrum Darlinghurst FAIT ACCOMPLI, GOONS OF DOOM, DEAD BEAT BAND, THE RUMINATERS: Beach Road Hotel - Bondi GEMMA: Observer Hotel - The Rocks GOODNIGHT DYNAMITE: O’Malleys Hotel - Kings Cross GREG SITA, TIM BRAY, LYNDSAY HARPER, MAI-ANH: Evening Star Hotel - Surry Hills
HELMUT UHLMANN, ANDREW DENNISTON, BENWARDI, SEJON IM, OLIVIA JEAN, DAVID HOUSE, LITTLE BEARD, MADAME WU, ELISE GRAHAM: UTS Loft Bar, UTS - Broadway JOSH MCIVOR: Mean Fiddler Hotel - Rouse Hill KINGSTONE FLAVAS: Valve Bar - Tempe LARISSA MCKAY BAND: Lizottes Sydney - Dee Why LE KAB: Opera Bar - Circular Quay LISA CROUCH, MILTON WARD: Belmont 16’s MATT JONES: Novotel - Brewery Bar, Olympic Park MICHELE MADDEN, SIMON DAY, MARCUS DE PASQUALE: Sandringham Hotel, upstairs OLIVER GOSS, THE YELLOW CANVAS, JONNO READ: The Basement Circular Quay OUTLIER: Scruffy Murphy’s - City PAULY: Marlborough Hotel - Newtown PETER HEAD: The Harbour View Hotel - The Rocks RUSSELL NEAL, MATT MCGOWEN, FALLON CUSH: Cat & Fiddle Hotel - Balmain SUGARSHAKERS, PAT CAPOCCI COMBO: Rock Lily - The Star Casino - Pyrmont TAOS, SEAN RENFORD, STEPHANIE POLESON, JOHN CHESHER, GAVIN FITZGERALD: Coach & Horses Hotel - Randwick THE FAULTS, TEAL, VULPES VULPES: Yours and Owls - Wollongong THE GOOD STUFF: 3 Wise Monkeys - Sydney THE OCEAN, LO!, NUCLEAR SUMMER, AT DARK: Annandale Hotel - Annandale THE SMITH: Artichoke Gallery Café - Manly TIGERTOWN: Brass Monkey - Cronulla UNGUS UNGUS INGUS, MINISTERIUM: Sandringham Hotel, street level VANESSA RASPA AND THE ZOMBIE CATS, THE CONSCIOUS PILOTS, CAT TETHER: The Vanguard - Newtown WOLF AND THE GANG: Lansdowne Hotel - Chippendale
THU 24
OWL EYES, ART OF SLEEPING: Oxford Art Factory - Darlinghurst
BERNIE HAYES: Rose of Australia Hotel - Erskineville
FIVE SECONDS OF SUMMERS: The Factory Theatre
PERMANENT: Oxford Art Factory, Gallery Bar - Darlinghurst
BLACK DIAMOND HEARTS: Crows Nest Hotel (late)
AFTER DARK: Hard Rock Café Darling Harbour
PETER HEAD: The Harbour View Hotel - The Rocks
BLAZE OF GLORY-BON JOVI SHOW: Peden’s Tavern Hotel, Cessnock
FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE, THE CEREMONIAL ORCHESTRA: Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House
BIG WAY OUT: 3 Wise Monkeys - Sydney
RUBY BOOTS, THE WEDDED BLISS, THE ELLIS COLLECTIVE: Transit Bar - Canberra ACT
BLOOD ORANGE: FBI Social, Kings Cross Hotel
ADELE & GLENN, DAVE McCORMACK: The Vanguard - Newtown
BREWSTER BROS: Lizottes Sydney - Dee Why CASH SAVAGE AND THE LAST DRINKS: Steyne Hotel - Manly CHATEAU GENERAL, TEHE VENUSIANS, EDEMA RUH: Bald Faced Stag - Leichhardt CHRIS & ROB (FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE), MUSH, URBY, DAN BOMBINGS: The World Bar - Kings Cross CLAIRY BROWN & THE BANGIN’ RACKETTES: Brass Monkey - Cronulla CRAIG THOMMO: R.G McGees - Richmond CURIOUS TEMPLE: Valve Bar - Tempe ELEVEN:ELEVEN, THE ROYAL ARTILLERY, HEY BABY, THE PENNYS, JAMES ENGLUND: Annandale Hotel - Annandale FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE, BLOOD ORANGE: Sydney Entertainment Centre - Darling Harbour GARY HONOR: Camelot Lounge - Marrickville GRAND MASTERS BAND, MISS LITTLE: Blue Beat - Double Bay
SCOTT DONALDSON: Campbelltown Catholic Club - Caf‚ Samba SHINOLA: Macquarie Hotel - City SKARLET, BRISCOE & TALES IN SPACE, CAPITOL: Lansdowne Hotel - Chippendale SOULED OUT: Scruffy Murphy’s - City SPLIT SECONDS, UNDERLIGHTS: Goodgod Small Club - City TAFE SHOWCASE SEMI FINAL: Sandringham Hotel, upstairs THE HOO HAAS, JEFF FARADAY, TERRY SERIO: The Unity Hotel - Newtown THE MISSION IN MOTION, ALICE VS EVERYTHING: Great Northern Hotel - Newcastle
HAYLEY SALES: Gymea Bay Hotel - Gymea HEY GERONIMO, CLARE, THE LAUGHING LEAVES: Rock Lily - The Star Casino - Pyrmont
TIGER CHOIR, THE PAPER SCISSORS, TELAFONICA: FBI Social, Kings Cross Hotel
JEREMY ROSE & FRIENDS: The Spice Cellar - Sydney
TIM RIPPER OWENS, CRIMSON LAKE, HAZMAT: The Cambridge, Newcastle
JOHN HARKINS TRIO: 505 - Surry Hills JOHN HILL: Monkey Bar - Balmain JONATHAN DEVOY: Sandringham Hotel, street level KIRK BURGESS: Sackville Hotel - Rozelle KOLONEL BIZARRE: Lewisham Hotel - Lewisham KRISHNA JONES: Marlborough Hotel - Newtown KRISTY GARRETT: Dee Why RSL LOENE CARMEN, MATT BAILEY: Red Rattler - Marrickville LOUNGE SOUNDS: Artichoke Gallery Café - Manly MARTY from RECKLESS: Coogee Bay Hotel - Beach Bar
BRIDIE KING TRIO, SHANE PACEY: Empire Hotel - Annandale
FRI 25 ALLEY CATS, YA AHA, MACHINE MACHINE, WIFEY, KOLONEL BIZARRE: Lansdowne Hotel - Chippendale ALTITUDE: Scruffy Murphy’s - City AM 2 PM: Courthouse Hotel - Taylor Square AMALI WARD, DAN COPPING: Oceans Bar - Coogee ARBORI: Artichoke Gallery Café - Manly ARMCHAIR TRAVELLERS DUO: Coogee Bay Hotel - Beach Bar AXIS OF AWESOME: Unicentre, UOW - Wollongong BACKLASH: Penrith Gaels - Kingswood BEATNIX: Sofitel Wentworth - Sydney
FUTURE CLASSIC DJs: The Spice Cellar - Sydney GANG OF BROTHERS: Blue Beat - Double Bay
BRYEN WILLEMS: Jazz Apple Kitchen - Glenbrook
GREAT BIG HITS: Charlestown Bowling Club
CASH SAVAGE AND THE LAST DRINKS, KIRA PURU & THE BRUISE: Coogee Diggers
GTS: Club Rivers - Riverwood
CHECK YOUR HEAD, PHRASE, JADE MACRAE: Rock Lily - The Star Casino - Pyrmont
IVAN DRAGO: Jacksons On George, George St Bar
CLAIRY BROWN & THE BANGIN’ RACKETTES: Goodgod Small Club - City COILGUNS, KUNS: Sandringham Hotel, upstairs
THOMAS COVENANT, UNITY FLOORS, BEAST & FLOOD, OBSCURA HAIL: Yours and Owls - Wollongong
OSCAR JIMENEZ, ABUKA TRIO: The Basement Circular Quay
58 • THE DRUM MEDIA
RUSSELL NEAL, PAUL B WILDE, MASSIMO PRESTI, STEVE MCNAUGHTON, NICK DOMENICOS, SPENCER MCCULLUM: Kogarah Hotel - Kogarah
BOB CORBETT: Windsor Castle Hotel - Newcastle
FOURPLAY, CIRCLE OF RHYTHM: The Basement Circular Quay
DAN LISSING DUO: Crows Nest Hotel (early) DAN SPILLANE: Quakers Inn Quakers Hill DANNY BROWN, MED, ELLESQUIRE, HALFWAY CROOKS: The Studio, Sydney Opera House DAVE COCHRANE: Cessnock Supporters Club DEAD LETTER CIRCUS, FAIR TO MIDLAND, TWELVE FOOT NINJA: The Hi Fi - Entertainment Quarter - Moore Park DEF WISH CAST, CELSIUS, KILLAWATTZ, VAME, NTSC: The Standard - Surry Hills DIRTY DEEDS - AC/DC SHOW: Wentworthville Leagues DIRTY DEZIRE, VIRGINIA KILLSTYX, ROADKILL, THRASHED: Valve Bar - Tempe DOUBLE BARREL: Unity Hall Hotel - Balmain DOWN THUNDER: Vineyard Hotel - Vineyard EBONY & IVORY: Crown Hotel - Sydney EMPERORS: Cambridge Hotel - Newcastle EMPIRE RISING, BLUE CANDY, FIVE COFFEES, HIGH NOON: Annandale Hotel - Annandale
INTIMATE LOUNGE MUSIC: Fairfield RSL, Supper Club
JAKE NUATA: Great Northern Hotel - Newcastle JAMIE OEHLERS, ROBERT HURST: 505 - Surry Hills JEDDY ROWLAND, ANDERS HITCHCOCK: Cohibar JJ DUO: Kurnell Rec Club - Kurnell JUS GORDON: Duke of Wellington Hotel - New Lambton KOLONEL BIZARRE: Landsdowne Hotel - Darlinghurst KOTADAMA: Warners at the Bay KURT WILLIAMS: Chatswood RSL LIZ BIRD, DRAE: Kings Cross Hotel, Rooftop LOK STOK, MATT HOARE: Paddington Inn - Paddington LUCA CIARLA: Sound Lounge, Seymour Centre - Chippendale LUKE AUSTEN: The Mark Hotel MACSON: St George Leagues - Kogarah MAL BARNES: Revesby Workers MARKIE MARK: Campbelltown Catholic Club-Club Lounge MATT ROBERTS: The Watershed Hotel - Darling Harbour MATT TOMS: Matraville Hotel - Matraville METALLICA SHOW: Heathcote Hotel - Heathcote MIKE MATHIESON, CHRIS ALEXANDER: Dooley’s - Lidcombe MUCHO MAMBO: Camelot Lounge - Marrickville NATURALLY 7, TOM THUM: State Theatre - Sydney
EXIT STRATEGY: Customs House Bar - Circular Quay
OSCAR + MARTIN: Beach Road Hotel - Bondi
FABBA: The Polo Lounge And Supper Club - Darlinghurst
OSCAR JIMENEZ, DAMIAN WRIGHT: Lizottes, Newcastle
themusic.com.au
PANORAMA: 3 Wise Monkeys - Sydney PEPPERMINT JAM: St Marys Band Club - St Marys PETER GRANT: North Richmond Hotel PVT: Opera Theatre, Sydney Opera House RAGA DOLLS SALON ORCHESTRA: City Recital Hall - Sydney RAIN JULZ: Jacksons On George, Luna Lounge RAVE ON: Belmont 16’s REMIXES: Kingswood Sports Club RUNCIBLE SPOON: Mars Hill Café Parramatta RUNNING GUN SOUND, DIRT FARMER, DEATHSQUARE, DRIFFS, THE HEAVY HEADS, BROKE DOWN ENGINES, THE FIRES: The World Bar - Kings Cross RYAN LESLIE, ERIKA DAVID: Metro Theatre - Sydney SAFARI SUITS: Red Cow Hotel - Penrith SARAH MCLEOD, ASHLEIGH MANNIX, OLLIE BROWN, KJ: The Vanguard - Newtown SCARLETTS REVENGE, THUNDER LOVE, SPOONFUL OF SUGAR, ELK BELL: Roxbury Hotel - Glebe SOULGANIC, RANDOM SOUL: Opera Bar - Circular Quay SPIRAL DANCE, DAMNH THE BARD: Bald Faced Stag - Leichhardt SPLIT SECONDS, UNDERLIGHTS: Upstairs Beresford - Surry Hills TEX PERKINS, NICOLE BROPHY: Lizottes Sydney - Dee Why THE AUSTRALIAN NIRVANA TRIBUTE: Engadine Family Tavern THE BEN CRAWFORD DUO: Belmore Hotel - Newcastle THE FOO FIGHTERS SHOW: Ettalong Beach Hotel THE FUELERS: Petersham Bowling Club THE HANG, RIPPOGRAM, ROSIE HENSHAW: Notes Live - Enmore
THE SILVERTOPS: East Leagues Club - Bondi Junction THIEVES: Oxford Art Factory, Gallery Bar - Darlinghurst TIJUANA CARTEL, PIGEON: Oxford Art Factory - Darlinghurst TIM FREEDMAN: Brass Monkey - Cronulla TOM TRELAWNY: Bankstown Hotel - Bankstown TONIGHT ALIVE, THE DANGEROUS SUMMER, TOTALLY UNICORN: Manning Bar, Sydney Uni - Camperdown TONY EDWARDS, DAIGO: Kings Cross Hotel, Level 1 TOUR DE FORCE: Evan Theatre, Penrith Panthers UNDERCOVER: Figtree Hotel Wollongong WILDCATZ: Marlborough Hotel - Newtown YUKI KUMAGAI & JOHN MACKIE: Wellco Café & Wine Bar - Leichhardt
SAT 26 031 ROCK SHOW: Scruffy Murphy’s - City 2 OF HEARTS: Revesby Workers, Skylight Lounge AFTER PARTY BAND: Mounties - Mt Pritchard AM 2 PM: Parramatta RSL - Parramatta ANDREW DENNISTON: Terrey Hills Tavern - Terrey Hills ARMCHAIR TRAVELLERS DUO: Panania East Hills RSL - Panania AT HIS ROCK: Excelsior Hotel - Glebe BANG SHANG A LANG: Souths Juniors - Kingsford BARNESTORMING - THE CHISEL/ BARNES SHOW: Lakes Hotel - The Entrance BEATNIX: Revesby Workers, Whitlam Theatre BENN GUNN: Hollywood Bar & Café
THE LEVYMEN: Nelson Bay Diggers Club
BENTELY: Kings Cross Hotel, Level 1
THE MATCHBOX TRIBUTE SHOW: Toongabbie Sports Club
BIG RADIO DYNAMITE: Campbelltown Catholic ClubClub Lounge
THE NICKELBACK SHOW: Bull & Bush - Baulkham Hills THE PINK CHEVYS: Blacktown RSL - Blacktown THE ROCK-AHOLICS: Club Engadine - Engadine THE SHIVON DUO: Parramatta Leagues
BLUE VENOM: Carousel Inn Rooty Hill BLUES KITCHEN: Empire Hotel Annandale
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THE DRUM MEDIA • 59
BLUES PIRATES: Bald Rock Hotel - Rozelle BRADEN EVANS, WARCHIEF, SCANDALGATE: Roxbury Hotel - Glebe BROTHERFUNK, SOUL TRAIN, TOMMY M AND THE MASTERSOUNDS: Katoomba RSL Club BRYEN WILLIAMS: East Cessnock Bowling Club BRYNSTAR, CANDIDATE: Cohibar CASH SAVAGE: Yours and Owls - Wollongong CONTINENTAL BLUES TRIO: Bathurst Panthers COREDEA, FOUNDRY ROAD, XEMPER PHI, NOT ANOTHER SEQUEL JUST ANOTHER PREQUEL, RED BEE: Valve Bar - Tempe COUGAR: Riverwood Inn CRAZE, CODES: Chinese Laundry - Sydney CREEDENCE & FRIENDS: Shoal Bay Country Club Hotel DAVE MYLES, CAMILLE & STUIE FRENCH: The Basement Circular Quay DAVE TICE, MARK EVANS: Sandringham Hotel, street level DES GIBSON: Lansvale Hotel - Lansvale DIEGO LENIS: Oceans Bar - Coogee DIRTY DEEDS - AC/ DC SHOW, HELLS BELLS: Beachcomber Hotel - Toukley DR. ZOOM DUO: Cessnock Supporters Club EFTERKLANG, SYDNEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: Opera Theatre, Sydney Opera House ELEVEN:ELEVEN, THE BLAND, AVAIN: Valve Bar - Tempe (Afternoon) EMPERORS: FBI Social, Kings Cross Hotel FOURS A CROWD: Engadine Family Tavern GAGJIO GUITARS: Revesby Workers - Revesby GET THE PARTY STARTED-THE PINK SHOW: Ettalong Bowling Club GREG BRYCE AND THE BAD BAD THINGS: Duke of Wellington Hotel - New Lambton GRITS ‘N’ GRAVY, MICAH, KRAYMER, KATO: The World Bar - Kings Cross HITSEEKERS: Marlborough Hotel - Newtown INCOGNITO BAND: Exchange Hotel
IRON GATE SOUND, ALOTTA PRESSURE, MAIN SUPPORT, FEIDA’S BOSS: Lansdowne Hotel - Chippendale JACK SHIT, MEEM, SOUP: Goodgod Small Club - City
CHRISTIE LAMB: Campbelltown Catholic Club - Caf‚ Samba
JAMES MACK, D-FLAT: Kings Cross Hotel, Level 4
CONTINENTAL BLUES PARTY: Bald Rock Hotel - Rozelle
JANELLE MONAE AND THE ARCHANDROID ORCHESTRA: Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House
CONTINENTAL BLUES TRIO: Crossroads Hotel Casula CRAIG THOMMO: Coogee Bay Hotel - Beach Bar
JEZEBEL: Kingswood Sports Club
DJ BRYNSTAR: The Watershed Hotel Darling Harbour
JONNY GRETSCH’S WASTED ONES: Taverners Hill Hotel - Leichhardt
ELEVATION - U2 ACOUSTIC: The Orient Hotel, The Rocks
JOYCE COLLINS: The Belvedere Hotel - Sydney
EVAN & THE BRAVE, THE FALLS: Yours and Owls - Wollongong
KAFE KOOL: Fairfield RSL, Supper Club KATIE NOONAN, BRIAN CAMPEAU: Camelot Lounge - Marrickville KEEP THE FAITH BON JOVI SHOW: Oatley Hotel - Oatley KIM SANDERS, BOBBY SINGH, SONGUL KARAHASANOGLU: St Luke’s Church & Hall - Enmore KIRK BURGESS: Newport Arms Hotel - Newport
DEVIN
Romancing, the debut album from New York rocker Devin, and particularly its hit single Masochist, have propelled this artist into the spotlight. NME named him as one of the ‘20 Acts That Will Matter’ and he will be making his first visit to Australia with a quick tour taking in dates in Sydney and Melbourne on the back of the Australian release of the aforementioned record. He plays Oxford Art Factory on Wednesday 23 May. MISSION IN MOTION, JONESEZ + MORE: Annandale Hotel - Annandale MR WILSON: Ivy, Pool - Sydney
LAPAPLUX, OOOOO, ALBATROSS, GARDLAND: Sandringham Hotel, upstairs
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK, BACKSTREET BOYS, JOHNNY RUFFO: Allphones Arena - Homebush
LIZ BIRD, STU TURNER: Paddington Inn - Paddington
OSCAR JIMENEZ, AFRONOMADS: Clarendon Guest House - Katoomba
LUKE ESCOMBE: Artichoke Gallery Café - Manly MACKA: Courthouse Hotel - Darlinghurst MAD COW: Macarthur Tavern - Campbelltown MANNY BOY: The Watershed Hotel Darling Harbour
PANORAMA: Wentworthville Leagues PEPPERMINT JAM: PJ’s Irish Pub - Parramatta PETER HEAD: The Harbour View Hotel - The Rocks
SIMON LAING: Jacksons On George, George St Bar SINCERELY ELVIS TRIBUTE Feat. WAYNE COOPER: Charlestown Bowling Club SINGLED OUT: Orient Hotel - The Rocks SISTER JANE, DIRT FARMER: Oxford Art Factory, Gallery Bar - Darlinghurst SOUL GOOD MUSIC Feat. ERICA DAVID: Mars Hill Café - Parramatta STEREOHYPE, VIVIENNE KINGSWOOD: Rock Lily - The Star Casino - Pyrmont STREETS OF OMAH: Belmore Hotel - Newcastle
THE DEEP: Yardhouse - Haymarket THE FUNKY BUNCH: Nelson Bay Diggers Club THE JIVE BOMBERS: Collingwood Hotel - Liverpool THE KAMIS, DI BIRD RED: Penrith RSL, Castle Lounge THE LEISURE BANDITS, THE WALKING WHO, PEAR SHAPE: Upstairs Beresford - Surry Hills THE LONELY BOYS: Mercantile Hotel - The Rocks THE METROP: Independent Theatre THE SMOOTH CRIMINALS: Lithgow Workmans Club - Lithgow
FRANK MACIAS & LOS AMIGOS, TIGER AND THE ROGUES: Sandringham Hotel, upstairs GRAMAPHONE MAN GLITCH JUKEBOX, THE GREEN MOHAIR SUITS: Opera Bar - Circular Quay
TRIPLE GRIP: Juniors at the Junction - Maroubra
HAPPY HIPPIES: Albion HotelParramatta
TRISTANO-MARSHKONITZ PROJECT: Sound Lounge, Seymour Centre - Chippendale
JAMES CHATBURN: Royal Federal Hotel JAMIE OEHLERS, ROBERT HURST: 505 - Surry Hills
TWIN SET: Brighton RSL - BrightonLe-Sands
JANELLE MONAE AND THE ARCHANDROID ORCHESTRA: Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House
TWO STOMP: Royal Federal Hotel UNFORGETTABLE: Club Engadine - Engadine WASTED YEARS DJS: Q Bar Darlinghurst WHAT YOU NEED - INXS SHOW: Mosman RSL YUKI KUMAGAI, JOHN MACKIE, TONY BURKYS, RICHARD BOOTH: Blacktown Festival
JJ DUO: Gymea Bay Hotel - Gymea JOANNA WEINBERG: Camelot Lounge - Marrickville JOHN LEIGH CALDER QUARTET: The Whitehorse Surry Hills LITTLE BASTARD, THE LITTLE LOVERS, UNITY FLOORS: Annandale Hotel - Annandale
MARCH OF THE REAL FLY, HEY GERONIMO, THE GRISWOLDS, THE MONEY GO ROUND: The Standard - Surry Hills
PETULANT FRENZY AND FRIENDS PLAY ZAPPA: Notes Live - Enmore PHASE III: The Stag & Hunter Hotel
TALK OF THE TOWN: Belmont 16’s
MARK DA COSTA & THE BLACK LIST: Crows Nest Hotel (late)
PINK & KATY PERRY SHOW: Helensburgh Workers
TERRY BATU: Canterbury Leagues
THE VIPER CREEK BAND, DAN BEAZLEY: The Mark Hotel
METALLICA & CHILLI PEPPERS SHOW: Blacktown RSL Celebrity Room
PJ O’BRIEN BLUES BAND: Beaches Hotel - Thirroul
THANDIWE PHOENIX, CONFECTION: Opera Bar - Circular Quay
TIJUANA CARTEL: Great Northern Hotel - Newcastle
THE ALL ORDINARIES, TERRY SERIO’S MINISTRY OF TRUTH, ESME AND THE WATSONS: Town Hall Hotel - Newtown
TIM BOFFA, JAMES TAYLOR, SHAUN KEBLE: Kings Cross Hotel, Rooftop
APHRODISIAC DJs: Jacksons on George
TIM FREEDMAN: Brass Monkey - Cronulla
BLACKBEAT DUO: Belmont 16’s
PEPPERMINT JAM: 3 Wise Monkeys - Sydney
BRIAN KING: Campbelltown Catholic Club-Club Lounge
PETE: Parramatta Leagues
MICAH, TEMIEN, AHC/APS, CAT LYF, ALEX HORDER: UNSW Roundhouse - Kensington MICHAEL PETER DUO: Coogee Bay Hotel - Beach Bar MICHAEL STEWART: Jacksons On George, Luna Lounge MIKE MATHIESON, CHRIS ALEXANDER: Seven Hills RSL
POWDERFINGER SHOW: Hurstville RSL Club RAY LUGO: Blue Beat - Double Bay RUBICON: Warners at the Bay RUSSELL NEAL, BEN OSMO, HARMONIA, KYLE DESSENT, BRAD MYERS: Belrose Bowling Club RYAN DALEY: Windsor Castle Hotel - Newcastle SARAH MCLEOD, ASHLEIGH MANNIX, CROOKED SAINT, KJ: The Vanguard - Newtown SASH DJS: The Spice Cellar - Sydney
60 • THE DRUM MEDIA
CHRISTA HUGHES & THE HONKY TONK SHONKS, KIRA HULA-LA, GRAMAPHONE MAN: The Standard - Surry Hills
GIG OF THE WEEK
SWINGSHIFT - COLD CHISEL SHOW: Picton Hotel - Picton
THE BEATELS: East Leagues Club - Bondi Junction THE BLACK SORROWS, SARAH HUMPHREYS: Lizottes Sydney - Dee Why THE BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE, THE RAVEONETTES: Oxford Art Factory - Darlinghurst THE CROWDIES SHOW: Ettalong Beach Hotel
THE TONIE CHRISTIAN BAND, CROWSFEAT: Coogee Diggers
TIM RIPPER OWENS, CRIMSON LAKE, NORSE, HAZMAT: The Hi Fi - Entertainment Quarter - Moore Park TOM T DUO: Parramatta Leagues TOM VEK, KINDNESS, JONATHAN BOULET: The Studio, Sydney Opera House TONIGHT ALIVE, YOUNG GUNS, TOTALLY UNICORN: The Factory Theatre TOUCHWOOD: Ingleburn Bowling Club
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YUKI KUMAGAI & JOHN MACKIE: Wellco Café & Wine Bar - Leichhardt
SUN 27 ACE: Brighton RSL Brighton-Le-Sands
BIG BEN: Oscars Hotel - Pyrmont
BRYEN WILLEMS: Belrose Bowling Club CAMERON COOPER, TELEFUNKEN, MORGAN, JAMES TAYLOR: The World Bar - Kings Cross CASH SAVAGE, THE FIRETREE, STEVE CLISBY BLUES EXPERIENCE, MORGAN JOENAL: Rock Lily - The Star Casino - Pyrmont
LOVE THAT HAT: Warners at the Bay
RELEASE THE HOUNDS, DUBIOUS COMPANY, SECOND SUN, BELL AND THE GHETTO ROCKERS: Valve Bar - Tempe ROBIN LEE SINCLAIR: Penrith RSL, Castle Lounge RUSSELL NEAL, DAVID SHEPHERD, BLACK DIAMOND, MIKE SEARSON: Palm Court Hotel - Corrimal SEEKAE: Opera Theatre, Sydney Opera House (9.30pm) SHANE MACKENZIE: Cohibar SHIVON: Wentworth Hotel - Homebush SYDNEY BLUES SOCIETY: Botany View Hotel Newtown TERRY BATU: Wisemans Ferry Inn THE BLACK HILL RAMBLERS: Marrickville Bowling Club THE LOUNGEPHONICS: North Manly Bowling Club THE METROPOLITAN ORCHESTRA: Balmain Town Hall THE SLOWDOWNS: Sandringham Hotel, street level THE STRING DOCTORS: Orana Hotel - Blacksmiths TIM RIPPER OWENS, HAZMAT, NEKROFEIST: The Patch - Wollongong TOM TRELAWNY: O’Malleys Hotel - Kings Cross TRIBUTE TO LOUIS PRIMA Feat., PIA ANDERSEN, SIMON “THE SENATOR” BARTLETT + MORE: The Vanguard - Newtown VINCE MELOUNEY: Lizottes Sydney - Dee Why
MON 28
MARK HOPPER: Artichoke Gallery Café - Manly
BRIAN CAMPEAU: 505 - Surry Hills
MICHAEL PETER: The Belvedere Hotel - Sydney
DAVE FEINT: Beauford Hotel - Mayfield
MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND: Opera Theatre, Sydney Opera House (7pm)
RUSSELL NEAL, SENANI, MASSIMO PRESTI, CHRIS BROOKES: Kellys on King - Newtown
PETE HUNT: Waverley Bowling Club PETER HEAD TRIO: The Harbour View Hotel - The Rocks PETER JONES, CAITLIN HOSKING: Salisbury Hotel - Stanmore PETER NORTHCOTE, DANNY MARX YOUNG: The Bridge Hotel Rozelle
SONIC MAYHEM ORCHESTRA WITH TRISH DELANEYBROWN: Blue Beat - Double Bay SUFJAN STEVENS, NICO MUHLY, BRYCE DESSNER: Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House
G E E K
E DI TI O N
RESEQUENCER: GEEK KING!
CHRIS’S TRAVELING GEEK MUSIC CASE 3 1
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hristopher Steller is a self-confessed music geek. Having worked in the Australian musical instrument industry for decades, he’s handled most of the big name keyboard/synth and gadget brands. He knows music technology better than most. His current day job is Korg/KRK Product Manager. As reSEQUENCer however, he’s able to break the corporate shackles and explore whatever geeky product brand he likes in his pursuit of weird and wonderful electronic sounds for his compositions.
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When travelling on business, he carries one extra case full of enough music gadgetry to create an electronic symphony, a Diago Guitar FX Pedal Board/Case.
1. Korg KP3 2. Korg Mini KP2 3. ipad2 with Animoog Synth & iMS-20 apps 4. Korg Nanokey2 5. Mungo Enterprises dDS drum synthesiser 6. Waldorf Blofeld Wavetable Sample Player Module 7. SM Pro V-machine VST module with OP-X plug-in 8. Mackie Blackjack USB Audio i/o 9. Korg Monotron Delay Synth 10. Korg Microkey USB key controller
While quenching his thirst for knowledge, Steller has seen a lot of products come and go, and witnessed the development of various technologies that have gone from being new and innovative ideas to becoming standard features in mainstream products. There are many significant innovators in music technology and Steller is keen to acknowledge a particular few. Robert Moog, or Doctor Bob, as Steller refers to him, was the inventor of The Moog Synthesiser, probably the most famous analogue synth brand ever. Keyboardists in the ‘70s such as Wakeman, Keith Emerson and Stevie Wonder were quick to acquire the more portable Mini Moog. “When Bob did the Mini Moog it was just a dream, a portable device you could make great noises on. He made it accessible price-wise and weight-wise as well. You could carry it around. It was a definite benchmark product,” says Steller.
about Thomas Dolby is that nothing was too weird, nothing was too left-field for him. A man steeped in the technology of PPG, who at the time were producing a thing which was the equivalent of the Fairlight but never commercialised it (PPG 340/380 Wavecomputer). Dolby was using one of their sequence generators to trigger Simmons electronic drums. It wasn’t beyond him to just shove in a harmonica line into a track because he felt it fitted. Coming back to the Fairlight, he was using his differently too. When he was doing the Aliens Ate My Buick album, he was getting his band to record grooves and was making 16-bar grooves out of it, then chopping it up and putting it back together. So he was achieving more of a real sound but with the control of technology.”
Korg’s Tsutomu Katoh was another techno pioneer for whom Chris has a lot of respect. “He started off producing a drum machine and from there, the sky was the limit. The guy worked for decades on the development of his products and got a good team together to help him with it all. They had that leftfield approach where they could produce products that were a little bit different and interesting… a box that you wave your finger around and it makes noises and has effects, definitely has geek value.”
Advances were not exclusive to overseas companies. An Australian product named The Fairlight CMI (Computer Musical Instrument) was one of the most influential devices in electronic music history. “You definitely have to put the Fairlight up there
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Christopher’s path to geekdom came not from the common childhood experience of pulling electronic products apart and attempting to piece them back together again, but from an interest in science fiction. His creative name reSEQUENCer came from an episode of Star Trek in which they discuss resequencing someone’s DNA. The major spark for Chris was witnessing a Rick Wakeman gig as a teen and loving the weird synth noises. Also while waiting for his lift after piano lessons at a music store in Sydney, he’d bide his time exploring the range of new Roland synths on the shop floor. By age 15, the geek seed had well and truly been planted.
Another Japanese tech-icon Toshi Kunimoto is not only high on Steller’s list of notable contributors to the development of music technology but has also become a personal friend. “We bump into each other at trade shows. He is one of those guys who is always listening. He asks your opinion then actually sits back and listens to the answer. Toshi is one of those guys who has a knack of thinking of the right product, getting the right guys to help put it together. They developed the VL synth, the EX5. That was a mind-bending product because it was merging different synthesis technologies into one box. It had its quirks and problems but the technology in it was amazing.”
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THIS MONTH’S AUSTRALIAN MUSICIAN FEATURE SHINES THE SPOTLIGHT ON MUSIC TECHNOLOGY AND THOSE WHO IMMERSE THEMSELVES IN IT. COMMONLY KNOWN AS MUSIC GEEKS, GREG PHILLIPS CHATS WITH ONE OF AUSTRALIA’S MOST KNOWLEDGABLE GEEKSTERS, CHRISTOPHER STELLER ABOUT TECH PIONEERS, MUSICIANS AND THE GEAR ITSELF. because of the technology that was in it. For example, the sequencer, Page R became the benchmark for everything. You look at what Cubase became and at what Notator at the time was and they all look the same or work the same as Page R in the Fairlight. The people who were using it like Peter Gabriel were always doing weird things. The way Thomas Dolby was using the Fairlight was different to everyone else. It was having the facilities onboard to do stuff which made the Fairlight a benchmark product.” Steller contends that Yamaha deserves kudos for the groundbreaking work they did with physical modelling, as well as Korg’s achievements with their Prophecy synthesiser. He’s also a fan of German innovator Wolfgang Palm, creator of the PPG synths, who developed wave table synthesis, which can be found in the Waldorf Blofeld synth. Not surprisingly then, Steller is into Germany’s two legendary electronic bands Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream. “It’s funny that those two bands were so opposed musically. Kraftwerk are regarded as the fathers of dance music because they always had that thumping bass drum going through everything. Tangerine Dream were for all of the spaced-out people. Of all the pioneering electronic musicians however, he saves his biggest praise for Dolby. “What I like
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As to Steller’s current fave geek toy, it’s the Korg wave drum. “The electronic drums are all starting to sound similar now. That’s why I like what the Wave Drum is doing because it’s using a combination of modelling and samples, and to be able to grab hold of a real Remo head and bend sounds and scrape sounds ... and the way they have set up the pickups, it is the most organic electronic drum you can play. They have been developing it since the early ‘90s and I think the first one looked like Darth Vader’s toilet seat but the current model is such a joy to play.” Of course, Chris wouldn’t be a real music geek if he didn’t produce his own brand of electronica. “I started working under reSEQUENCer just to get away from what I normally do. With the gig I have with Korg, I can’t really be me and talk about other things. Most of my music goes to Sunday morning business programs and things like that on the ABC.” For Christopher’s music: www.myspace.com/resequencer1 Some other geeky websites: matrixsynth.com muffwiggler.com creativedigitalmusic.com THE DRUM MEDIA • 61
THEIR FAVOURITE TOYS me get right in the place I want to get with the beat, and the size of its brain gives me all the sounds I need at super high sample rates. For me this is the cat’s pyjamas when it comes to production, beats or more abstract stuff. When I do Raah Project shows, we use it to do big string sections and Drum Machine sounds. I used it extensively on Score, the last Raah Project record. When I made the last Paris Wells record, Various Small Fires, I used it to re-sample a bunch of hand percussion I recorded in New York. It even got a guernsey on Cameo Lover - Kimbra, when I did the programming (though I suspect MPhazes used his MPC to beef up my sounds a little), on the first True Live album, The Shape Of It, it’s almost all MPC beats that were re-sampled. Now with Pro Tools the way it is things have changed a bit, but I still turn to the MPC for pocket-based Programming and Creative live sampler improvisation. Check out True Live’s Facebook for dates
ARAN SMITH - BASSIST (My Lasting Reply) BUTTERFLY BOUCHER
T-REK
Zvex Super Hard On pedal
Theremin
This is ‘Handsome John’ the Theremin. He was originally built sometime in the 1960s by a friend, and then restored and presented to me as a birthday present about 12 years ago. Very much his own beast, John refuses to play anything melodic. Therefore I am forced to run him through a series of ring modulators and echo machines to get the desired effect. He has made regular appearances on almost all my records and is actually on most tracks from my latest album, Dance Music.
THE EXPLODERS
‘Hummna Cereb-Rol’ Outboard 200, 000 / V .29 (Ed. Or the truth may be a casualty of music) I’m not sure who manufactures the HC-R or where and no one I’ve asked has any clue either. My model is badly weathered with no surviving manufacture markings on its casing. It seems common enough but mine is definitely one of the more unusual models I know of. Price varies wildly; some units were valued far greater than capabilities merit, while others were severely undervalued, though I assumed both examples possess near exact functions. The HC-R is pivotal in the creation of The Exploders music. Used as a blanket filter to augment all sound, we’ve employed it in every facet from conception to completion in all composition to date. Not primarily designed for audio, it has two High resolution colour definition conical receptors, Stereo Audio Inputs capable of registering sound wave frequencies between 20 and 20,000 Hz, employing seven to ten primary processors (depending on the input) and numerous micro sub processors. The overall processing power is estimated somewhere near 100 million MIPS. This unit is invaluable to use as composers, and I dread the day parts become unavailable and the model is deemed obsolete; that would be the death of me.
62 • THE DRUM MEDIA
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JASON MILLAR - BASS (Gasoline Inc) The Jamhub Greenroom
Anyone who plays in a band knows that most rehearsal rooms aren’t the best-sounding rooms around and let’s face it, most have pretty ordinary PA systems. We rehearse at least twice a week at a really good facility but we still have the issue of not hearing our vocals properly. There are four of us who sing, so it’s hard to hear if one of us is out or singing the wrong part. So when we bought the Jamhub about six months ago, it was probably one of the best investments we’ve made. We bought the Greenroom model, which can accommodate seven musicians. We simply pick a colour-coded section that we plug our instrument, a vocal mic and a set of in ear monitors into and after setting our input levels, we then have our own individual mix. BANG! It’s so clear and we’ve had no trouble hearing our own and everyone else’s vocals. We can also jam for much longer as we don’t get the ear fatigue we used to. We noticed a difference straightaway and the next gig we played we had pretty average on-stage sound but we were confident we were on, as we had refined the vocals using Jamhub. www.gasolineinc.com.au
I’ve been known to use some pretty… inventive “gadgets” to get the sound I’m hearing in my head. For Missy Higgins’ new record I played a piece of paper, a rubbish bin and a drink bottle with rocks in it…, but for my own stuff the most important bit of geekery has been finding my ideal electric guitar sound. Particularly when playing live, when it’s just me and my guitar, I need my guitar playing to cover a lot of ground. I’ve spent a lot of time making sure my guitar says what I want it to! I’ve done a lot of experimenting with amps, amp speakers, amp tubes, guitar pickups, thickness of my strings, and just generally mucking about with my tone. You’ll be hard-pressed to find me playing live without my customised Tele. And for those times when I can’t use one of my own custom-modified amps (or even when I can) I always have my Zvex Super Hard On pedal. Both are set to give me a thick rich sound with lots of punch and growl but still keep the clarity so the melodic moments still come through crystal clear. www.butterflyboucher.com
RYAN RITCHIE AKAI MPC4000
When I was 17 my second band broke up and I was really over the idea of relying on other people to make my music come to life, so I started messing around on computers using what they call Trackers, which was a DOS-based sequencer and sampler. When I started going to music school I used to drag a full PC with me to rehearse and perform, until I discovered the MPC. I saved my pennies and bought an MPC2000XL, which was at the time the freaking best thing on the planet. It loaded off SCSI Jazz drives, which were I think about 30mb. Then just before everything went over to being Virtual this and Ableton that, Akai released their Z series samplers. The MPC4000 was effectively the toughest Z series sampler they had inside the body of a souped-up MPC2000; it’s the last of the great external samplers. Its internal sequencer let’s
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Boss Syb-5 Synth Pedal
The “Geekiest” thing I own is a pedal that I use for every gig and it’s the Boss SYB-5 Synthesiser Pedal. I love this pedal as it reproduces the classic sounds of analogue synthesisers with a lot more punch and power. It has a number of different variations and allows you to change the wave shapes and speeds of the sound to cater for all styles of music. I love mostly the reaction that you get from the audience when the pedal is being used as people aren’t expecting the bass to give off such robot tones and a lot of the times are looking around to see where the synth player is hiding.Although I use the Boss SYB-5 Synthesiser Pedal moderately, it’s always exciting to stamp down on the pedal during the bridge of our song, The Last Song, and have the pedal give off synth tones that I never thought would be possible. www.mylastingreply.com
REVIEW: ROCKTRON GUITAR SILENCER
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ocktron was launched by Bob Wallace and Jim Chowning in 1982, who had been session musicians in Hollywood. Their aim was to create a company that provided top-notch effects, signal processing and amplification for fellow musicians. Their first hit was the “Hush” line of noise reduction units, aimed at guitarists wanting to silence their sound when they stopped playing. The “Hush” units have been a hit since the ‘80s notching up countless units sold. Noise Gates have also long been an integral effect, not just for guitar players but also for sound engineers and in particular for their use on drum kits to stop bass drums, snares and toms from ringing out, as well as stopping bleed into other microphones. Their use for guitarists is essential when playing tight rhythms that need to lock in with the kick drum, especially at high volumes where feedback becomes an issue. Today we’re having a look at Rocktron’s Guitar Silencer Pedal, a unit that combines
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REZA NASSERI
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“Hush” technology with a new noise-gating process, housed in a small solid stomp box. Out of the box I was really impressed at how sturdy this unit looked, like it’d been put together with military-grade materials that would survive some form of nuclear annihilation. This simple unit only has two knobs, for “Gate” and “Hush”, and the “Active” LED light turns on when the signal is muted. Your guitar goes into the input and the output either goes directly into the front of your amp or to the next line of effects in your chain. There’s also a send and return that relays an unprocessed signal to either another amp or an effect like reverb or delay that needs to remain untouched by the gate. In some cases you can use more than one noise gate to eliminate noise before and after a distortion pedal, or the drive on your amp, by placing a second pedal in your amp’s effects loop.
created a super fast attack that was simply crushing, while increasing it to maximum allowed for a more natural-sounding release. The Rocktron Silencer is hands down the most aggressive noise reduction pedal on the market and without a doubt one of the best. If you need a pedal to tighten and clean your tone, this one is a gem.
EXCLUSIVE CASE DEAL FOR OUR READERS Brisbane-based roadcase company www.cases. com.au already offer an amazing range of attractive, sturdy cases for all your instruments, including geek gear such as mixers, DJ product and synth cases etc, at rates within reach of musicians. For this issue only, www.cases.com. au is offering a further 10 per cent discount if you mention this magazine. The experts at www.cases.com.au can custom design cases to your needs. Their innovative design team can create a case for you that is not only durable, but cleverly constructed using only the best quality components. The purchase of a roadcase is an important investment, so why not take the time to chat with the guys, discuss your needs and give them the opportunity to put forward some no obligation options... and don’t forget to mention the mag for 10 per cent off. www.cases.com.au
GALACTIC MUSIC TO DISTRIBUTE GRIFFIN TECHNOLOGY
I kept it simple by running my hot-rodded Strat into the Guitar Silencer then my Peavey 5150. Immediately I noticed this wasn’t another weak noise reduction unit that only starts working at maximum settings. It was ready to take the hottest of signals and slice them into silence. I was using Dimarzio Super Distortion into the unit and had to back the gate off to about “4”. The “Hush” knob was a little more subtle, and it controlled how quickly the gate closed (or the note release). Pulling the Hush all the way off
Galactic Music is now the proud distributor of Griffin’s range of technology accessories and music products for iOS. Griffin Technology, one of the world’s foremost creators of accessories for home, mobile and personal technology, manufactures high-quality cables and connectors, interfaces, docking stations and cases especially for iOS devices. Founded in 1992, Griffin Technology continues to push the envelope of the industry they helped create. Learn more about Griffin’s entire range at www.griffintechnology.com
The Answer
Zoom took the groundbreaking design of its G3 pedal and dialed it up a notch with the G5 Guitar Effects and Amp Simulator Pedal. The G5 combines the ease of a stompbox pedalboard and the power of a multieffects pedal and USB audio interface, along with an extra LCD display/ footswitch interface, Tube Booster, 3D Z-pedal and additional amp models and effects. While extremely easy to use, the G5 gives you the ultimate in control over your guitar tones for in stage and studio settings. dynamicmusic.com.au
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BEHIND THE LINES WITH MICHAEL SMITH
RICHARD GILEWITZ GUITAR WORKSHOP Spectrum Magazine once described Florida-based finger-style guitarist Richard Gilewitz one of the strangest men in acoustic music, a man replete with amazing chops but also a deep knowledge of the history of the acoustic guitar, from blues to folk, traditional to classical. From 10am on Sunday 26 May, he will be hosting a workshop at Mount Victoria House of Prayer in the Blue Mountains. There are only 50 places, so phone (02) 4787 5085 or email info@mvhouseofprayer. com.au to book a place. A concert will follow the workshop that evening in the same venue.
ABBEY ROAD MASTERING FOR APPLE The London studio made famous by The Beatles, Abbey Road, announced a couple of months ago that it had developed a “mastered for iTunes” program for Apple. That service has now been made available for any and every client wishing to utilise it. Encompassing Apple’s recommendations, Abbey Road’s engineers create 24-bit masters specifically for the AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) format, resampling the master file to a sample rate of 44.q kHm, as well as tailoring the dynamic range of the music being mastered to avoid clipping. With more than 16 billion downloads encoded as AAC to date worldwide, it’s obviously become the new standard for digital music, so it’s obvious too that mastering should be created specifically for this format. If you’re interested in checking out the possibilities for your music, you can drop Lucy Launder a line at lucy@abbeyroad.com.
MINI KAOSS PAD 2 (KPMINI2) Korg’s Kaoss Pad products have become the musthave effect units in every musician’s rig – guitarists, keyboard players and DJs are all enjoying the versatility and real-time creativity. In addition to inheriting powerful effect programs from the Kaoss Pad KP3 and the Kaoss Pad Quad, the new Mini Kaoss Pad 2 provides an MP3 player with adjustable pitch, making it ideal for creating DJ-style performances. Use it as a DJ playback device, or use it to process the entire output of your DJ rig with Korg’s famous Kaoss effects. Instrumentalists, guitarists, sound designers and even just music fans will enjoy using the Mini Kaoss Pad 2. Offering a built-in mic (great for the vocoder effects), onboard speaker, and convenient battery power, the Mini Kaoss Pad 2 is completely self-contained and ready wherever you go! Other features include: control effects in real time using the intuitive touchpad interface, MP3 player with microSD card slot for data storage/exchange, 100 effect programs, ideal for DJ mixes or sound design,
LINE 6 MOBILE IN ROLAND JUPITER 50 SYNTHESISER The JUPITER Legacy Continues with a Sleek New Performance Synth
Three program memories provide instant recall of favourite effects, powerful looper, Vinyl Break, and Ducking Comp effects borrowed from the Kaoss Pad Quad, record your performances and save them to using the microSD card slot, plus 6 preset audio demo loops.
By combining the delicate expression of the JUPITER-80 with the travel friendliness of the JUNO series, the new JUPITER-50 brings SuperNATURAL sound and pro performance to every stage and studio. Features include; travelfriendly design; 76-note weighted keyboard, Fast, friendly user interface with intuitive color-coded buttons and sliders, registration function for saving and selecting sounds instantly, pro-quality multi-effects and reverb, expressive performance controllers, including D-BEAM, pitch/mod lever, and control input jacks, USB song player/recorder, USB audio/ MIDI functionality; bundled with SONAR LE and JUPITER-50 control surface plug-in for SONAR
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With the new Line 6 Mobile In™ interface and Mobile POD® app, you can simply connect your guitar to your iPhone or iPad and get 64 models of classic amps and effects, an exceptional digital input and all the tone your hands can handle. The adapter features; 1/8-inch guitar input (110 dB dynamic range) and 1/8-inch stereo line input (98 dB dynamic range), with up to 24-bit/48 kHz digital audio support. It connects to the 30-pin digital connector in compatible Apple® devices, and is compatible with Apple® iPhone® 4, iPad® 2 and iPad®. No batteries are required as it is powered by the Apple® device. It includes high-quality 6-foot guitar cable with 1/8-inch and 1/4-inch ends, and is constructed of black heavy-duty polycarbonate The Mobile POD® app features; 64 fully adjustable models based on celebrated vintage and modern gear (32 guitar amplifiers, 16 stompbox and rack effects, and 16 guitar cabinets), Includes over 10,000 presets – right on your Apple® device – all free, Save your own presets, built-in tuner, free on the App Store (mobile in required for full functionality). www.musiclink.com.au
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WAVEDRUM MINI BOSS TU-10 CLIP-ON CHROMATIC TUNER
With drum and percussion sounds from around the world, revolutionary synth sounds, plus unique original sounds, the Wavedrum Dynamic Percussion Synthesiser has been embraced by percussionists, drummers, and music lovers around the world. The all-new Wavedrum Mini carries on this sound concept in a compact and portable format – complete with a built-in speaker and battery power for play anywhere convenience. In addition to its dynamic pad surface, the Wavedrum Mini also includes a newly-developed sensor clip which can be attached to a table, cup, or any object, allowing it to be played as a percussion instrument. Using the sensor clip and the pad allows two sounds to be played at once, doubling the Wavedrum Mini’s performance potential. Choose from 100 great sounds; add in one of the 10 exciting effects; play along to one of the 100 internal rhythm patterns, or record with unlimited overdubs using the built-in looper. The possibilities are endless. The Wavedrum Mini will appeal to musicians who value a truly original performance, or to any beginner simply looking to enjoy playing a musical instrument. Other features include; play two sounds at once for a rich musical experience, play one sound from the dynamic pad, play a second sound from any surface or object using the sensor clip, 100 ready-to-play sounds ranging from acoustic tones to synthetic sounds, 100 rhythm patterns serve as a rhythmic guide or provide jam-along-fun, 10 preset audio effects (select any effect and enhance any sound), and an on-board looper allows unlimited overdub layering for complex, multi-sound patterns.
The BOSS “TU” line is synonymous with reliable, roadworthy and accurate tuning. Today, one of the world’s most used tuners gets “clipped-on” with the debut of the TU-10. Reinventing the traditional image of clip-on tuners, the TU-10 offers a stylish design and robust body with high-performance features derived from other BOSS tuners, such as Accu-Pitch, flat tuning up to five semitones, and Stream mode. A unique feature – the “true color” LCD – provides a full, multi-color visual experience not seen before in other clip-on tuners. In addition, the reflectiondisplay function dramatically improves visibility. www.rolandcorp.com.au
ROLAND RH-A7 MONITOR HEADPHONES
BOSS VE-5 VOCAL PERFORMER
As the popularity of digital pianos continues to rise, so too does the need for high-quality headphones – an essential accessory. The new RH-A7 headphones are the perfect companions. They’re comfortable and light with a secure fit, so you can wear them for extended periods of play. The open-air construction lets you have a conversation without having to remove headphones. Most importantly, RH-A7 headphones provide high-quality sound that lets you experience the complete, dynamic range of modern digital pianos.
The VE-5 Vocal Performer is a compact and mobile personal effects processor and looper for vocalists. Featuring a simple-to-use tabletop design that can be attached to a mic stand, the VE-5 is perfect for singers, rappers, beatboxers, webcasters, and anyone that wants to have fun with vocal sounds. Its design is small and light, yet its effects are heavyweight class, derived from the popular VE-20 Vocal Performer. With battery operation and built-in phrase looping, the VE-5 is also an ideal tool for street performers.
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www.rolandcorp.com.au
www.musiclink.com.au
RADIAL ANNOUNCES THE CUBE™ 500 SERIES FRAME Radial Engineering has announced the Cube™, a 500 Series desk-top power supply designed to house three of Radial’s continuously expanding range of processing modules whilst remaining compatible with older Lunchbox™ devices Unlike other 500 Series enclosures that are usually rack mounted, the Cube™ is designed to conveniently sit on a desktop, be carried around the studio or be recessed into the work surface. Two sets of flanges are supplied to either fully recess the Cube into the desktop or angle it at 30 degrees for optimal viewing. For those who want to optimise signalto-noise, a carry handle makes it easy to move the Cube around the studio to position instrument & microphone pre’s as close to the source as possible. Mounting modules is easy. Modules slide into position via the 15-pin EDAC connector which is wired to the original API standard. To add flexibility, the Cube is equipped with standard XLR I/O’s and is supplemented with ¼” TRS connectors. These can be used as multi outputs or for cross-patching. RRP $499. www.ambertech.com.au
MARLEY JAMMIN’ POSITIVE VIBRATION ON-EAR HEADPHONE WITH MICROPHONE & THREE-BUTTON CONTROLLER - RASTA ECO-RESPONSIBLE ON-EAR HEADPHONES COMBINING COMFORT, YOUTHFUL STYLE AND AMAZING SOUND QUALITY.
$79.95 FREE SHIPPING
THEMUSIC.COM.AU/STORE ALL PRICES INCLUDE GST
themusic.com.au
THE DRUM MEDIA • 65
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www.themusic.com.au Apple and iPad are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. 66 • THE DRUM MEDIA
ph: 9550 3977 zenrock@zenstudios.com.au www.zenstudios.com.au
Store 8/1-7 Unwins Bridge Rd, St Peters
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STUDIOS
www.zenstudios.com.au zenrock@zenstudios.com.au
(02) 9550 3977
REHEARSALS RECORDING digital recording in every room
$40 hr inc. engineer Seperate drum room 32 tracks
CD & DVD PRINTING production 100 SRA3 gloss 24 hr turn around 1-1000,000 copies
DRUM, AMP & PA Hire 2 LOCATIONS
100 SRA3 gloss @ $80incGST 500 SRA3 gloss @ $300incGST
@ $80 500 SRA3 gloss @ $300
schoolofrock innerwest .com.au
1. UBeR ZEN 2. ZEN TALBOT
Store 8/1-7 Unwins BridgeRd, St Peters NSW 2044
4 Talbot St, St Peters NSW 2044
CD Replication 500/1000 500/1000 CD in Jewel Case with 8 page booklet and rear inlay Full colour, proofs, delivery and GST included $765/ $1320 500/1000 CD in Digi Pack with clear tray Full colour with matt cello or UV gloss finish, proofs, delivery and GST included $1270/ $1700 500/1000 CD in Card Sleeve Full colour $710/ $1050
CD Duplication 50/100/200 50/100/200 CD in jewel case with 4 booklet and rear inlay Full colour, proofs, delivery and GST included $197/ $332/ $605 50/100/200 CD in clear sleeve with 4 page booklet, proofs, delivery and GST included Full colour $140/ $215/ $370
Barcoding available $44.00 inc www.AcmeMusic.com.au KevinW@AcmeMusic.com.au 07 3107 1688 - 02 9008 1177
CAN’T FIND THE RIGHT GEAR?
WE SOURCE PRO AUDIO & STAGE GEAR WORLDWIDE AFFORDABLE PRICES AUSTRALIA WIDE ON NEW OR USED. OVER 40 YEARS EXPERIENCE NEIL SMITH@ROCK’N’ROLL MUSIC PTY LTD 0412 449 018 02 9907 1622 ROCKNROLLAUCTIONS@GMAIL.COM
Damien Gerard Studios BALMAIN 2”24 Track / Pro Tools / Classic Analog “20 years in the business. Our recordings cut through the noise.” Call or email now for the new Winter Specials - great Deals for a limited time. CONTACT bookings@damiengerard.net www.damiengerard.net T 02 9331 0666 THE DRUM MEDIA • 67
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68 • THE DRUM MEDIA
(from 1 master) with 4 page colour insert (single fold) , & double sided rear inlay supplied in standard cases
$300 inc GST
www.soundedit.com.au brett@soundedit.com.au Mob: 0418 232 797 Ph: 02 8002 4029
YOUR AD IN THIS SPACE CALL ANDREW AT DRUM MEDIA ON 9331 7077
Print & Online Classifieds Options Categories NEW!
NEW!
EMPLOYMENT ADMINISTRATION DJ AVAILABLE- ANYTIME www.djzokithefab.com -0416306340 for any dj service club or home or birthday call anytime-GET A REAL DJ NOT MP3 PLAYER OR CRAPPY DOWNLOAD.......VINYL DJ ROCKS
iFlogID: 16083 Double Bass player wanted for jump/swing blues band. Age open but prefer 30 plus. Rehearsals inner west. Call Rob (0408607342) or email lemonsqueezindaddies@gmail.com.
iFlogID: 18384 Learn to record pro sounding tracks rock tracks,mixing secrets,mastering made easy and all taught by the pros visit - www.toneartist.com
iFlogID: 17923
30 WORDS
FREE D iFlogID: 13500
Additional words 10 cents each.
BOLD HEADING
$1
iFlogID: 13500
iFlogID: 18316
iFlogID:
SUPER BOLD HEADING 13500
$1.50
SUPER BOLD HEADING iFlogID: 13500
iFlogID: 18436
MUSIC SERVICES BAND MERCHANDISE
FREE ENTRY OPEN MIC @ TOWNIE Every Wednesday night at The Town Hall Hotel Newtown from 7pm. Bands and open mic sets, all genres. Full P.A. provided and backline for the bands. To play email Freeentrybookings@gmail.com
iFlogID: 18360
iFlogID: 18442
TRIBUTE SHOW NEEDS SOUND GUY..
SYDNEY LIVEHOUSE
ROLAND SEEKING PRODUCT MANAGER
Sydney Livehouse... great venue, 200+ capacity, dedicated merch shop. Talented resident photographer and sound operator. We are Looking for quality well presented organised original acts who know exactly how to promote and sell tickets to their target audience. Any genre, Jazz to Metal we do it all.... Seated dinner and show gigs or just straight rock n roll standing room only. Great for EP, Album or product launches, master classes, clinics, training nights and other corporate functions and birthday parties.
iFlogID: 18536
COLOUR IMAGE
$3
13500
iFlogID: 18337
BASS Bass guitar, white with white scratch plate. Looks great, sounds good, action good. $100 Ph 97590970
iFlogID: 18510
COLOUR BORDER 00 135 : gID iFlo
$1
COLOUR BORDER 500
DUPLICATION/ MASTERING CD MANUFACTURING:Acme is Australias best price CD manufacturer. 500 CD package = $765.05: 1000 CD package = $1320.00 Short run also available. www.AcmeMusic.com.au KevinW@AcmeMusic.com.au
iFlogID: 13117
FOR SALE
CD / DVD Attention Musicians, Record Collectors, Universities, Libraries - new Book (print/cdROM/direct download) compiling 100 years of popular music. GO TO www.plattersaurus.com web-site on how to buy. Enquiries: (02) 9807-3137 eMail: nadipa1@yahoo.com.au
iFlogID: 13287
HIRE SERVICES For all your production needs, upto 20,000watt systems.Tailored to your requirements.Delivered,setup & operated by professional engineers. Loud ‘n’ Live Sound Systems Ph 0417 268850 For as low as $100, you get a professional sound/ pa mixer system with operator for the evening. Suitable for weddings, pub/clubs band gigs, private parties etc. Infovision@yayabings.com.au. Contact Chris 0419272196
iFlogID: 15173
LEGAL / ACCOUNTING IMPORTANT 2012 TAX MESSAGE
500
$2
iFlogID: 13555
TAMA ROCKSTAR 5 PIECE FUSION KIT IN BEAUTIFUL LIQUID AMBER FINISH, MATCHING TIMBER SNARE, STARCAST SUSPENSION MOUNTS, CYMBALS AND HARDWARE, GREAT CONDITION, BARGAIN, $675. PH 0419760940
iFlogID: 18453
All prices include GST
VISIT IFLOG.COM.AU TO PLACE YOUR BOOKING NOW.
ZILDJIAN 16” DARK THIN K CRASH BRAND NEW $250. ZILDJIAN AVEDIS 18” FAST CRASH BRAND NEW,$250 16” FAST CRASH BRAND NEW,$230. ALL NEW IN PLASTIC BAGS, PH 0419760940
iFlogID: 18328
iFlogID: 18472
OTHER ++ play more chinese music - love, tenzenmen ++ www.tenzenmen.com
iFlogID: 14468 Award-winning Experienced, Qualified Music Producer: 1.Doing Instrumental version of any song for $40 2. Mix your multi-tracks for $50 and produce personalized original instrumentals for $50. 3. Check lovenabstudio on soundclick.com email: vangelis2133@yahoo.com
Music publicity. Do you want to get noticed? Affordable exposure for your band by someone that actually cares! www.perfectlywrite.com.au Drop me a line!
iFlogID: 15737 The 2012 Tax year will soon end. Find out how Detax can maximise your tax refund or minimise your tax liability with effective tax strategies before June 30. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Entertainment & Arts Industry Tax & Accounting. www. detax.com.au
iFlogID: 18587
MANAGEMENT MANAGER WANTED | 100% COMMS
CASIO PX720 DIGITAL PIANO - $850.00 O.N.O. Bought brand new, (rrp $1400). Great condition & still have manual, tags etc. Located Sydney InnerWest. Call Chris on 0406 755 800.
Red Oxygen needs a Manager to assist with the business end of our music. We’re established with iTunes, Demo CD, Film-clip in production, Facebook fans. We’re happy to pay 100% commission for 1st 6months of management Search: RedOxygen Music
iFlogID: 18205
iFlogID: 18238
KEYBOARDS
With the most customer centric & passionate mastering in the business, we exist to serve you & your music. Utilising the best analog & digital equipment, under the microscope of a worldclass monitoring system, we guarantee your music will leave the studio in its best possible form. We are not a Mastering Drive-Thru, with the same care, passion & energy taken for all projects, on all levels. All whilst under the guidance of our senior engineer. Paul is sponsored by Shure USA with credits from EMI Music, Sony Music & Liquid US, & artists like FAKER, The Art, Papa Vs Pretty, Melody Black, Guy Sebastian, David Guetta, & ex members of The Sex Pistols, Blondie, Jerk, The Cult & The Ramones. All pricing is fixed & includes services normally charged for additionally; all receive a Master Red-Book CD, Master DDP DVD & Master Reference CD. Plus, you are more than welcome to attend the session [Sydney], or utilise our secure FTP server from anywhere in the world. For advanced bookings [of 21 days notice] we also offer unsigned artists a discount of 20%... that’s just $560 for a complete album, or $320 for an EP. 0403 435 686 /or/ info@the-butler.com / or/ WWW.THE-BUTLER.COM
iFlogID: 15452
iFlogID: 18330 Vintage Drum Kit Imports new and Custom Made kits for sale. Also cymbals, stands, pedals, guitars, accessories and much more. www.atlargemusicstore.com info@atlargemusicstore.com http://facebook.com/aTLargeMusic 93362190 0421987370 Hampton Rd, Fremantle, WA
iFlogID: 17878
QUALITY PA HIRE with friendly, experienced operator. Vocal systems to full band rigs. All with lighting and at great rates. Corporate entertainment specialist. Graham 0418 423 463 platonic@bigpond.com Sydney PA Hire: Best quality equipment, small to large 2, 3 and 4 way systems, packages for all occasions, competitive prices servicing Sydney and environs. Details; http://www.sydneypa.biz, Chris 0432 513 479
iFlogID: 13943
PHOTOGRAPHY Image is everything! If you have a band wanting to get ahead let me capture the next gig. High quality pictures say everything. http://roybarnesphotography.com/ 0414 243 811
PA / AUDIO / ENGINEERING P.A. SOUND SYSTEM! 2000W FRONT OF HOUSE, 650W FOLD BACK, TOP LINE GEAR, $260 PICK UP, $360 WITH ENGINEER AND SET UP, PARTIES/DJ’S/SMALL BANDS, CALL STEVE 0400 606 650
iFlogID: 18073
DRUM TUITION. Drum Tuition in Stanmore with a Billy Hyde trained Teacher. Dip Ed, Dip Drums. All levels and all styles taught. Beginners Welcome!. Call Lee 0403307796. www.lee-carey.com
iFlogID: 17906 Eastern Suburbs guitar/ukulele/bass/slide lessons with APRA award winning composer. Highly experienced, great references, unique individually designed lessons from Vaucluse studio. Learn to play exactly what YOU want to play! www.matttoms.com
iFlogID: 16690
GUITAR LESSONS NEWTOWN
REHEARSAL ROOMS SWEETLEAF REHEARSAL STUDIO MTDRUITT open 7 days, 3 rooms, aircon, food & beverages, Flat lug, Parking, PA & Lighting Hire Call - 9832-8890
iFlogID: 17546
REPAIRS GUITAR REPAIRS AND SETUPS Professional Guitar Tech and Luthier. Clients have played with Jimmy Barnes, Guy Sebastian, Human Nature, Short Stack, Moving Pictures etc. All repair work and setups. Call Timo 9484 4374
iFlogID: 17628
iFlogID: 14573
Beginners-to-Advanced. Learn the Jimi-Hendrix Led-Zeppelin Level of guitar playing, or just strum chords to sing songs. 1xFREE lesson-appraisal$40hr Beginners you are most welcome. AcousticElectric-Classical Guitar all styles. CALL Brian 0405-044-513.
iFlogID: 18576
GUITAR LESSONS W/ KHAN MANUEL WWW. MUSOSREPAIRSHOP. COM.AU From acoustics to zithers we can fix it! Repairer/luthier with decades of experience will get your axe back into shape. Quality, guaranteed work without the rip-off. Jeff 0448559947
All styles, All levels welcome Download your free 80pg technique book @ www.khanmanuel.com
iFlogID: 18504
GUITAR LESSONS
iFlogID: 18168
iFlogID: 16994 PROMO PHOTOS / www.facebook.com/elderphoto / MUSIC VIDEOS / www.youtube.com/eldershouse / elderphoto@gmail.com / Based in Sydney / Covering music since 2004 / DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT!
iFlogID: 18219
Get your Band or Business Online Cost effectively and PROFESSIONALLY - from $299 including Hosting and email addresses! Contact info@bizwebsites.com.au or see www.bizwebsites.com.au
iFlogID: 18332
OUND
iFlogID: 18362
iFlogID: 18269
DRUM KIT WANTED, anything considered. Also looking for vintage drum kit ludwig/ Gretsch etc , snare drums or cymbals, ph 0419760940
COLOUR BACKGR
FLAT RATE.. $55 per track. PROVIDING OUTSTANDING RESULTS FOR INDEPENDENT ARTISTS and STUDIOS FOR OVER 10 YEARS. Awesome gear, a tonne of experience, fantastic location, and all for the amazing price of $55 p/ track. Satisfaction is Guaranteed and All Attended Sessions are Welcome. Call Dale on 0430145222 or go to http://daleroycemastering.blogspot. com.au
iFlogID: 18432
DRUMS
COLOUR BACKGROUND
iFlogID: 17747 Newcastle based PA hire, Flexible setups, with/without operator, Cerwin Vega powered speakers, Allen & Heath mixer, Mics, lights, stands. Great for Bands, duo’s, soloists, weddings and functions. Great Rates. Brendan 0439720305
iFlogID: 18062
SALES & MARKETING People needed to send eMails offering a new music Book for sale. Must have own computer payment by commission via Paypal. Contact Bill on (02) 9807-3137 or eMail: nadipa1@yahoo.com.au
You’ll never regret recording your songs... but we garuntee you’ll ALWAYS regret not doing it! ***Every song Produced, Mixed & Mastered to Radio Release Quality*** studio@musicentourage.com www.musicentourage.com
Experienced, energetic and proactive live audio engineer for $300/event + equipment hire (passed on directly from Lots of Watts). Free preproduction call Helmut on 0433946982 to discuss your event.
iFlogID: 16941
Roland is seeking a full-time Product Manager. An opportunity like this only comes along once a decade! For more info, check out www.rolandcorp.com.au
COLOUR iFlogID: 13500 IMAGE
DALE ROYCE MASTERING NEWTOWN
Want to know what it takes to record a song? Book in an obligation free Q&A session in our recording studio at Five Dock. Visit www.musicentourage. com or email hookmeup@musicentourage.com
iFlogID: 14478
iFlogID: 15162
THE BUTLER MASTERING...
50c
COLOUR HEADING
Audio Mastering, mixing, recording. CD-R music & data duplication, cover artwork, colour disc printing, online global distribution. Full studio package deal for EP or full album projects. Enquiries ph: 02 98905578
BRAND NEW GEAR
iFlogID: 18542
FREELANCE STYLIST
Looking for a new Image ? Promo Videos or Photos being taken ? Organise a consult to give your band or solo act the edge 0419618209 stylistextraordinaire@live.com.au
MASTERING
Bass guitar lessons for beginner to intermediate levels. Over 10 years playing/performing experience. Contact Blake here: Phone: 0432 128 729 Email: blake.cateris@gmail.com
BOOKING AGENTS
iFlogID: 13289
ADD COLOUR TO YOUR HEADING
iFlogID: 18430 Complete PA and Lighting 6000w FOH, 4 sends F/B, 4 wedges + drumfill Mixer,Rack,Effects,EQ’s,Par Cans with truss, All roadcased ready to rock. $16,000 Loudnlive Sound Systems 0417 268850
ENTERTAINMENT
Responsibilities include setting up/operation maintenance of professional pa (Supplied), and lighting gear at Pub gigs in Sydney and Central coast. Seeking LONG TERM COMMITMENT ARRANGMENT ONLY www.australiangnrshow.com More info- Ben 0438625750
BOLD HEADING
500
RADIO SYDNEY possibly the worlds largest digital Radio Station with 100 music channels is offering bands and solo artists their own feature promotional channel visit the Indie channel on www. radiosydney.com.au
PA EQUIPMENT Complete PA and Lighting 6000w FOH, 4 sends F/B, 4 wedges + drumfill Mixer,Rack,Effects,EQ’s,Par Cans with truss, All roadcased ready to rock. $16,000 Loudnlive Sound Systems 0417 268850
Sydney Music Photographer available for all photo work: studio, live shots or promo work. Low prices, quick turn around, high quality! Check out www. sarahholmesphotography.com for portfolio
iFlogID: 18180
POSTERS GOLD COAST BYRON BAY NORTHERN NSW Poster distribution for touring artists & bands. Fast, efficient & reliable service at a competitive price www. thatposterguy.com.au
iFlogID: 17120
RECORDING STUDIOS Have you got a song in your head? Music Producer available to turn your imagination into reality. Professional results and affordable rates.
iFlogID: 18131
INNER WEST RECORDING STUDIO Medium sized studio located in the inner west, large acoustically treated space ideal for recording whole bands and solo artists. Proficient in Pro Tools and Logic software. Live and studio experience with many bands including; The Church, The Devoted Few, The Hoodoo Gurus, Regular John and more. Six years experience recording rock and pop music as well as two years experience recording string quartets and other classical instruments. Recording and mixing session rates are; Whole Band $150 / Day Solo Artist $100 / Day Mixing Session: Flat Rate $100 / Day Call or email Shaun Gaida for enquiries: 0410 755 228 / shaun.gaida@gmail.com
iFlogID: 18069
TUITION ACCOMPLISHER SINGING TEACHER Northern beaches area. Ex cabaret, session, studio singer, music producer. Toured with Shirley Bassey and Perry Como. Totally experienced. Free assessment. Beginners and all ages. Peter Flanagan 9905 8742, 0414860118
iFlogID: 18184 Drummer, Lessons Drum Lessons avaliable in Gladesville Teach all Levels,ages & experience.16 years experience. I studied at The Billy Hydes Drumcraft ,Obtained Dipolma in Drummming Mob: 0402 663 469 Michael
iFlogID: 17025
AAA+ GUITAR LESSONS Special rates $25 half hour lessons for new students. Beginner/Intermediate all Roots/Blues/ Country/Rock/Punk. See other adds for advanced, Steel Guitar etc. Numbers limited. Call Jeff 0412518070
iFlogID: 18490
ADVANCED SLIDE GUITAR Advanced slide guitar, lead & rhythm & lap steel. All styles. Beginners welcome. Ph Jeff. 0412518070
iFlogID: 18200
ALT COUNTRY/PUNK/BLUES/ FOLK! Now I’ve got you’re attention, would you like to get guitar or steel tuition in any of the above styles? Learn from someone who knows & plays this music. Lead/rhythm, learn what you want straight up.Low on theory, high on pulling a great sound & playing style! Call Jeff 0412518070.
iFlogID: 18198 BASS TUITION Qualified and experienced bass teacher, offering private tuition according to your needs and goals. Beginners to advanced students. Wide range of styles including Jazz, Rock, Funk, Latin. http://www.marcosgil.info/tuition.htm
iFlogID: 17668
RECORDING STUDIO $30ph
iFlogID: 17084 Recording Studio, Parramatta, $30hr casual rate. No kits! Singers, songwriters, instrumentalists for acoustic, world, classical genres specialist. 25+yrs exp, multi instrumentalist, arranger, composer, producer. Ph: 02 98905578, 7 days.
iFlogID: 15160
SINGING TEACHER WITH STUDIO ARE YOU KEEN TO RECORD YOUR DEMO BUT DON’T WANT TO WASTE MONEY ON A DEMO YOU’RE NOT 100% HAPPY WITH? AS A PROFESSIONAL SINGER OF 18 YEARS AND SINGING TEACHER OF 7, I CAN NOT ONLY RECORD YOUR DEMO IN MY STUDIO WITH THE SAME QUALITY AS YOUR COMMERCIAL STUDIOS, BUT ALSO GUIDE YOU VOCALLY THROUGH EACH SONG COVERING TECHNIQUES SUCH AS BREATHING, PRONUNCIATION, DYNAMICS, PHRASING, SUPPORT AND OF COURSE EMOTION. OR WHATEVER ELSE IS REQUIRED TO OPTIMISE ON YOUR RECORDING. WHETHER YOU ARE LOOKING FOR AN AGENT TO REPRESENT YOU, WANTING TO AUDITION FOR BANDS OR MUSICALS, AN ACTOR COMPLETING YOUR PORTFOLIO OR WANTING TO DO FOR YOUR OWN ENJOYMENT OR AS A GIFT, PLEASE CALL ME TO DISCUSS YOUR NEEDS. I WILL ENSURE YOU HAVE A MORE POLISHED AND VOCALLY PROFESSIONAL DEMO THAN YOU WOULD HAVE OTHERWISE ACHIEVED AT A COMMERCIAL STUDIO. IF YOU ARE PERSUING A PROFESSIONAL CAREER YOU ONLY GET ONE CHANCE WITH YOUR DEMO. IT’S IMPERATIVE YOU PUT YOU ‘BEST FOOT FORWARD’ TO AVOID HEARTBREAK AND DISAPPOINTMENT. SO TO GET STARTED ON YOUR BEST RECORDINGS TO DATE OR FOR ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE CALL LOUISE; 0452 006 693.
iFlogID: 18549 Want to be a recording artist? We’re looking for singers/songwriters for recording & development. Contact studio@musicentourage.com or 02 4013 1977
BASS TUITION Playing professionally for 34yrs, teaching for 10, if you want to read or just get your chops up, in any style, ring Jeff on 0448559947. Gosford location, 6 days
iFlogID: 18172
CREATIVE GUITAR TUITION
with experienced and fully qualified tutor. Who has 20 years of studio and live performance. Most styles including Rock, Pop and Jazz. Learn to play your favourite songs, practical theory, improvisation, proper technique, etc. etc. Beginners to advanced are welcome. In the convenience of your own home. Good results guaranteed. Phone Oles on 0407413143 or email olesguitarlessons@ yahoo.com
iFlogID: 18393
GUITAR TUITION BY MAL EASTICK Enrolling new students now for 2012. Tuition customised - beginners to professionals. Blues, rock, tone & theory my specialties. 39 years professional experience, national concert touring level, 4 Gold & 2 Platinum albums. Central suburban Sydney location. M: 0407 461 093 - E: mal@maleastick.com
iFlogID: 15035
GUITAR TUITION Play your favourite tunes whilst learning all about the language of music with this complete, holistic approach to song-based tuition. 10+ years of practical and educational experience. All welcome - call Jonathan on 0401675919. Darlinghurst based.
iFlogID: 18154 GUITAR.BASS & UKULELE. Current professional performer and teacher for 30 years. Learn Chords, Scales/Modes, Arpeggios, Music Theory & Ear training. Learn your favourite guitarists songs and tunes. 0422 838 924
iFlogID: 17619
K-POP STAR AUSTRALIA K-POP STAR AUSTRALIA Learn to sing, dance and perform like a K-POP Star either professionally or just for fun! A FREE CONSULTATION SESSION 765 Pacific Hway Chatswood http://www.facebook.com/Kpopstaraustralia 0416-211-891 (Ivan SI) kpopstaraustralia@gmail.com
iFlogID: 17805
LAP STEEL & GUITAR LESSONS Lap steel guitar/Dobro/Slide open tunings & standard style guitar tuition by experienced live & recording musician. Let me get you playing great lap steel & slide or lead & rhythm guitar quickly in any style. Beginner pedal steel lessons also available. Inner west location with relaxed & patient teacher. Phone Jeff 0412518070
iFlogID: 18488
LEARN FROM A SIGNED VOCALIST! Modern-Vocal-Lessons- 25yr Old Signed Vocalist/ Artist. Recorded Vocals for #1 Aria Album. Lessons at Gordon. Beginners to experienced singers welcome. 1hr lessons $50, Half-Hour lessons $30. Call AJ on 0448-080-619.
iFlogID: 18105
Petersham/ Sydney. Real guitar for committed students in a fully equipped music studio. Learn Jazz, Rock, Blues, Contemporary , Funk, Latin , Gypsy, Folk, Country and other popular styles. Learn at a pace and in a direction you want to go. Beginners to advanced, all aspects of guitar are supported. Comprehensive digital recording available. Ask about special introductory offer and gift vouchers. Contact Craig Corcoran: 0430344334 creative-guitar@hotmail.com www.creativeguitar.com.au
Learn The Drums - Have fun and discover your rhythm. I’ve created a step by step program for you on learning how to play the drums, go to www.chrismccaig.com/learn-the-drums
iFlogID: 14503 Music tuition, classical / flamenco guitar, celtic harp, theory & harmony, arranging. 9am - 9pm, 7 days. Parramatta area. $40 hr, $30 half hr. Mature & patient. Harps for hire. Ph: 02 98905578
iFlogID: 15154
iFlogID: 18234
iFlogID: 14616
For a limited time. Free online and print classifieds Book now, visit iflog.com.au
Music tuition, classical / flamenco guitar, celtic harp, theory & harmony, arranging. 9am - 9pm, 7 days. Parramatta area. $40 hr, $30 half hr. Mature & patient. Harps for hire. Ph: 02 98905578
iFlogID: 15158 Paramount Guitar Tuition. Learn to play the guitar. Or learn to compose &/or improvise on guitar. Most importantly, learn at your own pace, no pressure! Classical & other styles. 0402 630 243 www.pgtonline.net pgtonline@hotmail.com Parramatta area
VocalHub - Sing like no one is listening! Singing lessons for vocal technique and care, audition tips and repertoire in a encouraging and supportive environment. Visit: http://www.vocalhub.com.au
iFlogID: 17102 Wanted left handed electric guitar teacher Parramatta area, Contact John at... rodt1114@yahoo.com
iFlogID: 16308
iFlogID: 13358 Musician/Guitarist seeking fame. I play blues and have a good ear for melody and improvisation. Im looking for likeminded people who want to start touring. Go to peterbuckley.me
iFlogID: 18014
VIDEO / PRODUCTION D7 STUDIO MUSIC VID FROM $250 music vid $250. Live gig edits, multi angles, fr $125 a set, 1 live track $100. All shot in full HD. d7studio@iinet.net.au 0404716770
iFlogID: 13368
iFlogID: 15320 PICKS AND STICKS STUDIO. Private Guitar lessons from an experienced teacher. All levels, All ages, All styles. Improvising, Theory, Song Writing, Technique Seven Hills, Sydney. Call Dave 0410 963 972 or email davemormul@hotmail.com
GUITARIST 18 year old guitar player looking to form Rock N’ Roll band. Influences: Guns N’ Roses, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, New York Dolls. Preferably in South. Call Tom on 0401722767.
Kontrol Productions is a highly professional production company that specializes in the production of music video’s. We ensure that our products are of the highest industry standards. For enquiries www. kontrolproductions.com
iFlogID: 13827
OTHER We are a friendly jazz band playing music to any style for romantic situations, weddings, anniversaries, small cozy clubs - very affordable. contact Chris 0419 272 196 ventura@yayabings.com.au
iFlogID: 15177
MUSICIANS WANTED BANDS
iFlogID: 16948
BLACK METAL GUITARIST WANTED
Professional Bass/Music lessons available for hire, great with beginners or those wanting to start playing the bass but unsure how to go about it. Learn classic songs and songs of your choice. Throughout a variety of seasoned gigs, playing a variety of styles, I know the stage can sometimes be daunting, but with me, I can work you through the process of how to get the best out of your performance and to own the stage. First lesson lesson is $25 for the hour and then $45 thereafter.
Fatigue, new Sydney Black/Thrash Metal band need a tight, fast guitarist. Songs written and demoed, visit soundcloud. com/totalfatigue to listen. Influences include Absu, Melechesh, Blut Aus Nord, Deathspell Omega. Interested parties email nightmare_screams@hotmail.com.
Music video production, live event filming, EPK’s, pro photography and more. Great rates for indi artists. Call Paul on 0412 222 111 or email paul@popfilms.com.au or visit www.popfilms.com.au
iFlogID: 18398 MUSIC VIDEOS offer a great way to gain exposure. Immersion Imagery has worked with over 30 artists and strives to offer creative quality Music Videos. www.immersionimagery.com info@immersionimagery.com
iFlogID: 18477
MUSICIANS AVAILABLE BASS PLAYER Your voice has the ability to sing at the Audioslave/ Muse/Aretha/ Yeah-Yeah-Yeahs level because of Design. Increase your range-sing with effortless power-learn to sing the right technique. Microphone, recording, songwriting NewtownCALL-0405-044-513
Bass player available, Mature, plenty of experience in Rock, Swing, Country, Blues and Pop. High standard and best equipment. I play Double Bass aswell, easy going. Ph 0434475785
iFlogID: 18508
iFlogID: 18567
SINGING LESSONS
Highly qualified Professional Singer of 18 years and Singing Teacher of 7 years is now available for private singing tuition. From beginners to advanced; whether you are wanting to learn for the fun or more serious about your craft, I will guide you accordingly. I cover all techniques from breathing, support, tone, pitch, phrasing, pronunciation, dynamics, and emotion to microphone techniques, stage presence, movement and expression, building a repertoire and of course marketing. If you suffer stage fright or need help with your self-confidence, my lessons will assist in this area also. So if you are serious about moving ahead in your career, wanting to gain self-confidence or would like to learn for fun then please call me to talk further or make a booking. Louise. MOB; 0452 006 693.
Electric & upright bass. Good gear. Comfortable in most styles. Experience performing live and in the studio. Check out my website if you wanna hear more. http://www.wix.com/steelechabau/ steelechabau
iFlogID: 16159
DJ Dj available Dubstep to Drum&bass. Willing & able to adapt to your event. Low hourly rates. Everything negotiable. Easygoing, flexible entertainment. Call for a quote today. KN!VZ Entertainment Group Ph:0415680575
iFlogID: 16661
DJ AVAILABLE DJ for all occasions - Parties, Formals, Weddings. House, Electro, Dance, Hardstyle, Dubstep, R’n’B and Hip Hop. Latest Pioneers equipment and great Lighting Effects. Call Jake’DJ Splice’ 0423255668 or inbox www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Dj-Splice
iFlogID: 17801
iFlogID: 18553
RINTOUL DJ/Buttonpusher. Plays most genres from Dubstep to Gabber. Punctual. Reliable. Up to $100 p/h ono. m:0438848155, e:rintouldj@ hotmail.com for bookings.
SINGING LESSONS
iFlogID: 18117
DRUMMER A1 TOP PRO DRUMMER AVAILABLE FOR SESSION FREELANCE WORK, TOURS ETC. EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE, TOP GEAR, GREAT GROOVE AND TIME. SYDNEY BASED, WILL TRAVEL. PH 0419760940. WEBSITE www.mikehague.com
iFlogID: 18334 Experienced Soul / Reggae / R’N’B / Blues / Funk / Rock drummer (36yo) available for work preferably in Northern Beaches. Call Michael 0402 549 423
iFlogID: 17324 Singing lessons in a positive environment with a highly experienced and professional singer/songwriter. Lessons tailored to suit individual needs. Also beginners guitar. www.realvoice.net.au for more details. Inner West, Rosanna 0431 157 622.
iFlogID: 18004
VOCAL TUITION AND COACHING In vocal trouble? Want to sing in tune? Bella Musica’s Foundation Technique Course is now open for new pupils. The course covers basic vocal technique and will personally guide you to your goals, amateur or professional. Vocal Coach Meera Belle is an experienced artist and teacher working across all genres from opera to contemporary. Visit www.meerabelle.com to see what singers say about her teaching. Phone 0406 512 162.
iFlogID: 17958
iFlogID: 17985 Untalented Libertines/BlocParty/SexPistols inspired singer/songwriter/guitarist seeks bandmates who are also inspired by these bands, willing to practice, prefer making originals rather than covers & who are easygoing. Inner West/Sydney, How bout it?
iFlogID: 13790 Working Central Coast based 50’s Rock & Roll band looking for keyboard player. Band also has an Elvis tribute show as a side project, so knowledge of Elvis repertoire would be a bonus.
iFlogID: 18591 Young guitar player looking to start metal, punk band. influences include metallica, ozzy, black sabbath megadeth, trivium, bullet, anthrax, slayer slipknot and many many more. email space1996@hotmail.com if interested
iFlogID: 17027
BASS PLAYER Band needs versatile bass player!! Originals and covers. Mix of Tool, Evanescense, Winehouse..... whatever! We have female singer, guitarist, drummer....all 19yrs. Based in Northern Beaches. Please call Ziggy 0432872290!
iFlogID: 18258
iFlogID: 17940
iFlogID: 18563
SINGING LESSONS THAT >>ROCK<<
TURBOWITCH seeking drummer, bassist, second guitarist & vocalist PSYCHEDELIC OLD SCHOOL DOOM METAL inf by Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Wolfmother, Quest For Fire, Witch + many more. age 21-26. Sydney central based. contact: turbowitchaus@gmail.com
Professional drummer/percussionist/vibraphonist available for performances/recording. Toured with international acts such as Dianna Krall, David Campbell and Patrizio Buanne. Have huge range of instruments including vibraphone. More info at www.davekemp.info
iFlogID: 17317 Professional mature-age Drummer/Vocals/reads/ back acts/shows - all styles including jazz - available for casual work. phone:(02) 9807-3137 eMail: nadipa1@yahoo. com.au
iFlogID: 16562 Professional mature-age Drummer/Vocals/reads/ back acts/shows - all styles including jazz - available for casual work. phone:(02) 9807-3137 Mob:0413-931-897 eMail: nadipa1@yahoo.com.au
iFlogID: 17160 TOP INTERNATIONAL DRUMMER available. Great backing vocals, harmonica player and percussionist. Gigs, tours, recording. Private lessons/mentoring also available. www.reubenalexander.net
iFlogID: 14261
BASS PLAYER WANTED ASAP Drummer requires cover band &/or the setup of a cover band. Simple popular dance songs, etc. Muso’s who catch on quick needed. Regular work the aim, with favourable outcomes. Phone 0403 063 922 or text Drew - experienced drummer.
Bass player wanted urgently for original grunge/rock n roll band looking to gig and record ASAP. Influences brmc, QOTSA, nirvana. Songs ready to go. Must be willing to rehearse weekly in the city. No time wasters please. Contact Mick 0409310509
Lycanthia seek Heavy Metal double kick drummer for gigs and recording, must have gear and transport. Please contact lycanthia@hotmail.com
GRAPHIC DESIGN CAN YOU SING?!!
iFlogID: 18415 Yo Fuckers! Royal Ace needs a new drummer, were an established rock band wanting you to come bang shit. Check us out and shoot us a message facebook.com/royalaceband PEACE!
GUITARIST
iFlogID: 18280 18 year old guitar player looking for another guitar player. Influences: GN’R, Aerosmith, Zeppelin, New York Dolls. Preferrably someone in the south (Shire). Call Tom on 0401722767
iFlogID: 13407 Engadine Music Guitar Soloing Contest. Great prizes! Go to http://goo.gl/Q9JZ9
The Cleftomaniacs (pun intended!), the enthusiastic 25-member a cappella choir who brought you the most recent Sydney A Cappella Festival, invite new members (especially those lovely tenor & bass blokes). Eclectic repertoire from Sting to gospel to classical polyphony and we love to gig! Rehearsals school term Thursday evenings in Waterloo. Contact Catherine 02 9388 7010 / 0414 517 010 / flittie@iinet.net.au
iFlogID: 18547
iFlogID: 18585 Experienced bass player with pro attitude is looking for musicians for prog/alt rock outfit. Commintment, love to music, realiability is required. Great opportunity to bring in their own ideas. 0411743248
iFlogID: 18298 FREE RECORDING Audio students seeking bands to record & mix in a professional studio. Located in Sydney CBD. Must be able to play to a click track. Text 0433442255
iFlogID: 16983
LEAD GUITARIST WANTED HIGH-ENERGY PUNK/ROCK’N’ROLL Male/Female. Inner city rehearsal. Weekend shows, (some midweek/interstate). Own gear and extended commitment required. Infl: Social Distortion, Stooges, TurboNegro, Hellacopters, Foo Fighters. Google me- SIMON CHAINSAW contact: simonchainsaw@yahoo.com
iFlogID: 18438
PRO BASS PLAYER WANTED Hi! The Last Apollo are looking for a pro bass player 21-30 to join new band with Singer and Guitarist and Drummer. Although very early into its lifetime The Last Apollo is already generating some interest from industry types and will be heading into the studio in the next few months.. Previous music has featured on national TV and international radio. What we need from you? A professional and career minded attitude with the time and patience to put in the hard work for the eventual reward. You MUST have good gear and transport and be available to rehearse/write at least once a week and be based in the Sydney metro area. We are currently not playing live but will be up and running later in the year. We are currently working on new songs with new singer and will be recording a new EP very shortly. We would like the new bass player to play on the record and be involved in the writing process. If this sounds like you then please email Mitch info@thelastapollo or call 0451 957 772 Previous work (2008) can be heard at www.myspace.com/lastapollo New songs available on application.
iFlogID: 18407
PRO ROCK DRUMMER WANTED Hi! The Last Apollo are looking for a pro drummer 21-30 to join new band with Singer and Guitarist. Although very early into its lifetime The Last Apollo is already generating some interest from industry types and will be heading into the studio in the next few months.. Previous music has featured on national TV and international radio. What we need from you? A professional and career minded attitude with the time and patience to put in the hard work for the eventual reward. You MUST have good gear and transport and be available to rehearse/write at least once a week and be based in the Sydney metro area. We are currently not playing live but will be up and running later in the year. We are currently working on new songs with new singer and will be recording a new EP very shortly. We would like the new drummer to play on the record and be involved in the writing process. If this sounds like you then please email Mitch info@thelastapollo or call 0451 957 772 Previous work (2008) can be heard at www. myspace.com/lastapollo Auditions being held through May New songs available on application.
iFlogID: 18409 Pro singer wanted for established 5 piece band Newcastle band Newcastle area. Covers , originals hard rock,blues,pop,rocknroll exp band gigged with Angels,paid gigs booked Peter 4984 4731
iFlogID: 17882 Singer required for Latin Duo. Must be able to sing in Spanish. 0416020051
iFlogID: 18182
Get your Band or Business Online Cost effectively and PROFESSIONALLY from $299 including Hosting and email addresses! Contact info@bizwebsites.com.au or see www.bizwebsites.com.au
iFlogID: 15450 Get your Band or Business Online Cost effectively and PROFESSIONALLY- from $399 including UNLIMITED pages, Logos, Hosting and 5xemail addresses and much more! Contact info@bizwebsites.com.au or see www.bizwebsites.com.au
iFlogID: 13864
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
GUITARIST NEEDED Guitarist needed for a female-fronted original rock and roll band. Influences-The Bellrays, The Paybacks, The Stooges, The MC5 etc Phone Jeff on 0405 225 267
iFlogID: 18264
GUITARIST REQUIRED
HEAVY ROCK SINGER WANTED
iFlogID: 18565
iFlogID: 18386
METAL BASS PLAYER WANTED Metal Bass Player urgently wanted to join a death/ thrash/melodic metal band. Currently playing gigs around Sydney. Need a bass player to commit to practice and play regular gigs.Need an experienced and serious addition to our band ASAP. Go to facebook.com/terrorential to listen to music. Ph: 0412901891
iFlogID: 18396
DRUMMER Aggressive solid drummer needed for band. have material written and demos recorded. rehearse in the wollonong area, keen to gig asap. age/sex/ skill level not important. contact 0403508102 for demos
iFlogID: 14021 Drummer looking for a band (Inner Sydney)? Tired of being “just the drummer”? Do you play like Keith Moon, Ginger Baker, Mitch Mitchell... or better? Email walrusblues@hotmail.com
iFlogID: 18195 Drummer needed for Sydney hard rock band. Aged 17-21, must have a dedication to music, good work ethic, and playing experience. Contact: 0400 886 673 for more details.
iFlogID: 18559 Drummer wanted to form new originals band. Must be dedicated, into rock /punk/ alternative rock. Female or male, to join 2 females.
iFlogID: 18583 Established Wollongong hard rock band looking for a replacement drummer. Must be commited, reliable, own gear, willing to travel. distract010@ live.com
iFlogID: 18425 Experienced drummer with a commitment to practice and regular rehearsals required for Melbournebased alternative rock band. Influences QOTSA, Foo Fighters, Nirvana… www.myspace.com/mollydredd 0411 372 469
iFlogID: 16936 Experienced energetic drummer wanted for sydney 3 piece. age 20-30. influences: ramones, queen, nirvana, brian-jonestown-massacre, beatles etc.100% commitment needed as we wanna get proper busy. call dee 0431317613
iFlogID: 17876 Heavy, light Garage/punk/rock Stix and/or Axe/vox needed for 3/peace Original band in Sydney. Big Beats, raw Riffs & Poppyseed melodies of d minor Fuzz. Ages 0-100. Influenze: NIRVANA. Apply within 0403859234.
iFlogID: 18375
INDIE ROCK DRUMMER!
Committed drummer wanted to complete 3 piece lineup to gig, rehearse and record. Own gear and/or transport is required. Bands we like are: Girls, Smith Westerns, Veronica Falls, Ariel Pink, Deerhunter, Neil Young, The Band, Mac Demarco. Text or call Spencer: 0431 722 647.
iFlogID: 18571
JAZZ DRUMMER wanted for established gigging trio that plays standards. Looking for a tasteful drummer who likes brushes and is willing to commit to a weekly rehearsal. Garry 0434615931
iFlogID: 17932
SCHOOL OF ROCK - ZEN STUDIOS
iFlogID: 18496 Limited Edition mens tees and hoodies with a sense of humour. All hand-screened and numbered. monstrositystore.com
iFlogID: 13611
Double Bass player wanted for jump/swing blues band. Age open but prefer 30 plus. Rehearsals inner west. Call Rob (0408607342) or email lemonsqueezindaddies@gmail.com.
A practical guide to computer based recording with the bulk of the course being hands on with no more than 2 students per work station. The course is software neutral. The software and platform take a secondary role to the concepts that are being taught. Six 3 hour lessons over six Saturdays @ $660. Students are able to use the teaching resources anytime during the six weeks course for free. Contact Zen Studios 02-9550-3977. www.zenstudios.com.au
GIG POSTERS / ALBUM ART / FLYERS / T-SHIRTS WWW.BRIDIEALLAN.COM DESIGN@BRIDIEALLAN.COM
iFlogID: 18372
Do you get a gut growl when listening to Nirvana? Do you have a good stage presence? Then play in our f#*cking band NOW! Call 0488 488 546 NOW!
MUSIC PRODUCTION COURSE 6 WKS.
iFlogID: 18388
iFlogID: 17772 Drummer wanted for new originals band. Rock/ punk/alternative. Female or male to join 2 females. email meeghankairus@hotmail.com
TUITION
iFlogID: 16754
iFlogID: 17858
ACOUSTIC GUITARIST OR KEYBOARD PLAYER WANTED. To join Mature Vocalist and Rhythm Guitarist/ Drummer MOR repertoire. Regular rehearsals working towards gigs. Based in Penrith. 043 279 0076
FULL COLOUR BAND GIG POSTERS @ AMAZING PRICES 100 A4 full colour on Gloss = $40 100 A3 full colour on Plain = $50 100 A3 full colour on Gloss = $80 100 SRA3(32 x 45cm) full colour on Gloss = $80 WWW.BLACKSTAR.COM.AU
Chasing ORA, an original female fronted Indie/Rock band is looking to recruit a talented guitarist for live shows, writing, and studio work. Check out Chasing ORA’s videos at www.facebook.com/chasingora. If you’re looking to take on an exciting project and if this is something you can be passionate about please register your interest by email at chasingora@hotmail. com. Please provide examples of your playing and as much detail as possible about yourself.
iFlogID: 18260
heavy rock singer wanted for BONEYARD ,70s 80s 90s mature aged cover and origionals band ,influences purple, lepplin, sabs,van halen ,acdc,angels, tattoo,you get the idea. looking to start giging and having some fun as sone as the right singer comes on board . phone george at 0400750175 or larry 47824125
iFlogID: 18500
Pro singer wanted for established 5 piece band Newcastle band. covers and originals. Hardrock,blues.pop,rocknroll. Exp band gigged with Angels 2 booking agents paid gigs booked. Peter 4984 4731
iFlogID: 17692
GUITARIST WANTED Guitarist wanted for covers duo. used to write and sing songs on guitar now want to try covers with someone else playing along and gig. Rock/pop bondi area Sarah 0439915707
iFlogID: 18423 Heavy, light Garage/punk/rock Stix and/or Axe/vox needed for 3/peace Original band in Sydney. Big Beats, raw Riffs & Poppyseed melodies of d minor Fuzz. Ages 0-100. Influenze: NIRVANA. Apply within 0403859234.
iFlogID: 18377 Looking for Hard Rock / Metal guitarist with prog influences for Western Sydney band, must have own gear and transport and be reliable. Call Anton on 0426822750. Cheers!
iFlogID: 18468
KEYBOARD Keyboard player wanted for trio work. must have vocal or b/v ability, be reliable, keen to work, and have good gear. call michael for more details 0418435587
iFlogID: 18556
OTHER musicans wanted for rock call vee 93193513
iFlogID: 18551
PRODUCTION NEED BEAT CREATOR/ PRODUCER We’re an audiovisual collaboration between musicians and VJs working on getting material for an upcoming gigs and album and we’re looking for someone who can refine our beats and help us get this thing out of the studio and onto the stage. We work with Logic and Maschine for the mac and would prefer to work with someone who uses those tools too. PC would work since it should be compatible. here are some tunes: http://www.huntingwithpixels.com.au/blog/ wearesilverninja We’re a electronicy guitar based band with styles ranging from dubstep to breakbeats to electro kind of beats.
iFlogID: 18494
SINGER ACAPPELLA COMMUNITY CHOIR looking for tenors and basses to join our trip to The Port Stephens Choral Festival in September. Call 0414 869 352 or email info@thecleftomaniacs.com
iFlogID: 18344 Energetic and charismatic singer wanted to front a newly founded hard rock band with a groove. Must have easy access to Bondi 2-3 times a week. Preferred age:18-26. Call Jonno-0412362425.
Progressive rock/metal band seeking vocalist. Influences include: tool, limp bizkit, karnivool, butterfly effect and korn. Early to mid 20s. Based in Campbelltown. Own gear and transport preferred! 0432098808 purple-monkey-dishwasher
iFlogID: 18405 Revertigo are looking for a talented frontMAN aged 18-30. Must be extremely committed, available to rehearse 2/3 nights/week and be able to sing. Hard rock band, influences inc Foo’s, QOTSA, Nirvana. EP recorded and ready spread awesomeness! Listen on www.facebook.com/revertigomusic and then contact Michael on 0404700869 or Revertigo@live.com.au YOU WONT REGRET IT!
iFlogID: 18390
SINGER WANTED - ASAP Experienced Progressive Heavy Groove Band seeks, Strong Heavy/Melodic Vocalist. Think Sevendust(ish) for vocals style wanted etc. READY TO PLAY!!! Call Sven - 0421540972
iFlogID: 18370
SINGER WANTED
Famed Music (based on Sydney’s North Shore/ Northern Beaches) is looking for an energetic male lead vocalist. The band specialises in classic and contemporary rock covers from the 70’s to now. You will need to be 100% committed to an established working band (gigs lined up). Check out our website to see what we do www.framedmusic.com.au Forward your details to framedmusic@hotmail.com
OTHER EARPLUGS FOR MUSICIANS Protect your hearing with custom moulded earplugs designed to reduce the level of sound without adversely affecting the frequency response of the music. Choose between 10,15 and 25dB attenuation. Fitted by professional audiologist, by appointment only. Ph 9387 3599
iFlogID: 13088
iFlogID: 17972
iFlogID: 15216 Get your Band or Business Online Cost effectively and PROFESSIONALLY - from $299 including Hosting and email addresses! Contact info@bizwebsites.com.au or see www.bizwebsites.com.au.
SCHOOL OF ROCK - ZEN STUDIOS
iFlogID: 15454 Get your Band or Business Online Cost effectively and PROFESSIONALLY- from $399 including UNLIMITED pages, Hosting and 5xemail addresses and much more! Contact info@bizwebsites.com. au or see www.bizwebsites.com.au.
iFlogID: 13862 If you want to use DRUGS, that’s your business If you want to STOP, we can help. Narcotics Anonymous 9519 6200 www.na.org.au
iFlogID: 16217 Need to promote your restaurant, club and make it the place to go? Contact us now, because providing good entertainment is a personal skill. Chris 0419 272 196 ventura@yayabings.com.au
iFlogID: 15175 Super Bonus for next term Bootcamp. 2 weeks Free!
School of Rock teaches students from primary school to high school, from anywhere in Sydney with any level of musical talent. School of Rock helps students form a suitable band based on each of their musical likes and level of experience. Classes run every day of the week (Weekdays: 4.30pm – 6.00pm, Saturday/Sunday: 8.30am – 10.00am) at $320/per term (including all teacher fees, room and instrument rental). Each term includes a free recording session @ Zen Studios and a live show at The Valve Hotel in Tempe. Contact Ash 0450-406-201. www.schoolofrockinnerwest.com.au
iFlogID: 18484
iFlogID: 18502
TRUCK FOR HIRE
SOUTHERN MANTIS KUNG FU
iFlogID: 18589
TRUMPET MUSICIANS WANTED. Big band music ( Dorsey Ellington etc) arranged for smaller group. More WIND PLAYERS needed. Play with a band and have some fun. Contact Dave on 9807 8866 or email oddsocksmusic62@yahoo.com.au
iFlogID: 18353
SERVICES
NEED IT MOVED? Whether its Moving house, Setting up an Art exhibition, Gumtree/ Ebay Deliveries or Transporting your gear to your next gig, Move Sydney’s got you sorted. 1-3 men + Truck with Taillift. Professional, Insured, Affordable and Equipped for Any sized move. Call 0412228251 WWW. MOVESYDNEY. COM
iFlogID: 18486
BEAUTY SERVICES CUSTOM MADE MUSICIAN PLUGS Musician Plugs come in four different filter choices to reduce the volume of loud music to a safer level. They will not distort the tonality of the music, rather simply reduce the volume ‘equally’ across all tones. Fitted by a qualified hearing professional we have a number of locations throughout Sydney as well as in the CBD. To make an appointment call 9223 0225.
What happens when you start paying attention? When you become an active member and start participating in this elusive thing we call life. WWW.WHATISTHEHAPS.COM
Traditional Southern Chinese Kung Fu with a focus on Real Self Defense and Practical Applications. Small group lessons (between 4 and 6 people). Private lessons also available. Lessons are $20 per class lesson. Wednesdays 7.30 pm NEWTOWN Please inquire about Private tuition Call 0430145222
iFlogID: 18419
iFlogID: 17980
iFlogID: 17016
iFlogID: 18526 GOSPEL SINGERS WANTED for non-denominational music ministry to record triple-CD in Perth. World-class, passionate and devotional vocalists sought. View www.THE001Music.com for details. Jesus is KIng! Reverend Eslam. God Bless You!
School of Rock teaches students from primary school to high school, from anywhere in Sydney with any level of musical talent. School of Rock helps students form a suitable band based on each of their musical likes and level of experience. Classes run every day of the week (Weekdays: 4.30pm – 6.00pm, Saturday/Sunday: 8.30am – 10.00am) at $320/per term (including all teacher fees, room and instrument rental). Each term includes a free recording session @ Zen Studios and a live show at The Valve Hotel in Tempe. Contact Ash 0450-406-201. www.schoolofrockinnerwest.com.au
Fully Qualified & 8yrs Experience, Thai Massage $49/hr or Sensual Balinese Aroma $69/hr. In/Out calls, Male/Female Welcome. www.takecaremassage.com.au - By Anson 0433646338
iFlogID: 17428
iFlogID: 18440
For a limited time. Free online and print classifieds Book now, visit iflog.com.au
SYDNEY RADIO SCHOOL Take the first step towards a career in the media. Enrolments now open. sydneyradioschool.com.au
iFlogID: 18304 K-POP STAR AUSTRALIA
FO N I E R O M FOR w.sae.edu
VISIT: ww SAE EDU LL: 1800 CA
CRICOS: 00312F (NSW) 02047B (VIC) 02431E (WA) Please contact relevant campuses for further information regarding open days, tours, course programs and FEE HELP options.
DIPLOMA & DEGREE COURSES IN:
Games Design 3D Animation Graphic Design Games Programming Web Design & Development
Proudly part of the SAE Institute Group CRICOS Codes - 03204G (QLD) 00312F (NSW) 02047B (VIC) 02431E (WA)