ROOTS DOWN
THE HEAVY SHIT
BLUES ‘N’ ROOTS WITH DAN CONDON ROOTS@DRUMMEDIA.COM.AU
METAL AND HARD ROCK WITH CHRIS MARIC next year at The Manning Bar with USA acts Sadistic Intent and Midnight along with Nocturnal Graves, Cauldron Black Ram, Grave Upheaval, Sacriphyx, Ignivomous, Black Jesus and Witchhammer all locked in with many more to be announced.
Steve Earle I spent last week hitting up the always incredibly fun but utterly draining BIGSOUND music industry conference in Brisbane’s majestic Fortitude Valley, soaking up anything I thought might be remotely interesting and trying to find some hot new acts to blather on about. It will come as no surprise that I was particularly interested in the Getting Back To Our Roots panel, which took place on the Wednesday afternoon and featured panellists Peter Noble (Bluesfest), Bill Hauritz (Woodford Folk Festival), Henry Wagons, Helen Britton (Six Shooter Records), record producer Mark Moffatt and Damian Cunningham (Peats Ridge), facilitated by triple j Roots & All host Sarah Howells. I’ll be honest, there wasn’t a lot gained from the panel, but there was a lot of discussion about what roots music actually is; it’s such a difficult question and one which will never definitively be answered. There are just too many arguments for why something is or isn’t able to be pigeonholed in such a way. After this, talk turned to Americana and things got somewhat more interesting. Peter Noble very bluntly commented that he doesn’t like Americana, as he thinks it’s nothing more than a marketing ploy despite the fact that Mark Moffatt is the Chair of the comittee of the International Americana Music Association. The best comments from the panel came rather late, when Bill Hauritz gave advice to the musicians present that should apply to everyone who plays music, regardless of genre. He urged that no artists set out to be roots musicians – particularly given that roots music is the genre du jour for many of the hip young people today – rather, he suggested that people just be musicians and wait for other people to pigeonhole them. He finished by emphasising the need for authenticity and stating that the best way for an artist to sound authentic is to merely sing in their own voice, rather than adopting an accent, American or otherwise. I am a massive fan of Steve Earle, and having had the pleasure of speaking with him in the past I knew that he would make a perfect keynote speaker for any music industry conference. He certainly didn’t disappoint when he opened proceedings on the Wednesday morning of BIGSOUND, giving us an hour of amazing stories and insights from a guy who has done and seen so very much. Being an avid fan of Texan singer/songwriters of the 1970s, I was particularly excited to hear him speak about the cult of Townes Van Zandt and stories about the work of Guy Clark, Jerry Jeff Walker, Lucinda Williams, Mickey Newberry and Willie Nelson. One thing that really struck me, a thing that had not occurred to me before, was how wide the appeal of Willie Nelson was (and I imagine is) to the Texan people. Earle spoke of concerts that Nelson would put on that just everyone would go to, from rednecks to longhairs and everyone in between. It was rather sad to hear him reveal that he’s writing his forthcoming memoirs almost purely for money, as his two-year-old son has just been diagnosed with a form of autism and they need money to pay for medical treatment. Fans of the band will be particularly excited to hear that he has finished a new record and should have it out around March next year. You can watch the entire chat on theMusic.com.au – if you’re into Steve Earle at all, pour yourself a glass of wine and crank it up. Music-wise, I didn’t catch much roots fare; it’s great to see the wonderful Mia Dyson back in action; it’s great to see Bill Chambers at any time, on this occasion playing alongside Catherine Britt; Saskwatch are doing a pretty decent job of slick, deep funk; and Clairy Browne & The Bangin’ Rackettes just smashed it outta the park with the sassiest, grooviest goddamn jazzy soul music replete with choreographed dancing and gorgeous costumes. A great couple of days, sure, but now I really need to get some sleep. Just quickly; Bluesfest announce their first bunch of bands for the 2013 line-up this week. Get excited! 46 • THE DRUM MEDIA
Paul Di’Anno You know, I actually really liked The X Factor when it came out. No, not that piece of merde TV show; rather the first non-Bruce ‘Maiden album since Paul Di’Anno buggered off, which had former Wolfsbane mainman Blaze Bailey out the front. As for Virtual XI however, I have no idea. Either way, both of Maiden’s other singers have teamed up and are coming to town in November and December. It’s billed as ‘Di’Anno Vs Blaze’, so maybe they will be trading choruses or telling their best Harry stories. Sydney’s hardest-working thrashers, Hazmat will be supporting them on all NSW shows which start at The Cambridge in Newcastle on Thursday 29 November and then move on to The Manning Bar Friday 30, The Basement in Canberra on Saturday 1 December and Waves in Wollongong on Sunday 2. One of the big Soundwave Sideshows has been announced with Linkin Park and Stonesour teaming up for an all-ages at The Entertainment Centre on Tuesday 26 February. No news yet on a ‘Tallica/ Slayer/Anthrax sideshow, but we can all dream. The Evil Invaders V ticket presale is open and limited to an exclusive 200 tickets. Everyone else has to wait ‘til October 1 to get theirs. The festival is once again happening on the June long weekend
The recent Save Our Sando rally had over 3000 people come together and give a big one-finger salute to those who want to see it closed. Now, if we could get that many to a show at once, I doubt we’d have much of a problem except for room size! The fight continues this week with the launch of the SOS Exhibition which features a tonne of rock’n’roll memorabilia, photos and other cool shit from some great local photographers and visual artists. It’s on tonight at Fire Gallery, 22 Enmore Road from 6pm. There is some great acoustic action happening on location too with The Thingos, Rev Kriss Hades, Josh Shipton and more. Dimmu Borgir’s Dariusz “Daray” Brzozowski hits the ground this week for his big run of drum clinics around the place. It kicks off on Thursday in Newcastle at Allan’s Billy Hyde with Erina’s Macron Music getting their turn on Friday. He wraps it all up with a big Masterclass at Venom on Saturday. More on that further down the page. Ticket prices vary depending on if you want just a straight ticket or if you want the shake and fake too. Feeling empty after Sunn O))’s recent cancellation and need a drone fix? Well, you’ll only have to wait ‘til next week as the country’s foremost experts on all things ultra fucking heavy and sludge infested, Space Bong bring the dirge from their second album, The Death Of Utopia to life at the TINA festival in Newcastle on Saturday 29 September and back it up on Sunday 30 with an all-ages show at Black Wire Records. More details next week.
THURSDAY
Local alterna-rockers, Sound Of Seasons are hitting the rounds in support of their new EP, Make Believe. This week’s dates include a gig tonight at Yours And Owls in Wollongong. A huge congrats to Hot Damn, who will be celebrating their sixth birthday tonight at The Exchange Hotel with live sets from Sienna Skies, Wake The Giants, D At
Sea and Perspectives. Keeping anyone’s attention for six years in this town is an impressive feat! More support for The Sando tonight with Hallowed Be Thy Sando happening, lead by Black Label, Sunset Riot, Modern Murder, Rampage and Not Like Horse. The one and only Metal Matt will be hosting a bit of metal/rock trivia from 7pm and there are a bunch of prizes from Grindhead, Von Grim and Prime Cuts Records up for grabs.
SATURDAY
Dimmu’s Daray wraps up his blast-beating off-tour show at Venom tonight with a big-ass Masterclass from 8pm. Tickets are $15 or for $20 you get a pic for your wall and he will sign all your shit too... well, not all. There will be intimate performances from Myraeth and The Seer too! As mentioned before, Hazmat will be opening for the Di’Anno Vs Blaze tour later in the year. They have a bunch of shows before then so they will be fully weaponised by the time that rolls around. Catch them at Club Led at the Penrith Hotel tonight along with Stand Alone, SkulDugory and Rattlesnake. They will do some regional shows in October too, stay tooned for details shortly. Sound Of Seasons bring their show to The Basement in Canberra tonight. If it’s an evening of grind and death that you want, then get your disgusting carcass up to the Destroy The Valve Bar mini festival in Tempe where for 20 bucks you can wallow in the likes of Victoria’s The Mung, Canberra’s Tortured, Red Bee, Hell Itself, Whoretopsy (from Vic too) Mother Eel, Infested Entrails, Festering Drippage (my fav band name), Lower Back Problems, Exekute, Dead-Life and To Engineer An Exorcist. Kick-off is at the blindingly early 12.30pm.
SUNDAY
Sound Of Seasons will be at The Lair inside The Metro this evening. heavy@drummedia.com.au
WAKE THE DEAD PUNK AND HARDCORE WITH SARAH PETCHELL the weight of the world on his shoulders.” Pre-orders are available now through JB Hi-Fi for a beach towel/ CD bundle and there are also pre-orders for a limited edition colour vinyl edition through Resist Records.
Parkway Drive The specific details have finally emerged for Parkway Drive’s newest album, Atlas, including the release of a video for the first track off. First up, the album is set for release October 26 through their long-time label Resist Records, and as mentioned the announcement comes as the band unleash the video for a track called Dark Days. The album was recorded in Los Angeles with producer Matt Hyde, and it sees the band pushing musical boundaries they previously had pushed and drawing from a wider pool of influences. “Everything has been enhanced,” says Parkway vocalist Winston McCall. “People don’t have to kiss the old parts goodbye. When you think of change, you think of things being taken away, but there’s not a case here where anything has been taken away. This is just more on top.” Atlas comes hot on the heels of Parkway Drive’s platinum-selling DVD, Home Is For the Heartless, a unique travelogue that follows the band’s adventures touring to many obscure destinations including Colombia, China and India. According to Winston, the DVD gives an additional insight into the album’s lyrical themes, which are closely related to exploration and discovery. “Reading the lyrics to Atlas after watching the DVD, I think you will have more of a sense of where we are coming from,” he reveals. “The album is called Atlas because it’s a combination of the travelling we’ve done over the past year, while also playing on the idea of Atlas, who carried
Adelaide band SXWZD are getting set to release their highly anticipated second album, Grey Matter/ White Matter in the next month. The album is the follow-up to the 2009 self-titled debut. If you don’t know who SXWZD are, they feature members of Jungle Fever, Shotpointblank, Robotosaurus, Stolen Youth, A Secret Death and I Exist. Between albums, the band has further refined their sound, delivering their own blend of hardcore with... stuff. Whatever the combination is, it’s good and it’s heavy with two guitarists and two drummers; the result is fuzzed out, groove-laden and crushing noise. Anyway, the album is up for pre-order now through Clarity Records (in LP, CD and digital formats) and the LP version will be strictly limited, with 100 in a limited black/white colour and the remaining 200 as a standard black. For fans of bands such as Trash Talk, The Melvins and Infest, the album will be released October 19. It’s amazing that Perth hardcore band Miles Away are spending 2012 celebrating their 10 year anniversary as a band, and it looks like they’ll be celebrating in style (a style that you will have to travel to Melbourne for, but that’s okay) as they headline the Make It Count festival. This is an opportunity for friends and fans to share in what has been an incredible journey for one of the most well-respected bands in Australian hardcore. Joining them on the line-up will be Portland, Maine’s Cruel Hand, who will bring a dash of the international to the festival. The rest of the line-up will include the best of the best in Melbourne hardcore, past and present, with a newly invigorated Hopeless, Iron Mind, Ill Vision and Outright rounding out the list. It all happens on Sunday 2 December at Phoenix Youth Centre in Footscray. Tickets are on sale now and I suggest you get in quick because if this is going to be anything like the Break The Ice Fest earlier this year, then they aren’t going to last long. No details on any Sydney shows yet.
themusic.com.au
Following their announcement of a hiatus (after 13 years together) last year, Thrice have been talking about releasing something like a best-of, and now are set to do so, but it’s not your conventional best-of; rather something more akin to a career on display. Anthology is a live recording (set for release October 30) and will feature 24 songs and be available digitally, on two CDs or as a limited edition box set containing four LPs (you should note that the LP box set is limited to just 3000 stamped and numbered pieces and will include a two-page booklet, two black LPs and two white LPs all on 180g vinyl). There are a whole bunch of packages for the release, so Google it, find the site and order. Thrice drummer Riley Breckenridge previously stated that Anthology “is a live record that is truly live. There are no overdubs, no edits and no pitch corrections. We wanted this to be an honest and accurate representation of a show from our Farewell Tour and a memento for our fans, and that’s exactly what it is.” In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Fucked Up vocalist Damian Abraham talked a bit about what’s next for the band. Despite announcing a hiatus last November, that didn’t seem to last long as 2012 has been filled with festival appearances and 2013 appears to be the same, with the band appearing on the 2013 Soundwave Festival. From the article it appears that the Canadian septet are aiming to hit the studio sometime through our summer to record their next album, the follow-up to their brilliant David Comes To Life. Can I call album of 2013 now, or is that too presumptive? Lastly for this week, Issue 17 of No Heroes Magazine is online now. We’re all really stoked with how this issue turned out and hope you all are as well. This issue there is the Amity Affliction on the cover, and interviews with The Smith Street Band, Propagandhi, Gallows, Baroness and a really interesting interview with Zoli Teglas from Pennywise, where yeah, he does talk about Pennywise, but he talks more about his involvement with Sea Shepherd. You can check out the new issue at noheroesmag.com. wakethedead@drummedia.com.au