YELLOWCARD
THE PHARCYDE
SLASH
NOEL FIELDING
BLUEJUICE KING SALAMI BITCH PREFECT ZOOBOMBS
N O W AVA I L A B L E O N I PA D • W E D N E S DAY 15 A U G U S T 2 012 • I S S U E 12 3 7 • F R E E
www.themusic.com.au au
CERTIFICATE, DIPLOMA & DEGREE COURSES IN:
Audio Production Film Production Electronic Music Production
INFO E R O M R FO .au w.sae.edu VISIT: ww
AE EDU
0S CALL: 180
DIPLOMA & DEGREE COURSES IN: Graphic Design | Games Design Animation | Games Programming Web Design & Development
CRICOS Codes - 03204G (QLD) 00312F (NSW) 02047B (VIC) 02431E (WA)
A PERFECT CIRCLE THE OFFSPRING PARAMORE GARBAGE TOMAHAWK STONE SOUR KYUSS LIVES ANTHRAX SUM 41 DRAGONFORCE ALL TIME LOW FLOGGING MOLLY GHOST DUFF MCKAGAN’S LOADED MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK THE LAWRENCE ARMS KINGDOM OF SORROW FOZZY SLEEPING WITH SIRENS CANCER BATS MADBALL VISION OF DISORDER PIERCE THE VEIL PERIPHERY SHAI HULUD OF MICE & MEN MISS MAY I DANKO JONES WOE, IS ME THE WONDER YEARS WHILE SHE SLEEPS LUCERO SUCH GOLD SIX FEET UNDER DEAF HAVANA RED FANG CHUNK! NO, CAPTAIN CHUNK! MEMPHIS MAY FIRE ...WITH MANY MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED!
FRIDAY 1 MARCH MELBOURNE TICKETS ON SALE THURSDAY 23 AUGUST 9AM FROM SOUNDWAVEFESTIVAL.COM, OZTIX.COM.AU & OUTLETS
LICENSED ALL AGES PHOTO ID REQUIRED LINEUPS & VENUES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE
INPRESS • 3
4 • INPRESS
INPRESS • 5
WEDNESDAY 15TH AUGUST
TENDER AND RAW BOOK LAUNCH
7pm
THURSDAY 16TH AUGUST
STEVE PARKIN BEAUTIFUL CHANGE + JOE FORRESTER + SPECIAL GUESTS
6pm
8pm $10
FRIDAY 17TH AUGUST
DAMON SMITH AND THE QUALITY LIGHTWEIGHTS 5:30pm MICHAEL HICKLING + HEMY AND MARSHALL + BARRY STUART AND BEAU INGLETON + BRETT FRANKE
8pm $10
SATURDAY 18TH AUGUST
SUSY BLUE, OH DEANNA + WARTIME SWEETHEARTS (SYDNEY) 8pm $10 SUNDAY 19TH AUGUST
Open...MON - THU...from 4pm ‘til late FRI...from 2pm ‘til late SAT - SUN...from 12pm ‘til late
Live Music Bookings wesleyannebookings@gmail.com www.wesleyanne.com.au
NEW 2 AUTUMN MENU 6 • INPRESS
MELTING POT PRESENTS SONGWRITERS IN THE ROUND ALEXIS NICOLE & THE MISSING PIECES
2pm $8
7pm
TUESDAY 21ST AUGUST
OPEN MIC NIGHT
Autumn Special for 1 meals weekdays before 6pm and all day Mondays $12 Jugs of Cider till 6pm. OPEN FOR LUNCH FROM MIDDAY
bookings: 9482 1333
7pm
WIN A tailored 12 month music mentorship, getting you inside the music industry. Your prize also includes a trip to Nashville and much more!
ENTER NOW: telstra.com/trtd Proudly sponsored by:
5177_STREETPRESS
ISSUE 1237
W E D N E S D AY 1 5 A U G U S T 2 0 1 2
Wed 15. 7pm Cross(x) Species Adventure Club Documentary Screening presented by Carbon Arts Fri 17. 10pm - TEA presents Cosy Sounds Part II Daniel Filipovic, James Manning, Phaon Phipat + Live visuals by Netzair Sat 18. 10pm - Prognosis Soulfire, The Chunky Fuckers, Jules Plees, Andrew Slattery, VJ Pied Piper, J-Slyde & Simon Murphy Tue 21. 7pm - Comfortable Shorts short film screenings, prizes & Q&A with directors and writers Wed 22. 7pm - Pause Fest Meet & Greet Reignite the fire for Pause Fest 2012 screening followed by drinks, chats, Pause visuals & music from the iPad DJ's Cade Diehm & Ignatius Gilfedder
THE BEACH BOYS INPRESS 10 The Front Line brings you the hottest industry news 10 This week’s best and worst in Backlash/Frontlash 12 Foreword Line brings you all the latest tour announcements 16 From the brink of destruction comes Bloc Party 18 When not suing each other The Beach Boys still have fun, fun, fun 20 Yellowcard have returned stronger from a break 22 In the bunker with Slash 24 Bluejuice’s Jake Stone takes the Taste Test 26 From good to wurst with King Salami 26 Chewin’ the phat with the stars of Obese Records 27 The Pharcyde are reaching a new generation of fans 28 Bitch Prefect make some bad decisions 28 Nasum’s dignified return 28 Zoobombs are a fuckin’ important band 28 Cutting the fat with Sydonia 29 Crocodiles have always written pop songs 29 Drinking beers with Obits 30 On The Record rates new releases from Good Heavens and Redd Kross
FRONT ROW 32 Check out what’s happening This Week In Arts 32 The Memorandium creator Penelope Bartlau wants her audience to emotionally engage with everyday objects 32 The best of MIFF will have you Thoroughly Miffed 33 Mentalist Keith Barry talks about brain hacking
BRUNSWICK
SATURDAY 18 August
Van & Cal Walker
The Walker brothers team up to play their lyrically beautiful, storytelling tunes. 5pm
Saturday night August residency 4, 11, 18 & 25
Chris Wilson & Band
Expect astoundingly good harmonica, cool blues guitar, banter extraordinaire and that big band sound as Wilson cuts loose every Saturday night in August. 9pm
Lisa Miller, Shane O’Mara and Ash Davies — an arvo of stellar originals. 5pm
THE UNION HOTEL
BRUNSWICK 109 UNION ST, BRUNSWICK UHBBOOKINGS@YAHOO.COM.AU
9388 2235
8 • INPRESS
33 33 34 34 34
Five Fi minutes i t with ith G Groucho’s h ’ Dennis D i Manahan M h Jeff Dunham tells us about Controlled Chaos Arts happenings in Cultural Cringe The lowdown on the Gangsters’ Ball with Shane Hill Noel Fielding looks at photos of cats while on break from The Mighty Boosh 35 We chat to the filmmakers behind Indie Game: The Movie
BACK TO INPRESS 37 Gig Of The Week parties with Useless Children 37 LIVE:Reviews goes ape for The Jungle Giants 44 Sarah Petchell will Wake The Dead with her punk and hardcore talk 44 Andrew Haug takes us to the dark side in The Racket 44 Dan Condon blues and roots in Roots Down 44 Digging up the good shit with Search And Destroy 45 Pop culture therapy with The Breakdown 45 Hip hop with Intelligible Flow 45 The freshest in urban news with OG Flavas 45 Investing in club music with Business Music 46 If you haven’t appeared in Fred Negro’s Pub, your mother probably still speaks to you 46 Jeff Jenkins gets down and local in Howzat! 48 Fill your dance card with our Club Guide 50 Our Gig Guide fills your diary for the weekend 53 Gear and studio reviews in our Australian Musician feature 58 Find your new band and just about everything else in our classy Classifieds
GIVEAWAYS GALORE!
This week we have a stack of DVD giveaways to get you through the end of winter – including Adam Hills’ Inflatable, The Raid, Suck and Mrs Brown’s Boys – and albums from Good Heavens. Get on board the giveaway train people! Toot toot.
CREDITS EDITORIAL
Group Managing Editor Andrew Mast Editor Shane O’Donohue music@inpress.com.au Assistant Editor Bryget Chrisfield Editorial Assistant Samson McDougall Arts Coordinator Cassandra Fumi frontrow@inpress.com.au Staff Writer Michael Smith
ADVERTISING
sales@inpress.com.au National Sales & Marketing Director Leigh Treweek National Sales Manager – Print Nick Lynagh Account Manager Cat Clarke Account Manager Okan Husnu
DESIGN & LAYOUT
artroom@inpress.com.au Inpress Cover Design/Art Direction Matt Davis Layout Matt Davis, Nick Hopkins, Eamon Stewart
SUNDAY 19 August
Lisa Miller Experience
18
ACCOUNTS & ADMINISTRATION
accounts@streetpress.com.au Reception Holly Engelhardt Accounts Receivable Anita D’Angelo Accounts Payable Francessca Martin
CONTRIBUTORS
Senior Contributors Jeff Jenkins Overseas Contributors Tom Hawking (US), James McGalliard (UK), Sasha Perera (UK). Writers Nick Argyriou, The Boomeister, Aleksia Barron, Atticus Bastow, Steve Bell, Luke Carter, Dan Condon, Anthony Carew, Rebecca Cook, Kendal Coombs, Adam Curley, Cyclone, Guy Davis, Liza Dezfouli, Lizzie Dynon, Guido Farnell, Sam Fell, Bob Baker Fish, Warwick Goodman, Cameron Grace, Andrew Haug, Brendan Hitchens, Kate Kingsmill, Michael Magnusson, Baz McAlister,
themusic.com.au
Samson McDougall, Tony McMahon, , Luke Monks, Fred Negro, Mark Neilsen, Danielle O’Donohue, Matt O’Neill, James Parker, Josh Ramselaar, Paul Ransom, Antonios Sarhanis, Dylan Stewart, Izzy Tolhurst, Nic Toupee, Rob Townsend, Dominique Wall, Doug Wallen.
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Senior Contributor Kane Hibberd Jesse Booher, Ricky Dowlan, Chrissie Francis, Jay Hynes, Lou Lou Nutt, Heidi Takla, Sam Wong.
INTERNS
Stephanie Liew, Jan Wisniewski, Alexandra Sutherland
EDITORIAL POLICY
The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers. No part may be reproduced without the consent of the copyright holder. By submitting letters to us for publication, you agree that we may edit the letter for legal, space or other reasons. ©
DEADLINES
Editorial Friday 5pm Advertising Bookings Friday 5pm Advertising Artwork Monday 5pm General Inquiries info@inpress.com.au (no attachments) Accounts/Administration accounts@streetpress.com.au Gig Guide gigguide@inpress.com.au Distribution distro@inpress.com.au Office Hours 9am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday
PUBLISHER
Street Press Australia Pty Ltd 2-4 Bond Street, Abbotsford VIC 3067 PO Box 1079, Richmond North VIC 3121 Phone: (03) 9421 4499 Fax: (03) 9421 1011 Rural Press Victoria
PRINTED BY
INPRESS • 9
THE
FRONT LINE
INDUSTRY NEWS WITH SCOTT FITZSIMONS frontline@streetpress.com.au
for us to learn what’s gone before and put it into our own context.” Taking place Saturday 15 September in the Judith Wright Centre, tickets are available now.
HARBOURLIFE ANNOUNCES COMEBACK
2012
Promoters Fuzzy have announced Harbourlife will be back this year, taking to Mrs Macquarie’s Point Saturday 1 December. Fuzzy’s Director John Wall said that the event would return to its “musical roots”, which are, “House music all day long,” adding, “With the renaissance of quality house and deep house music over the last couple of years, there’s a wealth of music that’s perfectly suited to a not-too-huge outdoor party in such a feel-good location.”
PRESENTED BY
GOTYE
NICK YATES Name: Nick Yates Business/Position: UNFD | Artist Manager How did you first become involved in the music business? I started out studying Music Business at a few institutions in Melbourne which led to me doing work placement for a boutique management company called Melodic Music. What do you perceive to be your area of expertise, and how did you gain experience in this field? I would say my strengths lie in project management and communication. I’ve found the majority of issues that arise day to day are through lack of communication so this has always been an important point for me. I don’t think this is something that can be taught, more a skill that you naturally develop over time. What will you be primarily discussing during your appearance at the BIGSOUND conference? I believe our panel is discussing the Future Of Heavy Music so I will be addressing this issue and how it relates to our management roster, given that a lot of our acts fall under that category. I will also be making fun of fellow panellist Stu Harvey and shamelessly plugging our BIGSOUND related blog, Ultimate Bigsound (ultimatebigsound.tumblr.com). What are you hoping people will be able to learn from your panel/interview? I hope people will gain a bit of an insight into what goes into working with bands in this genre day to day as well as seeing the vast amount of opportunities available to acts in the alternative (for lack of a better term) genre, both here and on a worldwide scale.
STEPHEN WADE Name: Stephen Wade Business/Position: CEO Select Music How did you first become involved in the music business? I started as a musician playing in bands and touring the country. I then decided to do my own bookings and it grew into a music company. What do you perceive to be your area of expertise, and how did you gain experience in this field? I’ve been lucky enough to have tried everything but I really enjoy being an agent and working with acts to maximise their live touring plans. My experience came from research and lots of phone calls and going to shows to see what works. What will you be primarily discussing during your appearance at the BIGSOUND conference? A vast array of industry topics, with a particular slant on how bad the music industry is at regulating itself and educating new players looking to establish careers in the industry. What are you hoping people will be able to learn from your panel/interview? To challenge the perceptions that seem to have always existed in the industry and push to try and change them.
GOTYE DOMINATES ARIA CEREMONY
show graduates Karise Eden and Reece Mastin accepted awards and performed. Accepting AC/DC’s award for their number one DVD, Live At River Plate, David Albert of the label and publishing house Albert’s, said that he had tried to get the band, notoriously ceremony-shy, to come to the event before saying that he hoped to have them at one of the next ARIA Awards.
The ARIA #1 Awards returned in Sydney last week with a ceremony recognising local artists who have achieved a number one album, single or DVD over the last two years. Both Gotye and Missy Higgins were in attendance while reality TV
THE MEDICS DOMINATE NIMAS
The Medics have scooped up three of the top awards at the 2012 National Indigenous Music Awards held in Darwin. The debut record from the Queensland four-piece, Foundations, has received much acclaim and success, and won them Album Of The Year, New Talent Of The Year and Song Of The Year (for the track, Griffin). The Artist Of The Year award went to Gurrumul Yunupingu for the second year in a row, his collaboration, Bayini, with Sarah Blasko, also winning him Cover Art Of The Year - a second NIMA for artist/ designer Carlo Santone from Blue King Brown.
DAPPLED CITIES LAND IN ARIA CHART TOP 50
Dappled Cities have managed to crack the ARIA Album Chart top 50 this week with their latest album, Lake Air, debuting at 41, while they managed 31 on the Digital Album Chart. This week has also seen the soundtrack to The Sapphires bullet from 17 to five in its second week. Ed Sheeran’s profile boost with his national tour has promoted his album, +, to the top spot for the first time, relegating The Voice winner Karise Eden’s My Journey to two. The week’s highest debut belonged to another soundtrack, with Step Up 4: Miami Heat arriving at 28. The Catalogue Album Charts saw three (relatively) new names back in the top three, with Elton John best of, Rocket Man: The Definitive Hits, boosted by a new tour and up to one from 12 last week, while Neil Diamond’s Hot August Night re-entered at two and Mumford & Sons, having just announced their Gentlemen Of The Road festival, are up from 20 to three.
Also among the winners, Arnhem Land band East Journey nabbed NT Film Clip Of The Year for their film clip, Ngarrpiya, as well as the prestigious G.R. Bururrawanga Memorial Award for outstanding contribution to the NT music industry.
SANDO OWNER TO FIGHT THE BANK AFTER VENUE TAKEOVER
Tony Townsend, owner of Sydney’s Sandringham Hotel, has partnered with lobby group Unhappy Banking after the iconic live music venue went into receivership and was taken over by a bank-appointed controller. Townsend, who has the support of Melbourne live music stakeholders who faced a similar issue with The Tote, believes that the bank acted in an ‘irrational’ manner, while Unhappy Banking’s Geoff Shannon described the actions as “criminal”. “Businesses that are trading successfully, with no default of payments to the banks, are suddenly being forced to the wall because the bank simply changed their internal views and processes. It is criminal,” said Shannon. Townsend said he’s had the situation reviewed by a panel of business advisers and they have told him that there is “no rational case” for the bank’s actions. He is planning a rally for live music on Sunday 26 August at Sydney Park, which will then march up King St to the Sandringham Hotel.
TRIPLE J APOLOGISE FOR ‘SICK’ HOLOCAUST COMMENTS
Triple j have apologised for insensitive and offensive comments made by its breakfast show hosts Tom Ballard and Alex Dyson after Ballard made a joke about the Holocaust live on air last week. The comments, which were made in the context of a game in which they related certain objects to Hitler, incensed a number of listeners who complained to the station and took the radio duo to task on Twitter. Triple j has issued an apology stating that “Triple j agrees the comments made were inappropriate. The matter has been followed up with the Breakfast team. Triple j regrets the matter and apologises unreservedly for any offence caused.” Director of the Centre for Jewish History and Culture at the University of Melbourne Dr Dvir Abramovich has written an opinion piece for the Sydney Morning Herald, in which he slams the presenters’ comments and questions whether they would have been made if the Holocaust was closer to home. “Would they have played the same game if their grandparents, parents, siblings or uncles were executed and their naked corpses incinerated in the ovens?” Dr Abramovich wrote.
Justice Crew hold their number one position on the ARIA Singles Chart with Boom Boom. The only other local artist in the top 20 is Timomatic, with Can You Feel It at 18.
ALEXANDER GOW TO PERFORM AT LITTLE BIGSOUND
Sydney’s The Rubens have joined artist management company Umbrella for Australia and New Zealand. The Sydney-based Umbrella have Cloud Control, Urthboy, Belles Will Ring and Fishing on their roster currently. The band are signed to Ivy League records and have been championed by Mushroom Chairman Michael Gudinski. They will now release their debut album, The Rubens, Friday 14 September, while current single, My Gun, is available now.
KYLIE, FOO FIGHTERS AND PRINCE NOMINATED FOR HELPMANN AWARDS
Kylie Minogue has scored two nominations in the Best Australian Contemporary Concert category of the Helpmann Awards. Minogue is nominated for her Anti Tour earlier this year and her Les Folies Tour last year. In the local concert category she is facing off against Cold Chisel and Keith Urban. The annual awards recognise live performances in Australia in both theatre and concert, with Foo Fighters, Prince, Roger Waters and Sade nominated for Best International Contemporary Concert. Battling it out in the Best Contemporary Music Festival category are Future Music Festival, MONA FOMA, Bluesfest 2012 and Vivid Live 2011. End Of Fashion’s Justin Burford has also been nominated in the Best Actor In A Musical category for his role in Rock Of Ages – he’s up against musical icon Anthony Warlow, up for his work in Annie.
HUB THE LABEL SIGN “EUROPEAN BECK”
The full announcement of speakers at the Little BIGSOUND showcase has been made, with the BIGSOUND sister event aimed at people between the age of 14-25 looking for a start in the music industry. Following the initial announcement, a number of artists, industry professionals and media have been added to the one-day event, including Rene Chambers (Spotify), Craig Spann (Sugarrush Records), Cath Haridy (manager, Jebadiah) and more. Also announced are performances by Alexander Gow (Oh Mercy), Hey Geronimo and Your Favourite Enemies.
HUB The Label, the recorded music division of the HUB Artist Services company, has just announced its second signing with Ireland’s Jape set to release their acclaimed Ocean Of Frequency album through the label next month. Jape have won plenty of praise for their twisted take on pop music, with many pundits giving them the title of the “European version of Beck”. The album has already won the Choice Music Prize for Album of the Year, Ireland’s equivalent of the Mercury Prize – the second time the band has won the award, with their Ritual album of 2008 previously winning the prize, and obviously Australia is the next territory the band are hoping to conquer.
Run between QMusic and Youth Music Industries, the festival director, year 12 student Gonzalo Rodiño, said, “We have grown up in a digital world and as we start our own careers in the music industry it’s time
The deal with HUB The Label is a two-album deal for both Australia and New Zealand. Ocean Of Frequency is set to be released on Friday 28 September and we’re expecting to hear news of an Australian tour very soon indeed.
FRONTLASH
BACKLASH
So Vania Stambolova missed the first hurdle in the womens’ 400-metre event and failed to finish the event. She stambol[ed]ova. Geddit? Best Olympian name since former American swimmer (who won the gold medal in the 200m butterfly in 2000): Misty Hyman (ouch!).
So Kanye and Skrillex are collaborating? Undoubtedly they’ll produce music that channels the sound you hear just before you have a stroke to accompany the smell of burning toast.
OLYMPIC (NAME) GAMES
DR SEALGOOD Tommy Lee wrote a letter to SeaWorld demanding they cease playing Mötley Crüe songs during the theme park’s killer whale show. An excerpt: “Although we like to torture the human fans who willingly come to our shows, we don’t want to be a part of making innocent animals’ lives hellish.”
PUBERTY BLUES You can just tell it’s gonna be great.
music 10 • INPRESS
THE RUBENS SIGN NEW MANAGEMENT DEAL
themusic.com.au
STROKE IT
MONEY MONEY MONEY What’s with advertising cash loans on television and also spruiking a free $50 gift card from a department store with every loan? Morally bankrupt.
EVERYBODY PUKE NOW Channel Ten’s much-hyped Everybody Dance Now sucks. The only good act on the first ep, Nobel Lakaev, didn’t even make the cut.
THUR 22 NOV - PALACE THEATRE TICKETS ON SALE NOW L i s t e n o u t f o r n e w s i n g l e ‘ Wo o d e n C h a i r ’ “ W e w e r e f e e l i n g f i n e … W e w e r e i n l o v e …” ANGUSSTONE.COM FOR DETAILS
INPRESS • 11
FOREWORD LINE
NEWS FROM THE FRONT
INPRESS PRESENTS
MY BLOODY VALENTINE
ATP TO RETURN
WEDNESDAY 15 AUGUST
RESIDENCY
AGILITY WANDERING SPIRIT ANDALUCIA ENTRY $5, 9PM
THURSDAY 16 AUGUST
MANSION, ALASKA SLEEP DECADE
DIP-DAPPIN’
Following the recent release of Dappled Cities’ celebrated fourth studio album, Lake Air, the band have announced their first national headline tour in more than two years. This spring Dappled Cities will take their new show to major cities around the country. Critically acclaimed European electro/pop artist Jape will join the circuit as special guest on this tour. More local supports and DJs will be announced in coming weeks. Dappled Cities and Jape play the Corner Hotel on Friday 12 October.
GREEN AND KEEN
SUN RAAAA DARK ARTS SUNK JUNK THE VAUDEVILLE SMASH DJS ENTRY $7, 8PM $2.50 POTS, $5 VODKAS!
FRIDAY 17 AUGUST
RETURN SHOW
PANDORUM HIGH SIDE DRIVER – SINGLE LAUNCH DISGRUNTLED BRUNTLE WRITTEN IN RUINS ENTRY $15, 8PM
SATURDAY 18 AUGUST
LOVE, EVELYN MARKETS FREE ENTRY, 12PM SINGLE LAUNCH
SYDONIA GLASS EMPIRE
BEGGARS ORCHESTRA (NSW) ALITHA ENTRY $15 DOOR, $12 PRESALE THRU MOSHTIX, 8PM
SUNDAY 19 AUGUST
ARTIST PROOF FAT GOLD CHAIN MEL CALIA ENTRY $5, 2PM
ALBUM LAUNCH
SARAH EIDA MISS NIC ROUGE FONCE JONATHON DEVOY ENTRY $12, 8.30PM
MONDAY 20 AUGUST
RESIDENCY
KEITH! PARTY L-BURN ILLUMINATI AOI STREET WAX DJS DONATION ENTRY, 8PM $10 JUGS!
TUESDAY 21 AUGUST
RESIDENCY
THE SIMON WRIGHT BAND MIX METHOD – EP SHOWCASE DJ HUW JOSEPH DONATION ENTRY, 8.30PM $10 JUGS!
COMING UP TIX AVAILABLE THRU MOSHTIX: KEITH! PARTY (MON IN AUG) THE SIMON WRIGHT BAND (TUE IN AUG) AGILITY (WED IN AUG) MANSION, ALASKA (16 AUG) PANDORUM (17 AUG) SYDONIA – SINGLE LAUNCH (18 AUG) CLINT BOGE (24 AUG) THEY – VIDEO CLIP LAUNCH (25 AUG) URTHBOY (31 AUG) ANIMAUX (1 AUG) WHITAKER (8 SEP) CARTEL (13 SEP) BLACKCHORDS – ALBUM LAUNCH (14 SEP)
KEEPIN’ UP WITH THE JONESES
With The Middle East parting ways mid-2011, Rohin Jones has shifted focus, writing and recording material for his forthcoming solo album under the title RL Jones, which is due early 2013 on Spunk Records. The first song from the album is Everybody Wants To Be Your Friend is a loose, jangly and distorted affair that features a special guest vocal performance from Adalita. RL Jones & The Phony Mexican Diner will perform in Melbourne at the Gasometer on Friday 7 September with DD Dumbo and Bored Nothing.
HOT NIGHT AT DING DONG
Luger Boa have been long established as one of New Zealand’s premier live rock’n’roll outfits, and have now announced their first ever Australian shows. Their show at the Ding Dong Lounge this Saturday promises to be a massive party, since it ends a run of international mayhem that sees the band head from NZ, across Japan, and finishing in Australia in support of the international release of their latest album New Hot Nights. Special guests on the night will be Melbourne lads Guests Of Ghosts with more to be announced. It’s $12 entry and doors open at 8pm.
WASHINGTON JOINS WAINWRIGHT
Acclaimed Australian songstress Megan Washington has been confirmed to hit the road with Rufus Wainwright for his forthcoming national tour in September. Along with already confirmed support acts Teddy Thompson and Krystle Warren, Washington will perform with Rufus Wainwright at all shows across the country, with the exception of the Melbourne show scheduled for Saturday 15 September. Victorian fans need not worry about missing out though, as promoters confirmed a second Melbourne date will be added to the run, to take place at Hamer Hall on Saturday 16 September.
PRE-APOCALYPTICA
In anticipation of their first ever Australian tour, Apocalyptica have revealed which local acts will accompany them on their string of East Coast shows this August/September. Melbourne’s Be’lakor will return from their European tour just in time to join Apocalytpica at the Hi-Fi on Saturday 1 September. Combining classical nuance with brutal breakdowns, this fantastic Finnish four-piece are quintessential Eurock with a difference. They are metal, with cellists. Twenty years from inception, with over four million album sales worldwide to date and a reputation for an incredible live show under their belt, one of the biggest names in European metal are making their first ever trip to Australia this August.
FAR OUT, IT’S FAR EAST
Far East Movement are returning to our shores this September for a series of shows. The US electrohop group rocketed to notoriety with smash hit Like A G6, have released their brand new album Dirty Bass, not to mention their latest single Live My Life features Justin Bieber. Having already toured alongside some of the biggest, hottest names in the business including Lady Gaga, Jay-Z, Rihanna and Lil Wayne, Far East Movement can’t wait to take the party from the streets of LA back to the dancefloors of Australia and New Zealand. Far East Movement perform at Trak on Friday 21 September with special guest American pop duo Karmin, best known for their popular single Brokenhearted.
BOUNCE WITH BIG FREEDIA
Big Freedia, the undisputed queen diva of New Orleans ‘sissy bounce’, returns to Australia this October for a week of sweaty, ferocious arse-shaking. Having already been announced in this year’s Melbourne Festival lineup, Freedia has now announced a Melbourne club show. With hits such as Azz Everywhere and Excuse, towering transgender MC Big Freedia and her powerhouse dance posse The Divas will teach and command you to bounce to their frenetic booty beats. For those of you who were lucky enough to see her perform last year at Meredith festival or at one of the sideshows, you can surely attest to the reputation the live show has as one of the most energetic, crowd-involved live shows ever. Check her out at the Hi-Fi on Thursday 18 (as part of Melbourne Festival) and the Tote on Saturday 20 October.
STREET KIDS
With their hometown album launch show at the Tote on Saturday 25 August well and truly sold out, The Smith Street Band have announced a second Melbourne date to their upcoming Sunshine & Technology tour. They’ll play new venue the Reverence Hotel (28 Napier Street, Footscray) on Sunday 26, joined by good friends Jamie Hay, Maricopa Wells and Sweet Teens. Doors are at 3pm and tickets available on the door only. Their album Sunshine & Technology is out on iTunes on Thursday 24 August via Poison City Records.
FACEBOOK.COM/PAGES/THE-WORKERS-CLUB TWITTER.COM/THEWORKERSCLUB
THEWORKERSCLUB.COM.AU
Wed 15 Aug
Thu 23 Aug
Thu 30 Aug
(EP LAUNCH)
(SINGLE LAUNCH – BRIS)
(SINGLE LAUNCH) CLIENT LIAISON
TIM HART (BOY & BEAR)
Fri 24 Aug
Fri 31 Aug
NEDA Sat 8 Sept
(EP LAUNCH)
IN TRENCHES OUTSIDERS CODE
THE FOX PARTY BRIGHTLY YOUNG OYSTER Thu 16 Aug
THE UNIVERSAL THUMP (USA – 2 SETS) LITTLE WISE Fri 17 Aug
FANTINE (SYD)
TEXTURE LIKE SUN Sat 18 Aug
WOOLLEN KITS
PIGEON
TIN LION LOST WEEKENDS
HAYDEN CALNIN LOWLAKES TOM MILEK
DUNE
HOPELESS
STU LARSEN
LITTLE SCOUT
(BRIS – SINGLE LAUNCH) COURTNEY BARNETT OCEAN PARTY
Fri 14 Sept
Thu 20 Sept
(ALBUM LAUNCH)
(FILM CLIP LAUNCH)
DONNY BENET ALEKS & THE RAMPS CLIENT LIAISON
ROYSTON VASIE SUPER BEST FRIENDS DARTS
(SINGLE LAUNCH)
SENSORY AMUSIA (WA) THE SERAPHIM VEIL ASPERITY WITHIN
(SINGLE LAUNCH)
ONLINEDRAWING (USA) LANEWAY
Sun 26 Aug (matinee show) ‘TIMBER & STEEL PRESENTS’
WILDCAT GENERAL STRIKE THE QUIVERS Sun 2 Sept 2012 (matinee show) ‘TIMBER AND STEEL’ PRESENTS
Wed 22 Aug
Wed 29 Aug
(ALBUM LAUNCH)
(SINGLE LAUNCH)
EMMY BRYCE ANDREW LIM LUCY B
JACKSON MCLAREN Thu 6 Sept
THE STATICS (ACOUSTIC) PETE BROADWAY Wed 12 Sept
MAJOR ROCK HARD PLAYWRITE PRIVATE LIFE ABS (SINGLE LAUNCH) THE GENIE
themusic.com.au
Sun 16 Sept (matinee show) ‘TIMBER & STEEL PRESENTS’
(ALBUM LAUNCH)
RED ACES
IOWA LOST WEEKENDS Sat 22 Sept
FEELINGS TOM LARK (NZ)
THE PROMISES Sun 16 Sept
‘THE FACTY FACT SUMMERSET COMEDY GAMESHOW’ AVENUE FT. LAWRENCE LEUNG JOSH EARL Thu 13 Sept
THE PRETTY LITTLES CHK CHK BOOM Fri 21 Sept
EMPERORS (PER)
Sun 9 Sept
THE DEMON PARADE JONAH MATRANGA’S
MIMI VELEVSKA
Sat 15 Sept
Sat 1 Sept
BROOKLYN
EASTLINK AUSMUTEANTS
EXPATRIATE
Fri 7 Sept
Sat 25 Aug
QUARRY MOUNTAIN FANNY LUMSDEN & THE THRILLSEEKERS DEAD RATS
(7” LAUNCH)
12 • INPRESS
Hoodoo Gurus, The Angels (with Dave Gleeson), Baby Animals, James Reyne and Boom Crash Opera are set to join forces for five hours of irresistible Oz rock classics for A Day On The Green. The legendary Gurus are by any measure one of Australia’s greatest, best loved and most enduring rock bands; the Dave Gleeson-fronted Angels unleash their eagerly-awaited new album this month to feverish Angels fans; Baby Animals are back in the studio and ready to rock again; James Reyne’s 13th album Thirteen has proved to be anything but unlucky with stellar reviews and openers Boom Crash Opera fronted by charismatic Dale Ryder round off this incredible bill with panache. The tour stops off in Rochford Wines (Yarra Valley) on Saturday 24 November.
ATP have finally announced their return to Australia for a very special event, I’ll Be Your Mirror Melbourne, curated by ATP and The Drones on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 February at Westgate Entertainment Centre and Grand Star Reception in Altona. As you’d expect, the initial line-up features some heavy hitters in the world of independent music including: My Bloody Valentine (first Australian show since 1992!), Godspeed You! Black Emperor (first ever Australian show), the re-formed original line-up of Beasts Of Bourbon, Einstürzende Neubauten, Swans, The Dead C, Lost Animal, Thee Oh Sees, Harmony, HTRK, Sleepy Sun, Cam Butler & The Shadows Of Love, Standish/Carlyon and many more to come. Tickets are on sale now from atpfestival.com.
Wed 26 Sept
JAREK
(ALBUM LAUNCH)
GOODNIGHT MIDNIGHT SECOND CHANCE EXIT Wed 19 Sept
SKIPPY’S BRAIN
LUKE LEGS & THE MIDNIGHT SPECIALS THE PRETTY LITTLES
$12 MORROCAN LAMB & VEGGIE STEW $10 BURGERS
THE EXPLODERS
SUNDAY LUNCH SPECIALS
$14 STEAK
INPRESS • 13
FOREWORD LINE
NEWS FROM THE FRONT
METALLICA NITIN SAWHNEY
OCEANS OF ACTS
Soundwave 2013 is announcing bands and the list thus far is predictably rammed. The bill to this point includes: Metallica, Blink 182, The Offspring, Linkin Park, Anthrax, Garbage, A Perfect Circle, Paramore, Duff McKagan’s Loaded, Flogging Molly, Sum 41, The Lawrence Arms, Lucero, Six Feet Under, Tomahawk, Stone Sour, Kyuss Lives, Dragonforce, All Time Low, Ghost, Motion City Soundtrack, Kingdom Of Sorrow, Fozzy, Sleeping With Sirens, Cancer Bats, Madball, Vision Of Disorder, Pierce The Veil, Periphery, Shai Halud, Of Mice & Men, Miss May I, Danko Jones, Woe Is Me, The Wonder Years, While She Sleeps, Such Gold, Lucero, Six Feet Under, Deaf Havana, Red Fang, Chunk! No Captain Chunk!, Memphis May Fire and so many more it’s seriously not funny. The Melbourne event takes place on Friday 1 March. Tickets are on sale Thursday 23 August. Check soundwavefestival.com for pre-sale info and all other details as they unfold.
TOTES COUNTRY
Local legends Laura Imbruglia and Courtney Barnett will be taking to the Tote stage with their bands and each other to present a selection of their favourite country tracks. However, this country revue will offer a twist on the usual format, with the girls exclusively singing songs by male country stars and welcoming male guests to the stage to sing the songs of country chanteuses. These male guests include Ash Naylor (Even), Fraser A Gorman, Bob Harrow (Immigrant Union), Alex Hamilton (Merri Creek Pickers) and Matt Chapman (My Left Boot). The night will be opened with a special set by Weened (Melbourne’s premier Ween tribute band), who will perform selections from Ween’s classic album 12 Golden Country Greats. Country lovers, head to the Tote on Saturday 1 September.
BANGIN’ RESIDENCY
Following on from their Love Letter tour, power diva Clairy Browne and her harmonising girl gang The Bangin’ Rackettes are settling in on Tuesdays at the Toff for the month of August. Known for their dynamic live shows and their contemporary take on old sounds of soul, R&B and doo-wop, Clairy Browne & The Bangin’ Rackettes will unveil their tunes with a series of collaborations and special guests. Each night their guests will play on their own as well as joining CBBR on the stage in one big seamless set of revolving musicians, vocalists and special one-off moments. Tickets are $15+BF on sale from Moshtix or $20 on the door.
CHOW DOWN
On the eve of Sarah Mary Chadwick’s Eating For Two launch tour, the special guests who will be joining her on the road have been announced. Friday 31 August sees Chadwick launch her record on home ground at the Grace Darling with experimental R&B popstar Fatti Frances and ambient shredder Adam Fulton. Chadwick has spent the last ten years performing and recording music, both solo and in former band Batrider. Her first solo record Eating For Two comprises songs that represent the melancholy crystallisation of these long years. See Chadwick perform them live at the Grace.
DANCING WITH DELTA
Delta Goodrem is heading home to perform a limited run of intimate and exclusive theatre concerts in October and November. She’ll be playing all her hits plus previewing songs from her highly-anticipated new album, Child Of The Universe. To coincide with this tour announcement, she has also released Dancing With A Broken Heart, the second single from Child Of The Universe. It’s a song about flying in the face of adversity and overcoming the negative forces that try to pull you down. Opening these concerts for Goodrem will be Rachael Leahcar, whom she mentored to the grand final of The Voice. They perform at Hamer Hall on Wednesday 7 November. Tickets are available from Ticketek or the Arts Centre from this Thursday.
IN EVERY SENSORY
Sensory Amusia are a contemporary metal quartet from Perth. They combine progressive, djent and grind elements with that of old school death metal to yield their own brand of metal, complete with seven-string guitar grooves, industrial sampling and guttural vocals. Having played some enormous shows this past year including Soundwave 2012, along with supporting All Shall Perish, Veil Of Maya, Psycroptic and The Amenta, as well as preparing for the upcoming 2013 release of their debut album, Sensory Amusia are about to depart on a Victorian tour. Catch them with Brooklyn at Eastern Station Hotel (Ballarat) on Thursday 23 August, the Workers on Saturday 25 with The Seraphim Veil and Asperity Within, and Geelong’s Nash Hotel Sunday 26 with Exposures. 14 • INPRESS
IN NO TIME
Over two weeks, Hamer Hall opens its doors for an all-night dance party featuring world-renowned DJs and musicians from around the globe. Hamer Hall’s brand new Stalls Foyer will be electrified by the music-mixing prowess of Japan’s Aoki Takamasa, Kazu Kimura, the UK’s Photek, and Melbourne’s own Qua. Nitin Sawhney will join the Sound Lounge line-up on Saturday 1 September from 11pm for his only live DJ set in Melbourne. Sawhney is highly regarded as a cultural pioneer in the worlds of music, film, video games, dance and theatre, and his career spans production and composition work with Sting, Cirque du Soleil, Shakira, Paul McCartney, Jeff Beck, Taio Cruz, the London Symphony Orchestra, Imogen Heap, Anoushka Shankar and many others. Sawhney also plays an exclusive acoustic set in Hamer Hall from 8pm on Sunday 2 September.
PURAVIDA ROADSHOW
Back for the second year with an equally incredible selection of outstanding artists, the Puravida 2012 Road Show is set to bring Australian audiences even closer to the heart of Latin America’s urban music scene. This year, the festival hits the ground running in a series of power-packed roadshows kicking off at the Prince Band Room with Argentina’s Multi-Grammy nominee Kevin Johansen & The Nada on Wednesday 26 September; Afro-Peruvian electronica superstars Novalima and Brazilian DJ collective Sistema Criolina with special guests Public Opinion Afro Orchestra at the Hi-Fi on Saturday 29; and Chilean pop princess Francisca Valenzuela with Colombia’s “tropical acid Latin” trippers Malalma, Chile’s hottest beatmaster DJ Bitman and special guest Cumbia Cosmonauts at the Hi-Fi on Thursday 4 October.
LET’S GET LOUD
For the first time in her 13-year career, Jennifer Lopez (or, more affectionately, J-LO) will be touring Australia as part of her Dance Again world tour, which has already visited countless cities across North America, South America, Europe and Asia in recent months. The addition of these Aussie shows means that the world tour will consist of more than 60 dates. On this tour, J-LO will be performing hits from her seven studio albums, which have sold more than 70 million records worldwide. See her at Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday 11 December. Visa cardholders can purchase advance tickets across all seating categories until 9am this Thursday 16 August or until pre-sale tickets sell out at visaentertainment. com.au. Tickets will go on sale to the general public, via Ticketek, at 9am on Tuesday 21 August.
TOUCHE AMORE
MELDING EMOTIONS
Touche Amore are a thought-provoking, passionate hardcore punk band from Los Angeles. From the first strikes of their angular, yet melodic, chords, it’s apparent that Touche Amore have awoken something long forgotten in the hardcore/punk genre. Make Do & Mend’s own brand of post-hardcore is as melodic as it is fierce, perfecting a sound that’s more than able to convince you that aggressive emotion and heartfelt honesty are not dead in the punk music that we fell in love with. Both bands are touring Australia together and will play Friday 9 November at the Reverence Hotel and an all-ages show on Saturday 10 at Phoenix Youth Centre.
GOT ANOTHER NICKEL?
Nickelback’s first Melbourne show on Tuesday 27 November at Rod Laver is now sold out, so they have announced they will play a second and final Melbourne show there on Wednesday 28 as part of their first Australian tour in three years. Having recently completed a 54-city trek throughout North America, and as they prepare to embark on a string of European dates next month, Nickelback will head down under for a national tour starting in Perth on November 17, performing hits and charttopping singles drawing from their seven-album arsenal. Jackson Firebird will be on national support act duty.
SHEERAN SELLS OUT
With his first Melbourne show on Tuesday 5 March for 2013 selling almost immediately after going on sale, Ed Sheeran will play a second show at Festival Hall on Wednesday 6 March. Sheeran’s 2012 tour of Australia sold out in a similar fashion, selling out mere minutes after they went on sale. The 2012 sold out tour wrapped up earlier this week to rave reviews, so if you missed out this year be sure to book your spot for next year pronto.
themusic.com.au
WHAT A GUN
My Gun is the brand new single from Menangle wunderkinds The Rubens. Recorded in NYC with Grammy Award winning producer David Kahne, My Gun is a blend of frontman Sam Margin’s soul-drenched vocals with steadfast blues swagger, and follows on from radio favourite Don’t Ever Want To Be Found and is another tasty morsel off the band’s forthcoming debut self-titled album out mid-September. Going at full speed ahead since first getting noticed in 2011, The Rubens are showing no signs of slowing down, with a national run set for September in celebration of their debut album. Catch them with special guest Bertie Blackman on Thursday 13 September at the Loft (Warrnambool), Friday 14 at Geelong’s Bended Elbow and Saturday 15 at the Forum.
NEWS FROM THE FRONT
FOREWORD LINE INPRESS PRESENTS
GOBLIN
MMW POP-UP HUB
Italian prog rockers Goblin are one of the first acts to be announced for this year’s Melbourne Music Week, returning in November. The band will perform on the Grand Organ at the Melbourne Town Hall on Wednesday 21 November. New to the MMW program this year is Where?House is an iconic Melbourne space transformed into a temporary cultural and multi-function hub. Created from scratch utilising the permanent features of the location and the latest multimedia technologies, Where?House will operate from mid-morning each day during Melbourne Music Week, hosting a mixture of free and ticketed shows and the official MMW after party on Sunday 25 November. Headliners at Where?House include San Francisco-based PillowTalk, French synth-rock duo Housse de Racket and prolific Californian-based multi-genre electronic music producer and live performer Eskmo. The actual location of the Where?House venue will not be announced until Friday 16 November. The Label series returns this year with new independent labels taking their roles as curators to stage events in unusual Melbourne locations. This year, MMW partners with Siberia Records, Cutters Records, Two Bright Lakes and Chapter Music. Other acts announced include Teengirl Fantasy, Collarbones, Crayon Fields and Kirin J Callinan. the full program will be announced on Wednesday 3 October.
INPRESS PRESENTS
KEEPING REGULAR
With their new album, Strange Flowers, out this spring, Regular John are hitting the road next month. Slume, the first single from the album, is currently getting flogged on triple j, FBI, 2SER and SYN – it’s the fifth most added alternative track on Australian radio this week. Catch the band at the Toff In Town on Saturday 22 September.
GERONIMOOOOO
Off the back of their critically acclaimed self-titled debut EP, Brisbane party starters Hey Geronimo are pleased to announce the Special Best tour, their first national headlining tour. The talented five-piece have quickly built a loyal following thanks to their smash singles Why Don’t We Do Something? and Carbon Affair: two massive indiepop anthems which have seen their ridiculously catchy, slacker tinged pop dominate the airwaves and international blogosphere for the past few months. Check out their party vibes live at Workers Club on Saturday 6 October.
THE CITY WAITS
To celebrate the release of City Riots’ first single from their forthcoming debut album, the four-piece are taking to the stage in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide this August/ September as part of the Wait For You Tour. Wait For You poses a new sound from the Adelaide four-piece delving into dreamy, reverb-drenched textures that they have hinted towards previously whilst still maintaining enough jangly guitar elements that they had established earlier as a band. Catch them at Liberty Social on Saturday 15 September.
PRE-KENDER PARTY THE MARLOW DOWN
Marlow have returned, hot on the heels of garnering national radio/television airplay and touring the country in support of their debut single I Can Breathe. They are back with a fresh new single Always There to kick off their most extensive run of shows to date. Always There has Marlow keeping their foot to the floor with another powerful and positive tune that gallops out of the gate and never lets up. They play Friday 21 September at the Northcote Social Club and Saturday 22 at the Espy’s Gershwin Room.
If you thought the Weekender Festival was already going to test your party stamina, Poison City have just announced the addition of the Pre-Kender Party. Taking place on Thursday 13 September at the Gasometer, the Pre-Kender Party will serve as a warm up to the Weekender and a meeting place for interstate and Melbourne friends ahead of the huge three-day event. The party kicks off at 7pm in the main bar with bands playing both upstairs and downstairs from 8pm. The line-up will be announced soon so keep an eye out.
THE SELL OUT AFFLICTION
Five shows have already sold out on The Amity Affliction’s Chasing Ghosts tour. There are no more shows to be added so the shows currently on sale will be your only chance to see the Chasing Ghosts tour. The Ghost Inside, Architects and Buried In Verona will join The Amity Affliction on the road and help launch their debut release on Roadrunner Records, Chasing Ghosts (out Friday 7 September). Shows with tickets still available are: Thursday 4 October at the Palace Theatre (18+) and Friday 5 October at the same venue (U18). Tickets for all shows are on sale now.
STRICTLY VINYL 3
Strictly Vinyl Party III – The Wax Strikes Back is here and it’s got a spanking new venue, the Espy Basement. The premise is simple: strictly vinyl, strictly rhythm, strictly business. The night was born out of frustrations at having nowhere to play rare groove, house and boogie tunes on vinyl to people who are mutually obsessed by black music. The only selection criteria is heat. This time around they have disco royalty J’Nett, Jimmy James and Ransom on the decks. No Pretensions, no commercial radio nonsense, and no laptops allowed. It happens Saturday 25 August for $5 entry.
BURNING BOYS Alexisonfire have always taken pride in keeping promises to fans. Exactly one year after the members of Alexisonfire announced they were going their separate ways, the band have announced a tenth anniversary farewell tour. Melbourne fans get a chance to catch the tour as it hits Festival Hall on Wednesday 12 December. There is a pre-sale for the tour, with a limited number of VIP ticket bundles available for each show that include a meet and greet with the band and other limited items. The pre-sale is open now and concludes at 2pm on Thursday 16 August (or until allocation exhausted), with tickets going on sale to the general public on Friday 17 August at 9am. Fans should keep an eye on the band’s website and social media for more information.
DRAWLING ON
With warm, supple melodies and intricate instrumentation saturated in an earnest North Carolinian drawl, prepare to swoon when psychedelic singer/songwriter Jonathan Wilson embarks on a debut national tour of Australia. After a lengthy period of procrastination, working extensively with renowned artists such as Erykah Badu, Elvis Costello, Wilco and The Black Crowes, Wilson released his seminal debut album Gentle Spirit in 2011. He plays Friday 14 September at the Corner. Tickets on sale now via the venue.
HAVE MORE FUN
FAIR’S FAIR One of the most down to earth artists you’ll meet in the industry today, it’s not cliche to say Luke Fair is “all about the music”. Anchored by classic house roots, Fair has always stayed true to his style of groovy house and techno to funky progressive and electro. He continues to spend countless hours customising tracks and will forever be a DJ who earns the attention of the dancefloor through focus and dedication inside the booth and out. He plays Friday 14 September with at Onesixone.
ANGELS AT THE TABLE Dave Gleeson, who had spent two decades fronting The Screaming Jets, made a last minute decision to go and catch a show by Rick and John Brewster at a pub in Adelaide. At the pub, Dave Gleeson had edged his way to the stage when John Brewster spotted him and invited him to jump up and sing a few Angels classics. He didn’t need to be asked twice. A few weeks later, Dave Gleeson found himself walking into Sydney’s legendary Alberts Studios at noon to record new songs with The Angels, the band that had soundtracked his teenage years and inspired him to take up rock’n’roll as a career. Take It To The Streets is their new album and they’re taking it to the road. They play Thursday 20 September at the Corner Hotel and Saturday 24 November at Rochford Wines (Yarra Valley).
PAINT IT RED Orchestral art rockers The Red Paintings have announced an intimate run of Australian shows for September, before heading to the UK and Europe for the first time in October. The band will showcase songs from their forthcoming album, playing a series of club shows. They play Saturday 8 September at Progfest at the Espy, Sunday 9 at the National (Geelong) and Thursday 13 at Ding Dong Lounge. Tickets available through Oztix.
LISTEN UP Estonian princess Maria Minerva tours Australia and New Zealand for the first time this spring. Listen To The Sound is the first track from her upcoming record Will Happiness Find Me?, which is out on 100% Silk on Tuesday 4 September. Melbourne Writers Festival host Maria Minerva for their very unique event Lyrical on Saturday 1 September at the Toff In Town. Lyrical invites artists to discuss their songwriting process, while performing their songs live. Local heroes Lost Animal and Fox & Sui join the bill, performing and discussing their own crafts. The party doesn’t stop there, with Minerva cruising down the street to man the decks at Love Tempo at The Liberty Social later that same night.
GREAT BATCH FOR AIR AWARDS Presented and produced by the Australian Independent Record Labels Association (AIR), the seventh annual Jagermeister Independent Music Awards will be held on Tuesday 16 October for the second year running at Revolt art space in Kensington (Victoria). With yet another extraordinary year for independent artists unfolding, from the global success of Gotye, The Jezabels, and The Temper Trap, to local domination by artists such as Lanie Lane, The Bamboos and Husky, the 2012 crop of artists look set to raise the bar even higher. Stay tuned for further announcements including nominations, guest presenters and performing artists.
WILKINSON HITS THORNBURY
Blonde On Blonde have dropped their latest single Act 1 and with an immense amount of support and eager fans awaiting, this week saw the announcement of the Act 1 Australian East Coast tour. The tour is sure to be something special with six massive shows. They play Friday 31 August at the Espy and Saturday 1 September at Yah Yah’s.
Mark Wilkinson presents Benny’s On The Rooftop, the first single lifted from his forthcoming album. Having become a crowd favourite and staple of Wilkinson’s live show, this dark up-tempo track seemed an obvious choice to introduce his new studio sound. To celebrate, he’ll play Friday 23 November at the Thornbury Theatre.
themusic.com.au
INPRESS • 15
CLEANING HOUSE
BLOC’D ACCESS
Four is a record from a sharper Bloc Party. A smarter Bloc Party. A Bloc Party that knows better than to listen to journalists... “I don’t really want to talk too much about the inner workings of our band,” Kele Okereke says in response to rumours of the band’s tension during their hiatus. “I’m happy for people to believe what they want to believe. It doesn’t affect me. It’s all propaganda. This is all stuff that has nothing to do with the reason we got together to make music or with the music that we have made. So, I’m happy for people to believe what they want to believe as long as they don’t say anything slanderous or libelous - but I’m not going to engage with it. “Really, it is all just propaganda. This conversation, even. I’m talking to you right now because I want to promote a record - and you can bet that I won’t be telling you anything other than exactly what I want you to know. I won’t say anything about the inner workings of our band or our relationships - because some things are private,” the singer says candidly. “Like I said, I am generally quite suspicious of the media - because I know how it works. I know how it operates. “Under the premise of ‘news‘ or ‘spreading information’, you can conceal a lot of things - you can conceal power structures and ideologies. I’m fully aware of that. So, I’ve always been somewhat guarded and sceptical about engaging with the media - but I know it’s also a tool to be used. So, I’m going to use what I can to promote my record - but I’m never going to read a word you write. I’ll never know what’s in this article and I’ll never really want to know, either. I don’t read music press.” that group. And I think, to be honest, we’ve always tried to fight against that.”
Bloc Party have returned from the brink of destruction to deliver a raw new album. Matt O’Neill corners vocalist Kele Okereke to get the story behind Four. Cover and story pic by Kane Hibberd. our is a neat album. For all Bloc Party’s sinewy instrumentation and nervous energy, they’ve never been a band of restraint. 2008’s divisive Intimacy threw everything from dubstep breakbeats to choral arrangements at a listener. 2007’s A Weekend In The City was effectively a concept album. Even their 2005 debut, Silent Alarm, was almost overloaded with ideas. Four, though - Four is different.
F
There’s more to this story
on the iPad
It’s tight. Economical. The band’s eclecticism remains - Octopus’s mangled guitar hook, for example, followed by banjo-led melodies in Real Talk - but there’s a sense of liveliness that undercuts even their most ambitious excursions. It’s telling that, in recording the album, the band opted for neither of their previous producers but Alex Newport, a man perhaps best known for his work on Sepultura frontman Max Cavalera’s industrial-metal Nailbomb project. “The only discussion that we had about the musical direction of it was, when we got together at the end of 2010 to discuss what we were going to do with Bloc Party, I said ‘If we’re going to make another Bloc Party record, I think it should be the sound of the four of us in a room together - or as close to that as possible,’” frontman Kele Okereke says of the record. “I think all of our previous records have been quite studio-based records. “You know, from Silent Alarm through to Intimacy, we’ve kind of written our songs and then figured out how to play them live. This one’s quite a bit leaner. In recording it, we knew we didn’t want a producer someone who would craft the album. We wanted more of an engineer - someone who would just document the sound. I remember listening to Alex’s showreel and being very impressed by his restraint and his detail.” Critics have already been quick to explain the record’s direction with a variety of theories, most popularly positing it as a reaction to the electronic experimentation of Intimacy. More ambitious critics have drawn a line from Intimacy through the band’s year-long hiatus and Okereke’s equally electronic 2010 solo album, The Boxer, suggesting Bloc Party’s remaining members had become oppressed by Okereke and that Four is his apology. 16 • INPRESS
“There’s no validity to that idea at all,” the frontman says in response, his tone seemingly pitched halfway between annoyance and amusement. “Without wanting to talk too much about our internal writing processes, I can categorically state that that was never the case. I certainly don’t see Intimacy as any kind of disaster. I see it as being part of our back catalogue. I see it in the same way as Silent Alarm or Weekend In The City. “I look at it in the same way that I’ll most likely look at Four once this touring cycle as finished - it was part of our journey as a band. When I look back at any of our previous records, I hear things I’d like to have redone. I hear things we didn’t get quite right. You know, I have that trouble with our first album. For a period there, I couldn’t listen to it at all because I just heard all the things that weren’t right about it. “Still, I feel they’re all steps on our journey and I think of them all in the same way. You know, listening back to Intimacy, I still think it has some of our best work on it. It has some of our best songs. I think it has some of my best lyrics. So, really, I actually feel quite fond of that record. I don’t think of it as any kind of disaster or missed opportunity or anything of the sort.” Speaking to Okereke, one begins to suspect Four is representative of a much larger shift. Bloc Party have
“
Musically, their output has been similarly complex. Given that their initial rise to fame was in no small part predicated on their kinship to classic British post-punk and indie-rock, their sound has showcased an unbelievable scope of influences over the years from elements of grunge, new wave and pop through to aspects of dubstep, garage, grime and hip hop. Four actually seems to reference heavy metal on occasion. “When we started making music together, we were very much bonded by a dislike of what was happening around us at the time. When we started this band, the bands that were popular in the UK were bands like Travis and Starsailor. Real kind of namby-pamby, acoustic singer-songwriter bands. We just wanted to make something with a sense of energy. That’s the only thing I remember wanting to do at the time. “In terms of specific sounds, I’m not sure there ever really was one. One of the clubs that we went to that was one of the biggest influences for us and how we think about genre was this club called Trash. Defunct now, sadly. It was quite instrumental for us as a band because you’d go to this club and hear Joy Division mixed with Madonna mixed with Missy Elliot mixed with Nine Inch Nails.
I LEARNT THEN THAT GENRE ISN’T SOMETHING TO DEFINE YOU. IT’S SOMETHING TO RAIL AGAINST.”
always led a surprisingly complicated existence. The slightest remark from Okereke can lead to any number of controversies and rumours. Most recently, an offhand comment in a triple j interview led fans to believe Four would be the band’s final album. (Not the case, as Okereke later clarified.) “Well, it’s nice to know people are listening,” the vocalist reflects diplomatically of his relationship with the press which, all too recently, also gave rise to the rumour that he had been kicked out of his own band. “It’s nice to know that you can reach people and there are people out there interested in what you do. I’m not going to lie, though - I have always generally been quite suspicious of the media.”
“You’d hear all this music from very disparate places in popular culture - but they were coming together and working together because it was good. It was good music. I learnt then that genre isn’t something to define you. It’s something to rail against. It’s not something I want to be part of. I want people to see I’m as into the Deftones as I am Squarepusher as I am Nicki Minaj as I am Blur. “You know, I think we’ve always tried to distance ourselves from other bands. I can remember in 2005, we were supposedly a part of this British Invasion of bands - that we didn’t really know as people or we weren’t really fans of their music. Wherever we went, we always found ourselves lumped in with
themusic.com.au
Four doesn’t seem so much a reaction to Bloc Party’s previous album. Bloc Party’s hiatus seems, in retrospect, a reaction to their career, from an industry that forced them to prematurely churn out a third album, to a media more interested in Okereke’s personal life than music (he came out as gay in 2010), to their own inconveniently expansive ambition; Bloc Party’s career has always been complicated. No longer. The band refuse to tour for more than three weeks at a time. In conversation, Okereke is cordial but guarded (see sidebar). While he will not rule out a fifth Bloc Party album, he is similarly circumspect about committing to one. Having spent their career at the mercy of others, Bloc Party seem to have recently become determined to live by their own terms. And that, more so than anything else, is the sound of Four. “I do think about Bloc Party’s future. I do think about it, for sure,” Okereke admits. “But part of the problem that we had at the end of 2009 was that we felt that our lives were simply going from one year-long world tour and then straight into the studio to make a record and then back out into the world to tour that record. You know, you can only do so much of that before the situation starts to feel a little bit toxic. “You know, you start to find it hard to figure out how to have a life outside of what you do for a living. I think we’re all a bit wary of rushing back into that routine, into that rhythm, because it was quite destructive. “Creatively, right now I’ve got no idea what another Bloc Party record would sound like right now - but that’s a good thing. I think that’s a good thing. We’re ready and willing to be inspired - and I’m sure that will happen over the next year.” “But,” the frontman stresses, “that’s a conversation we would need to have between us - whether we actually want to go through it again. One of the good things I learnt about taking that time out - having six months of not doing anything in particular and just taking time to breathe, is a good thing. It’s very important. You know, none of us need Bloc Party. If we stopped, we’d all be fine. We don’t need to do this. “That actually takes the pressure off, though,” Okereke adds. “I know that, if we do make another record, it will only be because we want to. I just don’t think we’ll know if we want to go through that again until the end of this year.” WHO: Bloc Party WHAT: Four (Frenchkiss)
NATIONAL TOUR
FRI 7TH SEPT FORUM THEATRE, MELBOURNE TICKETS FROM: WWW.TICKETMASTER.COM.AU
FOR FURTHER INFO PLEASE VISIT WWW.JULIASTONEMUSIC.COM
NEW ALBUM “...WILL GIVE YOU GOOSEBUMPS”
WULSOH M PDJD]LQH
OUT NOW
INPRESS • 17
DO IT AGAIN Music icons The Beach Boys have reformed to celebrate 50 years together as a band, and are doing so with both a new album and a world tour. Founding member Mike Love pours over five decades of fantastic (and some not so fun) memories with Steve Bell.
A
bout a week before Christmas, 2011 – after nearly a full year of rumours, denials and speculation – it was announced that US legends The Beach Boys would be reuniting for a world tour to celebrate their 50th anniversary as a band. Despite the obvious milestone, there were a myriad of reasons as to why this came as a surprise to many pundits – primarily the age and varying health of the remaining members (in particular that of genius frontman Brian Wilson, who hadn’t performed a full tour with the band since 1965), plus the fractious relationships between many of them in recent years – but this potential baggage was quickly overridden by the collective goodwill that had accumulated for the band, their enduring body of music and their contribution to popular culture over the past five decades.
Then it was revealed that they’d be making a new album to accompany the tour – the first new Beach Boys material featuring Wilson since the ‘80s – and the seeds for their new album That’s Why God Made The Radio were sown. “It’s pretty remarkable,” founding member and vocalist Mike Love marvels. “When we heard the songs in the studio after we’d sung all of our parts and listened to it all back, it was pretty amazing. A lot of time has passed since we’ve even done anything together recording-wise, but I don’t think anything’s been lost in terms of the ability to harmonise, the ability to sing together, and the ability of Brian to structure those harmonies like only he can. He’s one of the greatest ever at that kind of thing.” According to Love, The Beach Boys didn’t articulate a direction for the new album; they just got in the studio together and let the magic take its course. “I think it’s more the songs dictated [the direction], but I think because of the fact that we’re getting together for the 50th anniversary, there’s an element of us being influenced by the perspective of having spent so many years together as a group,” he reflects. “There’s a song called Isn’t It Time, which is about the fact that good things don’t always have to be in the past, so recreating those good vibrations in other words. Whether we’ve been together physically or not, we’ve been together as a group and in terms of a career and a body of music. One cannot escape or avoid that, nor would one want to. “There’s also elements that sound a little more [1966’s classic] Pet Sounds-ish, and there are elements which sound like something a bit earlier, around the time of [1965 single] California Girls, I’d say. I think there’s kind of a blend of influences on the album.” Apparently The Beach Boys’ indubitable chemistry came flooding back once they reconvened to record, especially with Brian Wilson in the producer’s seat. “Oh yeah, it was amazing when we heard the playback of all of us singing,” Love marvels. “Brian knows intimately our strengths and our voices and where we need to be put in the couple of octaves that we’re dealing with: I’ll sing a bass part, but I’ll also sing a lead, Alan [Jardine] sounds really strong in certain registers, and Bruce [Johnston] can sing ultra-high. So it’s cool – everybody has their strengths and Brian knows exactly where to ask us to fit in vocally within the arrangement of a certain song. It was very natural for us to get together. Nothing was really lost in terms of the techniques, it’s just that the technology has gotten a little more advanced these days than when we used to do things on a four-track recorder.” Love has been touring his version of The Beach Boys around the globe for years, keeping the flame alive, but he concedes that it’s obviously a different live beast with the band’s original line-up back in the fray. “Yeah, it’s quite a bit different with, say, Alan singing Help Me Rhonda instead of somebody else and Brian singing I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times from Pet Sounds,” he smiles. “I told him before we even stepped foot on a stage, I said, ‘If you do I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times, people are going to cry, including probably me!’ It’s such a dramatic song, it just pulls the empathy out of you and the band sounds great doing it. “We’re doing two hours of music and ending the show in a way that’s pretty incredible, with Good Vibrations, California Girls, Help Me Rhonda, Surfin’ USA, Kokomo, Barbara Ann and Fun, Fun, Fun – it’s hard to beat that ending! We’re extremely conscious of doing the songs that casual fans will appreciate hearing, but we’re also aware that there’s a hardcore fanbase out there who might have favourites as well; it’s a broad spectrum. Some of them mightn’t have been the biggest hits, but they’re either fun or challenging for us to do musically and are highly appreciated by the hardcore fans – we try to blend it all together and make it a really worthwhile experience for everyone.” It’s also a great way to bury a few hatchets, particularly between the cousins Love and Wilson, whose relationship in recent years had been soured by ongoing legal stoushes. Or that’s how it looked from the outside, at any rate. “The reason that some of those perceptions came about was because I was not credited for some of the songs that I wrote, including Help Me Rhonda, California Girls and I Get Around, for three,” Love tells. “I was not included in the writing credits even though I did all of the lyrics in California Girls and significant amounts of lyrics in I Get Around and Help Me Rhonda and a couple of others that I was not credited at all for. That was as a result of my uncle Murry [Wilson – Brian’s father and The Beach Boys’ domineering manager in the ‘60s] not crediting me so he didn’t have to pay me. The only recourse I had was to establish my rights through the legal system, which might look like I had a problem with Brian, but Brian wanted to rectify it, he was just unable to for legal reasons. He actually called me person to person and said, ‘Hey, let’s work this out’ and we tried to do that – but he wasn’t allowed to, so the only recourse I had was the legal recourse. “But I know where he’s coming from, and he knows where I’m coming from, and inter-personally we’ve never had an issue – I don’t think we’ve had any negative blood at all. So we’re able to be onstage together and I get to give him accolades during the show, so everything is very cool. It feels good to get together with everybody and lay aside our individual pursuits in favour of doing something together.” WHO: The Beach Boys WHAT: That’s Why God Made The Radio (Capitol/EMI) WHEN & WHERE: Friday 31 August, Rod Laver Arena
18 • INPRESS
themusic.com.au
INPRESS • 19
NEW AWAKENINGS Eight albums in and Los-Angeles-based punks Yellowcard show no sign of wilting in the sun. Violinist Sean Mackin explains to Brendan Telford how a break from each other has brought them back stronger than ever.
E
steemed pop punk band Yellowcard have wasted no time after announcing the end of their self-imposed hiatus. Having just finished playing this year’s Warped Tour – which included The Used, Taking Back Sunday and New Found Glory – violinist Sean Mackin is enjoying the hot Texan summer with friends made over their decade-long career. “It’s amazing, we are making memories daily,” Mackin begins. “This line-up is so great for us as there are so many friends in bands on this tour. It harks back to the glory days of 2004. It’s like summer camp from sun-up to sundown. You are surrounded by good friends, people you have toured the world with - most notably for us the guys from All Time Low - and everyone has their signings, hanging with the fans all day, selling merch. We played soccer with some of the other bands, and every day is like that. Actually a little bit of trivia is that this tour marks our ten year anniversary involvement with (Warped founder) Kevin Lyman in 2002, and we have since done this tour five times in the last ten years, so it’s been a great history and a great piece of what Yellowcard is.” Yellowcard are also about to launch their eighth studio album in Southern Air, a feat that Mackin stresses has been about taking measured steps. “We have tried to progress as tastefully as possible,” he chuckles. “We’ve all grown up as teenagers and had the same passion for life and music, and that has led us through our twenties and now into our early thirties. What we have always wanted to do is show that we have this passion for life and an intense love for music. So after taking a couple years off and putting out When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes last year, we have travelled to thirty-two countries and it has all led up to Southern Air. [The music industry] is a very hard world to navigate, so for us to come out after a tiny break… we have our chinks in the armour, but we’re pretty unified. We look at Southern Air and we can hang our hat, maybe even say ‘Hey, we know how to write a couple of songs.’” Having such an established back catalogue, Mackin intimates that walking the fine line between familiarity and breaking new ground is a hard yet rewarding journey. It is one that couldn’t have happened without the requisite tumultuous periods that come with being
20 • INPRESS
in each other’s pockets and learning from them. “We really tried to highlight or frame the best parts about us as Yellowcard that we have learnt over the past ten or so years. When you’re younger and you are writing songs, you finish up and think, ‘Well that’s it, that’s the best song there is!’ Yet now that we have some years under our belt, we’re tried-and-true world travellers and everything, we realise how much of life goes into music. It’s such an opinionated thing, yet it’s impossible to reinvent the wheel. So we have spent our time polishing the Yellowcard sound, and to do that we had to look back at past albums like Ocean Avenue and Paper Walls and identify what is each member’s strongest moment, then bring that to what we are doing now.” This refinement of each other’s musical strengths produces a confident air to Southern Air that is evident in every aspect of the band aesthetic, from frontman Ryan Key’s personal,
There’s more to this story
on the iPad
reflective lyrics right down to each member’s place within each song. Mackin admits that the hiatus heightened their sense of place in the world and with each other. “Ryan spent a lot of time with his family in Florida and Georgia, a time that allowed for much self-reflection. There’s a song on the album called Awakening, and the album closes with Southern Air – it all embodies this world where we all grew up and came from. It’s like the entire group has received this collective breath of fresh air, this inspired vigour for music and life, and we thought it was just that initial getting-back-together, things-slotting-into-place phase. But it’s continued into 2012, and it has revitalised us.” An unusual factor of the Yellowcard aesthetic has been their long-standing working relationship with producer Neal Avron, who has been on board for the band’s last five albums. Such a relationship ensures that what takes place in the studio remains true and unrushed, a personal journey that isn’t sullied by outside concerns. “Neal has been with us since Ocean Avenue, so he is part of the family,” Mackin enthuses. “He has such a great musical mind. He is able to help us
cater and write strong songs that highlight our strengths, he is able to pinpoint a special melody or drumbeat or a lyric from Ryan, and channel us through a conceptual point into a physical recorded moment, one that we don’t foresee. We have worked with Neal for nine years, and every moment is a pleasure. We feel that he is one of the best producers in the world, and we are lucky to have gotten in with him at the ground floor. He is a class act, a privilege to work with, and he helps make us who we are.” The Yellowcard fanbase has always been a strong and resolute one, connecting heavily with the members and vice versa. Mackin admits that this strong connection is paramount to the band’s success, and helps drive them even harder. “The music industry has changed so much, even since we started playing music as a profession back in 2001, which isn’t really that long ago. Yet one thing that has never changed is how much we want to show to our fans how thankful and grateful we are. It often feels like not a lot of artists make the time to be able to do that. There is an argument that the older bands that influenced us, those guys never had to go online to talk to fans, yet it is the world that we live in and the reputation that we
themusic.com.au
wanted to forge. It feels sometimes that bands forget that it is the fans that give us the gift of music. It’s the fans that allow us to do this for a living, which is so incredible.” The juggernaut continues, and the Australian contingent of the Yellowcard fanbase are looking forward to not only a new release but a series of headline shows so soon after they took part in last year’s Counter Revolution festival. Mackin maintains that every moment in Australia is an especially momentous one. “Counter Revolution in many ways was an appetiser for the Warped Tour over here, so it was a chance for us to enjoy the summer weather. We had almost a week off in Sydney between the two weekend shows, so we got to let our hair down, run amok and get into trouble. There is something about Australia that makes us feel like kids again, so coming back down there so soon is fine by us!” WHO: Yellowcard WHAT: Southern Air (Hopeless/UNFD) WHEN & WHERE: Friday 21 September, Hi-Fi
Independent but together
Weekend Activities
Other 10%
Latee nigh Lat ights
Art history Drawing
Different ideas
ENROL NOW
Brainstorming 20 pages of sketches
Conversations and collaboration
LIVE, BREATHE,
EMBRACE
FOR OUR OCTOBER INTAKE! PLACES LIMITED.
Books and magazines
CREATIVITY
Study part time day or night, or in your own time online. Study now, pay later with VET FEE-HELP.
1982 photos on instagram
Designspiration 20% Blogs visited for inspiration
Morning coffee
Ffffound 30%
Experience CATC at our Melbourne Campus OPEN DAY Saturday August 18, 10am-2pm 595 Little Collins Street, Melbourne CBD
MELBOURNE / SYDNEY / BRISBANE / GOLD COAST / ONLINE Think: Colleges Pty Ltd trading as CATC Design School, ABN 93 050 049 299, RTO No. 0269, CRICOS Provider Code NSW 00246M, QLD 03107J, VIC 03252M .
INPRESS • 21
STILL HUNGRY After enlisting a star-studded cast for his previous solo record, Slash focused on working with one singer on new disc Apocalyptic Love. Brendan Crabb gets in the bunker with rock’s legendary axeman.
A
few days after making a guest appearance during Alter Bridge’s set at the Sydney leg of the Soundwave Festival, Slash is finalising the Apocalyptic Love mixes, as well as beginning a day of promotion for the new album. While fielding questions about the status of supergroup Velvet Revolver, he quickly remarks that they’ve been on hiatus for some time and little more. When quizzed about Guns N’ Roses’ then upcoming induction into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame, he’s initially amicable, then jovial on the topic. When pried too much for his liking about whether he’s spoken to fellow former Gunners members about it though, it’s a polite, but firm case of, “I don’t want to talk about that anymore” and a quick change of subject. However, the top hat-donning guitarist is infinitely more enthusiastic whilst discussing Apocalyptic Love. He grins when it’s suggested that it sounds more like a fully-fledged band effort than its predecessor. His 2010 self-titled album featured numerous guest vocalists (Ozzy Osbourne, Fergie, Lemmy and Chris Cornell among them) and appearances from several former Guns N’ Roses members. Apocalyptic Love’s vocals and lyrics are solely handled by Alter Bridge’s Myles Kennedy, who also appeared on Slash. Did he feel the band vibe was something vital missing from Slash? “No, just as a rock‘n’roll kinda thing, the unity of an actual group is something that I pretty much strive for,” he explains. “But when I was doing the first record, which sounds great to me, it wasn’t put together that way because of the amount of people involved and just the way that it worked out. But the guys that I worked with, we still played together sort of in a band environment when I was doing that record. But this has got a little bit more of a synergy with the other guys. We’ve been playing together on the road for the last year-and-a-half and the songs were performed live in the studio, as opposed to pieced together, the way that a lot of people do records these days.” There is obvious songwriting chemistry between Slash and Kennedy – something the former says he felt immediately.
22 • INPRESS
“That’s happened right from the very first rehearsal and then the ensuing shows. I started thinking this would be a good band to do a record with. It seems like everybody knew who Myles was but me,” he says when asked about his history with the vocalist/guitarist. “Matt Sorum [ex-Guns N’ Roses, Velvet Revolver] had reached out to him a couple of times over a long period with Velvet Revolver, but I didn’t know who he was until roughly around 2009. I reached out to him, because I knew of his reputation and I needed somebody to sing a couple of songs on the record. I’d finished the rest of it; I had two songs left over and I couldn’t think who should sing these two songs. I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that Zeppelin had called him in to replace Robert Plant at one point. So I thought, ‘This guy’s gotta be good!” he laughs. “I flew him into LA and we met for the session for a song called Starlight that was on my record. And that’s where we started.” It’s remarked that it must be easier to write with just one singer in mind. “Yeah, well, that’s the way I’ve been doing it for years,” he laughs. “I just did one record where I used a lot of different vocalists, which was a lot of fun, but it wasn’t a career move, it was just a project that I did.” It’s asked whether he envisions attempting the multiple vocalists’ schtick again. “No, that was just sort of a one-off. I might do something like that down the line at some point, but right now I’m just concentrating on this record, this tour and I would think that it would probably be if I was going to do another record after this tour was over I would do it with the same guys (known as Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators). That kind of chemistry just doesn’t happen all the time… You can’t take it for granted when it happens. We all work really well together and there’s a sort of spark there.” Touring is what Slash seems most enthused about; he lights up at the mere suggestion of returning to the road, with a return to our shores in August. While other acts have to focus more on the touring side to make a living due to free-falling record sales, the veteran guitar-slinger is in the enviable position of being able to largely work according to his schedule.
“Because I’m sort of my own record company and I’m more or less in control of my own destiny, really the only criteria for songwriting is just write something that’s good. It’s not necessarily focused on singles. But you know, there are people I work with that go, ‘Well, this would probably make a good single,’ and I’m like, ‘Okay, whatever’,” he laughs. The era of artists selling millions of copies of debut albums a la Guns’ 1987 classic Appetite For Destruction is largely no more. What does he think of where the industry is headed? “It is what it is,” the guitarist ponders. “There are certain aspects of it that I think are more or less progressive and sort of a natural par for course. And there are some aspects of it that I don’t agree with. But I don’t preach about it very much, I just figure out my own route to follow, and sort of navigate the terrain. It’s definitely a different time. I talk to a handful of young artists over time, here and there about it. Because they ask me,’What’s the best way to do it?’ The model that I used when I first started is non-existent, pretty much, now. So now it’s sort of like the Wild West, you’ve gotta just go out and make it up. There’s no tried-and-true method anymore… There’s a lot of great resources.
themusic.com.au
But there’s no guarantee that any of them will work, you know?” he laughs. “So you just have to sort of pick your own path and try and make the best of it. “There’s not a lot of artist development, like what I was familiar with, throughout the whole industry. It’s very few and far between, but there are people in the industry who really care about music for music’s sake, and are there to try and help. But you know, the business at large, it’s hard to really trust that, wait for that to happen,” he laughs. “But fortunately there are some people out there that really care about developing a band and going out and looking to see who’s around or what talent is out there. So it’s not non-existent, it’s just limited compared to how it was when I was first coming up.” WHO: Slash feat. Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators WHAT: Apocalyptic Love (Dik Hayd International/Sony) WHEN & WHERE: Sunday 26 August, Hisense Arena
AFTER ALMOST A DECADE THE LEGENDARY NEW YORK ROCKERS ARE FINALLY RETURNING TO AUSTRALIAN SHORES. NADA SURF IS A NAME SYNONYMOUS WITH MUSIC LOVERS THE WORLD OVER AND ONE THAT TIRELESSLY TRANSCENDS THEIR 1996 SUMMER ANTHEM ‘POPULAR’ WITH A CATALOGUE OF SPOTLESS INDIE POP-ROCK. THEY RETURN TO AUSTRALIA WITH NOT ONLY A BRAND NEW ALBUM ‘THE STARS ARE INDIFFERENT TO ASTRONOMY’, BUT ALSO A SETLIST PULLED FROM THEIR ENTIRE 16 YEAR/SEVEN ALBUM CAREER.
TUES 18TH SEPT THE COURIER-MAIL SPIEGELTENT BRISBANE FESTIVAL Tickets available on Monday 2nd July www.brisbanefestival.com.au
THURS 20TH SEPT ANNANDALE HOTEL SYDNEY SUPPORTED BY THE GOLDHEARTED. Tickets available from www.annandalehotel.com / 02 9550 1078
FRI 21ST SEPT CORNER HOTEL MELBOURNE
SUPPORTED BY THE GOLDHEARTED. Tickets on-sale at the corner box office 03 9427 9198 / www.cornerhotel.com FOR THE FIRST TIME THE ENTIRE NADA SURF BACK CATALOGUE HAS BEEN MADE AVAILABLE VIA STOP START
PRESENTED BY
INPRESS • 23
TASTE TEST: JAKE STONE THE FIRST ALBUM I BOUGHT WITH MY OWN MONEY
It was The Real Thing by Faith No More, on cassette, from Parramatta shopping centre. I liked that song Epic a lot. I loved the way Mike Patton looked in the video, I thought he looked like a nutcase. I think maybe it was ’92, ’93, I was probably about 13.
THE ALBUM I’M LOVING RIGHT NOW
I don’t really listen to albums that much any more. The last albums I bought as actual records were the SBTRKT record and the Gotye record, but while I like both of those guys as one-offs, I don’t know if as albums they’re quite as satisfying. Which is kind of my point: there’s not a whole album that I’m loving at the moment, and I don’t even remember the last album I loved like that. Like, I really like Japandroids, they have this great, counter-cultural aesthetic. I think Lana Del Rey is a great lyric writer. But most of the time I’m just taking a grab-bag of single tracks.
MY FAVOURITE PARTY ALBUM
Beastie Boys’ albums; records I listened to when I was a kid like Paul’s Boutique and License To Ill. Classic Nelly tracks like Hot In Herre. And any classic ’90s hip hop record like Bell Biv Devoe or Heavy D & The Boys or Blackstreet. The ’90s in hip hop was a great time; there was just so much heart and humour in it. They’re great party records to listen to in a contemporary sense, but they’re also filled with nostalgia.
MY FAVOURITE COMEDOWN ALBUM I can think of answers to this question in my mind: the first two Portishead records, the Frank Ocean album. But, to be honest, there isn’t one. Music just doesn’t play that kind of role in my life. It’s an artistic, creative and social thing, not a soundtrack. If I like a song, I just love that song; I don’t love it because it makes it more fun to go do sports or something. There’s no perfect running record, no perfect workout record, no perfect comedown record for me.
THE MOST SURPRISING RECORD IN MY COLLECTION
I have a full box set of crooner records, but, then again, I think everyone should. Most genres have one exponent who is worth listening to; even if you don’t like crooners, there’s no denying the
24 • INPRESS
greatness of Frank Sinatra. I also have a box set of the Eurythmics. I like jazz and lounge. I love Sade. None of this is surprising to me – I don’t care if something’s fucking cool or not. Man, I’m 32, I gave up on that shit years ago. But, when you talk to kids 15 through 19, and they’re so desperate to be current and to fit in with what’s going, or their social group, or whatever, they don’t care about the content of the music, just whether it’s cool. So, some of them would be dismayed to find out I listen to Sade, I’m sure.
THE FIRST GIG I EVER ATTENDED
The Beastie Boys and Helmet. I was a massive Helmet fan, basically a little metalhead, but my cousin was way more into the Beastie Boys. And before the internet, you needed that person who was a little bit older, who knew about things. He gave me Check Your Head, which was, I think, the album they were touring on. So we went to see them, and he got me really stoned. I was out of it, and really paranoid, so for the first half of the show I hid underneath a car in the carpark, and totally missed Helmet. But I came in to watch Beastie Boys, and I was so high I didn’t understand why they would leave the stage and come back as a live band, then come back to do a DJ set; I didn’t really get that they were the same guys, it was very confusing to me. It was confusing, but fuckin’ awesome.
THE WEIRDEST GIG EXPERIENCE I’VE EVER HAD
Bluejuice have had some fucking strange shows. Like, people setting off fire extinguishers in the middle of the club that make everyone in the crowd vomit. That was pretty funny, just a host of people vomiting into our rider. Other times, like playing on the coast, in Gosford or whatever, where two girls are punching each other in the crowd. That really happened, and I totally misjudged just how wild it really was down there. I jumped into the crowd, and they basically stripped me naked; I was crowd surfing and people were tearing my clothes off as I went past. I ended up crawling back on stage in only my underwear. Also, being arrested on stage at the Metro for wearing a real police shirt, and being dragged off stage by undercover police officers literally in the middle of a song. That was pretty amazing; that video’s actually on YouTube – everyone should watch that.
BLUEJUICE, JAKE STONE ON LEFT
THE COOLEST PERSON I’VE EVER MET Karen O and The Strokes are far-and-away the coolest celebrities I’ve ever met and shoptalked with. If you’re looking for coolness, both of them really satisfied on that level.
THE BIGGEST CELEBRITY CRUSH I’VE EVER HAD
When I was a kid I wrote a letter to Demi Moore after I saw A Few Good Men, where I said she looked nice in a sailor’s outfit. I used to write a lot of letters, which was really fucking weird, man. I also wrote a letter to Courtney Thorne-Smith, who was the boring one on Melrose Place; I was heaps attracted to her. I remember getting really upset
themusic.com.au
when I realised that I was never going to have a genuine relationship with Jennifer Aniston from Friends. I got really sad, I was almost crying, talking to my friend Sam about it. I was like: ‘I have to get famous if I’m ever going to meet her, if I’m ever going to be with her!’ And Sam was like: ‘What the fuck are you talking about? You’re a 14-year-old boy!’” Interview by Anthony Carew WHO: Bluejuice WHEN & WHERE: Friday 17 August, Eagle Bar, La Trobe University, Bundoora
SAUSAGE FEST British-based, world-sourced party jammers King Salami & The Cumberland Three are one of the most fun party bands out. Cam Findlay catches up with the eponymous frontman to find out why slappin’ the salami is so loved around the world.
T
here hasn’t been a huge number of food-related musical stories of late. This, of course, must be taken with grain of salt (ahem) though; The Smashing Pumpkins recently stopped by the country, for one. The Red Hot Chili Peppers are set to make an appearance at Big Day Out, for another. But what about the chilled-out novelt that was Nilsson with Cocounut? Where’s the headlines that hearken back to Mama Cass choking on a turkey sandwich (which, depending on your opinion, is true or utter bullshit)? Well fear no more: King Salami & The Cumberland Three are here to fulfil all your culinary/auditory hybrid needs. One of London’s current premier ska/punk bands, Salami & The Cumberland Three have a backstory that finely suits their crazy, rabble-rousing sound. Forming in 2006, the band was the varied and inspired combination of one Japanese, one French, one Spanish and one Caribbean musician; otherwise known as Kamikaze St Vincent, Eric Baconstrip, Pepe Ronnie and King Salami himself, respectively. So yes, the infatuation with smallgoods does go beyond the band’s moniker. They ultimately fused Japanese gogo, Spanish instrumental, European pop and Carribean rhythm into one hell of a party-rocking sound. There’s everything you’d expect in there; the old American punk sound of The Stooges and the MC5, The British wave of The Clash and the Sex Pistols, with just enough Elvis swagger to top it all off.
We were fortunate enough to catch up with the raspyvoiced and fine-dancing leadman, King Salami, prior to their upcoming Australian tour and just as their latest album, Fourteen Blazin’ Bangers!, makes its way to stereos around the country. Of course, the obvious question has to be put forward; what’s with the name? “We just love sausages,” the frontman says with affable succinctness. Fair enough. It’s the first question they’re constantly asked in every interview, and it’s an answer that can’t really be argued with. As the group call to fans to “Do The Wurst” at gigs, it’s obvious that despite their fun, party-down facade, they really do love sausages. The rest of the interview isn’t neccesarily so straightforward. “We went through New Scotland
Yard’s most wanted list and picked the most dangerous musicians known to the authorities,” Salami throws out when asked just how such an eclectic group of musicians got together. In the world of London’s undying punk scene, it may be closer to the truth than you may initially suspect. They are part of a breed of neo-punk bands sweeping the edges of ska, soul and funk. “It’s been good for a while; a few of the UK party bands are in the same kind of orbit and like each other’s styles,” Salami explains when asked just how fervent the party scene in London is at the moment. “As for the reforming bands, everyone’s at it, so the ones that have aged well are appealing to both the original fans plus the youngsters who weren’t born first time around. Luckily there’ll always be people up for a good time.” King Salami & The Cumberland Three have been lucky enough to break free of that (arguably) underground London scene, and have spent years touring around the world, bringing the party to anyone and everyone that just feels like getting down to some food-themed craziness. All over Europe, Japan, South America, and now Australia; there’s not too many places these guys won’t play. “It seems to be a constant, people are all dancing and jumping around to the salami sound wherever we play,” Salami answers on how worldwide reception is to the group. “But it was quite funny and surprising last time when we played in China, in this great club in Wuhan, where suddenly all the audience started to do the conga dance! Maybe that’s just the way they do it there.” Touring, of course, is just one element of the formula; sharing the stage with other like-minded musicians is the other half. Not being hugely knowledgeable on the ongoing vibe of the rockabilly and punk circuits, this scribe asks Salami to rattle off a few of his favourite bands to play with. The answer is something you may want to write down – they’re all equally as crazy as Salami & The Cumberland Three, I assure you. “Thee Vicars, The Masonics, Sundae Kups, Fabulous Penetrators, Luxury Condo, Urban Voodoo Machine….” Salami energetically lists before giving the lowdown on a recent tour the band played on. “We did a Japan
tour recently with this amazing Tokyo band called The Minnesota Voodoo Men, and every night was such a party,” he say excitedly. “We would swap instruments and swap band members during the set and things like that… [It was] so much fun with these guys!” With a sound that arouses images of late night gogo parties, beehive hairdos and swingin’ your arms up and down, King Salami & The Cumberland Three have seemed to inject the old, swinging sound with newfound energy. And crowds have reciprocated; a usual King Salami gig is full of rockabillys, punks and swingers, all looking to break it down in their leathers and fluoro bangles. What does Salami think about bringing a long-resigned style back to the surface? “The eternal question,” he deadpans. “Why did Hendrix and Led Zeppelin sound so right in the ‘90s? Why mod in the late seventies, etc. but then sound out of place just a few years later? The person who can predict that is going to be very rich.” No matter what you think of how they’ve resurrected what many may assume as a dead art, King Salami & The Dirty Three are
here for two simple reasons; to get you partying, and to share their love of some good old sausage. “Pretty much a bit of everything; a-sides, b-sides, album tracks, unreleased stuff, sometimes a one-off cover for a particular country or show,” Salami explains of what punters can expect, before throwing in one more cheeky dig: “And Maurice Bejart does our choreography.” During the research for this story, this scribe became interested heavily in the sausage angle of the band (of course, why not?). In doing so, a certain San Franciscan restaurant was found to share the same name as Salami. Just a coincidence, or maybe a shared perspective? “We didn’t!” Salami admits when it’s put forward to him. “We get the feeling that’s a loaded question?” WHO: King Salami & The Cumberland Three WHAT: Fourteen Blazin’ Bangers! (Off The Hip Records) WHERE & WHEN: Friday 17 and Saturday 18 August, LuWow; Sunday 19, Retreat; Tuesday 21, Cherry Bar; Wednesday 22, Espy
FAT RECORD Influential Aussie hip hop label Obese Records release their Obesecity 2 compilation a decade after their first, and Street Press Australia got to catch up with a few of the artists involved.
BIGFOOT (HIRED GOONS CREW, MELBOURNE) One of the few artists on Obesecity 2, who also appeared on the first Obesecity 10 years ago: “Typically, Australian hip hop 10 years ago had laid-back and easygoing overtones that I could not always identify with. I was striving to make something more indicative of the lifestyle that I was living at the time, also reflecting the more extreme nature of the music that I gravitated towards as a listener. It was my aim to make Destroy The Rhyme the hardest and fastest song on the album, highlighting the differences between myself and the majority of Australian rap at the time. Since then, with the proliferation of relatively inexpensive home recording equipment and influence of the internet, the music industry has undergone a radical change… Obesecity 2 is testament to the years of hard work and solid foundations built by those artists who have stuck to their guns, unfalteringly walking their own path and building their own fan bases from grassroots beginnings. Very few of them are household names in the commercial realm, but the majority are revered and respected mainstays amongst hip hop circles who have invested blood, sweat and tears in pursuit of their passions. Seasoned veterans from all corners of the map are aligned alongside newer generations of talent showing limitless potential.”
CLASS A (MELBOURNE) One of two lady emcees on the new compilation: “It means a lot to me to be a part of Obesecity 2. I used to catch the train up from Geelong and go to Obese Records (retail) to get my hip hop music and clothes as a little homie; I really looked forward to that. I was just such a big, dedicated fan. I actually dreamt about being on an Obese compilation. I remember saying to some guy at McDonalds in Geelong when Culture Of Kings came out: ‘I’m going to be on one of these compilations, watch me!’. That was the 10-years-ago bratty me. It took me a while but I got there. This album in particular means a lot to me because it has so many of my friends on it, 26 • INPRESS
a lot of us started rapping around the same time and started doing shows together years ago in Melbourne. for example 1/6, Maggot Mouf, Fluent… Also me, Raven, Aetcix (Goatmob), Luke Mac and Spit were rapping together in Geelong so so long ago. But yeah, the fact that we’ll be on such a dope, recognised and respected CD that will be distributed nationally is amazing. Being on an album with some of my favourite Aussie rappers such as Lazy Grey, Bigfoot and Newsense is just a spinout really. My track on the album is called The View, produced by Aoi. It’s pretty much head-nodding, sassy, creepy but soulful, thoughtful, Aoi and Class A goodness.”
P LINK (RAWTHENTICS CREW, MELBOURNE) Part of the next-gen emcees coming through the scene, P Link grew up with the first Obesecity. “Hip hop in Australia today is definitely more exposed and ‘popular’, so to speak, which is always gonna have its goods and bads. But considering the live shows and quality and consistency of local releases, especially in the last couple years, I think it’s mostly good. The scene is a whole different ball game compared to 10 years ago, thanks mainly to the Internet, I think – I’m not sure Myspace was even round back then. Now with YouTube and all the rest, it’s a lot easier to get yourself out there. Anybody with a laptop and Facebook is an emcee these days. But I’ll admit, overall I’m stoked to see crews I grew up on as well as mates of mine able to make a living off their hip hop now. In the future, I wanna see the hard working real heads past and present get credit for their craft. I guess it all started for me on the battle tip, slinging punchlines with the boys, and gradually turned into hitting the pad and getting serious with it. These days it is my everyday life! My sound… It’s Rawthentic! Melbourne-made Boom Bap from a true fan of the art. Go cop my EP for a better explanation.”
DWIZOFOZ (BRISBANE) Dwizofoz is one of two winners (the other being DVS from Melbourne) to earn himself a place on the
DWIZOFOZ Obesecity 2 compilation alongside the nation’s best underground acts. “I actually didn’t discover Obesecity (the first one) until a year or two after it came out. But when I found, it I loved it. I’d heard a bit of Aussie stuff by then, but this was the first time I was really struck by the amount of talent we actually had locally. It changed the way I saw rap from our shores. I actually started dabbling in rap because of my probation officer. I was on parole for a heap of stupid shit you do as a kid to make money to buy weed and eat. Every week she’d come round and I’d basically ignore her with my head in a book writin’. Luckily enough she actually gave a fuck and saw that music was a way to get through to me. She introduced me to Evil Eddie from Butterfingers as a part of a government program running out of a
themusic.com.au
local recording studio. He gave me homework to write a story as a track, taught me to count bars and all that stuff. I came back a week later with a four-verse track about how I got kicked outta school. Got to record it in a full-on studio, learn about production, making beats etc. Around that time the studio engineer introduced me to Ghosty, we connected straight away and formed Ozalians. The rest, as they say, is history. If it wasn’t for that probation officer, I would never have been able to do what I have so far and would still probably be talkin’ about how gangsta my guns are, so thank fuck she cared.” Obesecity 2 is out Friday 17 August on Obese Records.
THE OTHER SIDE Hip hop legends The Pharcyde are heading to Australia to connect with a new generation of fans. Imani and Bootie Brown spoke to Aleksia Barron about labels, live shows and making music.
I
f you know your classic hip hop, you’ll know The Pharcyde. Formed in 1989 as a four-piece in South Central Los Angeles, they were integral to the rise of alternative hip hop and gained worldwide fame with singles like Passin’ Me By, Runnin’ and Drop. And like so many hip hop artists that came up in the late ‘80s and through the ‘90s, they didn’t always have the easiest time in an industry where label demands frequently clashed with their talent’s aspirations. The Pharcyde’s history is somewhat chequered – there are the highs of success, particularly as they built their reputation for brilliant live shows and released instant classics like their debut album, Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde. But there were also lower points, such as when founding members Fatlip and Slimkid3 left the group, and when later releases failed to meet the expectations of critics and industry suits. Through it all, Imani (Emandu Wilcox) and Bootie Brown (Romye Robinson) have remained stoic. They have been in The Pharcyde since the beginning, forming it after meeting through their work as dancers. Now, after over 20 years of making music and performing on stage together, they’re heading down to Australia for the first time in years. “I’d say this is about the third time in Australia,” says Robinson, speaking on the phone from LA. “[The last was] 2009 for the Good Vibes [Festival].” It seems like it’s suddenly all the rage for groups from the ‘80s and ‘90s to get together for reunion tours, but for Robinson, this opportunity is less about giving the old fans a last hurrah and more about getting to know the new generation. “We wanna just like, outreach to the new people,” he explains. “There’s new fans out there, kids sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, and we haven’t had no major records out or anything like that, so I think the human contact, coming to see them, that’s important. They gotta find out what they can expect from The Pharcyde.” It’s a good point. After all, the internet has made it infinitely possible for younger fans to explore older stuff as well as the new, and hip hop, with its tradition of sampling and referential lyrics, tends to be more steeped in history than most musical styles. Wilcox sees the tour as a chance to give fans a sense of The Pharcyde’s full development. “Oh yeah, you’ll get a peek into our
world. We’ll let you know what we’ve been working on – the beginning, the middle and right now.” Both Wilcox and Robinson are currently working on their own projects – Wilcox has been working with Ta’Raach, and Robinson has been writing under his alter ego Frank Friction. So they’re both working independently, which gives them greater control than they had in their heyday when they were signed to Delicious Vinyl. Robinson remembers the difficulty of balancing his own opinions with those of The Pharcyde’s label, particularly when it came to following up Bizarre Ride with the group’s second album, Labcabincalifornia. “When we did Labcab, compared to Bizarre Ride, it was so different, you know, the stuff that we used to go through.” The hardest part was convincing the label that a track had the goods to win over fans. “It was a process to say what was gonna be the single, and to argue that and go through that… It’s cool in one way, because you’re fighting for what you believe in, but it’s soul-deadening. You’re trying to move forward, but you’re stuck.” Working independently has given Robinson more freedom. “Now, without having those expectations… If I want to go out there and make some country and western, I can do that. There’s nobody to say what we can or cannot do. And that’s the best place I think you can be when it comes to music.” Wilcox takes a slightly different view of working with his former label. “They didn’t dictate the kind of music we made, they just dictated the releases,” he suggests, adding, “you still gotta take into consideration, you’re [working with] somebody else’s money, so you gotta compromise on some level.” However, he’s not immune to the benefits of working independently. “Now, there’s no compromise. I don’t answer to nobody.” To Wilcox’s mind, an album or a hit single was never the end game. “At the end of the day, we make music. We don’t make records, we don’t make singles. We make music. That’s just how it is. And now less compromises, because we’re not doing it off somebody else’s money right now.” They may have been performing together for over two decades, but Wilcox and Robinson still remember
their first gig together as The Pharcyde. “December 1992,” says Robinson. One would assume that The Pharcyde’s live career got off to an auspicious start, but as it happened the gig didn’t quite to go plan. “We wanted to make such a big impact, and it just didn’t click off how we wanted to click off,” laughs Robinson. “It was an infamous day in history that will never be forgotten. [Afterwards] we were like, ‘If we’re gonna do this shit, we’re gonna have to get it together.’” To add insult to injury, the group had actually rehearsed for the show. “It wasn’t like we just came off the cuff for the show – you know what, we practiced,” insists Wilcox. “We thought we were gonna rock the show. We just felt so confident, like that it would just click.” Reality, however, was slightly different. “We got on stage, and stuff just started falling by the wayside. It was a real eye-opening day. No member of the group was satisfied with what went down. The label, they were cool with it, but we couldn’t believe it just happened.” Both Wilcox and Robinson started pushing themselves to learn how to rock a stage and feel good about it at the end of the show. The most important thing they learned, though, is how to roll with the punches. “Nine times out
themusic.com.au
of ten, there’s gonna be a problem,” says Wilcox. “It’s not gonna be perfect unless you’re rolling with Prince or rolling with U2 or some shit.” Wilcox doesn’t look for perfection in his team; he wants people who can push through a tricky situation. “The people that we roll with, like, our drummer has sat on cases because the stool was broken. Those are the people who you want to help you build your team, who can go out there and fight some battles.” For The Pharcyde, the battles are still worth fighting. Whether they’re playing a gig or recording a track, both Wilcox and Robinson are happy to still be in the music business. After surviving more than 20 years in the game, that’s fair enough too. “Right now, I’m just free to do what I want,” says Robinson happily. “It’s the awesomest feeling to just say, ‘You know what? I want to make a beat like this today.’ I feel like I don’t have the pressure that we had with labels. The expectations are not there. The only expectation is to do something good. Do something great.” WHO: The Pharcyde WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 23 August, The Esplanade Hotel
INPRESS • 27
GRIND FINALE
PREFECT TIMING Bitch Prefect may be lackadaisical, but they care enough to have recorded their debut album twice, Scott O’Hara tells Doug Wallen.
N
ot that pedigree matters much in a band that write short jangle-pop ditties, but the three members of Bitch Prefect have been in an awful lot of other great bands. Drummer Pat Telfer is in Old Mate, guitarist Liam Kenny is in Peak Twins and both collaborate on the rap recording project Silly Joel & The Candymen. Guitarist Scott O’Hara, meanwhile, has done years in True Radical Miracle, Hit The Jackpot and Lindsey Low Hand. Now based in Melbourne, the trio formed three years ago while the guys were all living in the same Adelaide share house. “It wasn’t ever really considered; it just happened,” recalls O’Hara, who has lived in both Melbourne and Adelaide repeatedly over the years. “But by the time we did our first show, we had thirty-odd songs under our belt. Which got culled down dramatically to ten, and we never worried about those other twenty.”
The band’s discography still hasn’t swollen past that initial outburst, now consisting of a 2011 7” on R.I.P. Society and the new 12-song album, Big Time, on Bedroom Suck. There have been other very limited releases, like a live tape on Faux Friends, but those were just something to pass out amongst mates. If Bitch Prefect still retain the shambling looseness of a young band, their songs have evolved in one definite way: “We used to sing a lot more together,” O’Hara reckons. “It’s not deliberate, but I notice we’re doing it less and less.” That’s because early on the band would just sit around with a four-track, having “a lot of fun with vocal overdubs.” O’Hara and Kenny still share lead vocal duties and “everyone has a bit of a sing,” but now that the guys write songs when practising rather than when recording, they can’t work out vocal harmonies as readily. In fact, O’Hara admits with a laugh, “There’s only one microphone around.” Big Time captures the band sounding totally natural and at ease, despite singing about relative hardships like being persistently broke. But the album was actually recorded twice, after the initial sessions with Hit The Jackpot’s Kynan Lawlor resulted in “some really flat takes” on the band’s part. “Kynan’s recording was
excellent, but there were some pretty major flaws.” So in stepped Jack Farley (Scott & Charlene’s Wedding), at whose Transient Studios warehouse O’Hara was living at the time. “He was a pretty obvious choice.” You’d never mistake Farley for an overly slick studio mogul, but even by his DIY standards, Big Time was recorded super quickly. That’s the upshot, it turns out, of recording an album twice: “We knew the songs really well,” says O’Hara. The entire record was actually tracked in around three hours, including overdubs. As you can perhaps tell from the band name, Bitch Prefect are up for a laugh more than they’re concerned with world domination. Their album plays like a series of hummable running jokes, whether observing public exercise (Walk With Style) and resorting to extremes in the summer heat (Freezer) or lamenting barren bank accounts (Dollar Blues) and iffy personal choices (Bad Decisions). One of the band’s best songs, Holiday In America, was just as much of a lark. “All our songs, they’re just improvised lyrics. All my friends seemed to be going away to America. It was more a cheeky little poke at that, and maybe a jealous poke. Everyone would have their little chats about America and it was just my time to sit out the conversations, because I didn’t know anything about the place.” Since then, however, he has visited California and loved it. The best part about Bitch Prefect? The utter brevity of their songs. “I like them short,” he says. “We sometimes double up verses and choruses anyway. It doesn’t need to be doubled again or extra parts thrown in. I’d rather write another song.” WHO: Bitch Prefect WHAT: Big Time (Bedroom Suck) WHEN & WHERE: Friday 17 August, Liberty Social
VERY ROCK’N’ROLL M
We’ve been lucky to have had regular exposure to amazing Japanese music in recent years. Bands like Facefull, The King Brothers, Boredrums and 5.6.7.8s have blown honky minds out here of late, and there’s no doubt Zoobombs will be equally melting honky faces. For Matsuo, the attraction of shows down under runs deeper than just cutting loose – playing music is his crutch, his therapy. “Japanese people [find it] pretty hard to have fun by themselves,” he says. “Seeing Australians, as you know, they [find it] easy to have fun and enjoy their lives. In Japan I think so many Japanese feel some kind of hard feeling for life, or working, or something.” It’s an existence he won’t adhere to, and the entity Zoobombs has become a channel for his rebellion. 28 • INPRESS
“For a long time I don’t think any of us could really fathom playing together as Nasum without Mieszko,” reveals Jesper Liveröd. “But at the same time there was something unspoken there among all of us that we’d like to do something to say goodbye properly as a band, because we never got the chance to do that. Then in late 2011, Anders (Jackobson – guitar) came up to Stockholm with the rest of us and we all got together, had some food and some beers, and talked about everything. The decision was made to put something together that could be a dignified end to Nasum. Once that decision was made, it’s amazing how quickly everything came together.” Don’t expect Nasum’s once-off reunion to be the spark for any future releases, however. “There is no chance that we will record a new album,” answers a very blunt Liveröd. “It’s important to all of us that we stay true to the reasons we decided to do these shows in the first place. That is to give Nasum as a band a dignified and fun end, and to give fans that may not have had the chance to see us live – like you guys down in Australia – the opportunity to do so. If we did anything more than that it would just feel wrong somehow. We want to stay away from any hint of capitalizing or profiting on Mieszko’s death - we would never do that.”
In the context of Nasum’s decision to reconvene, the band’s choice of frontman was particularly symbolic. Liveröd stresses that the band wanted someone who really understood Nasum and the ethos that drove the band. In the end there was only one real candidate. “We didn’t want some mercenary to join the band for these shows,” he explains. “That’s why we chose Keijo (Niinimaa). Not only was he a friend of all of us in the band, he’s an amazing artist in his own right. His band Rotten Sound are incredible – definitely one of the best grindcore bands on the planet right now – and his voice is absolutely brutal and suits our material perfectly. Because we didn’t want to make a choice lightly, we pondered about it for a couple of months, but when we settled on Keijo it was like a bolt of clarity struck the band and we knew that he was definitely the guy.” As they’ve never reached our shores before now, a large percentage of their Australian audiences will be bona-fide ‘Nasum virgins’. This presents something of a problem for the band who admit they have a pretty wide range of material to choose from and simply not enough time to play it all. What to do, what to do? “What do you guys want to hear?” laughs Liveröd, who admits that it will be difficult for the band to construct a setlist that suits everyone’s tastes. “I think what we’ll do is try and construct a ‘best of’ set, but at the same time play some of the lesserknown material from some of the seven-inches to mix things up a bit. We’ve done hundreds of songs over the years and we plan to make the set list for our Australian shows as unpredictable as possible.” WHO: Nasum WHEN & WHERE: Saturday 18 August, The Hi-Fi
Paying their way as they go along, Sydonia are back on the road with a new EP. Nic Toupee chats to guitarist/vocalist Dana Roskvist to see how they’re faring.
“W
esa Cosa (bless ‘em) have gone done a good thing. The Mex-inspired party jammers decided they wanted to play shows with Japanese psych-funk-rockers Zoobombs so bad that they’re bringing them out. It’s so fuckin’ punk.
Japanese rock music goes down well in Australia. The nation is synonymous with quality, and the rule definitely applies to their musicians – the punks are punk-er, the psych is insane-er and the rock is boulders. “We have to make our music style from the basics, I think,” says Zoobombs’ Don Matsuo. “We Japanese have been doing it since the 1960s, so we did make some kind of strange style, very different from the American or English styles of rock’n’roll music.”
O
n Boxing Day 2004, grindcore lost a true visionary when Nasum frontman Mieszko Talarczyk perished in the catastrophic South Asian Tsunami. Not surprisingly, the remaining band members decided that they couldn’t go on without their friend and it seemed that the Nasum story had come to an abrupt and unjust end. Fast-forward to 2011 and grindcore fiends everywhere salivated at the news that Nasum had decided to reform for a limited run of shows. Once the excitement subsided, the questions began. First amongst them: ‘Why the change of heart?’
NIGHTS WITH SYDONIA
For Zoobombs’ Don Matsuo, music is much more than just a hairstyle. Samson McDougall chats with a man dependent on music for his state of existence.
The Zoobombs’ story started in Tokyo in 1994. Their levels of output verge on the extreme (insert gag about hard-working Japanese here) with ten albums and countless minor releases. The general crux of their sound is a fusion of punk, funk and psychedelia, forged together with what can best be described as African rhythms. The sum total of their work draws from far broader influences, however, bringing together elements of blues, pop and soul, with the convergent sounds further solidified via sharp songwriting and depth of emotion. In short: they are a fucking important band. More importantly, they are a stupidly fun band and this week they hit Australian towns for the first time in five years.
Thought you’d never get the chance to see legendary grind warriors Nasum? Think again. The band is heading our way to celebrate 20 years of grinding fury. Mark Hebblewhite speaks to bassist Jesper Liveröd about the band’s surprising decision to say a proper goodbye.
Matsuo laments that the aftermath of last year’s earthquake and tsunamis has become “a symbol of [the Japanese] situation. In Japan, we have 30,000 suicides each year. There is a real kind of unseen big story and pressure in society. Sometimes we have to ignore those kinds of things. Feelings of the heart is the same for everyone. Playing and making music really helps our lives, I guess. Doing music activity, I can get a really big eye and a really big mind. I can see a whole another direction or another dimension. It’s not just an outfit. If we can see another direction or another dimension then we can see another face and other things. It’s very complicated.” This philosophy (of sorts) extends to their approaching each gig (the band play without any pre-planned methodology or set list, leaving open the doors of creativity and abandon). “Nobody knows what song is the first or last,” he says. “Our arrangement is always changing. Sometimes it goes really fast and sometimes it goes really slow but it’s always changing – we’ll change the rhythm or change the tempo or the key or something… [It’s like] the music takes us to the next song like this or we have to change the key like this. I think it’s not really normal, I just follow the music that’s happening on stage and the music is not on my mind, it’s just coming through me somehow. It’s like small music spirits; kind of like a really small child playing on stage and I just follow the child, because the child, he knows where he wants to go and what he wants to do… It’s very strange.” When suggested it sounds very spiritual, Matsuo just laughs. “No,” he says, “it’s very rock’n’roll.” WHO: Zoobombs WHEN & WHERE: Friday 17 August, The Tote; Saturday 18, The Espy
e’ve just been busy,” Dana Roskvist admits with candid good humour, when we ask the obvious question – what on earth have Sydonia been doing for the last couple of years? “We’d done a lot of stuff, all the touring we did a few years back, and then we did the Korn tour as well...“ Not to mention their ‘Colin Richardson period’, where the English producer famed for his work with, well, pretty much everyone who’s anyone in hard rock history, including The Exploited, Machine Head, Napalm Death and even Slipknot, worked with them in 2010, resulting in the single Ocean Of Storms. As a result of that single – which as Roskvist explains, “Colin did for us gratis, and I don’t know what he usually charges. I wrote to his manager, because he had done a whole lot of bands we really liked, and she fell head over heels in love with our music. She became our mentor for a while. Unfortunately she had a heart condition and passed away eight months ogo” he recalls soberly, “and all that went by the wayside. So we decided to do the album on our own, with an indie budget. So we’ve been playing a gig, then with the money from that we’d record a song.” He admits that they’ve probably taken a little longer than most bands between albums, with their previous (first), released in 2006. “We’ve been trying to save to do the recording and producing. We’ve got an EPs worth now, which we’re putting out, and doing a show for that at the Evelyn. But the album is now on its way, we have two songs completed already and two more being mixed now. Then, after the tour we’re about to do, we’ll get another two mixed, hopefully. It will be finished before the end of the year, anyway.” Sydonia have been on the pay-as-you-go system, which has meant they’ve been touring and playing shows relatively regularly over the last couple of years. So why do they seem to have disappeared out of the public eye? “Maybe because we get no radio play in Australia,” Roskvist says with droll resignation. “After we toured with these great bands, it really helped us get a leg-up in the industry, but at the same
themusic.com.au
time lots of people assumed we were a metal band. But there’s a lot more to us, I think. But because they think we’re metal, we get no radio play.“ Still, as your mum probably said once, time heals all wounds – and does wonders for your songwriting. “I think we’ve learned a lot more about songwriting in the last six years,” Roskvist says optimistically. “I think we’ve learned to cut the fat when it comes to songs, learned to emphasise hooks – not that we’re trying to learn pop songs – and the lyrics are a lot more thought out. We’ve learned to compress our sound down a little, ask ourselves what part of this song is the cream of what we‘ve come up with. As a result our arrangements are a bit simpler but the guitars are still intricate.” He reassures frightened fans who may worry that they’ve lost their heavy mojo, that “there’s still definitely a meeting of brutal and pretty in this album, although there’s a bit more of an obvious rock-pop sensibility thrown into it.” That should guarantee there’s no sudden dent in their gratifyingly loyal fanbase, who have waited the six patient years for album number two. “I think loyalty from our fans is getting stronger,” he says. “Recently, we’ve been getting the most exuberant shows we have ever had - and our last shows in Melbourne were really great. We already get requests for a bunch of the songs which we’ll have on the album - there are only three or four songs we haven’t really played live, although we always play a different set list every night.” WHO: Sydonia WHAT: Words That Don’t Exist (Independent) WHEN & WHERE: Saturday 18 August, Evelyn Hotel
HIGH OBIT
DEATH BY BUBBLEGUM Crocodiles now spike their garage clamour with pop charm, Brandon Welchez admits to Doug Wallen.
Southern Cali punk Rick Froberg’s latest band Obits are all about enjoying the ride, as Samson McDougall discovers.
C
R
rocodiles may have made their name with noisy garage-pop, but the San Diego five-piece prove more melodic than ever before on their third album, Endless Flowers. There’s still a lot of gritty crunch, but the songs are both driving and swooning in the manner of so many underground pop anthems before them. “We’ve always written pop songs,” observes singer Brandon Welchez. “I just think it’s all come down to production: whether we produce things in a more fucked-up noisy way or whether we do things sort of straightahead. This time around, as we started writing songs and showing them to each other, it became quite clear that we were making a pop record. We hadn’t really made one that was so straightahead with this band.” For all the jangling immediacy of the opening title track and the sleepy romance of You Are Forgiven and Hung Up On A Flower, the album’s best songs mingle light and dark both in the music and in the song titles: take Bubblegum Trash, Welcome Trouble and Electric Death Song for instance. That said, My Surfing Lucifer proves Crocodiles haven’t lost their interest in seedy, delirious glam. “I don’t think we’ll ever completely abandon noisy experimental music,” Welchez reckons. “That’s always going to be something that’s attractive to us and sounds ‘correct’ to us, but it’s really important to us to have a sense of freedom. That even applies to the strictures we set up for ourselves. We just wanna abandon any kind of rules. Each time we’ll try to do something a little bit different.” Aside from the sound itself, that something different this time was self-producing Endless Flowers. It happened because they couldn’t align their schedule with James Ford (Simian Mobile Disco), who had helmed 2010’s Sleep Forever. After some other possibilities fell by the wayside, they worked with engineer Duncan Mills in Berlin, where their European label Souterrain Transmissions is based. “It became a fun challenge. We approached it as an opportunity to prove something to ourselves, maybe. Now that we’ve done it, I like it better. I think we’ll probably just do it ourselves from here on out.”
It wasn’t merely the convenient label connection that brought Crocodiles to Berlin. There were the usual reasons: 1) cheapness; 2) an incredible musical history. Beyond that, it was just the kind of diverse and tolerant city that appeals to the band. “For such a big city,” he explains, “you don’t really get fucked with for being a weirdo. There’s not much aggression. I never saw one fight when I was there. In any [other] city in the world, all you have to do is go out on the weekend to the downtown and you’ll see people fighting in the street.” Speaking of cities, Welchez no longer lives in San Diego, where he grew up and founded Crocodiles with primary collaborator Charles Rowell. For the past year he’s been living in New York with his wife Dee Dee, leader of Dum Dum Girls. “San Diego has a really rich history, especially with punk music. There’s always new bands starting that are really interesting. Our whole life infrastructure really is out here. All of our families and old friends. It’s always nice to come back, but I’m happy to be living somewhere else at the moment.” Having cancelled a planned 2009 tour due to a family emergency, Crocodiles hope to tour Australia late this year. In the meantime, Endless Flowers might just alter people’s idea of the band. Especially the aw-shucks gem No Black Clouds For Dee Dee, which is exactly what it sounds like: a cheer-up song for his wife. “She was having a pretty bad year,” Welchez admits, likening the song to Buddy Holly’s Peggy Sue and Ritchie Valens’ Donna. “It’s a bit corny, but sometimes you need to be corny to help a person out.” WHO: Crocodiles WHAT: Endless Flowers (Shock)
ick Froberg is a name synonymous with the Southern Californian punk scene of the last two decades (the good San Diegan scene, not the poxy pop-‘punk’ of a nearby city at the same time). During this period he contributed vocals and guitar to hugely influential outfits Hot Snakes, Drive Like Jehu and Pitchfork, amongst others, but he also contributed to the aesthetic of the ‘movement’, producing album art for label Swami (created by fellow Hot Snake John Reis), which included cover art for bands like all mentioned above, Reis’s hugely successful Rocket From The Crypt and Beehive & The Barracudas. When Hot Snakes entered the millennium with album Automatic Midnight, it took a hose to the shitty washedout weasel piss that ‘punk’ had been diluted to and finally washed it down the toilet where it belonged. Obits continue in a similar vein – they’re not rewriting the rock’n’roll rulebook by any stretch, and though the attitude is less confronting, their sound similarly conjures a time and place. Nowadays Froberg lives in New York City, a world away from the relatively sleepy northern counties of San Diego where he grew up. As a successful artist (both musical and visual) based in one of the true global arts hubs, it seems this rocker has landed on his feet. When I offer that he’s basically living out my rock’n’roll fantasy, he dryly offers, “I’ve only been this, so I don’t know what it is to be anything else. I guess it’s goin’ okay, I’m still here. “It’s a balance,” he says of his lifestyle. “Visual art is also my job. Some of it could be considered commercial art, y’know, where I work and I try to get paid enough together to pay the rent. As much as I can, I like to do music because I get to travel and I get to play and drink beers with my friends and what not. “We’re not that promotion-oriented, we don’t go out on tour to promote ourselves, we go out on tour to have some fun and take advantage of it... We do this because we want to and because it’s fun,” Froberg admits. “This isn’t professional, it’s maybe semiprofessional, I don’t make enough from this to pay for my life and neither do most of the people I know who
themusic.com.au
play in bands... I get to travel, I get to go to Australia, I get to meet people and most of all I get to play my crappy rock’n’roll music and have a good time.” Given Obits’ sound isn’t a million miles from that of his earlier bands, I query how much of an impact living in NYC has had on his writing and art. Is it quantifiable how much of an impact surroundings can have on an artistic pursuit? “It would be difficult to do,” he considers after a long pause. “I could quantify really obvious things, like I moved from a smaller town to a much bigger town. In a smaller town you know most of the people who are involved, intimately or at least casually, whereas here you don’t. What we do has much less value here because there’s so much of it – there’s so many bands and so much entertainment’s competing for your attention. It’s more anonymous in some ways, it’s a very urban environment and that affects how you see things and your aesthetics. If you move from Alice Springs to Sydney or something, it probably wouldn’t be the same experience, but it’s just a different thing.” In terms of inspiration, music-wise the basic tenets are similar for Froberg now as when he was cutting his teeth with Reis way back when. Obits aren’t out to change the world, just to play some rock music. “I think the same principle always applies,” he says of his drive to continue, “it’s about self expression and it’s about fun and getting off your arse and seeing things.” WHO: Obits WHEN & WHERE: Friday 24 August, Northcote Social Club
INPRESS • 29
SINGLED OUT WITH BRYGET CHRISFIELD
ON THE RECORD
POLO CLUB
See You Again Independent
Hippies Is Punks Inertia
An owl constructed from flower petals makes for irresistible cover-art action. Nice drumstick click/”woo-oo-oo” breakdown, too. Hippies Is Punks is a wonderfully constructed track with heavy, hair-whipping riffs, phat drumbeats and a vocal melody that’s simultaneously meandering and triumphant. It sounds like fun times wagging PE class and hiding in the common room with a box full of donuts you’ve stolen from the tuckshop to consume in lieu of exercise. Wavves channel teenage rebellion. Could listen to this all day every day.
ATLUK
Woody Independent
DELTA SPIRIT
DIE! DIE! DIE!
Frenchkiss/Cooperative
Shock
Records Etcetera/Inertia
Don’t expect to recognise the Bloc Party of now from the one of ’04. They’ve been going in different directions for years, and this is more apparent on Four than on any of their previous three releases. You won’t find festival anthems here, nor will you find overtly-danceable indie. What you will find is at times noisy, and at other times heartbreakingly painful. This record is the soundtrack of a band unravelling and building themselves back up again, if only briefly, and it makes you work for every point.
Delta Spirit’s ascendant journey has been a swift one. Since releasing their debut long-player in 2008, the San Diego quintet have enjoyed touring alongside household indie magnates Cold War Kids and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, released a follow-up album, and played Coachella last year. Their self-titled third album is a solid revisiting of what they do best; blending soulful Americana with an approachable indie-pop wash.
Four
Delta Spirit
D
VD
VD
WAVVES
LIVE
BLOC PARTY
D
If you like to move your hips when you dance to hip hop (and not just pogo and make one arm bounce), Polo Club are just the ticket. See You Again starts off as electronic crackle before morphing into bass licks that are similar to a classic dance track from the ‘90s I can’t quite put my finger on (feel free to get in touch with your suggestions for a chance to win a Mars bar if you can help). Tuneful, descending vocal melodies would test any vocalist’s range, and then in comes the rapping – fuck, yeah. Polo Club effortlessly intersperse spitting rhymes with sung elements as expertly as Faithless. Bongos, wonky keys, “We can start this party without you” – I don’t doubt it, fellas! Their live shows promise parties that detonate beyond the Richter.
So He Begins To Lie kicks things off in an awkward and dark fashion. Built around a chugging low-end riff that twists and spirals, the song is a perfect indication of the record to follow. Nothing on Four is sunny, no part an easy listen. It’s a band on the brink setting up in a studio together and letting every idea and inspiration explode out of them. Fleeting moments of familiarity such as Octopus and Real Talk recall the romantic Bloc Party jangle of old. But even these are rawer and bare, the live essence of the recording process captured honestly in lo-fi purity. For the most part, however, the Brits pummel you and it’s simply brilliant. After their somewhat abrupt goodbye following the release of 2008’s Intimacy, frontman Kele Okereke has said that this album cleans up the unfinished business that was left lingering. If this is indeed true and stands as the album Bloc Party go out on, then what a way to say goodbye; Four is a masterclass in muscular, sharp rock that stands tall as their defining body of work. Benny Doyle
Duplicate Keys Icaro (An Interim Report) Epitaph
Ha, loving the comment by “Tower Se7en” under the Soundcloud link: “I can hear an ugly string sliding sound… I would make the guitarist play it again.” What about the weird learning-to-whistle noise that opens the track? Who’s responsible for that irritating intro? The speed and dexterity on display here is astounding, but sometimes the lyrics are a bit wannabe profound for this pair of ears: “There is no you/There is no me/And that is all.” And then there’s a, “Sssssshhhhhh” to close that’s almost as annoying as this single’s title.
THE RUBENS My Gun
Ivy League It’s ace to hear keys in a blokey rock band, but I have to admit I prefer Lay It Down by The Rubens over this latest single. There’s just something so sultry about frontman Sam Margin‘s vocals on that previous one and the casual, swaggering pace calls to mind some sort of rad BBQ by a lake. My Gun’s all right, but not as impressive as the aforementioned song, which led to a couple of incidents when it came on the radio a while back. On one such occasion, I was caught out having an eyes-closed, swaying moment at the traffic lights when an impatient motorist honked and gesticulated wildly ‘cause I failed to accelerate a split second after the signal turned green.
30 •INPRESS
The only failing with Delta Spirit’s self-titled effort is the mid-section. It’s a bit like a wet bedsheet pegged at either end on a clothesline; a strong start and finish but the middle sags. There’s just a slight loss of direction following the change of pace in the sweet but deep and ominous sounds of Home. Tellin’ The Mind and Time Bomb seem to spin off in a melodramatic fashion, with almost Chariots Of Fire-like synth lines, some Rolf Harris-inspired oral percussion sounds, and Vasquez’s vocal grating slightly during repetitive and forced phrases. But on the whole, it’s a quite distinct milestone in their journey towards a unique sound within a genre already crowded by their indie-rock peers.
Raucous Dunedin trio Die! Die! Die! have consistently poured sweat and spat blood over stages the world over throughout their frenzied career, and unlike many of their contemporaries have been able to capture such vitriol on their recordings. Fourth album Harmony doesn’t disappoint. Despite a line-up change (The Mint Chicks’ Michael Logie taking over bass duties from Aussie ex-pat Lachlan Anderson) the trio have laid down ten tracks that inform on their frenetic back catalogue whilst introducing some melodic tangents that suggest their longevity will continue for quite some time yet. Opening with typical aggression on Oblivious, Oblivion, the tempo shifts on the title track, a song that flirts with a shoegaze wash, albeit with buzzsaw bass and Michael Prain’s fevered drumming, a sonic brushstroke that also informs later tracks Trinity and Seasons Revenge. These slower tracks illuminate the depth of songwriting, with frontman Andrew Wilson’s nihilist wails countered by Trinity’s passionate chorus and Seasons Revenge’s dreamy malaise. Such tempered moments heighten the impact of the more aggressive rants, of which there are a few – pivotal track No One Owns A View harkening back to the band’s abrasive early days; Erase Waves is a short discordant punch to the face; 16 Shades Of Blue swirls around like a long lost Swervedriver track before dissolving into a morass of wanton destruction. Signing off with enigmatic slowburner Get Back that explodes in a wash of acrid feedback and anthemic drums, Wilson’s voice warbling in and out of the mix, Harmony is a clever, sinuous beast of an album that proves that Die! Die! Die! are more potent than ever.
Carley Hall
Brendan Telford
IN THIS MOMENT
RAPSKALLION
REDD KROSS
Century Media/EMI
Independent
Merge/Shock
Linkin Park seemingly avoid a justifiable press blasting because of those looking at the bottom line. In This Moment also miraculously elude deserved flak from fans and critics thanks to striking frontwoman Maria Brink. Other than a handful of decent tunes, their gothic metalcore/hard rock quality has been superseded by those glossy magazine photo shoots.
Everyone loves a band of maddened vaudevillians that hatch brilliant theatrical live shows and then lay it down on record as an aural taste of such shindigs. No? Well no, I suppose they don’t. It’s not for everyone you see. It’s niche. There lies the beauty and allure of this meandering, narrativeignited, bluesy folk jam from Rapskallion.
Bassist Steve McDonald hadn’t even hit his teens when he and his brother Jeff were playing gigs with Black Flag in the halcyon days of early-‘80s hardcore, yet here they are more than three decades later still waving the flag, and doing a quite remarkable job of it.
The Californians may finally get their due critical caning, because this fourth LP, a few respectable hooks aside, is awful. Reduced to the songwriting team of Brink and guitarist Chris Howorth means an array of B-grade industrial beats and a marginally heavier approach. If catchiness is the sole factor to assess music then the title track’s electro thump succeeds, Brink shrieking about being a “dirty, dirty girl” accompanied by a throbbing bassline. Its provocative lyrics feel contrived though, and the rest of Blood is incoherent; you audibly wonder what type of band they want to be. From The Ashes seeks Headbangers Ball airplay, but doesn’t pack potent enough melodies. Brink’s screams have never entirely convinced and her repetitive, shrill wail during You’re Gonna Listen grates. Beast Within’s attempt at a club anthem goes nowhere and Comanche is an uninspired answer to previous hit The Gun Show. 11:11’s akin to Amy Winehouse channelling her inner goth; it’s a flicker of honesty on an album that for all its alleged emotional weight feels faker than the endowments of countless women from their LA turf.
Vagabond King is the second LP from Melbourne’s colourful coven. It’s an album for vagrants, those rascals who desire to get out of their skins and throw down with the freaks. Embrace your inner carny and appreciate the fine musicianship, diverse and decadent vocals, piano accordions, eerie mandolins, horns a-plenty and strings of another realm.
Every now and again, a release lands on my desk with such inventive packaging that it deserves immediate review. In Atluk’s case, it was the handmade felt CD sleeves. Woody is undeniably folky with singer Hannah Petocz’s Aussie accent extremely pronounced through her carefully articulated lyrics about baking, pitching tents, sewing on buttons and gardening. Glistening piano, choral harmonies, gentle guitar strumming and cymbal-heavy drumming form the backbone, but this song’s chorus is delivered as a breathless, hastily recited shopping list. Perhaps Atluk could slow it down a wee bit, it’s not a race.
PROPAGANDHI
There’s some interesting texture created in the opening tracks with some clear preference for the old drum machine, in this case set to a sporadic drum beat in Tear It Up, with high guitar strums cascading behind singer Matthew Vasquez’s pleasantly nasal delivery. California brings some ballsy dirge alongside shimmering distortion, and Idaho gives the band their point of difference; their very indie-rock use of jangly guitars and synth sparkles is perfect alongside Vasquez’s nostalgic, almost-1970s American folk scene upper-octave vocal.
Harmony
Blood
Vagabond King
Rapskallion are an atmospheric band. This accomplished recording sounds live; it’s rough around all the right edges and very sensory. Destiny and Marlene showcase the sultry ramblin’ from the divine Sara Yael, while Cat Thief is snappy yet sinister, with soul stripping horns. Captain Crow is a scurvy narrative, with sorrowful nautical violins, snaking piano accordion and a bountiful fable.
Researching The Blues
Their sound morphed dramatically over the intervening years – as you’d expect – and what they’re peddling now is a distinctive, hook-laden brand of glam-imbued power pop, all fuzzy melodies, catchy harmonies and a vibrant worldview you’d expect from a band half their age. New album Researching The Blues – their first studio effort in 15 years – is a typically exuberant affair, the effervescent title track opening things up and setting the pace for the rest of the quick-fire proceedings (ten tracks clocking in at under 33 minutes). Tunes like Stay Away From Downtown and Uglier fit perfectly into their oeuvre – irreverent and immediate in the best bubblegum tradition – and Jeff still sounds remarkably like a nasally John Lennon, their love of the Fab Four manifesting in tracks like Meet Frankenstein and Choose To Play, albeit wrapped up in crunchy guitars and distortion.
If you deem inclusion in the Hottest Chicks In Metal tour as adequate reason to investigate a band, go ahead. Blood is in desperate need of a transfusion though.
Few bands can really penetrate music of the by-gones and deliver their inspired creation with authenticity. Sown with a similar weft as Mojo Juju & The Snake Oil Merchants or Gogol Bordello, Rapskallion do.
In an alternate universe, Redd Kross might have been a massive sensation, but it wasn’t to be. Yet it doesn’t seem to have affected their love of music and popular culture one iota. Researching The Blues is far more than a token reunion album, rather a welcome return from of this fine underground outfit, and should also be held up as a beacon of light for experienced musicians everywhere, an apt reminder that that where there’s life there’s hope.
Brendan Crabb
Bonnie Neville
Steve Bell
You hear menacing, delightful chants on Devils, while Flappers has the scent of a Spanish fiesta, heaving with strings that would do Warren Ellis proud. Secret winds down the album with a jovial, sing-song finale.
themusic.com.au
VD
When an album is as all over the shop as the Smashing Pumpkins’ Pisces Iscariot (EMI), the scattershot bonus material seems all the more fitting. After all, how incongruous can a three-minute version of Neil Young’s Cinnamon Girl be when the record itself balances the 11-minute freakout Starla and the overdrive burn of Hello Kitty Kat with a painfully placid Fleetwood Mac cover? (The 17 extra songs are only available with the digital or deluxe physical versions, though.) If anything, this third album foreshadows the Billy Corgan of today: wild-eyed and unreliable, with fascinating bursts of obnoxiousness and, arguably, greatness.
As with Man Of Colours, Icehouse’s Primitive Man (Universal) from five years earlier gets padded out with extended versions and a full gig, this time from Germany in ’84. More interesting for context is Molly Meldrum’s backstory-heavy ten-minute interview with Iva Davies on Countdown, plus Hey Little Girl from the same show as well as from the wildly gaudy Top Of The Pops. There’s also the heat-stroked original clip for a little song called Great Southern Land, and Street Café live at an awards show. This is Icehouse more wiry and sharp than later on, still with a nervous cool.
D
Twenty-five years on, Icehouse’s Man Of Colours (Universal) remains an ’80s pop juggernaut with a weakness for ballads. But this reissue is all about preaching to the choir, from extended mixes of Crazy and Electric Blue to four effective B-sides. Most appealing for fans is a DVD featuring two full gigs from the band’s prime: one from New York in ’86 and one from Melbourne in ’88. Of course the nostalgia is undeniable, and yet there’s no doubting Icehouse were a well-oiled hit machine perfectly in tune with the era – and offering a level of melancholy far beyond it.
VD
THE CACTUS CHANNEL
GOOD HEAVENS
HopeStreet Recordings
Rice Is Nice/Inertia
Let’s not beat around the bush here. Haptics sounds like it has been ripped straight from the golden age of porn soundtracks – this despite the band’s incredibly young age. The entire album perfectly encapsulates that funk sound of the 1970s that became so well associated with the seedier side of cinema back in the day. Brimming with deep, pronounced bass riffs that anchor each song seamlessly throughout the album, smooth-as-butter sax solos and drumming tighter than a hipster’s skinny jeans, Haptics is quite simply a near-perfect funk album.
Good Heavens sees theredsunband’s Sarah Kelly teaming with Myles Heskett and Chris Ross (they who left the ballooning ego-trip of Wolfmother back in 2008). It’s not that far removed from her former band, except that where once the backbone of her songs was sinuous, it’s now made of titanium. The cover art of Strange Dreams is a bizarrely fitting image for a brace of tracks that appears at once dreamlike and vicious.
Haptics
At a time when every Tom, Dick and Harry seems to be attempting to revive older styles of music, The Cactus Channel have delved into an area of the past that has been largely untouched in recent years. Their endeavour to modernise the funk genre has resulted in a rich cluster of solid, compelling instrumental pieces. With the stirring chords of an organ interlaced with fast-paced, fat drumbeats and velvety horns, opening track Emanuel Ciccolini is a delightful listen, and a good indication of the standard of the album. Another strong feature of Haptics is the interchanging positions instrumentally within each song. The album fails to become stagnant because the band is unafraid to experiment and shift. Under The Birdcage is dominated by the sax, whilst in Derty D’s Thang the impressive bass riff tends to take precedent. Having just completed high school a year ago, the members of The Cactus Channel have shown incredible maturity and skill within Haptics. Cate Summers
D
When French producer Ludovic Navarre revisited his St Germain alias to weave jazz instrumentation into a dub-informed electronic flow, it yielded 2000’s Tourist (Blue Note/EMI), which has now sold three million copies. It’s easy to see its broad appeal, even if Navarre paints himself into corners with on-the-nose homage (Latin Note) and dull repetition. Land Of… and Pont des Arts were always destined for cheesy cafés, even with the former’s horn-driven charisma. There are samples in the mix, like Marlena Shaw singing live for the tightly jittery Rose Rouge, but it’s more an act of recasting than reinventing.
Strange Dreams
Things kick off with Know Your Own Heart, a soulful number that bubbles above with a soaring final third driven by Kelly’s heavily-distorted guitar. It’s a call to arms, reinforced as It’s Not Easy Being Mean and Are You Sick? roar with acrid intensity. The lilting fragility of I Am Not Afraid is a red herring, as Anybody But You tears back into the aggressive nature that the trio prove they do so well. It would be fair to assume that Kelly’s breathy, fragile vocals would struggle to rise above such a heavy display of acid-tinged rock heft, but it stays afloat, its incongruous nature helping to accentuate the brute force of the instrumentation. I’ve Got This Feeling and Down On Me are more reminiscent of the early days of theredsunband, especially as the volume is tempered, allowing Ross’ organ to make a prominent entry – before Kelly’s solo shatters the uneasy truce.
Doug Wallen
Strange Dreams is a ferocious mission statement, a feverish mark of intent that’s exhilarating in its confidence. Resolute to the final chord, Good Heavens refuse to go quietly into the dark, dark night. Brendan Telford
WE ARE FAMILY A TOFF RESIDENCY
TUESDAYS IN AUGUST AT THE TOFF IN TOWN, 8PM clairybrowne.com
themusic.com.au
INPRESS • 31
FRONTROW@INPRESS.COM.AU
THIS WEEK IN WEDNESDAY 15
ARTS
The Sputnik Effect – staged as a companion to Simon Pummell’s feature film Shock Head Soul, this exhibition explores the relationship between society, psychosis and technology. Get ready for 3D glasses! Part of Miff, Seventh Gallery, until 19 August. Omega Quest – a sci-fi action romance space opera. With the last man in the universe searching for a new earth. Written and directed by Tim Mager. Revolt Arts Space, Opening night, 8pm, until 19 August. On The Misconception Of Oedipus – the boy who murders his father and unwittingly marries his mother. This play focuses on parents Jocasta and Laius, who birthed a child that would bring about their downfall. Devised by Zoe Atkinson, Matthew Lutton and Tom Wright. Opening night, Malthouse Theatre, 8pm, until 26 August.
THURSDAY 16 The Raid (Redemption) – written and directed by Gareth Evans and starring Iko Uwais. This is the duo’s second collaboration after their first action film; Merantau (2009). Both films showcase the traditional Indonesian martial art pencak silat. Astor, 7.30pm.
TRAILER
Forgive me for opening this set with some adult content but there are times when one simply must get a little sweary. And I’m not talking about using profanity in an evil way but more as an exclamation of amazement or disbelief. Because when was the last time a movie offered you a great “Oh, fuck!” or “Holy shit!” moment? You know, the last time your reaction in a cinema went beyond a laugh at a great gag or a gasp at a solid scare and entered the realm of “God damn!” I’ve enjoyed a lot of movies this year, and judging by what lies ahead in the coming months I expect to enjoy quite a few more. (High on Guy’s Most Wanted List: Tarantino’s Django Unchained, Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master.) But the enjoyment I’ve felt has more often than not manifested itself as appreciation or admiration rather than flat-out love... and that love is something I certainly wouldn’t mind feeling again. Could gluttony be the problem? Could I have numbed my senses through sheer overload? I see a lot of movies for work purposes; I see a fair few when I’m off the clock as well. But that hasn’t stopped me from finding many a diamond in the rough. In fact, all that time in front of a screen has probably honed my analytical and emotional responses to what I’m seeing. But that rush when something sweeps you off your feet (or knocks you from them!), well, that’s something to be treasured, as I’m sure you’re well aware. At the risk of sounding like a 12-year-old kid, I had that sensation a couple of times during Joss Whedon’s The Avengers, a great, gaudy showbag of a movie and a perfectly calibrated
32 • INPRESS
T H O R O U G H LY
FRIDAY 17 Body Weather & Butoh training – this workshop introduces participant to three different areas of the practice. One area, Butoh, arose in the 1950s and references ancient Japan. It’s a contemporary danceform emphasising images, which explore extremities and transform the body. Dance House, 6pm, until 19 August.
SATURDAY 18 Mademoiselle – a gothic camp music theatre revue about power and servitude. Written and performed by Michael Dalley (Urban Display Suite) alongside Paul McCarthy and accompanied by pianist John Thorn. Fortyfivedownstairs, 8pm until 19 August.
entertainment machine. That’s not to dismiss the rest of the film, which does a marvellous job of combining Whedon’s distinctive sensibilities with the requisite elements of a big-time Hollywood superhero blockbuster, but the scene where Tom Hiddleston’s Loki snarls and hisses his contempt at Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow provided a dark thrill unlike any I’d experienced recently. Here was a villain with genuine disdain – hell, hatred – for his adversary, someone who wanted to spit poison in the eye of anyone in his way. It was electrifying. COOL SCENE POTENTIALLY RUINED AHEAD! And it paid off big-time when Loki – who displayed two great and seemingly rarely-seen bad-guy qualities: petulance and arrogance – ran afoul of an Avenger unshaken by his threats and displays of power. Seeing him smashed into the floor again and again and again like a rag doll by the Hulk was a brilliantly cathartic moment for the audience, one of those ‘Oh my God, and how about when...’ scenes you can’t want to talk about when the lights come up. Okay, would you like a whole movie full of scenes like that? Also, do you like watching insanely fast and unreasonably fit individuals kicking the absolute shit out of one another? (Of course you do. You’re reading Trailer Trash.) Then may I recommend you get your bad self along to any place online or in the real world distributing Gareth Evans’ The Raid. Remember in that Twilight movie how the kids all lined up to see that made-up action film Face Punch? Yeah, this is Face Punch FOR REAL. And it’s jam-packed with scenes of carnage that will make you utter the following phrases: “Oh, fuck!” “Holy shit!” And, of course, “God damn!”
MIFFED
OUR CHILDREN
Nicholas Building: Open Studios – a Melbourne icon for artists, the Nicholas Building opens its nine floors, which contain studios, galleries, shoemakers to the public who are armed with drinks and roam around with eager eyes. In it’s seventh year this is an rare experience that exposes what’s happening artistically in the depths of Melbourne. The Nicholas Building Tonight and Tomorrow, 4-9pm.
TRASH
WITH GUY DAVIS
IMAGE: SARAH WALKER
THINGAMY WHATSITS
As creator of The Memorandium, Penelope Bartlau wants her audience to emotionally engage with everyday objects, writes Sarah Braybrooke. Penelope Bartlau loves a good op shop, so much so that her latest show, The Memorandium, is set in one. It’s more than just a love of vintage fashion that the writer, director and puppeteer is trying to evoke in her audience, however. The unusual setting is part of an interactive performance which uses found objects, improvisation and puppetry to explore memory in its many forms. The props on stage are used to inspire the audience to share their own memories, which are then incorporated into the show’s narrative. “Through the everyday we are endeavouring to elicit the familiar, to draw stuff out from people,” Bartlau explains. Percussionist Leah Scholes elaborates: “It’s a celebration of normality, in a way. It uses what we think of as run of the mill, boring stories from our childhoods. [These are transformed] when you have the opportunity to share them.” It’s all about finding the resonance in overlooked items – in some cases literally. Scholes says, “I’ll actually be playing a lot of pieces of the set, and the sounds I’ll be getting from them may be what you’re expecting.” Bartlau has curated the objects on stage to bring out the unexpected. “We could have a stuffed goat’s head on stage that does absolutely nothing. But then we could have a plastic bag that produces harmonies.” Which objects elicit the most memories from audience members? In a run of the show last year there was an old fashioned jar of ‘hundreds and thousands’ cake decorations, Bartlau grows animated describing the response it had. “That jar was the most provocative thing for so
many people. People still talk about it.” Sharing childhood stories, even ones inspired by such innocuous items, can be surprisingly powerful. “People come out of this space feeling so much, feeling almost euphoric… I can only think of words that feel really wanky, but there’s a kind of a sense of communion or togetherness, that you’ve shared something with this group of people.” Bartlau was inspired to create the show by a life-long fascination with objects and the personal stories they hold. “I grew up working in deceased estates with my parents,” she says. “Someone had died and you’d go into their house, and you’d open up a drawer, and inside there would be a shoelace, someone’s teeth sitting on a bedside cabinet, a collection of letters, tissues scrunched up in a ball, neat hankies in a pile, lavender in a bag. It was fascinating, as a child. It’s a very rich terrain, how we live, the traces of our lives. Our deepest secrets are positioned in how we leave things.” In an age of mass production, Bartlau sees found objects as more important than ever. “There is just this ‘Ikea-ness’ of everything, there’s a kind of genericness to everything these days.” She contrasts this to the eclectic props surrounding her in her studio. “There’s a mannequin, a 1940s weirdly-shaped fishbowl, and a stuffed pheasant. These objects bring with them some sense of otherness that things from Ikea just won’t. It puts us into a relationship with stories, and with humanity.” WHAT: The Memorandium WHEN & WHERE: Thursday until Saturday 1 September, Theatre Works
And just like that, the days of the Melbourne International Film Festival are dwindling; and the sad return to the state of regularreleasing cinema looms like some imminent horror. No more shall city cinemas be filled with sold-out crowds settling in for two-and-ahalf-hours of monastic Romanian minimalism; instead, theatres will soon again see sparsely-populated sessions of movies where Adam Sandler farts. As Mumblin’ Ledgie once mumbled whilst wearing a tin hat: such is life. But, my fellow mammals, before this sweet Cinematic Spring cedes to the actual Spring soon to be brewing in Melbourne’s actualoutdoors, let us survey the pick of what’s still left at the MIFF... Alps (Sunday, 6.30pm): After Dogtooth broke the world’s collective brain and turned Greek cinema from global joke to inspired underground uprising, Yorgos Lanthimos returns with another glorious display of his deadpan vision of a world turned meta-theatrical. Best Intentions (Friday, 1.30pm): In a directorial decision of inspired idiosyncrasy, Adrian Sitaru shoots his film from an ever-shifting array of POV shots; irregularly passing the perspective back-and-forth throughout roomsful of people. They’re all watching a ‘good’ son trying to demand adequate care for his ailing mother in the sketchy Romanian health system, and invariably creating more problems than he’s solving. The Imposter (Friday, 6.30pm): A piece of Errol Morris-aping odd-spotting, this documentary chronicles the stranger-thanfiction tale of a fraudulent French grifter who assumed the identity of long-lost American adolescent, only to have the family in question willingly accept him back in their life with open arms. There’s illustrative imagery and dramatic recreations in abundance, and sometimes the depiction’s a bit more surface than you’d like; but a killer yarn is a killer yarn. Laurence Anyways (Sunday, 10.15am): Fresh off the boat from Cannes and newly-added —surprise-style— to MIFF’s final day slate, the latest film from Québécois boy-wonder Xavier Dolan promises nigh on three-hours of ’90s nostalgia, youth soap-opera, and proud placement of pop-songs on the soundtrack; his statementmaking third feature the place when Dolan either ascends into bona fide auteurist glory, or merely becomes a youthful curio whose early promise turned empty. Like Someone In Love (Saturday, 4pm): It’s hardly a surprise for
a film by Abbas Kiarostami, but the final reel in Like Someone In Love is a veritable masterclass in using framing and sound to tell a story; a man often hailed as one of the world’s true cinematic greats in familiar (scenes shot in cars!), faultless form. No (Wednesday, 6.30pm; Friday, 9pm): Pablo Larraín leapt from promising circa Tony Manero to commanding circa Post-Mortem, and his latest picture cements the Chilean as one of cinema’s most interesting recent voices; shooting a people-powered ’88 uprising in glorious of-the-era video-tape ‘technology’. Our Children (Wednesday 6.30pm; Sunday, 1.30pm): It’s funny to ‘recommend’ a film whose final reel is horrendously brutal, but Joachim Lafosse’s is, if measured solely by slowly-building psychological claustrophobia, a towering tour-deforce; beginning sunny optimistic before methodically smothering any and all notes of hope. Tropicália (Thursday, 4.30pm): I feel like I should offer some kind of caveat to those who may not be fans of Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, Caetano Veloso, et al, re: watching this documentary recollection of the dawning of tropicalismo. But, then again, if you’re not a fan of righteous late-’60s Brazilian psychedelia —of some of the greatest longplaying records ever made— then who really cares about you. Whores’ Glory (Wednesday, 9pm): In one of the most astonishing scenes of Michael Glawogger’s portrait of third-world prostitution —a film verily stuffed with astonishing scenes— a Bangladeshi bro talks about how the hellish whores’ gulag in his hood is a positive thing for the local community. Whether his words betray blind ignorance or steep cultural difference is up for debate; and there’s plenty to talk about in Glawogger’s third picture in a documentary ‘trilogy’ —succeeding the amazing Megacities and Workingman’s Death— on the nature of labour in the globalized world. Wuthering Heights (Sunday, 6.30pm): Oooh, it gets dark, it gets lonely, out on those wiley, windy moors; and Andrea Arnold’s pleasingly-radical adaptation of Emily Brönte’s wrung-dry text has darkness, isolation, and gale-force winds in abundance; Arnold making the wondrous decision to ditch all the drawing-room dialogue and make her film a silent meditation on savagery of the heart. Anthony Carew For more MIFF coverage visit Film Carew at themusic.com.au
FRONTROW@INPRESS.COM.AU
BEFORE THE TERRORIST
ART S TA R T E R
The man responsible for bringing Achmed The Terrorist to the collective conscious, Jeff Dunham chats to Paul Andrew about how it all began.
Five minutes with
DENNIS MANAHAN Few acts occupy as prominent a position in our cultural memory as the Marx Brothers, who achieved infamy in the first half of the 20th century. Groucho Marx, arguably the most prominent of the five comedians, is the subject of playwright Neil Cole’s new work Groucho. The “comedy, drama and musical” is a unique challenge for Melbourne-based actor Dennis Manahan, who will be playing the all-important titular role during the play’s Chapel Off Chapel run. It would be natural to assume that Manahan is a true aficionado of the quintet. However, that isn’t quite the case. “I remember finding them funny as a kid, but to be honest, before this show came along I didn’t really know any more about them than the next person on the street,” he says. Rather than being a particular fan of Groucho, Manahan was drawn to the role because of his relationship with playwright Neil Cole. They two became familiar with each other when Manahan won a role in Cole’s play Tunnel Rat in 2011. “[I was] playing the title role of tunnel rat, Ronnie Giles, a real person and friend of Neil’s who suffers post traumatic stress disorder because
of his experiences in the tunnels in the Vietnam war,” explains Manahan. “Neil liked my work and asked me to take on Groucho.” The more Manahan learned about Groucho, the more excited he became about playing him. “After reading the script and doing some research I became more and more interested in the subject. The life of Groucho Marx is really a rich vein of varied and fascinating material,” he explains. While the script contains some treats for Marx Brothers fans, those unfamiliar with Groucho’s work won’t be left in the dark. “We cover a lot of different Grouchos,” says Manahan. “Young Groucho, Groucho from his game show period in the 50s, old Groucho, and the Groucho character from the films. The reward is in feeling that we’re mastering this complex world and made it understandable and fun in all its crazy anarchy.” Aleksia Barron WHAT: Groucho WHEN & WHERE: Opens tonight, until Sunday 26 August, Chapel Off Chapel
Long before YouTube sensation Achmed The Terrorist, ventriloquism had a history of representing the dead. Ventriloquism – the art of throwing one’s voice – is as ancient as theatre. Originally a religious practice named Gastromancy by the Greeks, these strange voices from the stomach were believed to be the voices of the un-living. Modern Ventriloquism was popularised in the US during the days of Vaudeville in the late 19th Century when performers like The Great Lester made a character – a puppet dummy crafted from wood – utterly believable. It was Edgar Bergen, who comedian Jeff Dunham – as a student of The Great Lester – recounts transformed one of Vaudeville’s one-trick ponies into a radio sensation, his infamous character Charlie McCarthy, the girl crazy smartarse whose shows were aired from 1937 to 1958. Dunham was aged eight when he and his mum went browsing in a toy store in his hometown of Dallas, Texas. “What do you want for Christmas?” asked his mum, and the loner schoolkid snatched a Mortimer Snerd doll from the shelves, “I want this,” he shrieked. As Dunham recounts of that formative childhood experience his mother was less than impressed. “Why would a boy want a Mortimer Snerd dummy for Christmas?” Dunham explains that Mortimer Snerd was another Bergen dummy and cites Bergen
as “the” artist who “revolutionised ventriloquism into the modern comic medium we know today.” And just as Bergen changed a vaudeville sideshow into a modern form of comedy, Dunham is widely accepted as having propelled the craft to its outer limits. His irreverent cache of comic characters; the gothic Achmed “I keel you” the Terrorist, his gay wayward son AJ, Bubba J the Southern yokel, Walter the dry pensioner and the Mickey Mouse/Kermit/Bugs Bunnyinspired Peanut have almost become household names. “I wanted to do something different with each of these guys, and the Monster Show was born, in time for Halloween. “What type of monster would Walter be,” Dunham asks me. I tend to see Walter’s character as fairly monstrous as is. “Something Edgar Allan Poe?” I guess. “Frankenstein,” he reveals. “Walter is Frankenstein but without the two bolts on his neck or the green shading. Universal has copyright to the two bolts and green shading. Dunham reveals he never sets out to make a particular character. “Walter was a character I imagined having a small role, maybe for three shows. I didn’t think anyone would be able to put up with his dark dry humour. I was wrong. AJ was the same. There was a show when Achmed mentioned a son, and I thought I could make a son character, once again for a few shows; he’s been
around for a while now too. We were lucky with timing; four appearances with Carson on The Tonight Show between 1990 and 1991 gave us a sort of legitimacy. There was a time in the 1960s and 1970s when one appearance with Carson sealed your fate, your career was made.” It was in 2005 and 2006 when Dunham’s 20-year career of performing in comedy clubs took
centre stage at Comedy Central. “These appearances coincided with the rise and rise of DVD sales and YouTube. YouTube has become the perfect medium for us.” WHO: Jeff Dunham WHAT: Controlled Chaos WHEN & WHERE: Tuesday 21 August, Rod Laver Arena
INPRESS • 33
FRONTROW@INPRESS.COM.AU
NEVER MIND THE BOOSH Noel Fielding likes to look at photos of fans’ cats while on break from The Mighty Boosh. Anthony Carew does not offer him a picture of his pussy.
Warning: if you watch Noel Fielding’s post-Mighty Boosh TV show, Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy, you will get its groovy, minimalist, hypnotic theme tune stuck in your head. Perhaps forever. “It is a bit of an earworm, isn’t it?” laughs Fielding, the 39-year-old comedian who is, it must be said, pretty much always laughing. “I’ve had so many people say that to me: ‘I can’t get that fucking tune out of my head!’ I’m not sure that’s the best way to win people over, by making them angry due to the catchiness of your theme tune. But it’s like a permanent advert, this insistent jingle that’s always there. When you’re walking around going ‘luxury comedy/ ooooh, yeah’ all day, people are permanently reminded that I exist, that I’m there, on their tellies.” Luxury Comedy finds Fielding and friends — brother Michael, director/ animator Nigel Coan, Kasabian’s Sergio Pizzorno (with whom Fielding plays as Loose Tapestries, and will soon release an album of music from the show) — taking the dress-ups surrealism of The Mighty Boosh further into even kookier realms, with little in the way of narrative coherence at all. Its star describing it as a “pretty homemade... inelegant half-sketchshow/half-sitcom mish-mash.” “I wanted to make this surreal television show, something a bit Spike Milligany, like Q, or like Vic & Bob. I thought, after the Boosh, I just wanted to make a show for myself, like a bit of a Trout Mask Replica, Captain Beefheart kind of a show. Just: ‘This one’s for me!’” Fielding enthuses. “I’m interested in imagination, fantasy worlds, magic
Also big fans of Luxury Comedy: kids and cats. “I love when kids like the show,” Fielding says. “Because they don’t have barriers, they’re quite open to stuff. Some would say I’m like a kid — that, perhaps, I’m childish — because I’m the same way. Adults are the ones who get confused: ‘A man with a shell for a head? Excuse me, that’s not logical!’ Whereas kids are like: ‘A sandwich made out of folk music? OK, cool.’ But, weirdly enough, people kept sending me pictures and letters saying: ‘My cat is obsessed with your show! It’s never shown any interest in television before, but when your show comes on it stands in front of the telly for the whole show, then leaves when it’s over.’ I literally got twenty-five photographs of people’s cats looking at my show. I’ve accidentally made a hit show for just cats! People were nonplussed, but the cats, they loved it! I’m king of the cat world!”
realism, surrealism. I love stuff like that. I don’t like fantasy in terms of Lord Of The Rings; I’m not really interested in science-fiction either. I’m more into Jorge Luis Borges and Lewis Carroll, people who create these unreal worlds. It was a bit like owning my subconsciousness, giving it a place to let all the trippy, weird stuff come out. It’s pretty amazing Channel 4 just let me do whatever I want, in this day-andage. In an era of reality TV, here I am, the berk making unreality TV!” After Fielding and Boosh co-creator Julian Barratt went on hiatus in 2010 (“I’m sure we’ll get back together and do something; I think we should do a Boosh film,” Fielding says, allaying fears of their permanent demise), he found his head “loaded with stuff [he] needed to get out,” ridiculous characters that would’ve once had a happy home on The Mighty Boosh now needing an outlet. Fielding and Barratt had made The Mighty Boosh thinking no one would actually watch it; “forget wanting to attract
a large audience, we never even bothered trying to attract one at all,” Fielding admits. Yet, subsequent live tours brought them face-to-face with a cult following attending in full costume. ”Looking out from stage would be quietly terrifying: there’d be five Hitchers, six Rudi van DiSarzios, and a really amazing Crack Fox in the front row,” Fielding laughs. Thus, his latest lark had a tough act to follow. “It was a bit of a no-win situation for me, because the Boosh had become so beloved. A lot of people saw this and were like: ‘This isn’t the Boosh! What’ve y’done! You’ve killed the Boosh!’ And I was like ‘chill out, we’re just having a break!’” Does Fielding care what other people think? Well, sometimes. “I’m quite shallow, so if someone cool likes my show” — he mentions French electro act Justice, who befriended Pizzorno simply because of his connection to Luxury Comedy — “I’m a sucker for that, but if someone’s wearing bad shoes I couldn’t care less what they think.”
He’s also king of the music-themed panel shows, with a recurring stint on Never Mind The Buzzcocks, which is now on UKTV. “I love being captain. I took over from Bill Bailey when he didn’t want to do it anymore. The other captain is Phill Jupitus. We get on really well: we’re like Baloo and Mowgli in The Jungle Book.” So, has Fielding ever been a captain before? “I think I used to be a captain of a football team when I was young,” Fielding recalls. “Hilariously! I bet you can’t imagine me being a captain of anything.” Perhaps a doomed ship? Fielding, as he does, laughs outrageously. “‘There’s no one at the wheel, Noel, there’s no one at the wheel!’ I was up on the deck dancing with some strange sea creatures that we’d just pulled up. ‘He’s dancing with a porpoise! No one’s steering the boat!’ But I can’t be that guy forever, because now I’m the captain of my own ship. I’m the captain of Luxury Comedy!” WHAT: Luxury Comedy out on DVD Wednesday 22 August (Universal Sony Pictures)
FEASTING EYES
34 • INPRESS
dealt with it.” If anything can make you come over all touchy-feely, it’s watching a romantic drama on repeat. Smith is pretty candid about his own life and feelings on his blog, Feast Of Dan, and he admits that it’s not impossible the film is influencing him. “Who knows? At this stage it’s probably somewhere deep in my psyche”. Smith insists he really does watch the movie every day, although he says that there are evenings he has to force himself. “It’s pretty hard to watch anything every day without wanting to kill someone,” he says. But the project has had its upsides too, including inspiring Smith – who previously hosted a late-night talk show on Channel 31 – to organise a themed event. “The idea for a movie trivia game show came about because I noticed that there was a lack of that on TV, or anywhere that I know of, so the idea was to make my own. And there was a good excuse to do a movie game show because I was watching the same movie every day.” The live
CRINGE
WITH REBECCA COOK While it’s cold down here, at least we’ve got indoor festivals a plenty, painted elephants popping up in public and a bookshop or two. Pity those living in the warmer state of Queensland where, hey sure, they have the weather, but not such great support for the arts. There are certain advantages to having a Premier who is also the Arts Minister. While Premier Campbell Newman notoriously pulled his state’s literary prize earlier this year, our Premier Ted Baillieu was mustardy keen to unveil the shortlist for the 27th Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards last week at the Wheeler Centre. He even went one step further by pronouncing the nominees – ‘the Premier’s 21’. “They are a celebration of writing and of reading, both of which play a vital role in the life of this State,” he said, in listing those in the running for Australia’s richest literary prize including Anna Funder (All That I am), Frank Moorhouse (Cold Light), Alice Pung (Her Father’s Daughter), Lally Katz (A Golem Story) and Aiden Fennessy (National Interest). “This year’s shortlist features works by authors at all stages of their careers, covering subjects as diverse as Australian pioneering history, Indian philosophy, political intrigue, youth homelessness, immigration, cookery and the world of country showjumping,” said Ted, who was clearly one of the few people didn’t get enough equestrian action during the Olympics. The award is broken into five categories – fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama and young adult – with winners in each category as well as
one lucky writer who gets to take home the $100,000 overall prize. One of this year’s nominees is Melburnian Wayne Macauley for his satirical take on the Masterchef phenomenon, The Cook, which is sure to be a crowd-pleaser if Matt Preston’s ever soaring star is anything to go by. The full list of nominees is on the Wheeler Centre website where Victorians are being encouraged to read the books, add their own reviews and vote in the People’s Choice category. Such a collaborative process for an arts award! Perhaps the folks over at Arts Victoria have been taking note because the funding body put out a call for people to sign up to their advisory panel register just last week. Arts advisory panels assist in the grants process by assessing applications and making recommendations to the Government on which should receive funding. In addition to arty types, the body is seeking “panel members with a broad range of skills that are complementary to the arts such as business, education or research, legal or community affairs”. “The Victorian Government is committed to ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent in ways that provide the best results for the Victorian community. Being part of Arts Victoria’s advisory panel register is a chance for people from all sectors of the community to have a say in how arts funding is allocated.” Arts Victoria is particularly encouraging indigenous people, people with a disability, young people, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and those living in regional areas to register. Online registrations close on Monday 17 September.
ART S TA R T E R
Five minutes with
SHANE HILL
Everyone re-watches movies occasionally, but has anyone ever watched the same movie every day for a year? That’s what Dan Smith has set out to do, using it as the basis for a new movie trivia night which launches in Melbourne this week, writes Sarah Braybrooke. Dan Smith explains that the decision to watch the same film daily has nothing to do with the intrinsic merits of the movie involved – a romantic drama called Feast Of Love – and everything to do with his inability to turn down an idiosyncratic personal challenge. “The idea was just a stupid joke that I turned into a commitment. I didn’t think [it] through, at the time. But now I’m 200 days in.” Feast Of Love is an unremarkable 2007 romantic drama featuring Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear and Selma Blair. Smith describes it as “a pretty fluffy story about different examples of love” and reckons it’s a six out of ten. It was picked on a whim at a DVD store. “I just picked up this movie,” he says, “I’d never seen it. I didn’t have a great intention to see it, let alone 365 times… It’s not a study of film kind of thing. Most of what I write about is actually my personal experience. I’ll talk about something that happened to me and I’ll say ‘this also happened to someone in Feast Of Love, and that’s how they
C U LT U R A L
event will feature special guests including former Vogue editor Kirstie Clements, TV presenter Em Rusciano, Herald Sun entertainment journo Cameron Adams and comedian Nath Valvo. It will also be taped and Smith hopes to televise it at some point. Smith is keen to point out that questions in the game show will be about movies in general, not Feast Of Love. “It
would have been a pretty short game show, and every contestant would have had to watch the film, which would have been annoying. I don’t want anyone else having to go through what I’m going through!” WHAT: Feast Of Dan WHEN & WHERE: Tonight, Revolver
YO ADRIAN! A gala fundraiser for a comedy superstar you’ve probably never heard of, Adrian Cherubin is being organised. Cherubin as been the technical director of the Melbourne Comedy Festival for 20 years, he has suffered a stroke and so his community is coming together to assist his on-going care and rehabilitation. Wil Anderson, Judith Lucy, Dave Hughes and Frank Woodley are a few of the comics featuring at this special performance, happening at the Regent Theatre on Wednesday 26 September. For more info go to comedyfestival.com.au
“WOW! How far back do you want to go?” is Shane Hill’s immediate response when I confess ignorance about hypnotism and mentalism. “Hypnosis has been used possibly since ancient times,” he explains. “Egyptian priests used it to convince the masses of things, but our modern history has it really starting medically about WWII when it was used to help wounded soldiers during battles. Mentalism however really came into the fore I guess back with the spiritualist movement in the 1800s, when people like the Fox Sisters and others used the rudimentary form of psychological magic to fool people that they were either having their minds read or that they were talking to Uncle Harry or Aunt May from the spirit world. “Hypnotism and mentalism are very different,” Hill reveals. ”Hypnosis has a scientific back ground – research is done on it constantly – doctors dentists and other professional use it, there have even been cases of the police using it, to enhance
witnesses memory of a crime. Mentalism on the other hand is entertainment, even though the basic principle is the same; a good understanding of the human mind and how it ticks. For example both hypnosis and mentalism rely to some degree on the mind’s ability to focus. If in hypnosis I can get you to focus on me, and what I’m saying, you will drop into a trance – in fact we do this when we are watching TV. In mentalism however I might want you to focus not on me and what I’m doing but on something else. “I’ve been screwing about with this work since he was a kid,” he explains of a skill that has become his polished comic art form. “My ability to convince almost anybody of anything appeared pretty early, I once made my sisters – I have five – convinced that our house had disappeared.“ Paul Andrew WHAT: The Gangsters Ball WHEN & WHERE: Saturday 8 September, Forum Theatre
FRONTROW@INPRESS.COM.AU
approach in a way that some bellicose 3D behemoth could never: “You could tell that there was someone on the other end, that there was an actual person who made it,” Swirsky says.
BIG BUSINESS
Video games are the focus of documentary Indie Game: The Movie. Anthony Carew chats with filmmakers James Swirsky and Lisanne Pajot about the rise and rise of gaming. When Canadian filmmakers James Swirsky and Lisanne Pajot were beginning work on their video-gamedevelopment documentary Indie Game: The Movie, they surveyed the landscape to see what else there was on the subject. And, well, there was nothing. “Absolutely nothing,” marvels Swirsky, 34, with a shake of his head; as if still in disbelief. “That was staggering, because video games are bigger than movies, they’re bigger than music, and we have tonnes of documentaries about those things.” The complete absence of insider video-game movies speaks,
Swirsky thinks, to the prevailing sentiment amongst generations past that games are the time-wasting province of virgin teenage boys. “We came up against that old dismissive attitude when we were shopping or showing the film in traditional film circles,” he offers. “People outside of video games, people still think of it as this cute little thing. Like, you’ll get some film producer say something like ‘oh, video games, they’re getting pretty popular now, right?’ And you don’t have the heart to tell them: ‘no, they’re more popular than movies, they’re more popular
than you; they long ago surpassed you in profits and revenues.’” Swirsky and Pajot may’ve met with folks from traditional film channels, but Indie Game: The Movie had a far more new-millennial development, raising $100,000 to help its making via Kickstarter. It helped that the film had latched onto the superstars of indie game design – Braid creator Jonathan Blow, Fez egotist Phil Fish, and brothers in Meatboy, Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes – as figures of a rising movement. Swirsky grew up – in Winnipeg (and, yes, he “absolutely love[s] the fact that Guy Maddin represents us to the world at large”) – as a video-game nerd, ‘til a two-year stint working at Electronic Arts in Vancouver as a games tester killed his love. “I didn’t play a game for like eight, nine years after,” he sighs. Yet, when he encountered McMillen’s flash game Aether, he connected with its expressionist
THEATRE
REVIEW
So, the couple set out chronicling a rising tide of programmers harkening back to the 8-bit/2D/platform-andpuzzle gameplay of their youth with inspired nostalgia; making things that more resemble works of art than pieces of corporate synergy. Soon enough, art and life were thoroughly imitating each other, as Swirsky and Pajot threw themselves into an all-consuming project chronicling people who’ve thrown themselves into allconsuming projects; the finished film the product of “two-and-ahalf years of working every day”. Says Swirsky: “It’s, basically, the story of the universal experience of the creative process. You take everything that you have and you funnel it into this one piece of work, then you turn it out unto the world.” For a long time, video games have been denied being discussed as creative expression, but a generational shift has given rise to a “larger discussion happening about taking games more seriously”. “For years traditional media treated [games] like this quaint little thing that teenage boys play,” says Swirsky, “but as a generation of game-players have graduated to positions of traditional power and influence, they’re in the position to write about it, or talk about it, or make movies about it.” WHAT: Indie Game: The Movie WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 23 August to Sunday 2 September, ACMI
THE BLUE ROOM The Owl & The Pussycat The Blue Room is a circle game of sexual encounters adapted for the stage by British playwright David Hare. This 5pound Theatre production directed by Jason Cavanagh, sings with exuberance. Beneath the cynicism of the stories and despite the emptiness of the sexual encounters; there is something life affirming and joyous within this text. The two
actors, Kaitlyn Clare and Zak Zavod, are very strong; they share chemistry and a wonderful lack of self-consciousness as they change sets, clothes and characters. The Blue Room is a terrific showcase for them both. The duo relish in the humour and irony stitched into the script; the scenes with the playwright are especially funny. It all ends on a daringly titillating note. Liza Dezfouli Running until Saturday 18 August
INPRESS • 35
FREE
THIS WEEK’S ISSUE NOW LIVE www.the
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.
ABPRESENTS.COM.AU | FLUFFYGUY.COM ADRIAN BOHM PRESENTS
AWESOME AUSTRALIAN TOUR, GREAT JOB!
29 & 30 SEPTEMBER THE FORUM BOOK AT TICKETMASTER 1300 111 011 TICKETMASTER.COM.AU
SECOND SHOW ON SALE NOW! ABPRESENTS.COM.AU
36 • INPRESS
TIMANDERIC.COM
GIG OF THE WEEK
TOUR GUIDE THIS WEEK
RUFUS: August 17 Northcote Social Club
INTERNATIONAL
PENNYWISE, THE MENZINGERS, SHARKS: August 26 Palace
ZOOBOMBS: August 17 Tote TRANSIT: August 18 Bang; 19 Phoenix Youth Centre (AA); 21 Mechanics Institute (Ballarat, AA) CHRIS LAKE: August 18 Seven Nightclub NASUM: August 19 Hi-Fi
JULIA STONE: September 6 Theatre Royal (Castlemaine); 7 Forum; 8 Meeniyan Town Hall THE MEDICS: Loft (Warrnambool) September 6; 14 National Hotel (Geelong); 15 Toff; 20 Karova Lounge (Ballarat); 22 Westernport Hotel (San Remo); 21 Ferntree Gully Hotel
NATIONAL
KATE MILLER-HEIDKE: August 15, 16 Corner POLO CLUB: August 17 Bended Elbow (Geelong); 18 Toff JORDIE LANE: August 17 Regal Ballroom SNAKADAKTAL: August 17 Corner RED INK: August 17 Ding Dong RÜFÜS: August 17 Northcote Social Club BLUEJUICE: August 17 Eagle Bar La Trobe Uni (Bundoora) THE RAAH PROJECT: August 17 Prince Bandroom EVEN: August 18 Cherry CLAIRY BROWNE & THE BANGIN’ RACKETTES: August 21 Toff
UPCOMING INTERNATIONAL
BURNING LOVE: August 24 Bendigo Hotel HAYES CARLL: August 25 Northcote Social Club DIE! DIE! DIE!: August 25 Ding Dong AOKI TAKAMASA, KAZA KIMURA, QUA: August 25 Hamer Hall PENNYWISE: August 26 Palace SLASH: August 28 Hisense Arena ALEXKID: August 31 Revolver Upstairs THE BEACH BOYS: August 31 Rod Laver Arena I:CUBE: August 31 Mercat Basement
PRESENTS
SPLIT SECONDS: September 8 Ding Dong XAVIER RUDD: September 13 Palace; 14 Ferntree Gully Hotel; 15 Pier Hotel (Frankston); 16 Costa Hall (Geelong); 19 Kay Street Saloon (Traralgon) THE BLACKCHORDS: September 14 Evelyn; 15 Bridge Hotel (Castlemaine) MARLOW: September 21 Northcote Social Club; 22 Espy REGULAR JOHN: September 22 Toff In Town MYSTERY JETS: September 26 Corner Hotel
USELESS CHILDREN SATURDAY, GASOMETER
When Useless Children’s debut Sky Is Falling dropped in all its bright blue vinyl with 3D artwork glory, it marked a turning point in the trajectory of punk rock in Australia. At that time, the airwaves were awash with garage jangle and UC boldly hammered home something markedly more intense. It’s taken a few years for the follow up, but their new LP Post Ending//Pre Completion is here and it again marks a shift to increased brutality. They’re launching the thing with fellow punks White Walls, Concrete Life and Headless Death in what will be one of the heavy music bills of the year at the Gas this Saturday. Open your mind to the potency, you’ll be thankful you did.
TIM & ERIC: Saturday 29, 30 September Forum DAPPLED CITIES, JAPE: October 12 Corner Hotel XIU XIU: October 19 Gasometer BASTARDFEST 2012 (featuring Astriaal, Disentomb, Extortion and Broozer): November 3 Espy THE BEARDS: November 3 Hi-Fi; 22 Karova Lounge (Ballarat) sdfsdfsdfdsf
RÜFÜS: Friday 17 August, Northcote Social Club
GIN WIGMORE: August 31 Northcote Social Club APOCALYPTICA: September 1 Hi-Fi PHOTEK: September 1 Hamer Hall NITIN SAWHNEY: September 1, 2 (acoustic) Hamer Hall IMPENDING DOOM: September 5 Kangaroo Flats Leisure Centre; 6 National Hotel (Geelong); 8 BANG; 9 Thornbury Theatre AMERICA: September 6 Hamer Hall HOWARD JONES: September 7 Billboard JOHN 00 FLEMING: September 7 Brown Alley JOOF: September 7 Brown Alley BARRY ADAMSON: September 11 Corner PATRICK WOLF: September 11 Forum EARTH: September 12 Toff; 16 Corner INGRID MICHAELSON: September 13 Corner CARTEL: September 13 Evelyn; 15 Ferntree Gully Hotel; 16 Lilydale Showgrounds HANSON: September 14, 18 Palace JONATHAN WILSON: September 14 Corner OCTAVE ONE: September 14 Mercat Basement SOLA ROSA: September 14 Northcote Social Club SUBHUMANS: September 15 Bendigo Hotel RUFUS WAINWRIGHT: September 15 Hamer Hall NEWTON FAULKNER: September 18 Corner Hotel WHEATUS: September 19 Corner FUTURE ISLANDS: September 19 Northcote Social Club EIFFEL 65, N-TRANCE: September 20 Palace GOOD CHARLOTTE: September 20 Festival Hall (all-ages) YELLOWCARD: September 20, 21 Hi-Fi KATCHAFIRE: September 20 Ferntree Gully Hotel; 21 Forum FAR EAST MOVEMENT: September 21 Trak ENTER SHIKARI: September 22, 23 Billboard MARIANAS TRENCH: September 24 Corner
THE JUNGLE GIANTS PIC BY LOU LOU NUTT
THE JUNGLE GIANTS TOUCAN
NORTHCOTE SOCIAL CLUB: 11/08/12 Out come Toucan onto the Northcote Social Club stage. Within seconds they launch into their first song. They do well to draw the attention of the eager punters, here to see The Jungle Giants kick-off their She’s A Riot national tour. Toucan produce an impressively foreboding big pop sound, considering they rely only on vocals, keyboard and drums to fill out their live show. Jess Pollard is a ball of excitement whose frenetic movements don’t stop her trained, jazzy vocals from filling the room. Not to be outdone, Shea Duncan on the keyboard has a touch of the Barry Morgans, smiling his way through the set. Toucan are doing something different from many other of the young and popular brigade at the moment and their genuine enthusiasm is endearing, however the need to go big with every song leaves no room for subtlety. It is the softer, more contemplative Warrior that is the highlight. Brisbanites The Jungle Giants don’t need to do much tonight to get the capacity crowd going, yet there is no sense of complacency in their set as they run through songs off last year’s self-titled EP and their newie, She’s A Riot. The band sound great and seem perfectly comfortable with their ever-expanding renown. Frontman Sam Hales breaks up the set with some banter from the stage and the audience showers the band in congratulations as he announces that the night is their first sold-out show on their first national tour. New songs, Don’t Know What Else
themusic.com.au
To Do and Back To The Start are received warmly, not breaking away too far from their established shimmery indie-pop formula. However, the newer tracks do allow the band to let loose on stage as they explode during the instrumental passages. Bassist Andrew Dooris is a focal point, moving around the stage like a marionette. The standout song is another from the new EP, You’ve Got Something. A fuller sound with more dynamics allows Hales to show off his impressive pipes. A cover of Band Of Skulls’ I Know What I Am also goes down well with Cesira Aitken crunching out a nice solo. Despite Hales seeing fit to interrupt the intro with a self-depreciating reference to his lost capo, Mr Polite is a pretty big happy time for all in attendance. The melody and feel of the song may never be bettered by the band. The Jungle Giants invite Toucan on stage for some tambourine work as they finish off the night with She’s A Riot. Shea Duncan lumbers around at the back of the stage like a giant apparition as The Jungle Giants show why they are such a hot prospect. Jan Wisniewski INPRESS • 37
PUTA MADRE BROTHERS, THE BONNIWELLS
TOUR GUIDE KATE MILLER-HEIDKE: Wednesday 15 and Thursday 16 August, Corner Hotel
LADY ANTEBELLUM: September 25 Palais JAMES MORRISON: September 26 Forum SCISSOR SISTERS: September 26 Hamer Hall MYSTERY JETS: September 26 Corner EL GRAN COMBO DE PUERTO RICO: September 26 Palace Theatre FEAR FACTORY: September 28 Hi-Fi RUSSIAN CIRCLES: September 28 Corner MARTIKA: September 28 Trak SNOW PATROL: September 30 Regent Theatre KELLY CLARKSON: October 1 Rod Laver Arena CANNIBAL CORPSE: October 5 Billboard NEKROMANTIX: October 6 Hi-Fi STEEL PANTHER: October 7 Palace COUNT BASIE ORCHESTRA: October 10 Hamer Hall JOE BONAMASSA: October 11 Palais WARBRINGER: October 13 Northcote Social Club EVERCLEAR: October 13 Hi-Fi TORTOISE: October 13 Corner PAUL HEATON: October 18 Corner XIU XIU: October 19 Gasometer PRINCE ALLA: October 26 Espy WEDNESDAY 13: October 27 Esplanade THE BLACK KEYS: October 31 Sidney Myer Music Bowl AT THE GATES: November 2 Billboard GREGORY PORTER: November 3 Toff CHERRY POPPIN’ DADDIES: November 5 Corner EMMYLOU HARRIS: November 10 Palais COLDPLAY: November 13 Etihad Stadium RADIOHEAD: November 16, 17 Rod Laver Arena OWL CITY: November 18 Corner (matinee under-18s, evening 18+) DARK FUNERAL: November 24 Corner NICKELBACK: November 27, 28 Rod Laver Arena SIMPLE MINDS, DEVO: November 29 Palais; December 1 Rochford Wines (Yarra Valley) THE SELECTER: November 30 Corner JENNIFER LOPEZ: December 11 Rod Laver Arena REGINA SPEKTOR: December 14 Plenary WEEZER: January 16 Sidney Myer Music Bowl ED SHEERAN: March 5, 6 Festival Hall
NATIONAL
THE DELTA RIGGS, MONEY FOR ROPE: August 23 Northcote Social Club SENSORY AMUSIA: August 23 Eastern Station Hotel (Ballarat); 25 Workers; 26 Nash (Geelong) 1927, THE REMBRANDTS: August 24 Palms At Crown HAYDEN CALNIN: August 24 Workers Club HILLTOP HOODS: August 24 Setts (Mildura); 25 Festival Hall; 26 New Albury Hotel THE BEAUTIFUL GIRLS: August 24, 25, 26 Corner HUNTING GROUNDS: August 24 Karova Lounge (Ballarat); 25 Toff QUARRY MOUNTAIN DEAD RATS: August 26 Workers Club ALBARE ITD: August 26, 27 Bennetts Lane; 25 Monash Uni Music Auditorium CLAIRY BROWNE & THE BANGIN’ RACKETTES: August 28 Toff DUNE: August 30 Workers Club NAT COL & THE KINGS: August 30 Evelyn; 31 Ruby’s (Belgrave); September 1 Bended Elbow (Geelong) KING CANNONS: August 31 Bended Elbow (Geelong); September 1 Corner URTHBOY: August 31 Evelyn SEEKAE: August 31 Corner THE PUBLIC OPINION AFRO ORCHESTRA: August 31 Prince Bandroom PETER BYRNE: August 31, September 1 Palms At Crown POLO CLUB: August 31 Can’t Say LOON LAKE: August 31 Ding Dong Lounge; September 1 Northcote Social Club THE NIGHT TERRORS: September 1 Ding Dong
38 • INPRESS
CHERRY BAR: 12/08/12
SHANNON NOLL: September 1 Moama On Murray Resort; 25 BHP Esso Wellington Centre (Sale); 26 Capital Theatre (Bendigo); 27 Wangaratta PAC; October 11 West Gippsland Arts Centre; 12 Ballarat Regent Multiplex; 13 Eastbank Centre (Shepparton); 14 Lighthouse Theatre (Warrnambool) STARLING: September 6 Northcote Social Club FAIRCHILD REPUBLIC: September 6 Revolver; 7 John Curtin JULIA STONE: September 6 Theatre Royal (Castlemaine); 7 Forum; 8 Meeniyan Town Hall THE MEDICS: September 6 Loft (Warrnambool); 14 National Hotel; 15 Toff; 20 Karova Lounge (Ballarat); 22 Westernport Hotel (San Remo); 21 Ferntree Gully Hotel DREAM ON DREAMER: September 6 Corner; 7 EV’s Youth Centre (AA) MIA DYSON: September 7 Old Hepburn Hotel; 22 Corner PONY FACE: September 7 Northcote Social Club CHILDREN COLLIDE: September 7 Yahoo Bar (Shepparton); 8 Bended Elbow (Geelong) ART OF SLEEPING: September 7 National Hotel (Geelong); 8 Northcote Social Club CHET FAKER: September 8 Revolt Artspace LITTLE SCOUT: September 8 Workers Club SPLIT SECONDS: September 8 Ding Dong HOWLIN’ STEAM TRAIN: September 9 Northcote Social Club THE MCCLYMONTS: September 12, 13 Palms At Crown TIM ROGERS: September 13 Spirit Bar (Traralgon); 14 Regal Ballroom; October 5 Bended Elbow (Geelong); 6 Theatre Royal (Castlemaine) XAVIER RUDD: September 13 Palace; 14 Ferntree Gully Hotel; 15 Pier Hotel (Frankston); 16 Costa Hall (Geelong); 19 Kay Street Saloon (Traralgon) THE RUBENS: September 13 Loft (Warrnambool); 14 Bended Elbow (Geelong); 15 Forum BLACKCHORDS: September 14 Evelyn EMPERORS: September 15 Workers Club CITY RIOTS: September 15 Liberty Social LANEWAY: September 16 Workers Club KATIE NOONAN, KARIN SCHAUPP: September 19 Capital Theatre; 21 Melbourne Recital Centre THE ANGELS: September 20 Corner DAMIEN LEITH: September 20 Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre; 21 Palms At Crown LANIE LANE: September 20 Beav’s Bar (Geelong); 21 Loft (Warnambool); 22 Theatre Royal (Castlemaine) MONKS OF MELLONWAH: September 21 Grace Darling; 22 Revolver, Pony Late Show BIG VILLAGE RECORDS: September 22 Northcote Social Club GREENTHIEF: September 22 Pony POND: September 23 Corner SIX60: September 28 Forum Theatre SETH SENTRY: September 28 Karova Lounge, Ballarat; 29 Corner PATRICK JAMES: September 30 Workers Club THE AMITY AFFLICTION: October 4, 5 (two shows: under-18 and 18+) Palace Theatre HEY GERONIMO: October 6 Workers Club KARISE EDEN: October 10, 11 St Michael’s Church REGURGITATOR: October 12 Hi-Fi OH MERCY: October 12 Loft (Warrnambool); 13 Karova Lounge (Ballarat); 19 Bended Elbow (Geelong); 25 Hi-Fi BIG FREEDIA: October 18 Hi-Fi; 20 Tote LAST DINOSAURS: October 21 Ding Dong (under-18s); 26 Corner CLARE BOWDITCH: October 26 Regal Ballroom; 27 GPAC THUNDAMENTALS: November 2 Basement 159, 3 Northcote Social Club THE BEARDS: November 3 Northcote Social Club; 22 Karova Lounge (Ballarat) DELTA GOODREM: November 7 Hamer Hall ANGUS STONE: November 21 Palace; 23 Ferntree Gully Hotel; 24 Pier Live (Frankston) MISSY HIGGINS: December 4 Palais GOTYE: December 8 Sidney Myer Music Bowl THE LIVING END: December 11-17, 21, 22 Corner JUSTINE CLARKE: December 15 Dallas Brooks Centre KEITH URBAN: February 2 Rod Laver Arena
FESTIVALS
PROGFEST: September 8 Espy POISON CITY WEEKENDER: September 14 Tote; 15 Corner; 16 Liberty Social PARKLIFE: October 6 Sidney Myer Music Bowl QUEENSCLIFF MUSIC FESTIVAL: November 23-25 A DAY ON THE GREEN: November 24 Rochford Vines (Yarra Valley) STEREOSONIC: December 1 Melbourne Showgrounds
A Puta Madre Brothers Facebook post advises, “People who dress up as us tonight get in for free. Anybody who brings a donkey shaped piñata gets in for half price.” There are a few gringo moustaches in the house, but this does not a Puta Madre Brothers look-alike make. There’s also a dude resembling Hagrid. He’s sporting an Essendon footy scarf and propping up a pillar, catching some zeds. And then there’s the smell of sweat and good times that suggests this venue went off last night and hasn’t been aired since – peuwsah! Three dudes onstage sporting pyjamas pull our focus. They’re not bad at all and The Frowning Clouds frontman Zak Olsen is behind the drumkit smashing out beats. Alternate singers offer pleasing variety and there’s a bit of self-stimulating of the larynx going on to achieve that perfect vibrato. This must be The Bonniwells! They’re fairly rough and ready, but passionate players all. As the kick drums are set up in a row onstage for our three one-man bands, each bass drum head advertises a word from the band’s name: Puta Madre Brothers. Given the trio’s shoddy-chic shtick, it’s surprising they manage to set these up in the correct order so that we can read their moniker, which roughly translates to “Whore Mother” Brothers. The “Brothers” head looks like it’s been painted by a kindergarten kid, sketched shakily in red pencil initially before being painted over, slapdash in black. From the moment they stride out onstage, looking like they’ve been dragged through a hedge backwards in their pimped-out Spanish military uniforms and with mud/makeup smeared strategically across their dials, all sleeping stops and ‘Hagrid’ is on his feet! Two trumpeters join the threesome onstage for added mariachi-fuelled goodness and a later conversation with the brass duo reveals their AJ Macaroni-given name: Tontoplous Trompettas (aka Arseholes Trumpets). Tontoplous Trompettas don matching festive jackets with bright, primary coloured fringing tacked on – olé! There’s something so irresistible about cymbals being belted by guitar necks. Not long into the set, Puta Madre Brothers play Blues Dodo, a cover of CW Stoneking’s Dodo Blues that they hilariously claim to have made famous for him. The Cherry crowd is limbs akimbo even though it’s fairly difficult to dance to some of these almost flamenco-style rhythms (see: La Mierda). Putananny Twist calls to mind The Shadows and we wish for some seated guitarography and unison head moves. You can either dance like a loon or pay attention to lyrics that are likely to be Googletranslated from Spanglish into indecipherable Spanish. The Brothers take it down a notch and demonstrate some expert whistling throughout standout track The Young Horse, which belongs on the soundtrack to a Spaghetti Western. Apparently it’s advisable to bring a towel if you intend to whistle your best, since the activity is difficult with sweat running down your lips (or so we are told). And how the hell can such sounds be produced by stiking your cheeks and making your face look like a cat’s bum? The stage left Brother is forced to pull his kick drum in towards him after each song because there’s only two sand bags available, both of which are being utilised by his bandmates. A punter passes out and must be carried from the venue, which surely amounts to bonus gig mayhem points. A spectacular-looking, stripey, nautical-themed bra somehow appears onstage. Not to mention that ole mate Hagrid’s now busting moves with enraptured expression. A gig as loose as the venue we occupy. Although tonight was billed as the outfit’s “final and only Australian show for 2012”, all are invited to their next show at the Tote on Friday 24 August supporting Bob Log III. Count us in, drongo gringos! Bryget Chrisfield
BLEEDING KNEES CLUB, DRUNK MUMS GODZILLA BAR: 10/08/12
Together with Dave Brennan and Liam Magee, the founders and happy owners of Massive Wieners (Greville street’s famed hot-dog stand), Dave’s brother Mark and Jake Egan have opened Godzilla Bar, a temporary drinking establishment in the remains of semi-demolished Normandy Hotel in Clifton Hill. Upon entering, you wander through a strangely silent, candlelit path that winds around piles of the building’s wreckage: clusters of bricks, stripped and wrecking-balled walls, wooden slats and debris: an abundant variety of relics from the first stages of deconstruction. Then on through the former pokies room and into the main band room and bar, which has already been considerably stripped back, losing much of its previous form and familiarity. Successfully acquiring a short-term lease with a liquor license at the quasi-dilapidated pub, the boys are hosting ten weeks of parties until the hotel is finally reduced to rubble. This is the sixth stage of their alcohol-fuelled party decathlon. Converse Australia
themusic.com.au
also got a shoe-in (yep, I said it) this round, providing free beer and a platform on which to launch the Melbourne leg of their Acts Of Disruption tour. In theory, all these elements combined should be conducive to a good time, until you realise that the people most enthusiastic about free entry, free booze and socially disenchanted, fuzz punk Gold Coast duo Bleeding Knees Club, are a group of sweaty, destructive 20-year-olds with little regard for human decency. Preceding their performance are Melbourne four-piece Drunk Mums. Abandoned bottles and glasses are as good as smashed, quickly made apparent by a man in a sushi-adorned shirt giving aggressive demonstrations. Escaping through the quilt-come-curtain into the smoking area fails to provide any relief, with sushi-man’s methodology taken to a new level by punters who think it appropriate to simply throw the bottles anywhere, including at other punters. Jake Egan, one of four Godzilla Bar founders running the evening, though hugely optimistic and enthusiastic about the weekly celebrations to date, says that it is one of the “tougher” crowds he’s hosted. On the other hand, the music itself isn’t quite so despicable, with both bands playing strong and clear sets. Drunk Mums maintain an audience that swells to the room’s perimeters, while Bleeding Knees Club play their high-rotation hits such as Nothing To Do, Bad Guys and Girls Can Do Anything with buckets of energy and clarity. Both bands and crowd enjoy the novelty of surfing or being tossed over bodies splashed with unpleasantly miscellaneous fluids. Suggesting to a bouncer that perhaps this isn’t the most savoury crowd he’s ever encountered, he responds with deadpan delivery above the noise, “I have a similar feeling…” But the venue is definitely worth seeing, and with only four parties remaining it’s a good opportunity to farewell the Normandy as it once was, as well as checking out which acts are cast onto the remnants of a stage that looks like it was literally trodden on by the colossal Japanese beast himself. Izzy Tolhurst
MARK GARDENER, UNDERGROUND LOVERS, SKY PARADE CORNER HOTEL: 05/08/12
Sky Parade lead tonight’s triple bill with a proper blast of heavy psychedelic rock. The quartet from the city of lost angels, headed up by ex The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s Tommy Dietrick, commence their set with the hazy When I Rise. Instead of getting all shoegaze on us they blast with the solid rock stomp of Just Bury Me Now which comes with hints of cowboy Americana influences. Their sound is plenty slick; polished with commercial possibilities they wash over like a darker take on U2. Impressively, tunes like Losing Control and I Should Be Coming Up conform to the spirit of the evening and slide into fuzzy ‘90s Creation-esque UK indie rock to show us a good time. Most seem intrigued by Sky Parade, whose efforts tonight seem to have found them a few more good friends. Hometown favourites Underground Lovers know how to get the crowd excited with a satisfying collection of well known tunes that made them famous in the ‘90s. Competing with all the guitar heroism of this evening’s entertainment, Underground Lovers jettison the dreamy textural elements of their recordings for a mix that rides rougher than usual. As they drop a short set that moves from Dream It Down to Your Eyes, Glen Bennie’s driving psychedelic guitar holds it all together. Meanwhile lead vocalist Vince Giarrusso cavorts about the stage in a cheeky playful mood. Back in the day, Ride had a bit of a reputation for being a pretty boy shoegaze band that had the ladies swooning as they delivered booming euphoric explosions of distorted guitars. Although Ride have long since parted ways, their vocalist and guitarist Mark Gardener is in town to get a touch nostalgic over the Ride back catalogue as well as treat us to some of his solo material. Gardener’s backing band are Sky Parade and they casually saunter on stage to kick off the show with a simply mind-blowing neo-psychedelic instrumental noise that recalls Ride at their very best. No longer the long-haired indie-hipster he was in the ‘90s, Gardener in the bloom of middle age exudes an affable presence. Love Like Ghosts, a collaboration between Gardener and Dive Index, lightens the mood and showcases the more melodic pop rock side of his songwriting. Chrome Waves is the first Ride tune of the evening and it is given a more upbeat makeover that leaves the soft, out-of-focus of the original behind. Gardener admits that he is celebrating the 20th anniversary of Going Blank Again but then slides into solo material From Time To Time, the James Race tune Worlds Away on which he collaborated and a cover of the Rinôçérôse song Time Machine. It’s Twisterella that elicits an enthusiastic response from the audience as they make it clear that they are here to hear Gardener play Ride songs. A cover of The Creation’s How Does It Feel To Feel is a crowd pleaser while Vapour Trail finally sees Sky Parade sounding a lot like Ride. The anthemic Leave Them All Behind predictably brings the night down on a high. It is hard not to wonder what a reformed Ride might sound like. If Gardner and Andy Bell reconcile their differences it is possible this may still come to pass. Guido Farnell
WONDERFUL WOMEN AT WESLEY It’s something truly special when like-minded musicians come together to share their musical treasures. This Saturday at the Wesley Anne, quirky songstress Oh Deanna and dynamic melodist Wartime Sweethearts join headliner Susy Blue for an intimate evening of female fronted alt.pop. This is her first headlining show since her national tour last year. Susy Blue has been busy working her upcoming release and is taking a short break from recording to showcase her new works. Drawing similarities to artists such as Gillian Welch, Laura Marling and Joanna Newsom, Susy Blue’s honey voice seamlessly weaves her refreshing catchy tunes with nouveau-folk, jazz and pop. Expect nothing less than cheeky, charming and entertaining.
PRAGUE’S WET DAWN Vayer’s latest release Wet Dawn sees the band further their instrumental sound. The recording showcases the band’s seemingly innate ability to blend intricate progressive rock patterns and textures along with heavy euphoric grooves into a rich tapestry of sound and feeling. As part of their first ever Australian tour they will be playing at the Prague on Saturday 15 September, featuring local bands Fritzwicky, Lunaire and Chico Flash. This is a prog-rock showcase not to be missed by fans.
FLYING SAUCERS BY NIGHT With special guests, singer Suzannah Espie and harp genius Ian Collard deliver a night of memorable ‘50s house rockin’ R&B in big band style. Benny & The Fly By Niters are Australia’s premier authentic rhythm‘n’blues band, consisting of a superb breed of six devotees of the durable, dynamic post-war music scene of Los Angeles and San Francisco. They have a stellar history of past collaborations with the likes of Jimmie Vaughan, Big Jay MacNeely, Barrence Whitfield, The Horton Brothers, Lazy Lester, Little Charlie & The Nightcats and Nick Curran. See them kicking it live at Elsternwick’s Flying Saucer Club on Saturday 25 August. Doors open 8pm.
PARTY IN THE WET Having already earned high praise through early gigs in support of legendary Australian bands The Church and X, Rain Party are pleased to announce the release of their debut self-titled EP, produced by Michael Badger (The Demon Parade). Their sound rings in somewhere close to the glorious mess of bands such as The Kills and The Brian Jonestown Massacre with the wails of PJ Harvey. Rain Party launch their debut on Friday 31 August at Cherry Bar with Man In The Moon and Whipped Cream Chargers.
STRUNG OUT
Audibly-arresting from the first note, Ainslie Wills’ latest single Stop Pulling The String embraces listeners with the warmth of Wills’ soaring, ethereal vocals and sweeps them away on an aural odyssey through the depths of multi-layered loops and over the sun-drenched canopies of shimmering keyboard and guitar melodies. She will be launching the single and playing tracks from her forthcoming album at the Grace Darling on Friday 24 August and Karova Lounge (Ballarat) on Friday 31.
I, LIKE METAL
I, Valiance are a progressive metal band from Melbourne who recently released their EP Prometheus, which got a massive response from the public. Playing alongside I, Valiance tomorrow (Thursday) at Revolver are straight-up hardcore band The Approach, newly formed and energetic Disasters, and opening the night are Illuminate. Doors open at 8pm with pre-sale $12+BF available through Mostix or $15 on the door.
HEAD PONCHO
The boys from Poncho are throwing a party this Friday at the Mercat Cross to celebrate their ability to predict what will be big in 2013. The acts giving the gift of music for the night are one-man disco Pikachunes, ‘80s-flavoured Client Liaison, a DJ set from King Gizzard, party DJs Smoking Toddlers as well as label supremos I Oh You DJs. Tickets are $10+BF through Moshtix or a little more on the door.
PIGEON PLAY THE WORKERS CLUB ON THURSDAY 23 AUGUST.
PRECIOUS METAL
Metal Evilution present an atomic evening of thrash and traditional heavy metal at the Prague, Thornbury this Friday. Leading the charge are Melbourne titans Anarion, ready to dissolve the weak and unleash their new line-up unto the public. They will be ably assisted by Melbourne thrashers Mason, Broken Hill purveyors of the steel Soulforge, and young mosh maniacs Sewercide will whet your appetites early. Entry is $10 with doors open at 7.30pm.
SALTWATER SHINES
Songlines Aboriginal Music and the Victorian Wongai Torres Strait Islander Corporation are proud to present Saltwater Rhythms 2012 – a musical celebration that will see three of Torres Strait Island’s strongest female singer/songwriters joining forces to mark the 20th anniversary the of the Mabo Native Title High Court victory. The stellar line-up includes Melbourne’s Indigenous jazz songstress and leading lady Liz Cavanagh, playing alongside the award-winning Lisa Maza and acoustic-soul diva Jessie Lloyd. Head to Bennetts Lane on Friday 24 August at 8.30pm to witness the talented trio of performers. Entry is $20 or $10 for concession.
DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE
Brisbane dark pop outfit Love Like Hate release their debut EP Rabbit Hole; emotional, honest and instinctive rock, blended with hints of early post punk and delicate melodies that pay tribute to some of music’s most notables – PJ Harvey, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Pat Benatar, Joan Jett and Patti Smith. Featuring lead single 21, Love Like Hate will be celebrating the new release with a launch at the Cornish Arms this Friday.
WHY WON’T YOU STRAY
Straylove have crafted a new wave sound where vintage amplifiers are in league with cutting edge effects and synthesisers. Live electronic music bursts from inside a rock‘n’roll framework with fearless industrial stride. Thrilling psychedelic jam sessions leave top-end DJs baffled and the bystander stomping for freedom. In support are The Corsairs and Client Liaison. The doors open at 8.30pm with tickets $8+BF available through Moshtix or $10 on the door.
MELODY BLITZ
Following a stint in the studio and numerous shows around the country, Sydney-based gothpunk rockers Melody Black return to Melbourne’s Revolver Upstairs this Saturday for a huge show to launch their new single: a supercharged take on ‘70s classic Ballroom Blitz. Joined by a stellar line-up which includes Melbourne’s own Mercy Kills and up and comers The Fighting, this promises to be an event not to be missed. The doors open at 9pm. Tickets are $12+BF available through Moshtix or $15 on the door.
HERE’S DONNY
CAKE WALK
My Friend The Chocolate Cake return to Williamstown Substation for one night only. MFTCC have had a well-earned break after their grueling 2012 national touring schedule following the release of their seventh album Fiasco. Fiasco received rave reviews around the country and the dedicated Cake audiences came out in force to enjoy the new album and a great run of shows. They play Friday 7 September and tickets are $30 (seated) or $25 (standing) with doors open at 7pm.
FEASTIVITIES
ESCAPEES
Emerging from the primordial soup like some swamp-dwelling many-headed serpent Spencer P Jones & The Escape Committee are setting up shop at the Retreat Hotel for the month of August. Jones and his motley crew will performing every Thursday night with Mikey Madden of Gruntbucket supporting from 9pm. Entry is free.
HAVE YOU HEARD?
Tonight (Wednesday), Revolver hosts the first taping of Feast Of Dan – Australia’s only movie trivia gameshow inspired by a stupid experiment of the same name. Host Dan Smith will be joined by local personalities, film professors and experts to have a few drinks and go head-to-head to find out who reigns supreme when it comes to knowing the most useless information about the movies. Filmed live in front of a great looking audience, with DJ Cisco Rose spinning ‘80s disco jams pre-show, Los Dos melting faces with their frenetic Mexican-roc and drink specials running all night long, Feast Of Dan will not only be a great television show, but a great event – where all proceeds from the night go towards feeding the homeless of Melbourne. The doors open 7.30pm and entry is a gold coin donation.
Last year saw Donny Benét burst onto the scene with the release of his debut album Don’t Hold Back. Armed with a drum machine, Fender Rhodes and a Moog Synthesiser with a pitch bender that wouldn’t stop, Donny stepped up to the plate and delivered a sound full of sophistication, sexuality and street heat. New album Electric Love reflects the highs and lows of life on the road through the eyes of a modern-day Italo-funk artist. He launches the album Friday 14 September at the Workers Club with Aleks & The Ramps and Client Liaison.
WITH BELLS ON
Slide-guitarist Owen Campbell has recently gained popular notoriety for his amazing and controversial stint on Channel 7 TV show Australia’s Got Talent. Campbell shot to #2 on the Australian iTunes charts and #1 on the iTunes blues charts. He plays ay the Toff tonight (Wednesday) with new breed bluegrass pioneers Mustered Courage and special guest Conor Farrell. Doors open at 7.30pm. Tickets are $20+BF through Moshtix or $25 on the door.
NEW DAWN
Sun Rising: The Songs That Made Memphis pays tribute to a unique era of rock‘n’roll and presents a passionate and musically spectacular rendition of the Sun Records hits we know and love. Sun Rising: The Songs That Made Memphis is proudly being brought to life and promises to transport you back to a golden era of musical brilliance. See it at the Toff tomorrow (Thursday) along with Chris Russell’s Chicken Walk. Doors open at 8pm. Tickets are $15+BF through Mostix or $20 on the door.
themusic.com.au
How did you get together? Danny Harley, vocals/guitar/synths: The band met at various educational institutes – mostly at high school and some at university. We’d all been in various other bands before playing anything from metal to jazz. Electronic music was sort of a new avenue for all of us and it’s how we’ve really connected as musicians. Have you recorded anything or do you prefer to tool around in your bedroom? Yeah, we’ve definitely recorded some stuff. We’re hoping to release our second EP really soon. We record everything ourselves and for us that’s a really creative part of the songwriting process. Making zany sounds on zanier synths and trying to get a sound that you love or trying to find something you’ve never heard – it’s super fun! Can you sum up your band’s sound in four words? Electronic indie pop rock? If you could support any band in the world, who would it be and why? Phwoah! It’d probably be Miike Snow. We love their sound and think that their music is really unique and creative. We’d love to share the stage with them. I’m not sure how good their English is, but we could at least wave at each other from either side of the green room before a show. If a higher power smites your house and you can only save one record from the fire, what would it be? Uh-oh. This is hard! For me personally, I’d probably choose something like Jonsi or Bon Iver. However, if I had to speak on behalf of the band as a whole I’d probably say something like Acolyte by Delphic. Do you have a lucky item of clothing you wear for gigs and what is it? I like to wear really tight underpants to keep me on edge and ready for anything. I feel it gives me the upper hand when dealing with those problem high notes and it helps with agility for the more demanding stage moves. No, I actually don’t have any lucky item of clothing. I’ll get one for next time. I promise! If you invited someone awesome ‘round for dinner what would you cook? I’d cook my favourite meal at the moment which is a bad-ass warm haloumi salad served on a bed of cous cous! Goddamn it’s good! Cous cous – the food so nice they named it twice! What’s your favourite place to drink in Melbourne? Hmmmm… I’ve not actually been to Melbourne very much but I know I’ve had sweet times at the Espy. Although I’m only saying that because it’s the only place I know the name of. That’s part of Melbourne’s charm I think, there’s somewhere to drink on every corner and it usually has amazing live music!
HORSE PLAY
It’s been almost three years since Polo Club dropped The 13. Fast forward to the present, and the former genre-defying electro duo have evolved into a fourpiece indie-dance party live act that have been tearing up the Melbourne live scene with some massive international supports as well as a number of standout festival sets. This Saturday at the Toff will see the release of Polo Club’s long-awaited new EP She’ll Never Know, mixed by renowned producer Tony Espie. Support comes from 8 Bit Love, Deja and DJ Mangohig. Tickets are $12+BF through Mosthtix or $20 with the EP bundle. INPRESS • 39
GORMAN IN THE COMMUNE
Hot on the heels of a very successful launch party, Communion Melbourne is proud to present the follow up evening for this new monthly residency at the Toff In Town. The Communion music night has its roots in London, having operated there since 2006. The night has now expanded to several cities throughout the UK as well as bases in New York and San Francisco. Communion Melbourne features a different line-up each month offering a creative platform for emerging, developing and established artists to perform in an environment that embraces collaboration and mutual support. This Sunday it hosts Fraser A Gorman, Castle Comer, Roller One and Elle Graham. Doors open at 8pm. Tickets are $16.70+BF through Moshtix or $20 on the door.
BLUEJAY WAY
The Bluejays return after a one-year hiatus, to bring their infamous ‘heavy heavy sound’ back to the Retreat in Brunswick. With a 7” single in the pipeline of their 1960s-inspired psychedelic-garage-soul, and support from rockers My Left Boot, it’s a show not to miss. This Friday from 9pm with free entry.
AGILE ABILITY
PONY PASSED ON
Melbourne psychedelic grunge band Agility are playing the Evelyn every Wednesday in August. With support from some of Australia’s best young bands, every Wednesday is sure to be absolutely banger. Tonight they play with Wandering Spirit and Andalucia. Entry is $5 on the door.
BIG HOUSE BIG HITS
Mansion, Alaska hit up the Evelyn stage once again tomorrow (Thursday) with a host of friends for their first headline show since signing with youth run record label Decibels. In the process of recording their debut EP the band are set to showcase some new songs. They have tiptoed their way past their folk duo beginnings into a five-piece art-rock band that seamlessly blend ambient electronics and intricate guitar lines. Support on the night comes from Sleep Decade, Sun Raaaa (who boast members of Scotdrakula and Secretive George), Dark Arts and Sunk Junk. Entry is a $7.
DEEP SPACE MINDSET
Since their return from performing at the music matters festival in Singapore, Pandorum is back to Australian shores for an epic night at the Evelyn Hotel this Friday. The show is their first in hometown gig for some time and they come back armed with a few little surprises. Support on the night comes from High Side Driver, Disgruntled Bruntle and Written In Ruins. Doors open from 8pm with entry at $15.
ARTIST RESISTANCE
Artist Proof bring their emotionally charged, cinematic rock music to the Evelyn Hotel this Sunday afternoon. With support from the exceptionally talented Dearly Wish, and powerhouse singer/songwriter Mel Calia, the night boasts three equally brilliant yet diverse takes on popular music. The music kicks off at 1.30pm.
SARAH GETS CANINE
Sarah EiDA has been heavily involved in Melbourne’s live music scene for over eight years. This August she is ready to explode with her debut album Lady Wolf, an eclectic collection of dirty blues beats paralleled with a modern burlesque twist. Along with her band The Garden Of Eida, Sarah promises a night of dark fairytale magic that would rival any Brothers Grimm fantasy. She plays this Sunday at the Evelyn.
TURKISH DELIGHT
Local Melbourne psychobilly and rockabilly trio Wild Turkey are celebrating 24 years on the road this month. Wild Turkey first toured the USA in 2006 and have been back annually ever since – they are the first and only Aussie band to perform at Bonneville Speedweek on the Salt in Wendover, Utah. The band’s iconic vehicle – a 1959 Ford Hearse also shows the strong links the group has with the traditional ‘50s hotrod and custom car culture. Wild Turkey are celebrating with a huge 24th birthday party at the Retreat Hotel this Saturday with special guests Doubleblack.
HONKIN AND TONKIN
The twangin’ sound of F100s is catching on fast with fans of roadhouse honky tonk, boogie and rockabilly. Over the past couple of years F100s have been burning dancefloors and establishing themselves as a fine live act. Influenced by the stylings of Buck Owens, George Jones, Merle Haggard and such, F100s also have a sack full of original toe tappers spread through their repertoire. They are performing an exclusive show this Saturday in the Retreat Hotel front bar at 7.30pm. 40 • INPRESS
HIGH-VOLTERA
Local hybrid five-piece Voltera are delivering three very different EP releases this year with each EP being influenced both musically and artistically by the coordinates of a significant cultural location on Earth. Since almost being deported from USA, Voltera have much to prove with a completely new line-up combining prog and electro, once again forging a complex, strange but familiar feel to their music. Catch Voltera along with Dive Into Ruin, Barrel Of Monkeys and Cold Divide at the John Curtin on Saturday 15 September.
NO WREATH FOR KEITH
Party at Keith Is Dead #3 this Monday at the Evelyn. They’ve got a live showcase from marvelous heavy-duty rap crew L-Burn Illuminati and hot’n’horny DJ sets from love-funk addict Street Wax and Australasia’s loosest’n’juiciest party posse Keith! Party. Doors open at 8pm with free entry, drink specials and erotic door prizes. Keith Is Dead will be held every Monday in August. Make it a long weekend.
DO THE WRIGHT THING
A few of you may remember the good ol’ days of Monday nights at the Evelyn with Simon Wright & The Eclective. Well they’re back, only now its Tuesdays. Each week The Simon Wright Band will be joined by some of Melbourne’s freshest funk, soul and hip hop acts as well DJ Huw Joseph. This week Mix Method support. So pull your drinking hat out of the closet and dust of your dancing shoes. Tuesday nights just got awesome.
Melbourne’s Red Ink have been busy of late. They have just released Euphoria, the first taste of the band’s forthcoming EP The Colour Age. Produced by Craig Harnath and Jez Giddings of HotHouse Studios, Euphoria is a carefully crafted indie-pop gem, initially conceived in the band’s early stages and fatefully revived during an introspective moment in 2011. Catch Red Ink launching their new single along with an exclusive preview of tracks from their forthcoming EP at Ding Dong Lounge this Friday.
HOT NIGHT
Two Melbourne country-folk troubadours, Les Thomas and Dan Waters, are set to play at the Retreat Hotel in Brunswick tonight (Wednesday) for an evening of lyrical storytelling, dry humour and sweet guitar picking. Entry is free and it starts at 8.30pm.
Cherrywood have been busting their arses around Melbourne and interstate for the last year or so with their unique country/punk/folk sound and now they’ve finally got something out, their debut 7” Head To The Ground/Stand Still. Consisting of a double bass, acoustic guitar, mandolin, a snare drum and a bunch of rowdy vocals, they have an instantly recognisable sound that has led to full rooms around the country. Cherrywood perform two sets in the front bar of the Retreat Hotel from 4pm this Sunday.
BLACKIE’S BACK
IN THE RED
RETREAT WATERS
STILL STANDING
Ride out the end of winter every Saturday evening at the Tote with Buried Horses as they perform by the open fire and warm surrounds of the front bar. At such close quarters, you will be able to count the whiskers on Mark Berry’s chin and make yourself acquainted with the RM Williams boot catalogue. This will be your last chance to catch the band before they ship out to Europe to promote the recent Beast Records release of their debut LP Tempest. The support this week is Suzie Stapleton.
ALEXANDER GOW
ELVIS IN THE BUILDING
This Thursday, it will be precisely 35 years since Elvis left the building forever. Step into Yah Yah’s this very special night to help pay homage to Memphis’ son. Performing Elvis songs on the night will be: Alexander Gow (Oh Mercy), Alison Ferrier, Courtney Barnett, Dave Last, Jen Cloher, Jess McGuire (RRR), Liz Stringer, Loretta Miller (Clairy Browne & the Bangin’ Rackettes), Peter McManus (The Go Set), Quincy McLean, Richie 1250, Rob Snarski (Blackeyed Susans), Rusty Berther (Scared Weird Little Guys), Sarah Carroll, Sime Nigent, Spencer P Jones, The Ukeladies and Van Walker. The backing band for the night taking care of business is the Kung Fu Vegas Revue, and The Elvis Angels (Midnight Bosom) will start the night with an acoustic set before the big band takes the stage for two epic sets of Elvis songs and delights. Doors are at 8pm, tickets are $20 and there will be free peanut butter and jam sandwiches on arrival.
Luger Boa, have been long established as one of New Zealand’s premier live rock’n’roll outfits. The band have announced a couple of Australian dates promising to be a massive end of tour party. They are playing Ding Dong Lounge this Saturday in support of their LP New Hot Nights. Be prepared for a rockin’ night as the band plan to experiment on their willing audiences with new material from a forth coming EP. Special guests on the night will be Melbourne lads Guests Of Ghosts and Lone Tyger.
TEENAGE SUGAR
Sweet Teens bring endless dangerous possibilities to the Tote for a month of Wednesdays this August, hitting up the front bar for the first three weeks and followed by two weeks in the band room out back. Tonight they are joined by Simon Millar. Catch Sweet Teens play songs off their new album This Ain’t England And The Ominous Horror.
LOTS OF BODIES
Tomorrow night (Thursday) at the Tote, four bands come with the intention of having a good time. Bodies can be described as a slurry of wet concrete and whale blood. Similarly Clowns are a hair on the tongue of your grandfather. Bad Vision are the moment before you hit the ground. Motherfcking Teresa are an elbow for a knee. Entry is $8 and doors open at 8.30pm.
themusic.com.au
Peter Black (aka Blackie), axe wielder of Aussie punk legends Hard-Ons and Nunchukka Superfly, drops his second solo LP No Dangerous Gods In Tunnel, an acoustic pop journey everyone needs to take. Earlier this year Blackie was the victim of a brutal assault whilst at work driving a cab. He is now on the road to recovery and these are some of his first shows back. He plays the Tote this Sunday and is ably supported by Laura Imbruglia, BJ Morrizonkle and Link Meanie. Doors open at 6pm with entry at $10.
SINGLE FOCUS
RED INK – EUPHORIA What’s the song about? Aaron Sim, drums: The song’s about a girl named Bella, and this is the story of how she stole my heart. A childish portrayal of a girl so captivating, “she draws me in with her fetching stare”. Is this track from a forthcoming/ existing release? Yeah, the song is the second track off our forthcoming EP. It’s being released worldwide via iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, etc, etc. How long did it take to write/record? The track was written pretty quickly, over the space of a few hours from memory. We came up with the music for the verse one night and John [Jakubenko, vocals] somehow managed to find this verse melody that we came up with years ago to put over the top of it. I don’t know how he remembered that melody; he has a very intricate brain. The song pretty much wrote itself that night. We spent a fair amount of time working on this track after we wrote it in our little ghetto studio, just coming up with little production things. We probably spent a few days doing that, getting it to a point where we were pretty stoked with it. The recording process was reasonably quick once we were actually in Hothouse though, mainly due to figuring out all our parts before we went in there. There were a few things that we added once in the studio though. Stuff like the cello, we wouldn’t have thought of putting in elements like that. What was inspiring you during the song’s writing and recording? Freshness. We just wanted to create something that was fresh and different to our ears. We’d spent the past few years writing a certain genre of music, so we wanted to change it up a bit and take our stuff in a new direction. We were really inspired by writing music that came naturally to us. There was a massive emphasis on that when we wrote the whole EP. We’ll like this song if we like… Hmmm, that’s a tricky question. Maybe Bloc Party, some of the Klaxons’ mellower stuff. We took a lot of inspiration from guys like New Order and The Cure when recording this stuff… not that it ended up sounding like that! Do you play it differently live? Yeah, ever so slightly. We actually like to mime when we’re on stage. In the miming version, we do add a bit of a hectic outro. Will you be launching it? Indeed we shall be! We’re launching in Melbourne at the Ding Dong Lounge, Friday 17 August. It’s gonna be sweet sticks, we haven’t been to Ding Dong since it re-opened. We’re stoked to be getting it out there! For more info see: facebook.com/redinkmusic
HAVE YOU HEARD?
AFTER THE TRAP
STARS IN THEIR EYES
Trappist Afterland are the songs and music of Adam Cole. Their debut, Burrowing To Light In The Land Of Nod is available now. Trappist Afterland make spirit music for the dispossessed, they explore psychedelia, ritualism and chanting amidst folk songs. This Sunday they play Yah Yah’s along with the talented Julitha Ryan, who released her debut The Lucky Girl earlier this year. The music starts at 7.30pm with free entry.
Local trio Even celebrate the 40th anniversary of David Bowie’s classic The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars by performing it from start to finish this weekend. Frontman Ash Naylor explains the album’s significance.
BUTLER BEARS HIS SOUL
READABLE GRAFFITI PLAY THE NOISE BAR THIS FRIDAY 17 AUGUST. How did you get together? Buttons Machiavelly, vocals: Chris Readable and Christian Graffiti have been writing music and making beautiful noises together in the confines of their bedroom for many years. Frontman Buttons Machiavelly was recruited after the boys picked him up while he was jazz-hitchhiking (half naked with a rucksack full of juicy oranges) on the way to the coast. Buttons led the band out of the bedroom and into a world where big basslines and glitchy electro meet live guitars, vocals and synths.
Cam Butler (Ron S Peno & The Superstitions etc) plays a special screening of the five videos made for his breathtaking new album, Save My Soul, in Cinema 1 at ACMI on Thursday 30 August. Butler commissioned four directors (hailing from Melbourne, Berlin and Kabul) to make a video for each track on the album. Butler will be playing solo electric guitar to accompany the videos and the album’s lush orchestral backing music. Entry is $15.
Have you ever seen the artist you’re covering live? I’ve seen Bowie three times and each time he was great. I saw him perform Low and Heathen in London when Even were there in 2002. Rod Laver Arena in 2004 was a massive highlight. Do you remember the first time you heard Ziggy Stardust? I think I was in my early 20s when I heard the full LP. How has the album influenced you? It reminds me that good rock’n’roll has the power to transport you into a world where life’s mundane tasks are irrelevant and the spirit of individuality is paramount.
Can you sum up your band’s sound in four words? Music for intellectually impaired.
If a higher power smites your house and you can only save one record from the fire, what would it be? Beatles Hits For Kids. Do you have a lucky item of clothing you wear for gigs and what is it? I feel incomplete if I perform without my ski goggles strapped to my noggin. If you invited someone awesome ‘round for dinner what would you cook? Patatas fritas con huevos. What’s your favourite place to drink in Melbourne? I always trip out at the Butterfly Club in South Melbourne. Great drag shows!
LARGE FOLLOWING
Time To Wait is the brand new single from Mass Cult and the first single off their third album, which is due for release early next year. Mass Cult have a raw heavy guitar-driven approach to their own garage-punk style, incorporating dynamic shifts, soaring guitar solos and heavy rhythm section. Time To Wait will be launched at Yah Yah’s this Friday with special guests Heavy Beach, Smoke Signal and Cut. It’s free entry.
Which track do you think will provide the biggest challenge? Rock‘n’Roll Suicide. Are you roping in any special guests for your interpretation? Yes. Mal Pinkerton from The Ronson Hangup, Bruce Haymes and Marcel Borrack from Minibikes.
Have you recorded anything or do you prefer to tool around in your bedroom? After spending many years tooling around in the bedroom, Readable Graffiti have just released their second EP, Male Mood Swings… available for free download through Readable Graffiti at Bandcamp.
If you could support any band in the world, who would it be and why? Buddy Holly – one of the band members is a reincarnation of him.
Where does the album sit in your list of all-time favourite records? As far as Bowie albums are concerned it is alongside Hunky Dory as one of my faves.
What songs off it are you most looking forward to covering? All of them – they are all classics
SAVAGERY IN THE GALLERY
See Conway Savage (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds), this Saturday at beautiful Brightspace, St Kilda. Conway is playing as part of Illuminate: Brightspace 10 Years. The exhibition is a sublime backdrop for one of the most influential musicians in Australian music. Entry is $10 and it is starting at 7pm.
What are the ideal conditions in which to listen to the album? Being 17, living in London in 1972 with a crummy day job, pining for the weekend or that coach trip up north to see Bowie & The Spiders at some university… or being alone at home in 2012 with headphones and absolutely no distractions.
EARLY MATERNITY
Teenage Mothers’ music is about broken love and kicking against the pricks. They’ve recorded their debut album with Jim Sclavunos from The Bad Seeds/ Grinderman. The record features a duet between JK from Teenage Mothers and Jack Mannix from Circle Pit. At the Grace Darling this Saturday, Jack Mannix and JK will perform their duet live for the first time. With support from noisydelic foursome Hollow Everdaze, intriguing newcomers Mutations and guest DJs from King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard and Geelong Skatepark. Only $10 on the door, the music starts 9pm.
GET COMFY
Back again for another instalment at Fitzroy’s iconic Bar Open, Uncomfortable Beats brings the freshest in both local and outsourced beat music. Whether your into hip hop, dubstep or experimental electronica, everyone can find something to appreciate in these diverse mid-week showcases. Best of all, entry is free and always will be. This week A Baker’s Dozen, Dubfonik, Psilosimian, Warpa!nt and Dj Shikung will all play.
Should we expect any surprises from your interpretation? No radical reworkings, that’s not our schtick. Faithful without being a tribute band, one hopes. Any other classic albums you’d like to have a crack at covering? Mate, the old noggin is full of Bowie tunes at the moment so we’ll see after that. Maybe Free Kicks by Even deserves an airing! What have you got coming up after the Cherry show? We have more shows with The Fauves in Tasmania and Adelaide playing songs from our new LP and a run of shows in WA so it’s all happening… again. Ziggy Stardust 40th Anniversary Celebration Even perform The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars at Cherry Bar this Saturday 18 August.
PEARL TAX
NOMADIC WANDERINGS
MUSIC OF THE MOTH
SURPRISE SURPRISE
Bar Open favourites Pearls return to play a show with Tax, Repairs and Exhaustion tomorrow (Thursday). Pearls deliver their songs with a forceful melancholy that captures the contradictions of what if feels like to love and be loved over the top of a howl of organ drones and screaming guitars. Second support comes from Tax plus scream-esque Alan Vega-lovin’ Repairs. Doors open at 9pm with free entry.
Melbourne’s favourite party perpetrators, El Moth have burst back onto the scene this year and are showing no signs of slowing. Armed with their unique blend of funkin’, punkin’, drunkin’ reggae, these hooligans are known for their high energy shows with slick, yet accessible musicianship that is topped off with a charismatic attitude. They play this Friday at Bar Open. Doors open at 10pm with free entry.
After three years inciting Australian dancefloors with his enticing melee of eclectic rhythms, Aotearoa’s own prodigious son has returned and is now based in the creative and inspirational alpine town of Wanaka. This Saturday at Bar Open, New Zealand dub-master The Nomad will play tracks off his recent album Perilous Times. In support are Oakley Grenell and Krafty Pixel. Doors open at 10pm with free entry.
Bar Open throws a killer Sunday-evening party starring Melbourne’s answer to The Slits, new girls on the block Mangel Wurzel who will cause a ruckus with their riot babe antics. Big Face & The Boogie Woogie Boys will also delight with their zombie paradise surf tunes, as well as a cheeky guest slot by Mesa Cosa DJs. A surprise international mystery guest will also appear as a farewell to our city. It is $10 on the door which opens at 6pm.
Don’t do more time than you have to. It takes just two years to complete a Criminal Justice Degree at the Navitas College of Public Safety. With flexible selection criteria, small class sizes and a convenient inner city location, it’s a great way to prepare for a career in law enforcement, the courts and corrections.
Investigate now!
ncps.edu.au
|
1800 783 661
NCPS is part of the Navitas group. CRICOS provider code: 01945J
College of Public Safety
2428-0712
themusic.com.au
INPRESS • 41
FLOATING JINX
Featuring current and former members of Alchemist, Alarum and Aeon Of Horus, The Levitation Hex are launching their debut self-titled album of extreme psychedelic progressive death and thrash metal. The CD launch will see the band unleash live in Melbourne before heading to Europe in October to play ProgPower Europe in Holland and tour Europe. Joining The Levitation Hex will be death/grinders A Million Dead Birds Laughing, Abrasion, back to brutualise with their crunching death metal, and the impressive new melodic death-metal band Hours In Exile. Catch it all this Friday at the Bendigo Hotel.
RAY OF SUN IN THE COLD SNAP
Ray Beadle’s music is infectious whether it be slinky, swingin’ dancing, bubbling R&B or his crooning blues gospel. He can ignite the fret-board like few others can do. Beadle and his band play at the Caravan Music Club this Friday with Cold Snap.
SEMINAL SLAUGHTERMEN
For the return of a great Melbourne cult band featuring the Rev Ian Stephen out front, The Slaughtermen come to the Caravan Club this Saturday. This seminal 1980s post-punk alternative southern gospel group are not to be missed.
ROSS HOTS UP
Ross Hannaford & The Critters are becoming one of the hottest residencies in Melbourne. They play this Sunday at the Caravan Music Club. Best to book early to avoid disappointment. Doors open at 3pm.
SERPENTS
INSANE IN THE VAIN
River Of Snakes have found the time to record during their busy schedule. Their new 7” is out now on Thornbury Records. Recorded in a 12 hour frenzy at Head Gap studios, the tracks are raw and rockin’. Rebel Girl (a cover of the classic Bikini Kill song) and an original track Drink are a blend of all things punk/rock/scuzz/noise. Pick one up now or catch them at their launch with Damn Terran, Sun God Replica and Dead River this Saturday at Northcote Social Club.
BENDIGO WARM-UP
Next month is one of the last chances for music fans to enjoy a hefty sample of what they can experience at the Bendigo Blues & Roots Music Festival in November as the third BB&RMF showcase for 2012 comes to the Newmarket Hotel on Sunday 2 September. Bendigo’s Rhythm Kings, Salvador and McAlpine’s Fusiliers bring the local chops alongside the incomparable Colonel Viper’s Whipstick Band, the mature cool of The Dirtbusters and the precocious talents of Talisa Jobe. Also on to the bill are PL Williamson and Cold Snap.
Perth’s Vanity are making the trek over to Melbourne this week for a couple of gigs, with their only over-18s show at the Reverence Hotel in Footscray on Saturday. In a few short years the boys have played a flurry of big shows supporting just about every big international hardcore band and even opening up Perth’s leg of Soundwave. They will be joined by Surrender, Free World, Term Four and Wonders for what will be a massive night of hardcore.
SPERMSIRENS
Spermaids headline the Grace Darling band room this Friday. They’ve been turning confused heads on the Melbourne circuit for just over a year now with their odd version of heavy experimentation, using an array of effects and loops to compensate for their small-band syndrome. Playing support are their fellow two-piece heroes Duck Duck Chop and radical hustlers The Shabbab, both fresh from the studio and ready whip up a storm. Doors open at 9pm with $7 entry.
Tendrils are an irregular collaboration between noted Australian guitarists, Charlie Owen and Joel Silbersher. A difficult sound to describe, Tendrils feature two seemingly chaotic but strangely melodic and complementary guitar parts and occasionally strippedback percussion with Silbersher’s sublime vocals. They don’t play often so make sure to see them at Brightspace, St Kilda this Friday from 7pm for $10.
COLLARTS SHOWCASE
Weddings, Parties, Anything are backing up for the fourth year running on Grand Final Eve (Friday 28 September) at the Palace Theatre. And this year it’s a better than even bet as their buddies from Even share the stage along with inner northern supergroup Livingstone Daisies (featuring Liz Stringer and Van and Cal Walker). Keeping the whole show moving will be television’s own Brian Nankervis as master of ceremonies. It’s going to be big. It’s going to be fun. Tickets available now through Ticketmaster, Oztix and the Palace.
Australian College Of The Arts (Collarts) presents Collaboration, a live concert of Melbourne’s finest emerging artists showcasing performances from Collarts students in group ensembles and solos. The night also features a music auction of epic proportions. The event will be held on Tuesday 21 August at the Bendigo Hotel in Collingwood with doors opening at 7pm. All profits benefit Oscars Law, an organisation that aims to abolish the factory farming of companion animals, ban the sale of companion animals from pets shops/online trading sites and promote adoption through rescue groups, pounds and shelters.
SWEET PAPA
Formed in 2009, Papa Maul are an original fivepiece from Melbourne. From smooth ballads to loud garage rock-outs, Papa Maul provide a live show that turns heads and shakes hips. With an EP in the works and plans to release in the near future, see a new sound emerging from the dirty corners of Melbourne’s whiskey bars and into your music collection. Catch Papa Maul and The Sweets this Monday 20 August in the front bar at the Espy.
MIDWEEK BASS PARTY
When the time is right and you’re in the mood for a bit of free mid-week party action in Fitzy, Laundry have a free mid-week bass party and bang out the hefty tunes ‘til late. The night features dubstep, grime and D&B with DJs Carmex and Baddums plus special guests. Dubstep, grime and D&B Wednesdays at Laundry – check it out. 42 • INPRESS
RICEY & MACCA
ALL YOU CAN EAT AT THE HAMMY Revertigo are a three-piece hard rock band from Sydney in the business of creating catchy and memorable songs using hard riff-based melodies. Having just finished their debut EP All You Can Eat, they are embarking on a NSW/Vic tour kicking off at the Hammy this Friday night. They will be supported by good mates Dawn Of The Ages, who will be playing songs from their recent EP, Breaking Free. So head down to The Hammy for some rockin’ tunes, renowned syndicate coffee and an array of decadent desserts. No cover charge, doors open from 8pm ‘til late.
How did you get together? Sanny Veloo, vocals/guitar: The band first started after I begged Matt (bassist) to join the band outside a cricket oval in Brunswick. Then we went to the studio and tried to record an album but the mixes sounded worse than our bedroom demos… we were shattered. Luckily we found a great guitar player called Gaulty after auditioning 27 guitarists from Melbourne. A couple of drummers came and went but finally Cattanach rocked up in a white station wagon for an audition. We all drove white station wagons and he nailed the audition so he was in! And that’s how we formed. We have been together as this lineup for about two years now and we recorded our album again and now it sounds great!
Can you sum up your band’s sound in four words? Euphoric, singalongs, energetic, intense.
WEDDOS GF EVE SPECIAL
TWODRILS
EMPRA PLAY THE ESPY THIS SATURDAY 18 AUGUST.
Have you recorded anything or do you prefer to tool around in your bedroom? Yeah, we recorded a full-length album with Rick Rae and it’s out now on iTunes and on our website at empraonline.com. I record tons of ideas in my bedroom on my Mac and sometimes when I’m at work or on a walkabout and when I have a song idea, I sing it in to my iPhone!
B.EASTY BOYS
Local indie art-rock singer/songwriter Michael Plater will be doing a stripped down show at great new Brunswick venue the B.East tomorrow (Thursday), performing alongside his musical compatriots Marsden Williams and Matt Palmer as an all-singing, all-dancing trio. They will be joined on the night by Pete Azzopardi and Daniel Hall from indie-pop geniuses The Coves, playing as a duo. Entry is free and the food is great.
HAVE YOU HEARD?
Andrew Rice & Michael McManus (also known as Ricey and Macca from Guttersnipes) have been playing shows around Melbourne for more than 20 years. Appearances are quite rare these days, but the urge has taken them to slink out of their respective holes to play a show at the newly re-minted Reverence Hotel in Footscray on Sunday. They’ll be dusting off some Guttersnipes tunes and other co-written tunes. They’ll be joined on the day by Fresh Advice and Matt Powell of Kill Whitey fame from 3pm.
If you could support any band in the world, who would it be and why? Weezer. ‘Cause they are the greatest band that ever lived! If a higher power smites your house and you can only save one record from the fire, what would it be? Weezer – Pinkerton on vinyl. Do you have a lucky item of clothing you wear for gigs and what is it? Yeah. I always have a photo of my grandpa in my pocket… but lately he’s been getting soaked in sweat. He’s due for a lamination at Officeworks soon. If you invited someone awesome ‘round for dinner what would you cook? I’d make chicken curry. And I won’t be like cheating and using Pataks. I’ll make it from scratch with all the stuff from the Indian grocers. What’s your favourite place to drink in Melbourne? Cherry Bar!
ANOTHER FINALE
If you missed the explosion that was the Puta Madre Brothers’ Cherry Bar gig on Sunday, or were there but need more, then make sure to get down to the Tote Friday 24 August. There will be enough mariachi rock’n’roll to satisfy you until the new dawn. The amigos will join their spiritual padre, Tuscon’s most famed and disgraced import Bob Log III, plus Rattlin’ Bones Blackwood for one night only. Doors open at 8.30pm.
LIVE AT THE BRIDGE HOTEL
PARTY CAPTAINS GUNNING IT
Live At The Last Hotel, the new album by Sean McMahon’s Western Union is a journey through heartfelt alt.country soul that beautifully conveys the story of this exceptional singer/songwriter’s love affair with the American songbook and a 1930s Kay guitar. They perform at the Bridge Hotel (Castlemaine) this Saturday with support from Alysia Manceau. Doors open at 8.30pm with $10 entry.
Moosejaw Rifle Club are a three-piece Melbourne band, that land somewhere in the vicinity of good time, country and mountain music with bluegrass leanings. Layered three part harmonies over mandolin, guitcho and guitar is the band in a nutshell. They release their new album Beggars & Bastards on Saturday at the Post Office Hotel (Coburg) from 8.30pm. Entry is free.
themusic.com.au
The Dub Captains are pleased to announce their inaugural Reggae Party at Fitzroy’s LuWow tomorrow (Thursday). The venue’s tropical décor appears to be the perfect setting to enjoy the 14-piece pseudo-reggae giant up close as they perform their inimitable brand of Pacific reggae and surf-rock. Joining the guys and girls on the night will be another great supporter of Melbourne’s pocket-sized reggae scene San Salvador. Opening things up will be a solo set from The Dub Captains own pint-sized, keyboard genius Dru Chen.
CERTIFIABLE
You may be more familiar with the bloke’s music but Dane Certificate has opened a new magic shop/ theatre in Brunswick that will hold variety shows featuring magic and music, practical jokes and exclusive supplies for magicians, located at 859a Sydney Rd. Folks will experience an old-fashioned night – a journey into a wondrous land of imagination showcasing weird and wonderful performers and noise musicians for your own Twilight Zone experience. You can get films, popcorn and magic every Tuesday night.
HAVE YOU HEARD?
MELODIC METAL AT ESPY
HUMP IT
Enter the middle of the week; for some it’s the beginning of the weekend, for others it’s a break from study, for those of us who are travelling, it probably has no real significance (unless you’re wanting to party with the hot European girls from the hostel, because any day is simply another day when you’re travelling). Humpday Animals is your midweek stomping ground, featuring DJs Danny Silver, Manchild and Mu-Gen on Wednesdays at Lounge. Free entry from 10pm.
Pegazus are a melodic metal band whose compositions are strongly structured on great riffs, licks, singalong melodies, anthemic tunes and catchy hook-filled choruses. The band have released three studio albums through Nuclear Blast Records in Germany. Pegazus will be joined by White Widow, Destroy She Said, and Damnation’s Day on Friday 31 August in the Espy’s Gershwin Room. Tickets $15 available at the door from 8.30pm.
PANCAKES ANYONE?
The Black Pancake Club is where disc-jockeys bring in their treasured record collections to share with yaw’ll. Expect undiscovered nuggets, lost gems, far out there covers, crackling garage and rockabilly, and a host of other eclectic delicacies and toppings for your black pancakes. Taste makers on rotation include Shags and Richie 1250. It’s free entry at Lounge on Thursdays from 10pm.
HAVE YOU HEARD?
GO SLOW
Laura are pleased to announce they will be opening for instrumental rockers Grails (from Portland, Oregon) at Northcote Social Club on Thursday 18 October. Ahead of this support slot, Laura will bring their chaotic vision of light found in the darkness to the Tote this Saturday for to launch their new single The Slow, supported by I, A Man and Drill Folly. Laura have refined their wall of sound on the road with bands on the experimental side of heavy music such as Isis, Cult Of Luna, Mono, Trail Of Dead and more recently Japanese genre benders Boris. The first 50 people through the door at the Tote show will receive a limited-edition single featuring The Slow and two outtakes from the album Twelve Hundred Times.
BANGERS THE YARD APES PLAY TAGO MAGO THIS FRIDAY 17 AUGUST. How did you get together? Brett “Shifty” Dunbar, vocals: My big bro Greg and long-time punk pal Adrian Jones were in need of some rock action! We eventually got around to “writing” some songs and forming a band that we’d go see ourselves. Took off from there and we’re havin’ a ball making noise together in front of good people who like to get messy. Have you recorded anything or do you prefer to tool around in your bedroom? We released our first album, Devil’s Road, last year which we are pretty damn happy with. We also made a split 7” with Wollongong surfabilly duo Mother & Son who are our favourite band to play with. They’re absolute champions!
“It might blow up but it won’t go pop” is the philosophy at Buhloone Mindstate and features Melbourne’s finest bands and DJs playing every Friday night, late at Lounge. That’s just how they roll. They’re all about the late night boogie. Expect all things funk, hip hop, soul, reggae, disco, boogie and house. Only $10 from 11pm.
THE PRINCE OF SEAGULLS PLAY THE LOUNGE THIS SATURDAY 18 AUGUST FROM 2PM.
EY:EM UP
EY:EM at Lounge features residents Boogs and Dave Pham, who will host Melbourne’s top purveyors of club music, showcasing both local and international DJs playing the most upfront club music at Lounge on Saturdays. With rotating DJs Sleep D, Bryce Lawrence, Louis McCoy, Caine Sinclair, Glyn Hill and Toby Mackisack, expect nothing but excellent house music all night long. And remember, clubbing happens in the EY:EM. Only $10 from 11pm.
How did you get together? Paul Harmon: Hanna Silver did a great remix for my Trees project which a lot of people loved (including Ennio Styles, who put it on his Stylin’ 500 compilation, celebrating 500 shows on RRR), so I thought we could do something together. Have you recorded anything or do you prefer to tool around in your bedroom? I think I’m up to about 30 releases under my Harmon moniker (mainly through Freakshow Disco Productions but a few others as well) and Hanna Silver has released solo stuff as well as being in quite a few other Melbourne bands.
Can you sum up your band’s sound in four words? Blah blah blah TWANG!
If you could support any band in the world, who would it be and why? Hmmm… well for me it would be Beck, he gets away with being super eclectic, something we are trying to achieve with our (coming soon) album.
If a higher power smites your house and you can only save one record from the fire, what would it be? Smell Of Female by The Cramps.
If you invited someone awesome ‘round for dinner what would you cook? Chilled monkey brains. What’s your favourite place to drink in Melbourne? At my friend McNulty’s house. Great record collection plus he is master brewer at Three Ravens Brewing. Need I say more?
Loon Lake have done it again – tickets to their Thirty Three EP launch at the Northcote Social Club on Saturday 1 September have completely sold out. Due to overwhelming demand, Loon Lake have now announced a third show on Thursday 30 August, on top of their second show at Ding Dong Lounge. Supporting them will be two very special guests from interstate who will sharing the stage with them: Cub Scouts (Brisbane) and Glass Towers (Sydney).
Can you sum up your band’s sound in four words? Dance soundtrack psychedelic groove.
If you could support any band in the world, who would it be and why? I’ll go with Mudhoney simply because it doesn’t get better than that!
Do you have a lucky item of clothing you wear for gigs and what is it? Can’t say that I do but will sometimes wear orange underpants because they match my Gretsch, in case I happen to dack myself.
LAKESIDE
If a higher power smites your house and you can only save one record from the fire, what would it be? Probably this rare Jimi Hendrix record I have which has Jim Morrison on vocals.
THE HEARTLAND
Iowa are on the rise. Drum Sydney said their debut album Never Saw It Coming, “grabs you and never lets go”. New single Love Song, is a radiofriendly fan favourite which has been accompanied by a video written and directed by Mike Jeffery and Kat Harley. To celebrate the release of the new single and video Iowa are playing at the Gasometer on Friday 31 August with Bearhug.
Do you have a lucky item of clothing you wear for gigs and what is it? No. If you invited someone awesome ‘round for dinner what would you cook? Spag bol (I do one meal but I do it well!) What’s your favourite place to drink in Melbourne? I don’t drink but Cookie is pretty cool.
themusic.com.au
GOING TO THE CASINO
Direct from Spain, Johnny Casino brings you his Spanish rock’n’roll circus, Johnny Casino Y Los Secretos. The band are playing shows to launch the new Johnny Casino double gatefold 7” Ahora Es El Momento/Now Is The Time. The singles were recorded in Australia and Spain featuring two new Casino-penned originals and a cover of Spencer P Jones’s Trick My Boat Wrong and Nic Nicotine’s I Let You Down. They are playing the Espy this Friday, Yah Yah’s on Saturday and the Retreat on Sunday.
INPRESS • 43
ROOTS DOWN
THE RACKET
WAKE THE DEAD
BLUES ‘N’ ROOTS WITH DAN CONDON ROOTSDOWN@INPRESS.COM.AU
METAL, HEAVY ROCK AND DARK ALTERNATIVE WITH ANDREW HAUG
HARDCORE AND PUNK WITH SARAH PETCHELL
LUCERO
KYUSS LIVES
Well, it’s happened again! You might recall quite some time ago I went on a rant about how Lucero are a great band doing Americana better than almost anyone else in the world right now and that I was all pissed off because they were playing with the Dropkick Murphys and not playing their own show and so on and so forth. Well last week it was announced that the band would indeed be back in Australia early next year, but they are going to be here with the Soundwave festival that heads around the nation. Now I have nothing against Soundwave, they book some good stuff, but there aren’t any other bands on the bill this year (so far) that I’d recommend your regular Roots Down reader ought to go and check out! I have heard rumours that they will play sideshows with The Lawrence Arms (who are a pretty great punk rock band), so there’s always that option. If you do get a chance to catch them, you should do it. And make sure you get on top of their new record Women & Work, which they released early this year.
Ohhhh yeah – Soundwave 2013 lineup now revealed! Metallica, Linkin Park, Anthrax, A Perfect Circle, Duff McKagan’s Loaded, Kyuss Lives! and Stone Sour are among the confirmed bands for next year’s festival with more to be announced, so get psyched!
The Angels have just announced a whole bunch of dates; one of them being the headlining slot on the Sydney Blues & Roots Festival, some of them with Hoodoo Gurus, James Reyne, Baby Animals and Boom Crash Opera, and some of them by themselves. Why? Well, turns out their new record is coming out very soon! Just a couple of weeks, in fact. At the time of deadline I had not yet had the chance to listen to any of the record, so I can’t tell you whether it’s any good or not, but I can tell you it’s called Take It To The Streets and it’ll be out on Friday 31 August. Doc Neeson is no longer with the band, Screaming Jets frontman Dave Gleeson is out the front; so we’ll see how he handles the task soon enough! Quick reminder that the new Mia Dyson record The Moment is out this week; this is a record I have had a chance to listen to and I can confirm that it is very good indeed. I’m not going to condone the fact that she waited so many goddamn years to bring us a new record, but I will forgive her as I believe she’s taken another step up from where she was when she left Australia all those years ago. Great to have her back. There’s a new Tim Rogers record about to drop and one monstrous tour to coincide with it as well; the record is called Rogers Sings Rogerstein and he says this is because the songs were written by his friend Shel Rogerstein, but it sounds pretty much like Tim Rogers penned fare to me… Perhaps I am wrong. I am a big fan of pretty much all of the man’s work, this new record included, and I always relish the opportunity to see him in solo mode, something that hasn’t happened for a while, so these shows ought to be a lot of fun. In support is Catherine Britt, a young lady who has just dropped her new record Always Never Enough, which is one of the better Australian country records I’ve had the pleasure of hearing recently. I’ve not paid a great deal of attention to Britt’s work in the past, I must admit, but upon hearing that the aforementioned Rogers made a guest appearance on the record, as well as another one of my personal favourite songwriters of all time – the great Guy Clark – then I knew I had to have a listen. It’s most definitely a country record, so if you have an aversion to that particular style then this isn’t the record for you, but I urge those of you who can handle a little twang to give it a crack. You can see both of these great Aussie artists at the Regal Ballroom on Friday 14 September. 44 • INPRESS
Lamb Of God front man Randy Blythe landed on US soil recently after spending more than a month at a Prague, Czech Republic prison on manslaughter charges. Blythe commented: “I apologise for my absence. I had an unexpectedly lengthy layover in the Czech Republic. Thanks for your good thoughts and prayers. I’ll release a statement soon. Yee-haw and God bless the USA!” Welsh metallers Bullet For My Valentine have revealed via Twitter that they are scheduled to finish recording their new album today. Frontman Matt Tuck previously said that those that have heard some of the group’s new music say it sounds like “a very confident, focused rock band.” The Levitation Hex, featuring former Alchemist frontman Adam Agius and Mark Palfreyman of Alarum, have made their self-titled album available for purchase at LevitationHex.net. The band formed in March 2010 after the demise of Alchemist. The initial intention was to create a heavy psychedelic prog sound similar to Alchemist but at the same time a completely new beast. Palfreyman was the first to jump on board, handling bass and vocal duties, soon followed by Ben Hocking on drums and Scott Young on guitar and keyboards. Live shows are happening this month.
Finnish melodic death/black metallers Norther have released the following statement: “We hereby announce after a long and careful consideration that we have decided to quit Norther. During the last year, it has become clear that we are not able to tour or do shows as much as we would want to, this being due to members’ complicated and time-consuming life situations. We have been forced to find session members and turn down too many gig offers. We simply cannot act as an active and working band and it is clear that these issues are not solved in the future. This is everything but an easy decision for all of us, but all this have taken the band to the point that pulling the plug is the right thing to do. There is no drama, this is a mutual decision and we all remain as good friends.” New York progressive rockers Coheed & Cambria have announced details of their upcoming sixth studio album, a double concept album titled The Afterman, to be released in two separate full-length volumes. The first volume, The Afterman: Ascension, will be available on both physical and digital platforms in the US on 9 October. The second volume, The Afterman: Descension, is due in February next year. Lead guitarist Ian Gray (aka Shrapnel) has left Australian-based blackened thrash metallers Destroyer 666. Commented guitarist/vocalist KK: “The end of an era – Shrapnel has for personal reasons decided that the past weekend’s Southern Cross Fest will be his last show with Destroyer. The man has been with the band since 1996 and has been pivotal to the band’s career over the past 16 years. It was, without doubt, a fitting end to what has been one hell of a ride. A fine musician, a great mate, a brother and an integral member of this pack, he will be greatly missed. Destroyer will continue...” Virginia grindcore titans Pig Destroyer have set Book Burner as the title of their fifth-full length album, due on 23 October via Relapse Records. It’s the band’s first LP in more than five years, recorded at guitarist Scott Hull’s Visceral Sound Studios in Alexandria, Virginia. The CD is described in a press release as “a return to a raw, primitive sound and will feature 19 songs of their signature misanthropic grind.”
SEARCH AND DESTROY DIGGIN’ UP THE GOOD SHIT WITH SAMSON MCDOUGALL
NEW WAR I was lucky enough to chat with Chris Pugmire and Melissa Lock from outstanding local outfit New War a couple of weeks back and they left me with a feeling not dissimilar to smugness. Not in a self-satisfied conceited sense was I feeling smug, no – the feeling I was experiencing was more a warm inner glow and it was brought on by a topic of discussion very dear to us all at our particular cafe table in a particular inner-northern suburb: the state of local music. The general crux of this discussion was that the state of live music here is very good – great even – so good, in fact, that we hope somebody is documenting what’s happening right now because we’re experiencing something special. Silence, naysayers! Pugmire and Lock have the unique perspective of recently returning from years living in Seattle, USA, a town that is synonymous with live music (and also experienced an ‘important’ period in recent history). Their consensus is that what we have here – several dozen live venues of varying capacity and suitability, hundreds of local artists and bands gigging on a regular basis and fabulous community radio – outshines anything they experienced in the USA. What is most exciting is that what we have here is not restricted to a certain strain of music at all. There is enough around that those of us with broad musical tastes can get a fix of several different flavours in one weekend, even, often, in one bill. The venues in this city have been copping their fair share of media these days, and rightly so, as the SLAM movement continues to gain momentum and Music Victoria gains traction at the tables of power. The perpetual struggle of the bands and artists to gain recognition for their work as more than a hobby
continues, though it must be noted the access to equipment, recording facilities and promotional mechanisms becomes exponentially less strenuous with each passing year. The one, often under-recognised, cog in the gears of our thriving music community is the only non-profit-making outlet for the stuff and the beating-heart of the organism: community radio. It’s around this time every year that RRR ask for their own little piece of recognition in the form of money from your pocket to keep the station alive for another year. As much as half of the station’s annual operating costs come from subscriber funds and this enables RRR to retain a truly independent voice, non-reliant on advertising or governmental dollars (and inevitable influence), and the ability to play what they want to play and for their broadcasters to – within the community broadcasting codes of practice – say what they want to say. Every day, RRR, and others within the community broadcasting realm, stimulate discussion and introduce ideas and new music to the listening public. These outlets are the first stop for local artists and provide the one thing that every creator, regardless of discipline, seeks out: exposure. As listeners, we are exposed to the cutting edge of what is being created here and around the world. We are presented with this stuff by passionate volunteer broadcasters who serve to inform their listeners through their own depth of research and knowledge of their chosen speciality (be it specialist music programming, wider arts, politics, community information or pure entertainment). The winners here are the listening public, the artists, community organisations and society in a wider sense. The losers, as far as I see it, are the people who would have it that every act has a dollar value attached. Community radio rages against the dumbening corporatisation of our society and allows us the freedom to choose how we receive our daily dosages of information. If you give a shit about the health of your community, answer the call and reach into your pocket during RRR’s Radiothon. It runs from this Friday through to Sunday 26 August.
themusic.com.au
SHAI HULUD I mentioned last week that the first announcement of the 2013 Soundwave Festival would be made the middle of that week. Now all has been revealed, and it’s fair to say that this is the biggest lineup that the festival has ever announced! No seriously – Metallica, Blink 182, Paramore, The Offspring, Anthrax, All Time Low, Flogging Molly, Motion City Soundtrack, The Lawrence Arms, Sleeping With Sirens, Cancer Bats, Madball, Vision of Disorder, Pierce The Veil, Of Mice & Men, Miss May I, The Wonder Years, While She Sleeps, Such Gold, Lucero and Miss May I. But here is my pick of the lineup, the single band that I am the most excited to see: Shai Hulud! The band have just wrapped up work on a new album, so it will be excellent to see them performing new and old material. So Soundwave is happening at an as yet undisclosed location in Melbourne on Firday 1 March 2013. General public tickets go on sale on Thursday 23 August, but sign up to the Soundwave mailing list to have access to presale tickets. See everyone there. I meant to mention this last week, but ran out of room. Adelaide’s Paper Arms have entered the studio to begin recording the follow up to their critically acclaimed 2010 debut Days Above Ground. The band are currently holed up at Capitol Sounds Studios in their hometown with Jimmy Balderston, with the 13 new tracks to head over to the US for mixing by Brian McTernan.“We are so stoked to have Brian on board with this record! He’s recorded such a long list of our favourite albums, everyone from Texas Is The Reason to Thrice, I couldn’t really think of many other people I’d be this excited to work with,” says vocalist/guitarist Josh Mann. The forthcoming album will be out November 5 through Poison City Records. Paper Arms will also being playing the Sunday 16 September show of the Poison City Weekender, but if you don’t already have a ticket, too late you missed out. Having recently announced a new vocalist in Break Even’s Mark Bawden and intentions for album number two, Melbourne melodic hardcore act Hopeless have now announced further tour dates to their previously announced Brisbane jaunt. At the moment, it looks like they will be playing an 18+ show at the Worker’s Club in Melbourne on Friday 31 August and then an all ages show at Phoenix Youth Centre on Saturday 1 September. Sydney’s magical animal hardcore act Totally Unicorn have announced the release of the most AMAZING 7-inch ever. Appropriately called 7inches, the EP will feature two new songs and is strictly limited to 200 copies. However, if you preorder now you will receive a complimentary digital copy of a third song Innertube. But here is why you need to purchase it (and it will make perfect sense if you’re a fan of the band): the vinyl is in the shape of a hot pink dick, which the band described as making the 7-inch actually a 12-inch. You can order it through the band’s Bandcamp page, with orders expected to ship around 11 October. I’ve talked previously about Frank Turner’s hardcore side project, Mongol Horde, which was first unveiled a year ago now (back in August 2011). At the time, he noted that he was aiming for something further from his previous band, Million Dead, with something more akin to Jesus Lizard or Hot Snakes. Lyrically, he also promised a pretty different focus, describing the band’s current material as “quite depraved” with an example being a song which has Natalie Portman infected with a tapeworm which uses her as a sock pocket and leads an uprising in Hollywood. Anyway, the band have unveiled their first track, called Casual Threats From Weekend Hardmen which you can find a video for floating around the interwebs.
BUSINESS MUSIC
OG FLAVAS
INTELLIGIBLE FLOW
INVESTING IN CLUB MUSIC WITH PAZ
URBAN AND R&B NEWS BY CYCLONE
HIP HOP NEWS & COMMENTARY WITH ALEKSIA BARRON
Fiennes’ (Roman) General contemptuously spits to starving rioters, “Go, get you home, you fragments!”
PLAN B
DIAFRIX
HOW SWEDE IT IS
The Swedes are making a great impression at the moment. Bilingual booty tracks. Big points to GNUČČI Banana teaming up with Cristian Dinamarca for the 110bpm bumper – 360 Donna. It looks like an official album is in the pipeline. More recently Stockholm’s Ellinor Olovsdotter aka Elliphant has placed her ethereal raps over two stand out tracks, In The Jungle and Tekkno Scene feat. fellow Swede Adam Kanyama. All these tracks have really interesting video clips too. Sticky Stockholm (the man behind 12-3 Recordings) emailed through his latest EP. Going through his back catalogue and kept coming across great bumping house tracks. The one that’s been on rotation is Dual Threat that bumps out a slightly garage bassline and hip hop vox.
MICHAEL DIAMOND – TRAP SHOOTER
I am completely convinced Michael Diamond is going to retire into a hip hop career. Why has 2-Chainz not mentioned him yet? Maybe we should be promoting him as the person to be seen with on Worldstar. Anyway, it seems trap is blowing up, all the past b-more stars are coming out the closet and all the past 130bpm hits of the last year are chopped and screwed into the latest trap hit. And the best are sitting up the top. The Cobra Krames – Dat Krunk EP smashed two new tracks, Hit Dat and Bounce Dat, which resemble a great part 1- and part 2-style EP. Oh Snap! – once famous for not wearing skinny jeans – has re-upped M.I.A’s Hands Up, Thumbs Down, sampling the B-Town and amping it under a hover bass. Completely “turnt out” and by no means play this at your local bar, it’s massive. A couple of the more major club music players are putting their signature all over trap. You can’t get bigger than the Flosstradamus – Roll Up (Baauer Remix) out on Clubhouse Vol II. If Flosstradamus are the presidents of trap then Baauer is the first lady, and on this one they in the mile high club on Air Force One. The next remix that’s worth its weight is Dillon Francis re-birthing Masta Blasta. Dillon Francis has a unique touch when it comes to next level club music, keeping the pressure on and always being progressive and upfront. Trap music has taken over my Soundcloud, inbox and RSS searches, but on the local front Mat Cant has released promos to his Make Believe EP out on Scattermusic September 4. The package includes three remixes and a b-side, Are You Ready, that’s got a bumping a garage vibe and rasta call out. One of the stand out remixes in the package is from Brisbane’s answer to Toddla T, Sampology. Snares and hats are riding all over the OG synth horns and bass, the remix puts Make Believe into all your club sets.
ON THE UP
Will Monotone of Boston MA has a jackin’ house anthem for Fogbank Records. Dem Mai Hoes has one foot in hip hop and one on the dancefloor. Also copped a moombahton comp titled Mash It Up! that takes all the tropical elements and keeps ‘em alive in 2012 with the big moombah beat. Stand out’s from Uproot Andy and Dawerfa with Mambotune and DJ Comrad with Neguinho Moombahton. It looks like moombahton is still moving strong look at Walmer Convenience and 110BPM blogs for all the mad new variations of the “ton”. Locally the Styalz Fuego and Wax Motif production on the new Diafrix track Helicopter is a big club track. It’s great that their label allowed them to go out a little bit on the edge. Well worth checking out the growth of Diafrix.
Plan B, aka Ben Drew, has swagga – ol’ skool style (which we’ll be getting a nice dose of at Parklife Sunday 30 September). Indeed, William Shakespeare, that humble glover’s son, introduced the German word ‘swagger’ into English with A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The MC is carrying on the tradition of Britain’s most fabled wordsmith with poetically subversive hip hop in iLL Manors. iLL Manors is the soundtrack to Drew’s full-length directorial debut (as-yet-unscheduled to screen in Australia). However, it stands on its own as a concept album (iLL Manors uses film dialogue, but has additional songs). In fact, the Forest Gate, East London native is returning to the underground rap of 2006’s debut, Who Needs Actions When You Got Words, encompassing the confrontational Kidz. Drew, who once aspired to be an R&B singer, decided that he needed “a break from the politics of hip hop,” as he told NME. For The Defamation Of Strickland Banks he donned a sharp – not shiny – suit, performing retro soul. So successful was that album (UK quadruple platinum) that he could finally realise iLL Manors. Though Drew, a self-proclaimed “polymath”, has established himself as an actor – with roles in Noel Clarke’s Adulthood, Harry Brown (alongside Michael Caine) and the upcoming reboot of The Sweeney (Ray Winstone) – he only cameos in iLL Manors. Riz Ahmed is the drug dealer protagonist. Today’s pop culture is strangely void of socio-political critique, let alone protest – Russian feminist punks Pussy Riot aside. Popdom actually appears to be defending the status quo, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises disturbing with its anti-Occupy theme (Andrew Bolt loves it). More cogent is Ralph Fiennes’ punk adaptation of Shakespeare’s Coriolanus.
Drew is throwing hip hop back to the streets, telling the stories of a demonised underclass living in the Olympic Stadium’s shadows. He exposes the causes of 2011’s London riots, and the profound inequities of David Cameron’s Isles Of Wonder (or Plunder), redressing biased tabloid reporting. Drew is clearly one of those “fragments”. Danny Boyle’s Olympics opening ceremony represented a peculiar co-option of punk (Sex Pistols!), rave (The Prodigy) and urban, yet Drew reclaims them all – and with a dangerousness you won’t hear from Example. The iLL Manors title-track, aggro bassline sampling German rapper Peter Fox’s quasi-classical Alles Neu, is his counterpart to Melle Mel’s The Message. David Cameron doesn’t care about poor people – and Drew refers to him as a “stupid cunt.” ILL Manors is no mere bass music album, but a furnace of vintage dub, hardcore, Bristolian trip hop, UK garage, and hip hop beats that hark back to seminal Bomb Squad and RZA productions. Brit Al Shux, famed for masterminding Jay-Z’s Empire State Of Mind, is iLL Manors’ primary producer – and dude’s on fire. Reviewers have stressed how divergent iLL Manors is from The Defamation..., but the latter was not only musical, but also narrative-driven. Here, the dubby I Am The Narrator skews Romantic composer Camille Saint-Saëns’ Aquarium from The Carnival Of The Animals. Imagine Wu-Tang ambushing a sound system. Labrinth produces, and sings on, the poignant Playing With Fire, about the brutalities of gang initiation. As an MC free of street machismo, Drew considers the struggles of impoverished women in his latest single, Deepest Shame, a necessarily sombre relative of Emeli Sandé’s Heaven. Drew has taken a commercial risk with iLL Manors, but it’s already hit No. 1 in the UK and, with triple j support, Top 10 here. While Brit critics have suggested that iLL Manors is too much of “a harrowing ride”, and possibly exploitative, Drew has a conviction not heard since Public Enemy’s glory days. Let England Shake.
THE BREAKDOWN POP CULTURE THERAPY WITH ADAM CURLEY
ANTONY HEGARTY It’s good timing for our discomposure that a couple of months before their appearance here for the Melbourne Festival, Antony & The Johnsons have released a live album. In October, the group will perform their stage show, Swanlights, in Melbourne with the backing of a 44-piece orchestra, a slightly scaled down version of the show they presented at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall in January with a 60-piece orchestra. Cut The World (Spunk) was recorded last year in Copenhagen with the Danish National Chamber Orchestra – 42 pieces – and is comprised of flourished renditions of ten previously released songs, the new title track and an intimate speech titled Future Feminism. It’s the speech that has been the focus of much writing about the album so far, from Ann Powers on her NPR blog to Kitty Empire in The Guardian, and for good reason: it presents on record what Antony Hegarty has been growing as an artistic theme in recent years, the idea of a more holistic vision of humanity’s relationship to the earth through “feminine systems of governance”. As Hegarty concedes near the end of the sevenminute address to his on-board audience (but then they’re Danish and at an Antony concert so of course they’re liberals) his message is “obviously a very broad statement”. Though you get the feeling he easily could outline specific ideas as ways forward for this movement, Hegarty seeks mostly to awaken in his listeners merely the possibility of a world in which the social and natural processes of motherhood are used as a blueprint for human governance. Hegarty has spoken before about his
experience, as a transgendered person, of the impact oestrogen and testosterone have on thinking and the need for us to understand and exploit those differences rather than have the goal of aligning the roles of men and women. But it isn’t a balancing of the genders that Hegarty espouses; his vision is for the wrongs done by men to be greatly righted by women, and it’s very much tied to paganism – and a rejection of “sky gods” – and a need to alter our thinking about the changing environment. Before this column turns into a hammering of Hegarty’s humble ideas, it’s this more humble point I want to make: It’s easy to listen to Future Feminism and Hegarty’s list of progressive (not ‘radical’) ideas and think them wondrous thoughts from the ether, the kind that exist up there somewhere but don’t have a whole lot of relevance in the drudgery of day-to-day. It’s easy to praise them just as we praise Hegarty’s voice, which we also so often describe with words such as ‘ethereal’ and ‘angelic’ – words that remove him from the human experience because his talents seem so far removed from the limitations of it. It’s even easier, particularly in our rush to embrace ‘atheism’ as a reactionary label against organised religion and in our debates about carbon taxes and industry standards, to forget we’re human and to listen to our own experience of that, by which I mean it’s easy it let those labels and conversations separate us from what we are. It’s also easy to forget that our artists are human, that their voices aren’t from other worlds but can reflect what’s happening to us here. But we shouldn’t. Like Hegarty’s message, the above is a very broad statement. It’s one that comes directly after a couple of days with Cut The World, which features some of Hegarty’s most impacting songs, including Cripple & The Starfish, Another World and I Fell In Love With A Dead Boy. And it’s this impact that makes the sum of Hegarty’s work larger than its parts: his music brings us back to ourselves so that we can hear his valuable message. Really hear it. “Every atom of me, every element of me seems to resonate, seems to reflect the great world around me,” Hegarty says in Future Feminism. It’s a wonderful day to be alive.
themusic.com.au
SKRYPTCHA I am continually filled with wonder by the generosity and camaraderie shown in the Australian hip hop scene to people in need of help. People have stepped up to help their own, such as when raising money for the late Robert Hunter during his battle with cancer. There have also been epic efforts for major causes, like the incredible gigs that were organised all over the country to raise money in the wake of the Queensland floods. For a musical style that so many people insist on associating with violence and vandalism, there’s a lot of willingness to help others in difficult times. With that in mind, please put Friday 14 September in your diary now. That evening, Big Noise, a benefit show for Dazed, will be going down at the Laundry Bar. Dazed is a producer, MC and DJ for Down For The Count (DFTC) Records, and has been a prolific supporter of hip hop in Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne. Having spent years in the thick of music, he has suffered extensive damage to his ears, and will have to get nerve surgery and wear hearing aids for the rest of his life. Big Noise has been organised to help raise funds to cover the costs of the hearing aids so that Dazed can remain aurally involved in the world. Hau is coming down from Sydney to host the event, and a killer bill of Melbourne talent has been organized: Smash Brothers, Maundz and BwivDeece, Fluent Form, One-Sixth, Mata & Must, Fatty Phew and of course DFTC Records. DJs Doc Felix and Blazin Marty will be stepping up as well, and Hau will even spend some time behind the decks. Plus there’s going to be heaps of merch giveaways, courtesy of Obese, Broken Tooth and Elefant Traks. Lock it down, people – and please say attention to your auditory health, too. The aforementioned Hunter was the subject of a documentary which has now been named Hunter: For The Record. This film finally has a screening date for Melbourne locked in. The documentary very nearly fell by the wayside when it couldn’t attract funding from any Australian TV network, but in another display of hip hop heads banding together for a cause, the money to finish it was raised via crowdfunding. Hunter: For The Record will screen at ACMI on Saturday 27 October at 4pm, the weekend after the inaugural Robert Hunter Cup. Tickets are now on sale via the ACMI website (tickets.acmi.net.au). Underground hip hop party crew Daily Meds are making the trek from Sydney to Melbourne this weekend to celebrate the release of their debut album Happy Daze, which is now available through iTunes. They’ve caught the attention of plenty of listeners with their vocalist combination – MCs P.Smurf and Mikoen are complemented by singer Billie Rose, who brings an unusual edge to their sound. They’ll be playing an early show at the Laundry Bar this Saturday 18 August, and entry is free. In audio-visual news, it looks like we’re officially past the point where a hip hop video clip can only consist of MCs standing in front of a graffiti-d wall while rapping angrily. The latest to smash the mold is Skryptcha, whose video for his single Dance is an absolute treat. It tells the story of mild-mannered Jonathan, who finds escape from the mundane via his love of classic ‘60s and ‘70s funk. The title of the track should tell you what comes next. Visually, this clip is an absolute treat – props to director John-Paul McElwee for creating an immersive retro experience. If you haven’t seen it get, have a gander: youtube.com/ObeseRecords. INPRESS • 45
HOWZAT! LOCAL MUSIC NEWS BY JEFF JENKINS
MICHAEL MEEKING & THE LOST SOULS
THE MEEKS SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH
When Michael Meeking released the break-up album Where To From Here in 2008, Howzat! asked if there was a happy ending. “The jury is still out,” Meeks replied. His new album, Ride On, shows that he’s bounced back. “I’ve been broke and I’ve been broken,” the album starts, “but I’ll mend myself again.” Indeed, the songs on Ride On show that Meeks has not just survived, he’s prospered. There is nothing particularly fashionable about Ride On – there are no dance beats and you won’t see it vying with The Voice-related albums in the Top 40. This is simply superior songwriting, quality roots rock. Asked to describe the making of Ride On in a few words, Meeks says, “Fun, frustrating, satisfying.” With financial and time constraints, the album took more than three years to 46 • INPRESS
make, an Arts Victoria grant helping it across the line. Props to producer Tim Johnston for helping the band deliver a world-class sound. “Tim is a great bloke,” Meeks says, “extremely supportive and positive, and just brilliant in the studio. He really got the best out of us and captured the vibe of the band.” Michael’s band, The Lost Souls (Julien Chick on bass, Chris Gates on guitar, and Dave “Clean Hands” Kleynjans on drums), are complemented by some stellar guests, including Weddings Parties Anything’s Jen Anderson on violin, The Vandas’ Chris Altmann on pedal steel, and Steve Hesketh on piano and Hammond. And a highlight of the album is Gentle, a duet with The Bamboos’ Kylie Auldist. “Back in the day, around ’97, Kylie’s band, Heavy Earth, and The Lost Souls were two bands at the Rochester Castle,” Meeks explains. “I would sometimes sit at the bar with my guitar and get Kylie to sing some of my songs. One of those songs was Gentle, and I can’t remember how it happened, but we just started doing it as a duet. When we were talking about songs for this album, we thought it was time we recorded it.” Kylie is a wonderful singer, but Meeks can match her when it comes to hitting the high notes. “Kylie is awesome,” he says, “a brilliant singer, performer and person. We were very privileged to have her on the album and it was heaps of fun singing with her again after so many years.” What’s Meeks’ favourite duet? “I’m with Myf Warhurst on this one – Kenny and Dolly’s Islands In The Stream. I also love The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl’s Fairytale Of New York.”
Ride On is dedicated to a guy named Sean Dineen, with the message, “We’re still pushing through, mate”. “I met Sean at the start of high school and we were great friends from then on,” Meeks explains. “He was a larger-than-life character with amazing charisma, energy and talent. He was friends with all the guys in the band and was a great supporter of my music. His catchphrase in regards to my music was ‘You’ve gotta keep pushing through’ and that’s why we put that inscription on the album.” Sean was diagnosed with cancer in 2008 and died the following year. “I will always miss him,” says Meeks. One song on the album is called Are You Listening?. What was Meeks listening to when he made the record? “A lot of old stuff, like The Faces’ bestof, Good Boys… When They’re Asleep, and the Stones, Big Star and The Black Crowes. Aside from the songwriting, I was attracted to the vibe they captured in the studio and their treatment of guitars.” Asked to nominate his three favourite local songwriters, Meeks replies, “Where do I start, there are so many! I guess it goes without saying that Paul Kelly is a gem. I’ve been lucky to play support gigs for some of the greats, like Tim Rogers and Mick Thomas. And we’re rapt to have another great Melbourne singer/songwriter, Dan Warner, playing at our launch.” That gig is Sunday at 3.30pm at the Penny Black, 420 Sydney Road, Brunswick.
TALES FROM THE CITY
Another local songwriter to keep an eye on is Hayden Calnin. His single, For My Help, from his debut EP, City, is a dramatic piece of pop. Big, atmospheric and bold. Hayden, 22, has a bright future. He launches City at the Workers Club on Friday 24 August.
Can You Feel It TIMOMATIC (18) Everyone’s Waiting MISSY HIGGINS (21) Lolita THE VERONICAS (23) On Top JOHNNY RUFFO (28) Shout It Out REECE MASTIN (29) Run Alone 360 (37, debut) When The Lights Go Out HAVANA BROWN (40, debut) Karise Eden’s six-week reign is over, while The Sapphires soundtrack leaps from 17 to five. My Journey KARISE EDEN (number two) The Sapphires soundtrack (five) The Ol’ Razzle Dazzle MISSY HIGGINS (six) Drinking From The Sun HILLTOP HOODS (seven) Happy Home DARREN PERCIVAL (11) Broken Brights ANGUS STONE (13) The Story So Far KEITH URBAN (17) Falling & Flying 360 (18) Shooting Star RACHAEL LEAHCAR (22) No Shame SARAH DE BONO (26) The Temper Trap THE TEMPER TRAP (33) Cornerstone HILLSONG LIVE (35)
HOWZAT! PLAYLIST
Ride On MICHAEL MEEKING For My Help HAYDEN CALNIN
CHART WATCH
The Best We Got THE RUBENS
Justice Crew spend a second week on top.
I Can Make You Love Me BRITISH INDIA
Boom Boom JUSTICE CREW (number one)
Tennis Clothes MINIBIKES
themusic.com.au
ILLNESS Guitarist Violinist Songwriter ACCIDENT Sound EngineerComposer Guitari Drummer TRAGEDYSinger EMERGENCY Road Crew Songwriter ACCIDENT ViolinistTRAGEDY Singer Sound Engineer Road Crew Drummer Guitarist ILLNESS EMERGENCY Manager Engineer Violinist EMERGENCY ACCIDENTRoad Crew Drumm Sound Engineer ILLNESS TRAGEDY Guitarist Composer Road Crew ILLNESS Guitar Songwriter EMERGENCY d CrewAgent Drummer ACCIDENT ILLNESS AGEDY Guitarist Violinist SongwriterTRAGEDY Sound EngineerComposer Guitar MERGENCY Drummer
WE’RE HERE TO HELP
www.supportact.com.au 0467 492 843
INPRESS • 47
WED 15 Bass Party: Laundry Coq Roq: Lucky Coq Cosmic Pizza: NHJ: Bimbo Deluxe Halfways: The Workshop Inner City Trash: Lounge Loaded Wednesdays: Revolver Upstairs Lost And Found: Spidey, Gupstar & Dan, Shaky Memorial: Revolver Upstairs Lounge Wednesdays: Matty Raovich, PCP, Adelle: Lounge Mechanics: Workshop Wednesday Night Special: Post Percy: New Guernica Wednesdays @ Co: Petar Tolich, Scotty E: Co. Nightclub Whisky Wednesday: Strange Wolf
THU 16 3181 Thursdays: Hans DC, Nikki Sarafian, Jake Judd, Sam Gudge, Sean Rault, Jesse Young, John Doe: Revolver Upstairs Billboard Thursdays: Billboard Bottom End Thursdays: Bottom End
CLUB GUIDE Do Drop In: Kiti, Lady Noir, DJ Foo: Carlton Club Dub Step: Eurotrash First Stop Thursdays: Urban Bar Free Range Thursdays: Lucky Coq Funhouse: Co. Nightclub Glitch Thursdays: Q Lounge Heartbreaker: Revolver Bandroom Loose Joints: The Workshop Lounge Thursdays: Citizen.com, Ghetto Filth: Lounge Love Story: 1928: The Toff Midnight Express: The Toff Carriage Room New Guernica Thursdays: Post Percy, Awesome Wales: New Guernica Night Skool: Eurotrash Noizy Neighbours: Room 680 Pennies: Laundry Rhythm-al-ism: Fusion Safari Thursdays: Pretty Please Shake Some Action: Street Party, Samaritan, Polyavalanche: OneSixOne Soul in the Basement: Cherry Bar
ER W PO 50 N IO T I ED
Switch: Eve The Factory: Trak Thursdays: Liberty Social Tigerfunk: Bimbo Deluxe Trinity Thursdays: La Di Da Unlucky: Seven Nightclub Wah Wah Thursdays: Wah Wah Lounge
FRI 17 393 Fridays: First Floor 393 Any Time: Workshop Aphelion: James Selby, Jason Tay, Adam Boswell, Mark Major, Edd Muggles My Aeon Bass Station: 3D Block Party Fridays: Marrakech Bottom End Fridays: Bottom End Bush Doof 3: Post Percy, Otologic, Andee Frost: New Guernica Dancteeria: Laundry Destination: La Di Da Extravaganza: The Workshop Fake Tits: Tramp
Fevah 15th Birthday: Phil Reynolds, Skol, James Lawson: Room 680 Freedom Pass Fridays: Co. Nightclub, Fusion Freeplay Fridays: Amber Lounge Fridays at Eurotrash: Eurotrash Indecent Fridays: Syn Bar Juicy: Bimbo Deluxe La Musica: La Di Da Lounge Friday: Citizen. com, DJ Who, Tahl, Dave Pham: Lounge Midnight Midnight Massacre: New Guernica Mu-Gen, Token: Eurotrash Panorama: Lucky Coq Poncho 2013 Party: King Gizzard DJs: The Mercat PopRocks: Dr Phil Smith: Toff Retro Fridays: Club Retro Revolver Fridays: Revolver Upstairs Tea Cosy Sounds Part 3: Swayze, James Manning, Phaon Phipat: Loop The Raah Project: Prince Bandroom Tydi: Chasers Nightclub Slinky Fridays: Q Lounge
When The Smoke Clears: Perc: Brown Alley WOW Fridays: Neverland Sat 18 All City Bass: Brown Alley Alumbra Saturdays: Alumbra Audioporn: OneSixOne Bam Bam Saturdays: Q Lounge Big Danciní:Mugen, Yo Mafia, Rusty Ryan: Laundry Billboard Saturdays: Billboard Bootay: Mike Hunt, C:1, Des Clarke: Workshop Bottom End Saturdays: Bottom End C Grade: The Mercat Daily Meds: Laundry Dexter: Laundry Dojo Ladies Night: Order of Melbourne Empire: Fuzzy, Sgt. Slick: Co. Nightclub, Fusion First Floor Saturdays: Agent 86, Moonshine, Genetix, Phil Smith: First Floor Forbidden Saturdays: Amber Lounge
OUT NOW!
Hip Hop Hoochies: Laundry Houseparty: Eurotrash Hotstep: Bimbo Deluxe House De Frost: The Toff Majik Saturdays: Room680 Mashouse Saturdays: 577 Lt Collins New Guernica Saturday: New Guernica Pash: The Roxy Playground: Seven Nightclub Poison Apple: La Di Da Prognosis: Soulfire: Loop Strut Saturdays: Trak Survivor: Bottom End Textile: Lucky Coq TFU Saturdays: Two Floors Up Under Suspicion: Brown Alley Wah Wah Saturdays: Wah Wah Lounge Why Not?: Pretty Please
SUN 19 4AM Sunday Mornings: Wah Wah Lounge Be.: Co. Nightclub Get Wet: Word Bar Guilty Pleasure Sundays: Pretty Please Off Beat: The Workshop
New Guernica Sundays: New Guernica Revolver Sundays: Revolver Upstairs South Side Hustle: Lucky Coq Spit Roast Sundays: Cushion Star Bar Sundays: Star Bar Sundae Shake: Bimbo Deluxe Sunday Sessions: Lucky Coq Sunday Works: Kloke, Bryce Lawrence: I Know A Place The Sunday Set: AndyBlack, Haggis: The Toff
MON 20 Gear Shift: Horse Bazaar Hair Of The Dog: Revolver Upstairs IBimbo: Bimbo Deluxe Monday Struggle: Lucky Coq Toasted: Laundry
BUY NOW
VISIT WWW.THEMUSIC.COM.AU/STORE 48 • INPRESS
themusic.com.au
TUE 21 Almost Famous: Co. Nightclub All That Tuesday: Berlin Bar Bimbo Tuesday: Bimbo Deluxe Cosmic Pizza: Lucky Coq Choose Tuesdays: Post Percy: New Guernica Dumplings: Eurotrash Fourplay Tuesdays: Cushion Harmonics: The Workshop MSG Tuesdays: Laundry Oasis: Tramp Space Hopper: Match
BANDS THE INDUSTRY THE LOCALS THE BLOG RES THE DJS THE GIGS THE PRODUCERS THE EMIXES THE ARTISTS THE FESTIVALS THE GRO BUMS THE TOURS THEMUSIC.COM.AU THE FA THE INDUSTRY THE LOCALS THE BLOGS THE E THE GIGS THE PRODUCERS THE CLUBS THE TISTS THE FESTIVALS THE GROUPIES THE ALBU THE FANS THE BANDS THE INDUSTRY THE LOC S THE ENCORES THE DJS THE GIGS THE PROD LUBS THE REMIXES THE ARTISTS THE FESTIVA PIES THE ALBUMS THE TOURS THE FANS THE DUSTRY THE LOCALS THE BLOGS THE ENCOR HE GIGS THE PRODUCERS THE CLUBS THE R BANDS THE INDUSTRY THE LOCALS THE BLOG RES THE DJS THE GIGS THE PRODUCERS THE EMIXES THE ARTISTS THE FESTIVALS THE GRO THE INDUSTRY THE LOCALS THE BLOGS THE S THE GIGS THE PRODUCERS THE CLUBS THE TISTS THE FESTIVALS THE GROUPIES THE ALB THE FANS THE BANDS THE INDUSTRY THE LO
WED 15 A Baker’s Dozen, Dubfonik, Psilosimian, Warpaint, DJ Shikung Bar Open Bohjass, Ben Carr Band, Meter Maid 303 Captain Kid and guests Kent Street Bar, Fitzroy Chris Hale, Hannah Cameron, Luke Moller Northcote Social Club Conrad Williams St Jeromes Daydream Arcade, Les Garcons Grace Darling Hotel Feast of Dan, DJ Cisco Rose, Kirtie Clements, Em Rusciano, Nath Valvo Revolver Upstairs Josh Kelly Quartet Paris Cat Jazz Club Kate Miller-Heidke, The Beards The Corner Hotel Kestral Bridge Hotel Les Thomas, Dan Waters Retreat Hotel Maka Khan, Frond Gertrude’s Brown Couch Mandy Connell, Kerryn Fields The Drunken Poet Michael Jackson History II feat. Kenny Wizz Geelong Performing Arts Centre Miles Brown, Young Romantix, Nun, Ice Claw, DJ Kate Fox The Gasometer Hotel Myth, Full Code, Mushroom Giant, Red X The Espy, Lounge Bar Open Mic Brunswick Hotel Owen Campbell, Mustard Courage, Conor Farrell The Toff In Town Petar Tolich, Scotty E Co. & Fusion Nightclub at Crown Rob Burke Quartet Bennetts Lane Sam Cooper The Old Bar Sweet Teens, Simon Millar The Tote The Dukes of Despair Hillz Bar, Monbulk The Fox Party, Brightly, Young Oysters The Workers Club The Gypsy Curse The Standard Hotel The Savages, Bombs Are Falling, The Cruntburgers Idgaff Bar and Venue Vice Grip Pussies, DJ Yuri Barbarion Cherry Bar Wandering Spirit, Andalucia Evelyn Hotel
THU 16 4tress, Diana’s Bow, Styx n Stones Ruby’s Lounge 8 Foot Felix, Rapscallion Lomond Hotel Australian Art Orchestra Bennetts Lane Beautiful Change, Joe Forrester and special guests Wesley Anne (Band Room) Bee, Marco, Alei, Amber Ferraro The Espy, Lounge Bar
50 • INPRESS
Bluejuice, Deep Sea Arcade, The Preachers Monash University, Gippsland Bodies, Clowns, Bad Vision, Motherf king Teresa The Tote Bodyjar, Jonesez, Steel Birds Northcote Social Club Cam Ewart’s Ghost Towns Of The Midwest Dexter Bar, Clifton Hill Chris Russell’s Chicken Walk The Toff In Town Church of Hysteria The Gasometer (Upstairs) Dub Captains, San Salvador, Dru Chen The LuWow Forbidden Temple Elvis Presley Tribute Night, Rob Snarski, Alex Gow, Liz Stringer, Jen Cloher, Van Walker, Quincy Mclean, Spencer P Jones Yah Yah’s Elvis To The T Wellers of Kangaroo Ground Fraser A Gorman, Vince Peach, Pierre Baroni Cherry Bar Geek Pie Pony Late Show Hometown, While The City Sleeps, Broadway Colonial Hotel I Valiance, The Approach, Disasters & Illuminate Revolver Upstairs Jex Saarelaht Trio, Julie O’Hara The Kelvin Club Kate Miller-Heidke, The Beards The Corner Hotel Kate Mulqueen The Thornbury Local Kim Kelaart 303 Mansion, Alaska, Sleep Decade, Sun Raaa, Dark Arts, Sunk Junk Evelyn Hotel Michael Plater Trio, Pete Azzopardi, Daniel Hall, The Coves The B.East Muneomi Senji, Rod Cooper The Gasometer Hotel National Airlines, Anqurius Tago Mago No Escape For the King, Black Tea House, The Last 5 Minutes Grace Darling Hotel Open Mic Night Bridge Hotel Pearls, Tax, Repairs, Exhaustion Bar Open Pity Scissor, Gentlemen The Liberty Social Sarah McLeod Empress Hotel Steve Parkin Wesley Anne (Front Bar) Sunset Riot, Black Aces, Lungs, Drooling Mouths of Memphis Brunswick Hotel The Dark Ale, Tender Bones Great Britain Hotel The Universal Thump The Workers Club TheCityShakeUp, the spinset, My Favourite Accident Pony Whipped Cream Chargers, Mangelwurzel, The Shabbab The Lounge Who is Mr Jones? The Drunken Poet
FRI 17 Anarion, Mason, Soulforge, Sewercide The Prague Assemble The Empire, My Echo, The Neighbourhood Youth, The Sinking Teeth John Curtin Hotel Beef Jerk, King Tears Morturay, Mining Boom, Bored Nothing The Gasometer (Upstairs) Bitch Prefect Liberty Social Bluejuice, Deep Sea Arcade, The Preachers LaTrobe Uni Boof Lomond Hotel Castlecomer, Miss Nichols, Scarlar Fields, Paadmoose, The River Machine The Hi-Fi Club Crain, The Complimentary Headsets, Red Leader, Lurch & Chief, Black Fox The Espy, Gershwin Room Cold Hiker, Sunk Junk, Imogen Brough Bended Elbow, Geelong Damian Howard Band, Mustered Courage, Owen Campbell Thornbury Theatre Damon Smith Wesley Anne (Front Bar) Dan Bourke & Friends The Drunken Poet Dan Ewing Manhattan Hotel Daniel Filipovic, James Manning, Phaon Phipat Loop DJ Femme, Phil Ross, Chris Mac, B-Boogie, Dozza, 5FT2 Co. & Fusion Nightclub at Crown El Moth Bar Open Fantine, Texture Like Sun, Remi The Workers Club Fire Behaving As Air, Slight Of Build, Flyying Colours, Lunaire Pony Freiengeist Grace Darling Cellar Bar Jailbird Jokers, Watson & Watson Barwon Club Jimi Kritzler St Jeromes Jordie Lane, Francolin The Regal Ballroom Justine Jones Quintet Inside Out Hotel, Abbotsford
Pandorum, High Side Driver, Disgruntled Bruntle, Written In Ruins Evelyn Hotel
Antoinne Polnareff Ill et les Sauvages, + Special Guests The LuWow Forbidden Temple
Perc, Simon Slieker, Loki, Matty Raovich, Samari, + More Brown Alley
Anya, Kuya The Order Of Melbourne
Peter ‘Blackie’ Black, Laura Imbruglia Bridge Hotel
Appetite For Destruction, The Doors Of Perception, Audio Vibe The Espy, Gershwin Room
So Fire, Dizz1, Sista Sara, Ezu, Lady Banton, Shikung, Burn City Queenz, + More Portland Hotel
Artist Proof, Fat Gold Chain, Dearly Wish, Mel Calia Evelyn Hotel, Arvo Show
The Alcohotlicks, Gian Slater Trio, Nathan Slater, Christopher Hale Grace Darling Hotel
Something For Kate Karova Lounge Soul Fire, The Chunky F kers, Jules Plees, Andrew Slattery Loop
Poprocks at the Toff The Toff In Town
Bakehouse, The FAQs, Brother & Sister, Anthony Rea 303
Steph Crase, Matt Banham The Gasometer (Upstairs)
Black Majesty, Envenomed, Keys To Perdition The Prague
Stock Standard Bended Elbow, Geelong
Project Puzzle, Claude Hay Baha Tacos Ray Beadle Caravan Music Club Readable Graffiti, Disco Is Dead, New Clear Paradise, Midi Widow, Maximum Wolf Noise Bar Red Ink, The Die Casts, The Black Alleys Ding Dong Lounge Revertigo, Dawn of the Ages The Hammy Rory Ellis Oceanic Lounge at Portico, Ballarat
Chris Lake, Gita Seven Nightclub Claude Hay The Blues Train, Queenscliff Dan Ewing Manhattan Hotel
Susy Blue, Oh Deanna, Wartime Sweethearts Wesley Anne
Ealey & Tyers, Anthony Young, The Fry Brothers Chandelier Room
Swick, Tomderson, Wednesday the Rat Brown Alley
Even, DJ Roy, Paul ‘Gringo’ Allen Cherry Bar
Sydonia, Glass Empire, Beggars Orchestra, Alithia Evelyn Hotel
Fireballs, + Guests The Hi-Fi
Rufus, Elizabeth Rose, Super Magic Hats Northcote Social Club Shaky Memorial Yah Yah’s (Late) Snakadaktal, Sures, City Calm Down The Corner Hotel Souls On Board The Gasometer Hotel Spermaids, Duck Duck Chop, The Shabbab Grace Darling Hotel Stella Angelico & The Switch Basement Discs Straylove, The Corsairs, Client Liason Revolver Upstairs Surprise International Band, The Boys from Mesa Cosa Pony Late Show Swidgen, Moth, Xenos, Ol Meg Brunswick Hotel The Levitation Hex, A Million Dead Birds Laughing, Abrasion, Hours In Exile Bendigo Hotel The Raah Project, Axolotyl, Edd Fisher, Mike Gurrieri Prince Bandroom
Gimme Skelter, The Invaders The Palais Illy, Chasm Soundsystem, Scryptcha, M-Phazes Black Swan Hotel, Bendigo Johnny Casino Y Los Secretos, The Swingin’ Nutsacks, The Reprobettes Yah Yah’s Kevin Borich Express, Phil Manning St Andrew’s Hotel Laura, I, A Man, Drill Folly The Tote Lucie Thorne, Hamish Stuart, Sweet Jean Thornbury Theatre Luger Boa, Guests Of Ghosts, Lone Tyger Ding Dong Lounge Melody Black, The Mercy Kills, The Fighting!, DJ Rick Ruin Revolver Upstairs Moose Jaw Rifle Club The Post Office Hotel Northbrook Prince Bandroom Pegazus, Damnations Day, Kill Em All Barwon Club
Liberty Parade and guests The Thornbury Local
The Yard Apes, Beware Black Holes Tago Mago
Pink Goes Gaga Ferntree Gully Hotel
Love Like Hate Cornish Arms Hotel
The Zoobombs, Mesa Cosa, Baptism of Uzi, Bat Piss The Tote
Polo Club, 8 Bit Love, Deja, Mangohig The Toff In Town
Mass Cult, Heavy Beach, Smoke Signals, Cut Yah Yah’s
Thnkr, The Sunsleepers, The Alleys, Lucy Arundel Cherry Bar
Reflejos Bar Oussou, Brunswick
Michael Hickling, Hemy & Marshall, Barry Stuart & Beau Ingleton, Brett Franke Wesley Anne (Band Room)
Trio Agogo, Funk Buddies, Captain Groove 303 Waylon Joes Highway 31
SAT 18
Stomp The Dog, The Half Pints, Prophet Margin, Admiral Ackbar’s Dishonourable Discharge, The Bennies Brunswick Hotel - Arvo
Di Watson, + Guests The Thornbury Local
Percy Valentine St Jeromes
Otologic, Andee Frost, Rad Stevens, Bryce Lawrence, Matt D Ceed, Schon, + More New Guernica
Ten Gallon Head, Cartonero Great Britain Hotel
Backwood Creatures Tago Mago
The Scarecrows, The Corsairs, Apes, Better Than Wizards, Girl + Boy The Espy, Lounge Bar
Open Mic Night St Andrew’s Hotel
Andy Black, Haggis The Toff in Town, Afternoon session
Pikachunes, Client Liaison, King Gizzard, Smoking Toddlers, I Oh You DJs Mercat Cross Hotel
King Salami & The Cumberland Three, DJ Mohair Slim The LuWow Forbidden Temple
Open Mic, DJ Upstart Bar Oussou, Brunswick
Snakadaktal, Sures, City Calm Down The Corner Hotel
Phil Manning St Andrew’s Hotel, Arvo Show
Retro Honky Tonk Retreat Hotel Revertigo The Nash Hotel, Geelong River of Snakes, Damn Terran, Sun God Replica, Dead River, Rock Northcote Social Club Samsara Abode
Andy Young Yah Yah’s (Late)
Sand Pebbles Great Britain Hotel
Angela Librandi Prince Maximilian
Sean McMahon’s Western Union, Alysia Manceau Bridge Hotel
themusic.com.au
Bachelor Pad, Quince, Valley Girls, Wet Lips The Gasometer (Upstairs) Bem Brasil, Boemia Lomond Hotel (afternoon)
The Incredible Kicks, Howling Dollhouse, Erin & Dale Cherry Bar
Chris Wilson, Chris Russell’s Chicken Walk, Dean Muller, Dj Max Crawdaddy, + More Cherry Bar, Arvo Show
The Naysayers, The Velvets, Canterville Ghost Brunswick Hotel
Cuban Latin Salsa Sundays Bar Oussou, Brunswick Finding Isla, Clancye Milne, Tulalah 303, Arvo Show Fraser A Gorman, Castlecomer, Roller One, Elle Graham The Toff In Town Hey Gringo, Spectrum, Tom Pederson Williamstown RSL Ian Collard The Drunken Poet, Arvo Show
Tate Strauss, Phil Ross, Matty G, Joe Sofo, Finlo White, Dean T, Kitty Kat, + More Co. & Fusion Nightclub at Crown
James McCann’s Heavy Orchestra Carringbush Hotel
Teenage Mothers, Jack Mannix, Hollow Everdaze, Mutations, DJ Jack Crook, Ambrose Kenny Smith Grace Darling Hotel
Ken Maher, Tony Hargreaves Lomond Hotel
Terrorbyte Stripes, Mr Sharp Pony Late Show The Kilniks, Daydream Arcade, Animaux, The Primary Pop Noise Bar The Nomad, Oakley Grenell, Krafty Pixel Bar Open The Prince of Seagulls, Ennio Styles, Manchild, T-Rek Lounge Bar The Seven Ups Purple Emerald The Shambelles The Drunken Poet The Slaughtermen Caravan Music Club The Zoobombs, Empra, The Deep End, Disgruntled Bruntle, Phil Para The Espy, Lounge Bar Transit, Anchors, Apart From This Royal Melbourne Hotel Useless Children The Gasometer Hotel Vanity, Wonders, Free World, Term Four Reverence Hotel, Footscray
Jeb Cardwell The Drunken Poet
Kevin Borich Noise Bar Large No 12’s Labour In Vain Luke Sinclair’s Raised by Eagles The Standard Hotel Melting Pot Wesley Anne (Band Room) Mesa Cosa DJs, Mangelwurzel, Big Face & The Boogie Woogie Boogie Board Boys Bar Open Nasum, Psycroptic The Hi-Fi Nudist Funk Orchestra, Dale Ryder Band, Bad Boys Batucada The Espy, Lounge Bar Opa! 303 Ridgeback St Andrew’s Hotel, Arvo Show Rocky & the Two-Bob Millionaires Tago Mago Rory Ellis The Heritage Ross Hannaford & The Critters Caravan Music Club Sarah Eida, Rouge Fonce, Jonathan DeVoy, A Secret Performer Evelyn Hotel
Waco Social Club, Angry Mules, Cold Harbour, Dirty Palace Pony
Sean McMahon’s Western Union, Sweet Jean Empress Hotel, Arvo Show
Woollen Kits, East Link, Ausmuteants The Workers Club
Shisd, Major Napier, Naps, Juota The Gasometer Hotel
Yolanda & Music For Lovers Lomond Hotel
Snakadaktal, Sures, City Calm Down The Corner Hotel, afternoon
SUN 19 Alexis Nicole and the Missing Pieces Wesley Anne (Front Bar) Andrew Rice, Michael McManus, Fresh Advice, Matt Powell Reverence Hotel, Footscray
The Bitter Sweethearts The Post Office Hotel
Spectrum, Hey Gringo Willy RSL Tehachapi, Matt Kelly Grace Darling Cellar Bar
The Quolls, Melissa Main & Band Noise Bar, Afternoon The Revelators Flying Saucer Club Transit, Anchors, Like Royalty, The Mime Phoenix Youth Centre Trappist Afterland Band, Adam Cole, Julitha Ryan Yah Yah’s
MON 20 Cherry Jam Cherry Bar Grand Rapids, The Svens The Tote Illy, Chasm Soundsystem, Scryptcha, Flagrant Swindlers (Hotham) L-Burn, Illuminati, Aoi, Street Wax DJs Evelyn Hotel Lebowskis 303 Matthew Brown, Ollie Olsen, Ian Epps Northcote Social Club Mike Noga The Post Office Hotel Papa Maul, The Sweets The Espy, Lounge Bar The Shelf The Toff In Town Tim Neal, Mike Jordan Bernies Music Land
TUE 21 Acoustic Sounds The Order Of Melbourne Clairy Browne & the Bangin’ Rackettes, Stella Angelico The Toff In Town Collage The Espy, Lounge Bar Hiatus Kaiyote, Demian The Workers Club Irish Session Lomond Hotel Simon Wright Band, Mix Method, DJ Huw Joseph Evelyn Hotel Something For Kate, Mike Noga Northcote Social Club Transit, Anchors, Outlines, A Sleepless Melody, Oh Pacific Mechanics Institute, Ballarat
140 Sydney Rd BRUNSWICKHOTEL.NET
9387 6637
NO COVER CHARGE
“LIVE AT THE LOMOND”
WEDNESDAY THE 15TH OF AUGUST - 8PM
+43 C7 + " + ' - +#! " ?< 4AAH= 84;3B ?< !0=3H >==4;; (7DAB C7 ?< +7> 8B !A >=4B B4CB A8 C7 ?< (A03 A8B7 <DB82 B4BB8>= F8C7 0= >DA:4 0=3 5A84=3B
'0C C7 ?< (74 '70<14;;4B 'D= C7
?< 0= >;;0A3 ?< 41 0A3F4;; (D4 BC ?< +44:;H (A8E80 (74 AD=:4= $>4C $44; 'CA44C 8A42C;H >??>B8C4 %D44= *82 !0A:4C $7>=4 FFF C743AD=:4=?>4C 2>< 0D
FRI 17 AUGUST
Projects Puzzles ( melb) + Claude Hay ( syd) SAT 18 AUGUST
Ben Smith Band
THU 16TH
THE BRUNSWICK HOTEL’S OPEN MIC NIGHT
8 FOOT FELIX + RAPSCALLION
WITH YOUR HOST BRODIE EVERY WEDNESDAY NIGHT REGISTER ON THE NIGHT FROM 7PM ONWARDS $10 JUGS OF BRUNSWICK BITTER
8:30PM
(CONTEMPORARY ROOTS)
THURSDAY THE 16TH OF AUGUST - 8PM TILL MIDNIGHT $3 SCHOONERS OF DRAUGHT $5 BASICS
FRI 17TH
BOOF 9:30PM
8PM
SUNSET RIOT (SYD) WITH GUESTS BLACK ACES, LUNG, DROOLING MOUTHS OF MEMPHIS
(GET DOWN & BOOFY)
FRIDAY THE 17TH OF AUGUST - 9PM
SAT 18TH
SWIDGEN
YOLANDA & MUSIC FOR LOVERS 9:30PM
WITH GUESTS MOTH, XENOS, OL’ MEG SATURDAY THE 18TH OF AUGUST - 3PM
IDIOT FEST
(SWINGIN’ R&B)
16 PUNK BANDS OVER 2 STAGES! FEATURING: STOMP THE DOG(SA), THE HALF PINTS, PROPHET MARGIN (QLD), ADMIRAL ACKBAR’S DISHONOURABLE DISCHARGE, THE BENNIES, STRAWBERRY FISTCAKE, SCUZZLEBUTT AND THE AARDVARKS, DEPUTY DIPSHIT (QLD), SHADOW LEAGUE, DIXON CIDER AND MORE!
SUN 19TH
BEM BRASIL (CD LAUNCH)
SUNDAY THE 19TH OF AUGUST - 8PM
5:30PM
THE NAYSAYERS
(WORLD GROOVES)
WITH GUESTS THE VELVETS, CANTERVILLE GHOST
KEN MAHER & TONY HARGREAVES 9:00PM
MONDAY THE 20TH OF AUGUST - 8PM
THE BRUNSWICK HOTEL’S MILLION DOLLAR MONDAYS! $10 JUGS OF DRAUGHT
(ACOUSTIC ROOTS)
TUESDAY THE 21ST OF AUGUST - 9PM
THE BRUNSWICK HOTEL DISCOVERY NIGHT
ALL GIGS FREE! ~ EXCELLENT BAR AND RESTAURANT MEALS
GIVING CHANCES TO UP AND COMING LOCAL TALENT! THIS WEEK: FISTY CUFFS AND REFLEX REX
STAND UP COMEDY COMPETITION with Live Digital Voting
Over 30 Comics
FRI 24 AUGUST
competing for
SARITAH
$1000 Cash & Prizes
SAT 25 AUGUST
Featuring Australia’s Largest Audience digital voting Stand Up Competition! Special Guest Comics, Great Music and Truck Loads of Laughs
MAX SAVAGE AND THE FALSE IDOLS FRI 31 AUGUST
ALLENSWORTH ( USA )
RED VIOLIN
231 Bourke St
-i«ÊÈÊUÊ"VÌÊ{ÊUÊ ÛÊn UÊ iVÊÈÊ > î Ê ÜÊvÀ Êf£ÓÊ } iÀÊ>ÌÊ À® Call (02) 9547 2578 or Visit www.comedyintheraw.com.au INPRESS • 51
VENUE GUIDE BAHA TACOS
BRUNSWICK HOTEL
EVELYN HOTEL
Friday Project Puzzle, Claude Hay
Wednesday Open Mic
Wednesday Wandering Spirit, Andalucia
BAR OPEN Wednesday A Baker’s Dozen, Dubfonik, Psilosimian, Warpaint, DJ Shikung Thursday Pearls, Tax, Repairs, Exhaustion Friday El Moth Saturday The Nomad, Oakley Grenell, Krafty Pixel Sunday Mesa Cosa DJs, Mangelwurzel, Big Face & The Boogie Woogie Boogie Board Boys
BENDIGO HOTEL Friday The Levitation Hex, A Million Dead Birds Laughing, Abrasion, Hours In Exile
BRIDGE HOTEL Wednesday Kestral Thursday Open Mic Night Friday Peter ‘Blackie’ Black, Laura Imbruglia Saturday Sean McMahon’s Western Union, Alysia Manceau
Thursday Sunset Riot, Black Aces, Lungs, Drooling Mouths of Memphis Friday Swidgen, Moth, Xenos, Ol Meg Sunday The Naysayers, The Velvets, Canterville Ghost
CARAVAN MUSIC CLUB Friday Ray Beadle Saturday The Slaughtermen Sunday Ross Hannaford & The Critters
CORNISH ARMS HOTEL Friday Love Like Hate
EAST BRUNSWICK CLUB Saturday Neon & Venom, The Antoinettes
EMPRESS HOTEL Thursday Sarah McLeod
EMPRESS HOTEL, ARVO SHOW Sunday Sean McMahon’s Western Union, Sweet Jean
Thursday Mansion, Alaska, Sleep Decade, Sun Raaa, Dark Arts, Sunk Junk Friday Pandorum, High Side Driver, Disgruntled Bruntle, Written In Ruins Saturday Sydonia, Glass Empire, Beggars Orchestra, Alithia Sunday Sarah Eida, Rouge Fonce, Jonathan DeVoy, A Secret Performer Monday L-Burn, Illuminati, Aoi, Street Wax DJs Tuesday Simon Wright Band, Mix Method, DJ Huw Joseph
GRACE DARLING HOTEL Wednesday Daydream Arcade, Les Garcons Thursday No Escape For the King, Black Tea House, The Last 5 Minutes Friday Spermaids, Duck Duck Chop, The Shabbab Saturday Teenage Mothers, Jack Mannix, Hollow Everdaze, Mutations, DJ Jack Crook, Ambrose Kenny Smith
Sunday The Alcohotlicks, Gian Slater Trio, Nathan Slater, Christopher Hale
Tuesday Something For Kate, Mike Noga
Friday Snakadaktal, Sures, City Calm Down
PONY
JOHN CURTIN HOTEL
Thursday TheCityShakeUp, the spinset, My Favourite Accident
Saturday Snakadaktal, Sures, City Calm Down
Friday Assemble The Empire, My Echo, The Neighbourhood Youth, The Sinking Teeth
LOOP
Friday Fire Behaving As Air, Slight Of Build, Flyying Colours, Lunaire Saturday Waco Social Club, Angry Mules, Cold Harbour, Dirty Palace
PRINCE BANDROOM
Friday Daniel Filipovic, James Manning, Phaon Phipat Saturday Soul Fire, The Chunky Fkers, Jules Plees, Andrew Slattery
LOUNGE BAR
Friday The Raah Project, Axolotyl, Edd Fisher, Mike Gurrieri Saturday Northbrook
REVOLVER UPSTAIRS
Saturday The Prince of Seagulls, Ennio Styles, Manchild, T-Rek
NORTHCOTE SOCIAL CLUB Wednesday Chris Hale, Hannah Cameron, Luke Moller Thursday Bodyjar, Jonesez, Steel Birds
Wednesday Feast of Dan, DJ Cisco Rose, Kirtie Clements, Em Rusciano, Nath Valvo Thursday I Valiance, The Approach, Disasters & Illuminate Friday Straylove, The Corsairs, Client Liason Saturday Melody Black, The Mercy Kills, The Fighting!, DJ Rick Ruin
Friday Rufus, Elizabeth Rose, Super Magic Hats
THE CORNER HOTEL
Saturday River of Snakes, Damn Terran, Sun God Replica, Dead River, Rock
Wednesday Kate Miller-Heidke, The Beards
Monday Matthew Brown, Ollie Olsen, Ian Epps
Thursday Kate Miller-Heidke, The Beards
THE CORNER HOTEL, AFTERNOON Sunday Snakadaktal, Sures, City Calm Down
THE DRUNKEN POET Wednesday Mandy Connell, Kerryn Fields Thursday Who is Mr Jones? Friday Dan Bourke & Friends Saturday The Shambelles Sunday Jeb Cardwell
THE DRUNKEN POET, ARVO SHOW
THE ORDER OF MELBOURNE Saturday Anya, Kuya Tuesday Acoustic Sounds
THE STANDARD HOTEL Wednesday The Gypsy Curse Sunday Luke Sinclair’s Raised by Eagles
THE TOFF IN TOWN Wednesday Owen Campbell, Mustard Courage, Conor Farrell Thursday Chris Russell’s Chicken Walk Friday Poprocks at the Toff Saturday Polo Club, 8 Bit Love, Deja, Mangohig
Saturday Laura, I, A Man, Drill Folly Monday Grand Rapids, The Svens
WESLEY ANNE Saturday Susy Blue, Oh Deanna, Wartime Sweethearts
YAH YAH’S Thursday Elvis Presley Tribute Night, Rob Snarski, Alex Gow, Liz Stringer, Jen Cloher, Van Walker, Quincy Mclean, Spencer P Jones Friday Mass Cult, Heavy Beach, Smoke Signals, Cut
Sunday Ian Collard
THE HI-FI
Monday The Shelf
Saturday Johnny Casino Y Los Secretos, The Swingin’ Nutsacks, The Reprobettes
Tuesday Clairy Browne & the Bangin’ Rackettes, Stella Angelico
Sunday Trappist Afterland Band, Adam Cole, Julitha Ryan
Friday Castlecomer, Miss Nichols, Scarlar Fields, Paadmoose, The River Machine Saturday Fireballs, + Guests Sunday Nasum, Psycroptic
THE TOTE Wednesday Sweet Teens, Simon Millar
THE OLD BAR Wednesday Sam Cooper
Orchestral, String, Band, Jazz & Music Theatre. Apply now: mym.org.au or 03 9376 8988 themusic.com.au
Friday The Zoobombs, Mesa Cosa, Baptism of Uzi, Bat Piss
Sunday Fraser A Gorman, Castlecomer, Roller One, Elle Graham
Summer School 2013 January 14-19 52 • INPRESS
Thursday Bodies, Clowns, Bad Vision, Motherfking Teresa
R E C O R DI N G
E DI TI O N
MIDDLETON’S NEW MUSICAL FOOTPRINT THIS MONTH’S AUSTRALIAN MUSICIAN FEATURE PEERS INTO THE WORLD OF RECORDING. WE CHAT WITH SEVERAL RESPECTED RECORD PRODUCERS ABOUT THEIR CRAFT AND SPOTLIGHT SOME GREAT NEW RECORDING GEAR.
A
s a guitarist, keyboardist and a major part of Powderfinger’s songwriting team for 22 years, Darren Middleton learned a thing or two about recording great songs. Since the demise of the band, Middleton has placed his energy into producing other artists. Australian Musician’s Greg Phillips spoke to him about his role as record producer. After more than two decades at the top with Powderfinger, it wasn’t easy to know which way to turn next for Darren Middleton. He’d operated his own studio in Brisbane during the Powderfinger days, had worked with a few acts and enjoyed the production side of things, so music production seemed like a realistic option and when the opportunity came up to base himself at Melbourne’s Red Door Studios, things began to fall in place. A producer’s role can be many things, but for Darren, who has worked alongside some of the world’s best, he believes it’s all about assisting the act to reach their own potential. “I think at the end of the day, the artist needs to be voicing themselves,” Darren explains. “As a producer, you need to be able to say, well I think this would be better in the bigger scheme of the song or the project but if an artist has a very specific view, you’ve got to recognise that it’s a good thing. It’s that person being an artist and expressing that intangible quality that we all look for in musicians and bands.” Like the artists they work with, producers can sometimes bring a unique musical flavour to a project and stamp their own sonic authority upon it. Can you imagine The Beatles’ Sgt Peppers album produced by anyone other than George Martin or U2’s Achtung Baby without Daniel Lanois’ style all over it? For the majority of Powderfinger’s albums they used Nick DiDia, famous for his work with Rage Against The Machine and Pearl Jam. They also utilised Tony Cohen, Tim Whitten and Rob Schnapf, all whom employed different production approaches. “With Nick, in those early days, it was a learning and growing process for him too. He eventually became about the song and the sounds and giving things a purpose. If it didn’t have a purpose, get rid of it,” says Middleton. “Tim was more about not complicating things. Rob was different again. There’s a different way of doing things overseas. The band was in a bit of an odd place at that stage personally, fairly directionless. We were looking for direction and I don’t know if Rob necessarily provided that. We’d record and the song files would go off to a guy in a dark room with his Pro Tools setup. Cogsy and I went into the room one day to look at something and there were splice lines everywhere and you look at your music like that and just back out of that room really slowly. It was more of a technical way of making a record and not one I enjoyed doing that way.” The result was their least successful album, 2007’s Dream Days At The Hotel Existence. With regards to Middleton’s own production style, he suggests a more immediate approach to recording can be rewarding, particularly for the home recordist. “Do it quickly and spontaneously. Don’t overthink it. It’s good to know a bit about how things work behind the scenes but don’t let that get in the way of being creative.” Having laid down many guitar tracks in the studio, you’d expect him to have a few recording tips for the studio too. “I’m a big fan of the Royer R-121
ribbon mics. I would stick that with just a 57 against a speaker for a direct sound and something a bit further back for ambience. I’m a big fan of double-tracking particularly for slide guitar and little bits of lead guitar if a part requires. Acoustic guitars, I keep fairly simple. In any element of recording, if you can make the links in the chain as strong as possible, good-sounding amp, good-sounding microphone through a good mic pre, through a decent converter into your computer, you’ve got to keep all those links as strong as possible. Once you have added them all up and layered them, it doesn’t become a brittle hollow sound in the end.” For recording vocals, Darren also likes to keep it simple. “I would stick a few mics in front of them. I have an old 87 and a couple of Rode mics as well, Neumanns. I’d definitely try a few out to find the right sound pocket where the vocals sit within whatever is already existing on the beds … which maybe very little or a lot depending on what the singer needs to get the vibe of the song. I prefer very little. Less is more, then you add stuff as needs be.” It’s Middleton’s belief many acts get a little lost in the studio process and over-think, over-crowd songs where it’s not really warranted. “Just look for the focal point of the song and make that up front and centre and embellish where you need,” he suggests. “You’d be surprised what you hear when you mute a few things and you’ve just got drums, bass and guitar and your attention is there.”
“
DON’T OVER-THINK IT. IT’S GOOD TO NOW A BIT ABOUT W THINGS WORK BEHIND THE NES BUT DON’T LET THAT GET IN THE WAY OF BEING CREATIVE”
Apart from working with other artists such as Jac Stone, Renee Cassar and theatre troupe Geppetto, Darren has a few projects of his own which he’s excited about, one being a solo album which he hopes to have out by the end of the year. “The main reason I am doing it is that every song on it has a purpose for its existence. Lyrically they really are reflective of stuff I was going through. We’re into preproduction. A lot of songs don’t have bridges at the moment. I’ll enlist the help of friends because you have your head up your own arse if you do it all yourself.” The other project he’s working on is more hush-hush but could see him move into TV documentary mode. www.darrenmiddleton.com www.reddoorsounds.com.au
themusic.com.au
INPRESS • 53
A SPLICE OF PRODUCTION ADVICE PRODUCER/ARTIST: BRIAN CANHAM
be a nightmare when trying to place vocals in the mix later on, especially when compressing them. Which brings me to compression. This is one of the most important techniques to get your head around when mixing - excluding autotune sadly [laughs]. It’s the difference of sounding like a rough demo and a finished product. So do some homework on understanding what compression does... Oh, and get lots of takes if it sounds like the vocalist isn’t really cutting it, you’ll need them to make a ‘vocal comp’ later on (and then you might want to read up on the autotune). www.facebook.com/pseudoecho
PRODUCER/ENGINEER: MARSHALL CULLEN DAMIEN GERARDS, SYDNEY
Credits include: Chocolate Starfish, Anthony Callea, corporate work for Coca-Cola, Heinz, Austereo.
As a musician, what was the most vital lesson learned in regard to recording?
Record everything at a decent high resolution (bit/sample rate) and be organized with the session files and try not to commit too many ‘effects’ onto a track...rather record any effects that may be essential onto a separate track. Same goes with compression too - no need to commit that to the recording as it can hamper the final mix stage if it’s not right.
Tip for recording guitars? If recording with an amp or even an amp sim, make sure you take a separate D.I. line and record a clean ‘dry’ signal of the guitar too. That way if the recorded amp sound isn’t cutting it in the final mix stage, you can always re-route it back through another amp / sim to get the right sound. Same applies to effects - try to keep delays, reverbs etc on a separate track if possible, as the blend of such is crucial for placement in the mix stage.
Vocal recording tip? The first thing to do when recording vocals at home is to make sure you get them as ‘dry’ as possible! The inclusion of a room reflection can
54 • INPRESS
In today’s world of many generic processors and plugins, I think it’s even more important to have your own unique sound. From an engineering point of view, helping the player find that sound with a great amp (say a classic Vox that you hire in) and also a great well set up in tune guitar, is the start of a great sound. Then add a condenser and a dynamic mic, ensuring they are in phase, put the dynamic right up close to a speaker cone slightly offset to the centre, then move the condenser around while listening to find its ‘sweet spot’ usually about 300-450mm from the amp.
A studio tip for recording vocals? Some less experienced singers are not used to wearing cans. Have them try with one ear off, which can help their pitching. If it’s a large dia condenser, a good pop shield is essential. If they are really struggling with the whole big mic, live room, headphones thing, then put them on a Beta 58a or even SM58 handheld in the control room. If they are a live singer in a band, this is what they are used to and can often change everything! If you use a great preamp and comp chain, give it a bit of air - around 16k. These mics have excellent rejection and if you don’t run it too loud, it’s totally usable.
Never come into a studio without PREPARATION. Not only knowing the songs, arrangements etc, BUT the gear as well. So many times we have had drum kits come in with ancient heads on them, guitars where the strings are so old they are rusty, active basses with flat batteries, pedals that don’t work, leads missing, etc. We have plenty of bits and pieces to try and fix all of that of course but it wastes a lot of time.
Producing Chocolate Starfish - we are all good mates and had so much fun... Many laughs throughout and the album was a hit, so we were all a happy after the fact too.
Home recording tip?
A studio tip for recording guitars?
Biggest studio no-no?
Your most enjoyable recording session as producer and why?
Go for it, but don’t just do what you planned. Though it is VERY important to have a plan, the improv and random things that can happen in the session will often make it onto the final recording and possibly become iconic moments.
else for better quality mixing or mastering. Don’t get lost in plug-ins and sampled sounds, use your ears and common sense.
www.damiengerard.net
PRODUCER/ENGINEER: STEVE JAMES
Studio credits include: Hoodoo Gurus, Divinyls, INXS, The Cruel Sea, Midnight Oil, Rose Tattoo, Icehouse.
Most memorable session ever at studio and why? Some country boys from Tamworth drove down in their refrigerator van full of their gear, beer, a bbq and half a cow! They spent a week or so recording, bbq’ing and consuming. We actually had Kamahl in yesterday to re-record his version of The Gettisburg Address which was pretty memorable. Then there was the very much larger than life Randy Jackson producing Noiseworks’ third album many years ago and his unusual drink and food requests. Finally, I will never forget a touring world music group that stopped off to do an album after their OZ tour and put electric blankets under their persian rugs to heat them to the right temperature for the tablas, harmonium, oud’s etc.
Best tip for a home recordist? Mine would be to look after the source - so ensure at least one high quality condenser mic and then it’s important to know what you are hearing, so standard quality Nearfield monitors that aren’t affected too much by the room acoustics are good (Genelecs, NS10’s, Adams). Use minimal EQ and dynamics when recording so that you can always take it somewhere
themusic.com.au
Credits include: The Rutles, Life of Brian (Monty Python crew), Sex Pistols, The Jam, Thin Lizzy, Hawkwind, Cold Chisel, Midnight Oil, Screaming Jets.
Where did you get your start? Started at EMI, Gooseberry Studios in my teens, then got a job at Chappell which was big studio and publisher at the time and started working with many major stars. That’s when I met the Monty Python guys and that’s when it all started for me.
Most enjoyable session? Working with the Python guys on the Rutles album was one of the most enjoyable and The Screaming Jets first album was the other one. They both had a similar sense of humour too. But the Python thing was with Neil Innes and Ricky Fataar and George Harrison in particular. It was a big learning curve for me because I was only 22. The Jets were so enjoyable because I had just arrived here in Australia and we did the album in about ten days. They were so well rehearsed and the magic just happened.
Best tip for home recordist? Just look at it as doing a demo. Depending on what sort of music it is. When it comes to electronic music, you can do a lot of it at home. When it comes to organic music and bands, it’s very difficult to do it at home for all sorts of reasons like having the mic pre’s and good mics. Having the right A to Ds (Analogue to Digital conversion) is incredibly important, as opposed to Pro Tools LE which sounds like poo. Pro Tools is fine now but don’t ever use an 002 or 003 system. Always use an RME, it’s stand alone.
Tip for recording guitars? Don’t use too many microphones. Use one otherwise you’ll end up with phase problems. People get far too fancy about it. Get a very good dynamic microphone and a good mic pre. If you’ve got a good mic, just shove it in front of the speaker, assuming you also have a good amplifier.
Biggest studio no-no? Interfering with an overdub or walking into the room without being asked, which tends to happen quite a bit. That’s the biggest no-no, walking in on someone else’s session otherwise the world is your oyster.
What do you see the producer’s role as? Overall emperor. There is no such thing as democracy in the studio. The producer has to take control and make the finale executive decision, and also organise the budget etc. Seventy percent of my job is psychology. I don’t really worry about the machinery, that takes care of itself. www.rockinghorse.com.au
ZOOM R24 REVIEW
T
he quality of home recording is so high these days it’s possible to go a long way to making a killer record right at home. Back in the day I started out with an old fourtrack cassette recorder, then moved onto a digital multi-track unit after finally arriving at the PC- and Mac-based platforms. The great thing about the Zoom R24 is that it appeals to both the computer gurus or the “all-in-oners” because it functions as both an audio interface/ controller for computer-based Digital Audio Workstations, and a sole multi-track recorder. The uses for this unit are staggering. I think it covers just about all bases when it comes to audio, you can chuck some batteries in it and take it away to the coast and record some demos with your acoustic, plug in your electric guitar or keys and make some “full-sounding” demos by using the on-board drum machine … or use it to multi-mic a full drum kit … or link two units together and capture the full band. You can even use the unit live and add sequencing while your drummer jams along with an independent click track he’s hearing only in his headphones. The Zoom R24 can record up to eight mono inputs simultaneously, playback up to 24 mono tracks
PRODUCT:
ZOOM R24 REVIEW
REVIEWER: REZA NASSERI
INFO:
WWW. DYNAMICMUSIC.COM.AU
LOON LAKE’S NEW EP AVAILABLE NOW
at 44.1/48kHz, 16/24 bits. It comes with a 2G SDHC card (which can be upgraded to up to 32G), PSU, a handy little 4G flash drive and a copy of Cubase LE 6 to top it off. There are two in-built condenser mics that sound great, another six phantom-powered (+24 or 48V) channels and a Hi-Z input for direct input of electric guitars and basses that can utilise inbuilt amp modelling. The unit also has a drum machine that’s not limited to preset patterns, so you can make your own beats by tapping them in with the drum pads. You can even sample, loop and edit like any modern DAW. Out of the box I decided to make a quick demo to sample the quality of this unit and test its features. I pulled out an acoustic guitar and recorded two tracks with the in-built mics, with no compression or EQ added. Later, I recorded a vocal track by using a nice insert preset that gave quite an impressive, slick vocal tone and added
Multi Stomp MS-50G
169RRP
$
Melbourne five-piece indie rockers Loon Lake have just released their second EP, Thirty Three, via iTunes. Producer Tony Buchen is thrilled with the way the recording turned out, particularly the drum sounds: “I’ve been loving the sound of drums in as small spaces as possible. I’ve had a long-held love of open room sounds but sometimes there’s nothing quite as immediate as the supertight ‘70s dry tone of a well-tuned Ludwig kit in a small booth. Just watch out for cymbals. Better still, take them off the kit.” Buchen was also keen on adding a Mutron/Moog flavour to the guitars. “Mutron/Moog heaven! It helps create interesting sounds by having a bunch of guitar pedals out on the island and a couple of send/return cables ready to patch over anything in your live-to-tape setup.” Loon Lake’s current single, Cherry Lips, is enjoying high rotation play on Triple J.
some reverb and delay on playback. The in-built mics sound great, true studio quality, even on the vocal track. Next up, make a bigger-sounding demo with electric guitars, a bass, programmed drums and vocals. The on-board drum sounds were pretty simplistic and to learn how to use the sequencer involved consulting the manual. The good thing is that you can use the sample pads to play any sample so I imported some serious drums sounds by downloading free sounds off the net. The amp sims were not too bad either, especially after a little EQ, so the final product sounded slick and professional, especially after using insert effect chains, EQ and the two sends of reverb and delay to gel everything together. The Zoom R24 is a brilliant unit with a tonne of features and uses. It’s perfect for beginners to seasoned professionals, especially if you need to record multiple inputs at a time (drummers look here).
www.loonlake.com.au
KICK ME! Simultaneous use of up to six effects Duty Die-Cast body
•
•
Heavy
Easy-to-use interface
coming from G3/G5 • Analog stomp box feeling 55 preset effects coming from G5 • Memory function allows you to store up to 50 patches 8 hours of continuous operation using 2 x AA alkaline batteries • Compatable with AD-16 9v adaptor Firmware
version
facebook.com/ZoomAustralia
themusic.com.au
•
USB Bus powered update
via
USB
dynamicmusic.com.au
INPRESS • 55
SHURE BETA 98 MINIATURE CARDIOID CONDENSOR MICROPHONE The BETA 98 is Shure’s new lightweight, sensitive diaphragm instrument mic, which precisely and smoothly captures sound nuances. Powered by battery or phantom power supply, recommended uses are for percussion, piano/organ, woodwind, strings and brass. Available options include the BETA 98AD/C Miniature Cardioid Condenser Drum Microphone and BETA 98A/C Miniature Cardioid Condenser Microphone www.jands.com.au
YETI MICROPHONES FROM BLUE
SAMPLITUDE PRO X Samplitude Pro X is the perfect Digital Audio Workstation for audio productions without compromises – from arranging and recording, to editing and mixing, all the way to professional mastering and authoring. Work with a fully customizable interface and experience a DAW tailored to your needs. The precision audio engine with full-bit transparency, outstanding high-end plug-ins, 5.1 Surround mixing and the ability to be seamlessly integrated into your studio workflows make Samplitude Pro X a powerful audio workstation option. Includes mastering tools. Features include 64-bit support: take advantage of a 64-bit application and 64-bit plug-ins. Naturally, Samplitude Pro X is capable of running on both 32-bit and 64-bit systems and 32-bit plug-ins are still supported. Also includes previous Pro features 5.1 Surround mixing, Revolver tracks, 999 tracks, 64 plug-in slots, AAF & OMF export, Hybrid Audio Engine – Perfect performance on any system, and Object editing: complete editing at object level, including effects, plug-ins, fades, equalizing, timestretching, pitchshifting, AUX sends and freeze. Completely non-destructive and real-time!
SNOWBALL MICROPHONES FROM BLUE Snowball is a plug-and-play USB mic that works on both PC and Mac with any recording program. Featuring a dual-capsule design, Snowball allows three recording patterns: cardioid (right in front of the mic, best for singing), omni (all around the mic, best for multiple people or band practice), and cardioid w/10db pad (best for instruments), giving you incredible versatility to produce great recordings in a wide range of situations. Snowball is also compatible with iPad via Apple’s camera connection kit! The Snowball is great for the beginner or those who don’t need all the bells and whistles. While it produces quality audio used by many professionals for voice-overs and recording, it’s enough for the first time recordist or the hobbyist. Or maybe you just like the way it looks in your videos.
MXL STUDIO 24 USB 24-BIT USB MICROPHONE Transform your PC or Mac into a state-of-theart production studio with the MXL Studio 24. This HD-quality USB microphone shines on instruments, vocals or on any audio source. Most importantly, it captures every detail of your work with 24-bit audio quality. The Studio 24 is the perfect tool for travelling musicians and podcasters. It incorporates a 22mm condenser capsule, which is the same capsule found in high-end studio microphones. Other features include zero latency monitoring and a custom GUI for engineering-level audio adjustments such as phase, roll-off, noise gate and more. www.innovativemusic.com.au
www.ambertech.com.au
Model
Alembic Fodera
AGUILAR AG500 head 500 watts - 2 Channels only 9 kg Save S RRP $2,399 Sale price $1,378 730 Save over $1,000!! 1,110
Sale price
RRP
Essence 4 String
6,260
6,990
Yin Yang Standard - 4 string
6,580
7,690
Ibanez
Grooveline Prestige - natural
2,070
3,395
1,325
Ken Smith
BSR4MW - 4 string
4,490
5,250
760
KSD
Proto J 604 - Candy Apple Red
500
950
450
Heaps Mike Lull P4 - 4 string - Hot Rod Red more 2,840 basses! MTD Kingston Artist - 5 string - Amber 890
3,579
1,789
3,390
550
1,250
360
Lakland
4402 - 4 string - sunburst
1,790
MTD USA
535 - 5 string - 24 fret - Ziricote
4,940
5,790
850
Musicman
Stingray - 5 string - Natural
2,090
2,795
705
Pedulla
Rapture - 5 string - Arctic Night
3,590
4,350
760
Ritter
Roya - 4 string - Flying Blue Burl
6,730
7,850
1,120
Warwick
Corvette $$ - 4 string - Amber
2,340
2,899
559
56 • INPRESS
The Yeti features Blue’s innovative triplecapsule array, allowing for recording in stereo or your choice of three unique patterns, including cardioid, omnidirectional and bidirectional, giving you recording capabilities usually requiring multiple microphones. The Yeti utilises a high-quality analogueto-digital converter to send incredible audio fidelity directly into your computer, a built-in headphone amplifier for zerolatency monitoring, and simple controls for headphone volume, pattern selection, instant mute and microphone gain located directly on the microphone. www.ambertech.com.au
www.innovativemusic.com.au
Brand
Combining three capsules and four different pattern settings, Blue’s YETI is the ultimate tool for creating amazing recordings, directly into your computer. THX Certified for exceptional sound and performance, the Yeti can capture anything with a clarity and ease unheard of in a USB microphone.
Man, that's cheaper than USA!
EPIFANI PS400 HEAd 400 watts - Only 6 kg RRP $850 - SALE price $689 save $161 Check out amps and cabs from.. Accugroove - Acme - Acoustic Image - Aguilar - Eden - Epifani - Fender Gallien Krueger - Markbass - Roland schroeder - TC Electronic - Warwick
themusic.com.au
Tel: 02 9516 1975 info@basspeople.com.au Shop online: www.basspeople.com.au Tues to Fri 10AM-6PM Sat 10AM-5PM 27 Parramatta Rd Annandale NSW 2018 Far out!
Totally
themusic.com.au
INPRESS â&#x20AC;˘ 57
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 Experienced Manager required for established Brisbane based artist. Must have industry contacts, previous and current experience and be ruthless. Contact Justin info@earthgoat.com
iFlogID: 19087 Experienced Sydney original rock band looking to play with local interstate bands. Will return favour with string of Sydney dates in venues such as The Wall, Valve, Town & Country. RemmosK@gmail.com
iFlogID: 19261 Get your Band/ Business online with affordable website design. From $299 Services include Seo, Social network marketing Includes free 1000 Facebook likes, 22k twitter followers. Contact info@earthgoat.com
iFlogID: 19089 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: 18745
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
iFlogID: 18316 Seo Marketing ~ Facebook likes, YouTube, Twitter views Promote your business online with Seo services Facebook likes 1k - 10k Youtube views 1k - 100k Twitter followers 1k - 100k Prices start from $20
iFlogID: 19091
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
iFlogID: 13289
VOLUNTEER
Rock crew internships offer. Full training provided by muso/prod w/ 30 yrs + ind exp in all facets of music prod. Must b keen, honest, reliable & have car. 0434 959 986.
iFlogID: 18844
FILM & STAGE PRODUCTION
Experienced film director. Client list including 360, King Canons, The Drones, Melbourne City Council, EMI, Mushroom Marketing. Contact Agostino Soldati to produce your music video, epk, promo reel, gig. agostinosoldati@hotmail.com www.vimeo.com/agosoldati
iFlogID: 17706
FOR SALE AMPS
300W 2x10” EV tilt-back bass speaker cabinet. Can be straight or tilted back. Fantastic sound. $375. West End, Brisbane. Ph 0400 404 919
iFlogID: 19313 400W 1x15” EV bass speaker cabinet. Heaps of volume, great sound. $325. West End, Brisbane. Ph 0400 404 919
iFlogID: 19311
SYDNEY SOUND CABLES ONLINE
Hand assembled Professional Audio, Musical Instrument, IPod, Dmx, Hi Fi and Digital cables. Express post to all of Australia. Buy from our online shop, custom or bulk order. But Once, Buy Right! Cables to suit your needs made from the best parts only. Canare, Neutrik, Mogami. Lifetime warranty. www.sydneysoundcables.com.au call: 0404 222 160
iFlogID: 19215
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
OTHER
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
Charlie Sheen movie posters for sale.
iFlogID: 19268 PEDALS - Brand new T-Rex - Distortion / T-Rex Alberta - $195 each. Fulltone - Choralflange - $195. Elect case Humidifier - $35. Acous case Humidifier & Hygrometer - $75. Mob - 0415285004
iFlogID: 16808
MUSIC SERVICES BOOKING AGENTS WWW.DANNYAMMAR.COM
MASTERING
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
iFlogID: 15156 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
iFlogID: 15162
OTHER
STUDIO HIRE
Gold Coast ParallelHarmonyStudioRobina. 30 square metre live room, large vocal booth. Handsome range of range of topoftheline Neumann, Rode and Shure microphones. Call 0755808883 for details. www.parallelharmony.com.au
++ play more chinese music - love, tenzenmen ++ www.tenzenmen.com
iFlogID: 18717
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
iFlogID: 14468
iFlogID: 18269 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: 15452 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
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
iFlogID: 18648
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 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 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
VIDEO / PRODUCTION
D7 STUDIO MUSIC VID FROM $250. Live gig edits, multi angles, fr $125 a set, 1 live track $100. All shot in full HD. d7studio@iinet.net.au 0404716770 syd based
iFlogID: 13368 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 QUALITY MUSIC VIDEO PRODUCTION Immersion Imagery strives to offer quality & creative music videos to suit your style & budget. Portfolio of over 30 artists. www.immersionimagery.com info@immersionimagery.com facebook.com/immersion.imagery
iFlogID: 18477
MUSICIANS AVAILABLE BASS PLAYER
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
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
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
iFlogID: 14261
iFlogID: 18640
TUITION
iFlogID: 17102
Wedding & Corporate Entertainment supplied by the Best Musicians in Australia. Visit www.dannyammar.com for more info.
TOP INTERNATIONAL DRUMMER available. Great backing vocals, harmonica player and percussionist. Gigs, tours, recording. Private lessons/mentoring also available. www.reubenalexander.net
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
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.
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
MUSICIANS WANTED BANDS
Guitarist + Guitarist/Singer looking for a BASSIST + DRUMMER to form Power Pop/Punk band in Sydney. Think THE RAMONES meets CHEAP TRICK. No time wasters and committed musicians only. Contact 0403 995 832
iFlogID: 19373 Looking for bass player, drummer and vocalist. Age 19 - 22. Influences include The Gazette, Avenged Sevenfold, Abandon All Ships, Hans Zimmer, and Machine Head. Contact me at rafaelerion@hotmail.com. http://soundcloud.com/rafaelerion
iFlogID: 19238 Looking for singer, bass player, keyboard player, percussionist and horn section for REGGAE band in Northern Beaches NSW. Call Michael 0402549423 or email siczex@yahoo.com.au
iFlogID: 18612 Up & coming bands wanted for gigs-get yourself some exposure in front of small/med size crowd-send band details & contacts to soundbar@bigpond.com
iFlogID: 15385
BASS PLAYER
Looking for a bassist with influences including Pixies, Sonic Youth, Queens of the Stone Age. Preferably female, backing vocals required. Call 0411396413 or email clawsandorgans@gmail.com
iFlogID: 19350
DRUMMER
Experienced drummer with a commitment to practice and regular rehearsals required for Melbourne-based alternative rock band. Influences QOTSA, Foo Fighters, Nirvana… www.myspace.com/mollydredd 0411 372 469
iFlogID: 16936
GUITARIST
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
iFlogID: 16661
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
GUITARIST AND HARMONY SINGER
Letterbox Shadows is a regularly working theatre performance incorporating original music and live shadow puppetry. We are looking for a guitarist who can sing harmonies. Songwriting an advantage. Any age 18+ accepted. Must be able to travel to Watsonia for rehearsals, and interstate for performances at festivals. Call Vic 0458566095.
iFlogID: 19445
OTHER
$25 $50 $40 $40
$80
$35 $60 $50 $50 $15 $20
SINGER AND BASS PLAYER NEEDED
Singer and Bass Player Needed, influences Wavves, Ariel Pink, Mclusky, Dinosaur Jr, GBV, Buzzcocks, Zombies. Call Patrick 0414609862.
iFlogID: 19377
SINGER
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!
VOCALIST/GUITARIST WANTED Australian Nickelback Tribute Band seeking mature vocalist/guitarist to complete lineup. 30+ band, Melbourne western suburbs, jam weekends, must have own equipment/transport and ROCK like CHAD! Email Dom: whereisdomee@hotmail.com
iFlogID: 18188
SERVICES BEAUTY SERVICES
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
GRAPHIC DESIGN
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 $299 including UNLIMITED pages, Logos, Hosting and 5xemail addresses and much more! Contact info@bizwebsites.com.au or see www.bizwebsites.com.au
iFlogID: 13864 Limited Edition mens tees and hoodies with a sense of humour. All hand-screened and numbered. monstrositystore.com
iFlogID: 13611
OTHER
Get your Band or Business Online Cost effectively from $299 including Hosting, Shopping Cart and 5 email addresses! Contact info@bizwebsites.com.au or see www.bizwebsites.com.au.
iFlogID: 15454 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 Tarot Card Readings by Karen. Over 30yrs Exp. “When you need to know” Always welcome new customers. www.tarotreadingsbykaren.com Parties and Private readings P: 0432 689 546. Evenings & weekends available.
iFlogID: 19301 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
iFlogID: 17980
TUITION
DRUMMER AND DRUM LESSONS Avaliable in Gladesville Teach all Levels, ages and experience.16 years experience. I studied at The Billy Hydes Drumcraft Academy and Obtained a Diploma in Drummig. $60/HR Mob: 0402663469 Michael
iFlogID: 18762 English & Media Studies Tutor available. Professional, quality and affordable service since 2000. (B.A. U.Q.) Enquiries are welcome.
iFlogID: 19266
STAND-UP COMEDY WORKSHOP
Have fun learning invaluable communication, presentation and humour skills from ARIA nominated Robert Grayson. 15 years experience. “Amazing! Fantastic! Liberating!” Jess Capolupo, Hot-Tomato FM. www.youstandup.com / Robert@youstandup.com / 0401 834 361.
iFlogID: 19096
WANTED OTHER
THE SUICIDE WATCH PROJECT
iFlogID: 13088
RECORDING PROJECT ROOM FROM $100
Looking for other original acoustic duo’s/bands with a following to share the bill and do live gigs together. Contact RemmosK@gmail.com
iFlogID: 18849
VERSATILE FEMALE SINGER
..wanted for Duo Band to play clubs & hotels in NSW. Must have own mic, stand & lead. If you are an instrumentalist, thats a bonus, if suitable. Rehearsals will be in Maroubra NSW 2035. Pls contact Mo: 0415 745 181.
iFlogID: 19363
Wanted! Your love and support for our hip hop collaboration for suicide prevention. Help us break down the taboos and barriers. Share the message ‘it’s ok to talk about suicide’. Releasing digital mixtape early September to co-incide with World Suicide Prevention Day and RU OK Day. Visit: facebook.com/TheSuicideWatchVolume1 Web: crazybandplans.com/SWV1
iFlogID: 19155
OPEN 7 DAYS
58 • INPRESS
themusic.com.au
SATISFY YOUR SOUL
Bob Marley believed in a better world. Today his family are creating it by turning their fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ideals into actions and principles into products. The House of Marley brand is dedicated to creating the world he imagined through products that give joy, give back and satisfy your soul. All Marley products are manufactured as earth consciously as possible. With the use of natural, recycled and ecoconscious materials, Marley products support the Marley family charitable foundation. This global movement is dedicated to supporting youth, planet and peace.
EMJH023MI
RRP $99.95
See the entire range on-line or visit a stockist: Harvey Norman, Bing Lee, Surfstitch & Volume
thehouseofmarley.com.au facebook.com/thehouseofmarley
twitter.com/houseofmarleyAU