CATCALL C
THE MACCABEES
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DANIEL MERRIWEATHER MICK THOMAS DEUS THE MOUNTAIN GOATS
CALLING ALL CARS
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INPRESS • 3
WEDNESDAY 9TH MAY
MANOR & ROBERT ROBERTS
8pm $5
THURSDAY 10TH MAY
MARTIN MYLES
(Free in the Front Bar) 6pm
NOEMI LIBA + ANDREA KEEBLE & THE SILO QUARTET 8pm $12/8 FRIDAY 11TH MAY
WILD COMFORTS
(Free in the Front Bar) 6pm
VELVET CAKE GYPSIES & THE DROOLING MOUTHS 8pm $10/8 OF MEMPHIS SATURDAY 12TH MAY
FRUIT JAR (Free in the Front Bar) 5:30pm EVAN & THE BRAVE + THE FALLS + THE TIGER AND ME 8pm $10 SUNDAY 13TH MAY
GOSPEL FOR MOTHERLESS (Free entry) 12pm CHILDREN BRENDAN SKINNER (free in the front bar) 4pm
Open...MON - THU...from 4pm ‘til late FRI...from 2pm ‘til late SAT - SUN...from 12pm ‘til late
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NEW 2 AUTUMN MENU 6 • INPRESS
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OPEN MIC NIGHT WITH KATE WALKER
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INPRESS • 7
8 • INPRESS
SECRET SOUNDS PRESENTS
THE SMASHING PUMPKINS OCEANIA TOUR
WITH SPECIAL GUESTS
WOLFMOTHER
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INPRESS • 9
AUSTRALIAN TOUR 2012 SPECIAL GUESTS
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WED 16 MAY
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“ON THE RUN”, THE BRAND NEW KAISER CHIEFS SINGLE OUT NOW! INPRESS • 11
ISSUE 1223 W E D N E S D AY 9 M AY 2 0 1 2
Wed 9. 7pm - Hunchback of Notre Dame debut score by experimental composer and sound artist Kahlo Thu 10 5:30pm-Progressive LawNetwork young lawyers who seek to use their skills for positive social change Fri 11. 9pm - Give Me The Night Dave Pham & Caine Sinclair showcase an array of RNB/ Funk/ Hip Hop & Soul Sat 12. 11pm - Pitch(B):tch MoIchi, Miyagi, Olivier Marcello & Nicnac dirty basslines, tech driven rhythms & chunky kicks with VJ Ladylux Mon 14. 7pm - Creative Rebellion Youths Melbourne's loud proud voices present a night of deep, humorist poetry Tue 15. 7pm - Comfortable Shorts short film screenings, prizes & Q&A with directors and writers
DANIEL MERRIWEATHER INPRESS 14 The Front Line brings you the hottest industry news 14 This week’s best and worst in Backlash/Frontlash 16 Foreword Line brings you all the latest tour announcements 20 Best Coast tackle the haters 22 Calling All Cars were a hit at the Big Day Out 23 Go wild with The Maccabees 24 Frank Turner remains grounded 24 Catcall loves pop. So what? 24 The Mountain Goats don’t get nostalgic 25 Public Enemy bring the noise 26 Atmosphere were the first emo rappers 26 The well-travelled Mick Thomas 26 dEUS on the positive power of change 27 Daniel Merriweather takes the Taste Test 28 T-Rek spotlights dancefloor creeps 28 It’s the journey that inspires Kim Churchill 29 Kaiser Chiefs are back on track 29 A not-so-sober Wavves 29 Nick Barker celebrates Exile On Main St’s birthday 30 On The Record rates new releases from Here We Go Magic and Beach House
FRONT ROW 32 Check out what’s happening This Week In Arts 32 Director Michael Winterbottom chats to Samuel Hobson about his methods 32 Bob Baker Fish reviews Neil Hamburger at the Toff
SATURDAY 12 May
Little Sisters EP Launch Melbourne country-folk outfit celebrating a long tradition of female vocal harmony, The Little Sisters launch their self-titled debut EP. 5pm
SATURDAY 12 May
The Stetson Family Country/bluegrass & brilliant harmonies, the Stetson Family plays songs from latest album The Devil in his Sunday Best. 9pm
SUNDAY 13 May
CD Launch
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12 • INPRESS
CREDITS EDITORIAL
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BRUNSWICK
33 Cassandra C d J Jane chats h t tto Al Aleksia k i Barron B about b t Bring Back The Showgirl 33 Baz McAlister chats to Iron Sky writer-director Timo Vuorensola 33 Liza Dezfouli talks to Vyom Sharma about his new show at Chapel Off Chapel 34 Anthony Carew previews the Human Rights Film Festival 34 The local arts scene with Cultural Cringe
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INPRESS • 13
THE
FRONT LINE
BEASTIE BOYS’ ADAM YAUCH DIES
Beastie Boys’ Adam Yauch – known as MCA – has died, age 47, after a long battle with cancer. Early morning on Saturday 5 May, Australian time, LA Times reported that a representative of the world renowned NY hip hop trio confirmed that Yauch “passed away in his native New York City this morning after a near-three-year battle with cancer”. Along with partners Mike D (Mike Diamond) and Ad-Rock (Adam Horovitz), Yauch transformed hip hop with their 1986 album Licensed To Ill. They continued developing their sound from party hop anthems to mature funk explorations with a string of albums from Paul’s Boutique (1989) to the most recent Hot Sauce Committee Pt 2 (2011). In April, the band was inducted into the Rock’N’Roll Hall Of Fame – an ailing Yauch was unable to attend the ceremony. Away from the band, Yauch, a practising Buddhist, helped raise awareness for the Tibetan independence movement. Yauch also co-founded Oscilloscope Pictures, which released the films Burma VJ and, the recent critics’ favourite, We Need To Talk About Kevin. Tributes to Adam Yauch are being tweeted
OH MERCY ENTER THE STUDIO FOR THIRD ALBUM
Melbourne’s Oh Mercy have entered the studio for their third album, theMusic.com.au revealed, following their recent American tour. After clocking up 13,450 kilometres on the trip, they’ve ended at The Family Farm studio, located in Portland, Oregon, which they entered last week. Working on their third album – the follow up to 2011’s Great Barrier Grief – Burke Reid has joined them in the studio to produce the record. Former Gerling member Reid, who has produced albums by The Drones, Wolf & Cub and Jack Ladder, met the band in Toronto.Songwriter and frontman Alex Gow said, “We are drinking a lot of beer, eating heaps of meat, listening to the Bee Gees and maintaining excellent hygiene”. The album is expected to be released later this year, with new tracks to be released in the coming months.
ARIA AWARDS COMMIT TO SYDNEY
The NSW Government has secured the rights to stage the ARIA Awards for three years, after approaches were made to move the event to the Gold Coast. The NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell has committed to a three-year contract with ARIA and will work with organisers to develop a series of spin-off events for the public. According to The Sunday Telegraph, the move follows an offer by a Queensland promoter to stage the event on the Gold Coast, in an attempt to revive the beleaguered event. Lack of TV network interest in the awards saw it telecast by Nine’s little-watched digital channel GO! in 2011. Describing Sydney as “the home of the Australian music industry”, O’Farrell told the Telegraph, “Sydneysiders and visitors can expect a revitalised program of music events in the week leading up to the ARIA Awards to cater to music fans and the industry alike.” In a statement ARIA chairman Denis Handlin added, “We look forward to hosting the ARIAs in Sydney for a further three years, as well as establishing a series of exciting new events to further develop our industry and extend the reach of the ARIAs.”
MUSIC EXECS ENJOY PAY RISE
In a year that saw the music industry steady itself (i.e. profits didn’t decrease as much as they have recently), executives from some of the biggest music companies enjoyed significant pay rises. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Live Nation’s chairman Irving Azoff enjoyed the biggest pay packet with $34.6m US last year, up 52 percent from 2010. It is believed that his sale of his stake in management company Front Line (to Live Nation) helped plenty. Live Nation’s revenue was up to $5.38 billion, with only $83m operating loss last year. The biggest increase by percentage belonged to Universal Music Group’s chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge, who enjoyed a 114.5 percent rise in his pay to $16.3m last year and Universal’s profit grew 7.8 percent to $671.1m. Sirius XM Radio head Mel Karamzin enjoyed an 8.1 percent pay rise to $10.7m and streaming service Pandora’s CEO Joe Kennedy’s pay jumped 45.5 percent to $732,000. The Reporter looked at “disclosed compensation for leadership of public traded companies” in the music sector. Warner and EMI are private companies and do not disclose executive pay.
INDUSTRY NEWS WITH SCOTT FITZSIMONS frontline@streetpress.com.au
ADAM YAUCH (LEFT) WITH BEASTIE BOYS
from hip hop and other music industry friends, fans and associates – movie industry celebrities are also honouring the hip hop artist. Over the weekend artists around the world paid their respects during gigs, including Coldplay who performed a cover of Sabotage which has shared around the internet.
BIGSOUND DEADLINE EXTENDED
Wanna play the BIGSOUND Live showcase series in Brisbane this September but too damn lazy to get your shit together? Well the organisers have shown a little sympathy and offered a little more time for your to get your arse into gear and submit your application to have a chance at joining the likes of Kate Miller-Heidke, Violent Soho, Eagle & The Worm, King Cannons and plenty of other bands who will be playing the 2012 event. The showcase series has, in the past, seen the likes of The Temper Trap, Washington, Boy & Bear and The Jezabels play for some of the biggest music industry names on the planet and is a seriously great opportunity for you to be able to showcase your live show to people who can actually help you get to that elusive next level in the crazy world of the music industry. The conference and showcase series happens in Brisbane’s music hub of Fortitude Valley from Wednesday 12 September to Friday 14. Applications will now close on Friday 11 May and can only be submitted through the BIGSOUND website.
FRESHLY INKED
Brisbane based ‘artist-empowering’ label Create/Control has announced that The Smashing Pumpkins are the next band to join their roster, releasing their new album through the label in June, theMusic.com.au revealed last week. The label claims that The Smashing Pumpkins’ frontman, creative lynchpin and sole remaining member from the ‘90s Billy Corgan was attracted to the artistfriendly ethos of Create/Control and considered it the ideal label through which to release the album. Corgan has long been outspoken on the subject of record labels and the music industry in general; trialling an online-only release method for the Pumpkins’ most recent release Teargarden By Kaleidyscope and mentioning to Spinner in 2010, “Something about the need for the major label system to corner the market has squeezed the excitement out of music”. Oceania will be released in Australia on Friday 22 June. The Smashing Pumpkins headline the final day of the sold out Splendour In The Grass festival in Byron Bay this July. Meanwhile, hype-attracting Melbourne electronicasoul artist Chet Faker has signed a deal with America’s Downtown Records, (Santigold, Gn arls Barkley), which will see the release of his debut EP Thinking In Textures May 22, with a vinyl edition to follow June 19. Faker will tour the UK in May to tie in with the Great Escape festival, before returning to perform at both Vivid LIVE and Splendour In The Grass. Melbourne’s Penny Hewson has signed with Popboomerang Records for the release of her second solo album, It’s An Endless Dream. Along with musical collaborator Simon Honisett, she has recently returned to Australia after ten years in Los Angeles. The release will be her first solo album since 1998’s Me.
ARTIST VOICE LAUNCHES ELECTRONIC AGENCY
Singapore, Hong King and Singapore, is establishing itself as one of the region’s biggest touring agencies with the announcement. Artist Voice Electronic will be run by former Modular staffer Alastair Green, who has run Makers Agency since its formation. Maker currently boasts a roster of Ajax, Yolanda Be Cool, Nina Las Vegas, Anna Lunoe as well as indie acts like Tame Impala, Pond and Felicity Groom. In the electronic field, Artist Voice already represents the likes of Empire Of The Sun and Gypsy & The Cat. Artist Voice’s CEO Brett Murrihy said that Artist Voice have “recognised the worldwide trend toward electronic dance music and Alastair is in our view is the most respected and talented agent in this field in Australia. It seemed the most natural partnership and we have a similar creative vision for this new Artist Voice music business under Alastair’s leadership”. Green added that he thinks the partnership is a “perfect fit for Maker and Artist Voice. Both are successful and distinct agencies in their own right and their joint forces will provide a strong base for electronic artists to expand their reach and presence in the dance scene across Australasia and the world”. The agency will be based in Sydney.
LANE LEADS AWARDS
Lanie Lane has topped the APRA Music Awards nominations, with four nods in the peer-voted competition, which is celebrating its 30th year in 2012. Other nominees today include a number of artists that have become household industry names this year, such as Wally De Backer (Gotye), Kimbra, who are the reigning Best Male and Best Female artists respectively, Paul Ridge (Drapht), Matt Corby, Boy & Bear and Marvin Priest. The awards ceremony will happen Monday 28 May at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre. There are nine categories, some of which will be awarded directly on the ceremony night without nominations. One such award is the Songwriter Of The Year, determined by the APRA Board Of Writer and Publisher Directors. The Ted Albert Award For Outstanding Services To Australian Music will have a special presentation on the night, while the Most Performed Australian Work Overseas (a category that usually goes to AC/DC, but might see Gotye snatch it) will be revealed on the night also. Apart from the Board-voted categories (Songwriter, Breakthrough and Ted Albert), the winners are voted by APRA members. Missy Higgins and entertainer Jonathan Biggins have been announced as hosts of 30th edition of the Awards. Last week Wally De Backer (or Gotye to most of the world) said, “The APRA Song of the Year is voted on by other songwriters, so it’s a great honour to be nominated!” Matt Corby offered, “It’s such a privilege to be nominated for the APRAs and an even bigger honour to be in the company of so many Australian songwriters that I respect and look up to. Music and songwriting are such a big part of my life and I’m so grateful that people have been able to connect to my music.”
MICHAEL CHUGG NAMED ‘INTERNATIONAL MUSIC PERSON OF THE YEAR’
Veteran Australian promoter Michael Chugg has been named the International Music Person Of The Year at MUSEXPO 2012 in Los Angeles. Chugg told theMusic.com. au, “I feel so honoured to receive this special award… and the fact that it’s for doing something that’s a passion, not a
Sydney pop/punk band Tonight Alive have been nominated in the Best International Newcomer category in the UK Kerrang! Awards. They’re up against fellow nominees in the category, Motionless In White, Falling In Reverse, Of Mice And Men and Reckless Love. British pop/punk band You Me At Six picked up the most nominations, which were decided through over 280,000 submitted votes.
US METAL BAND CANCELS TOUR
American metal band DevilDriver cancelled their upcoming Australian tour, after frontman Dez Fafara came down with pneumonia. Six Feet Under and Darkest Hour were to support. A statement from Fafara read, “I’ve NEVER cancelled a tour before. EVER... I have Pneumonia and I’m restricted from flying for at least 2 weeks. So unfortunately we have to cancel our Australian tour. I respectfully apologise to all our Australian fans, Six Feet Under; Darkest Hour and the folks at SW touring who worked so hard to put this tour together. Thank you for your support. We’ll make it up to you on the next tour.”
DJ COMP OFFERS STEREOSONIC SLOT
The 2012 Your Shot DJ competition is now open for entries, with a spot on the Stereosonic line-up, a DJ set at Paradise Club Mykonos and a DJ set at a major Red Bull event – as well as a bunch of gear – up for grabs. With no DJ experience required to enter, each of the 72 contestants will receive a six-week DJ training course before performing at events across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to determine the winner. Over-18 only, head to yourshot.com.au before 12pm Thursday 24 May.
RECORD STORE RE-OPENS
Three years after closing down their store in Dee Why, Pacific Records will re-open in Mona Vale, contrary to the trends of record stores closing their doors. It’s being driven by resurgent sales in vinyl, which will be their main product, with the shop stocking both new and used records ranging from the ‘50s to the present. Opening weekend is this Saturday and Sunday.
COMMUNITY CUP COMPETITION OPEN
Entries are now open for the SYN Reclink Community Cup Free Kick Competition, an initiative for emerging artists to play at the upcoming Community Cup. A charity football game played by members of the music industry, bands with members under the age of 30 can now enter the competition at communitycup.org.au/Melbourne/freekick-comp. Finalists will battle it out at The Tote Thursday 24 May with industry judges to decide the winner. The Community Cup takes place at Elsternwick Park Sunday 24 June.
BACKLASH
We’re all for the Gold Coast trying to poach the ARIAs from Sydney, and we’re surprised more of the music biz weren’t up for it. Do they know how much cocaine there is up there?
It hadn’t been around long, but Phoenix Public House quickly became one of our fave local venues. We’re gutted to hear it’s closing on 12 June.
ARIA READY?
GILDING THE LILY Lily Tomlin’s appearance in the Eastbound & Down finale was an inspired bit of casting, and her best role since Big Business.
Kate Miller-Heidke labelled Anthony Callea a “fuckwit” on Twitter after he criticised her Q&A performance. If only she was that astute during the program…
music 14 • INPRESS
TONIGHT ALIVE UP FOR KERRANG! AWARD
FRONTLASH
NOWHERE TO HEIDKE
Booking agency Artist Voice have teamed up with Maker Agency to launch Artist Voice Electronic, a booking agency focusing on electronic music. Harbour spin-off Artist Voice, which now has offices in
job, just makes it all the more special.” He was presented with the award after a gala awards luncheon. MUSEXPO was founded in 2005 and is an industry-orientated conference and showcase that attracts music executives from around the world. One of its international summits was held in Perth in 2010.
themusic.com.au
RIP PHOENIX PUBLIC HOUSE
RIP MCA Also gutted to hear of MCA’s passing, but not sure what he would have thought of the countless ‘tributes’ featuring old Beasties songs he’d long since disowned.
RIP THE AGE ONLINE The Age’s website continues its slide to irrelevancy, its endless stream of diet, Twitter and zany human interest stories the online equivalent of shows such as ACA and Today Tonight.
INPRESS • 15
FOREWORD LINE
NEWS FROM THE FRONT
INPRESS PRESENTS
TAKE A TRIP
WEDNESDAY 9 MAY
Kody Nielson has reincarnated himself as Opossom, after eight years of fronting New Zealand’s The Mint Chicks. Electric Hawaii will be the first offering from Nielson under his new project, and is set to drop on Friday 1 June via the new Create/Control label. The album features vocal contributions from Bic Runga and his father Chris Nielson plays trumpet. He will be launching his single, Getaway Tonight, off the album in a string of debut Australian shows, which will see him play Phoenix Public House on Thursday 17 May.
RESIDENCY
POCO LA PAX LEFT FEELS RIGHT
DONATION ENTRY, 9PM
THURSDAY 10 MAY
EP LAUNCH
DAVY SIMONY CATCH RELEASE LITTLE FLAME KERRYN FIELDS
ENTRY $5, 8.30PM $2.50 POTS, $5 VODKAS!
FRIDAY 11 MAY
FINAL SHOW
BEST BEFORE DYLAN JOEL VELVET ARCHER
ENTRY $15/$10 IF DRESSED UP DOOR, $12 PRESALE THRU MOSHTIX, 8.30PM
MISSY HIGGINS’ THE OL’ RAZZLE DAZZLE TOUR
Tickets for Missy Higgins’ first tour in five years have been eagerly snapped up by fans, with a couple of shows including the Saturday 16 June show at Her Majesty’s Theatre selling out already. Tickets for a second and final Melbourne show at the same venue on Sunday 17 are on sale now. She’s also performing at Costa Hall (Geelong) on Friday 15. Joining Higgins as the special guest for all shows is fellow Aussie artist Butterfly Boucher who co-produced Higgins’ new album The Ol’ Razzle Dazzle (to be realeased at the start of June). Higgins has also just been announced as the winner of the folk singer/songwriter category in the International Songwriting Competition for her song Where I Stood. Looks like her return to music is shaping up to be a triumphant one.
DUNE RATS RELEASE NEW SINGLE
SATURDAY 12 MAY
MATINEE ROOFTOP ALBUM LAUNCH
Featuring a one-two sucker punch, Dune Rats’ new single Fuck It is set to become the anthem of a new rock generation. A halcyon call to arms, it encapsulates all the good things about rock’n’roll since 1976, from the heady days of punk rock through to the fuzz-pop sounds of the UK in the mid-’80s, the slacker ideals of Pavement and the raw energy of Nirvana. With nary enough time to catch a breath after their recent national tour of duty with Bleeding Knees Club, Dune Rats will take Fuck It to the streets throughout May in what will be their first ever headline tour. Catch them at the Workerks Club with support from ScotDrakula and Udays Tiger on Friday 25 May.
**SELLING FAST**
IMMIGRANT UNION ROYSTON VASIE MERRI CREEK PICKERS ENTRY $12, 2PM
“TWISTED SISTERS” BANDS & BURLESQUE
HATCHET DAWN
MISS NIC: THE QUEEN OF GORE KERRY X: THE DAMSEL OF DEBAUCHERY BETTY BLOOD: THE VAUDE-VILLAIN RAVEN: THE DARK PRINCE DJ SIMON QUINN
SUNDAY 13 MAY
The dates for Stereosonic festival have just been announced, with the line-up and venues to be revealed in early July and tickets going on sale in early August. The Melbourne leg will be held on Saturday 1 December. Stay tuned for more Stereosonic details and news.
MATINEE
RAIN FACTORY JAMES D SMITH KUKI TIPOKI CHRIS O’NIELL
ENTRY $15 DOOR, $12 PRESALE THRU MOSHTIX, 8.30PM
MONDAY 14 MAY
RESIDENCY
ESC
WHIPPED CREAM CHARGERS UDAYS TIGER WORLD AT A GLANCE
DONATION ENTRY (PROCEEDS GOING TO CHARITY), 8PM $10 JUGS!
TUESDAY 8 MAY
FRINGE FORUM FREE ENTRY, 5.45PM
Noemi Liba’s music is nothing short of stunning. Soulful vocal phrasing, soaring live string arrangements, stark medieval horns, intricate Eastern percussion, loops and samples – her music is ornate, yet still raw and definitively original. Unwinding is the brand new single taken from her long-awaited forthcoming album See, Saw. Born and raised in Melbourne, Liba has been performing solo and in ensembles since 1992, delivering her unique blend of pop, jazz and Middle Easternflavoured music across Australia, the US, Canada, Asia and the Middle East. To coincide with the release of her brand new single, Liba performs at the Wesley Anne this Thursday 10 May.
STEREOSONIC DATES ANNOUNCED
ENTRY $15, 8.30PM
ONLY ALIEN ENTRY $5, 2PM
THE LONG UNWINDING ROAD
LANA DEL REY SPLENDOUR SIDESHOW
After having only debuted her home-made clip for the single Video Games the previous June, Lana Del Rey’s year was a tornado of activity, touring and media commitments around the globe, forcing her to postpone her first Australian tour. She will now set foot in Australia with an appearance at Splendour In The Grass and a handful of intimate theatre shows. Del Rey’s album Born To Die debuted at number one on iTunes in 18 countries; her mannered torchsong balladry with hip hop bravado imbues the music with a sense of drama that feels familiar yet new. See her perform at the Palace on Monday 23 July. Will she live up to the hype? Let’s hope so.
BULLS RELEASE NEW ALBUM
Siblings Linda J and Bean Johnston were once upon a time one half of punk legends Little Ugly Girls, the most famous Tasmanian band never to release a record. Dissolving LUGs somewhere around the turn of the century, they reinvented themselves as The Dacios, releasing their album Monkey’s Blood in 2009. Their new album Dancing On Sinking Sands, released under the moniker Bulls, sees the duo leave behind the feedback-stained rock dynamic, of which they’re masters, and lay their hearts open with ten new songs – a series of allegories of romantic love, abandoned love, mad love and a love of life. Bulls play live with a full band at the Northcote Social Club show on Friday 8 June with support from Roller One and Matt Bailey.
RESIDENCY
KUMAR SHOME & THE PUNKAWALLAHS
POT OF GOLD!
Louisiana swamp, country, blues and rock’n’roll supergroup The Lil’ Band O’ Gold will be touring Australia this June, in support of their new album Lil’ Band O’ Gold Play Fats – where they play their favourite Fats Domino tracks. Last in Australia in 2010 (when they visited twice), they’ll have three nights in Melbourne. Featuring the likes of Warren Storm, Steve Riley, Dickie Landry, Lucky Oceans (from Western Australia), David Egan, CC Adcock, Philippe Billeaudeaux and more – it’s a who’s who of Louisiana swamp and country with saxophones, pedal steel, accordion, piano and whatever else they can through into the mix. They’ll be playing the Regal Ballroom Wednesday 27 and Thursday 28 June and the Espy’s Gershwin Room on Friday 29.
SPECIALS: TUESDAY $10 GOURMET BURGERS ALL NIGHT
TUE - SUN 4-7PM HAPPY HOUR
MARCEL YAMMOUNI BAND UNCOMFORTABLE SCIENCE ENTRY $10, 9PM $10 JUGS!
WED 9TH MAY
SAT 19TH MAY
COMING UP - TIX AVAILABLE THRU MOSHTIX: ESC (MON IN MAY) KUMAR SHOME & THE PUNKAWALLAHS (TUES IN MAY) POCO LA PAX (WED IN MAY) SETH SENTRY (18 MAY) **SELLING FAST** GLASS VAULTS (NZ) (19 MAY) TOMAS STRODE & THE TOUR GUIDES – EP LAUNCH (20 MAY) TRUE LIVE (25 MAY) QUITCOALLAPALOOZA: WILDCAT GENERAL STRIKE (26 MAY)
(WA) Hounds Hounds Hounds
w/ special guests
$5 doors 8:30pm
$5 doors 2pm
Hurricane Fighter Plane
THU 10TH MAY
Cut Record & Thrupence’s Company EP Launch
SUN 13TH MAY Elements of Gertrude: A Fundraiser
WED 16TH MAY
SAT 19TH MAY
w/ Harpoons, Footy, Ana Nicole & More
present Le Scratch – 90s hip hop party
Paper Street Soap Company
Banana Wednesdays
Doors $7 presale, $13 on the door 8:30pm
$18 4pm
w/ Sam Cooper (Sambrose Automobile) & JackGramski $5
FRI 11TH MAY
MON 14TH MAY
THU 17TH MAY
The Messengers
SYN Approved Max Crumbs + Guests
Beards & Balaclavas - Free Pussy Riot
$15 8pm
$2 6pm
$5
$8/10 Doors 3pm
SAT 12TH MAY
TUE 15TH MAY
FRI 18TH MAY
MON 21ST MAY
Ainslie Wills Single Launch w/ Gold Bloom, Lisa Salvo
Autumn Happy Hour
Dirt Farmer, Jill & Alsy (The Triffids), Rain Party
The Messengers w/ Winter Moon
$10 Doors 6pm
$2 Doors 6pm
Private Life Single Launch
w/ The Neighbourhood Youth, THNKR
$12 8pm
16 • INPRESS
Spoonful of Sugar (WA)
w/ Lunars
$5 house wine, $7 pints Bulmers Pear Cider, $8 Pints Fat Yak themusic.com.au
The Morning Night (WA), w/ Lowtide,
$6 Doors 8:30pm
SUN 20TH MAY
Melbourne Craft Cartel Presents
WED 9TH
SINCE THE RIVER
WINTERPLAN & MAJOR NAPIER, 7:30PM
THURS 10TH
MELTING POT PRESENTS:
AMBER LAMPS
ROBOT CHILD & THE MCQUEENS
FRI 11TH
HEIRS
‘HUNTER’ EP LAUNCH
THE PROCESS, A DEAD FORREST INDEX & COCKS ARQUETTE
SAT 12TH
WASTE MANAGEMENT SHOWCASE:
CLINKERFIELD
THE MISERABLE LITTLE BASTARDS & MANY SPECIAL GUESTS
TUES 15TH
FREE IN THE FRONT BAR :
CHUCK JENKINS 8PM WED 16TH
CHAMPAGNE REGGE HOWARD & LAURA SMOCK FREE ENTRY, 7:30PM
THURS 17TH
MELTING POT PRESENTS:
DIAMONDS OF NEPTUNE SEPTEMBER FALLS & GUEST
FRI 18TH
MONEY FOR ROPE
“TEN TIMES” SINGLE LAUNCH ROYSTON VASIE & THE STAFFORDS
SAT 19TH
SATURDAY 12TH
MY DYNAMITE
‘RECORD LAUNCH’
8.30PM
ADAM ASKEW 10.30PM
SPACEY SPACE 12.30AM
SUNDAY 13TH
WEDNESDAY 9TH
8.30PM
THURSDAY 10TH
AGENT 86
8PM
11PM
TIGERFUNK MR MOONSHINE
MONDAY 14 TUESDAY 15
FRIDAY 11TH
6PM
PHATO AMANO
COSMIC PIZZA WITH NHJ & GUESTS
10.30PM
SILVERFOX
JUICY
9PM
11PM
SUNDAY 13
THURSDAY 10
“FREE RANGE FUNK”
FRIDAY 11
DJ WHO LEWIS CANCUT TIGER FUNK “PANORMA”
SATURDAY 12
“SOUTH SIDE HUSTLE”
MR MOONSHINE AGENT 86
PHATO A MANO MR GEORGE MATT RAD “TEXTILE” DOWN
GREY SKULL JEAN-PAUL CHIEF
MONDAY 14
26TH MAY MILD LIFE, YOLKE, MELBOURNE CANS & DIAMONDS 30TH MAY LITTLE WISE (EP LAUNCH) 16TH MAY GATHERER ‘SO BE IT ‘ (RECORD LAUNCH)
IBIMBO
HENRY WHO
“COQ ROQ”
LATER ON...
TIGERFUNK
DJ AHAB WEDNESDAY 09
KING OF THE NORTH, WILDERBEAST & UPTOWN ACE
ADAM ASKEW JUNJI & HARRY BOOSHANK “STRUGGLE”
DAMON TIGER FUNK
KITCHEN TACOS: $8.00 FOR 2 SLOW COOKED BEEF PULLED PORK SHOULDER WILD MUSHROOM BUCKETS: SALT & PEPPER CHICKEN WINGS $12 DRY RUBBED PORK RIBS $15 HAND CUT FRIES W AIOLI $7 THURSDAY 280G GRAIN FED AGED ANGUS PORTERHOUSE STEAK $14 FRIDAY CHICKEN OR EGGPLANT PARMA $14/$12 PLUS OTHER CURTIN CLASSICS!!
TUESDAY 15
“COSMIC PIZZAS”
NHJ JPS(ESPIONAGE)
“PROMISES TO BE HERE ON TIME!”
TRADING HOURS MON - WED 3PM - LATE THURS & FRI 11:30AM - LATE SATURDAY 4PM - LATE LATE KITCHEN HOURS THURS & FRI 12:00PM - 2:30PM & 5PM - 9:30PM SATURDAY 6PM - 9:30PM
UP
KODIAK KID MR MOONSHINE DJ B-TWO INPRESS • 17
FOREWORD LINE
NEWS FROM THE FRONT
INPRESS PRESENTS
THE SMASHING PUMPKINS SIDESHOWS
SKATE EXPECTATIONS
Get ready for another night of thrills (and no doubt some spills) as the Victorian Roller Derby League home teams shape up for their third bout of the season. After the excitement of the VRDL All-Stars placing in the top five at the Dust Devil Tournament in Arizona recently, our four home teams are itching to battle it out again on the home track. Saturday 19 May marks the day the undefeated Dead Ringer Rosies will come up against the amazons of the league, The Rock Mobsters, while The Dolls Of Hazzard prepare to dazzle The Toxic Avengers. There will be rookies galore and all the usual food and drink outlets, vendor stalls and a rockin’ live band. You won’t want to miss out on what’s sure to be a spectacular night of skating! Tickets are: adults $20, priority access $25, kids $11, kids under eight free. Doors open at 4.30pm for priority access and 4.45pm for general admission at the Grand Pavilion at the Melbourne Showgrounds.
GROUSE PARTY FT LIGHT ASYLUM
SIDE DISH
Canadian indie outfit Metric have announced sideshows for their upcoming Splendour In The Grass appearance. The band will release their fifth studio album, Synthetica, on Friday 15 June through new imprint Create/Control locally a month before they visit. Along with their Splendour appearance in Byron Bay, the band will also play Billboard on Friday 27 July.
BRUCE MATHISKE AT CHAPEL OFF CHAPEL
Australia’s Bruce Mathiske has been amazing audiences worldwide for nearly three decades with not just a phenomenal level of technical brilliance on his instrument of choice, the guitar, but with his ability to absorb, then masterfully deliver just about any style of music you could think of. From swing to Latin, jazz to African, folk to flamenco, gypsy to ambient/landscape to didgeridoo and more, Mathiske has mastered them all. Touring to promote latest album Guitar-uoso, he plays at Chapel Off Chapel on Saturday 19 May.
ELIZABETH ROSE TO THE OCCASION
Talented newcomer Elizabeth Rose is pleased to announce her first headline dates across the country. The 21-year-old electronic-pop producer has turned heads since her debut track Never Fear surfaced on community radio and triple j airwaves as well as countless blogs late last year. She was named a Next Crop 2012 artist by triple j in December. Her skilful blend of astral beats, shadowy samples and lofty pop melodies prompted an impressive list of invitations to play Parklife, Harvest, Peats Ridge, Field Day and support tours for Chairlift and most recently Snakadaktal on their sold-out national run. Rose has also been busy with collaborations with UK producer Sinden and remixes for locals Jinja Safari and Flight Facilities. Check her out at the Toff on Saturday 26 May.
SAY ANYTHING’S FIRST AUSSIE HEADLINE TOUR
After more than ten years, four studio albums and an immeasurable amount of anticipation, Say Anything will voyage down under this July for their first ever Australian headline tour. The Say Anarchy Australian Tour will be the band’s first in over three years, with the Californian indie-punks last in Australia to wow audiences at the 2009 Soundwave Festival. The tour celebrates their recently-released fourth album Anarchy, My Dear, a showcase of the raw energy, dynamism and exuberance that sparked the band’s early success. See Say Anything at Billboard on Friday 13 July with support from The Getaway Plan. 18 • INPRESS
Grouse Party turns it up two-fold with live performances from Light Asylum and Nicky Da B on Friday 1 June at Phoenix Public House. New York duo Light Asylum head the bill with the powerful intensity of frontwoman Shannon Funchess and the dark electro synth of Bruno Coviello. Their first visit to Australia comes amid the release of their just-released selftitled album. Supporting them, in his only Melbourne show, Nicky Da B is on the rise as a next generation New Orleans bounce rapper, hot on the heels of Big Freedia, and having been shot to international attention by way of an explosive new single Express Yourself with Diplo. In true Grouse Party fashion, it’s half gig, half party, with DJ Sveta and DJ Ann Ominous rounding out the line-up and laying it down til late.
MURPHY’S LAW AT BENNETTS LANE
PBS 106.7FM in association with the Melbourne International Jazz Festival are delighted to announce this year’s inaugural PBS Young Elder Of Jazz Commission (YEOJ) winner is Tamara Murphy. The YEOJ Commission is a brand new initiative promoting innovation and excellence in jazz composition. Murphy is one of Australia’s most prolific bassists, working in a range of projects as well as leading her own ensemble, Murphy’s Law. She and her band will perform her new composition Big Creatures & Little Creatures: The Modular Suite – for which she was awarded $10,000 – as part of Melbourne International Jazz Festival on Saturday 2 June at Bennetts Lane. The composition is an organic live performance experience showcasing the individual instrumental voices of the five-piece band, creating an elegant and compelling soundscape.
Following last Friday’s record sellout of this year’s Splendour In The Grass festival, headliner The Smashing Pumpkins have announced very special sideshows in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne. For these performances, TSP will be debuting a unique stage design in Australia created to reflect the visual themes to go along with the full presentation of their new album, Oceania, which is set for release towards the end of June, as well as playing plenty of classic Pumpkins catalogue. Alt.rock’n’rollers Wolfmother will join TSP as special guests in Sydney and Melbourne. Catch the Melbourne show at Hisense Arena on Thursday 2 August.
PLAY WITH OLIVER
The Thomas Oliver Band have announced their debut Australian headline tour. The band are renowned for their robust, gutsy roots sounds – rock’n’roll injected with a bit of soul – and have thus amassed a large number of fans in their home country. The New Zealand group will be touring in support of their debut album, Baby I’ll Play. They play the Evelyn on Friday 1 June.
YELLOW BRICK ROAD TO AUS
Fans of American pop punk/alternative rockers Yellowcard can rejoice as the band have announced they will return to Australia after their recent twoyear hiatus, with a series of shows in September. Last year in March the band released their most recent album, When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes, and are now preparing for the August release of their next, as-yet-unnamed, eighth studio album. Heroes For Hire will be supporting. Catch them at the Hi-Fi on Friday 21 September.
ENTERTAIN US! LAUNCH
On Friday 1 June, renowned author and producer extraordinaire Craig Schuftan will release his third epically entwined arts, culture and music opus, the ‘90sinspired Entertain Us! To celebrate, the amps will be turned up to 11 as Schuftan hosts a show at the Tote on Thursday 7 June, featuring Kevin Mitchell (Jebediah/ Bob Evans), Adalita (Magic Dirt/Adalita), Planet Love Sound, Sid O’Neil (Vasco Era), Sam and Nick Nolan (Loon Lake), Courtney Barnett, Valentiine and a ‘90s DJ set by Steve Parkin. Tickets are $15 on the door and Schuftan’s book will be available to buy on the night.
GATHERER LAUNCH ALBUM
Gatherer are a familiar feeling, delivered with unfamiliar sound; beautifully haunting melodies, complex rhythms and a wall of sound so huge it’s hard to comprehend. On the road, Gatherer have shared the stage with bands such as …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, The Getaway Plan, Fear Before, La Dispute and a slew of other international acts. Gatherer’s unique sound, combined with a ferocious, passionate live show, finds them not fitting in with any pre-existing crowd, but creating their own. June marks the release of Gatherer’s debut album, So Be It. Filled with ironic optimism and tongue in cheek backlash it’s less sporadic but still that little bit outrageous – a 12-song epic. Head to the show on Saturday 16 June at the Curtin Bandroom.
themusic.com.au
TAKE A RIDE WITH MARK GARDENER
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Ride’s seminal shoegaze masterpiece Going Blank Again, Mark Gardener will be performing classic Ride hits on a special tour. Joining Gardener as support and backing band will be psych rockers Sky Parade, with Melbourne alternative favourites Underground Lovers also sharing the stage. Since parting ways with the original Ride, Gardener has released material as a collaborator in a project called The Animal House before exploring the acoustic side of his songwriting as a live solo artist. He has also worked as an in-demand producer, mixer, film soundtrack artist and collaborator with the likes of The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Robin Guthrie (Cocteau Twins), Dive Index and The Morning After Girls. Catch the show at the Corner on Sunday 5 August.
NEWS FROM THE FRONT
FOREWORD LINE
UH OH, SPAGHETTI-O!
As frontman of Supersuckers, Eddie Spaghetti has forged a formidable reputation as bona fide rock’n’roll wild man and as a solo artist, well, he’s not really all that much tamer. Spaghetti released his first solo record, The Sauce, in 2004 and has kept the flame burning for two more since then and at the end of June will hit Australian soil for his first ever solo tour of our country, playing four shows in just three days. Wild man. See the leader of the (selfproclaimed) greatest rock’n’roll band in the world, supported by Tim Rogers, at two shows (afternoon and evening) at Cherry Bar on Saturday 30 June. Fred Negro will also appear at the evening show.
POWER IN A UNION
Immigrant Union are a Melbourne-based six-piece band, consisting of members Brent DeBoer (The Dandy Warhols), Bob Harrow (Lazy Sons), Peter Lubulwa (ex-The Galvatrons), Dave Mudie, Bones and Courtney Barnett. Immigrant Union recently recorded their self-titled debut LP in Portland, Oregon. In an inspired burst, they recorded 14 songs in 14 days. The songs on Immigrant Union’s debut LP are the culmination of many weeks of songwriting on DeBoer’s in-laws back patio. Indeed, the working title for the album was Val’s Backyard. Alongside these wonderful original songs with a distinctly “classic” feel, the band recorded two covers: a great take on The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s The Ballad Of Jim Jones and a sensational romp through the Cheech & Chong number Up In Smoke. The band launch the album at the Evelyn this Saturday 12 May.
OWL EYES, CRYSTALISED
NOT-SO-SIMPLE SIMONE
After his acclaimed tour to Australia in September 2011, Simone Felice will again bring his music to our shores in July. He’ll be accompanied by his band of merry music makers as well as fellow countryman Josh Ritter on his first ever visit to our shores. Felice’s self-titled debut album is strikingly simple in its arrangements but extravagant in its emotional impact. There is a luminous aura surrounding these compositions, something magical and otherworldly, even when the lyrics are startlingly topical or reference historical events. Witness him live at the Corner with Ritter on Wednesday 11 July and at Meeniyan Town Hall on Friday 13 (Felice only). Fraser A Gorman will also be appearing at both shows.
With her new single Crystalised gently caressing the hearts and minds of local fans thanks to radio love around the country it seems that Melbourne can’t get enough of Owl Eyes. On top of her Toff show on Sunday 20 May, she’s announced another one at Northcote Social Club on Tuesday 22 with The Art Of Sleeping as support. The Northcote show will also give Owl Eyes fans their first chance to purchase the new Crystalised EP on CD. The four-track EP features the title track, the hypnotic live favourite Break In, plus exclusive remixes by Sydney producer Beni and Cutters label producer/artist Knightlife.
KINDNESS
TRIPLE TREAT
Bright young things from UK Tom Vek and Kindness will be making their debut voyage across the pond this May, joining Sydney upstart Jonathan Boulet for a mouth-watering triple bill. After a five-year hiatus, in 2011 Tom Vek followed up his acclaimed debut LP We Have Sound with album number two, Leisure Seizure, which has seen a great return to form from the multi-instrumentalist. Kindness is the recorded work of Adam Bainbridge and bears the fingerprints of no specific scene, no particular country, no certain era. It’s pop music but it’s slippery and enigmatic – sounds slick yet underground. Completing the triology is homegrown hero Jonathan Boulet, whose forthcoming album We Keep The Beat, Found The Sound, See The Need, Start The Heart is set to be released early June. They all play the Hi-Fi on Thursday 24 May.
RAISE THE ROOF WITH STONEFIELD
END OF AN ERA (FOR 2012)
Sid O’Neil is planning on expanding his mind, body and soul by traipsing around Europe for the rest of the year. To celebrate his journey The Vasco Era are throwing him a going away party. All friends past, present and future are invited. The band will be playing the Corner Hotel on Friday 22 June and will be joined by some special guests. All who attend will receive at least one free cuddle. Tickets go on sale this Thursday 10 May.
LARKIN ABOUT
After a brief touring jaunt with Cold Chisel last year, the mighty Dave Larkin Band are back for one very special show at Phoenix Public House on Saturday 2 June. The enigmatic Dallas Crane/Gun Street Girls frontman rolls ten years of songwriting gold into one very rockin’ outfit, showcasing a stellar back catalogue and a swag of new gems from his forthcoming album. Managing to talk the very awesome and much loved 67 Special out of a long hiatus, the killer line-up can also boast Davey Lane (You Am I) running a few of his own pre-album solo hits as well. Limited edition pre-sale T-shirt tickets (where you buy a T-shirt instead of a ticket) are now on sale at davelarkin. com.au and are selling extremely well already.
Pure Pop is very pleased to announce that Australian sister act Stonefield will headline the all-star line-up at Raise The Roof For Pure Pop at Prince Bandroom this Friday from 6pm. If you have not yet seen this amazing-talented-beyond-their years Zappa/Hendrix/ Zeppelin-influenced band, here’s your chance. Local music aficianados will be familiar with Pure Pop Records in Barkly Street St Kilda and their famous beer garden gigs. However, in the recent past, noise restrictions and an early curfew were imposed and nary a drum kit has graced the stage at Pure Pop in quite some time. With all this in mind, store owner Dave Stevens has decided to love his neighbours while future-proofing Pure Pop by enclosing and soundproofing the courtyard and stage to benefit future generations of popsters and pop stars. Go on, help a pub/record store/music venue out.
SUNDAYS AT THE ESPY
This month sees the return of Nudist Funk Orchestra to the front bar stage at the Espy every Sunday during May, along with the Dale Ryder Band and Bad Boys Batucada. Nudist Funk Orchestra combines a fun live performance, lots of funky grooves, and a great vibe that keeps audiences coming back for more. The band were Espy Sunday residents for over a decade, and after a well-earned break they’re back with renewed vigour and zest. Dale Ryder is best known for his lead vocals on all seven Boom Crash Opera albums, and continues to bring his wealth of experience and wide repertoire of styles to the stage. Bad Boys Batucada’s energetic performances and unusual fusion of Brazilian, reggae, funk, hip hop, and rock music has blown away audiences in all corners of the world. Get down to this free show.
CHILD’S PLAY
Tucan is the first single from bedroom pop duo Kids Of 88’s second album, Modern Love. Firm friends and bedroom musical collaborators since their early teens, Auckland’s Sam McCarthy and bandmate Jordan Arts first hit the spotlight back in 2009, through their off-the-cuff breakout single, My House. Still very much in love with the universally communicative power of pop, with Modern Love, the Kids unite this centrality with their passion for fringe-dwelling bedroom beat music. Catch Kids Of 88 plus guests on Friday 15 June in the Espy’s Gershwin Room.
BEE MASK ANNOUNCES MELBOURNE SHOW
Bee Mask, Clevland’s Chris Madak, has announced his first appearance on Australian shores this June. Developing a range of hand-made electronic devices, Bee Mask has been able to create a sound that is entirely his own. It’s through instruments that he has been able to grow such an otherworldly sound, an audio vision of a possible future, or a parallel universe in which the very nature of sound, space and time is bent, re-arranged and re-composed with utterly absorbing results. Bee Mask will play the Gasometer on Friday 17 June.
WINTER BALL FOR SUPPORT ACT
The annual Winter Ball fundraiser featuring Melbourne’s finest musicians and hosted by Charles Jenkins & The Zhivagos is back at the Corner Hotel on Saturday 21 July. Frantic preparations are now underway and a dozen or so of the best singer/songwriter/performers that this country has to offer will converge on the Corner stage. This year money raised will go to Support Act, a registered charity and non-profit organisation dedicated to raising funds and providing relief and assistance with dignity, respect and compassion in times of medical/financial hardship to workers in the Australian music industry.
BACK IN BLACK
After 12 months of writing and recording, Melbourne’s Blackchords are ready and raring to release the much-awaited first single, Dance Dance Dance, from their forthcoming second album, due for release later this year. With international producing maestro David Odlum at the helm (The Frames), Blackchords bunkered down in an isolated barn/improvised studio in country Victoria for two weeks. With the new album due for release later this year, and the imminent release of the first single, these champions of moody indie rock will be sharing a few sneak peeks from their forthcoming second album at the Workers Club on Saturday 26 May.
themusic.com.au
INPRESS • 19
SCREW THE REST
JON BRION-ISMS Jon Brion – who produced Best Coast’s second LP, The Only Place – isn’t the standard choice for making an indie-rock record. The composer, arranger, songwriter and mellotron enthusiast has worked with Of Montreal and Spoon, but he’s best known for his work with Kanye West, his definitive collaborator is Fiona Apple, and his most choice work – his most Brion-ish compositions – have come with film scores for Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, Punch-Drunk Love and I Heart Huckabees.
Bethany Cosentino is sick of the shit she’s been copping online. She tells Anthony Carew that she’s given up on caring what people say and wants her project Best Coast’s music to speak for itself.
D
ear anonymous internet commentor, so justified in your opinion, so ample in your derision, so smugly callous in your bro-ish ratings of who’s hot or not: Bethany Cosentino has read your work, has felt the sting of its cruelty, its judgement, its undeniable undercurrent of misogyny. Though a globe-trottin’, chart-botherin’, fashion-line-designin’, Twitter-ownin’ indie queen should pretend to be above the slander of the masses, Cosentino is candid enough to admit that, during her super-swift buzzed-out breakout – during which her 2010 debut, Crazy For You, was met with all manner of hype – the hardest part of the whole thing was dealing with criticism. Little of it constructive. And much of it about how she looks. “I’ve changed a lot in the last several years,” says Cosentino, contemplatively. “This band started when I was 22, and I’m 25 now. I’ve definitely grown up. Physically, I look different; I’ve started dressing differently, I’ve grown my hair out, I’ve stopped getting tattoos. I’ve definitely changed in more ways than one. It’s interesting to go through specific changes, different growth spurts, and having people noticing them and commenting on them.” Interesting, or horrifyingly dehumanising? “Any woman that makes music is instantly critiqued on what she looks like, and how fat or thin she is,” Cosentino answers. “And it’s obviously not only in indie music; this phenomenon totally exists in all of music, for all actors. As a woman, you become this unwitting contestant in some beauty pageant. Like: ‘Who’s the hottest?’ ‘That girl’s ugly, so I don’t like her music!’
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“In the beginning, seeing dumb comments written online about my weight, or things about me physically that these anonymous people didn’t like, that was definitely like the breaking point for me. I felt like: ‘I can’t deal with this! Why does it matter what I look like? Can’t people just like or not like my music without caring what I look like?’ But wishing for that is a fairytale; that’s not how the world works. People critique other people all the time every day; people are just mean. You have to just grow a thick skin. Because it doesn’t matter. None of that shit matters. It shouldn’t matter if I’m 1000 pounds if I’m making cool music. If other people think differently, fuck them. I just have to care about making good music.” Though Cosentino never quite reached the sacrificial status of some Lana Del Rey/Lena Dunham figure, she’s definitely dwelt on that Vivian Girlsian tier of garagey indie acts bitched about as if they were bona fide celebrities, Hollywood gossip culture infiltrating the once sexless, respectful realms of indie rock. “It’s impossible not to notice that shift, because it’s about the way that people live their lives these days. 20 • INPRESS
Everything that everybody does is through the internet, and the way that people communicate on the internet is so different to the way they communicate otherwise. Online, everyone is just so obsessed with really gossipy things, and you can easily find yourself the subject of gossip without ever meaning to or thinking that it’d ever happen to you. When I was writing songs in my bedroom, I certainly wasn’t imagining that people would suddenly be really interested in who I was dating, or what I looked like; they didn’t seem like things that anybody would’ve cared about it.” Cosentino may be punk rock girl-made-good – a former member of drone act Pocahaunted who reinvented herself making fuzzed-out, lo-fi, California-pop in her bedroom – but her childhood has signifiers of celebrity. Born and raised in Los Angeles, she was the daughter of a professional drummer, an ItalianAmerican obsessed with Phil Spector, Brian Wilson and legendary Sunset Strip session musicians The Wrecking Crew. Under his influence, little Bethany sang in school musicals and talent shows, ending up appearing in a host of television commercials whilst still a tyke. As an adolescent, she chased after a professional musical career, writing singer/songwritery, coffeehouse pop under the name Bethany Sharaya. When Cosentino was 19, she was befriended by Amanda Brown, half of LA’s awesome Not Not Fun Records, and the two became Pocahaunted, turning out a steady string of voice-looping, guitar-droning incantations steeped in the sounds of Charalambides and the New Weird America. But, eventually, Pocahaunted “just wasn’t melodic enough” for its younger half; Cosentino missed working with structured pop songs. After a semester spent in wintry New York studying creative writing, Cosentino dropped out and moved back West. With nothing to do outside of working retail and getting stoned, she had ample time to start a new project and Best Coast was born out of a desire to create classic California pop à la the Everly Brothers and Beach Boys, “something in the vein of straightforward pop music from the ’50s and ’60s.” After early, ultra-lo-fi singles like Sun Was High (So Was I) and When I’m With You caught the ears of the blogosphere, Best Coast buzz grew into a wave of praise and Crazy For You – an album recorded by Lewis Pesacov of Afro-indie-pop types Fool’s Gold and Foreign Born – dented the US top 30. Yet, for all the critical adulation – including the career-making Best New Music nod from Pitchfork – there was as much of a backlash going back the other way. Cosentino was criticised for the way she looked, for what was seen as unmerited praise, and for the simplicity of her simple pop songs, which lyrics revolved around an on-again/off-again relationship with Nathan Williams, leader of grunge revivalists Wavves. Critiques latched onto the fact that she rhymed “lazy” with “crazy” two
separate times, and in one throwaway moment had sung “I wish my cat could talk”, discrediting the music for the simplicity that was, in many ways, its virtue. “That’s what was frustrating. That was the point. I was very consciously writing very simple songs with very simple lyrics. That’s the point of Best Coast: it’s very simple, straightforward, relatable music. Yet everyone was like, ‘She can only [sing] about two things, cats and weed!’ That really pissed me off, because I feel like I only mentioned my cat and weed, like, once or twice on the first record. It was really frustrating to deal with people criticising my lyrics, and how simple and repetitive they are. It made me get down on myself as a songwriter, like, ‘Am I even good at this? Should I keep doing this?’” This was the dark side to Best Coast’s blessed buzzband ride, the painful part of life for an otherwise happy citizen of the Twitterverse. “I had a really hard time dealing with criticism,” she admits. “I went from working in a retail shop and selling clothes on eBay to try and pay my rent and buy groceries, and all of a sudden I was a successful professional musician touring the world. To not have ever really experienced people criticising me before, and then to have it happen so suddenly, so publicly, to be criticised by so many people, it hit me a lot harder than I expected it to.” Difficult Second Albums are often the forums for sentiments such as these, and so it leads us to The Only Place, the “bigger, cleaner-sounding successor” to Crazy For You. Recorded with Fiona Apple/Paul Thomas Anderson offsider Jon Brion (see sidebar), it’s a grown-up work that, beyond the obvious proCalifornia sentiments of its title-track/artwork, finds Cosentino singing about “existential problems” from criticisms to the emptiness of success, the persistence of self-doubts and the homelessness of touring. There’s a host more relationship songs and, though she mightn’t carol “Go Wavves!” during any of them, this time, listeners will know Williams is the eternal He to Cosentino’s She. As much as things may change – hair grown out, Urban Outfitters clothing line released, Hollywood insider as producer, existential angst in the lyrics – the core of Best Coast remains the same. “My personal life is really out there for people to experience, because it’s there in my songs,” Cosentino admits of having a relationship – and a coming-of-age – played out in public. “I don’t regret doing that at all, because people can connect on a more personal level with my music... It’s unlikely that I’ll ever be truly guarded, because my lyrics are so personal, and they’ll always be that way. Even if I say ‘hey, I’m going to take a step back on Twitter,’ my personal life will still be all there in the songs.” WHO: Best Coast WHAT: The Only Place (Popfrenzy)
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“I remember, before I even knew who Jon Brion was, seeing those films and thinking ‘Man, this soundtrack is really good, who is this?’” recounts Best Coast leader Bethany Cosentino. “I remember when Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind came out, I bought the soundtrack because I loved it so much. So, years later, thinking that I just made a record with the guy who made that soundtrack, I’m still pretty giddy over it.” Brion mostly keeps out of Cosentino’s way, cleaning up her jangle-pop jams rather than bringing out elaborate orchestrations. The album may be remarkable for how it doesn’t sound particularly Brionish. Given most of Best Coast’s singles have been recorded by Cosentino’s offsider Bobb Bruno, working in the Capitol Records studio in the spaces in Brion’s hectic schedule (current work including the scores for Knocked Up sequel, This Is 40, and animated family feature, ParaNorman). “When we were working with him, he was working on a million different projects at the same time; the guy just lives in his studio. We’re very, very, very, very lucky we got to work with him, because he’s a very, very, very picky guy. He’s really selective about what he spends his time on, so it was a privilege to be in the studio with him.” Cosentino describes Brion as a “mentor”, an “advicegiver”, someone who taught her professionalism and self-confidence. His best piece of advice came when she was dealing with the standard psychological woes of the dreaded difficult second album. “I was so stressed out making this record, because it was the second record, and I was so concerned about what people were going to think, and Jon would just say ‘none of that stuff matters!’ [So] one day, I was just like, ‘I can’t be concerned with what other people think, I just have to focus on making something I’m happy with.’ Because, otherwise, if I hadn’t done that, I was going to lose my mind. I trusted that Jon wouldn’t let us make a shitty record.”
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INPRESS • 21
KNOCKOUT BLOW All bands remember their first Big Day Out tour, right? Danielle O’Donohue finds out why Haydn Ing from Calling All Cars draws a blank.
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ouring with the Big Day Out is a significant milestone for any upcoming Australian band. But Calling All Cars frontman Haydn Ing is a bit hazy on some of the details of his group’s run on this year’s festival. Ing’s Sydney Big Day Out appearance ended in the back of an ambulance after being knocked out cold by a flailing arm as he jumped into the audience only a couple of songs into his band’s set. The Melbourne singer admits that while his memory of the day isn’t great, he’s seen the YouTube footage and has been able to fill in a few blanks. “I was crowd surfing and saw one of those circle pits so I thought I’d get in the middle of that and as I was running towards
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it, he didn’t see me and I didn’t see him and we just collided,” Ing says with a wry chuckle. “I was completely out. I woke up on the stretcher in the ambulance. It was pretty full-on. Tom [Larkin, Calling All Cars’ manager] was freaking out. He was down the front. But as soon as he knew I was okay, he was like, ‘Sweet, publicity.’” But like the rock’n’roll trooper he is, Ing was back onstage a couple of days later in Melbourne – although his feet were firmly planted in front of the mic for the entire set. Because he’s such a physical performer this certainly isn’t the first time Ing’s ended a set a little worse for wear, but he admits he’s never had to leave a gig in an ambulance before. But don’t expect the Calling All Cars stage show to change his onstage antics too dramatically. “I haven’t been hurt to that extent before. I really badly hurt my foot one time jumping off the speaker, so I had to limp around for the rest of the show. But I just need to learn how to do it better. Practice makes perfect.” It’s been a pretty big summer for the Melbourne threepiece. Fresh from the August release of their second album, Dancing With A Dead Man, the band was one of four young local acts picked to support Foo Fighters on their December stadium tour. Calling All Cars are no strangers to big stadium rock shows, having toured Australia with AC/DC and with Queens Of The Stone Age, but Ing says the notoriously nice Foo Fighters certainly know how to make a support band feel welcome. “All the crew took us aside and were like, ‘Here’s a pass. You can go anywhere you want. You’re allowed in the Foo Fighters band room, just don’t be a dickhead.’ It was rad. We were hanging out with them afterwards. Just being there and standing side of stage and watching Dave [Grohl, Foo Fighters vocalist] do things was crazy. He brought me out onstage in Perth and I was having a conversation with him. That was pretty bizarre. I was standing there going, ‘What the fuck is happening right now?’”
There’s more to this story on the iPad While on tour the band couldn’t resist the opportunity to film a clip to announce their BDO appearance starring their famous tour-mates. The YouTube video features appearances by Foo Fighters’ Grohl and Nate Mendel, Fucked Up’s Damian ‘Pink Eyes’ Abraham and Tenacious D’s Kyle Gass and Jack Black. “We got to meet Jack Black and everyone backstage at the Perth show and we said, ‘Is it cool if you do this video?’ and explained it to them. And he goes, ‘Yeah, that’ll be sweet, but before I do that I actually want to see what I’m endorsing.’ So at one point in Adelaide there was Jack Black and Dave Grohl standing side of stage while we were playing. I was like, ‘Holy shit!’ Then after we all played we were having a drink and hanging out and Jack was like, ‘So are we going to make this video?’ The quote he actually said to us was, ‘You called the cars and they came.’” After such an eventful summer, Calling All Cars have taken a step back out of the limelight to begin the process of writing album number three. For Dancing With A Dead Man, the band wrote about 40 tracks that they whittled down to the album’s final 12 songs. The plan this time is to again write a lot more songs than are needed, so the three band members have decamped to a tiny little town on the New South Wales south coast for a little inspiration and a lot of peace and quiet. The town has a population of just a couple of hundred people. “When we walk into the town you can tell we’re not from around there. We get those typical comments like, ‘You’re wearing your sister’s jeans, mat.’ Yeah, good one.” Compared to the busy lives the boys all lead in Melbourne, life in a sleepy coastal town means there’s a lot of time for writing songs. To be blunt, there’s not a lot else to do. “There’s absolutely nothing else. There’s music or be bored,” Ing says. “The last two albums we did in Melbourne. There’s too many distractions in Melbourne. Too much good coffee. We’re aiming to get about fifty songs done and at that point we’ll demo them properly and try and find a producer.” The band’s first two albums have been produced by their manager Larkin, but Ing says it’s time for a change. “He wants us to do that as well. He’s had enough of us,” Ing says with a laugh. But the singer says it’s far too early to start thinking about specific names, though they’re hoping to end up with an overseas producer. Before they can narrow down names there’s a lot more writing to get done so the band can begin to work out what this new album will sound like.
THROUGH CREATE/CONTROL
If Calling All Cars’ debut, Hold, Hold, Fire, and Dancing With A Dead Man are anything to go by, there’s a pretty good chance listeners will be in for a lot more highenergy, blistering rock. If they’re really lucky, Calling All Cars might even preview a new song or two. WHO: Calling All Cars WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 10 May, Kay Street, Traralgon; Friday 11, Hi-Fi
22 • INPRESS
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JUMP POINT As they prepare to embark on their first visit to our shores, The Maccabees vocalist Orlando Weeks talks tipping points, Groovin’ The Moo and all things wild with Tyler McLoughlan.
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hough London five-piece The Maccabees have had all manner of tags bestowed on them ranging from underrated to Coldplay wannabes, they’ve generally done a good job of attracting both popular and critical success since the release of their 2007 debut record Colour It In. With their latest Given To The Wild changing the pace from indie guitar pop into a more grown up, ambitious sound aptly hailed by some as The Suburbs of their career, the mid-ranking Brits couldn’t be prouder ahead of their first visit to Australia. “I’m loving it man,” enthuses a gently spoken Orlando Weeks of the reception for their third record, which peaked at number four on the UK charts. “I think it just feels so… it was quite an intense process and we kind of felt that even though we’d had more time to get stuff done, we found more and more faults with the record or figured out how we could make it better, so by the time we’d actually got around to playing it, it was so nice.” As perhaps the impetus for changing tack stylistically, The Maccabees began preparation for Given To The Wild by dismantling their successful jam-room writing style to work individually. “We’d finished some pretty heavy touring and we thought you know, we don’t need to make it claustrophobic like that for the first bit – we can all go [do our own thing]. It was a really enjoyable thing; people would email each other bits and pieces and you’d be like, ‘Yeah, that’s amazing’ and then they’d work on it [or] I’d get sent something and then I’d work on it overnight and I’d send it back and we’d talk about it. Or I’d go to someone’s house or they’d come to mine and we weren’t all off totally separate, it was just a nice kind of way of easing ourselves into it and enjoying that bit of it, which for me is the best bit… It’s the best feeling I think, that initial feeling of [getting] something from nothing and then sort of bullying it into shape, making it work.
just the kind of grandness of scale, I think I’ll be kind of daunted and impressed by that. But everyone I’ve spoken to has just said that the hospitality of people is amazing and the crowds are really good for the shows. I’ve got a few friends out there; my cousin moved out there last year so I get to go and see him in Sydney – it’s so exciting,” he enthuses, before concluding, “We feel very blessed, very lucky given that this is… [our] jump point for getting to know a place.” WHO: The Maccabees WHAT: Given To The Wild (Fiction/Co-Operative) WHEN & WHERE: Wednesday 16 May, The Hi-Fi
“You’ve got to!” Weeks exclaims with vigour as he explains his choice of the word bullying. “They don’t want to [come], well not for me anyway – I’ll have an initial thing and then it does, it needs crafting and stuff and sometimes you can’t do it and then thank god I’ve got four other really brilliant bully-ers. And they have a go on it and help push it to the next bit. That’s how it works for us anyhow.”
There’s more to this story on the iPad Given To The Wild also captures a new lyrical approach for Weeks who is starting to get to that age, the one where having an entire song dedicated to the happenings at your local swimming pool no longer feels appropriate. In Pelican he sings, “One thing’s for sure we’re all getting older/ So we take a lover waiting in the corner/ Before you know it, pushing up the daisies”. “When we came back from that tour and started working on stuff, we’d been in and out of our homes for about two years and over that time a lot had changed; suddenly we’d come back and people – our friends, really good friends – were getting married or having children and all of that kind of stuff had a big impact on me. I kind of felt like I didn’t want to write songs about lost love or failed relationships or happy relationships or any kind of thing with just one person necessarily and I thought that it was an interesting thing to try and understand. And as soon as you think about these friends of yours that are at this tipping point between a young adult and an adult with responsibilities, you start thinking about your own family and your own responsibilities. So that became enough for me pretty much in terms of where I was going to try and start finding stories worth telling, events worth cataloguing. “It was just a kind of shock to me. It’s that kind of thing where you know it will happen but you kind of can’t really believe it when it does, especially when someone that you’ve known for years and years and years suddenly has a tiny version of them kickin’ about; they’re gonna be raising this screamy little person and it’s crazy. It had a real… yeah, I felt it,” he trails off. Recording with Tim Goldsworthy (LCD Soundsystem) and Bruno Ellingham in the iconic Rockfield Studios in Wales, The Maccabees finished the sessions with an incomplete record. “They suggested this place and it had an extraordinary musical heritage and all of that is kind of slightly off putting I think. It kind of slightly masks the fact that all you really do is you get there and you work and you try and get as much done as you can. We came away from it just feeling a bit like we hadn’t quite nailed it and that it wasn’t exactly right, so then we went back to our studio in Elephant And Castle and patched up a lot of stuff. [We] re-did a lot of stuff, re-recorded all sorts of bits and pieces and quite often found ourselves going back to those really early recordings – demos and stuff – and stealing sounds from those things, just the kind of happy accidents that happened along the way. They don’t seem it at the time, you just think that that sounds like a weird squealing in the background or something, but in the end you think, no, that’s how it sounded and that’s how it should be.” Playing four capital city shows as well as taking in a host of regional centres on the Groovin’ The Moo bill, Weeks is quite chuffed to be getting to see so much of the country on the band’s first visit. “I’ve had a brief look [at the tour schedule] but I’ve kind of left it as a bit of a mystery tour… it’s the best way to experience such a huge country; it’s pretty amazing to be getting that as your introduction.” He has some vague notions of what Australia might be like, though he’s happy to be surprised for the most part. “The first time I went to America, the scale of stuff, the bigness – and I know that sounds silly, but I’m fairly sure that that’s gonna be a similar thing;
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INPRESS • 23
BRAGGING RIGHTS UK troubadour Frank Turner talks to Brendan Hitchens about remaining grounded in the presence of heroes, and staying true to your core ideals.
WARM FOR CATS Sydney’s Catcall aka Catherine Kelleher has just dropped her epic pop masterpiece The Warmest Place and is basking in the wave of relief that comes with finishing a project of this magnitude. She tells Chris Yates about how the whole thing came together, who’s playing in her new live band, and defends her unabashed love of all things poptastic.
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ob Dylan’s The Times They Are A-Changin’ is a symbolic song at the best of times, but more so when it is performed as an encore duet at Wembley Stadium with Billy Bragg. Frank Turner’s pen prophecies share a similarity with both songwriters; colloquial, political and sincere, and as both enter their twilight years, Turner seems poised to take their mantle. “It was a great day and a great show,” he begins, reflecting on last month headlining the soon-to-beOlympic venue to 12,000 people. “It all came down to 90 minutes of my life. It was breathtaking to be in front of that many people all singing along.” Bragg, who Turner personally requested as his support act, is an obvious influence on his music; so playing alongside an idol to so many people must be overwhelming? Not so for Turner. “I wouldn’t say going on after Billy was intimidating. It was a massive honor and a privilege. He’s so down to earth.” Always ambitious, from unabashedly covering ABBA, Queen and Wham! to sharing their stadiumsized ambitions, the 30-year-old from rural South East England takes it all in his stride.
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on the iPad
“The very next day [after Wembley] I jumped on a plane and flew to Canada to continue touring and playing shows,” he reflects. “It was like I needed to get back to work, doing what I’ve been doing for years and not just sitting around and changing.” Turner’s latest record England Keep My Bones has become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If he isn’t anchored in the motherland, he is at least singing about it every night. Having previewed songs off the album on his second Australian tour in 2010, he returns this month with the album now teetering on the cusp of the mainstream. Last year saw Turner perform 79 shows in 14 different countries, and the New Year is no let up for the travelling troubadour. Adding Darwin, Alice Springs and Cairns to his tour destinations, Turner admits it’s a win-win situation. “It’s partly self interest in that I want to go to new places and meet new people, but at the same time if you go out of your way to play at these places, in my experience, you generally have a great show because people are appreciative that you’ve made the journey. There’s a good will in the room before you start which, is fantastic.” Touring with his backing band The Sleeping Souls for the first time in this country, Turner acknowledges their importance to both his sound and live show. “The band is a pretty integral part of what I do,” he pronounces. “I’ve always wanted a band like The E Street Band, where it’s not just a group of random faces but when you come to a show you know their names. It’s now more of a show and focused performance, a celebratory expulsion. I take my cues as much from watching footage of James Brown as the punk bands I grew up on.” Eight months since the release of his last album, Turner has already written and demoed 15 new songs, with many of these sneaking into his live show. Admitting his writing isn’t as thematic as previously, he reveals a loose theme of, “struggling to retain ideals as you get older,” developing as a focus. With five albums out and the skeleton of the sixth taking shape, the Australian setlist emerges as one of greatest hits. Turner jokingly suggests fans can expect, “a lot of singalongs, dance numbers and the rest of it. I want people to walk away from the show with the biggest possible grin I can get out of them.” With one foot in the mainstream and the other firmly planted in the underground, the times are certainly a-changing for this Londoner. WHO: Frank Turner WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 10 May, The Espy 24 • INPRESS
eah! So relieved. Relief is definitely the feeling,” Catherine Kelleher replies when questioned about the imminent release of debut Catcall album The Warmest Place, so many years in the making. “I kept feeling like I was about to have a baby and it was overdue and I was like, ‘Get out!’ I just wanted to get it out. It’s the process - you know, some parts of it I had control over and other parts like the time-frame I didn’t have control over, and also I’ve done a lot of growing since I started getting the record made. I think I still can’t even quite believe that it’s done. It felt at times like it was never going to be finished ever, like I was never going to be able to put it out!” It’s no wonder the record took the time it did. Kelleher worked with multiple producers, shooting ideas back and forth across the country, reworking old ideas, deconstructing and reassembling songs – it’s a very different way of working than she was used to as an indie rock kid playing in her band Kiosk. “I always start with the producer sending me a bed,” she says of the process of her songwriting these days. “Like a beat or an instrumental or something like that – some kind of an idea. It always starts off with them. I need a melody or a beat or a bassline to start working on an idea. I’ll start writing after that with my production set up in the room. I’ll work on the lyrics and the melody and the vocal performance. Then we’ll send the tracks backwards and forwards between the producers and start really working on the production. Sometimes it’s the original that we use. With the Van She remix of Satellites, that was actually the original version of it we started working on. That’s how it started, then Bry Jones did some other production on it and we ended up going with that. A couple of times the original production changed quite a bit, but sometimes it was just like an extension. The melody of
The World Is Ours was originally all with synthesisers but we ended up changing it to guitars and trying out a kind of punkier, Go-Go’s style mix and we stuck with the guitar version. The different versions of all the songs are really quite interesting; maybe they’ll get released one day.” Given her indie roots, it’s interesting to learn that songs didn’t start as guitar-based demos. “I always find that the melody or the beat has to inform the emotion of the song,” she says. “That’s how I get inspired and I just sit with headphones on and listen to it really loudly. There’s some instances where the first thing I’ve written, in terms of the melody and some of the lyrics, are still there at the end.” The album opens with the first solo track Kelleher ever wrote, an a capella number called The Warmest Place, which she also named the album after. She borrowed some of the lyrics for a section of the heartbreaking track August, written on the oneyear anniversary of a tragic event in her life. “It was a year after my dad passed away that we recorded it, so in August the next year on the first anniversary,” she says explaining the very personal details of the song. “If I even tried to sing it in the studio it wouldn’t have captured it. We would never have gotten the pain and what someone described as post-traumatic shock when I first recorded August – because that’s what I had – we would never have gotten that performance again. The song became sort of about that experience and why I was making music. The interpretation of that and how it became the music that I wanted to know. It’s not like I’m re-inventing the wheel with my music, I’m just trying to be honest and tell my own story, I guess.” The heaviness of the inspiration behind August is a little contradictory to the rest of the album, which is for the most part a much more light-hearted affair. Kelleher’s love of pop music bubbles to the surface on every number, and even though stylistically the songs jump around, there’s a lack of seriousness and a spontaneity that is immediate and infectious. There’s also Kelleher’s detailed musical knowledge informing so much of the pop in an almost insidious way. Take Art Star for example, one of the most sugary pop exercises on the album, but it’s clearly got its roots dug deeper. She’s basically ripping off New York post-punkers ESG, and not in any way hiding the fact. “A lot of people I think will miss that ESG, Delta 5 reference,” she says excitedly. “When I was writing that song, I wanted to get inspired by those two, but I think a lot of people will just hear that and think that song’s so immature. Well,
it’s supposed to be tongue-in-cheek and it’s supposed to be bratty and it’s supposed to be not too over-thought. It’s supposed to be simple and cheeky and so on, but I think people will miss that. I try not to read reviews but I remember one where they said that was the weak point of the album, or it said that I need to develop my songwriting or whatever. The whole point of that song was that it was supposed to be done quickly and it’s supposed to be really immediate – very, very simple. I’m not into earnest music at the moment. I like the really, really simple, fun ideas.” Turning a record that is entirely a studio project into a set that can be performed by a proper live band is no small task. Kelleher is confident that the hired guns she has drawn together are doing an amazing job of accomplishing it. “Drums is a guy called Simon Parker who used to play in Damn Arms and Los Valentinos. On guitar I have Al Grigg, who used to play in Red Riders and now plays in Palms. My producer Andrew Elston, who is a DJ under the name Toni Toni Lee, is playing in the band as well, he is doing guitar and keyboards and sampler. On bass I’ve got a lady called Bec Allen who is in this girl group kinda band called The Fabergettes. There’s no laptops or we’re not relying on backing tracks or anything. It means we’re a bit freer to jam the songs a bit and you’re not stuck to a sequence. Plus I’ve actually had nightmares about the backing track stopping and you’re just stuck on stage with nothing happening – no sound. Oh god, that would be a nightmare, but I never have to worry about that which is great!” WHO: Catcall WHAT: The Warmest Place (Ivy League/Liberation) WHEN & WHERE: Saturday 12 May, Toff In Town
DON’T LOOK BACK Doug Wallen doesn’t get nostalgic with The Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle.
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ith his wracked-nerves guitar strum and biting sneer, there’s no mistaking The Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle for anyone else. Even when he turns down the volume, the man’s sharp, talky voice is as well known as his powerful lyrics. It’s been a decade since The Mountain Goats graduated from a cult treasure to a mid-level indie mainstay, but it still feels somehow unlikely that so unfashionable and idiosyncratic a songwriter should have found such a reliable audience. But let’s be glad he has, because that success has kept the world in regular Mountain Goats albums and tours ever since Darnielle signed to 4AD for 2002’s breakout Tallahassee. Now signed to Merge and backed by bassist Peter Hughes (Nothing Painted Blue) and drummer Jon Wurster (Superchunk), Darnielle’s latest album was last year’s All Eternals Deck. While it doesn’t revisit the “going to” road songs beloved by fans, there are specific references to his native California. One song that only made the cut as an Aussie bonus track nods to one of our own cities: the heartbreaking Brisbane Hotel Sutra was written at The Point hotel. But it ultimately didn’t fit the album. “That’s a really direct expression,” Darnielle admits, “and All Eternals Deck is not an album of direct expressions. It has a couple of windows that open where you can see something raw, but that song is fairly autobiographical and naked. When you’re making an album, you have to focus on the good of the album and what’s going to make the best shape.” Unlike more autobiographical albums like 2004’s We Shall All Be Healed and 2005’s The Sunset Tree, All Eternals Deck is shrouded in allusions to kings, crusades, vampires and the mythology of popular culture, from Liza Minnelli and her mum Judy Garland to Charles Bronson and the Eagles hit Hotel California. The fact that Brisbane Hotel Sutra was penned in Brisbane at all is only because Darnielle adapted his songwriting habits. “I used to be really strict,” he recalls. “I’m the king of arbitrary rules. I decided when I was new: ‘I don’t write on the road. I tour on the road. I focus on my shows.’ Then it got to the point where we were touring so much that to not write on the road would be to not write at all.”
He continues: “So I started writing on the road, and I was also in a super emotional state [at the time]. The songs I wrote on that tour turned out to be the core of The Sunset Tree. Well, that was a lesson for me. If you write when you literally only have an hour to do it and in an inconvenient location and during times of emotional duress, you can maybe actually tap something a little deeper.” Now Darnielle writes both on the road and at home. For his tentatively named next album Transcendental Youth, however, he’s also road-testing the ten songs planned for the record. That’s despite YouTube’s reputation for capturing early versions of songs live, before they’ve necessarily come to fruition on an album. That’s not to say, though, that he’ll play all – and only – new songs on tour. “There isn’t even any new album,” he reminds. “We haven’t recorded it yet. So who knows what’s gonna be on it? I’m just gonna play what I want, which is usually playing new stuff. People wanna hear older stuff, but if you only play older stuff, then you are a nostalgia act and I consider nostalgia a toxin.” Laughing, he adds in the same breath: “There’s nothing wrong with older songs, but if you’re not constantly moving forward and constantly trying to push yourself a little – and push audiences and let everybody have new experiences instead of just reliving songs they already know – then to me it’s a lot less fun.” If not a nostalgic person in general, Darnielle still loves plenty of music from the past. In March The Mountain Goats took part in a massive tribute to The Rolling Stones at Carnegie Hall, playing Paint It Black on a line-up that included such heroes of his as Rickie Lee Jones, Roseanne Cash and New York Dolls’ David Johansen. He cites New York Dolls as well as Johansen’s later band The Harry Smiths for changing his life. And on tour, The Mountain Goats have also covered the Silver Jews’ Pet Politics and Plains by the late, underrated indie rock act Silkworm. Oh, and Thin Lizzy’s The Boys Are Back in Town for a while there. Despite having the charismatic drummer of Superchunk on board for years now, Darnielle doesn’t like the idea that having a permanent drummer has made the band more “rock”. “[Maybe] in the ears of the listeners,” he says, “because few listeners will count something as rock unless it has a drummer. But I will contend that if you put me alone in front of any audience, I’m gonna bring more rock than
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half the bands you’re gonna see. I know that sounds very egocentric, but I mean it. We rock no matter what our formation is. That’s what we do.” He may not agree with the distinction in most people’s minds, but he’s come to accept it. “I think that’s a weird rule,” he adds. “I used to be really aggro about it when I would stand in front of audiences solo and people would all sit down.” With what’s soon to be 14 studio albums to the band’s name, it’s a wonder that Darnielle can keep track of his sprawling songbook, let alone retain lyrics and chords. And this is a man who earlier in the interview calls his memory “spotty.” “My memory’s not good or bad: it’s weird,” he elaborates later. “It’s like I meet people from my past and I remember [obscure] stuff, but then I forget things that are personally important to me. My memory is full of holes. It’s something that somebody stood in front of with a machine gun for a while.” That said, he points out: “I always feel like the lyrics become muscle memory at some point.” But then there’s Riches & Wonders from 2002’s All Hail West Texas, a song he can’t play live because he can never remember all four verses in a row. “That will just not get itself into my head no matter what I do,” he laments. “Which is a shame, ‘cause it’s one of the best songs I ever wrote. But that’s how it goes.” WHO: The Mountain Goats WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 10, The Corner Hotel
STILL FEARLESS Public Enemy’s importance in contemporary music over the past quarter of a century cannot be overstated. Their formidable frontman Chuck D talks about life in general with Dan Condon as the band prepare for another jaunt down under.
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huck D is in his car, driving from Washington DC where he has been attending the Occupy Movement’s Occupy The Justice Department rally on the 58th birthday of Mumia Abu-Jamal, the prisoner who has recently had his life spared after being on death row for over 30 years charged with the shooting of a Police officer in 1981. To be honest, it’s been hard to get Chuck D on the phone to chat about the forthcoming Public Enemy tour. He’s a busy man, what with guest appearances to make on other records, countless social and political causes to dedicate his time to, a record label to run and generally just, you know, being Chuck D. But what really has him flat out right now is new Public Enemy material. A lot of it. Chuck D, real name Carlton Ridenhour, and his Public Enemy crew plan on releasing two albums of new material this year, after a five-year (relative) absence since the release of How You Sell Soul To A Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul? So, why a double album? “Why be regular? Why be normal? Come out with something that will kind of have people scratching their heads, like, ‘What the hell?’” Chuck D says, before making it clear that the very concept of commercial success doesn’t even register with the group. “We have a precise way of putting together an album; whether [the songs] fit the soundscape of today? Well, it’ll be interesting… We create them for ourselves, we’re not trying to compete or create something that’s going against anything else. It’s not made to win Grammys, it’s not made to top the charts; it’s made to actually point to the musicmaking legacy of a group that’s been around for twenty-five years and is still active - that’s what important for us.”
collaborate with the likes of Dillinger Escape Plan and… Meat Loaf. He credits his companions in his most successful collaboration with opening his mind to wider musical possibilities. “You gotta be fearless to take it on and accept it. When Anthrax wanted to join with Public Enemy and do Bring Tha Noize [from 1991’s Public Enemy album, Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black], that was [Anthrax guitarist and drummer] Scott Ian and Charlie Benante’s idea. They wanted to step up to the challenge of taking on other musical terrain. I learned a lot from those guys.” WHO: Public Enemy WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 17 May, Espy
Grammys are an interesting topic in relation to Public Enemy. While in many eyes they were the most consistently high-quality hip hop group since the Grammys first considered awarding accolades for music of the rap genre in the late ‘80s, victory has always eluded them. Earlier this year Public Enemy were honoured at the Grammy Museum; the band performed a set and were interviewed onstage by the Museum’s Executive Director Bob Santelli. A real honour for any musician, sure, but a bit of a shock for one that, on their 1988 song, Terminator X To The Edge Of Panic, spat “Who gives a fuck about a Goddamn Grammy”. A long time has passed since then, says Chuck D. “Back when we said ‘Who gives a fuck about a goddamn Grammy’, that wasn’t personal. It was because the Grammys did not have a rap category yet. So we protested the Grammys and they finally put a rap category on there. So that’s when I dropped my beef with them. The Grammy Museum in Los Angeles is very, very special because they realised that we had a passion and a commitment to the artform. Bob Santelli is a close ally of ours.” This tour is billed as the group’s 25th anniversary tour, as it’s a quarter of a century since the release of the group’s debut record, Yo! Bum Rush The Show. The record holds strong memories for Chuck. “No question; I was doing the same thing I’m doing right now, I was driving while writing. I was writing that album as a messenger. Certain elements of that record I hear exactly what I was doing at that time. It’s like a birthmark.” The group is planning on celebrating the entire spectrum of their career on this tour. Though, given their last visit wasn’t long ago, they’re also looking to inject something a little different. “We’re going to have to present something that’s very different, but still deliver those records that people have got into.” Chuck also says not to expect too much of the new Public Enemy material; even though there’s a lot of it. “I don’t think we’re going to perform a lot of new material because y’all haven’t heard it. We might do a couple of things. For Public Enemy the performance is a large part of it. With the performance you’ve got a large amount of spontaneity that goes beyond the recordings - that’s something that you’ve got to keep in mind. That’s just the truth of it all.” He trails off as he stops to pay a toll. Public Enemy were one of the trailblazing hip hop acts with regards to touring outside of their own country. In a time where few hip hop artists would leave US soil, the band would spread their gospel to just about anywhere that would have them. “This is the sixth time we’ve toured Australia and I think De La Soul has us by maybe a couple of times,” Chuck D ruminates. “But I’m really mind-boggled that my friend KRS-One finally made it down to Australia. I remember in the ‘90s trying to convince him to get down to Australia, and the fact that he went down is just a wonderful thing to see. Probably the most gifted rapper of all time. “When we first came to Australia in 1990, it was like, for most rap artists at that time it was impossible to comprehend a fifteen-hour flight. Most of them would do three to four hours and be afraid to go out of the country. We set that precedent and helped pave those roads, like for Ice-T in ’92 [the two acts toured Australia together that year]. We were older too, so we weren’t afraid to go, but a lot of artists were like ‘Nah, it’s impossible for me to get down there.’ “But now, the amount of artists going down there in the last five years, it’s mind-boggling for me. Loads of entertainers not only from North America, but South America, Asia and Europe, are really psyched to be coming to Australia, performing and showing their abilities. I just hope that Australian artists, namely Australian MCs and DJs, have equal opportunity to be accepted abroad like people coming down to Australia.” One thing that hasn’t changed for Chuck D is his willingness to involve himself in styles of music outside the realm of hip hop. In 1990 he appeared on Sonic Youth’s Kool Thing, he covered Black Flag’s Rise Above alongside Henry Rollins for a West Memphis Three benefit record. Recent years have seen him
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INPRESS • 25
FULL CIRCLE Alt.rappers Atmosphere may be the most famous musical act to emerge from Minneapolis since Prince. In between tales of performing with The Purple One, Sean Daley – aka Slug – tells Cyclone why he’s so eager to make an impression on the mainstream.
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tmosphere’s Slug (aka Sean Daley) may have been the first emo rapper. He made it cool to articulate urban neuroses. But alt.rap’s original anti-hero isn’t about to suggest that he opened the way for that sweater-loving introspective Drake. “I don’t wanna claim that I have,” Daley says evasively, “but I’m not gonna argue with anybody else that says that I have.” The Minneapolis native – who, ironically, started out as a DJ – has never been into the braggadocio. The Atmosphere duo – Daley’s partner is lowkey DJ-cum-beatmaker Anthony “Ant” Davis – initially left a mark in the late-‘90s with the album Overcast!, after which Daley’s early MC cohort Spawn quit. He and Davis built up their own indie, Rhymesayers Entertainment, then signed to the punk label Epitaph for their third outing, Seven’s Travels, which garnered them unprecedented attention. The pair have been prolific with not only albums, but also EPs, side-projects and collabs. Indeed, Atmosphere could yet be the most famous act to spring from Minneapolis since Prince. And Daley, “a Prince obsessionist” from the age of ten, has a tale about the R&B legend. In the mid-’90s he was MCing in a small local venue as a member of the jam collective Freeloaded. One night a local newsreader, pals with Prince, brought him along. “We all were just sweating with the fact that Prince was in there listening to us make a mess. Then midway through the night, he got on the stage and got on the piano and played with us – and I got to freestyle with Prince. If you were to ask him about that story, he probably would deny it, but I’m here to tell you it’s true.” A little more than a year ago, Atmosphere delivered their seventh album, The Family Sign, following the huge US crossover success of When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold. This time the outfit actually involved their band members in the recording process. The Family Sign was, even by Daley’s standards, very cathartic. The MC remembers it as “a lot of fun to make,” although, unusually, he recorded his bits “in solitude” in a garage. “I really appreciated that, because I was able to get a lot of other work done at the same time.” Daley is now planning new music. “It’s too soon for me to confirm any details, but I’m always plotting another album – I’m plotting three more albums right now. I don’t know how to not plot and continue plotting more music.” The ongoing challenge for him is to “properly communicate” his ideas – and explain them better in interviews. “It’s never really just about the records,” he says. Self-effacing as ever, Daley worries that he isn’t an authentic musician, his “only real skill” being an ability to “spit”, so he strives to make the best of it. “I wanna be Billy Joel! I wanna be Stevie Wonder! I wanna learn how to write a song that affects a person the same way it affects me.” What hasn’t changed is his easy rapport with Davis. “Overall our dynamic is: Daley cracks a joke, Ant laughs at the joke. That’s kinda been our schtick for almost 20 years now – and in between we make songs.” Their “bond” is strong largely because they are “very similar”. “We don’t agree on everything, we don’t even hang out all the time, but, when we do, it’s always familiar because of the fact that he could have been my sibling.” WHO: Atmosphere WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 10 May, Hi-Fi 26 • INPRESS
AWAY AWAY For his first ever solo release aussie songwriting icon Mick Thomas travelled a long way from home, and he tells Steve Bell how he eventually found solace in a far flung land.
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alk about stepping out of your comfort zone. Mick Thomas might have been one of Australia’s finest singer-songwriters for nigh on three decades now, but until the recent release of his debut solo album The Last Of The Tourists he’d always gone through the process as part of a band – for years as the focal point of esteemed folk rockers Weddings, Parties, Anything and then later with his vehicle The Sure Thing. You’d think the mere act of going it alone would be daunting enough, but Thomas further acquiesced to the wishes of his producer Darren Hanlon – himself no slouch at the singer-songwriter game – and decamped to Portland, Oregon to record the album in an unfamiliar environment and surrounded by (mostly) unfamiliar faces. Those familiar with Thomas’ oeuvre won’t be surprised at all that he totally nailed the project – the album not only hangs together well as a whole but also contains a couple of tracks up there with the best work of his career – but the process sure wasn’t without its nervous moments. “I am happy,” Thomas ponders of the result of his labours. “It’s as hands off as I get on a record in a lot of ways, because I kind of let Darren call a lot of the shots. I reckon the thing I would have changed is that we did it all in a week – basically five straight days – and then there were a few overdubs to be done, and I kind of left them in Darren’s hands and that was really like pulling teeth because he was travelling so was getting stuff done here and there and sending me back the files. After a while that just got so messy and convoluted, and by the time the guy started mixing we weren’t even sure which mix we were listening to half the time – I guess it’s a peril of the digital age. “Then I was a bit unsure of how it sounded so we found this guy to master it – again, I just looked on the internet and found this guy who’s got good credits and he seemed like a nice guy, so all of a sudden it’s being mastered by a guy that I’ve never met – and then all of a sudden you’ve got an album! I really felt a bit disconnected towards the end of the process for me, but that just made me pleasantly surprised when I put it on.” Even the beginning of the process was relatively
roughshod, Thomas flying over to the States armed with a batch of songs but no real idea about how they were going to be committed to tape. “Darren’s got this funny kind of paradox in that on one hand he’s got this really stringent idea about what he wants and a really strong work ethic, and on the other hand he’s really disorganised in some ways,” Thomas chuckles. “I didn’t even know he was going to play on the record – I thought that it might end up being pretty acoustic-based, because when we were going to Portland I just had no idea about who was around to play on it, but Darren would just say, ‘Oh yeah, the engineer plays drums, he’s pretty good’, but when the engineer played drums Darren had to do the tape machine – it wasn’t like a big operation – so there was a lot of making it up as we went along really in that regard. But I reckon that gives the record a sound.” The Pacific Northwest isn’t somewhere that you’d imagine a songwriter like Thomas would trek to for a recording session – his songs are generally intrinsically Australian to the core – but it proved to be the perfect locale. “Darren was there and wanted to work there,” he shrugs. “We live in this era where you can just check things out straight away, and everything I saw [about Portland] on the web I liked. It’s very arty, it’s got this massive bookshop that they’re very proud of, they’re into coffee, they’re into food, they’re into beer – it’s all micro-brewing, they call it the micro-brewery capital of the world – so it’s just like a massive Fitzroy really. We were really comfortable there, and it was great spending a week in an American city and not coming out feeling like you’ve got scurvy – you can actually eat pretty well and cheaply. The fact is with the Aussie dollar being what it is it’s actually cost-effective to record over there – the poor old Yanks need some money injected into their economy.” Of course it’s ultimately the batch of songs which makes The Last Of The Tourists so strong, and apparently Hanlon played a significant role in the track selection as well. “A lot of [the songs] have been around for a while, and Darren had a big role in shaping them into the album,” Thomas admits. “I had about 30 songs and Darren said, ‘Just give me everything you can lay your hands on’, so I dragged every song that I thought was a possibility out and said, ‘We’ll both pick ten, but let’s do it at the same time so we’re not influencing each other’, so we both sent through ten songs. There were four or five which were on both lists and they automatically got in, but then the five that weren’t on my list that he’d picked were ones that I wouldn’t have
gone near in a million years – I thought they were songs that were just gone, I wouldn’t have picked them. But then I thought about it and decided that it’s pointless me working with someone different if I’m not getting to let them say what they think, so I just went, ‘I’m going to do this’, and I think that’s where some of the odder choices came from.” There were some concessions to familiarity – Thomas did let his good friend Mark “Squeezebox Wally” Wallace come along for the ride, his sidekick since the early days of WPA. “Darren was adamant that it wasn’t a Weddings record and when I said Wal was coming along he was a bit funny about it, and I had to relay that to Wally, but he ended up playing on over half of it,” Thomas tells. “Once I got there and realised that I was comfortable outside my normal comfort zone – that sounds like a dumb thing to say – from Wally’s point of view he got to do some stuff outside of his normal thing like autoharp and keyboards, and I reckon that’s really important to do that stuff. Like The Gin Club operandi, where everyone’s playing an instrument that’s maybe not their first instrument. I did some percussion stuff and Wal was playing weird keyboards and this engineer was playing drums and Darren was playing bass – we were making it up pretty much as we went along, it was good.” WHO: Mick Thomas WHAT: The Last Of The Tourists (Liberation) WHEN & WHERE: Friday 11 May, The Regal Ballroom, Northcote
FRIENDS OR ENEMIES? On the eve of their first ever Australian tour, Tom Barman from Belgian indie legends dEUS tells Steve Bell about the positive power of change (when combined with a touch of tolerance).
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ometimes it’s easy to forget how geographically isolated Australia is from the rest of the planet and how lucky we are that so many overseas bands do the right thing so often by coming down here to perform for our amusement. Then other times that tyranny of distance is brought into all too clear focus, such as when a band exists for what seems like an eternity without making it down to grace our stages in anger. One such example of that latter scenario is that of Belgian indie legends dEUS, who despite having existed for more than two decades and having released a string of excellent and innovative studio albums have never managed to make it down to the correct part of our hemisphere. Until now. Armed with their ambitious sixth album Keep You Close, the band are finally making the long trip southwards and we can only hope that they take the adage ‘keep your friends close and your enemies closer’ seriously, because this is a band that we definitely want to be mates with. “We’re so looking forward to finally get down there,” laughs dEUS’ frontman and creative lynchpin Tom Barman. “We’ve been trying for a long time, but there was always something getting in the way or making it impossible, but now it’s happening and we’re looking forward to it, you bet.” Keep You Close has been out in Europe since last year despite only getting recent local release, which has given Barman time to get some perspective on the record. “People always have whole theories when you bring out a record about what it means and what it’s doing and what it means to them and how they think it sounds. So that’s sometimes a very alienating thing to hear, but generally we wanted to make something more dynamic and organic than the previous one [2008’s Vantage Point], which was sort of modern-sounding,” he tells. “So we wanted to make something warmer, hence the brass and strings and stuff, but it’s been generally really wellreceived actually and we’re really happy about that. “We started with absolutely nothing. We wrote it all together and it all comes from jams and improvisations and tiny ideas and it was just a very collective piece of work, but also why it took such a long time to record.”
For long-term dEUS fans, this notion of the band collaborating for the whole session is something of a surprise because the band has long been perceived to be Barman’s baby to some degree, but he’s quick to point out that this hasn’t always been the case, referencing some of the band’s earliest (and most loved) material. “We’ve always written together – Suds And Soda was written together, but Hotellounge was by me, Fell Off The Floor, Man and Instant Street were joint ventures, but Magic Hour was mine…” he trails off. “It’s nothing new that we write together, but it’s the first time that we’ve done everything together for the whole album. The whole album was a collective activity, which was time consuming, but when you hit something you just know that nobody separately could have thought of, that’s the great feeling about writing together. But it’s nothing new. This formation has been together for eight years so it was the right time to do that – we’ve done many shows and I think we’re a very tight unit, so I think it was time.” This line-up of dEUS is by a fair margin the most stable incarnation of the band – does this mean that they’ve developed some kind of innate understanding? “It means we tolerate each other,” Barman laughs heartily. “It means we don’t get murderous around each other. Although there are moments that you want to kill somebody. No, there’s a good understanding, but also, for instance, our bass player Alan [Gevaert] has a very distinct sound – I say he has a ‘brutal beauty’ about his bass playing, it’s very brutal but at the same time melodic – and I was just sick of telling him to play this or that, or ‘Okay Alan, here’s a song and it goes from here to there’. It was basically limiting, so you just want to hear what everybody sounds like at some point. “Everyone assumes that we did this to please everybody in the band, but I’m not so sure they’re pleased because it’s much more work for them! I think they fucking hate me! I was so happy about the album that I told them, [shouts]: “I am never going to write another song by myself in my life!’ and I thought we would be high-fiving in the bus, but they all looked really sad. But it was fun to do and in hindsight the satisfaction is more profound because everybody has played a part in the success.” The lyrics to dEUS songs are still staunchly Barman’s domain and while he’s justifiably proud of the songs that make up Keep You Close, he’s also acutely aware that it’s an extremely personal batch of writing. “Unfortunately, yeah,” he shrugs. “I just read an interesting interview with Ry Cooder, he’d just made an anti-war album of some description and he said something like, ‘Specific
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circumstances call for a direct approach’ and I guess that’s what I must have felt when I was writing some of those lyrics. No metaphors, no ‘would-be poetry’ – we’re just going to name things by their names. I’m not sure if that was a very good decision because it’s painful to sing some of those things live, but that’s how it turned out. It wasn’t easy to write them, but they’re just songs. Even though they’re difficult to sing live, on some level I like a bit of drama.” If you listen to Keep You Close compared to the band’s earliest material it’s still identifiably the same band, but the sonic evolution is quite marked. According to Barman, this is as much a result of natural change as it is differing personnel. “Obviously it’s changed because we’re not 21 anymore and from that early period only me and Klaas [Janzoons] the violin player are left,” he reflects. “When people get nostalgic about the first dEUS record I tell them, ‘What do you think? That if we were still together in that formation that we would still be making that kind of music?’ That’s just insane! No we wouldn’t! But it’s evolved, sometimes brutally and sometimes very fluidly. I had many formations before that [1994 debut] Worst Case Scenario period. I think it was built into the DNA of the band that there was going to be people coming and going. I’m not saying that I was always happy when it happened, but I can tell you that in my life I’ve only fired two people and I didn’t like it. Most people just went away, then they came back again, then they went away again and that kind of became our story – that’s just the way it went.” WHO: dEUS WHAT: Keep You Close (PIAS/Liberator) WHEN & WHERE: Saturday 12 May, Corner
TASTE TEST: DANIEL MERRIWEATHER THE FIRST ALBUM I BOUGHT WITH MY OWN MONEY
It was Cooleyhighharmony by Boyz II Men. I think my dad bought a Sanyo boombox CD player at Kmart maybe a day or two before, we didn’t have one before then, but we didn’t have any CDs and that was the year that album came out. [The boombox] was sitting there dormant waiting for the CD of choice and my CD of choice was Boyz II Men Cooleyhighharmony. I think I was about ten and I went to JB Hi-Fi and I bought it. To me, at ten, Boys II Men were the real deal [laughs].
THE ALBUM I’M LOVING RIGHT NOW I’ve been listening to A$AP Rocky’s mixtape a lot actually. I like really slow hip hop at the moment. It’s a free download. I think my girlfriend downloaded it for me.
MY FAVOURITE PARTY ALBUM
It’s weird, I’ve just been getting right into really ignorant hip hop lately. I’d probably put on Self Made [Vol 1], the MMG [Maybach Music Group] album – Meek Mill and Wale and all those guys. That’s probably a good party album.
MY FAVOURITE COMEDOWN ALBUM
Probably The Weeknd’s first album, which I think is called Room Full Of Balloons. Is it called that? [The actual title is House Of Balloons.] I like the song Wicked Games off that album, that’s like the perfect comedown song. It makes you think about all the bad things you’ve done the night before and it makes you feel horribly regretful about them. You’ve gotta own the comedown and then you’ll get out of it quicker. If you own it – just own up to the guilt of it – then you won’t have any lingering memories of it. You’ve gotta process and then release.
THE FIRST GIG I EVER ATTENDED
I think it was Metallica on The Black Album tour. It was a great concert. I was a bit of a loner in high school and I was trying to find someone to go with me and I got my mum to buy me two tickets – haha, I sound like such a loser. So I tried, like, five people and I can’t remember who I ended up going with – FUCK! That would’ve been such an amazing memory if I could possibly conjure it. I think I wore a Pantera T-shirt to it [laughs]. I probably should’ve invested in a Metallica T-shirt. I must’ve been so young. It was at Rod Laver in Melbourne. And I saw The Presidents Of The United States Of America as well at Festival Hall, in that same era.
THE WEIRDEST GIG EXPERIENCE I’VE HAD
The weirdest gig experience was seeing Frenzal Rhomb at EV’s [Youth Centre] in Croydon and having to – I sound like such a pussy, but it was so loud and I didn’t know what to do. I thought my ears were gonna start bleeding. I was right down the front. I was standing with my friend Leah Henry who introduced me to that venue and that band and I was right down the front near the speakers. And I remember she wanted to stand there and I didn’t want to because it was too loud [laughs]. But I loved it. I just had to move away and have myself an ear break. I was a little concerned that I was losing my hearing, ‘cause my uncle has tinnitus, but it was good to see Frenzal Rhomb back in the day.
MY BIGGEST NON-MUSICAL INFLUENCES
I guess probably Jean Baudrillard. He’s my favourite French philosopher. He wrote this book called The Perfect Crime and the guys who made The Matrix read that book for inspiration. That’s what Jean Baudrillard put all his life’s work into, is the whole idea that the digital world will slowly replace our reality so that we’re not actually sure which is which. He calls it the simulacra effect. I just wrote this song called Falling Down and the whole song is about that idea. It was a direct influence on the song
THE COOLEST PERSON I’VE EVER MET
Jay-Z probably. He’s rad. I actually introduced Amy Winehouse to Jay-Z years ago and Jay-Z thought that I was her manager ‘cause I was kind of taking care of her because she was a little bit drunk. It was after her album came out at the Spotted Pig in New York and I walked in and she was all, ‘[puts on cockney accent] I fuckin’ hate Jay-Z! I fuckin’ hate him, I’m a Nas fan.’ I was like, ‘Don’t say that to his face. That’d be awkward.’ [Laughs.] But it was kinda funny that he thought I was this manager. I guess I must’ve been dressed conservatively that day. Actually the very first time I met [Jay-Z] was at Beyoncé’s birthday party – I sound like fucking Page Six! I somehow wrangled my way into Beyoncé’s birthday party, like, a really intimate dinner and then at this sort of party house in the Hamptons. There was probably no more than 30 people there and I got really drunk on Patrón and then Jay-Z was playing chess with his manager and I laughed at them for playing chess at four in the morning. I was like, ‘What the fuck is this, guys? We’ve just done shots of Patrón and you’re sitting down playing chess? Get into it!’ Jay-Z literally looked up with no words, looked at his manager, and his manager did all
the talking for him and just said, ‘Daniel, you need to walk away right now’ [laughs]. And then from then on – you know how sometimes there’s that phenomenon of if you get into a fight with someone, or if you have an awkward moment with someone, sometimes it can actually make you closer in a way? It’s an instant icebreaker. Like the guy you had a fight with in high school, there’s something about the tension that happened that almost brings you closer. So me and him, from that moment on, have a really good kind of friendship in a way.
THE BIGGEST CELEBRITY CRUSH I’VE EVER HAD
Probably Natalie Imbruglia. Mind my expression that I’m about to use, but I’ve always wanted to throw a leg over. I’ve always had a thing for her. She’s really hot and I met her once in England and she’s really short and cute.
IF I COULD HANG OUT IN ANY TIME AND PLACE IN HISTORY I think I’d probably go into the future, definitely, and I don’t really know what I’d be doing there ‘cause it hasn’t happened yet. But I’d like to see what’s goin’ on.
IF I WASN’T MAKING MUSIC
I really don’t know. I dropped outta high school. Maybe, I dunno, selling drugs? No, I’m just joking. The last job I had was working at KFC so maybe if I’d followed that through, hahaha. WHO: Daniel Merriweather WHEN & WHERE: Wednesday 9 May, Palais; Saturday 12, Phoenix Public House
adventure into design THINKING | MAKING | CONNECTING
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INPRESS • 27
BEAT FREAK
NECESSARY NOMAD
After chatting with T-Rek (aka Tarek Smallman), Bryget Chrisfield feels more secure on the dancefloor safe in the knowledge that he exposes creeps through song.
“I
do a lot of different styles of music and people always say to me [that I should operate under different aliases] and it’s like, ‘Well, it’s all me. Why should I make up different monikers to make it more palatable to people,’ you know? Why can’t I make a rock song and then make a dance song?” Producer/ DJ/multi-instrumentalist T-Rek (Tarek Smallman on his Revolver membership) certainly doesn’t restrict himself to composing music for easy genrefication. If you caught The T-Rek Band limbering up the Boiler Room massive at Big Day Out earlier this year, you may be surprised to learn of his new Dance Music album, “One half of the record is more straight-ahead rock music.” Not only does Smallman split his musical personality under this T-Rek guise, he also plays in multiple bands. “I‘ve got a group of friends and we all play in about four bands.” As well as The T-Rek Band, Smallman is also in We Are Gamma and drummer/percussionist Mitch McGregor shares the stage with him in both these bands. “Devarj [Thomas] is the bass player for We Are Gamma and then he’s actually my guitar tech for The T-Rek Band, but then he also jumps up and does guest vocals and plays bits of percussion and stuff [laughs].” Smallman admits, “It’s all quite incestuous… Most of these guys have done various studio or live things with me for years now. So I trust them implicitly, which is good ‘cause it means I get to get caught up in doing what I’m doing and I don’t have to worry about whether they’re getting it right.” Sometimes Smallman needs to rev them up onstage, however. “There’s a thing I tend to do in The T-Rek Band, which I’ve done for years. At certain gigs that we do – big gigs like a Big Day Out – I’ll start screaming at the other members onstage and they usually can’t hear me. I’ve got a habit of screaming, ‘More hair!’ at them, haha, which is code for, ‘We’re all a bit too uptight and we need to loosen up’, but the guys always mistake it for me being angry, or [think] something’s wrong, and they always have these petrified looks on their faces.”
28 • INPRESS
He’s come a long way from being the young blonde surfer dude who just couldn’t stop playing and, for Kim Churchill, it’s the journey that continues to inspire him, as Michael Smith discovers. Sounds like the expression that would be worn by a Creep On The Dancefloor’s chosen prey. If you haven’t heard this album track, give it a Google. “People either seem to get it and think it’s pretty funny or I’m amazed how many people seem to take it seriously… I don’t think people take it so seriously now that the video’s come out, ‘cause the song’s actually been circulating for a good year or so in my DJ sets and in my live show and stuff. But I see girls singing it in clubs more than anyone so as long as girls kind of get the joke of it. And I usually dedicate it to girls when I play it live and try to ward off any evil men who are doing those sort of things.” Smallman’s natural habitat is manning the ones and twos at Revolver so creeps, you’ve been warned. He and the Chapel Street haunt go way back. “I kinda used to run the rehearsal studios at Revolver in the early-to-mid ‘90s, so I was working in the building and we were all involved in the building of it and [were] there for the opening night,” he recalls. “And so I watched this procession of people doing electronic music and DJs coming through and I think at the same time I was getting interested in synthesisers and drum machines, and so it all came together in that way. I was watching all these guys doing things and thinking, ‘I think I could do that. If I could play a drum kit, I reckon I could play a couple of turntables’.” So does this mean he’s completed the famous non-stop Friday night to Monday morning party marathon? “Oh hell yeah, I think I invented doing that,” he chuckles. “I’ve been there after close and watched these guys come in with long sticks with razor blades on the end of them and they just go around scraping chewing gum off the floor.” WHO: T-Rek WHAT: Dance Music (Freakshow Disco Productions/Rubber Records) WHEN & WHERE: Saturday 12 May, Revolver
F
rom the moment he discovered the guitar, at around 11 years of age down in Merimbula on the NSW South Coast, Kim Churchill was hooked – forget school, he ate, breathed and slept guitar. By the time he left school, he was committed to taking off anywhere he could find a group of people to play to – busking or whatever. Along the way, he developed an impressive two-handed playing technique that made his acoustic sound like a small band and picked up the odd accolade – National Youth Folk Artist Of The Year in 2009 and the Bluesfest busking competition winner the following year. That year also saw Churchill release his debut album, With Sword And Shield, essentially a straightforward document on where the then 20-year-old was at, all intricate fingerpicking, guitar-body percussion, harmonica and that soulful voice. Two years on and the quality of the songwriting on his new album, Detail Of Distance, has taken a significant step up from that raw debut. “I just remember this thing Dylan said years ago and it finally hit home,” Churchill explains. “Back in Greenwich Village when he started making a name for himself, when people asked why he was doing better than some of the other people that were doing really great stuff in the Village as well, he said he thought it was because he put the song before himself – and that’s what I’ve tried to do with this record, is really present a collection of songs rather than be a fancy guitarist or something like that. “I had a lot to say on this record. The first one was a happy little album of sort of a quite ignorant, naïve old surfie dude who was singing songs about being happy and living in his van. Since then I feel like I’ve done a lot of growing up and, with all the travelling and stuff, I feel like all the things I wanted to do musically were just kind of exploding, you know. That was happening internally for a while. I was writing song after song after song – in this form, in this genre, songs that were really, really heavy
themusic.com.au
and needed lots of distortion and then songs that were really quiet and everything in between. So the material on the album is all incredibly different.” At the time of this interview, Churchill is calling from The Junkyard in Maitland, which he admits, laughing, “is probably the closest thing I’ve got to a home ‘cause I’ve been playing there a fair bit… I don’t really have a home. I just sort of bum from place to place.” And it’s this nomadic lifestyle (“The last year and a half I’ve been travelling a ridiculous amount”) that has created the body of songs that have come together on Detail Of Distance. “A song like Sarah was written in West Sussex in England, because it takes me to that place when I play it now, it affects it and makes it take other people to a similar place, but it takes me to my grandmother’s horse riding school in West Sussex near Chichester and green fields and tiny little pubs tucked away in villages and that kind of thing.” It’s obvious then that here’s one singer/songwriter who has no trouble writing on the road. “No,” he laughs. “It really is actually the driving force, the most inspiring thing for my songwriting. I find when I stop moving to a degree that there’s almost this stagnant feeling that isn’t really constructive for my songwriting.” WHO: Kim Churchill WHAT: Detail Of Distance (Indica/MGM) WHEN & WHERE: Friday 11 May, Baha Tacos, Rye; Saturday 12, Northcote Social Club
THE DARK PLACE Simon Rix of Kaiser Chiefs tells Katie Benson how three years off and a big idea got the band back on track.
I
n 2008, Kaiser Chiefs were set to release their third album Off With Their Heads. They’d wanted to do something unique with this album, something unexpected, in order to add some vitality to their work. They were no longer the new kids on the block and they knew it. Convinced by those in charge to play it safe, the boys pressed ahead with a standard release, one that was leaked three weeks early and received lukewarmly by critics. Later that year they found themselves performing on an ITV special dedicated to manufactured British pop group Girls Aloud and they knew somehow they’d lost their way. Taking three years’ break between recording, the boys from Leeds returned with a pile of new material and a bright idea for a digital release that would be not only exciting for the fans, but also for the band. In June 2011 with little to no fanfare, they uploaded 20 new tracks to their website, giving fans the option of creating their own album by choosing ten out of those 20 and downloading it for £7.50. The idea was labelled a gimmick by some critics, but bass player Simon Rix says for them it was an exciting way to announce their return. “The night before it went live, we couldn’t sleep, it was like waiting for Christmas day when you were a kid. That was the whole point, to make it exciting for us and the fans and do something different in order to stand out from the crowd,” says Rix. “I think just to release a CD on your fourth album is a bit boring. We needed the idea and the excitement to write the songs, otherwise I think it would have taken us a lot longer to create an album. Because we had such a big break, I think it was easy for people to forget about us, so we needed a big talking point to make everyone remember who we were again.” The idea has been touted as a success and a failure, depending on what you read. Because there wasn’t an official album released until a month after the digital release, sales for The Future Is Medieval were soft compared to their earlier work, peeking at ten on the UK charts. The band consider it to be a successful venture, one that gained them a swag of headlines and press coverage that might have passed them over had it not
been for such an innovative move. As for the low album sales, Rix considers this to be more of a reflection on where the industry stands in regards to “guitar music”. “No one sells that many albums anymore and that’s why when it came to releasing this album, we wanted to do it differently. More people come to gigs than buy records now, and that’s what we judge ourselves on,” says Rix. “We’ve said – and people have quoted us as saying – that guitar music doesn’t chart anymore and I think that’s true, because when we had our first album out, album sales were massive and single sales were tiny. In England now, singles sales are massive, lots of R&B and that chipmunk kind of music, because people are downloading them to their phones. There’s still loads of guitar bands out there, but I think it’s gone back to how it used to be. If you want to hear guitar music, you have to go out and see it live; you’ve got to seek it out because you’re not necessarily going to hear it on the radio. But I think the searching makes you enjoy it a bit more.”
There’s more to this story
on the iPad
As for their brand of guitar music, Kaiser Chiefs have brought a new sense of maturity to their most recent album, one that strays into more vulnerable and darker areas than previously visited. As usual, the whole album sprung from the pen of drummer Nick Hodgson, who, according to Rix, barely left his East London studio during their long hiatus.
“I think this time around we had more personal things going on in our lives that made it more contemplative, we were all thinking about what’s important. We also had a lot more time to think about what we wanted it to be. The album is more musical, there are more interesting sounds and parts than before. I think people are getting stuck on this album being a ‘departure’, but we’re just arranging different songs; it’s just more varied. There’s darkness there, but then I think all of our stuff has a dark edge to it.”
“Nick’s always been the starting point for every song we’ve ever written. We will play together and come up with other ideas, but it always starts with Nick. Even more so nowadays because Nick has a little studio in London and even when we have time off, he’ll be in there. Every song off the last album started off in there; he would just send us little demos of the songs and we’d all look at it.” One of the more poignant numbers from the album is Hodgson’s tender ode to his critically ill father, If You Will Have Me. It’s one of the tracks on the album produced
SPLIT PERSONALITY T
The following week, after sobering up, Williams apologises and reschedules in order to clear a few points up. One of few truths from our initial conversation was a progress update on their new album, hopefully coming out in September. “We’ve been in the studio for two months and we’re probably 85 percent done. It’ll probably be a bigger sound, as opposed to my early recordings. We’re recording the record with this producer, John Hill, who’s done a lot of big poporiented stuff,” he says, mentioning the producer who’s worked with Rihanna and Santigold. “There are a lot of
“Because we’re doing this album differently, to make things exciting again for us, we’ve been going to all these new and different places and countries like Finland and Estonia, places we’ve never been before. In the UK, we’re also going to places we don’t get to very often and I think sometimes, when you’re playing gigs in the bigger places, people are used to it, where as in the smaller places, they don’t really know how to react. They’re always lovely, but it can be a bit weird. “But sometimes you go places, like we just played a little coastal place called Southend and it was the best gig we’d done in ages, because I think they were just so happy we’d turned up.” WHO: Kaiser Chiefs WHEN & WHERE: Wednesday 16 May, Palace
The cream of Melbourne’s music community is coming together this weekend to celebrate the 40th anniversary of The Rolling Stones’ classic Exile On Main St album. Singer Nick Barker corners Tony McMahon to explain The Stones’ influence.
he sonic brainchild of Nathan Williams has manifested itself to be an unstoppable force since its origins in his parents’ rat-infested shed in ’08. Even though Wavves has become a full-time affair, he still finds ample time to blow off steam. If anything, it’s given Williams and his bandmates somewhat of a right to party their days away, under the category of rock stars.
“I was sober, so that was on my shit list,” Williams recalls of the visit. “I guess I wasn’t completely sober for Australia. I smoked a shitload of weed. I didn’t drink, or do mushrooms. Actually, I took mushrooms. So for me it was sober. I didn’t drink, but I took mushrooms and I smoked weed every day. That’s sober right? Is that sober in Australia? If that’s sober then I’m home in Australia. But yeah, Stephen and I decided that we weren’t going to drink in Japan and Australia for a little bit just to level ourselves, because we had gone through 943 days of straight drinking and we had a big fight – dicks out, pubic hair ripped, all sorts of stuff.”
Soon to release a best-of entitled Souvenir: The Singles 2004 – 2012, which aside from collating their singles to date also features two new tracks in Listen To Your Head and On The Run, Kaiser Chiefs are coming to Australia in May for the Groovin’ The Moo festivals and Rix admits that he hadn’t heard of most of the destinations listed on the tour of regional centres. But venturing to unknown places has been a feature of their career of late, as has
playing for smaller country crowds who, according to Rix, aren’t really sure of what’s going on.
THE MAIN EVENT
One week, numerous phone calls and a not-so-sober Nathan Williams later, Daniel Cribb gets an update on the new Wavves album.
The first time Williams answers his phone he’s playing NBA 2K on PS3 with bassist Stephen Pope. The pair, who have been drinking all afternoon and are admittedly under the influence of more than just alcohol, hung up on another interviewer moments earlier because “they were talking shit”. A directionless conversation, in-between yelling at his TV and constantly losing his train of thought, results in a confusing conversation driven by false-truths, admittance of impotence, their guitarist changing gender and memories from their trip to Australia last year.
by Hodgson himself as he felt such a personal project would be best handled solo. Rix puts their move towards more intimate subjects down to a growing maturity and their decision to take their time with this release.
angles from [last album] King Of The Beach and then a lot of new sounds and stuff like that. Stephen and I wrote together a lot more on this record as well.” The last time Wavves went in the studio was last year for the production of their Life Sux EP. The single I Wanna Meet Dave Grohl received extensive airtime and, despite touring the world and gaining popularity wherever they go, they are yet to cross paths with the rock icon. “I don’t think Dave Grohl is detached from local music,” Williams reacts to his previous, less sober analysis of the Foo Fighters frontman. “He’s the only guy of that stature who knows who Fucked Up is, as far as I’m concerned, so that’s pretty cool. My friend Damian from Fucked Up has met him – they’ve toured together extensively. I talked to Damian and I told him, ‘You’ve got to hook it up’ and he said he was going to, but he never did.” Filtering through previously answered questions, the one other point that remained factual was the band’s view of Australia. “Australia is my favourite place to be,” Williams offers. “Relaxed weed laws, it’s really pretty, it reminds me of home. I feel like I’m in California when I’m in Australia. Our shows were all really good last time we were there. A lot of people came and we had a lot of fun... Seriously, I feel like Australia’s my second home. Australia is the California that I always wanted.” WHO: Wavves WHAT: Life Sux (Ghost Ramp/Pod) WHEN & WHERE: Wednesday 9 May, Corner Hotel
T
erms such as “hello!”, “naturally”, even “duh” come to mind when one thinks about whether or not there should be a musical celebration of the 40th anniversary of the release of The Rolling Stones’ Exile On Main St, arguably one of the most important rock albums of all time. But then it takes someone to actually put the whole thing together. Enter national treasures James Young and his Cherry Bar. Add a line-up including The Wolfgramm Sisters, Ash Naylor, Spencer P Jones, Dave Larkin, Matt Sonic and Nick Barker, performing the classic 1972 double album in its entirety. Set ticket prices at a ridiculously low $20 and we’re good to go. Barker, of Nick Barker & The Reptiles fame, says he didn’t equivocate long about getting involved.
“Exile is the start and finish point for a lot of rock musicians. It’s the place you go back to when you get lost. When I’m chasing my tail, getting hung about new music, I always come back to The Stones, in particular Exile. It’s like pretending you don’t need glasses then putting on a pair. ‘Ah, now I see!’ It’s impossible to gauge how much The Stones have influenced me really. Too much, maybe? My first album was Goats Head Soup, which I love to death, but a lot of ‘purists’ dismiss. So there is a band within a band if that makes any sense? Fuck, how can you dismiss Starfucker? But Exile has this uncanny thing where it’s swirling and majestic at the same time as being rough and tumble. I’ve listened to it hundreds of times and still get something… you’ll have to punch me to get me to shut up.”
“It’s a great idea. James and Cherry always do great things like this, for musicians it’s like a bloody licence to kill. ‘Oh Nick? Hi, it’s James Young, look mate do you wanna have a few beers and then jump up with a great band and sing your four fave songs off Exile?’ No brainer!”
Besides the songs Barker will be doing himself, it seems that there is one song in particular he’s looking forward to seeing performed.
Naturally, Inpress is journalistically bound to ask Barker which songs he’ll be performing. The charismatic frontman is tight-lipped, but he does explain that he has some Stones-covering experience. “Keep a bit of mystery, I reckon. I got my choices in early, though. I did have to fight Larko for one particular tune, but I got the four points. Exile isn’t as easy as it may seem, singing-wise. I had the absolute privilege of doing exactly this thing in Sydney last year for Jack Daniels’ birthday. You Am I got asked to play and came up with the idea of doing Exile with guests [Tex Perkins, Adalita and Nic Cester to name a few] and we had a blast. Christ, I got to sing with Venetta Fields.” So, where does Barker think Exile sits in The Stones’ body of work? Is it an album he’s fond of for any specific reasons? And has it been a big influence for him? We probably shouldn’t have asked…
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“I pity and bow down to anyone who has a crack at Let It Loose. My favourite track, weirdest arrangement ever.” In closing, Barker warns punters to steer well clear of him on the night(s), unless, that is, said punters want a severe ear-bending on one of rock’s greatest-ever acts. But when Inpress stops and thinks about it, a tutorial from Barker on Mick and the boys might turn out to be time well spent. “Like I said, it’s a 21st for rock musicians to get asked to do something like this and I’m betting you will get some very special performances. Miss it at your eternal disappointment. But for god’s sake don’t ask me anything about The Stones if you see me at the bar. You’ll be stuck all bloody night.” WHAT: Exile On Main St 40th Anniversary Tribute WHEN & WHERE: Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 May, Cherry Bar INPRESS •29
SINGLED OUT WITH BRYGET CHRISFIELD
ON THE RECORD
MAJOR LAZER FEAT AMBER Get Free
Mad Decent
Whistle Warner
“Can you blow my whistle, baby, whistle, baby/ Let me know/Girl, I’m gonna show you how to do it if we start real slow.” Who’s Flo trying to kid here? This is as ominous as the old, ‘open your mouth and close your eyes’ trick. Shawty needs to stay well away. Whoever does that whistling refrain has mad skillz, though. Scared. This. Will. Get. Stuck. In. Brain. Jukebox. On. Repeat.
WORLD’S END PRESS Second Day Uptown Liberator This band is absolutely one to watch and Second Day Uptown has a Cut Copy stamp of approval that’s evident even before you find out the song was recorded with Cutters frontman Dan Whitford. Those shimmering keys are unmistakable and transport you to Rio (Duran Duran’s Nick Rhodes would be proud). Vocalist John Parkinson has a delivery that’s at once insouciant and captivating (kinda like David Byrne’s). This track employs a swaying pace (you can dance without spilling your cocktail), but the band’s previous track Only The Brave would lure you onto the dancefloor more readily.
LIVE
HERE WE GO MAGIC
GROUNDATION
Mistletone/Inertia
Secretly Canadian/Inertia
Planet Company
The fourth album from Baltimore duo Beach House is making waves even before its release. With single Lazuli listed this month as one of Pitchfork’s Best New Tracks, Bloom builds on the robust, ethereal vocals of leading lady Victoria Legrand and the musical profundity provided by Alex Scally.
Indie rockers Here We Go Magic open up third album A Different Ship with instrumental Intro, fifty-one seconds of atmospheric composition that ushers in their brand of somnambulant-causing pop in a beautifully understated fashion. Blending in nicely to Hard To Be Close, it’s clear to see that the Brooklyn quartet have worked hard at creating a harmonious album that ebbs and flows from start to finish. That isn’t to say that these tracks cannot stand on their own merits – second single How Do I Know is a sweet line in percolating, resonant pop, and Miracles Of Mary wafts over like a warm wave of delectable whimsy. Luke Temple’s sonorous vocals drift and waver, a soothing elixir that floats above the hushed instrumentation.
White boy reggae from Northern California doesn’t necessarily sound very appetising, conjuring up images of stoned surfers in the thrall of Jamaica. Yet Groundation, who formed way back in 1998, are seven albums down the track and still keen to bring something new to the genre: amazing musicianship. Whilst they’ve got the roots-reggae sounds down – with drums, congas, bass, Hammond B3, horns and guitar – there’s a very strong jazz and improv approach to the way they put the ingredients together. This is something you rarely see in reggae sets; very few have the kind of chops to cope with solos. Yet most players on Building An Ark get an opportunity to shine. Curiously it feels so natural, the transitions into some of the jazzier moments feeling like the next logical development for the music. You only really question when you suddenly realise in the midst of a frenetic organ solo that the tune started off with a relaxed, reggae groove. There’s a lush-fusion feel at times, providing the album with a rich sheen, something that will no doubt upset roots purists, but someone needs to tell them that the ‘70s are over.
A Different Ship
Bloom
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VD
Most likely a result of being crafted on the road over two years of touring, the album oozes spontaneity and sincerity. The sound has matured from 2010’s Teen Dream and now embodies an element of seriousness not previously present. Giving entirely to individual reflection, the album’s overarching themes consider death as it relates to life, and the constantly challenged fragility of our existence. Bloom thus induces contemplation with seamlessly interlaced layers and refreshing effects. Legrand’s vocals are as more-ish and rich as ever, and seem to soak up the melodies. There’s no lack of versatility in any component of the album, and songs move smoothly from dreamy to haunting throughout. The track titles are as telling of life’s quandaries and vulnerability as the lyrics that attempt to explore them. Scally has noted that many tracks were cut from the album during production as they “lacked a place within our vision,” and the album is definitely a unified expedition, taking listeners on a fluid journey, one that lacks no depth or experimentation. Singles Myth and Lazuli will hopefully soon be accompanied by memorable tracks Wild and Wishes on radio high-rotation lists.
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FLO RIDA
BEACH HOUSE
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Soothing. Can’t be Major Lazer! Someone must have confiscated the lazer from the major. If you’re expecting booty bass thumpin’ beats with horses neighing and maybe a telephone ring thrown into the cacophonous party vibe we’ve come to expect from Major Lazer, think again. The singer’s the chick from Dirty Projectors and her visceral wailing traverses tambourines that sound like rattlesnakes and mystical key patterns that call to mind Little Dragon. Don’t bother with the Bonde do Role tweaking, Get Free sans remix is the aural equivalent of lounging in a Snuggie (not that I’ve ever done that). You can Get Free as a free download. LOVE.
The issue with A Different Ship is that it feels too languid at times – whilst a track like Over The Ocean on its own is a great exercise in powerful ambience, it doesn’t shine as much when connected to other songs that stick steadfastly to the same aesthetics. Radiohead uber-producer Nigel Godrich ensures that the production is glossy and sanguine, yet by buffing out the eclectic blemishes of past albums, it is at the expense of the pensive originality that the band holds in the live arena. Here We Go Magic have crafted a nice album, no doubt about it, yet a little more bite would have allowed it to hold more character. Brendan Telford
Building An Ark
Building An Ark is conscious music liberally dosed with biblical references, which reinforces their commitment to roots, yet the consciousness goes much further, seemingly suggesting that we are one world, one music as they break down the barriers between pop, blues, jazz and soul, with tunes up to seven-odd minutes.
While Legrand suggests that Bloom, like the budding of new plant life, is “only temporary,” it seems unlikely that the band’s efforts on this album will be so fleeting, and they’ve certainly created a sound fit for all seasons.
Groundation are a lot more than you initially expect, and despite the stylistic mélange, the band are very much self-assured and offering something new to a genre filled with pale imitators. Just don’t hold where they come from against them.
Izzy Tolhurst
Bob Baker Fish
ARUNDEL FEAT. CLAIRE WHITING
December, Autumn, Winter Paper Street If there were a Café del Mar in Bris Vegas, Arundel would have a residency. There’s shades of Protection by Massive Attack and this artist’s new Olive Caves EP (available at a very Radiohead-ish “name your price”) should be on hand for your next Teary Tuesday. December, Autumn, Winter’s title probably makes more sense if you live in the northern hemisphere where December is in fact winter.
SKYWAYS ARE HIGHWAYS If You Get Caught We Never Met/Bird Independent The title of the first track on this double A-side is a fantastic reminder of a saying I’ve not heard in yonks! Eli Hood’s vocals are just the right amount punky to suit their music and there’s also a chick drummer in this band: Angie Rose Brown (definite brownie points). The dynamics in Bird evoke Maps by Yeah Yeah Yeahs (although this trio isn’t quite soaring at that level yet). I like the gentle strumming breakdown featuring alternate “Hey”s and “Yeah”s and the way the track gently subsides to close.
DUNE RATS Fuck it
Inertia Access Two-pieces from Queensland are so hot right now and here’s another. Schizo chorus: “You always bring me down/You’ll never bring me down” – is this song the musical equivalent of punching that cute object of your affection in the playground when you were six? One thing’s for sure, punters are gonna enjoy singing along with the, “Fuck it!” bits. The guitars are a bit Sonic Youth and this is irresistible stuff. Altogether now, “Fuck It”.
MARGINS
SQUAREPUSHER
STORM CORROSION
Casadeldisco
Warp/Inertia
Roadrunner/Warner
Margins have crafted a record that makes you question everything you thought you knew about music. From the moment they slide into their intro track Open, you’ll melt into a world of pliable guitars, moody basslines and sonic ambient loops. Their ability to pull you into stunning adventures in post-rock instrumentals is incomparable, with Gulag offering symphonic electric guitars that cut through an unexpected moody bass riff to create six minutes of haunting, hook-laden perfection.
For those not familiar with the work of Tom ‘Squarepusher’ Jenkinson, Ufabulum is packed with minutely programmed, double/triple/quadrupletime drums and radical yet catchy melodies. For those who already demand those things from Jenkinson: expect all this and more.
In this instant gratification age listeners have shorter attention spans than ever, yet demand ever more. If it doesn’t immediately turn their world upside down, it’s deemed disappointing. Then there’s Storm Corrosion, featuring long-time friends Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree) and Opeth’s Mikael Åkerfeldt. Several years in the works, anticipation for this collaboration by these revered prog masterminds is suffocating; unless immediately achieving Album Of The Year status, it will be lambasted by sections of their dedicated fanbases.
Divide
From the 3.40 mark of Ice Station you’re jilted from the increasingly suspended state, built up through the glorious maze of sound that now dissipates, until you find yourself confronted by the sparse drum sweeps that work to cleanse the track of its intricate arrangement. The hypnosis continues in Rabbit Head, featuring vocals by Jess Cornelius (Teeth & Tongue), whose ethereal voice is entrancing, mythological and serves as a stark reminder that vocals don’t have to contain lyrics to exert their power. This continues as Things Fall Apart does what its title suggests, exploring a relationship through sound. The spirited drumbeat that starts the track evokes a rapid movement and creates overwhelming anticipation, contrasted well with a seemingly unrelated guitar melody. These then weave together into what nearly becomes a singular, harmonised idea before the tension becomes too great, at which point they expand into two separate directions. Margins have created an articulate, atmospheric album that soaks the listener in a nuance-filled landscape of sound, space and direction that becomes more intriguing with each listen. Fiona Dunne
30 •INPRESS
Ufabulum
Setting aside his jazzy noodling and the understated postrock explorations of albums such as Music Is One Rotted Note, Jenkinson recently revealed his renewed fascination with pure electronics. Ufabulum is incontrovertible evidence of this, with sweeping, panoramic synth lines that optimistically stride forward (with a retrospective eye to the ‘80s). The video for first single Dark Steering features Jenkinson wearing a distinctly Daft Punk-esque racing helmet, appropriate as shades of Vangelis and the French masters’ Tron soundtrack are present. Opening track 4001 is amongst the most jaw-dropping pieces of Jenkinson’s career; it’s a visionary ride surging with stadium-size keyboards. The rest of the first half resides on warm jets of metallic sub-bass and sweeping keys. But the second half is where things get really interesting, as Squarepusher literally goes into overdrive. Dark Steering injects skidding tyre shrieks into a towering intensity builder, while at the unrelenting end of the spectrum The Metallurgist is a head mash of mutated electronics and 303 Scopem Hard returns Jenkinson to his acid roots, with a rippling 303 assault that must rank amongst the most complex ever committed to tape.
Storm Corrosion
Some of their most diehard followers will approach this debut expecting a prog-metal monster. Those folks will be disappointed. Conversely, had they created just that, other devotees would have rightly criticised them for being too predictable. About the most “obvious” element is the King Crimson-esque artwork. Otherwise, the finale in a loose trilogy begun by Opeth’s polarising Heritage and Wilson’s excellent Grace For Drowning solo effort looks beyond what Wilson dubs the “conventional rock music vocabulary”, uncovering new methods of being heavy – sonically and emotionally – and progressive. It’s rarely conventional, although there are elements of past works. Drums and guitars regularly submit to woodwinds, electric pianos, orchestral flourishes, Mellotrons and keyboards within cinematic, deeply textured arrangements whose contrasting of nihilism and beauty often surprises.
Not many artists can claim their 13th album to be their best, but Ufabulum might have just crept over Jenkinson’s already Olympic-high bar.
Rather than self-indulgent twaddle, then, this album represents seasoned veterans revelling in the creative freedom afforded them, operating only according to their own whims. Storm Corrosion aren’t pushing boundaries so much as challenging the definition of heaviness and forward-thinking music.
Christopher H James
Brendan Crabb
themusic.com.au
VD
D
VD
LORN
GRUNTBUCKET
Ninja Tune/Inertia
Torn & Frayed
While Lorn’s first LP Nothing Else was a convincing sliver of urban menace, it didn’t quite push the boundaries as other leaders of the new school of Californian weird (such as Gonjasufi or Gaslamp Killer) have. Ask the Dust – presumably named after John Fante’s partially autobiographical deadbeat novel – corrects that in spades: strange, ugly spades. You might find this filed under dubstep, but its grumbling, almost brass-like bass and unearthly drones are a twilight zone away from your populist digital wobblers a la Skrillex or Nero.
Not only is Songs From An Empty Room a great title for an album but also a touch of class by Gruntbucket, giving a cleverly disguised nod to those usually relegated to the background in the recording process. The second album from theband sees the three-piece again link up with the vast majority of the team that assisted them in smashing out the ripping 2010 debut album, Receiving. Recorded by Ryan Nelson and Andrew McGee, this time it’s mixed and mastered by Lindsay Gravina (Rowland S Howard, Magic Dirt).
Ask The Dust
An oddball album even for him, Todd Rundgren & Utopia’s neglected 1976 opus Disco Jets (Esoteric/ Select) gets its first official release after being part of a 2001 Demos And Lost Albums set. Instrumental aside from a few backing vocals, it takes its titular genre to cartoonish levels of kitsch. These are total roller skate jams, writ in epic neon. Cosmic Convoy is a twist on the novelty classic Convoy, while Space War goes off the rails with funk bass and squealing keyboards. Rundgren’s comet-like guitar solos streak across the sci-fi vistas, including a version of the Star Trek theme.
D
Long before Tangerine Dream became masters of the ’80s movie score, an early incarnation of the band debuted with their ‘70s Electronic Meditation (Esoteric/ Select). Deconstructing rock to the point of musique concrete, it counts broken glass and a whip amongst the instruments and iconoclasts Klaus Schulze and Conrad Schnitzler (Kluster) among the players. As with early Can records, everything here is agitated and reduced to shambles, from the acidic psych fog of Journey Through A Burning Brain to the eroded Ashes To Ashes. And, as promised by bookending tracks Genesis and Resurrection, the whole mad experiment comes full circle in the end.
Songs From An Empty Room
With an appreciation of quieter moments and many ghostly echoes, there’s plenty of space on Ask The Dust, which goes toward creating a kind of wild, spaghetti western vibe that’s tangible, yet still hard to define. Titles are misspelt (Ghosst, Chhurch), This, with its gruesomely groaning cello and mumbled vocals that slip in and out, seems to begin halfway through Weigh Me Down and carries on into the beginning of the next track, while Diamond has two inexplicable minutes of silence in its centre. Prevailing throughout is an oppressive, disturbing atmosphere which could make for a radically thinking horror soundtrack. But in amongst all the curious experimentation, cuts such as Chhurch demonstrate that Lorn can still hone comparatively conventional productions that are as tough and hooky as the immediate competition.
The eight tracks are still based on the foundations of Mikey Madden’s (The Vandas) songwriting skills, guitar virtuosity and vocals, enhanced by the steady, rollickin’ bass style of Tim McCormack and the almost laissez-faire backbeat supplied by drummer Dave Watkins. Even with the additional guitar highlights added by not only Nelson and McGee but that vagabond troubadour Spencer P Jones, where previously it may have soared and squalled these latest nuances rhythmically meander with a more pronounced psych-rock swagger. The opening track Regrets rockets off at a blistering pace and is an instant highlight, while the pace is peeled back for Didn’t Leave A Trace and Cry, Cry, Cry. The sleeper for mine is Broken Alone with its sense of pain and longing. Psychedelic ramblings abound in Anchor and Wasting Time while personal faves I Could Wait and I Want bring back the rock cred to this sensational second effort from Gruntbucket.
It’s not entirely cohesive – it may not even be 100% coherent – but it’s a giant stylistic leap and a real indication of what Lorn is capable of.
If you like your music imbued with a little of The 13th Floor Elevators, Spiritualized and The Black Crowes then wrap your ears around this lot, you won’t be sorry.
Christopher H James
The Boomeister
Fast-forward a decade to 1980, and Pergamon (Esoteric/ Select) finds Tangerine Dream a synth-centred trio playing a pair of improvised concerts in East Berlin. Originally released as Quichotte, this live album is offered in 23-minute halves. Quichotte, Part One explores familiar synth tones and interplay but also gets a certain classical pedigree from the piano wanderings of Johannes Schmoelling, making his live debut. Part Two begins on a misty note of diffusion and really starts to take flight at about five minutes in. Then the rhythmic tension cranks up, the electric guitar comes purring in, and from there we’re deep into the horizon.
In late 1969, a pair of teens recorded a Max Merritt & The Meteors gig in Sydney that has taken on powerful new life as Been Away Too Long (LosTraxx). In fact, LosTraxx founder Brian Lewis was one of those teens. It’s a great story, and although the sound quality takes some getting used to, this is a solid portrait of a cracking live band. The ten-minute Kush includes a marathon drum solo by the late Stewie Speer, and the set closes with a sweet medley of Otis Redding songs. A gem of vintage R&B well worth the excavation. Doug Wallen
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INPRESS • 31
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THIS WEEK IN
ARTS
WEDNESDAY 9 Teach Me To Cry – an absurd play about loneliness and guilt. After a sold-out show in Cairo, writer/ performer Mohammed Hashem has returned to Melbourne, with this play about how humans communicate under strain. Opening night, the Owl & The Pussycat, 9.45pm until 19 May. The Black Power Mix Tape – Göran Hugo Olsson’s documentary about the real America, which is a nation at war with itself and its values. wacking Long-form interviews with firebrand Panthers such as Angela Davis and Stokely Carmichael are cut against news reports and contemporary perspectives. Last screening, ACMI Cinemas, 6.45pm. One Show Only – a new dance work from director/choreographer Byron Perry (Double Think). The title refers to the one-off linear nature of organic systems and processes. A singular performance of sorts, a performance we’re all part of, with a beginning we missed and an end we’ll never see. Opening night, Arts House, 7.30pm until 13 May.
THURSDAY 10 Trishna – a modern day re-telling of Thomas Hardy’s classic novel Tess Of The D’Ubervilles. Directed by Michael Winterbottom, a shot tale of love and tragedy. Set across modern day rural Rajasthan and the thriving metropolis of Mumbai, Trishna lives a poor, sheltered life until she meets and falls in love with a wealthy young man. Despite their feelings for each other, their relationship must remain a secret due to the conflicting pressures of a traditional society. Opening night, Cinema Nova.
FRIDAY 11 The Descendants – George Clooney stars as Matt King, a Honolulu-based lawyer and father to 10-year-old Scottie and 17-year-old Alex. Matt is not very close to his daughters and refers to himself as the “back-up parent”, it’s time for Matt to step out of the background. Directed by Alexander Payne. Screening with The Rum Diary, Astor Theatre, 7.30pm. Illuminating Napoleon – in the lead up to this year’s Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition, Napoleon: Revolution To Empire, a lighting installation will incorporate an incredible array of moving vision and sound encapsulating the dramatic world of the French Revolution. Featuring the downfall of Marie Antoinette, the battles of the French Revolution and over-indulgent, extravagance of the Palace of Versailles. NGV, 6pm-midnight, until 12 May.
SATURDAY 12 Hamlet Machine – think Shakespeare on crack, Requiem For A Dream if it was a theatre show, A Clockwork Orange without the milk bar, an installation/mixed-media/ movement artwork. A postmodernist drama by German playwright, Heiner Müller, loosely based on Hamlet. Closing night, Revolt Art Space, 8pm.
SUNDAY 13 Dr Seuss’s The Lorax – a young boy searches for the one thing that will enable him to win the affection
32 • INPRESS
of the girl of his dreams. To find it he must discover the story of the Lorax, the grumpy yet charming creature who fights to protect his world. Astor Theatre, 2pm. Midnight In Paris – Woody Allen’s latest film, Owen Wilson is a frustrated novelist squandering his talent as a Hollywood screenwriter, an unabashed nostalgist who yearns for the Paris of the 1920s. ACMI cinemas, 11am. Sundowner – a new physical theatre piece for KAGE (Look Right Through Me) about Sundowner’s Syndrome. Through the eyes of families dealing with early-onset dementia. Ultimately about love of family, love of history and love of life. Original composition by Paul Kelly, Megan Washington and Kelly Ryall. Closing night, 7.30pm Arts Centre. The Elements Of Gertrude – a sneak peak in the lead up to the Gertrude Street Projection Festival. Clothing exchange 4-6pm, bands and the first 50 people though the door get free beer and cider. The Workers Club.
MONDAY 14 Creative Rebellion Youths – a night of poetry, painting and stories from some of Melbourne’s loudest voices on the spoken word scene; Alia Gabris, Michelle Dabarowski and Joel Mckerro. Loop, 7pm. The Philadelphia Experiment – an ‘80s sci-fi classic, based on an ‘actual event’ that took place in 1943. About a US Navy Destroyer Escort that disappeared from the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, and sent two men 40 years into the future to 1984. Astor theatre, 7.30pm.
TUESDAY 15 No Lights No Lycra – Dancing is good for the soul and No Lights No Lycra are a dance collective, open to everyone. It’s all about dancing in the dark, for the pure joy of dancing. St Marks Hall, 250 George St Fitzroy, 7.45pm.
ONGOING The Seizure – a new show from the Hayloft Project, written and directed by Benedict Hardie. A play about Philoctetes, a wounded man betrayed and abandoned for ten years on a barren island of rocks and crows. An interrogation of trauma, the costs of war and the pursuit of justice; a story of hope and reconciliation steeped in the blood and tears of a society lusting for victory. Studio 246, 8pm until 19 May. Pop M’art – pop up moveable art is a mobile art studio that pops up in various public places and allows anyone to come and paint on stretched canvas using acrylic paints. The intention is to get 500 different people to paint 500 pieces of art and document the 500 stories (intention/inspiration) behind each work. When the magic number is reached these 500 pieces will be collated and used as building blocks to construct one art installation that represents the combined creativity of a city and its people. Locations unknown until 2-3 days before. Find out more at abbotsfordconvent.com. Every Saturday and Sunday.
WINTERBOTTOM’S BONE Fresh from premiering his new film Trishna at Tribeca – he’s consequently tired of talking about it – director Michael Winterbottom chats instead with Samuel Hobson about his methods, and what drives him to work so tirelessly. It so often happens, due to the nature of press interviews being so frenzied and impersonal and repetitive, that the interview subject gets tired of talking in circles. Such is the case with Michael Winterbottom, the super-prolific English director of the upcoming Trishna – an Indiaset retelling of Thomas Hardy’s Tess Of The D’Urbervilles – and a man whose directorial career seems impossible to comfortably compartmentalise. You see, Winterbottom simply develops films he likes. Sure, there are probably some subconscious themes he attaches himself to in a lot of his work – getting to the heart of representing a place or a state-of-mind, for one – but they’re never to a ‘style’ that’s discernibly his, or to a theme that’s incisive enough to stick out. This is a hard thing for a critic to face, you know? (Perhaps something, too, which Winterbottom may himself disagree with, or be offended to hear.) But he’s a bold director, amidst his other, less immediate qualities. He’s done considerable violence and unsimulated sex, yet he’s not a Gaspar Noé; he’s not renowned for those things, nor does he work to break new ground with them. He simply flexes those muscles when the story calls for it, and then, satisfied, he moves on. However we, as critics, want to reduce things down to their essence, so people can see how much we’ve considered them, how we are the ones who can pick up on the silent language of what we’re seeing and translate it into emotive, human terms – from the visceral into the readable. Tarkovsky speaks to the spirit, we say, as Tarantino reconstructs with esoteric homages, and as Scorsese is unmatchable in drawing emotion from technical prowess. From those directors’ key skills then grows something; the narratives of their films deepen and part under the guide of these keen talents, and
that uniqueness becomes a new texture, layered and indelible atop the stories they’re telling. Those directors are specifically those things, but Michael Winterbottom, while containing some essence of all of those qualities, isn’t defined by any one of them. His singularly defining directorial characteristic is that he has no singular, defining characteristic. He leaves no auteur’s imprint upon the narrative in the traditional sense, but he nonetheless makes films that say very definite things. So, to get to the bottom of this, and to avoid talk about Trishna – his request – the conversation turns to him, and his style. “I think it’s more enjoyable to be making a film, than not,” Winterbottom explains, in an amiable tone. “When you’re working,” he continues, “you’re talking to writers, and actors, and you’re going to visit locations, and you’re working with your editor. You’ve got a series of very interesting and enjoyable collaborations with a whole bunch of people. When you’re not working, you’re just sitting around fretting, and trying to persuade people to give you cash.” More than an artistic hand-to-mouth mentality, though, Winterbottom assures that there is method and a pattern to his cycle of making films. “It’s a question of something you’re interested in,” he answers. “Most of the films I’ve made are things that we’ve developed in the first place. It’s not as if people are sending scripts and I’m looking for something in a script; it’s not so I’ll take [only certain] projects. You start with a vague idea – often – and it gradually becomes a film – sometimes. At the beginning, you’re like, ‘Oh, that sounds interesting,’ or ‘That place seems interesting’ or ‘That book seems interesting’ or you read something in the paper, or you meet someone: whatever it is, it [makes] a starting point, which is something interesting.
“And normally,” he adds, “we have two or three projects that we’re [concurrently] working on. So you have [these] various ones at different stages. Some just don’t even get made, and eventually they just drop off your radar. With Trishna…” – Trishna! – “with Trishna, we tried to make [that film] seven or eight years ago, and came back to it 18 months ago.” The idea that his oeuvre, unlike that of many other directors who make a great many films, doesn’t neatly define him traditionally as an auteur, is brought to his attention. He’s mildly affronted, and probably rightfully so. “From my point of view,” he rushes, confidently defensive, “going to the cinema, it’s obviously quite handy to know what sort of film you’re going to see when you go in. If a director’s name is an easy label – like if you see a Woody Allen film, you know roughly what you’re getting is a Woody Allen film – that obviously makes it easier, from a critic’s point
of view, from a distributor’s point of view, deciding whether you’re going to see [or screen] it. “But,” he points out, “that’s not my problem. For me as a director, I’m making films all the time, so for me it’s all about, ‘Is this next idea interesting?’ I think, often, if a film feels too close to something you’ve already done, that’s something that makes it feel not interesting. The more films you make, the more you are going to cover areas similar to things you’ve done before, and when that happens, it can be hard sometimes to feel you’re really approaching something fresh. “So,” he concludes, “[choosing projects] from ideas that at least on the surface [appear] to be something that you haven’t done before, that is something far more interesting, from my point of view.” WHAT: Trishna WHEN & WHERE: Opens nationally Thursday 10 May
COMEDY R E V I E W NEIL HAMBURGER Toff In Town It was the perfect foil to the man they call Hamburger. Young kids Sex On Toast’s earnest soul – suggesting they want to dunk you into the toilet bowl – followed by mysterious masked magician Dr El Suavo losing track of his magic, focussing instead on the beer. “Albatross,” he screamed as he chugged and we laughed until tears came out of our eyes. Perhaps even funnier was the nervous breakdown the sound guy was having attempting to control the feedback from his crappy microphone, loudly swearing and cursing out Suavo and his “cheap Chinese mic” for the entire set. By the time Hamburger tumbled onto stage, resplendent in his crumbled
suit and three glasses of vodka under his arm, we wondered if there was any more room for laughter. Yet Hamburger allayed our fears by taking to the stage like a duck to rock climbing. While he initially concentrated on golf jokes, the hilarity almost appeared during what we can loosely define as his semenconsumption set. “Why did Metallica cut their hair?” he offered. “Because their hairdresser said it was the only way to get the matted semen out of it.” Most of all Hamburger is a consummate unprofessional living and dying on stage to bring some humour to our worthless lives. “What’s the difference between the music of U2 and a Somalian refugee? They’re both poor.” And with that he was gone. Bob Baker Fish
FRONTROW@INPRESS.COM.AU
THE SHOW GOES ON
The current Miss Burlesque World Cassandra Jane knows everything there is to know about adult entertainment in Australia. She tells Aleksia Barron about putting the “show” back into the girl in Bring Back The Showgirl. In a world where we can conjure up all manner of salacious delights with the tap of a smartphone screen, it’s almost difficult to picture the adult entertainment landscape in which Cassandra Jane made her name. The current Miss Burlesque World and Miss Nude Australia has witnessed vast changes to her industry since she first entered it 15 years ago – and it’s inspired her to recapture a bit of the lost glamour with her production Bring Back The Showgirl. “When I started 15 years ago, there were between 35 and 40 venues that we used to work in, all around Melbourne, Geelong, Frankston, Dandenong,” explains Cassandra Jane. “You’d do four or five pubs on a Wednesday, and then you’d do six pubs on a Thursday, and then on Friday you’d start at lunchtime, when the tradies would go and have their lunch. Then Saturday night, you’d do all your buck’s parties and birthday parties.” It was a different era, where showgirls were something quite different to the tawdry image conjured up by the word “stripper” today. “The girls would come on stage and they would have these ridiculous props, like spaceships!” Jane recalls. “They went all out and they spent three or four grand on their costumes. Their hair was immaculate, their nails were immaculate. They looked like superstars. These days, the strippers look like porn stars.” The industry has suffered, thanks in large part to the introduction of pokie machines into Victoria’s venues, as well as large fees for providing adult entertainment that have rendered the shows financially unfeasible for most
pubs. As a result, the independent showgirl – who created her own acts, ran her own bookings and built her own fanbase – is all but dead. “It’s a dying art, and it’s going to die – there’s no stopping it from dying,” says Jane bluntly. But that doesn’t mean we can’t still celebrate it in style. Bring Back The Showgirl is, according to Jane, a celebration of the Australian showgirl tradition, with a bit of Parisian cabaret and old-school burlesque thrown in. “I’m trying to breathe life back into it by bringing back the class,” she explains. “Today’s stripper has turned into a sexual being, rather than a sexy being. They’ve lost the entertainment value.” Entertainment value is what Jane brings in spades. She makes all her own costumes by hand, which have been valued at thousands of dollars apiece, and invests heavily in props, staging and choregraphy to bring a bit of atmosphere to her routines. She’s proud of her work – after all, she’s in a performance profession that spans a few millennia. “The Dance Of The Seven Veils is the first recorded sexual dance in history – recorded in the Bible,” Jane points out. “It’s been in our culture since we started walking, probably.” Now, she wants to celebrate that tradition. “We’re trying to bring it back – bring back the classiness, bring back the entertainment, bring back the show.” It certainly sounds a lot more exciting than tapping the screens of our smartphones. WHAT: Bring Back The Showgirl WHEN & WHERE: Friday 11 May, Thornbury Theatre
MELBOURNE’S DECLAN GREENE WINS PLAYWRIGHTS AWARD Declan Greene is the winner The Max Afford Playwrights Award 2012 for his script, Eight Gigabytes Of Hardcore Pornography. Described by the judges as “compelling and repulsive”, the play immerses the audience “in the lonely world of over-40s internet dating”. The Melbourne-based writer and theatremaker said: “I am absolutely honoured to receive this award and thankful to the judges for seeing its potential and giving it this opportunity to develop. Greene’s plays include A Black Joy, Moth and Pompeii, LA and have been produced at the Malthouse, Sydney Opera House, and Brisbane Powerhouse.
BACK TO THE FUHRER
It began, as all the finest Finnish ideas do, in a sauna. “It was while we were shooting our earlier film Star Wreck [an internetreleased Star Trek parody],” says filmmaker Timo Vuorensola. “We were sitting in this sauna, and one of my friends said our next film should be about moon Nazis. It was a funny idea but we never really thought about it that much until we started looking it up on the Internet and realised there are a lot of people out there with theories along the same lines. It was a really cool idea and we decided to pursue it.” The result is Iron Sky, one of the most distinctive-looking and fun films you’ll see this year. Nazis have indeed been squirreled away on the moon since 1945, regarding the Earth with envious eyes and slowly but surely drawing their plans against us. Klaus Adler (Gotz Otto) is the militant superman and Renate Richter (Julia Dietze) the doe-eyed ingénue who become the darlings of the media when they land on our world and fall under the spell of spin doctor and PR maven Vivian Wagner (Peta Sergeant). Doctor-turned-magician Vyom Sharma is bringing something unique to the stage in Seven Stories, a work that is more than a traditional magic show and more than a theatre performance, while being a blend of both. “I want to bring the sense of wonder and awe back into seeing magic,” enthuses Sharma. “So often a magic show can be antagonistic or confrontational; there’s pomp and arrogance, where the magician is this glitzy guy in costume doing tricks and audience is trying to work out how it’s done.“ Seven Stories, directed by Celeste Cody of AtticErratic, is just what it says, seven tales chosen by Sharma, ones where magic can “flow in and out of them seamlessly”. How did Sharma choose the stories? “All the stories are different. Some are obvious because they’re about magic or the story is about someone doing a trick and then I perform it. It’s putting the right trick in the right context. Some are personal stories. The second to last one is the most controversial. I demonstrate some incredible secrets, show the beauty and wonder of the magic. The simplest things are the most elegant.” Seven Stories is rendered even more wondrous with music, an original score composed and performed by Stephanie Spiers on keyboards. “The live music makes it quite elegant,” says Sharma. Sharma notes the difference between an act of magic performed
Space Nazis from the moon invade planet Earth in sci-fi comedy romp Iron Sky. Writer-director Timo Vuorensola tells Baz McAlister exactly what he was smoking. Vuorensola says that from the beginning, he wanted to make a film that was more than just an outrageous B-movie. “I had this melancholic mood in the back of my head for the film,” he says. “It is a comedy, but I want to carry a message. Very early on we decided we wanted to do a more complex and layered story, more than just a simple action movie. Rather than call it Evil Nazis From The Moon – Americans can do that if they do the remake! – we wanted to do something deeper.” Based in Finland, Vuorensola assembled an international team and ended up shooting in Germany and southeast Queensland – in January 2011, battling rising floodwaters all the while. The shoot in Germany proved tricky as well. “By law you cannot bring any Nazi symbols into Germany, and we had
created all our costumes in Finland but there was no way to import them,” Vuorensola says. “In the end it just took a lot of legal paperwork. But when you go shooting – in Australia we had guys standing on the street corner with Nazi uniforms, and no one really cared: ‘Oh, they’re a freaky bunch’ – but in Germany you have to cover all the swastikas up well when you’re not shooting. It’s not really a problem over there – I mean, if you see someone in a Nazi uniform it’s more probable it’s a film shoot than the Nazis have come back – but it’s still something that can cause problems with the police.” Vuorensola says the film has been well received in Germany already, giving the lie to the old perception that Germans have no sense of humour – but then, a lot of Germans did pay money to
TRICKED OUT With Seven Stories, Vyom Sharma is aiming to take the magic show to the next level, writes Liza Dezfouli.
for its own sake and one where there is a theatrical context. Magicians have their own language to talk about what a comedian may describe as a set-up and pay-off or punchline. “A trick by itself is like seeing something impossible
happen,” explains Sharma. “It becomes an effect when there’s a plot, then the magic makes good.” By plot he means a context or backstory to the actual illusion created and here is where this show departs from what audiences might
get the film made, as did people from all over the planet as part of Vuorensola’s rather innovative way of raising his budget. “We used the community to help in three ways,” he explains. “The first was crowd-sourcing, where the idea is you get creative input from the community. All sorts of different things, like do we use a 3D model of a spaceship, or make the posters? The second way is crowd-funding; you sell something like a T-shirt, or War Bonds, so people can say they supported Iron Sky. And the third way is crowd investing, where you put a certain amount of money into the production – starting at 1,000 Euros – and when the film starts to make money, you start to make money because you have a small share in the film. We raised more than one million Euros doing this – and we got an army of advocates, a ready-made marketing team.” WHAT: Iron Sky WHEN & WHERE: Opening in Cinemas Thursday 10 May expect from a traditional stage magic. “The seven stories are set pieces, each within its own world,” he continues. “All the stories are so much better with magic. This has never been seen before in a magic show. I like the idea of magic with some kind of concept, that there is more that can be done to explore this art.” While Sharma was in his first year of medicine at Melbourne University a colleague showed him a card trick which sent his imagination soaring. “I had to find out more about it,” he remembers. Like most magicians, Sharma is self-taught. “I found magic to be an intellectual pursuit. I discovered the State Library has the largest collection of magical books in the entire world. Some of them are 100 years old. I was so hungry I’d be there for six hours straight in the heritage reading room when I should have been studying my medical books.” Has he invented new illusions for the show? “Yes! I made some magic to suit the show. These are ideas I’ve been toying with for years and years,” says Sharma. “Now they’ve found a place. Three or four out of the seven are quite original and the others are classics that have had a big spin put on them. It’s such a joy doing the show. People will get to see something quite different.” WHAT: Seven Stories WHEN & WHERE: Tonight (Wednesday 9) until Saturday 12 May, Chapel Off Chapel INPRESS • 33
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C U LT U R A L
CRINGE
WITH REBECCA COOK Feel free to resume sitting in your tracksuit pants in front of MasterChef – it seems we’re not getting a national cultural policy any time soon (unless it was cruelly announced after Inpress went to print). Y’all can put away those copies of Ulysses and return Who magazine to its pride of place. Stop trying to understand the subtext of The Sullivans, there’s no longer going to be a test. The much lauded policy, the first in 20 years, has been put on hold due to a lack of funds. Gasp! Does this really confirm that you have to be rich to be cultured? What have we been doing all this time without a policy? The answer possibly lies in the excess of reality talent shows on TV at the moment. Leaving cheap trashy TV aside for a moment, it would seem that Victoria’s never been so cultured, so perhaps this is all rogue cultural activity that needs to be reined in by a tough-talking policy. It’s cowboy land out there; one festival barely gets to hand out its People’s Choice awards before the next pops the champagne on opening night. For example, Next Wave kicks off next week, as does something called the Good Beer Festival (Cringe is betting there’ll be more beards from Brunswick tasting craft beers than at a ZZ Top concert) and the Emerging Writers Festival lands the week after. And it’s not just Melbourne, no, you know there’s no sense of law and order when even small country towns start to wangle their way into the arts calendar. On the weekend Cringe ventured to the
34 • INPRESS
Clunes Booktown Festival about two hours from Melbourne. It’s reported to be the biggest collection of rare, out-of-print, new, smallpress publications, second-hand and collectable books in Australia. Now in its sixth year, the main strip of Clunes, which you may recognise from films such as Ned Kelly, was like Bourke Street Mall at lunchtime. The fest has a very local feel: horse-drawn cart rides, egg and bacon rolls and skinny kids in wizard costumes reading stories in the town library. The festival is lucky it has local government as well as local business support as the state government is holding the purse strings very tightly at the moment (perhaps trying to stem all this unauthorised activity). Last week’s state budget was lean with only major institutions gaining any real moula and most of it was to upgrade ageing infrastructure. The National Gallery Of Victoria, Arts Centre, Museum Victoria and the Australian Centre For The Moving Image were the major winners, sharing in $15.2 million over four years to address urgent storage issues and overcrowding to better secure and protect Victoria’s cultural collections. Only the Malthouse Theatre scored an extra $188,000 for new work. The arts did pretty well this year, certainly better than other sectors such as education, and there isn’t the usual disparity between sports and arts funding. Maybe there’s something to be said for having a premier who’s also the arts minister. Maybe Simon Crean should have a tilt at the leadership and we’ll finally see that cultural policy.
THE RIGHTS STUFF BUFFALO GIRLS The Human Rights Arts & Film Festival began in 2007, but truly came of age last year with an impressive program of intelligent documentaries whose cinematic credentials were as great as their social worth. One such picture was There Once Was An Island, which told the tale of Takuu, a tiny South Pacific atoll slowly being swamped by rising tides. That sentiment – the imminent demise of those on the global-warming frontlines – is brought to a bigger canvas with Jon Shenk’s brilliant The Island President, which follows recently-deposed leader of The Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, in his first-year on the job; which involves establishing democratic infrastructures after 30 years of military oppression, campaigning for heightened climate change awareness, and charming global superpowers with the plight of his low-laying-archipelago nation. An African Election mirrors those themes of transparency-ofdemocracy and the tenuousness of free political systems as it chronicles
After coming of age last year, the Human Rights Arts & Film Festival is back with another riveting program. Anthony Carew checks out some highlights. Ghana’s 2008 elections, becoming a veritable political thriller as a split vote leads to subsequent polls and bipartisan infighting that threatens to boil over into state-of-emergency. Under African Skies, the fest’s opening-night selection, initially appears to be mere crowd-pleaser; a talking-headsy portrait of Paul Simon at work making his cross-cultural classic Graceland, then returning for a 25th-anniversary tour to play the apartheid-era album in a now-liberated South Africa. But the rock’n’roll nostalgia gives way to a conversation that serves as thematic framing device, with Simon and Artists Against Apartheid founder Dali Tambo passionately debating whether Simon’s defiance of sanctions on South Africa was pro or con in the struggle for freedom. Special Flight is an observationist documentary of endless merit, an in-house chronicle of life-awaitingexpulsion for asylum seekers detained in Switzerland. There are hallmarks of the prison movie at play, but filmmaker Fernand Melgar sees the Frambois detention centre’s reality as
a twist on prison-movie fantasy. Here, there is endless love and respect between residents and guards, with the real brutality and cruelty the province of the unfeeling, inhuman machinery of bureaucracy that looms outside of this ‘safe’ enclave. Fantome Island cuts close to home with its historical excavation – and evisceration – of more skeletons of the Stolen Generation, chronicling the Aboriginals afflicted with leprosy and venereal diseases that were sent for containment on an island prison off the Queensland coast. Buffalo Girls
is an eye-opening, no-budget portrait of a pair of pre-adolescent girls taking part in rural Thailand’s black-market industry of underage boxing; the phrase ‘human cockfighting’ coming to mind as bettors gamble thousands on eight-year-old girls beating each other up for sport. The lack of cinematic charisma in Five Broken Cameras emphatically exhorts its thematic point: this a frill-free, cold-reality, citizen’s portrait of life for West Bank Palestinian residents abutting the construction of a new dividing wall. And Wrinkles might be the most unexpected, inspired selection in the HRAFF program. An animated picture rendered in glorious 2D shades, this Spanish feature is a downbeat drama taking place in an aged-care facility, which uses its cartoon palette to depict the slow slide into dementia with great artistry, while the screenplay carries great grace. It’s not the most obvious human rights subject, but Ignacio Ferreras’ picture conveys the sad plight of the aged and infirm with an undeniable plea for compassion; Wrinkles is deeply touching and at-times genuinely brilliant. WHAT: Human Rights Film Festival WHEN & WHERE: Tuesday 15 May until Sunday 27 May, Forum Theatre, ACMI and Abbotsford Convent
GIVEAWAYS Thanks to the Human Rights Film Festival we have ten double passes to give away to the Thursday 17 May screening of Our School – a documentary about the Romanian government giving money to facilitate the integration of the Romas, or gypsies, into good Romanian schools. The aim was to improve equal access to education and offer an opportunity for children to escape the cycle of poverty. This film follows the first five years of a group of Roma children affected by this law. A story of the obstacles of institutionalised racism and poverty in public education as viewed through the eyes of the children. Premier screening at ACMI, Thursday 17 May, 6.30pm. For your chance to score tickets fo’free go to facebook.com/inpressmag.
INPRESS • 35
victorianrollerderby.com
BOUT 3
SATURDAY MAY Y 19 MELBOURNE SHOWGROUNDS UNDS
DEAD RINGER ROSIES S VS ROCK MOBSTERS Original photo: Jesse Booher
DOLLS OF HAZZARD VS TOXIC AVENGERS DOORS: 4.45 PM GAME 1: 5.45 PM GAME 2: 7.45 PM
The VRDL is a not-for-profit organisation, owned and operated by the skaters.
TICKETS THROUGH MOSHTIX — ADULT: $20 CHILD 8 – 16: $11 UNDER 8: FREE
www.moshtix.com.au Phone: 1300 GET TIX
(surcharge applies)
Mobile: moshtix.mobi + all moshtix outlets including Polyester Records (City & Fitzroy) & Greville Records. Tickets available at the door if not sold out: Adult $25, Child $15.
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36 • INPRESS
TOUR GUIDE THIS WEEK
GIG OF THE WEEK
GASOLINE INC: May 10 Bended Elbow (Geelong); 12 Torquay Hotel; 19 Astor Hotel (Albury); 25 Revolver
INTERNATIONAL
THE DARKNESS: May 9 Palace WAVVES: May 9 Corner RALPH MCTELL: May 10 Cube; May 11 Corner THE MOUNTAIN GOATS: May 9 Toff; 10 Corner ATMOSPHERE, EVIDENCE: May 10 Hi-Fi FRANK TURNER: May 10 Espy MORGAN PAGE: May 10 Alumbra KIM CHURCHILL: May 11 Baha Tacos (Rye); 12 Northcote Social Club DEUS: May 12 Corner Hotel PAUL COLLINS: May 12 Tote; 13 Caravan Music Club PRINCE: May 14, 15 Rod Laver Arena MUTEMATH: May 14, 17 Corner
KIM CHURCHILL: May 11 Baha Tacos (Rye); 12 Northcote Social Club EXILE ON MAIN ST 40TH ANNIVERSARY: May 12, 13 Cherry Bar THE MACCABEES: May 16 Hi-Fi BOY & BEAR: May 16, 18 Forum; 19 Costa Hall, Deakin, Geelong; 20 Hi-Fi (U18) PUBLIC ENEMY: May 17 Espy TIM RIPPER OWENS: May 17 Hi-Fi DEAD LETTER CIRCUS: May 17 Ferntree Gully Hotel; 18 Hi-Fi
NATIONAL
KIMBRA: May 9 Palais Theatre CALLING ALL CARS: May 10 Kay Street (Traralgon); 11 Hi-Fi JAM XPRESS: May 10 HomeHouse (Geelong) THE FUNKOARS: May 10 Wheelers Hill Hotel; 11 Pier Live SPLIT SECONDS, UNDERLIGHTS: May 10 Northcote Social Club; 12 Karova Lounge, Ballarat GASOLINE INC: May 10 Bended Elbow (Geelong); 12 Torquay Hotel JOSH PYKE: May 11 Forum MICK THOMAS: May 11 Regal Ballroom HEIRS: May 11 Polyester Records, Curtin Bandroom GRAVEYARD TRAIN: May 11 Loft (Warrnambool) HAT FITZ & CARA: May 11 Barwon Club Hotel (Geelong) CATCALL: May 12 Toff DANIEL MERRIWEATHER: May 12 Phoenix Public House
PRESENTS
THE WOLFGRAMM SISTERS
EXILE ON MAIN ST 40TH ANNIVERSARY TRIBUTE SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, CHERRY BAR
A genuine rock’n’roll classic, The Rolling Stones’ Exile On Main St – home to Rocks Off, Tumbling Dice, Loving Cup and Sweet Virginia – was released 40 years ago this Saturday. Recorded in the UK and then France after the Stones decamped there in 1971 to avoid paying taxes, the sprawling double album shows the band at their ragged, bluesy best. What better place to celebrate its release this weekend than Cherry Bar, where a bunch of local rockers will perform the album track-for-track over two nights. The Cherry Exile band will feature Jack Howard, Carl Treasure, Bruce Haymes, Ryan Brown, Ben Curnow and Simon Aarons with vocalists The Wolfgramm Sisters, Ash Naylor, Spencer P Jones, Dave Larkin, Matt Sonic, Nick Barker and special guests.
VICTORIAN ROLLER DERBY LEAGUE: May 19 Melbourne Showgrounds DEVIN: May 24 Northcote Social Club YOUNG GUNS: May 30 Hi-Fi MISSY HIGGINS: June 15 Geelong Performing Arts Centre; 16, 17 Her Majesty’s Theatre THE AUDREYS: June 16 Toff In Town TRIAL KENNEDY: June 23 Corner Hotel FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS: July 14 Plenary; 15 Rod Laver Arena HOWLER: July 24 Corner Hotel FRIENDS: July 25 Northcote Social Club DJANGO DJANGO: July 31 Corner Hotel ELECTRIC GUEST: August 1 Northcote Social Club sdfsdfsdfdsf Over on the Udder Stage, Matt Corby enthrals. Possessing a voice as emotive as Jeff Buckley’s, Corby certainly doesn’t disappoint live. The variety of singing styles he effortlessly employs makes Corby’s performance authentic and engaging and Brother sets an early standard for amount of on-shoulder spectators. The maturity of this song is baffling given that Corby’s 21 years young and goosebumps prevail.
PUBLIC ENEMY AT GROOVIN’ THE MOO PIC BY NICK MANUELL
PRINCE: Monday 14 and Tuesday 15 May, Rod Laver Arena
Heading as close to the action as our tinnies allow, we prepare for Andrew WK. After about four songs, it becomes apparent the Moo massive is baffled with only those in the front five(ish) rows lured into his party zone. It’s back to Moolin Rouge for Mutemath and the American alt.rockers perform a headline-worthy set at 3pm. Playing many tracks from their latest, outstanding Odd Soul album – Prytania and the irresistible groove of Blood Pressure clear highlights – what’s particularly evident is the band’s dedication to leaving nothing behind. Frontman Paul Meany convulses as if possessed by the spirits of a thousand dead rock’n’rollers and, although Australian audiences miss out on the video-wall structure featured throughout Mutemath’s US tour, there’s plenty to get excited about. Reset is introduced as being from the period before Meany “was allowed to sing”. The frontman plays some mean keys, back-to-back with another keyboardist. Meany also holds his axe into the crowd for stray fingers to play before showing off some fine hip hop-style balances atop his keyboard. Then he launches into the crowd, landing on a fancy black mattress decorated with flashing lights. This band’s stage crew sure earn their keep. Mutemath deliver.
UPCOMING INTERNATIONAL
KAISER CHIEFS: May 16 Palace THE MACCABEES: May 16 Hi-Fi TIM CHAISSON: May 16 Empress; 17 Beav’s Bar; 18 Wellers Restaurant (Kangaroo Ground); 19 Spirit Bar (Traralgon) EUGENE ‘HIDEAWAY’ BRIDGES: May 17 Thornbury Theatre PUBLIC ENEMY: May 17 Espy NICKI MINAJ: May 18 Hisense Arena BILL BREWSTER: May 18 New Guernica NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK, BACKSTREET BOYS: May 18, 19 Rod Laver THE BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE: May 19 Forum FLORENCE & THE MACHINE: May 20 Rod Laver THE OCEAN: May 20 National Hotel; 26 Hi-Fi S CLUB, BIG BROVAS: May 23 Palace Theatre DANNY BROWN, MED: May 24 Prince DEVIN: May 24 Northcote Social Club TOM VEK, KINDNESS, JONATHAN BOULET: May 24 Hi-Fi MICKEY AVALON: May 25 Espy SHOWTEK: May 25 Chasers NATURALLY 7: May 26 Palais Theatre ANTI-FLAG: May 27 Hi-Fi MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND: May 28 Northcote Social Club YOUNG GUNS: May 30 Hi-Fi PRINCE: May 30 Rod Laver Arena
GROOVIN’ THE MOO 2012 PRINCE OF WALES SHOWROUND, BENDIGO: 05/05/12
Bendigo bus stops are well populated unusually early this Saturday as festivalgoers don’t wish to miss a second of Groovin’ The Moo’s something-for-everyone line-up. While wandering up Holmes Road towards the main entrance, St Peter’s Primary School offers sound advice via a billboard that reads, “Life To The Full.” Punters pass a goon bag around inside a parked car as if illustrating this mantra. It’s likely that Groovin’ The Moo is the only festival in the world to boast a designated gate through which livestock must enter. Not in use today. We pass a stall selling animal-inspired onesies (cow suits are available in two colour schemes) for $75 a pop. Inside the Moolin Rouge tent, there’s no such thing as a gradual start since Ballarat’s should-be-stratospheric Gold Fields are onstage. Their band is immortalised via an impressive LED-lit backdrop and the quintet totally own Underworld’s Born Slippy, with multi-layered percussion forcing idle feet into action. “Lager, lager, lager” reminds us we are yet to hit the bar, but Gold Fields hold us hostage until their closer, an extended version of the already cranking Move. Double-drum demolition glues it all together but lead singer Mark Robert Fuller’s vocals sound strained on this occasion.
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It may be sparsely populated in front of the Udder Stage, but, for those who’ve prioritised Parkway Drive, a masterful display of metalcore is served up. 360 (aka Matt Colwell) is where the rest of the festival population’s at. Together with partner in rhyme Bam Bam (who even has a double-gunshot sound effect to illustrate his moniker), 360 brings club-banging hip hop. There’s not a single pair of arms by sides in eyeshot. Sixty’s Gossling-featuring Boys Like You, which he explains was written as a ‘fuck you’ to an ex who cheated on him, inspires a mass sing-along: “If I hadda listened wouldn’t be in this position.” The kids also majorly dig their version of Skrillex’s Died This Way (as well as the opportunity to scream out “We don’t give a FUCK!”). Beni’s up next and his dancers must be seen to be believed. A pair of gents dressed as officers strut around in skyscraper stilettos to Someone Just Like You while demonstrating jaw-dropping flexibility and gymnastic feats that wouldn’t be out of place onstage with Madonna. One dancer jumps into the CONTINUED ON PAGE 38 INPRESS • 37
TOUR GUIDE JOSH PYKE: Friday 11 May, Forum
RAY LUGO: June 1 Scatter Scatter LIGHT ASYLUM: June 1 Phoenix Public House; 2 Toff SIMPLE PLAN: June 2 Festival Hall CHRISTINA PERRI: June 2 Palais ZOLA JESUS: June 2, 3 Toff AMON TOBIN: June 5 Palace SAMUEL YIRGA QUARTET: June 7, 8 Comedy Theatre REEF: June 8 Billboard DAVID MYLES: June 8 Wesley Anne; 9 Caravan Music Club EAST 17: June 8 Trak TRAIN: June 9 Palais GHOSTFACE KILLAH: June 9 Forum SILVERSTEIN: June 9 Bang; 10 Pelly Bar (Frankston) MARK KOZELEK: June 9 Toff, 11 Phoenix Public House THICK AS BLOOD: June 15 Mechanic’s Institute (Ballarat, AA); 16 Bang; 17 Phoenix Youth Centre (AA) BEE MASK: June 17 Gasometer THE POPES: June 20 Corner MACABRE: June 26 Bendigo Hotel; 30 Corner; July 1 National Hotel LADY GAGA: June 27, 28, 30, July 1 Rod Laver CEREMONY: June 29 Irene’s Warehouse (AA); 30 Bendigo Hotel SIMONE FELICE: July 11 Corner; 13 Meeniyan Town Hall FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS: July 14 Plenary; 15 Rod Laver Arena TERROR: July 14 Corner THE TEA PARTY: July 14 Palais MELISSA ETHERIDGE: July 15 Plenary THE BLACK SEEDS: July 15 Corner LADYHAWKE: July 17 Billboard THE SHINS: July 23 Festival Hall LANA DEL REY: July 23 Palace HOWLER, ZULU WINTER: July 24 Corner JACK WHITE: July 25 Festival Hall THE AFGHAN WHIGS: July 25 Hi-Fi FRIENDS: July 25 Northcote Social Club MICHAEL KIWANUKA, BEN HOWARD, TIM HART: July 25 Corner BAND OF SKULLS: July 26 Corner FATHER JOHN MISTY: July 28 Corner YOUTH LAGOON: July 29 Corner ELECTRIC GUEST: August 1 Northcote Social Club THE SMASHING PUMPKINS: August 2 Hi-Sense Arena ED SHEERAN: August 3 Palais MARK GARDENER: August 5 Corner BELL BIV DEVOE, GINUWINE: August 10, 14 Trak Live Lounge AMERICA: Septemer 6 Hamer Hall BARRY ADAMSON: September 11 Corner HANSON: September 14, 18 Palace SUBHUMANS: September 15 Bendigo Hotel WHEATUS: September 19 Corner CANNIBAL CORPSE: October 5 Billboard THE BLACK KEYS: October 31 Sidney Myer Music Bowl RADIOHEAD: November 16, 17 Rod Laver Arena
NATIONAL
BOY & BEAR: May 16, 18 Forum; 19 Deakin’s Costa Hall (Geelong); 20 Hi-Fi (U18) DEAD LETTER CIRCUS: May 17 Ferntree Gully Hotel; 18 Hi-Fi TIM FREEDMAN: May 17 Beav’s Bar (Geelong); 19 Spirit Bar & Lounge (Traralgon); August 10, 11 Bennetts Lane MADRE MONTE: May 18 Northcote Social Club THE PEEP TEMPEL: May 18 Gasometer VINCE PEACH: May 18 Thornbury LOST ANIMAL: May 18 Phoenix Public House JAM XPRESS: May 18 Prince Bandroom; 26 Billboard 38 • INPRESS
THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT: May 18 Bended Elbow (Geelong); 19 Inferno (Traralgon); 20 Pier Live (Frankston); 25 Palace Theatre; June 8 Hi-Fi AUSTRALIAN POPS ORCHESTRA, TODD MCKENNEY, JOHN FOREMAN: May 18, 19 Palms At Crown BRUCE MATHISKE: May 19 Chapel Off Chapel LEADER CHEETAH: May 19 Northcote Social Club CAM BUTLER: May 19 Northcote Uniting Church THE BOMBAY ROYALE: May 19 Hi-Fi KIMBA & RYAN: May 19 Bennetts Lane GASOLINE INC: May 19 Astor Hotel (Albury); 25 Revolver EMPERORS: May 19 Fist2Face, Phoenix Public House BUCKLEY WARD: May 19 Toff; 27 Pure Pop Records OWL EYES: May 20 Toff; 22 Northcote Social Club ADELE & GLENN: May 23 Standard TIJUANA CARTEL: May 24 Northcote Social Club EXPATRIATE: May 24 Toff THE PERCH CREEK FAMILY JUGBAND: May 24 Fitzroy Town Hall LOVE CONNECTION: May 25 Northcote Social Club FLAP!: May 25 Theatre Royale (Castlemaine) DUNE RATS: May 25 Workers Club LANIE LANE: May 25 Meeniyan Town Hall; 26 Corner Hotel TUMBLEWEED: May 25, 26 Tote ELIZABETH ROSE: May 25 Toff EDWARD GUGLIELMIO: May 26 Pure Pop Records; 27 Empress LANIE LANE: May 26, 27, 28 Corner Hotel ROYSTON VASIE: May 28 Northcote Social Club THE TEMPER TRAP: May 29, 30 Forum RESIST THE THOUGHT: May 29 Musicman Megastore (Bendigo, AA); 31 Karova Lounge (Ballarat); June 2 Loft (Warrnambool); 3 National Hotel SUI ZHEN: May 30 Grace Darling TZU: June 1 Corner; 2 Karova Lounge (Ballarat) THE JEZABELS: June 1 Festival Hall JIMMY BARNES: June 1, 3 Trak GRAVEYARD TRAIN: June 1, 2 Hi-Fi THE MISSION IN MOTION: June 2 Tote DEF FX, INSURGE: June 2 Corner THE FLOORS: June 2 Retreat; 3 Baha Tacos ALBARE: June 5 Melbourne Recital Centre MATT CORBY: June 6 Forum MAT. MCHUGH: June 7 Corner THE HARD-ONS: June 7 National Hotel; 8 Karova Lounge (Geelong); 9 Tote BONJAH: June 8 Corner BULLS: June 8 Northcote Social Club ASH GRUNWALD: June 9 Corner; 10 Westernport Hotel NADEAH MIRANDA: June 11 Toff In Town LISA MITCHELL: June 13 St Michael’s Church 360: June 14, 15, 17 (U18) Hi-Fi MISSY HIGGINS: June 15 Costa Hall; 16, 17 Her Majesty’s Theatre THE BAMBOOS: June 16 Corner MUSCLES: June 16 Bottom End THE AUDREYS: June 16 Toff GATHERER: June 16 Curtin Bandroom NEW EMPIRE: June 17 Toff BURIED IN VERONA: June 21 Next; 22 Ringwood OLP DANIEL CHAMPAGNE: June 23 Caravan Music Club TRIAL KENNEDY: June 23 Corner BUSBY MAROU: June 27 Bended Elbow (Geelong); 28 Corner MAKE THEM SUFFER: June 29 Karova Lounge (Ballarat); 30 BANG; July 1 Phoenix Youth Centre (Footscray); 3 Megaman Music Store (Bendigo) CHARGE GROUP: June 29 Tote NED COLLETTE & WIREWALKER: June 29 Northcote Social Club KARNIVOOL: July 5 Hi-Fi; 8 Bended Elbow (Geelong) JUDITH DURHAM: July 7, 8 Her Majesty’s Theatre THE BRIDE: July 10 Musicman Megastore (Bendigo, AA); 11 National Hotel; 12 Karova Lounge (Ballarat); 13 Phoenix Youth Centre (AA) HEROES FOR HIRE: July 11 Karova Lounge (Ballarat); 12 TLC (Bayswater); 13 Evelyn; 14 Thornbury Theatre MCALISTER KEMP: July 21 Hallam Hotel NINE SONS OF DAN: July 28 Revolver; 29 Spensers live (under-18) TINA ARENA: July 28, 29, August 5 Hamer Hall KATE MILLER-HEIDKE: August 14 Corner HILLTOP HOODS: August 24 Setts (Mildura); 25 Festival Hall; 26 New Albury Hotel DAMIEN LEITH: September 20 Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre; 21 Palms At Crown
FESTIVALS
STEREOSONIC: December 1 TBA
splits and squashes an empty plastic hippie of Smirnoff that has somehow made its way up there. As well as his own tracks (It’s A Bubble goes off!), Beni incorporates such classics as Show Me Love (Robin S) and Horny (Mousse T). Beni bravely attempts an unco running man in between his two exceptional dancers, but the man is undeniably no slouch behind the ones and twos. My companion draws comparisons to Danny Tenaglia. Feeling energised and ready to boogie post-Beni, City And Colour is a downer so it’s now up to Public Enemy – “YEEEEAAAAH BOOOI!” The legendary hip hop collective open the same way as they did at Falls Festival a couple of years back, bookended by supersized ‘security guards’ in full camouflage regalia performing military-inspired moves to siren accompaniment. There’s a moving target on the cyclorama and hypeman Flava Flav resembles an angry bull ant between the two sergeants. Flav leads the charge, “When I say ‘hip’, you say ‘hop’.” Touching eulogies to the late Adam ‘MCA’ Yauch are scattered throughout the set. The hits are insane – Fight The Power, Don’t Believe The Hype, 911 Is A Joke – and Public Enemy are still committed to educating their audience. Philosopher Flav’s parting words: “There’s only one race, the human race.” “She’s so cool!” extols a devotee in the crowd the millisecond she claps eyes on Kimbra, who resembles a vibrant rainbow Paddle Pop tonight. Gorgeous visuals complement her flawless vocals: images of exotic fish swim in and out of three ornate gilt frames behind the band. Good Intent receives an enthusiastic sing-along and it’s clear Kimbra is mighty popular. She shares this is the first time she’s play a festival after dark. Everything’s note perfect and all the lights are on, but there’s still more depth to Kimbra teetering just below the surface. She has the potential to become an even more unstoppable force, believe it or not. Securing prime real estate for Hilltop Hoods is a challenge, even though we relocate before Kimbra’s set concludes. Adelaide’s hip hop royalty can afford to start however they wish and surprise us with an atmospheric solo rap by MC Pressure. Then the masters of positive hip hop go nuts with extra-special guest Plutonic Lab behind the kit. The drumming vs rhyming speed segment leaves us reeling. Impossible clarity is retained and all who witness this are clear winners. Still Standing makes bodies bounce. There’s a nod to Public Enemy in their call-and-response hype: “When I say ‘hill’, you say ‘top’.” The Hard Road is no match for Nosebleed Section but the audience is weirdly silent in between tracks and so Adrian Lux can be heard slaying it in Moolin Rouge. We head on in to pull some shapes. Lux acknowledges our Great Southern Land by dropping The Temper Trap’s Sweet Disposition. And then suddenly it’s his own radio fave, Teenage Crime. But with no audible join whatsoever! Jaws drop. We’ll know better than to miss a single second of Lux next time he tours our shores. There’s always a few flying inflated frangers doing the rounds at this time of night and we watch expectantly as a heart-shaped contrivance takes shape on the stage. Digitalism’s workstations resemble fancy LED music stands. Who knows what they actually do up there? All we know is that once the German duo get going, they drop beats that sneak up and slap your arse. Hard. Jens “Jence” Moelle sings a lot during Digitalism’s live sets these days. Pogo sounds decidedly Bizarre Love Triangle and the breakdown into 2 Hearts sees us thrashing about so much we forget to breathe. The Redfrog.com tent hands out much needed free glasses of water as spent forms file out of the festival site. Retracing our steps back down Holmes Road, we decide Moolin Rouge was a constant drawcard all day, wrenching us away from the main stages like a massive beckoning hand. From inside the car we notice movement through the next vehicle’s steamy windows. And then a naked leg presses against the glass. Reverse. Accelerate. “Get a room!” Bryget Chrisfield
THE SONICS
CARAVAN MUSIC CLUB: 27/04/12 There are some gigs that have become Melbourne rock’n’roll folklore; in 1998 Bob Dylan played one of his longest-ever sets at the Mercury Lounge inside Crown Casino. A relatively unknown The White Stripes played the Tote in 2001. Mick Jagger even graced the stage at the Corner Hotel in 1988. It’s 2012, however, that will be remembered as the time legendary garage-rock pioneers The Sonics played Caravan Music Club in Oakleigh. Set opener He’s Waitin’, a cut from the seminal 1966 Boom album, is the first of an absolute litany of garage staples to follow. I Need Money (That’s What I Want) and Shot Down prove Gerry Roslie’s voice has never sounded stronger, while Larry Parya’s guitar parts seamlessly interweave with Rob Lind’s saxophone on Have Love Will Travel. The latest addition to the line-up, bassist Freddie Dennis provides vocals on a number of newer songs, most of which work well with the classic ‘60s material. Vampire Kiss is dedicated to Melbourne’s Fearless Vampire Killers, who opened the show, and Cheap Shades has much of the same power that the Washington legends are revered for. However it’s the early music that the crowd really grasps hold of. The most striking thing about this Sonics show is
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their energy. It’s pretty miraculous to see this group of 60-somethings deliver their songs with much of the same vigour as they would have 40 years ago. At every pause the crowd have no choice but to stay on their toes as Dennis demands countless “Yeah!” chants, and each of their famous cover songs is introduced with a high pitched “Are you ready for some rock and roll!?” Versions of I Don’t Need No Doctor and Keep A Knockin’ are blistering, and before long the main set closes with Psycho which, unsurprisingly, draws the most excitable crowd reaction of the night. But they come back. Twice. What would a garage-rock show be without a helping of Louie Louie? What a show. Friday 27 April is the night 200 people witness one of rock’s greatest-ever bands play one of their most unique performances. Were you there? Wes Holland
DZ DEATHRAYS, VELOCIRAPTOR, THEM 9’S TOTE: 27/04/12
You know you’re onto something special when there are at least eight snappers – does this call for a collective noun, a clique, perhaps? – at the Tote for early openers, grappling for money-shot position. “How’s everybody doing tonight? Getting fucked up?” enquires Them 9’s frontman Josh Haire. Bassist Josh Murphy looks like a cross between Dave Navarro and Sideshow Bob. We can hear that they’re having difficulties, but Them 9’s fuzzed-out bluesy thang is definitely worth watching. One member of Velociraptor asks us whether we’ve tried Brisbane Bitter. Negative. A neighbour in the crowd is overheard saying, “DZ don’t need this band,” (both members of tonight’s headliners also play in Velociraptor). And sure, they don’t, but we definitely need Velociraptor’s music. They sound like a twister gnawing through Disneyland and it’s kinda like watching DZ Deathrays through a curtain of fellow (equally ace) band members. This band’s name perfectly suits them as they careen around the stage like a multi-headed, stone-age beast and we lose track of who plays what and how many singers they boast. Belligerence anthem/yoof station-favourite In The Springtime (the one that goes, “It’s just I am what I am/I am/I am”) is thrown in and demonstrates everything that’s great about this band; they’re exuberant and oscillate wildly between loose and tight. How do they conclude their set? With a rousing version of the Batman TV themesong. You couldn’t fit another body inside the Tote, and jostling for position starts the minute Velociraptor leave the stage. After punters chant for Shane Parsons to “scull, scull, scull!” as he soundchecks, the frontman indulges them by draining a pint of beer followed immediately by what appears to be a spirit mixed with coke. Mics are tested with patriotism: “one-two-kangaroo.” DZ Deathrays are superstars. Even a plastic poncho couldn’t protect you from the liquids that fly around during one of their sets. Labelmates Bleeding Knees Club stirred up a fair mosh at their recent Northcote Social Club show, but that tide is swamped by tonight’s anatomical whirlpool. No Sleep hypnotises, Gebbie Street seduces and Rad Solar throws our senses and limbs into overdrive. Parsons and drummer Simon Ridley are demons that play conduit to the gods of authentic rock’n’roll. You don’t see musos sweating gallons anymore, it’s usually towelled/powder puffed off in the wings. Where to start with Blue Blood? Lyrics are kept simple: “I want you/I need you/I’m comin’/To see you/Ai-I-Iy/Ai-I-Iy” etc. Riffs flirt with the brown note and drumming bashes your scone in. DZ leave themselves on that stage and Parsons roars on even after the PA blows up and vocals become inaudible – he’s unable to separate performance elements. And who would’ve thunk instrumental versions of DZ Deathrays joints would hold up? With one integral piece of the puzzle missing, the crowd rocks out as if they haven’t noticed. Even when we can no longer hear Parsons’ impressive yowl, the atmosphere inside the venue is intoxicating and more akin to something you’d witness as a reaction to a cranking dance band à la The Prodigy. A follow-up Facebook post from the band: “Blew up the PA at the Tote or something. Thanks to everyone for still going nuts. It was pretty much a house party in there.” Bryget Chrisfield
DZ DEATHRAYS PIC BY LOI LOU NUTT
JOHN BUTLER, FELICITY GROOM HI-FI: 25/04/12
There’s a Collingwood guernsey in the line-up, and a few drunk sailors wandering past from Young & Jackson try to blag their way into the Hi-Fi. It’s been a long, wet Anzac Day, and thankfully Felicity Groom is downstairs warming up. She switches from guitar to autoharp and back again, finishing with a crowdpleasing take on Mental As Anything’s Live It Up and haunting renditions of her own Siren Song and An Ache. This is John Butler’s Tin Shed Tales tour and the curtains part to reveal a beautiful corrugatediron set hung with instruments, skateboards and some interesting art (is that Donald Duck vomiting?). The man himself strolls out to rapturous applause, launching straight into the feelgood opening of Gonna Be A Long Time and Better Than. A kick drum brings the bass every time he taps his right foot, and punters bop and sing along. Anyone hoping to dance all night is soon disappointed, because tonight the magic is in the stories Butler tells; the performance is as much spoken-word as musical, although one complements the other. Introducing Good As Gone, he tells of immigrants distilling moonshine, gene pools and Celtic folk music in the Appalachian Mountains – and then demonstrates the progression on his banjo. Perhaps anxious not to seem didactic, he speaks somewhat haltingly of the campaign to stop Woodside’s gas plant in the Kimberley. But what follows is an eloquent piece of protest music built around the simple but unforgettable image of Kimberley as a “wild and free” girl coveted by callous cowboys. Then, less than a week after David Bridie sang Danny Boy for Jim Stynes at the MCG, Butler puts his own spin on the classic tune with an exquisite intro where high notes float effortlessly from his slide guitar. It’s a lovely moment imbued with moving family history and the power of music to help us heal and remember. There is one song that loses its essence in the Tin Shed: slowed down and stripped of its rhythm section, Revolution seems more distant than ever. But Zebra ends the main set on a high, and then Felicity Groom reappears to sing Danielle Caruana’s part in Jenny. As voices clamour for Ocean, Butler takes us back to the time he left university to “busk next to a bin”, and discovered that music can convey feelings words simply cannot. It’s an invitation to share a moment of personal, even spiritual, reflection, as the instrumental epic builds inexorably to a climax of raw sonic energy and the house lights come up. Sebastian Prowse
KIM BOEKBINDER, BRENDAN MACLEAN EVELYN HOTEL: 25/04/12
With the onset of winter drizzle coating the streets outside, it’s no wonder Brendan Maclean opts for the red. Glass in tow, Maclean’s emotive performance displays a raw intensity fitting for the mellow, candlelit crowd. Woven into his compelling set is jaunty raillery, namely referring to his ukulele as Murphy Brown while singing of ill-fated love for ballerinas. One-liners before each song ignite laughter, most notably “…after you break up, one of you has to move to Spain”, and “this is a song I wrote when I realised I had a receding hairline.” With shades of bright pink and white hair, Kim Boekbinder is poised in a galactic body suit while her band mates trickle onstage. Wide-eyed and expectant, her fans slowly gravitate towards the front, clapping and chanting “she’s the impossible girl” before landing on the floor with their knees against their chests. The whole spectacle is quite bizarre, but fascinating, as if she’s channeling an unearthly presence that’s given rise to a devoted movement. In saying that, her tale is definitely one of intrigue. With the help of said fan base, the New Yorker set out to raise $20,000 in a bid to work with legendary Boston producer Sean Slade (Radiohead, Dresden Dolls) for her debut album. Needless to say, the campaign was a success. Performing under the same name as her record The Impossible Girl, Boekbinder renders her bewitching alter ego with gusto, singing of Rainbows And Unicorns and Dream Life. In addition to her dreamy acoustics, she heaves another apparatus onstage and beams, “This is my brand new synthesiser. Her name is Cynthia!” With the arrival of Cynthia, the quirky show reaches new heights as Boekbinder experiments with rattling chains in-between vocals and a squeaking toy dinosaur, all the while utilising the synth to play back vocals at every opportunity. Despite original expectations, the set is definitely not confined to hazy acoustics, instead seasoned with cabaret, pop and rock.
Our sequined lady shimmies back onstage after a brief hiatus to reveal one hell of a costume with pink glittery streamers and feathers to boot. As if she’s not charming enough, she baits the crowd by offering her own homemade Anzac biscuits in exchange for dancing. The crowd joyously dance and munch away before cajoling Boekbinder for the inevitable encore, to which she emerges mid-room with her ukulele. Sans-mic, Boekbinder performs an enchanting folk number that ends with a kiss to her man, but an imprint on us all. Madeleine O’Gorman
STONEFIELD, THE DELTA RIGGS NORTHCOTE SOCIAL CLUB: 24/04/12
The family affair that is a Stonefield gig is quickly established when Mrs Findlay, mum of the sisters who make up this evening’s headline band, happily answers questions from her position beside the merch desk. Onstage a member of The Delta Riggs models a Purple Rain t-shirt that looks authentic. Opener “only feels right if we need to stop” is a fitting modus operandi. Their new song sounds like they discovered Tame Impala’s mysterious tuning, it borrows from the Why Won’t You Make Up Your Mind? riff. Pointing out a dude in the crowd who models a floral bodyshirt to complement manky, long flaxon locks and beard, charismatic frontman Elliott Hammond praises, “Honourable mention to this guy. I don’t know how he didn’t end up in the band.” There are definitely moments when they all surrender to the mighty gods of rock’n’roll and show glimpses of their potential (Ride is unreal). But, having bookmarked The Delta Riggs as ‘band to watch’, it’s frustrating that thanks to arrogant, non-inclusive banter they come across as a bunch of talented dickheads tonight. As if constantly bagging the town you’re playing in and the crowd’s lack of response is a way to win fans. Warm red wash. Smoke. Cue Stonefield. Playing a brand new song two songs in is a brave move, but it’s a good’un. Phew. It’s all long skinny legs and hair to match onstage and tonight’s audience is very mixed, age-wise. Jesse Hughes said Stonefield showed him up at Cherry Rock 2011 and the young sibling band have made a lot of headway since then. Bassist/youngest member Holly Findlay stands centre stage and her instrument sits high up in the mix. Move Out Of My Shadow contains extremely complex key and tempo changes. Guitarist Hannah is all over that axe. You wouldn’t think that such an understated style would produce such mind-blowing noise. Magic Carpet Ride was a superb choice for their Like A Version and sounds sensational live. Stonefield would be even more amazing if the girls switched vocals occasionally. Although, when an alternate drummer called Emily is introduced toward set’s end this added interest is a masterstroke. When Emily takes care of drums on Drowning (Holly’s prepubescent squeal is still on call for this song), Amy transforms into a commanding frontlady without the security of her kit. The drummer/singer makes mention of the band’s interactive video launch for Bad Reality and a punter yells out, “Holly’s alive!” To which the bassist responds with that winning smile. One of the girls’ water bottles falls over onstage and not much is spilt after a front row punter demonstrates fast reflexes. They close their main set with Clover plus loads of smoke. Stonefield’s Whole Lotta Love encore showcases their chops, especially Hannah‘s shredding. Take away the fact that they’re all sisters with the members aged between 14 and 22 years old and you’ve still got a killer band with a blindingly bright future. Bryget Chrisfield
CLAIRY BROWNE & THE BANGIN’ RACKETTES, KIRA PURU & THE BRUISE, STELLA ANGELICO & THE SWITCH, THE PUTBACKS PRINCE BANDROOM: 27/04/12
The night’s apparel screams of a dazzling, bygone era. While the men look dapper in their fedoras and vintage suits, there’s no doubt that the ladies prevail both on and off stage. Beehived, fake-lashed and sequined lasses swarm around the venue in a bubbly Daisy Buchanan-way, before the first support commands everyone’s attention. With hips that snake around the stage, Stella Angelico oozes sultry, old-time glamour that’s perfect for tonight’s production. Together with her band The Switch, she oscillates between vulnerable lover to ballsy vixen, belting out, “…mister, I’m gonna eat ya alive”. A witty blonde adds to the eccentricity by playing host for the evening, introducing the jazz-act (and in-between band for the night)
ARCH ENEMY PIC BY RICKY DOWLAN The PutBacks with a loud, “Areebaaaaaa!” The surprise fillers blow everyone away with their improv tunes before Kira Puru & The Bruise steal the spotlight back with a sensational, heavy blues performance. Puru robs the room of its joviality, lifting the crowd with a thrilling intensity through her fierce stance and towering vocals. The silhouette of the night’s leading lady is striking in itself. Melbourne’s own Clairy Browne & The Bangin’ Rackettes have recently revived the doowop movement with their debut album Baby Caught The Bus, securing festival slots and national tours. Tonight, Browne’s signature high-hair and loud make-up brightens the already glitter-embellished stage. Feasting her eyes on her crowd of clones, she opens with the smoky Yellowbird before inviting her harmonising trio The Bangin’ Rackettes to the stage, completing the nine-piece line-up. To label the show a ‘gig’ is a huge injustice to the whole production. During the stage-spectacular (if you will), we’re treated to costume changes, synchronised dancing and sax solos. One minute the matching Bangin’ Rackettes are crooning blues in Vicious Cycle, the next minute they’re go-go dancing in Baby Caught The Bus. While the spectacle is electrifying, the spine and allure of the group is Browne. She’s warm yet ballsy, with an enormous voice that could move mountains. Much like her supports, Browne’s feisty alter ego demands the room, hinting of a duet – ”tonight is all about tough bitches!” – before Puru surprises us from the crowd to sing a thrilling verse of You Don’t Owe Me Nothing. The steady-swagger of She Plays Up To You along with Aeroplane, I’ll Be Fine and Love Letter have the packed-room whistling and jiving before the encore Frankie caps off the night. Ladies and gentlemen, the stakes have been raised. Madeleine O’Gorman
ARCH ENEMY
BILLBOARD: 01/05/2012 Tonight’s Arch Enemy show is the last of a short Asian and Australian tour. Before the band appear the stage is bathed in light from three very bright LED video screens, and colourful messages of rebellion, images of conflict and art from latest album Khaos Legions flash across the screens as the introduction of Khaos Overture blares forth from the front of house speakers. The near-capacity crowd crackles with energy as the screen images ramp up the anticipation and,
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when the razor-sharp riffs of Yesterday Is Dead And Gone erupt, the show opens with a bang. Pint-sized blonde screamer Angela Gossow takes the stage in skin-tight black leather pants, a black jacket adorned with anarchy symbols and a black tank top daubed with the words ‘Resist, Rebel, Reclaim’ in white font, summing up the show’s theme of rebellion. Gossow has a larger than life presence, prowling the stage as her demonic vocals tear through the speakers, but the musical anchor of the band is Michael Amott. His lead guitar parts are flawless, fluid and precise. The melodic lines he wrings from his guitar provide colour and contrast to the onslaught of Gossow’s aggressive vocals and the pummelling assault of the band and are a massive part of Arch Enemy’s sound. Whether ripping out lead lines full of feel and emotion or chopping out heavy rhythm parts alongside hulking bassist Sharlee D’Angelo, Amott makes it look easy and is one of the best guitar players in metal. Arch Enemy have their pacing down pat, knowing exactly when to pause then forge ahead again, keeping the energy up. Gossow has the stage to herself when they take a couple of brief breaks and she thanks the crowd for being out late on a weeknight and, “Not giving a fuck about tomorrow!” Gossow says she wants us all at work the next day with our necks sore and heads slumped from head banging. In keeping with the overriding theme, she then whips up the crowd by condemning world leaders. She asks if we like ours, and in answer to our negative reaction proclaims all politicians to be “cheating, lying cunts!” Fist pumping, horn throwing and roars of approval predictably ensue. During the high energy set there are some good individual performances, with Daniel Erlandsson’s short and punchy drum solo featuring lightning-fast tom rolls and bass drum work. Likewise, new boy Nick Cordle’s guitar solo after Dead Eyes See No Future allows him a chance to shine. Cordle suits the band extremely well and his playing rivals that of Amott. Both guitarists have excellent tone and work together seamlessly, as their harmonising leads during No Gods, No Master demonstrate. After an encore of Snow Bound, Nemesis and Fields Of Desolation, Arch Enemy return to the stage to take a group bow, throw out guitar picks and shake hands with the hardcore fanatics still gathered at the barrier. Tonight’s show is a killer performance by a band in great form. James O’Toole INPRESS • 39
CHAMPAGNE’S REAL LIVE MAY RESIDENCY
ANN OMINOUS & LEATHER LOCKLEAR
Daniel Champagne launches his exciting new record Real Live, which captures the energy and spirited atmosphere of his live performance, honed over more than four years on the road. Brilliant live performances here and internationally have seen him sell thousands of albums at shows and festivals around the world. His phenomenal guitar abilities often make him sound more like a three-piece band than a solo performer, pushing the instrument beyond its boundaries, and his now signature explosion of two-hand tapping, body percussion and fiery runs in a variety of different tunings, alongside sublime jazzy finger picking and tasteful improvisation have become hallmarks of his impressive live shows. He commences a Tuesday May residency at the Toff with special guest Ainslie Wills.
SOL NATION AT BAR OPEN OFF THE PERCH
The Perch Creek Family Jugband will be bidding farewell to Australian shores at the Toff In Town next Thursday 17 May. At the end of the month these ambitious siblings will be checking in their banjo, saw, washboard, and all the rest of their junk on a flight to Germany, where they will commence their Europe/UK tour, taking in Denmark, Switzerland, England, Ireland, Scotland and France. To say goodbye to Melbourne, The Perch Creek mob will be putting on a massive show at the Toff In Town. Get along dressed in your old-timey bests and help to send them merrily on their way. Support will be by The Quarry Mountain Dead Rats and The Fletcher. Tickets are $15 at the door or $10+BF presale.
THAT’S RICH, DAVIES
This Friday at the Retreat, Rich Davies & The Devil’s Union take to the stage. They tell bleak tales of murder, ghosts, demons and pain, on a dark backdrop inspired by alt.country, folk, swampy rock and acoustic balladry. Haunting piano lines, mournful pedal steel and lush string arrangements augment Davies’ stark songwriting and impassioned vocal delivery, which echoes the tones of Bruce Springsteen, Nick Cave and Win Butler (Arcade Fire). Catch them for free from 9.30pm, with support from Max Savage & The False Idols.
SNOOKS LA VIE FOLLOWS UP
Credited for his soulful vocals and authentic delivery of the harmonica, Snooks La Vie has quietly secured the endorsement of the Australian music industry and proudly counts many contemporaries including Troy Cassar-Daley, Renee Geyer and Ross Wilson as fans. Snooks is back in Victoria this month to do another string of free gigs to follow up from his album launch tour. The shows will feature Nick Kipridis on guitar and Melbourne’s very own Backwood Creatures as the backing band. Snooks plays the Retreat on Friday 18 May with support from The Bell St Delays. It’s free from 9.30pm.
NEVER A BAD SHOW
Fresh from a packed-out national tour with his English folkie mate Seth Lakeman, Carus Thompson is looking forward to finally having the time to visit some regional Victorian towns that he hasn’t been to for a while. He never puts on a bad show and he’s bound to make the winter blues go away… at least for a little while. He plays Thursday 10 May at Karova Lounge (Ballarat), Sunday 13 at the Marong Family Hotel, Friday 25 at the Loft in Warrnambool and Saturday 26 at Martian’s Cafe in Deans Marsh.
SHELLEY SHORT SHARES HER SONGS
After launching their brand new single Every Reason in New Caledonia in December 2011 and to a packed out crowd at the Northcote Social Club not long ago, Sol Nation are back at Bar Open playing two consecutive Fridays on 11 and 18 May. The band will bring their melting pot of reggae, a dash of East Timorese folk song, a punch of Cuban salsa, a sprinkle of Latin dance, three parts Afro-beat, two parts tropical island rhythm, and a sprinkle of Brazilian samba all to the dance floor. On stage, they are a true miasma of cultures, sizes, colours and languages, and with the help of a strong global conscience and a loyal and supportive fan base, Sol Nation have created one of the most exuberant, charismatic, intoxicating and exciting live shows in Australia today. It starts at 10pm with free entry.
ATTACK OF THE MANNEQUINS AT CHERRY
Attack Of The Mannequins continue their residency at Cherry Bar tonight, with help from special support act Overdrive and DJ Jack ‘Bitter Sweet Kicks’ Davies spinning tunes until 3am. Go on, get your dose of industrial fashion rock from the Freud brothers. After all, it’s free entry.
A native of Portland, Oregon, songwriter/singer Shelley Short grew up among characters and artists in a wood-heated home full of books, records, and well-cooked meals. She likens it to living through a range of eras and times, from old-fashioned living, to being influenced by ‘50s musicians and recalling the glamour of the ‘60s. Surrounded by laughter and talk as she fell asleep, it was a strange experience once she moved out and it became a lot quieter. Her music reflects all of her. Shelley Short plays the Retreat Hotel tonight from 8.30pm. Entry is free.
GOING ON A SOUL SAFARI
This Thursday at Cherry Bar, nine-piece grime and soul act from Melbourne Soul Safari are playing a live set. DJs Vince Peach and Pierre Baroni are also lending their talented hands afterwards. Entry is only $10 from 8pm until 5am.
FRIDAY CHERRY CREW
KATE MARTIN ALBUM LAUNCH
This Friday at Cherry Bar, Tone Deaf presents Young Maverick (who play indie pop with a hint of that Smiths grief), The Corsairs and The Plains with DJ Gringo and later on DJ Lucy Arundel until 5am. Doors open at 5pm and entry’s $13 from 8 to 11pm, then $10 until 5am.
On the tour for her debut album, Townsville’s Kate Martin and her band almost got into a scary car accident. Despite this experience on her first national tour, and after two years of recording a new album, Martin is going back on the road in support for new release Hand Me My Bow & Arrow. Joining her will be Ben Wells & The Middle Names. As well as playing supports to such acts as Art vs Science, San Cisco, The Jungle Giants, Little Red and Passenger, Ben Wells & The Middle Names were selected by triple j’s Unearthed to perform at Falls Festival Marion Bay 2011, the band’s second year to perform on the main stage, having been selected by Falls to open the year before. Catch them at the Toff this Thursday.
JOSH MORIARTY
THE CORNISH ARMS’ GROUSE PARTY
Grouse Party is all about double-trouble this Friday at the Cornish Arms. Heading into May, the time of the Gemini, the sign of the twins, this month’s party features Twinset DJ sets, including real deal biological twins, The Gryffydd Twins (Acid Casualty, Hissey Miyake). Plus some close-enough likenesses, Doppelgängstaz, and Ann Ominous (Grouse) vs Leather Locklear (Danceteria). Entry is $10 on the door, and the gig starts at 9pm.
ZOE KEATING’S TUNES AT THE TOFF
San Franciscan Zoë Keating, a one-woman orchestra who completely transcends this world with her music, will be playing at the Toff on Wednesday 30 May. Keating will tour using a cello and a foot-controlled laptop to record layer upon layer of cello, creating intricate, haunting and compelling music. Throughout the US and Europe, she is known for both her use of technology – which she uses to sample her cello on stage – and for her DIY ethic which has resulted in the sale of over 45,000 copies of her self-released albums and a devoted social media following with over 1.3 million Twitter followers.
BAD-ASS SHOW AT BENDIGO
After a string of awesome shows, System Of Venus join forces with hard rockers Heaven The Axe, Bad Karma and Kong Fuzi this Saturday for a night of tunes grooves and moves that will set the Bendigo Hotel on fire. Doors are at 8pm so get there early to get your money’s worth of bands, even though entry is only $10.
TREK TREK TO TEK TEK
FRASER A GORMAN RESIDENCY AT THE RETREAT
Every Thursday in May, Fraser A Gorman and his full band will be the resident country rock’n’rollers at the Retreat Hotel. From a recent bout of great shows at Queenscliff Music Festival, Port Fairy Folk Festival and Boogie Festival, they’re now playing for free and for fun. This week’s support is from Cottonbud, featuring members of The Immigrant Union. The show kicks off at 9pm. 40 • INPRESS
Tek Tek Ensemble, formerly known as Croque Monsieur, are a revitalised anthropological dance band consisting of guitars, trumpet, trombone, violins, percussion, double bass, piano accordion, and the human voice. Tek Tek Ensemble create hybridisations of most of the world’s music incorporating a startling variety of ethnographic and popular genres. The encyclopaedic repertoire of the ensemble is bound by the strict yet simple stipulation of danceability. As long as it has a fever of unbridled festivity, Tek Tek Ensemble play it. Check them out Mondays in May at the Toff. This week’s special guest is Mikelangelo playing solo.
SUNDAY SING-ALONG AT CHERRY
This Sunday at Cherry Bar, Cherry Blues is happening from 2 to 7pm, and then it’s Chris Russell’s Chicken Walk (Americana blues country from Melbourne best describes him) with Dean Muller playing their residency. Plus, you’ve also got DJ Max Crawdaddy. All of this is completely free.
PULL A HAMMY
The Salvos have long been known for their work with Melbourne’s youth, with engagement through music being an integral part in connecting with them and providing them with a creative outlet. The Salvos are now partnering with socially-minded bands across Melbourne to create a positive venue called The Hammy, a booze- and drug-free live music venue open every Friday night, where people can listen to live music, in a fun and safe environment. With the help of Josh Moriarty, lead singer from Miami Horror and special guests, the Salvos will launch the Hammy with a bang this Friday 11 May. Doors open from 10pm ‘til late.
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HUSK MAKE NOISE
Husk are heavy prog rockers who were spawned from the bowels of Ringwood in the south east of Melbourne. Their reputation for putting on wild and unpredictable live shows has seen them share the stage with many highly respected Australian artists such as Karnivool, Grinspoon, Calling All Cars and Electric Mary. Husk sound like all your fave ‘90s big dirty rock bands in a blender with brand new sparkly amps, mixed with their personal influnces of petty theft, sleeping in, tax evasion, regicide, hair spray, cheesing, plastic surgery, hobbits, plumpkins and classic English literature. They’ll be gracing the Noise Bar stage this Saturday 12 May with support from Refield, Fenian, Thrasher Jynx and Inedia.
PERMIT No. 12/768 INPRESS • 41
SPERMAIDS TOTE RESIDENCY
Spermaids don’t mess around. Having formed less than a year ago, the two-piece from NZ have gigged relentlessly and released a unique EP that walks the line between playful experimentation and outright aggression. Their live performances are full of tension as the two-pice they trigger samples, loops and effects – creating a cacophony. They are playing every Wednesday at the Tote this May and are supported tonight by Lazerface and Stockades. MISERABLE LITTLE BASTARDS
WASTE NOT, WANT NOT
Waste Management presents the Totally Wasted Management party at the John Curtin Hotel this Saturday 12 May, featuring all the bands, acts, folks and jokes of this interesting community of people who are affiliated one way or another with this fine local independent label, home to such Melbourne bands as Clinkerfield and The Miserable Little Bastards. The party has been pulled together by ringleader Jimmy Stewart on the eve of his departure to the USA for two months. For $10 see a bunch of acts perform across the whole pub with early jams in the front bar, crossing over into late shows in the upstairs bandroom until well past the midnight hour. Acts playing include Clinkerfield, Miserable Little Bastards, The Steins, Jimmy Stewart and DJ Emma Peel, with a performance of While The Mountain Waits, the theatre show by Josh Cameron, Pete Ewing and Ed Service, with collaborations from The MLBs.
THE DARLING DOWNS ON SUNDAY The Darling Downs are Kim Salmon and Ron Peno playing country-flavoured songs and they’re doing it every Sunday in May at the Old Bar. They’ve even been working on some new ones for this residency. How about that? Hear them from 8pm every Sunday with some killer supports for a measly $8. Bam.
PALM SPRINGS UP AT THE OLDY Monday nights in May at the Old Bar, Palm Springs will play her first ever shows. This new project is the solo endeavour of a tripartisan player (one part Poor People, one part Harmony, one part Zombirds) and takes inspiration from minimal blues/folk in the vein of Jessie Mae Hemphill, Karen Dalton and Scout Niblett. Each night will take a new turn as Palm Springs will be backed by the alternating supporting artists of the evenings: Extreme Wheeze, Adam Sherry, Lehmann B Smith and Orchestra Lax to name a few. Collaborations will be encouraged, the blues will be hollered and maybe you can play the tambourine.
CHRIS RUSSELLS SOME FEATHERS Having wowed audiences at the Clarksdale, Mississippi Juke Joint Festival in April where they shared the stage with Kenny Brown, LC Ulmer, Lightnin’ Malcom and Old Gray Mule, Chris Russell’s Chicken Walk returns to Australia and the Old Bar every Wednesday in May. Featuring Handsome Dean Muller on drums, Chris Russell’s Chicken Walk play rollicking, hypnotic North Mississippi hill country blues with support from Jimmy Stewart (Clinkerfield), Bob Harrow (Immigrant Union), Guy Kable and a host of others. Beat the winter blues with some Mississippi heat from Chris Russell’s Chicken Walk.
ELIZA HULL LAUNCHES DAWN On Thursday 31 May, Melbourne songstress Eliza Hull will be celebrating the release of her debut EP Dawn at the Toff with a full band and special guests. A truly passionate creation three years in the making, Dawn’s seven tracks are resplendent with truth and heart. The EP’s lush arrangements, featuring strings and horns, give a nod to ‘90s electronica while maintaining a distinct and enveloping warmth. Dawn will be available on iTunes and through all good record stores from Friday 18 May. Joining Eliza and with a stunning new track of her own to launch, I Understand, Sophie Koh will grace the stage with her live band, showcasing an array of new songs from her upcoming album Oh My Garden due for release in July. 42 • INPRESS
OKERA AND HYPNO5E TOGETHER AT THE TOTE
SUN SHINES
Brunswick’s finest psych-rockers Buried Feather launch In The Sun, the first offering from their forthcoming LP, at the Grace Darling on Saturday 19 May. Recorded live-to-tape with Neil Thomason at Head Gap, In The Sun is slightly out of left-field for a band known for dark, spaced-out sludge. Anchored on an up-tempo kick and snare pattern, the song features the band’s hallmarks – fuzzedout guitars, swirling synth chords, vocals drowned in tape delay – condensed to a squelchy stomp. B-side Magnetized refreshes the opening track from their limited-release demo, capturing the hypnotic, sluggish groove that made the band a favourite with RRR legend Stephen “The Ghost” Walker. Joined by friends The Ovals and Heavy Beach, this will be one awesome night of fuzzy rock’n’roll.
CAM BUTLER’S MULTIMEDIA ALBUM LAUNCH
Save My Soul (Symphony No 3) is the follow up album to Cam Butler’s album of 2008, Dark Times (Symphony No 2). Featuring a true symphonic line-up of a 23-piece string section, orchestral harp, timpani and percussion, drums, acoustic guitars and solo electric guitar, the result is the finest example yet of Butler’s orchestral vision to combine modern electric guitar techniques and sound with string orchestras. In order to present Save My Soul live, Butler enlisted the help of four film makers (plus himself) to make a video to accompany each of the five tracks on the album. The combination of each of these directors’ visions with the music of Save My Soul is a true, immersive, multi- media experience. Witness the multi-media launch concerts at the Northcote Uniting Church on Saturday 19 and Theatre Royal on Saturday 26 May.
Okera head a strong line-up of four at the Tote this Friday. Their sound could best be described as melodic death/doom metal, though they certainly don’t limit themselves to one genre. Progressive elements blend with melancholic overtones and subtle, dark passages to create music that is emotive, powerful and elegant. The band’s debut album A Beautiful Dystopia will be released on Friday. Supporting them are Hypno5e. Intense as they are ambient, the French artistic metal act are a very unique band in the heavy music genre. With an intense live performance that offers technicality, depth and virtuosity, Hypno5e are touring to celebrate their new album Acid Mist Tomorrow. Also supporting on the night are folk metallers Arbrynth and melodic death/doom metallers Myridian
BAD ACHES DEBUT AND RESIDENCY
Having already supported the likes of MOTO, Ty Segall and Guitar Wolf, local garage punk trio Bad Aches are about to release their first 7” record Hypochondriac which coincides with their first residency every Saturday afternoon in May in the Tote front bar. This Saturday Bad Aches are supported by Late Arvo Sons and, Big Richard Insect from South Australia.
THE STEVENS TAKE THE GASO
Having sold out their new EP, The Stevens are about to take over the Gaso on Thursdays in May with an assortment of excellent bands. With their ultra catchy indie pop The Stevens have deservedly become one of the next Melbourne bands to keep an eye on. Joining them tomorrow are Full Ugly, Dane Certificate and Passion Fruit. Entry to the show is free.
BEAT ON
In the 1980s Paul Collins formed The Beat and created the formidable power pop albums The Beat and The Kids Are The Same. Those releases are still noted today as the power pop album templates from that era. Collins has continued to ply his trade over the decades touring in the US and Europe garnering a successful underground reputation. Colllins’ dedicated Fender Strat style, power pop guitar sound, iconic vocal rasps combined with his keen sense of intuitive songwriting is the backdrop for a great live rock show that will get your feet tapping, your fingers clicking and will jog some happy memories. Collins plays this Saturday at the Tote with Wolfy & The Bat Cubs, Richard Lane and Glenn Morris.
BARON SAMADHI FOR THE LAST TIME
For the last 11 years Baron Samadhi has toured their unique genre-defying grooves around the country. With dozens of tours, hundreds of gigs and thousands of flute solos under their belts, it’s finally time to say goodbye to the Baron. They’ll be playing one last intimate show at Bar Open on Sunday 20 May, coating the walls with their seven-piece, horn heavy, dangerously spicy blend of disco, soul, dancehall, funk and jazz. Baron Samadhi brings the party for the last time with two one-hour sets.
METAL BILL UPSTAIRS AT THE GASOMETER
There will be three heavy-hitters tomorrow (Thursday) upstairs at the Gasometer. I, Valiance drop progressive metallic stylings with hints of stalwarts like Parkway Drive and Culprits will be showcasing their Every Time I Die-esque dynamic songwriting punctuated with varying amounts of chaos, groove, technicality and heaviness. Having impressed at their debut show with their frantic stage presence, their recently completed demo is a testament of things to expect from these newcomers. Closing the night will be the hate-inspired death metal of The Seraphim Veil. Hailing from Melbourne’s South-Eastern suburbs, these boys are quickly proving to be a force on the extreme music circuit. With a new vocalist and debut EP tracking nearly finished, this Fleshgod Apocalypse-influenced act will hit hard.
THORNBURY THEATRE SOUL SESSIONS
The Thornbury Soul Sessions #2 will be bringing the funk to the Thornbury Theatre Friday 18 May. Featuring three of Melbourne’s most sought after soul acts and Australia’s number one Soul DJ (Vince Peach) this is one night that lovers of groove should note down. The Cactus Channel is a ten-piece funk orchestra straight out of Princes Hill High School in inner city Melbourne. Still in their teens, these kids are burning down original breaks and busting out funk originals with a musical maturity exceeding their years. Hiatus Kaiyote is a unique musical creature of Melbourne’s underground. Their sound encompasses future hip hop, soul nostalgia, flamenco dreamscapes to dubstep opera. Also playing are The Putbacks. Tickets are around $20 and doors are at 8pm.
PRINCE WARM-UP PARTY
Let’s go crazy! Let’s get nuts! The tiny purple paisley king of raunch himself, Prince, is about to hit town so Yah Yah’s decided to celebrate by throwing a party showcasing his stellar career. It’s on this Friday night from 11pm upstairs at Yah Yah’s. Dress up Prince-style and get a discount on entry (think diamonds, pearls, raspberry beret, purple, paisley; the possibilities are endless). DJs will be spinning Prince hits plus much more from dusk ‘til dawn. Entry is $10 or $8 if you dress up.
THE MAESTRO AT NEW GUERNICA
The Maestro is a well-deserved moniker for a man that is highly regarded worldwide and seasoned with a diverse music foundation. He is the unrivalled ‘dancers’ DJ’. Experience ‘The Maestro’ Timmy Regisford in Melbourne with Chris NG, Mike Steva and Kris Naum, this Friday at New Guernica. Doors will open at 10pm with limited first release tickets available for $35 through promoters, DMC Records, Profile Music and Moshtix.
LITTLE WISE AT THE CURTIN LINDSAY PHILLIPS’ FAREWELL SHOW
Melbourne native folk artist Lindsay Phillips celebrates the release of his sophomore record Taedium Vitae, and bids farewell to these shores with a show at the Toff on Wednesday 16 May. The new album captures Phillips at his creative peak, and in turn, his live performances have mutated into an equally spellbinding and captivating sermon of sorts. But alas, he relocates to Scandinavia shortly and this will be his final Australian show for the foreseeable future. Guests are Roller One and Pinto and doors are at 7.30pm.
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Melbourne outfit Little Wise’s work delves in the world of emotive, broody folk-roots tunes and uplifting ballads. Their compositions are laden with catchy guitar hooks, melodic undercurrents and warm vocals. Frontowman Sophie Klein and her pals hold a beautiful ability to stir up visceral memories of great Australian story-tellers like Paul Kelly, filling those gaps of the heart by resonating with The Waifs, Angus and Julia Stone and Holly Throsby. Little Wise live shows sway between energetic and calming, and demonstrate accomplished musicianship via a variety of instruments that include guitars, banjo, mandolin, harmonica and stomp-box. Don’t miss their Launch for debut EP Moments Of Clarity at the Curtin on Wednesday 30 May. Support acts are Lauren Glezer and Oh!Pep.
HAVE YOU HEARD?
SORTED FOR E&P S RED ROCKETS OF BORNEO Ham Independent
LEVITATING CHURCHES PLAY THE GRACE DARLING THIS SATURDAY 12 MAY. How did you get together? Matthew Johnstone, guitar/vocals: My previous band Helter Skelter ground to an unmotivated halt so I got busy and wrote a bunch of new songs, hooked up with Dave on drums and started work on Levitating material. Have you recorded anything or do you prefer to tool around in your bedroom? We have just released our debut 7” single that we recorded in Dave’s lounge and are currently working on a 12” album that we will release ourselves on my No Squares Or Hippies label. We have no plans on releasing our music on CD and if you go to my Bandcamp page (mattalien.bandcamp. com) you can download our music for free. Can you sum up your band’s sound in four words? Post-proto garage skronk! If you could support any band in the world, who would it be and why? I would love to support Saint Vitus but my bandmates may disagree. If a higher power smites your house and you can only save one record from the fire, what would it be? An original pressing of Starting Over by Dwarr – still can’t believe I managed to track it down. Do you have a lucky item of clothing you wear for gigs and what is it? My lucky item of clothing is a Gibson SG. If you invited someone awesome ‘round for dinner what would you cook? Jesus… I would probably hand that honour over to my girlfriend as her cooking is rad and mine is pretty basic! What’s your favourite place to drink in Melbourne? Alcohol = Prudence. Coffee = Woolly Bully.
DOUBLEBLACK/RAMSHACKLE ARMY THIS FRIDAY Doubleblack and Ramshackle Army are back from a break to face off in a double header at the Gaso this Friday. Marlon from Doubleback has been travelling the world, Ramshackle have been tearing it up in the US and they are pumped and ready to fire. Workinghorse Irons and the Prostitute Killers round out what is sure to be a filthy Friday line-up.
With a rock’n’roll sound that includes rockabilly, punk and ‘60s/‘70s influences, this EP’s full of fun. Just when you think opener Who’s To Say is over, BAM! – a surprise reprise hits you in the face. At less than two minutes in length and filled with cheeky riffs and a bunch of swagger, Ready Made is an appropriate song to airthrust to. Vocalist Jean Philippe Lopez shows off his ability to switch between high shrieks and low purrs in Get Down To It, with its roaring guitar solo and spitfire drumming. The band launch the EP at Northcote Social Club this Friday.
RUFUS Rufus
Gigpiglet At the top of the crop of Australia’s dance/ electronic music are Rufus. Their pop sensibilities infused with a freshness and originality often missing from their genre make for another solid EP. This Summer, (and in fact, all of their songs) is a nuanced track that focuses on a strong – if not repetitive – vocal melody and steady beat with carefully placed layers. In highlight Droplets, the synth tones do sound like droplets – with dull bass-end thuds and tinkling treble – until the space-rave breakdown comes in. The dark piano This Summer (Outro) concludes the EP perfectly.
EP REVIEWS WITH STEPHANIE LIEW ROUSSEMOFF R(Live.01) Independent
For a trio, Roussemoff really know how to create full and encapsulating noise. In this live EP, there is little to no structure; it’s how the instruments are played rather than what they’re playing that’s the focal point. Accurately selfdescribed as experimental, minimalist psychedelic metal, there’s not a lot of melody. However, the way the steady, persistent low drones of guitar, eerie, buzzing basslines and sinister drums combine make your hair stand up. In Succulent, the instruments fire like pistols in sync, and listening to Slow Numbers is like walking down stairs blindfolded.
BEN WELLS & THE MIDDLE NAMES House, Come Home
STELLA ANGELICO & THE SWITCH Self-titled
Ben Wells and band play delightful indie pop, and they play it well. From the drum intro of opener Robin Hood, which leads into a perky guitar riff, as drum and bass complete with joyous backing shouts, topped off with a brilliant a capella bridge, the EP impresses. A Good Read is the token dramatic piano song, made more urgent by interspersed electric guitar wails. Hey! is an insanely fun, sunny song about having fun. The band play at the Toff tonight and Pure Pop Records this Friday.
Doused in retro vibes, Stella Angelico and band’s EP captures a live sound quality; you can just imagine Angelico shimmying under the spotlight on stage. Her rich and robust voice and confident, sassy attitude is on constant display, through the jazzy and sexy Mister, the lively Little Boy, sultry and soulful Lipstick with its hi-hat excellence, and boppy, rhythm-heavy, hand-clap-happy Come Around. Most movingly, Crying In The Car, is delivered masterfully through controlled and emotive vocals.
Judging from the title track and single’s polished production, jungle beat and tropical tones, one would be forgiven for thinking the EP would comprise similar bright, boppy numbers. It doesn’t. From the short but stirring Parade Song, the angelic choir intro of I Am A Traveller, vocal flourishes in Erik and chiming piano in Diamond In The Rough, Mitchell hasn’t strayed too far from the raw, earnest and inquisitive sound that made her debut album Wonder such a success. Still, Spiritus is an exciting preview of what’s next.
REV JESSE CUTTER ARRIVE IN MELBOURNE
PONY DRAWS THE BLOODPOETS
Rev Jesse Custer are a tight and brutal noise/ grindcore band from Canberra. Originally taking their name from the protagonist in The Preacher comic book series they are on their way to Melbourne to turn heads. They play upstairs at the Gasometer this Saturday. Joining them are no noise vagrants Dead, Wicked City, Goon Soaked Rag and Batpiss.
The Bloodpoets play Pony on Friday in support of their new single War. Album number two for the band is in the works, pushing a raw and high-energy sound, encapsulating the essence of their live show. The songs will be a mix of light and shade while still maintaining catchy hooks. War has been played on triple j and is out now on iTunes. Yet the live arena is still where they are at their best, so if you haven’t had the chance to experience their live set or want to experience it again, this show is your chance. The Bloodpoets will be joined in Melbourne by The Fighting with their succinct prog-induced rock formulated with a keen dose of amplified power and Kristian Risti, whose blend of piano and vocals effortlessly connect with those in the audience.
Independent
Independent
BAD ACHES LAUNCH HYPOCHONDRIAC Local garage-punk trio Bad Aches are releasing their limited edition, debut 7” Hypochondriac this Friday, launching it upstairs at the Gasomter with Tyrannamen, Big Richard Insect (Adelaide) and Guy & Marcus Blackman Experimentations. Hypochondriac is a limited edition release with only 300 copies available. 100 copies will be available in red wax and 200 in classic black wax. Each sleeve is individually hand numbered and lovingly silk screen printed, so no two copies are exactly alike.
MINING BOOM ON MOTHER’S DAY This Sunday is significant for two reasons; firstly it’s the day we give a much deserved salute to those owners of prime amniotic real estate, the mothers of the world. More importantly, it will also mark the first headlining gig for Mining Boom, a new project featuring former members of French & McCarthy. They are playing the Gasometer with support from Kieran Ryan (Kid Sam) and Laffer, it’s sure to be the perfect dessert to cap off an extended brunch.
MOTH LANDS AT PONY Doom meets thrashing, stoner metal tomorrow (Thursday) as, Moth, hits Pony with support from doom merchants Of The Rising and sludge masters Motherslug. Moth mix early Clutch-style heavy stoner grooves with unbelievably furious vocals and complex rhythms. Of The Rising are bound to light up the night with their honest delivery of rage. Motherslug are a five-piece taking proto-doom, merging it with up-tempo stoner and down-tuned drone to make a unique cacophony of megalithic proportions. Catch them at Pony before they seclude themselves away in a mountain retreat to record their first album. The alternative three-piece Club Crain, and Geek Pie play the late slots tomorrow.
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LISA MITCHELL Spiritus Warner
PANCAKE PARLOUR The Black Pancake Club is where DJs bring in their treasured record collections to share with yaw’ll. Expect undiscovered nuggets, lost gems, far-out covers, Moog-inspired themes and a host of other eclectic delicacies and toppings for your black pancakes! Every Thursday at the Lounge with DJs Ms Butt and Japeye. Free entry from 10pm.
INPRESS • 43
SOUND(PROOF) FUTURE St Kilda’s Pure Pop Records may be one of Melbourne’s smallest venues, but it’s also one of our best. After noise complaints from neighbours, owner Dave Stevens has organised a star-studded benefit gig to pay for renovations to soundproof the venue. Nic Toupee reports. Raise The Roof has the potential to be another mythical evening in Pure Pop’s gig history, to add to the many Stevens and his regulars can already list. Pure Pup regular Charlie Jenkins remembers some classic St Kilda identities both on and off the stage.
It’s a brave, brave, venture, in the 21st century, wired as we are to our couch-shopping, to run a bona fide old-school flip-through-the-racks record shop. Full respect to all the mad souls running Melbourne record stores, who continue to entice music lovers out onto the street to experience buying music from knowledgeable people who love what you love. Long may it continue. Pure Pop Records in St Kilda have gone one step further in their passion for Australian music: owner Dave Stevens has been running in-store gigs for a few years, giving the lazy music lover another reason to shuffle down Acland Street and into the Pure Pop beer garden. However, like many other Melbourne venues of late, Stevens and Pure Pop have run foul of the local council and sound-sensitive residents, and are in need of a solution, pronto. “We’ve had neighbour issues for a while now,” Stevens laments, “and it became apparent that we were never going to win. So the only options were to stop having live music, or enclose and soundproof the courtyard so we could keep going. Looking into what was required it was obvious that we wouldn’t be able to afford it. So we put out the word about a benefit gig and have been overwhelmed by the response from musicians who wanted to play.” So tidal was the wave of response to Pure Pop’s idea – the gig has been dubbed Raise The Roof – that Stevens has had to reluctantly turn down artists who wanted to play. Acts performing include Stonefield, Paul Kelly, Ron S Peno & The Superstitions, Henry Wagons, Undergound Lovers, Charles Jenkins and Pony Face. “All the artists on the bill for Raise The Roof are Pure Pop regulars. The hardest thing was telling people the line-up was full. I could have put on a three-day event with the number of bands who put up their hand to play. That is very gratifying, knowing that so many Melbourne musicians value Pure Pop and what we’re trying to do down here.”
LANCELOT STORMS NEW GUERNICA
This Saturday at New Guernica, dance yourself into oblivion when Sydneysider Lancelot jumps behind the battered, old organ to prove why he’s a true local up and comer. His track Spoken Word almost streamed 20,000 times on soundcloud. The guy’s done remixes for rising star Matt Corby, Sparkadia and Faker whilst his own debut EP We Can Dance is about to have a worldwide release on LA-based label Binery. Drink specials until midnight and $15 entry.
MAGIC BONES ON SATURDAY
Early garage rock/psych influenced band The Magic Bones are set to take the stage fresh off the back of touring their self-titled debut EP. They are supported by punk/grunge band Horror My Friend from Adelaide who have had a busy month supporting DZ Deathrays and Damn Terran in Adelaide. Also playing are Pioneers Of Good Science, an instrumental duo with a monster sound, and Cataract George will kick off the night with their surf punk tunes. It is this Saturday at Pony with the rockabilly punks. The Workinghorse Irons filling the late slot.
MODS MAYDAY BRINGS THE CHORDS
The original line-up of The Chords will be gracing the Hi-Fi this Saturday. Forming in South East London in 1978, they were one of the most 44 • INPRESS
“A number of gigs by Alex Lashlie have burned themselves into my brain forever,” he says. “He is scarily good. I’ve seen Georgia Fields play some great gigs down there. I remember one night her singing ‘…I see you in black and white’ and Fred Negro chipping in from the audience ‘Go Pies!’. I’ve heard and seen so many talented people there, heard so many great songs.”
artistic guitar/drum duo are made up of Victoria Dunbar and Ary Rejon, who have joined forces to bring old school big-riff rock and swampy blues.
THE GROVES HEAD A ROCKING NIGHT AT BAR OPEN The Groves play a dirty, swampy, garageblues, citing influence from The Black Keys to The Bad Seeds. Their blues jams range from punchy to freaked out walls of noise. Ten Cent Pistols’ vintage rock sound encourages audience debauchery which is perfectly okay at Bar Open on Thursday night. Ten Cent Pistols will be chock full of crunchy guitars, lengthy instrumental passages and reverb sprinkled on everything. Opening up is Sinister Minister who are set to make a name for themselves at this gig.
SATURDAY JAZZ PARTY
Stevens has his own very long list of highlights, which he struggles to choose from. “The Swell Season were fantastic. The many appearances by Tim Rogers, Ben Salter, Charles Jenkins and Conway Savage are always great. Barry Adamson was amazing. I could go on forever.” Jenkins and Stevens are mutual admirers: Stevens raves about Jenkins’ shows, and Jenkins is quite obviously a big fan of (and benefits from, of course) the Pure Pop shop and beer garden. “Pure Pop – a place where the staff can simultaneously pour a beer and adjust the reverb on the singer’s mic is a pretty good venue,” Jenkins laughs. “Pure Pop is different, idiosyncratic, inviting, glorious hospitality… And importantly, Pure Pop offers a great place to play for so many musicians in this town, and so it is place for all of us to go and see bucket loads of performers, all the time. That’s plenty of reasons to fight to keep it open.’ Jenkins has tapped into the venue’s spirit, not only from Stevens but from the punters the place attracts.
After just rounding up their residency at Captains Of Industry, the notorious Jazz Party bring their prowess to Bar Open this Saturday. It’s a collision of screaming saxophones, busty singers and a crackling PA. Along with the resident Jazz Party DJs the house band is led by Darcy McNulty on sax and vocals, Lyn Wallace on drums and rotating horns, bassists, pianists and guest vocalists covering the broad spectrum of ‘Party Jazz’ music. They play rockabilly versions of Hank Williams, Etta James and still call it jazz.
BLACK GALAXY EXPERIENCE AT BAR OPEN Headlining this Sunday night at Bar Open are The Black Galaxy Experience, coming fresh off the launch of their self-titled EP and having
They’re all playing something that is written for them as a whole. That’s the key difference.”
Red Bull Beat Suite is designed to smash musical boundaries, bringing together two turntablists, three beatmakers, a percussionist and a 15-piece orchestra, with the added buzz of being performed for one night only at the prestigious Melbourne Recital Centre. Creating something people hadn’t seen before was the brief creative director Kano Hollamby gave himself when creating Red Bull Beat Suite and he’s understandably excited about how it’s turned out. “The original idea was a turntable orchestra,” says Hollamby. “That’s when I stepped in and said, ‘I think we can go a step better than that and actually create something that people haven’t seen or heard before’, and the idea of bringing beatmakers came into it, then the idea of bringing in the Australian Youth Orchestra. So in the field of beatmakers we’ve got the best, and the same with the AYO, they’re the guns of the classical music world.”
ALEX ANONYMOUS RESIDENCY AT REVOLVER After a successful 2011 with the release of their debut self-titled EP, Melbourne’s electro-rockers Alex Anonymous are back in 2012 with their unique brand of musical fusion. The band have spent the last six months crafting new material that is sure to get your blood pumping and feet moving. During the month of May, the band will perform a Wednesday residency at Revolver. Tonight they are joined by Lunaire, Hometown and the Driveby Epic DJs. Tickets are $7+BF or $10 on the door. Doors open at 8pm.
The ensemble also includes several special guest vocalists including Aloe Blacc and Ladi6, playing exclusive original compositions by The Raah Project’s Tamil Rogeon.
BAR OPEN GETS CHARM Charm are one of Melbourne’s young, highly charged, deafening, and down-right fun bands who have previously smashed the stages of the Prague and Ruby’s Lounge. They now come to the stage of Bar Open tonight (Wednesday), supported by The Divine Fluxus, a fresh faced bi-polar rock trio. Having just released their debut EP Chaos, The Divine Fluxus hit the stage with their loud guitars and melodic, high energy shows. The
one of the most dynamic and inventive live shows around. Breathtaker William Blaxland will get you moving through mainly mind control but also some catchy hooks and accessible sounds. Opening the door of his bedroom and taking the songs that were born there to people, Squarehead will be percolating some smooth but epic loops with his trio. It’s a free show.
The Red Bull Beat Suite is an ambitious project throwing beatmakers, turntablists and an orchestra together on stage at the Melbourne Recital Centre. Creative director Kano Hollamby explains his vision to Kate Kingsmill.
WHAT: Raise The Roof
successful groups to emerge during the British mod revival. The four-piece were a singles band to the core, notching up a string of classic and powerfully aggressive guitar-laden 45s including Maybe Tomorrow, Something’s Missing and the iconic The British Way Of Life. They are playing with legendary Australian power-pop mods, Little Murders, and The Messengers.
The experimental, electro-art instrumental practitioners Humans play their third show since forming at Pony this Friday in the coveted 2am slot. The brainchild of Spoils frontman, Sean Simmons, and inner-city Casanova, Chris Chapple, Humans are far from the orchestrated beauty of The Spoils’ dark romanticism. Swapping violin, piano, and vocals for an ‘80s drum machine, analogue synth, sampler and one guitar, Humans are a trip through electronica’s more primitive underbelly with nods toward artists like Suicide, Silver Apples and the great Kraut acts of the ‘70s.
SUITE DREAMS
“At Pure Pop I discovered this sense of community that I incorrectly assumed had long moved out, escaping the rent hikes and the developers. And it’s a great place to play, it sounds great, and the crowd keeps you on your toes, I’ve been either blanked or feted depending on the song at hand. and I’ve got more new sales down there than anywhere else, as strangers wander in and embrace the place.”
WHEN & WHERE: Friday 11 May, Prince Bandroom
HUMANS SLOT IN LATE AT PONY
Combining DJing with strings is itself not a new idea: Jay-Z did it, Bjork has done it, and so have the Hilltop Hoods. But Hollamby’s vision was to take the cultural clash a step further, creating a new relevance for both sides of the musical spectrum. “We’re flipping it by writing a piece for everyone who’s on stage,” Hollamby explains. “So that piece of music is purposefully written for everyone on stage, as much for the string section as for everyone else. So there might be a part that’s written for a violin player that’s also having a conversation with a turntablist on stage.
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Hollamby first began his creative partnership with Red Bull when he participated in the 2004 Rome incarnation of the Red Bull Academy, a prestigious world-travelling series of music workshops and festivals that has been running since 1998. “My world is from the DJ background and producing and beatmaking,” says Hollamby. “So I’ve handpicked all the DJs and beatmakers.” When the idea of bringing strings to the project came about, Tamil Rogeon of True Live and The Raah Project was the obvious choice to bring on as co-musical director. “Tamil’s realm is classical, and combining that with hip hop. Mixing genres, that’s totally his world,” says Hollamby, who chose the beatmakers because of their musical training outside of DJing and beatmaking, giving them an affinity with the traditional musicians on the stage. A lot of thought also went into the location of the event. “I thought it was important to put it on a really prestigious concert hall stage. Why should beatmakers and DJs not be on that stage?” Why not, indeed? These guys’ credentials are enormous. DJ Perplex is best known for winning three back-to-back DMC titles in 2006, 2007 and 2008, Daltron co-wrote two tracks for Speech Debelle’s 2009 Mercury Prize-winning album Speech Therapy, and Galapagoose recently released his debut LP to a big underground response. The show will also feature the talents of Amin Payne, Scratch 22, Ladi6 and Ryan Ritchie. Enness Studios are creating an interactive visual display using their award-winning projection mapping technologies, and the whole thing will stream around the world via YouTube. “We have a bunch of genres that we’ve worked in, so hip hop and regatron and house and dubstep and soul and bossanova,” says Hollamby. “It’s going to be like a really great mixtape, but it’s not on a cassette or a CD, it’s for one night in a concert hall.” WHAT: Red Bull Beat Suite WHEN & WHERE: Saturday 12 May, Melbourne Recital Centre
REVOLVER FACES METAL ASSAULT
LIFE’S A GAS Local rockers Gasoline Inc party just as hard as they play, so we couldn’t turn them down when they offered to keep a diary of their recent tour with kiwis The Feelers for us.
Four ferocious metal acts from Melbourne arrive at Revolver tomorrow. From thrash to groove to melodic to prog, Inebriator, Internal Nightmare, Arbia and Naberus will feed your metallic habit with their chaotic sounds. Doors open at 8pm with tickets priced at $10 on the door.
SINGLE FOCUS
ROPE-A-DOPE
Money For Rope’s crazed rock’n’soul surf garage parties always transform a stoic and cynical crowd into an exuberant force on par with the band’s own rabid energy. The jaw-dropping energy of two drumkits, two guitars, a bass, four voices and keys command the response of an electrified room. Money For Rope will be bringing their electrifying show to the Curtin on Friday 18 May, celebrating the release of their new single. Adding to the party vibes will be the explosively catchy rock‘n’roll of Royston Vasie and The Staffords.
BEACH BABES
READY, SET GO
This is it! It felt like we’d been waiting and rehearsing for this tour forever. We all met at Jason’s house, and left at 7pm – all extremely excited and in good spirits! It was only a five-and-a-half hour drive to Wagga Wagga, where we would stay for the night. The drive felt short as we were all pretty amped about our first East Coast tour supporting one of New Zealand’s best bands, The Feelers. We arrived around midnight in freezing cold weather (three degrees) and crashed as we had an early start and a long drive the next day. Did I mention it was bloody cold?!
DISHY
We left Wagga Wagga early as we had a 16-hour drive ahead. It was a loooong day, with five blokes in a car driving each other nuts. Kevin Bloody Wilson made the drive a bit shorter though! A quick stop at the dish in Parkes, NSW was a rare highlight along with Jase’s ability to belch the alphabet.
TEMPO HOTEL, BRISBANE
First show of the tour and after hours in the car we were all keen to hit the stage and rock it out! Finally met The Feelers during sound check, and what a great bunch of guys they were! We knew then it was going to be a cracker of a tour, and the first show at the Tempo Hotel was a great start. Ready to pack up the gear after the show, and low and behold our road crew were nowhere to be found. Being their first time on the road the excitement got the better of them (as did the alcohol) and they ended up losing themselves in Brisbane’s labyrinth of one-way streets. The irony of it all was that they only parked a block away from the venue.
COOLY HOTEL, COOLONGATTA
We left early afternoon for the show in Coolangatta that night and immediately went for a swim in the ocean. Had a few beers before soundcheck and few whiskies after soundcheck! By the time we hit the stage we were primed and ready to fire. The crowd response was fantastic, and we had an awesome gig! Afterwards, during The Feelers’ set, Gab found a shopping trolley and thought it would be a good idea to jump in go for a spin through the crowd
Psalm Beach bring their dark, cyclical and hypnotic take on punk to the Grace Darling cellar this Friday 11 May with support from two of their favourites. Increasing power and efficiency on the night will be super punks Nervous and the post-rock noise beating of Little Killing. It’s dark down in the cellar. It’s gonna get a little darker.
(we still have no idea where he found it, and neither does he). After some crazy backstage shenanigans – including the rather revolting sight of Gab answering Hamish’s (The Feeler’s drummer) dare to drink the sweat from his gig shirt, the band stumbled back to the motel with Soof and Les dragging Gab home after he decided to have a snooze on the street. Back at the motel room the boys thought it would be fun to try the latest UFC moves on each other – not a good idea! Mick ended up dislocating Gab’s shoulder and Soof had to manipulate back into socket… all captured on video!
GREAT NORTHERN HOTEL, NEWCASTLE
BETTER OFF DREAD
Dreadnaught have been missing from the live scene in recent times and the band are currently working on new material to be recorded later in the year, as well as putting the finishing touches on their first ever live DVD release. In what will be one of the few shows for the band this year, they are performing a set of older tunes from their mid’90s releases. Catch Dreadnaught along with jazz/ metal legends Alarum, Paradigm and Envenomed at the Prague in Thornbury this Saturday 12 May.
HUMP BACK
It felt like we would never get there! It was a long drive, especially after doing a show. At times we all felt that we had lost our minds, and stopping for a leg stretch, Gab had not only lost his mind, but his clothing as well, going for a naked jog alongside the road (all captured on camera of course). At least the truck drivers saluted him with some loud horn honking. We arrived at the venue around midday, all dying for a shower and a lie down, only to be told that we could not enter our rooms until after 3pm! We decided not to go to sleep, as we felt that if we did, we would never wake up again. We thought that sore muscles and lack of sleep would affect our ability to play a good show, but we were wrong. Another cracker of a show, and once again all that time spent rehearsing had paid off! Needless to say, we slept pretty well that night, except for (you guessed it!) Gab, who had gone out to get food, not knowing that the hotel doors closed at 1.30am, and there was no getting in or out after that. Upon his return he called Soof to try and let him in only to have the alarm system triggered and security telling him off. He spent the night on the sidewalk, woken up the next morning by a laughing bunch of girls taking pictures of him – at least he had his clothes on…
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 on Wednesdays at the Lounge is your midweek stomping ground, featuring DJs Danny Silver, Manchild and Mu-Gen. Free entry from 10pm.
DOWN WITH BROWN
Brown Sugar is a super-funky party at the Lounge every Friday with Melbourne radio’s finest, including RRR’s Ennio Styles (Stylin’), PBS’s Manchild (Breakdown), Zack Rampage (Rampage) and Guy Geezey (Wax Museum). Rekerdz, jams and dope times! Leave your attitude at the door; entry is $10 from midnight.
SPLIT SECONDS – TOP FLOOR What’s the song about? It’s about a situation I found myself in on a double decker bus in London. There was a European couple on the top deck with me who were getting a little bit too physical. We were driving down Oxford Street. Seemed like a waste that they couldn’t wait ‘til they got to the hostel, and also a shame that I had to listen to their weird sex noises. Is this track from a forthcoming/existing release? It’s from our album called You’ll Turn Into Me, which is out on 7 July. How long did it take to write/record? We recorded it in about three days. The hardest part was getting the 808 to sound like an 808. They don’t sound like they normally do through pre-amps for some reason. In the end we just taped a bunch of cats together. What was inspiring you during the song’s writing and recording? The studio was right next to the beach but we did this one in winter so I was pretty inspired by our engineer’s massively offensive beard. Seriously, it was like he had bed hair on the bottom of his face. We’ll like this song if we like… Songs about buses. Do you play it differently live? We try to stay pretty faithful. Will you be launching it? Northcote Social Club on Thursday 10 May with Underlights and Windsor Thieves. For more info see: fb.com/splitsecondss
THAT EY
EYEM at the Lounge on Saturdays features residents Boogs, Hey Sam, Who and Chief and will host Melbourne’s top purveyors of club music, showcasing both local and international DJs playing the most upfront club music. Expect nothing but excellent house music all night long. And remember, clubbing happens in the EYEM. Entry is $10 from 12pm.
BAD VISION
WHO: Gasoline Inc WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 10 May, Bended Elbow, Geelong; Saturday 12, Torquay Hotel; Friday 25, Revolver
MIDNIGHT WOOLF AT GASO
Bad Vision will be opening an awesome evening of rock‘n’roll this Saturday at the Gasometer Hotel. Emerging from the swamps to headline the show are Midnight Woolf bringing you their primal beats and heathen tunes. These creatures from the black lagoon have grown legs and arms and those arms play guitars and drums and make one hell of a racket. Also along for the ride are Mass Cult who tread between mid-‘80s indie-pop and wild abandoned garage. Doors at 9pm and entry is $10.
themusic.com.au
INPRESS • 45
ROOTS DOWN
OG FLAVAS
WAKE THE DEAD
BLUES ‘N’ ROOTS WITH DAN CONDON ROOTSDOWN@TIMEOFF.COM.AU
URBAN AND R&B NEWS BY CYCLONE
HARDCORE AND PUNK WITH SARAH PETCHELL
single, GO!, featuring Karen O of Yeah Yeah Yeahs (and produced by Switch... and Q-Tip). It harks back to the tribal post-punk of Adam & The Ants and Bow Wow Wow, White big on ‘80s alternative (she loves Devo).
NELLY FURTADO NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE Have you heard the Neil Young & Crazy Horse version of Oh Susannah from their forthcoming Americana record yet? It’s too early to be making silly comments like ‘album of the year’ because as soon as you do that you’re pretty much ensuring the other tracks on the record are going to be about as good as Fork In The Road (his 2009 concept record that revolved around the electric car), but the first taste is mighty promising. The guitars sound incredible – very different to the claustrophobic (though still awesome) sound of his latest record, 2010’s Le Noise – beautiful tones and blazing lead breaks courtesy of Young and his Crazy Horse companions. It’s a bit of a different take on the classic tune, which is refreshing; particularly because he didn’t fuck it up. It might irk purists, but I get the feeling Americana might be a very special record, even more special that The Offspring’s record of the same name (sorry, couldn’t resist). Anyway, Young’s past few records have been polarising, I’m sure plenty of you have disagreed with my comments on the two recent records above, but at least we can be pretty sure it won’t be boring. Last week I had just heard whispers about Lil’ Band O’ Gold getting back to Australia in support of their new record and now it’s all been confirmed. In Melbourne they are playing three shows (seeing as they’re only playing Sydney and Melbourne that’s pretty good going), hitting the Regal Ballroom Wednesday 27 and Thursday 28 June and the Gershwin Room on Friday 29. I hate to speculate, but given that Tim Rogers and Jimmy Barnes appear on their new record Lil’ Band O’ Gold Play Fats, you can’t help but wonder if there might be some special guests getting in on the action. We’ll have to wait and see. Tickets are available now through the respective venues and their websites for $49.50+BF. Two of America’s truly fine modern songwriters are coming out to Australia very soon for a killer double-header; Simone Felice (pronounced Simon) used to be a member of the most excellent Felice Brothers but left them to form The Duke & the King in 2009 and has now released his first solo record. It’s quite good, though I will admit it took a few listens for it to sink in; it’s unique and certainly not like your regular singer/songwriter/Americana kind of record. He’s coming out with a full band in a couple of months and bringing the great Josh Ritter with him. Ritter has a bunch of really good records, including his 2010 So Runs The World Away, which is actually only getting its first Australian release on Friday 15 June. Anyway, this will be a great show and you can see it at the Corner Hotel on Wednesday 11 July and Meeniyan Town Hall on Friday 13 (Felice only). Tickets are available through lovepolice.com.au/tours right now. The relationship between controversial modern outlaw country/hellbilly artist Hank Williams III and his now former label Curb Records has never been good; likely due to the fact that Curb were solely interested in his incredible country material and none too keen on his questionable heavy metal/hardcore punk rock he produces with his band Assjack. The label finally released his horrible Hillbilly Joker record last year – eight years after its recording and against his wishes – and have just released a new collection of odds and sods called Long Gone Daddy and it is pretty damn great. Williams obviously comes from incredible stock, what with his grandfather being the godfather of country music and all, and this collection of covers and outtakes from his first two solo records Risin’ Outlaw and Lovesick, Broke & Driftin’ shows what a talent this guy is when it comes to interpreting honky tonk country tunes. Good as it is, I can’t help but feel a bit guilty about listening to it; this is the second time in as many years that Curb have released music seemingly without any consultation with Williams and it would be interesting to know Hank III’s thoughts on the matter. 46 • INPRESS
That new Santigold single, Big Hoops (Bigger The Better), is fire. Only it isn’t Santigold, but Nelly Furtado – oops. It’s funny that the Canadian star should drop a stronger Santigold song than Santigold – and with Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins. Big Hoops is subliminal dancehall with drum‘n’bass bleeding in at the end – countercultural, even today. Furtado released 2006’s Loose with Timbaland’s input, enjoying a smash in the controversial Promiscuous. She’s since slipped off the radar, last notably issuing a Spanish language LP. But in June, Furtado will deliver The Spirit Indestructible, apparently a return to her alt-oriented debut, Whoa, Nelly!. Everyone from Timbaland to Tiësto to Ryan Tedder is attached. Santigold (AKA Santi White) could do with a number like Big Hoops on her comeback, Master Of My MakeBelieve. The Philadelphia native was one of 2008’s breakthrough acts. White studied African drumming but wound up working in A&R at Epic. She proved very hands-on, penning material for the alt-soul Res, who had a minor hit with They-Say Vision. White also formed a ska-punk band, Stiffed, its bassist John Hill her future producer. Through pal Naeem Juwan, AKA Spank Rock, she met Diplo and Switch and they’d cut Creator. Signed to the indie Downtown Records, White’s solo debut, Santogold, was initially compared to MIA. More of a ‘songwriter’ than the Brit guerilla hip hopper, White soon established her own Afro-punk style, a mash-up of nu-wave, electro and dancehall. Alas, she hasn’t overcome another challenge. Many critics felt that Santogold faltered, offering little beyond Creator and LES Artistes. And Master..., while a progression, is still too repetitive. One standout has gotta be 2011’s dramatic
Master... was tricky to make. White experienced writer’s block. Her old buddies – Hill, Diplo and Switch – were busy pursuing fresh opportunities in popdom. Indeed, the Major Lazer duo of Diplo and Switch have done stuff for No Doubt – and Diplo, who helmed Usher’s Climax, is reportedly involved in a Snoop Dogg reggae project. And so she sought different studio allies, like TV On The Radio’s Dave Sitek (Theophilus London). What’s more, White’s label was integrated into Warner – and they wanted Euro club hits, suggesting she hire RedOne (Lady GaGa). White refused – and Warner nearly shelved Master... Between records, she wed boyfriend Trevor Andrew, a pro snowboarder. Master...’s theme is resistance, White inspired partly by the Occupy movement. She’s a longtime critic of reality (talent) shows. “They turned music-making into a factory line,” White told OG Flavas in 2008. “The whole business changed from being art-based to an industry-based thing.” She’s been vocal, too, about pop’s homogeneity, loathing LMFAO. Nevertheless, White cowrote Timbaland’s ...Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya) for Ashlee Simpson. Plus the poppy Greg Kurstin (Lily Allen) appears in the Master... credits. At any rate, White’s fortunes changed once she found sympathetic management in Jay-Z’s Roc Nation. Hova kicks arse. Master...’s best tracks are theatrical. There’s the brilliant Disparate Youth, deep sound system dub with melodic ‘80s synths, conjured by relative newcomer Ricky Blaze. White’s love of Kate Bush is evident on the ethnic ballad, The Riot’s Gone, and alt-pop The Keepers, both with Kurstin. White has contested her being categorised as an ‘urban’ artist, but she brazenly raps on the facetious grinder Look At These Hoes, her collaborators here Juwan, Boys Noize and Diplo. Big Mouth has a post-baile funk rave feel courtesy Portugal’s Buraka Som Sistema – and weird choral bits. But, sadly, other songs – including Kurstin’s atmospheric God From The Machine – don’t really go anywhere. Santigold is delayed in transit.
THE BREAKDOWN POP CULTURE THERAPY WITH ADAM CURLEY
JUSTIN BIEBER It at first appeared a flawed strategy, or one born from a scheduling fumble. As the wait for the video for Justin Bieber’s newest single, Boyfriend, grew longer, the question arose: who exactly was waiting? The song, which hadn’t managed to top the Billboard Hot 100 on its debut, was already slipping in the US charts when Bieber appeared on the American talent show, The Voice, on 17 April to preview a minute-long cut of the clip and announce that he’d be back for the show’s finale episode in May to perform the song live. Dates for the video’s release had been speculated upon, changed, continually pushed back. By the time of its airing on MTV last Thursday night (Friday morning Aus time), it had been over six weeks since the song became available for purchase on iTunes. That’s a long time in the life of a pop song. But Boyfriend is no regular pop song, and Bieber’s team knew it. Much had taken place in order for the single to make as great an impact on Bieber’s career (present and future) as possible. Subtle movements from teen pop to young-adult R&B had occurred within the lesser songs of Bieber’s 2011 Christmas album, Under The Mistletoe. On that album, too, Bieber had started to talk-rap, further suggesting that his future lay under the influence of his mentor, Usher, and the ‘urban streetwear’ he’d started slinking around in. Those clothes, as well as his hair, had gradually been altered from the style of a regular boy caught up in the world of big-money music, given a credit card and a day-pass to the mall, to that of an entity making definitive choices: sleeker, more visibly planned out, ripped from the ad pages of GQ and detailed with a pair of expensive kicks to give it an ‘edge’.
Boyfriend – essentially a narcissistic reworking of ‘N Sync’s Girlfriend – is the result of all that change and planning. It’s where it all comes together and paves the way for Bieber to become more than the conductor of pre-teen screaming. How does one successfully market a teen singer making a move for the big time, though? Release the track as yet another single, followed shortly by a video, some promo, TV performances, photo opps? Well, there’s no escaping the media cycle, but to get the attention of more than just Bieber’s existing fans, a risk would have to be taken. The importance of the ‘event’ would need to be inflated, new eyes drawn to the story. And it was a risk. It’s always a risk. So the video was held back, and the volume of online chatter began to grow. Rumours spread. Bieber was noncommittal when asked the date of Boyfriend’s release, possibly because backroom deals with other media were still being finalised, but also as a strategy for hype: it would be soon, just keep watching. Despite the chart drop, the plan was working, allowing Bieber to command the stage of The Voice – which consistently tops ratings for the 18-49 demographic – to slap some palms and show the clip preview. In fact, the video wasn’t even finished by the time of the single’s release. Team Bieber would save the last bit of filming for the week prior to the video’s MTV launch so that it could happen under the lenses of the paparazzi. His real-life girlfriend, Selena Gomez, who also happened to be promoting a perfume at the time, dropped in on the shoot to plant some public kisses on Bieber, thus ensuring the photos landed in the mainstream tabloid press. New eyes, new ears. The single, at number five from a top of two on the Hot 100 by this point, gained traction again. Last week, after Bieber confirmed the official release date on MTV, it moved from five to four. It’s a different story in Australia, where the single has dropped from five to last week’s 25. There’s almost no doubt, however, that as Bieber’s big move on the US mainstream takes effect, we’ll also see the effects of it here. As he tells in Boyfriend’s opening sung lines, “I’d like to be everything you want”. He’s no longer only singing to the 13 year old next to you.
themusic.com.au
BLKOUT! Perth hardcore act BLKOUT! have announced the release of their second album Point Of No Return, to be released on 6 June through Resist Records. This time around, the band have stayed with their initial aim of being an outlet to pay homage to NY greats like The Cro-Mags, but more diverse influences do shine through, particularly with some of the instrumentation. “We wanted to create a record we would want to listen to,” vocalist Scott Angel explains. “All of us listen to a lot of different styles of music other than just hardcore and we wanted to produce something with a wider scope than you would normally hear on a typical hardcore record.” The band once again worked with Lachlan Mitchell at Def Wolf Studio to lay down the tracks. You can catch the band touring in a couple of weeks with Bitter End and also at Hardcore 2012. Speaking of Bitter End, the Melbourne shows are a little over two weeks away, and Resist have made public the list of bands that will be supporting the US heavy hardcore outfit and BLKOUT! as they tour across the country. As has been mentioned previously, there are two shows in and around Melbourne. The first is an 18+ show at the Bendigo Hotel in Collingwood with Crowned Kings kicking things off on Wednesday 23 May. Then there is an all ages show at Phoenix Youth Centre in Footscray on Thursday 24 May. Tickets are only available at the door for all shows. While we’re still talking about Resist Records (it has been a big week of announcements for these guys, so bear with me), pre-orders for Parkway Drive’s newest DVD Home Is For The Heartless have already started, and there is an added incentive to pre-order as there will be exclusive, invite-only screenings of the DVD in most major cities (including Sydney) and of course Byron Bay. By pre-ordering before Sunday 13 May, you can go into the draw to win a double pass to the screening closest to you. In Melbourne, you can pre-order through JB Hi-Fi online, Poison City Records or Fist 2 Face out at Ringwood. The official release date for the DVD is 6 July. Earlier this year, when I was talking about UNFD releasing Say Anything’s Anarchy My Dear record, I mentioned that vocalist Max Bemis promised that the band would hit Australia before the end of the year. Well, the promise was kept and the band will be hitting Australia on their very first headlining tour of the country, as a part of the Say Anarchy Tour. This is also the first time the band have been back to Australia in over three years, with their last visit being as a part of the 2009 Soundwave Festival. Joining them will be fellow UNFD alumni, The Getaway Plan, who have been touring relentlessly since the release of their album Requiem. Tickets go on sale this Friday 10 May for the 18+ show at Billboard in Melbourne on Friday 13 July. In international news, Converge are keeping us hanging on. We’re expecting a new album, but at the moment all we’re getting are teasers as to what we can expect. First it was the split with Drop Dead, but this time around the band are teaming up with grindcore legends Napalm Death for a split 7” release. And here’s what Converge have on offer with this release: first up, they will be offering up for your consideration a new song titled No Light Escapes. I’m expecting this to be a short and brutal affair, as they will also be offering up a second track, a cover of Entombed’s Wolverine Blues which also features vocals by Tomas Lindberg (Disfear, At The Gates), Aaron Turner (Isis, Old Man Gloom), Kevin Baker (All Pigs Must Die, The Hope Conspiracy), Brian Izzi (Trap Them) and apparently more. That’s one hell of a collaboration!
DANCE MOVES
THE RACKET
INTELLIGIBLE FLOW
NEW CURRENTS WITH TIM FINNEY
METAL, HEAVY ROCK AND DARK ALTERNATIVE WITH ANDREW HAUG
HIP HOP NEWS & COMMENTARY WITH ALEKSIA BARRON
MARK BLACKDOWN CLARK From a certain perspective, LHF’s exhaustive (even exhausting) double album debut, Keepers Of The Light, probably comes on like a definitive statement: the comprehensive, encyclopaedic endpoint of some 20 years of London Vibez. LHF are a loose collective crafting atmospheric dubstep filled with whispery curlicues of sound, intricate pseudo-Orientalist rhythmic patterns, wafting dub fx, lugubrious bass murmurs and a seemingly endless stream of subtle quotes from the twisted history of East London dance music: jungle, garage, grime, funky – what critic Simon Reynolds calls the “hardcore continuum” – all blended into a mood of nervous abstraction, a kind of half-dream of past and future that is too creepy to be comforting, but too smooth to be scary; artfully constructed background music that keeps pushing its way into your foreground. On a strict stylistic level, LHF’s palette of influences actually is pretty specific: the classy yet headwrecking mid-’90s drum’n’bass of Metalheadz (especially Hidden Agenda), the bubbling rhythmic intricacy and dub-techno affectations of early Horsepower Productions and the rigorous up-tempo flexing of Mala (thereby paying tribute to both dubstep’s first incarnation and its finest). But then, if you were going to build a sound from a restrictive diet of source ingredients, these choices provide excellent musical nourishment, allowing for all sorts of allusive recombinations. Low Density Matter’s Questions, for instance, sounds like a lost breakbeat jazz-techno cut from 4 Hero’s seminal Jacob’s Optical Stairway album, while Amen Ra’s Fairytales chops up the ecstatic synth squiggles of Foul Play’s Open Your Mind in a stomping dubstep groove as woozily unnatural as early Joker. Double Helix’s Supreme Architecture may stick to the collective’s core influences, but it’s difficult to imagine a more consummate demonstration of mind-bending programming and general creeping dread. It all makes for excellent listening, but for now I’m unsure whether LHF will become a long-term obsession, primarily because this album feels like a series of endings rather than beginnings. Keepers Of The Light has secured a release on Martin Blackdown’s Keysound label, which is entirely fitting: Blackdown is dubstep’s pre-eminent historian-critic, dedicated to a take on East London’s musical past that de-emphasises pop or rave energy in favour of the existential anxiety of inner-urban living. Until Keepers Of The Light, Blackdown’s own album with Martin Dust, Margins Music, was the most rigorous musical exemplar of this idea, and both feel like a soundtrack to a carefully curated exhibition, albeit a soundtrack you’d buy on your way out of the gallery. “Look how far we’ve come!” this music seems to exclaim. “Look at how exciting our milestones have been, what range we’ve been able to explore and name as our own!” And Keepers Of The Light does feel like an exquisitely constructed mural of past achievements, even its fidgety, difficult to place syncopated beats chosen for their capacity to call to mind every chapter in the story that precedes them. The issue here is not that LHF look backwards – their blending of disparate ideas is too subtle, too thoughtful, to be dismissed as redundant revivalism – but rather that they understand their brief just a little too well. Everything on this album feels fully, carefully articulated, its effect predicated on the shared acknowledgment that LHF understand what they’re doing, that you the listener also understand, and LHF understand that you understand. What is missing, therefore, is a real sense of uncertainty, of questing for a new articulation, the awed and frightened exclamation that accompanies each genuine new moment in music: “We have something here, and we don’t know what it is…” LHF know their sound down to its last impeccable infinitesimal detail, making Keepers Of The Light an album that inspires much admiration but perhaps less infatuation.
MORTAL SIN Guitarist Ryan Huthnance of Sydney thrashers Mortal Sin has released the following statement: “It’s time the rumours were laid to rest. Yes, Mortal Sin is finished. Due to changing personal circumstances, as well as priorities, Luke and Nathan have both decided that their time with the band is at an end. This decision was not made lightly, and was not a result of the actions and words made by other parties who would lead you to believe it was. The truth is, without passion, conviction, and love for the music you play, being in a band means nothing. While Andy, Dave and myself could easily continue and find new band members, without the core songwriting unit from the last two albums, it wouldn’t be Mortal Sin. We’re extremely proud of our last album Psychology Of Death, and we’ve completed the longest and most intense tour of the band’s career – the Thrashfest Classics tour. These two milestones are a fitting way to close the 25-year journey that was Mortal Sin. On behalf of Mortal Sin, I’d like to thank you – the fans – for staying loyal to a band that’s had more ups and downs than any other in Australia. Without you, this journey would have ended long ago.” South Carolina-based extreme technical death metallers Nile will release their seventh full-length album At The Gate Of Sethu on July 3 via Nuclear Blast Records. Axewound is the new side-project for Bullet For My Valentine frontman Matt Tuck. The band is completed by Liam Cormier (Cancer Bats) on vocals, Mike Kingswood (Glamour Of The Kill) on guitar, Joe Copcutt (Rise To Remain) on bass and Jason Bowld (ex-Pitchshifter) on
drums. Tuck first revealed that he was collaborating with other musicians on a “metal-as-fuck” side-project last October during an interview with US radio station The Bone. Tuck said at the time, “At the moment, there’s just three guys in the new band, but there’ll be a minimum of four in the final line-up”. Regarding the new group’s musical direction, Tuck said, “It’s far more like Slipknot, Pantera… It’s metal as fuck, you know what I mean? Stepping away from the melodic, not giving a fuck… ‘Cause obviously Bullet For My Valentine is a business and we have our formula, and what we do works – it’s great – so we won’t stray from that. So it’s nice to step out of that comfort zone and do something fucking ridiculous and not worry about what people are gonna think, because it doesn’t exist yet. We wanted to go in there with kind of like a Slipknot attitude of just everything… like the Iowa album – just fucking violent. Let it all out. No holds barred.” German thrashers Dew-Scented have set Icarus as the title of their new album. Vocalist Leif Jensen described the CD’s main theme as “a modern times, very apocalyptic adaption of elements of the Icarus myth, using a lot of its symbolism while interlinking with several other personal or observant subjects in true Dew-Scented fashion.” The Black Dahlia Murder have officially announced the addition of bassist Max Lavelle (Despised Icon) to the group’s ranks. Commented singer Trevor Strnad: “Well kids, enough with all the secrets… it’s about time we in The Black Dahlia Murder clue you fans in and tell all about our recent hush-hush bassist situation. After months of tip-toeing around it, we’ve decided to break the silence and let you guys know the truth. After six long, gruelling years of relentless back-to-back touring, Ryan Williams has decided to step down from his fulltime position in The Black Dahlia Murder to pursue a career in recording. Although the remaining members are indeed saddened by his decision, the good news is that Ryan will still be involved in the band in many ways, from continued contributions of songwriting and overseeing and co-producing future The Black Dahlia Murder recordings.”
FRAGMENTED FREQUENCIES OTHER MUSIC FROM THE OTHER SIDE WITH BOB BAKER FISH
HEINZ RIEGLER Since it was established in 1914, the Philips Research laboratories (NatLab) in Holland has given us the very first artificial reverb, tape recording, stereo, the cassette tape, CD, DVD, Blue Ray, and Song Of The Second Moon (Omni). Due to The Cold War, the arms race and the frequent threat of annihilation via an atom bomb, technology had developed something of an image problem. Consequently, Philips brought in some composers, in the hope that their technological music could put a human face on the new toys. The result was Song Of The Second Moon – the first piece of electronic pop music, recorded in about 1957. It was produced over a couple of days by Dick Raaijmakers (aka Kid Baltan), pressed as a single and given away to visitors to the lab. Despite the tune’s lofty status in the pantheon of electronic music, Raaijmakers was inexplicably demoted to assistant to fellow composer Tom Dissevelt. However, the duo proceeded to record 20 or so tracks over the next three years. The music is this jaunty space-age swirl, with synthetic oscillations and bubbling textures, creating what is one moment playful, the next menacing. You can hear everything from bachelor pad exotica to avant-garde electronics, and even a primitive precursor to acid house. As a side note it’s music that could’ve been the soundtrack to 2001: A Space Odyssey, as Stanley Kubrick requested the music. The duo had never heard of him so they ignored the letter which is reprinted on this Omni reissue of the duo’s complete output during the period. Austrian-born, now Brisbane-based sound artist Heinz Riegler was snowed in for 80 days in a cabin in the Austrian Alps last year. At first everything felt muted:
two-tone colours and near silence. But then something strange happened. His ears began to attune to the minute – the trickle of a faraway brook, the texture and ferocity of the wind and “snowflakes falling and hitting the ground… well, maybe not so much hitting the ground, more like fusing with it,” he write in his notes. He also composed an album of surprising stillness and beauty, both powerful and subtle and clearly the product of his self-imposed exile. Survey #2 (One Thousand Dreams I Never Had) is a limited edition of 100 handmade cassettes (plus download link) released on Lawrence English’s new A Guide To Saints cassette imprint, and it’s truly an amazing work of electroacoustic beauty. Riegler’s also recently contributed a free mixtape that includes a short excerpt of this work alongside pieces from Chris Watson, Broadcast, our own Lost Animal and a track from Jason Heller. The environment is also an integral component in the work of Melbourne cellist Anthea Caddy and sound artist Thembi Soddell. Host (Room40) is their second album and it sees the duo – who improvise regularly together – attempting to mine the relationship between the spatial environment and the way it can create altered characteristics or distortions to sound. They do this by recording in the Applied Acoustics Group reverberation chamber at RMIT, and other nondefined acoustic spaces, which I believe includes a dam wall in the Victorian high country. They’ve used this relationship as a metaphor for the distortions in perception or psyche and how this relates to an understanding of the physical world. The gist seems to be that perception equals reality, but if the perception is skewed or impaired, as much of ours is, then our understanding of reality may be dramatically different. Musically this is expressed by a dark, slightly agitated world of abrupt cuts, in building noise contrasted violently by silence and near silence. Caddy uses a variety of haunting, almost violent, non-musical techniques that scrape, tear and tension her cello within an inch of its life, providing a highly textural foil to Soddell’s electrics and field recordings. It’s dark and unsettling but always compelling.
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MAGGOT MOUF That dynamic duo Illy and M-Phazes have launched a fun new project called Friday Flips. Basically, each Friday, they’ll take fan suggestions of a nonhip hop song that they should “flip” with some slick hip hop stylings. As a teaser, they’ve dropped their take on Skrillex’s Rock And Roll – check it out on soundcloud.com/fridayflips. Last Friday they announced that the first fan-suggested track they’ll “flip” will be The White Stripes’ fearsome indie classic Seven Nation Army. It’ll drop this Friday 11 May, and the guys will also be taking suggestions for the next song to tackle. If you want to get involved, visit facebook.com/illyal or facebook.com/mphazes and get ready to suggest some song ideas of your own next Friday (my vote is for Life’s A Happy Song from The Muppets movie soundtrack). The latest release coming out of Broken Tooth Entertainment sounds promising indeed – Maggot Mouf & Sammy Scissors will drop their new album Runnin With Scissors this Friday 11 May. Preview tracks promise a hard-hitting, uncompromisingly honest record that pulls no punches, but indulges in a bit of tongue-in-cheek humour too. The Mish has the makings of a cult hit, with Maggot Mouf telling the tale of his less-then-salubrious origins and his good fortune in breaking the cycle that could have consumed him. Despite having the most gaginducing name in the business, Maggot Mouf is an undoubtedly talented MC, and joining forces with Sammy Scissors has produced what sounds like a great result. I’ve been hearing a couple of interesting tracks from artists out west lately. The buzz continues to build around Mr Grevis, who could be setting a precedent for kick-starting a music career in our digital age. He hasn’t dropped so much as a mixtape yet, but his track The Youth (bit.ly/Iyw9c1) was number one on triple j Unearthed for three straight weeks. He’s planning to drop his debut album in June, so it’ll be interesting to see how the straight-talking MC fares. Perth-based poetry slammer Marksman has a good release out, too – the free seven-track download The Bridges In Spain, available from marksmanlloyd. bandcamp.com. It’s great – the clever, complex lyrics are beautifully enhanced by Wisdom 2th’s production. Take the brilliant opening track Suit ‘N’ Thai, featuring Odette Mercy: “You see rich businessmen/a little red from the sunburn/and a little red from embarrassment/a young bird/hanging off their arm…” It’s a beautiful piece of pacing around a deliberately laconic beat, and the finishing touches of Asiatic melodies worked into the production give the track a lovely moodiness. Give it a whirl. We’ve got a bit of international talent heading to town over the next few weeks, so if you’ve got some extra dollars conveniently lying around, it might be worth spending them on an act you may not see here again anytime soon. The tour announcement that set Twitter on fire will finally materialise this Thursday 10 – the killer double bill of Atmosphere and main support Evidence will appear at the Hi-Fi, all the way from the USA. Local lad Eloquor will open the show, rounding out what promises to be a night of soulful, unashamedly opinionated hip hop. Tickets are (possibly still) available from Oztix. Then on Thursday 17 May, Public Enemy will hit the Espy for a show, supported by Seth Sentry. Having gone strong for 25 years, Public Enemy still have what it takes – few groups have had so great an influence on the growth of hip hop, as evidenced by the legacy of Fear Of A Black Planet alone. Just a few days later, the Espy will be infiltrated by the weird’n’wonderful Mickey Avalon, who is completely unafraid to spout lyrics that most people would never even think, let alone say. He’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but he’s certainly a fascinating character. He’ll be supported by Kid Mac at on Friday 25 May. Tickets to shows at the Espy can be found at theespy.oztix.com.au INPRESS • 47
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
48 • INPRESS
www.supportact.com.au 0467 492 843
WED 09 Bleach: Laundry Coq Roq: Lucky Coq Cosmic Pizza: NHJ: Bimbo Deluxe Halfways: 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 Wednesday Night Special: Post Percy: New Guernica Wednesdays @ Co: Petar Tolich, Scotty E: Co. Nightclub Whisky Wednesday: Strange Wolf
THU 10 3181 Thursdays: Hans DC, Nikki Sarafian, Jake Judd, Sam Gudge, Sean Rault, Jesse Young, John Doe: Revolver Upstairs
CLUB GUIDE Billboard Thursdays: Billboard Bottom End Thursdays: Bottom End Dirty Bit Thursdays: Co. Nightclub
Safari Thursdays: Pretty Please Shake Some Action: Street Party, Samaritan, Polyavalanche: OneSixOne
Do Drop In: Kiti, Lady Noir, DJ Foo: Carlton Club
Soul in the Basement: Cherry Bar
Dub Step: Eurotrash
The Factory: G-Money & Sammy Prosser: Trak
First Stop Thursdays: Urban Bar
Switch: EVE
Tigerfunk: Bimbo Deluxe
DMX: Trak
PopRocks: Dr Phil Smith: Toff
Fake Tits: Tramp Freedom Pass Fridays: Co. Nightclub, Fusion Freeplay Fridays: Amber Lounge Fridays at Eurotrash: Eurotrash Fluidlife: Silicone Soul, Kultrun, Lister Cooray, Nikko, Paul Beynon, Darius Bassiray, Mizza: OneSixOne
Free Range Thursdays: Lucky Coq
Trinity Thursdays: La Di Da
Heartbreaker: Revolver Bandroom
Unlucky: Seven Nightclub
Indecent Fridays: Syn Bar
Inner City Sounds: Workshop
Wah Wah Thursdays: Wah Wah Lounge
Juicy: Bimbo Deluxe
Lounge Thursdays: Citizen.com, Ghetto Filth: Lounge
FRI 11
Give Me The Night: Loop
La Musica: La Di Da Lounge Friday: Citizen. com, DJ Who, Tahl, Dave Pham: Lounge
Love Story: 1928: The Toff
393 Fridays: First Floor 393
Midnight Express: The Toff Carriage Room
Bass Cartel: Workshop
New Guernica Thursdays: Post Percy, Awesome Wales: New Guernica
Bass Station: 3D
Mu-Gen, Token: Eurotrash
Block Party Fridays: Marrakech
OneSixOne Fridays: OneSixOne
Bottom End Fridays: Bottom End
Outrageous Fridays: Wah Wah Lounge
Breakfast Club: New Guernica
Panorama: Lucky Coq
Night Skool: Eurotrash Noizy Neighbours: Room 680 Pennies: Laundry Rhythm-al-ism: Fusion
Carbon: Roxanne Parlour Destination: La Di Da
Midnight Massacre: New Guernica
Phase 2: Jewelz, Master Kaos, Tristan Mason, Gazmatron, Tigger, Snuf: Chasers
Retro Fridays: Club Retro Revolver Fridays: Revolver Upstairs Smalltown: Pariah, Blawan: Liberty Social Sounds of Fusion: Fusion Timmy Regisford, Chris NG, Mike Steva, Kris Naum: New Guernica WOW Fridays: Neverland
SAT 12 All City Bass: Brown Alley Alumbra Saturdays: Alumbra Audioporn: Dr. Zok, James Ware, China Hoops, Rowie: OneSixOne
Frontier: RexíníChappo, Marcotix, Volta, Thad Lester, Moskalin, Sekkt: My Aeon Houseparty: Eurotrash Hotstep: Bimbo Deluxe House De Frost: The Toff Laundry Saturdays: Laundry Downstairs Lounge Saturdays:, Darren Coburn, Luke McD, Boogs, DJ Who: Lounge
SUN 13 4AM Sunday Mornings: Wah Wah Lounge Alex Smoke: Brown Alley Be.: Co. Nightclub
Pash: The Roxy
New Guernica
Pitch(B):tch: Loop
Revolver Sundays: Revolver Upstairs
Playground: Seven Nightclub Poison Apple: La Di Da Re.Play Saturdays: DJ Tenzin: Fusion Saturdays at First Floor: First Floor 393 Strut Saturdays: Trak Sub Zero, MC Eksman: Laundry Upstairs
Bottom End Saturdays: Bottom End
Survivor: Bottom End
Forbidden Saturdays: Amber Lounge
Why Not?: Pretty Please
Get Wet: Word Bar Majik Saturdays: Room680 Guilty Pleasure Sundays: Pretty Please Mashouse Saturdays: 577 Lt Collins New Guernica Sundays:
Billboard Saturdays: Billboard
Envy: Ed Coleman: Co. Nightclub
Wah Wah Saturdays: Wah Wah Lounge
Textile: Lucky Coq TFU Saturdays: Two Floors Up Under Suspicion: Brown Alley
Soul Be In It: Workshop South Side Hustle: Lucky Coq Spit Roast Sundays: Cushion Star Bar Sundays: Star Bar Sundae Shake: Bimbo Deluxe Sunday Sessions: Lucky Coq The Sunday Set: AndyBlack, Haggis: The Toff
MON 14 Gear Shift: Horse Bazaar Hair Of The Dog: Revolver Upstairs IBimbo: Bimbo Deluxe Monday Struggle: Lucky Coq Toasted: Laundry Bar
TUE 15 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 MSG Tuesdays: Laundry Oasis: Tramp Space Hopper: Match
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INPRESS • 49
HOWZAT! LOCAL MUSIC NEWS BY JEFF JENKINS BUCKLEY WARD
THE GREAT PRETENDERS
Howzat! recently reviewed Buckley Ward’s second album, So Pretend (out now through Shock), giving it three-and-a-half stars. If we had our time again, we’d give it an extra half-star; it really is something special. This is an album that gets under your skin with repeated play. The shimmering sounds show that these guys and girl are genuine contenders. Was it the ‘difficult second album’? “Well, we kind of half-arsed the first record,” singer Jimmy Allen says. “I think this feels much more like a debut than a sophomore record, not just for us but probably for the listener as well. The only thing the same is the name of the band. I think I even sound different singing. Second albums are generally difficult because there are various expectations. We didn’t have that problem.” Sounds like Jimmy doesn’t dig Buckley Ward’s debut, 2009’s Something In The Night. “I don’t look back favourably on it. It’s like looking back on how you handled a situation 50 • INPRESS
when you were 16 and cringing. The priority was to make a record, not to make it good. This time around, we were a lot more patient, far better at recording and did a lot more work on the songs. Most of them were pulled apart and put back together at least once. I definitely think we employed a qualitymanagement system.” Into The Darkening Blue, the latest single, sounds great on radio. When did Jimmy realise it was a special song? “Is it a special song?” he ponders. “It’s probably my least favourite on the record. I wrote it ages ago on acoustic guitar. I wanted to write a single, so I focused on making it as pop as I could. It took us at least three goes to record. We enjoy playing it live, but I don’t have a real connection to it.” So Pretend suggests Buckley Ward is a band filled with ambition, though all members have day jobs. “We have an actor, copywriter, multimedia designer, photographer and physicist. You can guess who’s who.” One JB store filed the new album under “W”, thinking it was a solo artist. Like Diesel – who still has people calling him Johnny – Jimmy often has people refer to him as Buckley, which he doesn’t seem to mind. “It was completely unintentional [the name confusion], but I actually like it. When I write something kind of personal, it’s like I can tell it through this character, so I have a layer of insulation.”
The album – which is being launched at the Toff on Saturday 19 May – was recorded at “The Hovel”, which is actually Jimmy’s house. “It’s an old share house in North Carlton, where I’ve lived for ten years. It’s really cheap, but with good reason. The studio is set up in a sort of halfway lounge room. It’s the opposite of flash or pretentious, which makes you feel comfortable being drunk in there. There’s a piano and a big old analogue desk, lost of scotch and a couple of egg cartons.” As for some of Jimmy’s faves: Three favourite Australian songwriters – Glenn Richards, Paul Dempsey and Brendan Welch. Favourite zombie movie – “Can I say The Walking Dead? I know it’s a TV show but it’s by far my favourite.” Favourite Status Quo song? “Ha! Despite having a song on the record of the same name, I actually haven’t listened to much Status Quo. Reminds me too much of commercials.” So Pretend is definitely going to be on Howzat!’s list of 2012 faves. Look out for Buckley Ward, they’re good.
RENOVATION RESCUE
Buckley Ward have also got a gig coming up at Pure Pop – on Sunday 27 May. Howzat! doesn’t like to leave Richmond, but when we do visit St Kilda, Pure Pop is our favourite location. Don’t forget, Pure Pop’s benefit gig is this Friday at the Prince. The stellar line-up includes Paul Kelly, Henry Wagons, Ron Peno, Davey Lane, Charles Jenkins, Stonefield and Underground Lovers. Proceeds go to soundproofing the Pure Pop courtyard, which will hopefully shut up the silly protesters.
THE DOWNS TO RISE AGAIN
What next for the redoubtable Ron S Peno? After issuing his debut solo album and re-forming Died Pretty for Dig It Up!, is another Darling Downs album with Kim Salmon on the agenda?
CHART WATCH
The Voice is having a big influence on the singles chart. Sitting On Top Of The World DELTA GOODREM (number five)
themusic.com.au
Shut Up & Kiss Me REECE MASTIN (ten) If Looks Could Kill TIMOMATIC (12) Into The Flame EP MATT CORBY (14) Big Jet Plane LAKYN HEPERI (18, debut) Big Jet Plane ANGUS & JULIA STONE (27) Kids LAKYN HEPERI (29) Do It Like That RICKI-LEE (31) Love The Way You Lie FATAI VEAMATAHAU (32, debut) Somebody That I Used To Know GOTYE (35) Child 360 (40) Jack Vidgen and Damien Leith have big albums for Mother’s Day. Drinking From The Sun HILLTOP HOODS (number eight) Nightflight KATE MILLER-HEIDKE (13) No Plans COLD CHISEL (15) Now & Then DAMIEN LEITH (17) Greatest Hits: 18 Kids KEITH URBAN (19) Don’t Funk With Me ALSTON (21) Inspire JACK VIDGEN (23, debut) Falling & Flying 360 (24) Making Mirrors GOTYE (30) Vows KIMBRA (36)
HOWZAT! PLAYLIST So Pretend BUCKLEY WARD Speakerphone THE FAUVES I Understand SOPHIE KOH Superhuman JUAN ALBAN Warning Bell BUTTERFLY BOUCHER
INPRESS • 51
WED 09 Ade Ishs Trio Horse Bazaar Alex Anonymous, Lunaire, Hometown, Driveby Epic Revolver Upstairs Alysia Manceau, Mon Kerr The Drunken Poet Attack of the Mannequins Cherry Bar Bopstretch Uptown Jazz Café Chris Russell’s Chicken Walk, Max Savage And The False Idols, Jimmy Stewart The Old Bar Cindy van der Ree Paris Cat Jazz Club Dizzy’s Big Band Dizzy’s Jazz Club Don Hillman’s Secret Beach Clifton Hill Hotel Hurricane Fighter Plane Workers Club James McCann, Lincoln Mckinnon Kent St Jess Beck Bebida Jon Stevens Wellers of Kangaroo Ground Kahlo Loop Kewti, James Macauley Quartet 303 Bar Kimbra Palais Theatre Letterbox Music Open Studio Manor Wesley Anne Michael Belsar, Double Denim, Syd Fox Karova Lounge, Ballarat Mountain Goats, Catherine Tracios & the Starry Night The Toff In Town Paul Greene Northcote Social Club Poco La Pax Evelyn Hotel Rainbow Massacre, Remission Theory, Full Code, Vintage Cinema Esplanade Lounge Sans Gras, Pony Face Grace Darling Cellar Bar Sean Simmons Sporting Club Hotel Sean Simmons The Standard Hotel Shelley Short, Carry Nation Retreat Hotel Sick Of It All The Hi-Fi Since the River, Winterplan, Major Napier John Curtin Hotel Spermaids, Lazerface, Stockades The Tote The Darkness The Palace The Elliots Veludo The Vitriols, Collateral Damage, Where You’d Rather Be Empress Hotel Wavves The Corner Hotel
THU 10 Al Parkinson, Luke Smith Horse Bazaar
52 • INPRESS
Amber Lamps, Robot Child, The Mcqueens John Curtin Hotel Annie Smith and the Jazz Drive Dizzy’s Jazz Club Ash Naylor Rainbow Hotel Atmosphere The Hi-Fi Austin Brady Bebida Ben Grayson 303 Bar Calling All Cars, Strangers, Arts Martial Kay Street Saloon Bar Carus, Mark With The Sea Karova Lounge, Ballarat Club Crain Pony Late Show Collard Greens & Gravy, Southbound Snake Charmers Musicland Continental Roberts Blues Party Lomond Hotel Cottonbud, Fraser A Gorman Retreat Hotel Cut Record, Thrupence Workers Club Dan Watkins, Paddy Montgomery Sporting Club Hotel Davy Simony Evelyn Hotel Frank Turner, William Elliott Whitmore, The Smith Street Band, Jen Buxton Esplanade Gallie, Benny Walker The Drunken Poet Gasoline Inc Bended Elbow, Geelong Guy Kable Labour In Vain High Fangs, Denver Airport, Smoke Signals Yah Yah’s Kate Martin, Ben Wells and the Middle Names The Toff In Town King of the North, Constant Killer, Them 9’s, Mutations The Tote Liquor Snatch, Keggin’, Made in China, Sheriff The Old Bar Magic Mountain Band Edinburgh Castle Front Bar Mansion Alaska, The Primary Great Britain Hotel Martin Myles, Noemi Liba, Andrea Keeble Wesley Anne Max Savage & his false Idols Bertha Brown Milano Express Veludo Moth, Mother Slug, Of The Rising Pony Mountain Goats, Catherine Tracios & the Starry Night Corner Hotel Naberus, Arbia, Internal Nightmare, Inebriator Revolver Upstairs Nicolette Forte Horse Bazaar Sean Coffin Quartet Paris Cat Jazz Club Soul Safari Cherry Bar
Split Seconds, Underlights Northcote Social Club Swamp Land Tago Mago The Groves, Ten Cent Pistols, Sinister Mister Bar Open The Ten In One, Sleepy Dreamers, Julitha Ryan Empress Hotel Timothy Haines, Lucy Jean, Roleff, Yuko Nishiyama Open Studio Vicuna Coat Bar Nancy
FRI 11 ALI MC Horse Bazaar Andre Camelleri’s Lone Star Quartet, Tom McGlin Marquis Of Lorne Hotel Ann Ominous, Leather Locklear, Doppelganstas, The Gryffydd Twins Cornish Arms Hotel Atomik, Dean T, Johnny M, Phil Ross, Tate Strauss, Nova Fusion Bad Aches, Big Richard Insect, Guy & Marcus Blackman Experimentations, Tyrannamen Gasometer Hotel Best Before, Dylan Joel, Velvet Archers Evelyn Hotel Broz, Dir-X, Dinesh, NYD, Sef, Shaggz, Shaun D Ladida Calling All Angels The Hi-Fi Chairman Meow, Coburg Market, Mr Fox, Tigerfunk, Who Bimbo Deluxe Checkerboard Lomond Hotel Cherrywood Gem Bar Dan Lethbridge, Shane O’Mara I Dream A Highway De La Calle Cruzao Arepa Bar Dirty F, Cut, Earl, Kill Two Birds, Peter Dickybird Brunswick Hotel DJ Arnold Bebida DJ Paradise Box, DJ Hijack with MC’s Emmerson & Roxy, Lauren Mac Veludo DJ Rowie European Bier Café DK, Magic, MC Perplex Sub Lounge Doubleblack, Ramshackle Army, The Working Horse Irons, The Prostitute Killers Gasometer Dream Boogie Rainbow Hotel Duchesz, Oohee, Paz First Floor Elana Musto, Greg Sara, Scott T Match Bar & Grill Frankenbok Pier Live
Ghost Towns of the Midwest, The Merri Creek Pickers, Ryan Nico & the Overlanders The Nash Hotel, Geelong Hailgun, Cabin Fever, Kremlings Blue Tile Lounge Heaven the Axe, King P arrot, Subjektive, Kong Fuzi Karova Lounge, Ballarat Heirs, The Process, A Dead Forest Index, Cocks Arquette John Curtin Hotel Heirs Polyester Records Helm, Ennis Tola, Drive Into Ruins, Ezekiel Ox Esplanade Gershwin Room Hounds Hounds Hounds, Johnny Cadbury And The Dairy Milks Victoria Hotel Humans Pony Late Show Josh Moriarty The Hammy Joshua Kyle Quintet Paris Cat Jazz Club JVC Guitar Method Penny Black Kim Churchill, Microwave Jenny, Benjalu Baha Tacos Lol-Fi, Bum Creek, Fabulous Diamonds Phoenix Public House Marcus Knight, DJ Xander James Temperance Hotel Matt Rad, Mr George, Phato A Mano, Tom Meagher Lucky Coq Max Savage And The False Idols, Rich Davies & The Devils Union, DJ Mantooth Retreat Hotel Memoire, High Side Driver, March In Moscow Noise Bar Mick Thomas & The Roving Commission Regal Ballroom Miserable Little Bastards, McAlpine’s Fusiliers, The Taylor Project, Underlander Old Melbourne Mods Mayday, Continental Robert & The Rinky Dinks, Ace The Face The LuWow Natasha Rose Edinburgh Castle Front Bar Neo Abode Nero, Louis, Omega Abode Level One Okera, Hypnose, Myridian The Tote Paulie Bignell & the Thornbury Two Highway 31 Prince DJs Yah Yah’s (Upstairs) Private Life, The Neighbourhood Youth, Thnkr Workers Club Psalm Beach, Little Killing, Nervous Grace Darling Cellar Bar Quarter Life Crisis, AJ Steel, Goldaline, The Art of Later 303 Bar
Ralph McTell, Nick Charles Corner Hotel Red Rockets Of Borneo, 8 Bit Love, Wunderlust Northcote Social Club Ricochet, Memphis Nights Musicland Ron S Peno & the Superstitions, Henry Wagons, Underground Lovers, Charles Jenkins, Davey Lane, Alex Lashlie, Pony Face, Hamish Cowan, Chris Russell’s Chicken Walk Prince Bandroom Royal Swazi Spa Dizzy’s Jazz Club Running On Reality Miss Libertine Seconds before Sunrise, Driven to the Verge, Stick to the Shallows, The Empire, Visions Ruby’s Lounge Seven Hearts, Pina Tuteri, My Favourite Emily Empress Hotel Shari Wyatt, Poison Fish, Sordid Ordeal, The Merrigorounds Idgaff Bar & Venue Sol Nation Bar Open Straw King Eye, Ivy St, Whipped Cream Chargers, Staffan Songs Grace Darling Hotel Sunny Koll, Arlen De Silva Prince Maximilian Hotel Sures, Split Seconds, Underlights, Dirt Farmer Esplanade Lounge Temple Of Tunes, Troy Barrett Edinburgh Castle (Dining Room) The Baron, Riki And The Rants, Lucy’s Crown, Yosemite Slam Esplanade Basement The Blood Poets, Kristin Berardi, Psychofone, Kristin Risti Pony The Cartridge Family Basement Discs The Fiasco, Bury The Fallen, Check Your Smile, City Of Sirens, Internal Nightmare The Prague The Patron Saints Tago Mago The Piper Of Pan, Nathan Bird Balaclava Hotel The Straight Eights, The Voodoo Swamp Daddies Lucky 13 Garage The Wild Comforts Wesley Anne, Arvo Show Till Von Stein, DJ Alex Thomas, DJ Mike Callander, Ben UFO!, Katie Drover Revolver Upstairs Traditional Irish Music Session The Drunken Poet Trio Alvorada Open Studio Velvet Cake Gypsies, The Drooling Mouths of Memphis Wesley Anne Vice Grip Pussies, The Council Lyrebird Lounge
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Victor Pender Cape Cafe Whitehorse, Dead Boomers, Pneumatic Slaughter, Israel, DJ Del Amp The Old Bar Wolfpack, Los Amigos, Between The Wars, Admiral Ackbars Dishonourable Discharge Yah Yah’s Young Mavericks, The Corsairs, The Plains Cherry Bar Young Restless, DJ Ginger The B.East Yvette Johansson & The Joe Ruberto Trio Bennetts Lane Jazz Club Zep Boys Ferntree Gully Hotel
SAT 12 Abbie Cardwell & Her Leading Men Caravan Music Club Action Sam, DJ Rowie European Bier Café Agent 86, Phato A Mano, Tigerfunk Bimbo Deluxe Ainslee Wills, Gold Bloom, Lisa Salvo Workers Club Anna Smyrk & The Appetites Edinburgh Castle Front Bar Arakataka Cruzao Arepa Bar Askew, Booshank, Disco Harry, Junji, Miss Butt, Paz, Peter Baker Lucky Coq Austin The Drunken Poet Bad Aches, Late Arvo Sons, Big Richard Insect The Tote, Front Bar Bea’s Window, Pete Jones, Qudium Brunswick Hotel Ben Wells, Hurricane Fighter Plane, Kate Martin, Pete Cullen Pure Pop Courtyard Billy Hoyle, Duchesz, MzRizk, Wasabi First Floor Cannonball Bennetts Lane Jazz Club Catcall, Palms, Magic Silver White, Fatti Frances The Toff In Town Clinkerfield, The Miserable Little Bastards, While the Mountain Waits, The Steins, Galax John Curtin Hotel Cold Heart Retreat Hotel Colectivo29, Lo-Res Open Studio Cosmic Tonic Veludo Damion De Silva, K-Dee, Jay-Sin Khokolat Bar Daniel Merriweather Phoenix Public House Danny Walsh Banned, Pete Ewing, Jimmy Stewart, Dave Evans, Warwick Mark Dunn John Curtin Front Bar Darren Coburn, Luke McD, Nick Coleman Lounge Bar
Deus, The Paradise Motel Corner Hotel Dean T, Johnny M, Nova, Tate Strauss Fusion Dean T, Jono Earle Co Nightclub Dinosaurs Exist Penny Black DJ Ed Coleman Co. Nightclub DJ Lady Erica, DJ AC23, DJ Ital Magnus, DJ Stepsista Night Owl DJ Max Bay Bebida Dreadnaught, Alarum, Envenomed, Paradigm The Prague Echo Drama, El Moth & The Turbo Rads, Keshie Empress Hotel Edd Fisher, Knave Knixx Red Bennies Entropy Quartet, Maka Khan Open Studio Exile On Main St 40th Anniversary Celebration, Max Crawdaddy, Billy Walsh Cherry Bar Explode Like, Almaria, Glorified Bang Nightclub Feed Your Munkie Grind N Groove Fem Belling Quartet, Diana Clarke, Doug de Vries Paris Cat Jazz Club Francisco Tavares, Arlen De Silva Prince Maximilian Hotel Frazer Adnam, Scott McMahon, Jamie Vlahos, Mr Magoo, Ziggy Billboard Fruit Jar Wesley Anne, Arvo Show George Hysteric, Rohan Belltowers Carlton Hotel Gimme Shelter, WHO Au, Helter Skelter Ruby’s Lounge Go Fox Road The B.East Hat Fitz & Cara Robinson The Palais - Hepburn Springs Hatchet Dawn, Betty Blood, DJ Simon Quinn, Kerry X, Miss Nic, Raven Evelyn Hotel Heaven the Axe, Bad Karma, System of Venus, Kong Fuzi Bendigo Hotel - Collingwood Helm, The Soulenikoes, ODD, Japan For, Hey Charger, DJ Dozza Bended Elbow, Geelong Husk, Fenian, Inedia, Redfield, Thrasher Jynx Noise Bar I, a Man, Iowa, The Kodiak Club, Phil Para, Hope Springs Esplanade Lounge I See The End, City Of Sirens, Evacuate The Fallen, Idle Dreams Idgaff Bar & Venue Immigrant Union, Royston Vasie, Merry Creek Band Evelyn Hotel, Arvo Show James, Joe, & Nice Boy Tom Rainbow Hotel
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INPRESS • 53
Recreational Outrage, The Collectables Empress Hotel, Arvo Show Rob Murray, Bernie Carson, Meg Doherty Idgaff Bar & Venue Rokugen Music Bebida RPG Radio, Beth King & The Hemingway Collective, Shelley Segal Band 303 Bar Scatter Scatter, DJ Manchild, P.O.A.O. Grace Darling Hotel Sean Coffin Quartet Bennetts Lane Jazz Club Secret Room Abode Level One Shambelles Lomond Hotel Smoke Machine Town Hall Hotel Split Seconds, Underlights, Windsor Thieves Karova Lounge, Ballarat Sydonia, Branch Arterial, Glass Empire, Sons of Abraham, Mary Washington Esplanade Gershwin Room Tenzin Fusion Nighclub The Frantics, Anna Maria Louisa Theresa, Dickfinger Cornish Arms Hotel The Lisa Miller Trio, Ash Davies, Shane O’Mara Labour In Vain The Morrisons, Mesa Cosa, Udays Tiger, DJ Sean Spoils The Old Bar The Perch Creek Family Jug Bang Caulfield In Season Markets The ReChords, Spoonful Post Office Hotel The Sand Pebbles, Goyim Great Britain Hotel The Simon Wright Trio Tony Starr’s Kitten Club The Stetson Family Union Hotel Brunswick Tim Crossey Trio Retreat Hotel, Arvo T-Rek, Honeysmack, We Are Gamma Revolver Upstairs Victor Pender Cape Cafe Weekender Yah Yah’s Working Horse Irons Pony Late Show
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THE DRUNKEN POET
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54 • INPRESS
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REVOLVER UPSTAIRS
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Sunday Enda Kenny
THE HI-FI
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THE OLD BAR
Wednesday Chris Russell’s Chicken Walk, Max Savage And The False Idols, Jimmy Stewart Thursday Liquor Snatch, Keggin’, Made in China, SHERIFF Friday Whitehorse, Dead Boomers, Pneumatic Slaughter, Israel, DJ Del Amp Saturday The Morrisons, Mesa Cosa, Udays Tiger, DJ Sean Spoils Sunday Darling Downs, The Wild Comforts, DJ Kezbot Monday A Wallace, Palm Springs, Orchestra Lax Tuesday Lincoln Mckinnon, Winter Palace, Liam O’Connell
THE PALACE
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Saturday T-Rek, Honeysmack, We Are Gamma
Wednesday Mountain Goats, Catherine Tracios & the Starry Night
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Thursday Kate Martin, Ben Wells and the Middle Names
Wednesday Sean Simmons
Thursday Dan Watkins, Paddy Montgomery
Saturday Catcall, Palms, Magic Silver White, Fatti Frances
Sunday Lowtide, Steering by Stars, Gold Bloom, Velcro, Millicent O’Sullivan Tuesday Messed Up, Big Face And The Boogie Woogie Boogie Board Boys
UNION HOTEL BRUNSWICK
Sunday The Cartridge Family
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WORKERS CLUB
Wednesday Hurricane Fighter Plane
Saturday Ainslee Willis, Gold Bloom, Lisa Salvo
YAH YAH’S
Thursday High Fangs, Denver Airport, Smoke Signals
Friday Wolfpack, Los Amigos, Between The Wars, Admiral Ackbars Dishonourable Discharge Saturday Weekender Sunday Seri Vida, Alex Watts & the Foreign Tongue, Liberty Parade
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INPRESS • 55
BEHIND THE LINES TAKING OUT THE TRASH
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
WITH MICHAEL SMITH
WHICH PRODUCER?
Chatting to Canadian band The Tea Party recently in Sydney during a promotional visit to big up their forthcoming reunion tour of Australia in July, frontman Jeff Martin, who has essentially be responsible for producing all eight Tea Party albums thus far, made a very pertinent point: “The three of us together, we’d compose it, but I needed to make sure, as the producer, that there was a sonic vision that was understood. Like for instance Jeff Burrows’ drums, I worked on sounds so much; he’d come up to my studio in Montreal and we’d just be bashing away for weeks on end developing a sound, and it was so very different than what other bands were doing. That’s why Tea Party records stand the test of time, because they have these unique sounds that aren’t just homogenised by other producers. You can hire this engineer, you can hire that producer and all that stuff, but nine times out of ten, what you’re going to get is you’re going to get the same sounds that they use for other bands, right? You don’t need that, you know?”
THE FENDER BLACKTOP SERIES
Fender has now created vintage-style Fender Blacktop alnico humbucking pickups across the full range of their classic guitar lines – the Stratocaster, Telecaster, Jaguar and Jazzmaster. Guaranteed to deliver the hot high-gain power required to create today’s most aggressive sounds, each model also includes skirted black amp knobs, an alder body, maple neck, 9.5” radius fretboard, medium jumbo frets, gloss urethane finish and nickel/chrome hardware. If you’re quick, your local Fender outlet might also still have a few of the limited special run of white blonde Telecasters and butterscotch blonde Telecasters they put out recently, each featuring an ash body, modern “C” shape maple neck and three standard single-coil Strat or two hot Tele pickups respectively.
SOUND BYTES
“Death/Black Metal commando” Belphegor is currently recording in Mana Recording Studios in St Petersburg, Florida, with studio owner, Hate Eternal singer and guitarist Erik Rutan producing, recording and mixing. Los Angeles, CA misanthropic sludge-rockers, 16, recorded their latest album, Deep Cuts From Dark Clouds, late last year at Double Time Studios in San Diego, California, with Seattle-based producer/engineer Jeff Forrest (Pathology, The Shambles, Deadbolt). The debut album, The Royal Thousand, by US four-piece Glass Cloud was recorded in Escondido, California at Lambesis Studios, with the band’s eight-string guitarist Josh Travis serving as producer. The record is currently being mixed and mastered at The Machine Shop by Will Putney (For Today, Chiodos, Like Moths To Flames).
It’s been seven years since Garbage released 2005’s stripped-back Bleed Like Me. Not Your Kind Of People marks their triumphant return. Matt O’Neill catches up with drummer and uber-producer Butch Vig to discuss the unique processes behind their fifth studio album.
F
ew bands exemplify pop music’s inherent irony than Garbage. It’s long been established that pop is an intrinsically contradictory phenomenon – a genre sold on celebrity and personality, where its greatest artisans must nevertheless remain invisible to the public. If a listener notices novelty or craftsmanship in a pop song, its architects haven’t really done their job. Such is Garbage’s idiosyncratic, unenviable lot. Arguably one of the most innovative and experimental acts to have emerged from the ‘90s, Garbage’s flair for old-school songcraft and irresistible pop hooks – combined with the natural charisma of iconic frontwoman Shirley Manson – has nevertheless ensured audiences have rarely comprehended their ingenuity as musicians and producers. “We’ve always loved doing that,” drummer Butch Vig says of the band’s experimentalism. “Steve [Marker, multi-instrumentalist], Duke [Erikson – multi-instrumentalist] and myself are all lab rats. We’re mad scientists in a laboratory. We love experimenting. We play a lot of keyboards, guitars and drums and we do a lot of programming – but then we process things. We chop things up, layer, remix and just re-process everything.” The band’s instrumental lineup consists of three production professionals. Vig is perhaps best known for having produced Nirvana’s Nevermind but also handled The Smashing Pumpkins’ Siamese Dream, Sonic Youth’s Dirty and, more recently, Green Day’s 21st Century Breakdown (among a slew of other albums). Steve Marker and Duke Erikson
The second album, Sunshine State, from Brisbane’s avant-garde musician Edward Guglielmino, was recorded in Brisbane across last year with producer Jamie Trevaskis (The Wilson Pickers, The Gin Club, Texas Teas, Timothy Carroll) at his Junkship Studios. With Shihad drummer Tom Larkin at the helm, the debut album, The Brightest Light, by King Cannons has been recorded at Sing Sing Studios. Sydney post-hardcore five-piece My City Screams recorded their new EP, Surroundings, at Sun Studios in their hometown with Dave Petrovic. Dallas Frasca and her band recorded their new album, Sound Painter, in New York with Australian producer Andy Baldwin (Bjork, Chrissie Amphlett, The Living End, Kram, Cat Empire) at Rola Pola Studios in Brooklyn. Taking care of the production side of things themselves, eclectic Melbourne five-piece Flap! recorded their new album, A Great Day For The Race, at Sing Sing Studios with engineer Anna Webster, Adam Rhodes then mixing it inhouse as did veteran producer Ross Cockle in mastering it. 56 • INPRESS
Not Your Kind Of People finds Garbage returning to that restless approach. The band’s fifth album arrives after a hiatus spanning nearly seven years, broken only by the release of their greatest hits compilation Absolute Garbage in 2007, and follows two albums that, however exceptional, had taken the band away from their experimental roots. Beautiful Garbage, released in 2001, was a detour into full-fledged pop while 2005’s Bleed Like Me was stripped-back rock’n’roll. “I knew when we took the break that we weren’t breaking up. I knew it was going to be a long break. I thought it would be maybe two years – but then it stretched into five years. I think in the back of my head I always knew that we would make another record, though – and we may make a bunch more. There’s a creative spark between the four of us that still exists. That was evident from day one in the studio. Ideas just started flying out of us.”
the foostwitch to engage the solo function brought out a nice wide mid boost perfect for clean or driven passages, and you could also use master level to finetune a sweet spot for perfect feedback. The DV Mark 40 112 Combo is a great, simple to use amp for just about any style other than metal perhaps. The Clean tones are rich and sparkly and the driven tones are thick and juicy. This sort of amp works really well at beefing up single coils and pushes humbuckers into extreme fuzz territory.
The Woohoo Revue’s second album, Moreland’s Ball, was recorded at Sing Sing Studios in Melbourne with Adam Rhodes of Cat Empire fame.
Melbourne five-piece House Vs Hurricane are in New Jersey recording their second album, Crooked Teeth, with producer Machine (The Amity Affliction, Every Time I Die, Four Year Strong).
“Initially, when Shirley joined us, we had no plans of touring,” Vig recalls the band’s 1994 formation. “We were going to do one album, put it out and then I was going to go back to producing fulltime. When we started making those songs, the chemistry grew. I mean, Shirley didn’t know any of us. She probably felt like a fish out of water. By the time we were finished recording, though, we were very tight and close-knit. It kind of started out as a project, yeah, but it did rapidly become a band.”
GEAR REVIEWS
Producer Tony Buchen spent “an intense week” in late March at Neil Finn’s Roundhouse Studios in Auckland, NZ, working on the soundtrack for feature film, Mr Pip, with its composer Tim Finn.
Recorded and co-produced by Forrester Savell (Karnivool, Birds Of Tokyo, Dallas Frasca), the debut album, A History Of Houses, from Perth folk rockers The Siren Tower was recorded in their hometown’s Underground Studios and Melbourne’s Sing Sing Studios over the course of 18 months.
helped build and run Vig’s Wisconsin-based Smart Studios – employed by Death Cab For Cutie, Tegan & Sara and countless other respected artists.
Reza Nasseri For more information head to cmcmusic.com.au. Review originally published in Australian Musician.
ENGL POWERBALL II HEAD
DV MARK DV40 112 COMBO Unlike most valve amplifiers, which weigh a tonne, the DV Mark 40 112 comes in at just under 16kg, which is unheard for a full valve amp. The DV 40 112 is a two-channel 40-watt all-valve combo with one ECC83 in the preamp and two El 34s in the power amp. The output is also modified by what they refer to as “CPC” or Continuous Power Control, as well as a pentode/ triode switch on the back of the amplifier that switches between Class A and Class AB operation. In Class A the CPC ranges from 0.5 watts to 15 watts, whereas in Class A/B it operates from 1 watt to 40 watts, so think of the CPC working as a power soak enabling you to get cranked tone at bedroom to stage volume. I plugged my Strat into the clean channel, set the gain to about “6”, engaged the “Bright” switch and set my EQ to have a lot of bass and lot of mids. The single coils sounded thick and juicy because of the warm gain, and I maxed out the “Reverbero” (how Italian!) for some delicious Hendrixy chops. The clean channel was very warm and clear and cranking the volume and gain began to produce a thick, magical drive when switching to my bridge humbucker.
It would be an understatement to say that I was excited to have the opportunity to review one of the finest quality amps of the modern era. Engl are an amazing company that has brought quality German engineering and affordability to guitarists in search of flexible and quality amplifiers. I remember the early days when these amps first arrived at Billy Hydes in Blackburn, Victoria, where the Screamer combo simply blew my mind with its juicy lead tones and crystal-clear clean tones. The Engl Powerball II is a second generation marvel that boasts four discrete channels of tonal bliss for the rock/metal enthusiast. On top of that, there’s a separate mid boost for
Moving onto the second channel the gain, volume and EQ response were completely different. It was possible to go from low gain breakup to complete liquid overdrive by messing with the gain. Incorporating
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Released on their own StunVolume label, Not Your Kind Of People harks back to the glorious mess of pop, noise and electronics that was the band’s eponymous 1996 debut album. If anything, it’s their rawest and harshest recording to date. The band stepped outside of Smart Studios for the first time in their career and recorded everywhere, from professional studios to bedrooms and lounge rooms. The result is a record that sounds vibrantly, almost offensively, alive. “On our first album, we didn’t have Pro Tools. We used tape and we used samplers. The first album was done in almost a guerrilla fashion – almost by the seat of our pants – but this album was actually done in a similar way. We did some of it in a really tiny studio in East LA, we did some of it in my home studio, we did some in Steve’s bedroom, in Duke’s bedroom. I recorded drums in my pyjamas with four mics in a bedroom. No soundproofing or anything. It sounded kind of trashy but I dug that,” he laughs. “You know, I don’t think anyone will ever understand our process. The only way anyone could understand it would be to be there from day to day – because each day is completely different. Sometimes Steve will play a melody, Duke will handle noise and I’ll do the drums – but then we’ll all swap. Steve plays some drums on the record. And, with all the processing we do, there’re about six or seven different versions of each song. “If Shirley wasn’t there to force us to finish, we’d probably never release anything at all!” Not Your Kind Of People is out Friday 11 May through Stun Volume/Liberator Music.
each channel, as well as two independent master volumes for even more flexibility. First up, I plugged into the Clean channel and was rewarded with extremely clear tones with endless amounts of headroom perfect for contrasting clean/ heavy tones that have been around since the early ‘80s. Increasing the gain pushed the amp into Fender Deluxe/Bassman territory with thicker, juicier drive perfect for anything from blues to indie rock. The next channel was the Crunch channel, which was perfect for guitarists into rock or old school metal, where the gain was not out of control and the sound was very tight and responsive. Up next were the two lead channels, which were essentially identical and could be used for dialing in a metal rhythm tone and a metal lead tone with a difference in lead gain and master volume, or by either utilising the mid boost function to boost solos. A wonderfully subtle noise gate sat on top of these channels keeping them extremely quiet even at the loudest of settings. All the switching took place with a Custom Engl Z-9 footswich, except for Master Channel switching, which required a separate footswitch. This amp pumps out a roaring 100 Watts with four ECC83 (12AX7) preamp tubes and four 6L6GC power tubes offering massive gain, headroom, volume and bottom end for a guitarist that wants an amp to do it all. Reza Nasseri For more info, head to imd.com.au. Review originally published in Australian Musician.
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EMPLOYMENT ADMINISTRATION 15year old bass player looking to join metal or punk band. influences include metallica, slayer, megadeth, anthrax, pantera, ozzy osbourne/black sabbath and many more. email space1996@ hotmail.com iFlogID: 16863
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: 16087
Learn to record pro sounding tracks rock tracks,mixing secrets,mastering made easy and all taught by the pros visit www.toneartist.com iFlogID: 17923
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
PHOTOGRAPHER “PHOTOGRAPHERS . Casual. Architectural/Building focus around your CBD. $50-$75 per hour. 12+ mega pixel camera with full-framed sensor required. To apply Email: ancr@ancr.com.au iFlogID: 18306
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
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 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 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 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
HIRE SERVICES For as low as $100, you get a professional sound/pa mixer system with operator for the evening. Suitable for weddings, pub/clubs band gigs, private parties etc. Infovision@yayabings.com. au. Contact Chris 0419272196
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: 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
PA / AUDIO / ENGINEERING Sydney PA Hire: Best quality equipment, small to large 2, 3 and 4 way systems, packages for all occasions, competitive prices servicing Sydney and environs. Details; http://www.sydneypa.biz, Chris 0432 513 479 iFlogID: 13943
PHOTOGRAPHY Image is everything! If you have a band wanting to get ahead let me capture the next gig. High quality pictures say everything. http://roybarnesphotography.com/ 0414 243 811 iFlogID: 16994
iFlogID: 15173
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: 15162
OTHER ++ play more chinese music - love, tenzenmen ++ www.tenzenmen.com iFlogID: 14468
PHOTOGRAPHER- FILM & DIGITAL Promo, covers, gigs, launch/opening nights, music, stage, stills, events, anything. 8 years exp. 35mm and 120mm FILM and DIGITAL- Rates neg. All areas. Will tavel. P. Gracie 0432 609 739 g.lolicato@live.com iFlogID: 17915
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 Incubator Recording and Mastering. “Where the grooves are hatched”. Record your next demo or release in a relaxed creative enviroment with experienced engineer. Affordable check it out online at www.incubatorstudio.com.au iFlogID: 13892
RECORDING STUDIO $30ph
DJ VOCAL TUITION AND COACHING
In vocal trouble? Want to sing in tune? Bella Musica’s Foundation Technique Course is now open for new pupils. The course covers basic vocal technique and will personally guide you to your goals, amateur or professional. Vocal Coach Meera Belle is an experienced artist and teacher working across all genres from opera to contemporary. Visit www.meerabelle.com to see what singers say about her teaching. Phone 0406 512 162. iFlogID: 17958
iFlogID: 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
TUITION Drummer, Lessons Drum Lessons avaliable in Gladesville Teach all Levels,ages & experience.16 years experience. I studied at The Billy Hydes Drumcraft ,Obtained Dipolma in Drummming Mob: 0402 663 469 Michael iFlogID: 17025
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 CLASSES - Tuition for Piano, Guitar, Singing, Drums and Bass. 7 years of experience. Great rates for classes. For info call 9530 0984/ 0425 788 252 or visit www.katzmusic.com.au iFlogID: 17964
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 iFlogID: 17102
Vox Music Academy, a premier music singing academy has VOCAL, GUITAR, KEYBOARD & DRUM TUITION available at our Dandenong, Bayswater & Brunswick studios. For Info and Bookings: 1300 183 732 www.voxmusic.com.au iFlogID: 18166
VIDEO / PRODUCTION D7 STUDIO MUSIC VID FROM $250 music vid $250. Live gig edits, multi angles, fr $125 a set, 1 live track $100. All shot in full HD. d7studio@iinet.net.au 0404716770 iFlogID: 13368
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
MUSICIANS AVAILABLE BASS PLAYER
Dj available Dubstep to Drum&bass. Willing & able to adapt to your event. Low hourly rates. Everything negotiable. Easygoing, flexible entertainment. Call for a quote today. KN!VZ Entertainment Group Ph:0415680575
iFlogID: 16661
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
TOP INTERNATIONAL DRUMMER available. Great backing vocals, harmonica player and percussionist. Gigs, tours, recording. Private lessons/mentoring also available. www.reubenalexander.net iFlogID: 14261
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
OTHER We are a friendly jazz band playing music to any style for romantic situations, weddings, anniversaries, small cozy clubs - very affordable. contact Chris 0419 272 196 ventura@yayabings.com.au iFlogID: 15177
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
MUSICIANS WANTED BANDS KEYBOARD PLAYER REQUIRED
Keyboard player (female preferred) 20s30s own gear / transport wanted for indie rock band. Backing vocals ideal. Rehearse Brunswick. Recording album now. Info/ sounds @ www.noescapefortheking. com. Interested? Call 0414524422. iFlogID: 17844
New fresh artists, creatives & musicians wanted for tri annual event, great exposure/networking - must have own equipment, get your name out thereemail chicpetiteevents@hotmail.com iFlogID: 18100
Pro singer wanted for established 5 piece band Newcastle band Newcastle area. Covers , originals hard rock,blues,pop,rocknroll exp band gigged with Angels,paid gigs booked Peter 4984 4731 iFlogID: 17882
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
Young guitar player looking to start metal, punk band. influences include metallica, ozzy, black sabbath megadeth, trivium, bullet, anthrax, slayer slipknot and many many more. email space1996@hotmail.com if interested iFlogID: 17027
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
Yo Fuckers! Royal Ace needs a new drummer, were an established rock band wanting you to come bang shit. Check us out and shoot us a message facebook.com/royalaceband PEACE! iFlogID: 17858
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: 16159
iFlogID: 13407
Engadine Music Guitar Soloing Contest. Great prizes! Go to http://goo.gl/Q9JZ9 iFlogID: 18388
SINGER
$25 $50 $40 $40
$80
RECORDING PROJECT ROOM FROM $100
$35 $60 $50 $50 $15 $20
GOSPEL SINGERS WANTED for nondenominational 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! iFlogID: 13088
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 $399 including UNLIMITED pages, Logos, Hosting and 5xemail addresses and much more! Contact info@bizwebsites.com.au or see www.bizwebsites.com.au iFlogID: 13864
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 and PROFESSIONALLY from $299 including Hosting and email addresses! Contact info@bizwebsites.com.au or see www.bizwebsites.com.au iFlogID: 15454
Get your Band or Business Online Cost effectively and PROFESSIONALLY- from $399 including UNLIMITED pages, Hosting and 5xemail addresses and much more! Contact info@bizwebsites.com.au or see www.bizwebsites.com.au iFlogID: 13862
If you want to use DRUGS, that’s your business If you want to STOP, we can help. Narcotics Anonymous 9519 6200 www.na.org.au iFlogID: 16217
Need to promote your restaurant, club and make it the place to go? Contact us now, because providing good entertainment is a personal skill. Chris 0419 272 196 ventura@yayabings.com.au iFlogID: 15175
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
ZUMBA FITNESS CLASSES - Get Fit, Have Fun, Feel Fantastic! Introductory Offer 6 classes for $36. Classes in Elsternwick. Call 0425 788 252 or visit www.dancekatz.com.au for times and locations. iFlogID: 17966
TUITION ENGLISH TUTOR experienced and available. Affordable rates. PH: 0405069374
iFlogID: 18295
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: 17637
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