music
OUR SINGER
Stephen Malkmus has been with his solo outfit The Jicks longer now than he was with former “flame” Pavement, and tells Steve Bell why mastering music is still preferable to honing his culinary skills.
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tephen Malkmus & The Jicks spent a lot of 2014 on the road in support of their excellent sixth long-player, Wig Out At Jagbags, and the laid-back frontman explains he had a good time despite – rather than because of – having the new material at his disposal. “It was good I think – I’m looking back and it’s all kind of blurs; I can’t even remember what the album was like,” Malkmus chuckles. “At the start it’s fun because you’re doing the new stuff and you’re
kinda psyched, then as it goes on if you’re on a bit of a haul it becomes just music – it’s not even about that anymore. It becomes more about the shows, which is good because you know the songs more and you can kind of play around with them, and it’s more about just the venue or the people and not even the music; it’s ‘Is the band in a good mood?’ and ‘Does it sound good in here?’, and if that’s the case then it’s probably going to be a good show. “That’s the point where I’m at now – I don’t
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always hear all the new records but I’ll go and see the new bands, and if I go see ‘em and they’re ‘on’ you can tell. It’s like, ‘These guys are good and they’re on!’ They can be playing their first album at half-speed or something and I’ll be into it. That’s kinda where it’s at, if it’s life-affirming sounding. And we don’t always sound like that – sometimes we’re burned out or someone has a cold – but the show must go on.” There have been a few line-up changes in The Jicks over the journey, but the band’s core – bassist Joanna Bolme and guitarist/keyboardist Mike Clarke – have been with Malkmus pretty much from the get-go. “We have a band dynamic and a sound which is ‘us’ now which is kinda cool. That’s what you want if you’re playing rock’n’roll still at this point in time – you want to have some kind of chemistry, and I’m grateful to have them and they’re dedicated to the cause. We’ve all given our 30s and part of our 40s to this band, and we’re still into it so it’s cool. “The level that we play at it has to be [fun] – it’s not like going to Kuwait on a furlough: ‘I’m going to make a lot of money but it sucks here – there’s no alcohol or chicks but I’m making a lot of money and I can’t wait to get home and spend it all,’” he laughs. “It’s not like that. People who stick around in bands like we do, it has to be that you’re really into it because it’s a fair amount of work and it’s not always glamorous unfortunately so you’d better be like, ‘This is what I wanna do because I love it.’ It’s probably not as hard as being a chef, but it’s still hard.” WHEN & WHERE: 28 Feb, The Zoo To read the full interview head to theMusic.com.au
MARTIAL ARTS EXPERT “Like Flight Of The Conchords” but with martial arts instead of singing, Maximum Choppage is the new kung-fu comedy from Lawrence Leung. He talks to Guy Davis.
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o one wants to let down their mum by bringing home, say, a lacklustre report card or an inappropriate date. But both of those scenarios pale in comparison to the heavyweight champion of parental disappointment: choosing the wrong career track. That, believe it or not, is the subtext of Maximum Choppage, the ABC’s new kungfu comedy starring comedian Lawrence Leung. After years of refining his fists of fury at a Beijing martial arts temple, Leung’s Simon Chan has returned home to the Sydney suburb of Cabramatta to fulfil his destiny by following in his late father’s footsteps as a fearsome but noble warrior. There’s only one problem: Simon has actually been studying at a Melbourne art school and can’t throw a punch to save his life. “We flip all those parental expectations of getting a proper job, like a doctor or a lawyer, on their head,” says Leung, who wrote a number of Maximum Choppage episodes in addition to playing the lead. And it all takes place in “a heightened universe that still captures the essence of Cabramatta”, he says. The suburb has had a rough go of things in the past, with news and current affairs reports, especially in the ‘90s, playing up what Leung calls the “dark and shady” reputation of the area. But Leung and the creators of Maximum Choppage wanted to showcase the neighbourhood’s culture, albeit in a somewhat 12 • THE MUSIC • 18TH FEBRUARY 2015
stylised way. “A local ghost festival lets us play with horror themes, and we’ll throw an action sequence into the middle of a food festival.” As you may have gathered, the spirit of Kung Fu Hustle’s Stephen Chow and Spaced’s Edgar Wright flows through Maximum Choppage’s veins, with the creators of the show ever-eager to maintain humanity and heart while raising the stakes by asking “Ok, how we can ‘Max Chop’ that?” whenever a funny or furious situation arose. “We think it’s going to appeal to action fans, comedy fans, even fans of a family drama,” says Leung. “It’s a bit like Flight Of The Conchords,
but instead of going into a musical number like they do on that show, we’ll transition into an action scene.” While he’s primarily known for his acclaimed standup work, which he’ll be taking around the comedy festival circuit next month in The Escapist, Leung is no stranger to acting, having appeared on the likes of House Husbands and Offspring. Taking on the central role in Maximum Choppage, however, gave him greater opportunities to “embody a character”, even to the point of undergoing a bit of training (from very nice martial arts experts “who could kill you with their bare hands... but never would”) for the show’s action sequences. Leung does admit with a laugh that he could slack off a little because, well, Simon kinda sucks at fighting. WHAT: Maximum Choppage 9pm Tuesdays on ABC2