Time Off Issue 1630 by TheMusic.com.au

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W E D N E S D AY 5 J U N E 2 0 13

TRADITION

ABBE MAY

THE BELLRAYS

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FREE

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BLEEDING KNEES CLUB

TIKI TAANE

BREACH THE PEEP TEMPEL P-MONEY TOMMY TRASH

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T I M E O F F I S S U E # 1 6 3 0 W E D N E S D AY 4 J U N E 2 0 1 3

P20 REVIEW

...Like Cl Clockwork k k shows that Queens are still depraved and drug-drenched. It’s just that these days the boys are taking their hits from a batch far more pure.” - Benny Doyle reviews QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE’S ...LIKE CLOCKWORK

“Trouble Will Find Me continues this carefully calibrated move forward, and as such is their most assured, awe-inspiring set of songs yet.”

“I’ve been away touring for probably half of my adult life, but I was always coming home and this time I wasn’t coming home. That’s why it ended up being called Departures.”

- MARTHA WAINWRIGHT, Live Review (P22)

“The tedious comparisons between ’20s flappers and ’90s rappers, and every fucking time Leo says ‘Old Sport’ – it’s all too much.” - Anthony Carew reviews THE GREAT GATSBY (P24)

“I can’t make people understand, I can’t rock and save the world all at the same time; somebody else has to help with that.” - Lisa Kekaula of THE BELLRAYS (P14)

“We’d be at a house party in London with One Direction, looking at each other thinking, ‘What are we doing here, how did this come about?” - Alex Wall of BLEEDING KNEES CLUB (P17)

EDITORIAL Group Managing Editor: Andrew Mast Editor: Steve Bell Contributing Editor: Benny Doyle Food & Arts Coordinator: Cassandra Fumi Interns: Keagan Elder, Sophia De Marco ADVERTISING Advertising Account Executive: Alex Iveson, Zac Gould DESIGN & LAYOUT Cover Design/Designer: Matt Davis ACCOUNTS & ADMINISTRATION Administration: Leanne Simpson CONTRIBUTORS: Time Off: Ben Preece, Dan Condon, Daniel Johnson, Chris Yates, Matt O’Neill, Adam Curley, Lochlan Watt, Tyler McLoughlan, Mitch Knox, Sam Hobson, Tony McMahon, Benny Doyle, Jake Sun, Brendan Telford, Cyclone, Siobhain McDonnell, Sky Kirkham, Bradley Armstrong, Carley Hall, Madeleine Laing, Tom Hersey, Jazmine O’Sullivan, Tom Noyes, Samantha Armatys

6 • To check out the mags online go to themusic.com.au/mags

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“And it probably won’t hurt sales that we’ve reached that awkward moment when Hanson becomes a reasonably hot group of dudes (yes, even the one who looked like a golden lab).”

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- Mandy McAlister with CULTURAL CRINGE (P26)

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CREDITS

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- BERNARD FANNING (P12)

- Brendan Telford reviews THE NATIONAL’S TROUBLE WILL FIND ME (P20)

“When she’s not in the middle of a song, she’s telling the crowd about her experiences with psychedelics and what it’s like to have your name printed on the underpants which are being sold from the merch desk.”

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Front Row: Baz McAlister, Mandy McAlister, Helen Stringer, Matt O’Neill, Guy Davis, Samuel Hobson, Danielle O’Donohue, Dave Drayton, Anthony Carew Photography: Stephen Booth, Kane Hibberd, Terry Soo, John Taylor, John Stubbs, Rick Clifford, Sky Kirkham EDITORIAL POLICY The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers. No part may be reproduced without the consent of the copyright holder. © PUBLISHER: Street Press Australia Pty Ltd Suite 11/354 Brunswick Street Fortitude Valley QLD 4006 POSTAL: Locked Bag 4300 Fortitude Valley QLD 4006 Phone: 07 3252 9666 Email: info@timeoff.com.au PRINTED BY: Rural Press

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THE TEMPO HOTEL 388 Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley. 18+ ID Required. Management reserve the right to refuse entry.

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ONCE MORE FROM THE BOTTOM

THIS WEEK’S RELEASES JAGWAR MA Howlin Future Classic

ANDREW STOCKDALE Keep Moving Universal

ROGUE WAVE Nightingale Floors Vagrant

Shapeshifter

AMEN DEVOTION

LIVIN’ LA VIDA LOCA

When it comes to live drum’n’bass, there are few groups – if any – on the planet that can hold a torch to the power of New Zealand five-piece Shapeshifter. The genre-defining group have taken the sounds of the south worldwide, and create an energy onstage that has seen them send crowds into a frenzy at festivals and club shows around the globe. With the “heavy soul” of new album, Delta, ready to showcase, the band are excited to announce they’ll be crossing the pond for some select capital city shows, playing The Metro, Sydney, Friday 9 August; The Hi-Fi, Brisbane, Saturday 10; Billboard, Melbourne, Friday 16, and Metro City, Perth, Saturday 17. Proudly presented by Street Press Australia.

According to Ricky Martin, she bangs – she bangs! Well, that she (or he) could be you when the global heartthrob and current Voice coach returns to Australian stages to shake his bon-bon (we’ll stop now) later this year. Tickets are on sale now for the following dates: Saturday 5 October, Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne; Saturday 12, Perth Arena; Wednesday 16, Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, and Friday 18, Allphones Arena, Sydney. These shows mark Martin’s first tour Down Under in over a decade, so don’t miss out on your chance to relive the halcyon days of Latin pop and remind yourself just why the Puerto Rican star has moved more than 75 million records around the world.

SULT OF THE EARTH KT TUNSTALL Invisible Empire EMI

Ghostpoet

PEANUT BUTTER JAMS

APP IT UP RAIN? Size: 4.3 What it does: Not all weather apps are created equal. Period. Rain? Gives you up to the minute updates on where exactly the rain is, where it’s heading and how heavy it is. Why it’s essential: Never get caught out in a freak storm again. Success! Platform: IOS 4.3

Britain rhyme renegade Ghostpoet is coming back to the country later this year, playing the following dates around the country: Thursday 12 September, The Bakery, Perth; Friday 13, Oxford Art Factory, Sydney; Saturday 14, The Corner, Melbourne, and Sunday 15, The Spiegeltent as part of the bumper line-up for Brisbane Festival. He’s playing with special guest Oscar Key Sung.

ONYA ONRA Moving between deep funk, soul and boogie, with a hip hop and electro edge, Parisian beatnik Onra is fearless with his stylistic turns and versatile when spinning any and every sound. Championed by Fools Gold honcho and general DJ superstar A-Trak, this is your chance to get on the fresh shit when Onra tours next month, playing Thursday 18 July, Howler, Melbourne; Friday 19, Oxford Art Factory, Sydney; Saturday 20, The Bakery, Perth, and Thursday 25, Coniston Lane, Brisbane.

ABOUT THAT

ALTERNATIVE CAREER ERIN HARRINGTON OF MISS ELM

IF YOU WEREN’T DOING MUSIC, WHAT ELSE WOULD YOU BE DOING? I’d be making hats for old ladies. Miss Elm touring nationally check The Guide for dates

Guttermouth have never been afraid of a bit of hard work and with the announcement that the Orange County punks are putting their band to bed, it’s no surprise to see that they’ll be saying goodbye to our country the only way they know how. This will be your last time to catch spit in the front row so get ready for a sweaty one when Guttermouth roll around Australia on their farewell tour. Catch them Saturday 10 August, The Loft, Warrnambool; Sunday 11, Ferntree Gully Hotel; Thursday 15, Barwon Club, Geelong; Friday 16, Karova Lounge, Ballarat; Saturday 17, The Evelyn, Melbourne; Sunday 18, The Man, Falls Creek; Monday 19, Swindlers, Mt Hotham; Wednesday 21, The Station, Jindabyne; Thursday 22, UC Live, Canberra; Friday 23, Manning Bar, Sydney; Saturday 24, The Beachcomber Hotel, Toukley; Sunday 25, Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle; Thursday 29, The Northern, Byron Bay; Friday 30, The Tempo Hotel, Brisbane, and Saturday 31, Parkwood Tavern, Gold Coast.

Back from a foreign assault that took them across Europe, Asia and New Zealand, Deez Nuts are now ready to show their fellow countrymen and women just why they are Unfuckwithable. Spin the pit with JJ and the boys Friday 12 July, Workers Club, Melbourne; Friday 26 and Saturday 27 (all ages), Crowbar, Brisbane; Sunday 28, Live At The Wall, Sydney (licensed/all ages); Friday 2 August, Prince Of Wales, Bunbury; Saturday 3 August, YMCA HQ (under-18/day) and Rosemount Hotel, and Sunday 4, Newport Hotel, Fremantle.

About to arrive in our country to take part in the King Khan & BBQ shows, the hot grill of the pair, Mark Sultan, has just announced he’s going to extend his trip down our way will be putting on a few solo shows to keep the good times rolling on. Able to channel the sound of a full band through the soul of just one man, Sultan will be donning his turban and his shiny cape when he performs Wednesday 26 June, The Luwow, Melbourne and Friday 28, Black Bear Lodge, Brisbane, before finishing off with a free show Sunday 30 at The Hollywood Hotel, Sydney.

ALL IN THE FAMILY DJs, producers, reality TV stars and all around worldbeaters Stafford Brothers are bringing their wild and unhinged DJ sets back to Australia for a national tour happening over the next month. Having just finished rubbing shoulders with the likes of Christina Milian while shooting the vibrant film clip for their double platinum-selling single, Hello, the Gold Coast boys are gagging to slide this new material into some bigarse party sets. They play Friday 7 June, Metropolis, Fremantle; Saturday 8, the Met, Brisbane; Sunday 9, Mynt Lounge, Melbourne and Eureka Hotel, Geelong; Saturday 22, Marquee, Sydney; Friday 28, Agenda Nightclub, Toowoomba; Saturday 29, Platinum, Gold Coast, and Tuesday 4 July, Cool Room, Sydney

INSTILLING THE FEAR It doesn’t come more extreme than this pairing of old and new, with Psycroptic and King Parrot partnering up for a run of dates. Catch two of this country’s best metal bands together on stage during their Inheriting The Sickness tour: Thursday 25 July, Karova Lounge, Ballarat; Friday 26, Barwon Club, Geelong; Saturday 27, Northcote Social Club, Melbourne; Sunday 28, Musicland, Melbourne (all ages); Thursday 1 August, Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle; Friday 2, The Bald Faced Stag, Sydney; Saturday 3, Crowbar, Brisbane and Sunday 4, Norville Hotel, Toowoomba.

8 • For more news/announcements go to themusic.com.au/news

Recent support roles for international stars such as Hot Chip and Bloc Party have all but highlighted that World’s End Press are ready to get promoted to the major league, their tight, life-affirming brand of indie disco pretty much designed to incite rug cutting of the highest order. Now to tie in with To Send Our Love, the first nibble from a debut album expected to drop later this year, the trio will be hitting the road and play Alhambra Lounge, Brisbane, Saturday 20 July and Ding Dong, Melbourne, Friday 26. In addition they’ll also be holding down a residency at Brighton Up Bar, Sydney, playing Friday 2, Thursday 8 and Thursday 15 August.

THE RIVER RUNS WILD Big news in for Aussie metal fans with the pairing of Nile and The Faceless for a short run of capital city dates later this year. American tech masters Nile have recently added splashes of symphonic metal into their blend, while The Faceless are riding high after debuting in the Billboard Top 50 with their most recent release, Autotheism. The full metal racket happens Thursday 14 November, The Hi-Fi, Brisbane; Friday 15, Manning Bar, Sydney; Saturday 16, The Corner, Melbourne, and Sunday 17, Amplifier, Perth. Tickets are on sale now through the usual outlets; however, if you have a PayPal account head to Soundworks Touring and Prime Cuts Music, where you can purchase tickets for all dates and you get band stickers included – why not we say.

CLIMBING UP THE WALLS Explosive garage rock fury is coming at you in the way of APES, the Melbourne four-piece ready to scrap around the country over the coming months. Celebrating the release of their debut EP, Helluva, the lads will be throwing some riff and roll our way during the following dates: Friday 28 June, Workers Club, Melbourne; Saturday 6 July, FBi Social, Sydney; Friday 12, X&Y Bar, Brisbane; Saturday 13, The Loft, Gold Coast; Thursday 18, Prince of Wales Hotel, Bunbury; Friday 19, White Star Tavern, Albany; Saturday 20, Ya-Ya’s, Perth; Sunday 21, The Newport Hotel, Fremantle, and Friday 2 August, Karova Lounge, Ballarat.

THE BEGINNING OF THE END

Yellowcard

NOTHING BUT THE BONES Those violin-wielding pop punks Yellowcard are coming back Down Under to present their fans with a bit of a treat by way of Ocean Avenue Acoustic, the five-piece set to strip back their much-loved 2003 album, Ocean Avenue, and perform the entire full-length cover to cover. A must-see for all Yellowcard fans, the Florida band play the following dates: Friday 25 October, The Tivoli, Brisbane; Saturday 26, Enmore Theatre, Sydney; Tuesday 29, Palace Theatre, Melbourne, and Thursday 31, Capitol, Perth. Pre-sale action is taking place through Frontier Touring midday to midday from Tuesday 11 to Wednesday 12 June. If you miss out on that, general admission tickets go on sale from 9am Thursday 13.

Midnight Juggernauts

BETWEEN THE PEAKS They’ve tickled our feet with a few new cuts, but now those militant electro merchants Midnight Juggernauts are finally ready to let us enter their Uncanny Valley. Embarking on a bunch of OS dates that will see them touch down in Europe and South America, the Melbourne trio will then return (no doubt triumphantly) to play an absolute shite load of shows in the coming months. They start their national tour Friday 16 August with an all ages show at Metro Theatre, Sydney, followed by Saturday 17, Zierholz, Canberra; Friday 23, Karova Lounge, Ballarat; Saturday 24, Corner Hotel, Melbourne; Friday 30, The Hi-Fi, Brisbane; Saturday 31, The Northern, Byron Bay; Friday 6 September, Prince Of Wales, Bunbury, and Saturday 7, Capitol, Perth.

ALL ABOARD THE EVENING TRAIN Arriving in Australia for the very first time next month, Mick Flannery has been on a meteoric rise. From parttime stonemason to a huge concert drawcard in his native Ireland, Flannery’s voice is built to move even the most stoic of individuals, with a feeling and warmth that all but captures the human spirit. Catch this charismatic songwriter when he plays tracks from his Irish number one record, Red To Blue, and others from his back catalogue at the following dates: Thursday 11 July, Old Museum, Brisbane; Friday 12, The Factory Theatre, Sydney; Saturday 13, The Spotted Mallard, Melbourne, and Sunday 14, Rosie O’Grady’s Northbridge, Perth.

WEDNESDAY 5 JUNE

STATE OF ORIGIN LIVE COVERAGE ON THE BIG SCREEN STRINGS FOR AMMO AFTER GAME THURSDAY 6 JUNE

OPEN MIC NIGHT 7.30PM–10.30PM

O’MALLEY’S EVERY FRIDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT

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COME DOWN AND MEET OUR NEW RESIDENT DJ. TOP 40’S, R&B, DANCE AND MUCH MORE TILL LATE

FRIDAY 7 JUNE

STRINGS FOR AMMO 5PM–8.30PM

LATIN CAVE: BRISBANES HEART OF LATIN DANCE, MUSIC AND FOOD 9PM

SATURDAY 8 JUNE

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JONSON STREET BYRON BAY Friday 7 June

A LITTLE PROVINCE, BOOTLEG RASCAL & CLOUD LADDER Saturday 8 June

THE RED PAINTINGS, THREE CORNERED SQUARE & DRAKE THE FAKE Friday 14 June

DEAD BEAT BAND Saturday 15 June

DAN HANNAFORD BAND Friday 21 June

GAY PARIS & THE NERVE

GER FENNELLY

Saturday 22 June

REDS V LIONS (LIVE) LUCKY

THE BEARDS, LITTLE BASTARDS & ENOLA FALL

2.30PM–6PM

9.30PM–12AM

Saturday 29 June SUNDAY 9 JUNE

GER FENNELLY 2.30PM–6.30PM

STRINGS FOR AMMO 7PM–11.30PM

ANDREW STOCKDALE (WOLFMOTHER) PROJECT Thursday 4 July

MONDAY 10 JUNE

CLOSED

TUESDAY 11 JUNE

DEEP STACK POKER 7PM

ASH GRUNWALD & MR CASSIDY Saturday 6 July

ROYSTON VASIE Saturday 13 July

SLEEPMAKESWAVES Saturday 20 July

LIME CORDIALE Basement Level - Wintergarden Centre Queen Street Mall - Brisbane City PH 07 3211 9881 FAX 07 3211 9890 Email admin@mickomalleys.com.au

TICKETS AVAILABLE ONLINE 9

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LET’S HAVE A TOAST

ARTS

Original Shady Records artist and former protégé of the Detroit don himself, Eminem, Obie Trice has seen the highs, the lows and everything in between during the course of his career. Now, on the eve of dropping his fourth record, The Hangover, the MC is heading our way to perform his first ever headline shows around the country. The rapper will play one Brisbane show, bringing the bounce to Coniston Lane on Thursday 27 June with support from Mastacraft. If you’re keen to get along head to Moshtix now, where you can grab tickets for $39+BF, or if you want to step it up and meet the man as well, you can treat yourself for $100+BF.

CRANKIN’ IT TO ELEVEN

Farewell My Queen

WEDNESDAY 5 Cult Movie Night: Cosmic Monsters – the chance to watch cult cinema in a bar, tonight’s screening is of the 1958 film Cosmic Monsters. When scientists start working with super magnets, mutations start developing in the local wildlife and… humans. Room 60, 6.30pm.

THURSDAY 6 Farewell My Queen – a film from Benoît Jacquot about the passions, debauchery and rare acts of nobility in the court of Marie Antoinette. In the final days before the Revolution. With Diane Kruger, Léa Seydoux and Virginie Ledoyen. Opening today, Palace Centro.

FRIDAY 7 Bloshoi Ballet: The Bright Stream – a performance of one of the most celebrated ballets to come from Russia. Written in 1935, Stalin banned the ballet finding the subject of collective farming too serious for a ballet. Only being performed in Brisbane, QPAC, to Sunday 9 June. Across The Universe – a super colourful love story with a Beatles soundtrack. This is a film set during the Vietnam War; a young upper-class America girl falls in love with a poor artist from Liverpool. The film follows them on a magical mystery tour around schools and universities in the States. Brisbane Square Library, 6pm.

SATURDAY 8 Judy Millar: Be Do Be Do Be Do – an exhibition by post-expressionist painter Judy Millar. This exhibition contains three painting installations that she has created by enlarging paintings with a billboard printer. An exciting Kiwi artist who spends her time split between Auckland and Berlin. Opening, 5pm, IMA, to Saturday 27 July.

The Good Ship

PULL UP THE ANCHORS Porno country folk cabaret – it could only be The Good Ship. Back to port after a widely successful run of dates throughout the US and Canada, the octet will be performing their brand new ‘Capital Offensive’ tour up and down the east coast. They kick things off in Brisbane on Saturday 13 July at The Zoo, with support bands on the night including The Mouldy Lovers, His Merry Men and Tom West. Get out your best sailing regalia as their ain’t no vessel quite like The Good Ship! Tickets 15+BF through Oztix.

JC HAS GOT A SECRET

BEACH PARTY Celebrating its 12th year in existence, The Noosa Long Weekend Festival has announced over 85 cultural events to occur over its ten-day duration, running from Friday 14 June – Sunday 23. Festival director Ian Mackellar says, “This is event will be for you if you are a fan of classical music or kamikaze cabaret, literature or long lunches, cartoonists or tea cosies, drama or documentary films, and everything in between!” Just a few musical acts you can expect to see include The Flinder’s Quartet, The New Palm Court Orchestra, and Meow Meow – a unique brand of performance art exotica. The festival takes place at various venues around Noosa, make sure to soak in as much culture and sunshine as you can!

COOLING FOALS RIGHT DOWN Already one of the most anticipated tours of the year (with tickets long sold out), Foals have just given punters getting along a little more to get excited about, announcing Melbourne sextet Alpine as their main support for their national tour this coming spring. Make sure you’re at The Tivoli early on Wednesday 2 October to throw your support behind the domestic product. Proudly presented by Street Press Australia.

Olaf Breuning – the final part in the film trilogy, this half hour video is guided by an anonymous buffoon, played by Brian Kerstetter as he shows us around his hometown, New York. Its cringe humour at it’s weirdest and wildest. Opening, 5pm, IMA, to Saturday 27 July. But I Thought Ballet Was French? – a discussion panel led by Professor Susan Street that looks at how the ballet came to Russia, it’s history, social and political context, repertoire, training method and distinct styles. Prof. Street will also be joined by a panel of journalists and the Artistic Director of Queensland Ballet, Li Cunxin. QPAC, 5pm.

SUNDAY 9

Tina Arena

SUNSHINE SONGS

William Robinson – an exhibition of painting and pastels by Queensland landscape artist, William Robinson. Robinson has won the Art Gallery of NSW Archibald Prize twice with two self-portraits, first in 1987 and again in 1996. QAG, to Monday 7 October.

DUDE WRITES LIKE A LADY

SUPPORTING THE ‘SLAVE

Author of the best selling erotic fiction trilogy The Secret Lives Of Emma, Natasha Walker has a secret – she is John Purcell writing under a pseudonym. Purcell wrote the books years ago, submitting the manuscripts to publishers when he noticed that “erotica was hot” in the literacy market. The Emma trilogy has sold more than 50,000 copies in Australia and follows the erotic tales of a bored housewife and the young man who lives next door. Purcell is married with two children.

Metal fans right around our region are no doubt already stretching up for a night of head banging later this year with Norwegian black metallers Enslaved rolling into town, and now with local supports announced there’s even more reason to don the blacks and get along. On Sunday 3 November at The Hi-Fi you can also catch the likes of Rise Of Avernus, Ne Obliviscaris and Vyrion, with early-bird tickets still available through the venue website for $50+BF.

World Press Photo – the 56th annual photography exhibition has arrived in Brisbane, showing off the best in press photography. The collection visits Brisbane as a part of its international tour that includes 45 countries. Brisbane Powerhouse, to Sunday 23 June.

TUESDAY 11

Pludo

MAKING FRENEMIES Born on the streets and enhanced in the studio, the unique sound of Pludo refuses to be classified or contained. The two-piece electro rockers – made up of 30-year-old Anthony Kupinic and 20-year-old Alex Cooper – pull together wild percussion, big beats and full vocal lines, their performances full of energy, colour and life. Catch the band when they launch their new single Haywire, playing The Hi-Fi on Friday 14 June. Proudly presented by Street Press Australia.

YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO It’s all free and it’s all fresh at the Brisbane Powerhouse on a Sunday. As part of their Live Spark series, Brisbane’s favourite five-piece We All Want To are spreading the sonic love on the banks of the river, and in a bit of twist, as well as getting their songs you’ll also enjoy the strains of McKisko and Dom Miller, who will both be taking vocal duties for parts of the set. Joining the local contingent as well will be Sydney rockers Hailer, who are coming up to showcase their latest record, Another Way Out. The all ages show takes place Sunday 23 June from 3pm.

MAKING THEIR MARK

With trumpeter James Morrison at the helm, the state-wide Queensland Music Festival returns in 2013, spreading loads of songs across the state with performers from all types of musical backgrounds. During the 17-day music bonanza, happing from Friday 12 to Sunday 28 July, you can catch the likes of Tina Arena, pictured, Anthony Callea, Katie Noonan, Graeme Connors, Kate Miller-Heidke, Troy CassarDaley, Melinda Schneider, Darren Percival, Emma Pask, as well as international acts such as Take 6, Marian Petrescu, The Brodsky Quartet and Julian Bliss. Regional areas will be treated to a ten-stop tour from Simon Tedeschi and Ian Cooper, while The Yarrabah Band Festival will feature Indigenous talent from right across Queensland, including Thelma Plum. And if that’s not enough, the World’s Biggest Orchestra challenge assemble will blow into Brisbane to try and rewrite the record books. And there’s plenty more other stuff that we simply can’t fit in here! What you need to do is head to the QMF website, find out what’s happening near you and get out and be a part of it.

At Last: The Etta James Story – staring Vika Bull as the legendary chanteuse, a biographical musical about the life and times of Etta James. James is recognised for bridging the gap between different styles including rhythm and blues, rock’n’roll and pop. Brisbane Powerhouse, 7.30pm.

10 • For more news/announcements go to themusic.com.au/news

Two American MCs rising up – Dizzy Wright and Jarren Benton – will be teaming up with slinging scratch master DJ Hoppa to spread the good vibes on Funk Volume’s tour Down Under. Be part of this rhyme wave when the triple-threat hit the stage at Coniston Lane, Friday 19 July and Surfers Paradise Beergarden, Monday 22. The GC gig is 18+ only, however, the Brisbane gig is pretty unique for the fact that’s it’s split in halves: under-18s getting the treatment between 5pm and 9pm, while the jams are kicked out for the older crew from 10pm to 2am. Tickets are available now through Oztix and Ticketmaster.

Looking to evolve past their DIY garage days, Buchanan stepped it up for their debut album, Human Spring, with the full-length put down in seven different recording studios, with frontman Josh Simons co-producing the release with Catherine Marks (Foals, Interpol, Kanye West). Realise the grand ambitions of the melodic rockers on stage when they bring their soaring songs to the stage, playing Black Bear Lodge, Wednesday 10 July and Coolangatta Hotel, Gold Coast, Thursday 11.

Breaking away from influential post-hardcore outfit Dance Gavin Dance to pursue a new musical journey, Jonny Craig is looking to celebrate with fans on his upcoming Australian tour, and making the night even more special with Melbourne’s Built On Secrets, back in Australia after recording their debut record stateside, announced as main support on all national tour dates. You can catch the two acts at Thriller, X&Y Bar, Brisbane, Saturday 20 July (with Ryan Dingle and Beth Lucas) and for an all ages show at Studio 454, Sunday 21 (with Awaken I Am and Millie Tizzard). Tickets for the latter can be purchased through Oztix.

MEET ODD FUTURE’S LONE WOLF As if catching the polarising Tyler, The Creator on stage wasn’t enough, fans can now also meet the man in the flesh. Get your Golf Wang hats ready and gear up for some tomfoolery when the motherfucking goblin holds court at fashion outlet Culture Kings. Found at 115 Queen Street in the Brisbane CBD, Tyler will in house Saturday 8 June at 4.30pm.

ANOTHER GOOD BAND DOWN Barrio Fest is probably the best way to toast the legacy of soon-to-be-sleeping band Headaches, with frontman Shane Collins and other crew throwing down a huge long weekend party on Sunday 9 June at Crowbar to tie in with the Brissie group’s final show. Happening between 5pm to 3am, additional bands on the bill include Fear Like Us, Arrows, Army Of Champions, Milestones, We Set Sail, Postblue, Little Shadow, Inside The Whale, No Trust, Ashley McIntyre, Seahorse Divorce and Sirens. Tickets are on sale now through Oztix and Kill The Music starting from $15+BF, however, we recommend stepping it up and getting a limited edition Barrio Fest shirt with your purchase for just $30+BF. You know you want it!

NO BULL Put the Bullshit Aside and dive into Lime Cordiale’s new nugget of fun. The track showcases the quintet’s knack for a quirky pop hook, and will no doubt push anticipation even higher for their second EP, slated for an August release. The band play Thursday 18 July, Black Bear Lodge; Friday 19, Solbar, Maroochydore; and Saturday 20, The Northern, Byron Bay. Tickets for the Brisbane and Sunny Coast dates can be picked up through Oztix, while the gig south of the border is a freebie, and there ain’t nothing wrong with that.

THE HEAT IS ON With tastemakers such as Pete Tong, Sinden and Nina Las Vegas all singing their praise, you can be certain of a banging night when Indian Summer hit Bowler Bar, Saturday 22 June. This is the Melbourne duo’s first ever Queensland headline show, so get out, get crazy and show ‘em how we do it in the Sunshine State.

EMERALD SOUND Leaving the Guinness and grassy pastures of their native Ireland, Limerick group Hermitage Green will be bringing their celebratory combination of tribal beats, big harmonies and textured guitar lines to the Queensland Irish Club on Friday 21 June.

Tex Perkins

THE HONEYMOON AIN’T OVER, BABY There aren’t many more iconic frontmen and performers in this country than ol’ sexy Texy. From his work with Beasts Of Bourbon and The Cruel Sea to his more recent solo output, Tex Perkins continues to defy logic with his recorded output and onstage tenacity. In an intimate appearance, Tex arrives on the city outskirts Friday 5 July, playing Eatons Hill Hotel with Charlie Owen and Murray Patterson. Tickets are available now through Oztix for $28+BF, with support on the evening coming from Karl S Williams and Toowoomba’s Sue Ray.

SCENE HITS MILESTONE Congratulations to our fellow Brisbane street press Scene Magazine for reaching their 1,000th issue this week. We know too well how much work goes into getting a magazine out on the street, so to rack up a thousand issues is a wonderful achievement. Here’s to continuing to foster and inform the rich local scene that we’re both privileged to document on a weekly basis.

THIS WEEK at The Hi-Fi Kamelot (USA) Tue 4 Jun 5 Seconds of Summer Wed 5 Jun U18s Killing Joke (UK) Thu 6 Jun HTC & Speaker TV Present

Gypsy & The Cat Fri 7 Jun Outlook Festival Launch Party Sat 8 Jun Tiki Taane (NZ) Sun 9 Jun

JUST ANNOUNCED Tall Poppy Indie RockParty Sat 6 July Shapeshifter (NZ) Sat 10 Aug Midnight Juggernauts Fri 30 Aug Nile (USA) Thu 14 Nov

COMING UP The BellRays (USA) Thu 13 Jun Pludo Fri 14 Jun Municipal Waste (USA) Sat 15 Jun The Beards Fri 21 Jun The Red Paintings Sat 22 Jun Mono (JPN) Wed 26 Jun La Dispute (USA) Fri 28 Jun Baby Animals Sat 29 Jun Ash Grunwald Fri 5 Jul Saint Vitus (USA) & Monarch! (FRA) Thu 18 Jul Stereophonics (USA) Fri 19 Jul Nejo Y Dalmata (PUR) Sat 27 Jul RevFest Sat 3 aug Flyleaf (USA) Thu 15 Aug Clare Bowditch Fri 16 Aug Soilwork (SWE) Wed 2 Oct

Enslaved (NOR) Rescheduled to Sun 3 Nov Hits & Pits 2.0 Feat.

Sat 16 Nov

Amorphis (FIN) Sat 12 Oct TIX + INFO THEHIFI.COM.AU

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125 BOUNDARY ST, WEST END

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Some people view the glass as half-empty, some see it as half-full, but what if you’re not sure that you even want the glass at all? Bernard Fanning takes Steve Bell through the massive life changes and soul-searching that he eventually poured into his second solo album, Departures.

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hen Brisbane rock behemoth Powderfinger finally pulled up stumps on their incredible voyage at the tail-end of 2010, frontman Bernard Fanning was inevitably faced with the decision as to what to do next from a career perspective. Should he follow on with the rock aesthetic that had characterised his popular day job for so long, or pursue the folk leanings that had made his top-selling solo debut Tea & Sympathy – released amidst a Powderfinger hiatus back in 2005 – so successful, or perhaps even go off on an entirely new tangent? Before such important decisions were made, however, there was some life to live.

“With almost all of [Departures] I wrote the music first – with the exception of Departures (Blue Toowong Skies) which was my old style of writing, where I just sat down with a guitar and did it,” he reflects. “Despite all of my efforts to avoid that style, it ends up being the emotional centrepiece of the album – it’s the thing that ties it back to the last record, which I think is a good thing to have that inclusion.”

“I had a few months off,” the affable musician smiles in reminiscence. “We finished in October and I went overseas, just had some time off from music. My dad was crook so I went straight into that, and he ended up dying a few months after the Fingers finished. He’d been sick for a while – he had dementia, so he’d been crook for a few years – but that came a few months after the Fingers finished. We’d already planned to go overseas anyway, so we left a few months after that. So I had time off, but it wasn’t tropical paradise time off.” A break had been well-deserved – the final months of Powderfinger had been all gruelling road time, naturally compounded by the emotional strain of losing a loved one – but it wasn’t long before Fanning was plotting the course for what would become his sophomore solo effort, Departures. The crux of the album was formulated in Madrid, where Fanning had relocated with his Spanish wife Andrea and their daughter Gabriella (and where son Freddie was subsequently born). “Once I got to Madrid I just had like a month of fluffing around and getting organised, then I went and bought some speakers and got set up and got going. I didn’t know what I was doing though; all I knew was that I wanted to learn how to use [songwriting software] GarageBand properly, and also to do some programming – some drum programming and loops and stuff. This was a first – I had a drum kit in my studio at Anstead so I’d never really needed to – but I did want to write different types of songs; I wanted to write stuff that was beyond my ability as a drummer, stuff that was actually funky and had groove,” he laughs. “It took a while – it’s completely different – but I loved it, and it does make you write in a different way. My intention was to write from the beds – write the beds with drums and bass and see what happened over that, rather than appropriating that to a song that I’d written on guitar or piano or whatever.” This new style of composition had a notable effect on the end product, the soul-flecked electronic flourishes of Departures – abetted by strong vocal turns and banks of harmonies – still sounding resolutely Fanning, yet somehow miles removed from anything that he’s released before. Was it conscious to move away from the disparate sounds of Powderfinger or Tea & Sympathy? “More Tea & Sympathy,” he proffers. “I was thinking about it as a solo artist, not thinking about it from a Powderfinger point of view, so I wanted it to be different to Tea & Sympathy. Not because I wanted to be perverse or be a dickhead about it, but I knew that if I wrote a record like that again, then I’d be ‘that guy’, and I just didn’t want to be ‘that guy’ always. I’m quite happy to go back to being ‘that guy’ – especially if it sells a billion records like last time – but I want to be able to write anything. “In Powderfinger you had to fit in to a certain extent with everybody’s tastes, but with this I could just do anything. When I wrote Tea & Sympathy I wasn’t in a very good emotional state – I’d been in a really long relationship and that broke down, and I was pretty mental – so it was really good for me to write a record then, it really helped me a lot. But I wasn’t in that frame of mind at all this time – I’d just been married and had a kid, I’d just moved countries, it was like I’d got out of jail. It was a totally different feeling that I had, which is why [Departures] is fun, most of it. It’s got that up energy to it, which was the idea, and I think that reflects how I was feeling as well.” Even the decision to record Departures in LA – at the prestigious Sunset Sound studio, no less – with acclaimed producer Joe Chiccarelli (My Morning Jacket, The Raconteurs) and a bunch of acclaimed session musicians was an attempt to move out of a perceived musical comfort zone.

Fanning is holding court outside a Milton bar, just a couple of suburbs away from Toowong where he was raised, and although it’s overcast and raining you can see the import of his childhood sketched in his face as he discusses his new album’s gorgeous titular track, Departures (Blue Toowong Skies).

And while the song represents a throwback to the Fanning songwriting style of yore, it’s the super-personal lyrical content which gives it so much resonance, with some implicit nods to familial sagas adding gravitas as well.

“It was really different, but it was good because Joe asked at the start, ‘Do you want to bring people?’, and I said, ‘Look, one of the reasons that I want to do it with you is because I want to come just by myself and see what happens’,” Fanning recalls. “I just wanted to see what it was like to work that way, with no one else there to lean on. Last time when I went to England [to make Tea & Sympathy], Bedge [Melbourne multi-instrumentalist John Bedggood] came with me, and he played fiddle and mandolin, he was an integral part of making the record sound different than if it had just been me. That’s why I wanted to have people who were really great players, so they could take it all to somewhere else. “I just said to Joe at the beginning of the process, ‘Obviously it would be great to have these guys that you’re talking about who are all great session players – or who were people in bands that I really liked or whatever – but basically I just don’t want any knobs. I want it to be fun, and if possible I want them to have worked together before. I want them to be friends so we can have a good time, and people that you think I’ll get along with as well’. And they were – they were just really cool dudes. “But also part of the reason that we were [in LA] for three months, was that in the first month I wanted to see what it was like to write with other people. Same with having people in the studio that I didn’t know, I wanted to go and write with people that I didn’t know, and just see what happens. Everything was pretty much the opposite of what it was like being in Powderfinger – that was pretty much the idea – plus it was the opposite of what it was like to do Tea & Sympathy as well.” Fortunately, with so much change afoot in Fanning’s creative processes, whether or not he alienated his substantial existing fanbase with these new directions wasn’t even on his radar.

“Even that consideration is a complete road to ruin. Thinking about what people think of your songs before you’ve written them... there’s so many things to be paranoid about already, especially on that level of being popular – having been in a band as popular as Powderfinger, there’s already a certain amount of negativity that gets directed toward you from within the music community, not from the wider community but from the general hater crew,” he smiles. ”But if you were going to worry about that, and then you were going to worry about the people who do like you or worry about people who might like you, and what will radio think, and how short should this song be – if you did that at the beginning of the process, you’d go insane. “Nobody can afford to do it or else the

situation becomes counter to why everybody begins to do it in the first place – because you want to make some shit up, because you want to sit there and invent something that hasn’t been there before – and if you start having all these fences around it, it just sucks. And that’s one of the things with Powderfinger that I found frustrating at the end, because everybody was starting to have different ideas about how things should happen musically, then you were starting to make considerations and compromises at that very early stage, and that to me is death. Design by consensus.” Even the lyrical theme of change, prevalent throughout much of Departures, didn’t become apparent to Fanning until after the event. “There is [a theme] now that I’ve finished it and listened to it and gone, ‘Oh okay, now I get it’,” he admits. “But there wasn’t one that was intentional, which is why it ended up being called Departures, because it was talking about those things: Powderfinger splitting, my Dad dying, us moving overseas and being away from home for the first time for an extended period. I mean I’ve been away touring for probably half of my adult life, but I was always coming home and this time I wasn’t coming home. That’s why it ended up being called Departures.” WHO: Bernard Fanning WHAT: Departures (Dew Process/Universal) WHEN & WHERE: Sunday 14 July, Nambour Civic Theatre; Tuesday 16, Empire Theatre, Toowoomba; Thursday 18 and Saturday 20, The Tivoli; Friday 19, Arts Centre, Gold Coast; Saturday 27, Splendour In The Grass, North Byron Parklands

“Dad died right after the band split – he grew up in Toowong, I grew up in Toowong, our family is from Toowong and that’s where lots of my friends are from as well, that’s where I went to primary school,” the singer smiles softly. “And both my dad and my brother who died ten years ago are buried in Toowong Cemetery, so they’re both there. “It’s actually a really uplifting song; it says, ‘You’re right where you belong/Beneath blue Toowong skies’ and even the element that says, ‘Travel slow and enjoy the ride’, it’s all affirming. And the part where it says, ‘Take your leave on the rising tide’ – Dad died on the second of January [2011] and his funeral was on the ninth, which was the day that the flood at Grantham started. His funeral was that day and then [the flood hit Brisbane] and we were all cut off from each other straight after the funeral – it was really intense. It was the most full on week I’ve ever experienced by miles.”

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LET’S GET METAPHYSICAL A painful break-up, financial struggles and a new album that sharply rejects the music that made her famous. It sounds stressful, but Abbe May tells Sky Kirkham that she’s having more fun than ever.

WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 13 June, Eatons Hill Hotel

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WHAT: Kiss My Apocalypse (MGM)

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WHO: Abbe May

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“I have ovaries of steel and not a lot scares me,” May says. “I’m not afraid of failure. I’m not afraid of success either, so there’s no self-sabotage here by changing up all the styles of music, but failure and success are irrelevant to me as long as you have this kind of creative satisfaction from what you’re making.

“The sound is really different, but still really big, fat and heavy. It will make you dance and groove. If you were a fan of me already and you’re prepared to have an open mind and an open heart to something new then I think you’ll enjoy this even more, because I’m enjoying it more.”

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guitar?’ Now I can focus on the vocals and I can focus on connecting with the group of people in front of me.

bbe May is in the midst of a typically busy day. Having checked out the rough version of her latest film clip during the morning, she’s spending the afternoon on the phone fielding media calls to promote her new album. Despite the hectic schedule, she’s upbeat and amiable, eager to talk about her work. After receiving plaudits for her last LP, 2011’s Design Desire, a collection of guitar-heavy blues-rock tracks that saw her selling out major tours around Australia, Kiss My Apocalypse marks a dramatic change for May. Ditching the guitars, she’s embraced synthesisers and a dark, self-aware style of pop – something she refers to as meta-pop. It’s a brave move, but apparently courage isn’t something in short supply.

“I like the element of surprise and if I get bored with this, then I will move on again. I’ve never been in the game to make a million bucks and live on an island with Rhianna. As wonderful as she is – and I’m a big fan of hers – my driving force behind writing music and behind having changed the music so often is that I like lots of different music; I meet lots of different people; I collaborate with lots of different people. The music will always be affected by that.” May is also using the launch of the new album to offer a broad critique of what she sees as problems in the Australian music scene at the moment. As she speaks, it’s clear that these concerns are closely tied to the desire to alter her own output. “I just get a little bit sick of this idolisation of these bands that seem like they don’t care and they write songs that go for four hours and there’s no chorus and I’m kind of like, ‘For fuck sake, where’s the entertainment value in this?’” she rails. “Once some people start to believe the hype, once they make a great record they just think they can do anything they like and that’s when they forget that above all else you’re an entertainer. And I think being an entertainer is far more rewarding than being an artist because it’s much less selfish, and a lot of healing comes from giving to other people. “To me that’s how it works. I love to entertain and I’ve always considered that whole title of ‘artist’ as something that can really get in the way of not being a wanker and that it’s something that other people should call you, not [a term to use] yourself. I’m a bit sick of the old rock’n’roll shtick of, ‘Oh I drink so much, I smoke so much, I’m a rock’n’roll pig’ type thing. I just think it’s a cliché. But that said, when I was touring the Design Desire record I was living the lifestyle like that. We were drinking a lot, we were having a great old time and I can see why it’s seductive, but I just don’t think it’s cool.” Kiss My Apocalypse is being released independently, which has given her the freedom to explore new territory without any pressure to duplicate the successful Design Desire, but making an album is expensive work and there was a risk that she wouldn’t be able to finish. “I ran out of money earlier this year and couldn’t continue to record. And the wonderful MGM, who have been my distributors for the last five years – they trusted me enough to bail me out. They basically advanced me money from what we would earn off this album to pay for the remainder of the bills. There are massive costs with releasing an album, to do with PR, recording and mastering and photographs and videos – there’s a long list. And I was about twenty- to twenty-five thousand dollars short. And MGM made it possible for us to continue, and I’ll be forever grateful for that. “It’s an expensive business and that’s why I think it’s so important for people – if you want these things to continue – come and watch the shows, buy the CDs. While I do live a fairly comfortable existence, it’s not like I‘m waking up on a Monday morning and snorting a line of coke and rolling around with a whole bunch of beautiful women and men on a beach while drinking excessively expensive tequila. It’s a job that we do for the love of it, and I’m fortunate that I haven’t had to have a day job for six years, but I do work very hard. But for me, I just find that there’s nothing like the experience of the catharsis that you get out of writing a song about some horrible experience you’ve had, or some good experience you’ve had. The emotional release of that is incredible.” With the album written on the back of a painful break-up, May jokes that while she may have run out of money releasing the record “it still would have been cheaper than going to a therapist”. “It’s all written from personal experiences,” she continues. “This is purely cathartic for me. And I get the songs out, I get the venom out and the bitterness out, particularly with this last record, and suddenly I’m fine with everything, I don’t feel bad. At the same time I do like to put a degree of ambiguity into some parts of it, just so it doesn’t have to just be about me, so that the listener can turn it into a song about themselves as well.” This release also sees a significant shakeup to May’s live show – perhaps the biggest change is that she has put down the guitar entirely. “A lot of people who have done the same thing as me, that transition between playing guitar and singing without playing, have found it to be a really revealing, naked experience. I find it easier to actually make direct eye contact with people and communicate in a more authentic and present way with the audience because I’m no longer trying to work out, ‘Oh shit, where’s my hand got to go on the

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NO COMPROMISES The BellRays maintain control of their ideals and music while consistently delivering an uncompromising display of rock action infused with heady doses of soul. Lisa Kekaula waxes lyrical with a spellbound Brendan Telford.

ARTS SITE OF THE WEEK ARTBABBLE.ORG

outhern Californian soul rockers The BellRays have held their own over three decades of music now, seeing genres flare up and ebb away while they continue to forge ahead on their own creative trip. There have been slight shifts and nuances that have informed the band’s music, yet the general aesthetic has always remained the same. The four-piece have maintained a clear focus, fusing their love of vintage garage rock and the emotive nature of soul music to the point where they stand out in an age when bands shift in direction so willingly. Yet there has never been the impetus to “shift with the times”, a superfluous notion that The BellRays will never buy into.

Josh Pyke plays The Tivoli on Saturday 31 August, check The Guide for other dates.

Kekaula takes pride in the music that The BellRays makes – it remains an art form of true expression first and foremost, and everything comes thereafter. Such an outlook feeds off a need to create and to perform; there is no other reason for the band to exist.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

VISUAL ART

21 JAN 2009

“Music is something that I have to do,” Kekaula states. “I don’t know how other people feel or how they make music, and I don’t really give a fuck what anybody else thinks, and that’s how it should be. Maybe that alone means that what I do is artistry, that fearlessness of expression. It’s personal. I’m doing it for my mind’s eye, and if people happen to like it then that’s cool. There is a level of honesty to myself that I have to abide by, so every time I sing a song that I like it has to be important to me. It’s not like there will be a time where you will hear something and think that was weird that The BellRays did a song like that, and I should be offended, because people’s tastes change, you [like] something differently. But if someone said to us, ‘you know what, The BellRays should do this kind of song’, I will walk

INTERVIEWS The Hold Steady, Juana Molina, Jay Reatard, Bojana Novakovic, Buraka Som Sistema

ALBUM OF THE WEEK Rearrange Beds An Horse

GIG OF THE WEEK The Laughing Clowns, Gallery Of Modern Art

The BellRays have remained uncompromising in this regard, and their standing as a powerhouse rock outfit has never wavered. Yet the band has always been dogged with the misplaced notion that their fusion of ‘60s and ‘70s rock with soul is a unique standpoint. There is no doubting that The BellRays have their own distinct sound, but Kekaula is quick to dispute that what they essentially do is something that singles them out. “It baffles me! People love to ask questions about it, and I always feel like I’m in the eye of the storm; you can’t go and ask a tornado what it’s doing, it’s just doing it, you just gotta stand back and take note. If we were talking about this in the context of humanity, it just seems like the more technology moves forwards, the dumber people get. The more things are done for you, the less digging you are prepared to do to get to the meaning of things that will cultivate and heal you. And in the crux of all that, music has really suffered. At some point someone will say that rock’n’roll is just some dumbed down stuff, or that punk is dumbed down, and music has become this commodity instead of a form of expression that mean something. Music still has the power that if someone is just sitting there, it can make you cry or laugh, it can move you. Instead there is this focus on boiling everything down so you don’t have to think anymore. People seem to forget how close punk, rock and soul really are. The stuff that moves you, that you cut your teeth on, you just go that’s Iggy & The Stooges, that’s The Beatles. There is no need for classification, it is what it is.” Part of such a necessity to categorise The BellRays comes from the fact that Kekaula stands front and centre, a visceral force of nature. “People struggling with

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us because we have a black female singer out front of this sound,” Kekaula asserts. “There are things that are used to draw attention to as well as divert attention away from us. It used to be upsetting to me, but then I realised that it just wasn’t my problem. I can’t make people understand, I can’t rock and save the world all at the same time; somebody else has to help with that.” Such passion inevitably bleeds into The BellRays’ music, something that hasn’t dissipated over 30 years. Although the songs on Black Lightning are somewhat old (the album is only now garnering an Australian distribution release after coming out elsewhere in 2010), there is no doubting the gritty zeal that is infused throughout. Nevertheless, the entirety of the band’s recorded oeuvre pales in comparison to the live experience, something that Kekaula couldn’t agree more with. “We’ve had a fair bit of time getting our records closer to what we are; our focal point has always been playing shows to an audience that could be moved by what we do. That’s not something you do in a stadium either; it’s something you do in a club. It’s gotta be hands on, where people should feel like they have been part of something. And it’s not for the masses; I don’t want everybody to love The BellRays. Not that if you like it, you don’t have a right to like it; I’m just not trying to please everybody. We didn’t come out and think we were going to be mavericks. We were just made to look at what we liked to do, and cultivated that.” WHO: The BellRays WHAT: Black Lightning (Sultan Sounds/MGM) WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 13 June, The Hi-Fi; Saturday 15, Coolangatta Hotel, Gold Coast

Painter Judy Millar’s ongoing work stems from a single origin. Helen Stringer attempts to find out why.

n first sight, New Zealand painter Judy Millar is appropriately paint-splattered, feet clad in black socks, one hand holding a paintbrush. The space is filled with works in various stages of completion; Millar is installing her latest exhibition Be Do Be Do Be Do in situ and half-finished black and white pieces line floors and walls. “Just let me finish this line,” she says upon greeting and bends to add a stroke of black paint to a developing piece of her exhibition. Once the interview is underway Millar explains of the work outside, “The installation started from a very small painting I did; I turned it into a black and white halftone dot image. Everything is taken from that image; it’s a repetition of itself in time and space… We’re playing with it to a really silly extent, so you get to see whatever it is you see.” In stretching the neglected art form of painting, Millar is a paradox; on the one hand acutely aware of the weight of the history behind the form and on the other, constantly pushing the boundaries of painting as a contemporary form, which includes the modern tendency towards entertainment. But even though Millar concedes that she is not beyond making ostensibly pop-ish paintings, it’s probably an unwise diminution to compare her work to a children’s book. Probably even more unwise to bang

14 • For more news/announcements go to themusic.com.au/news

away. If someone walked in and said ‘you should do this and more people will like you’, but it doesn’t adhere to what you are already doing and believe in, there is no sense in doing that because it wouldn’t be us.”

DOUBLE OR NOTHING

O We sent the intern into the archives to select at random an old Time Off.

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Woah, ok, I’m going to have to say Appetite For Destruction by Guns N’ Roses. Every time I hear it, I keep thinking what a good album it is. I mean, I liked it when I first bought it and I still think the sound is great.

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JOSH PYKE

FAVOURITE ALBUM

“It has always been for the music, never to be rockstars, well the proof is in the pudding there for sure,” Lisa Kekaula laughs. “There is this thing now where everybody expects you to evolve into a completely different group than what they are, but at the same time when a record comes out they are expected to do multiples of the same songs, with similar sounds throughout the same record. To me it used to be you tried to be as expansive as you could within the context of an album or what it is you do in a show, which is like watching a child grow; there is this seamless, organic thing happening in front of you. Now [bands] just try to sell records. It’s not about trying to cultivate something, it’s about figuring out what is hot at the moment then cutting it into pieces and saying, ‘This piece is country but it’s still pop, this piece goes to pop but it’s still country, this piece is soul but it is still pop’. It’s the creation of a grid that everything has to fit in right now to please masses, not artistry.”

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one’s hands on the table and exclaim, “How can you not know The Very Hungry Caterpillar!” at the revelation elation that Millar is unfamiliar with the classic, as though she’s just said, “Picasso? No, never heard of him.” Fortunately, she’s not perceptibly offended by the comparison. Even more fortunate, she’s savvy enough to work out that you’re actually trying to make the point that viewers may miss the history and intent of these big, abstract, imposingly physical works. The fact that you’ve just compared artworks to a picture book to make that point is simply demonstrative of the challenges and ironies of carrying on an artistic tradition that is frequently declared by critics as dead. Explaining how the interplay between history and present is integral to her work she says, “People always talk about the ‘blank canvas’. I don’t know what they’re talking about… The canvas has never been blank; it’s already full.” Moving to the present state of painting, Millar is critical. “I don’t think there’s a heck of a lot being done interestingly in the field. Painting always assumes an aura around itself and that can’t be taken for granted… These new movements, they’re just doing versions of things that have already been done before.” Here Millar starts to glance out the

window at the ongoing installation of her works and the interview is finished up with an offer for a walk around the works in progress. As Millar explains that the printed image being adhered to the floor and wall of one space is the original image and that each new space sees this image blown up, bent and twisted, the scale and transformative foundation of Millar’s work becomes suddenly clear. Seeing art through this lens, as something impermanent; something constantly in flux but always aware of its origins, makes even these still messy and incomplete pieces suddenly beautiful. After enduring one last inappropriate outburst (“It looks like a cow!”) Millar pads away in her blacksocked feet and picks up her paintbrush again. WHAT: Judy Millar: Be Do Be Do Be Do WHEN & WHERE: Saturday 8 June to Saturday 27 July, Institute Of Modern Art

CULTURE CLUB From sound engineer to frontman, Tiki Taane’s career has been anything but ordinary. The New Zealand reggae powerhouse explains to Natasha Lee why despite the fame, family is still everything.

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HHIGH ROTATION

JOSH BIONDILLO OF SAN CISCO

here’s no Tiki Taane on the other end of the phone when there should be. After being told to “hang on the line while we fetch Tiki”, the call has dropped into that dreaded limbo region, with some heavy breathing (origin unknown) the only sound emanating down the line. Then… nothing. The line is cut and Taane is nowhere to be found, save a few minutes later when a breathless voice announces, “Ok! We’ve got him!” Suddenly, bounding down the line comes Taane’s thick Kiwi accent, “Hey! How are ya!”

Tiki Taane is somewhat of a national hero in his home town of New Zealand, with his acoustic reggae drenched tune Always On My Mind sitting the NZ charts for a record 55 weeks. But it’s a title Taane is loathe to fully embrace. “There are a few people who aren’t too happy with me over there, especially when I started mucking around with the police,” he laughs. The whole ‘mucking around with the police’ thing he’s referring to saw Taane arrested in 2011 and charged with disorderly behaviour after chanting, “fuck the police” during a gig. Taane, however, claimed he was singing lyrics from NWA’s Fuck Tha Police. “Originally, it was really gnarly,” Taane sighs. “But, the cool thing was it actually raised a good topic of freedom of speech in this country.” Hero? No. Freedom Fighter? Perhaps, with the incident doing little to diminish Taane’s popularity in his hometown. The affable Kiwi took the path less travelled to stardom, starting out as sound engineer before eventually being promoted to lead singer.

and surprisingly candid about his decision to make the cut. “Yeah,” he begins cheerfully, “it had been on my mind for a while and it actually took about two years to make that move. For me, it was a lot of things, but the main thing was creativity – there were just so many things that I just wanted to get out of me that I couldn’t really do in the band,” he sighs, adding that “breaking away was an organic thing to do and allowed me to go back to my roots”.

“Yeah…” Taane begins, “I left school and started my band when I was 14. The first thing I started playing was heavy metal and slash metal, so I learnt how to rock out at an early age. I realised that if I wanted to make a living out of this, I needed to do other things, so I learnt how to mix smash bands and that’s when Salmonella Dub picked me up as their sound guy.”

Taane’s familial influences are evident in every element of his rebirth as a soloist. “When I left the band, I pulled in my family,” says Taane. “To this day, my sister still manages my company, my other sister manages my merchandise and even my son, who’s now four, has been part of a lot of things I’ve done. It’s all very organic and family orientated.”

Salmonella Dub broke new ground in New Zealand and are credited with introducing a new kind of hybrid sound that meshed reggae, hip hop, dub and drum’n’bass with rock. They formed in 1992 with Taane joining four years later as their sound engineer, but it wasn’t long before he ended up fronting the group. “I wrote a song with those guys [Salmonella Dub] and the song did really well,” Taane says matter-of-factly. “They encouraged me to write more songs, which I did and then eventually I was the frontman of the band. It was something that all happened really naturally.”

Culturally, says Taane, his family are vital to ensuring he honours his Maori roots. “There’s a lot of stuff that I’m unaware of – culturally – that I need guidance in,” Taane adds. “Having my family there helps me ‘cause they’ll say stuff like, ‘This is great, but if you’re gonna talk about this issue in your tune then you need to be careful’, ‘cause there is a lot of cultural stuff that I tap into, there’s a lot of weight to it and I want to make sure I’m getting it right. To get it right, I need to have that guidance from elders,” says Taane.

Daft Punk - Random Access Memories. San Cisco touring nationally check The Guide for dates

As to whether or not his brothers across the Tasman with get his groove, Taane is reliant and confident in his self-confessed ability to bridge those gaps and even break down a few stereotypes along the way. “For me, for what I’m doing now… there are already a few people like me who’ve also grown up in that environment and who are tapping into that cultural aspect as well,” explains Taane, who promises that his live shows will be a high energy experience with one aim – bringing people together. “Everything is danceable,” he chirps excitedly. “I just really encourage people to sing and to get involved. I’ve been doing lots of looping with my guitar and making beats with my acoustic so that things become very sonic, very rock’n’roll,” Taane explains before taking a deep breath and laying it on the line. “You know, I’ve worked so hard for this and now I can literally just stand on stage with only an acoustic and still rock the joint. Before you know it, two hours have gone and it’s unreal because by the end of it, people always still want more.”

@AmandaBynes pull it together dude

Courtney Love Cobain @Courtney

WHO: Tiki Taane WHEN & WHERE: Sunday 9 June, The Hi-Fi

FINDING YOUR FEET

WE ART THE WORLD

With MKO, one-time jazz vocalist Hannah Macklin seems to have finally found her sound. As they prepare to launch their June residency at Kerbside, Matt O’Neill speaks to the Brisbane musician about her band’s kaleidoscopic approach.

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“I’m still really proud of everything I’ve done before I did MKO. It’s not like I’m ashamed of it or I don’t want anyone to listen to it. I think it’s all important in the overall process,” she says. “I just felt like, with everything I’ve done up to now, I’ve never been happy with the sound. Especially onstage. I always felt like I was really pushing my voice to be heard over the band and, listening back to live recordings, it always

Fittingly, MKO have progressed at a velocity far beyond that of Macklin’s previous outings. Since forming in 2011, they’ve already delivered two EPs (2013’s Lily Lotus Orchid Flower and 2012’s Awaken The Herd), countless live shows (three in May of this year alone) and received favourable coverage from triple j, Who The Hell and The AU Review. Given Macklin was wary of even unveiling the project, it’s a validating turn of events. “Yeah, it was really scary [showing people]. Even just changing the name to MKO was terrifying. I’d always been ‘Hannah Macklin and...‘, but my name didn’t really seem to fit. It wasn’t about me. It was more about the music and the band,” she muses. “And playing our first gig was really scary too – it was such a different set-up and sound. I wasn’t playing keys, I was playing a weird little synth thing. Everything about it was different.”

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sounded like a big mess. Writing with MKO, when the parts are more clear and it’s less like everyone playing big fat chords and more about everyone playing individual lines that fit together really well and a more electronic, crisp sound, it’s much easier for me to relax and I don’t have to sing as forcefully. I think I had a weird idea of my voice for a while where I thought I had this big, raucous voice – and I definitely don’t.”

annah Macklin is no stranger to her community. Over the past handful of years, she’s established herself as one of Brisbane’s most promising and adventurous jazz vocalists. A respected collaborator for acts like The Quadratic Contingency, West End Composer’s Collective, Bankrupt Billionaires and Sampology, she’s also performed her own music with groups like Hannah Macklin & The Maxwells and Hannah Macklin & Steve Newcomb. With her latest project, she’s offering something different. A collision of her kinetic, nonlinear songcraft and a newfound appreciation for mangled electronics delivered by a four-piece band, MKO is, at once, weirder and poppier than anything else on Macklin’s resume. There’s hints of the leftfield R&B of Janelle Monae and the rough-hewn electronic experimentalism of acts like Animal Collective. Macklin’s never been happier.

LOVE ME TABLE BY JOHN NOUANESING LO

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But soon Taane got restless and craved a kind of creative freedom that some artists can struggle to keep alive in a group or band environment. Unlike most singers who err away from discussing their previous incarnation as a ‘band member’, Taane is forthcoming

Somehow, Taane has managed to bridge the gap between cultures, with his music reaching far and wide and affecting not only those with a similar cultural background to him, but also to those who grew up in a more Westernised culture, giving him, quite literally, the best of both worlds.

WHAT ALBUM IS ON HIGH ROTATION WHEN YOU ARE ON TOUR?

“I’ve always wanted to be the point that bridges the gap between my culture and others,” stresses Taane. “See, I’m trying to use the majority of my cultural side to tap into all those other areas. You have to remember, I wasn’t brought up in a traditional, cultural way. Man, I was brought up in Christchurch, I was brought up in an English European world. So for me, I can understand that side as well and I can tap into it.”

nd, The irony being that, in finding her own sound, Macklin has also found herself something off an outsider within her own scene. While MKO’s aesthetic is very much rooted in a number of international movements, very few Brisbane acts are exploring their unique blend of pop experimentalism. To this end, they’ve started a brief residency at Kerbside curating Nasty Cuts – a night devoted to their own community. “Our sound isn’t the general Brisbane vibe. All the bands that are doing really well are sort of the indie/alternative genre and we don’t fit into that. And I kind of like that, I like that we’re doing something different – but it makes it different,” Macklin reflects. “My vision for Nasty Cuts was I wanted it to have a kind of underground vibe. I wanted to get lots of different people and guests involved. It’s not an MKO gig, it’s Nasty Cuts and we’re playing.”

Source: johnnouanesing.fr

WHO: MKO WHEN & WHERE: Wednesday 12 and Wednesday 19 June, Kerbside

For more interviews go to themusic.com.au/interviews • 15

PEEPLE WHO NEED PEEPLE

FIRST ALBUM BOUGHT WALK THE MOON

Starting out as a two-piece, Blake and drummer Steve Striker have been busy owning the garage-rock-centric North Melbourne pub scene (both in the band and the regular customer senses) since The Peep Tempel’s booze-soaked origins. Rounding out the band to a threepiece with the addition of bass player Stew Rayner, they’ve been smashing out their live set with regularity, refining and tightening their sound with each show. Once again having their own studio in their own neighbourhood of North Melbourne, Scott sees the

ELI MAIMAN

SEAN WAUGAMAN I think my friend gave me Green Day’s Dookie on tape when I was in third grade, I don’t know if that counts as buying though.

NICHOLAS PATRICCA Astro Lounge by Smash Mouth. A lot of those ‘90s bands are coming back strong. Walk The Moon ‘s new EP Tightrope is out now

The film stars Diane Kruger as Marie Antoinette (“she convinced me that she was right to play the role; she was very convincing!” Jacquot laughs) and Virginie Ledoyen (whom Jacquot directed in her breakout role, as 19-year-old lead of 1995’s A Single Girl) as her ‘confidant’ the Duchess de Polignac, but it’s told through the eyes of Léa Seydoux’s servant. “This gives the story a unique point-of-view on very, very important historical events,” explains Jacquot. “There was something dramatically interesting about

Boris

British India New Video

The TV Set

WHAT: Farewell, My Queen WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 6 June, Palace Centro

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MONEY CHANGES ERRTHANG

t’s pretty sweet, man,” he says of his enviable digs. “I’ve been in this spot for almost a year now, with quite a few trips back Down Under to NZ and Australia over the summertime. It’s not bad, bro, not bad and it’s something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time now. It all kind of lined up last year, and getting into the new album it all sort of lined up with that. I jumped at the chance to make music over here.”

“I

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aware that the album is coming out and have heard something from it. Hopefully the people on the fringes have heard one or two things and it’s piqued their interest.” Gratitude features some heavy hitting international guests, like M.O.P. and Talib Kweli. These well-known crew have already garnered some interest from the US blogosphere.

“All that stuff has been going down really well which is nice to know,” he says. “As a recording artist you put stuff out and you want people to enjoy it so it’s looking good so far.”

“The major rap blogs like Nah Right, 2dopeboyz and The Smoking Section have been really, really supportive,” he says. “Those are the sites that I check as a fan and a DJ so to see my stuff sitting there alongside other artists I would normally listen to is pretty cool, and I’ve been able to measure the reaction and reach of that. I’m getting people on Facebook and Twitter that would have had no other way of hearing me saying that they’re digging my tunes, which is broadening the exposure and is part of the reason of me being here, in New York.”

“My theory is that it takes quite a while for music to spread outside of the core fans – the purist music heads. So having a point of contact with the fans every few weeks with a new tune, I feel that there’s a snowball effect. So hopefully if we’ve done this right we’re in a position that the most amount of people possible are

As well as expanding his audience with the help of the American guest stars in tow, P-Money is also proud to be using his expanding profile to promote some of his New Zealand colleagues such as @Peace and Aaradhna to a much wider audience. He says the previously very inward looking culture of hip hop in the US is changing as well.

Wadams took the interesting tactic of releasing four lead tracks on SoundCloud before the album was released, and he is confident that it was the right decision to approach the release in this way.

16 • For more news/announcements go to themusic.com.au/news

“Films need to be linked, as much as possible, to the real world,” he says. “Even when it’s a period film or a reconstitution, it needs to feel real, and the only way to do that is to avoid the invasion of special effects.” Twenty-three films into his career, the 66-year-old has made a wildly-varied body-of-work – perhaps the only real constant his fondness for working with Isabelle Hupper – but Jacquot sees his films as being of the one continuum. “When you see all my films, you can tell that the same person shot them. It’s complicated to explain exactly how I can see that; I really don’t know. It’s like trying to explain how my dream of last night is related to my dream of two nights ago.”

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Alice In Chains

WHEN: Saturday 8 June, Prince Of Wales Hotel

Annandale Hotel buyer a publican

WHAT: Modern Professional EP (Wing Sing/MGM)

having this personal perspective, about seeing thiss historical time, three nights and four days, through the eyes of someone who doesn’t quite understand what is happening.” Though shot on location at the Palace of Versailles, Farewell, My Queen avoids the trappings of the ‘sumptuous’ period piece, the endless tracking shots of Seydoux scurrying through servants’ hallways giving the film an energy that stands at odds with the standard drawing-room drama. “I wanted to avoid reconstitution. I didn’t want it to be pictorial, I didn’t want it to be like paintings. You know those period piece films, so still, every frame like a painting? I didn’t want that. I wanted the film to feel very present, as if it were almost a documentary about contemporary events. It’s very important, for me, that the actors try to play their part as if it were today. And that the public, too, see this as a drama that is happening now, not two centuries ago. In that way they can see it is linked to the present... There’s always echoes between ancient situations and modern situations. When power is contested, when there is an insurrection, the panic that sets in at that centre of power is the same.” For Jacquot, shooting the film entirely on location, and making use largely of natural light, it spoke to his larger ideals on cinema.

From his East Village Lower Manhattan apartment, New Zealand hip hop producer extraordinaire Peter Wadams, better known as P-Money, tells Chris Yates about getting to the roots of rap in its place of birth and how that has informed his new record Gratitude.

TRENDING ON 1 NEWS 2 REVIEWS 3 INTERVIEWS 4 VIDEO 5 BLOG

WHO: The Peep Tempel

THREE NIGHTS & FOUR DAYS

arewell, My Queen is Benoît Jacquot’s screen adaptation of Chantal Thomas’s novel, a work of historical fiction which takes a ‘fly-on-the-wall’ view of the chaos that breaks out at the Palace of Versailles when word arrives of the storming of the Bastille. “Ten years ago, a friend gave [the book] to me, saying that it could be a good film,” recounts Jacquot. “Generally, I don’t trust this advice at all, but mid-way through the first chapter I agreed. Mysteriously, one year after, a producer that I didn’t know personally, phoned me and told me that he had the rights [to the book], and he wanted me to do it. It was a very serendipitous set of circumstances.”

MUSIC

Third Eye Blind’s selftitles debut, right after I bought Britney Spears’ Opps… I did it again.

“When we started doing it, it had that angsty sort of flip-out vibe to it and it just felt like it fitted for the sequel to Mr Suave-o and where his shit all starts to fall apart,” he chuckles at his anti-hero’s demise. “We thought we’d make lots of noise and chuck him in prison. It’s one of those songs where when you’re doing it you think you’re being really funny, but it’s sort of an in-joke for the band and people who know the band really. I have been thinking that with me singing about getting up in front of the parole board we’re gonna end up like Lobby Loyde with all these fucking busted-head Sharpies and skinheads showing up to the shows and scaring everyone else off. It’s a bit of fun and it was great to put it down real live. We might do a prequel next about his childhood, because he’ll probably get a bad rap after this one.”

Anthony Carew checks in with Benoît Jacquot about new film Farewell, My Queen and the ambition to link famous historical events to the world of today.

Tragic Kingdom by No Doubt

KEVIN RAY

Those familiar with the band’s blistering debut album will remember the standout track, Mister Lester Moore. An unsavoury character to be sure, Lester returns for what seems like it could be his swan song on Modern Professional, but maybe there’s still more of his sordid history left to uncover. Just the title, The Incarceration Of Lester Moore, tells the story before you even listen to song.

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If you’re the owner of a moustache, for fucks sake don’t curl it.

“When we wrote the first record we had our own studio. It was just a room, but it was ours and we could go and create and all the rest. Now we have a new one which is above a bar in North Melbourne, it might not have been the greatest idea!” he laughs. “Having access to our own room where we don’t have to lug our stuff across town is really great though. We have some time now to think about what kind of record we want to make and we’re really happy with how the songs have been coming up so far. We’re really looking forward to giving ourselves a little bit of time now to knuckle down for eight to twelve weeks and then go into the studio and knock another album out soon.”

RULE #108

“We thought, ‘Well, we have a few songs – let’s just get them out there.’ It’s sort of capping off the last record [2012’s self-titled debut] and showing where the band is going a little bit. We haven’t had enough time to do another record with the amount we’ve been playing, but we’ve started writing a lot more towards a new record.”

FILM

Sweaty dudes, keep your shirts on!

band spending a lot more time working towards the new record, although its handy location could be as much trouble as it is an advantage.

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RULE #15

he Peep Tempel have certainly kept themselves busy playing shows across the country over the past year, and while a new album is still in the preliminary stages, Scott says they’re glad they had the opportunity to record a new EP at The Bakehouse in Richmond and release it as something of a bookend to the work they’ve done to this point.

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GIGS GUIDE

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Blake Scott from North Melbourne neon punkers The Peep Tempel talks Chris Yates through their new EP, Modern Professional, and the incarceration of a (fictional) deviant.

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MUSIC

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“There’s definitely an increasing awareness (amongst the US hip hop community) of what’s happening in other countries, NZ and Australia included,” he asserts. “They’re aware that we have our own local music scenes and there are stars within those scenes and they’re starting to go, ‘Hey, what’s going on over there’. Even some of the really commercial artists like Drake coming from Toronto – the borders used to be really closed even to Canada but now he’s come through and he’s dominating, so fans and labels and media people are starting to look externally. I think down in the bottom corner of the world we have a very outward looking perspective on the world, and that’s starting to happen in the US with people looking to Europe and Australia, and that’s really dope. It’s great to be a part of it – we’ve been chipping away at that for close to ten years now!” WHO: P-Money WHEN & WHERE: Sunday 9 June, Alhambra Lounge

MUSIC

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FEEL THE NOISE

THE TIME OFF CREW ARE...

Bleeding Knees Club refuse to rest on their laurels, backing up an exhaustive touring schedule with a new single only a year on from their successful debut album. Brendan Telford chats with Alex Wall about their heady rise. icking up instruments and jamming for something to do is a universal pastime. Alex Wall and Jordan Malane are no different, thrashing out punk spasms that were made to fill in time with no aspirations for anything more. Yet the band went on to play at friends’ parties and their reputation quickly spread to the point that they were playing five hundred person capacity venues as headliners before they had learnt their instruments, let alone established a full set. Yet they persevered, and the release of Nothing To Do and consequent international adulation was justification that they were no flash in the pan.

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Feel then is the first salvo of these endeavours, highlighting Bleeding Knees Club’s evolution as a band and alluding to the direction that Wall and Malane want to continue in. A lot of that change is bound to happen when for 12 months they have received a lot of media attention which led to playing festival shows both here and abroad, allowing the proficiency of their musicianship to organically improve and throwing bizarre life experiences their way.

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Feel somewhat eschews the scuzzier qualities of Nothing To Do and underpins a push into a cleaner, more direct approach to songwriting, something that Wall admits has always been the intention. “I really enjoy pop music, pop is generally awesome to listen to, but it’s much harder to write a good pop song. It’s fun and a challenge to try and write a pop song, as opposed to a trashy garage song. I can do that all day, and have, but it can get kinda boring after a time. I’m not the greatest guitarist so I’ve challenged myself to get better at that, to learn different elements and ways to write a song, so I’ve been listening to heaps of pop and am trying to work out how they create strong melodies and then incorporate [that] into the songwriting. It is challenging, but the end product makes you more proud of what you’ve done I think.”

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“I guess it does [sound quick] to the public, but for us it feels like a long time,” Wall states. “I write a lot of songs, so it’s hard to wait too long before wanting to put something out. I’ve put together two EPs and two albums in the past 12 months, and I feel like I could do more. I’ve been playing guitar every day for three years, so that’s bound to happen.”

Nothing To Do hit the shelves just shy of a year ago, yet the release of new single Feel suggests that Bleeding Knees Club are hitting a creative purple patch, thriving on the continual playing and touring and becoming more comfortable with the process and what they are able to achieve. Wall himself has released material under a solo guise as Wax Witches also, and this constant drive to produce music is something that is ingrained in him.

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Muchacho, Phosphorescent “We’ve demoed a whole album’s worth of new songs and they all have that vibe to them; they are all bigger and more mature, more poppy than our old stuff,” Wall attests. “I still see Nothing To Do as a pretty poppy album though – bubblegum pop. A lot of the songs sound throwaway, and that was where we were at that time in our lives. The past year has been super weird too; we’d be at a house party in London with One Direction, looking at each other thinking, ‘What are we doing here, how did this come about?’ It hit us really quickly, because we moved to London for five months and we were totally unprepared for what was thrown on us. But it has been awesome, and I think it’s really helped us to focus on what we want to do rather than what we are able to do, and to work hard at achieving that.” Feel is the first of a few songs that Bleeding Knees Club recorded with Lindsay Gravina, and Wall admits that it was yet another eye-opener for the band that has allowed them to progress musically and professionally. “Lindsay and Dev [Hynes – Lightspeed Champion, Blood Orange] were at complete opposite ends when it came for us to record,” Wall admits. “When we recorded Nothing To Do, Dev was more of the cool guy in the studio to hang out with, to reassure us that what we were doing was great. He wasn’t hands on; he didn’t play around with the songs much, just pretty much left them as is. Lindsay was the complete opposite, he was quite stern and wasn’t there to make friends, he just wanted the song to be the best that it could. It would arrange us and get us to play something in a certain way, and then play it 50 thousand times until it was perfect. I honestly prefer Lindsay’s way, because we still have a lot to learn and Lindsay was awesome at taking my ideas and working them in a way that they were better than they were in my head. That’s what you want, for your songs to sound the way they do in your head. There is a time and place for lo-fi recording – it’s a cool way to get your ideas out when you don’t have any money. But after a while it all

sounds boring to me. Hi-fi recordings are a move forward, and you would be stupid to pass up that opportunity.”

GOING TO

The fact that Wall and Malane have been learning the trade while on this wild ride is often the focus of many a disgruntled punter and critic, especially those privy to Bleeding Knees Club’s first official shows in 2011, punctuated by an air of sloppy apathy from the duo. Those times have passed, yet the backlash remains, a fact that Wall believes to be grossly unfair.

CHECKING OUT

“When we were in London we continued to work really hard, and I don’t think that people realise how much work we have had to put in. Honestly, we really didn’t know how to play when we started; some of those songs were the first things I’d ever written on guitar. We weren’t asking to get these shows to get popular. People were asking us to play these shows though, and anyone would take those opportunities even if they are shitty with their instruments. We copped a lot of shit from everyone, and still do; people saying we’re failures and crap at music, and why are you getting all this publicity when you can’t even play your guitar. When this wild ride is offered to you though, you’d be stupid to pass it up. No one understood that though; no one realised that we were still learning our instruments up there on stage. And it’s true – there are probably people watching our shows that are better at guitar, yet we are the ones touring the world. That’s why I feel we have matured; we aren’t struggling with our instruments now. Now I like playing a polished set and sounding the best that I can, and I don’t want people jumping on my stage and ruining my gear because I want to play these songs that I’ve written as they are meant to be played. Getting beer poured on you can be fun for a while, but soon enough you’d rather drink it, you know?” WHO: Bleeding Knees Club WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 6 June, Alhambra Lounge

CELL DIVISION

“As a band you have your influences, then it becomes your take on certain things, but we kinda roll with it song by song and see what happens,” guitarist Dylan Black laughs. “We don’t try to formulate a sound, it comes through naturally. We’re pretty obsessed with Whirr, this awesome US band that are kinda shoegazey. We discovered them a little while ago, and that was inspirational because their last album (2012’s Pipe Dreams) came out about the same time as we were recording, and the sound that they were getting out of their guitars became an obsession – ‘how are they doing that?’ We have those moments with music and it just bleeds through. We’ll make it noisier or heavier depending

on our mood at the time, and that’s how things tend to work out.” White Walls came out on Melbourne’s Poison City label, home to other exciting acts such as Deep Heat and The Smith Street Band. Black is happy to call it his home. “It’s a very diverse label, which isn’t how most labels do their thing, but it’s working,” he states. “Poison City has developed its own following, which has been good for us. We and Deep Heat are quite different than a lot of the gear on there, but that kind of works for us, because our sound isn’t all that easy to define anyway.” The Melbourne scene, whilst always a focal point for burgeoning musical talent, is an amorphous beast, and the current crop of acts delving into darker, heavier sounds and taking them into decidedly different directions is something that Black finds inspirational. “The scene down here has been amazing for a while, in that there are bands playing every week that are worth seeing and getting excited about, but the big thing is that all those bands are now bringing out albums and sticking it out for the long haul,” he explains. “A little while ago everyone seemed to have EPs then disappear off the grid, so to have it all thriving in that way is incredible. Because we are seen as diverse it means we play across a wide variety of bills, but there are certain bands that you just

White Walls, Crowbar My Country: I Still Call Australia Home, GoMA

WATCHING Law & Order: SVU

READING The Hell Of It All, Charlie Brookern

EATING Mad Mex monster burrito

DRINKING Viva La Vodka, Fortitude Valley

Without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of boring production deadlines or dates by which bills must be paid.” - Frank Zappa

WIN

Melbourne is currently a petri dish of dark, dissonant music, and White Walls is another band to climb out of the cesspool and crawl north of the border. Brendan Telford chats with Dylan Black. any bands maintain that they have a variety of eclectic musical touchstones that influence their sound, but not many literally infuse these sounds into their creative output as Melbourne outfit White Walls. Swinging erratically from shoegaze distortion, hardcore progressions, post-punk calibrations and guitar pop sensibilities, their ferocity is something to behold. Add a two guitar and drums aesthetic, effectively discarding the necessity for a bass guitar, and it’s even more incredible when these sounds come together as seamlessly as they do on their self-titled debut album.

LISTENING TO

gel with, and a lot of that revolves around the Gasometer venue too. They have two rooms and hold so many different types of nights, so you end up rubbing shoulders with people who dig what you’re doing that come from a totally different musical background. It’s a bit incestuous, but it’s truly inspiring to continually have your creativity challenged by other incredible bands.” This weekend’s shows mark White Walls’ first tour outside of Victoria, a fact that Black is very excited about. “We’ve been around for about two years now... but we just haven’t been able to get the time to tour. So to be able to check out Brisbane as a band is pretty exciting. I’ve been there a few times, always to hang out at Tym Guitars, that place is amazing. Hopefully we don’t overstay our welcome.” WHO: White Walls WHAT: White Walls (Poison City)

Blues is the teacher; punk is the preacher. And if you want to pray at the altar of rock, then let The BellRays guide your sermon. The Californian garage gang are touring Australia this month – if you want to get along to their Brisbane show, happening at The Hi-Fi, Thursday 13 June, then get in touch as we have five double passes for the show to give away. To enter this and checkout heaps more head to the Time Off Facebook page.

WHEN & WHERE: Friday 7 June, Crowbar; Saturday 8, Tym Guitars (instore, free all ages)

For more interviews go to themusic.com.au/interviews • 17

FIVE MINUTES WITH

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ADAM MADA

MEAN TO ME Devoted degenerates The Meanies are out to save the world, one body slam, beer skull and punk tune at a time. Roderick “Wally” Kempton shoots the shit with Brendan Telford.

he Meanies encapsulated a time when the idea of pub rock was exactly that – rock bands smashing it out in pubs. Their desire was to bash out short stabs of noise that was stupid, torrid and incredibly catchy – and it wasn’t long before everyone felt the same. Then at the height of their powers they took a necessary break, and inevitably the world moved on. Now into their third decade of tearing up the joint without a care in the world, The Meanies have come full circle – playing what they want to play, when they want to play it. The crowds may not be as big as they were in the mid-‘90s, but the audiences are just as rabid. It doesn’t take much to get the band back together.

T WHAT WAS THE FIRST MAGIC TRICK/ILLUSION YOU LEARNT? Sticking a wet bath flannel on the wall when I was about three. I thought it was just magic how it stayed there

DO YOU ENJOY WATCHING MAGIC SHOWS? YES, I love them. Magic is my hobby, my passion and my profession. I love going to see a fantastic performer floor me with amazing magic. It’s really important to be reminded of what magic feels like, as that is the only way you can then share that with others. It will be a sad sad day when I can no longer experience magic.

WHAT WOULD YOUR BIOGRAPHY BE CALLED? The stupid magician who often gets hurt

IF YOU WEREN’T AN ILLUSIONIST, WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING? Probably an arthroplasty surgeon. I know this as once I was booked to fool a room full of arthroplasty scientists and surgeons as a fake lecturer during a congress. I had to convince them that I was Dr Finn Mada (my son’s stage name) from the Mada Institute in Malaysia. I’ve never been so nervous in front of an audience before. WHAT: Adam Mada will perform at The Gangsters Ball WHEN & WHERE: Saturday 21 September, The Tivoli Tickets on sale Friday 7 June

PRESENTS FOALS

“Money, that’s pretty much all you need,” bass player Roderick “Wally” Kempton laughs. “We never really split up, we play really infrequently because it’s a CBF situation; we just can’t be fucked half the time. We all have other shit on – Ringo (Mark Hobbs – drums) has got a real job and is the father of two, Jaws (Jordan Stanley – guitar) has a real job and is in about seventeen other bands, and Link (Lincoln McLennon – vocals)’s main focus is a band called Sun God Replica who are fucking awesome. I manage three bands, book one and play in two, tour manage others, so it’s always about time. We had a crack then lost the plot for a couple of years there, then when we came back the mood had shifted. We do it for fun; we don’t do it to get out of the gutter, we do it for shits and giggles. We love it to bits.” While The Meanies never quite made the indelible impression on a larger audience than they deserved to, there’s something intrinsically visceral about their style of punk rock that’s steeped in a particular time and place in Australian rock history yet somehow stays perennial, a constant reminder of the sweaty, grotty underground that most bands bathe in. And while bands often crawl out, dry off and move into other directions, there are just as many others that revel in the muck. The past few years has seen something of a renaissance for some of the bands that were riding the same wave as The Meanies in the 1990s. With the likes of Tumbleweed and Spiderbait pulling large crowds in both metropolitan and regional areas up and down the coast, there’s a lingering sense of nostalgia that surrounds them that Kempton is glad to see still exists in this changing age of music. “We’re old fucks, and when we did play as young’uns, we played so much that those songs get embedded in your psyche,” he laughs. “That goes for us, too. We used to go off like a frog in a sock – not me so much, I was a bit top heavy – and all of that energy in those songs stays with you. And while we’re different in that we were always pretty rough around the edges, and were never in danger of becoming sleek, the sheer

number of years we’ve clocked up in all our different bands means we never stop playing, so those songs only get sharper. Your chops get better, so essentially we’re five-to-ten times a better band than we were back then. The industry here is incredibly ageist, too; even if we get a song out that is undeniably catchy as AIDS, and struck us up to the topmost of the poppingmost, nothing would happen because we are old.” This theory is about to be tested, as Kempton lets drop the huge news that The Meanies will be releasing their first album of new material since 1994’s excellent 10% Weird. And while the songs themselves aren’t entirely new, it does showcase the band in their current mode – looking forward by looking back. “We’re actually learning some songs we haven’t played in ages, if ever, just for something different,” Kempton states. “We’ve been playing the same set almost since 2000, but we play so infrequently that no one notices; ‘Shit, I haven’t heard this song since the last time The Meanies played!’ There’s the occasional request called out that we can’t play because we haven’t taught Jaws to play it, and he has enough on his plate without having to go home and learn songs that we might play. “I’ve been badgering Link for a while, how we’ve gotta stop playing the same fucking set – we’ve gone into double figures for the amount of years we’ve been doing it – so we should learn some of the older ones and teach Jaws a new set. I thought, ‘Fuck that, let’s just make a new record!’, and Link was, ‘Ah fuck…I guess so...’ He’s been focusing on Sun God Replica and didn’t know if he could write a Meanies song anymore. He had a bit of a think and said, ‘What about all those tapes that you and Ringo used to bemoan that we never heard, or we heard but never played, or we played but never recorded?’ Of course we still had them; they were awesome songs even if they were still captured on those crappy four-track tapes. So we

transferred them to digital and had a listen, and sure enough there are over thirty songs that we fucking found that are all amazing, all written before 1995, most probably written before 1992, and they’re fucking killer. “And Bruce Milne from [indie label] Au Go Go is talking about getting a lot of our old stuff remastered, because most of it you can’t get a hold of anymore. We’ve also got a whole bunch of covers that we were going to put out on various 7”s on In-Fidelity, Bruce’s label after Au Go Go, and we had bands like The Drones, Digger & the Pussycats and Snout and they’d cover our songs, and we’d cover bands that we really like, but that’s stalled for now, just waiting for someone out there to come help us finish the series off.” This all culminates in The Meanies’ first tour north since 2010, and their first jaunt to some regional centres for over a decade. “We haven’t rehearsed once since Jaws joined the band, and we don’t soundcheck either because that’s for pussies,” Kempton emphatically declares. “We just rock up and rock out. We’ve had some wild times on the Sunny Coast, and we love playing too, but ultimately it’s about supporting your local community radio. 4ZZZ called us up to ask if we could help them raise some money. We thought, ‘It’s in Brisbane, so we can get a blast of sunshine; it’s the Queen’s birthday, so we can celebrate all the long weekend; there’s wrestling involved – fuck yeah!’ And we haven’t been to somewhere like Caloundra in something like fifteen or twenty years. But yeah, some money would be good.” WHO: The Meanies WHEN & WHERE: Saturday 8 June, Kings Beach Tavern, Caloundra; Sunday 9, 4ZZZ Rumble Rock Wrestling, Arena

ON THE TIME OFF STEREO

MUSIC

Wednesday 2 October: The Tivoli

SPIRITUAL CONNECTION Queensland Week is a time to celebrate what it means to be a Queenslander – who we are, where we’ve come from and where we’re going. Tyler McLoughlan grabs a coffee with local singer/songwriter Sue Ray to learn how her family’s heritage has shaped the music she makes in Queensland.

YO LA TENGO Fade

n true Queenslander style, any occasion to highlight the unique culture of the Sunshine State – particularly in relation to our closest southern neighbours – must always be celebrated with gusto and vigour. Amidst the fanfare of State Of Origin football, Queensland Week commemorates the state’s official separation from New South Wales in 1859, and QMusic are marking the moment with a feast of Indigenous music from various regions and genres on Friday Night.

I PARQUET COURTS Light Up Gold

SWERVEDRIVER Raise

The Queensland Week Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander showcase at Brisbane’s Powerhouse features the funky pop of Rockhampton’s Slip-On Stereo, Yarrabah reggae rockers Djun Djun Jarra and up-andcoming Stanthorpe MC, CY. Sue Ray, a Brisbane local who grew up in Toowoomba, adds a folky, altcountry flavour to the line-up. Music is very much in her blood; her father Owen, a founding member of Australia’s longest running rock‘n’roll cabaret band The Countdowns, just last year closed the doors of Toowoomba’s much loved International Music store after nearly five decades in business. Ray considers the influence of her maternal Indigenous heritage.

18 • For more news/announcements go to themusic.com.au/news

“My mum’s mum, she’s Koori – she comes from the Gamilaroi mob down in northern New South Wales,” explains Ray. “There’s so much about my nana that we just don’t know, but thanks to my cousin we found out where she was from, and I’m trying to source what language they may have spoken; I’m really curious to find that out and just get in touch with that part [of my heritage]. I feel like there is a missing link somewhere that I’d like to get in touch with. “Aboriginal culture is so rich in arts and music because that’s how communication happened historically,” Ray continues, admitting that while she hasn’t found any musicians on her mother’s side, she certainly feels the influence on her creativity. “I think from that side of the family I get that connection to environment, and need to travel… And I dunno, maybe the Dreamtime is in me; I’m a very vivid dreamer and very attached to animals. And then the music I think comes from Dad’s side, and on his side there’s Irish heritage; whenever I hear a fiddle I get a tear in my eye and I don’t know why?” Ray is excited about the increased avenues for exposing Indigenous artists, citing Luke Peacock

and The Medics among her local favourites, though she’s particularly stoked to share a line-up again with Slip-On Stereo who she performed alongside at QPAC’s Clancestry event in February. “To me it’s not something I necessarily define myself as, it’s just that I’m a musician that happens to have Indigenous heritage,” she ponders. “I also happen to have German heritage, and Irish and French and I don’t define myself by those either – I’m just Aussie, but I’m really thrilled it gives me an opportunity to be involved in projects like this, because [Indigenous music is] finally starting to get the recognition that it deserves. I’ve really noticed in the last few years it’s picked up; I’ve gone from kind of one gig here and there to nearly every second month there’s an Indigenous gig that I get to be involved in, and I think it’s awesome because there’s so much good music out there.” WHO: Sue Ray WHEN & WHERE: Friday 7 June, Brisbane Powerhouse

MUSIC

[FEATURES FEATURES]

TRASH TALK Tommy Trash has built a reputation for head bangin’, fist pumping, party-hard live sets with an unmistakable stage presence to match. He chats to Sean McKenna.

he LA based DJ/producer Tommy Trash has carried his hard hitting dance anthems across the globe via Ministry of Sound to just about every major international dance festival, much to the delight of electro-house disciples from Coachella to Wonderland. On top of his own ARIA and Grammy award nominated production, the Queenslander’s juicy house cuts have earned him remix approval from the likes of Swedish House Mafia, Deadmau5, Tiësto, as well as Steve Aoki and Zedd. But what’s more impressive than the 26-yearold’s daunting resume and rock star reputation is the fact that he’s somehow managed to maintain a boy like sense of simplicity and humility throughout, unlike so many of those around him. He recently offered an insight into this profound modesty during an interview over a no doubt lavish dinner from his no doubt lavish pad in LA.

MUSIC

The City of Angels is a far cry from Bundaberg in rural Queensland where Trash or Thomas Olsen as he was known back then, was raised. This country upbringing offers the first few hints into his self-effacement. Given his obvious talent for composition and layering, it comes as little surprise to learn that Olsen’s initial musical introduction came in the form of a classical piano “around the age of four or five”. After school he spent time

between bands and teaching piano in Brisbane and later Sydney. “The band I was in wasn’t really getting enough work so I had to go get an office job at the Bureau of Statistics – it was an interesting time,” he reminisces.

club bangers and collaborations including that ever dividing jingle: The Bum Song. “It was a beer inspired dance tune that just happened late one night. It was always really meant to be a nonsense song, which is why we were so surprised at how well it did.”

Inspired by the sounds of Felix da Housecat, Axwell and Swedish House Mafia, Olsen simultaneously developed a curiosity for electro-house, and flirted with amateur production himself. “I basically got into it by just going to nightclubs, I just really wanted to be a part of it,” he reflects. Moving to Sydney meant the next step in this fascination was a subsequent DJ gig in Kings Cross, the ideal platform to hone his skills. Prior to going solo, Olsen had been part of a two man trance outfit,Trashthetic, which later provided the inspiration behind the individual pseudonym. “I started sending [my own] stuff into Ministry of Sound and they were like what’s your name? And I was like, ‘Oh fuck, oh okay – Tommy Trash!’ It was a name made out of desperation” he explains.

With the standard bottle of Grey Goose in hand, expect to see Trash banging out some unreleased material as well as all the regular goodies during his time in Australia as part of an international tour in between his latest residency at Las Vegas’s newest dance mecca, Hakkasan Nightclub.

Whatever it was made from, it rang true in the ears of Ministry of Sound, which subsequently helped Trash climb the ranks of the international club scene quicker than most through a succession of

WHO: Tommy Trash WHEN & WHERE: Friday 7 June, The Met

IF YOU WEREN’T DOING MUSIC, WHAT ELSE WOULD YOU BE DOING?

iPA

He’s no stranger to production. The vocalist actually began as a DJ and producer. However, over the past handful of years, Westbeech has been making a new name for himself. Namely, Breach. In contrast to his work as Ben Westbeech, Breach’s output is characterised by aggression and sexuality. As Breach, he’s delivered releases for Pattern and Claude Von Stroke’s Dirtybird and DJed throughout the world.

In starting his project, Westbeech had the advantage of decades of experience. Not just his own previous experience as a DJ and producer, but that of his many collaborators. Under his own name, Westbeech has worked with celebrated producers like Henrik Schwarz and Motor City Drum Ensemble. Through collaborating as a vocalist, Westbeech grew as a producer. “Yes, definitely,” Westbeech says. “I worked and shared a studio with Red Light in Bristol, so I learnt a lot from him and also DJ Die from that era. At the time, I was always co-producing and learning my craft. Also, the house album I made on Strictly Rhythm where I worked with people like Motor City Drum Ensemble, Henrik Schwarz and Midland, who all taught me different techniques and ways of looking at structure and engineering.”

Some kind of person who gets paid for having excellent ideas. I’m pretty sure that job exists. I have good ideas all the time and I just give them away for free. It’s a crime! Laura Imbruglia touring nationally check The Guide for dates

NHA D E NC

MUSIC

“I’ve been going to clubs for 15 years now so I guess I just know what makes people dance,” he reflects. “It is an underground project and approach to the music so I’m surprised at how many people are into it now – but I’m really happy with the response. Breach is more my focus now but I have been singing on a few things – most recently Deetron’s new album, which is really exciting.”

iPA

here’s some distance between Ben Westbeech’s work as a vocalist and as a producer. As a vocalist, he’s a soulful, poppy performer happily juggling jazz, house and R&B. He’s released two successful albums (2011’s There’s More To Life Than This and 2007’s Welcome To The Best Years Of Your Life) and performed alongside Paul McCartney and Bjork. His work as a producer is a little different.

Ben Westbeech is a successful singer-songwriter who has worked with the eill likes of Professor Green and Rusko. For his latest Australian tour, Matt O’Neill NHA speaks to the UK multi-talent about his darker production alias, Breach. D E NC

“Yeah, it started out as a bit of a laugh, really,” Westbeech says of his alias. “The first tune I made, Fatherless, did really well so I thought there might be some length in it. I was and still am just making tunes for my box. That’s all I’ll ever do with Breach. I can see a live element maybe next year – but for now I’m just making records I want to play out. I just make music that I’d want to dance to in a club.

LAURA IMBRUGLIA

In case you haven’t picked up on it by now, Tommy Trash is not your typical international DJ sensation. On the contrary, he’s an unassuming dude pumping out masterful dance anthems, all the while simply enjoying the ride, “We’re making and playing party music so it’s really difficult not to get caught up in the whole party lifestyle; it’s just so much fun, why wouldn’t you do it”?

TOGETHER APART

ALTERNATIVE CAREER

Westbeech is very much a musical polyglot. In addition to his work as Breach and as Ben Westbeech, he’s also acted as a producer for other artists (including British hip hop sensation Professor Green). He began as a musician by learning the cello. Having explored underground house, jazz, soul and pop, he’s actually even keen to someday explore the worlds of psychedelic rock in his music. He’s even a fan of some local produce. “I guess I’m into soulful stuff but love the banging shit as well when it comes to house. But, I am actually really interested in psychedelic rock and would love to explore this area of music. I love the label Modular and bands like Tame Impala that are really pushing this genre forward – which is amazing,” he says of his various musical interests. “I’m loyal to myself musically, that’s all I strive for.”

LAST ALBUM BOUGHT JOSH PYKE

WHO: Breach WHEN & WHERE: Friday 7 June, Bowler Bar

Well, I’ve subscribed to Spotify, so the last album that I listened to was San Cisco’s new self-titled album. I just really like it, they’ve got such a good sound!

DARE TO BE STUPID

Josh Pyke is touring nationally check The Guide for dates

Vocalist Drew Gardner provides Time Off with an insight into the average show for his band of hardcore punk shitstirrers Totally Unicorn. Tom Hersey tries to keep up. here’s always something that’s fucking stupid going on at our shows,” Totally Unicorn frontman and chief instigator Drew Gardner says when he sits down to have a yarn with Time Off. But it’s one of those statements that really doesn’t need to be said. It’s pretty much self-evident. Over the last few years, the live show of the Sydney outfit has gained no small amount of notoriety for their penchant for playing sets in costume, taking whacky gags to the extreme and just committing heartily to all-round drunken tomfoolery. “We’re always thinking, ‘What can we do this tour to make people freak out?’ Because that makes it more memorable for the audience, which is a cool thing. Bands can be great, and play great music and everything, but if you go and see them live and they just play the tunes off the record, you can just sit at home and listen to them, really.”

“T

Totally Unicorn’s attitude to their show is so refreshing because it’s totally at odds with so many hardcore and punk bands. Their penchant for fun is a breath of fresh air in a scene that can sometimes seem insufferably stuffy, though there is a downside to the band’s particular brand of antics. Drew reckons there are heaps of people who don’t get what the band are doing onstage and he’s fine with that. It only really

becomes a problem when those people happen to be pissed-off bouncers. “We’ve gotten in trouble a fair few times, but not too bad. I’ve been threatened by security and had to hide in the car while they’re walking around looking for me after a gig, people putting gear on top of me so they can’t see me and bash me up.” The band’s next campaign to piss off bouncers will be a co-headlining tour with Adelaide’s premier mathy hardcore dudes Robotosaurus, the genesis of the tour being a new split between the two bands that came together over a couple of beers. Robotosaurus had some tracks they wanted to release as something of a final hurrah, and Totally Unicorn wanted to be a part of it so they could head out on the road with the fellas. “We were in Adelaide and got talking [to Robotosaurus] over a beer and we thought, shit, let’s do a split. They had a couple of tracks they wanted to get out and it’s always fun to tour with those guys, so we quickly wrote two songs, which was cool because we recently lost our old guitarist and gained two more, so it was our first time writing with the new guys.” According to Drew, having two guitarists on their side of the split changed what Totally Unicorn are doing with their sound. “We’re heading towards a bit more

melodic, punky sound. It’s not completely different to our old stuff, but there’s definitely more melody in there. It’s cool to have a bit more groove in there so people can actually bob their head along to instead of just being like, ‘What the fuck is going on?’” According to Drew there’s a full-length in the works and if all goes to plan it’ll be out early next year. But that’s way off in the future, and Drew seems much more interested in getting loose and maybe being a little stupid if the opportunity presents itself. “It’s all about good vibes really, everybody’s there to have a good time, jump around and get drunk. So as long as the people are enjoying what they’re seeing, we’re doing our job pretty well and we’re stoked.”

VIDEO OF THE WEEK MAJOR LAZER – BUBBLE BUTT

Director: Eric Wareheim

WHO: Totally Unicorn WHAT: Together Alone (Monolith) WHEN & WHERE: Saturday 8 June, Crowbar

For more interviews go to themusic.com.au/interviews • 19

SINGLED OUT SINGLE OF THE WEEK

WITH CHRIS YATES

BLOOD PLASTIC Closing In Independent Adelaide’s Marcin Kobylecki used to play in the band No Through Road, ex-band of Matt Banham and Summer Flake, both of whom have created amazing work in their own right since the sad demise of one of Australia’s most interesting indie rock ensembles. His new track Closing In has some roots in the band-focused stuff of that group, but it takes off into some really cool sonic playgrounds with its thumping drums and heavy guitars. The vocals are buried but push through enough to get the gist if not the sentiment, which is more than enough. Fellow NTR alumni Dexter Campos helps out by destroying a Hammond organ in glorious fashion.

THE BELLRAYS On Top

Sultan Sounds/MGM The BellRays know their way around a guitar riff for sure. Match it up with Lisa Kekaula’s massive soul voice and they’ve got an instantly recognisable sound that still has a lot of room to move within its niche. While their best work is probably behind them, On Top sure sounds like they are continuing their rock’n’roll mission in the most serious of ways. With a Led Zeppelin riff at twice the speed, stop-outs for the vocals to cut through and all the attitude they’re famous for, The BellRays are still a long way off from being redundant.

ALBUM OF THE WEEK

[REVIEWS REVIEWS] a l b u m

THE NATIONAL

Trouble Will Find Me 4AD/Remote Control It seems to be a general consensus that if you remain in the same genre or style for too long, you risk becoming staid. Iconic Ohio collective The National were on the verge of emotional and spiritual collapse, banging their figurative heads against a brick wall of audience complacency and indifference, before breaking through with 2005’s excellent Alligator. Subsequent albums Boxer (2007) and High Violet (2010) have seen their profile grow exponentially, while refining and expanding the template that garnered them such critical and commercial praise. Trouble Will Find Me continues this carefully calibrated move forward, and as such is their most assured, awe-inspiring set of songs yet. Born from guitarist Aaron Dessner’s late-night musical sketches made while embracing the trials and tribulations of a newborn daughter, the album ebbs and flows with beauty and chagrin. Opener I Should Live In Salt stirs the requisite amount of starry souls, while follow-up Demons sees singer Matt Berringer’s vocals scrape the baritone lows. Don’t Swallow The Cap takes romantic New Wave rhythmic drives and marries them to Berringer’s broken croon – he’s still torn between love and loss (“Everything I love is on the table/Everything I love is out to sea…To the bone I’m evergreen/I’m tired”). The charging Sea Of Love is overwhelming, a simple yet effective song that soars on a wave of unfettered confidence. And so it goes. Every song is worth a mention, because every song complements the next. Trouble Will Find Me isn’t The National’s first success story – but it is their most effortless. ★★★★½

CARLA BRUNI

Little French Songs Teorema/Universal Ideal for a lazy Sunday afternoon or an introspective evening, singer-songwriter Carla Bruni’s fourth studio album Little French Songs is slow-burning and quietly beautiful. In contrast to her colourful life – Italian-French ex-model married to the former President of France – the record is relaxed and breezy. So much so the jazz-inflected folk at times comes close to becoming wall-paper. The production is typified by finger-picked acoustic guitar, subtle string arrangements and occasional shuffling percussion, with some warmer moments featuring horns and electric guitar. Bruni’s voice is front and centre. It’s delicate and likeable without being saccharine, and she has a clean, direct delivery. Structurally the album doesn’t always work, particularly in the first half. The flow is confused, flitting from down-tempo lullabies on odd-numbered tracks to more cheerful songs on the even, which can be jarring. Opener J’Arrive A Toi is beautiful but meditative, feeling more like a final song on an album with its suspension of time and mysterious strings. Track two, the upbeat Chez Keith et Anita, would have served as a more inviting start and is by far the most fun on the album. There are lovely moments where the whimsical French folk shines, like Dolce Francia, Darling, and Liberté, and later tracks Little French Song and Le Pinguion are delightfully cute. Some swagger shows up in Pas Une Dame but overall the tone of the album is one of intimacy. Its simplicity is unlikely to appeal to those who prefer more dynamic music; it could be brushed off as being too boring or anonymous. However, there is a classiness and charm to the album that grows with each listen. ★★★

Amorina Fitzgerald-Hood

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE ...Like Clockwork Matador/Remote Control Full disclosure: this reviewer did not like what he heard when he first put on the long-awaited sixth studio fulllength from sons of the desert Queens of the Stone Age. A craving for high octane rock meant that the subtleties of the record were ignored, foolishly it must be said, and the twisted intricacies of the ten tracks did not register. For ...Like Clockwork is a slow burner. It’s a rock record of the more refined variety. And if you take it on its own merits, rather than holding it comparatively to Queens’ early-noughties output, you’ll soon find yourself sinking into the sludge and sex, sniffing the chemical fumes as you disappear into oblivion. Keeping the hooks and songwriting smarts of Era Vulgaris (2007) and letting it simmer with the haze of 2005’s Lullabies To Paralyze, Josh Homme uses that unmistakable high-register croon to full effect, offsetting the swampy blues rock that fills this album to give a hint of light in what is otherwise a claustrophobic listen. That “robot rock” element of the band is no longer a dominant factor. You still hear it, yes (If I Had A Tail, My God Is The Sun), but it’s more about the journey, I Appear Missing the perfect example of how this record can drive you into the dark horizon. And as for the much vaunted Elton John guest spot on Fairweather Friends... it all makes complete sense when brought to life in audio. ...Like Clockwork shows that Queens are still depraved and drug-drenched. It’s just that these days the boys are taking their hits from a batch far more pure. ★★★★

Benny Doyle

Brendan Telford

KING MIDAS SOUND Aroo

Ninja Tune London resident Kevin Martin is a genius, and has proven it time and time again whether with his genre defining work on GOD and Techno Animal, or more recently with his experiments in danceable yet still extremely cutting edge dub as The Bug. He has been working as King Midas Sound since 2008 and Aroo marks his return to the moniker. A minimal electro beat is swamped with boy and girl duelling vocals, a mass of and synths and noise filling out the surprisingly pop-flecked track. Funny Love is the single’s B-side and is much more ambient, relying a little more heavily on dub production ideas, with an outcome that is equally as melodic.

FOOTY

Mobile Cemetery Lost And Lonesome Recording Co Who said all the good band names were gone? Thankfully, Footy isn’t a bunch of NRL players getting on the mic to raise money for charity or worse, but is in fact probably about as far from that as you might guess. Experimental piano jams seems like the best way to describe what they’re doing, even though such a rudimentary analysis doesn’t really explain what’s going on in any detail. Realisation starts as a series of sporadic and seemingly random notes and piano thumping until ideas repeat and create some memories, while minimal percussion keeps it pushing on. Vocals are introduced on Workin’ which is bold and anthemic with its tongue in its cheek. Brilliant stuff.

JOHN FOGERTY FEAT. FOO FIGHTERS Fortunate Son Sony While I’m as happy as anyone to see John Fogerty back in the studio, it’s pretty annoying that it has to be as a guest singer on what is a ridiculously unnecessary Foo Fighters cover. With pick squeals and palm muting, it sounds like my high school band with John Fogerty and Dave Grohl dropping by my mum’s house, which would have been awesome. I wouldn’t have expected anyone to listen to it on purpose, though.

ELEANOR FRIEDBERGER

LAURA MARLING

Merge

Virgin/EMI

Eleanor Friedberger is not known for her conventional approach. Her early career in The Fiery Furnaces largely consisted of constructing abstract lullabies from moody organs and miasmic synths alongside her brother Matthew. Each album in the band’s career echoed the word “concept”, and these rarely overlapped. The adhesive that glued the catalogue together was Eleanor’s distinctive and crisp vocals, always found at the top of the mix.

Once again teaming up with Grammy-nominated producer Ethan Johns for her fourth full-length, Once I Was An Eagle is UK indie-folk songstress Laura Marling’s most ambitious undertaking to date. The album begins in subdued fashion with the melancholy Take The Night Off, featuring sparse accompaniment to Marling’s strumming and voice in the form of cello, minimal piano and sparing drums.

Personal Record

Personal Record takes that voice, and explores a pop sensibility that came to life on her first solo offering, Last Summer (2011). Despite the title’s implications, the lyricism is less personal than that of her freshman release. Largely, the album explores themes of love and all its congruent emotions from a bird’s eye view with highly relatable results. Tracks like Stare At The Sun and Echo Or Encore buzz in the subconscious, connecting a soundtrack to private memories, left to loop on repeat like an old projector.

Once I Was An Eagle

MELBOURNE SKA ORCHESTRA

Melbourne Ska Orchestra

Interestingly, the following three songs – I Was An Eagle, You Know and Breathe – are barely indistinguishable from the first, the four tracks flowing together into one, laidback, almost 16-minute epic. Master Hunter breathes some much-needed urgency into proceedings, before things slow down again for the tranquil Little Love Caster. Devil’s Resting Place is one of the strongest moments, with its cello and percussion-heavy mix resonating more than the preceding tracks, before the superfluous two-and-a-bit-minute cello of Interlude.

Four|Four/ABC Music Any self-respecting chamber orchestra knows that they can’t just get by playing only one of Mozart’s or Bach’s symphonies – classical music is a far more diverse and complex beast than that, and there would be no justice trying to define it off only one composer’s idea of what “classical” sounds like. Likewise, the Nicky Bomba-led Melbourne Ska Orchestra aren’t here to haphazardly represent the storied history of the politically-charged and socially-driven genre that is ska. Rather, they deliver an expansive, polished and ultra-fun journey through ska’s multiple waves and global influences.

Not as exciting as Last Summer, this latest release still pays testament to Friedberger’s unique take on sound and just how she can fit the pieces together to create interesting melodies and mosaics. Personal Record cements her position as a musical auteur, never shying away from the sound that constantly sets her apart from her peers.

Although it might be lacking some of the immediate hooks of its predecessors, Once I Was An Eagle’s charm sinks in with repeated spins. That said, at 16 tracks and clocking it at more than an hour, it could have benefitted from some more judicious editing.

Perhaps it makes sense the album begins – with a live-mix, instrumental rendition of the Get Smart theme – where most people’s familiarity with ska ends ie. the third-wave, punk-inspired style championed by so many late-‘90s outfits. From here, guitarist/vocalist/band leader Bomba is our primary guide through foundations of downbeat, organ-laden reggae (Time To Wake Up), low-key salsa influences (The Diplomat), mariachi and Latino flavours (Dean Went To Mexico, He’s A Tripper) and even songs steeped in funk and the jazz age (Third Time Lucky). Naturally, the horns are the heroes of the piece. Trumpets, trombones and saxophones of all sizes expertly spar with, dance around and bolster each other, providing dexterous spectacle as solo instruments as well as playing a fundamental melodic and harmonic role. At a shade less than 60 minutes, the MSO have plenty of time to ensnare you in their infectious net, so if you’re not wholeheartedly joining in on the gang vocal-driven revelry of closer Singalong Day, it’s possible ska is not for you. For everyone else, this homegrown gem is heartily recommended.

★★★

★★★½

★★★★

At times Personal Record does betray hints of the quirky indie songstress’ true character. The coupon collecting and expiry-checking neuroses of My Own World plays like a charming insight into Friedberger’s mind, while You’ll Never Know Me provides a sad promise of eternal disconnect, blending elements of ‘60s girl groups with a spangly guitar track.

20 • For more news/announcements go to themusic.com.au/news

Jazmine O’Sullivan

The album picks up some pace from this point, with Undine noticeably more upbeat, and Where Can I Go giving Marling’s vocals their first opportunity to truly soar. Once is a subdued but achingly beautiful number that doesn’t wear out its welcome, and although it takes a few minutes to reach its crescendo, Pray For Me is equally palatable. The album falters a little over the next couple of tracks, before ending on a high note with Little Bird and the sublime Saved These Words.

Daniel Johnson

Mitch Knox

a l b u m [REVIEWS REVIEWS]

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ROB ZOMBIE

Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor Zodiac Swan/Universal Maybe before heading into the studio for album number five, Rob Zombie channelled the spirit of Spike Milligan in a séance, and that’s why none of the words on the album’s front and back covers make any sense, but if you can look past the title, Zombie more than compensates. On Venomous Rat..., Zombie is doing some of his alltime stupidest, and best, with numbers like Teenage Nosferatu Pussy and Ging Gang Gong De Do Gong De Laga Raga. This is, after all, the guy whose biggest hits have lyric sheets that read like the maladjusted post-adolescent male’s wish list: chicks, headbanging, ultra-violence, cars. And on Venomous Rat... his band still sounds like Big Black, if Big Black were made up of the rednecks and jocks that Big Black sung about. But who needs to develop when you can write such brilliant quasi-industrial, quasi-metal ready-made-for-head-banging tracks? Dead City Radio and the New Gods of Supertown captures probably the best spoken word jam since Suicidal Tendencies’ Send Me Your Money. Likewise, We’re an American Band is a perfect marriage of goth and cock rock. And though sadly Joey Jordison’s time behind the Zombie drum kit ended without him ever featuring on a full-length, new conscript and ex-Marilyn Manson skinsman Ginger Fish makes the loss seem negligible. If you can suspend all good sense, Rob Zombie has once again delivered a triumph. ★★★½

Tom Hersey

THE HANDSOME FAMILY

TRICKY

Loose/Spunk

False Idols/!K7

It’s rare that a band harbouring fervent fans the likes of Jeff Tweedy, Jarvis Cocker and Nick Cave could continue to fly under the radar. Twenty years and nine albums in, however, and New Mexico’s The Handsome Family remain a niche concept, augmenting their baroque take on Appalachian folk with country twangs, psych tangents and strange subject matter. Wilderness does little to open the husband and wife duo up to new audiences, nor to stretch their wings, instead content to mine this vein of music for all it’s worth.

For the past 15 years Tricky has delivered a lot of good material, but his albums have been plagued by the hit and miss syndrome. Though Past Mistake demonstrates the devastating potential of his recent efforts, its host album Knowle West Boy (2008) was marred by inconsistency, and then the later Mixed Race (2010) dropped the ball even more.

Independent

In the present, here Tricky stands with False Idols, his tenth studio album and the debut launching his new record label of the same name. Thankfully, he’s started this new venture off on the right foot by delivering the goods. His characteristic approach of structural minimalism is as refined as ever, and each of the guest vocalists work in tandem with Tricky’s own musings to complement and expand upon the simplicity of their given structure. With none of the 15 tracks reaching even as far as the four-minute mark, each one of these cuts are straight and to the point. Opener Somebody’s Sins is a sparse throwback to darker days that becomes propelled forward by the motion of throbbing bass and a reduced revolution of beats. Nothing Matters gets a little livelier, and from here the course flows through varied channels. Closer Passion Of The Christ comes off as a simplified take on DJ Krush’s Jaku formula, yet Tricky’s vocals cast the music in new light and it rounds out the record rather well.

Nocturnes

Wilderness

The topics are bewitching, and sometimes brilliant – Woodpecker tells the tale of Mary Sweeney, the kook who insists on smashing every glass surface in town; Frogs a disturbing call to the depths of the dirt and the banal shift of history; Glow Worm is a doomed voyage through the centre of the earth. Every song is named after an animal of the American wild, and these animals mirror these tall, dark tales. The juxtapositions of the vocals – Brett Sparks’ baritone overpowering the pixyish lilt of wife Rennie – add to the quirk, yet it’s the subtleties that combine with these confronting complexities that prove to be more endearing. Brett Sparks has a way with melody that creeps on you – Eels as a composition seems commonplace, but will echo long after the song has closed up shop. His deep timbre holds sway, undulating between gothic preacher to weary porch dweller with nary a breath being taken.

False Idols

Wilderness is an album that demands devoted listening; to disappear down the rabbit hole with these warped vignettes.

While Tricky’s claims that False Idols is a better album than iconic ’95 debut Maxinquaye should obviously be taken as complete hyperbole, it’s at least his most accomplished and consistent long player since ‘98’s Angels With Dirty Faces.

★★★½

★★★★

Brendan Telford

FABELS Zimmer

“Their debut album, Zimmer, is an amalgamation of wonderfully odd sounds swirling together to create fluidly dynamic pieces of music.” Justine Keating

LITTLE BOOTS On Repeat/Kobalt “It’s music that’s made for soundtracking the early hours of the dance as dawn breaks and the haze of the night clears with a cat-like stretch and fresh air hits your face.” Kristy Wandmaker

ROGER KNOX & THE PINE VALLEY COSMONAUTS Stranger In My Land Bloodshot/Inertia “Roger Knox’s new album is an ambitious and expansive affair that seamlessly weaves together American and Aboriginal strands of country music with a strong social conscience and a laconic sense of humour.” Chris Familton

Jake Sun

For more interviews go to themusic.com.au/interviews • 21

[REVIEWS REVIEWS] l i v e They have an intermittent tendency to race ahead of the measured, accurate programming sounds on which they rely to keep time. Straight from the grungy, driven strains of Do You Lift?, through a down-tempo cover of Single Ladies, a rap (seriously), and the two-stepgroove-into-wall-o’-distortion ender Get Inside, it’s clear that Settling are having the time of their lives. So when Rinse come on out and drop their comparatively unmemorable brand of cookie-cutter indie rock, it’s a little deflating. Rinse are just one of those acts who are bound to polarise – sure, the negative pole might be smaller than the heaving, cheering mass of positivity in front of the stage, but it’s nonetheless important, because nobody else will tell you that it seems like you love Depeche Mode a little too much, or that it’s super-evident that you’ve had TV On The Radio’s Wolf Like Me on your brain lately, or that the basic underlying message of the set seems to be, ‘Hey, we have a song on Unearthed (Point) and Dom Alessio really liked it, so if all you’re going to take away from our set is that you’d rather watch snails watch paint dry, then so be it’. Mercifully, four-piece alt-rock luminaries The Chemist, in town supporting their fresh full-length Ballet In The Badlands, waste no time in reigniting the spark. Frontman Ben Witt is in fine form, his blues-tinged vocals sitting comfortably above a somewhat muddy mix while his bandmates do their best with what aural clarity they’ve got. Still, it’s a good warm-up for Splendour and the group show they’re well ready for it, with a late highlight manifesting in the form of the seemingly ubiquitous (presently, anyway) Silver & Gold, and relative newcomer Chris Wright showing throughout that he is truly across filling the rhythmic hole left by last year’s departure of previous drummer Elliot Smith. It’s all very enjoyable and inoffensive, and The Chemist are obviously very skilled at what they do, but, after the night’s initial bang was followed by such a self-satisfied whimper, it can’t help but feel like an uphill slog to the finish line.

MARTHA WAINWRIGHT, BRIGHTER LATER THE TIVOLI: 31/05/13 With its allocated seating and ushers directing patrons to their chairs, The Tivoli’s feeling incredibly grown up tonight. Sure, it might not be rock’n’roll, but this reviewer is all for it. Who wouldn’t prefer to get off their feet after a long week? Sitting back with a glass of red wine and digging on some folk pop seems just what the doctor ordered. The soundtrack to the smooth ride into the evening gets off to pretty great start as Melbourne indie quartet Brighter Later do their thing. The band’s spot on the tour is an excellent chance to spruik the quirky electronic/acoustic instrumentation and delicate, involving melodies of their debut long-player, The Wolves. Numbers like Magnolia are captivating in the lush theatre surrounds; it’s just a shame that Brighter Later don’t accord more responsibilities to their amplifiers. In a scene reminiscent of Portlandia’s Battle of the Gentle Bands, throughout their set, conversations in the crowd are louder than Brighter Later. Sure, tonight is a mature affair, the wine is in those funny little plastic cups they have at art galleries and the house music is low enough to not impede upon any of the presumably serious conversations being committed to with a grown up fervour in the break between the two bands, but Miss Martha Wainwright is no Barry Manilow. And when the singer takes the stage, she makes it painfully obvious that she’s not your grandparents’ folk act. When she’s not in the middle of a song, she’s telling the crowd about her experiences with psychedelics and what it’s like to have your name printed on the underpants which are being sold from the merch desk. When sometimes all that crowd interaction can just seem like an asinine means to pass through a set, it’s central to Wainwright’s show. After all, the crowd is attached to Wainwright through her songs that capture the trials and triumphs of her life in such an honest way. We already know tonight’s headliner, so it makes sense that she would so graciously offer up more of herself for the crowd’s enjoyment. What’s more, this tactic works; the chanteuse’s every anecdote is met with appreciation, even when they accompany almost every song. Then there’s her music. Drawing heavily off of her latest record Come Home To Mama, tonight Martha Wainwright and her band hold The Tivoli to stillness, captivated by the fragile intonations of the singer’s voice on numbers like Proserpina and an absolutely powerhouse rendition of Jesus & Mary. In fact, Wainwright holds the crowd’s attention from the moment she steps on stage to the moment she bids farewell, and then everybody’s off to bed. After all, there are chores and IKEA trips for early tomorrow morning. Tom Hersey

NORTHLANE, STRUCTURES, STRAY FROM THE PATH, STATUES THE TEMPO HOTEL: 30/05/2013 Heating up the stage tonight is a little-known Perth group by the name of Statues. As the band’s guitarists stab and flail about, their influences become clear. The Dillinger Escape Plan and Norma Jean are quite obvious reference points, but the four-piece have generally rounded things down into their own style. Delivering a slightly inconsistent set, when they miss the mark one feels it, but when they really hit it – like the four-way vocal deconstruction that they finish with – you know they’re verging on something bigger.

Mitch Knox

TRAINSPOTTERS: DREAMTIME, MULTIPLE MAN, GAZAR STRIPS GRAND CENTRAL HOTEL: 01/06/13

Martha Wainwright @ The Tivoli Pics by Stephen Booth US band Stray From The Path waste no time bringing the energy up a notch. For their first ever Australian show, they probably aren’t expecting the reaction they receive, with pogo mosh rather than pit karate establishing itself as the order of the night. Fan favourites like Damien and Death Beds elicit the largest waves of energy, and the RATM-inspired guitar noises of Thomas Williams are a stand out when not being smothered by an overpowering bottom end in the mix. In a set of rather unfortunate circumstances, Structures’ vocalist Nick Xourafas was left stranded in the USA without his passport. If it weren’t for the internet informing me of that though, fill in Alex Lidstone would not have betrayed the fact that he wasn’t supposed to be there as he confidently leads the band. They finish up with Encounter... to rapturous applause from a crowd that doesn’t seem to be particularly disappointed with how things turned out. By the time Northlane come to claim the night as their own, the enthusiasm in the room is near-overwhelming. Kicking off with Genesis, the band play the first five tracks off their Singularity album in seamless succession. Stray From The Path vocalist Drew York then jumps on stage to provide his backup vocals to Masquerade, but it’s not really clear if his microphone is even working. Generally though, the sound is massive and piercing, with their tightness and control having gone to the next level some time ago. The band turn to their older tracks before finishing up with an encore of Dispossession, and the sold-out crowd is finally satisfied.

piano) allows the unique acoustics of the space to take centre stage. The sudden dramatic halts of recent single, Stupid, for example, sound utterly breathtaking when chased by the cathedral’s colossal reverb. Only his third Brisbane performance, it’s almost unarguably his best. Kate Miller-Heidke seems similarly daunted by her venue – but, where Maclean retreated, Heidke overextends. Opening with a wordless operatic piece (“I’ve never played that live – but I thought, ‘If not here...?’”), she immediately illustrates what will be a key irritation of her set: an over-reliance on technology. While her musical set-up is stripped-back (performing mostly to acoustic guitar, with only the occasional piano or violin), her sound is heavily amplified and she punctuates many of her songs with an unnecessary amount of delay. Not only isn’t it necessary, it actually tramples a bit on the innate majesty of her setting. It would have been far more preferable to hear quieter and less-effected renditions of unsettling folk tunes like Sarah and The Devil Wears A Suit. The songs are still great songs and Miller-Heidke and husband/sideman Keir Nuttall fantastic musicians (though, Miller-Heidke’s timing on Caught In The Crowd seems oddly sloppy) but it’s hard not to think of the event as a bit of a wasted opportunity. You never really get to hear Miller-Heidke’s incredible voice sit within the St John’s Cathedral acoustics. It’s either loud to the point of almost distorting or hidden beneath artificial delays. Which is disappointing.

Lochlan Watt

Matt O’Neill

KATE MILLER-HEIDKE, BRENDAN MACLEAN

THE CHEMIST, RINSE, SETTLING

ST JOHN’S CATHEDRAL: 28/05/13

Camaraderie is very much in the air at the X&Y Bar this evening. Part of it’s probably to do with the weekly “Friends” club night, which sees the diminutive venue decked out with video game consoles, DVDs of The OC and other quirky miscellanea designed to lend the space a friendly, welcoming air, but, more tangibly, it’s simply emanating from Kurtis Tupangaia and Tim Swanston, the pair of musicians and obviously good mates who make up the night’s first act, Settling. Being their debut performance, it’s easy to forgive the rough edges around what Settling do – with both Tupangaia and Swanston manning electric guitars, their back-up percussion and instrumentation comes in the form of a trusty laptop.

A last-minute addition to the bill to replace Keir Nuttall’s overly-ribald alter ego Franky Walnut, Brendan Maclean’s work soars within the unusual surrounds of Brisbane’s St John’s Cathedral. He seems atypically daunted by the set-up. His leftfield banter is more restrained (“Don’t fall in love with a ballerina,” he advises, at one point. “That’s got nothing to do with this next song. Just don’t do it.”) and his performance is direct and unaffected. It actually works wonders. His stripped-back approach (never performing with anything more than a ukulele or

22 • For more news/announcements go to themusic.com.au/news

X&Y BAR: 31/05/13

The Grand Central Hotel is well and truly packed for tonight’s episode of the appropriately-titled Trainspotters series. Kicking things off, Gazar Strips take the stage noticeably later than scheduled, due to technical issues – kind of a recurring theme of the night. During the group’s set the sound essentially goes off without a hitch, with their dark Cure-ish tone oozing just the right amount of reverb and chorus all throughout the mix. The potion on offer is a decent serving that works well to start off the night. Then, we reach Multiple Man... Well, kinda. For whatever reason, it takes the group over 45 minutes to set up. Great for the bar, but not so great for everyone else with the twins proving both to be the evil one, clearly agitated over the proceedings, and with due cause. Eventually the group, all bathed in green, get something happening but the sound once again falls on its face. Due to constant mic dropouts the band’s visual, gothic hit Whipping Boy is in parts forced into pseudo-karaoke realms, with the rest of the set noticeably missing the delay. The band do their best in trying circumstances, and their frustration clearly translates into them putting in more effort. Sadly, the bar giving out free hats isn’t nearly enough compensation for this unfortunate mix. Making their way back into town from a stint in the US of A teaching the yanks that all Australian psych bands aren’t Tame, Dreamtime are back home and find themselves fronting an audience reveling in their newfound foreign fame. Set up time for the group is still quite tedious and long, but not as bad as their predecessor. Things sound mostly good for Center Of Mind but shortly after this the mics once again lose the reverb and eventually dissolve wholly into the mix which completely destroys the loop-based intro to Baphomet; fortunately the mics aren’t the only focal point, as the guitars tonight are a blitz upon the senses. Obviously at some point the group decide to ditch the running sheet and things spiral out into improv jams. A prime example of this is Sun, during which both guitarists Zac Anderson and Chris Campion lose their breakfast all over the fretboard with wahs and delays paving the way to those soul-jarring bends. The track spans at least 15 minutes, and coupled with the projections over the group’s heads makes it the highlight of the night. With feedback closing the set at a wee bit past 1am, all bands on show tonight have performed well despite the conditions and this is a consensus amongst the insanely-packed audience. One can hope that tonight’s mishaps will be a non-recurring theme to this otherwise awesome concert series. Free entry and free hat or not. Bradley Armstrong

live

[REVIEWS REVIEWS]

ARE YOU LOCAL?

BRISBANE SINGLES AND EPS BY CHRIS YATES CHRIS@TIMEOFF.COM.AU

Archie Roach @ GoMA Pic by Sky Kirkham

THE MEDICS, ARCHIE ROACH GALLERY OF MODERN ART: 01/06/13 A diverse crowd has gathered to witness this special night of music, running in conjunction with the new exhibition at GoMA, My Country, I Still Call Australia Home: Contemporary Art From Black Australia. Wandering through the gallery pre-show and absorbing all of the stunning pieces of art created by the Indigenous community is a beautiful and enriching way to set the tone for the evening. When the inspirational legend that is Archie Roach takes the stage, spectators form a tight-knit crowd as close to him as possible, with everyone seeming to understand the significance of seeing him play as a part of this exhibition. Before he starts singing, Roach shares a little insight to the story behind each song, making the audience feel like a part of proceedings. Even though it’s a cool night outside, no one in GoMA would know it, as Roach’s bold-yet-soothing vocals instantly warm the room; it feels like there’s warmth emanating from the walls as he sings! It’s quite a moving sight to witness hundreds of people staring silently and admirably at Roach as he performs; he absolutely captivates this crowd, and you can feel the respect they hold for him. We’re treated to a plethora of his hits, including We Won’t Cry and Native Born, with each song earning the singer a raucous response.

There are significantly fewer people in the crowd when it’s time for The Medics to perform. The magnitude of the event is not lost on the group, who admit that they’re honoured to be a part of it; frontman Kahl Wallace is even dressed for the occasion, donning a black singlet adorned with the Aboriginal flag. They knock out tracks from their debut album Foundations, including Griffin, Slowburn and Golden Bear, as well as a new song Bruises, which earns a positive response. Halfway through the set, drummer Jhindu Lawrie invites his father and the band’s mentor, Bunna Lawrie (from the iconic Coloured Stone), to join them for the rest of the set; it’s so endearing to see his face light up as he watches his father perform. The night closes with their single Joseph, and it’s almost like the guys have been saving all their energy for this moment – Charles Thomas is throwing his bass into the air and then whipping it back into his hands with the strap to quickly resume playing, while Jhindu Lawrie practically leaps off his drum kit and screams his guts out, not into the microphone, but directly at the crowd for the repeating refrain “You built walls to cover your pride”, doing so with such a confronting force that spectators toward the front are seen to take a step back – it’s quite amazing to behold. Both Archie Roach and The Medics have done their communities proud with an amazing display of music tonight, and have probably scored themselves a few new fans in the process.

QUT’s Independent Music Project Indie 100 2013 has just wound up in the studio, with over one hundred songs written, recorded, mixed and finished in 100 hours. A monumental task to be sure, and with surprises and gems galore the Indie 100 is a very cool example of what can be done with the right people, the right equipment and a ridiculously tight deadline. Here’s just a few of the 100-plus tracks:

CANYONERO Eeezypop (Ways To Be Defeated) There’s not kidding with the Eeezypop title, the brilliantly named Canyonero come through with a slice of indie pop summery bliss that is well crafted and realised. The guitars noodle into the chorus after sharp spiky chord punches for the verses, with a slight African steel drum feel. Not bad considering they’re using guitars instead of drums for this effect. The vocals are honest and sound Australian without taking it too far.

MY FICTION Come Home My Fiction come up with a mellow piano-based number which is sparse and sentimental, a tale of sadness and waiting with just the voices and the tiniest amount of finger-picked guitar blending in around halfway through to up the instrumental composition. When it builds to the last verse the vocals create a big dynamic shift.

THESE GUYS Laterz A lo-fi electro beat bumps away like rhythmic drum machine spasm in the background while one-man band These Guy attacks it from all angles. It starts with a progression of chunky and slightly-wonky synth stabs, adds arpeggios and by the time the deeplyeffected vocals come in it’s already quite mesmerising. An acoustic guitar rounds out the composition in parts, breaking through like it’s from another song altogether yet it still ties the two parts together.

THE REVERSALS When The Weekend Comes Often the most hastily thrown together indie rock produces interesting ideas that may get lost in the often over-laboured process of songwriting. When The Weekend Comes by The Reversals is deceptively simple, and the structure of the song itself is quite unusual. A simple indie pop guitar-driven tune is made much more interesting with an instrumental section following the verse that comes across like a middle eight but actually represents the bulk of the track.

THE BOYS One Month Without Sex The deceptively-on-purpose named girl group The Boys produce a mix of ‘80s pop rock with a verse section that could be Blondie or Kim Wilde, with crunchy guitars straight out of the ‘90s. The combination of eras, a catchy chorus and good shifts in dynamics all create a pleasing mix. Chuck a melodic guitar solo at the end and it all comes together like old fashioned rock’n’roll in the end.

Jazmine O’Sullivan

Street Press Australia, The Hi-Fi, ctrl-alt records, East Brunswick Tattoos & Fun Police Inc. { PRESENTS }

PLUDO HAYWIRE TOUR { WITH SPECIAL GUESTS }

Question Everything _ Mass Sky Raid _ Night Time Fiona

14 JUNE _ The Hi-Fi 123 Boundary Street _ WEST END { tickets available from www.thehiﬁ.com.au }

Haywire available on iTunes 14 June www.facebook.com/pludomusic _ www.pludo.com.au _ www.possumrecords.com.au

For more interviews go to themusic.com.au/interviews • 23

[REVIEWS REVIEWS] a r t s

THE GREAT GATSBY FILM “You think it’s too much?” asks Leonardo DiCaprio, mid MTV Cribs tour of his palatial fantasia, the Gatsby of Baz Luhrmann’s big-screen, big-dollar adaptation of F. Scott’s Fitzgerald’s iconic jazz-age tome. And the answer is, of course: Yes! The barrage of fidgety edits, the endless dissolves, the peppering pop-up words, the ’90s-multimedia-kiosk windows, the digital fireworks (no, like, literally), the cavorting camera moves out to justify making a prohibition-era parlour drama as popcorn tentpole 3D extravaganza, the colour grading so bright and sharp and pixel-edged it could take an eye out, the tedious comparisons between ’20s flappers and ’90s rappers, and every fucking time Leo says ‘Old Sport’ – it’s all too much. Our Baz never met a pudding he couldn’t over-egg, but with The Great Gatsby he drowns it in high-fructose corn syrup while he’s at it. “Is all this made entirely from your imagination?” Carey Mulligan marvels, and Luhrmann hears himself in that line; The Great Gatsby’s obnoxious excess taking his dreams to screen. But our Baz dreams in cliché, apparently: his fantastic vision for Gatsby’s palace as tacky as a third-rate Las Vegas hotel; a hokey framingnarrative device finding Tobey Maguire telling a spellingout-the-obvious Jack Thompson the ‘tale’ of Gatsby; every joke oversold with panto buffoonery; a dalliance in the lower-classes so much slumming with sneering, proto-Jersey Shore caricatures; a French butler coming with Clouseau-esque Frog accent; big-band song-anddance numbers feeling less Busby Berkeley, more Lou Vega video. All this ‘pomp and circumstance’ is pumped out with a desperate breathlessness, a barrage of constant crescendos and routine, overdetermined detonations that make The Great Gatsby play out like a show that’s terrified you’ll change the channel.

It’s pitched at people on treadmills, planeflights, or commutes, which would be fine if it remained a 90-minute music video. But The Great Gatsby blows out to a 140-minute ‘tragic love story’, where you’re stuck watching a fucking creep – a stalker who moves in across the bay from the girl-he’s-obsessed-with, keeps a scrapbook filled with pictures and newspaper clippings of her, and generally scans as a future abusive boyfriend – pine for a paper-thin Flapper played by Carey Mulligan as ‘woman on the verge of fainting. They’re star-crossed-lovers, but it’s hard to give a shit; The Great Gatsby never finding an emotional foothold, a raison d’être beyond the benjamins. Craig Armstrong’s orchestral score never so swells as at the words ‘Old Money’, but the picture’s ersatz approximations of luxury – roaring ‘20s bacchanalia stuck in the Uncanny Valley – are far more nouveau riche; Luhrmann adapting a classic of American literature as if it’s Sex And The City 3.

Arcane & Able: On a scratchy LP, Bob listens, eyes closed, to the booming voice of How I Raised Myself From… Failure To Success In Selling. Pete Campbell’s Punchable-Weasel-Face Watch: Pete Campbell’s Blazing-A-Joint Face. Sterling One-Liner Of The Week: “Our biggest challenge is to not get syphilis.” Anthony Carew Screening every Monday night, 5.20pm and 8.30pm, on Showcase

Anthony Carew For the full review head to themusic.com.au

CHARLES CONDER & HEAVY WEIGHTS VISUAL ART

WATCHING (MAD) MEN A TALE OF TWO CITIES S6, E10

This Week On Mad Men: Going back to Cali usually brings Swingin’ Dick respite, but this trip to LA – for a run of failed meetings with Harry and Roger – descends into a hashish-fuelled, bizarro-Hawaii nightmare the leaves Mad Men’s Falling Man floating face-down in a Sunset Blvd pool. The now-dead soldier he once hitched tells Don what the doorman didn’t: dying doesn’t make you whole, nor does re-embracing your hot French-Canadian wife. With Ted touring Chevy’s Get Smart compound, the Fat Cats of SC&P – vale SCDPCGC – are away, and thus, as America comes out to riot, the town mice come out to play: Stan royally baked, Jim willfully dividing ranks, clients left in the hands of maybe-“homo” Bob and Bhagavad-Gita-barking, alien-transmission-receiving Ginsberg. Joan breaks Account Man ranks and tries to land Avon solo-style, with Peggy as her blackmailed, bitchy ally, which sends Pete into a tornado of awesome adolescent tantrums.

24 • For more news/announcements go to themusic.com.au/news

Aside from the fact that QUT’s Art Museum offers a great way to skip class and still convince yourself that you’re engaging in the pursuit of higher education, the gallery is a nice, albeit small space. The limited room is put to good use, currently holding two exhibitions, Charles Conder: The Lithographs and Heavy Weights: International Works On Paper from The Collection. Conder was active at the turn of the century and his works are necessarily indicative of that era. Nonetheless, he liked his debauchery, particularly the kind featuring buxom harlots, which makes for surprisingly entertaining viewing. This writer’s companion suggested a lithograph drinking game called ‘Spot The Cleavage’ whereby the last person to identify the most ample bust exposure takes a shot (disclaimer: this reviewer in no way endorses or encourages getting drunk in art galleries). Conder’s work is nicely juxtaposed with Works On Paper a multi-artist collection of, as the name suggests, works on paper. QUT Art Museum has managed to amass some pretty impressive pieces; the collection features Henry Moore, David Hockney, Joan Miro, a Rodin and even a Kandinsky. It’s mostly cohesive, and while the paper works may lack the ‘wow’ factor of more wellknown mediums, it’s nonetheless an invaluable look into artistic process, development and experimentation. Helen Stringer QUT, Charles Conder to Sunday 21 July and Heavy Weights to Sunday 28 July

EMPIRE CIRCUS It’s hard not to be sceptical wandering into Empire Australia. Superficially, it seems to represent itself with a particularly smug sense of rebellion. Supposedly daring and risqué circus. However, it’s equally hard to maintain that scepticism when the show proper begins. Easily one of the most stunning shows to tour Brisbane in recent years, Empire is hilarious, absurd and spectacular to a degree that brushes the rust off those overused terms of endearment and makes them shine anew. From a technical standpoint, they’re simply astounding performers. Performed in the intimate surrounds of the Spiegeltent, a roller-skate routine is terrifying in its audacity and sense of spectacle, one performer being spun in high-speed revolutions from her ankles by another (both on skates). A performer seems to defy physics and gravity as he dances in the midst of a spinning ring. Even the most hardened sceptic will find themselves baffled by at least one of the displays on offer. More impressive, they’re excellent entertainers. The MCs play the role of ribald, obnoxious foreigners throughout and, rather than going for cheap laughs, are genuinely hilarious. The show is sequenced so as to ensure the audience never grows bored. Honestly, it’s just fantastic fun – go see it. Matt O’Neill The Spiegeltent, King George Square to Sunday 30 June

m u s i c [COLUMNS COLUMNS]

ROOTS DOWN

OG FLAVAS

THE BREAKDOWN

BLUES ‘N’ ROOTS WITH DAN CONDON ROOTS@TIMEOFF.COM.AU

URBAN AND R&B NEWS BY CYCLONE

POP CULTURE THERAPY WITH ADAM CURLEY

up with 2000’s Country Grammar, is on a roll, his rappop frivolity Hey Porsche, produced by DJ Frank E (the dude behind Flo Rida’s Right Round), Australian double-platinum. It’s the lead single off MO.

J Cole

Chris Wilson One of the most soulful voices in the world of garage rock, Mark Sultan (also known as BBQ) is back in the country with the King Khan & BBQ Show real soon, but last week he announced that he’d be playing a bunch of solo shows while he’s here as well. He has kicked arse with Khan, as a member of Les Sexareenos (possibly the most underrated garage rock band of the past couple of decades) and the Spaceshits as well as in solo mode, so it’s really exciting to get the chance to see him again. A notoriously hard worker, Sultan performs in a unique kind of one-man-soul-band mode, smashing out a dirty brand of soul-punk ceaselessly, his dirty guitar and stomping drums provide the perfect bed for his kinda Sam Cookeaping croon. He’s truly worth checking out on record – 2010’s $ is a good place to start – and then, once you have, you’ll need to go and see him live. He plays at the Black Bear Lodge – perhaps our city’s classiest venue – on Friday 28 June and you can grab yourself a ticket through Oztix soon (honestly, I have no idea when). A few more names have dropped onto the Great Southern Blues Festival bill recently and, despite the fact the festival have opted to release names just a couple at a time, it’s now starting to look like it’s coming together as a really, really quality bill. The three latest names to be added to the festival line-up are ‘70s blues boogie master The Cyril B Bunter Band, who have just recently reformed for their first shows in decades, Ezra Lee and His Band, who were brilliant backing up the wonderful Wanda Jackson earlier this year and the incomparable Chris Wilson who, when deciding on what he would bring to this year’s festival to make it extra special, decided to reform the old Crown Of Thorns band, who haven’t played together in what is apparently 25 years! They all join the likes of Popa Chubby with special guest Sari Schorr, The Holmes Brothers, Chris Cain, Watermelon Slim with Fiona Boyes, Ash Grunwald, Russell Morris, Renee Geyer, Third Degree, Cristina Crofts, Minnie Marks and The Detonators in Narooma from Friday 4 to Sunday 6 October. You’ll need to head to the festival’s website to grab yourself a ticket. He is one of the finest writers to have ever come from this country and now Paul Kelly is looking to pay tribute to those who have influenced him as he announces Conversations With Ghosts, a special show that he has written in collaboration with West Australian composer James Ledger. The show will see Kelly teamed up with Ledger on electronics, Genevieve Lacey on recorders and a ten-piece Australian National Academy of Music ensemble featuring two violins, viola, cello, double bass, clarinet/saxophone, two horns, keyboards and harp. The 12 songs that will be performed on the night are inspired by the following poems: The Lake Isle of Innisfree and Sailing to Byzantium by W.B. Yeats, Once in a Lifetime, Snow by Les Murray, Five Bells by Kenneth Slessor, Basking Shark by Norman MacCaig, Woman to Man by Judith Wright, One Need not be a Chamber to be Haunted by Emily Dickinson and Ring Out, Wild Bells by Lord Alfred Tennyson, as well as a few of Kelly’s own works. This show will take place as a part of the Brisbane Festival on Saturday 7 September, with tickets going on sale in a couple of weeks’ time. Finally, a huge congratulations (even though she can’t read it now she’s back in the USA) to Mia Dyson for scoring a nomination for APRA Song Of The Year. Brilliantly deserved and in excellent company with cracking tunes from Tame Impala and Courtney Barnett also in the running. Here’s hoping that one of these most deserving artists takes away the prize in 2013.

Jay-Z and his ‘lil’ brother’ Kanye West really are playing a game of thrones. This month West, trademarking his Messiah complex, will unveil Yeezus. (Hova who?) It’s his first solo album since 2010’s epic My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Kim Kardashian’s arty baby daddy has been crafting music in Paris with Daft Punk. The divisive dubstepper Skrillex, responsible for A$AP Rocky’s Wild For The Night, is also attached. Ye’s material is reportedly dark, angry and politically punk, as exemplified by New Slaves (featuring Frank Ocean) and Black Skinhead. The MC has attacked corporate culture on stage – but why not express some subversive humour, as Diddy did with his Downton Abbey spoof? There’s another pretender to the rap throne in J Cole, Jay-Z’s Roc Nation protégé. Cole, meant to perform at Supafest, will deliver Born Sinner on June 21, the date brought forward to (provocatively) compete with Yeezus. Cole, who self-produced the first single, Power Trip (with Miguel), is keeping it conscious, yet his latest is murkier than Cole World: The Sideline Story. Other big hip hoppers have albums due in the second half of 2013. OG Flavas is anticipating Drake’s Nothing Was The Same. He’s already enjoyed a US hit with Started From The Bottom. The Wu-Tang Clan have reunited for July’s A Better Tomorrow – ostensibly their farewell album, according to RZA. The Coachella stars are marking the 20th anniversary year of their classic debut, Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). Eminem, headlining summer’s Reading and Leeds festivals in the UK, is set to follow 2010’s colossal Recovery. Chicago producer No ID (Common) is on board and (possibly) Dr Dre. Indeed, rap comebacks are all the rage with LL Cool J and Eve lately dropping albums. Nelly, who blew

On 2011’s viral hit, 212, Azealia Banks rapped, “Why you procrastinate girl?” Ironically, she’s now become a running joke because of her tardiness in releasing the much-hyped Broke With Expensive Taste. The Harlemite has distracted herself with ‘branding’, fashionista posing and those Twitter beefs with everyone from rival femcees to Perez Hilton to The Stone Roses (“old saggy white niggas”). The onetime media darling is perversely refusing to discuss the album in interviews. A backlash is brewing. Is Banks the new MIA? Mind, the less-witch-hop-than-witchchop single, Yung Rapunxel, (courtesy of Lil’ Internet) is fierce. Banks is following it with ATM Jam, featuring Pharrell Williams. It’s hard to imagine her still working with the relatively staid Paul Epworth (Adele). Banks’ expat Aussie enemy Iggy Azalea, now aligned with Universal, has aired the EDM banger, Work, about her ‘struggle’ – it’s thematically similar to Drake’s Started..., but co-produced by the UK’s Invisible Men (Jessie J). Iggy’s debut LP, modestly titled The New Classic, will boast input from Diplo and Flosstradamus, the parties involved in her well-timed Trap Gold mixtape. Iggy, her mentor T.I., copped it from Banks when she became the first female – and first nonAmerican – rapper to make the cover of XXL’s 2012 Freshman Class edition. Another Banks foe, Angel Haze is likewise readying her debut, Dirty Gold. The New York rapper has a new song, No Bueno. She, too, is recording with Epworth. Haze laced a cred remix of Cat Power’s Manhattan and guests on Rudimental’s Home. Tinie Tempah has much in common with Dizzee Rascal. Both UK rappers have moved from being grime to pop stars, performed at the London Olympics and cameoed on Calvin Harris’ 18 Months. And they have long, long-awaited albums. Details are scarce on Tinie’s upcoming Demonstration. But Dizzee, a Mercury Prize winner, is back in da biz, having newly signed to Island. He’s just circulated Goin’ Crazy with... Robbie Williams. Expect his album, The Fifth, to be hyperpop, in the vein of 2009’s Tongue N’ Cheek with its smashes like the Harris-stamped Dance Wiv Me.

ADAMANTIUM WOLF METAL, HARDCORE AND PUNK WITH LOCHLAN WATT Affliction has released a new video for their song Greens Ave from last year’s ARIA-topping Chasing Ghosts. You can check it out on the band’s Purevolume page. Newcastle solo artist Jen Buxton’s Desperation Demos will be released on 7” via Midnight Funeral in mid-September. Limited to 500 copies, pre-orders are available from midnightfuneral.limitedrun.com.

Nile

Gold Coast post-metal group The Matador intend to record a double album named Inclinaturum Humani Generis. The first installment, Part I: Destroyer is said to showcase the band’s heavier side, with Part II: Creator going down the more progressive, melodic path. To be recorded at Core Studios on the Gold Coast with Nik Carpenter (Devolved), it will be the band’s first releases with Nathan Wyner of A Secret Death on vocals. Both parts are set for release later this year. A limited vinyl pressing of Singularity, the new album from Sydney’s Northlane, is available exclusively in three different colour configurations from the We Are Unified online store. Byron Bay’s SHACKL∑S will release 300 new copies of their sold out Maunder 7”, which are available for pre-order now through arrestrecordsaustralia.bigcartel. com, and are expected to arrive in time for the band’s appearance at Hardcore 2013 in Sydney on 14 July.

Thanks to Soundworks, legendary death metal elders Nile will return for their fourth Australian tour this November. The band will be performing a careerspanning set, shredding material from 1998’s Amongst The Catacombs Of Nephren-Ka to last year’s At The Gate Of Sethu. Considered by many to be the leaders of the modern and progressive technical death metal generation, The Faceless will provide direct support. Catch them at The Hi-Fi on 14 November. Guttermouth have announced what will supposedly be their final Australian tour this August. Down Under has been a popular destination for the American punk rockers since their formation in 1988, the band releasing their ninth album Shave The Planet in 2006. Their largely regional run will finish up at The Tempo Hotel on 30 August and The Parkwood Tavern on 31 August. Celtic-themed Canadian punks The Real McKenzies will tour Australia for the first time this August and September, with like-minded Australians The Go Set. The tour winds up at The Miami Shark Bar on 6 September and The Prince Of Wales Hotel on 7 September. Aussie metal greats Psycroptic and King Parrot will team up for the ‘Inheriting The Sickness’ tour this July and August. They will play 3 August at Crowbar, before heading to Toowoomba on 4 August at The Norville Hotel. Pre-sold tickets are available now for $18.40 through Oztix.

Saturday: Totally Unicorn, Robotosaurus, El Alamein, Dirty Charlie – Crowbar. Last Chaos - The State Library. Emmure (USA), Deceiver, The Schoenberg Automaton, Questions – Coniston Lane.

Melbourne’s Outsiders Code have released a new track called Outsider For Life on outsiderscode.bandcamp. com. Fronted by Luke Baina of Her Nightmare, Samsara and 50 Lions notoriety, their debut album of metallic hardcore aggression, Exiled From Birth, will come out through Resist Records on 7 June. The Amity

Sunday: A Secret Death, The Daylight Curse, In Ashes We Lie, This City Ignites – X&Y Bar. Fear Like Us, Arrows, Headaches, Army Of Champions, Milestones, We Set Sail, Postblue, Little Shadow, Inside The Whale, No Trust, Ashley McIntyre, Seahorse Divorce, Sirens – Crowbar.

GIGS OF THE WEEK: Thursday: Thy Art Is Murder, Cattle Decapitation (USA), King Parrot, Aversions Crown, Disentomb – The Rev. Killing Joke (UK), Hound – The Hi-Fi. Deadlights, Shorelines, Set The Record, Sun Heights – X&Y Bar. Friday: Thy Art Is Murder, Cattle Decapitation, King Parrot, Aversions Crown, Emerald Vale, I Shall Devour – Expressive Grounds. White Walls, Occults, Love Canal, Quiet Steps – Crowbar.

Jessica Pratt Melbourne label Mistletone promotes more tours than it releases records nowadays, so when an album does appear, it’s a sign the label folk are backing it all the way. Another indication of Mistletone’s fondness for the self-titled album from San Francisco folkie Jessica Pratt (distributed by Inertia) is the lapse in time between its US release, through Birth Records, and its official introduction here last week. Birth Records was started by White Fence alter ego Tim Presley simply to put out Pratt’s album late last year. “I never wanted to start a label,” Presley has been quoted, “but there is something about her voice I couldn’t let go of.” (White Fence also released a new record in April on Castleface Records, run by Thee Oh Sees’ John Dwyer – feel the San Francisco love.) Of course, there’s so much music being released in so many formats that the issue of when an album is discovered by an individual or community is a non-issue, despite market forces consistently demanding we treat it as an issue. But there’s something about Pratt’s album that also acts as a pause button on the record-release process. The material itself resists any need to tag it as ‘new’ or to get to it first. Perhaps it’s the knowledge that the album was recording over a period of five years, or more correctly that it’s a collection of songs Pratt recorded in that time. Perhaps it’s the reverence Pratt displays for early ‘70s folk songwriting. She picks out her songs on an acoustic much as Joanna Newsom picks at her harp, and lets her melodies ramble and divert, building them into choruses only to give a hymnal effect, such as on the song Mountain’r Lower. That song, with its light bluegrass feel, layers its vocal seemingly only to suggest communal singing, some communal activity, rather than to make any sonic impact, though Pratt harmonises beautifully. Yet those aspects of the album aren’t themselves explanations of its easeful and disarming impression, more approaches to some explanation. The real reason is more likely that listening to the record is also listening to Pratt discovering ways of recording, using budget equipment to record in various spaces with no apparent conception of an audience or even an album. The record begins with Night Faces, a song that finds so much warmth in Pratt’s casual rendition of it. “You know I spent a million tears trying to dig myself out all these years” she sings over an elegant guitar line, sounding as if she’s telling only herself, making the fact OK by owning up to it. A gentle hiss coats Half Twain The Jesse, probably the closest Pratt gets to Blue-era Joni Mitchell – not an unreasonable reference point albeit a predictable one – with its autumnal notes and road-weary narrative. The song is immediately followed by Casper, a relatively plucky and bare-bones number more crisply recorded and more consciously performed. On Casper, Pratt is an artist in a studio, revealing another aspect of her craft. Even if it doesn’t allow us to be voyeurs of a home recording as much as the rest of the record, it shows that Pratt isn’t being wilfully nostalgic on those earlier songs. She’s trying things out, seeing what works, and in doing so letting us into her process and progress. The cumulative effect of all this is that Platt gets her audience on side; she’s given us an album in a vulnerable state, allowing it to be received more openly than perhaps the debut albums of other young songwriters astutely following folk traditions and in doing so sounding more like throwbacks than adapters. Pratt gives us an in. And in providing such a revealing document of her songs, and of herself, she also refuses to be pegged as one thing or another, as a ‘new discovery’ or a ‘next thing’ or ‘cult act’. The album shrugs off that talk. And Presley is right, there is something about her that’s hard to let go of.

For more interviews go to themusic.com.au/interviews • 25

[COLUMNS COLUMNS] a r t s THE LOOKING GLASS

CULTURAL CRINGE

A JOURNEY THROUGH ARTS WITH HELEN STRINGER

ARTS NEWS WITH MANDY MCALISTER

James Franco

When faced with a crossroad in life it’s wise to turn to some guru, someone who has faced difficult choices and prevailed and to seek spiritual guidance from them. For instance, if wondering whether it’s okay to wear a jumpsuit in public and wave your hands in the air ‘90s rave style you may ask yourself, “What would Delta Goodrem do?” If your dilemma involves the choice between over-disclosure on social media and retaining a modicum of privacy you may ask, “What would Amanda Bynes do?” Maybe you’re in a neo-folk band and want to know whether it’s acceptable to dress up as a chimney sweep and write the world’s naffest first lines. You could ask yourself, “What would Marcus ‘I came home like a stone’ Mumford do?” Personally, when faced with indecision – which happens approximately once an hour – I ask myself “WWJ(F)D?” which translates as “What would James Franco do?” The answer is twofold: 1) whatever the fuck he wants; and 2) everything, even things he’s not particularly good at. This works for me because I’m not particularly good at very much and I have a tendency to do whatever the fuck I want at the expense of ever accomplishing anything. I have, for instance, started no less than six undergraduate degrees and finished only one; twice I’ve left midway through a semester to go overseas with an average of a week and a half of thorough planning, resulting in travelling on almost expired documents and detention by immigration. I’m seriously surprised I haven’t seen the inside of an offshore processing centre.

Right now I’m thinking about ditching a law degree that would probably guarantee me regular employment and an actual salary – an occurrence so unfamiliar to me it’s become a mythical event. I’m deliberating the benefits of moving back to the social sciences where torts law will become but a distant memory, and people will actually talk instead of speed typing on their MacBook Pros in a state of barely contained panic because the tutor refuses to allow them to photograph answer templates. In a torts tutorial you can practically hear undergraduate students internally screaming, “GIVE ME THE TEMPLATE YOU BITCH”. So under these circumstances, what would WWJ(F)D? Would Franco continue on an endeavour so preoccupying that you only note the daily passage of time by how warm you’ve become in your 5am-appropriate onesy? Would Franco stick out a degree that renders you unable to write anything without typing ‘ISAAC’ at the top of the page, clutching an effigy of Michael Kirby and praying, “identify the issue, state the law, apply the law, apply the authority, conclude”? Would Franco say, become so obsessive you forget to check your emails thereby failing to discover deadline has changed and probably pissing off your editor quite a bit? No. Hyper-hyphenated Franco would find another way to add to his hyphenation; the actor-director-columnistperformance artist-soap star-musician-lecturer-faux documentary maker-memoirist-short story writervisual artist would find some other discipline to not be particularly good at. Be prolific, Franco would say, not brilliant. Don’t do a university course, write one on yourself, teach yourself to yourself, and mark yourself on being yourself. Fail the course. Better yet, film yourself wilfully failing the course. Join a performance art troupe and use crowd funding to raise money for an invisible art exhibition focussing on invisible law school dropouts. Write a book of short stories with “quitting” as the overarching theme, in which you make every rookie error possible; start every sentence with “So I was…” and write graphic sex scenes to demonstrate the hedonism of youthful law students but fail because you’ve imposed your adult insight onto adolescent ignorance. Host the Oscars. Model Armani. Take selfies. In short, do anything that’s something more than what you’re currently doing. The problem is clearly solved. Thank you Franco, spiritual guide for the intellectually frenetic.

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Hanson’s hometown, Oklahoma, seem to be, like a lot of craft brewers, a small but credible operation. The beer has been launched to coincide with the release of their new album, Anthem, and it probably won’t hurt sales that we’ve reached that awkward moment when Hanson becomes a reasonably hot group of dudes (yes, even the one who looked like a golden lab). Unfortunately they’re still marketing overproduced pop to teens so the sale of beer for promotional purposes seems a little incongruous.

The Great Gatsby It’s been much ado about Gatsby in Australia this week with capital cities hosting lavish The Great Gatsby premieres. While the film has garnered mixed reviews (though I thought it was pretty gosh darn good, old sport) its box office takings hold steady in the third week of American release, placing sixth behind four franchise films (Fast & Furious 6, The Hangover Part III, Star Trek: Into Darkness, Iron Man 3) and Fox animated offering, Epic. While the Gatsby parties boast high numbers of audience participation in the costume stakes, and, no doubt, the gin drinking stakes, the wily publicists behind it all have been trumped by Hanson (the band – not the second most famous, ginger-haired, female, Aussie pollie). The brothers Hanson are still together and have been performing as a band for 21 years now, but their new beer, brewed in partnership with craft brewers Mustang Brewing Company, might be their most popular release yet. It’s called Mmmhops and was recently served up to guests attending The Hangover Part III Los Angeles premiere. That’s right! Mmmhops! It seems tenuous and twee to launch a beer based on the similarities between the words “hops” and “bop” but the bottle looks pretty cool and Mustang Brewing Company, based in

In lieu of a sample to review, we turn to Benjamin Nichols, owner of Brissie’s finest craft beer bar, The Scratch, for consumer advice, “I’ve been following the release of this literally for a couple years now. Since none of [Mustang Brewing Company’s] beers are available in Australia, I can’t attest to the quality of the beer, but they seem to have a good reputation. Being an IPA, it’ll probably be better than what’s on special at Dan Murphy’s this week and it will sell. You turn your back and they’re gone so fast. I hope it tastes seedy. Perhaps like a flower or a rose. Any one of those.” I guess that’s a secret that no one knows (aside from the Wolfpack and co.). While he’d prefer to stock LeAnn Rimes’ How Can I Live With Stout You, Nichols says, “I’ll stock The Isley Brothers’ You Make Me Wanna Stout if I get to wear a toga as my new permanent uniform.” Sadly he has no plans for taking on Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pilsner. As a seller of all beers rare and noteworthy, Nichols suggests a couple of real, musically-influenced alternatives to Mmmhops made by Australian brewers. He suggests Moon Dog’s Billy Ray Citrus, a wheaty, sour number released as part of Moon Dog’s Magnificent Mullets Series, or 2 Brothers’ James Brown Ale, an 8.8 per cent Belgian Brown Ale. As for stocking Mmmhops, Nichols says, “Ommegang’s Game of Thrones beer first please.” That exists, it’s called Iron Throne, it’s brewed in upstate New York, and it looks awesome. Here’s hoping Nichols does get his hands on some. Just remember your wallet; I’m pretty sure The Scratch has a zero tolerance policy on paying the iron price.

[THE GUID IDE]

AERIALS Members answering/role: My name is Brendan and I am the drummer for Aerials Aerials.

How long have you been together? This bromance we have has been going on for a little over a year now. Good times.

How did you all meet? My brother Tristan and I have played music together ever since we were little tackers. Jackson always came to our old band’s gigs. He approached us when the band broke up and said he always admired our musicianship and that he wanted to sing for us. I thought he was just stalking us. He’s cool though.

You’re on tour in the van, which band or artist is going to keep you most happy if we throw them on the stereo? Funny you say this. I can’t sing for shit, so lately it’s been a CD with the do-re-mefa-so-la-te-do’s. But what would probably make us happiest is some Deftones, The Mars Volta and The National. I actually prefer dreamy-soundtracks whilst on the road but I always get a bit sleepy behind the wheel so let’s stick to the rock’n’roll.

you’ll ever meet and their music is brilliant. The hardest working bands I know would be Dead Letter Circus and Greenthief. Kudos to those guys guys, man.

What part do you think Brisbane plays in the music you make? Brisbane plays somewhat of an important role in the music we make but it’s not the reason why we make the music that we do. I would never praise Brisbane for having the strongest and most supportive community in the live music/entertainment scene. However, there are a lot of creative people/artists in this city that do deserve more attention than they’re getting.

Is your band responsible for more make outs or break ups? Let’s just say the make-up sex will be worth breaking up for.

What reality TV show would you enter as a band and why? There’s so much talent on The Voice so let’s just cross that one out. I’d probably have to say The Biggest Loser. I’d like to play our hardest and heaviest songs while eating cheeseburgers in front of them to get the contestants moving!

If your band had to play a team sport instead of being musicians, which sport would you play and why?

Would you rather be a broke but revered Hank Williams or some kind of Metallica Monster?

Nah, I don’t really like sport so I’d probably just stick to my desk job, save money and buy more records. The other two would probably take up smoking and give golf a go or something.

Let’s go with the some kind of Metallica Monster. I’ve got a scary vinyl addiction so the money would help me out. A lot. Ha ha.

What’s in the pipeline for the band in the short term?

Which Brisbane bands before you have been an inspiration musically or otherwise? There are a lot of great musicians in this city that have been personally inspirational to me. Bands like Drawn From Bees and Grand Atlantic are the nicest guys

Well we’ve worked our caucasian/asian asses for the last six months to ensure our debut EP Firefights met the May release. Forrester Savell (Dead Letter Circus/Karnivool) got his hands dirty by mixing the lead single Firefights and we’re currently supporting our EP with a massive national tour that takes us from Cairns all the way to Adelaide. We’ll be ending on a high note at The Tempo Hotel on Friday 7 June. Be there or we’ll hunt you down. Aerials launch Firefights (MGM) at The Tempo Hotel on Friday 7 June.

[THE GUID IDE] s i x

pack

AKOVA

From quartets to trios to duos, Akova has experienced it all. But as Benny Doyle learns, right now the only journey for the musician remains a sole one. “I guess I’ve been blessed with rhythm; I can get both arms and legs all working together. I’m not so much a technical player; I like filling up a room with sound.” Hailing from the sunny stretch of sand known as the Gold Coast, Akova puts his hands to good use onstage. With a cajon, djembe, ankle bells, guitars, a ukulele and “a bunch of other percussive instruments” all at his immediate disposal, the one-man roots machine is adventurous and playful, bringing the party by simply seeing just how much sound he can

DRU CHEN

project. His latest record, Earth Recruit, captures that energy in abundance, with the instrumentation acting as a foundation for Akova to stress the importance of people and planet before profit.

BLACK AS BLUE

Given all of this, what are the excitement levels for the tour like? Pretty high, it seems.

“I really don’t like to preach so all my songs are little messages in which the listener can do with what they please,” he tells. “It’s about keeping [life] simple. I see people working so hard, just trying to keep up. Debt is a huge part of life at the moment and families are suffering out there. Maybe slow down, enjoy yourself, dance, sing, love and get a little messy!“

“The excitement levels are off the charts, we’ve been practicing hard to make sure our live show is something to remember,“ Olley enthuses. “We can’t wait to get out of the practice room and onto the road. We’ve met the guys from Double Lined Minority once when we played a show together at Between The Walls, but we haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Gentlemen or The Roshambos.”

Currently travelling around Oz in a camper playing music for a living, which he assures us “certainly does not suck”, Akova continues to spread the love while still taking his own lessons away from the stage.

Black As Blue’s debut EP, Let This Be The One, was released a couple of months ago now, and Olley says the experience has been an overwhelmingly positive one.

“Believe in yourself and [don’t give] up,” he says. “I’m getting such an amazing response on this tour; people are really connecting to the music. Some like to sit and listen to the lyrics, while others are just going off on the rhythms. Some just stare and I’m sure they are thinking, ‘What the fuck!’ But all in all it’s been wicked.” WHAT: Earth Recruit (Independent) WHEN & WHERE: Friday 7 June, Mandala Arts Cafe, Gold Coast; Sunday 16, The Brewery, Byron Bay

Talking of DIY, Chen recorded Intentions himself and says the decision to do so was a real no-brainer.

Greg Olley, lead singer, guitarist and violinist with local alt-rockers Black As Blue, talks to Tony McMahon about releasing a debut EP and his band’s upcoming gig at the massive Round and Round and Up and Down tour. “It is an awesome concept and it’s great to be part of it,” says Olley, talking about the huge showcase tour, highlighting up-and-coming acts. “There’s some fantastic music coming out of Queensland and its great that there’s some support to get it played live and on radio. The Round and Round tour is a huge boost for bands like us who find it difficult to get out and play shows outside of our hometowns or cities. It’s also a

GENTLEMEN

Why did Chen choose You Bring Out The Best In Me as the first single off the EP? It seems that it all comes down to connection.

“My music is funk and soul with a twist,” says Chen, describing how he goes about things. “A fusion of the values of old-time musicianship with the laptop production chops of the new breed. Punchy funkpop choruses mixed with experimental soundscapes and high production values are combined with do-it-yourself bedroom recording practices.”

OWEN CAMPBELL

“I chose You Bring Out The Best In Me as the lead single because it was my favourite song to play live and it seemed to connect with most people. I’m very lucky to see it getting picked up by radio internationally [Triple R, PBS106.7FM, 4ZZZ, Northern, Southern FM Australia, 93.8fm Singapore, WKCR89.9 New York], and the music video garnering over 15,000 views in one month.” WHAT: Intentions (Independent) WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 6 June, The Box; Thursday 13, Solbar, Maroochydore

Wynne are just incredible to work with, tireless and so passionate about what they do. Mark and Colin are a great team, working with a keen instinct in that they know when to interject and when to let things roll. They brought mastery and a bloody good time.”

Rock/blues artist Owen Campbell tells Tony McMahon a bedtime story about his new album, The Pilgrim. Then there’s the one about the lucky Los Angeles busker. “Once upon a time,” says Campbell, “Before rock’n’roll was all noise and wank, it was a melting pot of country, blues, soul and rhythm. This album is my celebration of a bygone era. A testament to the heathen kings of old!” Campbell chose legendary producer Mark Opitz for desk duties on this record, and says he made it both a better album and a much more fun experience. “Jeff Lang recommended Mark. We had a chat and we got on straight away. Both Mark and the engineer Colin

When it comes to describing one of his live shows, Campbell is slightly guarded. “I can’t describe what I do in third person, that would be very Billy Ray Cyrus of me! Perhaps they should turn off the CD and come to my shows!” WHAT: The Pilgrim (Independent) WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 6 June, Black Bear Lodge; Friday 7, The Loft, Gold Coast; Saturday 8, The Royal Mail, Goodna; Sunday 9, Woombye Pub, Sunshine Coast

28 • For more news/announcements go to themusic.com.au/news

WHAT: Let This Be The One (Independent) WHEN & WHERE: Wednesday 19 June, Eatons Hill Hotel; Thursday 20, The Basement, Gold Coast Arts Centre; Friday 21, Warwick RSL; Saturday 22, The Spotted Cow, Toowoomba; Sunday 23, Solbar, Maroochydore

AIDS Wolf, Arab on Radar etc., but after recording that first track we haven’t stopped making music.”

“The music has always had [a] strong sense of selfexpression from the beginning,” says the 25-yearold. “I feel the main one is a sense of frustration in the music, as we try to channel our voices into a structure to communicate a central feeling and emotion in the song. Through the subjects we write about, there’s always this untamed wilderness in everybody, this strange feeling of absolute radical energy that needs to be let out and fed for nutrition on the absurdity in our modern day living. We are just trying to find the perfect balance.”

Starting Gentlemen as a side project, Luke Gentlemen and his cohorts had no indication they were disturbing a noisy electro beast, but as Benny Doyle discovers, the threesome are quite happily embracing the fury. “We started creating music as something different to do as our guitarist in our other band worked away a lot,” Luke recalls. “At the start friends thought it was weird what we were making. When we first started, we recorded in Ryan Gentlemen’s room through his laptop – I seriously felt out of my depth, as from being influenced vocally by bands such as The Locust,

TOM WEST

Given Campbell has recently played sold out showcase gigs in the City of Angels, the question of what that the experience was like asks itself. “First time I was in LA, in 2006, I was busking on Venice Beach, brushing shoulders with homeless Indians, drug addicts and people going broke trying to look rich. This time, performing with John Fogerty’s drummer Kenny Aronoff, it was great, I was given boots that looked too big, but I filled them well. I walked back down Venice Beach and gave $5 to a busker, wondering what worlds they have followed their music through.”

“The experience was great and we’ve had a fantastic response from it. A lot of work but definitely worth it. We had a lot of help from Nathan at Tall Poppy Productions in Salisbury where we mixed and partially recorded the EP. We’re in the process of pre-production for a follow up EP now, so expect some sweet new tunes soon.”

Although the Brisbane trio hang onto those elements of weird that make the aforementioned bands so influential, the main thing here is self-expression, not regurgitation. Luke explains just what Gentlemen are trying to channel with their apocalyptic rave party jams.

“I studied music production in uni and have always recorded at home, so naturally it felt comfortable to continue making music this way. I wrote, mixed and produced Intentions by myself at home on my laptop. However, I did go into a studio to record drum parts with Graeme Pogson from The Bamboos. I recorded horns and vocals in my grandparent’s garage. I don’t think it is impossible to make a ‘professional’ sounding record at home DIY-style. Some of my favourite music makers like Hiatus Kaiyote, Yeo, and the original DIY maestro, Prince, can attest to that. Most of Prince’s classic pre-Purple Rain material was recorded in his home studio.”

Tony McMahon finds Dru Chen and his Intentions EP a hell of a lot of fun. Not surprising perhaps, as Chris Wilson said he was ‘like a young Prince’, and he probably wasn’t talking about Charles.

great opportunity for audiences in southern Queensland to get some quality acts delivered to their door.”

And when the vocalist and his fellow Gentlemen take the stage at the forthcoming QMusic Round and Round and Up and Down shows, expect a performance that is anything but safe. “We are aiming to play a mixed bag of tracks at each gig to push out some radical energy and to make each set different. Most probably rad lights, [too]!” WHEN & WHERE: Wednesday 19 June, Eatons Hill Hotel; Thursday 20, The Basement, Gold Coast Arts Centre; Friday 21, Warwick RSL; Saturday 22, The Spotted Cow, Toowoomba; Sunday 23, Solbar, Maroochydore

to track away usually ‘til about midnight,” West remembers. “The place is kind of semi-cleared farmland with a scrubby hill on one side of the dirt road and orchards on the other, and a huge old gum tree over the shed and the horse’s yards, which is down a short drive from the house. “We’d start tracking usually as the sun was going down and the wrens and magpies would be going quite crazy at that time, [then] as it got colder and the sun went down the crickets would pipe up and then the bats – all those feature quite heavily and unintendedly on the record.” Heading up our way to perform some solo shows in what West calls “true format”, his vivid storytelling will no doubt stand as the hero onstage when he showcases A Spark...

Back from playing SxSW and Canadian Music Week, Tom West talks to Benny Doyle about his debut record and trying to capture a great story in song. Recorded during a chilly August winter in Balhannah, about 30 minutes out of Adelaide, A Spark In The Dark is the forthcoming debut from South Australian folkie Tom West. And if the earthy strum of first single Jonathan’s Farm is anything to go by, the LP should definitely be a product of the experience. “We’d set up [my friend Alister’s] laptop and two mics in this shed on my folks property up there and begin

“I’ve tried to come up with songs with words that I find interesting but are also true to themselves, so I think the best way to do that is to be truthful with yourself about what you are writing about,” he reasons. “It’s kinda weird to say, but I kinda feel like if people really listen to [these] songs they’d be getting a pretty good view of my soul. I think I laid a lot of myself out on this album.” WHAT: Jonathan’s Farm (Independent) WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 6 June, Dowse Bar; Saturday 13 July, The Zoo

food

[THE GUID IDE]

TOP 5

CEREMONIAL BREW

COFFEE JOINTS WE’RE LOVIN’

1 In Australian culture, a cup of the dark stuff keeps the functioning cogs of society ticking over. But as the Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony highlights, back in the natural home of the bean, coffee holds so much more significance than a simple ‘pick-me-up’. Matt Ziccone investigates.

he taxi driver insists, “It’s the best coffee in the world”. Making a call like that, especially in Melbourne, isn’t a new statement to anybody’s ears, but to an Ethiopian it isn’t a once a week changing remark. Coffee drives food culture in this country and pushes our respect and international need for our expertise. It’s an evergrowing staple and a necessity in most Australian lives so to learn that Ethiopian restaurants offer a coffee ceremony will excite an aficionado and draw them in to judge the Ethiopian traditional celebration of not only their favourite bean, but ours. But with this comes the first problem. Definition of ‘ceremony’. A world we relate to marriage, a grand final, a spectacle. That the event will somehow change the very fibre of our being, leaving a lasting memory to one day share with our friends. Expecting it to be outside our cultural norm throws in thoughts that it will be so drastically different that when you are there you will have a reverence over the process like a day meeting a guru you’ve heard your aunt talk about for months, and even if you find it uncomfortable or funny you still have an excessive respect for another’s way of life. This expectancy is the catalyst for the downfall that the evening had. The ceremony begins with the Ethiopian women preparing to roast the coffee beans. The owner then brings out a pot and holds it in front of you. At first thought, it looks hot but maybe you are supposed to eat one. He moves the

NEW CHEF NEW MENU COMING SOON $15 LUNCH & DINNER MENU

You drink coffee how they want you to. If you’re okay with that, it’s fucking great.

REVEREND’S FINE COFFEE, FORTITUDE VALLEY

Great décor, hip vibes, excellent coffee.

Café Lalibela, Footscray

pot in front of your friend and you realise you’ve either missed the bean taste or it was for smell. As he walks away a woman, obviously more knowledgeable about the process, insists on having a turn. She uses her hands to waft the smell towards her, spending a good five seconds living in the smoke before smiling and thanking the owner. So we are already on the back foot of being polite and knowing what we are supposed to do. After this a small cup, similar to one that holds an egg, is brought out with a hot coal and placed before you. A small box was revealed that contained frankincense and small pieces are removed and placed onto the coal. It simmers and stirs and the smell is exciting. The next item revealed completely threw us.

A basket of popcorn. We held back confusion, smiled and were stumped. Never being placed in a situation where it’s confusing to munch popcorn, we began to eat and discuss, were we “doing this wrong?”. When the coffee emerges it is brought out not by the owner but by the woman who prepared it. Something similar to the Japanese tea ceremony, the whole process is traditionally a gender specific practice and her role was to prepare the coffee and to pour it. We later discovered that during the hour we waited for our coffee a lot was going on. The beans were cooked on a pan until black and shiny. Following this the beans were ground with a mortar and pestle, then stirred and poured through a sieve in a pot called ‘jebena’ several times, due to its grainy texture, and then presented before us to enjoy. After we finished our cup my friend poured another, finishing the pot, and we decided it was time to go. As we went to pay the owner asked if we wanted more. We politely declined and went on our way. After using trusty Google later than evening, the reason he asked was more important than we realised. There were another two servings and all have unique names to signify their importance. The first is called Abol, the second serving, Huletegna, and third serving, Bereka, which means ‘to be blessed’. The problem that we faced that night could and does happen to many of us in this country; that many of us search for spectacle rather than having cultural sensitivity. That impatience to experience has denied us the very thing we demand. Instantaneous culture threatens things that take time and patience. When it is outside what we know we laugh, find it ‘interesting’ and look for something to relate it to: For my friend, the similarity to Turkish coffee led him to buy a packet of Monte Carlos after we left because he felt the experience lacked biscuits and that a coffee ceremony should have had them. For myself, what I read in Memoirs Of A Geisha about Japan’s serving of tea. For the cab driver I met, a taste that is combined with tradition and something we don’t truly understand. Coffee came from Ethiopia. For those who aren’t from Ethiopia it’s something that is associated with Sunday brunch or Italian restaurants. It’s a quick fix for a neverending work week. A drink that goes with business meetings. In Ethiopia it is a way of life that has existed since well before European culture claimed the black bean. It is central to festivities, family gatherings and is a way of showing friendship to those they are yet to know. Here we have as a country two days a year that usually end in alcohol uniting us and dividing us. Coffee lovers need a review? Ethiopian coffee is delicious and enjoyable - no doubt about that. It feels like a filter coffee and has a very powerful caffeine hit. It also goes exceptionally well with popcorn. Do an Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony.

irishmurphys.com.au

LTD ESPRESSO & BREW BAR, FORTITUDE VALLEY

JEREMIAH’S CAFÉ, ASHGROVE

SOUTHSIDE TEA ROOM, MORNINGSIDE

NAM NAM, BRISBANE CBD

Hidden gem in Ashgrove with one of the best brews around. Must try.

Dramanti coffee made on the fanciest machine you’ll ever see, served by the friendliest rock stars ever.

Not so good right now, but come summer time we’ll be smashing their $2 Vietnamese black iced coffee frequently.

FOOD TRIPPIN’ EATING AROUND THE USA WITH SOFIE MUCENIEKAS AND LLOYD HONEYBROOK

San Franciscoo Started off our time in SF by heading down to Taqueria La Cumbre to get a famous Mission-style burrito (corn bread, black bean, BBQ pork), one shrimp taco, one beef tongue taco and a root beer. This place did not disappoint! #manvsfoodtour #mexibreakfast @lloydhoneybrook — with Lloyd James Honeybrook.

GET YA’ ETHIOPIAN COFFEE Made In Africa, Moorooka

For more interviews go to themusic.com.au/interviews • 29

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news

BACKLASH VALE MR YUNUPINGU Mr Yunupingu, former frontman for acclaimed rockers Youthu Yindi and 1992 Australian Of The Year, passed away in Arnhem Land this week after a battle with illness. His cultural and musical contributions to our society can’t be overestimated – he shall be sorely missed by all.

FOOT IN MOUTH

RIDING HIGH

FIGURE OF SPEECH

If you thought unicorn power was fake then you’re wrong – so wrong. You’ve only got to listen to the first mixtape from emerging imprint Newborn Unicorns Records to realise that there’s magic in dem creatures. To launch the label, the compilation and share the energy around, Twin Haus and Junior Arcade will buddy up at The Hideaway on Thursday 6 June. Get your tickets now through Oztix for $5+BF.

The phrase didn’t make much sense in the ‘60s FrenchEnglish translation book they found, but that didn’t stop A Cartoon Graveyard from calling their debut album The Men Who Stole Your Horse Are In The Woods With My Friend. Trust us when we tell you it sounds as good as it reads. The surf rockers bring their new songs to the stage at Black Bear Lodge, Wednesday 19 June, with support from Young Night and Makeout Creek.

It’s incredible that such a massive cultural gaffe as last week’s racial snafu could be made by someone in such a position of media power as Eddie Maguire, but it shows that casual racism is alive and well here and the ongoing fight must continue. Our country is amazing, but could always be better.

Incredibly our northern neighbours Papua New Guinea last week approved death penalty by suffocation in PNG Parliament. Suffocation? How tight can you get? Surely they can afford a rope if not a bullet? Note to self – play nice in PNG…

FEELING ELECTRO?

LET IT ALL HANG OUT

FRONTLASH RIGHT OR WRONG The My Country: I Still Call Australia Home indigenous art exhibition opened at GoMA on the weekend and has to be seen to be believed. The season opens until early October and is free admission, make sure you check it out – some amazing works of art and all culturally relevant…

SOUND AS EVER! Just when you thought that the 2013 You Am I resurgence couldn’t get any better, they’ve just announced (a) their own beer, Brew Am I, and (b) that their killer first three albums are being re-released on vinyl! Bring that shit on!

“We won’t be holding anything back!” That’s the message put out there by Brisbane rock stalwarts RVLR, who are bringing the filth and the fury back to the stage with new music and a renewed lease on life. Presenting the first single from a recording session at Tall Trees studio, Star People will be launched at The Zoo, Friday 14 June with Dollarosa, Love Hate Rebellion and The Royal Artillery. Get your tickets on the door for $12.

Congrats to the team behind Gruen Sweat – the Gruen Transfer spin-off designed for the London Olympics – which scored the Rose d’Or gong in Brussels for Best Entertainment Show. Skewering advertising (and sport) has never been so prestigious!

Blue Mountains songstress Snez will be heading up our way later this month, playing a whole host of dates to promote her emotional new record 8 Lives Left to Lose. Share her stories Friday 21 June, Fete de la Musique Festival, State Library (afternoon) and Mandala Arts Cafe, Gold Coast (evening); Tuesday 25, Brisbane Unplugged, New Farm Bowls Club; Wednesday 26, Red Hill Folk Club; Friday 28, JazzCat Restaurant; and Saturday 29, Upfront Club, Maleny.

How long did it take to write/record? The initial basis and idea flowed out over an afternoon, then we broke it down and expanded it as a band over a couple of practice sessions. Is this track from a forthcoming release/existing release? For now, we’re just focusing on smaller releases. Take will be on a cassette single with another new song and some remixes. We’re aiming to releases another 7” in a couple of months. What was inspiring you during the songs writing and recording? The exorbitant price of studio time. We’ll like this song if we like... Motorik beats, ambient textures and disembodied vocals. Do you play it differently live? Not really. We ended up putting layer upon layer of guitar texture in the ending, which isn’t really possible live but overall it’s fairly consistent between live and studio. Naked Maja launch Take (Independent) at Trainspotters, Grand Central Hotel on Saturday 8 June with Nite Fields, Outerwaves and Death Legs, and it’s free!

Time to blow out the candles, Trainspotters is celebrating 31 solid Saturday nights... What? Yeah, it’s not that monumental of an occasion, but you wouldn’t have guessed it from the line-up they’ve put together. Thanks to the Lost Race Records crew, you can catch Nite Fileds, pictured, Outerwaves, Naked Maja and Death Legs performing. Free as always, get along to Grand Central Hotel, Saturday 8 June.

Lady Jam is coming right at you courtesy of the lovely ladies at the Women’s Arts Collective. Happening Sunday 9 June at Turnstyle Community Hub, between 2pm and 6pm you can catch performances by Elise Clark, Rachel Walker, Maddy Payne, Ash Husband, Alex McCallum (wordfire), Amy Henschell, Virginia Sook, Emma White, Carrie Henschell, Rose Carrousel and Sue Ray, as well as art exhibitions, craft stalls and more. Any and everyone is welcome, and with free entry and the potential of tea and cake, who are you to not attend?

Having just been discovered through Triple M’s Unsigned Find competition, 1.1.1 are now keen on getting themselves nice and familiar with rock fans in the region. The Ipswich four-piece will be delivering their new single Do It Again with a show at Albany Creek Tavern on Saturday 8 June, and request that all involved set their hair high and get ready to return to the days of mosh pit movement.

What’s the song about? It’s a retelling of the final days of Whitney Houston, sung from the perspective of the crack pipe.

NITE TO REMEMBER

SPREAD IT ON

SINGLE DIGITS DISCOVERED

How did you get together? We studied music together. One day our names were drawn out of a hat for a performance, and something just clicked in the jam room! That’s when the original version of The Heroines was formed. Sum up your musical sound in four words? Alternative, progressive, grungy, feminine.

Greatest rock’n’roll moment of your career to date? Our EP launch was pretty insane. A few hundred people rocked up just to support us. We were absolutely blown away! And the vibe in the room was electric.

Currently putting the final touches on their forthcoming EP Report On The Night, local jazz/blues trio Elbury show off their rootsy stylings at a whole bunch of dates. Check them out Friday 21 June, Fete de la Musique; Saturday 22, West End Twilight Markets; and Tuesday 25, Brewhouse; before they kick off a two-month residency at new Auchenflower bar Toro, playing Saturday every fortnight from 6 July.

Single title: Take

Name: Holly Panich

You’re being sent into space, no iPod, you can bring one album – what would it be? Wow! Tough question. Probably Deftones – White Pony. That album will always hold a special place in my heart.

PLENTY TO REPORT

Name: Emma Sayer

THE HEROINES

If you could support any band in the world, past or present, who would it be? I’d have to say Led Zeppelin, just so I could experience them in all their glory!

So many memories, far more forgotten times. It’s hard to believe that Rock N Roll BBQ has been kicking on for a year now. But to hell with the past, let’s keep living in the now! Celebrations this Sunday, 9 June, will be helmed by Sabrina Lawrie and the Hunting Party with 52 Pickups, Carrie Phyllis and the Downtown Three and former Screaming Tribesmen head Mick Medew performing in solo mode. Rock, drink, eat, potentially win a raffle. Fuck, you can do it all!

MAKING THE MOST OF HERS

NAKED MAJA

There’s a boiling hot electro and neo soul scene bubbling right under the surface of Brisvegas, and if new night ‘Nasty Cuts’ has its way, it’s soon going to spill over. Presented by MKO, the four-piece are presenting a two-week residency at Kerbside which kicks off on Wednesday 12 June with MKO feat. Tom Thumb, Yukon Snakes and DJ Bestfootforward, followed Wednesday 19 with MKO feat. Texas Kate (Texas Tea), Vulture St. Tape Gang and DJ Stagger Lee. And all this is yours for a simple gold coin donation on the door.

ONE YEAR YOUNG

NO SWEAT

SINGLE FOCUS

FIRST INTRODUCTIONS Newly-formed Gold Coast rockers Paging Jimi are playing their first ever show at The Loft, Gold Coast, Friday 14 June. With a clutch of songs ready to go in the form of a soon-to-be-released EP, the guys will be working through some alternative, power pop and grunge sounds with support on the evening coming from Kip Casper and Evan Manttari.

DEEP BREATH

True Brew

HAVE YOU HEARD

Why should people come and see your band? We’ll always give you the best damn show we can! The Heroines play Prince Of Wales Hotel, Nundah on Friday 7 June.

TWIST AND SHOUT It’s all happening at The Tempo Hotel on Thursday 6 June, with skank punks Alla Spina headlining a fat bill that also includes The Fun Team, Yojay and The Finest and Belligerent Goat. Head along for the free action from 7.30pm.

PRETTY IN PINK Did someone say ‘Queer Prom’? The Cheated Hearts crew said it, that’s who! Following a string of sell-out events at Alloneword, things are going up a notch, with the glitz and glam coming to Electric Playground on Friday 21 June. Plenty of room to move. So pull out your best dress and make sure your tie matches your shoes when Spacie, Jane Doe, DJ Mikey, Dotwav and The Gatling Gun pump the place up until late.

TALKING MY LANGUAGE Multilingual and multi-talented with a whole range of instrumentation, Mzaza’s gypsy world fusion continues to delight audiences up and down the countryside, and the band have four dates in our region pencilled in throughout July. You can catch them the Byron Bay Arts Theatre, Saturday 6 July; Woombye Pub, Sunshine Coast, Saturday 13; Mandala Arts Cafe, Gold Coast, Saturday 20; and Brisbane Powerhouse for the Queensland Music Festival, Saturday 27.

TRASH WE TREASURE Brisbane’s suburban drinking paradise The Junk Bar turns three years young on Sunday 9 June, and they are throwing a themed shindig based on those grimacing Deadwood gunslingers from the American west. So cock your piece, polish your boots and get down to enjoy a suitable soundtrack from Suicide Swans frontman Kyle Jenkins and Kristian McIvorb, who will be doing it all acoustic.

30 • For more news/announcements go to themusic.com.au/news

TRIPLE DECKER TREAT A Club Sandwich made with the finest ingredients, this new venue – situated above the Public Services Club in the city – will be hosting the 7” launch for Chinese Burns, pictured, on Saturday 29 June, with Boondall Boys and Kitchens Floor also on the bill. Head along, get rowdy on $6.60 Coopers pints and don’t be late – the club shuts up shop at 11pm. Doors open at 7pm, $10.

1000s OF GIGS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS

THE GUIDE AT 31

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news

BON VOYAGE

ON TIME OFF STEREO Look Out Mama HOORAY FOR THE RIFF RAFF Nightingale Floors ROGUE WAVE Inhibition DOT HACKER

Is This It THE STROKES Wrote A Song For Everyone JOHN FOGERTY Who Is Jill Scott?, Words and Sounds Vol. 1 JILL SCOTT Settle DISCLOSURE In A Warzone THE TRANSPLANTS

SLIPPERY SUCKERS Belting rock’n’roll is what you’re getting from Gold Coast band Snakes & Daggers, with their new single Get On It bringing the bands ‘all in or not at all’ attitude and their trademark sense of humour to the fore. The group will be launching the track during the following dates: Friday 7 June, Prince of Wales Hotel, Nundah; Sunday 9, 4ZZZ Rumble Rock Wrestling, The Arena; Friday 14, The Tempo Hotel; Saturday 15, Miami Tavern Shark Bar, Gold Coast; and Saturda 29, Mossie’s Airport Tavern, Coolangatta.

THE SIMPLE THINGS The saccharin sounds of Miss Elm are set to spread across south east Queensland next month with a couple of dates to promote their second EP, Idle Away. Catch the band with Amela and Belltalk at Black Bear Lodge on Thursday 11 July, and at The Loft, Gold Coast, Friday 12, where they’ll be supported by Holly Terrens and Marcus Blacke.

SWIMMING UPSTREAM TEXAS TEA Where are you going, for how long and will you be back? Ben: Sweden, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium and France. One month. I am back in August but Kate will be returning to Sweden to live! Kate: I hope I don’t freeze to death, or choke on an IKEA horsemeat meatball. I will definitely drink too much schnapps, and I hope I meet Roxette. What are you going to be doing over there, gigs/recording? Ben: We’ve got three weeks pretty solid of shows. Playing pretty much every single night.

Kate: Yep, it’s pretty luxurious when we tour. Which band/crew member do you hope to sit next to on the plane? Kate: I am flying solo this time because I am going a little earlier than everyone else, so I hope there is no-one next to me. Last time I flew long haul I was in the middle of the four seat row in the middle of the plane aside to strangers. It was awful. I am, however, able to sleep on planes really easily so that’s a bonus. I have a tried and true face plant method that works every time. Usually fast asleep before we are cruising. It’s excellent.

Kate: Oh yes, it is a lovely place. We have played there at Cafe du Theatre a few times now. So quaint. A darling little village. It’s ironic that we’ve never played there without a massive fight breaking out or the cops turning up. I no lie to you. You’re at the airport and over your baggage weight limit – what’s the first thing to go? Ben: Nothing. I’ll pay the excess. I’m a total diva.

Local up and comers Roku Music will be hitting the road throughout the next few months, playing a bunch of scattered dates up and down the east coast. Featuring members of No Anchor, Feathers and The Rational Academy, you can catch the recently expanded four-piece on Thursday 13 June at Black Bear Lodge with Go Violets, Sunday 16 at 633 Ann as part of the Rock N Roll BBQ and Friday 12 July at The Waiting Room with Daylight Robbery, Black Deity, Screaming Match and Death Legs.

If you’ve got a hankering for a hoedown, then make sure you’re at Bangalow Bowling Club on Friday 28 June, where Melbourne’s The Perch Creek Family Jugband will be delivering their stomping set of songs for roots-hungry punters. Ku Promotions are selling pre-sale tickets now for $18+BF, or you can try your luck on the night with door sales $22.

BRISBANE BOUND

What are the essential items you’re going to have to take with you? Ben: The most essential item on tour I believe is a pillowcase. If you end up staying somewhere where there is no pillow you can stuff your clothes in it and use it as one. If you’re short of bags, you are sorted. If you’re sleeping somewhere cold and there are not enough blankets you can wrap it around your feet. If you’re really desperate you can use it as a towel even.

Where can we expect a postcard from? Ben: Probably the most picturesque place we play in France would be a small town called Dinan. The town is like one big fort with stone walls and streets.

ROKU AND ROLL

ART STARTER

Noisier than thou duo Udays Tiger are bringing their wild, sweaty and ultra-buff show to their former hometown of Brisbane on Friday 5 July at The Waiting Room. With a tighter grasp on melody and structure, their new EP Dead Attention seems like it will be dynamite live. Confirm this for us by heading along to check them out when they play with Gazar Strips and Tiny Migrants.

Go Easy BLANK REALM

Happening at Bloomfield Street and Raby Bay Parklands on Sunday 16 June, Penny Lane Music Fest is bringing together a whole bunch of music for your spoilt little ears, completely free of charge. Head along between 3pm and 9pm and check out Black Side Down, Street Pieces, Tagline, Enversity, Gravity Scam, Raise The Bar.

Sunday sessions are alive and well at the Brisbane Powerhouse, with the Turbine Platform playing host to Some Jerks and The Sunburys, both plugging in as part of Live Spark. Happening this week, 9 June, from 3pm – free music people!

STANDING TALL

Songs For Slim THE REPLACEMENTS

PENNY LANE PIONEERS

PLUG IN BABY

Kate: Probably one or two of the hundreds of dresses I’ll be taking. How are you saying farewell to Australian audiences? Kate: Well, we’re saying goodbye to Oz with a farewell show on home turf (River City baby!) at Black Bear Lodge on 9 June. Shifting Sands and Johnny & the Fembots are joining us. It’ll be our last show in Oz until 2014. Eep! Texas Tea play Black Bear Lodge on Sunday 9 June.

32 • For more news/announcements go to themusic.com.au/news

JIMI BEAVIS How did you get together? After I parted musical ways with my old band the 385s, I have gone through a few musicians searching for the right line-up. These cats – Dave McGuire on guitar, Costas Constantinou on double bass and Scott Nosworthy on drums – can play all kinds of music and are well versed in funk and jazz as well as blues. Sum up your musical sound in four words. Indie blues roots revival.

SEABELLIES Member/role: Trent – singer, guitarist. Home ground: Seabellies are from Newcastle. Describe your live music/performance style as succinctly as possible. Being a six-piece band, we cover a lot of diverse musical territory, but live we are very much a mix of electronica, chaotic pop guitar, with beats and brass. Is this your first foray to Brisbane? If not how many times have you performed in our midst? This is our first show in Brisbane for quite some time. We used to play in Brisbane every few months, for years, but we have taken two years out to make a record and this is our first tour playing our new material. Please relate your impressions of performing in our fair city. Brisbane was always our favourite stop, as the Valley was always teeming with venues and great bands. Crowds in Brisbane for some reason seem to be very enthusiastic, and more open in their appreciation of live music. I never figured out why... What can we expect different this time around? A mostly brand new set, and I have a new guitar. It’s real nice. You’ll like it. I think Eddie has some new jeans, too. Has anything exciting been happening in your world of late? We recently arrived back from Berlin, where we finished our new record with Berkfinger (Philly Jays). It was an amazing time, and hopefully that comes through on our upcoming album. Seabellies play The Zoo on Saturday 8 June.

If you could support any band in the world – past or present – who would it be? Any of the old Chicago and New Orleans bands from the 1950s, especially my harmonica hero Little Walter with the Aces, he would have to be up there or perhaps one of Ray Charles’ combos. However, seeing as how I have been obsessed with Tom Waits for the past 12 months and our music is rooted in the same place I would go with him. You’re being sent into space, you can’t take an iPod and there’s only room to bring one album – which would it be? Maybe a Beatles album? Or Kind Of Blue or The Band or a Wilco album? Maybe I’ll choose Muddy Waters’ Hard Again, seeing how I have a copy on CD, a burned copy for just in case and a vinyl – even if I lose one somehow in space or it is destroyed on landing, I’ll still have a copy I can listen to. Greatest rock’n’roll moment of your career to date? Perhaps back in the early days at the Clarence Corner Hotel when I sent for the big scary security guard to get a hen’s night partygoer off the stage and the other “hens” came grabbing his arse and putting their hands all over him? Is that rock’n’roll? Why should people come and see your band? I think we have something special – I have three extraordinary musicians playing with me who can make people scream and stomp their feet (I have seen it happen!) and we’re playing old time music in a fairly contemporary way that makes people dance and shake about. Also, I have a beard that is big and bushy, some natty suits and a whole stand of hats to choose from. Jimi Beavis launches new single No Job, No Prospects (Independent) at The Joynt on Friday 14 June.

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[THE GUID IDE] g i g s

1,000’s of gigs at your fingertips. The Guide at

TOUR GUIDE

SHAPESHIFTER: The Hi-Fi Aug 10 CLARE BOWDITCH: The Hi-Fi Aug 16, Byron Community Centre Aug 17

MUNICIPAL WASTE: Saturday 15 June, The Hi-Fi

PRESENTS

KILLING JOKE: The Hi-Fi Jun 6

BREACH & ROUTE 94: Bowler Bar Jun 7 TYLER, THE CREATOR, EARL SWEATSHIRT: Eatons Hill Hotel Jun 8 P-MONEY: Alhambra Lounge Jun 9 THE MILK CARTON KIDS: Old Museum Jun 9 TIKI TAANE: The Hi-Fi Jun 9 THE BLACK ANGELS: The Tivoli Jun 13 THE BELLRAYS: The Hi-Fi Jun 13, Coolangatta Hotel Jun 15 LIL B: Coniston Lane Jun 14 MUNICIPAL WASTE: The Hi-Fi Jun 15 TOY: The Zoo Jun 17 MOLLY RINGWALD: Gold Coast Arts Centre Jun 22 KORA: The Zoo Jun 22 MONO: The Hi-Fi Jun 26 OBIE TRICE: Coniston Lane Jun 27 MARK SULTAN: Black Bear Lodge Jun 28 LA DISPUTE: The Hi-Fi Jun 28, Trinity Church Hall Jun 29 (AA), Sunday Jun 30 Byron Bay YAC (AA)

THE REAL MCKENZIES/THE GO SET: Miami Tavern Shark Bar Sep 6, Prince Of Wales Sep 7

THE BEARDS: The Hi-Fi Jun 21

RUDIMENTAL: Eatons Hill Hotel Sep 20

YOU AM I: The Tivoli Jun 26 and 27

GANGSTERS’ BALL: The Tivoli Sep 21

GOLD FIELDS: Elsewhere Jul 5, Alhambra Lounge Jul 6

FOALS: The Tivoli Oct 2

BLISS N ESO: Eatons Hill Hotel Jul 12

THE BREEDERS: The Tivoli Oct 29

5 JUNE 2013

CATTLE DECAPITATION: The Rev Jun 6, Expressive Grounds Jun 7 (AA) ROBERT BABICZ: The Met Jun 7

THE BLACK ANGELS: The Tivoli Jun 13

WED

INTERNATIONAL

At Last: The Music Of Etta James feat. Vika Bull: Brisbane Powerhouse (Powerhouse Theatre), New Farm Lisa Richards: Lock ‘n’ Load Bistro, West End Deadweight Express + Bare White Knuckles + DJ Redbeard: Ric’s (downstairs), Fortitude Valley Mark Sheils: Royal George, Fortitude Valley After Hours feat. Jet Black Cat: The End, West End 5 Seconds of Summer + special guests: The Hi-Fi (under 18s), West End Stage Fight (comedy improv): The Joynt, South Brisbane Open Mic Night: The Loft, Chevron Island The Shapes + more: The Tempo Hotel, Fortitude Valley

ENABLER: Crowbar Jul 4

THU

FEAR FACTORY: The Tivoli Jul 4 MICK FLANNERY: Old Museum Jul 11 A DAY TO REMEMBER: Brisbane Riverstage Jul 12 (AA)

6 JUNE 2013

YOUTH OF TODAY: Crowbar Jul 12 FAR EAST MOVEMENT: Club LIV Jul 14 BEN OTTEWELL: Old Museum Jul 14 STEVE VAI: QPAC Jul 16 BLEEDING THROUGH: The Rev Jul 18 SAINT VITUS: The Hi-Fi Jul 18 DIZZY WRIGHT: Coniston Lane Jul 19 STEREOPHONICS: The Hi-Fi Jul 19 P!NK: BEC Jul 19, 20, 22, 23, Aug 29, 30, Sep 7, 8 JONNY CRAIG: X&Y Bar Jul 20, Studio 454 Jul 21 (AA) ONRA: Coniston Lane Jul 25 A LOSS FOR WORDS: Snitch Jul 25, Studio 454 Jul 26 BARDO POND: The Zoo Aug 2 SENSES FAIL: The Zoo Aug 7 SHAPESHIFTER: The Hi-Fi Aug 10 THIRTY SECONDS TO MARS: BEC Aug 13

Bleeding Knees Club + Sures + Major Leagues: Alhambra Lounge, Fortitude Valley Owen Campbell: Black Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley Blue Flame + Blind Dog Donnie: Brisbane Brewhouse, Woolloongabba At Last: The Music Of Etta James feat. Vika Bull: Brisbane Powerhouse (Powerhouse Theatre), New Farm Paulie & The Crazy Rhythm Boys + Diamond Jacks + Miss Teresa & Her Rhythmaires: Coolangatta Hotel (Rockabilly House), Coolangatta

MDC: The Zoo Aug 13

34 • To check out the mags online go to themusic.com.au/mags

JAPANDROIDS: The Zoo Sep 1

Tom West + Jeremy Hunter: Dowse Bar (Iceworks), Paddington Jabba: Irish Murphy’s, Brisbane Open Mic: Mick O’Malley’s, Brisbane Eleanor McEvoy: Old Museum, Bowen Hills The Vernons + The Dark Hawks + DJ Valdis: Ric’s (downstairs), Fortitude Valley Take To The Skies + The Reprize: Surfers Paradise Beer Garden, Surfers Paradise Dru Chen + Hailey Calvert: The Box, West End Andrew Tuttle + Cedi Jansen: The End, West End Killing Joke + Hound + Gerald Keaney & The Gerald Keaneys: The Hi-Fi, West End Twin Haus + Junior Arcade: The Hideaway, Fortitude Valley Mightiest Of Guns + Black Mustang: The Joynt, South Brisbane Songwriters Circle feat. David Aurora + Josh Rennie-Hynes + She (Kate Bergman): The Loft, Chevron Island Thy Art Is Murder + Cattle Decapitation + King Parrot + Aversions Crown + Disentomb: The Rev, Fortitude Valley Alla Spina + The Fun Team + Yojay & The Finest + Belligerent Goat: The Tempo Hotel, Fortitude Valley Columbus + Whiskey & Speed + Question Everything + Mjootm: The Zoo, Fortitude Valley Kekko Fornarelli Trio: Turnaround Jazz Club, Bowen Hills Snitch feat. Deadlights + Shorelines + Set The Record + Sun Hights: X&Y Bar, Fortitude Valley

XAVIER RUDD: The Tivoli Oct 8

FRI 7 JUNE 2013

Andrew Ozinato: Black Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley The Associates: Brisbane Brewhouse, Woolloongabba At Last: The Music Of Etta James feat. Vika Bull: Brisbane Powerhouse (Powerhouse Theatre), New Farm QLD Week Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Music Showcase feat. Sue Ray + Slip On Stereo + Djun Djun Jarra + Cy: Brisbane Powerhouse (Turbine Platform), New Farm Mantra + special guests: Coniston Lane, Fortitude Valley The Satellites + Retro Rockets + The Jets UK: Coolangatta Hotel, Coolangatta Bobkats + The Hi Boys + Atomic Hi-Tones: Coolangatta Hotel, Coolangatta The Average Joes: Coolangatta Sands Hotel (Lounge Bar), Coolangatta Open Mic Night: Coorparoo Bowls Club, Coorparoo White Walls + Occults + Love Canal + Quiet Steps: Crowbar, Fortitude Valley Thy Art Is Murder + Cattle Decapitation + King Parrot + Aversions Crown + I Shall Devour + Emerald Vale: Expressive Grounds, Tallebudgera Wildstylez + Alpha Twins + MC Villain: Family Nightclub, Fortitude Valley Peter Cupples: Gazebo Restaurant, Hotel Urban, Brisbane Motion+Various DJs: Irish Murphy’s (upstairs), Brisbane Hometown Heroes + Double Lined Minority + Here’s To Neverland + Paper Wolves: Miami Tavern (Shark Bar), Miami

Danny T + Craig Roberts + Flash + Tommy D: Platinum Nightclub, Broadbeach Snakes & Daggers + The Heroines + Thundergods of the Multiverse + Substation + System Trashed: Prince of Wales Hotel, Nundah The Buzzbees + Lerato + DJ Valdis: Ric’s (downstairs), Fortitude Valley DJ Ryan Clague: Ric’s (upstairs), Fortitude Valley Brent Winterford: Royal Mail Hotel, Goodna The Febs: Saltbar, South Kingscliff Josh Pyke + The Phoncurves: Southside Tea Room, Morningside Jazzgroove Mothership Orchestra: Tanks Arts Centre, Cairns Gypsy & The Cat + Clubfeet + Georgia Potter: The Hi-Fi, West End

SAT 8 JUNE 2013

1.1.1 + DJ Indy Andy: Albany Creek Tavern, Albany Creek Barksdale Brass Band: Black Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley Brazen: Brisbane Brewhouse, Woolloongabba At Last: The Music Of Etta James feat. Vika Bull: Brisbane Powerhouse (Powerhouse Theatre), New Farm DragonFire Music Showcase feat. various: Club Greenslopes, Greenslopes Thriller feat. Emmure + Deceiver + The Schoenberg Automaton + Questions: Coniston Lane, Fortitude Valley Atomic Hi-Tones + The Satellites + The Jets UK: Coolangatta Hotel (Rockabilly House), Coolangatta Brandi & The Badcats + Retro Rockets + Dan & The Dualtones: Coolangatta Hotel, Coolangatta Mohini Cox: Coolangatta Sands Hotel (Lounge Bar), Coolangatta

Mass Sky Raid + Double Lined Minority + The Orchard + Clashing Colours: Griffith University, Nathan Motion feat. various DJs: Irish Murphy’s (upstairs), Brisbane Jabba + Locky + Woody Lives Here: Irish Murphy’s, Brisbane Guy Sebastian: Jupiters Casino, Broadbeach The Meanies + The Seal Club + Deadheat: Kings Beach Tavern, Caloundra Dawn: Miami Tavern (Shark Bar), Miami Ger Fennelly: Mick O’Malley’s, Brisbane Alvaro + Craig Roberts + Flash: Platinum Nightclub, Broadbeach Punkfest feat. The Peep Tempel + The Mercy Beat + Army Of Champions + Carrie Phillis & The Downtown 3 + Without Mith: Prince of Wales Hotel, Nundah Valentina Lisitsa: QPAC Concert Hall, South Bank Micropsia + Pyromance + DJ Valdis: Ric’s (downstairs), Fortitude Valley DJ Cutts: Ric’s (upstairs), Fortitude Valley

THE MILK CARTON KIDS: Sunday 9 June, Old Museum

Josh Rennie-Hynes + Pat Tierney: The Hideaway, Fortitude Valley Wandering Eyes + Lyall Maloney: The Joynt, South Brisbane Owen Campbell + Annabelle Kay + Kenny Slide: The Loft, Chevron Island Tommy Trash: The Met, Fortitude Valley Ariels + Alibrandi + New Manic Spree + Arms Of The Ocean + Lucky 13: The Tempo Hotel, Fortitude Valley Breach + Route 94: The Tempo Hotel (Bowler Bar), Fortitude Valley BriBry: The Waiting Room, West End Therein + Echotide + Freethought + Simulaton: The Zoo, Fortitude Valley Bass Kleph: Wharf Tavern, Mooloolaba Friends feat. Surfin Bird + MKO: X&Y Bar, Fortitude Valley

Totally Unicorn + Robotosaurus + El Alamein + Dirty Charlie: Crowbar, Fortitude Valley Tyler, The Creator: Culture Kings (in-store – 4.30pm), Brisbane Tyler, The Creator + Earl Sweatshirt: Eatons Hill Hotel (all ages), Eatons Hill Battle of the Bands (final): Expressive Grounds, Tallebudgera Denzal Park + Danny T: Family Nightclub, Fortitude Valley Trainspotters feat. Nite Fields + Naked Maja + Outerwaves + Death Legs: Grand Central Hotel, Brisbane

Owen Campbell + The Mightiest of Guns: Royal Mail Hotel, Goodna DJ Ben: Saltbar, South Kingscliff The Good Sports: Southside Tea Room, Morningside Tear It Up feat. various: State Library of Queensland (afternoon), South Bank Jazzgroove Mothership Orchestra: The Events Centre Caloundra, Caloundra Outlook Festival Launch Party feat. Youngsta + Sabre + Dusty Fungus + more: The Hi-Fi, West End

gigs

1,000’s of gigs at your fingertips. The Guide at

[THE GUID IDE]

TOUR GUIDE FLYLEAF: The Hi-Fi Aug 15 DON MCLEAN: QPAC Aug 23, Twin Towns Aug 25 ALL TIME LOW: The Tivoli Aug 28 (AA)

THE NERVE: Byron Bay Brewery Jun 21, Tempo Hotel Jun 22

GUTTERMOUTH: The Northern Aug 29, The Tempo Hotel Aug 30, Parkwood Tavern Aug 31

THE RED PAINTINGS: The Hi-Fi Jun 22

FAT FREDDY’S DROP: The Tivoli Aug 30

THE JANOSKIANS: The Tivoli Jun 22

JAPANDROIDS: The Zoo Sep 1

KIM, BENI: Beach Hotel Jun 22

THE REAL MCKENZIES: Shark Bar Sep 6, Prince of Wales Sep 7

SEJA: Black Bear Lodge Jun 23

GIG OF THE WEEK

CYNDI LAUPER: Jupiters Casino Sep 10, QPAC Sep 11, 12 VOLUMES: Crowbar Sep 12, Eagleby Community Hall Sep 13

KILLING JOKE THURSDAY 6 JUNE, THE HI-FI It’s hard to believe that it’s been so long since UK post-punk legends Killing Joke smashed Aussie sensibilities with their arch and powerful sonic configurations, but their impending sojourn is their first time here since 2004 which means that it’s been far too long between drinks! Fronted by the marvellously maniacal intellectual powerhouse Jaz Coleman, the group, who have influenced generations of rock legends during their three-decade career (bands such as Foo Fighters, Faith No More, Nirvana, Metallica and Ministry have all cited them as an inspiration) are returning in support of their ‘greatest hits’ package The Singles Collection 1979-2012, so expect them to bring out plenty of big guns when they hit The Hi-Fi this Thursday night, backed by Hound and Gerald Keaney & The Gerald Keaneys!

Baby’s Got Soul! Burlesque: The Hideaway, Fortitude Valley Mungoes Hi-Fi + Die Rude + Golden Orbs: The Joynt, South Brisbane Kill Surf City + Tsun + Cassette Cathedral + Dead Books + VXWLS: The Loft, Chevron Island Charlie Force: The Manhattan Club, Fortitude Valley Stafford Brothers: The Met, Fortitude Valley Lachlan Wallace + Brooksy & Co: The Tempo Hotel, Fortitude Valley BBJs feat. various DJs: The Tempo Hotel (Bowler Bar), Fortitude Valley Lofty Hanger 06 feat. Mr Maps + Big Dead + Praxis Axis: The Waiting Room, West End The Seabellies + Tourism + Fox & Fowl: The Zoo, Fortitude Valley Bobby Brooks Wilson: Twin Towns, Tweed Heads White Walls: Tym Guitars, Fortitude Valley Daryl Braithwaite: Woombye Pub, Woombye

SUN 9 JUNE 2013

Rock N Roll BBQ feat. Mick Medew + Carrie Phillis & The Downtown 3 + The 52 Pickups + Sabina Lawrie and the Hunting Party: 633 Ann (afternoon), Fortitude Valley P-Money + David Dallas: Alhambra Lounge, Fortitude Valley 4ZZZ Rumble Rock 2013 feat. The Meanies + Evil Eddie + Dick Desert + Snakes & Daggers: Arena, Fortitude Valley

Texas Tea + Shifting Sands + Johnny & The Fembots: Black Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley Mind The Gap feat. Various DJs: Black Bear Lodge (late), Fortitude Valley At Last: The Music Of Etta James feat. Vika Bull: Brisbane Powerhouse (Powerhouse Theatre), New Farm We All Want To + Hailer: Brisbane Powerhouse (Turbine Platform/afternoon), New Farm Brandi & The Badcats + The Flattrakkers + Firebird: Coolangatta Hotel (Rockabilly House), Coolangatta Dan & The Dualtones + Itchy Fingers + Purple Drippers: Coolangatta Hotel, Coolangatta 3’s Company: Coorparoo Bowls Club (afternoon), Coorparoo Barrio Fest feat. Fear Like Us + Arrows + Headaches + Army Of Champions + Milestones + We Set Sail + Post Blue + Little Shadow + Inside The Whale + No Trust + Ashley McIntyre + Seahorse Divorce + Sirens: Crowbar, Fortitude Valley Beth Lucas + Sam Luft: Dowse Bar (Iceworks), Paddington Long Weekend Garden Party feat. Sheppard + Sam La More + more: Eatons Hill Hotel, Eatons Hill Queen’s Birthday Rave feat. What So Not: Elsewhere, Surfers Paradise Daryl Braithwaite: Hamilton Hotel, Hamilton Jabba + The Demon Drink + Mick McHugh: Irish Murphy’s, Brisbane Motion feat. various DJs: Irish Murphy’s (upstairs), Brisbane Deadwood Birthday Party feat. various: Junk Bar, Ashgrove Guy Sebastian: Jupiters Casino, Broadbeach Ger Fennelly: Mick O’Malley’s, Brisbane

AMANDA PALMER AND THE GRAND THEFT ORCHESTRA: The Tivoli Sep 12

RUDIMENTAL: Eatons Hill Hotel Sep 20

RIHANNA: BEC Sep 28

Firebird + The Satellites + The Jets UK: Coolangatta Hotel (Rockabilly House), Coolangatta B-Rad: Irish Murphy’s, Brisbane Rockaoke: The Tempo Hotel, Fortitude Valley

TUE 11 JUNE 2013

Dave Aurora + Alan Boyle: Brisbane Brewhouse, Woolloongabba Woody Lives Here: Irish Murphy’s, Brisbane Mark Sheils: Samford Valley Hotel, Samford Valley

BALL PARK MUSIC: The Tivoli Jun 28

SOILWORK: The Hi-Fi Oct 2

ESKIMO JOE: Old Museum Jun 28

AMORPHIS: The Hi-Fi Oct 12

KIRIN J CALLINAN: The Zoo Jun 29

RICKY MARTIN: BCEC Oct 16

ENSLAVED: The Hi-Fi Nov 3

10 JUNE 2013

ANDREW STOCKDALE: The Hi-Fi Jun 27, Coolangatta Hotel Jun 28, The Northern Jun 29

THE TONGUE: The Tempo Hotel Jun 28

THE BREEDERS: The Tivoli Oct 29

MON

THE VAUDEVILLE SMASH: The Loft Jun 27, Solbar Jun 28, The Joynt Jun 29

FOALS: The Tivoli Oct 2

YELLOWCARD: The Tivoli Oct 25

Wallapalooza feat. Double Lined Minority + Smoking Martha + Madison Kat + Velvet Ballroom + more: Wallaby Hotel (afternoon), Mudgeeraba Owen Campbell: Woombye Pub, Woombye Billionaire feat. A Secret Death + The Daylight Curse + In Ashes We Lie + This City Ignites + more: X&Y Bar, Fortitude Valley

I KILLED THE PROM QUEEN, HOUSE VS HURRICANE: The Tempo Jun 27, Eagleby Community Hall Jun 28 (AA)

ALAN JACKSON: BEC Sep 26, 27

ONE DIRECTION: BEC Oct 19, 20, 21

Bass Kleph: Normanby Hotel, Red Hill The Milk Carton Kids + Melody Pool: Old Museum, Bowen Hills Scuurvy + Kingmoor + Nevermind the 90s Presents Seattle’s Best + Silence The Sun + Hobo Magic + The Confederacy: Prince of Wales Hotel, Nundah The Lyrical: Ric’s (downstairs), Fortitude Valley Heaven & Hell Party feat. Timmy LaLa Electro Drum Show + Venus Envy + Resident DJs: Royal Exchange Hotel, Toowong Heaven & Hell Party feat. Timmy LaLa Electro Drum Show + Venus Envy + more: Royal Exchange Hotel, Toowong DJ Anthonne Shepherd: Stoke Bar, Southbank Strange Yonder: The End, West End Tiki Taane + Optimus Gryme + Misfits Of Zion: The Hi-Fi, West End Rattlehand + Mightiest Of Guns: The Hideaway, Fortitude Valley Karl S Williams: The Joynt (afternoon), South Brisbane Mick Danby + Hippopotamus: The Tempo Hotel (Bowler Bar), Fortitude Valley Women of Letters feat. Adele Pickvance + Tracey Spicer + more: The Zoo, Fortitude Valley Lady Jam feat. various: Turnstyle Community Hub, Highgate Hill

YOU AM I: The Tivoli Jun 26 & 27

GHOSTPOET: The Spiegeltent Sep 15

KIM WILDE, NIK KERSHAW: The Tivoli Oct 16 MANTRA: Friday 7 June, Coniston Lane

THE BEARDS: The Hi-Fi Jun 21, The Northern Jun 22

BABY ANIMALS: The Hi-Fi Jun 29 DEBORAH CONWAY & WILLY ZYGIER: QPAC Jun 30 ASH GRUNWALD: The Northern Jul 4, The Hi-Fi Jul 5, Kings Beach Tavern Jul 6, Rabbit and Cocoon Jul 7

SMOKIE: Brolga Theatre Nov 12, Empire Theatre Nov 14, QPAC Nov 15

LAURA IMBRUGLIA: Beetle Bar Jul 5

NILE: The Hi-Fi Nov 14

TEX PERKINS: Eatons Hill Hotel Jul 5

OLLY MURS: BCEC Nov 16 FLEETWOOD MAC: BEC Dec 2

GOLD FIELDS: Elsewhere Jul 5, Alhambra Lounge Jul 6

PASSENGER: The Tivoli Dec 6, Dec 7 (AA)

THE NEVER EVER: Studio 454 Jul 7 (AA)

TAYLOR SWIFT: Suncorp Stadium Dec 7

BUCHANAN: Black Bear Lodge Jul 10, Coolangatta Hotel Jul 11

BON JOVI, KID ROCK: Suncorp Stadium Dec 17 BRUNO MARS: BEC Mar 7

NATIONAL 5 SECONDS OF SUMMER: The Hi-Fi Jun 5 THY ART IS MURDER: The Rev Jun 6, Expressive Grounds Jun 7 (AA) BLEEDING KNEES CLUB: Alhambra Lounge Jun 6 MANTRA: Coniston Lane Jun 7 TOMMY TRASH: The Met Jun 7 BASS KLEPH: Wharf Tavern Jun 7, Normanby Hotel Jun 9

DAVID BRIDIE: Mullum Civic Memorial Hall Jul 11, Brisbane Powerhouse Jul 13 BLISS N ESO: Eatons Hill Hotel Jul 12 WHITLEY: Black Bear Lodge Jul 12 SLEEPMAKESWAVES: The Tempo Hotel Jul 12; The Northern Jul 13 BERNARD FANNING: Nambour Civic Centre Jul 14, Empire Theatre Jul 16, The Tivoli Jul 18, 20, Gold Coast Arts Centre Jul 19 CLUBFEET: Oh Hello! Jul 18 KINGSWOOD: Eatons Hill Hotel Jul 20

WHITE WALLS: Crowbar Jun 7, Tym Guitars Jun 8

DEEZ NUTS: Crowbar Jul 26, 27 (AA)

TOTALLY UNICORN: Crowbar Jun 8

PSYCROPTIC, KING PARROT: Crowbar Aug 3, Norville Hotel Aug 4

SEABELLIES: The Zoo Jun 8 THE PEEP TEMPEL: Prince Of Wales Hotel Jun 8 STAFFORD BROTHERS: The Met Jun 8; Agenda Nightclub Jun 28; Platinum Jun 29 THE MEANIES: Kings Beach Tavern Jun 8, The Arena Jun 9 IN HEARTS WAKE: Crowbar Jun 13, Eagleby Hall Jun 14 (AA), Byron Bay YAC Jun 15 (AA) ABBE MAY: Eatons Hill Hotel Jun 13 WIL WAGNER: Crowbar Jun 14, Kill The Music Jun 15 (AA) PLUDO: The Hi-Fi Jun 14 THE SUPERJESUS: The Zoo Jun 15 & 16

MARK SEYMOUR: Noosa Heads Surf Club Aug 8, Hamilton Hotel Aug 9, Racecourse Hotel Aug 10 THE SMITH STREET BAND: The Zoo Aug 29 MIDNIGHT JUGGERNAUTS: The Hi-Fi Aug 30, The Northern Aug 31 PARKWAY DRIVE: The Tivoli Sep 29, 30 (AA) XAVIER RUDD: Byron YAC Oct 7 (AA), The Tivoli Oct 8

FESTIVALS BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL: Brisbane Jun 5, 6

BEACHES: Black Bear Lodge Jun 19 BRUCE MATHISKE: Brisbane Powerhouse Jun 19, Gold Coast Arts Centre Jun 21 TIGERTOWN: Black Bear Lodge Jun 20, Solbar Jun 21, The Spotted Cow Jun 22 GAY PARIS: The Northern Jun 21 THE WHITLAMS: QPAC Jun 21 STOCKADES: Sun Distortion Jun 21 (AA) THE PREATURES: The Hideaway Jun 21

VALLEY VIBES: Fortitude Valley PCYC Jun 16 (AA) DEAD OF WINTER FESTIVAL: Jubilee Hotel Jul 13 SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS: North Byron Parklands Jul 26-28 RED DEER MUSIC FESTIVAL: Samford Valley Sep 7 HITS & PITS 2.0: Coolangatta Hotel Nov 15, The Hi-Fi Nov 16

To check out the mags online go to themusic.com.au/mags • 35

RECORDING THE CHEMIST Perth four-piece The Chemist cut their debut album, Ballet In The Badlands, in Hamilton Hill way back in November 2011 with recording engineer Matt Lovell (Something For Kate, The Mess Hall), then called in Burke Reid (PVT, Jack Ladder) to mix it. As singer, songwriter and guitarist Matt Witt points out, “We were very much trying to capture the sound of the room, with, on the drum kit, a mic on the kick and a mic on the snare, overheads and room mics. We didn’t have any close mics on any other drums. With the guitar amp, we’d have a close mic and then have another one a bit further back, contextualising the sound in that sound. I feel like you can look back on the music and hear it’s in a time and a place. To actually hear the room kind of takes you to a moment.”

SOUND BYTES The new album, Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action, from Franz Ferdinand was recorded over the last year at Alex Kapranos’ Scottish studio and Nick McCarthy’s Sausage Studios in London. Originally from Orlando, Florida, post-hardcore five-piece Sleeping With Sirens reunited with producer Cameron Mizell, who worked on their 2010 debut album, With Ears To See And Eyes To Hear, to record their latest, Feel, with former owner of House Of Loud Studios in Long Island, Dan Korneff (My Chemical Romance, Mayday Parade) joining the team, and Ted Jensen (Green Day, The Offspring) mastering. Derek Trucks has coproduced the next Tedeschi Trucks Band album, Made Up Mind, with Jim Scott, who worked on the band’s debut, Revelator, and has engineered records by artists as diverse as Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sting and The Dixie Chicks. Melbourne duo Them Swoops recorded and produced their debut EP, Glimmers, themselves, but called on LA-based producer Mark Needham (The Killers, Bloc Party) to mix it.

IN THE STUDIO

BEHIND THE LINES

IN SOUND WE TRUST In recording his first post-Alexisonfire City & Colour album, The Hurry And The Harm, and his fourth under that name, Canadian singer-songwriter Dallas Green headed for the deep south, as he tells Michael Smith.

ne, I’d never made any records outside of Canada, and two, I’d never made a record away from home,” is how the former ‘clean’ singer in Canadian band Alexisonfire, Dallas Green, explains his decision to travel to Nashville to record the fourth album, The Hurry And The Harm, under his solo moniker, City & Colour. “Something I wanted to do, I definitely wanted to go and sort of just immerse myself in it, as opposed to going to the studio and going home and then getting up and going back to the studio. I don’t necessarily give myself that much time in the studio because I feel like I’ll just end up over-analysing everything, so that was another reason and we had a short window to make the record before that final Alexisonfire tour that I did, so I thought let’s go shack up in Nashville for a couple of weeks and see what we can get done.”

“O

The Nashville studio he opted to use to record was Blackbird Studio. Formerly Creative Recording Studios, the expansive compound, which holds eight individual studios, was fully renovated by country music star Martina McBride and her husband, John, and opened in 2002. Among the studios available are Studio A, their jewel in the crown, featuring a 72-input Neve 8078 console, purchased from Donald Fagen and upgraded by Geoff Tanner and Arthur Slopeman, with 40 31105 modules and Flying Faders II automation; Studio C, which boasts an SSL 908XL K desk and all the analogue outboard gear you could want, and Studio D, which holds the largest API Legacy Plus ever built, with 96 channels and 192 available inputs. “My producer, [Wolverhampton, UK-born, New York City-based] Alex Newport, was really keen on working there based on his love of the gear list, first and foremost. He thought that the room, mixed with the gear they had, mixed with the songs I had come up with, was a winning combination, and I tend to take his word for it on that side of

things because he has a pretty great knowledge of how to get good sounds and not only that but what gear to use to make them sound that way. “We got Studio A, the big room, so that was a lot of fun. The main live room is so big that we actually set up three completely separate drum kits and Matt [Chamberlain – Pearl Jam, Fiona Apple], who played drums on most of the record, he kind of moved from kit to kit, depending on the song and the idea that we were going for. For instance, Of Space And Time, which starts with the big, huge open drum sound – that’s I think a 28” kick drum, and it’s an old Gretsch jazz kit.” Chamberlain cut his drum tracks in two days, while James Gadson, who features on two songs, cut his drum tracks in one day. Green had never met any of the players Newport brought into the session beforehand, something the songwriter had never done before, so there’s obviously a lot of trust between artist and producer. “Something that Alex and I really wanted to do with the songs, because almost all of them are based on the acoustic guitar, though they’ve got a lot of weight to them, sonically and thematically as well, we wanted to juxtapose the acoustic guitar with a nice, great, round bass sound – something I’d never really explored in the City & Colour side of things. Obviously I don’t want to stray too far away so that it doesn’t sound like me at all – if you listen to all four of my records, you can tell that it’s me – but they’re all different in their own way, and I like that. I had that big bottom end idea in my head when I was demoing these songs in my house” The Hurry And The Harm has an audible shimmer in the upper frequencies, the aural equivalent of golden light if you will, while a couple of tracks feature that really big bass sound Green mentions, courtesy Jack Lawrence from The Raconteurs, creating a very different sound to Green’s last City & Colour

album, 2011’s Little Hell, which was recorded at Catherine North Studios, a converted church in Hamilton, Ontario, again with Newport producing. “What I wanted and what I think I achieved on this record is it’s the first City & Colour record where you really notice all of the other instruments, as opposed to just my voice and just my guitar playing. The drums stand out and the bass stands out and the keyboards [courtesy My Morning Jacket’s Mo Koster] stand out, and I like that.” One of the challenges Newport and Green set themselves in the studio with Little Hell was recording to tape – “Alex is pretty skilled in the art of ‘razoring’ the tape” – physically cutting up pieces of tape to remove unwanted parts, the original editing method with tape – Green told me at the time of its release. Not quite so with The Hurry And The Harm. “We recorded to tape and then ran the tape machine into Pro Tools, just to make things move along a little bit, but then mixed it to tape as well. We didn’t have that much time to do it so we wanted to make sure that we still captured the warmth and feel of tape and kept the songs alive.” The Hurry And The Harm by City and Colour will be released Tuesday 4 June on Dine Alone/Caroline.

CLASSIES

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36 • For more interviews go to themusic.com.au/interviews

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ENGINEER PROFILE

GEAR REVIEWS

Maybe my Telefunken V72 or V776 pres too. All those transformers, transistors, resisters and capacitors responsible our musical listening pleasure. What do you like to see from an artist or band in the studio? Skills, talent and enthusiasm. Not beating on my microphones. Are you currently working for a studio or are you freelancing? I freelance. However I have an interest in a recording studio where I also engineer and mix. My freelance life keeps me very busy on live shows and in the studio. Check out Stage Door Productions Rehearsal and Recording Studios for the latest studio project. Also Sydney Sound sometimes has new info on my projects.

RICHARD SMITH, STAGEDOOR PRODUCTIONS What areas of engineering do you specialise in? Studio and live music mixing, and technical management. What is your favourite kind of project to work on? Good sounds and great playing; projects with people that have done their homework and built something special out of their ideas. Are there any pieces of gear that you couldn’t get by without? My gig bag full of all the reliable bits that specialise in technical stress relief, along with my refurbished old studio stuff.

Do you have any advice for young or inexperienced artists heading into a recording studio? People are lucky the sound of a home studio is openly accepted as a modern sound with the independent music front mostly streaming. Again this proves the song and related genre stream is of most importance, so do some kind of easy recording to listen to where you are and enjoy it for a while. See what sticks in your mind and find what is important in your songs. Then take on the release recording process better armed. Enjoy it while you’re young! Do you have any words of wisdom for those wanting to become an audio engineer? It seems the less mics you set up on a gig, the more you get paid…. Weird but true!!! (Music takes many mics) Contact details: Richard Smith Ph: 0404 222 160 Email: info@sydneysound.com.au

URBANEARS ZINKEN HEADPHONES

URBANEARS PLATTAN HEADPHONES

Although they’ve been created with the trendsetting DJ in mind, Urbanears’ Zinken headphones provide a premium listening experience that, thanks to a not so premium price, music lovers of every ilk can enjoy. Full size on-ear monitors combine with excellent noise-isolation technology to ensure when you plug in you only hear what you want to hear, while the stylish build of the headphones manages to combine looks with durability, a proposition tougher than you’d think. The headphones come with both a 3.5 and 6.3mm plug, interchangeable thanks to the TurnCable, while a coil design means you get additional reach without loads of cord flopping about. Other cool features include the ZoundPlug, which provides link-up opportunities for friends wanting to listen to the same device, and collapsible ear pieces, which fold into the cushion-padded headband. Like all Urbanears products, the Zinkens come with a oneyear premium replacement warranty on manufacturer defects; however, you’re not likely to have to go down that path as these are built tough, with the hard moulded plastic exterior adding additional protection to cope with life’s natural spills. Stylish and fun, plenty of smart features and offering fantastic sound quality, the Zinken headphones are another inviting prospect from the team at Urbanears.

Similar to the DJ-centric Zinken model but lighter on the head and ears, Urbanears Plattan headphones are the perfect getting-around-town set: comfortable, slick, practical. You’d be tested to find better valuefor-money headphones out there, to be honest. Well under the $100 mark, the Plattan gives you everything you need, but does so with the highest levels of quality maintained, with regards to sound, looks and durability. The audio that you get from this model is brilliant and leaps out of the full-size on-ear speakers without punishing your senses or turning the music into a gluggy mess. And with each artist – each individual style – the response of the Plattan was special, with the bass sounding thick and compressed, while vocals, guitars and other treble lines managed to stay safely above the heavy lower sections. And, oh, how the Plattans look good. Actually, let’s try that again... the Plattans look like a modern piece of pop art. No word of a lie. The block colouring is clean, the leather-cushioned earpieces subtle, while the fabric headband/cord that works together is a stroke of stylistic brilliance. And when you consider all the additional features, such as the microphone and remote compatibility, collapsible design and ZoundPlug for sharing, you’ve really got all you need with the Plattan.

Benny Doyle

CLASSIES

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For more interviews go to themusic.com.au/interviews • 37