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RUBY BOOTS Solitary Ma’am Ruby Boots perform this Saturday, May 31, at State Of The Art in the Perth Cultural Centre and launch a new EP at the Astor Lounge on Saturday, June 7. BOB GORDON catches up with Bex Chilcott. From the outside looking in, it seems as though after these last few years, that hard work, momentum and opportunity have met up for Bex Chilcott and her musical entity, Ruby Boots. Chilcott has worked tirelessly over the years, both on her own music and helping others work towards performing theirs. With a new EP release and an album around the corner, it seems plausible that in 2014, the planets may have aligned for her at last. It’s not generally easy for me to take any praise or compliments for my work,” Chilcott reflects. “I’m always very much looking to the next thing I can do to keep pushing on and often forget to look back. “But you are right, I am really feeling a lot of love and support at the moment and have been very sentimental lately as a result, it makes a nice change.” The context of where she is now and where she came from to get there dawned on Chilcott last weekend when she was in Kununurra to perform at The Kimberley Moon Festival. “It’s been exactly 10 years since I first picked up a guitar in Broome when I was working on the boats, playing along to The Waifs’ record, Sink Or Swim. It’s probably the only time I’ll ever believe in the notion of love at first sight - or listen! - but it just felt like at that moment that life started to make sense for me. I had never really understood why I was here before that, I remember it so clearly, learning the song, When I Die, and playing it over and over until I had learnt my first song from top to bottom. “Standing in the crowd last Saturday night, just up the road from Broome where it all began for me, watching The Waifs play one of the songs Vikki and I wrote together out in Utah, and then closing the set with When I Die, it really struck me how much unwavering passion and love for something can take you in a full circle... of course with the help of people who stick out their hands and often their necks out for you along the way. I’m really excited about releasing the record this year!” The new era of Ruby Boots is hinted at on the just-released self-titled EP, which features the songs Solitude, Oh Lover, Cola & Wine and Kellie Anne. “I have had a much stronger vision for the sound I wanted for my latest work and the EP is a taste of that,” Chilcott notes. “Solitude and Cola & Wine I recorded with producer, Tony Buchen, in Sydney. Tony is such a joy to work with and a very unique bass player, also. I really wanted a more guitar and keys-driven sound and both of these songs give the listener that. “Kellie Anne was recorded in Nashville last year. Working with players over there was an eyeopening experience, it was great because I had never intended to go over and write and record a song that sounded like the slick side of Nashville, I worked and wrote with producer, Robin Eaton, he’s so laid back and down to earth and the recording has that side of him in
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FRONT COVER: Ruby Boots perform this Saturday, May 31, at State Of The Art in the Perth Cultural Centre and launch a new EP at the Astor Lounge on Saturday, June 7. SALT COVER: Tali heads to Villa this Saturday, May 31. 8
Bex Chilcott, Ruby Boots
there, more feel than something too polished. “The track that seems to be getting the most attention at the moment is Oh, Lover which was recorded in Melbourne with producer, Anna Laverty. I was so sick the day we recorded it, I remember having to go and lie down every so often so as not to pass out from the fever! Luckily enough, Anna came over to Perth a few weeks later so I could finish off the vocals. She picked some of her favourite songs out of a whole bunch that I sent her and she was really excited about working on that track. Anna has a real sense of togetherness when working with you, you really feel like she is fully invested in what you are doing. So I am glad people are digging it.” Chilcott explains that the EP release is a precursor to her 10-track album, which will be released late this year. “I wanted to include Solitude as I think it sums up the essence of the thread that is running through the album which addresses the necessity of being alone, spending that time with yourself and feeling things to their fullest capacity, giving people a taste of that was important to me,” she explains. The first line-up of the Ruby Boots came to an end about two years ago, replaced by not only a new Perth line-up but a completely fresh angle on touring. “I am taking a very different approach these days and am really enjoying it,” Chilcott says. “It’s far less stressful and I can say yes to so many more opportunities that come my way and just jump on a plane when I have to at the drop of a hat. “I’ve got a band in WA, Victoria and NSW and all of the guys and gals are a dream to work with, it’s been really enjoyable working with an array of such great musicians. That said, I have been using my secret weapon, Mr Lee Jones on as many shows I can around the country, he just can’t be beat! I took him over to Sydney to help out with the last tracking session, and we had pushed through three songs in one long day/night, that particular line-up just seemed to bring some kind of magic to the record, there was some serious chemistry happening in the studio. Lee had a big part to play in that, in fact he contributed to a lot of the record and is an absolute joy to work with, kind of feels like having a Derek Trucks or Dave Rawlings by your side, a kick-arse musician and someone that gets what you are trying to do musically without having to talk about it too much, you just have to play. “The Perth gang are really sizzling together, such great players, the launch will have all six of us on stage, we’ll be cooking with gas. It’s a very easy and relaxed environment to be working in.” Do some people think your name is actually Ruby? “Yes,” Chilcott laughs, “all the time, and I am starting to get used to it. It’s kind of nice to have a different name for the musical me!”
THE BEARDS Beard Nation The Beards return to WA this week, kicking off on Wednesday, May 28, at the Pier Hotel, Esperance; Thursday, May 29, at the White Star, Albany; Friday, May 30, at Settler’s Tavern, Margaret River; Saturday, May 31, at the Prince Of Wales, Bunbury, and Sunday, June 1, at the Astor Theatre. Vocalist and Minister for Beards and Beard Services, Johann Beardraven, lends his thoughts. Mr Beardraven, what are your hopes for beards and bearded Australians in light of the Federal Budget? It is a good time for beards at the moment. Lots of people have beards and that makes me feel really good. We must allocate money for people who have beards, particularly those whose beard is preventing them from getting a job. They should have access to beard funds, subsidised beard combs
and beard shampoos. It’s about time our clean-shaven government did something for the bearded man. Following Austria’s bearded lady Conchita Wurst’s win at Eurovision, Russian leader Vladimir Putin declared it the “end of Europe.” Could this beard cause a war? We were thrilled when we heard about Conchita. When we released our latest single, All The Bearded Ladies, we hoped to inspire people worldwide so we’re very proud to have obviously influenced that result. Regarding that clown Putin’s comments, he has problems with a lot of things but he doesn’t have a beard so I don’t give him any thought. We’re against beard hate … any kind of hate. We don’t care which way you swing as long as you have a beard. As a sign of protest from the Minister for Beards I shall make a personal visit to the Kremlin, bring another bearded man and hold his hand as we walk in. And what do you have to say to the hateful Open Letter to Bearded Hipsters by Nicki Daniels? As long as you have a beard, that’s number one. There’s no bad reason to grow a beard. The hipster beard, the big bushy beard, the lazy beard, they’re all beards. What we don’t want is for the trend to end. DANIKA NAYNA/BMA
TIM FERGUSON Sticking It To The Man
Australian comedy icon Tim Ferguson, veteran of the Doug Anthony All Stars, Funky Squad and, er, Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush, will be signing copies of his autobiography, Carry A Big Stick, at Kaleido Books from 5.30pm on Friday, The Art Of Our State May 30, and teaching his Comedy State Of The Art happens at the Perth Writing Masterclass at the Australian Cultural Centre this Saturday, May 31, as Writers Guild on Saturday, May 31, part of the WA Day long weekend and Sunday, June 1. TRAVIS JOHNSON checks in.
STATE OF THE ART
The main attraction, hosted by Celebrate WA, features Drapht, Eskimo Joe, San Cisco, The Stems, The Blackeyed Susans, The Kill Devil Hills, Kim Salmon, Split Seconds, Bitter Belief and Sable at a cost of $35. A new concept, SOTA Surrounds, will feature a free stage to showcase up-and-coming artists The Brow, Dallas Royal, The Amani Consort, Tired Lion, Warangka Band, The High Learys, Silver Hills, Moondog, Jake & The Cowboys, Kat Wilson and Cri$i$ Mr Swagger. Some 40 other local acts will spread out across the festival grounds, Including Morgan Bain, Steve Parkin, Timothy Nelson, Catherine Traicos, Leure, Patient Little Sister, Adam Livingston (Emperors), David Craft, Joe Bludge, Luke Bostelman (ex-Flanders), The Ghost Hotel (duo), Lucy Peach, The Jayco Brothers (duo), Methyl Ethyl, Rachel Gorman, Mei Saraswati, Davey Craddock, Steven Aaron Hughes (Usurper Of Modern Medicine), Rob Walker, Luke Dux, Polly Medlen, Adrian Hoffman (The Morning Night), Junior Bowles, Elk Bell, Michael Strong (The Disappointed), Alex Arpino (The Autumn Isles), Chris Gibbs, Turin Robinson, Fox Cat Rabbit, Black, Swan, Jane Azzopardi, Todd Pickett, Dan Durack (Tenderhooks), Latehorse, Jordan McRobbie, Lucinda Nicholls, Elli Schoen, TJ O’Donovan, Northshore Shoals, Franca Dobbin and Bernardine. Another new component is the MC battle, which sees Azmatik, Complete, Two Worlds, Selekt Few, Bryte One, Intellect, A.Saxon, Chani, Bfumes, Intrusive Thoughts, Shadow & Chef, Frenze and Tonight battle it out for the name of SOTA hip hop champ. A map and playing times can be found on page 13. More details at sotafest.com.au.
There’s a topic that always comes up whenever Tim Ferguson is interviewed these days: multiple sclerosis. Since announcing he had the condition a few years back, it’s been a perennial point of conversation with the press, although not one they’re keen to dive into, he explains. “Nobody wants to talk about MS and quite often I’ll spend half the interview with the journalist circling ‘round and ‘round the garden like a teddy bear. They’ll take one step, two step and finally I’ll say, ‘So, you gonna ask me about my brain?’” It’s always, he says, the elephant in the room, but he contends that his interrogators are always more uncomfortable with the topic than he himself is. “People find it awkward because it’s a health thing – well, they think it is. It’s got nothing to do with health. Dear God, if it had something to do with health, I’d eat more carrots. It’s just that my brain doesn’t work. Millions of other Australians show that their brains don’t work in a variety of ways: often in a car, often in a nightclub when they’re asking that first, tenuous line. People are a little bit nervous but, dear God, if I’m not used to it, I don’t know who is.” It is, naturally, a topic broached in his memoir, Carry A Big Stick, but he is at pains to point out that it’s not the only subject of the book. “If you read the memoir, you’ll see that MS is actually, like the shark in Jaws, only circling around and only towards the end does the fin surface and we see what it is. If
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someone does have MS or anything in front of them, the one thing they can gain from the book is the knowledge that I don’t really think about it all that much. Like ugly people – they can’t be obsessed with being ugly all the time. Sometimes they’ve just got to forget it and get on with their lives. Liberal voters, the same thing – they vote and then they just have to block it out until the next election.” Naturally, the Doug Anthony All Stars, the transgressive comedy troupe that consisted of Ferguson, Paul McDermott and Richard Fidler, feature heavily in the tome. In their heyday, the boys didn’t so much break barriers as ignore them completely, something Ferguson thinks is sorely lacking in the modern Australian comedy scene. “We thought someone else would take over,” he laments. “We thought we were starting a movement. Turns out we were the movement – it was a bowel movement and once it was done, people moved on to easier to eat matter. There are great comedians, but there’s nobody on every week making people shout at their televisions and I don’t know why.” For information on Tim Ferguson’s Comedy Writing Master Class, go to cheekymonkeycomedy.com.