X-Press Magazine 1342

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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM HIS FRIENDS

Ringo Starr

Get ready for Beatlemania 2.0 when Ringo Starr returns to our shores early next year. With a little help from his friends, the All Starr Band, featuring Steve Lukather from Toto, Richard Page from Mr. Mister, Todd Rundgren, Mark Rivera, Gregg Rolie from Santana, and Journey drummer Gregg Bissonette, the night promises classic Ringo hits spanning from his time with The Beatles, all the way up to his latest solo release, the straightforwardly titled Ringo 2012.

Fans can also expect select cuts from members of the All Starr’s other projects, such as Mr. Mister’s Broken Wing and blues standard, Black Magic Woman.

Ringo will perform a five-date tour which finishes up in Perth on Thursday, February 21, at Challenge Stadium. Tickets go on sale on Wednesday, November 7, through Ticketmaster.

PRESS PLAY

It’s getting close to the end of 2012, and it’s time to put out the feelers for New Year’s Eve plans – and we’re here to help. Insert To Play has just been announced, an all ages NYE event to be held at The Supreme Court Gardens. The first acts have been revealed, and it’s looking killer for hip hop fans: the mighty 360 will be headlining, local wordsmith Drapht will be hanging out, beat freaks Hermitude will blow your minds, and the visionary Urthboy will bring a little somethin’ to the table.

There are heaps more ac ts to be announced, but this taster may just be enough to commit. It’s happening on Monday, December 31, from 3.30pm until late, with tickets available now through inserttoplay.com plus all the usual outlets.

360

BEAUFORTICATION!

With only three weeks to go until the action his the street, the folks at The Beaufort Street Network and JumpClimb this week released the program for the Beaufort Street Festival.

It’s a cavalcade of arts, family activity, music, fashion and food programs, which can now be previewed at www.beaufortstreetfestival.com.au Highlights include the artification of Highgate Drycleaners, the Mary Street Canopy, An Augmented Reality, Food & Wine Micro Festival, Queens Vintage Village and the STM Fashion Stage.

More than 70,000 people attended the event in 2011, which this year happens on Saturday, November 17, from noon until 9pm.

San Cisco The Volcanics, Saintly support

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

Recently seen tearing it up at Rock-It San Cisco have announced a national tour all tying in with the release of their self-titled debut album. The Wild Things tour will see San Cisco joined by Sydney-siders The Preatures and local faves The Jack Doepel Quartet.

Presented by X-Press Magazine, they light up The Bakery on Friday, December 14.Tickets available from nowbaking.com.au.

San Cisco’s debut album is released on Friday, November 23, through their own Island City Records label.

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Reactions/ Comp

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Flesh

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Music: Santigold

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Music: Frightened Rabbit/ Bento

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Music: Carus Thompson/ Ball Park Music

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Music: The Living End/ Benjamin Gibbard

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New Noise

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Eye4 Cover: Tripod

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Eye4 Music: Archie Roach/ Movies:

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Eye4 Movies: Housos Vs Authority

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Eye4 Movies: Dredd 3D

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Salt Cover Story: Smoke DZA

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Salt: Cover Story/ Orjan Nilsen/ Aeroplane/

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Salt: Hailey Cramer/ Wynter Gordon/

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Salt: Club Guide/ Scenery/ Rewind: Madlib

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Scene: Live

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Scene: Pub Blurbs

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Tour Trails

SAINTLY ERUPTION

Mathas, Chi Poption NYE at The Bakery

FANCY AND CHI FOR NYE

Looking for a few heady heady options for New Year’s Eve? An earlycomer has emerged in the field with Chi Poption, The Bakery’s New Year’s Eve party on the ever-so-appropriate date of Monday, December 31.

Chi Poption stars Shy Panther, Rachael Dease vs Ylem, Diger Rokwell vs Mathas, Kucka, Leure, Mei Saraswati, Dani Marsland, Jo Lettenmaier, Aarom Wilson vs Craig Hollywood, Ben Taaffe vs Rok Riley, Clunk, PCJ vs Nik Ridik and Miranda Menzies.

Limited early bird tickets are $20 from lifeisnoise. com, Heatseeker, Oztix and nowbaking.com.au until Friday, November 31, whereupon they’ll be $25 from Saturday, December 1. Imbibe!

We already let you know earlier this year that heavenly rockers The Saints are heading down under, bringing tuneage from their new record King Of The Sun. The supports have just been announced, and you heard it here first – local rockers The Volcanics have scored the Perth slot, and no doubt they’re stoked – we are! It’s all a-happening on Friday, November 30, at the Fly

By Night, presented by X-Press Magazine. Tickets are on sale now through Ticketmaster.

Highgate Drycleaners, all set for a Beaufort Festival transformation

Bachelorette

News

Emma Hewitt/ Testpad

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Gig Guide

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Volume Cover: Gyspy & The Cat

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Volume: Product Reviews

Cover: Santigold plays Metro City on Wednesday, November 14

Salt Cover: Smoke DZA plays The Bakery on Friday, November 9 www.xpressmag.com.au

John Butler

GET FUNKY TONIGHT

Having wowed audiences at his Rock-It set last weekend (see Live for our full review), John Butler has just announced a one-off solo show. He’ll be jumping on stage at the Fly By Night Club with special guest Kav Temperley [Eskimo Joe, Basement Birds], who will also be performing a solo set. Shows like this don’t come around every day, so don’t pass up the chance to see what will surely be a stellar performance from Perth’s golden boy(s). It’s happening on Sunday, November 18. Tickets are on sale now through flybynight.org but you’ll want to get in quick!

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with Melissa Erpen... Send your name, address and daytime phone number to win@xpressmag.com.au with the name of the competition in the subject line or enter online at www.xpressmag.com.au. Snail mail entries can be sent to Locked Bag 31, West Perth 6872. Entries close 4pm Monday.

By entering you agree to X-Press Magazine’s Terms & Conditions which can be found online. All competition entries will automatically enable you to become an X-Press subscriber! No details will be given to a third party.

Print and Digital Editions Publisher/Manager Joe Cipriani Editorial

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Managing Editor Bob Gordon: editor@xpressmag.com.au Fashion Editor Emma Bergmeier: fashion@xpressmag.com.au Dance Music & Features Editor Annabel Maclean: danceeditor@xpressmag.com.au Local Music & Arts Editor Jennifer Peterson-Ward: localmusicarts@xpressmag.com.au Gig & Event Guides Co-ordinator Melissa Erpen - guide@xpressmag.com.au Entertainment Services Co-ordinator / Competitions Melissa Erpen - win@xpressmag.com.au Photography Callum Ponton, Stefan Caramia, Daniel Grant, Sammy Granville, Matt Jelonek, Denis Radacic, Emma Mackenzie, Guang-Hui Chuan, Max Fairclough Contributing Writers Henry Andersen, Ashleigh Whyte, Nina Bertok, Shaun Cowe, Derek Cromb,Chris Gibbs,Alfred Gorman,George Green,Alex Griffin,Chris Havercroft, Joshua Hayes, Brendan Holben, Coral Huckstep, Travis Johnson,Rezo Kezerashvili,Tara Lloyd,Adam Morris,Andrew Nelson, Chloe Papas,Tom Varian,Ben Watson,Jessica Willoughby,Miki Mclay, Morgan Richards, James Manning, Joe Cassidy, Shane Pinnegar For band gigs and launches - plugyourgig@xpressmag.com.au

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ROCKIN’ TIME WITH LOCAL CHAMPS! Dear X-Press, DOWNLOAD THE QR READER APP AND GET WINNING!

VIP PRIZE PACK TO 2MANYDJS

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Sales and Marketing Manager Sue Blackwell - advertising@xpressmag.com.au Online Marketing Sue Blackwell - advertising@xpressmag.com.au Music Services / Musical Equipment / Bands / Record Labels Des Richardson - musicservices@xpressmag.com.au Entertainment Venues / Live and Dance Music Promoters Marc English - entertainment@xpressmag.com.au Agency / Movies / Education / Sponsorship Sue Blackwell - advertising@xpressmag.com.au Classifieds Linage Melissa Erpen - classifieds@xpressmag.com.au

Production

I just wanted to let you guys know how awesome it was to have Rock It back again. I know there is already a lot done for local musicians by WAM and other organisations, but still, it was so awesome to see some real homegrown heroes of past and present rockin’ it out to a massive audience. A big shout out to Abbe May, San Cisco, Emperors, Birds Of Tokyo, The Panics, JBT and Kill Devil Hills, you were better than the east coast bands for sure. Thanks for making us proud!

Tripod

Ruby Turner Via email

TRIPOD

Over the years the Tripod boys have been hard at work making people laugh and now they’re bringing their show on the road set in the picturesque background of the Quarry Amphitheatre as the opening act for the new Live At The Quarry season. We’ve got a double pass to see them on Saturday, November 10, plus a copy of their Tripod Versus The Dragon DVD.

THE ANNUAL 2013 MOS

Prepare your speakers and equip your ears – Ministry Of Sound are about to unleash the biggest dance compilation of the year, The Annual 2013. Featuring tracks and remixes from the likes of Avicci, Example, Rita Ora, Marina & The Diamonds and Florence & The Machine, get in now for your chance to win a copy.

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2manydjs

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CAB AUDITED CIRCULATION: 38,000 OCTOBER 2011 – MARCH 2012

Deadlines EDITORIAL General: Friday 5pm,, Eye4 Arts: Thursday 10am, Comp’ Thing: Monday Noon,, Salt Clubs: Monday 5pm , Local Scene: Monday Noon,, Gig Guide: Monday 5pm ADVERTISING Cancellations: Monday 5pm, Ads to be set: Monday Noon Supplied Bookings / Copy: Tuesday 12 Noon, Classifieds: Monday 4pm Published by: Columbia Press Pty.Ltd. A.C.N. 066 570 803 Registered by Australia Post. Publication No PP600110.00006 Suite 55/102 Railway Street, City West Business Centre, West Perth, WA 6005 Locked Bag 31, West Perth, WA 6872 Phone: (08) 9213 2888 Fax: (08) 9213 2882 Website: http://www.xpressmag.com.au

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Advertisers and/or their agents by lodging an advertisment shall indemnify the publisher, and its agents, against all liability claims or proceedings whatsoever arising from the publication. Advertisers and/or their representatives indemnify the publisher in relation to defamation, slander, breach of copyright, infringement of trademarks of name of publication titles, unfair competition or trade practices, royalties or violation of rights or privacy and warrant that the material complies with revelant laws and regulations and that its publication will not give rise to any rights against or liabilities in the publisher, its servants or agents. Any material supplied to X-Press is at the contributor’s risk.

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Those delicious Belgium lads 2manydjs are coming back to town to mix up Eye Of The Tiger with the likes of Kraftwerk, put their very own brilliant spin on tunes from The Beatles, pump out the bass and thumping electro and show you how to get your groove on down on the d-floor. They are serious pros. Boomtick and X-Press are presenting a super sick prize pack which includes:

Seven Psychopaths

SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS

From the team who created In Bruges comes Seven Psychopaths, an inventive, violent and hilarious film that retains the deft writing and twisted creativity that made In Bruges a cult classic. Want to win tickets?

Get in now as we have 10 doubles up for grabs.

VIP tickets to 2manydjs at Villa Nightclub on Friday, November 30 Your own exclusive meet and greet experience at sound-check before the show A personally signed block mount A Boomtick Prize Pack for both you and your friend To be in the running, all you need to do is take a photo of yourself with “2many” of “something”. For example: you with too many pegs on your face; you with too many tattoos, you with too many festival wristbands. Then, upload the photo to the X-Press Facebook page.

Whoever gets the most ‘likes’ on their photo will automatically go into the Top 5 Finalists.

The winner will be chosen by X-Press ahead of the show.

Saritah

SARITAH

Saritah delivers a potent combination of feminine spirit, conscious lyrics and heartfelt melodies whilst embodying a unique union of roots, reggae, soul, acoustic and dancehall. Get your entries in now for your chance to win a double pass to see this amazing young lady perform at The Fly By Night on Friday, November 9.

SPIT SYNDICATE

Sydney duo Spit Syndicate play Ya Ya’s this Friday, November 2, as part of their Beauty In The Bricks tour.

Get in quick for your chance to win a double pass to what is sure to be an awesome night of music.

Alex Cross

ALEX CROSS

Alex Cross follows the young homicide detective/ psychologist (Tyler Perry), from the worldwide best-selling novels by James Patterson as he meets his match in a serial killer (Matthew Fox).

Enter now for your chance to win a double pass to see this thrilling film.

CHECK OUT WWW.XPRESSMAG.COM.AU AND SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER ONLINE FOR LOADS MORE EXCLUSIVE COMPS!

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Mama Kin, Nannup Festival

REGIONAL ROYALTY

They say all roads lead to Nannup, so prepare for some heavy traffic on Friday, March 1, when a herd of music lovers descended on the 2013 Nannup Festival.

With a family friendly atmosphere, the four-day event is set to offer a diverse mix of music, with familiar or new found favourites, happy crowds including Emma Louise, B2M, Mama Kin, Zoe Keating, Band Of Frequencies, Busby Marou, Toby, Ainslie Wills, Frank Yamma, Ngaiire, David Bridie, Minnie Marks, Steve Smyth, The Falls, Kim Churchill, Jess Ribeiro And The Bone Collectors, London Klezmer Quartet, Eli Wolfe, The Picture Box Orchestra, Rebecca Ireland, Siskin River, Hussy Hicks, Lucy Peach, Kira Puru And The Bruise, Ange Takats, Jack Carty, Mitch Becker, The Bad Influence, Stoney Joe, Jake and The Cowboys, and many more.

Early bird tickets will be available in November, so keep your eyes on nannupmusicfestival.org for up-to-the-minute details.

Kendrick Lamar

LOVIN’ THE LAMAR

Given the fact that US rap talent Kendrick Lamar has been in-demand in 2012 - gracing the Coachella stage for the game-changing Snoop and Dre set as well as being joined by Lady Gaga for a set at this year’s Pitchfork Festival - it came as little surprise that after announcing his first ever run of Aussie dates, tickets to see Kendrick Lamar were totally gone in just a matter of hours. To battle the unpredicted demand, organisers have now announced a new set of dates and venues for us to view the rising star of conscious hip hop.

Previously scheduled for Capitol, Lamar’s WA show has now been moved to the Astor Theatre on Saturday, December 22. Previously purchased tickets will still be honoured, and new tickets are on sale from 9am today, Wednesday, October 31, from Ticketmaster.

And make no mistake guys, there won’t be a third chance!

Bark In The Park

DOG DAY AFTERNOON

Calling all Twin Peaks aficionados

HARRY, YOU’RE ALL RIGHT

Usurper Of Modern Medicine have been wanting to turn The Bakery into the Black Lodge for ages now, and this Saturday, November 3, they’ve finally been given the chance. Twin Peaks fans will be able to buy their drinks from the One Eyed Jacks Bar, get their picture taken in the Red Room by local photographer Jackson Eaton, plus there’ll be doughnuts and fresh hot coffee, and DJs Jack Quirk and Sav Daddy will be dropping all your favourite Lynchian hits and those crazy kids from Gulls will be doing live re-enactments of key Twin Peaks scenes. Entry is $5 for punters in Twin Peaks-inspired attire and $15 if you’re too much of a square to dress up.

Furry friends from all over will be bringing their owners along to the doggie social event of the year Purina Bark In The Park this Saturday, November 3, at Charles Court Reserve in Nedlands. There will be a doggy fashion show, dog and owner lookalike competition, grooming classes and even an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the ‘Loudest Bark’ by a group of dogs. The event kicks off from 10am and visitors will be able to participate by gold coin donation with all funds going to the Animal Welfare League Australia.

WE BUILT THIS CITY

Throughout November expect to see expect to see hoards of people clutching the guidebooks, tracking down their next architectural jewel.

This Thursday, November 1, marks the beginning of Architecture Month - a celebration of WA architecture held by the Institute of Architects - WA Chapter. Highlights include the inaugural Open House Perth this Saturday, November 3, and Sunday, November 4, during which buildings across the Perth CBD will fling open their doors to let the public enjoy spaces usually closed to them, and the Perth Urban Adventure Tour this Saturday, November 3, during which punters can take a professional guided tour incorporating “must know” historical information, but also contemporary features of the City.

These are just two of the many great events happening throughout the next few weeks, click on over to architecture.com.au for more info. www.xpressmag.com.au

Bantus Capoeira

KULCHA CLASH

On Friday, November 9, experience the tropical vibes of Brazil in a night of Afro-Brazilian culture as Bantus Capoeira conjure up the beaches, favela parties, sugar cane fields and the magical landscape of Brazil with rhythmic magic of percussion, visual displays of Capoeira awesome acrobatics and wild Afro dances.

Then on Saturday, November 10, distinctive community choir Madjitil Moorna will perform Aboriginal songs led by awardwinning Aboriginal performers Candice Lorrae Dempsey (Ulla Shay), George Walley, Della Rae Morrison, Aunty Josie Boyle and Karla Hart. To cap off the weekend, Sunday, November 11, will host the Starlight Hotel Choir Fremantle Festival event to support the homeless in Fremantle. With a focus on inclusion and empowering people through music, their emotive and uplifting show will showcase original songs of struggle, healing and hope. The choir will be joined by some wellknown and much loved Fremantle musicians, including Todd Pickett and Brendan Humphreys (Kill Devil Hills).

Tickets to all three shows are available through kulcha.com.au or by calling (08) 9336 4544.

METAL BLKOUT

No doubt you all know by now that legendary metal face-melters Refused are heading to our shores next month for their Not Fucking Dead tour – shit yeah, metal! Well, this just in, the supports have been announced and the Perth show is going to be killer. Hardcore lads Blkout will be opening for the deadly Refused, laying down tracks from their new record Point Of No Return and warming up the stage. So if you like it heavy, get on down to Metros Fremantle on Friday, November 9. Tickets are available now through Oztix.

THE FINE-NESS OF SISTERS

Blanche DuBois returns to the Ellington Jazz Club for a show next Thursday, November 8.

Sisters Nadija and Adriana Begovich have been busying themselves over the past few months writing material for their next record [including a track co-written with Josh Pyke]. They will showcase a few new tunes at this intimate show - performing as an acoustic trio with the backing of a string section.

Support comes from Michael Paolino [aka Husband] playing solo from 8.30pm. Tickets $10/$15 from www.ellingtonjazz.com.au.

Bob Mould

BREAKING THE MOULD

Guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Bob Mould is finally returning to Australia in 2013. Known for his work in bands like Hüsker Dü and Sugar in the ‘80s and ‘90s, not to mention his catalogue of solo albums released over the past decade, Bob Mould is a legendary alternative rock musician. With a new record out this year, Silver Age, Mould is ready to strap on his guitar and head back out on the international road. Bob Mould will be hitting Perth on Saturday, March 16, with one show only at The Rosemount. Tickets are available through metropolistouring.com and they’re likely to sell out fast – so get in there!

Breaking Orbit

MAKING PROG-RESS

CHOW DOWN

Big Day Out already brings killer musical and visual acts to stages country-wide every year - but, in 2013 they are upping the ante with Chow Town. What is Chow Town, you may ask?

Well, it’s a food experience like no other. Forget soggy chips and questionable meat, Big Day Out are going gourmet. With a helping hand from top Australian renegade chefs Ben Milgate and Elvis Abrahanowicz, Chow Town will showcase some of the country’s award-winning chefs and their handheld dishes in a Hawkers market-style setting. Foodies will look forward to dishes such as barbeque style brisket and pulled pork, lobster corn dogs, Chinese duck Bao’s and so, so much more. The food from Chow Town will be the soundtrack for your mouth - massive musical acts and epic food noms, what more could you want!?

Big Day Out is happening on Monday, January 28, at Claremont Showgrounds. Get on down there for the music, and stay for the food.

Blanche DuBois Photo: Penny Lane

After playing to capacity crowds around Australia following the release of their debut album The Time Traveler in July this year, Sydney altprogressive band Breaking Orbit are bringing their energetic and eclectic live show to Perth.

Plus, fresh from a bunch of Melbourne shows, local dudes Serial Killer Smile will be joining them onstage on Friday, November 9, at Players Bar in Mandurah, at the Civic Hotel on Saturday, November 10, for Progfest, and at the Newport on Sunday, November 11.

Taal Naan, AGWA Nights

TAAL ORDER

As part of the Art Gallery’s AGWA Nights series, Taal Naan will perform from 5.30pm this Friday, November 2. Taal Naan is comprised of two of Perth’s most established percussion musicians, Steve Richter [Tetrafide, Mr Sister, Sabroson] and Josh Hogan [Tetrafide, Mukti, David Hyams Miles To Go Band]. They amass global sounds with a sprinkling of electronica and a generous dash of Indian goodness.

FESTISH FANTASIES

It’s Halloween time again, and the Voodoo Lounge has got you covered - or, err, uncovered - with their annual Halloween Fetish Ball. Lauded as WA’s foremost alternative cabaret night, the Ball shines a spotlight on the darker side of sexuality - the taboos, the fantasies, and the decadence.

The theme this year is The Devil Makes Mischief Through Forbidden Touch, and the emphasis is on touch via fingers and hands. The dress code insists on some type of sensual underwear (or, no underwear at all) and you can look forward to fashion parades and fetish performances related to hands, bondage performances in the ‘dungeon,’ and fantasy sessions in the Voodoo Lounge. So forget about boundaries and get kinky this Halloween - head down to the Voodoo Lounge on Wednesday, October 31.

Indian Summer DJs

A HAUNTED SUMMER

The boys from Indian Summer DJs have had an excellent year; a whole lotta touring, a Parklife festival slot, and a bunch of successful remixes (including Snakadaktal and Architecture In Helsinki). But, they’re not content with that – they’re just about to drop new EP Haunted, then head out on a national tour to show it off.

Promising driving low tempo jams, smooth chillwave beats and some killer nu-disco/pop, Haunted is sure to stick with you over the summer.

Indian Summer DJs will be hitting up Speakeasy on Thursday, November 22, and will be back around again for the Wonderland Festival on Tuesday, January 1.

The Beards

THROW THOSE RAZORS AWAY!

You asked, and they listened – those hairy fellows from The Beards have just added an extra show to their End Of The World (For Beardless People) tour, racking up a total of five apocalyptic shows for you to witness. Bringing along The Snowdroppers and Gay Paris, this is sure to be a dirty, hair-filled tour – and it shouldn’t be missed. So stop shaving, and grab your tickets now before the world ends. Get beardy at Mojos on Wednesday, November 14, the Prince of Wales in Bunbury on Thursday, November 15, Settlers Tavern in Margaret River on Friday, November 16, The Rosemount on Saturday, November 17, and The Indi Bar on Sunday, November 18.

JINX, (NO) RETURNS!

Adelaide rockers Manhattan Jinx first graced Perth with their presence on their Death. Savior.

Life. debut tour a few months ago, and it was the beginning of a beautiful thing. After wooing us with their raw, driving punk prowess, the four-piece left us aching for more – and now they’re delivering. The boys are coming back for a run of dates in December, and they aren’t to be missed. Catch them at Fungalore #38 at The Prince of Wales in Bunbury on Wednesday, December 12, Punktured at The Rocket Room on Friday, December 14, and at The Railway Hotel on Saturday, December 15.

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SANTIGOLD When The Genres Talk

Touring in support of her second album, Master Of My Make Believe, Santigold performs at Metro City on Wednesday, November 14, supported

by Crazy P. Sitting at home in Brooklyn, Santi White, aka Santigold, is enjoying a rare moment off the road.

Despite not being over fond of promotional duties, she’s in good form, despite this intrusion into her domestic bliss. Since crossing over as a record company A&R person in 2008 with her self-titled debut album, Santigold has been lauded as being a pop artist who is diverse as they come, mixing genres to the point where her work has been described as genre-less.

Her new album, Master Of My Make Believe, is a collab-fest which retains her own personality throughout. It was well worth the four-year wait.

By BOB GORDON Since the release of your album you’ve played all sorts of shows from a Rolling Stone showcase last week to support slots for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and you’re now coming back to Australia to perform at the Harvest festival as well as some headlining shows. Do you have a preference, given that your own headlining shows would be very different to supporting the Red Hot Chili Peppers?

(Laughs) Oh yeah. I prefer a headline show, or some festivals. Although when I’ve opened for people, it’s been for the most wonderful bands ever and it’s always been an amazing experience just to actually spend time with the band and get to know them and to actually see their show. As far as for the energy of the actual performance, opening is really difficult, because, you know, the audience isn’t there to see you, half the time they don’t even know who you are. Sometimes it’s just like, little you in a big, half-empty arena (laughs). You can’t even see anything, it’s like performing into the darkness, you know?

But with headline shows, everyone’s there to see you and they’re so excited and they know the words and they just give you energy back and you to them. It’s this big amazing ball of energy. That’s just great, but sometimes at festivals from just the sheer amount of people you can be in front of 30-40,000 people - it can turn into this amazing thing where some of them may not know you but the energy of having just so many people sharing in the music together, usually outside in the daytime, there can be something magical about that.

You can get some pretty great moments. Like at Coachella was wonderful this year, but at Bonnaroo, at the moment where I invite people onto the stage I think the stage kind of got bum-rushed and there was like 200300 people up there and it was mayhem but it was so much fun. That sort of thing could never happen at a headline show.

I watched from side-of-stage as you did that at Southbound here in 2009. The dancers were joyous but your techs looked pretty worried about stuff getting knocked over...

Yeah, it gets dangerous up there (laughs). It gets kinda sketchy sometimes because people are wild and they’re not thinking about anything, they’re just having a good time. I’ve seen some crazy shit go on onstage but that wildness is also what’s so fun about it.

There’s a lovely inclusiveness about that gesture...

There is. It’s a moment where there’s no real differentiation, everybody’s right up there with me and dancing and singing in my face and it’s a moment where you really feel like you’re really sharing in the musical experience of it all.

The people who come up, I mean they’re always having so much fun and that makes me have so much fun. It is a special moment.

I just read David Byrne’s new book, called How Music Works. It’s just really interesting because it talks about all these different aspects of music in context. How, in the beginning, you only hear music in live environments, before records. Then it was a big deal that you could listen to music in your house and experience it differently.

But now, the music is basically free, nobody buys it anymore, so recorded music’s value is depleted. So, in a way, the value of a live show has been made more special, it’s not something that you can just get. You know what I mean?

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Santigold So moments like that are why live performances are different than anything else. It’s why there’s value to that and why there’ll always be value to a live performance because you’re seeing music in person.

At the turn of the century there was a stage show that toured in which the surviving members of Elvis Presley’s backing band played along live with his recorded vocals, standing beneath a towering projection of him. Different technology, of course, but in You came from somewhere more hidden in that case they were catering to a need felt by 2008. Was it difficult re-emerging from the fans regarding the absence of Elvis. Whereas spotlight for this album in 2012? in the case of Miko Hatsune it’s simply creating I think the most challenging part a need... coming out doing the music that I make is that I guess what’s so exciting about it is the the music people are into right now is like really newness of the technology. So that means that rave-y, dance music. That’s not what I do and technology is valued over the music and it’s more that’s not what I make, so you go in and out. I’m about how futuristic and new it is. The music is not sure how Australia is, but Australia seems to like an afterthought; it’s not even important. I

“Any experience in life, or the more information you can get about anything, the better off you are. Not only did I work at a record label, but then I worked as a songwriter for other people before doing it for myself.

So I had experience on pretty much every side of the industry before I ended up here. It puts everything more in perspective for me as an artist.” be a little bit different, in the States it just seems that a different wave is happening right now that I don’t really like and I’m not into as much. So that was the only challenge, coming out while all that stuff was going on simultaneously (laughs). I just focus on what I’m doing.

Whereas, before, I think my record came out on the front of a wave of something new that was coming in music. Now, the new wave is something I don’t like.

I saw a quote on Pitchfork where you said you felt “disappointed about the state of music right now.”

It resonated because Psy, the Gangnam Style guy was in Australia recently...

Yes, I know who you’re talking about (laughs). It’s such a weird thing; music is very telling about where we are at in culture in general. It’s less about our art, it’s less about talent. It’s more about social media presence.

For instance, in Japan, they’ve got that hologram pop star [Miko Hatsune]. She’s filling arenas.

A hologram! That’s insane. It’s not even an actual, real person. It’s a hologram that people are paying, in their thousands, to see. That just means we’re in a different place, in music, in culture, especially for the young kids who are growing up with this kind of thing. A lot of people don’t know the difference between music that’s actually thoughtful and says something interesting and new, versus disposable pop music that is just riding the trends. Here today, gone tomorrow.

think that’s the case a lot of the time, even if you look at celebrity now, it’s more important that you’re famous, it’s not important what you’re famous for. That’s kind of where we are.

It’s quite ironic that the company that developed the Tupac hologram has filed for bankruptcy. The word hollow does spring to mind...

Really? It’s probably ‘cause it’s too expensive for anybody to buy it.

The diversity of the artists you draw influence from is perhaps matched by the diversity of the artists you collaborate with. How important is the collaborative process to you?

It’s really important because I think for the kind of music I make, which is collage music, really - taking a bunch of different ideas and fitting them together in a way that’s very specific to my sound - it requires a lot of collaboration in a lot of ways and with a lot of people because it’s rare that I find one producer who can do everything I want to do in one song.

Sometimes, it happens. A song like Fame, Dave Sitek [TV On The Radio] did that track by himself.

Or in Disparate Youth, Ricky Blaze produced all that then I added guitars and Nick Zinner [Yeah Yeah Yeahs] played a bit. Sometimes it happens where one producer nails it; but a lot of times I’ll want so many different sounds in the song

that I’ll just pull in a producer that specialises in what I want for this and a different producer that specialises in what I want for that.

It’s how you make the music, but the process of doing that is part of the fun for me. I think music is in a way a communal experience and it’s fun for me to interact and build with the producers that I’m working with. I’d be bored and lonely if I did it all by myself all the time.

Are you intimidated or enchanted by the blank canvas?

Hmm... it depends on how in the mood I am to work on something creative (laughs).

Sometimes if there’s a blank canvas and it comes with a timeframe and all these stipulations, like it for ‘this’ and it has to be done by ‘that’ time then it’s intimidating. But if it’s just a blank canvas, like the blank canvas of life, then I’m always ready for that. It’s so great to always be able to create something new and never know what you’re going to come up with. It’s like an adventure every time. I’m always for the blank canvas, really.

In retrospect, how do you feel your experience as a record label A&R prepared you for what you experience these days?

I think that experience for me was very valuable, because not only did I learn about the business of music - even though it’s changed about 80 per cent since that time, it’s like a new place now that people don’t buy music - but as far as knowing the business model; what the objective of the record company is and how they go about what they need to do and how the artist needs to work with them to get the best outcome themself is good to know.

Also, any experience in life, or the more information you can get about anything, the better off you are. Not only did I work at a record label, but then I worked as a songwriter for other people before doing it for myself. So I had experience on pretty much every side of the industry before I ended up here. It puts everything more in perspective for me as an artist.

Have you ever received the kind of advice you would never have given?

Well, when people give you advice you have to pay attention to who the advice is coming from. You ask yourself, ‘do they have the same objectives that I do?’ Some people think they’re giving you good advice but they’re giving you advice towards something you don’t want.

I think it’s important as an advice-giver and an advice-receiver is to take into account who you’re talking to and what that person’s objective is.

Some of the best advice I got when my last record came out was that, ‘your album is now pretty much just a business card to open up other opportunities’. As an artist, making a record is not necessarily going to be the final frontier of where you’re going to go. It’s a journey and you might not sell a lot of records but the opportunities that come from that are what’s going to be important.

Before someone had told me that I hadn’t thought about it like that.

X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

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13

FRIGHTENED RABBIT

Frightened Rabbit

No More Sleepless feel compelled to ensure primary songwriter Scott Hutchison that Australia doesn’t just exist in the middle of a rainforest.

Nights Hopefully any future tours will include city stops such as ours. Frightened Rabbit have just an EP, State Hospital, a miniature album that, Glasgow’s Frightened Rabbit have released along with a fourth LP planned for early 2013, signifies emerged once again with a new EP, big changes for the band. For starters, what began as bedroom solo project has expanded to State Hospital. MITCHELL ALEXANDER Hutchison’s a five-piece band, the latest addition being guitarist/ reports. keyboardist Gordan Skene. For seconds, the EP and When Frightened Rabbit first came to Australia to support their brilliant tear-soaked 2008 album, The Midnight Organ Fight, they brought in the new year playing at the Queensland love-in Woodford Folk Festival.

When they returned to support their equally brilliant – not being biased, just stating the facts – third album The Winter Of Mixed Drinks in 2010, they returned to Woodfordia, this time for Splendour In The Grass. I

as-yet-untitled new album were produced by Leo Abrahams, swapping out their regular dude Peter Katis.

Where Katis is considered indie rock royalty (previous production credits include Interpol and The National), Abrahams seems a more obtuse, adventurous choice, with a timeline peppered with aural explorers like Brian Eno, David Byrne and Jon Hopkins.

“Everything had to change with this album,” explains Hutchison. “We felt that there had already been so many changes so we went further.

We felt that if we went back to Peter again – although I would love to work with him in the future – we would lose the new energy we had. When Leo came along, he was so passionate about the music that he seemed like the obvious choice.”

The final big change is that Hutchison has welcomed songwriting contributions from each of the other band members, after years of solely holding the reins of the Frightened Rabbit wagon. This doesn’t always go down well in groups that were once tightly controlled – think Metallica’s Some Kind Of Monster, or when Brian Wilson’s brain began to bubble – but Hutchison is only seeing positives.

“We have five heads instead of one,” he says proudly. “You can get so caught up in your own little world – the sleepless nights I had making the last record I didn’t have this time around.

“I’m really enjoying that the rest of the band is contributing to the songs, and those are my favourite parts of the songs,” he continues.“Before I was a little bit anal about having control over the process, and I had to let go because I was repeating myself and getting bored. I don’t think I can go back to the old way now.”

The result is a clutch of songs that are too disparate to fit on the next album, but too good not to be heard – or, as Scott puts it, they deserved to be “more than just a B-side”.“They don’t really hint at what the next album will sound like – except for maybe State Hospital, the title track. The rest of them are sort of like the weird cousins,” he says.

“I don’t know what it says about the album.

The EP serves a few purposes, as a stopgap to get back into people’s ears, but we just really didn’t want to forget about them.”

Ben Gillies, Bento

BENTO

The Gillies Report After years behind the Silverchair drumkit, Ben Gillies is front and centre with his new solo project, Bento. Gillies speaks to SABIAN WILDE about finding his voice with Bento’s debut, Diamond Days.

There are only a handful of Australian musicians in their early 30s who have the kind of music industry experience Ben Gillies has – in fact, only two – the other members of Silverchair. Out of the spotlight in recent years, Gillies started putting down his musical ideas and ended up with Bento, a musical entity and artistic outlet all his own.

Ben Gillies is a nice guy, seemingly untouched by years in one of Australia’s most successful bands – honest, forthright and now, “shitting himself” at the idea of playing his own songs live.

Across the 12 songs that make up Diamond Days, Gillies explores radio-friendly rock with the album’s title-track before heading to Floyd-tinged freakouts and some ideas that are just simply weird and fun. And none of it sounds like Silverchair or Tambalane [Gillies’ Silverchair side project in 2003].

“The way I’ve been describing it to people is that it’s like a patchwork quilt... if you put it on a bed you might think it looks stupid, but if you were in the country in the right romantic setting, it’d look just right,” Gillies says, then bursts out laughing. “Actually, I’ve never described it quite that way before.”

“I love the album, but I’m probably more excited by the fact that I finally have a creative outlet and express all these ideas. I think it’s something I’ve kind of yearned for since I took a step back from writing duties in Silverchair around Neon Ballroom.”

Over the years, Gillies kept writing down his song ideas, letting them percolate until he had time up his sleeve to test them out. As a result, the songwriting period represented in Diamond days covers about eight years.

“When I started I didn’t really have the idea of making a record,” he says. “Maybe I’d have done things differently if I’d known, but by the time I got that far down the road, I didn’t feel I could go back and pick and choose, keep some songs, lose those ones and start again, I just had to commit to it.”

“I love the track, Diamond Days, it’s a real moment in my life,” he ponders. “I’ve written lyrics before, but I never had to write full, structured sorts of lyrics. That’s opened a whole new area of possibility, the process has been really amazing. It’s like the naughty kid in school all of a sudden has this voice.”

Even prior to Bento’s debut, Gillies has built up a following using social media and the wearebento.com site, which has resulted in fan interaction, a poetry comp and a forum for Gillies’ collaborative artwork with a Newcastlebased painter.

“It’s not really about record companies or independents – the whole music industry is going down that path of needing to engage with the audience and have a direct conversation with them,” Gillies says.“It’s a different experience. With Silverchair, I’d have two other bandmates sitting next to me and if anything goes wrong you can spread the load.

“This project is very much about me going the full monty and being out there. It’s all scary, but it’s really exciting too.”

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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

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15

CARUS

Once More With Feeling

Carus

He’s an ordinary bloke in singlet and thongs, On tour in support of his double-album except for that whole thing about getting up in front of Live At The Norfolk Vol. 2, one of Freo’s strangers and talking about his feelings. Weirdo.

Carus played his first gig in Fremantle’s iconic favourite sons, Carus Thompson, talks Cave Bar shortly after finishing high school. Aged 20, hit the road and didn’t stop for 15 years, turning out to SABIAN WILDE about the trials and he albums that spoke of life among strangers and friends, tribulations of a modern troubadour. without a home and a permanently broken heart. the broken heart... that got fixed,” Carus He plays at the Indi Bar this Friday, laughs,“but“Well, I’m still romantic.”

“It’s all very easy to write yearning love songs November 2, and the Norfolk Basement in your early 20s, but luckily I’m happily married now, I on Saturday, November 3. got a kid and that’s all wonderful,” he says. “The next You gotta hand it to the folkies – they’re persistent.

In a modern culture of transience, they take to road and stage, building relationships that span over a decade with their audience until they’re as comfortable as an old boot. And Carus’ boots are a’comin’ home.

stage as a songwriter is to write, having found a life and having to live it. So you’re looking for stories, wherever you see them.”

Carus sees himself as a part of a troubadour tradition, citing heroes such as Paul Kelly and Shane Howard [Goanna], unafraid to tell their stories simply and with disarming honesty.

“I’m lucky to have been very in love for a lot of my life, so I’ve got a lot of good love songs. On my last album I had a love song to my wife, and that’s the one you’ve gotta make count,” he chuckles. “In a love song, it’s hard not to worry about cliché, especially now that music is often so clever and intellectual that people get scared saying straight up how they feel.

“But I’ve always thought that if you really feel it, clichés are fine, if it’s a straight up love song it can be beautiful, especially when it’s delivered with complete honesty. I guess that’s what I’ve always tried to do.”

Despite this unhealthy preoccupation with honesty and emotions, Carus isn’t into angst at all. As the double-album demonstrates, his gigs are full of spirited storytelling and good cheer.

“With live performances, people sometimes ask if I get nervous, but I think it’s pretty easy. People are there, and they already want to have a good time – you just have to make it happen,” he says.

“In Melbourne they sometimes ask what I learned from playing and growing up in the Freo scene and the answer is simple; make people dance,” he laughs.“I think that’s why I have had long-term success – even though it’s an acoustic show it gets quite upbeat at the end where I try to get people up and dancing. It covers a whole range of emotions.”

Describing TV singing shows as his “sworn enemy” Carus believes the live scene is back on the up and up.

“People ask why I don’t go on those TV shows and the answer is I can’t express what I do in four minutes with three octaves. My thing is to engage with people on a real level that will hopefully last longer.”

Ball Park Music

BALL PARK MUSIC Nights At The Museum

Less than a year after releasing their debut full-length LP, Brisbane’s Ball Park Music have upped the ante with the release of their second album, Museum.

CHLOE PAPAS chats to frontman Sam Cromack ahead of their tour, stopping off in Bunbury at the Prince of Wales on Friday, November 16, and Capitol on Saturday, November 17.

After receiving much lovin’ for last year’s Happiness And Surrounding Sounds, Ball Park Music didn’t waste any time penning and recording their second offering, Museum.

Vocalist, Sam Cromack, explains the inspiration behind the title.

“One night in the studio we were all getting drunk and talking about the meaning of life, going down that road. And I was talking to my producer, feeling guilty about being a musician, thinking that I was a wanker, that I was useless and that I should have done something else with my life – which is a pretty common feeling. And he said: ‘No you can’t feel like that, you’ve got a passion and you need to follow it, and you need to gather all the things that are meaningful to you and keep them’.” On his way back to the studio the next day, Cromack saw the word museum – unsurprisingly, on a museum – and it felt like fate.

X-Press spoke to Ball Park Music earlier this year, and Cromack told us he was listening to a lot of hip hop while writing new material. So then, why no freestylin’ on Museum?

“I wanna take the plunge man,” Cromack laughs. “But I don’t know if it’s the right time. I’ve got a whole bunch of verses ready to go, I’ve just got to get that courage up. Maybe the next record. I was literally making a track one for record three in my head today while I was at work, and it’s just full hip hop. I just have to convince my band mates that it’s the right step to take.”

Ball Park Music are known for being fairly unassuming and down to earth, and Cromack has always said that their main aim is to create radio-friendly pop music. But how does a band that just wants to create catchy songs thrive in a world where it’s cool to hate pop?

“It’s so weird because it feels like no one is really willing to throw genuine support behind anyone.

Indie bands cop a lot of anger, hate, and criticism, and there’s this whole full-on pop world that’s also out there, and it seems to go unscathed. There’s a whole world of Justin Biebers and One Directions just floating along, and there’s television shows where they manufacture stars and bands, and no one seems to really bother attacking that. I don’t understand it; I wish people would just listen to whatever they like.”

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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

DEEP SEA ARCADE

JORDIE LANE

Crowd Theory

Love On The Run Melbourne-based song-slinger Jordie Lane supports Billy Bragg at the Astor Theatre on Friday- Saturday, November 2-3, before playing at Ya Ya’s on Sunday, November 4. TRAVIS JOHNSON talks to him about the importance of logistics.

You would think that Jordie Lane would be busy enough, what with supporting legendary politico-rocker Billy Bragg on his Australian tour and playing solo shows when time allows.

But he’s also doing promo duty for his new single, Fool For Love, the first salvo off his new, as-yetuntitled album he’s recording in Los Angeles.

Even that impressive workload isn’t enough for Lane, though; give him a spare evening, and he’s likely to have fronted up in some fan’s sitting room, guitar in hand, to play a word of mouth acoustic set.

“It was just something I’d done a few of back in the day,” Lane explains.“And my manager was very keen on the idea. So whenever we have a travel day or an off day on tour, we put it out there to the fans via the mailing list and see if anyone wants us to come and play in their lounge room. People invite their own friends to come along, and they pay their little entry fee, put on some food and drinks, and it’s usually all over by nine or 10 o’clock.

“It’s a great way to play to people who don’t know you. Usually, only the people putting on the show have heard of me, and everyone else is just their friends. You don’t have to go out and advertise it in the paper; it’s just a cool little roots thing to do.”

It’s also yet another night of work in an already crowded calendar, but Lane sees playing music as privilege not a burden. “I’ve always been a bit of a workaholic. For the past five years, I’ve been doing music non-stop, but it’s only this last year that I’ve had someone else managing me. He just puts together this massive schedule for me, but I don’t

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Deep Sea Arcade

Much-deserved critical acclaim for their debut record, extensive national and international tour slots, and a nomination for the Australian Music Prize are only a few of the achievements that psychedelic five-piece Deep Sea Arcade have racked up this year. CHLOE PAPAS has a chat to vocalist, Nic McKenzie, ahead of the band’s show at the Rosemount Hotel on Friday, November 23.

Jordie Lane complain because that’s what I’ve want to do. It’s a lot of good communication and time management.”

It also presents an opportunity for Lane to cement his ties with his fanbase. “The main thing about performing in someone’s lounge room,” he ponders. “Is that there’s no stage, there’s no P.A. system and there’s no lighting which stops you from being able to see the audience. You’re on their level, you’re all in the room together, and it’s a lot more intimate. I reckon that’s the best way to do music.”

Still, despite his seemingly boundless appetite for performance, Lane has taken on his stagemate’s advice when it comes to the perils of the rock’n’roll lifestyle.

“Learning from someone like Billy Bragg, who’s a lot older and still doing it, I’m gonna have to skip going to the karaoke bars after the theatre shows. That ends in trying to sing Adele at the top of my lungs at three in the morning, and a bunch of uni students buying me drinks. But Billy told me, ‘Jordie, sometimes you have to choose between a boozy late night out and sleep... and I choose sleep’.”

When X-Press gets on the phone with the ever-animated Nic McKenzie, he is just leaving a hairdresser in Sydney. But, he’s not sporting a slick new hairstyle.

“I ran out of battery on my phone, and so I had to go into the hairdresser and charge my phone and talk to the hairdresser, it was really weird. I was doing an interview, and they were like ‘Sure you can use our phone charger, you complete weirdo’,” McKenzie laughs. Rock star life.

Deep Sea Arcade have just returned from a massive tour of the UK and Europe, playing a bunch of festivals and headline shows to promote their debut LP, Outlands, which was released in March this year. Often when Australian bands journey overseas for the first time they get crowd-shock – audiences can be exponentially different from one country to the next. McKenzie explains that they’ve begun to suss out how to play the game.

“Every time you play somewhere new, you have to get the crowd to warm to you. It’s like flirting with a girl, or flirting with a guy, you kind of don’t want to come on too strong straight away. There’s definitely a dialogue that you have with audiences, and some audiences will warm quicker to you and some might not warm to you straight away, but they might by the third show.

“It’s like dating,” he alleges, chuckling.

Despite only releasing Outlands earlier this year, McKenzie says the band are already up to their knees in songs for the next record, which they will record after their upcoming Australian tour.

McKenzie and bandmate, Nick Weaver, have written most of the band’s material until now, but McKenzie says that the group’s approach to this record has been much more collaborative.

“It can be a little bit like going into a kitchen with five boys. Have you ever been into a kitchen with five boys?” McKenzie laughs, receiving a negative answer. “Well if you’re cooking with five guys, nothing gets cooked. Everyone’s fighting over how to do it, if you get what I mean. That’s a pretty good analogy for writing a song with five dudes. But often it really helps to have a pretty structured idea of how a song should be if you want to actually be collaborative. So we get the groundwork of the song – melodies, bass line, an idea of what the beat’s going to be – and then we can fill it out from there, because there’s a scaffold to build upon.”

Deep Sea Arcade are heading out on their final national tour for a while before heading into the studio – with the new record slated for early next year – and McKenzie says it’s good to be back on home soil. So, what can we look forward to? “We’re going to showcase some new songs, we’re showcasing [new guitarist] Jimmy, and we’re just gonna thrash it out, play really well, and blow everyone’s socks off.”

17

THE LIVING END

Walking The Black Cattle Dog The Living End’s Retrospective tour will open this week in Perth, dominating the Rosemount Hotel from Thursday. November 1, until Wednesday, November 7, as the band play a selected album each night in entirety with support along the way from Sons Of Rico, The Growl, The Novocaines and the Gyroscope DJs. BOB GORDON speaks with vocalist/guitarist, Chris Cheney.

Take a good look at the photograph on this page.

That’s The Living End pictured recently in their rehearsal space, getting things together for their exhaustive Retrospective tour which will seem them set up stumps in each Australian city for a week playing the entirety of their six albums. That’s one busy room.

“It sure is,” echoes vocalist/guitarist, Chris Cheney.“That’s the shot with our sleeping bags at the side and it’s pretty much like that. We’re living and breathing the TLE catalogue. There’s worse things in life I suppose. I’m not sure what they are, but I’m sure there is.

“I’ve got 80 songs going around in my head at the moment. It’s all a bit overwhelming (laughs).”

In recent months Cheney and co. have been busy studying a course called The Living End 101.

Cheney may have written the curriculum, but there’s still plenty to be learnt.

“There is,” he says. “It’s bringing back a lot of memories, learning all the songs. It’s one thing to relearn the music and relearn the arrangements because some of them we haven’t played since a long time ago - but what we’re finding is that we’re always going, ‘remember that time when...?’

“That’s what music does, doesn’t it? It transports you to somewhere. That’s been a lot of fun.”

While the notion of tour undertaking complete setlists of the band’s albums, arrived as a whole notion to the public, the idea germinated as a more specific pursuit.

“It manifested from the triple j Hottest 100 Australian Albums Of All Time that they did,” Cheney recalls. “Our first record [1998’s self-titled LP] came number #4, which just completely blew us away. So we thought, ‘let’s acknowledge that and play a night at The Corner in Melbourne and play the whole album’ because it’d been so long since we played a lot of songs from that record and we’d never done the get-up-and-play-

an-album-thing before. Then we thought we’d do that in every state and it snowballed into thinking, ‘why not do a tour with all of our albums?’ because they’ve all been reasonably successful.

“We’re lucky that each album we’ve done has done really well. It’s been above and beyond what we’ve ever expected. We’ve managed to make a career out of this which we’re pretty proud of and we never expected we would. So we wondered if the want would be there and we could actually do that - play six The Living End, prepping for the Retrospective tour consecutive nights in a city and fill the place. It’s looking like we are because it’s selling really, really well. I guess Looking back, it’s always seemed to be that its time and it had an energy and enthusiasm and it there’s different generations of people who got into The Living End could find new fans with new albums, just kind of exploded when it came out. different records.”

“So those nights have sold very well, but something their good mates You Am I sadly haven’t I think State Of Emergency and Roll On are doing been able to do.

“I know what you mean,” Cheney considers. well too. I think in each city there’s only a handful “We’ve always tried to leave the “We’ve been very lucky like that, we’ve always had of tickets that are still available for certain nights. I stage and have people go, ‘fuck, a couple of songs off each album that have gotten couldn’t be happier with the reaction it’s had.”

While the notion of such an extensive played on the radio, which has helped. It hasn’t just that was great’. Not go, ‘that was been an album put out with no singles off it. We’ve exercise as the Retrospective tour could well lay the managed to get consistent, solid airplay which is nice, ground wide open for what happens next, Cheney a bit average, they’ve kind of is not daring to think into the great beyond. but we’ve also worked bloody hard. gone off the boil’. We’ve always “Not really, no,” he contemplates. “The “We’ve always tried to leave the stage and have people go, ‘fuck, that was great’. Not go, ‘that was other thing with a tour like this is that it could be tried to make sure that we were a bit average, they’ve kind of gone off the boil’. We’ve absolutely disastrous. Retrospective tour... I guess it always tried to make sure that we were relevant so I can sound daggy but I promise you but it’s not, the relevant; so I think once you’ve think once you’ve got a live reputation for yourself, you songs just sound slamming. It’s never a good idea got a live reputation for yourself, should uphold that with obviously putting out records to look back, it’s much better to look forward, but that are relevant as well. So it’s a bit of luck and a bit of having said that we haven’t really looked beyond you should uphold that with this tour now. old-fashioned hard work, I guess.”

“We figure that if we get a bunch of songs Of the shows, the band are performing obviously putting out records seven nights in each city for their six albums, including that are worthy we’ll do it, but I’m in no real hurry that are relevant as well. So it’s at this point because it’s been a three-year cycle for two for first LP. “The first record is like a seminal album for so long, we’ve just done album/tour/album/tour/ a bit of luck and a bit of oldus,” Cheney notes. “I’m not ashamed to admit that; album/tour so I don’t care about disappearing for a as much as I probably prefer other albums I can see little while, perhaps. But you never know, it could be fashioned hard work, I guess.” why people hold it very close to their heart. It was of the thing that ignites the inspiration again.”

BENJAMIN GIBBARD Empty Nest Syndrome

Death Cab For Cutie frontman, Benjamin Gibbard, has just released his debut solo album, Former Lives. STEPH HARMON reports.

Benjamin Gibbard 18

“I only become aware of what a divided country we are around election time,” Benjamin Gibbard says from his Washington home.

When we speak, it’s the week of the Democratic National Convention, and the Death Cab For Cutie frontman has politics on his mind. “I’m watching Bill Clinton’s speech last night and he’s, well, the guy’s amazing, killing it, and they’re cutting to the crowd and you see women, black people, Latinos, gay and lesbian people. I look out into this crowd and I see what our country truly looks like to me. When I was watching the Republican National Convention, not only do I despise virtually everything that these people stand for, but you cut to the crowd and all you see are white people. Old white people.”

Gibbard is on the line to talk about Former Lives, his debut solo offering; it’s an anthology spanning almost 10 years of songwriting, comprising tracks that never quite fit with the Death Cab catalogue but were too good to leave behind. I really want to talk about these songs, actually, and what they represent for the frontman of a band that featured in the celebrated Seth Cohen Starter Pack; a band that’s affected so many people so deeply over the last 20 years. But Gibbard just wants to talk about policy.

“What I cannot get past is just the flat-out bigoted position on issues of gays and lesbians,” he says. “To me, that’s just the most egregious, hateful, bigoted position to have; that somehow my sister and her wife’s marriage is not as valuable to this country. That is just complete and utter bigoted bullshit.”

Gibbard has made his views on gay marriage public more than once; his was the first essay published in Dave Eggers’ 90 Days, 90 Reasons, a new web project that has names like Paul Simon, David Lynch, Judd Apatow and Jonathan Franzen following up a catchy tweet with a lengthy exposition on a reason to re-elect Obama.

Gibbard’s piece focused on gay marriage – indeed, his thoughts on the issue has seen the Westboro Baptist Church hate group publically target him, hilariously, as a ‘major fag-enabler’.

“The question for the Republicans is: ‘which side of history do you want to be on?’ he says.“I mean it’s going to happen, whether or not you agree with us, because it’s the right thing to do. This is a very cut and dry issue: do you support equal rights for everybody?

If the answer is yes, come on over.”

His political opinions are just one of many sides to the fascinating Benjamin Gibbard, and it’s been a huge few years for the artist. After releasing 2008’s Narrow Stairs, a bigger, darker and more depressing Death Cab album than anyone had expected, he kicked a serious drinking problem that had become difficult to ignore. He replaced the booze with marathons (when we speak he’s training for a 26.2 mile run), and his relationship with Zooey Deschanel became public; the pair were married the following year.

Out of this much brighter outlook came 2011’s Codes & Keys which, while just as epic as Narrow Stairs, was perhaps the most hopeful album in the Death Cab oeuvre.

And now there’s Former Lives, Gibbard’s first ever solo release. The songs, some of which are almost 10 years old, play out like windows into his mindset at each specific time of writing, with moods that shift as restlessly as the output of his band.

There’s a lot of nostalgia wrapped up in it of course, and for anyone who misses the old Death Cab – the raw, lucid yearning of A Movie Script Ending, Summer Skin and most of Transatlanticism – look no further than Lily, Dream Song and A Hard One To Know.

“I’ve always tucked these songs away and enjoyed them for myself, so releasing them feels a little bit like an empty nest syndrome,” he says.

“Which is fine. I’d rather have this record be out than have sat on these songs for another eight years.”

Putting the songs behind him also ties a neat bow around a particular period, he says, and you can read into that what you will – he’s calling from his home in Seattle, where he moved from LA after Deschanel filed for divorce. “At this point, with these songs out, it’s all about looking forward now,” he says.

As always with Gibbard’s writing, Former Lives is deeply lyrical, drenched in markers – names, places, times – which let listeners pull meanings out of the most unlikely places.

“A perfect example is A Movie Script Ending [from 2001’s The Photo Album],” he says. “That song started out as a love song to Bellingham, Washington, and it’s like, nobody knows that! Nobody listens to that song and thinks about the prices of beer inflating at the Beaver Tavern, or being on the cross street of Railroad and Holly… but somehow they find something in it that connects with them, and that’s pretty amazing.”

The highlight of Former Lives is Bigger Than Love, a duet with Aimee Mann that could be about any young and artsy couple, drunk and fighting in New York (‘We’re on 59th Street/We quarrelled and broke the bathroom door’). But in a typical Gibbard twist, it turns out the song was actually written about Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald.

“The first verse is set in the roaring ‘20s of New York; and then they move to Paris in the period of Hemmingway’s A Moveable Feast, and all that kind of craziness; and then there’s this tragic end, when she’s in an institution in Nashville and he’s out in California writing screenplays,” Gibbard says, incredulous.

“One of the greatest writers of the 20th century writing a fucking screenplay! There’s just nothing that could more devalue a great literary talent than to flush him down the Hollywood sewers.”

X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

www.xpressmag.com.au

19

GYPSY & THE CAT THE LATE BLUE

BENJAMIN GIBBARD Former Lives

Universal

Spunk

G y p s y & Th e Cat we re breakout artists in 2010 with their debut LP, Gilgamesh, a hit with critics and the public including three tracks charting in the triple j Hottest 100. The Melbourne duo returns with The Late Blue, an understated but glorious record solidifying them as one of Australia’s most exciting young acts.

Lead singles Bloom and Sorry, complete with one of the video clips of the year, lock right back into the pop immediacy of past hits Time To Wander and Jona Vark, but The Late Blue sees Gypsy & The Cat looking a little further back for inspiration.

The title track could be plucked right out of the ‘70s hippie scene; all earthy but ethereal, laced with sweet vocal harmonies reminiscent of Elton John.

Closer, When Micky Came In, opens like a stadium ballad befitting Supertramp or Genesis, before picking up the stylistic thread of the rest of the album again, major chord optimism strummed out over fluid bass lines.

Lyrically The Late Blue feels like we’ve tapped right into Xavier Bacash’s headspace, a place filled with loss and longing gently contrasting the muted joy of the album’s music. See It’s A Fine Line, a bouncy bassdriven track meeting Bacash’s yearning refrains (‘Am I wasting my time if you’re in my mind’).

Gypsy & The Cat show a versatility of sound on The Late Blue yet manage to make it feel like a collection of similar tracks, crafting a magnificent indie pop record well worth any plaudits coming its way.

Ben Gibbard has been taking time off from his band to carry his acoustic guitar around to solo shows on and off for many years now, but now is the first time that he has put his name to a solo recording.

What makes this even bigger news is Former Lives is the first set of tunes for public consumption since the Death Cab For Cutie frontman’s dissolution of his marriage to Zooey Deschanel.

Even in his loneliness Gibbard throws out a collection of irresistible melodies that bring a tapping foot if not a smile to the darkest hour. Aimee Mann gives her brightest cameo since Portlandia when joining Gibbard for one of his more impressive moments of heartbreak on Bigger Than Love. There is a rare misfire for the Gibbard cannon in the form of mariachi tinged Something’s Rattling (Cowpoke) but is more than made up for in the Beatles inspired Duncan, Where Have You Gone?

Benjamin Gibbard is one of the most spectacularly gifted pop writers and singers of his generation, so there is no fear that Former Lives will be anything other than splendid. It only falls just flat of his Death Cab For Cutie releases due to the lack of any Jason McGerr drumming.

_ RYAN BUTLER

HENRY WAGONS Expecting Company?

_ CHRIS HAVERCROFT

MARCUS MILLER Renaissance Hannibal/Concord Music 2012

Spunk Records

There’s more than a touch o f S c o t t Wa l k e r i n t h e opening track of Henr y Wagons debut solo outing, Expecting Company? The opener and (almost) title track, Unwelcome Company is dramatic, theatrical and bombastic. It’s immediately clear that Henry has stepped away from Wagons, the alt-country band he’s made five records with, to record a mostly overblown album of duets – and thank Willie Nelson he did, because this may just be his best work yet.

Despite the high calibre of the guests lining up to share Henry’s beer-soaked microphone – and there are a few of them, including Alison Mosshart, Patience Hodgson, Sophia Brous, Gossling and Robert Forster – no one ever outshines the Man In Brown. In fact, his co-stars only ever serve to further highlight the appeal of his smooth baritone.

The tone of his voice on A Hangman’s Work Is Never Done gives the song a sense of menace, while on Give Things A Chance To Mend that same voice allows the song a certain depth and brevity.

I Still Can’t Find Her, a playful story about a broken family tree, posses the best melody on the record.

Henry must think it’s pretty good too, because he reprises it, sort of, for the solo acoustic album closer, Marylou Two. At the end of Expecting Company?, you’re left feeling emotionally satisfied, thoroughly entertained, and with the sense that Henry Wagons’ masterpiece may be just around the corner.

Renowned as one of the most creative jazz funk electric bassists around, Marcus Miller has brought to the table a plethora of fine compositions, groovy tracks and some of the crème de la crème musicians in that genre [guitarist Adam Rogers, drummer Louis Cato, organist Bobby Sparks, trumpeter Maurice Brown]. To create the immediacy and energy that comes from a united ensemble, the horns and core instrumentalists recorded live in the studio together – not much room for drop ins!

Miller’s career has been as an outstanding bassist, from his early days on America’s Saturday Live, to performing and recording with artists such as Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder and Miles Davis’ Tutu (named after Archbishop Tutu).

The first track, Detroit, sets the standard with its impressive groove and sharp, slappy bass. February is a circular melody layered with sumptuous chords and an alto sax solo by Alex Han who clearly never heard of the word ‘boundaries’, all the while underpinned by Miller’s trigger fingers on bass. This is a serious CD created by a seriously brilliant bassist reaffirmed on the final track, I’ll Be There, by Berry Gordy Jnr – on which he plays solo on a 1977 Fender Jazz Bass.

Viva Marcus Miller. _HELEN MATTHEWS

_ ROLAND KAY-SMITH

JASON LYTLE Dept. Of Disappearance

THE SUGARGLIDERS A Nest With A View 1990-1994

Anti

Popboomerang Records

In the early ‘90s the kids were buying a bunch of guitar pedals and trying to make as big a noise as possible.

This wasn’t the case for the youthful Meadows siblings, who, from the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, made delicate, honest and gauche pop songs. A Nest With A View collects their 10 singles during their four years of existence.

A formula that saw intricate acoustic lead breaks played over electric rhythm was against the conventional wisdom of the age, which saw them land on Melbourne’s Summershine records before a relationship with legendary English label Sarah records found the siblings relocate to the UK. To gauge the sounds of The Sugargliders it is no shock to discover that the Meadows brothers are the cousins of the Lucksmiths’ Tali White and share a similar tone and knack for observational narratives. The awkward Give Me Some Confidence should have been an anthem of the twee, with the jangle of Ahprahran and Corn Circles not too far behind.

Any fears that these tunes may not have aged well can be put to rest with A Nest With A View showing Tim Rogers is not the only talented bloke to ever pull on a North Melbourne jumper.

_ CHRIS HAVERCROFT 20

Jason Lytle is a reclusive storyteller, his characters sitting awkwardly outside of society and looking in with a sense of wonder and anxiety. There was a transient presence to the commuter of his first solo album, 2009’s Yours Truly, The Commuter; now, his characters are barely there. ‘You are gone’ is the backing vocal on the instantly lovable Young Saints, while the title track sets the scene for a department for people wanting to completely disappear.

Even the spirited Get Up And Go (buoyed by the suspiciously insistent mantra, ‘You Can Do It!’) has that feel of a warm, sunny day, but with that one ominous black cloud appearing in the distance.

Lytle is a musician who comes and goes as he pleases, as does his former band, the recently reunited Granddaddy. He admits that the sound of his solo work and Grandaddy’s is ‘slightly interchangeable’ and he remains a reassuringly familiar presence, with his easily identifiable vocal an inviting mix of soothing and sad. It’s fair to say there are not many surprises to be found on Dept.

Of Disappearance, though the most unsurprising thing of all is how sweet it is to be back in Lytle’s comfort zone.

_ CHRIS GIRDLER X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

PANAMA It’s Not Over Future Classic

Sydney quartet Panama’s debut EP, It’s Not Over, may be too indie rock for the dance fans and too dance for the indie rockers, but for those without ideological hang-ups, it offers one of the most fun and exciting Australian indie releases of the year.

Dipping into synth-pop, new wave and Afro-Caribbean rhythms, Panama’s light touch will likely delight anyone who has The Presets’ Pacifica on high rotation at the moment. Like that outfit, it is Panama’s refusal to get cutesy which saves It’s Not Over from being a cloying exercise.

While striking a satisfying balance between Vampire Weekend-esque tribal pop and contemporary indie rock makes the shimmering Triple J-favoured track, Magic, the most immediately accessible tune of the bunch, it is the final two tracks Stop The Fire and We Have Love which – while not exactly screaming fun – highlight the talented foursome’s knack for crafting songs which stick in your head long after the record has wrapped up.

In comparison the other tunes on the EP – Heatbeat, One Piece and the title track – are slightly underwhelming, but this may be in part to their polite vocals (something which can no doubt be worked on for future records).

A truely fresh, fun, and confident debut, It’s Not Over mostly earns points the old-fashioned way – by presenting songs you’ll be glad to revisit time and time again.

_ JENNIFER PETERSON-WARD

SXWZD (SEX WIZARD) Grey Matter/White Matter Clarity Records

First off, searching Sex Wizard on the ‘net is pretty damn hilarious. Grey Matter/ White Matter, on the other hand, is decidedly not.

Made up from members of Australian bands Jungle Fever, Shotpointblank, Stolen Youth, Robotsaurus and I Exist, the group’s second album is dark, heavy, and somewhat gloomy take on hardcore.

Drone and repetition are the core elements of the album delivered with a low-fi edge. Is there such a thing as groove-punk? Either way Grey Matter/ White Matter fits the bill. The lyrics are seething balls of hate growled contemptuously by Jiggzy and show that they’re band to take seriously, despite their name. It’s an anarchistic free-for-all attack on pretty much everything, even delving into black metal inspired territory with the gloomy Freight Train and Desperate Measure.

SXWZD keeps things dirty throughout the album with almost lethargic, lingering riffs with little in the way of colour. The inclusion of two drummers adds some depth to the sound, even if they weren’t given prominence in the sound mix. While this project could have been a vehicle for more experimentation with the collaborated band members, it’s a shame it feels like very few boundaries were pushed. _ BRENDAN HOLBEN

TAME IMPALA Lonerism Modular/Universal

Tame Impala’s continued soar into the global stratosphere has been a pleasure to witness, whether here in their hometown or in other parts of the world, where the band increasingly inhabits as both an in-demand headliner and festival act.

That honcho, Kevin Parker, has not diversified greatly with the sound that has made them so popular on their second LP, Lonerism, doesn’t so much strike as common sense, but as a creative force simply following their own path, which coincidentally seems, at this time, to be the zeitgeist.

The beautiful thing about this music is that it speaks of both distance and intimacy, while there seems to be a detachment at times in Parker’s vocals, they seem to simultaneously express a yearning or a need for some semblance of balance or peace.

From the opening track, the Lennon-esque Be Above It, to the breezy Feels Like We’re Only Going Backwards, which partly camouflages its wonderful melody in psychedelics (a melody that has since been beautifully covered by the PS22 school chorus in New York) to Elephant, which reminds one of Wolfmother without the histrionics (musically and otherwise) to Endors Toi and Mind Mischief, epic shout-outs to the universe propelled by what can only be described by what Tim Rogers would term as ‘lead drums’.

Near and far all at once, Lonerism welcomes your mind to stay, but will effortlessly take it over the hills and far away.

_ BOB GORDON www.xpressmag.com.au

Matt Gresham

MATT GRESHAM Cool Factor

Matt Gresham’s had a full year: he’s appeared on X-Factor and is about to release a new album, See The World. He talks to CORAL HUCKSTEP ahead of his album launch at the Astor Theatre on Saturday, November 10, where he’ll be joined by The Empty Cup, Odette Mercy Trio and Bryan Rice Dalton Trio.

This year has seen Matt Gresham veer into the experimental phase of his career, transcending his blues and roots origins and trespassing on hip hop territory, courtesy of a collaboration with turntablist, Rob Shaker.

It began when Gresham sent Shaker a guitar sample for the album’s title track, See The World.

“He got back to me in a few hours and said he really liked this idea of folk hip hop, and two hours later he sent me a beat back,” Gresham says. “I ended up writing rap verses and I was going to get a rapper on the album but I ended up rapping it, which I had no idea I was going to do. I hope people like it, it’s a bit of an experimental album.”

The pair will perform together at the launch. “We’re going to have Rob on the decks so it’s going to be a lot more beats on the night which is pretty cool as we’ve never done that before,” Gresham says.

Gresham’s decision to audition for X-Factor was an experiment in itself. His relaxed reggaeinfused vibe ensured he was an initial success and while he didn’t make it to the finals, he says the show gave him a reality check.

“It’s made me hungry to be more real with things,” Gresham says. “Everyone has to have some ego but it’s made me realise that an ego is a really ugly trait to have, so I need to be more myself and to make sure that what I’m singing about is what I actually live. I felt a lot of the time on the show everything was really fake. It was hard as an artist to be told what to do.”

Gresham wasn’t even fazed when performing INXS’ Never Tear Us Apart to Usher in New York. “I know Usher is so famous and he’s sold so many albums it’s amazing, but I don’t really like his music. If I met Ben Harper, I’d shit myself.”

His on-screen mentor was former Spice Girl Mel B, who dissed Gresham for singing Bob Marley’s No Woman No Cry in a Jamaican accent. “You know what, controversy sells,” Gresham laughs. “I didn’t really learn much from Mel B, but there were a few amazing backstage coaches who taught me a lot about my voice and about projection while I’m on stage.”

Underlying Gresham’s music is a natural optimism. “I try and be positive, especially at gigs. I think a lot of people come to gigs to get away from everything,” he says.

“It’s a lot easier to look at the world in darkness, it’s easier to be sad, but to be successful you need to look on the bright side.”

This refreshing attitude runs through See The World. The album’s title track has a summer anthem feel and a catchy chorus chant, although Gresham admits he was reluctant to move past his acoustic roots.

“When you’ve been doing something for so long you don’t want to all of a sudden do a whole new thing,” he says.“At the start of listening to hip hop, I thought I’d never bring out an album with rapping or any of that stuff, but having family and friends telling me to give it a shot inspired me to try it.”

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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

TRIPOD THE QUARRYMEN

Musical comedy trio Tripod are set to bring laughs a plenty to the Quarry Amphitheatre as part of the 2012 Live At The Quarry series on Friday, November 9, and Saturday, November 10. Tickets are available now through Ticketmaster or from liveatthequarry.com.au.

As Tripod’s Yon (Simon Hall to his nearest and dearest) attests, he never expected his silly musical comedy endeavour to last. “When we started in 1995/96 I remember distinctly thinking ‘ah this has about three or four years in it’,” he laughs. “Look at us now.”

www.xpressmag.com.au

He’s not exaggerating. One of the most popular and prolific comedy acts working in Australia today, Tripod have been producing high-quality musical comedy for more than a decade, selling out live shows across the nation, appearing on much-loved TV programs skitHOUSE and The Sideshow, and even picking up an ARIA award (for Best Comedy Release) in the process.

Having spent most of the first half of 2012 extensively touring new show Men Of Substance – which Yon describes as “a bit more about being 40” – the trio have spent their downtime recording their next studio album, which will be produced by John Castle (who has previously worked with the likes of Washington and The Bamboos). “There are normally just three of us in the studio with a couple of guitars and a keyboard but we’ve actually had a bigger band in for this one so there’s this great dynamic sound,” Yon says.

As Yon reveals, the songs on the new record may be familiar to fans who’ve attended their

live shows over the last couple of years.“We generally don’t write new material specifically for an album,” he explains. “We like to play things for a while before we record them to really get a feel for them and for how the audiences like them.”

In addition to crafting the new record, Yon has also ventured out on his own for his first ever solo show titled Mandaddy. “Just continually doing new things is what keeps it fresh,” he says.“But it’s also quite nice because it reminds me that I have a great thing [to go back to].”

Indeed, the trio is as active as ever. They’re currently working on the soundtrack for Exchange Student Zero, an animated film for the Cartoon Network, and will next year appear in The Dragon, a major production by Malthouse Theatre, which, according to Yon has “absolutely nothing to do with” their massively successful 2010 show Tripod Versus The Dragon.“Its fun because it’s a little bit different and it really plays to our strengths – we are fanboys at heart,” he laughs.

For now, though, Tripod is gearing up to head back to Perth for a special one-off show to launch the 2012 Live At The Quarry season. “It’s going to be a pretty loose affair,”Yon says, which is unsurprising given the fact the band have never been ones for structured set lists.“Often we just sit down an hour before the gig and pull something together. Sometimes it’s a bit tense because we all have our own favourites. Sometimes we look out at the crowd and figure out what we’re going to play based on that.”

It is exactly this kind of endearingly ramshackle set punters can expect at their Quarry show. “We’ll be playing a few songs from the Men Of Substance show, a few of the older ones, we’ll take a couple of requests and probably a couple of Christmas tunes,” Yon concludes. “It’s really more about the occasion of being at the Quarry. We’ve played there once before and it’s just so different and special.”

_JENNIFER PETERSON-WARD

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ARCHIE ROACH Blood Makes Noise

Into The Bloodstream, the new album by acclaimed Australian singer/song writer Archie Roach, is out now on Liberation Music.

Archie Roach

The last few years have not been kind to Archie Roach, with the veteran musician suffering a number of personal blows. 2010 saw the death of his wife, Ruby Hunter, a tragedy that was quickly followed by Roach himself suffering a stroke. Then, in 2011, Roach underwent lifesaving surgery after being diagnosed with lung cancer. It’s remarkable, then, that his new album, Into The Bloodstream, is not a gloomy dirge, but a thoughtful testament to human dignity and resilience.

“A lot of the songs are more uplifting and more joyous than some of the previous albums,” Roach confirms. “That’s the direction I wanted to take – gospel and soul-type music.”

Still, the challenge of returning to work was a formidable one, particularly considering Roach would be working without Hunter for the first time in decades.

“At first it wasn’t easy,” Roach recalls. “She was always my sounding board, someone I could bounce ideas off. We worked together, and she used to bounce her ideas off me too. So when I lost her, I felt it was gone; I didn’t have anybody to try out new ideas with. So it was a little hard, but working with a producer like Craig Pilkington and with Paul Kelly lending a bit of a hand as well, it came together.”

Roach is effusive in his praise for Kelly. “I’ve worked with Paul for a good while. Getting back into the studio with Paul was great, just like every time we see each other. I trust him implicitly with words and with my music, so we had a good time.”

He is also keen to highlight the contribution made by R&B singer Emma Donovan, with whom he duets on the album. “She’s just one of the great soul divas of this country. It was just such a pleasure to work with young Emma. I wanted to work with her on one song in particular, Hush Now Baby. You didn’t even need to tell her what you wanted; it was perfect.”

Still it must be acknowledged that, for a while there, it didn’t look like Roach would be making any music ever again, a prospect that he admits was fairly terrifying. “When I had the stroke, my right side was affected, and I couldn’t play the guitar at all. That was so frustrating, but through rehabilitation the right side got better, and I could play guitar again. And as for the cancer, that took half my left lung. I was worried, as a singer, that that would affect my singing in some way. I asked the doctors, but they said ‘No, you should be alright.’”

Perhaps that’s why Roach insists that the album’s dominant theme is a simple message of hope. “We all deal with our own problems and our own pain, emotional pain, that sort of thing, and if you can’t let it go, at least you can turn around and do something positive with it – something to your advantage. No matter what we go through, you can turn things around with a good attitude.” _TRAVIS JOHNSON

Lizzy Caplan, Kirsten Dunst and Isla Fisher in Bachelorette

BACHELORETTE

Ladettes On The Loose Directed by Leslye Headland Starring Kirsten Dunst, Lizzy Caplan, Isla Fisher, Rebel Wilson, Adam Scott With the success of the recent Bridesmaids and the accolades heaped on television performers such as Tina Fey and Amy Pohler, we’re getting close to putting the old, sexist chestnut that women aren’t funny to bed for good. That doesn’t mean that every female-centric comedy is going to be a winner, though, as Bachelorette so ably proves.

Adapted by director Leslye Headland from her own stage play, the film details the chaos that ensues when three bridesmaids, the spiky Regan [Kirsten Dunst], the sardonic Gena [Lizzy Caplan], and the ditzy-to-the-point-of-mental-deficiency Katie [Isla Fisher], cut loose on the eve of the wedding of their friend, Becky [Rebel Wilson]. The three party girls are having trouble dealing with the fact that Becky, who was saddled with the nickname “Pig Face” in high school, has landed herself a perfect man, while the trio have been spinning their wheels since their glory days. After they accidentally damage Becky’s bridal gown, the three head out into the night in an attempt to get it repaired, hopped up on cocaine and booze. Hijinks ensue.

What we have here is a textbook case of an able cast being hamstrung by average material.

Dunst is a capable performer but, judging by this, she has no flair for comedy, and comes across as shrill and demanding in what is allegedly the central role.

The normally brilliant Rebel Wilson is wasted in the straight-girl role, there just to provide a baseline of normality for the three leads to transgress against.

Lizzy Caplan fares better as the cynical, trash-talking party girl, and Party Down fans will get a thrill out of seeing her reunited with Adam Scott, who plays her ex-boyfriend, Clyde. Isla Fisher, meanwhile, is the film’s fearless standout, infusing what could have been a standard bimbo role with a brainlessness that borders on the mystical.

Director Headland does fairly well in the first half, upping the raunch and the acid dialogue and there’s some attempt to weigh the pros and cons of the hard-partying lifestyle the three main characters subscribe to – Gena is still damaged from a traumatic event that killed her relationship with Clyde, while Katie’s self esteem is so low she literally cannot relate to a man in a non-sexual way.

However, she fails to stick the landing, discarding the wicked tone of the first two acts and instead sending all concerned on their way with a sugary resolution and a round of girl power self-affirmations.

Bachelorette is still modestly enjoyable, though. There are enough wicked barbs and grossout moments to keep it ticking over for most of its running time, although few make enough of an impression to stick in the memory. As a time-passer, it’s acceptable, but no more. It’s just a shame that a cast of this calibre couldn’t find their way into a vehicle more suitable to their talents. _TRAVIS JOHNSON 24

X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

Housos Vs Authority

HOUSOS VS AUTHORITY Doleful

Directed by Paul Fenech Starring Jason “Jabba” Davis, Elle Dawe, Paul Fenech, Kevin Taumata, Vanessa Davis, Angry Anderson, Mark “Chopper” Read There’s a fine line between representation and exploitation, but Australian comedy auteur, Paul Fenech [Fat Pizza, Swift And Shift Couriers], has no idea where it is, and so dutifully urinates all over its general vicinity in this big screen follow up to the SBS series, Housos.

For the unfamiliar, the series follows the exploits of a collection of Centrelink-abusing deadenders living in public housing in Sydney’s Western suburbs, dealing with the ever-present problems of getting stoned, getting laid, getting into and out of trouble, and getting more money from the government.

The film is essentially an excruciatingly extended episode, wherein the shrill and abrasive Shazza [Elle Dawe] and her no-hoper boyfriend, Dazza [Jason “Jabba” Davis], go to absurd lengths to scatter Shazza’s mum’s ashes on top of Uluru. Along for the ride are, well, the rest of the cast of the series (minus the now deceased Ian Turpie), including writer/director/producer Fenech as bad boy/stud/ fevered ego conduit, Frankie.

Their trip to the red centre carves a savage swathe through countless sacred cows, revelling in offensive humour and unlikeable characters, which is

all to the good, when done well - the point of good comedy is to shake up the status quo, and point out the inconsistencies in the consensus. But Housos Vs Authority isn’t done well; it’s a meandering, ugly, spiteful, and mean film, filled with lazy, repetitive toilet humour and puerile juvenilia. To be fair, there are a few moments which raise a smirk, but it’s one of recognition when Fenech trots out one of his seemingly endless supply of Aussie B-lister cameos: Elliot Goblet shows up at one point, Frankie J. Holden at another, Mark ‘Chopper’ Read at yet another, and so on. That’s just engendering a Pavlovian response, not provoking actual laughter.

In interviews, Fenech has said things to the effect that his work is representative of the what he sees as the real Australia; the suburban sprawl populated by working class battlers with no time for pretentions about art and culture, and that’s who his iconoclastic form of comedy is designed to appeal to. To be honest, he may not be wrong; the numbers show that there’s an audience out there that responds to his stuff. Yet, it’s also readily apparent that Fenech has no love for his characters; there’s no empathy there, no attempt to put the audience in the shoes of Dazza, Shazza, and company. They’re a freak show putting on an act for our entertainment.

That may be the film’s biggest crime. At its heart, it’s a cynical exercise in exploitation, trading in tired class and ethnic stereotypes while paying lip service to notions of free expression and boundary pushing. For all of Housos’s rebel posturing, at the end of the day, we’re not laughing with it, and we’re not laughing at it. We’re just not laughing. _TRAVIS JOHNSON

Paul Fenech

PAUL FENECH

Head of the Household “Just hanging around single mothers, bludging benefits, wearing thongs, having a mad time.”

That’s writer/director/producer/actor Paul Fenech’s tongue-in-cheek answer when asked how he’s been spending his time of late. The truth is, he’s been busier than ever, preparing to present to Australia his latest film, Housos Vs Authority, a continuation of his popular SBS comedy series, Housos.

Fenech is no stranger to controversy - the series was attacked by no less than A Current Affair, who were under the impression that it was a reality series. He shrugs off such events, maintaining that his shows present an unfiltered, albeit comical, look at the real lives of real Australians.

“Mate,” he says. “The thing about Housos is, whether you’re a houso or not, those characters are familiar to, like 80 per cent of Australians. You either know them, or you’ve seen them at the shops.

But then there’s the 20 per cent of Australians who are rich, and who are posh wankers, who don’t get it because they don’t live anywhere near real Aussies.

Housos is a bit of wanker test; if you get it, you live in the real Australia, and if you don’t, well, you’re living in an ivory tower somewhere.”

He continues, “I think there’s a growing kind of... I don’t know whether you’d want to call it a ‘poor culture’ or a ‘bogan culture’, but that’s the Aussie culture for the majority of Australians. I think the people that run the country aren’t close to that. www.xpressmag.com.au

They’re nowhere near it. They live in better suburbs and all the rest of it. It’s a weird thing I’ve noticed over the past 15 years, a kind of social shift where the people with money are hiding in little camps, and the rest are out in the suburbs.”

Fenech himself is an auteur, determined to see his vision reach the screen as intact as possible to the point of doing as many on set jobs as he can himself. Whether you enjoy his work - which includes the series Pizza and Swift And Shift Couriers - or not, it’s difficult to fault the man’s work ethic. In fact, he maintains that mounting a feature film is considerably less trying than his usual workload.

“To be honest,” he explains. “For me a film is a little easier than a TV show, because when you’re doing a TV show, the way I do it, I do everything. I make nine or 10 half hours, and it’s like making three movies in one go. I pretty much shoot everything like a movie anyway, in terms of the scenes and the number of shots and all the rest of it, so an hour and a half is like a bludge. It’s only because I’m an idiot and do 10 jobs; if I was just a director or an actor, it’d probably be a lot different, but that’s what I’m like.

“The good thing is, as a creator, if you do it all yourself, the idea’s not watered down. If you get 10 people collaborating on one idea, they kill the idea. One person taking an idea from A to B is a lot stronger. I think that’s why my stuff doesn’t look like anything else; it’s got its own flavour.” _TRAVIS JOHNSON 25

Olivia Thirlby and Karl Urban in Dredd 3D giant tower block, they learn of a massive drug DREDD 3D Judgement Day the operation, headed by drug queen Madeline Madrigal, Directed by Pete Travis Starring Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, Lena Headey Judge Dredd has been an iconic comic book character since first appearing in British magazine 2000 AD over 30 years ago. His first film adaptation was in 1995 and starred Sylvester Stallone and, ugh, Rob Schneider. It was a hot mess and is generally held as an example of how Hollywood can take solid source material and turn it into a sloppy turd.

Thankfully, the exact opposite can be said for Dredd 3D, as it can be seen as an rare example of Hollywood respecting and doing justice to an adaptation.

Taking place on a future Earth, an irradiated wasteland known as the Cursed Earth, Judge Dredd [Karl Urban] serves as a law enforcer for the people of Mega-City One. Nearly a billion people are crammed in the giant, walled city to protect themselves from the arid land, and with widespread poverty and crime, Judges act as police, judge, jury and executioner. The latest drug to hit the streets is called “Slo-Mo”, a drug that slows the users perception of time to 1 per cent of normal speed, lending to lots of ultra slow motion cameras. As a user inhales some Slo-Mo, we see the world through their eyes, a nearly frozen world of prismatic light - it looks bad ass. On this day, Dredd has been given the task of evaluating a new rookie, Judge Anderson [played by Olivia Thirlby], who has failed the tests but also has a invaluable psychic ability.

Their first call is to a 200-storey slum tower called Peach Trees, where three skinned men were thrown off the roof as a message. As they enter

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or Ma-Ma [Game Of Thrones’ Lena Headey]. While the Judges try to arrest and remove one of her main henchmen, Ma-Ma seizes control of the tower and puts it on lock down, closing the whole facade with giant blast shields, leaving the Judges trapped with no way to contact for help or backup. But Dredd doesn’t need any back up, and decides to police the block single handedly, working his way up the floors to reach Ma-Ma’s crows nest.

You can forgive the 1995 Judge Dredd a little for being born in the wrong age. It was the ‘90s, an age of polyester, cheesey superheroes. The current trend of making our heroes darker, like the Nolan Batman trilogy, has opened up the perfect opportunity to have another crack at a comic known for its dark humour and violence.

Famed screenwriter Alex Garland [28 Days Later, The Beach] penned the script, and worked closely with original Judge Dredd creator John Wagner to keep it faithful and on track. It has the right amount of violence, with extreme slow motion shots, and the sparse, one-liners from Dredd feel authentic. Urban plays a great, stoic hero and Headey puts in a great performance as the emotionally extreme Ma-Ma. Sure it adds things, removes things, whatever - it manages to distill the spirit of the comic and bring it to this different medium successfully, and while it might not be a mainstream success, it is definitely an instant cult classic. _TOM VARIAN

X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

ANDY QUILTY

JOEL CREASEY

Featuring a selection of his immediately recognisable ballpoint pen works, in addition to his first ever showcase of paintings, local artist Andy Quilty’s latest exhibition FIFO runs from Friday, November 9, ‘til Thursday, November 22, at Linton And Kay Galleries in Perth.

Melbourne-based comedian Joel Creasey has been called ‘The Acid Tongue Prince’. He doesn’t hold back and makes no apologies for his deliciously bitchy jokes. With his new show, Naked, he takes it one step further. Catch him at Lazy Susan’s Comedy Den at The Brisbane Hotel on Sunday, November 4, at 6.30pm and 8pm.

Tickets from Moshtix.

Flying High

Baring All

The acronym ‘FIFO’ (short for fly-in, fly-out worker) tends to conjure up the image of a cashed-up bloke with a penchant for living hard, leaving a trail of fast cars and real estate in his wake. But local artist Andy Quilty is determined to show that this stereotype could not be further from the truth in his new exhibition FIFO. “My driving desire was to create an honest portrayal of these workers, a counterbalance to the cliché of the ‘cashed up bogan’ described by sections of the public and media,” Quilty explains. “Much of the negativity directed towards FIFO workers for me is very far from reality, I view it as perhaps elitist sentiment suggesting that these blue collar workers are not worthy of the financial reward they receive. I see my artworks in this exhibition as a document of this shift in the working culture, somewhat of a bastard continuation of the subjects favoured by the early Australian impressionists.”

While Quilty has never been employed as a FIFO himself, many of his friends and people in his immediate social circle have, and it was hearing their tales which sparked his interest. “I have always made artwork about the immediate influences that surround me, mates, family, the daily milieu of the suburban Australian male, put simply I paint what I know. Growing up I was the only one of my immediate group of friends who studied at uni, my friends mostly completed apprenticeships and got trades, then with the advent of the mining and resources boom, almost all became fly in fly out workers,” he explains.“Having grown up around the FIFO culture, I am interested in this very significant change in the working culture, particularly in WA, where blue collar workers are being financially rewarded at an unprecedented level.

“I think the term ‘cashed up bogan’ reeks of elitism and, in many ways, seeks to devalue the blue collar worker as less valuable to our culture. There seems to be a widely held belief that FIFO workers blow all their money on jet skis, alcohol and utes, however I find this to be a gross exaggeration. My brother-in-law, for example, has worked FIFO for six or seven years now, simply as a means of providing the best possible environment for his children to grow up in, to send them to a good school, bring them up in a decent

The deviant by Andy Quilty house, to have the time and money to take them on family holidays – all very unselfish expenditures.”

Quilty explains that a six week artist residency in Cossack (just outside of Roebourne in the Northwest) also provided much of the inspiration for the work.

“While in Cossack, I spent a few afternoons hanging outside the bottle shop in Wickham, around 6pm was peak hour for the mine workers stocking up on booze so I approached a few of the more interesting subjects to be photographed for works. They were willing so much as they would let me take a photo but usually appeared to be in a bit of a rush, perhaps to get home and relax rather than spend their few hours off getting hassled by an artist from Rockingham!,” he explains.

“One of the aims of my residency up north was to use the time to return to painting again, something I hadn’t done since I was a Fine Arts student. It has been a constant struggle over the past few months for me to try and find ‘how’ I paint. To find a way of working that is both unique and works for me. I think it is important to try and push myself outside of my comfort zone and for me the pen work is somewhere I am very comfortable now, so the move into painting is a means of challenging myself artistically and showing that I have more than just pen sketches to offer.” _JENNIFER PETERSON-WARD

Anna McGahan and John Batchelor in Managing Carmen Anna McGahan is rapidly becoming a recognisable face – with a slew of great TV roles including Underbelly: Razor and House Husbands, as well as starring in a number of theatre productions and writing her own plays, the 24-year-old has done pretty David Williamson’s new play Managing Carmen will well for herself in the space of a few years. be performed at the Heath Ledger Theatre from Taking some time off from the small screen, Saturday, November 10, ‘til Sunday, December 2. McGahan is starring in new theatre production, Tickets are available through Ticketek.

Managing Carmen, written by legendary playwright

MANAGING CARMEN WAG Of The Week

www.xpressmag.com.au

“Club Med is actually where my fear of nudity started,” Joel Creasey says down the line from Melbourne, talking of his fresh show Naked which had everyone talking at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Sydney Comedy Festival and Perth International Comedy Festival earlier this year. “I was in the kids club and I was about eight or nine at the time and we had to put on a performance on the last night for all the hotel guests.

“They’ve got a stadium theatre there. It’s like a 2000 seat theatre at Club Med in Bali and I don’t know who funds that theatre but it’s huge and our routine was a routine to the Beach Boys’ California Girls where we’d strut around the stage in our Speedos doing the muscle man pose and that seriously scarred me… there’s 2000 people in sarongs off their face in the crowd gawking at this little eight year old boy walking around in his Speedos. Very creepy. I’ve not been back to Bali since.”

Aside from the Club Med story, Creasey says Naked is about his fears and embarrassments.

“And a little bit about my poor mother, she always gets it in my show. She likes 12 or 13 glasses of wine on a Monday evening but she’s good fun,” he adds.

“Naked, at the moment, is my favourite show so I’m really excited to be doing it again.”

One of Creasey’s fears is feet. He doesn’t like them. But, he says he may even be barefoot at some stage during Naked. “I despise feet. I do not get them,” he says, cringing. After fellow comedian and friend Adam Richard tweeted (as a joke) to all his followers that Creasey had a foot fetish, asking them to send in photos of their feet to Creasey, he’s been more than disgusted every since. “People sent me pictures of their feet doing things and it was just wrong. The other week I saw Adam at a bar and I was chatting to someone and then suddenly there was a bare foot on my shoulder (cringes). It was a very good leg extension on his behalf.”

David Williamson. The play, like many of Williamson’s works, is a social commentary based around a male figure – in this case, Brent, a young AFL player with a pretty big secret. McGahan explains the premise: “The character is a heterosexual male, but he just wants to cross-dress. The play is this fascinating exploration of where this kind of feminine activity sits within an incredibly macho setting, within the sporting world, which is so full of machismo and, dare I say, bigotry and discrimination against certain things like that. It’s about that and the media slowly taking hold of that information. What would happen if the media, the fans, the sporting nuts, had their idols dismantled?”

What, indeed? McGahan plays a young WAG – a Wife and/or Girlfriend of a prominent footballer – who has been hired to make the uncomfortable Brent look good in front of the cameras. “She’s a hired red carpet, ready to go kind of girl, she’s basically a promotional model. She’s the full package,” McGahan explains. “I’ve kind of done a lot of research into how to make her feed that stereotype, and bring out the humour in her, as well as find out how knowing she is. You know, these women are intelligent, they know what they’re doing, they know how to make money.”

David Williamson has an extremely successful history of creating plays commenting on social stigma, not to mention films like Gallipoli and Balibo. McGahan explains that Williamson’s main focus

Joel Creasey Aside from performing around the place, Creasey has been doing his fair share of morning breaky show appearances of late, having appeared on The Circle and 92.9FM (“I usually go bed like 3am so to suddenly go to bed at like 8.30pm, I didn’t. I was lying in bed for hours going ‘what am I doing’.”), Creasey will be busy promoting his debut DVD release which drops in December. “The DVD is the ‘Best Of’,” he says. “It’s from my last three festival shows… the legal department at the ABC were a little bit skeptical so there were a few bits taken out but I did manage to convince them of a fair few points. They’re like ‘you actually can’t say Jason Akermanis is a dickhead’ and I’m like ‘I said it, and he is, so put it in’.”

After Naked, Creasey will be touring with fellow friend and comedian Fiona O’Loughlin in northern Queensland before doing some club gigs and starting work on his show for next year. “I love Antiques Roadshow and Downton Abbey,” he says. “I’m addicted. I’ve just been so caught up in Downton Abbey and it’s sort of taking over my life. Like I almost feel like I live in the ‘20s. I’m going to talk about it in my next show – all about it and how I kind of want servants.” _ANNABEL MACLEAN when writing Managing Carmen was the role of the media in the lives of AFL players. “It’s a man’s world, but it’s interesting, you watch any of the footy shows and it’s very normal for all those men to dress up in women’s clothing any night of the week. I think ultimately, that’s where this perception is going to lie – within the commentary, the incessant commentary of the players and the game. They’re constantly scrutinised, they’re constantly observed and debated and commented on, and we see them play but we rarely get commentary from the players themselves.”

There’s no doubt that it would be interesting to see how the media and the public would react in such a scenario, and there’d certainly be backlash. But, McGahan is optimistic, giving the public the benefit of the doubt. “You’re always going to have people that hold prejudice against any type of eccentricity or people that break the mould,” she says. “But I think we’ve got to give Australia more credit than that, and I think David does that in this play – by saying that at the essence of it, we are a tolerant country. And you know, we react to injustices, we react to betrayal, but it is nothing of the sort and where there is bigotry, I don’t think we’ll stand for it. I think when someone is open and honest, and ready to get on with their job, that’s what we’ll stand behind.” _CHLOE PAPAS

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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

Fresh from the release of his acclaimed album Rugby Thompson, upcoming Harlem, New York rapper Sean Pompey, aka Smoke DZA, is making his first trip to Australia to head a diverse line up of acts at The Bakery next weekend. He speaks with JOSHUA HAYES. Even in the world of contemporary hip hop, where it seems compulsory for American rappers to put out a free mixtape to generate buzz in the lead up to an album release, Pompey is a prolific artist.

He first emerged a decade ago as part of group Smoke & Numbers, while also making a living ghost-writing for other rappers (the only name and project he’ll say he wrote is producer-cum-rapper Hi-Tek’s well-regarded 2006 album Hi-Teknology 2: The Chip), before going solo in 2008.

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Smoke DZA A year later he released his first mixtape, Substance Abuse, and since then he’s grown more productive with each year – two releases in 2010, three in 2011 and three to date this year – something he attributes to a competitive nature. “I’m an artist that lives with a chip on my shoulder, I always want to be better,” Pompey says.

“Wanting to be better keeps me in the studio and keeps me working. And because I live what I rap, it’s easy for me to be prolific. When you rap about what you live, inspiration comes every day. I’ve actually done what I speak about so it’s easy for me to paint the picture and be visual with my music.”

Living what he raps means a common theme in his music is – to use the name of one of his 2011 mixtapes – Rolling Stoned. His love of rhyming about, and enjoying, marijuana has from time to time resulted in Pompey being derisively described as a ‘weed rapper’. However, he says the label isn’t appropriate.

“At this point, anybody that wants to call me a weed rapper is just a hater. I’ve definitely moved past this mould and I’m now working on becoming the king of my craft,” he says.“People that know my music, know that I represent a lot more things – Harlem, for example… and my [fashion] style with the Polo and [Nike] Foamposites.”

Other common themes are television – the album name Rugby Thompson combines his loves for Boardwalk Empire and Polo Rugbies – wrestling and video games (granted, all things that THC connoisseurs are likely to appreciate).

What makes him stand out is a laidback delivery that can switch to menacing on a whim, sharp and humorous rhymes and an impeccable taste for beats.

He regularly collaborates with hip hop’s hottest new acts from around America – Action Bronson and A$AP Rocky in his hometown, Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q and Odd Future’s Domo Genesis in Los Angeles and Curren$y and Big K.R.I.T. in the south (he’s a member of Curren$y’s Jetlife crew) – many of whom made their names toiling away on free mixtapes before getting national recognition, as Pompey has.

“A lot of them have reached out to me and we just like to work with each other,” he says.

“With most of them, we’ve rocked more than one time. We keep the camaraderie. I like to work with people that are on the same level as myself. Same stature and aesthetic. And I love working with other talented artists. It’s never a walk in the park, it’s very competitive even though we’re friends. But I love collaborating and being part of this elite in music.”

Despite his association with these acts, he hasn’t quite managed to gain the same level of buzz until this year. He has just headlined his first North American tour (joined by Mr Motherfucking eXquire and the Flatbush Zombies), earned spots on some of America’s biggest hip hop festivals like Rock The Bells, Summer Jam and The Smokers Club Tour, and gained critical acclaim for Rugby Thompson, a collaboration with producer Harry Fraud. “It’s one of the best bodies of work in my musical career,” he says of the album. “It can go toe to toe with any other release from this year at this point.”

Rugby Thompson was released in June, but, Pompey’s not content to rest on his laurels. He’s currently working on a sequel to his 2010 album George Kush The Button, and released a free mixtape last month, K.O.N.Y. (King Of New York) – inspired by the Christopher Walken gangster film. “I felt like I was doing the soundtrack for the movie while recording this project,” he says.

Unsurprisingly, when asked what’s keeping him busy in the lead up to his Australian tour, he replies “smoking a lot of weed” – but he’s also been busy preparing a new set list for his shows here. He’ll be heading a diverse line up that also includes electronic acts LV, Jesse Boykins III, Shigeto and MeLo-X. Pompey says it promises to be a good night for hip hop fans. “They can expect a lot of energy. [You] have to learn my songs because I conduct sing-alongs. KushedGod is gonna come out and light that stage on fire. I’m gonna smoke all Australian weed and have a lot of fun.”

» SMOKE DZA » FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 9 @ THE BAKERY

Culture Shock

BASS AGENDA

Inhibit are at it again. They’re bringing Bass Agenda Volume 1 to Villa on Friday, November 9, and it’s set to be a biggie. Bass Agenda is going to be all about the biggest artists from all over the world stacked together for one huge night, a huge audio/visual bass music experience. It’s all about the drum’n’bass with the first installment of Culture Shock, Lenzman, Doze & Rregula set to bring the party. We’re talking RAM, Metalheadz and Shogun all on one night. Ridiculous. Support comes from Mercenary and Jazza. Tickets are $30 plus booking fee from Moshtix. Get on it.

DEMAND FOR LAMAR

Due to unprecedented demand, new venues and dates have been announced for American MC Kendrick Lamar’s debut tour down under. He’ll now be performing on Saturday, December 22, at The Astor. All tickets purchased for any show will remain valid in that city. Hit up showticketing.com. au for tickets now y’all.

CHI POPTION FOR NEW YEAR’S

The Bakery have decided to opt for a local music line-up for this year’s New Year’s Eve party. Chi Poption will see the likes of Shy Panther, Rachael Dease vs Ylem, Diger Rokwell vs Mathas, Kucka, Leure, Mei Saraswati, Dani Marsland, Jo Lettenmaier, Aarom Wilson vs Craig Hollywood, Ben Taaffe vs Rok Riley, Clunk, PCJ vs Nik Ridik and Miranda Menzies bringing the beats from behind the decks over two rooms.

There will be champagne and pizza a’flowing amd cutting edge tunes. Limited early bird tickets are $20 from lifeisnoise.com, Heatseeker, Oztix, nowbaking.com.au until November 30 before they’ll jump to $25 from Saturday, December 1.

This is a tasty, delicious treat of a gig.

ØRJAN NILSEN

AEROPLANE

The baby-faced Ørjan Nilsen is testament to the fact that all it takes in life is dedication and the right outlook – all the rest can be picked up along the way. Only just in his 20s, Nilsen is already a force to be reckoned with in the trance scene. Hailing from Norway, the lad is primed for his schedule of festival dates for Stereosonic around the country. RK gets the lowdown.

Despite having amicably parted with partner-in-crime Stephen Fasano,Vito Deluca is still a pilot-incommand. He is comfortable with the choices he now has, describing with eagerness the freedom he has to work independently when called for. Likewise, he enjoys the willingness to work with particular artists when the need arises. RK talks to the Belgian about his nearterm agenda.

MELODIC MOMENTS

“I’ve been doing a lot of travelling,” Nilsen begins.

“Basically, I’ve been everywhere but unfortunately I’ve been sick for a few weeks because of all the travelling I do – I guess it happens to everybody from time to time.” That said, his 2011 LP In My Opinion, released on Armin van Buuren’s famed Armada imprint, established a cult-like following for Nilsen – a movement that hasn’t let up. Luckily for his fans, he is back in the studio working on his next output.

“That’s right, I’m working on my next album project as well as working on a few tracks for the new mix series I have coming up,” he assures.

“There is a lot of creativity going on for me right now and I’m really enjoying the challenge of working on a lot of new projects. I have about 14 new tracks ready so I’m working towards getting the album out soon.”

Indeed, having been heavily involved in music since he was a teenager, he is now halfway to a decade in the scene – enough time to have picked up the odd idea or two. “My time in music has basically been an opportunity for me to work and refine my sound,” he says. “I would say it’s all over the place right now; the old school trance – and I don’t mean from 2005, I mean before that – it’s the sound that I’m really enjoying right now. It’s minimal and sounds like it goes back to its roots. There is a lot of different influences, some of this, some of that - and with all of it, I just want to have fun.”

No less, he admits to having spent some time recently listening to music from the turn of the century – that is, 2000 and 2001 - and reliving the melodic moments and the ‘hands-in-the-air’ vibe from the sounds of the era. “I really feel things are going back in that direction,” he says. “People are enjoying the melodies more. It has to be big and 30

Sean Price

SUPREME HIP HOP

Don’t get too excited but the one and only Brother Ali will be returning down under for the first time since his 2009 Falls Festival appearance with Atmosphere and Sean Price will be making his debut trip to Australia alongside Ali for a super night of supreme hip hop. Ali will be dropping tracks from his fresh record Mourning In America And Dreaming In Color produced by Jake One. Brooklyn rapper Sean Price will be bringing his commanding delivery, gruff voice and adroit verses along as well as tunes from his forthcoming record Mic Tyson. It’s all happening on Saturday, November 24, at Metro City. Tickets are on sale now from Oztix.

PDMA OH SO SOON

It’s not long until the top three are announced for the Perth Dance Music Awards but we’ve got fresh news just in - Bokchoy vs Flaunt, Carla, FTW, Micah, Mot3k, Muller and Phetsta will be bringing the bass, electro, breaks, drum’n’bass, jungle and more to the party at the awards ceremony which hits The Court on Sunday, December 2, from 3pm. As always, it’s going to be a huge celebration so make sure you get on down as entry is free and there will be uber sick beats and beverages! Don’t forget to get your votes in now, head to perthdancemusicawards. org for all the deets.

AEROPOPPIN’ IT

Ørjan Nilsen bright – people are seeing similar things now to what was happening then. Music went mainstream and then almost too mainstream. I feel like it sort of saturated the scene and I’m really hoping the same thing won’t happen this time around.”

Finally, Nilsen shares a few positive sentiments about his last trip to Australia, describing the land down under as a place that “gives him the shivers”. “It really is a beautiful country; people there are so welcoming and there is definitely something special about Australia,” he says. “The people are happy, the weather will be sunny and the stages at the festival should be totally amazing.”

» ØRJAN NILSEN » STEREOSONIC » SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 25 @ CLAREMONT SHOWGROUND (TBC)

In 2012, the essential Aeroplane disco sound continues to be as lush and fluid as it is blissful and it’s nice to know that the good sound remains around to be enjoyed despite the split between the original duo – Stephen Fasano and Vito Deluca.

Letting bygones be bygones, Deluca gives some insight into what’s been happening. “I’m home,” he says.“In fact, I’ve just been on a tour of the USA. I got a little sick which is a bit boring but I’m still working, so things are all good.”

In fact, Deluca has been getting his act together on his own imprint – Aeropop. “I’ve just received the test pressings and it feels great,” he says. “I’m taking it easy though because tomorrow I’m going to Romania for more shows. But it’s great, these are things that I want to be doing.”

Today, the Aeroplane name continues to be associated with ‘feel good’ music that is more about quality than quantity. Deluca’s discography is extensive but has been built carefully over the last half-dozen or so years, and his studio is getting a fair bit of his attention for various reasons: “I’ve got a lot of great gear in the studio but it is a slightly interesting space – the acoustics in the room are weird in the lower spectrum which can give me a hard time but apart from that, it’s cool.”

Indeed, the We Can’t Fly LP was the first album from Aeroplane and firmly placed the name in the hearts and minds of punters everywhere – and more recently, We Can’t Fly – The Remixes was released as a means of encouraging people to rediscover that album. “I did it because I thought the remix cast for the album was really amazing,”

Aeroplane Deluca explains. “We added some awesome exclusives for the remix album too - songs like Joakim’s remix of Caramellas and Cassius’s remix of We Can’t Fly. Also, the long awaited Oliver’s remix of We Can’t Fly will be out on a compilation [to mark] 10 years of Eskimo Records that will be released soon too.”

In terms of production, Aeropop has been the main focus of the moment but Deluca says he’d prefer to keep it under wraps. “I prefer to keep the specifics of that a surprise because it could change at any moment but that’s the advantage of having your own label,” he chuckles. “In terms of remixes, I just did a remix for Kimbra and there is another coming on Skrillex’s label. I also remixed a Giorgio Moroder classic and did one for BoysNoize Records.

“The next step for me is another album.

I’m just getting the label started first and then I’ll jump straight into it. I have a more precise view of the way it’s going now but it will definitely be more focused and electronic.”

To celebrate, Deluca is heading down under for Summadayze. “I feel I’ve evolved as a DJ but I’m still pretty old school,” he says. “There are no pyrotechnics yet and I have to step up my skills as an MC but who knows what I’ll come up with between now and then?”

» AEROPLANE » SUMMADAYZE » SUNDAY, JANUARY 6 @ PATERSONS STADIUM X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

HAILEY CRAMER SOLO MODE

Melbourne-based songstress Hailey Cramer has spent the last five years touring with Blue King Brown. She’s lent her vocals to some of Australia’s hip hop elite, including Pez, Mantra and 360. Now, the sassy lass is flying solo, having just released her selftitled debut EP. ANNABEL MACLEAN chats with the down-to-earth lady about all of the above.

Hailey Cramer has spent the last five years on the road with Melbourne-based urban-roots band Blue King Brown. Having studied music at the Victorian College Of The Arts (VCA), Cramer immediately started touring with the band the weekend after her last recital at VCA, and, it’s been a crazy ride but now, she’s happy to be focusing on her own individual projects.“It’s been a long time coming for me,” she says.

“I was doing my solo thing before I started doing stuff with them [Blue King Brown] and then their stuff took off and I went away heaps with them so I was doing my stuff in set breaks or before or after gigs and on the road and stuff and I just really wanted to do my own thing so I was ready for it when I left,” she says. “I was like ‘okay, I need to do this. I’ve got to go’. As much as it’s really exciting to go on tour with them and it’s really hard to say no to awesome offers to beautiful countries, I’ve just got to give myself a bit of time and priority with my stuff.”

Having worked alongside Melbournebased producer Dan West on her recently released self-titled debut EP, Cramer’s collection of tunes are bass-driven with a slither of live percussion from raw found sound such as claps, clicks and shakers and old-soul harmonies sprinkled with electronic beats. “I’ve been composing with piano mainly and it was exciting to compose with piano but then after doing my music degree, I started over-analysing things and making things more technical than they needed to be just because I knew how to make

Hailey Cramer these chords,” she says, speaking of the motivation behind the incorporation of found sound on the EP. “But then I just found myself really limited in terms of what I could do with my voice.

Once you’ve got so much harmonic things going on, it’s really limited to what the melody can be. So I thought I’d totally strip it back and start composing just with a basic rhythm to start off with. And so I was just using things around the house just to get a basic rhythm that’s not the usual sound you can always hear in other people’s tracks. I just wanted to produce sounds that I could make myself.”

Cramer says Dan West and her share the same ideas when it comes to music so working alongside him on her debut EP went swimmingly.

“He’s awesome, he’s a great guy,” she says.“He brings a different side of things because he’s a guitarist and we’ve both come from jazz backgrounds which is cool so we can kind of speak with the same language I guess. He’s totally into the electronic side of things as well and he knows all the gear and that stuff which is great.”

Currently working on a follow-up collection of tunes, Cramer isn’t sure which format the tracks will take yet. “I’ve just been writing heaps and I haven’t quite decided if it’s going to be an album or an EP but it’s looking like more like an album,” she says.“I’ve got a bunch of material I really want to get out at the same time... I think there might be some more harmonic instruments and stuff in the next batch of songs. There should be the next single out April of next year.”

» HAILEY CRAMER » HAILEY CRAMER [BEAT BROKER] » OUT NOW

www.xpressmag.com.au

The latest full length from Canadian producer deadmau5 is bland background music with middle of the road 4/4 beats and no edge. Do you really need to know more about this album?

Okay. It’s painfully long at almost an hour and 20 minutes, the wrong ideas stick around way too long and its best suited as something you put on while cleaning the house.

More? This is forgettable at best with nothing setting deadmau5’s work apart from his electronic contemporaries other than the stupid ‘mau5head’, an affectation that surely only endears him to children and the childish.

The production quality is fine but nothing really lands with authority. The highs don’t reach the euphoria electro is capable of, nor does it plummet the gut-rattling bassy lows which make those inevitable peaks so sweet.

The album opens with promise, Superliminal feels ready to go somewhere huge but after about two minutes you already know it’s leading nowhere. Fn Pig is the same, just as momentum gathers it’s stripped away for another build where the only pay off is more dull 4/4 beats like all the others that came before it. Wash, rinse and repeat.

More guests may have helped mask the mediocrity and repetition of the music, as would trimming the running time by about half, but ultimately you can’t polish a turd.

If you haven’t heard of Kendrick Lamar, the easiest – but most mid-leading – introduction is that he’s Dr. Dre’s latest protégé. While he has as much promise and talent as Snoop or Eminem, and has been influenced by the west coast gangsta rap that Dre has defined over the last quarter century, his style is uniquely his own.

Lamar has a loose, nimble flow and flexible voice that recalls The Pharcyde more than N.W.A., and prefers spacey, bass heavy beats (the venerable Doctor doesn’t produce a single track on Lamar’s major label debut good kid, m.A.A.d city).

Coming Straight Outta Compton himself, the 25-year-old rapper’s latest effort – following last year’s acclaimed independent release Section.80 – largely focuses on his teenage years in the notorious Los Angeles suburb, from teenage hook-ups (Sherane a.k.a. Master Splinter’s Daughter) to being drawn into robbery (The Art Of Peer Pressure) to the highs and lows of drinking (ridiculously catchy lead single Swimming Pools (Drank)). m.A.A.d city perhaps best demonstrates Lamar’s talents, as he adopts an almost hysterical voice, sounding like a panicking teenager who has just witnessed their first murder, to detail the violence of his hometown (perfectly contrasted by a grizzled guest verse from long-absent Compton veteran MC Eiht). By the time the album closes with Compton – a suitably triumphant victory lap featuring Dr. Dre – Lamar establishes himself as one of hip hop’s most compelling artists.

» RYAN BUTLER 0.5/5

» JOSHUA HAYES 4.5/5

GOOD KID, M.A.A.D CITY AFTERMATH

THIS WEEK CALVIN HARRIS 18 MONTHS

It’s the new record from the Scottish DJ and producer and, as expected, it’s got all the hits including Feel So Close, We Found Love, I Need Your Love and Sweet Nothing. It’s big, bouncing, electro which will have all the hands in the air this summer. Watch out, Calvin is taking over.

EMMA HEWITT SOARING HIGH

BEYOND TALKING DIRTY

“What’s not to like [about the Pride Festival], it’s a day or week to be your most outrageous self, wear what you like and not prosecuted for it,” Gordon says. “I’m a fun girl, and everyone always makes me feel like I did something incredible, even if it’s just a toss of my hair.”

If there’s one thing that Wynter Gordon knows how to do, it’s getting the party started. Dirty Talk was a massive hit in Australia and worldwide but did face some backlash for its racy lyrics. “It hurt a little to hear the parents lash out, I don’t want to corrupt the kiddies but I’m proud of that song,” she says. “It was the little engine that could. It’s great for the dancefloor and the bedroom, and at this point I’m like ‘fuck it’. Dirty Talk was great... no, it is great.”

While she’s known for high-charged, danceable pop tunes, The Human Condition goes down a darker path. The first part of the project, Doleo, deals with the theme of pain. “It’s a totally different sound from the happy pop sound of my first album With The Music I Die. When I was writing it I was going through lots of change and heartbreak within my family. It really was a diary and a release for me.”

It might come as a surprise that Gordon has such strong songwriting skills, particularly as she didn’t have the most conventional upbringing.

With both of her parents being pastors, she had to find more sneaky ways of listening to the music that would eventually inspire her to take up performing

KENDRICK LAMAR

>ALBUM TITLE GOES HERE< EMI

WYNTER GORDON

You’d know American singersongwriter Wynter Gordon from smash hit Dirty Talk but the saucy lass has been hard at work putting together her new project, The Human Condition. It’s an ambitious four-part project and we’ve just had a taste of the newest single Stimela. And if that wasn’t keeping her busy enough, she’s also heading to Perth as a special guest of the Pride Festival. TARA LLOYD gets the lowdown.

DEADMAU5

Singer-songwriter and trance vocalist Emma Hewitt is originally from Geelong but now travels the world, touring with some of the globe’s high profile trance DJs and producers. ANNABEL MACLEAN chats with the young lass about her latest EP Starting Fires, footy and travelling ahead of her appearance at Future Music Festival 2013 alongside Cosmic Gate.

Wynter Gordon as a career. “In my early years of school I was bussed out to a mostly Caucasian school,” she says. “The kids I befriended, and would spend nights at their houses, were listening to rock and alternative pop and the culture was so different.

“That’s the kind of music I snuck in while my parents were asleep. I do enjoy every kind of genre but I’m unconventional in every piece of my life. I like everything.”

That love of music led to writing gigs for artists like Mary J Blige and Jennifer Lopez. “It makes me proud to do something I love as a job,” she says of working with the industry powerhouses. “I respect a lot of the people I work with because I know how difficult it is to do it and when I see women like Mary and Jennifer and their longevity, it makes me feel inspired to work.”

If she had to pick, could she choose between writing songs and being onstage and performing? “I like to write songs but sometimes it can feel like work,” she says. “I love the connection I have personally with a lot of my songs and I will continue to write. But, being on stage feels like... hallelujah!”

» WYNTER GORDON » THE COURT STREET PARTY » SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3 @ THE COURT

Although Emma Hewitt is from Geelong, she admits she’s not the biggest football fan, much to her family’s dismay.“They are all huge Cats fans,” she says of her family. “I am of course a Cats fan too at heart, but I couldn’t tell you who any of the players are and I don’t really follow any of the games. Actually I met one of the players a while ago who was apparently the captain or something, and I asked him what he did for work, which was, as I was made aware, a huge embarrassment to my friends (laughs).”

Hewitt has her own set of priorities, having sold out solo shows in 25 countries this year alone, released her debut album Burn The Sky Down and more recently, the acoustic EP Starting Fires which features previously unreleased demos and live acoustic takes – something which is a bit different to her usual line of work. “This release was actually something I have wanted to do for a while, and something I will probably do more of from time to time,” she says of the EP.“My brother [Anthony Hewitt] and I write the songs in this form, this is how they are born, and this is how we play them ourselves, so it is nice to be able to share this side of the music with other people as well as the dance versions.”

Having collaborated with some of the world’s biggest EDM artists including Cosmic Gate and Dash Berlin, Hewitt is constantly on the road travelling and touring with these artists and in solo mode.“When I am in travelling mode I tend to read a lot, I have a kindle that my parents gave me a while back which has been a life-saver, so I have read loads of books this year,” she says. “I do love watching Breaking Bad or Arrested Development when I have the time too.”

Emma Hewitt Despite all the travelling, Hewitt is doing what she loves and says it’s really difficult to pick a favourite show from this year’s batch. “They are all unique in their own way, we always meet interesting people and see amazing places that are all so different so it is difficult to compare and choose,” she says.“I did particularly enjoy the Australian tour with Cosmic Gate in April though, it was so fantastic to go home and play such well received, sold out shows on home turf, and to have some of my friends there.

That was a pretty memorable experience!

“I found Israel extremely beautiful and I am always blown away by the people and crowds in South America. Milan last week was an extremely energetic crowd and the big festivals in America like Nocturnal Wonderland are loads of fun with an absolutely electric atmosphere.”

Hewitt has a bunch of collabs due to drop later this year, if not, early next year and then will be starting work on a new album or EP in November as well touring. “I am working on earning those frequent flyer points,” she chuckles.

And, she says she’s looking forward to making the trip back down under for Future Music Festival 2013. “I love coming home to play shows, and Future has always been one of my favourite festivals.

I am sure there will be some surprises, maybe a new song or two. Costume wise I am not sure but I will definitely be wearing something from Aussie designers Black Milk, I wear their leggings and bodysuits for pretty much all of my shows, I can’t get enough of them!”

» EMMA HEWITT » FUTURE MUSIC FESTIVAL 2013 » SUNDAY, MARCH 3 @ ARENA JOONDALUP 31

BIG APE

SHAPE

WEDNESDAY 31/10 BLVD Tavern – Wub Wub Captain Stirling – Lokie Shaw Clancy’s (Applecross) – Upbeat – DJ Andy Connections – DJs Joby /JJ /Rueben Eurobar – Wild Wednesdays - DJ iPod/ Ben Pettit Flying Scotsman – UniQue DJs/ DJ Bones/ DJ Moflow Flying Scotsman (Defectors) – Beaufort Bop ft DJ Anton Maz Gold Bar–DJ Adroc Hipe Club – DJ Roger Smart Leederville Hotel – We Love Wednesdays ft DJ Slick Llama Bar – Jo 19 Matches Bar – Pussymittens Metro Freo - Rapture Mustang – DJ Giles Newport – Red Bull Silent Disco Sovereign Arms – Jordan Scott The Deen - DJ Zelimer/ DJ Viper/ DJ Benny/ T– Zone 1 The Queens – Wriggle on Villa - Halloween ft Swanky Tunes YaYa’s – DJ Paul Burgess

THURSDAY 01/11 Clancy’s (Canning Bridge) - DJ Wrighteous

CAPITOL

Claremont Hotel- DJ Fiveo/ Jimmy Thorne Club Marakesh – DJ Simon Cottesloe Hotel – DJ Shots/ DJ Andy M Empire Bar – Halo/ DJ Bojan/ DJ Ben Sebastian Eve Nightclub – Retro Thursdays ft Tony Allen Flying Scotsman – Cowboys & Indie Kids DJs Leopold Hotel – DJ Riki/ Roger Smart Library - Dorcia Llama Bar – Danni Boi/ Charlie Bucket Mint Nightclub – DJ Simon Barwood Mt Henry Tavern - DJ Matty J Mullaloo Beach Hotel - DJ John Paul/ DJ Slick Mustang – DJ James Newport – Culture Clash Paramount – DJ Johnny Boi/ DJ Jordan Players Bar – MASH South St – DJ Castasia/ Dpad Swinging Pig – DJ Simon The Avenue – Jon Ee The Carine Tavern – Punchy & Juicy/ Little Nicky The Causeway – Jaymie Franchina The Craftsman – Roger Smart The Deen – DJ Flex/ DJ Nano/ DJ Surge/ DJ Don Migi The East End Bar - The Prestige ft Az-T The Queens – Kapitol The Whale & Ale – Josh Tilley

Dynamite MC

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The Whistling Kite - DJ Gareth Tiger Lils – Paul Malone/ Adam Kelly Woodvale Tavern – DJ Melvin

FRIDAY 02/11 Ambar – District: Krunked Up ft GET MORE/ Donald Krunk/ Angry Buda/ Philly Blunt/ Meet Mark/ Easy P Amplifier –DJ Jamie Mac Bar 459 - DJ Smurf Bar Orient – The Reggae Club ft General Justice/ H-Mut/ Kelvin & Jona/ Zimbabwean Lions/ The Empressions/ Mumma Trees/ Sista Che Blvd Tavern – DJ Andy Boheme Bar - DJ Majiika Boulevard Tavern – DJ Andyy Broken Hill Hotel – DJ Nick Alexander Brooklands Tavern - DJ Misschief Mel Capitol – Retro Mash/ Gavyn Mytchel Capitol (Upstairs) – I Love ‘90s Carine Tavern – Greg Packer/ MC Assassin Clancy’s (Canning Bridge) - DJ Boogie Claremont Hotel – Jon Ee Club Bayview – Amnesia ft Fendi/ Axon/ Fellis Como Hotel – DJ Gazz Eastern Hotel – DJ Munch Empire Bar – Lokie Shaw Eve Nightclub – DJ Don Migi & Guests Flawless – DJ Ryan Flying Scotsman – DJs Jo19/ Rok Riley/ Armee Flying Scotsman (Defectors) - Back To Mono DJs Ginger Nightclub – Rondevoo Fridayz Gosnells Club – DJ Now Hipe Club - DJ E-Funk Honey Lounge – DJ Curlee/ Drew Green Lakers Tavern – Fresh Fridays - DJ Dooey Left Bank – DJ Frankie Button Library – DJ Sneaky Little Creatures Loft – Marine Beats Llama Bar – Jim Pearson/ Jehan/ Ben Edit/ DJ Cee Matches Bar – Fredrick Anderson Merriwa Tavern – DJ Real McCoy Metro City - Heavyweight Sounds ft London Elektricity/ Dynamite MC/ Xilent and more Metro City (Solace Bar) – DJ Slick Metro Freo –Frat House Fridays Mint Nightclub – Club Retro ft Chris McPhee Mullaloo Beach Hotel - DJ John Paul Mustang – Swing DJ/ DJ James MacArthur Norma Jean’s –DJ Waz Paddy Hannans – Crazy Craig Paramount - DJ Johnny Boi/ DJ Jordan Players Bar – Miss Football Queens Tav – DJ Rueben Rocket Room – Extreme Aggression ft DJ Cain Sail & Anchor - Balcony Beatz/ DJ J-MAC Sovereign Arms – Lokie Shaw

EAST END

The Avenue – Amanda Power The Carine – Mind Electric/ Little Nicky/ Az-T The Causeway – Jus Haus?

The East End Bar – Az-T The Generous Squire - DJ Anaru The Queens – DJ Rueben The Saint - DJ Emmanuel The Shed – DJ Glenn 20 The Whale & Ale – Josh Tilley Tiger Lils – Paul Malone/ Adam Kelly The Vic - DJ Giles The Wembley Hotel – Abstar Windsor – DJ Riki and Ray Victoria Park Hotel – DJ Giles Ya-Ya’s – Hero DJs ft Pup

SATURDAY 03/11 Amplifier - Pure Pop ft Eddie Electric Basement On Broadway – DJ Ricky Boheme Bar – Carte Blanche DJs Broken Hill Tavern – DJ Roger Smart/ Matt Richards/ Ben Dallin Capitol (Upstairs) – Cream Of The ‘80s ft DJ Ryan Capitol – Death Disco Clancy’s (Canning Bridge) - DJ Dood Claremont Hotel – Fiveo/ J.V.R Club Bay View – Fiveo Eastern Hotel – DJ Munch Empire Bar – DJ James Ess Eurobar – Roger Smart/ DJ Raci Eve Nightclub –DJ Crazy Craig/ DJ Slick Flying Scotsman - Under The Influence DJs Flying Scotsman (Defectors) - Fore DJs High Road Hotel – DJ Simon High Wycombe – DJ Matt Hipe Club – DJ E-Funk Honey Lounge – DJ Saxon/ Sardi Library – MKT ft DJ Riki/ DJ Vicktor and more Little Creatures Loft – Marine Beats Liquid Nightclub - DJ Klar55/ DJ Stevie M Llama Bar – DJ Reuben/ DJ Melvin Malt Super Club – Fiveo Matches Bar – Jstokes/ Valerio Metro City - DJ Matty S/ DJ Makka/ DJ Angry Buda/ DJ Kenny L Metro City (Climax) - DJ Francesco/ DJ Don Migi/ DJ Slick Metro City (R&B Lounge) - DJ Soso/ DJ Ruthless/ DJ Brett Costello Metro Freo – Roger Smart/ Ben Carter/ DJ Wazz Mint Nightclub – Pop Life ft DJ Aaron/ AJ Mullaloo Beach Hotel – DJ Danny Mustang – Rockabilly DJ/ DJ James MacArthur Niche – Frankie Button/ Cee/ Jonny Zimber Norma Jeans – DJ Phat Daz Oxford Hotel – DJ Sequeria Paramount- DJ Cornflake / DJ Jordan/ DJ Johnny Boi Queens Tav - Gareth Richardson Rocket Room – DJ Perry

Wynter Gordon Flying Scotsman – Nathan J/ Nizbet/ South St Ale House – DJ Jay Pasha/ Chris Sovereign Arms – Rockwell Flying Scotsman (Defectors) – Eclectic The Avenue – Jon Ee Picnic The Boheme – DJ Sneakee Mint - Chris McPhee The Brighton (Upstairs) – Micah/ Kill Mustang – DJ Rockin Rhys Dyl/ eSQue Paramount – Glo/ DJ Slick/ DJ Benny C/ The Causeway – Rhys Johnson DJ Matty S The Clink –Az-T Players Bar – Lucky Charm The Cornerstone – Dylan Hammond Rocket Room – Coyote Ugly The Court - The Court Street Party ft Sovereign Arms – Dylan Hammond Wynter Gordon/ Kitty Glitter/ Nino Brown/ Skarlett Saramore/ Dan Murphy The Avenue – Az-T The Craftsman – DJ Shortz The Causeway – Lukas Wimmler The Deen - DJ Birdie/ DJ JJ/ DJ Tony The Cott – Cott Sessions Allen The Kiosk – DJ Cinder The East End Bar - Fiveo The Saint - DJ Anaru The Generous Squire – On Tap ft James The Shed – DJ Tony Dee Nutley The Saint – DJ Anaru The Shed –DJ Andyy The Wembley – Lokie Shaw Bar Orient - DJ White Label The Whistling Kite – Gavyn Mytchel Broken Hill Tavern - DJ Mario Tavelli The Vic – DJ Kristian Tiger Lils – DJ Bojan/ DJ Ben Sebastian The Deen – Plastic Max/ The Token Gesture Toucan – DJ Hages The Den (Civic Hotel) - MC Lars Victoria Park Hotel – DJ Melvin The Paddo – DJ John Paul Villa - ‘90s Party ft Snap!

The Shed – DJ Andyy Windsor – DJ Ray Woodvale Tavern – DJ Real McCoy

MONDAY 05/11

SUNDAY 04/11 Captain Stirling – DJ Jay Claremont Hotel – DJ Double Dee Clink – DJ Tony Allen Empire Bar – CB3/ DJ Riki/ DJ Vicktor Euro Bar – DJ Flex Eve Nightclub – DJ Angry Buda/ DJ Slick

TUESDAY 06/11 Bar Orient - DJ Lyndon Eastern Hotel – Jon Edwards High Road Hotel – DJ Matty J High Wycombe – DJ Ricky Hipe Club – DJ Roger Smart Players Bar (Norma Jeans Bar) – Stevie M Victoria Park Hotel – DJ Melvin

X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

AMBAR

THE COURT

NEWPORT

IN THE THIS WEEK: Halloween ft Swanky Tunes Wednesday, October 31 @ Villa Heavyweight Sounds ft London Elektricity/ Dynamite MC/ Xilent and more Friday, November 2 @ Metro City District: Krunked Up ft GET MORE/ Donald Krunk/ Angry Buda/ Philly Blunt/ Meet Mark/ Easy P Friday, November 2 @ Ambar ‘90s Party ft Snap!

Saturday, November 3 @ Villa

Nina Las Vegas Sets On The Beach ft Mark Saturday, November 17 @ Amplifier Farina/ Miami Horror DJs/ The Knocks/ Todd Terje Sunday, December 2 The White Boat Party ft DJ @ Scarborough Beach Boris Abesit Amphitheatre Saturday, November 17 @ Barrack Street Jetty Perth Dance Music Awards ft Bokchoy vs Flaunt/ Carla/ FTW/ Ben Sims Micah/ Mot3k/ Muller/ Phetsta Friday, November 16 @ Ambar Sunday, December 2 @ The Court Prefuse 73/ Teebs Kid Kenobi Saturday, November 17 @ The Monday, December 3 @ The Deen Bakery Launch Block Party ft Def Wish Cast Sunday, November 18 @ The Aberdeen

The Court Street Party ft Wynter Gordon/ Kitty Glitter/ Nino Brown/ Floating Points/ Fatima/ Skarlett Saramore/ Dan Murphy Alexander Nut Saturday, November 3 @ The Court Thursday, November 22 @ Ambar An Eglo Records Takeover Thursday, November 22 @ Ambar

COMING UP Outbreak ft Child’s Play/ Freqshow/ DJ Scorpius/ MC Gamma Thursday, November 8 @ The Newport Hotel Outbreak ft Lilt/ Freqshow/ DJ Sani/ MC LZ Friday, November 9 @ The Hyde Park Hotel Smoke DZA/ LV/ Jesse Boykins III/ Shigeto/ MeLo X/ Raaghe/ Savior/ Zeke/ Rok Riley Friday, November 9 @ The Bakery Get Weirder ft Moullinex Friday, November 9 @ Ambar Bass Agenda ft Culture Shock/ Lenzman/ Dose & Rregula Friday, November 9 @ Villa Nina Las Vegas Friday, November 16 @ Metro Freo FreQualizer presents Hedflux & Vandal Friday, November 16 @ Geisha DJ PP Saturday, November 17 @ Geisha

The Bass Explosion Tour ft The Mane Thing & A Tonez and more Friday, November 23 @ Ambar Brother Ali/ Sean Price Saturday, November 24 @ Metro City Stereosonic ft Tiësto/ Avicii/ Calvin Harris/ Example/ Carl Cox/ Major Lazer/ Laidback Luke/ Martin Solveig/ Dash Berlin/ Markus Schulz/ Diplo/ Sander van Doorn/ Infected Mushroom/ Chuckie/ Flux Pavilion/ Mr Oizo/ Porter Robinson/ Loco Dice/ Bassnectar/ JFK MSTRKRFT/ Excision/ Adam Beyer/ Aly & Fila/ Caspa/ Datsik/ Joris Voorn/ Bingo Players/ Tommy Trash/ Simon Patterson/ Gesaffelstein/ Ørjan Nilsen/ Dillon Francis/ Foreign Beggars/ Zedd/ Brodinski/ Krewella/ Nina Kraviz/ Van She/ Strange Talk/ Alvin Risk/ Destructo/ MaRLo/ Treasure Fingers/ Bart B More and more Sunday, November 25 @ Claremont Showground (TBC) Trus’me Wednesday, November 28 @ The Bird 2manydjs Friday, November 30 @ Villa Drum ‘N’ Breaks ft Invictus/ DJ Miss K Friday, November 30 @ The Rosemount

Snap!

SNAP! SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3 @ VILLA

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Mr Grevis Wednesday, December 12 @ Mojos Ministry Of Sound The Annual 2013 ft Tom Piper/ The Only and more Friday, December 14 @ Villa Kendrick Lamar Saturday, December 22 @ The Astor Breakfest ft Krafty Kuts/ A.Skillz/ DJ Yoda/ Lady Waks/ The Nextmen/ Jaguar Skills/ Specimen A/ Pyramid/ Marten Hørger/ High Contrast/ Spy/ Camo & Krooked/ MC Wrec Wednesday, December 26 @ Belvoir Amphitheatre Origin NYE ft Chase & Status (DJ Set)/ Knife Party/ Gaslamp Killer/ ShockOne/ Pearson Sound/ DMZ (Coki & Mala)/ Goldie/ Brookes Brothers/ Ed Rush/ Wilkinson/ Dillinja/ Marky & Stamina/ Sigma/ Delta Heavy/ Metrik/ DC Breaks/ Skism/ Gemini/ Inspector Dubplate/ Jakes/ Mensah/ Dodge & Fuski/ Bar9/ Distance/ Dark Sky/ Ben Ufo/ New York Transit Authority/ Pariah/ XXXY/ Om Unit/ Friction/ Bare Noize/ Flying Lotus/ Benga/ Youngman/ Doctor Werewolf Sunday, December 30 & Monday, December 31 @ Fairbridge Village, Pinjara Chi Poption NYE 2012/13 ft Shy Panther/ Rachael Dease vs Ylem/ Diger Rokwell vs Mathas/ Kucka/ Leure/ Mei Saraswati/ Dani Marsland/ Jo Lettenmaier/ Aarom Wilson vs Craig Hollywood/ Ben Taaffe vs Rok Riley/ Clunk/ PCJ vs Ridik/ Miranda Menzies Monday, December 31 @ The Bakery

Insert To Play ft 360/ Urthboy/ Drapht/ Hermitude and more The Potbelleez Saturday, December 1 @ Metro Freo Monday, December 31 @ Supreme Court Gardens Deadweight!2nd Birthday Bender Cuban Club ft Cuban Brothers/ ft Eprom/ Saxon & Boy Prince/ Yacht Club DJs/ Russ Dewbury/ Nebula & Modo and more TBC Saturday, December 1 @ The Bakery Death Disco DJs and more Tuesday, January 1 @ The Flying Squadron Yacht Club, Dalkeith Japan 4 ft Kid Kenobi Saturday, December 1 @ Ambar

Club Paradiso ft Friendly Fires (DJ set)/ Kaz James/ Helena/ Mr Wilson/ Zelimir/ The Halo Effect/ Habitat DJs/ Maiko DJs/ Acebasik/ Kno Agents Tuesday, January 1 @ Salt On The Beach Wonderland ft PNAU (live)/ Bag Raiders (DJ set)/ Flume (live)/ Grafton Primary (live)/ Tim & Jean (live)/ Alison Wonderland/ Elizabeth Rose/ What So Not/ Indian Summers DJs and more Tuesday, January 1 @ Belvoir Amphitheatre Summadayze ft Chemical Brothers (DJ Set)/ M.I.A/ Fedde Le Grand/ Mark Ronson (DJ Set)/ Kimbra/ Booka Shade (live)/ Eddie Halliwell/ AN21 & Max Vangeli/ Carl Craig 69 (live)/ Maya Jane Coles/ Disclosure Live/ Adrian Lux/ Erol Alkan/ Breakbot (live)/ Fake Blood/ Hudson Mohawke/ Araabmusik/ Icona Pop/ Scuba/ Aeroplane/ Jesse Rose/ Danny Daze/ AC Slater/ Stafford Brothers & Timmy Trumpet/ Bombs Away and more TBC Sunday, January 6 @ Patersons Stadium Sets On The Beach ft lineup TBC Sunday, January 13 @ Scarborough Beach Amphitheatre ESG Sunday, January 20 @ The Bakery Riva Starr Saturday, January 26 @ Salt On The Beach Big Day Out ft The Bloody Beetroots/ Crystal Castles/ Kaskade/ Pretty Lights/ Nicky Romero/ Morgan Page/ Sampology and more Monday, January 28 @ Claremont Showground Above & Beyond Friday, February 1 @ Metro City Future Music Festival ft The Prodigy/ The Stone Roses/ PSY/ Dizzee Rascal/ Bloc Party/ Azealia Banks/ Rita Ora/ Boys Noize (live)/ Hardwell/ The Temper Trap/ Fun./ Madeon/ Rudimental/ Ellie Goulding/ Steve Aoki/ Alesso/ Gypsy & The Cat/ A-Trak (live)/ Feed Me (live)/ Zeds Dead/ Kill The Noise/ DJ Fresh (live)/ Nervo/ Zane Lowe/ Borgore/ Sven Vath/ Richie Hawtin/ Ricardo Villalobos/ Seth Troxler/ Magda/ Cosmic Gate ft Emma Hewitt/ W&W/ tyDi/ Andy Moor/ Super8 & Tab/ Ben Gold/ The Stafford Brothers/ Timmy Trumpet/ Tenzin/ Bombs Away Sunday, March 3 @ Arena Joondalup Sets On The Beach ft lineup TBC Sunday, March 17 @ Scarborough Beach Amphitheatre

PEDDLING MEDICINE MADLIB/ J Rocc/ Egon The Bakery Saturday, October 27, 2012 One of hip hop’s most distinctive and prolific artists, Los Angeles beatmaker Madlib sold out The Bakery on his first Australian tour in eight years.

Touring the Madlib Medicine Show – his recent 13 album opus spanning hip hop, jazz, African and Brazilian music, reggae, psych rock and more – the question on punters’ minds was, what sort of set would we get? A set of his (many) classics, or perhaps a tour through his famous four tonne vinyl collection?

Taking the stage after an opening set by Kit Pop, Now Again Records boss Egon, on his first Australian tour, invited the crowd to come “soul travelling”, with a set of unearthed ‘60s and ‘70s funk from around the world. Looking like Bernard from Black Books – and not just because he was drinking a glass of wine – he quickly got the crowd moving with heavy tracks from Singapore band The Quests and Iran’s Dia Prometido.

Egon also highlighted hip hop’s universality, weaving in Guilty Simpson rapping over Turkish folk music, and Zambian rock by Paul Ngozi that, Egon mentioned, has been sampled by Madlib for an upcoming Mos Def collaboration. The set meandered a little when Egon began venturing into Brazilian music but he got the crowd moving again with He 6’s Get Ready, a South Korean funk epic sampled by DJ Shadow for The Number Song.

Egon was clearly enjoying himself, singing along to the stage and busting awkward dance moves, as he finished with another heavy psychedelic funk song from Warhead Construction, a group of 1970’s Nigerian high schoolers.

Legendary turntablist J Rocc took over just before midnight, opening with hip hop reworks of the Ohio Player’s Funky Worm and Jackson 5’s I Want You Back, as well as crowd pleasers like Ante Up, Simon Says and Intergalactic.

His performance was low on turntablism, as J Rocc focused on keeping the crowd moving. Midway through his set he had The Bakery completely full and, by the time he handed over to Madlib just before 1am, punters seemed worn out even as they screamed for the headliner.

Madlib (photo by Daniel Craig) The Beat Konducta began by playing a very woozy remix of the introduction to Accordion, leading into the full song. It was a promising start to a set that consisted of Madlib beats, with a few yet-to-be-released and exclusive-for-the-tour tracks thrown in for good measure. But, besides Accordion, he largely avoided playing crowd favourites – for example, spinning Jaylib’s great Nowadayz but not The Red, which would have undoubtedly had the whole crowd jumping.

And, perhaps due to his infamously short attention span, Madlib’s habit of using his mixer to manipulate the songs – for example, silencing the bass or the mids to make the track sound hollow, or muting everything but a song’s kicks and snares – quickly became distracting. Halfway through his set the crowd had noticeably thinned, as punters retreated from the heat of The Bakery into the beer garden while Madlib explored psychedelic rock and some unusual jazz productions.

Perhaps the set may have worked better at the end of an evening of offbeat and experimental music but following the energetic support sets by Egon and J Rocc, it seemed a little underwhelming to all but the most dedicated Madlib enthusiasts – many of whom were in the crowd, cheering loudly as he finished with a tribute to his late friend, spinning J Dilla’s Lightworks.

JOSHUA HAYES

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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

The Black Keys

ROCK IT

The Black Keys, Birds Of Tokyo, John Butler Trio, The Panics, Lanie Lane and more Arena Joondalup Sunday, October 28, 2012 A rite of passage, a sea of hormones and the flagraising of the rock’n’roll dream to the top of the mast - that’s what Rock It used to signify for the music-loving youth of WA. However, after the sudden abundance of youth-friendly music events popping up seemingly every weekend over summer, in addition to the presence of only one international act on the line-up and an unexpected downpour early in the afternoon, the return of Rock It after a three year hiatus did not draw the largest of crowds, but that didn’t stop it from being one of the highlights of the festival season.

If Rock It 2012 had a defining sound it would be a blues rock riff - played like blues rock still matters. And in the hands of local rock goddess Abbe May - who played the last ever incarnation of her Design Desire set - it does. Likewise, east-coast ensembles Brothers Grimm and Graveyard Train shifted Kongs Rock’N’Roll Shack into fifth gear as they

pummeled out riffs as heavy as 18-wheelers.

Sydney’s Lanie Lane kept fires burning with lovely renditions of To The Horses and What Do I Do (which featured back-up harmonies courtesy of Graveyard Train and Brothers Grimm), while the snaking licks and hearty emotional punch of (Oh Well) That’s What You Get (Falling in Love with a Cowboy) - which she dedicated to her “lover from the Perth hills” - and smokin’ hot Jack White collaboration My Man sounded blissful.

The Panics fared less favorably. Although their tunes are achingly sincere and casually lovely, there was no sense of scope or surprise. As such, while Jae Laffer’s staid lead vocals meshed nicely with the outfit’s adult-contemporary vibe, it wasn’t enough to keep most fans from opting to sit down or wander away to snag a beer, especially after their decision to cash out their best-known song, Don’t Fight It, too early stifled what might have been a memorable ending.

The energy shifted gears just as quickly, however, when the John Butler Trio took the stage, inciting some spirited sing-a-longs from the kind of punters who dig the laid-back grooves and the idea they are down with the kids. Which is not to say that Butler’s music doesn’t have its moments, but after a decade of performing on the local scene, his social-activist shtick (“Woodside and Colin Barnett’s government don’t give a fuck about what you want, all they want is money,” he declared before launching into Treat Yo Mama) and continual peddling out of

the same radio hits - Zebra, Better Man, Somethings Gotta Give - is beginning to feel tiresome.

Talking about love from the locals - the guys from Birds Of Tokyo got it in droves. In this reviewer’s opinion if you’ve seen ‘em once, you’ve seen ‘em enough, but that said, this night was still a celebratory homecoming. The crowd was most assuredly packed with friends, first-time viewers and plenty of wellestablished fans pumped their fists to electrified renditions of Wild Eyed Boy, Silhouettic, The Saddest Thing I Know. The band showcased their ability to bring a festival crowd to fever pitch when they strutted out their final two tunes, the eternally popular Plans followed by a scorching rendition of new single This Fire.

When it was finally time for The Black Keys to hit the main stage, the crowd was bigger than it had been all day, the forward-rushes for opener Howlin’ For You more enthusiastic and their set – solid hits mainly drawn from their Grammy award-winning Brothers and last year’s acclaimed El Camino – was headliner-worthy. While the unassuming pair initially didn’t say much beyond “That’s Patrick on drums.

My name’s Dan” as the set progressed they indulged the audience with tidbits from the road, including memories from their first Perth show at the Charles Hotel on the back of their 2003 thickfreakness release.

While additional musicians added splashes of bass and keyboards on Next Girl, Run Right Back and Same Old Thing, when the Keys revert to a duo their core strengths shine, and their tighterthan-tight instrumentals on crowd-pleasers Dead

Brothers Grimm And Gone, Gold On The Ceiling and Lonely Boy served as a reminder to the fact that they spent almost a decade building a following the old-fashioned way - through relentless touring, critical acclaim and word of mouth. It was a subtle reminder of the kind of memories, unmissable moments and surprises Rock It has delivered through the years. While it may not be the ultimate rock music festival anymore, it’s certainly great to have it back. _JENNIFER PETERSON-WARD

Birds Of Tokyo

Rock It 2012 (Photos: Callum Ponton)

SOMETHING FOR KATE Ben Salter

Fly By Night Saturday, October 27, 2012 The Fly By Night was hazy with heat at the beginning of the gig following a humid day in Freo.

Luckily things started to cool down mid-way, leaving Something For Kate to work up a sweat in their energetic, thrashing set. The band’s Leave Your Soul To Science tour brings them to WA for the first time in four years, although they promised to be back next year. Let’s hold them to that.

Ben Salter wandered on stage looking every bit the dishevelled poet. His music was beautiful, weaving, and melancholic, and it seemed natural for the audience to sit on the floor to watch him. Most songs were from his latest release The Cat — “You should all go and buy it, it’s got a picture of my cat on it... you can frame it,” Salter joked. This was Salter’s last night on the tour as he flew back to Brisbane straight after the set to fulfill commitments with his band, The Gin Club, and it was great to be able to see him before he left. Salter’s set was warm and inviting and he ended with a soulful cover of Smokey Robinson’s The Tracks Of My Tears, which he dedicated to Something For Kate.

The main act’s long absence from WA and the music scene in general has been well felt, but this gig did a pretty good job of making up for it. Something For Kate played an hour and a half, and fans would no doubt have been pleased when they returned for three encore songs. They were joined by a fourth member, John, on guitar and keys. The band’s latest material has a brash feel, which made for an upbeat and assertive set.

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It may have been a touch repetitive at times but at least they brought with them something a little varied to their previous material. They lead into it with Eureka and swiftly onto The Economy, which combined a raw, tinny guitar lead with a steady drum beat a lot more restrained than the other monstrous drumming Clint Hyndman unleashed during the set. Stephanie Ashworth’s bass was turned up loud and played violently. She switched to tambourine occasionally, such as in The Fireball At The End of Everything, which started off lightly and ended with Dempsey playing a fierce guitar solo. The Kids Will Get The Money was introduced as “quite a different song”, and with its lyrics evoking a crime scene — “You’re never gonna put the blood back wherever it came from, you’re sleeping like a baby”— it was markedly different to the others.

Their latest single, Survival Expert, was perfect, and it was good to see it played earlier in the night rather than pinned on to the end of the set.

Dempsey performed solo mid-way through. It’s always a treat to hear his voice alone because it is so forceful and stirring. Dempsey took a request for Kaplan/Thornhill and although he had to stop to remember the words, it was enjoyable.

His rendition of Sam Brown’s Stop was unexpected, and one of the best of the night as his voice carried all the emotion for it. But as with any band with an extensive back catalogue, it was the old favourites like Say Something and Monsters that still got the biggest claps from the audience. _CORAL HUCKSTEP X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

ROSEMOUNT HOTEL

On Wednesday, October 31, The Rosemount will be host to one of the spookiest Halloween gigs ever witnessed in Perth! Returning from the grave for one night only is Perth’s premier zombie rock band Matty Trash & Horrorbles! Bringing body-bags full of their best songs such as Buried Together, Cold Hard Choice and Jesus Was the First Zombie, blood will spin once more! It’s also a huge week with one of Australia’s most-loved bands play seven shows in a row! Catch The Living End from this Thursday, November 1, ‘til Wednesday, November 7, playing all their albums in their entirety on different nights. Tickets from rosemounthotel.com.au.

INDI BAR

This Wednesday, October 31, Ash Grunwald hits the Indi Bar for another spectacular throw down. Carus Thompson launches his album on Saturday, November 3, with his full band and Sunday, November 4, a double local headline show from Ensemble Formidable and The Lucky Numbers will wrap up a stellar weekend.

Also, don’t forget to book in for the Melbourne Cup Luncheon which includes a three course meal, prizes and heaps of sweeps!

THE ROYAL ON THE WATERFRONT

Espolon Tequila and the Royal on the Waterfront present to you Dia de los Muertos - a traditional Mexican celebration with a twist. Enjoy a premium food and beverage offering including Espolon tequila mixes, tapas, tequila cocktails, beer, wine, bubbles... and did we mention tequila? Expect to be entertained by South and Central American style music and dance performances, as well as DJ Vicktor Vs DJ James Ess as they go head to head to conclude the evening. You can even get your face painted in traditional day of the dead designs, all inclusive of your $45 pre-sale ticket. This exclusive event has limited places, so make sure you call the Royal on 9221 0466, or email Lisa at info@theroyaleastperth.com to secure your invitation.

YA YA’S

Sydney Duo Spit Sydicate play Friday, November 2, night as part of the Beauty In The Bricks tour.

Saturday, November 3, welcomes back the monthly edition of Day Tripper with free live music all day. Jordie Lane hits the stage on Sunday, November 4, as a part of his Fool For The Love Tour.

Get tickets from ya-yas.com.au.

MUSTANG BAR

In January of 1988, amidst the frozen badlands of Västerås, Sweden, a gang of Vikings decided to heat things up by forming a rockabilly trio. They would call themselves The Go Getters. 23 years later the ensuing Come down to the Hyde Park Hotel this Friday inferno still rages like an oil fire in Texas! Catch them afternoon, November 2, and see acoustic act Ricky live at The Mustang Bar Thursday, November 1, with DJ Green get you in the mood for the weekend, followed James MacArthur on the decks till late.

by Legacy of Supremacy, The Shakeys, The Branson Trams and Ol Bougainvillea at 8pm. Saturday, November 3, Jana Chanelle & The Prescription perform live on stage from 9pm, to which entry is free.

Come down to Paddo POW tonight, Wednesday, October 31, and see live acts One Thousand Years, The Date & Shaun McCormack take the stage from 8pm. As always entry for the night is free.

On Wednesday, October 31, The Beat will come alive with The Rocky Horror Revue Live Show, a zany theatrical tribute to the late ‘70s cult classic The Saturday, November 3, catch Spit Syndicate at Mojos Bar! Rocky Horror Picture Show. Dr. Frank-N-Furter and Their third long player to date, Sunday Gentleman is set Magenta will take you on a time warp, capturing to drop early 2013 through Obese Records but first up, is the dynamic songs and characters as they play out their first headline tour in two years. The flipside of course their roles using people from the audience to partis that tickets are extremely limited, so check it and get in take in the fun and spirit of the storyline. Get down quick. Tickets are $15+BF thru oztix.com.au or $20 at the in your finest fish-nets and sequined waistcoats as door from 8pm. For your chance to win a double pass to dress-ups go in the draw to win a range of prizes this show email mojos@coolperthnights.com with ‘Spit and giveaways including a $500 travel voucher.

Seconds’ in the subject line.

HYDE PARK HOTEL

THE PADDO

THE BEAT

MOJOS BAR

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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

Dave Craddock & The Spectacles

DAVEY CRADDOCK & THE SPECTACLES Home & Hosed

It may still be Davey Craddock’s manifesto but, having been quietly honing his musical chops solo for nearly a decade, the talented local troubadour’s second EP Going Home was penned with his“big, heaving, living, breathing band of charming gentlemen The Spectacles” in mind. Craddock & co will launch Going Home at the Fremantle Arts Centre on Friday, November 2. JENNIFER PETERSON-WARD reports.

As Davey Craddock attests, there’s nothing he’d doing a photoshoot at the Swan View railway tunnel hate more than being ‘that’ “boring country/ for the EP I realised that the themes of the songs tied folky guy in the corner of a pub whining about his in really well with that location. It’s a really beautiful, natural and peaceful place which is at odds with its girlfriend and puffing on a harmonica”.

“Because I’m nominally a ‘folky singer history which involves WA’s first mining boom, big fast songwriter’, I’ve got this real mental hang up about noisy locomotives and even train accidents.”

While Introducing Davey Craddock was how mind-numbingly boring artists in that genre can be. It’s a genre that can be so beige and awful at times. recorded in a tiny home studio in Muswell Hill in So knowing that I’d be playing these songs with a band London, Going Home was aptly recorded a little closer I really wanted them songs to be as exciting, ‘full’ and to home at Studio Couch, a professional studio in North Fremantle.“Dan Carroll the lovely chap that band-driven as possible,” he continues.

“In terms of writing I also really wanted produced the EP and played lead guitar on most of the to bring a ‘50s rock‘n’roll vibe to the songs and veer tracks knew exactly the kind of dusty, live, ‘bar room’ away from slower tunes in the English folk tradition. I sound we were going for so he used a lot of fancy tape basically live in fear of being boring because so much machines, tape echoes and old microphones which folk and Americana can be… It feels a bit like [debut EP] helped us sound 10 per cent more like Elvis in Sun Introducing Davey Craddock was in 2D and Going Home Studios. I guess that’s pretty much everyone who sings is in 3D. I played solo for eight years so the songs on rock‘n’roll songs goal isn’t it?”

While Craddock has been performing the last EP were sung on my lonesome whereas Going Home is written for my big, heaving, living, breathing with full band in tow for last couple of years, The Spectacles have undergone some changes of late, with band of charming gentlemen The Spectacles.”

Despite Craddock’s acute awareness of key member Sean Pollard making the big move to the pitfalls of working within the constraints of the Melbourne with his main outfit Split Seconds, and new folk-rock genre, Going Home is an exercise in plangent member Pete Stone (best known for his work in Abbe Americana that is as much indebted to classic rock May And The Rockin’ Pneumonia) picking up the slack.

“The Spectacles are essentially a trio but for icon, Bruce Springsteen, as it is to modern country the launch and in the studio we like to have buddies touchstones like Justin Townes-Earle.

“I think folk, country and even classic who come in and help out,” Craddock explains, adding rock‘n’roll songs can risk being really clichéd, museum that he’s invited a few of his favourite musicians from relics and both of those guys write in a classic style but around town for the local love-in that will be the Going about really contemporary subject matter,”he explains. Home EP launch.

“It’s in the courtyard where they hold “Country songs don’t need to be about horses and whisky and rock songs don’t always need to be about the Sonic Sessions and it’s an intimate environment boys meeting girls and that’s something I really admire where you’ll really be able to listen to the lyrics and stories within the songs. I’m also really chuffed with about those two writers.”

Indeed, the tunes on Going Home find how many really talented players I’ll have playing Craddock stamping his own idiosyncratic character on with me in the band on the night – there’s a WAM Multi-Instrumentalist Of The Year in Todd Pickett our his essentially traditional music.

“Ruby St, Right Brain Holiday and Come Around drummer, a Guitarist Of The Year in Luke Dux, one of all have vaguely similar themes in that they’re songs Perth’s best pianists, Tal Cohen (his recent solo album about how fast we live our lives now and how much time got four stars in The Australian) and Pete Stone on bass we spend looking at screens - they’re a bit nostalgic and who is a WA music stalwart. We’ve also got Ben Witt yearning for slower, simpler times. I wrote them all while from The Chemist who is an incredible songwriter and working in a really fast-paced corporate environment. then The High Learys who are a really fun, entertaining I seemed to compensate for the really fast, busy, urban ‘60s rock‘n’roll Mod band.

“I reckon that’s a fair bit of entertainment lifestyle by turning into a complete grandpa in my free time. I became obsessed with what I see as the holy for $15. That wouldn’t buy you two pints in Perth these trilogy of old man-ish ‘slow living’ past times – vegetable days. I also think people should come along because gardening,fishing and golf.My vege garden has shrivelled the songs are all about them, not necessarily me. up and died but the golf and fishing obsession remains. They’re about living in WA and played by WA people.

So much of our popular culture and music is imported It’s pretty embarrassing,”he explains.

“Keep On Waiting and Anti-Folk, however, are now so I think it’s nice sometimes to consume local, more angry, balls-out rock songs. When we ended up home-grown stuff.”

DEAD SET STATIC

It’s over: after a year of chaos, hard-work, and the release of a debut EP, Dead Set Radio has come to an end with the band members’ decision to head in different directions. Don’t miss your last chance to set the band live (and pick up some of their remaining merch for nostalgic years to come) on Friday, November 2, at the Civic Backroom. Jake And The Cowboys, Midnight Boulevard, One Armed Scissor and Further Earth will be on hand to wave them farewell.

BRANCHING OUT

Four-piece Branches Of Berlin (featuring members from Heytesburg and The Southwicks) will take you on a sprawling adventure of baroque and dream pop magnificence when they launch their debut single Insomniatic at The Den on Saturday, November 3. Misty Mountain, Sully, The Crossbars and Juan Don Rocco, will all be on hand to bask in the warm glow and enjoy the panoramic sounds.

THIRD TIMES A CHARM

At Mojo’s Bar on Sunday, November 4, set your soul swinging and your heart skipping with three of the most spectacular professional music bands this side of nowhere. Witness face melting feats of bravery with Mitch Becker’s Stompin’ Blues Band! Behold the campfire-hypnotism and misfortune-telling of The Justin Walshe Folk Machine! Howl with those wild-eyed Whistling Dogs singing world music for agoraphobes! You’ve heard of the goodtimes. Now let ‘em hear about you. Put on your best new pants and get entertained like a winner! www.xpressmag.com.au

BIRTHDAY BABES

Local garage rock’n’rollers The Shakeys celebrate their first birthday at The Hydey this Friday, November 2, by hijacking The Branson Tramps’ Laser Rock Show.

The evening features lasers, dry ice and a heap of local band action, with the likes of fuzzed out stoner rockers Ol Bouginvillea, and heavy metal hard nuts Legacy Of Supremacy also in tow. All the action kicks off from 8pm till late, entry is only $10, and there’s promise of a homemade t-shirt cannon. Don’t miss this one folks.

ROLL UPS

Featuring some of Perth’s best skaters and aggressive inline skaters – including Kerron Pieri, Roy Davies, Hadlee Martin and many more – Mike Anderson’s new film Roll Call looks killer! Don’t miss the premier of the film on Saturday, November 3, at Ya Ya’s. Awesome local bands The Beers, Zorbas Milk, The Kuillotines and The Crooked Cats will be playing their most rocking tunes. Its free entry before 8pm, doors open at 7pm.This is going to be one hell of a night!

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Billy Bragg, November 2 & 3, Astor Theatre

Arrested Development, November 3, Metro City

Emmylou Harris, November 6, Perth Concert Hall

SWAMP THING JLO SOUTHBOUND (The Twerps, Yeasayer ) 6 Perth Arena 11 Fremantle Arts Centre Flaming Lips, SBTRKT, Best 9 Venue TBC LAGWAGON/ THE SMITH Coast, Beach House, Boy & GIN BLOSSOMS DEXYS STREET BAND 12 Astor Theatre Bear, Coolio, The Vaccines, 10 Capitol 1 Karratha Tavern 5 Prince Of Wales SHAUN KIRKE Bombay Bicycle Club, First AMANDA PALMER 2 Fly By Night Club 6 The Rosemount 13 Charles Hotel Aid Kit, Hilltop Hoods, 14 Astor Theatre SPENCER P JONES/ THE 14 Indi Bar Hot Chip, Maximo Park, CELTIC THUNDER NOTHING BUTTS HOT CHELLE RAE / 17 Settlers Tavern Millions, Totally Enormous 16 Perth Arena 7 The Bakery SIGUR ROS Extinct Dinosaurs, Angus DAVID HASSLEHOFF CHER LLOYD THE BLACKEYED SUSANS Stone, Ball Park Music, 13 Belvoir Amphitheatre 17 Capitol 1 Astor Theatre SILVERSUN PICKUPS/ THE 7 The Rosemount Cosmo Jarvis, Django RINGO STARR 8 Mojos Bar DANDY WARHOLS Django, The Hives, Jinjo 21 Challenge Stadium MISSY HIGGINS 13 Fremantle Arts Centre Safari, Lisa Mitchell, Matt ED SHEERAN/ PASSENGER 8 Fremantle Arts Centre KARMA COUNTY BEN FOLDS FIVE Corby, Sharon Van Etten, 23 Challenge Stadium NICKI MINAJ / TYGA 14 Fremantle Arts Centre 1 Clancy’s Fish Pub Two Door Cinema Club, CLIFF RICHARDS 8 Perth Arena SANTIGOLD/ CRAZY P Fremantle Bertie Blackman, DJ NuSHANE NICHOLSON 14 Metro City Mark Toy Set, The Jungle 23 Sandalford Estate 10 Fremantle Arts Centre GLENN FREY THE BEARDS / THE Giants, Loon Lake, Oh PRIMAL SCREAM GYPSY & THE CAT SNOWDROPPERS Mercy, Rodrigo Gabriela, 24 Kings Park & Botanical 11 Astor Theatre 2 Amplifier 15 Prince Of Wales Garden San Cisco & more TBA) HUSKY 16 Settlers Tavern 4 & 5 Sir Stewart Bovell Park NORAH JONES 12 Mojos Bar 17 Rosemount Hotel 24 Riverside Theatre Busselton BILLY BRAGG 13 The Bakery 18 Indi Bar 65 DAYS OF STATIC 2 & 3 Astor Theatre MANHATTAN JINX WASHINGTON 5 The Bakery 12 Prince Of Wales 16 & 17 Quarry MARCH SUMMADAYZE (M.I.A, 14 Rocket Room Amphitheatre FUTURE MUSIC FESTIVAL CARUS Fedde Le Grand, Mark NICKELBACK / JACKSON 15 The Railway 2013 (The Prodigy, Ronson DJ Set, Kimbra, SAN CISCO / THE THOMPSON FIREBIRD Booka Shade Live, Eddie The Stone Roses, PSY, PREATURES 2 Indi Bar 17 Perth Arena Dizzee Rascal, Bloc Party, Halliwell, AN21 & Max 14 The Bakery PREFUSE 73 & TEEBS 3 Norfolk Basement Azealia Banks, Rita Ora, Vangeli, Carl Craig, 69 TAME IMPALA 17 Bakery Boys Noize, Hardwell, 15 Fremantle Arts Centre Live, Maya Jane Coles, ANGUS STONE PARKWAY DRIVE The Temper Trap, FUN, AT THE GATES Disclosure Live, Erol 17 Perth Zoo 19 Challenge Stadium 3 Capitol Alkan, Fake Blood, Madeon, Rudimental, THE GLEN MILLER DARREN HANLON Adrian Lux, Breakbot Ellie Goulding, Steve Aoki, ORCHESTRA 19 Mojos Bar Live, Hudson Mohawke, Alesso, Gypsy & The Cat, 17 Burswood Theatre ARRESTED SUICIDAL TENDENCIES/ Araabmuzik, Icona Pop, A-Trak, Feed Me, Zeds JOHN BUTLER UNWRITTEN LAW/ THE Scuba, Aeroplane, Jesse Dead, Kill The Noise, DJ 18 Fly By Night DEVELOPMENT DUDESONS Rose, Danny Daze, AC JEFF MARTIN 3 Metro City Fresh, Nervo, Zane Lowe, 19 Metro Freo Slater, Stafford Brothers Borgore, Cocoon Heroes ft 22 Friends Restaurant REGINA SPEKTOR & Timmy Trumpet, Bombs Sven Väth, Richie Hawtin, INDIAN SUMMER DJS 19 Belvoir Amphitheatre JORDIE LANE 22 Villa Away & More) Ricardo Villalobos, Seth JEFF MARTIN 4 YaYa’s DEEP SEA ARCADE 6 Patersons Stadium Troxler, Magda, Wake Your 20 Fremantle Arts Centre 23 The Rosemount Subiaco Mind ft Cosmic Gate & 21 Clancy’s Dunsborough MOVEMBER MAYHEM SANDI THOM Emma Hewitt, W&W, tyDi, 22 Mojos Bar THE LIVING END TOUR (Dream On 10 Fly By Night Andy Moor, Super8 & Tab, 23 Indi Bar 1-7 Rosemount Hotel Dreamer, Make Them EVAN DANDO / JULIANA NIGHTWISH Ben Gold, The Stafford Suffer, In Fear & Faith/ 20 Metropolis Fremantle HATFIELD Brothers, Timmy Trumpet, ESG EMMYLOU HARRIS Saviour) 22 The Rosemount Tenzin, Bombs Away & 22 Amplifier 20 The Bakery 6 Perth Concert Hall KENDRICK LAMAR More TBA) 23 YMCA HQ WEEZER 22 Astor Theatre 3 Arena Joondalup OMAR RODRIGUEZ LOPEZ 23 Perth Arena ORIGIN NYE (Chase & SOUNDWAVE 2013 MYRA MELFORD 24 The Rosemount WOODS Status (DJ Set), Knife (Metallica, Linkin Park, STEREOSONIC (Tiësto, 6 The Bakery 23 The Bakery Party, Gaslamp Killer, Avicii, Calvin Harris, Pearson Sound, JEFF THE BROTHERHOOD Blink-182, A Perfect Circle, Example, Carl Cox, Major ShockOne, The Offspring, Paramore, 27 Mojos DMZ (Coki & Mala), Goldie, Lazer, and more) Garbage, Slayer, Cypress NOVEMBER YANNI Brothers, Ed 25 Claremont Showgrounds Brookes Hill, Bullet For My TRIO M 27 Perth Arena Rush, Wilkinson, Dillinja, BRITISH INDIA 7 The Bakery Valentine, and more) Marky & Stamina, Sigma, BIG DAY OUT (Red 29 Prince Of Wales JOE LONGTHORNE / 4 Claremont Showgrounds Delta Heavy, Metrik, DC Hot Chili Peppers, The MELISSA MANCHESTER 30 Metro Freo Breaks, Skism, Gemini, Killers, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, GLENN SHORROCK/ JOHN WILLIAMSON 7 Regal Theatre Inspector Dubplate, Jakes, Vampire Weekend, Band WENDY MATTHEWS/ TOUCHE AMORE/ MAKE 30 Quarry Amphitheatre Mensah, Dodge & Fuski, Of Horses, Kaskade, DOUG PARKINSON THE SAINTS/ THE DO AND MEND Bar9, Distance, Dark Sky, Animal Collective, 14 & 15 Quarry 7 YMCA HQ VOLCANICS Ben Ufo, New York Transit Against Me!, 360, Foals, Amphitheatre 8 Amplifier 30 Fly By Nightclub Authority, Pariah, XXXY, B.O.B, Sleigh Bells, Jeff THE CIVIL WARS JOSH PYKE Om Unit and more TBC) The Brotherhood, Off!, 15 St Joseph’s Subiaco 8 Artbar 30 & 31 Fairbridge Village, DECEMBER Grinspoon, Jagwar Ma, BOB MOULD CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE Pinjarra BRITISH INDIA Delta Spirit, Everytime I 16 The Rosemount BAND CHI POPTION (Shy 1 Amplifier Die, House Vs Hurricane, WILLIAM ELLIOT 8 Fly By Night Panther, Rachael Dease JOHN WILLIAMSON TRIPOD Alabama Shakes, and WHITMORE vs Ylem, Diger Rokwell 9 & 10 Quarry Amphitheatre 1 Quarry Amphitheatre more) vs Mathas, Kucka, Leure, 28 Claremont Showgrounds 23 Mojos Bar JUSTINE CLARKE REFUSED/ BLKOUT/ Mei Saraswati, Dani 1 Astor Theatre NUCLEAR SUMMER/ RICHARD HAWLEY REECE MASTIN/ JUSTICE Marsland, Jo Lettenmaier, 31 Astor Theatre ENDLESS HEIGHTS/ APRIL OUTRIGHT/ HIGHTIME CREW/ THE JANOSKIANS Aarom Wilson vs Craig, HITS & PITS 2013 (Mad Hollywood, Ben Taaffe 9 Metropolis Fremantle 1 Perth Arena Caddies, Good Riddance, vs Rok Riley, Clunk, PCJ JOHN WAITE NATURAL NEW ZEALAND FEBRUARY vs Nik Ridik, Miranda A Wilhelm Scream, (POSTPONED) MUSIC FESTIVAL ( ELVIS COSTELLO & THE Menzies) 9 Metro City Voodoo Glow Skulls, The Shapeshifter, Kora, Ladi6, IMPOSTERS/ SUNNYBOYS/ BLEEDING KNEES CLUB Trinity Roots, David Dallas, 31 The Bakery JO JO ZEP &THE FALCONS/ Flatliners, Diesel Boy, INSERT TO PLAY (360, 9 Metro Freo One Dollar Short, Jamie P-Money & More) STEPHEN CUMMINGS Drapht, Hermitude, 10 Amplifier 1 Red Hill Auditorium Hay, Jen Buxton, Totally 6 Kings Park Botanic SARITAH Urthboy) RUSSELL BRAND Unicorn & Paper Arms) 9 Fly By Nightclub 31 Supreme Court Gardens Gardens 2 Perth Arena ST. JEROME’S LANEWAY 1 Metro Freo 10 Settlers Tavern THE KNOCKS THE SCRIPT FESTIVAL 2013 (Alpine, ELTON JOHN 2 Venue TBA Perth Arena 10 & 12 Perth Arena JANUARY 2013 Alt-J, Bat For Lashes, Chet 3ROGER SIMPLE MINDS / DEVO / HODGSON PROGFEST (Ne Faker, Cloud Nothings, CUBAN CLUB (Cuban 7 Riverside Theatre Obliviscaris, Serial Killer THE CHURCH / MODELS Brothers, Yacht Club DJs, Divine Fits, El-P, Flume, 4 Kings Park & Botanical Smile and more TBA) ZUCCHERO Henry Wagons & The Russ Dewbury, Still Water Garden 10 Civic Hotel 17 Regal Theatre Giants, Death Disco DJs & Unwelcome Company, REEL BIG FISH/ DAN SULTAN / LEAH High Highs, Holy Other, El Ginger Mojito) GOLDFINGER/ FLANAGAN 1 The Flying Squadron Yacht Japandroids, Jessie Ware, ZEBRAHEAD 10 The Bakery JUNE Julia Holter, Kings Of Club, Dalkeith 5 Metro City 11 Fly By Night Convenience, The Men, Ms PINK CLUB PARADISO 2013 KASEY CHAMBERS/ MATCHBOX TWENTY/ Mr, The Neighbourhood, 25, 26 & 28 Perth Arena (Friendly Fires, Kaz James, SHANE NICHOLSON INXS/ EVERMORE Helena, Mr Wilson, Zelimir, Nicolas Jaar, Nite Jewel, Of 5 Albany Entertainment 11 Perth Arena The Halo Effect, Habitat Monsters & Men, Perfume Centre BREAKING ORBIT/ SEPTEMBER DJ’s, Maiko DJ’s, Acebasik Genius, Polica, Pond, 6 Civic Centre Esperance SERIAL KILLER SMILE/ Real Estate, The Rubens, ONE DIRECTION and Kno Agents) 7 Goldfields Arts Centre CARTHASEY Shlohmo, Snakadaktal, 11 Newport 8 Mundaring Weir Hotel 28 & 29 Perth Arena 1 Salt On the Beach

THIS WEEK

ASH GRUNWALD

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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

www.xpressmag.com.au

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Kynan Tan, Wednesday at The Moon

WEDNESDAY 31.10 BAR 120 Felix BRASS MONKEY Sugar Blue Burlesque CLANCY’S CANNING BRIDGE Moondog J Dillip Parekh CLAREMONT HOTEL Open Mic Night DEVILLES PAD Graveyard Train The Brothers Grim Ruby Boots ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB A Tribute To Thelonious Monk With Ben Vanderwal GREENWOOD Bernardine GROOVE BAR (CROWN CASINO) 5 Shots HALE ROAD TAVERN Fenton Wilde INDI BAR Ash Grunwald LUCKY SHAG Nathan Gaunt MOJOS BAR Blues & The Davs Old Blood Phil Edgley MUSTANG Parker Avenue PADDO One Thousand Years The Date Shaun McCormack ROSEMOUNT Reapers Riddle Matty Trash & The Horrorbles Midnight Boulevard Deadlock ROSIE O’GRADY’S (NORTHBRIDGE) David Fyffe THE BROWN FOX Courtney Murphy THE MOON Leure Kynan Tan Craig McElhinney UNIVERSAL Strutt

YAYA’S The Order Of The Black Werewolf FAIM Zeks Neutral Native

THURSDAY 01.11 BELGIAN BEER CAFÉ Chasing Calee BRASS MONKEY Rhythm Bound Karaoke BRIGHTON Open Mic Night BROOKLANDS TAVERN Celebrations Karaoke CLANCY’S CANNING BRIDGE Zukhuta CLANCY’S FREMANTLE Karma County COMO HOTEL Courtney Murphy DEVILLES PAD Rock ‘N’ Roll Karaoke DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN Open Mic Night ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB MFO FLY TRAP Jugular GROOVE BAR (CROWN) Decoy HIGH WYCOMBE HOTEL Chris Murphy INDI BAR Bex’s Open Mic Night LEEDERVILLE HOTEL Leederville Loungeroom The Stanleys Kizzy Joel Barker Kite Magic MARKET CITY TAVERN Sarina Cooper Kap T Jon Madd Gary John Serge Sharinovsky MOJOS BAR Shy Panther Leure MF Groom Bleeding Colours Felix Baumgartner MUSTANG BAR The Go Getters

Branches Of Berlin

BRANCHES OF BERLIN

MISTY MOUNTAIN SULLY THE CROSSBARS JUAN DON ROCCO SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3

CIVIC HOTEL

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Joel Barker, Thursday at Leederville Hotel NORFOLK BASEMENT The Aunts The New Beast DJ Cookie OXFORD HOTEL Johnny Taylor PADDY HANNAN’S Dr Bogus ROSEMOUNT The Living End Sons Of Rico Gyroscope DJs ROSIE O’GRADY’S (FREMANTLE) Clayton Bolger ROSIE O’GRADY’S (NORTHBRIDGE) Bill Chidgzey SOVEREIGN ARMS Fenton Wilde THE BOAT Jen De Ness THE BROOK Open Mic Night THE GATE One Trick Phonies THE SHED Baby Piranhas UNIVERSAL Off The Record WOODVALE Two Plus One YA YA’S Odette Mercy This Week Riley Pearce Stella Donnelly Kate Gilbertson

FRIDAY 02.11 7th AVENUE Midnight Rambler ADMIRAL Steve Hepple AMPLIFIER Gypsy & The Cat BAILEY BAR Mod Squad BAKERY Dianas Fucking Teeth Doctopus Ham Jam The Choke & Dust BALLYS BAR Anderson BALMORAL Mike Nayar BAR ORIENT The Reggae Club General Justice H-Mut Kelvin & Jona Zimbabwean Lions The Empressions Mumma Trees Sista Che BELMONT TAVERN The Bluebottles BENTLEY HOTEL Jamie Powers BLACK BETTYS Everlong BRASS MONKEY Christian Thompson BREAKERS BAR Madam Montage BROKEN HILL HOTEL Matt Milford BROOKLANDS TAVERN Better Days CAPTAIN STIRLING Double Take CARINE Pop Candy CARLISLE HOTEL Reload CHASE BAR Chasing Calee CIVIC HOTEL Dead Set Radio Further Earth One Armed Scissor Midnight Boulevard Jake & The Cowboys

Shy Panther, Thursday at Mojo’s Bar

CIVIC HOTEL (THE DEN) SSA The Bob Gordons Blindspot Alex The Kid Gutter Drakes CLANCY’S CITY BEACH Rhys Smith Trio CLANCY’S DUNSBOROUGH The Big Hoo Haa CLANCY’S FREMANTLE Diamond Dave & The Doodaddies COMO HOTEL Trevor Jalla CORNERSTONE Krakatinni Brothers CORNY HOTEL Powertrain CRAFTSMAN Nicki Rose DEVILLES PAD Go Getters The Continentals Razor Jack Holly Doll Herman Ze German Lil’ Franco Berry Les Sataniques DUSK LOUNGE Aftershock EAST 150 Ali Towers ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB James Flynn Cocktails & Crooners Cartel EMPIRE Electrophobia FLY BY NIGHT Ash Grunwald GREENWOOD Cargo Beat HALE ROAD TAVERN Jack & Jill HERDSMAN Sugarfield HIGH ROAD HOTEL Clayton Bolger The Damien Cripps Band HIGH WYCOMBE HOTEL Dr Bogus HYDE PARK HOTEL Legacy Of Supremacy The Shakeys The Branson Tramps OL Bouginvillea INDI BAR Carus Thompson INDIAN OCEAN BREW Ben Merito KALAMUNDA HOTEL New Vintage LAKERS Slickenside Melee LEGENDS BAR The Organ Grinders M ON THE POINT James Wilson MARKET CITY TAVERN Tamika Alicia Risk MERRIWA TAVERN Overload MOJOS BAR (ARVO) Captn K Simmo T MOJOS BAR (EVE) Crucial Rockers Earthlink Sound Sheriff Lindo Kritical & Drummie DJ Sorted SimmoT MOON & SIXPENCE Soul Corporation MUSTANG BAR Harry Deluxe Cheeky Monkeys NEWPORT Party Rockers

NORFOLK BASEMENT Country Night In Freo The Suntones Stoney Joe Helen Townsend Band Dilip Mitch Becker Country Duo PADDO Simon Kelly PADDY HANNAN’S J Babies PARAMOUNT Flyte PEEL ALEHOUSE Acoustic License PRINCESS ROAD TAVERN Free Radicals ROCKET ROOM Neverborn Inanimacy Combined Death Toll ROSE & CROWN Stella Donnelly ROSEMOUNT The Living End Sons Of Rico Gyroscope DJs ROSIE O’GRADY’S (FREMANTLE) Spyce ROSIE O’GRADY’S (NORTHBRIDGE) Neil Colliss SAIL & ANCHOR Joe Black Trio Antonio Papalia SOUTH ST ALE HOUSE Robbie King Karaoke SPRINGS TAVERN Greg Carter Karaoke SWAN LOUNGE Roly The Rupert Crook Confusion SWINGING PIG Chris Gibbs Band Greg Carter THE BOAT Deuce THE GATE Smoking Section THE SAINT Huge THE SHED Kickstart THE VIC Jen De Ness TIGER LILS Paul Malone Adam Kelly Alex Koresis UNIVERSAL Nightmoves VELVET LOUNGE Suns Of Fred The De Grussa Band Xavier Susai Dayne Rathbone James De Leo Tien Tran Bonnie Davies Byron Bard MC Duties VICTORIA PARK HOTEL Ivan Ribic WOODVALE TAVERN Lush YAYA’S Spit Syndicate

SATURDAY 03.11 ADMIRAL Greg Cater AMPLIFIER At The Gates BALLYS BAR Dove BALMORAL The Recliners BAILEY BAR Switch

X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

Listing deadline is Monday 5pm. GO TO www.xpressmag.com.au /PLUG YOUR GIG and plug away!

The X-Press Guide is a Perth metropolitan service for advertisers listing tours, live, dance and arts events.

All inclusions are at the discretion of X-Press Magazine. The one entry system will update our print edition, website and App

Sons Of Rico, Thursday, Friday & Saturday, The Rosemount BAR 120 Flyte BELGIAN BEER CAFÉ Mike Nayar BLACK BETTY’S J Babies BLVD TAVERN Sol-Lo Krank Hart Duo BREAKERS BAR Aftershock BRIGHTON Chris Gibbs Band CLANCY’S CANNING BRIDGE Tom Fisher Duo CLANCY’S CITY BEACH The Crux CLANCY’S FREMANTLE Nathan Gaunt CROWN CASINO (PRIZE DRAW STAGE) Krakatinni Brothers CIVIC HOTEL (THE DEN) Branches Of Berlin Misty Mountain Sully The Crossbars Juan Don Rocco COMO HOTEL Helen Shanahan CORNY HOTEL Powertrain DEVILLES PAD Boom Bap Pow ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Penny King Quintet Empire With Elise Lynelle FLY BY NIGHT Fly By Night’s 26th Birthday Stratosfunk GREENWOOD Local Heroes GROOVE BAR (CROWN CASINO) Hi NRG HIGH ROAD HOTEL Losing Julia HYDE PARK HOTEL Jana Chanelle & The Prescription INDIAN OCEAN BREW CO The Blackbirds INDI BAR Vdelli LAKERS Celebrations Karaoke LANGFORD ALEHOUSE Die Hard Karaoke LEOPOLD HOTEL Neil Coliss LOBBY LOUNGE (CROWN CASINO) John & Shaun Sandosham M ON THE POINT Rhythm 22 MINDARIE MARINA RESORT Gary Fowlie MOJOS BAR Spit Syndicate Mr Grevis Creed Birch MOON & SIXPENCE Damien Cripps Band MUSTANG The Rusty Pinto Combo Milhouse NEWPORT Kizzy Gravity NORFOLK BASEMENT Carus Leena PADDY HANNANS Decoy PARAMOUNT Felix PEEL ALEHOUSE Overload

Friday Friday Travis Caudle Dianas, Friday Travis at The Caudle Bakery FlyBy ByNight Night Fly

QUARIE BAR Smoking Section RAILWAY HOTEL Black Ink Dark Or The Day Xenon The Rumble ROCKET ROOM Kickstart ROSEMOUNT The Living End Sons Of Rico Gyroscope DJs ROSIE O’GRADY’S (FREMANTLE) Flavor ROSIE O’GRADY’S (NORTHBRIDGE) Blue Gene SAIL & ANCHOR The Kickstarts Childs Play SEAVIEW HOTEL Open Mic Night STEVES BAR Ezereve SWAN LOUNGE Kite Magic Lauren O’Hara SWINGING PIG Greg Carter Rock-A-Fellas THE BOAT The Organ Grinders THE GATE Dirty Scoundrels THE SAINT Retrofit THE SHED Huge UNIVERSAL Soul Corporation WHALE & ALE Carbon Taxi Trio WOODVALE TAVERN Courtney Murphy & Murphy’s Lore YAYA’S The Crooked Cats The Kuillotines Zorbas Milk The Beers

SUNDAY 04.11 7TH AVENUE Good Karma BALMORAL Chasing Calee BELMONT TAVERN Adam James BLVD TAVERN Annabelle Harvey Serge Sea Level Trio BREAKERS BAR Ricky Green BRIGHTON John Read BROKEN HILL HOTEL Nathan Gaunt BROOKLANDS TAVERN Ali Towers CAPTAIN STIRLING Jamie Powers CARINE The Bluebottles CLANCY’S DUNSBOROUGH Rachel & Henry Climb A Hill CLAREMONT HOTEL Sunday Driver COMO HOTEL Dove ELEPHANT & WHEELBARROW Daren Reid & The Soul City Groove ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Jake Dennis EMPIRE CB3 FLY TRAP Stage Fright Open Mic

www.xpressmag.com.au

FREMANTLE ARTS CENTRE WA Youth Orchestra HIGH ROAD HOTEL Glen Davies HIGH WYCOMBE HOTEL The Organ Grinders INDI BAR Ensemble Formidable The Lucky Numbers INDIAN OCEAN BREW CO Retrofit KALAMUNDA HOTEL Anderson LAST DROP TAVERN Barry Gee M ON THE POINT One Trick Phonies MAHOGANNY INN Stella Donnelly MOJOS BAR Doctopus Blokes In Coats Mitch Becker’s Stomping Blues Band The Justin Walshe Folk Machine The Whistling Dogs MUSTANG BAR Peter Busher & The Lone Rangers NEWPORT Stone Circle Arkayan Brutus Ultra Sound In the Now Jupiter Zuess Axe Cane Cabin Fever PEEL ALEHOUSE Jamie Powers PIG & WHISTLE Dirty Scoundrels PINK DUCK LOUNGE BAR Kevin Conway QUARIE BAR Jack & Jill QUEENS TAVERN Mister & Sunbird ROSEMOUNT The Living End The Growl Gyroscope DJs ROSIE O’GRADY’S (NORTHBRIDGE) Neil Colliss Bill Chidgzey SAIL & ANCHOR Mike Nayar SOUTH ST ALE HOUSE Christian Thompson SOVEREIGN ARMS Ivan Ribic SPRINGS TAVERN Sophie Jane STIRLING ARMS Dove SWAN LOUNGE Andrew Bond Jimmy Rockets Trojan John Paradise Motor-inn SWINGING PIG Darren Gibbs Leighton Keeper THE GATE Better Days Greg Carter THE SAINT Howie Morgan Trio THE SHED James Wilson UNIVERSAL Retriofit VICTORIA PARK HOTEL Damien Cripps WANNEROO TAVERN Eddie McMellow WOODVALE TAVERN Free Radicals

The Kuillotines, Saturday at Ya Ya’s

XWRAY CAFÉ The Charisma Brothers YA YA’S Jordie Lane Felicity Groom James Teague

MONDAY 05.11 BRASS MONKEY James Wilson ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB WAAPA Jazz Vocal Showcase GROOVE BAR (CROWN CASINO) Pop Candy MOJOS BAR Wide Open Mic Night MUSTANG BAR Marco & The Alley Cats ROSEMOUNT The Living End The Growl Gyroscope DJs THE DEEN Plastic Max & The Token Gesture WOODVALE TAVERN Damien Cripps YA YA’S Open Mic Night

TUESDAY 06.11 BALLYS BAR Jamie Powers BALMORAL Chasing Calee BELGIAN BEER CAFÉ Andrew Winton BRASS MONKEY Matt Angel BRIGHTON One Trick Phonies BROKEN HILL HOTEL Trevor Jalla Trio BROOKLANDS TAVERN Christian Parkinson CAPTAIN STIRLING Tod Woodward CARINE The Bluebottles Caversham House Double Take COMO HOTEL Howie Morgan Duo CORNERSTONE Mixtape EMPIRE Jen De Ness Trio ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Adrian Kelly & Jeremy Greig

GREENWOOD Pretty Fly HALE ROAD TAVERN Chris Gibbs HERDSMAN Sugarfield INDIAN OCEAN BREW CO Retrofit KALAMUNDA HOTEL Adrian Wilson LAST DROP TAVERN Fenton Wilde LUCKY SHAG Christian Thompson M ON THE POINT Rhythm 22 MAHOGANNY INN Ryan Dillon MERIDIAN ROOM (CROWN) Courtney Murphy MERRIWA TAVERN Celebrations Karaoke MOJOS BAR Astro Rag n’ Bone & Tracksuit MUSTANG BAR Danza Loca PADDO Simon Kelly PEEL ALEHOUSE Electrophobia PRINCIPAL Bernardine PRINCE OF WALES Open Mic Night QUEENS TAVERN Big Bamboo ROSE & CROWN Sophie Jane ROSEMOUNT The Living End The Novocaines Gyroscope DJs SETTLERS TAVERN Open Mic Night SPRINGS TAVERN Dove STEVES BAR Pop Candy STIRLING ARMS Helen Shanahan THE BROOK Kizzy THE SAINT Jukebox Bandits THE VIC James Wilson TWO ROCKS TAVERN Jump For Joy Karaoke WANNEROON TAVERN Ali Towers

The Shakeys

THE SHAKEYS

THE BRANSON TRAMPS OL BOUGINVILLEA LEGACY OF SUPREMACY

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2

HYDE PARK HOTEL

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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

www.xpressmag.com.au

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MUSIC GEAR & TECHNOLOGY GUIDE

Boss RC-300 Loop Station

CONTINUED FROM COVER “He added that third pair of ears that we’d never had. In the past we’d just been mixing over the phone. We never sat in the studio, so to have those discussions about changes we were going to make in person made the process a lot easier and we could get the most out of him and his techniques, because he’s got a lot of tricks up his sleeve. He really displayed a fair few of those on this record.”

While Bacash says working with Fridman was a career highlight he explains that it was an experience he wasn’t sure would happen given their newfound status as an independent band (they recently formed their own label, Alsatian Music) following a mutual separation from major label Sony Music Australia once promotional duties for Gilgamesh had wrapped up.

“There’s a lot more pressure financially – in the sense that you hope things are going to be fine and you’re going to be able to eat the next week,” he explains. “But it’s good in that you have more control and I think it’s a positive, it just takes more hard work. You loose control when you put it in someone else’s hands and that was something we didn’t want happening.”

Yet The Late Blue, even with its lack of a clear single, is complicated and compelling, deserving a second and third listen and, as Bacash adds, sounds great live.

“The main reason behind changing our direction and making a slightly more esoteric record was because we knew after two years of touring the first record, you just get so fucking bored of playing the same songs all the time and we’re hoping these songs would grow on us

Gypsy & The Cat more and more. The old songs felt maybe a little too loopy or poppy – you can’t listen to a pop song for too long,” he says. “But my voice over the top is still the link in the chain. Any show, in terms of anything, needs to have the highest of highs and lowest of lows. The genre is still rock, even if some of the new songs are slightly more electronic or psychedelic than others.”

While Bacash says he is well aware that their new direction may be initially offputting for existing fans, he’s hoping the duo are embraced when they hit the road to promote The Late Blue, with a headlining tour and later a bout of touring for Future Music, a festival they first played two years ago.

“You’ve got to keep people interested at a festival. People get tired very quickly.

They’ve already listened for an hour to another band and jumped up and down, you’ve got to be very selective with your track selection, whereas with a live headline show people have paid good money to come see you, so it’s more loving in that regard. I also find it more comfortable – everyone is, even the crowd seems more comfortable to me,” Bacash concludes.

“I don’t think the first record was that successful – so we feel like we have the ability to change direction a bit and display ourselves a little bit more. I think this record – because the first one was quite electronic whereas this one isn’t as much – will push people in the direction of recognising us as musicians.” _JENNIFER PETERSON-WARD

MIDAS TOUCH STUDIOS

Engineer Experience: Eight years experience, mentored by Perth’s top producers and engineers. Have worked with EMI artists and received radio play over UK and Europe.

Artist Credits: Tempest Rising, Michael Swann, Sidewalk Diamonds, The Red Paintings, Heart’s Moustache, Screaming Life, Smash, James Teague, Jean Pinchand Specialising In: Production, Recording and Mixing – but most importantly, getting high-energy performances, making sure the artists I work with leave with the most emotionally-loaded recording possible.

Gear / Software: Pro Tools, Cubase, UAD-2, Waves, PSP, plus loads of synths/softsynths, hardware compressors, and mics.

Engineer’s Philosophy: I’ve developed Midas Touch Studios from the perspective that it is a tool to enhance and empower the emotional content of a musical recording; that it is not my own private den, but a space for artists to bare their souls. I always approach a production from the perspective of narrative, making every element in a song help to tell a story. Doing whatever needs to be done to make a recording become the ultimate representation of that artist’s intention. After all, that is how the song will sound for all eternity…

CONTACT

BOSS RC-300 LOOP STATION Leaders in effects technology, BOSS, have released to what they tout as the ’most powerful loop station ever brought to the market’ in the RC-300.

The main point of difference for this looper is the featured three synchronized stereo tracks with dedicated volume knobs and control footswitches.

This allows for loops to be recorded to individual tracks and the volume of those tracks can be altered to achieve a better mix. Then each track can be stopped or re-started to enhance the ‘real’ feel of the music; rather than just being able to constantly build the intensity of a loop, the dynamics can be manipulated in the opposite direction for breakdowns, quiet verses or subdued outros. The unit can be used with guitar, bass, keyboard, or any other instrument of choice and an XLR input is also provided with phantom power so singers and percussionists can get involved too.

The auto-recording feature starts recording the moment the musician begins playing or as soon as a connected audio player is started. Alternatively a count-In mode gives one bar of rhythm before recording starts, which is great for rehearsals and recording but not ideal for live performance.

The RC-300 features onboard effects including transposition, flanging, phasing, modulation, vocal effects and more. The effects can be applied to any single track as well as to the entire mix, again providing opportunities to enhance the realism of the looping experience. Backing tracks and rhythm loops are provided for performers who want to have something to play to straight away, while the RC-300 can be connected to a computer via USB to save stored loops as well as upload pre-recorded loops for a more tailored, original performance.

My measure of how user-friendly an effects unit is comes from trying to get as many of the features to run competently without the use of the manual, and while with a little trial and error all of the RC-300’s main capabilities were achievable in a very short time, some reading of the manual will be most likely required to get the most out of this unit.

Trojan John, an up and coming Perth artist, is making excellent use of the RC-300 at his shows, and at a retail price of $649 this mother of all loop effects units will no doubt find its way into the hands – and under the feet – of many more performers yet. Guitar Gallery Morley encourages interested artists to contact them for the hottest price in Perth.

PSB M4U2 Headphones Kit

PSB M4U2 HEADPHONES KIT Striving for high-quality audio solutions in an ever-changing recorded music market, PSB have devised a line of headphones designed to get the most out of music enthusiasts’ listening devices thereby enriching the experience.

Many music fans on-the-go favour earphones (a great way to make music sound bad and go deaf simultaneously) citing lack of carrying space as a good reason not to use full headphones.

PSB’s M4U2 headphones are lightweight and can be folded into the included protective travel case which is no larger than a paperback novel (also known as ‘books’, remember those?) and dual input connections on either side of the headphones enable listeners to plug in the cable on the left or right to be within easy reach of a headphone jack regardless of physical location.

The headphones feature three modes of operation: Active Noise Cancellation, Active Mode, and Passive Mode. Active Noise Cancellation mode aims for high-level isolation to keep the listening experience pure. The first two modes provide battery-driven extra power and punch with 55 hours of run time in either mode. When the batteries run down, Passive Mode continues to run.

The two-way adjustable ear pads are ergonomically designed for comfort, and soft ear pads with a light weight chassis seem to make the headphones less cumbersome than one might think.

This allows music fans to further concentrate on the audio and get immersed in the listening experience.

The PSB M4U2 Headphones kit retails for $399.

Location: Subiaco & Osborne Park Contact Details: Anthony@MidasTouchStudios.com.au / 0435 113 654 / facebook.com/MTStudios / midastouchstudios.com.au

THE SOUND FACTORY X-Tone PC1VFM Electric Guitar The Sound Factory: established 1991 in Bentley is now north of the river in Bayswater.

Featuring a huge live room and two control rooms, The Sound Factory is also home to an impressive collection of vintage instruments and valve amps.

Though specialising in analog sound and recording techniques of the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s, both ro o m s i n te g ra te p ro to o l s systems with multitrack analog tape and equipment spanning s i x d e c a d e s fo r t h e b e s t of old school and modern technology

CONTACT

Email:

thesoundfactory@rockstar.org.au for more information and opening specials.

X-TONE PC1VFM ELECTRIC GUITAR Predominantly known for guitars mostly suited to hard rock and heavy metal, ESP seem to have taken inspiration from more classic, early rock and blues guitars in designing their X-Tone series of guitars.

With set-neck construction, a mahogany body, flame maple top, maple neck and gold hardware, this guitar sports the classic look and feel that will attract many traditional players. The instrument features a rosewood fingerboard and is available in two finishes: amber cherry sunburst and brown sunburst. Seymour Duncan Alnico Pro II pickups loaded into the bridge and neck positions make for a broad, multi-faceted tone applicable to many musical settings. A three-way toggle switch controls the pickup settings and each pickup has an individual volume and tone control.

Tonally the guitar ticks all the right boxes, the top end of the neck pickup and the bottom end of the neck pickup both provide good dynamic range without pushing any frequencies too hard, and in general the guitar delivers a punchy even tone across all pickup settings pretty much anywhere on the fretboard. Players who use bends often may find the string tension a little tight, but the overall feel of the strings allows for some really cool double-stop bends and chicken picking licks.The Bigsby licensed vibrato bridge provides those classic old-school pitch warbles without sacrificing tuning accuracy.

The X-Tone PC1VFM electric guitar retails for $1349. It is available now at Guitar Gallery Morley for $1149. _CHRIS GIBBS Many thanks to Guitar Gallery Morley and West Coast Hi-Fi Morley for letting us review their products.

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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

NEWS

MUSIC GEAR & TECHNOLOGY GUIDE

MUSIC APPS

It’s never been easier to make music, thanks to a wealth of apps available for smartphones and tablets that turn your blips, bleeps and bloops into amazing tunes.

TOM VARIAN takes a look at three of the top performers on the market.

Nanostudio

NANOSTUDIO

Figure

FIGURE

NanoStudio is definitely one of the most full Figure is one of my favourite iPhone music apps, but it’s featured audio apps for mobile devices. Along is not so much about crafting a song from the ground with a list of features that make it seem more like up, as it is about spending a few minutes to quickly a desktop audio program, it has a slick and easy to sketch out a fun loop with little effort. Sure there are use interface. Not only does it feel like a desktop already a ton of casual music apps that generate program, but it can be downloaded for Windows melodies in certain scales and predefined rhythms, and Mac for free from the companies website, letting but Figure is made by the good folks at propellerhead you continue editing your track on a bigger device. and is powered by their popular program Reason.

Easily my favourite audio app on my iPad, Armed with a drum, bass and lead track NanoStudio has a full featured sequencer,mixer,sampler you use a series of wheels to choose the division of and sample editor, drum machine, various synths and rhythm and how many steps in a scale the instrument much more. The sequencer allows up to 64 tracks will go through. You can then run your finger along a and a piano roll editor for note, velocity and controller virtual pad to change the pitch, but within a scale and events, all with undo/redo while the mixer allows six rhythmically divided into the steps you define. Its clean instruments straight away (up to 16 but sadly only with interface and ease of use makes it a fun little distraction, another in-app purchase) with four inserts per channel, and can be a good tool for getting refreshed or through two global send busses and volume/pan automation writer’s block. Figure currently only supports iOS. on every channel. While it obviously doesn’t have all the knobs and dials of a full desktop audio program, it gives you a lot for something that can run on your mobile Music giant Moog’s first app designed purely from device anywhere, anytime. the ground up for a mobile device is Animoog. A polyphonic synth creation tool, Moog say they built the synth engine (Anisotropic Synth Engine) Animoog is running from the ground up for a touchscreen device.

With a lovely and engaging interface, Animoog has a design that marries the vintage aesthetic of Moog but with the obvious benefits a full touchscreen allows. As a touchscreen allows you to move your finger fluidly through X/Y space, so does the apps synth engine, fluidly going through timbres.

It has a nice amount of depth and with some time you can produce some really cool, unique sounds.

Animoog is available for the iPad and newer iPhones, but sadly as two separate purchases. It’s high price is definitely not for the faint hearted, but for the Animoog right person the price is really quite low.

ANIMOOG

ERNIE BALL 7 STRING COBALT ELECTRIC SETS

Earlier this year Ernie Ball stunned the guitar playing community with the release of Cobalts, a game changing series of guitar strings made from a patented cobalt alloy. Ernie Ball has heard the cries of the detuners and shredders who have been lamenting the fact that six-string players got access to Cobalt performance first, and they have now released three (yes three) sets of seven-string Cobalt electrics. Gauges are .10/.56, .10/.62 and .11/.56 and will be in store early November. For full specs and details hit up cmcmusic.com.au and ernieball.com.

Joe Satriani

JOE SATRIANI MASTERCLASS

Legendary shred lord Joe Satriani is doing his first ever clinic tour of Oz! Get close and personal with the axe master as he shares his tips, tricks and stories from the road, which includes tours with Mick Jagger, Deep Purple, Alice Cooper and even Spinal Tap. Don’t miss your chance to learn from the master on Wednesday, April 17, at the Riverside Theatre. Tickets are $80 +BF and are available now from thumpmusic.com.au, but you better be quick – this one is sure to sell out!

CLIFF LYNTON GUITAR INSTITUTE

Learn to play guitar with the ‘Best in the West’, as learning an instrument is well-known to enhance creativity, co-operation and time-managing skills, and also greatly benefits study and social skills. With an established reputation and 30+ years in the business, the Guitar Institute is dedicated to teaching guitar and bass to the highest standards to everyone from beginners to advanced levels (inc. WAAPA & AMEB), covering all ages and styles. Aspiring guitarists will learn from a unique and proven method, which offers students the ability to tap into their creative energies and reach their potential goals through one-on-one private tuition. Lessons are customised to suit the needs of each individual student, and with the finest accredited teachers in town, you’ll be kept motivated, by being taught the songs you want to learn in a technical, self-expressive and fun environment. Cliff continues to perform to a full-house and set the standard with a recent sold-out show at the Perth Blues Club. So make sure you check out his upcoming night at Ellington’s on Thursday, November 22. www.xpressmag.com.au

Big Jambox

GARY CLARK JR. Blues Brother

Having worked diligently to refine his craft and built a significant fan base on the festival circuit, Gary Clark Jr’s full-length debut Blak And Blu hit shelves earlier this month. MELANIE SHERIDAN chats to the rising star ahead of his performance at the 2013 Big Day Out on Monday, January 28, at Claremont Showgrounds.

BIG JAMBOX

Born and raised in Austin, Texas, 28-year-old singer-songwriter Gary Clark Jr is like the walking, singing, guitar-playing embodiment of the live music capital of the world.

The eclectic vibrancy of this Mecca of contemporary music is in his blood and his soul; you can hear it in everything he sings. And while he’s only releasing his major-label debut this month he’s already racked up some noteworthy career coups, including collaborations with Nas, Alicia Keys and The Roots, playing alongside BB King, Buddy Guy and ZZ Top and even scoring a comparison to Jimi Hendrix.

“It’s great that people would compare me to artists I think are great,” he begins. “There’s nothing wrong with that. But at the same time, all I can do is what I do and do it the best I can and just be me. That’s my whole thing: just doin’ what I do.”

Relaxing on a couch at Warner Music Australia’s Carlton HQ, he was the picture of laidback cool, just doin’ what he do. And what he do is pretty damn impressive. For one, he’s self-taught.

Extremely limited runs of custom Ernie Ball Music “For the most part,” he corrects. “Some folks along Man guitars and basses will be available from select the way have shown me some chords and certain Australian Music Man dealers as of early November. things but yes, I mainly just sat around, put on a These instruments feature an exclusive set of record and played along to it, figuring out chords finishing appointments not normally available on and learning scales just by listening. And watching,” Music Man instruments, including mahogany body he emphasises. “I’d watch worn-out VHS cassette basses and guitars with figured roasted necks, tapes and go ‘what is that?’” honeyburst finish, matching headstock, Pau Ferro One listen to his recently released album, fretboard with stainless steel frets and mother of Blak And Blu, and it’s pretty obvious those tapes pearl inlay all for only a $500 upcharge on the price must have featured a huge variety of artists, in every of a standard instrument! For full specs and details hit different style – funk, soul, blues, rock, ‘50s highup cmcmusic.com.au. school dance. “I’m just such a fan of music, of all of Proving the old adage “bigger is better”, Jawbone’s second generation wireless bluetooth speaker Big Jambox is the perfect no-fuss micro system for your home studio. As the name suggests, it’s a supersize Bluetooth speaker, which means that, at 1.23 kilograms, it’s not quite as portable as the previous model, but does offer a solid 15-hour playback time, with precision-tuned drivers and dual passive bass radiators work in concert to produce amazingly clear, full audio at any volume. A couple of new features sweeten the deal, including a dedicated pairing button and the ability to pair two devices at once - in other words, two separate devices can actively control the music allowing you or your significant other, for example, to pipe different music from two separate sources to one Big Jambox. For full specs and to find a stockist click over to jawbone.com.

CUSTOM MUSIC MAN GUITARS AND BASSES

Gary Clark Jr it,” he says. “I wanna learn how to play it, I wanna understand it. Anything that comes out of the speakers I’m into.”

He won’t be tied down to favourites, but he repeatedly attests to his love of soul music. And soul music as he defines it can be as particular as the genre or as broad as the feeling he gets from it. It can be Al Green or Lightnin’ Hopkins, Little Dragon or OutKast. “I just love anything that taps to your human emotion; that’s what I’m drawn to most about soul music. To me it just does something. It makes me think and feel and connect to the artist in a very grounded, earthy, human-to-human way. But I love Nirvana too. Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Nina Simone blah blah blah – I could go on and on until you run out of paper,” he says, laughing.

Blak And Blu is as eclectic as his tastes. The album, produced by Mike Elizondo, Rob Cavallo and Clark, swings from the Mississippi Delta to Memphis, from soulful hymns to roots rock to psych blues. “It’s a musical journey,” Clark says. “It’s a taste of all my influences, past, present and future: blues, soul and rock‘n’roll.”

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MUSIC GEAR & TECHNOLOGY GUIDE FOR SALE

AUDIOFLY HEADPHONES Designed in Perth by a small team, unique headphones to capture every detail in your favourite music www.audiofly.com MUSICIANS AVAILABLE

GUITARIST AVAILABLE Experienced, very capable guitarist with a committed, enthusiastic attitude and a professional work ethic available to join or form rock covers band.

Regular country and some metro gigs last 5 yrs. I also own a complete PA and stage lights, and have a number of gig venue contacts with work available. Contact 0429 028856 or e-mail jsgorilla@hotmail.com for further info and audio/video demos.

PRO BASS GUITAR/VOC funk blues p ro g e a r. E n q S te ve 0 4 3 0 2 7 4 7 2 8 ausmuso@virginbroadband.com.au MUSOS WANTED

SWISS SHEPHERD Seeks Rhythm/ Lead Guitarist for expandable project, Contact Cam on 0407 073 729. www.facebook.com/swissshepherd VOCALIST & BASSIST WANTED Do you like Blur, Weezer, Talking Heads, Bowie, Kate Bush etc? Can you sing or play bass?

Dave want you. Call Andy 0422 404 102.

Facebook.com/thebanddave. Girls or guys both welcome.

WANT YOUR RECORDINGS HEARD? Total Hits & Menu Magazine are seeking artists to be featured on their 2nd compilation CD to be distributed to popular cafes & restaurants all over WA. Each artist will get 50 personal copies of the CD and be featured in Menu Magazine, www.westcoastcafes.com.au and www.totalhits.com.au. Call 9430 6007 or e-mail info@eyersrocket.com.au for details and costs.

PHOTOGRAPHY

PROJECT PHOTOGR APHY Pr o m o BLUES JAM SESSION All welcome, Sunday photography, studio, live, location.

Nov 4, 1-5pm. Pace Road Tavern Medina. Free M i k e W y l i e 0 4 1 7 9 7 5 9 6 4 www.projec tphotography.com entry, friendly atmosphere.

When its time to ice the cake...

DRUMMER NEEDED The Crooked Cats.

PRODUCTION SERVICES Established gigging/touring band. CDs * L I G H T I N G * AU D I O * S TAG I N G * released. Contact via FB/ 0448 436 491.

OPEN MIC NIGHT Every Thursday 8.30-12 at www.nightstarlightingaudio.com.au Moondyne Joes. Steinway piano, good sound www.nightstarlightingaudio.com.au & friendly atmosphere. Call Mark 0409 137 850. w w w . i n s t a n d t . c o m . a u w w w . i n s t a n d t . c o m . a u OPEN MIC NIGHT every Thursday night at Indi 9381 2363/ 9444 6651 Bar. Just call Bex on 0404 917 632.

CD & DVD MANUFACTURE Check out OPEN MIC NIGHT Every Tuesday night at our latest CD & DVD specials online at the Craigie Tavern 8-11pm. Call Corey for www.procopy.com.au 9375 3902 bookings 0431 448 235 MATRIX PRODUCTIONS AUSTRALIA ROCK SINGER WANTED Influences Queens Of Lighting, staging, sound systems, smoke Stone Age. Must have transport & jam weekly. machines, night club FX, intelligent lighting, Call or Txt 0434 556 579. strobes & mirror balls, crowd barriers, video SINGER WANTED For Rock/Blues band. Must projectors. 9371 1551 be reliable, gig pending. No time wasters. PA HIRE, PRO SYSTEM, FULL FOLD BACK Auditions SOR. Call Herb or Cassi 0410 088 596 Experienced operator. Optional light show.

Fidelity sound on 0404 331 320. or 0423 252 970.

RECORDING STUDIOS

ALAN DAWSON’s WITZEND RECORDING STUDIO Prof quality albums or demos, large live room, experienced engineer, analog to digital transfers, mastering..

Alan 0407 989 128 or Jeremy 0430638178 www.witzendstudios.com ANDY’S STUDIO International multi award winning songwriter / producer. No band required. Broadcast quality. A songwriter’s paradise. Ph 9364 3178 AVALON STUDIOS BIBRA LAKE One of Perths best equipped studio. Record to analog tape or digital, Avalon pre amps, Neumann mics, the latest and best universal audio, plug in’s for digital recordings. All styles of music, $55 per hour call Tony 0411 118304 email avalonstudios@bigpond.com GOLDDUSTCONSTRUCTION.COM Production,mixing,recording and composition for your music. Unique award winning skills to take songs from ideas to finished mixes or to fulfill the potential in existing ones. Located in Subiaco. $60 p/h. Andrew 0408 097 407 MIDAS TOUCH STUDIOS Recording, Mixing, and Mastering. We get your band heard. Call Anthony 0435 113 654 www.MidasTouchStudios.com.au POONS HEAD MASTERING Analog mastering at its best. Clients include Mink Mussel Creek, Jeff Martin, The Panics, Pond + The Floors. World class facility. World class results. www.poonshead.com 9339 47 91 R E CO R D I N G M I X I N G M A S T E R I N G PRODUCING Fremantle location. Call Pete Kitchen Cooked Records. Ph 0407 363 764 / 9336 3764 REVOLVER SOUND STUDIO Ph 9272 7505. www.revolverstudio.com.au SONGWRITERS! - UNLOCK YOUR SONGS’ POTENTIAL +FREE BAND APPRAISALS. UK Producer, 40,000+ hours studio experience.

20 yrs in London with bands and songwriters.

Kicking arrangements, great studio and the ability to really listen will give your material the edge you need. Call Jerry on 0405 653 338 or visit www.jerichomusic.com.au T H E S O U N D FAC TO RY 1 6 & 24 track tape + protools Best of old school & modern technology thesoundfactory@rockstar.org.au REHEARSAL STUDIOS

AAA VHS REHEARSAL ROOMS Great facilities, great vibe & great price!!! Unit 5 /16 Peel Road, O’Connor. Phone 9418 5815 or 0413 732 885 BIGBEAT SOUND STUDIO Clean rooms, all new PA systems, air-con and good parking .

Willetton Ph: 0425 698 117.

PLATINUM SOUND ROOMS Professional rehearsal rooms, airconditioned, quality PAs mob 0418 944 722 TUITION

***GUITAR LESSONS*** The Guitar Specialist.

Beg-adv, all styles and levels including bass.

Cliff Lynton Guitar Institute. Mt Lawley 9342 3484 / www.clifflynton.com BASS LESSONS Rock, funk & jazz. Tony Gibbs 9470 6131 DJ LESSONS AT FREMANTLE PRISION Death row cell 33. Scratching, cutting & mixing. Come casually or for a term. 0412 334 510.

DRUM LESSONS All styles, all ages. WAAPA prep. Modern techniques & rudiments, Beginner to advanced. Ph: 0413 172 817.

GUITAR TUITION I have over 30 yrs exp in performing & teaching. No reading required.

Hr lessons only. Limited spots avail. Blues/Rock specialist. Ph 9403 3212.

PROFESSIONAL SINGING COACH (Find Your True Voice) All levels, All styles. 0407 260 762.

Some of the local records Steve Aaron Hughes has mixed include Andrew Sinclair’s Evil Summer, Salamander’s Neocambrian and Usurper Of Modern Medicine’s Turbo Handshake.

ACID VISION Galaxial Acid Audio All across Perth - in bedrooms, garages, galleries and sheds - strange and wonderful music is being recorded onto all manner of audio equipment. Steve Aaron Hughes of Galaxial Acid Audio has spent the last several years working passionately with an array of local independent and experimental acts around Perth, taking bedroom recordings and often bizarre instrumental arrays and ensuring they can be recorded and distributed to the world at large.

Hughes’ passion for working with “creative, independent and experimental musicians” means that he constantly has to redefine his methods to best capture the unique sounds of Perth’s musical fringe. “One of the first recordings I worked on was for Abe Sada who is an experimental, free form band involving multiple bass players,” recalls Hughes. “I did a live recording of them which was something like 40 basses playing at one time. Another example was Frozen Ocean, who came to me with an album they’d recorded onto VHS tape. It was a really awesome sound - very compressed and punchy - but being an old overdubbed VHS there were bits where the tape would warp and go out of tune,” he laughs.

Hughes’ interest in shaping audio came about from recording his own musical projects; first the noise-punk juggernauts Injured Ninja and now the sample-heavy trio Usurper Of Modern Medicine – two of the best bands (and band names) of Perth’s teeming experimental scene.

At the same time, Hughes started recording live sets of some fairly high profile international acts (including Beach House, Mum and Caribou) for a video series he worked on called Radio Dingbat.

These videos, produced by Hughes’ own Blue Forest Media company gave Hughes a chance to cut his teeth working with large multi-channel set ups and from there he began working with local bands over a variety of unique projects. “The experimental scene in Perth is really strong,” claims Hughes.“It really does feel like a movement of sorts.”

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A lot of the work Hughes does currently is in repairing damaged audio, or taking lo-fi bedroom recordings and tidying them up. “I sort of see myself as a conduit for lo-fi and experimental artists to get their music to radio level,” says Hughes. “Sometimes the recordings have just captured these really important moments but it might not be recorded at the best quality. I have a lot of tools and skills to repair that damaged audio, or clipped audio, so I can give the recordings the punch and clarity they need.”

I ask Hughes about his opinions on lofi, whether it is a matter of technical necessity or aesthetic choice.“I think in this day and age, anybody has the ability to make a very hi-fi recording in their own bedroom. Lo-fi is definitely an aesthetic choice. It brings something different to the music.Frozen Ocean for example,the sound they got from recording to that VHS was awesome. They’re a crusty, ballsy punk band and they were getting this really fat, unusual-kind-ofcompressed sound which is exactly what they wanted.

“Mental Powers, is another band I’ve done a lot of work with. Their recordings are based around these jams that happen in their bedrooms where they capture performances that they can’t repeat. My job for that project was to go through and to match up all the recordings and give them a kind of a characteristic sound so it all sounded like the one album. I always have to develop these other approaches when I’m working with those bands,” he laughs.“I really do love doing what I do.” _HENRY ANDERSEN X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

www.xpressmag.com.au

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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays