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FIRE IN DEM HILLS Grizzled national treasures The Kill Devil Hills are preparing to return to the stage after spending 2014 recording their fourth album – and first since 2009’s Man You Should Explode. They’ll be easing into 2015 with two Thursdays at the Rosemount Hotel, on the 12th with partystarters Pat Chow and Doctopus, and the 19th with the mesmeric Mei Saraswati Band and Flooded Palace. To stay in touch and find out more, head to www.facebook.com/thekilldevilhills. Kill Devil Hills Pic: Rachael Barrett
The Alliance Francais Film Festival is returning to Perth with a full programme of the best in recent French cinema. Kicking off the festival will be the delectable Gemma Bovary, starring Gemma Arterton in an adaptation of Gustave Flaubert’s seminal novel Madame Bovary. The festival runs from March 19 to April 7 at Cinema Paradiso in Northbridge, the Windsor Cinema and Luna on SX. Tickets are on sale now at lunapalace.com.au. For more information and updates, visit the official website at www. affrenchfilmfestival.org.
Perth’s newest independent label Status Factory Records is whirring to life with plans to deliver the goods both on wax and digitally, with records from Fall Electric (a new album, Interior, to be launched at the Rosemount Hotel on Friday, March 6) and more scheduled to drop soon. To kick off the enterprise, they’re throwing a party at the Rosemount Hotel on Friday, February 13, featuring the likes of Runner, Felicity Groom, Eleventeen Eston and Gunns. There’s also an exclusive listening party on the Sunday, February 15, at a secret location. To know more, contact hello@statusfactoryrecords.com, and keep up to date with them on Facebook.
COASTAL FRINGE After sweeping everywhere from Midland to Vic Park, Fringe World has finally wended its way to the ocean. Freo Royale, the Fremantle leg of the festival, will feature over 100 acts at 10 venues, as well as a pop-up bar in Kings Square. Festivities kick off on Wednesday, February 4, at Victoria Street Hall, with Paco Erhard and Puppet Fiction getting the ball rolling. To find out more, and to book tickets, head to freoroyale.com.au. Paco Erhard
Status Factory Records
VRIEND OF MINE Tough, brassy and wounded, Canadian soulstress Ann Vriend has made her name for soul music with a bite. Drawing on her experiences living in a rough part of Edmonton - where one’s as likely to find a set of used syringes in the backyard as a squirrel - her new album, For The People In The Mean Time is a resolute tour de force of perseverance. She’ll be bringing those songs, and her band, to Perth on Saturday, February 8, at the Ellington Jazz Club in Northbridge. Tickets through oztix.com.au
Gemma Bovary, Alliance Francais Film Festival
Ann Vriend
TIME TO SHINE
Bemoaning the demise of summer behemoths like the Big Day Out? Fret no longer: a group of passionate Perth fans have launched a local mega-festival to fill the gap. The Western Trend Festival (or WTF for short) will debut on Sunday, March 15, at Canefire Gardens in the Swan Valley, featuring a powerhouse line-up including Hideous Sun Demon, Amberdown, Dream Rimmy, Custom Royal, Dan Peters & The Volatyles, The Georgians, St James Sirens, Falloway, DJ Anthony Jackson plus more to be announced. Discounted presale tickets are now on sale at oztix.com.au.
Country music institution the Boyup Brook Music Festival is welcoming a very special guest to the GUITAR HERO line-up - CAN WA’s Healing Songs Singers. A group The man who unleashed a thousand fretboard of gifted, first-time Nyoongar singer/songwriters runs, Yngwie Malmsteen is heading to Australian from the Wheatbelt, they’ll be part of the largest shores - but a little later than first announced. The showcase of Aboriginal songwriting to ever perform Swedish metal maestro’s tour has been rescheduled at the festival, joining a line-up including the likes of for June, 2015, which means his Perth date at the Troy Cassar-Daley and Richard Kernaghan. Supported Astor Theatre in Mt Lawley has been shuffled along by Community Arts Network, they perform Fridayto Saturday, June 6. Already purchased tickets are Saturday, February 13-14. The festival runs from still valid. To book, and for more information, visit February 11-15, tickets from countrymusicwa.com.au. ticketmaster.com.au.
Custom Royal, Western Trend Festival
Yngwie Malmsteen
WTF FTW RN
Josephine Colbung performing with Gina Williams, Healing Songs Singers
ABBESOLUTELY FABULOUS Dapper dams, callous cads and Great Gatsbys; the Roaring Twenties were a time of sex, excess and thrills, and the Ellington will be reliving those days for a good cause this Thursday, February 5. Featuring Jake Dennis & The Mint Jazz Band and the Matt Cal Trio, all proceeds will go to the Cancer Council of WA for their work in prevention, support and detection, with food and beverages also available for purchase. Tickets (standing and seated) at ellingtonjazz.com.au.
Perth’s foremost diva of discipline, Abbe May, is coming out of hibernation with a set of dates across WA later this month. After conquering the world with 2013’s Kiss My Apocalypse, she’s now got a brand new show she’ll be taking to the Prince of Wales in Bunbury on Thursday, February 19; Mojo’s on Friday, February 20, and the Rosemount Hotel on Saturday, February 21. In support are a bevy of WA stars, including Mei Saraswati, Moana, Paige Valentine, Joni In The Moon, Tired Lion, The Dianas and Silver Hills, at various shows. Tickets on the door at each venue. For more information, check May out on Facebook.
Matt Cal
Abbe May
CANCER PROHIBITION
BETTER THE DEVIL
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DECK THE WALLS
Michigan post-hardcore innovators Chiodos, now led again by the enigmatic Craig Owens, are returning to Australia with their first album in five years, 2014’s Devil. It’s been widely praised, with everyone from Alternative Press to Outburn regarding it as a stunning, visceral return to the band’s brutal best. They’re be accompanied by Australian upstarts Storm The Sky tonight, Wednesday, February 4, at Amplifier. Tickets from oztix.com.au.
Subiaco’s Gallery 360 will be playing host to an exhibition promising a walk down the halls of Australian music history. Local rock historian James Anfuso will be displaying his priceless and incomparable collection of posters from the last 50 years, in conjunction with the launch of his book Rockin’ Australia - 50 Years of Concert Posters 19572007. The exhibition kicks off on Friday, February 13, and will run for two weeks, with a limited run of 666 (what else?) books available for purchase.
Chiodos
Rockin’ Australia
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N E W S L E T T E R - S I G N U P AT F O R E X C L U S I V E C O M P S
CELEBRATE THE DEAD LANDS To celebrate the release of new NZ action thriller The Dead Lands, we have two DVD packs to give away featuring Boy and The Dark Horse! The Dead Lands will be released in an exclusive screening at Moonlight Cinemas nationwide on Tuesday, February 10, in Sydney, Melbourne Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide. After his tribe is slaughtered through an act of treachery, Hongi - a Maori chieftain’s teenage son - must avenge his father’s murder in order to bring peace and honour to the souls of his loved ones. Vastly outnumbered by the band of villains, Hongi’s only hope is to pass through the feared and forbidden Dead Lands and forge an uneasy alliance with the mysterious Warrior, a ruthless fighter who has ruled the area for years. Enter via the X-Press App! The Dead Lands
KINGSMAN Reviewed in X-Press this issue, Kingsman: The Secret Service is based upon the acclaimed comic book and directed by Matthew Vaughn. Colin Firth recruits a street kid into the Kingsman – a group of super-secret spy agents who must save the world from destruction in this edgy, gob smacking blockbuster. To celebrate the release 20th Century Fox are offering the chance to win one of five packs that contains Kingsman merchandise including a wallet, iPad case, bottle opener, ice cube tray and an in-season double pass. Each pack is valued at $125. Enter via the X-Press App now! Kingsman: The Secret Service
CITIZENFOUR
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Witness the event that changed history: The Edward Snowden revelations. Citizenfour is a real time thriller, giving audiences an exclusive front-row seat to the moment Edward Snowden changed history with his revelations of widespread government surveillance around the world. In June 2013, filmmaker Laura Poitras and journalist Glenn Greenwald met with Snowden confidentially in Hong Kong, where he handed over classified documents providing evidence of mass indiscriminate and illegal invasions of privacy by the National Security Agency (NSA). As the story breaks, they are forced to manage the raging media storm around them, and find their personal security and that of their loved ones under threat. We have five double passes to give away via the X-Press App.
Inspired by true events, Supremacy recounts one harrowing night for a family held captive by an Aryan Brotherhood leader on the run from the law. Only hours after his release from a 15-year prison sentence, Garrett Tully (Joe Anderson) finds himself on the wrong side of the law once more but this time he, along with his erratic assigned driver, Doreen (Dawn Olivieri), may be in too deep. Danny Glover also stars in this gritty hostage drama. We have five copies of Supremacy to give away. Do the App!
Citizenfour
Supremacy
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SUPREMACY
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FLESH
NEWS - INTERVIEWS - REVIEWS - CONTENTS
FEELS LIKE HAVEN
OEH YEAH This Friday at the Ellington, two of Perth’s finest musical exports are teaming up for a night spanning the jazz repertoire. Vocalist Victoria Newton and saxophonist Jamie Oehlers are internationally renowned, with the London-based Newton having played across the globe with figures like Terry Blanchard and Ronny Jordan while featuring on countless club classics, while Oehlers has scooped ARIA nominations and the prestigious World Saxophonist Competition. To see these forces of nature unite, head to ellingtonjazz.com.au for tickets.
Melburnian post-hardcore mavens Belle Haven are set to release their debut longplayer, Everything Ablaze, and to usher it into the world, they’ll be supporting the American legends Norma Jean around Australia in April. Recorded with seasoned–core vet Matt Goldman, known for his work with Underoath and The Devil Wears Prada, it’ll drop on Friday, March 27. You can get your face blown off in person at Amplifier in Perth on Sunday, April 12. Tickets at oztix.com.au. Belle Haven
LIGHTS ON
Victoria Newton
Hot on the heels of her most recent record Lights Out, which debuted at #5 on the Billboard charts, NYC songbird Ingrid Michaelson is flying over to Australia for a set of dates. Often compared to the likes of Regina Spektor and Feist, Michaelson has an international rep for her quirky live shows, having already sold out her last two Australian tours. She’ll be at the Rosemount Hotel on Saturday, March 14. Tickets from metropolistouring.com. Ingrid Michaelson
THE ANTLERS F-Bomb Shelter
LANIE BIDS FAREWELL
Brooklyn trio, The Antlers, are headed our way to Perform at the Chevron Festival Gardens on Sunday, February 15. ALEX GRIFFIN reports. Since bursting out of nowhere with their tragic, rousing bedsit debut album, Hopsice, The Antlers have steadily become critical darlings for their expansive, stately sound, with 2011’s Burst Apart and last year’s Familiars establishing the band as heirs to the likes of Talk Talk. Following the well-trod path walked by everyone from Richard Hell to Thurston Moore to Lydia Lunch, guitarist and songwriter Pete Silberman moved to Brooklyn in 2006 to start the then-solo project, and he reckons the community in the big smoke has handsomely rewarded the risk taken in moving there. “My life here has changed a lot, and the creative community has too, but it’s the same,” he says. “As ever, there are a lot of people around here who I consider myself very fortunate to have as friends making really interesting work. I guess the key thing is that it’s convenient; being here is conducive to a lot of collaboration and exploring this constant stream of new ideas, so I get to build a life that revolves around that, which is amazing.”
“Sometimes there’s no better word than ‘fuck’ for whatever you’re trying to express- the word is the perfect exclamation, qualifier… you name it. It can be so full of hate and also an exclamation of total joy! It’s the most powerful word around.” Even if the overt, desperate emotions of Hospice are pretty far removed from what the Antlers are like now, the ambition and scale remains pretty undimmed. After all, that release was a concept album that intricately wove metaphors of death, decay and the hope of recovery into - heady theoretical work, especially for a record seemingly suited to throwing out an exes’ stuff and crying on the phone to your parents. Talking to Silberman, the idea of having a philosophy in one’s music comes up a lot; the notion that songs carry and reflect a system of pretty well considered thought is one he holds pretty firmly, and one he traces back to George Harrison – a songwriter who definitely wasn’t afraid of making his ideas obvious in his songs. (If there’s anything less ambiguous about a choir singing the name of Krishna for two minutes, then it’s probably a Westboro Baptist Church service). As he explains it, “the spirit of his first two records made it into Familiars in a big way. There was something really enchanting about the way he would sing about disposition and attitude, and kind of include his own pedantic philosophy of what he wanted to say within these pop song structures. That had a strong hold on my mind.” 8
For a guy who has described listening to his early work as akin to being horrified by an old photo of yourself, it’s not surprising that Silberman is eager to put the past behind him, which might disappoint anyone still hoping for a retread of Antlers Mk.1. “What we write now is harder to follow lyrically, more twisty, more challenging to grasp. Familiars has more of a sense of generality about it. It’s not so pinpointed to particularities. It’s all about general ideas and concepts I was working on. I feel like I have revised what my philosophy since then but what’s there is the fundamental foundational stuff, this exploration of transformation at that time. I’ll always have Hospice as a document of the beginning of that, but this project has been a constant evolution.” It’s not just the what of Silberman’s lyrics that mark him as a bit left of centre; it’s the how, too. Like fellow Brooklynite, Cass Mccombs, in the same breath that he makes a biblical allusion or twist out an arcane bit of old slang, Silberman might just drop a string of f-bombs. “It’s not intentional! It’s just the way I speak and write, I tend to latch onto a lot of older expressions, because I like outmoded ways of describing things. Cass has a way of using those stylised phrases that feels effortless. When that gets combined with having lived in NYC for so long, and grown up nearby, the profanity just comes out! Sometimes there’s no better word than ‘fuck’ for whatever you’re trying to express- the word is the perfect exclamation, qualifier… you name it. It can be so full of hate and also an exclamation of total joy! It’s the most powerful word around.” Surprisingly, considering how they’ve become a stately post-rock outfit, Silberman draws most of his inspiration from an unlikely source. “I’m like, always listening to a lot of old dub and reggae. I was turned onto it by Darby (Cicci, keyboards) and Michael (Lerner, drums), and we all share an affinity for it; the mood, the pacing. Aesthetically, we share some similarities with in, in terms of the analogue equipment, and the warmer, earthier kinds of sounds we want to make.” Inspired by the Tibetan Book Of The Dead, Familiars deals with change and transformation, as Silberman’s protagonist battles to escape doppelgangers, negotiates Hotel California-esque dead ends, and generally, tries to figure out how starting again happens. Coming off the heels of Burst Apart, which was more or less an autopsy of a failed relationship, Familiars feels like embracing change and flux. But doesn’t the idea of playing the same songs over and over for a year afterward contradict all of that? “As time passes, it gets difficult to stay in touch with what inspired a song,” Silberman explains. “Like, it’s been about a year since we finished the record, two years since we started it… a lot of things about Familiars now feel like ancient history to me. A year is a really long time! So two years… can be very long.” If getting estranged is what makes the Antlers keep thrumming, it’ll be good for everyone if Pete Silberman never figures himself out.
ROARING BACK Rising alternative rock dreamboats, Young Lions, are gearing up to tour nationally in support of their sophomore album, Blue Isla. Having won fans across the country supporting the likes of The Almost, Antiskeptic, Jebediah and Dead Letter Circus, they’ll be heading out West for three shows; Thursday, March 5, at Last Night (Amplifier); Friday, March 6, for an all-ages set at Leederville’s HQ, and Saturday, March 7, at Babushka. Book at ticketmaster.com.au. Young Lions
The Australian music industry was shocked and surprised yesterday when beloved singer/songwriter, Lanie Lane, issued a statement declaring her “indefinite departure’ from recording and touring. ‘The uprooted-ness of the rock’n’roll lifestyle is no longer for me and the ambition (which I believe is a pre-requisite to success in the music industry) of cultivating fame or attention has completely left me now. At times, I have found the constant pressure that a touring & recording artist requires to be accustomed to, unbearable. I utterly respect those who can withstand the pressures of a life constantly on the road and with the expectations for continued success. I personally found myself not liking who I was becoming under stress and difficult circumstances. It felt like a lot of the time I was either depressed or anxious, so I’ve begun to change the circumstances of my life to be back in the flow again’. The full statement can be found on lanielane.net. We hope to hear from Lanie again in the not-too-distant future, but wish her well for this new journey. Lanie Lane
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Newsdesk Win Flesh Music The Decemberists, Dave Ellefson Charlie Musselwhite, J. Mascis New Noise
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Culture Hub Cover: Wyrmwood Lifestyle, Hitlist Love Is Strange, The Mystery Of Happiness, Kingsman, Wyrmwood The Mercy Seat, Arts Listings Feature: What’s On In February Feature: ETC Education & Training
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Scene Cover: Perfect Pussy Little Dragon, Mr Scruff Local Scene: Hideous Sun Demon/ Reaper’s Riddle Live: The Order Of The Black Werewold, Mt Mountain, Ariel Pink, Puck/Foam
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X-Press Guide Social Pics/Volume
BEC’S MUSIC BOX Brisbane’s soul songstress Bec Laughton has had a whirlwind few years. From humble origins in Brisbane, she’s now worked with Grammy winners, and after wowing industry veterans at the megafest South By Southwest and supporting bona fide legends like D’Angelo, Angie Stone and Maxwell at Soulfest, her star is well and truly on the rise. Before she sets sail overseas for good, Laughton is making a farewell lap of the country, visiting North Perth’s Four5Nine on Feb 8 at 7pm. Tickets on the door. Bec Laughton
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Front Cover: The Antlers are headed our way to perform at the Chevron Festival Gardens on Sunday, February 15. Scene Cover: Perfect Pussy are part of St Jerome’s Laneway Festival this Sunday, February 8, at Fremantle’s Esplanade Reserve & West End.
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“I wanted to focus on those and be a writer for a little bit. It was a matter of sowing other creative oats. We always knew that we would come back to it, eventually.”
THE DECEMBERISTS Never The Tain Shall Meet After something of a break, The Decemberists are back with a new album, What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World. DAVID JAMES YOUNG reports. It was extremely late in the game of 2014 when The Decemberists announced their imminent return after a lengthy period out in the proverbial wilderness. They got in early for 2015 with the January release of their seventh studio album, What
A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World. There may have been a degree of uncertainty among fans as to whether the Portland indie rockers’ break would extend into a permanent vacation, but they’re quick to put it to rest that such an idea was ever the case. “We’d been going at it for 10 years or
whatever, pretty consistently releasing records and touring,” elaborates Colin Meloy, the band’s lead singer, guitarist and chief songwriter. “It felt like a good time to slip away from it and focus on other projects. I had been working on these books, the Wildwood Chronicles, with my wife. I wanted to focus on those and be a writer for a little bit. It was a matter of sowing other creative oats. We always knew that we would come back to it, eventually.” What A Terrible World sees the songwriting take a shift into the introspective, which is a world away – fittingly enough – from the band’s ‘normal’ subject matter of barrow boys, mariners, trapeze artists and architects. Was it a matter of Meloy quote-unquote ‘growing up’ in this sense? Or was it just down to the context in which the album was written? As it turns out, it’s a little from column A and a little from column B. “I think that my interests and my fascinations shift and change over time,” he says. “Working on the books, oddly enough, seemed to satisfy my narrative urge. I noticed that the songs I was writing while I was writing the books tended to be less about an outside narrative and character-based stuff and more meditations on myself. If anything, writing the books kind of led me away from overtly narrative stuff. Then again, after I was done writing the books, the last two songs that I wrote for the record ended up being more narrative again. There might be a connection there, who knows?” The Decemberists’ previous release came all the way back in 2011 with the album The King Is Dead. It too saw the band taking on a more realistic approach that served as a far cry from the hyper-literacy of earlier LPs such as Picaresque and The Crane Wife. “The King Is Dead was more or less a reaction to me having written The Hazards Of Love,” explains Meloy. “It was coming at a period of time when I was in somewhat of a darker mood, and when we were touring Hazards I began to get the inclination to start writing ‘pretty’ songs, for lack of a better term. Something a little more simple, something to sing along to.”
MEGADETH, DAVE ELLEFSON AT LEFT
DAVE ELLEFSON Life And Deth As co-founder of Megadeth - one of metal’s ‘Big Four’ – bass player Dave Ellefson has seen and done all there is to see and do in rock over three decades, and he’s bringing his spoken word show, My Life With Deth, to the Civic Hotel on Tuesday, March 24. SHANE PINNEGAR finds out what to expect. 10
Having published his autobiography, My Life With Deth, in the middle of last year, Dave Ellefson started thinking about how he could translate his life experiences from the page to the stage. “You know, really it was born out of my book,” the chatty Ellefson says. “Late last year we started talking about it. It just seemed fitting to roll into the new year and do it here in March, which is pretty cool. So I’m looking forward to coming down and doing the very first one ever, actually, in Australia.” The bassist admits it’s a little nervewracking. “I guess if I sit around and think about it too much, yeah, it does make me a little anxious. But the truth of it is, to me it’s an evening with David Ellefson and the fans and friends of Megadeth. And to be honest with you, we’ve all been hanging out together for the last 30 years anyway. “To me, I think certainly the book gives a basis to do spoken word,” he continues. “Then there’s a lot of other things to talk about: there’s
“This half of my life has been the best part of my life. With that, certainly there have been a lot of ups and downs, because part of what you do when you walk away from an addiction is, you first have to unlearn a bunch of bad
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stuff you learned.”
Would Meloy consider, then, that What A Terrible Word was written in reaction to The King Is Dead? “Not quite,” he says. “There’s probably more in common than you’d think.” Fans were alerted to the band’s return with the release of the single, Make You Better, which was coupled with an exceptional music video starring the wonderful Nick Offerman – better known to the world as Pawnee native Ron Swanson – doing a fake accent. “We were invited to be on the season finale of Parks And Recreation,” Meloy says. “We had connections with Parks And Rec because Michael Schur, the show’s creator, and his crew were actually behind our video for Calamity Song. We met Nick through doing that, and I think we were kindred spirits. I’ve been a long-time admirer of his work, so I called him up and asked how good his German accent was. He responded, ‘That’s a very personal question’. Very Nick, right?” Touring is very much underway for What A Terrible World, and it looks set to take The Decemberists all across the world in support of it – including, yes, Down Under. Meloy warns, however, that their arrival may take a little longer than some fans had hoped for. “I think we’re talking about putting something together for early next year,” he says. “It may well be in the works now.” No Decemberists until 2016? This is an outrage! “Sorry!” he replies. “At the very least, it’ll be summertime by the time we get there.” Talk turns to the last time the band came out to Australia, in support of The Hazards Of Love. “My memory of the last time we were in Australia was constantly following Passion Pit at the Big Day Out,” he says. “Passion Pit were massive at the time, and they had these massive crowds of people pumping their fists, girls getting on their boyfriends’ shoulders, hands in the air, just raving away. We’d be psyched by that, thinking we’d have the same sort of thing... and then we’d have maybe 10 people in front of our side of the stage.” Still, it’s not as if The Decemberists were ever hoping to fit into the festival realm – let’s not forget that half of the band’s 40-minute set in Sydney was taken up by the epic 18-minute single The Tain. “Wait, wait, wait...” Meloy interrupts. There’s a beat, before he asks in bewilderment: “We played The Tain?” Megadeth, obviously. There’s music, there’s faith, there’s transitions of life, there’s music and business, there’s all kinds of things that I’ve been open about, that I’ve written books about, that I’ve talked about. I mean, bass clinics, playing in bands - and you know, I think a lot of Megadeth fans are also musicians, as well. “I’m excited because I think every one of these shows is going to be different. When you have a band, you walk out with a pretty tight repertoire. You just go do that show night after night. I think with this type of thing there’s certainly a repertoire, but it leaves room for improvisation, it leaves room for some spontaneity of the moment to happen.” Ellefson says he’s braced himself and is ready to tackle all comers in a Q&A section of the shows. “I’m pretty good at lecturing, standing in front of crowds, narrating, talking, discussing, orating. And again, I think because of the Megadeth history, so many things always are just only a few degrees of separation away from Megadeth. So, I think that’s the common bond through all of this. You know, with my most recent book, My Life With Deth, I knew as I was writing it that the Megadeth thread is the one thing that’s consistent throughout most of my life story.” Aside from all the success that being a part of probably the second biggest heavy metal band of modern times, selling upwards of 50 million records and touring the world, Ellefson’s life has had its share of disastrous lows as well – none worse than a serious addiction to heroin which lasted for years. Was it emotional to have to relive those experiences first for his book, then again to prepare the spoken word tour? He takes a slow, deep breath. “For me, that whole thing changed for me when I was 25 years-old. Ironically I just turned 50 back in November, so half my life ago. So this half of my life has been the best part of my life. With that, certainly there have been a lot of ups and downs, because part of what you do when you walk away from an addiction is, you first have to unlearn a bunch of bad stuff you learned. At the same time you start learning some new things to replace the bad stuff with, and that’s a life-long process. “My approach, quite honestly, with the My Life With Deth Spoken Word Tour, to just be able to share, warts and all. And from there, kind of let the outcome be what it is. That’s why I think every night it’ll probably have its own really special, unique dynamic. I’m so lucky, because what Megadeth songs have created is a community, and that community has gone global. So we live in this really cool, global, heavy metal village, all of us together. So, as big as it is, it’s actually kind of just a cool, quaint little community between all of us.”
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STORIES
CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE Affairs Of The Harp A modern master of electric blues harmonica, Charlie Musselwhite plays at the Chevron Festival Gardens on Monday, March 2. SHANE PINNEGAR caught the man who inspired Dan Ackroyd’s Blues Brother character at home in Tennessee. If you know the blues, you know Charlie Musselwhite. A legend of modern blues, he came up in the ‘60s, sitting in with the likes of Big Joe Williamson, John Lee Hooker, Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters at night whilst he worked day jobs like driving for a pest exterminator and a short stint running moonshine. Playing with those cats, he says, taught him the ropes. “Well, they were real encouraging. They gave me a lot of faith in myself and they were really pushing me to play, so I appreciate their support. They were intimidating in a way but they didn’t mean to be! But they insisted I sit in, they’d pat me on the back and tell me to keep playing, keep it up, and keep coming back. It was very friendly. And they could be very charismatic,” he reflects. “There were some rough characters too. You wouldn’t want to mess with them.” With his 29th album due later this year, Musselwhite says he never stopped working, even during the ‘80s when he only released two records. “I think a lot of live music suffered during the disco era - I think that’s when that was,” he recalls. “A lot of clubs quit having live music. They’d just hire a DJ to come in and spin records and the whole live music industry had a big dip in it there. But I kept working. I just kept rolling along and trying to have as much fun as possible and do the best work I could, and it’s paid off.” Musselwhite cites quitting drinking in the ‘80s as a pivotal turning point in his career, saying, “When I quit drinking it was in ‘87 and everything in my life got instantly better. It was interesting because I didn’t know how to quit, it seemed like, but when I did quit it was, ‘wow, what was that all about? This is a piece of cake!’” He’s not a blues purist either, and has been happy to team up with some unlikely musical collaborators over the years. It’s Charlie Musselwhite’s harmonica you can hear all over INXS’s Suicide Blonde, and he went out on tour
“When I quit drinking it was in ‘87 and everything in my life got instantly better. It was interesting because I didn’t know how to quit, it seemed like, but when I did quit it was, ‘wow, what was that all about? This is a piece of cake!’” with Cyndi Lauper when she took a left turn with her Memphis Blues album of 2011, even helping to rearrange her signature hit song, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. He says he finds it easy to adapt his style to less traditional blues. “Sure, and it’s fun too. Whatever setting I’m in where you might not consider it blues but what I play is blues. To me it’s interesting how I can apply blues to another situation and make it better.” Musselwhite teamed up with Ben Harper for the 2013 album, Get Up!, a record that won them a Grammy Award for ‘Best Blues Album’. He says the award has pride of place on his mantelpiece at home. “You betcha. Right in the living room. And I’m nominated for another one that’s called Juke Joint Chapel, my latest CD. We’ll know in February if it wins or not.” At 70, he continues to work hard and love what he does, with two more releases already being prepared for release. “I have a new album that’ll be ready when I come to Australia,” he reveals, “and Ben Harper and I have one in the can, as they say. It’ll probably be a year before it comes out. You never know. There’s all kinds of irons in the fire. We’ll see what happens.” It seems Charlie Musselwhite doesn’t feel like slowing down and retiring and putting his feet up on the porch just yet. “Oh, sometimes I do,” he laughs gently again, “but I’m having too much fun to quit.” So, heading to Australia to play at the Perth International Arts Festival - we bet you didn’t see that coming when you were running moonshine as a young pup? “I sure didn’t,” he laughs. “It wasn’t anywhere in my mind at all. I didn’t even know I was going to have a career in music. I just liked music. I can’t wait to get there - we love Australia. We always have a great time and can’t wait to get there and have some more good times.”
“I don’t know if it’s important, but I get sick of listening to the same thing all the time. Not that I have really varied tastes, but a little bit, I suppose.”
J. MASCIS A Breath From The Noise Most often see out front of Dinosaur Jr., J. Mascis will perform at the Chevron Festival Gardens along with Scotland’s Mogwai on Monday-Tuesday, February 23-24. PATRICK EMERY reports. A few months ago, J Mascis was interviewed by 10-year-old Elliott Fullam, the son of Daniella and Justin Fullam, creators of the fashion and design website, Little Punk People. Confronted by Elliott’s enthusiasm and excitement, Mascis is typically deadpan: when Elliott suggests Mascis is “a guitar god”, Mascis demurs; 12
Elliott responds by repeating the superlative, brushing past Mascis’ humility as if it were cobwebs covering a Renaissance painting. Whereas most interviewers greet Mascis’ enigmatic demeanour with frustration and occasional annoyance, Elliott is unflappable. “Do you like to dance?” Elliott asks. “My kid is a better dancer than me,” Mascis replies, with just the vague hint of a smile. Mascis isn’t sure how the interview opportunity arose – you get the impression he remains slightly bemused by the promotional conveyor belt he’s occasionally forced to travel on each time he releases a new record – but he claims to have enjoyed the experience. “I’m not sure how that came about. But it was pretty interesting,” Mascis says. He did learn one thing from the interview, and its immediate aftermath: don’t read the comments box. “I made the mistake of reading some comments underneath, and was kind of surprised that people thought I was a complete dick to the kid or something,” Mascis says. “It was strange to read – I couldn’t work it out. And I didn’t know why I was reading it – it was such a strong reaction. It was weird.”
Mascis is a notoriously difficult interview subject – his answers are succinct, generally followed by a stony silence during which you wonder whether he’s counting down the seconds left in the interview. There are no profound philosophical observations on the nexus between music, art and life, no colourful stories of sex and drugs on the road, no slanderous observations about his contemporaries or the wheelers and dealers of the music industry. Last year, Mascis released his latest solo album, Tied To A Star, the follow-up to 2011’s Several Shades Of Why, and revealed plans for an Australian tour to promote the record. Given his sometimes fraught relationship with the other members of Dinosaur Jr., Mascis revels in the opportunity to create and refine his own songs, free from the commentary of his bandmates. “Yeah, it’s good not having to deal with those guys, or care what they did or didn’t play. It’s good to not have that around to think about,” Mascis says. In solo recording mode, Mascis is
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notionally confident of the type of music he’s looking to create. “I know what I like, and I always have a definite idea of what I want to come out. It’s not hard for me to work out what I like.” On Several Shades Of Why, for instance, Mascis stepped away from the hardcore-cum-Neil Young sound of Dinosaur Jr. in favour of a lighter, more acoustic sonic aesthetic. “In general, I suppose I was influenced by English folk, Fairport Convention; that Crosby, Stills And Nash scene.” Those aren’t bands that you’d ordinarily associate with Mascis in his original hardcore days, an observation with which he concurs. “Right at that moment I was pretty exclusively into hardcore, and I couldn’t think of listening to anything else. It was the only time that I felt that exclusive into what I was doing. I sold some of my old records, and I didn’t know why I ever liked them. It was pretty interesting being into only one thing. But that changed, and I got out of that mindset, and back into liking different types of music again.” Mascis doesn’t give the impression he spends too much time pondering the balance of light and heavy in his musical world. “It’s about taking a breath from the noise, or something,” he says. “I don’t know if it’s important, but I get sick of listening to the same thing all the time. Not that I have really varied tastes, but a little bit, I suppose.” While Tied To A Star eschews the overt acoustic style of Several Shades Of Why, Mascis is unequivocal on whether the new record is a deviation from its predecessor. “On the first album I gave up the songs to a lot of people to play what they wanted on them, and some of the stuff I’d recorded I wasn’t sure what I wanted it to sound like in the end,” he says. “With this album I didn’t use as many people, and I had a more definite idea of what I wanted it to sound like. When I asked someone to do something it was more specific, like I already had the sound in mind.” So is there a specific theme or idea at the heart of the record? “It’s more just a vibe that I want out of a record – it’s hard to describe. I know what I want it to feel like in the end, and I want all the songs on the record to work toward some kind of vibe. It’s hard to put it into words, but I knew what I was going for.”
NEW NOISE
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4.5 OUT OF 5
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SCOTT WALKER + SUNN O)))
BJÖRK
Soused 4AD
Vulnicura POD/Inertia
Even Neil Simon would have been reluctant to throw up the idea of a drone metal band from Seattle and legendary crooner from the ‘60s when ruminating on unlikely couplings. But that pairing is exactly what occurred when Scott Walker and Sunn O))) announced that they had been working on an album titled Soused. Walker may have made his name as the chart riding ‘sibling’ in the Walker Brothers before launching a solo career that would see his rich baritone allow him to reach pop icon status. Since 1995, Walker has reinvented himself with a bleak trilogy of avant garde tunes that would reach a brand new audience. Soused by comparison comes across as a less challenging listen. Sunn O))) are known for playing it slow and at a blistering volume, and on Brando find that Walker’s vocals sit perfectly amongst the menacing drone and sporadic burst of guitar. Where Brando is charming and haunting, Herod 2014 sounds like a man with a operatic voice trapped in an industrial bin as he bangs away to get people’s attention whilst vicious birds circle overhead. There are times when the sense of discord makes Scott Walker + Sunn O))) sound like a dark angel sitting on Antony Hegarty’s shoulder, but it is this uncompromising exploration that makes Soused a success.
Vulnicura abruptly hit the digital shelves last month, a rush release sparked by yet another early album leak. Hopefully it caps off a bad run for Björk – her new album documents the last gasps of her long-term relationship with artist Matthew Barney and it’s not an easy ride. But it’s also an invigorating return to form, shaking out the unfocused excess of her past three albums and returning to her more established template of soaring strings anchored by throbbing, amorphic beats. As the open wound on the cover art suggests, this is a very personal record. Musically, it has much in common with 2001’s Vespertine, but replaces that album’s sensual discovery of a new love with a stoic, analytical breakdown of a difficult break-up. The nine songs are broken into three parts: prior to the breakup, the months following and an undated final trio that closes the album somewhat open-endedly. The opening song, Stonemilker, is also the most accessible, and would sound at home on 1997’s Homogenic. Lionsong grasps at hope with the chorus, ‘Maybe he will come out of this loving me’, while Björk documents the intimacy of ‘our last time together’ in the bittersweet stocktake, History Of Touches. Vulnicura is heavy but liberating, and it’s easily one of her best.
CHRIS HAVERCROFT
CHRIS GIRDLER
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DORSAL FINS
THE PERCH CREEK FAMILY JUGBAND
Mind Renovation Gripless/ Remote Control Records Liam McGorry, of Saskwatch fame, gathers together a 15-piece ensemble for his new band, Dorsal Fins. Eschewing soul in favour of an indie-rock palette the group has captured the energy of psychedelic rock while not being bound to it’s tropes. Mind Renovation is the gratifying result of a side project gone right. Hidden away amongst the psychedelia are songs which are as exciting as they are anomalous. The poppy synths of Heart On The Floor make you want to stamp your feet. The guitar riffs in Sun & Stars could be lifted directly from a Japanese video game. As they shift between psych-rock and a range of eclectic genres, from the powerful spoken word of Jacqueline to the ethereal ballad of Fell, it feels like we’re discovering secret tracks rather than following a simple progression through the album. Consistent throughout is the Dorsal Fins’ dynamic horn section, which ties the album together when it might otherwise feel disjointed. McGorry’s influence as a trumpeter comes through strongly to complement rather than clutter. It elevates the good songs and makes the great ones even better. This fusion is what makes Mind Renovation work. The band trust each other’s skills enough to experiment with a vast array of genres, and the audience enough to appreciate it. JAMES ROSS
Jumping On The Highwire Vitamin With a name like The Perch Creek Family Jugband you would expect the Melbourne quintet to play roots based music. But if you were expecting the moniker to be just an opportunity for the outfit to cash in on the ‘hipness’ of indie-country, then you may be surprised to hear that there are actually four siblings driving the band here. The band has been invited onto almost every festival going around so as punters can get a slice of their good-time hoe-downs. Jumping On The Highwire is The Perch Creek Jugband’s second attempt to bring their party tunes to the studio. With nearly all members contributing tunes and ideas, and no shortage of quirky instruments at hand (a washboard, jug, spoons and even tap-dancing), Jumping On The Highwire is far from cohesive which at times is a strength but also a weakness. Mother Of My Mother draws on the depression era with great affect, while Party On The Farm invokes images of hay bales and barn dancing The Perch Creek Family Jugband have a reputation for high energy fun time live shows. Sadly this just hasn’t transitioned onto disc for Jumping On The Highwire, which is nothing more than a pleasant tipping of the hat to a bygone time. CHRIS HAVERCROFT
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SLEATER-KINNEY No Cities To Love Sub Pop/Inertia Seminal ’90s feminist punk band Sleater-Kinney have returned after a near 10-year absence with their new album, No Cities To Love. Usually a break that long would make even a longtime fan give pause, but Sleater-Kinney pull through with a great release. The sound that garnered them so much respect in the ’90s is still present here, and their musicianship is every bit as rounded and passionate as before. There’s a Fugazi influence, and while noisy, all three members play so tight it feels like there isn’t a single note wasted. The classic dual guitar sounds of Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein really fill the album out, proving there’s no need for a bass player in the band. No Cities To Love feels like a classic guitar album, with big effects and innovative playing on nearly every song. Highlights include opener Price Tag, which takes aim at capitalism, and Gimme Love, a track that really shows off some dominant vocal chops. Closer Fade is the slowest track on the record, but still keeps a solid pace and feel. Sleater-Kinney prove that a ‘comeback album’ doesn’t have to be a dirty word with this true return to form. It’s a record that adds to their legacy, instead of tarnishing it. SPENCER SCOTT
RAISED FIST From The North Epitaph Records Entering their 22nd year as one of the most renown live acts, Swedish hardcore punk rockers Raised Fist have returned with their sixth studio album built to slot perfectly into their high energy live set. From The North is a perfect showcase of the band’s maturity and delivery, with a fluid recording sound, solid builds and huge choruses. Lead track Flow kicks off with a killer drum beat and never looks back pounding into a thunderous chorus that is sure to induce moshes across the globe. Alexander Hagman’s vocals epitomise the journey Raise Fist have been through, throwing everything they can into their live songs and producing only the best music they can for their fans, shouting ‘from the club to the squat, you people chose the spot’. Hagman’s vocal tone is a highlight throughout the album, aggressively leading the band through crunching riffs and bouncy melodies. We Will Live Forever is another stand-out track that takes a slower approach which leads to an emotive chorus and tells a gripping story, whilst the vocal harmonies in Ready To Defy are memorable and catchy. AARON BRYANS WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU
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L I F E S T Y L E & C U LT U R E
Four years ago the Roache-Turner brothers (Tristan and Kiah) set out to make a movie similar to the action and horror movies that had dominated their youth. Now after countless hours of work, the complete transformation of a yellow HiLux into a zombie-fuelled death machine, and setting a man’s head on fire (in strictly controlled stunt conditions), Guerilla Films is about to release the high-octane zombiefest, Wyrmwood: Road Of The Dead. X-Press caught up with one half of the team; producer, production designer, co-writer and occasional zombie extra, Tristan Roache-Turner. With Wyrmwood displaying such a love of Ozplotation and horror, it is easy to see the filmic touchstones that the brothers have. Mad Max is the obvious comparison, but there are strong horror influences. “It has to be Evil Dead 2 and Bad Taste. I watched both those movies as a young fella. Evil Dead 2 was really scary, but had mad production values. It had that maniacal sense of humour that I really appreciated. Bad Taste from Peter Jackson... I just fell in love with that movie. That was what really gave myself and Kiah (director) the self belief that you can make a movie off your own back and find a following for it.” Hence, with a minuscule budget, the brothers set out to make the film they wanted. “It was difficult but it was so much fun. That made it easier. Looking back I’m amazed we got it down in four years. There were definitely times it was very hard. We had a cast and a crew that ..well...none of them
were getting paid up front, everyone was there for the love of film making. It just gave us the team we needed to get everything done.” Of course with a shoestring budget, Tristan found himself wearing multiple hats on Wyrmwood. “Produced it, wrote it with my brother, designed and built a lot of the props and costumes. I did a lot of crew work on set, production managing and making sure everyone was on time, and organised – but by the end of the day I’d have a tool-belt on running around repairing things in between shots... I was a zombie multiple times, I performed a lot of small scale stunts, and I was safety as well.” Due to an electrician background Tristan was highly safety orientated. Hence when it came time to actually set a man’s head on fire as part of the climactic end battle, Tristan was part of the team that day (along with a stunt coordinator). He is also responsible for bringing much of the iconic look of the film into reality, including the zombie-mobile. After buying an appropriate base from eBay, it just required some salvaged scrap metal, a few trips to Bunnings and the help of a couple of tradie mates to “transform it from an average yellow HiLux to the beast it is today.” As for what’s next for the two filmmakers; as much as they would love to do a sequel for Wyrmwood, “Any plans for that are on the backburner as we have a kick-arse ghost story planned. Sort of an R-rated Ghostbusters.” DAVID O’CONNELL
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Jake Gyllenhaal plus beard
BEARDING THE TRENDS Face Fuzz Follies There was a period when naming five guys under 50 with more than stubble on their chins was a challenge, and the statement “I only date guys with beards” limited your options to a small pool of oddball oldies at the pub. Beards were the undisputed forte of Santa, pirates, Jesus, and strange uncles. How times have changed. Nobody knows how it happened. Like tribbles, hairy faces just kept appearing until popular culture was brimming with beards. Sure, one cutie bellwether probably kick-started the revival, but until Daniel Arsham creates a crystallised, corroded installation explaining it all, we’ll never know.
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To clarify, it’s not about a letting it all go/ giving up attitude. This isn’t limited to the kind of wild beard-and-barefoot combos that kickstart a Hair revival. Taking care of the feature foliage has led to an increase in beard grooming ranges and an ever-evolving field of fashion that’s all about shaping the strands on the face. These suckers are groomed, and occasionally, accessorised. Embedding flowers in your beard was big for a while, disturbingly reminiscent of sci-fi stories that saw humanity evolve into plant-like creatures (cheers for the nightmares). Then things got seasonal, what with Christmas baubles decorating beards, and God knows what’s going to happen on Valentines Day... Hell, trend forecasters are probably counting down the hours until we all have to live through a scrunchie-for-the-face trend. This year’s beard fashions begin with fluoro. Why add colour with accessories, when you can colour the hair itself? The addition of colour does add a whole new spectrum (get it?) of decorative possibilities. Who knows what the future holds. Maybe beards will go the way of tattoos, and you’ll see optical illusions and inspirational quotes in the mix. Jokes aside, it’s fun to see men embracing the fuzz. For a while the removal of body hair–from here, there and everywhere–bordered on Ken doll proportions, so it’s liberating to see facial hair fighting back. The marketing of hot man hair was helped along by some of the world’s sexiest bearing beards on the red carpet (please, no date jokes). Jared Leto is an aficionado, and the trend certainly didn’t suffer at the hands of Chris Hemsworth and Ryan Gosling. If the many links to Buzzfeed lists of bearded hotties is anything to go by, facial hair is a firmly established, sexy and style-savvy choice. (Even if you can’t grow one, you can buy a beanie that has a knitted fake beard attached, so you won’t feel left out.) Interestingly beards and long hair aren’t an automatic duo, the beard having developed an autonomous presence. Facial hair is worn with whatever cropping of the locks you like: buzz cut, undercut, messy bob, long strands, even the ever-controversial topknot. Naysayers are predicting the end of the beard, but with so many different ways to wear it– the border shaved into semi-circle arcs on the cheeks, partnered with a long moustache, inclusion of a soul patch, shaped to be longer in the front than on the sides, twirled on the ends, more plaiting and weaving than a mind can handle– the allure of the beard should linger for a while. GILLIAN O’MEAGHER
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LIMEBURNERS The Good Stuff Down Albany way a small distillery is making world class whisky, along with plenty of other top notch drops. We have a chat with Brent Clinch, the Marketing and Operations Manager at Great Southern Distilling Company, the outfit behind Limeburners. What’s the Limeburners story? In 2004 after 14 years of research, the Great Southern Distilling Company was founded and commenced commercial production in 2005. Located on the edge of Princess Royal Harbour, they take advantage of Albany’s pristine water, clean air, abundance of local produce and cool marine climate. In May, 2008, their first flagship Limeburner Single Malt Whisky was released. Not only was this recorded as an historic event, the first single malt whisky ever distilled in Western Australia, but have also picked up numerous medals at the prestigious International Wine & Spirits Competition in London every year for the past seven years. Now, with the distillery heading into its 10th year, production has more than doubled and demand is outstripping productivity. Under the Great Southern Distilling Company name they produce brandy, grappe, gin, vodka and fruit liqueurs, using locally sourced raw materials;
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barley from the south west coastal WA, grapes, karri honey, native botanicals and organic fruit to name a few. If people make the trip down to Albany, what can they expect? Visitors to the picturesque Albany are able to tour the distillery, witness the distillation process, sample the products and generally enjoy the location, premises and gardens. Education is a big part of the experience. How should your beverages be best enjoyed? Limeburners is for savouring, celebrating a special occasion, sharing with your whisky loving friends or even collecting the rarer bottles. Anything else you’d like to add? We have another location opening soon – Margaret River Distilling Company in the first quarter of 2015.
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Michigan Central Station
CORKTOWN Detroit, Michigan In October 2012, X-Press Magazine’s Global Correspondent BEN WATSON packed his bags and waved goodbye, after 19 years, to Perth. His mission: to see the whole damn world while he can. Like every other city on the planet, Detroit is a place of contradictions—albeit one with a hard-asnails reputation that, it must be said, is not totally undeserved. Flying over Downtown into Wayne County Airport, the post-apocalyptic feel of the place is apparent immediately. This is a town whose population has effectively halved since its heyday as an industrial city in the 1950s. As a budget traveller, you are likely to find yourself smack-bang in the centre of them feels: the historically-Irish neighbourhood of Corktown, located about 30 minutes’ walk from the centre of town. For it is here that Detroit’s only youth hostel is located, and it is a far cry from the glitz and glamour of the city’s revitalised riverfront and General Motors’ Renaissance Centre hotel. When X-Press checked in to the Hostel Detroit, we were told by its friendly and enthusiastic staff that there was currently no power connected
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to the building. There had been floods upstate somewhere, and so we would conducting our evenings by torchlight and candles until further notice. This meant no wi-fi – nothing – for the next couple of days. This was somewhat unsettling on a late-afternoon as the sun set amid the ruinous landscapes of Corktown. Half one house here, half another there; a vacant block where a souvenir stand and café once stood. There is a feeling of vulnerability, made more acute by the seemingly endless abandoned parking lots that once serviced Tiger Stadium—an iconic baseball field that closed in 1999 and was demolished ten years later. Overshadowing everything, the decaying visage of Michigan Central Station, formerly Detroit’s primary means of inter-city transportation and once the tallest train station in the world. The windowless ruins of this grand-olddame of the American railroad rise 20-odd stories into the air. It looks, and feels, grim – like the Bomb has dropped. All those preconceptions offered by people who have never been to Detroit suddenly seem validated. The USA is a pretty safe place to visit, but it feels like – surely – if something is gonna go wrong, it will happen here. Happily, first impressions are mostly nonsense. After all, most people are great, and the people of Detroit have weathered just about every adversity that the universe could possibly throw at them. This is, after all, the town that gave us The MC5, Motown, Eminem and that fostered The Stooges. The grit and determination remains strong, and Corktown is a testament to that. As the sun rose on our first full day in Detroit, it revealed community gardens amid the ruins. The grounds of Tiger Stadium are maintained by volunteers, no less. Nearby, Michigan Avenue throws up surprise after surprise: PJ’s Lager House, run by absolute legends with live bands four nights a week; Mercury Burger Bar, awesome food, free wi-fi, endless cups of coffee. Indeed, Hostel Detroit is case in point. In this most unlikely of settings, grassroots small business and community-powered optimism thrive. Americans, as a rule, are friendly people – but there is something uniquely excellent about Detroiters that makes the city a highly rewarding place to visit.
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Every week we bring you the best in fashion, food, shopping and lifestyle.
EAT AT: COCINA BANDITO From the good folks behind The Classroom comes this great new Cuban-flavoured eatery at 140. Try a classic Cuban sandwich and a fresh mojito today! Cocina Bandito
DRINK AT: JOE’S JUICE JOINT A top range of craft beers and a surprisingly unpretentious vibe for self-proclaimed “dive bar” (stop doing that) makes Joe’s Juice Joint a welcome change from the usual small bar offerings. Plus: pinball. It’s a temp set up, though, so be sure to check it out sooner rather than later. Joe’s Juice Joint
CAVALIER SCHOOL OF FENCING En Garde! Looking for a sport with a bit more panache than the norm? Why not try fencing? We had a word with Malcolm Davies, Treasurer and Sabre Coach of the Cavalier School Of Fencing. How did you become interested in fencing? I was one of those kids that ran around with a stick pretending it was a sword. When I saw a foil (one of fencing’s three disciplines) laying around at a friends house I couldn’t help but pick it and slash it around (I was 19). My friend said “Oh yeah, I started fencing. You should come and try it.” A couple of weeks later I was at my first session and about 30 minutes in I knew I was hooked. I loved the nuance and complexity, the physical demands of the sport, and the one-on-one nature of it. The chance to live out those crazy childhood dreams didn’t hurt its appeal for me either. How long have you been at it now? I’ve been fencing for 21 years. I still love to put on my whites and get involved in competitions when I can but these days I spend most of my time coaching. I’m privileged to not only train the current top male and female sabreurs in WA but also a great batch of up and coming kids who want to be the next generation of champions.
What’s the biggest misconception about fencing that non-participants have? People often come to the beginners course run at Cavaliers with two common misconceptions about fencing. First off, they expect it to look something like an old Errol Flynn movie; hand on hip, waving a sword around flamboyantly. Good fencing requires great control and precise actions. Secondly, people don’t realise how physically demanding fencing is or how much they’re going to move around during a training session. Each of fencing’s three disciplines (foil, épée & sabre) are fast and furious in their own way. Make no mistake, if you’re doing it right you’re going to work up a serious sweat.
SHOP AT: GOOD COMPANY RECORDS They say they sell “special records and parties for special people.” This Subiaco shop stocks a carefully curated range of music that rewards the careful consumer. Check them out at goodcompanyrecords.bigcartel.com Good Company Records
Who does fencing appeal to in your view? Fencing appeals to people who want something different from a sport, not just another “run after the ball” type activity. It’s ultimately just you, your footwork, your tactics, and your skill with a sword against those of your opponent, but without the concussions of something like boxing. From that perspective it also attracts highly competitive people. It also has a real sense of history and intricacy that will draw in someone who likes to “think” as well as “do.” It’s a very tactical sport and very as well. One of the great things about fencing is that appeals to, and can accommodate, people of just about any age. All major clubs run beginners sessions or courses and welcome kids to veterans. For example, Cavaliers has a fencer who recently attended the Commonwealth Veterans Fencing Championships in the 80+ age category.
It really is the must-see venue at Fringe World, isn’t it? Bend your elbow at the rooftop bar, catch a show in one of the repurposed classrooms, rub shoulders with Perthonalities and festival folk - it’ll be a blast.
For more information, head to cavaliers.com.au
Noodle Palace
GO TO: NOODLE PALACE AT CENTRAL
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THE MYSTERY OF HAPPINESS A Fine Bromance
LOVE IS STRANGE Home Is Where The Heart Is Directed by Ira Sachs Starring John Lithgow, Alfred Molina, Marisa Tomei After finally marrying his partner of 20 years, George (Alfred Molina) is fired from his long-time teaching position at a Catholic school. Given the financial pressures of suddenly finding themselves with less income, George and his ageing husband Ben (John Lithgow) must sell their apartment and move in with friends until they can find a lodging they can afford. Separated from each other, the couple find staying with others takes its toll. Love Is Strange manages in its own bitter-sweet and gentle way to say a lot about love, relationships, family and acceptance. It examines issues of inequality, be that based on sexual orientation, age, or financial security. Never heavy handed about these matters, it draws the audiences attention to them, allowing them to make their own conclusions. At its heart though, it is the moving tale of two separated lovers. In many ways this is a small movie. Director Ira Sachs is well aware of the limitations of his modest budget, and scales his ambitions accordingly. He tells the tale he wishes to tell and in the way he wishes to tell it, giving audiences a deeply personal look into the lives of two characters, rather than being too overtaken with the concerns of narrative drive. In fact Sachs is not overly concerned with holding the audiences hand throughout the narrative, to somewhat mixed results. In the main storyline this plays out for the better, with one key scene omitted from George and Ben’s relationship - instead we are thrown into the aftermath and share a sense of loss and confusion. In the sideline plots this is not so
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effective, ff with h many plot l points being added to minor characters that seem to really go nowhere, gaining no resolution. Sachs also makes wonderful use of New York. A frequent character in his films, this time it is high urban density and the smaller living spaces of even the affluent citizens that play into the plot. As the character of Ben expresses, when you are living with someone you get to know them perhaps better than you would like .So the apartments are cramped and crowded, the streets, roof-tops and bars offer respite, allowing the audience to bask in the cityscape. The true heart of this film, however, is the interaction between Lithgow and Molina. Separately they are great, but together they are just wonderful. There is a natural ease to their interaction, as if they have been a couple for 20 years and can effortlessly bounce lines off each other. A key concern for such central characters, it adds a level of utter believability to the story. It’s also good to see many familiar faces in support roles; Marisa Tomei, Darren E. Burrows and Manny Perez (as a gay and geeky cop) all crop up. A small, but engaging movie, Love Is Strange manages to say a lot with a very gentle voice. DAVID O’CONNELL
Love Is Strange screens at Somerville UWA from Monday, February 9, until Sunday, February 15, and at ECU Joondalup Pines from Tuesday, February 17, until Sunday, February 22, as part of Lotterywest Festival Films. For tickets and session times, go to perthfestival.com.au.
Director Burman t Daniel D i lB Starring Guillermo Francella, Inés Estévez, Fabián Arenillas What starts out as an example of a bromantic comedy soon takes a swing to the more traditional romantic sort, when a business partner goes missing and is replaced by his wife. Business partners Santiago (Guillermo Francella) and Eugenio (Fabián Arenillas) have been friends for most of their lives. They run their business together with an amazing synchronicity, be that in a meeting, or playing doubles paddle tennis. One day, after a tempting offer for their electronics store, Eugenio disappears. Soon his wife, the somewhat neurotic Laura (Inés Estévez), appears to take over Eugenio’s part of the business. While getting to know each others eccentricities Laura and Santiago must discover how they can work together to both run a business and solve the mystery of Eugenio’s disappearance. The Mystery Of Happiness is the sort of foreign film that if you squint hard enough you can actually see the American actors that would be cast in a Hollywood remake. This is a light and enjoyable movie, not really veering from expected genre conventions, save for its shift from buddy comedy to romantic comedy. That’s not a criticism: it knows what it wants to be and achieves this to the best of its means, providing a pithy, well-paced comedy with some care and intelligence taken in its construction. The end result is entertaining and very easy to watch. That aside, there is really not too much to discuss here. There is a subtext implying that
you never k know another th person as well as you think you do, there is always another aspect of them that remains separate and hidden. In Santiago and Laura’s investigation of Eugenio each of them turn up an aspect involving the other life in which they are strangely absent. Director Daniel Burman uses a mirroring of these sequences to highlight the effect of the discovery upon each of them in turn. In fact, repetition with subtle changes is a well used device in this film. A montage of a typical day at the office plays out a number of times, with subtle differences (Santiago and Eugenio, a forlorn Santiago after Eugenio absconds, Santiago and Laura). Each time reflects a change in the dynamic. Burman also makes good use of the score, with a Latino beat adding a quick pace to the proceedings. Francella and Estevez seem well matched, managing to get a good cadence as they bounce rapid fire barbs off each other. However the true chemistry of this film belongs to Francella and Arenillas. The opening sequence with both of them totally in step with each other, unconsciously mirroring the others actions, is just a joy to watch, with the joke just growing as the scene progresses. A lightweight comedy but with an artful enough construction to keep most happy. DAVID O’CONNELL
The Mystery Of Happiness screens at ECU Joondalup Pines from Tuesday, February 10, until Sunday, February 15, as part of Lotterywest Festival Films. For tickets and session times, go to perthfestival.com.au.
FILM
Kingsman: The Secret Service
KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE Bond On Bond Directed by Matthew Vaughn Starring Colin Firth, Taron Edgerton, Samuel L. Jackson, Mark Strong, Michael Caine, Sofia Boutella Boldly British, incredibly violent and with its tongue firmly planted in its cheek, Kingsman: The Secret Service is a timely corrective to the increasingly dour James Bond franchise, serving to both lampoon it mercilessly and remind us why the old warhorse is so beloved. After one of his fellow secret agents is killed, Harry “Galahad” Hart (Colin Firth) nominates Eggsy Unwin (Taron Egerton), the son of a candidate who died saving Hart’s life, as a replacement. While the street-smart, rough and ready Eggsy tackles the training regime designed to transform him into a Kingsman, Harry investigates internet billionaire Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson adopting a Mike Tyson lisp), who appears to be behind a rash of inexplicable celebrity disappearances. As is often the case, the fate of the world hangs in the balance, and both the impeccable gentleman spy and the tearaway youth must go above and beyond to beat the ticking clock. Kingsman is just an absolute blast. Adapted from the comic by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons, it’s an arch, violent, occasionally 18
tasteless love letter to the over the top thrillers that had their heyday in the swinging ‘60s think Bond, The Avengers (Steed & Peel, not Stark & Rogers), The Man From U.N.C.L.E., even a touch of Harry Palmer, all slammed together in a manner which feels like exhilarating chaos, but is in fact a carefully orchestrated paean to a past era which, while perhaps politically naive, is certainly a good deal more fun than the current crop of espionage exploits, of which the tortured Jason Bourne is the poster boy. That doesn’t mean it’s just an exercise is wistful nostalgia - Egerton’s turn as the cheerfully iconoclastic Eggsy makes sure of that. Vaughn, along with co-writer Jane Goldman, is interested in the weird alchemy when old school mixes with new cool, rather than imply edifying one over the other: Firth’s Harry Hart may be an unflappable man of mystery, but Eggsy is a parkour-running South London car thief, and it’s the two bouncing off each other that makes the film such fun. It’s very adult fun, though - gleefully ultra-violent and sexy to the point of smuttiness (there’s a lewd gag in the denouement that might sit badly with some, but is pretty much on par with some the Moore-era Bond indiscretions). It’s all very tongue in cheek, but if you’re not on board with seeing someone literally bisected by a double-amputee assassin, you’re not going to have a good time. You really should be on board, though - Kingsman: The Secret Service is a great little bundle of action and laughs. It’s clearly designed to kick off a franchise but even if it doesn’t, the film stands alone as a note-perfect piece of pop art. Don’t miss it. TRAVIS JOHNSON
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WYRMWOOD: ROAD OF THE DEAD The Quick And The Dead Director Kiah Roache-Turner Starring Jay Gallagher, Bianca Bradley Expectation is key with this film. If you approach Wyrmwood expecting a cutting social commentary using zombies as a metaphor, while the heroes are pushed to their limits both emotionally and physically, then this is not the film for you. If, however, you are more interested in a group of guys tearing across the bush in a zombie-fuelled HiLux, fighting off undead hordes with a gaspowered harpoon, all while chasing a paramilitary cabal trying to use the apocalypse to their ends, then you may be in luck. One night an ominous meteor shower (the biblical Wyrmwood) spells the end of humanity, as the people are overcome with a murderous rage and become flesh-craving zombies. Only a few survivors are immune to the outbreak, struggling to stay alive in the zombie plague. Mourning the death of his wife and child, Barry (Jay Gallagher) receives a call from his sister, Brooke (Bianca Bradley) telling him she is still alive. As the very rules of physics themselves alter, Barry must race across a zombie strewn outback to attempt to save his only living family, little knowing that Brooke herself has been kidnapped by a squad of NBC-suited soldiers with nefarious plans. Wyrmwood is unashamedly C-grade Ozplotation horror. With its lurid colours, blood-soaked action, nonsensical plot and camp performances, it demands to be viewed as a
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creature feature. Made on a shoe-string budget it aims big, bringing fast-paced action and larrikin humour to the screen. For a decent amount of its run time it actually achieves this, keeping inclose to the frenetic zombie fights to hide its limitations. Nor is it afraid to borrow from other cult classics, referencing them in its visual style. Mad Max would be the obvious one with many of Miller’s camera movements cheekily paid homage to here, but Evil Dead 2, Resident Evil and many other zombie films get call backs. There are more than a few rough edges here. Some of these are to do with the limitations of the budget, with the occasional bit of cheap CG or prop on display (although it must be stated this is the exception, not the rule). The camera work is often too close at times during a fight sequence. It is understandable that director Kiah RoacheTurner would take this approach both to hide his budget and to increase tension, but more variety in composition would actually give a clearer sense of the choreography. Finally, the script itself has some glaringly nonsensical plot points and massive leaps, but this itself remains true to many of Wyrmwood’s grindhouse inspirations and is likely intentional. If you forgive these limitations, then what you are left with is a rough gem in the spirit of Peter Jackson’s Bad Taste. For all its flaws its vitality, comedy and enthusiasm shine through. A bloody good time. DAVID O’CONNELL
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Fabien Clark
THE LAUGH RESORT HEATS UP It’s a Fringe-tastic lineup at The Laugh Resort’s regular Wednesday night home (that’s be Rosie O’Grady’s in Northbridge. Head down for 8pm to catch Dave Warneke, Ben Darsow, Sam Peterson, Sarah Furtner, Alex Storey, Adam Peter Scott and the Stevenson Experience, all welded together by MC Fabien Clark. Tickets are $15 via fringeworld.com.au or on the door.
Footrot Flats
FOOTROT FALTS RETURNS TO THE STAGE It may be hard to credit now, but there was a time when the daily newspaper strip Footrot Flats by Murray Ball, was a genuine cultural phenomenon in Australia and New Zealand. The strip, which chronicled the misadventures of embattled farmer Wal Footrot and his Walter Mitty-like sheepdog, spawned countless books, an animated feature, a theme park and even a stage musical - and it’s the latter that Laughing Horse Productions and Roleystone Theatre are reviving this March under the stewardship of director Kelly van Greest. It runs from Friday, March 6, until Saturday, March 21. Head to roleystonetheatre.com.au for tickets and session times.
Gemma Bovery
ALLIANCE FRANCAISE FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL LINEUP DROPS Like an annual breath of fresh Gallic (garlic?) air, the Alliance Francais French Film Festival brings us the best movies that French cinema has to offer, including offerings from some of the nation’s finest directors. This year’s festival, which takes place at Luna Palace Cinemas from Thursday, March 19, until Tuesday, April 7, is no exception, with films including Gemma Bovery from Coco Before Chanel director Anne Fontaine, 3 Hearts by Benoit Jacquoit (Farewell My Queen), The New Girlfriend from Francois Ozon (Swimming Pool) and more. For tickets and session times, go to lunapalace.com.au.
RIO TINTO SHOUTS YOU TO THE THEATRE ...just about, at any rate. Black Swan State Theatre Company and their long-time partner Rio Tinto have announced a new initiative designed to make theatre attendance cheaper for all Western Australians. Titled Rio Tinto $20 Tickets, the scheme will see an allotment of cheap tickets offered for every main stage Black Swan show in 2015. Similar to rush tickets, they will be available via eventopia. co two weeks prior to the show opening. For more information, go to the official Black Swan site at bsstc.com.au/riotinto20tix
THE MERCY SEAT Love In The Time Of Terrorism In Neil LaBute’s play, The Mercy Seat, two adulterous lovers are faced with a lifechanging choice in the wake of a terrorist attack that leaves thousands dead. We talk to Hermione Gehle, director of last year’s Fringe World production of Fat Pig (also by LaBute), about this latest thorny bundle of misanthropy and hard questions. Tell us about the play. The play is really about a couple, what they want from each other and how they plan for the future. Of course, all of this takes part the day after a catastrophic event that has left thousands dead or missing in the city - so there’s constant images on television about the rescue efforts, acts of heroism and the pure tragedy of it all. All of that’s outside - the greater context, which we’ve seen time and time again in stories of adversity where we always cast ourselves as the heroes. But inside our story, there’s this really, almost essentially human question: how do I make this work for me? And that kind of opportunism happens all the time, like when companies sell bottled water to tsunami victims. But when we try and act on that at the personal level, move from impulse to action, that’s when we really break taboo. But only if we get caught. What was it that attracted you to The Mercy Seat as a text? For starters, LaBute is just a fantastic writer with a brutally honest eye - great dialogue that seems natural while it pushes realism into satire. In many ways, LaBute is fearless when it comes to saying, “Y’know, we’re not as great as
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we say we are.” Some of the best lines in the play are funny because the characters don’t realise they’re being funny - that takes real skill as a writer. What prompted the decision to change the setting of the play (originally New York City on 9/11) and what did you have to take into consideration in order to effect that change? I believe satire works best when it’s directly relatable to the audience. If we hadn’t updated time and place to something specific to us, it becomes “that 9/11 play” instead of a play about who we are. I’ve been really fortunate to work with Scott Vincent, who’s digitally created a range of amazing footage of the catastrophe taking place in Perth, which makes it feel real and relevant to us, the audience. As far as the themes of The Mercy Seat go, I think we’ve all learnt to live in a state of near-fear, that whole “alert but not alarmed” thing, which is part of that story we tell ourselves - that we must be vigilant and that there are bad people that want to hurt us. Also, I should mention that this is the first time LaBute has permitted anyone to adapt The Mercy Seat for a different time and place, so it’s a huge honour for us. What are you hoping audiences take away from it? I think it’s the nature of satire that you can’t direct what audiences will take away from a piece - you hope to entertain and challenge, you hope that all the levels of meaning get across. Perhaps this whole “good guy” mythology we have about ourselves gets in the way of really acknowledging who we are and what we might need to change, but that’s a huge question. But it’s a question theatre is ideally positioned to ask. TRAVIS JOHNSON
The Mercy Seat is on at The Blue Room Theatre as part of Fringe World until Saturday, February 7. Go to fringeworld.com.au for tickets and session times.
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Peel, Fondle, Ogle
garment, video, sound, sculpture and performance, Peel, Fondle, Ogle explores the interstitial space Treasures Of The Jewish Ghetto Of Venice: The Art where the internal and external bodies transition, Gallery Of Western Australia laying open the often blurred boundary between A selection of incredible works that were hidden from attraction and repulsion. It runs from Tuesday, Nazi forces during World War 2 are now on display February 24, to Friday, March 6. at AGWA courtesy of Venetian Heritage. Marking the 500th anniversary of Venice’s’ Jewish Ghetto, THEATRE/DANCE/ this exhibition has been displayed in Vienna, New York, Houston and Venice, and now comes to Perth. PERFORMANCE It includes numerous silver and bronze artifacts used Venus In Fur: State Theatre Centre for Jewish worship and ritual purposes. The exhibition runs until March 16. Go to artgallery.wa.gov.au for A New York playwright and an actress get caught up in a fiery and destructive relationship that explores more information. notions of domination and power in this work from writer David Ives and director Lawrie Cullen-Tait. Rebirth: The Art Gallery Of Western Australia Japanese artist Mariko Mori has created Rebirth, an Presented by Black Swan State Theatre Company and immersive experience comprised of installations, Fringe World, it runs until Saturday, February 8. LED sculptures, photographs, drawings and videos. It’s on display from February 8 - June 29. For more Summer Nights: The Blue Room Theatre Presented as part of Fringe World, this short season information, go to artgallery.wa.gov.au of idiosyncratic stage performances brings you a smorgasbord of edgy theatre until February 21. For The Visitors: John Curtin Gallery Celebrated Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson tickets and information, go to blueroom.org.au. presents his ambitious nine channel music video installation to Perth as part of the Perth International Arts Festival. It runs from Thursday, February 12, until Sunday, May 16. Go to johncurtingallery.curtin.edu. au for more information.
VISUAL ARTS
Kiss Me: Linton & Kay Galleries, Perth Gillie and Marc Schattner’s newest exhibition is all about the kiss - to the point where it will include a Free Kissing Zone, where visitors will be invited to kiss one of the sculptures on display, a friend, a partner, even a total stranger. It’s on from Saturday, February 14, until Tuesday, March 3. Go to lintonandkay.com. au for further information. An Internal Difficulty: Perth Institute Of Contemporary Arts Curated by Andrew Nichols, this group exhibition sees seven prominent Western Australian artists Thea Constantino, Susan Flavell, Tarryn Gill, Travis Kelleher, Pilar Mata Dupont, Nalda Searles and Nichols himself - reconsider the figure of seminal psychiatric researcher Sigmund Freud in a domestic context. It runs from Wednesday, February 18, until Sunday, April 12. Go to pica.org.au for full details. Kaleidoscope: Perth Institute Of Contemporary Arts Contemporary artist Tracey Moffatt’s first major solo exhibition in Perth since 2004 features her new video work, Art Calls, plus an installation of works taken from her Spirit Landscapes series. It runs from Wednesday, February 18 , until Sunday, April 12. Head to pica.org.au for more information. Peel, Fondle, Ogle: Spectrum Project Space An exhibition by Kimberley Pace incorporating
Cosentino
Cosentino - Twisted Reality Tour: Regal Theatre Known as Australia’s greatest magician, Cosentino brings his unique brand of large-scale illusion to Perth for two shows only on Friday, May 1, and Saturday, May 2. Tickets are available via livenation.com.au.
FESTIVALS Fringe World 2015 Until Saturday, February 22, Perth comes alive with the best and most outrageous comedy, burlesque, circus, dance, theatre and more! For the full program go to fringeworld.com.au Perth International Arts Festival 2015 Perth’s premiere celebration of art of all genres and forms runs across multiple venues from Friday, February 13, until Saturday, March 7. Highlights this year include The Giants, the excellent range of films at the Lotterywest Festival Films Season and musical performances from Sinead O’Connor, Rufus Wainwright, J Mascis, Mogwai and more. Go to perthfestival.com.au for more information.
Kiss Me
offBeat Festival Over three days from Friday, March 20, until Sunday, March 22, celebrate percussion and rhythm-centered music with performances from WAAPA’s percussion ensemble, Defying Gravity, playing John Luther Adams’ Inuksuit; Mathas, Rokwell & Groom, Joni In The Moon and Catlips playing with percussion group The Wheel Turns; and the Daniel Susnjar Afro-Peruvian Jazz Group. Go to fac.org.au for more details. WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU
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LEAKY BOAT ALL’S FAIR PrideWA’s annual festival Fairday has scored a massive draw as it returns to its old home of Hyde Park in Northbridge, with LGBTI cultural monolith Calpernia appearing for her one and only Perth show. Other highlights include Odette Mercy & Her Soul Atomics, Toby, Cosmic Drama, and the Ladies Of Connections, as well as an acoustic stage to showcase the talents of the local community. Fairday is on Sunday, February 16, from 11am, and is $5 (free for PrideWA members).
THUNDA BOLTS
Academy Award-nominated documentary Citizenfour is the engrossing and shocking story of the Edward Snowden leaks that changed the world – and how we view national security – forever. To celebrate it arriving in Perth, Luna Cinemas will hold a special Q&A discussion on Saturday, February 14, featuring Greens senator Scott Ludlam, 6PR presenter and journalist Gary Adshead, and local legal boffin Kim Heitman, Director of Legal Services UWA. Journalist Alison Fan will host the event. Tickets are available online at lunapalace.com.au. Citizenfour
Calpernia, Fairday
Recently signed to Universal Music, Aussie rap pioneers Thundamentals will be celebrating the first birthday of their third album, So We Can Remember, by chucking a lap of the country with their Elephant In The Room national tour. Having honed their live show over a year including a sold-out tour of the country with the Hilltop Hoods and big sets at Groovin The Moo and the Falls Festival, they’ve got two WA dates, hitting Capitol in Perth on Saturday, May 2, and the Prince of Wales in Bunbury on Sunday, May 3. Tickets from oztix.com.au. Thundamentals
FUNDAY SESSION Sundays at the Balmoral Hotel will be a belly laugh this month, as Vulture Culture showcases the best in Australian comedy as part of the Victoria Park leg of Fringe World. On February 8 and 15 from 6.30pm, you can catch the likes of hot newcomer Ciaran Lyons, Adelaide’s Ben Darsow, and the alco-pop stylings of Sons Of Fred. You can find more info and tickets at fringeworld. com.au. Balmoral Hotel
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GET MOODY
MAKING TRACKS
Australian born folk songstress Ruth Moody has built an impressive CV in her time in Canada, both for her solo work and with The Wailin’ Jennys, and she’s ready to showing the old country what she can do on her upcoming national tour. There’ll be a whole long weekend to track her down, at Mojos Fremantle on Friday, February 27, (with Jordie Lane), and at the Nannup Folk Festival from Saturday, February 28, to Sunday, March 1. Tickets from mojosbar.com.au and nannupmusicfestival.org.
Hailing from Montreal, Snails had a huge 2014, dropping Wild and Pump This which set dancefloors a-tinglin’ worldwide. Scoring supports for Skrillex, Afrojack, Tiesto and Dillon Francis, Snails also toured the US in his own right, and is now heading to the antipodes to spread the bass, and a little bit of love at his Valentine’s Day show in Perth. You can catch him at Villa Nighclub in Northbridge on Saturday, February 14. Tickets from inhibit.net.au.
Ruth Moody
Snails
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WHAT’S IN THE BOX? Those folks behind Special Occasions #1 and #2 are back with another installment of their mystery shenanigans on Tuesday, February 17. As usual, the venue will come to light two days prior (ditto the very beneficial food and drink situation), and the artists will remain a secret until the night of the event. Intrigued? If so, move fast, because attendance is limited. Tickets through oztix.com.au and more information through facebook.com/waverockweekender.
URBAN WALKABOUT
ILLUSIONS, MICHAEL
REAL LIFE
Last year’s wildly successful Walk & Talk series of local history lectures is back, exploring the social, architectural, spiritual and environmental history of Perth’s geography in a friendly and fascinating fashion. The first talk, Connecting People, The Law, And The Parliament, will get the ball rolling at Parliament House in the Parliamentary Library on Wednesday-Thursday, February 18-19. Though free, places are limited, so head to heritageperth.com.au pronto to secure your booking, and learn more.
Acclaimed Perth magicians Pierre Elric and Robbie T are joining forces for a brain frying journey through hypnosis, telekinesis and visual hallucinations. Drawing on decades of experience, these master illusionists will dazzle, unsettle and challenge, as they embark on a no-holds-barred journey into your consciousness. Beyond Belief features at Teatro 1 in the Perth Cultural Centre, and will run from February 12-19 at 5.30pm daily. Tickets from fringeworld.com.au, and keep in touch at facebook.com/FringeBeyondBelief.
Dr Sketchy’s Anti Art School are tripping the Fringe World light fantastic with their own showcase on Wednesday, February 11. Featuring the delectable vintage vixen Miss Gail Force (the Fringe Mermaid Queen), it’ll offer the usual smorgasbord of the weird and the wonderful for your live drawing pleasure. Festivities will get hot and heavy from 8.30pm at Lazy Susan’s Comedy Den in Highgate, and tickets are available through fringeworld.com. au. BYO art supplies.
Parliament House
Beyond Belief
Fringe Mermaid Queen, Dr Sketchy’s Anti Art School
THE CLAREMONT HOTEL Get amongst it at the Claremont Hotel for Mix Tape Saturdays. There’s acoustic tunes from 5-8pm, then ‘80s DJs going until late! Happy hour’s between 5-6pm and cocktails are $10 all night! Mix Tape Saturdays @ Claremont Hotel Pic: Littlek Photography
LOVES MY BOOZIN’
VIVA BOSSA
If you’re looking to drink away the pain come this Valentine’s Day, Perth’s most pickled ragtag folk band are reuniting for a palliative piss-up at 459 Bar in North Perth. Featuring Peter Bibby, Drage, Strawberry Pete, Steve and Blake Hate, Blokes In Coats will tear through originals and covers from the likes of Bad Brains, Kill Devil Hills and Neil Young in their own distinctively scabrous fashion. Bonzer buddies The Pissedcolas, The Fortunados and Apples will get you lubricated prior. Tickets on the door.
Brazilian bossa nova beauty Juliana Areias is set to release her debut album, Bossa Nova Baby, a set of sophisticated, earthy originals that showcase her lithe, sensual vocals. The record features the playing of Perth jazz legends including bassist and arranger Pete Jeavons, pianist Graham Wood, drummer Ray Walker and saxman Paul Millard, who’ll also be backing her up live. Blending samba, tango, choro pop and funk, the ensemble will play the Ellington on Saturday, February 7, at 8pm. For more info and tickets, head to ellingtonjazz.com.au.
Peter Bibby | Pic: Tahlia Palmer
Juliana Areias
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KIM CHURCHILL Fame Canada Kim Churchill will join with The Preatures to close the City of Stirling’s Summerset Arts Festival this Saturday, February 7, at Stirling Civic Gardens, Scarborough. AUGUSTUS WELBY reports.
GONE BUSH The Nannup Music Festival is returning for another year of music in the bush, running from Friday, February 27, to Sunday, March 2. With Eric Bogle, Jordi Lane, Ruby Boots and the Mexican Mariachi Metal of Kallidad, the line-up is overflowing with old favourites and new surprises. As usual, there’s a gamut of events to explore, including the bush poets breakfast, hip hop and art workshops, buskers and market stalls. For more, and to book tickets, head to nannupmusicfestival.org. Eric Bogle, Nannup Music Festival
MARTINESQUE Fresh from some solid touring in support of The Tea Party’s comeback album, The Ocean At The End, the incomparable Jeff Martin will be playing some special solo shows this month. Let him romanticise your Valentine’s Day on Saturday, February 14, at the Fly By Night; or catch him on Sunday, February 15, at the Astor Lounge. Tickets from flybynight.org. Jeff Martin
GOING DOWN
SMITH FAMILY ROBINSON Fresh from delivering a 7” up yours to the Abbott government, the Smith Street Band are embarking on a 24-date tour to promote their instant classic new album, Throw Me in the River, which bedded down in the ARIA Top 20 and took triple j by storm. Hitting the Rosemount Hotel on Friday, February 27, they’ll be bringing Canadian labelmates PUP and Brits Great Cynics for a night of sweaty, frantic passionate rock and roll. Tickets online through rosemounthotel.com. au, or on the door on the night. Smith Street Band
Get Down Sundays at the Rosemount Hotel are the newest fixture for those looking to squeeze as much out of the weekend as they can before reality kicks in. Curated by well-feted local promotion heroes Think Twice, the Rosemount’s beer garden is transformed weekly into an oasis of chill, with hot dogs, beverages and tunes setting a peaceful vibe. This month, DJs include Aslan, Klean Kicks, Good Company DJs, Sleepyhead, Jo Lettenmaier and Tim King. Free entry from 1pm Sundays all February.
ON AN ISLAND If you’re a lover of local songwriting, a very cheap date, or both Going Solo at the Moon remains the ideal mid-week destination, with artists performing on their lonesome as you dine. Wednesday, February 4, sees Alex Griffin and Xanthea; Wednesday, February 11, has Jimmy Tait and Felicity Groom; Feb 18 features the talents of Amanda Merzdan and Beau Jones and Wednesday, February 25, rounds off the month with Ben Witt and Jane Azzopardi. Entry, as always, is free.
Kim Churchill is an exceptionally affable fellow. His polite, optimistic, conversational tone perfectly complements his easy-going folk rock tunes. Beyond this relaxed air, however, Churchill is also a crusading pop artist. Perhaps he’s not tabloid fodder, but since the release of his third LP, Silence/Win last May, Churchill’s global following has grown substantially. “We’ve done the last eight months touring like madmen,” he says. “We did three Canadian tours and one American tour and two European tours. It’s been a crazy, crazy time.” Hailing from Merimbula on the NSW South Coast, rather than waiting for a huge radio hit or a major label deal, Churchill took a grassroots approach to building a fan base. From the get-go, the blonde-haired nomad was determined to play in front of as many as possible, and it wasn’t long before he yearned to leave our shores. “I really wanted to get overseas, because I was young and I wanted to travel,” he says. “I really wanted to see the world, but I’m a complete workaholic and I felt that I could do it with my music.” Somewhat unexpectedly, Canada quickly nominated itself as Churchill’s home away from home. “We went over to do this sloppy little tour,” he says of his first visit to North America half a decade ago. “I went and busked on Granville Island in Vancouver every day for a while and just tied together little shows here and there. It was at a couple of those shows in Quebec that I met the guys that ran the label that I ended up signing to. Around the time I met them I started thinking, ‘Wow, Canada could be a really cool thing’. “I’ve been fortunate,” he adds. “I think it’s because in the last four or five years I’ve
SKEET SHOOTING
HUSH
The cosy Rouge Room beneath Beaufort St’s Luxe Bar will be satisfying hip hop cravings this Saturday, February 7, with Skeet 4.0 casting the net far and wide for everything with bass in the right place. Up this time on the 1s and 2s are Superflog with UK Grime, Henry Kissinger on the Juke, War Machine’s Dilla inspired tracks, Prince Ali & DJ Daddy Issues with the boom bap, and Sleepyhead’s West Coast collections. Entry on the door, goes from 8pm till late.
It’s Oh So Quiet Hush: An Evening Of Quiet Music has its second 2015 installment this Friday, February 6, at St George’s College, UWA, with Jordi Davieson & Josh Biondillo (San Cisco), Felicity Groom, Timothy Nelson and The Wilds. BOB GORDON chats with co-creator, Davey Craddock. What do you take into consideration when choosing acts for Hush? I co-organise Hush with my friend Stacy Gougoulis and this year we particularly aimed for a diverse range of musical styles. It’d be easy to pick acts that already play ‘hushed’ acoustic sets, which is why we picked acts like Mathas and Abbe May for last week’s show – to see how they’d reinterpret or approach their largely electronic and produced material. Timothy Nelson played the first ever Hush and we’ve invited him back for this week’s show to see what he’ll do now that’s he’s released a pitchperfect album of arena-pop bangers. There’s an amazing grand piano in the room and he’ll be using that a lot. He also knows how to work a room – last time he spent a few songs singing from in the crowd. He pulled the ol’ Chris Martin/Bruce trick. Josh and Jordi from San Cisco’s brand of pop is also pretty beat-driven and layered so it’ll be interesting to see how they approach a more stripped-back acoustic set. They’re both brilliant songwriters so the melodies are all there – it doesn’t really matter what instrument they’re played on! Felicity Groom has some amazing players in her band and her set sounds like it’ll be a treat – Stacy and I are a big fan of their new album. And The Wilds – well they’re the best band you’ve never heard of. They’re probably my favourite band in Perth because they’re so spontaneous and unhinged but hold it all together with Chris Davis’s very sincere and understated folk songwriting. How did you come to select St George’s College as the venue? I lived at St George’s College for two years while going to uni and while eating toast every morning in that grand dining hall I always dreamt of my favourite bands playing there. It’s got fantastic acoustics - there’s wood paneling everywhere – so you feel like you’re playing a show inside the resonant hull of a boat or a chapel. There’s a real gravitas to the room which gives the show a sense of occasion. We’re really lucky to be able to use it. 24
worked and toured as hard in Canada as I have back here at home, so the fan base has been like a homely bunch as well.” In addition to the deal with Montreal’s Indica Records, Churchill teamed up with Atlantic Records for Silence/Win’s UK release. This isn’t Churchill’s only major label deal, as he’s also signed to Warner Music in Australia. Churchill is certainly a relaxed individual, but he’s not completely blasé about the position he’s in. “It’s a funny old game that you play, especially working with a major record label,” he says. “You walk into the place and you all of a sudden get this very lovely, flattering, wonderful treatment. It’s easy to get a bit swept up in – I catch myself all the time. I think everybody’s constantly keeping an eye on themselves and how they are as a person and it’s no different for me. Well, it might be different in the sense that there’s a little bit more to keep an eye on.” Silence/Win mightn’t qualify as a bestseller, but it has garnered plenty of triple j airtime and led Churchill into major concert venues in the US and Europe. Despite his growing star status, years of experience have taught Churchill to suppress dreams of world domination. “There were certain elements of almost desperation that came to me at some points, when I really just wanted to have that breakthrough album or that hit. Finally, when I was getting into the mode of doing Silence/Win, I noticed that desperation and I noticed how it could get itself involved in my music and be to its detriment. So Silence/Win was kind of about letting go of that and being okay with whatever it was.”
X MARKS THE SPOT INDI CELEBRATION The Indi Bar is stoked to announce the return of its beloved manager, Andrew Grove. To mark his return, blues rockers Vdelli will play their final three shows at the Indi Bar before leaving for Germany. It’s a Friday residency that sees them tearing it up Indi-style on February 6, 13 and 20. Good times! Vdelli
The thrilling musicianship of Perth’s RedX is finally making it to record, with their debut self-titled album set to drop nationally later this year. The first taste, Factory, is out now, and the band will be travelling across WA to share it round at Settlers in Margaret River on Friday, February 13; the Prince of Wales in Bunbury on Valentine’s Day, Saturday, February 14, and Mojo’s on Sunday, February 15. Tickets on the door at each venue. For more info and to stay in touch, head to facebook. com/redxhome.
What do you hope to achieve with the Hush series? We’re trying to create an environment where the artists can take risks and do things that’d be impossible in a pub environment. To do that we try and pick grand and evocative buildings and ask the audience to be completely silent during the sets. Last week at our first show Mathas played a hip hop set with a harpist for god sake! It was absolutely insane and brilliant. Abbe May reinterpreted tracks like Karmageddon into this woozy, wonky, country, acoustic jam which was fantastic and Odette Mercy stood next to that booming grand piano and let that phenomenal voice of hers bounce around the building for 25 minutes while everyone picked their jaws off the floor – she got a long standing ovation. For us it’s all about creating an environment where the audience gets to see the artist try an arrangement, song or band lineup they’ve never done before. There’s a real sense that you’re sharing a ‘one-off’ moment with the artist.
The South West Beer Festival a celebration of craft beer in the beautiful South West of WA, and it happens on Valentine’s Day, Saturday, February 14, at Old Broadwater Farm, Busselton. For the fourth year brewers from the South West will gather together to showcase their wares. This year 14 craft breweries with be ‘on tap’ displaying more than 60 beers. Only locally based businesses can exhibit on the day, making it the perfect opportunity to see what the best in the South West has to offer. Tickets are $30 from Oztix.com.au.
Davey Craddock in the St George’s College Dining Hall
brew 42, South West Beer Festival
SOUTH WEST BEER FESTIVAL
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E D U C AT I O N , T R A I N I N G & C A R E E R S
SAE Creative Media Institute
SAE Creative Collaboration Focus
Get UniReady @ Curtin
SAE Creative Media Institute is leading the way in creative media learning outcomes, with a focus on real world projects, internships, and collaboration across multiple disciplines. Offering Certificate, Diploma and Degree programs in Animation, Audio, Design, Film, Games and Web & Mobile, SAE Perth campus is 100 per cent creative. A new degree course structure was introduced in 2014, with a greater focus on interdisciplinary projects. These studio units allow for Science, Engineering and Health could help. students to work on creative projects of their Through this course, you’ll develop the fundamental choice, in a real world environment, which is already knowledge you need to pursue undergraduate studies in biology, chemistry, computing, forensic science, health, mathematics, physics and more. It’s a one-year course, delivered through a combination of study at Curtin and Canning or Tuart College. Applications for first semester close on Monday, February 9. If you’re of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent and don’t meet Curtin’s minimum entry requirements, the six-month Indigenous Tertiary Enabling Course can equip you with the skills, knowledge and confidence to you need to begin a bachelor degree at Curtin. On successful completion of the course, you’ll be eligible for entry into a range of undergraduate and associate degree programs. Applications for this course close on Friday, February 13. Last but not least, Curtin College can be a great stepping stone to university. Based at Curtin’s main campus, Curtin College provides qualifications ranging from pre-university to diploma. These qualifications guarantee a place in the second year UWA O-Day of the related bachelor degree at Curtin, provided you meet progression rules and entry requirements. With so many options, and still time to apply, there’s no better time than now to begin your university journey. Do you want to be part of the biggest student To learn more and apply for university event at UWA? or any of the pathways above, visit curtin.edu.au/ The UWA Student Guild’s O-Day sees unihelp. the campus explode into life with music, activities, giveaways, and hundreds of colourful stalls. In 2015, O-Day will be bigger and better than ever with a brand new Food Village adding to the excitement! New and returning students alike flock to the event to experience UWA’s vibrant
CURTIN UNIVERSITY Pathways There are many paths to awesome and there’s still time to apply. It’s not too late to start your studies in first semester 2015. Although applications via TISC have closed, you can still apply directly to Curtin until this Friday, February 6. If you don’t meet the entry requirements for the course you want to study, there are other ways to gain entry to Curtin, including portfolio entry, enabling courses and Curtin College. These pathways are for school leavers and mature age applicants who didn’t score the required ATAR in Year 12 or didn’t take WACE exams or an equivalent. Portfolio entry involves submitting a portfolio of work that demonstrates your experience, ability or qualifications in a particular area, and is available for select courses in humanities, science, business and health. Portfolio entry applications close on Monday, February 9. If portfolio entry isn’t for you, the free UniReady Enabling Program could be. It can enable you to meet Curtin’s minimum entry requirements and gain entry into select business, humanities or health degrees. UniReady is a one-semester program held in first and second semester, and can be studied at the Bentley campus, online, or a combination of both. It can enable you to start an undergraduate degree the following semester. Applications for the UniReady Enabling Program (first semester) close Monday, February 23. If UniReady won’t qualify you for the course you wish to study, Curtin’s Enabling Course
UWA O-DAY
proving to be a very successful approach. Students are able to follow their passion, and work with peers from other disciplines in order to meet their learning outcomes. Conveniently located in East Perth, the campus has been busy adding a range of new equipment, including new audio consoles, premium camera equipment and lighting, and up-to-date games engine software to ensure students have the competitive edge. SAE Creative Media Institute is the world’s leading education provider in creative media industries, with more than 50 campuses globally. The campus offers tours to the public during the week, and are now enrolling for February 2015 and beyond. For more information, visit sae.edu.au
student culture. This huge event offers businesses, community organisations and student clubs an unparalleled opportunity to promote their products and services to more than 7000 new and returning students. Activities, demos, freebies and competitions are just a few exciting stall ideas – if you can bring something unique to O-Day, let us know. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to engage with UWA students as we kick off the new uni year with a bang! O-Day is an alcohol and drug free event. Head to uwastudentguild.com for more.
University of Notre Dame, Fremantle
ECU Joondalup Campus
Curtin University O-Week
ECU Future Student
CURTIN UNI O-Week O-Week is how we welcome new students to the Curtin Community and get you ready for your studies. O-Week is compulsory, but we promise it won’t feel like a chore. Why should you attend O-Week? It will help you prepare for all the challenges that uni life throws at you, whether it’s finding your first class, navigating the Library or learning who to contact if you need help. Not to mention it’s heaps of fun checking out free entertainment and meeting new friends! During O-Week you’ll do lots of different things, such as: Become an expert on campus, and find out where your classrooms and study areas are. Organise your administrative details like your student ID card and fees. 26
Learn how parking works at Curtin, as well as other transport options. Find out where you can get help and support on campus. Meet your student mentor- a current Curtin student in the same course as you who is able to assist you with your transition into university. A mentor is easily able to communicate to you what life as a student is like. Meet faculty staff who can answer your study related questions and the academic staff who are itching to teach you lots of good stuff. You’ll find out about the huge variety of social, community and fun stuff you can participate in on campus; uni life isn’t just about study. Meet other new students studying your course.
Information Evening 2015 Why not come on campus with your family and friends to find out more? At ECU Information Evenings, you will have the opportunity to find out more about our courses, admission pathways, scholarships, support network and student accommodation. Plus you will be able to visit, and get a feel for, the campus of your choice. If you are an international student (or if you are unsure of your status) you will learn about the courses and facilities available at ECU and we can direct you to appropriate specialist services that cater to the needs of future international students. You can register to attend the next information evening at Joondalup Campus on Wednesday, February 11, at ecu.edu.au.
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NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY In 2014, Notre Dame celebrated the Silver Anniversary of the passing of The University of Notre Dame Australia Act by the Parliament of Western Australia. Notre Dame has grown to a national five-star university with around 12,000 students across its three campuses in Fremantle, Broome and Sydney and has one of the highest graduate employment rates. On Thursday, February 19, Notre Dame hosts its O-Day, one of the biggest events on campus for the year. There’ll be a parade through the streets of Fremantle with Wasamba Carnival Drummers; registration for clubs, volunteering and sports; freebies and bargains from local business stalls; free sausage sizzle, popcorn and snowcones; PopUp Conversation Café Series; Hands-on Workshop; Library Roadmap; Mature-age Student Network Connect (for over 25-ers); Welcome Mass; talks from the schools of Law, Health Sciences, Nursing & Midwifery and Physiotherapy, plus much more. Email fremantle.studentservices@nd.edu.au.
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No Niche In Brooklyn “When you’ve been touring for a year, you’re like, ‘I can’t bear to travel anymore’. I have so much anxiety and mental health issues that I’m dealing with. And we’re all dealing with being with each other so constantly.”
Perfect Pussy head to St Jerome’s Laneway Festival on Sunday, February 8, at Fremantle’s Esplanade Reserve & West End. AUGUSTUS WELBY reports. If you’re wondering why you’d never heard of Perfect Pussy until a little over a year ago, it’s because no one really had. Hailing from Syracuse, in Upstate New York, the band originally convened in 2012, but remained largely inactive until mid-2013. Prior to coming together, Perfect Pussy’s five members had each spent a number of years toiling in their hometown’s punk, hardcore, indie-rock and noise scenes. The band was something of a novelty interest at first, but it wasn’t long before the individual members’ varying musical persuasions gave rise to a genre-trumping sound. “It’s just one amongst many things that we have going on right now,” explains bassist Greg Ambler. “Every other band we’re in is kind of a niche band. Me especially – I’ve always been in
very anti-music bands, like power violence and grindcore, so it’s really only for one kind of person. With Perfect Pussy, we were going to do what we wanted to do, as opposed to being a niche band.” Following last year’s debut EP, I’ve Lost All Desire For Feeling, in March, Perfect Pussy unveiled their debut album, Say Yes To Love. It’s easy to describe the record as one 2014’s standout releases. However, thanks to a confluence of hardcore instrumentation, washes of feedback and experimental synths and Meredith Graves’ emotionally urgent l e a d v o c a l s ; i t ’ s n o t s o s i m p l e t o d e s c r i b e w h a t S a y Ye s To Love s o u n d s l i k e . “We’re five very different people from very different backgrounds,” says Ambler. “So there really is five totally different elements brought into it. People come together so often and they’re like, ‘I want to start a band that sounds like this’, or, ‘I want to write a song that sounds like this’. Perfect Pussy is a general un-acceptance of current ideals. Continued on page 30.
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Continued from cover No matter how progressive punk is, there’s always room to build.” While Say Yes To Love is the sound of five individuals working together towards a collective end, the mark of the separate personalities is clearly discernible. However, instead of this resulting in a confounding listen, the record’s frantic 23 minutes contain plenty of memorable song craft. “There’s a lot of different things that people can take from it,” Ambler agrees, “And at least enough for it to be relatable, for someone to find a personal element. Whether it’s one end of the spectrum or the other. That’s something we noticed, but it’s not anything we honed in on.” Released via trendsetting Brooklyn indie imprint Captured Tracks, upon its release the album garnered high praise from the likes of Pitchfork and DIY Magazine. As a result, Perfect Pussy have spent the majority of 2014 on the road. Not surprisingly, achieving near-instant notoriety caught the band completely off-guard. “We were getting so many requests come in that I ended up way over-booking us,” Ambler says. “For two months we were out and we didn’t have transportation lined up or anything. It was snowballing way out of control. So we ended up getting our friend who’s a booking agent to help us out.
Perfect Pussy
“It’s pretty much destroyed my entire life,” he laughs. “So, there’s that. When you’ve been touring for a year, you’re like, ‘I can’t bear to travel anymore’. I have so much anxiety and mental health issues that I’m dealing with. And we’re all dealing with being with each other so constantly.” Given Perfect Pussy is, in essence, a synthesis of several distinct personalities, Say Yes To Love hints at several possible directions the band could pursue in the future. For instance, there’s elements of technical hardcore (a la early Dillinger Escape Plan), no wave (a la early Sonic
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Youth) and more accessible post-hardcore (a la latter-day Fugazi). Meanwhile, Ambler says working on a follow-up isn’t a priority just yet. “What we’re trying to do now is focus on other projects and figure out where our own individual strengths lie. We talk about how we’re going to write another record eventually, but at this time it’s fucking impossible to think about getting together to do something like that and how it would even turn out. It would be so much different than what this band is in a nutshell, which is this beautiful disaster. “It’s five very different people being led in very different directions by our industry and it’s become harder and harder for us to overlap. We’re all circles, but the coolest thing about this band is where our circles overlap. That’s the tiny space where we all agree. Those have become fewer and farther between as this year’s progressed.” Perhaps we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves and expect another record of thrilling originals, post-haste. The fact remains Say Yes To Love is a convention-defying punk rock record that stands on its own two feet. Thankfully, after a couple of months away from tour, Perfect Pussy will cruise down to Australia for this Sunday’s Laneway Festival. The mention of this trip sparks genuine enthusiasm in Ambler. “I’m so excited to go to Australia. After we take a little bit of time off it’ll be cool to come over and maybe have fun playing music again.”
Little Dragon | Pic: Nick Hartley
LITTLE DRAGON The Gothenburg Hustle Little Dragon take the stage at St Jerome’s Laneway Festival on Sunday, February 8, at Fremantle’s Esplanade Reserve & West End. ALEX GRIFFIN reports. Yukimi Nagano was once famous for having a temper - in fact, she and her friends named their band after her propensity for tantrums - but relaxing in her chilly Gothenburg house-cum-studio before setting out for Laneway down under, she sounds positively glacial. After the warm reception received by Little Dragon’s fourth album, last year’s Nabuma Rubberband, their early promise seems to have finally been rewarded with success. But it’s been an unusual path for the Swedish four-piece; forming while still in high school in 1996, the band took many different incarnations – including as a reggae band touring Uganda – before arriving at the sleeky, shiny electropop they’re now known for. The way they made it was that was through the back door of online networking and fanbase building - commonplace now, but a decade ago, the band were internet pioneers. “We’re from the MySpace era, you know?” Yukimi laughs. She may well be the only person who didn’t have their iPhone invaded by a rogue U2 album last year, but she doesn’t think much of their marketing tactics. It’s hardly a shock, considering how Little Dragon have always had the market cornered on reaching out to their fans in innovative ways that have their fans reaching back - rather than Googling how to delete them from iTunes. “We talk about how to connect with our fans a lot,” she says. “It’s a collaborative thing. There’s a lot of really cool, creative people at our label (major indie Lomo Vista). They understand where we’re coming from. We’ve always reached out to artists on our own and exchanged favours; that’s how we built this fanbase that we started from. We find awesome people who help us out, basically!” Thinking about Little Dragon, I’m always reminded of the opening verse of 1999 by Prince, where his Purpleness hands off the opening lines of the song to his bandmates – something so simple to do, but something that makes it seem like everyone’s an equal part of what’s going on, regardless of whose face is out front is on the cover. Yukimi reckons the synergy in Little Dragon can feel just like that. “We were just talking about that the other day! We love that, and there are moments where we unconsciously team up on something really detailed like the sound of a kick drum or something, and it feels like we’re all working from the same brain. There are some ideas that have come up like, having strings on Pretty Girls, and immediately someone’s like ‘I know this guy at the orchestra! I can call them right now!’ and then suddenly it’s ‘they can come in Tuesday!’ and it’s all happening! That’s the most exciting thing.” Considering the band is almost constantly touring, the travelling carnival that is a Laneway Festival offers a special appeal to Nagano. “We did Parklife in Australia a few years ago, and it’s really an ideal situation. You get to know other artists from the bill and make friends, and there’s always some drama and gossip, which is entertaining,” she laughs. “And you actually get to see bands, because on a tour you don’t get to see much – you’re always out trying to catch a plane. Being able to look at your watch and say ‘oh cool! I’m going to run over and see FKA Twigs!’ is really exciting.” Though Little Dragon are now comfortably placed – a rabid fanbase, a supportive label, and a bright future ahead – they’re not complacent about their hardearned success. “We’re hustling less!” Nagano cackles. “We’re not in a van driving around the country for hours trying to make it to our show, and making money just off the merch. I’m not running offstage to sell my own merch - back then I’d get in trouble because the manager would say the math was wrong every time I was manning the desk! Now, we have a crew, a tour manager, a bus... when you come from nothing to this, you really appreciate it. But you have to keep working. There’s so much other music out there, it’s hard to keep up and stay on top; people’s attention spans are short! “In that sense, it’s still a hustle no matter who you are in the business. The most hyped band at every point in history has wound up forgotten.”
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Mr Scruff
MR SCRUFF Ninja Toons With a prodigious 15 year career behind him, Andy Carthy’s music still eludes easy categorisation: breaks that span funk, soul, hip hop, and everything lumped under the hopelessly broad labels ‘avantgarde’ and ‘roots’. Mr Scruff (apropos his scratchy freehand artwork and Mancunian Louis C.K. look) is bringing his mammoth music collection on an Australian tour, hitting the Chevron Festival Gardens on Saturday, February 14. ZOE KILBOURN reports. Andy Carthy, as cartoonist, drew one of his super-cute sketches to announce his Australian tour: a potato-shaped Mr Scruff tells the nation he’s been ‘record shopping’. “It’s something that’s always been in the back of my mind, but I’ve got a family now,” he explains. “If I come to Australia, I’ve got to come for at least three weeks. I think it was just the stars aligning, the magic combination of some really good gigs and plenty of time to relax and meet up with friends, explore, that sort of thing. It was too good an opportunity to miss - playing outdoors in great weather is not really something you can take for granted in the UK.” Carthy certainly knows how to pace himself. It’s the DJ, producer and vinyl enthusiast’s first Australian visit in seven years; 2014’s Friendly Bacteria was his first album in six. Hooked into classic Scruff breaks, Rhodes, and soul samples, the album explored completely original composition and samplebuilding far more than in Carthy’s previous work. “I’ve always used synths, I suppose, but every album I’ve moved away from sampling,” he says. “A lot of it comes from all these record labels who are like, ‘We don’t get out of bed unless we have all the writing’. After a few of those, where you’re really pleased with a tune and you can’t release it due to mostly major labels being quite stubborn about what they expect from the use of the sample, I just go, ‘I can do it on my own, then’. I can still record and create, I can even write a tune - a couple of times I’ve done an entire tune and then sampled a tiny little bit of it to build something else. It’s all playful. “Depending on how you set up the mics on your real instruments, you can really develop your own sound, and then, depending on compression and how you treat the sounds, it’s still about having fun with objects and making them sound as odd as possible. Kind of twisting reality, which is a big thing for me. I try to get it half-robotic, half-human, and through that tension you can really give a tune an edge, which I’m always striving for.” For Carthy, much of that human side comes from sampling existing esoteric records, as in early hit and Moondog reimagining Get A Move On. “One of the things I like about sampling is the same as DJing,” he says. “You’re restricted by using what’s already a finished piece of music. I like to have something that’s difficult to manipulate or get the different sounds out.
It gives you something to push against. When you’re using limited equipment or samples, the way you chop it up to make it your own - that’s quite character-building.” N ow m o re t h a n e ve r, C a r t hy t h e p ro d u ce r h a s h ad t o b u i l d n o t j u s t d r u m loops but entire songs, extensively working w i t h g u e s t i n s t r u m e n t a l i s t s a n d vo c a l i s t s on Friendly Bacteria. One standout example of his human-robot synthesis is floormelter What, an asto nishing arrangement of raw register-breaking sax into a tight mesh of loops, underpinned by the album’s trademark synth bass. “T he g uy who p l ayed sax o n that - a guy called Jim Nye - he’s a proper mad c h a r ac te r,” C a r t hy s ays . “ H e ’s o n l y g o t a tiny little sax, but he makes it sound like a whale. It’s enormous. It was quite nice to have that combination of something quite fat and electronic and this really rude, obnoxious sax over the top that just kind of elbows its way into the tune. I love that energy that comes out, and you can definitely see that when you play it - it’s quite fiery, quite ele mental. Although Carthy’s musical method is all about exploration and surprise - “I’ll bring in people I’ve never met before, friends of friends, and we’ll do three or four tunes in a day” - he’s self-described as “fussy” when it comes to equipment. He’s risking a heap of vinyl on the plane to Australia, but he’ll spend days transferring boxes more into high quality, 24-bit wav files. He’s also bring his custom EQ and mixer set to ensure it all works smoothly. “I find that when it sounds better, you can get away with playing a lot more weird and wonderful music as well,” he says. “That goes for any DJ - if it sounds good, there’s a really clear line of communication and people get it straight away. If it sounds a bit rubbish, it’s almost a little abrasive and pushes you away, whereas a good sound kind of pulls you in and gives you a cuddle.” He’s beyond comfortable with his very individual set-up, but Scruff’s schtick is the absence of schtick - he’s constantly moving boundaries, defying his own and his audience’s expectations while delivering consistently excellent sets. “The main thing is, as a DJ and as an artist - probably more so as a DJ - I’ve got myself in a position where people expect me to play anything and everything, which is great,” he says. “I don’t feel hemmed in by previous creations, and I’m really careful to push what I’m comfortable playing with every gig. You’ve got to push yourself at every opportunity so you’re not rolling your eyes going, ‘Oh, no, this just feels really constricting’. With the music, I never know what’s going to happen, that’s half the fun. That’s all the fun, really.”
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BEN TARGET AND YIANNI Jimmy’s Den Friday, January 30, 2015 Perth’s newest live venue has made its debut at Fringe World 2015, with crowds rushing in to catch the likes of comedians Ben Target and Yianni do their thing. Photos by Rachael Barrett
SEE SYDNEE AT FLY BY NIGHT
Allan Girod performing
GET HARDCORE AT BABUSHKA
17 year old singing sensation and former X Factor contestant Sydnee Carter plays her own original music in public for the first time at the Fly By Night Musicians Club this Thursday, February 5, ahead of the release of her debut EP in February. Doors open at 6.30pm, tickets are $15 via flybynight.org, $18 on the door subject to availability.
Things get heavy at Leederville spot Babushka this Friday, February 6, when Scalphunter storm the stage, accompanied by Vanity, Worst Possible Outcome, Sweet Leaf, Full Effect and Dead Set Dead. Doors open at 7pm, entry is $10.
Sydnee Carter
Scalphunter
Alex and Laura
PRETTY GOOD PETTY THINGS This Thursday, January 5, make your way to the Rosemount Hotel for a fantastic night of top notch local tunes from the likes of Kitchen People, Golden Slums, The Black Bone Gang, The Surf Rabbits, and Black River Ransom. Doors open at 8pm, entry is $5.
Petty Things, a new regular night of emo, punk, hardcore and the like curated by Skinny and Tim of Sail On! Sail On!, kicks off at The Rosemount Hotel this Wednesday, February 4. The inaugural night features Kites, Sail On! Sail On! (naturally), Dan Cribb And The Isolated, Sprawl and Treehouse. Doors open at 7pm, entry is $8.
Kitchen People
Sail On! Sail On!
GET BACK IN THE KITCHEN
THE SINGER NOT THE SONG Simon and Bronwyn
This Thursday, February 5, sees another instalment of The Beaufort Street Songwriters’ Club at Defectors Bar, upstairs at the venerable Flying Scotsman. This week sees Mitch McDonald of The Love Junkies, James Rogers of Patient Little Sister, Helen Shanahan, Ross Wood of Oh White Mare plus host Mark Neal on duty. Doors open at 8pm, entry is $5.
Claire and Stuart
Helen Shanahan
Sophie and Alex
Mary-Dermot and Marie
Remiel and Shona
FRO
Local Band Promotional Packages
M
Gerard and Martin
CHAINSAW HOOKERS
$195
*
06/02
REAPERS RIDDLE Fall Away Video Launch @ The Civic
07/02
HIDEOUS SUN DEMON Flex Video Launch @ Mojos
10/02
PETER BIBBY Butcher/Hairstylist/Beautician Album Launch @ The Bird
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13/02
CHAINSAW HOOKERS Make Them Die Slowly Single Launch @ Amplifier
The Love Junkies 32
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13/02
PATIENT LITTLE SISTER Bit By Bit EP Launch @ Astor Theatre
14/02
NIGHT SIGNALS Animals EP Launch @ The Bird
21/02
TOBY Nobody Told Me Album Launch @ Fremantle Arts Centre
28/02
DREAM Rimmy EP Launch @ Mojos
28/02
SHIMMERGLOOM Frequencies Collide Album Launch @ The Velvet Lounge
27/03
THE LUNETTES Self Titled EP Launch @ Four5Nine
18/04
DARKYRA Fool Album Launch @ The Astor
HIDEOUS SUN DEMON Always The Sun The wonderfully named Hideous Sun Demon launch their new video, Flex, at Mojos this Friday, February 7, with support from Aborted Tortoise and Mt Mountain. We have a chat with singer and guitarist, Vincent Buchanan-Simpson. What’s the Hideous Sun Demon story? Give us a quick history lesson. We were once a really dumb joke band. Then we worked real hard and now we’re a dumb real band. With two releases. We also won Big Splash last year and a WAM award. We also just got back from Melbourne playing with people like Peter Bibby and shit. We are planning on recording another album pretty soon. Where does the name come from? A bad film I’ve never watched. It’s from the ‘50s and I’ve always had a fascination with those B Grade early sci-fi films. Most of the time they were just standard tacky dramas with elements of “horror” and “worlds beyond our imagination” just kinda thrown in there. There’s this one where these giant brains invade earth to put giant lobsters there. I’ve never seen such an obvious “man in suit” as that giant lobster. It’s claws were very clearly cushions.
Like I said, I’ve never seen the film Hideous Sun Demon, but if it features those cushion claws then I know we’ve made the right decision. What made Flex stand out as single/video material? I originally planned on doing the song Bricklover, but then Elliot Green sent us a message saying he had an idea for Flex. Flex is like a minute and a half shorter than Bricklover so it was a real money-saver. Who directed/produced the clip? Elliot Green and Jacob Kemp, two very talented guys, both incredibly easy to work with. They were the ones who conceived the initial idea, but they were totally flexible and open minded to any contribution we wanted to make. From what I saw everything flowed seamlessly and we’re very happy with the final product.
REAPER’S RIDDLE Riddle Me This Heavy heroes Reapers Riddle launch their new video, Fall Away, at the Civic Hotel this Friday, February 6, with help from Dark Or The Day, Souls Of Bughuul and Dethlahem. We have a chat with lead singer Clayton Mitchell. What’s the Reaper’s Riddle story? Reaper’s Riddle are pretty down to Earth guys with a passion and belief in music. Since their beginning Reapers Riddle have released four CDs and opened for greats such as Misfits, Anvil, The Getaway Plan, Allegiance and more. Every member of Reapers loves the roots and growth of music within and expanding the rock and metal genres. A mutual desire to create great, relevant and heavy rock music us them a prominent force in the local scene and we will continue to smash it out! Why did you choose Fall Away? Fall Away has always stood out live and on record. People always got into it and could feel the track as it was. After a script was written trying to portray one angle of the lyrics, myself and Clayton Orgles of CO Productions began work on this exclusive video after a request from Blunt Magazine to feature on their cover DVD. The video was inspired by some real life events but also Hollywoodized to an extent. It’s pretty
full-on and dark but it’s also deliberate in its direct reference to the worst case scenario. How did you come to work with director Clayton Orgles? During work on Drop with Zenon Samuels I met Clayton Orgles and we became mates. As Zenon was working on his short film, Robot, Clayton and I decided to work on this clip together. He took on the roles of director and cinematographer and I was assistant director and producer. We worked well with the help of all the great staff and actors and made what we think to be a solid clip not only in the Australian scene but the world music scene. What’s up next for you guys? In June this year Reaper’s Riddle will be launching their album, The End Is Nigh, followed by an Australian tour, so if you like metal and rock then look no further than Reapers Riddle! We are always playing with different Perth talent and love to showcase new stuff so come down, grab a brew and get those necks cranking! WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU
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NEWS
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INTERVIEWS
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REVIEWS
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LIVE
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VENUES
THE ORDER OF THE BLACK WEREWOLF Holly Doll/Cavalier/Silver Foxes Bar Four5Nine Friday, January 30, 2015 The weather was warm on Friday, and the dark little bar that is Four5Nine was even warmer. An array of punters hung around drinking and laughing while DJ Holly Doll played some classic punk tunes in the background. The Order Of The Black Werewolf are firm favourites in the rock scene and a number of Perth’s best musicians were out in support of them. Opening the night was Cavalier, one of the dirtiest, grunge bands this side of 1994. Led by the shrieking vocals of guitarist Jarrad ‘Shitbird’ Carr, the band obliterated our eardrums with a set of bass-heavy rock songs. Jarrad is a frontman that reeks of presence. There’s a certain amount of menace he brings to the stage, something dark and cynical that flirts with humour. It takes what could be a light-hearted performance and makes it something mischievous. Realising late that they were totally blowing over their allotted set time they finished up quickly, but still somehow left the room wanting more. The Order Of The Black Werewolf took to the stage with the room packed to the very back. It seemed a huge number of people had turned up to check them out and support the release of their debut album, Cilla Black. They hit the stage and played through some of their classics such as Death Came Quicker Than He Thought It Would, which has been a crowd favourite for a while now. The well known songs had the crowd dancing and moving all the way through the room. These guys kind of feel like the love child of Black Sabbath and Agent Orange, a deafening mix of hard rock and surf with a hint modernity. Being the launch of their debut album, they played an assortment of new tunes in amongst the favourites. Though unfamiliar, the new songs carried beautifully, characterised by their signature sound and energy. Vocalist Mike Wafer’s voice soars over everything; he has an
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Mt. Mountain - Photo by Jampal Williamson
MT MOUNTAIN The Order Of The Black Werewolf - Photo by Cole Maguire
amazingly powerful voice. Anyway, if you haven’t already bought a copy of Cilla Black, make sure that you do! Last up were melodic upstarts Silver Foxes - the bona fide supergroup of Perth punk. The numbers had started to dwindle a little, which was disappointing because Silver Foxes have got to be one of the best bands in town. These guys perfectly capture that ‘90s style sound, the pitch-perfect harmonies and simple progressions performed with absolute precision. The songs were short and they wasted no time in bouncing from one to another. There were a few people bouncing and bopping at the front of the stage, showing their appreciation for the huge dose of fun that Silver Foxes deliver. Definitely a great way to close out the night. Next time I hope to see more people in the crowd for these boys! DAVE MULLINS
Dream Rimmy/SpaceManAntics/Hyla The Odd Fellow Friday, January 30, 2015 Hyla opened the evening to a smattering of punters with melodic and melancholy shoegaze, drenched in delay and reverb. Frontman Alex Hayes effused bored cool whilst drummer Darren Stapley kept it steady with solid, minimal beats, ably supported by capable bass and lush, effects-driven lead guitar. The last song of the set, upcoming single The Thousands, was particularly effective, with Hayes’ vocal echoing the guitar line. Hyla were a highlight of the evening. SpaceManAntics kicked off with new single Katzenjammer, and the room filled quickly. Mastermind Broderick Madden-Scott was a smiling island of calm amongst the swirling sea of noise and ubiquitous long hair, anchored by George Foster’s always tasteful beats. The new Krautrock direction really suits the band. These guys enjoy what they do and are always a treat, as one energetic rug-cutter up the front can certainly testify. Half of SpaceManAntics then returned to the stage as the rhythm section of Dream Rimmy, who now boast a seemingly superfluous third guitarist.
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They were a little flat, perhaps due to technical issues with keyboards causing an inordinately long set up. The set gathered momentum, however, with the soaring hooks of their best song, the radiofriendly Sunshine. Dream Rimmy have a simple but effective sound, with washed out harmonies and drawn-out, sometimes monotone vocal lines over mainly three-chord progressions. Frontperson Ali Flintoff is a larger-than-life character, peppering her faux-ocker stage banter with obscenities and encouraging the crowd to “lick our butts.” Expect big things to come from these WAM award winners. Mt Mountain have some really nice gear, and they put it to excellent use. 12-string electric into Fender Twin Reverb, Yamaha organ into Vox AC30 and Rickenbacker bass all contributed to a colossal, ominous sound; monstrously repetitive to the point of hypnosis. Channelling Syd Barrett in the opening number, and reminiscent of Swans at times, the band transitioned smoothly through long, meditative jams, calculated and restrained. There was a possible lack of engagement with the audience, as punters began to filter out towards the end of the set. The healthy crowd of remaining faithful were rewarded with an up-tempo closing jam, replete with wah’d guitar lines. Originally billed as the main support for Melbourne’s Flyying Colours, who cancelled, Mt Mountain did an excellent job of headlining on what was a very balmy and lethargic evening at the Odd Fellow. CONAL SAVINS
NEWS
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REVIEWS
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VENUES
ARIEL PINK
PUCK/FOAM
Nick Allbrook The Bakery Thursday, January 29, 2015
Flowermouth / Race To Your Face The Bird Saturday, January 31, 2015
Fringe World has once again transformed The Bakery into its annual exclusive Fringe artists’ club, The Budgie Smuggler, presumably for the last time, since The Bakery’s doors will be closing early May. But The Bakery and Fringe have made sure these last few hurrahs are something to remember it by, procuring talent from around the world so crowds can say a fond farewell to this much-beloved music and arts venue. American purveyor of kooky eclectic retro, Ariel Pink, finished up his Australian tour down at The Budgie Smuggler on Thursday night, supported by an even kookier one-man set by Pond’s Nick Allbrook. Things got off to a late start on the night, with Allbrook taking the stage about half an hour behind schedule. Looking like something Nancy Spungen dragged in, Allbrook set off on a warbly gander around some tracks from his recently released solo album Ganough, Wallis & Fatuna. Far from setting the crowd alight, his wiry and gangly renditions of something resembling songs seemed to please a few dedicated fans down front who managed to sing along. His drowsy, noisy psych sounds were stitched together with a lo-fi sensibility that should have made him a good choice to prep the crowd for Ariel Pink, but which ultimately proved an indifferent part of the night. Perhaps this indifference rubbed off on Ariel Pink, because he and his band had an underwhelming start with their first couple of tracks, but it wasn’t long until the seven-piece turned things up a notch and rolled through some of the best material from his latest release, pom pom. Hiding behind a pair of round white spectacles and looking like Kurt Cobain incarnate, Pink stood next to a pedestal fan, giving him an air of wind-swept Beyonce fabulousness. He and his drummer took turns singing throughout the night, which was fine because their voices are somehow indistinguishable, and I supposed that’s one way to make sure nobody taxes their vocal cords to excess over the length of a tour. Black Ballerina definitely struck a major chord with the audience, as did Put Your Number In My Phone, but sadly, Nude Beach a Go-Go was nowhere to be found. You could hear LA in every note and reference, and it’s easy to see why Pink’s music
The Bird was packed to the nines for the launch party of Puck and Foam’s split 12” vinyl release. The punters packed in early to hear the sounds of the Fat Shan’s curated event and the bevvies were flowing freely as the night got under way. Kicking off the night were local duo Race To Your Face, a two piece instrumental outfit whose dreamy, well considered sounds were the perfect springboard for a sweet night of music. Percussion softly hit with perfect precision while sweet guitar lines were looped and processed over each other into a beautiful conglomerate of tones. The energy of the music moved perfectly and had the crowd swaying in moments. Next up and fresh off tour with Violent Soho, Flowermouth came to the stage with a slightly heavier sound, packing impassioned and pleading vocals which rode over heavy and emotion laced riffs. The room was truly full up now and the line began to creep around the street as the temperature increased and the sweat began to flow. Verging on the hardcore, Flowermouth have a wicked energy which was injected into the crowd, setting the night up to be a good one. Foam were up next with their grungy ye t swe e t o f fe r i n g . Vo c a l s l u rc h e d w i t h a somewhat melancholic edge over well paced, metallic riffs. Possessing a great control of energy and crowd awareness, Foam moved through their set with perfect precision and the crowd were truly riled up. For a three piece, they certainly keep things banging and the power was pretty immense. There is a loose thrashy vibe to Foams tunes that immediately get the room hot. Last up were Puck, whose sweet and solid sound brought the night to a killer close as everyone was thoroughly refreshed and filled with feelings from the generally awesome lineup. Banging mechanical riffs with a retro tone and eerie vocals were framed by a funky drum style which kept heads nodding. Layers of effects filled the room and the concrete dreaminess was quite absorbing. It was a fantastic gig with an absolutely killer line-up which brought all the boys and girls to the yard, the only downside was the limited capacity of The Bird which saw a lot of punters
Ariel Pink - Photo by Rachael Barrett has found favour amongst the Perth indie set, with his heterogeneous, sunny and mildly mad brand of ‘80s throwback. With seven people and maybe twice as many instruments crammed on the small Bakery stage, I wondered if we would have seen a somewhat less restrained Ariel Pink if he’d had somewhere to move. And I waited the entire hour for him to sing into the fan, as any normal person would have been tempted to do, but he was even restrained in that regard. Nonetheless, it was a satisfying night with Ariel Marcus Rosenberg and his band that he “picked up at Home Depot,” and we got the chance to see them at The Bakery before they “burn the place down and turn it into apartments,” as Mr. Pink predicted. CICELY BINFORD
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Foam - Photo by JF Foto waiting around to get in and enjoy the bands. Nonetheless, an awesome performance from all involved and a spectacular way to celebrate this release. JAMES HANLON
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SOCIAL PICS
X- P R E S S G U I D E
FRINGE WORLD The Pleasure Garden Friday, January 30, 2015 It's the heart of Fringe World, really - The Pleasure Garden, where great food and drink, a plethora of Fringe venues and a convivial atmosphere all combine to make for a great, adventurous night out. Photos by Rachael Barrett.
ANGUS & JULIA STONE, FEBRUARY 4
KIM CHURCHILL, FEBRUARY 6.
TOURS
Edd & Sophie
Megan & Jackson
Alex & Simone
Anna, Lucy & Bianca
Luke & Jasmine
Kate & Gareth
Alison Chris & Sandy
Lisel & Theo
Cameron & Christina
Chloe Emily & Kristina
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THE BUDOS BAND 16 Chevron Gardens ALED JONES 18 Astor Theatre THE EAGLES 18 & 19 Perth Arena CHET FAKER 20 & 21 Chevron Gardens 22 Fremantle Arts Centre ONE DIRECTION 20 Patersons Stadium INFECTED MUSHROOM 20 Metro City PAUL SIMON & STING 21 & 22 Sir James Mitchell Park THE ROSEMARY BEADS 21 Astor Lounge PEKING DUK 21 Koombana Beach, Bunbury STANTON WARRIORS with KILL PARIS 21 Villa STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS 22 Chevron Gardens LINDSEY STIRLING 23 Astor Theatre ERIC BOGLE 25 Albany Town Hall 27 Fly By Night 28 Nannup Music Festival NENEH CHERRY 26 Chevron Gardens RUTH MOODY 27 Mojos Bar 28 & 1 Nannup Folk Festival FEBRUARY 2015 DAN SULTAN 27 Queens Park SARAH Theatre MCLACHLAN 28 Fremantle Arts 11 Astor Theatre Centre THE VERONICAS THE BEAUTIFUL 12 Perth Concert GIRLS Hall 27 Northshore YNGWIE J. Tavern MALMSTEEN 28 Fly By Night 12 Astor Theatre GUY SEBASTIAN CIARA 28 Perth Arena 13 Metropolis MEGAN Fremantle WASHINGTON RED X 13 Settlers Tavern 28 The Bakery 14 Prince of Wales KINETIC DREAMING 15 Mojos – 3 DAYS OF ROXETTE FREEDOM ft. 14 Perth Arena ELECTRYPNOSE, PETER HOOK & LOOSE THE LIGHT CONNECTIONS, 14 Astor Theatre STAUNCH, JEFF MARTIN EURYTHMY, THE 15 Astor Lounge MOLLUSK & MANY SIMON MORE LOUGHTON 28 Bindoon Rock 15 Ellington Jazz NANNUP MUSIC Club FESTIVAL ft. CASTAWAY 2015 DAN SULTAN, ft. PEKING DUK, DARREN HANLON, CARMADA, YEO, BENSON & more HUSBAND, RUTH 15 Hotel Rottnest MOODY & MORE! MAD AT THE 28 & 1 Nannup QUARRY – ANTHONY MARCH 2015 CALLEA NENEH CHERRY 15 Quarry 1 Chevron Gardens Amphitheatre THE BEAUTIFUL THIRD DAY with NEEDTOBREATHE GIRLS & LEVI MCGRATH 1 Dunsborough Tavern 16 HBF Stadium THIS WEEK ANGUS & JULIA STONE 4 Kings Park & Botanic Garden CHIODOS 4 Amplifier Bar KASEY CHAMBERS 5 Mandurah Performing Arts Centre 6 Bunbury Entertainment Centre 7 Quindanning Inne 8 Sandalford Estate THE SEARCHERS 5 Astor Theare KIM CHURCHILL 6 Amplifier Bar 7 City of Stirling Summerset Arts Festival, Stirling Civic Gardens LAMB 6 Astor Theatre KERSER 6 Metropolis Fremantle PASSENGER 7 Red Hill Auditorium ANN VRIEND 8 Ellington Jazz Club EVENING ON THE GREEN – THE ANGELS & CHEAP TRICK 8 Kings Park & Botanic Garden LANEWAY FESTIVAL ft. ANDY BULL, ANGEL OLSEN, BANKS & MORE! 8 Esplanade Reserve, Fremantle KENNY ROGERS 8 Sandalford Estate
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DAN SULTAN 1 Nannup Music Festival FUTURE MUSIC FESTIVAL ft. DRAKE, AVICII, THE PRODIGY, KNIFE PARTY, AFROJACK, EXAMPLE, MARTIN GARRIX, SIGMA, 2 CHAINZ and many more! 1 HBF Arena DELTRON 3030 1 The Bakery KINETIC DREAMING – 3 DAYS OF FREEDOM ft. ELECTRYPNOSE, LOOSE CONNECTIONS, STAUNCH, EURYTHMY, THE MOLLUSK & MANY MORE 1 & 2 Bindoon Rock ERIC BOGLE 1 Nannup Music Festival 5 Narrogin Town Hall 6 The Music Shack, Donnybrook 8 Mandurah Performing Arts Centre GOOD LIFE FESTIVAL 2015 ft. AVICII, AFROJACK, MARTIN GARRIX, WILL SPARKS, TIMMY TRUMPET, JOEL FLETCHER, BLISS N ESO, HAVANA BROWN and many more! 2 HBF Arena DRAKE with 2 CHAINZ 3 Perth Arena LITTLE BASTARD 5 Prince of Wales FROM THE JAM 5 Capitol YOUNG LIONS 5 Amplifier 6 YMCA HQ 7 Babushka BAYSIDE BEATS WITH JIMMY BARNES 6 Bunbury Turf Club FOO FIGHTERS 7 NIB Stadium SHAKEY GRAVES AND SHOVELS & ROPE 8 Astor Theatre MACY GRAY 8 Perth Concert Hall SANDRA BERNHARD 10 Regal Theatre TECH N9NE 13 The Bakery KYLIE MINOGUE 14 Perth Arena INGRID MICHAELSON 14 Rosemount Hotel ROXETTE 14 Perth Arena DJ SHADOW 14 Rosemount Hotel BILLY IDOL 14 Kings Park & Botanic Garden THE BEST OF BRITISH FESTIVAL 14 HBF Arena JESUS JONES 15 Rosemount Hotel
KENNY ROGERS, FEBRUARY 8
FROM THE JAM 15 Capitol TONY JOE WHITE 15 Astor Theatre RUSSELL PETERS 19 Perth Arena VANCE JOY 20 Astor Theatre JESSIE J 20 Crown Theatre OFFBEAT FESTIVAL 20 – 22 Fremantle Arts Centre ROD STEWART 21 Perth Arena THE WATERBOYS 25 Astor Theatre BEN HOWARD 26 Fremantle Arts Centre KINGSWOOD 26 Prince of Wales 27 Capitol 28 Dunsborough Tavern 29 Newport Hotel DAVID LIEBE HART (TIM & ERIC) 27 Mojos AUGIE MARCH 28 Astor Theatre WEST COAST BLUES & ROOTS 2015 ft. JOHN BUTLER TRIO, PAOLO NUTINI, DAVID GRAY, JURASSIC 5, RODRIGO Y GABRIELA, XAVIER RUDD & THE UNITED NATIONS and more! 29 Fremantle Park SWITCHFOOT 30 The Lakes Theatre
HUMAN NATURE 28 Perth Convention & Exhibition Centre MAY 2015 COSENTINO 1 & 2 Regal Theatre SAM SMITH 4 HBF Stadium RICKY MARTIN 8 Perth Arena AMERICA with SHARON CORR 9 Red Hill Auditorium JOE AVATI 9 Fremantle Town Hall ANASTACIA 10 Perth Concert Hall ALT-J 15 HBF Stadium PALOMA FAITH 16 Perth Concert Hall SPANDAU BALLET 22 Perth Arena BABY ANIMALS & THE SUPERJESUS 22 Charles Hotel COLIN HAY 23 Regal Theatre 24 Colonial Brewery, Margaret River NICKELBACK 26 Perth Arena PANOS KIAMOS 29 HBF Stadium
JUNE 2015 JOYCE MANOR 4 Rosemount Hotel APRIL 2015 KARISE EDEN 10 Albany ED SHEERAN 4 & 5 Perth Arena Entertainment JOHN FARNHAM & Centre THE GETAWAY OLIVIA NEWTON JOHN PLAN 4 Sandalford 12 Rosemount Winery Hotel OPHIDIAN 5 SECONDS OF 5 Swan River SUMMER COUNTING 29 Perth Arena CROWS 7 Perth Concert JULY 2015 Hall PINK FLOYD YELLOWCARD EXPERIENCE 4 Metro City 7 Crown Theatre ADAM HARVEY ARCHITECTS 22 Albany 9 Capitol Entertainment ROBIN INCE: Centre HAPPINESS THROUGH SCIENCE AUGUST 2015 8 Astor Theatre THE AUSTRALIAN FAIRBRIDGE BEE GEES SHOW FESTIVAL 10 – 12 Fairbridge 15 Regal Theatre 16 Albany Village, Pinjarra THE GIPSY KINGS Entertainment Centre 13 Perth Convention & PEACE TRAIN: Exhibition Centre THE CAT STEVENS THE BLACK KEYS STORY 14 Red Hill 21 Astor Theatre Auditorium 22 Albany NANA Entertainment MOUSKOURI Centre 19 Perth Concert THE BEATLES Hall FOREVER DEMI LOVATO 27 Albany 21 HBF Stadium Entertainment THE SCRIPT with Centre LABRINTH ELVIS MEETS THE 24 Perth Arena SPYGLASS GYPSIES BEATLES 28 HBF Stadium 26 Ellington Jazz Club GROOVIN THE SEPTEMBER 2015 MOO JULIA MORRIS 26 Hay Park, Bunbury 11 Regal Theatre
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VOYAGER, FEBRUARY 6
TOBY, FEBRUARY 7
WEEKLY WEDNESDAY 04/02 CHIODOS STILL WATER CLAIMS VICE VERSA FINDERS 4 Amplifier FRINGE SHOW: ZAK & RREFA’S BOLLYWOOD FUNERAL SHAKE FT. JACK HEMINGWAY 4 The Bird BRUFIELD THE DIRTY FEELS SUMMER COLLISION MEREDITH CHRISTIAN MELCHER 4 Four5Nine Bar VINTAGE GAME MONTH FT. STREET FIGHTER II 4 The Good Shepherd ANGUS & JULIA STONE 4 Kings Park & Botanic Garden
CURSED EARTH 5 Amplifier THE SEARCHERS 5 Astor Theatre FRINGE SHOW: ZAK & RREFA’S BOLLYWOOD FUNERAL JIMMY CHANG & FRIENDS 5 The Bird TIJUANA CARTEL 5 Mojos BOBBY ALU 5 Prince of Wales KITCHEN PEOPLE GOLDEN SLUMS THE BLACK BONE GANG THE SURF RABBITS BLACK RIVER RANSOM 5 Rosemount Hotel RORY FAITHFIELD 5 Settlers Tavern FRIDAY 06/02 KIM CHURCHILL 6 Amplifier
HUNTING HUXLEY SHIT NARNIA NECTAR JIMMY CHANG 4 Mojos
MATTRESS MONEY FT. TID TSUNAMI & SILVERTONGUE WALLA C & ROC WALLA NATHAN J & GOING SOLO FT. ARCHI ALEX GRIFFIN D-JEONG & XANTHEA BECKON OR 4 Moon Cafe EMPTY & PETTY THINGS MACSHANE #1 FT. 6 The Bakery SAIL ON! SAIL ON! SCALPHUNTER DAN CRIBB & THE VANITY ISOLATED WORST SPRAWL POSSIBLE TREEHOUSES OUTCOME 4 Rosemount SWEET LEAF Hotel FULL EFFECT DEAD SET DEAD 6 Babushka THURSDAY 05/02 LAST NIGHT FT. HARMS WAY THE OTHERS BOUNTY HUNTER
RHYTHMATISM BEN M BEN TAAFFE 6 The Bird ETEANA
FEATURED GIG
LANEWAY FESTIVAL FREMANTLE ESPLANADE SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8
THE WEAPON IS SOUND, FEBRUARY 8
KILL DEVIL HILLS, FEBRUARY 12
BOYS, BOYS, BOYS, FEBRUARY 13
PACO ERHARD: 5 STEP GUIDE TO BEING GERMAN RORY LOWE – DONE SAYIN’ I’M TIJUANA CARTEL DONE PLAYIN’ VDELLI KELLIDAD 6 Indi Bar DR. PROFESSOR 7 Indi Bar NEAL PORTENZA THROWBACK PERFORMS HIS PRETZEL LOGIC 6 The Good OWN AUTOPSY SUNDAY Shepherd LIVE ON STAGE BRUNCH 11 Mojos GET DOWN FISHERMAN 8 Rosemount Hotel STYLE FT. GOING SOLO FT. LEE COOMBS YT JIMMY TAIT AMBAR NIGHTCLUB KENNY ROGERS EARTHLINK FELICITY GROOM SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14 FAREWELL SOUND 11 Moon Café DOWN KIMURA PASSENGER KBI SOUND UNDER TOUR 7 Red Hill ONE OF NINE SYSTEM LIKE JUNK WITH KASEY Auditorium DJ CORBY GATES OF SPRAWL CHAMBERS, CHOPPA PERDITION ZYKLUS ADAM HARVEY, TIJUANA CARTEL BECCY COLE CRUCIAL 7 Civic Hotel DUCKS ON A KALLIDAD 6 Mojos STRING & CHELSEA TURIN BASHAM TIM & TAYLOR 11 Rosemount LOUIS INGLIS 8 Sandalfword 7 The Claremont ROBINSON Hotel 7 Rosemount Winery LEOH Hotel Hotel BLACK RIVER THURSDAY CADDY COOPER RANSOM BOSSA NOVA BEC LAUGHTON 8 Settlers Tavern THE SHOPS 12/02 BABY (ALBUM 7 Settlers Tavern 6 North Fremantle LAUNCH) LAST NIGHT – MATT WARING Bowling Club LATE NIGHT VALENTINES AUDIO TIMOTHY GROOVE SERIES PARTY: LOVE TEDDY KILLERZ NELSON BEC LAUGHTON FT. SONG COVERS 7 VillaHuge 8 Swanbrook 6 Prince of Wales TANAYA HARPER 12 Amplifier Winery 7 Ellington Jazz VOYAGER SUNDAY HIP HOP Club CHAOS DIVINE MONDAY KARA”YO!”KE 08/02 LETS KILL UNCLE 12 The Bird THE 09/02 6 Rosemount LANEWAY AUSTRALIAN Hotel FESTIVAL 2015 JOSHUA HANNAH SANTANA FT. RAMPLING’S MAE & THE EXPERIENCE BOBBY ALU ANDY BULL ‘DELICACIES’ HOODWINKS 7 Fly By Night 6 Settlers Tavern BANKS EXHIBITION JACOB & THEW FKA TWIGS LAUNCH RUDEBOYS ‘SHINE’ UV PARTY CHOCOLATE POND 9 The Bird MISTER WOLF JESUS & BIKINI COMP DIANAS 12 Four5Nine Bar 7 The Good COURTNEY 6 Villa TUESDAY Shepherd BARNETT JUICE: HYCLASS ANGEL OLSEN 10/02 SATURDAY FT. LITTLE DRAGON PETER BIBBY TOBY NATALIE MAE 07/02 JON HOPKINS 7 Indi Bar (ALBUM 12 The Good FLIGHT JAPAN 4 FT. LAUNCH) Shepherd FACILITIES SHEET 4.0 SKEET STICKYBUDS 10 The Bird DUNE RATS – A NIGHT OF 7 Ambar RORY LOWE – BENJAMIN HIP HOP FT. MOJOS DONE SAYIN’ I’M BOOKER SUPERFLOG STATUES MONTHLY DONE PLAYIN’ CARIBOU SLEEPYHEAD BIRDS IN ROW COMEDY – MMC DR. PROFESSOR EAGULLS FOXES HENRY FREO ROYALE NEAL PORTENZA FLYING LOTUS HAVOC KISSENGER SPECTACULAR PERFORMS HIS FUTURE 7 Amplifier WAR MACHINE FT. ISLANDS OWN AUTOPSY PRINCE ALI & DJ MC JACQUES HIGHASAKITE LIVE ON STAGE REEL LIFE FT. DADDY ISSUES BARRETT JUNGLE 12 Mojos ELEVENTEEN ADAM 7 Luxe Bar MANSIONAIR ESTON & THE ROZENBACHS PERFECT PUSSY KATIE J WHITE CONVERSATION KUSH LOUNGE 10 Mojos PETER BIBBY 12 Prince of BASIC MIND 7 Metro City & more Wales THE COSMONIC 8 Esplanade WEDNESDAY GETSET HIDEOUS SUN Reserve, THE KILL DEVIL SKYBOAT 11/02 Fremantle DEMON HILLS ORCHESTRA SARAH MT. MOUNTAIN PAT CHOW DJ D.W.E.S BEC LAUGHTON MCLACHLAN ABORTED DOCTOPUS ROK RILEY 11 Astor Theatre 12 Rosemount 8 Four5Nine Bar TORTOISE CATLIPS ALICE FRASER: Hotel 7 The Bakery EVERYONE’S A FEATURED GIG WINNER AIDEN VARRO FRINGE SHOW: 7 Mojos 12 Settlers Tavern ZAK & RREFA’S BOLLYWOOD MENAGERIE FUNERAL FRIDAY NIGHTS JOEL BARKER 13/02 7 Parker & THE LOW FRESH PRODUCE COMPANY JERICO FT. DAVEY 7 Prince of Wales JAFUNK CRADDOCK EGG NOODLE XAN COOKE KANSAS CITY BASS ATTIC DJS 7 The Bird KILLERS CAKE SARAH MCLACHLAN MR THE DEEP END ARMADAGEDEN MTT ASTOR THEATRE DELTA KONG COLLECTIVE FT. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11 ALL THIS FILTH 13 Ambar 7 Railway Hotel FLOWER DRUMS HENRY KISSINGER MUGWUMP 6 Four5Nine Bar
FEATURED GIG
THE WEAPON IS SOUND 8 Fremantle Arts Centre
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CHAINSAW HOOKERS (SINGLE RELEASE) BLACKWITCH EMU XPERTS THE SHAKEYS CRASH RAT 13 Amplifier PATIENT LITTLE SISTER (EP LAUNCH) BUFFALO CLUB JEFF’S DEAD THE WILDS 13 Astor Lounge RTRFM PRESENTS “35 YEARS OF JAMDOWN VERSHUN” 13 The Bakery LAFIDKI (CAMBODIA) SACRED FLOWER UNION 13 The Bird 80S INC 13 Civic Hotel VDELLI 13 Indi Bar CLIQUE #023 – VALENTINES EDITION FT. OLI THA GOD D’VAUZ BROTHERS MIDSOLE MR PHAT N-FX WHYTEHYPE 13 Metropolis Fremantle HUSSLE HUSSLE FT. BLUE GALLEON NATALIE MAE ETEANA MEI SARASWATI (DJ’ING) 13 Mojos QU33R NIGHT 13 Parker BOYS! BOYS! BOYS! SIMONE & GIRLFUNKLE 13 Prince of Wales
BOOM! BAP! POW! FEBRUARY 14
BOOM! BAP! POW! 14/02 AMANI JAPAN 4 FT. CONSORT LEE COOMBS KATIE J WHITE (USA) BAND 14 Ambar PIMPS OF SOUND FT. MARNIE VALENTINES KENT SCHMALENTINES 14 Mojos FILTHY APES SILVER HILLS MENAGERIE APOLLO’S SON NIGHTS: FOX JELLYFISH HOTTEST 100 SHONTAY SNOW ACT – LIVE DJ PIPPIE LEMON SET 14 Amplifier 14 Parker NIGHT SIGNALS RED X (EP LAUNCH) 14 Prince of 14 The Bird Wales HEARTS A MESS AVAILABLE AT LOVE FIST FEST THE COUNTER FT. (EP LAUNCH) FLYBALL GOV’NOR ONE LAST THING BURY THE LATE NIGHT HEARD HYSTERICS TRIANGLE FIGHT TURIN 100 ACRE WOOD ROBINSON 14 Civic Hotel 14 Rosemount Hotel PETE BIBBY DRAGE LYON BOYS! BOYS! STRAWBERRY BOYS! PETE 14 Settlers Tavern STEVE N BLAKE HATE SYNDICATE FT. THE SNAILS PISSEDCOLAS GENT & JAWNS THE MEGALODON FORTUNADOS 14 Villa APPLES 14 Four5Nine SUNDAY SATURDAY
KINKY MALINKI VALENTINES PARTY 14 Geisha Bar RINSE OUT 001 FT. APHRODITE JUNGLEBUSS FEEDBACK RELAPSE 14 Gilkisons Dance Studio CHOCOLATE JESUS 14 The Good Shepherd NGATI 14 Indi Bar
15/02 WANDERLUST 15 Indi Bar RED X 15 Mojos EDUARDO COSSIO QUARTET 15 Moon Café SETTLERS TAVERN 15 Settlers Tavern TUESDAY 16/02 THREE HANDS ONE HOOF EDIE GREEN SHONTAY SNOW 17 Mojos
STATUS KUSH LOUNGE FACTORY 14 Metro City RECOMMENDS FT. ELEVENTEEN ESTON & THE FEATURED CONVERSATION GUNNS FELICITY GROOM FLOWER DRUMS RUNNER GOLDEN STRING 13 Rosemount Hotel
GIG
RED X 13 Settlers Tavern LUNICE REDINHO 13 Villa
PATIENT LITTLE SISTER ASTOR LOUNGE FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13
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NEWS
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INTERVIEWS
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REVIEWS
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LIVE
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EVENTS
CAPITOL
THE COURT
CHALK @ LOST SOCIETY
DELICIOUS @ ROCKET ROOM
METROPOLIS FREMANTLE
THE CLAREMONT
MUSIC GEAR & TECHNOLOGY
Gear and tech reviews by Chris Gibbs WAMPLER PAISLEY DRIVE In 2009 Wampler Pedals discovered that country music guitar virtuoso Brad Paisley was using Wampler pedals. Starting out with the Faux Analog Echo, the guitarist eventually added an Ego Compressor and an Underdog Overdrive to his recording and live rigs. Still was not entirely satisfied on the overdrive sound he was getting from his live rig, Paisley joined forces with Wampler to create a signature pedal, the Paisley Drive.
Wampler Paisley Drive
MUSOS WANTED
FEMALE DRUMMER WANTED Are you a punchy, mobile friendly, female drummer who wants some cold hard cash? Well then an Original Band with live shows in 2015 is looking for you. This is a paid position for rehearsal & gigs. Must be 18yrs+. Contact desertwalker or steel to arrange audition (your time is paid). Email: ameliaproductionsptyltd@gmail.com or call 0424 242 005. (PLEASE NOTE EMAIL ADDRESS INCORRECT ON PREV ADS - PLEASE RE-SEND ANY APPLICATIONS) FEMALE SINGER/GUITARIST seeking a band. Blues/Rock/RocknRoll (covers). Please call Leah 040 368 7285 GUITARIST AVAILABLE Experienced, very capable older guitarist avail to join or form band. Can play any style, but prefer rock 70’s to current. Excellent gear, pro attittude, own transport, able to travel. Can learn songs quickly and gig without rehearsal if required. Pls contact 0427 471 423 for more info. OPEN MIC NIGHT every Thursday night at Indi Bar. Email Trojan_johnmusic@yahoo.com.au for spot. Laneway Lounge Open Mic every Tuesday night. If you’re keen for a spot text Josh on 0430313577 OPEN MIC NIGHT/ARVO South St Alehouse, Hilton. Original songs, solo/duo, sorry no bands. Come on 38
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Overdrive pedals can be tricky to get right; there’s the vital transparency that players will gravitate towards for that ‘real’ amp-driven feeling, response and sound, but then there still needs to be room to take things into stronger gain and sustain settings without losing said transparency. The Paisley Drive delivers the aforementioned requirements exceptionally well. It functions well with Telecaster style guitars but it will also react positively with any humbucker-loaded guitars. There are three control knobs for controlling volume, gain, and tone. Each control seems to possess a subtlety that many other overdrive pedals lack. Added to this are two switches, one for mid contour which shifts the overall sonic ‘space’ that the pedal occupies, and one for presence which gives the tone that little high-end ‘kick’ that many guitars and amps will react well to. Hand made in the USA and featuring highgrade film capacitors and resistors chosen for their quality sound and response, true bypass, and the option of running on battery or mains power, The Wampler Paisley Drive (although tricky to find in Australian stores) is well worth a listen at a retail price of around $235.
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CLASSIFIEDS
ROCK SCHOOL GUITAR METHOD BOOKS At this time of year when younger musicians are heading back to school, and older would-be musicians have made that new year’s resolution to start learning an instrument, the focus is often placed on exactly where and how to get started. The Rock School series of grade books have been designed to give emerging guitarists all the resources needed for genuine development in one package. Each book is accompanied by a CD featuring full mixes and backing tracks to accompany each of the performance pieces, as well as tutorials offering advice on the more technically demanding aspects of each piece. Each book contains six performance pieces in six contrasting rock and pop styles. There is then the option of sitting an official grading exam for each book level, making this series a viable option for music schools or teachers looking to encourage their students to move forward or maintain positive goal-setting throughout the teaching year. There are fact files in each book containing background information on each style along with recommended listening information, an introduction to guitar tones with amp setting suggestions. In the Debut book (the series runs from
down for a play on a Sunday to round off the weekend.. GOLDDUST Production Mixing, recording and TEXT..Gus 0409 101 688 composition. Leederville $80 p/h. 0408 097 407 JAYSONICS Digital & analogue recording studio in PRODUCTION SERVICES Fremantle location. Affordable rates and decades of CD & DVD MANUFACTURE Check out our latest experience recording & producing music. Call Jason CD & DVD specials online at www.procopy.com.au on 0423 445 154. Jaysonics.com 9375 3902 MATRIX PRODUCTIONS AUSTRALIA Lighting, RECORDING MIXING MASTERING PRODUCING staging, sound systems, smoke machines, night club Fremantle location. Call Pete Kitchen Cooked FX, intelligent lighting, strobes & mirror balls, crowd Records. Ph 0407 363 764 / 9336 3764 REVOLVER SOUND STUDIO Ph 9272 7505. barriers, video projectors. 9371 1551 www.revolverstudio.com.au RECORDING STUDIOS SATELLITE RECORDING STUDIO WA’s only ALAN DAWSON’S WITZEND RECORDING genuine mechanically de-coupled purpose built STUDIO Prof quality albums or demos, large live recording room, Avalon, Neve, API, Pro Tools HDX room, experienced engineer, analog to digital Dec/Jan/Feb special: Record drums for $80hr. transfers, mastering. Alan 0407 989 128 Satellite Recording Studio. Ph 0419 908 766, www.witzendstudios.com satelliterecording.com ANALOG MASTERING VINTAGE TAPE, TUBES & REHEARSAL STUDIOS TRANSFORMERS with the latest state of the art digital converters. Clients include: Melody’s Echo Chamber, BIBRA LAKE REHEARSAL STUDIO Air Conditioned Pond, Gossling, Knife Party, Felicity Groom, The Floors, Room. Great Facilities. Superior sound to hear Jeff Martin & The Panics. World class facility, World yourself and your band. 10 mins from Freo. Phone Nick: 0410 485 588. class results. Www.poonshead.com. 9339 4791 ANDY’S STUDIO International multi award winning INSOMNIA STUDIOS Premium new rooms & PA songwriter / producer. No band required. Broadcast systems. Airconditioned. Regular Booking gets you regular discounts. TXT or call 0474 971 830 quality. A songwriter’s paradise. Ph 9364 3178 WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU
Debut to Level 8), the main skills studied are chords, power chords, string crossing, rests, major and minor pentatonic scales, riff playing and playback / performance skills. For those students who are so 21st century they have never actually opened a physical book, the entire series is available for iPad from the app store using the KR Player (which is free) to purchase each level for around $12.99. The ‘old school’ format is available from most music stores for around $19.99 per level.
Rock School Guitar Method Books
Reviewed at Advanced Music, Ellenbrook.
PLATINUM SOUND ROOMS Professional rehearsal rooms, airconditioned, quality PAs mob 0418 944 722 TUITION
***GUITAR LESSONS*** New Year enrolments. Online bookings. Children & adults. Beg to adv. AMEB and WAAPA accreditation. Cliff Lynton Guitar Institute. Mt Lawley 9342 3484/ www.clifflynton.com BASS GUITAR LESSONS AVAILABLE by WAAPA tutor. A practicle approach to learning. .All styles. Years of experience. Tony Gibbs 9470 6131
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