Blaire 11 by Blaire Magazine

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The Jungle Giants Mike EGan Photography 1

blaire March 2014

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CONTENTS

52. The Lockout Law

50. Battle of the Sexes

10. The Jungle Giants

6. Why Leo has never won an Oscar 54. Traditional Depravity

18. Music reviews 42. Mike Egan Photography

50. Justin Vs Mile 26. Film reviews

20. Bayside 4

40. New York Fashion Week

38. The legalisation of Marijuana

30. Eloise Burfurd

56. On and Off the Field

16. Broods 5

THE BLACK SHEEP

OF OSCAR STREET WHY LEONARDO DICAPRIO HAS NEVER WON AN OSCAR.

eonardo DiCaprio – he’s one of the biggest movie stars of our time, and having starred in such huge hits as Titanic, Romeo and Juliet, Gangs of New York, Catch Me If You Can, The Departed, The Aviator, Blood Diamond, Inception, The Great Gatsby and his newest outing in Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street, Leo is now being touted as one of the greatest actors of all time. Actually, an interesting fact came to my attention last week: ever since Titanic came out in 1996, Leo has been such a huge star that he has claimed the crown of being the first billed actor (that is, the first name on the movie poster, the lead-star and highest money-earner) of every film he’s starred in – a whole fifteen of them – with the exception of 2012’s Django Unchained in which he accepted a supporting role with third-billing so he could work with director Quentin Tarantino. And that’s saying something, considering in that time he’s worked alongside some of cinema’s biggest powerhouses; Jack Nicholson, Tom Hanks, Martin Sheen, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jeremy Irons, Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchet, Kate Winslet… However, there’s one thing you might find surprising about Leo – even though he’s starred in some of the biggest movies, delivering some of the most outstanding and celebrated performances of the past twenty years, he’s never actually won an Academy Award. That’s right, Leonardo DiCapro 6

has never been the recipient of an Oscar. Oh, and by the way, all those actors who have taken second or third billing to Leo that I named just before are all Academy Award winners… let that sink in for a moment. Leo hasn’t exactly been shunned or overlooked by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (the ‘Academy’ of the Academy Awards – aka the guys who give out the Oscars), in actuality he’s been nominated for three Oscars in the past and has been nominated again this year for his work in The Wolf of Wall Street – in fact, he’s up for two awards, one for Best Actor and one as producer for the film which has been nominated for Best Picture. So, what’s Leo been doing wrong exactly? Has he simply been unlucky with his competition, having been pitted against actors delivering deservingly better performances? Or is he another artist to fall into an Oscar curse, like Al Pacino, who was nominated a whole six times before he finally won for Scent of a Woman in 1993. In fact, Leo’s very own pal Scorsese had been nominated for the Best Director Oscar a total of five times (for classics like 1981’s Raging Bull and 1991’s Goodfellas) before he finally won for 2006’s The

Departed, which, yep, you guessed it, starred our man Leo with first-billing. If we take a look back at Leo’s past Oscar nominations one thing is very clear. Unlike Scorsese and Pacino, who somehow lost out to significantly lesser performances and films, Leo has actually found himself losing out to some very, very wonderful actors delivering (mostly) astounding performances. But were they worthy of the win? Let’s take a look.

for In the Line of Fire, Pete Postlethwaite for In the Name of the Father and Tommy Lee Jones who took home the award for his role in The Fugitive. Taking into consideration Leo’s opposition for this particular nomination, it’s quite clear that his performance was, perhaps, not even second or third best of the lot. But hey, at least Leo got some Oscar nom street-cred for this one.

NOMINATION #1 – 1994 ACADEMY AWARDS

It was a whole 11 years later that Leo found himself up for another Academy Award, this time for Best Actor In A Leading Role in recognition for his role as real-life film director Howard Hughes in Scorsese’s 2004 epic The Aviator. Again, Leo found himself in a tight spot, going up against some incredible actors and performances. Sadly, it’s very obvious, once again, that out of the lot, Leo’s performance was probably the least worthwhile of the bunch. 005 was the year that Jamie Foxx reigned champion for his portrayal as Ray Charles in Ray. Foxx was absolutely worthy of this award as his depic tion of the late, great musical >

Leo’s first Oscar nom came for his role in 1993’s What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, in which he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Now, even though Leo delivered a brilliant performance in this film, we can forgive him for losing as Gilbert Grape was, at 19 years old, one of his earliest film performances – some note it as his break-through role, together with the same year’s This Boy’s Life. In addition, for this nomination, Leo found himself up against some pretty damn tough competition and some pretty experienced actors. Up for the award that year were Ralph Fiennes for Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List, John Malkovich

NOMINATION #2 – 2005 ACADEMY AWARDS

genius was one of the best performances in cinema history. Other actors up for the award that year included Johnny Depp for his portrayal of Peter Pan author J.M Barrie in Finding Neverland, Don Cheadle for his portrayal of Rwandan hotel owner Paul Ruesesabagina (sense a common theme in 2005s nomination choices?) in Hotel Rwanda and the legendary Clint Eastwood for his incredible work in that year’s Best Picture Winner Million Dollar Baby. Another year, another Oscar that quite rightly so didn’t have Leo’s name etched on it.

this-great-old-actor-because-it-might-be-ourlast-chance-to nomination (trust me, that’s a more common reason for nomination that you’d imagine) for his performance in the little-known Venus and winner Forest Whitaker as Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland. Whitaker’s performance in Last King was great, I will admit, but it wasn’t something incredibly special. Neither was the film itself. In fact, in my personal opinion, I would have to say that Leo’s performance in Blood Diamond was absolutely two-fold of Whitaker’s. However, as we’ve learned from past years, the Academy absolutely loves biopics and loves actors playing

NOMINATION #3 – 2007 ACADEMY AWARDS

other famous people – it’s almost a trend that, you play someone famous, you win the award – or at least get acknowledged for it. Had Whitaker not won in 2007 for Last King, my bet is that Will Smith would have won for The Pursuit of Happyness.

2007 is where it got a little interesting, in that, Leo was one of the most worthy candidates for the award. This nomination, once again, came under the category of Best Actor In A Leading Role. The film was 2006’s extraordinarily powerful and disturbing Blood Diamond, which was one of Leo’s most intense performances to date. That year Leo was in the company of Ryan Gosling for his great, but not incredibly memorable, performance in Half Nelson, Will Smith for The Pursuit of Happyness, Peter O’Toole (8 time Academy Award nominee – 0 time winner) for a not-so-great-but-we’ll-acknowledge8

So, when it’s all taken into account, it’s pretty clear that Leo’s habit of losing out on the award has come from a variety of factors including having been up against bigger and more powerful performances, and being outside of the Academy’s ‘trends’. I am, however, quite surprised that Leo hasn’t had any more nominations than he has had.

o me, Leo’s greatest performances have come from outside those films which he has been nominated for. 1996’s Romeo & Juliet is one of my personal favourite Leo performances. Geoffrey Rush won the Oscar for that year for Shine and he also would have found competition in previous rival Ralph Fiennes for The English Patient, Tom Cruise for Jerry Maguire, Billy Bob Thornton for Sling Blade and Woody Harrelson for The People Vs. Larry Flint. That was a year Leo would have really, absolutely had no chance. 2002’s Catch Me if You Can also boasted a terrific Leo performance. He played real-life con man Frank Abagnale Jr. so, I’m surprised he didn’t at least get a nomination for this one. Had he been nominated, he would have found himself in the company of Jack Nicholson in About Schmidt, Nicholas Cage for Adaptation, Daniel Day-Lewis in Gangs of New York, Michael Caine in The Quiet American and Adrien Brody who won for his haunting role in The Pianist. Again, sadly another year Leo would have most certainly lost. 2006’s The Departed carried an incredible performance from Leo. However, since this was the same year Leo was nominated and lost out for his role in Blood Diamond, obviously this is another role Leo had no chance at. I am incredibly surprised though that Leo was nominated for Blood Diamond over The Departed considering the hype over the latter film that year (it was nominated for five Oscars, and won four of them). Finally, I’m surprising Leo wasn’t recognised in the Best Supporting Actor category for his tremendous part in 2012’s Django Unchanined – his first true villainous role. Christoph Waltz won in this category for his part in the same film, definitely the better performance of the two. The late Philip Seymour Hoffman was nominated that year for his role in The Master and the other nominees included Robert De Niro in Silver Linings Playbook, Alan Arkin in Argo and Tommy Lee Jones in Lincoln. All amazing performances.

So, I think maybe it’s best that Leo has only found recognition by the Academy for a small handful of his films because, from my viewpoint, had he found himself up for any of his others, he would have spectacularly lost in every case and had an even higher loss to win ratio. In two days time from the publication of this issue (I will post a follow-up article on the Blaire online blog the day the 86th Academy Awards ceremony takes place), we will find out if Leo has finally taken out his well-deserved and long-overdue Oscar win for The Wolf of Wall Street. This year, Leo finds himself against four other tremendous performances. Bruce Dern in Nebraska, Christian Bale in American Hustle, Chiwetel Ejiofor in 12 Years a Slave and Matthew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club. It’s good to note however, that for his role in The Wolf of Wall Street, Leo has so far taken out the Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy awards at the Golden Globes and the Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards – finding himself up against most of the same competition in each award. McConaughey, however, took out the awards for Best Actor in a Drama at both events. Most Academy Award winners can be predicted by their track record of other award wins, so considering Leo has done pretty well so far, I think he’s in with a chance, but McConaughey looks like he is too. Also, let’s remember, Leo also won a Golden Globe for The Aviator (and has been nominated for an additional eight). So really, in the end, anything goes. And if Chiwetel Ejiofor made a surprise entry from left field, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised… So, will Leo finally take out the coveted award this year? Or like his pal Scorsese will it be decades until we see Leo’s year? I really hope not. I really hope Leo the Lion finds himself with a little gold statue of Uncle Oscar in his palms in two days time, but if he doesn’t I wouldn’t be surprised. Let’s just keep our fingers crossed and hope that this year is the year of the Lion. Or is that the year of the Wolf?

DAVE LEE

the

jungle giants

FOR A GROUP WHO TOOK UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE TO FIGURE OUT A NAME FOR THEMSELVES, THESE GUYS ARE DOING AN AMAZING JOB OF MAKING IT BIG. THEIR FIRST ALBUM, LEARN TO EXIST, HAS BEEN KILLING IT AND THEY ARE ON THEIR FIRST HEADLINING TOUR FROM MARCH THIS YEAR. WE CAUGHT UP WITH GUITARIST AND VOCALIST SAM HALES

ou guys formed the band in 2011, and you all met in school. Were you all friends?

We were pretty much friends. I was in a grade above the guys so I only knew a couple of them pretty well. I didn’t really know Keelan and I didn’t really know Cesira that well. Andrew and I were friends. Then I finished school and went to uni for a bit and I didn’t really like that. I was writing songs and I knew Cesira was a good guitar player and I knew Keelan was a good drummer, so I messaged them and we started recording by the time they were graduating. And where did the name come from? It was kind of a pretty weird process. We couldn’t decide on a name for ages. We had finished the EP and mixed it and I was on my way to mastering and we still didn’t have a name! But that’s when you need a name because there needs to be one on the CD. I did the whole mastering session and then the guy doing the session said “So what’s your band’s name? I’ll put it on the CD.” I was like, ‘Oh man!’ I called Cesira and I was like, ‘Cesira. Jungle Giants. What do you think?’ She was like, ‘Yeah, that’s cool.’ And that’s how it happened. Out of necessity really. You guys are described as an indie rock/pop band and I think that fits your style. Who are your musical influences as a group or individually? We have heaps. For me, lately I’ve been really into Caribou. I’m not sure where Caribou is from but

it’s this guy who records all his music on Ableton. He is really into indie, rock, dance and it’s really interesting. In some of his records he justsamples drum sounds from old records. He will record snare drum from one song, the kick from another song, then hash from another one, and he will mix it altogether and make these really cool beats with really lush, orchestrated sounds. I’m massively into that, and that’s been a big influence on the latest stuff I’ve been writing. For Cesira, she’s like a big guitar nerd. She’s really into Prince and really big guitar songs. Collectively, we all see eye to eye on most stuff. We’re all into Jeff Buckley and also Outkast. Outkast? That’s definitely not one I would have expected you to say. Yeah, we all really like Outkast. We always pump it in the car! Speakerboxxx/The Love Below – that album is so cool. You guys are killing it at the moment. You have a tour coming up, you are also heading to the US for the South Bay Winter Festival. How are you dealing with it all? Are you guys under a lot of pressure or is it all pretty chill? We’re totally chill about it. We’ve wanted to go to the US and play at the festival for so long. So to be able to finally get to this point where we get to play, we’re just so excited. It is a showcase. You’ve got to put on a good show to have a mention and get noticed by the industry people that are there but we’re just so excited to play and to kick some butt. And to eat some TacoBell. > 11

Have you always wanted to be a musician? Pretty much. I was playing drums when I was a little kid and actually thought I was going to be a professional drummer for a good while. I wanted to be a sessions player and be in the studio and play for bands. Then I started playing guitar to try impress this girl in my grade. I started writing songs and then I would sing them to her and I ended up getting the girl. I realised it is actually a useful tool when it comes to impressing girls. That’s how it all started. It is all I’ve ever wanted and writing songs is my favourite thing to do. It was very clear and simple for me. Now you have the album out. Learn To Exist is doing really well. Did you expect it to do so well? Well, I don’t know if I expected it to do well but I definitely wanted it to. We’re completely independent and we took a risk on that because we were with a label before we released. We kind of went through this process where we just decided we would go and do it on our own. With the help of our manager and our booking agent we have managed an awesome result. It’s a huge transition going from label support to doing it all with your own circle of people. It’s been great and now we can do headline tours and play overseas and it is awesome. How do you guys go about producing the songs? You’ve said in other interviews that you do a lot of the songwriting but do you all have a say on the end product? Basically, I have a little studio at my house and I demo all the songs. Then I bring the songs to the other guys and then we start playing. A whole other conversation starts here where we change particular lines to suit what everyone likes. Its good to have some kind of direction and if I have a strong idea, whilst I’m open to suggestions, I definitely have to go with my gut. The music can’t fall apart. I love what the guys do, so sometimes the song takes a completely different form to where it started and I’m totally happy with that. Yeah, you don’t want to ruin the music for fear of hurting each other’s feelings. 12

Yeah, and we all want the same thing. We all want a good song. By the end, we’re all happy if the song works. I’ve heard that a lot of the material from the album is based on personal experience. Has anyone that the songs are written about have a weird reaction to anything you’ve written? There was one song, ‘Domesticated Man’. I wrote it about an experience I had with an ex-girlfriend and she definitely heard it and knew it was about her. We spoke about it and she doesn’t mind. I guess the song was a little direct, maybe. But she’s cool, we’re friends. We weren’t friends when I wrote the song and I think she understands. But everyone’s cool with it and if they weren’t then whatever. What is your favourite song on the album? It changes all the time. Right now, it’s ‘Skin To Bone’. I love playing that song live. It’s so fun and it goes off every time. It has a cool bass line that the song surrounds. I like that and we have fun playing it, so that’s my favourite. The tour is called the ‘Tuss’ Tour and you’ve had to extend the tour by a couple of dates. Does that level of support freak you out at all? Maybe not now, because we did our album tour at the end of last year. It definitely was a little daunting in some ways because we had never done a tour that big ever. After the album came out we got to do multiple Metro’s in Sydney and the Hi-Fi in Melbourne and the Hi-Fi in Brisbane that I’ve always wanted to play. It definitely made me feel a little strange in some ways. Some gigs I felt this weird performance anxiety. It’s been this whirlwind thing and I wasn’t expecting many people on that tour. But since then, I’ve totally embraced it and I love the idea of all these people getting off on the music and everyone coming to the show to party and get down. Its great! I’ve come full circle and I’m so appreciative of everyone who comes to the shows and I just want them all to have a good time. Its different to when you’re the supporting act and when its your tour. When you’re headlining, everyone is there to see you. Its one of those things you have >

to go through and once you overcome it all, then it becomes the most fun. I learned to appreciate the support through the levels of freaking out.

What’s the best thing about performing live? I love seeing people getting silly in the crowd. I love seeing people dance and go crazy. Its kind of insane! People come to sing your songs and sing along with you which is awesome. I love going crazy for 45 minutes to an hour with the crowd. I just love it and I’m always looking forward to the next show. Okay, one final question. Where do you think the Jungle Giants will be in the next five years? In a penthouse apartment with a two-storey studio. We have just played Coachella and now

we’re embarking on a world tour. I have a Ferrari, a red Ferrari and when I drive it, I have these black gloves that have rubies encrusted in them. I also have a cowboy hat that I strictly have to wear while I drive my Ferrari. The hat has like ‘Sam’ written all over it. I feel good about that.

MONICA JANKOWSKI

NEW ZEALAND DUO BROODS HAVE MADE WAVES IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY WITH A FRESH, COOL SOUND OF THEIR OWN. CALEB AND GEORGIA NOTT MAKE UP THE DUO AND THEIR EP BROOD EP HAS BEEN SMASHING IT. THE PAIR ARE DUE TO RELEASE A FULL-LENGTH ALBUM IN AUGUST THIS YEAR. You have been performing together for a long time, but you two only formed Broods in early 2013. What’s it like working so closely together?

London Grammar, whereas Caleb gets inspired by the intricate production of the likes of Atoms For Peace.

It’s a lot easier than people expect. We work to each other’s strengths and take good care of one another. Because we’re both naturally protective of each other (being brother and sister) there’s a sense of security and trust that would be hard to get working with anyone else.

What is your favourite thing to do in your spare time?

Georgia, how are you managing study and your blossoming career? I actually dropped out after the first month haha. I’m a bit of a daydreamer and classrooms aren’t exactly my strong suit. Considering that you guys have essentially only been around for a year, if that, does it freak you out at how far you’ve come? We feel like we’ve only just started. It’s scary sometimes but its more of an exciting kind of freaky. We’ve been working towards it for a while though so its awesome to have things going so well for us. Who are your musical inspirations? Do you two have similar musical styles? We have quite similar tastes which helps when we’re writing. Because I’m a very expressive writer I listen to a lot of music with strong lyrical content and melodies like Bat For Lashes and 16

We don’t have a lot of that at the moment but when we do we are usually super lazy and eat way too many cheese-flavoured chips. Preferably in the sun but we’ll take what we can get. You guys are working with the legend that produced Lorde’s album Pure Heroin, Joel Little. That has to be exciting for you guys? Joel is so talented and easy to work with and it’s awesome that he has become such a big name in the producer world since Lorde blew up. He makes studio time really light hearted and fun and we can’t wait to get back in studio with him in the next few days. Is it an added pressure at all? I think if we look at it as added pressure we’ll get too stressed haha. We like to think of it as a push in the right direction having Joel on our side. How did it feel to have your first single ‘Bridges’ hit the top 10 in New Zealand? We were just stoked that people are loving it! Let alone it being in the top 10.

At the end of last year, you guys played at RnV – Rhythm and Vines festival in New Zealand alongside some really cool acts. How was that? Best crowd ever! The stage was huge and we were nervous as hell but the vibe that we got from the crowd has been hard to match since. Plus we got to watch Empire Of The Sun, which was a bonus ‘cause we’re massive fans. You guys are heading to the US for an upcoming tour. What excites you most about that?

I think probably the crowds. Americans are all so welcoming and enthusiastic. It’ll be cool to see what its like to get on stage in front of them. How is the full-length album coming along? We’ve done a few home demos but we’re heading into the studio with Joel in a couple of days and thats where they come to life.

What can we expect from it? It will be Broods refined. We’re finding and defining our sound more and more as we go so expect something new but also expect some good old gloomy brooding music. It wouldn’t be a Broods album without some of that. If you had to describe yourself using only an icecream flavour, which one would it be and why? Caleb: Chilli chocolate, hot and cool at the same time. Georgia: Frozen yogurt, I like to pretend I’m sensible but I’m not. Three words to describe your self-titled debut EP? Diverse, introductory, colourful.

MONICA JANKOWSKI

s u m BROKEN BELLS AFTER THE DISCO

Broken Bells have just released their second album After The Disco. It is a collaboration of two very talented musicians, James Mercer and producer Danger Mouse, they have created a dreamboat of love. These guys have seriously upped the ante with a set that builds on the promise of their debut and fleshes out that sound into an even stronger set of songs. What I love about this album is that it dives straight into an 80’s synth-inspired space odyssey, and it actually flows really well together. It makes it the perfect album to listen to, the entire way through. In tracks like ‘After The Disco’, ‘The Changing Lights’ and ‘Leave It Alone’, Broken Bells have precisely translated their thought processes into delightfully pungent music. So keep an eye out for those cheeky numbers. Thumbs up to Broken Bells.

TEMPLES

SUN STRUCTURES

Temples. They were a really hard band to review, because to be quite honest, I just don’t like this genre of music. They’re somewhat like Tame Impala. Once again, all my mates love Tame Impala, but I’m the gimp in the corner who just can’t warm up to their stuff, even though I try really hard! Temples’ Sun Structures, released from the UK warps you back in time to the 60’s where there are many beautiful colours, shapes, patterns and people. There are twelve tracks on this cheeky number, which delve into glam, folk-rock, psych and everything 60’s with a modern twist. Listen to ‘Shelter Song’.

ic THE JEZABELS

SARAH LONG

THE BRINK

The Jezabels are back with their incredibly well articulated second album The Brink. The interesting fact about this album is that the group decided to write a lot of the album separately, before bringing it all together in a collaborative process where some heavy and interesting themes began to emerge. This powerful rockpop sound that they have inherited has made them extremely popular. The Brink is generally a stronger and more cohesive record than their last album. There are some real dynamic tracks like ‘Got Velvet’, yet there’s a balance between the wild, heavy, pounding approach and a very monitored, almost electronic, dance one. You’ll find that many of the songs have amazing guitar hooks, which are reminiscent of the 90’s. Have a listen to ‘Look of Love’.

WARPAINT WARPAINT

All the way from LA, Warpaint have returned with their self-titled second album. Their debut album won fans across the globe in 2010 and this album steps it up a level. I love their minimalist indie-rock sound, however the album did not live up to what I expect from them. I was recently chatting with a mate about their latest and she stated that, ‘it’s as if they almost hit the nail on the head. They have the potential to be great, but they only just hit the mark. Warpaint have just toured for Laneway Festival and hopefully a growing following will give them the incentive to break barriers and produce what they’re actually capable of! 19

BAYSIDE, AN AMERICAN PUNK-ROCK BAND WITH A LEAGUE OF FOLLOWERS SO LOYAL THAT THEY ARE AFFECTIONATELY KNOWN AS A CULT. WE SPOKE TO DRUMMER, NICK, JUST BEFORE THE LAUNCH OF THEIR APTLY NAMED NEW ALBUM CULT.

i Nick, how are you? Yeah I’m good, we’re a few hours behind you so it’s early afternoon here!

Not so bad then! How are you feeling about your new album? Yeah I mean it’s been kind of a little bit longer in making than people think, we downloaded about half of the album over a year ago and then put the rest of the album together over the next year or so. We kept getting good tours, we did the Taking Back Sunday tour, we did Alkaline Tour, so it’s kind of made the length in between our albums a little longer than we wanted. But it gave us time to work on things a little bit more. It was completed in September and just coming out in a couple of days now. So we’re excited, people are hearing it for the first time now and you know it seems like 99.99% feedback is all positive. So it’s a good feeling to feel you worked on something for so long and people end up liking it.

just throw around and bounce ideas off each other, be it on garage band and email, stuff like that, so there’s a lot more sitting at home and working on your own parts these days, and then spending a couple hours together. It’s different but I think after six albums we’re just more comfortable with ourselves and each other and it’s become a good way to work, remotely. Yeah, there must be a lot less arguments? Haha yeah, I mean whatever arguments we had six/seven/eight years ago, they don’t happen anymore that’s for sure. What is the overarching theme of this album, or what are you trying to say with it?

I mean the good thing I think about us is that I think we’ve been pretty transparent as our career has gone on and I think that our fans are growing with us and we’re growing into adulthood, just like a lot of our fans. And I think that as we settle more into relationships and some of us are getting Cool that’s great! When you’re working on an married and having kids, and I think you start to album do you all sit down and jam together, or look at life a little bit different. There’s a lot less do you all do all do your own thing and then relationship type songs in this album, and a lot come back later and collaborate? more just thinking about life and the mark you’re going to leave on people and the mark you’re going It’s actually changed over the years with the to leave just on the world in general. I think there advances in technology. We used to all just sit in a have been elements of it in the past but growing up room for hours and work on parts but the more we over the past five albums and dealing with differgot comfortable with each other as musicians and ent relationships, I think that’s been the topic of a with advances of technology, we were able to really lot of songs. For this one Anthony specifically > 21

has settled down, got married, he’s having a kid and he’s had a lot of stuff going on in the making of this album so I think a lot of this has to do with kind of everyday, no not everyday, just life in general throwing you curves. And not necessarily relationship type stuff which is just a little different for us. But I think our fans are growing with us and they’re starting to realise that there’s a lot more to life than some sour love songs. I’m sure they’d agree with you. I saw the album art and it’s absolutely gorgeous, can you tell us about it, I read that the symbols relate to the other five albums? Yeah again the term ‘cult’ that has been used with our band for ten years at this point, it could have a negative connotation if you don’t know necessarily anything about our band. We wanted the album artwork to look dark but be celebratory so all the little icons on it have to do with us; we have our initials on there, we have all of our albums on there, and to me we just wanted it to look cryptic but not necessarily in a negative way. We wanted it to be celebratory. It really came on and became this really cool piece of art and you know we’re all thrilled and I can’t wait to see it, I haven’t actually got my hands on a physical copy yet but I’m really excited about that. Which song on the album is your favourite?

I think the two most different ones, I have two favourites right now. ‘Hate Me’ which is the third song on the album, I never remember what ‘Stuttering’ is but they’re kind of, for us, a little bit wacky as far as the scope of the song goes. ‘Stuttering’ is a little bit deep scava and it just sounds like us. The same thing goes for ‘Hate Me’ where we took a bit of a chance then and it’s sounds a little bit more like a grungy alternative type of song, but it still sounds like us. And that’s the overall theme of this album, I think we continue to push ourselves as song-writers but it’s all within the umbrella of what Bayside has sound-

ed like for the previous five albums. So those two, I’m particularly proud of because I know that they are different songs, but at any point you could listen to those songs, if they were the first songs you had ever heard from Bayside, you could listen to those and then still be comfortable listening to any other song also. Cool. So you guys have a tour coming up soon, what is the thing that you most enjoy about touring? Well I definitely just enjoy being in cities every day and it’s been a long time since we’ve done a headline tour. My favourite part of being in a band is playing on stage every night and just having that connection and feeling that energy with the fans. I mean we go out there and we have a lot of energy when we play and it’s definitely a give and take relationship with the fans. They sing and dance, and we’ll sing and dance and really that’s what makes us happiest every night, is the interaction with the fans. When I don’t have that, you know we have basically been off the road since May, you start to really, really miss that. Part of touring is being different places all the time which you start to miss. Since we’ve been off the road I’ve been able to go on trips and take some vacation weekends and stuff like that, but that only helps me deal with the location part, I still don’t have the connection with the fans and the stage and that sucks. But we’re going on tour in a couple of weeks and I’m really just going to sing in front of people. It’s one of the best feelings, to see if I can get them to sing and feel that energy with people, it’s just such a great feeling. Yeah absolutely. You guys must be so close now after all these years, do you find when you go touring now is there any weird/annoying habits that you all have, or get on each other’s nerves? Haha yeah everything that annoys us about each other we figured it out long ago! We all know >

how to deal with each other now, you know there’s no way you’re going to live symbiotically with, and in a creative atmosphere with four people ever. That’s why bands sometimes don’t deal with it and sometimes they do. We certainly have our disagree ments and arguments and stuff but we figured out a long time ago how to not necessarily take it personally and really work with each other whether it comes to songwriting or anything creatively. Even just the living space and all that stuff, we’re well past the point of letting any of that get in the way of us. Which is great, a lot of bands don’t make it that far. Yeah that’s true. Is there any special routine or something different that you have to do to get in the mindset or is it just enough that you’re all travelling together? I mean for me personally once the show starts I do like to be in the venue as much as possible and just check out the crowd, check out the bands. Then about an hour before we play I just like to relax, I really don’t have some rigorous warm up or anything like that I like to save all my energy for the stage. So I have a couple drinks and just relax until we play. Sounds good. Out of all the places and gigs you’ve played, what would you say was the best one ever? I’m totally not sucking up at all, but Australia! I really do I mean we’ve been there so few times, I think we’ve been there three times in total and you know everyone is just so pleasant. And the culture around Soundwave is really cool, I don’t know it’s a very pleasant country and everyone has just been so excited to see bands. It helps that the weather is always awesome, well whenever we’re there! Honestly for the three times that we’ve been there, the reaction is great. You know we’ve been to places in America twenty times and the reaction’s not even as good the three times we’ve been in Australia. Part of this whole plan behind Cult is to 24

try to get to Australia more and just get a little bit more international vibes in general so, and Australia is definitely high on the list of places that we want to play. That was a great answer! Yes definitely come back more. So that I’m not totally kissing Australia’s arse, Barcelona in Spain too, we’ve only been there once and that was a very, very excellent place. Have you ever had a really embarrassing situation happen on stage? Well it could happen at any time it’s not a big thing but my biggest fear is falling on stage, especially with how active I am in particular. I mean I do jump around and run around a lot and you know sometimes you might have that one extra Vodka drink or something and you might get a little bit more tipsy than you want. I guess I remember it was only like a year ago on the Taking Back Sunday tour I remember first song in and it didn’t really have anything to do with the alcohol or anything like that but I had a little bit of a trip up. For me it gets in my head and that ruins the whole show because it’s embarrassing and you don’t feel cool any more on stage and you start getting mad about all that stuff. So in general that’s my biggest fear and it’s only happened a couple of times for me personally. It’s a hard thing to come back from tripping or falling on stage. So how did you originally get into music yourself? I just wound up having to think about this, because Green Day’s album ‘Dookie’ just came out twenty years ago, it’s the anniversary now and that really was a bit turning point of my life. I was thirteen and me and my friends at that point had started to listen to Nirvana, and Nirvana was cool, Band Garden was cool, Smashing Pumpkins, whatever, that stuff was cool but it wasn’t like an

identity yet. Then Green Day came along and became, for me and my friends it was like a punkrock identity. And we started to find other bands and it turned into finding bands that were more local, and then just finding this whole culture which we didn’t know existed. For me personally it was something that really resonated with me and made me pick up an instrument and that was definitely a big point in my life. So for any aspiring musicians that are out there at the moment, what would be the one big tip you might have? You really gotta do things for the right reasons. I mean I can’t tell you that countless bands that just do things because they think they’re going to be famous, or if they wear the right shirt on stage it will help their music be better. You’ve got be true to yourself and write good music, if not you’re just actually being a detriment to music in general. Like a bad band that doesn’t have any musical common sense that gets big is just a detriment to every musician in the world. For me, Bayside always takes a lot of responsibility for putting the best foot forwards for rock music, punk rock, and all this stuff. Like we really do want to

put the correct foot forwards and hopefully inspire people to write songs. Brilliant! If you weren’t a musician, what else would you would have done? You know you really only start to think about that now, the older you get it’s just never occurred to me to do anything else so maybe that’s the problem somewhere down the road. But you know I’ve done this straight out of high school. It took me six years out of high school to find Bayside but in those six years I was in two or three other bands, so I graduated high school and two weeks later I went on my first tour, so I mean it’s just been what I’ve done for more than half my life. Yeah that’s amazing! I love ice hockey too, so that would be my answer then, I would love to be a hockey player. Thank you so much Nick. Best of luck with the album and come back to Australia soon! Oh we’re trying, will do, this year anyway!

ZOE BRADLEY

ROBOCOP (1987) Since it’s remake season (or at least Verhoeven remake season) it seems fitting to revisit the original classic that still manages to live up to today’s standard. The satire is still sharp as a knife, the tragedy of a human fused with machine is still relevant and the action is still thrilling. Peter Weller’s role as Alex Murphy is still iconic, as is Nancy Allen’s cop partner role. The violence is what makes RoboCop so good: people still talk about scenes such as Murphy’s death or the acid vat to this day. Since we’ve now seen remakes of Total Recall and RoboCop, the next logical step is to remake Showgirls, which hopefully will turn out better than the original, though so far it’s batting nil for two.

l i f ROBOCOP (2014)

As a neutered remake of the classic 1980’s version, Robocop isn’t as horrible as to be expected, but once again fails to provide a reason as to why remakes should ever exist (outside of the marginally good Dawn of the Dead remake). Joel Kinneman is completely forgettable as a leading man, Michael K Williams is unremarkable as the cop partner and big names like Michael Keaton and Gary Oldman come off marginally better but are wasted with a script that doesn’t elicit many intelligent themes or thoughts. As an attempt to bring the original’s satire and commentary on American life into this era, it actually succeeds on some fronts (some actual twists regarding the actual RoboCop, Samuel L Jackson’s hilarious role as a robo-crazy news caster, and a few great scenes of body horror) but fails on every other. The director of the Brazillian action Elite Squad clearly didn’t bring any of the energy and vigor from those films as RoboCop is a lifeless, boring and useless remake.

PRISONERS The director of Incendies wow’s again with a hard-hitting thriller that is not only incredibly smart, engrossing and disturbing, but a near perfect film that never lets up. The acting by Jackman is phenomenal as a father looking for his child’s kidnapper, with Gyllenhaal as the steadfast detective also providing an amazing performance (unfortunately Mario Bello and Viola Davis are wasted as the grief stricken wives), Villeneuve’s direction is impeccable but the awards and praise must go to Roger Deakins, easily the best working cinematographer today. Nothing short of criminal that he has not won any Oscars, his work in Prisoners is absolutely phenomenal, and this is coming from a man whose previous efforts included Skyfall and the majority of the Coen Brothers films. With impeccable acting, an amazing script, and the most gorgeous cinematography of 2013, Prisoners is easily one of the best films I have ever seen.

KEVIN HE

AMERICAN HUSTLE David O Russell aims to strike gold a fourth time in what seems to be his comeback era with another ensemble movie with an impressive amount of style. Unfortunately, American Hustle is over-reliant on style and flair, and not very focused on… anything else. The cast works wonders here and it’s clear that with the right director and the right actors some amazing performances can be created, as Lawrence, Bale, Adams and Cooper all bring their very best to carry the film. Louis C.K is another welcome addition and his scenes are by far the best and most memorable. As a very loose adaptation of the ABSCAM scandal, the film makes it clear how much liberations it took to the true events, and the overall plot is quite unremarkable and surprisingly empty. A brilliant cast under a smart director, however, American Hustle falls short of O Russell’s previous efforts. 27

JUSTIN VS MILEY BOTH WERE ONCE FRESH-FACED YOUNG STARS ADORED BY THE WORLD OVER. NOW THE TWO ARE ON A SHOCKING PATH OF SELF-DESTRUCTION. MIA FRANCISCO LOOKS AT WHO IS WORSE AND WHY.

ack in the day when Hannah Montana was cool and Justin Bieber was cute before his voice broke, tweeny boppers, teenagers, heck, even some adults, loved Miley Cyrus (real name; Destiny Hope) and Mr Bieber. Personally however, neither ever really appealed to me. I just was not a fan of innocent-eyed, all-American, white-teethed Miley who had been handed fame and fortune on a silver platter from her famous dad, Billy Ray. To some, Miley was refreshing, funny and a great role model for young girls to look up to and admire. Sure, she was an okay singer and at times clichéd, but her love for God, her family and her humble country upbringing set her aside from the over-bearing Hollywood stars with their flashy cars, clothes, skinny friends and even skinnier Chihuahua’s in their fancy handbags. Once upon a time, Miley may have even had me fooled that she was going to break the mould of female singers who used their body more than their voice to climb the golden ladder of stardom. I was never even a fan of Miley, but she has still ended up making me feel disappointed and sad. I can only imagine how her old admirers feel about her unjustified tongue, the constant sexploitation and the disappointing desire to be nothing more than a has-been star turned bimbo, slut, and nothing shy of just a stupid idiot.

Speaking of, Justin Drew Bieber, once a talented little boy from Canada with the unusual haircut and voice of an angel epitomises what too much money and no boundaries can cause a young adult to become. After surveying over a dozen parents in regards to Bieber’s behaviour, many, if not all, mentioned how his own parents were to blame. This is definitely evident in the several crimes and atrocities Bieber has committed: physically assaulting a limo driver, peeing in public, spitting on his fans, drag racing, driving under the influence and resisting arrest are only a handful of the shocking crimes Bieber-the-Brat has executed. What is even more shocking is that Justin’s parents KNEW Justin was drinking and doing drugs and still they allowed him to be a reckless and rude civilian. In fact, father Jeremy, was reported by police to have cleared the roadway so that Justin could drag race. Before writing this article I was indifferent to who was worse. I was probably leaning towards Miley because I find it incredibly disappointing and disgusting when females present themselves as unintelligent pieces of meat all in the name of art and creativity. Though after my survey and reading the mind-changing feedback, I have now concluded that little Biebs is in fact the worst of the two. Why? I hear you ask. Aren’t they as bad as each other?

Well, aside from her odd Doberman-style tongue, unwanted nudity and copycat nature, Miley has so copied the likes of Gwen Stefani, Sinead O Connor and Lady Gaga – Miley hasn’t done anything illegal… yet! She has even said so herself, ‘Everything I do is legal in California.’ Justin on the other hand is just downright appalling. From his original bowl haircut to his disrespect for authority, his self-love and cockiness, oh the list goes on. I believe Bieber is nothing more than an arrogant, talentless fool. So what does everyone else think? Kylie Abel, Mother, said ‘(the difference between them is that) Miley doesn’t respect herself, while Justin doesn’t respect anyone.’ I think that sums up the young celebrities perfectly. Arts student, Gemma Rossetti, believes, ‘Bieber is worse. He doesn’t love his fans, whereas Miley always thanks them. He thinks he’s untouch-

able… and the way he smiled in his mug shot made a mockery of the US judicial system.’ And my personal favourite by John Moon; ‘Bieber is a self-entitled bastard.’ It seems like everyone is hating on Bieber? Quite the contrary, there are still plenty of people who are not impressed by Miley’s antics. Heavily bearded soul-surfer, Jared Papworth, had a rather amusing, yet solid point when he confessed, ‘Musically, I believe they are both horrible examples of talent, but in the eyes of public shame and loss of dignity, I believe Cyrus takes first prize. She made her mark and was well loved, and should have gone out on a high... not completely naked on wrecking ball!’

MIA FRANCISCO

Eloise Burfurd Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not entirely sure how to describe my artwork, as it is never premeditated and rarely has an agenda. Which in the art world is probably considered a flaw. Simple and deliberate line work is a symptom of my short attention span and geometric lines with textile qualities is a result of growing up in a family orientated around architecture and fashion. My Visual Arts degree allowed me to explore a myriad of mediums such as large-scale paintings, illustration and even installation art but in my own time Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve always naturally gravitated toward portraiture. Keep it simple stupid. Keep it pretty beb.

THE LEGAL

MARIJ okay

any in the US and the world have gone green with envy after Colorado legalized the use of cannabis. The decision got tongues wagging – many disagreed with the new laws but there were several strong arguments in its favour. Marijuana for medical use is the strongest argument for legalisation. It can used to help a variety of different symptoms. Many people suffering chronic pain from spinal injuries or severe arthritis use cannabis on a regular basis to numb their pain. The benefit of using cannabis over traditional painkillers is that there aren’t the same kinds of side effects that those synthetic pills come with, like nausea or stomach ulcers. Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy use it to the control the vomiting and nausea that is associated with that type of extreme treatment. Legalizing marijuana makes it cheaper and easier for these types of patients to get their hands on the help they need, rather than the sometimes long and difficult process that it is at the moment. By removing the stigma attached to the use of cannabis more research would then be able to be done into its use in treating other illnesses and thereby helping even more people in need. The legal system would also heavily benefit if marijuana use was made legal. In the case that marijuana was legal to sell and grow there wouldn’t be the incentive for criminals to do the same. This would result in organized crime groups 38

COLORADO LEGALISED MARI

having less money at their disposal and less money equals less influence, which would then hopefully lead to reduction in overall crime levels. Less time and money would be spent prosecuting people with drug charges related to marijuana – putting more money in the government’s pocket for more important things. This would also mean less people would be spending times behind bars, easing the strain on the jails and allowing people to get on with their lives, free of a criminal record. Some people would argue that by legalising cannabis, more people would be attracted to it. Whilst some celebrities glamourize the use of marijuana (many arguing that it generates creativity) studies show that after an initial spike in use just after it’s legalized, the use of recreational marijuana actually drops in the months after compared to nations or states where the use of cannabis is illegal. So even if you argued against the use of marijuana for its negative effects legalising it would be the best way then to decrease its use – a win for every side of the argument. When its all said and done, cannabis is just a plant. You can smoke it, you can eat it, you can make it into clothes. Something that grows naturally is a hell of a lot better for us than some of the things people put in their bodies. Most importantly though it comes down to personal choice and personal freedom – if you’re not hurting anybody whilst enjoying it, it isn’t that bigger deal.

SPENCER HADLOW

LISATION OF

JUANA

IJUANA. SO IS IT ACCEPTABLE?

irst and foremost, let’s clarify; marijuana, weed, pot or whatever you want to call it, is a drug. No if ’s or but’s about it. It is a Drug. Now Colorado has come out and said yes, let’s legalise this drug, and there are whispers throughout America that other states will soon follow. Is this a good thing though? The answer is no, and the reasoning behind it is quite simple really. In order for us to firstly legalise Marijuana, we need to stop associating it with the word ‘drug.’ In our minds, drugs are harmful substances that we put into our body and for us to accept that marijuana is legal and therefore not harmful, we need to get rid of the stigma of being a drug, which is attached to it. According to many however, this legalisation of what is considered a gateway drug to other harmful substances, could possibly be the worst idea ever. The argument is valid and is at times often overlooked even though it is the easiest to acknowledge. Since marijuana has been illegal there have been gross reductions for people using the drug. CNBC reported that since the intolerance of this drug has grown, usage has dropped since 1979, in which the use of marijuana by Americans aged 12 and older was 13.2%. Compare that with present day and that figure is standing at 6.1%. Which gives many people the right to conclude that America’s laws to stop this drug being consumed were working well.

not okay Compounded with that, there are reports stating that ‘marijuana is the leading cause of substance dependence other than alcohol in America, with two thirds of Americans suffering from Marijuana abuse or dependence.’ Colorado’s laws with regards to this legalisation state that residents can only buy an ounce of marijuana at one time. How will they monitor whether the people are abiding by these rules, for example, who is there to enforce them? If someone were to go and buy an ounce at one store, can’t they just abuse their right to that drug and go to the store next door and buy another ounce. In theory to all the potheads out there, it sounds like an amazing idea. In reality, a drug has just been declared legal which begs the question what happened to the so-called ‘War on Drugs’? That question is not only making me anxious but also Tom Gorman, director of the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area who stated that since marijuana has become legal, drug cartels have suffered a dramatic loss. And according to him, ‘Our intelligence tells us, and all indications are (drug cartels) are going to move in if they haven’t already.’ That makes me worried, why does no one else seem worried? Oh right, their all too busy buying weed, smoking a bong and getting the munchies to think about such hard truths. Bad call Colorado, bad call.

ISOBELLA VAN SCHAIK

N E W

Y O R K

F A

Seven days jam-packed with a whirlwind of fa catwalk shows. That’s right, I’m talking new ultimate fashion mecca and place to be seen. It you may as well be dea

IF YOU WANNA BE MY LOVER

Victoria Beckham

ALEXANDER THE GREAT The sign that you’ve made it in life surely has to be for people to reference you simply by your surname and everyone knows exactly who you are. Wang is kind of a big deal. He is one of the most covetable designers on the planet and his NYFW showing had his signature style all over it. Trademark sport-luxe silhouette, tick. Luxe leather, tick. Androgynous tailoring and colour palette, tick. This guy knows his shit. The neon-bright perforated leather actually made me hyperventilate. And the quirky combination of paisley on paisley on polka dot was almost too much. The best thing about the whole collection that we only have to dress like men, not actually be one. 40

Fact: Spice World has to be one of the best movies of all time. Another fact: Posh Spice was not the best singer in the group. Another fact: Victoria Beckham is a seriously good designer. VB is always simplicity personified, and this collection is no exception. The balance of precise tailoring and the beautiful drape of the fabric in all the right places creates perfect harmony between the masculine and feminine. The use of 3D shaping is a really nice touch to really modernise the collection. The addition of colour in a geometric print (only on select pieces) is not something I ever would have predicted, but it works so well against the mainly monochrome palette.

I THI

Someti & Bide. very go overly i their no there. Th tion. Th lines, an heel wi and oliv you we entire c charge

Long mon mesh Alexander Wang

A S H I O N

TORY PRICE

W E E K

ash-pack front-rowers, major mag editors, bloggers, models and york fashion week, which is as brutal as it is beautiful. It is the t also happens to be the place where if you wear the wrong thing, ad. It’s awesome! Here are my favourites.

Sass & Bide

INK I’M A CONVERT

imes I want to fall asleep when people start raving on to me about Sass . Booooring. I would rather watch my dad play golf, and he’s not even ood. You can pick a Sass piece from a mile away and it never even feels inspiring. But what is inspiring and definitely anything but boring, is ovateur collection. Textures, colours, print, structure, you name it it’s The aussie girls are channeling some serious sex appeal with this collecThey used sheer fabrics, gold embroidery and beading, lace, short hem nd of course black to round out the sexiness. Even the simple pointed ith crisscrossed ankle straps turned me on. The black-and-white check ve-green infusion amp up the class factor majorly so you don’t look like ent shopping at Gasp. Plus, the cocoon-shaped styling which anchors the collection makes sure that you aren’t going to be asked how much you for a night. Which can only be a good thing!

BATTER UP (JEREMY SCOTT)

g fuzzy-knit maxi-dresses, over-the-knee lace-up shin-guard look-boots, nster-face jumpers, oversized leather jackets that look like a basketball, h tops and jersey numbers on everything. You Jeremy Scott are a GOD.

Jeremy Scott

Mike Egan Mike Egan is a Byron Bay-based photographer that shoots waves around Byron Bay and the north coast of New South Wales. ‘I find photography is a great outlet for me to get away from the computer, and be creative outdoors. I’ve surfed for most of my life and spent most of my working life as a graphic designer in the surf industry. I took up photography around two years ago, but I think having a design background has really helped. The Photographers I’ve met and worked with as a designer have also really inspired me to keep trying to improve my shots. There’s so many elements that need to come together in order to get a decent shot. When your in the water shooting, it just makes it all that more challenging, but the results can be worthwhile if things come together. Byron is a really amazing location to shoot as there are a lot of good waves and good local surfers riding a wide variety of boards. It also faces north, so the afternoon light is as good as it gets for photographers. Most the guys I shoot regularly are also good mates. At the moment I know I’ve still got lots to learn, but I’m looking forward to it too.’

42 info@byronwaves.com | www.byronwaves.com | Instagram: @byronwaves | Facebook: https://www.facebook.c

com/pages/Byron-Waves/241465662689811

BATTLE OF THE

SEXES

WOMENS SPORT VERSUS MENS SPORT: IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN UNEQUAL. IS THIS UNFAIR TO WOMEN?

quality: a term that the human race has invented, but is yet to grow into. In mathematics, it’s definite. In accounting, it’s your bottom line. In English, it’s open to interpretation. What is fair is often not just, and if it’s fine by our justice system, you can bet your bottom dollar it isn’t fair. It’s fair to say racism and sexism are the two best examples of how our past is preventing equality. For this article we are going to focus on the latter and how it applies to the world of sport. This topic is best examined by comparing the catalyst for inequality; money. Why are males paid more than females the majority of the time? Men are seen as our greatest sporting heroes here in Australia. The AFL, VFL and many of the minor leagues dwarf the most competitive female competition. The Australian cricket team will never have to work another day in their lives, whilst the girls have to hold down jobs during their career. The answer is beyond any female’s control: it’s all in our genetics. Males are created with a much stronger body, suited to kicking a ball further, hitting a larger six or tackling a tougher tackle. It comes down to which sex can put on the better spectacle and the harsh reality has the 50

male as streets ahead. I’ll take this opportunity to recognise that I am a male writing this piece. But I challenge you to go to any sporting event and whilst the females in the stands may enjoy the idea of equality, a miniscule percentage would give up their time or hard earned to support the alternative. Which brings me to an ongoing debate over tennis. All of the grand slams now pay equal amounts to the winners of both the men’s and ladies draw. This is a very recent revelation in the history of tennis, and seems to have caused more uproar since its change. Without comparing the quality of tennis too closely, I cannot remember the last female grand final which measured up to men’s side. Quite often my Saturday night is over within an hour, whilst the Sunday grand final quite often lasts three hours at least. No, the main argument comes from workload. Why can the women receive the same pay, for a reduced work load? Best of three sets against best of five is simply not fair. You cannot bandy the word equality around to gain a larger pay day, and at the same time ignore a glaring omission. I am someone who is going to support equality until humans manage to get it right themselves. But we are currently accepting men to risk more injury,

exert themselves for longer and spend more time recovering, for no reward. To suggest these efforts are comparable based on the male and female genetics is a joke. There is another side of the coin to this argument, a silent minority who seem to have accepted their fate. Groups such as the male netball team. During the Olympics, or in their own standalone domestic competitions, I can turn free to air television on and catch up on the women’s team. However, no amount of Foxtel can help me locate the male division. If no one wants to watch something, you can hardly expect sponsors and organization’s to fund the millions required for equality. Success breeds success. It might sound redundant, but this is something that the Australian Olympic team is the perfect example of. The most anticipated events in Australia include what happens in the swimming pool, and in the track and field. The majority of the population would struggle to rattle off more than a handful of male athletes from the London Olympics. The females carried our medal tally and dominated the network’s coverage. Sally Pearson was chasing world records, Leisel Jones looked to finish her career in style and Libby Trickett came back from

retirement to add to her gold medal tally. The blokes were only able to stagger between controversies and the repercussions are still being felt. Pearson is currently running across my television, attempting to make me buy Powerade. Jones has been a long time pin-up girl for Uncle Toby’s and Trickett came remarkably close to winning Dancing with the Stars. Have we seen James Magnussen’s face on anything lately? Unfortunately he placed himself in the same boat as Nick D’Arcy, and has to wait another two years before he is offered a chance at redemption. Hard work cannot always be compared. A local footballer could train for longer than a professional player. But if you aren’t good enough, people will not pay to see you, nor will you be given your opportunity. The world revolves around its various currencies and unless you can bring so much through the door, you can’t expect to put your hand out for a chunk that isn’t there. Ultimately, everyone is judged by their performance. Sport is the absolute worst example of equality. Everyone can begin at the same platform, but if you are going to crown a winner, you are rewarding inequality.

MITCHELL PASCOE

have a problem with alcohol. Not with alcoholism, and I don’t dislike alcohol; I drink it regularly. My problem is that, somewhere during its hundreds years in existence, alcohol, or being drunk has become an excuse for impolite, vulgar and violent behaviour. I can remember my father years ago, drunk, frightening my mother, brother and I after crashing the car and stumbling home to repaint the window frames. He was swearing incessantly. As a very young boy, in my head I counted up how much he would owe to the family swear jar. I told my mother how much it was and she told me it didn’t count this time. Using drunkenness as an excuse for one’s crimes is something for which there should be no tolerance. I admit this is kind of an absolutist attitude toward a sensitive subject. Opinions on it are often born of personal bias, based on one’s experience or personal history. But I think Australians could put down the glass for a minute and talk about what exactly is going on here. It seems there is no better time to explore alcohol-related problems. At the end of January this year, a bill to help curb alcohol-fuelled violence was recently passed. The law, approved by the New South Wales Parliament, states that an eight-year minimum sentence will be given to any person who, under the influence of alcohol, fatally punches another person. This is the “One-Punch Law”. In addition, fines for disorderly behaviour have been increased from $200 to $1,100 and venues in the Sydney CBD now have 1.30am lockouts, while drinks will not be served past 3am 52

and bottle shops across NSW will close at 10pm. The push for this law reform was most likely the result of an 18 year-old boy named Daniel Christie who was murdered by a drunken Shaun McNeill in King’s Cross in the same month. Christie was knocked unconscious in a single punch, put in hospital in a coma for 11 days, after which his family decided to turn off his life-support. Political reactions to the law’s implementation have been varied. Labour leader John Robertson supports the reform and has stated he can’t believe it’s taken this long. The Greens Party is sceptical, (possibly because they tend to disagree with every decision made by the Liberals), calling it a “knee-jerk” response and that restricting consumers and enforcing lockouts isn’t the solution. To them it’s about the promotion of discounted alcohol and the failure to enforce its responsible service. Both parties make good points. It is ridiculous that stricter laws weren’t enforced sooner, especially considering the murder of Thomas Kelly in 2012, whose perpetrator received only four years. And while characterising the response as “knee-jerk” seems a little insensitive, Greens MP John Kaye makes a good point. Australia has had consistent, positive advertisements for alcohol and its status is embedded in our culture. Drinking comes with ‘coming-of-age’ for young Australians, so isn’t restricting it from us by locking us out of clubs and refusing to sell it to us a bit contradictory, almost hypocritical? Alcohol has been a part of Australian culture since the foundation of the country.

THE

LOCKOUT LAW SYDNEY HAS IMPLEMENTED A NEW LOCKOUT LAW WHICH MEANS THAT VENUES IN THE CBD NOW HAVE 1.30AM LOCKOUTS. SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR US? The soldiers who stormed the beaches in NSW in the late 18th Century were paid for their services in spirits, most commonly rum. Reportedly, this helped boost the morale of the soldiers. Wine was made popular by European migrants who’d come for the mining industry. Australia, then, is a country founded on both immigration and alcohol. Interesting that these are arguably the two most controversial discussion topics in politics and among Australians at the moment. Since then there has been no shortage of advertising for the intoxicant, either. Whereas advertisements for tobacco and cigarettes were beginning to be banned around 1976, alcohol’s ads have continued to flourish. Some of the most memorable Australian ads have come from companies selling beer, wine and spirits. All Australians remember the infamous Toohey’s Extra Dry “tongue” ad, in which a sleeping man’s tongue crawls out of his mouth, narrowly avoids being eaten by his cat, sneaks into a house party (another staple of Aussie culture), wraps its little pink body around a bottle of beer in an ice bath and drags it back home and pops it into its owner’s mouth. The ad seems to reflect a mindless desire for alcohol; a desire which, even if the consumer isn’t conscious enough to get himself a beer, will be sated regardless. There was also the Carlton Draught ‘Big Ad’, a spectacle of ‘epicness’ in every way possible, just to sell some ‘bloody beer’. Notice, these ads find very creative ways to promote beer and other liquors, but all of them refuse to show the effects of alcohol. We’re

defined by our love for drinking, but we don’t want to think about much beyond that. Spare us the bloody details of Thomas Kelly and Daniel Christie. Let us drink in peace. The morning after the first time I’d ever seen my dad (or anyone) drunk, he came into my room, no doubt severely hungover. I was awake in bed. He lay down on the single bed with me for a while. I noticed he was crying when he said, ‘I’m so sorry Tom.’ ‘It’s okay, Dad.’ ‘No,’ he said. ‘It isn’t.’ I didn’t realise it at the time, but at this moment, after no indiscretions besides cursing and poorly-handled drunkenness, my father was deeply ashamed. So ashamed, that he offered no excuse and no explanation for his behaviour. He just had to accept how he’d behaved. And probably be thankful he didn’t do anything worse. Hopefully the new laws implemented in NSW will get a few Australians to think more about consequence. An eight-year prison sentence is a long time to give a person time to think about his mistakes. The lockouts however are questionable. After all, it was on the street at night that the two murders occurred. Locking out club-goers in the middle of the night and letting them loose on the streets might be a recipe for more disaster. What the laws will do, we can be sure, is get Australia talking about its alcohol abuse, especially once we start to see the consequences of change. And isn’t that the first step; to admit we have a problem?

TOM BENSLEY

TRADITIONAL

DEPRAVITY

WHY CULTURE IS NOT A HALL PASS FOR SOCIAL BRUTALITY.

hanks to the recent social media shit storm, most of us have heard about those ill-fated, highly intelligent calderon dolphins. You know, the critically endangered marine mammals being maimed along the cold, lonely shores of Denmark in the name of tradition? Yeah. Those ones. Teens jacked-up on testosterone line the shores in traditional dress, ready to torture and kill an unsuspecting dolphin to prove their masculinity as they hunt for the title of Alpha male. Hundreds of mangled carcasses litter the coast as the harbour turns crimson red. A testament to the insatiable blood lust of this cultural tradition. Those sadistic Danes should hang their heads in shame. At least they should if it were a genuine practise. An email most of us would be familiar with entitled “Please Keep this Going Around the World” has been circulating on and off now for about 5 years, and whenever it resurfaces a fresh wave of outrage is directed toward the isolated Faroe Island in the North Atlantic. The hysteria-element of this email is fairly stock standard. Big mean humans gang up on a helpless species, driven close to extinction by man’s immorality. The good news? This story is a hoax. As a matter of fact there isn’t even a species called Calderon Dolphin. Additionally if there is anyone from Denmark on the island they are probably there on holiday, because Faroe Island is

entirely self-governing, so no mythical dolphins are slain at the hands of a wayward young Dane. While the story is a fabrication, like any good lie it is based partially on fact; there is indeed an ocean hunt carried out on Faroe, but that’s where the similarities end. The objective of the hunt is to harvest food for the tiny island, which has minimal means of agriculture to support its small population. The ‘tradition’ targets the plentiful long-finned pilot whales and is governed by strict policy and legislation. It is a non-commercial enterprise and the ‘massacre’ is heavily regulated with similar guidelines and restrictions seen in a more land-locked commercial meat industry equivalent. So relax guys, it’s all above board. There are far greater atrocities to get one’s knickers in a proverbial tangle. Now for the bad news, which really should come as no surprise since we’re all the freethinking, global citizen types. The world is bulging at the seams with genuine acts of violence toward animals performed under the guise of ‘culture’. Many practises steeped in tradition originate from a necessity in the pre-industrial era, but have evolved over the centuries into nothing more than an unnecessary display of savagery, hidden beneath a veil of cultural heritage. A great many practises are simply brutality for the sake of brutality, such as the graphic display of aggression known as Toro de Jubilo, translated

from Spanish as ‘Jubilant Bull’. This abomination disguised as a festival involves tethering the unsuspecting bovine to a pole, igniting its horns with flammable bundles of turpentine and sulphur then setting it free to frolic jubilantly for the enjoyment of the crowd. Safety first, though; the bull is covered in mud to protect it from accidental burns. If there’s anything we’ve learned from the Predator franchise, it is the protective qualities of mud can override the penetrating rays of heat protruding from our warm blooded bodies. Assumedly the barrier works both ways. At least that’s what the residents of Medinaceli surmise. The bull is taunted by the townsfolk, who dart about like moths to a beefy flame, testing the size

of their balls against the pain and suffering of an innocent animal. Nice going, Medinaceli. But who are we to criticise? It’s tradition! We mustn’t question tradition. That’s teetering on racism, or cultural intolerance or something like that. What bollocks. Do you know who else in Spain traditionally performed violent acts against bulls for enterrtainment? Catalonia. The centuries old practise of Bullfighting was canned in 2012 and wouldn’t you know it, Catalonia still retained its Spanish heritage. Astonishing. So if Catalonia can shed its gory association with the past and still retain their identity, why is tradition an acceptable excuse for morbid cruelty in other cultures? Even in Australia, our very own

Robert Borsak of the Shooters and Fishers Party uses the flimsy excuse that shooting animals for sport is part of our ‘culture’, therefore a relevant practise for Australians in this age where we no longer need to fight for survival. Why are we so intimidated by questioning these bullshit excuses for asserting man’s selfappointed dominance over the animal kingdom? Clearly there is enough brutality in the world without the need to perpetuate a ridiculous hoax about a fabricated species of dolphin. If we’re going to get carried away and project hate on a society, then at the very least we should get our facts straight. Even better, let’s not support these practises. We all like to immerse ourselves in a bit

of culture, but use your tourist dollars for good and do your research before travelling somewhere. When you buy shit from the shops, check to make sure it’s not tested on animals and ensure it is sustainably sourced. I’ve said it time and time again – our treatment of the vulnerable, of the marginalised and of those who cannot defend themselves is a reflection on us as a society. We are taking a backward step in evolution by selling short our capacity for empathy and decency. We are surrounded by practises which appeal to the lowest common denominator, and those who stand by and do nothing are the enablers. So don’t be a dick. Do the right thing by the animals.

GEMMA DAVIES

CHEEKY CHAPTERS

On and Off

The Field

o you’ve met this great guy right? He’s charming, sexy as fuck, has a lovely family, stable job and great mates. So great that within the first month they’re not only his best mates, but yours too! You now know them all as Bazza, Lazza and Wazza. You also know the colour of their favourite undies, what cologne they wear and when they last did a shit on the toilet. Why? Because they can’t seem to all get enough of each other. Unfortunately, it’s entirely different for you. As much as you love your boyfriend and hanging out with his mates, it takes it’s toll. To be quite frankly Bazza smells funny, Lazza’s jokes are just cringe worthy and Wazza is just a little too obsessed with ‘boys nights out’. A month ago, my sister Charlotte called me crying. Her boyfriend’s best mate Sam was being a complete wanker… Now, good old Sam is the Alpha male of this boys group. Sam and his mates are from a rural country town of Victoria. They have grown up playing footy and getting fucked up on the weekends. They all then congressed to Melbourne and the same pattern continued. Sam has always enjoyed maintaining order and control. He would round up his 56

gang and they’d get fucked up, go to the strippers, get roots and just have the boys by his side 24/7. They have always been a boysy crew, who never really had chick mates, besides the odd floaters here and there, who they had already ‘tapped.’ And spending quality time together meant that they would go out and destroy the town with their testosterone. Sam and his mates are all now 27. Now generally speaking, there is a point in every male’s life (which would be now) that it’s time to break away from the pack and find a mate, because at the end of the day, his mate will tame all those raging testosterone and balance him out. Sure, there will always be the odd sock, who ventures out into the wilderness and remains single for the rest of his life, however it’s not so common. Unfortunately exhibit A – Sam’s group, are failing to miss the memo and are still caught up in his little boys world, of sticking with the gang, because quite frankly, girls are just way too gay to hang out with. Their group has now evolved into a men’s club mentality. Sam’s not ‘rooting bitches’ anymore, as he has lovely young lass by his side. However, he still continues to maintain order and control

of the pack, which includes their gross idea of ‘boys night out/bonding’. My sister met Max, Sam’s best mate five years ago. Max grew an instant liking to her and so she was included in on boy’s activities. Let’s be honest; if she weren’t, then she probably would have never gotten to see Max. Sam, being Mr. Big Dick, did not like that very much and said, ‘Mate, fuck Charlotte. I need my single buddy to party with.’ My sister and Max had only been dating for six months at the time, so she had already put in the groundwork of pretending to love footy, cricket, chatting about porn and sinking just as much piss as the boys do. So when she heard this, she was pretty fucking pissed right off. Like alright, she got it... Sam probably wanted to suck his own mate’s dicks for a living. And he convinced the boys that if they didn’t do it in return, then they were banished from this very special boys group. And the boys did it. So it was all one big orgy of dick sucking (well not really, but you get my gist – they were obsessed with each other). So as Charlotte continued to date Max, boy’s nights continued. However she was never invited! Why? Because they would go out and just get super fucked at the clubs (sometimes including strippers) with one rule ‘no girls allowed.’ Max eventually broke away from the group and allowed one-on-one time with Charlotte. Initially, Sam and the group were constantly harassing Max and telling him he was a shit bloke for not attending these ‘fortnightly fuck-up’s’ even though he was still living and spending other ‘boy time’ with them.

My sister and Max attended our little brothers 21st birthday party in the city. Max’s mates were out also partying, having their boy’s night only whilst girlfriends stayed at home! Sam contacted Max and had a ‘firm word’ with him, explaining that seeing though they’re all in the city, that Max needed to escape Charlottes family and come get fucked up with the boys. When Max questioned whether it was okay to just come after the 21st and bring Charlotte, Sam’s response was, ‘Nah fuck that man. Get rid of her, she’ll cock block us from having a good time. Boys night only. Alright? We are going clubbing.’ Max never bothered replying. Now clubbing always meant that the guys would stumble into some sweaty, stained, infested strip club, where you could smell dirty vagina from twenty metres away. So that’s why Sam never wanted girlfriends there.

So you’re wondering why my sister was upset a month ago?

I decided to do some research behind who exactly are continuing these trends right until the age of thirty, who has given the boys nights the flick and who never really did it, because they found other cool shit to entertain their minds with. And what I have discovered is that the men, who are >

Five years on and she has still been dealing with Fuckhead, supercharged dick Sam. She had finally thought that him having a girlfriend would calm him down, but apparently not.

Okay so before you boy’s jump down my throat and tell me the importance of bonding time with guy mates, don’t, because I already know! In fact, for all you females out there, male bonding once a week leads to a healthy and successful life-long marriage/relationship. Which also applies to women. I understand that males need their friends to relax, burp, fart and talk smack with. Just as much as we need our female pals to chew ears off about weird trends that are going around. It’s normal. What I don’t find normal is the immaturity or tacky idea that lies behind full-grown men, who are still doing ‘boys night’ out on the town. It’s desperate. And embarrassing to the female race who are dating these knob jockeys.

continuing the boy’s club trend/must stay with the pack, are the ones who have grown up or still immersed within a football-club culture. Football is a team sport, and so it is conducive to a pack mentality. Unfortunately, this pack mentality translates off the field too. Hence the fact that they continue the testosterone-filled minds into all types of clubs with every type of woman except their own girlfriends. It’s strange, because I have noticed in my time of dating country and city boys, it seems to be a stronger trend with boys from the country. I find that country men have unfortunately used sport to enforce their idea of masculinity. That’may be because country towns are very limited in recreational and social options whilst young teens are growing up, which somehow gives them a warped perception that at the age of thirty it’s still cool to get super drunk and creep on strippers. The culture has taught these young men that the kind of masculinity seen in football is macho men, blokes, and rough men without much respect for women and are also caught up on the traditional ways of ‘the women being in the kitchen’ attitude, which teaches young men that they are the winners and the best, therefore they can do whatever they want. They can disrespect women, pull stupid pranks on their mates, and whilst drunk, perform dumb acts, like defacing other people’s property, just for a laugh. In all these cases, it’s not actually about the act itself, it’s about the men and their disturbing/stupid way of ‘bonding’ with each other. 58

No wonder women are always questioning when men are ever going to grow the fuck up? This social issue of the football club culture has been around for decades, however has only been on the forefront within the last few years, thanks to social media awareness and the idiots who are uploading photos/footage on social forums. The unfortunate part is that girlfriends and wives are however, still accepting the stupidity and small-minded actions of these Australian men. Rather than their behaviour being condoned and accepted, their gross and unruly actions should be highlighted as an embarrassment to their peers. Because honestly, it’s time for some of them to just grow up.

SARAH LONG

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