Blank Gold Coast issue # 76 - March 2020 by Blank Street Press

ROY WEN( Music

Sun 22 Mar

VIKA & LINDA

BETWEEN TWO SHORES

Distinctive and emotionally charged, this is the story of their journey. BOOK BOOKNOW NOW

HHOOTTAA. .CCOOM M. .AAUU

Photo by Sean McDonald

NOITASREVNOC VAC KCIN HTIW RATS-LLA

14â&#x20AC;&#x201C;21 Mar

A SUPERCHARGED DAY OF ESPORTS AND ASIA POP CULTURE

A WEEK OF WORLD CLASS COMEDY ON THE GOLD COAST

Featuring Joel Creasey, Em Rusciano, Matt Okine, Becky Lucas and more.

Check out the dynamic program of live music, eSport challenges, special guests, markets and food treats.

STARRING JOHN BELL AND SIMON TEDESCHI WITH SPECIAL GUEST BLAZEY BEST Be transported back to the Roaring Twenties by this dazzling show of music, song and spoken word.

Support

ECHOES OF THE JAZZ AGE

Jazz/ Spoken Word

Photo by Steve Polydorou

Sat 28 Mar

Festival

Evemt

Sun 15 Mar

SHARE YOUR LOVE FOR LOCAL ARTISTS TOGETHER WE CAN CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THEM TO THRIVE

Your donation will help us support the development of local artists like Maitreyah, Gavin and Kayah. For their story or to donate visit H O TA . C O M . A U / S U P P O R T

Sally Sa | Brothers Cafe Restaurant & Bar 42 Band | White Rhino

SATURDAY 7 MARCH Matty Rogers | Chinderah Tavern

Whistle Dixie + OBI | Miami Marketta

Tahlia Matheson | Twin Towns

Greg J Bryant | Currumbin RSL

WEDNESDAY 11 MARCH

DJ EL.G | Surfers Paradise Beer Garden Jono's Mate Sheep+ Syrup, go on + Honeygum and TYLA | Vinnies Dive Bar

Blonde Chocolate | Burleigh Heads Bowls Club

Cory Hargreaves | Currumbin Beach SLSC

Rockks | Twin Towns

The Accidents | Burleigh Heads Bowls Club

Jet Club Effect | Seagulls Club

Liv Heyer | Kurrawa SLSC

Scott Dalton | Surfers Paradise Beer Garden

Lecia Louise | The Wallaby Hotel

Lima Manu | Surfers Paradise Beer Garden East Side All-Stars Duo | Fishermans Wharf Tavern

WEDNESDAY 4 MARCH Long Gone Daddy's | Twin Towns Atmosphere | Twin Towns

THURSDAY 5 MARCH DJ Suly | Surfers Paradise Beer Garden Gin and Jazz on the Rooftop | The Island

Jason Delphin | Currumbin RSL The Eagels | Tweed Heads Bowls Club

SUNDAY 8 MARCH

Tommy Memphis | Twin Towns The Ocelots | The Scottish Prince

Scott Sullivan | Burleigh Heads Bowls Club Michael Whitmore | Tweed Heads Bowls Club

SATURDAY 14 MARCH Stephen Lovelight | Chinderah Tavern

AGENT 77 | Twin Towns

Gin and Jazz on the Rooftop | The Island

Captain Wow | Burleigh Heads Bowls Club

Free Live Music | Palm Beach SLSC

FRIDAY 13 MARCH

Dusty Boots | Hotel Brunswick

Elephant Rock | Tweed Heads Bowls Club

Justin Livesay | North Kirra Surf Life Saving Club

Ondre Davis | Currumbin RSL

Grunt | Chinderah Tavern

Ziggy McNeill | Hotel Brunswick

DJ EL.G | Surfers Paradise Beer Garden

Rush Hour Band | Tallebudgera SLSC

DJ Chris Black | Surfers Paradise Beer Garden

McKenzie | The Coolangatta Hotel

Unison | White Rhino

Live Music Fridays | Coolangatta Sands Hotel

Nathan Kaye | North Kirra Surf Life Saving Club

Scott Whatman | Twin Towns

Chance Encounter | Ground N Sound

Off The Grid | Advancetown Hotel

Catchpole | Kingscliff Beach Hotel

Lone Wolf | Burleigh Heads Bowls Club

Girl and Girl + Sellin' Petrol + Yonder + Ghost Contest | The Rompa Room

Josh King | Currumbin RSL

The Vampires + Jack Botts Music | Miami Marketta

Jason Delphin | Eddie's Grub House

DJ Suly | Surfers Paradise Beer Garden

Karuah | Currumbin RSL

No Right Turn | The Coolangatta Hotel

Collister & Fix | Dust Temple

Teenage Dads | The Moving Stills The Northern

Devils Kiosk | Bearded Dragon Hotel

Future Haunts + C O L T S + Chutney | Vinnies Dive Bar

Hodads Trio | Twin Towns

Katie Who | Brothers Cafe Restaurant & Bar

Hollie Col | The Northern

Matheson- Brown | North Kirra Surf Life Saving Club

Live Music Fridays | Coolangatta Sands Hotel

Who's Charlie | Kingscliff Beach Hotel

Bella Paton | Currumbin RSL

DJ Chris Black | Surfers Paradise Beer Garden

Gold Coast Muso's Jam | Saltwater

THURSDAY 12 MARCH

Loud Goes Bang + The Arturos + Unkle Unit + Persons Unknown | The Rompa Room

James D'Khan | Currumbin RSL

KRUSH | Advancetown Hotel

The Black Creek Band | Twin Towns

Plumb Loco | Twin Towns

Lima Manu | Surfers Paradise Beer Garden

Gold Coast Muso's Jam | Saltwater

Felicity Lawless | Currumbin RSL

The Honey Sliders | Hotel Brunswick

TUESDAY 10 MARCH

Rude Rum | Hotel Brunswick

Swizzle | Burleigh Bears

Phil & Tilley | Brothers Cafe Restaurant & Bar

Jade Holland | Kingscliff Beach Hotel

Jack O'Leary + The Gypsy Clovers | Rowan Robinson Park

Backbeat | Hotel Brunswick

Will Scarlet & Slink Noise Band | Twin Towns

Jackson James Smith | Surfers Paradise Beer Garden

Lisa Hunt | Fishermans Wharf Tavern

Keza | Burleigh Heads Bowls Club

Massive Fergusons | The Coolangatta Hotel

Floorburners | Twin Towns

The Dan Clark Band | Kingscliff Beach Hotel 3's Company | Twin Towns

SUNDAY 15 MARCH

Division 4 | The Coolangatta Hotel Conrad Sewell | Kingscliff Beach Hotel 42 Band | White Rhino

Greer Sullivan | Kurrawa SLSC

Lima Manu | Surfers Paradise Beer Garden The Dirty Dukes | Bearded Dragon Hotel Jason Delphin | Brothers Cafe Restaurant & Bar Rockin Eddie Band

| Twin Towns

Montana Duo | Fishermans Wharf Tavern Follow the Fox | Chinderah Tavern Gavin Doniger | North Kirra Surf Life Saving Club

TUESDAY 17 MARCH Criolo + FOLIA's Entertainment + Brazos - Melbraza | Miami Marketta

Venus Envy | Twin Towns

SUNDAY 22 MARCH

Swizzle | Tweed Heads Bowls Club

Katie Who | Currumbin RSL

The Daisy Dukes | Advancetown Hotel

DJ Suly | Surfers Paradise Beer Garden

Dave Gray | Tweed Heads Bowls Club

The Strides | Hotel Brunswick

Russell Morris | The Wallaby Hotel

DJ Chris Black | Surfers Paradise Beer Garden

Lily Budiasa | Currumbin RSL

Danny Doon | North Kirra Surf Life Saving Club Jackson James Smith | Surfers Paradise Beer Garden The Witching Hour + Concrete Palms + Nonberk + The Aunties | The Rompa Room

Lima Manu | Surfers Paradise Beer Garden Planet of the 8s + Gutterfire + Rinser| Mo's Desert Clubhouse Free Live Music | Palm Beach SLSC

FRIDAY 27 MARCH Gold Coast Muso's Jam | Saltwater

Grant Carruthers | Currumbin RSL

Celtic Counts | The Coolangatta Hotel

Marco | Tweed Heads Bowls Club

WEDNESDAY 18 MARCH

Battlesnake | The Northern

The Mustangs | Twin Towns

Marshall & the Fro | Kingscliff Beach Hotel Dan Hannaford | Currumbin RSL

Jolley Wild | Brothers Cafe Restaurant & Bar

The Exploited | The Coolangatta Hotel

Benny D Williams | Brothers Cafe Restaurant & Bar

Jason Towers | Burleigh Heads Bowls Club

THURSDAY 19 MARCH

David Lee Duo | Burleigh Heads Bowls Club

Jon J Bradley | Kingscliff Beach Hotel

Gin and Jazz on the Rooftop | The Island

Josh Hamilton | Kingscliff Beach Hotel

Gavin Doniger | North Kirra Surf Life Saving Club

DJ Suly | Surfers Paradise Beer Garden

Jake Meywes | Twin Towns

Dezzie D & The Stingrays | Twin Towns

Jackson James Smith | Surfers Paradise Beer Garden

The Badloves + Jacobs Run | The Wallaby Hotel

Gold Coast Muso's Jam | Saltwater

Mondo Rock | CBD Live

Mudslide | Twin Towns

Dave Gray | Tweed Heads Bowls Club

Cadence | Chinderah Tavern

Tahlia Matheson | Currumbin RSL

42 Band | White Rhino

The Mojo Dolls | Twin Towns

SATURDAY 28 MARCH

Push | Hotel Brunswick RJ Unplugged | Bearded Dragon Hotel Scott Dalton | Surfers Paradise Beer Garden DJ EL.G | Surfers Paradise Beer Garden

FRIDAY 20 MARCH

Venus Envy | Twin Towns

Live Music Fridays | Coolangatta Sands Hotel

Stowaways | Burleigh Heads Bowls Club

Disco Disciples | Jacobs Well Bayside Tavern

Benny O'Dwyer | Currumbin RSL

Nathan Kaye | North Kirra Surf Life Saving Club Fuzz Toads + Rinser + Giant Dwarf + Mage | The Rompa Room

Violent Femmes | Miami Marketta Unison | White Rhino Brett Hammond | Kurrawa SLSC

MONDAY 23 MARCH Jack O'Leary | D'Arcy Arms Irish Pub

TUEDAY 24 MARCH Dennis Cuthel | Twin Towns

WEDNESDAY 25 MARCH Good Company | Twin Towns Point Blank | Twin Towns

THURSDAY 26 MARCH Kafoa McCoy | Twin Towns

Naomi Connell | Currumbin RSL

The New Wave Order | Eddie's Grub House

Danny Dyson | Surfers Paradise Beer Garden

Gypsy Clovers | Tweed Heads Bowls Club

Live Music Thursdays | White Rhino

Jackson James Smith | Surfers Paradise Beer Garden

BULLHORN + Jordan Mac | Kingscliff Beach Hotel

Gin and Jazz on the Rooftop | The Island

Gregg Peterson | Chinderah Tavern

Live Music Fridays | Coolangatta Sands Hotel

Raff De | Burleigh Heads Bowls Club

Little Stevie & The Tailfins | Twin Towns

Off The Grid | Currumbin RSL

SUNDAY 29 MARCH

DJ Chris Black | Surfers Paradise Beer Garden

The Exploited | The Coolangatta Hotel

Caught in the Act | Tweed Heads Bowls Club

Matty Rogers | Hotel Brunswick

42 Band | White Rhino

Cadence | Hotel Brunswick

Cowboys and Injuries + Drive-Thru | The Rompa Room

BLANK GOLD COAST HAS PARTNERED WITH GIGL TO BRING YOU THE MOST EPIC COMPREHENSIVE GIG GUIDE FOR GOLD COAST TO BYRON BAY Live music happens every night but it can be difficult to find. From punk to rock, hiphop to funk, reggae to jazz, folk to metal and much more, the Gold Coast has has it all. To get full access to the gig guide, join the thousands of music lovers searching for live music on Giglâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s FREE gig guide app and website. You can search gigs by price, genre, location, venue, artist, family friendly events and much more! To get your gig onto the gig guide and in front of thousands of music lovers visit the Blank Gig Guide page or the Gigl website to upload your gig for free!

WWW.CBDLIVE.COM.AU

The epicenter of live music and entertainment in Southport! www.CBDLIVE.com.au

SUN 22 MARCH

SAT 2 MAY

SAT 30 MAY

One off QLD Show $55*

Best of Bublé Tribute Show $20* M | $25* NM

Fleetwood Mac Tribute Show $25* M | $35* NM

SAT 11 JULY

FRI 17 JULY

SAT 15 AUGUST

ABBA Tribute direct from Sweden $60*

Rebecca O’Conner as Tina Turner $25* M | $35* NM

Never Again 2020 Tour $60*

Managing Editor: Natalie O’Driscoll Creative Director: Chloe Popa Advertising & Partnerships Manager: Amanda Gorman Partnerships, Social Media & Live Team Coordinator: Simone Gorman-Clark

QUEENSLAND SKA & REGGAE FESTIVAL HITS SOUNDLOUNGE

TeamWriters: Anthony Gebhardt, Zac Fahey & Kris Peters

Australian rocksteady and reggae heavyhitters King Tide are coming to the Gold Coast for one night only. They are joined by ska sensation The Sunny Coast Rude Boys who will have the dance floor rocking with old skool ska & 2Tone. Kicking off the night are the legendary 4'20 Sound from Byron Bay. If you are in for a big night out of great music and good vibes, the Queensland Ska and Reggae Festival is definitely for you. Happening at Soundlounge on 3 April. Tickets over at soundlounge.oztix.com.au.

Intern: Amaya Coburn Contributors (print and online): Anthony Gebhardt, Natalie O’Driscoll, Kris Peters, Zac Fahey, Marj Osborne, Samantha Morris, Kylie Cobb, Pip Andreas, Erin Bourne, Catherine Coburn, Tiffany Mitchell, Naomi Middlebrook, Prudence Clark, Nicole Browne, Amaya Coburn, Melissa Flynn, Niamh Sullivan, Jessie Walter, Simone Gorman-Clark, Leisen Standen, Brendan Shanahan, Sonya Shanahan, Liam Budd, Peter Wheeler, Jodie Bellchambers, Danny Santangelo, Terry ‘Tappa’ Teece.

Editorial: news@blankgc.com.au Advertising: advertising@blankgc.com.au

Acknowledgement of Country We genuinely respect and acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which we work and play. We honour their elders past, present and emerging as well as the rich contribution that continues to be made to society through art, story and music. About us: Blank GC is independently owned and published by Samantha Morris and Chloe Popa. Founded in 2013 we are the Gold Coast’s independent cultural voice and we rely on advertising as well as our generous contributors to keep us in the fray. Opinions expres sed herein are not necessarily those of the editor, publishers or the writing team.

www.blankgc.com.au

Simply quote the code BLANK when you visit Beatniks record store in Niecon Plaza, Victoria Avenue Broadbeach during March, and you’ll get 10% off your total order. How easy is that? #beatniks is a an independent music store specialising in new and preowned vinyl and record players. They also specialise in pre-owned, rare and collectable vinyl LPs & 45s, rock memorabilia and band merchandise, so you can support local, get your vinyl fix AND get a discount all at the same time. Don’t say we never do anything for you. Image by Jake Wilton

Cover photo: Jude Kalman by Whitney Palmer

Gigs: gigs@blankgc.com.au

GET 10% OFF IN STORE AT BEATNIKS FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH

GOLD COAST SUPERHERO WEEKEND IS ALMOST HERE And that means the return of the Supanova Superhero Parade, held in Broadbeach on Sunday 15 March! Shaking and stirring things up in 2020, the parade will be led by none other than Australia’s one and only James Bond, George Lazenby, who will lead a cast of iconic characters such as Optimus Prime, QLD Ghostbusters Franchise and Ecto 1, Star Wars Rebel Legion, Marvel’s Shield, and hundreds of cosplayers through the streets. The party keeps going in Victoria Park with your chance to get up close and personal with the Supanova Superhero Parade Cast. And yes, you can bring the kids along and pretend it was all their idea. Be sure to check out our article in this mag about all the other awesome stuff going down from 13 to 15 March over the rest of Gold Coast Superhero weekend.

DRACULA’S BREATHES NEW LIFE BACK INTO EVENING ENTERTAINMENT Have you caught the new Dracula’s show MUERTOS yet? MUERTOS brings the Mexican dead back to life for an evening of irreverent, unholy hilarity, punctuated with booty-shaking, latin-inspired musical numbers and intense aerial and acrobatic feats. And a scene that’s about as close as you can get to having sex on stage without actually having sex on stage. (Our personal favourite of the night, because we’re perverts). Grab your perverted party buddies and book your table now for MUERTOS over at draculas.com.au.

SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS LINEUP ANNOUNCED Music lovers! The 20th annual Splendour in the Grass Music and Arts Festival returns to its home at North Byron Parklands from Friday 24 to Sunday 26 July with a huge crew of artists including Flume, The Strokes, Tyler The Creator, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Midnight Oil, Glass Animals, Denzel Curry, Duke Dumont Live, Violent Soho and many, many more. Get amongst it. Tix over at moshtix.com.au.

SOMERSET STORYFEST KICKS OFF IN MARCH Delivering a series of literary experiences along with workshops, masterclasses and featured authors, this event nurtures emerging writers and provides opportunities for readers and writers. A full celebration of literature, the Storyfest Writer’s Festival will be held over eight captivating days, 14-21 March on the Gold Coast. For a full program of events, visit storyfest.com.au.

BACKBONE BY GRAVITY & OTHER MYTHS

TRIO OF ROCK LEGENDS HEADLINE SURFERS PARADISE LIVE

LAST CHANCE TO CATCH INFAMOUS!

Rock legends Spiderbait, Jon Stevens and The Angels will headline a super-charged weekend of classic Aussie acts when awardwinning music festival Surfers Paradise LIVE returns in 2020. To be held from 30 April to 3 May, the hugely popular event has assembled one of its best-ever line-ups with much-loved musos Vanessa Amorosi, Mark Seymour and the Undertow and Baby Animals to also light up the main outdoor Beach Stage with more headliners set to be announced soon.

And trust us – we’ve seen it, and you do NOT want to miss out. The risqué and wet-yourpants hilarious adults circus INFAMOUS is on the final shows of its third and (probably) final season here on the Gold Coast. Don’t be that one that doesn’t know what everyone is cracking up about. Our favourite barechested acrobats, naughty clowns and dazzling dancers will be performing their final shows at the Spiegel Big Top at Westfield Helensvale on the original NightQuarter site until Sunday 8 March 2020. Book online at infamous.net.au NOW.

TONI CHILDS RETROSPECTIVE Join the legendary Toni Childs for a special two hour performance as she celebrates hers 30 year anniversary of the critically acclaimed album ‘Union’. Toni will be performing hits and fan favourites from ‘Union’, ‘House of Hope’ and ‘The Woman’s Boat’ in the first hour of her show. The second hour will be an introduction to Toni’s new music, from two very special albums, ‘It’s All Beautiful Noise’ and ‘Citizens of the Planet’. When: Sat 4 Apr at Theatre 1, HOTA. Tickets at hota.com.au.

A high-octane spree of physical virtuosity, Backbone tests the limits of strength: physical, emotional, individual and collective. Staged with a deceptively DIY aesthetic and dispensing of trickery and distraction, this is circus that goes straight for the jugular and leaves no viewer unmoved. Backbone is the culmination of all that’s gone before: a celebration of human connectedness and the meaning of strength, its athletic appeal is run through with a conceptual brilliance that elevates it to a new level. Sexy but sincere, raw yet utterly disciplined, Backbone is proof you can’t do the impossible without spending a little sweat. Presented by Bleach* The Gold Coast Festival, HOTA, Home of the Arts and Griffith University, Backbone will show in Theatre 1 at HOTA on 2 and 3 April. Tickets at hota.com.au.

2019 NLMA's HARD ROCK LIVE ACT OF THE YEAR

BLUES ON BROADBEACH SECOND LINEUP. WELLLL.. KINDA If you’ve been hanging for the second lineup announcement for Blues on Broadbeach since their first epic November announcement, you’re not the only one! While we’re still SUPER excited about Tommy Emmanuel, Gaby Moreno, Karise Eden, Kim Churchill et al.. we’re already frothing for some more! We’ve got to hand it to Duck, the guy knows how to build suspense. Sick of us harassing them, the Blues crew did give us the heads up that they’d be announcing the second lineup… one week after this print edition hits the streets. So, all we can say to you our precious peeps is, head on over to blankgc.com.au on 5 March, and your months of patient waiting will be epically rewarded. Yew!

QUEENSLAND 20/3

GOLD COAST

VINNIES DIVE w/ Special Guests

21/3

BRISBANE

THE FOUNDRY PUNKFEST w/ DICKLORD and MITCH PLEASE

TICKETS VIA OZTIX NEW SINGLE 'SLUT POWER' OUT 14/2/20 Taken from the album 'THE POLICY' facebook.com/glitorisband

instagram.com/glitorisbitchez

www.blankgc.com.au

championing NGOs, and when I saw what the festival was celebrating I thought that was awesome, because it was all about social impact and giving a voice to charities and the whole reason I started FishFilms.” Hence the US trip. And as exciting as it is to have the talent and philanthropic efforts of Gold Coasters recognised at such international and prestigious events, the impact of the work itself is of course the greatest reward for the filmmaker. The promotional film campaign which was filmed for Mission Educate and included ‘Katura’s Story’, anchored a successful fundraising appeal in 2019, as the charity rebuilt the King of Kings school of 2000 students in Beira after it was destroyed by Cyclone Idai.

WORK OF GOLD COAST FILMMAKER JUDE KALMAN IS SCREENED AT UN EVENT

ude Kalman of Gold Coast production house FishFilms recently had her short documentary film ‘Katura’s Story’ selected for screening at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on the 2020 World Day of Social Justice (20 February), where she accompanied the film and presented at various talks throughout the event, which also celebrated 75 years since the forming of the UN. We sat down with Jude as she prepared to fly to the US. As Gold Coast’s leading independent filmmaker, Jude Kalman is definitely more at home while shining a spotlight on others than she is standing in front of one. And when it comes to self-promotion, the same philosophy applies. When I finally twisted her arm into sending me a list of career milestones so I could craft my interview questions, the first thing the ever-cheerful Jude chirped at me in her reply was “I feel like I just vomited on you!” During our interview, she demurred and deflected credit to such a degree that I felt it wise to hold off until the end of the discussion to invite her to be this month’s cover artist. Frankly I didn’t want her falling off her chair from shock before we’d covered off all my questions. Also, I was worried she’d say no. Of course, Jude’s selflessness and humility are just two of her many charms, and she wouldn’t be who she is without them. Besides which, my strategy paid off. (See cover). A film lover since childhood, Jude worked with corporate Gold Coast agency Fotomedia for over a decade, gaining valuable 10

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experience behind the camera on major campaigns with Cancer Council, The Titans, Queensland Government and even getting to spend one unforgettable morning on the beach with Chris Hemsworth. Superheroey perks aside, it ended up being the charity aspect of things that beckoned, and following a 2010 job in Africa with microfinance agency Opportunity International, a flame was ignited within Jude that simply refused to be extinguished, and FishFilms was born. “I realised I could use my skill set to give a voice to charities and non-profits,” said Jude. She credits her leanings towards philanthropy in large part to her upbringing. “Both my parents were refugees from Hungary,” she explained. “Dad escaped from World War II by himself and was shot in the head while escaping, and Mum escaped with her family. “I don’t think I ever realised until I started travelling - and especially now that I’m doing stuff with refugees and immigrants – ‘wow that was my Mum and Dad’, but yeah, I probably unknowingly had that in me all the time, because I grew up hearing my Dad’s story especially. My Mum doesn’t tell you too much.” Africa has formed the main focus of Jude’s professional filming efforts, with documentary ‘Aussie Mum African Heart’ gaining mainstream attention after airing on Channel 9 in 2017. This would be Jude’s first collaboration with journalist Carrie-Anne Greenbank, but not her last. I asked her what it is about Africa in particular that keeps drawing her back. “Definitely the people! They’re super beautiful people. They are so creative and

entrepreneurial. They’ll make something out of nothing, they’re the biggest MacGyvers out there! (laughs). And I love the adventure, you never know what you’re in for.” The ‘Uncontained Love’ project followed, a series of three short documentaries about a family from the Gold Coast who for over a decade have quietly driven an initiative that delivers shipping containers filled with educational supplies, medical equipment and other household goods to communities in need throughout Africa. Then in 2018, a Mozambique trip took place, during which Jude filmed for Mission Educate, an Australian aid organisation which aims to change lives through the education of children in developing nations. ‘Katura’s Story’, the short film which was screened at the UN, was shot during this trip, and tells the story of King of Kings school in Beira, Mozambique, and of Tallai student Katura Halleday who fundraised to assist some of the students there, and accompanied Jude on the trip to meet them in person. “’Katura’s Story’ is a sweet story about a girl, quintessentially,” explained Jude. Characteristically self-deprecating, she didn’t expect it to have much of an impact outside of the circles in which it had already travelled, and had moved onto a new project after handing it over. However, unbeknownst to Jude, her husband had submitted ‘Katura’s Story’ into the LAMPA Film Festival in Russia, where it won the short documentary category, qualifying it for selection at the United National Headquarters screening. “At first I was a bit shocked!” Jude acknowledged. “But when I saw that it was associated with a conference that was

“You can’t take education away from a kid,” stated Jude. “And that nation has definitely got a lot of rebuilding to do, but the Mozambiquans are equipped to do it now. They only got education in the 1970s, they didn’t see the value of it before, but now they do, because the school is established and they’ve seen graduation, they’ve seen kids go through right through, they’ve got TAFE, they’re teaching engineering, agriculture, diesel mechanics.

“It’s that transference of education, to skill, to action, when something like the cyclone happens and they’ve got to build from the bottom up. Aid will help so much but then they also have the resources to get up and build again themselves.” Jude has also travelled to Kenya and South Sudan to profile the work of Gold Coast social enterprise Nice Coffee Co in a short film, which has since featured in national media. Along with fellow collaborators Whitney Palmer and Carrie-Anne Greenbank she also produced a coffee table book for Nice Coffee Co, proceeds of which go to support the community of Kibera, Nairobi, the largest urban slum in Africa. Jude contributed to the poetry and writings in the book, proving herself a woman of multiple talents, not that she’d ever admit it. But although she describes things like working on the book, and heading to the UN as “dreams”, she keeps coming back to one idea, over and over. “I’d just rather be in the trenches,” she says simply. No kidding. Natalie O’Driscoll

To learn more about Jude and to support any of the multiple causes that her work highlights, head on over to fishfilms.com.au.

BRINGING FILMS TO LIFE 15-26 APRIL 2020 CLUELESS ON THE ROOFTOP

FLOATING CINEMA: THE HANGOVER

MOVIE & MUSIC TRIVIA

Friday 17 April Australia Fair Shopping Centre

Friday 24 April Sea World Cruises

Tuesday 21 April Fixx Bar, QT Gold Coast

$35

It’s time to grab your bestie and celebrate like Cher and Dionne with a special screening of Clueless, set against the city lights at this popup rooftop cinema at Australia Fair. Tickets include guaranteed beanbag seating, complimentary drink on arrival and movie screening under the stars or upgrade to VIP seating in a brand new MINI.

$35

Wolfpack assemble! It’s time to party like it’s ‘09 with the hilarious Las Vegas buddy comedy, The Hangover. Sit back, under the stars while watching the wildest bachelor party unfold on screen as you cruise the Broadwater drinking Vegas themed cocktails and eating complimentary nachos and popcorn.

$14

We’re on a mission to crown Gold Coast’s ultimate film and music trivia champions and want to have a lot of fun along the way. Teams of between two and six will come together for a night of cold hard facts and epic prizes presented in partnership with Gold Coast Music Awards and QT Gold Coast.

EXPLORE THE PROGRAM AT www.gcfilmfestival.com MAJOR PARTNERS

EVENT PARTNERS

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In a modern society that is becoming increasingly sanitised, Glitoris are a refreshing refusal to conform to expectations. They won't say anything they are not prepared to back up, and refuse to even contemplate censoring their views to appease the masses.

BRING THE SLUT POWER TO VINNIES D ubbed the 'Queens of Australian Punk', Canberra punk rockers Glitoris are four fierce female musicians preparing to embark on a massive 16 date national tour on the back of their recently released single 'Slut Power', a song that best typifies Glitoris and their unapologetic and uncompromising stance on feminism. "It is a very powerful song," affirmed guitarist/vocalist Andrew Glitoris. "It has a slower than average tempo which was quite deliberate. We wanted it to be driving and relentless and heavy and we also wanted the music to build dynamically, simultaneous to the way that violence against women starts and ends.” “That's why the first verse is quite sparse musically. It starts with just words that are drawn from a lexicon that we feel is used to undermine and demean and unfairly critique women. It builds and gets more intense so by the second verse it's about how capitalism is structured and so many billions of dollars are

"We released our debut EP in 2016 and ‘The Policy’ in 2018," Andrew said proudly. "We're now in 2020 and embarking on the biggest tour we've ever done. We won the National live music award Hard Rock Act of the year last year and our fan base is increasing every week.

made in that system of making women feel terrible about themselves.

slandered for it. It ain't pretty but I wouldn't call us a pretty band."

“Everywhere we look, every second of the day someone is telling us that there's something wrong with us and we need to spend money to fix it. The song builds into full-blown rage by the third verse because we're told that when violence is committed against us - whether that's verbal, psychological, sexual or physical - that it's our fault.

Glitoris have established a strong reputation as a ferocious live act, with their political views and subject matter given greater meaning in a live setting.

“That's what 'Slut Power' is about. It's about the slow burn of violence against women. We have the right to live our lives free from violence; we have the right to choose; we have the right to express ourselves sexually without being attacked or targeted or

"We've completely overhauled our show for this tour," Andrew said. "It's gonna take the form of a protest. We're sick of this government and the sheer inaction on climate change; the repression of our human rights and the slow erosion of those rights. We are watching everything that a progressive Western society has worked towards unravelling and we are over it. Fans can expect us to be on pretty rousing and combative form."

“I think it's because we are willing to put our necks on the block and we're willing to stand up and say things that maybe some people might be thinking, but it does take courage. We have been trolled pretty badly at times but that's part of it. We don't care. It's not gonna stop us. We won't be censored. “Again, the patriarchy thrives on women being silent and telling women they must be silent and we won't be. That's over. We will not sit quietly and acquiesce to the wants and needs of men in leadership roles." Kris Peters

The band members of Glitoris use pseudonyms inspired by Australian politics: Andrew, Tony, Keven 007 and Malcolm. Catch the ferocious foursome when they hit Vinnies for their Slut Power tour on 20 March. Tix through OzTix.

Simon & Garfunkel THROUGH THE YEARS

imon & Garfunkel: Through the Years has been lauded as the most authentic sounding tribute concert in the world, and it’s making a Gold Coast stop as part of a national tour in March.

Collectively known as Bookends, Dan Haynes and Pete Richards have been fronting Simon & Garfunkel: Through the Years since its creation in 2011. Much like their idols, they became friends at school and could not resist singing together from a tender age. Performing the songs in a truly captivating way, against a backdrop of iconic imagery, their delicate recreation of the unmistakable sound of the American folk-rock duo is something of a masterpiece. Simon & Garfunkel: Through The Years features stunning vocal harmonies from world-class musicians, and transports audiences on a journey through the epic songs and history of the muchloved Simon and Garfunkel. 12

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The show is a celebration of the unprecedented rise to fame of two boys from Queens, New York, who went on to become the most successful folk-rock duo of the 1960s, selling 38 million albums in the US alone, and receiving 10 Grammy Awards. In 1981, they performed to over half a million people in their hometown of New York, and in 1990 were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Alongside stops in London’s West End, the show has toured extensively around the UK, Europe, United States and Australia, attracting packed houses night after night. With consecutive sell-out runs since 2014 at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, they are championed as "one of the best vocal groups touring today", whose sounds are ‘’simply breath-taking’’. Hear many of the hits such as ‘The Sound of Silence’, ‘Mrs Robinson’, ‘The Boxer’ and Bookends’ own beautiful rendition of the unforgettable ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’. This is without doubt the closest thing to Simon & Garfunkel touring the world today. Natalie O’Driscoll

Fans of Simon and Garfunkel are in for a treat when talented duo Bookends hit the The Star Gold Coast on 7 March. Tickets are available now at star.com. au/goldcoast.

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20-LC-00134

Regional Arts Development Fund While itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not all about the money, it certainly helps. If you are a Gold Coast musician, apply for funding to ACTIVATE your big ideas. Applications close: 31 March 2020 cityofgoldcoast.com.au/radf The Regional Arts Development Fund is a partnership between the Queensland Government and the City of Gold Coast to support local arts and culture in regional Queensland.

Photo by Nadia Achilles

TEN BADASS BABES YOU NEED TO CATCH AT BLUESFEST

ith International Women’s Day (IWD) a happening thang on 8 March, we thought we’d shine a spotlight on a selection of the rather exemplary female contingent appearing at Bluesfest 2020. So here’s ten hip and happening femmes that you’d be mad to miss!

AKOVA Barefoot

KoVA is a Gold Coast based artist whose heartfelt music cements him amongst a growing community of conscious musicians eschewing the mainstream and feeding an ever-increasing audience who are dissatisfied with our leaders, our fractured communities and lack of connectedness.

AKoVA’s third album, ‘Barefoot’ was released in May last year, and in it he presents unfeigned music and stories of love, self awareness, spirituality, and the planet. His style is folk / roots / dance / alt pop with clear influences of Donovan Leitch and Bob Dylan. This is a diverse album that holds the listener’s attention throughout. AKoVA is not afraid to change up tempo and beat in his songs ‘Butterfly’, ‘Who Am I?’ ‘We are the Only’, and ‘The Space Between’. He keeps up a hypnotic dance beat in ‘Flow’ and ‘We Are the Only’ and shares poetic spoken word in ‘Butterfly’, ‘Quotes’, and ‘Earthrecruit’. He’s also not afraid to explore his dark side on the songs ‘Fears’ and ‘Two Legged Freak’. However, the single ‘Headlights’ shines (pardon the pun) as the standout track on ‘Barefoot’. The video of the song states at the beginning “My Daughter asked me ‘Dad, how do I know if this guy is the one?’. This is my reply...” The song then presents itself as a beautiful love letter from a father to a daughter. AKoVA is a sentient musician who deserves his place amongst his contemporaries such as Xavier Rudd and Nahko Bear in helping to uplift and bring communities together, and hopefully bring about positive change. Pip Andreas

Ani Difranco (performing on Bluesfest Saturday and Sunday): An artist who’s always played things strictly on her own terms (she famously turned down a major label recording contract at age 20, preferring instead to start her own record label, which she still runs today), Ani Difranco is a muchloved visitor to these shores. Known for her genre blending approach to her craft, her folk/roots/jazz/rock hybrid, curated from across her 20 album career, will no doubt be one of THE highlights of Bluesfest 2020. Righteous Babe! Brandi Carlile (performing on Bluesfest Friday): Having recently performed with the incomparable Mavis Staples, Brandi Carlile is an artist who continues to go from strength to strength. With six albums and multiple Grammy Award nominations to her credit, her genre hopping roots-based style and dynamic live performances have seen her exalted across stages around the world. Last year she also formed the country supergroup The Highwomen, together with Amanda Shires, Mareen Morris and Natalie Hemby. Be sure to get a shot of Brandi! Buffy Sainte-Marie (performing on Bluesfest Friday and Sunday): Pioneering CanadianAmerican First Nations artist Buffy SainteMarie is known for her tireless activism as well as her exemplary music, which she’s been performing since the 60’s. Best known for numbers such as ‘Universal Soldier’ and ‘Up Where We Belong’, her most recent album, ‘Medicine Songs’, was yet another high watermark release for this enduring and socially conscious performer. Buffy will slay! Emily Wurramara (performing on Bluesfest Sunday): Our very own Emily Wurramara, hailing from the Northern Territory, is set to captivate Bluesfest 2020 with her spellbinding live performance, which she sings in both English and her traditional language, Anindilyakwa. Her debut EP, ‘Big Smoke’, blew up bigtime and she’s also been chosen to support none other than Grammy Award winning musical legend Mavis Staples on her upcoming Australian tour. Erja Lyytinen (performing on Bluesfest Thursday, Friday and Saturday): Hailing all the way from Finland, this sassy singer, songwriter and six string shredder is one of the world’s up and coming blues guitar maestros, having recently polled 14th in Guitar World’s ’30 Best Blues Guitarists in the World Right

Now’. She’s collaborated with a host of legends throughout Europe for over a decade, including performing with Carlos Santana in front of 20 000 people in her homeland in 2018. Sure to be one of ‘the’ discoveries of Bluesfest 2020. Larkin Poe (performing on Bluesfest Saturday and Monday): Nashville roots rock duo Larkin Poe, fronted by sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell, have been referred to as “the little sisters of The Allman Brothers.” Having been anointed as the ‘best discovery’ of the 2014 Glastonbury Festival, the sassy sisters have also achieved fame as in-demand backing musicians for a host of artists, including our own Keith Urban. If Southern harmonies and slide riffs are your thing, you won’t want to be missing out on a dose of Larkin Poe. Morgane Ji (performing on Bluesfest Friday, Saturday and Sunday): For those with a taste for the exotic and tribal, meet Morgane Ji, a shamanic practitioner of world electronica mixed with pop/rock smarts and filtered through her incredible vocal range. Be entranced by this magical performer of African, Indian and Asian background. Patti Smith (performing on Bluesfest Saturday): New York’s poetic high priestess of literate rock may be navigating her seventh decade, but the passion and fire still burns strong, as anyone who witnessed her incendiary performance at the festival in 2017 can attest to. In a word – unmissable! Tal Wilkenfeld (performing on Bluesfest Saturday and Monday): Tal is a lady of the bass and a damn impressive one at that. Her collaborative CV makes for impressive reading – Eric Clapton, Prince, Jeff Beck, Mick Jagger and Herbie Hancock to name a few. She recently released her vocal debut album, the riff-tastic ‘Love Remains’, to much fanfare. Her live show is sure to be one of the most talked about at the rockier end of the Bluesfest spectrum. Yola (performing on Bluesfest Thursday, Friday and Sunday): On the rise UK songstress Yola has a voice steeped in the classic sounds of soul, while her music, also channels a contemporary blend of sweeping strings and twangy, six string country-noir. Her impressive debut album, ‘Walk Through Fire’, was recorded in conjunction with the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach and came out on his record label. One to watch. Anthony Gebhardt

Also a big shout out to all the other exemplary female artists on the Bluesfest 2020 bill, including big ticket headliner Alanis Morissette, Dami Im, Tori Kelly, Roshani and our own dynamic duo Hussy Hicks, to name just a few. Bluesfest hits Byron over the Easter weekend this 9-14 April. Tickets at bluesfest.com.au.

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Vika and Linda

BETWEEN TWO SHORES

or more than 30 years, the glorious voices of Vika and Linda Bull have comprised one of the most distinctive, versatile and emotionally charged sounds on the Australian music landscape. Since their multi-platinum conquest of pop radio with the Black Sorrows in the late 1980s, the sisters have forged diverse pathways into soul, gospel, rock, country and the island music of their Tongan ancestry.

Now in their new show Between Two Shores, the sisters tell their own story as they see it, blending together narratives from their own lives and career with their unique vocals and instinctive harmonies through an evocative, moving selection of songs and personal stories.

“Mum is such a proud Tongan woman,” Vika tells us. “She taught us the customs, and took us there to live and learn the language, and Dad’s always had a big love for the Tongan people and always welcomed them in his home, and it’s always just been the case that we’ve had two cultures.

Premiering at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival in June 2019, and followed by a sell-out season at Arts Centre Melbourne in November, Between Two Shores is coming to the HOTA Theatre for one special night in March.

“Especially when we were made to go to the church, the Tongan choir would come back afterwards and sing their songs and Mum would always be playing her Tongan tapes, so we got to hear the Tongan harmony, which was quite a beautiful thing to listen to but we felt we were ‘forced’ to listen to it as children. We never appreciated what they were trying to do back then. Kids have no idea.”

We caught up with Vika Bull and asked her to tell us a little more about the show. “Well it’s about mine and Linda’s musical journey from childhood to now, and how much our parents influenced us, our church, and television and the bands we grew up with. “It’s half originals and half covers, music that were kind of forced to listen to as children (chuckles), music we watched as teenagers… our musical life, basically!” This retrospective was prompted by the sister’s friend and director of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival, Julia Zemiro, who asked Vika and Linda to do show for last year’s event. “Julia came up with the idea,” explains Vika. “And it took a couple of months to figure it out. Linda and I have very different taste in music. Linda loves the singers like Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, Emmy Lou Harris and Willie Nelson. I love Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Ruth Brown, and rock n roll singers like Robert Plant and Bon Scott. “And that’s how we sing – she’s more of a belter, she can sing a beautiful ballad and a power ballad. But then there’s great singers we both love, like Nina Simone, so we had a lot to choose from to make it an hour and a half, and we had to cut it down a fair bit.” Of course it’s not just other artists that will be featured on the show, with Vika and Linda having a back catalogue of four studio albums of their own to choose from, the writing of which was shaped not just by the previously mentioned influences of the sisters, but by their mother’s Tongan heritage. 18

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I ask Vika to encapsulate in just a few sentences, if she can, the experience that first brought the Bull sisters into the public eye and into their greatest period of mainstream success, which was their time with Joe Camilleri and The Black Sorrows. She sighs. “Ah we were so young, we just went for the ride. It was so incredible. We joined that band when Joe was making ‘Hold Onto Me’ and the minute that album came out and became huge, things just changed. We started touring the world, it just hit us in the face. “Success came very very quickly, we were 19 and 21, and being looked after, taken out for dinner every night. We were spoilt basically, and we thought that was the way it was always going to be! “But Joe’s a real workhorse and it was the best lesson we ever got, being in that band. We worked six nights a week, he showed us how to watch every penny and those guys were all older and they looked after us, made sure we didn’t get caught in the traps, we were really lucky, and it’s an experience I treasure immensely.”

While the Bull sisters treasure their time as collaborators and back up singers, it’s time in the studio together that is something they’re truly excited about. “We’ve been very lucky to be able to work with so many different people,” says Vika, “but I haven’t worked with just Linda for 19 years, so that’s what really I’m looking forward to this year. We’re ready to go into the studio, starting recording in June.” Natalie O’Driscoll

So hopefully, once you’ve caught the stunning 30 year retrospective Between Two Shores at HOTA Theatre on 22 March, there will be some new tunes released to check out by the end of this year, which also means more tunes for the 40 year retrospective. Vika’s in, she says. Ticket for Between Two Shores are available now at hota.com.au.

In fact, that lack of appreciation and even shame in their heritage as children was something that Vika and Linda even wrote a song about – ‘Grandpa’s Song’ off their 1997 album ‘Princess Tabu’. It tells the story of their grandfather coming to pick Vika up from school in year one while visiting from Tonga, and her marching straight past him in embarrassment. “That was a pretty a big regret in my life that I did that to him, and he was really proud and he came to Australia to meet us. I was the only Tongan kid in school and I copped a lot of shit for being brown and to have this even browner Polynesian man standing at the school gate to pick me up was so much worse! Oh. “So many kids go through that though, I’ve had people come up to me and say ‘I’m Italian and I had the same experience, because my dad used to pick me up in a Monaro’.” I immediately feel so very sad for all the tiny children out there bearing a burden of shame that should rightfully be borne instead by a culture that raises children who think it’s okay ostracise and shame others their physical differences, so we quickly move on to one of her life’s highlights instead.

“We’ve been very lucky to be able to work with so many different people,” says Vika, “but I haven’t worked with just Linda for 19 years, so that’s what really I’m looking forward to this year. We’re ready to go into the studio, starting recording in June.” to for

Summertime Sessions IN THE VILLAGE

PM 5:30-7:30eerab FRIDAYS| SWAN a LANE | Mudg

CUDDIHY PARK VIBEs AND WATCH live music FOR FREE GOOD YOUR BRING Feb 14

Haylee Grace & the Bay collective + Brooke Supple M.E. Baird + SUE-ANNE STEWART

Feb 7

FEBRUARY 29 MUDGEERABA BLUES ROCK, WALLABY HOTEL, RAILWAY STREET, MUDGEERABA 1pm to midnight. Free entry. Three stages, 10 bands, 11 hours of music, food and craft brews. www.wallabyhotel.com.au/ events/mudgeeraba-blues-rock MARCH SUMMERTIME SESSIONS IN THE VILLAGE, CUDDIHY PARK, SWAN LANE, MUDGEERABA 5.30 – 7.30. Free family event. Face painting for children

MARCH 6 NATURALLY GC PLATYPUS APPRECIATION DAY MUDGEERABA MUSIC CENTRE, SOMERSET DRIVE, MUDGEERABA

nurtures emerging writers and provides opportunities for readers and writers.

Feb 21

Josh Lovegrove + Kate Leopold

Feb 28

The Long Johns + Haylee Coulter

Mar 6

Minnie Marks + Hussy Hicks

www.facebook.com/ somersetstoryfest/

Mar 13

The Brothers Calling + Salt & Steel CC THE CAT + BUTTERED BAND

9.30am – 11.30am

MARCH 22 ROUND 2 - FLIRT WITH DIRT, HOSTED BY WILDL EARTH, HIINTERLAND REGIONAL PARK

Learn more about the local Platypus population and what you can do to help. Free kids Platypus craft and hands on waterbugs activity. www.eventbrite.com.au/e/ naturallygc-platypusappreciation-day-tickets

March 6 / Minnie Marks + Hussy Hicks

MARCH 8 SING SISTERS CASUAL SINGING SESSIONS, MUDGEERABA MUSIC CENTRE

March 13 / The Brothers Calling + Salt & Steel

11.30am

March 20 / Cee Cee Cat + Buttered Band www.facebook.com/ SummertimeSessions/ MARCH 6 POLLY’S TO PAGES PINNACLE GUIDED BUSHWALK, NATURALLYGC LOWER SPRINGBROOK NATIONAL PARK

Join this group designed for women who just want to sing for fun, meeting new friends, building confidence, develop and grow through music and feel good. www.eventbrite.com.au/e/ casual-sing-sisters-sessiontickets

MARCH 18 – 20 SOMERSET STORYFEST, 6am start. Three hour, 12km return. Advanced Difficulty. Meet SOMERSET COLLEGE, at Neranwood carpark (200m MUDGEERABA after Polly’s Country Kitchen). Delivering a series of literary www.cityofgoldcoast.com.au/ experiences along with naturallygc-program workshops, masterclasses and featured authors, this event

Mar 20

#SSITV #Mudgeeraba

4pm Race event which celebrates running in nature for students and athletes who love cross country, outside of normal school and club setting.

14 TO 21 MAR CH 2020

www.flirtwithdirt.com.au/ hinterland-regional-park-rnd-2/– 6.30pm MARCH 22 2020 GOLD COAST SUPERSWAP MEET (AUTOMOBILE RESTORERS ASSOCIATION) MUDGEERABA SHOWGROUNDS, 115 WORONGARY ROAD Vintage / classic cars, car parts, motorbikes, automobilia, bric-abrac, antiques, collectables Public entry from 6am (Adults $5 / children under 5 free) Show ‘n Shine – Open to all vehicles www.latest.facebook.com/ events/509966879827192/

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FACEBOOK somersetstoryfest

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MARCH 28 MUDGEERABA COMMUNITY GEM SHOW, MUDGEERABA SHOWGROUNDS

enjoy live entertainment, barista coffee and cake and barbeque.

8am – 4pm. $5 entry includes one raffle ticket. Dealers available to provide collectors with advice on gemstones, crystals and fossils.

EVERY SATURDAY MUDGEERABA PARKRUN D’ARCY DOYLE PARK, SOMERSET DRIVE, MUDGEERABA

For lapidary hobbyists there will be tools, consumables and machinery for sale. For children there will be a fossicking area. Purhase a bucket of gem wash, sieve and see what gemstone you might find!

communitylapidary@gmail.com

7am – free five kilometre timed run. www.parkrun.com.au/ mudgeeraba/

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ust what are the roles of the arts, and the artists, in our ever changing world? The arts across all mediums play an influential role in our society and have done so across the centuries. Art can shape the way we see the world, provoking new ideas and a fresh understanding of what is going on around us in regard to our sociopolitical climate. On a personal level, through art we as the people feel a sense of belonging and this inspires reform and change. Art provides us with an opportunity to feel comfort and discomfort all at once – encouraging each of us to have a voice. What is the role of an artist in our society? How does art shape our social climate? From where do artists draw hope and inspiration in our current climate? In Part 1 of this discourse, we asked half a dozen female-identifying Gold Coast artists these questions, in honour of International Women’s Day. And here are their responses.

RUTH DELLA POLLY ARMSTRONG Creative Director Music Events / Photographer and Videographer

MELISSA SPRATT Artist

How does art shape our social climate?

Art is and always has been the benchmark and leader of social change. As art is the form of human expression, art is everything we see and share; view and digest. Everything from protest songs, to protest placards to artists raising the most amount of money for bush fire victims as we have seen with the latest fires in Australia. It stretches to the memes, the films and images being shared on social media, it's all been created by artists, thus bringing about awareness of social issues and shaping our social climate.

Art comes in many forms and can, at times, be divisive, but most importantly it brings people of different backgrounds together through shared experience. Over the years I’ve practiced as an emerging artist, teacher and gallery arts worker, I have noticed the one thing that stays constant and universal is our curiosity for the creative. This for me is what shapes our social climate. The curiosity to learn and do, to experience how an artist creates what they do and why they do it.

Curator, Public Art and Outdoor Programming - HOTA Home of the Arts How does art shape our social climate? There is nothing better than a lively conversation with art at the centre to bring people together! Art invites curiosity and consideration and shapes conversations that ultimately feed into a broader social ecology. Give us the strength to change the weather, almighty dragons of the four seas an installation by Jason Phu at HOTA until 15 March, exemplifies a community coming together to explore human connection and responsibility for change.

REBECCA CUNNINGHAM Artist

NATASHA EDWARDS

From where do you draw hope and inspiration in our current climate?

Co-Founder / Curator SWELL Sculpture Festival

I mainly draw inspiration from two places nature and the people I’m surrounded by.

From where do you draw inspiration and hope in today's climate?

HUSSY HICKS Band What is the role of the artist in our society? I believe art is to add colour to life. To hold up a mirror to society and reflect on the human condition. It prompts us to ask questions and approach things from different perspectives. Art invites us to stay connected with all the unknowns that make life the crazy, magical, scary experience that it is.

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We are mere humans in this incredulous sculptural landscape, it can be rather simple by ‘curating the everyday’. Inspiring an understanding of our environment through arts education will instil hope and creativity will evolve, referencing and respecting nature and its capacity to change as this is foremost in what shapes our understanding of the world. As changemakers we are constant witnesses to the results of our actions, rather than battling and feeding fear into change, we should learn the art in facing our fears, understanding them will enable us to become accepting, kinder and respected beings. As artists we have the gift to inspire hope and campaign law reforms that will shape our society into healthier, happier and stronger communities.

ROSIE DENNIS Artistic Director / CEO – Bleached Arts and BLEACH* Festival What is the role of the artist in our society? I think the role of an artist is to create work that engages in contemporary social issues in an unexpected way and in turn, provokes conversation, debate and dialogue. Work that gets us talking to each other, laughing with each other, empathising with each other. Work that reflects back to us images and stories that challenge stereotypes and show us a different perspective. Work that amplifies the voices we don’t hear from in the mainstream media, voices that celebrate, challenge and interrogate who we are as community. Work that brings us together, reminding us of our own humanity.

As someone who has always loved observing nature, I spend a lot of time watching and noticing the changes, in the landscape and the seasons that are occurring in our local climate. The other half of my inspiration is drawn from my peers, the conversations we are having, the actions being taken. I’m in awe of those who refuse to let the ignorance of those currently in power get in the way of these troubling times, they are out doing whatever they can to raise awareness and fight for the planet’s future. This inspires me to look closer at what is happening on all levels, teaches me a lot and also shapes the work that I create. Nicole Browne

Keep an eye out for Part 2 of this piece in the next edition of Blank.

Kathy Lette’s BIG NIGHT OUT AT HOTA

his March, Australian-born author, screenwriter, journalist, party-girl and allround bon vivant, Kathy Lette, is taking the Gold Coast on a psychological striptease with her Big Night Out.

FROM CLINICAL PLACEMENT TO PRE-SURGERY CARE

Best known as the internationally best-selling author of many novels including Puberty Blues and How To Kill Your Husband, Kathy Lette, will take the stage and share the intimate details of her varied and multi-coloured, personal, social and professional lives. On 12 and 13 Marc, Kathy Lette’s Big Night Out will talk love, lust, men, marriage, ageing, pregnancy, childbirth, teenage-daughter-wrangling, toy boys, making the Queen laugh, hiding Julian Assange in her attic and tongue-kissing Prince William. HOTA CEO, Criena Gehrke, believes Kathy Lette will take audiences on a hilarious journey filled with her cheeky sense of humour and strong views about empowering women. “It’s a great opportunity to grab your girlfriends for a hilarious night out as Kathy takes you from Puberty Blues to ‘menopause blues’ in a matter of seconds,” said Criena. An ambassador for the National Autistic Society and Ambitious About Autism organisations, Kathy Lette talks poignantly about the times her son came home from school with a sign on his back saying “Kick me I’m a retard” to his success playing Jason on British TV series Holby City. Having toured the UK and premiering at the Adelaide Fringe Festival 2019, this one-woman show sees Kathy spill her juiciest secrets and defy society’s expectations of how a woman is ‘supposed to act’. Kathy’s passion for women empowerment is evident in her writing, believing that “… poetic justice is the only true justice in the world.” “I only write because it’s cheaper than therapy,” said Kathy, “I also write the way women like to talk when there’s no men around.” “Women are each other’s human wonder bras – uplifting, supportive and making each other look bigger and better.” Kathy Lette’s Big Night Out will be held in HOTA’s Lakeside Room on Thursday 12 March at 7.30pm and Friday 13 at 1pm. For more information visit hota.com.au.

SEE WHERE TAFE CAN TAKE YOU GET STARTED

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tafeqld.edu.au RTO NO. 0275 | CRICOS NO. 03020E | TEQSA PRV13003

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one-man project ‘Death Bed’ showcases well rounded songwriting, musicianship and production skills from the talented remaining member Barnaby Baker. A commanding vocal delivery is backed by sparkling synth pads, big 80’s drums and electric guitar solos on this catchy indie throwback.

ALT FICTION’S INDIE-POP GEM ELIZA AND THE DELUSIONALS DIVE INTO NEW SINGLE Eliza And The Delusionals have been on an absolute tear over the past couple of years with awards, signings, showcases, tours and world class music becoming the norm for the local four-piece. Now with the release of their new single ‘Swimming Pool’ and the announcement of a whopping 28 date US tour, the band is stepping it up to the next level. ’Swimming Pool' was written about feeling stuck by diving back into bad decisions and is yet another brilliant, anthemic rock track led by soaring guitars and timeless vocal melodies. So, call your American buddies and tell them not to miss Eliza And The Delusionals while they’re in the big smoke.

Alt Fiction are an intriguing new outfit hailing from somewhere along the Gold Coast’s southern coastline. The three-piece released their debut single ‘All My Friends’ exclusively on Triple J Unearthed with just two sentences describing themselves and no social media or streaming service platforms to speak of at the time of writing this review. All we can gather is that Alt Fiction are three mates who wrote a song in a caravan by the beach. Understated, simple and effective, they let their music do the talking with this polished, guitar-driven indie-pop gem.

GONZO BLOOM TRANSPORT YOU TO ANOTHER DIMENSION Gonzo Bloom are the latest psychedelic band to emerge from our sun-soaked shores and are opening their account strong with an assured debut single ‘Loosea’. Akin to the likes of psych legends Tame Impala, the band find the right balance between long-form virtuoso and every day listener accessibility. Like every good psychedelic track, ’Loosea’ succeeds in transporting you to another dimension but brings you back to earth safe and sound in less than four minutes, which is no small feat. Very impressive start from the local four-piece.

BOY JERIKO’S VALENTINES GIFT

TOMORROWS FORECAST RELEASE DEBUT INDIE CHARMER Tomorrows Forecast have introduced themselves to us this month with the release of their delightful debut single ‘ur baby’. Drawing influences from fellow Australian groups such as San Cisco the three-piece have put their own spin on the tried and tested indie-pop formula. The charm of ‘ur baby’ lies in its simplicity and the carefree nature of the call/response vocal parts. The track is bursting with joy; it will leave a smile on your face and an urge to hit play again as soon as it’s over.

Instead of a rose, Boy Jeriko delivered us all a beautiful new song for Valentines Day and it really is something special. ‘Broken Promises’ is an understated electronic slow-burner featuring warped guitar sounds, smooth vocals and glitchy programmed drums. The Elanora based guitarist/producer has been making music for his entire life and it really shows through the depth and maturity seen in tracks like ‘Broken Promises’ and his genre fluid 2019 EP ‘Reminiscence’.

JOSH SWAN’S BIG SOLO PROJECT

JADE SOUL’S JAZZ GYPSY DEBUT

Former front man of much-loved Byron based rock band Elegant Shiver, Josh Swan, has recently moved to the Gold Coast and released ‘Lay You Down’, the massive first single under his own name. Not content with turning his solo project into a mellow singer-songwriter affair Swan has hit hard, offering a guitar heavy mix somewhere between Royal Blood and The Killers. Recorded in Burleigh at award-winning producer Luke Palmer’s home studio, the track is the first taste of a forthcoming EP that Swan developed on a recent trip to LA. ‘Lay You Down’ is best consumed at full volume.

Self-proclaimed Jazz Gypsy Jade Soul has given us her fascinating debut single ‘Lost To Be Found’ this month, which is the first taste of an EP set for release later this year. Originally written as a journal entry in 2018, Soul rediscovered the words when looking for inspiration then crafted a musical progression to fit. ‘Lost To Be Found’ builds in intensity adding layer after layer of vocal harmonies and drum loops over a smooth electric guitar progression. Another extremely talented Gold Coaster with an impressive debut release, keep an eye on Jade’s socials for upcoming EP and local gig news.

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FRIENDS OF FRIENDS CHANNEL VINTAGE SOUNDS Friends of Friends are continuing to channel vintage electronic sounds with the release of a shiny new single ‘Death Bed’. The second release since Friends Of Friends became a

MITCH KING TAKES YOU ON A ROAD TRIP Nomadic Gold Coaster Mitch King spends his days traversing this beautiful county in his camper, performing and writing music every step of the way. Written about the simple pleasures of life, his latest single ‘Time Stands Still’ is a charming acoustic ballad with an intimacy that transports the listener right into Mitch King’s life, sitting around a campfire on a deserted beach with not a care in the world. If you like what you hear, you can catch Mitch performing the first show of his national tour on 12 March at Vinnie’s Dive Bar.

RAE LEIGH GIVES US HER ALL New Gold Coast artist Rae Leigh is starting off the year strong with the release of her second single in as many months ‘All Of Me’. Stripped back to the bare minimum, the track focuses on Leigh’s stunning voice and acoustic guitar playing while telling a story of self-discovery. ‘All Of Me’ was written as a reflection after returning from a recent artistic development trip to Nashville where Leigh was finding further inspiration for her forthcoming album. Keep an eye on Rae Leigh’s socials for her first ever music video to be released in the coming weeks.

CASEY BARNES LETS SPARKS FLY

STANDBY EMPIRE ARE SET TO EXPLODE Gold Coast/Brisbane genre bending duo Standby Empire have just released their first single of the year ‘Explode’. Staying true to their unique, boundary pushing style the bands latest offering moves between chilled electronic parts reminiscent of Rüfüs Du Sol into heavy, industrial sections similar to what you would hear from an early Nine Inch Nails album. Lyrically ‘Explode’ takes the listener into the mind of a man on the edge, with the intensity of the music aimed to reveal what lies beneath the surface. It’s a weird and wonderful track that is well worth a listen.

Casey Barnes is continuing to redefine what a typical successful artist from the Gold Coast looks like. Trading sunbleached hair for a wide brim hat, Barnes has found his niche within the country music scene and is doing the Gold Coast proud with his rapidly rising popularity. ‘Sparks Fly’ is a snappy pop-country package; it’s well written, super catchy and draws major similarities to the kinds of songs that continue to put artists like Keith Urban on top of the US County charts. You can catch Casey performing as a part of his national tour at Mo’s Desert Clubhouse on 19 April.

self-proclaimed ‘pop-alien’ Saint Barae has teamed up with local MC Newby to give us his glistening new track ‘It Takes Two’. Offering a stylistic mix between local contemporaries Lany and Allday, ‘It Takes Two’ is an electro-pop breakup anthem with a twist. Saint Barae’s intimate vocal falsetto shines brightly over rich, synth-heavy production and is complemented by a tight verse from rising talent Newby.

SAMSKARA RADIO Melbourne electronic producer Samskara Radio has teamed up with local rap artist MC Mooks for his latest banger ‘I Can’t Wait’. Predominately a deep house track, ‘I Can’t Wait’ is the kind of tune you want to hear between the hours of 1-4am while cooking up a storm on the dance floor of your local dirty nightclub. With three full length albums in the works for this year, Samskara Radio is set to keep the party going on for days.

PARKER SOUNDS POWERHOUSE DEBUT

SILKY SMOOTH SOUNDS OF HAZEL MEI Hazel Mei is getting us very excited for her forthcoming EP with the silky smooth sounds of her latest offering ‘Fool’. A dreamy, slow paced track where everything seems to fit perfectly into place ‘Fool’ mixes jazz forms with pop sensibilities adding interesting vocal effects along the way. Lyrically the track explores an internal dialogue with an inner critic as Hazel Mei describes - “By writing the lyrics from this perspective, I've slowly regained power over my thoughts and feelings. It's like suffocating a troubling flame - without the air of doubt to breathe, the ferocity goes away." A stunning track with a deep and powerful message, Hazel Mei has well and truly hit the mark with ‘Fool’.

Another brand new artist to grace us with their music this month is Tamborine Mountain resident Parker Sounds, who has just released his powerful debut single ’Something Heavy’. A stylistic mix between Jack Johnson, Pete Murray and Perl Jam, the track combines acoustic elements with heaver sounds nicely, gradually building in intensity with the help of Parker’s strong vocal performance. You can catch Parker Sounds launching his new single at Night Cap In Nobbys Beach on 19 March.

SAINT BARAE IS A POP-ALIEN Following on from the success of his 2019 single ‘Power + Control’ which we raved about in the November issue,

AUSTRALIAN AMERICANA MUSIC HONOURS FEATURING

JOHN BUTLER TROY CASSAR-DALEY kaseY chambers ASH GRUNWALD HUSSY HICKS the waifs the war and treaty plus special guests hosted by

HENRY WAGONS ELEEA’S NOT WASTING ANY TIME Queensland Music Award-winning singer-songwriter, ELEEA, is bringing cool alt-country vibes with bold new single, 'Wasting Time'. Drenched in her signature smoky vocals, gun-slinging guitar-led hooks and punchy production, 'Wasting Time' is the first single from ‘The Travel Collection’ - an anthology of songs inspired by ELEEA's solo backpacking trips to more than 35 countries. With the song written during a quick stop over at a bus stop in Slovakia, ELEEA has lots of interesting stories to tell - and she’s only just getting started. ‘Wasting Time’ is out on 12 March.

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FLAWLESS AND LAWLESS

elicity Lawless, PACES, and Tijuana Cartel are set to grace the stage at this year’s Gold Coast Music Awards live event on the Surfers Paradise Foreshore in April.

For those of you who don’t already know, Gold Coast’s Felicity Lawless is one hell of a fiery flamenco guitarist and singer who began her career busking Australian streets with only her guitar to feed her. Now gracing big stages at huge festivals, her album ‘Ouroboros’ rippled through Triple J’s airplay and into the cars and workplaces of fans across the nation. Lawless genre bends across indie, folk and rock scenes, capturing her audience with a unique style that ventures on a pivotal point in Australian music history. And the venues she plays are just as diverse – you’ll find her at trendy cafes, fine dining restaurants, Miami Marketta, gigs in outdoor parks and venues up and down the east coast. Felicity is the perfect example of an artist able to make a living on the Gold Coast working full time in the music industry. Her music takes on an upbeat country/bohemian vibe that seems to engulf the audience within an almost ethereal space. She’s got new music in the wind, new videos and a new live set ready for a huge crowd at this year’s Gold Coast Music Awards LIVE show where she’ll perform alongside friends Tijuana Cartel and PACES. She’s also a nominee for a bunch of categories.

But ask Felicity to define her genre and you’ll strike a problem. “When asked what music I play I have to make up a genre for it,” she said. And no wonder, she grew up listening to disco, country folk and opera but has always loved folk music of different cultures including tribal music, Spanish-Latin and Arabic scales.

“My style is a blend of all those gypsy cultures, there is Indian in it, African rhythms, Arabic scales and it is really a fusion of a number of really different things which is what makes traditional flamenco.” When you hear all of that it’s no surprise that Felicity has had a long-standing professional relationship with Tijuana Cartel’s Paul George – another genre bending artist calling the Gold Coast home, and with whom she’ll also be sharing the sharing the Surfers Paradise stage at the Gold Coast Music Awards this year, something Felicity can’t wait to do. “Tijuana Cartel are one of my favourite bands and some of my favourite people, and the stage is awesome!” Tijuana Cartel have built a reputation for making beats that span the globe and Paul has explored his own solo project through Black Rabbit George.

Fellow Gold Coast Music Awards artist PACES says it’s “inspiring” to see how the Gold Coast music scene has flourished in recent years.

“Paul and I actually released one of my songs ‘Rabbit Hole’ which I have rerecorded for our new album,” Felicity said.

“People used to have to move to Sydney or Melbourne to pursue a career in music but these days that’s not the case at all,” he said. “Gold Coast musicians have been absolutely smashing it and achieving global success.”

“We did a few moonlight sessions where he basically came out to my house over a bottle of red. He had written the ‘Black Dog’ song that day I had written another song that day. The idea was to put it down immediately and not muck around with it too much and they worked out to be really amazing songs.

“I’m super stoked to be headlining the Awards and kicking off the Surfers Paradise LIVE festival, I’m really looking forward to discovering the next wave of Gold Coast musicians,” PACES continued. Felicity is similarly stoked. “I am so excited,” she said. “It feels like an honour to play on an epic stage in my home town representing the Gold Coast music scene which is just an amazingly supportive beautiful scene; one of the coolest I have seen in the world.” It’s been nearly four years since we caught up with Felicity and we’re curious as to exactly what she’s been up to since 2016. “I definitely dropped into another realm there for a moment, I recorded a whole album and released the first film clip of the first song at the beginning of last year but the rest of the album is due out in April.” The album title ‘Karasu’, which is Japanese for ‘black bird’ is “epic” according to Felicity. The music features cellos, trombone and a heap of guest musicians. “I have still been gigging a lot but just haven’t been pushing the music thing as much until now,” Felicity said. “I went back into the forest for some rejuvenation time to realise what needed to come back out. My connection to the forest and natural world is what I bring out when I come and play in the city.” Felicity played classical piano when she was a child – something that continued for many years until she picked up drumsticks until developing a wrist injury. She said that “actually turned out to be a gift” because it allowed her to explore guitar. That saw her play fulltime and within 4-5 years she became a professional musician, living off her craft. 24

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“I have done a lot of support acts for Tijuana over the ears and Paul and I have done some duo shows. Our guitar styles go so well together. He was even kind enough to lend me a guitar for the year which I ended up modelling my guitar off because it was such a beautiful instrument. Those boys are legends.” Felicity performs at the Gold Coast Music Awards LIVE stage right on the city’s most iconic beach on Thursday 30 April. She’s joined by PACES and Tijuana Cartel as well as a swag of afterparty bands yet to be announced. The awards ceremony is a ticketed event but the live concert on a huge outdoor stage is free. Rolling out the red carpet on the iconic Surfers Paradise beachfront, the Gold Coast Music Awards is gearing up for its 6th annual event, which celebrates the City’s rising stars and sees 8,000+ people revel in a free outdoor concert. “It’s been amazing to see how the Awards have grown over the years,” says Gold Coast Music Awards director, Chloe Popa. “The support our Gold Coast artists have received from local media, radio, Council and organisations like HOTA and Surfers Paradise Alliance is sometimes overwhelming. “And it’s not just about the community of musicians who are attending and being nominated, but also Gold Coasters coming along to watch our incredible local talent take that massive beachfront stage,” she said. Interview by Melissa Flynn. Story by Melissa Flynn and Samantha Morris, with contributions by Kylie Cobb.

Gold Coast Music Awards LIVE, Thursday 30 April, 6.00 – 10.00pm | PACES + Tijuana Cartel + Felicity Lawless. More at gcmusicawards.com.

BLUETICKETS SFEST ON S .COM ALE N .Au & OW MOS at HTIX

exclusive australian performance

TARA SIMMONS

DAVE MATTHEWS BAND • CROWDED HOUSE • ALANIS MORISSETTE LENNY KRAVITZ • PATTI SMITH AND HER BAND GEORGE BENSON • KooL & THE GANG EXCLUSIVE • THE GIPSY KINGS GUY SEBASTIAN • BRANDI CARLILE • JOHN BUTLER XAVIER RUDD • THE CAT EMPIRE • ALLEN STONE THE WAILERS PERFORM SONGS FROM ‘LEGEND’ MORCHEEBA • DWEEZIL ZAPPA • TORI KELLY

Show Me Spirit 'til the End

his album blasts the prodigious talents of Tara Simmons into the atmosphere, powering a musical legacy filled with contemporary electrosynth pop and enthusiasm. Tara has previously released two albums, three EP’s and a several remixes being a singer, songwriter, cellist, keys player and producer, as well as fronting the Brisbane electronic ensemble YesYou.

ANI DIFRANCO • BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE • TROY CASSAR-DALEY THE WAIFS • YOLA • LP • THE WATERBOYS • EAGLES OF DEATH METAL ZUCCHERO • JIMMIE VAUGHAN • JOHN MAYALL CHAIN • LARKIN POE • THE MARCUS KING BAND CHRISTONE “KINGFISH” INGRAM • HARTS PLAYS HENDRIX MICKI FREE • FRANK TURNER • CORY HENRY & THE FUNK APOSTLES

‘Achromatopsia’ and ‘Four Leaf ’ provide a delicate abstract for the album with succinct lyrics - an example of where less is more to dwell on the sustained sparkling tones of Tara’s vocals. ‘Mess It Up Again’ and ‘Athens’ have Susanne Vega-like vocal and instrumental arrangement qualities, and ‘Twice Your Size’ flips to a musically ethereal mash of voice sound bites. ‘Devotion’ is the hidden little gem in this album. Tara’s delicate vocals are accompanied by a simple pulse of acoustic piano with fragments of operatic Kate Miller Heidke layers. ‘North’ is pure pop-o-rama drama, straight from the land of Pet Shop Boys, and ‘Beg and Plead’ would be a perfect film soundtrack containing brilliant break up lyrics; “Nobody wants to hear the same song,” all accompanied by a raw drum beat loop and an orchestra of alienesque synthesizer sounds.

EXCLUSIVE

ASH GRUNWALD • THE ALLMAN BETTS BAND • WALTER TROUT HERE COME THE MUMMIES • THE WAR & TREATY AMADOU & MARIAM • DAMI IM • MORGANE JI EMILY WURRAMARA • ERJA LYYTINEN • TAL WILKENFELD GREENSKY BLUEGRASS • JOACHIM CooDER EXCLUSIVE STEVE ‘N’ SEAGULLS EXCLUSIVE • DIRTY HONEY ROSHANI • MY BABY • HUSSY HICKS LAMBROS. • THE REGIME

The serene song ‘Baby Won’t You’ is the calm before the storm once every-one hears ‘Let’s Go’ – a track that will have everyone hitting the dance floor with arms waving. It’s the stand-out psych-up jump-on-your-bed hit song. ‘Ghosts and The Silences’ beautifully bookends the album with snare drum grooves and the liquid silver voice of Tara Simmons. Every song on this album provides the listener with a new chapter of electric soundscapes rich with a buzz of meditating bass, swathes of synthesizer and string pop bites complete with Tara’s relaxed vocals. This sublime production was mixed by longtime collaborator and friend Yanko Browning and made possible by industry and musician friends and family. ‘Show Me Spirit til the End’ is poignant because it was Tara’s final creative output and the single ‘Let’s Go’ honours the first anniversary since the Brisbane artist’s passing in 2019. This album reflects a life of creativity, collaboration, tenacity, self-efficiency and an abundance of Tara’s sweet voiced notes to not only remind friends and family, but to project to a continuous stream of new listeners. The single 'Let's Go' is out now, and the album’s release date is Friday 20 March.

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Tiffany Mitchell

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GOLD COAST SUPERHERO WEEKEND FLIES INTO BROADBEACH

ime to mask up, drape your capes, buckle your belts and bust out your boots, super fans, because the most out-of-this-world weekend of the Gold Coast events calendar is just around the corner. Gold Coast Superhero weekend returns 13-15 March, and is once again going to be packed to the brim with all the epic, fan-damn-tantalising, superheroey goodness you’ve come to expect. Here’s a taste of the program on offer.

n what promises to be an afternoon of non-stop fun, HOTA is hosting Pop & Play this month, a supercharged day of esports and Asia pop culture, and the first of its kind on the Gold Coast.

few seconds, and launches into what is the first of many [heavily edited] stream-ofconsciousness monologues in our chat. I immediately understand how he became a rapper.

Across one big day out, you’re invited to battle elite esport gamers Gaku Space, Tequila and QO in spectacular style across select games such as Overwatch and Dota. Or take on friends and foes alike at one of the freeplay stations. including Nintendo favourites Super Smash Bros, Overcooked, Mario Kart and Ultimate Chicken Horse. From the Outdoor Stage you can enjoy a diverse line-up of Asia pop music, featuring Filipino-Australian pop singer Chela and the mesmerising Asia Pop Time Machine, and an awesome set from DJ, Yeo. All of this excitement is being hosted by Brisbane-based reggae / folk / rap sensation and triple J darling The Lyrical – real name Karl Smith, also of the Game Train podcast. We caught up with the self-confessed massive gaming nerd for a chat while he was on the road, to see if he could clear a few things up for us. Always keen to get straight to the important questions, I lead with the big guns. Just what the hell is Pop & Play? “Err,” Karl gives a throaty laugh. “Err, umm!” he laughs again, then he pauses, thinks for 26

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“At first I was like ‘how the hell did I get here, and I’m hosting this thing?’ and then right after you asked that I get it, because I’m a mix of everything as well, and I think that’s why it works, I reckon it’s cool it’s so unique, it’s mix of pop Asian culture and dance, and Australian-Asian music artists and their style of music. It’s so colourful and out there and vibrant, and it suits a festival in and of itself and being connected to gaming makes complete sense – it’s crazy but in the best way, it’s freeing, there seems to be no strict rules of how it’s supposed to be.” Okay. Clear things up? I think the basic idea of it is that it’s unique, colourful, fun and an explosion for the senses, and even if it’s not something you’re necessarily into, it’s probably going to make for a fun afternoon. Karl agrees with that summary. “The games and characters are quite colourful, and the people playing, it’s so entertaining to watch the teams in esports, combine it with a music festival, it’ll be so cool. This stuff is just starting to blow up in the mainstream so I think the timing is really great, it’s a genius idea, making it outdoors and licensed, people can come along with a bunch of mates and open their minds, have some great food, I really hope people do just come along and enjoy it, and experience some worlds that are different to theirs.” Awesome. So here it is folks: Esports. Games. Asia pop. Dance. Food. Drinks. Fun. Come! Natalie O’Driscoll

Pop & Play is a free event (registrations required) running at HOTA from 12.30pm on Sunday 15 March. More info at hota. com.au.

SUPANOVA COMIC CON & GAMING EXPO Where fandom comes to life! Supanova Comic Con & Gaming Expo s Australia's premier pop culture event celebrating the worlds of film and television, fantasy, comic books, anime, sci-fi, cartoons, books, gaming and collectables. Two massive days of SupaStar celebrities, cosplay, fan clubs, musical performances, creative master classes, celebrity Q+As, wrestling, tournaments and competitions, and a hall full of shopping possibilities await. More at supanova.com.au.

RESISTANCE X-WING FIGHTER ACTIVATION - EXCLUSIVE TO THE GOLD COAST. Is your inner geek crying to be let out or does your Instagram feed in need of an out of this world boost? Strap yourself into the Star Wars Resistance X-Wing Fighter for an experience to remember. Landing on the Gold Coast for the first time is the life-size Resistance X-Wing Fighter of 1:1 scale! Channel your inner Poe Dameron with trusty pal BB-8 for the best photo op in the galaxy. Victoria Park will never be quite the same again.

THE OASIS LEGO FAN EXPERIENCE PRESENTED BY BRISBRICKS The Oasis Lego Fan Experience presented by BrisBricks is your chance to get up close and personal with Lego displays of your favourite pop culture phenomena built by some of Queensland’s top builders. See 360-degree views of Jurassic World, visit Diagon Alley, catch a life size Pikachu and step inside

Arkham Asylum! Looking for something more hands on? The BrisBricks building zone is the perfect location to build your very own Lego structure!

SUPANOVA SUPERHERO PARADE Set your alarms early on the Sunday to watch our very own James Bond, George Lazenby, lead your favourite characters from comic books, film, television, video games and more through the streets of Broadbeach at Australia’s LARGEST Superhero Parade, presented by Supanova Comic Con & Gaming Expo, then don’t miss out on the chance to get up close and personal with the cast of the Supanova Superhero Parade at the Parade Afterparty in Victoria Park and Surf Parade.

MOVIES UNDER THE STARS Bring a chair and take a trip to a galaxy far, far away. On Friday night, take a trip back to the summer of 1976, to the set of a mysterious new film ‘Star Wars’, by an unknown filmmaker called George Lucas. ‘Elstree 1976’ takes you behind-the-scenes of the original Star Wars film with interviews from actors and extras and stories about the film and the cultural phenomenon it became. Then on Saturday night, settle in for a night of belly laughs and quotable humour in the 1987 satirical comedy Spaceballs. And of course, there’s much more fun to be had! Star Wars yoga anyone? Keep the whole weekend of 13 to 15 March free, because we promise, it’s going to be non-stop. For full program details, head on over to gcsuperheroweekend.com.au.

his month, Prudence from Off The Record spoke with Grinspoon guitarist, Pat Davern about all things books and music. Believe it or not, Pat is not only an avid reader, as well as a truly amazing guitarist, but he has also written a children’s book following the birth of his daughter. Is there anything this man can’t do?!

Are you reading anything at the moment? Tell me a little bit about it. I’m reading Boy Swallows Universe at the moment and am really enjoying it. The way the author transports you back to Queensland in the 1980’s is incredible. Great characters and a highly engaging story, it is definitely an Australian classic in the making.

PAT DAVERN FROM GRINSPOON Favourite authors/genres? I hear you have written a children’s book, could you tell me a little more about that and where and when the inspiration for it all started? I’ve always enjoyed Michael Connelly’s crime books, the Bosch series in particular are real page turners. Having spent a lot of time in Los Angeles over the years makes these great reads as you feel like you’re right back there in the thick of it. Following the birth of my daughter, I was actually inspired to write a children’s musical called ‘Alexander The Elephant in Zanzibar’, which was then adapted into a picture book. I guess I wanted her to have something that I’d created and that she could really engage in. I loved doing it and hopefully can elite a few more in the future.

What makes you pick up a book? (cover or word of mouth)

Image by Dan Maynard Photography

Word of mouth mostly, but sometimes a review in a newspaper or magazine. Often it’s at an airport bookstore, looking for something to get me through a flight... If I came over to your place, what books would I find on your coffee/bedside table? ALDI catalogue or Proust or...? Lots of crime, Australiana, music and fashion (my wife’s collection). Let’s just say it is a real mixed bag of all genres. A world without books and music would be.... A place most of us would not want to be.

Prudence Clark

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THE RETURN OF THE INCOMPARABLE MAVIS STAPLES M avis Staples is universally acknowledged as a bona fide musical legend, ever since riding the original wave of rhythm and blues, soul and gospel which emanated out of the USA in the 50's and 60's.

Originally earning recognition in revered family gospel outfit The Staple Singers, whose worldwide hits included 'Respect Yourself' and 'I'll Take You There', she also forged a long and distinguished solo career, which saw her inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1999 and the Blues Hall Of Fame in 2017. An enduring component of her ongoing relevance is her willingness to embrace the music of the here and now, collaborating with some of rocks biggest names, including Jeff Tweedy, of Wilco. In the lead up to her upcoming run of Australian club shows, including a Brisbane date at The Triffid on 4 March, we were honoured that Mavis was able to take time out from her schedule to chat with us about her upcoming tour, the uniting power of music, dream collaborations - and skate boarding! Take it away Mavisâ&#x20AC;Ś

You've been out to Australia a few times now and there's clearly a strong mutual love between yourself and our country. What is it about Australia that keeps bringing you back? Well the last time I came over I thought might be my last because the flight is just so tough on an old gal like me. But then they told me the Australians called again, I just couldn't say no. It's a feeling of gratitude, just being grateful that folks still want to come see us after all these years. I've been blessed and I still feel blessed, so I just told them, "Let's go back Down Under one more time." Your support act for your upcoming tour is our own Indigenous talent, Emily Wurramara. Do you know much about her? I haven't seen her perform live yet, but I have heard her music. They sent it through for me to listen to, and I just liked it so much. It put me in the mind of Mississippi, which is amazing seeing that she is from Australia. I'm looking forward to hearing her sing. You've been an advocate for the civil rights movement and social activism throughout your life. What's your take on where things are heading and do you believe that music and a united voice can still be active in pushing for greater social justice in this turbulent day and age?

nICOLAS REYES & TONINO BALIARDO

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I've been of a mind that music with a message can make the world a better place my whole life, and I am just keeping on now. And for Pops. My family, the Staple Singers, we were singing songs of hope and love and I'm still doing it. I was there in the 60's and I'm still here. I've seen it all as far as struggle is concerned, and I'm still here. The Lord has kept me here, I think he's kept me here for a reason. Music will bring us together, it brings hope and love into this world. I can feel some people fighting against me, but they can try to block my path all they want - I'm not going anywhere. I am still on that highway.

I was reading that you were keen to try out skateboarding when you turned 80! Have you managed to give it a try yet? Yes, Ben Harper gave me lessons and they even got a picture of me trying it out. He wouldn't let me take his skateboard so I said I would get my own - but then my record label sent me one! That tickled me. But I'm working so much I havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t got to use it yet... Anthony Gebhardt

Be sure to catch a living legend in the flesh when the incomparable Mavis Staples raises the roof at The Triffid on 4 March, presented by Bluesfest Touring. To read the full interview, pop on over to blankgc.com.au.

GOLD COASTER CANDACE SLAGER TAKES OUT ART LOVERS PRIZE

the hazardous air quality that firefighters and residents still live through,” said Ms Slager.

source: Candace was about to move to a new home and the smoke detectors needed to be upgraded!

The Art Lover Prize is now in its fourth year and attracted over 500 entries from across Australia. Candace created her bold drawing of a firefighter in uniform amidst smouldering embers, using graphite and black pencil on watercolour paper.

In 2019 Candace left full time work as a corporate project manager to dedicate her time to drawing as a profession. “I am so honoured that my piece has won the Art Lovers’ Prize...it motivates me to continue on this pathway,” she told us.

Fittingly, the winning piece has found a home with a firefighter in America but limited edition prints are available through Art Lovers Australia at artloversaustralia.com.au. You can view more of Candace’s work at candaceslager.com.

old Coast artist Candace Slager has won the 2020 Art Lovers Artist’s Prize for her piece entitled ‘This is not a drill’.

Drawn in August 2019, Candace could not predict the devastation that would follow a few months later when fires destroyed much of the Gold Coast Hinterland and launched a catastrophic national fire season. “The hidden face of this firefighter began to echo the brave, nameless heroes who put themselves in harm’s way fighting the Australian fires, with the mask portraying

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Candace primarily works with colour pencil and graphite media and this technique involves a substantial number of hours, even weeks, to complete a single piece. The layers of fine detail require great technique, commitment and skill. Most of her work focuses on realistic renderings of wildlife, portraiture and scenes from her travels. The inspiration for ‘This is not a drill’ came from a more mundane

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Naomi Middlebrook

POP UP CINEMAS TO LIGHT UP THE 18TH ANNUAL GOLD COAST FILM FESTIVAL

ver conscious of the need to diversify and grow, organisers of the 18th Annual Gold Coast Film Festival will this year invite film lovers to a series of all-new screenings of classic films in a variety of locations in and around the Gold Coast area. Outdoor cinemas will pop up in random places such as rooftops, cinemas, beaches and even boats at selected intervals with Gold Coast Film Festival Director Lucy Fisher promising a fun-filled experience unlike no other. "While film lovers will embrace the chance to see their favourite movies in such unique settings, our pop-up cinemas will also prove popular with people looking for a memorable night out,” she said.

"From watching Bradley Cooper and his crazy mates in The Hangover while floating on the Broadwater to reacquainting yourself with the Mean Girls poolside at QT Gold Coast, there will be sure to be a great buzz in the air.” Launching the pop-up cinema extravaganza on 17 April will be Clueless on the Rooftop, which will see audiences escorted to a secret location atop Southport’s Australia Fair where they will celebrate the 25-year anniversary of the Alicia Silverstone teen cult classic in true Gold Coast style. Relax into your beanbag, drink in hand, as the sun goes down and then watch the best movie of the ’90s under the stars. Alicia Silverstone's irresistible charm as Cher Horowitz and clever, quotable humour from writer-director Amy Heckerling made ‘Clueless’ a gem for the ages. General admission tickets include guaranteed beanbag seating, complimentary drink on arrival and movie screening. For the ultimate date night, get your hands-on VIP couple tickets, with seats for two in brand new minicars. This will be followed on 22 April with a special all-pink screening of the most memorable movie of the Noughties ‘Mean Girls’ - at the new event On Wednesdays We Wear Pink, at QT Gold Coast’s brand-new poolside precinct; The Spring. Moviegoers will receive a totally fetch pink cocktail on arrival, allowing you to transport your mind and senses back to the cafeteria of North Shore High School. Sit back and relive all the savage one-liners and sass of Regina, Karen, Gretchen and Cady in this iconic feel-good comedy flick, written by Tina Fey and starring Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams and Amanda Seyfried. Food and drink will be available for purchase from 6pm with the movie screening on high definition outdoor screen at 7.30pm. Varied seating will be available on chairs, lounges and bean bags on a first in basis. Wear pink, obviously, or you may just feel the wrath of the assembled army of Mean Girls.

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The ever-popular Floating Cinema will be making its return with a screening of ‘The Hangover’ which will be held on 24 April on the Sea World Cruises Luxe Spirit of Elston riverboat. Film lovers will spend the early part of the evening cruising the Broadwater, soaking up views of the Gold Coast skyline before settling in to watch the hugely successful 2009 film that catapulted the rising star of Zach Galifianakis and spawned two sequels, making it one of the leading comedy franchises of its time. To supplement the entertainment, moviegoers will also enjoy Vegas-themed cocktails, nachos and popcorn. The ship will depart from Sea World Cruises terminal at 6.30 pm, so arrive early and purchase a drink from the Sea World Cruises Sundeck Bar which is open from 5.30 pm. Festival-goers will also be treated to a plethora of options throughout the event, with a screening of new surf film ‘SelfDiscovery for Social Survival’, featuring some of the world’s most jaw-dropping surfing locations, to be held at Burleigh Brewing Co on April 23 for Burleigh Cinema: Surf Film Night. The free annual Shorts in Paradise Festival (SIPFest) will be back and bigger than ever on 18 April, with the short film competition to showcase 14 of the best short films by Australian and international filmmakers at a vibrant and unique outdoor cinema on Surfers Paradise Beach. Hugely popular events such as the Women in Film Lunch at QT Gold Coast, Movie and Music Trivia and Gold Coast Movie Locations Tours will also prove a hit with guests, along with the chance to learn from Australia's leading

producers, writers and directors in intimate seminars and workshops. Be it a personal favourite returning event or an exciting new addition to proceedings, this year's Gold Coast Film Festival offers an unrivalled programme of fun, laughs and entertainment. Tickets are now on sale for selected events including Clueless on the Rooftop, Floating Cinema: The Hangover, On Wednesday’s We Wear Pink, SIPFest, the Women in Film Lunch, Movie and Music Trivia Night and Gold Coast Movie Locations Tours. Running from 15 to 26 April, the 12-day Gold Coast Film Festival will feature more than 100 films, panels, parties and special events across a dozen locations from Coomera to Coolangatta. The full Gold Coast Film Festival program will be announced mid-March. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit gcfilmfestival.com. Visitors travelling to the Gold Coast for the 2020 Gold Coast Film Festival can stay in style at partner hotel QT Gold Coast. Located just a five-minute drive from the GCFF action, QT Gold Coast is the perfect destination for an inspired stay. To book online, please visit qthotels.com/ gold-coast/ and enter the promo code GCFF20 for your special rate. Kris Peters

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Irish Mythen LITTLE BONES, BIG VOICE

WHARVES GET EXPERIMENTAL WITH NEW MUSIC IN 2020

resh from their headline east coast tour over the Aussie summer, Wharves are back home on the Northern Rivers, getting experimental with new music and planning their next tour. 2019 was a big year for four-piece indie rock band Wharves. A 14-date European tour-of-a-lifetime supporting DZ Deathrays saw them playing to some epic crowds and making new fans.

o stranger to our shores, Irish-born Canadian contemporary folk singer Irish Mythen brings her huge voice, amazing stories and quick wit back to Gold Coast in March as she tours her latest acclaimed release, ‘Little Bones’. Five footnothing with a voice that reaches the stars, Irish captivates audiences across the globe with her natural born talent, twinkling eyes and authentic stage presence, and Gold Coast audiences will be no exception when she hits the stage at HOTA early this month. We shot her a few questions ahead of her show.

People who see you live often rave about the connection they feel to you up on the stage. Is it mutual? And when it comes to making music, to what degree is connecting with other humans a motivating factor for you? 100% of what I do relies on the crowd that’s before me. People like you say, often talk about the connection and the passion that I give on stage but it’s not half of what I get from the audience. The main fact for me is if there’s no connection there’s no real show. From the very moment I started in this business I knew the way I wanted to do it. It was about me, my guitar, my voice, my songs, and the people in front of me. Anything else that came along, like the making of the albums, the nominations and awards and the world tours, they are of course incredible, but when it all comes down to it, it’s about me and the crowd and that one time one energy -one show never to be repeated in the same way... it’s magic. This interview will be printed in our International Women’s Day edition, so I’d love to hear your thoughts about any women who have inspired, mentored or just been by your side throughout your musical journey.

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To try and name all the incredible women and non-binary folks who have inspired and driven me onwards would honestly take up this entire interview. From Countess Markievicz to Buffy Saint Marie and anyone who is brave enough to create, brave enough to stand against what just isn’t right even if it doesn’t affect them directly, those that change the laws and ways, the grandmother you’ll never learn the name of that changes the lives of a whole community... look it goes on and on. Women rule the world, we just don’t brag about it ;) What does the rest of your 2020 look like? I’ve been nominated for a Canadian Grammy (Junos) and so straight from this tour I go to that awards show and also perform and hopefully the Academy will shine upon me – hahaha! Then tours in Canada and then June to September in Europe AND I AM GETTING MARRIED! So yeah 2020 is massive. Natalie O’Driscoll

Catch Irish Mythen when she hits the HOTA Basement stage on 7 March. Tickets are available at hota.com.au. To read the full interview, pop on over to blankgc.com.au.

“Supporting DZ Deathrays and Planet for a 14-show tour across Germany, France, UK, Switzerland, and Belgium has definitely been a highlight for us as a band, and we are playing tighter than ever,” lead singer Matt Collins said. Back on home soil, the band showcased their latest single ‘Never Missed Anyone Like I Miss You’ on their eight-show Aussie tour which kicked off in Melbourne in November, playing at venues along the east coast, including their home crowd in Byron Bay. “Playing to our fans in Byron is always a lot of fun. We get to see some familiar faces of friends, family and the uni crew, as well as making a few new fans during the holiday season,” Matt said. The Southern Cross University alumni band are now working hard to release some new music in the coming months – and they’ve been getting experimental. “We’re not limiting ourselves to the traditional instruments we’ve been using. We’re pushing our music in different directions and experimenting more with synthesisers,” Matt said. “I feel like we’ve come up with something that’s sounding really awesome. So, we’re pretty excited to get recording.” With a mid-year UK tour in the pipeline, Wharves are looking forward to getting back on the road with new music and touring with local artists. “We can’t name any names just yet, but we’ve got some exciting plans in the works for a big UK summer,” Matt said.

The band met while studying the Bachelor of Contemporary Music at Southern Cross University Lismore campus in Northern NSW. After rehearsing together for a University showcase event, band members - guitar and keyboardist Michael Watson, drummer Fraser Rojo Perrott, bassist Scott Finch and lead singer Matt Collins - found their sound and formed WHARVES. They went on to win the Triple J Unearthed competition to play on the main stage to Splendour in the Grass in 2017 and launched their debut EP ‘Sooner or Later’ a year ago. Audiences at BIGSOUND, Falls Festival, Festival of the Sun, Byron Guitar Fest and others have also been treated to WHARVES’ unabashed love affair with guitar rock in a powerful live show. They’ve scored supporting acts with bands including Wolfmother, The Living End, Rolling Blackouts, Kingswood and Dear Seattle. Having gained the attention of Triple J Unearthed presenters, the boys are becoming go-to spokespeople for starting bands in regional areas and pursuing a career in music outside capital cities. “It’s part of the WHARVES story that we met through studying music at Southern Cross. The access to world class lecturers and facilities really helped kick start us as a band,” Matt said. “Also, being surrounded by like-minded musicians with similar ambitions is a great reason to study music at University, and the Northern Rivers is a hub for creatives – especially musicians.” Southern Cross University was the first university in the country to specialise in contemporary music and the popular Bachelor of Contemporary Music program is now being offered on the Gold Coast, at a new Coomera location. More at: scu.edu.au/ study-at-scu/music-and-creative-arts/

Stone Temple Pilots

HEADING OUR WAY FOR UNDER THE SOUTHERN STARS

nder The Southern Stars brings three of the 90’s biggest modern rock bands, Stone Temple Pilots, Live and Bush, to our shores in April for a run of festival dates throughout the country, including a twin Queensland leg, on the Sunshine Coast on 17 April and Brisbane on 18 April. There’ll be a strong local contingent along for the ride too, including hard rock legends Rose Tattoo and classic rockers Electric Mary. It’s been ten years since San Diego’s Stone Temple Pilots (STP) were in the country, and in that time the band has had to overcome its fair share of adversity, namely the tragic passing of two of their vocalists, original singer Scott Weiland in 2015 and follow up vocalist (and Linkin Park front man) Chester Bennington in 2017. Although both were no longer active band members when they passed, their loss was felt deeply within the band’s ranks (and within the broader rock community in general.) But the bands other three original members, brothers Dean and Robert DeLeo and drummer Eric Kretz, decided to continue the STP legacy, recruiting a new front man in the form of Jeff Gutt, formerly of nu metal band Dry Cell. Speaking with Gutt on the line from The States, as they prepare to head down under, I ask him if he’d crossed paths with his upcoming tour cohorts prior to these upcoming dates. “Well we’ve toured with Bush before, so we got to know those guys. But we haven’t met the guys from Live yet. You know I grew up listening to all that stuff, including STP, so it’s going to be a very surreal moment when I get to go out and play shows and see those guys every night. And Rose Tattoo as well, I’m a big fan of those guys. They’ve got a great

attitude. It’ll be great to see them every night.” ‘Perdida’, the band’s brand-new record (and eighth studio album all up), marks somewhat of a stylistic detour, in that it incorporates largely vintage and acoustic instrumentation. I ask Jeff if any of these new songs will be part of their sets across their Aussie festival dates. “We were going to do an acoustic tour over here, but I hurt my back and had to take some time off. So I’m not sure if those songs will be part of our upcoming set, as they require a certain setting.. they’ve very laid back songs. So we’ll see. The problem when coming up with our set lists is that we’ve got so many songs to choose from, it’s hard to narrow it down.” I ask him if it was pretty surreal hooking up with a band that he’d admired for so long. “Absolutely, I remember when I first met them in person. It was strange, growing up and loving their music and then you meet them face to face and then you’re in a room and they’re playing a song and you’re singing it and you look back thinking, ‘holy shit that’s (STP drummer) Eric Kretz!!’ It took a while to sink in… and still hasn’t fully.” As to whether he felt any pressure to live up to the legacy of the band’s previous vocalists? “Not really, I was more concentrating on what I could bring and what I could

add to the three guys who were playing on. Getting in a studio with them and hashing things out was actually a really enjoyable process. It was kinda like being back home and recording in my friend’s home-made studios. It was more of a case of trying to get comfortable with them as songwriters. It’s such an intimate process writing songs with people, especially with people that you don’t yet know that well. So we took the time to get to know each other. I was more just concentrating on what I had in front of me.” As to what’s on the agenda for the band next up; “After these Australian shows we’ve got a tour of North America with Nickelback. They’ll be huge venues and that’ll be a fun tour to do. And I’ll get to play in Michigan, where I’m from, at a venue called DTE – I know it as Pine Knob… they changed the name of it. That’ll be my first time playing at my hometown venue, where I used to go see all these huge bands growing up. That’ll be quite a moment.” Anthony Gebhardt

For local fans of Stone Temple Pilots, April will also be quite a moment, as the newly invigorated band bring their epic stadium friendly tunes back to Australia for the first time in a decade. And with Bush, Live, Rose Tattoo, Electric Mary also on the bill, it promises to be a rock extravaganza of the highest order. Go to underthesouthernstars.com.au for all the Festival dates, including the two Queensland shows, on the Sunshine Coast on 17 April and in Brisbane on 18 April.

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LATEST CHILDREN’S BOOK BY GOLD COAST AUTHOR TACKLES OCEAN POLLUTION

foe to friend, FAT: From and back again

etogenic and other high fat diets have taken the world by storm with people from all over the world jumping on board. But is eating bacon and butter everyday benefiting our health, or making it worse? I’m reviewing the evidence to give you a non-biased view of this style of eating and allowing you to decide whether this is right for you!

The keto diet is a low carbohydrate, fat rich diet that has been around since the 1920’s as a treatment for severe childhood epilepsy. More recently it has gained considerable attention as a weight loss strategy, with many people across the globe jumping on the latest “diet” wagon. This style of eating is distinctive for its exceptionally high-fat content, which is typically around 70-80% of daily calories. The carbohydrates are reduced to less than 50g per day – less than that of a cup of pasta or rice – and can go as low as 20g per day. So, we’ve heard all about this diet that is reported as being a fast way to lose that unwanted weight. But what does the evidence say? Studies have indicated beneficial changes in metabolism over a short period due to the satiating effect (fullness) and decrease of food cravings. Other research has shown a decrease in our appetite-stimulating hormones, which makes us less likely to overeat during the day. Over a short period of time, this style of eating has shown to be beneficial for weight loss; however, long term studies have shown no difference between a low-carbohydrate, high fat diet and a low-fat, low calorie diet. The keto diet definitely produces weight loss - quite rapidly in the beginning- but what other impacts does it have? The most commonly known effects that are experienced when initially starting a keto diet are a group of symptoms referred to as the keto flu and include dizziness, fatigue, 34

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headache, insomnia, along with others. Most people can get past these symptoms as they only last for a few days to a few weeks. The longer-term effects that may arise without noticing initially are kidney stones, fatty liver, and vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Compliance of this diet is rather difficult for many people as it is hard to remain in a ketosis state, and the limited variety and restriction can become a challenge. So, to confirm. Yes, this diet can help you reach your weight loss goals, and yes, your brain can function without carbs – but carbs are still the brain’s favourite food. One thing to keep in mind is that this style of eating can be difficult to adhere to and maintain long term, and we still don’t know enough about the long-term health effects of following this type of diet. Jessie Walter – Dietitian & Nutritionist

Jessie Walter is a dietitian and nutritionist currently working in private practice. She enjoys working with people to establish healthy relationships with food and reduce the stress that can be involved with food, eating and nutrition. SOURCES Ketogenic Diet - ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books The Ketogenic Diet: evidence for optimism but high-quality research needed- academic.oup.com Comparing the efficacy of ketogenic diet with low fat diet for weight loss in obesity patients: Evidence-based case report researchgate.net

ocal author Nicole Godwin is equal parts environmental activist and wordsmith.

In between working part-time with the Federal Government, being a Mum to three boys and chasing after an energetic dog named Moose, Godwin built an international following with animal lovers and families through her publishing house, Tusk Books.

“My passion started with animal rights and it soon became apparent that animal rights are intertwined with helping the environment,” Godwin explained. “I always intended to write a series of picture books... as my books provide the opportunity for me to combine my two loves and help entertain and educate the next generation.” Speaking at The Global Wave Conference on the Gold Coast this month, Godwin explained that it was this love of educating younger audiences that inspired her first two self-published books ‘Billie’ (2018), ‘Ella’ (2016), as well as the release of her latest picture book ‘Jelly-Boy’. The unconventional and cautionary conservation tale of her recent title follows the story of a jellyfish that falls in love with a plastic bag she mistakes for a jelly-boy. “The book is important on a few levels. Firstly, the act of reading and creating a love of books is important to encourage a generation of readers and children interested in information, ideas and creativity,” Godwin said. “The text does not say that plastic bags are bad, instead, the little reader is taken on a journey where they invest in the characters and see the issues for themselves and make up their own mind.” But this effusive author has her heart set on more than sparking conversations, she is determined to inspire change.

“I am invested in conservation because I believe everyone needs to do their part to help stop and hopefully reverse the significant issues our planet is facing, from global warming to ocean and land pollution,” she said. “Every individual can make a difference and help be a part of the solution,” she said. “We can rethink our usage of plastics, recycle more, compost, eat more plant based foods, move towards renewable energy, and rethink our transport choices, especially plane travel.” Nicole launched this book as the curtainraiser event for The Global Wave Conference, as well as presenting in the ‘Inspiring the Next Generation Through Story’ workshop. “I realised that the timing (of the conference) may also work out to launch ‘Jelly-Boy’ and raised this idea with the incredible organising committee who jumped at the change.” “We are all aware of how important it is to inspire the next generation and make sure we inspire new advocates for our planet. It just made sense to draw them into the conference in this way.” Niamh Sullivan

‘Jelly-Boy’ by Nicole Godwin, is illustrated by Christopher Nielsen and published by Walker Books Australia. It is suitable for children ages 3+ and is available now.

THE CHICKS HAVE IT AT THIS YEAR’S GC LAUGHS

omedy lovers will undoubtedly be overjoyed to hear that the starstudded GC Laughs Festival is returning to HOTA for another sidesplitting week of comedy from 14 to 21 March. Packing serious comedic weight, the hilarious event delivers the very best in international and national talent, in one gut-busting week of comedy, that also sees female comedians featured in close to 40% of the shows. And why is this a statistic to feel cheerful about, I hear you ask? Most of us know the stand up comedy circuit began very much as a man’s world, with a few brave women breaking into the ranks in the early days. While the ratios have shifted over the years to become slightly more equitable, it still has a way to go to reach the 50/50 mark. In fact, depending on which study you look at, and which area of comedy (writer’s rooms, comedy clubs, headline acts, festivals, MCs), the disparity differs, but we’re still looking at women making up anything from 10% to 35% of comedians making a living from their craft. So each event that tops those statistics sets the bar for others to meet and beat. And while there is no shortage of epic male talent on the lineup of this year’s GC Laughs lineup – umm hello Joel Creasey, Aaron Gocs, Sam Simmons, Dusty Rich, Larry Dean and Matt Okine, we can’t wait to see you! – we thought in honour of International Women’s Day we’d feature the awesome chicks we’ll be lining up to check out. Image by Cole Bennetts

Gen Fricker: Very Important and Extremely Brave Get up close and personal with the brave, beautiful, relatable, mysterious, vulnerable, strong, whimsical, practical, vertical, trending, humble and omnipotent Gen Fricker. As seen on ‘Have You Been Paying Attention’ and heard on triple J.

sex when you’re drunk, fit bits, yoga farts and being a menopausal woman dealing with teenage angst. They’re overworked, overweight and over it.

Becky Lucas: My Neck, My Back

Lauren Bonner: Heartbreaker

Says Becky: “I wrote most of these jokes in my head whilst sitting at the pub being lectured to about data mining by a guy with stick 'n' poke tattoo and bad breath. I think it’s a good show, please don’t come if your favourite comedian is Stephen Fry or if you quote-tweet things with ‘let this sink in’. I’m a stupid bitch and I’ve never pretended to be otherwise.”

Lauren Bonner has never been dumped, and honestly? It’s made her a monster. This show is about that.

Melanie Bracewell: The Rumours Are True Honor Wolff in The Hot Department: Open For Business The Very Good Looking Initiative has officially opened its Hot Department, a sexually dysfunctional comedy duo with deep trauma and a validation addiction. Honor Wolff delivers an exclusive brand of surreal and twisted humour alongside partner in comedy Patrick Durnan Silva.

Danielle Walker: Myths & Legends Winner of ‘Best Newcomer’ at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2018, Danielle Walker welcomes you to her new show Myths & Legends. It’s called Myths & Legends because two of her comedy bits are about mythological creatures. For example: Tom Jones = legend, cool dads = myth.

What rumours? Are there any rumours? All we know is that some people have been saying Melanie Bracewell is one of the fastest rising stars in New Zealand comedy. Winner of the prestigious Billy T Award, Melanie is guaranteed to leave you in stitches with her endearing storytelling. Natalie O’Driscoll

GC Laughs runs at HOTA from 14 to 21 March, and with last year’s event attracting over 7,000 visitors, you’re going to want to grab your tickets quickly so as not to miss out. Full lineup deets and tix can be purchased via gclaughs.com.au.

Em Rusciano: Unplugged and Unhinged One of Australia’s most well-rounded performers, Em Rusciano, has in the past year, turned 40, given birth and toured around the country; all on a combined 45 minutes sleep! In this intimate and close up experience, Em gives a rare glimpse into the stories behind the stories and performs some of her songs as you’ve never heard them before.

Double Denim Women Like Us Women Like Us is a relentless, rapid-fire stand up by middle aged mouthy mamas of mirth, Mandy Nolan and Ellen Briggs. The hilarious duo talk housework, chickens, love, big undies, disappointment, resentment,

Michelle Brasier (Mad As Hell) and Laura Frew (Fringe Wives Club) are bringing an hour long kid’s party for grown-ups full of high energy silliness, 90s nostalgia and a lot of denim.

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PARTY LIKE A HOUSEWIFE WITH THE IRONING MAIDENS

ull of references to dirty dishes, laundry, homemakers and bread-winners, The Ironing Maiden's new track takes pride of place in this week's high rotation playlist. 'Party Like a Housewife' is an anthemic banger for disaffected women burdened by domestic drudgery. Fusing electro beats, with poignant and tongue-in-cheek (maybe, I mean feminism is serious stuff) lyrics, the brand new single sees the North Queensland pair bring flair and colour to household chores. And let's face it, we all need a break when it comes to getting it all done. The track unashamedly combines pressed house beats with old school electro trash. But, throw in samples from 1950's ads, as well as the musical irons and all of your other favourite white goods and ‘Party Like A Housewife', like most of the band's work, redefines our ideas around housework. When it comes to work in the home, it’s time for everyone to do their fair share - Singer and songwriter, Melania Jack. "We want to celebrate the work," she said. "And invite the guys to the party." This desire is amplified in 'Party Like a Housewife' with one of my favourite lyrics being "the dishes are done, they were done yesterday... you just gotta put 'em away, boy." The Ironing Maiden's signature musical construction is through activating inanimate objects to embody and operate music functionality. That's what their bio says. What that means in practice is that they're actually making music out of things like irons and ironing boards. You have to see this to believe it. 2020 is shaping up to be a cracker for the Ironing Maidens. On the back of this single release, they're launching 'The Soap Opera' at the Adelaide Caberet Festival, which runs 18 - 29 February. The show is an experimental electro explosion of instruments and it promises to be unique. The new work draws inspiration from the life of electronic music pioneer Daphne Oram. While the housewives of the 1950s were struggling with newfangled washing machines and vacuum cleaners, Daphne was busy building and immersing herself in her own world of invention. Listen to 'Party like a Housewife' via Spotify and if you're lucky enough to be in Adelaide for the Fringe Festival, you can grab tickets to 'The Soap Opera' via The Adelaide Fringe Festival website. This is the time to iron out the wrinkles in the krinkly old patriarchy! #domesticspherelastfrontier Samantha Morris

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GROUNDWATER DROPS ITS FIRST LINEUP ANNOUNCEMENT O

ne of Australia’s fastest growing music festivals, Groundwater Country Music Festival saw over 70,000 people attend the threeday event in 2019, and this year is set to be even bigger, with the first lineup announcement dropping a list of names that’s sure to get the most hardened festival-goers jumping out of their cowboy boots with excitement.

This year, patrons will be lucky enough to see the queen of country, Kasey Chambers, perform alongside Australian music star and ultimate party guy Shannon Noll, as well as Australia’s favourite country duo, the Sunny Cowgirls, well-respected and much-loved artist Gina Jeffreys, and Golden Guitar winner Brad Butcher. But we were particularly keen to find out more about Groundwater first-timer and Australian country rock dynamo Jayne Denham, a Golden Guitar nominee and passionate ambassador for the Women In Trucking Association in the US, whose star is definitely on the rise. We got to know Jayne a little better by asking her to finish the following thoughts: I am passionate about the trucking industry because… It is such an important industry that we cannot do without. All around the world, these drivers transport essential goods - often to remote places and under gruelling conditions, such as the Ice Road Truckers in North America who appear in my latest clip (‘Black Coffee and White Lines’). So I have always felt compelled to write songs for and about them, as my way of cheering them on and celebrating them.

One of the things on my musical experience bucket lists is to…

My earliest memories of country music are….

My first time performing at Groundwater is going to be…

I come from a musical family and my Dad is a huge country music fan, so singing John Denver as a family together, doing concerts for anyone that would listen with Dad on guitar, was where my love of Country Music began.

A lot of fun! It’s been one of my goals for a while now, so I’m pumped. My first performance is on the Surf Parade Stage 25 July at 3:00pm.

The artists I would most love to share the stage with are…

Rounding up Groundwater’s first lineup announcement is: McALISTER KEMP - TANIA KERNAGHAN - THE PIGS – MELANIE DYER - THE AUDREYS – KRISTY COX - EIGHT SECOND RIDE - MICK THOMAS’ ROVING COMMISSION - THE WEEPING WILLOWS - HILLBILLY GOATS – SOUTHBOUND ROUTE 33 - MATT WARD & THE RISING SONS - SALTBUSHSIX - 2020 STAR MAKER WINNER SAMMY WHITE -KERRY KENNEDY AND DOUBLE BARREL - WEST TEXAS CRUDE.

Gretchen Wilson, Dolly Parton, Miranda Lambert. Music, to me, is… Therapy….I love to hear it, sing it, create it; learn, grow and heal from it. We all get to choose how we want to feel through music - whether we want to feel uplifted, relaxed, pumped up or whether we want to hear music that makes us cry … to let it all out, then get up and move forward again. How cool is music? We get to choose our mood! Some of the women who have inspired me along my musical journey are… The three women mentioned above, whom I would love to share a stage with - Gretchen Wilson, Dolly Parton, Miranda Lambert, but also Aussie greats like Olivia Newton John, Tina Arena and the late Chrissy Amphlett, to name a few.

Perform at The Motor Grand Prix! My hubby is crazy about motor sport so it would be the best way to have a really cool gig and a fun date. Not sure they would ever have Country Rock music though … LOL.

Natalie O’Driscoll

Groundwater Country Music Festival is held in Broadbeach from 24 to 26 July, and is a free, family-friendly event. Visit groundwatercmf.com.

THE CLIT GETS SPOTLIT IN NEW BRUNSWICK FLICK

ENDANGERED WILDLIFE THE MUSE FOR GOLD COAST ARTIST SAMANTHA BEAU

‘Me and Her’ is a documentary that explores a far more intimate topic than the name suggests. For her first solo project outside of her company Drishti Videography, local filmmaker Vicky Jay has chosen to spotlight the clitoris.

It’s one thing to tell someone about the wildlife and endangered species here in Australia, it’s another thing to show them instead. That’s exactly what artist, Samantha Beau, has done with her street art, illustrating endangered Australian wildlife around the Gold Coast.

Yes, yes, yes clitoris, and before you get all uncomfortable, first ask yourself why you might feel a little squeamish, or squirm in your seat? This is part of the point of the documentary; the lack of education and communication around this important female body part. Vicky asks “Why don’t we talk about the clitoris, or talk about women’s sensuality, and sexual pleasure? Who told us it’s not ok?” This short (40 minute) documentary is visually super simple utilising talking heads filmed interviews of 53 Australian women of all ages and walks of life. Vicky begins each interview with the question, “How old were you and how did you meet your clitoris?” The responses to this question turned into 53 very different conversations, which raise issues from abuse, emancipation, LGBTQI+ relationships, education, religion, and politics. The stories are as unique as the

women and reveal intimate details that range from poignant to funny, from shame to lifealtering horse rides. Vicky makes it clear that ‘Me and Her’ is not about promiscuity or even about ‘pussy power’, it’s about removing the taboo around the clitoris and a woman’s right to joyous and pleasurable sex. The documentary gives a diverse range of women a voice, and encourages further conversation. If that conversation happens to make you a little uncomfortable it gives the cheeky filmmaker a little kick, and it also highlights the need to keep talking. Not just for women, ‘Me and Her’ is an education for men as well, pushing the boundaries of understanding and communication. ‘Me and Her’ premiered at the Brunswick Picture House on 27 February and will soon be taking a run at international film festivals. You can watch the trailer on YouTube and email Vicki for private showings at hello@ vickyjay.com, or pop over to vickyjay.com/ meandher for more information. Erin Bourne

“Wildlife has always been a thing in my family and sometimes you’ve got to battle for underdogs,” says Sam. “Animals can’t protect themselves if their environment has changed due to our impact, and I felt hugely responsible for that.” This isn’t her first wildlife-inspired artwork. As well as other art pieces surrounding the wildlife and environment in Australia, Samantha has created similar chalk art pieces for the past four years. She says that she uses art to lure people with beauty into something with a far deeper and pressing message. She explains, “The whole idea, for me, is to use art as a non-confrontational means to get the average person thinking about animals that might be suffering, without putting them off.” As for who her target audience is, it’s mainly children. Samantha tells us that a great way to

get parents and adults involved and engaged, is to cater to the younger audience who is more likely to involve the older age group. Eye catching artwork achieves this perfectly. “The kids go ’aw mum!’ and they start the conversation in the family, and then the parents have to look stuff up, and if the parents don’t then the kids will, and they’ll present it to the parents. So, my audience is the kids and it’s vertical education,” says Samantha. Not only is this a clever and effective way of spreading awareness, it looks great too! Samantha has more things in store for us, with a pitch ready to present to the Gold Coast City Council to hopefully enable her to have more of her chalk art around the Gold Coast, and engage a larger audience in her powerful message. With aspirations to take her street art to Europe, we can see that we have much to look forward to from Samantha Beau. Amaya Coburn

You can view Samantha's work on her fb.com/samanthabeauartist here, as well as her website samanthabeau.com.

www.blankgc.com.au

KIM SALMON AND THE FORMULA FOR GRUNGE: NINE PARTS WATER ONE PART SAND Douglas Galbraith

f you thought that the true Grunge music style of the early 1990’s was born in Seattle, USA you’d be wrong. It was invented a decade earlier in Perth Western Australia by Kim Salmon and his nascent post-punk band, The Scientists. In 1983, Kim Salmon even used the word ‘Grunge’ to describe his seminal album ‘Blood Red River’ in an interview on 2JJJ.

Kim Salmon has entrusted his life story ‘Kim Salmon and the Formula for Grunge: Nine Parts Water, One Part Sand’ (a line from the song ‘Swampland’) with his guitar student and self described ‘untried, unknown, non-author’ Douglas Galbraith. His faith was well placed. Galbraith writes with the fluidity of a seasoned professional. The book is a fascinating portrait of an uncompromising non-conformist at a time when the isolation of living in Perth meant that outside influence was so distant that creativity had the freedom to flourish in oblivion. The underground music scene of the late 70s and early 80s included The Saints in Brisbane, Radio Birdman in Sydney, Nick Cave in Melbourne and Dave Graney in Adelaide. In Perth, Kim Salmon’s band The Scientists were experimenting with a new style of music encompassing the primitivism of punk adding fuzzed out noise, psyched out caterwauling, crunchy discordance, loud thundering pulsation, crooked rhythms, bent time signatures, and anti-establishment sentiment. Not to mention stylish dress sense paired with mop-like hair. Salmon says the band was never about musicianship, just ‘nuance and alchemy’. Their love of antagonising audiences is best described in the book during a gig at the Parramatta Leagues Club in 1983 when the audience was throwing beer bottles at them. Salmon’s subsequent music collaborations including The Beasts of Bourbon (now ‘The Beasts’) and The Surrealists were not so hostile, yet show no less disregard for convention. Galbraith peppers the book with quotes from the likes of Tex Perkins, Warren Ellis, Henry Rollins (a huge fan), Kid Congo Powers, Mark Arm, James Baker, Boris Sudjovic, Leanne Cowie, Tony Thewlis, Stu Thomas, Mike Stranges, the late Brian Hooper and, of course, Kim himself. There is huge respect for the man who should be famous for his talent and influence, but isn’t. He’s only a legend. It’s hard to read this book without pondering a series of ‘What ifs’. What if Kim hadn’t married and had kids so young? What if Mark Arm from Mudhoney hadn’t chanced upon The Scientists’ record at the import section of Tower Records in Seattle? What if they had not been stymied by Au Go Go Records and were able to do a record deal in London? What if Kim had been lead singer of Beasts of Bourbon instead of Tex Perkins? Douglas Galbraith’s book is about one of the most important influences on alternative music in Australia and globally. Let’s hope it helps catapult Kim Salmon into the limelight where he deserves to be. 38

www.blankgc.com.au

Pip Andreas

SEADOG

8/50 James St, Burleigh Heads

here is something whimsical about Seadog in Burleigh. Perched on the corner of an alleyway in James Street, this literal hole in the wall emanates good vibes, with the intoxicating aroma of freshly ground coffee and salt sea air intermingling under the vine strewn grass hut veneer, beckoning you in to try a tasty brew.

Owner Brodie Green is warm and welcoming, greeting his regular locals by name and picking up a conversation with them as though the time between coffees had been a mere instant. His massive smile a constant feature as he moves from the counter to the La Marzocco Linea PB machine, chatting away as the coffee brews. Coffee is in Brodie’s blood, with his grandparents being the first coffee distributors on the Coast back when tea was the preferred beverage. “I promised myself I would never get into the coffee industry and I promised myself I would never have plants like my mum and I’ve done fucking both,” he laughs as he expertly finishes up a latte. Naming a café is no easy feat, and for Seadog the moniker materialised when Brodie was strolling the streets of Brunswick Heads with his sister. “I was trying to figure out what to call it and she saw this name on a house that said ‘Seadog’ and we both started laughing about how shit the name was, but it was such a nice moment that the name stuck,” he recalls. Seadog proudly sits in the four square meter former home of an ATM and has inspired Brodie to develop the idea of micro franchises that can be copied in different cities. “Micro franchises can empower young people who want to start their own business, but don’t know what direction they want to go in or don’t have a lot of money to do it,” he states, adding that as a young business owner himself, “it’s the first time I’ve ever woken up in the morning and been so stoked to come into work.” In 2019, Brodie, the deadest legend, also donated $750 the Support the Girls charity as a massive clap back to a sexist comment on Instagram. Raising the money over one weekend, he also offered free coffee to all women and drew the support of other local businesses who donated milk and baked goods for him to sell. Seadog offers Marvell Street’s Firebird as their house blend as it is a unique coffee comprising beans from

Nicaragua and Ethiopia, created to showcase all three processing methods: washed, honey and natural. With a flavour profile of milo, jam and fudgy flavours in a milk coffee, the more delicate flavours of stonefruit can be found in a long black, which starts off excitingly crisp and mellows out to the more chocolatey flavours. With rotating single origin coffees server as a Moccamaster brewed filter coffee, expect something lighter, more juicy, with the current coffee from Juan Pablo Salguero in El Salvador having a beautiful toffee and dried fig taste with a smack of lychee. Seadog is open 6:30am to 1pm seven days a week. Whilst Seadog may be small, the café and its owner Brodie have made a huge impact in Burleigh. Catherine Coburn Follow more of Catherine’s exciting food adventures on Instagram @goldcoastfoodie

THE DOUGHNUT AFFAIR

2375 Gold Coast Hwy, Mermaid Beach

would like to live a life with no regrets. Some indulgence for sure, but none so disturbing to my moral compass that I can’t forgive myself.

My love affair with doughnuts began with the jam doughnuts of a New Zealand childhood. Long and pudgy with a thick filling of freshly whipped cream and a long line of berry jam, they stole my heart. Recently, The Doughnut Affair rekindled the flame. Kurt Lehndorf recognised the fatal attraction of sweets when he set up The Doughnut Affair, a concept he’d been working on for two years. After his interest in top end doughnuts was first piqued in New York he realised that, in food terms, eating a doughnut was sometimes viewed as just as illicit as having an affair of the heart. Running with that idea, he set out to make his doughnuts as ‘naughty as possible - #doughnutsforgrownups with #noregrets. Enlisting the help of Executive Pastry Chef Graciela Jonen (ex-Otto Brisbane, Sofitel Gold Coast and Palazzo Versace) the pair have developed an indulgent menu of doughnuts never seen on the coast before. “First, we set out to make the dough perfect – light and crispy on the outside with a pillow of softness on the inside,” Kurt tells us. “Then we looked at the flavour combinations that hadn’t been tried before: champagne with strawberries and cream with candied rose petal, caramelised bacon with bourbon maple syrup glaze, chocolate hazelnut with ganache and praline, Malibulaced pina colada, and The Tuscany - a breakfast doughnut of prosciutto, blue cheese, rocket and macadamia mascarpone. We wanted to push the boundaries of what a doughnut could be.” Tailored from the moment you walk in the door, Kurt’s vision embodies a total sensual experience. Firstly, it’s visual.

The sophisticated, elegant fitout provides a rich cream and gold background against which a range of his luxe doughnuts are displayed under glass cloches. Dressed up in layers with top notches and extravagant additions, they’re creations of beauty, each one so different, indulgent on the eye as well as the palate. In one corner, the coffee machines lead us into the second facet of experience: aroma, as coffee is prepared – Code Black, a strong chocolatey brew from Melbourne’s Joe Haddad, the only place its available on the coast. Then, of course, we must make difficult choices and try the doughnuts. From sweet to savoury, we choose a selection and take the plunge to plunder and destroy their beauty in our attempt to try a piece of each. My favourite? Surprisingly, it’s not the extravagant S’mores Doughnut with its dual-filled centre of dark-chocolate ganache and light chocolate mousse and top hat jumbo toasted marshmallow that lures me but a simple doughnut with yuzu and green tea glaze with a hint of lemon. I’m surprised, but its combination of fresh citrus and soft yeasty dough is irresistible. When the venue’s liquor license comes through, plans are to extend the business to a bar that takes up the whole ex-Fufu venue. Doughnuts and champagne? Why not! For now, though, I’m content with this affair of the palate, knowing I’ll return to taste other decadent treats. After all, as Kurt says, we can all afford “an affair on our healthy lifestyle. Regret nothing!” Marj Osborne

THAT’S AMORE 1/110 Mountain View Ave, Miami Ph: 07 5520 0797

f you asked us to name a restaurant that’s a local secret, a place that engenders fierce loyalty from its patrons yet Gold Coast residents from a couple of suburbs away aren’t aware of its existence, then That’s Amore would be on the tip of our tongues.

A family owned and run business, That’s Amore first brought us comfort Italian food in 2013 and has won return customers ever since. New restaurants are exciting to discover, but it’s comfort and familiarity that draws us back to favourite venues. A recent return visit to That’s Amore reminded us why it’s so popular. Situated high up on hill above Burleigh Golf Course, on a midweek night, the restaurant is bustlingly busy with takeaway and delivery racing out the door. Yet, like a well-oiled machine, orders arrive quite promptly and there’s the general air of convivial fun so common in trattorias. Everyone’s here for a good time and they know they’re going to be well fed. The menu is extensive but easy to follow, covering Pastas and Pizza (including gluten-free and vegetarian), as well as Breads, Starters, Mains (with a selection of chicken, veal, ribs, mussels, house-made lasagne and cannelloni) and Desserts.

Oysters are large and juicy and at $24 a dozen they’re an absolute bargain! The daily special of King prawn entrée is too good to pass up, the prawns fat and juicy, well complemented by a simple tomato, EVO, garlic and parsley sauce. We choose mains from the pasta and pizza sections of the menu: Spaghetti with prawns and olive oil, semi-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, feta and spinach ($23), a seafood only version of Con’s Special pizza ($24) and Black mussels in a chilli herb tomato sauce with fresh house-made bread ($22). Simple desserts such as Tiramisu, Cinnamon Doughnuts and Sticky Date Pudding are offered (if you can fit them in), however, our dessert of choice is Banana Crêpes, served with butterscotch sauce and ice cream, the crêpes melt-in-your-mouth delicious! We’ll be back to try other specials, oysters (again), Polenta chips, Ribs, and of course those Moreton Bay Bugs!

We remember the rich creamy sauces that we ordered on our last visit, and note that there’s still plenty to splurge on if you want, such as Creamy Galliano bugs, Veal Amore with mushrooms, capsicum, shallots and bacon in a creamy tomato reduction, and Polo Pesto – pasta with creamy pesto chicken.

With plenty of parking in the centre and all dishes priced under $25, That’s Amore is both accessible and extremely affordable. There’s the incentive for families to dine, with all children’s meals priced under $10 and free on Tuesdays, though the meals are generous enough for family sharing.

However, since being taken over by Karlyn Hampton a few years ago, we’ve seen a new emphasis on lighter fare. Specials also show off fresh produce, giving the menu extra interest for regulars. We head for seafood with tomatobased sauces and find plenty to choose from.

Added to that, because That’s Amore is BYO, it’s an excellent venue for a celebration and a great alternative for date night… that is if you’ve remembered to book!

GINS

&TINS BROUGHT TO YOU BY

GIN SPRITZ SELECTION $15 PIZZAS FREE GIANT GAMES BOOK ONLINE

Aviary Rooftop Bar

Terms & Conditions apply.

Marj Osborne

www.blankgc.com.au

SHARKS

MAR 2020

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Here is a taste of some of our live acts on Friday & Saturday nights this month!

FRI 6

8.30pm

Hazbeans

FRI 20

8.30pm

CLASSIC ROCK & PARTY BAND

SAT 7

8.30pm

Miss T & The Anchormen 8.30pm

The Mason Rack Band

SAT 21

8.30pm

Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Leary & The Munster Bucks

DANCE

THE

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RNR

FRI 27

8.30pm

INEXCESS TRIBUTE

SAT 28

8.30pm

The Feramones ROCK

SAT

TRADITIONAL IRISH

FRI

MAR

Dance On

BLUES ROCK

SAT 14

MISS

TRIBUTE 8.30pm

COVERS

FRI 13

SAT

Creedence Clearwater Revived

MAR

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FRI

MAR

INEXCESS

southportsharks.com.au

SAT

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MARCH 2020

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S U N DAY 1 5

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aviaryrooftop.com.au T&C's apply. 18+ only venue. *Entertainment subject to change at any time.

GOLD COAST MUSIC AWARDS ANNOUNCES NEW CAREER-DEFINING PRIZE

he Gold Coast Music Awards has announced the inaugural Gold Coast Music Prize, a new initiative that will provide career-propelling opportunities for one established local artist each year, helping to accelerate their career and take their creative gold to the national stage and beyond.

Image by NJA Photography

“For five years now we’ve been completely floored by the amazing achievements of under-the-radar Gold Coast artists and we really wanted to do something to help people take their careers to the next level,” said Gold Coast Music Awards director, Chloe Popa. “It’s a career-defining prize for one Gold Coast artist or group and it will be highly curated based on where they’re at in their career and what our judging panel thinks they’d most benefit from. “Every artist who nominates themselves for a Gold Coast Music Award is automatically considered for the Gold Coast Music Prize and we’re so thrilled to have Bleach* The Gold Coast Festival, as our partner for this first-ever offering on the Gold Coast.” With the winner announced at the beachfront gala event on 30 April, this incredible prize includes support from Bleach*, The Gold Coast Festival, and several other genre-specific Awards partners, as well as a marketing and PR packages from high profile media and sought-after publicists. In addition, the winner will receive strategic grant, award and festival application support, and a full review of assets including biography, press imagery and digital presence. It will also include a tailored mentoring package of one-onone sessions with experienced and successful members of the Australian music and entertainment industry. “Over the last nine years Bleach* has been committed to supporting local artists through creative developments, building the profile of local artists, mentoring and providing opportunities like the annual festival to showcase their work to a local audience,” said Bleach* The Gold Coast Festival, CEO and Artistic Director, Rosie Dennis. “It’s hugely important to keep our talent employed in their home town and support home grown artists by giving them a platform to tell their story in this city”. Rolling out the red carpet on the iconic Surfers Paradise beachfront 30 April, the Gold Coast Music Awards celebrates the City’s rising stars with 8,000+ people expected to attend the free outdoor concert on Surfers Paradise LIVE’s main festival stage, featuring PACES, Tijuana Cartel and Felicity Lawless. The Gold Coast Music Awards ceremony will take place Thursday 30 April on the beach at Surfers Paradise. Tickets on sale 5 March. The Gold Coast Music Awards is proudly supported by City of Gold Coast and Surfers Paradise Alliance. Kylie Cobb

www.blankgc.com.au

ALL AGES & LICENSED

FLUME (ONLY AUS SHOW) YEAH YEAH YEAHS • MIDNIGHT OIL FRIDAY 24 JULY

DMA’S

• RUEL • CUB

SPORT

• PETIT

THE MAKARRATA • PROJECT

BISCUIT

KING KRULE • DILLON FRANCIS JACKLIN • BAKER BOY

• ILLY • JULIA

CONFIDENCE MAN • SOFI TUKKER • WALLOWS • BRUNO MAJOR • ROLLING BLACKOUTS COASTAL FEVER HOOLIGAN HEFS • INHALER • GRYFFIN • FAZERDAZE • GEORGE ALICE • TRIPLE J UNEARTHED PLUS MIX UP DJS DENA AMY • LUEN • AYWY SECRET SOUNDS NEW MUSIC PRESENT STILL WOOZY • JOY CROOKES • MUNA • SLY WITHERS • MAKO ROAD • 100 • MISS JUNE • MIIESHA

SATURDAY 25 JULY

THE STROKES

GLASS ANIMALS • VIOLENT SOHO • DOM DOLLA • TIM MINCHIN • KING PRINCESS JPEGMAFIA • THE JUNGLE GIANTS • OLIVER TREE • THELMA PLUM • METHYL ETHEL

MALL GRAB

•

GROUPLOVE

•

THE CHATS

•

CHILLINIT

•

STELLA DONNELLY

•

TRIPLE ONE

•

PUP

•

SHAED

ALICE IVY • ADRIAN EAGLE • THE BIG MOON • THE LAZY EYES PLUS MIX UP DJS JORDAN BRANDO • MOKTAR • CAROLINA GASOLINA ASTRAL PEOPLE PRESENT KLLO • MILDLIFE • JARREAU VANDAL • GREENTEA PENG • BRAME & HAMO • BANOFFEE • STEVAN DRO CAREY & DJ SCORPION • LEX DELUXE • PINK MATTER • MEMPHIS LK

SUNDAY 26 JULY

TYLER, THE CREATOR (ONLY AUS SHOW)

DENZEL CURRY • DUKE DUMONT (LIVE) • MURA MASA • IDLES • SAMPA THE GREAT GRINSPOON • GERRY CINNAMON • G FLIP • JACK GARRATT • LIME CORDIALE TIERRA WHACK • JULIA STONE • JACK RIVER • BENEE • NORTHEAST PARTY HOUSE • ALEX THE ASTRONAUT

SURFACES • GEORGIA • MO’JU • MICKEY KOJAK • CRY CLUB • TRIPLE J UNEARTHED PLUS MIX UP DJS SHANTAN WANTAN ICHIBAN • AK SPORTS • SAUTI SYSTEMS LOVE POLICE PRESENT BAD//DREEMS • SHANNON & THE CLAMS • BABE RAINBOW PERFORM THE VELVET UNDERGOUND’S LOADED STARCRAWLER • THE SOUL MOVERS • LILLIE MAE • ANDY GOLLEDGE • CHARLIE COLLINS

TICKETS ON SALE 9AM THU 27 FEB TIX FROM MOSHTIX.COM.AU • 126 TWEED VALLEY WAY, WOOYUNG • ALL AGES & LICENSED • SPLENDOURINTHEGRASS.COM • #SITG2020