Blank Gold Coast issue #39 - November 2016

November16

issue #039

MUSIC

PEOPLE

FOOD

Amy Shark Jesswar Summertime Sessions Tommy Sheehan Bobby Alu

Julian Napier Kylie Riddle Byron Coathup Rhianna Buchanan Sky Locke

The Kitchens Stairwell Coffee Black Sheep Bistro Rockleigh Levendis

MUSIC Caligula’s Horse Karl S Williams Steve Kilbey Phil Barlow + The Wolf Eileen Jewell

CULTURE KCouch Out Loud Getting Crafty Hotelling GC Open House BLA!

1HDAY ST

BIRT

WEEKEND

FRIDAY 20TH JAN

SATURDAY 5TH NOV

RÜFÜS

STICKY FINGERS

SAFIA

SELLING FAST! $55 +BF

SOLD OUT

SAT 18TH MARCH

FRIDAY 18TH NOV

THE LIVING END

KATE CEBERANO

$45 +BF

$40 +BF

LIVE IN THE PADDOCK FRIDAY 4TH NOVEMBER

FRIDAY 18TH NOVEMBER

LECIA & FRIENDS JAKE FOX

KATE CEBERANO (TICKETED) HANNAH ROSA

SATURDAY 5TH NOVEMBER

SATURDAY 19TH NOVEMBER

STICKY FINGERS (TICKETED) WITH SPECIAL GUESTS

KALLIDAD BELLA MAREE

FRIDAY 11TH NOVEMBER

FRIDAY 25TH NOVEMBER

BAD PONY (SYDNEY) PAT TIERNEY

1ST BIRTHDAY WEEKEND

SATURDAY 12TH NOVEMBER

SATURDAY 3RD DEC

FRIDAY 3RD FEB

GOLD FM LIVE

SUNNYBOYS

$80.75 +BF

ONLY QLD SHOW

BULLHORN CHRIS FLASKAS WORTHY BOYS

VAUDEVILLE SMASH JACOB LEE

SATURDAY 26TH NOVEMBER

1ST BIRTHDAY WEEKEND

CHEAP FAKES ELECTRIK LEMONADE ENERGY ENTERTAINMENTS FIRE SHOW

$75 +BF/ VIP $135 +BF *free entertainment unless specified as a ticketed event. Markets open as usual during ticketed events.

nightquarter.com.au

1800 264 448

town centre drive, helensvale

3 NOVEMBER The Kitchens are go

#039 NOV 2016 Editor in Chief: Samantha Morris CulturalEditor: Natalie O’Driscoll Design: Chloe Popa Advertising: Amanda Gorman Music Coordinator: Mella Lahina Money Coordinator: Phillippa Wright Sub editor: Cody McConnell Cover photo: Dan Maynard Photography House Photographer: Leisen Standen, Lamp Photography Contributors: Natalie O’Driscoll, Anthony Gebhardt, Marj Osborne, Terry “Tappa” Teece, Glenn Tozer, Neville Pearce, Amanda Gorman, Anna Itkonen, Catherine Coburn, Kylie Cobb, Tiffany Mitchell, Erin Bourne, Richard Scott, Emma Whines, Aaron Chapman, Bogdan Popa and Sarah Loughlin

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.

Editorial: news@blankgc.com.au Advertising: advertising@blankgc.com.au Gigs: gigs@blankgc.com.au 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 expressed herein are not necessarily those of the editor, publishers or the writing team.

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9 NOVEMBER Frenchy at The Arts Centre Gold Coast World’s Worst Adult showing for one night only.

The Kitchens at Robina will take Gold Coast foodies beyond the spectacle of food and on the ultimate culinary adventure. Bringing the back of house to the front of house, the $165 million facility opens today and will remain open every day until 10.00pm.

Outback comes to the beach

A collaboration between Surfers Paradise and Longreach sees the Outback Stockman’s Show come to the beach from 3 – 6 November with daily shows at 10.00am, 2.00pm and 5.00pm at the beach volleyball courts, end of Trickett Street.

11 NOVEMBER 4 NOVEMBER Hotelling

will see travellers, experience seekers and local culture vultures immersed in 48 hours of unpredictable art and performance, crisscrossing the corridors, courtyards, cocktail bars and clandestine corners of QT Gold Coast.

5 NOVEMBER BLA! Brewing Local Artists

Beer and art. It’s like the perfect spring combo. And it’s just like Burleigh Brewing to dish up both. They’re pulling together some of the Gold Coast’s best artistic talent for BLA! (Brewing Local Artists). There’ll be fine art, sculpture, photography and typography. And beer. More at burleighbrewing.com.au.

Gold Coast Open House

Unlocking the doors of quirky, interesting and significant buildings with 30 properties open from Coomera to Currumbin.

Pormpuraaw exhibition opens at Urban Paradise Gallery

Over 40 pieces of various mediums and scales will tell us the story of an Aboriginal community strong in culture and language right in the middle of Surfers Paradise until 11 December.

Bonjour French Festival

Music, markets, live entertainment, history and a French film night as well as a special commemoration for the victims of last year’s Paris attacks. Runs 11 – 13 November at Kurraway Park, Broadbeach.

12 NOVEMBER Paradise Valley exhibition

opens at Trader Trove, 22 Christine Avenue, Miami. 18+ from 6.00 – 9.00pm, this Mitch Gobel resin art exhibition took three months to create.

The Peep Temple

dish up a high energy kick arse sweaty good time at Miami Shark Bar with Miniskirt and Feeling Dave in support.

17 - 20 NOVEMBER Mullum Music Festival

The little NSW north coast town of Mullumbimby may have been put on the international map by Iggy Azalea, but this November the tide is flowing the other way with musicians and music from all across the globe coming to NSW’s ‘biggest little town’ for the annual event.

25 NOVEMBER Darkc3ll the band that makes hate fun launch Haunted Reality at elsewhere with The Wrath and Chelsea Rockwells in support.

Summertime Sessions in the Village Mudgeeraba every Friday in November from 5.30pm coinciding with Mudgeeraba Sunset Markets.

This Friday is Sonik Mayhem + Claire Anne Taylor..

Wild Marmalade

18 NOVEMBER

featuring Paul George (Tijuana Cartel) at Soundlounge Currumbin.

Laugh Your Pants Off with MC Rove McManus, one of Australia’s most successful talk show hosts.Jupiters Gold Coast.

Tommy Sheehan launches new EP Old House at Soundlounge Currumbin.

26 NOVEMBER Shuw Us Ya Cups

Documentary screening with behind the scenes and archival footage at The Avalon Miami, plus meet the crew. BYO, 6.00pm.

Couch Out Loud a live talk show highlighting the Gold Coast’s dynamic culture is at The Avalon Miami, featuring Felicity Lawless, circus maker Emma Serjeant, culture writer and GC Music Awards co-founder Samantha Morris, performing artist Nadia Sunde and visual artist Anthony Pieters. Tickets $15 at the door which opens 6.30pm

2 DECEMBER Love Is All I Need Launch

Love is the theme for Phil Barlow and the Wolf’s new single Love Is All I Feel, launching at NightQuarter, Friday 2 December.

19 NOVEMBER One Day Block Party at Miami Tavern featuring DJs Joyride, Adit and Lupi.

3 DECEMBER Gold FM Live at NightQuarter

with Steve Kilbey on the lineup alongside Ross Wilson, Richard Clapton, Eurogliders, 1927, Rose Tattoo, The Radiators, Wendy Matthews, Glenn Shorrock and Shannon Noll.

19 & 20 NOVEMBER Unleash

Ecopreneurs event runs over two days giving environmental entrepreneurs new skills and helping those looking for business ideas. Tickets and more information at unleash2016.com.

24 NOVEMBER Discover the Gold Coast's Next Big Thing

Queensland Conservatorium's Popular Music program is proud to present their 2016 Graduate Showcase at The Arts Centre Gold Coast.

4 DECEMBER

Proud presenting partner of the

Gold Coast

Music Awards

Josh Pyke and Bob Evans Playing at Miami Marketta for the first tour together in ten years.

FOR MORE EVENTS & GIGS VISIT BLANKGC.COM.AU www.blankgc.com.au

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The Living End announce Helensvale gig Rock icons The Living End have a new ARIA charting album under their belt and nominations for Best Rock Album and Best Australian Live Act at this year’s ARIA awards. The album Shift was released in May and signals a return for the band who’ve had a five-year hiatus after 2011s ARIA-winning album The Ending is just the Beginning Repeating. Even more exciting though is the 2017 tour announcement. Starting Down the Highway Tour starts in March and takes in regional cities. Inculding the Gold Coast. They’ll be at NightQuarter on 18 March. Psych-reggae-ska-doom-metal-punk merchants The Bennies are along for the ride.

young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students from across Australia since it began in 2010. More than 550 people are expected to attend this year's event. As well as his songs, Troy Cassar-Daley will share stories about growing up as an Indigenous Australian and his rise to the top of the country music charts. More at bond.edu.au/gala.

Drewboy and The Sax Addicts bring positive vibes With a music video picked up by the biggest music streaming site in America, Drewboy and the Sax Addicts are making waves with their music, but also with their commitment to suicide prevention and positive mental health. Their Positive Vibes tour comes to the Gold Coast to raise money for LIVIN. They’re also playing the Tara pub’s 104th birthday, but that’s a different story altogether. The band is at Raps Surfers Paradise on 26 November.

One Day Block Party hits Miami Sydney hip-hop collective One Day have announced a huge run of shows bringing their infamous block party to regional Australia this summer. With more than 100 events under their belt, One Day are positioned to take control of the ‘day party’ moement. Combining the best of R&B DJs, live graffiti and food and drink, One Day Block Party will transform Miami Tavern on Saturday 19 November. Holding it down for the One Day DJs will be Joyride, Adit (Horrorshow) and Nick Lupi (Spit Syndicate.

Oh, and did I mention it’s F R E E ! More at onedayblockparty.com.

Woodford lineup drops Showcasing more than 400 acts across 25 venues during six days of summer event, Woodford Folk Festival’s 31st program is an evolution of the cultural, artistic and social expression it has become internationally known for. Buffy Sainte-Marie (CAN), Paul Kelly & Charlie Owen, Half Moon Run (CAN), Wallis Bird (IRE), The Bamboos, Dr Karl, Urthboy, Amanda Palmer (USA), Meow Meow, Lake Street Dive (USA), Thelma Plum, The Little Stevies, Karl S Wililams, Emily Wurramara and Bobby Alu are just some of the acts announced for the 27 December – 1 January event.

Country music legend rocks Bond Indigenous Gala One of Australia's most loved country music stars, Troy Cassar-Daley, will take the stage at the annual Bond University Indigenous Gala on Friday 11 November. The Gala has raised $1 million towards the education of 6

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Peep Tempel bring rayguns to the Shark Bar Exploiting almost every thinking human's frustration with the absurdity of modern news broadcasting, The Peep Tempel get very, very weird, reinforcing the sarcastic, unsettling lyrical themes of single Rayguns and showcases the absurdity of intolerance. Watch the most excellent clip on youtube and then catch the band on their Joy album tour at Miami Tavern, Friday 11 November.

Koi Boys release debut album Gold Coast based The Koi Boys have released their debut album. Meant To Be is a collection of nine genre spanning covers and three original songs written by the trio – one each. Made up of Danny Faifai, Kevin Keepa and Ngahere “Nuz” Ngatai, the hard-working Koi Boys have been busy performing at local and global events including the Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix, Brisbane’s River Fire and the Melbourne Cup. After such a big year, it’ll be interesting to see what 2017 brings for this trio of local talent. Interview in next edition.

Discover Gold Coast’s next big thing On Thursday 24 November, Queensland Conservatorium's Popular Music program is presenting the 2016 Graduate Showcase at The Arts Centre Gold Coast. The night will feature performances by some of the most impressive emerging acts in South East Queensland including Twelve Past Midnight, Athena Joy, LIVVIA and more. With a reputation for fostering some of Queensland’s most promising talent including Kite String Tangle, Wolfmother and Bobby Alu, this will be a killer event and you should make sure you’re front and centre. Especially given tickets are only $10. More at bit.ly/BPMGrads2016.

Evol walks want to let me love you With a healthy chunk of attitude, a dynamite lead singer, and a predilection for timehonoured rock ‘n’ roll, Evol Walks has rapidly emerged as a heavyweight contender. They’re one of the Gold Coast’s most consistent exports, currently based in LA and they have a shiny new single to their name to reinforce that rock position. Let Me Love You is the band’s own take on the popular Justin Beiber track of the same name, which might seem odd when you consider that Evol Walks takes its inspiration from the giants of heavy music, from AC/DC to Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Joan Jett, Stone Sour and Monster Magnet. Check it out via soundcloud.

Uppercut Deluxe feature Yes Sir Noceur Yes Sir Noceur have teamed up with men's grooming brand Uppercut Deluxe contributing their track, Mexican Walk from their debut EP The Outlaw to a sleek promotional campaign. It throws the band’s drummer Rory Switzer into the spotlight, dragging him out from the back corner hidden behind his kit in the corner of the stage. Style For Any Journey showcases the band’s excellent music to a much broader audience. You can watch the video ‘Style for any Journey Uppercut Deluxe’ on Youtube.

Then you can see the band in person when they play GDFRNDS Christmas Miracle concert on Saturday 10 December with Borneo, IDIIO, Wrenklauf and Klubknight DJs..

Holy Holy hit Marketta this month Thundering in to Miami Tavern There’s no shortage of awesome music over the next few months at Miami Tavern. Fresh off the back of performing to massive arena crowds across Australia and New Zealand, Thundamentals is one of the most recent tour announcements. Their Never Say Never tour celebrates the brand new track and marks their first headling run since their sold out tour last year. They’re at Miami Tavern 25 November.

Smoking new track Smoking Martha’s latest offering Say You're Mine is an attack on the senses and was described by music media as “an unfathomably lucrative slathering of chunky riffs and smoky vocals”. Now that the track is out, Smoking Martha will be kicking off an East Coast tour and putting the finishing touches on their debut album.They’re at the Crowbar in Brisbane with King Mungi on 9 December.

HOLY HOLY are in town to celebrate the release of new single Darwinism, the first song lifted from highly anticipated sophomore record, due in 2017. Currently the 5th most played track on triple j, Darwinism is an evocative tune that is as evolutionary for the band as the name suggests. Supported by I Know Leopord and Alex L’Estrange, they’re at Miami Marketta on Thursday 24 November.

Mental As Anything, new music, new dates With new singles ‘Shake Off Your Sandals" and ‘Goat Tracks in my Sandpit’, Mental As Anything are embarking on a proud new chapter in their career. Having graced our stages, radio airwaves, record books, playlists, TV screens and award nights for close to 40 years and with 12 albums under their belt, they are, without doubt pop pioneers. But the awesome news is they’ll be at Advancetown Hotel on 13 November.

Summertime Sessions in the Village - Friday Weekly 4 Nov – 16 Dec Cuddihy Park, Swan Lane, Mudgeeraba (5.30pm-7.30pm) f: SummertimeSessions Movies under the Stars 5 November Mudgeeraba State School Oval (Movie commences 7pm) w: goldcoast.qld.gov.au Soul with Lisa Hunt 6 November Advancetown Hotel, Nerang Murwillimbah Road, Advancetown (1pm-3pm) f: Advancetownhotel Movies under the Stars 11 November Davonport Park, Bonogin (Movie commences 7pm) w: goldcoast.qld.gov.au Mental As Anything 13 November Advancetown Hotel, Nerang Murwillimbah Road, Advancetown (1pm-3pm) f: Advancetownhotel

Villa ge to the

Advancetown Hotel Presents

Mudgeeraba Sunset Markets Friday weekly Swan Lane, Mudgeeraba f: Mudgeeraba Sunset Markets Mudgeeraba Organic Fruit and Vegie Market Friday & Saturday Weekly Mudgeeraba Market Shopping Centre, Mudgeeraba w: mudgeerabamarketshoppingcentre.com.au

Summer Time In The Village

mental as anything 5:30 -7:30 pm

CUDDIHY PARK CNR RAILWAY SWAN LANE MUDGEERABA

Movies under the Stars 25 November Springbrook State School Oval (Movie commences 7pm) w: goldcoast.qld.gov.au Mudgeeraba Community Carols - 27 November Firth Park, Somerset Drive, Mudgeeraba (4pm – 7.30pm) w: mudgeeucmin@bigpond.com

Hinterland

sunday 1pm november 13th @advancetownhotel

Oct.28 nov.4

nov.11

nov.18

nov.25 dec.2 dec.9

Luke Pauley + Wandering Eyes Kimbal Imaz-Hirst + Leopolds Treat Hailey Calvert + Sean Fitzgerald Eizenberg Moon + Benny D Williams Sonik Mayhem + Claire Anne Taylor Moreton + Ryan Gittoes Jason McGregor + Blues Stomp music art event s

DARKC3LL’S HAUNTED REALITY UNLEASHED They’re Australia’s modern-day version of KISS. The band that makes hate sound like fun.

With enigmatic frontman Jesse Dracman just named one of Australia’s best heavy vocalists, Gold Coast’s industrial rock juggernaut Darkc3ll is poised to unleash their new album Haunted Reality on the world.

The album is out 31 October and the band’s national tour starts 11 November and Jesse himself, dressed in a Davey Suicide shirt, took the time to sit down with Blank’s editor Samantha Morris to chat about the past 18 months and what the future holds.

“Every band dreams of that one album that they aspire to make – I think this is it,” Jesse said of the release of Haunted Reality. “This is that album.”

released three albums and an EP and had their music played on national and international radio, Channel V and even Bondi Ink.

It’s been 20 years since Jesse released his own EP with a similar theme and he says he’s learnt a lot.

Haunted Reality then is just a continuation of that journey. They started the recording process in February this year and wrapped up in September. The album was recorded at Matt’s Home - RTD Studios on the Sunshine Coast. He handled all of the production and engineering.

“I’ve become a better songwriter,” he said. “I also have an awesome band. I’m writing the music I’ve dreamt of.”

“This album is the first proper collaboration between the four of us – all four members contributed to this,” Jesse said.

The song writing process for Darkc3ll is principally between guitarist Matt Shorter (AKA Post Mortem Matt) and Jesse, who says he comes to the table with lyrics and melody in his head, hoping that Matt will decipher it like the DaVinci Code.

“I’m the Rubik’s cube of the songwriting duo,” Jesse said.

“Haunted Reality is exactly what the title says: a collection of tales of all things haunted in this world. The reality.”

Jesse tells me about the rest of Darkc3ll. Rit (otherwise known as Derelict) is on bass and Jay (Macabre) is on drums. Jesse says they’re two “of the coolest cats, man.”

“We’ve got a band who doesn’t have that typical rockstar ego about us,” he said. “In my opinion, we still have our feet on the ground.

We don’t walk around with bragging rights.

We just kind of let our music do the talking.”

“That makes me especially proud, considering everything we’ve accomplished to date.”

And Darkc3ll’s accomplishments are many – starting from their very first show as Darkc3ll, which saw them supporting Norwegian electro-industrial giants Combichrist.

Since then, they’ve been on the Soundwave Tour, self-funded a tour around the USA and supported a bunch of international artists like Wednesday 13. They’ve independently

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This album will be the first that Darkc3ll has released on to vinyl.

“People had come to us and asked if we were releasing on vinyl at all. One day we put the question out there and we got a good response,” Jesse said.

So we set up a pre-order system for the new album – for both CD and vinyl - and we did bundle packs for posters with that amazing artwork done by Morbid Carousel.”

“We’ve done enough presales to pay for all the vinyl and CDs. It’s a really good feeling,” Jesse said.

Image: Dan Maynard Photography

“They’ve stuck with supporting us and buying everything we put out.”

The tour to support the launch of Haunted Reality starts 11 November in Rockhampton before taking in Gladstone, Bundaberg, Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, Woy Woy, Newcastle, Sydney and Melbourne.

“We know our fan base has a pretty far reach as well,” he said. “Mexico, Russia, NZ, even the UK.”

When Darkc3ll hit elsewhere for their Gold Coast show (25 November), they’ll have The Wrath and Chelsea Rockwells in support.

The volume and geographical reach of presales and the number of views for the video that accompanies Preacher – the first single off the album - is a good indication of the number of fans Darkc3ll have locally as well as abroad.

“I haven’t paid elsewhere before. It’s been on my bucket list. I’ve partied there since I’ve been on the Gold Coast and I used to do a lot of after parties there for touring acts, it’s quite a buzz,” Jesse said.

“We have a few dedicated fans in the US that we made when we toured.”

And those fans are pretty hands on when it comes to helping their favourite band. They helped fund Darkc3ll’s tour to the USA and now with an Australian tour imminent they’re working the streets putting up posters in their hometowns to promote the gigs.

For the band’s Melbourne shows they’re bringing Nero Bellum (Psyclon Nine) over from the USA. “They’re a huge underground industrial act,” Jesse said of Psyclon Nine. “Any eyeliner wearing freak will know who the hell they are.”

“He’ll do a modular synth set – which is a bit of a thing in the States. We’ll give him his first taste of Australia.”

So after the album is launched and the tour wraps up, what’s next for Darkc3ll and for Jesse?

“We’re already talking about the next album,” he said, a little too eagerly. “I’ve already started writing the next album. It doesn’t stop for us.”

“We’ve been sitting on these songs for a little while and we just want to keep the energy going.”

“This album is a big accomplishment for us because it’s the album where we believe we’ve found our definitive sound. The sound that we want. Which we kind of had shades of in previous albums, but this album has come full circle.”

They’re locked in for Legion Festival, doing all three dates in the near year and they’re looking at doing a round two album tour to take in some places they couldn’t organize for this one. Places like Adelaide and Perth.

Jesse also has a manuscript he’s about to selfpublish. I was lucky enough to get a sneak peak.

ONE DAY EN TERTAINMENT PRESENTS:

ONE DAY D J' S

JOYRIDE ADIT LUPI It’s a diary of the band’s tour through the USA last year.

Parking their tour bus in Walmart’s, sneaking over the border into Mexico, playing shows to four people (but also sold out gigs at places like Whisky a Go Go, and long, long stints in the RV otherwise known as Rock Vomit.

“I’ve made a conscious decision to release it at Xmas,” Jesse said about the book.

Titled Lost My Mind (in ‘Merica), it covers the highs, lows, sights, sounds, people, food and booze when one band take one RV across the Midwest of the USA to spread the Darkn3ss.

Keep your eyes peeled.

GUES T DJ' S

FINEHOUSE VICES

SAT 19TH NOV MIAMI TAVERN

1PM TIL

LATE

20 43- 20 4 7 G OL D CO A S T HIG H WAY, MIAMI

DARKC3LL PLAY A HOMETOWN SHOW FOR THEIR HAUNTED REALITY TOUR ON FRIDAY 25 NOVEMBER AT ELSEWHERE WITH THE WRATH AND CHELSEA ROCKWELLS IN SUPPORT.

INF O:

onedayblockparty.com.au

www.blankgc.com.au

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BYRONBAYBREWERY.COM.AU

SUMMERTIME SESSIONS BACK IN THE VILLAGE Mudgeeraba will again play host to a laid back series of spring and summertime gigs.

Gold Coast Music Award winners Leopold’s Treat and Jason McGregor have shows in the series along with Moreton – fresh from wooing crowds at BIGSOUND this year.

Loop master Benny D Williams and uke-driven folk duo Eizenberg Moon are on the bill alongside solo singersongwriters like Hailey Calvert and Sean Fitzgerald.

Summertime Sessions in the Village will run from Friday 28 October until Friday 9 December and City of Gold Coast Councillor Glenn Tozer said it’s as much about economic development as it is about sharing the City’s musical talent with new audiences.

“Mudgeeraba businesses love Summertime Sessions and the local Chamber of Commerce has been really supportive,” Glenn explained.

“This year we’re trying to build on the momentum of the past few series, but also finding ways to partner local emerging musicians with acts who have links to the Gold Coast returning to the city on tour.”

“We hope this will build cultural capacity of course, but also that families will come down to Mudgeeraba Village for a Friday night meal, and maybe return for our unique Village ambience mid-week or over the weekend,” Glenn said.

Summertime Sessions in the Village takes place 5.30 – 7.30pm in Cuddihy Park, Mudgeeraba with plenty of food options from local traders.

The full lineup is as follows: 4 November | Kimbal Imaz-Hirst + Leopold’s Treat 11 November | Hailey Calvert + Sean Fitzgerald 18 November | Eizenberg Moon + Benny D Williams 25 November Sonik Mayhem + Claire Anne Taylor 2 December | Moreton + Ryan Gittoes 9 December | Jason McGregor + Blues Stomp Holding Co. Samantha Morris

KARL S WILLIAMS: WOODFORD BOUND JOURNEYS Although he now calls Melbourne his semi-permanent base, much loved Gold Coast artist Karl S Williams still finds plenty of time to return to his old stomping ground. Late December sees him back and performing as part of the always epic Woodford Folk Festival line up. It's a festival that Karl feels a strong affinity towards.

"I'm definitely looking forward to getting back to Woodford.

I've played it once before and it's been my favourite experience out of any festival I've played at thus far. With their programming, they don't tend to have people playing in consecutive years, so I've had to have a year or two off. I did the Planting Festival last year, which is their mini winter festival, so it'll be nice to return again this year for the main festival. The audience there tends to be very embracing of discovering new artists, it's not the sort of festival where people are there only for the headliners."

I ask Karl how's he settled into Melbourne life and if he now feels like part of a scene and community there. He says it’s very much still a work in progress.

“I spent ten years on the Gold Coast establishing myself and I need to keep reminding myself that it took a long time to make connections up here and I can't expect the same thing to happen in just six months in Melbourne. It's a lot bigger place.”

“The plan is to keep playing more shows and continue to build a following. I still haven't decided if it's home or not, and I'm back up here so regularly anyway, so it's cool to not really have a 'home' at the moment.

“I probably wouldn't get opportunities like playing Woodford without having spent a lot of time playing South East Queensland. And there's lots of Melbourne acts coming up for Woodford too, which will give me the opportunity to bridge those communities a bit as well."

A few years have passed since the original release of debut record Heartwood, and the question arises as to how the follow up record is shaping up.

"I got to Melbourne with a bunch of songs ready to go for an album, and the first few months I was there I was able to look at those songs really closely. I generally try not to meddle too much with songs after I've written them. But after three months in a room playing some of them, I started to hear other things that maybe should be in there. I feel like I'm being a bit more of a perfectionist about things.”

MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/ SUMMERTIMESESSIONS

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“I had about 14 songs that I thought would be the ones to go onto the next album, but I've switched out about five or six of those and brought in some other songs that maybe didn't get quite as much attention the first time around. Maybe it's a bit obsessive at this point and I need to like, let go a bit," chuckles Karl wryly.

As well as his own material, Karl also moonlights in dreamy psychedelic peddlers Tsun. With the three band members now

KARL S WILLIAMS IS PART OF THIS YEAR'S WOODFORD FOLK FESTIVAL, BEING HELD FROM 27 DECEMBER THROUGH 1 JANUARY. MORE AT WOODFORDFOLKFESTIVAL.COM.

dispersed along the eastern seaboard, I ask him if there have been any recent stirrings within the band's ranks.

"Yes, I'm very excited actually. We're playing Jungle Love Music and Arts Festival on the Sunshine Coast in early November.

That's going to be our first show since January. It's been a bit of a hurdle now that all three of us are based in different cities.

But we've been doing some bedroom recordings and throwing things around online. And Jared (Franzen, bass player) and I get together and jam when I'm up here. We're all really excited to get Tsun operational again. I really miss it and it's a lot of fun."

Anthony Gebhardt

A GOLDEN YEAR FOR AMY SHARK

THREE KILLER GOLD COAST TRACKS Electrik Lemonade

Haha! It's all in the name of art! I actually faced a huge snake fear when filming Adore, and even for the cover of my single art I almost froze to death sitting in the water for so long at 4.00am. But the paint thing I was kind of like 'ef ' it... it's going to look rad, so I just did it.

What are your thoughts on the Gold Coast music scene?

Amy Shark can usually be found writing and recording in her little house on the Gold Coast.

With a passion for film, music and a slight obsession with sharks, Amy is best described as the creatively complex girl next door, who puts her entire heart on record. 2016 has been huge for Amy with her recent single Adore spending all of one night out in the big wide world before being added to Triple J’s rotation, and her song Golden Fleece making the finals in three categories at the Gold Coast Music Awards and taking out Pop Song of the Year at the Queensland Music Awards.

Amy broke it all down for us.

Adore seems to be going gangbusters, with radio play and positive feedback pouring in. What do you think is relatable about that song?

I think people are relating to this song because it breaks down all the tiny moments we let pass us by so quickly. I wasn't trying to be tricky, or clever I basically just told a story about what I felt once before with someone.

Earlier in the year, you made it as a finalist in not one, but three categories of the Gold Coast Music Awards, and then won Best Pop Song at the Queensland Music Awards! How were those experiences for you?

It’s been a monster of a year and I honestly didn't expect any of it. It’s just a beautiful thing when you do something you love and then you get rewarded for it. I gave up caring about a lot of industry stuff a while ago and never attended anything, but now I feel like there are a lot more new friendly faces in the Brissy and GC music scene and those people have really nurtured all the new upcoming bands and artists, they have sucked me back in lol.

We understand you ended up (inadvertently) eating a bit of paint for your video for Golden Fleece. Is there anything that you definitely wouldn't do for a video?

Fresh from their support slot for Ozomatli, Electrik Lemonade are kicking off their We Know This tour and spreading the word about a new album due early 2017.

The band received incredible feedback from their last release, getting play on Triple J and regular rotation on community radio across the country and their new track We Know This is likely to gain the same level of attention. They’ve also recently added to their steller lineup with a baritone saxophonist and trumpeter making them a huge nine-piece force to be reckoned with. Catch them 11 December at Hotel Brunswick and 17 December at Miami Marketta.

I think we went through a real lull and for a couple of years it was just stuck in a rut. The same people promoting the same artists and to be honest I avoided it like the plague. But I can feel it’s on the rise and its really exciting.

If you had to pick your top five favourite GC artists, who would they be?

Mmmm Being Jane Lane, Georgia Mae, Jesswar, Mick McHugh and Mitch King.

What inspires you?

For some reason anytime I listen to Amy Winehouse, Tegan & Sara or Tom Delonge I go on a writing binge, crazy inspo.

Bleach Girls debut Like You

I recently got an email from Nick Shymansky who was the first guy to manage Amy Winehouse, he wrote - "I've been listening to your music and I love it" I screamed really loud when that happened.

Lifted from forthcoming EP Hi!, Gold Coast buo Bleach Girls have released debut single Like You. Recored at Blind Boy Studios, the track takes cues from the group’s staple influences of Best Coast, Alvvays and FIDLAR and it’s a short, punch pop punk number. The EP is due in November 2016 and while the single is their debut, the band have long been playing live shows both as Bleach Girls and in other projects. They’ve even support Dune Rats and The Coathangers. They’re setting off on a 13-date tour and the single is available for streaming via Soundcloud and Spotify.

I really want to work with Joel Little or Salaam Remi one day and I wouldn't mind snagging an Aria.

Chelsea Rockwells launch Stone

Have any of your musical dreams come true already?

Which ones remain?

What is next for Amy Shark?

A lot of tours, festivals, shows, more music and I really want to fix my shower door, it's really hard to open and close so I'm going to be looking into that ASAP! Natalie O'Driscoll

After smashing expectations with debut single Aztec, Chelsea Rockwells are back with follow-up single Stone.

It’s the second single off their debut EP due for resease in early 2017 and produced by Matt Bartlem at prestigious Loose Stones Studios. Stone is a hard-hitting rock track that demands attention fro the opening note. Much like the band’s live performance. Speaking of which, you can see just that when they hit elsewhere for their single launch on Thursday 1 December.

YOU CAN CATCH AMY AT ROBINA TOWN CENTRE ON SUNDAY 6 NOVEMBER BEFORE SHE HEADS OFF ON TOUR.

www.blankgc.com.au

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STEVE KILBEY: GOLD EVENING FIX Front man and creative muse for Australian music institution The Church, Steve Kilbey has experienced and delivered plenty in his 35 plus years in the music caper. The Church have been one of those blessed bands that have successfully straddled the oft divergent tangents of critical and commercial success, and it's the latter that's bringing Kilbey to the Gold Coast in December as part of the Gold FM Live concert extravaganza at NightQuarter.

With other artists on the bill including Ross Wilson, Richard Clapton, Eurogliders, 1927 and Rose Tattoo, the event is billed as 1 night, 10 artists, 30 massive hits' and involves each act delivering three of their most iconic and best loved crowd pleasers. I ask Kilbey, a renowned creative reinventor, how such an event, with it's focus on delivering just the radio hits, sits with him and his renowned 'ever forward' outlook.

"I'm happy to do these type of shows and I throw myself into them with everything I have,” he said. “But I have a career beyond 1982 and beyond Australia. I'm moving forward all the time. I'm making lots of records, I've just toured America again, I collaborate with other artists, I write soundtracks.”

“Playing these type of shows is a bit of fun, I enjoy hanging out with the other artists, and it pays well. Every one of these type of shows I've done have been hugely successful when it comes to audience reaction. But it's just an aspect of what I do. I don't condone nostalgia nor am I anti nostalgia. I think a package tour is a good thing. It was the first thing I ever saw as a kid. As long as people don't think that's all I do."

Kilbey has long been renowned as a highly prolific songwriter. When I put the question to him as to how many songs he's actually written across all of his band and solo guises, he puts things into staggering perspective.

“But I'm probably one of the most prolific songwriters in the world, and I'm still knocking out songs all the time,” he said.

The flip side to The Church's more radio friendly material is the sprawling body of work the band has put out under the broadly defined 'psychedelic' moniker.

Maverick Brian Jonestown Massacre front-man Anton Newcombe has been known to name-check The Church as being an important influence, both on his own band and on modern psychedelic music in general. Kilbey wryly observes that the influence of The Church has always exceeded their actual success. He then delivers an eye opening insight into the Church-inspired spark that led to the formation of seminal English act The Smiths.

"I'm playing at a Smiths tribute shortly. Not many people know this, but three of The Smiths formed at a Church gig in 1982 in Sheffield on our first UK tour. If you look at (Smiths guitarist) Johnny Marr in the early days and you look at (original Church guitarist) Marty Wilson-Piper… the guitar, the hair cut, the single earring, the way he played guitar...

They came along that night and saw us play, and that's where they said, we can do this, let's put a band together."

Kilbey is a man of many talents. In addition to his music you can add male model ("for grannies who like looking at older men in suits" chuckles Kilbey), poet, artist... and even tarot card deck designer. It's known as The Tarot Of The Time Being and features a tarot deck with his paintings and lyrics.

24 albums across 35 years and still incessantly treading the boards (they've done two American tours already this year), I asked Kilbey if he could ever have envisaged this longevity for The Church back in his youthful paisley days.

"I have more than 800 songs out there that are available and published,” he told Blank GC.

"No. When we started my ambition was to go on a tour to Melbourne. And after we did that, my next ambition was to make a single.”

To put that into some perspective, Nick Cave and Paul Kelly are up to about 350. Not that Steve is saying quantity is necessarily quality.

“My ambition was always just to do the next thing that came along. So I never foresaw this longevity, sitting here in 2016 still talking about rock and roll. When I left school I actually

wanted to learn ancient Greek and be an archaeologist. So it surprises me where I've ended up."

Another interesting fact about Steve Kilbey; he is the father to five daughters, including two sets of twins. The first set of which are pop stars and models in Sweden who go by the name of Say Lou Lou. Kilbey states wryly that they're better looking, more successful and make more money than him.

And as for the trials and tribulations of The Church sticking to their artistic vision across the decades..

"The hardest thing about being in The Church was resisting the ridiculous zeitgeist of the 80's. You had to be like this and you had to look like The Thompson Twins and you had to play electro-pop. We were fighting that all the time. We wanted to make albums that sounded like The Beatles. We liked Dylan, we liked Bowie. There was a lot of arguing and fighting with people all the way along the line. It hasn't been easy to maintain this course. But in the end I'm pretty happy with how it's all turned out."

Steve Kilbey will be performing as part of Gold FM Live at NightQuarter on Saturday 3 December, where you'll hear him play three of his most iconic numbers. Church fans probably won't have to rack their brains too much to come up with at least two of the tracks that he'll be throwing himself into on the night.

Also on the line up are: Ross Wilson, Richard Clapton, Eurogliders, 1927, Rose Tattoo, The Radiators, Wendy Matthews, Glenn Shorrock and Shannon Noll.

Anthony Gebhardt

BOBBY ALU: CATCH HIM WHILE YOU CAN Finally the moment we’ve been waiting for has come! Summer is here and that means, well lots of things, but specifically festival season. Which is why Erin Bourne is speaking with Bobby Alu who happens to be popping up at several of those summer festivals.

This summer is all about the festival for you, no other shows?

The first six months of this year were just mental touring. I couldn’t think about much more touring so I just decided to play festivals. There’s a lot of festivals though! I’m at Mullum Music Festival, Island Vibe, Queenscliff and I am playing every day at Woodford Folk Festival.

After the festival season what is happening for you?

I’m around until March and then I’m relocating to Switzerland. There are a few reasons, my girlfriend is from there, but it’s mostly for the music. I’ve had a great time when I’ve toured there, I’ve got shows over the summer with Xavier (Rudd) and so this opportunity just came up to go.

There are so many different, cool things and movements happening in Europe and I’m really inspired by it.

Will there be a new Bobby Alu album?

This is the first time in four years I’ve had this much time at home, it’s real exciting. It’s nice to be back in that creative bubble again. I’ve got lots of stuff, three years of iPhone recordings and stuff on my computer that I’m going through.

I’m working on it but I’ve got like 50-60 songs. I really want to get a subliminal message across, all about the flow.

BOBBY HAS NOT GOT A RELEASE DATE FOR THE ALBUM YET, BUT HE IS WORKING ON IT. IN THE MEANTIME, CATCH BOBBY BEFORE HE HEADS TO SCANDINAVIA FOR HEAVEN KNOWS HOW LONG. BOBBY ALU IS AT MULLUM MUSIC FESTIVAL FROM 17 – 20 NOVEMBER AND WOODFORD FOLK FESTIVAL FROM 27 DECEMBER – 1 JANUARY.

NOVEMBER

How do you choose out of all those songs?

I still don’t know! I’m really following this theme, this concept of flow and balance. The songs are about that and it’s a fun process. There are just so many people in my circle that are just gunning it! People who are choosing to do things that they love to do and it’s really working out. I’m so inspired by that, people from all walks of life just making stuff happen.

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As the local brewer, we brew beers for times like these...

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Monday Open 10am–5pm Tours 11am, 3pm Tuesday Open 10am–5pm No Tours Wednesday Open 10am–5pm Tours 11am, 3pm Thursday Open 10am–5pm Tours 11am, 3pm Friday Open 10am–5pm Tours 11am, 3pm Saturday Open 12–6pm Tours 2pm, 4pm Sunday Open 12–6pm Tours 2pm, 4pm To book, head to our website – stoneandwood.com.au/byron-brewery

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FRIDAY 4 NOV / 8pm / $10 Entry ZabicaMusica + Mitchells Fold + Peter Korzuch + Barbara Goodyear SATURDAY 5 NOV / 8pm / $10 Entry Redstarborn + Chelsea Rockwells + The Stone Fox + Handful Of Helmet FRIDAY 11 NOV / 8pm / $10 Entry Black Swamp "I Am the Mountain Tour" + Azreal + Black Rheno (Syd) + Baltimore Gun Club FRIDAY 18 NOV / 8pm / $10 Entry Speedball (Syd) + Vow to Conquer + Cactus Dill-Dos + Monster Fodder + Novus FRIDAY 25 NOV / 8pm / $10 Entry Wren Klauf + Killer Trunk Hunks + Not Lenny + Tony Gage FRIDAY 2 DEC / 8pm / $10 Entry Gramecy, Stone Witches, Straays, Temperance (Vic) SUNDAY 5 FEB / 4pm / $12 Oztix $15 Door The Rumjacks (Syd) + special guests

Restaurant + Bar + Gaming Serving tapas until 10pm Courtesy bus available – 5534 2322 www.currumbincreektavern.com.au

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CHASING DREAMS WITH JESSWAR Hip-hop artist Jesswar has had quite the roller coaster ride since bursting onto on the Gold Coast music scene. After making waves with her first EP, she got some loving on triple j, hit the stages at Big Day Out, was nominated for several Gold Coast Music awards, and since then has been quietly working on her new EP, and herself. She had a frank chat with our cultural editor Natalie O'Driscoll about what's been going down.

It's been ages since we last spoke! Can you fill us in what's been happening in Jesswar's world?

change my life dramatically like I have, I can do anything. I am ready to put in a lot of hard work and become a successful artist.

I've just been working on myself and my music. I had been struggling with my mental health issues since this time last year and just recently I've made a breakthrough and I feel the best I've ever felt and feeling positive again is reflecting on my music. I've been working with Tasmanian producer Disposition and we've created an EP that I am very proud and I can't wait for people to hear it.

I last saw you killing it onstage at the Gold Coast Music Awards, where you also received a nomination. How was that experience for you?

We can't wait! When is it out, and what can fans expect to hear?

Dreams will be available on iTunes next month and it's completely different from my first EP Peachy. The beats are produced

by Disposition and the lyrical content is really positive and uplifting. You'll be able to hear my progress and change from living a party lifestyle in Peachy to living a more mature and happy lifestyle in Dreams. I feel I've grown and learnt so much since my first release and feel I'm finally finding my feet as an artist.

How do you think you've evolved musically since your last release?

I feel like my lyrics have changed dramatically since Peachy. I am now writing about my experience with using drugs and how bad it was for my life when in Peachy all I was writing about was partying and drugs. Dreams is the aftermath of Peachy, what I've learnt and how I overcome using party drugs. I've also learnt so many lessons and gained so much knowledge from many new people in my life. I can't wait to watch my career progress. I feel like if I can

I'm so grateful that Sam asked me to jump up on stage and it was an honour performing with Hanlon Brothers. It was an amazing experience and I felt so lucky to even get nominated. It was really cool to see so many of my friends win awards too.

Tell us a bit about Check it Fest that you're playing at the end of the month.

Check it Fest is a music festival for young people and it's organised by Headspace. It's a free event that will be held at the Broadwater in Southport. There's a heap of talent on the bill so I do recommend coming down for the day. We start at 10.00am until 3.00pm on the 29 October.

What are you thoughts on the Gold Coast music scene?

I think our music scene is really starting to make some noise. I feel like we just need more venues putting on live original acts instead of the same cover bands and DJs. If we had more venues to play then I think we would have a mass of people coming out to see shows, but in a couple of years our music scene will be thriving like the valley in Brisbane.

Is there anything else you'd like folks to know?

I am launching my EP on 18 November at Escape Bar and Club, Surfers Paradise.

We've got female rappers Miss Blanks and G Elenil on the bill as well as Being Jane Lane.

The night will be hosted by one of the Gold Coast's best drag queens Natasha St James.

Doors at 6.00pm so come down for this wild night! Performers playing from 8:30pm.

DREAMS EP LAUNCH, 18 NOVEMBER, ESCAPE BAR & CLUB, SURFERS PARADISE. 16

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IDAHO’S RARE GEM HEADLINES MULLUM MUSIC FESTIVAL

US singer/songwriter Eilen Jewell has wowed Australian festival crowds and new found fans with her calm and collected groove over recent years. Her songs set scenes of mid-western American yesteryear, signified by titles such as Rio Grande, half-broke horse and Sundown are written and produced by her drummer and husband, Jason Beek.

Eilen at home in Boise, Idaho in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains spoke with Blank’s Tiffany Mitchell before her October US and Australian November tours.

An Instagram post from your tour in Europe says you have some blues covers and a Loretta Lyn cover. Can you tell us about your appreciation of the great Loretta Lyn, and when and how her song writing influenced you?

Loretta Lyn, she isn’t my earliest influence - my love for classic country came a little later than my love for early folk music, blues and early rock n’ roll, but I love Loretta’s music now - classic country music and I did that whole Butcher Holler album as a tribute to her. As a songwriter she’s so original to me because she’s not afraid to rock the boat at all. She moved country music forward in a really great way for women and I owe her a debt of gratitude just for all of the topics she covered, some of them controversial. I really loved that about her. She had more songs banned from radio than any other country artist ever since, which is a good sign because I think the country music world needs to be ‘shookin up’ every now and then!

We love the rich instrumentation on your new album Sundown Over Ghost Town; mariachi style trumpet solo in Rio Grande, pedal steel, Wurlitzer, harmonica accompaniments - the production from yourself and Jason Beek is really wonderful, will you be bringing the full band to Australia?

Why thank you! I will be bringing my full touring band that’s my husband Jason on drums and back-up vocals, the guitar player who has been playing with me since Boundary Country days - Jerry Miller on electric guitar, and we have a bass player who has been with us for a year and a half, Shawn Supra - he’s on upright bass. Once in a while I’ll play harmonica …. as best I can.

Tell us about your up and coming performance with the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame honouring Johnny Cash.

I haven’t done anything like this before, I’m very excited about it. I guess I’ll be playing a few Johnny Cash songs and I’ll be joined by a host of other musicians that haven’t really been confirmed yet. I heard through the grapevine that one of them is going to be a big deal classic country artist, so I’m excited to find out who that will be. I’m not really sure what I did to get asked into the inner-circle to play at the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame, but whatever it is I’m really grateful. At the Johnny Cash tribute I’ll be playing with the house band and that will be interesting for me because I hardly ever play with other bands … it’s a little scary. Jerry Miller, my guitar player will be with us so at least I’ll have that familiar sound.

Who is on your own personal playlist at the moment since arriving back from your European tour - did you grab some of the albums from artists you were playing with at those festivals?

Well you know I still don’t have a CD player and I don’t have an iPod or anything, I’m sort of a luddite! I just listen to music on vinyl records and one vinyl record I’ve been spinning lately is Jason Isbell’s latest album, I really love JD Macpherson and I’m a huge fan of CW Stoneking, so I hope our paths can cross at some point.

EILEN JEWELL IS AT MULLUM MUSIC FESTIVAL WHICH RUNS 17 – 20 NOVEMBER 2016. TICKETS VIA MULLUMMUSICFESTIVAL.COM.

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EARLY BIRD TICKETS SOLD OUT FOR OZFEST

JOSH PYKE + BOB EVANS: GOLD COAST BOUND

Josh Pyke confirms it’s a unique stage presence that fans can A full three months ahead of the event, OzFest has sold out of early bird tickets. It’s not really any surprise given the lineup.

Josh Pyke confirms it’s a unique stage presence that fans can expect when he and Bob Evans co-headline a national tour next month, their first together in a decade.

Ball Park Music, British India, Urthboy and Hockey Dad lead the bill for the one day festival which takes place on the Gold Coast on 28 January. Luke Million, Bec Sandridge and Bleach Girls are also on the lineup.

“Last time we very much did two separate sets. This time, we’re doing two whole sets on stage with each other. So we’ve learnt each other’s songs, top to tail, and we’re accompanying each other for each of the sets. So it’s gonna be quite the singalong for our fans. You’ll love it.”

Now in its fourth year Ozfest has established itself as one of the premiere events in the summer calendar for southeast Queensland

With laughs punctuating the interview, it’s clear the chemistry between these two, who are both ARIA nominated this year, will be a key feature of the tour. Bob Evans’ latest Car Boot Sale is nominated for Best Adult Contemporary album and we talked about why he picked that name.

With artists like Illy, The Preatures, Seth Sentry, San Cisco, Allday, Art Vs Science and Kingswood having already bought blistering performances to the stage, organisers have upped the ante for 2017.

“I’ve actually never had a car boot sale. If I had one I’d probably be selling baby toys and kids clothes these days.…”

Festival programmer Ian Smith said “our key focus for the festival is to ensure we are bringing the best acts possible across a diverse range of genres to the good folk of SEQ… and not for a ridiculous price.”

“It was actually just a working title. It made sense based on the emotional sort of response I was having as I was putting the songs together. The songs just started taking on new meanings for me.”

No question, they’ve delivered.

Whether young or old songs, both musicians have made a habit of crafting some wonderful memories in music, wedded to experiences of the last ten years for many of their fans. Josh was reticent to make the tour sound nostalgic, but he reflected on what he thinks it will be like, tongue firmly in cheek to close;

But now that early bird tickets have sold out, you best get a move on if you want to be front and centre to wrap up the festive season with one almighty hoedown at Miami Tavern.

And if you need a throw back to last year’s event, here’s what our roving raconteur Carmel E Lewis had to say.

“Everyone was well and truly in the groove. The sun began to set, the clouds throwing out amazing colours and shapes as I hung from the upstairs car-park with a view of the whole she-bang. The seas thumped on the other side, vistas over the suburbs into the hinterland hills.

It was so damn cool. I dove back down from my lofty ivory tower into the frantic guts of the mosh and picture-pit. Man. This was some kind of wonderful. I was in my element.”

“Tim Freedman (The Whitlams) calls touring “forced leisure time”. It’s true. If you're on the road you’re having fun. I didn’t become a musician to have a terrible time. So it’ll be great… I love all of Bob’s songs. I love all of my songs. So it’s just gonna be awesome. Unless… he’s been lying to me and he’s turned into a complete asshole over the past decade” Bob countered swiftly.

ONE TENOR: ROGER DAVY

Best known for being instrumental in putting the famed Ten Tenors together, it’s no surprise that Gold Coaster Roger Davy is passionate about classical music. He first moved here from Melbourne in the 80s to sing with Opera Queensland, which was a launching pad to Opera Australia. He’s probably best known, though as the original Singing Waiter.

He had a break from singing for a while which led him to study hospitality. “All I ever did was sing,” he said. “I’d never done anything else.”

Roger ended up as a boardroom waiter. People started recognising him as one of the Ten Tenors and he was asked to sing at functions. And so the Singing Waiter was born.

“I was doing that at corporate events and went to the Singapore Grand Prix,” Roger said. “I performed there for four years. Now I do Pavarotti impersonations.”

There’s no doubt it’s been a diverse career for Roger. He’s taken his shows to Four Seasons in the Maldives, all across Australia and all over Asia.

“The whole idea with what I do is to bring classical music to people in a fun, entertaining way,” he said. “And now I get to be a soloist. I spent so much time singing with a chorus for many years and deciding I’d never be recognised as a solo artist, but now I get to do that on a regular basis.”

Through Vavachi, which is his stage show company, Roger says he’s taken out of the city moreso than booked within.

He also said people often struggle with opera.

“People’s reaction to the word opera is always like they snub their nose at it and think it’s for the elite,” he said “when in actual fact, the raw energy with classical music affects people. The hair stands up on the back of people’s necks and it’s an emotional journey – it affects them.”

“I can neither confirm nor deny that I’m an asshole.”

I think it’s fair to say we’re going be satisifed with their coheadlining gig. It’s 4 December at Miami Marketta.

GENERAL ADMISSION TICKETS ARE $69 VIA MOSHIX.COM.AU.

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW ONLINE AND CATCH ROGER’S NEXT PERFORMANCE AT CHRISTMAS IN PARADISE, RUNAWAY BAY COMMUNITY CENTRE, 17 DECEMBER FROM 11.00AM.

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Image: Lamp Photography

STRAAYING FROM THE PATH Formed in just 2015 by life-long friends Daniel Lawrie (vocals / guitar) and Filip Battley (bass), Straays offer a dose of 90s grunge reimagined for new audiences.

Having only just settled on drummer Tadhg to complete the band and only just playing their live debut, they’ve claimed the opening slot for Melbourne rockers Osaka plus have plans to hit the studio and release new music in coming months. Samantha Morris sat down with the trio at Expressive Grounds to learn more.

Had heaps of fun. It was a good turn-out.”

I do my research. It was a good turnout.

There were 200+ people at their show.

Quite a crowd for a live debut.

“We tried to keep it pretty mellow and not really tell anyone we were playing,” Daniel said. “And then it was a bunch of crew there, that we knew.”

I ask the men to describe their sound and they say it’s pretty grungy. Pretty 90s.

“We’re into 90s sort of alternate stuff,” Daniel said. “We just want to play fast and make people throw shit.”

“I think there’s a big 90s resurgence at the moment and not a lot of bands are doing that. There are a few bands in Brisbane – like Violent Soho – and people are eating

that stuff up now. I think there’s quite a demand for it.”

“It’s just so fun to play, we just evolved into that. We’ve just been getting heavier and heavier,” Tadhg added.

Tadhg is the newest addition to the band, discovered through an SMS exchange between the other two and a mutual friend.

“A friend said he could shred on drums and then we got together. He’s nearly too good for us,” Filip said.

“I always had a drum kit at my house, dad played music, did gigs and stuff,” Tadhg said. “Before I started school pretty much. I taught myself initially and then throughout school got a few lessons.

Then through high school was in school percussion and learnt all the technical stuff – kind of taught myself.”

Tadhg has only just moved here from Western Australia. “I came over with a

bunch of mates to just check the place out but never left,” he said.

“We’ve got this idea of how we want to sound,” Daniel said. “It’s heavy.”

Filip and Daniel on the other hand have been here forever and friends since kindergarten.

They weren’t allowed to go to school together though, parents having decided it was probably best to keep them separate.

“But dynamic,” Filip adds. “And melodic and well-writen.”

“We’re brothers, really,” Filip said.

The plan for Straays is to record two songs, see how they sound recorded and use that process as a bit of experiment to see if it’s a sound they want.

Image: Lamp Photography

“We only just played our first gig last Friday,” the lads tell me as we get to know eachother.

“Not throwaway,” Tadhg says.

And when can we expect them?

“Before end of year I’d say,” Daniel said. We want to try and have something before then.”

Stay tuned.

PHIL BARLOW AND THE WOLF ALL LOVED UP Love is the theme for Phil Barlow and the Wolf ’s new single, launching at NightQuarter, Friday 2 December.

vibe of universal love that we wanted to release a song for our friends, new and old, to kind of give back and show gratitude for the support," said frontman Phil Barlow.

Known for bluesy-rock swagger and proclivity for howling, bra-throwing fans, they’re changing their tune a little for this new track.

Befittingly recorded at Love Street Studios, Love Is All I Feel will be available for free download with a music video featuring other local musicians, artists, friends and fans at a party held at The Avalon last weekend.

Trading gyrations and flirtations for good vibrations and aspirations, Love Is All I Feel is a groove-laden, blues-rock-funk number encouraging you to open up and connect with fellow humans.

After some sixty shows, the east coast is well on its way to being awakened with the band highlighting their 2016 Blues On Broadbeach appearances as most memorable.

"We've met so many incredible people on the road touring our latest album, The Awakening. The band felt such a general

"Blues on Broadbeach went off!" said bass player, Regotron,

"The Liars Bar was packed to the rafters with howling, sweaty music lovers - girls got their bras off, Phil took his shirt off. It got pretty wild."

The Love Is All I Feel tour will be a similar story to that told before, getting wild and liberated, but the little twist in this tale is a real vibe of gratitude and giving. “Even more so than usual," said Barlow.

PHIL BARLOW & THE WOLF ARE AT NIGHTQUARTER ON 2 DECEMBER AND THE RAILS BYRON BAY ON 4 DECEMBER BEFORE RETURNING TO SONNY’S HOUSE OF BLUES IN BRISBANE ON 17 DECEMBER.

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Image: Lamp Photography

ANTECHINUS: NOT YOUR AVERAGE FUZZY MARSUPIAL Members of the antechinus species have been called broad-footed marsupial mice, pouched mice, route rat and antechinus shrews. They’re small, carnivorous, shrew-like marsupials and they primarily prey on invertebrates like spiders, beetles and weevils.

There’s another kind. And it makes music.

Four-piece Antechinus only formed on the Gold Coast in late 2015 and their first gig was May this year. Consisting of two musical veterans – Leon Rossi (guitar) and Brad Fleming (bass, vocals) alongside Shaun Radford (vocals) and James Scown (drums), the band boasts a free-thinking approach to writing music, combining elements of punk, metal, prog rock and stoner doom.

Before Shaun, the newest member joined the band, Antechinus were basically just an instrumental outfit. While he’s performed as a drummer and singer before, he’s never technically been a frontman.

“I made them better,” Shaun laughed.

“He blew us out of the water entirely,” James said. “We had like three jams and hired him.”

With only a few short months of gigging, Antechinus have had gigs through Brisbane and the Gold Coast as well as Ipsich with venues like New Globe and Back Room, Rics, Currumbin Creek Tavern and Kirra Sports Club scoring visits from the band.

They say their free-thinking approach is about not constraining themselves to a certain genre or structure.

With references to genres like punk and death metal I’m curious as to what the band were listening to growing up. I get a diverse response, but there’s definitely a theme: Aphex Twin, Frank Zappa, Frenzal Rhomb, The Offspring, Pennywise. James comes from a tech metal background.

“We have a lot of nuanced influences,” he said.

Fresh from playing Fuzz Fest alongside other Gold Coast bands like Kobrakai, Baltimore Gun Club and Goatzilla and with an EP currently in production, there are no brakes on the musical train wreck that is known as Antechinus.

Samantha Morris

20

www.blankgc.com.au

TOMMY SHEEHAN’S LUSH OLD HOUSE Tommy Sheehan, at just 21 years of age is already known for his lush acoustic guitars, ambient vocal melodies and spacious natural soundscapes. Moving to the Gold Coast when he was just a baby he grew up close to the ocean, and that’s a vibe that’s evident in his music.

“I can be influenced by anything, really when it comes to songwriting,” he told Blank GC. “Lyrically I am always driven by the highs and lows of general life, things that everyone can relate to that really pull at the heartstrings.”

Sonically though he says he’s inspired by everyday sounds.

“I always seem to have different melodies in the back of my mind,” he said.

And while he’s absolutely influenced by modern day artists getting airtime on his personal playlists such as Matt Corby, Angus Stone and Bon Iver he says he was also influenced by the music his parents listened to. Artists like Lenny Kravitz, Powderfinger and John Mayer.

“It wasn't until high school that I started to form an individual taste for music,” he said.

Tommy is getting ready to release his EP Old House. It’ll be a short, sharp and very sweet four-track release. And the good thing about that is that you’ve got a few chances to catch young Tommy live in coming months.

“I've got a few release shows along the east coast that I'll be promoting to launch the EP throughout November,” he said.

“The main Gold Coast EP launch show will be at the Gold Coast Soundlounge on 18 November.”

“I'll also be performing at elsewhere in Surfers on 4 November The Milk Factory in Brisbane on 27 November.”

Samantha Morris

TOMMY SHEEHAN LAUNCHES HIS EP OLD HOUSE AT SOUNDLOUNGE CURRUMBIN ON 18 NOVEMBER.

CALIGULA'S HORSE Brisbane-based prog rock champions, Caligula’s Horse channel raw honesty and skill into a seamless package. Their 2011 debut album Moments from Ephemeral City was released in the same year the band formed. 2013 follow up The Tide, The Thief & River’s End received international acclaim. On the back of that album the band shared stages with the likes of Opeth, Mastodon, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Twelve Foot Ninja and Ne Obliviscaris.

Now with 2015’s Bloom under their belt, plus joining the roster of North America’s The Agency Group and signing with prestigious German label Inside Out, the band’s sights seem wider and deeper than ever before.

We chatted to frontman Jim Grey ahead of their national tour. He’s known for crafting songs with meaning. At the Queensland Music Awards ceremony earlier this year he performed a spoken word piece about people seeking asylum We Should All Carry a Coin for the Boatman that left many people with dust in their eyes.

“There’s a message and story in everything we do,” Jim told Blank GC. “Writing music without a core in it is totally facile. Whereas for us, when I try and capture a concept or a story– it’s about capturing emotion – those things are partly informed by my view of the world – and the guys in the band.”

“We’re not like Rage Against The Machine,” Jim said. “We’re not going to be writing a song that’s politically targeted about what’s going on in the world… but at the same time, there will be political messages in songs and people will interpret them that way or their own way.”

But back to the tour, and I find out it’s the most excited Jim has been about new stuff for a long time.

“We’re bringing some new material along with us,” he said.

“And the immensity of it. It feels large, it feels important to me. There’s some conceptual elements to this that are a little more personal than stories I’ve told in the past.”

“I’m looking forward to sharing and seeing how people respond.”

Samantha Morris

CALIGULA’S HORSE IS AT THE TRIFFID, BRISBANE ON FRIDAY 4 NOVEMBER.

Image: Lamp Photography

DRAWING THE HEART OUT OF SCARLET KILL In 2012 three brothers and a best friend joined forces in the fertile music scene of Benowa High School to form punk band, Scarlet Kill.

The four young guys sitting in front of me are deceptively quietly spoken as their raucous stage presence certainly tells a different tale.

This energy and enthusiasm has landed them a short Australian tour and a stint touring Japan on the heels of their latest EP release, She Draws The Heart Out Of My Love. The EP, released in October, shows diversity and a maturing of sound. While the band’s influences, Green Day, Fallout Boy, My Chemical Romance and Evanescence (I told you I’d put it in guys!) so shine through, Scarlet Kill have still managed to create their own unique sound.

All four band members, Will, Mitch, Matt and Bryce, were kind enough to give Erin Bourne an insight into the EP, the tour and the life of independent bands on the Gold Coast.

She Draws the Heart Out of My Love is your second release, how long ago was the first?

You forgot you were touring Japan? Your first international shows?

Our first EP, Serenade Syndrome was released in 2013. We were really young when we recorded it, (they’re all now ancient in their late teens/early 20s), and it was a more generic sound. We were still figuring out our own sound.

We (all of them are laughing) have been so busy finishing the EP and sorting out the details of the Australian tour that you do kind of push it to the back. We heard the music scene is amazing over there and we have been booked for shows in three different cities.

What has been happening in the three years since then?

We toured for that EP and we wrote the new songs. We have all developed our skills more in that time and found our own unique sound. As an independent band it’s our investment to make an EP and three of us are uni students, so that is hard.

That is tough, how is it being an independent band on the Gold Coast?

There are not many venues to play but since some of us are students we can play the uni bar at Griffith, which is a great venue. We have a friend who books shows for us but we promote it ourselves through social media. We have friends with bands and so when we do shows they open for us which helps all of us draw a bigger crowd. Everyone is really supportive of each other.

It’s pretty amazing you have a national tour, where is next?

We still have shows in Adelaide and Sydney before we release the video for Don’t Wake Up. Oh and we’re going to Japan!

Sounds like a great time, is that what drives you to make music?

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

It’s such an awesome thing, to play your music and have the crowd interaction and them singing back to you, (now they’re excited and grinning)! It’s such a great way to connect with people and the energy is just crazy. Every time we finish a gig we just want to go again!

6.

WHILE WE’VE MISSED THEIR MOST RECENT GOLD COAST GIG, KEEP AN EYE OUT ON FACEBOOK.COM/SCARLETTKILL AND @SCARLETKILLOFFICIAL FOR THE NEXT SHOWS. SCARLET KILL WILL SURELY BLOW YOU AWAY WITH THEIR PASSION, ENERGY AND, THOUGH IT’S NOT PUNK, ABSOLUTE EXUBERANCE. Kylie Cobb www.blankgc.com.au

21

album reviews

A LIFE IN THE SUN

MORETON

CITY OVER SAND

Specimen

Good Grief

A Life in the Sun is not only a collection of music from surf movies from 1966 to 1977, but a history of Australia’s music and surf culture. It covers a time when there hippies, not hipsters ruled the streets, and life was simpler. Many people literally followed the sun. The album takes its name from the 1966 Paul Witzig film, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Back then it was a DIY culture with film makers actually touring their films themselves.

"Didn't anybody tell ya…

Riding the ever rising tide of musical talent and diversity currently emanating from the Gold Coast, City Over Sand have chosen their moniker well. New album, Good Grief, sees the band deliver a warmly reflective and consistently moving listening experience, recorded at band member Brad Hosking's Blind Boy Studios in Nerang. Interestingly, the studio is named after the legendary Ray Charles on account of a mixing desk identical to one he owned that resides there.

Various artists

Some of the material I’ve heard before, like The Sunsets The Hot Generation which Celibate Rifles played as a cover. The original by the Sunsets is timeless like many of the other tracks, and of course there are classic tracks from Morning of the Earth.

Richard Clapton classics, Tamum Shud, and G Wayne Thomas are just some of the artists I knew, but there are others like Frog Hollow that had me dreaming of life back in the 1960s and 1970s, when your cares drifted away like the outgoing tide or the smoke from your reefer.

It’s a great listen and a great example of Australian original music, much of that not in the mainstream. It follows the path of exposing the great talent in Australia at that time in the vein of 1960’s garage compilation Nuggets a few years ago.

There are previously unreleased tracks, and when you buy the CD you also get a 28-page booklet from album curator Stephen J McParland with notes and pictures of the era.

The movies included were a history and chronicle of the times, as is the music contained in this album. Check it out!

Terry “Tappa” Teece

Being young is hard for everyone, Johana" I remember walking into Fortitude Valley’s Foundry at BIGSOUND this year in a buoyant, joyful mood. It was early in the evening on the opening Wednesday night, perhaps around 8.00pm, and I may have already consumed the first of several enjoyable, (while responsible) beverages.

I was met by the earnest music of Moreton, a three-piece whose bio claims Brisbane and Byron connections. As my joy met a counterpoint in their music, I recall my first genuine thought on experiencing the band was that everyone needed a hug; one of those hugs that reassure you that no matter what the challenge, it’s probably gonna be okay and even if it’s not, at least you received a bloody awesome hug to show for your grief.

Moreton's new EP, Specimen is filled with five tracks that motivate that sense of compassion in a caring person. Track three is a moving highlight, and Johana kicks off with a pulsing rhythm and bass line. The lyrics communicate regret, empathy and sensitivity. The closing track, Restitution, might be my favourite, and I could almost hear the choristers and orchestra already accompanying Georgia's vocals in a future imagined incarnation of the beautiful track. This little piece of Georgia's mind surely delivered the peace of mind the song promises.

"You don't need no restitution Some peace of mind will do you.”

If you like your storytelling sincere and your music melancholy and brooding, Moreton’s new EP is for you. Here’s to those reminders to give absent friends a phone call telling them you’re thinking of them, or dropping in for a hug. Moreton play Summertime Sessions in The Village in Mudgeeraba supported by Lamplights frontman Ryan Gittoes on Friday 2 December. Invite your friends; hugs for everyone.

Glenn Tozer

DARKC3LL Haunted Reality

Gentle guitar pop with indie-folk undertones permeate these emotive and wistful odes, the band leisurely unveiling a songwriting depth borne from an obvious love of their craft and a knowing way around a radio friendly tune. Thematically the record is both reflective and deeply personal. Singer, songwriter and guitarist Dan Carroll describes it as being about "family, friends and asking questions that will never be answered."

Opening track Free commences with a plaintive acoustic strum before the gorgeously sweet-as-honey vocals of Carroll enter. Across its four and a half minutes the track then leisurely unwinds like a mid afternoon stroll along the Nobby's Beach foreshore on a mid afternoon Sunday.

Smith St Turnoff, another wink and nod to the city of its creation, is a bouncily nostalgic ode to days of yore. Old And Grey is mid paced melodic indie-folk fleshed out with tasteful piano. Lead single Look For Me is a highlight, Carroll sweetly emoting "Don't hold me down, keep my head above the water,” the song embellished with subtly tasteful studio touches, not too far removed from the gentler moments of Bends era Radiohead. Shake Hands With Danger delivers a piano driven shuffle, Where We Started From is an up tempo, summery-pop number while The World Falls Onto Me turns on the introspection, augmented with a welcome incursion of hazy electric guitar around the three minute mark.

Good Grief is a record where both warmth and reflection and joy and introspection exist harmoniously as one. A good choice to incorporate into the soundtrack of your endless Gold Coast summer.

Anthony Gebhardt

Darkc3ll are one of those bands. When they set out to release a new album it's like an event.

So when it came to getting my hands on a copy of their latest album Haunted Reality I was keen to hear what the Gold Coast Brisbane industrial maniacs had in store for their fans in time for the release date of Halloween.

A few months ago Darkc3ll released the single Preacher, accompanied by one hell of a video clip which definitely got people excited for the upcoming release. While it is a stand out track, the album itself has some real kick ass songs that would definitely stand on their own if the band chose to release them all individually as singles.

Haunted Reality starts off with the instrumental title track that sets the tone before kicking into gear with my personal favourite song from the album Stitch Your Heart, which has one of the catchiest choruses I have heard in a long time.

Other highlights personally were Vampire Nation, Creepshow and the latest single released Toxic Mutant Hero, which especially struck a chord with me due to my love of Troma and the Toxic Avenger.

Frontman Jesse Dracman lets loose on your imagination with lyrics that allude there is a lot more going on beneath the already dark surface of tales of monsters and things that go bump in the night.

From start to finish the album holds your attention and delivers some of the best songwriting of its genre.

It's also a hell of a lot of fun and sounds amazing when you turn it up loud.

The production is damn impressive with the recording taking place in the band’s own headquarters RTD Studios, where they have also delivered top notch releases on many occasions for other artists.

Even though Darkc3ll have been doing this for a while now it feels like they evolve with each release and this is evident in Haunted Reality.

If there is one thing they are good at it's writing songs with extremely catchy hooks on an international level that keep their fans coming back for more.

Neville Pearce

22

www.blankgc.com.au

DOMINIQUES

PIXIES

On their debut self titled EP, Northern NSW five piece Dominiques have delivered a promising slice of 80's indebted new-wave glamour augmented with lashings of gothic and post punk elements.

Out with the old and in with the new. Pixies are back with a new CD, a new bassist and a newer sound. But can Black Francis and co still cut the mustard in 2016?

Dominiques

Push Up, sounding not too dissimilar to early 80's English post-punk act The Au Pairs in intent and delivery, sets the tone early up. The guitars take turns in chugging and chiming before a bold chorus swiftly embeds the track into the realm of catchy ear worm.

Heartbeat starts out as a thumping, mid tempo pop rock number before morphing into altogether heavier territory via a trippy, fuzzed out crescendo in the track's middle section, before reverting back to its original template.

Love Me is a bouncy, new wave pop-tastic gem, channeling both Blondie and a touch of Souxie And The Banshees' Hong Kong Garden, a track ready-made for sing-alongs and pogo-ing in equal measure.

Dirty Boys commences like a woozy reinterpretation of The Cure's 10:15 Saturday Night, before bursting open into a stomping new wave anthem with emo and goth undertones. And final track Father delivers a late night comedown, moodily drawing the curtain on the seedy and glamorous world of Dominiques.

Whilst the band certainly channel some stellar source material, there's enough of a unique slant and genre cross-pollination going down to ensure that Dominiques rise above any accusations of straight up 80's plagiarism.

Anthony Gebhardt

BILLY BRAGG AND JOE HENRY

Head Carrier

After all, it’s been nearly 30 years since they first formed, 23 since breaking up, 10 after reuniting, and two years after their poorly received comeback, Indie Cindy (2014).

Sure, you won’t find the foul-mouthed, frantic, eyeball-slicing Pixies of old here. Instead, Head Carrier ushers in a new, harmonious and reflective Pixies.

No more so than on the song, All I Think About Now, itself a thank-you letter to founding Pixie, Kim Deal, penned by Francis and sung by her replacement Paz Lenchantin (formerly of A Perfect Circle and Zwan). It’s a fond farewell and a warm welcome rolled into one: goodbye Kim, hello Paz. “I try and think about tomorrow, But I always think about the past, About the things that didn’t last” Opening with a deliberate reference to Where Is My Mind, the song is an upbeat tearjerker of a breakup song, particularly with its optimistic refrain: “remember when we were happy?”

Songs like Plaster of Paris, Bel Esprit or Oona continue the somewhat chirpy theme. There’s plenty of classic Pixies trademarks – Joey Santiago’s surf-riffs; his n’ hers vocals; Americana; psychedelic, surrealist lyrics – but with a focus on a lighter, more jubilant, side than you might expect.

In the case of the delicate All the Saints the mood is downright sorrowful. With the wistful line “wondering why I’m still here” the album’s closer sounds almost like a swansong.

So, where is the unhinged Black Francis – with those violent outbursts and famous screaming fits? He pops up once or twice: namely on the Smashing Pumpkins-like Baal’s Back and, latest single, Um Chagga Lagga – a delightfully deranged ode to roadside prostitution. But, really, how much tormented yelping do you want from a man in his early fifties? It can’t be good for the gullet.

What will the die-hards think? Of course, history hangs heavy for such a cult (and oft-imitated) band. Yes, there are softer edges. But to judge this album solely by past glories would be to ignore what is a solid, focused, if not entirely explosive, effort. Here’s to new beginnings.

Shine A Light: Field Recordings From The Great American Railroad

On Shine A Light: Field Recordings From The Great American Railroad, comrades and respected troubadours Billy Bragg and Joe Henry literally and musically tackle the romantic notion of great American railroad journeys of yore. Jumping on a train in Chicago, the pair traveled for four days to Los Angeles, capturing spontaneous interpretations of a bunch of old-time Americana standards at stops along the way. At the end of their 65 hour odyssey they had conjured an album's worth of railroad infused folk and blues covers, as well as two original numbers, delivered with just their voices and guitars and the ambient sounds of the journey.

Location and history played a crucial role in the coming together of the album. The pair crooned and strummed their take on Hank William's Lonesome Whistle in their sleeping berth near Whistle Junction, Missouri. While Waiting For A Train, originally performed

by Jimmie Rogers, had a particularly poignant genesis, the pair alighting from the train in San Antonio for an overnight stop at the Gunter Hotel, room 414 to be exact. This was the exact location where mythical early 20's bluesman Robert Johnson performed the first of his two fabled recording sessions. The song sees Bragg adopt Roger's renowned yodel, of which Bragg describes himself as being "the only Englishman to do a non-ironic yodel since Morrissey."

Another rustic blues legend, Leadbelly, is represented twice in song on the album. Both In The Pines, famously reinterpreted by Nirvana as Where Did You sleep Last Night, and The Midnight Special, a traditional folk number covered by everyone from Little Richard to Creedence Clearwater Revival, further capture the essence of spirit of Bragg and Henry's reverential railroad pilgrimage.

The L&N Don't Stop Here Anymore, originally performed by Jean Ritchie, is a lonesome minor key ode with Bragg taking the main vocal part and Henry adding subtle accompaniment. While Hobo's Lullaby, an old Woodie Guthrie number, is another of the album's reinterpretive highlights. No doubt Billy Bragg fans will be more than familiar with 'the bard of barking' tackling Guthrie material, having previously recorded two album's worth of unreleased Guthrie songs in collaboration with Wilco.

As the soundtrack to your next railroad sojourn, or your next long distance road trip for that matter, Shine A Light is about as authentic as it gets.

Anthony Gebhardt

Pixies will tour Head Carrier Down Under in March 2017.

Richard Scott

www.blankgc.com.au

23

WEDNESDAY 2 - FRIDAY 4 NOVEMBER

GOLD COAST GIG GUIDE

Australian Music Week: Ella Fence + Little Georgia + Bearfoot + Demi Louise + Lepers & Crooks + Luke O’Shea + Mat McHugh + Tay Oskee | Cronulla, Sydney. More at australianmusicweek.com.

WEDNESDAY 2 NOVEMBER James Street Preachers | Cambus Wallace, Nobby Beach Dan England | The Rails, Byron

THURSDAY 3 NOVEMBER Rick Price + Mitch King | The Basement, The Arts Centre Gold Coast Cover Shot Jam Sessions + Open Mic | Commercial Hotel, Nerang Cheap Fakes (7.30pm) + Fox and Fiasco (6.00pm) + Sophia Koop (3.00pm) | The Kitchens Robina, Robina Town Centre Lay of the Land + Six Shooter + Samin + Cleaver | elsewhere

The Settlement | Miami Marketta Wally & The Gators (covers) | RSL Club Southport

SATURDAY 5 NOVEMBER Sticky Fingers (Ticketed) | NightQuarter Colt Seavers & The Rockabilly Road Band | NightQuarter Backyard Stage

Pauly P | Hard Rock Cafe, Surfers Paradise

Matt Stillert | Hotel Brunswick Yeshe | Mandala Organic Arts Cafe

Allensworth (4.00pm) | Hotel Brunswick

The Jacqui Walker Band | Southport Sharks

Stonefield + White Bleaches + Rackett | Miami Marketta

Benny D Williams (6.00pm) | open air cinema, Broadbeach

Sunset DJ Session (4.30pm) + Lush (12.30pm) | Phoenix Rising Cafe, Nimbin Pete Allan Band (2.00pm) + Method (7.00pm) | Sheaok Shack, Fingal The Weather Men Duo | Hotel Brunswick

Kelli Knight & the Daze | The Rails, Byron

Southwall | The Rails, Byron

Lisa Hunt (1.00pm) | Advancetown Hotel

The Juke Joint Way | The Rails, Byron

Summertime Sessions in the Village:Kimbal Imaz-Hirst + Leopold's Treat | Cuddihy Park, Mudgeeraba

Lecia and friends + Jake Fox + Marshall O'Kell | NightQuarter

Hayley Grace (acoustic), 1.00pm | Southport Sharks

Allensworth (USA) | Miami Marketta

Dan Duggan | Mandala Organic Arts Cafe

ZabicaMusica + Mitchell's Fold + Peter Korzuch + Barbara Goodyear | Currumbin Creek Tavern

Benny D Williams (2.00pm) | Boatshed, Currumbin

Royale + Noah + Jimmy D | elsewhere

Mattie Barker (Lamplights) | Bundall Bazaar

Yoste (7.00pm) + Austen (6.00pm) + Sophia Koop (4.00pm) + Imogen Scott-Parker (11.00am) | The Kitchens Robina, Robina Town Centre

Beetle Juice (12.30pm) + Sonic Bliss (10.00am) | Phoenix Rising Cafe, Nimbin

King Social + supports TBC | Miami Tavern Shark Bar

Redstarborn + Chelsea Rockwells + The Stone Fox + Handful Of Helmet | Currumbin Creek Tavern

Mescalito Blues | Lennox Hotel

Bone Lazy Duo, 1.00pm (covers) | RSL Club Southport

Sex & Chocolate | Currumbin Beach Vikings SLSC

FRIDAY 4 NOVEMBER

Nick Cunningham (3.00pm) | Burleigh Brewing Co.

Amy Shark + Jackson James Smith + Nil Anang | The Kitchens Robina, Robina Town Centre

Ellie Hopley | Genki Cafe (10.30am-1.30pm)

Tyrone Noonan | The Rails, Byron

The Feramones | Southport Sharks

www.blankgc.com.au

h’Fika + Aranular Beagle + Tommy Sheehan + Audun + Lockhart | elsewhere

Slip on Stereo + Luate + Acfields + Imogen Scott-Parker | The Kitchens Robina, Robina Town Centre

Phil Jamieson & Band | Soundlounge Currumbin

24

The Gig Cartel (Covers) | Currumbin Beach Vikings SLSC

Giv + Tiafau | elsewhere

Gemini Duo (covers) | RSL Club Southport

SUNDAY 6 NOVEMBER Kim Wilde + Howard Jones | Jupiters Hotel and Casino Unplugged Jam Session (1.00pm) | Burleigh Waters Tavern Joshy Dredz | Burleigh Brewing Co (2.00pm) Old Fashion + Rahu + Romeo Moon + Shady Bliss | Shark Bar, Miami Tavern

MONDAY 7 NOVEMBER

FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER The Black Swamp + Azreal + Black Rheno + Baltimore Gun Club | Currumbin Creek Tavern Velvet Martini | Southport Sharks Mescalito Blues | Kingscliff Bowls Club Crown The Humble + Leopold's Treat + O Little Sister + Tom West | The Kitchens Robina, Robina Town Centre Summertime Sessions in the Village: Hailey Calvert + Sean Fitzgerald | Cuddihy Park, Mudgeeraba Jock Barnes (3.00pm) | Burleigh Brewing Co. Luke Houselander | Hard Rock Cafe, Surfers Paradise Ted Mulrey Gang | RSL Club Southport Bad Pony + Pat Tierney + Benny D Williams | NightQuarter The Peep Tempel Joy national album tour + Mini Skirt + Feeling Dave | Miami Tavern Shark Bar Squeak Lemaire | Hotel Brunswick

Drop Legs | Mandala Organic Arts Cafe

Asher Chapman | Mandala Organic Arts Cafe

Jamie Ashforth | The Rails, Byron

The Gig Cartel (Covers) | Currumbin Beach Vikings SLSC

Deana Peher, 11.00am (covers) | RSL Club Southport

The Vernons + Sean Patrick + Audun | elsewhere

TUESDAY 8 NOVEMBER

Rockks (covers) | RSL Club Southport

Bond Symphony Orchestra + friends – Soiree Under the Stars I Bond University – 5.30pm

Jesse Morris Band | The Rails, Byron

Allensworth (USA, acoustic) | Cambus Wallace Leigh James | The Rails, Byron

WEDNESDAY 9 NOVEMBER James Street Preachers | Cambus Wallace, Nobby Beach

Rmba Fuego | Miami Marketta

SATURDAY 12 NOVEMBER Hanlon Brothers (trio) | Southport Sharks The Altais + Aquila Young (solo) + Jordan Pineda | The Kitchens Robina, Robina Town Centre

Ooz | The Rails, Byron

ABBALIVE (Tribute) | RSL Club Southport

THURSDAY 10 NOVEMBER

Jesse Morris (2.00pm) + Rosie MissChief (7.00pm) | Sheaok Shack, Fingal

Cover Shot Jam Sessions + Open Mic | Commercial Hotel, Nerang The Vernons + Peach Fur + Coastal Lights | The Kitchens Robina, Robina Town Centre Lay of the Land + Six Shooter + Kinloch + Cleaver | elsewhere Micka Scene Duo | The Rails, Byron

Bullhorn + Chris Flaskis + Worthy Boys + BigFellaLinc | NightQuarter Electrik Lemonade | The Avenue, Surfers Paradise Joe O'Keefe (12.30pm) | Phoenix Rising Cafe, Nimbin The High Rollers | Hotel Brunswick

DISCOVER GOLD COAST'S BEST NEW MUSIC

Stephanie Grace | Mandala Organic Arts Cafe

Prom Night: Camp Camo + special guests | elsewhere

Giv + Latour | elsewhere

Dan Hannaford | The Rails, Byron

Stoneage Romeos (covers) | RSL Club Southport

Boy & Bear + All Our Exes Live in Texas + Taylor | Miami Marketta

Hombres | The Rails, Byron IZANIA | Miami Marketta

SUNDAY 13 NOVEMBER Nyssa Berger (acoustic), 1.00pm | Southport Sharks Mapstone + Benny D Williams + Coolangatta Ukelele Players | The Kitchens Robina, Robina Town Centre

FRIDAY 18 NOVEMBER Jesswar Dreams EP launch | Escape Bar & Club, Surfers Paradise The Mason Rack Band | Southport Sharks The Couch Outloud: Felicity Lawless | The Avalon Miami Matty Rogers (3.00pm) | Burleigh Brewing Co.

Benny D Williams (2.00pm) | Burleigh Brewing Co.

Leopold's Treat | Cabarita Beach Sports & Bowls Club

Unplugged Jam Session (1.00pm) | Burleigh Waters Tavern

Speedball (Syd) + Vow to Conquer + Cactus Dill-Dos + Monster Fodder + Novus | Currumbin Creek Tavern

Gavin Doniger (solo) | JFK Pizza, Tallebudgera Mental As Anything (1.00pm) | Advancetown Hotel Sonic Bliss (10.00am) + Riverside Jazz (12.30pm) | Phoneix Rising Cafe, Nimbin Frank Sultana and the Sinister Kids (4.00pm) | Hotel Brunswick Crossfire Duo, 1.00pm (covers) | RSL Club Southport Mason Rack | Currumbin Beach Vikings SLSC Royale + Jimmy D + ZigMon | elsewhere Demon Drink | The Rails, Byron Ziggy Alberts | Miami Marketta

MONDAY 14 NOVEMBER Craig Shaw, 11.00am (covers) | RSL Club Southport

WEDNESDAY 16 NOVEMBER James Street Preachers | Cambus Wallace, Nobby Beach

Andrew Penney | Hard Rock Cafe, Surfers Paradise Kate Ceberano (Ticketed) + Hannah Rosa | NightQuarter Daryl James | Bundall Bazaar Summertime Sessions in the Village: Eizenberg Moon + Benny D Williams | Cuddihy Park, Mudgeeraba Original Seeds Showcase | Soundlounge Currumbin Pat Tierney | Hotel Brunswick Salt & Steel | Mandala Organic Arts Cafe The Gig Cartel (Covers) | Currumbin Beach Vikings SLSC Catfish & The Deejays (covers) | RSL Club Southport Tommy Sheehan + Jackson James Smith + Wootton Major | Soundlounge Currumbin

THURSDAY 17 NOVEMBER Cover Shot Jam Sessions + Open Mic | Commercial Hotel, Nerang

Nicole Parker-Brown & The Late Late Show | Nerang RSL Archie Rye | Hotel Brunswick Shift it Babe | Mandala Organic Arts Cafe Giv + Six Shooter | elsewhere

Eastwood | Miami Marketta Benny D Williams (6.00pm) | Beaches on Kirra Kallidad + Rock Well | NightQuarter

Sarah Grant Duo | The Rails, Byron Holy Holy + I Know Leopold + Alex | Miami Marketta SEED Showcase | The Basement, The Arts Centre Gold Coast

FRIDAY 25 NOVEMBER Darkc3ll + The Wrath + Chelsea Rockwells | elsewhere, Surfers Paradise

Eastwood | Miami Marketta One Day Block Party: Joyride + Adit + Lupi | Miami Tavern

SUNDAY 20 NOVEMBER Simon Meola (acoustic), 1.00pm | Southport Sharks Mescalito Blues | The Bearded Dragon, Tamborine Benny D Williams (2.00pm) | Boatshed, Currumbin Stone Witches + Doom Mountain + OSAKA + The Pretty Littles | Miami Shark Bar Brad Butcher (3.00pm) | Burleigh Brewing Co. Wax Lyrical: original songwriters night, 6.00pm | Mandala Organic Arts Mason Rack (1.00pm) | Advancetown Hotel Unplugged Jam Session (1.00pm) | Burleigh Waters Tavern Gemini Duo, 1.00pm (covers) | RSL Club Southport Sonic Bliss + Elena B Williams | Phoneix Rising Cafe, Nimbin Dubarray (4.00pm) | Hotel Brunswick Bootleg Flyers (Covers) | Currumbin Beach Vikings SLSC

Betty Blissett | The Rails, Byron

Wally and the Gators | Southport Sharks

Lay of the Land + Cleaver + Samin + Six Shooter | elsewhere

Nightshift (covers) | RSL Club Southport

Goodrich | The Rails, Byron Round Mountain Girls | Miami Marketta

THURSDAY 24 NOVEMBER

The Swamps | The Rails, Byron

Royale + Jimmy D + Noah + Rob Delaney | elsewhere

SATURDAY 19 NOVEMBER Mullum Music Festival

Nathan Bird (12.30pm) | Phoneix Rising Cafe, Nimbin

Super Flu + Webber + Audun + Lockhart | elsewhere

Tullara Collins | The Rails, Byron

17 – 20 NOVEMBER

Elena B Williams (2.00pm) + Dubarray (7.00pm) | Sheaok Shack, Fingal

MONDAY 21 NOVEMBER Greg Bankx, 11.00am (covers) | RSL Club Southport

WEDNESDAY 23 NOVEMBER James Street Preachers | Cambus Wallace, Nobby Beach Lelli | The Rails, Byron

Barefoot Friday (3.00pm) | Burleigh Brewing Co. Wild Marmalade + Paul George | Soundlounge Currumbin NightQuarter First Birthday Bash: Vaudeville Smash + Jacob Lee + Josh Lovegrove | NightQuarter Fish on Fire | Hard Rock Cafe, Surfers Paradise Round Mountain Girls | Southport Sharks Gavin Doniger (solo) | Boardriders Coolangatta Wren Klauf + Killer Trunk Hunks + Not Lenny + Tony Gage | Currumbin Creek Tavern Matrix Duo (covers) | RSL Club Southport Thundamentals | Miami Tavern Benny D Williams (6.00pm) | Cudgen SLSC Summertime Sessions in the Village: Sonik Mayhem + Claire Anne Taylor | Cuddihy Park, Mudgeeraba Phil Jamieson (Grinspoon) | Hotel Brunswick YoYo | Mandala Organic Arts Cafe The Gig Cartel | Currumbin Beach Vikings SLSC Darkc3ll + The Wrath + Chelsea Rockwells + Audun + Rhys Bynon | elsewhere Devil's Kiosk | The Rails, Byron Freddie | Miami Marketta

* Catch these SEED artists playing at a venue near you

WWW.SEEDSERIES.BANDCAMP.COM

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Lifestyle UNLEASH YOUR ECO-PRENEUR POTENTIAL UNLEASH 2016 is a unique workshop both for existing eco-prenuers and those wishing to start their own business.

Rebekah Daw from ONEgroup gave us a bit of an insight into this exciting concept.

Can you tell me a bit about the team at ONEGroup, including backgrounds of the founders, and motivation for starting UNLEASH?

LUXURY STAYCATION IN BRISBANE Living on the Gold Coast, it seems silly to go away on holiday, when we have blue skies and beautiful beaches on our doorstep. But whenever I plan a weekend at home promising myself I will relax on the beach and go to brunch in that hip new café everyone has been talking about, all I end up doing is cleaning the bathroom and doing laundry.

GOLD COAST JOURNALIST FIRST PERSON IN THE WORLD TO BASE JUMP. WITH CEREBRAL PALSY. Marlena Katene is well known to regular Blank readers. She’s campaigned for matting for wheelchair users (which have since been installed at Burleigh Beach) and if you frequent Gold Coast markets you might have seen her beside a jumping castle running her other business. The one she runs when she’s not at the Aria Awards doing red carpet interviews or dancing on stage with people like Pharell Williams.

All that aside, last month she made a name for herself doing something even more extraordinary.

If you fancy a break, without all the travelling, head to the Treasury Casino & Hotel in Brisbane. Only an hour’s drive from the coast, it is the perfect distance to get away for the weekend.

She became the first person in the world – with cerebral palsy – to base jump, joining a lucky group of base jumpers who were given access to the KL Tower in Kuala Lumpur as part of an organized base jumping event.

The Treasury Casino and Hotel is set in the Treasury and Land Administration Buildings. Built in 1901 these heritage buildings have been lovingly restored and modernised, yet still retain their old world charm. The hotel has prime location right in the heart of the city, close to the river, and the shops and bars of the CBD.

Marlena said, from KL that her passion for base jumping is just an extension of sky-diving, which she first did for her 21st birthday.

The rooms are spacious and have a sense of grandeurs about them, featuring everything you would expect from a five star hotel. Head to Ryan’s on the Park for a pre-dinner drink and take in views of Queens Park as you enjoy a cocktail or two. Afterwards grab a table at The Lab for fine dining with excellent service.

After dinner take the unground tunnel to reach the casino, here you can watch live music, place a few bets, or head to The Kitty, a swanky cocktail bar overlooking the river, for an after dinner tipple.

During the day you can easily get everywhere on foot, just across the river you can browse the markets along the Southbank, visit the Queensland Museum, or hit the shops in the Myer Centre or the Queen Street Mall. If the weather isn’t favourable, enjoy a long lunch or afternoon tea at the Lab with a glass of bubbles. For amazing views of the city at night jump on a ferry from the nearby North Quay Ferry Terminal.

“While I understand it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, it’s something which is fun,” she said.

“To be honest it was over way too quick but it was such a rush.”

“There were so many talented athletes here that are the best at what they do.”

Marlena jumped in tandem with professional base jumper Sean Chuma which she said allowed her to literally “sit back and embrace the adrenalin.”

“And the tranquility,” she said. “While some may associate it as a risky endeavor it is fairly safe and the people that embark in this activity consider every variable and ensure safety is at the foremost part for participants.”

“In my personal and business life I have a motto ‘everyone or anything is accessible you just have to give people a reason to access you’. The connection to base jump was simply done via social media. I initially saw a very cool video clip and then found out the guys responsible for base jumping.”

Samantha Morris

To book a mini Brisbane vacay go to treasurybrisbane.com.au See more from Sarah at itsonlyaplanerideaway.com 26

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FULL STORY AT BLANKGC.COM.AU

Based at Molendinar on the Gold Coast, ONEgroup are leaders in the organics and natural enterprises industry.

We are renowned for our history of developing highquality, innovative and earth-centred ethical brands and produce and distribute a wide range of certified organic products across six major categories: Food, Beverages, Nutritionals, Personal care and Home care, with a new area of Environmental.

Founded by lifelong EcoPreneur and ethical investor Alf Orpen and Narelle Chenery, Organic & Natural Entrepreneurs Group (ONEgroup) is a collaborative venture of a number of experienced and new organic enterprises working together under the uniting theme of People + Purpose + Products = Solutions. The group's origins stem back to the creation of the world's first certified organic range of personal and skin care products under the brand Miessence that were certified organic in January of 2001.

Over the years, ONEgroup has grown to cover a wide range of brands all tied by a common thread of commitment to organic, innovative and ecologically sound products and business practices.

Who will benefit most from the Unleash opportunity?

UNLEASH is an opportunity for local eco-preneurs – those who create businesses to serve ecological needs - to access the tools, support and resources to operate their start-up as a financially viable and successful vehicle for positive ecological change.

The benefits of UNLEASH will also be felt throughout the local community as we encourage and raise awareness about healthier and more sustainable products and services. We also want to encourage anyone who is interested in starting their own business to come along as well. There are many exciting organic business opportunities that we will be talking about over the two day schedule, so it's a bit of a treat for anyone interested in this space.

Why is being an EcoPreneur so important in today's society?

Being an EcoPreneur isn't just about business. It's about sustainability, better options for consumers, less impact on our planet and better outcomes for society. Creating a start-up that people want to be a part of and does good, just makes sense. It's important because we have a wonderful opportunity in today's modern world to make a difference, so we think, why not?

Natalie O'Driscoll

UNLEASH 2016 RUNS OVER TWO ACTIONPACKED DAYS FROM 19 – 20 NOVEMBER. TICKETS ARE ONLY A TINY $47 PER DAY AND ARE AVAILABLE AT UNLEASH2016.COM.

Lifestyle

HOW TO BE A COSMIC CHEERLEADER You love yoga and want to share the experience with everyone, so you figure it’s time to do yoga teacher training. You start to research and woah… it seems like there are a million and one Yoga Teacher Trainings out there! Now it is extremely daunting and confusing to have to pick one and know it will be a good one. I have a bunch of tips that will help you sort out the one that works best for you.

First things first, decide the format of delivery that will suit you best. Are you happy to do most of your study online or would you rather all face to face? Do you have the resources and time to pause normal life for a month long intensive? Can you relinquish your weekends for around three months while you continue to work your day job? Would you like an overseas holiday while you’re at it or need somewhere closer to home? Answering these questions should start to reduce the options as you focus on the ones that offer your format.

Why are you doing the training? Is it to deepen your own practice or do you desire to teach? All courses will have a run down of what is involved and required throughout the course. I suggest that if you really want to teach, choose a training that requires plenty of practice teaching. You will feel far more confident to teach ‘real’ classes at the end of the course if you’ve been doing it throughout your course.

Word of Mouth is always a great next point of call. If you have a favourite teacher (cosmic cheerleader) ask them where they did their training. If you like their style the chances are a proportion of that came from their training. If you have friends who have done training, ask what was great and not so great about it, match that up with your values and expectations.

This brings me to the final tip, make sure the style of yoga taught on the training is a style that you know and love. Remember there are so many different types of yoga (hatha, vinyasa, iyengar to name a few) and so many different variations within each style, so make sure you are familiar with the style being taught. This is the style you will be practicing in depth and the style you will be teaching. Also check if the training teaches a specific sequence or teaches you how to sequence a class, which would you prefer?

Research is a lot easier if you know which questions to ask. Happy choosing, happy training and happy cheering. Feel free to get in touch through aloka.com.au if you have more questions.

Erin Bourne

RESEARCH SHOWS SHARK ATTACKS ON THE INCREASE IN AUSTRALIA New research into the international increase in unprovoked shark bites has found a trend of regional hotspots, where a heightened number of bites occur over a relatively short timeframe.

The study, by Bond University researchers Dr Blake Chapman and Dr Daryl McPhee, has shed new light on the issue of unprovoked shark bite on humans, which have been climbing steadily globally over the past three decades.

Published in the journal Ocean and Coastal Management, the research provides an analysis of long-term trends in shark bites, and the potential drivers of these trends, at six global hotspots, including Australia.

Dr McPhee said the trend of shark bites occurring in clusters was evidence that while a degree of chance was involved, unprovoked shark bites were not completely random.

"They are more likely influenced by a set of conditions that increase the likelihood of shark-human interaction at a local or regional scale, and these conditions do not necessarily continue to persist consistently through time," he said.

"Conditions include those that potentially change the overall pattern of human water use, as well as those that alter the distribution and abundance of relevant shark species, such as environmental conditions, climate and water quality, coastal development and changes in prey numbers."

Dr McPhee said many factors came into consideration.

“We need to be clear that unprovoked shark bite is a complex phenomenon, involving several different shark species and an array of human activities over a large geographic area,” he said.

“The results of the research show that in a number of hotspots – in Australia, the US, South Africa, Brazil, Reunion Island and the Bahamas - the prevalence of unprovoked shark bite is increasing, but it still remains a very small source of human injury and fatality and we should not panic or overreact.

“We still remain more likely to be injured by fireworks than we are by sharks.”

Dr McPhee said while the research added further weight to the logical view that the observed trend of increasing bites was influenced by a growing population, and therefore more people in the water, the researchers found this factor alone was insufficient to explain the trend in all instances.

“There is no single universal cause for increased shark bites, but rather a number of factors are at play, some of which are more relevant at some locations than others,” Dr McPhee said.

“For example, the rapid rise in shark bites at Recife in Brazil could be largely attributed to a large port development which, modified habitat and displaced sharks to an area that was very popular for swimming and surfing.

“In the case of a series of bites at a small stretch of coastline in South Africa during 1998, it correlated with warm sea surface temperatures in the western Indian Ocean and a decreased rainfall in the southern part of South Africa.

“An issue that remains unresolved is whether the increased number of bites is due to an increased number of large sharks of key species.

“Logically if there are more sharks of key species such as adult white sharks in the coastal zone then you would expect more bites.

“We are aware that anecdotal information suggests more large sharks are now present in some parts of Australia, but we could not find a body of scientific information to prove this for species such as white and bull sharks, and in fact for tiger sharks the available overall scientific information suggests a continuing decrease.”

The new research is an extension of a study completed in 2014, which found Australia recorded the highest number of fatal shark bites globally over the past three decades, with the number of unprovoked bites increasing threefold.

The initial report revealed 32 fatal shark bites had been documented in Australia between 1982 and 2011, more than South Africa (28 fatalities) or the United States (25 fatalities).

Natalie O'Driscoll www.blankgc.com.au

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Food & Drink

FOLLOW THE BLACK HERD The Black Sheep Kitchen Espresso Baa and Catering, 2460 Gold Coast Highway, Mermaid Beach We warned you. The black sheep are breeding.

If you loved The Black Sheep and The Black Lamb, now there’s another one.

Having been lovingly received by Coolie locals for his great coffee opposite the beach, Dinesh Nair took on the challenge of Southport with a hole-in-the-wall shop under Pacific Private. Now he’s opened his third venue in the old Push Espresso space near Bonita Bonita in Mermaid Beach.

‘It’s not the coffee, It’s the Baa-rista that makes it!’ the sign baas from the wall.

It’s true, of course. Coffee’s the deal breaker in espresso bars, and The Black Sheep’s coffee is a very smooth Toby’s Estate served in sheep sizes - lamb, sheep, and ram.

Despite the self-deprecating sense of black humour of this Fijian-born New Zealander, we dare not ask too much about the ‘black sheep’ reference. What we do know is that it pays to be different, and there’s also more to him than meets the eye.

The son of two chefs, Dinesh migrated to Australia when his wife came to the Gold Coast to work, Dinesh finding employment in restaurants and hotels, then at Toby’s Estate Coffee, waiting for the opportunity to open his own espresso bar.

Like many customers, we not only fell in love with Dinesh’s enthusiasm and devilish sense of humour, we also fell hard for his food.

Dinesh’s latest venue carries his strategic plan: to use the Mermaid Beach café as the cool room/storage area and commercial kitchen to make food for his two smaller venues, a plan still under construction when we visited.

With the ‘menewe’ straying way outside normal range, we expect to see a lot of pre-

cooking going on: homemade sauces, slowcooked meat and ‘staples’ such as arancini and pulled pork come to mind.

Our breakfasts show off the difference.

I choose the Spawn of Fungi (Mr & Mrs Fungi’s child, according to the menu): rich mushroom ragout with aranchini, a fried egg and fried enoki ($16.50). Two meals in one, for sure, but it’s so delicious that our usual sharing principle flies out the window.

The Main Squeeze has enough of his own anyway, choosing Bigger Than GC ($17.50): Texan beans with cheesy potato hash, grilled bacon and 12 hour slow-cooked beef cheek!

OK, so there are your usuals: Avo smash (with Persian feta and chilli jam if you want), Bacon and egg rolls, Eggs and bacon (but make that streaky), Granola (with beetroot, apple and candied granola), and Croissants (with the lot). At every corner there’s something new; an ‘out of the box’ rustic dish with huge flavours driven by fresh produce and great technique.

Random? Yes, especially the menu descriptions, but there’s that Kiwi affection for difference shining through, just as it does in the food. Not just your average ‘menewe’, there’s a bucket load of creative flair and humour in each dish, plenty of options, and we’re sure there’ll be a black sheep on ‘Best breakfast’ lists soon!

Find the rest of the Black Herd at: The Black Lamb, 123 Nerang Street, Southport foodgoldcoast.com.au/the-black-lamb The Black Sheep Espresso Baa, Shop 29A, 72 – 80 Marine Parade, Coolangatta foodgoldcoast.com.au/black-sheep-espresso-baa Marj Osborne Read more of Marj’s reviews on Good Food Gold Coast foodgoldcoast.com.au

CANTEEN SOCIAL ‘Social' Def: Relating to society or its organisation. An informal social gathering, especially one organised by the members of a particular club or group.

menu – egg and bacon brioche roll, brioche French toast with spiced pear compote and mascarpone, or ‘eggs your way’ being some of the offerings.

Hey peoples! I’m almost over the word ‘social’.

Lunch is a mix of healthy luscious salads (Roast pumpkin and cashew or Vegie garden with feta or goat’s cheese $16, adding chicken or salmon as options $20), burgers or sliders, and lots of seafood such as calamari or fish served with chips and salad. Of course, there are daily specials to entice workers away from their desk.

It was really cute the first time we heard it as a café name, but not the sixth time.

In this case, however, the definition rings true. In our view, Canteen Social really is a bit of an organisational canteen, albeit open to the public.

A little bit of history…It’s only a couple of years ago that the Loose Moose (yes, you heard correctly) popped up in the Wyndham Building, Bundall to quell the tummy rumblings of ‘office central’.

“Where do they go, those suits?” my girlfriend had asked. She was thinking talent; I was thinking lunch. With over 400 staff in the Wyndham building alone employed

by Wyndham Vacation Resorts, as well as workers from the next door Corporate Centre, there were a lot of suits and stilettos to feed!

They sought refuge in the new smart café decked out in a verdant forest of green. Without it, the suburb at that time was a veritable desert for drinks, eats and a good time.

But the roaring success of Loose Moose quietened a little when Wyndham opened their own canteen upstairs a few months later.

Competition took its toll and, several months after the Loose Moose’s exit, Wyndham moved the canteen, opening Canteen Social downstairs into the untenanted space.

Canteen Social’s menu holds smart café fare aimed squarely at daytime workers, with a bet each way between healthy and indulgent.

Coffee starts early, with breakfast an optional extra. Eggs figure highly on the breakkie

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1 Corporate Ct, Bundall

We choose the Tempura-battered yellowtail snapper with beer-battered chips and Pulled pork sliders, generous serves and popular choices for surrounding diners, along with nachos.

Fresh juices, smoothies, and well-priced Diamantina coffee and tea (a pot of T2 tea will set you back $3.50) as well as a packed cabinet of sweets and food to go, round out the menu.

We eat our lunch under the gaze of some very luscious lips. Red lips, sunglasses and diamonds follow us wherever we go in the café. Equate that to holidays and money.

Think big bucks and what you could do with it. It’s feng shui (along with the piles of rocks in the front garden beds) and positive thinking for those Wyndham workers.

By day a place to grab lunch and talk to colleagues, on Friday nights the licensed venue comes into its own. Then it’s time for wind down after a hard sales week with drinks at this fully licensed café, accompanied by platters of tapas. Win or lose on the sales front, they’ll feel like a drink anyway.

Canteen Social? That’s what it’s all about: canteen + social.

Marj Osborne Read more of Marj’s reviews on Good Food Gold Coast foodgoldcoast.com.au

STAIRWELL COFFEE Shop 67/3131 Surfers Paradise Boulevard Asian Alley, Centre Arcade

Sometimes we need to venture to some interesting places to find a truly excellent cup of coffee. With the budding coffee culture on the Gold Coast even tourist mecca Surfers Paradise has been aptly caffeinated with many great cafes, but none as alternative and unique as Stairwell Coffee, an emerald-hued gem hidden down one of the suburb’s oldest alleyways.

ROCKLEIGH CAFÉ

112 Griffith Street, Coolangatta

Rockleigh Café in Coolangatta stands out for its difference.

A street away from gleaming white sand you’ll come across the equally white-washed wooden shopfront of the café – fresh and bright yet earthy, reminiscent of a farmhouse.

There’s also something grounded about its owner, Ben Moffitt. Growing up in a third generation dairy farming family on their property ‘Rockleigh’, near Bega, New South Wales, today’s trend of growing your own food was just a part of life.

“I learned lots of things from childhood, living and working on the land,” Ben tells us. “The food we ate was produced out of our vegie garden and orchard. We had to work hard as there was always more work to be done.”

The family also owned several hospitality businesses, a path Ben took in his career, working in cafés in London for many years before moving back to Australia.

He’s been planning his own coastal farmhouse café for more than two years, the plans simmering away as he researched locations and menus.

“I love Coolangatta for its small coastal town feel. There are a lot of retired people here. In some ways it’s a hard market to crack, especially when you open in winter,” he says, laughing about his timing, “but there’s less stress because Coolangatta is less saturated with cafés than other suburbs.”

“I surf here, and when you come up off the beach there aren’t that many places that serve really good coffee,” he says, adding that the Gabriel coffee so expertly prepared by Grant, the barista, is part owned by Dean Hyland of Barefoot Barista.

“Consistency; that’s what is needed,” he continues. “There’s a growing demand here with new high rise buildings going up in Kirra, Southern Cross Uni students around as well as tourists from Victoria… Coolangatta is at the point where Palm Beach was a couple of years ago, before the rush of development it’s going through now.”

While Rockleigh’s menu doesn’t really reflect the food of Ben’s childhood, he says that the principles of provenance are the same. Everything is bought from farmers on the Tweed Coast, organic grass fed meat from a local butcher, and there’s business in return with producers recommending the café to friends.

Nothing is wasted. Fortunately, Chef Mitch Hadi, who has worked in fine dining restaurants in Sydney, shares Ben’s philosophy. They’re making their own jam, chutneys, sauces and peanut butter, preserving their own lemons, fermenting and pickling to change the taste of foods, just as Ben’s mother did on the farm. It’s all part of the rustic farm-toplate feel of the place, reinforced by the coastal farmhouse clad with the warmth of reclaimed wood walls, doors and windows balanced by the vintage pressed metal counter façade. Earthy. So very different to the urban cafés just a few suburbs north.

Salads and toasties round off a carefully chosen all-day menu, so inviting that every dish looks appealing. We decide on the feather light Chilli, corn and coriander fritters loaded up with house-made tomato salsa, haloumi, avo and a poached egg ($17), as well as Mushroom bruschetta with fried enoki, dehydrated duxelle and a poached egg on Panya sourdough ($18). They’re two popular savoury options, but the plainer not-so-fancy Poached eggs and bacon on sourdough ($9) is the bestseller with locals.

“People here love their brekkie, and it’s a large percentage of our trade. We work with diners to give them what they want.

Many of the dishes can be tweeked to be gluten or dairy free or vegetarian,” he says.

It’s the locals particularly that Ben wants to look after, the 80% of his clientele who he knows; the ones who frequent his café several days a week. To keep their interest and to test the market, the café runs a couple of weekly specials.

But there’s one dish that won’t be coming off the menu anytime soon: House-made crumpets with honeycomb, burnt pear, mascarpone, shaved hazelnuts and saffron honey ($15). Though it’s a time-consuming three-hour process to activate the dry yeast and prove the dough, there’d be hell to pay if this signature dish was not available.

Crumpets with butter and honey were never served like this on the farm! But the origins are there – homemade, grounded, real. Maybe the soil hangs onto farmers like Ben somehow, keeping them bound to the land. You may not know their background when you first meet, but the evidence is all around you in this café. So, when you find out, you’re not at all surprised.

Marj Osborne Read more of Marj’s reviews on Good Food Gold Coast foodgoldcoast.com.au

Stairwell is located exactly where you imagine it to be: Harry Potter style under the stairs in the affectionately named Asian Alley. Originally used as a surfboard cupboard, the area was repurposed to house the hole-in-the-wall coffee shop four years ago with owner Clayton Dalton transforming Stairwell into what it is today just eight short months ago. Frequented by locals and regulars through the alley on their way to work, it's a lucky find for anyone in the heart of Surfers needing a cup of the good stuff.

Proudly selling his own Windomal Roasting Co. beans, Clayton reports that he picks and chooses the single origins he has on offer in Stairwell, roasting the beans locally and supplying them to a few small coffee shops. Diving straight into the coffee brewed in a beautiful matte black La Marzocco machine, the espresso has a hint of citrus that develops into an earthy leather-like flavour with hidden marshmallow bringing the initial sharpness down to a mellow finish. A larger than usual piccolo brings the marshmallow flavour hinted at in the espresso into the forefront, making for a beautifully sweet cuppa.

We were most excited about trying Stairwell's nitro coffee, currently being made from single origin beans from Guatemala. Clayton has spent a lot of time perfecting Stairwell’s nitro, making it himself from his own beans. As he informs me the carbonation of the coffee helps it to take on a whole other profile. With a fizzy liquorice and sherbet aroma it's like drinking a grown up spider with the popping chocolate flavour and a smooth earthy finish. It's easy to see why there were so many takeaways of the nitro while we were there.

Open from 7:30am to 4:30pm Monday to Friday and 7:30am to midday on Saturday, it’s well worth treating yourself to a small adventure to find Stairwell Coffee, our very own emerald city contained quite neatly in a cupboard under the stairs.

Catherine Coburn

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Arts & Culture

REMOTE CAPE YORK COMES TO THE HEART OF SURFERS PARADISE Pormpuraaw means "entrance way to a house" in Kuuk Thaayorre language. This November, Urban Paradise gallery will be an entrance way to the art of an Aboriginal community in remote Cape York peninsula. Over 40 pieces of various mediums and scales will tell us the story of an Aboriginal community strong in culture and language and the history and stories embedded in this country.

One of the driving forces behind the Urban Paradise gallery and a Gold Coast based artist Frederic Berjot travelled to this remote community earlier this year to fulfill an artistic endeavor and a personal aspiration. The spark to bring the exhibition to the Gold Coast is a direct result of this journey and his personal friendship with the passionate and dedicated manager of the Pormpuraaw art and culture centre, Paul Jabukowski.

GOLD COAST GETS CRAFTY

It’s a rare blustery Sunday morning on the Gold Coast and I find myself - cup of tea in hand - covered in glue while making a lampshade. No, it’s not my usual thing, but I am loving this workshop at Klara’s House. I’m chatting away to another first time crafter and I begin pondering the boom of craftiness on the Gold Coast. Have Gold Coasters always craved this expression of creativity or is it a new thing?

Rachael from The Craft Parlour and Klara from Klara’s House both patiently and passionately talked craft with me.

First I wanted to know why craft workshops have become so popular. Both ladies hold the firm belief that the interest and creativity were always present, it is just obvious now thanks to the power of social media. With the various platforms like Pinterest and particularly Instagram, people could share their ideas and what they were creating, inspiring others.

Klara also feels that women are coming back to “our tribal roots of nesting and gathering”.

There is also the platform of local designer markets like The Village Markets in Burleigh, the travelling Art and Craft markets or Gold Coast Design Collective market. Local creatives can display and sell their wares with a couple of flow-on effects. It gives people the possibility of turning a hobby into a career, and it inspires others to find their creative talents.

What was it then that turned inspiration into workshops?

For Rachael it was a long term dream, to open a place “where the community could feel joy, connect, share their skills and unleash their creativity. Once I made the decision, everything unfolded and flowed, I knew I was creating something special”.

Klara says “Creativity is my absolute passion and it’s my calling to help women bring out their inner creative genius, to watch them come alive when they have made something special for themselves. A lot of women have the desire to be more creative and they just might need a little assistance with getting started.”

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So who actually joins in? All ages and abilities apparently.

Klara has clients from their twenties to sixties as well as mother/daughter classes. Rachael says clients are people who value time out for themselves, and she would “love to see more fellas getting their craft on.” The great beauty of craft is that age and experience are no barriers; it’s a very welcoming space for anyone.

Now we have inspiration, opportunity and inclusiveness. I also walked away from my workshop with a very pretty, one of a kind lampshade that will go straight to the pool room (aka lounge room). Why do other people go to these crafting workshops, what do they get out of it? A whole lot more than just a lampshade, that’s what!

Both ladies agree on the overwhelming sense of achievement that comes with making your own masterpiece. There is a sense of connection to the self, and those creating with you.

Rachael says people come away with new friendships, and hopefully the desire to bring creativity into their life on a regular basis. Klara adds that while the workshop itself feels like a pampering experience, women also learn valuable skills which they can replicate at home.

The art of this community is filled with meaning, symbolism and history. The colour black refers to coastal people whereas white is the colour of freshwater people, totem animals from generations past and present appear side by side and traditional skills and contemporary concerns marry easily. The mediums vary from woodcarvings, traditional weavings and ghost net weavings to lino cut printing, etching and painting. The now internationally acclaimed project Ghost Nets spread from here first to other Aboriginal communities then to the rest of the world. Fishing nets that drift to the beaches are weaved to large scale sculptures that tell a story of an artist and a community while talking about the grave concern for our oceans and its marine life. But as always, life and art has a lighter side to it.

Sid Bruce Short Joe is one of the artists and a representative of the community.

“Art to me is like in between where I come from [inland and the coast]. It means so much to me and my culture. In my community we usually do our totems to identify which clan we belong to; my totem is the blue tongue lizard.”

“I come from the bush and art takes me to big cities.

[Through art] I am crossing a big bridge into the western culture. My art belongs to the bush and now I travel with it.”

“In my community where we do our art, we understand each other and our stories. To introduce my art in a city will be a challenge as the people won’t have this understanding. But I want to explain about our art and culture. I want you to know more about it and us.”

Anna Itkonen

You can find workshops on the Gold Coast for almost anything you would like to learn or practice. As for my two inspirational crafters, both are expecting big and creative years ahead. Look out for fresh, epic collaborations and loads more crafty concepts at the Craft Parlour. Klara’s House is looking to overnight craft and pamper retreats, workshops, one-on-one lessons and event styling. With so much fun to choose from, it’s time to get a little crafty.

Erin Bourne

PORMPURAAW ARTISTS AT URBAN PARADISE GALLERY WILL BE RUNNING AT THE URBAN PARADISE GALLERY IN SURFERS PARADISE FROM 11 NOVEMBER UNTIL 11 DECEMBER.

LEVENDIS SOUVLAKI & MEZZEBAR

Chevron Renaissance Shopping Centre, 3240 Surfers Paradise Blvd, Surfers Paradise

go onto the spit at 9am and 3pm, cooking slowly over charcoal ready for the next meal, the wafting aromas enticing diners to seek out the delicious flavours of tender, caramelised meat, touched with the kiss of smoke.

‘Levendis’ Def: To be in the presence of a handsome male. Derived from the Greek term Levendos meaning eye pleasing. #handsome #good looking #hot #attractive #sexy (Urban Dictionary) I don’t even know why I looked up the meaning of ‘Levendis’ online, but now that I have, I’ll never look at Kosta Rotos the same way again!

Honestly? I’m more leonine than cougar. Truth is, I love Greek food, and I love to see men cooking, especially when I get to eat such delicious rustic food with smoky flavours only a charcoal fire can bring.

Levendis in Chevron Renaissance has all of that – lots of ‘eye pleasing’ smiles, slow-cooked meat, a mama with attitude to burn and even 2 hours of free parking!

We’d first met Kosta three years ago at his souvlaki stall at Miami Marketta (which he still runs). Resembling ‘an ancient Greek temple, complete with stone-like columns’, Kosta’s stall always had the longest line of hungry punters hanging out to satisfy their craving. Now with Levendis open, their week day urges can be satisfied as well.

“I’ve been around food all my life,” Kosta says. “Even though I was in the construction industry, I always wanted to open a restaurant.”

It took him a year of searching to find this venue, a rare gem of a place as, apart from a couple of notable exceptions, there are very few Greek restaurants on the Gold Coast, especially on the northern end.

Levendis’ food relies heavily on tradition. While Kosta was born on the Gold Coast, his mum, Yiota (who sometimes serves in the restaurant), migrated from Cyprus in 1965.

Yiota is featured on Levendis’ menu cover with her siblings riding a donkey (the family car, Kosta calls it, due to Cyprus being such a mountainous island).

On arriving in Surfers Paradise, Yiota had a carvery opposite the Islander Hotel, then Zorba’s Greek restaurant in Southport before it moved to Marina Mirage in the 1990s.

At Levendis, it’s all about flavour. After marinating the meat for 24 hours, the lamb shoulder and chicken thigh

The simple combo of meat served as a wrap or on a plate that Kosta used at the markets has been extended at the shop to include lamb, chicken and halloumi souvlaki (served either in a light, doughy pita bread or plated up), quail, sheftalia (Cypriot meatballs with pork, lamb and herbs), chargrilled mushrooms with feta and oregano, calamari and fish, complemented by snacks and dips, sides and desserts.

While the markets allowed Kosta to experiment with getting his food as close to perfection as possible, opening the shop has thrown him onto a steep learning curve with ordering and staff management, he says.

Already, however, after only a few weeks of trading, he’s tasting success, with local workers seeking out his food, more than half of his trade either working or living in Surfers or Budds Beach.

We share a plate of taramosalata with pita while choosing our mains: Greek lamb steaks marinated in lemon and oregano and chargrilled over hot coals, together with a plated of flame-grilled chicken, Greek salad and tzatziki.

For dessert, there are loukoumades - Greek doughnuts dusted with honey and icing sugar.

As tourists walk past on their own journeys, we comment how ambient it is eating such great food in this neat little bright blue and black restaurant overlooked by family portraits on the wall. With a Greek Fix beer in hand, luscious and tender meat oozing juices which drip down our chins, we imagine ourselves on our own journey, sitting at a little Greek tavern somewhere beside the Mediterranean.

My senses are satiated. Honestly? It’s souvlaki ‘the Greek Gods of Mount Olympus would line up to try’.

Source: Quotations from ‘Marketta Street Food’ by C. Coburn and M. Osborne, published in Blank Gold Coast, Jan.12, 2015. http://blankgc.com.au/review-markettastreet-food/ Marj Osborne Read more of Marj’s reviews on Good Food Gold Coast foodgoldcoast.com.au

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Arts & Culture

SPOTLIGHT ON… KYLIE RIDDLE

Gold Coast actor Kylie Riddle has just returned home from Los Angeles where she signed with a top manager and agent. Now cast in the new movie Dunamis starring John Jarratt and with a rumoured TV series filming in LA at the beginning of next year, it would seem this Broadbeach local is taking her talents all the way to the top.

Natalie O'Driscoll shot her a few questions.

Can you tell us a bit about how you fell in love with acting?

Everyone talks about how competitive it is in LA. How do you keep yourself motivated in the face of that?

There wasn't necessarily an exact time that I fell in love with acting. Throughout my life I always had a deep passion and love for it. I would watch TV and movies and think I really want to be in it. I would go to my room and practice the scenes I had just seen.

The industry is extremely competitive in LA. Being a former athlete, I thrive in a competitive environment.

However, the best way I found to survive in this industry is to remember you are not really competing against anyone, although it seems that way. It's about being comfortable and confident in what you can personally bring to the film, knowing that no one else is the same as you.

Where did you study and where were some of your first performances?

I remember after my first audition for the short film REDZONE. When I was in the room, I felt this passion that was so deep. I was so excited. It is a feeling that goes to your core. I enjoyed it so much. I booked the role luckily and after working on the film, I knew this was something that I had to do and couldn't think of doing anything else.

I have been fortunate enough to study some great courses on the Gold Coast, Brisbane and also in Los Angeles with The Australian Institute for Performing Arts (AIPA). This opened so many doors for me.

What are some of your acting dreams?

Working as a full time actor is the ultimate goal.

Action, Scifi, Thrillers and Drama is usually what gravitates towards me and I love it. I am grateful for the opportunities and people allowing me to use my action skill set as well. Getting dirty and tough adds a whole other fun level to acting.

FRENCHY: WORLD’S WORST ADULT Frenchy. Even his name sounds rude.

The quintessential Aussie bloke, this lanky ex-teacher from Wollongong has been making a name for himself on the comedy festival circuit with his brand of dailylife-and-relationships comedy, peppered with a decent amount of raunch. Now Frenchy is headed our way in November with his show World’s Worst Adult showing for one night only.

Natalie O’Driscoll got to know the cheeky comedian a little better.

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What is one of the more memorable heckler experiences you've had?

I was performing in Edinburgh this year and I had a French girl walk in late then yell out that I had matched her on Tinder, but never actually wrote to her. She seemed upset about this so I got her up and we had our first date live on stage!

I spent the majority of this date ripping on her about her odd outfit. (She was wearing joggers with a dress – I still have no idea why.)

What set you on the comedy path?

I actually used to be a high school teacher, but my teaching license got suspended so I figured I better try something else. I also used to work at a nightclub, at a waterpark, as a soccer referee & as a telemarketer but got fired from all those jobs too so if I was going to earn enough money for TinderPlus, becoming self-employed seemed like my only option.

Do you prefer live stand up or making videos?

I prefer stand-up for sure! A live audience is always better than

an online audience, it's way more fun watching people laugh / groan at my offensive jokes than just imagining it. I started doing stand up way back in 2008 so it's been a long time coming!

You seem like a pretty prolific writer. Do you ever get writer's block, and if so how do you usually get around it?

Paint Thinner & Super Smash Brothers. Nah that was a joke, I don't play Super Smash Brothers anymore. I actually barely ever get writers block, fortunately I have a weird brain & very funny mates so something interesting is usually happening to help stimulate my brain.

Are there any comedy subjects you consider "off limits"?

Well for starters I still won't joke about Shannon Noll getting robbed in Australian Idol in 2003, cause that wound is still too fresh #WhatAboutShan.

I think most topics can be covered if it's done the right way, but in saying that there are definitely a few things I don't joke about just because I don't have the skill or subtlety required to do it properly. I'll settle for Tinder stories, Harry Potter references & dick jokes for now #ProvenFormula.

I've had hostel experiences that make the Australiana Hostel look like the Hilton. What was your worst one?

Bed bugs! I stayed in a hostel which had bed bugs which was the worst, it was so itchy! I actually found out later that the hostel didn't have bed bugs, I just had crabs... Lots and lots of crabs... Same thing really.

What is some advice you would give comedians who are seeking to grow their YouTube audience?

Do quality videos that interest you and that you would watch. Don't try to pander to the masses by making shitty videos about sex – that's my thing, stay off my turf muggle.

TICKETS FOR THE 9 NOVEMBER SHOW AT THE ARTS CENTRE GOLD COAST ARE ON SALE NOW.

DUMPLIN’ JULIE MURPHY

Overweight. Disabled. Buck-toothed. Lesbian.

These are the characters rarely bestowed a voice, let alone the loudest in a story about beauty, hope, and love, but in young adult novel, Dumplin’, Julie Murphy passes around the microphone. Centre-stage is normally self-assured 16 year old, Dolly Parton-loving Willowdean, with hips she knows would have once been worth: “Many cows.”

Willowdean’s life is in flux: her best friend, Ellen, a walking beauty queen without the pageant, is about to strut down the sexual garden path. Willowdean’s guttural reaction to this tells us: Willowdean presumes she won’t get a garden path.

Or will she?

Bo, the lollipop-sucking addict at work— whose clothes strain against his biceps just as much as Willowdean’s do against her hips— shows increasing interest in Willowdean.

(Shame, thy name is a teenage girl who doesn’t tell her best friend she’s growing close to her crush, because she assumes his feelings can’t be real.)

Willowdean’s new self-doubt is further rattled by her mum, who—as one of the bestknown winners and organisers of the town’s Bluebell Beauty Pageant—grows vigilant of Willowdean’s weight, food choices, and clothing.

Pageant fever escalates as Willowdean’s selfworth hits a crushing low. When someone makes the mistake of bullying Willowdean for her weight and suggests she could never enter the comp, Willowdean flips, marches into

pageant HQ, and does just that. Even better, she enlists other unlikely hopefuls.

But as she prepares to proclaim her self-worth to the town on stage, can she do the same with herself—and Bo? Willowdean is the ultimate imperfect heroine, and her pageant friends are sparkling fun.

Bo—who says the name “Willowdean” like it might be a love word—is a mystery who unfolds well across the page.

A light-hearted ride, Dumplin’ never manages to deliver an emotional rollercoaster. In particular, the climax feels a little disjointed, like we’ve just hopped tracks.

Dumplin’ asks: ‘Am I enough to be loved?’

Willowdean’s ongoing tussle with her sense of self reminds us: we must always behave as if we are.

Nae Kurth

THE ARTS CENTRE GOLD COAST PRESENTS

Proudly supported by

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Arts & Culture

BURLEIGH BREWS UP ART AND BEER: BLA! BLA! BLA!

Beer and art. It’s like the perfect spring combo. And it’s just like Burleigh Brewing to dish up both. They’re pulling together some of the Gold Coast’s best artistic talent for BLA! (Brewing Local Artists) this weekend Live art displays are planned for the evening, allowing guests to engage with the creative minds behind the artwork. The brief given to artists was centred around the iconic lifestyle that exists on the Gold Coast. They were asked to create a piece that they believe represents balance, character and soul.

BLA! will feature artists who specialise in fine art, sculpture, photography and typography and Burleigh Brewing CEO Peta Fielding said she was excited to have such a creative group of artists transform the brewery into a pop-up gallery.

“Here at Burleigh Brewing we lovingly craft works of art every day, then bottle them for others to savour,” she added.

Christan Saumon, AKA SK412 also lovingly crafts works of art every day. He’s best known for his street art and is one of the talents exhibiting.

“If graffiti and street art got together, my artwork would be the illegitimate child they would produce,” he said, adding that this exhibition has him excited for obvious reasons.

“Beer and art are two of my favourite things in life, so combine them and you have my idea of nirvana,” Christan said. “We are getting more and more of these sorts of events happening on the Gold Coast. You combine that with the craft beer scene, which is an art form in itself, and you have a winning combo.”

Fellow artist Kiel Tillman, who references traditional tattoo images in his work (think skulls, daggers and snakes) and is also exhibiting and he agrees.

“Events like BLA! help promote both established and up and coming artists and illustrators which is great for the overall culture of the city,” Kiel said.

BLA! is free and sponsored by Blank GC, Symphony Hill Wines Solution Red and takes place Saturday 5 November from 5.00 – 8.00pm.

Samantha Morris

YOU CAN CHECK OUT CHRISTAN’S WORK ON INSTAGRAM AT @CHRISTANSAUMON AND FACEBOOK: SK412.

GOLD COAST OPENS ITS HOUSES There’s nothing more hospitable than opening your house to strangers: giving them an insight into how you live, how you work, how you play. And this month, the entire city does just that. It’s opening its houses (and churches and schools) to people from all walks of life, to give them a unique opportunity for a behind the scenes look at what makes the city’s buildings tick.

The City’s second Open House program will unlock the doors of quirky, interesting and significant buildings and offer behind-the-scenes tours of places not typically available for public access.

More than 30 Gold Coast properties from Coomera to Currumbin are included.

Philip Follent was the City’s inaugural architect. He’s also the co-chair of Gold Coast Open House and he spoke to Blank GC about the event.

“Change can happen rapidly in a city,” Follent said. “It’s important that people understand and value their built environment.”

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“The may come through the stories associated with parts of the environment like individual buildings or from understanding what goes on in those buildings.”

“Many people walk past a building every day and have no idea what goes on. After an Open House experience, they’ll never walk past again without a sense of attachment.”

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As well as being the City’s inaugural architect, Follent has served as the Queensland Government Architect and is currently the Chairman of Swell Sculpture Festival, a practicing architect and adviser to State Government on cultural and infrastructure issues. He’s well qualified to talk about Gold Coast’s architecture.

“Infrastructure hangs around a long time,” Follent reflects.

“If one looks at the last 30 years of architecture (on the Gold Coast), there are some great pieces of work between the tall steel and glass towers that often take precedence.”

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“Gold Coast is known for its high rises, we are national leaders in high rise design… the capturing of lifestyle well above the ground.:

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“Through the 80s and 90s, apartment designs were quite generous in area, but also sophisticated in allowing a lifestyle to be led above the ground.”

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“There’s no doubt our design focus has been about capturing lifestyle opportunity – and blurring that boundary between interiors and exteriors,” Follent said.

“Our city’s identity is very much related to a built environment. The sense of opening of our buildings, opening of facades, opening of balconies, connection of outside to inside. That clearly separates our architecture from a place like North America.”

The open house event includes the Gold Coast Hospital, St Hilda’s and The Southport School, Bond University, media outlets such as ABC Gold Coast, NINE and NBN headquarters and Hot Tomato studios plus private homes, Q1 and QT and heaps more. Get the program at goldcoastopenhouse.com.au.

In addition, a panel of speakers will explore the way that a sense of place, home and belonging is created in different building typologies. Gold Coast Living Macro to Micro takes place Wednesday 2 November at Gold Coast City Gallery from 6.00pm.

Samantha Morris

GOLD COAST OPEN HOUSE TAKES PLACE SATURDAY 5 NOVEMBER.

BLURRING THE LINES BETWEEN HOSPITALITY AND ART WITH HOTELLING David Pledger has made artistic works in cattleyards, suburban homes, a movie studio, car park, museum, stables and an arcade. So creating a new piece of work specifically for a hotel was a piece of cake.

“I have had a performance-technology idea based around hotels kicking around for quite a while so I was fairly primed for the opportunity,” he told Blank GC. There’s something about hotels that drives people to drop their defenses, lose their inhibitions, become a different versions of themselves. Pledger says hotels are like mini-societies.

“They reinvent themselves on a daily basis. And the chemistry of the guests, visitors, staff, the weather and the hotel’s activities like conferences, weddings, birthdays, parties determines what kind of society is created on the day.”

“It’s an irresistible environment for an artist to play in. And best of all, hotels have momentum. I like momentum.”

What David has curated is an ambitious and bold new cultural event that adds a new dimension to the city’s holiday experience.

Hotelling will see travellers, experience seekers and local culture vultures immersed in 48 hours of unpredictable art and performance, crisscrossing the corridors, courtyards, cocktail bars and clandestine corners of QT Gold Coast.

From the concierge to the couple next-door, the celebrity rock-star, the elevator valet, your swimming-pool partner and the hot date you wished you’d always had, there’s no telling who will pop up during Hotelling.

David told Blank GC that most of the program ideas were part of the artistic pitch for the project.

“They’ll be world premieres,” he said, “which is very exciting for both the program and the artists.”

But he also says he’s stayed at QT a lot. (They were a sponsor for 2970°, which David also curated) and some of those ideas were drawn directly from those stays.

“And some from my own seemingly never-ending hotelling experiences,” David said.

“Other ideas percolated in response to meetings with artists and finding out what inspired them about the idea.”

“And then I bounced all this around with the team at Bleach* in an open curatorial conversation, and so we have Hotelling.”

David said Bleach*, being a young organisation, needs to work on new projects like these.

PROGRAM INFORMATION

“They expose its strengths and weaknesses, which is how you learn.”

Down the Rabbit Hole Lose yourself in a down-the-rabbit-hole artistic rollercoaster, from the 22nd floor to the tennis courts this is some trip! Featuring artists such as Craig Walsh, The Farm, Todd MacDonald (Artistic Director, Laboite Theatre), Lawrence English, Kate Harman, Nadia Sunde and Shock Therapy Productions.

“I’ve set up a lot of new artistic and curating frameworks in Australia and overseas, and they’re hard because you ‘make it up as you go’ but they’re also really satisfying because of what you find out about yourself and the people you work with.”

“Some organisations might shy away from the challenge but Bleach* is up for it.”

And that courage, David says, has been in play from the get-go.

“It shows in the success the festival has enjoyed – it’s actually one of the most original festivals in Australia. I think the organization is primed to do great things.”

“This year will set it up as a national cultural offering and next year, if it goes again, it’ll be a new entry on the international cultural calendar.”

“Think big, I say.”

Samantha Morris

Friday 4 November + Saturday 5 November, 8.00pm – 11.00pm (arrival from 7.00pm), Tickets $50 and include free drink.

The Afternoon Playground From the penthouse, poolside and the promenade, indulge in offbeat artist-led conversations and confessions, bike tours, intimate cinema experiences and one-on-one yogi snacks.

Saturday 5 November, 1.00pm – 4.00pm. Tickets $30 and include free bike hire for a mystery QuTe Tour.

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BE A MAVERICK

“There’s a bit of a shakeup happening,” Gold Coast artist and curator, Byron Coathup says with a smile.

“A kind of renaissance where a lot of the younger generation, its artists, designers and even architects are actually trying to get at who we really are as a city. It’s really important, particularly with the Commonwealth Games coming up.”

Byron is the narrative thrust behind Maverick Hair and Art Space. Byron and his partner, Hayley have just recently opened the doors to their new Griffith Street location in Coolangatta. The doors have opened to local artists, too.

MONSTER JAM CALL UP FOR RHIANNA BUCHANAN AN AUSSIE FIRST Thrill seeker and motorcycle stunt rider Rhianna Buchanan is the first Australian to be invited to join the exclusive Monster Jam® driver line-up. A small town girl from Hillsview in South East Queensland, Rhianna has always had a passion for vehicles and a need for speed. Her no fear attitude and need for speed saw Rhianna fly to Illinois to train at Monster Jam University (MJU) earlier this year. Natalie O'Driscoll spoke to the pocket rocket about her supercharged passion.

Have you always been an adrenaline junkie?

I guess so! Growing up it was more about just being outdoors and active, but looking back most of our activities involved bikes, cars or some other machine! Motorsports is in my blood really!

Was there anyone in your family or in your life that inspired you to take this path?

Definitely! My mum and dad owned their own business for the first 17 years of my life so I really saw what it took to work for yourself and be successful! I believe my brother, sister and I all inherited riding/driving talent from dad as well and he was (and still is) a great coach out on the bike trails.

My boyfriend and business partner, Jack Field, he is such an incredible talent and is also very supportive in all aspects of life and always inspires me to push myself. I am also fortunate enough to have my Flair Riders team mates and some very talented friends around me doing amazing things which inspires me to make the most of every opportunity!

What were some of the biggest challenges at MJU, and what were some of the biggest highlights?

It was definitely a challenge the first time I had to squeeze a 4m wide Monster Jam Truck through a 4.5m doorway!

After the initial success it didn't bother me so much. I took to the rest quite quickly really, the other minor challenge was driving with opposite controls: left-hand only on the steering wheel so right-hand controlling rear steer only. For turns, you are using rear steer a little like a handbrake when drifting so it felt back-to-front and took a while to get used to. Highlights were soaring my 5,500kg Monster Jam Truck through the air and having the opportunity to learn and work with Tom Meents!

Has this been a long term dream, and if so, now that you're on your way to ticking it off, what is the next mountain you'd like to conquer?

I think every kid who's seen a Monster Jam Truck has a dream of driving one! After working on the tour last year I was definitely in awe of the Athletes and maybe a little jealous of their job! I even joked with Candice Jolly (MonsterMutt Dalmation) about switching roles, but didn't believe I would actually be given the opportunity to try out for a Monster Jam position myself! This opportunity has opened up a completely new book of goals, however for right now, I am going to endeavour to make the most of this and my next immediate goal is to be the first Aussie Monster Jam Athlete in competition!

What piece of advice would you give to kids who are interested in pursuing a career in extreme sports/stunts?

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Health and fitness are essential so really make an effort to listen to your body, learn what it needs and take action on what works for you and what you can do to always improve this

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Dedication is key! Nothing good comes easy, you will have to work hard (train/practice) for it and a lot of the time you may feel like you aren't getting anywhere but the only time you will truly fail is if you quit!

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A support network will keep you motivated and true to your goals. It doesn't have to be big, even just a friend or a family member, someone who you can express your goals to that can help you work towards them; But don't forget you have to return the support as well!

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Being physically and mentally tough is very important but takes time, and with all the above in place you will be on your way! Good luck and best wishes :)

When Byron isn’t curating at Maverick and giving new talent opportunities in the gallery, he’s on the streets and behind the scenes embodying the Coast’s growing art culture.

“I studied Fine Art at Griffith before moving to Melbourne for three years. I did some graphic design study down there and it was kind of my trip for learning and testing the waters for my artistic career,” he says.

These two fields of study are often contradictory at times.

Where fine art encourages certain artistic liberties, graphic design is governed by the accurate conveyance of visual messages.

“I looked at graphic design as a way of learning the rules after completing a fine art degree that teaches you to forget all the rules. There are rules you need to abide by and once you learn them, that’s when you can break them.”

Still working across these and other artistic mediums, Byron attributes his success as an artist and curator to his multidisciplinary studies.

“I was taught by a lot of artists who cross platforms and I’ve always been encouraged to allow my practice to unfold organically through the act of conceptualising, thinking and making things,” he says.

“I like to see how art integrates with life.”

DROP INTO MAVERICK HAIR AND ART SPACE: FIRST FLOOR, 1/17 GRIFFITH STREET, COOLANGATTA, 4225. AND SEE MORE OF BYRON’S WORK AT BYRONC. COM.AU. FOR FULL STORY VISIT BLANKGC.COM.AU.

Image: Brenton de Rooy 36

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KOOZA BRINGS CLOWNING BACK TO THE FORE Cirque du Soleil has long stunned audiences with the sheer human effort on display at its shows. Now the company rediscovers its origins with its eighth Big Top show to tour Australia. A return to the intimate and fundamental human elements of circus, KOOZA combines heart-stopping acrobatic performance with the art of clowning. Steering the international cast of 50 acrobats, musicians, singers and actors is artistic director Ron Kellum, who has made a move from away from his professional roots to join the thrilling world of circus arts. Blank GC’s cultural editor Natalie O’Driscoll asked Ron a few questions in the lead up to their Australian show dates.

You have quite a diverse background. What unique touches do you think your experience brought to the production?

In many ways, I’ve been preparing for this job since I was a kid: I did gymnastics and cheerleading before becoming a professional performer, so to now find myself referring to all these skills I’ve picked up over the year and applying that knowledge in my capacity as the Artistic Director is just incredible. So I understand the human body in movement so well and can relate to artists, who are really the best in the world at what they do, and provide them with the support they need to deliver a great production.

Coming from a predominantly sports entertainment and musical theatre background, what surprises did the Cirque experience hold for you as a director?

Cirque Du Soleil has been around since 1984, so this company is a very well-oiled machine with their own unique procedures and daily operating manners, many of which are based in tradition. So when my team and I, along with the artists, are setting up and tearing down the site at the beginning and end of each city, it comes as quite the surprise just how hands on everyone is while on tour with Cirque – we are one big family and we all muscle in together.

What are some of the behind-the-scenes challenges that the public may not realise go on in the making of a show such as this?

The show will often have last minute changes due to the nature of live performance with acrobats at the peak of their game – so while the show must start at 8pm, I could be reorganizing an entire act just minutes before the curtain goes up. We always deliver the best show possible, however, and this rapid change environment is what makes this job so interesting in fact.

Can you still sit in an audience and get lost watching musical theatre or circus, despite being familiar with the inner workings?

Absolutely. When live performance is done right with exceptional talent, it can be transcendental; a night at the theatre can be a life changing event, hugely inspirational and transformational. This is what we aim to accomplish on Kooza and our stellar cast manages to take 2,500 individuals on that journey with every show.

How would you describe KOOZA to someone who may have never seen anything like a Cirque production before?

Kooza is a hark back to traditional circus. We take acrobatics and clowning and infuse them with some Cirque magic: dramatic lighting, amazing musical accompaniment with an eight-member live band, incredible costumes and sets, and jaw-dropping, gravity-defying acrobatic feats which will just leave you astounded and asking how on earth that is humanly possible. Over the past 30 plus years, we have found the groove of putting together game changing shows, KOOZA is an homage to our traditions while being a lens through which we can see how far we still have to go.

KOOZA COMES TO BRISBANE FROM NOVEMBER 24 2016, SKYGATE BRISBANE AIRPORT (NEAR DFO). TICKETS AT CIRQUEDUSOLEIL.COM/KOOZA.

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DO UNI DIFFERENTLY Combine uni thinking with TAFE hands-on learning

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WHITNEY Currently studying the Bachelor of Contemporary Music Practice at our Coomera campus

4.

Now offering first year entry into the 306JA Bachelor of Contemporary Music Practice in January 2017 at our Coomera campus.

TAFE Queensland’s partnership with the University of Canberra means you will 5. graduate with a prestigious university degree, as well as the hands-on skills of a TAFE qualification.

Develop your creative skills in our state-of-the-art facilities while being supported by teachers who are deeply invested in their industry.

6.

If you have completed a diploma with TAFE Queensland in 2016, call us to discuss how you can receive up to a year of credit towards your bachelor degree in 2017.

For more information, visit: tafegoldcoast.edu.au/degrees

TAFE Queensland Gold Coast RTO 0083 | CRICOS 03037G, 00212K

Kylie Cobb

GIG GUIDE

NOVEMBER

TUESDAY 1 NOVEMBER 12.00PM-8.30PM GEMINI DUO & ABBI ANDERSON FRIDAY 4 NOVEMBER 7.30PM-11.30PM WALLY & THE GATORS SATURDAY 5 NOVEMBER 7.30PM-11.30PM GEMINI DUO SUNDAY 6 NOVEMBER 1.00PM-5.00PM BONE LAZY DUO MONDAY 7 NOVEMBER 11.00AM-2.00PM DEANA PEHER FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER 7.30PM-11.30PM ROCKKS SATURDAY 12 NOVEMBER 7.30PM-11.30PM STONEAGE ROMEO’S SUNDAY 13 NOVEMBER 1.00PM-5.00PM CROSSFIRE DUO MONDAY 14 NOVEMBER 11.00AM-2.00PM CRAIG SHAW

FRIDAY 18 NOVEMBER 7.30PM-11.30PM CATFISH & THE DEEJAYS SATURDAY 19 NOVEMBER 7.30PM-11.30PM NIGHTSHIFT SUNDAY 20 NOVEMBER 1.00PM-5.00PM GEMINI DUO MONDAY 21 NOVEMBER 11.00AM-2.00PM GREG BANKX FRIDAY 25 NOVEMBER 7.30PM-11.30PM MATRIX DUO SATURDAY 26 NOVEMBER 7.30PM-11.30PM JUST THE TICKET SUNDAY 27 NOVEMBER 1.00PM-5.00PM GREG BANKX MONDAY 28 NOVEMBER 11.00AM-2.00PM TOMMY MEMPHIS

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CREATIVE COLLABORATION AT COUCH OUTLOUD In May of 2016, Laurinda Janlewicz and Michelle Dumbrell connected and recognised that they had a shared vision to bring the unexplored corners of arts and culture out into the open. To make this a reality they spoke about bringing together like-minded passionate people to collaborate and promote the arts and generate a buzz that excites the Gold Coast community. The result of their efforts is Couch Outloud, being held on 18 November in Miami. Laurinda answered a few questions for Blank GC. The Couch Outloud is a live talk show about What was your motivation for creating the night and what do you hope to achieve as a highlighting the dynamic result? culture on the Gold Coast.

For decades there has been a perception by many locals and visitors that there is an absence of arts and culture on the Gold Coast. However, Michelle and I both disagree with this view and aim towards shifting the stigma to one that allows for more access to experiencing the work of local artists. We wanted to highlight the culture of the Gold Coast in an entertaining and interactive way.

That’s how the concept of a live talk show came to be.

Overall the purpose of the Couch Outloud is to highlight the growing significance of cultural change happening on the Gold Coast.

What do you think are some of the main positives about culture on the Gold Coast as compared to other cities, and what do you think are some of the areas that need working on?

There is an eclectic arts culture on the Gold Coast and audiences are yearning to engage in distinctive and atypical cultural activities.

However, there is still that unfamiliar territory of where and how they can connect with local artists.

Fortunately, there is indeed a growing wave of collaboration and acknowledgment of the artists’ network on the Gold Coast. This has been largely facilitated by the Gold Coast City Council. They are continuously offering meet ups and opportunities for artists to interconnect with each other particularly leading up to the 2018 Commonwealth Games. I find that people are interested in collaborating and supporting each other.

It is refreshing to be a part of such momentum. Yet on the other hand, the Gold Coast has a number of barriers that need to be addressed in order to catch up to other cities that support their local artists.

For example the Gold Coast still has very expensive busking permits and restrictions to event spaces, particularly for accommodating live music.

This show will highlight some amazing, inspiring artists and Gold Coast cultural movers and shakers. Come, hear and witness the work of Felicity Lawless (Bohemian Rocker and visionary), Emma Serjeant (Internationally renowned Circus Maker and Performer), Samantha Morris (Co-founder, owner and writer for Blank Magazine and Founder of Gold Coast Music Awards), Nadia Sunde (Host and Local Performing Artist) and Anthony Pieters (Visual Speed Artist and Dancer Extraordinaire) as well as Glenn Stephens (Musical Comedian). Together it will be an evening of conversation and live performance that will delight all of your senses.

Natalie O'Driscoll

NOVEMBER 18TH 6:308:30PM $15 AT THE DOOR THE AVALON MIAMI WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/ THECOUCHOUTLOUD/ EVENTS

YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE YOUTH NEW AND IMPROVED NOSTALGIA

It's rare you chat to a 17 year old that seems to understand the world already, but young Gold Coaster Sky Locke seems to have it all figured out. Mind you, she seems to understand it better through the lens of her camera. Emma Whines sits down with her to talk about the beauty and nostalgia of the world and how she seems to capture it so easily.

She describes herself as, "A film photographer for bands, people and Gold Coast nostalgia."

When I ask what Gold Coast nostalgia is, she replied "Wrinkled skin, rusted metal, old brick walls, the crack in the vinyl as the needle drops, it’s just stuff that I see and need to keep. I'm constantly chasing nostalgia and its associates."

The idea, to me, seemed interesting. I'd always thought of old photos as pieces of nostalgia and Locke flipped my belief on its head and has found the nostalgia in the people and places around the GC rather than the photos themselves. It's a different concept and allows Locke to "capture a feeling or moment before it passes and it's forgotten."

Her influences, much like her perspectives on the world, are simple and minimal.

"I'm influenced by the soul of the world; the song of the waves and the warmth of the sun, the beauty each season brings and the love it leaves behind."

Her blog, where she showcases most of her work, is littered with friends, bands, the beach and gives off a strong 70's vibe. If you were looking at her work for the first time, you might even mistake them for vintage photos carefully selected from your parents' old faded photo album.

CONTACT SKY ON HER BLOG FATSHAKAS. TUMBLR.COM TO TRANSPORT YOURSELF, YOUR BAND, OR YOUR FAVOURITE PLACE BACK IN TIME. www.blankgc.com.au

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A PASSION FOR FASHION

IF YOU CAN'T STAND THE HEAT, GET OUT OF THE KITCHENS The kitchen in a restaurant, is usually something hidden from public eye. It’s a brave chef who opens her kitchen for all and sundry to observe the goings on. The rise of reality TV cooking shows has had an impact on the expectations of food consumers and it’s also had an impact on our collective fascination with food preparation, weird and wonderful ingredients and everyday people who have mastered the art of cooking.

The Kitchens at Robina will take Gold Coast foodies beyond the spectacle of food and on the ultimate culinary adventure.

Bringing the back of house to the front of house, it’s promising an inhouse cooking school, two registered kitchens, which food entrepreneurs can use, live demonstrations, meet the growers sessions and live music and film.

The Kitchens officially opens Thursday 3 November and the full lineup of food partners is testament to the curation process the initiative has undergone.

George Calombaris has already been announced as one of the first tenants, opening his popular souvlaki bar venture Jimmy Grants. It’s a major coup for the Gold Coast – his sixth store nationally – which will serve up classic Greek style street food.

Naked Treaties will dish up hand-crafted organic, raw, vegan, dairy-free desserts and cold-press juices and seafood lovers will rejoice at Fish Lab featuring a bounty of fresh, local seafood and international delicacies.

Modern Australian cuisine, vegan and gluten-friendly dishes, Italian gelato and desserts, coffee-inspired treats, Eshai Teahouse honouring ancient recipes and a brand new bakehouse venture are also in the mix.

Curator Daniel West said the opening of The Kitchens would stir up the Gold Coast’s culinary landscape.

“The Kitchens will unite our community through a shared love of food as we take consumers on a culinary journey of discovery,” Daniel said.

Spanning two floors and featuring industrial indoor and outdoor places, The Kitchens will fuse gourmet traditions and cutting-edge trends. Some 55 new retailers are on board.

Betty’s Burgers & Concrete Co., Earth Markets, CocoWhip, Hero Sushi, Coming Home Co., The Poultry Pantry, Muso Ramen Noodle & Gyoza Bar, Barbosa Fine Food Delli and Pure Organic Meats are also on board.

There’s also an Asian supermarket, a full-service gym with 25-metre swimming pool and Icon The Cookery School as well.

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“From South American and Greek street food, to New York style bagels, Italian wood-fired pizzas, pastas, gelato and wines, traditional Asian dishes, Australian ales and local seafood, the finest flavours of the world will come together to create an unrivalled dining experience for every occasion,” Daniel said.

The Kitchens will be open seven days a week until 10.00pm and opening weekend has some cracker options that satisfy not just your culinary appetite (we’re talking celebrity chefs and demonstrations all weekend) but your cultural one too.

CULTURAL HIGHLIGHTS: Thursday 3 November: Performing between 8.00am and 7.00pm on opening day is New Orleans Jazz Band, Nii Anang and Sophia Koop on grand piano and Fox and Fiasco. Cheap Fakes will bring the house down from 7.30 – 8.30pm. Known for festival funk, there’s no question Cheap Fakes will bring appropriate party vibes for opening night.

Friday 4 November: More grand piano action from 11.00am – 6.00pm with Austen on at 6.00pm and Yoste on at 7.00pm.

Saturday 5 November: From 5.00pm – 8.00pm is The Acfields, Luate and Slip on Stereo.

Sunday 6 November: From 9.30am, Internationally acclaimed mural artist and author Kelsey Montague creates spectacular wall art for The Kitchens. Jackson James-Smith performs live at 4.00pm and Amy Shark at 5.00pm. And in partnership with Gold Coast Film Festival, a twilight outdoor screening of For Grace will take place at 7.00pm.

Samantha Morris

Julian Napier is a local theatrical fashion designer with a passion for woman's couture with a difference. His Garments are designed to be wearable with a theatrical edge to them.

At just 26 Julian has already had a great career spanning cinema, music videos and theatre in addition to his seasonal collections.

Since graduating the Australian Institute of Creative Design back in 2011 Julian has worked on a number of creative projects, namely an internship with the costume department of Bad Karma starring Dominic Purcel and Ray Liotta.

He was the creative costume designer for short film Seeking Sorrel Wood, Tara Simmons' music video Be Gone and play Medea: The River Runs Backwards. He has just opened his own studio here on the Gold Coast in Ashmore where he is creating bespoke designs for women who dare to be different.

Just back from the Sunshine Coast Fashion Festival after showing his Spring/Summer 2016 collection he chats to Amanda Gorman.

Where do you draw your inspiration from for your collections?

I usually have an idea for a dress/outfit, then I work the inspiration and the rest of the collection around the original concept designs.

Which industry have you found to be the most interesting to work in?

I have found the costume industry to be the most exciting.

The themes of the shows are always different and offer much more creative opportunities.

What can we expect from your new studio here on the Gold Coast?

With the new studio, I'll have the space to take on more clients for custom pieces and space to explore more creative designs.

You have just featured your latest collection at Sunshine Coast Fashion festival, tell us about the experience?

It was definitely an experience. It was my first time showing at an event this big. It was incredibly hectic, people running everywhere and I was showing towards the end of the show, the wait didn't help with the nerves. But overall the reaction to the clothes was all very positive.

TO CHECK OUT JULIAN’S DESIGNS,GO TO JULIANNAPIER.COM.AU

THE KITCHENS

YOUR NEW FOOD PLAYGROUND Start your culinary adventure at The Kitchens. A place to spoon lick, double dip, bake, bite and crunch.

PEN O W NO

OPEN ‘TIL LATE

LET’S STIR IT UP THEKITCHENS.COM.AU

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Outback Comes to the Beach this November Surfers Paradise and Longreach have collaborated to bring the Outback Stockman's Show to the Gold Coast for the first time from 3 – 6 November. The interactive, action-packed show features skilful displays of horsemanship. The daily shows will be presented by third-generation horse breaker and stockman Lachie Cossor, along with a talented cast of horses, mules, dogs, sheep and piglets. The shows run 10.00am, 2.00pm and 5.00pm daily at the Beach Volleyball Courts (end of Trickett St).

Bonjour!

November sees the third Bonjour French Festival take place bringing the best of France and French Culture to the Gold Coast.

Celebrated over two days and nights in Kurrawa Park, Broadbeach the program includes music, French markets, live entertainment, history and a French film night as well as a special commemoration for the victims of last year’s Paris attacks. The festival runs 11 – 13 November. Visit bonjourfrenchfestival.com.au for more information.

QCA graduates exhibition Undercurrents provokes Highly personal work that sparks dialogue and defines the next generation will challenge audiences when Gold Coast City Gallery hosts Undercurrents, an exhibition of works by fourteen graduating students of the Queensland College of Art (QCA), from Saturday 29 October to 20 November at Gallery 1, Gold Coast City Gallery, The Arts Centre Gold Coast. More at undercurrents2016.com.

Salon De Sketchy Sings at Sugarmill Wedding Announcement: GC Artist Nyssa Berger Ties the Knot We are delighted to announce the wedding of popular Gold Coast songstress Nyssa Berger to her partner Beck Ray. The lovebirds have just returned from their honeymoon and sent us this gorgeous snap from their special day in October. From the happy pair: "May our country reach a place where all love is recognised. She is all my beginnings and all my endings and every flicker of magic in between. I choose you from this day forward, and every day for the rest of my life. Thank you for choosing me."

How does sense of home translate, in our lifestyle, our city? Some of the best Gold Coast architects and designers will address the question at a free speaker event, micro to MACRO, on Wednesday 2 November from 6.00pm at Gold Coast City Art Gallery. The event is a prelude to Gold Coast Open House, which takes places on 5 November. For program and speakers visit goldcoastopenhouse.com.au.

Put Some Colour in Your Life with Art Market The Hillier and Skuse Christmas Art Market features hundreds of work from some of the fantastic artists from the Put Some Colour in Your Life TV program, as well as some of the Gold Coast’s best local talent - more than thirty artists in all. A range of unique hand crafted ceramic, glassware and sculpture is also on show. The market runs from 4 November 2016 to 31 January 2017. More at hillierskusegallery.com.

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Big Ted, Little Ted, Humpty and Jemima are heading to the Gold Coast as part of a celebratory exhibition to commemorate the 50th birthday of the much-loved Australian television program Play School. Happy Birthday Play School: Celebrating 50 years is an exhibition which honours Australia’s longestrunning children’s television program and its special place in peoples’ hearts. The exhibition will run from 3 December 2016 to 5 February 2017 at the Gold Coast City Gallery.

NORPA's Big Think with Peter Garrett

Flourish Christmas Festival Celebrates Festive Traditions

Home at the Heart of Gold Coast Open House Speaker Event

Play School birthday celebrations come to the Gold Coast

FLOURISH Christmas Festival will herald the arrival of the festive season with a vibrant celebration of all things creative in Southport on Saturday 19 November. The inaugural event is set to present a festive Christmas marketplace with an eclectic array of stalls featuring fair trade and locally-made arts and crafts, and of course carols! Event organisers are putting a call out for registrations to all local artists, craftspeople, entertainers and volunteers interested in being involved. The festival runs from noon until 8.00pm at the Southport Uniting Church.

Paradise Valley comes to Paradise The Mitch Gobel Resin Art exhibition Paradise Valley will open with a launch party at Trader Trove, 22 Christine Ave Miami on Saturday 12 November. The event runs from 6.00pm – 9.00pm, and is 18+. All six artworks - inspired by nature, particularly Byron Bay - took three months to create, and tickets to opening night are available via mitchgobelresinart.com. The exhibition itself will run from 13 to 19 November at no cost or age limit. Buyers can contact Mitch or Sal at mitch@mgracorporation.com to book a personal viewing.

As the front-man of Midnight Oil, Peter Garrett provided an electrifying intensity that spilled over into his subsequent political career. Join him in conversation as he explores his musical and environmental passions, from Midnight Oil through to his 2015 memoir Big Blue Sky. Big Think: Peter Garrett, In Conversation is being held at Lismore City Hall on Friday 18 November at 7.00pm. The show is recommended for 15 years + and tickets are $35 each or $25 for 25s and under.

Visit norpa.org.au or call 1300 066 772.

More Muscle Cars Beef Up Pimpama Ride Gainsborough Greens is revving up for the annual Pimpama Ride Car Show on Sunday 6 November with more than 200 muscle cars worth a combined $10 million to go on display. Members of the Gold Coast Muscle Car Club will showcase their prized classic cars, some worth more than $150,000, including an extremely rare 1937 Lincoln and 1946 Ford. The family day out is an opportunity to view the cars while enjoying free entertainment. Pimpama Ride Car Show will be held from 9.00am to 1.00pm, next to the Gainsborough Greens Golf Club. For further information on the event, visit facebook.com/ gainsboroughgreenscommunity.

A unique mix of life drawing and live entertainment, new event Salon De Sketchy seeks creatives interested in trying out their skills at life drawing – with a difference! Each model is also a performer and plays live on the night. The event runs on the first Thursday of every month at the Sugarmill Studio, 15 Commercial Rd, Murwillumbah from 6.30pm.

Entry is $20, and The Dandyman is lined up for the 3 November night.

LITTLE BITES COWCH MAKES THE GOLD COAST A LITTLE SWEETER Sweet tooths beware! The GC just got a little sweeter with the opening of the infamous Cowch Dessert Cocktail Bar in Pacific Fair. The restaurant will launch with a new menu serving more mouth-watering desserts and drinks, including a Peanut Butter and Jelly Dessert Pizza, Cookie Pancake Stack, Cherry Ripe Deluxe Hot Chocolate, and Salted Caramel Espresso Martini. Cowch Pacific Fair boasts 30+ extravagant desserts, 18 different flavours of ice cream, 13 lavish cocktails, and caters to gluten-free, lactose-free and vegan diets.

TIME TO PALM OFF WORK AND GET TWISTED (RESPONSIBLY!) Hang on to your beach hat guys because Burleigh Brewing Co has just launched its newest addition to the family and it goes with summer! Twisted Palm is cool, edgy and down to earth. Inspired by the special essence of Burleigh Heads and the iconic Pandanus trees that line the point, this tropical pale ale boasts characteristics of orange, mango and papaya and is set to be a hit with the young, hip, beach crowds of Queensland. Available now across numerous cool establishments and bottle shops on the Gold Coast, Brisbane and Sunshine Coast, Twisted Palm is making its way around the state. For further information and to find your local stockist, please go to burleighbrewing.com.au

SUNDAYloving BAZAAR Restaurant is serving up Sunday lunch every week from 12–3pm

SOAK UP THE WEEKEND VIBES AT BAZAAR RESTAURANT’S SUNDAY LUNCH. The perfect spot to catch up with friends and feast on Bazaar’s famous spit roasted meats, seafood straight from the trawler, salads plucked fresh from QT’s rooftop kitchen garden and the finest spread of sweet treats on the Coast.

$59 per adult | $29 per child Bookings essential. Book online at qtgoldcoast.com.au

7 Staghorn Avenue Surfers Paradise | 07 5584 1200 | www.qtgoldcoast.com.au

TACO TUESDAY

5–10PM | $3 TACOS Spicy pork, chilli con carne, grilled chicken, seafood, vegetarian and a weekly secret taco

Margaritas

www.blankgc.com.au 7 Staghorn Avenue Surfers Paradise | 07 5584 1200 | www.qtgoldcoast.com.au

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2016

goldcoastopenhouse.com.au

Issue #39 NOVEMBER 2016

coffee food culture art theatre surf enviro life