Blank Gold Coast issue #25 – September 15

free Sept ‘15

the lamplights shining bright issue #025

FOOD

BIGSOUND

CULTURE

LIFESTYLE

City Over Sand

Char Baa

John Steel Singers

Glitter on the GC

GC Science Centre

Baltimore Gun Club

Ipoh Satay House

Moses Gunn Collective

SWELL Sculpture

Garage Sale Trail

Aquila Young

Mavis’ Kitchen

Our top picks

Poetry World Cup

Whale tales

Black Sheep Espresso

GC Music Awards

Jonathan Madzinga

(re)generation

Lennon on stage

Wake boarding

MUSIC

Frankie + the moon

Real Food Festival

FRI 4 SEP

Wandering Eyes & Electrik Lemonade Supported by Drop Legs $10+BF SUN 27 SEP

Bondi Cigars (AUS) $17+BF FRI 30 OCT Tone Deaf, Wonderlick & Select Music presents

The Paper Kites (AUS) ‘twelvefour Australian Tour 2015’ with special guest Patrick James $25+BF FRI 13 NOV

Marlon Williams & The Yarra Benders (NZ) Australian Album Release Tour Supported by Ben Salter $20+BF

soundlounge.com.au

point blank Ash Grunwald @ Miami Marketta

#025 SEPT 2015 Editor: Samantha Morris Designer: Kylie Cobb, Kitty Kitty Bang Bang Advertising: Amanda Gorman Music Coordinator: Mella Bunker Photographer: Leisen Standen, LAMP Photography Money Coordinator: Phillippa Wright Logistics Coordinator: Elli Webb Mothers at large: Chloe Popa and Natalie O’Driscoll are both on maternity leave and this edition is dedicated to them.

Front cover: Lamplights, image supplied Lifestyle cover: SWELL artists, image by LAMP Photography Contributors: Marj Osborne, Catherine Coburn, Anna Itkonen, Yanina Benavidez, Carmel E Lewis, Samantha Morris, Chloe Popa, Terry “Tappa” Teece, Mic Smith, Nev Pearce, Jariah Travan, Elizabeth Ansley, Melanie Lahina, Kyle Butcher, Jake Wilton, Anthony Gebhardt, Sarah McEwan, Tiffany Mitchell, Iain Wright, Leisen Standen, Kylie Cobb, Jesse Kenny, Naomi Edwards

Ash Grunwald is back on the road with more new music He’s just announced the new single from his upcoming album and has locked in a 28 date national tour. No-one is accusing Ash Grunwald of being a slouch. The new album Now, which is due to hit shelves later this year was produced by Nick Didia (Pearl Jam / RATM) from Studio 301 in Ash’s hometown of Byron Bay. It’s his eighth studio album.

The new single Second Guess can be streamed via soundcloud and you can catch Ash live when he hits Miami Marketta as part of that massive national tour on 18 October.

Opportunities to perform at Arts Centre The Arts Centre Gold Coast is seeking a number of actors, singers, dancers, musicians, writers and independent theatre makers for a bunch of projects. Next Stage is a program that offers financially-supported access to the Arts Centre’s basement to produce your own performance. In addition, the Arts Centre is accepting expressions of interest from musicians keen to perform on the Terrace Stage outside beside the café. For information on either opportunity contact Vicki at buenen@theartscentregc.com.au We Two Thieves @ Mullum

Acknowledement of Country We show our respect and sincerely acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of this land and their elders past, present and emerging.

Editorial: news@blankgc.com.au Advertising: advertising@blankgc.com.au Blank GC is independently owned and published by Samantha Morris and Chloe Popa. Most of our writers contribute their time pro-bono to boost the cultural scene on the Gold Coast. Founded in 2013 we are the Gold Coast’s independent cultural voice, relying on advertising 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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Mullum’s four-day feast for the ears Mullum Music Festival, which takes place 19 – 22 November has released its most international and diverse lineup to date.

For four days the streets, halls, pubs and churches of Mullumbimby will play host to Ron Sexsmith, Ben Ottewell (Gomez), Trinity Roots, We Two Thieves, Harry Angus (Cat Empire), Emma Donovan and the Putbacks, Cheap Fakes, Bullhorn, Hat Fitz and Cara, Mt Warning, Tora, Raised by Eagles and a heap of other talented artists.

There’s Mandy Nolan, Greg Sullivan and Ellen Briggs providing comedic diversions and The Bollywood Sisters for dance. Four local choirs, a heap of street entertainers and theatre productions fill out the program. Get more at mullummusicfestival.com.

Leopolds have a cold new treat in store As well as announcing the date for the launch of their new album Cold River, local folk champions, Leopold’s Treat have also released the record’s first single of the same name. It’s an uplifting track that showcases Kate Leopold’s mesmerising voice as well as the abilities of her bandmates Dave Honeyman and Kieran Richardt. “Through this song we connect with our audience through sharing a story that is familiar,” Kate says. “Flowing through life with someone we love while not actually letting life itself get in the way of the things that matter most.” You can listen to the track now, on Soundcloud and you can grab tickets to the album launch which takes place on Saturday 10 October at Board Culture via leopoldstreat.yapsody.com.

Phat single n video from Eddie Boyd & co With the All Leads Back Tour well under way now, Sydney-side roots and indie trio Eddie Boyd and The Phatapillars have dropped a new video to accompany their latest single A Lover and A Fool taken from the band’s debut EP released in April. They’ll also be in our ‘hood plying their wares. You can catch them on Friday 4 September at Lennox Point Hotel and on Saturday 5 September at The Rails in Byron.

Cosmic east coast bums The Cosmic Psychos Check Your Bum For Grubs tour will stumble down the east coast, including regional stop-overs in Ballarat, Geelong and Byron Bay. Impressive supports are being lined up like unsuspecting rabbits to ensure the tour delivers on par with the band’s co-headlining tour with Dune Rats earlier this year. Cosmic Psychos will hit The Great Northern Byron Bay on Sunday 6 September. Tickets via moshtix.com.au.

DLM’s tour comes to a close Suit and tie rockers, Double Lined Minority will bring their east coast tour to a close this Friday 28 August when they play at all ages gig at Helensvale Cultural Centre. The tour celebrated their single Get Around which was released in August. It’s been a big year for the Gold Coast outfit who released EP Caught in the Ceasefire in February and supported USA visitors Real Friends in June. Get more updates at doublelinedminority.com

Earth Frequency Festival 2016 dates announced Earth Frequency has announced its festival dates for 2016 with tickets already on sale.

It will be the festival’s eleventh outing and while most of us are still in the midst of winter hibernation, organisers are already calling for applications to participate across the family realm, market stalls, volunteering, music and media. The event will run 12 – 15 February and all the juicy details are at earthfrequency.com.au Baltimore Gun Club off with a bang With quite possibly the best local video we’ve seen this year, Baltimore Gun Club are turning heads (and ears) for all the right reasons. Their clip for Apollo has already been shown on RAGE (read story in this edition) and after successfully crowdfunding $4,000 to support the release of their album Innerspace, they’ve just announced an east coast tour. The tour kicks off in Ballina on Friday 28 August before hitting Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Ballarat, Bendigo, Toowoomba and Warwick. They play Brisbane on 11 September at the Zoo, 10 October at Ric’s Bar and 11 October at the New Globe Theatre before wrapping things up for one almighty local showing at Currumbin Creek Tavern on 30 October.

Don’t miss this one, Blankettes.

Aquila Young’s powerful debut Captivating songstress Aquila Young has released her debut single Vagabond. With interest already received from national radio there’s growing anticipation for the release of Young’s EP Distance Echoes which is expected later this year. We’ve interviewed Aquila in this magazine and despite this song being her first release, she’s already shared stages with the likes of Bob Evans, Tsun and Mt Warning as well as local major festivals. To celebrate the single launch, she’s got dates coming up in Sydney as well as the Brisbane Festival (18 September at QPAC) and Black Bear Lodge (16 October). You can stream the track via Soundcloud.

Cheap Fakes announce album & launches The Cheap Fakes new album Modern Vintage, produced by John Merchant (Michael Jackson, Lenny Kravitz, Barbra Stresiand) is the band’s third studio album and due for release 9 October. To mark the occasion, the Brisbane x Gold Coast six-piece are taking their show on the road with launch gigs in a bunch of east coast locations. They’ll hit The Triffid (Brisbane) on 9 Oct, Miami Marketta on 11 Oct and Sunshine Coast’s Solbar on 16 Oct.

Gold Coast’s independent cultural voice Out monthly online and in print

www.blankgc.com.au Gold Coast Artist of the Year, Karl S. Williams. Image: matthewthomasphotography.com.au

point blank A right show for local music During the three days of the Gold Coast Show – 28 to 30 August, Gold Coast artists will occupy two stages across both day and night programs. Live entertainment will take place from 9.00am – 9.00pm. Recent winner of the Gold Coast Music Awards’ People’s Choice category, Casey Barnes will perform on Sunday 30 August from 7.00pm with Yes Sir Noceur, New Age Notion, Ivey, Peach Fur, Tokyo Beef and a heap of other original acts on the lineup.

Greys release third single and details of debut album Lyre Local duo Greys recently released third and final single from forthcoming debut LP Lyre. It’s synthesised, post-punk and electronically-fuelled and is the perfect marker from ten years of collaboration between Greys members Mark Duckworth and Morris Lauga. This final single Fly Near my Dear is out now and the ablum Lyre is due for release Friday 28 August. ZZZ said it’s bleak, but it’s a pretty beautiful kind of bleakness.

A touch of nostalgia on Tamborine It’s a full-blown celebration of 1950s culture, complete with hot rod, rockabilly and all things vintage. And it’s coming back to Mt Tamborine for the seventh time. The annual Garterbelts & Gasoline Nostalgia Festival runs 2 – 5 October 2015 and has a jam-packed lineup of good stuff to keep you on your toes: custom cars, live rockabilly, jump blues and alt country music, burlesque performers and Australia’s finest traditional pinup contest, low brow art exhibition, nostalgia movies in an old world theatre and one of Australia’s only and easily largest public road vintage soap box derby race.

The weekend will rock Mt Tamborine across four venues with wineries and vintage shops joining the fun. There’s plenty of accommodation on offer as well as VIP camping for those with vintage caravans.

Visit garterbeltsandgasoline for more information or pull up your bobby socks and head for the hills.

Pierce Brothers are GC bound again With a new EP Into the Dirt due for release 25 September featuring four original records and to live tracks, Melbourne pop folk multi-instrumentalists Pierce Brothers are about to hit the road. The EP was produced and recorded by Jan Skubiszewski (Dan Sultan, John Butler Trio) and to celebrate its release the duo will spend September, October and November on the road with shows at Byron and Murwillumbah. They’re at Murwillumban Country Roots Festival on Friday 2 October and at the Beach Hotel Byron Bay on Friday 6 November.

Caravana Sun @ Mitchell Creek festival

Sydney surf-rockers, Caravãna Sun headline Qld Rock N Blues Festival Fresh from a massive 20-date European tour, Caravana Sun will be bringing their fun and irresistibly infectious ‘world fuelled rebellious surf rock’ to 2015 Mitchell Creek Rock N Blues Fest, being held in the Sunny Coast Hinterland 18-21 September. For more information go to mitchellcreekrocknbuesfest.com.au

Sanctuary’s Sunday Sounds Sanctuary Cove is also hosting Sounds of Sunday to usher in spring. Sunday Sounds at Sanctuary Cove will take place on Sunday 13 September from 1.00 – 6.00pm in the Marine Village and will provide a backdrop for balmy afternoons of live music with a jumping castle and face painting for the kids. Graham Hobson – a vocalist and pianist with a performance history spanning 20 years – will open the day’s entertainment with the Frazer Goodman Big Band filling out the afternoon with jazz and blues. The Sanctuary Cove Marine Village is located at 1 Masthead Way, Sanctuary Cove.

Velvet Martini at Sharks Velvet Martini are an eclectic party band made up of some of the Gold Coast’s finest musicians. If you were at Rabbit Radio’s third birthday party you would have seen first-hand, their ability to improvise, be fluid and smile at crass jokes. The band’s young and energetic line-up of Stephanie Williams (vocals), Sam Quintal (guitar/vocals), Jack Letizia (bass) and Arno Cassidy (drums) gives the band an ever-evolving repertoire and a great ability to engage their audiences.

And they say they’ll be bringing that spontaneity and improvisational jam to Southport Sharks when they play Saturday 29 August from 8.30pm. Plus, it’s free. More at southportsharks.com.au.

Sundays at Sharks A month of Sundays sees some stellar local talent grace the stage at Southport Sharks. Dallas James (Byron Bay) gained fame as a soloist on The Voice and he’s at Sharks on Sunday 6 and 20 September.

He’s played alongside Ash Grunwald, Grinspoon, Spiderbait and Wolfmother with his previous band The Grains, which he fronted. Hayley Grace is also hitting the stage with her rich and soulful voice on show on Sunday 13 September from 1.00pm. And wrapping up the month is Ruby Montey who won the ACMF National Song Writing Competition in 2013. She’ll play on Sunday 27 September, also from 1.00pm.

Bluesfest and Boomerang join forces Not only will Bluesfest continue to present its usual lineup of national and international artists, it is also adding some serious flavour to the overall festival experience, welcoming back the much loved cultural and Indigenous event: The Boomerang Festival. Boomeran will host its own space next to the JIMBALYA stage for 2016 and will be managed and programmed from an Aboriginal perspective, a dedicated Indigenous performance and interactive event showcasing Indigenous art and culture. Bluesfest will come alive with this new family-friendly precinct offering an inspiring program of dance, language, story, talks and ideas, carving, weaving, and traditional healing programs by some of Australia and the world’s foremost masters of their art. The full program will be released soon.

The Escalators The Escalators bring swing to spaghetti With more grooves than a record store, The Escalators tip their fedoras to the sophistication of swing, the funk of New Orleans, & the rhythmic pulse of Jamaica, breathing new life into the great songs of the 20th century and crafting original compositios that honour their jazz / soul / reggae roots. They’re heading north for the Noosa Jazz Festival, but not without a little layover here on the Gold Coast. They’ll get a little saucy with a free show at Spaghetti and Jazz in Robina on Wednesday 2 September from 6.30pm.

MORE REGIONAL ARTS DEVELOPMENT STORIES UNFOLDING

RADF or the Regional Arts Development Fund is a Queensland Government initiative through Arts Queensland in conjunction with the City of Gold Coast to support local arts and culture. Through the RADF program, Council is calling for big, creative ideas.

The first round of RADF funding for 2015-16 closes 11 September. The call for applications comes on the back of an announcement of the successful recipients of RADF funding from the last round. Those recipients include: »» Suzanne Howard for Regions of Alienation/Satellites of Love, an inclusive visual arts collaboration between local artists and community groups »» Kate Harman for the first development stage of The Drowning, a new production integrating live music and contemporary dance »» Joel Rea for a New York residency to coincide with a month-long solo exhibition at the Jonathon Levine Gallery in Chelsea, New York »» Josef Ruigrok for The Beach Project, an extensive residency of research and development on the Gold Coast working with local artists, communities and businesses »» Sam Foster for Shock Therapy Productions in collaboration with Zeal Theatre and Arts Centre Gold Coast for their new version of The Forwards held at The Arts Centre Gold Coast in July.

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»» Emily Craven will also receive a grant for a digital storytelling project which utilizes cutting edge app technology. Story City – Gold Coast will take the reading experience from the traditional printed page and deliver it to smart devices. Through a locative app, readers will be guided on a trail to unravel and explore a story of their own choosing – it’s an interactive Choose your Own Adventure narrative through Gold Coast suburbs.

The project recently advertised for expressions of interest from musicians, writers and illustrators whose work will be showcased through the project. You can download the Story City app now but the Gold Coast project is still in development.

With these RADF recipients set to make an impact on the local arts and culture scene, the City is now calling for applications for the next round.

Applications close 11 September 2015, with the next round opening in February 2016. That round will also include competitive funding, a mentorship opportunity and triennial funding.

Get more information at cityofgoldcoast.com.au/cultural

Fri Aug 28 / 8.00pm / $10 CACTUS DILL-DOS + The Volleys + Speedball (Syd) + Monster Fodder + Dispunktion Sat Aug 29 / 7.30pm / $10 entry Upon a Falling Empire + Vicegrip + One 80 Down + Regular Band + Twin Picks Fri Sep 04 / 7.30pm / $10 entry Wartooth + UverseU + Desmantra + Dark Decorum + Enslaver Sat Sep 05 / 8.00pm / $10 entry // TANGERINE + Dirty Frank + Peach Fur + Scott Dalton Sat Sep 12 / 7.30pm / $10 entry United States of Oz + Just Monday + Sorry, Not Sorry + The Goldhearts + Mistram Fri Sep 18 / 8.00pm / $10 entry James D'Khan + Holly Terrens "Single Launch" + True Theory + Stephen Dorrington Sat Sep 19 / 7.30pm / $10 entry Double Lined Minority + New Age Notion + Stayclose + Ellie Jane + Tim Edwards Music Fri Sep 25 / 9.00pm / free entry // TURKEY SLAP Sat Sep 26 / 7.30pm / $10 entry Symbolic Weapon + Kold Creature + Mergatroyd + Deraign + Diamond Back + Woggy

www.blankgc.com.au

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GOLD COAST MUSIC AWARDS 2015

Images: LAMP Photography

SONG OF THE YEAR AN BUSKERS BY THE CREEK: UNEXPECTED TRIUMPH FOR GCMA EVENT OF THE YEAR “The win was totally unexpected!”

LANE X IKE Lane Harry x Ike Campbell recently took out the first ever award for Song of the Year on the Gold Coast for their track Anarchy. It was the first time a Music Awards had happened in the city for more than a generation. Some considered the hip-hop outfit to be a slim chance of taking out the award, given the genre and themes of the song they entered.

“It was really unexpected,” Lane said. “We were right at the back of the building waiting for somebody else to win so it was wild when we got announced.”

You could see the surprise on the gents’ faces actually.

Ike said it was a shock and that they’d been joking about winning it just moments before they were announced.

Lane’s mother, who has never seen them perform before, was in the audience to witness their moment of glory.

Lane and Ike were presented with their award by the City’s cultural advisor Robyn Archer, AM. And the City of Gold Coast was the category sponsor.

“She was really stoked,” Lane said of his mother’s response.

“It’s always good to be acknowledged and recognised for hard work,” he told Blank. “We’ve put the hours into this and the fans’ response is always more than enough but to be given Song of the Year is definitely above and beyond what we could have hoped for when creating the song.”

Ike agrees. “We work endlessly to create the highest quality art we can, so receiving some recognition for that was rewarding,” he said. “It was also reassuring to know that people respect the direction of our music.”

Lane believes the Gold Coast Music Awards will give some artists the motivation to creatively push themselves in order to stand out.

And Ike says it’s great exposure for the artists that are involved.

“Even the title of a nomination is something worth sharing with fans and audiences through social media, which will help gain the attention of others,” he said.

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Cindy Jensen says she literally froze when she heard her name sounding out across the echoey space that hosted the Gold Coast Music Awards last month. “I nearly broke my husband’s hand in two and had to be pushed to the stage to accept the award.”

“I still can’t stop grinning!”

Anyone who attended the event would know that Buskers by the Creek had one almighty roar from the crowd, in response to the announcement they’d taken out the Event of the Year award, sponsored by Blueshadow Group. Cindy said they had quite the cheer squad in attendance.

“There were quite a number of musicians, artists and sponsors who were involved last year,” she said. They were in the crowd and barracking for Buskers.

“My biggest supporter and husband, David and close friends were also by my side.”

“I know it might sound cliché, but I honestly hope this win encourages others to never give up on their dreams.

If you’re told you can’t do something, do it differently. If there’s obstacles, jump over them. If you believe, you can do it! This win proves it,” Cindy said.

“The Gold Coast has way more to offer than bikini babes and beaches – we’re blessed with a thriving live music scene! I believe the awards will ultimately become the catalyst for consolidating this reputation and increase promotion and exposure of our extraordinary talent and cultural city.”

Buskers by the Creek, Gold Coast’s Live Music Event of the year for 2014 is back this year, bigger and bolder than ever.

It takes place on the banks of Currumbin Creek over 17 and 18 October. More at buskersbythecreek.com.au.

Samantha Morris

A FAIRY-TALE ENDING TO GC MUSIC AWARDS The 2015 Gold Coast Music Awards rocked a fairy-tale ending when the organising team of mums were whisked away in a custom-built Cinderella Limousine.

Bedecked in VWs, surfboards and locally brewed beer, it was only fitting that the Fairy Godmother sprinkle a little bit of Gold Coast bling to the affair. With over 200 nominations, 32 partners and sponsors and 350 guests attending, the inaugural event was a labour of love for organisers and all mums of two-year-olds, Chloe Popa, Amanda Gorman and Samantha Morris.

Gold Coast company, LuxCars, waved their magical wand transforming the women’s taxi ride to the after-party into a $200,000 purpose-built limousine, inspired by Queen Elizabeth’s personal chariot, The Britannica.

“The story of those mums, all with young kids, balancing work and family, was so powerful we thought it only fitting to grant them this magical experience in our Cinderella Carriage,” said Alena Kouzmenkov, a mum-of-two herself and Director of LuxCars.

With the Award ceremony finished and packing up done, the organising committee of six emerged from Burleigh Brewing Co. to find the coach, the only one of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, waiting to take them to the ball in style.

“It was the best surprise. We rocked that Cinderella Coach and had lots of lovely people greet us with a tunnel of honour when we arrived at the after party at elsewhere,”said Samantha Morris.

“What an awesome way to end the night!”

Kylie Cobb

AWARDS SMASH EXPECTATIONS

The Gold Coast Music Awards – the brainchild of a team of mums who also create Blank magazine – were presented at a 60s surfthemed function at the end of July. More than 200 nominations were received across six categories, the event sold-out with some 350 people in attendance and feedback has been nothing but positive.

Organiser Samantha Morris, who is still recovering from the last minute venue change, says the Awards showed the strength of the entire cultural sector as well as a genuine commitment from businesses and Council to support the scene.

“It’s an idea whose time has come,” she said. “Again.”

“The last time there was a Music Awards program on the Gold Coast was more than a generation ago. We want people to take notice of what’s going on here,” Sam said. “There is some serious talent on the Gold Coast – and I’m not just talking about the musicians.

We have great venues and promoters, recording studios, music photographers and journalists, producers, designers and event managers.”

Six categories recognised some of the diversity and talent across the city: Live Music Venue of the Year, sponsored by SWELL Sculpture Festival: The Soundlounge at Currumbin Artist of the Year, sponsored by Southport Sharks Cabana Bar and Lounge: Karl S Williams Live Music Event of the Year, sponsored by Blue Shadow Group: Buskers by the Creek Song of the Year, sponsored by City of Gold Coast: Lane Harry x Ike Campbell for Anarchy Emerging Artist of the Year, sponsored by Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University: Hanlon Brothers Music Champion of the Year, sponsored by QMusic and BIGSOUND: Polly Snowden of Pollination Music Peta Fielding, CEO Burleigh Brewing, who was Presenting Partner and also sponsored the People’s Choice Award, said the company took their role very seriously, particularly when rain threatened the outdoor event planned for their existing brewery.

“We were committed to making this first year a success,” she said. “We had already made the commitment to halt beer production for a day,” Peta said. “And then we had to make the decision to halt construction on our new premises as well.”

The event was moved into the brewing company’s new processing and bottling plant, but it was nothing but a dusty old hangar at the time. With a truckload of volunteers, kombis and hand-harvested greenery, a team of volunteers turned it into a function space in just one day.

“There is no question in my mind that this event did wonders for lifting the spirit of the local music industry and for giving people a chance to celebrate how unique the Gold Coast cultural scene is,” she said.

“The people and organisations that were honoured on the night show the diversity and talent we have here on the Gold Coast. What an incredible celebration.”

“We’re on board as Presenting Partners for 2016 and organisers are debriefing and consulting with the industry to improve the process,” Peta said.

As well as presenting commissioned sculptures as the winners’ trophies, the awards ceremony included live performances by People’s Choice winner Casey Barnes, house band (and also members of the judging panel) Hussy Hicks, the Hanlon Brothers, Karl S Williams and Paul George (Black Rabbit George and Tijuana Cartel). The after-party, which took place at elsewhere included performances by GOVS (DJ set), Jesse Pumphrey and Von Villains.

GC Music Awards 2016 will open for nominations in April | more at gcmusicawards.com.au. www.blankgc.com.au

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HANG FIVE AT BIGSOUND LIVE

B

IGSOUND 2015 is set to shake Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley to its very core, bringing hundreds of punters, delegates, industry figureheads and both prominent and up-andcoming musicians to the nightlife and live music hub.

Sure, there are a lot of acts on the BIGSOUND lineup that you know and love, but if you’ve got yourself a Bigsound Live pass, don’t be afraid to branch out. There are countless acts that those in the know will be clamouring to see - and these are just some of them.

1. MANGELWURZEL

4. SEX ON TOAST

Frontwoman Cosima Jaala (also appearing at Bigsound Live in her amazing other project Jaala, so don’t miss that either) reckons the band all met at a support group for victims of UFO abduction. If that doesn’t make you wanna go check out what they’re all about I don’t know what your deal is; maybe their gutsy brass and 40s sensibilities combined with modern day fuzz will convince you.

If you like your clothes besequined and your karaoke nights frequent you’re gonna love Sex On Toast. It’s about damn time unashamedly camp music made a return. These ten guys (yep, 10) are more outrageous than Client Liaison, and THAT is saying something.

Fact: it is impossible to watch the video clip for Oh, Loretta! and not become an instant fan. Miss their live show and regret it forever.

CHECK OUT: My House (available on the band’s Unearthed page)

CHECK OUT: Oh, Loretta! (again, be sure to watch the clip for this one)

PLAYING: 9.40pm, 9 September The Woolly Mammoth Alehouse

PLAYING: 10.30pm, 9 September The Woolly Mammoth Alehouse

p re s e n t s

AUSTRALIA’S BIGGEST FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSIC

www.bigsound.org.au #bigsound15

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You might have heard the sultry, angelic harmonies of Can’t Get You Off My Mind before, but these three Brizzy mates are far from being one-hit wonders. The last time I saw them they were playing to a sold out Triffid.

It was a Fleetwood Mac tribute show, but the point still stands.

CHECK OUT: Secrets (obviously - and watch the video clip)

PLAYING: 11.20pm, 9 September The Brightside Outdoor Stage

One of the best results of Brisbane’s inbred music scene, featuring members from Orphans Orphans and Moses Gunn Collective.

Their music has always been worth a listen or 50, but their recently released sophomore EP is a stunning maturation of the band’s trademark psychedelia.

Check out the full line up and start planning your night

1 night

When Secrets, Le Pie’s debut single, dropped, I spent the next month telling everyone who would listen that this woman was going places. That’s a lie - I actually haven’t stopped. Le Pie makes dreamy, cinematic grunge-meetsshoop and has a knack for writing pop songs that we maybe haven’t seen in a solo Aussie female artist since Megan Washington.

3. MORNING HARVEY

1 WRISTBAND 2 NIGHTS 15 STAGES 150 ARTISTS

2 nights

5. AVABEREE

PLAYING: 11.20pm, 9 September The Press Club

9-10 SEPT F/VALLEY BRISBANE

18+ event

2. LE PIE

CHECK OUT: Smith Street Swap Meet (on Soundcloud) PLAYING: 8pm, 10 Sept, The Foundry

CHECK OUT: Doubt (on Soundcloud)

SPECIAL MENTIONS Astral Skulls: For having a cool as hell song called Sexism Sux Totally Mild: Bad ass instrumentals Polish Club: Tune city and their name makes us think of sausages

BIGSOUND Live runs from 9-10 September across venues in Fortitude Valley. More at  qmusic.com.au/bigsound Liz Ansley

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SHINING BRIGHT AGAIN

by Samantha Morris Image: LAMP Photography

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f you’re from the Gold Coast, you’ll have heard of The Lamplights, or The Lamps, as they refer to themselves.

A two-piece that grew organically to its current fivepiece composition, twice-nominated for an Australian Songwriting award in 2011 and full to the brim of talented musicians with an interesting outlook on life and music.

But they tend to fly under the radar a bit, these Lamplights.

An online search will easily lead you to the band’s website, but there’s not a lot of other information about these guys readily available. Frontman Ryan Gittoes and guitarist Jason McGregor joined me at the Dust Temple for mandarins with their children, to rectify that lack of information.

With one year old daughter Cedar on his lap, Ryan gives me a potted history of the band, which formed in 2009 when he met Ash Perrow. “Then we met Jason, and then we just kept finding other cool people to play music with,” he said. He’s pretty laid back. Shows up in his stage garb (collared shirt and tie) but shoeless.

“Then we had a gig at the Soundlounge and wanted a rhythm section. Mattie (Barker) came and played – I’d known him for a few years – hadn’t seen him play but knew he COULD play. I said I’d drop the album around and he said he got one from the café over the road and it’s all good.”

“So no-one has heard him play, he’s a mate of mine, everyone met at my place a few hours before the gig so we could run through everything and we are going through the first couple of songs and he’s got no idea what’s going on. He had picked up our EP and hadn’t heard the album at all,” Ryan said. But they spent the next two hours running through the tracks (this is literally an hour before the gig) and he pulled it off and the rest is history.

The Lamplights released their debut and self-titled album in 2011 and followed it up with What Love Is in 2012 which they toured nationally, but they’ve been rather quiet since that time.

Ryan explains the “life” kind of got in the way. Founding member Ash Perrow also moved on to other things.

“Ash said he was going to leave the band, gave six months warning,” he said. Ash was very much the manager he kind of set the dates and was very organised in that sense. So when he left…” he trails off. I have a laugh, because I know exactly what happened.

All of a sudden they were just a bunch of guys who loved playing music left trying to sort their schedules out between kids and work and gigs.

“From the very beginning we said we are not a destination band – we’re not trying to get anywhere, make record deals, tour constantly,” Ryan said. “We love playing music, but we also have families and commitments that are important to us as well.

And then, he says simply, life happened. He lists marriages and mental health, solo journeys, babies. Yep, life.

“I’ve never forced music, never said I should write songs, it’s a process that happens, that unfolds, so coming back and then regrouping, getting Scotty French on board, getting a new manager, all of these things that needed to happen, they happened naturally.”

There’s a saying that what’s real never dies – and I kind of feel like that with The Lamps. There’s something there because there’s a magic that happens when we do play together. There’s those moments where I don’t want to be anywhere else.

It’s at this point, where Ryan is telling me about the genuine friendship that exists between all five band members that Jason McGregor joins us with his two children, aged five and seven.

“We’re not bullshitting, this is not an act,” Ryan says about his band mates.

“We’re not holding it together trying to put a show on. We genuinely care about each other. They’re great men.”

Also looming large is the Gold Coast Folk Festival – I ask if they’ve played the event before and Ryan and Jason share a look. “We’ve been booked a few times, but we’ve had some clashes. Like we’ve been semi-booked and we’ve had to cancel,” they tell me. I say that I hope they’ve going to do something to pay back the organisers. Will they give those new songs a go?

Three of the band have full-time jobs that involve music.

Ryan works part-time caring for people with disabilities and running group activities and Mik Easterman is a carpet rep by day, drummer by night.

“There’ll definitely be some good vibes. The thing I love about playing to the community and what we really stand for is connecting with people. It’s one thing to play a show and you’ll play your songs and people will like them – but it’s another thing actually connecting with people and making them feel that they’re part of it – I think that’s something that we’ve done,” Ryan added.

It’s Jason’s partner Monique Crib who manages the band.

They call her The Monager.

“My partner and I have a little entertainment business. I play guitar for a bunch of people – touring acts and shows around here. Pretty varied. The good thing about having The Monager is that our calendars work together a lot better than they used to,” Jason said.

So, with the band’s changed lineup and a new manager, can we expect some new music anytime soon? Both lads chime in quickly. It’s a resounding yes.

“We’ve set a date for release this year, probably for an EP,” Ryan said. “We’re writing now, just letting that process unfold.”

I ask if it will be a different process without Ash and they agree it will. Ryan says he’d be disappointed if it wasn’t.

“That’s the evolution of playing together,” he said. “I think now we are kind of starting to even work out roles in the creative process - not that they’re set in stone – it’s kind of more structured organic.”

That sounds vague. I ask for an example. “One of the things Jase and I do really well is that I can hear the music in my head but not necessarily be able to play it on the guitar.

But I can sing the guitar parts to Jase and he can do it on the spot. So we can kind of create music – the music in my head and Jase can sculpt it right then and there,” Ryan tells me.

Jason says it’s a streamlined process but that doesn’t mean all the songs make it. They go on to tell me about a new process they use to create music. Actually working on the creative process itself. Ryan explains: “We’re in the studio and there’s five of us and what I said is that one person tells every single other person what to play.

“Then everyone did that – and you’re learning not just what is in their head – but how to verbalise what you’re hearing – and that’s a skill,” Ryan said. “It wasn’t about the songs, it was about the process. Even I felt a bit more empowered,” he said, as he continued to explain that process of directing music.

“It’s like a culture of confidence,” Jason continues. ”They’re all good players, they all serve the song. It’s hardly ever where it’s like meh…”

Jason and Ryan continue telling me about their current status. They have two or three songs that would stack up for their upcoming EP and there’s a heap of things that haven’t been nurtured purely from a time perspective. As the conversation unfolds it becomes pretty clear that these guys are excited about the new energy around the band and this evolving creative process.

Just two months ago, The Lamplights held what they like to call a relaunch at The Soundlounge to acknowledge that they’ve had some time away and it was well attended.

They’ve been buoyed by the support they’ve had at other gigs that have followed.

“I kind of feel like what I love about the Lamps and what I love about music is that it is a community building thing,” Ryan said.

“Definitely some new songs,” Jason said.

We run through some other historical Lamplights activities of note. There was the children’s song, The Hopping Mouse, nominated for an Australian Songwriting award.

Ryan tells me someone yelled out for it to be played at the Soundlounge recently. It’s a kids’ song guys, time and place. They tell me about being recognised in out of the way places because of that one song. Ryan says if he had his time again he’d have released it under a separate entity, The Nightlights. Cool idea.

And then we move on to Jason and his experience taking out the Australian Fingerstyle Guitar Championships. I’m a little embarrassed to have to ask what that even is. “You basically take a song, say it’s got a bassline, rhythm and melody – well you find a way to play them all at the same time,” he makes it sound easy.

We talk about the time they headlined Rock The Gate here on the Gold Coast – a benefit for coal seam gas campaigners. I ask if they have any special connection to those campaigns trying to halt coal seam gas expansion and Ryan says smartly, “yeah, I drink water.”

“CSG mining is real,” he continued. “It’s really important that our water is protected and people’s voices are heard in saying that we don’t care how much money you make off it, how many jobs it’s going to create. This is our planet, the filtration system for our country, the land people use to grow your food. Are you fucking serious?”

It’s hard not to like Jason and Ryan and when they tell me the rest of the band are also fine men, it means it’s hard not to like The Lamplights.

They say lovely things about all of their bandmates, but their newest members gets an extra mention. “It’s not just what Scotty French can play – it’s how he’s affected everyone else. He’s very, very talented and multi-faceted.

Scotty French is an enigma (smothered in secret sauce adds Jason) and anyone who knows him will know what I’m saying. He keeps his cards close to his chest and he’s the most humble.”

Jason says there’s a big trust mentality amongst the band.

“I have musical goals I want to reach personally but I sometimes think in life it’s a bit scary to walk through the doors in front of you,” he said. “But with these guys, it’s always a good experience.”

“The Lamps come in swells – there’s a set and we ride it and it’ll die out and then we might not be playing many shows or whatever,” Ryan said as we wrap things up.

“But there’s a swell coming now. Everyone’s like, yep, alright,” he said. “And we are gearing up.”

The Lamplights play Gold Coast Folk Festival, 19 September. Also on the bill are Perch Creek, Women in Docs, Thrillbilly Stomp, Ewan McKenzie, Owl Valley Bluegrass, Felicity Lawless, Quattro, Kiara Jack and the Jills, Pitt Family Circus, Black Rabbit George, Ash Perrow, Sarah Frank and more. The event runs 19 – 20 September at Country Paradise Parklands. www.blankgc.com.au

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PENNY DREADFUL

It’s rare that you get the opportunity to interview artists who have been performing for a quarter of a century but Yanina Benavidez was lucky enough to do just that, speaking with Fletcher Dragge, lead guitarist for legendary punk band Pennywise.

H

e’d just arrived home after wrapping up the band’s US tour and he comes to the phone with a mild grumble.

“It’s 6.30pm and I still have a hangover from last night,” he said. Last night was the last show of their US tour and obviously these guys take their punk royalty status seriously.

Having been in the band from day one and gone to school with most of his band mates I wanted to know what it felt like to be playing for 25 years and he says he has been playing in bands since 1980 but it doesn’t feel like it. As the saying goes, if you love your job its not really a job.

“It feels like we just started yesterday,” he said. Which seems fitting. Their 11th studio album is called just that – Yesterdays.

“Australia is one of those (special) places on earth that has got a very welcoming feel to it, its like going home. Its reminiscent of California in 1970 when there weren’t so many rules and people were nice to each other,” he said.

“California seems to have changed so much everyone is just too busy for everyone, whereas in Australia everyone says hello, they have a laid back attitude. I feel like people have more of a tendency to stop you in the street or talk to you at a bar and you feel welcomed and comfortable.”

Fletcher says the reception they have received from Australian fans has always been incredible. “It means so much that they have just shown up throughout all that we have been through and I feel that’s been really really cool,” he said.

Fletcher says while they play so many huge venues like the Palladium he has a definite preference for his favourite gigs.

“You have no more than 300 guests and no security guards and its complete mayhem and everyone’s blind drunk. That is my favourite type of show,” he said.

Fletcher says the band’s fan base continues to grow as well and he speaks of his forty year old fans who bring their kids, seeing a new wave of 15 and 16 year olds in the front rows singing along to the entire set.

And he credits the internet with making the punk music more accessible.

Yesterdays sees the band revisit the last 25 years of Pennywise music with a diversity of songs, some of which Fletcher says had been all but forgotten. He tells me that some tracks were so difficult to decipher when listening back through old tapes, recordings of rehearsals and messy demos that there were moments when they nearly gave up.

“And now when I hear this song I remember the vote was absolutely no for it going on that album, but now that we have come back and revisited it it’s one of my favourite songs of all time.”

But back to the impending tour. Fletcher lets me in on a little secret, YES they will be covering the album in its entirety. So that seals the deal. I know where you will find me on these dates, tickets are almost sold out and there’s no doubt these shows are going to be insane.

Pennywise celebrate their 20th anniversary with their About Time album tour which hits Cooly Hotel 24 September and The Tivoli in Brisbane the night prior.

“Full Circle was such a hard-core album that was so fast and it ripped your head off and it didn’t really fit in,” he tells me about the track I Can Remember. “Listening to the song I can remember it’s the last song on the record and it got some radio airplay in Australia and that song was written by Jim (Landing – Vocalist) to go on Full Circle when Jason (Thirsk) had passed away.”

When asked how the punk scene Fletcher grew up in compares with the scene of today he says it’s still kicking, but has exploded into different smaller scenes. He tells me that there are still a number of small standing room only venues scattered around the place. What remains are small bars, which open their doors to punk nights.

Image: Kane Hibberd

SMOOTH SAILING Brisbane’s finest kaleidoscopic dream poppers The John Steel Singers have been keeping a relatively low profile recently, but with a new album not too far away from being foisted upon the public consciousness, Anthony Gebhardt took the opportunity to fire off a few questions to self-deprecating keyboard whizz Pete Bernoth on the current status of lads and the waters they’re about to charter...

Image: supplied So you guys are about to drop a new album called Midnight at the Plutonium yeah? Can you tell us a little bit about its gestation? The title is a reference to the Plutonium recording studio right?

“About to drop” might be a little presumptuous. At this point we’re aiming to release early next year but you’ll be hearing a few tracks soon. I think the first recording session for two of these tracks were done January last year and we’ve been working on it since then. A lot of the writing was done as a group while indulging in what we in the industry like to call “jamming” (the J is silent, pronounced yamming) which was super organic (alot of coconut water and kale and quinoa (prounouced kwee-no-aaaaah)) and it all came together pretty easily. We had our good mate Miro Mackie at the helm, he helped out when he could on Everything’s a Thread but for this one he was cracking the whip constantly and we were a hell of a lot more productive. …Surprisingly enough the track name Midnight at the Plutonium came first, I misheard Timmy say Planetarium and the studio was named in my honor.

Sound wise I understand that you guys are heading towards a ‘groovier, funkier’ vibe with this record. How did this shift come about?

Hah, god forgive me for using those two words, but yeah we started listening to smoother stuff while recording the last album and that came out of our souls when we jammed. I think better words to use would’ve been Yacht pop, or Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Yacht Club Band.

Does the band have a favourite track or moment on the new record, or does that depend on who in the band you ask?!

I’m sure it depends on the band member; we signed a contract agreeing that we will no longer talk to each other, let alone assume what someone else thinks. It’s been nice; I think we are a lot closer as human souls because of it.

How do you think your long term fans will embrace this evolution of your sound?

I really hope they still dig us. The sound is still melody driven and catchy but we write what comes naturally to us at the time. Not a lot of time is spent thinking about “will this sell?” or “can we get on MTV with this shit?” or “how many Itunes sales can we make from this record?” or “does this answer make me seem like a dick?”

What’s in store for you guys in the coming months on the touring front - I’m assuming you’ll be treading the boards again fairly soon in support of the new long play?

Ummm.... we’re playing Bigsound this year in Brisbane; you can catch us at The Zoo stage on Thursday September 10. Other than that I’m sure we will be playing shows around September / October, but then again I’m completely uninformed. Our gigging calendar has got to pick up in the near future.

Any plans to head down the highway and play a Gold Coast gig in the foreseeable future?

I’d really like to! Anyone wanna throw us some cash to come down and play?

Are there any new overseas plans in the pipeline, either from a record release or touring perspective? And how were you received on your previous US and European sojourns?

Not that I know of. My plan (which will more than likely be ignored, cause I’m quite unorganised and generally unhelpful) is to see how the record is received in Australia and go from there. We’re getting old now. Gotta take it easy on the ol’ bones and liver.

The John Steel Singers will be at The Zoo on Thursday 10 September as part of BIGSOUND. www.blankgc.com.au

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KIARA JACK & THE JILLS: ON TOUR IN TIME N

ative to the coast, Kiara Jack & The Jills is an original world folk roots band with a live sound that spans world music and contemporary genres. Kiara Jack is the centre of the band’s eclectic-edged musical offering.

Earlier this year, the band launched EP, Only in Time, along with a video for single Makeshift Forest. The EP followed on from the band’s 2013 release of Shards of Glass.

We start with a chat about the response to the video and single release for Makeshift Forest and Kiara said the response has been positive. “The response has just been huge in comparison to merely releasing a single without a visual adaptation / music clip,” she said. “I think we have to make music clips more often.”

They’re doing something quirky to celebrate the Makeshift Forest single too. “We’ll have limited edition succulent plants on our merch table. Each pot is one of a kind, with hand-written lyrics installed around the claypots,” Kiara said. Cool.

Reflecting on their recent Miami Marketta gig, Kiara says she doesn’t feel it was one of their best shows, judging by the number of people dancing.

“We tend to gravitate towards Northern NSW for our regular local gigs, for the simple fact that we want to make people dance. But I think the crowd at The Marketta were a little more wrapped up in all of the taste sensations and visual delights in the stalls,” she explained.

“That’s okay that their other senses were wrapped up in all that the Marketta has to offer, but we were hoping for more energy from the audience. It’s tough when you have no energy to bounce off playing live.”

With the mad rush up to the release of Only In Time at the end of May, Kiara says and her bandmates have only had a little down time in June.

“We very much needed to have a little breather before we dive into our launch tour dates over the months ahead. It’s gonna get hectic and very exciting very shortly with travelling and tour dates interstate.”

And a big few months it will be too, with GC Folk Festival (19 – 20 September) looming large, they’ve also got a Fathers’ Day show at The Rails in Byron as well as dates in Gladstone, Magnetic Island and Cairns on the horizon.

Kiara Jack & The Jills join a stellar lineup at Gold Coast Folk Festival which takes place 19 – 20 September at Country Paradise Parklands.

Image: Gina Martin

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www.blankgc.com.au

CITY OVER SAND

City Over Sand go waaaaaay back. At least to the late 1990s. Brad Hosking (bass) and Dan Carroll (guitar and vocals) lived across the road from each other in Helensvale. They take some time to tell Samantha Morris all about it.

“We’ve been playing together for twenty years,” they tell me.

Along with Jules Keshan (drums), the band mates are best mates.

Brad is a multi-instrumentalist. He plays keys, bass and guitar. He also produces all the records at his Blind Boy Studios. Dan admits that Brad wears a lot of hats.

“I guess I bring the songs to the guys and they get fleshed out, I guess. The core of the song is there and it gets worked up between the three of us from that position,” he said.

“Actually Sunday is the first gig Jules has ever missed,” Brad said. He’s referring to the A La Carte in the Park where they played to a very appreciative audience – eliciting praise on social media after the show.

“So the Dan Carroll Band morphed into City Over Sand, I guess,” he continues. “It really developed into a cool partnership where we create music just for the love of it.

We’re not doing it for any other reason really – we’re just trying to write good songs and produce good songs and make good records.”

“From my point of view I take more of a producer’s hat straight away and see how we can take a good song and turn it into a great song,” Brad adds, saying that most of their songs are being written to BE recorded rather than played live.

“We had a band called Fluid and we sort of played out of Griffith Uni,” Dan continues with the potted history. “We played around the traps for a long while, put out a couple of records and then morphed into the Dan Carroll Band which was a solo project.”

“Which is when I came on board,” Brad interjects. That was the early 2000s. “Brad came in to play some keys and then just stayed,” Dan added.

Brad says at one point the band fell into a trap of writing songs for a purpose – radio play for example. “We just decided, fuck it,” he said. “Let’s just do our first full-length album, release it on vinyl and just make the songs we want to listen to.”

Which is where City Over Sand are at right now. Writing, recording, hanging out in Brad’s studio and making songs that they love. They admit they’re in a unique position – having access to a studio without it costing them a heap of cash and with a talented producer in the band.

As City Over Sand the lads have put out an EP and a couple of singles and performd a string of live shows, but this is the first time that they’ve worked on a project like a full length album and they mention over and over again that they’re doing it for themselves, writing the songs they want to write and producing them the way they want to release them.

“We’ve mixed the first track, that’ll come out Septemberish,” Dan said. “Then the record will come out after that. I’d say the new year. The record’s kind of half done.”

It’s a standard question to ask a band: how do you approach the songwriting process?

But in this case I don’t have to ask it. Dan and Brad start discussing it amongst themselves. Dan is most definitely the songwriter in the group.

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“In a nutshell, our mantra is to have a great product and great songs,” Brad said.

Dan agrees, as we speak about the bands’ daytime jobs – Dan works in Council’s cultural unit. “I’m not twenty years old any more. I’m not looking for a record deal. I’m not looking to tour the world – it’s kind of therapy in a way, it’s how my time is best spent. I’m still doin it after so long, because it’s part of me. I have a beautiful young family and a job and I get to play music and create and do it with these guys.”

We wrap up the interview by talking about upcoming gigs, with a Marketta show looming large. These guys will be supported by Mitch King who will open the night. He played before City Over Sand at A La Carte in the Park just last weekend.

“We’re looking forward to Marketta, we’ve kind of started a new cycle of gigs and we’re fortunate to have hooked up with Polly (Snowden). We played Winter in the ‘Vale and we’re lined up to do Summertime Sessions. They’re great gigs.

Really we’re just testing the new songs and for us it’s all new and fresh and exciting.”

City Over Sand + Mitch King play Miami Marketta on Friday 11 September

Images: LAMP Photography

M

Image: supplied

oses Gunn Collective are about to drop one of the most hotly anticipated LPs in the Brisbane scene: their debut, Mercy Mountain. A slew of fuzzy, twangy singles from the upcoming album have been bouncing around the airwaves for the last few months, and the latest is Hot Mess, an ode to that one loose unit we all know and love. Ahead of their celebratory tour, Elizabeth Ansley caught up with the band to talk mountains, messes and mega-yachts.

Tell us about Mercy Mountain - there’s quite a mix of ideas on the album.

We’ve honed in on the Moses sound and pushed it further in the last year. The album is a big messy love fest.

What’s been your favourite part of this whole process in getting your debut LP out there?

Recording the album was real nice. Up in the mountains for a week with all our good friends - it was tops.

Let’s capitalise on the whole Hot Mess thing with a few “messy” questions.

Messiest meal you’ve ever eaten? Indian buffets, before and after.

Messiest gig you’ve ever played? The 1AM residencies at The Troubadour in the valley were pretty damn loose.

Where’s your go-to spot for a messy night out? Our home in West End provides more than enough.

What’s the messiest festival you’ve ever been to? Splendour was pretty bloody messy a couple weeks back.

Who’s the biggest hot mess in the band? On a good night, Bella would have to take the cake.

What’s next for you guys after the Mercy Mountain tour wraps up?

I guess just relax and see how the album has gone, maybe retire onto our megayachts. Hopefully servicing the album in the US and EU with some nice friends we’ve made!

Catch Moses Gunn Collective at The Triffid on 28 August.

www.blankgc.com.au

19

BANG BANG THEY SHOT YOU DOWN There’s some weird voodoo hanging around the boys from Baltimore Gun Club. In the course of Jake Wilton’s twenty minute chat in the bustling Chevron Renaissance complex, we found out the odd coincidences of Baltimore Gun Club’s biggest single, Apollo, how Anthony’s animating skills came to the attention of one of his idols and that Psymon and Jake went to the same high school. Although to joyfully add a Seinfeld quote to the fray, “There are no big coincidences or small coincidences. There are just coincidences!”

Image: LAMP Photography

T

he day we spoke, Baltimore Gun Club’s Pozible campaign to release their debut album reached its goal of $4000, even exceeding it by $350. While the final product looks squeaky clean from the outside, the band, however, weren’t resting on their laurels.

“I’ve spent the past three days on the toilet shitting myself hoping it would come through… And it did,” humorously reassured Psymon.

“Just toward the end of the campaign, a bit of human fear, as opposed to dog fear, crept in,” laughed Anthony.

The overtly stressful times are history for Baltimore Gun Club. For now, at least, they can firmly hold that record in their hands and stand in pride. Innerspace, not to be confused with Tame Impala’s first record, Innerspeaker, is the Gold Coast three-piece’s debut record – something Baltimore Gun Club have been chipping away at for years.

In between the slog of part time jobs, university and TAFE courses and animating their own music video, the guys are proud to release their debut effort this month.

Recorded in the Darling Downs in November of last year over a four day period, the band have been mixing the album progressively over the past nine months. Having to juggle personal lives in the midst of crafting their passion, Psymon and the rest of the boys wanted to be sure that their first index into their Wikipedia page was to be a full-length rather than an EP. It was wildly exhilarating to be chatting to such a young band who had their priorities checked off in such a calculated way. An unfortunate trend for Gold Coast and Brisbane music scenes is the unending wave of singles and EP releases that never progress – even several years of the band’s career – to a full-length product.

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Baltimore Gun Club, however, wanted to break free from that cycle at the beginning.

“We wanted our first release to be an album and a good one at that. Not some crummy 4-track recorded CD done in our bedroom or garage,” insisted Psymon.

Apollo is but one of the few tracks that Baltimore Gun Club have released to the public. Named after the Apollo Lodge where the group was staying in the Darling Downs while recording Innerspace, the song means a whole lot more to the band than might be perceived.

“When we went back to Toowoomba to play a gig a few months [after recording the album], we checked back into the Apollo Lodge,” retells Psymon. “We got word that Apollo was going to be on Rage tonight while we were staying at the Apollo where Apollo was first conceived. It was like some crazy synchronicity.”

The video clip for the track is particularly special to Baltimore Gun Club. Anthony hand animated the entire video from scratch – a feat clearly worth bragging about.

A process, Anthony tells me, that lasted over three months of endless nights drawing and animating until it was worthy of Nickelodeon. Part of the tireless inspiration came from an iconic meeting with one of Nickelodeon’s best, John Kricfalusi – the creator of The Ren & Stimpy Show.

The pair became close when Anthony was commissioned by the infamous animator to design a toy sculpting. After a little back-and-forth between email, Anthony did a small amount of work with one of his childhood inspirations – lending Anthony to take up an animation degree at university years later.

The overall goal of the band’s Pozible campaign was to finance the release of their debut album.

Although, like all good crowdfunding appeals, chipping in results in some spectacular goodies. There were the usual options of signed CDs, vinyl records (impressive for a local band’s debut album, might I add) and bundles with rare t-shirts. Yet the real standout was the option for the threepiece to arrive at your house, make some sandwiches, play some music in your backyard and just hang out, in general.

Too bad that option has been taken because Baltimore Gun Club are nothing short of a pleasure to have as company for an afternoon.

“We’ll come to your home, make some food, play yahtzee, play some music whatever you want! We’ve all enrolled in a cooking class in preparation,” joked Psymon.

“We were all quite amazed that someone took that because not many people just give out $500 these days,” humbly added Christian.

That date has yet to come to fruition for the band, something to look forward to including the impeding album launch taking place in Brisbane’s oldest sweat-joint, the Zoo. Baltimore Gun Club will then head out on a “proper” east coast tour hitting both regional and metropolitan areas alike.

“We’ve been laying low until the album comes out but we’ll have our launch in Brisbane then do Ballina, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Ballarat and looking for a few places in between during September. Then we’ll probably begin work on album number two,” confirms Psymon.

Baltimore Gun Club launch their debut album, Innerspace Friday 11 September at the Zoo, Brisbane.

THE BEAUTY OF DIVERSITY IS IN INTERPRETATION Vocal vagabond Aquila Young likes the rain and loves the cold and is a very articulate and intelligent artist, as Yanina Benavidez discovered.

Y

oung is only just emerging on the Gold Coast music scene – with debut single Vagabond hitting airwaves as we write. In her short musical life span she has supported local psych lords TSUN, played alongside the magnificent Mt Warning and the Coast’s sweetheart Ella Fence as well as performed at Bleach*.

Aquila is about to head off on her very first national tour which takes in Sydney and Brisbane and she says she’s looking forward to meeting people along the way and experiencing the joys that come with touring much more so than playing the shows themselves.

Young’s single is described as fierce and relentless, which is not unexpected as the singer is eloquent and gentle in her mannerisms, and like many artists is the polar opposite in person to on stage.

“I really approached a lot of songs with the idea of winter, not necessarily having it as the lyrical theme,” she says of the EP’s inspiration. “Ever since I was younger I was always drawn to the winter, my mind feels clearer in the winter, crisp. I wanted to approach it in a way that every song had a winter sounding soundscape.’

Young also credits the film Into the Wild with inspiring Vagabond. She was enraptured by the moral values within it, which seemed to align with her own life and she reflected upon the ideal of being caught in a day to day routine, and the point of it all.

Aquila was swept away with the “romantic idea of giving up everything and living in to the wild and be(ing) a vagrant.”

Image: LAMP Photography

Despite that longing, Aquila is not leaving the confines of society, instead channelling that ideal into captivating lyrics – indeed, her current work sees her spending more time among the masses and travelling across great cities.

Young has plans to release her debut EP this October and if her single is anything to go by she will be included on playlists in no time. Her lyrics may be brash and bold but you can see, like many artists, that she is romantic for the little things.

“What makes or breaks an experience is being able to share it with my ‘family’ so to speak,” she said and she tells of her fondest memory as a performer - sharing the stage with Mt Warning and supporting them with her own band.

She tells of recently reading War of Art and says her brother referred it to her. When asked about the take-home message she says a lot of it is about really getting over yourself and getting the job done. And she seems to be practicing what she preaches.

“If you don’t feel like doing something, just (getting over that and) kind of persisting, its so easy to say flag that and pull an Emile Hirsch, go to Canada, maybe die in a cabin who knows,’ she said. Fortunately for us she has learnt that there is more to life than simply being in ego and that there is more to gain from serving the greater good than from seeking solitude.

But for now, Aquila Young is by no means shying away from society. With her single available now online and an EP due in October, she also has shows in Brisbane at Black Bear Lodge on Friday 16 September and the Brisbane Festival at QPAC on Sunday 18 September.

Proudly presenting, with very special support performances:

HUMAN LOVE BIRD

ERNEST: Looking for Love

ELLA

FENCE

JOSH HOLMS

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LATEST LINEUP A WINNING RECIPE FOR TOKYO BEEF You may have heard of the band. You may have seen the stickers. You know they exist. But have you seen them play live?

Blank’s music mistress Mella Bunker recently caught up with Tokyo Beef bass player, Mykel Nikiforides, drummer Joel Dillion and newest addition, singer Dru Dixon to discuss the winning recipe of Tokyo Beef ’s line up and why you need to see them live.

I

have been recommended by numerous friends to check Tokyo Beef out but they were always a bit of a mystery to me so I never quite pulled finger to make the effort and see them.

Well guess what? They’re playing the Gold Coast Show of all places, and they’re one of the Gold Coast’s loudest hard rock bands.

Tokyo Beef have been around for around eight years with founding members Graeme Treanor (who was on holiday in Hawaii when I spoke to the band) on rhythm guitar and Peter Punk on lead. Multi-instrumentalist Mykel Nikiforides (who came onboard three years ago) lays down the bass grooves, Joel Dillon is on drums and singer Dru Dixon came onboard just two months ago.

The band has seen a number of line up changes over the years (Benny D Williams was the original singer before he moved onto his solo career as loop maestro) for various reasons.

“Guys like to move on or they are getting too old for the business. We are all up there, over 40,” reasons Nikiforides who saw Tokyo Beef play Swell festival one year and mused about being in the band. He answered a Gumtree ad a year later.

Joel Dillon who has played drums in pipe bands, orchestra’s and the Sydney Opera House stepped in after the band’s previous drummer stopped part way through a set, waved his sticks and said ‘I can’t do this anymore.’

Read the full interview at blankgc.com.au

Tokyo Beef play the Gold Coast Show on Friday 28 August at 6.45pm & Saturday 29 August at 2.00pm Image: LAMP Photography

with Nev Pearce

W

elsh metal titans Bullet for My Valentine have just released their new album Venom to rave reviews and are the first band officially announced for Soundwave 2016. While the full line up is yet to be announced yet there have been a few rumours such as Bring Me The Horizon, Melvins, Lordi, Northlane and Refused. Pre-sale tickets are available now and lineup anouncements are expected very soon. Visit soundwavefestival.com for more.

Grave Pleasures (formerly Beastmilk) will release new album Dreamcrash on 2 October. The band’s first album Climax was my favorite release of 2013 and holds a place in my top 10 albums of all time. I highly recommend checking out the video for the single Crying Wolves for a taste of what is set to be one of the best releases of 2015.

Canadian hardcore punk sludge/southern metal legends Cancer Bats (pictured) will return to our shores for a massive tour with High Tension in support of their new album Searching for Zero.Tickets are just $25 plus BF and you can catch the show at Brightside (Brisbane) on Thursday 1 October and Miami’s Shark Bar on 2 October. Tickets through destroyalllines.com.

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Sydney progressive, tech-metal maestros Gods Of Eden will release their highly anticipated full length album From The End Of Heaven this October. The band have released a teaser for the album’s opening track, Overseer and will follow up the album release with an east coast launch tour through November.

UK hard rockers The Darkness will return to Australia in November in support of their fourth studio album Last Of Our Kind. The band’s last scheduled tour in 2013 was cancelled due to former drummer, Ed Graham’s health concerns but has since been replaced by Rufus Taylor, the son of Queen drummer Roger Taylor. Catch one of the most entertaining live bands on the planet at the Tivoli in Brisbane on Thursday November 12. Tickets through ticketmaster.com.au.

Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society have announced a long awaited headline tour and will play the Tivoli on Sunday 29 November. The band’s ninth studio album Catacombs of the Black Vatican was released to rave reviews last year and fans have been hanging for a tour announcement from their favorite bearded shredder ever since. Tickets from destroyalllines.com.

The Metal United Down Under Festival will return to the New Globe Theatre in Brisbane on 10 October and boasts an epic line of bands not to be missed. This year’s line up consists of Kyzer Soze, Holistic, Silent Knight, Darkc3ll, Shifting The Paradigm, WORLDLINES, Expulsed, Decryptus, Last 9 Days, Antichrists Anonymous, Found In Trees, DEMONFIRE and Terror Parade. Doors open at Midday and the event will run through till midnight. Presale tickets through Oztix or the bands.

As both Children of Bodom and Soilwork have new albums being released very shortly you can expect tour announcements in the very near future. Actually, as we go to print, Children of Bodom have been announced as support for Megadeth who are fresh out of the studio where they’ve been working on the fullow up to 2013’s Super Collider. They play Eaton’s Hill on 21 October.

Soilwork’s amazing new album, The Ride Majestic will be released August 28 and COB’s I Worship Chaos will be released 2 October through Nuclear Blast.

Australian hardcore heroes The Amity Affliction have announced a monster tour with US metal core legends A Day To Remember for December. The Big Ass Tour will also feature The Ghost Inside and Motionless In White and will hit the Riverstage in Brisbane on 19 December. Tickets on sale 1 September through livenation.com.au.

Got some metal news we should know about? Email rabidnoiseradio@hotmail.com. And get the latest metal tracks and interviews with Rabid Noise every Wednesday night from 9.00 pm live on rabbitradio.com.au.

Image: supplied

FRANKIE AIMING FOR THE MOON

Fiona Franklin could have been a professional surfer, but instead she’s travelling the world making music, as Samantha Morris found out.

Fiona Franklin is just 23 years old but is already an established business woman on the Gold Coast. Previously working for a law firm in marketing and later running a studio at Mermaid, she now runs a mobile music service.

She teaches drums, guitar and vocals and offers mentoring to up and coming artists. She also runs a songwriting program for younger girls.

“I worked in a music store for four or five years but started teaching music when I was about 14,” she tells me. “Mum is a teacher and I always wanted to teach and pass on my knowledge.”

But she’s a working musician too. Along with two lads who used to play with HELM, Ruckus Lucas (guitar) and Rory Swane (bass), she makes up Frankie and the Moon.

“Rory used to play with me six years ago and we started Frankie and the Moon together,” she said. Fiona tells me that Rory and Ruckus both prefer to play chilled out music – quite the deviation from the music created by HELM. “Ruckus was writing a lot of music that has suited my style,” she explains.

Fiona has been off the radar for a while. I know she’s been working on her music-related business but what else has she been up to?

“I went off on my own for a little bit and went over to the UK, recorded an EP over there, just trying to find myself and my style of music,” she said. Fiona tells me that some of the music she produced during that time wasn’t a reflection of who she believes she really is.

“I like to take on feedback and I’m easily persuaded to do other styles and it wasn’t until I tried it that I found it wasn’t really reflective of who I am – so I was like nup, I’m going to start from scratch,” she said.

That redirection of effort seems to have paid dividends too.

The two-piece version of her project is supporting Megan Washington when she plays in Miami Marketta’s newly renovated Studio 56 in September.

“We want to do something a bit more interesting. We don’t want to be two people with a guitar,” Fiona said. “We’re trying to mix things up and make it a bit interesting – just with tones and sounds, looking at getting a few drum machines and trigger pads. I don’t want to go electronic but I want to make our duo shows a little more interesting.”

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And there’s a busy few months on the horizon for Fiona too. “The night after I play with Megan Washington we fly out to Bali for a tour.” That tour is with Fiona’s other project called Bleach Girls which is the headline act. Frankie and the moon are going in support. She says they have ten shows in 12 days.

“We’re going to record our next EP with the same producer who did first EP – Govinda Doyle – he recorded Angus and Julia Stone and owns this really cool studio at Bilambil Heights. And we’re booking headline shows for when we get back from Bali. September and October is crazy for us for shows.”

Fiona is no stranger to the limelight. Growing up in a family of actors and with a mother who is a classical flamenco guitarist, she still sees herself as a drummer, at heart. But she always wanted to be a pro surfer and still spends a lot of time in the water.

“I was on the Roxy team for a while,” she said. “But I kind of had to make the decision whether I wanted to pursue music or surfing.”

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I ask her if she thinks she made the right choice. “Yeah, definitely,” she laughs.

Frankie and the Moon will open for Megan Washington at Miami Marketta on 17 September.

Image: LAMP Photography www.blankgc.com.au

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album reviews

THE WAIFS

STONE CIRCLES

Beautiful You

The Demon Parade

You can imagine the frustration, the idea of getting the band together for the purpose of writing an album, sitting down in a studio far from home, holding sleepy guitars, paper and pencils hovering, and hitting an unintentional pause button.

Is psychedelia the “New Black?” The genre is everywhere of late in all sorts of guises. Unearthed and re-born into a brand new age of.. Aquarius? From the trippy-hippy 60s and 70s it was brought to renewed prominence in Australia a few years back by Western Australia’s Tame Impala who reinforced their position at the forefront of the game to the enthused, muddified throng last week at SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS. Was that last month? It’s all a bit of a, sorry, Blur.

The genre probably never really went away, just as trippy-hippies have never really gone away. They just went deeper into the dwindling forests, morphed into newage-hybrid versions and grew their dreads dirtier n deadlier. Not that psychedelia is all about hippies. It crosses and encompasses many species of human-oids.

The Demon Parade are not jumping on the psycho band-wagon. Michael and the gang have been playing and developing their own psych inspired sounds for most of a decade.

Their new EP Stone Circles has a spiritualised sound and feel, like its name.

Stonehenge-ish. A bit of darkish Pagan mysticism amongst the dreamy colourful spirals.

Opening track, She’s Dope, begins the velvety magic carpet ride. Love that sitarish sounding guitar. I’m on board for the ride for the haunting My Life In Pieces, the nebulous feel of Utopia. ‘We’ll start a revolution. With no pollution. I believe what you want me to see. We don’t need no dreams.’

Not desperation but… is it defiant resignation of Die Alone? Snipers Eye has some darker undertones, weaving through the murky maze to the sunny sea shores on a balmy summer’s eve. Waves lapping, rainbow ripples. The golden sun melting into the azure blue sea, shards of reds and yellows lighting up the mystical twilight lurking on the horizon.

Step on board this thoughtfully woven carpet.

Carmel E Lewis

This was the prelude to the Waif’s seventh studio album Beautiful You. Vikki Thorn confirms; “We probably hadn’t sat together in a room like that for 15 years.”

So what happened next? Well sister, Donna Simpson stomped out of the room and vowed to write a song. The title track no less. That’s the thing with The Waifs, we love and know the personalities that inhabit their collective, they don’t just sing words they create songs that have meaning; fiery, solitary, contemplative songs of truths.

Penned by Vikki, 6,000 Miles seems at first a reminiscent, fragile ode to her family and West Australian land; “the golden shores and that salty sweet air,” complete with the echoing pangs of a slide guitar. Yet as the song develops we find this is really the theme song for The Waif protagonists; Vikki singing what they truly love to do, “I’ve never really had much of a way with words, but God knows I love to sing.” The instrumentals are as grateful as the lyrics; is it a ukulele or mandolin tremolo – acoustic notes played so clear and soft.

Josh Cunningham delivers the ballad written by the roadside, Dark Highway and anthemic Cracks of Dawn, where you can hear distinct Zac Brown Band alt country tones, bluesy pedal steel guitar and a punchy harmonica. Donna may have created the title song however she has written the song of her life with the worn desperate words for When a Man Gets Down accompanied by the sympathetic sweet harmonies and wailing harmonica of Vikki.

Beautiful You was released 14 August via Jarrah Records and The Waifs play Miami Marketta on 22 October.

Tiffany Mitchell

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TEX PERKINS AND THE DARK HORSES

PEACHES

Tunnel at the end of the light

It has been six years since Peaches released any new music, although she continued to entertain with film and stage performances including her very own one-man musical Peaches Christ Superstar.

Well the question with any group that has the enigmatic frontman, Tex Perkins in charge of the vocals is, which Tex have we got here? Is it the evil psycho cowboy of the Beasts of Bourbon, the raw energy of the Ape, or the smooth croonings of The Cruel Sea? To me in this album it seems to be a meld of all but the evil of the Bourbons shines strong. Smooth melodies, mellow and uplifting, contemplative. Still with a touch of the raw guitar, but not enough to overpower the sound of cool cruisiness.

The title track seems to me to have you driving down that long highway, watching the ocean and scenes flying by. The music does seem to evoke images, and feelings, much like a dreamer floating in the clouds.

The Dark Horses are no slouches and their talented musicianship shines through.

Charlie Owen, Joel Silbersher, Murray Paterson, Stephen Hadley and Gus Agars back Tex’s smooth yet gravel vocal sound superbly. Colour, light and shade, depth and flow work together.

Not the album to put on if you a getting ready to hit the town, but if you are chilling in the afternoon or seeking diversion on a long road trip, this album with lift you and seems to stimulate the mind to travel to another place. Moody and smooth, Tunnel at the End of Light is worth more than just one listen.

Terry “Tappa” Teece

Light in Places (single)

She is on the verge of releasing her sixth studio album Rub and first single off the album is already turning heads. The controversial electro sexpunk goddess has gone beyond her own limitations and soared deep with her latest sonic outpouring. She claims it’s her best yet.

Light In Places was released alongside its video clip, which features cabaret star Empress Stah performing on a hexagonal trapeze in her renowned Laser Ass Trapeze show. The track follows the classic Peaches engineering and vocals with a punch. The lyrics are clever and pointed and are a true reflection of Merrill Nisker’s (Peaches) stylistic writings with the chorus ending in ‘so much beauty comin’ out of my ass’.

It’s a clever track that opens with electronic synths and peels into subtle vocals before breaking into her classic pop punk poetry.

It is perfect in all things peaches and is so intriguing it has you losing your mind and begging for more. Which is why this release has been so hastily followed up with second single and video Close Up, which features none other than Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth).

Peaches’ new album Rub is out 25 September and you can pre-order now with instant download of Light in Places.

Yanina Benavidez

For more in-depth reviews visit blankgc.com.au/category/music Images: supplied

WITCHGRINDER

DERADOORIAN

Haunted

The Expanding Flower Plant

Returning with their second studio album comes Melbourne four-piece metallers Witchgrinder. They’ve been such a persistent outfit in recent times that it’s hard to comprehend how they have had the time to produce such a powerful follow-up.

But in the midst of numerous Australian shows and a tour run with Entombed A.D. in Japan, that is just what they have done.

Building upon the success of 2013’s The Demon Calling, this is an expanded industrial-thrash production rich with driving riffery and tormented narrative.

As a whole, Haunted sees the band take a slightly more guitar orientated turn than their debut album. The guitar solo features more heavily as a means to juxtapose a great blend of tempos and to break the boundaries of light/dark interplay, typically made famous by genre stalwarts Fear Factory and Ministry. Of course, vocalist/guitarist Travis Everett, errs on the darker side in his vocal delivery touching on numerous super-natural and horror movie related themes. Sitting behind the quartet is a cleverly crafted wash of electronic programming and sampling which heightens the tension within the album in much the same way a film score ought to for a cinema goer.

Haunted begins with the creepy organ lament of Into the Sleep, a re-iteration of the way their first album opened. Rigor Mortis is the first thrash battering of the punchy LP and Everett channels the first anthemic moment of many with the chorus line “One more kiss before you decay.”

Our Nightmare is a crescendo moment for the long player, albeit residing as the fourth track of the album, it builds into a yearning melodic chorus with a vocal delivery reminiscent of Fear Factory’s work through the Archetype/Obsolete era.

Touching on the more industrial edge is the single Bloodlust and title track Haunted which are both standouts as well as Eyes to Stone, a thrash anthem which will lend itself to Witchgrinder’s energetic live performances.

Jesse Kenny

A cosmic journey into the ethereal, Angel Deradoorian’s debut album The Expanding Flower Plant is more than just a trip through a magical space forest, it’s a warm melodic projection of developing human consciousness by the former bassist and vocalist for Dirty Projectors.

Angel transcends the rules of monotony in music and has created a level of celestial psychedelic chemistry and spook rock brimming with angelic choral harmonies and moody bass lines.

An experimental taste of her intrinsic mind this album opens with A Beautiful Woman as a voodoo spell is cast with synths and bold and electronic percussion, The Expanding Flower Plant breaks into the cosmos with passion and patience.

The clever use of vocal levels and layered rhythms sends the listener off into their own dimension; you can’t help but close your eyes and drift off within your own mind’s expanding flower plant.

Reminiscent of some of the greater moments of Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange, Violet Mind is perfectly laden with golden synth and gentle folk vocals and clean sharp snare beats that repel the thought of physical existence. The track takes you somewhere in the 60’s where electronic instruments and vocal effects first existed, yet with such precision and dynamism that you wouldn’t place it anywhere specifically.

This album is cunningly unique and delivers exactly what it promises and so much more if you allow yourself to be lost in the journey.

Taking inspiration from various human conditions and societal experiences it’s a dark and inspiring representation of the desire to expand one’s human consciousness and tears through the veils of what is known as acceptable in writing and production.

DEAD LETTER CIRCUS Aesthesis Aesthesis which means sensuous perception, is the highly anticipated third studio album from Brisbane band Dead Letter Circus the title suiting this album title to a T. The first thing that strikes me about this album is the powerful and emotive lyrics: far more direct than ever before. Lead vocalist Kim Benzie is known for his somewhat controversial anti-establishment lyrical material and in the case of Aesthesis, the album prompts a stirring within to be more perceptive of what is happening around us.

The track Silence is inspired by a shocking true story of sexual abuse that hits close to home for frontman Kim Benzie. Benzie revealed, he wrote the song inspired by the true story of a friend, who’d confided in him about being molested when they were younger.

Confessing the sense of injustice he felt about the perpetrator never being brought to justice took Benzie to a very dark place during the writing process, which resulted in some of Dead Letter Circus’ most powerful lyricals yet, something very apparent in this album.

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Emotion has always been the foundation‘s of Dead Letter Circus’s appeal which they have truly embraced in this album. As Benzie said, “the journey of Aesthesis for the band was a process of remembering what it truly felt like to create music from the heart without barriers imposed by the mind.”

Aesthesis, a more radio-ready sound for Dead Letter Circus, evident by the commercial success of While You Wait, is filled with spacious and uplifting progressive rock and is definitely worth a listen.

Jariah Travan

Yanina Benavidez

#POWERUP www.blankgc.com.au

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FIN

IST L A

GOLD COAST

MUSIC AWARDS

2015

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7:00

Perch Creek

Mat Brooker

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MORE THAN A LITTLE PROVINCE: MEET BYRON’S PROG ROCKERS There’s something unique about A Little Province. They’ve got a drummer who also sings. It’s not unheard of, but it is uncommon. Abe Mac is that drummer come vocalist who also works in tourism and sales by day. He says, yes, it is hard to do both drum and sing.

“I

t takes a bit of the concentration off when you start to do that,” Abe said, but tells me they have a new drummer coming to help out on a few songs to mix it up a bit. He says they considered getting another singer instead but it’s harder to find one that represents what they want to do.

Abe is joined by his bandmates Rhys Edwards (bass) and also a woodwork teacher and audio engineer, Yosir Le Cerf (guitar) and also an environmental regeneration worker and Rohan Orenshaw (violin) who works in carpentry and construction. I’ve met them on a sunny but chilly day in Surfers Paradise and we’re chatting while they eat Vietnamese food.

These four men who make up A Little Province, have been writing and performing together for five years from their homes in the Byron surrounds. Their first single Time was released earlier this year, from their debut self-titled album. And they have plans to tour through September and October.

They’ve been labeled progressive rock. Yosir says they definitely have elements of that. “We’re not just straight up rock,” he tells me. And the others agree. Rohan says many of their songs have that progressive rock sound – with strong builds and lots of rest and Rhys says they’re definitely not folk anymore.

“Progressive rock… at the moment it represents our sound the most,” Rhys said. “We’re not folk, we’re not indie, we’re not pop.”

When I ask how they discovered eachother, Rhys laughs and credits an unforeseen magnetic attraction to northern NSW, where he’s been for seven years.

“He moved next door to me and Rohan,” Yosir said.

“To meet these guys is what drew me here,” Rhys said. “I moved to Lismore. I came from Cairns, was working with music up there. Essentially it was production that brought me down here.”

“I could hear they were playing music in their garage,” he said, sweeping his hands towards Rohan and Yosir, “and just walked in and started listening. Yosir said they became friends before they started playing music together, coffees over the fence, a few beers and just hanging out.

Yosir tells me they’ve been playing together “proper” since 2011, rather than as a folk trio. “I think we just wanted to experiment with sound more. We wanted to build soundscapes; making everything electric gave us that opportunity to get more creative.”

Abe says their fans are blown away each time they see them.

The change in the band’s sound is dramatic for fans.

“They’re blown away with the sound,” Abe said. “Saying we were progressing, with ‘such a big sound now’. We try not to see ourselves as a heavy band but a lot of people see us as being a lot heavier than what we used to be.”

I’m curious as to whether it’s harder to get gigs now, with that transition from folk to prog rock? Abe says that going to electric guitar has limited the types of gigs they can do – restaurants for example. “But it’s opened up way more headline slots, rather than supporting,” he adds.

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Image: LAMP Photography This debut album comes on the back of two EPs they’ve also released as a four-piece. “The response has been positive on the single Time,” Rhys says. “And that’s been the focus “People who’ve had our music in the past, they’re loving the new record. Basically it’s what they’re hearing live, a lot more than the last EP – a representation of that big sound we’ve been trying to achieve in the last year or so,” he said.

And Abe says it was a little bit of a challenge to recreate that live experience – the energy and the volume. “It does translate pretty well from the album to live,” Rohan adds.

“The mixing process was pretty long, not frustrating – but we went through a lot of back and forward to get the sound bigger and polish it up a bit,” Abe said before Yosir adds that it took a long time because of ‘our laziness’. “We’re much quicker these days,” he said.

I’m curious about the band’s move to engage a publicist, which is how we made the connection to be here today. Rhys says “if we keep doing the same thing, we’re going to keep getting the same results. It’s like sewing new seeds in a new garden to see which plants fruit from this. It ties in with this single – let’s do something different,” he said.

“It gives us the opportunity to just focus on making music and booking gigs,” Yosir said. “They get it out there for us.

We’ve come so far on the bare minimum – it’s surprising that we’ve gotten anywhere.”

When we spoke (which was a month ago now), A Little Province were finishing up their Time tour. But they already have their next tour penciled in for September and October to coincide with their next single release.

“After this tour, we’ll be focusing inward again,” Rhys said.

“Recording our new record. It’s getting mixed today, actually and will be mastered by end of next week.”

Samantha Morris

THE SMITH STREET BAND SAYS WELCOME

They’re relentless purveyours of shout-along rock that feels giddy and cerebral all at once. After a politically charged set at SITG, The Smith Street Band are now on tour in Europe, and once they’re back they’ll be debuting their very own mini-festival, I Love Life. Liz Ansley asked drummer Chris Cowburn his thoughts on asylum seekers, after the band unfurled the ‘Real Australians Say Welcome’ banner on stage at SITG. “The current immigration policies are something that we’re not happy with,” Chris said. “It came out recently that the government are potentially paying people smugglers to turn their boats around. I guess they did say they would stop the boats, but it’s just become a bit of a shouting match now.”

“I think the thing that gets forgotten … is that, these people that are risking their lives to come here are in a great deal of danger. The main thing is looking after those people and trying to take care of them.”

“The absolute least that we can do as artists is to use that to express our views if we feel strongly enough about something.

Obviously, we did the Wipe That Shit Eating Grin Off Your Punchable Face single at the start of the year and that got a lot more attention than we thought it would. We were just going to use the first banner that we had at Splendour, but it was a few days beforehand and Wil had this idea and we thought, “Oh, that’s too good not to rush and try to get it done”.

“So we got in touch with Peter [Drew, creator of the Real Australians Say Welcome campaign] and he was really stoked that we were going to use it, so we got it done and made the point that we wanted to make. It was nice that Wil got to say a few words and dedicate that song to asylum seekers, because it is something that is super close to all of us.”

Read more about the Smith Street Band’s socio-political stance, Splendour experience and upcoming I Love Life festival at blankgc.com.au

CHEAP FAKES MAKING VINTAGE MODERN

Gold Coast / Brisbane six-piece Cheap Fakes are gearing up to launch their third studio album Modern Vintage and have announced a bunch of dates in support. The album, which is due out 9 October was produced by John Merchant after months of intensive pre-production but a whirlwind recording session. Merchant is known for his work with artists like Michael Jackson, Lenny Kravitz and Barbra Streisand.

Hayden Andrews (guitar / vocals) said the band wanted the album to be an experience and journey for the listener, “There are a lot of different styles and genres and we have worked really hard to craft an album that is intense and huge in parts but then gentle and sparse in others,” he said. “It is definitely an album of big build ups and breakdowns, tension and release.”

Hayden said John Merchant got the best out of the band, “He’s an absolute genius… he’s such a nice guy. His knowledge and experience is impressive. He got the best sound for us. The way he looked at our songs and crafted them was amazing.”

Cheap Fakes’ energetic and catchy songs get most audiences up and grooving and it’s obvious the six band members have a lot of fun on stage. “It has to be about fun and not about money,” Hayden says. “It’s all about having fun with your mates and we have a good time.”

And if fun means mixing things up, then these guys are masters. You can hear reggae, ska and funk, solikd pop hooks and plenty of brass when you listen to the Cheap Fakes.

Hayden says those genres swing and they bring in plenty of influences, “We never wanted to play music in a traditional style but create our own sound. Sticking to one style is boring, we keep it interesting for ourselves so we… keep our audience interested.”

Cheap Fakes play Brisbane’s The Triffid on 9 October, Miami Marketta on 11 October and Sol Bar on the Sunshine Coast on 16 October.

EVOL WALKS THE DARK HORSE OF WOODSTOCK Unsigned Australian rock band, Evol Walks, were referred to as the ‘dark horse’ from Woodstock organisers Europe’s largest open air festival, which saw more than 750,000 patrons over the weekend. Lead singer, Leah Martin-Brown, tells Blank GC how Evol Walks didn’t shy away from blasting their brand of riff rock just hours before headline acts Black Label Society, Flogging Molly and Dream Theatre.

“It’s been a kick-arse year for us so far,” feisty frontwoman, Leah Martin-Brown said. “First the Global Rock Summit in Hollywood. Then Jackie Barnes started hitting the skins for us. And we just played to a sea of thousands and thousands at Woodstock! We just can’t wait to turn it up another notch at home touring our debut EP next month.”

This was the band’s first outing with new drummer Jackie Barnes, who is highly regarded across the globe as a relentless and formidable powerhouse behind the kit.

By all accounts, this emerging band lived up to expectations in Europe and were keen to capitalise on the opportunity other Aussie artists while they were at it. “Australia has so much amazing talent,” Martin-Brown said. “We couldn’t resist repping t-shirts from other unsigned bands on such a huge international platform.”

Following their ground-breaking performance in Poland and tour of The Netherlands, Germany and Scandinavia, Evol Walks returns to Australia in September to launch and tour their debut EP, The Other Side.

Dates include 19 Sept at Mitchell Creek Rock N Blues Fest; 29 Sept at Brunswick Hotel & 16 Oct at New Globe Theatre in Brisbane.

Images: Supplied

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GOLD COAST GIG GUIDE

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

THURSDAY 27 AUGUST

TUESDAY 1 SEPTEMBER

Idea Bombing Night with Benny D Williams | Burleigh Brewery

Open Mic Night | Nobby’s Beach Surf Club

FOREFATHERS: Josh Swan + Kyle Lionhart | Stone & Wood Brewery, Byron Bay

WEDNESDAY 2 SEPTEMBER

TUESDAY 8 SEPTEMBER

Open Mic Night| The Loft Chevron Island

Open Mic Night | Nobby’s Beach Surf Club

Local Muso Showcase | The Loft Chevron Island

The Escalators | Spaghetti & Jazz

FRIDAY 28 AUGUST

THURSDAY 3 SEPTEMBER

Open Mic Night| The Loft Chevron Island

Starboard Cannons | Miami Marketta

Local Muso Showcase | The Loft Chevron Island

GOLD FM LIVE featuring Pseudo Echo + Dragon + 1927 + The Chantoozies + Mi-Sex + Sharon O’Neill + Eurogliders + Gangajang + more | Jupiters Hotel

Zookeepers | Southport Sharks

WEDNESDAY 9 - FRIDAY 11 SEPTEMBER

Benny D Williams | Bambu

Boogs (Revolver) | elsewhere

Brew Jam | Burleigh Brewery Casey Barnes + Catherine Gunther + Tokyo Beef | Gold Coast Show

Platform Originals Night | Southport Sharks Cactus Dill-Dos + The Volleys + Monster Fodder + Dispunktion | Currumbin Creek Tavern

SATURDAY 29 AUGUST Upskirts | Northern Hotel, Byron Bay

FRIDAY 4 SEPTEMBER Wandering Eyes + Electric Lemonade + Drop Legs | Soundlounge Dubarray | Miami Marketta Uki Refugee Project – Matt Ottley + Bernard Spiller & John Forrester + James T | Uki Anglican Church Jack Tully + Danae Patrice + Simon J Benson + Rachael Rutkowski | The Loft Chevron Island Andy Jans-Brown + Coz*Mic | Southport Sharks Mescalito Blues | Burleigh Brewing Company Eddie Boyd and the Phatapillars | Lennox Point Hotel Wartooth + UverseU + Desmantra + Dark Decorum + Enslaver | Currumbin Crk Tavern

CC the Cat | Miami Marketta

SATURDAY 5 SEPTEMBER

Benny D Williams + Decryptus + Last 9 Days + In The Hands Of Captors + Don’t Waste The Paint + Fall of the Divine | Coolangatta Hotel

Alvin & d’Band Jahbutu | Miami Marketta

Catherine Gunther + Tokyo Beef | Gold Coast Show James Diamond “Attitude EP Launch” + special guests | The Loft Chevron Island Dubarray | Sheoak Shack

Lecia Louise + special guests | The Loft Chevron Island Mike Buckley and the Hepcats | Southport Sharks AKoVA |Byron Bay Brewery Dubarray Bill Jacobi | Sheoak Shack

AKoVA | Mandala Organic Arts Cafe

Benny D Williams + Luke Houselander + Julie Hayes | Shark Bar, Miami

Collins Class + Take To The Skiest + Regular Band + Twin Picks | Currumbin Creek Tavern

Kiara Jack and the Jills | Palm Beach Currumbin Markets, 7am

SUNDAY 30 AUGUST

Eddie Boyd and the Phatapillars | The Rails, Byron Bay

Upskirts | Broadbeach Tavern

TANGERINE + Dirty Frank + Peach Fur + Scott Dalton | Currumbin Creek Tavern

Benny D Williams | Sunhouse, 4pm

SUNDAY 6 SEPTEMBER

Mark Watson | Southport Sharks

Cosmic Psychos | Great Northern, Byron Bay

AKoVA | Krishna Retreat in Eungella

Dallas James | Southport Sharks Cabana Bar & Lounge, 1pm TBC next column...

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Kiara Jack and the Jills | The Railway Hotel, Byron Bay

Zookeepers | Southport Sharks

Outland Brothers + Brad Kennedy + Bart Thrupp + Lucy Taylor | The Loft Chevron Island

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SUNDAY 6 SEPTEMBER CONT...

WEDNESDAY 9 SEPTEMBER

BIGSOUND LIVE: Stonefield + Muscles + Gang of Youths + Holy Holy, Katy Steele, City Calm Down, Grenadiers + Ayla + Jesse Davidson + Cosmic Psychos + High Tensions + The John Steele Singers + more | Brisbane

THURSDAY 10 SEPTEMBER Local Muso Showcase | The Loft Chevron Island Zookeepers | Southport Sharks AKoVA | Beach Hotel, Byron Bay

FRIDAY 11 SEPTEMBER Baltimore Gun Club, Innerspace album launch | The Zoo, Brisbane City Over Sand + Mitch King| Miami Marketta Avaberée | Currumbin Creek Tavern Jayden Courts + Caleb James + Amberley Jane | The Loft Chevron Island Hillbilly Goats | Southport Sharks

SATURDAY 12 SEPTEMBER Valhalla Lights + Midnight Alibi + Cactus DillDos + The Deadlips + Versus Fate | Coolangata Hotel IZANIA | Miami Marketta Ellie Jane + Jake Fox + Brendan Morris + Maddy Thompson | The Loft Chevron Island Jesse Morris Band | Sheoak Shack United States of Oz + Just Monday + Sorry, Not Sorry + The Goldhearts + Mistram | Currumbin Creek Tavern

SUNDAY 13 SEPTEMBER SWELL SOUNDS – women in GC Music: Felicity Lawless + Gracie Hughes | Swell Sculpture Festival, Currumbin, 2.00 – 7.00pm Black Rabbit George + Felicty Lawless | Hotel Brunswick Hayley Grace | Cabana Bar & Lounge, 1pm AKoVA | Kingscliff Beach Hotel

TUESDAY 15 SEPTEMBER Agent 77 | Avenue Surfers Paradise, 9.30pm Open Mic | Nobby’s Beach SLSC Loft Out Loud | The Loft Chevron Island

WEDNESDAY 16 SEPTEMBER Jesswar + Mini Coop | The Garden, Griffith Uni Open Mic Night| The Loft Chevron Island

THURSDAY 17 SEPTEMBER

Two questions: Who’s playing?

What’s pouring?

Megan Washington + Frankie and the Moon | Miami Marketta Zookeepers | Southport Sharks Local Muso Jam | The Loft Chevron Island

FRIDAY 18 SEPTEMBER

SATURDAY 19 - SUNDAY 20 SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

GOLD COAST FOLK MUSIC FESTIVAL: Franke + Owl Valley Bluegrass + Perch Creek + Quatro + Felicity Lawless + Out of Abingdon + Fuglissimo + Ewan Mackenzie + Toni Pollard + Women in docs + Ash Perrow + Sonia Serin + Andrew Cousins + Callisto + Erwin Zerbe + Peter Van Herk + Red Crow + Mat Brooker + Sarah Frank + Barkers Vale Brothers + Thrillbilly Stomp + Pitt Family Circus (2) + Black Rabbit George + Guy Kachel + The Rockin Seed + Community Gardens + Line Dancing + Rabble + Watling and Bates + Luke Houselander + Dave Luxmoore + Sheila’s Shack + Alexander William + Coast Acoustics + Folkwit + The Lamplights | Nerang

FRIDAY 2 OCTOBER

SUNDAY 20 SEPTEMBER Dallas James | Cabana Bar & Lounge, 1pm Benny D Williams | House of Brews, 2pm

The Smith Street Band | The Northern, Byron Bay Benny D Williams | Vikings SLSC

FRIDAY 2 - SUNDAY 5 OCTOBER MURWILLUMBAH COUNTRY ROOTS FESTIVAL: Archie Roach + Kasey Chambers + The Audreys + Sara Storer + Shane Howard + Richard Clapton + Busby Marou + Renee Geyer + Bill Chambers + Henry Wagons + The Flood + Pierce Brothers + Good Oak + The Davidson Brothers + James Blundell + Normie Rowe and the Original Playboys + Lou Bradley + Paul Greene + A Woman’s Voice: The Ruby Hunter Project + Karl S Williams + Round Mountain Girls + more | Murwillumbah

Mason Rack | Southport Sharks

Dom Dollar (LTM Crew) | elsewhere

Garterbelts + Gasoline Nostalgia Festival | Mt Tamborine

Luke Million (etcetc) | elsewhere

WEDNESDAY 23 SEPTEMBER

SATURDAY 3 OCTOBER

Benny D Williams | The Garden, Drama Theatre – Griffith University, 2:00pm Open Mic Night| The Loft Chevron Island

Parkway Drive + Thy Art Is Murder + Memphis May Fire + The Word Alive | Byron Bay High School

THURSDAY 24 SEPTEMBER

Christian James | Byron Bay Brewery

Stara + Dan Irwin + Astrid + Jace Fleming | The Loft Chevron Island Aquila Young (Brisbane Festival) | QPAC James D’Khan + Holly Terrens “Single Launch” + True Theory + Stephen Dorrington | Currumbin Creek Tavern

FRIDAY 18 - SUNDAY 20 SEPTEMBER MITCHELL CREEK ROCK N BLUES FEST: Caravana Sun + Evol Walks + The Tommyhawks + Backsliders + Genevieve Chadwick + Cheap Fakes + Fiona Boyes & The Fortune Tellers + Lachy Doley Group + Hussy Hicks + Urban Chiefs + Phil Barlow & The Wolf + more | Kandanga, Sunshine Coast

Pennywise + Anti Flag | Coolangatta Hotel Zookeepers | Southport Sharks Local Muso Jam | The Loft Chevron Island

FRIDAY 25 SEPTEMBER The Garden + special guests | elsewhereVanderAa + Julie Hayes + Luke Houselander | The Loft Chevron Island Benny D Williams | Bambu Bar

Katchafire | Parkwood Tavern Wandering Eyes | Sheoak Shack

SUNDAY 4 OCTOBER Parkway Drive + Thy Art Is Murder + Memphis May Fire + The Word Alive | Byron Bay High School Christian James | Players Showgirls Reel Big Fish + Less Than Jake | Coolangatta Hotel

SATURDAY 19 SEPTEMBER

Turkey Slap | Currumbin Creek Tavern

FRIDAY 9 OCTOBER

Pop-up Spring Festival: KOMES | One50 Public House

SATURDAY 26 SEPTEMBER

Cheap Fakes | The Tiffid, Brisbane

The Screaming Jets | Parkwood Tavern

The Getaway Plan | Parkwood Tavern

Black Magic | Southport Sharks

Alex Crook + Casey Duque + Rob Thompson | The Loft Chevron Island

SATURDAY 10 OCTOBER

Hot Teas + Petra Renée + Nisha & Paris | The Loft Chevron Island High Tide | Sheoak Shack Benny D Williams | Swell Festival Sebastian Bach (the original voice of Skid Row) | Cooly Hotel

Wandering Eyes | Sheoak Shack Symbolic Weapon + Kold Creature + Mergatroyd + Deraign + Diamond Back + Woggy | Currumbin Creek Tavern

SUNDAY 27 SEPTEMBER

Benny D Williams + Sebastian Bach | Coolangatta Hotel

Bondi Cigars | The Soundlounge Currumbin

Double Lined Minority + New Age Notion + Stayclose + Ellie Jane + Tim Edwards Music | Currumbin Creek Tavern

Benny D Williams | 150 Public House 1pm

Ruby Montey | Cabana Bar & Lounge, 1pm

Leopold’s Treat, Cold River album launch + Ella Fence + Human Love Bird + Josh Holms | Board Culture Nick Saxon | Sheoak Shack Benny D Williams + Linda Angledale | The Loft Chevron Island

SUNDAY 11 OCTOBER Cheap Fakes | Miami Marketta

FRIDAY 16 OCTOBER

TUESDAY 29 SEPTEMBER

Aquila Young | Black Bear Lodge

EVOL Walks | Brunswick Hotel

EVOL Walks | New Globe Theatre

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31

life

free Issue #25 SEPTEMBER 2015

s e m i t l l sw eah ead coffee | food | culture | science | art | theatre | poetry

Members $28 Non-members $38 BUY TICKETS ONLINE

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SoulBoardwalk_ThirdHorizontal:Layout 1 24/08/2015 7:28 AM Page 1

THE ART OF DINING

The Esplanade Surfers Paradise Gold Coast soulboardwalk.com.au Feel the Soul

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point blank

Wicked tales of 7 Deadly Sins Internationally renowned choreographer Natalie Weir, and the Expressions Dance Company ensemble of award-winning dancers will take you on a debaucherous journey through the seven deadly sins in this edgy, premiere production, spiced with villainous wit. Spotlighting the inherent frailty and imperfections that exist in us all, 7 Deadly Sins explores the ageold sinful nature of humankind. Retold through electrifying contemporary dance and characterised by Natalie Weir’s unique insights into the human condition, each of the seven dancers is a specific sin and performs a physical interpretation of that sin. Rich imagery, extravagant costumes and breathtaking movement will grip your senses in this devilishly delicious adventure which runs Friday 11 and Saturday 12 September at The Arts Centre Gold Coast. More at theartscentregc.com.au.

Bonogin welcomes spring with community fair Organisers of the Bonogin Valley Community Spring Fair are boasting a little live music event this year, following the success of Bleach’s visit to the division as well as the incredibly successful Summertime Sessions in the Village held at Mudgeeraba.

As well as stall holders the fair will include free entertainment, including Juzzie Smith as well as kids’ activities, and the worldfamous (I may have made that bit up) annual gumboot throwing competition. It all goes down on Saturday 12 September from 10.00am – 3.00pm in Davenport Park, Bonogin Road east.

Dreaming of Genesis The Dream Dance Company presents their first live production Genesis, the birth of a new Australian commercial dance company featuring an all-star cast of the top professional dancers in Australia.

Founded by one of Australia’s most esteemed creative choreographers Marko Panzic, Genesis explores the creation of dance in which genre does not exist. Fusing an interlay of styles, which will push boundaries, explore innovative movement, breaking down stereotypes and leaving audiences exhilarated.

Genesis is directed and choreographed by two of Australia’s leading creative forces Marko Panzic and Stephen Tannos and it comes to The Arts Centre Gold Coast on Friday 18 and Saturday 19 September with a matinee, which includes Q+A on the Saturday. More at theartscentregc.com.au.

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Best beachside university in the world: Bond Bond University has been named the world’s best beachside university by independent education network, Study International.

Australia’s leading private university edged out the University of California in Santa Cruz, USA, and the University of Cape Town in South Africa, which placed second and third. The University of Hawaii, University of Otago in New Zealand and University of Hong Kong followed, rounding out the top six. Bond’s International Director, John McPartland, said the University’s selection as the world’s best beachside university was a major win for the institution and the Gold Coast as a whole.

All My Love @ The Arts Centre

Applications open for RADF

Unlocking historical houses The city’s inaugural Open House day will take place this year – unlocking the doors of quirky, interesting and significant buildings and allowing Gold Coasters to take a behindthe-scenes tour of private places not typically available for public access. From the old Southport Drill Hall constructed in 1890, to the Hot Tomato on-air studios in High Street, to the iconic 80s Paradise Waters mansion of Gold Coast pioneer Keith Williams, the public can discover what lies behind the closed doors of fascinating buildings and places they may have only ever seen from the street. Around 20 properties are listed for the inaugural Gold Coast Open House which takes place Saturday 17 October. More at goldcoastopenhouse.com.au.

Andrew Nason @ Kingscliff Bowlo

Henry Lawson and Mary Gilmore: All My Love Their lives could have been written so differently: the story of Henry Lawson and Mary Gilmore’s lost love. And they’re the subject of All My Love the second instalment of The Arts Centre Gold Coast’s independent season. Still revered across Australia, Henry Lawson is one of the nation’s favourite writers and poets. His contemporary, Mary Gilmore, was a literary icon and radical socialist. Both were heroes of literature that had enormous influence over each other. Both were later the face of Australia’s currency. Both were secretly betrothed to each other. What followed was the beginning of a love affair, soon thwarted by a devastating deception by the theft of their letters. Following her work on Blue Heelers and Neighbours, Kim Denman plays the role of Mary Gilmore, alongside fellow actor Dion Mills from Stingers and City Homicide.

Together the pair unveil Henry and Mary’s forbidden relationship for the first time on a professional stage. All My Love is at The Arts Centre from Wednesday 16 to Saturday 19 September. Get the details at theartscentregc. com.au.

Get in my Head: Arj Barker Arj Barker is arguably Australia’s favourite American comedian and he returns to the Gold Coast with his new show Get in My Head this month. In recent years Arj Barker has spent more time in our country than his own and has come to understand our culture perhaps better than we understand it ourselves. His stand-up is both insightful and pointed, like a mind-reading thumb tack, if there was one of those. He’s at The Arts Centre Gold Coast, Wednesday 16 September from 7.30pm. More at theartscentregoldcoast.com.au.

Round one of the Gold Coast Regional Arts Development Fund is currently open with applications close Friday 11 September.

The City is seeking bold, innovative one-off projects that align to the Cultural Strategy 2023 and which clearly articulate project ideas, delivery, partnerships and outcomes with a clear connection to the Gold Coast.

More at cultural.goldcoast.qld.gov.au.

Art to save lives The Art Of Zhen Shan Ren (TruthCompassion-Tolerance) International Exhibition will show at Watling Galleries, Gold Coast, from 26 September, giving viewers a rare opportunity to see awardwinning artworks that have been exhibited in over 900 cities across 50 countries. This exhibition comes at a time when Australians find their lives inextricably linked with China. The artworks from internationally acclaimed artists offer an untold story of Falun Gong (also known as Falun Dafa), which was China’s fastest-growing meditation practice and is now the group most severely persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party. Part of the exhibition shows the terrifying real-life ordeals that practitioners in China, including the artists themselves, have experienced. The exhibition takes place at Watling Galleries, 13/99 West Burleigh Road from Saturday 26 September – Sunday 4 October. More at zhenshanrenart. com/en/

Ex School Teacher is Kingy of Comedy Kingscliff will welcome former high school teacher and now full time funny man Andrew Nason to the stage as headline for September’s Kingy Comedy event.

He is joined by small in stature but big in charisma, Fiona McGary as support and the larger than life Mandy Nolan as MC. They’re at the Kingscliff Bowlo on Saturday 10 September at 7.30pm and it’s free.

Flow - Transcending Self A father and son exhibition will explores the state of flow with award-winning GC artist Raymond Cheney collaborating with digital illustrator and designer Julian Cheney as curators. The joint exhibition between father and son is the first time the two artists have joined forces to display work together.

During their respective art practices Raymond and Julian have investigated the close correlation between deep states of contemplation and the experience of ‘flow’. The theme of the exhibition, ‘flow’ originates from eminent Psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, who describes flow as the concept of being completely in the moment, fully immersed in an activity. The exhibition Flow - Transcending Self will be held at The Project Gallery, Queensland College of Art, Southbank Brisbane until 6 September.

Flourish @ Southport Parklands Broadwater set to flourish Flourish Arts Festival returns this September promising to bring together families in a vibrant celebration of life and art. With the theme of ‘creating flourishing and inclusive communities’, the event will curl around the shoreline at the Southport Broadwater Parklands on Saturday 5 September offering a huge variety of free workshops for adults and children in music, dance, drama, art, craft, creative writing and story-telling.

Initially created by Southport Uniting Church to connect families and communities through the arts, Flourish Arts Festival promotes the arts as a pathway for healing and growth, for individuals, families and society more broadly. Since the first event in 2012, Flourish has gone from strength to strength, attracting thousands of visitors, hundreds of art competition entries and more than 70 stalls staking their claim on a piece of grass. An art competition, with the theme of what a flourishing community means is also open for entries. More at flourishartsfestival.com.

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Arts & Culture

FMX: THE SOUNDS OF FEMINISM For two weeks in September, The Walls Gallery at Miami is partnering up with Melbourne based Liquid Architecture, an organisation for artists working with sound, to present the Gold Coast incarnation of What Would a Feminist Methodology Sound Like (or, FM[X] for short).

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t’s a sonic celebration of women and their ways and organiser Rebecca Ross said FM[X]GC sounded like a good idea to do here, “where, you gotta admit, it’s a pretty interesting place to be a woman.”

The event will showcase a new solo show by Brisbane-based artist Leena Riethmuller, which will be realised as a series of social workshops focused on somatic experience. There’s also a launch party on September 5. And as part of FM[X] GC, organisers are taking donations of goodies for Gold Coast women’s refuge, My Friends Place.

So, what would a feminist methodology sound like?

There are many feminisms, and many speaking for feminism. Instead of looking for answers, or speaking for women, organisers say “we have some questions for feminism coming from within systems of sonic affect, or using sound as an acoustic mirror for society.”

Those questions are things like; how is music one of the desire industries? How do everyday practices and cultures of hearing work to police some utterances but not others?

Baffling, muffling and amplifying: What is emitting the noise that is in itself a silence? Can lower frequency listening help us to hear how power works on and through us sonically?

What tones, what attunement is required if we want to do this? And what volume?

Leena Riethmuller’s body information workshops will take place from 1 – 12 September and the launch event on 5 September will include a silent walking tour with Shanene Ditton, Yarning circle with Libby Harward and tunes by Evelyn Ida-Morris. Get more information via mail@thewalls. com.au.

Samantha Morris

Image: Rebecca Ross

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LENNON; THROUGH A GLASS ONION

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ustralian musician, actor and all-around icon John Waters is bringing his one-man show on John Lennon to the Gold Coast. Lennon; Through a Glass Onion is Waters’ take on the work and life of one of the most influential people of the 20th century.

“A stirring celebration of a genius” said Sydney Morning Herald, “Part biography, part music – this homage to John Lennon is sure you make you shed a tear,” said Time Out Sydney and “A remarkable celebration of a unique talent,” said The Spectator in London.

Waters says the production started as a desire to do a one man show rather than a wish to pay homage to a giant.

The show features Lennon’s songs and spoken word from various stages of his life and career with Waters mimicking Lennon’s voice throughout the performance but more so, also capturing the public and private essence of a very wellknown man.

audience? For Waters it seems to be a combination of music that means a lot to the him, his own ever-changing and evolving ideas and experiences and new audiences and the interaction with them each night.

“I have learnt a lot about Lennon over the years,” Waters explains. “People have shared their own stories, gifts and experiences of Lennon with me.”

Your chance to peak through a Glass Onion comes on 5 September when the production takes over Jupiters Casino for one night. For more information visit lennononstage. com.

Anna Itkonen

One show, 31 songs, 23 years and countless stages, cities and countries – how does a performer find the energy and drive to keep it fresh and interesting for himself as well as the

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Arts & Culture

HANG FIVE AT SWELL celebrates its 13th birthday this year and there’s no doubt it’s leaving an indelible mark on the City’s cultural landscape. As well as offering more than $25,000 in awards, Samantha Morris discovers the ten-day event attracts nearly 250,000 visitors and showcases local and emerging artists as well as those with significant portfolios of work behind them.

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SWELL co-founder and curator Natasha Edwards said the growing reputation of the event had attracted top quality entrants from around the world.

“This year’s final selection by the curatorial panel will showcase some of the best sculptural talent on offer in Queensland, Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany and New Zealand,” she said. “The open-air gallery and natural setting provides an incomparable cultural experience at any time of day” It’s always tough navigating a festival program to work out what’s what and we like to be helpful. And how lucky are we that we get to experience some of the best sculptors in the world on one of the best beaches in the world for free?

So apart from making sure you have at least one day to explore the 50+ incredible installations along Currumbin’s foreshore and beach, there’s a few other things that should be on your radar.

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swell smalls SWELL Smalls is a collection of smaller works by exhibiting SWELL artists. Held across the road from the open-air sculpture walk, SWELL Smalls Gallery provides an intimate space to explore sculpture and runs from 9.00am – 4.00pm daily during the event. Check it out at 2/792 Pacific Parade, Currumbin.

women in gc music Some of the Gold Coast’s incredibly talented women will be showcased at a special event which highlights the creative partnership being fostered between SWELL and the Gold Coast Music Awards. In an afternoon of folk-flamenco fusion, Felicity Lawless will perform tunes amongst the sculptures with Gracie Hughes and others also on the bill. Women in GC Music runs 2.00 – 7.00pm on Sunday 13 September.

And it’s free!

Listen to a Pipe Dreaming by Christopher Trotter. Image: Terence Kearns.

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VISIT  SWELLSCULPTURE.COM.AU

Monte Lupo Masterclass Where else but at SWELL would you get the chance to participate in a hands-on workshop with Monte Lupo artists AND get to take your own sculpted creation home? Monte Lupo artists have captured the hearts and minds of visitors to SWELL for years – and now you can learn the very same secrets and techniques. The workshop costs $150 and there are two options on Friday 18 September: 9.00am – 12 noon or 2.00pm – 5.00pm. Bookings are essential.

Twilight Sculpture Walks

What better way to celebrate this spring event, than to do it at dusk, when the air is crisp and the sky is (hopefully) clear. As well as seeing these sculptures in a whole new light, you’ll get insight from guest curators who guide you through SWELL’s best pieces.

The twilight walks are free and take place on Sunday 13 and 20 September from 5.00pm, leaving from the Alley Picnic Hut.

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Singing up the Sun Thankfully the sun needs little encouragement to rise, but there’s something special about watching it do its thing, day after day. Clara Durbidge will mesmerise SWELL goers as the sunrise brings new energy to the SWELL landscape on Saturday 12 September. She’ll explore the relationship between the rising sun and the natural environment by creating a soundscape at dawn from 5.00 – 6.00am at The Avalon.

Image: LAMP Photography

A GROUNDSWELL OF LOCAL TALENT

TESS BERGAN | TIDE LINES

CONRAD JOHNSSON | TIMMY

Tess has visited Swell for the past four years, but didn’t think she’d have a piece included quite so soon. “I had this idea and put it in – just for the experience of putting in an application. It was good experience, because I got in,” she laughs. “There’s a lot more work that I was anticipating – trying to keep up with it all with uni as well – that’s been a good learning curve.”

Usually designing specialised installations for shopping centres and fancy apartment buildings in New York, Conrad Johnsson and the team at Yellow Goat Design are bringing Timmy to Swell especially for the kids. “This… is Timmy,” he said, pointing to a picture of a large plywood sheep with two kids crawling through it.

Tessa is studying a Bachelor of Fine Art at QCA, majoring in interdisciplinary sculpture, with minors in printmaking and art theory. Last year she was acknowledged with an Award for Academic Excellence and has already exhibited two works in the 2015 QCA First Year Showcase Exhibition.

She’s also just returned from a study tour to Indonesia.

Her practice explores relationships between identity, environment and place, and often incorporates found and recycled materials and this piece is no different.

“This is the first outdoor sculpture I’ve made. It’s recycled plastic bottles, which I’ve collected with help of my family and friends. I’m painting them all white and stringing them on bits of wire rope right next to each other. They’ll sit on the sand standing up and hopefully they’ll look like tide lines and reflect the GC layout and Surfers Paradise skyline,” she said.

“I’d really like people to reflect on their impact on the world, both in a consumerism sense and what they do in a creative sense,” Tess said.

I asked her about the significance of using plastic bottles and she said she’s grown up on the beach her whole life and the issue of litter and plastic rubbish on the beach is one you come face to face with every day.

“I love that environment so much I think it’s something that needs to be preserved and respected and I want people to think about that,” she said.

Tell me what’s so cool about Swell?

It’s local, they always have a really diverse selection of artworks – there’s something for everyone to enage with.

And the setting – it’s such a gorgeous setting to see art in that environment.

“That’s the great thing with SWELL you see all the kids really interact with the pieces. Kids love it just as much as parents do.”

“We started 15 years ago,” he says of the company, “doing more sculptural and custom-made lighting, quite international with a lot of work in the Middle East. But we’ve been trying to branch out in different areas. A couple of years ago we started to play around with sculpture for kids. A lot of shopping centres got interested in this. So we started to develop a whole range for our own interest, using plywood, mainly. It’s just as much for the adults as it is for the kids.”

“I grew up in Europe – and there especially you can’t photograph anything, you can’t touch anything,” he said, speaking of formal art institutions, galleries and exhibitions.

Swell is so much different to that. “It’s just the whole atmosphere – you can walk around, bring some food. It’s a great community event and you get to see some great artwork. I really enjoy the interactive part of it – you can walk up and touch the sculptures and feel them.”

Conrad considers himself a designer rather than an artist and the company he designs for Yellow Goat Design, is a family business based in Southport. They’re currently working on a life-sized stegosauras which will be shipped and installed in a New York apartment building before Christmas. It’s 3m high x 13m long. As well as being designed here, it’s fabricated by their team in Southport, where they employ up to 30 or 40 staff depending on what projects they have on the boil. They’ve done elephants, crocodiles, tractors and soon, a life size blue whale.

REBECCA CUNNINGHAM | CONVERSATION PIECE

“My swell piece is an interactive sound sculpture made from PVC pipe,” Rebecca explains, when we meet at The Soundlounge for a chat. “A few years ago I was in a RMIT university sculpture festival called ArtLand and created my first public art piece – the piece was two tin cans, copper cable and a gramophone horn – the idea of that was bringing back the power of the voice,” she said, adding that she always wanted to create something bigger. The idea is to bring back communication; the use of voice in a fun way without using an electronic device.

“It’ll be like a maze of pipes – so they won’t know where their voice will come out.”

And it’s not just the physical sculpture that Rebecca will be exhibiting on the beach. At specific times, local voices will be incorporated into the piece. “One morning will be chanting at sunrise, another will be a community choir and I’ve also locked in Claire Cottone to do a voice harmonizing workshop,” she said.

“I feel like a lot of people think they’ll be shut down if their opinion is shared. And so, I just want people to feel like they can be heard,” Rebecca said. “One thing that keeps coming up for me with this sculpture is allowing people to communicate heart-to-heart and face-to-face.”

Tell me what’s so cool about Swell?

It’s for everybody. It’s outside. It’s accessible. No matter how old or young or if you have money or not. It’s fun.

“In Australia you have to make your own opportunities,” Conrad said.

What’s so cool about Swell?

Getting all the locals out to enjoy the vibe and the art – on the beach!

VISIT  SWELLSCULPTURE.COM.AU www.blankgc.com.au

9

Arts & Culture

BIGGER THAN POETRY WORLD CUP

Josh Holms has stories to tell. And we’re not just talking the poetry for which he’s fast becoming known on the Gold Coast.

A

n army kid, he moved around a lot as a child. Then spent time in the military himself. He’s sold cars and worked with young people, part-completed tertiary studies in history and education. And he’s had time in and out of rehab battling addiction.

He speaks quietly about his recovery, which is how he found himself on the Gold Coast, needing to get away from Newcastle in 2012.

“It’s obvious when you read my poems,” he said without going into detail. His is not an unusual story.

Josh says the whole poetry thing burst into his life after he reflected on the things he was “tricked into doing.” We speak about that societal notion that you must finish school, get a degree, get a job, be a provider.

Josh was a bit lost until he found poetry.

“It just started with freestyles in lounge rooms,” he tells me. “Just everyone banding together freestyling poetry.”

I laugh at this. Josh relates the story as if it’s totally normal for friends to get together and slam poetry. I assure him this is not the case and he smiles in response. “I don’t know how, it just happened, things just happened.”

Josh met fellow poet Ben Ra in the library where they started doing what poets do.

“Everyone was looking at us, pissed off,” he said. “But we were just checking / connecting.”

“I’ve written poetry from the age of 25,” Josh said. He’s now 30. “But I guess getting on Youtube and finding slam poetry I found a way for it to be conscious, that’s what I liked about that type of poetry.

With a background in hip hop and a bit of writing and a love for words it just all came together.”

In April last year Josh heard about a poetry slam at a space which has become his spiritual home; the Dust Temple. “I wrote a poem that morning, memorised it that day and then performed it,” he said. “I got some applause and a clap and was supported and encouraged to come back.

“For the first time, things were like, this is what I’m meant to be doing – this is it.” He then spent a year writing, reciting, learning.

He tells me he didn’t really see how it could turn into something sustainable. And then he met Luka Lesson.

“I saw that there are poets travelling around Australia perfecting their message, teaching and performing,” he said. “This year I got to open for Luka at Bleach Festival. He’s my favourite artist. I hooked up with him the next week and he’s been mentoring me ever since. We mapped out a plan and since then I’ve been earnestly following that,” Josh said.

I asked Josh to tell me about Luka and the impact he has had on his work. “What’s cool about him is that he carved a way for others to be able to exist. Before, poets had to die before anything happened. Luka created an industry for people to teach and express. And in turn we’ll pave the way for others – it will turn into something bigger.”

This month, just over a year after first performing his poetry, Josh took out the Nimbin Performance Poetry World Cup. The event has been running for 12 years and this year saw 36 competitors vie for the title. Poets had to deliver an eight minute performance piece with heats, semi-finals and finals taking place.

Noise is Void by Josh Holms I hear the call Some days I miss foreign shores that I have yet to set my feet upon I’m tired it’s as though I’ve sailed the seven seas and cast my eyes upon city lights stretched out on strange lands like new jewels My boredom is unformed thoughts I’m caught between a place of trusting source and Focusing on the injustice towards the poor I’m caught between apathy and action I’m a pacifist with powerful words, but how do I actually make change happen

Josh explains that eight minutes is actually quite a long piece. “The average at the Dust Temple would be two to three minutes. To hold attention for eight minutes is a long time.”

Encrypted in my atoms is lineage dating way back past Adam

He wasn’t expecting to win the World Cup. The piece he performed was actually three pieces conjoined and when I ask him whether he thinks he stacked up to the other poets he says he was surprised to win.

But he hates to compare himself in that way.

“I try not to compare anything, especially in a world that’s subjective,” he said.

Back to when rape and pillage was viewed as innocent

He scored a fancy trophy and kudos amongst his peers but he says the best thing has been validation, and then laughs.

“The difference now really is that all the coffee shops I spend the day writing at are like ‘oh, he really is a poet’. That’s the flaw too – that we even need that badge.”

He’s also hoping the win will be a catalyst for more work with schools and teaching.

And it seems Josh’s weeks are slowly getting busier.

“I went from having one gig a month last year to a couple a week now. The scene is growing and people are getting more comfortable with it,” Josh said.

He has plans for growing the Bigger Than Poetry events which happen monthly at Miami Marketta and connecting with larger and more diverse audiences. And he’s also hoping to publish a collection of his work from the past five years.

“It will be spoken word poetry plus my written poetry and it will have some blank pages in there for people to write their own poetry.” For now though, he’s still reflecting and learning.

“I just want to do a lot of writing and teaching,” he said. “Finding out about my own process via teaching it and helping to find a voice for other people.”

Samantha Morris

Back to African empires Back to when night time skies were clear enough to navigate by Back to when sand dunes would consume Villages Back to when Pagan rituals were considered legitimate I want to know it all When I roll the ball point of my pen I become a sorcerer in a sense My poems and prose polish once abolished and forgotten knowledge I forage the forest I see every mistake that I’ve made in some diluted way was me trying to be great I’ve sought solace in the soulless I sung hollow notes to cover broken hopes I found escape in soft skin canvases draped in red dresses I’ve said inspiring things and used words as my weapons They say everything happens for a reason, but if theses happenings happen because of me then that is an act of self-treason I’ve spent a life time bleeding trying to please now that I’ve released that need I spend my time trying to achieve dreams via sowing seeds and growing by taking time to breathe.

In breath I realise there is nothing to find and if I use my flesh as a moral compass I may as well be walking blind I’ve spent a lifetime binded to the finite I was bright with no light I guess to sum it all up I’ve pined and I’ve pined and I’ve pined and I’ve pined for the beloveds touch as much as I pine for blood to rush and air to fill my lungs.

I’m a cup out of the salty sea the beloved is in all depths of me rivers and dry creek beds I am blessed in life and in death in light and in darkness Farthest stars shine the brightest in spite of being dead poets and writers never died because they have inspired my insides and my lead.

Image: Katie Cuplin

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www.blankgc.com.au

MON 28 SEPTEMBER – MON 5 OCTOBER

ALL THAT GLITTERS ON THE GC We know the Goldie can bring the bling but Blank GC gets a sneak peak at the Coast’s inaugral Glitter Festival set to shine at a whole new level.

THE 5 MUST-SEES OF GLITTER FESTIVAL

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litter on an e

C G

In the cabaret-comedy-theatre-drag genre is Trevor Ashley channeling the iconic Liza Minelli in a show-stopping, power packed-cabaret performance. Trevor is starring in the current national tour of Les Miserables but following several sell-out seasons in the West End and Australia will bring Liza (on an E) to the Gold Coast for Glitter. It’s one night only – Friday 2 October from 8.15pm and we highly recommend you buy tickets in advance.

arlotta: life’s still a drag

litter fair day

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Carlotta’s story is both an outrageously funny journey and a brutally honest look at the ruthless entertainment industry. If you’ve ever wanted to peel away the mask of an iconic entertainer, this is your chance. You’ll take a ride through Carlotta’s life as she lays bare both the struggle and thrill of living life as a ground-breaking female performer as one of the Les Girls of Kings Cross. Life’s still a drag – Carlotta is a ticketed event and takes place on Saturday 3 October at 7.00pm.

This lakeside event is pegged as the biggest ‘family’ reunion of its kind; a celebration of a united and inclusive Gold Coast community. Evandale Lake will become the perfect outdoor backdrop immediately after the Pride Run takes place in the Evandale Parklands. The Fair day will include a program of outdoor games, markets, music, DJs, food and drink and runs from 10.00am – 8.00pm on Saturday 4 October and is free. It concludes with an outdoor screening of Priscilla Queen of the Desert.

idden histories after dark The After Dark program is a regular one run at The Arts Centre – giving patrons a chance to check out the gallery after hour.

And this one takes a not unexpected twist.

Daniel Mudie Cunningham will discuss queer aesthetics in his practice and for the first time, Brisbane-based artist Luke Roberts will publicly discuss the hidden context for his monumental painting Exorcism XIII The Chaos of Memory 1991 which references the iconic Pink Poodle Motel. Heather Faulkner will also psent her transmedia documentary project which involved stories of lesbianidentified women from the pre-feminist era to the present day. Hidden histories will be explored on Thursday 1 October from 6.00pm and is free.

G

old Coast is all that glitters. Especially come the end of this month when our first ever celebration of lesbian, gay, transgender, intersex, queer asexual, pansexual and community comes to town.

And while it’s the event’s first year, it’s immediately apparent by looking at the program that they’ve tried hard to make the program accessible and broad. There’s plenty of theatre – which is no surprise seeing it’s the team at The Arts Centre Gold Coast presenting this soiree – but there’s also film, yoga and art, exhibitions, networking (with sing-a-longs), a pride run, a family fair, tacos and tiaras, drag lunch and comedy.

“Glitter Festival is an inclusive event that aims to bring the community together through the medium of art and culture,” says the program and it really shows a city that has come of age.

In addition to programmed shows and performances there are also opportunities for the community to express themselves and genuinely get involved in the delivery of the festival. And there’s a mixture of both ticketed and free events to ensure easy accessibility.

Glitter Festival Artistic Director and also Performing Arts Manager at the Arts Centre, Brad Rush, says the event has been curated to not only entertain but also to provide ideas.

“Underpinned by an artistic program, Glitter is one massive social event,” he said, “to gather and network and be joyful in the company of each other’s individuality,” Brad said.

You can book for ticketed shows and events via theartscentregc.com. au/glitter. And there’s a triple-treat ticketing option for 15% discount when booking three or more shows.

littery films

It’s a mix of new and old to mark Glitter Festival at The Arts Centre. A screening of Rocky Horror Picture Show is included (3 Oct, 7.30pm) as well as Priscilla Queen of the Desert (Fair Day), but there’s also a bunch of films premiering. Drown (including Q+A and starring Matt Levett, Maya Stange), Holding the Man (starring Ryan Corr, Guy Pearce) and Freeheld (Julianne Moore, Ellen Page) will all have their premieres and 54 – The Director’s Cut, Weekend and Jenny’s Wedding are also on the program. Films screen across the festival period and cost $14 for adults and $9.50 for Friends of the Arts Centre.

Images: Supplied

www.blankgc.com.au

11

Food & Drink

BECOME A BARISTA AT THE GC SHOW The Gold Coast Show is no stranger to the home-grown competitive spirit – encompassing cakes and cattle and other cool things. But for the third year in a row, there’s a competition with a difference: the Gold Coast Barista Challenge.

T

he staff of Palazzo Versace take their coffee seriously.

So much so they’ve organised a competition that aims to bring together a group of aspiring baristas and challenge them to show off worldclass pour and grind skills.

This year, nine Gold Coast students will compete in a strict three-phase competition which will crown the Gold Coast’s rising café star.

Yanina Benavidez spoke with three of the entrants: Sam Hendriks, Liam Neville and Michael Wilson, as well as the team from Palazzo Versace; Madison Lincoln, Shaun Van Heteran and Stephanie Barlow, as to who our local coffee hero is. All agree unanimously: Tim Sweep of Base Espresso.

The Become a Barista competition will take place at the Gold Coast Show on 28 August, and entrants will be judged on international criteria based on the famous World Barista Championship.

Gold Coast Show Manager Lavinia Rampino says schoolaged trainee baristas will be given the chance to advance their coffee making skills.

“This is a great opportunity for local trainees to showcase and perfect their skills, be creative and absorb knowledge from coffee industry experts,” Ms Rampino said.

“They will expand their knowledge, receive feedback from the judges and obtain a certificate of participation.”

Just like the World Barista Championships, entrants are judged on sensory and technical criteria. Industry professionals will provide entrants with feedback on their 10 minute performances.

Competitors will present two espressos, two milk beverages and two signature beverages to sensory judges for tasting.

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www.blankgc.com.au

Image: LAMP Photography The competitiors say that most of them will theme and work on their signature drink for months in advance, in order to perfect the balance between flavour, quality and of course that rich coffee taste.

The competition is aimed at juniors and trainees keen to advance and perfect their skills. Some of the participants might be employed as baristas while others may be on the first few stages of their traineeships. While the competition is tough, the aim is to have fun. On the day there will be live demonstrations by some of the best as well as an array of coffee styles available and other exciting presenters to sample and witness.

The criteria for the competition is identical to that of the world competition – one which many baristas aim to compete in, so the targets are set high although accommodating to a younger demographic.

On the day there will be other food and coffee stalls, such as Turkish coffee, alternative coffee brewing methods, student cookery displays and much more. So if you’re off to the Show, be sure to go grab a caffeine hit.

Yanina Benavidez

BOLD MOVE TO TEXTILES

Arts & Culture

30 year old Jonathan Madzinga was inspired by his father to paint and while he grew up in Zimbabwe and African themes run strong through his artistic work, he’s unashamedly Australian.

“I

’m 100% Australian,” he told Blank’s editor, Samantha Morris proudly. “I became Australian in 2011. And I’m grateful that I’m able to live here and work as everybody else.”

He’s had solo exhibitions in Dubai, USA, Netherlands, Canada and Australia and been part of group exhibitions in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Netherlands, USA and Australia.

He was introduced to the National Art Gallery in Bulawayo where he also spent time as an Artist in Residence and studied for a time at Mzilikazi Art and Craft Centre.

Bold colours and brush strokes are central to his work, which often depict scenes of every day African life. When he shows me his art: on large and small canvases spread over two couches, there are elephants, markets, baskettopped women and overloaded cars. They’re bright and eye-catching.

“No matter where I go, no matter where I am, I have seen a billion pictures through my eyes, so I can create anything I want by just thinking about it,” he said.

Jonathan arrived in Australia seven years ago. He came on a sponsored work visa and says it was all for the art.

“I mostly came for my art,” he tells me from his workplace at The Avalon. “I thought I might be able to do it full-time but it doesn’t work like that. I’m no longer a novelty like when I was in Africa. There, people come, they want something to take back to their home. But here, it’s different. It’s not like Africa. I’m grateful that I do sell my work but I have to do other things to survive.”

And he tells me several times that I must not take that the wrong way. Jonathan is adamant that he is so very grateful for everything he has, including his job. And stresses that he is not whinging.

“What I’m saying is that there are other ways and means to survive,” he said. Jonathan tells me how he came about this job. When I saw him the day prior he was grinding paint off steel. Today he’s dressed in a freshly pressed uniform with his name emblazoned across the front (I don’t actually know if it’s pressed, but it sure is neat and tidy). He had been selling his work at Marketta and met Oliver Mork who found Jonathan a role in his engineering operation that has The Avalon as its home base.

“That was almost three months ago now. This job has been a big blessing. It came into my life at the right time. When I met Oliver, outside I looked happy but inside I was feeling miserable.”

Jonathan is coming to terms with the fact that the audience for his work is very different here on the Gold Coast to what it is in Africa where he had a ready group of cashed-up tourists keen for a memento of their trip.

“That’s why I ended up researching and investigating what other ways and means I can get my work to the whole globe and community,” he said.

Enter textiles.

“Keith Haring, Andy Warhol, Ken Done, they all did textiles,” Jonathan said. “I f I want to be able to reach the whole world, I have to have my stuff on almost everything I can transfer my images on.”

So far he has put those images on t-shirts, sarongs, singlets, leggings, cushions and polos for women and men. And he hopes to be adding more to the collection soon.

Image: Samantha Morris Jonathan will launch his wearable art collection at an exhibition taking place at Miami Marketta on Wednesday 9 September.

“The art is going to be on the wall and the models are going to be wearing the product. And me, I’ll be creating a painting there. At the same time the models will be walking, people will be looking at my paintings,” Jonathan said.

“Usually when I have an exhibition it lasts for a month. But this time it will be one night only. People will get to see my paintings and they’ll be able to see my introduction into the textile industry.”

All of Jonathan’s textiles are made in Australia and he explained the difficulty in finding a company who could provide what he needed.

“I’ve been so lucky to have a father who always told me if you want something you should go for it. You have the same right as everyone else. If an opportunity presents itself, run with it.”

“So this came, and I ran with it and this is where I am.”

Samantha Morris

Thanks to a long list of sponsors, Jonathan Madzinga has his solo exhibition at Miami Marketta on Wednesday 9 September. But you can also view his art and order items from his wearable collection at  madzinga.com.au.

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13

Food & Drink

CHAR BAA

IPOH SATAY HOUSE

MAVIS’ KITCHEN

4/1840 Lower Gold Coast Hwy, Burleigh Heads

Waterways Village, Mermaid Waters

64 Mt Warning Rd., Uki, NSW

Three eateries opened in less than three years!

It’s been a cracking pace of development for owners Liv (Olivia) Watson and Gaynor Hunt, owners of The Little Plate. After opening The Little Bar a year ago, they’ve now made a move into casual takeaway dining with the opening of Char Baa just around the corner from The Little Plate.

Out with the kitchen and fancy bar. In with the char grill. Barbeque is now ‘secret girls’ business’!

“So many world cuisines feature grilling over charcoal,” Gaynor tells us, “so we decided to open a char grill. We got hold of a grill and took it to Millmasters, Burleigh and said ‘Pimp my grill’, which he did.

Now we’ve got a Latin American hanging rack on the back, a teppan plate on one side and the rotisserie here.” She points, grinning from ear to ear, proud as punch as Liv watches the lamb turning slowly over the coals.

Gaynor looks right at home in front of the grill. “I love fire!” she tells us.

Growing up in her parents’ heritage listed hotel in Sutherland, it was Gaynor’s job to tend the wood-fired oven which cooked roasts for passing truckies. It was an initiation into food which has continued through a varied career: Head Chef in a minimum security prison in Broome where she ditched the ‘mystery meat’ and created problems when body counts showed that non-prisoners were jumping the fence into prison to enjoy meals she cooked; chef in tourist mecca Gypsy Dee’s in Cairns (where world cuisine was king), 5 star hotels such as Cairns International through to a muchloved local Italian restaurant.

After starting their own ‘fine casual’, Gaynor and Liv soon realized the hole in the market for great takeaway on the southside, so Char Baa goes some way towards addressing that need.

Read more of Marj’s Char Baa review at blankgc.com.au/category/food Marj Osborne

If you’re looking for excellent Chinese Malay food on the Gold Coast, look no further than Ipoh Satay House - one of our oldest and arguably our best Malaysian restaurant.

Thomas and Meelin Hoi came to the Gold Coast from Malaysia in 1980, establishing their first restaurant, Banga Raya, opposite Jupiter’s Hotel and Casino soon after.

Their second restaurant, Ipoh Satay House, opened a few years later. A more modest establishment, it has been situated in the Waterways Shopping Centre for over twenty years, gathering a loyal clientele.

Recently, Ipoh (named after the second largest city in Malaysia) has enjoyed a new lease of life. The shopping centre has undergone a renovation and, though the interior of the restaurant remains unassuming, the ambience of the alfresco dining area has dramatically improved.

Although Thomas and Meelin’s children had always helped in the restaurant, it was time for them to play a more prominent role, Sam taking over more of his father’s role as chef, and Theresa managing front of house.

Ipoh has an extensive menu of Chinese and Malay favourites with some Thai food Tom Yum and Green Curry - thrown in for good measure.

Most interesting are the menu divisions – over twenty in total which, in our view, defy logic! Courses (Soup, Entrée, Dessert), main ingredient (lamb, chicken, seafood), and cooking style (Salt and Pepper, Kong Po and Sizzling dishes) sit beside Specialties and Hawker Style Noodles (a section which also includes Laksa). $15 - $20, Ipoh provides highly affordable dining. The venue is licensed, with BYO wine a simple task due to a bottle shop almost next door.

Read more of Marj’s Ipoh review at blankgc.com.au/category/food

If you grew up on the coast you’ll most likely remember the Harley Street Brasserie, located in a stately Queenslander in Labrador. Built in the early 1900s by the Loder family (after whom Loder’s Creek was named), the house had originally been surrounded by a lush dairy farm stretching down to the Broadwater. A century later, the quarter acre block on which the restaurant sat was surrounded by light commercial properties fronting the now busy Brisbane Road. So much for progress!

Owners Peter Clarke and Charlie Ebell decided to move the restaurant to their farm near Mt Warning in 2007 but, when new owners decided to demolish the house, which had been Charlie’s family home, the partners decided to move the house down to the farm. It was a mammoth operation, the house cut into three sections and reassembled on the 25 acre property less than an hour’s drive from its former site.

On a sunny winter’s day when we visit Mavis’ Kitchen for lunch, the vista is picture perfect. The grand old dame sits perched on a grassy slope overlooking green lawn and a dam to one side, vegetable gardens and fruit trees on the other.

Founded on principles of sustainability, local community and care of the environment, the restaurant’s ethos is based on a slow food approach built around fresh, seasonal and local. Produce is sourced not only from their own extensive garden beside the house, but also from one local farmer whose crops are grown specifically to fulfil the restaurant’s needs.

Before lunch, we take a walk in the garden, noticing the edible flowers, companion planting (for pest control, soil aeration and fertilisation), fruit trees and artworks scattered through the garden. Couples wander around the gardens together and a family’s playing with a ball on the front lawn. Written on the restaurant wall, sum up Mavis’ Kitchen perfectly: “Aspire not to have more but to be more.”

Read more of Marj’s Mavis’ Kitchen review at blankgc.com.au/category/food Marj Osborne

Images: supplied 14

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Marj Osborne

THE BLACK SHEEP ESPRESSO BAA

80 Marine Parade, Coolangatta Situated on the popular Marine Parade in Coolangatta, and overlooking one of the GC’s greatest beaches, The Black Sheep Espresso Baa is a small cafe that boasts a huge personality.

Serving up coffee to tourists and locals alike on a beautiful red La Marzocco machine, the friendly staff are happy to discuss their coffee and make recommendations on which way to try their rotating single origin beans. I am lucky enough to get talking to Danni aka “Sugar” who is a wealth of knowledge and is eager to discuss the beans on offer.

Chilled out owner Dinesh is the eponymous Black Sheep, a nickname he picked up when he was younger and has stuck to this day. Having had previous experience with Toby’s Estate Coffee, when it came time to open his own café, he chose to go with Toby’s as he likes their social, ethical and environmental philosophy and the difference they are making in the world.

It’s RnB Sunday when I visit, and old skool hip hop is playing around the busy café with the staff laughing and chatting with each other and their patrons like old friends. In case you are unable to snag a table, patrons of The Black Sheep are able to borrow a picnic blanket and enjoy their meal or coffee down on the beach as they soak up the sun.

The ever popular Woolloomooloo from Toby’s Estate is the house blend at The Black Sheep and I try it in both a black and a milk coffee. The long black is tinged with chocolate and lemony bursts that keep you going back for more. A piccolo is daintier with smooth notes of caramel and chocolate.

The single origin Panama Santa Theresa washed honey compote is better black, according to Sugar, and she recommends I try a double ristretto alongside my usual long black. The double ristretto has a rich aroma of sweet cherry, enriched with caramel with a big taste that lingers long after you have finished your cup.

Catherine Coburn

LITTLE BITES NEW TAPAS MENU AT PABLO PABLO

Vikas Khanna | Modern Indian

DINE AROUND THE WORLD

Pablo Pablo launched a new menu this week as well as adding Estrella Barcelona and Southern Pale Ale to its beer taps. On the menu are such awesome sounding tapas as Spanner crab on charred chorizo and Crispy baby cuttlefish. The raciones menu of bigger servings includes Mushrooms with garlic and sherry vinegar, SA mussels with Basque style sauce and Grilled cauliflower with parsnip cream, grated bottarga and shiso.

They’ve also announced a new collaboration called Fiesta Fiesta which sees Pop Taco and The Spanish (previously Pablo’s Paella) working the street food angle for weddings and special events.

Busy times at Pablo, ole!

Dining at the InterContinental Sanctuary Cove Resort over the next few months? Then you’re in for a culinary journey! Their international chefs will create two-course and threecourse menus for two weeks at a time, with recommended cocktails and wines: Vikas Khanna | Modern Indian | 17 August - 30 August | Cove Café Ross Lusted | Modern Australian | 31 Aug. - 13 Sept | The Fireplace Ian Kittichai | Modern Thai | 14 - 27 September | Cove Café Sam Leong | Singaporean Chinese | 28 Sept. - 11 Oct.| Cove Café Takagi Kazuo | Japanese | 12 - 25 October | The Fireplace Dean Brettschneider & Co. | Bakery with our kitchen team | 26 Oct - 1 Nov | Cove Café Theo Randall | Rustic Italian | 2 - 15 November | The Fireplace More @ intercontinentalsanctuarycove.com

CARMODY’S RECOGNISED IN WINE AWARDS Carmody’s Restaurant & Bar has been rewarded for its efforts in creating and investing in a world class wine list. It was recently announced that against extraordinary competition Carmody’s achieved a 1- Glass Rating (Recommended) in the 2015 Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards.

Established in 1994, the awards set out to acknowledge the time, effort and money invested by restaurants, hotels, clubs, bars and cafés to produce a high quality wine list.

A panel of over 30 international and local judges joined the Chairman of Judges Peter Forrestal this year For more information on the awards visit winelistoftheyear.com.au.

Images: supplied

CHA CHA TEA PROVIDORES

Cha Tea Providores is the latest outlet to open in The 4217. A contemporary teahouse focused on reinventing the traditional tea experience, CHA gives a fresh take on a traditional favourite. CHA believes that Tea Takes Time. As tea brews in the Steam Punk, it allows people to take the time to slow down and enjoy the moment of a cup of tea, its natural health benefits, its diversity and depth of flavours.

Feel like making your own tea at home?

Then CHA retails a boutique range of over 40 premium loose-leaf teas from a range of origins, including its own exclusive blends - and a full range of bespoke teaware.

There’s also a selection of cakes, tea themed biscuits, sandwiches, frittatas and seasonal cupcakes baked daily by the in-house pastry chef, as well as a vegetarian and gluten free option for high Tea served with a simple, elegant range of cakes, savoury pastries and sweets. Make the most of two hours’ free parking while you’re there!

FOR FATHER’S DAY Celebrate the launch of our Forefathers Beer Sunday 6 September, 12-5pm Stone & Wood Brewery Have a beer on us and feast on a slow cooked lunch by food truck Little Back for $15 per person $5 beers all arvo with profits going to The Uncle Project Live music by Josh Swan and Kyle Lionhart.

For details - www.stoneandwood.com.au FAMILY FRIENDLY!

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15

Lifestyle

IS THE GOLD COAST READY? I

s the Gold Coast ready for a Science + Technology Centre to rival the Exploratorium in San Francisco or Canberra’s Questacon?

Advocate for science education, Joshua Smith thinks so.

The father of two, currently studying Education with science majors has had a long passion for science and is mid career change from IT. Josh is the editor of IQ Science, with a blog and social media presence geared to making science as fun and accessible as possible.

“I come from a family of doctors and scientists,” Josh said when asked about the catalyst for his passion. Prior to this education focus he studied a Masters in International Diplomacy with a major thesis around climate policy. “I got heavily involved in the science around climate change and where it intersects with politics and popular opinion as well,” he said. “ And that sparked a strong interest.”

The 36 year-old has been passed the baton for championing a Gold Coast Science and Technology Centre by Councillor Glenn Tozer, who first flagged the concept last year.

“I guess there’s three aspects to it,” Joshua said. “One is the tourism element, creating a centre that is impressive enough that it becomes it’s own drawcard. Where people will come from Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, northern NSW to experience it, as well as conference delegates and tourists from overseas.”

“Second is research and development as well as commercialisation. Part of the floor space will be devoted to commercialising new developments – whether new areas like robotics or artificial intelligence or improvements over existing systems, like mining companies coming up with renewable technologies,” he said.

“The other aspect is the educational element that will really engage people with scientific principles and how they apply to real life and the world around us in an interactive and entertaining way.”

Josh talks about the importance of offering experiential and playful elements to learning. “We want people to touch, feel, see, experience,” he said. “Not like the old style libraries and museums where you can only observe things. Here you’ll be able to play with everything.”

To mark National Science Week, Josh and a team of local science champions have launched the virtual concepts of a Gold Coast Science Centre as a catalyst for discussion.

As he showed me those concepts, Councillor Glenn Tozer stressed that everything is up for discussion.

“As I was trying to explain the idea of a Science and Technology Centre to people, it became very obvious that I needed images,” he said. “If I try to explain an atom to you, you have this concept of a sphere with a nucleus and protons and electrons as a model for an atom. But that’s not actually what an atom looks like. We needed a model, a concept for this Centre, with which to start conversations.”

The Councillor has identified a parcel of land in his Division, owned by Council which he believes is an ideal site for the Centre.

“It’s 15 minutes to the beach, 20 minutes to the airport, 5 minutes to the railway station, and it’s at the foothills of world heritage rainforest,” he said. “We picked a location and designed a building to help people understand the concept - that a Science and Technology Centre is a viable option for our city as we evolve what we’re known for both nationally and globally.”

The Councillor allocated money in last year’s budget to pay 16

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a local architect to draw up conceptual designs and then engaged a local agency to develop a 3D model. Envision Urban and DegenhartShedd are the agencies who have brought the Councillor’s ideas to life.

Cr Tozer believes the City must do something to diversity its tourism base as well as position itself as a cultural and intellectual destination.

Blank GC takes an exclusive, 3D tour of GC Science Centre

“What we don’t want to do is create so much or be so prescriptive in the way we approach the project that we limit its potential,” the Councillor said. “And we will be looking for philanthropic and corporate partners for it to be a state-ofthe-art and globally relevant Science Centre.”

“Over the last 12 years, our tourism numbers have stayed quite stagnant,” he said. “We’re only attracting a limited type of tourist – people who like beaches love coming to the Gold Coast, people who like theme parks, people who like to party. People don’t travel here for art or science or intellectual pursuits – they don’t think our city has those traits.”

And events data shows that the Councillor might just be onto something. Visitors who come to the Gold Coast for conferences stay here on average 4.5 days – a full day longer than other Australian cities.

“What I’m hoping to do is play on that unique variable of our city and bring a product into the market place that will connect with corporate events,” he said. He uses as an example his experience working in Canberra in events and the popularity of that city’s science destination, Questacon.

“We’d send people there for team building and they’d come back raving about the experience,” Cr Tozer said.

As well as the obvious science and technology outcomes and the potential for tourism diversification and growth. Cr Tozer said the opportunity also exists to align the Centre’s exhibitions with curriculum in Asia. “We want to give people a really good educational reason to visit the Gold Coast,” he said. “We already meet some of the English language parts of the curriculum, so let’s start meeting some of the science parts.”

Study Gold Coast also sees the potential for extending the City’s offerings to international students. “We’d encouraging a centre like that to make sure the offerings it provides are on par with similar institutions overseas,” said Shannon Willoughby, Study Gold Coast CEO. “The Gold Coast is certainly trying to position itself as an educational city, so having additional infrastructure, and being education and research focused adds a string to that bow,” she said.

Cr Tozer says the timeline leads to potential delivery commencing in 2020, after the Commonwealth Games. “2015 is the year of advocacy, 2016-18 is organisational development, governance, feasibility and preparation,” he said. “From 20182020 we’d love to start facilitating the delivery of this project for the Gold Coast.”

And he’s not wedded to the location, building or any of the architectural concepts developed so far. Which is why Joshua’s role is so important.

“We’re calling him our chief innovator and science strategist,” Glenn said, acknowledging there is currently no budget for delivery. “We want to create a structure that enables us to advance the objectives of the Centre but also build a community around scientific endeavour without actually having a building yet.”

“We’re not so wedded to the symbols we’ve created. If someone comes up with a feasible and viable option – we’ll explore that as well.”

The plans in question, so far include a 250 seat auditorium, a four-level science centre with each floor focusing on separate scientific elements, a floor-to-ceiling aquarium and an observatory terrace and rooftop bar.

Images: Envision Urban and Degenhart Shedd

REAL FOOD FESTIVAL Julie Shelton runs the Sunshine Coast’s Real Food Festival. She grew up in Tasmania and was turned on to good food early...

“W

e had access to an abundance of clean seafood, and high-quality wine, fruits and vegetables,” she says.

While her father was an academic, he grew up in the country and loved being able to feed his family food he had grown or caught. He cultivated a small range of seasonal vegetables, they had fruit trees in the backyard. Whenever the weekend weather was conducive, they would go fishing.

It’s probably no surprise that Julie is passionate about food.

That may be an understatement. In 1991 she started an organic farm with her partner – The Village Organic Farm.

She says it began as a small dairy herd supplying a nearby cheesery.

“Within a couple of years we had bought the cheesery and added production systems that incorporated bees, pigs, beef cattle, meat chickens, and egg layers. Each underutilised output from one system became an input for the new system.”

“A decade (and a LOT of hard work) later we had a profitable, diverse, integrated organic farm that utilised biodynamic practices to produce an abundance of healthy foods and offered work to 13 friends. We also built a shop – The General Store – so we had somewhere from which we could retail our produce, complemented by the produce of other local farmers, direct to our customers.”

The food miles for their products was generally less than a kilometer!

“Having a direct relationship with our customers meant that we could produce what they wanted: if they asked for a particular flavour sausage, we’d include that request next time we were making a batch,” Julie says.

Julie then had a stint working with a local not for profit and observing the alarming number of farming families in crisis.

“Like other rural regions – some of which continue to be in crisis today – this area was experiencing the terrible effects of poverty and community breakdown, including bankruptcy, loss of family farms and suicide,” she said. “It was an indictment of government policies – local, state and federal – that more wasn’t being done to value and support our nation’s food producers.”

Later she was consulting to food producers needing help to shoulder their compliance burden and at the same time was working with chefs and retailers wanting to source more local food.

nourished by food from our own bioregion.”

“It’s hard to fathom why we as a nation don’t care more about our food producers. In terms of man’s hierarchy of needs, having access to food, water and air is fundamentally a metabolic requirement for survival,” she said, but acknowledges that beyond that need, enjoying good food, particularly with good company, is one of life’s most easily achieved pleasures.

“By supporting our local farmers and food producers, we are also keeping money circulating locally. The longer it stays in our region before being syphoned off by national and multi-national companies, the more we can build our local economy and grow resilient communities.”

Julie says that leads to more jobs and a heightened sense of belonging.

“I believe local food is the best way to satisfy our ‘hunger for connection’,” Julie said.

The Real Food Festival, now in its fifth year is being supported by Tourism and Events Queensland for the first time in 2015 and the program is jam-packed full of foodie fun. The event runs 12 – 13 September at Maleny Showgrounds.

With talks, samples and hands-on skill sessions as diverse as cooking schools, kitchen gardens, food craft, cooking demonstrations, nourishing ideas, Little Sprouts kids area, conversations with cookbook authors and bloggers, bush foods, food rescue programs, culinary herbs, bees, publishing and storytelling, making pickles, compost, chickens, food ethics, GMOs and food labeling as well as exhibitions that include coffee, chilli, vanilla, cheeses, berries, avocado oils, sprouting devices, jerky, pork, kombucha, preserves, paleo, chicken, juices, pies and heaps more.

Samantha Morris

Real Food Festival takes place 12 – 13 September at Maleny Showgrounds. Get info at  realfoodfestivals.com.au.

Images: supplied by Real Food Festival

“Consumer demand for local food was growing but the two ends of the supply chain were struggling to find each other,” she said. So it became obvious that a regular event was needed to bring people together.

“In September 2011 we nervously held our first Real Food Festival, not knowing who would turn up.”

Turns out she didn’t need to worry. For that first event more than 4000 people came through the gates, and since then some 25,000 visitors have been part of the Real Food Festival.

Julie says the event raises the profile of the Sunshine Coast Hinterland as a food tourism destination.

“Local food is vital to healthy bodies and healthy communities,” Julie says, when asked about why acknowledging local farmers is so important. “A short food supply chain means that the food retains much of its nutrient value, and we can more easily digest and be www.blankgc.com.au

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Lifestyle

PARA PARA PARADISE: PART 1 Why do we travel? Andrew Scott thinks it’s time to do more than just see things for their Instagram value.

D

o you travel because you feel the need? Do you travel because you have an insatiable itch? Do you sacrifice the security of nesting and building networks in your hometown?

Did you skip last weekend’s bender so you can save an extra $30 for the next trip? Do you get butterflies trying to figure out how much travel you can pack into such a short time on this planet? Or... do you just travel because it’s trendy? Because you need that photo standing in front of the Eiffel Tower to impress your social media circle. Or because you just feel less than, unaccomplished and uncool because you haven’t gotten wasted in Bali?

Pause now... and be real honest. Neither of these incentive forces are better or worse than the other. Perhaps you are like most, a little from column A and a little from column B. But seriously pause again... be as honest to yourself as you can. Nobody is around to notice. Why are you travelling? Where have you been? Why did you select this destination?

What is next? And drum-roll..... Are you missing something big, hot, sandy and obvious? Strayaaaaaa!

Travelling domestically does not currently record even 32% (this figure is a work of fiction and should only be used sarcastically in passing conversation) of the social stature points as an overseas experience. It seems that travelling through Australia is only cool if you’re from at least 263 800 miles away (this figure is also fictional). Unless of course, you are a grey nomad. The colloquial translation: an old Australian/s, travelling in a recreational vehicle who is only considered cool by other elderly Australians who also own recreational vehicles.

Why oh why has Australia become the last place that an Australian is interesting in seeing? Having gone against this grain recently and road tripped to North Queensland for some sailing/snorkelling around the Whitsundays, I was able to accost working professionals within the tourism industry and shake some insight out of them.

The first and most obvious response, dollar dollar bills ya’all!

Australia is fucking expensive. Fact. Travelling domestically is far from a financial first choice.

But according to my sailing Captain of The Broomstick, of Explore Travel services,

“Young people today only travel because it’s cool/ trendy and not because they love it. Most often they are on mummy/ daddy’s allowance, a credit card and thus the value has been sucked out.”

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www.blankgc.com.au

Image: Stock library

It seems the further away, more exotic, glamorous and adventurous, the higher the horse you can climb to look down upon your poor uncultured friends. Regardless of whether or not you enjoyed yourself. Fuck yeah!

Now, getting abroad on the cheap is a wonderful luxury and it is a most privileged era in which to be a young traveller.

Overseas flights are still declining in price and you can find an Aussie Bar on every continent so you don’t run the risk of being uncomfortable or accidentally learning something.

It is a circumstance to take advantage of and I urge all folk with a week through to a year of freedom to go and be wild, safely inside a warm hostel drinking Fosters.

HOWEVER... don’t forget what is right in front of you. Why not consider a local, interstate destination every other holiday. It will give credibility to your endless bragging of how good Australia is next time you’re legless in London. Besides... do you know how many gorgeous young men and women with daddy’s credit card are out there to ‘play’ with along Australia’s most sought after holiday destinations. They might even share some advice about how to do things

on the cheap and the best places to see. This could be helpful considering nobody in Australia under the age of 30 actually knows what exists here or how much they should pay for it.

Queenslander, to enjoy the Whitsundays with. This of course was after many hours’ interrogation as to my agenda/motive for daring to travel within my own state, let alone my own country.

Maybe you still prescribe to the notion that you’ll just wait until you’re retired before exploring Australia’s wonders? Nothing wrong with this. Although assuming you will survive, let alone have the financial freedom, loving partner or cool friends still around you is a bit rich. This is not a morbid or negative slant on a great idea. Just a reminder that the advantage of travelling young still applies to the homeland. More time, less responsibilities, more energy for the high-octane stuff.

A few backpackers of the last generation may remember the novelty that came with being an Australian as you trail blazed backpacker style through virgin tourist destinations. Turns out the best way to get that buzz again is to stay right where you are.

So why not enjoy a few days and nights on the road before calling it quits at an international airport and fly away from there. Consider Cairnes, Newcastle or Adelaide (just kidding, sorry Adelaide).

I guarantee the young internationals will appreciate your company alongside them on the hostel trail. Share some real Australian stories, not just the ones tiredly repeated by those who work in tourism. A small handful of young Belgian and French travellers were especially grateful to have me, the token

The luxury sail and snorkel was but a sniff of the entire experience of this locally flavoured tour. Stayed tuned for PART 2 and PART 3.

Peace Blankers and Blankettes.

Andrew Scott EDITOR’s NOTE: Adelaide is an awesome city (Garden of Unearthly Delights, anyone?)

Don’t believe everything travel writers tell you.

Lifestyle

GROWING WAKEBOARDING ON THE GOLD COAST

“W

hen it wasn’t windy enough, he’d go up to the cable park and practice all his tricks,” she says of her kite-surfing brother Neil Hilder. “He invited me one day and I didn’t think about it until three years ago. I picked it up again and fell in love with it,” Lauren said. Just three years between getting back on a wakeboard and winning competitions. Wow. “We had the nationals in April,” Lauren tells me. “And I placed third in pro women’s. So I guess that’s where you’d place me at the moment.”

Lauren is excited about the prospect of a new cable park on the Gold Coast. She’s referring to a proposal from people tied to the wakeboarding industry to develop an old quarry specifically for wakeboarding.

“I think it’s going to be a really good opportunity for the Gold Coast,”she said. “I think it’s going to bring in a lot more tourism – not just for the Gold Coast but also for wakeboarding.”

Lauren drives anywhere from 50 minutes to two and a half hours at the moment to train at either Logan or Bli Bli cable parks.

“Places like Germany they’ve got like 50 cable parks and look how small they are. It’s going to be really good for tourism.

And hopefully it’ll be really good for the sport too.”

Lauren Hilder is a 27 year old administrative worker. But she’s also a champion wakeboarder.

Brought into the sport by her brother who was a pro kite-surfer, she tells Samantha Morris that she didn’t really get into the sport until very recently.

“It’s going to save me a lot of time and petrol money. Having it on the Gold Coast and only 10-15 minutes away is going to make a massive difference to training.”

William Owen-Jones is the Councillor for the Division in which the park is proposed. He tells Blank that the City has received an application, and while there’s been considerable and broad community support for it, officers are currently reviewing the application. There are potential concerns around noise and traffic as well as flooding.

“We’ll see where we go from there prior to Christmas,” the Councillor said.

“I can tell you that it’s got a clockwise and anti-clockwise cable proposed and there will be no motorised vessels,” Cr Owen-Jones said. “The cable has an electric motor so the loudest thing you’ll hear is people having fun and there’ll be a café onsite and ample parking.”

The Councillors tells us that the proposed site is currently zoned extractive industry – it’s got an existing concrete batching plant which will remain onsite, but in terms of the sand and gravel resource, there’s two lakes and there’s an application on one of the lakes.

“It’s entirely on private property and the landowner wants to see if he can get a material change of use up,” William said.

Image: Facebook

Lauren says she knows some of the people involved in the application – they have serious wakeboarding credentials and are passionate about boosting the sport as well as the Gold Coast’s profile as a wakeboarding destination.

Wakeboarders train and compete across a combination of cable and boat and Lauren says that here on the Gold Coast you’ve only got a few cable options.

“There used to be a cable park at Runaway Bay and that’s closed down and funnily enough the whole system is in London,” she said. “Anyone that does cable either goes to Logan or Bli Bli - they’re the only two options within driving distance.”

But she says the cable scene is getting bigger with cable parks popping up wherever populations are growing. There’s one in Penrith, Logan, Bli Bli, Mackay and Cairns, Perth and a new one opening up in Melbourne.

Thankfully the Gold Coast has options other than cable which is evidenced by the large number of wakeboarders you can see on any given weekend across the Broadwater, our rivers, canals and even the open ocean.

Lauren explains that wakeboarding is something that appeals to people across a range of sports. As well as the obvious connection between kite surfing (when there’s no wind), we share stories of people using cable parks to do things like test new surfboards. It’s common for people to discover the sport through water skiing and Lauren says she knows of at least one professional female wakeboarder who made the leap from gymnastics.

There’s no question it’s a male dominated sport which is all the more reason for Lauren’s support of a Gold Coast cable park. Making wakeboarding accessible is key to growing its profile. The cable ski park at Logan regularly runs womens only sessions and womens’ competitions.

“It’s very male dominated but it definitely is getting better.

The first women’s only video that came out, Sets in Motion – that kind of started things off – and they’ve slowly started advertising a lot more of the women’s side of the sport,” she said. And not just because the girls look good in bikinis, Lauren says people are actually starting to notice how good women’s wakeboarding is becoming and the ladies are getting air time for their skills rather than their looks.

But in the meantime, between her fulltime job and her training and competition regime, Lauren is a busy girl. With sponsors Hyperlite and Elevate throwing their weight behind her, she’s excited about the future of wakeboarding and she’s even more excited about the future of wakeboarding right here on the Gold Coast.

Image: LAMP Photography

Samantha Morris www.blankgc.com.au

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Environment

A (RE)GENERATION OF YOUNG STORYTELLERS FOR NATURE

COASTAL MUSINGS | THE BEACH EXPERIENCE

T

Image: Can Stock Photo Inc

he (re)Generation Project recently launched a new program that puts power into the hands of young people to (re)generate an interest and love for nature through storytelling. Young storytellers aged between 15 and 25 years are invited to share bold, inspiring stories about a human experience with nature through any creative medium such as film, art, creative writing or photography.

Image: David Shipton Photography

The beach experience. What do you make of your beach experience? To be happy, to escape the routines of life, be a theatre for pleasure or rather explore the trillions of grains of sand and perfect sets of waves or to capitalise on the coastal economy to make millions or die trying?

I

f you could take a cross section of the beach you would discover entwined layers of rich ecological, social, cultural, and economic and community knowledge that creates and captures the beach experience.

The scientists of the natural and environmental disciplines would showcase the coastal indicators, ecological values and processes that form beaches while the economists promote the monetary values based on people’s experiences at the beach.

Social and cultural theorists would draw upon the indigenous, historical and contemporary imaginings of the beach, enabling ways of seeing, knowing and being– to understand the beach as a culturally rich place. The latter, while including the imaginings of the natural and environmental sciences would also leave you wading in the knowledges of the communities that reside along the beach.

As coastal communities have their own knowledges and experiences to make their

own distinct meanings and ways of seeing the beach, which largely creates their own way of seeing and experience the beach.

Douglas Booth, an Australian-born, selfproclaimed beach-obsessed scholar unpacks the beach experience from an Australian beach culture context by drawing on Lena Lencek and Gideon Bosker’s ideas of the beach, “where the beach needs to be discovered, claimed and invented before it can be transformed into a place, a theatre for pleasure.” * So it is no wonder that people who reside along the coast undoubtedly have a close connection to their surroundings, being the beach. Given that the dynamic nature of the beach provides an ever-changing backdrop, forming endless new experiences and memories, framed by people’s existence at the beach, people and beaches are always changing – subliminally.

The beach in my opinion presents a space, a cultured place to forever explore new experiences and memories of the beach.

But what does it present to you?

On that note, it’s time to head to the beach. * Booth, D. (2001) Australian Beach Cultures: the history of sun, sand and surf, Routledge and Co. Ltd., New York, NY. Naomi Edwards

Read more of Naomi’s coastal musings at  coastaltangents.com 20

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Ten story ideas will then be selected by The (re)Generation Project to receive editorial and production training, including digital storytelling workshops and a mentor to help craft powerful and impacting digital stories to inspire a new generation to visit and value nature.

Dr Iqbal Barkat is a member of the project and a lecturer in screen production at Macquarie University. He said that storytelling is a powerful way that humans share values.

“As a storyteller, you are providing the viewer with the material for them to form their own connection rather than telling them what to do,” he said.

The best digital stories with be shared at a premier event on 26 October and an online campaign will also invite young people to vote for their favourite story and explain why it inspires them to visit and value nature.

“This is an opportunity for young people to build valuable skills and networks, show their work and win prizes. It’s also a creative and fun opportunity for them to participate in developing a positive change for our relationship with our planet,” said Wendy Goldstein, the leader of the project.

“Personal connections with nature are powerful. They improve our health and mental wellbeing, and there is evidence that if young people develop a relationship with nature early in life, they are more likely to care for nature and protect it as adults,” she said.

Online applications are due by 6 September 2015.

Get more at  research. science.mq.edu.au/ theregenerationproject

Lifestyle

TREASURES ABOUND

It’s the biggest community and sustainability event in Australia and it will be right here, on the Gold Coast Saturday 24 October, and Samantha Morris can’t wait.

Even though she’s lived on the Gold Coast nearly all of her life, has worked in conservation for 20 years and is a self-confessed saltwater baby, Samantha Morris had never been on a whale watching trip. Until last week, when she became a tourist in her own town.

I

was a bit worried, to be honest, as I was taking my 2.5yo boy, who’s never been out of the seaway before and likes to act like a 2.5yo, meaning confined spaces are tricky. Worry aside, it was the most perfect Gold Coast winter’s day when we hopped off the light rail and wandered down to the wharf where Cavill Ave meets the Nerang River.

We were the guests of Whales in Paradise – the Gold Coast’s longest-standing whale watching company and our trip begins with a cruise past fancy houses on rivers and canals and out the Southport Seaway.

We’re on board the Mahi Mahi which feels incredibly spacious with just 40 people on board (it has capacity for 60), and has 360-degree views. You need good views when you’re whale watching in Australia. Legislation prevents these companies from approaching whales from less than 100m and when you’re on the water, that’s a lot further than you think.

It’s also a bit of a lucky dip as to what you’ll see, as with any nature-based adventure.

The captain explains that to find whales on any given morning, they basically putter out to sea to see what they can see see see.

Literally. It’s all eyes on the water for signs of whales. Still, this company has a free-trip guarantee. If you don’t see whales on the trip, you get to go another time for free.

But that’s unnecessary on this particular Saturday. It’s not even ten minutes out the Seaway before we hear the first whale nearby. There she blows! Just like their human counterparts, humpack whales love the Gold Coast – they rest and recreate here as they migrate 10,000km between Antarctica and the southern tip of the Great Barrier Reef. In summer, they’re in the Southern Ocean, filling their bellies full of krill. In winter, they’re in the warm waters of central Queensland, having babies. And in between it’s like a regular whale highway up and down the east coast of Australia.

We saw six whales on our short trip and the two year old was well impressed. While many visitors on the boat expected impressive whale acrobatics, there was nothing of the sort.

Just whales getting about their business.

If you go: •

If you take a young child, go for the shorter trip. While our’s was a three-hour trip, we only spent 90mins or so out on the sea. The rest spent cruising stunning waterways to get there.

•

Read reviews to see which companies take the best care of their customers and have the greatest respect for our wildlife friends and look for a reputable one with a smaller boat which means more maneuverability and greater access to vantage points on the boat.

•

Take sunscreen. We went on a clear winters’ day and I’m an islander, and I felt the sting of the sun.

•

Take your own water bottle, coffee cup and snacks. Our boat only had disposable plastic cups.

•

Binoculars are handy for spotting whales on the horizon, but also for checking out any seabirds and other wildlife that happen to venture past.

•

Forget about photos. You’ve got to be so, so lucky to get one of those fancy whale tail shots. Just be in the moment and enjoy the whales doing their stuff.

•

Keep your eyes out for other animals: dugong, dolphins, rays and dolphins are regularly seen on these trips.

Samantha Morris was the guest of Whales in Paradise for this story about whale watching.

Image: Can Stock Photo Inc

My father looooooooves garage sales. I have childhood memories of him rushing out to be the first person to get the paper, circling the sales he wanted to go to and then mapping out a route in the refidex. Us three kids would be bored senseless, but every now and then he’d throw us a bone. Usually a book. A tattered and weary old book that someone else’s kids no longer wanted.

Personally, I find rummaging through garage sales tickles my voyeuristic fancy. Seeing what my neighbours are getting rid of gives me an insight into their lives. And you never know. They might just be turfing out a pair of Doc Martens in my size.

If you also have a thing for garage sales, I have very good news for you. Thanks to the support of Cr Glenn Tozer, the Garage Sale Trail is again coming to the Gold Coast as part of its massive day of garage sales happening right across Australia.

Last year there were 8000 garage sales engaging 350,000 people across 150 local council areas. Households, community groups and schools get a heap of resources to help market their sales on the day and it’s completely free for sellers and shoppers.

“You can hold a sale as a household, street, community group, school, charity or even as a local business,” organisers say. “You can make money for yourself, or fundraise for a cause.”

“For shoppers - it’s truly the way to find the treasure in your neighbourhood,” they say.

It’s estimated that more than 3 million items could be up for sale and last year you could buy anything from designer shoes to a house.

Images: Whales in Paradise

Garage Sale Trail hits the Gold Coast (and the nation) on Saturday 24 October | more at  garagesaletrail.com.au www.blankgc.com.au

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Gold Coast’s independent cultural voice Out monthly online and in print

www.blankgc.com.au Gold Coast Artist of the Year, Karl S. Williams. Image: matthewthomasphotography.com.au