ISSUE #111
TASMANIA’S STREET PRESS
06/01/10 - 19/01/10
FREE
SAFETY.QUALITY.COMFORT
107 BRISBANE STREET LAUNCESTON | LONNIES107@GMAIL.COM
12
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Joni’S PlaStiC Sunday the tokyo HANNAH - LiveRoom At tHe the middle toneS GreeNHouse eP LAuNcH leon coLemAN ewing cLAN tHe PLANcks obeRon CaRteR HArLequiN sArA JANe ANd takadimi tHe eNiGmA(nSw) BLues Coleman Clan
Wednesday & Sunday from 6pm.
New Year’s Eve Party Australia Day Eve Monday 25th Massive Blues & Roots Party! Feat. Hobart’s best party bands
huge BIrthday street partY
Little Cubas / Linc & the Insiders / The Middletones tHe WolFe brotHers + more to be announced on chrIstmas EVE tHe smasHers From 9pm
Massive line up featuring: Australia Day Tuesday 26th Jordan Millar, new saxons,
Ben wells and the Middle Great Aussie BBQ naMes, the overview, saM nnett Michevaelrcalred ers e Broth Jo Weollfe rdol t on C e g o a o m a W d r a John holFe brotHers t nk refiW dH classics.
with Let the Cat Out & DJ Kashishi playing till late page, hayley Couper (with
hool . t. sics e old sc asat All th ol cl scho erfron the w AllerthyeFrolidday on Ev ery Friday on the waterfront. Ev
Band), eJeCter, little CuBas, hannah and the wolfe Brothers
Bands playing outside and in. KiCKs off at 3pM. free entry.
nondett e l C l a o e W H r C i a m John h een oppyy ro tr nt ea&va iedso tid K iM ta k d nK r Ffiin dr urite tunes. s.
r favo urite tune Youur favo s. Yo nds. TThe band st ba best at he be ee w ont.t. th fron on erfr ater ay w rd tu th Sa on y er ay Ev rd Every Satu
HOBART | 21 Salamanca Place
6223 1119 | www.irishmurphys.com.au
Stranger than Micktion Mick - the master of time and place.
Hobart: CONTACT: PO BOX 4542 Bathurst St PO Hobart 7000 Editor - General Manager Advertising: David Williams Email: david@sauce.net.au Phone: 0400 940 699
Launceston: Sub-Editor: : Meegan May Email: meegan@sauce.net.au Opinions expressed in Sauce are not necessarily those of the Editor or staff. Sauce Publishing accepts no liability for the accuracy of advertisements.
Contributors:
Carl Fidler, Glenn Moorehouse, Dane Hunnerup, Nick Hay, Tabitha Fletcher, Mike Wilcox, Mick Lowenstein, Rebecca Taylor, Dave Elliston, Toni M, Bec Nichols, Clint Morris, Amy Flower, Emilija Saleta.
I don’t really subscribe to the saying “being in the right place at the right time”. Or indeed, “Being in the wrong place at the wrong time”. There are places and there are times and sometimes you are in both of them. With that being made clear, I’d like to tell you about a place and a time where I found myself recently. A friend of mine recently invited me to her housewarming party. No worries, this should be fun I thought. She gave me the address and directions on how to find it. No problem-o. So I found my way to the house and went around the back as per the detailed instructions. I could hear Bec and associated burlesque types as I went around the corner, so I naturally assumed I was in the right place. The first thing I see as I get into her backyard, is a dude sitting on the stairs playing an acoustic guitar. I’d never seen him before, but this wasn’t an unusual thing for a Bec party. He said “Hi”, I said “Hi”. We had a chat for a bit, he asked if I played guitar, I told him I did, but then got a bit coy about the whole thing. I’m not very confident musically. He asked if I wanted a drink. Sure, that would be nice. Did I want to come in? Yep, that’s what I was here for. So I went in, expecting the usual tribe of scantily clad ladies and associated friends. No one inside.
I could hear them all, just no sign of them in the house. They’re probably just in the next room I told myself. The guy gave me a drink and I picked up the guitar and played a bit and he then venerated me as his new guitar God. Jeez man. I just know C sharp minor. He started pulling out all these obscure band CDs to play me. I think one might have been Das Teekles. That made me laugh. He then started telling me all about his life and his dead fiancée and the like, and I was wondering why none of the other party goers had ventured into what quite clearly appeared to be the lounge room. So after over an hour of shooting the breeze and jamming with this guy, it became apparent, that I was indeed, in the wrong house. I was supposed to be next door. How do you extricate yourself from a situation like this? I decided the safest thing to do, was to tell him I was actually meant to be next door, and so he didn’t feel too put out, invite him to come as well. So we went next door, I walked in and it was business as usual, I introduced this guy to everyone else and he was gobsmacked. Pole dancing, scantily clad girls, feathers, PVC and fishnets. The girls wore some out there stuff as well. He didn’t know where to look. It was quite fascinating watching him try not to. I left soon after. Perhaps he’s still there… True Story.
sMICK LOWENSTEIN
MAD PROFESSOR Actually a very sane man, Mad Professor is one of the leading dubstep producers and DJs of his generation, and is helping continue the new dubstep revival by bringing his British beats down to Hobart this Australia Day. The nickname was given to Neil Fraser at school, by classmates who couldn’t believe the experiments he would carry out as a kid. Having built a radio and telephone by the age of ten, it was no real surprise that his love of music and electronics eventually led him to become a DJ and producer. Having built his own mixing desk, the early Eighties launched Mad Professor along with the Ariwa Studio/ label from his front room in Thornton Heath. Dub music, which combines reggae music and recording studio trickery, seemed to fit Mad Professor’s musical and technical tastes perfectly and his early work remained faithful to the traditional Jamaican dub pioneered by King Tubby, Lee “Scratch” Perry, and Augustus Pablo. Mad Professor’s early work was characterized by few vocal tracks and heavy echo, reverb, and phaser effects on the instrumentals. Eventually, he began to experiment with electronic sounds and effects alongside the traditional instruments. Synthesized sounds began to find a place in his mixes. This experimentation caught the attention of artists outside of reggae and dub genres and led to Mad Professor’s work with electronic artists, most notably Massive Attack.
psychoSonic Our music production company has recently relocated to Hobart
We are looking to develop and record new talent in our Neve equipped studio Contact David on 0409596343
P.S. We are also looking for music engineers to train/work on the Neve console www.psychosonic.com.au
Brookfield Vineyard. 1640 Channel Highway Margate. 7054. Ph 6267 2880 Licensed cafe open 7 days & late for all events Wednesday, Jan 6 @ 7.30pm Tullulah Kendall, $15 Monday, January 11th @ 7.30pm Kamerunga, $15 Tuesday, January 12th @ 7.30pm Takadimi, $15 Wednesday, January 13th @ 7.30pm Steve Turner, $20 Thursday, January 14th Jacob Boote, $10 Friday, 15th January Folk Night (Luke Watts) Free Sunday, January 17th @ 4pm Kate Meehan & Skip Landy, Ian Beecroft, George DiAmbrosio $20
All shows have meals available www.brookfieldvineyard.com - info@brookfieldvineyard.com
By the year 2005, the Ariwa catalogue passed the 200 figure, bumped up by new albums from Max Romeo, U-Roy and young protégée Joe Ariwa. Fresh demand for the dub show has taken the Ariwa Sound to many far-flung places, now adding Tasmania on to the list. Hear the Professor’s British beats this Australia Day! 0 26 January @ The Bay Hotel, Hobart
392 - 394 Elizabeth St. North Hobart Ph: 03 6234 5975
Buy any Tama Superstar and get a FREE Iron Cobra double-kick pedal valued at $899!! 103 Elizabeth St Hobart 03 6231 5578
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. ISSUE 111 . January 6, 2010 - JANUARY 19, 2010
MAIN STAGE
Eskimo Joe Bliss N Eso Karnivool Evermore Parkway Drive Kisschasy Short Stack Jessica Mauboy Kate Miller Heidke Funkoars The Sundance Kids
Regular John
Dash & Will Black Japan
MOS CLUBBERS GUIDE STAGE
Sneaky Sound System In ve re Sa sk tu Sh rd Ga ay ow te so 6F gr pe ou eb na nd ru ar t1 s y2 0. 30 am 010
Potbelleez Muscles (dj set) Miami Horror Anna Lunoe The Aston Shuffle Bass Kleph Hook n Sling Klaus Hill Minx Sam La More Tommy Trash Tim McGee
Limited general admission tickets still available
t 10 es 20 sf st m fe om m/ k ms t.c .co oo @ es ce eb er s f p a a c tt .m ys n F Twi w w .m o n w ww k us s o w ec w u Ch llo Fo
VIP Tickets Sold Out
Goodwill
Your Guide to The Soundscape Festival 2010
ROOTS MANUVA Rodney Smith was born and grew up in Stockwell, South London. His grandfather coming over from Jamacia in the fifties. EMPIRE OF THE SUN Empire of the Sun are the Australian success story of the year. Made up of Pnau’s Nick Littlemore and The Sleepy Jackson’s Luke Steele, after just a few years together and one album, the band have already cemented their place as one of the most triumphant in the country. Released on October 2008, their debut album has spawned the hit singles ‘Walking On A Dream’, ‘We Are The People’ and ‘Standing on The Shore’, and has eclipsed platinum sales status in Australia and still rising. Not to mention it’sw also picked up a few ARIA Awards recently. Well, more than a fewseven, to be exact, out of the eleven nominations the band racked up. But that’s not where the story ends. The band has been equally well-received all over the world. At the beginning of the year Empire of the Sun gained mainstream media attention for gaining fourth position on the BBC’s annual Sound if Music poll 2009. Since then, their album has gone on to pass gold status in UK where their recent single ‘We Are The People’ was A-listed on Radio1, Radio 2, 6 Music, XFM and many other stations. Europe is not far behind and the US has recently come on board thanks in part to the band recently being featured in everyone’s favourite TV series Entourage.
As he puts it, his family “were here to make it big time.” They worked hard, went to church, and tried to live life the right way. His father was a lay preacher and tailor, a combination that goes some way to explaining the son’s preoccupation with the soul and the suit. As Rodney sees it now, “my family are such good, decent people. I’m the runt of pack.” The runt found music.
An avid but secret collector of the soundsystem tapes which were easy to find in Brixton at the time, Smith studied DJs like Eek-A-Mouse and Asher Senator, nodding to the rhythms, stretching his mouth around their words. But it was perhaps only when he heard hip hop and, in particular, the incomparable Rakim, that he realised that his voice could be used for more than toasting, that it was an expressive tool limited only by his imagination. But opportunities for Black British musicians in the nineties were few and far between. Hard work, his own kind of hard work, was the only way forward.
Empire of the Sun have been invited to perform many festivals worldwide but to date the plan has been to keep it local. Empire of the Sun were the main-stage headline act at Australia’s Parklife Festival, touring between September 26 and October 5, 2009. These dates marked their first ever live performance, and we can expect the same at Soundscape. “The show is going to be epic, full of colours, dinosaur-teeth chomping at the valleys of future. It will be more outrageous than the scents of imagination and will take the audience on a journey to another world”, said front-man and vocalist Steel.
UGLY DUCKLING Comparable to De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, the Pharcyde and Digable Planets, Ugly Duckling is a quirky, jazz-influenced alternative rap trio who formed in the Los Angeles suburb of Long Beach in 1995.
THE GRATES For The Grates’ debut album Gravity Won’t Get You High (2006), their signature animal was the giraffe. It was a fitting match: that year, the album towered over all other beasts, made mammoth strides, and won the affection of the people, both here and abroad. Two years later, The Grates present second album, Teeth Lost, Hearts Won: an entirely different animal altogether. “If Teeth Lost, Hearts Won was a beast, I imagine it’d be like something from Where the Wild Things Are,” singer Patience says. “They’re big and scary. But they’ve also got this sensitivity, and pick up the little kid and protect him.” Alana thinks. “Or maybe the griffin in Alice in Wonderland,” she says. “He’s like a lion and eagle together, but a really gentle creature.”
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When group members Dizzy, Young Einstein, and Andy Cat started collaborating, the hip-hoppers took the name Ugly Duckling - because they felt like outcasts on the Southern California hip-hop scene of the mid-’90s. Gangsta rap was the West Coast’s dominant hip-hop trend at the time, and Ugly Duckling’s members had no interest in the type of macho posturing and violent, threatening lyrics for which gangsta rap was known. In 1998, the group put out ‘Fresh Mode’, a single that sold more than 3,000 copies and seemed to get a buzz going. Later that year, Ugly Duckling was signed to 1500 Records (initially a subsidiary of Interscope/Universal) and recorded their debut EP, which was also titled Fresh Mode and came out in 1999; Journey to Anywhere followed a year later. In 2003, Taste the Secret was released. They later signed to the Brooklyn-based independent hip-hop label Fat Beats, where they issued Bang for the Buck (2006) and Audacity (2008). . ISSUE 103 111 . SEPTEMBER January 6, 2010 16 --SEPTEMBER JANUARY 19,292010 2009
THE PANICS Although the 5-piece, were born and raised in Perth, Western Australia, musically their sound is intrinsically rooted to the northwest of England. They were first spotted and signed by Happy Mondays’ drummer Gaz Whelan, who took them over to Manchester to write, record and perform at Tony Wilson’s ‘In the City’ (The Factory Records founder was a big fan of the band) and support his band The Mondays. Rifle through their music collection and you’ll find albums by, The Las, Echo and The Bunnymen, Stone Roses and The Smiths. The band’s current album Cruel Guards has recently been released in the UK to rave reviews and gaining strong UK radio support. They have also sold out a stream of UK shows through word of mouth alone, including sell out shows in London, Manchester and Glasgow. At the end of their set in Manchester the audience chanted and refused to move for over five minutes until the band came back for more. GRAFTON PRIMARY With sound histories in the musical realm, brothers Joshua (voice) and Benjamin (synths/ keytar) manifest digital and analogue ideas; one part divine inspiration, one part machine translation. Together they create grand poetic electronica, with its own future echo. On stage drummer Robbie makes his own waves, and the trio is complete. The electro-noir band began live performances in April of 2006 in Sydney. In 2007 things got more serious with national tours that covered venues both large and small. 2008 was a bigger year with more shows coast to coast, and appearances at Field Day, Big Day Out, Good Vibrations, Playground Weekender, Essential Festival and the Parklife national tour, all of which were welcomed with excitement by huge crowds.
ASH GRUNWALD While it’s true that his music is steeped in the Delta blues tradition of the legendary acoustic musicians who proliferated in pre-World War II America’s deep South, and the giants of electric blues who shaped rock and roll, it’s the young Victorian’s willingness to combine these influences with grooves and sounds common in contemporary music that sets him apart. A soulful singer and guitar player, Ash immediately drew attention with the release of 2002’s Introducing… Ash Grunwald, a collection of originals and blues standards that included ‘Smokestack Lightnin’ (Howlin’ Wolf ), ‘The Sky Is Crying’ (Elmore James), and ‘Rolling And Tumbling’ (Robert Johnson), recorded live with only acoustic guitar and foot percussion consisting of a stomp box and tambourine. The album’s most revealing track is ‘Dolphin Song’, a true story of dolphins saving a surfer (Ash) from a shark attack. The tale is exciting, humorous and real and in the context of a blues based album, liberating.
28 DAYS Although the band announced their split in 2007, after ten years of ripping it up across the country and the globe, 2009 has seen new demo tracks, a tour with Body Jar set for November – and now a slot in the highly anticipated summer festival, Soundscape. CHILDREN COLLIDE Next are Children Collide and to gush some more, local music doesn’t come much better. Washed in a haze of blue, vocalist/guitarist Johnny Mackay is reminiscent of Kurt Cobain – sandy blonde hair covering his face, looking disheveled in a sweatshirt, while swinging his guitar carelessly around his neck. Though the music Children Collide create has been compared to Nirvana’s grunge rock, trying to allocate a genre to this band is impossible. Heath Crawley on bass is all in black, looking every part the rock star while dancing in his corner of the stage. With Ryan on drums the band captivate the audience going from guitar thrashing rock frenzies that threaten to send Mackay hurtling off stage, to ethereal magical riffs that Robert Smith could have penned… highly entertaining, talented musicians playing quality music.
Their debut album release came in 1998, with a self-titled record to be followed up by the Kid Indestructible EP, which helped get them on the Triple J airwaves and score them a pretty hefty following. From there the original band members, Jay Dunne (on vocals), Simon ‘Hep’ Hepburn (on guitar), Damien Gardiner (bass) and drummer Scott Murray, added a different element to their sound – DJ Jedi Master Jay, otherwise known as Jay Howard, on samples and turntables. With this shift in their sound, featuring a harder edge and more rap influence, came the single ‘Rip It Up’ – a song which would peak at #12 on the ARIA charts, their highest charting single to date. Cut to March 2009, when a brand new demo made it’s way onto the 28 Days MySpace. It seems they just couldn’t quit for good, and the band have recently announced their spot on the farewell tour of their good friends Bodyjar. So as Bodyjar say goodbye, we say welcome back to 28 Days!
Faker, Via Tanya and Dukes Of Windsor. The remix of Faker’s ‘This Heart Attack’ received extensive radio and club play and led to an invitation to tour nationally with the band. More recently, Grafton Primary have remixed tracks for Jackson Jackson and Japanese electronica act Boom Boom Satellites Grafton Primary’s debut album Eon received critical acclaim and support from radio, press and DJs around Australia and consolidated their growing legion of dedicated fans. Now, Eon is reaching out to the World!
In addition to the touring, Grafton Primary found time for studio work with remixes for
. ISSUE 111 . January 6, 2010 - JANUARY 19, 2010
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FOLK - ADELAIDE // VORN DOOLETTE
Dr Doolette
sMEEGAN MAY
Although he hails from South Australia, one might be forgiven for thinking Vorn Doolette comes all the way from the 1940s. With his signature vintage style (showcased superbly at his album launch, where you weren’t allowed in unless your outfit predated 1950), and old-fashioned use of expressive instruments and rich vocals, Vorn stands apart from most other Australian folk musicians. Your music and styling has quite a retro feel to it. What’s the appeal of yesteryear for you? Well, I just love the language that was used in American films say between 1900 and 1950. The intensely romantic ideas of love and polarised sexuality. I think I naturally tend to sing in a more classic style. People often say “You sound like Frank Sinatra, Rufus Wainwright or Michael Buble” but it’s just the crooner style of singing. What do you think was better about the music industry, say, a generation ago? Some say people were more likely to go out and see live music because there was less competition from other forms of entertainment. The pokie machines really hit the live music scene hard. Before them, many more venues would pay for artists to perform as an attraction to punters. That being said I think the live music scene is growing again. Maybe people are sick of pokies! What do you think is great about it now? Fortunately I think the music industry is better than it ever has been. We are in a period now of incredible change. Record companies no longer control the industry, as evidenced by the success of independent artists like John Butler and The Waifs. Some say that piracy is a big problem for the industry but I am optimistic that many good things can come from the evolution that has been forced upon the status quo. Who are the artists from history who have inspired you? I would have to say Roy Orbison, Joni Mitchell and Tom Waits. I could go on for pages though! If you could live a week in any era, which would it be & what would you do? The 1960s for sure. To watch a young Joni Mitchell perform in some dark café and then maybe have some tea with her. Since you have ‘No Time For Love’, what is filling up your time these days? Music seems to be taking up most of it. I also just wrote my first short story! You have a song called ‘Friendship is My Sword’, so what is your shield? Hmmm. Family? What’s been the greatest part of touring the album so far? Seeing all my friends! I don’t get to see
them much normally. friends.
Also, making new
Do you plan on soaking up some history (or some music) when you head to Tassie? I hope I get a chance to go to the markets again. Must pick up some more Leatherwood. What’s coming up for Vorn Doolette in 2010? Lots of festivals. WOMAD and the Fringe Festival in March then The National Folk Festival in April. We also have a few surprises up our sleeves. Looking forward to seeing your lovely faces Tasmania.
Alley Cat The Alley Cat Bar 381 Elizabeth Street North Hobart 03 6231 2299
KITCHEN OPENING HOURS: DINNER EVERYDAY 6pm - 9.30pm MONDAYS AND SUNDAYS $5 PIZZAS TUESDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS $10 BURGER AND BEER THURSDAYS, FRIDAYS and SATURDAYS RAMEN IN THE ALLEY JAPANESE NOODLES AND DUMPLINGS 5pm till 9pm
UPCOMING SHOWS
Wed nesday the 6th of Jan “…I think I naturally tend to sing in a more classic style...”
The Sin & Tonics 8.30pm, FREE
Wednesday 13th of Jan
Takadimi 8.30pm, FREE www.myspace.com/takadimiplace
Saturday 16th of Jan
Vorn Doolette and band &
The Moon
Dogs
www.myspace.com/vorndoolette
Saturday 23rd of Jan
The Roobs theroobs.com/
Vorn Doolette plays alongside band The Moon Dogs this month. 0 16 January @ The Alley Cat, Hobart
Mortal Combat HIP HOP - MELBOURNE // COMBAT WOMBAT
“…Nothing can stop a wombat in its path...”
Politically forward hip-hop crew Combat Wombat have something to say. But for the band who isn’t afraid to broach a heated issue in the lyrics of their music, it’s more than just words. From recording in a caravan powered by the sun and wind, to standing on logging blockades, Combat Wombat are ready to share their renewable hip hop energy with Tasmania at the upcoming Forest Festival. MonkeyMarc lets us know a little about the ways of the Wombat. How is the wombat an appropriate mascot for the crew? Nothing can stop a wombat in its path. Actually, the wombat reference came from the old vege van we used to drive around in. It was painted camo colours and looked like a giant diprotodon, so hence the name Combat Wombat seemed apt.
recorded some releases for overseas artists in the USA and France. Guess you could say my bass is carbon neutral… What are you most looking forward to
about the festival? Catching up with lots of mates down there and giving the forest blockaders something to dance to. Also getting to see the beautiful area it’s in. It’s going to be great.
sMEEGAN MAY
Get green and face the Wombat.: 0 5-7 February @ The Jackeys Marsh Forest Festival, Jackeys Marsh
Do you think political messages in music can make a difference? Absolutely. There’s nothing like empowering people through music. It has the power to unite large groups of people at any one time in a common cause. And there’s nothing like singing “get those animals off those horses” all together out the front of a blockade. It’s also a great way to educate people about issues that they sometimes wouldn’t get to hear through mainstream press. What’s the most important issue right now in the eyes of Combat Wombat? The most important issues… Aboriginal genocide with the government in the NT with the intervention, a real solution to global warming and not some carbon credit farce that the governments trying to push, (how about we just stop logging our forests hey?), uranium mine and the expansion of the industry, and providing positive answers to these questions so we can move into a better and more sustainable future. Unlike a lot of other well-known hip hop crews, Combat Wombat features a female MC. How do you think this gives you an advantage? Yes we definitely don’t have that kind of blokey quality to us with Izzy and Elf up front. It’s great sometimes when you look into the crowd and the entire front row is all these girls singing along. I think she balances perfectly with Elf in getting the feminine perspective out there. There’s not really that many female MCs full stop and almost no political ones at that so it very important top represent that. And anyway Izzy’s probably 10 times tougher than most male rappers out there anyways… What makes the four of you work so well together? We are all so different. That what makes it work. Elf is very technical and worldly, Izzy is very passionate and vocal in local issues, Wasabi is the classic Sid Viscous element, but with the skill to blast a bulldozer out of the forest, and I just push them all and try and keep the chaos together with my beats. The Jackeys Marsh Forest Festival is running solely on renewable energy. Can you tell us about your studio that does the same? I hear that it’s all on sustainable energy, which is great. I remember in 2000 we did a full party on veggie oil and solar and wind, which I think at the time was a first. Its great festivals like this are practising what they preach. My studio is actually built in a shipping container and is all solar powered. Its great. My entire solo release was just written and recorded there and the new Wombat album will be done there to. I have 6 panels and a huge bank of batteries in an old horse float for my power. It’s a pretty big set up. It’s been a dream of mine for years and has slowly mutated out of the Labrats Solar Powered Sound System into this new studio. Its been up and running for over 2 years now and has even
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. ISSUE 111 . January 6, 2010 - JANUARY 19, 2010
HIP HOP - UK // DJ YODA
Master Yoda With a name like DJ Yoda, it won’t be surprising to hear that the UK DJ (otherwise known as Duncan Beiny) is one of the masters of his craft. Primarily a hip hop turntablist, Yoda scratches and mashes in a number of different genres and styles, often including an accompanying video scratched and mixed as well (as seen at the recent Falls Festival). Considered an AV pioneer and one of the UK’s most admired DJs, Yoda is back in Tasmania - ready to show us why he’s the master. What have been some of the highlights for you in the last year personally? Oh man, this job is so crazy, every week I’m somewhere different – I guess I’m really lucky. I’ve seen so much different stuff. This year the highlight; I got to go to Brazil for the first time and DJ there. That was one of the ones I really needed to tick off this year, so I’m glad I did that. And the festivals this year have been amazing. Glastonbury, I played to like 10,000 people, and it was a really amazing set, so that was a highlight too. What are you playing at the moment? Still kind of mash-ups…? I just have a really simple rule, which is – I just play anything that I like. And maybe the style that I play is hip hop, but the music is all over the place. It’s just some underground dance music from everywhere. Different stuff, whether it’s Brazilian, Jamaican, or dubstep, or drum and bass. Just all these different genres, and the best of all of it – in my opinion.
“…I think if you’re a talented DJ and you’ve got some sort of DJ skills, you’ll find some way to make it work....”
Do you then have to be careful about what you’re mixing together, or do you just make it work, make it fit? I just make it work, man. To me it’s really important to do that. I think a lot of DJs get pigeonholed into one genre of music, and you might have a DJ who’s known for say, drum and bass – so he feels like he can only play drum and bass. So if I rediscover an old song from the 60s that I like, I just play that. And then I’ll play a dubstep song next. I think if you’re a talented DJ and you’ve got some sort of DJ skills, you’ll find some way to make it work. And who stands out as someone you’ve performed with in the last 12 months that’s really impressed you? Different people for different stuff. Because I kind of get inspired by every DJ that I see. Even the really terrible ones, because it inspires me to not be that bad [laughs]. But people in the UK like Scream, Annie Mac…. What keeps you enthused about doing this, because this is not your first year of doing it, is it? [Laughs] No, it’s not my first year – you’re right. You know what? I have a genuine passion for music. When I’m not DJing, I spend my days just trawling the internet for music, and I would be doing that if I wasn’t getting paid for it – it’s my love. It’s amazing that I can get to do that and put it to some use, because I’d be doing it and making mixes anyway. There seems to be two types of DJs: one that makes a third sound out of two or more tracks, and there are DJs that mix one track into the next one. Sometimes you play just a whole song, and then mix in another song, just play one song at a time and play all of it. For me, there’s not much point. iTunes could do that, you could have a CD playing by itself on a stage and it could do that. I think especially for people that are paid to come out and be a DJ, then you should be giving them something that you couldn’t do otherwise. Was there someone who inspired you in that respect? To perform the way you do? Not really with the video thing, that’s something I came up with by myself, because I was always dropping in little audio samples from movies into my DJ sets anyway, and then the technology came out that allowed me to mix and scratch the DVDs themselves, so it just kind of made sense for me to do that. But in terms of actually being up there with some skills – I mean all the hip hop DJs that I grew up with inspired me to do that. Like who? The list is just endless. The era that I grew up on was people like Jazzy Jeff, Qbert and Spin Bad… there’s hundreds of names, man. Do you see yourself on a timeline, a continuum of this – that there are people out there taking their inspiration from you now? Um, that’s really cool, if that’s the case! See him at Syrup, you will. 0 16 January @ Syrup, Hobart sDAVID WILLIAMS
Nathan Wheldon & T.T. (FOREIGN FILMS)
Hi Folks, Carl here filling in for Glenn this week while he’s off with the boys at Falls… So I played last night, and I thought it was ok. Some other people though it was ok so I guess it was ok. Young studs Your Damn Neighbours played next and stormed the stage with their usual rock prowess. It doesn’t matter how many times I watch these guys, I’m always amazed by Billy Bennett’s guitar work. let me paint the picture for those who still haven’t caught a show yet, it’s straight down the line 80’s glam metal, with a heavy dose of Mötley Crüe, and Billy soars above with tasteful harmonic squeals and licks for days. YDN will be back soon with a handful of new songs and a new EP.
Irish Murphy’s 211 Brisbane Street, Launceston
Last week was our Christmas Eve Eve Extravaganza (yes, it was the 23rd) and it was a corker! Three of Lonny’s finest acts and a packed house. Thank you Christmas and your horde of flyby expats! The evening started with ol’ mate Glenn, who is at Falls. Glenn makes a meal of every performance and seems to be completely absorbed by each song. Next to the stage was Foreign Films. These guys are so solid now and the songs just ooze off them. Foreign Films have a great new EP out and you should definitely go down to Mojo and check it out, or myspace.com/foreignfilms . Nathan Wheldon And The Two Timers were the final act for the night and were as slick as always. And they came with Christmas treats. A fitting end to what has been a great year of original music. These guys also have an EP out and you check them out at myspace.com/nathanwheldonandthetwotimers. Coming up next week we have the return of The Staunches. Somewhere between rock and hard rock, they put on a tight show and are very loud. Hounds Of Hiroshima will play their first and last show for Top Shelf just before singer Alex Wadley takes off for WA. They too will be armed with copies of their new EP. And the following week sees another return to Top Shelf with My Escapade. It feels like an age since I saw them last and can’t wait to see the new show.
· Live music 7 days a week· · Great meals in our family restaurant· · Shamrocks restaurant open 7 nights a week· · Wood fired pizza oven· · 3 bars including roof beer garden· · Outdoors in summer & cosy fires in winter· · Accommodation for genuine backpackers·
Scared yet? 0 12 November @ Republic Bar, Hobart 013 November @ Hotel New York, Ltn
I’d like to say a special thank you this week to Jase Howard who is tireless in his commitment to Top Shelf and original music. And thanks to Irish and our crew (except those who are at Falls) and everyone who keeps turning up. Here’s to another great year of local original music. Cheers! sCARL FIDLER & GLENN MOOREHOUSE PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONI M Reach for the Top Shelf! 0 Every Wednesday night @ Irish Murphy’s, Launceston
PAGE 12
Wednesday, January 6th The Staunches + Hounds of Hiroshima Wednesday, January 13th My Escapade + Glenn Moorhouse
. ISSUE 111 . January 6, 2010 - JANUARY 19, 2010
HITTIN’ DA CLUB @ Hotel New York
@ Lonnies
Tix Available Online www.republicbar.com
299 Elizabeth St North Hobart Ph. 6234 6954
Saturday 9th January
Thursday, 7th January
REPUBLIC BAR & CAFE
SOUNDSCAPE festival
AFTER-PARTY
Thursday 21st January
true
Friday 22nd January
live
WITH Grafton Primary
Ugly Duckling Adam Turner(TAS)
MIHIRANGI
SpinFX(VIC) + other guest Djs
+ LET THE CAT OUT $10
TIX: $25 w. Soundscape Wristband, $50 without. Strictly limited tix available at The venue
9pm
+UNLEASH THE NUGGET $15 PRE / $18 DOOR
9pm
+UNLEASH THE NUGGET $20 PRE / $22 DOOR
10pm
JANUARY Wednesday
6th
9pm
Thursday Friday Saturday
7th 8th 9th
9pm 10pm 11pm
South Side United: Dunn D
+ Akovo + Greeley + Skurge1 $4
Mihirangi + Let The Cat Out $10 Sugartrain $4 Soundscape Official After Party:
Ugly Duckling + Grafton Primary (DJ set) $25 with Soundscape wrist band
Sunday
10th
8:30pm
Tallular Rendall (UK)
Monday Tuesday
11th 12th
8:30pm 9pm
Takadimi Phil Edgely
Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
13th 14th 15th 16th
9pm 9pm 10pm 10pm
Sunday
17th
3pm
(In Beer Garden)
+ Joanna Quail $5
. ISSUE 111 . January 6, 2010 - JANUARY 19, 2010
Kitto + Daniel Champagne $4 Nick Charles The Robinsons $4 Simon Russel & Guilty As Charged $4 Republic All Stars
Monday Tuesday
18th 19th
9pm 8:30pm 9pm
4 Letter Fish Fee Whitler Blue Flies
PAGE 13
INSTRUMENTAL - SYDNEY // DECODER RING
Cracking the Decoder Currently enjoying a weekend of rain over Christmas break, Matt Fitzgerald of Decoder Ring has been forced inside to rest and watch the cricket. After a year in which the band released their two-disc sonic journey in the album They Blind the Stars, and The Wild Team and toured around Australia, including shows with Coldplay, he probably needs it. But as David Williams found out, there’s no rest for the Wild!
make something that was a bit more left of field than that. And the other type of music has the potential to have an impact that’s greater, when you take away the pop conventions and make it something that speaks on a more fundamental level…and if you look back through the history of music, most of the world’s music hasn’t really had vocals. It’s a relatively modern inventionist thing that it’s gotta have a vocal. I mean, classical music doesn’t, and I’m sure people didn’t say to Mozart or Beethoven, “why don’t you have a singer?” sDAVID WILLIAMS
“…What we’re trying to do is make a primal connection between the music and the visual, us and the audience...”
And no one’s asking Decoder Ring that question either. Come check out their special double set at MONA FOMA this January! 0 15 January @ PW1, Hobart
So when does the rest stop for you? When do you start performing again? We have actually been doing the music for a television commercial for autism, which Toni Collette’s doing the voiceover for, and Stephan Lance, who we worked with on Yolk, is doing that. So we’ve been working on that over the Christmas holidays giving something back [laughs].
SUNDA Y
17 jAN
Now that you’ve made it, it’s good to give something back to the industry. Even though we haven’t. In the hope of karma… We’re also working on the set for Tasmania, then of course we’ve got the Big Day Out. We’re about to head down and continue with our practices for those shows.
UARY
2010
I’m guessing a lot of that set will be made up of music from your most recent album, They Blind the Stars, and The Wild Team? The great thing about the show, is the fact that it is a two set show. So it will be the first time ever that we’ve been able to do the two sides of the Ring, so that’s going to be great. So the first set will be very much the second album, the ambient, atmospheric album, and then the second set will be more off the first album, and other albums as well, which tends to be a lot more kick and chargey second set. So it’s exciting to be able to do both those sides for the first time ever. The work does take you on a journey, so where do you want the audience to end up at the end of the show? We like people to have their own journeys rather than dictate where they land. I think the main thing is that they take off! [laughs] At the same time, I think the key thing for us is that it’s a new experience for people; ideally it takes them to another place – which is what we try to do when we play live Sounds like you’re looking forward to it more than just a regular gig? Yeah, we’re very excited about this one. I mean, the whole festival sounds fantastic. Brian Ritchie’s amazing the way he puts it together, and having John Cale….we’re big fans of The Velvet Underground and John Cale…We’ve also been very keen to get to Tasmania for ages, so to do it in a way where we can really have our full show…the nature of the festival is that the visual aspect has equal weight – so all aspects, it’s going to be awesome. Something a bit more sensory, a bit more carnal. Yeah, that’s very well put. You’re telling a story to a passive audience, and what we’re trying to do is make a primal connection between the music and the visual, us and the audience. Create a thematic space. How did you end up creating this type of music as opposed to any other? That’s a good questions [laughs]. You look back and ask yourself that all the time, just lots of synths and stereophonics at a very early age. But as a band – we were just sick of the way things were being done in such a straight up and down way, little mini songs and vocalists out the front with their egos. We wanted to
PAGE 14
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. ISSUE 111 . January 6, 2010 - JANUARY 19, 2010
Wednesday, 6 January
GIG GUIDE
GIG GUIDE 06/01/10/09 to 19/01/10
sHobart Republic Bar South side united Dunn D, Akovo, Greeley, Skurge1
Top Shelf: My Escapade + Glenn Moorehouse Irish Murphy’s Covered: John Harwood + Entropy
The Alley Cat The Sin & Tonics
sLaunceston
Brookfield Vineyard Tullulah Kendall
Irish Murphy’s Long Way Home
isobar Time Warp
Hotel New York Ian Carey + PD + Doctor J + Randall
sLaunceston
The Commercial Hotel Hard Drive
Irish Murphy’s Top Shelf: The Staunches + Hounds of Hiroshima
Lonnies Dance music & RnB
The Royal Oak Dave Adams
The Royal Oak Halfway To Forth
Thursday, 7 January
Sunday, 10 January
sHobart
sHobart
Republic Bar Mihirangi + Who Let The Cat Out
Republic Bar Tallulah Rendall + Joanna Quail
Syrup Mash Up Da Town: DJ Boucher
Raincheck Live Acoustic Music
sLaunceston
sLaunceston
Irish Murphy’s Kristy & Steve
Irish Murphy’s Glenn Moorehouse + Carl Fidler + Adam & Kelly + Reflector
The Royal Oak Sara-Jane & Hamish
The Royal Oak Live Music Thursday, 14 January sHobart Republic Bar Nick Charles Syrup Mash Up Da Town: DJ Boucher Brookfield Vineyard Jacob Boote The Venue The Sign + Argus The Brisbane Hotel Manchester Mourning + Mess O’ Reds Irish Murphy’s The Greenhouse: Takadimi + Wax Dr. West
Sunday, 17 January sHobart Republic Bar Republic All Stars + 4 Letter Fish
The Metz Ajax + Viney + Alex + Webber
Syrup I Luv Techno: Corney + Samex + Tristan Brookfield Vineyard Folk Night: Luke Watts
sLaunceston
The Brisbane Hotel Spawn of Possession + Malignus + On Your Feet Soldier + The Darkest Winter
Irish Murphy’s Tash & Caz
The Brisbane Hotel Spoonbill + VJ Dropbear + Acumen + Kireesh + Adusk
isobar Commercial Dance Music
Tuesday, 12 January
isobar Commercial Dance Music
Hotel New York Hopper + Doctor J + PD
The Royal Oak C.T and The Nighthawks
Friday, 15 January
Brookfield Vineyard Kamerunga
Irish Murphy’s Strap Daddy
Lonnies Dance music & RnB
The Bay Hotel Dub/Reggae Bonanza: Mark Pritchard + Radiofire + Simon Russel + Guilty as Charged
sHobart
sLaunceston
The Commercial Hotel DJ Shane
The Royal Oak Samuel Bester
Republic Bar The Robinsons
Irish Murphy’s Covered: Michael Clennett + Wolfe Brothers
Hotel New York Hopper + Cam + Doctor J + PD
Raincheck Live Acoustic Music
sHobart
sHobart
Irish Murphy’s Victor Charlie Charlie
Irish Murphy’s Brief Illusion
Friday, 8 January
Syrup La Casa: St.Nick + Matt B + Discotouch
sLaunceston
sLaunceston
sHobart
Republic Bar Takadimi
Irish Murphy’s Covered: Tim Davies + Dr. Fink
Brookfield Vineyard Kate Meehan + Skip Landy + Ian Beecroft + George DiAmbrosio
Monday, 11 January
Republic Bar Sugartrain
isobar Commercial Dance Music
Irish Murphy’s Covered: John Harwood + Dr. Fink
Republic Bar Phil Edgely
sLaunceston
Brookfield Vineyard Takadimi
Irish Murphy’s Long Way Home
The Brisbane Hotel ALL AGES & 18+: Destroyer 666 + Wardaemonic + Adamus Exul + The Wizar’d
Hotel New York Hopper + Cam + Doctor J + PD
Irish Murphy’s The Greenhoue: Australian Songwritiers Association: Shan Hooper + Katie de la Cruz + Nikki Collis + Jess Patmore sLaunceston Irish Murphy’s Ben Castles + Glen & Jade + Mally & Julz + Strap Daddy Monday, 18 January sHobart Republic Bar Fee Whitler sLaunceston Irish Murphy’s Ben Castles Tuesday, 19 January sHobart
sLaunceston
The Commercial Hotel Hard Drive
Irish Murphy’s Glenn Moorehouse
Lonnies Dance music & RnB
The Royal Oak Mihirangi + Fat Smalls
Wednesday, 13 January
The Royal Oak Rick Loves Anne
Irish Murphy’s Musical Challenge
Republic Bar Kitto + Daniel Champagne
Saturday, 16 January
Saturday, 9 January
Wednesday, 20 January
sHobart
sHobart
The Alley Cat Takadimi
Republic Bar Simon Russel & Guilty As Charged
isobar Time Warp
Brookfield Vineyard Steve Turner
The Alley Cat Vorn Doolette + The Moon Dogs
isobar Time Warp
Syrup Call It…: DJ Yoday + Dameza + Grotesque
Irish Murphy’s The Greenhouse: The Shelves + Ben Lawless Trio + HANNAH + Wax Dr. West
The Brisbane Hotel ALL AGES: Spawn of Possession + Malignus (Vic) + Separatist + The Darkest Winter 18+: Ove-Naxx + Toxic Lipstick + Idiot Lust + Wheelsfalloff + Fembot
Irish Murphy’s The Greenhouse: Little Cubas + The Trolls + DJ Dagwood
The Brisbane Hotel TasBattles 5: Chase & Larkien, Skugeone, Sporatik, Dee Dare, Oratoric & Paddles, Aimz
sLaunceston
isobar Commercial Dance Music
The Brisbane Hotel BugGirl + Sole Stickers
Irish Murphy’s
The Commercial Hotel DJ Skip Lonnies Dance music & RnB
sHobart Republic Bar Soundscape Official After Party: Ugly Duckling, Grafton Primary DJ Syrup Call It…: Act Yo Age + KIR + Adam Turner
Republic Bar Blue Flies sLaunceston
sHobart
. ISSUE 111 . January 6, 2010 - JANUARY 19, 2010
sLaunceston Irish Murphy’s Top Shelf. The Royal Oak Jay Fraser & Teinne
PAGE 15
IRISH MURPHY’S STREET PARTY, 24/12/09
Green Fingers All the freshest produce from The Greenhouse, Irish Murphy’s, Hobart. Good and targ Sauce dudes. How’s the hangover? I hope it’s not too bad. Cos at the Greenhouse, we got hair o’ the dog specials every Sunday and Wednesday with $12 beer and burgers. Big Burgers, all sorts, it’s good an’ that.
The Trolls.
Well it’s January and we’ve got some more lively coming at the Greeny for the month and surprises up our sleeves a’ plenty.
Thursday the 14th makes an excellent backto-back show of sheer excellence. Takadimi, the extreme progressive gypsy jump band from NSW does the chicken strut round Irish scratching up some fiddle and epic dancing tunes while you eat your burgers in amazement.
Wednesday the 13th sees the mossive return of epic slamming slide and percussion duo Little Cubas, these guys are really fun and you gotta come check em out. Word is they’ve been tucked away in the studio tapping away making themselves some devilish recordings to make their album which we’ll see unleashed on Hobart soon, but for this one we’ll see them strut out with awesome ska gigolos,
We’re also letting the cat amongst the pigeons with DJ Dagwood mixing it up in the front bar from 5pm bringing you some vintage grooves that you forgot you loved.
They’re dropping two sets of Balkan/roma/ gypsy and Russian influenced tunes on our ears and are accompanied with the equally progressive and fascinanting ‘House Work’. With Wax Dr. West completing the complement you’ll be shaking in your seats, but only if you can sit down long enough!
Wednesday Jan 20, one of our biggest line-ups ever features the soul singing duo The Shelves with their folk leanings giving you a rise. And welcoming Greenhouse newcomers to the stage – the Ben Lawless trio, that ain’t metal, it’s my brother! How would it be full without HANNAH jumping around like berserk pole cats and Wax Dr West hitting you straight in the hip. And as all good Wednesdays are followed by equally well endowed Thursdays we feature the return of the mighty Ray Martians, it’s been a year off and they’ve been working on their new shit with some more stomping in store. They’re ably accompanied by a new project, The Baxter Stockman featuring some amazing musicians, we haven’t heard these guys yet but it’s guaranteed to be really interesting. And
then of course DJ Dagwood rounds it out with a roundhouse kick of funk. Stay tuned and stick around, we’ve got more to announce soon, of note will be our Irish Murphy’s Blues and Roots Australia Day Eve Massive with the likes of Linc and the Insiders, the Little Cubas and another dose of the Middletones there’s more to announce and it’s upciting. Also – St Paddy’s Day is looming, stay tuned for that shindig! Choice dudes!
sFERT
Get seedy in The Greenhouse: 0 Every Sunday - Thursday night @ Irish Murphy’s, Hobart
ROCK - CANADA // THE WEAKERTHANS
Literary Bent “I think that’s one of music’s great powers - to kind of make you feel less alone somehow.” John Samson’s ruminations on music and literature as loyal companions are worth listening to. Both forms of art have sustained the avid reader and spiritual leader of Canadian indie rockers The Weakerthans for as along as he can remember. “I do find a great comfort in reading,” says the singer-songwriter and part-time publisher on the phone from hometown Winnipeg. “It’s something that has always kept me company in the way that music does.” Samson left legendary Manitoba punk protagonists Propagandhi in the mid-90s to write his own page in rock history. He formed The Weakerthans in 1997 and the group has since released four thoughtful albums of literary, skewed pop, most recently 2007’s ambient Reunion Tour. “I grew up wanting to be a fiction writer or a poet and I’m really interested in the spoken word idea,” says Samson, a big fan of novelists John Berger and Australian Peter Carey. “Lyrics have always been a large part of my interest in music and so the spark comes from the words themselves and the way they sound and of course what they mean. “On Reunion Tour there is a spoken word song and it’s the first one we’ve actually done. A lot of people would say that my singing style in general is less sung than spoken in a way but I do think there is a difference between poetry and PAGE 16
lyrics. When you combine words with melodies something kind of mysterious and excellent does occur often.” Performing live is also a necessary means of expression for Samson. And as a result The Weakerthans have barely had time to draw a breath in two years. “I especially enjoy playing live and being able to go somewhere and have a musical conversation with an audience,” he says.
“…The spark comes from the words themselves and the way they sound and of course what they mean...”
The quartet’s forthcoming Australian visit, their first here despite numerous offers, will be their only tour commitments during what Samson hopes will be a restful Canadian winter. “That is certainly worth breaking our time off for,” he says of the band’s impending February dates. “This will be the final tour for the Reunion Tour record and it’s kind of fitting that it’s to a place that we’ve never been before. “We’ve pretty much gone pretty hard with the touring life and have also been doing other projects with what we call our free time. We do often spend more time than perhaps we should not making records but touring them. But we do really enjoy playing live shows. “We’re often quite quiet live and so we need four walls and people cramped together to make it work right,” he adds. “But we do our best with the rock festival shows too. It’s an entertaining challenge to try to stand up there and capture people’s attention - even if they don’t want to listen to something quiet.” sSTEVE TAUSCHKE
The Weakerthans tour nationally on the Soundwave festival in February/March. . ISSUE 111 . January 6, 2010 - JANUARY 19, 2010
gig reviews
KEVIN BLECHOM AND BARNWAVE + CHARLES DU CANE @ The Brisbane Hotel, 19 December. Charles Du Cane showed us how it was done! He managed to incorporate a Guitar Hero Wii guitar into his backing track reliant karaokeesque performance. I have seen this on many occasions, but was struck by how fantastic he looked with the miniature Wii guitar slung around his shoulders. Using samples from Salt and Pepper, his Guitar Hero skills really set off his kooky set. His hit ‘Judgment Day’ was exceptionally good, and so were his new tracks. If I am not mistaken, they had the makings of massive hits. This artist has matured slightly, and I can’t wait to hear his new album. US touring artists Kevin Blechdom and Barnwave then stormed the stage, delivering a quite experimental set, to be expected considering they’re signed to Dual Plover, Australia’s foremost experimental label. Starting out on a quiet note... Kevin’s piano playing and gorgeous voice seemed to pave the
way for what can only be described as a cabaretesque electro pop mayhem...gone down an dirty. At one point she descended from the stage to tap out a tap solo...yep! Tap dancing, into the microphone. Big red frilly skirt swinging and head shaven - Blechdom’s performance was athletic to say the least.
THE SCIENTIST’S OF MODERN MUSIC @ Republic Bar, 26 December.
Barnwave, who seemed to strip an item of clothing per song whilst pounding out electronic drum beats and samples, was eventually reduced to a mankini. His risqué performance gave new light to the concept of cock rock… The highlights for me where the Kylie Minogue cover, ‘Can’t Get You Out of My Head’ - it was electric.
TSOMM’s massive local fan base was out in force, the venue was crowded and packed to capacity. The local duo served more than a double helping of their brand of indie electro pop, with a high energy and invigorating performance.
It was an exciting night for the Brisbane Hotel. It was good to see some experimental music pushing the boundaries once more. Hopefully more Dual Plover artists will tour to Tasmania. After all, music was never meant to be complacent!
It was Boxing Day, everyone got their tickets early, and excitement was in the air. After all, it’s not every day The Scientists of Modern Music (TSOMM) put on a sell out hometown gig.
Debuting new material, TSOMM reached new highs. I quite enjoyed the new tracks. One track was very reminiscent of The Cure, which I loved! However, I was a little shocked; this was a direction I had not expected them to take. They did play all their old favorites however, which definitely got the crowd pumping.
Decked in their regular black and white outfits, Cal and Simon seemed to be having fun on stage. I liked it when Simon played the electric guitar - he also pulled out the drumsticks as well as his usual electronic rig. Cal really worked the crowd; his performance was very charismatic, as he pulled out several new rock ’n’ roll moves... At one point they both played the same guitar. It was beautiful moment. I was struck by this band’s professionalism; their music was quite polished and shiny. After visiting their Myspace, I was also struck by their humor. They may or may not be Jason Donovan’s love children, but their glam fronted beat driven pop really made me wanna dance like crazy... and since the dance floor was rather crowded, everyone else seemed to agree! I loved this bands enthusiastic and fun set. sZOE ZAC
sZOE ZAC
Alcohol is a drug too! THINK BEFORE YOU DRINK
To find out more call the DEN Information & Referral Service
1300 369 319 Email dutyofficer@den.org.au
www.den.org.au
Original artwork by Tasmanian student Elise Bosveld
PAGE 18
. ISSUE 111 . January 6, 2010 - JANUARY 19, 2010
DANCE - JAPAN // OVE-NAXX
Get Ove It! It’s not often in Tasmania that you can catch an experimental Japanese breakcore artist perform. Eclectic in taste and style, he is currently signed to the Japanese label Adaadat Records. Although the English may be a little broken, we asked Ove-Naxx (real name Isao Sano) a few questions about his very well put together and quirky sets.
I hear you started by doing impromptu gigs on the street. How was your act received? OVE-NAXX began his career playing impromptu gigs to passers by on the streets of New York. He soon decided to take things to the next level. Playing one gig frozen in a block of ice, and another balancing atop a forty-foot wooden pole…His next project is to perform live for forty-four days straight locked inside a glass box in London. What motivates him? Nobody really knows. Now I’m hitting a 32 Pad to make sound! Coming from far away to play here, what has been the most interesting place your music has taken you? Made wife and son. Happened in Australia.
Your breakcore music features a mixture of many different styles, including deathmetal, j-pop and dancehall – including the odd farm animal. Where does your inspiration come from? Maybe I am greedy like a hungry pig that wants to eat everything: cheese, rice, cake, BBQ, pasta, miso-soup. Eat it all together at the same time, and sh*t it out later. That’s my music! You’ve been described as a ‘breakcore monster’ – what do you think it is about your shows or your music that’s given you this reputation? Soon people will call me ‘sweet fairy’, no more monster. Am tired of being a monster, not anymore. I wanna make sweet and funky music.
What’s in store for Ove-Naxx in 2010? New stuff will coming around Spring with 12” vinyl 3 new tracks on 45 rpm! 1 track working with Japanese rapper called Chinza Dopenss he is AWESOME. It’s out on a Japanese lable. Ee looking for Distribution in Australia too. I also have a plan for a new Album in 2010! And am thinking some free MP3 download releases too. Check it out!
sMEEGAN MAY
I think I’m turning Japanese... 0 9 Jan @ The Brisbane Hotel, Hobart
“…I have nice beats and super cool rhythm...”
Adver tisement
On average, 1 in 4 hospitalisations of people aged 15 -24 happen beca use of alcohol.
www.australia.gov.au/drinkingnightmare
Authorised by the Australian Government, Capital Hill, Canberra.
. ISSUE 111 . January 6, 2010 - JANUARY 19, 2010
PAGE 19
DANCE - SYDNEY // AJAX
Keen to make up for his cancelled December gig, Ajax is ready to clean up the town when he hits up Hobart in January. The former lecturer at the College for Fine Arts at UNSW is also ready to teach us a lesson in dance music, especially for all those who missed his class last time. Born with the more average name of Adrian Thomas, it wasn’t long after he started spinning discs and picked up the Ajax tag that he teamed up with a few new friends in the biz to form the Bang Gang DJs. The Bang Gang DJs, also known as ‘professional trashbags’ or Jaime Doom, Dangerous Dan, Gus da Hoodrat, DJ Damage and Double Nolan, have been on the forefront of
Sweat it Out with Ajax!
innovation in the Australian dance music scene, with a reputation growing from simply throwing the best parties around. Nowadays they’re known for nurturing new talent, killer releases, and still some pretty great party nights. A few years later after teaming up with the Bang Gang, Ajax had perfected his skills enough to be voted number one in the Technics inthemix50 in 2006 and 2007, also managing to pick up Allen & Heath DMA Best Australian DJ and Best Mixed CD 2006, 3D World DD of the Year 2002, 2004, 2005, among other accolades for the electro mash up star. The music that’s been getting him to the top of DJ polls is also the same
stuff that’s getting to the top of Dance charts across the country. Featuring heavily on Bang Gang, Ministry of Sound and Onelove Releases, Ajax also manages his own label Sweat It Out; hosting artists such as Gameboy/Gamegirl, Act Yo Age, KillaQueenz, Miami Horror, and of course himself. As temperatures rise across the country, there’s no doubt Ajax will be there to Sweat It Out in a club near you – and we’ve been promised that he’ll make it this time! Get sweaty: 17 January @ The Metz, Hobart
Wed 6th January Dave Adams and friends in the bar Thurs 7th january Sara-Jane and Hamish in the bar Fri 8th january Mihirangi w/ Fat Smalls in the Boatshed $12 cover Sat 9th January Halfway To Forth (E.P launch) in the bar Wed 13th January Live music in the bar Thurs 14th January Samuel Bester in the bar Fri 15th January Rick Loves Anne in the bar Sat 16th January C.T and The Nighthawks in the boatshed $5 cover Open Folk Group every Sunday from 5PM
THE SUITCASE Touring Travel Tips with Bass Kleph.
GREAT FOOD
What was the last vacation you took outside of your heavy touring schedule? Vacation? I’m always on Vacation ;)
OPEN MIC NIGHT
THE LAST WEDNESDAY
OF EVERY MONTH
OPEN 7 DAYS
14 Brisbane Street, Launceston 6331 5346
Aside from your records, what are the three most essential items you make sure you bring with you on tour and why? All I need is the three P’s. A palm tree, a piña colada, and pants. (The last one is optional). Aside from your own, which three records do you always pack when on the road? Anything by Tommy Trash, fRew, Dave Winnel, or Hook N Sling. What is your favourite article of stage clothing and why? I don’t have one. I DJ nude. Didn’t you know? Where was the last place you went on tour and how was it? I just came back from a loooong tour all over Canada, UK, Spain, Netherlands, and Russia. The shows were awesome! The people and places too. I love playing abroad, as each country has it’s own style and scene that you can embrace. Australia has it’s own too, and it’s always great to get back and get amongst it!
ASA and Irish Murphy's The Greenhouse present ‘Wax Lyrical’
You’ve recently had a big overseas tour, so what’s the most extreme example of culture shock you’ve experienced while traveling? Moscow. Def Moscow. Weirdest thing is that Sushi is huuuuge over there. Like on ever corner. Great for me though, as Sushi is probably my favourite food!
Shan Hooper
Sunday 17th January
Katie de la Cruz Nikki Collis
What do you most look forward to most when you arrive home? Sleeping in my own bed! That, and not living out of a suitcase. Then, it would have to be my family, all my friends, and my neighborhood. What’s in store for the summer? Where can we expect to be seeing Bass Kleph? Loads of touring! (For a change, haha) I’m DJing all over Australia through the summer. Then in March I have a single out of Ministry of Sound (called ‘Sunshine’), and I’m mixing a new CD for them too. I’m also playing the Good Vibrations Festival tour, and then in April I’m back off abroad to tour the States, and Europe again.
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Jess Patmore 8.30pm - 10.30pm
Check out Bass Kleph on the Ministry of Sound’s Clubber’s Guide Stage at this year’s MSFest! 0 6 February @ Inveresk Showgrounds, Launceston
FREE ENTRY 21 Salamanca Place, Hobart Ph: 6223 1119
. ISSUE 111 . January 6, 2010 - JANUARY 19, 2010
DANCE - UK // COPYRIGHT
Copyright Defected In Da House Gavin Mills and Sam Holt are better known as Copyright, the international DJ duo signed to Defected. They have been rocking beats on dance floors for over 10 years. With a solid reputation as hot producers and skilful DJs, they come to us with news of their summer residency at Pacha, they explain why they do not have a normal life and why their new Ibiza 09 mix is the first of its kind. You’ve been playing together for a long time now, would you actually consider yourselves veterans of the scene? Sam: It’s been 10 years now, I feel like a veteran (laughs), I was chatting to Axwell the other week and he said ‘we are all now veterans of the scene’, so maybe we are, Gav is a veteran. Gav: I’m feeling like a veteran because you see all these kids out on the dancefloor and think, wait a minute, this is a whole new generation now, so yeah, I feel like a veteran of the scene. Sam: About a year ago, someone came up to me in a club and they actually asked me what music we were playing, I said ‘its house music’ and she said (shes probably about 18) ‘What is that?’ and I thought, we all have a job to do here, we’ve got to keep on going, keep pushing house music so the young people get into it, buts its true, they’ve never heard of it. It is true to say that you are actually now headlining a lot of events, especially at Ibiza? Gav: We’ve just consistently put out records that other DJs are playing, we’ve never had the big hit record, we’ve just released a constant stream of stuff that other DJs are into and other clubs are playing. Sam: Sometimes we get surprised when we play our own records at gigs and the whole room goes crazy and we realise ‘Oh, this is big in France’, sometimes you surprise yourself. When you’re making records, what’s Copyrights musical philosophy, what elements should the songs you produce always have? Sam: I think you start from the beats up, get rocking beats, that’s always our foundation. Gav: The rhythm is always the starting
foundation, and then when we’re working with singers, we try not to write throw away songs. When we’re thinking of a song we try to think of a subject and write a song with a bit of a story, quite often if you listen to our lyrics there is a deeper meaning in there. You’ve been in Ibiza constantly for the last 6/7 years, what do you think its got in store for you this year? Sam: Well first of all this year its Saturdays at Pacha for Defected, which is a massive step up. To have an Ibizan residency at Pacha for us is a massive thing and something we’re really, really excited about. For all the aspiring DJs out there can you try and explain to them as best you can what it feels like to actually be in front of that crowd at peak time on a Saturday night at Pacha? Gav: There’s something special about getting behind the decks at Pacha, it’s got an amazing sound system and it’s got one of the best crowds who are there purely because they love the music. Sam: When were making records we try and imagine playing it at Pacha, that shows how we value it, that is almost as good as it gets. Can you explain to us what it’s like not having a normal life like other people, where you can do normal things on a Friday or Saturday, how does that feel for you? Gav: Well, you have to have a very understanding Wife or Girlfriend, that goes without saying. Sam: Our weekend nights are Wednesday and Thursday, its very important to go out and have some fun, if its all in the studio or all travelling its too much. So I’ve found I’ve got quite a few hangovers on Friday mornings going to Heathrow (laughs).
“…I’m feeling like a veteran because you see all these kids out on the dancefloor and think, wait a minute, this is a whole new generation now...”
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RESIDENT EVIL: THE DARKSIDE CHRONICLES Capcom, Wii It must be really shitty being a zombie. Here you are, minding your own business on your nightly shamble, innocently looking out for somebody whose brains you can pick and invariably some arsehole comes along and blows your head off – usually scoring extra points for a clean hit. Shitty! If you saw the ‘Resident Evil’ bit up there in the heading you may be thinking along the lines of, “Cool, more adventurey goodness,” however you’d be wrong. Much as with Capcom’s earlier Wii-exclusive The Umbrella Chronicles, The Darkside Chronicles is a reimagining of sorts of past Resident Evil tales – this time the second instalment for the most part - in the form of a decidedly more mindless, but no less engrossing, survival horror shooter. It all happens ‘on rails’, which means your movement is at the game’s whim, utilising an increasingly full-on collection of weaponry to blow away hapless shamblers and other icky creatures when they lob into your field of view. As such the camera has a habit of swinging around quite wildly – which brings us to warn you, if you’ve overindulged it may cause you to toss your cookies wildly too. So, think arcade fave Time Crisis with severe eczema and you’ll be partway there. There’s more story here, which can sometimes frustrate when you just want to dead the undead, but calm the itch for a minute and you should find it quite involving. They say recycling is good, so kudos to Capcom for doing it and making the end product rather disturbingly entertaining. 8/10 AMY FLOWER
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MAN2MAN’s New Web Site HIV & Tassie Youth Ecstasy & It’s Risks Coming Out in Tassie
DVD REVIEW: CEDAR BOYS Directed by: Serhat Caradee What could’ve been an important expose into the oft-discussed Lebanese community instead plays out like an enjoyable but hollow Aussie take on Smokin’ Aces. That’s not a bad thing, it just means people will likely be paying to see one thing and getting another.
Taylor plays a young woman who Tarek gets involved with, seemingly to try and gain acceptance beyond his own culture…. At least that’s what I think was the deal there?
... he’s merely just playing the same character he played in the Hollywood action Smokin’ Aces. And he was just as forgettable in that, too.
Big-timers Rachael Taylor (Transformers, Shutter) and Martin Henderson (Torque, Windtalkers) return home to feature in Serhat Caradee’s debut feature, the story of three Lebanese lads who hatch a getrich quick scheme that ultimately blows up in their face. Friends Tarek (Les Chantery), Nabil (Buddy Dannoun) and Sam (Waddah Sari) are all looking for more from their lives. Solution? Rob some drug-dealers. Before they know it, the three men have the cops and a gang of serious criminals (Martin Henderson, Daniel Amalm) on their tail.
You see, much like the intrigue and ostensible impetus of the film, Taylor’s character inexplicably disappears from proceedings half-way through the film….
It’s as if she was suddenly called back to the states to do re-shoots on a pricier, seemingly more important studio flick. Or maybe Caradee just realized her character was an unnecessary last-minute tack-on? No, I don’t completely agree with that – there could’ve been a great cross-cultural romance subplot here, but there’s not. As for Henderson, can’t quite figure out what attracted him to the film - not because he has nothing to do - in fact, it looks like he’s having a bit of fun - but because he’s merely just playing the same character he played in the Hollywood action Smokin’ Aces. And he was just as forgettable in that, too. Much more memorable than his Hollywood counterparts, Les Chantery is a revelation as Tarek. He’s one of the film’s saving graces. He really does carry the film. And despite the injustices of the story, or the second-half dip, he remains a commanding presence – you want to
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follow his journey. Chantery is going to go far. With a tweak here and there, and a bit more emphasis on the Lebanese community, there could’ve been more of a reason for the film to exist. But look, it’s a commendable debut for Caradee, one that proves he’s a confident, adaptable filmmaker – one that’ll hopefully hit it out of the park next time around. Extras A few interesting extras on here - a handful of webisodes (fixing on the location scout, the casting - and so on), a making-of, a behind-the-scenes featurette, and a Q&A with the cast and crew - but nothing that’ll be of any real interest to those that didn’t think much of the film. 2/5 CLINT MORRIS
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$40 Fashionista REBECCA TAYLOR Model: Emily Cappelletti There’s plenty of party season left. Time to frock up and get fancy. This usually means throwing on a pair of heels, and let me say, there are some really amazing high heels in shops at the moment. I have personally developed a shoe crush on too many pairs to mention. The problem with heels is the pain they inflict on the feet of the girl (or maybe guy?) who is wearing them. Don’t be fooled in to thinking that some girls get away pain free. Heels can be a potential source of torture for anyone, even models well seasoned in the art of their adornment. And don’t for a second think that ‘party feet’ will improve the situation. Those sticky rounds of gel feel like bliss…for five minutes, until they flatten themselves to the insoles and become one with the shoes that will soon become the pinnacles of pain. Well, thank God someone invented wedges. While they may not be quite as fancy or as glamorous as some of the high heels around, they are improving in their style, and they are more comfortable by a mile. So when you are choosing your shoes and getting ready to head out for a night of dancing and frivolity, take a moment to think about who made up the saying, “no pain, no gain”. Perhaps they were wrong?
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STREET FASHION
Name: Britney Age: 18 Favourite Music: Coldplay Going to any festivals this summer? MS Fest
Name: Georgia Age: 16 Favourite Music: I love everything Going to any festivals this summer? MS Fest
2010 will be my year. This is it. New year. New decade.
, I am going to carry the excitement of New Year s Eve and run with it. , I am going to leap into the unknown. I am going to become whatever I want to be. I m going places. , , This is not a New Year s resolution, it s a revelation. My future is going to be massive. , , I m going to make it happen. I m going to be a success story. I can and I will make 2010 my year. UTAS5088_06rj
I know what I want. I want to move forward. Now YOUR WAY FORWARD. 13UTAS www.utas.edu.au
. ISSUE 111 . January 6, 2010 - JANUARY 19, 2010
show me the red door.
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Friday, 8th of January DJ Skip Saturday, 9th of January Hard Drive Friday, 15th of January Hard Drive Saturday, 16th of January DJ Shane
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. ISSUE 111 . January 6, 2010 - JANUARY 19, 2010