Sauce - Issue 54, 31-10-07

On the street every second Wednesday

Edition #54 31/10/07 - 13/11/07 Made in Tasmania

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PAGE 2

PEGZ

STRIKE A MATCH, AND WATCH THE CITY BURN HIP-HOP

By Dave Williams

There’s a time for business, and a time for pleasure, and for Pegz – CEO of Obese Records – it’s definitely time for pleasure … with the release of his latest LP, Burn City, letting him get back to the fun side of making hip-hop.

He spoke to me about the sound of the release, and the struggles of bringing Oz hip-hop into the national spotlight.

What’s the part about [Burn City] that pleases you the most? What gives you the most pride? What are you most happy about what you did, or didn’t do? What thing about this album really turns you on?

Well I think the most important thing is … I mean, this might sound a bit silly, but I think it’s an album which doesn’t have a weak song on it. They’re pretty rare these days, and I kind of feel that … I wanted the album to sort of pay homage to the people that I grew up listening to … I’ve got a nice sort of feeling that some of my idols growing up would have really liked this album … Yeah – I just think it really represents my sort of love for hip-hop.

For me, it’s an album that has, in ways, similarities with things like It Takes A Nation Of Millions to Hold Us Back and also College Dropout – it’s political, but it’s musical; it’s tough but it’s sensitive, you know? Where did all this come from? It’s different from pretty much anything that’s out there in Australia right now, I think.

Yeah, I don’t know where it comes from, man … I think, you know, it’s just really being honest, I think; having that honesty with a little dash of attitude or whatever … I don’t know – it just comes out like that, man.

Obviously, there are things that I’m concerned about, or things I believe in, and I just like to put everything in there, you know what I mean? Whether it be my insecurities or my confidence or whatever – it’s just the whole spectrum of the way I feel about stuff, and, you know, what I care about, I guess.

The only thing that concerns me about this album is that I think older people, not in your classic CD-buying age of fourteen to twenty-five – that’s your prime CD-buying age these days – I see this album really appealing to the twenty-five-plus … Where do you see the appeal for this album?

Yeah, I think that’s an interesting point. I think, probably … it’s hard to say, but I think it might take a few listens for a fourteen-year-old to get into – you know what I mean?

There’s a lot of life experience in there, which, probably, some people will have to really digest over a few listens before they really get it, I think.

But yeah, I think it’s kind of weird that it does appeal to older people as well, and not only hip-hop-heads, which bugs me out a little bit as well. Like, I’ve got a whole lot of bloody thrash metal fans and fans from every bloody genre out there, you know?

That bugs me out as well. So I think my music … it seems to cross a lot of boundaries and borders, I think. I don’t know why it does – I just think it’s just the honesty in there.

How long did it take to put together? How long ago did you start writing? You obviously have been fitting it in between running Obese and looking after other artists.

Is that how it’s happened?

Basically yeah … As soon as I finished Axis, I was hard at work writing; I already had a few songs and a few concepts by the time Axis had come out.

So it’s been a pretty steady writing process, ever since I even recorded a couple of songs last year sometime, and did the majority of the recording this year. So some of the songs are, you know, two to three years old, and the rest have been written over the last, say, eighteen months I guess.

In terms of the production, are you the master in terms of the beats as well?

Well I don’t do all the production – it’s Jase, Plutonic Lab and Suffa – but I selected every beat on there, and I was so cautious about having a particular sound, and the sound just, you know, had to be organic; it had to have attitude.

It just had to be sort of unique – I don’t think there’s been an album which had such a consistency of that type of sound before, where it was sort of a rock-type soul …

Five of the songs have really strong horns running through them; five of the songs have strong guitars, and there’s a little bit of jazz in there to help off-set some of those other beats. Yeah, I’m really happy with the production.

I went through two-hundred-and-fifty-odd beats to get those fifteen that are on the album, so [I am] extremely picky when it comes to choosing the right beats. The vision for Burn City was always to make sure that I had this sound that really represented the 70s … early 70s to late 60s, I guess.

For me, the production overall has a tougher feel than a lot of the more popular or commercial-type hip-hop out there, which is really using a lot of the orchestral-type, soaring jazz sort of stuff. And for me, I loved it – as soon as I started hearing some of the rock stuff on there, I was just really, really pleased … Going back to loving the whole Tougher Than Leather … that sort of sound that Run DMC came out with … that whole rock-rap connection.

Absolutely, yeah. I think that’s an interesting point. I think, you know, as hip-hop-heads, look, we appreciate every genre of music out there.

Often the perception is that we’re quite narrow-minded, and love playing with little drum machines and synthesisers, but

… Australians, or this media in general, just wasn’t interested in hearing what an everyday Australian had to say …

the truth is, a true hip-hop-head will appreciate every type of genre of music, and understand the roots of the music; understand the evolution of what has made hip-hop – why it is hip-hop … where it had come from before them … it’s journey from way back to the blues, into the jazz, into the big bang, into the be-bop, into the soul, into the funk and the rock … just understanding that hip-hop is a mish-mash of every type of music out there.

It’s everything to me. Music … I’ve given a hundred percent to it over the last six years with the last three albums, and, yeah, it’s just weird now that I probably won’t … I definitely won’t be doing a solo record again.

It’s the first time in six years that I’ve had a month-anda-half off writing, and haven’t written one thing. It’s kind of weird, yeah.

To what extent does this album really give you an injection of love for life, and love for living? It must be such an energising, uplifting experience, compared with the tough and, I guess at times mundane aspects of running a business.

I guess there is a contrast of having to deal with the responsibilities of running a business. But, because I am a goldfish, I have totally forgot that f*cking question! Could you please repeat it, bro? [Laughs]

There are a couple of lines that I want to ask you about in a couple of tracks. I remember the line, “Drums bangin’ like Heidi Klum.”

Yeah, well, I didn’t know that her name was Heidi “Klume” [Laughs] So someone pulled me up on that straight away, and I was like, “f*ck!” But yeah, that’s just … I like Heidi, because she seems just like a kooky model … she just seems like a good, soulful person … so she got a shout. And she rhymes with “mighty drums” – that helps.

[Laughs]

I sometimes feel like I want to just draw pictures, just because I want to get back in touch with something that I just love doing, rather than just sending out invoices and paying bills and sh*t. I was just thinking – I reckon that this CD, for you, would have been like me drawing pictures.

I was just wondering to what extent has it kept you going? Does it re-energise you for the business side, and feed your soul?

Absolutely, man. I don’t think I’d be able to be, you know, a successful sort of businessman without making the music, you know? It’s my soul food – it keeps me alive. It’s everything to me, you know what I mean?

The fact that I get so inspired and so pumped by being surrounded by pretty talented people – really talented people – and hearing so much music … I’m really grateful to be in this position … It’s like a constant kick in the arse to remind me of why I am here, and to really sort of try and make the most of this opportunity of being inspired constantly, you know? It’s my relief.

Now, into The Fight – this really goes to the centre of the whole growth of Oz hip-hop, and whether we can export it off-shore. You say, “I used to think it was the tone of our voice, but it’s the voice of our own we’ve grown to avoid.” Can you explain that a little bit to me?

Well I just think, being at the front-line of trying to break artists, especially five/six years ago when I bought the business, I think it was just so difficult, and there was so much frustration to get any recognition, or any love off, you know, particular media.

It was just a real sh*t-fight I think, you know? At the beginning … even distributors wouldn’t even touch any of our releases. No one would review it.

So I just dealt with a tonne of frustration there, and I felt, really, that Australians, or this media in general, just wasn’t interested in hearing what an everyday Australian had to say, you know what I mean? I felt like they were more interested in somebody else’s lifestyle, or [that] our opinions didn’t matter as much as overseas artists, because maybe the music … the perception for them of the music is

of, like, music from America. Any Australian – or anything outside of that – is a watered-down version of hip-hop. And it goes deeper than that; I think, in general, there doesn’t seem to be enough of a voice for the average Australians like myself.

You do talk about life as an everyday working person, in tracks like Burn City and Tuxan Factory … I’m guessing that’s about the shoe polish, yeah?

Yeah, that’s about when I was growing up doing graffiti; there was a place called the Tuxan Factory in South Melbourne, and it was known as the best sort of graffiti … spot for inks and stuff. It was famous, you know?

I guess I just wanted to give that a bit of a shout, because it was quite a special part of my life; being young and rebellious and living day-to-day. I think the vocal overdub on the beats sort of explains, or tries to capture [that] … when you were young, it was just living day-to-day, and not having the pressures of “Where am I going to be living in ten years? Am I going to be able to feed myself? Do I have a career? What is my social status?” or whatever – you know what I mean? And I think Tuxan Factory was more about capturing that, yeah.

You’re coming to play in Tassie in the not-too-distant future. Can you tell me who you’re going to be bringing with you? What’s the show going to be like?

Well basically I’ll be bringing DJ Bonez and an up-andcoming MC, Patto. As you can probably tell, the record is geared towards big shows, so just head-down for the next month … We want to put together a show on par … well, not “on par”, but if it’s half as good as the Hilltop Hoods … Just a really entertaining show.

To listen to an MP3 of the full interview, go to www. sauce.net.au Burn City is out now.

Pegz plays at The Republic Bar on Staturday 22nd December PAGE 3

NEWS DADDY COOL

GUITARIST

SUFFERS ROBBERY A tragedy has befallen Ross Hannaford, the guitarist of iconic Australian band Daddy Cool.

In the early hours of Saturday morning Ross Hannaford’s white 1989 Toyota Hi-Ace Van QRN 479 was stolen from a Yarraville street.

Event Director, Ian Scobie released details of a selection of artists appearing at WOMADelaide 2008 today to coincide with the launch of the Adelaide Bank Festival of Arts program. “Here we are – sixteen years on from the first WOMADelaide in the 1992 Adelaide Festival – with a program as rich in its diversity and scope as any we have produced.”

Returning to Adelaide from 7th – 9th March 2008, WOMADelaide celebrates the planet’s rich and diverse cultures over three nights and two days of music, arts and dance.

WOMADelaide is one of Australia’s most significant arts, cultural and entertainment events, and the 2008 festival will see more than four hundred artists from seventeen countries perform in the city’s Botanic Park.

CONTENTS HIP-HOP

22-24

ROCK SALT

25-28

BANGERS & MASH

14

CD REVIEWS

16-17

GIG GUIDE

29

COMDEY

29

SPOTLIGHT

30

STREET FASHION & EYEBALL KICKS

Phone: Advertising: Editorial:

03 6331 0701 advertising@sauce.net.au editorial@sauce.net.au

Editor David Williams

Sub Editor

Journalist Chris Rattray

Graphic Designer Chris Titmus

david@sauce.net.au

crattray@sauce.net.au

Tom Wilson

twilson@sauce.net.au

ctitmus@sauce.net.au

Next Edition Deadline : 9th November

Sauce #55, 14th November - 27th November Thanks To Our Contributors: Ryan Farrington, Ian Murtagh, Clara Murray, Zackery Blackstone, Eloise Gurr, Patrick Duke, Felix Blackler, Shannon Stevens, Lisa Howell, Toni Tambourine, Phil Cheeseman, Dave Walker and Maura Bedloe Opinions expressed in Sauce are not necessarily those of the editor, publisher or staff.

PAGE 4

INDUCTED INTO ARIA

HALL OF FAME WOMADELAIDE 2008 PREVIEW VANESSA AMOROSI LINE UP ANNOUNCED TODAY

The van was most likely stolen by joy The fifteenth anniversary festival in 2007 riders, but the real loss is the musical attracted 78,000 attendances, and, with equipment concealed under a tarpaulin a steady growth in attendances since its in the back. inception in 1992, organisers are once again preparing to host record crowds.

Ross has lost all his amplifiers, his main guitar, and all his effects pedals. True to Hanna’s totally eccentric style, these are Six stages, a Global Village of more than one hundred stalls showcasing food, no ordinary instruments. arts and crafts from around the world, They are one-offs and customised the hugely popular KidZone together with designs. Sources claim that Hannaford a site program that includes visual arts, “Ross is not interested in anything but roving performers, installations, Taste the recovering his beloved instruments,” World and more are providing this event and is hoping public exposure may see with the diversity and broad-based cultural offerings that characterise WOMADelaide. them returned.

3-20

NICK CAVE

The full WOMADelaide 2008 program will be launched in January 2008. For more information visit www.womadelaide.com.au Nick Cave – prolific songwriter, singer, author, screenwriter and composer – was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame at the 2007 ARIA Awards, held last Sunday at Sydney Olympic Park. This has made Cave the final ARIA Hall of Fame inductee for 2007, and he joins Jo Jo Zep and Sanity Music and Universal Music Australia the Falcons, Radio Birdman, Brian Cadd, have joined forces to give consumers the Hoodoo Gurus, Marcia Hines and Frank opportunity to purchase music through a USB Ifield who were inducted at the ARIA Hall mass storage device.Vanessa Amorosi has of Fame event in July. entered a new era of music delivery, as she became the first Australian artist to release With a history of penning evocative, her music via a USB. Fans will be able to narrative prose for openhearted souls, Nick purchase the limited edition Vanessa Amorosi Cave has a unique place in the lexicon of USB exclusively through Sanity Kiosks stores music history. He has been singing his dark for $19.95. tales of lust, religion, madness, murder and

STEPS INTO A NEW ERA

OF MUSIC DELIVERY

The USB is a 128mb stick, and will include the audio and video of Vanessa’s current single Kiss Your Mama!, audio of b-side track Dirty Face, along with a Vanessa Amorosi wallpaper.

Consumers will be able to download their purchase to their computer, and the USB will operate as normal.

revenge for almost thirty years.

But what makes Cave a true original is the diversity of his creative output, which is almost unprecedented in the music industry. From music and lyrics to poems and screenwriting, all are attacked with the same level of soul-searching depth and “I’m very excited to be the first Australian integrity. artist to release their music in this format. It’s amazing to think how far the industry has come Mr. Cave should consider himself and where it will be in the future”. Vanessa said thoroughly saluted for this award (and also for that moustache). about her USB release.

WHERE DO YOU GET LAUNCESTON

HOBART

Launceston Airport Sauce Publishing Route 66 Cash Converters IGA Supermarket (Prospect) Hotel Tasmania City 2 Street Refresh café Red Herring Surf Chilli DJ Commercial Hotel Sodium Coffee Republic Wills Music Elaia Café The Empire Hotel Internet King Barratts Music O’Keefe’s Hotel Lloyds Hotel Studio 19 The Riverview Hotel Launceston Library Irish Murphy’s Mojo Music The CD Centre The Princess Theatre The Royal Oak Hotel Gunners Arms Hotel James Hotel Launceston Backpackers Blue Café AMC Alanvale (Student Assoc) AMC Beauty Point (Student Assoc) Glenn Shephard Riverside Hair & Beauty Launceston Vistor Information Centre Star Hotel The Newstead Hotel Cunninghams UTAS Cafeteria UTAS Student Association UTAS Inveresk TAFE Alanvale Cafeteria TAFE Launceston Cafeteria TAFE Drysedale

Hobart Airport Red Herring Surf Hobart Hostel Jetty Surf Entrepot Tracks Music Hollydene Lodge Ruffcut Records Mouse On Mars Internet Café Pelican Loft Internet Cafe Mayfair Tavern Doctor Syntax Hotel Prince of Wales Hotel The Loft Sodium Customs House Hotel McCann’s Music Centre Hobart Visitors Information centre Kingston Library Rosny Library Glenorchy Library Hobart Music Central City Backpackers Pickled Frog Backpackers Republic Bar & Café Knopwoods Retreat Queens Head Café & Bar Curly’s Bar Irish Murphy’s Machine Café Conservatorium of Music (UTAS) Hotel SOHO Telegraph Hotel Syrup Kaos café Retro café Gay and Lesbian Community Centre Lewisham Tavern Tafe Drysedale (cafeteria) UTAS Sandy Bay UTAS Center For The Arts Metz on The Bay Aroma records Nourish café tasCAHRD Victoria Tavern State Cinema The Loft Raincheck Lounge New Sydney Hotel Beachside Hotel Lark Distillery

BURNIE Sirocco’s nightclub Red Herring Surf Collector’s Corner Burnie Library TAFE Burnie Cafeteria UTAS Burnie Student Assoc.

Xedos Haircutters Fosters Music Centre Beach Hotel Stage Door The Cafe

DEVONPORT Devonport Airport Passport Surf Surfin Style Red Hot CD’s Tasman House Spurs Saloon Canoe N Surf Molly Malones TAFE Devonport Devonport Visitor’s Centre Devonport City Library

ST HELENS The Village Store & More

SMITHTON Lizzy’s This “N” That

ULVERSTONE Ulverstone City Library

?

HIP-HOP

J O H N PAY N E

DEATH ROW FOUNDER BRINGS THE PAYNE TO AUSTRALIA

By Dave Williams

… the Australian artists that people have seen [have] basically copied what the Americans are doing …

The man you see here is a reason modern American hip-hop is the way it is. Without him and his work at one of hip-hop’s most inluential labels, Death Row Records, we may well be living in a world without the impact of Snoop Dogg and Tupac Burgeoning MCs take note – he’s hitting the Australian music scene. Meet John Payne, and take a walk down Death Row …

Why are we talking today? What development is happening, in terms of hip-hop in Australia, that I am talking with you about today?

Well, there’re a few things that are happening, and are going to be happening in Australia. I’m going to be starting a label there, as well as working with a lot of artists and labels, to help expose the talents of Australia, so that it becomes better there, as well as getting exposed to the world … I think that the only formula that’s missing from what I’ve seen is the “exposure”, so I want to help to create that.

When you say you’re going to be starting a label, are you going to be the owner of the label? Or are you doing it in conjunction, or with, one of the majors or something like that?

Well, I’m going to be the principal in it … I don’t really want to have to utilise the majors. I mean, that’s why the exposure’s limited there now. So there’s too much influence by the majors; it’s not going to be as big visibility, and also, from their perspective, they want somebody just like the last guy that was out; somebody like an American artist. And that is not why I’m doing this.

What is it about Australian talent in hip-hop that gives you the confidence to do this?

Well from what I’ve seen … I’ve had the pleasure of seeing a few artists while I was there, as well as checking out some of the material over the last few months … There’re some original styles that are going on in the creativity, and also, hip-hop is really based on your environment, so to tell the story, or to put together some kind of project that has come from within that environment … people here have not seen that.

And the problem is mostly … the Australian artists that people have seen [have] basically copied what the Americans are doing, and, at this point, I think that if they see it in its true, natural form, I think the world will kind of dig it like I did.

Is it also because Australia is, I guess, under-developed, compared with, say, U.K. hip-hop?

Well not necessarily under-developed, but, again, underexposed. The development is there – it’s just that no one is really shining a light upon it. So I think, once that happens, and the world can get a taste of it, then they’ll like it just like they did start to like stuff from the U.K., as well as when it was just on the east coast of the states, and then to the west coast. And now it’s got southern versions.

It’s just putting out another element of the whole hip-hop puzzle that people can enjoy. It also gives people a closer look at the life, and what the people go through, and also what they do for fun. Once it’s out there, it’ll just be another thing; there’ll be new slang words out there, traveling around the world as well.

What’s happening in the States, for you, in terms of hip-hop at the moment?

From my perspective, it’s pretty much the same thing, you know? There’s nothing really special – there’s some repeats of some things. But nothing new … this is just from my perspective – other people may see it differently, you know? As far as I’m concerned … there’s good stuff out there, but there’s nothing new.

Are you still mostly involved in that west coast scene? Or are you looking at, and dealing with hip-hop in a more nationwide sort of involvement?

Well, see, I deal with music; it’s not just hip-hop. I deal with music of all genres. And also, if I was to just limit it as a west coast thing, then what’s the point of going beyond the west coast? I think music is a global thing, and it needs to be heard; it needs to be felt around the planet.

So wherever it’s from, my position is to get it to other parts.

But the first thing is to create a solid foundation where it comes from – a good network there, where the musicians can feel comfortable in working, and also feel that they don’t have to copy, in order to compete.

Can we talk a little bit of history here? You’ve got a bit of “cred” as they say, in terms of hip-hop especially. Where did the name “Death Row Records” come from?

I’ve been asked this a thousand times … The original name was “Future Shock”, and I believe that the name was … I think it was Dr. Dre that actually came up with the name, and it was pretty much co-signed by everybody at that point. So I can’t really remember the exact circumstance where it came about.

I guess that must have been directly trying to tie-in with oppressed black people in terms of being on death row, in the same way that Run DMC wore their Adidas without shoelaces.

Could be, since, basically, the whole gangsta rap thing was created on the west coast … From a marketing standpoint, that was a better choice of name. As you can see, it worked kind of well. [Laughs] So fate was good with that, but I guess, with creating the image and all that, that seems to have got blown out of proportion in some cases … and in some cases it blew other people out of proportion. The name was good and important in that image, and it helped elevate the label. So from a marketing standpoint, it was perfect.

It seems that there are two distinct styles of hip-hop – there’s gangsta, and there’s non-gangsta. The most high-profile example of that is Kanye West releasing Graduation, and 50 Cent releasing Curtis on the same day, and going head-tohead. Is that pretty much how you see the split.

Well, I see it, but I think that it’s wrong to limit it to that. I mean,

hip-hop is really about what the individual’s going though, as you know – in its early days, it was mostly party music …

So to just split it up into two categories, to me, is incorrect, although that is where a lot of the attention has been focused, you know? I like the fact that people realise that it doesn’t have to be gangsta, you know? It is about telling a story; it is about your environment.

And everyone’s environment is not about killing and shooting and all that; even though it goes on, that’s not what everyone’s focus is on. So it can take hip-hop to another more correct level, [where] people realise that it’s a wide-open area to relay your experiences.

When was the last time you talked with Dr. Dre? I don’t think I’ve spoken with him in … oh, maybe five years or so.

How come?

Well, different circles, different things. He’s been doing what he does, and I’ve been doing what I do. So it’s not like it’s a personal thing. But, you know, when you’re not in the same organisation, and the same office so to speak, you tend to travel in different directions, you know?

What about Snoop?

Oh, Snoop? I run into him all the time. I think, the last time I saw him … it was less than a year [ago]. I actually went to one of his shows. But I run into him when he’s in town, because he’s always traveling – whenever I run into him, it’s always like yesterday.

I’m going to ask you two things about Snoop. What is it about Snoop that makes him a star?

Personality. If you think about the career … even when it started out, he’s always had a personality. The very first song he did, on the Deep Cover soundtrack – when he was rapping, “187 on an undercover cop,” it was to speak, but it was a personality. So as he started out, through his early albums and all that, you could identify him, because he was different from everybody else.

It seems that confidence to be different, and also that intelligence to recognise that, to be a star, you have to be different. That really takes a unique person.

It’s a relaxed confidence; it’s not a forced confidence.

So it’s purely natural, you know? That’s a good thing.

There’s a lot of people who have images that they have to force themselves to maintain. But that’s really just him being himself, because he’s comfortable with that.

The other thing is, he enjoys it, so it makes it easy, and it makes it appear easy, but, as you know, everyone

can’t do it.

What’s a softer side to Snoop? What’s a funny story? Or a touching story that you can tell me about Snoop?

Well, there’s lots of stories … You want a touching story? He’s quite a devoted father; he has the football league here that he started, that there’s a lot of kids in the inner-city involved in. He supports a lot of causes like that, from the various areas where he came … the urban areas. That’s a side that’s not always printed, because, a lot of times, the media wants to hear about him going to court or something in his lyrics – that kind of stuff. But this is stuff that goes on everyday, you know?

They don’t mention the fact that he’s always at the games, because he was a coach of the little-league teams; the football teams. That’s the kind of stuff that doesn’t come out, but that’s the kind of stuff that shows you what kind of person he is, because it was not like he just did it one time – he’s been doing this for years.

Unfortunately our government will not let Snoop in our country at the moment.

You know, it’s really because of the press. You have to understand a lot of things that happened. It’s got to be blown out of proportion. It may not necessarily be the case, or the case may not have even gone to trial or anything … So, there’s a whole bunch of people in a room – who do you think the press is going to remember that was there? And I can tell you honestly – I don’t think it’s Snoop’s intent to go out to get into trouble; like he said a week ago, he just wants to make music. He doesn’t want to go to court all the time.

I’ve got to ask … Tupac’s like the Hamlet of hip-hop …

I have to say this on the subject of Tupac – I have to start this off, even before you ask me a question. People always associate Death Row with the rise of Tupac. Tupac was already a successful star before Death Row. Death Row did not make ‘Pac. Death Row provided more visibility for ‘Pac, and, even without Death Row, ‘Pac would have still succeeded to the same level, and maybe greater.

So I just always want to correct that. Death Row did not discover him, because, if you know the history, he was in Digital Underground first, and then he had a solo career. He actually hooked up with Death Row while he was in jail, and they put up the bail money. It was a good match, but, again … I don’t like when people assume that Death Row was the reason for ‘Pac’s success.

ONLINE: John reflects further on Tupac, as a man, and an artist. To listen to an MP3 of the full interview, go to www. sauce.net.au www.myspace.com/deathrowrecords PAGE 5

H I L LT O P H O O D S

TAKING SOME OF THE PRESSURE OUT OF MAKING IT IN THE BIZ HIP-HOP

By Dave Williams

It was once said that Bill Gates could afford to give $3360 to every person on the planet. Of course, he never did. But it is good to see that there are some in privileged positions who use that status to do something good. Take the Hilltop Hoods, for example. While they toiled away on their mega-hit The Hard Road and its symphonic re-version, the musical initiative they established to help up-and-coming South Australian talent has been putting cash in the pockets of our country’s future MCs. I spoke to Pressure about their upcoming DVD, and creating the Hilltop Hoods Initiative …

So what’s happening in the hills there – where the Hoods hang out at the top? What’s happening in Hilltop Hoods land?

Chilling out today, but, in general, at the moment, we’re working on this DVD that we’re putting out for Christmas.

Is that going to be “Hilltop Hoods do Red-Nosed Reindeer”?

A bit like that?

It’s got a little bit of Christmas carol … nah! [Laughs] It just happens to be ready at this time of year! There’s no Run DMC-style Christmas special in it … It’s a bit of a feature film/documentary on the last three years; the making of both the Hard Road and Restrung albums, with lots of live footage, and a concert attached to it as well.

And you guys are doing all the production work on that yourselves, or what?

We’ve hired a production company to put it together, but we’ve had the say of what’s going in there, and how it’s being [done] … the concepts of all the chapters, and the story in it.

We’ve given them the outline of what we want, and what we want in it, and they’re going to work on it.

What’s happening in terms of releases, other than DVD? Where are you guys at?

We won’t be releasing any music until next year … possibly late, around this time next year. But that’s a very vague guess, obviously.

We’ve started recording a new album … We’ve written and produced a reasonable amount for it – we haven’t recorded much of it. So we’ve made a start on it, but when next year comes, we’re stopping touring altogether.

We’ve been doing a bit of touring this year – a bit of touring overseas – and then we’ve had the Restrung project and the DVD project sort of thrown in amongst it.

So it hasn’t really given us much time to work on the new album, but it will definitely be out next year.

Can you tell me a bit about the Hilltop Hoods Initiative?

What was that born from? You’ve increased it up to five grand this year, and I think it’s just been awarded … who’s got it? And why did they get it?

The fella that one it, his name is JimBlah … he’s an Adelaide lad; being a south Australian, he’s gone through Arts SA, which is sort of the government body that hands out arts awards and initiatives and that type of thing in South Australia … The reason he won it, I’m gathering … I haven’t heard his demo yet, to be honest …

We selected a panel of five people within the industry, either with knowledge of hip-hop or knowledge of general music industrytype stuff to do the actual selecting, and the selective process themselves, so that there’d be no, basically, fingers-pointed and back-scratching … basically so we didn’t just continually give it away to people who were affiliated with us or friends with us and that type of thing.

Like you would!

[Laughs] Yeah! And then, we didn’t want people to think exactly that … And then you get the sort of people that are bitter for not winning it or whatever.

So we took a step away from it so that someone else could do the selecting process. We always tried to make that really clear.

The concept from it was our idea, obviously, and the money is supplied for us, but we don’t select the winner.

But the general idea of it was basically for us to give a bit back to the hip-hop scene, because we’ve done pretty well off our music and, hopefully, we can try and help further the genre, and build a more solid foundation for it.

ONLINE: Pressure looks back on the recent Restrung project.

To listen to an MP3 of the full interview, go to www.sauce. net.au Hilltop Hoods headline MS FEST 2007 at Launceston’s Inveresk Showgrounds on the 16th of February next year.

… We’ve done pretty well off our music and, hopefully, we can try and help further the genre, and build a more solid foundation for it.

BLISS N ESO

RHYMES AND PHILANTHROPY

By Tom Wilson

Is philanthropy the new black in Oz hip-hop? First the Hilltop Hoods launched their own arts grant to help new artists in SA, and now Bliss N Eso are sending every single penny made off their upcoming single – a cover of Bullet And A Target – to charities both here and in South Africa. I caught up with Bliss to find out why.

HIP-HOP

You’re donating all your profits from your new single, Bullet And A Target, to charities in South Africa. Is that correct?

Yep, that’s right. It’s actually going to the Oaktree Foundation, which is a youth-run organisation here, which works in South Africa with some educational programs over there; one in particular called “Schools For Schools”, which is basically getting Australian schools to sponsor poor African schools. So the single proceeds are going to help that cause out, as well as going to the choir on the song, yeah.

Have you always been aware and concerned about the situation in South Africa? Or was that something that the original track, Bullet And A Target, kind of opened your eyes to?

Well, the original track’s not really about that; it’s about other things, particularly pertaining to the U.S. And I wouldn’t say that I, necessarily, was that aware of what was happening in South Africa, and particularly before we did the song. It was really going over there, with the group and with the charity, and them taking us and showing us all the stuff … I mean, it’s one thing to see it on TV and hear about it, but to actually go there and face up to it at ground zero, it’s much more confronting. So I think that definitely was a massive impact … for us to do the track.

What were some of your most distinctive memories of being over there?

Oh, man, where do you start? The whole thing was just an eye-opening experience. We did workshops at schools, which was great; the kids loved it. We went and hung out and visited some street kids down in Durban City; like, literally sleeping in the gutter. We took them down to the beach and did a hip-hop workshop with them; we got them scratching and rapping and stuff. That was great. We stayed with a traditional Zulu family – ate like they ate and slept where they slept and all that kind of stuff … so that was amazing – just to get in touch with their day-to-day life … The list goes on, man. It was just one of those trips where every day was just, like, bang-bang-bang … You’re almost doing so much that you need time to absorb it all, if you know what I mean.

The track opens with the line, “I believe that together, we can really make a difference.” That being said, you guys clearly can make a difference with the funding you’ll be sending their way … but, it could be said that you are very high-profile musicians … [so] how can an ordinary person help?

Well, I mean, in terms of the song, an ordinary person can help by, obviously, getting it and supporting it, because that’s going to the cause. But I mean, there’s lots of ways. For instance, Oaktree is doing all these things, and they have supporters. So if people want to get more involved, they can pledge their support of Oaktree, and there’s different activities and things that they can do to help.

There’s a lot of other great organisations out there doing good things. So there’re definitely ways in which you can help, but, for us, it was just an easy case of “We make music, and we can do a PAGE 6

song,” which was great. For us, it was a really fun way to help as well, which was cool.

Some might say, “Why support this cause when we seem to have more than enough problems at home? The indigenous community, for instance.”

Absolutely … We do workshops out in the middle of WoggaWogga and regional areas with Aboriginal kids, and that’s something that we really enjoy doing, and we think is important.

But I mean, there’s problems everywhere, and this just happened to be an opportunity that came up with a charity, going over and checking it out. And who wouldn’t like to go over to South Africa and see what’s going on? I guess there’s issues everywhere, and they all have importance, and, for us, it was just something that we really wanted to do.

But as far as problems at home, and especially with the Aboriginal community, that’s something that we want to continue working with, and, especially in the future, seeing what we can get in there and do.

So you guys haven’t got a fully-fledged case of the “Bono

I guess every band has their little hot-spots, but Launceston, for us, is definitely one of those ...

and sample-based nature, I’d say is very along-the-lines of the Syndrome” yet?

Oh, no, no, no. Not quite yet – not to the Bono level. But you never direction of the album. know! We might be over in London, playing at the next Make You’re also set to play MS FEST again next year. Apart from Poverty History concert! [Laughs] Who knows? being harassed by dickheads like me in the VIP tent, what do As long as you steer clear of the stupid sunglasses mate, you you remember about your set down here at that festival?

Memories of MS FEST? Mate, that was probably the best Tassie should be alright.

Yeah, yeah! Well, Eso likes to wear his little yellow shades. But show to date. That was a great show, you know? I can’t wait to go back. you never know! [Laughs] Bullet And A Target is, of course, the first single off the LP Ground Zero, which will be coming out in February next year.

How reflective is Bullet And A Target of the kind of sound you’re going for on this release? And will the theme of international awareness be present elsewhere on the album?

Probably not as directly as Bullet And A Target was. Definitely, there’s going to be similar themes and things going on within the tracks ... In terms of the sound of the album, I’d say ... it’s going to be an album once again that has a lot of variety, like our last two – a lot of different vibes, a lot of different moods. But Bullet And A Target, definitely sound-wise, in terms of its organic nature

See, Launceston’s a funny place, you know? There’s these little hot-spots ... I guess every band has their little hot-spots, but Launceston, for us, is definitely one of those. It’s just great to come to a small, out-of-the-way place like that and just get that kind of love. It’s wicked.

Bliss N Eso play MS FEST 2008 in Launceston on the 16th of February.

To listen to an MP3 of the full interview, go to www.sauce. net.au

SISQO

MOVING ON FROM THE THONG SONG

By Carlisle Rogers

HIP-HOP

When some smelly gypsies broke into a certain car at a campsite in France and made off with armloads of Hermitude’s gear, they did one very good thing – they forgot to take the sampler. And that little oversight of theirs turned into the catalyst of The Rare Sightings, the new EP from the Hermies. I spoke to the fantasticallynamed Luke Dubs ahead of the Three Strikes Tour with Urthboy and The Tongue.

Working on his third album, The Last Dragon, featuring a slew of notable production talent like Timbaland and Neo, Sisqo is finally going to hit Australia’s shores. His last visit, scheduled to run alongside Eminem’s aborted dates, never quite happened. “You guys have some strict rules. Man, it is hard to get into your country.

I was supposed to come there directly from Japan back in 2001 with Eminem. I wasn’t able to make it either, when he couldn’t, and if freaking sucked. I was going through some crazy stuff with my old distribution, so this is really my first chance to make it to Australia. I have a lot to make up; I have a lot to prove. I hope to God that when I get there you guys really appreciate the show because I’m putting everything into it. One of my dancers got detained in Dubai – we ain’t going to go into that. We got him out, so we’re doing everything we can do to give you the best show that we can.”He says that, right now, nobody else is allowed to use the pool, because he’s busy training for this world tour. “In my live performance, there are about four or five up-tempo songs that I perform simultaneously.

One of my dancers got detained in Dubai – we ain’t going to go into that.

Technically, that isn’t really done with even the iconic artists like Michael or Janet. That’s probably the closest you’re going to get to what I do with a live performance. It takes a lot of breath control, a lot of cardio-vascular activity. So I’ve been training with my personal trainer, Murder. And man, he murders you, I promise you. I’ll give you twenty minutes with him and you’ll probably hurl.

“I’ve got about fifteen years of training. I’ve been training since middle school.

My business partner, Kevin, he found myself and my group Dru Hill, back when we were fourteen years old. Dancing and singing isn’t really the difficult part. The most difficult part of this tour is not being able to bring my whole band.”Sisqo says that he breaks his day up into training and working in the studio most days, notwithstanding the steady stream of geisha girls, Hispanic girls and Indian girls that visit his house on a rotating schedule throughout the day. “First the geisha girls come in. Then I normally get a manicure and pedicure. Then we get the Hispanic girls to come in with the fans. Then we bring the Indian girls in and they make curry.

But seriously, my life is pretty freaking boring. I have to get up and eat a bunch of hospital food. Every time I have a new project on the way, there is a lot of training involved to make sure that I give people the best show. So I get up at six a.m., get beat to hell by my personal trainer. After that I come home, eat some more hospital food – I call it that because there’s no grease or salt in it … it tastes like crap but you get used to it.

After that I go into my studio, where most of my albums were recorded. We brainstorm with some stuff. We don’t really record full songs unless it sounds like a total smash. After that, then the geisha girls come in … no, at the end of the day we normally have a wild party, then I have to work it all off the next day.

“Most of my biggest solo hits, I wrote and produced. On this album I have some of the bigger known folks that are producing and writing for people now like Timbaland and Neo. He wrote a couple of songs on my album. Actually, I think I might have helped him get his deal. Neo was submitting some songs to me for my album, to my label.

My distributor heard it and they were really impressed with his talent, and that helped push his career in a positive direction. As far as Timbaland, I’m really close with the members of Jodeci. We got hooked up in a round-about way through my connections with those guys.”With the first single from the new album scheduled for a Christmas release, Sisqo says he is testing the waters now – “just going out and letting people know that I’m not old and fat, you know.”

The Last Dragon comes out in December.

PAGE 7

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H E A D S O F S TAT E

MAKING THE BEST OF WHAT WE’VE GOT

By Dave Williams

With mdusu having produced two tracks on the latest LP from rising star The Tongue, and a new Heads Of State album on the horizon, it seemed like a pretty damn good idea to have a word with ‘mdusu and Grotesque about Making The Best Of What We’ve Got.

HIP-HOP

You describe yourself on your Myspace as “your basic grumpy-style DJ”. What are some things that really make you grumpy? And what would you advise people to do when you’re grumpy and they’re in the room with you?

Grotesque: I’m just a grumpy guy in general! I get pretty pissed with drunken people requesting the same song repeatedly. People reaching for the turnies piss me off pretty bad too! Generally, people’s lack of understanding of what DJing involves gets me a bit grumpy. If you have to deal with me when I’m being cranky, the best thing to do is leave.

Grotesque: It’s going to be a busy few months now that it’s done. We’ve got shows all around the place through to the end of January; supporting Brad Strut in a couple of weeks, then we’ve got the album launch and the opening slot for the Elements tour. We haven’t done heaps of shows for a while, so I’m keen to get into it!

Grotesque, you DJ in HOS alongside Dameza. What are some of the pros – and, possibly, cons – of having two DJs? How do you guys work together, particularly live? Do you mix together, or go for a tag-team kind of thing?

Grotesque: It’s fun having another DJ in the crew. We can chop things up a bit more than if there was only one of us.

With Heads Of State shows, we cut back and forth. We’re also working on a two-DJs-and-a-heap-of-equipment type of show, which is gonna be great.

You hold down residencies at Mobius and Curly’s Bar – how have they been going? And what would you say sets the two different sets apart, in terms of sound and style?

Grotesque: It’s been really good doing the two shows.

They’re so different. I’ve been at Mobius for over four years now, so I really know what does and doesn’t work, What’s on the cards for the next few months? but when I started at Curly’s this year it was difficult mdusu: Getting the album out, gigging as much as getting my head around what people wanted to hear. The possible, and trying to expand the label (Support Local stuff I play is a lot more mainstream. It opened my ears to a lot of music that I normally would have ignored.

Underground Talent Productions) with a few new releases/ & more cones whilst thinking about maybe starting guest spots.Grotesque: Hopefully a little bit of sleep to write lyrics”; if you get over-excited with a dope in-between shows! punchline you might spill the bowl; the tendency to not think about shit enough.

We’re also gearing up for shows in Melbourne, Adelaide If an HOS fan wanted to get your logo tattooed, and Sydney early next year. mdusu & Dameza’s new where would be the most appropriate place to put it, album is in the works too. That should be out around and why?

February, so it’s gonna be pretty hectic! mdusu: Well, there’s a line in one of our new (postalbum) tracks where I say “…and we won’t stop ‘till your I’ve read that Dunn D and mdusu first got together girlfriend’s a groupie / with a tattoo on her arse of S, L over “beers and bowls”. What are some of the pros & U T” – so any guy who wants to stare at that during and cons of making music when stoned? doggie can convince their better half to go for it!

Mdusu: Well, seeing as I quit smoking weed almost two years ago, my list would be all from memory, but here Grotesque: Damn … I think I just have to agree with goes … ‘use’. That’d take some pretty fast talking though!

Pros: The ability to not get sick of listening to a sixteen- Heads Of State support Brad Strut at Hobart’s bar loop for hours while writing verses; increased lateral Brisbane Hotel on the 10th of November, and Nick thinking for obscure metaphors; the tendency to not Toth at The Metz (Hobart) on the 18th. over-think shit. www.myspace.com/themightyheadsofstate Cons: “cones & lyric-writing” can easily become “cones WITH MATTY B [QLD], EPC

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If you have to deal with me when I ’m being cranky, the best thing to do is leave.

What’s been happening on the Heads Of State front?

What have you guys been up to lately?

Mdusu: We’ve been gigging a bit of late, doing a few support slots … but most of our time lately has been put into finishing the album and getting ready to unleash that on the general public.

I’ve been locked down in the lab producing for a bunch of guys (Dunn D, Jonny Hack, The Tongue etc), Grotesque & Dameza have been holding down their usual residencies around town (Mobius, Curly’s etc), and Dunn D and I have also been in the studio with Unleash the Nugget, finishing an EP.

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(3 ELEMENTS)

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Grotesque: Yeah, lately it’s all been about getting the Heads Of State album finished. It’s been a drawn-out saga to finish, but it’s all done, and now it’s just a matter of raising our profile and doing as many shows as we can get!

Mdusu: You heard correctly. The album (titled Making the Best of What We’ve Got) is being manufactured as we speak, and will be dropping in stores November 17th.

There will also be a Hobart launch for November 22nd, and more gigs across Australia will be confirmed over the next couple of months.

Simon Posford - Hallucinogen Live +Sphongle DJ Set Brisbane Hotel - 15th December

Tribeadelic Gathering Melbourne - 29th dec - 1st jan

Msfest 2008 16th february

PAGE 9

RESIN DOGS

THE DOGS HAVE RETURNED TO GIVE YOU MORE

By Dave Williams

HIP-HOP

A good dog just doesn’t stay down. Brisbane-based hip-hop collective Resin Dogs certainly haven’t, and, to prove it, they’re quite literally giving their fans exactly what they want – More. DJ Katch spoke to me about international touring, and scaring the pants off the group’s new members by putting them on the main stage of the Good Vibrations festival.

It’s been a while since you guys have put something out; you’ve all been traveling and doing other stuff. Why the break? Why so long in between releases?

Some guys in the band have had kids, and life-changes and stuff like that ... and taking time to write the tunes and everything, because we, like, just stopped touring and wanted to change it up a bit, from being the massive up-tempo party band that we’ve always been known for ... which we don’t mind doing, in playing live. We just wanted to ... our last couple of records were ... more structured, in a way, like this album is; more songwriting than, say, grabbing vocals or hooks and stuff.

[There was more] of a sense of writing towards this record.

In terms of the lyrics ... I know that some producers just send out the beats, and MCs come back with the lyrics.

How do you guys work?

Well, you’ve got to be good, man. Like, you can open your mouth and say anything, right? You can waste people’s time and producer’s time and stuff like that. It’s just a matter of making the best record [possible], and connecting; connecting with the MCs. Like, I’ve worked with heaps of rappers – coming in and rapping on beats – and they’re just dudes rapping on beats ...

But this is ... we wanted to create a feel ... and just really enjoy the people we work with; find a connection, and try and agree on topics and stuff ... Not just throwing anything out there.

Also, we worked with a lot of other people of course, but just

PAGE 10

Some guys in the band have had kids, and life-changes and stuff like that ...

coming up with the best of what [we could] to make the best record we can as well. There’s stuff that we haven’t even put on it; haven’t even thought of putting out. There’s heaps of raps that didn’t make the cut.

And in terms of your live performance, when was the last time you guys did a gig?

Probably just a bit over a month ago in Hungary at the Sziegt Festival, in front of about four thousand people. Yeah, we did Europe; we’d just come back from Europe in August.

And what about Australia? How long has it been since you’ve done a gig in Australia?

We did a couple of warm-up shows, but they were really small things just around Byron and Northcoat ... We didn’t do a Brisbane show – [it was] just to warm up before going overseas. But anything really major? Probably not since Good Vibrations earlier this year.

And do you find that you guys just slip back into it pretty easily?

Oh, yeah ... it was good, because Vibes was the biggest show, [with] the new guys we had in the band. They had fully never played in front of five, ten thousand people, you know? They’d come out of playing Rick’s Cafe, and

a couple of gigs with, like, two, three hundred people, and then they walk into something like that. It was a good surprise for them.

And, for everyone who doesn’t know what Rick’s Cafe is, it’s a little venue in Fortitude Valley, isn’t it?

Yeah. Sorry about that! [Laughs] But yeah – just a small little gig; little pub gigs they’d play ... and then [to] walk out at Vibes as their third gig ... that blew me away watching them – I didn’t realise, you know? Because you just don’t do so many shows, and it’s like, “We’re on,” and they’re like, “Oh my god!” Then they realise it! These are kids! Some of these dudes are like ten years younger than me; they’re just blown away to play one of the biggest shows in their lives. And it hit me, and it just blew me away; it excited me, because it was like a whole new thing ... again.

been pretty good ... Or were they just tuning into the beats?

Yeah, I’d say the beats ... You get a vibe. I mean, there’s a few key words that they understand and things ... like, “hi” and all those interactions.

I’m sure there’s a bit they’d know, because of the American TV and stuff all through Europe. But yeah, even if they didn’t, it didn’t look like they minded. So that was good.

Yeah, you’ve got to keep those new rushes coming, haven’t you?

Oh, for sure man. I mean, like, James Brown went and got the best players for the job ... You’ve got to keep searching; keep the fire going.

You’ve got so many different MCs on More, and you’re doing shows throughout summer. I was just wondering – how are you going to work that? You’re going to travel with some MCs, and they’re going to cover everything, or what?

We’ve got a certain touring party here that we work with, and we’ll bring maybe one of the MCs out, depending ... ‘cause it just costs heaps! But, like, when we tour overseas, we just take our little core with us; we take an MC – Abstract Rude from the States – and Mystro’s in the U.K., so he’ll come to do a few shows ... YounGun rocked up to a show in the U.K. as well, to do a tune we’d never done as well ...

That’s the only way it can work.

You said that the show you played in Hungary for about four thousand people ... I guess their level of english must have

To listen to an MP3 of the full interview, go to www. sauce.net.au

PAGE 11

EGON

BRINGING THE NOISE TO YOUR EARS, AND LOVING EVERY MINUTE OF IT HIP-HOP

By Dave Williams

In record labels, there are two kinds of hats that people wear – the business one, and the creative one – and Egon likes them both. As both a DJ and the general manager of US Label, Stone’s Throw, he took a second to duck away from the noise-blasts of the studio to talk about the label’s new compilation, Now-Again Re:Sounds Volume 1, his passion for

As the general label manager of Stone’s Throw, what’s the most exciting thing about your job? I think we just found it …

Yeah, I mean … the fact of the matter is; it’s superstressful … we couldn’t be more different in a lot of ways, and I guess, out of all of us, I’m the only one out to kind of sit in an office and find a way to [make the company grow]; doing all the boring stuff like distribution and sample clearances and all that. But when I get to listen to a song like this with Just Blaze, with a sample that I cleared by tracking down the dude and brokering a deal, and know that it’s going to come out and it’s going to sound good, [and that] thousands of people – or maybe more – are going to hear it … it makes me feel fulfilled, you know? Most people can’t even get that fulfilled from fifty different things in their lives, and I get to do it with my day job.

The meshing of the business and the artistic side – some people find that difficult, but it seems like you’ve struck a balance.

Yeah. I mean, it’s been weird, man, but we’ve finally grown to the point … Bare in mind, when I came out in Stone’s Throw, it was just me, Wolf, and Jeff Jank – that was it. And I was doing everything … Jeff was doing the artwork and some A&R-ing … Now I’m doing everything; I’m doing the mailouts, all kinds of crazy shit. It’s at the point where we have a staff of people, and I can wake up in the morning and I can spend a couple of hours at home just getting my thoughts together and sending emails and coming up with ideas, and talking on the phone with people like Blaze about Just Blaze about music, and trying to get ideas off the ground … and I can come in and stress for the rest of the day!

Well, at least you’ve distributed that stress …

Yeah! [Laughs] Tell us about your work on the new album – Now-Again Re:Sounds Volume 1.

Well the deal with Now-Again is that it’s kind of like a hobby for me, and it’s something I do with the production coordinator from Stone’s Throw, and also a good friend of mine; a guy named Matt Roland. The two of us just do it together. We get down, and try and re-issue some incredible music, and NowAgain Re:Sounds is a way for us to announce to people who might not have bought those vinyl records that, you know, we create new music too. I mean, it’s a hobby, but I’m on Stone’s Throw, so what am I going to do? I work with these guys!

And who do you reckon’s going to pick it up? I mean, there are people who are immersed in the genre of your style of

music, and there’s those who might have heard these guys originally, and there’s people new to the whole thing as well.

Who do you think it’s going to really capture?

That’s an interesting question, and, man, let me say that the reason I’m doing this is to give the people who made the original music a new shot at immortality, through not myself, but through the geniuses I know who I can hook them up with.

I mean, let’s just put it this way; maybe someone wasn’t going to sample the Detroit Sex Machines unless I said, “Hey man, can you do something with this track?” Sometimes it happens naturally, you know? [Some artists] are discovered naturally, because people find the music, and they immortalise them without any catalysing needed … But a big part of it also is that I want people to hear this music and be inspired to go seek out the sources, like I was when I was twelve years old … That’s a big goal of mine.

Most people can’t even get that fulfilled from fifty different things in their lives, and I get to do it with my day job.

With your seeming reverence to the godfathers of soul and funk like James Brown, to what extent do you see yourself as a guardian of that cultural heritage?

You know, it’s interesting, because I’m a half-eastern European/ half-Indian dude born and raised in Connecticut, which is a small city on the eastern seaboard in the United States, and it’s weird that I’m the one that’s tracking down a lot of these guys and talking to them for the first time, because I’m an unlikely candidate for the job! But the fact is, my enthusiasm is genuine, and I never hold something back. Like, if I meet somebody,

DJ BONEZ

HIP-HOP TO RATTLE YOUR BONEZ

By Dave Williams

HIP-HOP

After the release of his follow-up to Ninja Art, I caught up with Melbourne-based DJ Bonez to pick his … um, Bonez about the shifting artistic intentions, occasional disappointments, and successes of creating Roll Call.

Has anybody ever raised the similarities between yourself and the name, I guess, of this album Roll Call with Kayne West and his trilogy?

No, not really. I wasn’t really copying anything – I was just doing my own thing, really. Why? Does it sound the same? [Laughs]

I don’t think it sounds like him – it just has a feel.

Oh, the feel of it, yeah. I mean, that’s generally the vibe I wanted … it’s something that was easier to take in, and nothing too safe, you know what I mean? … You can listen to it sitting on the couch, or you can groove to it at the same time. When I made this album, I really wasn’t listening to anything in particular … it just came out the way it came out.

Did you go into the production process thinking, “I want to have this overall concept for this album, and the tracks are going to build this concept”? Or was it more like you looked at each track and packaged it together, and that’s how it came out?

A bit of both. I mean, I had the general concept, style-wise, but when I started working with some of the artists, and I ended up recording them down and receiving files from their studios … When you have lyrics in front, it kind of sometimes gives you other ideas as well, to sort of put this one with that one, or that one with that one. And then I started working in a different way, to make it all … to piece it together, you know what I mean?

Did you choose the MCs that you worked with by just natural sort of association? The guys you’ve been coming across in the Australian scene, and then maybe some of the internationals that you knew by other ways?

Yeah, it was my choice. I had a whole heap of other MCs who I had in mind as well, but didn’t end up happening, so I was left with … “OK – I’ve got a couple more tracks to put on this album.

Who am I going to get on?” So I started looking around at everyone I thought was solid enough to make it a PAGE 12

There were a few other M Cs that did approach me but didn’t pull through, so I was a bit upset, considering what I ’d done for them.

good album overall. Like, I didn’t want anyone weak on it, but [it was not necessary] to have been in the game for awhile … Even, like, Tommy Illinois and boys like that – I just remembered them. Like, “Hang on a second.

I need another two more tracks, and if I can remember these other two guys from Brissie that were pretty good from playing up there …” So I just contacted them, and they were all up for it, and it went cool.

There were a few other MCs that did approach me but didn’t pull through, so I was a bit upset, considering what I’d done for them. But yeah … things happen for a reason, so I’m kind of glad.

DJ Bonez plays in Hobart on the 22nd of December – venue to be confirmed. Roll Call is out now.

To listen to an MP3 of the full interview, go to www. sauce.net.au

upcoming GIGS 3 Nov 2007

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THE BEDROOM PHILOSOPHER + Special Guests 9 Nov 2007

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JUSTIN CARTER + Supports 10 Nov 2007

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KIM WILSON’S HUMANITARIAN PUNK ROCK EVENT 16 Nov 2007

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ART SCHOOL PARTY 17 Nov 2007

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TAS ALIEN GOING AWAY PARTY 23 Nov 2007

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CARLOS AND CRISPYS BIRTHDAY SMASH IT UP PARTY 24 Nov 2007

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PAGE 13

SICK DISC!

The much awaited debut album from punk rockers The Scare has just been released here in Australia.

FOO FIGHTERS Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace 8.1/10 Our own Beaconsfield miners requested them when they were trapped all that way down in the mine, struggling for survival … do we need any clearer indication of just how well-known American rockers the Foo Fighters are.

The first single, Bats! Bats!

Bats! is a mix of twangy guitar riffs (especially at the beginning) and extreme vocals.

The voice of Kiss Reid manages to overpower the strong instrumental work in this track; his strong voice is perfectly suited to the punk style that the band possesses.

Dave Grohl has one of the most recognisable voices of the 21st century, and The Pretender – the first single off their latest album – proves why.

The strong track list and amazing instrumental skills make this their best album so far.

His husky voice rapidly changes from overpowering the music, down to an almost silent whisper in just seconds. The track begins with this whisper and a faint guitar, before the drums pound in and dramatically speed the tempo up.

Cheer Up Boys (Your Make Up Is Running) borders on the pop aspect of their music. It sounds as though it would be much better suited on the band’s 2005 album In Your Honor with its radio-friendly lyrics.

JIMMY EAT WORLD Chase This Light 7/10 Chase This Light is the fifth full-length album to be released

by US indie-rockers Jimmy Eat World. And they certainly have developed since the days of well-known songs The Middle and Bleed American, but, still, they manage to hold true to the same basic style.

Opening with the new single Big Casino, a similar sound continues through the next few songs – until the counter hit number six, and delivered Gotta Be Somebody’s Blues.

This would have to be my choice from the record; the slower tempo emphasises the lyrics, but it’s the range of instrumentation that really drew me in, and kept me listening.

The electronic start of Here It Goes also really demands the listener’s attention, as the song takes the listener from verses backed by harmonised male vocals to the kind of upbeat chorus that will get stuck in your head.

The whole album is quite well put-together, but I am honestly not sure if I like it more because I remember the days of Futures.

Still, any Jimmy Eat World fans out there will most likely enjoy the album, and will be happy to know that, as a band, they haven’t gone too far out of their comfort zones.

But perhaps they will need to explore some new areas in music for future albums. Still, a great band to look out for if you are still unfamiliar with their music.

CAROLE WHITEHEAD

Eighty Eight begins in a very Beach Boys way, with the whole surfie intro to the song. Once the vocals start, the surfie element seems to disappear, leaving you with the punk-infused riffs.

(It is one of those albums that local radio stations like to spoil for you forever by playing multiple times each day.)

Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace is the seventh album the band has released, proving their longevity in the international music industry.

This latest album shows how the band has grown over the years, and is producing top quality music. The strong track list and amazing instrumental skills make this their best album so far.

SHANNON STEVENS

HOOK ‘N’ SLING Chew The Fat! At The End Presents …

6/10 This is very much the sound of now. If you are loving the music out at the clubs of late, then this is the compilation for you, with the dirty electro sound that makes you dance like a complete nutter.

Tracks like The Bump by Hook ‘N Sling and Kid Kenobi, Bass Kleph’s Coup D’etat, Superbass’ Don’t Be Silent and James Harcourt’s Arachnofunk are the standouts of the CD. Other tracks such as Subsource’s This Town, Jorgensen’s Untitled and Dubpistols’ Rapture also need an honourable mention, with the synths and sounds that really do need to be played loud.

He played Hobart back in September with this CD launch, and I’m sure we will see him back again, being one of the biggest names in the electro field of dance at the moment.

This release can, however, get a bit repetitive, and doesn’t really explore these songs deeper, or any left-of-field tracks out there.

And I think I’ve heard this exact set list played out somewhere before … or maybe I’ve heard them that many times that they are blending into some sort of single twohour track.

So, if you’re looking for a substitute for heading out on your fine town to save some cash, this is the CD to make you feel right at home, at home.

NEESHA PEACOCK

SHANNON NOLL Turn It Up 7/10

THE CHECKS Hunting Whales 6/10

Condobolin’s own Australian Idol (and, clearly, Australia’s favourite out of the show’s contestants) is back with his third album, Turn It Up.

Here we have the debut album from this Auckland, NZ fivepiece.

Loud, the first single, is one of those songs that will be sung for hours upon hearing it.

The catchiness of the guitar riffs, paired with Shannon’s raw and husky vocals, make this song perfect for a first release.

However, it does have a more rock-like edge to it than his previous releases, making the song appeal to more than just the teeny-boppers out there.

Just like That’s What I’m Talking About and Lift, his latest album has a couple of those touching power ballads we have come to love (or hate). Sorry Is Just Too Late is the perfect example of this, with the focus on his powerful vocals – the music is used simply as a contrast.

It is basically impossible to not have heard of Shannon Noll by now, due to his extensive airplay on both radio and television.

His talent has made him more than a one-hit-wonder (like many contestants on that show). Even though he only came second, his talent has by far exceeded that of any of the winners of Australian Idol.

With their indie-rock sensibilities and raspy vocals, they have put together an album that does not follow the path generally trodden by a lot of other artists, preferring not to stick with one particular genre, but rather mix up many different types of sound throughout the album.

The Check’s style changes dramatically throughout the album – from the slow meanderings of The Memory Walking and the acoustic Where Has She Gone, through to Terribly Easy, which mixes things up by including female vocals.

Then there is the very scratchily sung Honest Man, all the way to the rocked-up tunes of Take Me There and What You Heard.

The entire recording may seem a bit too inconsistent, but with a few more listens, it all comes together, and can start to be understood.

But then, a few more listens later, the album does start to get a little … well, boring, which is hard to understand, with so many things that should keep the listener interested.

There just seems to be a little something missing.

A strong catalogue of music, and his individuality, is what has made Shannon so well known in Australia’s music industry, and his latest album, Turn It Up, is an excellent example of this.

That said, there were a couple of songs that did keep my attention, so perhaps if you have heard – and loved – the single, make sure you preview the album if you consider buying it, as it does change so much throughout, it may not be “your cup of tea” all the way through.

SHANNON STEVENS

CAROLE WHITEHEAD

PAGE 14

HARD-FI Once Upon A Time In The West 7.5/10

THE SCARE Chivalry 7/10

The eerie instrumental work that is at the beginning of She’s Sleeping in Strangers Beds is enough to give you nightmares.

It’s the quirky drum work combined with other unusual noises that makes you feel as though you have entered one of those lame haunted houses you tend to see at amusement parks.

But is that a bad thing? Hell, no. The Scare – one of the best up-and-coming bands for 2007.

SHANNON STEVENS

Award-winning English indie rockers Hard-Fi have just released their second fulllength studio album, Once Upon A Time In The West.

The album is so infectious that it is one of those rock albums you will not be able to put down.

The first single, Suburban Knights begins with some edgy techno, and then jumps right into the vocals. Richard Archer’s singing on this track stand out, and are a highlight of the song. While not quite sonically unique, these are the perfect vocals for the band’s indie sound.

Can’t Get Along (Without You) is one song that has a very Arctic Monkeys feel about it. With its pop-infused guitar and basic repetitive drum work, this song would appeal more to those who like that plain (and sometimes painful) pop music that radio stations tend to play.

And there is no way possible that I could not mention the album cover. As you can see, you can tell the band put a lot of effort into it; a plain yellow background with the album title at the top and “NO COVER ART” plastered in the centre.

The creativity is amazing. If you that that is good, you should see the rest of the booklet … The artwork may be plain, but Hard-Fi’s music is anything but!

SHANNON STEVENS

FAKER Be The Twilight 7.5/10

M.O.D. Red, White and Screwed 2/10

Song-wise, Faker, stand head and shoulders above other similar Australian acts, utilising harmonically rich guitar riffs to create a bed on which to lay Nathan Hudson’ dreamy, 80s-inspired vocals.

M.O.D. is an Austin four-piece with a hardcore/thrash sound.

Former S.O.D. (Stormtroopers Of Death) vocalist Billy Milano, who offers his humorous and politically incorrect lyrics, fronts the band.

Killer On The Loose is a standout for Nathan’ vocal delivery, and one of the more emotionally-charged tracks.

M.O.D.’s other band members consists of ex-Skinlab guitarist Scott Sargent, dynamic drummer Derek Lopez and bass player Chris Dawson. Die-hard thrash metal fans would know of S.O.D., being that it consisted of three members of Anthrax.

First single and opening track This Heart Attack offers up a delightful introduction to the album, although Are You Magnetic? (surely the follow-up single) really kicks it into gear, with serious 80s-style verses topped by a great sing-along chorus, complete with (early) U2 guitar-driven hooks.

Lazybones is another great pop song that reminds us all that Faker are Australian, no matter how strong their British influence, by exporting the listener back to the glory days of early-to-mid-nineties Oz pop/rock.

Faker (maybe unwittingly) have paid homage to all that was good in the 1980s – The Cure, New Order and The Church for example – yet have still maintained their distinctly original bent on today’s obscenely blurred alternative boundaries.

Be The Twilight will be an instant classic for people who don’t like to be force-fed ring tone crap, but enjoy a good sing-along while discovering its deeper emotional levels.

The eleventh offering after four years and several line-up changes, M.O.D. continues the trend of Milano’s former band S.O.D. Milano comes across as a strong believer – the kind of guy that, if you can’t take him for who he is, he doesn’t give a toss about you.

You either love or hate the man for his satire. Like with many thrash metal bands, unless you can relate to the music, you really don’t have a clue what they’re singing about – they sure do spit those lyrics quick.

Third track Red, White and Screwed is the only song with printed lyrics, it seems to be about being a proud American, fighting for free speech and freedom. Tracks Suicide Bomb Pop, and Bullshit Politics show Milano’s views on political events, and a need for new leadership.

If you enjoy the earlier offerings that Milano and band have offered with S.O.D. and M.OD., then this album is definitely for you. For those who like the melodic sound, stay clear – as their sound on this CD will irritate the shit out of you.

DAVID WALKER

GLENN MOORHOUSE

BUGDUST Welcome To The City Of Snakes 5/10 This new Melbourne-based rock band chose to record their debut album in El Paso, Texas with Grammy-winning producer Neil Kernon. With Kernon’s credits featuring the likes of Judas Priest and Queen, the band were definitely in good hands.

The sound of this four-piece consists of pounding drum beats and bass, two classic riff-spitting guitars, and all members (but the drummer) taking turns to sing the tracks, producing an overall stoner hard rock ‘n’ roll pub sound.

All the band members have written the lyrics for the songs, making the album a real group effort. First single to come off the album is titled Girls, Girls, Girls, Girls, Girls, which is about – you guessed it – girls, which has a swinging dance groove you should see the female audience shaking their collective ass to.

Some of my favourite tracks – Speedqueen, Mexican Death Squad and Take this Mother Out – have that gritty groove distortion and, given a chance, would all be strong choices as the next single. The album’s themes delve into lust, disappointment, anger, and women.

The tracks do start to sound all the same with repeated listens, but if you’re a person who appreciates how a band can produce their own distinct sound with generated riffs, this is a band for you. Bugdust will definitely gain a growing fan-base.

With an already elite list of Australian rock bands, this band will definitely be a worthy support act for any touring feelgood rock troupe.

DAVID WALKER

WEEN La Cucaracha 8/10 After quite a break in recordings, Ween have finally brought out their new album, La Cucaracha. It is amazing how many different styles and genres this album contains.

To hear one song played after another, it is quite hard to tell it is indeed the same artist.

They begin with Fiesta, a purely instrumental jumble of trumpets, drums and pure happiness. This intro is a very good insight into what the whole recording is like, but, after one more song, they drop the trumpets, and jump into a dance tune called Friends.

Then, straight afterwards, they stop dancing to sit down to do an acoustic, gently sung number called Object. Then, we fly straight to the south of America for a good ol’ hoedown with Learnin’ To Love.

And, straight after this, we fall straight into the mosh pit with the aptly-named With My Own Bare Hands. Then, with The Fruit Man, it busts into reggae … and the album continues on its merry way.

This album is really strange, to say the least. Playing out more like a compilation put together by a party DJ gone mad, this whole album is definitely worth the money, not just for the great songs, but also for the amazing entertainment value.

The great thing is, the lyrics change to match each different genre so perfectly. La Cucaracha is awesome, awesome fun – and I do recommend it.

CAROLE WHITEHEAD

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PAGE 15

GIG

YOUNG SID

HIP-HOP

TELL NOTHING

BUT THE

TRUTH

By Dave Williams

In quite possibly the first ever interview with a New Zealander that didn’t feature a joke about sheep, Smashgroup MC and now solo artist Young Sid called me up while in Melbourne to speak The Truth.

Congratulations on your CD, The Truth. Why did you call it the truth? I guess you feel like you are telling the truth – is that the main reason?

Nah, ‘coz I’m lying all the way through it, bro! I’m just telling lies! Nah, nah – because it’s honest music, man. It’s me. It’s the truth. Every single song on there is about something.

Can you tell me; what is Smashproof?

Smashproof is the group – me, Tyree and Deach. That’s our thing, the group thing. Smashproof – that’s us.

R E B EM

And you’ve got those other guys, Tyree and Deach, helping you on this one?

On The Truth? They’re featured on it.

And what sort of brought you out to do the solo thing, as opposed to doing the Smashproof thing? What inspired you to go down that path?

Like, the label heads ... they saw how much hard work I was putting into them, they just thought, “Oh, bro – you should have a crack at an album ... do your own thing.” So I did, and this is the result of it.

I ’m lying all the way through it, bro! I ’m just telling lies!

So how well is it going in New Zealand? I hear you might have sold a couple ...

Yeah ... I’m not going to brag, and say I’ve sold, like, millions and shit, but ... I went shopping the other day, and I stopped by a record store and asked them how much they sold. Like, they didn’t know it was me, but I asked them how much they sold, and they said they’d sold a hundred copies, and they had no more left in that store ... so I was pretty rapt about that.

Does that fill you up with warm-and-fuzzies?

Yeah, man! They’re “going to have to order some more in” – that’s cool when you hear that.

Who gave you the title “Young Sid”?

“Young Sid”? Oh, it’s just ‘cos I’m the youngest in the Smashproof group ... youngest on the record label, and the youngest boy in my family. So it’s fairly right for me to have that name.

Australia and New Zealand have got this great rivalry; this great competition. There’s some images that people in Australia get of New Zealand, and they come from the mass media – either through films or through TV reality shows. Is it really as tough as it looks?

Nah. I don’t reckon, because we come over here, and we accept it, so ... not really – not that much rivalry, to me anyway ... Only in like the rugby and that, but shit ...

ONLINE: Young Sid talks about his life as a Younger Sid, growing up in hard times. To listen to an MP3 of the full interview, go to www.sauce.net.au The Truth is out now.

PAGE 18

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So much bullsh*t’s been said about me, [by] people who don’t even know who I am

MC MISS CHEEK

OTHER CHEEK

TO BAD

PRESS If you took one look at the photo here and automatically made a negative assumption or two, you could be forgiven; rising MC Miss Cheek gets that a lot. Ahead of her shows in early December, she spoke to me about copping bullsh*t and giving the Japanese Lip Service.

So what are you up to at the moment?

Not much – just got back from studying, so I’m just at home.

What are you studying?

Ah, dance … yeah.

I guess, dance … it’s a very physical thing, and your image, in some of your press pics, is a very physical sort of image, isn’t it?

Yeah, I guess so … [Laughs] Can you tell me where that sort of imagery comes from? What’s inspired you to have that sort of look for yourself, as an artist?

It’s not really something that’s come to me, like, as in I looked at someone and gone “Oh, that’s what I want to do,” or “this is how I want to be perceived by people.” It’s more … I’ve always loved hip-hop, and wanted to do it, and then, as soon as I got into the scene and realised that people were judging me for the way I look … it made me want to be stronger about that, which is like what I said to you yesterday. Like, I’m a chick – I’m not going to get on stage and wear baggy jeans, just to make a point that I want to do hip-hop. I’m going to stick to who I am. Yeah, so I thought I would just go with that.

Sounds fair enough to me … It just makes a lot of sense, with your background of dance as well, to be in touch with your body, and what your body can do, and how you can express yourself in a physical sense as well as a verbal sense.

Yeah … It’s more just like sticking to who I am really, than, like, saying “Oh, I want to sell sex” or anything like that.

Do you get a bit of stick from the more ardent sort of hip-hop-heads, and the sort of feminist crew? Do you cop a bit of flak from that area?

Oh … I think, since I’ve released in Adelaide and stuff … I think I’ve been talked about the most.

I think I’ve been one of the biggest things that people have just wanted to waste their time talking about, because I’m something different, and my persistence to stick with this, and who I am and stuff. It’s just been talked about so much. So much bullsh*t’s been said about me, [by] people who don’t even know who I am … There’s been, like, so much conflict in the scenes since I started releasing stuff.

Well, it’s good to stir things up a bit anyway. I mean, who wants to fit a stereotype?

Yeah, totally. I mean, it got to the point where I was like, “Oh, I should look at it like any publicity is good publicity.” I just had to be strong and positive about it. But yeah, so much stuff’s been said … so much rumour and gossip, and it’s like … Most of the people … well, every one of those people that have said something won’t have even known me. Like, anyone who I’ve met in the scene has just judged me for who I am; have listened to my story, and then appreciated who I am as a person. Out of that, the people that did take the time to make their own judgement have been my best friends through the whole thing, you know? My biggest supporters are people who have just listened to what I do and said, “Wow, that’s really good,” you know? Just appreciated me as a person. With the bad, I’ve met some amazing people along the way, so it’s been really good.

You’re coming down to Tassie in the not-too-distance future. What kind of expectations and apprehensions have you got about coming down here?

Um … no apprehensions. I’m so excited, because I pretty much, like … when I finished the album [Lip Service], I didn’t even know that I had distribution or anything with Obese; before any of that happened, I pretty much finished it and went to Japan with it before I did anything in Australia. So I kind of, like, did my release over there, and did all my shows, and it went crazy. I sold quite a few copies of the album over there, and then I came back, and I got my good news about the distro with Obese, and released … Because I released in Japan, I haven’t really had a chance to get out there in Australia and really release it properly. So I’m mainly really excited about just getting it out there … especially down in Tassie, because I’ve never even been there. So I’m stoked to just be out there, and putting it out and see what people think.

On your Myspace page, you’ve got a couple of tributes to Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes [Late member of RNB group TLC who died in a car accident in 2002]. What is it about Left Eye that really inspired you?

Um … [Laughs] that’s putting me on the spot! I just love, like, any chicks who have really embraced being a woman, and being proud of who they are, and being really successful by staying true to themselves. I guess, the female artists I like, I look up to for those reasons, you know?

I’m not into any of the superficial … That’s what I think people mistake me for – that I would be superficial because I’m dressing like a female, or I’m dressing sexy or whatever … That’s kind of causing controversy – people thinking I’m superficial, when it’s the opposite. It’s just me being empowering to other women; [telling them] to be strong in themselves, and that kind of thing?

Yeah, I understand what you’re saying – to not dress how you feel comfortable, and how you like to dress, just to fit in with a stereotype, or to fit in with an expectation. I mean, that’s being weak, you know?

Yeah, yep … Other chicks I’ve seen, like … I haven’t seen heaps of Australian female performers, but the one’s I have seen – in hip-hop anyway – have dressed in, like, baggy jeans … I don’t know if that’s really who they are. I don’t know – it could be, but I don’t know … I just think we’re really lucky in Australia with many things, and to act like we’re gangsters and stuff isn’t who we are, and people in Australia who are realists aren’t going to be able to relate to that.

Miss Cheek supports Muph + Plutonic at Hobart’s Republic Bar on the 7th of December, and Launceston’s James Hotel on the 8th.

To listen to an MP3 of the full interview, go to www.sauce.net.au

PAGE 19

THE WEAKERTHANS

CANADIAN ROCKERS INVITE YOU TO THEIR REUNION

By Dave Williams

Written in the dead of winter in a place with the most extreme temperate on earth, The Weakerthans’ Reunion Tour is an album that’s been a long time coming, and, as John Sampson explained recently, there wasn’t much about its production that could be called “normal” – least of all being an opening track inspired by bus drivers …

ROCK SALT

What’s the band been up to lately?

Well we finished making this record … I guess three or four months ago, and we’re just getting ready to go on tour.

We start our North American tour in two weeks, and we’ll be doing that, and Europe until Christmas, pretty much … And then hopefully take a stab at Australia in 2008.

Does it feel a bit funny, now that you finished the record four months ago, and you’re doing promo for it now?

It is. There’s always that weird “disconnect time”, where I kind of try and stop thinking about the record, and then have to start thinking about it again.

But yeah … I kind of feel that it’s behind me now, in a way. But it’s just coming out into the world, and taking its first steps, and yeah … I wish it all the best, but I kind of want to move on now. [Laughs]

… The weather here… it actually can be a matter of life and death. It’s kind of interesting that way.

Some members of the band live quite a way away.

Yeah, in Toronto. Toronto’s really far away – like a twentyfour-hour drive from Winnipeg.

How does that work?

Well it’s been like that for about five years now, maybe six, so a long time in the band’s life. And we just manage.

I mean, we’re together often because we’re traveling, and we do get together to practice.

And also, just the technological advances over the last … few years. You know, I can send a demo to our drummer Jason, and he can send it back to me the next day with drums on it.

I’d take the bus to the library two afternoons a week and sit down and try to write. So it was kind of focused in a way. It took a long time, but I really enjoyed it … I spent a lot of time just walking around with the songs themselves, and had a good time doing it.

It’s pretty amazing, and it is really kind of liberating in a way, and fun. We did do some writing over the internet for this record, which was weird, but it seemed to work for us.

We just kind of make it work.

And taking the bus … I guess that experience had a direct relationship with Civil Twilight [a song about a bus driver]?

Yeah – that’s kind of why I wanted it to be the first song … I did spend a lot of time on the buses, and actually, the library I went to is the Central Library in Winnipeg, and it’s where a lot of bus drivers take their breaks, and take their lunch hour there.

Reunion Tour is out now.

To listen to an MP3 of the full interview, go to www. sauce.net.au

1 9www.saloon.com.au 1 C H A R L E03S6331S7355 T R E03E6331 T 2414 L A U Nhotel@saloon.com.au CESTON FAX:

EMAIL:

Trivia Every Tuesday

LEGENDARY Uni Night Every Wednesday

Karaoke EVERY FRIDAY

Super Saturday The Party Continues...

PAGE 20

When I saw the ice-drilling/snowmobile-type picture on the back of your CD, I went “OK, these guys are from a pretty snow-laden place”.

[Laughs] It’s true.

Talking about the weather here … it actually can be a matter of life and death. It’s kind of interesting that way.

So yeah, I guess it’s really been kind of three years in the writing. I worked on it generally in the winters, because we were touring a lot, so I would take the winters, and three or four months a year … I mean, not every day or anything, but that was kind of my focus … was writing lyrics.

PH:

And life in Canada … it’s like black and white, summer to winter, isn’t it?

True, yeah. Well, Winnipeg … I heard somewhere a rumour that Winnipeg itself is the place with the most extreme temperatures. Because winter can be -50, and the summer can be +40. So it’s really quite extreme.

I don’t know – it’s the season that I like the best, and I guess it’s kind of a record about the winter in a way; it’s mostly set in the winter … And it’s a big part of who we are, I think.

And how long was it in the making? Did you write specifically for this album? Did you sort of sit down and go, “OK, I’m going to write a record”? Or was this a collection of songs?

Yeah. Well, it took about four years, but I started in earnest around 2004 writing, and that’s kind of when … I kind of pulled the corner up on it, and realised kind of what it was going to be, and what it was going to be about.

WEB:

And it’s kind of a hub for the bus routes, so I’d see a lot of bus drivers … kind of surrounded by them. I just started thinking about them, and thought that I wanted to write about one of them. So yeah – it was certainly an influence.

PAGE 21

WHISKEY GO-GO’S

GO! GO! JOIN THE RODEO!

By Dave Williams

ROCK SALT

“Your honour, my testimony is as follows; while their wild partying ways are well-documented, I remain sure that, while talking to me ahead of the Whiskey Go-Go’s Hobart show next month, singer/guitarist Matt Hutchinson did not, under any circumstances, admit guilt regarding an incident with a shopping trolley in Sydney. He spoke simply on the evolution of the band’s sound and growing up without ever knowing his father … and, in doing this, he absolutely was not using a mobile phone while driving. Thank you for your time, your honour …”

So you’re recording in-between traveling?

Yeah, mate. We’re just trying to demo an album; we just put down seven songs last week, and we’ve got another four to go, hopefully tonight … yeah, just to get ready for the next record.

And how are things sounding? Are they sounding like you’re moving on from where you’ve been? Or is it an enhancement?

It’s growing, you know what I mean? Like, that last record, I did on my own; I didn’t have the band there. I played all the instruments on the record … or, most [of them] except for bass … and so now it’s sort of evolving, you know? The band’s contributing a little bit more to the overall sound of it, which is good; it’s good to see it kind of grow.

Why call [your current tour] the “Rodeo Tour”?

Well, the song is called Rodeo, and that’s the single that we’re touring on … so that’s why it’s called the “Rodeo Tour”.

[Laughs] The single itself is … I mean, it’s a personal song about my upbringing, so that’s kind of the history behind it. My old man, he was, back in the day, in a rodeo …

You guys have had some interesting times when you’ve come to tour in Tassie – being assaulted in the street and things like that. Anywhere else in the country where you’ve had some interesting times?

We pretty much have interesting times everywhere we go. I’m just trying to think of something … We were in Sydney on the weekend; we had some interesting times … We’re four rowdy young males who like to have a bit of fun on the road, so we generally get up to a bit of trouble at the best of times.

So what happened in Sydney?

[Laughs] Well, there was some nudity; there was a party, and there was a promoter … there was a shopping trolley, and a hill, and there was three policemen! I don’t know – you can kind of fill the gaps, but we had a bit of fun! It was good. We do like to drink alcohol on the road, and it generally ends up in a bit of a mess … We had a ball in Sydney; we were there with our friends Children Collide … they’re soft-c*cks, but they’re good blokes! [Laughs] Hang on a tic, sorry … I’m just in the car, and there’s a policeman right next to me, so I’m just going to wave at him, and pretend like I’m not on the phone, even though I really am! [He’s kidding … we think – Ed] We just

have a bit of fun with it all, mate! We take it seriously when we need to … It’s the sort of vibe when, if we’re having fun, hopefully everyone else is having fun. So we try to keep it real loose and light-hearted.

And I guess, with a name like Whiskey Go-Go’s, you’ve got to have some sort of raw element to it.

Yeah. I was in the U.S. for about twelve years mate, and I was living in Los Angeles for about five of those years, or somewhere thereabouts. And I was under the age of twenty-one, so I couldn’t really go into any bars. The nightclub there, The Whiskey Go-Go, was the only club that I could sneak into! So that’s primarily why I kept the name – it’s got a bit of history to it. That was my local, I suppose.

How do you think the band, or the sound, is evolving? In what direction, would you say?

It’s more mature, I suppose. It’s a bit more complex. It’s got more … it’s hard to say … I think it’s just [got] more complex elements to it, which give it a bit more depth … I mean, most of the songs on that first record were really simple kind of ho-down, twelve-bar-blues-y kind of tracks, you know? It’s kind of grown into a bit more of a complex kind of vibe.

I think it’s something that maybe the youth of today, in its kind of “cool” element, might find a little easier to listen to … I don’t know! [Laughs] It’s just what we felt like playing,

and it’s kind of what we’ve grown into. It’s still the same vibe mate, you know what I mean? It’s Whiskey Go-Go’s. It’s not changed dramatically in any sense, but it has grown, because I’ve taken all these musicians on board, and we’ve let them kind of construct what they want to do at the same time, as opposed to one songwriter.

The Whiskey Go-Go’s play Hobart’s Republic Bar on the 3rd of November.

To listen to an MP3 of the full interview, go to www.sauce. net.au

Talking about the history of the single … was your dad a rodeo rider?

Yeah – he used to do it back in the day. Now, this is just a story that I’ve been told, because I’ve never spoke to him in person, but he used to ride bulls. He was a wild character. He kind of left the scene when I was real young, so I don’t remember meeting him.

However, my mother saw him in Canberra, I believe, about seven years ago, and he was on a push-bike with a hobo stick over his shoulder. So I think he’s a bit of a bum now! But, yeah, I don’t know anything about him mate, except for what I’ve been told!

I guess as a person, it makes you stand on your own two feet and look after yourself with, perhaps, a little bit more urgency than maybe someone who’s got two parents to fall back on?

Yeah. I mean, it’s also one of those things that can f*ck you up, too, like, unless you’ve got that stability of a father figure in your life, or the stability of your mother’s kind of nurturing.

You can kind of grow up and be missing a certain element of a full kind of person that a normal kid would kind of develop.

But I’ve had a lot of fatherly figures in my life; a lot of people that I looked up to and admired as a kid, because I was always traveling the world in big groups of people. My mother was a missionary; I traveled the world with her since I was four years old, so there was always a lot of fatherly figures in my life. But it is one of those things that can f*ck you up, for sure, if you didn’t have that kind of foundation, you know?

… There’s a policeman right next to me, so I ’m just going to wave at him, and pretend like I ’m not on the phone …

I laugh at some of the lyrics in some of the songs too, because I wonder what part of me that is coming from. Sicko.

THE VOYEURS

DO NOT DISTURB – THEY LIKE TO WATCH

By Carole Whitehead, With Inappropriate Innuendo By Tom Wilson

ROCK SALT

Renowned stalwarts of Launceston’s alternative music scene, with enough skill to make violin and world instruments sound at home in rock music, and enough charisma to make you hate them for being so f*cking likeable, The Voyeurs are about to launch a second EP, and so they ignored the Do Not Disturb sign, made themselves at home, and watched SAUCE’s Carole Whitehead through dark, dark sunglasses …

The real reason is that we needed to have a solid live line-up to be able to back it up. Andrew and Jonah have ensured this.

Probably nothing they would want me to tell you, except that they have huge, huge “Dictatorship Party Memberships”.

What song, or songs, are you most proud of and why?

Well, the best piece of recording that wasn’t on the album was an abstract cabassa solo. I personally like Moment – the layers of string arrangements.

I laugh at some of the lyrics in some of the songs too, because I wonder what part of me that is coming from. Sicko.

If I were watching The Voyeurs during a private moment, what would I see?

How private are we talking here? Maybe I should just send you guys some anonymous photos.

What’s the best thing about being a Voyeur?

You often have double, triple or quadruple lives.

You also learn a lot by watching people.

So why did your last EP take so darn long?

In non-alphabetical order or personal priorities Speaking of being a voyeur, what dirty little in life; money, women, children, time, changing secrets can you let us in on about the band of the guard, overseas holidays, and other things. members?

PAGE 22

No thanks, I get enough from Tom. Anyhoo, with the addition of Andy Collins, you’ve gone from a four-piece to a five-piece – what does Andy bring to the band?

Bigger guitars, more textures, great playing, less instrument changes How else do you see The Voyeurs evolving?

Back to the days of Ceasar, where at least the people in power held orgies and parties to die for.

To what extent do The Voyeurs represent the future of Australian music?

I’d like to think we have really just started, but we’ve been around for maybe three years. Time flies, but I think we’ve only jut scratched the surface. Hopefully represent more.

What’s the most memorable thing that has happened to you that wouldn’t have happened had you not been in a band?

You couldn’t print it.

The Voyeurs undress you with their eyes at Irish Murphy’s in Launceston, launching Do Not Disturb on the 14th of November. In the meantime, stare longingly at them online – www.myspace.com/ thevoyeursmusic

NOISEWORKS

ROCK SALT

TAKING

YOU BACK TO THE

FUTURE

By Tom Wilson

It wasn’t a good time for quality music in the early 90s – Iron Maiden lost Bruce Dickinson, The Pixies disbanded, and Aussie legends Noiseworks called it a day. Fifteen years later, Maiden are about to hit Aussie soil, The Pixies have played Falls, and Noiseworks are about to play a gig at Wrest Point. Finally, we can all ignore the midto-late 90s and bask in the glory of bloody good music.

Noiseworks – what prompted the reunion?

We did a show in Newcastle, it was a release concert that Jimmy Barnes couldn’t do… we were asked to get together to do that and we thought that it’s a good enough reason, and we did, and we just really enjoyed it… and, you know, we’ve been - just quietly – wanting to do something, and the agents put together a run and said, “Look, there ya go, we reckon you should just work,” and we went, all right… and it’s turned out to be a bit of fun and turned out to be really great for us.

What sort of feelings were amongst you guys when you did your first rehearsal for this? I imagine emotions would have been pretty strong playing together for the first time in more than fifteen years…

The emotions were kind of… we called the first song and we started playing and the next thing you know it’s like, “Wow, that’s Noiseworks!” It was a little bit overwhelming and really quite… there was a lot of love in the air actually, you sort of flashback all those great moments and look at the people you’ve spent a decade with, it’s really quite warming.

…The actual truth is there’s a lot of bullshit stories going around…

How did Noiseworks originally cease to be? I understand John joined a stage production of Jesus Chris Superstar…

No, that was after the fact. The actual truth is there’s a lot of bullshit stories going around… the actual truth was…

I wanted to express myself in different ways, musically, and so did Justin, the keyboard player and that’s pretty much it. I’ve been singing and playing guitar – I’m a song-writer in my own right – and just playing the bass and being in a band that was kind of fairly heavily… you know, the record company always wanted us to record another Take Me Back and it just wasn’t gonna happen. We just wanted to move forward.

There were a few other elements but it was just… I think what the band should done was just have a break. But, back then, we were the gang and it was, you know – you weren’t allowed to look at any other musicians… if we all took a bit of time off, took a year off and did another record, solo records, and came back, that probably would have been the wisest thing. There ya go – the truth.

Is Noiseworks back together for good?

It’s back together today because we’ve got a gig tonight and I know that there’s a few other dates put in and we’ll be together for that. We really, honestly, don’t have any definite plans. We certainly wouldn’t just keep touring without any product – we don’t want to rest on our laurels.

If we toured further we’d wanna tour with something new.

We’ve got a lot of new material – it’s [just] finding the means and ways of actually recording it; so, not sure, to be honest.

It’s probably a feeling of we’d kind of like to but we don’t have any plans to at this point.

Noiseworks bring the noise to the Wrest Point Casino on November 10.

To listen to the full interview, go to www.sauce.net.au.

PAGE 23

R E G U R G I TAT O R

ROCK SALT

SUCCESSFUL, BUT NOT SATISFIED

I don’t mind this one as much as I ’ve minded other records in the past. It’s quite pleasant.

After five albums spent defining how to be un-definable, multi-faceted rockers Regurgitator could be forgiven for letting their guard down a bit, and making something you could call “pretty typical ‘Gurge”.

But they won’t have a bar of it – in fact, on album number six, they’ve hit us with … wait, are they love songs? I spoke to Quan Yeomans.

Are you in Hong Kong at the moment?

I am. I am, yeah.

Are you based there these days?

Kind of trying to be based … somewhere! [Laughs] You know? I’m having a bit of a problem getting my roots down.

But I love this city, and every time I come back to it, it feels like home. This is where I want to be at this point. But if you’re looking for me, I’m generally here, or in Australia somewhere.

Is it a case of … are you looking for a bit of identity and history?

Oh, no, no – not at all. My mother’s Vietnamese. Obviously, everyone looks for identity somewhere … I kind of like this idea of being “nobody” here as well, and just being an alien.

I think I’m slightly addicted to that feeling, actually.

You guys look pretty much like aliens on your tour poster. What was the concept behind that?

It was just a really nice photo that Paul took of us … I really liked the silhouette, but I kind of wanted to make it a bit weirder, I guess, and take out the human aspect of it, a bit.

Do you remember the first day that you attended the communications degree at Queensland University of Technology?

Oh yeah – shit yeah.

I remember you in your long, dark, black coat.

[Laughs] I guess meeting the other guys in the ‘Gurge, and the success that you’ve had, has really been your life since that time?

Yeah. I mean, a great part of it, certainly. We’ve been together for fourteen years now, and we’ve been fortunate enough to be able to survive doing what we love to do, and without making too many terrible compromises.

So it’s been very, very fortunate, and very great. It’s been a great life.

How are you feeling about the new album? Let’s go for a bit of honesty here – not the promo spiel!

Oh, come on. You’re talking to me! As if you’re not going to get the complete f*cking honest truth anyway! [Laughs] I’m actually reasonably comfortable with this one. I normally really f*cking hate it … if you’re an artist, basically art equals failure. That’s what you do – you just fail constantly. And sometimes you fail in a respectful, kind of interesting way, and other times you just fail in an ugly, boring kind of way. So I mean, I’m always going to be too close to it to give you a impartial, unbiased, critical kind of opinion. But I don’t mind this one as much as I’ve minded other records in the past. It’s quite pleasant. And it’s different in regards to the actual content; it’s our first kind of “romance record”, so that’s new territory for me, and new territory for the band, and quite unusual for a band like us to try and do, I think.

Is that because you’re all getting older?

We’re getting in touch with our emotions.

Ooh, that’s beautiful. You’ve touched me in a soft, gooey spot there.

Yeah. Well that’s what we hoped to do with this record, I guess – touch people in a soft spot! [Laughs]

By Dave Williams

Don’t forget “gooey” as well … Why, then, has this happened?

Why have you become more romantic?

I guess just our lives. I mean, the other guys are all fathers, so they’re very much in touch with their emotional sides. I mean, it’s a very emotional thing to become a father and live that kind of family life … I mean, they’re both really good fathers; Benjamin is, like, an outstanding father, I think – he’s got two great kids, and he’s really happy. And Peter’s kind of enjoying it as well, and doing the best he can. It brings out different things in both of them, and it’s really amazing to watch. I unfortunately have not taken the plunge … fortunately/unfortunately, I don’t know. But I’m a bit of an outsider for the bunch. I mean, even my manager has kids now, so I feel like a bit of an outsider when it comes to the peers.

You’re just a bit stunted.

I am, I am. I’m impotent … that’s what it looks like, anyway!

No rock stars are impotent! Come on!

Oh, some of them have done way too many drugs, and probably [suffered] damage. But that’s beside the point. I think the point is, I think the romantic stuff has come from my … I’m currently in a turgid kind of romance, I guess, so a lot of the writing was because of the person I’m with. And yeah; the other stuff that’s come from Ben is because of that reason, I think, and whatever he was going through personally at the time. You’d have to ask him, I guess.

Why was Love & Paranoia recorded in Brazil? Why did you go to Brazil to do it? Just for fun?

Yeah, pretty much; just for a new experience. I think Benjamin had met a couple of people who owned a studio there, and they were like, “Yeah, come over!” And he was like, “Yeah, OK!” And then Paul found this guy on Myspace, and he had photos of his studio up on his site, and we went, “Oh, yeah – that’s alright! Let’s do that!”

Then we arrived, and we were like, “What the fuck have we done?” [Laughs] We all kind of just worked around it. That’s kind of how we operate; we put ourselves in these really difficult positions, and kind of get the best out of it that we can. [The band famously recorded the album Mish Mash! in a glass bubble studio in Melbourne’s Federation Square, in full view of the public] ONLINE: Quam and I shoot the shit on college days, and swap word definitions without actually knowing what the hell we’re talking about. To listen to an MP3 of the full interview, go to www.sauce.net.au

Regurgitator fuck with your eardrums at Sirocco’s in Burnie on the 9th of November, Launceston’s 39Bar on the 10th, and Moorilla Estate in Hobart on the 11th.

DARDANELLES

MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL, IT’S ALEX THE PRETTIEST DARDANELLES OF THEM ALL ROCK SALT

By Tom Wilson

…[it was] done fairly cheaply and turned out pretty well…

Videos on a budget with a supercool spin, eclectic music tastes defying genres, and our interviewer’s sorrow to discover that Alex doesn’t think he’s the hottest muso to ever walk past reflective glass. Read on for all this and just a bit more from Tom’s chat with Alex of The Dardanelles…

Mate, firstly, give me a bit of a brief history of the band how long have you guys been playing together?

About one and a half years, we met each other in Melbourne, we were all originally from there, and started playing together and here we are.

Okay, so what were some of the musical tastes that you guys found you shared?

A wide reaching interest in all sorts of music really. We liked listening to everything from sort of guitar music to hip hop music, dance to even classical music and trying to do something that sort of reflects those tastes in our own projects.

Yeah, I’ve noticed from what I’ve heard of you guys online, especially a track like Alone is Not, a very versatile set of influences, I’m wondering was it always your intentions to, I guess, create the synergy of different genres?

Yeah I think so, I think that genres are just a marketing tool for

PAGE 24

bands and record labels to use and stuff, and we never wanted to try and be limited by genres, we wanted to do something original, you know something that we could call our own, and with this album we’ve been able to do that I think.

I just watched the music video for Mirror Mirror, the title track of the album. Now tell me about the concept behind that, the setting, the turning in circles, who came up with that concept, was it you guys or the production company?

It was the production company; they came up with that treatment, with just involving what appeared to be a continuous shot going around in a circle… [it was] done fairly cheaply and turned out pretty well.

Do you reckon the way that it was shot - in what ways do you think it kind of maybe represents the song?

I guess it’s that continuous motion, and I guess the surreal

aspects of it, what with all the… in one half of the room, all the special effects happening.

Oh not really, I mean I probably have but can’t sort of recall.

So what do you reckon are some of the hallmarks of a good video and what are some of your favourites?

I couldn’t really pinpoint any hallmarks as such, but I guess something that tries to do something more than just the standard band playing in a room, playing a song… something that tries to add something to the music of the song… some of my favourites… I like that one of London Calling by The Clash when they’re standing on the edge of the river. It’s hard to think of some.

Okay… well here’s some wordplay on the title of your album. What was the last thing that crossed your mind when you looked in the mirror? You can have some fun with this and bullshit if you want.

Um, [laughs] I don’t know probably this morning to just have a shower before I leave for Brisbane.

I was expecting you to mention Tool?

Tool! Why?

Dardanelles play Hobart’s Republic Bar on November 9th and Launceston’s James Hotel on November 10th.

Have you seen any of their videos? Almost entirely claymation and stuff, they’ve won awards!

To listen to an MP3 of the full interview, go to www. sauce.net.au.

So not “Damn, I’m good looking!”

No… no… that’s never really crossed my mind.

B E X TA

STEPPING OUT OF HER COMFORT ZONE BANGERS & MASH

By Dave Williams

Settle down, boys – Bexta hasn’t cloned herself. But she has done something almost as good – she’s just released the tenth installment of her Mixology compilation series ... and guess what? She’s picked Launceston to launch the three-disc dance music opus into the ears of northern dance fans, before anyone else gets to hear her play it! What’s that, Launceston clubbers? Did I just hear you turn towards Hobart and yell “sucked in”?

So whereabouts are you on the road at the moment?

I’m in Sydney at the moment. I’ve been living in Melbourne for a little while ... I played at Home on Friday night, and I’ve just been doing some business while I’ve been in Sydney this week.

You’ve got your latest Mixology CD out now – is that right?

It’s out on November the 3rd ... The very first launch is Launceston [laughs], so that’s pretty cool ... It feels like forever since I’ve been to Launceston, yeah ... I get to Hobart quite a lot, but Launceston probably once a year at the most ... So it’s good to get it first off the rank on the tour.

Now, people are going to be going, “Oh, I wonder what this CD is like, compared to the last one?” So how would you “compare and contrast” ... sounds like a high school essay, doesn’t it?

[Laughs] Yeah, I remember those sorts of questions! Well, because this is number ten, we’ve tried to do something a little bit special. So we’ve made it a triple CD. One is sort of current stuff, including one or two of my new tracks, and then the other two are like anthems. So we’ve made it almost like a best-of Mixology comp. So one of the anthem CDs is more trance, and then the other one is more hard – not hardstyle, but the harder end of trance. So I guess that’s the difference. It’s more of a ... it’s a little bit of a retrospective on where Mixology has come from, and where it’s going.

And I guess that the sets that you’ll be playing will be a bit of a mix of all three CDs? Yeah, yeah. It’s funny, since ... it takes a couple of months to work the track listings out and everything for the compilation, so I’ve been listening to all my old favourite tracks for the last few months, and sneaking them into my sets, and everyone’s like, “Oh my god! I haven’t heard this track for years!” [Laughs] Yeah, I’ll definitely be doing – for the launch – a bit of a mix-up between some of my favourite old anthems, and the current stuff.

You’ve got some hot new press shots out now, haven’t you?

[Laughs] They’re a little bit different from the normal, yeah!

Tell me about the direction there. You are totally embracing your sexuality in this stuff.

I just wanted this one to ... it’s almost like I feel like I’ve grown up ... I don’t know whether it’s because it’s number ten or something.

It’s just made me think a bit more about what I want to express in a visual way, as well as in a musical way ... and yeah, we sort of hotted-it-up a bit! [Laughs] Just a little bit.

Yeah – stepping out of my comfort zones as well was something that was ... I find it sort of good ... I’m a little bit shy sometimes, so it’s nice to step out of the comfort zone.

It wasn’t so long ago [that] I think you were playing up in the Snowy Mountains or something, and you had all your CDs stolen – is that right?

Yep. I played at Jindabyne.

It was actually while you were playing. How did that happen?

Well, I put on my last track, and I was jumping around, and then,

I turned around and my CDs – which were on-stage with me, on a chair – had disappeared! And I thought, “God – I don’t think I’ve drunk that much!” I sort of asked a few people; I thought maybe someone was joking around ... because you don’t expect them to just walk off. And then, I’m like, “No, I’m serious! Where are my CDs?” And I never got them back, so I was a bit annoyed about that.

It must have been hard though, to go on, and to find all your favourite old tracks with all your CDs taken?

Well I think from the years of doing a lot of producing and stuff, I’ve had everything, or ninety-nine-percent of it backed-up on my computer; there were only a couple of things that I’ve been given, like mix CDs from internationals ... So it wasn’t too devastating.

Like, if it was a box of vinyl that you’ve had, with your classic anthems in them or something, that would have been devastating.

So I guess it was kind of lucky.

I want to express in a visual way, as well as in a musical way

What are you doing before a set, and what do you do after?

Have you got routines?

Not really. I like to turn up a little bit before the show, just to get the vibe on the club, and what people are sort of feeling that night, that sort of thing ... and to get a bit hyped-up, and mingle. Afterwards, I just sort of get out. I actually get quite emotionally drained while I’m playing; after I play, I go “Oh my god!” [Laughs] So [I] just relax, have a drink ... it depends on the night really.

So what were you saying about the nickname that you’ve given to your double-image image?

Oh, I call them “the evil twins”. [Laughs] If you had a double, you’d get the double to do all the jobs that you don’t like doing, wouldn’t you? What would those be?

Interviews?

[Laughs] Probably traveling the day after a gig! It always hurts a little bit more after a late night, and not much sleep in a hotel room that’s not your own bed, you know? [Laughs] I don’t know how it would work. I don’t know how I’d actually pull that off, but anyway ...

Bexta launches Mixology 10 in Launceston on the 2nd of November, and plays Syrup in Hobart on the 30th.

To listen to an MP3 of the full interview, go to www.sauce.net.au

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JOHN COURSE

GETTING THE SPIN ON THE MINISTRY OF SOUND ANNUAL 2007

By Tom Wilson

BANGERS & MASH

It’s that time of year again when summer begs for the Ministry of Sound to bear down on clubbers and dance fans with some DJ magic dust from John Course and Goodwill to vibe up the hottest tracks on the floor in Oz this year. Johnno Course and Tommo from Sauce got their interview mode on about the new Annual, and Kanye West, with some Cox squeezed in at the end…

So what’s the occasion for us to be speaking right now?

Well, the Annual CD is out next week, and we’ve been having a chat to everybody about it, and the tour that’s coming up for doing it. The Annual is obviously an annual so that’s why it’s called that, so just having a chat to everyone about that.

So your work on the Annual – did you mix everything on that yourself?

No, I mixed one disc and Goodwill mixed the other disc, so I’ve done the last three, so it’s about trying to get the right track listing … trying to find the one’s that are going to be big over summer and getting a vibe for what you can put on there and mixing it all.

So whose disc is better?

Well that’s completely up to the listener you know! Well actually I haven’t heard Will’s disc, the copies have only come back from the factory. I think they’ve both got a different flavour and across the two you get a fair reflection of what’s happening in Australian clubs.

What sort of electronic music fans do you reckon this album will appeal to, are we talking trance fans, house fans, what would you say?

I don’t think it’s gonna be on the top list of too many trance fans, I think the thing about the Annual, it’s one of those CDs that always stand the test of time really well, you put it on three years later and you kind of get a real feeling of what that summer was like three years before and I think that’s the secret of the Annual’s success.

I don‘t think it‘s a secret, it‘s just having a super-strong track listing and it doesn’t just appeal to die-hard clubbers it appeals to someone who goes, “I’m gonna buy the Green Day album, and The Best of U2 and I’m gonna buy the Annual”. They’re not necessarily diehard dance fans but they’re people who want to have a little bit of dance to listen to, a little bit of rock and top 40 and those sort of people buy the Annual as well as your clubbers that know and love every track on it almost from day one, so it’s got a wide appeal.

…they’re people who want to have a little bit of dance to listen to, a little bit of rock and top 40

So what was the last CD you bought out of interest?

The last CD I bought was Kanye West, I’m not a massive hip-hop fan but I think the way Kanye does stuff is pretty cool, I kinda like his vibe and the productions are always real interesting to listen to, it’s something that was on the shopping list really the first day it came out.

Who is your favourite Australian DJ to work with and why?

Australia-wide there’s a lot of good DJs and there’s not really any that kind of stand out. I think internationally one of the DJs I’ve always loved is Karl Cox, basically because he is technically outstanding but when he drops the consoles he’s just a decent guy.

I don’t have a lot of time for people with rock-star attitude. I think if you’ve always got your feet on the ground and you’ve got a passion for what you do then you’re on the right path.

To listen to the full interview, go to www.sauce.net.au.

AMBULANCE GLOBAL BATTLE OF THE BANDS TAS WINNERS Ambulance are a Tasmanian four-piece hard rock outfit, with passion for golf, firecrackers and, of course, their music.

Cam and Tom met up late 2006. Tom (former drummer of Tailer) was out of a band and out of luck. Meanwhile, Cam was leaving his band to get out of that cramped, shithouse cover scene.

Joining Steel is his brother Zig on guitars, who’s zany and dynamic stage presence has gained him an almost infamous name amongst the Tasmanian music scene with various bands, including his creations Well Hung Monkey and Knee Deep, and more recently as a member of Tyrant during the past twelve months. Zig is influenced by countless guitar legends including Eddie Van Halen, Zakk Wylde, Randy Roads, Frank Zappa, George Lynch, Ritchie Blackmore and countless others.

Next priority for Ambulance was exposure, and what better way than to play an original competition? The four graced the stage to give Hobart a preview of their hard work so far.

With a high-energy set, Ambulance drew in the crowd, and the response was overwhelming. After their success on the night, the boys are off to represent the state in Sydney.

On bass guitar, Craig “Sheppo” Shepperd confesses to being a huge fan of various hair metal bands from the 80’s, as well as the countless new-breed metal acts. He’s influenced by bass

www.myspace.com/ambulanceband

DE JAH GROOVE

Raw energy pours off the stage as the mob begins to jump and gyrate. Sweat is flying (onstage and off), and the frenzied party comes to a climax. A trend-setter up

PAGE 26

Steel returned to Tasmania in 2004, where he set about forming a new band that would feature an all new line-up, and create an obnoxious, attitude-fueled, take-no-prisoners, rock ‘n’ roll band to re-introduce Tasmanian audiences back to rock music!

They started writing originals whilst going through many bass players and vocalists to complete their sound. This dragged on for many months to come. Mid-2007, after the two had written half-a-dozen instrumentals, they met up with Carl (former Sydney-sider). Together the boys continued to write their music. Mid-to-late 2007, Rohan (former vocalist of Bionic Bilby) jumped aboard the Ambulance. Rohan, changing his musical direction since the Bilby days, filled the songs with melodic and distinct vocal lines.

Before they take the big bird to Sydney, the guys are in the studio putting together their self-titled EP. The release date will be announced on their Myspace

There’s that unmistakable buzz in the air. You know the one. Something hot is about to happen. You could be anywhere – Hobart, Launceston, Fitzroy, Byron, Bondi – the feeling is always the same. Six musicians with fire in their bellies take the stage. Hundreds of hip-shakers shuffle forward, ready to party. You hold your breath, not taking another for fear of missing that precious first note. An explosion of sound fills the room, and from the first down-beat, the crowd begins to pump.

ROADKILL Roadkill is a project put together by veteran hard rock vocalist, Neil Steel – best known for founding the 1980’s Tasmanian hard rock act, Tyrant. Over a twenty-year period, Tyrant have released an EP and three full-length albums, which has established the band through overseas sales.

the front is screaming her head off and the guy next to her is about to make his move.

The band rock out one last finale tune, then stagger backstage as the bouncers move the party somewhere up the street … You wake up the next morning, a smile on your face and the words “renegade reggae” scratched into your arm. Sharp flashbacks of brass explosion and fierce drumbeats ambush your fragile state, and the words of a song called Lazy Sunday repeat over in your head. But, the question still remains – where am I? Dé Jah Groove play Hobart’s Republic Bar with Unleash The Nugget on the 28th of November.

players such as Nikki Sixx and Lemmy. Sheppo also insists that he’s a karaoke whore, as he loves to belt out a “classic” rock song or two.

Drummer Keith Kenny – also from Well Hung Monkey – completes the current line-up with his dynamic, hard-hitting style, and his passion to upstage the numerous try-hard drummers currently playing in Tasmania!

Roadkill delivers a full-frontal attack, with music that is aimed straight at the hearts and minds of rock fans who crave and miss their dose of high-octane rock ‘n’ roll.

Roadkill launch their debut CD release at Hobart’s Brisbane Hotel on the 9th of November.

NICK TOTH

BRINGING HIP-HOP BACK TO THE 80S

By Dave Williams

BANGERS & MASH

In meeting Nick Toth, I came across a kindred sprit. A lover of the old-school still looking for the new. A lover of hip-hop, if you go down to the Metz in Hobart soon, you can meet him too.

So Nick, what are you up to today?

Well today I’m finishing off my radio show – I’m sending it off to the radio station called “Alchemy” on ABC Radio, y’know? Yeah, that’s what I’m doing, working on my radio show.

Do you pre-record that in your own studio?

Yeah, yeah, exactly - I pre-record that in my own studio.

Are you still doing stuff with The Edge as well?

Unfortunately no. Dave changed the format from an urban station into something more like a pop music station, so most of the specialist shows have been axed – Bugger… so do you think that’s because urban music isn’t popular enough to sustain a commercial radio station as a whole sort of format for the one station?

Possibly, yeah – I mean, what has happened… urban music has really become pop music for the labels and for the industry movers and shakers – Rhianna, Jay-Z, Beyonce, you know, those artists are now just pop artists, not just R’n’B or hip-hop anymore, y’know? Although the genre where they come from is urban music, it’s categorised as pop music you know what I mean?

It’s almost like you can’t win, because once you get too big, you’re not in the urban genre anymore, you’re in the pop genre. So there you have it, sucks huh?

I guess everything changes and in a way it’s good because it means urban music is becoming, by definition, even more “pop” u-lar…

I guess, I dunno. I’m personally very bored with a lot of hip-hop stuff stuff that talks about… it’s not why I got into hip-hop in the 80s, y’know? But that’s just me.

So why did you get into hip-hop in the 80s?

It was an incredibly energetic, fresh form of expression that people could use who didn’t have much access to anything really, and talk about their life, their lifestyle and problems, their joys, their whole experience from another part of the world – I was living in Europe, where I’m from, Austria – it seemed to be an honest music – people spoke to you directly, they didn’t even sing, they rapped to you, they just speak to you, y’know? And now unfortunately, it’s all about fantasy

worlds, you know, living in a bling-bling world with gangstas and hos and all this crap… that’s not how I live, you know?

I can’t relate to that stuff. I don’t know anyone here who actually lives like that – the young kids who listen to it treat it like some Hollywood movie, some sort of escapism… which is cool, y’know, it’s always going to be part of it.

…It’s become a bit of a minstrel show – [these] clichéd images of black people…

[But] you have so much power over the young people with this music that you should try and make it a little more constructive… and it’s not just me who’s saying that – my friends in the ‘States who are artists, whether underground or mainstream, pretty much say these things as well, y’know?

It’s become a bit of a minstrel show – [these] clichéd images of black people, black males [are shown as] uneducated, weed-smoking, gold-fronts wearing… idiots, and the only thing they can do is crime, and the black women are just sexobjects – that’s really there all is to it, y’know?

The fact that there’s African-American middle classes is completely ignored… there’s been a big backlash for years against those images for years from the African-American academic societies and so forth…

To listen to the full interview, go to www.sauce.net.au

THE POTBELLEEZ

TOO MUCH DANCE MUSIC MAKES YOU FAT

By Dave Williams

BANGERS & MASH

With their workload, Dave and Jonny certainly get enough exercise – but for some reason, their Potbelleez aren’t shrinking ... they’re growing, and they’re heading this way right now, ready to take to Curly’s Bar with more DJing equipment than is even remotely tasteful ... Prepare to get fat in the best way ...

When you say that you’ve been “working really hard”, what does that mean? Can you give me some examples of what a week might be for The Potbelleez, that has resulted in your success?

Jonny: OK, for instance, our mid-week would be taken up [by] massive studio sessions – anything from four hours to twelve hours in the studio ... up to twenty hours. And then there’s the whole press work for the weekend – gathering tunes, and making sure we’re up to date with all that.

And then there’s like ... promotion, the traveling ... there’s a four-hour plane ride on the weekend ... three cities, six gigs ... constantly being on top of our game; constantly being on top of our production ... working so that we’re one step ahead of the game the whole time. There’s all the office work, all the background work that we do with our manager ... We’ve got a publishing company that we run ...

There’s loads of different things, man. It’s just full-on. You get up at eight o’clock every morning, and you’re gone until two, three AM every day, you know? That’s been going for five years.

The only things we weren’t doing together was sharing the women!

Wow. So are you guys looking after yourselves? Eating low-fat meals and stuff?

Jonny: You can’t have a Potbelly without the fattening meal, you know? [Laughs] But we are; we’re taking care of ourselves, man.

You know, you’ve got to take care of yourself. We wouldn’t have as much energy as we do if we didn’t take care of ourselves.

When you guys got together, it was your technical skills that brought you together - “do you want to play with me” kind of thing. But it wasn’t based on [the fact] that you got along, really – you got along afterwards. Is that kind of how things developed?

Jonny: Oh, you know ...

Dave: When we first met, we hit it off as people, you know? He’s an Irish larrikin getting it out there ... so we hit it off; we had that in common. And then, as soon as we got on the decks, it was just like ... we really kind of synched-up together, you know?

I’ve read that you use, what, six decks at a time? Is that right?

Jonny: Yeah, that’s right. It depends on the venue. I mean, we’ll use a minimum of four decks, two mixers and a couple of effects units, but yeah, we like to use six, because we like to keep the vinyl in there, and do a bit of scratching on the vinyl ... it’s all patched into each other, and its a wall of sound that we try and produce out of our DJing and our live performances.

Dave: Usually we have a lot of restrictions, you know? We would like to have our full setup, but, obviously ... I know you’ve been to a lot of the clubs yourself – you can’t really accommodate for the big setups sometimes. But as Jonny said, it’s a minimum of four decks and two mixers.

The Potbeleez and Friendz When you said earlier that you both shared the same vision for where you want The Potbelleez to go, how did you establish that vision? Did you guys have big talks over beers about it, or was it coincidental? How did that work out?

Jonny: You know, when you come from Dublin, you’ve got a certain “giddy-up” to you; you’ve got a certain fighting spirit, you know? We laid down the law on the very [first day], day one, what we were going to try and achieve from this project, and this passion that we have for our music and our playing. We basically laid down a five-year goal, and every single one of our goals has come true – even more. Now we’ve got to kind of start dreaming again for the

next stage, because we’ve got this number-one, we’ve got this EP out – we’ve done pretty much everything we wanted, and we’re taking the next step towards the vision of Basement Jaxx, Groove Armada, Daft Punk, Chemical Brothers, Underworld – that kind of thing, you know? It’s basically all about the vision we have for our future, you know?

How many major arguments have you had in the last five years?

Dave: Look at it like this; there’s been broken kneecaps, there’s been broken arms, broken hands ... Obviously, the two of us lived together for a good two, three years ... So we were living together, working together, going on holidays together ... the only things we weren’t doing together was sharing the women! [Laughs]

Dave: It’s like writing out a list of things, you know? We write out a list – like, we want to play in Home Nightclub, we want to get a record deal, we want to be international DJs ... It’s just as simple as that, really ... just setting goals, man.

The Potbelleez play Curly’s Bar in Hobart on the 3rd of November.

To listen to an MP3 of the full interview, go to www.sauce.net.au PAGE 27

KAZ JAMES

BODYROCK WITH YOUR PANTS OFF

By Dave Williams

BANGERS & MASH

There’s a T-shirt design you occasionally see that proclaims “DJs are not rockstars!” Well, it seems somebody forgot to tell Kaz James, as the Bodyrockers member and dance music maestro has played enough private parties and dated enough celebrities to make the likes of Tommy Lee green with envy. We recently chatted about the hedonistic excesses of Ibiza, and why Australia is in desperate need of more nudity …

From my point-of-view, your life just seems like every young man’s fantasy, you know? Success in their career, making music, popular in the clubs, dating movie stars … is there anything that could possibly be better for you, or what?

[Laughs] Maybe getting a bit more sleep would be great! It all sounds great, but I work pretty hard at what I do man. Maybe that’s the kind of life you dream of having; it sounds good.

How did that all happen? You went from Australia to Dirty Laundry and Pacha and Kiera [Knightly] and Kate [Moss] – tell me how it all developed!

I pretty much … every year, I’d sort of travel to Europe and see whatever gigs I could get from about the age of eighteen – just networking and meeting people, and trying to work with loads of producers. I did that for a few years, and then, one day, one of the records cracked, and the next thing you know, I’m over here, living in London.

Where are you a resident at these days? Or is that for the lower-level DJs? [Laughs] Nah, man – residencies are wicked, if you can get one! [Laughs] Nah, I’ll tell you what – residencies are much … I’d prefer to have a residency than travel to a different country every weekend, honestly. I’m a resident at Pacha in the summers mainly, most years. At the moment now, I play everywhere, man – all over the world. So Friday I’m in Singapore, Saturday I’m in Slovenia, the next week I’m in Austria and Berlin. So it just changes every weekend, so it’s quite hard to hold down a residency.

You just think, “What the f*ck is going on here?

Dudes with strap-ons, and chicks copping it on the stage …

You must have lots of different currency in your wallet.

Yeah, I’ve got a few different currencies. But it’s all Euro now, isn’t it? When I get to Asia it’s different, but yeah, I’ve had a few different currencies in all.

So what are you up to in terms of your own original production, and Bodyrockers and that sort of stuff? I guess, with all this travel, it would be pretty hard to do anything, wouldn’t it?

Well, I’ve sort of slowed-up this summer, and, yeah, been recording … for the last year, I’ve been recording my own solo album, which I’ve nearly finished, and the first single will come out in Australia in December, with Sony. So I’m really looking forward to that – I think it’s going to be wicked. So I’m really happy and pleased with that, and I’ve worked with a few cool artists on there as well. Yeah man, that’s what I’ve been doing for the last year – touring and recording pretty full-on, you know? I’m looking forward to coming home and sitting in the sun for a bit.

This is a bit of an out-there question, but I scanned the internet obviously before doing this interview, and it came up that both Madonna and Prince Harry – of England – are fans of yours. I was just wondering – when did you play when they were part of the audience? And was Prince Harry dressed like a Nazi at the time?

[Laughs] Nah, I’ve played for Madonna; I played her album launch, which she asked us to play, which was pretty cool. And yeah, Prince Harry’s favourite song is I Like The Way You Move – he’s said it in interviews and that sort of thing …

As you mentioned before, you play different countries, or maybe multiple countries in a weekend. Club-land is fantastic for its freedom and its expression of sexuality and hedonism. I was just wondering – where do you reckon is the most hedonistic, the most out-there or debaucherous club in the world? Ooh …

Or top three?

Top three? Right … Any strange party in Ibiza; any after party in Ibiza … they’re pretty out there. What else would I say? The Box in New York is pretty freaky. And … there’s a party actually in Milan which is called “Pervert Gold,” which is f*cking out-there, mate. [Laughs] Really f*cking out-there, I’ll tell you what! You just think, “What the f*ck is going on here? Dudes with strap-ons, and chicks copping it on the stage … I was like … f*ck … out-there!”

And Ibiza … I guess there’d just be heaps of nudity at the Ibiza parties, and your usual sort of ways to enjoy yourself.

Yeah, it’s pretty … Ibiza’s the best of the best, but I guess, at a lot of places … in a lot of the countries, you get nudity and all that sort of shit.

But … I dunno man – just some crazy shit.

We don’t get enough of that in Australia, I don’t think.

Yeah, I agree, I agree – there should be definitely a lot more.

It’s too heavy on security and, oh, you’ve got to be wearing the right freakin’ clothes and all that sort of stuff.

Yeah, I totally agree there! [Laughs] You should open up your own club, man, and set some international rules.

Yeah, alright – got you! [Laughs] “Naked Tuesdays!” … “Dirty electro and, f*cking four hundred naked chicks!” Right, got you!

To listen to an MP3 of the full interview, go to www.sauce.net.au

PAGE 28

BOB

DOWNE

COMEDY

DIRTY ON DOWNE

By Tom Wilson

In our day-to-day lives we all wear masks to some extent – whether it’s that stone-set face you wear to work so your co-workers return home safely each day, or that happy smile you plaster on when the in-laws make yet another joke at your expense, masks are our survival instincts honed to precision. Mark Trevorrow’s been wearing his mask since he was five, which is strange because that mask belongs to Bob Downe. Tom, Bob, and Mark had a natter over tea and biccies…

Who am I talking to right now, Mark Trevorrow or Bob Downe?

You’re talking to Mark Trevorrow – I do character interviews if I’m on broadcast, you know, radio or television, but it’s a bit exhausting just between you and me.

Well it seems that the voice I’m hearing now compared to the voice I know – it’s a pretty big difference…

That’s right – because Bob is a character!

Where was Bob Downe born?

It’s a twenty-five-year-long saga… but basically the short story is, I’ve been doing Bob since I was a child. He was my little clown to make everybody laugh, you know, among friends and family… so that’s the story… I actually created him when I was five… he actually got a name and a look and a full sort of stage “flowering” in 1984…

Would you say it’s almost similar to the drag culture?

Yes, very much so – I was really inspired by drag performance when I was young, and basically Bob’s a kind of drag king character. I mean, I invented drag king before the lesbians did.

He is like the drag character, he is. The way that I sell a song is very much inspired and influenced by the drag performers I saw when I was growing up.

So do you play him as gay?

Yeah, I do, increasingly. In the early days I used to play him very straight. He was very boring, kind of day-time television – when I started doing him twenty years ago, or whenever it was, it was very stilted – it had quite a lid on it. But it doesn’t anymore… it’s quite outrageous now… I suppose that reflects that when I was young I didn’t want people to know I was gay and now I don’t give a f*ck! And now people secretly think I’m straight! That’s

…I ’ve been doing Bob since I was a child…

…That was a year before I was born!

Well, there you go…

When you started professionally performing with him, was there a sense that you felt that, as Bob Downe, you could say and do things that you couldn’t do as Mark Trevorrow?

Yes, very much so, that’s a pretty good way to put it, really.

What were some of those things that you could and couldn’t do?

I [can] just be pretty outrageous in a way… [you] can say things in a comic character that just wouldn’t work if you were just being you. I think that’s true of all character-based comedy.

It’s a mask – a sort of safe mask – and [the audience] knows that because you’re in character you might not… I don’t know… they go with sort of the more outrageous ideas and concepts if they’re looking at a painted up kind of clown in a mask…

I suppose that’s why we invent masks – that’s what drama, character-based theatre, and comedy is sort of about. Everybody already knows that that’s not a real person standing in front of them.

There’s some kind of old, deep kind of need being fulfilled – it’s a really old part of human culture isn’t it, the idea of being behind a mask and saying outrageous things, sort of like the court jester, you know?

what happens to me at Mardi Gras – people in the street [say to me], “Oh, you’re that one who pretends to be gay and you’re not really,” and I say “Yes, you would do that, wouldn’t you, to help your career!”

Bob heads down to Launceston’s Princess Theatre on November 1st and the Theatre Royal Hobart on November 2nd.

To listen to an MP3 of the full interview where Tom comes out to help his career, go to www.sauce.net.au.

INSIGHT

OFFERING PENETRATIVE STIMULATION IN THE ARTS

By Tom Wilson

SPOTLIGHT

How many exhibitions offer penetration and stimulation of your grey matter at the same time? Not bloody many, and as a bonus prize this wild night of sensorial assaults could be the ultimate escape from all the election bullshit. Andrew Shepherdson gives Tom a chance to don a beret and learn more about Tassie’s ism-defying arts scene and Insight, his party for the arty being held at the Launceston GPO in November.

Who were some of the artists who will be exhibiting on the night and why did you pick them?

Because I think I’ve got the capabilities of creating something special, pretty much, I reckon.

Are the artworks that are being exhibited, do they have any sort of common ground?

Extremely different styles from the photography on the walls right though to the musicians, every artist that’s been involved they have their own individual styles it’s going to be quite good actually, quite exciting to see them all work for themselves, without any restrictions from anywhere else, it’s a forum for creative arts.

Will you be exhibiting any of your won works at this event?

My pencil drawings will be on display.

How would you describe them to someone who hasn’t seen them… for your own personal works.

I consider myself a symbolist, basically when I draw I’m drawing using symbols that represent other things like I use the circle a fair bit and that’s a representation for thinking, just like the comics with a thinking bubble, up to a cloud of words, so I use the circle for that symbol.

What are some of the other styles for the other artists exhibiting do we have a surrealist, do we have an impressionist, what do we have do you reckon?

That’s a good question! I think Tasmanian artists don’t really fit into isms - we play with them. But especially this group of people they have their own ism I suppose. Tasmanian artists in general are like that, I think, which is quite pleasing to actually watch.

What are some aspects of the Tassie arts scene that you love and what are some of the things that piss you off and need improving?

Push the originality, stretch it - just drive it a bit harder.

Do you think this has been a problem for some time?

I don’t think it’s a problem, I think it’s a personal issue for all artists.

In general, I think the Tassie arts scene is quite thriving and out there and people just have to find it. It’s all there. The outlet for full creative capacity can be a bit minimal at times.

So what will you be tackling after Insight?

The next one - it’s an infinite job, there’s no retirement in arts, it’s constant, and me in particular being a visual artist, it’s all visual from the time you open your eyes, it’s all light and shade… musicians would hear sound all the time, like a car driving, it’s constant, absolutely constant.

…Tasmanian artists don’t really fit into isms - we play with them…

Insight. One night only. Limited tickets available from Fresh on Charles $30 per person. Cocktail food included.

PAGE 29

STREET FASHION

JOEL 22

KIERAN 17

KUMO 21

MEL 18

Favourite band: Oh, Sleeper.

Favourite band: Placebo.

Favourite band: Bass Kleph.

Favourite band: The Clash.

Who would you most like to be stuck in an elevator with, and why?

My girlfriend, because she is hot.

Who would you most like to be stuck in an elevator with, and why?

Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Who would you most like to be stuck in an elevator with, and why?

Your sister.

Who would you most like to be stuck in an elevator with, and why?

Lauren Tarr.

Who would you least like to be stuck in an elevator with, and why?

Someone who stinks. I hate people who stink!

Who would you least like to be stuck in an elevator with, and why?

John Howard.

Who would you least like to be stuck in an elevator with, and why?

You!

Who would you least like to be stuck in an elevator with, and why?

Any emo.

If you had a pet monkey, what would you train it to do?

Make me food.

If you had a pet monkey, what would you train it to do?

All my work.

If you had a pet monkey, what would you train it to do?

Chuck poo.

And what would you name it?

Zimbardo.

And what would you name it?

Alfred The Moonyang

And what would you name it?

Hunky.

If you had a pet monkey, what would you train it to do?

Play drums.

And what would you name it?

Spanker.

PAGE 30

ON SUNDAYS forget about Monday

CELEBRATING THE END OF EXAMS TWO BIRTHDAYS AND THE START OF SUMMER

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Events start at 4pm, Tickets $10 each event or $15 for both!

Sales over the Metz bar, Ruffcut Records and on the door

PAGE 31

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THROUGHOUT THE CENTURIES THERE WERE MEN WHO TOOK FIRST STEPS, DOWN NEW ROADS, ARMED WITH NOTHING BUT THEIR OWN VISION. ONE STEP... A THOUSAND OPPORTUNITIES. MAKE EVERY STEP COUNT. WE ARE ENCOURAGED, BECAUSE EVERY WRONG ATTEMPT DISCARDED IS ANOTHER STEP FORWARD. CHANGE STARTS WHEN SOMEONE SEES THE NEXT STEP. YOU CAN NOT SAY THAT THE SKY IS THE LIMIT, THERE ARE FOOTSTEPS ON THE MOON. EVERY JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES, BEGINS WITH A SINGLE STEP. GREAT RESULTS CANNOT BE ACHIEVED IN ONE GIANT STEP, ITS A LOT OF LITTLE STEPS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

THROUGHOUT THE CENTURIES THERE WERE MEN WHO TOOK FIRST STEPS, DOWN NEW ROADS, ARMED WITH NOTHING BUT THEIR OWN VISION. ONE STEP... A THOUSAND OPPORTUNITIES. MAKE EVERY STEP COUNT. WE ARE ENCOURAGED, BECAUSE EVERY WRONG ATTEMPT DISCARDED IS ANOTHER STEP FORWARD. CHANGE STARTS WHEN SOMEONE SEES THE NEXT STEP. YOU CAN NOT SAY THAT THE SKY IS THE LIMIT, THERE ARE FOOTSTEPS ON THE MOON. EVERY JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES, BEGINS WITH A SINGLE STEP. GREAT RESULTS CANNOT BE ACHIEVED IN ONE GIANT STEP, ITS A LOT OF LITTLE STEPS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

THROUGHOUT THE CENTURIES THERE WERE MEN WHO TOOK FIRST STEPS, DOWN NEW ROADS, ARMED WITH NOTHING BUT THEIR OWN VISION. ONE STEP... A THOUSAND OPPORTUNITIES. MAKE EVERY STEP COUNT. CHANGE STARTS WHEN SOMEONE SEES THE NEXT STEP. WE ARE ENCOURAGED, BECAUSE EVERY WRONG ATTEMPT DISCARDED IS ANOTHER STEP FORWARD. YOU CAN NOT SAY THAT THE SKY IS THE LIMIT, THERE ARE FOOTSTEPS ON THE MOON.EVERY JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES, BEGINS WITH A SINGLE STEP. GREAT RESULTS CANNOT BE ACHIEVED IN ONE GIANT STEP, ITS A LOT OF LITTLE STEPS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.