Sauce - Issue 55, 14-11-07

On the street every second Wednesday

Edition #55 14/11/07 - 27/11/07 Made in Tasmania

Tix Available From Mojo Music Or The Venue www.myspace.com/jameshotell www.jameshotel.com.au 122 York Street Launceston 6334 7231

T SATURDAY 17TH NOVEMBER

SATURDAY 24TH NOVEMBER

SATURDAY 30 NOVEMBER

SATURDAY 8TH DECEMBER

Movember +Oh Mercy

+ Shock Corridor

Final Party And Awards Night

+ MC Miss Cheek + Mynse

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I’m more impressed with someone who can play the right notes in the right order … I’m sure that my back catalogue [isn’t] the best example of that

By Tom Wilson B

With a new record deal, a new sound, and a headline slot confirmed for January’s Soundscape Festival in Hobart, it’s time for The Living End to make some new nnoise. SAUCE spoke to Chris Cheney about signing with Dew Process, the band’s new material, getting his hair blown back, and why he thinks Prisoner Of Society So is terribly juvenile.

You guys guy recently signed with Dew Process. How did this come about?

And what wh does it mean for The Living End, ultimately?

Well … it means we can keep putting out music. [Laughs] Not that we wouldn’t be able to on another label, but … how did it come about? I don’t wouldn’ know … Our time had finished [with] EMI, with the last record. So we were kind of up-for-grabs, and we just did the usual thing … People just kind of knew about it … There’s an awareness there, and we just felt that they [Dew Process] were the best of the bunch, really … Just really good people, and really sort of intense lovers of music. We just felt that that would be the best home for us, really. It’s very early days, of course – we’re only just writing now for the next record. But it feels really good – we can’t wait to get this new album up-and-running …

So, that’s the music that’s been blowing your hair back. Following on, why have you been blowing your hair back? Yes, it’s a question about The Living End’s hairstyles! [Laughs] Yes it is! [Laughs] Are you implying I need a haircut or something? Because you’d be right!

Well, the last photo I saw of you, you were flame-red …

Ah, yeah – that’s long-gone now. We’re blonde at the moment! [Laughs] But that could change tomorrow …

It seems to be … the look of the band always seems to have a certain flare to it, and I was wondering if you could give me some inclination of what The Living End’s comeback might look like, as well as sound like?

At this point, what can you tell me about the new stuff you’re writing?

Well we’ve done two lots of demos, and … I don’t know – it just feels really Ah, OK … good at this stage. You normally end up … the first couple of batches … Well, this is how it works for us; we sort of flush out all the ideas. And the first ideas That is the worst phrased question in the world. are generally just getting everything working again; getting, I guess, the first It is, yeah! [Laughs] Well, I don’t know … We’re one of these bands who stages of the songs, and often they need a lot of work. But already these songs kind of … we started out having a very set image, you know? We came from are coming up really, really well. I just think we’re learning, as songwriters the rockabilly kind of scene, where a lot of that … it’s kind of eighty-percent and stuff, the direction we want to go. And with these songs, they’re just a bit image, you know? And for me, it’s always been a big part of rock ‘n’ roll. All more … I don’t know – it’s hard to explain, you know? When people try and my favourite bands had to look good as well as sound good. I just think it’s describe what kind of songs they’re writing, I don’t know whether it really a huge part of it. But with us … we’ve never really strayed too far from how comes across very well. But they’re kind of more “direct”. They just have we sort of started out, and I know that, for some bands, that could be sort of a depth to them that we haven’t had before, I think. They just sort of make career suicide, because a lot of people like to evolve … Apart from AC/DC, I sense … not that I am making sense at the moment! [Laughs] But it feels think most successful bands have gone through a number of stages and looks really positive – they feel good to play. That’s the thing. We’re really focusing and all that sort of stuff. But I think that that’s just kind of our foundation. on that, and we’ve been writing in a slightly different way this time … We’ve That’s kind of where we came from, and it will always be part of what we do. had a studio set up where we’re just writing and recording at the same time … And the look that went along with that, I think, is kind of ingrained in us, and We’re just trimming all the fat off, and just making sure that they rock, so we I just don’t think you’re going to see The Living End in tracksuits anytime know that, when we get on stage, that it’s just going to be the best that it can soon! [Laughs] But I guess we’ve tampered with it a little bit here and there, possibly be. Hopefully the songs are a step forward as well, but the main thing and probably dulled it down a little bit from the original, more psychobillyish kind of look. We’re hardly that kind of band anymore, but I guess there’s for us it to get that energy down on tape. elements there. Dunno! We’ll focus on the music first, and then we’ll get to At this point, while writing, what are some guitarists who have been the threads! [Laughs] blowing your hair back, so to speak?

I don’t know … I’m always into the “anti” kind of guitar players, you know? In what ways are you a different Chris Cheney to the one who wrote I mean, I like guys who can play Slash-y sort of stuff, but I’m more impressed Prisoner Of Society? with someone who can play the right notes in the right order … I’m sure that I listen to a lot of that stuff, and I just think it’s … terribly juvenile! But yeah, my back catalogue [isn’t] the best example of that [laughs], but I think at this that’s the first record for you. Probably anyone would say that about their first stage, that’s what I’m trying to go further into. People like George Harrison record. And as much as … I’m really proud of that record and stuff. I wouldn’t and stuff – just playing the right part, to really bring out the right emotion in know the last time I heard it, and I certainly don’t sit down and listen to it … the song. And to me, that’s the hardest thing in the world, you know? It’s easy and if I do hear it, I guess I tend to cringe a little bit. But at the same time, I to play a scale at a hundred miles-and-hour – you can practice all day for that. understand that you have to start somewhere, and that was where we started, But it’s finding that right passage of notes that really does it. Even people like and we just happened to have huge success on that record. So immediately, Bruce Springsteen – I mean, I like his kind of guitar playing on his earlier it’s kind of like … there it is, in the public eye, warts and all, and I understand records … I must admit, I don’t really listen to bands for their guitar playing that if it wasn’t for that song, and it wasn’t for that record, that we wouldn’t be – I’m more of a “song” sort of person. I know that we’re known for that, but where we are. But I definitely think [that] as a person, and as a songwriter, I’m quite removed from that. I just think that we’ve found – over the last couple for me, it’s all about the song first.

of records, anyway, and particularly with the new stuff we’re writing – we just seem to have found a groove and a depth that just wasn’t possible back then. It’s kind of a “maturity”, but in a good way … That’s a disastrous word in the world of rock ‘n’ roll, as we know … becoming mature! [Laughs] But I think, you know, it’s happened with us in a good way … I just feel that the songs we’re writing now just have a lot more reach to them, and they just make sense more. Even as players and performers, I just think that we’re nailing it now, you know? And I just look back on those songs and old performances and stuff … they’re very sort of “jittery” and over-excited or something! [Laughs] But that’s just the way we were at the time. Yeah – I just feel it’s a better band now. As I said, you’ve got to start somewhere.

So with all that evolution, and all that change, what’s one thing about The Living End that you wouldn’t change for anything in the f*cking world?

That I wouldn’t change? Well … I’m proud, I suppose, that we … that our background was playing that kind of 50’s rock ‘n’ roll and rockabilly stuff, where it’s a mix … particularly the guitar playing; it’s a mix of blues and jazz and country. And we started out playing with all those kinds of bands, you know? Elements of ska music and reggae and all that stuff in there. So I’m proud that this band has that as its foundation, because we can try lots of different styles of music, and that always seems to creep in, you know? And I like dabbling with those genres of music, and I think that’s one thing that’s set us aside from a lot of other bands, particularly coming out of Australia at the time that we started, you know? The only other bands playing anything like what we were playing were the true-blue kind of rockabilly bands, and we never wanted to be just that; we wanted to take elements of that, but be able to write really catchy, hit singles I suppose – have big songs, catchy tunes … like The Jam would write, or Elvis Costello or something. So that’s something I probably wouldn’t change – is that side of it. And people would probably argue that we have changed, but I still feel that, even in our most poppy kinds of songs, you can hear that, you know? There’s an identity, and a character that this band has, that I think is kind of unique, you know? We’ve sort of threatened, I suppose, to lose that a bit in the past, but I’m very aware of it now; that we should be embracing it, and running with it, and you should try and use your strengths. So I think that we’ve applied all that to what we’re writing at the moment, you know? You have to come full-circle sometimes. When we were a rockabilly band, we wanted to break out of that and do different things, but still do it in that kind of way.

And then you get to a point, I think, where you’re trying to rediscover what made the band special in the first place … and hopefully evolving at the same time. It’s bloody tricky to do [Laughs] but I think that’s where we’re at, at the moment.

The Living End headline The Soundscape Festival at the Domain Regatta Grounds in Hobart on the 26th of January.

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

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Phone: 03 6331 0701 Advertising: advertising@sauce.net.au Editorial: editorial@sauce.net.au

Editor David Williams

Sub Editor

Tom Wilson

david@sauce.net.au

twilson@sauce.net.au

Journalist Chris Rattray

Graphic Designer Chris Titmus

crattray@sauce.net.au

ctitmus@sauce.net.au

Next Edition Deadline : 23rd November Sauce #56, 28th November - 11th December 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 and Dave Walker.

Opinions expressed in Sauce are not necessarily those of the editor, publisher or staff.

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LAUNCESTON

HOBART

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ST HELENS The Village Store & More

SMITHTON Lizzy’s This “N” That

ULVERSTONE Ulverstone City Library

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By Tom Wilson B

Organ Organiser of next January’s Soundscape Festival in Hobart, we had a word with Joe Vukic to found out what putting on a live music event and vomiting after riding a roller-coaster have iin common …

What ssets the Soundscape Festival apart from other Australian music festivals?

Austral Hmmm … I’d have to say the setting – a picturesque waterfront site only a few blocks from the heart of a capital city. To some degree, we offer the best of both worlds.

What kind of process is there when it comes to putting together the line-up?

I’d liken it to riding an old-school rollercoaster – you laugh, you cry, you scream, and, just when you feel like you can’t take it anymore, it stops … you get off, vomit, and walk away feeling like you’ve just been in a car accident.

What are some of the most challenging aspects of your job?

In other words, what shits you up the wall?

People asking me why I didn’t book U2 or The Rolling Stones!

I’m a tupperware party specialist. I run a mean bingo night too!

What kind of things will you have to take care of on the day?

Both myself and the other festival organisers will be focused on ensuring good times are had by all patrons and artists through some solid planning, co-ordination and staff management.

You’re only as good as your planning and staff.

In your position, you’re probably not “officially” allowed to say which band on the bill is your favourite. So, “unofficially”, who are you most looking forward to see, and why?

“Unofficially”, I’d have to say Spoon and Katchafire because, arguably, they’re both the best in the world at what they do. Worldwide, they’re two of the finest examples of their respective genres – two great acts in their prime!

Where would you like to see the Soundscape Festival in five

I’m a tupperware party specialist.

I run a mean bingo night too! years? How would you like it to be different?

I’d like to see us established as an annual event, with a third stage, bigger line-up, monster international headliner, and more room for some of our kick-arse local artists (go Tassie!)

What events have you put on previously?

If you could put on a festival bill featuring any bands or artists, living or dead, who would you choose, and why?

Ah … now that’s a question I could ponder for some time … OK, I’d headline with The Jimi Hendrix Experience, then James Brown (’70 – ’75), Pink Floyd (pre-’75), Bob Marley & The Wailers, ACDC (Bon Scott), Parliament/Funkadelic, Led Zeppelin, The Stooges, The Beatles (‘70’s), The Rolling Stones (‘70s), Frank Zappa (70s), Fleetwood Mac, Sly and the Family Stone, Santana (70s), The Who, Freddy King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Motown (Detroit), The Police (70’s), Prince, Run DMC, Dire Straights, NWA, Nirvana, Nick Cave, Neil Young, Guns N Roses, Rage Against The Machine, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Shapeshifter, Basement Jaxx, Sugerhill Gang, The Prodigy, Metallica, Spoon, Faith No More, Love, Tool, Steel Pulse, Bela Fleck, Taj Mahal, The Chemical Bros, Kyuss, Fela Kuti and The Queens Of The Stone Age … and that’s just the first announcement!

And what would you call this festival?

Utopia!

The Soundscape Festival will be held in Hobart at the Domain Regatta Grounds on the 26th of January. www.thesoundscapefestival.com

By Tom Wilson

Regar Regardless of how you see the state of Tasmania’s music scene, it has to be said that giving it a “Kickstart” can’t hurt at all – whether it’s needed or not. To find out more about Tasmusic’s latest initiative to showcase local talent, SAUCE spoke to Matthew James (AKA Henry Horsefall), President of the Kickstart Krew.

What ca can you tell me about Kickstart?

Kickstart is a Tasmusic initiative aimed to teach young kids about Kickstar event m management and live production, and to basically get their around the music industry. So far we’ve lined up nine allheads ar ages gig gigs featuring six bands each gig, and are currently in the process of organising what’s going to be one of the biggest music festivals the north-west coast has ever seen! We’re all that excited to be a part of it, and we’re really hanging out to do our first gig on the 24th of November, so we can see it all come together.

So far, being a part of the Krew has been great fun. We meet up weekly, just talk about what we’ve done, and next thing you know we’ve got out first gig completely organised. The last couple of months have just flown by, and not once has being a part of this committee ever felt like work. Our biggest reward will be on the first night, the 24th – that’s when it’ll all come together. The biggest satisfaction for us will be seeing a room full of punters – having a great time, watching a great band, at a gig that we put together.

Why was it founded?

Tasmusic has been working flat-out over the last few years to establish a music scene, and it’s now finally beginning to show.

Tassie has some really hot talent, and this is one of the ways it can be guaranteed to be shown to a greater audience. Basically, the Kickstart initiative is one of their new programs, the “Entrepreneur Training & Mentorship Program” which is essentially training people up to become the real deal in the music biz.

When and where will the event be held, and why there?

The fist gig’s on the 24th of November. We chose the Devonport Surf Club because it’s just such an awesome and functional place.

It’s a good room, and when the weather heats up there’s an outside courtyard that we plan on using for acoustic artists. So in the long run, we plan on having bands inside and acoustic music outside – just to cater for all audiences really. After the 24th, we’ve got gigs basically every two weeks, so it’s gonna be flat-out on our behalf.

But for more information on dates check out our website – www. myspace.com/thekickstartcrew.

It’s also great because it’s giving us a chance not only to learn how to put on gigs, but it’s also giving local bands exposure who often don’t necessarily get many chances to play. It would be that good if, from the Kickstart program, we were able to find a band that would be the next Silverchair, and then the hype about the Tassie music scene would be unbelievable.

You’re the president of the Kickstart Krew. How did you first get involved? What experience have you had in music business-related roles?

I’ve been playing in bands for about three years now, but just under twelve months ago I began working pretty regularly behind the scenes with the other local bands we have in the area. So I’ve been doing it all, from doing front-of-house sound mixing, doing lights, guitar technician, to live production manager, and I’ve even been doing MCing. It’s all been that awesome; I’m having the best time ever working behind the scenes, and the beauty of it is I basically get to see one of my favorite bands every weekend, and get paid for it! Let’s be honest, that’s got to be the best job in the world. It’s taken me all over the state, and I even got to MC at MS Fest 07, which still stands as one of the best moments of my life.

I also host a weekly radio show on Coast FM (104.7 / 106.1 7-10pm Wednesday nights) which I got through my MCing, and that’s opening up that many future opportunities for me. It’s all so amazing.

What kind of responsibilities do you have?

As president, I’m overseeing everything really, but when it comes down to it we all work as a whole. Like, if someone disagrees with a poster design or something, then we’ll sit down with the entire committee until everyone in the group is happy.

We all help each other out from time to time, and it’s real good to have that kind of backing. I’ve been in leadership groups before, but none of them are anywhere near as strong and proactive as this one.

What are the rewards and challenges of this kind of work?

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What bands are involved, and how were they selected?

We’ve got bands from all over the place lined up to play over the summer. Initially we made some calls and asked bands to play, but now the word’s out about The Kickstart Krew, and what

we’re doing; we’ve had bands contacting us and asking whether they can play, which for us has been great. It really means we can showcase some quality young Tassie talent over the next couple of months.

You’re also in Henry Horsefall & The Sporto Elite. In what ways has your role in Kickstart helped and hindered your work in the band?

With learning all this behind-the-scenes stuff, it’s really helped me with my music. Like, it hasn’t helped me become a better player or anything, but in the future, instead of working a supermarket job waiting for my band to get big, I can be booking big name bands and putting on gigs nationally, and then slotting my band in as the support, that kind of thing. You get to meet a lot of people with Kickstart, people that you wouldn’t normally meet, and it’s great to have that foundation set in motion, especially at such an early stage of my career. It’s the same with the rest of the Krew too.

We’re all stoked to be so active in the music industry, and are so excited to see where the future can take us.

What has been happening on the HHTSE front? Have you guys been working on any new material?

We’ve been writing a fair bit, and we’ve found our “sound”. Every new song we write is our new favorite. So, just when we thought we could get back into gigging regularly again, we realised we

were best off hitting the band room for a little longer. We’ve got a few dates coming up, which you can see at www.myspace.com/ sportoelite, and we’re basically just getting ourselves ready for our debut EP, which we hope to record sometime over the summer.

But things are defiantly looking up for HHTSE. We all feel like a family and we’ve never been stronger.

How would you like to see Kickstart evolve in the future?

The day when there is an underage concert three times a week in every quarter of the state – that would be just phenomenal. And it’s such an achievable reality. My biggest dream about the Tassie music scene is for Victorians to have to fly down to Devonport to see a band for a change. And hopefully, with the Kickstart Krew, that’ll happen. Essentially, there’re no boundaries on what we plan to do. For us, the sky’s not the limit – it’s only just the beginning. A big thanks goes out to north-west Tasmusic branch manager Dave Sykes – our mentor, and the originator of the program. He’s helped us out immensely, and without him, this program wouldn’t even exist. We really can’t say “thank you” enough.

The Kickstart Krew’s first gig is on Saturday November the 24th at the Devonport Surf Club, and is all-ages. www.myspace.com/thekickstartcrew

The day when there is an underage concert three times a week ... that would be just phenomenal

By Chris Titmus

He’s lean, he’s mean, he’s got the blues, and if you feel compelled to threaten him with a toy light-sabre, he’ll cave your head in with a banjo. Meet C.W. Stoneking, self-proclaimed King of Hokum Blues, who’s bringing his workings of time-honoured blues to Tasmania at the end of this month, for two shows around the state. Hail to the king, baby …

What writing have you been doing recently?

I’m writing songs for my next album – jungle epics, military fife & drum hollers, New Orleans hoodoo calypsos, and comical country blues duets.

After reading your Myspace Page, I have to ask – what makes you the Hokum Blues King?

I’m the King of Hokum Blues ‘cause I say I am; same as George Bush is the President of the United States ‘cause he says he is, or anybody else who says what they are and wants to back it up.

(Note: you usually can’t be president of a well-known country just because you say you are.)

… the banjo will cave in their head without no problem …

In your earlier years, how were you first exposed to southern blues?

I got into it when I was a kid; my dad has a lot of blues 78’s from growing up in the States. I started playing it when I was about thirteen. When I was 18, I took Windsor (my tenor banjo), and joined the crew on a well-known Australian sailing vessel. During the voyage I became a real drunken sailor – they put me ashore in Berenice in Egypt; that’s on the Red Sea. I went to Cairo, then Spain, then to the U.S. where I traveled around for a year.

I spent some time in New Orleans where I saw some good old jazz players; saw the funeral parades and other things they had. I also hung out with some blues players ‘round Arkansas for a while.

No-one much was doin’ the old-style blues that I’m most into, but you could see and feel the tradition there real strong. My style has come from listening to recordings of old music and playing it a lot until I could make it myself from my own experience.

What are the most important elements in southern blues?

There is no elephants in southern blues.

Okie-doke. Which musicians do you get most of your inspiration from?

Too many to list but here’s one each from my favourite categories: Memphis Minnie (blues from the 20’s and 30’s), The Growling Tiger (calypso from the 20’s and 30’s), Jimmie Rogers (hillbilly music from the 20’s and 30’s).

How did The Primitive Horn Orchestra come together?

When I went to Africa after the U.S., I met up with a bunch of sunstroked white horn players from Australia who were on a Joseph Conradian-sort of band camp from hell.

I told them that if I ever saw them back in Australia I would hire them to back me up, and we’d travel the world together playing 1920’s-style original novelty blues to sold-out houses.

Unfortunately the horn players all died over there, so I formed the Primitive Horn Orchestra in their memory in 2006, and then again with a new lineup in 2007.

We’ve heard that you have a habit of muttering to yourself on stage? What are you usually muttering about?

My trumpet player Ed Fairlie got gangrene in his right foot, so I used to mutter about the stink he was making under the lights.

Now I mutter about what I’m doing on the guitar, or mutter about someone in the crowd. Maybe I’ll end up in the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia with my head in a jar.

Is the banjo mightier than the sword?

No, a sword will win in a fight, unless it’s a plastic light saber … then the banjo will cave in their head without no problem.

Does the fact that you come from Victoria give you the blues?

It should.

Yeah, right. Where are you from? Sydney?

CW Stoneking plays Brookfield Vineyard in Margate on the 29th of November, and Hobart’s Republic Bar on the 30th. www.myspace.com/cwstoneking

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By Tom Wilson B

Before officially getting down to the bizzo of quizzing Abby, first the dastardly tale was told from journo to muso, of a renegade pip in a poorly de-stoned rogue olive that had left our Dave in search of the other half of a Dave tooth. Abby was so very concerned and sweetly empathic, as our heroic Sauce editor explained to her that he was numb after a date with the dentist. Emerging from the oohing and ahhing - and perhaps, some unseen dribbling from our hero - both muso and journo were bonded in a way that Dave’s tooth can no longer be… and so with the words ‘root canal’ and ‘oh honey’ the interview begins. ..

So tell me a nice story of personal misfortune for you!

What’s happened to you recently that someone would go, “Oh my God, really?”

OK … oh, gosh … I can feel a lot kind of banking up, saying “pick me, pick me,” but I can’t actually think of any of them!

[Laughs] I think it’s just life’s beautiful layers of … it has its own anesthesia, and makes you forget pain. [Laughs] You won’t know this story in a week! Someone will ask you the same question, and you’ll go, “I’m sure there’s something, but I just can’t think of it!”

Does misfortune get played out in your music, do you think?

Or do you sort of try and spin it to the upside?

I try and spin it to the upside, really. I start out, perhaps, coming from that place … well, I can come from that place of chronicling my sorrow or woe, but I generally don’t like to add fuel to my own fire, you know? So sometimes, by singing and putting that kind of energy that you create when you sing … there’s quite a charge behind words that you sing, you know?

It’s kind of almost different from speaking. When you sing, there’s kind of an extra charge that you’re giving through the words. And I’m aware of that, through my past experience of singing and performing. And so, there’s a part of me that doesn’t want to … what’s the word?

Perpetuate?

Perpetuate, yeah … or exacerbate an already kind of dire situation! So I like to … I mean, singing and writing songs; it’s creating, and so … I want, if I’m going to build a house, I don’t want to build a house … Like, if I’m sad, and I’m creating, I don’t want to build a house that’s got no windows!

[Laughs] You know? So I create windows in my songs – nice, clear sky views.

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Nick Toth The Metz - 18th November

The Panics Republic Bar - 23rd November

EarthCore Global Carnival Victoria - 23-25th November

Why have you called your album Rise Up? I did struggle over what to call it, because it’s, you know, a bit tricky at the end of a project, if you haven’t got a name, to all of a sudden try and find a name that will encapsulate the whole experience for you. But I think Rise Up was … I just thought it was good, because it had lots of different meanings for me, and it’s kind of optimistic. But it can be “rise up” in a political sense … “rise up” against the fascist, power dictatorship! It can be “rise up” against your own form of oppression that you’ve given yourself. It can be kind of spiritual; it can be existential … it can be [to] try and lift your spore above the flood-line …

Kid Kenobi & Shureshock Halo - 24th November

Elements Tour 2007 Uni Bar - 29th November

Bexta Syrup - 30th november

C.W.Stoneking & his Primitive Orchestra with G.B.Balding

C.W.Stoneking

Friday 30th November

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Have you ever thought about how “rise up” is actually tautology?

Yeah, I have … does it bother you?

Kisschasy Uni Bar - 30th November

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No, it’s okay with me, if you’re alright with it! [Laughs] I just thought “rise” doesn’t have the … it’s a bit too short. I know it’s tautology, but …

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You’ve got an almost who’s-who of musos playing with you on this album … Are these people that are friends of yours, or associates? Or where they brought in because you heard their work? What were the connections?

It was a bit of both, really. For the most part, they were just people that I generally kind of had in my orbit … There were a few that had been recommended to me that I didn’t know, that I took a punt on and just called up, you know? I’d heard that they were good; liked their work.

How do you think, from your perspective … and this may be a bit hard to measure, or maybe other people have made comments to you … how do you think your album differs from Leonardo’s Bride’s music?

I think it’s different in that the production is probably a lot rawer.

Leonardo’s Bride was perhaps a little more polished – had a lot more reverb, and the mixing and the production was a little more cinematic, perhaps; a little more polished and produced, whereas, with this one, I tried to leave it a bit more raw, so a lot of the sounds were ... not left untreated, because everything was put through machinery, but … the vocals particularly are quite bare. They don’t have a lot of … “tricks” on them, you know?

[They’re] just recorded well, but without a lot of reverb or delay or compression and stuff like that, you know? The production is a lot rawer. I suppose my singing is quite different now … it’s less dramatic, maybe? [Laughs] Well, maybe it’s a bit more refined. Some people find it funny – it’s hard for me to measure that. Some people are finding it stronger, but in actual fact, I thought that it was perhaps a little more … intimate, maybe?

Less kind of grandiose.

Republic Bar - 30th November

To listen to an MP3 of the full interview, go to www.sauce.net.au PAGE 8

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DJ Regal The Metz - 2nd December

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Ministry Of Sound Annual Syrup - 14th December

Simon Posford Hallucinogen Live +Sphongle DJ Set

Triple J Presents:

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Republic Bar - 22nd December

Tribeadelic Gathering

Hobart Uni Bar

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ROCK SALT

By Dave Williams

With a DVD to flog to the punters for their new single Aaron’s Western Assault, the hombres from the Hum are never Ho Hum amd so forsaking all Ho’s they are ready to bring some non-Ho-Hum sound to a venue near you… but not before Danny does his homework.

So what’s creating pressure for you, you’re about to head off on tour, is that it is or is there more to it?

Yeah there’s all the tour things but I’m also at uni doing fine arts in sound so I’ve got all these pieces due like yesterday, so they’re all pretty crazy and that’s all happening in the two weeks prior to our tour so it’s all really happening at once.

So the tour that you’re doing… is there a reason other than that you like to get out and play and spread the mantra of Subaudible Hum, or is there some special thing?

We’ve got a film clip that’s out at the moment for Aaron’s Western Assault so that’s as good a reason as any to hit the road so for that we’ve got a limited edition tour DVD with some live clips on there for some other songs.

‘I don’t think we’re arseholes to each other, we’re probably more arseholes to ourselves than to any other person.’

And is that only available at the gigs?

Yeah, you can download the clip and the few other things from Le Transit online,. We’ve got an online shop but I think people still like to have something in their hand.

Subaudible Hum seem to be travelling quite well, you know growing in terms of popularity and success and development and all that, was that something that you planned for all, did you plan for Subaudible Hum to go somewhere?

I suppose, I don’t think anybody starts a band planning to fail but then again not everyone starts a band planning to go somewhere either.

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Yeah, I guess. planning’s not really the right word but I hope we’ve done some things right ,which is why it’s kind of heading that way hopefully… I say tentatively! You just follow people’s advice and stuff.

What stuff do you think you’ve done right?

I don’t know, I just hope and think we’ve just done something that people want to hear, that is not kind of put on.. It’s not something that’s aimed at to get popularity or anything like that.

I just think what we have to say and the way that we have to say it is interesting to people so I guess that’s the starting point.

We’re all pretty confident with that but the rest is kind of up to everyone else.

What level of expectations and excellence do you have within the band, are you guys really hard on yourself in terms of the quality that you put out?

Yeah, I think so. I don’t think we’re arseholes to each other, we’re probably more arseholes to ourselves than to any other person.

I don’t know we kind of approach it pretty casually I guess we’ve got great expectations for what we do in the studio but when it comes to people’s input and stuff like that it’s all pretty casual, but not through laziness, that’s through what we put down through each other’s ideas is good and we like it. If there’s room for improvement then we improve it.

Cool. And In Time For Spring On Came The Snow…it’s a very cryptic title, its kind of saying to me - everything you thought I was, well that’s what I’m not.

Yeah sort of , for me it kind of or me signifies the times, it’s kind of like something’s not right, everything is just kind of going askew.

Through everything that we banked on in the past, and prepared for, and thought that we could manipulate, and used as a template to get away with… everything is shifting ever so slightly but that’s throwing absolutely everything that we thought we could get away with out of balance.

Hmmm, yeah I’m empathising with you there, my world is very rocky at the moment.

Your world?

Yes, it’s on a precipice.

Oh really? [Laughs] Well don’t jump man! Don’t jump!

[Laughs] No I don’t mean like that, you can just feel things sliding, feel things tilting going woah! and you have to just kind of reassess.

Yeah totally. I just think that most people don’t reassess, they kind of just blame the weather. And even if they did reassess I reckon they’d only reassess to see how much they could get away with rather than pull themselves back into line.

SubAudible Hum are a humming your way to The Brisbane Hotel in Hobart on the 16th November.

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

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PAGE 9

PAGE 10

ROCK SALT

By Tom Wilson B

D De Jah Groove have had a lot going on lately, from writing their upcoming album to sitting on islands in Brazil ... that said, though, they still found the time for singer-guitarist H Harley Stewart to drop us a line ...

Y You guys are – and please don’t let it sound bad - but you guys are yet another band that’s come oout of Melbourne. What is it with the music scene th there that makes this place so much more prolific than th the rest of us? You’re not even giving us a chance here ...

Yeah, there’s a whole lot going on. It’s kind of the great thing about Melbourne; you can go out any night of the week and catch a great band [in] heaps of different styles ...

You can go out and see some Latin music, reggae, jazz, rock ‘n’ roll; there’s a lot [more] live music venues in Melbourne than I’ve seen in any other state; it’s just a big thing. It hasn’t been overrun by DJs like I find Sydney ... Gotta be careful what I say here, but I find Sydney is a lot more DJ-orientated than live music, but they’re still putting up a fight, put it that way.

We’ ve been playing pubs since we were about sixteen ...

The battle’s not over. I dunno, there’s heaps of great stuff coming out of Melbourne, which is a great thing ... makes it a lot harder to get recognised; it’s all close-knit, all the bands know each other, and it’s sort of a big community. It goes alright.

Do you reckon it’s always been that way? Melbourne’s always had that kind of output?

Well, I’m only twenty-two, so I can’t comment fully on that,

but I reckon, as long as we’ve been playing pubs – since we were about sixteen – it’s always been exciting.

Like, if one venue gets closed down, another one opens, and another opens and another one closes down, I guess ... I dunno; it seems to always be thriving – there’s always new tunes and especially things like Myspace and that now, and Facebook, it’s a lot easier for bands to get their stuff out there, and it’s a lot easier for listeners to find new stuff, so I think it’s an exciting time with the internet and that; it’s really pushed things along. But as far as it always being like that?

I think Melbourne has always had a pretty solid music scene happening, especially over other states of Australia that I’ve been to. I’d say Melbourne’s the live music capital of Australia for a big city, and probably Byron Bay is for a small city or small town The first single Mellow Stages, how do you say this is representative of Rock Bottom Jackpot as a whole? How representative of it is the sound of the album?

The sound of the album? I dunno, it was the last track that was written. It was actually written over four different countries. We did a bit of traveling ... Mellow Stages was [written] on this island in Brazil, and a couple of mates helped write bits and pieces; not guys from the band or anything, just close mates we went over there with.

That was sort of our anthem for this island we were on.

As far as representative of the album, yeah, it’s definitely the reggae filter, which is the strong reoccurring theme, or stylistic theme throughout the album.

Because it’s the last track that’s written, it’s hard to match it to the rest; there’s definitely consistency there.

Yeah, it’s strange how it worked out being the first single – it was the last track written and it ended up being the first single. So it’s kind of strange, how it works out in the end.

It’s definitely got that reggae flavor to it, the same as the rest of them, and it’s got an interesting story to come along with it ... me and my brother sitting up in our room typing on our computers.

De Jah Groove play at the Republic Bar in Hobart for an album launch on the 28 th of November.

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

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PAGE 11

ROCK SALT

By Tom Wilson

D Don’t panic, but the cruel guards are coming … actually, that’s quite enough wordplay for one day, I’m sure you’ll agree. So let’s just state this in plain anglo-saxon; mainland rrockers The Panics dropped a brand new LP last month. It was called Cruel Guards. Now, they’re touring to support it – funnily enough – and they’re heading our way. Fairly ssimple, really. I spoke with bearded six-stringer Drew Wootton.

I am currently holding in my hands Cruel Guards, the la latest album … How did it feel to finally get it out?

Y Yeah, great – [it was] a great release to have it finally out, and peo people listening to it, and getting feedback from it, which has all been great so far, which is really good.

There’s a second album bundled in there – is that part of it, or that an earlier EP? It’s part of an earlier EP; we did three cover songs earlier this year that we released sort of as a live-only single called Factory Girl, and then we’ve added two more covers to that bonus disc, so it’s got five on there … so it’s a bit more weighty. Yeah, I guess we had a couple more up our sleeves when we did the first three, and thought we’d add them for the bonus disc for people who didn’t get it at the shows.

About the album; it’s been said that, “at the heart of the beauty of Cruel Guards, is its unmistakable Australianness.” What do you reckon they’re talking about here?

Well Joe slots a lot of lyrics that kind of conjure up old Australian imagery I guess, just from his childhood and what he remembers of growing up … Things that, I don’t know, bring up that old kind of memories that anyone who is from here will recognise … Maybe people from overseas won’t feel [it] and won’t know, but if you’ve actually lived here, and you’ve gotten to know some of these feelings, then you’ll recognise them. But I guess that’s what people have identified in there.

What about on an instrumental level? Do you think there is something about the sound of Cruel Guards that identifies it as very Australian?

Yeah … I mean, it’s not really over-produced … There’s a lot of sparseness in the music … We haven’t flooded it with forty-thousand guitars doing the same things, or runs on the same guitar. You know, just kept it pretty sparse. And maybe that space is the thing that people recognise as very Australian music, especially in some of the … I don’t know – The Drones music … you do get a bit of the spatial tension between guitars … Not saying that’s the same as ours, but, you know, it’s a similar sort of thing in parts of it … Or Nick Cave.

Of course. [Laughs] [Laughs] That’s probably closer, actually, because he’s got the piano in there most of the time.

ROCK SALT

Have you followed his lead and got a bad-arse moustache yet?

I’ve got a bad-arse beard, like Warren Ellis, almost! [Laughs] No, mine’s nowhere near Warren Ellis’, but I do have a beard.

When you’re creating any sort of art, you find a muse to kind of reflect things off or bounce ideas off or hold things against, and sometimes you can kind of re-identify with it in better ways than you have before.

And I think it’s about that; that’s what I feel it’s about, for myself anyway … Channeling that, I guess, and focusing in on that.

So what was the last thing you decided not to fight off?

[Laughs] Probably sleep, actually. I’ve had a couple of days off, and I’ve gone “bugger it! I’m going to sleep as long as possible!” [Laughs] So what’s something you have fought off?

Sleep, again ... There’s many things; there’s bad clichés that we have and tried to steer clear of, and we’ve wanted to make this album a little bit more … not experimental, because I don’t think we’re … pushing the boundaries too much, but, as far as ourselves goes, I think just opening up the boundaries of where our music can go, and not constricting it, I guess. That’s what we’ve fought against … Let it all happen.

I’ ve got a badarse beard, like Warren Ellis, almost!

So what’s the plan for the rest of the year?

For the rest of the year is to finish off the tour – we’ve still got three weeks to go. We’ve got Adelaide this weekend, passing through Ballarat and then up to Sydney. We do a lot of shows around regional New South Wales, and then down to Tassie, and do Hobart and the Republic Bar again – which is a great bar, fantastic supporter of local music …

[Laughs] Plug, plug …

No, they’re great! Last time we were there, we were there until about three-thirty in the morning, drinking absolutely whatever we wanted. So they were very nice to us. I don’t know if everyone gets treated the same, but they were fantastic.

The Panics play Launceston’s James Hotel on the 23rd of November, and Hobart’s Republic Bar on the 24th.

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

By Tom Wilson

A collective with as much passion for roots/world music fusion as they do environmental aand socio-political awareness, Blue King Brown are returning to our shores early next year to give the likes of Grinspoon and The Living End a run for their money at The Soundscape Festival in Hobart. Bassist and co-founder of BKB, the superbly-named Carlo Santone F spoke to SAUCE on the pulp mill, Tiannamen Square, broken English and superpowers. sp

How did you react to the Tasmanian pulp mill being H approved? And what do you think this will mean for the state?

Once again putting short term jobs and economic benefits ahead of long term environmental vision – yet another Australian shame job. This is a big problem; if more money was invested into renewable and sustainable resources, then all these jobs and economic problems could be resolved in a more ethical and sustainable manner, with the same precious profit margins they hold so close to heart. Governments need to really step up to the plate and change the way we operate as a country, and really address and question the agenda of companies who are having such a major environmental impact. The protection of our environment needs to be put at the top of the priorities list and sorted out, for the future good of our country and our children and children’s children.

Tasmania is a great place to start on implementing stricter environmental policies. Even the Gunns website admits the environmental dangers of such a pulp mill, but state that the risks are low, and they avoid straight up “yes” or “no” answers. In this day and age, knowing all that we know, is it really worth even the slightest risk?

What are your concerns regarding the upcoming election?

I have many concerns, but my main concern is that the government could potentially not change. That would be the worst outcome; this is the most effective opportunity to bring about change, and I urge everyone to vote wisely.

This is going to sound really apathetic on my part, but public protest doesn’t seem to change stuff-all. We protested Iraq, but failed. We protested the pulp mill, but failed. Is public opinion and protest PAGE 12

What does Don’t Fight It mean to you, in terms of the lyrics?

In terms of the lyrics, it’s kind of … I don’t know if this is the way Joe’s written it or anything, but for myself, it’s kind of like really finding a muse …

enough to change things in today’s world?

I would never call a protest or public demonstration of beliefs a failure. It may not have an instant effect, but the culmination of these actions is what counts.

What is the general consensus of the war in Iraq today? It’s considered wrong, and everyone was mislead; the massive protests that happened are a big reason for this impression.

The people need to continue to voice their beliefs and protest until they become mainstream issues and governments take notice – there’s nothing better than the feeling of coming together as people to stand up for what you believe in. Keep protesting, I

say – it’s so important! It will all come around in the end.

On your Myspace, you have a video posted of the Tiannamen Square video. [A Chinese student standing with two shopping bags, blocking the path of a convoy of tanks in front of the world’s media. He was later “disappeared” by the government, and his family was billed for the bullet they used to kill him.] In what ways did this footage inspire you?

The video speaks for itself, I love it. One man stops many tanks.

It has inspired me to always stand firm on my beliefs.

And what was the last thing that inspired you to write a song?

The APEC protests in Sydney.

When I saw you guys at the last Falls Festival, you managed to get almost the whole festival to sit down, and then do a Mexican Wave [which was really cool, by the way]. What are some other antics you’ve managed to get your crowd to do?

Hmm ... we love getting the crowd involved; we’ve done a whole bunch of stuff. I can’t really remember right now, but the Mexican

Keep protesting, I say – it’s so important! It will all come around in the end.

wave in Tassie was very cool. It was a first for the wave too – the crowd was so big, I just couldn’t resist.

If Blue King Brown could have superpowers, what would they be? And what would you do with them?

Well, so many possibilities … How about a superpower that protects all of Tasmania’s forests from logging forever, and a superpower that creates more sustainable and ethical jobs for all the people who would be put out of work due to this?

Wait a minute; that could actually be a reality if we voted the right government in this election. [I would have gone for x-ray vision – Tom] What was the last truly surreal moment you’ve had in your travels as musicians? And when was the last time things went seriously pear-shaped for you guys?

Well the last most surreal and pear-shaped moment are combined.

I won’t mention names, but we recently traveled home from a very distant country with a particular airline. The plane was delayed so many times and for so long that I wondered if we’d ever make it back. We got told so many stories as to why it was being delayed, all in broken English, which made the stories so much more special. I think the one where we got told that the maintenance van crashed into the engine of the plane and it’s now broken was the best one. We got stuck in a room with free alcohol and food, so things weren’t so bad, but an eighteen-hour flight turned into three days’ travel, with broken English, broken sleep and free alcohol – things got very surreal.

Why do hippies twirl around like helicopters when listening to Blue King Brown?

I don’t know, but I’d love to see one of them take off like a helicopter, so then, the next time someone asked me what was the last truly surreal moment we’ve had, I could talk about that.

Blue King Brown send dancing helicopters skyward at the Soundscape Festival in Hobart on January 26th.

ROCK SALT

By Tom Wilson

SSinger, guitarist and meat lover Kris Buscombe recently caught up with SAUCE ahead of Witch Hats’ upcoming Australian tour to launch Before I Weigh, off their upcoming LP rrelease Cellulite Soul. In this conversation, we got under the skin of a man who once threw slabs of raw meat at his band mates in only his underwear ...

S So where are you at the moment?

A Actually just at a supermarket, getting some food, then ggoing to the airport – off to Brisbane tonight

I wante wanted to talk about the single Before I Weigh; it’s an interesting number. I am wondering what the song was about; I heard [the title, and] I thought it was someone suffering from an eating disorder or something – you know, weighing themselves. Am I completely off the mark there?

Yeah, it’s an ambiguous song. I just wanted it to have, you know, maybe that sort of thing – especially with that title. It’s more along the lines of someone feeling soulless I guess – lost their way, feeling a bit screwed up.

So from its music style and the complexity of the instrumentation, what sets this single apart from your EP from last year, Wound of the Little Horse?

Well, it’s very different to anything that was on that EP, and the melody in this is a bit of singing, which is the first time we tried that, plus it’s a lot slower.

I’ve been asked that a few times, and find it hard to describe exactly what is different. I guess it’s more mature-sounding, as bad as that sounds. It’s just not the punky thing we’ve done prior.

So this single – is that going to be part of an upcoming EP, or perhaps an LP? It’s actually the first song off a LP which is being released in February next year.

OK, what’s it called?

Cellulite Soul.

Alright, so how reflective is Before I Weigh of the sound of the rest of the album at this point? Have you finished recording and stuff?

Yeah, it’s finished and ready to go. I guess it reflects ... there is a fair bit of variety on the album I guess; it’s stuff more akin to what we’ve done in the past, plus some experiments with poppier stuff, with less noisy guitars and that sort of thing. I guess this song reflects both of those.

You guys are playing down in Hobart on the 1st of December ...

That’s right, yeah.

What experience have you had playing in Tassie? You do know Tasmanians like to eat Melbourne musicians ...

Yeah, we’ve never played in Tassie, but three of us grew up in Hobart, so it’s pretty familiar with the attitude towards music

coming down from Melbourne, so if anything it should be cool.

We kind of thrive on being antagonised and that sort of thing.

Yeah, I’m looking forward to coming down and playing a show.

I haven’t played any music down there for probably five years I think.

Again, alcohol got the better of us and we ended up having a huge meat war

I guess ... bugger it, that’s enough of the serious questions – let’s go for some more interesting ones ... The artwork for Before I Weigh depicts [a man] sprawled face-down on the floor in front of the speaker. In what ways does this reflect the band?

That photo is actually me in the studio; I got knocked out ... and a friend of mine happened to be in the studio and quickly snapped. I guess it captured the crazy nature that’s with our recordings and the way we go about stuff.

How did you get knocked out?

I was throwing a guitar amp about. I had this practice amp from the recording studio, it was for over-dubbing. I was pretty drunk and it hit me on the head and I passed out for a minute.

[Laughs] Oh lord ... with that in mind, what about the cover of Wound of a Little Horse, because I couldn’t see a very high-res version, but I’m pretty sure I saw four guys in their Y-fronts covered with what looks like blood ...

That was us trying to do ... originally it was gonna be an homage to the Beatles butcher cover, which is a semi-famous photo of them that they did for an album, where they had bits of meat hanging off them, and we started off trying to replicate that, and again alcohol got the better of us, and we ended up having a huge meat war.

We got meat that was purchased from the butcher, and it was a bit of dodge ball with pig brains and bits of steak and about a hundred photos capturing the nonsense of it.

[Pause] That is so f*cked up. [Laughs] So, with those two covers in mind ... we’ve covered when was the last time you ended up face-down on the floor ... So who was the last person to see you in your undies?

Last person to see me in my undies ... besides myself, would have been ... and besides the last people to look at the cover ... I guess it would have been my girlfriend.

Witch Hats play Hobart’s Brisbane Hotel on the 1st of December.

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

Song Summit Sydney make music matter

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• summit • sydney • connect • collaborate • jimmy webb (usa) • fans • create paul williams (usa) • industry greats • RAI ThistlethwaYte • perform • ASH GRUNWALD • record MELANIE HORSNELL • promote • produce • manage • distribute • Dann & jon hume (evermore) • radio television • joel ma & pip norman (tzu) • film • score • digital • JoSH pyke • deals • gigs • royalties publish • lior • rights • rod Mccormack • revenue • technology • lloyd swanton • compare • magoo

• network • ERIC CHAPUS (ENDORPHIN) • listen • learn • play •

conference • showcase • exhibit

3 – 5 April 2008 Hordern Pavilion & RHI Moore Park, Sydney

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PAGE 13

BRIDGET PROSS Little Sister 8/10 Tassie strikes again! So does Bridget Pross! Yes, this southern Tassie chick has once again made us proud, and shows us how to do it, with the release of her new single Little Sister.

Beginning the album with a repeated strange, echoed spoken line, this is a good indication to how the rest of There The Open Spaces will continue.

Little Litt Sister is a classic portrayal of her earthy acoustic tones, combined com with her raw, soulful lyrics. For me, Bridget is trying to convey c a simple message; use the hurt and painful lessons in life, life turn them into a positive, and use it to get the strength to carry car on. Little Sister is used as a code for all women.

Weird at even the most sane of times, preferring to begin many of the songs on the first half of the album with blips or just lonely clapping amongst other noises. Most songs feature haunting vocals draped over simple, gentle melodies, with many gaps between lyrics providing space for electronic sounds, or just more soft guitar.

PEGZ Burn City 8.5/10 From his year 2000 release Pegasus EP to the 2003 Australian hip-hop classic LP Capricorn Cat and the jawdropping 2005 release Axis, Pegz has continued to break barriers and, at the same time, managed to hold onto that classic ‘95 golden era hip-hop vibe for close to a decade and his final, closing statement, Burn City confirms that.

By now, if you’re into your hip-hop, you’d know that Pegz has many faces, from running the largest Australian hip-hop label (Obese Records) to his work with community-based projects and his constant touring. “Holidays” seem to be a foreign concept to this hip-hop legend.

Burn City is a hard-hitting masterpiece, with executive producer Jase bringing similar production to that of artists like J Dilla and Questlove, along with Pegz’ experienced flow and intellectual lyricism, it’s a well-oiled machine, and it kind of makes you wish it wasn’t Pegz’ last ever solo album.

There are some disappointing verses from all three guests, Drapht, Patto and Illy on Before I Leave, but no release is perfect and tracks like Burn City, I Don’t Need Your Judgment and The Fight totally overshadow the down sides about this album. Other guests on the album are Funkoars, Planet Asia (US), Muph, Vents, Reagan, and Kye, along

with bangin’ production contributions from Plutonic Lab and Suffa.

I don’t think Burn City represents the same Pegz that we’ve come to know over the last five years, and, to be honest, it took me a few listens to understand the new styles and themes he plays with on this release.

But in the end, Burn City is a pleasant surprise, and well worth the wait.

RYAN FARRINGTON

ELF TRANZPORTER Ethereal Lotus Fleet 8/10 The first time I ever heard Elf Tranzporter was in 2004, at the Venue in Salamanca when he supported TZU, and I remember being blown away by some of the craziest beatboxing I’d ever heard, as well as Elf’s incredible control over his flow, with crazy multi-syllable vocal rhythms and heavily political, lyrical content.

These days, LA-born Elf has residencies almost every day of the week in clubs all around Melbourne. He also tours the country workshopping at community events, and performs as one quarter of Combat Wombat, so the fact that he’s been around for so long without a solo release has helped to build a great deal of anticipation in the underground hip-hop community for his new debut album Ethereal Lotus Fleet.

The album cannot easily be placed into a genre class, as it encapsulates elements of middle-eastern music, reggae, dub, electronica and hip-hop, but has no real, solid base, which straight away grabs your attention. Elf speaks on social conditions, media-spread disillusionment and political corruption over wellconstructed, moderate-speed, synth-based beats from the likes of Mista Sinova, DJ Wasabi, Count Bass, Joelistics, Custom and Monkey Marc.

SIXX:A.M. The Heroin Soundtrack 5/10

We can all understand and, in our own way, relate to the message me in Bridget’s lyrics; they hit a nerve with stronglymade ma statements. “Hold your head up high” and “Go ahead and fly” are examples of her use of strong and positive phrasing, and, when combined with her acoustic flare, helps phr her message get out there the way a message should be – loud and clear!

What would a single be without a couple of B-sides? Track two, Pullin’ Away is more of an upbeat melody, accompanied with quick and quirky lyrics.

Last but not least is track three, which is a live version of Better Than You. This song will once again demonstrate that the talent of this home-grown Tassie chick is real, and she is brilliant at what she does. There’s no need for us to ask that you “support your locals” – talent like this demands it.

LISA HOWELL

TERROR Rhythm Amongst Chaos 2/10

Diaries

Nikki Sixx, who most people would know as the bass player from notorious 80s glam-metal band Motley Crüe, has a new project called Sixx:a.m. Other band members include DJ Ashba of Beautiful Creatures on guitars, and James Michaels, songwriter/producer of many multi-platinum artists on guitars and vocals.

The album cover states it’s a soundtrack; there is no movie, just a book titled The Heroin Diaries – A Year In The life Of A Shattered Rock Star, with all thirteen songs based from chapters in the book. The album and book exposes one year into the life of Sixx, the prolific rocker, and his heroin addiction from Christmas 1986 to his near-fatal overdose. Most people wouldn’t relate to the consequences of a heroin overdose; it is more one man’s real life experience of depression, and fighting his past habits. Nevertheless, everyone has there depressing moments, making the songs very relatable in that sense. Sixx does some spoken word on tracks, likely excerpts from his book – in particular on track ten, Girl With Golden Eyes, where Sixx tells of his first ten days in detox.

The first single released is the powerful and moving track, Life Is Beautiful – a catchy, hard-rocking song that I believe is the standout track on the album, along with Tomorrow, and Accidents Can Happen.

I’d have to say that the passionate and thought-provoking Let Go and the bouncy, anthem I Awoke were the standout tracks for me. Ethereal Lotus Fleet is not a club album, it’s not a hip-hop album – it’s a laid-back listen, a musical adventure. It is what it is, and it doesn’t attempt to present itself as anything else. It’s just a great all-round audio experience, and if you’re into artists like DJ Shadow, DJ Krush or KRS-One, you’ll definitely enjoy this one.

The album comes with added bonuses, including the music video for Life is Beautiful and thirty-two pages from The Heroin Diaries … The song Life After Death ends the album with a direct message that drugs can ruin your life … but there is a chance of recovery if you survive the tribulation.

RYAN FARRINGTON

DAVID WALKER

THE SLEEPING STATES There The Open Spaces 5.3/10

September, Maybe is one of my choices from the recording; the vocals sounding like any you could pluck from Radiohead’s Kid A album, both in sound, speed and lyrics.

This is the track beginning with the aforementioned clapping, which leads on to matching drum-beats, and on still to one of the slightly happier moments on the album – even at some points featuring male choir vocals over the guitar and drums backgrounds that exists throughout the majority of the song.

I am still unsure if I actually like this album or not. Very creative, but so very slow, with such a great sound of loss.

But the more I listen to it, the more it grows on me, so I am sure that after I have written this and it goes to print, this rating will have raised. One for sitting alone on a bank, fishing into a pond filled with reeds and fog.

CAROLE WHITEHEAD

KANYE WEST Graduation 6.5/10

The

Los Angeles hardcore punk band Terror has brought out a new five-track EP, possibly leading to a later album release.

Terror’s 2006 album, Always The Hard Way, did well for the band, earning them 10th on Billboard’s Heatseekers, and 19th on Top Independent Records.

This latest EP release will not be as highly acclaimed as the last album.

The concept of the EP was a one-off release for Reaper Records owner Patrick Kitzel to increase his growing hardcore label.

The band doesn’t go along with the current musical trends, and instead stick to their hardcore ethics of playing aggressively and keeping the hardcore punk/ metalcore scene alive. First up, the title track Rhythm Amongst The Chaos, is about how the band chooses to retreat, being on the road, and constantly moving along.

The next ear-pounding number, Disconnected is about being an outsider. Finally, Kickback, is a cover song from hardcore punk group Breakdown, featuring Vinnie Paz of band Jedi Mind Tricks on dual vocals with Terror’s lead man Scott Vogel.

These days, most of what the commercial television and radio stations are calling “hip-hop” in the US is pretty difficult to listen to, especially anything with a great deal of label money backing it. Kanye West’s material rides the thin line between that very unbearable mainstream US stuff I despise, and dope next-level hip-hop with flavour – but, unfortunately, he’s just very inconstent.

Graduation is a little too synth-y and lazy for my liking, especially after hearing the unbelievable beat for The People from Common’s new album, but there are a few nice tracks that bring out Kanye’s creative side, such as I Wonder, Everything I Am, The Glory and Flashing Lights. Everything I Am (featuring some horrible cuts from DJ Premier) still has such a beautiful beat, and Kanye really comes into his own when he spits over it, as well as the Motown banger The Glory, and it’s tracks like this that make you wish he would just stick with what he’s good at.

The rapper with the most overrated output in the game, Lil’ Wayne features on/ruins a track titled Barry Bonds, and T-Pain does some unneeded, pitch-shifted vocals over the hook of Good Life, and both tracks are probably the worst tracks on the album.

Rhythm Amongst The Chaos clocks in at just over the nineminute mark, characteristic of Terror’s raw musical ethic. I admire the band’s determination to keep the originality of the hardcore punk scene going but, like Australian Idol, I can’t relate with it.

It’s interesting that a great producer with so much creativity can disappoint over and over, but still occasionally brings out something that just blows you away and re-establishes that faith you had in them.

Nothing innovative or new comes out from this EP, with all the songs sounding the same – just a trigger for a mega migraine.

All in all, I personally couldn’t see myself listening to more than one-third of this album ever again; that said, those few good tracks are, in themselves, probably worth buying the album for.

DAVID WALKER

RYAN FARRINGTON

TIM ROGERS The Luxury Of Hysteria 6/10 The Luxury of Hysteria is another solo work from the notorious front man of the legendary Australian band You Am I. So naturally, upon choosing it, I expected to hear the classic rock sound of the original band. But never did I expect the album to open with the sounds of the cello, and I certainly didn’t expect an album full of easy listening songs.

The track sitting at number eight, titled Correspondence, stands out a little from the rest. Although many of the songs off this album do sound similar, and the album can get a little repetitive, this one just had something extra that drew me to it.

Starting with slow-plucked guitar and Tim’s vocals, it drifts through various instruments, all while being held up by the beautiful lyrics. My personal pick from the album.

As I said earlier, this is definitely a different style for Tim Rogers, but it quite suits him.

It sounds as if he has been on tour with the band, and come home to his hammock to write these lyrics, and afterwards wandering inside to sit on his lounge room floor with a guitar and begin recording them.

I think this is a great sound for him, and anyone who is a great fan of the man himself should look out for the album, and You Am I fans might find themselves surprised after having a listen to this one.

CAROLE WHITEHEAD PAGE 14

JOHN BULTER TRIO Live At Federation Square 9/10

TIM MINCHIN So Live 8.5/10

We open with the JTV hosts, Myf, Jay and The Doctor telling the audience they all smell like pot. Somehow, being told that they stink like rancid bong water didn’t seem to faze the audience in the smallest way. This is the live recording of the John Butler Trio performing at Federation Square, Melbourne Australia in April 2007.

There is an unusual propensity for Australian comedians to be multitalented and invariably musical, and Tim Minchin is no exception to the rule.

In fact, his new DVD So Live is a veritable feast of musical humour, from its air guitar and, in fact, air band-based intro ‘til its thoroughly amusing ending … which I’m sure Tim could make a funny song out of.

Hitting the ground running, John (and crew) take the stage, pay tribute to the traditional aboriginal land owners, and get to business, blasting out a wonderfully enthusiastic He is an immediately likeable host, who is engaging and witty from the outset, and manages to performance of Zebra – the song that I’m sure got many people hooked on JBT in the first keep things moving along nicely in-between songs. His humour shifts from the observational to the uncomfortably honest and (to be honest) weird … His shock of wild red hair and long coat, place. combined with bare feet and eyeliner, is a bit of a visual cue to not just his kind of stage persona, but Offering Ocean up with a prayer for peace, love, harmony and general warm-and-fuzziness, maybe his real life personality as well. His stand-up is as offbeat as his appearance, and it shifts from John’s passion and dedication for both his music – and making the world a more pleasant darkly vitriolic to light and almost fluffy – which, in fact, makes the dark stuff even darker. place – shone through, and captured the crowd’s hearts. His skill with that guitar, and obvious lust for music, has never been displayed with more eloquence. I sat slack-jawed, and chills He is based in the UK now, but was originally from Perth W.A., and he still has the sense of humour ran up my spine as the performance reached a fevered pitch, and the crowd exploded with that is typically Australian. It is the fine blend of sardonic wit and absurd non-sequiturs that seems unique to Aussie comedians, yet he takes it to some much stranger and politically edgy areas than cheers as the final note rang out. the bulk of the Aussie comedic fraternity.

There’s a good reason why these guys have gone platinum twice and collected two ARIA awards for Best Independent Release, and this DVD shows us exactly why. The eclectic, It’s his music, though, where he is at his most impressive, and the show really takes off. With joyful and upbeat musical stylings make it hard for even the most rhythmically-retarded subjects from his inflatable girlfriend to his own rock ‘n’ roll nerd-dom, he bashes the ivory into submission, and warms the audience to his view of the world. He even explores the dangerous among us to not head-bob and toe-tap along in happy melody. forbidden realm of performance poetry, and that is worthy of respect for its sheer bravado – it’s One thing I didn’t enjoy about this DVD is the fact that some irritating dork at the front of the a brave man who makes the descent down the slippery slope of offbeat syncopated poetry and crowd seemed incessant in waving their large, pink stuffed toy, from a certain “Square Pants’d” manages to make it work. cartoon show at the camera at every single opportunity. Had I been there, I may have flung said fluffy merchandise as far away as humanly possible. It’s an annoying distraction I could His show will not appeal to everyone – it descends into some of the darkest places of the human have lived without. psyche, and he doesn’t shy away from ideas and topics that would be, to some folks, pretty unpleasant. But, hell, I like it. It makes me smile.

The Live at Federation Square DVD is a powerful musical experience. Pop that shiny disk in your player, turn up your sound system to “oh hell yeah” and dance awkwardly around the The song about anal sex and God, Ten Foot Cock and the Hundred Virgins is definitely my favourite room in high-spirited pleasure. … but then, who wouldn’t love that?

NATE BURR

DAVID QUINN

B A C K PA C K E R

BAR & CAFE

FROM 6PM

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T PEANYSMIC NIGH O TUESD OUTDAHYS- OFF M WEDNES Comedy, Drama

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and Spoken Wo

T YSOF CENTRE F LTHE URSDA

9288 St Launceostmo/ bna 6c k3p3a4c k e r h u b 1 Tamwar ww.myspace.c

ONT HIP HOP NOV 15th FOREFRONT HIP-HOP DEC 6th FOREFR

FROM 8PM

ANDOM R FRIDAYS

DOLLAR + ECLECTIC NOV 16th BLACK S WYNWOOD NOV 23rd MARCUMA FAIR BAND + NICK WINWOOD NOV 30th THE EMAY TO FORTH DEC 7th HALFW

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PAGE 15

MOHAWK

By Tom Wilson B

BYO and NOW LICENSED!

254 Mount St Upper Burnie 7320

(Give us $5 for live music unless otherwise stated)

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 15

JAZZ CLUB ’07 “Black Flag ruined my life” – it’d probably make a great t-shirt slogan, and there’d be few more qualified to wear it than murder punks Straightjacket Nation. They had a word to SAUCE ahead of laying waste to the Tassie punk scene this month.

How did Straightjacket Nation begin? How did you guys start playing together?

We were drawn together by our extreme religious beliefs.

I lived across the country and moved to Melbourne for the cheap kicks. We started playing more.

What does the term “punk” mean to you? How would you describe it?

The term “punk” means Lester Bangs and Ron Asheton to me. I would describe it as a cheap marketing ploy for third tier rock ‘n’ roll bands. Straightjacket Nation is about fourth or fifth tier murder punk.

In your eyes, which bands and artists are – and have been – true innovators in punk? And how have they influenced you guys?

Stooges Funhouse, The Saints Eternally Yours, Black Flag Damaged, Cro Mags Age Of Quarrel, Flipper Generic.

These are the five records [that] I’d say at some stage [have] ruined people’s lives, and life-ruining is punk.

Your live performances are distinctively aggressive and energetic. How did this evolve – was it like this from the start?

Our songs have been aggressive and energetic from the start, and we are not slouches. High tension wires.

From what kind of head-spaces do most of the lyrics come from?

Listen to the song Dirt from the album Funhouse by The Stooges.

You’re playing the Brisbane Hotel in Hobart. What experience have you had with the Tassie punk scene?

And how is it different to back home?

I have been to one Tasmanian punk show. It reminded me of the shows I went to growing up in a shithole town, and I mean that in a good way.

Viktor Zappner Swingtet featuring Max Gourlay on clarinet/fiddle/vocals and Bruce Innocent on drums/percussion 7:30PM $10

I prefer to play shows in places like Perth or Brisbane to “music scenes” like Sydney and Melbourne.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 16

The people in these towns need music more than the scenesters and sycophants in the city. We’re really excited to play in Tasmania.

Marcus Wynwood 8:00PM

When you were first exposed to punk music as kids, what was it about the genre that immediately appealed to you? Do you remember which band it was?

I grew up reading comics and playing video games; I shared very little in common with my peers. I never listened to music before punk.

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 17

COUNTRY CLUB ‘O7 The Howie Brothers

It expressed something about why I liked reading comics and playing video games over getting stoned or trying to get a handjob at some shitty high school party.

with Evelyn Bury 1:30PM $15

So that’s why I listened to it. Over time, it got me kicked out of home, dropped out of school and almost totally unemployable. Thanks, punk. The band that ruined my life was Black Flag.

Justin Carter with special guest Joshua Jwan Rawiri 8:00PM

What has the band been working on recently?

We are releasing a CD of the first three 7”s and writing songs for a new 12”.

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 18

Lastly, what has been the craziest gig you guys have played, and what made it so memorable?

I’m not sure. We’ve played a lotta good shows and a lotta lousy shows. I guess Launceston or Hobart will be the best yet. Turn it up.

BLUES CLUB ‘07 Blue Monday diggin’ the blues & more 5:00PM

Straightjacket Nation are going to f*cking murder you with punk at the Brisbane Hotel in Hobart on the 17 th of November – all-ages and licensed gigs.

The band that ruined my life was Black Flag.

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 22

JAZZ CLUB ’07

Fridays

Viktor Zappner Swingtet featuring Fred Bradshaw from Hobart on alto sax.

8:00PM

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 24

Russell Morris The Real Thing 8:00PM $35

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 25

FREE BEFORE 10PM, $5 AFTER

Christina Sonnemann CD launch 2:00PM $10

COUNTRY CLUB ‘07 Gina Timms 5:00PM

stagedoor@keypoint.com.au PAGE 18

ROCK SALT

By Steve Tauschke

F Faking it has never felt – or sounded – so ggood for Los Angeles sonic seducers Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, set to spread their R rrock ‘n’ roll love on Australian soil over the New Year period. From Memphis, th Tennessee, bassist-vocalist Robert Levon T Been spoke with Steve Tauschke.

B

Bikies are a lot sweeter than they look – just like us!

Hey Robert, when I spoke to you about five years ago you were having some problems with BRMC, the Bridge Runners Motorcycle Gang in New York ... any bikie trouble to report since then?

[Laughs] No troubles, no. We’ve been pretty lucky. There’s a Hell’s Angels guy who showed up at our last LA show, but word got out that we’re all fairly decent fellas so they’ve granted us safe passage across the country. Bikies are a lot sweeter than they look – just like us!

So how’s the reaction been to your album Baby 81 since its release last April?

I’ve always got the same vibe. At first it never hits people the second they hear it, it’s always later – so it’s kind of, the more we tour, the more everyone opens up to it. I always think people are going to get it with the first listen, but apparently I’m wrong. It always takes some time. But that’s the good thing about touring I guess, you get to watch it happen.

Was it a smoother process making this record, by contrast to your earlier works?

None of them are really easy, but this one we wrote and tracked pretty fast, as far as things just clicking. But the mixing of it made me want to blow my brains out.

I guess it always does when you get into the studio and start tweaking around with things for fourteen hours on end; it can make anyone want to lose their mind. And because we produce the records ourselves, we get really hard on ourselves. You have to be your own editor, and it’s kind of the only way to do that. But the devil is in the detail, and you definitely find that out when you’re mixing.

Do you test the bounds of democracy when all three of you are mixing?

Yeah, it’s hard, and it kind of possesses you in a strange way. And I only realised this recently because we were always getting into fights, insofar as one guy would be doing something and you’d hate that guy for mixing it. It possesses the person who has their hands on the wheel.

But over time, I think we all realised that you just have to let that person go down that road, and just take the good with the bad, because it’ll be your turn next time to obsess.

You’ve utilised some nice piano on the track Windows, I notice.

Yeah, it was a kind of piano-driven song that we wrote in a vacuum, and then built it around that. It was written on the road and we jammed it out, so that was kind of different for us.

We took a lot of lessons from making Howl, in that you have to fake it on record to make it sound more real. It’s a weird irony, but to put one guitar in a room on a stage in front of people it sounds great – a hundred feet tall – but if you put one guitar on one track on a record, it’s going to sound small and weak.

Whenever you crush sound down to a paper-thin size, you lose a lot of the weight and body of it, so it’s just always the irony of having to layer so many things to make it sound honest, and just like one guitar.

You mix up the vocals quite a lot. Tell us about the vocal exchange you have with Pete.

Yeah, we’ve done that since the beginning, and we do that more on this record – a lot of changing around. With vocals, we’ll even swap in the middle of a song, as far as one guy singing the verse and one guy singing the chorus. Some people can’t tell.

I can’t tell at all.

[Laughs] That’s a good thing. It’s a good thing. It’s the greatest illusion we’ve pulled off thus far!

I’m sure fans out there would like to know who sings what.

Well, Pete sings on all of 666 Conducer and Took Out A Loan and a few others. I sing all of Windows and Not What You Wanted. There’s not a rule about any of it – whoever writes it sings it, basically.

Did the same apply to your debut album?

Yeah, Pete sings Love Burns and Red Eyes … and we both sing Punk Song back and forth, verse and chorus. We also both sing verse and chorus on Awake and Spread Your Love.

We trade back and forth too. I can’t believe I remember all these!

It all sounds like very collaborative between you guys.

Yeah – [on] the first record, a lot of those songs me and Pete kind of wrote early on, just growing up, like, sixteen years old, on the guitar. Then when we made the record, we didn’t even have our own sound; we just tried to make it sound as good as we could.

But when we toured that album, we toured for two years, and only then did we have our own band sound. So it became more creative as to who the f*ck we are, and what we’re doing. We wrote a lot of songs on the road during that, which is pretty much what Take Them On, On Your Own was – it was us trying to make the most honest record.

Howl was more getting back to old acoustic songs written in the bedroom and on the porch – [a] totally different style to being a three-piece rock band.

The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club play the Falls Festival in Marion Bay on NYE. PAGE 19

ROCK SALT

By Tom Wilson

… We all knew of crop circles … but we never thought we’d do a film clip on one …

They’ve recorded in LA, toured South Africa, hammed it up in London, and now it’s Liverpool’s turn. And did we mention Stonehenge? Perth rockers Gyroscope poured every ounce of their international experience into recording their 2008-bound third album Breed Obsession, as singer-guitarist Dan Sanders tells Steve Tauschke.

I heard there was some friction on your recent Australian tour supporting Fall Out Boy. What happened there?

Well, I hadn’t really heard of them going into the tour. I’d heard something of theirs on the TV once, but didn’t really dig it. But I approached the tour from a band point-of-view, and thought “hey, these gigs are going to be massive – let’s give it a good crack”. But I think the Fall Out guys were just a bit too busy, but, you know, each to their own. But we had a good experience, and it was good fun just reconnecting with all the kids, really.

URBAN POETRY

I expect you played to much larger crowds than you’re accustomed to?

Way larger, man – the biggest we’ve done! To come back from such a lengthy break from recording, where our focus was just getting this record right, and then to pop out with our first shows back to be that big, it was just, you know … we really just wanted to play, whether it was to five or five thousand people.

Where was most of it written?

Most if it was written in Perth in a rehearsal room over about eight months … well, all of it was actually, and then, when we took it over to Liverpool with Dave [Eringa], our producer … He put a bit of pressure on us, because we knew he’d throw spanners in, and that’s what we wanted. Nothing was forced – it was all very organic, where nothing was right or wrong.

So why the choice to record in Liverpool?

It was weird, actually – we knew we had to go off and record

the thing in either Melbourne or LA or the UK or wherever, and we had had half-a-dozen of our favourite producers lined up, but just the vibe on the phone with Dave was great … listening to his Idlewild work and his work with Manic Street Preachers, and just the energy levels that he can pull out of a band. And then when we spoke to him, he was just so “on”, you know? He name-checked our songs, which a lot of the other producers didn’t. We thought, if we’re going to spend a couple months away from home, then it best be with a good guy, and he just happened to be in the UK, and wanted to work up in Liverpool, which is just a couple of hours away for him.

Could you feel the musical history in the place?

Yeah, we did all the touristy things in Liverpool. I mean, you’re in the home of the Beatles, where it all began, you know? So we went down to the Cavern Club, and had a drink and sucked in all in, and then tried to spew it all out on record really.

You shot the video for it on a huge crop circle near Stonehenge in the UK. Tell us about that experience?

Well, as a kid I was really into UFOs and all that sort of supernatural stuff, and it was always really intriguing. So we all knew of crop circles, and all the mysterious powers and all that sort of stuff, but we never thought we’d do a film clip on one.

It was shot on a wheat farm in Wiltshire, which is about two hours from of London, just down the road from Stonehenge.

We learnt afterwards that on the other side of the hill was where Led Zeppelin did their Remasters shoot for a crop circle back in the 70s – on the same farm! The farmer got a plane and just took an aerial shot to keep, and he sent it off to Led Zeppelin, and two years later he finds out they used it for a cover and wants to be reimbursed. I think he said they gave him a signed copy of the album, and he was cool with that. gyroscope.com.au

By Tom Wilson

C Considering both myself and revered hip-hop producer Plutonic Lab had forgotten we were supposed to do an interview one Monday morning in the lead-up to a Tassie tour, he ccould have been forgiven if he sounded a little dazed and blasé … but that wasn’t a problem for this cat. It could be said that his ability to switch-on at a moment’s notice has helped cement his position in Oz hip-hop alongside frequent collaborator Muph (in fact, it was just said … just then). Don’t agree? Catch him at either of the M&P shows early h next month, and let some Plutonic DJing prove you wrong … n

So where are you man? What are you doing?

S At the moment I’m sort of working on a little solo A performance at the Arts Centre on Wednesday – I’m trying perform to get that together, and just beats for different projects here and there, plus the new Muph & Pluto record, which we’ve got scheduled for next year now. So yeah, a bunch of stuff on the boil.

The new Muph & Plutonic album – tell me some things, tell me some things …

Tell you some things? Well, I think we’ve got six tracks down, and we’re still refining those … I think, from the first batch of six songs that we liked, I think we’ve already found a couple of tracks that we’re pretty confident [with], as far as, like, singles and stuff goes. That’s a good spot to be in – like, we’ve got the strong material that the rest of the record … from now on, [the new songs] that we make, we can measure [them] up to those songs … Yeah, it’s going pretty well. Mark’s writing a lot, so we’ve got a lot of material to pick from as well; we’ve been real fussy. So yeah ... the overall flavour of it … I guess we’re trying to make it as diverse as we can … [On] the last record, we tried to have more of a kind of unified sound throughout the tracks, whereas this one’s kind of like … we’ve just gone for lots of different rhythms and lots of different topics and stuff like that.

We’re just trying to keep it as diverse as we can.

Speaking on the actual sounds … I mean, not even referring to it as music or as a tune, what particular sounds and tones and instrumental effects … to your ears, what are some of your favourites, and why?

A lot of my favourite combinations of instruments are from stuff that I’ve discovered in soundtracks over the years. Like, one of my favourite combinations with instruments is actually harpsichord and Rhodes electric piano … Just anything, like horn sections – things like the Mad Max soundtrack … I like the way the horns are used in those, just stuff like that, I guess.

But as far as beats go, I always tend to start off with a rhythm or drums or some kind of just drums in mind … and the way I program as well is [that] I always try and put drums sounds together that I think will be good to actually play. So yeah – just going for sounds that I’d like to actually physically play on a drum kit, but that would be kind of impossible in terms of … just having drums sounds that would be too diverse together.

But they kind of have an interesting way of interacting with each other. So yeah, lots of different things, man – lots of different things.

So … you were saying that you kind of go for drum beats that you can see being able to be physically played live?

Not really like “live” – not in terms of the show or anything PAGE 20

You mentioned the record – was there pressure on the band to maintain these creative leaps between albums?

It was a conscious thing, and it always is with us boys. You want to able to nail the things you are good at, while also experimenting.

So it’s just going in as musicians, and knowing our instruments a bit better, and knowing how we work a bit better, and making the songs a little bit stronger.

like that, but just in terms of drum sounds that would be just awesome to have in front of you physically playing; almost like picturing the drum sound in a physical way, rather than just like samples that you bump together sort of thing. Yeah, it’s just a way of looking at it I guess.

Are you familiar with an IDM, Intelligent Dance Music artist called Aphex Twin?

Yep, yep.

I just saw a clip of a band covering Come to Daddy live with instruments, so, I mean, as far as drumming can go, anything’s really possible [to replicate live] if you get someone like the Dillinger Escape Plan involved [Laughs] Completely irrelevant, but nevertheless I thought I’d bring it up …

I always liked his monkey drummer film clips as well, Aphex Twin. I don’t know if you’ve seen that one. That’s kind of cool …

Disturbing videos … Here’s one you can have some fun with – in what ways would you liken your musical output, and your personality, to weapons-grade plutonium?

[Laughs] You know – “Plutonic Lab” … you can kind of see the math here …

Yeah, yeah! Oh, jeez, I don’t know man … [Laughs] That’s kind of a weird question. [Laughs] I don’t really know man.

Plutonium is combustible – it explodes! In what ways does your music explode? Or … I don’t know. F*ck, whatever!

[Laughs] I don’t really know how to answer that, to be honest. [Laughs] I guess we just try … Our live thing is just having just one acoustic element … I mean, I guess, with the Melbourne shows, we use acoustic drums, but … just having that element over more sort of sample-based stuff. I mean, the usual set up is a DJ and an MC, but having that live element means that we can push and pull back on certain songs, and, like, they do have that extra level of dynamic. So yeah, you know? Songs can kind of take off in energy, I guess, just because of that one element we have interacting.

ONLINE: Plutonic talks about collaborating with, of all people, Renee Geyer. To listen to an MP3 of the full interview, go to www.sauce.net.au Muph & Plutonic play Hobart’s Republic Bar on the 7th of December, and Launceston’s James Hotel on the 8th.

I always liked his monkey drummer

Dirty F*cking Dancing

Helloween Havoc

SYRUP – 27/10/07

BRISBANE HOTEL – 27/10/07

Have you ever heard the expression “as good as an old pair of jeans?” “As reliable as Britney Spears in a baby-dropping competition?” So, that last one is maybe more topical, but the theme remains the same – it’s about knowing what you’re gonna get, and expecting it to be good – damn good.

The punters started filing in early for this event – some in costumes, and all excited. The first band up was The Superkunts, all dressed in drag, flaunting their brand of provocative punk rock.

Syrup’s residents hold a solid reputation for delivering mental party nights every weekend, and a Saturday dose with Adam Turner and friends cemented that for me.

Slowly making my way to the top of the building, I noticed the air thickening with a intriguing mix of hot air, heavy basslines and funky smells that you couldn’t get an experienced taxi driver to deliver.

Practice makes perfect, and, with some serious tweaking over the years, the sound system upstairs is tuned for perfection and obliteration.

Adam Turner was throwing down Hook ‘n’ Sling’s remix of Stanton Warriors’ Shake it Up, with its deep, punchy bassline hurtling across the walls, as a decent crowd took hold of the club.

The man whose style can be more experimental than Keith Richards with your grandfather’s ashes held it oh-so-tightly as he scratched and mixed his way through some tidy new-school breaks and house.

Determined to cut through the sweat and grime building on the dance floor, I took to the couch, and was easily whisked away into my own little world with both the quality in tunes and the resonating vibrations that took control of my limbs ‘til the wee hours of the morning.

Highlights were I’m Not Strange – Well, Maybe Just A Little Bit and the fun they had jittering about, putting on a good, solid set of bluesy punk with a humourous edge. Looking around, the place was crazy, with members of Solar Thorn, M.S.I. and Lost Hope mixed in with grim reapers, prom queens, cyborgs and dark angels.

The next band on was the amazingly tight unit called Mindset.

I’ve seen these guys before, and they were awesome both times. The singer strutted around the stage confidently, with one guitarist mouthing the words to half the songs. Create to Destroy was definitely a stand-out track, and even without their bassist they kicked some serious hardcore butt; a brilliant, tight set from the boys from Launnie.

I went out for a Shocktail and another look-see around the bar for more madly costumed punters. Gothic nurses, zombies, a member of Slipknot, and even Vivian from The Young Ones floated about inside and outside the Brissie.

When I entered the band room again, the stage was fully hidden with smoke.

T he haze slowly cleared as Bumtuck’s set commenced, furiously screaming about girls with bananas in naughty places and talking about turtles trying to lick their balls between songs.

The punters finally put on a real show of their presence to the bands, and yelled out, crowding the stage.

This is easily one of Hobart’s best dance party regulars, thanks to the people who hold it together.

After they finished, the prizes were given out, going to the member of Slipknot, a disfigured nurse, a bloke who came as roadkill, and the gothic evil nurse. A top night!

FELIX BLACKLER

ROWAN MCINTOSH

Birds Of Tokyo + Soft White Machine

The Vasco Era + The Fumes

REPUBLIC BAR & CAFÉ – 7/10/07

JAMES HOTEL – 19/10/07

You could’ve been mistaken for thinking it was a Saturday night, but the fact is, it was a Sunday, and at the Republic Bar it was going crazy. The pulling power of Birds of Tokyo was immense.

Support band Soft White Machine impressed me with some great drumming and catchy riffs, but it was fair to say that the night belonged to the Birds –everybody waiting in anticipation for them to hit the stage and take flight. Once they did, everybody went nuts – singing word-for-word, all in harmony.

They kicked off with Black Sheets which, straight off the bat, Karnivool vocalist Ian Kenny hit note-perfect with his first breath.

This guy would have to have one of the best vocal ranges of any male singer going around the moment, and, at times, makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

But everything didn’t go to plan, as, just halfway through their second song, Ian lost all vocals though some technical fault.

But, with everybody still dancing, they didn’t stop, and continued with a drum beat to keep everything flowing.

In the end, they just started the entire song again, to the delight of their fans.

Throughout the night, they threw in some of the new stuff they have written, and I can happily say it sounded awesome! A tad heavier than what we are used to from them, but nothing like Karnivool – just more rock ‘n’ roll.

Also during the night, with some of their older tracks, and the new ones, they had samples playing in the background, which I thought gave their music another dimension.

As The Fumes appeared onstage, the large crowd that had gathered cheered loudly. It seemed as if a large percentage of Launceston’s youth (and those a little older) had turned up purely to see this support band.

As they started, it was fairly easy to see why. The lead singer strummed an antique-looking metal guitar, while the other half of the duo played the drums with great skill.

The audience danced and cheered, but soon, The Fumes left the stage, and it was time for the main act.

The singer walked on-stage alone, and after a few moments of testing his vocal cords, he realised his companions were not on the stage with him, and he rushed back to the band room to collect them.

Soon after, we had the trio all on stage, and that started a great show. Playing both songs from their new album, Oh, I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside as well as older tunes, the crowd – which, unbelievably, seemed the slightest bit smaller than it was for The Fumes – sung along and cheered wildly.

After a few songs, the lead singer sat down and began raising hell on a lap-steel. After a while, he played small bongo-type drums, which he attacked with much enthusiasm.

The Vasco Era’s performance was exceptional, and the crowd seemed to think so too.

It just makes for a fuller sound – though that’s not to say it was really lacking to begin with.

Near the end of the set, one of the front-man’s guitar strings snapped … and he continued to play, seeming to barely even notice. How very rock ‘n’ roll.

BEN PETER

CAROLE WHITEHEAD PAGE 21

Z-TRIP

DJ FORMAT

SWOLLEN MEMBERS

JUNGLE BROTHERS

Z-Trip is one of the biggest DJs of our time. Doing over a hundred shows a year, every year. He is known as the founding father of the mash-up movement, and one of the most important figures in the modern evolution of both turntablism and hip-hop production.

DJ Format AKA Matt Ford’s debut album Music For The Mature B-Boy is one of the slow-burn success stories of hip-hop culture in the 21st century. An album of soulful, funk-fuelled hip-hop packed with infectious beats and lyrical dexterity, it delivered in spades on the promise of his early releases for Mo’ Wax and Bomb Hip Hop. Received with quiet acclaim in the press, it quickly became a word-of-mouth triumph, going on to establish itself as one of the most successful debut artist album’s in UK’s hip-hop/alternative urban/dance scene. The campaign was successful for a number of reasons, not least its supporting batch of three incredible music videos, all directed by then-unknown Ruben Fleischer. The most famous of these will undoubtedly be the rapping and breakdancing costumed animals of We Know Something You Don’t Know’ featuring the vocals of Chali 2na and Akil of Jurassic 5 – played out by a shark and tiger respectively on the big screen. It is an unforgettable piece of feel-good hip-hop. Music For The... also led to Matt supporting Jurassic 5 on their European tour, and through subsequent touring in 2003 establishing Format & Abdominal as one of the hottest live hip-hop tickets in town, culminating in triumphant appearances at the Reading & Leeds festivals of 2004 and worldwide touring taking in the whole of Europe, North America and (most recently) Australia.

On the strength of their unique sound, and a live show that stands without comparison in hip-hop, Swollen Members are taking it back to basics, building a movement one fan at a time.

They have been paying their dues since the 90s when rappers Mad Child and Prevail first joined forces to release a series of critically acclaimed 12” singles on Mad Child’s own label, Battle Axe Records.

Jungle Brothers have been around since hip-hop’s Golden Age, and they continue to adapt creatively to the changing soundscapes of both hip-hop and DJ culture. They first appeared on the NYC hip-hop scene with the release of the groundbreaking Straight Out The Jungle in 1988.

The Elements Tour presents Z-Trip performing in live mode for the very first time, backed up by live percussion and the stunning MC magic of Soup (Jurassic 5), this is an Australian first.

Z-Trip’s major label debut Shifting Gears was a huge success, receiving critical acclaim from fans and media alike. The first single Walking Dead went Top 20 and featured Chester Bennington of Linkin Park. The album also had two Number Ones on the college chart; Listen to the DJ featuring Soup (J5) and Shock and Awe featuring Chuck D. He’s also a master of the remix, with a stand-out re-working of The Jackson 5’s I Want You Back on Motown Remixed. Z-Trip can be seen in the movie Scratch (and Scratch Live) alongside Q-Bert, Mix Master Mike and originators of the art form including Afrika Bambaataa and Jazzy Jay.

Format’s signature b-boy instrumentals, down-tempo sketches and body-rocking backdrops are interwoven seamlessly throughout his live sets, simultaneously hooking in both the casual initiate as well as the most hardened crate-spotting freak.

The Rock Steady Crew-affiliated group’s debut full-length, Balance hit streets in 1999 to a wave of critical praise. Its dark but aggressive sound, combined with Swollen Members’ reputation for rocking crowds from LA to Tokyo, cemented their position in the independent hip-hop world.

With the release of their sophomore album Bad Dreams in 2001, Swollen Members saw their music embraced by a widespread audience in Canada. Commercial radio and video airplay fuelled Swollen mania, and accolades and awards piled up, including the Vancouver British Columbia crew winning Juno Awards (Canadian version of a Grammy) three years in a row. Bad Dreams was certified platinum in Canada, Balance went gold, and their third album Monsters in the Closet has also nearly reached platinum status. Producer Rob The Viking’s contributions led to him being made an official member, as Swollen Members became the best selling hip-hop group in Canadian history. Though they spent several years promoting and touring almost exclusively in Canada, with no international promotion their records have sold nearly 500,000 copies worldwide, still through the ever-independent Battle Axe.

A prototype for later envelope-pushing crews like the Wu-Tang Clan, the Jungle Brothers were among the first groups to aggregate a like-minded posse of fellow rappers (the legendary Native Tongues: De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Black Sheep, and later Mos Def) in which intellect and vocabulary dominated the game. Following up their raw, energetic debut, the group went into the studio with NYC underground club and house producer Todd Terry, and hip-house was born. I’ll House You became a bona fide international hit, making Terry one of the most in-demand remixers to this day. A major label bidding war ensued, and the Jungle Brothers subsequently signed to Warner Bros. Free to sample and manipulate in a more sophisticated setting, the JBs mixed up breaks and beats that recalled the Bronx block parties of their youth, incorporating elements from jazz, soul, and funk classics. The resulting album, Done By The Forces Of Nature, ranks with other masterpieces of the era like the Beastie Boys’ Paul’s Boutique and De La Soul’s seminal Three Feet High And Rising. “Jaybees” appear on the Elements Tour in a never-before-witnessed performance mode – an MC vs. DJ soundsystem performance, featuring Mike Gee and the group’s original DJ Sammy B. The Jungle Brothers Sound System set features old classics mixed up with brand new material, presented in true “Jaybees” party-rocking style.

SOUP (JURASSIC 5) Coming down as part of the Elements Tour is Zaakir, AKA Soup, performing solo for the first time ever in Australia.

Considered one of the greatest new-school MCs on earth, Soup appears as a part of Z-Trip’s much-hyped new live show.

BANGERS & MASH

Soup found fame as a part of the hip-hop crew Jurassic 5 along with rappers Chali 2na, Akil, Mark 7even, and turntable maestros DJ Nu-Mark and DJ Cut Chemist. The group came together from two separate crews in 1993 – Rebels of Rhythm and Unity Committee.

By Dave Williams B

T funny thing about annual events is that they only happen once a year (who’d have thought), so, when the time came around to work on Ministry Of Sound’s latest Annual, The Goodwill was no doubt aware that if he stuffed up, it’d be three-hundred-and-sixty-five days before he got another shot at it. Thankfully, he didn’t. The recently announced addition G to the bill of MS FEST 2008 in February next year, Goodwill explained to SAUCE why Aussie dance music is sh*tting all over the rest of the world.

W What’s turned you on in terms of music that you’ve st stuck on the Annual?

W Well, there’s a lot of Australian stuff on there this year, so th that’s sort of what my big push has been with the CD. So I’ve put sort of … all my favourite producers from Australia on there, really! [Laughs] Klaus “Heavyweight” Hill and Hook ‘n’ Sling, Sneaky Sound System, Midnight Juggernauts …

[Groans] Oh, jeez louise! Now you’ve put me on the spot!

I’m interviewing you now!

Is that, like, positive discrimination?

Positive discrimination? I guess it is. I’m always going to be biased towards my mates. But it’s just kind of handy that Australians are writing such amazing music.

He just thought that, because he’d spent quite a bit of time overseas, and then he’d came back and he said it was like a different version of the same sort of stuff when he got back here … that sort of vocal house stuff, he found, like, a different model of the same car – that sort of thing.

Well, you know … I suppose, in the confines of dance music, where it’s a four-four beat, there’s only so many things you can do. So, you know, putting vocals on top of a house beat is pretty much the standard thing that’s been going on forever, and if we’re doing the same thing as people overseas, it’s probably because we’re writing in the confines of the genre! [Laughs] And my tastes are always going to be more popular than Phil’s, so I’m always going to be more positive about commercial records being written, because it’s generally what I play and produce myself.

Do you think they stack up internationally, though?

Of course! I think Australian dance music is absolutely shitting all over dance music overseas. I can hear all this overseas stuff trying to imitate the Australian sound at the moment. So I think definitely – it’s as good, if not better than the UK stuff.

So can you give me an idea, or describe what you think of the traits of the Australian sound that you’ve mentioned?

Well, I don’t know … I mean, Dirty South is kind of spearheading I guess … But in the house sense, the drums are always a bit more rock ‘n’ roll … just big-sounding production. I think there’s definitely an Australian sound at the moment. And also I’ve noticed that the Australian stuff is just really well-written melodically, with a lot of musicality in the stuff as well; it’s not monotonous, like a lot of stuff overseas.

Don’t you think we get a bit of the cheesy vocal house thing in Australia as well?

Absolutely. But everything has its place. I like cheesy vocal house as much as I like underground stuff … I think that there’s a lot of vocal house being written in Australia, but if there’s anyone that should be releasing, it’s us, don’t you think? [Laughs] I don’t know – I reckon the Italians would be right up there with cheese … [Sarcasm, not racism, folks – Tom] Well, what would you call cheesy? [Laughs] What’s an example of an Australian record that you would call cheesy?

PAGE 22

Nah, that’s not fair! [Laughs] I was actually sort of paraphrasing a quote that was once made by Phil K to me in an interview …

What did he say?

Did you react to, or make sure you complimented what John [Course, DJ who mixed other Annual disc] did? Or did you guys work in isolation?

I think we sort of compliment each other well on the CD, because he takes care of the real house-y side of things, because John just a really exceptional house DJ, in simple terms. He’s really, really good at that, and I sort of always take care of, on my CDs, the more eclectic side of things.

So I try and fit a little bit of everything on my disc, and sort of take care of other genres. So I think, when me and John do CDs together, it works really well, because we can cover a big, broad reach of stuff, you know?

And what about your own production? You mentioned before about Australian producers, and that you’ve favoured them on what you’ve contributed to the Annual – what about your own personal production? What’s

happening there?

Well, I’ve got one of my new side-projects – I’m launching a few side-projects, and one of them is called Attackattack …

So we’ve got our first single on the CD, I have to finish the second one.

New Goodwill’s ready to go. I’ve got a pop project that I’m launching in the middle of next year; I’ve actually been talking about that one for a while, but it’s actually finally going to happen! [Laughs] We’ve finished a whole album now. So there’s a few things happening, and a lot of remixes coming out as well, but you’ll see, over the next couple of months … at least two coming out a month over summer.

Goodwill plays MS FEST 2008 at Launceston’s Inveresk Showgrounds on Saturday the 16th of February.

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

I think Australian dance music is absolutely sh*tting all over dance music overseas.

ON SUNDAYS forget about Monday

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

18TH OF NOVEMBER

NICK TOTH GROTESQUE WEBBER ADAM T

2ND OF DECEMBER

DJ REGAL WOODHOUSE WEBBER DAMEZA

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

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

PAGE 23

BANGERS & MASH

By Tom Wilson B

A After being released from hospital as a reward for being healed from post-world tour exhaustion, DJ Regal is playing with his music again in preparation to forget Monday and move with the music, at Hobart Metz on The Bay. We talk to him about how handy it is to have a deck in the bedroom and a monkey for the gig. m

Where are you at the moment and what are you up to?

I’m actually in Bondi and just currently recuperating from a bit of a stay in hospital, and back into my music at the moment.

You’ve been in hospital you say?

Yeah I was in hospital for a while just after months of long travel overseas, and just kind of put the brakes on a little bit. I’m just at home recovering and using the time to get back into my music really.

So what was wrong with you?

I was just like, run down man, just completely run down from a massive trip overseas and got a really bad infection and stuff and had to get treated.

your whole life as it were. So have a separation now and again, enjoy your TV and your video games and your books and stuff .

I’ve had the music in the lounge before and it just didn’t work for me, it just starts overtaking everything.

I just think in the bedroom if you’re single and the stuff is in the bedroom it’s more practical, but not so if you’re married.

If your love of DJing could be compared with your love for a woman how would you compare that relationship?

Would you be divorced, would you guys be on the rocks, would you be constantly fighting?

So with that is DJing ultimately the cure for what ails you? [laughs] No it’s probably what ails me actually, but what can you do eh, that’s the life I lead.

So as a DJ what makes you Regal?

Ah, what makes me Regal, god knows?! I had the name man, from like , when I was 16 so it’s kind of just stuck with me really.

So who is another DJ in Australia who you would consider to be positively Regal and why?

People like Mark Walton, Frenzy, Catch, from Brisbane, just good funky assed proper DJs who know how to put good sets together, Ransom as well.

I would say it’s definitely the woman of my dreams but definitely at the same time explosive, potentially lucky but always on the up at the end of the day, and I wouldn’t swap it for anything.

Finish this sentence, DJs should have more…

Arms.

[Laughs] Arms?! Do you think if you were an octopus you could be a better DJ or something?

Well I could go and buy a drink in the bar. It’s just the hassle there involved, and how hard it is to try and organise that little feat. You’d be amazed at how difficult it is to achieve!

Yeah I think arms really, and a better memory would be nice too. Yeah I’ll say that!

What if you could get a trained monkey to help you with what you do, what would you get it to do?

Stack the vinyl between it’s teeth in the right order so I can just slam them on quicker, either that or throwing out freebies for the crowd, and thirdly working the lights.

I’m not suggesting that only monkeys work the lights but hey I’m sure I could get it to do it.

DJ Regal will crown your night on 2 December at The Metz on The Bay, Hobart.

Monkeys looking for a job and readers wanting to hear more can listen to an MP3 of the full interview, go to www.sauce.net.au

‘I just did it the slow, hard, old way’

You know there’re guys I really respect and I’ve got a lot of time for, they’re just deep in their knowledge of music and they know how to present it to give a good time to the crowd… and kind of doing it against the tide of house and electro clash which has kind of been smothering hip hop DJS for about 20 years.

So when you got into DJing, did you start of as the kind of classic bedroom producer kind of thing?

I started off in my bedroom, but I wasn’t producing, just learning how to DJ really. I grew up at a time when not many people were trying to at all.

I was living in London or south west London and there were like two or three DJ’s in the whole community I was living in, as opposed to now there are like two in every street! It’s definitely changed a lot and things are set up that it’s a lot easier for people to jump in and begin to do it. Yeah I just started to do it when I was like 14 or 15, and then practiced and practiced.

Then I just did it the slow, hard, old way, occasionally just picking up gigs where I could , doing the weddings and parties and the rugby clubs do’s and all that kind crap to get experience really.

Just kind of really doing it in a kind of hip hop theme, which at that time for me it was just like about taking part really and wasn’t a career move at that time.

So did being a DJ in high school help you with the ladies?

I wish I could say yes. It was an all boys school!

Or boys, I don’t discriminate!

Actually just when I left they were just kind of taking in girls but they were too young.

I think socially, it helps definitely just to make friends.

Talking about being a bedroom producer I’m wondering why is it always that DJs keep their decks in their bloody bedrooms? Why don’t we hear of a kitchen producer or something?

I reckon there’s many a small flat in London where the DJ’s just gone and set up next to the washing machine or something. I think if you’re single it’s practical because it’s private for yourself - you don’t want it to take over

Republic Bar & Cafe

FRIDAY 16TH & SATURDAY 17TH NOVEMBER

The Red Eyes

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$12pre/$15 door 10:00pm

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FRIDAY 23RD NOVEMBER

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JONNO ZILBER 9:00pm KOBYA 9:00pm THE RED EYES $12pre/$15 door 10:00pm THE RED EYES $12pre/$15 door 10:00pm MERCHANTS IN GROOVE 9:00pm ADAM COUSINS 9:00pm HAYLEY COOPER 9:00pm TRUMPS 9:00pm HEADS OF STATE + Oratoric + Paddles $7 9:00pm THE PANICS + Oh Mercy (Melb) $17pre/$20 door 10:00pm ABBY DOBSON & BAND (Voice of Leonardo’s Bride) + Nick Murphy + Shylo $12pre/$15 door 10:00pm

The Panics PAGE 24

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NOVEM NOVEMBER O BER B R

299 Elizabeth St North Hobart Ph. 6234 6954 www.republicbar.com

BANGERS & MASH

BANGERS & MASH

By Helmut The Porn Star B

The dance music community should listen up, and James Blunt should quite literally gird his loins … because SAUCE just spoke with one of the many faces of a Brit DJ we like to call DarkByDesign …

Last year you picked up “Best Remixer” at the Hard Dance Awards. What do you think it is about your remixing style that gave you the edge to walk away with that award?

I try to keep the main elements of the track intact, and then just add some updated sounds, and a little slice of that DBD magic. [smiles] What are some definite do’s and don’t’s when it comes to remixing a track?

Don’t use a big spoon to mix it. Do use a sequencer.

You use several aliases, including Dark By Design, Kain Marco and Avaline. Why is this? [And hey, since you get to have aliases, I’m going to call myself “Helmut The Porn Star” for the rest of these questions ... just ‘coz] Well Helmut, different aliases can provide different sounds i.e. a fluff trance track by DarkbyDesign wouldn’t be right. Kain Marco could pull it off, though.

How different would your disc on the Hard Trance Anthems compilation play out, had you remixed it as Kain Marco or Avaline, and not Dark By Design? Are these aliases to represent interests in different styles of music?

In the words of the late, great River Phoenix, “yes.”

Of all the clubs and festivals you’ve played around the world, where has been the most memorable, and why?

Velffare, Tokyo, for being an absolutely amazing city and the most technically advanced club ever, and Dance Valley in Holland for being, well, Dance Valley.

If you could throw a sharpened CD at anyone in the music world, who would it be, and where in their body would you hit them?

James Blunt, right in the c*ck. He’d be knackered then, huh?

And which artist/group would have the sharpest CD? Me, for throwing.

Finally, in all honesty, what was the first album you ever bought?

I’ve never bought an album – I stand for theft and piracy. I am the original pirate. Shit, I used to pirate Mozart’s stuff – I sat in his cupboard with a microphone recording his works, and then whacking them on eBay. I’m a retro pirate. Actually, it was probably New Kids On The Block. Problem?

No, not a problem at all … now please put down the sharpened CD … Check him out at www.myspace.com/ darkbydesignrecordings.

The beginning years of Frankie Knuckles are like many others DJing small rooms, until he found himself behind the decks of NYC’s Continental Baths. The FIT (Fashion Institute) student and DJ journeyed to Chicago in 1977 to helm the decks of a nightclub called “The Warehouse”.

From that day, his popularity rose to heights never before witnessed by a DJ. “It was the kids that hung out at The Warehouse, not the press that actually gave me this term of endearment,” the “Godfather of House” Knuckles clarifies.

Following the closure of The Warehouse in 1983, Knuckles went on to open his own place, The Power Plant. At this time, he began production with Jamie Principle on the legendary hits Your Love and Baby Wants To Ride. Closing the Power Plant in 1986 to pursue a career in production, Knuckles returned to the turntables of New York City, spinning first at “The World” and then the still-revered Sound Factory. His career was building, his production blossoming – it was time to go back to where he started to see how far he had come.

In 1987 Def Mix productions was formed at the same time he moved. “I went in to join the Record Pool and found myself in a meeting with Judy and David who were launching Def Mix. The rest, as they say, is history,” states Frankie. Knuckles’ high profile brought him to the attention of Virgin Records in the 1990, where he delivered a pair of albums (Beyond the Mix and Welcome to the Real World). Like many of his mixes, his own single The Whistle Song crossed into pop culture and, in 1992, was introduced into the mainstream via Nestea’s Ice Tea commercial made for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

This catapulted his career, and by 1998 he received the highest honor – The First Grammy Award for Dance Remixer of the year. His works with mainstream superstars such as Luther Vandross, The Pet Shop Boys, Diana Ross, Janet Jackson, and Soul II Soul amongst others are timeless. With this exposure, Knuckles’ career as a remixer and DJ soared internationally.

Knuckles spent the following years DJing, staying connected to the streets. In 2002, Frankie re-emerged with Motivation, which Knuckles describes as “timely and needed” as it was delayed being finished by 9/11. A New Reality, his first original production in years soon followed, and contained original, warm and complex songs, which resonated with dancers around the world. In 2006, Frankie launched his digital label NOICE!music with DubJ’s D’Light (A Remixed Reality). The first single, The Whistle Song Revisited, a new production, once again reached the top of the Billboard Dance Chart in December ‘06, fourteen years later. Gimme Gimme (Disco Shimmy) and Because of Your Love is now available along with the entire Dub’J album.

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, along with the support of Senator Barack Obama, officially declared August 26, 2004 “Frankie Knuckles Day” in the DJ’s adoptive hometown of Chicago. The street where the legendary Warehouse once stood became “Frankie Knuckles Way”.

COMING SOON

Lady In Red and Smooth Gentlemen

www.myspace.com/fkalways PAGE 25

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Eventually made it to the UK for a London gig at Fluid, just down the road from Fabric. It seems Britain has also become a police state along with America, with the riot squad patting people down getting off the tube at Farrington station. Not only do they let the dogs out in the clubs (like Sydney), they do it in the damn train stations now as well, to people on their way to the clubs. Luckily I had nothing but beer on my breath, but some poor kids were handcuffed and paraded around the station before being taken off to the station, most likely for having a spliff on them or something. Is this progress? Anyway, cheers to all the Aussies who showed up for the gig – I didn’t realise

From there I moved on to Brussels to play a quick show at Steelgate on the Saturday night. Everyone was well into deep dark head music, which made for an interesting night.

Then, disaster stuck. Realising my passport was still back in Amsterdam, I left Brussels in some would say a “f*cking panic state” to retrieve the missing item. I was supposed to fly into the UK the next day, but, of course, that didn’t happen.

Managed to get the passport back, but missed a whole stack of connecting flights, meaning about a grand went down the drain in new bookings and hotel rooms. Thanks, British Airways for nothing! “Three-hundred-and-fifty pounds for a new flight from Amsterdam to London!? You’ve got to be kidding!?”

On to Amsterdam for the ADE’s (Amsterdam Dance Event) – similar to Popkomm, but only concerned with dance music in all its guises. Four days of conferences in the centre of the city, where artists/DJs/record companies meet and talk shop, mixed in with four nights of label showcases in some of the best nightclubs Amsterdam has to offer. Some of the standout parties were the Defected night at Panama featuring Todd Terry (on bongos as well as decks!), the CR2 party featuring S.O.S and Australia’s own Dirty South, the Milk’n2Sugars party with Michael Gray and the Great Stuff showcase featuring Mason and most of the acts from the label. Not an easy task having tenplus meetings a day with potential clients, then partying ‘til 6am for four days in a row, especially after trying the local produce.

Let’s say there were a lot of sore heads by the end of it.

See you in the dance tent at MS Fest at Inveresk February 16!

Finally, thanks for everyone who voted for me in the ITM50 Awards. Receiving number five producer in Australia was a total surprise, and even made me a bit homesick! The plan is to head back to Oz for gigs in December, before tackling Japan and Canada again in Jan/Feb ‘08. Looking forward to springing a whole new bag of tunes on ya. I can just imagine how overweight the luggage is going to be ... eek!

I should be heading off to Eastern Europe before the month’s out, which will be the first time for me, so really looking forward to checking out the scene in Lithuania and Romania.

Will keep you posted in the next blog.

Back to Berlin, and a crazy gig at Week-End Club – one of Berlin’s premier spots. Up fifteen stories in an office block, Week-End towers over the city with a terrace reminiscent of Pacha in Ibiza. Berlin is “minimal” central, so my typical Chinese Laundry sets slotted in well. Next week, I’m off to Stuttgart to spin with Martin Eyerer (of Make My Day fame) at his local residency Climax Industries, and we’ll get into the studio at some point and put some ideas onto tape, which will probably end up as a single somewhere down the track. The production with Namito from Great Stuff is also going well, so we should have a couple of tracks finished for release early next year.

so many people had made the move permanent!

So much has happened over here that it feels like I’ve been away for a year already, yet realistically it’s only been a month since I last wrote. October kicked off with what else but Oktoberfest in Munich – a beer swilling, curry-wurst-munching piss-up on a grand scale.

Whoever thought of mixing extreme funfair rides with twelve days of non-stop alchoholic consumption? It’s pure genius. The state people get into, the hysterical oompah bands, the lederhosen (!), the projectile vomiting; all in the name of Bavarian tradition. F*cking hilarious! It you ever get the chance, check it out – hey, bring the kids!

It seems Britain has also become a police state along with America, with the riot squad patting people down getting off the tube at Farrington station

BANGERS & MASH

By Tom Wilson

T look at the size of his arms, you wouldn’t pick it, but YokoO likes it minimal.

To Ahead of his set at Syrup in Hobart, he told SAUCE about the moment the minimal A ssound first entered his life, and changed everything.

What production work have you done recently? And what releases have you got in the pipeline?

I have a got a series of tracks under Austin Love with this deep, sexy progressive flavour. They are not released as yet, but I will be sharing them with you guys when I come down. If you’d like to have a listen, check them out on www. djyokoo.com or www.myspace.com/yokoowizardmusic.

Where did you get your handle, YokoO, from?

When I was younger, I was sponsored skater, and there was a cartoon character on TV called YokoO that I looked like. It stuck, and YokoO has been my nickname since then.

Who has been the coolest DJ you’ve ever played with, and why?

Laurent Garnier in the future – my hands-down favorite for everything he’s done!

music began to burn inside me. In the same year, the opportunity arose to learn the ropes on my friend’s new turntables and mixer and, suddenly, I found myself with the ability to experiment with and mix the music I loved so much.

You’re a pretty big boy, which seems unusual for a DJ (they’re usually such skinny bastards.) Why should a DJ have big muscles?

I’m trying to break the stereotype of skinny, pasty, death-likelooking DJs …

What’s the biggest misconception people have about you?

That I take requests.

And what’s one thing people have heard about you that is definitely true?

I’m 110% focused, dedicated, and passionate about what I do. I truly believe in success.

What attracts you to the minimal sound? What are its greatest strengths?

Minimal is misunderstood a lot of the time. Deep minimal progressive sounds inspire your mind, and propel your body to dance. It takes you on journeys, and represents a beautiful medium of expression for me.

Now for a bit of a morbid question – what song would you want to be played at your funeral?

Presque Un Ange by Agoria.

How did you first get into electronic music?

My childhood soundtrack was an interesting cocktail of classical, dance, jazz, funk, rock, punk, reggae-ragga and hiphop music, each of which influenced my own musical style in some way. But it wasn’t until 2001 that I discovered my love for electro after hearing the first album of Miss Kittin and The Hacker. Something awakened in me, and a fire for electronic

YokoO hits Syrup in Hobart on the 17th of November.

What are your plans for next year?

I would like to continue touring Australia and start touring Europe with Katie Austin, my partner (www.myspace.com/ julienaustin) whilst performing on my own on the other side.

www.djyokoo.com

I’m trying to break the stereotype of skinny, pasty, deathlike-looking DJs …

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This database will include details of Tasmanian T filmmakers who are interested in training fi attachment opportunities that occur regularly in the State. Working as a training attachment on a production is a great way to learn and make important contacts in the industry.

FILM & SPOTLIGHT

This database will be used by Screen Tasmania to match local filmmakers with productions that have attachment positions available in the following departments:

D DRILL Performance Company will be holding auditions for its next project, Roadworks, for all au yyoung singers and dancers on December 1st, 2007.

R Roadworks will be a public performance project in w which, this summer, the cast will create installations and dance and song works to be performed in shop an windows, streets, markets, parks and other public w pplaces in Launceston and its surrounding suburbs an and towns.

FILM & SPOTLIGHT

T project is being made possible by the Australian The Government’s regional arts program, the Regional G Arts Fund, which gives all Australians, wherever A they live, better access to opportunities to practice and experience the arts. “We really want to brighten up our

Since being created in 2001, The One Tree S eexhibition has toured throughout Australia to wide ccritical and community acclaim, showing in over twenty locations from Hobart and Darwin, to Perth tw aand Sydney – from major cultural institutions aand museums to small community art spaces in regional locations throughout the country. re

The One Tree exhibition showcases the creative T talent of over fifty Tasmanian designer/makers, ta ccraftspeople, and artists, from all over the island state, and this is the first time the exhibition will be shown in Launceston, home to many of the participants.

The One Tree Exhibition consists of forty-five works all created from one tree, a Stringybark (Euculyptus Obliqua) that was destined to be woodchipped, and the eight text panels in the exhibition discuss the story of this One Tree in context of its original planned use, in contrast to the way the designer makers have utilised the tree.

FILM & SPOTLIGHT

Pieces in the Exhibition range from traditional timber furniture to baskets, bowls, textiles, puppets, paper and medicine. All parts of the tree from the roots to the leaves and even the sawdust have been used to create the works. The exhibition also includes a documentary video on the project from its inception.

T The Australia Council for the Arts, Ceres Solutions an and Performing Lines have joined forces to announce th the New Music Touring Project – Sound Travellers – a two-year project to facilitate and promote the nnational touring of sound art/electronica, new jazz/ im improvisation and contemporary classical music.

T This project is being managed as a partnership bbetween established touring organisation Performing L Lines and arts strategy company Ceres Solutions, w with director Joanne Kee leading the project.

T The intention of Sound Travellers is to bring these genres to a larger audience nationwide at the same time as securing assistance for existing artists across the country to further develop their practice.

Sound Travellers will: • Support performance and presentational opportunities in a touring context • Support and broaden existing touring networks • Develop opportunities and new networks for the artforms • Leverage the funding with other financial and in kind support • Provide infrastructure support including marketing/ publicity to enable skills growth within the sectors, which enables artistic and audience growth.

There will be two components to Sound Travellers. For artists there is a grant-based program designed to assist Australian artists to tour nationally. Sound Travellers will also explore the options to both broaden and strengthen the

Producer Director Script Editor DOP Sound Recording Editor Continuity Sound Design Production Design Digital FX Send your CV outlining production training and experience, and a brief one-page bio about yourself to: Lynne.VincentMcCarthy@screen.tas.gov.au Deadline: November 30th 2007

public places, and create something that will inspire people and make them smile. It’s also about bringing song and dance out of the theatre and exposing it to a new crowd, and hopefully people will come to enjoy spotting our performers around town.” said DRILL General Manager, Joshua Lowe.

Roadworks will be choreographed and directed by Joshua Lowe and Cindy Foster, two local young artists themselves.

The project will then culminate in a full production and mini youth arts festival to be held in April.

Anyone who is interested in being part of the project can call 0408 660 748 or visit www.drillperformance.com for more information and to register to audition.

The project was created by a collaborative community group including artists, designer/makers, environmentalists and members of the timber industry as a way of presenting for discussion visions of a more equitable, sustainable and positive future for Tasmania’s forests.

“We found a great number of people made repeat visits to the exhibition, often bringing along members of their family and friends because they ‘had to show them’” – Talan Atkins, exhibition curator.

The One Tree Exhibition moves, enlightens and educates its audience, and is a “signature” exhibition, with ongoing significance in respect to Tasmanian art, craft, and design, as well as issues of sustainable forestry and opportunities for creative value adding to our forest resources. This extraordinary exhibition was opened on Sunday 4th October at 2pm by Aunty Phyllis Pitchford – respected writer and Tasmanian Aboriginal Elder, and also Frank Strie – President of Timberworkers for Forests, and board member of the Forest Stewardship Council of Australia.

EXHIBITION RUNS TILL 17TH NOVEMBER AT ARTS ALIVE ARTSPACE IN LAUNCESTON – OPEN DAILY 10AM TO 4PM, FRIDAYS 10AM TO 8PM

national touring opportunities for these music genres.

An artistic advisory panel with specialists from each genre has been formed to make recommendations to the executive committee regarding the overall objectives of the project. This panel includes – Stephen Adam (ABC Classic FM), Professor Andy Arthurs (Queensland University of Technology), John Davis (Australian Music Centre), Ronny Ferella (Musician and co-director of Half Bent), Cat Hope (Sound Artist and Head of Composition and Music Technology – WAAPA, ECU), Adrian Jackson (Wangaratta Festival of Jazz) and Roland Peelman (AD – Song Company).

The call for applications for the first grant round will be announced in late November 2007. Guidelines for the grants will be available on the Sound Travellers website (www.soundtravellers.com.au) from early November 2007.

Successful applicants will be advised in early 2008.

If you wish to discuss a project that has the potential to provide infrastructure/new opportunities or will strengthen touring networks or you would like more information about this project please contact: Joanne Kee on 0414 973 095 jkee@soundtravellers.com.au or Performing Lines on 02 9319 0066 info@soundtravellers.com.au

That’s right, Stompin is auditioning to cast dancers for Uncover This, a new show by Adam Wheeler to premier in March 2008. If you’re aged between 14 – 26 and you want to dance, we want you to audition.

Saturday 24th November 11am – 2pm Stompin’s Studio Quadrant Mall, Launceston Register: 03 6334 3802 or info@stompin.net PAGE 28

ROCK SALT

FILM & SPOTLIGHT

In order to better serve the Tasmanian film industry, and to take advantage of the increasing in le levels of production occurring in Tasmania, Screen Tasmania is currently developing an attachment T ddatabase.

By Tom Wilson B S what? Fourteen bands and performers spanning rock to hip-hop and everything in between, skating, breakcore Say and damn fine grub … on a Sunday? You bet. On Sunday the 25th of November, the Brisbane Hotel will be host to the an S Sea Shepherd Benefit Show. Kicking off at 4pm with performances by the likes of Bumtuck, Moe Grizzly, Mdusu, Mynse, Fade In-Fade Out and Idiotlust, this could well be one of the best ways to spend five bucks on a Sunday (or any M oother day for that matter), particularly since you’ve got more than just those reasons to feel damn good about yourself afterwards. Why, you ask? af

By putting up a small amount of your hard-earned cash, you’re supporting the Sea Shepherd’s efforts to put a stop B to illegal whaling. But we all know that being charitable isn’t the first thing that pulls most of us to a gig – it’s the performances, the atmosphere, the vibe, and, most importantly, the music. And as we’ve already mentioned, coming to this gig and supporting the Sea Shepherd will entitle you to a ship-load of it.

The Sea Shepherd Benefit Show will be held at Hobart’s Brisbane Hotel on the 25th of November.

COMEDY

By Tom Wilson B

I the wake of the controversy sparked by Andrew Hansen’s Eulogy Song on The Chaser’s War On Everything, it seemed only fitting to get in touch with a man who’s also damn In ggood at sitting behind a piano and making people laugh. With a new DVD coming out early next month, Tim Minchin heckled me articulately …

How H are you?

I’m I not bad at all. I’m not bad. I like being in Melbourne … I have a sore back, because of an ill-advised game of squash … and that’s my life. s

Are A you sure you don’t have a sore back because of the burden of being such a rock star?

[Laughs] Nah, I think that’s where my neck problems come from.

My back’s specifically about squash – the “rock star” affects my neck. You know that! You’ve talked to enough rock stars to know that it’s a neck thing!

Comedy songs don’t work on TV? I mean, comedy doesn’t work on TV!

I know … though some of them just imagine their own burden of being a quality rock star … Now, a little birdie flew down and sat on my shoulder. After doing a poo on my shoulder, it whispered in my ear that you were a musician first, and got into comedy basically as a means of getting exposure. Is that accurate?

Ah … yeah, sort of. I mean, I was a … I would say “musician/ actor”, really. But from a musical point-of-view, I’ve always been doing lots of different things. When I do my shows, I kind of explore the idea that I’m a wannabe rock star failure kind of thing. But I’ve always actually done more writing for theatre and all that sort of thing; I do have bands and stuff, and still hope to make albums of non-comic material in the future and all that sort of thing, because I’ve got hundreds of songs sitting around. But yeah – I was frustrated in Melbourne … probably more by not being able to get an agent for my acting and stuff. I just couldn’t get any interest. I really wanted to get into theatre and stuff, and was getting a lot of rejection letters from agents, and I realised that, maybe, I was trying to be an actor to the acting world, and a muso to the muso world, and really, what I needed to do is just do everything that I do well on stage at the same time. That’s what the birth of what I do now was. It was just me trying to be as honestly “me” as possible, which is lovely for me, because it turns out that the way I ended up with some kind of career was by being as honest a version of myself as possible.

Eulogy Song that had people in uproar over references to Steve Irwin and Peter Brock] Comedy songs don’t work on TV? I mean, comedy doesn’t work on TV! Obviously, narrative comedy does, but transferring live comedy to TV – regardless of whether it’s songs or stand-up or skit-based stuff – is difficult. What the Sideshow tries to do these days is not that easy, because what it is is a filming of a whole lot of acts that are designed to be live … When you’re playing live, people are paying money to come and see you, and they know what they’re getting, whereas when you’re on telly, you don’t know what your audience is, so that’s how things like Andrew’s Eulogy Song last week happened … That happened … well, that happened because this f*ckwit radio producer decided to get the lynch mob out, and it was just ridiculous.

Have you ever got an articulate heckle?

[Laughs] Actually, yeah – my heckles tend to be quite articulate, and often very positive. I love the positive heckle – the kind of “I want your babies Tim” heckle. That’s always funny. My audiences usually get that it’s not a sort of heckle-y sort of show … I reckon, as a comedian, you get the heckles that you ask for. It depends on how you engage, you know? So, if you engage with your audience and go, “G’day mate, what do you do? Oh, nice bald head” or whatever, then, you’re opening up that … breaking down that third wall or fourth wall or whatever you call it, and suddenly the lines of communication are open, and you’ve got to cop what you get.

But I tend not to break that down too much. I like it when shows do get a bit out of control. I like it because it doesn’t happen so much in my shows.

Off the top of your head, can you think of a good, all-purpose comeback?

From my point-of-view? I mean, old-school comedians – club comedians – have a quiver of them, you know? I think it’s a real art, or at least it’s about experience. You have a whole bunch of them. And it’s pretty f*cking easy to do with heckles, really. The only thing that’s hard to do is someone who’s just pissed, and won’t really listen to what you’re saying, so they’re just trying to f*ck you. And, if they want to, they can just keep yelling nonsense out, and you can’t respond to it because you can’t hear what they’re saying, and some comedians will engage in that … I don’t have that comedian’s pride of, like, “I can deal with anything!”

I’m like, “f*ck off, dude, you’re ruining the show for everyone – they’ve paid money!” So eventually I’d do that, but I’ve never had to, because … back to the piano I go, and play a song, and everyone shuts up, because it’s a particular type [of show].

So what are some of your musical influences, outside of your comic material?

Early on, it was probably old-school stuff, like Beatles and The Kinks – I love The Kinks. But … these days, or forever, I’ve listened very broadly and not particularly … I’m not a huge music consumer, embarrassingly … I don’t have a massive record collection, and I tend not to listen to the radio, and I don’t know why. I think I just spend my whole life playing music, and thinking about music, and sometimes I don’t want to hear it. [Laughs] You’re familiar with The Chaser, aren’t you?

Yes, very.

ONLINE: Tim ponders what he’d have on his rider if money, morals, and the laws of physics weren’t deciding factors. To listen to an MP3 of the full interview, go to www.sauce.net.au

Andrew Hansen once sung “I don’t think comedy songs work on TV.” Is he right, or is he wrong? And why?

Well, last week he got a little lesson in that! [The controversial

The DVD Tim Minchin – So Live comes out on the 7th of November.

By Dave Williams

The letter from Axl‘s lawyer said ‘If you say my client is violent we will sue you.’ Hardened rock journo Mick Wall didn’t listen… after all he was writing about a guy called ‘Axl’from a band called ‘Guns’n’Roses’ with a guitarist called ‘Slash‘, who wrote such swoon worthy ballads as I used to Love Her but I had to Kill Her. So Mick wrote the facts and was given an invitation to use a part of Axl’s body as a personal lollipop- thus showing that a cock rock icon can be thoughtful… not to mention giving.

I’m feeling a little bit under prepared because I thought…

I’m doing an interview about the book, but really about Axl and his life and his time with various band, and I thought, well I haven‘t got any drugs, and I haven’t got any strippers… what am I going to do?! So I thought the best I could do in terms of being in the workplace was go and buy some light beer so that’s about as prepared as I can be! [laughs] Well I’m waiting for a hot cup of tea cause it’s early in the morning for me so I’m slightly more under prepared than you.

So can you tell me what have been your times with Axl? How did you gather the material or the information or the experiences for this book?

Well in the direct sense a lot of my material was drawn from my own experiences, knowing Axl and the various members of Guns’n’Roses.

I met them and got to know them before they got famous. And then as they got famous, I was living in LA in those days... And then one by one I ended up interviewing them all, spending time with them all.

For me it was always Slash really but you couldn’t help but get to know Axl as well. He was always on the town in those days.

There are quite a few things in the book which was stuff from back in the day that I promised I wouldn’t write about and I never did, but in the sense of the book either way it never made much of a difference. Of course what happened eventually with Axl, was he gave me an interview which he ended up bitterly regretting. He actually offered to fight Vince Neil, now Vince Neil may be many things but you actually wouldn’t want to fight him because he’s really a very tough guy.

He was a brawler. I mean Motley Crue may not have been as good a band as Guns’n’Roses but they were all of them really, really - probably not Mick Mars - but the rest of them were all really tough guys and Axl’s a big softie really, I mean really a big softie, you know a little guy, reputation for being a bad ass but actually like most of these things bark much worse than his bite. So to cut it short he decided I had made the whole thing up, I dreamed the whole thing up, I was an asshole, typical Axl thing really.

He’s a serial relationship poisoner. You know as soon as things don’t go his way it’s always the other person’s fault. I still have

him on tape with me reading extracts from the interview with him, saying ‘I’m a little concerned when this comes out it’s going to look very harsh on the page are you sure about this?’ and him saying, ‘I stand by every f****g word man!’ and I’m reading it to him. This was the same guy who later was saying I made the whole thing up! So that aside, Slash, Izzy, Steven, Matt, Duff, all these guys have been interviewed again much more recently, much more intimately, and in much more depth and they all tell the same story about Axl I just told you, just their own versions. So that was with my direct experience of the group.

The other stuff I drew on were two things really, number one, my own experience in this business. It’s October and exactly thirty years ago this very week that I had my very first review published in the music weekly over here called Sounds.

‘As soon as things don’t go his way it’s always the other person’s fault’ I’ve been working in this business literally thirty years. I’ve worked with Zeppelin, I’ve worked with the Stones, I’ve worked with Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy, you name it. And for a considerable number of years, many, many times over, seen ’em come seen ’em go. Of course I drew on that as well to try and make judgement calls about how I saw the story of Guns’n’Roses. The kind of perspective I felt it needed to be put into… and the other thing I drew on was just masses of research, simple as that just go out there, try and find everything they’ve done, interviews they’ve done. And just try and put it all together like collecting pieces of a jigsaw that’s how I see it… to try and tell the story of Axl Rose, I think he’s gotta be easily I think one of the most interesting rock’n’roll figures of all time.

For more of the interview and to hear about more sweet moments between the author and Axl, including ‘Mick Wall you can suck my f*cking d*ck.’ go to www.sauce.net.au

PAGE 29

STREET FASHION

PAGE 30

Favourite Band: Dixie Chicks

Favourite Band: Dark Tranquillity

If you were a sauce what would you be and why?

Definitely bbq sauce because I eat so much of it I’m practically made of bbq sauce.

If you were a sauce what would you be and why?

Vindaloo Paste because it’s an acquired taste.

What should Johnny Howard wear today?

His birthday suit.

What should Johnny Howard wear today?

Anything as long as he’s wearing pants.

Why did you let me take your photo?

Cause I’m a guilty wannabe.

Why did you let me take your photo?

Cause I’m just so massively photogenic.

What are you going to do now that you’re famous?

Stop the puck-you pulp mill.

What are you going to do now that you’re famous?

Live off the royalties.

Favourite Favoourite Band: Spice Girls. It’s funny we were saying about this the other day, that if I did this say. thhis that’s what I would say If you were a sauce what would you be and why?

ABC cause it’s sweet and niiiiiiiice.

What should Johnny Howard wear today?

Lack of eyebrows.

Why did you let me take your photo?

Cos I didn’t get much sleep and now I’m just really happy.

What are you going to do now that you’re famous?

Run my own little drag busking show in a mall.

Favourite Favvourite Band: Bliss N Eso If you you were a sauce what would you be and why?

Ranch cause I sound like a cowgirl.

What should Johnny Howard wear today?

A leopard skin g-string.

Why did you let me take your photo?

Peer pressure.

What are you going to do now that you’re famous?

Thank my mum, my dad.

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