Sauce - Issue 56, 28-11-07 by David K Q Williams

On the street every second Wednesday

Edition #56 28/11/07 - 11/12/07 Made in Tasmania

HILLTOP HOODS

SNEAKY SOUND SYSTEM PARKWAY DRIVE

THE GETAWAY PLAN E D I U G S R CLUBBE /////////////// MPOLURES! ARENA TO BE A

NNOUN

THE PRESETS KID KENOBI & MC SHURESHOCK MARK DYNAMIX GOODWILL DEXTER

CED

PLUS MO

TO BE A N

RE!

NOUNC

///////////////////////////// TICKETS $79 + bf ///

LITTLE BIRDY COG BLISS N ESO

VODAFONE EXCLUSIVE TICKET PRERELEASE THURSDAY 25 OCT TICKETS ON SALE FRIDAY 2 NOV Launceston //////////////

Hobart /////////////////////

Vodafone Launceston 68 Brisbane Street t 03 6331 4725

Vodafone Hobart 45 Elizabeth Street t 03 6234 4744

Mojo Music 81 Brisbane Street t 03 6334 5677

Vodafone Rosny Shop G029, Eastlands t 03 6244 4222

The Batman Fawkner Inn 35 Cameron Street t 03 6331 7222

Vodafone Glenorchy Shop 31a, Northgate t 03 6273 7522

Wills Music The Quadrant (cnr Brisbane St) t 03 6331 5688

Essentially Mobile Shop 105, 101 Collins Street t 03 6231 6111

Devonport ///////////////

Centertainment 53 Elizabeth Street Mall t 03 6231 0303

Mall Newsagency 45-47 Rooke Street t 03 6424 9100 Red Hot CDs 144B William Street t 03 6424 9816

Burnie /////////////////////

RuffCut Records 33a Elizabeth Street Mall t 03 6234 8600

Plus www.msfest.com & selected Australia Post outlets statewide

Steve Charles Electronics 4 Alexander Street t 03 6432 2644 Collectors Corner 37 Wilson Street t 03 6431 6616

INVERESK SHOWGROUNDS // LAUNCESTON TASMANIA SATURDAY 16 FEBRUARY 2008 // GATES OPEN AT 11AM WWW.MSFEST.COM // WWW.MYSPACE.COM/MSFEST

PAGE 2

ROCK SALT

BLISS N ESO

OZ HIP-HOP HEAVYWEIGHTS RETURN TO MS FEST By Tom Wilson B

You know their name, and you know what they do. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re the mainland hip-hop Y collective ll who just made a life-changing journey to South Africa and proved that you didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to be a certain world-famous rock star to be philanthropic. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re the ones who got you throwing your hands up at MS Fest two years ago, and all the times theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been down here since. And guess what? Next February, they do it all again â&#x20AC;Ś SAUCE caught up with Bliss N Eso â&#x20AC;Ś Next month youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re only playing three shows. What else will you be getting up to? We are currently down in Melbourne working on the new album. We are in The Devilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Playground for a couple of months to lay down and mix most of the record. We have been fortunate enough to have the likes of Noam Dishon and Andy Baldwyn mixing the record for us, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s coming along really well. We are trying to keep gigs to a minimum until the album is finished.

I imagine there would be some element of risk, going to some of these places. Did things ever get hairy when you were over there at all? What kind of security did you guys have to have with you? Prior to landing in South Africa, we were well-briefed by some members of the Oaktree Foundation on safety, and also how to act to an extent. We did have some armed guards at the main compound where we stayed, but most of the time I think it was the cameras and the group we traveled in that kept us safe. We were told by our South African guards not to leave the compound

â&#x20AC;Ś WE W WERE CONFRONTED BY BY A LA A LARGE GUN AIMED AT US â&#x20AC;Ś What are some of your strongest memories of your time in Africa, and why? South Africa is a crazy but beautiful place. The many years of hard times have taken its toll on South Africa, and they are still on the mend. We didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go over there as tourists staying in five-star accommodation â&#x20AC;&#x201C; we got thrown right into the thick of the action the day we landed. We worked with various aid organisations helping out local communities, stayed with local Zulu families, did workshops at schools for the kids, helped to launch the AFL over there, etc. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very hard to talk about what we witnessed and were a part of in a few lines, so if you havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t yet seen Out Of Africa make sure you check it out â&#x20AC;&#x201C; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s airing on MTV again on World Aids Day and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s available to stream through the website. The documentary shows some of the things we got up to over there, and the plight of the people in the communities where we worked.

at night, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t walk on the beach at night, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go down any alleys â&#x20AC;Ś One night we were outside our mud huts in the compound and got pretty freaked out when we were confronted by a large gun aimed at us, happy to find that it was our guard who was on night patrol in the compound. South Africa can be a very dangerous place if you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t follow the directions of these people, especially in the areas that we worked in and visited. We went to Soweto one day, which is a very significant place for the black people of South Africa, as it represents the beginning of the end of the apartheid era. We were lucky enough to head there outside of the program with a crew we hooked up with called â&#x20AC;&#x153;Gumshevâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; these guys were local rappers signed to â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ghetto Ruff Records,â&#x20AC;? a local hip-hop label. They are very well-known and

respected in the region, and it if wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t for them, we would not have been able to check out quite a few things. I remember walking down the street of Soweto with the Gumshev boys and some other local kids and the MTV crew would not get out of the car driving in front of us. The sales of Bullet And A Target all went towards charity. How much has been raised so far? And is this something that youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d do again? We have no idea, to be honest. It is all being administrated through our label and the Oaktree Foundation (Make Poverty History). Basically Illusive collects the money from the sales and then passes it on to Oaktree to

re-distribute the funds to various educational programs. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not just about donating money and then wiping your hands clean of it. Hugh Evans is a great anti-poverty campaigner, and really showed us how very little can make a massive difference if itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s used correctly. For example, we could go and spend $50k on a food shipment, but it would only last a day, and create a sort of dependence for the locals, as opposed to putting the money into education on the ground, and giving these people an opportunity to move forward and create their own wealth in the future. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not about how much money you raise, but more how you spend it. Bliss N Eso play MS Fest 08 at Launcestonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Inveresk Showgrounds on the 16 th of February.

The School of Computing and Information Systems at the University of Tasmania will get you on your way to an exciting and rewarding career.We provide people with creative solutions for all types of business and industry.The current skills shortage means our graduates are in demand around the world. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t miss your chance at a career in a fast-paced global industry â&#x20AC;&#x201C; make us part of your degree today. For more info about Computing and Information Systems, call the Uni Info Centre on 1300 363 864 or to apply check out the website at www.cis.utas.edu.au

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PAGE 3

FEATURE

NEWS

WORLD

AIDS DAY FACTS: F M More than 190 countries around the world participate in World AIDS Day each year. p

N Not all people who are infected with HIV (human immu immunodeficiency virus) will develop AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome). However, HIV can lead to AIDS. The Red Ribbon has been the international symbol of HIV and AIDS awareness for sixteen years. All money raised from Ribbon goes towards support services for people living with HIV/AIDS. This year 35% of funds raised in Tasmania will support Igat Hope in Papua New Guinea – an organisation run by people living with HIV/AIDS for people living with HIV/AIDS. (The remainder stays in Tasmania to support people living with HIV/AIDS through TasCAHRD’s Andrew Shaw Foundation) In Australia, in 2006, there were around 998 new diagnoses of HIV infection. In Australia the number of new HIV diagnoses has increased 31% since the year 2000. In Australia by 31 st December 2006 there had been: 26,267 diagnoses of HIV infection, 10,125 diagnoses of AIDS; and 6,723 deaths following AIDS. In 2005 the World Health Organisation estimated 60,000 people were living with HIV in Papua New Guinea. Sexual contact between men continues to be the main form of transmission of HIV in Australia. All Australians living with HIV or AIDS who require treatment can receive it. Globally, 39.5 million people were living with HIV at the end of 2006, including 4.3 million people newly infected in 2006. There were 2.9 million deaths due to AIDS in 2006.

AUSTRALIA’S NEWEST LIVE MUSIC INITIATIVE FOR WOMEN Australia’s newest live music initiative, the XoXo celebrates women in Australian music, and rotates around the world’s most prominent and exciting music festivals and conferences. XoXo showcases Australian female artists to international audiences and music industries at Canada’s NXNE Music & Film Festival in Toronto (Canada), Germany’s Popkomm Musik Festival (Berlin), Australia’s Fuse Festival in Adelaide (South Australia) with New Music West (Vancouver), and CMJ (New York) in the works. New Found Frequency (NFF) has announced their latest additions to this year’s Australian Music Showcase XoXo – a celebration of women in Australian music – at Adelaide’s Fuse Festival 2008. An integral part of the Adelaide Fringe, the Fuse Festival runs from the 27th – 29 th February this coming year. Fuse is a musical conference which runs seminars, provides networking opportunities with national and international industry leaders, as well as a forum for Australian bands to showcase their talent, and market their music in a vibrant setting. Previous Fuse Festival acts have included Hilltop Hoods, Pete Murray, Wolf & Cub and The Audreys. To be considered for the XoXo Fuse showcase, your band must have a female component and be export ready. Application submissions are now open with a deadline of December 15th 2007.

www.worldaidsday.org.au www.newfoundfrequency.com/export.php

CONTENTS

6-20

ROCK SALT

GIG REVIEWS

THE CAGE

MOHAWK

CD REVIEWS

COMPETITIONS

20-21

URBAN POETRY

22-28

BANGERS & MASH

GAME REVIEWS

COMEDY

STREET FASHION with EYEBALL KICKS

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

Herr Führer

Resident Alcoholic

David Williams

Tom Wilson

david@sauce.net.au

twilson@sauce.net.au

Innuendo Exper t Chris Rattray

Token Emo Chris Titmus

crattray@sauce.net.au

ctitmus@sauce.net.au

Adver tising Representatives

Gavin Mace

Lisa Rushton

adver tising@sauce.net.au

Thanks To Our Contributors: Ryan Farrington, Clara Murray, Zackery Blackstone, Shannon Stevens, Lisa Howell, Dave Walker, Steve Tauschke and Tiarne Double.

Next Edition Deadline : 7th December Sauce #57, 12th December - 25th December PAGE 4

BIG DAY OUT

AFTER ARIA’S SUCCESS SILVERCHAIR HEAD BACK ROUND TWO OF TOURING TO AMERICA After sweeping the 2007 ARIA Awards, Silverchair have just launched their third American tour for this year. With many dates already sold out, Silverchair’s current U.S resurgence is going from strength to strength. Australia’s ARIA Award winning Single of the Year and Highest Selling Single of 2007 – Straight Lines – is still in rotation at nearly all of the country’s biggest modern rock radio stations, and is climbing the charts at the AAA and HotAC formats. Last weekend the clip for the song re-entered the Top 5 most requested clips on music channel VH1 – notching up its third month near the top of that channel’s weekly countdown. Meanwhile the lead single from 2002’s Diorama – The Greatest View – has also been picked up by stations across America. The song received little stateside exposure at the time of its initial release, due largely to Daniel Johns’ ill health preventing any touring or promotion at the time. However, in the wake of Straight Lines’ strong U.S. showing, it seems many in the media are seizing the chance to revisit this track.

SONGWRITING WORKSHOPS One of Australia’s finest songwriters, Charles Jenkins, will be conducting a two-day songwriting workshop on the 3rd and 4th of December, and again on the 14th and 15th of January in Melbourne as part of RMIT’s Summer School Courses. In a small intimate group, participants of the songwriting workshop will look at lyrics and music, rhythm and harmony, have the opportunity to develop a song from scratch as a group, and receive feedback on a previously written song. The workshop is designed to facilitate and encourage ideas, to share knowledge and highlight ways of enjoying the process, as much as the result. The workshop will also look at the many uses of songs, how best to get them out into the marketplace, how songwriters can utilise their profile for further opportunities, what tips are out there to be shared, and a discussion of the many and varied songwriting organisations that exist. www.summerschool.dsc.rmit.edu.au

ACTS FOR THE 2008 SERIES SILVERCHAIR SPOON AUGIE MARCH BRAND NEW REGURGITATOR ANTI-FLAG KARNIVOOL CARL COX PNAU KATE NASH JOSH PYKE BEXTA SHY CHILD GYROSCOPE ENTER SHIKARI OPERATOR PLEASE UNKLE (LIVE) GOODWILL KRAFTY KUTS DIE! DIE! DIE! THE NIGHTWATCHMAN (TOM MORELLO ACOUSTIC) BLUE KING BROWN DR OCTAGON & KUTMASTA KURT BRITISH INDIA ACEYALONE KRILL

ALREADY ANNOUNCED: RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE BJORK GRINSPOON ARCADE FIRE HILLTOP HOODS BILLY BRAGG PAUL KELLY LCD SOUNDSYSTEM SARAH BLASKO FAKER MIDNIGHT JUGGERNAUTS DIZZEE RASCAL SOMETHING WITH NUMBERS BATTLES CUT OFF YOUR HANDS

WHERE DO YOU GET

LAUNCESTON

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

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

BURNIE Sirocco’s nightclub Red Herring Surf Collector’s Corner Burnie Library TAFE Burnie Cafeteria UTAS Burnie Student Assoc. Xedos Haircutters Fosters Music Centre Beach Hotel Stage Door The Cafe

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

ST HELENS The Village Store & More

SMITHTON Lizzy’s This “N” That

ULVERSTONE Ulverstone City Library

PAGE 5

ROCK SALT

THE GETAWAY PLAN

THEY’RE COMING, AND YOU CAN’T GET AWAY By Chris Titmus

I the lead-up to their set at MS Fest in February, vocalist for up-and-coming rock troupe The Getaway Plan, Matt Wright, spoke to SAUCE while stocking up on mid-tour In munchies, about working with renowned producer James Paul Wisner on their debut album, and why they felt they had to go all the way to Florida to make it. m

Y guys have been touring pretty solidly recently. You How have the shows been going? H We did a whole lot of shows through Victoria to begin W with, and then we were in Brisbane last week, and now w we’re in Perth. All the shows have been great – we’ve w bbeen getting good responses everywhere; lots of kids hhappy tto see us. So it’s been really good. How’s that taken a toll on the band? We’re used to it, man – we’ve been doing it for a long time. You’re going to be playing at MS Fest next year. What experience have you had playing in Tassie? None at all! We’ve never been there before. We’ve never been there before once, so we’re really excited, hey? Hopefully the crowds will be pretty nice for you. Yeah, yeah – well, we don’t know what to expect, but hopefully they are. Who are some of the vocalists that have inspired you – with your songwriting, and also with your singing? There are three vocalists in the world that I can say [have been influential] – it would be Thom Yorke from Radiohead, Bjork, and Chino from the Deftones. Yeah.

You guys have been playing some pretty cool and coveted support slots for touring internationals. Who have been some of the best acts to play with, and why? Well … it’s hard to say, because there’s two different types of shows, I guess; there’re the massive shows with bands that you don’t really know as friends, and then there’re the small pub shows that we play with your friends’ bands. Like, I’d rather those shows any day. Really? Yeah, definitely. It’s so much more fun; so much more intimate. But, for me, I guess my favourite international support that we’ve done would be The Used … because they’re all such great guys, and yeah, the shows were massive. Whereabouts were you when you played with them? We played at Festival Hall in Melbourne, and the Enmore Theatre in Sydney, and the Arena in Brisbane – they’re fairly small for The Used, but they were pretty big shows, so they were good. Out of all the bands that you’ve played with, who’s been the most fun backstage? [Laughs] And what did you get up to? [Laugh] Probably Amity, and just lots of drinking and lots of retarded guys running around naked. [Laughs] Great dudes.

Your debut album will be coming out in February next year … [I understand] You’ve been working on it since June. How come it’s taken so long? We have actually been working on it since last year, actually. We started writing it last year, at around December, and we were pretty much locked-away; when we weren’t on tour, we would be locked away in a rehearsal room writing songs and getting them ready. And then, in June, we did our farewell tour, and then, mid-July, we flew to Florida and began recording with James Paul Wisner … I guess that the reason it took so long was just that we wanted to make sure it was going to be perfect, and put all that we needed to into it, just to make sure that it goes so smoothly. It turned out to work quite well, so yeah – we’re all really happy with the record. Why did you go to the States to record? Was it for a better quality album? Well, we sifted through a whole heap of Australian producers. We spent almost a year looking for someone who was on the same page as us. It would always result in failure – we had some meetings with the people, and nobody really understood what we wanted to achieve, and so we decided just to look at overseas, and found James Paul Wisner in Florida. So we sent him our demos for our record, and he was instantly keen on it, and really excited. And that means a lot to us, because we look

up to him as a producer, and we love some of the band’s that he’s produced, yeah. James Paul Wisner – he’s pretty huge when it comes to producers. Has he influenced [the sound of] the album in any way? Well, surprisingly not so much. Like, we got there expecting him to want to change all our songs around heaps. We were expecting a lot of changes in the songs, but when we got there, it was really just finding parts and bringing out certain bits, and there wasn’t really much changing to be done. What kind of subject matter do you explore in the new lyrics? What are they all about? Where does it all come from? I’ve always been really selfish when it comes to lyrics – I’ve always written about myself. I’ve never really delved into politics or anything like that … I’ve never really been into that sort of stuff. It’s all just, like, personal stuff, about love life and family and all that sort of stuff. The Getaway Plan play MS Fest 08 at Launceston’s Inveresk Showgrounds on the 16th of February. To listen to an MP3 of the full interview, go to www.sauce.net.au

ROCK SALT

I’ VE ALWAYS BEEN REALLY SELFISH WHEN IT COMES TO LYRICS – I’ VE ALWAYS WRITTEN ABOUT MYSELF. LITTLE BIRDY

TWO IN THE BUSH By Tom Wilson B

S Sometimes interviewees make Tom laugh, until, in the end, there is no point writing [laughs] at the end of each sentence. And that is how it was for the post-election chat of our SSaucey journo with Simon from Little Birdy. The constant references to auditory hilarity are kept to a minimum but please insert laughter as you read, when and where appropriate. Ta. So, thus prepared, tune in and imagine the sometimes squeaky mirth of our newly hygienic Tom (our thanks to his sweet missus) as Simon turns down the TV to amuse and T eentertain the big fella with nudity of both genders and things that f*ck up.

I guess the first thing we’ve gotta talk about is – what are your feelings about Labor winning the w election? el I don’t care too much about it. I kind of keep music and politics separate. Music is for enjoyment. If you were appointed supreme ruler of the world what is the first thing you would do – personally I would put a ban on emos… The first thing I’d do? You wouldn’t want the power to me, which would be totally wrong. It’d be like a Benny Hill world or something! Everything would move really quickly? Yeah, but switch to slow-mo when ladies get naked! So you guys, I understand, spend a lot of time touring overseas - is that true? I dunno, depends who you compare it to. We’re just trying to promote ourselves and get ourselves known overseas - I think lots of bands do that, we just keep trying and see what happens. But everything is always that… something is happening, and then, something is not happening and that’s how it is. So what are some of your memories from overseas - what went well and what went wrong and what was just plain weird? Oh well I don’t know, usually the down time is the best thing about being overseas, just doing stuff, not music stuff. We’ve had some gigs that are total catastrophes and some gigs are totally fun. It’s weird ‘cos you can go all that way and things can just totally fuck up, borrowing gear or you go to a venue and they say they have a certain level of gear and they don’t, the entry level version… it’s an adventure… What’s the most distinct catastrophe you have had do you think? A few years ago we played in LA and we basically just played for three people but they were all record label people but the gear was atrocious ‘cos it’s expensive to ship your gear over there. So we were borrowing gear from the venue and the whole gig was just trying to get a good sound, and by the end of the gig we got a good sound - we were just trying to get a good sound, and you know the drum set just had twenty year old skins and hardly held itself together and the amps were just these cheapo kind of versions of other amps. PAGE 6

We did the best we could but it was just kind of funny, like you’ve just got to smile about it. I heard it the other day and I thought it was a really good quote and I’ll probably get it wrong but it was something like, “If it’s good it’s fun and if it’s bad it’s funny.” And - I don’t know where I was - and I heard it and I thought that’s the kind of way this whole music thing should definitely be taken otherwise you know you’re just going to stress yourself out, you’ve just gotta take it in your stride and laugh it off, you’ve got all your mates which are your band around you to have a laugh about it and share the stories. What would you say is the strangest encounter you’ve had with a fan - do they give you weird gifts when you guys do signings? Mainly Katie gets gifts ‘cos we are all blokes and… you know. As far as we know! Yeah that’s right – genetic, natural-born males. I think ‘cos it’s another story but we haven’t seen each other naked which is good and we just have to sort of take each other’s words for it. [Squeaky laugh as Tom threatens to lose his composure as he pictures the band naked, perhaps]. I actually forgot what the question was! Weird fans. Have you ever had a particularly strange fan? Oh yeah, weird fans. I think all fans are weird. Just because… the band themselves, we’re fairly down to earth - it kind of is a weird world so anyone who is kind of like, “Oh, I think you’re great,” or something, it’s always a weird thing. It’s nice but it’s kind of like when someone sings Happy Birthday to you on your birthday. It’s a nice thing but it’s still uncomfortable. People staring at you and singing it’s kind of like that feeling. I find it all weird so I just try and concentrate on playing and keeping a level head. Little Birdy fly down to Launceston for MS Fest at the Inveresk Showgrounds, the 16th of February. To listen to an MP3 of the full interview, go to www.sauce.net.au.

… WE’ W VE HAD SOME GIGS THAT ARE RE TOTAL CATASTROPHES AND ND ARE LLY SOME GIGS THAT ARE TOTALLY FUN…

ROCK SALT

THE STOICS

RATED G FOR VIOLENCE AND PORNOGRAPHY By Tom Wilson B

Ahead of the release of Leolanda – six tracks of debut EP from Launceston rockers The Stoics – I spoke to Ciaran about G-rated pornography, and the joys of making monkeys pop balloons. A

I heard that you guys had a new EP in the works. What can you tell me about this? W O Our debut EP Leolanda is over in Melbourne as we sp speak, being replicated and packaged up for us. We oonly have a limited run of CDs, so we are hoping that ppeople will get in quick to buy them. We are not doing a launch (just to be different) but the six-track EP will be avail available from December onwards. We are really proud of what we have done with it. It has been a long, tiresome and financially burdensome road to finishing this CD – and to make things even easier, we are already starting work on the next one! We have been writing loads of new material this year, and it is really exciting to be planning our next release after this EP is out there. What about what you’ve been doing outside of music? What has life had in store for you recently? You mean there is a life outside music? We have all been putting ninety percent of our time into band-related things, but that other ten percent usually involves sleeping. I have also developed an unhealthy addiction of sorts … online Flash games. Mind-numbing fun; I have been playing possibly the most moronic game ever invented called Bloons. I’m not sure why, but popping cartoon balloons with a needle – thrown by a monkey of course – is strangely soothing. You’re playing at The Hub in December with The Embers and The Zac Lister Band. How do you think the sound of The Stoics sits with those acts? What do you guys have in common? This gig is going to be great! We are planning really big things for this show, and the turnout is expected to be big. All the bands playing are pretty close friends, so we always have loads of fun when we play shows together. We are all completely different bands when it comes to sound as well. I think this works out to be a really positive thing for the audience, because they get a taste of three different styles. The Embers and The Stoics are both lucky enough to have been chosen by Triple J for a feature position in Aus Music Month. Both of us made it into a yearly program called “Next Crop”, featuring a selection of Unearthed bands from all over the nation. Previous winners of Next Crop were bands such as Angus and Julia Stone, The Scientists of Modern Music, Dukes of Windsor and heaps others. This is great exposure for us, after being selected for AWOL, and we are hoping it will lead to bigger and better things. We are also three bands who strongly oppose the stinking Pulp Mill, and something makes me think that we might not be alone there. (It might be the eleven-or-so thousand people willing to give up their time to protest against it.) The gig will

be on Saturday December 8th, and it is going to be a night full of dancing and madness. Fun for the whole legal-aged family! Out of interest, what was the last argument you guys had within the band? What was it over? And who won? Our last argument that I can recall was over one of our new songs. I wrote it on acoustic guitar, and it is a sweet mellow tune that our drummer Maria has been arranging with me on piano. We brought it to the rehearsal room and we all approved of it, but we couldn’t decide if it needed drums or not. If it was going to have drums, that meant that Maria couldn’t play it on piano because she would have to play drums. Maria is a fantastic pianist – she wrote and played the piano piece for the title track of our EP. She also enjoys playing keys live, but doesn’t get the chance often, because she plays drums so well. So it was a funny argument that went along the lines of: Jo: “You can’t play live keys in this song because you should play drums” Maria: “I want to play keys; it doesn’t need drums.” Ciaran: “Let’s just record it and work the rest out later people.” Maria and Jo: *Dissatisfied grunts*

We have not shat on anyone yet, and we aren’t looking forward to the day when we have to. Just in case that was not a literal comment, I also think that the Launceston original scene is tough but fair. Only the good bands can get enough support to make it, and this friendly competition produces some really quality acts. Burnie and Hobart also have their share of impressive original bands, so I don’t think Launceston is alone. At this point, what’s The Stoics’ grand plan for 2008? Make millions of dollars! Or even just enough dollars to buy some things would be nice. We will be releasing another EP next year sometime whilst promoting our current one, and, hopefully, saving enough money for a bit of a mainland tour. After the exposure that winning AWOL gave us, we have been receiving support from people all over the nation, and we are hopeful that this will result in some more support

from Triple J or a mainland tour. If the band’s existence to date was made into a Hollywood film, who would you want to play yourselves? I have actually been asked a similar question before and my answer will never change. I would want one person to play the entire band and that could be no one other than Crispin Hellion Glover. What do you reckon this movie would be called? And, just for fun, what do you reckon it would be rated? The movie would be called The Elephant of My Own Incomprehension and it would be rated G, for all the family. It would, however, feature gratuitous violence and pornography. The Stoics play The Hub in Launceston on the 8th of December with The Embers, The Zac Lister Band and Liam Guthrie.

So, as you can see, it wasn’t much of an argument – certainly nothing worthy of New Weekly gossip or any of those other high-caliber magazines. What are the best and worst things about the Tassie music scene? And how can it be improved? The Tassie music scene is great, but small. Sometimes small is good, but, as you become more established, it is nice to have a big pond to swim in because it makes you tougher fish. The advantage of a smaller pond (obviously) is the depth. Shallow water warms in the sun quicker, and it is sometimes nice to let that solar-warmed current run through your gills. The downside is that birds can pick you out for lunch easier, because you can’t hide in the dark depths. Have I gone on with the metaphor long enough? I could keep going. The improvements that could be made to the Tasmanian music scene are being made slowly, but surely by everyone involved. Why do Launceston bands shit all over the rest of the state? [This is purely for the sake of argument, forumfesters – Tom] Sometimes Launceston bands just can’t hold on to those number twos when they are in the other parts of the state. It is unfortunate that they have to shit “all over” the place, but, sometimes, things just have to come out.

We W e have not sh*t on anyone ye yet, and we aren’t looking e forward to the day when w we have to.

PAGE 7

PAGE 8

THE PANICS

ROADKILL

As I arrived at the James, Oh Mercy began playing to the already sizeable crowd that had gathered.

I was pumped to go to this show after having not seen Roadkill or Solar Thorn for ages, and to check out new Launnie outfit Projection of Aggression. The female-fronted Solar Thorn came on first with their dominating keyboards and thundering drums.

JAMES HOTEL – 25/11/07

BRISBANE HOTEL – 9/11/07

CHI-ROH AMBULANCE TEN FOOT TALL

DJ Q-BIK (Smashing DRUM&BASS) PLUS LOCAL

SUPPORTS

7 Dec 2007 @ THE LOFT art, Tasmania 142 LIVERPOOL ST/pool on liverpool, Hob

7000

Cost : $10

Playing cute pop tunes, they drew the crowd in, to bring a more personal feel to the performance. Thanking the crowd sincerely, they jumped off-stage to make way for the headlining band.

GIG REVIEWS

As soon as The Panics made their way to their respective instruments, the crowd cheered loudly. Vocalist Jae waved kindly for my camera, and so began their set. Playing many songs from their recent album, Cruel Guards, they also weaved a few of their older songs into the mix. Making conversation with different crowd members throughout the show, the five Panics made the audience feel almost as if they were sharing the stage. During the third last song in their set, a snapped string made for a slight pause in the proceedings, giving everyone time to prepare for what was coming up next – the popular single Don’t Fight It.

They played their older tunes better than I’d ever heard them before, and the new songs were awesome. Chrissie’s vocals screeched out effortlessly, and the guitarist, keyboardist and even the drummer were windmilling like crazy. The new blacker, doomier-sounding songs added a new strength and dimension to their tight set. The crowd loved it and moshed along. Fronted by ex-Lady Crimson singer Kyle, Projection Of Aggression put on a good, solid set. Their music was wellwritten and played, showing off their varied influences. The songs were reminiscent of everything from early Pantera to Skid Row and early Metallica, which made for a pretty sweet mix. The guitarist was a madman, and shredded his riffs and solos manically as Kyle sang his heart out.

The crowd went wild – drinks were spilt, and everyone who knew the words sung along. One song followed, and they made their way to the green room, only to be called back before they reached the door.

His vocals were by far the best I’d heard from him, and made everything he’d done with Lady Crimson seem pale and weak in comparison.

They played one more, but very soon afterwards it was time for the band to finish up for the night, and they headed off-stage. After twenty-five straight shows all around the country, and such a great performance tonight, they certainly deserve a good rest.

On came the veteran rockers Roadkill – professional from the word go as usual. Neal Steel’s vocals soared, perfectly complimenting their balls-to-the-wall hard rock. Ziggy’s guitar work was amazing and flashy, as he went from blazing solos to rocky riffs with the greatest of ease.

Still, they’ll be back soon enough to play Falls – make sure not to miss them.

Their new tunes, which I hadn’t heard before, were great, and Neal’s between-song commentary was sharp and witty. Sheppo’s bass pounded like rolling thunder, and the drums belted out like cannon fire. All up, a bloody sh*t-hot night!

CAROLE WHITEHEAD

ROWAN MCINTOSH

GHT

$10 JUGS AND $5 BASIC SPIRITS ALL NI

PAGE 9

THE CAGE

Hobart Uni Bar friday 7th December

8.30pm Start $22 plus b/f / $30 on the door available at TUU contact centre

RuffCut Records / Mojo Music

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PAGE 10

Degrees Freedom, Mephistopheles, Hammerhead, Corpse Carving, The Wizar’d and Shackles (Sydney). Taberah have also supported Australian metal gods Lord on the two occasions when they ventured down to Hobart in 2006 and 2007.

In early 2006 Taberah forged its way into the Tasmanian metal scene, and by the end of their first set had abolished any chance of being labeled a mere second-rate tribute to the kings of the genre. Taberah’s firepower grew, as they were noticeably improving with each show they played. Throughout their first year, Taberah played many shows around Tasmania, alongside bands such as M.S.I, Zero

Taberah once again support Lord at Hobart’s Brisbane Hotel on Friday the 7th of December.

ph. 03 6234 8600 email. shop@ruffcut-records.com w w w. r u f f c u t - r e c o r d s . c o m

with enola fall

F Formed in 2004 by guitarist/frontman Jonathon Barwick and drummer Tom Brockman, Taberah B bbegan its days jamming tunes by classic artists li like AC/DC, Ozzy Osbourne and Iron Maiden. JJono and Tom endured many line-up changes, bbefore destiny was met when Sam Roberts jo joined on bass in late 2004 along with Sebastian G Galloway on guitar in mid 2005.

At the end of 2006 Taberah released a demo titled Exordium. One hundred CDs were made, and all were sold within two-and-a-half months, with many fans unfortunately missing out on a copy. Taberah have recently released a rehearsal demo cassette, limited to three hundred copies, and have received great feedback from all. Taberah’s legion of disciples continues to grow as they strive to abolish the lack of quality in metal today.

33A ELIZABETH ST MALL HOBART

Triple J Presents:

TABERAH

TICKETS ON SALE!

Elements Tour 2007

DJ Regal

Tribeadelic Gathering

Uni Bar - 29th November

The Metz - 2nd December

Melbourne - 29th dec - 1st jan

Bexta

Architecture in Helsinki

Qbert

Syrup - 30th november

Uni bar - friday 7th of December

Halo - 29th December

Kisschasy

Ministry Of Sound Annual

PitchBlack Christmas Party:

Syrup - 14th December

Organ Donors(UK) / Nik Fish(Syd)

Uni Bar - 30th November

Sat Dec 15th @Halo

Simon Posford C.W.Stoneking Hallucinogen Live & His Primitive Orchestra +Sphongle DJ Set

The Soundscape Festival Domain Regatta Grounds - 26 January

Republic Bar - 30th November

Brisbane Hotel - 15th December

Frenzal Rhomb

Pegz

Msfest 2008

Uni Bar - 1st December

Republic Bar - 22nd December

16th february

ROCK SALT

KISSCHASY

HYMNS FOR THE ZOMBELIEVER By Chris Titmus B

T Taking a break from touring, Kisschasy’s Darren Cordeux decided talking to resident Sauce Zombie Emo, Chris Titmus, would be a wise career move. We’re still not sure, so chuck aan emo in a shipping container, grow your hair long, and spray on your pants – the Emo Zombie Holocaust is nigh!

H How has the tour been going so far? It It’s been amazing, man – it’s been, I dunno, like; we’ve nnever been a big regional band. I mean, we’ve always ddone regional tours but we’ve never had that many ppeople come to our shows. But this time around, you know, we did North Queensland and stuff and we had people come to our show and everything… it was great. You guys have a single out called Spray On Pants – this seems like a bit of a stab at the emo fashions of today – to what extent would you say that this is accurate and why? Well, it’s not so much emo – it’s more the fashion ethic, because people are into music for fashion’s sake rather than music’s sake, you know – and emo happens to be what a lot of people click into from the film clip, including the guy who made the film clip… he based the film clip around that.

where we’d send all those indie fashionistas we thought we’d send them back to England because that’s where a lot of that music comes from. But then the film clip turned out to be all about the emos and it didn’t make much sense anymore.

… II’D MAKE THEM DO THINGS FOR MY PLEASURE, LIKE COOK FOR ME …

What do you say to accusations that more than one pair of spray on pants were seen at your last Tassie shows? What do you plead? We have plenty of people who wear spray on pants coming to all our shows – it’s kind of where some of the inspiration came from, you know what I mean? If anything it’s not just a stab at other people, it’s a stab at ourselves too… a kind of self-parody. But definitely, I think every one of us in the band wore spray on pants at one point – just really tight, black pants that you can’t really move in.

What are your plans for after this tour? When will you start working on a new release? [Well I’m] writing at the moment, I just started writing again – had a bit of writer’s block and now it’s time to be creative again. I think we can spend a bit more time on it this time – I don’t want to rush into release. The next album I want to push our boundaries and challenge our listeners; kind of change it up a bit. I’m starting to write in different ways, by writing with the piano as opposed to the guitar – you know, really change it. So I might take a bit more time but I think it will be worth it…

The clip for Spray On Pants depicts an almost Day of the Dead style emo holocaust, featuring zombies with emo haircuts – how would one survive an Emo Holocaust? First of all, I think you’d go somewhere they’re playing good music. Where would I go… I might go to a Chemical Brothers concert – that’s a good way to hide from emos! That’s where I’d go… and what I’d do is lure them into some sort of trap. I’d put all these hair straighteners in there, and maybe some mascara and maybe some My Chemical Romance CDs, and [I’d] make sure they’d get lured in there and then I’d just trap ‘em! And I’d make them do things for my pleasure, like cook for me…

So which band member would you like to play Kisschasy with? Argh, none man! I couldn’t think of anything more disgusting! You know, I spend 24/7 with them, and you know, you see them naked and in the worst light ever and I couldn’t think of anything worse … sometimes just looking at them makes me wanna puke!

That’s nice, man, that’s perfect! At the end of the film clip, where you herd them all into a shipping container at the end of a dock, why do you address it to England? England was just… the guy who directed the clip originally thought Sweden and we were like, “Yeah, Sweden… dunno.” The song originally – what we were kind of aiming at – was the genre we were looking at was the whole kind of “indie kid” movement; you know, kind of all the kids who are into the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs and Bloc Party and all that – who I think are good bands, but plenty of people are [probably] into them for the wrong reasons. So it wasn’t originally supposed to be, you know, based on emo fashion per se, and when we thought of

ROCK SALT

What were some of the fashion cliques when you were in school, and which ones did you fit into? I fit into the whole kind of grunge – even though I was kind of late because I didn’t get into bands like Nirvana until about 1996, a few years after Kurt Cobain had actually died; I’m pretty young… a lot of my friends were into the same stuff and were all like, getting into grunge and stuff with the long hair and grunge… and we also got into a bit of the Nu Metal and stuff, you know, like Sepultura and Korn and stuff like that. Then eventually, I got into the whole kind of punk movement, you know, your Offspring and your Green Day and all them. Anyone who grew up in my generation cannot deny that they were into that kind of music… and that’s kind of what the song’s about as well. Most people I grew up with loved those bands and yet I’ve seen so many people who would never claim to love those bands so I think I definitely think I fit into that kind of scene, but at the same time there were a lot of people who were into… I dunno… there was a lot of dance music coming out at that time as well, like Ace of Bass and stuff. But that wasn’t really my scene…

http://www.kisschasy.com You can catch Kisschasy at Hobart’s Uni Bar on November 30th and Launceston’s 39Bar on December 1st. To listen to the full interview, go to www.sauce.net.au.

THE EVENING DOLLS

YOU’RE NOT TOO OLD TO PLAY WITH DOLLS By Tom Wilson B

W With a debut full-length finally finished and set to be launched in Hobart on the 13th of next month, it seemed like a damn fine idea to chat with singer-and-six-stringer Benny K Korkmaz and go behind the music of the Evening Dolls. So we did. Read it.

I understand you guys are about to launch your d debut album. Where and when will this be held, and w who will you be playing with? Y Yeah, that’s right. We will be launching the record at the R Republic Bar in North Hobart on the 13th of December. W We will have some special guests joining us on stage, and will be supported by one of my favourite local punk rock bands, Ballpoint. The entry will be free, but that doesn’t mean to say it won’t be a big show. We have some exciting things in store, and also a couple of new tunes to put out there. It should be rad! Oh, and CDs will be cheap! What can you tell me about the process of making this album? How long has it been in the works? It has been a very long process – over seven months in fact. Ten of the songs had been written prior to entering the studio, but were workshopped with Stewy Long (producer) until they were right. So that was a good month before we started laying anything down. We started recording with the drums, tracking them to a click, which made the whole process so much easier for editing. Everything was recorded on a twentyfour-track tape machine to give us that fat vintage sound, and then bounced over to the digital world (PC) for vocals and mixing. Most of the time was taken up by the vocals. We wanted the record to sound huge, and we had achieved that with the music. This meant that I had to do layers and layers of vocals on every song – four or five solid main vocals, and then the same with each harmony. After every session it felt like I had been punched in the face constantly for eight hours. Overall, we had fourteen songs that were narrowed down to ten that had the vibe for a debut album. But halfway through the process of band politics, long nights and not enough sleep, two songs popped up out of nowhere – The Prize and Call Your Name. They came together so easily, and added a whole new dimension to our sound and songwriting. So we were back on the kit, with the tape machine rolling and smiles on our faces, thus bringing the record to twelve tracks. What have been the biggest challenges you’ve had to face while making this album? One would definitely have to be the length in which it took to complete; just trying to stay positive and keep the whole thing going. I mean, we weren’t in the studio every day, and we had weeks where we wouldn’t hear a single thing we had done. So, we’d get side-tracked and lose where we were in the process. Just trying to picture the whole thing completed was hard, but it’s done now, and we’re damn excited! Another thing would have to be trying to add new and interesting parts without overdoing it. When you have so much time, you tend to have more ideas, and pack the songs

with a whole lot of bullshit. Knowing when to stop was a challenge in itself. But I’m pretty confident we didn’t f*ck with them too much, and just added what was needed. Of all the tracks on the album, which are you happiest with, and why? Wow, that’s a hard one to answer. Because they were all recorded and finished at different times, they all had their own special moments. When some new vocal harmony would come to mind, or a guitar hook – whatever it was – it would give us that whole reason for making the record. Basically, I’m happy with the album as a whole; each song has its own personality, and together they make up The Evening Dolls. Though, just quietly, the ballad has a special place in my heart. How would you describe the tracks on the album, in terms of their tempo, sound and style? The tracks consist of everything from rock, pop, punk, disco and even the sounds of a brass section and string quartet. Most of the songs are up-tempo, catchy, and full of guitar and vocal hooks. We have always written pop songs with an edge. We’ve never sat down together and said, “Right! This is what we’re doing, this is what it’s going to sound like, and this is how fast it has to be!” The Dolls are different personalities, and together it is one unique sound. It’s modern rock/pop music with vintage flare. Which tracks took the longest time to get right? And which, if any, almost wrote themselves? The ballad, Watching Over You, took the longest to finish. It was the first one tracked, and the last one completed. It started off with just vocals and acoustic guitar, then finished with strings, bass, harmonies, lead guitar, more acoustic guitars, keys and drums. The experience was great, because it brought eight other local musos into the studio with us to create this simple but massive tune. The last two additional songs I was talking about earlier wrote themselves (The Prize and Call Your Name). I guess, at that point, we were confident with our songwriting, and knew who we were as a band. Really, since then we have written more songs, and they are always done and recorded in a day. Now that I’ve said that, we’ll probably hit a brick wall soon. Why is the Evening Dolls’ debut album the greatest album ever made? [I’m talking shit here – just go with it] Because Australian Idol had nothing to do with it! As individual musicians, which artists have inspired you the most? Who are some of the singers, guitarists and drummers that you look up to? My favourite singer/songwriter would have to be Noel Gallagher from Oasis. I really believe he has never got it

I’d have to say that certain music forums are full of bullsh*t

wrong. His voice, songs and vibe are killer. Glenn’s a fan of The Tragically Hip. If you listen to their tune In View, you’ll definitely hear the influences with those guitar hooks. Gardy’s a bit more sophisticated with taste. His style is Dave Matthews and Neil Finn. Scotty’s inspired by Chad Smith, Taylor Hawkins and David Jones. So, you try and make any sense of that. What kind of musical background did you guys come from? And how did you come to be playing together as The Evening Dolls? Well, both Gardy and Scotty are jazz-trained, and Glenn and I are your typical dirty bedroom musos. Glenn comes from a more 70s punk background, full of guitar riffs and edge. I grew up listening to the Bee Gees, and heaps of other nasty disco. I can’t say it has ever worn off – the nightmares fill my sleep, and every time I switch on my amp. How did we come to be playing together? Well, that’s a question we ask ourselves every day. I guess it all comes down to “two wrongs make a right” – or four, in this case.

For all its merits, it’s been said more than once that there’s a lot of bitchiness amongst the Hobart music scene. What do you think they’re talking about? And to what extent would you agree with this? I’d have to say that certain music forums are full of bullsh*t, and most of the respectful band and musos around Tassie don’t tune into that sh*t. I’m a big fan of Tasmania music, and most of the people involved. The best thing about it is we are such a small and tight community that we all know and share each other’s experiences. No two bands are the same, and every one of them seems to do what they do really f*cking well – meaning we all get the same experiences, whether it is [doing] supports, festivals, launches; we’re not all fighting each other for some exposure. For all of us, there is a time and a place, and I love that about Tasmania. The Evening Dolls launch their debut album at the Republic Bar in Hobart on the 13th of December. CDs will be available at Tommygun Records and Aroma Records prior to the launch. PAGE 11

ROCK SALT

TEX PERKINS

THE APE FORMERLY KNOWN AS TEX PERKINS By Tom Wilson

T They don’t get much more legendary than Tex Perkins, and if that statement confuses and disquiets you then flick the hair out of your eyes and stop wearing your sister’s pants. IInstead, grow your hair long, and steal your sister’s undies so you can throw them at Tex’s Altar of Rock in an appropriate show of devotion… unless she’s already beat you up aand thrown her own at him already, you whining girly-man. Sauce’s own whining girly-man, Tom Wilson, tried not to shit his own considerably dirty dacks to investigate Tex’s aacoustic experiences…and monkeys. M boss, he told me, “Once you’ve interviewed Tex My Perkins, you can pretty much interview anything.” P Really, are you frightened? R

No, but I did feel a little intimidated putting together a few questions… You’ll never get worse than Tex, is that what he’s saying? No, just interesting – you’ve a very unique personality! Oh, well thank him from me! These acoustic shows [you’ve been playing] – it seems a bit more of a relaxed affair compared to the Beasts’ shows… Indeed, I need a relaxed affair… This wasn’t pre-planned – it was like, “Bugger me, I just need to do something a little softer for a change?” Well, I do – I do soft… hard, I do them on the same day! Yeah, to tell the truth, after doing most of the year with the Beasts it is good to play some music that doesn’t need roaring guitars… but I often do this sort of thing; complete different extremes, one after the other. Ultimately, what would you say gives you more joy and why? Hmmm… I’ve no idea! Ultimately, I’ll have to tell you when it’s all over, what gave me the most joy. I’ll just have to make sure I keep enjoying it and want to return to something like that… [to] keep moving on and not do the same thing for too long just so that I don’t sort of… kill “it”, whatever “it” is – even though the Beasts probably need killing… the band, I mean, not individually as people! I understand you’re working on a solo album at the moment, is that true? Yes! At this point, what can you tell me about the vibe of the new material? It’s a vibe that would probably be closer to what I used to do with The Cruel Sea. It’s more sort of my… what I contributed to The Cruel Sea – that end of things… the brutish, apelike funk that I offer… There’s a genre! I’ve actually called the project “The Ape” – in referring to myself as “The Ape” – I might actually release the entire album as “The Ape”… I may become “The Ape Formerly Known as Tex Perkins…” I’ve heard that throwing your own dung around is actually quite therapeutic… Look, just because a few chimps threw some shit around years ago, you’ve never let them forget about it, have you? You’ve never let them live it down!

I just find it fascinating… They’re really sweet creatures… apart from the constant masturbating. That’s a little better than the shit throwing, I think… anyway, let’s move on… To underwear! When was the last time you had a pair of undies thrown at you at a gig and whose were they? I’m sure something like that has happened in my time… I’m sure it’s happened to everyone at some stage – some more than others, obviously. It’s a phenomena that began with Tom Jones’ audiences, wouldn’t you say? I was going to say that, yeah… It’s more a showbiz tradition that I think happens to everybody, but I can’t really recall whose they were – they didn’t have a nametag attached to them; they didn’t have a “if found, return to” attached to them, but I think they were fresh. I suspect they were just brought along to be thrown and they weren’t actually worn and then thrown… Now that’s just insincere, isn’t it… Indeed, as I say, it’s just part of this almost… mundane routine that audience members go, they go, “Okay, I’m going out to a show, I’ve got my wallet, got my handbag, got the car keys, got my spare undies to throw on stage…” [Laughs] So you’re playing two nights down here at the one venue – what do you reckon you’ll be getting up to when you’re not playing? What do you suggest, a little bit of sight seeing around Hobart, if there is such a thing? Well, I’m in Launceston – why don’t you blow off Hobart and play both your gigs up here? Ah, I see what you’re getting at… you’re a little bit dirty and I should drive across to Launceston for a day… is that what you’re trying to say? You’ve obviously been down here a couple of times – what have you done in the past? Well, I’ve never stayed two days in Hobart – it’s always been an overnighter and then you’re on your way. I spend more time in Lonnie, actually. York Park – seen a few games at York Park. Do you enjoy football?

… THEY’RE REALLY SWEET CREATURES… APART FROM THE CONSTANT NT MASTURBATING …

Honestly, I’m not a fan of sport, which is terribly un-Australian of me and I should probably be deported… Okay, well, I won’t tell anyone… Tex Perkins plays in Hobart December 1st and 2nd at The Republic Bar, but won’t be catching a footy game with Tom at York Park anytime soon. To listen to an MP3 of the full interview, go to www. sauce.net.au.

PETE CORNELIUS AND

THE DEVILLES P Cornelius and the DeVilles, est. 1999, have Pete sset the pace for many Aussie touring rhythm & bblues bands. It’s hard to label exactly what these bboys are layin’ down. Some say it’s vintage R&B, west coast jump blues, tough Texan R shuffles, hearty soul drivin’ sparse ballads and sh uup-tempo rockabilly-influenced grooves. Some just say it’s damn good. ju

ROCK SALT

I just threw my own back at them… Always going on about the throwing of the dung!

Whatever you wanna call it, The DeVilles sure have their roots deep in that early American sound, when hollow-body guitars ruled, and fat, gas-guzzlin’ Cadillacs roamed the streets.

FEATURE

The multi-award-winning band have released four fulllength albums, toured endless miles across our lovely country, playing all the major festivals, including time in the USA and UK.

And you can do that at the St. Mary’s Hotel on the 30th of November and 1st of December, Launceston’s Royal Oak later that day, and Hobart’s Republic Bar on the 8th.

Contributors? Would you like to contribute to Sauce? either doing CD or gig reviews, photograhy ... or make a suggestion as to what you could contribute?

Australia’s biggest pop star of the sixties, Normie Rowe defied the logic of the times. His period of peak popularity came when the Beatles were dominating the charts around the world. It was the period of popular music where most established solo singers were suddenly banished from the charts, and young singers were joining or forming bands. And yet, here was this Melbourne teenager creating pop riots and becoming the first Melbourne recording artist to achieve a national Australian No.1.

In the many years and many ups and downs since, Normie has become many things – not the least being a leading advocate and spokesman for the Vietnam Veterans. His hectic schedule of live performances continues to this day. An Audience With Normie Rowe will be held at Stage Door The Café on the 1st and 2nd of December.

Normie had already sung in the local church choir and performed in a high school band when at the age of 14 he appeared at his music school’s concert and was spotted by the concert’s compere, prominent Melbourne radio personality Stan Rofe. Impressed, Stan made the appropriate introductions to dance promoters. By the time he released his first single Normie already had several years of experience behind him, in the traditional dance circuit where (as in the Big Band era) several featured singers stepped up to perform in front of the house band. The Beatles era changed all that, but Normie had served his apprenticeship that way.

The DeVilles include Ben Edwards on upright bass and vocals, George Brugmans on drums, and, of course, Pete Cornelius on guitar and lead vocals.

Better catch ‘em if ya can …

NORMIE ROWE

SWING DANCING HITS T is the first time in four years that Melbourne-based dance This school, Swing Patrol, have opened an official dance hub sc ou outside of Melbourne. After much deliberation, Launceston now n to be one of four special places that Swing Patrol now calls home, along with Melbourne, Sydney and Geelong. ca

S Swing Patrol began nearly ten years ago after co-founder Scott Cupit travelled to Disney Land, USA, and fell in love S with the infectious and energetic nature of Swing Dancing. w On returning to Australia, Scott teamed up with dance teacher O Claudia Funder to create the Swing Patrol program. Swing C P Patrol are renowned worldwide as the world’s largest swing dancing school, with fifty teachers on their books, teaching over 1200 students per week, and averaging between eight hundred to a thousand hits on their website every day. Swing Patrol’s inclusive and fun-loving culture has now spread to Launceston with three new Launceston-based teachers coming under their banner: Rachel Markos, Graham Wood and Courtney Innes.

Swing Dancing is a dance originating in African-American circles, dating back to the 1930s and 1940s. It involves thousands of fun and energetic dance moves, done with a partner and solo, to the infectious sounds of big band jazz swing music. For more insight you can watch movies such as Swing Kids and Malcolm X, or simply come along to classes and be inspired by the joy of the dance. Participants have described Swing Patrol classes as “...just a whole bunch of fun, energetic, easy to grasp and the teachers are very enthusiastic and knowledgeable.” Swing Dancing lessons begins on Wednesday the 28th of November at Launceston’s Club 39. Time: 7:00pm – 8:00pm (Level 1 – no experience needed) with Scott & Rachel Cost: $12 For information, phone Rachel on 0409 578 107 or email rachel@swingpatrol.com.au

MOHAWK

FRENZAL RHOMB F

FOR THE LAST TIME … EVER By Tom Wilson

T best punk band in the world is a mixture of conflicting ideals and diets. It’s a band that can party on well until 9pm. The best punk band in the world is not even a band, really, The bbut a living, breathing entity that wakes early, sleeps late, and leaves the toilet seat down every damn time because that’s just what rebels do, man. The best punk band in the world is is not fronted by Jay Whalley, sometime radio “disc jockey” and full-time vocalist for Frenzal Rhomb ... but times are changing, and there’s golf to play … W What’s the most trouble you ever got into as a kid? The most trouble… I got caught driving around in a stolen T car, with some alcohol… some fake I.D. and a bottle of ca bo bourbon and we got caught driving through a school. I think I was maybe fifteen and geez did I get into trouble! Yeah, so that h was probably the worst of it.

Did you steal the car? No, my friend stole the car and I was in it so he actually got into a bit more trouble than me. I was very lucky to get off without a charge on that one. F*ckin’ hell, man. Yeah, the things we do as kids, eh! Yeah, dangerous! … So speaking of dangerous, Frenzal Rhomb will be coming down in December – the most dangerous band in the world. What do you remember about the last shows you guys have played down here? What makes the Tasmanian crowds unique to you guys in a good and, maybe, in a bad way? When we played down there with Lawrence Arms! That was the first experience the Lawrence Arms had had with Australians at all; they’d just got off the plane from the States and their sound guy, who we had just met backstage, was going on and on, you know – “Australians are so nice, they’re so great, they’re so friendly,” and he went out and mixed a lot of drums and came back and he was white as a ghost and he was like, “Oh my god, they’re fucking animals, they’re animals.” And I said, “Welcome to Australia,” and specifically, “Welcome to Tasmania.” … So yeah, it was awesome. I was proud that I was Australian and I could introduce them via the gateway of Tasmania. I remember it was funny, a couple of years ago at the Falls Festival, the Dandy Warhols were headlining. They arrived and the main headline on the cover of all the newspapers was, “Tassie Women – Australia’s Worst Binge Drinkers,” or something. I don’t know about that but there’s a certain lack of inhibitions that you get in Tasmanians, mainlanders are all uptight. There’s a certain relaxed attitude among Tasmanians that I find appealing. So what do you do to get into that relaxed state - what’s your preferred method of chilling? I’ve been enjoying the sport of golf. Piss off, no way! Jay. Playing. Golf. I’ve found it quite meditative… it’s also one of the few sports where you can smoke and drink while you’re doing it. You get the illusion that you’re pursuing some level of fitness… actually there’s more musicians than you actually think that enjoy a game of golf. There’s a seedy underbelly of Australian musicians that play golf…

Oh Lord… so what’s on the Frenzal rider these days? In Tasmania, we have to get us some local beers – Boags would be awesome, and I know that you’ve got some local distilleries so maybe some locally distilled whisky. The rest of my band’s actually vegan and that actually prohibit them from drinking some types of alcohol because there’s a lot that’s made from animal products. I have a much more laissez faire attitude to vegetarianism and partake in dairy products, fish or egg albumen or stuff like that. Anything locally Tasmanian is fine by me, and anyone who wants to bring along plates of locally procured cheeses then I’ll happily eat them with you. What is this thing with bands, particularly punk bands going vegan? The whole straight edge culture… where did that come from? We’re the furthest away from straight edge as you could get, although Lindsay does have a tattoo on his back with three exes that are with straight edge and edge actually spelt wrong so it says “Straight Egde”…. Culturally [it’s] been there for a while, vegetarianism. Punk bands tend to write about social issues and the like and I guess one of those issues is animal rights. If you take it to the nth degree… you’ll end up going down that path. Not eating cheese is no fun but that’s just me. Did you do the breakfast show [on Triple J] this morning? I did indeed. So what time do you actually have to get up in the morning? I push it to ten-to-five to allow myself to get on air at six to pull all the CDs and slap each other around the c*cks a bit and get on air. I have one more day with Triple J. One more day…? Yeah, that’s the bombshell! I’m traveling the world with my girlfriend… so this could be the last Frenzal Rhomb tour ever. Is this “ever, ever” or is this John Farnham-like, “This is the last ever tour” ever? It’s the last tour ever… but we might do another one. So yes, I guess that is like John Farnham…

… THERE’S A SEEDY UNDERBELLY OF AUSTRALIAN MUSICIANS THAT PLAY GOLF …

[Laughs] So you’ll be traveling the world - do you see yourself returning to Triple J when you get back? I don’t really know. I’d like to write a lot of songs. That’s what I’m looking forward to is writing some music... And there’s also the issue [that] I hate everyone in my band. But if you met them you’d understand. Catch Frenzal Rhomb on their last tour ever, ever at the University of Tasmania in Hobart on December 1st. To listen to the full interview, go to www.sauce.net.au.

PAGE 13

A-LOVE Ace of Hearts 7/10

BEST OF THE FORTNIGHT

Ace of Hearts is the debut album from one of the most over-looked rappers in Australia at the moment; A-Love. Over the last few years, A-Love has managed to drop verses on tracks with the likes of Jase, Eternia and Mystro, but Ace of Hearts is her first solo release. Eter The beats are great – the majority of which were put together by in-house Crookneck beatsmiths F&D – but other production dut duties are taken care of by D&D (Dave Dog & deNorthwode AK AKA BVA), Suffa, Jase, Morstyn and Lost Evidence.

THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN Ire Works 9/10 One of the most important heavy acts of the last eight years, The Dillinger Escape Plan, are back. By way of introduction, this is a band that managed to cover IDM-master Aphex Twin’s Come To Daddy live on stage, and, rumour has it, used to choose their time signatures with a pair of dice. Mathmetal-jazz-fusion playing out like the soundtrack to a triplehomicide – it’s time for round three, Ire Works. Opening with the berserk riff-spasm Fix Your Face, DEP waste no time flaunting their almost supernatural musical finesse – and making an obscene amount of noise in the process. Taking the reigns from Chris Pennie, new skinsman Gil Sharone shines on the aptly-named Lurch – his polyrhythmic volleys sending the schitzoid guitars hurtling. If you told me this guy could play grindcore on a pair of bongos, I’d believe you. Sonically, Ire Works treads typically diverse ground – from the Mike Patton-esque melodies of Black Bubblegum to Sick On Sunday’s head-first plunge into a bubbling undercurrent of IDM beats and squeaking synths. Dead As History opens with a lush, eye-closing swoon of pan flutes and Massive Attack-style ambiance before, of course, crashing into a grand noise-rock opus. And the hammering chaos of Horse Hunter twists and evolves like an uncoiling serpent, from an ultra-progressive string of melody to a monster of a duet with Mastodon’s Brent Hinds.

Album Cover not available

A As far as A-Love’s lyricism goes on this album, I’ve heard her ddo a lot better, but the concepts and the variety with her flows m make it a worthwhile listen. So Easy is a slammin’, b-boy cut, aand probably the best track on the album, featuring a supercclever battle verse from British rapper Yungun over some magic BVA production.

With five tracks under the two-minute two minute mark, mark Ire Works W rks wastes no time – this record is lean, to-the-point and deadly. If any complaint could be leveled at this release, it’s that it doesn’t seem to illicit the level of emotional resonance as Miss Machine did – but then, it could be said that DEP are like the Stanley Kubrick of heavy music; clinical, cold-hearted, cerebral and relentless ... and there’s a reason you don’t hear people bitching about Kubrick ... TOM WILSON

PLUG-IN CITY Plug-In City EP 7.5/10

Plug-In City from Melbourne have brought us their new self-titled EP. Sounding like a strange combination of The Presets and INXS, this fivepiece have put together five very electronic-sounding songs. Day’s Edge caught my attention at first, being a typically electronic song, and featuring repeated lyrics. But it was those lyrics and Jeremy’s style of singing them that seems to have given this song something I could not place – given it a little something extra. Also, who can forget the great single from this EP, Broke On A Wheel, with its very catchy synths and lyrics and, again, those winning vocals. This song also has a great film clip, exaggerating how far technology has advanced. Blank Photo has a great intro, which builds nicely into the body of the song, and throughout this number there several strategically-placed pauses in the lyrics, which bring your attention back to the bouncy instrumentation. I thought all five songs were great, and managed not to fall into the typical “dance” category, while still being tunes that could be danced to very easily. I look forward to hearing a full-length album from them, to see what they do with a bigger musical canvas, and the way they have varied these five shows that they may indeed have great things planned for an album. These are definitely some songs to play before going out on a Saturday night – they will certainly have you moving your feet before too long.

Rising to fame in 1998 with her involvement with the British pop band the Sugababes, Mutya Buena has gone and done the whole “solo” thing. Her debut album Real Girl combines the typical ex-girl-band pop sound with a bit of edgy RNB. The first single off the album, Real Girl is a catchy song that shows the capacity of her voice. She reaches some high notes in this track, and manages to pull them off without that squeaky sound that a large number of pop singers tend to make halfway through their songs. There are two big collaborations on this album: one with Groove Armada and George Michael. Song 4 Mutya (Out of Control) has the real dance aspect, due to Armada – the beginning of the song has Mutya speaking the words and making her English accent very apparent. The second collaboration This is Not (Real Love) with George Michael is much more RNB. The extremely slow tempo, and the dullness of the vocals, make this song really worth skipping over. Suffer For Love starts off painfully slow again, but does not manage to redeem itself, as it stays the same tempo throughout the track. It just seems to lack the appeal of some of the other tracks, and really lets the album down in a big way.

Von, one of my favourites from Sigur Rósí earlier work appears on Hvarf, and has undergone an entire overhaul. Although I prefer their earlier version, this has a greater sense of direction, whereas the original seemed to drift aimlessly. Although it features a rather lengthy intro, it leads nicely into this now stronger song. Moving forwards to Heim, upon hitting the track Heysátan from an earlier album, Takk I was thrilled to hear that this amazing music could be created in live form. Every note was hit perfectly, every sound effect placed with perfect precision into the stream of the music. At first, I attempted to begin listening to this album through my stereo speakers, and quickly remembered the rule that applies to any of this band’s music and that is that it is to be only listened to through earphones.

LISA HOWELL

DROWNING POOL Full Circle 4/10

J. LO Brave 7/10 It’s been a while since Jennifer Lopez graced our airwaves with a new hit. The press has kept us up to date with her several successful business ventures (but not-so-prosperous film projects.) Finally, she has released her new album titled Brave. With numerous hits already under her belt, it’s no surprise that this album is yet another great collection that is sure to please her fanbase with a good balance of her famous disco anthems and the slow-butgroovy tracks. Stay Together opens the album well, and remains to be my pick for the best song in the collection. It’s a groovy song about relationships, taking the piss out of these Hollywood idiots that seem to get married only because it’s the new trend! Good stuff – in both its sound and its subject matter, I like it. I’m not a big fan of J. LO – you honestly won’t find her name in my music collection – but I do love her style of upbeat vibes and witty lyrics. I find her ability of getting the dancefloor bumping to be her biggest asset. After listening to her latest compilation a few times over, it was clear to me that it is a good quality addition to her musical output. Each song has her trademark flaring beat, and a wicked vibe. Also included in the mix are great pianos and orchestra beats, which add to the impact of her songs.

LISA HOWELL

SUGARBABES Change 7/10

Most DP fans would have to agree that there is still yet to be a solid follow-up to 2001’s Sinner, but, of course, there will never be another Dave Williams – though McCombs has proved himself to have a better-suited vocal style for the band than Jason Jones. Drowning Pool, having started in the 2000-era of nu-metal, do continue to play in the same genre stylings, leaving every track predictable. The band may strike success in the near future if their original sound is brought back, but Full Circle doesn’t seem to push the boundaries like a memorable album should, and instead take the ever-growing radio friendly hard rock album approach. DAVID WALKER

The band members offer subdued commentary between each song, with genuine insights on what it’s like to rediscover home after travelling the world. This is the land that birthed them, nurtured them, and it’s easy to see where the music they create has its inspiration. Sigur Ros do not seem to impose their music on the mystical surroundings of their ancestry – they merely channel the songs already there, as best they can.

This vibe continues through Denial, My Love is Pink, and Change – it just keeps going.

This is a DVD to be savoured. It’s perfectly suited to wine after dark, with rain beating down from the heavens. I made do with a full moon rising slowly at dusk, and that was perfectly okay.

It’s hard to put into words what it is that is appealing about these girls – to look at, they are just another group of chicks put together by a company to make money – but after their previous releases, and this one too, it becomes clear that these girls are talented, and, [pardon the cliché] keep it real. They just bring their own sugar to the mix, and it sweetens it to perfection.

SIGUR ROS Heima Open the Door is energetic, and the beat hits it off with the 10/10 listener from the start.

LISA HOWELL

Unfortunately, Full Circle sounds more like a new Soil album, with a less-than-lively, watered-down DP sound. There is one exception on the album, and that is the title track, which harks back to the band’s early sound, but from track two onwards, it seems to sound average and dreary. Middle tracks four to seven have DP incorporating acoustic guitars, which have never been used in the band’s previous two albums, with Reborn being the stand out. Track five Reason I’m Alive is written by Nikki Sixx of Motley Crüe fame, and track thirteen is a cover song of Billy Idol’s Rebel Yell, which is delivered with far less dynamic style then the original.

Their music is set against the simplicity of Iceland’s sparse landscape, which may seem familiar if you’ve ever closed your eyes and let yourself drift away with a Sigur Ros album. The delicate beauty of the land – the space and the mist and the towering fjords, home to quiet communities, serves to enhance the music, and it’s all the more breathtaking for the association.

Starting off with About You Now, Sugarbabes kick off this album with awesome style. It’s a song about wanting someone back when it’s too late, and, instrumentally, its techno pulses have a strong vibe that pumps out and leaves you wanting more.

CAROLE WHITEHEAD

Texan four-piece band Drowning Pool have released their third album, once again with a new lead singer – Ryan McCombs of Soil. DP’s platinum debut album Sinner – which featured the track Bodies – rose to prominence while they toured in Ozzfest, and cemented itself as the band’s most successful album. The band’s first vocalist, Dave Williams [no, not the SAUCE editor], was a powerful, energetic and aggressive presence – unfortunately he passed away in 2001.

DVD REVIEWS

Sugarbabes are back with a funky new album, Change. It’s the follow-up we were anticipating – a collection of semi-techno/pop-inspired numbers; what I call “car songs.” This latest release, for me, has reached the standard set by their last album Overloaded.

This was a great compilation of songs to listen to; it was fun, funky, energetic and uplifting, and it was so good for the car (or a few drinks with the girlies) it’s not funny! I’m sure Sugarbabes fans will think so too.

PAGE 14

RYAN FARRINGTON

For her fans, this will be seen as yet another great album to add to her overflowing collection of hits.

Once I applied this rule, what could tend to lean towards endless droning noise suddenly became the beautiful musical experience that is Sigur Rós. Definitely one for when stuck on public transport, with closed eyes, imagining watching the view from a high, wind swept mountain.

The second track is the first single to be released onto the charts, and it soars. It is an emotionally-driven song, about taking a stand, and making yourself happy in life. This number starts the album off with a bang, but, sadly, these moments are few and far between on Delta. Track eleven bringing out a very mellow rock/pop vibe, each song has a different tempo, style and vibe; there is a resemblance to Kylie and Madonna’s previous hits – I’m assuming this is in some ways a tribute to two women who, after two decades, are still on top (an inspiration to any woman!).

I rate this album; it’s a pleasure to listen to – not terribly complex, but it all seems to just work.

SHANNON STEVENS

A great song for any mood, with a catchy chorus and a welcome flip to a techno vibe towards the middle.

Delta Goodrem has never been far from the spotlight in recent months due to her personal life, but it’s still with much anticipation that the music world has awaited the release of her latest album. The selftitled release is an insight into her evolving maturity, and an emotional expression of her feelings through these times. She continues to prove to us that she is an amazing Aussie talent – one that’s just like a fine wine, getting better with age.

There is no doubt that Delta has got enormous talent; she has proved it over and over again. Unfortunately, to me, on this album she is trying too hard. It’s all good to toss it up a bit – this works for some artists – but she should stick to the style that made her famous. We liked the down-to-earth Aussie chick who stood out from crowds of hopefuls and rose to stardom. Keep it simple, girl – you don’t need to try!

The whole album sounds like something from the Fat Beats catalog, from the laid-back verses, the rich funk/blues samples, and plenty of gritty drum loops to match.

Real Girl is just your basic girly pop album that lacks the real benefits of playing your own music. But, if that is your thing then this album is for you.

SIGUR ROS Hvarf / Heim 9/10

Also released is a DVD version of this album, which should be looked out for, as film clips for this band have been incredible in the past.

The Suffa beat for The Main Ingredient featuring Raph is pretty average to be honest, but Raph and A-Love raise the standard slightly with some witty lyricism.

MUTYA BUENA Real Girl 4.5/10

CAROLE WHITEHEAD

This is the next installment from Icelandic band Sigur Rós. A two-disc release, the first ñ Hvarf ñ is full of studiorecorded songs, and the second ñ Heim ñ consists of live recordings.

DELTA GOODREM Delta 7/10

In 2006, after completing a world tour, Sigur Ros returned to their home, Iceland, to play a series of intimate, unannounced concerts. Heima (Icelandic for “at home”) is the documentary of these concerts. It is also one of the most sublime, heartfelt, and beautiful works of art you may yet come across in the dying embers of this year.The film documents the band’s concerts around Iceland, played in various locales, such as an abandoned fish factory, a pokey little town hall, and a newly built dam.

A friend once remarked to me that Sigur Ros’s music is the perfect soundtrack to life, and it’s clear in the faces of the entranced audience members lucky enough to be present at each of these performances that they believe the same. Sigur Ros played these concerts as a way of giving back to their community for all the support and encouragement they received from their kinsman. However, thanks to this DVD, they’ve made of themselves a gift to be enjoyed by anyone. If your heart is stirred by natural, uncomplicated beauty, you will be more than at home with Sigur Ros’s Heina – you will be home. CHRIS RATTRAY

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An Intimate Evening

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Viktor Zappner Swingtet, featuring from Hobart Hayden Dare on trombone & flugelhorn, Matthew Ives on drums, 7.30PM

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Take Time featuring Eleanor Tucker on vocals & Alex Howard on piano, with a feast of musical styles for the whole family 7:00PM

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ROCK SALT

MADE BY CHICKENS FOR ROBOTS

FARM ANIMALS AND VACUUM CLEANER ATTACHMENTS By Tom Wilson

Out in the sunburned bushland of Stinker, Australia, there have been multiple sightings of a strange man walking around with a vacuum cleaner, valiantly striving to Hoover up dirt. Those of you who might share this man’s struggle for bush cleanliness now have cause to celebrate, because Anton Macaroni – oneman-band and one of the coolest musos I’ve ever heard – is heading to Hobart. It’s weird, it’s wonderful – it’s Made By Chickens For Robots. Enjoy.

“

What releases do you have out at the moment? What can you tell me about them? Last April, Stink Magnetic Records in New Zealand released Momo Hokey, an album of fifteen beat-up blues jerks recorded in an old Heinz Baked Beans tin can – it’s good. And right now, a steaming five-track thing called Piece Of Thing has just been delivered; it comes wrapped in plastic – glad wrap. Both of them will be available at the show. There’s also a 7” coming out in France in February.

I tell the I’d goat he’s being obscene, and he should put some damn clothes on

How do you make music? What do you use? I use eight fingers and two thumbs to play a resonator guitar. I use my left foot to smash a snare drum with a tambourine glued to it, and covered in Christmas lights. I hit an airport suitcase with my right foot, and I mumble stuff through a loudhailer. There’re also a few chickens, goats, and cows that come along for the ride. The airport staff love me. Who are some of your musical idols? Lightning Hopkins and Blind Boy Fuller – they’re both on my stereo. What would you do if you and your musical idols were in a room without any clothes on, and there was a goat? I’d tell the goat he’s being obscene, and he should put some damn clothes on.

ROCK SALT

An online video shows you vacuuming bushland. In what ways has this been an ongoing struggle for you? Finding the nearest power supply is usually the most difficult thing about this. And trying to re-sell the soil

and debris to the local ranger is sometimes a hard negotiation to make. Sometimes a wheel falls off, or a bush mouse gets sucked up and makes this awful sound in the bag. What do you say to rumours that you are actually a terrorist? I say congratulations to the rumour-philes, and give them a prize. How did you lose your virginity? I grew up in the country. We had a pet donkey. What gives you the willies? I don’t understand the question – however, I happened to be born in a place called Willie, if that helps at all. If you could dictate what kind of people should come to your Tasmanian show, what would be your specifications? Well, I know one guy who says he is coming – a whole room full of him would be something. If everybody could bring a bowl of Tasmanian scallops for me, that’d be great. Lastly, who’s ya daddy? An old guy who lives by himself in the forest in an asbestos house who hasn’t drunk beer since he was fifteen. Made By Chickens For Robots plays the Brisbane Hotel in Hobart on the 8th of December. www.myspace.com/madeforchickensbyrobots

T THE STEMS

HEADS UP By Steve Tauschke

F Fresh off the Clash of The Titans tour with old-school peers Radio Birdman and Hoodoo Gurus, Stems lead man Dom Mariani is back in Perth, preparing to hit the H rroad again to promote the quartet’s first album in twenty years – the gloriously garage Heads Up, Steve Tauschke reports. H

This album was a long time in the making – do some T off th these songs stretch a long way back? One of them does, and that’s Hellbound Train. That was pretty much written in the early 90s. So around your Someloves period? It was, yeah. But it didn’t really fit that band. I guess it was one of those songs that was either going to be on a 7” single or something like that.

“

over the years, it’s never really stopped. You’ve been consistently carving out power-pop in other bands, haven’t you? Yeah, the first tour I ever did overseas was in ’94. I got a nice festival date in Denmark at Rosklide, a fairly big Scandinavian festival, and so that opened up my eyes to the possibilities. I didn’t sort of realise that we had some popularity over there.

… We didn’t think when we were going in the 80s that, twenty years later, er, we’d still be playing … Was Heads Up delayed there for a while? I believe it was first mooted in 2003. It wasn’t until 2003 after the (reunion) tour that we started talking about an album. Originally we were going to go ahead and do it live, just to facilitate a European release and tour. So we started recording it in late 2004, and put down about five tracks, and came back to Perth to whack down a few more tracks to finish the album off. We thought that if we’re going to do something, then maybe we should do it properly, and start rehearsing and play a few of the tunes live. Did you feel any pressure to make a Stems-sounding album – to stick close to that formula in a way? I’ll be very honest about it, and say it happened very organically. It’s what we sound like live. We’ve always looked back on the 80s period of recording – I guess the early stuff we were pleased with, but the ‘87 album we did, At First Sight … there are parts of it I do really like, but there’s also parts of it that I didn’t like, which was more the production side of it. It could have been a lot gutsier. But since we’ve come back, we’ve been going back to the more RNB side of things, the more rock n’ roll stuff that was the roots of the band in the early days.

“

So is finally taking The Stems overseas fulfilling unfinished business for you? I guess you could say that. It was great to finally get back over there, because we had a huge tour booked in October/ November of ‘87 but we broke up in August that year. It was all happening. It was a huge tour too, over about eight weeks from Greece right up into Finland and Norway. So we’re looking forward to going back there. We got over there in late 2003, and we also went to the US to do this Little Steven’s Underground Garage festival as well, in New York. How was that? It was amazing – an amazing line-up! It was a big outdoor festival held at Randall’s Island, off Manhattan. I think it might have been an old amusement park in the 50s and 60s. There were bands there that I discovered years ago, and who have become legendary now in the garage-rock scene. When I was getting into the Chocolate Watch Band and the Electric Prunes they were still fairly obscure, but to actually see those guys there was … [Laughs] … it was a bit of a mind-blow ... I guess they’d be in the same position as us in a way, because we didn’t think when we were going in the 80s that, twenty years later, we’d still be playing and have people interested in what we were doing. Heads Up is out now through Shock.

It’s two decades between albums, but, for you personally PAGE 19

ROCK SALT

BRIDEZILLA B

UNDERAGE SAX CRIMES By Chris Titmus

D Despite being at an age where she can’t even drink at the pubs and clubs her band pplays at, Bridezilla’s sixteen-year-old Millie Hall is living the dream of many of her ppeers. Chris Titmus probed Millie long and hard to find out all about her sax life in Bridezilla. B

Bridezilla, where did the name come from? B On hholiday, O lid the singer’s Grandfather made it up! All the band was happy to go with that name? It was a bit of a shock at first – we had a different name before it was Bridezilla. It was kind of hard to persuade everyone but, in the end, I think everyone is happy with it. You’ve got a really young band – you’re sixteen, correct? Yep. That’s pretty cool! Do you still go to school? Yeah, I do. So that’d make you Grade… I’m just about to go into Grade Twelve. Okay, cool. So, in your clip, Brown Paper Bag, what’s with all the candles? We just thought it’d look pretty. So were all the band members school friends? How did you form? Well we’ve all been best friends since we were pretty young teens, so we just kinda jammed in each other’s basements and each other’s houses and then we kinda formed the band slowly. I was just listening to that Brown Paper Bag clip… the genre says classical/alternative/children? Where does the children part come from? Ah – because we’re children. Okay – will you be playing in Tasmania any time soon? Not in Tasmania anytime soon, but we hope to get there sometime.

ROCK SALT

Yeah, that would be cool – so you play sax and keyboard; have you always played the sax? Yeah, I’ve been playing the sax for about six years now… I’m

a big fan of it. What are your future plans for the band? Where do you hope to be in the next five years? Well, fingers crossed, we’d love to tour around and show everyone our music – as many people as possible, really.

What’s the biggest highlight you’ve had with your band? [Laughs] I don’t know! Sometimes we all just close our eyes and we just listen to the music whether it be on stage or rehearsing – it’s reallyy romantic.

… II’M JUST ABOUT TO GO G INTO GRADE RADE TWELVE …

“

You’ve only got one guy in the band and the rest are females – how does he feel surrounded by females? I think he feels pretty good about it – he hasn’t got any competition! Who’s the “leader” of the band? I wouldn’t call any of us leaders. There are different aspects that we all kind of push and that’s all [within] a big sphere of “leaders”. So you’re from Sydney – what do you do in your spare time? To be honest I just play music and do schoolwork! It’s good to see you’ve got a passion for it… thanks for talking to me today Millie! Easily done! And you don’t even have to wait – check out Bridezilla at http://www.bridezillamusic.com – their EP, Ivy League, is out now.

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS T

GIANT KILLERS By Steve Tauschke

Heroes to all 80s nerds and post-new wavers, New York’s They Might Be Giants have H thrived where many of their peers have perished, writes Steve Tauschke. th Thanks to a unique sound and pioneering use of the T internet, John Linnell (vocals/accordion) and John in Flansburgh (vocals/guitar) recently celebrated twenty-five F yyears together with their twelfth album, the Dust Brothersproduced and politically-charged The Else. pr

“The main thing is that we feel like we’re getting to continue to do this thing well beyond the reasonable shelf life of most bands,” says Linnell from South Carolina of the band’s longevity. “That’s something we weren’t expecting when we started out. We didn’t really have an idea of what it was we were supposed to be doing. But I think John and I were lucky.” Linnell concedes a special telepathy has allowed their pairing to prosper through trust and a common language learnt in their teens and subsequently applied to their song writing. “Sometimes when you’re doing creative work, you struggle and maybe it doesn’t seem good enough,” he says, “but if you have somebody else there who believes in what you’re doing then it makes it easier. It’s comforting that you don’t have to feel like you have to make it go a certain way otherwise people won’t like you. You can just listen to your own nonsensical muse!” Forming as a two-piece in 1982 in Brooklyn, New York’s “hellzone” of fear and crime (“we got mugged pretty routinely”), the pair began crafting an upbeat mix of left-field pop and quirky lyricism that brought them cult college-level success in the 80s with the singles Don’t Let’s Start and Ana Ng. Radio hit Birdhouse In Your Soul from 1990’s breakthrough major label debut Flood gained them wider acceptance in the 90s during which time they expanded to a five-piece band format and began making use of innovative technology to promote their albums. “We go back before the internet,” says Linnell. “Very early on we had a telephone number you could call and listen to our songs – Dial-A-Song. That was very popular and a great sort of conversation piece for people to get interested in us without really risking anything. I think the internet for us in some ways is just an enormous and more vivid version of Dial-A-Song in how it works.” In constantly reinventing They Might Be Giants, the two Johns also moved into creating music for television, particularly children’s programs, performing the theme song for Disney’s Higglytown Heroes in 1999 and releasing an illustrated book and accompanying EP Bed Bed Bed in 2003. “I think that kids like good-quality stuff, just like adults,” says Linnell who hopes to bring TMBG to Australia next year. “There’s an assumption that rather than provide good content for kids, a lot of children’s artists go for a particular style that is meant to also appeal to adults as a kind of a shtick in a way. We’ve really avoided that. We really feel like we’re just pouring our best ideas into the kids work as well because kids get everything and they’re very perceptive. We do not, as the expression goes, dumb it down and that makes it appealing for parents too because they’re the ones who have to sit in the car and listen to it all day.” The Else is out now. PAGE 20

WE GOT MUGGED GED PRETTY ROUTINELY NELY

URBAN POETRY

URTHBOY

THE BOY WHO FELL TO URTH By Tom Wilson

When he’s not cleaning the Elefant Trax studio – which is often – the eenigmatic Urthboy is collaborating with the likes of TZU and Resin Dogs. But, as our intrepid interviewer, Tom Wilson discovered, he’s not just one of B The Herd. Well, actually … he is … T

S after this interview, what are your plans So for the rest of the day? fo Today is one of those days where you’re T sacrificing a bit of work and being hidden in the studio. We have an album to write by The Herd and we have a lot of work still to be done! So we’re trying to take some time off and do it. What work are you neglecting? Since I’ve come off tour, which was all through October and we were pretty much touring all through September as well, there’s still the same amount of work required to be done at the label, Elefant Trax – you sort of keep the necessities maintained and there’s a bunch of things which you just cannot put off; you know, there are releases, there are deadlines and certain aspects of the job, no matter what happens, have to be done whether it’s done well or done shoddily… [Laughs] I feel that! So, coming off tour, all of a sudden we’ve got quite a bit more time to be able to, you now, put back into the label. So I go back to working five days a week, and I really enjoy it – I love it, actually – I love going on the road, but I love having the time and the freedom just to concentrate on one thing, but now we’re moving into a pretty busy period where we’re trying to write an album as well as keep the business going… it’s the same shit that I’ve been doing for quite a long time, but I enjoy it. I understand you wrote your first rhymes in primary school – what kind of rhymes were you spitting back then? What were you rapping about? Mate, I was literally rapping nursery rhymes!

URBAN POETRY

Wicked! Could I possibly hear one of them? This interview’s being recorded so people can listen to it online at the SAUCE website, so with that in mind do you reckon we could hear one of your primary school raps right now? Absolutely not! I reckon they’re gonna come out one day – I have revealed a few to some people. It’s ridiculous – I can still remember some of them but that doesn’t mean I’m gonna go out there and make a fool of myself by sharing my primary school shit with the SAUCE readers!

… THAT DOESN’T MEAN I’M GONNA GO OUT THERE AND MAKE A FOOL OF MYSELF ...

Come on. You can trust me - I’m a journalist! You guys have a reputation of being the most untrustworthy of all … actually, I think lawyers might challenge you, and maybe politicians … This was something that I … I had some sort of weird, compelling reason that I can’t … I haven’t quite worked it out yet – that made me think that this is a good thing to do. It wasn’t like we were hanging around with a bunch of people and it was all about the fucking nursery rhymes! I mean, it’s pretty childish looking back, but I mean, I was a child … that’s probably why it was childish … but yeah – I do look back on those years and wonder what the world was about because I didn’t have a really unique upbringing or anything but now, when I continue writing – and I really enjoy writing and working on music – I can see that there’s an origin there of where it sort of began, even if I don’t understand why I started it then. I went through many phases after that … [Well] I wouldn’t call them “phases”, I’d say they were just parts of my life – I was listening to a lot of punk music … a lot of aggressive stuff when I was going through High School in certain years, where my hip-hop intake was probably secondary, it wasn’t primary … I used to listen to hip-hop non-stop when I was much younger, then I went through a few years not listening to it so much, but it’s always been the musical art-form that has accompanied me always, even if sometimes I’ve drifted off a little bit … it’s kind of the same now, I listen to a massive amount of hip-hop but it’s not as if it’s got an exclusive hold on my record collection – I don’t listen to it nearly as much as I listen to reggae. Is there a band or artist you look back on that you’re kind of embarrassed about now? The first tape that I ever bought was Billy Ocean’s Greatest Hits – make of that what you will! Make of Urthboy what you will at the Soundscape Festival in Hobart on January 26th. To listen to the full interview, go to www.sauce.net. au.

UNLEASH THE NUGGET

AIN’T NOTHIN’ BUT A NEW EP By Tom Wilson

O of Hobart’s most revered and well-known acts, the boys are about to unleash their biggest nugget yet, in the form of a four-track EP currently being mixed at Red Planet One Studios. Vocalist Anton Heath funked us until it hurt. S

I understand you guys recently had a hiatus while your bass player was overseas. How long did this take? And ba what did you guys get up to in this time? w While Sinbad was in Europe, we were focusing on preparing W an application for a grant to help out with the recording of the first full-length album. You’re currently working on an EP at Red Planet Studios. What stage is this at now? When will it be released? We are in the final mixing stages at the moment. At this stage it looks like a mid-January release. What is this release going to be called, and why? The Illustrated Guide to … ah, you’ll just have to wait and see.

What can you tell me about each of the new tracks? Just get ready to dance with Wookies and shake it like you mean it to get a reaction (not you, James).

Our approach to songwriting has changed. It’s more organized, I guess. We’ll generally have most of the parts fairly well mappedout before trying out a new track with the band.

What kind of influences did you guys have when writing this new material? And do you think that those influences come through in the new stuff? We were listening to Voodoo (D’Angelo) and Jamiroquai during the recording process, especially when it came to instrumentation and getting things to sound warm and fat, but spacious at the same time. Writing-wise, a lot of Donny Hathaway, a bit of NWA, a good mix of RHCP and Prince.

Also I’m singing a lot more, rather than just rapping, which I guess is more true to my influences, like Donny Hathaway, Prince and all the gay boy bands that I listen to. I think, between Mick and I, as MCs, we’ve come a long way. We’re focusing a lot more on articulation and diction than we used to.

What do you think sets the new material apart from your previous work? How has your sound evolved over time?

What are three records that every man should hear before he dies?

What was the last guilty pleasure that you indulged in? Watching R-Kelly’s Trapped in the Closet videos.

Voodoo (D’Angelo), Donny Hathaway Live, Blood Sugar Sex Magik (RHCP). If the band could have any really obscure item of merchandise for the band, what would it be? UTN boxer shorts? Condoms? A Unlease Tha Nugett streat-pres wivowt speling mistake. Lastly, what’s your most prized possession, and why? My dick in a box, girl. The Nugget is Unleashed at Hobart’s Republic Bar on the 12th of December, and the Soundscape Festival on the 26th of January.

JUST GET READY TO DANCE WITH WOOKIES AND SHAKE IT LIKE YOU MEAN IT TO GET A REACTION (NOT YOU, JAMES). PAGE 21

THE RISE AND RISE OF THE SYRUP KING B By Tom Wilson

Y You know what? We’ll forgive Syrup co-owner Andrew Corney for dropping a ggratuitous plug in the middle of an interview about his DJing – after all, it’s not like it’s nnot in his best interests – because … well … when you’re one of Hobart’s oldest dance in instigators, you can get away with a lot. He had a word to me in between fixing the roof of his club, before he blows it off all over again with Bexta on the 30th.

What defines you as a DJ? What makes you unique? The sounds I play, and my energy. Unique? I don’t know. I guess I am maybe the oldest DJ in Hobart at the moment and still going strong, and am at the club Friday and Saturday ‘til close. What genres do you usually dabble in? And what attracts you to these particular sounds? Started in psytrance, now play fat, tough house and tech. It suits the club better. I still love psy for outdoors though. I am playing before Hallucinogen at the Brisbane, so I might bust out some psy there – [I’m] really looking forward to it. What production work have you done? None – just put on outdoor parties and built Syrup to what it is today.

I was really taken by the outdoor party scene. The energy, the freshness and the excitement – it really blew me away. The first party I went to was a huge three-day outdoor psytrance party out in the hills behind Byron Bay – a friend from Tassie talked me into going and working on the gate. I did, and since that first night, I said to myself, “Far out, I have to get into this scene – this is going to big … huge.” So I started helping at parties, and then started to put them on with a crew in Byron, and DJing was a natural progression. I then DJ’d around Byron Bay and up and down the east coast of Australia for the next four years at outdoor parties. Then returned to Tassie and helped kick-start the outdoor parties with a great crew down here for four years or so. Then, somehow, I ended up owning a nightclub called Syrup. Funny, really – I never thought I would end up owning a nightclub. But it has been a great six years or so at Syrup.

When and where do you usually play? I play at Syrup on Saturdays every couple of weeks at Dirty F*king Dancing – Hobart’s best house, electro and tech night [oh, gratuitous plug! – Tom] – and the last Friday of every month I play my hard music at Pickle Vs Pitch Black, which is Syrup’s hard dance night. Friday the 30th is my next gig, with Bexta.

What’s one song you will never, ever drop in one of your sets? Kanye West.

Why did you first get into DJing, and how? I first got into DJing about fourteen years ago in Byron Bay.

Corney next plays Syrup in Hobart on the 30th, with Bexta.

Where would you like to be in five years? Maybe still at Syrup, if not snowboarding around the world. I love snowboarding!

BANGERS & MASH

C CORNEY

O ORGAN DONORS

YOU’D GIVE AN ARM AND A LEG TO SEE THESE TWO By Tom Wilson B

T There are many embarrassingly bad puns that could be made about this international DJ duo’s name, and since bad puns rule, we’re going to go with this one – “you may D well want to donate an organ for the chance to see these two live”. Good enough? No? w Damn. Well, nevertheless, if you’re a fan of electronic music presented with as much D eenergy as volume, you can do a lot worse than going under the knife for some Audio SSurgery very soon … sh*t, we just did it again. Without further ado, here’s an interview with brothers Matt and Scott Harris. I’ve seen some footage of you guys playing in Seattle, and it seems pretty clear that you value stage presence as much as music. What are some trademark Organ Donor moves behind the decks? [Laughs] Yeah, we tend to get a little wild behind the decks. My trademark is the “People’s Elbow” and Matt’s has gotta be the “Pioneer Body Slam” [Laughs] Nah, just general craziness I suppose. Sometimes I stand up on the decks and try to play my FX unit like a guitar. It’s all rock ‘n’ roll! [Laughs] When performing live, who does what? And how did you both fall into those roles? Our Audio Surgery sets combine the use of part-live-sequenced music – this is what I take care of on my live equipment, while Matt works the raw material on the decks. What production work have you guys been doing recently? We’ve remixed a few tunes this year, and have a new single on Tidy called Techno SHOCK coming out before Christmas. But this whole year has been about our second album – it’s called Oldskool Autopsy and we’re about fourteen tracks into it. It’s been a major project for us. It’s an album of our influences from dance music’s past – remixes and covers of tracks that inspired us and a generation. The whole project will be coming together for 2008, and promises to be one of the most exciting things we’ve ever worked on. Two years ago, you headlined China’s first ever-rave event. What do you remember most about this gig, and how has it affected you? I mostly remember thousands of Chinese people staring at us thinking, “what the f*ck are these two dudes on?” [Laughs] But no, it sits as one of my fave gigs and experiences of all time.

BANGERS & MASH

FUNNY, REALLY – I NEVER THOUGHT FUN I WOULD W END UP OWNING A N A NIGHTCLUB. BUT IT HAS BEEN GREAT SIX YEARS OR SO … GILLIE G

TAKE YOUR SPORTS WHISTLE AND SHOVE IT By Tom Wilson B

A resident DJ at Syrup in Hobart who prides himself on bringing the new noise before anyone else can – as long as it doesn’t have any of those damn sports whistles – I spoke a to Gillie on his migration from the UK to our shores, going from pipe band drummer to DJ, and the meaning of life.

What defines you as a DJ? What makes you unique? W I have an addiction with seeking out new music. Most of the h records or CDs that I play are straight from the artists or from the record companies prior to release. I think what makes me unique is being extremely upfront and months ahead of most other DJs (including those on the mainland). What genres do you usually dabble in? And what attracts you to these particular sounds? I always say that a good song is a good song no matter what genre of music. I tend to play most styles of house music and electronic music that has a 4/4 beat. I am attracted to the artist’s ability to create sounds that make people want to tap their foot, nod their head or dance, and I personally love basslines and funky melodies with big solid kick drums. What production work have you done? I do lots of edits of popular tracks, and also do a few mash-ups using Live 7. I play these out pretty much every week. I have been known as a bit of a perfectionist, so making my own tracks becomes hard, long and drawn-out, as I am never happy with this part or that part or with a certain sound, so I end up changing it so much all the time that I never finish it! When and where do you usually play? I am a resident at Syrup Nightclub on Friday nights at La Casa, which is a straight-up funky house night. On Saturdays I am resident at Syrup’s Dirty Dancing night, which is definitely Tasmania’s best weekly club night [plug, plug – Tom]. I also

travel up and down the state, and have gigs coming up in Melbourne and in Sydney. I’m playing at Curly’s on NYE this year … see you on the dance floor? I’ll be the one not wearing any pants. Why did you first get into DJing, and how? I used to play the snare drum in a pipe band, and dabbled in DJing after band practice with a mate’s belt-drive tables over in the UK. I never really took it seriously though. When coming over to Australia, I used to practice on mate’s decks until I bought my own. Since then, I have not had a day without playing tunes! What’s one song you will never, ever drop in one of your sets? Any song that has a sports whistle in it I pretty much hate. I’ll never, ever play a song that has a whistle in it, even as an underlying minute sound. Where would you like to be in five years? Early next year I am taking off to play in Melbourne – in February I am off to Sydney to play. I would like to start working towards a little more travel and getting around a bit. I have had offers to play in Miami, Korea and many parts of Asia, and I am welcome to play in most of Eastern Europe through friends in the industry. Gillie plays Syrup in Hobart on Fridays and Saturdays. Leave your sports whistles at home.

ANY SONG THAT HAS A SPORTS A S WHISTLE IN IT I PRETTY MUCH HATE. ATE. PAGE 22

What can you tell me about “Audio Surgery”? What is it? How did it begin? We developed our Audio Surgery concept a couple of years ago. We were under pressure to develop a live show, but didn’t really have the drive to do that, as we were so passionate about DJing and performing live. So we set about trying to come up with something that had never been done before; a semi-live show that incorporated DJing. The timing was spot on with the digital DJ equipment revolution, and, with some crazy new equipment, we set about launching the concept upon the nation. It’s been the most exciting couple of years touring this concept, and it’s really taken the industry by surprise. We’re planning to

launch our own branded clubbing experience called “The Audio Surgery” in the coming year, and try to bring more awareness to this unique concept. What kind of equipment setup are you guys using at the moment, and why? We’ve gone digital crazy now for sure! But it took a long time to move into this realm. Obviously, we came from a purist vinyl background, and it really took a long time to finally realise the potential within the digital domain. The possibilities are endless, with all the new equipment available to the modern DJ – CDJ turntables, high-end digital mixers, samplers, sequencers and modern Midi time code equipment. It’s all about evolution really; after years and years on the decks, it’s all about trying to come up with new and fresh ideas to keep things interesting and innovative, and the digital medium offers this in endless ways – not just what you can do live on the decks, but more what you can pre-plan on computers. You can pre-edit any tune any way you like, and make it your own before you even play it out on CD, then add the live re-workings on top of that and you can get a picture of what’s possible now. The future really is digital. Quite literally, if you had to give up one part of your anatomy, what would it be, and why? My dick, coz it gets me in a lot of trouble! [Laughs] You two are brothers. Growing up together, what do you remember as being your first exposure to electronic music? And how long did it take you guys to start working on your own tracks? We shared a bedroom from the beginning of time, and, through that, developed the same passions, the same friends, and a lot of the same interests. We both fell in love with dance music at school when it started to come about in the very late 80s; we’d done a lot of stuff together in our teens, but also went out alone doing our thing in the music biz in our twenties. After years of both being involved in the biz, we decided we could actually combine our forces to try really make a name for ourselves. That’s when we became the Donors, and never looked back since. The Organ Donors perform Audio Surgey at Syrup in Hobart on the 15th of December. www.myspace.com/organdonorsdj

I MOSTLY M REMEMBER THOUSANDS OF CHINESE PEOPLE STARING AT CK US THINKING, “WHAT THE F*CK ?” ARE THESE TWO DUDES ON?”

“

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ALPS OF NSW A

NOTHING WE DO MATTERS … AND THAT’S OK By Tom Wilson B

F From looking at that bold quote, you could be forgiven for assuming that avant garde instrumentalist Chris Hearn doesn’t really care about much … but you’d be wrong. So let’s re-phrase – why would he feel this way, yet play three hundred shows in two years? I got in touch with him over the weekend to find that out. re

H How did you start making music? What prompted it it? T There’s always been a piano and a couple of guitars at my pa parents’ house, and I was drawn to them in the same way, an and for the same reasons that most other children are. In th the new age of individuality (capitalism) and networking ttechnology, h l everybody now has the desire and means to become famous in a big way or in a small way, and I identified myself as a musician, and still follow that. I don’t have a job, I don’t study anything, and I don’t plan to do anything else with my life. To be honest though, I gave up on being famous when I was pretty young, and once I found a small group of people who cared for and supported the music I make and people like me make, I realised I could probably find a group like that in five thousand other cities in the world, and make twenty or thirty dollars in city – enough to support myself, and keep slowly conquering that list of places. I have friends all over the world now, and that has more lasting meaning than hearing yourself on the radio or seeing yourself on the cover of a magazine. What kind of equipment and instruments do you use to make music? I use mostly homemade and found instruments. I play an organ which I built and modified with a friend (Kain from the band Castings); he built a box for it, and I’ve been messing with the electronics. I’ve built a few other things from scratch, and I also use a keyboard I found on the side of a road, some toy instruments I had as a kid, old cassette decks or dictaphones which I use for field recordings, tape manipulation, and also for just taping my drum beats onto, to save me from carrying drum machines around, as I’ve no room left in my luggage. There is a distinct sense of sparseness in a lot of your music. How important is this to you? And was it always something you intended? Being a one-person act, it comes naturally that my music is minimal, and it is intentional, because it’s of great importance to me that the music on my recording reflects my live show, and that my live show is an actual live show that is interesting to watch, rather than me standing behind a laptop over a prerecorded session that could crash at any time too. What have you been working on recently? Lately I’ve been working on the art for a new mini-album of songs which I recorded each in a different country while on tour, to be titled Alps of the World, which will be released soon, and I’ve also started recording songs for my second full-length album, which will be titled Alps of New South Whales, which follows on from my Alps of New South Wales album. To put in a disclaimer for everyone’s sake, the titles of my records are kind of an in-joke with myself – in fact, most of what I do and say

should be taken kind of lightly. I can’t really explain it though. Online, you’ve listed Phillip Glass as an influence. What was it about his music that struck such a chord, pardon the pun? I mostly appreciate the organ music of Philip Glass, I was initially impressed with his use of fifths and parallel thirds, and the way you can get a slight ringing oscillation from playing arpeggiated chords on an electric organ, something I had been experimenting with. I consider Glass an influence because I learned to play a few of his compositions mainly for the purpose of improving my technique, and because I admire that Glass has gained respect as a classical composer, as an experimental musician, making sonically interesting music while keeping a popular sensibility – basically being a household name.

“

with a little wider instrumentation that I’ll need a second set of hands to perform. What can you tell me about the track Holocene Epoch? What’s the story behind the title? And what are you actually saying in the song itself? The track is taken from a concept EP I released in 2005 or 2006 on an 8” record, called The Origin of Species (tongue-incheek again), and it’s centered around the theory of evolution and how you can identify with the idea that the universe just happened by accident – no reason, no meaning. The lyrics to that particular track are “Nothing can matter – Everything is matter”. It may come across as nihilism, but, personally, I feel that I am sitting on the fence, and comfortably. It means that nothing good you do matters, but in the same way, nothing bad that happens matters either – the glass isn’t half-full or halfempty; it’s just half a glass of water. It means that you have to create your own meaning and your own existence. There is hope in knowing that there is no hope.

…T THE GLASS ISN’T

What does the term “shoegaze” mean to you? The shoegazer movement of the early nineties was about albums from start to finish that are aurally pleasing, rather than polished, clean recordings of singles with hooky choruses designed as radio hits. Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine was once asked in an interview why his vocals are so indiscriminate and buried in effects, and he replied “because I can’t sing”. I would probably answer the same. The music I make isn’t technically shoegazer, but I feel an affinity with the style because of the way that the music falls together, and the vocals are considered an instrument similar to, say, the bass guitar, which shouldn’t necessary sit high in the mix and be the focus-point … I feel more comfortable to hide behind the other instruments, and I personally think it sounds better too.

HALF-FULL OR HALFHAL

EMPTY; IT’S JUST HALF

You’ve toured the US and Europe. Ultimately, where were the shows the best? And why do you say that? In America I like to play allages shows, and there are many because clubs are 21+, so it would be a great loss of audience numbers to only play clubs. In Europe I love playing clubs too, though. They are more set up for music there, rather than gambling and alcohol consumption. The music I play has a larger audience in the US and Europe than here in Australia, but I really love to play anywhere to anyone. There are great people all over the world. I am very excited to be touring South East Asia and China in 2008 for the first time also.

A GLASS OF WATER … THERE IS HOPE

“

IN KNOWING THAT HAT THERE IS NO HOPE. OPE

What are some of the advantages and drawbacks of working solo? And is this something you want to continue doing? I played in bands for a long time, but had difficulty finding people who were prepared to give up their day jobs and go on a tour for even a week or two. Alps is predominately a live act and it’s important for me to be performing at least half of the days in the year to keep my sanity, so I can do it with ease anywhere in the world, not having to rely on anyone else’s schedules and life aspirations. Occasionally I pick up temporary members in towns I pass through for a show or two, but I am hoping that, sometime in the next year or so, I will find a second member to tour with me now and then, as I’m working on some new music

What are your plans for the rest of the year? And what would you like to get done in 2008? This year I’m going to spend Christmas with my family for the first time in three years, then finish off my next album. Next year I plan to tour less (I’ve done about three shows in the last two years), and spend more time reading and cooking, and when I’m on tour I plan to visit a lot of new places and meet a lot more new people. Alps Of NSW plays Hobart’s Brisbane Hotel on the 28th of November, the Lark Distillery on the 29th, and the Launceston skate park on the 1st of December. PAGE 23

OUTWIT THE MUSCLE WITH ONLY LOOSE CHANGE B By Tom Wilson

T Though it could be said for everyone in this magazine – which is why we’re interviewing them – these really are busy times for Launceston MC and producer, Mynse. Aside from putting live hip-hop on stages around the state with Tom Ray and recently performing at Nurchafest in Melbourne, he’s been working on the full-length follow-up to his EP The p Mynstral Cycle. But, clearly, he doesn’t feel busy enough, so he’s also been working towards something he’s always wanted to do … open a record store. M

Y recently performed over in Melbourne. How did You the gig go? Who were you doing the show with? th That was for an all day mini-hip-hop festival at the T Espy called Nurchafest; probably around five hundred E people … like, thirty acts. It was crazy! I was the pe in in-house house DJ for the day, so I got to DJ for and/or check out a bunch of great underground acts. The highlights for me were Madizm, Fluid & Litigate (of Fizard), and Muph & Plutonic, but the rest of the acts were top-notch. You’ve also been making like John Cusack in High Fidelity and working on opening your own record store. Where? When? And why? Man, I’ve been keen to open a record store ever since I first started digging for records about five years ago, but I just never really had the contacts, money or motivation. In September, I went to England for a couple of weeks, which was an amazing experience, and definitely an eye-opener as far as seeing how the rest of the world works in regards to the hip-hop culture. I managed to check out a few dope record and clothing stores, and it inspired me to finally take the leap. I’ve got the stock and the contacts now, but it’s just a case of finding the right spot in Launceston. I have, however, put my bid in on a couple of places, and hopefully they’ll go through in the next couple of weeks, but you’ll definitely know about it when it happens. What do you reckon you’ll call it? And what do you hope it will offer people that they can’t get anywhere else? With the closing of the only two other solid record (vinyl) stores in town recently, it’s left a huge gap in the new and second-hand vinyl market as far as Launceston is concerned, so I’d like to think that this new store – which is to be called “Loose Change Records” – will fill that gap, and also offer some other products such as paint, new brands of urban clothing, local independent music, as well as in-store performances and signings. For the future, I’m also looking at having a small setup in the back of the store for recording demos and voiceovers. As far as local music goes, I’d like to create a medium for them to be able to sell and advertise their CDs, DVDs and merch without it being swamped out by music and clothing from labels with more money behind them. You’ve been doing a lot of promoting recently with Tom

Ray, so I’ll just let you plug something now (come on, you were going to do it anyway – that’s your job). Commence plugging: [Laughs] Well, we’ve been working on a few shows recently, trying to push some more underground hip-hop acts from the mainland and locally that are perhaps sometimes overlooked by other promoters in Tassie. In January we’re putting together a show with Elf Tranzporter (of Combat Wombat), which is someone who’s music I’ve admired for a long time, and, considering his last show down here was in Hobart with TZU in 2005, I know there’re a bunch of people eagerly awaiting his return. I wouldn’t say that we’re taking the role of “promoters” as such – at the moment we’re more just middle men, trying to get some local and interstate acts some more exposure, and maybe snag a couple more gigs for ourselves in the process. We’re also getting together a plan for a huge project for early next year, but you’ll hear about it when it comes about. Aside from gigs we’re both involved with, I’m working on Forefront hip-hop nights at the Hub in Launceston, and Tom is working on Homebrew nights at the Brisbane Hotel in Hobart, both of which are proving to be very popular, so it’s good to have those bases covered too. [Start plug] Elf Tranzporter will be performing on the 4th of January at the 39 Club in Launceston and the 5th at the Republic Bar in Hobart. [End plug]

Ethics. I’ve also been working with a couple of amazing MCs from the US, Shawn Lov and Javs. Shawn has been around for a long time, but I only just picked up on him about six months ago when a friend of mine showed me a couple of tracks, and I was blown away. I heard Javs on Jase’s Beathedz Vol.1 album, and I really dug his stuff, and after examining some of his other tracks I contacted him, and we got to work. There are also a couple of other surprises, so keep an ear out – you’ll hear more within the next few months.

I just watched Devon The Dude perform F**k You on the Up In Smoke DVD, before you came in to steal it for a review. Why aren’t there naked ladies at your shows? Are you making an offer? You are a dirty man, Tom Wilson. Lastly, who’s ya daddy? Maury Povich. Mynse next performs at Forefront at The Hub in Launceston on the 6th of December, and with Muph & Plutonic at the James on the 8th.

Are you making an offer? You are a dirty man …

You’ve also been working on your follow-up to the Mynstral Cycle EP. What stage is that at now? As far as the material goes, all of the beats are complete, and I’m just waiting on a few more a capellas to arrive before I start mixing in December. It’s a compilation-style album titled Outwit the Muscle, and it should be out late January, providing everything goes as planned. My real passion is production, so I’ve just been concentrating on the beats for this one, and letting the guest MCs take the mic, and that sort of format is where I see my music going in the future. I’m also looking to release a split single 12” with Hobartians mdusu&dameza at some stage in December, so look out for that. Who have you been working on this with? And why have you chosen to work with them? I’ve had the pleasure of working with a couple of great artists, including Phatchance (Natural Causes), Thorts (Mankind), Freya Morgan, and my old Altrueism buddies Azrael and

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PAGE 24

DECEMBER

URBAN POETRY

MYNSE M

My name is Nikos Koriatopoulos; I’m from Korinthos, Hellas (Greece), my artist name is Q-bik. The type of music that I am involved in and making is progressive tech-house, break beat, experimental, down-tempo, trip-hop and basically everything that inspires me; my sound is smooth, spacey, powerful, progressive and guaranteed to make people enjoy and dance to the maximum every minute of it.

I started getting seriously involved with electronic music and DJing somewhere in 1993 where I had my own radio show on a local radio station in the city of Korinthos, Hellas (Greece). I managed to develop my DJ skills through that, which eventually brought me into the dance music industry and started playing in several local events at first and then nation wide as well as organizing my first music events.

BANGERS & MASH

Q-BIK

NIK FISH

Nik Fish – born, bred and based in Sydney with a career spanning fifteen years – is renowned for his work on several musical platforms including DJing, studio production and dance music radio. Nik is arguably one of Australia’s most popular and well-known DJs, travelling extensively, performing in all states and capital cities, as well as appearing in regional centres. His fan base can be attributed to delivering long DJ sets (up to three hours), working hard behind and on the decks, watching and reading the crowd, and putting on an energetic performance, physically and musically. He releases DJ mix CDs regularly and tours to promote them, which, in turn, sees every guest appearance drawing capacity crowds wherever he plays around Australia.

In 1995 I joined the group called Total Chaos and we managed to release an LP called Cosmotopos in Greece which was an independent production, as well as two video clips from that album playing on national TV (Jeronimo Groovy) which went very well for a start. In 1997, still with Total Chaos, we released a CDsingle with the name Cosmogony in a European wide-scale, which went quite good as well; at that time we were more involved into techno and trance sounds. In November 1998 we got the chance to play our first gig abroad in Berlin, Germany, where we took part in a Euro-culture music festival Eurock ’98, representing Greece. After that, in 1999, I moved to the Netherlands, and worked my way around there. I developed myself more into the progressive house and break beat sounds, I became more mature in music, and I managed to play several parties/events with big names such as Tom Harding, Ernesto and Per within the Netherlands. In September 2004 I decided to return back to my motherland, and since then I’ve lived in Athens. Apart from some gigs I’ve been having in several places around the country, I’m now mostly concentrating in producing music as Q-Bik and thanks to Next Dimension Music I had the opportunity to expand my sounds all over the world with my first personal EP The Corinthian Project, which was released in 2006. Q-Bik tears The Loft a new one December 7th.

Lady in Red

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There’s no disputing the transient nature of the DJ – many hopefuls come and go, but few actually remain. You could attribute this to one of many vague criticisms of the dance scene, but the truth is DJs who quickly and quietly sink into obscurity just don’t have what it takes. When the lights go on, the job isn’t all guestlists and groupies, and not many people love the job that much to persevere. Jesse Desenberg does.

BANGERS & MASH

A quick look at his rap sheet shows he was voted Number 1 DJ in the Technics InTheMix Top 50 three years in a row; he’s chalked up so many mix CDs for Ministry of Sound Australia they made a special Sessions series for him; he’s even got a Dance Music Award under his belt for his remix of Green Velvet’s La La Land. Most people don’t achieve so

much in a lifetime lifetime, but for Kid Kenobi this is still the beginning. Last year, literally, took Jesse around the world. His itinerary read like a Lonely Planet guidebook, only with better nightlife recommendations. Kid Kenobi plays at Launceston’s 39 Bar on the 22nd of December.

URBAN POETRY

BANGERS & MASH

KID KENOBI

ELEMENTS TOUR S Serious Tassie rap fans really don’t need another rreason to be gathered in front of the stage at the U Uni Bar in Hobart on the 29th of November. But you y know what? Tough sh*t, because we’re going to t give you another reason anyway.

Firstly, F let’s tackle the talented and, let’s face it, i fantastically named Swollen Members. Mad Child C and Prevail have been called “two of the most m innovative people in hip-hop”, and, with five f albums under their belt and a sixth – Beautiful Death Machine – due out next year, a monkey could tell you about the work these guys have done in the American hip-hop scene. Next up, Phoenix, Arizona native Z-Trip. Given the amount of work this guy does, he can be forgiven for not picking up his phone when we were due for an interview recently (haven’t forgiven him, though – the fiend!) Casual name-calling aside, his work with the likes of Lyrics Born, Chester Bennington

of Linkin Park and fellow Elements performer Soup (more on him later) have cemented hip as one hell of a DJ. Check him out, or we’ll break your legs. Now, onto Soup. Known to his mum as Zaakir, he will be performing solo for the first time ever in Australia, as a part of Z-Trip’s much-hyped new live show. A member of super-cool hip-hop Jurassic 5, if you miss him, you’re a tool. This also goes for DJ Format. Format’s signature b-boy instrumentals, down-tempo sketches and body-rocking backdrops are interwoven seamlessly throughout his live sets. Finally, the Jungle Brothers, who will be bringing down their extraspecial Sound System set – a mix-up of old-school and new material, presented with their classic party vibe. Z-Trip, Soup, Swollen Members, DJ Format and The Jungle Brothers hit the Hobart Uni Bar on Thursday the 29th of November for the Elements Tour.

HOOK N SLING Australian producer and DJ HooknSling has cemented himself in the up-and-coming producer’s elite.

2006 was a busy year for HooknSling. His production output that year included new original work and remix collaborations.

Earning strong acclaim for his production style, HooknSling’s He Doesn’t Love You heralded the distilled sound that is uniquely his. Firmly in the boxes of Deepdish, Fontaine and Coburn, this remix for high profile Australian rock queen Sarah McLeod was snapped up for release in October 2006 by Renaissance. Since its release, He Doesn’t Love You became an ARIA Club Chart No.1, going on to top sales charts internationally.

With continuing support from industry heavyweights, Anthony headed into 2007 with a lot of momentum, and it certainly hasn’t stopped yet. HooknSling plays 39 Bar in Launceston on the 8th of December.

HooknSling’s talent behind the decks – alongside his energetic production style – have helped Anthony step up and play extensively throughout Australia / NZ, and perform two UK tours, always a crowd favourite.

SATURDAY 8TH DECEMBER

SATURDAY

22ND DECEMBER

39 BAR/CLUB & BATMAN FAWKNER

35 CAMERON STREET LAUNCESTON PAGE 26

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BANGERS & MASH

RAVIDRUMS R

BEATING OFF IN LA-LA LAND By David Williams B

T life of a professional DJ is glamorous enough, but tack on mad-as-hell drumming skills and you’ve got some kind of crazy DJ/Drumming juggernaut ready to open up a whole The ccan of ass-whuppin’ tribal beats, infectious enough to get even the wrinkled booty of Playboy’s Hugh Hefner shakin’ on the dancefloor with his ubiquitous bunnies. We sent David in into the world of Ravidrums to find out how we can get a residency at the Playboy Mansion and hang with Slash, Tara Reid, AND Lindsay Lohan …

H Hey Ravi, so what have you been up to today, anyway? an Oh my god – today has just been insane. I was in the O studio doing some soundtrack work – I was recording st that until six in the morning. Then I woke up at eleven th with my son and… god, I’ve just been going non-stop and I’m just about to head back into the studio. It’s that time of the year isn’t it… Man, it’s awesome, it’s wonderful, it’s exciting, it’s crazy, it’s hectic, it’s overwhelming, it’s emotional… it’s all of that!

leader and he does everything with complete class and dignity.

IW WENT SWIMMING WITH USHER AND HE WIT SANG A SONG TO O MY KID …

Was it a particular launch of something at the Playboy Mansion or was it just a Saturday night? No, no, no, there’s like, multiple parties there every week, but he has four ginormous ones a year – Midsummer’s, Halloween, New Year’s and then like, every five years he does a massive birthday.

Do you get to spend much time DJ’ing these days or are you mainly in production? Well, I’m DJ’ing and drumming like crazy, multiple times a week it seems. Last week I was in three different states and this week I have off! I’m really, really excited!

These are like twelve to eighteen hundred people – they’re huge. Everyone from Jack Nicholson, you know – you name it; everybody goes. They’re just the most insane, epic events you’ve ever seen – just like the way a king would throw a party and nobody throws an event like Hef - period. On Earth.

What have been some of the highlights and lowlights for you in the last couple of years? The highlights – man, you know, always playing at the Playboy Mansion is insane; I just did the craziest event for – I dunno, there’s been so many crazy things lately – I just opened for Steven Tyler, Earth, Wind, and Fire, and The Village People – and I got to jam with Stevie Wonder and Sheila E. and Earth, Wind, and Fire, and I did that at the grand opening of the Atlantis Casino down in the Bahamas which is crazy, ‘cos like, you’re hanging out with like, Diana Ross, Michael Jordan, Lindsay Lohan…

I also saw some photos of you playing drums with Matt Sorum from Velvet Revolver… Yeah, Matt’s my boy – he’s a friend of mine, a really, really sweet guy… [Is it] your skill as a drummer that brings you into the world of these talented people – or is it the DJ side? How do you hook up with these people? It’s the drumming side. We all live here – we’re all working in the same city doing the same thing, and once you’ve worked really hard, people start to gain respect for what it is you do, you start to gain notoriety… we have a lot of mutual respect for each other.

I went swimming with Usher and he sang a song to my kid. It was dope – it was really, really fun. And I just had the Mayor of Los Angeles play drums with me the other night at the HBO Emmy Party – is HBO big there at all? Kind of, we get a few HBO documentaries and the occasional series… Yeah, and I mean, it’s huge out here and it always sweeps the Emmies, which is like the Oscars for TV, or the Grammies for music…

I, obviously, haven’t received the success of being in Guns ’n Roses or Velvet Revolver, but I’m friends with all those guys, I jam with them… it’s such a lottery… and it’s so difficult and so trying, I mean, there’s so many talented people that are here – I mean I do a ton of commercials, I work constantly; I do some of the biggest events in the world, and I do all this other stuff, but I haven’t really had a record that’s hit and landed…

Yeah, know them… Yeah, so they always sweep and I do their party and I’ve done it for the last three years and it’s just insane – they must spend like, a million dollars an hour…

BANGERS & MASH

You must be like the celebrity’s favourite DJ – I’ve seen photos of you hanging with Slash and Tara Reid, and you mentioned the gig at the Playboy Mansion – tell me a little bit about Hef… You know, Hef is the ultimate gentleman… He is a complete

http://www.ravidrums.com To listen to the full interview, go to www.sauce.net.au.

4STRINGS 4

NO STRINGS ATTACHED By Tom Wilson B

B Behind 4Strings are two men – men who have been making sweet, sweet music together since 1986. Odds are, you’ve made some sweet music with a man before. In that case, you’d kknow how it feels, when you’re out there, under the stars, maybe in a tent, or around a slow-fading campfire – the stars shining down upon you as the last embers of conversation ggive way to murmured confessions of admiration… and there’s only one sleeping bag. Our own resident manly man, Tom Wilson, crawled into the sleeping bag of confession with 44String’s Jan De Vos … and this is the sweet music they made. [Dear god, Rattray … – Tom]

W What have you been working on recently? At the moment we’re actually working on a lot. A Last year we got inspired by many different styles L of music and we started working with some new local writers and new vocalists and we got more and more inspired. We keep the 4Strings project which is a bit more trancey and soon we will turn into a metal vocalist and we will also get some very commercial tracks and some more housey stuff in the future which will be under a new name. So actually we will be very busy. You’ve mentioned that you’ve been working with a lot of vocalists – what do you value the most, strictly instrumental or more vocal… A perfect mixture – that’s what we need! I’m really critical about the vocals. Definitely I prefer feeling in it. If it’s “feeling”-less vocal then for us it’s no good. Really want some value into the lyrics – just to be good! What’s a typical day for you when you’re back home [in Holland]? Wake up, go to the computer, check the emails, mostly then I call my partner, because we’re not always in the studio but in the mornings we always update each other. Some days I’m working on my radio show to prepare to listen to all the new tracks, prepare the mix. Some days I’m working more on the bookings and management… pretty much seven days a week we are working. Do you ever manage to go on holidays without working? My last really, really holiday was probably last August – not this year, but 2006 August. Yeah that was really [the] only holiday – but in the meantime we were in Hawaii for example, of course, we had some holiday but I also had one gig there but the rest of the days we were not doing much. Many times we try to combine it – it’s the best way and it will bring you to nice places in the world. What are some of the negative things about touring? What gets really tiring? Sometimes, the shit at the airport – plane delays, or very, very tight connections and then your first airplane is delayed; that, for me is very frustrating – anything to do with the delays of planes! Yes, I learned how to manage that, always amendments to arrange another flight so to somehow make it somewhere on time… but I still like the PAGE 28

He personally hired me to play the Playboy Mansion and he’s always treated me great – he’s put me in the magazine multiple times, had me on the news and all kinds of stuff. He’s a really, really busy and important man, so it’s really tough to try and get time to talk to him.

traveling a lot – as long as it’s a bit… smooth. What’s the craziest thing you can remember happening at one of your shows? Yeah, this is always a good question – I don’t have really particular things, to be honest. Normally it’s business as usual – it’s just everybody has a good time. Mostly it’s all smooth… sometimes fans go completely nuts or start crying when I play Take Me Away – pretty special moments. But yeah, pretty normal, I think – not really nice gossip things! So I take it you would’ve seen your fair share of really bad dancing? Yeah… or really bad dressing! It’s almost become normal now! [Laughs] Yeah, always at every gig - it’s funny to see worldwide how people dance different; act different or they dance all in a funny way. Yeah, it’s funny, but to really say a certain special thing is quite hard for me at the moment… I’ve seen too much I think to pick [something] out. Nothing is crazy for me anymore! In your career so far, what would you say has been your greatest victory or success, and what does it mean to you? It will still have to come, because at the moment we’re working on a few very big collaborations – one of the artists is massive worldwide – I think it will still have to come. But I think what is most important for me is we’re still so long on the scene and we still maintain, to be there, in the top. I think this is the biggest thing you can do because there are many names, they have one big track, [and] then you hardly hear of them, ever. The thing we’ve reached is with for 4Strings to be there for seven years. I think you can say that’s a pretty big thing and we’re happy about it… but it’s hard work to keep there, but we manage. We’re seven years already so known in the dance scene and we have a good reputation. That’s the biggest accomplishment. Not many people can say that nowadays. Before that, we already worked in the dance scene another ten years on some other projects… basically you can say around sixteen years of producing and still doing it. 4Strings play Launceston’s 39 Club on the 30th of November, and Curly’s Bar in Hobart on December 1st. To listen to an MP3 of the full interview – and hear what you’ve just read with endearing accents – go to www. sauce.net.au.

… A CERTAIN SPEC SPECIAL THING IS QUITE HARD FOR ME AT THE MOMENT …

“

GAME REVIEW

HALO 3 - X-Box 360

FRAGGING ‘TIL THE COWS COME HOME By Tiarne Double B

T The UNSC needs you – again! – in this third iinstalment of the intergalactic quest to save humanity from the Covenant. Badass aliens are h oon a holy mission to wipe your face with your butt in your own backyard … Earth. Pop on b yyour Spartan armor, grab a warthog and go yokel hunting … I mean “covenant hunting” … h

Halo 3, much like its predecessors – Halo and its H aptly-named tl sequel, Halo 2 – now gives you a variety of means to satisfy your seven-foot-armor-clad-elite-soldier hunger pangs with familiar gameplay, solid story and grossly detailed environments. Nothing is too difficult to get your head around – this game has enough for those testing the water, or those wanting some serious mayhem. Modes include Mission: play further into the epic battle storyline as Master Chief, with trusty Arbiter at your side (who is about as useful as Tails was to Sonic); Multiplayer

LAN: fragging in the comfort of your own home, though, obviously, the best way to enjoy this is with friends, kicking back and kicking butt; and Online: mingle on the X-Box Live Network and test your beat-down, grenade-sticking, killjoy skills against the best and the rest. Online is a fun and competitive meeting ground to play a range of modes including Cooperative Mission, Free for All, Team Battle and Big Team Battle. You can customise your character’s look and, yes, you can have salmon pink if you really want, and you can chat or jeer in real-time, or plan strategies with other team members. Capture the Flag and King of the Hill are common staples along with the return of other multiplayer favourites such as Juggernaut and Team Slayer. The ranking system provides incentive to climb up the world ladder to compare yourself against other players. The AI’s have been tweaked – enemies coordinate tactically, scout you out and have generally gotten uglier, with armour

suitable for Mardi Gras. The Brutes are now bigger bulging masses of alien rage that will stampede if startled. The non-playable character dialogue is great if you sneak up and eavesdrop. The environments are lavishly detailed and big. Varied sunlight and shadow and the water physics of your stickygrenaded corpse floating downstream add to visually stunning maps. The multiplayer maps would give an agoraphobic something to worry about. If you’d rather fight than walk, hijack a mongoose. If you’re lucky you might get to pick up on the way. A weapons overhaul makes the arsenal more balanced. Dual wielding is still possible. However, offloading two needlers to watch the earth shattering kaboom is no longer possible. You now get to handle shotguns, sniper rifles and SMGs and their alien equivalents, along with some new weapons.

A new feature is Forge Theatre, where you can replay, edit and create your own playback files of your bazookawielding escapades. Creativity runs wild, with you being able to piece together a Halo media masterpiece a’la the machinema, Red vs. Blue. Impressive marketing has lead to the release of the Master Chief Helmet with Halo 3 game and also the Rocket Launcher game case. Books and home-made Mjolnir suits are available on the internet, and help flesh out the Halo universe outside of the game – definitely worth a look for less casual fans of this game. However, whether you’re a casual or hardcore gamer, Halo 3 provides some solid shooting thrills, while the multiplayer options provide great replay value.

4 SKULLS OUT OF 5

DAVE CALLAN D

THE MOST DANGEROUS COMEDIAN IN THE WORLD T By Tom Wilson B

I been said that two’s company, but throw in a giant tiramisu-coloured beard and you’ve definitely got a crowd. And a crowd is It’s ggood for someone like Dave Callan, because without one his jokes might still be funny, but how would we know? It would be like our oown resident comedian, Tom Wilson, writing these intros but having nobody read them. But he doesn’t – I write them (that’s me, Chris Rattray). Well not all of them. But I wrote this one. Anyway, here’s a funny Irish fellow to read about. Possibly while on the toilet. And I R mean Dave Callan, not Tom. Tom is neither Irish nor funny. But Dave is. On the toilet. And if he’s on the toilet at the same time as you, m tthen two is more than a crowd – it’s a biohazard.

I want to get a bit of advice – until recently, I had a large beard, which I’m sure you can sympathise with, la but my fiancé made me shave it off. What should I do? You should tell your fiancé to do something else that contradicts who she is as a person. Make her shave her head. I think that it’s ridiculous that other people should make other people change some aspect of themselves that’s purely cosmetic. If you want to change yourself you should change yourself but you shouldn’t really impose that opinion on other people. Everybody has the right to express themselves the way they feel they should. One could argue that it’s not just cosmetic – a beard is almost spiritual, wouldn’t you agree? Now I’m definitely with you there, yeah. I’m sure many of the Sikh people of Northern India would be behind you there as well. They believe beards are spiritual. So what does your beard say about you, Dave? Well, at the moment, it says I’m getting older – it’s turning grey. It’s kind of a weird grey though. Someone the other day described it as tiramisu because it’s got brown and yellow and white in it – whatever that means… so that’s what it’s looking like at the moment. But that’s okay. We all change… over time. You used to, or maybe still do, work with Rove – is that right? Yeah, when the show started up on Channel Nine I was one of the people on there, and then when it moved to Channel Ten I stayed with it for one season and then I left… What are some of your favourite words? I do like words. I like the word “trousers”, [laughs] it has a good feel to it … ladies… and I like the word “vestibule” – that’s another good one. And I like responsorial psalm… [it’s] something Christian, don’t worry about it.

They made me go to church as a kid so you encounter strange descriptions of stuff, you know. The priest reads something and everybody makes a response after it. [So] there you go – happy good times. What else… I like “Peter van den Hoogenband” – that’s more of a name than a word… lots of superb syllables in there. I like “soiree”, that’s a good word… and “haberdashery.”

LAUGHTER FASHIONABLE ONCE MORE

Events such as Christmas and New Year’s Eve are actually being cancelled this year just so you can get yourself together in time for the Festival.

What’s something you’ve always wanted to do but never have – what are some goals for Dave Callan? I would like to do a really weird TV show one day.

These are the REAL Ten Days on the Island, and by actually being full of things that are funny you’re sure to actually want to go see the acts at venues such as the Backspace Theatre and Theatre Royal. Bookings can be made online from December 3rd at http://www.hobartcomedy.com and offline at Theatre Royal, 29 Campbell Street (03 6233 2299) or Centertainment in the Elizabeth Street Mall (03 6234 5998).

So, as a result, I’m writing very weird comedy festival shows that are kind of theatrical that I’ve been performing at the Adelaide Fringe and the Melbourne Comedy Festival – and I know there’s a Tasmanian festival now in January… in Hobart.

Dave Callan provides Laugh Aid at Curly’s Bar in Hobart on the 29th of November.

FESTIVAL

With a launch on December 3rd, the actual Festival proper starts on January 9th and goes until the 19th, so that gives you plenty of time to recover from the launch before well and truly hammering yourself properly during January.

If money, moral judgment, and the laws of physics didn’t apply, what would you have in your rider for your Tasmanian show? Ahhh… a floating elephant made out of tofu. I would eat it, ‘coz I’m a vegetarian. Can we make it a rhinoceros? That would be much better. I’d ride it for a while.

To listen to where the potato goes… eventually, go to www. sauce.net.au.

HOBART COMEDY

The Hobart Comedy Festival has been growing steadily every year, sort of like that second head you keep trying to get rid of, and this year’s looks to be even bigger and better than the last one! The Festival I mean, not your second head. You should really get that seen to.

So you’re coming down to Hobart – what’s the event about? Well now, as far as I can tell, the event is a charity gig to raise funds for a charity. It’s at Curly’s Bar… and it’s called Laugh Aid.

So maybe I’ll come to that one in 2009 and do some of my weird stuff. Maybe by that time [I’ll have] a TV show up on air. I really like stand-up as it is so I’m pretty happy doing that.

COMEDY

Bada Badass aliens are on h a holy mission to wipe your face with our your butt in your own backyard …

…IH HAVE GOT A MAG MAGNIFICENT SET OF S… PECTORALS

“

If you’re considering going, and you have a second head by now, the Hobart Comedy Festival may just be the thing you need – after all, you’re guaranteed to laugh your head off. Save yourself the inconvenience and make sure it’s your spare head that falls to the floor. You’ll need your other one for the drinking. http://www.hobartcomedy.com PAGE 29

STREET FASHION

ANGE 28

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JAMON 19

ELLIE 17

MICHAEL 18

Favorite Band: Tool & Stonesour

Favorite Band: Supertramp

Favorite Favoorite Band: Dallas Green

Favorite Favvorite Band: Mayday Parade

What do you want for Christmas? Pandora bracelet

What do you want for Christmas? Can I have Gav?

What Wh t do d you wantt ffor Ch Christmas? it ? Digital Camera

What Wh t d do you wantt ffor Ch Christmas? it ? Roulette Table

What’s the worst present you’ve ever been given? A vacuum cleaner

What’s the worst present you’ve ever been given? A broken finger

What’s the worst present you’ve ever been given? Porcelain Angels (second hand)

What’s the worst present you’ve ever been given? Crap undies

What do you hope Labour achieve, whilst they are in government? More than Liberal did!

What do you hope Labour achieve, whilst they care in government? Make me King

What do you hope Labour achieve, whilst they care in government? Political nirvana

What do you hope Labour achieve, whilst they care in government? Sweet Stuff

What’s a good nickname for Kevin Rudd? The Rudstar

What’s a good nickname for Kevin Rudd? The K Dogg

What’s a good nickname for Kevin Rudd? Rudd The Spud

What’s a good nickname for Kevin Rudd? Spud the Rudd

As soon as Henry McKenna started double distilling his bourbon, word quickly spread to the city about its unique smoothness. Because the man was all about quality not quantity, it wasn’t long before urban bars were snapping up all he could supply. America’s urban spirit was born.

McKENNA BOURBON. THE URBAN SPIRIT SINCE 1855

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